bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multicentre analysis of hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar state and diabetic ketoacidosis in type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Authors: Tittel S. R. , Sondern K. M. , Weyer M. , Poeplau T. , Sauer B. M. , Schebek M. , Ludwig K.-H. , Hammer F. , Fröhlich-Reiterer E. , Holl R. W. ,   for the DPV Initiative
Published: June 2020

Aims

To compare diabetes patients with hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar state (HHS), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and patients without decompensation (ND).

Methods

In total, 500,973 patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes of all ages registered in the diabetes patient follow-up (DPV) were included. Analysis was stratified by age (≤ / > 20 years) and by manifestation/follow-up. Patients were categorized into three groups: HHS or DKA—during follow-up according to the most recent episode—or ND.

Results

At onset of diabetes, HHS criteria were met by 345 (68.4% T1D) and DKA by 9824 (97.6% T1D) patients. DKA patients had a lower BMI(-SDS) in both diabetes types compared to ND. HbA1c was higher in HHS/DKA. During follow-up, HHS occurred in 1451 (42.2% T1D) and DKA in 8389 patients (76.7% T1D). In paediatric T1D, HHS/DKA was associated with younger age, depression, and dyslipidemia. Pump usage was less frequent in DKA patients. In adult T1D/T2D subjects, metabolic control was worse in patients with HHS/DKA. HHS and DKA were also associated with excessive alcohol intake, dementia, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and depression.

Conclusions

HHS/DKA occurred mostly in T1D and younger patients. However, both also occurred in T2D, which is of great importance in the treatment of diabetes. Better education programmes are necessary to prevent decompensation and comorbidities.
Export market risk and the role of state credit guarantees
Authors: Heiland Inga , Yalcin Erdal
Published: June 2020

Many countries offer state credit guarantees to support credit-constrained exporters. The policy instrument is commonly justified by governments as a means to mitigating adverse outcomes of financial market frictions for exporting firms. Accumulated returns to the German state credit guarantee scheme deriving from risk-compensating premia have outweighed accumulated losses over the past 60 years. Why do private financial agents not step in and provide insurance given that the state-run program yields positive returns? We argue that costs of risk diversification, liquidity management, and coordination among creditors limit the ability of private financial agents to offer comparable insurance products. Moreover, we suggest that the government’s greater effectiveness in recovering claims in foreign countries endows the state with a cost advantage in dealing with the risks involved in large export projects. We test these hypotheses using monthly firm-level data combined with official transaction-level data on covered exports of German firms and find suggestive evidence that positive effects on trade are due to mitigated financial constraints: State credit guarantees benefit firms that are dependent on external finance, if the value at risk which they seek to cover is large, and at times when refinancing conditions on the private financial market are tight.
How to support dental students in reading radiographs: effects of a gaze-based compare-and-contrast intervention
Authors: Eder Thérése F. , Richter Juliane , Scheiter Katharina , Keutel Constanze , Castner Nora , Kasneci Enkelejda , Huettig Fabian
Published: June 2020

In dental medicine, interpreting radiographs (i.e., orthopantomograms, OPTs) is an error-prone process, even in experts. Effective intervention methods are therefore needed to support students in improving their image reading skills for OPTs. To this end, we developed a compare-and-contrast intervention, which aimed at supporting students in achieving full coverage when visually inspecting OPTs and, consequently, obtaining a better diagnostic performance. The comparison entailed a static eye movement visualization (heat map) on an OPT showing full gaze coverage from a peer-model (other student) and another heat map showing a student’s own gaze behavior. The intervention group (N = 38) compared five such heat map combinations, whereas the control group (N = 23) diagnosed five OPTs. Prior to the experimental variation (pre-test) and after it (post-test), students in both conditions searched for anomalies in OPTs while their gaze was recorded. Results showed that students in the intervention group covered more areas of the OPTs and looked less often and for a shorter amount of time at anomalies after the intervention. Furthermore, they fixated on low-prevalence anomalies earlier and high-prevalence anomalies later during the inspection. However, the students in the intervention group did not show any meaningful improvement in detection rate and made more false positive errors compared to the control group. Thus, the intervention guided visual attention but did not improve diagnostic performance substantially. Exploratory analyses indicated that further interventions should teach knowledge about anomalies rather than focusing on full coverage of radiographs.
Diagnostic value of echocardiographic markers for diastolic dysfunction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Authors: Dal Canto Elisa , Remmelzwaal Sharon , van Ballegooijen Adriana Johanne , Handoko M. Louis , Heymans Stephane , van Empel Vanessa , Paulus Walter J. , Nijpels Giel , Elders Petra , Beulens Joline WJ
Published: June 2020

