bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ολοκληρωμένη αποτίμηση καταναλωτικών, λειτουργικών, περιβαλλοντικών και διατροφικών στοιχείων της συσκευασίας στη βιομηχανία τροφίμων
Authors: Κωνσταντόγλου Αγγελική
Published: November 2021

ΓενικάΗ παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή, στοχεύει στον προσδιορισμό και την αξιολόγηση των στοιχείων συσκευασίας στη βιομηχανία τροφίμων από ένα ολιστικό πρίσμα. Τα ευρήματα της μελέτης δικαιολογούν τα αποτελέσματα πολλών ερευνητικών πρωτοβουλιών ότι η σημασία της συσκευασίας στη βιομηχανία τροφίμων έγκειται στον πολυλειτουργικό και πολύ-επιστημονικό της χαρακτήρα. Τα στοιχεία συσκευασίας των τροφίμων μπο-ρούν να προέλθουν από τη μελέτη της συμβολής των διαφόρων επιστημονικών κλάδων και λειτουργικών τομέων: μάρκετινγκ, logistics/εφοδιαστικής αλυσίδας, τεχνολογίες τροφίμων και το περιβάλλον.ΣκοπόςΗ σημασία της συσκευασίας στη βιομηχανία τροφίμων έγκειται στον πολυλειτουργικό της χαρακτήρα. Τα στοιχεία συσκευασίας μπορούν να προέλθουν από τη μελέτη της συμβολής διαφορετικών επιστημονικών τομέων και λειτουργικών τομέων: μάρκετινγκ, logistics, τεχνολογίες τροφίμων και το περιβάλλον. Αυτή η μελέτη στοχεύει στον εντοπισμό και την αξιολόγηση στοιχείων συσκευασίας στη βιομηχανία τροφίμων από μία ο-λιστική άποψη.Μεθοδολογική προσέγγισηΤα πρωτογενή δεδομένα συλλέχθηκαν μέσω ερωτηματολογίων, τα οποία συμπληρώθηκαν από 1.219 καταναλωτές τροφίμων και 390 διευθυντές (στελέχη) που εργάζονται στην αγορά συσκευασμένων προϊόντων διατροφής, ο οποίος είναι ένας πολύ σημαντικός και ανταγωνιστικός τομέας στην Ελλάδα.ΕυρήματαΣε γενικές γραμμές, τα ευρήματα αποκαλύπτουν ότι όλοι οι βασικοί παράγοντες της α-λυσίδας εφοδιασμού τροφίμων αντιλαμβάνονται και εκτιμούν τον πολυλειτουργικό και διεπιστημονικό χαρακτήρα της συσκευασίας. Επιπλέον, τα πληροφοριακά, λειτουργικά, φυσικά και οπτικά στοιχεία έχουν μεγάλη σημασία. Αυτά τα ευρήματα οδηγούν στο συμπέρασμα ότι όλα τα στελέχη από διαφορετικούς επιχειρησιακούς τομείς μιας επιχείρησης θα πρέπει να συμμετέχουν στο σχεδιασμό συσκευασιών, παρά το γεγονός ότι μπορεί να έχουν διαφορετικές προοπτικές σχετικά με τα διαφορετικά στοιχεία που εμπλέκο-νται στη συσκευασία στην εφοδιαστική αλυσίδα τροφίμων.ΠρωτοτυπίαΠαρόλο που ο πολυεπιστημονικός χαρακτήρας της συσκευασίας είναι ένα αναμφισβήτητο γεγονός, οι περισσότερες μελέτες στη βιβλιογραφία επικεντρώνονται είτε στον αντίκτυπό του στη συμπεριφορά των καταναλωτών και στη χρήση του ως εργαλείου επικοινωνίας / διαφοροποίησης είτε ως εργαλείο που έχει σημαντικές επιπτώσεις στην αποτελεσματικότητα των συστημάτων logistics σε όλη την αλυσίδα εφοδιασμού, καθώς και για τα συγκεκριμένα χαρακτηριστικά / ιδιότητες και την περιβαλλοντική ευαισθητοποίη-ση. Αυτή η μελέτη προσπάθησε να καλύψει αυτό το κενό, αναγνωρίζοντας τη σημασία του μεταξύ των διαχειριστών μάρκετινγκ, εφοδιαστικής, τεχνολογίας τροφίμων και εταιρικής κοινωνικής ευθύνης, συμπεριλαμβανομένων ζητημάτων που αφορούν την περι-βαλλοντική ευαισθητοποίηση και τον τρόπο με τον οποίο οι καταναλωτές αντιλαμβάνο-νται τα δεδομένα στη συσκευασία.
Μέτρηση της πρωτεΐνης ζονουλίνης σε βρέφη ηλικίας 3 μηνών και συσχέτισης των τιμών της με τον μητρικό θηλασμό
Authors: Κολυβά Σουλτάνα
Published: November 2021

