bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AVALIAÇÃO DE INDICADORES DE RETORNO ECONÔMICO-FINANCEIROS COM O MÉTODO TODIM E CRITÉRIOS SMART
Authors: Gentil Filho Isaias , Rangel Luís Alberto Duncan , Meiriño Marcelo Jasmim
Published: August 2022

A gestão por meio de indicadores econômicos e financeiros é de suma importância para tomada de decisão com foco na sustentabilidade das organizações. O estudo tem como objetivo avaliar cinco indicadores de retorno-econômico por meio de parecer de especialistas e ordená-los com o método de TODIM com base nos critérios SMART, tendo como resultado que os indicadores Retorno sobre o Ativo (ROA), Retorno sobre o Patrimônio Líquido (ROE), Retorno sobre o Investimento (ROI), Valor Econômico Agregado (EVA®) e Retorno sobre o Capital Empregado (ROCE), assim ordenados, são prioritários para promover ações que possam promover melhor gestão econômica e financeira nas empresas. Este artigo contribui para a literatura acadêmica, pois além de apresentar conceituação específica de cada indicador pesquisado, realiza a ordenação dos cinco indicadores por meio de um método estruturado, que pode ser utilizado para outros tipos específicos de indicadores.
Fast and high-accuracy measurement of particle size and location from a linear interferogram
Authors: Lu Qieni , Liu Hao , Wang Huaying , Liu Taiyu , Song Tianhui
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we propose, to the best of our knowledge, a novel method of simultaneously detecting and evaluating the location and size of particles from a compression particle interferogram. The 2D position of the particle can be determined with high accuracy, as evaluated by the unidirectional gradient-match with the conjoint to centroid method. The fast-Rife method provides sub-pixel accuracy and high speed for estimating the fringe frequency from the Fourier spectrum of a particle interferogram. The capability mentioned above is well verified using synthetic and experimental data. The computational load falls almost 50%, and the relative error of the measured particle diameter is less than 1.12% for homogeneous solutions of polystyrene spheres of 50 µm and 70 µm. The results demonstrate that the method presented here is considerably promising for its application to a high-density particle field, such as spray, in accurately measuring both the particle size and its location.
Analysis of iterative design algorithms for achromatic deterministic diffusers
Authors: Widholz Georg , Zeitner Uwe
Published: August 2022

Almost achromatic off-axis deterministic diffusers are flexible micro-optical elements that can produce arbitrary light distributions. They can, for example, increase the efficiency of projection systems when used as screens. These elements still pose a challenge in both design and manufacturing due to the often occurring necessity of a tessellated surface. We estimate the element depth necessary to achieve achromatic behavior using a blazed grating as a substitute model. We then show the design of a tessellated, deep diffuser using an algorithm published by Brenner [Opt. Lett. 25, 31 (2000)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.25.000031]. To further enhance the diffraction efficiency under manufacturing constraints, we introduce a modification that preserves the tessellation edges during design. We show that the modified algorithm yields an increase in efficiency and demonstrate the quasi-achromatic behavior of the resulting height profile.
Multi-scale thermal radiation effects correction via a fast surface fitting with Chebyshev polynomials
Authors: Shi Yu , Chen Jisong , Hong Hanyu , Zhang Yaozong , Sang Nong , Zhang Tianxu
Published: August 2022

In an uncooled infrared imaging system, thermal radiation effects are
caused by the heat source from
the target or the detection window, which affects the ability of
target detection, tracking, and recognition seriously. To address this
problem, a multi-scale
correction method via a fast surface fitting with Chebyshev
polynomials is proposed. A high-precision Chebyshev polynomial surface
fitting is introduced into thermal radiation bias field estimation for
the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The surface fitting in
the gradient domain is added to the thermal radiation effects
correction model as a regularization term, which overcomes the
ill-posed matrix problem of high-order bivariate polynomials surface
fitting, and achieves higher accuracy under the same order.
Additionally, a multi-scale iterative strategy and vector
representation are adopted to speed up the iterative optimization and
surface fitting, respectively. Vector representation greatly reduces
the number of basis function calls and achieves fast surface fitting.
In addition, split Bregman optimization is used to solve the
minimization problem of the correction model, which decomposes the
multivariable optimization problem into multiple univariate
optimization sub-problems. The experimental results of simulated and
real degraded images demonstrate that our proposed method performs
favorably against the state of the art in thermal radiation effects
correction.
MIM waveguide system with independently tunable double resonances and its application for two-parameter detection
Authors: Wu Qiaohua , Zhang Yingqiu , Qu Desheng , Li Chunlei
Published: August 2022

A metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide system consisting of a MIM waveguide, a ring cavity, and a semi-ring cavity is proposed. Using the finite element method, the transmission characteristics of the MIM waveguide system are discussed under the different geometry parameters. By detecting the resonance wavelength and varying the refractive index, the sensing performance of the MIM waveguide system is analyzed. The proposed structure can be used as a refractive index sensor with the maximum sensitivity of 2412 nm/RIU. Due to isolating the ring cavity and semi-ring cavity, the independent tuning of double resonances can be realized by changing the refractive index of the insulator in the ring cavity or the semi-ring cavity. Benefiting from two independent refractive index sensing modes, the structure with two isolated resonators can realize the simultaneous measurement of glucose solution concentration and blood plasma concentration. The sensitivity of glucose solution sensing in the ring cavity is 0.13133 nm/(g/L). Meanwhile, the blood plasma concentration detection in the semi-ring cavity is realized with the sensitivity of 0.358 nm/(g/L). The system with two isolated cavities has the potential to be used as an efficient nano sensor, which can achieve simultaneous measurement of two parameters.
Design of an extreme ultraviolet lithography projection objective with a grouping design method through forward and reverse real ray tracing
Authors: Yan Xu , Li Yanqiu , Li Yuanhe , Liu Lihui , Liu Ke
Published: August 2022