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of echocardiographic markers of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in comparison with the gold standard of cardiac catheterization. Diagnosing HFpEF is challenging, as symptoms are non-specific and often absent at rest. A clear need exists for sensitive echocardiographic markers to diagnose HFpEF. We systematically searched for studies testing the diagnostic value of novel echocardiographic markers for HFpEF and LVDD. Two investigators independently reviewed the studies and assessed the risk of bias. Results were meta-analysed when four or more studies reported a similar diagnostic measure. Of 353 studies, 20 fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The risk of bias was high especially in the patients’ selection domain. The highest diagnostic performance was demonstrated by a multivariable model combining echocardiographic, clinical and arterial function markers with an area under the curve of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.89–0.98). A meta-analysis of four studies indicated a reasonable diagnostic performance for left atrial strain with an AUC of 0.83 (0.70–0.95), a specificity of 93% (95% CI, 90–97%) and a sensitivity of 77% (95% CI, 59–96%). Moreover, the addition of exercise E/e′ improved the sensitivity of HFpEF diagnostic algorithms up to 90%, compared with 60 and 34% of guidelines alone. Despite the heterogeneity of the included studies, this review supported the current multivariable-based approach for the diagnosis of HFpEF and LVDD and showed a potential diagnostic role for exercise echocardiography and left atrial strain. Larger well-designed studies are needed to evaluate the incremental value of novel diagnostic tools to current diagnostic algorithms.
Chronic Manganese Administration with Longer Intervals Between Injections Produced Neurotoxicity and Hepatotoxicity in Rats
Authors: Fan Xi-Min , Luo Ying , Cao Yu-Ming , Xiong Ting-Wang , Song Sheng , Liu Jie , Fan Qi-Yuan
Published: June 2020

Subacute exposure to manganese (Mn) produced Parkinson’s disease-like syndrome called Manganism. Chronic onset and progression are characteristics of Manganism, therefore, this study aimed to examine Mn toxicity following chronic exposures. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected Mn2+ 1 and 5 mg/kg, every 10 days for 150 days (15 injections). Animal body weight and behavioral activities were recorded. At the end of experiments, the brain and liver were collected for morphological and molecular analysis. Chronic Mn exposure did not affect animal body weight gain, but the high dose of Mn treatment caused 20% mortality after 140 days of administration. Motor activity deficits were observed in a dose-dependent manner at 148 days of Mn administration. Immunofluorescence double staining of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) revealed the activation of microglia and loss of dopaminergic neurons. The chronic neuroinflammation mediators TNFα, inflammasome Nlrp3, Fc fragment of IgG receptor IIb, and formyl peptide receptor-1 were increased, implicating chronic Mn-induced neuroinflammation. Chronic Mn exposure also produced liver injury, as evidenced by hepatocyte degeneration with pink, condensed nuclei, indicative of apoptotic lesions. The inflammatory cytokines TNFα, IL-1β, and IL-6 were increased, alone with stress-related genes heme oxygenase-1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 and metallothionein. Hepatic transporters, such as multidrug resistant proteins (Abcc1, Abcc2, and Abcc3) and solute carrier family proteins (Slc30a1, Slc39a8 and Slc39a14) were increased in attempt to eliminate Mn from the liver. In summary, chronic Mn exposure produced neuroinflammation and dopaminergic neuron loss in the brain, but also produced inflammation to the liver, with upregulation of hepatic transporters.

Graphic Abstract
The explanation of logical theorems and reductive truthmakers
Authors: Kappes Yannic
Published: June 2020

This paper first identifies several plausible desiderata on satisfactory explanations of logical theorems, shows that ordinary grounding explanations cannot satisfy them and argues that there is reason to believe that no alternative grounding explanations of logical theorems can be given. It then develops an alternative explanation of logical theorems based on Yablo’s (Aboutness, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2014) idea of reductive truthmaking. The resulting proposal invokes instances of reductive truthmaking that bear an interesting structural similarity to the notion of zero-ground, in virtue of which it is able to satisfy the identified desiderata.
Host-specific and tissue-dependent orchestration of microbiome community structure in traditional rice paddy ecosystems
Authors: Huang Weijuan , Gilbert Sarah , Poulev Alexander , Acosta Kenneth , Lebeis Sarah , Long Chunlin , Lam Eric
Published: June 2020

Background and aim

Rice and duckweed are two monocotyledonous plants that naturally coexist in paddy fields. While the presence of duckweed in paddy fields significantly improves rice productivity, the interplay between soil microbes and the two plant hosts in this agroecosystem remains unexplored.

Methods

We compared the bacterial community structure between duckweed, rice and soil from multiple rice paddies. We also isolated bacteria from these communities and characterized their modes of bacterial colonization and plant growth-promotion using model plants.

Results

Our data indicate that host-specific and tissue-dependent factors reproducibly orchestrate the bacterial community structure associated with their plant hosts. This is corroborated by results from culture-dependent approaches in which the dominant genus Pantoea isolated from rice aerial tissues can strongly attach and colonize gnotobiotic duckweed in spite of the low representation of this bacterial genus in the natural duckweed microbiome. Our study identified a core of 254 bacterial taxa that are consistently found in all rice and duckweed tissue samples from rice paddy fields. Furthermore, characterizing auxin-producing bacteria isolates from both plant species identified potential plant growth-promoting bacteria that may improve growth for both duckweed and rice in paddy fields.

