bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ESMO/ASCO Recommendations for a Global Curriculum in Medical Oncology Edition 2023
Authors: Cufer Tanja , Kosty Michael P. ,   on behalf of the Curriculum Development Subgroup—ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum Working Group
Published: October 2023

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and ASCO are publishing a new edition of the ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum (GC) with contributions from more than 150 authors. The purpose of the GC is to provide recommendations for the training of physicians in medical oncology and to establish a set of educational standards for trainees to qualify as medical oncologists. This edition builds on prior ones in 2004, 2010, and 2016 and incorporates scientific advances and input from an ESMO ASCO survey on GC adoption conducted in 2019, which revealed that GC has been adopted or adapted in as many as two thirds of the countries surveyed. To make GC even more useful and applicable, certain subchapters were rearranged into stand-alone chapters, that is, cancer epidemiology, diagnostics, and research. In line with recent progress in the field of multidisciplinary cancer care new (sub)chapters, such as image-guided therapy, cell-based therapy, and nutritional support, were added. Moreover, this edition includes an entirely new chapter dedicated to cancer control principles, aiming to ensure that medical oncologists are able to identify and implement sustainable and equitable cancer care, tailored to local needs and resources. Besides content renewal, modern didactic principles were introduced. GC content is presented using two chapter templates (cancer-specific and non–cancer-specific), with three didactic points (objectives, key concepts, and skills). The next step is promoting GC as a contemporary and comprehensive document applicable all over the world, particularly due to its capacity to harmonize education in medical oncology and, in so doing, help to reduce global disparities in cancer care.
Time Divide, Gender Divide: Gender, Work, and Family in South Korea
Authors: Cha Youngjoo , Kim Seung-kyung
Published: October 2023

South Korea is celebrated for its rapid economic growth and development, but gender equity is far out of reach in the South Korean economy: women’s labor force participation remains among the lowest, and the gender gap in pay is among the largest among the advanced industrialized countries. What explains this pervasive and persistent gender disparity? In this introductory essay, the authors argue that the social organization of time—specifically, how time is used and valuated—is an important proximate mechanism that creates and reinforces gender inequality in South Korea. Following the logic of gender, which dictates what women and men should do at work and in the family and how hours spent on these domains are compensated economically and culturally, the time divide takes a deeply gendered form and creates unequal economic outcomes between women and men. The authors also argue that the time divide is more consequential in South Korea, relative to other countries, because two cultural forces—work culture emphasizing long work hours and parenting culture emphasizing gender essentialism—both operate at the highest level. At the end of this essay, the authors put forth ideas about how organizational and institutional policies might help to reform this deeply gendered system.
Haunting Biology
Authors: Kowal Emma
Published: October 2023

In Haunting Biology Emma Kowal recounts the troubled history of Western biological studies of Indigenous Australians and asks how we now might see contemporary genomics, especially that conducted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scientists. Kowal illustrates how the material persistence of samples over decades and centuries folds together the fates of different scientific methodologies. Blood, bones, hair, comparative anatomy, human biology, physiology, and anthropological genetics all haunt each other across time and space, together with the many racial theories they produced and sustained. The stories Kowal tells feature a variety of ghostly presences: a dead anatomist, a fetishized piece of hair hidden away in a war trunk, and an elusive white Indigenous person. By linking this history to contemporary genomics and twenty-first-century Indigeneity, Kowal outlines the fraught complexities, perils, and potentials of studying Indigenous biological difference in the twenty-first century.
A Study on the Evaluation of Pesticides for the Conservation of Wooden Cultural Heritages
Authors: Kim Young Hee , Lee Jeung Min , Won Seo Young , Seo Won Sook , Kim Myoung Nam , Park Ji Hee
Published: October 2023

Although no regulations specify safety and performance evaluations for biological pest control agents used on wooden cultural artifacts, the revised 2019 Cultural Heritage Repair Standards state that the agents used on cultural artifacts must be approved by the National Institute of Environmental Sciences. In addition, the performance evaluations of these agents should comply with the performance standards specified in the Korean Forestry Promotion Institute Standard Test Method, as stated in the standards. This study performed performance evaluations on one type of agent currently used for biological pest control on wooden cultural artifacts and two types of imported wood preservative products on the domestic market. For performance evaluation, we conducted tests for decay resistance, termite resistance, mold resistance, corrosion resistance, and moisture absorption, and analyzed residue levels of active ingredients through outdoor exposure tests to confirm the persistence of the biocide during natural weathering processes. The results of this study aim to summarize the testing procedures and methods for performance evaluation, identify areas for improvement, and utilize the test results as a basis for establishing standards for the evaluation of biocidal agents.
Conservation Treatment of Wooden Artifacts Excavated at the Bongseon-ri Site in Seocheon, Korea
Authors: Park Chang Hyun , Oh Jeong Eun , Lee Chang Ho , Kim Soo Chul
Published: October 2023

