bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DeepJoint Segmentation-based Lung Segmentation and Hybrid Optimization-Enabled Deep Learning for Lung Nodule Classification
Authors: Chinniah P. , Maram Balajee , Velrajkumar P. , Vidyadhari Ch.
Published: July 2022

Lung cancer is an aggressive disease among all cancer-based diseases, because of causing huge mortality in humans. Thus, earlier discovery is a basic task for diagnosing lung cancer and it helps increase the survival rate. Computed tomography (CT) is a powerful imaging technique used to discover lung cancer. However, it is time-consuming for examining each CT image. This paper develops an optimized deep model for classifying the lung nodules. Here, the pre-processing is done using Region of Interest (ROI) extraction and adaptive Wiener filter. The segmentation is done using the DeepJoint model wherein distance is computed with a congruence coefficient for extracting the segments. The nodule identification is done by a grid-based scheme. The features such as Global Binary Pattern (GBP), Texton features, statistical features, perimeter and area, barycenter difference, number of slices, short axis and long axis and volume are considered. The lung nodule classification is done to classify part solid, solid nodules and ground-glass opacity (GGO) using Deep Residual Network (DRN), which is trained by the proposed Shuffled Shepard Sine–Cosine Algorithm (SSSCA). The developed SSSCA is generated by the integration of the Sine–Cosine Algorithm (SCA) and Shuffled Shepard Optimization Algorithm (SSOA). The proposed SSSCA-based DRN outperformed with the highest testing accuracy of 92.5%, sensitivity of 93.2%, specificity of 83.7% and [Formula: see text]-score of 81.5%.
Better Fixed-Point Filtering with Averaging Trees
Authors: Adams Andrew , Sharlet Dillon
Published: July 2022

Production imaging pipelines commonly operate using fixed-point arithmetic, and within these pipelines a core primitive is convolution by small filters - taking; convex combinations of fixed-point values in order to resample, interpolate, or denoise. We describe a new way to compute unbiased convex combinations of fixed-point values using sequences of averaging instructions, which exist on all popular CPU and DSP architectures but are seldom used. For a variety of popular kernels, our averaging; trees have higher performance and higher quality than existing standard practice.
Spatiotemporal Variance-Guided Filtering for Motion Blur
Authors: Oberberger Max , Chajdas Matthäus G. , Westermann Rüdiger
Published: July 2022

Adding motion blur to a scene can help to convey the feeling of speed even at low frame rates. Monte Carlo ray tracing can compute accurate motion blur, but requires a large number of samples per pixel to converge. In comparison, rasterization, in combination with a post-processing filter, can generate fast, but not accurate motion blur from a single sample per pixel.

We build upon a recent path tracing denoiser and propose its variant to simulate ray-traced motion blur, enabling fast and high-quality motion blur from a single sample per pixel. Our approach creates temporally coherent renderings by estimating the motion direction and variance locally, and using these estimates to guide wavelet filters at different scales.

We compare image quality against brute force Monte Carlo methods and current post-processing motion blur. Our approach achieves real-time frame rates, requiring less than 4ms for full-screen motion blur at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 on recent graphics cards.
SIGACT News Online Algorithms Column 39
Authors: van Stee Rob
Published: July 2022

For this issue, I am pleased to present an extensive survey by Debasis Dwibedy and Rakesh Mohanty on online makespan scheduling. This is a topic which continues to inspire new research and it is great that these authors have provided an updated survey.
Comments on “An Exact Method for the Minimum Feedback Arc Set Problem”
Authors: Grötschel Martin , Jünger Michael , Reinelt Gerhard
Published: July 2022

We comment on the ACM Journal of Experimental Algorithmics article “An Exact Method for the Minimum Feedback Arc Set Problem” by Ali Baharev, Hermann Schichl, Arnold Neumaier, and Tobias Achterberg, and we point out that a straightforward implementation of an algorithm we published in 1985, with the same modern technology as used in the article we address, is competitive and mostly superior.
Study of Energy-Efficient Optimization Techniques for High-Level Homogeneous Resource Management
Authors: Mann Suman , Pathak Nitish , Sharma Neelam , Kumar Raju , Porwal Rabins , Sharma Sheelesh Kr , Aung Saw Mon Yee
Published: July 2022

