bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prophetic Piety, Mysticism, and Authority in Premodern Arabic Devotional Literature: al-Jazuli's Dala'il al-Khayrat (15th Century)
Authors: Chih Rachida
Published: August 2022

In the Maghreb and the Mamluk sultanate during the 15th century, the production of books that encouraged devotion to the Prophet Muhammad—both commentaries on existing texts and new works—increased. This literary production was an expression of the intensification of the veneration of the Prophet that occurred under the influence of Sufis and the political elite. The Arabic devotional literature dedicated to the Prophet began to take shape during the 12th and 13th centuries with the rise of the great saintly sufi figures who laid claim to Prophetic descent and composed celebrated prayers and litanies of blessings upon the Prophet. This article looks at how such texts were critical in the diffusion to popular audiences of doctrinal concepts developed by sufis who placed the figure of the Prophet at the heart of spiritual life and the doctrine of sainthood (walāya). Specifically, it examines a well known but nevertheless understudied 15th-century Moroccan prayer book that is still in use today: Dala'il al-Khayrat (Proofs of Good Deeds). In studying this text, which is both emblematic and exceptional, my aim is to cast fresh light on the novel political, economic, and institutional conditions surrounding the international circulation of an Arabic literature of devotion to the Prophet during the early modern period, and to explore the religious and political implications of these circumstances for sufis of the time.
The Dark Matter of World Politics: System Trust, Summits, and State Personhood
Authors: Ku Minseon , Mitzen Jennifer
Published: August 2022

International relations theory has had a trust revival, with scholars focusing on how trust can enhance interpersonal cooperation attempts between leaders. We propose there is another type of trust at play in world politics. International system trust is a feeling of confidence in the international social order, which is indexed especially by trust in its central unit, state persons. System trust anchors ontological security, and its presence is an unstated assumption of the international relations trust scholarship. In this paper we conceptualize system trust. We illuminate its presence by flagging the production of state personhood in a familiar case in international relations trust scholarship, the 1985 Geneva Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev. Interpersonal and system trust perspectives highlight different aspects of the same summit. The juxtaposition suggests new lines of research into the production of state persons in diplomacy, the relationship between interpersonal and system trust, and the impact of the rise of personalistic/patrimonial leadership on diplomacy and international order.
Favourable climatic niche in low elevations outside the flood zone characterises the distribution pattern of venomous snakes in Bangladesh
Authors: Chowdhury Mohammad Abdul Wahed , Varela Sara , Roy Sanjoy , Rahman Md. Mizanur , Noman Mohammed , Haidar Ibrahim Khalil Al , Müller Johannes
Published: August 2022

Snakes are sensitive to both environmental and climate gradients. To design conservation plans, a scientific understanding of snake habitats in light of environmental and climatic variables is an essential prerequisite. For venomous snakes, denoting favourable habitats should also be relevant for snakebite management. We have considered 18 spatial variables to portray the range of terrestrial venomous snake distribution in Bangladesh. Our results indicate that the distribution of 29 studied venomous snakes in this country is primarily driven by climatic and environmental variables. We found that especially low elevation and flood risk constrain the distribution of those terrestrial snakes, i.e. regular floods in central Bangladesh push venomous snakes towards the edges of the country. Moreover, none of these species occupies the whole of its anticipated climatically favourable area. Projections into the future indicated that 11 studied species,Amphiesma platyceps,Boiga siamensis,Chrysopelea ornata,Pseudoxenodon macrops,Rhabdophis himalayanus,Rhabdophis subminiatus,Bungarus lividus,Ophiophagus hannah,Daboia russelii,Ovophis monticolaandTrimeresurus popeiorumwill lose their entire climatically suitable area within the country. Therefore, we suggest establishing more protected areas in the hilly ecosystems in the eastern part and in the mangrove forests in the south-western corner of Bangladesh to mitigate future extinction risks, such as climate change, sea-level rise and increase in flood severity. Conserving village forests and croplands, which are subject to rapid change, will also need to be addressed equally, as these are inhabited by almost one-third of the studied species. The occurrence of the cobras and kraits in village forests and cropland dominant habitats demands more attention to minimise snakebite related mortality and morbidity.
John Stuart Mill's Passage on Pimps and the Limits on Free Speech
Authors: Tunick Mark
Published: August 2022

Mill didn't resolve this puzzle: if prostitution must be tolerated according to his principle of liberty as it doesn't non-consensually harm others, why punish the accessory – the pimp? Yet in On Liberty's passage on pimps (CW 18:296–7) Mill seriously considers restricting pimps’ speech for reasons other than preventing harm: pimps’ speech undermines decisional autonomy for purposes the state regards as immoral, and in response the state may use coercion to counteract such immoral influences. In light of this, I argue that we need to rethink the standard view that Mill opposes restrictions on speech that does not harm others.
A rare paediatric case of possible infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus anginosus
Authors: Kahlon Parmeet , Fajardo Andrés Felipe , Mondal Tapas
Published: August 2022

Infective endocarditis in children is a rare but serious condition that requires prompt management. We present a case of an 11-year-old boy with subacute bacterial endocarditis caused by Streptococcus anginosus, an unusual causative microorganism for infective endocarditis. The patient presented with a history of malaise, fatigue, and one subjective tactile fever. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paediatric case of possible infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus anginosus.
Mental health working party: data and modelling considerations for mental health in life insurance
Authors: Balboa Lisa , Ballantine Fraser , Nashime Maryse , Soong Serena , Wilson Joe
Published: August 2022