Εισαγωγή: Η πρωτεΐνη ζονουλίνη είναι ο μοναδικός έως τώρα γνωστός ενδογενής ρυθμιστής των αποφρακτικών ζωνών οι οποίες ρυθμίζουν την εντερική διαπερατότητα. Από την ανακάλυψή της, έχει χρησιμοποιηθεί ευρέως ως δείκτης της εντερικής διαπερατότητας. Ο μητρικός θηλασμός θεωρείται ότι ευνοεί την ακεραιότητα του γαστρεντερικού συστήματος και προάγει το «κλείσιμο του εντέρου» στα νεογνά, ωστόσο υπάρχουν λίγα δεδομένα σχετικά με την επίδραση του τρόπου σίτισης στην εντερική διαπερατότητα στα βρέφη. Σκοπός: Σκοπός της μελέτης ήταν να ερευνηθεί η συσχέτιση του τρόπου σίτισης (μητρικό έναντι τροποποιημένου γάλακτος) με τα επίπεδα ζονουλίνης ως δείκτη της εντερικής διαπερατότητας. Μέθοδοι: Εκατόν πέντε βρέφη τα οποία γεννήθηκαν τελειόμηνα, μετά από ανεπίπλεκτη κύηση συμμετείχαν στη μελέτη. Σε ηλικία 3 – 4 μηνών τα βρέφη εξετάστηκαν κλινικά και ελήφθη δείγμα αίματος. Τα επίπεδα ζονουλίνης στο αίμα μετρήθηκαν με τη μέθοδο ELISA.Αποτελέσματα: Από τα 105 βρέφη τα 50 (47.6 %) ήταν αγόρια και το 58.1% (61) είχαν γεννηθεί με καισαρική τομή με μέση ± SD διάρκεια κύησης 38.9 ± 1.0 εβδομάδες. Στην αιμοληψία η διάμεση ηλικία (εύρος) ήταν 3.4 (3.2 – 3.5) μήνες και το μέσο ± SD βάρος σώματος ήταν 6332 ± 692 γραμμάρια. Τα βρέφη χωρίστηκαν σε τρεις ομάδες ανάλογα με τον τρόπο σίτισης: αποκλειστικός μητρικός θηλασμός (n: 42), μικτή σίτιση (n: 41) και τροποποιημένο γάλα αγελάδας (n: 22). Ο τρόπος σίτισης δεν είχε επίδραση στα επίπεδα ζονουλίνης αίματος των βρεφών. Επιπλέον, τα επίπεδα ζονουλίνης δεν επηρεάστηκαν από τα κλινικά και επιδημιολογικά χαρακτηριστικά των βρεφών όπως το βάρος σώματος ή το οικογενειακό ιστορικό για αυτοάνοσα ή αλλεργικά νοσήματα. Συμπέρασμα: Στην μελέτη μας, ο τρόπος σίτισης και τα κλινικά χαρακτηριστικά δε βρέθηκε να επηρεάζουν τις τιμές ζονουλίνης αίματος σε υγιή βρέφη ηλικίας 3 - 4 μηνών.
Frequency of parasitic infections in Arachishypogaea L (groundnuts), Citrulluslanatus seeds (watermelon seeds), and Ziziphusspina-christi (nabag) sold by street vendors in Khartoum State, Sudan: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Suleiman Mohammed Arwa , Abd Alla Ahmed , Galander Ahmed , Elfaki Tayseer , Ibrahim Hashim Ahmed , N. Altayb Hisham
Published: November 2021

Background: Plant products, including seeds are an important source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and energy. This study aimed to assess parasitic contaminations in roasted groundnuts,

nabag, and tasali (watermelon seeds) sold by street vendors in Khartoum State, Sudan.

Methods: The frequency of parasitic contaminations among all crop products was detected by washing the plants with saline, and then conducting an examination using a formal ether

concentration technique (FECT), followed by a saturated sugar floatation technique.

Results: The detected parasites belonged to two species: Entamoeba histolytica (33.3%) and Giardia lamblia (15.6%). No helminthic parasites were detected. Mixed contamination of the mentioned parasites was also observed (11.1%). The most contaminated crop was nabag, followed by groundnut, and finally tasali.

Conclusion: No relation was established between the positivity of samples for parasites and crop type, Khartoum State city, or  seller sex. FECT was more sensitive than the saturated sugar floatation technique as a detection method.
Long-term effect of full-body pulsed electromagnetic field and exercise protocol in the treatment of men with osteopenia or osteoporosis: A randomized placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Ebid Anwar , El-boshy Mohamed , El-Shamy Shamekh , Thabet Ali , Abedalla Mohamed , Ali Tariq
Published: November 2021

Background: Osteoporosis is the most prevalent metabolic disease affecting bones. Objective: To investigate the long-term effect of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) combined with exercise protocol on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone markers in men with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Methods: Ninety-five males with osteopenia or osteoporosis (mean age, 51.26 ± 2.41 years; mean height, 176 ± 2.02 cm; mean weight, 83.08 ± 2.60 kg; mean body–mass index (BMI), 26.08 ± 1.09 kg/m2) participated in the study, and they were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group 1 received a full-body PEMF and exercise protocol (PEMF +EX), Group 2 received a placebo full-body PEMF and exercise protocol (PPEMF +EX), and Group 3 received a full-body PEMF alone (PEMF). PEMF was applied for the whole body using a full-body mat three times per week for 12 weeks, with an exercise protocol that includes flexibility, aerobic exercise, strengthening, weight-bearing, and balance exercises followed by whole-body vibration (WBV) training. Outcome measures include BMD of total hip and lumbar spine and bone markers [serum osteocalcin (s-OC), Serum amino-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (s-NTX), Serum carboxy-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (s-CTX), Parathyroid hormones (PTH), Bone-specific Alkaline Phosphatase (BSAP), and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (Vit D)]. Results: The BMD of total hip and lumbar spine was significantly increased post-treatment in all groups, and more so in Group 1 and Group 2 than Group 3. There was a significant difference in bone markers in all groups, more so in Group 1 and Group 2 than in Group 3. Conclusion: PEMF combined with exercise protocol exerts a potent role for treating OP, is more effective than exercise and PEMF alone for increasing BMD and enhancing bone formation, and suppresses bone-resorption markers after 12-weeks of treatment with the impact lasting up to 6 months.
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - A resource for COVID-19 research: Questionnaire data capture November 2020 – March 2021
Authors: Smith Daniel , Bowring Claire , Wells Nicholas , Crawford Michael , Timpson Nicholas John , Northstone Kate
Published: November 2021

