bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Νομοθετικές παρεμβάσεις στην κοινωνική προστασία κατά την περίοδο των μνημονίων και της πανδημίας
Authors: Γανίδη Αικατερίνη
Published: December 2021

Αντικείμενο εξέτασης της παρούσας διατριβής είναι η επίδραση των νομοθετικών μεταβολών στο εργατικό δίκαιο και το δίκαιο κοινωνικής ασφάλισης κατά τη διάρκεια των κρίσεων στην εξέλιξη του κράτους πρόνοιας. Ερευνάται καταρχήν, κατά πόσον οι εκτενείς τροποποιήσεις στο θεσμικό πλαίσιο των προαναφερόμενων δικαιϊκών κλάδων, είχαν ως επακόλουθο τη μετακίνηση προσώπων από και προς καταστάσεις αποστέρησης. Περαιτέρω, ερευνώνται τα αίτια αυτής της μετακίνησης και ο βαθμός εξάρτησης και σύνδεσής της με τις ανωτέρω νομοθετικές μεταβολές. Επισημαίνεται, ότι η έρευνα της κατάστασης αποστέρησης προσεγγίζεται με αναφορά στους κυριότερους τομείς της ανθρώπινης ύπαρξης: εργασία, εκπαίδευση, κοινωνική ασφάλιση, υγεία. Παράλληλα, εξετάζεται η αποτελεσματικότητα των προνοιακών ρυθμίσεων που αναλήφθηκαν κατά τα έτη των κρίσεων, σε σχέση τόσο με τις διαχρονικές όσο και με τις νεοφανείς μορφές αποστέρησης. Με έναυσμα δε, την αντίδραση του κράτους πρόνοιας κατά την περίοδο των κρίσεων, ερευνώνται συνολικότερα οι αδυναμίες του και οι διαχρονικές αγκυλώσεις του και αξιοποιούνται τα διδάγματα των κρίσεων για την αποτίμηση του νομικού μετασχηματισμού του και την αποκάθαρση του προνοιακού δικαίου από συγγενείς κλάδους δικαίου. Τέλος, στο σύνολο της διατριβής αναδεικνύονται και εξειδικεύονται και οι θετικές επιπτώσεις των κρίσεων στη νομική επιστήμη είτε μέσω της αναγκαιότητας εκσυγχρονισμού της είτε μέσω της λειτουργίας της δικαιοσύνης, ως ασφαλιστικής δικλείδας αυτής.
PERINATAL PROTECTION OF FRUIT AND NEWBORN. INFLUENCE OF HARMFUL FACTORS ON FRUIT
Authors: Hadarceva K.
Published: December 2021

The lecture discusses the tasks of perinatology, the influence of damaging factors at different periods of gestation, types of damaging effects, perinatal diagnosis and prevention of risks of fetal damage.
Treatment Adherence in Patients with Mental Illnesses: The Effect of Stigma and Spirituality
Authors: Taheri Leila , Shamsaei Farshid , Sadeghian Efat , Tapak Leili
Published: December 2021

Aim of the study

Treatment nonadherence in patients with mental illnesses recurs and exacerbates the complications of the disease and disrupts the treatment process. Experienced stigma may aggravate treatment nonadherence while spiritual well-being may improve stigma and treatment adherence. This study aimed to determine the relationship of stigma with treatment adherence and spiritual well-being in patients with mental illnesses in Iran in 2019.

Subject or material and methods

This cross-sectional correlational study was performed on patients with mental illnesses who referred to Farshchian Psychiatry Hospital of Hamadan, from December 2018 to March 2019. A total of 250 available patients were selected and asked to complete demographic, stigma, treatment adherence, and spiritual well-being questionnaires under the supervision of a researcher. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and path analysis in SPSS22 and AMOS23.

Results

Mean stigma, treatment adherence, and spiritual well-being scores were calculated as 2.2±0.5, 139.89±27.52, and 83.12±19.5, respectively. The results showed a significant negative correlation between stigma and treatment adherence (r=-0.54, P<0.001). In addition, there was a significant direct relationship between treatment adherence and spiritual well-being (r=0.44, P<0.001) and a significant negative relationship between stigma and spiritual well-being (r=-0.48, P<0.001)

Discussion

The results showed a relationship between stigma and treatment adherence, stigma and spiritual well-being, and spiritual well-being and treatment adherence.

