bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A FILOSOFIA E A SOTERIOLOGIA DO SĀMKHYA: OS PURUṢAS
Authors: SIMÕES CUNHA AUGUSTO
Published: June 2022

RESUMO: O Sāṁkhya clássico parte da constatação da existência do sofrimento. Ele é provocado por fatores relacionados à constituição corpórea ou mental, por fatores oriundos do habitat natural e por fatores provenientes das forças da natureza ou dos deuses, permeando toda a existência, até mesmo o relacionamento com os deuses. O objetivo do Sāṁkhya é fornecer meios de libertação ou erradicação do sofrimento. Só existe um meio de atingir tal erradicação: através da discriminação intuitiva entre o(s) conhecedor(es) (Puruṣa(s)), o mundo manifesto (vyakta) e o não manifesto (avyakta). A doutrina da pluralidade de Puruṣas resulta em uma doutrina da pluralidade da salvação, que prescinde da existência de uma divindade maior, unificadora e monística. Se entendemos o ecumenismo como um diálogo positivo entre diferentes religiões, o Sāṁkhya dá um passo além: ele viabiliza o ecumenismo não apenas entre religiões, mas também com filosofias laicas e ateias. Não há salvação no pós-morte: a salvação ocorre durante a vida, na percepção de que somos drasticamente idênticos entre si, enquanto Puruṣas, merecedores de idênticos cuidados e afetos.  
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Sāṁkhya; Soteriologia; Prakṛti; Puruṣa.  
ABSTRACT: The classical Sāṁkhya starts from the verification of the existence of suffering. It is caused by factors related to bodily or mental constitution, factors arising from the natural habitat and factors arising from the forces of nature or the gods, permeating all existence, even the relationship with the gods. The purpose of Sāṁkhya is to provide means of liberation or eradication of suffering. There is only one way to achieve such eradication: through intuitive discrimination between the knower(s) (Puruṣa(s)), the manifest (vyakta) and the unmanifest (avyakta) world. The doctrine of the plurality of Puruṣas results in a doctrine of the plurality of salvation, which dispenses with the existence of a greater, unifying, and monistic deity. If we understand ecumenism as a positive dialogue between different religions, Sāṁkhya goes a step further: it makes ecumenism possible not only between religions, but also with secular and atheistic philosophies. There is no salvation in the afterlife: salvation occurs during life, in the realization that we are drastically identical to each other, as Puruṣas, deserving identical care and affection.
KEYWORDS: Sāṁkhya; Soteriology; Prakṛti; Puruṣa.
A MATHEMATICAL PERSPECTIVE OVER THE MIND-BODY REDUCTION PROBLEM
Authors: Uptmoor Pauly Daniel
Published: June 2022

Is mental phenomena reducible to body phenomena? Reductive Analytical Method (RAM) have algebraic roots. “To reduce” translates, in a Cartesian sense, to the action of isolating independent variables. If RAM were dismissed, multiple variable problems would either: require more time and resources; be prohibitively difficult or unsolvable. Arguably, this bears truth to the majority of hard science’s problems. Recent cognitive and neuro imagery studies included mental phenomena to RAM’s scope, defying the tradition. Information Theory (IT) provides quantitative methods for the information contained: in the whole; in the sum of its parts; and in their relation. Justifying why it seems useful in evaluating RAM. According to IT: no set’s information can be greater than the information in the sum of its parts; RAM only provides a partial account of neuronal dynamics. The negative and affirmative answers to the mind-body reduction question are, respectively: quantifying the whole as “greater than the sum of its parts”; extrapolating RAM’s scope. Both answers seem to imply some mathematical claims, but, if our IT interpretations are correct, lack the mathematical ground. Novel and Traditional research methods have tried untangling the mind. Methods accounting for mind’s tangled nature may contribute to debate as well.
MERLEAU-PONTY, ENATIVISMO E SKINNER SOBRE O CARÁTER DIALÉTICO DO COMPORTAMENTO
Authors: Caetano de Queiroz Gabriel , Lazzeri Filipe , Lopes Carlos Eduardo
Published: June 2022

Tributários da compreensão dialética, ou não linear, de comportamento delimitada por Merleau-Ponty (La Structure du Comportement), E. Thompson (Mind in Life) e S. Gallagher (Enactivist Interventions) alegam que ela contrasta com uma compreensão behaviorista a respeito. Segundo tal linha de raciocínio, ainda que algumas análises enativistas e comportamentais de categorias psicológicas (por ex., raciocínio matemático) assemelhem-se, resultam muito diferentes sob um olhar mais atido, em razão de diferentes compromissos filosóficos sobre o comportamento. Tanto aquelas como estas situam na dinâmica interativa organismo-ambiente os fenômenos psicológicos e seus fatores explanatórios decisivos, além de dispensarem a postulação de representações simbólico-computacionais no cérebro para interpretá-las. Porém, Thompson e Gallagher pensam que seu enativismo, mas não “o behaviorismo”, é não linear. Discute-se aqui que a crítica merleau-pontyana das noções comportamentais ligadas ao fisiologismo e ao mecanicismo cartesiano, embora possa atacar o behaviorismo inicial (associado a J. B. Watson), não atinge o delineamento (behaviorista radical) de Skinner, conectado ao que este veio a chamar de modelo de seleção pelas consequências. Ou seja, a concepção de Skinner, como a de Merleau-Ponty, qualifica-se também como dialética, ainda que seu vocabulário às vezes conote diferentemente. Algumas propostas enativistas e comportamentais sobre categorias psicológicas resultam mais próximas do que Thompson e Gallagher sugeriram.
A INFLUÊNCIA DE HERÁCLITO NO ESTILO EM NIETZSCHE: A POSSIBILIDADE DE FILOSOFAR SEM O “CONCEITO”
Authors: Rosa Silva Micael
Published: June 2022

