bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-axis modulated compact fiber-based Fabry–Perot interferometric
probe
Authors: Shabahang Farzaneh , Smith Stuart T.
Published: March 2022

This paper presents design and operation of a multi-axis optical probe
for independently measuring the relative displacements of external
surfaces. Displacement is measured by mechanically modulating the
optical cavity formed by an internal surface and the external
surfaces, each of which comprise a Fabry–Perot interferometer.
Multiple sensing axes are created using a beam splitter, and these
sensing axes are separated by modulating the measurement paths at
different frequencies. Two probes have been fabricated and tested; the
first uses a single laser source with axes monitored by shuttering;
the second probe uses two source wavelengths with beam splitting
achieved using dichroic mirrors. Experimental results are presented
for mirrors moving independently over distances of 1 to 2 µm with
displacement noise less than 10-nm rms that is higher than the noise
floor of 2.8 nm for stationary mirrors. Currently, the bandwidth is
limited to the modulation frequencies ranging between 200 Hz and
2.43 kHz.
Machine-learning-based anomaly detection in optical fiber monitoring
Authors: Abdelli Khouloud , Cho Joo Yeon , Azendorf Florian , Griesser Helmut , Tropschug Carsten , Pachnicke Stephan
Published: March 2022

Secure and reliable data communication in optical networks is critical for high-speed Internet. However, optical fibers, serving as the data transmission medium providing connectivity to billons of users worldwide, are prone to a variety of anomalies resulting from hard failures (e.g., fiber cuts) and malicious physical attacks [e.g., optical eavesdropping (fiber tapping)]. Such anomalies may cause network disruption, thereby inducing huge financial and data losses, compromising the confidentiality of optical networks by gaining unauthorized access to the carried data, or gradually degrading the network operations. Therefore, it is highly required to implement efficient anomaly detection, diagnosis, and localization schemes for enhancing the availability and reliability of optical networks. In this paper, we propose a data-driven approach to accurately and quickly detect, diagnose, and localize fiber fault anomalies, including fiber cuts and optical eavesdropping attacks. The proposed method combines an autoencoder-based anomaly detection and an attention-based bidirectional gated recurrent unit algorithm, whereby the former is used for fault detection and the latter is adopted for fault diagnosis and localization once an anomaly is detected by the autoencoder. We verify the efficiency of our proposed approach by experiments under various attack anomaly scenarios using real operational data. The experimental results demonstrate that (i) the autoencoder detects any fiber fault or anomaly with an F1 score of 96.86%, and (ii) the attention-based bidirectional gated recurrent unit algorithm identifies the detected anomalies with an average accuracy of 98.2% and localizes the faults with an average root mean square error of 0.19 m.
Beam-angle-scanning surface plasmon resonance sensor for rapid, high-precision sensing of refractive index and bio-molecules
Authors: Koresawa Hidenori , Seki Kota , Hase Eiji , Tokizane Yu , Minamikawa Takeo , Yano Taka-Aki , Kajisa Taira , Yasui Takeshi
Published: March 2022

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are powerful tools for optical sensing of refractive index (RI) and bio-molecules due to their high sensitivity. In this article, we demonstrate a beam-angle-scanning SPR system using a combined galvanometer mirror and relay lens optics. Use of a photodetector in the galvanometer mirror scanning of the incident beam angle enables both high precision and rapid data acquisition. RI resolution of 2.306×10−5 refractive index unit (RIU) and RI accuracy of 8.984×10−5 RIU were achieved at a data acquisition rate of 100 Hz. Furthermore, we performed real-time monitoring of the avidin-biotin antigen-antibody reaction. The results show the high potential of this beam-angle-scanning SPR system.
Differential synthesis of novel small protein times Salmonella virulence program
Authors: Salvail Hubert , Choi Jeongjoon , Groisman Eduardo A.
Published: March 2022

Gene organization in operons enables concerted transcription of functionally related genes and efficient control of cellular processes. Typically, an operon is transcribed as a polycistronic mRNA that is translated into corresponding proteins. Here, we identify a bicistronic operon transcribed as two mRNAs, yet only one allows translation of both genes. We establish that the novel geneugtSforms an operon with virulence geneugtL, an activator of the master virulence regulatory system PhoP/PhoQ inSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium. Only the longerugtSugtLmRNA carries theugtSribosome binding site and therefore allowsugtStranslation. Inside macrophages, theugtSugtLmRNA species allowing translation of both genes is produced hours before that allowing translation solely ofugtL. The small protein UgtS controls the kinetics of PhoP phosphorylation by antagonizing UgtL activity, preventing premature activation of a critical virulence program. Moreover,S. enterica serovars that infect cold-blooded animals lackugtS. Our results establish how foreign gene control of ancestral regulators enables pathogens to time their virulence programs.
Gut-derived peptidoglycan remotely inhibits bacteria dependent activation of SREBP by Drosophila adipocytes
Authors: Charroux Bernard , Royet Julien
Published: March 2022

