bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A dental revolution: The association between occlusion and chewing behaviour
Authors: Silvester Christopher Martin , Kullmer Ottmar , Hillson Simon
Published: December 2021

Dentistry is confronted with the functional and aesthetic consequences that result from an increased prevalence of misaligned and discrepant dental occlusal relations in modern industrialised societies. Previous studies have indicated that a reduction in jaw size in response to softer and more heavily processed foods during and following the Industrial Revolution (1,700 CE to present) was an important factor in increased levels of poor dental occlusion. The functional demands placed on the masticatory system play a crucial role in jaw ontogenetic development; however, the way in which chewing behaviours changed in response to the consumption of softer foods during this period remains poorly understood. Here we show that eating more heavily processed food has radically transformed occlusal power stroke kinematics. Results of virtual 3D analysis of the dental macrowear patterns of molars in 104 individuals dating to the Industrial Revolution (1,700–1,900 CE), and 130 of their medieval and early post-medieval antecedents (1,100–1,700 CE) revealed changes in masticatory behaviour that occurred during the early stages of the transition towards eating more heavily processed foods. The industrial-era groups examined chewed with a reduced transverse component of jaw movement. These results show a diminished sequence of occlusal contacts indicating that a dental revolution has taken place in modern times, involving a dramatic shift in the way in which teeth occlude and wear during mastication. Molar macrowear suggests a close connection between progressive changes in chewing since the industrialization of food production and an increase in the prevalence of poor dental occlusion in modern societies.
Outcomes of early oseltamivir treatment for hospitalized adult patients with community-acquired influenza pneumonia
Authors: Kositpantawong Narongdet , Surasombatpattana Smonrapat , Siripaitoon Pisud , Kanchanasuwan Siripen , Hortiwakul Thanaporn , Charernmak Boonsri , Nwabor Ozioma Forstinus , Chusri Sarunyou
Published: December 2021

Early initiation of oseltamivir within 48 h to 5 days from illness onset has been associated with improved survival among patients with community-acquired influenza pneumonia. Delay of hospitalization limits early treatment and the survival of patients. To date, the effects of early oseltamivir initiation within 24 hours from admission on patient mortality has remained unknown. This retrospective study reviewed and analyzed the clinical and non-clinical outcomes of 143 patients, with community-acquired influenza pneumonia, who received oseltamivir within 24 h (group A) and after 24 h (group B) from admission. Among the patients, 82 (57.3%) received oseltamivir within 24 h while 61 (42.7%) received oseltamivir after 24 h. The median time from symptom onset to admission for group A and group B was not statistically significant (P < 0.001). The 14-day mortality rate was 9% and 23% for group A and B, respectively (P = 0.03), while the 30-day mortality were 15% and 30% for group A and B, respectively (P = 0.05). Administration of oseltamivir within 24 h significantly affected 30-day mortality rates (adjust OR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.47–0.04, P < 0.01), particularly among patients with respiratory failure at admission (adjust OR: 0.08, 95% CI: 0+.30–0.06, P < 0.01). Survival analysis of patient with influenza pneumonia and respiratory failure at admission demonstrated significant difference between those who received oseltamivir within and after 24 h (P = 0.002). The results indicated that early oseltamivir initiation within 24 h improved the survival outcome mainly among those with respiratory failure at admission.
The RGD-binding integrins αvβ6 and αvβ8 are receptors for mouse adenovirus-1 and -3 infection
Authors: Bieri Manuela , Hendrickx Rodinde , Bauer Michael , Yu Bin , Jetzer Tania , Dreier Birgit , Mittl Peer R. E. , Sobek Jens , Plückthun Andreas , Greber Urs F. , Hemmi Silvio
Published: December 2021

Mammalian adenoviruses (AdVs) comprise more than ~350 types including over 100 human (HAdVs) and just three mouse AdVs (MAdVs). While most HAdVs initiate infection by high affinity/avidity binding of their fiber knob (FK) protein to either coxsackievirus AdV receptor (CAR), CD46 or desmoglein (DSG)-2, MAdV-1 (M1) infection requires arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) binding integrins. To identify the receptors mediating MAdV infection we generated five novel reporter viruses for MAdV-1/-2/-3 (M1, M2, M3) transducing permissive murine (m) CMT-93 cells, but not B16 mouse melanoma cells expressing mCAR, human (h) CD46 or hDSG-2. Recombinant M1 or M3 FKs cross-blocked M1 and M3 but not M2 infections. Profiling of murine and human cells expressing RGD-binding integrins suggested that αvβ6 and αvβ8 heterodimers are associated with M1 and M3 infections. Ectopic expression of mβ6 in B16 cells strongly enhanced M1 and M3 binding, infection, and progeny production comparable with mαvβ6-positive CMT-93 cells, whereas mβ8 expressing cells were more permissive to M1 than M3. Anti-integrin antibodies potently blocked M1 and M3 binding and infection of CMT-93 cells and hαvβ8-positive M000216 cells. Soluble integrin αvβ6, and synthetic peptides containing the RGDLXXL sequence derived from FK-M1, FK-M3 and foot and mouth disease virus coat protein strongly interfered with M1/M3 infections, in agreement with high affinity interactions of FK-M1/FK-M3 with αvβ6/αvβ8, determined by surface plasmon resonance measurements. Molecular docking simulations of ternary complexes revealed a bent conformation of RGDLXXL-containing FK-M3 peptides on the subunit interface of αvβ6/β8, where the distal leucine residue dips into a hydrophobic pocket of β6/8, the arginine residue ionically engages αv aspartate215, and the aspartate residue coordinates a divalent cation in αvβ6/β8. Together, the RGDLXXL-bearing FKs are part of an essential mechanism for M1/M3 infection engaging murine and human αvβ6/8 integrins. These integrins are highly conserved in other mammals, and may favour cross-species virus transmission.
Infection-induced chromatin modifications facilitate translocation of herpes simplex virus capsids to the inner nuclear membrane
Authors: Aho Vesa , Salminen Sami , Mattola Salla , Gupta Alka , Flomm Felix , Sodeik Beate , Bosse Jens B. , Vihinen-Ranta Maija
Published: December 2021