This paper explores data and modelling considerations in the risk assessment and underwriting of mental health conditions in life insurance products. Alongside this, it considers the possibilities that improved data availability could open up in terms of additional underwriting designs that could further improve the accessibility and affordability of life insurance products for those with mental health conditions. Rather than being a prescriptive recommendation, our aim is for the considerations set out in this paper to form a basis of discussion for Members of the Profession and other insurance professionals.
Eating contexts and their associations with socio-demographic factors in Brazilian adolescents (EVA-JF Study)
Authors: Neves Felipe Silva , Fontes Vanessa Sequeira , Nogueira Mário Círio , Pereira Priscila Moreira de Lima , de Faria Eliane Rodrigues , Netto Michele Pereira , Oliveira Renata Maria Souza , Cândido Ana Paula Carlos
Published: August 2022

Objective:

To describe the eating contexts and estimate their associations with socio-demographic factors in a sample of Brazilian adolescents.

Design:

Cross-sectional study. We used an exploratory questionnaire about eating contexts (encompassing regularity of meals, places where they occur and if they take place with attention and in company), which was submitted to cluster analysis. Subsequently, three clusters were identified: cluster 1, ‘appropriate eating contexts at breakfast, lunch and dinner’; cluster 2, ‘inappropriate eating context at breakfast’ and cluster 3, ‘inappropriate eating context at dinner’. Multinomial logistic regression models were performed, without and with adjustments, using cluster 1 as reference.

Setting:

Twenty-nine public schools of Juiz de Fora, MG, Southeast Brazil.

Participants:

Adolescents, 14–19-year-olds (n 835).

Results:

We observed relevant prevalence of adolescents omitting breakfast (52·9 %) and dinner (39·3 %), and who had the habit of eating sitting/lying on the couch/bed or standing/walking, and in front of screens. Breakfast usually occurred unaccompanied (70·8 %); around half (47·5 %) and little over a third (36·1 %) of the sample also would usually have lunch and dinner unaccompanied, respectively. Furthermore, through multivariate analysis, we found associations of eating contexts clusters with female sex (more likely in clusters 2 and 3), age range 14–15-year-olds (less likely in cluster 2) and higher mother’s schooling (more likely in cluster 3).

Conclusions:

We verified an alarming prevalence of adolescents with eating contexts unaligned with healthy eating recommendations. Additionally, inappropriate eating contexts at breakfast and/or at dinner were associated with socio-demographic factors (sex, age range and mother’s schooling).
Printed compact four-port wearable MIMO antennas for wideband wireless applications
Authors: Singh Saurabh , Verma Sudhanshu
Published: August 2022

In this paper, a simple and compact coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed four coexisting inverted-L-shaped radiating elements based wideband (ILW) multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) antenna has been presented for wearable wireless applications. The 50 Ω CPW feed structure has been used to excite the four inverted-L-shaped radiators in a wide square slot of the proposed four-port wearable MIMO antenna. The four diagonal strips are extended from the corners of the wide square slot to form a square split ring structure in the center, which suppresses the coupling of electromagnetic waves among coexisting compact quad inverted-L-shaped radiators. The proposed ILW wearable MIMO antenna achieves a wide −10 dB simulated impedance bandwidth of 58.18% (3.9–7.1 GHz) and more than 30 dB isolation along with much reduced envelope correlation coefficient (<0.0002), high diversity gain (>9.9 dB), and specific absorption rate lower than 1 W/kg in the entire operational band. The simulated results are in good agreement with the measured ones. This ensures its utility for several wearable wireless applications in the C-band that comprises WLAN (5 and 5.2 GHz), Wi-MAX (5.5 GHz), and ISM band (5.8 GHz) applications.
Emergence pattern of horseweed (Erigeron canadensis L.) accessions across Nebraska
Authors: Mobli Ahmadreza , Oliveira Maxwel , Butts Liberty , Proctor Chris , Lawrence Nevin , Werle Rodrigo
Published: August 2022

Horseweed is a North American indigenous plant species commonly found in Nebraska cropping systems. Horseweed management is challenging because of horseweed’s prolific seed production, long-distance seed dispersal via wind, competitiveness, and rapid evolution of herbicide resistance. Understanding the horseweed emergence pattern across Nebraska can contribute to implementing effective and more sustainable tactics to minimize its impact on cropping systems. Field studies were conducted during fall and spring from 2016 to 2018 in Lincoln (corn and soybean), North Platte (wheat stubble and soybean), and Scottsbluff (corn and fallow) to investigate the emergence pattern of horseweed accessions from Lincoln, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, NE. Results show that most horseweed seedling emergence occurred in fall (99%) and only a few seedlings emerged in spring across locations, except in the wheat stubble experiment at North Platte, where higher spring emergence was detected (3% to 22%). In four out of six experiments, the density of total emerged seedlings of each accession was greatest when established in their site of origin. Our results suggest that late fall and/or early spring is likely the best timing for horseweed management across Nebraska.
DBT-Familienskills
Authors: Trasselli Claudia , Auer Anne Kristin von , Gunia Hans
Published: August 2022

