bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical Simulation of Crack Evolution Mechanism and Subsidence Characteristics Effected by Rock Mass Structure in Block Caving Mining
Authors: Zhang Dongjie , Wang Jianduo , Guo Shuai , Cao Jianli
Published: June 2021

In the block caving mining, the significant rock mass deformation and surface subsidence will be formed with the continuous extraction of ore. However, the internal crack evolution mechanisms in rock mass and associated subsidence characteristics present one of the key issues in rock mining engineering. Although block caving method has been used for many years, current knowledge of the crack evolution mechanisms, the subsidence characteristics under the influence of rock mass structure and subsidence prediction capabilities are limited. Based on the rock mechanics model provided by CEMI, crack evolution mechanisms and subsidence characteristics effected by the rock mass structure in block caving are numerically investigated using RFPA 2D, a numerical code based on FEM. Crack formation, propagation and coalescence in the overlying strata and the stress-balancing arch evolution in the stress field are represented visually during the whole process of extraction. The numerically obtained crack evolution shows that the stress-balancing arch has a significant influence on the fracture development of rock mass, and directly determines the slump form and rate of the rock mass. After understanding of the crack evolution mechanism in rock mass, the characteristics of surface subsidence are analyzed. Numerical experiments emphasize the geometrical configuration of joints and faults about mechanisms of subsidence development, including joints orientation, faults location and inclination, which can provide significantly meaningful guides for investigation of subsidence mechanisms and implementation of remedial measures.
Design Framework for the implementation of AI-based (service) business models for manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
Authors: von Garrel Joerg , Jahn Carlos
Published: June 2021

Crucial for the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises on global markets is that companies not only use AI to concentrate on the efficiency and thus improvement of internal processes but also on the effectiveness, i.e. the development of (service) business models. In this context more and more companies are realising the potentials of AI, but they are lacking the knowledge of how they could integrate it into their existing business. In order to systematically support the effective and efficient development of AI-based (service) business models for small and medium-sized enterprises, this article is targeted at the development of a design framework for the implementation of AI-based service business models for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Intraseasonal Variability of the Kuroshio at 18°N Observed by Mooring Array in 2018-2020
Authors: Yuan Xin , Wang Qingye , Ma Jie , Hu Shijian , Hu Dunxin
Published: June 2021

Based on direct measurements of the Kuroshio current velocity at 18°N by an array of three moorings from January 2018 to February 2020, the intraseasonal variability (ISV) of the Kuroshio and possible dynamic mechanism are studied. The Kuroshio transport in the upper 350m between 122.7°E and 123.3°E is estimated to be 6.5 Sv ± 2.6 Sv. It is revealed for the first time that both the current velocity and volume transport the Kuroshio at 18°N have a significant 50-60-day ISV, which contributes to over 30% of the total variance. Further analysis indicates the ISV of the Kuroshio is caused by the westward propagating eddies with a wavelength of about 633 km and a propagation speed of about 13 cm/s. In addition, the transport mode (74.2%) of the Kuroshio at 18°N is dominant, rather than the migration mode (11.6%). That is different from the Kuroshio east of Taiwan. The findings of this study will highlight the important role of westward Rossby waves (eddies) with a finite wavelength in modulating the intraseasonal variability of the Kuroshio transport near its origin.
Geothermal Field Research using Gravity and Electric data in Afyonkarahisar Province of Western Turkey
Authors: ELMAS Ali , BABACAN Ali Erden
Published: June 2021

Geothermal is one of the important energy sources because it is renewable energy and does not have any significant damage to the environment. The western Anatolian part of Turkey has a high potential in terms of geothermal energy. The study area, which is thought to have geothermal characteristics, is close to Afyonkarahisar province in Turkey. In this study, gravity data with horizontal gradient magnitude (HGM) and tilt angle map (TAM) techniques, and electric resistivity data with vertical electric sounding (VES) technique are used for the reveal of underground structure and location of hot water regions. Thus, locations with excess geothermal energy can be identified and locations of potential hot water areas can be determined. The possible hot areas are characterized with high density contrast and low resistivity values. According to the calculations made, the depth of the target mass for the geothermal source starts from approximately 300 m and continues up to 1100 m. More reliable and accurate results can be obtained by holistic interpretation of gravity and electrical resistivity methods in a geothermal field.
Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Brain Emotional Control Design for the Synchronization of 4D Nonlinear Hyperchaotic Systems
Authors: Huynh Tuan-Tu , Lin Chih-Min , Le Tien-Loc , Vu Mai The , Chao Fei
Published: June 2021

This research provides a novel intelligent control structure for 4D nonlinear hyperchaotic systems. This is a hybrid design containing a new interval type-2 fuzzy fourfold function-link brain emotional controller and a smooth robust controller. It comprises a fuzzy inference system and three subnetworks. The subnetworks are a new fourfold function-link network, a type-2 fuzzy amygdala network and a type-2 fuzzy prefrontal cortex network that decrease the synchronization errors efficiently, follow the reference signal well and achieve good performance. Two Lyapunov stability functions are utilized to get the adaptive laws, and they are applied to online tune the parameters of the system. The proposed design is used to synchronize two 4D nonlinear hyperchaotic systems and the simulation results are given to demonstrate its superiority and effectiveness.
A 1150-year-long AMV reconstruction suggests early warning for a North Atlantic climate tipping point
Authors: Michel Simon , Swingedouw Didier , Mignot Juliette , Gastineau Guillaume , Ortega Pablo , Khodri Myriam , McCarthy Gerard
Published: June 2021

The Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV) is a large-scale climate phenomenon with crucial impacts on human societies and ecosystems. Its periodicity and drivers are controversial due to the short temporal extent of instrumental observations and competing impacts of external forcing and internal variability. Here, we use a well-verified set of paleoclimate proxy records and compare four regression methods to perform different reconstructions of the AMV since 850 C.E., built to only reflect internal variability in the Atlantic. The best performing reconstruction, when verified both against climate model outputs and independent proxy records is obtained using the non-linear random forest method. It exhibits large multi-decadal variations in the range of 20-90 years, a broader range than the 50-70 years identified in instrumental records. The reconstruction shows that AMV autocorrelation properties have experienced a significant change in the recent decades, suggesting an early warning signal for the proximity of a tipping point in the Atlantic.
Associations Between Personality Traits and Adherence to Treatment in Patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma in an African Population
Authors: Antiri Ebenezer Oduro , Ocansey Stephen , Ntodie Michael , Abokyi Samuel , Abraham Carl Halladay , Abu Emmanuel Kwasi
Published: June 2021

Purpose: There is poor adherence to medication among patients with glaucoma especially in people of African ancestry. The present study assessed the influence of personality traits on adherence to glaucoma medication among patients living with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) from an African population. Methods: A clinic-based cross sectional study was conducted among patients with POAG attending a specialist eye care facility. Adapted and validated personality trait and medication adherence measures questionnaires were used.Results: Self-reported adherence to glaucoma medication was 60.8% but the overall mean adherence score was 18.58±3.40, indicating slight non-adherence. The personality traits conscientiousness and agreeableness significantly predicted medication adherence but accounted for only 30.3% and 13.3% of the variance respectively. Non-adherence to medication was significantly predicted by the personality profiles neuroticism, extraversion and openness which respectively accounted for 61.7%, 20.3% and 13.3% of the variance in the personality trait assessment. Old age and longer use of glaucoma medications were also significantly associated with non-adherence to glaucoma medication.Conclusions: Glaucoma patients’ personality profiles significantly predicted their adherence to glaucoma medications. Assessment of the personality profiles and appropriate psychotherapeutic approaches should be included in glaucoma diagnosis and management protocols in order to enhance medication adherence in patients living with glaucoma.
A Fine-Grained Analysis of Misinformation in COVID-19 Tweets
Authors: Kumar Sumit , Pranesh Raj Ratn , Carley Kathleen M.
Published: June 2021

In the past few years, there has been an expeditious growth in the usage of social media platforms and blogging websites which has passed 3.8 billion marks of active users that use text as a prominentmeans for interactive communication. A fraction of users spread misinformation on social media. As Twitter has 330 million monthly active users, researchers have been using it as a source of data for misinformation identification. In this paper, we have proposed a Twitter dataset for fine-grained classification. Our dataset is consists of 1970 manually annotated tweets and is categorized into 4 misinformation classes, i.e, “Irrelevant”, “Conspiracy”, “True Information”, and “False Information” based on response erupted during COVID-19. In this work, we also generated useful insights on our dataset and performed a systematic analysis of various language models, namely, RNN (BiLSTM, LSTM), CNN (TextCNN), BERT, ROBERTA, and ALBERT for the classification task on our dataset. Through our work, we aim at contributing to the substantial efforts of the research community for the identification and mitigation of misinformation on the internet.
Lipoma HMGIC fusion partner expression differs in primary tumors and lymph node metastases in malignancy.
Authors: Levy Willard A.
Published: June 2021

Breast cancer is the most common cancer found in women. 1. Metastasis is the leading cause of mortality among cancer patients. 2. As the number of axillary lymph nodes with metastases grows the prognosis for patients with breast cancer worsens3. We used a published microarray dataset4 to find genes linked to lymph node metastasis, which is an early stage of breast cancer metastasis. When comparing original breast tumors to lymph node metastases from patients diagnosed with breast cancer, we discovered substantial differences in LHFP gene expression. When comparing primary breast tumors to neighboring normal breast tissue, LHFP was shown to be one of the most differentially expressed genes in a separate microarray dataset5. In individuals with breast cancer, LHFP expression was shown to be substantially linked with median overall survival. LHFP may be involved in the mechanisms that lead to the transformation or progression of the original tumor in human breast cancer, as well as lymph node metastasis. Breast cancer, breast cancer metastasis, lymph node metastasis, LHFP, breast cancer systems biology, and breast cancer targeted treatments.
In diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, non-coding RNA expression is significantly varied dependent on overall survival
Authors: Castillo Henley , Mellor Kenzie , Marks Amelia-Mae , L Willard
Published: June 2021

