bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Liquidity risk and stock returns: empirical evidence from industrial products and services sector in Bursa Malaysia
Authors: Musneh Rapheedah , Abdul Karim Mohd. Rahimie , Arokiadasan Baburaw Caroline Geetha A/P
Published: October 2021

This study investigates the impact of liquidity risk on stock returns of 149 firms in the industrial products and services sectors of Bursa Malaysia from January 2000 to December 2018 with a monthly frequency dataset. This study employed the two-stage standard procedures in asset pricing to estimate the significant effect of liquidity risk on industrial products and services stock returns. The results show that the investors require liquidity premium for stocks whose illiquidity co-moves with market illiquidity and market return while shifting their investment to liquid stocks when the market becomes illiquid, thus positive premium for stocks whose return is higher during the illiquid market. It suggests that two liquidity risks, namely commonality in liquidity and the covariances between stock illiquidity and market returns, and aggregate liquidity risk explain the cross-sectional returns variations across stocks in the industrial products and services sector, thus partly support the LCAPM model. We provide evidence on the important role of liquidity risks on the cross-sectional industrial products and services stock returns in Bursa Malaysia in the LCAPM framework. The findings of this study may be useful for investment decision-making and portfolio allocation strategy under the liquid and illiquid securities conditions. For policymakers, understanding the impact of liquidity risks on stock returns for the industrial products and services sectors may help enhance market liquidity for economic growth. Therefore, our findings contribute to the practical and policy implications.
Chemical septoplasty using papain enzyme—a feasibility study
Authors: Patil Arun Angelo , Simmons Amelia , Nilles-Melchert Thomas , Pandey Deepak Kumar
Published: October 2021

Background

Though surgery can correct nasal septal defects through a procedure called septoplasty, many people seek non-surgical options. Papain enzyme has been used in the past to lyse intervertebral disc and has shown to have a lytic effect on cartilage. Therefore, in this paper, the feasibility to use papain for septoplasty was studied.

First, an in vitro study on chicken cartilage was done. Cartilage pieces were emerged in papain solution (5 mg/ml of papain in normal saline) and plain normal saline solution (as control) for 2 weeks at room and refrigeration temperatures. Then, the papain solution was injected in a formalin-fixed cadaver in the submucosal space around the nasal septal cartilage. The control group was injected with normal saline.

Results

The treated group showed significant lysis with the disintegration of the cartilage, both in the in vitro and cadaver study.

Conclusion

This study shows that papain can lyse cartilage. It also shows that submucosal injection of papain around nasal cartilage will lyse the septal cartilage. Based on prior experience with papain for disc herniation and the present study, it is worthwhile to further investigate this procedure using live animals.
Assessing the impact of nutrient loads on eutrophication in the semi-enclosed Izmir Bay combining observations and coupled hydrodynamic-ecosystem modelling
Authors: YELEKCI OZGE , IBELLO VALERIA , FACH BETTINA A. , KUCUKSEZGIN FILIZ , YUMRUKTEPE CAGLAR , SAYIN ERDEM , SALIHOGLU BARIS , TUGRUL SULEYMAN
Published: October 2021

Intense human activities may strongly affect coastal environments threatening natural, societal and economic resources. In order to propose adequate measures to preserve coastal marine areas, a thorough understanding of their physical and biogeochemical features is required. This study focuses on one such coastal area, Izmir Bay located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Izmir Bay is a highly populated area subject to many human induced stressors such as pollution and eutrophication, that has been suffering high nutrient loads for decades. Despite the construction of the Çiğli waste water treatment plant in 2000-2001 to reduce eutrophication, such pressures continue to occur. To study the current physical and biogeochemical dynamics of Izmir Bay and their spatial and temporal variability, a three-dimensional coupled hydrodynamic-ecosystem model (Delft3D modelling suite’s FLOW and ECO modules) is implemented. Using the model, the effect of excessive inorganic nutrient loading on the marine ecosystem as the main cause of this eutrophication is explored in an effort to advise on mitigation efforts for the Bay focusing on eliminating eutrophication. Results of different model scenarios show that the Inner and Middle Bay are nitrogen-limited while the Outer Bay is phosphorus-limited. Inner regions are more sensitive to variations in inorganic nitrogen input due to the low (<16) N/P ratio of nutrients in seawater. An increase in inorganic nitrogen triggers eutrophication events with primary production as an immediate response. Conversely, the Outer Bay ecosystem with N/P ratios above 16 is more sensitive to phosphate inputs, of which an increase causes a considerable enhancement in algal production. This study shows the vulnerability of Izmir Bay to anthropogenic nutrient input and model simulations indicate that management plans should consider reducing DIN discharges both in the inner-middle zones of Izmir Bay as well as inputs from the Gediz River. Additionally, phosphate inputs should be reduced to avoid an overall increase of algal production in the Outer Bay, the larger part of Izmir Bay.
The use of fishers’ Local Ecological Knowledge to reconstruct fish behavioural traits and fishers’ perception of conservation relevance of elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean Sea
Authors: BARBATO MATTEO , BARRÍA CLAUDIO , BELLODI ANDREA , BONANOMI SARA , BORME DIEGO , ĆETKOVIĆ ILIJA , COLLOCA FRANCESCO , COLMENERO ANA I. , CROCETTA FABIO , De CARLO FRANCESCO , DEMİR EGEMEN , Di LORENZO MANFREDI , FOLLESA MARIA CRISTINA , GARIBALDI FULVIO , GIGLIO GIANNI , GIOVOS IOANNIS , GUERRIERO GIULIA , HENTATI OLFA , KSIBI MOHAMED , KRUSCHEL CLAUDIA , LANTERI LUCA , LEONETTI FRANCESCO LUIGI , LIGAS ALESSANDRO , MADONNA ADRIANO , MATIĆ SKOKO SANJA , MIMICA RENATA , MOUTOPOULOS DIMITRIOS K. , MULAS ANTONELLO , NERLOVIĆ VEDRANA , PEŠIĆ ANA , PORCU CRISTINA , RIGINELLA EMILIO , SPERONE EMILIO , TSOUKNIDAS KONSTANTINOS , TUNÇER SEZGINER , VRDOLJAK DARIO , MAZZOLDI CARLOTTA
Published: October 2021