Nine wooden artifacts excavated from the Bongseon-ri site in Seocheon were deteriorated and frail. Therefore, to prevent deformation and damage, conservation treatment was performed through dimensional stabilization. As a result of tree species analysis before conservation treatment, it was identified as 3 Hardpine, 2 Alnus Japonica, 2 Castanea spp., 1 Cerris Section, and 1 Zelkova serrata. For the conservation treatment, wooden artifacts were impregnated with PEG#3,350 in water solution with 40% concentration and performed by freeze-drying. Artifacts that have been preserved were judged to be living tools such as farming and containers compared to those of other historical sites.
Cultural Heritage Image Analysis and Support Modeling Using X-ray Computed Tomography: Focused on the Byeongsan Mask ‘Eul’ of the Hahoe Masks and Byeongsan Masks of Andong
Authors: Kim Da Sol , Kim Han Seul , Song Jung Il , Park Ji Hyeon , Song Ji Aae
Published: October 2023

Before conservation treatment, the Byeongsan Mask ‘Eul’ was damaged, and the face was separated on both sides and attached with stiffeners. For conservation treatment, it was necessary to remove the existing stiffeners and adhese the faces together. At this time, a support was needed to fix both faces that were separated during conservation process and to structurally stabilize the adhesion area where pressure could be concentrated even after adhesion. In order to manufacture new support, the shape analysis was first performed using the X-ray computed tomography data, and then the re-adhesion position was set. Next, modeling was conducted considering the function of the support and aesthetic conditions using the digital haptic modeling system. The completed model was printed by 3D printing using transparent material. The support produced in this study is significant in that it played a major role in the conservation process, such as being used not only to hold and store the masks but also to fix them during the conservation process. In addition, by producing support using digital methods and data, support optimized for the shape of artifact could be produced with minimal contact with artifact. This study presented a method for conserving and displaying artifacts using digital technology, and is expected to be expanded and applied to various cultural heritages.
Species Identification and Attack Patterns Analysis of Marine Borers in Shipwreck Members and Driftwood from the Korean Coast
Authors: Kim Eung Ho , Im Ik-Gyun , Cho Hyo Jin , Na Jin-Ho , Cho Soowon , Han Gyu-Seong
Published: October 2023

In this study, we aimed to identify the patterns of perforation damage on shipwreck members excavated from the Korean coast and to estimate the organisms responsible. Two types of marine borers were collected from driftwood collected from Chupo Beach, Shinchang-ri Beach, and Biin Beach, and test piles installed at Shinjindo Beach, and species identification was conducted through visual observation and DNA analysis. The damage patterns of marine borers on the driftwood and test piles were identified and compared with the damage patterns of the shipwreck members. The marine borers found in the driftwood and test piles were identified as Teredo navalis and Limnoria lignorum through DNA analysis and visual observation. T. navalis bored 3-5 mm diameter tunnels in the cross-section of the wood towards the fiber direction, and the damage was severe enough to completely penetrate a 7 cm long piece of wood. The tunnels were lined with calcareous material extruded by T. navalis. In some driftwood, fiber-oriented as well as random-directional tunnels were observed in T. navalis damage scars. In shipwreck members, T. navalis damage was primarily seen in the upper members, which were exposed to seawater and not buried in mud on the shore at the time of excavation, where L. lignorum drilled and gnawed small holes of less than 1 mm diameter in the surface of the wood. Very little evidence of damage by L. lignorum was rarely observed on the topsides of shipwrecks or on the surfaces of members, presumably because the fragile damage was worn away by the movement of currents at sea.
A Study on Scientific Conservation Treatment of Modern and Contemporary Relief Sculptures Based on Their Production Technique: A Case Study on 〈Shrimp〉 by Jin-kyu Kwon
Authors: Shin Jeong Ah , Park Hye Sun , Jung Cham Hee , Kwon Hee Hong
Published: October 2023

This study described the preservation process of modern and contemporary relief sculpture and emphasized the importance of identification of the used materials through scientific analysis.  by Jin-kyu Kwon, was described as a “cement” object by the collection agency at the time of donation. However, in surface observation, it was assumed that various materials other than cement were used. Through scientific analysis and research,  was identified as cement work on gypsum plaster base. It was consistent with the production technique of Jin-kyu Kwon, who worked using ‘mixed media’ in the 1960s. Based on this, the material information of the work was corrected as ‘cement on gypsum(plaster)’ . Thus gypsum and cement were selected as conservation materials for the treatment. Considering this, a support frame was devised and applied in the conservation treatment of . This study would present the possibility of selecting and applying suitable conservation treatment methods for modern and contemporary sculptures.
Interpretation of the Pigments Analysis and Coloration Techniques for Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Painting within the Myengbujeon Hall in Namwon Seonwonsa Temple, Korea
Authors: Jeong Dong Hee , Lee Chan Hee
Published: October 2023