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort study which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 and has followed these women, their partners (Generation 0; G0) and their offspring (Generation 1; G1) ever since. The study has reacted rapidly and repeatedly to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, deploying online questionnaires throughout the pandemic. In November/December 2020, a fourth questionnaire was deployed asking about physical and mental health, lifestyle and behaviours, employment and finances.

G0 participants were offered an online questionnaire between 17th November 2020 and 7th February 2021, while G1 participants were offered both online and paper questionnaires between 1st December 2020 and 19th March 2021. Of 15,844 invitations, 8,643 (55%) participants returned the questionnaire (3,101 original mothers [mean age 58.6 years], 1,172 original fathers/partners [mean age 61.5 years] and 4,370 offspring [mean age 28.4 years]). Of these 8,643 participants, 2,012 (23%) had not returned a previous COVID-19 questionnaire, while 3,575 (41%) had returned all three previous questionnaires.

In this questionnaire, 300 participants (3.5%) reported a previous positive COVID-19 test, 110 (1.3%) had been told by a doctor they likely had COVID-19, and 759 (8.8%) suspected that they had had COVID-19. Based on self-reported symptoms, between October 2020 and February 2021 359 participants (4.2%) were predicted COVID-19 cases.

COVID data is being complemented with linkage to health records and Public Health England pillar testing results as they become available. Data has been released as an update to the previous COVID-19 datasets. It comprises: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses to both questionnaires with key sociodemographic factors; and 2) as a composite release coordinating data from the existing resource, thus enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study. This data note describes the fourth questionnaire and the data obtained from it.
An ethical analysis of vaccinating children against COVID-19: benefits, risks, and issues of global health equity
Authors: Gur-Arie Rachel , Kraaijeveld Steven R. , Jamrozik Euzebiusz
Published: November 2021

COVID-19 vaccination of children has begun in various high-income countries with regulatory approval and general public support, but largely without careful ethical consideration. This trend is expected to extend to other COVID-19 vaccines and lower ages as clinical trials progress. This paper provides an ethical analysis of COVID-19 vaccination of healthy children. Specifically, we argue that it is currently unclear whether routine COVID-19 vaccination of healthy children is ethically justified in most contexts, given the minimal direct benefit that COVID-19 vaccination provides to children, the potential for rare risks to outweigh these benefits and undermine vaccine confidence, and substantial evidence that COVID-19 vaccination confers adequate protection to risk groups, such as older adults, without the need to vaccinate healthy children. We conclude that child COVID-19 vaccination in wealthy communities before adults in poor communities worldwide is ethically unacceptable and consider how policy deliberations might evolve in light of future developments.
Geometric Locations of Points Equally Distance from Two Given Geometric Figures. Part 4: Geometric Locations of Points Equally Remote from Two Spheres
Authors: Vyshnyepolskiy Vladimir , Zavarihina E. , Peh D.
Published: November 2021

The article deals with the geometric locations of points equidistant from two spheres. In all variants of the mutual position of the spheres, the geometric places of the points are two surfaces. When the centers of the spheres coincide with the locus of points equidistant from the spheres, there will be spheres equal to the half-sum and half-difference of the diameters of the original spheres. In three variants of the relative position of the initial spheres, one of the two surfaces of the geometric places of the points is a two-sheet hyperboloid of revolution. It is obtained when: 1) the spheres intersect, 2) the spheres touch, 3) the outer surfaces of the spheres are removed from each other. In the case of equal spheres, a two-sheeted hyperboloid of revolution degenerates into a two-sheeted plane, more precisely, it is a second-order degenerate surface with a second infinitely distant branch.

The spheres intersect - the second locus of the points will be the ellipsoid of revolution. Spheres touch - the second locus of points - an ellipsoid of revolution, degenerated into a straight line, more precisely into a zero-quadric of the second order - a cylindrical surface with zero radius. The outer surfaces of the spheres are distant from each other - the second locus of points will be a two-sheet hyperboloid of revolution. The small sphere is located inside the large one - two coaxial confocal ellipsoids of revolution.

In all variants of the mutual position of spheres of the same diameters, the common geometrical place of equidistant points is a plane (degenerate surface of the second order) passing through the middle of the segment perpendicular to it, connecting the centers of the original spheres. The second locus of points equidistant from two spheres of the same diameter can be either an ellipsoid of revolution (if the original spheres intersect), or a straight (cylindrical surface with zero radius) connecting the centers of the original spheres when the original spheres touch each other, or a two-sheet hyperboloid of revolution (if continue to increase the distance between the centers of the original spheres).
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COLLEGE STUDENTS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL CRISIS INTERVENTION ORGANIZATION SYSTEM OF “INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL LINKAGE” AND FULL PARTICIPATION
Authors: SHI XIU-MEI
Published: November 2021