As the logic node gets more and more advanced, the performance of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) objective projection is required to be higher and higher in a large field of view. It is known that a good initial structure can greatly reduce the dependence on the experience of optical designers. In this paper, a grouping design method through forward and reverse real ray tracing is proposed to design the aspheric initial structure for the EUV objective system. The system is first divided into three groups, and each spherical group is designed separately. Then, the three groups are connected as a whole spherical initial objective system. Through forward and reverse real ray tracing, each spherical group is recalculated to an aspheric structure in turn. Finally, an iterative process is applied to improve the performance of the aspheric initial structure. The aspheric initial structure calculated by this method can be taken as a good starting point for further optimization. As verification of the design method, a six-aspheric-mirror EUV lithography objective with a numerical aperture of 0.33 has been designed, whose root mean square (RMS) wavefront error is less than 0.2 nm and distortion is less than 0.1 nm.
Experimental demonstration of hidden node problem in visible light communication networks
Authors: Makvandi Armin , Kavian Yousef Seifi , Namjoo Ehsan
Published: August 2022

In this paper, hardware investigations show the effects of the hidden and exposed node problems in visible light communication (VLC) networks. Furthermore, the request to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS) mechanism, as a physical layer-independent solution, is used for solving the hidden node problem in VLC networks. A VLC hardware system, called VLCIoT, which was designed and implemented in our laboratory based on PHY I of the IEEE 802.15.7 standard, is used for the physical layer. The medium access control layer of the IEEE 802.15.7 is considered for the network. We implement the multiple access protocol of the IEEE 802.15.7 and the RTS/CTS mechanism on the microcontroller of each device using the C programming language. Goodput, message loss ratio, fairness, average delay, energy efficiency, network load, frame size, number of hidden nodes, and number of contending nodes are the evaluated parameters. The results show that for the IEEE 802.15.7 increase of the hidden nodes decreases the goodput and energy efficiency and increases the message loss ratio and the average delay. But, using the RTS/CTS mechanism, the hidden nodes do not affect the goodput, the message loss ratio, the energy efficiency, and the average delay because this mechanism solves the hidden node problem. The results show that the RTS/CTS mechanism increases the saturation goodput by 300%, decreases the message loss ratio by 94%, decreases the average delay by 50%, and increases the energy efficiency by 300%. The results show that at higher network load, higher data frame size, and more contending nodes, the performance of the RTS/CTS mechanism is better. Also, in symmetric networks, in which all nodes are hidden, or no hidden node exists in the network, fairness is better than the asymmetric networks, in which some nodes are hidden while others are not.
Parametric analysis and a predictive model for color difference during laser-induced coloration on titanium
Authors: Zhao He , Xia Tong , Cheng Zhaochen , Zhang Qian , Shi Yuhang , Hou Yubin , Wang Pu
Published: August 2022

Laser-induced coloration on a metallic surface has been of interest to many application arweas. However laser machining of metals involves many complex problems including nonlinear unstable coupled with multiple factors. Therefore there are still some significant challenges in the precise control of color creation. Here we explored the process of the laser-induced coloration and find the connection between surface colors and processing parameters. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based experimental design was adopted to explore the influence of the single processing parameter and the interaction between parameters on color changes of titanium. The results showed that the scanning speed laser power repetition rate and hatch distance had significant effects on color changes of titanium. Then we demonstrated that using artificial neural network (ANN) is an effective solution of nonlinear problems in laser-induced coloration which can match the processing parameters and the L*a*b* color values on titanium surface precisely with limited experiments. Finally we successfully used the processing parameters estimated by ANN model to create unique art painting on titanium with nanosecond pulsed laser. This work can provide a potential method to solve the problem in the color consistency and open a new perspective in industrial application of laser-induced coloration technology.
High-fidelity intensity diffraction tomography with a non-paraxial multiple-scattering model
Authors: Zhu Jiabei , Wang Hao , Tian Lei
Published: August 2022

We propose a novel intensity diffraction tomography (IDT) reconstruction algorithm based on the split-step non-paraxial (SSNP) model for recovering the 3D refractive index (RI) distribution of multiple-scattering biological samples. High-quality IDT reconstruction requires high-angle illumination to encode both low- and high- spatial frequency information of the 3D biological sample. We show that our SSNP model can more accurately compute multiple scattering from high-angle illumination compared to paraxial approximation-based multiple-scattering models. We apply this SSNP model to both sequential and multiplexed IDT techniques. We develop a unified reconstruction algorithm for both IDT modalities that is highly computationally efficient and is implemented by a modular automatic differentiation framework. We demonstrate the capability of our reconstruction algorithm on both weakly scattering buccal epithelial cells and strongly scattering live C. elegans worms and live C. elegans embryos.
Nanovibration detection based on a microsphere
Authors: Jiang Chunlei , Wang Weicheng , Yan Bing , Chen Peng , Xu Kaichuan , Sun Yu , Cong Zhicheng , Dong Taiji , Zhou Yekun , Wang Zengbo , Wang Xiufang
Published: August 2022

We propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, sensor for nanovibration detection based on a microsphere. The sensor consists of a stretched single-mode fiber and a 2 µm microsphere. The light from the optical fiber passes through the microsphere, forming a photonic nanojet (PNJ) phenomenon at the front of the microsphere. The evanescent field in the PNJ enhances the light reflected from the measured object to the single-mode fiber-microsphere probe (SMFMP). Results showed that the system can detect arbitrary nanovibration waveforms in real time with an SMFMP detection resolution of 1 nm. The voltage signal received and the vibration amplitude showed a good linear relationship within the range of 0–100 nm, with a sensitivity of 0.7 mV/nm and a linearity of more than 99%. The sensor is expected to have potential applications in the field of cell nanovibration detection.
Ultrahigh-dynamic-range wavefront sensor based on absolute double-slit interferometry
Authors: Soltani Peyman , Rasouli Saifollah , Khazaei Ali Mohammad
Published: August 2022

This Letter reports a new, to the best of our knowledge, technique for the quality testing of steep optical samples by introducing an absolute interferometry method based on a double-slit interference experiment. We determine the quality of the sample with an ultrahigh-dynamic-range wavefront sensor by determining the deformation of the central fringe of the double-slit interferometer recorded for two different separations of the slits. The transmission function of the double slit is implemented on an amplitude spatial light modulator. Therefore, the slits’ location can be easily displaced over the entire area of the sample’s wavefront. We applied the proposed method on two samples: a microscope slide and a conventional ophthalmic lens, and maximum absolute phase variations of 0.33 and 26.7 rad were measured, respectively. Our estimation shows that an absolute phase variation of about 700 rad can be measured with this method.
Reconstruction design method of an aspherical recording optical system for the varied line-space grating
Authors: Wang Xinyu , Jiang Yanxiu , Zheng Zhongming , Wang Wei , Chi Zhendong , Li Wenhao
Published: August 2022

A reconstruction design method for an aspherical recording system for varied line-space gratings is introduced. This method converts the recording system design from achieving specific groove distribution coefficients within the expansion model into reconstruction of the auxiliary mirror surface via the ray-tracing method. The effects of higher-order expansion terms in the expansion model are investigated and more accurate design of the varied line-space grating recording structure is achieved. By varying the surface reconstruction target, this method can be used to design aspherical recording structures with any auxiliary mirror surface shapes.
Molecular epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in Northern Ghana identifies several uncharacterized bovine spoligotypes and suggests possible zoonotic transmission
Authors: Acquah Samuel Ekuban Kobina , Asare Prince , Danso Emelia Konadu , Tetteh Phillip , Tetteh Amanda Yaa , Boateng Daniel , Osei-Wusu Stephen , Afum Theophilus , Ayamdooh Yolanda Isabel , Akugre Eric Agongo , Samad Omar Abdul , Quaye Lawrence , Obiri-Danso Kwasi , Kock Richard , Asante-Poku Adwoa , Yeboah-Manu Dorothy
Published: August 2022

Objective

We conducted an abattoir-based cross-sectional study in the five administrative regions of Northern Ghana to determine the distribution of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) among slaughtered carcasses and identify the possibility of zoonotic transmission.

Methods

Direct smear microscopy was done on 438 tuberculosis-like lesions from selected cattle organs and cultured on Lowenstein-Jensen media. Acid-fast bacilli (AFB) isolates were confirmed as members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) by PCR amplification of IS6110 and rpoß. Characterization and assignment into MTBC lineage and sub-lineage were done by spoligotyping, with the aid of the SITVIT2, miruvntrplus and mbovis.org databases. Spoligotype data was compared to that of clinical M. bovis isolates from the same regions to identify similarities.

Results

A total of 319/438 (72.8%) lesion homogenates were smear positive out of which, 84.6% (270/319) had microscopic grade of at least 1+ for AFB. Two hundred and sixty-five samples (265/438; 60.5%) were culture positive, of which 212 (80.0%) were MTBC. Approximately 16.7% (34/203) of the isolates with correctly defined spoligotypes were negative for IS6110 PCR but were confirmed by rpoß. Spoligotyping characterized 203 isolates as M. bovis (198, 97.5%), M. caprae (3, 1.5%), M. tuberculosis (Mtbss) lineage (L) 4 Cameroon sub-lineage, (1, 0.5%), and M. africanum (Maf) L6 (1, 0.5%). A total of 53 unique spoligotype patterns were identified across the five administrative regions (33 and 28 were identified as orphan respectively by the SITVIT2 and mbovis.org databases), with the most dominant spoligotype being SIT1037/ SB0944 (77/203, 37.93%). Analysis of the bovine and human M. bovis isolates showed 75% (3/4) human M. bovis isolates sharing the same spoligotype pattern with the bovine isolates.

