bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CoolMoves
Authors: Ahuja Karan , Ofek Eyal , Gonzalez-Franco Mar , Holz Christian , Wilson Andrew D.
Published: June 2021

Current Virtual Reality (VR) systems are bereft of stylization and embellishment of the user's motion - concepts that have been well explored in animations for games and movies. We present CooIMoves, a system for expressive and accentuated full-body motion synthesis of a user's virtual avatar in real-time, from the limited input cues afforded by current consumer-grade VR systems, specifically headset and hand positions. We make use of existing motion capture databases as a template motion repository to draw from. We match similar spatio-temporal motions present in the database and then interpolate between them using a weighted distance metric. Joint prediction probability is then used to temporally smooth the synthesized motion, using human motion dynamics as a prior. This allows our system to work well even with very sparse motion databases (e.g., with only 3-5 motions per action). We validate our system with four experiments: a technical evaluation of our quantitative pose reconstruction and three additional user studies to evaluate the motion quality, embodiment and agency.
Towards Position-Independent Sensing for Gesture Recognition with Wi-Fi
Authors: Gao Ruiyang , Zhang Mi , Zhang Jie , Li Yang , Yi Enze , Wu Dan , Wang Leye , Zhang Daqing
Published: June 2021

Past decades have witnessed the extension of the Wi-Fi signals as a useful tool sensing human activities. One common assumption behind it is that there is a one-to-one mapping between human activities and Wi-Fi received signal patterns. However, this assumption does not hold when the user conducts activities in different locations and orientations. Actually, the received signal patterns of the same activity would become inconsistent when the relative location and orientation of the user with respect to transceivers change, leading to unstable sensing performance. This problem is known as the position-dependent problem, hindering the actual deployment of Wi-Fi-based sensing applications. In this paper, to tackle this fundamental problem, we develop a new position-independent sensing strategy and use gesture recognition as an application example to demonstrate its effectiveness. The key idea is to shift our observation from the traditional transceiver view to the hand-oriented view, and extract features that are irrespective of position-specific factors. Following the strategy, we design a position-independent feature, denoted as Motion Navigation Primitive(MNP). MNP captures the pattern of moving direction changes of the hand, which shares consistent patterns when the user performs the same gesture with different position-specific factors. By analyzing the pattern of MNP, we convert gestures into sequences of strokes (e.g, line, arc and corner) which makes them easy to be recognized. We build a prototype WiFi gesture recognition system, i.e., WiGesture to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Experiments show that our system can outperform the start-of-arts significantly in different settings. Given its novelty and superiority, we believe the proposed method symbolizes a major step towards gesture recognition and would inspire other solutions to position-independent activity recognition in the future.
Leveraging Activity Recognition to Enable Protective Behavior Detection in Continuous Data
Authors: Wang Chongyang , Gao Yuan , Mathur Akhil , De C. Williams Amanda C. , Lane Nicholas D. , Bianchi-Berthouze Nadia
Published: June 2021

Protective behavior exhibited by people with chronic pain (CP) during physical activities is very informative to understanding their physical and emotional states. Existing automatic protective behavior detection (PBD) methods rely on pre-segmentation of activities predefined by users. However, in real life, people perform activities casually. Therefore, where those activities present difficulties for people with CP, technology-enabled support should be delivered continuously and automatically adapted to activity type and occurrence of protective behavior. Hence, to facilitate ubiquitous CP management, it becomes critical to enable accurate PBD over continuous data. In this paper, we propose to integrate human activity recognition (HAR) with PBD via a novel hierarchical HAR-PBD architecture comprising graph-convolution and long short-term memory (GC-LSTM) networks, and alleviate class imbalances using a class-balanced focal categorical cross-entropy (CFCC) loss. Through in-depth evaluation of the approach using a CP patients' dataset, we show that the leveraging of HAR, GC-LSTM networks, and CFCC loss leads to clear increase in PBD performance against the baseline (macro F1 score of 0.81 vs. 0.66 and precision-recall area-under-the-curve (PR-AUC) of 0.60 vs. 0.44). We conclude by discussing possible use cases of the hierarchical architecture in CP management and beyond. We also discuss current limitations and ways forward.
Robust Inertial Motion Tracking through Deep Sensor Fusion across Smart Earbuds and Smartphone
Authors: Gong Jian , Zhang Xinyu , Huang Yuanjun , Ren Ju , Zhang Yaoxue
Published: June 2021

IMU based inertial tracking plays an indispensable role in many mobility centric tasks, such as robotic control, indoor navigation and virtual reality gaming. Despite its mature application in rigid machine mobility (e.g., robot and aircraft), tracking human users via mobile devices remains a fundamental challenge due to the intractable gait/posture patterns. Recent data-driven models have tackled sensor drifting, one key issue that plagues inertial tracking. However, these systems still assume the devices are held or attached to the user body with a relatively fixed posture. In practice, natural body activities may rotate/translate the device which may be mistaken as whole body movement. Such motion artifacts remain as the dominating factor that fails existing inertial tracing systems in practical uncontrolled settings.