College Students’ psychological crisis intervention needs to establish the awareness of full participation and construct the organizational system of full participation, so as to fully tap resources, form synergy effect and improve the effectiveness of intervention. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the school full participation organization system including the core work objects, front-line staff, backbone forces and decision-makers; on the other hand, it is necessary to build the "internal and external linkage" full participation organization system including university-family linkage, university-hospital linkage, university-Police linkage and universitymedia linkage.
Steroid injection using tendon excursion for trigger finger: introduction to injection methods and analysis of treatment results
Authors: Ko Sang Hyun , Kim Dong Eun , Lee Tong Joo
Published: November 2021

Purpose: Local corticosteroid injections are routinely used as first-line treatment for trigger finger. However, accurate delivery of steroids into the tendon sheath is important for the effectiveness of the treatment and the prevention of complications. This study aimed to introduce our steroid injection technique for trigger finger, which uses tendon excursion of the flexor tendon, and evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients who were treated with this technique.Methods: A total of 171 patients with trigger finger who were treated with steroid injections were retrospectively reviewed. The efficacy of injection and complications were investigated. The evaluation of the efficacy was classified into “good,” “fair,” and “poor.” The results were analyzed according to the type of finger and the Quinnell grading system.Results: The total efficacy was 83.6% (good/fair, 143 digits; poor, 28 digits). The treatment success rate for Quinnell grade IV was 43.8% (7 of 16), which was significantly lower than those of Quinnell grades II and III, which were 88.9% (88 of 99) and 87.5% (49 of 56), respectively (II vs. IV, p=0.004; III vs. IV, p=0.010). In four fingers (excluding the thumb), the success rate was significantly higher than that of the thumb (88.2% vs. 75.4%, p=0.048).Conclusion: The steroid injection technique using tendon excursion showed excellent results and low complication rates. In particular, the second to fourth fingers and low-grade fingers showed more effective results.
JITA4DS: Disaggregated Execution of Data Science Pipelines Between the Edge and the Data Centre
Authors: Vargas-Solar Genoveva , Hassan Md Sahil , Akoglu Ali
Published: November 2021

This paper targets the execution of data science (DS) pipelines supported by data processing, transmission and sharing across several resources executing greedy processes. Current data science pipelines environments provide various infrastructure services with computing resources such as general-purpose processors (GPP), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) coupled with platform and software services to design, run and maintain DS pipelines. These one-fits-all solutions impose the complete externalization of data pipeline tasks. However, some tasks can be executed in the edge, and the backend can provide just in time resources to ensure ad-hoc and elastic execution environments.This paper introduces an innovative composable “Just in Time Architecture” for configuring DCs for Data Science Pipelines (JITA-4DS) and associated resource management techniques. JITA-4DS is a cross-layer management system that is aware of both the application characteristics and the underlying infrastructures to break the barriers between applications, middleware/operating system, and hardware layers. Vertical integration of these layers is needed for building a customizable Virtual Data Center (VDC) to meet the dynamically changing data science pipelines’ requirements such as performance, availability, and energy consumption. Accordingly, the paper shows an experimental simulation devoted to run data science workloads and determine the best strategies for scheduling the allocation of resources implemented by JITA-4DS.
Using Federated Learning to Achieve Proactive Context-Aware IoT Environments
Authors: Rentero-Trejo Rubén , Flores-Martín Daniel , Galán-Jiménez Jaime , García-Alonso José , Murillo Juan Manuel , Berrocal Javier
Published: November 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT) is more present in our daily lives than ever before, turning everyday physical objects into smart devices. However, these devices often need excessive human interaction before reaching their best performance, making them time-consuming and reducing their usability. Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques are being used to process data and to find ways to automate different behaviours. However, achieving learning models capable of handling any situation is a challenging task, worsened by time training restrictions. This paper proposes a Federated Learning solution to manage different IoT environments and provide accurate predictions, based on the user’s preferences. To improve the coexistence between devices and users, this approach makes use of other users’ previous behaviours in similar environments, and proposes predictions for newcomers to the federation. Also, for existing participants, it provides a closer personalization, immediate availability and prevents most manual interactions. The approach has been tested with synthetic and real data and identifies the actions to be performed with 94% accuracy on regular users.
A fluorescent reporter on electrostatic DNA-ligand interactions
Authors: Murade Chandrashekhar U. , Shubeita George T.
Published: November 2021

Among the various types of interactions between biomolecules, electrostatic interactions dominate as these are long-range interactions and are often a generic first step in the recruitment of specific ligands. DNA, being a highly charged molecule, attracts a plethora of molecules. Interactions between DNA and proteins or small molecules shape the overall function of the cell. Various processes such as DNA replication, DNA repair, synthesis of mRNA, and packaging of DNA are mediated by interactions between protein molecules and DNA that are predominantly electrostatic. Here, we present a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based probe which can report on the electrostatic interactions between the negatively-charged DNA and positively-charged metal ions, oligopeptides, as well as DNA groove-binding drug molecules. The simplicity, sensitivity, and versatility of the DNA-based probe makes it suited for applications where specific protein-DNA interactions can be probed, and DNA-binding drugs can be discovered in high-throughput screens of compound libraries. This is particularly relevant given that some of the most potent antitumor and antimicrobial drugs associate with DNA electrostatically.
4-domain twisted liquid crystal micropolarizer array for visible linear polarization imaging
Authors: Zhang Shiyuan , Liu Chang , Sun Zijun , Mu Quanquan , Campos Juan , Liu Hua , Zhang Xingyun , Li Dayu , Wang Qidong
Published: November 2021