Die Borderline-Persönlichkeitstörung stellt eine große Belastung für Betroffene aber auch für das soziale Umfeld dar. Angehörigen von Menschen mit einer Borderline-Störung fehlen häufig Fertigkeiten, um mit den starken Gefühlen und dem dysfunktionalen Verhalten der Betroffenen adäquat umzugehen. In der Regel werden Angehörige selten in die Behandlung der Borderline-Betroffenen einbezogen, obwohl der Einbezug in die Therapie sowohl für den Behandlungserfolg der Betroffenen als auch für die Förderung des Wohlbefindens der Angehörigen wichtig wäre. Der Praxisleitfaden stellt erstmalig im deutschen Sprachraum die von Alan Fruzzetti und Perry Hoffman entwickelten Familienskills vor, die auf der Dialektisch-Behavioralen Therapie (DBT) basieren. DBT-Familienskills sind individuelle und beziehungsbasierte Fertigkeiten für Angehörige und für Menschen mit einer Borderline-Störung. Der Einsatz der Skills verringert dysfunktionales Verhalten und familiäre Konflikte, fördert Akzeptanz und Verständnis für sich selbst sowie für das betroffene Familienmitglied und verbessert die familiäre Beziehung. Das Erlernen der Skills stellt damit eine wichtige Ergänzung der Standard-DBT dar.
Der Band liefert eine praxisorientierte Anleitung zur Vermittlung der Familienskills in Gruppen oder im Rahmen der Paar-, Familien- und Einzeltherapie. Die Skills werden jeweils anhand einer kurzen didaktischen Einführung und mithilfe von Informations- und Übungsblättern anschaulich dargestellt. Zudem werden therapeutische Strategien aufgezeigt, die Therapeutinnen und Therapeuten den Umgang mit hochemotionalen und impulsiven Familienmitgliedern erleichtern. Der Band schließt damit eine wichtige Lücke in der Behandlung von Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörungen. Die zahlreichen im Buch enthaltenen Arbeitsmaterialien können nach erfolgter Registrierung von der Hogrefe Website heruntergeladen werden.
Myeloma precursor disease (MGUS) among rescue and recovery workers exposed to the World Trade Center disaster
Authors: Zeig-Owens Rachel , Goldfarb David G. , Luft Benjamin J. , Yang Xiaohua , Murata Kazunori , Ramanathan Lakshmi , Thoren Katie , Doddi Sital , Shah Urvi A. , Mueller Alexandra K. , Hall Charles B. , Giricz Orsi , Verma Amit , Prezant David J. , Landgren Ola
Published: August 2022

An elevated risk of myeloma precursor disease, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), was identified among Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed firefighters. Further investigation was needed to determine if these findings were reproducible in a more heterogeneous WTC-exposed rescue/recovery workers cohort, the Stony Brook University-General Responder Cohort GRC (SBU-GRC). MGUS risk was compared between the cohorts and to published general population estimates from Olmsted County, MN, USA. In this observational seroprevalence study, odds ratios (OR) and age-standardized risk ratios (RR) of MGUS (M-spike and light-chain-MGUS combined), M-spike, and light-chain-MGUS were estimated using logistic regression. Age-standardized prevalences were calculated for white males aged 50–79; RRs were estimated by comparing risk in the WTC-exposed cohort with the Olmsted County screened cohort. SBU-GRC had elevated odds of MGUS compared with FDNY (OR = 1.38; 95%CI = 1.00–1.89). The age-standardized prevalence of MGUS was 9.0/100 persons (95%CI = 7.5–10.6), over two-fold higher than the general population (RR = 2.08; 95%CI = 1.72–2.51); the age-standardized prevalence of light-chain-MGUS was 3.5-fold higher (RR = 3.54; 95%CI = 2.52–4.97). This study adds to mounting evidence supporting an association between WTC/environmental exposures and MGUS among rescue/recovery workers. Access to MGUS screenings for the entire WTC-exposed cohort could allow for treatment interventions that improve survival.
Transcriptional and genetic alterations of cuproptosis-related genes correlated to malignancy and immune-infiltrate of esophageal carcinoma
Authors: Jiang Runmin , Huan Yu , Li Yan , Gao Xinyue , Sun Qiang , Zhang Feng , Jiang Tao
Published: August 2022

Esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) is a common type of cancer with high mortality. Cuproptosis is a new type of cell death and is characterized by the dependence on mitochondrial respiration and protein lipoylation. However, the potential roles of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in ESCA remain elusive. Here, we systematically assessed the transcriptional and genetic alterations of CRGs in ESCA. We identified a CRGs signature for ESCA patients. A 6-CRGs signature was constructed by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis along with the univariate cox regression analysis and differential genes analysis. The CRGs score could significantly stratify ESCA patients’ survival and a high CRGs score was significantly correlated with worse overall survival. Moreover, higher CRGs score indicated higher pathology grades and aberrant cell adhesion, possibly via the PI3K-AKT pathway, which could also underly their increased sensitivity to PI3K-AKT pathway inhibitors. In addition, patients with high CRGs tend to hold more mutation load and abnormal APOBEC mutation. Notably, a higher CRGs score was anomalously associated with more immune infiltration, which could explain its malignancy by increased PD-L1 stability and a higher proportion of bystander T cells. In conclusion, our report revealed the significance of cuproptosis in ESCA and may have therapeutic potential in activating the bystander T cells.
Human acute inflammatory recovery is defined by co-regulatory dynamics of white blood cell and platelet populations
Authors: Foy Brody H. , Sundt Thoralf M. , Carlson Jonathan C. T. , Aguirre Aaron D. , Higgins John M.
Published: August 2022