The Mediterranean Sea has a long-lasting history of fishery exploitation that, together with other anthropogenic impacts, has led to declines in several marine organisms. In particular, elasmobranch populations have been severely impacted, with drastic decreases in abundance and species diversity. Based on their experience, fishers can provide information on marine species occurrence, abundance and behavioural traits on a long-term scale, therefore contributing to research on the poorly studied biological aspects of elusive or rare elasmobranch species. In this study, for the first time, the use of the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of fishers was applied to study the behavioural traits of sharks, rays and skates in 12 FAO-GFCM geographical sub-areas (GSAs) of the Mediterranean Sea. This study found both new insight and proved the reliability of LEK-based catch seasonality, reflecting seasonal movements, by comparing LEK-based findings and available literature on five elasmobranch taxa (Mustelus spp., Squalus acanthias, Raja spp., Myliobatis aquila and Scyliorhinus stellaris) in the Adriatic Sea and 7 taxa (Mustelus spp., Raja spp., Prionace glauca, Scyliorhinus canicula, Torpedo spp., Pteroplatytrygon violacea and Isurus oxyrinchus) in the remaining Mediterranean GSAs. In addition, LEK provided new insights into a novel comprehensive representation of species aggregations (Mustelus spp., S. acanthias, M. aquila and S. canicula) in the sampled GSAs and supplied the first descriptions of the size, number of individuals and sex composition of the aggregations. When the limits and shortcomings of LEK-based research are considered, this methodology can be a complementary and cost-effective tool used to study elasmobranchs in either a data-poor scenario or a scenario in which a baseline is missing. LEK can also be useful for the evaluation and inclusion of fishers’ perceptions on bottom-up management and to provide important evidence for conservation plans.
Ecological patterns of polychaete assemblages associated with the Mediterranean stony coral Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767): a comparison of sites in two biogeographic zones (Adriatic and Aegean Sea)
Authors: PITACCO VALENTINA , CHATZIGEORGIOU GIORGOS , MIKAC BARBARA , LIPEJ LOVRENC
Published: October 2021

The Mediterranean stony coral Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767) is a well-known habitat builder, and as such hosts a diversified faunal assemblage. Although polychaetes are one of the most abundant and diverse macrobenthic groups associated with C. caespitosa colonies, our knowledge of their ecological features in this association is still limited. The aim of this paper was to gather and compare the most comprehensive data available on polychaetes associated with C. caespitosa in the Adriatic and the Aegean Seas, and to test for differences between these geographic areas. To this end, differences were tested in terms of: (i) richness and structure of polychaete assemblages; (ii) feeding and functional traits of assemblages; (iii) the main factors influencing those aspects, (iv) the relationship between polychaete assemblages richness and Cladocora colony size, and estimate richness. Differences were observed between the Adriatic and the Aegean Seas, in terms of richness, species composition and relative proportion of the dominant feeding guild (filter feeders most abundant in the Aegean and carnivores in the Adriatic) and motility mode (sessile most abundant in the Aegean and motile in the Adriatic). Conversely, cosmopolitan and Atlanto-Mediterranean species dominated the assemblages in both geographic areas, and the same Species-Area Relation model proved to be effective for richness estimation in both geographic areas.
Spatiotemporal and ecological distribution of megabenthic crustaceans on the shelf-shelf break of Antalya Gulf, the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Authors: PATANIA ANNALISA , MUTLU ERHAN
Published: October 2021