Conclusion

Our study identified that approximately 29% of M. bovis strains causing BTB in Northern Ghana are caused by uncharacterized spoligotypes. Our findings suggest possible zoonotic transmission and highlight the need for BTB disease control in Northern Ghana.
Seroprevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in domestic ruminants of various origins in two markets of Yaoundé, Cameroon
Authors: Sado Francine Yousseu , Tchetgna Huguette Simo , Kamgang Basile , Djonabaye Doumani , Nakouné Emmanuel , McCall Philip J. , Ndip Roland Ndip , Wondji Charles S.
Published: August 2022

Background

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonosis endemic in Africa. With little known of the burden or epidemiology of RVF virus (RVFV) in Cameroon, this study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of RVFV in domestic ruminants of various origins in two markets of Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Methodology/Principal findings

The origin of animals randomly sampled at two livestock markets in Yaoundé were recorded and plasma samples collected for competitive and capture Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to determine the prevalence of Immunoglobulins G (IgG) and Immunoglobulins M (IgM) antibodies. Following ELISA IgM results, a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect RVFV RNA. In June-August 2019, February-March 2020, and March-April 2021, 756 plasma samples were collected from 441 cattle, 168 goats, and 147 sheep. RVFV IgG seroprevalence was 25.7% for all animals, 42.2% in cattle, 2.7% in sheep, and 2.4% in goats. However, IgM seroprevalence was low, at 0.9% in all animals, 1.1% in cattle, 1.4% in sheep, and 0% in goats. The seroprevalence rates varied according to the animal’s origin with the highest rate (52.6%) in cattle from Sudan. In Cameroon, IgG and IgM rates respectively were 45.1% and 2.8% in the North, 44.8% and 0% in the Adamawa, 38.6% and 1.7% in the Far-North. All IgM positive samples were from Cameroon. In cattle, 2/5 IgM positive samples were also IgG positive, but both IgM positive samples in sheep were IgG negative. Three (42.9%) IgM positive samples were positive for viral RVFV RNA using qRT-PCR but given the high ct values, no amplicon was obtained.

Conclusion/Significance

These findings confirm the circulation of RVFV in livestock in Cameroon with prevalence rates varying by location. Despite low IgM seroprevalence rates, RVF outbreaks can occur without being noticed. Further epidemiological studies are needed to have a broad understanding of RVFV transmission in Cameroon.
Risk factors for mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Northern Ethiopia: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Abebe Haftom Temesgen , Mulugeta Afework , Berhe Yibrah , Berhane Kiros , Siraj Amir , Siraj Dawd , Aregawi Maru , Fseha Berhane , Mohamedniguss Ebrahim Mohamedawel , Hintsa Solomon , Gebre Hagazi , Mohammed Abrahim Hassen , Godefay Hagos
Published: August 2022

Background

COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic caused by an RNA virus that belongs to the family of CORONA virus. To counter the COVID-19 pandemic in resource limited settings, it is essential to identify the risk factors of COVID-19 mortality. This study was conducted to identify the social and clinical determinants of mortality in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in four treatment centers of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.

Methods

We reviewed data from 6,637 COVID-19 positive cases that were reported from May 7, 2020 to October 28, 2020. Among these, 925 were admitted to the treatment centers because of their severity and retrospectively analyzed. The data were entered into STATA 16 version for analysis. The descriptive analysis such as median, interquartile range, frequency distribution and percentage were used. Binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify the potential risk factors of mortality of COVID-19 patients. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval was used to determine the magnitude of the association between the outcome and predictor variables.

Results

The median age of the patients was 30 years (IQR, 25–44) and about 70% were male patients. The patients in the non-survivor group were much older than those in the survivor group (median 57.5 years versus 30 years, p-value < 0.001). The overall case fatality rate was 6.1% (95% CI: 4.5% - 7.6%) and was increased to 40.3% (95% CI: 32.2% - 48.4%) among patients with critical and severe illness. The proportions of severe and critical illness in the non-survivor group were significantly higher than those in the survivor group (19.6% versus 5.1% for severe illness and 80.4% versus 4.5% for critical illness, all p-value < 0.001). One or more pre-existing comorbidities were present in 12.5% of the patients: cardiovascular diseases (42.2%), diabetes mellitus (25.0%) and respiratory diseases (16.4%) being the most common comorbidities. The comorbidity rate in the non-survivor group (44.6%) was higher than in the survivor group (10.5%). The results from the multivariable binary regression showed that the odds of mortality was higher for patients who had cardiovascular diseases (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.03–6.03), shortness of breath (AOR = 9.71, 95% CI: 4.73–19.93) and body weakness (AOR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.50–6.18). Moreover, the estimated odds of mortality significantly increased with patient’s age.

Conclusions

Age, cardiovascular diseases, shortness of breath and body weakness were the predictors for mortality of COVID-19 patients. Knowledge of these could lead to better identification of high risk COVID-19 patients and thus allow prioritization to prevent mortality.
Relationship between the cross-sectional area of the lumbar dural sac and lower urinary tract symptoms: A population-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Oyama Tetsushi , Wada Kanichiro , Koyama Kazushige , Kumagai Gentaro , Tanaka Sunao , Asari Toru , Imai Atsushi , Okamoto Teppei , Hatakeyama Shingo , Jung Songee , Sugimura Yoshikuni , Ohyama Chikara , Ishibashi Yasuyuki
Published: August 2022