Conclusions

Results from this work provide evidence for the importance of the host tissue and species context in determining plant colonization by microbes in the paddy field system. The resources generated in this study could facilitate the agronomic deployment of microbes for more sustainable rice production.
Neutron scattering in photosynthesis research: recent advances and perspectives for testing crop plants
Authors: Nagy Gergely , Garab Győző
Published: June 2020

The photosynthetic performance of crop plants under a variety of environmental factors and stress conditions, at the fundamental level, depends largely on the organization and structural flexibility of thylakoid membranes. These highly organized membranes accommodate virtually all protein complexes and additional compounds carrying out the light reactions of photosynthesis. Most regulatory mechanisms fine-tuning the photosynthetic functions affect the organization of thylakoid membranes at different levels of the structural complexity. In order to monitor these reorganizations, non-invasive techniques are of special value. On the mesoscopic scale, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been shown to deliver statistically and spatially averaged information on the periodic organization of the thylakoid membranes in vivo and/or, in isolated thylakoids, under physiologically relevant conditions, without fixation or staining. More importantly, SANS investigations have revealed rapid reversible reorganizations on the timescale of several seconds and minutes. In this paper, we give a short introduction into the basics of SANS technique, advantages and limitations, and briefly overview recent advances and potential applications of this technique in the physiology and biotechnology of crop plants. We also discuss future perspectives of neutron crystallography and different neutron scattering techniques, which are anticipated to become more accessible and of more use in photosynthesis research at new facilities with higher fluxes and innovative instrumentation.
A longitudinal literature review of life cycle costing applied to urban agriculture
Authors: Peña Alexandra , Rovira-Val M. Rosa
Published: June 2020

Purpose

The aim of this research is to carry out a literature review of the use of life cycle costing (LCC) in the urban agriculture (UA) sector by analysing its evolution over a 22-year period from its beginning in 1996 to July 2018.

Methods

A total of 442 references were obtained from two principal databases, Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). After a long refining process, 20 (4.5%) references containing the keywords LCC and UA were selected for analysis. Then, we classified and organized the selected references in 4 groups. Qualitative methods were used for analysis, and results on general characteristics of the 20 references and by each group were elaborated. Lastly, we discussed and concluded the most significant findings. Limitations and future research were also included.

Results and discussion

Our major findings were as follows: (i) urban horticulture was the most studied urban agriculture practice among studies that used LCC for UA; (ii) LCC plays a secondary role in its integration with LCA; (iii) only 4 of the10 papers in group 1 used additional financial tools; (iv) very few (3) papers appropriately applied the four main LCC stages; and on the other side, essential costs like infrastructure, labour, maintenance, and end-of-life were frequently not included.

Conclusions

Since we found that life cycle assessment (LCA) was the predominant methodology, we suggest that future research apply both LCA and LCC analyses at the same level. The LCC analysis was quite incomplete in terms of the costs included in each LCC stage. We recommend that the costs at the initial or construction stage be considered a necessity in future studies in order to implement these new systems on a large scale. Due to the limited use of labour cost at the operation stage, we also suggest that labour be included as an essential part of the urban production process. Finally, for more complete LCC analysis for UA, we recommend (i) that all LCC stages be considered and (ii) that additional financial tools, such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PBP), be used to complement the LCC analysis.
Copper Levels in Patients with Unexplained Dysplastic Cytopenia
Authors: Butcher Dominic , Deplano Simona , Lofaro Thomas
Published: June 2020

Copper deficiency can produce changes mimicking myelodysplasia, but its prevalence among haematology patients is unknown. This study evaluates the prevalence of deficiency in a population of patients with unexplained cytopenia(s) and dysplasia. Of 17 patients recruited, only one was found to have a low copper level. This is the first study evaluating hypocupremia in patients with isolated haematological manifestations. Our results suggest that copper deficiency is uncommon in this population, and the routine measurement of copper seems unlikely to be cost-effective. We recommend a risk-assessed approach to testing based on the identification of risk factors and of signs suggestive of deficiency.
Human posture recognition based on multiple features and rule learning
Authors: Ding Weili , Hu Bo , Liu Han , Wang Xinming , Huang Xiangsheng
Published: June 2020

The use of skeleton data for human posture recognition is a key research topic in the human-computer interaction field. To improve the accuracy of human posture recognition, a new algorithm based on multiple features and rule learning is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a 219-dimensional vector that includes angle features and distance features is defined. Specifically, the angle and distance features are defined in terms of the local relationship between joints and the global spatial location of joints. Then, during human posture classification, the rule learning method is used together with the Bagging and random subspace methods to create different samples and features for improved classification performance of sub-classifiers for different samples. Finally, the performance of our proposed algorithm is evaluated on four human posture datasets. The experimental results show that our algorithm can recognize many kinds of human postures effectively, and the results obtained by the rule-based learning method are of higher interpretability than those by traditional machine learning methods and CNNs.
Erfassung der fachspezifischen Qualität von Mathematikunterricht: Faktorenstruktur und Zusammenhänge zur professionellen Kompetenz von Mathematiklehrpersonen
Authors: Jentsch Armin , Schlesinger Lena , Heinrichs Hannah , Kaiser Gabriele , König Johannes , Blömeke Sigrid
Published: June 2020