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a kind of pediatric brain cancer that kills 99 percent of patients within five years and for which there are no conventional chemotherapies. It is crucial for new treatments to comprehend the cancer's transcriptional activity. Using a published dataset, we compared the transcriptomes of tumors from patients who lived longer or less than six months. Among the genes whose expression changed most, we observed that numerous microRNAs and snoRNAs were present. The publication's findings are the first evidence of variable levels of non-coding RNA expression in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
COVID-19 recovery measures and use of medications among COVID-19 patients at home: A cross- sectional study in Bangladesh
Authors: Noman Abdullah Al , Joarder Taufique , Islam Md. Shofiqul , Hossain Md. Sabbir , Sadaf Samia , Noman Md. Abdullah Al , Sakib Nazmus , Ekra Jannatul Efte , Islam Md. Sujan , Meem Rima Islam , Sana Samiron , Rahman Mohammad Meshbahur
Published: June 2021

Background
The COVID-19 is the greatest catastrophe of the 21st century that ravaged health, economy, and everyday life. Over 90% of the infected individuals in Bangladesh took home treatments following various approaches and consuming different medications. The study aims to identify the recovery measures and the medications used by COVID-19 patients at home.
Methods
An online-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted between 5 October 2020 and 5 January 2021 among the COVID-19 patients who did not seek care from hospitals and recovered at home. Participants from all the administrative divisions of Bangladesh were recruited via social media. After obtaining consent, subjects were enrolled to complete the questionnaire that included questions on demographic characteristics, clinical itinerary, non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches.
Results
Of the 241 respondents, the majority were males (64.3%), aged 21-30 years (42.3%), and urban residents (65.6%). Fever (92.5%), cough (78.4%), and sore throat (62.7%) were the most common symptoms. Hypertension (17.3%), allergic rhinitis (15.3%), and asthma (15.3%) were the most prevalent pre-existing chronic conditions. Most of the respondents adopted some non-pharmacological approaches, such as inhaling steam/gargling warm water (75.1%), drinking any hot drink (85.9%), and consuming vegetables and fruits (67.6%) daily. Among the medicines consumed, paracetamol was the highest (97.1%), followed by antihistamines (77.6%) and antibiotics (61.4%) while corticosteroid, antiparasitic and antiviral drugs were less consumed drugs. Binary logistic regression found, living in the urban area, level of education and pre-existing diabetes were significant factors that impact recovery time from the COVID-19.
Conclusions
Most of the individuals experienced mild to moderate symptoms and used non-pharmacological approaches, while over-the-counter drugs were the most consumed medicines. Though these measures did not contribute significantly to recovery time, these can be used as a form of home management in the early stage to reduce the disease severity and may be effective for mild and moderate patients.
Biosequestration of chromium (VI) from aqueous medium using carbonaceous adsorbents derived from Eichhornia crassipes
Authors: PARAMESWARI E , Premalatha R.P. , Davamani V. , Sebastian S.Paul
Published: June 2021

Utilization of the biochar that are derived from Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) as biosorbent for Cr (VI) adsorption was investigated. The biochar was characterized before and after Cr (VI) adsorption by SEM, FTIR and EDX. The influencing parameters viz., solution pH, solute concentrations, reaction duration, adsorbent dose and size have been examined. The most favorable conditions for Cr (VI) removal were found to be pH = 2.0, adsorbent size = 0.2 mm, adsorbent dosage = 2.5g/100ml, adsorbate/solute concentration = 100mg/L of Cr (VI) at 25ºC at 250 rpm. Rate of adsorption was rapid and equilibrium was reached at 36 hours. The equilibrium relationship between the sorbent and sorbate was determined using the isotherms Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models. The Langmuir dimensionless constant (KR) for each of the solute concentration was ranged between 0 and 1, it indicates the favourable adsorption of Cr (VI) onto the adsorbent. Adsorption data was very well explained through Langmuir isotherm where sorption occurs on monolayer with the maximum biosorption capacity of 55.55 mg/g. Adsorption rate and its mechanisms were elucidated through kinetic studies viz., Pseudo first order, second order, elovich and intra particle diffusion models. On comparison with various kinetic models, results fitted excellently with pseudo second order model (R2 = 0.999). It suggests that Cr (VI) adsorption by could be better described by chemisorption which involves sharing of electrons between adsorbents and adsorbate. Hence, the biochar derived from E. crassipes are efficiently used as an ecofriendly biosorbent for the management of Cr (VI) rich waste water.
Neurological Manifestations of Sickle Cell Anaemia among Sudanese patients
Authors: Ahmed Abbasher Hussien Mohamed , Siddig Amira , Ahmed Khabab Abbasher Hussien Mohamed , Omer Mohammed Eltahier Abdalla
Published: June 2021