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the dural sac (DCSA) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). This study included 270 Japanese participants from a community health check-up in 2016. Overactive bladder (OAB) was diagnosed during the assessment of LUTS. The smallest DCSA of each participant was defined as the minimum DCSA (mDCSA). The cutoff size of the mDCSA in OAB was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the independent risk factors for OAB, and a scoring system was developed for estimating these. The prevalence of OAB was 11.1%. Age and low back pain visual analogue scale (LBP VAS) scores were significantly higher, and the mean mDCSA was significantly lower in participants with OAB than in those without. The cutoff size of mDCSA in OAB was 69 mm2. There were significant correlations between OAB and age, LBP VAS score, and mDCSA<70 mm2. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) should be considered a cause of LUTS when mDCSA is <69 mm2. Assessing the mDCSA with age and LBP VAS score was more valuable in detecting LUTS in LSS than the mDCSA alone.
Quality and variation of care for chronic kidney disease in Swiss general practice: A retrospective database study
Authors: Jäger Levy , Rosemann Thomas , Burgstaller Jakob Martin , Senn Oliver , Markun Stefan
Published: August 2022

Background

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common condition in general practice. Data about quality and physician-level variation of CKD care provided by general practitioners is scarce. In this study, we evaluated determinants and variation of achievement of 14 quality indicators for CKD care using electronic medical records data from Swiss general practice during 2013–2019.

Methods

We defined two patient cohorts from 483 general practitioners, one to address renal function assessment in patients with predisposing conditions (n = 47,201, median age 68 years, 48.7% female) and one to address care of patients with laboratory-confirmed CKD (n = 14,654, median age 80 years, 57.5% female). We investigated quality indicator achievement with mixed-effect logistic regression and expressed physician-level variation as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and range odds ratios (rORs).

Results

We observed the highest quality indicator achievement rate for withholding non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescription in patients with CKD staged G2–3b within 12 months of follow-up (82.6%), the lowest for albuminuria assessment within 18 months of follow-up (18.1%). Highest physician-level variation was found for renal function assessment during 18 months of follow-up in patients with predisposing conditions (diabetes: ICC 0.31, rOR 26.5; cardiovascular disease: ICC 0.28, rOR 17.4; hypertension: ICC 0.24, rOR 17.2).

Conclusion

This study suggests potentially unwarranted variation in general practice concerning RF assessment in patients affected by conditions predisposing for CKD. We further identified potential gaps in quality of CKD monitoring as well as lower quality of CKD care for female patients and patients not affected by comorbidities.
Systemically injected bone marrow mononuclear cells specifically home to axially vascularized tissue engineering constructs
Authors: Eweida Ahmad , Flechtenmacher Sophia , Sandberg Elli , Schulte Matthias , Schmidt Volker J. , Kneser Ulrich , Harhaus Leila
Published: August 2022

Inducing axial vascularisation of tissue engineering constructs is a well-established method to support tissue growth in large 3-dimensional tissues. Progenitor cell chemotaxis towards axially vascularized tissues has not been well characterized. In a prospective randomized controlled study including 32 male syngeneic Lewis rats we investigated the capability of the axially vascularized constructs to attract systemically injected bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs). The underlying mechanism for cell homing was investigated focusing on the role of hypoxia and the SDF1-CXCR4-7 axis. Sixteen animals were used as donors for BMMNCs. The other animals were subjected to implantation of a tissue engineering construct in the subcutaneous groin region. These constructs were axially vascularized either via an arteriovenous loop (AVL, n = 6) or via uninterrupted flow-through vessels (non-AVL, n = 10). BMMNCs were labelled with quantum dots (Qdot® 655) and injected 12 days after surgery either via intra-arterial or intravenous routes. 2 days after cell injection, the animals were sacrificed and examined using fluorescence microscopy. The Qdot® 655 signals were detected exclusively in the liver, spleen, AVL constructs and to a minimal extent in the non-AVL constructs. A significant difference could be detected between the number of labelled cells in the AVL and non-AVL constructs with more cells detected in the AVL constructs specially in central zones (p <0.0001). The immunohistological analysis showed a significant increase in the absolute expression of HIF-1 in the AVL group in comparison to the non-AVL group. The PCR analysis confirmed a 1.4-fold increase in HIF-1 expression in AVL constructs. Although PCR analysis showed an enhanced expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 in AVL constructs, no significant differences in SDF1 expression were detected via immunohistological or PCR analysis. At the examined time point, the AVL constructs can attract BMMNCs in a mechanism probably related to the hypoxia associated with a robust tissue formation.
A density-based matrix transformation clustering method for electrical load
Authors: Li Naiwen , Wu Xian , Dong Jianjun , Zhang Dan , Gao Shuai
Published: August 2022

Feature extraction of electrical load plays a vital role in providing a reliable basis and guidance for power companies. In this paper, we propose a novel clustering algorithm named the Density-based Matrix Transformation (DBMT) Clustering method to extract features (peaks, valleys and trends) of electrical load curves. The main objective of the algorithm is to reorder the data items until the data items belonging to the same cluster are organized together; that is, the adjacent matrix is rearranged to the type of block diagonal. This method adaptively determines the number of clusters and filters out noise without input global parameters. Moreover, for the specific characteristics of raw electrical load data, we propose a variant of Dynamic Time Warp (DTW) distance, dsDTW, which aligns the peaks, valleys and trends of load curves meanwhile dealing with missing values in different situations. After feeding the dsDTW adjacent matrix to DBMT, the results indicate that our proposal can accurately extract the feature of the load curves compared to different clustering methods.
Clinical and growth outcomes after meconium-related ileus improved with Gastrografin enema in very low birth weight infants
Authors: Song Woo Sun , Yoon Hye Sun , Kim Seung Yeon
Published: August 2022

Background

Meconium-related ileus in very low birth weight infants can lead to increased morbidity or mortality and prolonged hospitalization without prompt diagnosis and treatment. This study primarily aimed to identify the incidence of and factors associated with meconium-related ileus and secondarily sought to investigate clinical and growth outcomes after water-soluble contrast media (Gastrografin) enema.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed medical records of very low birth weight infants born between February 2009 and March 2019 in the neonatal intensive care unit of a single medical center. Perinatal factors, clinical outcomes, and growth outcomes were compared between the group with meconium-related ileus that received Gastrografin enema and the control group.