Herpes simplex virus capsids are assembled and packaged in the nucleus and move by diffusion through the nucleoplasm to the nuclear envelope for egress. Analyzing their motion provides conclusions not only on capsid transport but also on the properties of the nuclear environment during infection. We utilized live-cell imaging and single-particle tracking to characterize capsid motion relative to the host chromatin. The data indicate that as the chromatin was marginalized toward the nuclear envelope it presented a restrictive barrier to the capsids. However, later in infection this barrier became more permissive and the probability of capsids to enter the chromatin increased. Thus, although chromatin marginalization initially restricted capsid transport to the nuclear envelope, a structural reorganization of the chromatin counteracted that to promote capsid transport later. Analyses of capsid motion revealed that it was subdiffusive, and that the diffusion coefficients were lower in the chromatin than in regions lacking chromatin. In addition, the diffusion coefficient in both regions increased during infection. Throughout the infection, the capsids were never enriched at the nuclear envelope, which suggests that instead of nuclear export the transport through the chromatin is the rate-limiting step for the nuclear egress of capsids. This provides motivation for further studies by validating the importance of intranuclear transport to the life cycle of HSV-1.
Transparência Digital na Informação Pública
Authors: Madkur Federico Natalio , Paletta Francisco Carlos
Published: December 2021

Diversos meios digitais públicos, portais de transparência, dados abertos e repositórios, tem contribuído para o acesso à informação por parte dos cidadãos. Estas mudanças também apresentam  uma profunda influência nas normas, princípios e valores que norteiam a vida social dos cidadãos. Mas esse grande volume de dados não implica em transparência, existem diferentes barreiras organizacionais, técnicas, políticas, sociais e éticas que limitam o acesso à informação. O objetivo do trabalho foi debater as principais  barreiras éticas à transparência e ao livre acesso da informação das atividades públicas. Por tanto, procede-se à uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, do tipo descritiva, que partiu dos estudos do acesso à informação pública, da ética e dos Dados Abertos Governamentais, para estabelecer um elo entre os conceitos. Para coleta e análise dos dados, utilizou-se de pesquisa bibliográfica . O levantamento de dados nesse campo foi por meio do portal Capes, com um recorte temporal dos últimos 10 anos.  De esse modo,  observa-se que as barreiras éticas identificadas na pesquisa, são a de compartilhamento de informações de conjuntos de dados combinados, que causam violações de privacidade; viés de dados e decisões discriminatórias pela utilização de algoritmos baseados em dados; problemas de privacidade pelas descobertas de hábitos humanos por meio da vigilância em massa; vazamento de dados; dificuldades nas adaptações de visualizações para diferentes públicos; propriedade incerta de dados; desinformação; e dados difundidos de certa forma mais “higienizados”. O que permite concluir que a pesquisa teve como contribuição, a sistematização do processo de acesso à informação e as diferentes possíveis barreiras identificadas, que interferem no aspecto ético para a transparência da informação pública. Sugere-se para futuras pesquisas, estudos empíricos sobre as barreiras éticas intercultural em órgãos federais ou estaduais, na transparência e no acesso à informação, por meio dos diferentes canais ofertados pelos governos, portais repositórios governamentais ou dados abertos.
The Unidentified Skeletal Collection of Capuchos Cemetery (Santarém) housed at the University of Coimbra
Authors: José Andreia , Tomé Laura , Coelho Catarina , Cunha Eugénia , Umbelino Cláudia , Ferreira Maria Teresa
Published: December 2021

The aim of this article is to present to the scientific and academic community the Unidentified Skeletal Collection of the Capuchos Cemetery. The skeletons, of contemporary individuals, were collected from the same cemetery as those of the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection, but their identification is unknown. The collection is composed of 73 individuals, of which 68 are adults of both sexes (34 females, 33 males, and one individual of unknown sex) and five are non-adults. The skeletons are reasonably preserved although several are incomplete as result of taphonomic changes during inhumations, but also due to the experimental research made so far. Most of the adult individuals present nonmetric characters, being the scapular notch the most frequent. Regarding the osteopathology, it was observed that the majority of adult individuals have pathological changes, with degenerative pathology being the most frequent. In addition, some individual exhibit medical devices and/or signs of chirurgical procedures.

