bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The efficacy and safety of tenecteplase compared with alteplase in adult patients with acute ischemic stroke: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of ten randomized controlled trials
Authors: Chinniah Karthikeyan , Shadakkathulla Nizamudeen
Published: October 2023

Background

Alteplase (tPA) is the only thrombolytic agent approved by the USFDA for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Various randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have reported that Tenecteplase (TNK) is non-inferior to tPA resulting in its approval in various countries. We compared the efficacy and safety of TNK with tPA in adult patients with AIS by performing an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of recently published RCTs. Thus, PubMed and Cochrane databases were searched for RCTs until April 27, 2023. Data is represented as log-odds ratio (logOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). The efficacy outcome measures included early neurological improvement (ENI), recanalization, functional outcomes at 90-days (modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0–1 and 0–2), any intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), symptomatic ICH, and mortality within 90-days.

Results

Ten RCTs involving 5105 adult patients with AIS were included. The rates of ENI (logOR: 0.11; 95%CI: − 0.02, 0.23; p-value: 0.09), recanalization (logOR: 0.33; 95%CI: − 0.02, 0.68; p-value: 0.07), mRS 0–1 at 90-days (logOR: 0.09; 95%CI: − 0.02, 0.21; p-value: 0.11), and mRS 0–2 at 90-days (logOR: 0.07; 95%CI: − 0.29, 0.44; p-value: 0.70) were comparable among TNK and tPA. Similarly, TNK and tPA were comparable regarding any ICH (logOR: 0.06; 95%CI: − 0.11, 0.24; p-value: 0.47), symptomatic ICH (logOR: − 0.14; 95%CI: − 0.47, 0.20; p-value: 0.42), and all-cause mortality (logOR: − 0.04; 95%CI: − 0.23, 0.15; p-value: 0.70).

Conclusions

Based on the included RCTs, TNK is comparable to tPA regarding efficacy and safety. Thus, TNK can be recommended as an alternative to tPA in adult patients with AIS.
The effect of empirical superior vena cava isolation during total thoracoscopic ablation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation
Authors: Kwon Hee-Jin , Jeong Dong Seop , Park Seung-Jung , Park Kyoung-Min , Kim June Soo , On Young Keun
Published: October 2023

Background

In patients with non-paroxysmal AF (atrial fibrillation), various ablation strategies have been attempted to target non-pulmonary vein (PV) foci or to achieve substrate modification beyond pulmonary vein isolation. The efficacy of empirical ablation of the SVC, one of the most common non-PV foci, is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of additional superior vena cava (SVC) isolation in patients with non-paroxysmal AF undergoing thoracoscopic surgical ablation.

Methods/results

A total of 191 patients with persistent or long-standing persistent AF was enrolled. All patients underwent total thoracoscopic surgical ablation for AF, and half of them also received empirical SVC isolation. We compared the atrial tachyarrhythmia (ATa)-free survival rate and procedure-related complications in the two groups of patients. The 3-year ATa-free survival rate was 53% in the SVC isolation group and 52% in the no-SVC isolation group (p = 0.644). There were no differences between the two groups with respect to AF type or LA size. Procedure-related complications occurred in 12 patients (6%). Pacemakers were implanted only in three patients from the SVC isolation group. The only factor influencing recurrence of ATa was LA diameter.

Conclusions

Empirical SVC isolation during thoracoscopic ablation for persistent AF did not improve patient outcomes.
Multitude and Memory in the Chilean Social Uprising
Authors: Aedo Angel , Bernasconi Oriana , Martínez Damián Omar , Olivari Alicia , Pairican Fernando , Porma Juan
Published: October 2023

Between October 2019 and March 2020 Chile experienced the most massive and heavily repressed cycle of social protests in its post-dictatorship (1973–90) history. This essay explores the social uprising as a critical event of political subjectivation through the story of Ricardo, an ordinary young medical technician with no background of political affiliation who fully immersed himself in the forefront of confrontation with the police in the ground zero protest zone while also providing first-aid assistance to those injured. Two vectors triggering Ricardo's unexpected and sudden transformation into an activist are identified: the intergenerational potency of antidictatorial memories and the power of the spontaneous multitude in demonstration. In recalling the dictatorship, Ricardo and his friends used to ask themselves, “What would I have done if I'd been there?” In the face of the social uprising, Ricardo brings to the present that generation-specific question and responds with total exposure, defending the multitude and healing the wounded. We argue that the event's critical nature is interpreted in the light of the past. Ricardo's involvement becomes an ethical imperative in his time and in his own history. This duty fuels his mobilization and desire for social transformation, blurring the analytical boundaries between ethics and politics.
Linguistic (Im)mobility and the Transformation of Korean Language in Ch’ae Mansik’s Late Colonial Literature
Authors: Shim Mi-Ryong
Published: October 2023

This article examines translingual literary circulations through close readings of Ch’ae Mansik’s Korean-language writings from the early 1940s. While a growing number of recent publications have approached late colonial literature through the lens of transnational movement, the primary focus of this emerging body of scholarship has been the Japanese-language writings of Korean writers. Instead of relegating the Korean language of this time to a position of self-evident immobility, this article shows how colonial writings that were never translated into, nor written in, the imperial language reveal indelible marks of border crossings across distances and languages. Ch’ae’s Korean-language texts resist the linguistic hegemony of the Japanese empire not by refusing change or insisting on linguistic purity but by providing testimony of the various ways the Korean language itself was transformed under the demands of the wartime Japanese empire. Countering the idea that automatically equates translation and other forms of transcultural travel to increased heterogeneity, Ch’ae’s writings also show how the wartime instrumentalization of literature as carriers of meaning across greater geographical and cultural distances led to a stripping down of the existing plurality and materiality of sound within the Korean language.
An elastic proteinaceous envelope encapsulates the early Arabidopsis embryo
Authors: Harnvanichvech Yosapol , Borassi Cecilia , Daghma Diaa Eldin S. , van der Kooij Hanne M. , Sprakel Joris , Weijers Dolf
Published: October 2023