Inflammation is the physiologic reaction to cellular and tissue damage caused by trauma, ischemia, infection, and other pathologic conditions. Elevation of white blood cell count (WBC) and altered levels of other acute phase reactants are cardinal signs of inflammation, but the dynamics of these changes and their resolution are not well established. Here we studied inflammatory recovery from trauma, ischemia, and infection by tracking longitudinal dynamics of clinical laboratory measurements in hospitalized patients. We identified a universal recovery trajectory defined by exponential WBC decay and delayed linear growth of platelet count (PLT). Co-regulation of WBC-PLT dynamics is a fundamental mechanism of acute inflammatory recovery and provides a generic approach for identifying high-risk patients: 32x relative risk (RR) of adverse outcomes for cardiac surgery, 9x RR of death from COVID-19, 9x RR of death from sepsis, and 5x RR of death from myocardial infarction.
Immunogenicity to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine third dose in people living with HIV
Authors: Vergori Alessandra , Cozzi Lepri Alessandro , Cicalini Stefania , Matusali Giulia , Bordoni Veronica , Lanini Simone , Meschi Silvia , Iannazzo Roberta , Mazzotta Valentina , Colavita Francesca , Mastrorosa Ilaria , Cimini Eleonora , Mariotti Davide , De Pascale Lydia , Marani Alessandra , Gallì Paola , Garbuglia AnnaRosa , Castilletti Concetta , Puro Vincenzo , Agrati Chiara , Girardi Enrico , Vaia Francesco , Antinori Andrea ,   HIV-VAC study group, Amendola Alessandra , Baldini Francesco , Bellagamba Rita , Bettini Aurora , Bordi Licia , Camici Marta , Casetti Rita , Costantini Sarah , Cristofanelli Flavia , D’Alessio Claudia , D’Aquila Veronica , De Angelis Alessia , De Zottis Federico , de Pascale Lydia , Francalancia Massimo , Fusto Marisa , Gagliardini Roberta , Gramigna Giulia , Grassi Germana , Grilli Elisabetta , Grisetti Susanna , Iafrate Denise , Lapa Daniele , Lorenzini Patrizia , Marani Alessandra , Masone Erminia , Marongiu Stefano , Mondi Annalisa , Notari Stefania , Ottou Sandrine , Paulicelli Jessica , Pellegrino Luca , Pinnetti Carmela , Plazzi Maria Maddalena , Possi Adriano , Sacchi Alessandra , Tartaglia Eleonora
Published: August 2022

In order to investigate safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine third dose in people living with HIV (PLWH), we analyze anti-RBD, microneutralization assay and IFN-γ production in 216 PLWH on ART with advanced disease (CD4 count <200 cell/mm3 and/or previous AIDS) receiving the third dose of a mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) after a median of 142 days from the second dose. Median age is 54 years, median CD4 nadir 45 cell/mm3 (20–122), 93% HIV-RNA < 50 c/mL. In 68% of PLWH at least one side-effect, generally mild, is recorded. Humoral response after the third dose was strong and higher than that achieved with the second dose (>2 log2 difference), especially when a heterologous combination with mRNA-1273 as third shot is used. In contrast, cell-mediated immunity remain stable. Our data support usefulness of third dose in PLWH currently receiving suppressive ART who presented with severe immune dysregulation.
Generalization in quantum machine learning from few training data
Authors: Caro Matthias C. , Huang Hsin-Yuan , Cerezo M. , Sharma Kunal , Sornborger Andrew , Cincio Lukasz , Coles Patrick J.
Published: August 2022

Modern quantum machine learning (QML) methods involve variationally optimizing a parameterized quantum circuit on a training data set, and subsequently making predictions on a testing data set (i.e., generalizing). In this work, we provide a comprehensive study of generalization performance in QML after training on a limited number N of training data points. We show that the generalization error of a quantum machine learning model with T trainable gates scales at worst as $$\sqrt{T/N}$$

T
/
N

. When only K ≪ T gates have undergone substantial change in the optimization process, we prove that the generalization error improves to $$\sqrt{K/N}$$

K
/
N

. Our results imply that the compiling of unitaries into a polynomial number of native gates, a crucial application for the quantum computing industry that typically uses exponential-size training data, can be sped up significantly. We also show that classification of quantum states across a phase transition with a quantum convolutional neural network requires only a very small training data set. Other potential applications include learning quantum error correcting codes or quantum dynamical simulation. Our work injects new hope into the field of QML, as good generalization is guaranteed from few training data.
Antiviral and clinical activity of bamlanivimab in a randomized trial of non-hospitalized adults with COVID-19
Authors: Chew Kara W. , Moser Carlee , Daar Eric S. , Wohl David A. , Li Jonathan Z. , Coombs Robert W. , Ritz Justin , Giganti Mark , Javan Arzhang Cyrus , Li Yijia , Choudhary Manish C. , Deo Rinki , Malvestutto Carlos , Klekotka Paul , Price Karen , Nirula Ajay , Fischer William , Bala Veenu , Ribeiro Ruy M. , Perelson Alan S. , Fletcher Courtney V. , Eron Joseph J. , Currier Judith S. ,   ACTIV-2/A5401 Study Team, Hughes Michael D. , Smith Davey M.
Published: August 2022