Inspired by the observation that human heads induces far less intensive movement relative to the body during walking, compared to other parts, we propose a novel multi-stage sensor fusion pipeline called DeepIT, which realizes inertial tracking by synthesizing the IMU measurements from a smartphone and an associated earbud. DeepIT introduces a data-driven reliability aware attention model, which assesses the reliability of each IMU and opportunistically synthesizes their data to mitigate the impacts of motion noise. Furthermore, DeepIT uses a reliability aware magnetometer compensation scheme to combat the angular drifting problem caused by unrestricted motion artifacts. We validate DeepIT on the first large-scale inertial navigation dataset involving both smartphone and earbud IMUs. The evaluation results show that DeepIT achieves multiple folds of accuracy improvement on the challenging uncontrolled natural walking scenarios, compared with state-of-the-art closed-form and data-driven models.
Douleur
Authors: Jiang Chutian , Chen Yanjun , Fan Mingming , Wang Liuping , Shen Luyao , Li Nianlong , Sun Wei , Zhang Yu , Tian Feng , Han Teng
Published: June 2021

The imitation of pain sensation in Virtual Reality is considered valuable for safety education and training but has been seldom studied. This paper presents Douleur, a wearable haptic device that renders intensity-adjustable pain sensations with chemical stimulants. Different from mechanical, thermal, or electric stimulation, chemical-induced pain is more close to burning sensations and long-lasting. Douleur consists of a microfluidic platform that precisely emits capsaicin onto the skin and a microneedling component to help the stimulant penetrate the epidermis layer to activate the trigeminal nerve efficiently. Moreover, it embeds a Peltier module to apply the heating or cooling stimulus to the affected area to adjust the level of pain on the skin. To better understand how people would react to the chemical stimulant, we conducted a first study to quantify the enhancement of the sensation by changing the capsaicin concentration, skin temperature, and time and to determine suitable capsaicin concentration levels. In the second study, we demonstrated that Douleur could render a variety of pain sensations in corresponding virtual reality applications. In sum, Douleur is the first wearable prototype that leverages a combination of capsaicin and Peltier to induce rich pain sensations and opens up a wide range of applications for safety education and more.
Scaling Biodiversity Monitoring for the Data Age
Authors: Beery Sara
Published: June 2021

Technological advances have made it possible to collect massive amounts of biodiversity data. How can analysis efforts keep up?
Making with a Sustainable Purpose
Authors: Li Jiayi , Ahuja Karan
Published: June 2021

This interview presents insights into Dr. Mauriello's research projects in user-centered design to promote energy literacy within residential households.
ATP and acetylcholine interact to modulate vascular tone and α1-adrenergic vasoconstriction in humans
Authors: Terwoord Janée D. , Racine Matthew L. , Hearon Christopher M. , Luckasen Gary J. , Dinenno Frank A.
Published: June 2021

The results of this study highlight the vascular endothelium as a critical site for integration of vasomotor signals in humans. For the first time, to our knowledge, we demonstrate that combined stimulation of the endothelium with ATP and ACh results in enhanced vasodilation compared with combination of either ATP or ACh with an endothelium-independent dilator. Furthermore, we show that ATP and ACh interact to modulate α1-adrenergic vasoconstriction in human skeletal muscle in vivo.
The effect of statins on RyR and RyR-associated disease
Authors: Haseeb Mohsin , Thompson Paul D.
Published: June 2021

We sought to review the effects of statins on the ryanodine receptor (RyR) and on RyR-associated diseases, with an emphasis on catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Statins can affect skeletal muscle and produce statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) but have no adverse effects on cardiac muscle. These contrasting effects may be due to differences in how statins affect the skeletal (RyR1) and cardiac (RyR2) RyR. We searched PubMed to identify English language articles reporting the pathophysiology of the RyR, the effect of statins on RyR function, and on RyR-associated genetic diseases. We selected 150 articles for abstract review, 96 of which provided sufficient information to be included and were reviewed in detail. Fifteen articles highlighted the interaction of statins with the RyR. Nine identified the interaction of statins with RyR1, six addressed the interaction of statins with RyR2, 13 suggested that statins reduce ventricular arrhythmias (VA), and seven suggested that statins increase the risk of malignant hyperthermia (MH). In general, statins increase RyR1 and decrease RyR2 activity. We identified no articles examining the effect of statins on CPVT, a condition often caused by defects in RyR2. Statins appear to increase the risk of MH and decrease the risk of ventricular arrhythmia. The effect of statins on CPVT has not been directly examined, but statins’ reduction in RyR2 function and their apparent reduction in VA suggest that they may be beneficial in this condition.
Modelling Enterprise’s Coordinated Development Strategy with a Soft Fuzzy Rough Set
Authors: Wang Tongtong , Cui Jianing
Published: June 2021