Conclusions

Then can be suggested that treatment teams can improve treatment adherence by undertaking several interventions to reduce stigma and promote spiritual well-being to prevent the adverse individual and social effects of treatment nonadherence
Criminal Disinformation in Relation to the Freedom of Expression in Indonesia: A Critical Study
Authors: Prahassacitta Vidya , Harkrisnowo Harkristuti
Published: December 2021

In a democratic society, the criminalisation of spreading disinformation is deemed a violation of freedom of expression. The development of information and communication technology, specifically the Internet, has changed people's perceptions of both disinformation and freedom of expression. This research critically analyses criminal law intervention against disinformation and freedom of expression in Indonesia. The research is document research using a comparative approach that analyses laws and regulations on disinformation in Indonesia, Germany, and Singapore. For Indonesian law, this research focuses on the provision of Articles 14 and 15 of Law No. 1/1946, which criminalises disinformation in the public sphere. This research shows that Indonesia needs a new approach regarding the criminal prohibition of spreading disinformation. It recommends that criminal law intervention is limited only to disinformation that is spread on a massive scale and causes significant harm.
Public Law and Administration under Conditions of Hybrid Warfare (The Experience of Ukraine)
Authors: Gurzhii Taras , Gurzhii Anna , Jakuszewicz Adam
Published: December 2021

Events that took place in Ukraine in 2014 transparently demonstrated the maladjustment of the national legal and administrative system to the challenges of hybrid warfare in times of peace. Although it took into account the possibility of direct military threats, it proved not to be ready for withstanding unconventional pressure. This state of affairs significantly weakened the state’s ability to resist and led to a number of dramatic political miscalculations, organizational failures, and acute social problems. The subsequent update of the national public law and administrative system made it possible to improve the situation, but at the same time it revealed a number of pressing issues related to the need to strike a balance between the state’s commitment to ensure the protection of human rights and the necessity to protect national security. In this sense the experience of Ukraine is instructive for many countries of the world, especially for those that are the target of the geopolitical ambitions of the modern Russia. The paper discusses the public law of Ukraine in recent years with the view of highlighting some key problems of legal regulation, as well as identifying some promising ways to develop public administration so that it is capable of effectively coping with the threats of hybrid warfare.
The Application of the Doctrine of Res Judicata in the Context of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: Analysis of the Court’s Decisions in the Gombert and Dexter Cases
Authors: Jamali Ayyoub , Faix Martin
Published: December 2021

As part of an ongoing discussion on the proliferation of the human rights judicial mechanism, this article critically analyses and unpacks the only two examples where the African Court had to decide on the application of the doctrine of res judicata under Article 56(7) of the African Charter. The Court declared both applications inadmissible on the grounds of their previous settlements by the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The article demonstrates that while the Court’s decision in the Gombert case appears to be correct in principle, its finding in the Dexter case is highly questionable and unconvincing.
Unloading the Judicial System in Kazakhstan? Alternative Ways of Resolving Individual Labour Disputes
Authors: Khamzina Zhanna Amangeldinovna , Buribayev Yermek , Turlykhankyzy Kuralay , Moldakhmetova Zhanar , Koshpenbetov Bakhytkali , Nessibeli Kalkayeva
Published: December 2021

The purpose of the study is to develop proposals for the modernization of the judicial form of protection of social and labour rights and interests of the individual. We are testing the hypothesis about the priority and universality of the judicial form of protection of rights in relation to other ways of applying for the restoration of violated labour interests; we assess access to justice as a criterion for the effectiveness of the judicial form of protection. The main method is a desk study of law enforcement practice, reports related to the functioning in Kazakhstan of a judicial form of protection of the social and labour rights of an individual, also the method of analysis of documents and statistical data of courts, a survey of examples of the best foreign practice in the work of specialized courts, and an analysis of international universal standards of access to justice in social and labour disputes.
Liminalność i ofiara. Midsommar. W biały dzień jako przykład folk horroru
Authors: Krzyżaniak Aleksandra
Published: December 2021

Recenzja: Midsommar. W biały dzień, reż. Ari Aster, scen. Ari Aster, Szwecja/USA/Węgry 2019.
Creencias y actitudes lingüísticas de los universitarios malagueños hacia la variedad andaluza.
Authors: Santos Díaz Inmaculada Clotilde , Ávila Muñoz Antonio Manuel
Published: December 2021

Las creencias y actitudes de los hablantes hacia las variedades lingüísticas condicionan los usos lingüísticos de forma muy relevante. Nuestro objetivo es conocer las percepciones de universitarios malagueños sobre la variedad andaluza. Asumimos la metodología del Proyecto PRECAVES XXI, cuyo propósito es conocer las actitudes y creencias hacia las variedades normativas del español. Las tres variedades más reconocidas por nuestros informantes (N=206) fueron la rioplatense, castellana y andaluza. A pesar de estar evaluando la variedad propia, los resultados muestran que el andaluz está fuertemente estigmatizado: es considerada la variedad menos culta, inteligible y educada de todas las mostradas y se relaciona con personas con el peor nivel de estudios de todos los locutores escuchados. Además, el empleo de esta variedad tampoco se asocia con profesionales altamente cualificados. Estos resultados podrían ser relevantes en los ámbitos identitario y educativo, donde se debería seguir fomentando la valoración equitativa de las variedades lingüísticas.
Toponimia y olvido: observaciones sobre un grupo de topónimos extintos en Gata (Cáceres).
Authors: Gil Jacinto Francisco Javier
Published: December 2021