Resource management efficiency can be a beneficial step toward optimizing power consumption in software-hardware integrated systems. Languages such as C, C++, and Fortran have been extremely popular for dealing with optimization, memory management, and other resource management. We investigate novel algorithmic architectures capable of optimizing resource requirements and increasing energy efficiency. The experimental results obtained with C++ can be extended to other programming languages as well. We emphasize the inherent drawbacks of memory management operators. These operators are intended to be extremely generic in their application, just as the concept of dynamic memory is. As a result, they are unable to take advantage of the various optimization techniques and opportunities that specific use cases present. Each source code file is modeled after its own distinct memory usage pattern, which can be used to speed up memory management routines. Such concepts are frequently time-consuming and costly to implement; consequently, they are not the primary concern of application developers, as they require manual development and integration. We intend to address this gap by providing a suite of memory management algorithms that enable dramatic performance improvements at the source code level while allowing for seamless integration across multiple use cases. The techniques have been evaluated on several performance parameters, and results have been presented. In this paper, we have compared a variety of memory allocation techniques and compared their space and energy efficiency requirements. Three variants of SSDAM, SSDAM-E, and DLLOM strategies have been evaluated and compared against the base performance of new and delete operators. SSDAM-E, SSDAM with new delete operators, and DDLOM improve the memory consumption by the factors of 8.01, 7.0, and 4.0, respectively. In the worst case, SSDAM-E gave an average running time of 5.650 sec faster than the DLLOM average time of 7.496 sec. As far as energy efficiency is considered, SSDAM-Original and SSDAM-E-Original attain 100%, in comparison with the base efficiency of 12.48% characterized by new/delete operators.
UI Design and Optimization Method for Museum Display Based on User Behavior Recommendation
Authors: Zhang Luxi , Gao Yongli
Published: July 2022

In view of the lack of rich display methods in the display design of museums, it is impossible to enhance the interest of visitors. This paper proposes a museum object recommendation method based on collaborative filtering, which simplifies the display design, improves the recommendation effect, and alleviates the scalability problem. Firstly, the algorithm of recommendation system combines the advantages of memory collaborative filtering and uses smoothing processing to improve the efficiency of recommendation and achieve the best consistency. Then, the cross-domain collaborative filtering rating matrix generation model is used to establish the correlation between multiple rating matrices by finding the shared hidden clustering rating matrix, which also improves the recommendation effect. Finally, the conclusion shows that we can use single user behavior data such as forgetting mechanism to recommend to users. SVD makes full use of the interaction data of various behaviors, and NMF algorithm makes full use of the data of various user behaviors, which can effectively solve the existing problems. The stochastic gradient descent is applied to the SVD algorithm to accelerate the convergence speed of the model, improve the performance of the model, and effectively improve the accuracy of score prediction.
Prediction of Metabolic Characteristics of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases Based on Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Yang Zhengfei , Li Ping , Wang Rui
Published: July 2022

As a typical disease, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases cause great damage to the human body. In view of the problem that the existing models failed to describe and represent the characteristics of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular indicators, convolution neural network was used to analyze the metabolic factors of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular. Based on convolutional neural network theory, feature extraction was carried out on the relevant parameters of the model, and the change trend of different cardiovascular and cerebrovascular indicators was studied by model optimization, theoretical analysis, and experimental verification. Relevant studies show that the value of neurons increases slowly at first and then rapidly with the increase of bias term

b

. And with the increase of computing time, the corresponding nonlinear characteristics are gradually reflected; so, the influence of computing time on neuron results should be considered when selecting bias term

b

. The gradient changes under different functions have typical symmetry, which indicates that the effects of functions on model parameters have certain cyclic characteristics. Among them, ReLU function has the largest variation range, tanh function has a relatively small curve variation range, and sigmoid function has the smallest variation range. Five indicators are selected to describe the metabolic characteristics of the disease through characteristic analysis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The onset signs have the greatest impact on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, while the corresponding metabolic characteristics have the least impact on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The study showed that the influence of different indicators on the model had typical stage characteristics, and relevant data were used to verify the accuracy of the model. Finally, the optimization model based on convolutional neural network was used to predict the metabolic characteristics of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Relevant studies show that the optimization model can better analyze the metabolic characteristics of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This research can provide theoretical support for the application of convolutional neural networks in other fields.
Autonomous Robots for Deep Mask-Wearing Detection in Educational Settings during Pandemics
Authors: Zia Huma , Alhalabi Marah , Yaghi Maha , Barhoush Amer , Farag Omar , Alkhedher Mohammad , Khelifi Adel , Ibrahim Ahmed M. A. , Ghazal Mohammed
Published: July 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted various aspects of life, where countries closed their borders, and workplaces and educational institutions shut down their premises in response to lockdowns. This has adversely affected the lives of everyone, including millions of students worldwide, socially, mentally, and physically. Governments and educational authorities worldwide have taken preventive measures, such as social distancing and mask wearing, to control the spread of the virus. This paper proposes an AI-powered autonomous robot for deep mask-wearing detection to enforce proper mask wearing in educational settings. The system includes (1) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping framework to map and navigate the environment (i.e., laboratories and classrooms), (2) a multiclass face mask detection software, and (3) an auditory system to identify and alert improper or no mask wearing. We train our face mask detector using MobileNetV2 architecture and YOLOv2 object detector classification. The results demonstrate that our robot can navigate an educational environment while avoiding obstacles to detect violations. The proposed face mask detection and classification subsystem achieved a 91.4% average precision when tested on students in an engineering laboratory environment.
Effect of MoS2 Yolk-Shell Nanostructure on the Thiophene Separation Performance of PEG Membrane
Authors: Hou Ziman , Peng Ping , Lan Yongqiang , Wu Zihui , Wang Jianhua
Published: July 2022