The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Painting of Myeongbujeon Hall in Namwon Seonwonsa temple was painted in 1917 by seven monk painters including Geumeo Manchong, Sango and Haengeun. In the painting, Korean National Flag (Taegeukgi), a trace of anti-Japanese movement that had been hidden under suppression during the invaded by the Japanese period, was found on the surface of official wooden hat in Sixth King (Byeonseongdaewang). Elements of Pb, S and Si were commonly detected by the P-XRF of the painting pigments to be analyzed, which was estimated the characteristics of the Sinamchae made by mixing colored metal oxides and glass powder, and data were secured. As the optial microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and SEM-EDS analysis show that black is chinese ink and lampblack ink, white is lead hydroxide and chalk, gold is gold foil, yellow is iron oxide yellow, massicot and gamboge, red is cinnaba, iron hydroxide and minium, green is emerald green, blue is ultramarine, respectively. As the infrared photography, various coloring techniques and traces of several overlapping for completeness were found. A comprehensive considerations of these shows that various coloring techniques with back, bottom and middle colorations were used. The Taegeuk pattern is interpreted as making a circle shape with a minium and painting with emerald green over it.
Manufacturing Techniques of Gilt-copper Crown Ornament with a Bird Wing-shaped Decoration Excavated form Ancient Tomb in Imdang, Gyeongsan
Authors: Lee Jae Sung , Kim Mi Hyun , Park Young Hwan , Kim Hyun Woo
Published: October 2023

The ancient tombs in Imdang of Gyeongsan, a representative historic site of Silla culture, are a group of ancient tombs built by local powers of Silla during the Three Kingdoms Period which existed fragmentarily in written records as the tomb of the ruling class in Apdokguk(押督國). In the ancient tomb Imdang 1A, where the appearance at the time of the burial was confirmed, the gilt-copper crown ornament with a bird wing-shaped decoration was excavated showing the relationship between the central Silla and the ruling powers in the local provinces. This the gilt-copper crown ornament with a bird wing-shaped decoration was produced in the order of ① cutting and making of each component, ② carving circular patterns, ③ gilding, ④ joining the front and wing ornament, ⑤ punching for wire connection, ⑥ attaching the spangles. The front, wing ornament and circular spangles(Dalgae) were made with a thin copper plate, and the front and wing ornament overlapped each other with a size of about 5 mm. And it was jointed with three metal rivets with a square cross section. The circular patterns, carved on the border between the front and wing ornament, was carved in the shape of a circular dot by chiseling in the vertical direction with a round-tip carving tool. The gilt-copper wire used to connect the spangles(Dalgae) was first thinned by hammering. After that, thinner and more uniform wires in thickness was drawn using the drawing technique. The gilt-copper wires were inserted into the spangles(Dalgae) and twisted three times so that they were of similar length. The wing ornament and circular spangles were gilded with a thickness of 3 to 5 µm, and the gilded layer of the wire was the thinnest at 1 to 4 µm. To manufacture the gilt-copper crown ornament with a bird wing-shaped decoration, the form was made with copper as the basic material and the surface was gilded with the amalgam gilding technique that mixes gold and mercury.
Conservation Processing of Modern and Contemporary Outdoor Bronze Sculptures
Authors: Kwon Hee Hong , Cha Sun Min , Shin Jeong Ah , Han Ye Bin , Kim Young Mok
Published: October 2023

‘Pieta’(1980) by Se Choong Kim required scientific analysis and conservation treatment due to long outdoor exhibitions and paint on surface of bronze sculpture. However, there was a concern that the originality of artwork and ‘moral rights of the artist(the right of integrity)’ could be violated by including conservation treatment methods that were inevitably irreversible, such as removing the old layer and re-patination. Accordingly, the brown color that was mainly used during the artist’s lifetime, was selected as the patination color through collaboration with various stakeholders. As a result of analyzing the making technique of ‘Pieta’, it was found that it was cast in Cu-Zn-Sn-Pb quaternary art bronze. The material, methods, and environment at the time of making artwork were confirmed by comparing the result of scientific analysis of welding, repair, and defects with inerviews with casting engineers. The paint painted on the surface of the bronze sculpture was confirmed as painted twice with metalic paint mixed with polystyrene and copper powder and graphite-based paint. Laser cleaning was applied after a preliminary experiments to stably remove paint, and 95% of the paint layer area was uniformly removed as a result of comparing and analyzing the volume before and after removal through 3D scanning. Brown patina was applied through patination then wax coating to finish.
Academic publisher guidelines on AI usage: A ChatGPT supported thematic analysis
Authors: Perkins Mike , Roe Jasper
Published: October 2023

Background As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI (GenAI) have become more common in academic settings, it is necessary to examine how these tools interact with issues of authorship, academic integrity, and research methodologies. The current landscape lacks cohesive policies and guidelines for regulating AI’s role in academic research and prompting discussions among publishers, authors, and institutions. Methods This study employs inductive thematic analysis to explore publisher policies regarding AI-assisted authorship and academic work. Our methods involved a two-fold analysis using both AI-assisted and traditional unassisted techniques to examine the available policies from leading academic publishers and other publishing or academic entities. The framework was designed to offer multiple perspectives, harnessing the strengths of AI for pattern recognition while leveraging human expertise for nuanced interpretation. The results of these two analyses are combined to form the final themes. Results Our findings indicate six overall themes, three of which were independently identified in both the AI-assisted and manual analyses. A broad consensus appears among publishers that human authorship remains paramount and that the use of GenAI tools is permissible but must be disclosed. However, GenAI tools are increasingly acknowledged for their supportive roles, including text generation and data analysis. The study also discusses the inherent limitations and biases of AI-assisted analysis, necessitating rigorous scrutiny by authors, reviewers, and editors. Conclusions There is a growing recognition of AI’s role as a valuable auxiliary tool in academic research, but one that comes with caveats pertaining to integrity, accountability, and interpretive limitations. This study used a novel analysis supported by GenAI tools to identify themes emerging in the policy landscape, underscoring the need for an informed, flexible approach to policy formulation that can adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of AI technologies.
The similarities and differences between scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning
Authors: Groccia James E.
Published: October 2023

While engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a laudable activity and an important endeavor for teaching improvement and the elevation of teaching within the academic and professional hierarchy, I suggest that increased and continued focus needs to be placed on enhancing scholarly teaching as a precursor to the scholarship of teaching and learning. I believe that there would be a greater return on investment, e.g., better teaching and greater learning, if universities first focus on enhancing scholarly teaching before efforts to encourage academic staff to develop time and resource-intensive SoTL projects. This article clarifies the similarities and differences between scholarly teaching and SoTL to assist universities in this process. I present an overview of scholarly teaching based on a model describing important variables in university teaching and learning, as well as a brief history and essential elements of SoTL. The article concludes with a summary of scholarly teaching and SoTL which suggests that the two educational processes possess complementary but, at times, divergent goals.
Borboletas de uma área urbana de Santa Helena de Goiás, Brasil
Authors: Sotero Júnior Wanderlan Antunes , Yamamoto Marcela
Published: October 2023

Apesar de sua importância ecológica, pouco se conhece sobre borboletas no estado de Goiás. O objetivo deste estudo foi inventariar borboletas de uma área urbana de Santa Helena de Goiás, Brasil. A amostragem foi feita no Parque Aquático Turmin Azevedo de janeiro a dezembro de 2021, utilizando-se metodologias de coleta ativa com rede entomológica e de coleta passiva com armadilhas Van Someren-Rydon. A curva de rarefação e a estimativa de riqueza de espécies foram elaboradas usando abundância e os dias de amostragem. Foram registrados 133 indivíduos de 42 espécies pertencendo a cinco famílias de Lepidoptera. A família Nymphalidae foi a mais abundante (18 espécies, 78 indivíduos), seguida de Hesperiidae (13, 21), Pieridae (6, 25), Lycaenidae (3, 6) e Riodinidae (2, 3). Houve maior riqueza de espécies nectarívoras (n = 33) que frugívoras (n = 9). A curva de rarefação não alcançou a assíntota indicando a ocorrência de mais espécies, fato também previsto pelos estimadores de riqueza de espécies. A abundância da família Nymphalidae e a presença de alguns de seus representantes tais como Anartia jatrophae (Linnaeus), Anartia amathea (Linnaeus), Hamadryas februa (Hübner), Tegosa claudina (Eschscholtz), Junonia evarete (Cramer) e Opsiphanes invirae (Hübner) revelam indícios dos efeitos da antropização na área de estudos e na comunidade de borboletas. Ainda que se trate de uma área urbana, o Parque Turmin Azevedo contribui na manutenção das espécies de borboletas da região.
On household living conditions. A comparison between capital agglomerations and their popular neighborhoods in Northwestern Argentina
Authors: Batista Zamora Ana Ester , NATERA RIVAS Juan Jose
Published: October 2023

Access to basic facilities such as electricity, running water or sewerage is not homogeneous among households in the provincial capitals of Northwestern Argentina. Th rough the use of the National Registry of Popular Neighborhoods (RENABAP) and by calculating a Housing Suffi ciency Index, we carried out a gradation in the levels of access to these basic facilities by households residing in these popular neighborhoods, identifying in which agglomeration the situation is more positive and in which the opposite situation is recorded. At the same time, using statistics from the Permanent Household Survey, we carried out the same procedure, but applied to the total number of households in each agglomeration. The comparison of both gradations shows significant differences in some of the capital cities, which reflects the existing urban fragmentation.
Ciemna strona tajgi. Relacje ludzi z ziemią w Tofalarii
Authors: Tikhonov Andrei
Published: October 2023

Celem artykułu jest dokonanie wieloaspektowej antropologicznej analizy wybranych narracji, dotyczących sposobów doświadczania tajgi w kontekście lokalnych praktyk myśliwskich stosowanych przez przedstawicieli wspólnoty tofalarskiej. Tofalarzy są jedną z najmniejszych autochtonicznych grup etnicznych Rosji (ok. 800 osób), zamieszkują w trzech wsiach we wschodniej części pasma Sajanów w obwodzie irkuckim. Sposób życia Tofalarów jest związany z otaczającym ich środowiskiem, czyli górską tajgą. Z przeprowadzonych przeze mnie etnograficznych badań terenowych można wywnioskować, że mieszkańcy Tofalarii doświadczają tajgi w sposób, który trudno poddaje się opisowi podporządkowanemu zachodniej epistemologii opartej na perspe­ktywie antropocentrycznej. Analizując ten problem, korzystam z prac współczesnych antropologów podejmujących próby wypracowania nowej optyki antropologicznej, w której człowiek nie znajduje się w pozycji uprzywilejowanej (m.in. Tim Ingold, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Łukasz Smyrski). Drugim punktem odniesienia są dla mnie prace współczesnych filozofów związanych z nurtem realizmu spekulatywnego, których łączy krytyczny stosunek do antropocentryzmu oraz częste odwoływanie się do kategorii dark/ciemny (np. ciemna ekologia Timothy’ego Mortona, ciemny witalizm Bena Woodarda).
Prezydentury rządzące we współczesnym świecie
Authors: Nawracaj Weronika
Published: October 2023