Plant external surfaces are often covered by barriers that control the exchange of molecules, protect from pathogens and offer mechanical integrity. A key question is when and how such surface barriers are generated. Post-embryonic surfaces have well-studied barriers, including the cuticle, and it has been previously shown that the late Arabidopsis thaliana embryo is protected by an endosperm-derived sheath deposited onto a primordial cuticle. Here, we show that both cuticle and sheath are preceded by another structure during the earliest stages of embryogenesis. This structure, which we named the embryonic envelope, is tightly wrapped around the embryonic surface but can be physically detached by cell wall digestion. We show that this structure is composed primarily of extensin and arabinogalactan O-glycoproteins and lipids, which appear to form a dense and elastic crosslinked embryonic envelope. The envelope forms in cuticle-deficient mutants and in a mutant that lacks endosperm. This embryo-derived envelope is therefore distinct from previously described cuticle and sheath structures. We propose that it acts as an expandable diffusion barrier, as well as a means to mechanically confine the embryo to maintain its tensegrity during early embryogenesis.
Imaging findings of arrested pneumatisation and differentiation from other skull base lesions
Authors: Kojima Ikuho , Shimada Yusuke , Watanabe Naoko , Takanami Kentaro , Morishita Yohei , Ohkoshi Akira , Iikubo Masahiro
Published: October 2023

Objectives

Arrested pneumatisation (AP) is an anatomic variant of the sphenoid sinus. Since AP remains underrecognised, otolaryngologists and radiologists may mistake AP for a lesion and perform follow-up imaging studies. We investigated the imaging findings of CT, MRI, and F-18 fludeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) for AP, and discussed the differences between AP and other skull base lesions.

Methods:

We reviewed multidetector low CT imaging of 442 patients (285 men and 157 women; age range, 19–93 years; mean age, 67.8 years) who underwent FDG-PET/CT for head and neck tumours between January 2019 and December 2019. The imaging findings of AP were reviewed on CT, MRI, FDG-PET/CT, and compared with those of fibrous dysplasia, chordoma, chondrosarcoma, multiple myeloma, and bone invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Results

AP was identified in 22 patients (14 men and 8 women; age range, 24–93 years; mean age, 67.0 years) based on criteria from previous reports. AP manifested with well-circumscribed sclerotic margins on CT, without evidence of expansion. AP showed high-signal intensity on T  1-/T  2 weighted MRI. FDG-PET revealed non-significant uptake [maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax): 0.85 (range, 0.4–1.27)] in AP. Contrastingly, skull base lesions showed expansion, poorly circumscribed boundaries without osteosclerotic margins, and moderate-to-severe FDG uptake (SUVmax: 1.8–8.4).

Conclusions:

The characteristic imaging findings of AP, namely non-expansile on CT and non-uptake on FDG-PET, may aid in its differentiation from other skull base lesions.
A unique artificial intelligence-based tool for automated CBCT segmentation of mandibular incisive canal
Authors: Jindanil Thanatchaporn , Marinho-Vieira Luiz Eduardo , de-Azevedo-Vaz Sergio Lins , Jacobs Reinhilde
Published: October 2023

Objectives:

To develop and validate a novel artificial intelligence (AI) tool for automated segmentation of mandibular incisive canal on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans.

Methods:

After ethical approval, a data set of 200 CBCT scans were selected and categorized into training (160), validation (20), and test (20) sets. CBCT scans were imported into Virtual Patient Creator and ground truth for training and validation were manually segmented by three oral radiologists in multiplanar reconstructions. Intra- and interobserver analysis for human segmentation variability was performed on 20% of the data set. Segmentations were imported into Mimics for standardization. Resulting files were imported to 3-Matic for analysis using surface- and voxel-based methods. Evaluation metrics involved time efficiency, analysis metrics including Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Intersection over Union (IoU), Root mean square error (RMSE), precision, recall, accuracy, and consistency. These values were calculated considering AI-based segmentation and refined-AI segmentation compared to manual segmentation.

Results:

Average time for AI-based segmentation, refined-AI segmentation and manual segmentation was 00:10, 08:09, and 47:18 (284-fold time reduction). AI-based segmentation showed mean values of DSC 0.873, IoU 0.775, RMSE 0.256 mm, precision 0.837 and recall 0.890 while refined-AI segmentation provided DSC 0.876, IoU 0.781, RMSE 0.267 mm, precision 0. 852 and recall 0.902 with the accuracy of 0.998 for both methods. The consistency was one for AI-based segmentation and 0.910 for manual segmentation.