The spatiotemporal distribution and ecology of the suprabenthic and benthic mega-crustaceans were studied in the shelf-shelf break of Turkish waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Antalya Gulf). Sampling was conducted seasonally in May 2014, August, October, and February 2015 using an otter trawl at depths of 10, 25, 75, 125 and 200 m along three transects. A total of 59 species were identified comprising 53 decapods (Eumalacostraca: Eucarida), 3 isopods (Eumalacostraca: Peracarida), and 3 stomatopods (Hoplocarida). Eighteen of the total identifiable species were invasive, and some of them significantly influenced the crustacean community structure. Parapenaeus longirostris, Pagurus prideaux, Charybdis (Goniohellenus) longicollis and Medorippe lanata were the most common species. Parasquilla ferussaci was reported for the first time in Turkish water of the Levantine Sea. Community structure showed seasonal patterns and differed along the depth gradient of habitat heterogeneity. The megabenthic crustacean assemblage was driven mainly by seafloor depth and was related to the fishing disturbance in the area (fishing/no-fishing zones). Environmental parameters were measured for each sample and tested in relationship to crustacean abundance by multivariate analysis CCA (canonical correspondence analysis). The results revealed significant differences in community structure related to substrate and the fine fraction of the bioseston.
In situ experiments on the effect of low pH on the ultrastructure of the seagrasses Cymodocea nodosa and Posidonia oceanica
Authors: KOUTALIANOU MARIA , BUIA MARIA CRISTINA , KATSAROS CHRISTOS
Published: October 2021

The present study investigates the impacts of low pH on the cell structure of the seagrasses Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile and Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson. The study was applied with in situ experiments at the Castello Aragonese of Ischia (Naples, Italy), where shallow submarine vents, lowering the pH, can be used as natural laboratories. Shoots of the seagrasses were transferred from the control area (pH 8.1) to the two venting areas (pH 7.8 and 6.8) for different times. Epidermal cells of young leaves were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and tubulin immunofluorescence. After one week at pH 7.8, the cell structure of Posidonia oceanica was normal, while in Cymodocea nodosa microtubule (MT) network and cell structure were affected. In addition, in C. nodosa, ultrastructural analysis revealed a gradual degradation of the nuclei, a disorganization of the chloroplasts, and an increase in the number of mitochondria and dictyosomes. The exposure of both plants for 3 weeks at pH 6.8 resulted in the aggregation and finally in the dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes. Tubulin immunofluorescence revealed that after three weeks, the MT cytoskeleton of both plants was severely affected. All these alterations can be considered as indications of an apoptotic like programmed cell death (AL-PCD) which may be executed in order to regulate stress response.
The Blue Survey: Validation of an instrument to measure ocean literacy among adults
Authors: PAREDES-CORAL EVELYN , DEPREZ TIM , MOKOS MELITA , VANREUSEL ANN , ROOSE HENK
Published: October 2021

Human activities have put the ocean under unprecedented pressure. Still, levels of public understanding about the ocean remain low. Ocean literacy is a global movement that aims to improve the understanding of the ocean and provide an incentive for positive change in people’s behavior. To date, there is no validated scale targeted to adults to measure ocean literacy that includes measuring people’s knowledge about the ocean, as well as surveying their attitudes and willingness to act. The Blue Survey is an online instrument meant to measure ocean literacy in adult populations developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts. Using factor analysis, we explore the validity and internal consistency of the Blue Survey in a purposive online sample of 251 adults. We found ocean literacy to consist of six sub-dimensions captured by 34 survey items, viz. knowledge of ocean-related topics, personal interest in ocean-related aspects, ocean stewardship, ocean as an economic resource, ocean-friendly behavior, and willingness to act responsibly for the ocean. Our analysis resulted in the development of a new validated instrument to measure the various dimensions of ocean literacy. It may help researchers and practitioners to better understand the factors contributing to shaping an ocean-literate person. Further research should assess the validity of the Blue Survey across different populations, including those closely related to the sea, such as maritime professionals.
“New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” (December 2021)
Authors: ARTICLE COLLECTIVE
Published: October 2021

“New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” (December 2021)
Ocean Literacy across the Mediterranean Sea basin: Evaluating Middle School Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviour towards Ocean Sciences Issues
Authors: KOULOURI PANAYOTA , MOGIAS ATHANASIOS , MOKOS MELITA , CHEIMONOPOULOU MARIA , REALDON GIULIA , BOUBONARI THEODORA , PREVIATI MONICA , TOJEIRO FORMOSO ALBA , KIDEYS AHMET ERKAN , HASSAAN MOHAMED ALY , PATTI PATRIZIA , KORFIATIS KOSTAS , FABRI SANDRA , JUAN XAVIER
Published: October 2021

The Mediterranean Sea is characterized by rich biodiversity, and its region hosts people living in several countries with a rich variety of cultures, but – at the same time – it is “under siege”, due to anthropogenic pressures. To address these pressures, many actions are needed aiming, among others, at establishing Ocean Literacy (OL) across the Mediterranean countries and preparing the future generation of Mediterranean Sea-literate citizens. Towards this aim, the present cross-national study investigated OL issues in relation to content knowledge, possible common misconceptions, attitudes, and the self-reported behavior of 2,533 middle school students from eight Mediterranean countries (Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain, and Turkey), as well as certain background elements (e.g., gender, grade level, environmental education experience, sources of relevant information). The results of this study revealed that middle school students of all studied countries possess a moderate level of ocean sciences content knowledge, while they showed satisfactory pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. These findings along with further research are expected to function as a baseline for the design, implementation, and launch of specifically targeted programs, educational activities, teaching resources, curricula, and school textbooks, which will be achieved through close collaboration between schools, universities, research institutes, and Ministries of Education, thus contributing to the future protection and sustainable development of the Mediterranean Sea region.
Influence of environmental factors and sessile biota on vagile epibionts: The case of amphipods in marinas across a regional scale
Authors: SAENZ-ARIAS PABLO , NAVARRO-BARRANCO CARLOS , GUERRA-GARCÍA JOSÉ MANUEL
Published: October 2021