The Unidentified Skeletal Collection of the Capuchos Cemetery is an osteological collection that, although not containing individual biographical data, has contributed to teaching and research in Biological and Forensic Anthropology in subjects such as osteology, morphology, biological profile, paleopathology, cremains, and the development of new methods.
Usos y formas de anglicismos en el discurso publicitario contemporáneo
Authors: Chang Nicholas
Published: December 2021

Aunque los anglicismos entraron en el discurso publicitario en las lenguas románicas hace bastante tiempo, ellos siguen penetrando este discurso en el sector de Viajes y Turismo debido a la internacionalización de las marcas y de sus comunicaciones, el valor de la creatividad y el estilo original en el género publicitario y, más aún, el énfasis de la publicidad digital puesto en el mercado de los millennials. Para investigar los usos y formas modernas de anglicismos, estudiamos ejemplos de sus aplicaciones discursivas en la publicidad del sector de Transporte de Pasajeros Ferroviario en España y Francia.
Design and Analysis of a Wide Stopband Microstrip Dual-band Bandpass Filter
Authors: Yahya Salah I. , Rezaei Abbas , Khaleel Yazen A.
Published: December 2021

A novel configuration of a dual-band bandpass filter (BPF) working as a harmonic attenuator is introduced and fabricated. The proposed filter operates at 3 GHz, for UHF and SHF applications, and 6.3 GHz, for wireless applications. The presented layout has a symmetric structure, which consists of coupled resonators. The designing of the proposed resonator is performed by introducing a new LC equivalent model of coupled lines. To verify the LC model of the coupled lines, the lumped elements are calculated. The introduced filter has a wide stopband up to 85 GHz with 28th harmonic suppression, for the first channel, and 13th harmonic suppression, for the second channel. The harmonics are attenuated using a novel structure. Also, the proposed BPF has a compact size of 0.056 λg2. Having several transmission zeros (TZs) that improve the performance of the presented BPF is another feature. The proposed dual-band BPF is fabricated and measured to verify the design method, where the measurement results confirm the simulations.
CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION TO ACCOMODATE GENERATION GAP IN DISRUPTIVE ERA
Authors: Wahyuningtyas Bhernadetta Pravita , Yunus Ulani , Willyarto Mario Nugroho
Published: December 2021

This research described about how Cross-Cultural Communication contributes its influence on accommodating the generation gap to improve a social structure in Indonesia, especially on Disruptive Era. In accommodating the generation gap, the cross-cultural communication focus on the patterns of convergence and divergence of communication behaviors, particularly as they relate to the goals of the people for social approval, communication efficiency, and identity. This research was done in Bina Nusantara (BINUS) University, and used a descriptive qualitative method with constructivism paradigm, and coding to analyze the data. The results showed that accommodation in cross-cultural communication can improved the ability on problem-solving skills, collective decisions and can resolved the problem that arise from generation gap to make it become harmonious interactions. The lack of the role in providing information from generation to another generation usually based on the assumption that the other generation already knew the condition, situation and also the meaning behind it as well without any discussion and deeper communication further. Due to the changes in social structure, BINUS creating a cross cultural communication model to accommodate the generation gap in social structure: openness, and engagement, through (for example) creative furniture arrangemement in some classes. The result also shown that engagement between the students and the lecturer will be more powerful in creating values to have a better social condition. The people who willing to build the communication instead of assumed will be more successful in all aspects of cross-cultural communication.
Análisis de la producción y redes de colaboración en los programas de doctorado en psicología en Colombia
Authors: López López Wilson , Ossa Julio César , Cudina Jean Nikola , Aguilar Bustamante María Constanza , Torres Michelle , Acevedo Triana Cesar , Salas Gonzalo
Published: December 2021

El objetivo de la formación doctoral es la generación y difusión de nuevo conocimiento, sin embargo, no es claro cómo los programas de doctorado en Colombia se relacionan con este tipo de producción académica. A partir de ello, en el presente estudio se presenta el panorama general de la producción académica a través de las instituciones de educación superior colombianas que ofertan programas de formación doctoral en psicología. La producción académica se obtuvo de la base de datos Scopus en una muestra de 13 universidades. Tras una búsqueda inicial, se encontraron 1345 documentos, con los cuales se realizó un análisis de los indicadores de productividad y de las redes de colaboración al interior de la disciplina en el país. Posteriormente, esta información se contrastó con la información nacional registrada en el sistema de Currículum Vitae Latinoamericano y del Caribe (CvLAC) de 193 profesores asociados a las universidades que ofertan los programas de doctorado. Al comparar la producción académica nacional e internacional, se encontró una mayor correlación entre la dirección de tesis de posgrado y la publicación en revistas nacionales. Por lo tanto, se puede afirmar que el impacto de la formación doctoral en la generación de nuevo conocimiento es relativo y tiene un alcance limitado, siendo principalmente las revistas nacionales el medio de difusión de este conocimiento. Se recomienda evaluar el impacto de los productos asociados a la formación posgradual y la visibilidad internacional, con énfasis en las revistas indexadas en bases de datos internacionales.
Análisis psicométrico del Cuestionario de Regulación Conductual de las Emociones en universitarios peruanos
Authors: Dominguez Lara Sergio Alexis , Navarro Loli Jhonatan S. , Ariza Cruz Candy , Medrano Leonardo A. , Manrique Millones Denisse
Published: December 2021