With the concept of sustainable development, enterprises are facing severe challenges in ecological protection and economic development. Approaches to improving effectiveness of the coordinated development strategy must continue to evolve to address uncertainty and hazards that may be encountered in the future. We propose a coordinated development strategy model based on the combination of soft fuzzy and rough set theory and construct its prediction model. For the multistrategy dataset in the paper, parameter for each kind shall be selected through converting the multistrategy data into two prediction datasets. An algorithm transformed by SFRC shall be subject to weighted average for each parameter. Furthermore, we use training methods and soft fuzzy rough sets’ learning algorithm to calculate, and the evaluating indicator rough set is constructed with a three-tier model structure. After the final rough set training is completed, test results show that the rough set model which has a higher rating accuracy builds a better completed business performance evaluation. By comparing the prediction effect, both SVM algorithm and multistrategy prediction model for the soft fuzzy rough set in the paper can realize effective prediction for the enterprise’s coordinated development strategy. Moreover, the prediction result obtained at the time of adopting boundary to get the expected value is superior to that of giving one fixed threshold. It shows that the prediction performance of the algorithm in the paper is more excellent and represents the advantage of the algorithm prediction performance at the time of adopting boundary to get the expected value. The model provides support methods to assist enterprise management in making more efficient and scientific decisions for enterprise’s coordinated development.
Analysis and Measurement of Parameters of Quality of Life in Informal Settlements Surrounding of Tehran Metropolis
Authors: Ghaderpour Yousef , Arasteh Taleshmekaiil Mohammad Reza , Rouki Bahareh , Mohemsaz Mona , Azimi Mohammad Hossein , Sadeghpour Ali
Published: June 2021

Quality of life is a concept used to describe the development of the welfare of society, and improving the quality of life is one of the most important goals of governments around the world. Informal settlements, as one of the most vulnerable urban areas, are always in unfavorable conditions in terms of various social, economic, and physical indicators. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the status of various quality of life indicators in informal settlements around the metropolis of Tehran in Iran. This research is descriptive, analytical, and correlational based on primary data in which the initial data are collected through the documentary and survey (field) method using a questionnaire. The collected data were processed by SPSS and SmartPLS software. Based on the results of the t-test, quality of life indices in informal settlements around the metropolis of Tehran, on a Likert scale with an average of 23.2, is at a low level. Also, the results of the PSL path modelling and multivariate regression test show that increasing the quality of social, economic, physical, service, and access indicators, in terms of residents, has the greatest impact on improving the quality of life of this urban fabric and security index. It has the least impact. There is also a significant relationship between indicators, and the mental perspective of citizens changes under social, service, economic, and physical conditions.
The Combination Treatment of Curcumin and Probucol Protects Chondrocytes from TNF‐α Induced Inflammation by Enhancing Autophagy and Reducing Apoptosis via the PI3K‐Akt‐mTOR Pathway
Authors: Han Guangtao , Zhang Yubiao , Li Haohuan
Published: June 2021

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by cholesterol accumulation in chondrocytes, cartilage degeneration, as well as extracellular matrix (ECM) destruction, and joint dysfunction. Curcumin, a chemical that can reduce cholesterol levels in OA patients, also can inhibit the progression of OA. However, a high concentration of curcumin may also trigger apoptosis in normal chondrocytes. Besides curcumin, probucol that is found can also effectively decrease the cholesterol level in OA patients. Considering that high cholesterol is a risk factor of OA, it is speculated that the combination treatment of curcumin and probucol may be effective in the prevention of OA. To investigate the possible effects of such two chemicals on OA pathophysiology, chondrocyte apoptosis and autophagy behavior under inflammatory cytokine stress were studied, and specifically, the PI3K‐Akt‐mTOR signaling pathway was studied. Methods. Cell proliferation, colony formation, and EdU assay were performed to identify the cytotoxicity of curcumin and probucol on chondrocytes. Transwell assay was conducted to evaluate chondrocyte migration under TNF‐α inflammation stress. Immunofluorescence, JC‐1, flow cytometry, RT‐PCR, and western blot were used to investigate the signal variations related to autophagy and apoptosis in chondrocytes and cartilage. A histological study was carried out on OA cartilage. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) release was determined to evaluate the ECM degradation under stress. Results. Compared with a single intervention with curcumin or probucol, a combined treatment of these two chemicals is more effective in terms of protecting chondrocytes from stress injury induced by inflammatory cytokines. The promoted protection may be attributed to the inhibition of apoptosis and the blockage of the autophagy‐related PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Such results were also verified in vitro by immunofluorescence staining of OA chondrocytes and in vivo by immunohistochemistry staining of cartilage. Besides, in vivo studies also showed that when applied in combination, curcumin and probucol could block the PI3K‐AKT‐mTOR signaling pathway; promote COL‐II expression; suppress P62, MMP‐3, and MMP‐13 expression; and inhibit TNF‐α‐stimulated cartilage degradation. Moreover, the combined medication could help reduce the release of ECM GAGs in OA cartilage and alleviate the severity of OA. Conclusion. A combined treatment of curcumin and probucol could be used to protect chondrocytes from inflammatory cytokine stress via inhibition of the autophagy‐related PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway both in vitro and in vivo, which might be of potential pharmaceutical value for OA prevention and therapy.
A Case of Dysgraphia after Cerebellar Infarction Where Functional NIRS Guided the Task Aimed at Activating the Hypoperfused Region
Authors: Fujii Mutsumi , Tanigo Kazumi , Yamamoto Hirokazu , Kikugawa Keijyu , Shirakawa Masayuki , Ohgushi Miki , Chin Takaaki
Published: June 2021