Introduction: Central nervous system involvement is one of the most devastating aspects of sickle cell disease. Objectives: The aim of this review is to document the range of neurological complications of sickle cell disease. Methods and materials: This is a descriptive cross-sectional Hospital based study. One hundred Sudanese patients with Sickle cell anemia were included in the study during the period from March to July 2018. Results: The most common age group affected was below 20 years, Male to female ratio was almost equal; irritability & headache were the most common symptoms 41%, 40% respectively. Numbness was observed in 25%, hemiplegia in 24%, seizure in 19%, recurrence of hemiplegia occurred in 8%, gait was found to be spastic in 14%, limping gait (due to non-neurological causes) in 7%, while inability to walk in 6% and cerebellar manifestation in 2%.Conclusion: The study revealed high incidence of irritability and headache followed by numbness then hemiplegia.Hemiplegia is usually ischemic in children and hemorrhagic in adults. Silent brain infarcts occur in 17% of patients. Convulsions occur as an isolated event but frequently associated with stroke.
B2M gene knockout in HEK293T cells by non-viral delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 for the induction of universal cell
Authors: Ranjbar Maryam , Amiri Farshid , Nourigorji Marjan , Torabizadeh Farid , Dara Mahintaj , Dianatpour Mehdi
Published: June 2021

Allogeneic stem cells have been introduced as a potential approach to generate grafts in regenerative medicine. But the clinical usage of them is limited due to the risk of immune rejection that is induced by the incompatibility of human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) between donors and recipients. To overcome this limitation, we knocked out the β2 microglobulin (B2M) gene which is crucial for HLA class I expression, using CRISPR/Cas9 approach. Non-viral transfer of two gRNAs targeting exon 1 and intron 1 in B2M gene caused in large and predictable deletion in region between two loci, which was defined by sequencing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Furthermore, results revealed that roughly 11.11% and 22.22% of the GFP expressing cells reflecting a homozygous and heterozygous pattern of genomic modifications. We demonstrated that the dual guide RNA approach is a simple and efficient method for gene disruption. Significantly, these engineered hypoimmunogenic cells could be proposed as universal cells that are not distinguishable to the recipient immune system in cell therapy and transplantation.
Caveats on COVID-19 Herd Immunity Threshold: the Spain case
Authors: Garcia-Garcia David , Morales Enrique , Fonfría Eva S. , Vigo Isabel , Bordehore Cesar
Published: June 2021

After a year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated consequences, hope looms on the horizon thanks to vaccines. The question is what percentage of the population needs to be immune to reach herd immunity, that is to avoid future outbreaks. The answer depends on the basic reproductive number, R0, a key epidemiological parameter measuring the transmission capacity of a disease. Besides the virus itself, R0 depends on the characteristics of the population and their environment. Additionally, the estimate of R0 depends on the methodology used, the accuracy of data, and the generation time distribution. The aim of this study is to provide a herd immunity threshold for Spain, for which we considered the different combinations of these elements to obtain the R0 for the Spanish population. Estimates of R0 range from 1.39 to 3.10, with the largest differences produced by the choice of the methodology to estimate R0. With these values, the herd immunity threshold ranges from 28.1–67.7%, which makes 70% a realistic upper bound for Spain.
Fifth fundamental force and unification of fundamental forces
Authors: Singh Raghvendra
Published: June 2021

There are four known fundamental forces of nature and there is a need to combine them into a unified theory. Progress has been made toward this goal but gravity remains an issue. However, the four forces are body forces that act on points. They together do not make the universe a closed system. Here, I identify a surface force, which acts outward normal to the surface of the universe. Further, using water drop hanging in a vacuum as a model, I provide a formula to find the magnitude of this force. The fifth force is generated by the surface tension, a property of dark energy. On the other hand, matter particles interact with each other through a cohesive force and with dark matter through an adhesive force. I give a range of the functional forms of all cohesive and adhesive forces and present an equation that unifies all the forces of nature.
Thermodynamic Casimir forces in strongly anisotropic systems within the $N\to \infty$ class
Authors: Łebek Maciej , Jakubczyk Pawel
Published: June 2021

We analyze the thermodynamic Casimir effect in strongly anisotropic
systems from the vectorial N\to\inftyN→∞
class in a slab geometry. Employing the imperfect (mean-field) Bose gas
as a representative example, we demonstrate the key role of spatial
dimensionality dd
in determining the character of the effective fluctuation-mediated
interaction between the confining walls. For a particular, physically
conceivable choice of anisotropic dispersion relation and periodic
boundary conditions, we show that the Casimir force at criticality as
well as within the low-temperature phase is repulsive for dimensionality
d\in (\frac{5}{2},4)\cup (6,8)\cup (10,12)\cup\dotsd∈(52,4)∪(6,8)∪(10,12)∪…
and attractive for d\in (4,6)\cup (8,10)\cup \dotsd∈(4,6)∪(8,10)∪….
We argue, that for d\in\{4,6,8\dots\}d∈{4,6,8…}
the Casimir interaction entirely vanishes in the scaling limit. We
discuss implications of our results for systems characterized by
1/N>01/N>0
and possible realizations in the contexts of optical lattice systems and
quantum phase transitions.
Communication policy of cinema industry enterprises in the context of COVID-19 (on the example of cinema chains)
Authors: Melnychenko Svitlana , Mazaraki Anatolii , Vedmid Nadiia , Okhrimenko Alla , Shtanova Aliona
Published: June 2021