Este trabajo analiza las causas por las que algunos topónimos, tras gozar por un tiempo de plena vitalidad, dejan luego de usarse. La nómina de los aquí analizados está formada por aquellos nombres que aparecen consignados en las fuentes documentales antiguas consultadas para elaborar el corpus toponímico de Gata (Cáceres) y que se encuentran ausentes en los registros actuales. Por tanto, la metodología para su recopilación y análisis no difiere de los criterios establecidos en el proyecto PRONORMA, tenido en cuenta para los topónimos vigentes, salvo en lo que se refiere a la propuesta de una serie de hipótesis explicativas para la desaparición de las designaciones perdidas. Los resultados muestran que su extinción, lo mismo que su creación, está íntimamente ligada a los avatares sociales, históricos y económicos de la comunidad rural en la que nacieron, alcanzaron cierta vitalidad y se perdieron.
El giro iconotextual en las letras mexicanas recientes (1960-2020). Apuntes para una historiografía.
Authors: Giovine Yáñez María Andrea
Published: December 2021

A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, tanto desde el ámbito de la literatura como desde el de las artes visuales, se han producido numerosas obras que dan cuenta de lo que propongo denominar el “giro iconotextual”, el cual implica un auge en la producción y consumo de dispositivos híbridos que conjugan elementos verbales y visuales para producir un universo semiótico integrado. El presente ensayo explica lo que se entiende por dicho giro, muestra los antecedentes que lo hicieron posible en las letras mexicanas y realiza un recorrido de tipo historiográfico por obras iconotextuales paradigmáticas pertenecientes a distintos contextos, temporalidades y procesos que, a través de su retórica híbrida, de su sintaxis iconotextual, proponen diversas dinámicas de escritura y de lectura que problematizan y extienden el concepto mismo de legibilidad.
Distributionally Robust Optimization Under a Decision-Dependent Ambiguity Set with Applications to Machine Scheduling and Humanitarian Logistics
Authors: Noyan Nilay , Rudolf Gábor , Lejeune Miguel
Published: December 2021

We introduce a new class of distributionally robust optimization problems under decision-dependent ambiguity sets. In particular, as our ambiguity sets, we consider balls centered on a decision-dependent probability distribution. The balls are based on a class of earth mover’s distances that includes both the total variation distance and the Wasserstein metrics. We discuss the main computational challenges in solving the problems of interest and provide an overview of various settings leading to tractable formulations. Some of the arising side results, such as the mathematical programming expressions for robustified risk measures in a discrete space, are also of independent interest. Finally, we rely on state-of-the-art modeling techniques from machine scheduling and humanitarian logistics to arrive at potentially practical applications, and present a numerical study for a novel risk-averse scheduling problem with controllable processing times.

Summary of Contribution: In this study, we introduce a new class of optimization problems that simultaneously address distributional and decision-dependent uncertainty. We present a unified modeling framework along with a discussion on possible ways to specify the key model components, and discuss the main computational challenges in solving the complex problems of interest. Special care has been devoted to identifying the settings and problem classes where these challenges can be mitigated. In particular, we provide model reformulation results, including mathematical programming expressions for robustified risk measures, and describe how these results can be utilized to obtain tractable formulations for specific applied problems from the fields of humanitarian logistics and machine scheduling. Toward demonstrating the value of the modeling approach and investigating the performance of the proposed mixed-integer linear programming formulations, we conduct a computational study on a novel risk-averse machine scheduling problem with controllable processing times. We derive insights regarding the decision-making impact of our modeling approach and key parameter choices.
Durable Goods Adoption and the Consumer Discount Factor: A Case Study of the Norwegian Book Market
Authors: Daljord Øystein
Published: December 2021

We exploit a change in Norway’s fixed book pricing policies to construct exclusion restrictions with which to identify consumers’ discount factor. We assume that the policy change generated an unanticipated, exogenous shock to consumers’ expectations about future price cuts. Our findings suggest that consumers are much more impatient than would be implied by the real rate of interest, challenging the standard assumed rate of discounting in the extant literature on dynamic demand estimation. The high rate of consumer impatience is consistent with laboratory studies in the behavioral economics and decision-making literatures.

This paper was accepted by Matthew Shum, marketing.
Gamification and its Applications
Authors: Prasad KDV
Published: December 2021

In the recent past, gamification is a new buzzing word and is used frequently by researchers in particular in the area of management. Gamification is applying gaming and using gaming components and procedures in a non-gaming environment. The three main components of gamification are game elements – a design prototype which can be integrated into the game; game design – A complete procedure building engaging games, based on business objectives, technical feasibility and management expectations; the last one is the non-game environment – The non-gaming environment is the components involved in real-world business and social impact objectives and goals. If gamification is applied correctly in a business or social environment, the results will be amazing and can inspire the business community decisions. Gamification can be the future of the business and can make the business environment the gaming components fun and those fun and appealing components can be applied in real-life business activities. To make gamification effective the game dynamics, game design, behavioural change, and motivation are the aspects that need to be combined applied in non-gaming environment. This brief note presents the main ideologies that can the gamification design in the business environment more successful. The author also narrates whene the gamification procedures can be useful in the business world.
Human Rights Disclosures, Corporate Governance Mechanisms, and Firm Performance: Directions for Future Research
Authors: Ismail Tariq H. , Abd-El-Fattah Hala Abd-El-Naby , Adel El-Gamal Hanan
Published: December 2021

