bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reading for Vital Symptoms
Authors: Kedem Nir
Published: April 2021

This article offers a Deleuzian practice of reading as a form of problematization: constructing or “mapping” an author’s lived problematics to which his or her writing responds as so many solutions. Unlike readings that treat authors as patients whose personal pathological symptoms manifest in their literary works, a Deleuzian reading sees them as physicians of their cultures responding to an intolerable mode of existence, which is indiscernibly both personal and collective. A Deleuzian reading thus explores both the symptoms of pathological social present and new possibilities of life as they receive formal expressions in the literary work and the author’s style. Such practice essentially operates by actively constructing a series of underlying problems and their corresponding formal solutions, a move that, at the same time, establishes immanent criteria for critically evaluating a particular literary response (a solution) to the entrapment of life forces in pathological modes of existence (a problematics). The author discusses how and why a Deleuzian reading is both possible and desirable and takes Israeli author David Grossman’s novel The Book of Intimate Grammar as its primary case. This reading studies the novel through three conceptual problems in literary theory: the author as the site of the creative process, the use of language as an expression of an author’s literary technique, and the conditions for literary enunciation. It also demonstrates the strengths and benefits of Deleuzian readings in extra-Anglophone and extra-Francophone contexts.
“Telling in Time” Extended
Authors: Speidel Klaus
Published: April 2021

Temporality has long been recognized as a defining trait of narrative. This article introduces new concepts, methods, and arguments to analyze the relationships between represented and representational timelines for a transmedia narratology with a strong focus on emotions, rethinking such fundamental concepts as complication, resolution, and illustration. Since Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1766) distinguished the temporal arts like poetry, where signs are consecutive, from the spatial arts like painting, where signs are juxtaposed, the latter have been considered to be limited when it comes to conveying stories autonomously. Opposing this point of view, this article explains how monochronic pictures can convey timelines by relying on the depiction of traces, as well as an appeal to anthropological and cultural knowledge. It then shows how some monochronic pictures intended as illustrations sometimes convey stories autonomously. The author argues based on a choice of photographs that inducing suspense or curiosity is possible even through a monochronic picture. The article also shows how single pictures induce experiences of duration or instantaneity, concluding that single monochronic pictures can convey essential story events in a predetermined order and reliably convey the timeline of these events. This implies that such single pictures can be narratives even according to narrow definitions of the concept.
Unexpected lack of specialisation in the flow properties of spitting cobra venom
Authors: Avella Ignazio , Barajas-Ledesma Edgar , Casewell Nicholas R. , Harrison Robert A. , Rowley Paul D. , Crittenden Edouard , Wüster Wolfgang , Castiglia Riccardo , Holland Chris , van der Meijden Arie
Published: April 2021

Venom spitting is a defence mechanism based on airborne venom delivery used by a number of different African and Asian elapid snake species (‘spitting cobras’; Naja spp. and Hemachatus spp.). Adaptations underpinning venom spitting have been studied extensively at both behavioural and morphological level in cobras, but the role of the physical properties of venom itself in its effective projection remains largely unstudied. We hereby provide the first comparative study of the physical properties of venom in spitting and non-spitting cobras. We measured the viscosity, protein concentration and pH of the venom of 13 cobra species of the genus Naja from Africa and Asia, alongside the spitting elapid Hemachatus haemachatus and the non-spitting viper Bitis arietans. By using published microCT scans, we calculated the pressure required to eject venom through the fangs of a spitting and a non-spitting cobra. Despite the differences in the modes of venom delivery, we found no significant differences between spitters and non-spitters in the rheological and physical properties of the studied venoms. Furthermore, all analysed venoms showed a Newtonian flow behaviour, in contrast to previous reports. Although our results imply that the evolution of venom spitting did not significantly affect venom viscosity, our models of fang pressure suggests that the pressure requirements to eject venom are lower in spitting cobras than in non-spitting cobras.
Chemotherapy After Diagnosis of Malignant Bowel Obstruction is Associated with Superior Survival for Medicare Patients with Advanced Malignancy
Authors: Bateni Sarah B. , Gingrich Alicia A. , Kirane Amanda R. , Sauder Candice A. M. , Gholami Sepideh , Bold Richard J. , Meyers Frederick J. , Canter Robert J.
Published: April 2021

Background

Although malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) often is a terminal event, systemic therapies are advocated for select patients to extend survival. This study aimed to evaluate factors associated with receipt of chemotherapy after MBO and to determine whether chemotherapy after MBO is associated with survival.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study investigated patients 65 years of age or older with metastatic gastrointestinal, gynecologic, or genitourinary cancers who were hospitalized with MBO from 2008 to 2012 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database. Fine and Gray models were used to identify factors associated with receipt of chemotherapy accounting for the competing risk of death. Cox models identified factors associated with overall survival.