Bacteria that colonize eukaryotic gut have profound influences on the physiology of their host. In Drosophila, many of these effects are mediated by adipocytes that combine immune and metabolic functions. We show here that enteric infection with some bacteria species triggers the activation of the SREBP lipogenic protein in surrounding enterocytes but also in remote fat body cells and in ovaries, an effect that requires insulin signaling. We demonstrate that by activating the NF-κB pathway, the cell wall peptidoglycan produced by the same gut bacteria remotely, and cell-autonomously, represses SREBP activation in adipocytes. We finally show that by reducing the level of peptidoglycan, the gut born PGRP-LB amidase balances host immune and metabolic responses of the fat body to gut-associated bacteria. In the absence of such modulation, uncontrolled immune pathway activation prevents SREBP activation and lipid production by the fat body.
Evaluation of insecticide treated window curtains and water container covers for dengue vector control in a large-scale cluster-randomized trial in Venezuela
Authors: Lenhart Audrey , Castillo Carmen Elena , Villegas Elci , Alexander Neal , Vanlerberghe Veerle , van der Stuyft Patrick , McCall Philip J.
Published: March 2022

Background

Following earlier trials indicating that their potential in dengue vector control was constrained by housing structure, a large-scale cluster-randomized trial of insecticide treated curtains (ITCs) and water jar covers (ITJCs) was undertaken in Venezuela.

Methods

In Trujillo, Venezuela, 60 clusters (6223 houses total) were randomized so that 15 clusters each received either PermaNet insecticide-treated window curtains (ITCs), permanent insecticide-treated water storage jar covers (ITJCs), a combination of both ITCs and ITJCs, or no insecticide treated materials (ITMs). A further 15 clusters located at least 5km from the edge of the study site were selected to act as an external control. Entomological surveys were carried out immediately before and after intervention, and then at 6-month intervals over the following 27 months. The Breteau and House indices were used as primary outcome measures and ovitrap indices as secondary. Negative binomial regression models were used to compare cluster-level values of these indices between the trial arms.

Results

Reductions in entomological indices followed deployment of all ITMs and throughout the trial, indices in the external control arm remained substantially higher than in the ITM study arms including the internal control. Comparing the ratios of between-arm means to summarise the entomological indices throughout the study, the combined ITC+ITJC intervention had the greatest impact on the indices, with a 63% difference in the pupae per person indices between the ITC+ITJC arm and the internal control. However, coverage had fallen below 60% by 14-months post-intervention and remained below 40% for most of the remaining study period.

Conclusions

ITMs can impact dengue vector populations in the long term, particularly when ITCs and ITJCs are deployed in combination.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov ISRCTN08474420; www.isrctn.com.
Cortical oscillatory dysfunction in Parkinson disease during movement activation and inhibition
Authors: Disbrow Elizabeth A. , Glassy Nathaniel D. , Dressler Elizabeth M. , Russo Kimberley , Franz Elizabeth A. , Turner Robert S. , Ventura Maria I. , Hinkley Leighton , Zweig Richard , Nagarajan Srikantan S. , Ledbetter Christina R. , Sigvardt Karen A.
Published: March 2022

Response activation and inhibition are functions fundamental to executive control that are disrupted in Parkinson disease (PD). We used magnetoencephalography to examine event related changes in oscillatory power amplitude, peak latency and frequency in cortical networks subserving these functions and identified abnormalities associated with PD. Participants (N = 18 PD, 18 control) performed a cue/target task that required initiation of an un-cued movement (activation) or inhibition of a cued movement. Reaction times were variable but similar across groups. Task related responses in gamma, alpha, and beta power were found across cortical networks including motor cortex, supplementary and pre- supplementary motor cortex, posterior parietal cortex, prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate. PD-related changes in power and latency were noted most frequently in the beta band, however, abnormal power and delayed peak latency in the alpha band in the pre-supplementary motor area was suggestive of a compensatory mechanism. PD peak power was delayed in pre-supplementary motor area, motor cortex, and medial frontal gyrus only for activation, which is consistent with deficits in un-cued (as opposed to cued) movement initiation characteristic of PD.
Analysis of nocturnal, hypoxia-induced miRNAs in sleep apnea patients
Authors: Goody Philip Roger , Nachtsheim Lisa , Hosen Mohammed Rabiul , von Krosigk Miriam , Christmann Dominik , Klussmann Jens Peter , Zietzer Andreas , Breitrück Nils , Jansen Felix , Jansen Stefanie
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. The underlying mechanisms are largely unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are RNAs circulating in the blood that can be released into the bloodstream during hypoxia. In the present study, we investigate if OSAS-induced hypoxia results in a release of miRNAs that may mediate OSAS-associated cardiovascular damage.

Methods

Blood was sampled from 23 OSAS patients before and after a polygraphically monitored night. Total circulating RNA was isolated from the plasma and quantified using real-time qPCR. Using a Taqman miRNA array, the levels of 384 different miRNAs were compared between evening and morning after polysomnography. The most highly upregulated miRNA (miRNA-505) and four additionally upregulated miRNAs (miRNA-127, miRNA-133a, miRNA-145, and miRNA-181a) were then quantified in a bigger patient cohort individually.

Results

Apnea/Hypopnea-Index (AHI) was evaluated and averaged at 26 per hour on nocturnal polygraphy. In an initial miRNA array, a total of 4 miRNAs were significantly regulated. A significant increase of miRNA-145 was observed in the larger patient cohort. No significant changes in concentration were detected for miRNA-127, miRNA-133a, miRNA-181a, and miRNA-505 in this larger cohort.