Marinas are highly anthropized environments, with singular ecological characteristics. In the present study the spatial variability of the amphipod assemblage associated to floating pontoons was analyzed. Moreover, the influence of the environmental data and the sessile biota on the amphipod assemblage structure were assessed. Six marinas were selected along the Southern Iberian Peninsula, three in the Atlantic and three in the Mediterranean, and three floating pontoons were sampled at each marina. Four-teen amphipod species were identified, most of them corresponded to detritivores and generalist species. Statistical analyses considering amphipod composition and abundance did not show significant differences between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, but there were significant differences among marinas. Copper had a significant correlation with the amphipod assemblage. The sessile species Bugula neritina and Ellisolandia elongata also showed a significant influence on the spatial patterns of the amphipod assemblages. Therefore, environmental conditions and sessile composition seem to affect, simultaneously, the spatial variability of amphipod assemblage associated to floating pontoons in marinas. Both factors are key to understand the singularity of marinas. This fact should be taken into consideration to prevent the use of a single management program in these environments.
A three dimensional, full life cycle, anchovy and sardine model for the North Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean): Validation, sensitivity and climatic scenario simulations
Authors: GKANASOS ATHANASIOS , SCHISMENOU EUDOXIA , TSIARAS KOSTAS , SOMARAKIS STYLIANOS , GIANNOULAKI MARIANNA , SOFIANOS SARANTIS , TRIANTAFYLLOU GEORGE
Published: October 2021

We present the development of a 3D full-lifecycle, individual-based model (IBM) for anchovy and sardine, online coupled to an existing hydrodynamic/biogeochemical low-trophic level (LTL) model for the North Aegean Sea. It was built upon an existing 1D model for the same species and area, with the addition of a horizontal movement scheme. In the model, both species evolve from the embryonic stage (egg+yolk sac larva) to the larval, juvenile, and adult stages. Somatic growth is simulated with the use of a “Wisconsin” type bioenergetics model and fish populations with an adaptation of the ‘super individuals’ (SI) approach. For the reference simulation and model calibration, in terms of fish growth and population biomass, the 2000-2010 period was selected. Interannual biomass variability of anchovy was successfully represented by the model, while the simulated biomass of sardine exhibited low variability and did not satisfactorily reproduce the observed interannual variability from acoustic surveys. The spatial distribution of both species’ biomass was in relatively good agreement with field data. Additional single-species simulations revealed that species compete for food resources. Temperature sensitivity experiments showed that both species reacted negatively to a temperature increase. Anchovy, in particular, was more affected since its spawning and larval growth periods largely overlap with the period of maximum yearly temperature and low prey concentration. Finally, simulation experiments using IPCC climatic scenarios showed that the predicted temperature increase and zooplankton concentration decrease in the future will negatively affect anchovy, resulting in sardine prevalence.
Is the local extinction of Pinna nobilis facilitating Pinna rudis recruitment?
Authors: KERSTING DIEGO KURT , BALLESTEROS ENRIC
Published: October 2021

Until the late 2010s the spiny fan-mussel Pinna rudis shared habitat in many Mediterranean sites with Mediterranean endemic Pinna nobilis, which dominated in abundance but that has gone locally extinct in most of its distribution area due to a recent widespread disease outbreak. In the Columbretes Islands Marine Reserve (NW Mediterranean) both species coexisted until 2017, when P. nobilis populations completely disappeared. In spring 2021 we revisited 7 permanent plots covering 1,485 m2 that had been previously monitored during the period from 2005 to 2009. We found that although previous studies described P. rudis populations as stable with low recruitment rates, recruitment after 2017 increased in comparison to 2005-2009. At least two cohorts of recruits (~3 and ~1 year in age) were to be found both within the plots as well as in other areas throughout the Columbretes archipelago, colonizing areas previously occupied by P. nobilis. We hypothesize that P. rudis has been benefited by the local extinction of the sibling species P. nobilis, most probably as a result of reduced interspecific competition. The ecological role once played mainly by P. nobilis as the dominant species, might now be taken over by P. rudis, whose populations could grow during the oncoming years.
Robust Tactical Crew Scheduling Under Uncertain Demand
Authors: Rählmann Christian , Wagener Felix , Thonemann Ulrich W.
Published: October 2021

We analyze a tactical freight railway crew scheduling problem, when train drivers must be informed several weeks before operations about the start and end times and locations of their duties. Between informing the train drivers and start of operations, trip demand changes due to cancellations, new bookings, and reroutings of trains, which might result in mismatches between train driver capacity at a location and demand. We analyze an approach that incorporates uncertain trip demand as scenarios, such that the start and end times and locations of the duties of a crew schedule are recoverable robust against deviations in trip demand. We develop a column generation solution method that dynamically aggregates trips to duties and decomposes the subproblems into smaller, computationally tractable instances. Our model determines duty frames that cover duties in many scenarios, creating recoverable robust crew schedules. We test our model on three real data sets of a major European freight railway operator. Our results show that our schedules are considerably more recoverable robust than those of the nominal solution, resulting in smaller mismatches between train driver capacity and demand.
Educación STEAM en educación infantil: Un acercamiento a la ingeniería
Authors: Berciano Ainhoa , Jiménez-Gestal Clara , Salgado María
Published: October 2021