Background. Linguistic impairment following cerebellar lesions is characterized by a marked cerebellocerebral diaschisis with decreased perfusion in the left cerebral hemisphere. Case. We report on a 60-year-old right-handed French chef who presented with linguistic deficits following a right cerebellar infarction. Neurolinguistic examinations in the acute phase showed impaired graphomotor planning, especially for kanji (Japanese morphograms). Despite the absence of any structural damage to the supratentorial brain regions, a quantitative 123I-IMP SPECT study revealed a relative hypoperfusion, mainly around the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, considered to be a crossed cerebellar-cerebral diaschisis. We performed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and observed that a picture card task could increase blood perfusion in the affected area. This task was as follows: once he saw a picture card depicting a dish, the patient had to list the ingredients that make up the dish. For example, he had to name vegetables, meat, and spices upon seeing a “curry” picture card. We added this task to his daily speech-hearing therapy regimen. In the chronic phase, we confirmed symptom amelioration in linguistic performance-paralleled reduction in the level of hypoperfusion on SPECT study. Discussion. This case is the first report of an fNIRS approach used to evaluate evidence-based prospective speech-hearing tasks by observing blood flow to the hypoperfused area of the cerebral cortex surface.
Blood Plasma Metabolic Profile of Newborns with Hypoxic‐Ischaemic Encephalopathy by GC‐MS
Authors: Jia Yanjuan , Jia Xiaoni , Xu Hui , Gao Lan , Wei Chaojun , Li Yonghong , Liu Xia , Gao Xiaoling , Wei Li
Published: June 2021

Background. Early diagnosis of hypoxic‐ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) is crucial in preventing neurodevelopmental disabilities and reducing morbidity and mortality. The study was to investigate the plasma metabolic signatures in the peripheral blood of HIE newborns and explore the potential diagnostic biomarkers. Method. In the present study, 24 newborns with HIE and 24 healthy controls were recruited. The plasma metabolites were measured by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), and the raw data was standardized by the EigenMS method. Significantly differential metabolites were identified by multivariate statistics. Pathway enrichment was performed by bioinformatics analysis. Meanwhile, the diagnostic value of candidate biomarkers was evaluated. Result. The multivariate statistical models showed a robust capacity to distinguish the HIE cases from the controls. 52 metabolites were completely annotated. 331 significantly changed pathways were enriched based on seven databases, including 33 overlapped pathways. Most of them were related to amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, neurotransmitter biosynthesis, pyrimidine metabolism, the regulation of HIF by oxygen, and GPCR downstream signaling. 14 candidate metabolites showed great diagnostic potential on HIE. Among them, alpha‐ketoglutaric acid has the potential to assess the severity of HIE in particular. Conclusion. The blood plasma metabolic profile could comprehensively reflect the metabolic disorders of the whole body under hypoxia‐ischaemic injury. Several candidate metabolites may serve as promising biomarkers for the early diagnosis of HIE. Further validation based on large clinical samples and the establishment of guidelines for the clinical application of mass spectrometry data standardization methods are imperative in the future.
The Therapeutic Effects and Mechanisms of Quercetin on Metabolic Diseases: Pharmacological Data and Clinical Evidence
Authors: Yi Huan , Peng Hengyang , Wu Xinyue , Xu Xinmei , Kuang Tingting , Zhang Jing , Du Leilei , Fan Gang
Published: June 2021

Metabolic diseases have become major public health issues worldwide. Searching for effective drugs for treating metabolic diseases from natural compounds has attracted increasing attention. Quercetin, an important natural flavonoid, is extensively present in fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants. Due to its potentially beneficial effects on human health, quercetin has become the focus of medicinal attention. In this review, we provide a timely and comprehensive summary of the pharmacological advances and clinical data of quercetin in the treatment of three metabolic diseases, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Accumulating evidences obtained from animal experiments prove that quercetin has beneficial effects on these three diseases. It can promote insulin secretion, improve insulin resistance, lower blood lipid levels, inhibit inflammation and oxidative stress, alleviate hepatic lipid accumulation, and regulate gut microbiota disorders in animal models. However, human clinical studies on the effects of quercetin in diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and NAFLD remain scarce. More clinical trials with larger sample sizes and longer trial durations are needed to verify its true effectiveness in human subjects. Moreover, another important issue that needs to be resolved in future research is to improve the bioavailability of quercetin. This review may provide valuable information for the basic research, drug development, and clinical application of quercetin in the treatment of metabolic diseases.
Design and Research of Intelligent Safety Monitoring Robot for Coal Mine Shaft Construction
Authors: Fu Wenjun , Xu Ying , Liu Liangping , Zhang Liang
Published: June 2021

This study analyzes the main causes of accidents in the period of coal mine shaft construction and the shortage of the existing safety monitoring technology, puts forward the intelligent safety monitoring robot technology based on shaft construction, and deeply investigates the functions that the safety monitoring robot should have. Besides, the research objective of intelligent safety monitoring robot for shaft construction is pointed out, and the research is carried out from such aspects as the robot body structure, walking mechanism, adsorption mechanism, control, communication, intelligent sensing, hazard source recognition, recognition of explosive detonators, and software platform development. As well, this study designs the technical device of intelligent safety monitoring robot for shaft construction, defines the characteristics of this technology, expounds the important significance of studying this technology, and indicates the development trend of this technology.
A “Rash” Decision in Anesthetic Management: Benzyl Alcohol Allergy in the Perioperative Period
Authors: Tripp Michael , Ribeiro Matthew , Kmiecik Susanna , Go Ramon
Published: June 2021