Constructing facilitated transport based on π-complexation has been drawing more and more attention in mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for pervaporative desulfurization. Herein, a unique molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) yolk-shell nanostructure (MYNS) was prepared and incorporated into the polyethylene glycol (PEG) matrix to fabricate MMMs for model gasoline desulfurization by PV. Moreover, the effects of MYNS content, feed sulfur concentration, and feed temperature on the performance of PEG/MYNS MMMs were evaluated. It was found that there is good interfacial compatibility between the MYNS filler and the PEG matrix, and the resultant MMMs show enhanced swelling resistance against thiophene. The PV results revealed that the as-fabricated MMMs are thiophene-selective, and their desulfurization performance in the pervaporative removal of thiophene from n-octane is remarkably evaluated due to the addition of MYNS. The MMMs display the highest sulfur enrichment factor of 4.02 with an associated permeation flux of 2587 g·m−2·h−1 with the MYNS loading of 3 wt. % when carrying out in an n-octane and thiophene (500 μg·g−1) mixture at 343 K. Furthermore, a consistent increment in the permeation flux accompanied with a continuous reduction in the enrichment factor was observed with increasing the feed sulfur concentration and feed temperature. This work may offer great potential for practical gasoline desulfurization applications.
Exploring Different Effects of Exclusive Enteral Nutrition (EEN) and Corticosteroids on the Gut Microbiome in Crohn’s Disease Based on a Three-Stage Strategy
Authors: Guo Dong , Fang Liang , Liu Ruiqing , Li Yu , Lv Liang , Niu Zhaojiao , Chen Dong , Zhou Yanbing , Zhu Weiming
Published: July 2022

The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) and corticosteroids on the gut microbiome in Crohn’s disease. Methods. Data were collected for 16 patients newly diagnosed with CD as the test group and 10 healthy volunteers as the control group. The 16 patients were randomly divided into the EEN group and the corticosteroids group. For subsequent analysis, 6 patients in the EEN group with follow-up were enrolled to compare the 0-month, 1-month, and 3-month outcomes. We analyzed and compared gut microbiota between different groups in 3 stages. To evaluate the clinical outcome of treatment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin (HB), albumin (ALB), and Crohn’s disease activity (CDAI) were recorded. Results. There are significant differences in microbiota between patients with CD and healthy people, and there are intuitive differences in the main components of the microbiota. 16 patients were included in stage 2, in which both corticosteroids and EEN can induce CD remission well. However, corticosteroids have a greater impact on inflammatory indicators, while EEN has a more obvious effect on nutritional indicators. Principal component analysis suggests that there are different compositional changes in the gut microbiome after corticosteroids and EEN treatment. After 3 months of dynamic observation, we found that EEN can effectively maintain CD remission, reduce inflammatory indicators, and improve nutritional indicators. Conclusions. Both EEN and corticosteroids can increase the diversity of the microbiome in inducing CD remission, while they have different effects on the proportion of microbiome species. This trial is registered with NCT02056418.
Influence of Roughness on the Asymmetric Flow Field of a Slender Body
Authors: Wei Kai , Chen Shaosong , Xu Yihang , Tang Dongdong
Published: July 2022

Low speed and high angle of attack are problems that must be faced in vertical launching missiles. A natural asymmetric vortex phenomenon occurs at a low speed and high angle of attack of a slender body. In this paper, the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) method is adopted to simulate the asymmetric flow of a slender body at a high angle of attack. The influence of roughness is analysed from the flow field and pressure distribution. And the DES method is verified by comparing it with the wind tunnel test results. The flow fields of the four models with the surface roughness of 0, 0.8, 5, and 100 are compared. The downstream flow still appears asymmetric when the surface is smooth, indicating that the stability of the flow field is not enough to maintain the symmetry of the flow field. The simulation results show that the adverse pressure gradient increases in the region where the boundary layer separates with the roughness greatly increasing, but the structure of the flow field at the head is slightly different. On the whole, the surface pressure and lateral force per unit length (

C

f
z
p
m

) transform alternately along the axial direction, and the period of alternating reverses increases with the increase of roughness. Finally, the pressure tends to be in equilibrium, and

C

f
z
p
m

approaches zero. It should be noted that the distribution of

C

f
z
p
m

is slightly different on the head, indicating that the asymmetry of pressure on the cylinder section is an important factor controlling the magnitude and the direction of lateral force. The influence of roughness on the flow around a slender body is acquired in this paper, and it has reference significance to the roughness problem of the actual missile.
Severe Thrombocytopenia Two Weeks Following Immunization with the Janssen Ad26.CoV2.S Vaccine
Authors: Antonios Bana , Zimmer Markie , Herrman Emma , Berghea Ramona
Published: July 2022