Conclusions:

An innovative AI-tool for automated segmentation of mandibular incisive canal on CBCT scans was proofed to be accurate, time efficient, and highly consistent, serving pre-surgical planning.
Λεξιλογική γνώση και πολιτισμική ευαισθητοποίηση στην ελληνική ως Γ2 για τουρκόφωνους
Authors: Κολνταμτσά-Γιλμάζ Μερβέ
Published: October 2023

Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή εστιάζει στο λεξιλόγιο ως φορέα πολιτισμικού περιεχομένου. Πιο συγκεκριμένα μελετά συγκριτικά εκφράσεις με χρωματικούς όρους από την ελληνική και την τουρκική αναλύοντας τους συσχετισμούς μεταξύ των εκφράσεων αυτών από την άποψη των πολιτισμικών τους αναφορών. Η έρευνά μας κινείται στο ευρύτερο πεδίο της εκμάθησης μιας γλώσσας ως ξένης και ειδικότερα της ελληνικής γλώσσας ως ξένης όταν μαθαίνεται από ενήλικες τουρκόφωνους και επιχειρεί να ανιχνεύσει πώς η εκμάθηση σχετίζεται με την ευαισθητοποίηση των εμπλεκόμενων μαθητών σε πολιτιστικό επίπεδο μέσα από την τριβή με το λεξιλόγιο της ελληνικής γλώσσας και συγκεκριμένα μέσα από την χρήση εκφράσεων που περιέχουν χρωματικούς όρους. Απώτερος σκοπός της έρευνας είναι επομένως να αναδείξει ζητήματα που –δυνητικά– ωφελούν τα προγράμματα σπουδών και διδασκαλίας ξένων γλωσσών, επειδή εμπλέκουν και πολιτιστικά ζητήματα μέσω της εκμάθησης του λεξιλογίου. Με αυτή την έννοια, η εργασία στοχεύει στη συμβολή γνώσης στην πολιτισμική και διαπολιτισμική μάθηση. Η εργασία αποτελείται από το πρώτο μέρος, το θεωρητικό, και το δεύτερο μέρος, συγκριτική έρευνα των εκφράσεων με χρωματικούς όρους στην ελληνική και τουρκική. Στο πρώτο μέρος, το θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο, υλοποιήθηκε εκτενής βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση και αναλύθηκαν τόσο θέματα που αφορούν την έννοια των χρωμάτων και των συστημάτων που αυτά δημιουργούν στην ελληνική αλλά και στην τουρκική γλώσσα, όσο και το πώς μέσα από την εμβάθυνση και εξοικείωση με το λεξιλόγιο, κατά την εκμάθηση μιας ξένης γλώσσας, τα ευρήματα αυτά αναδεικνύουν στοιχεία πολιτισμικά των διδασκομένων και συνδέονται και με το πολιτισμικό τους υπόβαθρο.Στο δεύτερο μέρος της διατριβής, συγκριτική έρευνα των εκφράσεων με χρωματικούς όρους στην ελληνική και τουρκική, σχεδιάστηκε ερευνητική διαδικασία, ποιοτική και ποσοτική, με σύγκριση μεταξύ λογοτεχνικών κειμένων της ελληνικής και της τουρκικής και των μεταφράσεων τους στην αντίστοιχη γλώσσα. Συλλέχθηκαν και μελετήθηκαν δεδομένα που αφορούσαν τη χρήση των βασικών χρωματικών όρων για καθεμία από τις δυο γλώσσες (ελληνική και τουρκική) και διερευνήθηκε πως αυτά μεταφράζονταν στην άλλη γλώσσα. Έγινε λεπτομερής καταγραφή και ανάλυση των ευρημάτων, ενώ ακολούθησε περιγραφή και σχολιασμός της χρήσης των χρωματικών όρων εννοιολογικά, συνδηλωτικά, σε εκφράσεις μεταφορικές αλλά και σε ιδιωτισμούς και παγιωμένες εκφράσεις. Από την ανάλυση των ευρημάτων προέκυψαν συμπεράσματα για τις ομοιότητες και διαφορές, που παρατηρούνται μεταξύ των δύο γλωσσών στον τρόπο προσέγγισης και χρήσης των φράσεων, που εντοπίστηκαν τόσο μέσα από τα λογοτεχνικά κείμενα όσο και από την έρευνα σε τουρκικά και ελληνικά λεξικά. Στο τέλος της διατριβής παρατίθεται αλφαβητική λίστα με την ελληνική και διεθνή βιβλιογραφία που χρησιμοποιήθηκε κατά τη συγγραφή (σύμφωνα με το σύστημα ΑΡΑ, 6η έκδοση), καθώς και παραρτήματα με το υλικό.
Preface
Authors: Soobard Regina , Kiive Evelyn , Varik-Maasik Ene
Published: October 2023

Kõigil õpetajatel ja õppejõududel on vajalik arendada enda õpetamisoskusi. On vaja märgata õppijate õpistrateegiaid, aidata kujundada arusaamu teaduse olemusest praeguses infoküllases ühiskonnas, kujundada tänapäevastel töökohtadel vajalikke koostööoskusi ja teisi üldpädevusi ning mõista, et tähelepanu vajavad ka täiskasvanud õppijad. EHA vabanumber pakub lugejale teadusuuringute ja raamatututvustusega võimalust mõelda kaasa, kuidas märgata õppijate õppimist ning arendada enda õpetamisoskusi teadlikult, andmaks kvaliteetset haridust kõigil haridusastmetel.
The similarities and differences between scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning
Authors: Groccia James E.
Published: October 2023