Conclusion

OSAS results in the nocturnal release of miRNAs into the bloodstream. Our collected data may indicate a hypoxia-induced release of miRNAs into the bloodstream of OSAS-patients. In vitro experiments are needed to confirm the secretion of these miRNAs under hypoxia and evaluate the effect on the cardio vasculature.
External debt and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does governance matter?
Authors: Manasseh Charles O. , Abada Felicia C. , Okiche Ebelechukwu L. , Okanya Ogochukwu , Nwakoby Ifeoma C. , Offu Peter , Ogbuagu Anuli R. , Okafor Chiedozie O. , Obidike Paul C. , Nwonye Nnenna G.
Published: March 2022

This study empirically examined the impact of external debt on economic growth. Also, the interactions of governance, external debt and external debt volatility were further investigated with emphasize on the interective effect of governance as proxied byKaufmann, D., (2007) quality governance measures such as; government effectiveness, political stability, voice and accountability, regulatory quality and corruption control on economic growth. The study utilized annual time series data, focusing on thirty selected Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries for the period 1997 to 2020. The Dynamic System Generalised Method of Moments estimation technique was adopted while controlling for conventional sources of economic growth. Empirical findings from the study reveal that external debt and external debt volatility have a negative and significant impact on economic growth in SSA. Furthermore, the interaction of governance indicators, external debt and its volatility, had a positive impact on economic growth in SSA. This study recommends that SSA government should endeavor to avoid excessive external debt to promote the regions’ capacity to invest in her financial prospects, and to circumvent the danger of repayment of loans using her small income. The SSA governments should also improve the quality of governance by ensuring political stability, minimising corruption, implementing sound policies and regulations that can permit and promote economic growth through the development of the private sector. The governments must ensure that every borrowed debt is properly supervised and utilised for its purposes to spur economic growth. More so, the Guidotti-Greenspan rule of Reserve adequacy should be applied to keep excess borrowings in check.
Prevalence and factors associated with health insurance coverage in urban sub-Saharan Africa: Multilevel analyses of demographic and health survey data
Authors: Amu Hubert , Dickson Kwamena Sekyi , Adde Kenneth Setorwu , Kissah-Korsah Kwaku , Darteh Eugene Kofuor Maafo , Kumi-Kyereme Akwasi
Published: March 2022

Introduction

With the vision of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030, many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have implemented health insurance schemes that seek to improve access to healthcare for their populace. In this study, we examined the prevalence and factors associated with health insurance coverage in urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Materials and methods

We used the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 23 countries in SSA. We included 120,037 women and 54,254 men residing in urban centres in our analyses which were carried out using both bivariable and multivariable analyses.

Results

We found that the overall prevalence of health insurance coverage was 10.6% among females and 14% among males. The probability of being covered by health insurance increased by level of education. Men and women with higher education, for instance, had 7.61 times (95%CI = 6.50–8.90) and 7.44 times (95%CI = 6.77–8.17) higher odds of being covered by health insurance than those with no formal education. Males and females who read newspaper or magazine (Males: AOR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.37–1.57; Females: AOR = 2.19, 95%CI = 1.31–3.66) listened to radio (Males: AOR = 1.29, 95%CI = 1.18–1.41; Females: AOR = 1.42, 95%CI = 1.35–1.51), and who watched television (Males: AOR = 1.80, 95%CI = 1.64–1.97; Females: AOR = 1.86, 95%CI = 1.75–1.99) at least once a week had higher odds of being covered by health insurance.

Conclusion

The coverage of health insurance in SSA is generally low among urban dwellers. This has negative implications for the achievement of universal health coverage by the year 2030. We recommend increased public education on the benefits of being covered by health insurance using the mass media which we found to be an important factor associated with health insurance coverage. The focus of such mass media education could target the less educated urban dwellers, males in the lowest wealth quintile, and young adults (15–29 years).
The effect of financial inclusion on open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities among households in Ghana
Authors: Immurana Mustapha , Kisseih Kwame Godsway , Yusif Hadrat Mohammed , Yakubu Ziblilla Mbanba
Published: March 2022

Globally, and in Ghana, a lot of people do practice open defecation as well as share toilet facilities with other households. Meanwhile, open defecation in particular, is associated with numerous negative health and economic effects. To this end, a number of empirical studies have been conducted on the determinants of access to sanitation facilities among households in Ghana. Nonetheless, while financial inclusion (sustainable ways of ensuring easier accessibility to cheap and useful financial products and services among individuals/firms) can enhance the ability of households or individuals to afford toilet facilities, hence, could help in curbing open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities among households, the previous studies on Ghana did not pay attention to it. This study therefore uses data from the 7thround of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS7) to examine the association of financial inclusion with open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities among households in Ghana. The binary logit regression is used as the empirical estimation technique. The results show that, financial inclusion in general is associated with lesser likelihood of open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities among households in Ghana after controlling for welfare quintile, urban or rural residence and other covariates. Moreover, while informal financial inclusion is statistically insignificant, formal financial inclusion is found to be associated with reduced open defecation and sharing of toilet facilities among households. Thus, in the attempt to eliminate open defecation as well as reduce the sharing of toilet facilities among households in Ghana, conscious efforts should be devoted towards enhancing formal financial inclusion.
Vegetation and vertebrate abundance as drivers of bioturbation patterns along a climate gradient
Authors: Kraus Diana , Brandl Roland , Achilles Sebastian , Bendix Jörg , Grigusova Paulina , Larsen Annegret , Pliscoff Patricio , Übernickel Kirstin , Farwig Nina
Published: March 2022