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies are mainstay COVID-19 therapeutics. Safety, antiviral, and clinical efficacy of bamlanivimab were evaluated in the randomized controlled trial ACTIV-2/A5401. Non-hospitalized adults were randomized 1:1 within 10 days of COVID-19 symptoms to bamlanivimab or blinded-placebo in two dose-cohorts (7000 mg, n = 94; 700 mg, n = 223). No differences in bamlanivimab vs placebo were observed in the primary outcomes: proportion with undetectable nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA at days 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 (risk ratio = 0.82–1.05 for 7000 mg [p(overall) = 0.88] and 0.81–1.21 for 700 mg [p(overall) = 0.49]), time to symptom improvement (median 21 vs 18.5 days [p = 0.97], 7000 mg; 24 vs 20.5 days [p = 0.08], 700 mg), or grade 3+ adverse events. However, bamlanivimab was associated with lower day 3 nasopharyngeal viral levels and faster reductions in inflammatory markers and viral decay by modeling. This study provides evidence of faster reductions in nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels but not shorter symptom durations in non-hospitalized adults with early variants of SARS-CoV-2. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04518410.
Atomic transistors based on seamless lateral metal-semiconductor junctions with a sub-1-nm transfer length
Authors: Song Seunguk , Yoon Aram , Ha Jong-Kwon , Yang Jihoon , Jang Sora , Leblanc Chloe , Wang Jaewon , Sim Yeoseon , Jariwala Deep , Min Seung Kyu , Lee Zonghoon , Kwon Soon-Yong
Published: August 2022

The edge-to-edge connected metal-semiconductor junction (MSJ) for two-dimensional (2D) transistors has the potential to reduce the contact length while improving the performance of the devices. However, typical 2D materials are thermally and chemically unstable, which impedes the reproducible achievement of high-quality edge contacts. Here we present a scalable synthetic strategy to fabricate low-resistance edge contacts to atomic transistors using a thermally stable 2D metal, PtTe2. The use of PtTe2 as an epitaxial template enables the lateral growth of monolayer MoS2 to achieve a PtTe2-MoS2 MSJ with the thinnest possible, seamless atomic interface. The synthesized lateral heterojunction enables the reduced dimensions of Schottky barriers and enhanced carrier injection compared to counterparts composed of a vertical 3D metal contact. Furthermore, facile position-selected growth of PtTe2-MoS2 MSJ arrays using conventional lithography can facilitate the design of device layouts with high processability, while providing low contact resistivity and ultrashort transfer length on wafer scales.
Topology-optimized thermal metamaterials traversing full-parameter anisotropic space
Authors: Sha Wei , Hu Run , Xiao Mi , Chu Sheng , Zhu Zhan , Qiu Cheng-Wei , Gao Liang
Published: August 2022

It is widely adopted in thermal metamaterials that mixing different materials could conveniently result in effective thermal conductivities (ETCs) beyond naturally-occurring materials. When multiple materials are isotropically mixed, the ETC is a direct average governed by their filling fractions and given bulk conductivities. That could lead to an inhomogeneous and anisotropic value within the maximal and minimal thermal conductivities of constituent materials. Usually thermal metadevices rely on anisotropic thermal conductivity tensor, whose tensorial elements are frequently inter-dependent and confined within a limited parametric space. It is thus nontrivial to establish a design recipe for advanced thermal metamaterials whose ETCs could cover full-parameter anisotropic space. We demonstrate topological functional cells (TFCs) with copper and polydimethylsiloxane, and show that the anisotropic ETCs traverse their full-parameter space. Such robust scheme based on topology-optimized TFCs unlocks unexplored opportunities for functional thermal metadevices whose parameters may not be reached in previous mixing approaches. This study also sheds light on the developments in emerging acoustic, mechanical and electromagnetic composite materials.
Spatially restricted drivers and transitional cell populations cooperate with the microenvironment in untreated and chemo-resistant pancreatic cancer
Authors: Cui Zhou Daniel , Jayasinghe Reyka G. , Chen Siqi , Herndon John M. , Iglesia Michael D. , Navale Pooja , Wendl Michael C. , Caravan Wagma , Sato Kazuhito , Storrs Erik , Mo Chia-Kuei , Liu Jingxian , Southard-Smith Austin N. , Wu Yige , Naser Al Deen Nataly , Baer John M. , Fulton Robert S. , Wyczalkowski Matthew A. , Liu Ruiyang , Fronick Catrina C. , Fulton Lucinda A. , Shinkle Andrew , Thammavong Lisa , Zhu Houxiang , Sun Hua , Wang Liang-Bo , Li Yize , Zuo Chong , McMichael Joshua F. , Davies Sherri R. , Appelbaum Elizabeth L. , Robbins Keenan J. , Chasnoff Sara E. , Yang Xiaolu , Reeb Ashley N. , Oh Clara , Serasanambati Mamatha , Lal Preet , Varghese Rajees , Mashl Jay R. , Ponce Jennifer , Terekhanova Nadezhda V. , Yao Lijun , Wang Fang , Chen Lijun , Schnaubelt Michael , Lu Rita Jui-Hsien , Schwarz Julie K. , Puram Sidharth V. , Kim Albert H. , Song Sheng-Kwei , Shoghi Kooresh I. , Lau Ken S. , Ju Tao , Chen Ken , Chatterjee Deyali , Hawkins William G. , Zhang Hui , Achilefu Samuel , Chheda Milan G. , Oh Stephen T. , Gillanders William E. , Chen Feng , DeNardo David G. , Fields Ryan C. , Ding Li
Published: August 2022