Here, we present the case of a 54-year-old female presenting for outpatient ankle hardware removal who experienced severe total body pruritus along with a maculopapular rash persisting four days after the procedure. Patch testing demonstrated a sensitivity to benzyl alcohol, a preservative in propofol and several other anesthetics. The patient returned for left ankle arthroscopy a year later, and during that procedure, the anesthetic team avoided medications containing benzyl alcohol. This resulted in no pruritus or rash. Hypersensitivity reactions, ranging from contact dermatitis to anaphylaxis, are critical events in the perioperative period. Induction of general anesthesia has been implicated as the inciting event for perioperative hypersensitivity reactions. Benzyl alcohol is among a few excipients found in common anesthetic agents known to cause hypersensitivity reactions in susceptible patients. While reports of adult death are rare, infantile death due to benzyl alcohol has been described.
On the Mass Distribution of Fragments of an Asteroid Disrupted in the Earth’s Atmosphere
Authors: Brykina Irina G. , Egorova Lidia A.
Published: June 2021

To model the interaction with the atmosphere of fragments of a disrupted asteroid, which move independently of each other, it is necessary to know their mass distribution. In this regard, an analogy is drawn with fragmentation in high-speed impact experiments performed to simulate the disruption of asteroids at their collisions in outer space. Based on the results of impact experiments and assuming a power law for the mass distribution in a differential form, we obtained the cumulative number of fragments as a function of the fragment mass m normalized to the total mass of fragments, the mass fraction of the largest fragment(s), the number of the largest fragments, and the power index. The formula for the cumulative number of fragments of a disrupted body is used to describe the results of impact experiments for different fragmentation types. The proposed fragment mass distribution is also tested by comparison with the mass distributions of recovered meteorites in the cases of Mbale, Bassikounou, Almahata Sitta, Košice, and Chelyabinsk meteorite falls.
New Existence of Solutions for Fractional Integro-Differential Equations with Nonseparated Boundary Conditions
Authors: Ibnelazyz Lahcen , Guida Karim , Hilal Khalid , Melliani Said
Published: June 2021

Results reported in this article prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions for a class of nonlinear fractional integro-differential equations supplemented by nonseparated boundary value conditions. We consider a new norm to establish the existence of solution via Krasnoselskii fixed point theorem; however, the uniqueness results are obtained by applying the contraction mapping principle. Some examples are provided to illustrate the results.
Oxidative Stress Induced Damage and Early Senescence in Preterm Placenta
Authors: Saroyo Yudianto Budi , Wibowo Noroyono , Irwinda Rima , Prijanti Ani Retno , Yunihastuti Evy , Bardosono Saptawati , Krisnadi Sofie Rifayani , Permata Putri Indah , Wijaya Stephanie , Santawi Victor Prana Andika
Published: June 2021

Introduction. Senescent cells have been demonstrated to release High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) which induces labor through an inflammatory pathway. This research is aimed at demonstrating whether telomere shortening, proinflammatory HMGB1, and oxidative damage marker 8-OHdG play a role in the placenta of preterm birth in comparison to term birth. Method. A cross-sectional study on 67 full thickness of the placenta obtained from mothers with term and preterm birth. Mothers with clinical signs of infection (

fever
>

38

°

C

,

leukocytosis
>
18000
/
μ
L

, or abnormal vaginal discharge) and other pregnancy complications were excluded. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure T/S ratio and ELISA quantification to measure the amount of HMGB1 and 8-OHdG. Result. A total of 34 placentas from preterm and 33 placentas from term birth were examined. Maternal characteristics were comparable between the two groups. There were no statistical difference of T/S ratio (

p
=
0.181

), HMGB1 (

p
=
0.119

), and 8-OHdG (

p
=
0.144

) between the preterm and term groups. HMGB1 was moderately correlated with 8-OHdG (

r
=
0.314

). Telomere T/S ratio of the placenta did not differ between preterm and term labor despite difference in gestational age, suggesting earlier shortening in the preterm group. It is possible that critical telomere length has been achieved in both term and preterm placenta that warrants labor through senescence process. The result of our study also showed that HMGB1 was not correlated to telomere length, due to the fact that HMGB1 is not upregulated until the critical length of telomere for senescence is exhibited. Conclusion. Similar telomere length might be exhibited due to early telomere shortening in preterm birth that mimics the term placenta. The relationship between placental telomere shortening and HMGB1 release remains to be uncovered. Further research is needed to discover the factors leading to early telomere shortening in the placenta of preterm birth.
Altered Profile of Fecal Microbiota in Newly Diagnosed Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Egyptian Patients
Authors: Gerges Marian A. , Esmaeel Noura E. , Makram Wafaa K. , Sharaf Doaa M. , Gebriel Manar G.
Published: June 2021