Kuigi õpetamise arendamine ja uurimine on kiiduväärt ja olulised tegevused, mis aitavad parandada õpetamise kvaliteeti ning tagada õpetamisele parema positsiooni akadeemiliste elukutsete hierarhias, olen siiski seisukohal, et ka edaspidi tuleks pöörata suuremat tähelepanu akadeemilise õpetamise kui õpetamise arendamise ja uurimise eelkäija tugevdamisele. Usun, et kui ülikoolid keskenduksid kõigepealt akadeemilise õpetamise edendamisele ning alles pärast seda innustaksid akadeemilisi töötajaid aja- ja ressursimahukate õpetamise arendamise ja uurimise projektidega tegelema, oleks saadav kasu oluliselt suurem, väljendudes nii paremas õpetamises kui ka tõhusamas õppimises. Selles artiklis selgitatakse akadeemilise õpetamise ning õpetamise arendamise ja uurimise vahelisi sarnasusi ja erinevusi eesmärgiga aidata ülikoolidel neid protsesse paremini mõista. Esitan ülevaate akadeemilisest õpetamisest mudeli kaudu, mis hõlmab ülikoolis õpetamise ja õppimisega seotud olulisi muutujaid, ning tutvustan lühidalt õpetamise arendamise ja uurimise ajalugu ning põhielemente. Artikli lõpus esitan kokkuvõtte akadeemilisest õpetamisest ning õpetamise arendamisest ja uurimisest, näidates, et neil kahel haridusprotsessil on teineteist täiendavad, kuid kohati lahknevad eesmärgid.
Full text
The use of sketchnotes in teaching: 6th grade students’ experiences of art-based sketchnoting in history lessons
Authors: Pukk Birgit , Rüütel Eha
Published: October 2023

Visuaalseid märkmeid (sketchnotes, visual notes) on kirjeldatud kui rikkalikke märkmeid, kus kombineeritakse käsikirjalist teksti, joonistusi, käsitsi tehtud tüpograafiat, kujundeid ja visuaalseid elemente nagu nooled, kastid ja jooned (Rohde, 2013). Visuaalsetest märkmetest on täheldatud olulist kasu õppimisele, eeskätt info mälus talletamisele ja meenutamisele. Märkmete tegemist joonistustena saab käsitleda kunste lõimiva õppe komponendina. Uuringu eesmärk on kirjeldada õpilaste kogemust joonistatud märkmete tegemisest 6. klassi ajalootunnis, et teha järeldusi selle meetodi rakendatavuse kohta. Õpilased tegid üheteistkümnes ajalootunnis visuaalseid kokkuvõtteid käsitletust. Peale ajalookursuse lõppu täitsid 77 osalejat küsimustiku ja 8 osalejaga viidi läbi intervjuu. Õpilaste hinnangud lubavad järeldada, et selline kunstipõhiste märkmete tegemise viis võib sobida ajalookursuse osaks, kuna sel on potentsiaali toetada õppematerjali meeldejätmist, loomingulist eneseväljendust ja eneseregulatsiooni. Artiklis käsitletakse visuaalseid märkmeid ühe võimalusena lõimida kunste koolitundi.
Summary
„Nam już chodzi o wszystko” – folklor protestacyjny Strajków Kobiet w Warszawie w 2020 i 2021 roku
Authors: Małanicz-Przybylska Maria
Published: October 2023

W październiku 2020 r. ogłoszono wyrok Trybunału Konstytucyjnego, który drastycznie ograniczył możliwość dokonywania aborcji, nawet w przypadku poważnych i śmiertelnych wad płodu. Orzeczenie to wywołało niespotykane od 1989 r. protesty społeczne, które odbywały się w dużych i małych miejscowościach w całym kraju. Postanowiłam przyjrzeć się, stosując narzędzia antropologii zaangażowanej, autoetnografii i folklorystyki, sposobom komunikacji protestujących osób i procesom wytwarzania protestacyjnej wspólnoty. W tekście przedstawiam i analizuję trzy główne płaszczyzny działania folkloru protestacyjnego: słowno-wizualną zawartą na kartonowych transparentach, akustyczną i dotyczącą ruchu, ucieleśnioną.
Kosmogoniczne źródła muzyki w kontekście autoklasyfikacji tradycyjnych instrumentów muzycznych Hucułów. Nowa perspektywa analizy
Authors: Cząstka-Kłapyta Justyna
Published: October 2023

W tradycji huculskiej instrumenty muzyczne dzielą się na dwie kategorie: boże i diabelskie. Podział ten stanowi punkt wyjścia do wielopłaszczyznowej analizy źródeł i wytworów muzyki ludowej. Refleksje badawcze dotyczą próby zrekonstruowania pierwotnego zamysłu konstrukcyjnego twórcy instrumentu, uzasadnienia wyboru odpowiedniego tworzywa instrumentu i sposobu wykorzystania jego właściwości brzmieniowych. Kluczowe dla rozważań jest dokładne prześledzenie tych jakości w różnych kontekstach wykonawczych w związku z archaicznym światopoglądem wierzeniowym, który odwołuje się do kosmogonii (mitu), czyli relacji łączących człowieka z naturą (makrokosmosem) i z jego uświadomionym umuzycznionym mikrokosmosem. W artykule podjęta została próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, w jaki sposób te relacje odzwierciedlają się w formie, materii, jakościach dźwiękowych, wykonawstwie muzycznym obu grup instrumentów.
Breaking the Overton Window: on the need for adversarial co-production
Authors: Johnson Elliott Aidan , Hardill Irene , Johnson Matthew T. , Nettle Daniel
Published: October 2023

Co-production has emerged as one of the key concepts in understanding knowledge-policy interactions and is associated with involvement, for example, of users of public services in their design and delivery. At a time of permacrisis, the need for transformative evidence-based policymaking is urgent and great. This is particularly important in highly distressed ‘left-behind’ communities targeted by the UK Government for Levelling Up, which constitutes an attempt to improve the infrastructural, economic, social and health outcomes of less affluent parts of the UK. Often, policymakers regard the transformative policies capable of addressing these crises as beyond the ‘Overton Window’, which describes a range of policies in the political centre that are acceptable to the public (Lehman, 2010). This window of opportunity can shift to encompass different policies, but movement is slow and policymakers generally believe that significant change lies outside. In this article, we build on recent debates in Evidence & Policy on co-production by outlining an embryonic approach to overcoming this Overton Window-based roadblock in evidence-based policymaking: adversarial co-production, which involves working with opponents of evidence-based policy to develop means of persuading potential beneficiaries to support introduction. This emerging approach has been deployed in examination of public preferences with regard to welfare reform, but can be applied to a wide range of policy areas. We outline briefly the history of co-production, before setting out the process by which adversarial co-production was developed. We then describe the impact of adversarial co-production on public preferences on basic income (BI). This enables us to set out challenges and opportunities for those with an interest in addressing our crises, serving to stimulate genuine debate on longstanding assumptions about the limits of evidence-based policy and public opinion.
Nonlinear optical properties in chiral copper oxide nanosheets
Authors: Wang Xianping , Xie Xin , Xiao Shuyu , Li Cuicui , Li Jun , He Tingchao
Published: October 2023