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo traducir e identificar las propiedades psicométricas del Behavioral Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (BERQ) en 315 universitarios de Lima, Perú, entre los 16 y 44 años (Medad = 21.31; DE edad = 3.39; 59.7 % hombres). Para la evaluación se aplicó el BERQ y el Inventario Multicultural de Depresión Estado Rasgo (IMUDER), y las evidencias de validez de la estructura interna se obtuvieron por medio de un análisis factorial confirmatorio y un modelamiento exploratorio de ecuaciones estructurales, mientras que las evidencias de validez en relación con otras variables se obtuvieron a través de un análisis de regresión lineal. Los resultados indican que la estructura pentafactorial se replica en la muestra peruana, que las estrategias adaptativas predicen significativamente el eutrés, y que las estrategias desadaptativas predicen el distrés; además, los valores de confiabilidad fueron aceptables. Al final se discuten aspectos teóricos y prácticos de los hallazgos y la importancia de continuar brindando evidencia para su utilización en diferentes poblaciones y contextos, teniendo en cuenta que esta la primera vez que se analiza una versión en español del BERQ.
Glycemic control is associated with lower odds of mortality and successful extubation in severe COVID-19
Authors: Pescatore Jay M. , Sarmiento Juan , Hernandez-Acosta Ruben A. , Skaathun Britt , Quesada-Rodriguez Nancy , Rezai Katayoun
Published: December 2021

Context

Corticosteroids, specifically dexamethasone, have become the mainstay of treatment for moderate to severe COVID-19. Although the RECOVERY trial did not report adverse effects of corticosteroids, the METCOVID (Methylprednisolone as Adjunctive Therapy for Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19) study reported a higher blood glucose level in patients receiving methylprednisolone.

Objectives

This study aims to analyze the association between corticosteroids and COVID-19–related outcomes in patients admitted to the medical ICU (MICU) for COVID-19 pneumonia.

Methods

This is an observational study of 141 patients admitted to the MICU between March 18 and June 7, 2020. Data on demographics, laboratory and imaging studies, and clinical course were obtained, including data on corticosteroid use. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were performed between patient characteristics and mortality and successful extubation.

Results

Of the 141 patients, 86 required mechanical ventilation, 50 received steroids, and 71 died. Regarding demographics, patients had a median age of 58 (interquartile range [IQR] 48, 65), Hispanic (57.4%, n=81), and non-Hispanic Black (37.5%, n=53). The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (49.6%, n=70) and diabetes (48.2%, n=68). Lower blood glucose levels on admission (125.5 vs. 148 mg/dL, p=0.025) and lower peak blood glucose levels on corticosteroids (215.5 vs. 361 mg/dL, p=0.0021) were associated with lower prevalence of mortality. Patients who were successfully extubated had a lower admission blood glucose (126.5 vs. 149 mg/dL, p=0.0074) and lower peak blood glucose on corticosteroids (217 vs. 361 mg/dL, p=0.0023).

Conclusions

Lower blood glucose on admission and lower maximum blood glucose on corticosteroids were associated with lower odds of mortality and successful extubation, regardless of preexisting diabetes. Hyperglycemia may be negating any potential benefit of corticosteroid therapy. These findings suggest that glucose control could be a parameter that impacts the outcome of patients receiving corticosteroids for COVID-19 pneumonia.
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in hospital employees, Central Germany
Authors: Keller Christian , Chung Ho-Ryun , Jerrentrup Andreas , Feldmann Leah , Rohde Cornelius , Halwe Sandro , Wölfel Friederike , Günther Susanne , Renz Harald
Published: December 2021

Objectives

Unidentified SARS-CoV-2 infections among hospital staff can become a major burden for healthcare systems worldwide. We hypothesized that the number of previous SARS-CoV-2 infections among hospital employees is substantially higher than known on the basis of direct testing strategies. A serological study was thus performed among staff of Marburg University Hospital, Germany, in May and June 2020.

Methods

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers were measured by spike protein (S1)-specific IgG ELISA (Euroimmun) and by nucleoprotein-(NCP) specific total antibody CLIA (Roche). Selected sera were analyzed by SARS-CoV-2 neutralization test. Participants provided questionnaires regarding occupational, medical, and clinical items. Data for 3,623 individuals (74.7% of all employees) were collected.