The global pandemic caused a crisis in the Ukrainian cinema industry. Some entities were closed, but the biggest market players were able to concentrate their efforts on interacting with visitors through social networks, public attention, frequent press mentions and discussions of influencers as synergies of communication policy tools. The purpose of the paper is to make proposals for improving the communication policy of cinema chains under new challenges. Based on a system analysis and indices of activity in social media of ten key Ukrainian cinema chains during the COVID-19 period, the main trends of their behavior and vision of development were determined. Changes were detected in the product strategy. To increase the effectiveness of communication policy, a focus should be on enhanced communications with consumers, especially through the implementation of a content-plan for publications on Facebook and Instagram, including facts from the lives of actors or filmmaking process, uniting followers around the filming theme, interacting, etc. Based on the above, the proposals are made to strengthen communication policy: activating posting frequency, generating more interesting content, and focusing on engaging with the followers. It turned out that such changes affect the key quality efficiency of social media marketing in two cinema chains. Such events rebuild the online community of moviegoers, which fosters loyalty and increases in visitors in the post-pandemic period. In this context, the implementation of online cinema in cooperation with distributors will contribute to formatting an online platform aimed at attracting a larger number of consumers, regardless of external circumstances.
Tracing the Genealogy of Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah Concept: A Historical Approach
Authors: Tajrid Amir
Published: June 2021

This paper aims to explore the emergence, continuity and shifting of the meaning of maqāṣid al-sharī’ah. Initially, maqāṣid al-sharī’ah entered into the study of uṣūl al-fiqh and later became an independent scientific discipline. Historically, the journey of maqāṣid al-sharī’ah has four periods, namely, the pre-codification era, the first development era, the second development era, and the maturation era as a scientific discipline. This paper is qualitative with a descriptive-analytic method, namely exploring the concept of maqāṣid al-sharī’ah in various literature. The findings in this paper are, first, the history of the emergence and development of maqāṣid al-sharī’ah is closely related to the enforcement of Islamic law. Second, the continuity of maqāṣid al-sharī'ah is an ideological concept because it is based on the prevailing paradigm
Doxorubicin Loaded Dextran-coated Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Na-noparticles with Sustained Release Property: Intracellular Uptake, Phar-macokinetics and Biodistribution Study
Authors: Li Houli , Luo Zhiyi , Peng Mingli , Guo Lili , Li Fuqiang , Feng Weiyi , Cui Yali
Published: June 2021

Background:

Due to the short biological half-life and serious side effects (especially for heart and kidney), the application of Doxorubicin (Dox) in clinical therapy is strictly limited. To overcome these shortcomings, a novel sustained release formulation of doxorubicin-loaded dextran-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Dox-DSPIONs) was prepared.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intracellular uptake behavior of Dox-DSPIONs and to investigate their pharmacokinetics and biodistribution properties.

Method:

Confocal laser scanning microscopy was employed to study the intracellular uptake and release properties of Dox from Dox-DSPIONs in SMMC-7721 cells. Simple high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) method was established to study the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution properties of Dox-DSPIONs in vivo after intravenous administration and compared with free Dox.

Results:

Intracellular uptake experiment indicated that Dox could be released sustainedly from Dox-DSPIONs over time. The pharmacokinetics parameters displayed that the T1/2and AUC0-24h of Dox-DSPIONs were higher than those of free Dox, while the Cmax of Dox-DSPIONs was significantly lower than that of free drug. The biodistribution behaviors of the drug were altered by Dox-DSPIONs in mice, which showed obvious liver targeting, and significantly reduced the distribution of the drug in the heart and kidney.

Conclusion:

Dox-DSPIONs have the sustained-release property in vitro and in vivo, which could significantly prolong blood circulation time, improve bioavailability, and reduce the side effects of Dox. Therefore, the novel formulation of the Dox-DSPIONs has the potential as a promising drug delivery system in cancer therapy.
Novel Dipeptides Bearing Sulfonamide as Antimalarial and Antitrypanosomal
Agents: Synthesis and Molecular Docking
Authors: Ekoh Ogechi Chinelo , Okoro Uchechukwu , Ugwu David , Ali Rafat , Okafor Sunday , Ugwuja Daniel , Attah Solomon
Published: June 2021

Objective:

Currently, there is a problem of ineffective chemotherapy to trypanosomiasis
and the increasing emergence of malaria drug-resistant parasites. The research aimed at the development
of new dipeptide-sulfonamides as antiprotozoal agents.

Background:

Protozoan parasites cause severe diseases, with African human trypanosomiasis (HAT)
and malaria standing on top of the list. The noted deficiencies of existing antitrypanosomal drugs and
the worldwide resurgence of malaria, accompanied by the springing up of widespread drug-resistant
protozoan parasites, represent a huge challenge in infectious disease treatment in tropical regions.

Methods:

To discover new antiprotozoal agents, ten novel p-nitrobenzenesulphonamide derivatives
incorporating dipeptide moiety were synthesized by the condensation reaction of 3-methyl-2-(4-
nitrophenylsulphonamido)pentanoic acid (6) with substituted acetamides (4a-j) using peptide coupling
reagents, characterized using 1H and 13C NMR, FTIR, HRMS and investigated for their antimalarial
and antitrypanosomal activities in vivo employing standard methods.