Bioturbators shape their environment with considerable consequences for ecosystem processes. However, both the composition and the impact of bioturbator communities may change along climatic gradients. For burrowing animals, their abundance and composition depend on climatic and other abiotic components, with ants and mammals dominating in arid and semiarid areas, and earthworms in humid areas. Moreover, the activity of burrowing animals is often positively associated with vegetation cover (biotic component). These observations highlight the need to understand the relative contributions of abiotic and biotic components in bioturbation in order to predict soil-shaping processes along broad climatic gradients. In this study, we estimated the activity of animal bioturbation by counting the density of holes and the quantity of bioturbation based on the volume of soil excavated by bioturbators along a gradient ranging from arid to humid in Chile. We distinguished between invertebrates and vertebrates. Overall, hole density (no/ 100 m2) decreased from arid (raw mean and standard deviation for invertebrates: 14 ± 7.8, vertebrates: 2.8 ± 2.9) to humid (invertebrates: 2.8 ± 3.1, vertebrates: 2.2 ± 2.1) environments. However, excavated soil volume did not follow the same clear geographic trend and was 300-fold larger for vertebrates than for invertebrates. The relationship between bioturbating invertebrates and vegetation cover was consistently negative whereas for vertebrates both, positive and negative relationships were determined along the gradient. Our study demonstrates complex relationships between climate, vegetation and the contribution of bioturbating invertebrates and vertebrates, which will be reflected in their impact on ecosystem functions.
Confusion2Vec 2.0: Enriching ambiguous spoken language representations with subwords
Authors: Gurunath Shivakumar Prashanth , Georgiou Panayiotis , Narayanan Shrikanth
Published: March 2022

Word vector representations enable machines to encode human language for spoken language understanding and processing. Confusion2vec, motivated from human speech production and perception, is a word vector representation which encodes ambiguities present in human spoken language in addition to semantics and syntactic information. Confusion2vec provides a robust spoken language representation by considering inherent human language ambiguities. In this paper, we propose a novel word vector space estimation by unsupervised learning on lattices output by an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system. We encode each word in Confusion2vec vector space by its constituent subword character n-grams. We show that the subword encoding helps better represent the acoustic perceptual ambiguities in human spoken language via information modeled on lattice-structured ASR output. The usefulness of the proposed Confusion2vec representation is evaluated using analogy and word similarity tasks designed for assessing semantic, syntactic and acoustic word relations. We also show the benefits of subword modeling for acoustic ambiguity representation on the task of spoken language intent detection. The results significantly outperform existing word vector representations when evaluated on erroneous ASR outputs, providing improvements up-to 13.12% relative to previous state-of-the-art in intent detection on ATIS benchmark dataset. We demonstrate that Confusion2vec subword modeling eliminates the need for retraining/adapting the natural language understanding models on ASR transcripts.
Skeletal muscle atrophy and myosteatosis are not related to long-term aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage outcome
Authors: Shen Yuanyuan , Levolger Stef , Zaid Al-Kaylani Abdallah H. A. , Uyttenboogaart Maarten , van Donkelaar Carlina E. , Van Dijk J. Marc C. , Viddeleer Alain R. , Bokkers Reinoud P. H.
Published: March 2022

The prognosis of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is highly variable. This study aims to investigate whether skeletal muscle atrophy and myosteatosis are associated with poor outcome after aSAH. In this study, a cohort of 293 consecutive aSAH-patients admitted during a 4-year period was retrospectively analyzed. Cross-sectional muscle measurements were obtained at the level of the third cervical vertebra. Muscle atrophy was defined by a sex-specific cutoff value. Myosteatosis was defined by a BMI-specific cutoff value. Poor neurological outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale 4–6 at 2 and 6-month follow-up. Patient survival state was checked until January 2021. Generalized estimating equation was performed to assess the effect of muscle atrophy / myosteatosis on poor neurological outcome after aSAH. Cox regression was performed to analyze the impact of muscle atrophy and myosteatosis on overall survival. The study found that myosteatosis was associated with poor neurological condition (WFNS 4–5) at admission after adjusting for covariates (odds ratio [OR] 2.01; 95%CI 1.05,3.83; P = .03). It was not associated with overall survival (P = .89) or with poor neurological outcomes (P = .18) when adjusted for other prognostic markers. Muscle atrophy was not associated with overall survival (P = .58) or neurological outcome (P = .32) after aSAH. In conclusion, myosteatosis was found to be associated with poor physical condition directly after onset of aSAH. Skeletal muscle atrophy and myosteatosis were however irrelevant to outcome in the Western-European aSAH patient. Future studies are needed to validate these finding.
Habitat preference of blackflies in Omo Gibe river basin (southwest Ethiopia): Implications for onchocerciasis elimination and control
Authors: Olkeba Beekam Kebede , Mereta Seid Tiku , Goethals Peter L. M. , Yewhalaw Delenasaw , Debesa Gemechu , Ambelu Argaw , Ahmednur Mahmud , Boets Pieter
Published: March 2022