Results

Individuals reactive to both S1 and NCP were defined as seropositive; all of those were confirmed by neutralization test (n=13). Eighty-nine samples were reactive in only one assay, and 3,521 were seronegative. The seroprevalence among hospital employees at Marburg University Hospital was 0.36% (13/3,623). Only five of the 13 seropositive employees had reported a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test result.

Conclusions

Usage of a single S1-specific assay highly overestimated seroprevalence. The data provided no evidence for an increased risk for a SARS-CoV-2 infection for staff involved in patient care compared to staff not involved in patient care.
Bronsted acidic surfactants: efficient organocatalysts for diverse organic transformations
Authors: Singh Abhijeet , Singh Pargat , Nath Mahendra
Published: December 2021

Organic transformations using efficient, atom-economical, cost-effective and environmentally benign strategies for the construction of diversified molecules have attracted synthetic chemists worldwide in recent years. These processes often minimize the waste production and avoid the use of hazardous flammable organic solvents. Among various green protocols, the procedures using surfactant-based catalytic systems have received a considerable attention in organic synthesis. In this context, Bronsted acidic surfactants have emerged as efficient catalysts for various C–C, C–O, C–N and C–S bond forming reactions. Many of these reactions occur in water, as Bronsted acidic surfactants have a unique ability of creating hydrophobic pocket through micelle formation in aqueous medium and the substrate molecules react efficiently to afford the targeted products in good yields. In the past, Bronsted acidic surfactant combined catalysts successfully displayed their potential to accelerate the reaction rates of diverse organic transformations. This chapter presents a complete overview on Bronsted acidic surfactants catalyzed organic reactions to construct a variety of aromatic and heteroaromatic molecular frameworks.
Recent advances in dual-filler mixed matrix membranes
Authors: Prasetya Nicholaus , Himma Nurul Faiqotul , Sutrisna Putu Doddy , Wenten I Gede
Published: December 2021

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been widely developed as an attractive solution to overcome the drawbacks found in most polymer membranes, such as permeability-selectivity trade-off and low physicochemical stability. Numerous fillers based on inorganic, organic, and hybrid materials with various structures including porous or nonporous, and two-dimensional or three-dimensional, have been used. Demanded to further improve the characteristics and performances of the MMMs, the use of dual-filler instead of a single filler has then been proposed, from which multiple effects could be obtained. This article aims to review the recent development of MMMs with dual filler and discuss their performances in diverse potential applications. Challenges in this emerging field and outlook for future research are finally provided.
Neural Mechanism for Coding Depth from Motion Parallax in Area MT: Gain Modulation or Tuning Shifts?
Authors: Xu Zhe-Xin , DeAngelis Gregory C.
Published: December 2021

There are two distinct sources of retinal image motion: objects moving in the world and observer movement. When the eyes move to track a target of interest, the retinal velocity of some object in the scene will depend on both eye velocity and that object's motion in the world. Thus, to compute the object's velocity relative to the head, a coordinate transformation must be performed by vectorially adding eye velocity and retinal velocity. In contrast, a very different interaction between retinal and eye velocity signals has been proposed to underlie estimation of depth from motion parallax, which involves computing the ratio of retinal and eye velocities. We examined how neurons in the middle temporal (MT) area of male macaques combine eye velocity and retinal velocity, to test whether this interaction is more consistent with a partial coordinate transformation (for computing head-centered object motion) or a multiplicative gain interaction (for computing depth from motion parallax). We find that some MT neurons show clear signatures of a partial coordinate transformation for computing head-centered velocity. Even a small shift toward head-centered velocity tuning can account for the observed depth-sign selectivity of MT neurons, including a strong dependence on speed preference that was previously unexplained. A formal model comparison reveals that the data from many MT neurons are equally well explained by a multiplicative gain interaction or a partial transformation toward head-centered tuning, although some responses can only be well fit by the coordinate transform model. Our findings shed new light on the neural computations performed in area MT, and raise the possibility that depth-sign selectivity emerges from a partial coordinate transformation toward representing head-centered velocity.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTEye velocity signals modulate the responses of neurons in the middle temporal (MT) area to retinal image motion. Two different types of interactions between retinal and eye velocities have previously been considered: a vector addition computation for computing head-centered velocity, and a multiplicative gain interaction for computing depth from motion parallax. Whereas previous work favored a multiplicative gain interaction in MT, we demonstrate that some MT neurons show clear evidence of a partial shift toward coding head-centered velocity. Moreover, we demonstrate that even a small shift toward head coordinates is sufficient to account for the depth-sign selectivity observed previously in area MT, thus raising the possibility that a partial coordinate transformation may also provide a mechanism for computing depth from motion parallax.
Late-Onset, Short-Term Intermittent Fasting Reverses Age-Related Changes in Calcium Buffering and Inhibitory Synaptic Transmission in Mouse Basal Forebrain Neurons
Authors: Bang Eunyoung , Fincher Annette S. , Nader Sophie , Murchison David A. , Griffith William H.
Published: December 2021