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a lethal disease with limited treatment options and poor survival. We studied 83 spatial samples from 31 patients (11 treatment-naïve and 20 treated) using single-cell/nucleus RNA sequencing, bulk-proteogenomics, spatial transcriptomics and cellular imaging. Subpopulations of tumor cells exhibited signatures of proliferation, KRAS signaling, cell stress and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Mapping mutations and copy number events distinguished tumor populations from normal and transitional cells, including acinar-to-ductal metaplasia and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia. Pathology-assisted deconvolution of spatial transcriptomic data identified tumor and transitional subpopulations with distinct histological features. We showed coordinated expression of TIGIT in exhausted and regulatory T cells and Nectin in tumor cells. Chemo-resistant samples contain a threefold enrichment of inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts that upregulate metallothioneins. Our study reveals a deeper understanding of the intricate substructure of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors that could help improve therapy for patients with this disease.
Exploring phytochemical composition, photocatalytic, antibacterial, and antifungal efficacies of Au NPs supported by Cymbopogon flexuosus essential oil
Authors: Pathania Diksha , Sharma Mamta , Thakur Pankaj , Chaudhary Vishal , Kaushik Ajeet , Furukawa Hidemitsu , Khosla Ajit
Published: August 2022

Biofabrication of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using the aromatic essential oils is highlighted due to its simple, economical, low toxicity, and eco-friendly nature. Essential oil of Cymbopogon flexuosus (CF), an economically valuable medicinal plant, exhibits anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. For the first time, this research accounts for the biosynthesis, physicochemical, photocatalytic, antifungal, antibacterial properties of biogenic AuNPs, fabricated using CF essential oil collected from different altitudes (S1-Palampur, S2-Haryana, S3-Dehradun). The altitudinal disparity in the phytochemical composition of essential oils is highlighted. The average crystallite size ranged from 10 to 32 nm and was influenced by CF samples used in the synthesis. The spectroscopic outcomes revealed the involvement of bioactive reagents from CF essential oil in the fabrication and stabilization of AuNPs. The fabricated AuNPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against all tested strains (Staphyloccucs aureus, Escherichia coli, Fusarium oxysporum), showing their efficacy as an antimicrobial agent to treat infectious diseases. Moreover, AuNPs exhibited excellent photocatalytic efficacy of around 91.8% for the degradation of methylene blue under exposure of direct sunlight for 3 h without the assistance of an external reducing agent. The outcomes highlight a potential economic and environmentally friendly strategy to fabricate biogenic AuNPs for diversified industrial applications where antimicrobial and photocatalytic efficacies are the key requirements.
Multifactor assessments to determine the overall performance of supercritical fluid extraction from Gynura procumbens essential oil
Authors: Idris Sitinoor Adeib , Markom Masturah , Abd. Rahman Norliza , Mohd Ali Jarinah
Published: August 2022

Gynura procumbens is a medicinal herb that contains bioactive compounds that can relieve coughs and prevent liver cancer. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was suggested as one of the techniques that can be used to extract the valuable compounds from the G. procumbens. SFE was widely applied in extracting medicinal ingredients from herbs. However, most of them were performed only at the laboratory scale. Moreover, study to increase the yield performance, economic studies and safety assessments of the SFE process were also performed; however, these tests were conducted individually. Moreover, to date, there is no integration study between all the factors stated for determining the overall performance of SFE with herbs specifically G. procumbens. The integration between all the factors is beneficial because the data on the overall performance can assist in developing the SFE process with G. procumbens at the pilot or industrial scale. Therefore, this study incorporated a multifactor approach to measure the overall performance of the SFE process towards G. procumbens by using a rating and index approach. A summary of factors, such as the solubility of G. procumbens in CO2, operational cost and safety assessment elements, were taken into consideration as the main influences that determine the overall performance index of this study. Iperformance or overall performance of SFE from G. procumbens was successfully assessed and compared with response surface methodology (RSM). Overall, the results from Iperformance exhibit satisfactory solubility values when compared to the optimized value from RSM when considering the lowest operational costs in the safest SFE environment.
A single latent channel is sufficient for biomedical glottis segmentation
Authors: Kist Andreas M. , Breininger Katharina , Dörrich Marion , Dürr Stephan , Schützenberger Anne , Semmler Marion
Published: August 2022

Glottis segmentation is a crucial step to quantify endoscopic footage in laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy. Recent advances in deep neural networks for glottis segmentation allow for a fully automatic workflow. However, exact knowledge of integral parts of these deep segmentation networks remains unknown, and understanding the inner workings is crucial for acceptance in clinical practice. Here, we show that a single latent channel as a bottleneck layer is sufficient for glottal area segmentation using systematic ablations. We further demonstrate that the latent space is an abstraction of the glottal area segmentation relying on three spatially defined pixel subtypes allowing for a transparent interpretation. We further provide evidence that the latent space is highly correlated with the glottal area waveform, can be encoded with four bits, and decoded using lean decoders while maintaining a high reconstruction accuracy. Our findings suggest that glottis segmentation is a task that can be highly optimized to gain very efficient and explainable deep neural networks, important for application in the clinic. In the future, we believe that online deep learning-assisted monitoring is a game-changer in laryngeal examinations.
Abiotic and biotic factors controlling the dynamics of soil respiration in a coastal dune ecosystem in western Japan
Authors: Teramoto Munemasa , Hamamoto Toru , Liang Naishen , Taniguchi Takeshi , Ito Takehiko Y. , Hu Richa , Yamanaka Norikazu
Published: August 2022