Chiral transition metal oxides (TMOs) are in the forefront of research as potential active materials in various optoelectronic applications. However, the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the chiral TMOs have not been fully understood. Here, several kinds of copper oxide nanosheets capped with different chiral amino acids are synthesized. Notably, we investigate the NLO activities of these materials, including broadband second harmonic generation and transformation of nonlinear optical properties from saturable absorption to reverse saturable absorption. This work will broaden the use of chiral TMO materials in nonlinear photonic devices.
High-performance narrowband thermal emitter based on aperiodic Tamm plasmon structures assisted by inverse design
Authors: Qiu Qianli , Zhou Dongjie , Zhang Jinguo , Tan Chong , Xu Qianqian , Zhang Zongkun , Wen Zhengji , Sun Yan , Dai Ning , Hao Jiaming
Published: October 2023

Controlling the bandwidth and directionality of thermal emission is important for a broad range of applications, from imaging and sensing to energy harvesting. Here, we propose a new, to the best of our knowledge, type of long-wavelength infrared narrowband thermal emitter that is basically composed of aperiodic Tamm plasmon polariton structures. Compared to the thermal emitter based on periodic structures, more parameters need to be considered. An inverse design algorithm instead of traditional forward methodologies is employed to do the geometric parameter optimization. Both theoretical and experimental results show that the thermal emitter exhibits a narrowband thermal emission peak at the wavelength of 8.6 µm in the normal direction. The angular response of emission properties of the thermal emitter is dependent on the emission angle. We believe that our proposed thermal emitter provides an alternative for low-cost, high-effective narrowband mid-infrared light sources and would have a great potential in many applications.
Multi-step-index fiber with a large number of weakly coupled OAM mode groups for IM/DD systems in data centers: design, fabrication, and characterization
Authors: Zhuang Mingjuan , Tu Jiajing , Wang Dawei , Gao Shecheng , Shen Lei , Luo Jie , Liu Weiping , Li Zhaohui
Published: October 2023

Mode division multiplexing (MDM) technique based on weakly coupled few-mode fibers (FMF) is promising to enhance the capacity of short-reach transmission. We design and fabricate a multi-step-index FMF (MSIF), which supports weakly coupled first-order radial orbital angular momentum mode group (OAMl,1 MG) for MDM transmission. We use three layers of core to regulate the minimum effective refractive index difference (min|Δn
eff
|) between OAMl,1 MG and the adjacent MGs. In experiments, we demonstrate that the fabricated MSIF can support up to OAM6,1 with the interferometric method, and the loss measured by an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) can achieve <0.5 dB/km for the OAMl,1 with an order from |l| = 0 to |l| = 6. The inter-mode-group cross talk (XT) is tested by the power measurement, and the system-level XT after 20 km fiber transmission in the worst case is about −11.1 dB.
Evolutionary innovation through transcription factor rewiring in microbes is shaped by levels of transcription factor activity, expression, and existing connectivity
Authors: Shepherd Matthew J. , Pierce Aidan P. , Taylor Tiffany B.
Published: October 2023

The survival of a population during environmental shifts depends on whether the rate of phenotypic adaptation keeps up with the rate of changing conditions. A common way to achieve this is via change to gene regulatory network (GRN) connections—known as rewiring—that facilitate novel interactions and innovation of transcription factors. To understand the success of rapidly adapting organisms, we therefore need to determine the rules that create and constrain opportunities for GRN rewiring. Here, using an experimental microbial model system with the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens, we reveal a hierarchy among transcription factors that are rewired to rescue lost function, with alternative rewiring pathways only unmasked after the preferred pathway is eliminated. We identify 3 key properties—high activation, high expression, and preexisting low-level affinity for novel target genes—that facilitate transcription factor innovation. Ease of acquiring these properties is constrained by preexisting GRN architecture, which was overcome in our experimental system by both targeted and global network alterations. This work reveals the key properties that determine transcription factor evolvability, and as such, the evolution of GRNs.
A protease and a lipoprotein jointly modulate the conserved ExoR-ExoS-ChvI signaling pathway critical in Sinorhizobium meliloti for symbiosis with legume hosts
Authors: Bustamante Julian A. , Ceron Josue S. , Gao Ivan Thomas , Ramirez Hector A. , Aviles Milo V. , Bet Adam Demsin , Brice Jason R. , Cuellar Rodrigo A. , Dockery Eva , Jabagat Miguel Karlo , Karp Donna Grace , Lau Joseph Kin-On , Li Suling , Lopez-Magaña Raymondo , Moore Rebecca R. , Morin Bethany Kristi R. , Nzongo Juliana , Rezaeihaghighi Yasha , Sapienza-Martinez Joseph , Tran Tuyet Thi Kim , Huang Zhenzhong , Duthoy Aaron J. , Barnett Melanie J. , Long Sharon R. , Chen Joseph C.
Published: October 2023