En este trabajo planteamos la conveniencia de desarrollar las competencias relacionadas con la Educación STEAM (CTIAM, en castellano) por medio de contextos ricos que favorezcan el aprendizaje. En particular, mostramos cómo el uso de problemas relacionados con la ingeniería, adaptados a las edades de niños y niñas de educación infantil (4 y 5 años), y planteados desde el enfoque de la Educación Matemática Realista, favorece el desarrollo, entre otras cosas, de la competencia matemática, permitiendo trabajar no solo los estándares de contenido sino también los estándares de procesos matemáticos, lo que da lugar a un aprendizaje más significativo.
LOS RÍOS TRANSFRONTERIZOS Y LA FRONTERA BRASIL-BOLIVIA: LOS USOS DEL AGUA Y LA GOBERNANZA HÍDRICA EN EL CENTRO DEL CONTINENTE SUDAMERICANO
Authors: Silva Luis Paulo Batista , Costa Ribeiro Wagner
Published: October 2021

Los ríos y las cuencas hidrográficas transfronterizas son los elementos geográficos utilizados como factor de coherencia de la descripción geográfica de la frontera internacional Brasil – Bolivia. La descripción es un método que tiene una fuerte tradición en la ciencia geográfica con su preocupación de mostrar la asociación de los diversos fenómenos presentes sobre la superficie de la Tierra, en un área, explorando su localización y conexiones con otros fenómenos. Así, la descripción es ordenada según tres claves de interpretación: el rol de los ríos como límites territoriales, los usos de los recursos hídricos compartidos y las organizaciones políticas para la gobernanza del agua. La utilización de este método y de las claves de interpretación nos permite identificar y organizar los procesos territoriales contemporáneos en esta región de América del Sur, así como los principales desafíos para la conservación de los recursos hídricos compartidos por Brasil y Bolivia.
Unified model for spectral and temporal properties of quasi-CW fiber
lasers
Authors: Liu Wei , Ma Pengfei , Zhou Pu
Published: October 2021

This paper discusses a unified theoretical approach to model the
spectral and temporal properties of various quasi-continuous-wave
(quasi-CW) fiber lasers. The unified spectral evolution model and
temporal evolution model of quasi-CW fiber lasers are established by
demonstrating the nonlinear propagation equations with gain
coefficient and analyzing the corresponding definite conditions and
computation methods for effective simulations. Simulation results
based on the two unified models are given to show their capacities and
application scope in describing the basic spectral and temporal
properties of typical quasi-CW fiber lasers involving single gain
mechanism with a simple structure. Furthermore, the two unified models
could also be extended to analyze the spectral and temporal properties
of quasi-CW fiber lasers involving a hybrid gain mechanism or with a
composite structure. Overall, the unified spectral evolution model and
temporal evolution model could provide a useful tool to describe and
design quasi-CW fiber lasers and quasi-CW fiber amplifiers.
Controlling of the harmonic generation induced by the Berry curvature
Authors: Lou Zhiyuan , Zheng Yinghui , Liu Candong , Zeng Zhinan , Li Ruxin , Xu Zhizhan
Published: October 2021

High-order harmonic generation in solid state has attracted a lot of attentions. The Berry curvature (BC), a geometrical property of the Bloch energy band, plays an important role for the harmonic generation in crystal. As we all know, the influence of BC on the harmonic emission has been investigated before and BC is simplified as a 1D structure. However, many other materials including MoS2 are 2D materials. In this work, we extend the investigation for BC to 2D structure and get a generalized equation, which not only gives a new method to control the harmonic emission with BC, but also gives a deeper understanding for the influence of the BC. We show the ability to control the harmonic emission related to the BC using the orthogonal two-color (OTC) laser field. By tuning the delay of OTC laser field, one can steer the trajectory of electrons and modulate the emission of harmonics. This study can provide us a deeper insight into the role of the BC which is difficult to be measured experimentally.
Secure transmission of W-band millimeter-wave based on CNN and dynamic resource allocation
Authors: Xiao Yaoqiang , Chen Yating , Wang Zhiyi
Published: October 2021

A secure transmission scheme of a W-band millimeter-wave radio-over-fiber (RoF) system based on cellular neural network (CNN) and dynamic resource allocation is proposed, in which 7-D CNN chaotic system is composed to heighten the anti-deciphering ability of a secure system, and the spectrum resources are optimized by dynamic allocation. The analyses show that the key space of our scheme can reach approximately

10

112

. The encrypted W-band millimeter-wave signal is successfully transmitted in the filter-OFDM RoF system of 50-km SSMF and 5 m wireless channel, and the experimental results illustrate that our proposed scheme can enhance the bit error ratio performance by approximately 0.3 dB compared with the traditional one.
Efficient ∼4  µm emission from Pr3+/Yb3+ co-doped fluoroindate glass
Authors: He Huiyu , Jia Zhixu , Ohishi Yasutake , Qin Weiping , Qin Guanshi
Published: October 2021