THE RULING PRESIDENCIES IN THE MODERN WORLD The presidential system as a form of government inevitably makes one think about the American political system. This is not a wrong association, as any analysis of the American system involves presidentialism, which became its beginning and thus a point of reference. Nevertheless, ruling presidencies, i.e., the strong position of the head of state in the system, which is anchored in constitutional regulations and practice, are also present in other parts of the world, in a form that is far removed from the American original. The aim of the work is to show that the presidential system is neither uniform, as it is usually called, nor rigid, as shown in the system analysis presented in the paper. The rigidity of the division of powers ascribed to this formula of government seems to be one of the elements that construct an ideal type, which no political system can or is able to be in practice. The intention of the work is to show that ruling presidencies may occur in diverse variants of relations between the authorities, and thus the contemporary presidential system is undergoing a process that, in the author’s opinion, can be called an evolution. Depending on the state, its political history, genesis and characteristics, this evolution proceeds in a various directions, from the transformation of the classic ruling presidency into hyper-presidency (i.e., an absolutist presidency) to a strong presidency coupled with parliamentary elements.
Join Up or Stay Away? Coalition Formation for Critical IT Infrastructure
Authors: Guo Hong , Liu Yipeng , Nault Barrie R.
Published: October 2023

PRACTICE AND POLICY ABSTRACT

We consider the formation of a coalition when districts invest in critical IT infrastructure that, if disrupted, can cause significant damage to security, the economy, public health, or safety. The benefits from these investments can spill over to other districts. Districts choose whether to participate in a coalition, and the coalition subsequently makes IT infrastructure investment decisions for those districts that join the coalition. These inside districts have superior interoperability in their spillovers relative to outside districts.

We find that inside districts’ resource levels decrease with the size of the coalition, and this size depends on the coalition’s economies of scale and relative interoperability. Depending on these factors, any size coalition can be an equilibrium or socially optimal. In most cases, the socially optimal coalition size is larger than the equilibrium coalition. A subsidy or tax can incentivize the equilibrium coalition size and district investment levels to be socially optimal, providing a general solution to the provisioning of critical IT infrastructure.

We use the European Union’s Digital COVID Certificate program providing vaccine status information and the U.S. Government’s Direct Project that supports the establishment of nationwide health information exchanges to illustrate elements of our model.
(How) Does User-Generated Content Impact Content Generated by Professionals? Evidence from Local News
Authors: Sen Ananya , Grad Tom , Ferreira Pedro , Claussen Jörg
Published: October 2023

Many platforms host user-generated content (UGC) and content developed by professionals side by side. However, thus far, their impact on platform ecosystems has been mostly studied in isolation. In this paper, we use data from a network of 122 local news outlets hosted by an online news platform to study the spillover effects from UGC developed by citizen journalists to the content developed by professional journalists. We use the removal of a status index associated with citizen journalists as an exogenous shock to their supply of UGC to identify these spillover effects. We find that experienced citizen journalists reduce their production of content when this status index is removed. We then find that inexperienced professional journalists increase their output in response to this behavior. However, as a result of these changes, we find a reduction in the overall content hosted by the platform, especially in the case of local news and in more isolated regions. We further show that this is likely to have detrimental effects for the platform. In particular, there is a decline in overall viewership, and the platform may need to hire and pay salaries to more professional journalists to produce enough articles to close the gap left by the departing citizen journalists. Our work contributes to the literature on UGC and online platforms and to the literature on local news.

This paper was accepted by D. J. Wu, information systems division.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4962 .
Handheld interventional ultrasound/photoacoustic puncture needle navigation based on deep learning segmentation
Authors: Lin Xiangwei , Shi Hongji , Fan Xiaozhou , Wang Jiaxin , Fu Zhenyu , Chen Yuqing , Chen Siping , Chen Xin , Chen Mian
Published: October 2023

Interventional ultrasound (US) has challenges in accurate localization of the puncture needle due to intrinsic acoustic interferences, which lead to blurred, indistinct, and even invisible needles in handheld linear array transducer-based US navigation, especially the incorrect needle tip positioning. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging can provide complementary image contrast, without additional data acquisition. Herein, we proposed an internal illumination to solely light up the needle tip in PA imaging. Then deep-learning-based feature segmentation alleviates acoustic interferences, enhancing the needle shaft-tip visibility. Further, needle shaft-tip compensation aligned the needle shaft in US image and the needle tip in the PA image. The experiments on phantom, ex vivo chicken breast, preclinical radiofrequency ablation and in vivo biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes were piloted. The target registration error can reach the submillimeter level, achieving precise puncture needle tracking ability with in-plane US/PA navigation.
Tunable anisotropic electro-optic metasurfaces
Authors: Wang Luyao , Setzpfandt Frank , Shadrivov Ilya
Published: October 2023