Results

Of the 2983 MBO patients, 39% (n= 1169) were treated with chemotherapy after MBO. No differences in receipt of chemotherapy between the surgical and medical patients were found in the univariable analysis (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR], 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86–1.07;p= 0.47) or multivariable analysis (SHR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.00–1.26;p= 0.06). Older age, African American race, medical comorbidities, non-colorectal and non-ovarian cancer diagnoses, sepsis, ascites, and intensive care unit stays were inversely associated with receipt of chemotherapy after MBO (p< 0.05). Chemotherapy with surgery was associated with longer survival than surgery (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.97; 95% CI, 2.65–3.34;p< 0.01) or medical management without chemotherapy (aHR, 4.56; 95% CI, 4.04–5.14;p< 0.01). Subgroup analyses of biologically diverse cancers (colorectal, pancreatic, and ovarian) showed similar results, with greater survival related to chemotherapy (p< 0.05).

Conclusions

Chemotherapy plays an integral role in maximizing oncologic outcome for select patients with MBO. The data from this study are critical to optimizing multimodality care for these complex patients.
Doctoral Studies as part of an Innovative Training Network (ITN): Early Stage Researcher (ESR) experiences
Authors: Biswas Roshni , Schiller Axel , Casolani Chiara , Daoud Elza , Dode Albi , Genitsaridi Eleni , Jacquemin Laure , Liyanage Nuwan , Lourenco Matheus , Makani Punitkumar , Parameshwarappa Vinay , Riha Constanze , L Santacruz Jose , Shabbir Maryam , Simoes Jorge , Trpchevska Natalia , Schoisswohl Stefan
Published: April 2021

Background: The Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions’ (MSCA) Innovative Training Network (ITN) is a doctoral training programme jointly implemented by academic institutions and industries from countries across Europe and beyond. To our knowledge no study has examined the experience of students participating in MSCA-ITNs. This study aims to evaluate and report MSCA-ITN Early Stage Researcher (ESR) experiences.

Methods: The Innovative Training Network - Evaluation Questionnaire (ITN-EQ) was developed to assess supervision, training, collaborations and experiences of ESRs and forwarded to two tinnitus-related ITNs and seven ITNs of other disciplines.

Results: Key advantages identified included better career prospects, multidisciplinary research opportunities/ collaborations, international exposure, personal/ professional development, plus generous salaries and research budgets. However, lack of a common EU framework resulted in the experience being largely dependent on host institution, country and supervisor. Moreover, managing the dual requirements of ITNs and host institutions while completing a three-year PhD seemed challenging for most ESRs. ESR involvement in workshop and training school planning was desirable. More than 80% of ESRs rated the overall ITN experience favourably and 98.3% would recommend the same to prospective PhD students.

Conclusions: This report could provide valuable insights in planning and management of future ITNs and could assist prospective students in their decision of joining an ITN for their PhD.
Editorial
Authors: Bernardo-Filho Mario
Published: April 2021

Dear all,It is my pleasure to introduce the BrazilianJournal of Health and Biomedical Sciences (BJHBS).The history of the Journal goes back to 1982, startingunder the title “Medicina HC-UERJ”. At that time, theJournal was created to be vehicle for the disseminationof experience, research, and didactic guidelines ofsubjects related to biomedical area of HUPE, theuniversity hospital of the State University of Rio deJaneiro (UERJ). The publication goes through somehardships from 1991 until 2001. Afterwards, in 2002,the Journal goes back to being published entitled as“Revista do Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto –UERJ”, HUPE Journal.In 2019, following actions towards expanding thescope of the Journal, the Editorial Board has decided toreview its title one more time, going for BJHBS. The aimof the Journal is to raise the quality of the publicationsand expand our network of international scientificcooperation. The Journal is also focused in promotingtranslation of basic research into clinical investigationand converting clinical evidence into practice. Theidea is to build strategies to improve health in differentlevels, from education to high technology.BJHBS is a multidisciplinary publication organizedto produce highly impactful articles. The editorialpolicy accepts articles covering a variety of themesin health and biomedical sciences with severalapproaches, if they are not in simultaneous analysisfor publication in any other journal. The Journalstrongly stimulates undergraduate and graduatestudents to submit papers sharing their scientificexperience abroad.The participation of the Associate Editors andthe Editorial Board is highly desired to expandBJHBS’ visibility in the scientific world. As part of thepublication ethics, the BJHBS promptly rejects anyplagiarism and self-plagiarism practices. It featuressections dedicated to original research, literaturereviews, case reports, and letters to the editor.Papers must be submitted in one of three languages:Portuguese, Spanish, and English.In this issue, papers with different approaches arepresented. There are studies in basic sciences and clinicalevaluations, as well as an article regarding occupationalexposures reported by patients with leukemia.You are welcome to contribute with a manuscriptin your area of expertise to BJHBS at any time.
Inflammatory bowel disease and women’s sexual and reproductive health: a narrative review
Authors: Cunha Sara M. B. , Carneiro Maria C. F. , Rodrigues Cátia D. , Rasteiro Cátia L. S. N. S. , Teles Teresa P.
Published: April 2021