In this paper, a 4-domain twisted liquid crystal micropolarizer (twisted-LCMP) array was designed and fabricated enabling linear polarization imaging in the visible band. It contains a pixelized twisted-LC layer and a polarizer. The optimized twist angles were designed as ±22.5° and ±67.5° for best extinction ratio. A large birefringence LC material was used to fulfill the Mauguin condition in a wider visible band. Using a digital micromirror device (DMD) lithography system, the twisted-LCMP array was fabricated precisely using the photoalignment technique. It exhibited excellent optical performance, which could meet the requirements for polarization imaging. The measurement error for degree of linear polarization (DoLP) and angle of polarization (AoP) were less than 1.15% and 0.65°. The proposed twisted-LCMP array has great potential to be integrated directly into a camera for real-time linear polarization imaging.
Extreme events in optically pumped spin-VCSELs
Authors: Zeng Yao , Zhou Pei , Huang Yu , Li Nianqiang
Published: November 2021

Extreme events (EEs) are predicted for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, in the chaotic dynamics of a free-running spin-polarized vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (spin-VCSEL). Here, we not only show two types of EEs, i.e., vectorial and scalar EEs separately corresponding to the emission of a high-power pulse in both linear polarizations (LPs) simultaneously and in single LP, but we also observe a new EE type that only occurs in total intensity. We also confirm that the observed EEs follow similar statistical distributions to conventional rogue waves. Moreover, the effects of pump power and pump ellipticity on the generation of EEs are analyzed. Finally, we compare free-running and optical feedback spin-VCSELs, which provides more insights into the study of EEs. More importantly, this work offers a novel platform for the study of EEs with a simple structure and opens up new research fields into spin-VCSELs.
On-demand generation of soliton molecules through evolutionary algorithm optimization
Authors: Girardot J. , Coillet A. , Nafa M. , Billard F. , Hertz E. , Grelu Ph.
Published: November 2021

Combining evolutionary algorithm optimization with ultrafast fiber laser technology, we report on the self-generation of stable two-soliton molecules with controllable temporal separation. A fiber laser setup including an adjustable virtual saturable absorber achieved through nonlinear polarization evolution and an intracavity pulse shaper is used to generate two-soliton molecules with a user-defined 3–8 ps internal delay.
Effect of closely-spaced excited states on electromagnetically induced transparency
Authors: Kim Saesun , Marino Alberto M.
Published: November 2021

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is a well-known phenomenon due in part to its applicability to quantum devices such as quantum memories and quantum gates. EIT is commonly modeled with a three-level lambda system; however, this simplified model does not capture all the physics of EIT experiments with real systems. We present a theoretical study of the effect of two closely-spaced excited states on EIT and off-resonance Raman transitions. In addition to the expected broadening of the EIT resonance and reduction in EIT transparency due to multiple excited states, we find some unexpected and interesting results. A comparison with a model that does not allow for coupling of the excited states shows that the coherent interaction of the fields with two excited states whose separation is smaller than their Doppler broadened linewidth can enhance the EIT transparency under some conditions and can enhance and shift the resonance frequency of off-resonance Raman absorption. Furthermore, through a dressed state analysis of the full four-level system, we find that the underlying mechanism for the reduction in EIT transparency is a shift in the two-photon resonance due to unequal dipole moments of the transitions coupled by the control field. Complete transparency can only be recovered for systems with equal dipole moments or when the separation between the two excited states is at least of the order of the Doppler width. To support our theoretical study, we present experimental EIT measurements in the D1 lines of 85Rb and 87Rb that agree with our predictions of an enhancement or reduction of EIT transparency under specific conditions. The experimental results also verify the roles that the dipole moments and the separation between the two excited states have on recovering the EIT transparency.
Estimating the dimensionality of the manifold underlying multi-electrode neural recordings
Authors: Altan Ege , Solla Sara A. , Miller Lee E. , Perreault Eric J.
Published: November 2021

It is generally accepted that the number of neurons in a given brain area far exceeds the number of neurons needed to carry any specific function controlled by that area. For example, motor areas of the human brain contain tens of millions of neurons that control the activation of tens or at most hundreds of muscles. This massive redundancy implies the covariation of many neurons, which constrains the population activity to a low-dimensional manifold within the space of all possible patterns of neural activity. To gain a conceptual understanding of the complexity of the neural activity within a manifold, it is useful to estimate its dimensionality, which quantifies the number of degrees of freedom required to describe the observed population activity without significant information loss. While there are many algorithms for dimensionality estimation, we do not know which are well suited for analyzing neural activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of several representative algorithms for estimating the dimensionality of linearly and nonlinearly embedded data. We generated synthetic neural recordings with known intrinsic dimensionality and used them to test the algorithms’ accuracy and robustness. We emulated some of the important challenges associated with experimental data by adding noise, altering the nature of the embedding of the low-dimensional manifold within the high-dimensional recordings, varying the dimensionality of the manifold, and limiting the amount of available data. We demonstrated that linear algorithms overestimate the dimensionality of nonlinear, noise-free data. In cases of high noise, most algorithms overestimated the dimensionality. We thus developed a denoising algorithm based on deep learning, the “Joint Autoencoder”, which significantly improved subsequent dimensionality estimation. Critically, we found that all algorithms failed when the intrinsic dimensionality was high (above 20) or when the amount of data used for estimation was low. Based on the challenges we observed, we formulated a pipeline for estimating the dimensionality of experimental neural data.
Sensory coding and contrast invariance emerge from the control of plastic inhibition over emergent selectivity
Authors: Larisch René , Gönner Lorenz , Teichmann Michael , Hamker Fred H.
Published: November 2021