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has been associated with immunizations with various proposed mechanisms, including overactivation of the immune system and production of antibodies against circulating platelets. ITP has also been associated with several viral infections, including HCV, HIV, and most recently, active SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we present a case of a 52-year-old male with no past medical history who sought evaluation with his primary care physician for upper and lower extremity ecchymosis of one week duration. Outpatient laboratory studies were notable for severe isolated thrombocytopenia with platelet count of 8 × 10^9/L. Interestingly, he received the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine 16 days prior to his presentation. Clinical work up and laboratory investigations led to the diagnosis of ITP.
Optimization in the Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing Protocol
Authors: Siddesh G. K. , Mallikarjuna Gowda C. P. , Shashidhara H. R. , Sathish Shet K. , Shashi Raj K. , Arunarashmi V. , Chaithanya S. , Latha B. N. , Teressa Dawit Mamiru
Published: July 2022

The main challenge of the MANET network is the continuous management of information, each device, to ensure the correct direction of traffic. MANET consists of a peer-to-peer connection; the network is self-repairing and at the same time self-formed. The network can be used in the field of road safety, in sensors in the home, healthcare, robotics, etc. The aim of this work was to study the MANET network and its protocols and especially the AODV protocol, the choice of peer in the AODV protocol, and the subsequent improvement of this mechanism. The work deals with ETX metrics and its subsequent implementation in the AODV protocol. The work includes simulations of the AODV protocol and subsequently also simulations of the AODV-ETX protocol. The implementation of the proposed result simulation takes place in Network Simulator 3 tool. The work contains a comparison of the AODV and AODV-ETX protocols. The simulation results are shown in tables and plotted. The AODV-ETX has better properties compared to the AODV protocol, but with a larger number of nodes over 20, these properties approach the AODV protocol. The packet loss, packet delay, and permeability are considered for performance evaluations.
Keratin 8 Is an Inflammation-Induced and Prognosis-Related Marker for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Xiong Fei , Guo Tong , Wang Xin , Wu Guanhua , Liu Wenzheng , Wang Qi , Wang Bing , Chen Yongjun
Published: July 2022

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the highest-grade malignancies in the world. More effective biomarkers and treatment plans are necessary to improve the diagnosis rate and clinical outcome. The oncogenesis of PDAC is influenced by several factors, including chronic pancreatitis (CP). Keratin 8 (KRT8) is an important member of the keratin protein family and plays a role in regulating the cellular response to stress stimuli and mediating inflammatory reactions. However, the role of KRT8 in pancreatitis and PDAC is still poorly understood. Here we assessed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by bioinformatic methods with expression profiles available online for a caerulein-induced mouse model and human PDAC tissue. The prognostic value was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis. The diagnostic value was evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis (ROC). The function of the genes was predicted by protein-protein interaction analysis, correlation analysis, and GO analysis. The conclusion was further validated in rat pancreatitis model, human tissue, and PDAC cell lines, including immunohistochemical staining (IHC), CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay, and flow cytometry. KRT8 was found to be upregulated in murine pancreatitis tissue, human CP tissue, and human PDAC tissue. High expression of KRT8 had a negative impact on the prognosis of PDAC patients. KRT8 was predicted to be involved in the regulation of the migration and viability of PDAC cells, which was validated in PDAC cell lines. Knockdown of KRT8 impaired the migration and proliferation and induced apoptosis in PDAC cell lines. In conclusion, keratin 8 is an inflammation-induced molecule and could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for PDAC patients. More studies are needed for further validation from the perspective of precision and individualized medicine.
Multipath Cluster-Assisted Single Station Localization Based on SSA-GA in Outdoor NLOS Environment
Authors: Liao Xi , Wang Sen , Wang Yang , Che Yanting , Zhou Jihua , Zhang Jie
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we propose a novel multipath cluster-assisted single station localization method based on a genetic algorithm-based improved salp swarm algorithm (SSA-GA) to improve localization accuracy in an outdoor non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation environment. The scattering area model is presented which scatterers are considered Gaussian distribution for outdoor NLOS environments. The geometrical properties of propagation paths, such as angle of arrival and time of arrival, are jointly utilized to construct pseudoscatterer distribution. In order to filter the interference scatterers distributed outside the scattering region, the Gaussian kernel-based algorithm is developed. Furthermore, SSA-GA is proposed to solve the positioning objective functions constructed by pseudoscatterers clustering accurately. Results confirm the practicability of our newly proposed method, and the positioning error is less than 5% in outdoor NLOS propagation environment.
Cost-Aware Placement Optimization of Edge Servers for IoT Services in Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks
Authors: Shao Yanling , Shen Zhen , Gong Siliang , Huang Hanyao
Published: July 2022