Results:

At 100 mg/kg body weight, N-(2-(2,6-dimethylphenylamino)-2-oxoethyl)-3-methyl-2-(4-
nitrophenylsulfonamido)pentanamide showed the highest activity by inhibiting P. berghei parasite by
79.89%, which was comparable with the standard drug (artemether-lumefantrine 79.77%). In the
antitrypanosomal study, N-(2-(4-chlorophenylamino)-2-oxoethyl)-3-methyl-2-(4-
nitrophenylsulfonamido)pentanamide, N-(2-(4-fluorophenylamino)-2-oxoethyl)-3-methyl-2-(4-
nitrophenylsulfonamido)pentanamide and N-(2-(3-chlorophenylamino)-2-oxoethyl)-3-methyl-2-(4-
nitrophenylsulfonamido)pentanamide were most potent in clearing Trypanosome brucei in mice, but
they were less active than the standard drug (diminazene aceturate). Molecular docking results
demonstrated good binding affinity among the reported derivatives and target proteins in the active
place of the protein. The outcome of hematological analysis, liver, and kidney function tests showed
that the new compounds had no adverse effect on the blood and organs.

Conclusions:

The results of this research showed that the new compounds demonstrated interesting
antitrypanosomal and antimalarial potentials. However, further research should be carried out on the
synthesized derivatives as promising drug candidates for trypanosomiasis and malaria.
Conditional Decisions as Instrument Guarding the Supremacy of the Constitution (Analysis of conditional decisions of Indonesian Constitutional Court in 2003 – 2017)
Authors: Safa'at Muchamad , Widiarto Aan
Published: June 2021

The function of the Indonesian Constitutional Court as the guardian of the constitution is mainly conducted through the judicial review authority. Since 2003 to April 2021, the Constitutional Court has received and decided 1392 petitions over judicial review. In its dictums, the Constitutional Court often declares conditionally constitutional or conditionally unconstitutional (conditional decision). Conditional decision is a decision of the Court that declare the reviewed norm conditionally constitutional or unconstitutional. The norm is constitutional if interpreted pursuant to the Court interpretation, or the norm is unconstitutional if interpreted in certain ways. This research is aimed to investigate the criteria of judicial review decisions which declares conditionally constitutional and conditionally unconstitutional in accordance with the characteristics of norms of the law reviewed. The analysis was limited to the Court decisions from 2003 to 2017. The research result indicates that distinguishing characters of norms reviewed have no correlation with the option between conditionally constitutional or conditionally unconstitutional. Conditionally Constitutional Decision was used by the court before replaced by Conditionally Unconstitutional Decision due to the weakness of decision implementation. For conditionally unconstitutional decisions are connected to the substance of the decision which create new norm that replace, limit, or elaborate reviewed norm. Conditional decision is still required as a consequence of the following three aspects: enforcement of the supremacy of the constitution, presumption of validity, and strengthening the execution of Constitutional Court decisions.
Childhood Statelessness: Critiquing International Norms and Enforcement Strategies
Authors: R K Biju
Published: June 2021

Over the past decade, there has been renewed interest in and commitment to resolving the endemic problem of statelessness, most clearly exemplified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-24, which sets out to end statelessness by 2024. Despite the plethora of recent attention to questions of citizenship, its converse, the problem of statelessness and its effect on children, has not been adequately investigated. This paper attempts to delineate the causes of childhood statelessness in particular and to analyze the international legal framework for reducing and preventing it. It examines how statelessness is created, how it persists and why it brings with it the deprivations it does. It then subjects the customary and modern international legal norms governing childhood statelessness and enforcement strategies at Global level to close scrutiny and identifies the clearly discernible drawbacks and road blocks. It concludes with suggestions, inter alia, to make the jus soli citizenship a mandatory default clause in the citizenship laws of every country, to further prioritize birth registration and data collection and to strengthen the UPR process and reporting procedure.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Just-Right Hybrid Model to Synthesize the Growing Landscape of Publicly Available Health-Related Mobile Apps
Authors: Lau Nancy , O'Daffer Alison , Yi-Frazier Joyce , Rosenberg Abby R
Published: June 2021

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have provided an innovative platform for the deployment of health care diagnostics, symptom monitoring, and prevention and intervention programs. Such health-related smartphone apps are universally accepted by patients and providers with over 50 million users worldwide. Despite the rise in popularity and accessibility among consumers, the evidence base in support of health-related apps has fallen well behind the rapid pace of industry development. To bridge this evidence gap, researchers are beginning to consider how to best apply evidence-based research standards to the systematic synthesis of the mHealth consumer market. In this viewpoint, we argue for the adoption of a “hybrid model” that combines a traditional systematic review with a systematic search of mobile app download platforms for health sciences researchers interested in synthesizing the state of the science of consumer apps. This approach, which we have successfully executed in a recent review, maximizes the benefits of traditional and novel approaches to address the essential question of whether popular consumer mHealth apps work.
Improving Human Happiness Analysis Based on Transfer Learning: Algorithm Development and Validation
Authors: Yu Lele , Zhang Shaowu , Zhang Yijia , Lin Hongfei
Published: June 2021

Background

Happiness refers to the joyful and pleasant emotions that humans produce subjectively. It is the positive part of emotions, and it affects the quality of human life. Therefore, understanding human happiness is a meaningful task in sentiment analysis.

Objective

We mainly discuss 2 facets (Agency/Sociality) of happiness in this paper. Through analysis and research on happiness, we can expand on new concepts that define happiness and enrich our understanding of emotions.