Aging is often associated with cognitive decline and recurrent cellular and molecular impairments. While life-long caloric restriction (CR) may delay age-related cognitive deterioration as well as the onset of neurologic disease, recent studies suggest that late-onset, short-term intermittent fasting (IF), may show comparable beneficial effects as those of life-long CR to improve brain health. We used a new optogenetic aging model to study the effects of late-onset (>18 months), short-term (four to six weeks) IF on age-related changes in GABAergic synaptic transmission, intracellular calcium (Ca2+) buffering, and cognitive status. We used male mice from a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mouse line with stable expression of the channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) variant H134R [VGAT-ChR2(H134R)-EYFP] in a reduced synaptic preparation that allows for specific optogenetic light stimulation on GABAergic synaptic terminals across aging. We performed quantal analysis using the method of failures in this model and show that short-term IF reverses the age-related decrease in quantal content of GABAergic synapses. Likewise, short-term IF also reversed age-related changes in Ca2+buffering and spontaneous GABAergic synaptic transmission in basal forebrain (BF) neurons of aged mice. Our findings suggest that late-onset short-term IF can reverse age-related physiological impairments in mouse BF neurons but that four weeks IF is not sufficient to reverse age-related cognitive decline.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTHere, we demonstrate plasticity of the aging brain and reversal of well-defined hallmarks of brain aging using short-term intermittent fasting (IF) initiated later in life. Few therapeutics are currently available to treat age-related neurologic dysfunction although synaptic dysfunction occurs during aging and neurologic disease is a topic of intense research. Using a new reduced synaptic preparation and optogenetic stimulation we are able to study age-related synaptic mechanisms in greater detail. Several neurophysiological parameters including quantal content were altered during aging and were reversed with short-term IF. These methods can be used to identify potential therapies to reverse physiological dysfunction during aging.
Personality States of the Union
Authors: Condon David M. , Weston Sara J.
Published: December 2021

Fluctuations in the average daily personality of the United States capture both meaningful affective responses to world events (e.g., changes in anxiety or well-being) and broader psychological responses. We estimate the change in national personality in the months following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate fluctuations in personality states during the year 2020 using data from an ongoing personality assessment project. We find significant and meaningful change in personality traits since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as evidence of instability in personality states. When evaluating changes from the first few months of 2020 to the period of social distancing related to COVID-19 restrictions, the social traits reflected an unexpected “deprivation” effect such that mean self-ratings increased in the wake of restricted opportunities for social interaction. Changes in mean levels of the affective traits were not significant over the same months, but they did differ significantly from the average levels of prior years when looking at shorter time intervals (rolling 7-day averages) around prominent national events. This instability may reflect meaningful fluctuations in national personality, as we find that daily personality states are associated with other indices of national health, including daily COVID-19 cases and the S&P index. Overall, the use of personality measures to capture responses to global events offers a more holistic picture of the U.S. psyche and of personality change at the national level.
Acoustic methods in real-time welding process monitoring: Application and future potential advancement
Authors: M. Yusof M. F. , Ishak Mahadzir , Ghazali Mohd Fairusham
Published: December 2021

The rapid advancement of the welding technology has simultaneously increased the demand for the online monitoring system in order to control the process. Among the methods that could be possibly used to assess the weld condition, an air-borne acoustic method grasps the attention from scholars due to its ability to provide a simple, non-contact, and low-cost measurement system. However, it is still lack of resources involving this subject in an attempt to deeply understand the emitted sound behaviour during welding especially when dealing with a complete deviation of a process parameter, welding types, workpiece material as well as the noise from the surrounding. This paper reviews the application of the acoustic method in monitoring the welding process. Specifically, this review emphasized the source of both structure-borne and air-borne acoustic during the welding process and the significance of applying the acoustic method in more detail. By focusing on the liquid state welding process, the scope of discussion converged on the arc and laser welding process. In the last part of this review, the potential future advancement of this method is pointed out before the overall conclusion is made.
Effect of Alkaline treatment on the characteristics of pineapple leaves fibre and PALF/PP biocomposite
Authors: S. Gnanasekaran  , Ahamad Nordin Noor Ida Amalina , M.M.M. Hamidi  , J.H. Shariffuddin
Published: December 2021

Pineapple leaves fibre (PALF) is one of the natural fibre that has high potential to substitute non-renewable synthetic fibre in thermoplastic products. The PALF were alkali treated with different concentrations of NaOH. Untreated and alkali treated PALF were characterized using Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to determine the thermal stability and surface morphology of the fibres respectively. Biocomposites were prepared by reinforced alkali treated and untreated PALF with polypropylene (PP) matrix. Tensile properties and water absorption analysis of PALF/PP biocomposites were studied. Biocomposite with 8 wt.% of alkali treated PALF express excellent thermal stability, with maximum degradation temperature at 270 ℃ which is a 7.17% improvement compared to untreated PALF. This biocomposite also had increased tensile strength (116 MPa) with 43% improvement compared to untreated PALF/PP (66 MPa) biocomposite and had lower water absorption at 6% compared to untreated biocomposite which at 21%. Hence, alkali treated PALF is able to improve the characteristic of PALF and increase the compatibility between fibre and polymer by reducing hemicellulose and lignin components.
Kalbinis nemandagumas politiniuose TV debatuose
Authors:   , Žurauskaitė Eglė
Published: December 2021