Edge computing migrates cloud computing capacity to the edge of the network to reduce latency caused by congestion and long propagation distance of the core network. And the Internet of things (IoT) service requests with large data traffic submitted by users need to be processed quickly by corresponding edge servers. The closer the edge computing resources are to the user network access point, the better the user experience can be improved. On the other hand, the closer the edge server is to users, the fewer users will access simultaneously, and the utilization efficiency of nodes will be reduced. The capital investment cost is limited for edge resource providers, so the deployment of edge servers needs to consider the trade-off between user experience and capital investment cost. In our study, for edge server deployment problems, we summarize three critical issues: edge location, user association, and capacity at edge locations through the research and analysis of edge resource allocation in a real edge computing environment. For these issues, this study considers the user distribution density (load density), determines a reasonable deployment location of edge servers, and deploys an appropriate number of edge computing nodes in this location to improve resource utilization and minimize the deployment cost of edge servers. Based on the objective minimization function of construction cost and total access delay cost, we formulate the edge server placement as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem (MINP) and then propose an edge server deployment optimization algorithm to seek the optimal solution (named Benders_SD). Extensive simulations and comparisons with the other three existing deployment methods show that our proposed method achieved an intended performance. It not only meets the low latency requirements of users but also reduces the deployment cost.
Antineoplastic and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Green AgNPs and Crude Extracts from Agave americana, Mentha spicata, and Mangifera indica Leaves
Authors: Shireen Farah , Ahmad Bashir , Ahmad Laiba , Khan Saad Ahmad , Rauf Abdur , Khalil Anees Ahmed , Zia Afia , Mabkhot Yahia Nasser , Almarhoon Zainab M. , Ramadan Mohamed Fawzy , Sharifi-Rad Javad
Published: July 2022

Green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and crude ethanolic, methanolic, aqueous, and acetonic extracts from leaves of Agave americana, Mentha spicata, and Mangifera indica were scrutinized for possible antineoplastic and cytotoxic efficacy. In this study, all the synthesized AgNPs were characterized using UV‐Vis spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, SEM (scanning electron microscopy), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), EDX‐spectroscopy, and simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG‐DTA). Results of various characterization analyses performed in this study revealed that synthesized AgNPs had the highest absorption at 410‐430 nm, polycrystalline structure with sizes ranging from 23 to 38 nm, and were thermally stable up to 350°C. Furthermore, it was manifested that phytoproduced AgNPs from A. americana revealed good antineoplastic activity (69%). M. indica‐ and M. spicata‐based AgNPs displayed moderate activity against PC‐3 (prostate cancer cell line). Similarly, good cytotoxic aptitude was demonstrated by A. americana‐ and M. indica‐based AgNPs at the highest sample concentration (1000 μL). Excellent cytotoxicity was revealed by ethanol (100%), methanol (100%), and aqueous extracts (100%) of A. americana and methanol extract (83%) of M. spicata at 1000 μL.
Bayesian Integration in a Spiking Neural System for Sensorimotor Control
Authors: Grillo Massimo , Geminiani Alice , Alessandro Cristiano , D'Angelo Egidio , Pedrocchi Alessandra , Casellato Claudia
Published: July 2022

The brain continuously estimates the state of body and environment, with specific regions that are thought to act as Bayesian estimator, optimally integrating noisy and delayed sensory feedback with sensory predictions generated by the cerebellum. In control theory, Bayesian estimators are usually implemented using high-level representations. In this work, we designed a new spike-based computational model of a Bayesian estimator. The state estimator receives spiking activity from two neural populations encoding the sensory feedback and the cerebellar prediction, and it continuously computes the spike variability within each population as a reliability index of the signal these populations encode. The state estimator output encodes the current state estimate. We simulated a reaching task at different stages of cerebellar learning. The activity of the sensory feedback neurons encoded a noisy version of the trajectory after actual movement, with an almost constant intrapopulation spiking variability. Conversely, the activity of the cerebellar output neurons depended on the phase of the learning process. Before learning, they fired at their baseline not encoding any relevant information, and the variability was set to be higher than that of the sensory feedback (more reliable, albeit delayed). When learning was complete, their activity encoded the trajectory before the actual execution, providing an accurate sensory prediction; in this case, the variability was set to be lower than that of the sensory feedback. The state estimator model optimally integrated the neural activities of the afferent populations, so that the output state estimate was primarily driven by sensory feedback in prelearning and by the cerebellar prediction in postlearning. It was able to deal even with more complex scenarios, for example, by shifting the dominant source during the movement execution if information availability suddenly changed. The proposed tool will be a critical block within integrated spiking, brain-inspired control systems for simulations of sensorimotor tasks.
“The 21st Century Rabbit Paradox”
Authors: Glasser Carol L.
Published: July 2022

The unique relationship humans have with rabbits has been coined the “21st century rabbit paradox” because there are few social boundaries surrounding how rabbits are interacted with and used by humans. Though this paradoxical relationship with rabbits has been observed, there is no clear empirical picture of what it looks like. This online survey of 1,006 US adults is the first to measure the prevalence and nature of human interactions with and attitudes toward rabbits across multiple industries. This study finds that experiences with rabbits are quite often nonexistent, the types of experiences respondents have had with rabbits vary widely, and many respondents lacked opinions regarding how rabbits are used by humans. The findings provide a clear picture of just how paradoxical the human relationship with rabbits is in US society and suggests areas for future research.
Forty-Eight Classical Moral Dilemmas in Persian Language: A Validation and Cultural Adaptation Study
Authors: Sojoudi Sajad , Jahanitabesh Azra , Hatami Javad , Christensen Julia F.
Published: July 2022

Moral dilemmas are a useful tool to investigate empirically, which parameters of a given situation modulate participants’ moral judgment, and in what way.