Die deutschsprachige Unterrichtsforschung unterscheidet bereits seit längerem drei Basisdimensionen der Unterrichtsqualität: Effiziente Klassenführung, konstruktive Unterstützung und Potential zur kognitiven Aktivierung. Da die drei Basisdimensionen als fächerübergreifende Konzeptualisierung der Unterrichtsqualität gelten, stellt sich aus fachdidaktischer Sicht die Frage, inwieweit dieses Modell die Charakteristika von Mathematikunterricht hinreichend abbilden kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde ein Beobachtungsinstrument zur Erfassung der Unterrichtsqualität im Mathematikunterricht der unteren Sekundarstufe entwickelt, das sowohl generische als auch fachspezifische Merkmale erfassen soll. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Faktorenstruktur dieses Beobachtungsinstruments sowie Zusammenhänge zu fachspezifischen Kompetenzfacetten der beobachteten Mathematiklehrpersonen zur Validitätsprüfung. Qualität von Mathematikunterricht wurde durch hoch-inferente Ratingskalen operationalisiert und von geschulten Beobachtenden in 156 Unterrichtsstunden eingeschätzt. Die deskriptiven Kennwerte weisen auf eine akzeptable Messqualität der Ratingskalen hin. Eine explorative Faktorenanalyse zeigt, dass dem Beobachtungsinstrument eine vierdimensionale Struktur zugrunde liegt, die als die drei Basisdimensionen sowie eine vierte Dimension, fachdidaktische Strukturierung, gedeutet wird. Für drei der vier Qualitätsdimensionen finden sich mindestens schwach positive Korrelationen mit den fachspezifischen Kompetenzfacetten der Lehrpersonen, allerdings nicht für die Klassenführung. Die Ergebnisse werden in Bezug auf die Fachspezifität des Beobachtungsinstruments und die Konzeptualisierung von Unterrichtsqualität diskutiert.
Reflective Intuitions about the Causal Theory of Perception across Sensory Modalities
Authors: Roberts Pendaran , Allen Keith , Schmidtke Kelly
Published: June 2020

Many philosophers believe that there is a causal condition on perception, and that this condition is a conceptual truth about perception. A highly influential argument for this claim is based on intuitive responses to Gricean-style thought experiments. Do the folk share the intuitions of philosophers? Roberts et al. (2016) presented participants with two kinds of cases: Blocker cases (similar to Grice’s case involving a mirror and a pillar) and Non-Blocker cases (similar to Grice’s case involving a clock and brain stimulation). They found that a substantial minority agreed that seeing occurs in the Non-Blocker cases, and that in the Blocker cases significantly less agreed that seeing occurs. They thus hypothesized that folk intuitions better align with a no blocker condition than with a causal condition. This paper continues this line of enquiry with two new experiments. The paper investigates the generality and robustness of Roberts et al.’s findings by expanding the sense modalities tested from only vision to audition and olfaction as well. The paper also uses Gricean-style thought experiments as a case study for investigating the “reflection defense” against the negative project in experimental philosophy. Our results replicate and extend Roberts et al.’s study and support their hypothesis that folk intuitions better align with a no blocker condition. They also provide an empirical reason to doubt the reflection defense.
Exploration of low-cost agro-industrial waste substrate for cellulase and xylanase production using Aspergillus heteromorphus
Authors: Bajar Somvir , Singh Anita , Bishnoi Narsi R.
Published: June 2020

The current study was executed to explore the nutritive potential of low-cost agro-industrial waste substrates including anaerobically treated distillery spent wash (ADSW) and rice straw (RS) for enzyme production (cellulase and xylanase). The statistical model, Box–Behnken Design (BBD), was utilized to optimize the enzyme production throughAspergillus heteromorphusunder liquid state bioconversion on examining the interactive interaction between substrate (ADSW), co-substrate (RS), temperature and initial pH. The BBD results revealed that the optimum levels of different factors for enzymes production were 6% ADSW, 3% RS, pH 5 and temperature 32.5 °C. The highest exoglucanase, xylanase and endoglucanase enzyme activities under optimum conditions were 6.3 IU/mL, 11.6 IU/mL and 8.1 IU/mL, respectively. The results confined that the agro-industrial waste substrate could be a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to produce value-added products like enzymes.
Activity patterns in the reintroduced Pyrenean brown bear population
Authors: Parres Aida , Palazón Santiago , Afonso Ivan , Quenette Pierre-Yves , Batet Antoni , Camarra Jean-Jacques , Garreta Xavier , Gonçalves Salvador , Guillén Jordi , Mir Sergio , Jato Ramón , Rodríguez Joan , Sentilles Jerome , Xicola Laura , Melero Yolanda
Published: June 2020