Sinorhizobium meliloti is a model alpha-proteobacterium for investigating microbe-host interactions, in particular nitrogen-fixing rhizobium-legume symbioses. Successful infection requires complex coordination between compatible host and endosymbiont, including bacterial production of succinoglycan, also known as exopolysaccharide-I (EPS-I). In S. meliloti EPS-I production is controlled by the conserved ExoS-ChvI two-component system. Periplasmic ExoR associates with the ExoS histidine kinase and negatively regulates ChvI-dependent expression of exo genes, necessary for EPS-I synthesis. We show that two extracytoplasmic proteins, LppA (a lipoprotein) and JspA (a lipoprotein and a metalloprotease), jointly influence EPS-I synthesis by modulating the ExoR-ExoS-ChvI pathway and expression of genes in the ChvI regulon. Deletions of jspA and lppA led to lower EPS-I production and competitive disadvantage during host colonization, for both S. meliloti with Medicago sativa and S. medicae with M. truncatula. Overexpression of jspA reduced steady-state levels of ExoR, suggesting that the JspA protease participates in ExoR degradation. This reduction in ExoR levels is dependent on LppA and can be replicated with ExoR, JspA, and LppA expressed exogenously in Caulobacter crescentus and Escherichia coli. Akin to signaling pathways that sense extracytoplasmic stress in other bacteria, JspA and LppA may monitor periplasmic conditions during interaction with the plant host to adjust accordingly expression of genes that contribute to efficient symbiosis. The molecular mechanisms underlying host colonization in our model system may have parallels in related alpha-proteobacteria.
Socio-economic factors and its influence on the association between temperature and dengue incidence in 61 Provinces of the Philippines, 2010–2019
Authors: Seposo Xerxes , Valenzuela Sary , Apostol Geminn Louis
Published: October 2023

Background

Temperature has a significant impact on dengue incidence, however, changes on the temperature-dengue relationship across axes of socio-economic vulnerability is not well described. This study sought to determine the association between dengue and temperature in multiple locations in the Philippines and explore the effect modification by socio-economic factors.

Method

Nationwide dengue cases per province from 2010 to 2019 and data on temperature were obtained from the Philippines’ Department of Health–Epidemiological Bureau and ERA5-land, respectively. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) with a distributed lag non-linear model was utilized to examine the association between temperature and dengue incidence. We further implemented an interaction analysis in determining how socio-economic factors modify the association. All analyses were implemented using R programming.

Results

Nationwide temperature-dengue risk function was noted to depict an inverted U-shaped pattern. Dengue risk increased linearly alongside increasing mean temperature from 15.8 degrees Celsius and peaking at 27.5 degrees Celsius before declining. However, province-specific analyses revealed significant heterogeneity. Socio-economic factors had varying impact on the temperature-dengue association. Provinces with high population density, less people in urban areas with larger household size, high poverty incidence, higher health spending per capita, and in lower latitudes were noted to exhibit statistically higher dengue risk compared to their counterparts at the upper temperature range.

Conclusions

This observational study found that temperature was associated with dengue incidence, and that this association is more apparent in locations with high population density, less people in urban areas with larger household size, high poverty incidence, higher health spending per capita, and in lower latitudes. Differences with socio-economic conditions is linked with dengue risk. This highlights the need to develop interventions tailor-fit to local conditions.
Feedback control of heart rate during treadmill exercise based on a two-phase response model
Authors: Wang Hanjie , Hunt Kenneth J.
Published: October 2023

This work investigated automatic control of heart rate during treadmill exercise. The aim was to theoretically derive a generic feedback design strategy that achieves a constant input sensitivity function for linear, time-invariant plant models, and to empirically test whether a compensator C2 based on a second-order model is more dynamic and has better tracking accuracy than a compensator C1 based on a first-order model. Twenty-three healthy participants were tested using first and second order compensators, C1 and C2, respectively, during 35-minute bouts of constant heart rate treadmill running. It was found that compensator C2 was significantly more accurate, i.e. it had 7% lower mean root-mean-square tracking error (1.98 vs. 2.13 beats per minute, p = 0.026), and significantly more dynamic, i.e. it had 17% higher mean average control signal power (23.4 × 10−4 m2/s2 vs. 20.0 × 10−4 m2/s2, p = 0.011), than C1. This improvement likely stems from the substantially and significantly better fidelity of second-order models, compared to first order models, in line with classical descriptions of the different phases of the cardiac response to exercise. These outcomes, achieved using a treadmill, are consistent with previous observations for the cycle ergometer exercise modality. In summary, whenever heart rate tracking accuracy is of primary importance and a more dynamic control signal is acceptable, the use of a compensator based on a second-order nominal model is recommended.
G9a and Sirtuin6 epigenetically modulate host cholesterol accumulation to facilitate mycobacterial survival
Authors: Prakhar Praveen , Bhatt Bharat , Lohia Gaurav Kumar , Shah Awantika , Mukherjee Tanushree , Kolthur-Seetharam Ullas , Sundaresan Nagalingam R. , Rajmani Raju S. , Balaji Kithiganahalli Narayanaswamy
Published: October 2023