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronicidiopathic condition involving the gastrointestinal tract.The disease prevalence is increasing worldwide, affectingwomen in childbearing age. Objective: Clinical and practicalreview of the women´s sexual and reproductive health ininflammatory bowel disease with focus in gynaecologicaland obstetrical management. Materials and Methods: In thisarticle we review sexual and reproductive health issues inwomen with inflammatory bowel disease in all life stagesand the main particularities of the approach of inflammatorybowel disease in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Results andConclusion: Fertility in women without disease activity isnot decreased comparing to general population, but despiteresearch is inconsistent there are reports of increased risk ofsmall for gestational age, preterm delivery, low Apgar score,congenital anomalies, intrauterine death, miscarriage, venousthromboembolism and preeclampsia. To improve obstetricoutcomes, a period of 3 to 6 months of disease remission isrecommended before conception. Medication adjustmentmay be necessary, and supplementation should be adapted. Amultidisciplinary approach and a comprehensive knowledgeof the disease through all women life stages allows a betterhealth care.Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, Sexual health,Reproduction, Pregnancy, Breastfeeding.
The true cost of the pandemic
Authors: Brown Sharron
Published: April 2021

In this issue's British Association of Cosmetic Nurses update, Sharron Brown details the activity within the group and reflects upon the worldwide issues that affect us all
AZT / ABACAVIR
Authors: Rees Sharon
Published: April 2021

In this column, Sharon Rees aims to refresh knowledge and interest in some of the commonly used drugs in a series of tweets. This month she is talking about #AZT and the newer NRTI #abacavir
Composite and bonding agent sensitivity in orthodontics
Authors: Wong Lilia , Patel Sameer , Christensen Lars
Published: April 2021

The nature of the type of treatment carried out in orthodontics frequently exposes clinical staff to potential occupational hazards. A lesser-known risk includes hypersensitivity to composite resins and bonding materials, as well as the permeability of gloves to these materials. This article highlights the importance of care when handling composite materials, and suggests methods to reduce potential exposure.

CPD/Clinical Relevance: Composite and bonding agents are frequently used in orthodontics; however, adverse effects resulting from exposure are not commonly discussed. This paper aims to increase awareness and provide practical methods of reducing risk.
Idiopathic condylar resorption in orthodontics
Authors: El-Habbash Salwa , McSwiney Timothy
Published: April 2021

Condylar resorption (CR) can be categorized into functional and dysfunctional remodelling of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The literature describes dysfunctional remodelling of the TMJ as idiopathic condylar resorption (ICR). Idiopathic condylar resorption (ICR) is a well-documented but poorly understood pathological entity that can occur spontaneously or post-orthognathic surgery. It predominantly affects young women, with other risk factors including Class 2 malocclusion with steep mandibular plane angles. It is distinguished by a decreased condylar head volume and ramus height, progressive mandibular retrusion and an anterior open bite. Its aetiology can be categorized into surgical and non-surgical risk factors. These include hormones, systemic disease, trauma, mechanical load and surgical risk factors, such as magnitude and direction of mandibular movement, type of surgical fixation and length of post-operative maxilla-mandibular fixation. ICR is a diagnosis of exclusion, and identified by a combination of clinical, radiographic and haematological findings. Multiple treatment options have been described in the literature, including medical management, orthodontics, orthognathic surgery, TMJ surgery, TMJ and orthognathic surgery combined, and total joint prosthesis reconstruction. Further research is required to better understand the aetiology of ICR and more long-term, controlled, multicentre clinical studies are needed to evaluate the outcomes of surgical and non-surgical management of CR patients.

CPD/Clinical Relevance: Idiopathic condylar resorption has many presentations and potential causes that can greatly impact the decisions and outcomes for orthodontic/orthognathic treatment.
A Pathophysiological and Pharmacological review on Alzheimer’s disease: A Current Need
Authors: Sheela D. , Rohan R.
Published: April 2021

Developing countries including India faces major setback in medicine and public health due to the neurodegenerative disorders. Among various neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsonism, Hunting ton's disorder, Amyotrophic lateral syndrome, Alzheimer's is a usual subtype of dementia which has affected about 25 million people globally in 2000 and this statisticis believed to increase to 114 million in 2050. Aging has been found as one of the factors associated with Alzheimer's disease. Their association was confirmed with an increase in the incidence of this disease. A measure of the main constituent of plaque, cerebrospinal fluid levels of Aβ, and constituent of a neurofibrillary tangle, tau protein are the in-vivo biological markers of Alzheimer's disease patients. From ancient times various herbal plants were used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. The Pharmacological drugs used were Anticholinesterase, Muscarinic receptor agonist, Glutamate receptor antagonist. The newer monoclonal antibodies were introduced for the treatment but the success rate was merge. Resveratrol, an activator of silent information regulator type1(SIRT1) was the latest drug in treating this neurodegenerative disorder. The multifactorial aetiologies leading to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's made the treatment more complex. At present, the introduction of novel therapy mainly targeting on the pathophysiology of neuroinflammation mediated by microglia and astrocytes gave a newer insight on Alzheimer's. The determination of biomarkers and newer detection techniques can help in the future for early detection in elderly patients and better pharmacotherapy in this complicated disease.
Growth modulation of angular deformities with a novel constant force implant concept-preclinical results
Authors: Buschbaum Jan , Freitag Linda , Slongo Theodor F. , Zeiter Stephan , Schütz Michael , Windolf Markus
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Varus-valgus deformities in children and adolescents are often corrected by temporary hemi-epiphysiodesis, in which the physis is bridged by an implant to inhibit growth. With standard implant solutions, the acting forces cannot be regulated, rendering the correction difficult to control. Furthermore, the implant load steadily increases with ongoing growth potentially leading to implant-related failures. A novel implant concept was developed applying a controlled constant force to the physis, which carries the potential to avoid these complications. The study aim was to proof the concept in vivo by analyzing the effect of three distinct force levels on the creation of varus deformities.