This paper aims at investigating and scrutinizing prior literature of human rights disclosures, corporate governance mechanisms and their effect on firm performance in an attempt to unveil the influence of non-financial disclosures such as human rights on the corporation’s financial performance. We highlighted that the “board of directors” plays a vital role as one of the “corporate governance” mechanisms in spreading the awareness of the importance of “human rights” issues that might impact the corporation. Additionally, we propose the need for a change in corporate governance mechanisms to be more accountable towards human rights. Also, our analysis suggests that human rights disclosures impact the corporation’s image which in turn could be translated into increasing sales that would eventually influence the financial performance of the corporation. Therefore, this paper sheds the light on directions for future research that will explore the association between human rights disclosures and firm performance through incorporating corporate governance mechanisms.
Psychological Status of Private Commercial Bank Employees in Bangladesh during COVID-19
Authors: Rahman Md. Mizanur , Uddin Md. Bashir , Chowdhury Md. Solaiman , Rahaman Md. Saidur
Published: December 2021

On March 8, 2020, the first Covid-19 case was registered in Bangladesh, and the first death occurred on March 18, 2020. Still, the positive corona patients including banking employees are rising around and many negative thoughts are also increasing day by day in mind. These circumstances make the employees worried. Consequently, this paper's fundamental objective is to find out the psychological status of private commercial bank employees during COVID-19. Using a random sampling technique and a questionnaire through "Google Form" the data was gathered from 151 employees. For the completion of the data analysis procedures, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-22 Version) was used. The major findings showed a maximum of 91% of employees felt nervous when s (he) hears someone died from COVID-19. In addition, 83% of employees are always fear of COVID-19 infection, 81% of employees are fear when they hear someone got tested positive for COVID-19. Besides, 49% of bank employees cannot concentrate on their regular activities while 40% of employees are stressed to lose their current job due to COVID-19. The policy-making authorities of private commercial banks in Bangladesh will get an opportunity to know the employees' psychological status during COVID-19. They can also make some necessary measures (based on our recommendations) to overcome these challenges.
Inertia Sets of Semicliqued Graphs
Authors: Yielding Amy , Hunt Taylor , Jacobs Joel , Juarez Jazmine , Rhoton Taylor , Sell Heath
Published: December 2021

In this paper, we investigate inertia sets of simple connected undirected graphs. The main focus is on the shape of their corresponding inertia tables, in particular whether or not they are trapezoidal. This paper introduces a special family of graphs created from any given graph, $G$, coined semicliqued graphs and denoted $\widetilde{K}G$. We establish the minimum rank and inertia sets of some $\widetilde{K}G$ in relation to the original graph $G$. For special classes of graphs, $G$, it can be shown that the inertia set of $G$ is a subset of the inertia set of $\widetilde{K}G$. We provide the inertia sets for semicliqued cycles, paths, stars, complete graphs, and for a class of trees. In addition, we establish an inertia set bound for semicliqued complete bipartite graphs.
Restoration of elective spine surgery during the first wave of COVID-19
Authors: Mohammed Riaz , Shah Pranav , Durst Alexander , Mathai Naveen J. , Budu Alexandru , Woodfield Julie , Marjoram Tom , Sewell Matthew ,   The BASS Collaborative Study Group
Published: December 2021

Aims

With resumption of elective spine surgery services in the UK following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a multicentre British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) collaborative study to examine the complications and deaths due to COVID-19 at the recovery phase of the pandemic. The aim was to analyze the safety of elective spinal surgery during the pandemic.

Methods

A prospective observational study was conducted from eight spinal centres for the first month of operating following restoration of elective spine surgery in each individual unit. Primary outcome measure was the 30-day postoperative COVID-19 infection rate. Secondary outcomes analyzed were the 30-day mortality rate, surgical adverse events, medical complications, and length of inpatient stay.

Results

In all, 257 patients (128 males) with a median age of 54 years (2 to 88) formed the study cohort. The mean number of procedures performed from each unit was 32 (16 to 101), with 118 procedures (46%) done as category three prioritization level. The majority of patients (87%) were low-medium “risk stratification” category and the mean length of hospital stay was 5.2 days. None of the patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection, nor was there any mortality related to COVID-19 during the 30-day follow-up period, with 25 patients (10%) having been tested for symptoms. Overall, 32 patients (12%) developed a total of 34 complications, with the majority (19/34) being grade 1 to 2 Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications. No patient required postoperative care in an intensive care setting for any unexpected complication.