Nemandagumas kasdienėje kalboje dažniausiai yra siejamas su etiketo taisyklių nesilaikymu. Lingvistinės pragmatikos moksle nemandagumas suprantamas kaip lūkesčių neatitinkantis ir neigiamai vertinamas elgesys, besireiškiantis konkrečiame kontekste. Ši disertacija yra iš pragmatinių nemandagumo tyrimų srities. Pažymėtina, kad iki šiol Lietuvoje nėra tirtas nemandagumas gyvai vykstančiame kontekste, todėl disertacijoje pirmą kartą pasiūlomi nemandagumo rodikliai ir teorinė prieiga nemandagumui gyvai vykstančiame kontekste analizuoti. Disertacijos tikslas – atskleisti, kaip reiškiasi nemandagumas politiniuose TV debatuose. Empirinis tyrimo pagrindas yra TV debatai prieš rinkimus į Seimą, kurių bendra trukmė 720 min. Tyrimu siekiama išanalizuoti kitą menkinančius pasakymus, nustatyti, kaip yra susiję varžovo menkinimas ir savo galios didinimas ir išsiaiškinti, kas būdinga nemandagumui debatuose pasakymų turinio, strategijų ir raiškos aspektais. Atlikus tyrimą paaiškėjo, kad nemandagumo procese dalyvauja visi konteksto dalyviai ir kad nemandagumą TV debatuose apibūdina nulinės sumos lošimo metafora. Nemandagių pasakymų turinys dažniausiai susijęs su oponento kaltinimu meluojant, slepiant tiesą ir yra dažniausiai reiškiamas netiesiogiai, taikant įvairias išorines modifikacijas, pvz., pateikiant kaip patarimą, savo nuomonę, palinkėjimą. Tai rodo, kad politikai kūrybingai vartoja kalbos išteklius siekdami sumenkinti kitą ir įtvirtinti savo galią.
Vaikas transnacionalinėje šeimoje: globos organizavimas, šeiminiai ryšiai ir vaiko patirtys
Authors:   , Martinkėnė Gintė
Published: December 2021

The child in a transnational family: organization of care, family relationships and the child's experiences
M-learning and the EFL classroom
Authors: Martin Daniela Roza
Published: December 2021

Technology is definitely ubiquitous. It is what keeps us constantly connected to different people on a daily basis. Since the advent of smartphones, technology has also changed the way we perform many of our everyday tasks, including the ones at the school local context. It also reinvented the way teenagers learn and behave in the classroom, EFL institutions included. This article, then, aims to present and discuss the role of mobile learning in the teaching of English-speaking skills and the concept of Bring Your Own Device. Additionally, based on the concept of Partnering Pedagogy (PRENSKY, 2012), it suggests a lesson plan for regular school pre-teens to show how teachers can give the first step toward the implementation of mobile devices in their educational practices. The lesson, which can be applied either to online or face-to-face contexts, showed how teenage students become more willing to participate in speaking activities. Finally, the text brings to light some reflection on the integration of mobile technologies in EFL learning practices, emphasizing the essence of delivering high quality learning lessons rather than giving central importance to technology per se.
Analysis on the use of politeness strategies in a scene of The Crown
Authors: Pompeu Ana Carolina Moura
Published: December 2021

This article aims to analyze the positive and negative politeness strategies speakers employ to avoid threatening the addresses’ face in the series The Crown (2017) in season 02, episode 08 entitled Dear Mrs. Kennedy. The analysis is held in light of the Politeness Theory by Brown and Levinson (1987, first published in 1978). It could be observed through a qualitative analysis that when there is a relation of power between the speaker and the hearer, the speaker tends to use bald on record expressions, whereas when the speaker is the subordinate, he/she tends to utter negative strategies and hedges to mitigate the threat to the hearer’s face.
Exploring Conversational Implicatures in the American Sitcom Seinfeld
Authors: Cezar Leticia Mello
Published: December 2021

Since learners must know how to use language in different contexts, sitcoms could help with pragmatic competence development because they display contextualized lifelike language. Could identifying conversational implicatures in a sitcom help develop metalinguistic awareness of implicatures? In addition, are there conversational implicatures in the sitcom Seinfeld that present the potential to help develop pragmatic competence? This article illustrates conversational implicatures through Seinfeld episodes and discusses how identifying implicatures could develop metapragmatic awareness. The method was a descriptive research of the qualitative type. Ten segments from the American sitcom Seinfeld were analyzed based on their conversational implicature occurrence. The implicatures present in the segments are discernible and may help develop pragmatic competence if explicitly taught to learners. Further studies could focus on quantitative research in EFL classrooms on the potential benefits of using sitcoms to develop metalinguistic awareness.
A relative degree one modified active disturbance rejection control for four-tank level control system
Authors: Hashim Zahraa Sabah , Ibraheem Ibraheem Kasim
Published: December 2021