Methods

The proposed implant is made of a conventional cerclage wire and features a twisted coil that unwinds with growth resulting in an implant-specific constant force level. The proximal medial tibial physes of 18 lambs were treated with the implant and assigned to three groups distinct by the force level of the implant (200 N, 120 N, 60 N).

Results

The treatment appeared safe without implant-related failures. Deformity creation was statistically different between the groups and yielded on average 10.6° (200 N), 4.8° (120 N) and 0.4° (60 N) over the treatment period. Modulation rates were 0.51°/mm (200 N), 0.23°/mm (120 N) and 0.05°/mm (60 N) and were constant throughout the treatment.

Conclusion

By means of the constant force concept, controlled growth modulation appeared feasible in this preclinical experiment. However, clinical trials are necessary to confirm whether the results are translatable to the human pathological situation.
Critical Traffic Analysis on the Tor Network
Authors: Platzer Florian , Schäfer Marcel , Steinebach Martin
Published: April 2021

Tor is a widely-used anonymity network with more than two million daily users. A prominent feature of Tor is the hidden service architecture. Hidden services are a popular method for communicating anonymously or sharing web contents anonymously. For security reasons, in Tor all data packets to be send over the network are structured completely identical. They are encrypted using the TLS protocol and its size is fixed to exactly 512 bytes. In this work we describe a method to deanonymize any hidden service on Tor based on traffic analysis. This method allows an attacker with modest resources to deanonymize any hidden services in less than 12.5 days. This poses a threat to anonymity online.
A Review on Android Malware: Attacks, Countermeasures and Challenges Ahead
Authors: Selvaganapathy ShymalaGowri , Sadasivam Sudha , Ravi Vinayakumar
Published: April 2021

Smartphones usage have become ubiquitous in modern life serving as a double-edged sword with opportunities and challenges in it. Along with the benefits, smartphones also have high exposure to malware. Malware has progressively penetrated thereby causing more turbulence. Malware authors have become increasingly sophisticated and are able to evade detection by anti-malware engines. This has led to a constant arms race between malware authors and malware defenders. This survey converges on Android malware and covers a walkthrough of the various obfuscation attacks deployed during malware analysis phase along with the myriad of adversarial attacks operated at malware detection phase. The review also unscrambles the difficulties currently faced in deploying an on-device, lightweight malware detector. It sheds spotlight for researchers to perceive the current state of the art techniques available to fend off malware along with suggestions on possible future directions
Modified Firefly Algorithm and Fuzzy C-Mean Clustering Based Semantic Information Retrieval
Authors: Subramaniam M. , Kathirvel A. , Sabitha E. , Anwar Basha H.
Published: April 2021

As enormous volume of electronic data increased gradually, searching as well as retrieving essential info from the internet is extremely difficult task.  Normally, the Information Retrieval (IR) systems present info dependent upon the user’s query keywords. At present, it is insufficient as large volume of online data and it contains less precision as the system takes syntactic level search into consideration. Furthermore, numerous previous search engines utilize a variety of techniques for semantic based document extraction and the relevancy between the documents has been measured using page ranking methods. On the other hand, it contains certain problems with searching time.   With the intention of enhancing the query searching time, the research system implemented a Modified Firefly Algorithm (MFA) adapted with Intelligent Ontology and Latent Dirichlet Allocation based Information Retrieval (IOLDAIR) model. In this recommended methodology, the set of web documents, Face book comments and tweets are taken as dataset.  By means of utilizing Tokenization process, the dataset pre-processing is carried out. Strong ontology is built dependent upon a lot of info collected by means of referring via diverse websites. Find out the keywords as well as carry out semantic analysis with user query by utilizing ontology matching by means of jaccard similarity. The feature extraction is carried out dependent upon the semantic analysis. After that, by means of Modified Firefly Algorithm (MFA), the ideal features are chosen. With the help of Fuzzy C-Mean (FCM) clustering, the appropriate documents are grouped and rank them. At last by using IOLDAIR model, the appropriate information’s are extracted. The major benefit of the research technique is the raise in relevancy, capability of dealing with big data as well as fast retrieval.  The experimentation outcomes prove that the presented method attains improved performance when matched up with the previous system.
An Ontology Representation Language for Multimedia Event Applications
Authors: Pahal Nisha , Lall Brejesh , Chaudhury Santanu
Published: April 2021