Cholesterol derived from the host milieu forms a critical factor for mycobacterial pathogenesis. However, the molecular circuitry co-opted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to accumulate cholesterol in host cells remains obscure. Here, we report that the coordinated action of WNT-responsive histone modifiers G9a (H3K9 methyltransferase) and SIRT6 (H3K9 deacetylase) orchestrate cholesterol build-up in in vitro and in vivo mouse models of Mtb infection. Mechanistically, G9a, along with SREBP2, drives the expression of cholesterol biosynthesis and uptake genes; while SIRT6 along with G9a represses the genes involved in cholesterol efflux. The accumulated cholesterol in Mtb infected macrophages promotes the expression of antioxidant genes leading to reduced oxidative stress, thereby supporting Mtb survival. In corroboration, loss-of-function of G9a in vitro and pharmacological inhibition in vivo; or utilization of BMDMs derived from Sirt6−/− mice or in vivo infection in haplo-insufficient Sirt6−/+ mice; hampered host cholesterol accumulation and restricted Mtb burden. These findings shed light on the novel roles of G9a and SIRT6 during Mtb infection and highlight the previously unknown contribution of host cholesterol in potentiating anti-oxidative responses for aiding Mtb survival.
Divergence of TORC1-mediated stress response leads to novel acquired stress resistance in a pathogenic yeast
Authors: Liang Jinye , Tang Hanxi , Snyder Lindsey F. , Youngstrom Christopher E. , He Bin Z.
Published: October 2023

Acquired stress resistance (ASR) enables organisms to prepare for environmental changes that occur after an initial stressor. However, the genetic basis for ASR and how the underlying network evolved remain poorly understood. In this study, we discovered that a short phosphate starvation induces oxidative stress response (OSR) genes in the pathogenic yeast C. glabrata and protects it against a severe H2O2 stress; the same treatment, however, provides little benefit in the low pathogenic-potential relative, S. cerevisiae. This ASR involves the same transcription factors (TFs) as the OSR, but with different combinatorial logics. We show that Target-of-Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) is differentially inhibited by phosphate starvation in the two species and contributes to the ASR via its proximal effector, Sch9. Therefore, evolution of the phosphate starvation-induced ASR involves the rewiring of TORC1’s response to phosphate limitation and the repurposing of TF-target gene networks for the OSR using new regulatory logics.
Determination of Optimal Eosinophil Thresholds for Diagnosis of Eosinophilic Gastritis and Duodenitis: A Pooled Analysis of 4 Prospective Studies
Authors: Dellon Evan S. , Bortey Enoch , Chang Alan T. , Paterson Craig A. , Turner Kevin , Genta Robert M.
Published: October 2023

Objectives:

Consensus is lacking regarding the number of eosinophils (eos) required for diagnosis of eosinophilic gastritis (EoG) and eosinophilic duodenitis (EoD). Additionally, thresholds that require multiple high-power fields (hpfs) may not be practical for clinical use, resulting in delayed or missed diagnoses. This pooled analysis of 4 prospective studies assessed thresholds for multiple and single hpfs used to diagnose EoG and EoD.

Methods:

Studies included the phase 2 ENIGMA1, the phase 3 ENIGMA2, an EoG/EoD prevalence study, and a healthy volunteer study. Eosinophils were quantified in the epithelium and lamina propria for controls and symptomatic participants. Symptomatic participants were further divided by histologic diagnosis of EoG/EoD. Peak eos counts were assessed, and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was analyzed to identify eos cutoffs for detection of EoG/EoD using the Youden index and sensitivity and specificity equality approaches.

Results:

Based on the highest specificity analysis in 740 patients, the optimal eos threshold was determined to be 20 eos/hpf in 5 gastric hpfs for EoG (71% sensitivity; 94% specificity) and 33 eos/hpf in 3 duodenal hpfs for EoD (49% sensitivity; 100% specificity). For single-field analysis, the optimal eos thresholds were 33 eos/hpf (EoG) and 37 eos/hpf (EoD), both corresponding to 93% sensitivity and 93% specificity.

Conclusions:

Highly specific single gastric and duodenal hpf thresholds may have more clinical applicability than thresholds requiring multiple hpfs and could better facilitate development of practical histopathologic guidelines to aid pathologists and clinicians in the detection and diagnosis of EoG and/or EoD.
Informatics of the Distribution of Endings Appearance in Korean Textbooks
Authors:   The Society Of Modern Grammar, Im Hyeon-yeol
Published: October 2023

The purpose of this study is to find and discuss linguistics implications that can be found in the distribution of endings in Korean textbooks through quantitative analysis of listening and reading passages in Korean textbooks. Through this work, we will have more meaningful information about the distributional characteristics of the appearance of endings in Korean textbooks, and it is expected that this information can be used as an objective basis for seeking improvements in Korean textbooks. This study used Korean textbooks published by Seoul National University as analysis data. Python was used as an analysis tool. The kkma morpheme analyzer included in the konlpy package was used. For analysis, functions such as ‘kkma.sentences()’, ‘kkma.morphos()’, ‘kkma.pos()’, and ‘len()’ were applied. I went through the process of configuring it as a data frame using the pandas library. Through this process, it was possible to know the characteristics of the type frequency and appearance frequency of final endings, pre-final endings, conjunctive endings, and function-converting endings in listening and reading passages, respectively. In addition, the necessary items for the kkma morpheme analyzer to perform more appropriate endings analysis were also mentioned.
Morphophonolgical Productivity of English Verb-Forming Suffix -en
Authors:   The Society Of Modern Grammar, Park Misook
Published: October 2023

The purpose of this paper is to investigate that the formations of the derived verbs with a suffix -en can be productive structurally and functionally when the phonological and morphological restrictions in the suffixation to the base are satisfied. Phonologically the base should be monosyllabic and have the final obstruents, whereas morphologically the base or the stem should belong to the grammatical class of adjectives (or some of exceptional derived nouns). The semantic property that the suffix -en has could be inchoative or causative; this might be regarded as the latent nature resulting from morphologically meaningful units. As a result, it would be obvious that morphophonological constraints [Obs]#, [monoσ]stem, and [Adj]stem analyzing the phonological distribution and morphosyntactic construction as well as the frequencies in corpus relating with the use of the verb forms with -en prove the productivity in the observation of word formation.
Cumplimiento de las especificaciones en un programa de garantía externa de la calidad. ¿Han tenido impacto los nuevos estimados de variación biológica de la European Federation of Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) en la calidad de los resultados del laboratorio?
Authors: Ricós Carmen , Perich Carmen , Bullich Sandra , Ventura Montserrat , Piqueras Berta , Panadés Mariona , Pilar Fernández-Calle
Published: October 2023