In this study, we examined the abiotic and biotic factors controlling the dynamics of soil respiration (Rs) while considering the zonal distribution of plant species in a coastal dune ecosystem in western Japan, based on periodic Rs data and continuous environmental data. We set four measurement plots with different vegetation compositions: plot 1 on bare sand; plot 2 on a cluster of young Vitex rotundifolia seedlings; plot 3 on a mixture of Artemisia capillaris and V. rotundifolia; and plot 4 on the inland boundary between the coastal vegetation zone and a Pinus thunbergii forest. Rs increased exponentially along with the seasonal rise in soil temperature, but summer drought stress markedly decreased Rs in plots 3 and 4. There was a significant positive correlation between the natural logarithm of belowground plant biomass and Rs in autumn. Our findings indicate that the seasonal dynamics of Rs in this coastal dune ecosystem are controlled by abiotic factors (soil temperature and soil moisture), but the response of Rs to drought stress in summer varied among plots that differed in dominant vegetation species. Our findings also indicated that the spatial dynamics of Rs are mainly controlled by the distribution of belowground plant biomass and autotrophic respiration.
Human health implications of trace metal contamination in topsoils and brinjal fruits harvested from a famous brinjal-producing area in Bangladesh
Authors: Bushra Anika , Zakir H. M. , Sharmin Shaila , Quadir Q. F. , Rashid M. H. , Rahman M. S. , Mallick Supti
Published: August 2022

A study was undertaken to determine the contents of trace metals in 60 topsoils and 80 brinjal fruits samples from a famous brinjal-producing area of Bangladesh using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The study also looked at soil pollution levels, dietary intake of nutritionally important trace elements, and human health risks from toxic metals induced by dermal soil exposure and consumption of brinjal. The content of Pb, Ni, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in brinjal fruits harvested from farmer′s fields ranged from 0.204–0.729, 0.031–0.212, < 0.010–0.061, 1.819–2.668, 3.267–5.910, < 0.010–0.866 and 2.160–3.846 µg g-1, respectively, while the amount of Cr was negligible. The calculated enrichment factors showed that 70, 50, and 25% of soil sampling sites had values in the 2.00–5.00 range for Pb, Zn, and Cd, respectively, while 30% of sites had values > 5.00 for Cd, indicating moderate to significant enrichment of these metals in the soil. The study also revealed that brinjal consumption provides a tiny amount of nutritionally important trace elements required for an adult human. Regarding the computed incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCR), the study revealed that the values for Pb and Ni in all samples and Cd in 40% of samples were several hundred times higher for males and females than the USEPA threshold level due to oral ingestion of brinjal fruits. In contrast, dermal exposures to soil trace elements were within an acceptable range. The PCA results revealed that the contents of Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cu in soils showed strong positive correlations with those elements present in brinjal. The current study suggests future traceability research, focusing on pinpointing potential entry routes for toxic elements into the vegetable food chain.
The relationship between just world belief and wellbeing, cheating behaviors, and academic work behaviors during COVID 19 among university students
Authors: Münscher Susan
Published: August 2022

Is the belief in a just world among students also stable under COVID-19? To answer this question, a study was conducted with university students from Germany (n = 291). The aim of the study was to analyze the predictive performance of the personal belief in a just world (PBJW) on students' life satisfaction and academic cheating and to take into account important mediators from the university context such as fellow student justice, lecturer justice, and procrastination. Derived from existing research, university students with a stronger PBJW should be more satisfied with their lives and cheat less than those with a weaker PBJW. The results support the hypothesized direct effects of PBJW on life satisfaction. Procrastination additionally mediated the effect of PBJW on life satisfaction. The level of PBJW predicted academic cheating only indirectly. The mediators procrastination and lecturer justice were crucial here. The results persisted when gender, learning, time to exam, socially desirable responding, general BJW, and self-efficacy were controlled. The findings were discussed in relation to the stressful situation caused by COVID-19. A reflection on the adaptive function of PBJW as a resource and relevant situation-specific mediators for university research and practice followed.
Color image encryption scheme based on alternate quantum walk and controlled Rubik’s Cube
Authors: Zhao Jingbo , Zhang Tian , Jiang Jianwei , Fang Tong , Ma Hongyang
Published: August 2022

Aiming at solving the trouble that digital image information is easily intercepted and tampered during transmission, we proposed a color image encryption scheme based on alternate quantum random walk and controlled Rubik’s Cube transformation. At the first, the color image is separated into three channels: channel R, channel G and channel B. Besides, a random sequence is generated by alternate quantum walk. Then the six faces of the Rubik’s Cube are decomposed and arranged in a specific order on a two-dimensional plane, and each pixel of the image is randomly mapped to the Rubik’s Cube. The whirling of the Rubik’s Cube is controlled by a random sequence to realize image scrambling and encryption. The scrambled image acquired by Rubik’s Cube whirling and the random sequence received by alternate quantum walk are bitwise-XORed to obtain a single-channel encrypted image. Finally the three-channel image is merged to acquire the final encrypted image. The decryption procedure is the reverse procedure of the encryption procedure. The key space of this scheme is theoretically infinite. After simulation experiments, the information entropy after encryption reaches 7.999, the NPCR is 99.5978%, and the UACI is 33.4317%. The encryption scheme with high robustness and security has a excellent encryption effect which is effective to resist statistical attacks, force attacks, and other differential attacks.
Carbon nanoparticles adversely affect CFTR expression and toxicologically relevant pathways
Authors: Stermann Torben , Nguyen Thach , Stahlmecke Burkhard , Todea Ana Maria , Woeste Selina , Hacheney Inken , Krutmann Jean , Unfried Klaus , Schins Roel P. F. , Rossi Andrea
Published: August 2022

Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) that can lead to terminal respiratory failure. Ultrafine carbonaceous particles, which are ubiquitous in ambient urban and indoor air, are increasingly considered as major contributors to the global health burden of air pollution. However, their effects on the expression of CFTR and associated genes in lung epithelial cells have not yet been investigated. We therefore evaluated the effects of carbon nanoparticles (CNP), generated by spark-ablation, on the human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE14o− at air–liquid interface (ALI) culture conditions. The ALI-cultured cells exhibited epithelial barrier integrity and increased CFTR expression. Following a 4-h exposure to CNP, the cells exhibited a decreased barrier integrity, as well as decreased expression of CFTR transcript and protein levels. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed that the CNP-exposed cells showed signs of oxidative stress, apoptosis and DNA damage. In conclusion, this study describes spark-ablated carbon nanoparticles in a realistic exposure of aerosols to decrease CFTR expression accompanied by transcriptomic signs of oxidative stress, apoptosis and DNA damage.
Field validation of deep learning based Point-of-Care device for early detection of oral malignant and potentially malignant disorders
Authors: Birur N. Praveen , Song Bofan , Sunny Sumsum P. , G. Keerthi , Mendonca Pramila , Mukhia Nirza , Li Shaobai , Patrick Sanjana , G. Shubha , A.R. Subhashini , Imchen Tsusennaro , Leivon Shirley T. , Kolur Trupti , Shetty Vivek , R. Vidya Bhushan , Vaibhavi Daksha , Rajeev Surya , Pednekar Sneha , Banik Ankita Dutta , Ramesh Rohan Michael , Pillai Vijay , O.S. Kathryn , Smith Petra Wilder , Sigamani Alben , Suresh Amritha , Liang Rongguang , Kuriakose Moni A.
Published: August 2022

Early detection of oral cancer in low-resource settings necessitates a Point-of-Care screening tool that empowers Frontline-Health-Workers (FHW). This study was conducted to validate the accuracy of Convolutional-Neural-Network (CNN) enabled m(mobile)-Health device deployed with FHWs for delineation of suspicious oral lesions (malignant/potentially-malignant disorders). The effectiveness of the device was tested in tertiary-care hospitals and low-resource settings in India. The subjects were screened independently, either by FHWs alone or along with specialists. All the subjects were also remotely evaluated by oral cancer specialist/s. The program screened 5025 subjects (Images: 32,128) with 95% (n = 4728) having telediagnosis. Among the 16% (n = 752) assessed by onsite specialists, 20% (n = 102) underwent biopsy. Simple and complex CNN were integrated into the mobile phone and cloud respectively. The onsite specialist diagnosis showed a high sensitivity (94%), when compared to histology, while telediagnosis showed high accuracy in comparison with onsite specialists (sensitivity: 95%; specificity: 84%). FHWs, however, when compared with telediagnosis, identified suspicious lesions with less sensitivity (60%). Phone integrated, CNN (MobileNet) accurately delineated lesions (n = 1416; sensitivity: 82%) and Cloud-based CNN (VGG19) had higher accuracy (sensitivity: 87%) with tele-diagnosis as reference standard. The results of the study suggest that an automated mHealth-enabled, dual-image system is a useful triaging tool and empowers FHWs for oral cancer screening in low-resource settings.
Estimation of porcine pancreas optical properties in the 600–1100 nm wavelength range for light-based therapies
Authors: Lanka Pranav , Bianchi Leonardo , Farina Andrea , De Landro Martina , Pifferi Antonio , Saccomandi Paola
Published: August 2022

This work reports the optical properties of porcine pancreatic tissue in the broad wavelength range of 600–1100 nm. Absorption and reduced scattering coefficients (µa and µs′) of the ex vivo pancreas were obtained by means of Time-domain Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy. We have investigated different experimental conditions—including compression, repositioning, spatial sampling, temporal stability—the effect of the freezing procedure (fresh vs frozen-thawed pancreas), and finally inter-sample variability. Good repeatability under different experimental conditions was obtained (median coefficient of variation less than 8% and ~ 16% for µa and µs′, respectively). Freezing–thawing the samples caused an irreversible threefold reduction of µs′ and no effect on µa. The absorption and reduced scattering spectra averaged over different samples were in the range of 0.12–0.74 cm−1 and 12–21 cm−1 with an inter-sample variation of ~ 10% and ~ 40% for µa and µs′, respectively. The calculated effective transport coefficient (µeff) for fresh pancreatic tissue shows that regions between 800–900 nm and 1050–1100 nm are similar and offer the lowest tissue attenuation in the considered range (i.e., µeff ranging from 2.4 to 2.7 cm−1). These data, describing specific light-pancreas interactions in the therapeutic optical window for the first time, provide pivotal information for planning of light-based thermotherapies (e.g., laser ablation) and instruction of light transport models for biophotonic applications involving this organ.
Voltammetric estimation of residual nitroxynil in food products using carbon paste electrode
Authors: Salim Mohamed M. , Ashraf Sally , Hashem Heba M. , Belal Fathalla
Published: August 2022

A simple and sensitive voltammetric method was developed and validated for the recognition of the veterinary drug nitroxynil (NTX). The method is based on studying its voltammetric behavior at a carbon paste electrode. Square wave voltammetry (SWV) was successfully applied in this study. The anodic peak current obtained was a linear function of NTX concentration in Britton Robinson buffer of pH 3 over the range of 3.9 × 10–6–1.0 × 10−4 M with lower detection and quantitation limits of 3.1 × 10–7and 9.4 × 10–7 M, respectively. The proposed method was first applied to the assessment of the drug in commercial vials. The method was further used to monitor the residual amounts of the drug in bovine meat, kidney, fat, and milk samples. The results obtained were favourably compared with those given by reference method. The interference likely to be introduced by co-administered drugs was evaluated. The electrode reaction was elucidated, and electron transfer kinetics were studied.