We numerically study polarisation conversion by anisotropic metasurfaces made of electro-optic material on a silica substrate and show that we can control the polarisation of transmitted waves dynamically. We predict that such metasurfaces can exhibit tunability of the cross-polarisation conversion of linear incident polarisation as well as tunable circular dichroism. We compare the metasurface performance for direct and inverse structures and find that the cross-polarisation transmission coefficient can be tuned by approximately 0.5, while the predicted tunability of circular dichroism is close to 0.8.
Precision pharmacological reversal of strain-specific diet-induced metabolic syndrome in mice informed by epigenetic and transcriptional regulation
Authors: Wulfridge Phillip , Davidovich Adam , Salvador Anna C. , Manno Gabrielle C. , Tryggvadottir Rakel , Idrizi Adrian , Huda M. Nazmul , Bennett Brian J. , Adams L. Garry , Hansen Kasper D. , Threadgill David W. , Feinberg Andrew P.
Published: October 2023

Diet-related metabolic syndrome is the largest contributor to adverse health in the United States. However, the study of gene-environment interactions and their epigenomic and transcriptomic integration is complicated by the lack of environmental and genetic control in humans that is possible in mouse models. Here we exposed three mouse strains, C57BL/6J (BL6), A/J, and NOD/ShiLtJ (NOD), to a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, leading to varying degrees of metabolic syndrome. We then performed transcriptomic and genome-wide DNA methylation analyses for each strain and found overlapping but also highly divergent changes in gene expression and methylation upstream of the discordant metabolic phenotypes. Strain-specific pathway analysis of dietary effects revealed a dysregulation of cholesterol biosynthesis common to all three strains but distinct regulatory networks driving this dysregulation. This suggests a strategy for strain-specific targeted pharmacologic intervention of these upstream regulators informed by epigenetic and transcriptional regulation. As a pilot study, we administered the drug GW4064 to target one of these genotype-dependent networks, the farnesoid X receptor pathway, and found that GW4064 exerts strain-specific protection against dietary effects in BL6, as predicted by our transcriptomic analysis. Furthermore, GW4064 treatment induced inflammatory-related gene expression changes in NOD, indicating a strain-specific effect in its associated toxicities as well as its therapeutic efficacy. This pilot study demonstrates the potential efficacy of precision therapeutics for genotype-informed dietary metabolic intervention and a mouse platform for guiding this approach.
Association between pregnancy and severe COVID-19 symptoms in Qatar: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Al-Qassem Alla’ K. , Humaidi Ammar B. , Al-Kuwari Amna K. , Hasan Elham M. , Yakti Nosaiba H. , Al-Hathal Rakan M. , Bansal Devendra , Abd Farag Elmoubashar Abu Baker , Al-Romaihi Hamad E. , Al-Thani Mohammed H. J. , Musa Omran A. H. , Doi Suhail , Chivese Tawanda
Published: October 2023

There is inconclusive evidence whether pregnancy exacerbates COVID-19 symptoms or not, and scarce data from the Middle East and North Africa region. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between pregnancy and COVID-19 symptoms in Qatar. This cross-sectional study was carried out using data of all women with confirmed COVID-19, comparing women of child-bearing age (18–49 years). Data of all COVID-19 cases were collected by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Qatar, between March and September 2020. Symptoms were compared by pregnancy status and classified into moderate and severe. Multivariable logistic and Poisson regression was carried out to investigate the association between pregnancy and severity of COVID-19 symptoms. During the study period, 105 744 individuals were diagnosed with COVID-19, of which 16 908 were women of childbearing age. From that sample, 799 women were pregnant (mean age 29.9 years (SD 5.2)) and 16109 women were not pregnant (mean age 33.1 years (SD 7.8)). After multivariable logistic regression, pregnancy was associated with 1.4-fold higher odds of reporting any symptoms of COVID-19 (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.18–1.68), and 1.3-fold higher odds of reporting shortness of breath (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.02–1.63). In a multivariable Poisson regression, pregnancy was also associated with a higher count of symptoms (IRR 1.03, 95%CI 0.98–1.08), although with weak evidence against the null hypothesis. Our findings suggest that, in this setting, pregnant women are more likely to have symptomatic COVID-19, and shortness of breath, compared to women with no pregnancy.
Company scaling and its deviations: New indicators for enterprise evaluation and bankruptcy prediction
Authors: Xu Jing , Chen Xi , Wen Lei , Zhang Jiang
Published: October 2023

Many studies have shown that scaling laws widely exist in various complex systems, such as living organisms, cities, and online communities. In this research, we found that scaling laws also hold for companies. The macroscopic variables of companies, such as incomes, expenses, or total liability, all have power-law relationships with respect to the sizes of companies, which can be measured by sales, total assets, or the total number of employees. What is more, we also found the power law exponents always deviate from 1. That means large companies naturally have certain advantages, but the widely used financial indicators based on total volume or ratio may not reflect the company’s status well because they are also size-dependent. To tackle this problem, this paper proposes a new set of evaluation indices based on the deviations of the macroscopic variables from the scaling law to eliminate the size-dependent effect. We found that the indicators based on deviations can give more reasonable evaluations for companies and can outperform other conventional indicators to predict the financial distress of companies.
New species and record of Dodecaceria (Annelida: Cirratulidae) the Biological Reserve of Rocas Atoll, Brazil, the only atoll in the South Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Ruta Christine , Mundim Davi Moreira , Freitas Roberta , Ribeiro Rannyele P.
Published: October 2023