Objetivos

Los resultados de los programas de garantía externa de la calidad se evalúan frente a especificaciones generalmente basadas en los datos de variación biológica (VB). En este trabajo se pretende comprobar, por un lado, si el cumplimiento de especificaciones varía con la aplicación de nuevos valores de VB y, por otro lado, señalar qué patologías estarían comprometidas debido a una prestación analítica poco satisfactoria de sus mensurandos clave.

Métodos

El material utilizado son los resultados de los programas externos de la SEQCML desde 2015 hasta 2022. El método es estimar la desviación del resultado individual respecto al valor diana considerado y calcular el porcentaje de resultados que cumplen la especificación pre-establecida.

Resultados

En 97 de los 133 mensurandos el cumplimiento se mantiene entre el 80 y el 100 % de los resultados obtenidos en los dos períodos estudiados. En 23 mensurandos el grado de cumplimiento oscila entre el 51 y el 79 % en los dos periodos. En ALT, AST y sodio el grado de cumplimiento es igual o menor al 50 % de los resultados en el primer período, quedando en este grupo únicamente el sodio en el segundo período.

Conclusiones

Para la mayoría de los mensurandos estudiados el cumplimiento se mantiene independiente de la especificación empleada (SEQCML o EFLM). Los resultados de ion sodio están por debajo del valor diana, por lo que podrían darse casos de diagnóstico falso de hiponatremia. Los métodos de picrato alcalino no compensado sobreestiman la creatinina, pudiendo ocasionar falsa información de insuficiencia renal.
Von der Entlehnung über das Codemeshing bis zum Translanguaging: Prozesse, Ergebnisse und Folgen von Sprachkontakt
Authors: Földes Csaba
Published: October 2023

This article presents, as a form of opening and outline of problems for the journal issue “Language Contacts/Sprachkontakte”, a synthesized research report concerning processes, results, and consequences of language contact. It systematically summarizes, describes, and interprets research directions, concepts and results of the canonical works of contact linguistics as well as modern, e.g. poststructuralist research. Furthermore, this article serves as a form of think piece that strives to provide impulses for future research. At the center of the description stand the consequences of language contact as a) current results of language contact (e.g. code-switching) and b) specific traces of language contact within a language system that start synchronically but are also diachronically describable (e.g. borrowing).
Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
Authors: Lustenberger Andrea
Published: October 2023

In the young learner (YL) foreign language (FL) classroom, oracy is more important than literacy, but teaching speaking is still primarily repetitive in many contexts. Free speaking activities are difficult to create for teachers and accomplish for learners. This research investigated the ways in which imaginative digital storytelling (DST) tasks can improve oracy and the prior knowledge needed to negotiate meaning. The main data of this study, which were collected over one academic year, comprised a questionnaire of 19 Swiss Year 4 students, video and audio recordings of two dyads working on four collaborative oral DST tasks and a semi-structured interview with the four children and their class/English teacher. The results revealed that collaborative end-of-unit tasks enabled the children to creatively recycle the language learnt. Scaffolding and language support provided on the task sheet allowed a creative and personal approach to DST, which was a motivating experience. Clear guidance for classroom talk fostered collaboration and personal, social and problem-solving competences. These findings have implications for YL FL pedagogy and highlight the need for further theoretical insights into task-based DST.
‘The seas was like mountains’: intra-writer variation and social mobility in Irish emigrant letters
Authors: Ávila-Ledesma Nancy E. , Amador-Moreno Carolina P.
Published: October 2023

This paper presents a case study based on the writing of James Horner, one of the many Irish emigrants who crossed the Atlantic between the late 1700s and early 1800s. Communication between Horner and his family back in Ireland was kept through personal correspondence. His letters, which contain about 14,000 words in total, are part of the Corpus of Irish English Correspondence (CORIECOR), and they provide detailed accounts of his experiences and impressions of the recently adopted country. They also show progressive standardisation, which makes them an interesting site for historical sociolinguistic analysis: shifting from vernacular Irish English towards a more standardised type of English to some degree. Our study focuses on the use of subject-verb agreement and addresses the following research questions: does geographical and social mobility condition Horner’s speech? If so, how does an individual’s social status affect language? The findings reported below show that social mobility as well as dialect contact seem to have contributed to general standardisation and the subsequent blurring of identity markers in language use. The paper, thus, offers new perspectives on the analysis of intra-speaker variation using historical data and contributes to the discussion of the need for this type of micro-analysis in the area of historical sociolinguistics.
Option pricing: Examples and open problems
Authors: Halidias Nikolaos
Published: October 2023

There is no method of predicting the price of an option other than hedging strategies such as the binomial hedging strategy, the Black–Scholes hedging strategy and others.
We will study these two basic hedging strategies in terms of their feasibility, and we will see that the Black–Scholes hedging strategy is not feasible because this strategy demands instantaneously rebuilding the replicating portfolio.
Consequently, the real world prices of the options are not relevant at all with the Black–Scholes hedging strategy!
We will suitably redefine the binomial hedging strategy so that it will be practically useful and present other feasible and generally more effective hedging strategies with some of them practically useful for options with no tradable underlying assets.
Finally, we will mention some open questions related to the above.