Mammals usually adjust behavioral patterns when exposed to disturbances. Elusiveness and low-risk time selection may reduce their stress in periods of highest risk. In Europe, brown bears (Ursus arctos) coexist with humans in densely populated and modified landscapes and, consequently, are exposed to human-caused disturbances during the daytime hours. Furthermore, intraspecific interactions might also influence their behavioral responses, especially during the mating season. Activity patterns of several large carnivores have been thoroughly studied; however, research is scarce for relocated populations. Here, we report the activity patterns in the reintroduced brown bear population in the Pyrenees. We expected the bears to reduce their activity depending on the type and level of disturbances. We analyzed individual behavior of both sexes (males, solitary females, and females with offspring) and age groups (adults and subadults) using camera-trap surveys under different types of intraspecific and anthropogenic disturbances. In general, bears were more active during the night (2200–0600 h) and avoided peaks of human activity (1000–1800 h). Furthermore, with the increasing nocturnal disturbance of adult males during the mating season, females with offspring and subadults were more active during daylight. This suggests that vulnerable individuals showed high tolerance for human presence. These results contribute to improve our knowledge of how a threatened and relocated bear population behaves in a human-modified landscape of southern Europe. Further research on this population will be crucial to establish optimal management interventions during translocations, and the prevention of human-bear encounters and conflicts.
Triangular interval type-2 fuzzy soft set and its application
Authors: Lathamaheswari M. , Nagarajan D. , Kavikumar J. , Broumi Said
Published: June 2020

Decision-making is an essential task in Science and Engineering. Since most of the real-world problems have uncertainty in nature, making the decision is challengeable one for the decision makers. Soft set has the advantage of free from the deficiency of the parameterization tools of existing theories, namely probability, fuzzy theory and the theory of rough sets. Linguistic terms mean different things to different people, so variability in expert's acceptance degree is possible. Here usage of type-1 fuzzy leads to noisy and uncertain, and the parameters also may be noisy and hence type-2 fuzzy sets may be used to address the mentioned issues. Therefore, a triangular interval type-2 fuzzy soft set has been considered in the present work by combining triangular interval type-2 fuzzy set and soft set. In this paper, a triangular interval type-2 fuzzy soft weighted arithmetic operator (TIT2FSWA) has been proposed with its desired mathematical properties; also applied the proposed methodology in a decision-making problem for profit analysis. Further comparative analysis has been made with the existing methods to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Six Actionable Canons for Rationality in Strategy Practice
Authors: van Straten Roeland
Published: June 2020

For strategists working in and for firms, acquiring knowledge about the business world is dependent on a rational process of collecting, organizing, and interpreting information. As such, these individuals are best conceived not as knowers, but as self-directing learners who are motivated to acquire, create, and apply new knowledge. To facilitate these processes, in this paper an axiomatic foundation for strategic thinking is established regarding the nature of the object of strategic thinking, the nature of strategic thinking, and the nature of knowledge. Next, four boundary references set by these axioms are used to establish a new conceptual frame of reference for strategic rationality. Interconnections between the boundary references are subsequently used to infer six canons for strategic rationality. It is concluded that strategic rationality may be found where all references overlap. Finally, to contribute towards greater rationality in strategic management practice, an actionable definition of strategic rationality is formulated that includes all references and canons.
Semi-supervised Adversarial Domain Adaptation for Seagrass Detection Using Multispectral Images in Coastal Areas
Authors: Islam Kazi Aminul , Hill Victoria , Schaeffer Blake , Zimmerman Richard , Li Jiang
Published: June 2020

Seagrass form the basis for critically important marine ecosystems. Previously, we implemented a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) model to detect seagrass in multispectral satellite images of three coastal habitats in northern Florida.
However, a deep CNN model trained at one location usually does not generalize to other locations due to data distribution shifts. In this paper, we developed a semi-supervised domain adaptation method to generalize a trained deep CNN model to other locations for seagrass detection. First, we utilized a generative adversarial network loss to align marginal data distribution between source domain and target domain using unlabeled data from both data domains. Second, we used a few labelled samples from the target domain to align class specific data distributions between the two domains, based on the contrastive semantic alignment loss. We achieved the best results in 28 out of 36 scenarios as compared to other state-of-the-art domain adaptation methods.
Single‐Cell RNA Sequencing for Precision Oncology: Current State-of-Art
Authors: Seow Justine Jia Wen , Wong Regina Men Men , Pai Rhea , Sharma Ankur
Published: June 2020

Tumors exhibit genetic and phenotypic diversity leading to intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH). Further complex ecosystem (stromal and immune cells) of tumors contributes into the ITH. This ITH allows tumors to overcome various selection pressures such as anti-cancer therapies and metastasis at distant organs. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) has provided unprecedented insights into ITH and its implications in drug resistance and metastasis. As scRNA-seq technology grows and provides many new findings, new tools on different programming platforms are frequently generated. Here, we aim to provide a framework and guidelines for new entrants into the field of scRNA-seq. In this review, we discuss the current state-of-art of scRNA-seq analysis step-by-step including filtering, normalization and analysis. First, we discuss the brief history of experimental methods, followed by data processing and implications in precision oncology.
3D DIC-assisted residual stress measurement in 316 LVM steel processed by HE and HPT
Authors: Brynk Tomasz , Krawczyńska Agnieszka Teresa , Setman Daria , Pakieła Zbigniew
Published: June 2020