RESUMO: Nietzsche, na seção de sua autobiografia intelectual intitulada “Porque escrevo livros tão bons”, assevera que todo o sentido da arte de seu estilo é “comunicar um estado, uma tensão interna de páthos por meio de signos”. Em última análise, Nietzsche, por meio de seu estilo, rompe com um modo tradicional e sistemático de se exprimir filosofia, inovando a então “prosa filosófica” ao lhe conceder beleza artística, expressões hiperbólicas, musicalidade, imagens poéticas, símbolos e alegorias. Assim sendo, o estilo nietzschiano é mais que uma mera escolha de escrita e expressão de seus pensamentos, todavia, é o meio pelo qual ele pode criticar a tendência em estabelecer conceitos totalizantes e cristalizados da linguagem tradicional, assim como é um meio de avaliar a cultura ocidental de que essa linguagem é constructo. Pensando nisso, este trabalho divide-se em duas partes: 1) apreciar o contraste entre as concepções de linguagem difundidas por Aristóteles e por Heráclito de Éfeso, demonstrando como o último influencia definitivamente o estilo nietzschiano; 2) considerar como o estilo de Nietzsche está associado à sua concepção filosófica da gênese da linguagem, onde os símbolos e alegorias são privilegiados em detrimento do “conceito”.  

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Heráclito, linguagem, Nietzsche.  

ABSTRACT: Nietzsche, in the section of his intellectual autobiography, entitled “Why I write such good books”, asserts that the whole sense of the art of his style is “Communicating a state, an inner tension of pathos through signs”. Ultimately, Nietzsche, through his style, breaks with a traditional and systematic way of expressing philosophy, innovating the then “philosophical prose” by granting it artistic beauty, hyperbolic expressions, musicality, poetic images, symbols and allegories. Thus, the Nietzsche's style is more than a mere choice of writing and expression his thoughts, however, it is the means by which he can criticize the tendency of traditional language to establish totalizing and crystallized concepts, as well as a means of evaluating the Western culture, that this language is construct. With that in mind, this work is divided into two parts: 1) appreciate the contrast between the conceptions of language spread by Aristotle and by Heraclitus of Ephesus, demonstrating how the latter definitely influences Nietzsche's style; 2) consider how Nietzsche's style is associated with a formulation of the genesis of language, where symbols and allegories are privileged over the “concept”.

KEYWORDS: Heraclitus, Language, Nietzsche.
Nöbetleşe Dışlanma Zincirinde Son Halka: Düzensiz Afgan Göçmenler
Authors: TÜMTAŞ Mim Sertaç
Published: June 2022

Türkiye, son 10 yılda, Türkiye Cumhuriyet tarihinde eşi benzeri görülmemiş bir dış göç baskısı ile karşı karşıya kalmıştır. Bir yandan Suriye’deki iç savaş dolayısıyla dört milyon civarı öte yandan da Afganistan’daki Taliban-Amerika/ Afgan Devleti çatışmaları ve bu çatışmaların etkileri kaynaklı yüzbinlerce Afgan, büyük çoğunluğu kayıt dışı olmak üzere, Türkiye’ye göç etmiştir. Şüphesiz ki ülkenin toplumsal yapısına bu denli yüksek sayıda bir göçmen nüfusun girmesi bir takım sosyal ve ekonomik sorunların oluşmasına da neden olmuştur. Türkiyeli gruplar bu sorunların oluşumunun sorumluluğunu, sisteme sonradan giren Suriyeliler üzerinden rasyonelleştirmiştir. Benzer eğilimin son dönemde, Suriyeli mültecilerin karşılaştıkları ve rekabet içerisine girdikleri noktalarda düzensiz Afgan göçmenlere karşı da oluştuğu, Türkiye’deki etno-kültürel gruplarla birlikte Suriyelilerin de düzensiz Afgan göçmenleri dış-ladıkları, metropol kentlerde, gözlemlenmektedir. Bu çalışmada, İstanbul’da yaşayan 15 düzensiz Afgan göçmenle yapılan derinlemesine görüşme bulguları üzerinden, düzensiz Afganların Türkiye’ye göç sü¬reçleri, Türkiye’deki yaşamları ve sosyal dışlanmaları bilhassa da kendileri de göçle gelmiş olan diğer gruplarla olan ilişkileri, nöbetleşe dışlanma kavramına referansla, tartışılmaktadır.
Ultra-compact terahertz 50:50 power splitter designed by a perceptron-based algorithm
Authors: Kim Sunwook , Kim Nanhee , Park Ikmo , Han Haewook
Published: June 2022