Conclusion

This study shows that safe and effective planned spinal surgical services can be restored avoiding viral transmission, with diligent adherence to national guidelines and COVID-19-secure pathways tailored according to the resources of the individual spinal units. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(12):1096–1101.
Old, Broken, Disposable: Critical Discourse Analysis of the Public Health Narrative About At-Risk Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Costa Rica
Authors: Ramírez Gabriela Arguedas
Published: December 2021

During February and March, in Costa Rica, as well as in many other countries in Latin America, public health authorities and government officials insisted that there was no reason to panic or to hoard toilet paper, canned food, and disinfectants. Even though, by this time, the World Health Organization had declared that transmission of the viral infection caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) had reached the level of pandemic, these health authorities and elected officials asserted that most people need not feel afraid. After all, they claimed, the disease caused by this virus appeared to be mild in most cases, that is, except in people older than 70 years of age and people with concomitant health issues such hypertension or diabetes. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the epistemic authority from which the dominant narrative about COVID-19 has emerged in Costa Rica is rooted in extended and normalized discriminatory and oppressive ideologies regarding the value of people and their bodies. This official discourse is an expression of the condescending and paternalistic tradition of medical epistemology in the country. With this paper, therefore, I make a critical contribution to the exploration of the following questions. How does this narrative discourse affect older people, people with disabilities, and people who live with physical circumstances such as hypertension or diabetes? Does this narrative discourse help the general public, fairly and in a dignify manner, to understand the risks of contagion with respect to COVID-19 and the preventative measures required to avoid the infection?
African Communitarian Philosophy of Personhood and Disability: The Asymmetry of Value and Power in Access to Healthcare
Authors: Imafidon Elvis
Published: December 2021

In this essay, I explore the asymmetry of value and power inherent in African communitarian philosophy's assumptions about personhood and the implications of these assumptions for disabled people's access to healthcare in the COVID-19 pandemic era. While African communitarian philosophy forms the fulcrum on which people in an African community thrive and survive, it is also essentially laden with an ontology of exclusion that prioritizes some people as persons over other people who are cast as non-persons. Disabled people – including persons with albinism, autistic people, persons with epilepsy, and persons with angular kyphosis – are excluded as non-persons in this way and are thus unable to enjoy the support of the communitarian structure. In pursuance of the objective of this essay, I begin with an exposition of the nature and contents of African communitarian philosophy. I proceed to analyse the conception of personhood deeply rooted in African philosophy and, by implication, the exclusion of certain beings and persons from the African communitarian philosophical structure. I then show the privileges in terms of value and power that people included within the community of selves enjoy as opposed to the disvalue and lack of power that those excluded from this community face. I show furthermore how this devaluation and disempowerment can become major challenges to wellbeing and healthcare for disabled people, particularly hindering access to healthcare even during a pandemic. I conclude by arguing for the importance of a broad sense of community in African philosophy rather than the narrow sense of community that is currently in place.
Zoonosis and the Polis: COVID-19 and Frantz Fanon's Critique of the Modern Colony
Authors: Parker Emily Anne
Published: December 2021

The critiques of modernity by Bruno Latour and Amitav Ghosh are important for understanding the global pandemic of COVID-19 as well as modern responses to it. In spite of this importance, each maintains a commitment to the polis and “the body” – a falsely universal body that opposes itself to others. I seek to extend their critique while also addressing the polis. In this essay, I argue that a helpful response is anticipated by French philosopher and decolonial psychiatrist Frantz Fanon. In The wretched of the Earth, Fanon's critique of the Manichaean distinctions between human and earthly agency, human and body, human and animal is the framework for his understanding of the significance of colonial wartime “cortico-visceral disorders.” The colony is (1) a manifestation on the part of the European polis of disgust for blackness, for animality, the agency of soil, the powers of the sun, for disability that the colony itself often causes and always denies, and (2) simultaneously an effort to install a supposedly nonracialized, non-disabled man, a universal body, and unilateral agency. A Fanonian response to the global pandemic and climate crisis would thus appreciate the myriad crises that arise precisely when humanity is thought to be the opposite of Earth.
COVID-19 and the Disinheritance of an Ableist World
Authors: Flowers Johnathan
Published: December 2021

This paper will resituate the presumed accessibility gains that have emerged in the wake of COVID-19 not as gains for disabled people, but rather as the products of a world that is prepared for some people and some bodies and not for other people and other bodies. I will show that a more productive approach to understanding the sudden possibility of impossible accommodations would be accomplished by drawing upon Sara Ahmed's treatment of the inheritance of a world, inheritance that places some objects within one's reach while denying one access to other objects. On this view, ableism, as an organizing force in the world, serves to determine what bodies can and cannot do by virtue of the way that it “prepares” the world for some bodies and not for other bodies. As I will argue, the previous impossibility of the current widespread accommodations in academia and society broadly was due to the inheritance of an ableist world. designed to be inherited by some people and their bodies and not by other people and their bodies.
Repeated imaging through a multimode optical fiber using adaptive optics
Authors: Schmidt Carla C. , Turcotte Raphaël , Booth Martin J. , Emptage Nigel J.
Published: December 2021