Background. Dysbiosis of gut microbiota could promote autoimmune disorders including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Clarifying this point would be of great importance in understanding the pathogenesis and hence the development of new strategies for SLE treatment. Aim. This study aimed to determine the fecal microbiota profile in newly diagnosed SLE patients compared to healthy subjects and to investigate the correlation of this profile with disease activity. Methods. Newly diagnosed SLE patients who fulfilled at least four of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were enrolled during the study period. Patients with lupus were matched to healthy subjects. SLE activity was evaluated using the Systemic Lupus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI-2K). Fresh fecal samples were collected from each subject. Genomic DNA was extracted from fecal samples. Quantitative real-time PCR was applied for quantitation of Firmicutes phylum, Bacteroidetes phylum, and Lactobacillus genus in comparison to the total fecal microbiota. Results of patients’ samples were compared to those of healthy subjects and were correlated to patients’ SLEDAI-2K score. Results. Twenty SLE patients’ samples were compared with 20 control samples. There was a significant alteration in SLE patients’ gut microbiota. A significantly lower (

p
≤
0.001

) Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio in SLE patients (mean ratio: 0.66%) compared to healthy subjects (mean ratio: 1.79%) was found. Lactobacillus showed a significant decrease in SLE patients (

p
=
0.006

) in comparison to healthy controls. An inverse significant correlation between SLEDAI-2K scores for disease activity and F/B ratio (r = −0.451;

p
=
0.04

) was found. However, an inverse nonsignificant correlation between SLEDAI-2K scores for disease activity and Lactobacillus (r = −0.155;

p
=
0.51

) was detected. Conclusion. Compared to healthy controls, recently diagnosed SLE Egyptian patients have an altered fecal microbiota profile with significant lowering of both F/B ratio and Lactobacillus abundance, which is weakly correlated with disease activity.
Multiobjective Test Case Prioritization Using Test Case Effectiveness: Multicriteria Scoring Method
Authors: Samad Ali , Mahdin Hairulnizam Bin , Kazmi Rafaqat , Ibrahim Rosziati , Baharum Zirawani
Published: June 2021

Modified source code validation is done by regression testing. In regression testing, the time and resources are limited, in which we have to select the minimal test cases from test suites to reduce execution time. The test case minimization process deals with the optimization of the regression testing by removing redundant test cases or prioritizing the test cases. This study proposed a test case prioritization approach based on multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) by considering minimum execution time, maximum fault detection ability, and maximum code coverage. The MOPSO algorithm is used for the prioritization of test cases with parameters including execution time, fault detection ability, and code coverage. Three datasets are selected to evaluate the proposed MOPSO technique including TreeDataStructure, JodaTime, and Triangle. The proposed MOPSO is compared with the no ordering, reverse ordering, and random ordering technique for evaluating the effectiveness. The higher values of results represent the more effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed MOPSO as compared to other approaches for TreeDataStructure, JodaTime, and Triangle datasets. The result is presented to 100-index mode relevant from low to high values; after that, test cases are prioritized. The experiment is conducted on three open-source java applications and evaluated using metrics inclusiveness, precision, and size reduction of a matrix of the test suite. The results revealed that all scenarios performed well in acceptable mode, and the technique is 17% to 86% more effective in terms of inclusiveness, 33% to 85% more effective in terms of precision, and 17% minimum to 86% maximum in size reduction of metrics.
Revisitando Derek de Solla Price na Cientometria brasileira: análise de citações em artigos da SciELO.br
Authors: Hayashi Maria Cristina Piumbato Innocentini , Maroldi Alexandre Masson , Hayashi Carlos Roberto Massao
Published: June 2021

Considerando a importância de Derek de Solla Price para o campo da Cientometria esse artigo objetiva traçar um panorama histórico da sua vida e representatividade de suas obras nos estudos métricos da informação, e verificar na coleção de periódicos da SciELO.br quais são os artigos com abordagens bibliométrica e cientométrica que citaram as obras de Derek Solla Price. A metodologia adotada utilizou a pesquisa bibliográfica para traçar um panorama histórico da vida e obra de Price e suas principais contribuições para os estudos métricos da informação. A fonte de dados foi a coleção de periódicos SciELO.br, e para analisar os artigos selecionados foram utilizadas a análise bibliométrica e de conteúdo. Os resultados mostraram que de um universo inicial de artigos (n=391) somente 6,9% (n=27) citaram as obras de Price. Esses artigos foram publicados entre 1998 e 2019 em diversos periódicos (n=13), com maior incidência naqueles da área de Ciência da Informação (n=3). Entre os autores (n=49) predominaram aqueles do campo da Ciência da Informação (n=30) sendo os demais (n=19) de outras áreas de conhecimento (n=9). As obras mais citadas foram Little Science, Big Science (n=19) e Networks of scientific papers (n=5). Os conceitos de Bibliometria, Cientometria, e Política Científica e de Lei do Elitismo e Frente de Pesquisa foram os mais utilizados nos artigos (n=14), bem como suas aplicações, respectivamente, em indicadores bibliométricos, cientométricos e de impacto, e nas análises de produção e produtividade científica e análises citações. Em conclusão, ainda há muito o que ser explorado nas obras de Price para aqueles que atuam no campo de estudos bibliométricos e cientométricos.
Cerebrovascular Anomalies: Perspectives From Immunology and Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow
Authors: Rustenhoven Justin , Tanumihardja Catherine , Kipnis Jonathan
Published: June 2021