Methods

This paper treated each happy moment as a sequence of short sentences, then proposed a short happiness detection model based on transfer learning to analyze the Agency and Sociality aspects of happiness. First, we utilized the unlabeled training set to retrain the pretraining language model Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and got a semantically enhanced language model happyBERT in the target domain. Then, we got several single text classification models by fine-tuning BERT and happyBERT. Finally, an improved voting strategy was proposed to integrate multiple single models, and “pseudo data” were introduced to retrain the combined models.

Results

The proposed approach was evaluated on the public dataset happyDB. Experimental results showed that our approach significantly outperforms the baselines. When predicting the Agency aspect of happiness, our approach achieved an accuracy of 0.8653 and an F1 score of 0.9126. When predicting Sociality, our approach achieved an accuracy of 0.9367 and an F1 score of 0.9491.

Conclusions

By evaluating the dataset, the comparison results demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach for happiness analysis. Experimental results confirmed that our method achieved state-of-the-art performance and transfer learning effectively improved happiness analysis.
Phytochemical Analysis of Bioactive Extracts and Seed Oil of Three Euphorbia Species from Algerian Flora by LC-MS and GC-MS
Authors: Toudert Nadia , Zakkad Farida , Dadda Noureddine , Djilani Abdelouaheb , Dicko Amadou , Djilani Salah Eddine
Published: June 2021

Euphorbia species possess pharmacological properties that have been widely used for medical purposes worldwide. In this paper, three plants belonging to the Euphorbia genus growing in North-East of Algeria were studied. The phenolic contents were identified using LC-MS, while the fatty acid composition of their fixed oils was determined with GC-MS. The quantification of the total condensed tannins and the leaves' entire anthocyanin content were performed using photometric methods. The main constituents of the polyphenolic compounds identified by LC-MS were ascorbic, chlorogenic, and ellagic acids. The oil yield of the seeds of E. terracina, E. biumbellata, and E. dendroides was 17.48%, 18.5%, and 20.05%, respectively. Quantitative analyses of these oils using GC-MS showed variations in the species' fatty acid constituents' concentrations and compositions. Besides, the phytochemical screening results showed that E. terracina possessed a high amount of tannin and anthocyanin content compared with other studied plants.
Latency, Anti-Bacterial Resistance Pattern, and Bacterial Infection–Related Glomerulonephritis
Authors: John Elenjickal Elias , Thomas Athul , Eapen Jeethu Joseph , Yusuf Sabina , Roy Sanjeet , Valson Anna T. , David Vinoi George , Varughese Santosh , Alexander Suceena
Published: June 2021

Background and objectives

Bacterial infection–related GN occurs concurrent to or after known or unknown infections. It is important to understand the clinical implications of the bacterial isolates, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and effect of latency-based classification on kidney and patient outcomes.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements

In total, 501 consecutive adults diagnosed with bacterial infection–related GN between 2005 and 2017 were included from a biopsy registry of 15,545 patients at a single center in South India, and follow-up data were collected from electronic medical records until December 2019. Latency was defined as time between resolution of infection and onset of GN, which was classified as parainfectious, peri-infectious, or postinfectious GN. Longitudinal kidney and patient outcomes were studied.

Results

The mean age of the cohort was 40 (± 15) years, 6% were above 65 years, and 330 (66%) were men. Diabetes was present in 93 (19%) patients. Seventy percent (353 of 501) of patients had known infections, with the median latent period for parainfectious (115 of 353, 33%), peri-infectious (97 of 353, 27%), and postinfectious (141 of 353, 40%) GN being 0, 5 (4–7), and 15 (10–31) days, respectively. The most common predisposing organism was Streptococcus pyogenes (137 of 353, 39%). Drug-resistant nonstreptococcal bacteria were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (25%, four of 16), extended-spectrum β-lactamases (20%, 12 of 59), and carbapenem-resistant organisms (10%, six of 59). Twenty of 22 (91%) of the drug-resistant organisms were isolated from the parainfectious group. The most common site of infection was skin in peri- (23 of 97, 24%) and postinfectious GN (61 of 141, 43%), and urinary tract in parainfectious GN (35 of 115, 30%). Of 321 patients with >3 months of follow-up, 48 (15%) developed kidney failure over a median period of 10 (2–37) months and 14 (4%) died. Parainfectious GN, eGFR<30 ml/min per 1.73 m2, moderate-to-severe interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy, and nontreatment with renin-angiotensin system blockers were significant risk factors for progression to kidney failure by a Cox proportional-hazards model.