Multimode optical fibers (MMF) have shown considerable potential for minimally invasive diffraction-limited fluorescence imaging of deep brain regions owing to their small size. They also look to be suitable for imaging across long time periods, with repeated measurements performed within the same brain region, which is useful to assess the role of synapses in normal brain function and neurological disease. However, the approach is not without challenge. Prior to imaging, light propagation through a MMF must be characterized in a calibration procedure. Manual repositioning, as required for repeated imaging, renders this calibration invalid. In this study, we provide a two-step solution to the problem consisting of (1) a custom headplate enabling precise reinsertion of the MMF implant achieving low-quality focusing and (2) sensorless adaptive optics to correct translational shifts in the MMF position enabling generation of high-quality imaging foci. We show that this approach achieves fluorescence imaging after repeated removal and reinsertion of a MMF.
Dissipative Kerr soliton microcombs for FEC-free optical communications over 100 channels
Authors: Fujii Shun , Tanaka Shuya , Ohtsuka Tamiki , Kogure Soma , Wada Koshiro , Kumazaki Hajime , Tasaka Shun , Hashimoto Yosuke , Kobayashi Yuta , Araki Tomohiro , Furusawa Kentaro , Sekine Norihiko , Kawanishi Satoki , Tanabe Takasumi
Published: December 2021

The demand for high-speed and highly efficient optical communication techniques has been rapidly growing due to the ever-increasing volume of data traffic. As well as the digital coherent communication used for core and metro networks, intensity modulation and direct detection (IM-DD) are still promising schemes in intra/inter data centers thanks to their low latency, high reliability, and good cost performance. In this work, we study a microresonator-based frequency comb as a potential light source for future IM-DD optical systems where applications may include replacing individual stabilized lasers with a continuous laser driven microresonator. Regarding comb line powers and spectral intervals, we compare a modulation instability comb and a soliton microcomb and provide a quantitative analysis with regard to telecom applications. Our experimental demonstration achieved a forward error correction (FEC) free operation of bit-error rate (BER) <10−9 with a 1.45 Tbps capacity using a total of 145 lines over the entire C-band and revealed the possibility of soliton microcomb-based ultra-dense wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) with a simple, cost-effective IM-DD scheme, with a view to future practical use in data centers.
Numerical approaches for the rapid analysis of prophylactic efficacy against HIV with arbitrary drug-dosing schemes
Authors: Zhang Lanxin , Wang Junyu , von Kleist Max
Published: December 2021

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important pillar to prevent HIV transmission. Because of experimental and clinical shortcomings, mathematical models that integrate pharmacological, viral- and host factors are frequently used to quantify clinical efficacy of PrEP. Stochastic simulations of these models provides sample statistics from which the clinical efficacy is approximated. However, many stochastic simulations are needed to reduce the associated sampling error. To remedy the shortcomings of stochastic simulation, we developed a numerical method that allows predicting the efficacy of arbitrary prophylactic regimen directly from a viral dynamics model, without sampling. We apply the method to various hypothetical dolutegravir (DTG) prophylaxis scenarios. The approach is verified against state-of-the-art stochastic simulation. While the method is more accurate than stochastic simulation, it is superior in terms of computational performance. For example, a continuous 6-month prophylactic profile is computed within a few seconds on a laptop computer. The method’s computational performance, therefore, substantially expands the horizon of feasible analysis in the context of PrEP, and possibly other applications.
A data-informed mean-field approach to mapping of cortical parameter landscapes
Authors: Xiao Zhuo-Cheng , Lin Kevin K. , Young Lai-Sang
Published: December 2021

Constraining the many biological parameters that govern cortical dynamics is computationally and conceptually difficult because of the curse of dimensionality. This paper addresses these challenges by proposing (1) a novel data-informed mean-field (MF) approach to efficiently map the parameter space of network models; and (2) an organizing principle for studying parameter space that enables the extraction biologically meaningful relations from this high-dimensional data. We illustrate these ideas using a large-scale network model of the Macaque primary visual cortex. Of the 10-20 model parameters, we identify 7 that are especially poorly constrained, and use the MF algorithm in (1) to discover the firing rate contours in this 7D parameter cube. Defining a “biologically plausible” region to consist of parameters that exhibit spontaneous Excitatory and Inhibitory firing rates compatible with experimental values, we find that this region is a slightly thickened codimension-1 submanifold. An implication of this finding is that while plausible regimes depend sensitively on parameters, they are also robust and flexible provided one compensates appropriately when parameters are varied. Our organizing principle for conceptualizing parameter dependence is to focus on certain 2D parameter planes that govern lateral inhibition: Intersecting these planes with the biologically plausible region leads to very simple geometric structures which, when suitably scaled, have a universal character independent of where the intersections are taken. In addition to elucidating the geometry of the plausible region, this invariance suggests useful approximate scaling relations. Our study offers, for the first time, a complete characterization of the set of all biologically plausible parameters for a detailed cortical model, which has been out of reach due to the high dimensionality of parameter space.
Integration of whole genome sequencing and transcriptomics reveals a complex picture of the reestablishment of insecticide resistance in the major malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii
Authors: Ingham Victoria A. , Tennessen Jacob A. , Lucas Eric R. , Elg Sara , Yates Henrietta Carrington , Carson Jessica , Guelbeogo Wamdaogo Moussa , Sagnon N’Fale , Hughes Grant L. , Heinz Eva , Neafsey Daniel E. , Ranson Hilary
Published: December 2021