This paper deals with the disturbance rejection, parameter uncertainty cancelation, and the closed-loop stabilization of the water level of the four-tank nonlinear system. For the four-tank system with relative degree one, a new structure of the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) has been presented by incorporating a tracking differentiator (TD) in the control unit to obtain the derivate of the tracking error. Thus, the nonlinear-PD control together with the TD serves as a new nonlinear state error feedback. Moreover, a sliding mode extended state observer is presented in the feedback loop to estimate the system's state and the total disturbance. The proposed scheme has been compared with several control schemes including linear and nonlinear versions of ADRC techniques. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves excellent results in terms of disturbance elimination and output tracking as compared to other conventional schemes. It was able to control the water levels in the two lower tanks to their desired value and exhibits excellent performance in terms of Integral Time Absolute Error (ITAE) and Objective Performance Index (OPI).
The Revival of a Person in the Interpretation of Nikolay Berdyaev: Explanation of the Idea of Sobornost’ on the Example of Kabbalistic Concept about Adam Kadmon
Authors: Petreshak Nataliya
Published: December 2021

The questions about how human can be seen and recognized as a person were asked throughout the centuries. The Russian thinker Nikolay Berdyaev as a representative of personalistic school answers this question through the prism of the calling of man. Thus, he distinguishes between a person and an individual, when the former is created by God, and the latter is a social construct. In this fallen world human exists rather as an individual, but his aim is to become a person. According to the thinker, human by his spiritual exaltation is able to reveal himself as a person, but finally he admits it is possible only along with other people. Berdyaev connects the topic about human becoming a person with the idea of Sobornost’, which finds analogy in the Western theological literature in terms like “catholicity” or “conciliarity.” In his explanation of this topic the Russian thinker refers to the Kabbalistic tradition takes its idea about Adam Kadmon as an example for a perfect unity of all beings. Still, Berdyaev develops his vision about the idea of unity of all creation on the basis of the idea of human creativity and his destiny. And in such a spiritual unity of all beings every human revealed himself as a person what is foremost vision of Berdyaev’s personalistic sight.
Miejsce czy miejsca? Kilka uwag na temat propozycji Romana Ingardena dotyczących łączenia intencjonalnych i rzeczywistych miejsc w dziele literackim
Authors: Petryszak Karol
Published: December 2021

W artykule została przedstawiona propozycja uzupełnienia filozofii literatury Romana Ingardena. Fenomenolog ten zakładał, że między miejscem rozgrywania się akcji w dziele literackim a faktycznym miejscem – jeśli na takie miejsce wskazywałoby dzieło literackie (np. ul. Grodzka w Krakowie) – zachodzi pewna tożsamość lub pewna łączność. W oparciu o poszerzoną na potrzeby tematu argumentację Hilarego Putnama i metafizyczne aspekty recentywizmu Józefa Bańki przedstawiono argumenty wskazujące, że nie jest możliwe utrzymanie twierdzenia o łączności między miejscami intencjonalnymi w dziele literackim a miejscami rzeczywistymi. Przedstawiono również konsekwencje takiego uzupełnienia wskazanego punktu filozofii literatury Ingardena.
Blockade of LIRs as a new approach for diagnostics and treatment of ATLL malignancy
Authors: Keikha M. , Karbalaei M.
Published: December 2021

In the new world of medicine, one of the main concerns in the field of infectious diseases has been focused on Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type 1 (HTLV-1). During the infection, lymphocyte inhibitory receptors (LIRs) play a prominent role in the occurrence of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). These receptors include LAG3, PD-1, TIGIT, CD160, TIM3, and 2B4. First, we have collected all microarray information on the profile of HTLV-1 infected patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus (http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/geo) database until March 2020, in order to identify the microarray related to evolutionary development of LTRs during various phases of HTLV-1 infection in human peripheral blood CD4+ T cells by searching for keywords such as “Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-1)”, “Homo sapiens”, “ATLL”, and “Whole genome sequencing”. Considering the main goal of the study, we have only assessed data related to Homo sapiens particularly CD4+ T cell lineage from human subjects infected with HTLV-1. We evaluated these receptors in ATLL patients compared to healthy control (HC) individuals and HTLV-1 infected-asymptomatic carriers (ASCs). Out of all 18 identified records, we only selected and analyzed three studies: GSE19080, GSE33615, and GSE57259, which satisfied inclusion criteria with proper quality analysis of ATLL vs. normal, ATLL vs. asymptomatic carrier as well as asymptomatic carrier vs. normal. Unfortunately, we could not analyze various stages of ATLL malignancy (acute, lymphomatous, chronic and smoldering) in all included studies due to the lack of sufficient information. Finally, based on Benjamini–Hochberg False discovery rate (FDR), the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected for several categories. Hence, for the first time we demonstrated that the expression rate of LIRs in ATLL group was higher than either in asymptomatic carrier or healthy donor groups. As a conclusion, it seems that the blockade of LIRs has a pivotal role in diagnostics and treatment of ATLL malignancy.