A method has been developed for determining residual stress based on displacement fields near drilled holes analyzed using 3D digital image correlation. Finite element modeling was used to determine corrections for analytical equations describing displacement fields near the blind holes, which made it possible to determine the residual stress distribution over a wide range of hole depth-to-hole diameter ratios and various areas of displacement field measurements using inverse method iterative calculations. The proposed method eliminates many drawbacks of traditional procedure based on strain gauges as hole eccentricity sensitivity and requirement of the relatively large span between holes. The method and testing setup, build-up of generally available components, were used to determine the residual stress distribution for 316 LVM samples processed by two methods from the large deformation group: hydrostatic extrusion (HE) and high-pressure torsion (HPT), by drilling 1.75 and 0.58-mm-diameter blind holes, respectively. In the case of the measurements performed on the surface of a HE-processed 16 mm bar cut along its diameter, a gradual change was revealed—from a compressive to a tensile residual stress distribution (from ~ − 300 MPa in the center to 400 MPa in 4 mm distance from the edge) in the longitudinal direction, with near-zero values in the radial direction. Moreover, the method was also adapted to perform measurements on the outside surface of the bar, which gave results consistent with those taken along the radius profile (~ 600 MPa longitudinal stress). Measurements on the top surface of a cylinder 10 mm in diameter and 1 mm high processed by HPT showed a high compressive residual stress in the center and a dominant shear component for the holes drilled at different distances from the center.
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Jimma Teacher Training College Students Toward Risky Sexual Behaviors, Jimma, Ethiopia
Authors: Tesfaye Yonas , Agenagnew Liyew
Published: June 2020

Background

College students represent the huge section of teenagers in Ethiopia, and a growing number of them practice unsafe sex and hence face unwanted sexual health outcomes. Despite this, little has been explored about the college students’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and the practice of Jimma teacher training college students toward RSBs, Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia, in 2018.

Methods

An institution-based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected through a pretested, structured, and self-administered questionnaire. A total of 395 respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique. The collected data were checked manually for completeness and consistency, entered into Epi-data, version 3.1, data entry software, and exported to SPSS, version 20, statistical software for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the outcome and explanatory variables.

Results

Among the total 360 respondents, 140 (38.9%) had poor knowledge of RSBs. The majority 78 (36.6%) of the respondents described radio as their main source of information about RSBs. More than three-quarters, 163 (76.6%) respondents define practicing oral and/or anal sex as RSBs and 194 (91%) reported sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS as the main consequence of RSBs. This study also revealed 156 (43.4%) participants had an unfavorable attitude toward RSBs. 60 (16.7%) participants disagree with the idea that condoms prevent HIV/AIDS and nearly all respondents (340 [94.5%]) agreed homosexuality brings sexual risks. Among those who had sexual experience, 83 (32.4%) had 2 or more sexual partners, more than two-third (176 [68.8%]) had sexual practice after drinking alcohol, and 90 (35.1%) participants reported they did not use a condom when they had sex.

Conclusion

A significant percentage of the students have poor knowledge, attitude, and practice toward RSBs.
Safety and effectiveness of laparoscopic peritoneal lavage in Hinchey III diverticulitis
Authors: Guimarães Miguel António Loureiro , Barbosa Laura Elisabete Ribeiro
Published: June 2020

Introduction The management of Hinchey III diverticulitis has been subject to investigation over the years. Hartmann's procedure is widely referred as the standard treatment. However, this option is associated with relevant morbidity and mortality which motivated the arise of alternative interventions such as the laparoscopic peritoneal lavage.

Aim The aim of this review is to synthesize the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of laparoscopic peritoneal lavage in the management of diverticulitis with generalized purulent peritonitis in comparison to resection procedures.

Materials and methods The bibliographic research was conducted using the electronic database Medline from Pubmed. Of the 358 articles identified, our criterious selection resulted in a total of 27 articles for review.

Results Overall, laparoscopic lavage revealed low mortality rates with no remarkable differences between procedures. The non-randomized studies tended to show lower recurrence and morbidity rates comparatively to the latest RCTs, in the lavage groups, however, no significant differences have been found.

Discussion and conclusion In this review, laparoscopic peritoneal lavage proved to be safe and comparatively effective, although not superior to resection, reaching mixed results. We believe it can be applied as a damage control operation to treat or as a bridge to elective resection. Still, more studies are needed to determine indications and factors for the success of laparoscopic lavage.
Improvised Field Expedient Method for Renal Replacement Therapy in a Porcine Model of Acute Kidney Injury
Authors: Hoareau Guillaume L. , Beyer Carl A. , Kashtan Harris W. , Walker Lauren E. , Wilson Christopher , Wishy Andrew , Grayson J. Kevin , Stewart Ian J.
Published: June 2020

Objective:

Dialysis patients may not have access to conventional renal replacement therapy (RRT) following disasters. We hypothesized that improvised renal replacement therapy (ImpRRT) would be comparable to continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in a porcine acute kidney injury model.