Insecticide resistance is a major threat to gains in malaria control, which have been stalling and potentially reversing since 2015. Studies into the causal mechanisms of insecticide resistance are painting an increasingly complicated picture, underlining the need to design and implement targeted studies on this phenotype. In this study, we compare three populations of the major malaria vector An. coluzzii: a susceptible and two resistant colonies with the same genetic background. The original colonised resistant population rapidly lost resistance over a 6-month period, a subset of this population was reselected with pyrethroids, and a third population of this colony that did not lose resistance was also available. The original resistant, susceptible and re-selected colonies were subject to RNAseq and whole genome sequencing, which identified a number of changes across the transcriptome and genome linked with resistance. Firstly, an increase in the expression of genes within the oxidative phosphorylation pathway were seen in both resistant populations compared to the susceptible control; this translated phenotypically through an increased respiratory rate, indicating that elevated metabolism is linked directly with resistance. Genome sequencing highlighted several blocks clearly associated with resistance, including the 2Rb inversion. Finally, changes in the microbiome profile were seen, indicating that the microbial composition may play a role in the resistance phenotype. Taken together, this study reveals a highly complicated phenotype in which multiple transcriptomic, genomic and microbiome changes combine to result in insecticide resistance.
Co-existing TP53 and ARID1A mutations promote aggressive endometrial tumorigenesis
Authors: Reske Jake J. , Wilson Mike R. , Holladay Jeanne , Siwicki Rebecca A. , Skalski Hilary , Harkins Shannon , Adams Marie , Risinger John I. , Hostetter Galen , Lin Ken , Chandler Ronald L.
Published: December 2021

TP53 and ARID1A are frequently mutated across cancer but rarely in the same primary tumor. Endometrial cancer has the highest TP53-ARID1A mutual exclusivity rate. However, the functional relationship between TP53 and ARID1A mutations in the endometrium has not been elucidated. We used genetically engineered mice and in vivo genomic approaches to discern both unique and overlapping roles of TP53 and ARID1A in the endometrium. TP53 loss with oncogenic PIK3CAH1047R in the endometrial epithelium results in features of endometrial hyperplasia, adenocarcinoma, and intraepithelial carcinoma. Mutant endometrial epithelial cells were transcriptome profiled and compared to control cells and ARID1A/PIK3CA mutant endometrium. In the context of either TP53 or ARID1A loss, PIK3CA mutant endometrium exhibited inflammatory pathway activation, but other gene expression programs differed based on TP53 or ARID1A status, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Gene expression patterns observed in the genetic mouse models are reflective of human tumors with each respective genetic alteration. Consistent with TP53-ARID1A mutual exclusivity, the p53 pathway is activated following ARID1A loss in the endometrial epithelium, where ARID1A normally directly represses p53 pathway genes in vivo, including the stress-inducible transcription factor, ATF3. However, co-existing TP53-ARID1A mutations led to invasive adenocarcinoma associated with mutant ARID1A-driven ATF3 induction, reduced apoptosis, TP63+ squamous differentiation and invasion. These data suggest TP53 and ARID1A mutations drive shared and distinct tumorigenic programs in the endometrium and promote invasive endometrial cancer when existing simultaneously. Hence, TP53 and ARID1A mutations may co-occur in a subset of aggressive or metastatic endometrial cancers, with ARID1A loss promoting squamous differentiation and the acquisition of invasive properties.
Effect of Morus alba leaf extract dose on lipid oxidation, microbiological stability, and sensory evaluation of functional liver pâtés during refrigerated storage
Authors: Bilska Agnieszka
Published: December 2021

Mulberry (Morus alba L.), and above all the extract from the leaves of this plant, is a natural medicine that has been used in traditional medicine for hundreds of years. Mulberry leaves contains polyphenol compounds: flavonoids, coumarins, numerous phenolic acids, as well as terpenes and steroids. The antioxidant effect of these compounds may be beneficial to the fat fraction of meat products, thereby increasing their functional qualities. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of mulberry water leaf extract, as an additive limiting adverse fat changes and affecting the functionality in model liver pâtés. Pork pâtés were prepared by replacing 20% of animal fat with rapeseed oil (RO), and water extract of mulberry leaves was added in the proportion of 0.2%, 0.6% and 1.0%. It has been shown that the addition of mulberry leaf extract delayed the appearance of primary and secondary fat oxidation products. The most effective antioxidant effect during 15-day storage was observed in the sample with the addition of 0.6% and 1.0% water mulberry leaf extract. These samples also showed inhibiting activity against angiotensin-converting enzymes and cholinesterase’s. During storage, the tested pâtés had a high sensory quality with unchanged microbiological quality. Mulberry leaf extract can be an interesting addition to the production of fat meat products, delaying adverse changes in the lipid fraction and increasing the functionality of products.
Prevalence and predictive factors for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome by electrodiagnosis: A retrospective study
Authors: Singjam Apiradee , Charoentanyarak Kanchana , Saengsuwan Jittima
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common compressive neuropathy. Patients who have unilateral symptoms are frequently found to have bilateral CTS by electrodiagnostic (EDx) study. We aimed to (a) study the prevalence and identify the predictive factors for bilateral CTS diagnosed by EDx; and (b) develop a model to predict bilateral CTS.