P
r

3
+

/

Y
b

3
+

co-doped fluoroindate (

I
n
F

3

) glasses were prepared by using a traditional melt-quenching method in dry

N

2

atmosphere. Pumped by a 976 or 1570 nm laser diode, efficient emissions at

∼

4

µ

m

were obtained from the

P
r

3
+

/

Y
b

3
+

co-doped glasses, which could be ascribed to the transition

3

F

4

→

3

H

6

of

P
r

3
+

ions. The relative stimulated emission cross section was calculated to be

∼

1.44

×

10

−
24

m

2

at 4 µm, which was

∼

4.2

times larger than that of transition

H
o

3
+

:

5

I

5

→

5

I

6

(

3.4

×

10

−
25

m

2

). In addition, combined with transitions

1

G

4

→

3

F

3

and

1

G

4

→

3

F

4

of

P
r

3
+

ions, ultra-broadband emission ranging from 2.7 to 4.2 µm was also obtained. Our results indicate that

P
r

3
+

/

Y
b

3
+

:

I
n
F

3

glasses could be used to develop efficient

∼

4

µ

m

lasers and widely tunable mid-infrared lasers.
Structural modulation designed a thermally robust blue-cyan emitting phosphor Y2Mg0.8Sr0.2 Al4SiO12:Eu2+ for the high color rendering index white LEDs
Authors: Yang Huifang , Li Panlai , Ye Zejun , Huo Xiaoxue , Wu Qian , Wang Yu , Wang Zhijun
Published: October 2021

In this work, the novel, to the best of our knowledge, blue-cyan

Y

2

M
g

0.8

S
r

0.2

A
l

4

S
i
O

12

:

E
u

2
+

(

Y
M

0.8

S

0.2

A
S

:

E
u

2
+

) phosphors were synthesized by the solid-state method. At 150°C, the emission intensity of

Y

2

M
g

0.8

S
r

0.2

A
l

4

S
i
O

12

:

0.005

E
u

2
+

can retain 96.38% of the relative intensity, which means that this phosphor shows high thermal stability. A white light-emitting diode (LED) device is fabricated by combining a 370 nm near ultraviolet LED chip and commercial phosphors (green,

(

B
a

,

S
r

)
2

S
i
O

4

:

E
u

; red,

C
a
S
i
A
l
N

3

:

E
u

). The white LED has an excellent property with the correlated color temperature

C
C
T

=

5236

K

and superhigh color rendering index

R
a

=

96.1

, which indicates the potential application in white LED fields.
High tolerance detour-phase graphene-oxide flat lens
Authors: Wei Shibiao , Cao Guiyuan , Lin Han , Mu Haoran , Liu Wenbo , Yuan Xiaocong , Somekh Michael , Jia Baohua
Published: October 2021

Flat lenses thinner than a wavelength promise to replace conventional refractive lenses in miniaturized optical systems. However, Fresnel zone plate flat lens designs require dense annuli, which significantly challenges nanofabrication resolution. Herein, we propose a new implementation of detour phase graphene flat lens with flexible annular number and width. Several graphene metalenses demonstrated that with a flexible selection of the line density and width, the metalenses can achieve the same focal length without significant distortions. This will significantly weaken the requirement of the nanofabrication system which is important for the development of large-scale flat lenses in industry applications.
Deep learning allows genome-scale prediction of Michaelis constants from structural features
Authors: Kroll Alexander , Engqvist Martin K. M. , Heckmann David , Lercher Martin J.
Published: October 2021

The Michaelis constantKMdescribes the affinity of an enzyme for a specific substrate and is a central parameter in studies of enzyme kinetics and cellular physiology. As measurements ofKMare often difficult and time-consuming, experimental estimates exist for only a minority of enzyme–substrate combinations even in model organisms. Here, we build and train an organism-independent model that successfully predictsKMvalues for natural enzyme–substrate combinations using machine and deep learning methods. Predictions are based on a task-specific molecular fingerprint of the substrate, generated using a graph neural network, and on a deep numerical representation of the enzyme’s amino acid sequence. We provide genome-scaleKMpredictions for 47 model organisms, which can be used to approximately relate metabolite concentrations to cellular physiology and to aid in the parameterization of kinetic models of cellular metabolism.
Comprehensive discovery of CRISPR-targeted terminally redundant sequences in the human gut metagenome: Viruses, plasmids, and more
Authors: Sugimoto Ryota , Nishimura Luca , Nguyen Phuong Thanh , Ito Jumpei , Parrish Nicholas F. , Mori Hiroshi , Kurokawa Ken , Nakaoka Hirofumi , Inoue Ituro
Published: October 2021