Visual stimuli are represented by a highly efficient code in the primary visual cortex, but the development of this code is still unclear. Two distinct factors control coding efficiency: Representational efficiency, which is determined by neuronal tuning diversity, and metabolic efficiency, which is influenced by neuronal gain. How these determinants of coding efficiency are shaped during development, supported by excitatory and inhibitory plasticity, is only partially understood. We investigate a fully plastic spiking network of the primary visual cortex, building on phenomenological plasticity rules. Our results suggest that inhibitory plasticity is key to the emergence of tuning diversity and accurate input encoding. We show that inhibitory feedback (random and specific) increases the metabolic efficiency by implementing a gain control mechanism. Interestingly, this led to the spontaneous emergence of contrast-invariant tuning curves. Our findings highlight that (1) interneuron plasticity is key to the development of tuning diversity and (2) that efficient sensory representations are an emergent property of the resulting network.
Motor domain-mediated autoinhibition dictates axonal transport by the kinesin UNC-104/KIF1A
Authors: Cong Dezi , Ren Jinqi , Zhou Yurong , Wang Shuang , Liang Jingjing , Ding Mei , Feng Wei
Published: November 2021

The UNC-104/KIF1A motor is crucial for axonal transport of synaptic vesicles, but how the UNC-104/KIF1A motor is activated in vivo is not fully understood. Here, we identified point mutations located in the motor domain or the inhibitory CC1 domain, which resulted in gain-of-function alleles of unc-104 that exhibit hyperactive axonal transport and abnormal accumulation of synaptic vesicles. In contrast to the cell body localization of wild type motor, the mutant motors accumulate on neuronal processes. Once on the neuronal process, the mutant motors display dynamic movement similarly to wild type motors. The gain-of-function mutation on the motor domain leads to an active dimeric conformation, releasing the inhibitory CC1 region from the motor domain. Genetically engineered mutations in the motor domain or CC1 of UNC-104, which disrupt the autoinhibitory interface, also led to the gain of function and hyperactivation of axonal transport. Thus, the CC1/motor domain-mediated autoinhibition is crucial for UNC-104/KIF1A-mediated axonal transport in vivo.
Surface proteomics and label-free quantification of Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona
Authors: Techawiwattanaboon Teerasit , Thaibankluay Praparat , Kreangkaiwal Chahya , Sathean-Anan-Kun Suwitra , Khaenam Prasong , Makjaroen Jiradej , Pisitkun Trairak , Patarakul Kanitha
Published: November 2021

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonosis with a global distribution. Surface-exposed outer membrane proteins (SE-OMPs) are crucial for bacterial–host interactions. SE-OMPs locate and expose their epitope on cell surface where is easily accessed by host molecules. This study aimed to screen for surface-exposed proteins and their abundance profile of pathogenic Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona. Two complementary approaches, surface biotinylation and surface proteolytic shaving, followed by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were employed to identify SE-OMPs of intact leptospires. For quantitative comparison, in-depth label-free analysis of SE-OMPs obtained from each method was performed using MaxQuant. The total number of proteins identified was 1,001 and 238 for surface biotinylation and proteinase K shaving, respectively. Among these, 39 were previously known SE-OMPs and 68 were predicted to be localized on the leptospiral surface. Based on MaxQuant analysis for relative quantification, six known SE-OMPs including EF- Tu, LipL21, LipL41, LipL46, Loa22, and OmpL36, and one predicted SE-OMPs, LipL71 were found in the 20 most abundant proteins, in which LipL41 was the highest abundant SE-OMP. Moreover, uncharacterized LIC14011 protein (LIP3228 ortholog in serovar Pomona) was identified as a novel predicted surface βb-OMP. High-abundance leptospiral SE-OMPs identified in this study may play roles in virulence and infection and are potential targets for development of vaccine or diagnostic tests for leptospirosis.
Impacts of fungal entomopathogens on survival and immune responses of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens mosquitoes in the context of native Wolbachia infections
Authors: Ramirez Jose L. , Schumacher Molly K. , Ower Geoff , Palmquist Debra E. , Juliano Steven A.
Published: November 2021

Microbial control of mosquitoes via the use of symbiotic or pathogenic microbes, such asWolbachiaand entomopathogenic fungi, are promising alternatives to synthetic insecticides to tackle the rapid increase in insecticide resistance and vector-borne disease outbreaks. This study evaluated the susceptibility and host responses of two important mosquito vectors,Ae.albopictusandCx.pipiens, that naturally carryWolbachia, to infections by entomopathogenic fungi. Our study indicated that whileWolbachiapresence did not provide a protective advantage against entomopathogenic fungal infection, it nevertheless influenced the bacterial / fungal load and the expression of select anti-microbial effectors and phenoloxidase cascade genes in mosquitoes. Furthermore, although host responses fromAe.albopictusandCx.pipienswere mostly similar, we observed contrasting phenotypes with regards to susceptibility and immune responses to fungal entomopathogenic infection in these two mosquitoes. This study provides new insights into the intricate multipartite interaction between the mosquito host, its native symbiont and pathogenic microbes that might be employed to control mosquito populations.
Modelling the impact of fexinidazole use on human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Authors: Das Aatreyee M. , Chitnis Nakul , Burri Christian , Paris Daniel H. , Patel Swati , Spencer Simon E. F. , Miaka Erick M. , Castaño M. Soledad
Published: November 2021