Methods

The retrospective clinical and EDx data of patients with CTS were collected and analyzed using the Chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression analysis. A model was fitted, and the best cutoff point determined. Calibration and discrimination performance of the model were performed.

Results

A total of 327 patients with a mean age of 50.0 years were enrolled. Most were women (82.6%), and the most common presenting symptom was hand numbness (93.6%). The median duration of symptoms was 60 days. The prevalence of bilateral CTS was 80.7%. In the multivariate analysis, the predictive factors for bilateral CTS were the presence of bilateral symptoms (AOR 6.7 [95%CI 3.1–14.3]), thenar muscle weakness (AOR 3.9 [95%CI 1.3–11.6]), and age ≥ 45 years (AOR 2.5 [95%CI 1.3–4.6]). The logistic regression model was fitted, and the best cutoff point determined. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) was 0.76. The respective optimism-corrected C index and Somers’ D was 0.762 and 0.524.

Conclusion

The prevalence of bilateral CTS was 80.7%. Our findings suggest bilateral CTS was predicted with adequate diagnostic accuracy by bilateral symptoms, age ≥ 45 years, and thenar muscle weakness.
The risks and benefits of providing HIV services during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Stover John , Kelly Sherrie L. , Mudimu Edinah , Green Dylan , Smith Tyler , Taramusi Isaac , Bansi-Matharu Loveleen , Martin-Hughes Rowan , Phillips Andrew N. , Bershteyn Anna
Published: December 2021

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions including to health services. In the early response to the pandemic many countries restricted population movements and some health services were suspended or limited. In late 2020 and early 2021 some countries re-imposed restrictions. Health authorities need to balance the potential harms of additional SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to contacts associated with health services against the benefits of those services, including fewer new HIV infections and deaths. This paper examines these trade-offs for select HIV services.

Methods

We used four HIV simulation models (Goals, HIV Synthesis, Optima HIV and EMOD) to estimate the benefits of continuing HIV services in terms of fewer new HIV infections and deaths. We used three COVID-19 transmission models (Covasim, Cooper/Smith and a simple contact model) to estimate the additional deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 transmission among health workers and clients. We examined four HIV services: voluntary medical male circumcision, HIV diagnostic testing, viral load testing and programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission. We compared COVID-19 deaths in 2020 and 2021 with HIV deaths occurring now and over the next 50 years discounted to present value. The models were applied to countries with a range of HIV and COVID-19 epidemics.

Results

Maintaining these HIV services could lead to additional COVID-19 deaths of 0.002 to 0.15 per 10,000 clients. HIV-related deaths averted are estimated to be much larger, 19–146 discounted deaths per 10,000 clients.

Discussion

While there is some additional short-term risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission associated with providing HIV services, the risk of additional COVID-19 deaths is at least 100 times less than the HIV deaths averted by those services. Ministries of Health need to take into account many factors in deciding when and how to offer essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work shows that the benefits of continuing key HIV services are far larger than the risks of additional SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Diagnostic and prognostic potential of eight whole blood microRNAs for equine sarcoid disease
Authors: Cosandey Jeanne , Hamza Eman , Gerber Vinzenz , Ramseyer Alessandra , Leeb Tosso , Jagannathan Vidhya , Blaszczyk Klaudia , Unger Lucia
Published: December 2021

MicroRNAs have been proposed as biomarkers for equine sarcoids, the most prevalent equine skin tumors globally. This study served to validate the diagnostic and prognostic potential of whole blood microRNAs identified in a previous study for long-term equine sarcoid diagnosis and outcome prediction. Based on findings of a clinical examination at the age of 3 years and a follow-up following a further 5–12 years, 32 Franches-Montagnes and 45 Swiss Warmblood horses were assigned to four groups: horses with regression (n = 19), progression (n = 9), new occurrences of sarcoid lesions (n = 19) and tumor-free control horses (n = 30). The expression levels for eight microRNAs (eca-miR-127, eca-miR-432, eca-miR-24, eca-miR-125a-5p, eca-miR-134, eca-miR-379, eca-miR-381, eca-miR-382) were analyzed through reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction in whole blood samples collected on initial examination. Associations of sex, breed, diagnosis, and prognosis with microRNA expression levels were examined using multivariable analysis of variance. Sex and breed influenced the expression level of five and two microRNAs, respectively. Eca-miR-127 allowed discrimination between sarcoid-affected and tumor-free horses. No variation in microRNA expression was found when comparing horses with sarcoid regression and progression. Expression levels of eca-miR-125a-5p and eca-miR-432 varied in male horses that developed sarcoids throughout the study period in comparison to male control horses. While none of the investigated miRNAs was validated for predicting the prognosis of sarcoid regression / progression within young horses with this condition, two miRNAs demonstrated potential to predict if young male (though not female) tumor-free horse can develop sarcoids within the following years. Sex- and breed- biased miRNAs exist within the equine species and have an impact on biomarker discovery.