Results

Twenty-four (6.9%) patients were diagnosed with meconium-related ileus among 347 very low birth weight infants. All achieved successful evacuation of meconium with an average of 2.8 (range: 1–8) Gastrografin enema attempts without procedure-related complications. Initiation of Gastrografin enema was performed at mean 7.0 days (range: 2–16) after birth. Incidences of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia were higher and the duration of mechanical ventilation and need for oxygen were longer in the meconium-related ileus group (P = 0.039, 0.046, 0.048, respectively). Meconium-related ileus infants took more time to start enteral feeding and the nothing per oral time was longer (P = 0.001 and 0.018, respectively). However, time to achieve full enteral feeding and Z-scores for weight and height at 37 weeks and at 6 months corrected age did not differ between the two groups.

Conclusions

Gastrografin enema in very low birth weight infants with meconium-related ileus was an effective and safe medical management. Following Gastrografin enema, very low birth weight infants with meconium-related ileus achieved similar subsequent feeding progress and similar growth levels as the control groups without meconium-related ileus.
Semantic textual similarity for modern standard and dialectal Arabic using transfer learning
Authors: Al Sulaiman Mansour , Moussa Abdullah M. , Abdou Sherif , Elgibreen Hebah , Faisal Mohammed , Rashwan Mohsen
Published: August 2022

Semantic Textual Similarity (STS) is the task of identifying the semantic correlation between two sentences of the same or different languages. STS is an important task in natural language processing because it has many applications in different domains such as information retrieval, machine translation, plagiarism detection, document categorization, semantic search, and conversational systems. The availability of STS training and evaluation data resources for some languages such as English has led to good performance systems that achieve above 80% correlation with human judgment. Unfortunately, such required STS data resources are not available for many languages like Arabic. To overcome this challenge, this paper proposes three different approaches to generate effective STS Arabic models. The first one is based on evaluating the use of automatic machine translation for English STS data to Arabic to be used in fine-tuning. The second approach is based on the interleaving of Arabic models with English data resources. The third approach is based on fine-tuning the knowledge distillation-based models to boost their performance in Arabic using a proposed translated dataset. With very limited resources consisting of just a few hundred Arabic STS sentence pairs, we managed to achieve a score of 81% correlation, evaluated using the standard STS 2017 Arabic evaluation set. Also, we managed to extend the Arabic models to process two local dialects, Egyptian (EG) and Saudi Arabian (SA), with a correlation score of 77.5% for EG dialect and 76% for the SA dialect evaluated using dialectal conversion from the same standard STS 2017 Arabic set.
Experiências em educações ambientais nos encontros de dois geógrafos ecologistas
Authors: Gonzalez Soler , Barchi Rodrigo
Published: August 2022

Perante um intenso processo de sucateamento das instituições e políticas públicas de proteção ao meio ambiente e de educação ambiental no Brasil, por parte de uma governança “negacionista” e detratora das organizações científicas e das defesas das minorias, inclusive as organizações estatais, esse texto relata a experiência do encontro de dois geógrafos, professores e ecologistas, de duas regiões distintas. Tendo como foco principal as atividades realizadas durante a presença do educador paulista na cidade de Vitória, no Estado do Espírito Santo, durante uma série de eventos ligados a um Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, esse texto se divide em duas seções, sendo a primeira o relato do pesquisador anfitrião e organizador das atividades, o segundo relato, o do professor visitante. As perspectivas das educações ambientais que pautam as discussões do artigo além de se situar, filosófica e politicamente, às margens das redes institucionais, inclusive dos programas oficiais de pautas “progressistas”, são combativas às ações “ecofóbicas”, predatórias e beligerantes dos governos das extremas direitas, instaurados recentemente no Brasil

Palavras-chave: Educação Ambiental; Formação de Educadores Ambientais; Movimento Social; Ecologistas; Política.
perspectiva Estético-Ambiental e a arte na Pedagogia
Authors: Ponick Edson , Salomão de Freitas Diana Paula
Published: August 2022

Neste artigo, escrito em forma de carta, analisamos propostas educativas que objetivaram desenvolver os sentimentos humanos e a sensibilidade para formar seres mais integrais, por meio do ensino de artes. Esta práxis estético-ambiental, realizada no âmbito da formação de professores/as, foi relacionada às cartas-respostas de Pablo René Estévez, em seu livro Los colores del arco iris. A Análise Textual Discursiva das autoavaliações e avaliações de um projeto de ensino e de um componente curricular por 61 discentes evidenciou as categorias: arte como expressão essencial do ser humano; reflexão sobre arte como acessório ou conteúdo; sensibilidade estética; processos formativos a partir da educação estética; e arte como manifestação sociopolítica.
ato de desenhar como ação para Revolução Estética e Educação Ambiental
Authors: Valente dos Passos Wagner
Published: August 2022