Ecological control of blackflies (Simulium damnosum) can be an alternative or additional tool to enhance onchocerciasis elimination efforts. However, limited research is conducted on the ecology of blackflies in Ethiopia. In this study, we determined the habitat preference of blackfly larvae and their relationship with aquatic macroinvertebrate predators in the Omo Gibe river basin of southwest Ethiopia. Environmental and biological data were collected from 150 sampling sites during both dry and wet seasons in 2019. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were used to identify factors affecting the occurrence and abundance ofS.damnosumlarvae. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to investigate the relationship between environmental and biological variables and the abundance ofS.damnosumlarvae. The findings of this study indicated the abundance ofS.damnosumlarvae increased with increasing turbidity, alkalinity and altitude, but decreased with increasing concentrations of five-day Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), orthophosphate and magnesium ion. Both the presence and abundance ofS.damnosumlarvae decreased with the increasing abundance of stonefly larvae (Perlidae).Simulium damnosumlarvae were found less likely in the presence of mayfly larvae (Baetidae) and were less abundant where Chironomidae are abundant. In conclusion, the findings of this study showed that the habitat preference ofS.damnosumlarvae is determined by environmental factors and that the presence and abundance of the larvae are affected by macroinvertebrate predators. It is essential to establish buffer zones as a part of watershed management to retain pollutants and prevent them from entering directly into water courses to improve water quality and the assemblages of macroinvertebrate predators and enhance biocontrol of blackflies.
Sustainable customer retention through social media marketing activities using hybrid SEM-neural network approach
Authors: Yang Qing , Hayat Naeem , Al Mamun Abdullah , Makhbul Zafir Khan Mohamed , Zainol Noor Raihani
Published: March 2022

Social media has changed the marketing phenomenon, as firms use social media to inform, impress, and retain the existing consumers. Social media marketing empowers business firms to generate perceived brand equity activities and build the notion among consumers to continue using the firms’ products and services. The current exploratory study aimed to examine the effects of social media marketing activities on brand equity (brand awareness and brand image) and repurchase intention of high-tech products among Chinese consumers. The study used a cross-sectional design, and the final analysis was performed on 477 valid responses that were collected through an online survey. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis were performed. The obtained results revealed positive and significant effects of trendiness, interaction, and word of mouth on brand awareness. Customisation, trendiness, interaction, and word of mouth were found to positively affect brand image. Brand awareness and brand image were found to affect repurchase intention. The results of multilayer ANN analysis suggested trendiness as the most notable factor in developing brand awareness and brand image. Brand awareness was found to be an influential factor that nurtures repurchase intention. The study’s results confirmed the relevance of social media marketing activities in predicting brand equity and brand loyalty by repurchase intention. Marketing professionals need to concentrate on entertainment and customisation aspects of social media marketing that can help to achieve brand awareness and image. The limitations of study and future research opportunities are presented at the end of this article.
Preclinical evaluation of a protracted GLP-1/glucagon receptor co-agonist: Translational difficulties and pitfalls
Authors: Simonsen Lotte , Lau Jesper , Kruse Thomas , Guo Tingqing , McGuire Jim , Jeppesen Jacob Fuglsbjerg , Niss Kristoffer , Sauerberg Per , Raun Kirsten , Dornonville de la Cour Charlotta
Published: March 2022

During recent years combining GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonism with the purpose of achieving superior weight loss and metabolic control compared to GLP-1 alone has received much attention. The superior efficacy has been shown by several in preclinical models but has been difficult to reproduce in humans. In this paper, we present the pre-clinical evaluation of NN1177, a long-acting GLP-1/glucagon receptor co-agonist previously tested in clinical trials. To further investigate the contribution from the respective receptors, two other co-agonists (NN1151, NN1359) with different GLP-1-to-glucagon receptor ratios were evaluated in parallel. In the process of characterizing NN1177, species differences and pitfalls in traditional pre-clinical evaluation methods were identified, highlighting the translational challenges in predicting the optimal receptor balance in humans. In diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, NN1177 induced a dose-dependent body weight loss, primarily due to loss of fat mass, and improvement in glucose tolerance. In DIO rats, NN1177 induced a comparable total body weight reduction, which was in contrast mainly caused by loss of lean mass, and glucose tolerance was impaired. Furthermore, despite long half-lives of the three co-agonists, glucose control during steady state was seen to depend on compound exposure at time of evaluation. When evaluated at higher compound exposure, glucose tolerance was similarly improved for all three co-agonists, independent of receptor balance. However, at lower compound exposure, glucose tolerance was gradually impaired with higher glucagon receptor preference. In addition, glucose tolerance was found to depend on study duration where the effect of glucagon on glucose control became more evident with time. To conclude, the pharmacodynamic effects at a given GLP-1-to-glucagon ratio differs between species, depends on compound exposure and study length, complicating the identification of an optimally balanced clinical candidate. The present findings could partly explain the low number of clinical successes for this dual agonism.
A cross-sectional survey of burnout in a sample of resident physicians in Sudan
Authors: Elhadi Yasir Ahmed Mohammed , Ahmed Abdelmuniem , Salih Elhadi B. , Abdelhamed Osman S. , Ahmed Mohamed Hayder Hamid , El Dabbah Noha Ahmed
Published: March 2022

Background

Resident physicians in Sudan face a variety of physical and psychological stressors. Nevertheless, the prevalence of burnout syndrome among this critical population remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence rate of burnout and its associated factors in a sample of resident physicians in Sudan.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used to assess the burnout syndrome among resident physicians at the teaching hospitals of Wad-Medani in Gezira state, east-central Sudan. Three hundred resident physicians at the dermatology, general surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, ear, nose and throat (ENT), oncology, urology, and internal medicine departments, were approached and invited to participate in the study. The Arabic version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was distributed to respondents from July to October 2021.