Viruses are the most numerous biological entity, existing in all environments and infecting all cellular organisms. Compared with cellular life, the evolution and origin of viruses are poorly understood; viruses are enormously diverse, and most lack sequence similarity to cellular genes. To uncover viral sequences without relying on either reference viral sequences from databases or marker genes that characterize specific viral taxa, we developed an analysis pipeline for virus inference based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). CRISPR is a prokaryotic nucleic acid restriction system that stores the memory of previous exposure. Our protocol can infer CRISPR-targeted sequences, including viruses, plasmids, and previously uncharacterized elements, and predict their hosts using unassembled short-read metagenomic sequencing data. By analyzing human gut metagenomic data, we extracted 11,391 terminally redundant CRISPR-targeted sequences, which are likely complete circular genomes. The sequences included 2,154 tailed-phage genomes, together with 257 complete crAssphage genomes, 11 genomes larger than 200 kilobases, 766 genomes of Microviridae species, 56 genomes of Inoviridae species, and 95 previously uncharacterized circular small genomes that have no reliably predicted protein-coding gene. We predicted the host(s) of approximately 70% of the discovered genomes at the taxonomic level of phylum by linking protospacers to taxonomically assigned CRISPR direct repeats. These results demonstrate that our protocol is efficient for de novo inference of CRISPR-targeted sequences and their host prediction.
Atorvastatin-mediated rescue of cancer-related cognitive changes in combined anticancer therapies
Authors: Lee Junho , Kim Jin Su , Kim Yangjin
Published: October 2021

Acute administration of trastuzumab (TZB) may induce various forms of cognitive impairment. These cancer-related cognitive changes (CRCC) are regulated by an adverse biological process involving cancer stem cells (CSCs) and IL-6. Recent studies have reported that atorvastatin (ATV) may change the dynamic of cognitive impairment in a combination (TZB+ATV) therapy. In this study, we investigate the mutual interactions between cancer stem cells and the tumor cells that facilitate cognitive impairment during long term TZB therapy by developing a mathematical model that involves IL-6 and the key apoptotic regulation. These include the densities of tumor cells and CSCs, and the concentrations of intracellular signaling molecules (NFκB, Bcl-2, BAX). We apply the mathematical model to a single or combination (ATV+TZB) therapy used in the experiments to demonstrate that the CSCs can enhance CRCC by secreting IL-6 and ATV may interfere the whole regulation. We show that the model can both reproduce the major experimental observation on onset and prevention of CRCC, and suggest several important predictions to guide future experiments with the goal of the development of new anti-tumor and anti-CRCC strategies. Moreover, using this model, we investigate the fundamental mechanism of onset of cognitive impairment in TZB-treated patients and the impact of alternating therapies on the anti-tumor efficacy and intracellular response to different treatment schedules.
Bioacoustics for in situ validation of species distribution modelling: An example with bats in Brazil
Authors: Hintze Frederico , Machado Ricardo B. , Bernard Enrico
Published: October 2021

Species distribution modelling (SDM) gained importance on biodiversity distribution and conservation studies worldwide, including prioritizing areas for public policies and international treaties. Useful for large-scale approaches and species distribution estimates, it is a plus considering that a minor fraction of the planet is adequately sampled. However, minimizing errors is challenging, but essential, considering the uses and consequences of such models. In situ validation of the SDM outputs should be a key-step—in some cases, urgent. Bioacoustics can be used to validate and refine those outputs, especially if the focal species’ vocalizations are conspicuous and species-specific. This is the case of echolocating bats. Here, we used extensive acoustic monitoring (>120 validation points over an area of >758,000 km2, and producing >300,000 sound files) to validate MaxEnt outputs for six neotropical bat species in a poorly-sampled region of Brazil. Based on in situ validation, we evaluated four threshold-dependent theoretical evaluation metrics’ ability in predicting models’ performance. We also assessed the performance of three widely used thresholds to convert continuous SDMs into presence/absence maps. We demonstrated that MaxEnt produces very different outputs, requiring a careful choice on thresholds and modeling parameters. Although all theoretical evaluation metrics studied were positively correlated with accuracy, we empirically demonstrated that metrics based on specificity-sensitivity and sensitivity-precision are better for testing models, considering that most SDMs are based on unbalanced data. Without independent field validation, we found that using an arbitrary threshold for modelling can be a precarious approach with many possible outcomes, even after getting good evaluation scores. Bioacoustics proved to be important for validating SDMs for the six bat species analyzed, allowing a better refinement of SDMs in large and under-sampled regions, with relatively low sampling effort. Regardless of the species assessing method used, our research highlighted the vital necessity of in situ validation for SDMs.
Real-time lane detection model based on non bottleneck skip residual connections and attention pyramids
Authors: Chen Lichao , Xu Xiuzhi , Pan Lihu , Cao Jianfang , Li Xiaoming
Published: October 2021