Methods:

Following bilateral nephrectomies and 2 hours of caudal aortic occlusion, 12 pigs were randomized to 4 hours of ImpRRT or CRRT. In the ImpRRT group, blood was circulated through a dialysis filter using a rapid infuser to collect the ultrafiltrate. Improvised replacement fluid, made with stock solutions, was infused pre-pump. In the CRRT group, commercial replacement fluid was used. During RRT, animals received isotonic crystalloids and norepinephrine.

Results:

There were no differences in serum creatinine, calcium, magnesium, or phosphorus concentrations. While there was a difference between groups in serum potassium concentration over time (P < 0.001), significance was lost in pairwise comparison at specific time points. Replacement fluids or ultrafiltrate flows did not differ between groups. There were no differences in lactate concentration, isotonic crystalloid requirement, or norepinephrine doses. No difference was found in electrolyte concentrations between the commercial and improvised replacement solutions.

Conclusion:

The ImpRRT system achieved similar performance to CRRT and may represent a potential option for temporary RRT following disasters.
Figurative meaning in multimodal work by an autistic artist: a cognitive semantic approach
Authors: HARTMAN JENNY , PARADIS CARITA
Published: June 2020

Research on figurative meaning in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) would benefit from considering a greater variety of data types and using more diverse methods. Previous studies have predominantly applied experimental methods to investigate processing of figurative language (mostly metaphor) and have for the most part concluded that individuals with ASD have deficits in figurative language comprehension. In this study, we focus on the creation and communication of figurative meaning in discursively situated and thematically organized verbal, gestural, and pictorial data published by an autistic artist in the form of videos and comics. Across three prominent experiential themes in the data, we isolate types of conceptualizations and generalize over mappings between target and source experiences. We find that the data are rich in figurative meaning expression (e.g., metaphor and metonymy) conveyed through language, co-speech gestures, and pictures in ways that are clearly embodied (experientially based) and that reflect affordances and constraints of these modes of communication. While our case study of meaning production does not contradict previous research on figurative meaning comprehension in populations, it does indicate benefits of taking a broader and multimodal approach to figurative meaning in research on ASD.
Host range and species diversity of Tephritidae of three plant formations in Western Burkina Faso
Authors: Zida Issaka , Nacro Souleymane , Dabiré Rémy , Moquet Laura , Delatte Hélène , Somda Irénée
Published: June 2020

In Western Burkina Faso, the host range of fruit flies was evaluated in three plant formations between May 2017 and April 2019. Samples of 61 potential hosts were collected and incubated for fruit fly emergence. Twenty-seven hosts including cultivated and wild fruit were identified. Among cultivated fruit species, mango, and guava were the most infested while high infestation incidences were observed in the fruit of the indigenous plants Vitellaria paradoxa, Annona senegalensis, Sarcocephalus latifolius, and Saba senegalensis. Low infestation rates were observed in Anacardium occidentale, Citrus species, Opilia celtidifolia, and Cissus populnea. The highest infestation index (1648.57 flies kg−1) was observed from V. paradoxa. Eleven new host fruit infested with many fruit fly species are reported in Burkina Faso. A total of 18 fruit fly species were reared; Bactrocera dorsalis (42.94%), Ceratitis cosyra (29.93%), and Ceratitis silvestrii (22.33%) dominated those that emerged. Four fruit fly species have been detected for the first time in Burkina Faso. The main suitable fruit hosts are abundant and available from May through August during the rainy season and become rare and have low infestation from November to April during the dry season. This is the first study of its kind in the region. This study shows that the three plant formations had an impact on population dynamics of the three tephritid species of economic importance in Western Burkina Faso. This information should be integrated into the development of a fruit fly pests management strategy.
Location of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae on different plant parts of determinate and indeterminate soybean
Authors: Reisig Dominic D. , Cook Don , Greene Jeremy , Caprio Michael , Gore Jeff , Musser Fred , Reay-Jones Francis
Published: June 2020

Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) is a damaging pest of many crops including soybean, Glycine max (L.), especially in the southern United States. Previous studies have concluded that oviposition and development of H. zea larvae mirror the phenology of soybean, with oviposition occurring during full bloom, younger larvae developing on blooms and leaves, intermediate aged larvae developing on varying tissue types, and older larvae developing on flowers and pods. In a field trial, we investigated the presence of natural infestations of H. zea larvae by instar in determinate and indeterminate soybean varieties. In complementary experiments, we artificially infested H. zea and allowed them to oviposit on plants within replicated cages (one with a determinate variety and two with an indeterminate variety). Plants were sampled weekly during the time larvae were present. In the natural infestation experiment, most larvae were found on blooms during R3 and were early to middle instars; by R4, most larvae were found on leaves and were middle to late instars. In contrast, in the cage study, most larvae were found on leaves regardless of soybean growth stage or larval stage. Determinate and indeterminate growth habit did not impact larval preference for different soybean tissue types. Our studies suggest H. zea larvae prefer specific tissue types, but also provide evidence that experimental design can influence the results. Finally, our finding of larval preference for leaves contrasts with findings from previous studies.
Time out of tense: Russian aspect in the imperative
Authors: DICKEY STEPHEN M.
Published: June 2020