Results

From the 300 resident physicians, 208 (69.3%) responded. The average age of the study population was 29.99 ± 3.01 years, with more than half were females (56.7%), single (59.6%), and with more than three years of residency experience (50.5%). In total, 86.1% met the criteria for burnout in at least one dimension and 13.9% in all three dimensions. On the dimension of emotional exhaustion (EE), 70.7% reported high levels of burnout. While, 44.2% reported high levels of depersonalization (DP), and 73.1% experienced a sense of decreased professional accomplishment (PA). There were significant differences in burnout, EE, and DP levels among different specialties, with the pediatrics-specialty trainees reported higher levels. Burnout syndrome was associated with the working hours per single duty; participants who reported working for more than 24 hours had experienced higher levels of burnout, EE, and DP.

Conclusion

Large-scale studies are required to assess the determinants of burnout syndrome among resident physicians in Sudan. In addition, Stakeholders should urgently implement effective remedies to protect the mental health of resident physicians.
Reflexiones sobre la posesivización en español. Una aproximación cognitiva a las construcciones nominales con posesivo antepuesto
Authors: Burguillo Escobar María Teresa
Published: March 2022

El objetivo del presente trabajo es proponer una nueva explicación de las construcciones nominales con posesivo antepuesto en español. Partimos de la revisión de las ideas defendidas en trabajos precedentes, muy especialmente en la Gramática Descriptiva de la Lengua Española y en los manuales que marcan la línea explicativa estándar, como los Cuadernos de Lengua Española o la Enciclopedia de Lingüística Hispánica. En primer lugar, se analiza la concepción lingüística general que sustenta la explicación clásica del papel del posesivo en estas construcciones, se ofrece una compendiosa caracterización del fenómeno de la posesivización y se reflexiona acerca de los juicios de gramaticalidad que han sido propuestos como aval de las hipótesis tradicionales, así como sobre las condiciones para la posesivización enunciadas canónicamente. Tras una recopilación de los problemas de las explicaciones tradicionales, se pasa a ofrecer un giro de perspectiva a través de los principios de la lingüística cognitiva. Esencialmente, se utilizarán las herramientas teóricas de los marcos experienciales (Fillmore 1985), la prominencia ontológica y cognitiva (Anderson 1983: 86-125; Deane 1992: 34-35; Collins y Quillian 1969; Collins y Loftus 1975; Schmid 2007) y los puntos de referencia y el acceso mentalmente secuenciado a la referencia (Langacker 2009). A partir de este aparato de análisis y con la incorporación puntual y breve de la teoría de la metáfora (Lakoff y Johnson 1980), principalmente de la metáfora ontológica de objeto, se propone una alternativa explicativa a las construcciones nominales con posesivo antepuesto en español que, no solo incorpora como ejemplo central de la propuesta los casos de posesión stricto sensu, a saber, las relaciones de ‘pertenencia o propiedad’ (las cuales son desplazadas del centro explicativo en la mayoría de las obras canónicas), sino que se da cabida a aquellos contextos en los que los juicios de gramaticalidad son complejos y no evidentes en una primera lectura.
Aplicación de la Semántica de Marcos y la Teoría Sentido-Texto a las colocaciones en español del campo léxico de los aparatos
Authors: Sánchez Mayor Diego
Published: March 2022

Este trabajo propone una aplicación de la Semántica de Marcos y la Teoría Sentido-Texto a las colocaciones del español. Se ha señalado que algunas funciones léxicas se solapan entre ellas u ofrecen problemas de granularidad en el análisis, pues se usa una determinada función léxica para una colocación con verbos de significado poco preciso (como la bomba funciona) y la misma función léxica para colocaciones con verbos de significado más restringido (como la bomba salta o la bomba explota). Aquí defendemos que, para solventar ese problema, se pueden enriquecer las funciones léxicas con indicaciones tomadas de los marcos semánticos. Para demostrarlo hemos creado una combinación ad hoc de funciones léxicas y marcos para un corpus de colocaciones verbonominales del campo léxico de los aparatos (entre las que se encuentran detonar la bomba, el ordenador recaba la información, reglar el radiador, desvalijar un cajero, etc.). En este trabajo describimos algunas de las colocaciones con las que hemos trabajado y mostramos cómo con nuestra propuesta se puede ampliar la granularidad del análisis. Así, por ejemplo, en el caso de la bomba funciona recurrimos al marco “Using”, mientras que en el caso de la bomba explota recurrimos a “Getting_triggered”. Los datos que mostramos en este trabajo señalan que la conjunción de marcos y funciones léxicas permite discriminar rasgos semánticos no detectados por las funciones léxicas aisladamente (un patrón diverso como el ordenador { recaba / analiza / explora } descrito bajo una misma función léxica), así como inducir categorizaciones semánticas (tipos de aparatos que caen bajo un mismo patrón colocacional: aparatos informáticos, explosivos, de indicación informativa, etc.) o incluso especificar rasgos ontológicos no señalados (diferencias existentes entre los significados de robar y saquear o entre llenar o vaciar). Concluimos defendiendo que la conjunción de ambos modelos lexicológicos permite una descripción más amplia y pormenorizada del comportamiento de las colocaciones.
Aproximación al tratamiento de las paremias como pragmatemas y sus posibles aplicaciones
Authors: Caño Laguna Almudena
Published: March 2022