In an effort to provide moral judgment data from a non-WEIRD culture, we provide the translation and validation of 48 classical moral dilemmas in Persian language. The translated dilemma set was submitted to a validation experiment with N = 82 Iranian participants. The four-factor structure of this dilemma set was confirmed; including Personal Force (Personal, Impersonal), Benefit Recipient (Self, Other), Evitability (Avoidable, Inevitable), and Intentionality (Accidental, Instrumental). When comparing moral judgments of Iranian participants to those of Spanish and Italian participants’ from previous research with the same dilemma set, differences emerged. Iranian participants’ moral judgments were more deontological (i.e., they refrained from harm), than Spanish and Italian participants. Religiosity made participants’ moral judgments more deontological, and also dysphoric mood resulted in a more deontological response style.
Bursaphelenchus taedae sp. n. (Tylenchina: Aphelenchoididae) – a new species of the eggersi-group in Loblolly pine logs from the USA
Authors: Gu Jianfeng , Fang Yiwu , Lü Xiaoling , Ma Xinxin , Shao Baolin
Published: July 2022

Bursaphelenchus taedae sp. n. of the eggersi-group was detected in loblolly pine logs from the USA together with B. antoniae. It is characterised by a relatively small stylet with basal swellings, a lateral field with three lines, and the excretory pore located at the level of the nerve ring. The female has a very small extension of the anterior vulval lip over the vulva (= a ‘vulval flap’), a long PUS extending for 40.1-67.8% of vulva to anus distance, and hook-like tail conical, gradually tapering to a finely rounded or broadly rounded terminus. The male spicules are 17-22 μm long in chord, only slightly ventrally curved, condylus short, truncate, slightly dorsally bent to dorsally hooked, rostrum ca 3-4 μm long, close to the proximal spicule end, without cucullus. Seven genital papillae present. Bursaphelenchus taedae sp. n. can be distinguished from other species of the eggersi-group by morphological and molecular characters.
La construction d’un personnage référentiel de l’adab : Bāqil et ses bêtes
Authors: Payen Nicolas
Published: July 2022

La figure de Bāqil, parangon du bégaiement dans la littérature arabe, a suscité l’intérêt des lettrés dès le IIe/VIIIe siècle. Une application des principes de l’analyse sémiotique fonctionnelle posés par le théoricien Philippe Hamon permet de mettre en évidence les étapes et les modalités de la construction du personnage référentiel, facilitée par la diffusion d’une anecdote dans laquelle son manque de discernement le prive d’une gazelle ou d’une chèvre. Le développement d’une culture de l’écrit participe de la standardisation du personnage, opérée au IIIe/IXe siècle et consommée au suivant. La normalisation n’élimine pas toute forme de variation textuelle, puisque la légende fait l’objet d’adaptations mineures, destinées à améliorer son efficacité en contexte culturel, le but étant que les lettrés se positionnent ou positionnent autrui par rapport à une gamme de personnages associés à des qualités, formant ensemble un système référentiel.
Historiographie du wahhabisme : écueils et enjeux
Authors: Daoud Riffi
Published: July 2022

L’histoire du wahhabisme est le parent pauvre de l’historiographie francophone. Le sujet, plus souvent abordé des points de vue géopolitique et sociologique, n’est que rarement abordé dans son histoire longue, et encore moins depuis le prisme de l’histoire intellectuelle. La parution de la version française du livre de Natana Delong-Bas, Islam wahhabite, qui se caractérise par de nombreuses faiblesses, est l’occasion de faire ici un bilan historiographique : que sait-on de l’émergence du wahhabisme, de la personnalité et de l’œuvre de son fondateur ? Comment écrire cette histoire qui s’inscrit dans celle, plus large, du taǧdīd ? Quelles relations le wahhabisme entretint-il avec les courants réformateurs héritiers, concomitamment, de l’œuvre d’Ibn ʿArabī et Ibn Taymiyya ? La présente note critique est également l’occasion de revenir sur les écueils et enjeux du travail d’écriture et d’interprétation du wahhabisme, doctrine proprement révolutionnaire. Par bien des aspects, le livre de Natana Delong-Bas s’inscrit dans une historiographie plus ancienne – à la fois présente dans des courants de la salafiyya et dans l’orientalisme – établissant une dichotomie entre le wahhabisme et Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, et pensant l’œuvre de ce dernier comme une tentative de sursaut dans un cadre général de décadence généralisée du monde musulman. Le présent article vise à déconstruire ce récit, problématique à plus d’un titre.
Magdalena’s gulden letanien
Authors: Rossano Bram
Published: July 2022