This article analyzes Russian aspectual usage in the imperative by combining Šatunovskij’s (2009) approach with Dickey’s (2018) cognitive linguistic theory of Russian aspect. It argues that the contrasting use of perfective and imperfective imperatives in mands for the completion of a single action can be explained in terms of the pragmatic mechanisms proposed by Šatunovskij (2009): perfective imperatives signal a request on the part of the speaker for the listener to make the decision to carry out the action, whereas imperfective imperatives make no such signal, because the decision has already been made. The latter occurs when the speaker knows or infers that the listener has already made the decision (or will do so if given the chance), or when the speaker has suspended the listener’s decision-making role and has gone ahead and made the decision. Various contextual uses of affirmative and negated imperatives and analyzes them in terms of the request or lack thereof for the listener to make the decision to carry out the action. The functions of the perfective and imperfective aspects in imperatives are argued to be instantiations of temporal definiteness and temporal indefiniteness (respectively). Inasmuch as this is true, Russian aspect codes alternative construals of time in non-finite usage as well as finite usage.
Hybrid Adaptive Robust Control Based on CPG and ZMP for a Lower Limb Exoskeleton
Authors: Mokhtari Majid , Taghizadeh Mostafa , Mazare Mahmood
Published: June 2020

In this paper, hybrid control of central pattern generators (CPGs), along with an adaptive supper-twisting sliding mode (ASTSM) control based on supper-twisting state observer, is proposed to guard against disturbances and uncertainties. Rhythmic and coordinated signals are generated using CPGs. In addition, to overcome the chattering of conventional sliding mode, supper-twisting sliding mode has been applied. The ASTSM method triggers sliding variables, and its derivatives tend to zero continuously in the presence of the uncertainties. Moreover, to acquire maximum stability, the desired trajectory of the upper limb based on zero moment point criterion is designed.
On the impact of architecture design decisions on the quality of blockchain-based applications
Authors: Marmsoler Diego , Eichhorn Leo
Published: June 2020

In software architectures, architectural design decisions (ADDs) strongly influence the quality of the resulting software system. Wrong decisions lead to low-quality systems and are difficult to repair later on in the development process. As of today, little is known about the impact of certain ADDs for the development of architectures for blockchain-based systems. Thus, it is difficult to predict the outcome of certain ADDs when developing architectures for such systems. In the following, we propose a simulation-based approach for blockchain architectures in which the impact of certain ADDs on certain quality attributes can be simulated. To this end, we first implemented a simulation environment for blockchain architectures. The simulation environment was then used to execute a series of experiments from which we derived a set of hypotheses about the impact of certain ADDs on quality attributes for blockchain architectures. Finally, we tested the hypotheses using statistical analyses and derived an empirical model for blockchain architectures based on the outcome of the analysis. The model can be used by architects to predict the effect of certain decisions in the design of blockchain architectures before implementing them.
Death and Disbelief
Authors: BURTON ROBERT A.
Published: June 2020

A middle-aged woman had a massive stroke and would be dead within hours. The husband was in the ER waiting room. I took him aside and explained the grim prognosis. He paused, his expression blank, his lips searching for something to say. Finally, he blurted out, “I think I’ll go home and take a shower.”
Thinking About Difficulties: Using Poetry to Enhance Interpretative and Collaborative Skills in Healthcare Ethics Education
Authors: HADDAD AMY
Published: June 2020

Viewing difficulty as an opportunity for learning runs counter to the common view of difficulty as a source of frustration and confusion. The aim of this article is to focus on the idea of difficulty as a stepping-off point for learning. The literature on difficulty in reading texts, and its impact on thinking and the interpretive process, serve as a foundation for the use of poetry in healthcare ethics education. Because of its complexity and strangeness compared to the usual scientific and clinical texts health science students encounter, poetry is an excellent means to achieve the aim of thinking through difficulties in ethics. Specific examples of teaching and learning strategies for turning difficulty into opportunities for learning are presented, including the difficulty paper and the triple mark-up method. Both methods require students to examine their process of working through difficulties, reflect on how they make sense of difficult texts and then share their process and interpretations in a collaborative manner with peers. The importance of framing difficulties as a public, visible, collaborative process rather than a personal process is emphasized. Working together to hypothesize reasons for difficulty and map out plans to come to terms with difficulty are equally relevant for reading text as they are for reading complex ethical situations. Finally, I argue that transference of this kind of personal and collaborative learning about difficulties benefits interprofessional clinical practice, particularly when dealing with ethical issues.