Las paremias se definen como expresiones que representan un conocimiento social o cultural compartido en la comunicación y se pueden manifestar de diferentes formas, entre otros en refranes, proverbios y aforismos. Por definición, las diferentes representaciones paremiológicas se asocian a la comunicación o a la cadena discursiva, pero el trabajo fraseológico y algunas de sus aplicaciones abandonan esta visión para enfocarla al estudio de su composición formal o a su representación en la literatura. No abundan los enfoques basados en el contexto comunicativo, a pesar de que resultan especialmente necesarios en la enseñanza en secundaria o en la Enseñanza de Español como Lengua Extranjera (E/LE). Este trabajo pretende sumar en ese sentido con un estudio paremiológico desde un enfoque basado en la Teoría Sentido-Texto. Este modelo permite asociar algunas paremias a determinados contextos extralingüísticos bajo el concepto de pragmatema y en nuestro trabajo hemos querido averiguar qué condiciones son necesarias para que esta asociación tenga lugar, Para comprobar que las asociaciones entre las paremias y sus contextos de uso son apropiadas, se realizan tres pruebas a un total de 154 informantes, todos ellos hablantes de español como lengua materna. En estas pruebas se extraen las paremias más representativas en el conocimiento colectivo, se asocian tanto a definiciones extraídas de diferentes diccionarios fraseológicos como a diferentes contextos relacionados con la interpretación de la propia paremia y con las restricciones de uso según el grado de confianza en la relación jerárquica entre los hablantes. También se tienen en cuenta en el análisis estadístico variables independientes como la edad y el lugar de procedencia de los hablantes, además de la frecuencia de uso de paremias en la conversación. Con los resultados obtenidos, se puede considerar que algunas de esas paremias pueden ser consideradas pragmatemas y, por lo tanto, pueden modificarse sus aplicaciones basándolas en el conocimiento contextual. Además, estos resultados permiten ampliar los horizontes de estudio, pudiendo analizar las paremias desde perspectivas contextuales y, a su vez, dando lugar a una clave para profundizar en el concepto pragmatema.
Linear growth and systemic glucocorticoid therapy in children with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Anugrah Dikahayu Alifia , Patria Suryono Yudha , Satria Cahya Dewi
Published: March 2022

Background The use of long-term oral glucocorticoid therapy, specifically in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), has increased in the past two decades. Chronic glucocorticoid use may lead to a linear growth disturbances.

Objective To determine the association between linear growth and systemic glucocorticoid therapy in pediatric SLE patients.

Methods This retrospective cohort study used medical record data of pediatric SLE patients. All subjects received systemic glucocorticoids. The linear growth parameters recorded in this study were height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and height velocity at 0, 6, and 12 months of treatment. We recorded potential risk factors of linear growth disturbance, such as pubertal status, sex, SLE severity, pulse methylprednisolone use, daily glucocorticoid dose, and nutritional status.

Results Of 42 patients with SLE, 83.3% were female, with a mean age of 13 years at diagnosis. Eighteen subjects (42.9%) experienced abnormal height velocity. There was a significant reduction in HAZ between 0, 6, and 12 months of treatment (P=0.016). Between 0 and 6 months of treatment, there was a mean HAZ decrease of 0.11 (P=0.015). There was a trend towards a risk for decreased HAZ at 6 and 12 months of treatment with pulse methylprednisolone (RR 1.25 and 1.27, respectively), as well as for abnormal height velocity (RR 1.73), but they did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion There is a reduction in linear growth in the first 12 months of systemic glucocorticoid therapy in children with SLE. Administration of systemic glucocorticoid significantly reduced HAZ in the first six months of therapy.
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy with sensory neural hearing loss as a complication: A 24-month follow up after the initiation of hypothermia therapy
Authors: Melda Melda , Prawirohartono Endy P.
Published: March 2022

Perinatal asphyxia is one of the most common causes of newborn mortality, with an incidence of two to five cases per 1,000 live births in developed countries and tenfold in developing countries.1,2 Lack of oxygen at birth may cause hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) with severe neurological consequences, such as cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, blindness or visual defects, hearing loss or deafness, and other comorbidities. Hypothermia therapy is currently the only management option for HIE included in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) protocols.3

We report here a 24-month follow up of a full-term infant with moderate HIE who underwent hypothermia therapy for 72 hours. The patient had moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) at her first brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA) examination at 5 months of age, but had normal hearing and neurodevelopment after 24 months of follow-up.
Studi Deskriptif dan Analitik COVID-19 pada Anak di Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Ulin Banjarmasin
Authors: Hartoyo Edi , Ariyani Riswenty , Fitri Laila , Nurfahmayati Tania , Qotrunnada Septya Aliza , Rahmiati Rahmiati
Published: March 2022