The security of car driving is of interest due to the growing number of motor vehicles and frequent occurrence of road traffic accidents, and the combination of advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) and vehicle-road cooperation can prevent more than 90% of traffic accidents. Lane detection, as a vital part of ADAS, has poor real-time performance and accuracy in multiple scenarios, such as road damage, light changes, and traffic jams. Moreover, the sparse pixels of lane lines on the road pose a tremendous challenge to the task of lane line detection. In this study, we propose a model that fuses non bottleneck skip residual connections and an improved attention pyramid (IAP) to effectively obtain contextual information about real-time scenes and improve the robustness and real-time performance of current lane detection models. The proposed model modifies the efficient residual factorized pyramid scene parsing network (ERF-PSPNet) and utilizes skip residual connections in non bottleneck-1D modules. A decoder with an IAP provides high-level feature maps with pixel-level attention. We add an auxiliary segmenter and a lane predictor side-by-side after the encoder, the former for lane prediction and the latter to assist with semantic segmentation for classification purposes, as well as to solve the gradient disappearance problem. On the CULane dataset, theF1metric reaches 92.20% in the normal scenario, and theF1metric of the model is higher than theF1metrics of other existing models, such as ERFNet-HESA, ENet_LGAD, and DSB+LDCDI, in normal, crowded, night, dazzling light and no line scenarios; in addition, the meanF1of the nine scenarios reached 74.10%, the runtime (time taken to test 100 images) of the model was 5.88 ms, and the number of parameters was 2.31M, which means that the model achieves a good trade-off between real-time performance and accuracy compared to the current best results (i.e., a running time of 13.4 ms and 0.98M parameters).
Outcomes of a 12-week ecologically valid observational study of first treatment with methylphenidate in a representative clinical sample of drug naïve children with ADHD
Authors: Kaalund-Brok Kristine , Houmann Tine Bodil , Hebsgaard Marie Bang , Lauritsen Maj-Britt Glenn , Lundstrøm Louise Hyldborg , Grønning Helene , Darling Lise , Reinert-Petersen Susanna , Petersen Morten Aagaard , Jepsen Jens Richardt Møllegaard , Pagsberg Anne Katrine , Plessen Kerstin Jessica , Rasmussen Henrik Berg , Jeppesen Pia ,   INDICES
Published: October 2021

Randomized placebo-controlled trials have reported efficacy of methylphenidate (MPH) for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, selection biases due to strict entry criteria may limit the generalizability of the findings. Few ecologically valid studies have investigated effectiveness of MPH in representative clinical populations of children. This independently funded study aims to describe treatment responses and their predictors during the first 12 weeks of MPH treatment using repeated measurements of symptoms and adverse reactions (ARs) to treatment in 207 children recently diagnosed with ADHD. The children were consecutively included from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, The Capital Region of Denmark. The children (mean age, 9.6 years [range 7–12], 75.4% males) were titrated with MPH, based on weekly assessments of symptoms (18-item ADHD-rating scale scores, ADHD-RS-C) and ARs. At study-end 187 (90.8%) children reached a mean end-dose of 1.0 mg/kg/day. A normalisation/borderline normalisation on ADHD-RS-C was achieved for 168 (81.2%) children on the Inattention and/or the Hyperactivity-Impulsivity subscale in week 12, and 31 (15.0%) children were nonresponders, which was defined as absence of normalisation/borderline normalisation (n= 19) or discontinuation due to ARs (n= 12), and eight (3.8%) children dropped out from follow-up. Nonresponders were characterised by more severe symptoms of Hyperactivity-Impulsivity and global impairment before the treatment. ARs were few; the most prominent were appetite reduction and weight loss. A decrease in AR-like symptoms during the treatment period questions the validity of currently available standard instruments designed to measure ARs of MPH. This ecologically valid observational study supports prior randomized placebo-controlled trials; 81.2% of the children responded favourably in multiple domains with few harmful effects to carefully titrated MPH.

Clinical trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov with registration numberNCT04366609.
Adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and associated factors in Oromia regional state of Ethiopia
Authors: Abeya Sileshi Garoma , Barkesa Sagni Bobo , Sadi Chala Gari , Gemeda Dereje Duguma , Muleta Fekadu Yadeta , Tolera Asebe Feyera , Ayana Dashe Negewo , Mohammed Seada Ahmed , Wako Endale Bacha , Hurisa Mengistu Bekele , Bayisa Dereje Abdena , Sarbesa Mirgisa Kaba , Yesuf Eliyas Yosuf , Tufa Asebe Amenu
Published: October 2021

Background

Adherence to preventive measures of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was among the means to tackle the transmission of the virus. However, reluctance to implement the recommended preventive measures has been reported to be a major problem everywhere including Oromia Regional State.

Purpose

This research was aimed to assess the level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and associated factors in the study area.

Participants and methods

Community based cross-sectional study was conducted. Sample of 2751 adults aged ≥ 18 years were used for the quantitative study. Also, 20 FGDs and 30 KIIs were conducted in the qualitative approach. The collected data were entered into Epi info version 7.2.0.1 and analyzed using STATA 15. The qualitative data were entered into NVivo version 12 for its organization. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between the study variables. Odds Ratio with its 95%CI was calculated and P- Value < 0.05 was used as a cut off points to declare the significance.

Results

The level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measure was 8.3. Age [AOR, 4.00; 95% CI: 1.50, 10.45], Illiterate AOR, 0.38; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.93], read and write [AOR, 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.72], attended primary [AOR, 0.30; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.70], occupation (AOR; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.96] and knowledge [AOR, 0.20; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.11] were factors associated with level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Political context, unemployment, livelihoods, and social events were mentioned as reasons for the poor adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures.

Conclusions

The overall level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures in the study area was low. Age, level of education, occupation, and knowledge were factors associated with level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Activities to increase the adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures should be implemented by the concerned bodies.