We designed and simulated an ultra-compact 1 × 2 power splitter operating in the terahertz region. A machine learning approach was implemented to design the photonic device. The designed power splitter has a footprint of 500 µm × 500 µm. We calculated the insertion loss using a three-dimensional finite difference time domain method. The calculated insertion loss was less than 4 dB over the operating wavelength range of 275–325 µm. The machine learning algorithm implemented in this work can be applied to the inverse design of various photonic devices.
Flexible method for generating needle-shaped beams and its application in optical coherence tomography
Authors: Zhao Jingjing , Winetraub Yonatan , Du Lin , Van Vleck Aidan , Ichimura Kenzo , Huang Cheng , Aasi Sumaira Z. , Sarin Kavita Y. , de la Zerda Adam
Published: June 2022

Needle-shaped beams (NBs) featuring a long depth-of-focus (DOF) can
drastically improve the resolution of microscopy systems. However,
thus far, the implementation of a specific NB has been onerous due to
the lack of a common, flexible generation method. Here we develop a
spatially multiplexed phase pattern that creates many axially closely
spaced foci as a universal platform for customizing various NBs,
allowing flexible manipulations of beam length and diameter, uniform
axial intensity, and sub-diffraction-limit beams. NBs designed via
this method successfully extended the DOF of our optical coherence
tomography (OCT) system. It revealed clear individual epidermal cells
of the entire human epidermis, fine structures of human
dermal-epidermal junction in a large depth range, and a
high-resolution dynamic heartbeat of alive Drosophila larvae.
What Africa can do to accelerate and sustain progress against malaria
Authors: Okumu Fredros , Gyapong Margaret , Casamitjana Núria , Castro Marcia C. , Itoe Maurice A. , Okonofua Friday , Tanner Marcel
Published: June 2022

After a longstanding global presence, malaria is now largely non-existent or suppressed in most parts of the world. Today, cases and deaths are primarily concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. According to many experts, this persistence on the African continent reflects factors such as resistance to insecticides and drugs as well as insufficient access to essential commodities such as insecticide-treated nets and effective drugs. Crucially, however, this narrative ignores many central weaknesses in the fight against malaria and instead reinforces a narrow, commodity-driven vision of disease control. This paper therefore describes the core challenges hindering malaria programs in Africa and highlights key opportunities to rethink current strategies for sustainable control and elimination. The epidemiology of malaria in Africa presents far greater challenges than elsewhere and requires context-specific initiatives tailored to national and sub-national targets. To sustain progress, African countries must systematically address key weaknesses in its health systems, improve the quality and use of data for surveillance-responses, improve both technical and leadership competencies for malaria control, and gradually reduce overreliance on commodities while expanding multisectoral initiatives such as improved housing and environmental sanitation. They must also leverage increased funding from both domestic and international sources, and support pivotal research and development efforts locally. Effective vaccines and drugs, or other potentially transformative technologies such as genedrive modified mosquitoes, could further accelerate malaria control by complementing current tools. However, our underlying strategies remain insufficient and must be expanded to include more holistic and context-specific approaches critical to achieve and sustain effective malaria control.
MicNet toolbox: Visualizing and unraveling a microbial network
Authors: Favila Natalia , Madrigal-Trejo David , Legorreta Daniel , Sánchez-Pérez Jazmín , Espinosa-Asuar Laura , Eguiarte Luis E. , Souza Valeria
Published: June 2022

Applications of network theory to microbial ecology are an emerging and promising approach to understanding both global and local patterns in the structure and interplay of these microbial communities. In this paper, we present an open-source python toolbox which consists of two modules: on one hand, we introduce a visualization module that incorporates the use of UMAP, a dimensionality reduction technique that focuses on local patterns, and HDBSCAN, a clustering technique based on density; on the other hand, we have included a module that runs an enhanced version of the SparCC code, sustaining larger datasets than before, and we couple the resulting networks with network theory analyses to describe the resulting co-occurrence networks, including several novel analyses, such as structural balance metrics and a proposal to discover the underlying topology of a co-occurrence network. We validated the proposed toolbox on 1) a simple and well described biological network of kombucha, consisting of 48 ASVs, and 2) we validate the improvements of our new version of SparCC. Finally, we showcase the use of the MicNet toolbox on a large dataset from Archean Domes, consisting of more than 2,000 ASVs. Our toolbox is freely available as a github repository (https://github.com/Labevo/MicNetToolbox), and it is accompanied by a web dashboard (http://micnetapplb-1212130533.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com) that can be used in a simple and straightforward manner with relative abundance data. This easy-to-use implementation is aimed to microbial ecologists with little to no experience in programming, while the most experienced bioinformatics will also be able to manipulate the source code’s functions with ease.
Cross border project in China-Pakistan economic corridor and its influence on women empowerment perspectives
Authors: Kumar Jai , Xi Chen , Imran Muhammad , Kumari Joti
Published: June 2022