Appropriate vascular function is essential for the maintenance of central nervous system homeostasis and is achieved through virtue of the blood-brain barrier; a specialized structure consisting of endothelial, mural, and astrocytic interactions. While appropriate blood-brain barrier function is typically achieved, the central nervous system vasculature is not infallible and cerebrovascular anomalies, a collective terminology for diverse vascular lesions, are present in meningeal and cerebral vasculature supplying and draining the brain. These conditions, including aneurysmal formation and rupture, arteriovenous malformations, dural arteriovenous fistulas, and cerebral cavernous malformations, and their associated neurological sequelae, are typically managed with neurosurgical or pharmacological approaches. However, increasing evidence implicates interacting roles for inflammatory responses and disrupted central nervous system fluid flow with respect to vascular perturbations. Here, we discuss cerebrovascular anomalies from an immunologic angle and fluid flow perspective. We describe immune contributions, both common and distinct, to the formation and progression of diverse cerebrovascular anomalies. Next, we summarize how cerebrovascular anomalies precipitate diverse neurological sequelae, including seizures, hydrocephalus, and cognitive effects and possible contributions through the recently identified lymphatic and glymphatic systems. Finally, we speculate on and provide testable hypotheses for novel nonsurgical therapeutic approaches for alleviating neurological impairments arising from cerebrovascular anomalies, with a particular emphasis on the normalization of fluid flow and alleviation of inflammation through manipulations of the lymphatic and glymphatic central nervous system clearance pathways.
New species and records of Entomobryidae and Orchesellidae (Collembola) from the East Caucasus (Russia)
Authors: BAQUERO ENRIQUE , POTAPOV MIKHAIL , JORDANA RAFAEL
Published: June 2021

We studied Entomobryidae and Orchesellidae springtails collected throughout Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan, Russia. Three new species of the genus Entomobrya (E. multisetis sp. nov., E. hirsutothorax sp. nov., and E. kremenitsai sp. nov.), and one of Entomobryoides (E. dagestanicus sp. nov.) are described. Taxonomic information for Entomobrya nicoleti (Lubbock, 1868), Willowsia potapovi Zhang et al., 2011, and Heteromurus nitidus (Templeton, 1836) in Templeton & Westwood 1836 from the Caucasus are given.
On the subgenus Eurysunius Reitter of Turkey VII. Four new species from central Anatolia, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae, Astenus)
Authors: ANLAŞ SİNAN
Published: June 2021

In the study, four new species of Astenus (Eurysunius) Dejean (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) are described and illustrated from central Anatolia, in Turkey, and distinguished from related consubgeners: Astenus veyseli Anlaş, sp. n. (Sivas province), A. gultekini Anlaş, sp. n. (Kırıkkale province), A. kirani Anlaş, sp. n. (Sivas province) and A. neseti Anlaş, sp. n. (Kırşehir province). A key to Turkish species of Eurysunius is provided. The distributions of 22 species in Turkey are mapped.
Two new species of Metapocyrtus (Metapocyrtus) Heller 1912 from Mindanao, Philippines (Curculionidae, Entiminae, Pachyrhynchini)
Authors: BOLLINO MAURIZIO , BORDONI ARNALDO
Published: June 2021

Two new species of Curculionidae, Pachyrhynchini, Metapocyrtus waoensis sp. nov., and M. lanaoensis sp. nov., both from western Mindanao are described. Images of habitus and fully everted endophallus and illustrations of male genitalia are provided for each species.
A review of the cicada genus Haphsa Distant, 1905 with the description of one new species from China (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) and a phylogenetic analysis of Haphsa and its allies
Authors: WANG SIYUE , PENG XIAODONG , WEI CONG
Published: June 2021

The cicada genus Haphsa Distant, 1905 was reviewed based on the description of one new species (Haphsa acutipetala sp. n.) from China and phylogenetic analysis of Haphsa and its allies. The phylogeny of six species of Haphsa and partial related species of Changa Lee, 2016, Sinosemia Matsumura, 1927 and Sinotympana Lee, 2009 was constructed based on COI sequences to understand better the phylogeny of Haphsa and related taxa. Sinosemia Matsumura, 1927 syn. n., Changa Lee, 2016 syn. n. and Sinotympana Lee, 2009 syn. n. are recognized to be new synonyms of Haphsa. Sinosemia shirakii Matsumura, 1927, Changa jsguillotsi (Boulard, 2005), Changa sita (Distant, 1881), Sinotympana incomparabilis Lee, 2009 and Sinotympana caobangensis Pham & Sanborn, 2019 are transferred to Haphsa to become Haphsa shirakii (Matsumura, 1927) comb. n., Haphsa jsguillotsi (Boulard, 2005) comb. rev., Haphsa sita (Distant, 1881) comb. n., Haphsa incomparabilis (Lee, 2009) comb. n. and Haphsa caobangensis (Pham & Sanborn, 2019) comb. n., respectively. A key to species of Haphsa is provided.
Redescription of Dasythrix inornata (Loew, 1851) (Diptera: Asilidae: Laphriinae) with a new synonym and new distribution records
Authors: CAMARGO ALEXSSANDRO , VIEIRA RODRIGO , RAFAEL JOSÉ ALBERTINO
Published: June 2021