This paper presents formalization of a new Multimedia Web Ontology Language (E-MOWL) to handle events with media depictions. The temporal, spatial and entity aspects that are implicitly linked to an event are represented through this language to model the context of events. The already existing Multimedia Web Ontology Language (MOWL) can be leveraged for perceptual modelling of a domain, where the concepts manifest into media patterns in the multimedia document and helps in semantic processing of the contents. The language E-MOWL provides a rich method for representing knowledge corresponding to a specific domain wherein the context specifies the intended meaning of each element of the domain of discourse; an element in different context may correspond to different functional role. The context information associated with an event ties the audiovisual data with event related aspects. All these aspects when considered altogether provide the evidence and contribute towards recognizing an event from multimedia documents. The language also enables reasoning with the uncertainty associated with the events and is organized in the form of Bayesian Network (BN). The media items that are semantically relevant can be assimilated together on the basis of their association with events. We have demonstrated the efficacy of our approach by utilizing an ontology for the entertainment category in news domain to offer an application \textit{news aggregation} and event-based book recommendations.
Power Quality Improvement of a Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources Based Standalone System Using Neuro-Fuzzy Controllers
Authors: Deepak Karanam , Mandal Rajib Kumar , Verma Vimlesh
Published: April 2021

Wind and Photovoltaic (PV) based hybrid standalone systems for supplying electricity to remote consumers are becoming increasingly popular around the world. In general, power generation from both PV and wind is always variable due to irradiance and speed fluctuations. Furthermore, the load is unpredictably variable and changes at random. As a result, one of the main challenges in such standalone micro grids is maintaining power quality. To maintain power quality in such standalone systems, a novel controller should be developed. Furthermore, due to the unpredictable random changes in wind speed, solar irradiance, and load, a battery bank must be integrated into the standalone system via a bidirectional converter. Furthermore, the interconnection of multiple wind turbines and PV panels can create a powerful hybrid system. This paper examines a 1 MW stand-alone power generation system using numerous PV and wind systems. Maximum power points tracking devices with perturbed and observe algorithms are used to optimize the utilization of individual PV modules and wind turbines. Because of its superior priority over conventional PI controllers, a Neuro-Fuzzy integrated controller-based novel control scheme for both inverter and bidirectional converter is proposed to achieve precise response while maintaining power quality. This paper discusses extensive results obtained by establishing hardware-in-the-loop on the OPAL-RT platform to evaluate the responses of proposed controllers. The experimental results also included to provide strength to the paper.
A New Collaborative Filtering Approach Based on Game Theory for Recommendation Systems
Authors: Benkessirat Selma , Boustia Narhimene , Nachida Rezoug
Published: April 2021

Recommendation systems can help internet users to find interesting things that match more with their profile. With the development of the digital age, recommendation systems have become indispensable in our lives. On the one hand, most of recommendation systems of the actual generation are based on Collaborative Filtering (CF) and their effectiveness is proved in several real applications. The main objective of this paper is to improve the recommendations provided by collaborative filtering using clustering. Nevertheless, taking into account the intrinsic relationship between users can enhance the recommendations performances. On the other hand, cooperative game theory techniques such as Shapley Value, take into consideration the intrinsic relationship among users when creating communities. With that in mind, we have used SV for the creation of user communities. Indeed, our proposed algorithm preforms into two steps, the first one consists to generate communities user based on Shapley Value, all taking into account the intrinsic properties between users. It applies in the second step a classical collaborative filtering process on each community to provide the Top-N recommendation. Experimental results show that the proposed approach significantly enhances the recommendation compared to the classical collaborative filtering and k-means based collaborative filtering. The cooperative game theory contributes to the improvement of the clustering based CF process because the quality of the users communities obtained is better.
Application of microgravity and electrical resistivity imaging techniques to identify ground subsidence prone zone
Authors: Mohammed Mustapha Adejo
Published: April 2021

Owing to the disastrous consequences of ground subsidence in the urban area, great attention had always been accorded to areas with suspected signs of subsidence occurrence in order to mitigate its effect. Microgravity and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) survey techniques were conducted at a parking lot of which possible occurrence of subsidence is anticipated due to the increased exposure of surface cracks and very slight depression. This study aimed to map and delineate the subsurface condition of the area with the view of revealing probable subsidence prone zones within the study area. To this end, the microgravity survey data was acquired at a station interval of 2 m. Pole-dipole configuration with 2 m electrode separation was adopted for the electrical resistivity imaging survey. The two methods showed good correlation with each other and proved their effectiveness in imaging the subsurface. A large proportion of the subsurface area was found to be residual soil (mainly silt and or clayey sand) with saturated zones identified by low gravity (< -40.94 mGal) and resistivity (<150 Ω.m) values, which have the tendency to undergo expansion and contraction processes due to rise and fall in moisture content. The subsurface condition was found to be relatively stable, devoid of any subsidence triggering features such as voids or cavities. However, it is inferred to be unsuitable for engineering structures due to the expansive and contractive properties of the subsurface geomaterials (residual soil). Therefore, it is concluded that the area is not prone to subsidence and the surface cracks presents are mere effects of the expansion and contraction process, which could be avoided by the excavation of the expansive soil or good engineering design before the establishment of any structure.
El sesgo de publicación y la no reproducibilidad en el balance ético de los proyectos de investigación con animales
Authors: Rodrigo Calduch Teresa
Published: April 2021