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a significant and inaugural project of the "Belt and Road" initiative which is considered as structure and manifesto for panoramic and fundamental collaboration between China and Pakistan. The CPEC project was initiated to develop economic growth and facilitate free trade between both countries. However, it has generated immense employment opportunities, education facilities, and improved quality of life for local citizens, specifically women, as well as international overreach. This study investigates and examines the benefits of CPEC project and its influence on women empowerment. Based on the background of the CPEC, this study has been carried out by applying a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods to fill the gap. Data was aggregated with the help of a survey questionnaire and interviews from the residents of the Thar region of Pakistan, which comes under CPEC route. In total, 306 samples were acquired and analysed using different statistical tools such as SPSS (Statistical package for social sciences) and PLS (Partial least squares) to formulate the study results. The findings revealed that the development of CPEC has remarkably improved the quality of life for women by providing enormous employment opportunities, education facilities, skills enhancement programs, and training facilities. The analyzed results will guide government policymakers and officials to promote operational activities in the region, develop new educational institutions, and create employment opportunities for the local community and women to obtain further development of CPEC projects.
A study on a vehicle semi-active suspension control system based on road elevation identification
Authors: Yang Zhengcai , Shi Chuan , Zheng Yinglin , Gu Shirui
Published: June 2022

A semi-active suspension system can effectively improve vehicle ride comfort and handling stability, and the active detection of road information is key to achieving semi-active suspension. To improve the road elevation perception ability of vehicles, this study proposes a continuous multiple scanning recursive matching algorithm based on a single-line LIDAR sensor. Radar recursive scanning is used to obtain the multiple superposition data of echo signals, and coordinate matching is realized between historical scanning data and current scanning data. Simultaneously, the sensor height deviation and pitch angle deviation of the sensors are regressed to obtain an accurate pavement elevation. Considering the control effect of the active vehicle suspension, a vehicle suspension model with seven degrees of freedom is established. The semi-active suspension controller is constructed using a diagonal recursive neural network algorithm, and the neural network weight is trained using a genetic algorithm. In addition, a preview diagonal recursive neural network control strategy for semi-active suspension, based on the combination of road elevation information, is proposed. The results of a hardware-in-the-loop co-simulation, which was conducted based on the Simulink control model and dSPACE real-time simulation, revealed that the ride comfort and stability of the vehicle were improved owing to a preview of the elevation information of the road ahead and the active adjustment of the shock absorber of the suspension system.
Eradication of avian leukosis virus subgroups J and K in broiler cross chickens by selection against infected birds using multilocus PCR
Authors: Borodin Alexander M. , Emanuilova Zhanna V. , Smolov Sergei V. , Ogneva Olga A. , Konovalova Nina V. , Terentyeva Elena V. , Serova Natalia Y. , Efimov D. N. , Fisinin V. I. , Greenberg Anthony J. , Alekseev Yakov I.
Published: June 2022

The avian leukosis virus (ALV) is a serious threat to sustainable and economically viable commercial poultry management world-wide. Active infections can result in more than 20% flock loss, resulting in significant economic damage. ALV detection and elimination from flocks and breeding programs is complicated by high sequence variability and the presence of endogenous virus copies which show up as false positives in assays. Previously-developed approaches to virus detection are either too labor-intensive to implement on an industrial scale or suffer from high false negative or positive rates. We developed a novel multi-locus multiplex quantitative real-time PCR system to detect viruses belonging to the J and K genetic subgroups that are particularly prevalent in our region. We used this system to eradicate ALV from our broiler breeding program comprising thousands of individuals. Our approach can be generalized to other ALV subgroups and other highly genetically diverse pathogens.
Pathway importance by graph convolutional network and Shapley additive explanations in gene expression phenotype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Authors: Hayakawa Jin , Seki Tomohisa , Kawazoe Yoshimasa , Ohe Kazuhiko
Published: June 2022

Deep learning techniques have recently been applied to analyze associations between gene expression data and disease phenotypes. However, there are concerns regarding the black box problem: it is difficult to interpret why the prediction results are obtained using deep learning models from model parameters. New methods have been proposed for interpreting deep learning model predictions but have not been applied to genetics. In this study, we demonstrated that applying SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to a deep learning model using graph convolutions of genetic pathways can provide pathway-level feature importance for classification prediction of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) gene expression subtypes. Using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, a graph convolutional network (GCN) model was implemented to construct graphs with nodes and edges. DLBCL datasets, including microarray gene expression data and clinical information on subtypes (germinal center B-cell-like type and activated B-cell-like type), were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus to evaluate the model. The GCN model showed an accuracy of 0.914, precision of 0.948, recall of 0.868, and F1 score of 0.906 in analysis of the classification performance for the test datasets. The pathways with high feature importance by SHAP included highly enriched pathways in the gene set enrichment analysis. Moreover, a logistic regression model with explanatory variables of genes in pathways with high feature importance showed good performance in predicting DLBCL subtypes. In conclusion, our GCN model for classifying DLBCL subtypes is useful for interpreting important regulatory pathways that contribute to the prediction.
Examining delays in diagnosis for slipped capital femoral epiphysis from a health disparities perspective
Authors: Purcell Maureen , Reeves Rustin , Mayfield Matthew
Published: June 2022

Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE) is a skeletal pathology affecting adolescents which requires timely surgery to prevent progression. Delays in diagnosis and treatment of SCFE can negatively affect patient prognosis, and few studies have examined how health disparities and barriers to care may influence these delays. In particular, only a handful of studies have included a Hispanic patient sample, despite this ethnic group’s increased risk for the disease and unique barriers to care. A retrospective chart review was conducted for 124 patients surgically treated for idiopathic SCFE from January 2010 to September 2017. Patient data included age, facility and date of diagnosis, sex, BMI, race and ethnicity, Southwick slip angle, and insurance type. Results indicated that patients with private insurance were more likely to present with a mild slip than patients who were insured by Medicaid or uninsured, while patients without insurance were more likely to have severe slips. Patients without insurance also had a significantly higher mean slip than patients with insurance. The relationship between insurance status and slip angle degree was significant independent of race, even though Hispanic individuals were significantly more likely to have Medicaid or be uninsured. All patients without insurance, and a majority of those with Medicaid, were diagnosed in the emergency department. Time to diagnosis and slip angle were positively correlated, which suggests that longer delays led to increase of the slip angle, consistent with previous findings. Time to diagnosis and BMI were also correlated, which may be tied to socioeconomic factors, but the possibility of weight bias should not be dismissed. These results suggest that socioeconomic status and other factors may have contributed to barriers to care which led to delays in diagnosis and thus more severe slips. Future SCFE research should include health disparities variables to better inform treatment and prognosis.
Non-COVID outcomes associated with the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic effects study (COPES): A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lau Vincent Issac , Dhanoa Sumeet , Cheema Harleen , Lewis Kimberley , Geeraert Patrick , Lu David , Merrick Benjamin , Vander Leek Aaron , Sebastianski Meghan , Kula Brittany , Chaudhuri Dipayan , Agarwal Arnav , Niven Daniel J. , Fiest Kirsten M. , Stelfox Henry T. , Zuege Danny J. , Rewa Oleksa G. , Bagshaw Sean M.
Published: June 2022

Background

As the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues, healthcare providers struggle to manage both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients while still providing high-quality care. We conducted a systematic review/meta-analysis to describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with non-COVID illness and on healthcare systems compared to non-pandemic epochs.

Methods

We searched Ovid MEDLINE/EMBASE/Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews/CENTRAL/CINAHL (inception to December 31, 2020). All study types with COVID-pandemic time period (after December 31, 2019) with comparative non-pandemic time periods (prior to December 31, 2019). Data regarding study characteristics/case-mix/interventions/comparators/ outcomes (primary: mortality; secondary: morbidity/hospitalizations/disruptions-to-care. Paired reviewers conducted screening and abstraction, with conflicts resolved by discussion. Effect sizes for specific therapies were pooled using random-effects models. Risk of bias was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, with evidence rating using GRADE methodology.

Results

Of 11,581 citations, 167 studies met eligibility. Our meta-analysis showed an increased mortality of 16% during the COVID pandemic for non-COVID illness compared with 11% mortality during the pre-pandemic period (RR 1.38, 95% CI: 1.28–1.50; absolute risk difference: 5% [95% CI: 4–6%], p<0.00001, very low certainty evidence). Twenty-eight studies (17%) reported significant changes in morbidity (where 93% reported increases), while 30 studies (18%) reported no significant change (very low certainty). Thirty-nine studies (23%) reported significant changes in hospitalizations (97% reporting decreases), while 111 studies (66%) reported no significant change (very low certainty). Sixty-two studies (37%) reported significant disruptions in standards-to-care (73% reporting increases), while 62 studies (37%) reported no significant change (very low certainty).

Conclusions

There was a significant increase in mortality during the COVID pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times for non-COVID illnesses. When significant changes were reported, there was increased morbidity, decreased hospitalizations and increased disruptions in standards-of-care.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO CRD42020201256 (Sept 2, 2020).
Motivators and barriers towards clinical research participation: A population-based survey from an Arab MENA country
Authors: Al-Shami Kamal M. , Ahmed Wesam S. , Alzoubi Karem H.
Published: June 2022

Jordan was the first Arab country to enact clinical research regulations. The country has a well-flourished pharmaceutical industry that leans heavily on clinical research (CR) for drug development and post-marketing surveillance. In this cross-sectional study, we sought to assess the public’s awareness and attitude towards CR as well as their perceived motivators and barriers to CR participation. A population-based, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the general public in Jordan. Among the 1061 participants in this survey, 74% reported being aware of CR. The majority (70%) agreed to the role of CR in health promotion. Online information and healthcare staff were the two main sources of CR information for the participants. About 25% of the participants received prior invitations to participate in CR with 21% agreeing to participate. However, most participants of the current study (63%) were willing to participate in future CR. Contributing to science, benefiting others, and promoting one’s own health were the top motivating factors for participating in CR; while time constraints, fear of research procedure, and lack of interest were the most cited reasons for rejecting participation. Filling out questionnaire surveys, donating blood samples, and participating in physical examinations were the main CR contributions of the participants. Nearly 31% of the participants believed that CR is conducted in a responsible and ethical manner, while 57% did not have an opinion regarding the same matter. In addition, 49% and 44% were neutral with regards to the degree of harm and confidentiality posed by CR. While only 27% disagreed that CR exposes participants to some form of harm, 48% either strongly agreed (15%) or agreed (33%) that it maintains high level of confidentiality for participants. The current study provides insight into the public’s perception of CR in Jordan as well as its motivating factors and perceived barriers towards participating in CR. We envisage to utilize this insight as an aid in the design of vigilant future awareness campaigns and recruitment strategies.
Phylogenetic diversity analysis of shotgun metagenomic reads describes gut microbiome development and treatment effects in the post-weaned pig
Authors: Gaio Daniela , DeMaere Matthew Z. , Anantanawat Kay , Eamens Graeme J. , Falconer Linda , Chapman Toni A. , Djordjevic Steven , Darling Aaron E.
Published: June 2022