The polychaete Family Cirratulidae is one of the most abundant and diverse groups of Annelida, although it remains poorly known worldwide. Dodecaceria Ørsted, 1843 is one of the least described genera of Cirratulidae. The present report is the first taxonomic study of the genus Dodecaceria for the Brazilian coast. Cirratulidae were collected at Rocas Atoll, the first Brazilian marine protected area and the only atoll in the South Atlantic Ocean. We described one new species, Dodecaceria zelinhae n. sp., and a new record of D. dibranchiata Blake & Dean, 2019, previously only known from Panama. The new species is distinguished from other Dodecaceria species by having lateral tentacles, a smooth peristomium, 3–5 pairs of branchiae, hooks from chaetiger 11 in notopodia and 9 in neuropodia. Dodecaceria dibranchiata, a Caribbean species, is here recorded for the first time in the South Atlantic Ocean.
EFFNet: A skin cancer classification model based on feature fusion and random forests
Authors: Ma Xiaopu , Shan Jiangdan , Ning Fei , Li Wentao , Li He
Published: October 2023

Computer-aided diagnosis techniques based on deep learning in skin cancer classification have disadvantages such as unbalanced datasets, redundant information in the extracted features and ignored interactions of partial features among different convolutional layers. In order to overcome these disadvantages, we propose a skin cancer classification model named EFFNet, which is based on feature fusion and random forests. Firstly, the model preprocesses the HAM10000 dataset to make each category of training set images balanced by image enhancement technology. Then, the pre-training weights of the EfficientNetV2 model on the ImageNet dataset are fine-tuned on the HAM10000 skin cancer dataset. After that, an improved hierarchical bilinear pooling is introduced to capture the interactions of some features between the layers and enhance the expressive ability of features. Finally, the fused features are passed into the random forests for classification prediction. The experimental results show that the accuracy, recall, precision and F1-score of the model reach 94.96%, 93.74%, 93.16% and 93.24% respectively. Compared with other models, the accuracy rate is improved to some extent and the highest accuracy rate can be increased by about 10%.
Estudio sobre la gestión y el control de los donativos de las Cortes valencianas en la guerra con Castilla (1356-1366)
Authors: Sanahuja Ferrer Pablo
Published: October 2023

El presente trabajo pretende analizar de manera detallada, primero, la gestión de cada uno de los subsidios otorgados por las Cortes valencianas a Pedro IV de Aragón en su conflicto con Castilla, la conocida como Guerra de los Dos Pedros (1356-1366); segundo, se analiza la pugna entablada entre la comunidad política y el rey por el control de esos fondos, realizando, por último, un balance sobre el éxito de los medios dispuestos por el monarca para controlar esos fondos.
Study fischer-tropsch synthesis
Authors: Rodrigues Jocielys Jovelino , Araujo Alfredina dos Santos , Fernandes Filho Antônio , Rodrigues Maria do Socorro Araújo
Published: October 2023

This work was to evaluate the catalytic properties Ru/Cobalt/SBA-15 catalyst for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS). The molecular sieve SBA-15 synthesized by hydrothermal method with rice husk ashes (RHA) and with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The Ru promoted Co/SBA-15 catalyst was prepared by wet impregnation method and was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray energy dispersion spectrophotometer, N2 adsorption-desorption, temperature-programmed reduction and transmission electron microscopy. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis using the catalysts were carried out to evaluate the catalysts activities and its effect on FTS product distribution. The synthesis was carried out in a slurry reactor operating at 513 K, 20 atm, CO : H2 molar ratio of 1 : 2. X-ray diffraction showed that the calcined cobalt catalyst did not modify the structure of SBA-15, proving that Co was present under the form of Co3O4 in the catalyst. The addition of cobalt in SBA-15 decreased the specific superficial area of the molecular sieve. By RTP results was found the ranges of temperature reduction typical of iron oxides phases.  Fischer-Tropsch synthesis activity and C5+hydrocarbon selectivity increased with the addition of Ru. The increases in activity and selectivity were attributed to the increased number of active sites resulting from higher reducibility and the synergetic effect of Ru and Co. The most interesting fact to be pointed out is that the use of this catalytic system for the catalyst prepared with alternative source of silica and  cheap  (rice hull ash) showed high selectivity in liquid products, that is, in hydrocarbons with C5+ (88.2% w/w ), higher than the catalyst prepared with conventional silica source.
Polymer and composite materials used in medicine
Authors: Oleksy Małgorzata , Dynarowicz Klaudia , Aebisher David
Published: October 2023

The article is a review of the literature on the use of polymers in medicine as biomaterials.Examples of the preparation of the most commonly used synthetic polymers in medicine, such as: polylactide(PLA), polyglycolide (PGA), polyhydrobutyrate (PHB), polycaprolactone (PCL) are described.The characteristics of ceramic materials: hydroxyapatite (HAp) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) are alsopresented in terms of the use of synthetic biodegradable polymers as biofillers. The last part of articleis devoted to the functional properties of composites based on PLA with the addition of HAp and TCP.
Clinical Impact of Patient-Prosthesis Mismatch After Aortic Valve Replacement With a Mechanical or Biological Prosthesis
Authors: Matkovic Milos , Aleksic Nemanja , Bilbija Ilija , Antic Ana , Lazovic Jelena Milin , Cubrilo Marko , Milojevic Aleksandar , Zivkovic Igor , Putnik Svetozar
Published: October 2023

Background

Patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) may impair functional capacity and survival after aortic valve replacement. This study aimed to investigate the impact of PPM on long-term survival and quality of life after mechanical and biological aortic valve replacement.