Gambiense human African trypanosomiasis is a deadly disease that has been declining in incidence since the start of the Century, primarily due to increased screening, diagnosis and treatment of infected people. The main treatment regimen currently in use requires a lumbar puncture as part of the diagnostic process to determine disease stage and hospital admission for drug administration. Fexinidazole is a new oral treatment for stage 1 and non-severe stage 2 human African trypanosomiasis. The World Health Organization has recently incorporated fexinidazole into its treatment guidelines for human African trypanosomiasis. The treatment does not require hospital admission or a lumbar puncture for all patients, which is likely to ease access for patients; however, it does require concomitant food intake, which is likely to reduce adherence. Here, we use a mathematical model calibrated to case and screening data from Mushie territory, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to explore the potential negative impact of poor compliance to an oral treatment, and potential gains to be made from increases in the rate at which patients seek treatment. We find that reductions in compliance in treatment of stage 1 cases are projected to result in the largest increase in further transmission of the disease, with failing to cure stage 2 cases also posing a smaller concern. Reductions in compliance may be offset by increases in the rate at which cases are passively detected. Efforts should therefore be made to ensure good adherence for stage 1 patients to treatment with fexinidazole and to improve access to care.
Immunogenicity and safety of primary fractional-dose yellow fever vaccine in autoimmune rheumatic diseases
Authors: Tonacio Adriana Coracini , do Nascimento Pedrosa Tatiana , Borba Eduardo Ferreira , Aikawa Nadia Emi , Pasoto Sandra Gofinet , Filho Júlio Cesar Rente Ferreira , Sampaio Barros Marília Mantovani , Leon Elaine Pires , Lombardi Suzete Cleusa Ferreira Spina , Junior Alfredo Mendrone , Azevedo Adriana de Souza , Schwarcz Waleska Dias , Fuller Ricardo , Yuki Emily Figueiredo Neves , Ugolini Lopes Michelle Remião , Rodrigues Pereira Rosa Maria , Sampaio Barros Percival Degrava , de Andrade Danieli Castro Oliveira , de Medeiros-Ribeiro Ana Cristina , de Moraes Julio Cesar Bertacini , Shinjo Samuel Katsuyuki , Miossi Renata , da Silva Duarte Alberto José , Lopes Marta Heloisa , Kallás Esper Georges , Almeida da Silva Clovis Artur , Bonfá Eloisa
Published: November 2021

Background

Brazil faced a yellow fever(YF) outbreak in 2016–2018 and vaccination was considered for autoimmune rheumatic disease patients(ARD) with low immunosuppression due to YF high mortality.

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate, prospectively for the first time, the short-term immunogenicity of the fractional YF vaccine(YFV) immunization in ARD patients with low immunossupression.

Methods and Results

A total of 318 participants(159 ARD and 159 age- and sex-matched healthy controls) were vaccinated with the fractional-dose(one fifth) of 17DD-YFV. All subjects were evaluated at entry(D0), D5, D10, and D30 post-vaccination for clinical/laboratory and disease activity parameters for ARD patients. Post-vaccination seroconversion rate(83.7%vs.96.6%, p = 0.0006) and geometric mean titers(GMT) of neutralizing antibodies[1143.7 (95%CI 1012.3–1292.2) vs.731 (95%CI 593.6–900.2), p<0.001] were significantly lower in ARD compared to controls. A lower positivity rate of viremia was also identified for ARD patients compared to controls at D5 (53%vs.70%, p = 0.005) and the levels persisted in D10 for patients and reduced for controls(51%vs.19%, p = 0.0001). The viremia was the only variable associated with seroconvertion. No serious adverse events were reported. ARD disease activity parameters remained stable at D30(p>0.05).

Conclusion

Fractional-dose 17DD-YF vaccine in ARD patients resulted in a high rate of seroconversion rate(>80%) but lower than controls, with a longer but less intense viremia. This vaccine was immunogenic, safe and did not induce flares in ARD under low immunosuppression and may be indicated in YF outbreak situations and for patients who live or travel to endemic areas.

Trial registration

This clinical trial was registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (#NCT03430388).
Encoder-decoder models for chest X-ray report generation perform no better than unconditioned baselines
Authors: Babar Zaheer , van Laarhoven Twan , Marchiori Elena
Published: November 2021

High quality radiology reporting of chest X-ray images is of core importance for high-quality patient diagnosis and care. Automatically generated reports can assist radiologists by reducing their workload and even may prevent errors. Machine Learning (ML) models for this task take an X-ray image as input and output a sequence of words. In this work, we show that ML models for this task based on the popular encoder-decoder approach, like ‘Show, Attend and Tell’ (SA&T) have similar or worse performance than models that do not use the input image, called unconditioned baseline. An unconditioned model achieved diagnostic accuracy of 0.91 on the IU chest X-ray dataset, and significantly outperformed SA&T (0.877) and other popular ML models (p-value < 0.001). This unconditioned model also outperformed SA&T and similar ML methods on the BLEU-4 and METEOR metrics. Also, an unconditioned version of SA&T obtained by permuting the reports generated from images of the test set, achieved diagnostic accuracy of 0.862, comparable to that of SA&T (p-value ≥ 0.05).
Impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on survival and neurologic outcomes in adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest
Authors: Qadeer Asem , Parikh Puja B. , Ramkishun Charles A. , Tai Justin , Patel Jignesh K.
Published: November 2021

Background

Little data exists regarding the association of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on outcomes in the setting of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). We sought to assess the impact of COPD on mortality and neurologic outcomes in adults with IHCA.