Intensive farming practices can increase exposure of animals to infectious agents against which antibiotics are used. Orally administered antibiotics are well known to cause dysbiosis. To counteract dysbiotic effects, numerous studies in the past two decades sought to understand whether probiotics are a valid tool to help re-establish a healthy gut microbial community after antibiotic treatment. Although dysbiotic effects of antibiotics are well investigated, little is known about the effects of intramuscular antibiotic treatment on the gut microbiome and a few studies attempted to study treatment effects using phylogenetic diversity analysis techniques. In this study we sought to determine the effects of two probiotic- and one intramuscularly administered antibiotic treatment on the developing gut microbiome of post-weaning piglets between their 3rdand 9thweek of life. Shotgun metagenomic sequences from over 800 faecal time-series samples derived from 126 post-weaning piglets and 42 sows were analysed in a phylogenetic framework. Differences between individual hosts such as breed, litter, and age, were found to be important contributors to variation in the community composition. Host age was the dominant factor in shaping the gut microbiota of piglets after weaning. The post-weaning pig gut microbiome appeared to follow a highly structured developmental program with characteristic post-weaning changes that can distinguish hosts that were born as little as two days apart in the second month of life. Treatment effects of the antibiotic and probiotic treatments were found but were subtle and included a higher representation ofMollicutesassociated with intramuscular antibiotic treatment, and an increase ofLactobacillusassociated with probiotic treatment. The discovery of correlations between experimental factors and microbial community composition is more commonly addressed with OTU-based methods and rarely analysed via phylogenetic diversity measures. The latter method, although less intuitive than the former, suffers less from library size normalization biases, and it proved to be instrumental in this study for the discovery of correlations between microbiome composition and host-, and treatment factors.
Export trade structure transformation and countermeasures in the context of reverse globalization
Authors: Wang Xueyan , Meng Weidong , Wang Chunyang , Huang Bo , Li Yuyu
Published: June 2022

With the development of economic globalization, the problem of unequal distribution of globalization dividends among and within countries has become increasingly serious, and reverse globalization has a great impact on the national economy and export trade. This paper uses the KOF Globalization Index and the world input-output tables in World Input-Output Database (WIOD), and empirically studies the transformation of a country’s export trade and export structure in the context of reverse globalization from the perspectives of world, country, industry, subdivided manufacturing and service industry. The results show that reverse globalization has a significant non-linear negative effect on economic development and export trade. Compared with developed and European Union (EU) countries, the exports of developing and non-EU countries are more affected by reverse globalization shocks. Reverse globalization has the greatest inhibition on the secondary industry exports, followed by the tertiary industry. The suppressive effects on the exports of 12 subdivided manufacturing and 14 subdivided service in China are significantly greater than that of the United States, but most of sub-industry exports in the United States are more sensitive. Besides, China’s exports of high-product-complexity industry such as metal products, medicinal chemicals, electrical and optical products and mechanical equipments are greatly affected by reverse globalization, while the exports of water transportation, construction, land transportation are relatively less restrained.
Understanding ‘monitoring’ data–the association between measured stressors and athlete responses within a holistic basketball performance framework
Authors: Mercer Richard A. J. , Russell Jennifer L. , McGuigan Lauren C. , Coutts Aaron J. , Strack Donnie S. , McLean Blake D.
Published: June 2022

This study examined associations between cumulative training load, travel demands and recovery days with athlete-reported outcome measures (AROMs) and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance in professional basketball. Retrospective analysis was performed on data collected from 23 players (mean±SD: age = 24.7±2.5 years, height = 198.3±7.6 cm, body mass = 98.1±9.0 kg, wingspan = 206.8±8.4 cm) from 2018–2020 in the National Basketball Association G-League. Linear mixed models were used to describe variation in AROMs and CMJ data in relation to cumulative training load (previous 3- and 10-days), hours travelled (previous 3- and 10-day), days away from the team’s home city, recovery days (i.e., no travel/minimal on-court activity) and individual factors (e.g., age, fatigue, soreness). Cumulative 3-day training load had negative associations with fatigue, soreness, and sleep, while increased recovery days were associated with improved soreness scores. Increases in hours travelled and days spent away from home over 10 days were associated with increased sleep quality and duration. Cumulative training load over 3 and 10 days, hours travelled and days away from home city were all associated with changes in CMJ performance during the eccentric phase. The interaction of on-court and travel related stressors combined with individual factors is complex, meaning that multiple athletes response measures are needed to understand fatigue and recovery cycles. Our findings support the utility of the response measures presented (i.e., CMJ and AROMs), but this is not an exhaustive battery and practitioners should consider what measures may best inform training periodization within the context of their environment/sport.
Alantolactone reduced neuron injury via activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats
Authors: Zhou Feng , Wang Zhenzhi , Xiong Kang , Zhang Meiling , Wang Yuan , Wang Maode
Published: June 2022