O presente artigo traz o ato de desenhar como uma potencial ferramenta para a Revolução Estética e Educação Ambiental, a partir do pensamento de autores como Jacques Rancière (2009, 2013, 2018), Pablo René Estévez (2004), Augusto Boal (2009), Paulo Freire (1998, 2011), Jiddu Krishnamurti (1967), Ailton Krenak (2020) e Félix Guattari (1990). Resultado de um projeto de pesquisa e de um curso online ministrado durante a pandemia, apresenta um método simplificado de aprendizagem (com acompanhamento ou de forma autodidata) do desenho, possibilitando o resgate e descobertas de potencialidades artísticas e criativas, bem como da consciência de si, de classe e do mundo, por meio da observação e conexão com pessoas, objetos e natureza.
Cuidado nutricional de pacientes com câncer em cuidados paliativos: uma revisão integrativa
Authors: da Silva Isabella Fideles , Santos Rosane de Souza , dos Santos Antonio Tadeu Cheriff , Costa Mariana Fernandes
Published: August 2022

A assistência alimentar e nutricional é fundamental para o cuidado integral dos pacientes com câncer. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão de evidências sobre o cuidado nutricional de pacientes com câncer em cuidados paliativos. Trata-se de uma revisão bibliográfica sistemática integrativa tendo como pergunta norteadora: “Como o cuidado nutricional integra os cuidados paliativos de pacientes com câncer?”. A busca em outubro de 2020 explorou artigos publicados de 2015 a 2020 com a combinação das palavras-chaves: cuidado nutricional, cuidado paliativo, câncer, e sinônimos, nas bases de dados PubMed, BVS Regional, Embase, EBSCOhost e Cochrane. Essa pesquisa incluiu nove artigos. Após análise foram definidas cinco categorias temáticas: avaliação nutricional; aconselhamento dietético; suporte nutricional; educação de cuidadores; e capacitação profissional. O cuidado nutricional, realizado por meio das atividades identificadas, integra os cuidados paliativos a partir do encontro através da alimentação entre profissionais de saúde, paciente e cuidador, colocando em evidência a atuação do nutricionista como um fator importante para a qualidade da assistência integral aos pacientes com câncer e suas famílias.
The Philosophy of Illumination: Esotericism in Shihāb ad-Dīn Suhrawardī’s Sufism
Authors: Assya'bani Ridhatullah , Falach Ghulam
Published: August 2022

Discussing Suhrawardi, certainly, cannot be separated from his concept of thinking about illumination (hikmah isyrâqiyya), which has contributed to the foundation of human knowledge and awareness. The research question in this paper is how esotericism in Shihabuddin Suhrawardi’s Sufism relates to the philosophy of Illumination. The discussion of this study is based on qualitative library research. In each section, this paper is supplemented with an explanation using the methods of description, interpretation, and data analysis to build a consistent and thorough understanding. This paper found that, according to Suhrawardi, knowledge is the presence of an object to know. Knowledge can only be attained by musyâhada and mukâsyafa, not merely through logical reasoning. To achieve the truth of implicit knowledge, Suhrawardi’s philosophy of illumination suggested the combination of reason and intuition, which are complementary to one another. Regarding esotericism, in this case, the soul is interpreted as a part of the realm of light, but it is trapped in darkness, so spiritual training must be carried out in the spirit of soul-giving. According to him, only a clean soul can be connected to the divine light, wherein at that level one can get intuitive wisdom, or in Sufism, it is called laduni knowledge.
Meloidogyne species, the pimple-like knot pathogen of potato tuber in three production centers in Sumatra
Authors: Hamidi Ilmi , Supramana  , Mutaqin Kikin Hamzah , Kurniawati Fitrianingrum
Published: August 2022

Meloidogyne species, the pimple-like knot pathogen of potato tuber in three production centers in Sumatra

Nematoda puru akar (Meloidogyne spp.) merupakan penyebab ubi berbintil yang menurunkan kualitas dan kuantitas produksi kentang di wilayah Sumatra. Identifikasi spesies Meloidogyne diperlukan dalam merancang strategi pengendaliannya yang efektif. Penelitian ini bertujuan mendeteksi dan mengidentifikasi spesies Meloidogyne pada kentang secara morfologi, morfometri, dan molekuler. Sampel ubi kentang bergejala bintil, malformasi bentuk ubi, permukaan ubi tidak rata, serta permukaan ubi bergelombang dikumpulkan dari tiga sentra produksi kentang di wilayah Sumatra, yaitu Karo (Sumatra Utara), Solok (Sumatra Barat), dan Kerinci (Jambi). Ekstraksi nematoda dilakukan dengan teknik pembedahan jaringan ubi berbintil. Identifikasi morfologi dilakukan berdasarkan pola perineal nematoda betina. Pengukuran morfometri dilakukan terhadap juvenil 2 berdasarkan formula de Man. Identifikasi molekuler dilakukan dengan teknik PCR dilanjutkan dengan perunutan nukleotida dan analisis filogenetika. Tiga spesies Meloidogyne yang diidentifikasi ialah Meloidogyne arenaria, M. incognita, dan M. javanica. Amplifikasi DNA menggunakan primer spesifik CO1 berhasil mengamplifikasi pita DNA sebesar ±360 pb untuk M. arenaria, ±326 pb untuk M. incognita, dan ±170 pb untuk M. javanica. Hasil perunutan nukleotida menunjukkan bahwa isolat M. incognita asal Karo-Indonesia berkerabat sangat dekat dengan spesies sejenis dari negara Cina, Amerika Serikat, Vietnam, Inggris, Brazil, dan Afrika Selatan. M. javanica asal Solok-Indonesia berkerabat sangat dekat dengan spesies sejenis dari negara Amerika Serikat, Afrika, Cina, Jerman, dan Inggris.
Existence of nontrivial solutions for critical Kirchhoff-Poisson systems in the Heisenberg group
Authors: Pucci Patrizia , Ye Yiwei
Published: August 2022