The holotype of Dasythrix inornata (Loew, 1851) is redescribed and illustrated. Male terminalia are described and illustrated for the first time. Dasythrix leucophaea Lynch Arribálzaga, 1880 syn. nov., is synonymized with D. inornata. Consequently, Dasythrix is a monotypic genus. New distribution records are provided. Laphria heteronevra Macquart, 1838, currently placed in Laxenecera Macquart, 1838, has its previous combination with Nusa Walker, 1851 revalidated, becoming Nusa heteronevra (Macquart, 1838) comb. rev. The status of Dasythrix Loew, 1851 is also discussed.
Review of the Patrus landaisi species group from Thailand with description of three new species (Coleoptera, Gyrinidae)
Authors: SUKSAI BENJAMART , GUSTAFSON GREY T. , SITES ROBERT W. , SANGPRADUB NARUMON
Published: June 2021

A survey of the whirligig beetles of the genus Patrus Aubé, 1838 occurring in Thailand belonging to the newly designated Patrus landaisi species group is presented. Three new species are described and illustrated: P. garuda sp. nov., P. nanensis sp. nov. and P. phetchabunensis sp. nov.; with P. apicalis (Régimbart, 1891), P. landaisi (Régimbart, 1892), and P. subapicalis (Ochs, 1930) stat. nov. being recorded for the first time in Thailand. Morphological and molecular analyses, together in an integrative approach, support the elevation of P. subapicalis to species status, instead of being a subspecies of P. apicalis. A diagnosis, illustrations of habitus and diagnostic characters, distribution maps, habitat images and a key to species are provided for all known members of the P. landaisi species group that occur in Thailand. A checklist of species in the group is also given.
4. Sociological and Historical Explanations of Autism
Authors: Hens Kristien
Published: June 2021

Autism may have had different meanings throughout history and in different cultures This chapter explores how autism as a phenomenon in the clinic arose over the last century. Although the kinds of people we now call autistic may have always existed, they are given this specific diagnosis only recently. Sociologists and historians have provided several explanations. The rise of the diagnosis of autism may be due to the fact that in the mid twentieth century, children became more and more objects of study for psychology. Also, fewer children were institutionalized, and more parents cared for their children at home. The autism diagnosis offered them therapies. Moreover, autism is a heterogeneous condition also in its biology. It may be impossible to find one specific biological cause. This has caused some scholars to argue we should abandon the label altogether.
10. Dynamic Approaches
Authors: Hens Kristien
Published: June 2021

This chapter explores dynamic approaches to autism. It engages with the ideas of George Canguilhem to describe a dynamic and context-sensitive approach to pathology. Something becomes pathological in relation to an environment in which it cannot maintain itself. This leads to the experience of suffering. Hanne Dejaegher explores an enactive approach to the mind in general, and autism in particular: sense-making happens in coordination with others and should not be considered individualistically. For new materialist thinker Karen Barad, matter itself becomes dynamic, and the distinction of language versus essence or word versus thing stops making sense. Our words, our praxis matter, even literally. This has profound ethical consequences.
EVALUATION OF CLOUDS, RADIATION, AND PRECIPITATION IN CMIP6 MODELS USING GLOBAL WEATHER STATES DERIVED FROM ISCCP-H CLOUD PROPERTY DATA
Authors: Tselioudis George , Rossow William. B. , Jakob Christian , Remillard Jasmine , Tropf Derek , Zhang Yuanchong
Published: June 2021

A clustering methodology is applied to cloud optical depth cloud top pressure (TAU-PC) histograms from the new, 1-degree resolution, ISCCP-H dataset, to derive an updated global Weather State (WS) dataset. Then, PC-TAU histograms from current-climate CMIP6 model simulations are assigned to the ISCCP-H WSs along with their concurrent radiation and precipitation properties, to evaluate model cloud, radiation, and precipitation properties in the context of the Weather States. The new ISCCP-H analysis produces WSs that are very similar to those previously found in the lower resolution ISCCP-D dataset. The main difference lies in the splitting of the ISCCP-D thin stratocumulus WS between the ISCCP-H shallow cumulus and stratocumulus WSs, which results in the reduction by one of the total WS number. The evaluation of the CMIP6 models against the ISCCP-H Weather States, shows that, in the ensemble mean, the models are producing an adequate representation of the frequency and geographical distribution of the WSs, with measurable improvements compared to the WSs derived for the CMIP5 ensemble. However, the frequency of shallow cumulus clouds continues to be underestimated, and, in some WSs the good agreement of the ensemble mean with observations comes from averaging models that significantly overpredict and underpredict the ISCCP-H WS frequency. In addition, significant biases exist in the internal cloud properties of the model WSs, such as the model underestimation of cloud fraction in middle-top clouds and secondarily in midlatitude storm and stratocumulus clouds, that result in an underestimation of cloud SW cooling in those regimes.