La normativa que rige la investigación con animales establece la aprobación de proyectos de investigación tras haber sido sometidos a una valoración ética costes-beneficios apropiada. El sesgo de publicación y la falta de reproducibilidad en la investigación animal socavan el adecuado balance ético de los proyectos. Es necesario promover medidas que impliquen a todos los participantes (científicos, grupos editoriales, organismos gubernamentales y financiadores) y que generen un cambio en la cultura científica que revalorice los resultados negativos como parte del conocimiento científico general e incremente la calidad de las publicaciones.
Inversionistas de vivienda en el Gran Santiago: una nueva ola de negocio inmobiliario
Authors: Herrera Castillo Nicolás , Lopez-Morales Ernesto
Published: April 2021

En Chile, mientras crece el volumen de inversión privada en vivienda nueva, poco se conoce acerca de los inversionistas. Este trabajo analiza cerca de la totalidad de las adquisiciones de vivienda con fines de inversión, realizadas entre el 2011 y 2016 en el Gran Santiago, datos que se cruzan con información socioeconómica de los inversionistas en modalidad personas y empresas, así como inversionistas de baja escala e inversionistas “prime” (5 o más propiedades). Se cruzan diversas bases de datos públicas para describir el perfil de los inversionistas que operan en Santiago Metropolitano. Se analiza género, estatus social, edad, y preferencias de inversión entre los inversionistas personas, y precio, tamaño y localización de la vivienda comprada entre todos los inversionistas. El perfil resultante de inversionistas personas se asocia a la elite chilena y estratos medios-altos, con sesgo al género masculino. Estos resultados convergen con discusiones teóricas acerca del creciente dominio del “rentismo” en distintos mercados globales, con efectos asociados a la concentración de la propiedad de la vivienda e incrementos del precio de ésta.
Dual-LC PSHG microscopy for imaging collagen type I and type II gels with pixel-resolution analysis
Authors: Chen Chung-Hwan , Nair Anupama Venugopalan , Chuang Shu-Chun , Lin Yi-Shan , Cheng Mei-Hsin , Lin Chun-Yu , Chang Chia-Ying , Chen Shean-Jen , Lien Chi-Hsiang
Published: April 2021

Collagen of type I (Col I) and type II (Col II) are critical for cartilage and connective tissues in the human body, and several diseases may alter their properties. Assessing the identification and quantification of fibrillar collagen without biomarkers is a challenge. Advancements in non-invasive polarization-resolved second-harmonic generation (PSHG) microscopy have provided a method for the non-destructive investigation of collagen molecular level properties. Here we explored an alternative polarization modulated approach, dual-LC PSHG, that is based on two liquid crystal devices (Liquid crystal polarization rotators, LPRs) operating simultaneously with a laser scanning SHG microscope. We demonstrated that this more accessible technology allows the quick and accurate generation of any desired linear and circular polarization state without any mechanical parts. This study demonstrates that this method can aid in improving the ability to quantify the characteristics of both types of collagen, including pitch angle, anisotropy, and circular dichroism analysis. Using this approach, we estimated the effective pitch angle for Col I and Col II to be 49.7° and 51.6°, respectively. The effective peptide pitch angle for Col II gel was first estimated and is similar to the value obtained for Col I gel in the previous studies. Additionally, the difference of the anisotropy parameter of both collagen type gels was assessed to be 0.293, which reflects the different type molecular fibril assembly. Further, our work suggests a potential method for monitoring and differentiating different collagen types in biological tissues, especially cartilage or connective tissue.
Three-dimensional imaging through turbid media using deep learning: NIR transillumination imaging of animal bodies
Authors: Phan Van To Ni , Tran Trung Nghia , Inujima Hiroshi , Shimizu Koichi
Published: April 2021