This article is devoted to the study of the combined effects of logarithmic and critical nonlinearities for the Kirchhoff-Poisson system

−
M

∫

Ω

∣

∇

H

u

∣

2

d
ξ

Δ

H

u
+
μ
ϕ
u
=
λ
∣
u

∣

q
−
2

u
ln
∣
u

∣

2

+
∣
u

∣

2

u

in

Ω
,

−

Δ

H

ϕ
=

u

2

in

Ω
,

u
=
ϕ
=
0

on

∂
Ω
,

\left\{\begin{array}{ll}-M\left(\mathop{\displaystyle \int }\limits_{\Omega }| {\nabla }_{H}u{| }^{2}{\rm{d}}\xi \right){\Delta }_{H}u+\mu \phi u=\lambda | u{| }^{q-2}u\mathrm{ln}| u{| }^{2}+| u{| }^{2}u& \hspace{0.1em}\text{in}\hspace{0.1em}\hspace{0.33em}\Omega ,\\ -{\Delta }_{H}\phi ={u}^{2}& \hspace{0.1em}\text{in}\hspace{0.1em}\hspace{0.33em}\Omega ,\\ u=\phi =0& \hspace{0.1em}\text{on}\hspace{0.1em}\hspace{0.33em}\partial \Omega ,\end{array}\right.

where

Δ

H

{\Delta }_{H}

is the Kohn-Laplacian operator in the first Heisenberg group

H

1

{{\mathbb{H}}}^{1}

,

Ω

\Omega

is a smooth bounded domain of

H

1

{{\mathbb{H}}}^{1}

,

q
∈

(

2
θ
,
4

)

q\in \left(2\theta ,4)

,

μ
∈
R

\mu \in {\mathbb{R}}

, and

λ
>
0

\lambda \gt 0

are some real parameters. Under suitable assumptions on the Kirchhoff function

M

M

, which cover the degenerate case, we prove the existence of nontrivial solutions for the above problem when

λ
>
0

\lambda \gt 0

is sufficiently large. Moreover, our results are new even in the Euclidean case.
Hepatoprotective role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α in non-cancerous hepatic tissues following transcatheter arterial embolization
Authors: Yang Peiyu , Li Zhengliang , Du Wei , Wu Chunhua , Xiong Wencui
Published: August 2022

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is a widely used technique in treating hepatic carcinoma but may cause liver injury in some cases. This study investigated the hepatoprotective effect of the preprocessed peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) agonist-WY-14643 following TAE. A total of 60 rabbit liver cancer models were developed and divided into a combined treatment (WY-14643 and TAE), TAE, and control groups. After TAE, we examined the histopathological picture and liver functions. Further, the expression of antioxidant enzymes, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nuclear factor of κ-light chain of enhancer-activated B cells (NF-κB), PPAR-α, and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) was analyzed. Liver function tests, pathology score, and apoptosis index significantly worsened in the TAE group but were normalized in the combined treatment group. In addition, ELISA results showed that antioxidant enzyme activity significantly increased, while the malondialdehyde content and level of inflammatory cytokines were significantly reduced in the combined treatment group. Furthermore, compared to the TAE group, the expressions of PPAR-α, antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase1 (SOD1) and SOD2, and Bcl-2 were significantly elevated, while NF-κB was significantly reduced in the combined treatment group. On the other hand, the expression of NF-κB in tumor tissues was significantly reduced by pretreatment with WY-14643. Therefore, PPAR-α can ameliorate liver injury by exerting its anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic functions.
Identification of metabolic genes for the prediction of prognosis and tumor microenvironment infiltration in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Li Jing , Guan Yun , Zhu Rongrong , Wang Yang , Zhu Huaguang , Wang Xin
Published: August 2022

Early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are at substantial risk of poor prognosis. We attempted to develop a reliable metabolic gene-set-based signature that can predict prognosis accurately for early-stage patients. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method Cox regression models were performed to filter the most useful prognostic genes, and a metabolic gene-set-based signature was constructed. Forty-two metabolism-related genes were finally identified, and with specific risk score formula, patients were classified into high-risk and low-risk groups. Overall survival was significantly different between the two groups in discovery (HR: 5.050, 95% CI: 3.368–7.574, P < 0.001), internal validation series (HR: 6.044, 95% CI: 3.918–9.322, P < 0.001), GSE30219 (HR: 2.059, 95% CI: 1.510–2.808, P < 0.001), and GSE68456 (HR: 2.448, 95% CI: 1.723–3.477, P < 0.001). Survival receiver operating characteristic curve at the 5 years suggested that the metabolic signature (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.805) had better prognostic accuracy than any other clinicopathological factors. Further analysis revealed the distinct differences in immune cell infiltration and tumor purity reflected by an immune and stromal score between high- and low-risk patients. In conclusion, the novel metabolic signature developed in our study shows robust prognostic accuracy in predicting prognosis for early-stage NSCLC patients and may function as a reliable marker for guiding more effective immunotherapy strategies.