Methods

The study population included 593 consecutive hospitalized patients with IHCA undergoing ACLS-guided resuscitation at an academic tertiary medical center from 2012–2018. The primary and secondary outcomes of interest were survival to discharge and favorable neurological outcome (defined as a Glasgow Outcome Score of 4–5) respectively.

Results

Of the 593 patients studied, 162 (27.3%) had COPD while 431 (72.7%) did not. Patients with COPD were older, more often female, and had higher Charlson Comorbidity score. Location of cardiac arrest, initial rhythm, duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and rates of defibrillation and return of spontaneous circulation were similar in both groups. Patients with COPD had significantly lower rates of survival to discharge (10.5% vs 21.6%, p = 0.002) and favorable neurologic outcomes (7.4% vs 15.9%, p = 0.007). In multivariable analyses, COPD was independently associated with lower rates of survival to discharge [odds ratio (OR) 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30–0.98, p = 0.041].

Conclusions

In this contemporary prospective registry of adults with IHCA, COPD was independently associated with significantly lower rates of survival to discharge.
Modelling the concentration of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G in intravenous immunoglobulin product batches
Authors: Stinca Sara , Barnes Thomas W. , Vogel Peter , Meyers Wilfried , Schulte-Pelkum Johannes , Filchtinski Daniel , Steller Laura , Hauser Thomas , Manni Sandro , Gardiner David F. , Popik Sharon , Roth Nathan J. , Schuetz Patrick
Published: November 2021

Background

Plasma-derived intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) products contain a dynamic spectrum of immunoglobulin (Ig) G reactivities reflective of the donor population from which they are derived. We sought to model the concentration of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG which could be expected in future plasma pool and final-product batches of CSL Behring’s immunoglobulin product Privigen.

Study design and methods

Data was extracted from accessible databases, including the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, antibody titre in convalescent and vaccinated groups and antibody half-life. Together, these parameters were used to create an integrated mathematical model that could be used to predict anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in future IVIg preparations.

Results

We predict that anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG concentration will peak in batches produced in mid-October 2021, containing levels in the vicinity of 190-fold that of the mean convalescent (unvaccinated) plasma concentration. An elevated concentration (approximately 35-fold convalescent plasma) is anticipated to be retained in batches produced well into 2022. Measurement of several Privigen batches using the Phadia™EliA™SARS-CoV-2-Sp1 IgG binding assay confirmed the early phase of this model.

Conclusion

The work presented in this paper may have important implications for physicians and patients who use Privigen for indicated diseases.
Partial velocity slip effect on working magneto non-Newtonian nanofluids flow in solar collectors subject to change viscosity and thermal conductivity with temperature
Authors: Jamshed Wasim , Eid Mohamed R. , Aissa Abederrahmane , Mourad Abed , Nisar Kottakkaran Sooppy , Shahzad Faisal , Saleel C. Ahamed , Vijayakumar V.
Published: November 2021

Solar thermal collectors distribute, capture, and transform the solar energy into a solar thermal concentration device. The present paper provides a mathematical model for analyzing the flow characteristics and transport of heat to solar collectors (SCs) from non-Newtonian nanofluids. The non-Newtonian power-law scheme is considered for the nanofluid through partial slip constraints at the boundary of a porous flat surface. The nanofluid is assumed to differ in viscosity and thermal conductivity linearly with temperature changes and the magnetic field is appliqued to the stream in the transverse direction. The method of similarity conversion is used to convert the governing structure of partial differential formulas into the system of ordinary differential ones. Using the Keller box procedure, the outcoming ordinary differential formulas along with partial slip constraints are numerically resolved. A discussion on the flowing and heat transport characteristics of nanofluid influenced by power law index, Joule heating parameter, MHD parameter and slip parameters are included from a physical point of view. Comparison of temperature profiles showed a marked temperature increase in the boundary layer due to Joule heating. The thickness of the motion boundary-layer is minimized and the transport of heat through boundary-layer is improved with the partial slip velocity and magnetic parameters rising. Finally, With an increase in the Eckert number, the distribution of temperature within boundary layer is increased.
Applying the goal programming in the management of the 7P marketing mix model at universities-case study
Authors: Ryńca Radoslaw , Ziaeian Yasmin
Published: November 2021

The decision-making relating to effective marketing is less supported by operational methodologies and optimizing methods in high education sectors than in the companies. This paper presents an application of goal programming as an aid for the optimizing marketing mix elements. It describes a project undertaken at one of the Universities in Poland considering the marketing mix includes all 7Ps elements at University. The constraints are first identified based on interviews with academic experts and survey. The analytic hierarchy process method is used to select the forms of promotional activities and Activity-Based Costing method are performed to determine the costs of the activities. Then, based on constraints, the multiple-criteria-programming model is built and applied to construct the marketing mix model at university, and it was solved using LP-Solve software AMPL. A comparison between the newly designed marketing mix and the existing one in terms of each of the criteria shows that the overall objective function could be greatly improved, optimized value can be obtained, and the model can be easily applied in any other high education sectors. The consequence of using the model is the optimal selection (with existing limitations) of promotional activities, taking into account their impact on the perception of the image of the university, significant from the perspective of students and impact on profitability, which is important from the perspective of the university management.