Using near-infrared (NIR) light with 700–1200 nm wavelength, transillumination images of small animals and thin parts of a human body such as a hand or foot can be obtained. They are two-dimensional (2D) images of internal absorbing structures in a turbid medium. A three-dimensional (3D) see-through image is obtainable if one can identify the depth of each part of the structure in the 2D image. Nevertheless, the obtained transillumination images are blurred severely because of the strong scattering in the turbid medium. Moreover, ascertaining the structure depth from a 2D transillumination image is difficult. To overcome these shortcomings, we have developed a new technique using deep learning principles. A fully convolutional network (FCN) was trained with 5,000 training pairs of clear and blurred images. Also, a convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained with 42,000 training pairs of blurred images and corresponding depths in a turbid medium. Numerous training images were provided by the convolution with a point spread function derived from diffusion approximation to the radiative transport equation. The validity of the proposed technique was confirmed through simulation. Experiments demonstrated its applicability. This technique can provide a new tool for the NIR imaging of animal bodies and biometric authentication of a human body.
Acousto-optic interaction strengths in optically scattering media using high pressure acoustic pulses
Authors: Hill David , Bengtsson Alexander , Erlöv Tobias , Cinthio Magnus , Kröll Stefan
Published: April 2021

Ultrasound optical tomography (UOT) is a developing medical imaging technique with the potential to noninvasively image tissue oxygenation at depths of several centimeters in human tissue. To accurately model the UOT imaging, it is necessary the calculate the signal produced by the interaction between ultrasound and light in the scattering medium. In this paper we present a rigorous description for modeling this process for ultrasound pulses in the non-linear regime with peak pressures ranging up to the medical safety limit. Simulation results based on the presented model agree well with measurements performed with fully characterized ultrasound pulses. Our results also indicate that the UOT modeling process can be accurately simplified by disregarding the acoustically induced movement of scatterers. Our results suggest that the explored model and its software implementation can be used as a virtual lab to aid future development of pulses and UOT imaging algorithms.
Volumetric tumor delineation and assessment of its early response to radiotherapy with optical coherence tomography
Authors: Demidov Valentin , Demidova Natalia , Pires Layla , Demidova Olga , Flueraru Costel , Wilson Brian C. , Alex Vitkin I.
Published: April 2021

Texture analyses of optical coherence tomography (OCT) images have shown initial promise for differentiation of normal and tumor tissues. This work develops a fully automatic volumetric tumor delineation technique employing quantitative OCT image speckle analysis based on Gamma distribution fits. We test its performance in-vivo using immunodeficient mice with dorsal skin window chambers and subcutaneously grown tumor models. Tumor boundaries detection is confirmed using epi-fluorescence microscopy, combined photoacoustic-ultrasound imaging, and histology. Pilot animal study of tumor response to radiotherapy demonstrates high accuracy, objective nature, novelty of the proposed method in the volumetric separation of tumor and normal tissues, and the sensitivity of the fitting parameters to radiation-induced tissue changes. Overall, the developed methodology enables hitherto impossible longitudinal studies for detecting subtle tissue alterations stemming from therapeutic insult.
Excitability in an all-fiber laser with a saturable absorber section
Authors: Otupiri Robert , Garbin Bruno , Broderick Neil G. R. , Krauskopf Bernd
Published: April 2021

We report the first demonstration of excitability in an all-fiber
laser. We present clear experimental evidence in this passively

Q

-switched device with gain and
absorber sections for defining properties of excitability, including a
threshold-based excitable response and a decreasing reaction delay
between input pulse and excitatory response with increasing
perturbation amplitude. Our experimental results are consistent with
the homoclinic/saddle-loop mechanism that forms the basis of
excitability as demonstrated by a study of the Yamada model; they pave
the way toward novel and reliable all-fiber architectures for
neuro-inspired photonic memory and computing applications.
Localized modes and dark solitons sustained by nonlinear defects
Authors: Zeng Liangwei , Konotop Vladimir V. , Lu Xiaowei , Cai Yi , Zhu Qifan , Li Jingzhen
Published: April 2021

Dark solitons and localized defect modes against periodic backgrounds are considered in arrays of waveguides with defocusing Kerr nonlinearity, constituting a nonlinear lattice. Bright defect modes are supported by a local increase in nonlinearity, while dark defect modes are supported by a local decrease in nonlinearity. Dark solitons exist for both types of defects, although in the case of weak nonlinearity, they feature side bright humps, making the total energy propagating through the system larger than the energy transferred by the constant background. All considered defect modes are found stable. Dark solitons are characterized by relatively narrow windows of stability. Interactions of unstable dark solitons with bright and dark modes are described.
The global governance on automated facial recognition (AFR): ethical and legal opportunities and privacy challenges
Authors: Bu Qingxiu
Published: April 2021

The digital revolution transforms people’s view about values and priorities. Automated facial recognition (AFR) comes with many concerns as well as benefits. The technology raises significant legal and ethical challenges, which risk perpetuating systemic injustice unless countervailing measures are put in place. The way facial images are obtained and used, potentially without consent or opportunities to opt out, can have a negative impact on people’s privacy. Laws on privacy vary across jurisdictions, which has an enormous effect on measures that could be taken to safeguard AFR-related ethical concerns. In an era of digitalisation, the existing laws are ill-equipped to address evolving needs against threats to individual privacy. Integrating the principles of proportionality and necessity, of the upmost importance is to ensure the proper use of AFR in a socially responsible way. It is imperative to build an AFR infrastructure that incorporates society’s legal and ethical commitments, and further address the challenges of governing the technology.
ELAV/Hu RNA binding proteins determine multiple programs of neural alternative splicing
Authors: Lee Seungjae , Wei Lu , Zhang Binglong , Goering Raeann , Majumdar Sonali , Wen Jiayu , Taliaferro J. Matthew , Lai Eric C.
Published: April 2021