Methods

This study included 595 consecutive patients who had undergone isolated aortic valve replacement. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to prosthesis type. The baseline and operative characteristics, survival rates, complications, and quality of life of the groups with and without PPM were compared for up to 6 years. The PPM calculation was performed using the effective orifice area value provided by the manufacturer divided by the patient's body surface area.

Results

The moderate to severe PPM rates were 69.8% and 3.7% after biological and mechanical prosthesis implantation, respectively. Mean survival for patients in the biological group who had PPM was statistically significantly shorter (50.2 months [95% CI, 45.2-55.3]) than for patients in the biological group without PPM (60.1 months [95% CI, 55.7-64.4]; P = .04). In the mechanical prosthesis group, there was no difference in mean survival between the subgroup with PPM (66.6 months [95% CI, 58.3-74.9]) and the subgroup without PPM (64.9 months [95% CI, 62.6-67.2]; P = .50). A quality-of-life questionnaire's scores did not differ between the groups.

Conclusion

Mismatch is common after biological valve implantation and statistically significantly affects long-term survival and quality of life. If the risk of PPM after implantation of a biological prosthesis is suspected, adopting strategies to avoid PPM at the time of surgery is warranted.
Review of EAP Talk
Authors: Wang Chenghao , Zou Bin
Published: October 2023

This technological tool review aims to provide a brief overview of EAP Talk, an artificial intelligence (AI) English speech assessment platform, outlining its various evaluation features, highlighting the advantages of each function, illustrating its potential for academic English teaching and proposing critical evaluations and suggestions for its upgradeable components. More importantly, this review strives to offer a user guide of experimental tools for related empirical research and explores its feasibility for lessening teacher workload and promoting independent learning among students in the age of AI.
Recent advances in photonic crystal based all-optical analog to digital converter: a review
Authors: Parandin Fariborz , Jomour Mohamadreza , Kamarian Reza , Gholipour Morteza , Mahtabi Naser , Askarian Asghar
Published: October 2023

An optical analog to digital converter (OADC) comprises two main components: a nonlinear demultiplexer and an optical encoder. The nonlinear multiplexer converts the continuous input signal into three quantized discrete levels, while the optical encoder generates standard two-bit codes according to the different quantized levels. The optical Kerr effect is used to perform this process. For this purpose, several nonlinear rods that form a ring resonator are placed in the multiplexer. It can be said that their optical behavior can be controlled by light intensity. In this paper, analog to digital photonic crystal converters is investigated. The main purpose of this study is to provide designs that lead to the design of ADCs with high speed, small dimensions, high accuracy, and maximum sampling rate.
Current status and future perspective of natural killer cell therapy for cancer
Authors: Zhao Xiangyu , Lin Minghao , Huang Xiaojun
Published: October 2023

Natural killer (NK) cells possess innate abilities to effectively eliminate cancer cells. However, because of difficulties of proliferation and easy to be induced dysfunction in the setting of cancer post NK cell therapy, the curative effect of NK cell infusion has been constrained and not been widely applicable in clinical practice. The rapid development of biotechnology has promoted the development of NK cell therapy for cancer treatment. In this review, we will provide a comprehensive analysis of the current status and future prospects of NK cell therapy for cancer, focusing on the biological characteristics of NK cells, as well as strategies to enhance their targeting capabilities and overcome tumor immune suppression within the microenvironment.
Controlling coherent perfect absorption via long-range connectivity of defects in three-dimensional zero-index media
Authors: Yan Dongyang , Mei Ran , Li Mingyan , Ma Zhikai , Hang Zhi Hong , Luo Jie
Published: October 2023

Coherent perfect absorption (CPA), as time-reversed lasing, arises from appropriate wave interference within absorbers, offering flexible control over wave absorption. Typically, this control involves tuning the phase difference between two counter-propagating incident beams. Here, we elucidate the critical role of defect connectivity within three-dimensional zero-index media for realizing and controlling CPA. Specifically, the realization of CPA critically depends on the establishment of long-range connectivity of defects in a specific direction. Once the long-range connectivity is established, the CPA exhibits remarkable resilience against defects’ deformation, changes in size and shape of the zero-index media, as well as variations in number and orientation of incident channels. Notably, a minor disruption to this connectivity will result in a complete reduction of absorption to zero, highlighting an ultra-sensitive absorption property in response to connectivity perturbations. Our findings not only unveil a physical mechanism for realizing CPA but also open up promising avenues for advanced CPA control with versatile functionalities.