Conclusions

Along with clinical and histologic predictors, parainfectious GN caused predominantly by nonstreptococcal and drug-resistant bacterial infections was associated with poor kidney prognosis.
A New Right-Skewed Upside Down Bathtub Shaped Heavy-tailed Distribution and its Applications
Authors: Maurya Sandeep Kumar , Singh Sanjay K , Singh Umesh
Published: June 2021

A one parameter right skewed, upside down bathtub type, heavy-tailed distribution is derived. Various statistical properties and maximum likelihood approaches for estimation purpose are studied. Five different real data sets with four different models are considered to illustrate the suitability of the proposed model.
VIF-Regression Screening Ultrahigh Dimensional Feature Space
Authors: Uraibi Hassan S
Published: June 2021

Iterative Sure Independent Screening (ISIS) was proposed for the problem of variable selection with ultrahigh dimensional feature space. Unfortunately, the ISIS method transforms the dimensionality of features from ultrahigh to ultra-low and may result in un-reliable inference when the number of important variables particularly is greater than the screening threshold. The proposed method has transformed the ultrahigh dimensionality of features to high dimension space in order to remedy of losing some information by ISIS method. The proposed method is compared with ISIS method by using real data and simulation. The results show this method is more efficient and more reliable than ISIS method.
Capacidad de biofiltración de nutrientes y crecimiento de macroalgas utilizando efluentes generados en el cultivo del pez dorado Seriola lalandi (Perciformes: Carangidae)
Authors: Ramos Roberto , Gallardo Sebastián
Published: June 2021

Resumen.- Se evaluó la capacidad de biofiltración de nutrientes y el crecimiento de las especies de macroalgas rodófitas Agarophyton chilense y Mazzaella canaliculata y la clorófita Ulva lactuca utilizando los efluentes del cultivo de Seriola lalandi. Las tres macroalgas utilizadas alcanzan altos valores de remoción de nitrito y fosfato, entre 84,0 y 87,5%, respectivamente. En cambio, en la biofiltración de amonio los mejores resultados fueron alcanzados por U. lactuca y A. chilense, ambas con 46,4%. En la remoción de nitrato, A. chilense y M. canaliculata, alcanzaron eficiencias del 40 y 50%, respectivamente. En relación al crecimiento alcanzado por las algas, los resultados muestran que la tasa de crecimiento diario de M. canaliculata registró una pérdida de biomasa cuantificada en 0,29%, por su parte U. lactuca mostró un incremento de 0,78% y A. chilense alcanzó el mejor rendimiento con 2,8%. Este estudio concluye con la confirmación de la utilización de macroalgas en la remoción de nutrientes a partir de efluentes de piscicultura. Además, desde la perspectiva del incremento de biomasa, el cultivo de A. chilense promueve expectativas para la obtención de producciones secundarias a la piscicultura de Seriola lalandi en un sistema integrado de producción.
First records of the pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata, within groups of common dolphins Delphinus delphis in northern Peru
Authors: Martínez Lara , Silva Sebastián , Alcorta Belén , Pacheco Aldo S.
Published: June 2021

Although dolphins are mostly known to form single species groups of varying size, occasionally they aggregate in mixed-species groups. The presence of mixed-species delphinid groups along the Peruvian coast is unknown. Herein, we report the presence of a single pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) within large groups of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) at Los Organos in the northern coast of Peru. Sightings occurred on October 10th, 2016, January 7th, 2018 and September 21st, 2019. In one sighting the mixed group was feeding, while during the other two sightings the group was travelling. These records add new evidence about mixed-species delphinid groups in coastal waters of Peru.
CONSTITUTIONAL PRACTICE OF ASEAN’S COUNTRIES: QUESTIONING JUDICIAL REVIEW, RELIGIONS AND MINORITY ISSUES
Authors: Armia Muhammad Siddiq
Published: June 2021

ASEAN countries have culture and ethnic varieties affecting the way of having a state. Those countries in this region have had an energetic constitution moved on adjusting the time. In respecting the spirit of democracy and also part of constitutional practice, those countries have frequently amended their constitution. ASEAN countries have had the numerous models of constitutional practice adopted from the post-colonial era. It has now, nevertheless, been doing a consistent renewal, in particular, activated and greatly animated by the need to re-examine and re-evaluate existing rules to make them relevant to common and indigenous models and value systems. Looking the system ASEAN countries implementing their constitution, it can be reviewed that there are three models of constitutional practice have been taking place in ASEAN; firstly is the Westminster Model, Socialist Model, and Mixed Model.
THE DUTCH COLONIAL ECONOMIC’S POLICY ON NATIVES LAND PROPERTY OF INDONESIA
Authors: Fahmi Chairul
Published: June 2021

This paper analyzes the historical shifts of land property rights in Indonesia's archipelago and how new land laws were formed, especially during the Dutch colonization era. After the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) established in the 18th century and proclaimed itself as a sovereign landlord over the East Indies (Indonesia), the role of indigenous law (adat law) and its rights to lands have diminished by a new form of law namely the European law system (the civil code). By adopting the European civil code, the colonial Dutch declared all uncertified lands and all forests’ resources were the Dutch colonial State's property and to be managed by the colonial authority [State’s domain]. For Adat peoples, these rights belong to them, either as individuals or as groups, and it had been recognized by their customary law (adat law) legally, which they have had since their ancestors inhabited within the land, territories, and resources. Further significant impact toward the adat rights to land, when the Agrarian Act (agrarisch wet) applied in 1870 by the colonial government, had severely impacted towards the land right of indigenous peoples in Indonesia, by which most of them had lost their adat property right to lands and forest resources. In contrast, the Dutch colonial State was gained millions of guldens for economic profit from the expropriation of the native land and from unpaid native slaves who worked in the Dutch plantation sectors.