ELAV/Hu factors are conserved RNA binding proteins (RBPs) that play diverse roles in mRNA processing and regulation. The founding member,DrosophilaElav, was recognized as a vital neural factor 35 years ago. Nevertheless, little was known about its impacts on the transcriptome, and potential functional overlap with its paralogs. Building on our recent findings that neural-specific lengthened 3’ UTR isoforms are co-determined by ELAV/Hu factors, we address their impacts on splicing. While only a few splicing targets ofDrosophilaare known, ectopic expression of each of the three family members (Elav, Fne and Rbp9) alters hundreds of cassette exon and alternative last exon (ALE) splicing choices. Reciprocally, double mutants ofelav/fne, but notelavalone, exhibit opposite effects on both classes of regulated mRNA processing events in larval CNS. While manipulation ofDrosophilaELAV/Hu RBPs induces both exon skipping and inclusion, characteristic ELAV/Hu motifs are enriched only within introns flanking exons that are suppressed by ELAV/Hu factors. Moreover, the roles of ELAV/Hu factors in global promotion of distal ALE splicing are mechanistically linked to terminal 3’ UTR extensions in neurons, since both processes involve bypass of proximal polyadenylation signals linked to ELAV/Hu motifs downstream of cleavage sites. We corroborate the direct action of Elav in diverse modes of mRNA processing using RRM-dependent Elav-CLIP data from S2 cells. Finally, we provide evidence for conservation in mammalian neurons, which undergo broad programs of distal ALE and APA lengthening, linked to ELAV/Hu motifs downstream of regulated polyadenylation sites. Overall, ELAV/Hu RBPs orchestrate multiple broad programs of neuronal mRNA processing and isoform diversification inDrosophilaand mammalian neurons.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase 6 negatively regulates secondary wall biosynthesis by modulating MYB46 protein stability in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Im Jong Hee , Ko Jae-Heung , Kim Won-Chan , Crain Brent , Keathley Daniel , Han Kyung-Hwan
Published: April 2021

The R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB46 functions as a master switch for secondary cell wall biosynthesis, ensuring the exquisite expression of the secondary wall biosynthetic genes in the tissues where secondary walls are critical for growth and development. At the same time, suppression of its function is needed when/where formation of secondary walls is not desirable. Little is known about how this opposing control of secondary cell wall formation is achieved. We used both transient and transgenic expression of MYB46 and mitogen-activated protein kinase 6 (MPK6) to investigate the molecular mechanism of the post-translational regulation of MYB46. We show that MYB46 is phosphorylated by MPK6, leading to site specific phosphorylation-dependent degradation of MYB46 by the ubiquitin-mediated proteasome pathway. In addition, the MPK6-mediated MYB46 phosphorylation was found to regulatein plantasecondary wall forming function of MYB46. Furthermore, we provide experimental evidences that MYB83, a paralog of MYB46, is not regulated by MPK6. The coupling of MPK signaling to MYB46 function provides insights into the tissue- and/or condition-specific activity of MYB46 for secondary wall biosynthesis.
The RabGAP TBC-11 controls Argonaute localization for proper microRNA function in C. elegans
Authors: Michaud Pascale , Shah Vivek Nilesh , Adjibade Pauline , Houle Francois , Quévillon Huberdeau Miguel , Rioux Rachel , Lavoie-Ouellet Camille , Gu Weifeng , Mazroui Rachid , Simard Martin J.
Published: April 2021

Once loaded onto Argonaute proteins, microRNAs form a silencing complex called miRISC that targets mostly the 3’UTR of mRNAs to silence their translation. How microRNAs are transported to and from their target mRNA remains poorly characterized. While some reports linked intracellular trafficking to microRNA activity, it is still unclear how these pathways coordinate for proper microRNA-mediated gene silencing and turnover. Through a forward genetic screen usingCaenorhabditis elegans, we identified the RabGAPtbc-11as an important factor for the microRNA pathway. We show that TBC-11 acts mainly through the small GTPase RAB-6 and that its regulation is required for microRNA function. The absence of functional TBC-11 increases the pool of microRNA-unloaded Argonaute ALG-1 that is likely associated to endomembranes. Furthermore, in this condition, this pool of Argonaute accumulates in a perinuclear region and forms a high molecular weight complex. Altogether, our data suggest that the alteration of TBC-11 generates a fraction of ALG-1 that cannot bind to target mRNAs, leading to defective gene repression. Our results establish the importance of intracellular trafficking for microRNA function and demonstrate the involvement of a small GTPase and its GAP in proper Argonaute localizationin vivo.