In contrast to the other works of the fifteenth-century mystic Magdalena of Freiburg, her Golden Litany was heavily copied in Germany and the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages. Despite its popularity, this meditative prayer on the Passion has not yet been studied. This article attempts to fill this gap. It offers a full survey of the transmitted manuscripts of the text and aims to provide insight into its distribution in the late medieval German and Dutch language areas. The prayer is discussed in the context of contemporaneous literary and religious traditions. In this way, the article attempts to explain why a southern German text was so popular in the Low Countries, especially in the circles of the Devotio Moderna.
Among Catalogues, Bindings, and Sacred Economies
Authors: Oviedo Salazar Mauricio
Published: July 2022

This article centres on the emblem book Jesus en de Ziel, Een Geestelycke Spiegel voor ’t Gemoed, first published in Amsterdam in 1678, with texts and images composed by Jan Luyken. From the time of its first publication, the book was part of the literary devotional life of the Dutch Republic, undergoing numerous editions and reprints, at least until the final decades of the eighteenth century. Using the information provided by Book Sales Catalogues, the article explores different modes in which Jesus en de Ziel was consumed, paying attention to the material conditions under which the object was provided and acquired by the consumer. The emblem book, as a religious object, was constantly reconfigured and mobilized by their manufacturers, their providers, and by the consumers themselves. I argue that these patterns of consumption, elucidated by the catalogues, can make a fundamental contribution for historical and cultural research on religious practices.
Review of the genus Locastra Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Epipaschiinae) from India, with a new species and a new species record
Authors: RANJAN RAHUL , SINGH NAVNEET , KIRTI JAGBIR SINGH
Published: July 2022

In the present article, the species Locastra mizo Ranjan, Singh & Kirti, sp. nov. is described, Locastra viridis Rong & Li, 2017 is reported for the first time from India, and based on the scape extension in the male antennae, Locastra is divided into two species groups. Locastra crassipennis, Walker, 1857, the type species of the genus Locastra, is re-diagnosed and photographs of the adult and genitalia are provided.
A Climatology of Drylines in the Interior of Subtropical Southern Africa
Authors: van Schalkwyk L. , Blamey R. C. , Dyson L. L. , Reason C. J. C.
Published: July 2022

A climatology of synoptic drylines on the subtropical southern African interior plateau (SAP) is developed using ERA5 reanalysis specific humidity and surface temperature gradients and an objective detection algorithm. Drylines are found to occur regularly during spring and summer (September–March), and almost daily during December of that period, but rarely in winter. A westward shift in peak dryline frequency takes place through the summer. Drylines peak first over the eastern parts of the SAP during November with a mean of 10 drylines and then over the central (mean of 12) and western SAP (mean of 20) in December. During midsummer, drylines over the eastern SAP are negatively correlated with drylines in the west. Between 1980 and 2020, a significant correlation exists between ENSO and dryline days over the eastern (r = 0.44; p value = 0.004) and central (r = 0.41; p value = 0.008) SAP with fewer drylines (up to 10) occurring during years with increased surface moisture and more drylines (up to 45) occurring during years with decreased surface moisture. Drylines forming over the eastern parts of the SAP were more likely to move westward than drylines over the central and western parts. Onset times across the SAP show that drylines have a tendency to form during either the late morning to early afternoon (1100 and 1400 LST) or during the early evening hours (1700 and 2000 LST), suggesting that the surface heat trough (Kalahari heat low) and westward moisture transport mechanisms, such as the Limpopo low-level jet and ridging highs, are responsible for the formation of most drylines across the SAP.

Significance Statement

“Drylines” are used to describe boundaries separating regions of very dry air from those with much higher moisture content. The importance of these drylines is that they tend to act as a trigger for thunderstorms, which can produce severe weather. In this study, we build a long-term climatological description of drylines in subtropical southern Africa. We find that drylines are most frequent over eastern South Africa during the early summer, a time when storms with large hail and damaging winds are most likely to occur. Drylines are sensitive to moisture circulation patterns and respond differently during El Niño and La Niña years, with generally more drylines during El Niño over eastern South Africa and fewer during La Niña.
The Gab2–MALT1 axis regulates thromboinflammation and deep vein thrombosis
Authors: Kondreddy Vijay , Keshava Shiva , Das Kaushik , Magisetty Jhansi , Rao L. Vijaya Mohan , Pendurthi Usha R.
Published: July 2022