Latar belakang. Penyakit infeksi COVID-19 adalah penyakit kegawatan disebabkan oleh SARS-CoV-2. Hingga saat ini, data COVID-19 anak masih terbatas. Tujuan. Mengetahui gambaran klinis, laboratorium, dan tatalaksana COVID-19 anak serta hubungan antara karakteristik demografi dengan derajat keparahan.Metode. Penelitian retrospektif dengan metode observasional deskriptif digunakan pada gambaran klinis, laboratorium, dan tatalaksana. Metode observasional analitik melalui studi kohort retrospektif untuk menganalisis hubungan antara karakteristik pasien terhadap derajat keparahan. Seluruh pasien anak usia 0-18 tahun terkonfirmasi positif RT-PCR dan memiliki data rekam medis lengkap dan tercatat di RSUD Ulin Banjarmasin periode April 2020-April 2021 diikutsertakan dalam penelitian. Analisis statistik digunakan uji chi-square atau Fisher’s exact (tingkat kepercayaan 95%) dengan menggunakan SPSS for Windows versi 25.0.Hasil. Dari 32 pasien yang diteliti sebagian besar berusia 0-5 tahun (44%), mayoritas perempuan (56%), sebagian besar memiliki komorbid (69%), dan status gizi anak mayoritas baik (61%). Berdasarkan parameter karakteristik hanya usia yang ditemukan memiliki pengaruh terhadap derajat keparahan. Gambaran klinis paling umum adalah demam dan pneumonia (44%). Hasil laboratorium menunjukan adanya peningkatan D-dimer, anemia, dan peningkatan LDH. Terapi yang diberikan sesuai pedoman mencakup terapi utama dan suportif. Kesimpulan. Gejala klinis COVID-19 bervariasi. Hasil laboratorium sebagian besar normal kecuali beberapa parameter. Tatalaksana dilakukan sesuai pedoman. Tidak ada hubungan signifikan pada jenis kelamin, komorbid, dan status gizi.
Faktor yang Memengaruhi Luaran Kualitas Hidup Anak dengan Hidrosefalus Setelah Pemasangan Shunt Ventrikulo-Peritoneal di Rumah Sakit Umum dr. Mohammad Hoesin Palembang
Authors: Desmita Erni , Dewi Masayu Rita , Darwin Syarif , Permono Trijoso , Irfannuddin Irfannuddin , Indra Raden Muhammad
Published: March 2022

Latar belakang. Anak hidrosefalus dengan VP shunt dapat mengalami penurunan kualitas hidup (QoL) akibat berbagai faktor yang hingga kini belum banyak diteliti.Tujuan. Menilai luaran QoL anak hidrosefalus dengan VP shunt dan faktor yang memengaruhinya.Metode. Anak berusia 5-18 tahun dengan hidrosefalus yang dipasang VP shunt tahun 2010-2015 diidentifikasi melalui rekam medis. Orangtua kemudian diwawancarai dengan panduan kuesioner HOQ (hydrocephalus outcome questionnaire). Hasil meliputi skor QoL pada aspek fisik, kognitif, dan keseluruhan. Skor 0 menunjukkan luaran terburuk dan skor 1 terbaik.  Dilakukan analisis perbedaan skor berdasarkan faktor risiko (usia saat pemasangan, etiologi, adanya kejang dan komplikasi shunt) dan analisis kategorik berdasarkan pencapaian skor standar penelitian terdahulu (0,69).Hasil. Terdapat 95 anak yang diidentifikasi, 18 meninggal dan 46 dengan data tidak lengkap sehingga terdapat 31 anak yang dianalisis.  Skor HOQ yang didapatkan, yaitu fisik 0,75±0,27, sosial-emosional 0,78±0,22, kognitif 0,66±0,31, dan keseluruhan 0,73±0,25. Skor HOQ keseluruhan lebih rendah pada anak dengan komplikasi. Kejang (RR 2,52) dan komplikasi shunt (RR 4,85) berhubungan dengan luaran buruk. Analisis multivariat menunjukkan hanya komplikasi yang berhubungan dengan QoL buruk (adjusted OR 15,11).Kesimpulan. Luaran QoL ditemukan lebih baik dibandingkan penelitian sebelumnya. Kejang dan komplikasi shunt dapat berpengaruh negatif terhadap luaran QoL anak hidrosefalus dengan VP shunt.
Pengaruh Interval Kelahiran Bayi Terhadap Kejadian Stunting pada Balita
Authors: Ayatulloh Kiki Dwi qori , Salimo Harsono , Martuti Sri
Published: March 2022

Latar belakang. Stunting diartikan panjang badan atau tinggi badan terhadap usia kurang dari -2 standar deviasi kurva pertumbuhan WHO 2006. Banyak faktor yang menyebabkan stunting, di antaranya nutrisi, lingkungan, sosial ekonomi, termasuk interval kelahiran. Tujuan. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis pengaruh kedekatan interval kelahiran terhadap kejadian stunting. Metode. Penelitian ini bersifat analitikobservasional secara potong lintang. Subjek penelitian adalah balita yang berkunjung ke Puskesmas Mojogedang. Data didapatkan dari anamnesis orangtua dan tinggi badan balita yang diplotkan pada kurva WHO. Data dianilisis dengan chi square dan analisis regresi logistik.Hasil. Seratus limapuluh delapan balita mengikuti penelitian dengan proporsi 22,2% anak stunting dan 77,8% anak tidak stunting. Pendidikan ibu, IMT ibu, dan pemberian ASI eksklusif tidak berpengaruh dalam penelitian ini. Penghasilan rendah (p=0,007 dengan OR=3,286 dan CI;1,383-7,806), asupan kalori kurang (p=0,004 dengan OR=4,887 dan CI;1,675-14,256), dan interval kelahiran <36 bulan (p=0,035 dengan OR=2,479 dan CI;1,064-5,774) memengaruhi kejadian stunting.Kesimpulan. Interval kelahiran bayi memengaruhi kejadian stunting pada balita.