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a common disease with high morbidity and mortality, which can cause pathological, physiological, and biological reactions. SAH causes a series of responses such as neuronal and cerebral cortex damage, which in turn leads to inflammation and apoptosis. Traditional Chinese medicine has a strong anti-inflammatory effect, such as Alantolactone (ATL). However, studies on ATL therapy for SAH have not been reported. We observed the neurological scores, brain water content, Evans blue (EB) extravasation, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis via performing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, and other methods after SAH. In this study, we found that ATL treatment attenuated the neurologic deficits, inhibited neuronal apoptosis and inflammatory reaction, promoted polarization of microglia toward the M2 phenotype, and activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. ATL can reduce the neurons and cerebral cortex damage of SAH rats through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
Chinese herbal medicine for children with idiopathic short stature (ISS): A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Li Yingying , Chen Xinying , Liu Zhengduo , Yang Jinghua
Published: June 2022

Background

Idiopathic short stature (ISS) describes a heterogeneous group of children of many unidentified causes of short stature presently without definitive therapy. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is an alternative and complementary treatment for children with ISS and has been widely used for ISS while the evidence of its effectiveness is controversial. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis in order to evaluate the efficacy of CHM for ISS.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Sino-Med, Cochrane, CNKI, VIP, and Wangfang Data were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CHM treatment of ISS from inception to May 2021. Two researchers independently scanned the literature and extracted information on general characteristics, including patient, study design, interventions, and side effects, assessing the CHM intervention’s efficacy and the risk of bias. Height, bone age, growth velocity, and IGF-1 level are the main consequences. Height standard deviations score (HtSDS), change in HtSDS (ΔHtSDS), osteocalcin, the peak level of growth hormones (GHP), and predicted adult height (PAH) are the secondary outcomes. Meta-analysis was then performed by using RevMan 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration).

Results

Seven articles (569 participants) were included. The Meta-analysis indicated that herbal medicine was associated with increased height (MD 2.16 points; 95%CI, 0.22 to 4.10; P = 0.03), growth velocity (MD 1.47 points; 95%CI, 0.28 to 2.67; P = 0.02), IGF-1 level (MD 28.13 points; 95%CI, 22.80 to 33.46; P<0.00001) and GHP (MD 3.29 points; 95%CI, 1.54 to 5.04; P = 0.0002).

Conclusion

According to current research, CHM appears to be useful for children with ISS. Due to the limited quality and number of studies included, more high-quality studies are needed to corroborate the above conclusions.
Effect of postmastectomy radiotherapy on T1-2N1M0 triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Xia Lin-Yu , Xu Wei-Yun , Zhao Yan
Published: June 2022

Background

The effect of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) on T1-2N1M0 triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) remains unclear. The population-based study aimed to investigate the survival outcomes of T1-2N1M0 TNBC patients who underwent PMRT or not.

Methods

We selected 1743 patients with T1-2N1M0 TNBC who underwent mastectomy between 2010 and 2015 through the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. After propensity score matching (PSM), the PMRT and no-PMRT groups consisted of 586 matched patients, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier method was applied to calculate breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and cox proportional hazard model was used to determine the prognostic factors of T1-2N1M0 TNBC.

Results

The 5-year BCSS for the PMRT and no-PMRT groups was 79.1% and 74.7%, respectively. Analysis showed that in patients with three nodes positive, radiotherapy could significantly improve BCSS (HR = 0.396, 95% CI = 0.175–0.900, P = 0.027), but it brought no significant advantage in BCSS in patients with one or two nodes positive (HR = 1.061, 95% CI = 0.725–1.552, P = 0.761; HR = 0.657, 95% CI = 0.405–1.065, P = 0.088). In addition, PMRT improves the BCSS in TNBC patients with T2 tumor concomitant with three positive lymph nodes (HR = 0.343, 95% CI = 0.132–0.890, P = 0.028).

Conclusion

TNBC patients with T2 tumor concomitant with three positive lymph nodes can benefit from PMRT.
Analysis of partnerships between agricultural cooperatives and development actors: A national survey in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Alotaibi Bader Alhafi , Kassem Hazem S.
Published: June 2022

The partnerships between agricultural cooperatives and development actors play a critical role in meeting development challenges and building cooperative sustainability. The objective of this study was to analyze the key characteristics of engagements established between agricultural cooperatives and other actors and determine their success level. An analytical framework was developed to highlight nine areas, namely partnership configuration, stakeholders, objectives of the partnerships, partnership types, partnership stages, communication methods, achieved outcomes, partnership evaluation, and partnership sustainability. The targets were all agricultural cooperatives building associations with other actors between 2016 and 2020 in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the study covered 69 partnerships founded by 32 agricultural cooperatives. The results revealed that the cooperatives involved in partnerships essentially provide farming inputs and equipment for their stakeholders and capacity building and training purposes. The public sector was the leading actor that collaborated with agricultural cooperatives in inter-sector partnerships. The findings also showed that 55.1% of the partnerships were “strategic partnerships” in cases of both independent value formation and integrative partnerships. By focusing on mapping the partnerships, this study presents beneficial information for policy-makers working on how agricultural cooperatives dealt with the other actors and the lessons gathered to build future sustainability collaborations.
Monocular Video Frame Optimization Through Feature-Based Parallax Analysis for 3D Pipe Reconstruction
Authors: Xu Zhihua , Lu Xingzheng , Wang Wenliang , Xu Ershaui , Qin Rongjun , Niu Yiru , Qiao Xu , Yang Feng , Yan Rui
Published: June 2022

Structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques have been widely used for three-dimensional (3D) scene reconstruction from sequential video frames. However, for reconstructing narrow and confined spaces such as the interior of drainage pipes, selecting geometrically optimal frames is a major
challenge, not only to reduce the number of needed frames but also to yield better geometry. This paper introduces a coarse-to-fine method to optimize the selection of monocular video frames based on a geometric criterion called feature-based parallax analysis for 3D pipe reconstruction. The
proposed method was applied in two experiments with a monocular camera fixed on a customized robot. Experimental results show that our approach only requires respectively 9.66% and 3.15% of the number of frames. The spatial distribution of the retrieved frames was uniform and reasonable, enabling
the successful SfM process to achieve a complete reconstruction of the pipe geometry.
Reciting QS. Al-Ra`d and QS. Yāsīn in Phenomena of Sakarāt al-Maut in Sumenep, Madura
Authors: Muttaqin Khairul , Afifullah Afifullah , Nurhayati Sri
Published: June 2022

This article discusses the phenomenon of the reciting QS. Yāsīn and QS. al-Ra'd to people who experience critical conditions such as for someone who becomes the door of death (Sakarat al-Maut) which is widely done in Sumenep Madura Regency. Sumenep people assume that reciting surah al-Ra'd and Surah Yasin to people who experience door of death (Sakarat al-Maut) can speed up the process or provide healing, however, in that aspect of the meaning of the two Surah is not related to the phenomenon of door of death (Sakarat al-Maut). This shows that the Sumenep people in this tradition have a different reception from the literal meaning of these two surahs. Therefore, this study aims to see how the Sumenep people's understanding of surah Yāsīn and surah al-Ra'd and how the structure forming the phenomenon of the use of the two Surahs in the phenomenon door of death (Sakarat al-Maut). This article is qualitative type research with the use of field research (field research) or field studies as a research method. The approach used as an analytical method is Edmund Husserl's phenomenological approach. This approach looks at a phenomenon in the absence of the assumptions that accompany it during the process of observation and collection of field data.  The results of this study show that in some areas in Sumenep Regency are commonly recited surah Yāsīn or surah al-Ra'd or surah Muhammad or surah Yāsīn with surah al-Ra'd, or surah Yāsīn with al-Qiyamah, or surah Yāsīn and al-Taubah or surah Yāsīn and al-Kahfi to people who experience door of death (Sakarat al-Maut). The basis of the reading is the Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the explanation of the salaf books.
Characterization of Pennsylvanian Paleosols in Indiana with a Special Reference to Rare Earths (REE) and Lithium
Authors: Mastalerz Maria , Drobniak Agnieszka , Ames Philip , McLaughlin Patrick
Published: June 2022

This study characterizes Pennsylvanian paleosols from coal-bearing strata in Indiana, with the main emphasis on the abundance and distribution on rare earths (REE) and lithium (Li). Eleven locations in southwest Indiana were selected for this study, targeting paleosols of both the Carbondale Group and the Raccoon Creek Group. Most paleosols were directly underlying coal beds. Lithologically, paleosols range from grey mudstones to greenish-gray claystones and occasional siltstones. In the Carbondale Group, the thickest paleosol horizons occur under the Danville and the Houchin Creek Coal Members, with their thickness reaching close to 10 feet. In the Raccoon Creek Group, the paleosol under the Wise Ridge Coal appears to be thickest (4.6 to 11.4 feet) and best developed.
Total REE content in paleosol samples ranges from 138.8 ppm to 728.55 ppm, with an average range of 208.3 ppm (Colchester paleosol) to 342.9 ppm in the paleosol under the Upper Block Coal. Light REE dominate over heavy REE, and the variation in the light REE is responsible for the largest variations of the total REE. The largest amount of the heavy REE (61 ppm) occurs in the paleosol under the Lower Block Coal, whereas the paleosol under the Upper Block Coal has the largest variation in the heavy REE content (49 to 148 ppm). REE patterns for paleosol samples show very weak to no fractionation among light, medium, and heavy REE, with no major anomalies present. The majority of paleosols have REE values that are roughly representative of the upper continental crust. Only some paleosols are slightly enriched and these are paleosol samples under the Danville Coal and the Upper Block Coal. Lithium content in the paleosol samples shows a variation from 21 ppm to 530 ppm. On average, the Wise Ridge Coal is richest in Li (249.3 ppm), followed by Viking B Coal (190.8 ppm). The coals of the Brazil and Staunton Formations have higher Li content than the younger coals. Although this study has not uncovered large concentrations of REE or lithium, the wide range of concentrations and potential ease of their extraction from these clay-rich rocks imply that the paleosols deserve further examination, and the current study can be used as a screening guide for more focused investigation.