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is the third most common cause of cardiovascular mortality. Several studies suggest that DVT occurs at the intersection of dysregulated inflammation and coagulation upon activation of inflammasome and secretion of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in restricted venous flow conditions. Our recent studies showed a signaling adapter protein, Gab2 (Grb2-associated binder 2), plays a crucial role in propagating inflammatory signaling triggered by IL-1β and other inflammatory mediators in endothelial cells. The present study shows that Gab2 facilitates the assembly of the CBM (CARMA3 [CARD recruited membrane-associated guanylate kinase protein 3]–BCL-10 [B-cell lymphoma 10]–MALT1 [mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1]) signalosome, which mediates the activation of Rho and NF-κB in endothelial cells. Gene silencing of Gab2 or MALT1, the effector signaling molecule in the CBM signalosome, or pharmacological inhibition of MALT1 with a specific inhibitor, mepazine, significantly reduced IL-1β–induced Rho-dependent exocytosis of P-selectin and von Willebrand factor (VWF) and the subsequent adhesion of neutrophils to endothelial cells. MALT1 inhibition also reduced IL-1β–induced NF-κB–dependent expression of tissue factor and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1. Consistent with the in vitro data, Gab2 deficiency or pharmacological inhibition of MALT1 suppressed the accumulation of monocytes and neutrophils at the injury site and attenuated venous thrombosis induced by the inferior vena cava ligation-induced stenosis or stasis in mice. Overall, our data reveal a previously unrecognized role of the Gab2–MALT1 axis in thromboinflammation. Targeting the Gab2–MALT1 axis with MALT1 inhibitors may become an effective strategy to treat DVT by suppressing thromboinflammation without inducing bleeding complications.
Doxorubicin pharmacokinetics and toxicity in patients with aggressive lymphoma and hepatic impairment
Authors: Lai Catherine , Cole Diane E. , Steinberg Seth M. , Lucas Nicole , Dombi Eva , Melani Christopher , Roschewski Mark , Balis Frank , Widemann Brigitte C. , Wilson Wyndham H.
Published: July 2022

Aggressive lymphomas are curable with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy. In patients presenting with elevated serum bilirubin, doxorubicin is commonly dose reduced or delayed based on limited pharmacokinetic data. We evaluated plasma pharmacokinetics of doxorubicin and its metabolite doxorubicinol as well as toxicity in 59 patients with normal bilirubin levels and 10 patients with elevated bilirubin levels. Patients received full-dose EPOCH +/−rituximab. Median (range) age was 51 (18-75) years. Patients with elevated bilirubin levels had higher international prognostic index and poorer performance status. Although median doxorubicin clearance was lower and median plasma doxorubicin and doxorubicinol concentrations were higher in patients with elevated bilirubin levels, values were within the concentration range observed in patients with normal levels. Rates of febrile neutropenia were similar between groups, but there was greater grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia during the first but not subsequent treatment cycles in patients with elevated bilirubin. More grade 3/4 gastrointestinal and neurotoxicity occurred in patients with elevated bilirubin during the first but not subsequent cycles. Although toxicity was greater on cycle 1, the adverse effects were managed safely. These results show that empiric dose reductions of continuous infusion doxorubicin may not be necessary in patients with elevated bilirubin levels. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00001337, #NCT00069238, and #NCT00005780.
COVID-19 and the labour market: What are the working conditions in critical jobs?
Authors: Dütsch Matthias
Published: July 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused public attention on occupational groups that ensure the maintenance of critical infrastructure, provision of medical care and supply of essential goods. This paper examines the working conditions in critical jobs based on representative data from the German BAuA Working Time Survey 2019. Our analyses reveal that essential workers are more likely to perform unskilled or semiskilled activities and work in cleaning, transport and logistics, health care occupations as well as IT and natural science services. Regarding the working conditions, essential workers are paid comparatively less and are more physically proximate to others at work than nonessential workers. They more often work atypical hours, such as day and night shifts and on weekends, and have less autonomy in their working time. Additionally, critical jobs are characterised by muscular and skeletal strain due to working positions and carrying heavy loads significantly more often. Thus, our findings strongly suggest that work-related risks accumulate in critical jobs.
Autosomal dominant optic atrophy caused by six novel pathogenic OPA1 variants and genotype–phenotype correlation analysis
Authors: Han Jinfeng , Li Ya , You Ya , Fan Ke , Lei Bo
Published: July 2022

Purpose

To describe the genetic and clinical features of nineteen patients from eleven unrelated Chinese pedigrees withOPA1-related autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA) and define the phenotype-genotype correlations.

Methods

Detailed ophthalmic examinations were performed. Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) was conducted in the eleven probands using a custom designed panel PS400. Sanger sequencing and cosegregation were used to verify the identified variants. The pathogenicity of gene variants was evaluated according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) guidelines.

Results

Nineteen patients from the eleven unrelated Chinese ADOA pedigrees had impaired vision and optic disc pallor. Optical coherence tomography showed significant thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer. The visual field showed varying degrees of central or paracentral scotoma. The onset of symptoms occurred between 3 and 24 years of age (median age 6 years). Eleven variants inOPA1were identified in the cohort, and nine novel variants were identified. Among the novel variants, two splicing variants c.984 + 1_984 + 2delGT, c.1194 + 2 T > C, two stop-gain variants c.1937C > G, c.2830G > T, and one frameshift variant c.2787_2794del8, were determined to be pathogenic based on ACMG. A novel splicing variant c.1316-10 T > G was determined to be likely pathogenic. In addition, a novel missense c.1283A > C (p.N428T) and two novel splicing variants c.2496G > A and c.1065 + 5G > C were of uncertain significance.

Conclusions

Six novel pathogenic variants were identified. The findings will facilitate genetic counselling by expanding the pathogenic mutation spectrum ofOPA1.