bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monodisperse and size-tunable high-quality factor microsphere biolasers
Authors: Nguyen Toan Van , Nguyen Trung Duc , Pham Nhat Van , Nguyen Tien-Anh , Ta Duong Van
Published: May 2021

Microsphere biolasers have attracted a great deal of interest due to their potential for biosensing and cell tracking. Here we demonstrate a novel, to the best of our knowledge, microfluidic-based fabrication of nearly monodisperse dye-doped protein microsphere biolasers with a tunable size from 150 to 50 µm. In particular, for an 85 µm-bead, about 70% of the fabricated microspheres have the same size of 85 µm. Under optical pumping, the fabricated microspheres emit whispering gallery mode lasing emission with a lasing threshold of

7

µ

J

m
m

−
2

and quality (

Q

) factor up to 3000. Interestingly, microspheres with the same size exhibit a similar lasing threshold and spectrum. The result indicates a high reproducibility of microsphere biolasers by the microfluidic-based fabrication technique. This Letter provides an effective method for mass production of high-

Q

factor microsphere biolasers which is a significant step toward real biosensing and medical applications.
Power coupling losses for misaligned and mode-mismatched higher-order Hermite–Gauss modes
Authors: Tao Liu , Kelley-Derzon Jessica , Green Anna C. , Fulda Paul
Published: May 2021

This paper analytically and numerically investigates misalignment and mode-mismatch-induced power coupling coefficients and losses as a function of Hermite–Gauss (HG) mode order. We show that higher-order HG modes are more susceptible to beam perturbations when, for example, coupling into optical cavities: the misalignment and mode-mismatch-induced power coupling losses scale linearly and quadratically with respect to the mode indices, respectively. As a result, the mode-mismatch tolerance for the

H
G

3
,
3

mode is reduced to a factor of 0.28 relative to the currently used

H
G

0
,
0

mode. This is a potential hurdle to using higher-order modes to reduce thermal noise in future gravitational-wave detectors.
Microwave consolidation of UV photosensitive doped silica for integrated photonics
Authors: Gow P. C. , Ahmed Q. S. , Gates J. C. , Smith P. G. R. , Holmes C.
Published: May 2021

Rapid thermal consolidation of doped silica soot in a silicon carbide lined kiln subjected to microwave radiation is reported. The silica soot is fabricated through flame hydrolysis deposition and peak temperatures within the kiln reach >1350 °C after 18 minutes of irradiation. The glass underwent Newtonian cooling with an e−1 of approximately 5 minutes. Optical characteristics of the planar glass layer are compared against traditional furnace consolidation approaches. Single-mode waveguides and Bragg gratings were direct UV written into the consolidated doped silica, and a propagation loss of 0.34 ± 0.15 dB cm−1 was measured.
Engineering mode coupling in a hybrid plasmon-photonic cavity for dual-band infrared spectroscopic gas sensing
Authors: Dao Thang Duy , Dubois Florian , Spettel Jasmin , Tortschanoff Andreas , Fleury Clement , Cselyuszka Norbert , Consani Cristina , Nikolai Andrianov , Moridi Mohssen
Published: May 2021

On-chip infrared spectroscopy has become one of the indispensable key technologies for miniature biochemical sensors, gas sensors, food quality control, and environmental monitoring systems. The most important requirement for on-chip spectroscopic sensors is to miniaturize spectroscopic functions to be integrated into thermal emitters and infrared detectors. In this work, we propose a hybrid plasmon-photonic system consisting of a plasmonic grating coupled to a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR)-dielectric-metal cavity for on-chip dual-band spectroscopic sensing applications. The strong coupling between surface-plasmon polaritons and the cavity resonance leads to the hybridization of the photonic states; the mode splitting, the photonic band folding, and the formation of new eigenstates including bound states in the continuum are observed in the system. It is shown that, by engineering the photonic coupling, a dual-band resonant near-perfect absorber is achievable and easily controllable. As a proof of concept, we numerically demonstrate a set of five different dual-band absorbers for CO2, N2O, CO, NO, and NO2 gas sensing applications. The dual-band absorbers can be used for on-chip spectroscopic thermal emitters or infrared detectors in gas sensors. The hybrid plasmon-photonic system can be an attractive photonic platform for applications in emitting and sensing photonic devices.
An inexpensive point-of-care immunochromatographic test for Talaromyces marneffei infection based on the yeast phase specific monoclonal antibody 4D1 and Galanthus nivalis agglutinin
Authors: Pruksaphon Kritsada , Intaramat Akarin , Simsiriwong Pavinee , Mongkolsuk Skorn , Ratanabanangkoon Kavi , Nosanchuk Joshua D. , Kaltsas Anna , Youngchim Sirida
Published: May 2021

Talaromyces marneffei is a thermally dimorphic fungus that causes opportunistic systemic mycoses in patients with AIDS or other immunodeficiency syndromes. The purpose of this study was to develop an immunochromatographic strip test (ICT) based on a solid phase sandwich format immunoassay for the detection of T. marneffei antigens in clinical urine specimens. The T. marneffei yeast phase specific monoclonal antibody 4D1 (MAb4D1) conjugated with colloidal gold nanoparticle was used as a specific signal reporter. Galanthus nivalis Agglutinin (GNA) was adsorbed onto nitrocellulose membrane to serve as the test line. Similarly, a control line was created above the test line by immobilization of rabbit anti-mouse IgG. The immobilized GNA served as capturing molecule and as non-immune mediated anti-terminal mannose of T. marneffei antigenic mannoprotein. The MAb4D1–GNA based ICT showed specific binding activity with yeast phase antigen of T. marneffei, and it did not react with other common pathogenic fungal antigens. The limit of detection of this ICT for T. marneffei antigen spiked in normal urine was approximately 0.6 μg/ml. The diagnostic performance of the ICT was validated using 341 urine samples from patents with culture- confirmed T. marneffei infection and from a control group of healthy individuals and patients with other infections in an endemic area. The ICT exhibited 89.47% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 97.65% accuracy. Our results demonstrate that the urine-based GNA–MAb4D1 based ICT produces a visual result within 30 minutes and that the test is highly specific for the diagnosis of T. marneffei infection. The findings validate the deployment of the ICT for clinical use.
Main control factors affecting mechanical oil recovery efficiency in complex blocks identified using the improved k-means algorithm
Authors: Lu Qiuyu , Wang Suling , Jiang Minzheng , Li Yanchun , Dong Kangxing
Published: May 2021

The system efficiency of pumping units in the middle and late stages of oil recovery is characterized by several factors, complex data and poor regulation. Further, the main control factors that affect system efficiency in different blocks vary greatly; therefore, it is necessary to obtain the block characteristics to effectively improve system efficiency. The k-means algorithm is simple and efficient, but it assumes that all factors have the same amount of influence on the output value. This cannot reflect the obvious difference in the influence of several factors in the block on the efficiency. Moreover, the algorithm is sensitive to the selection of the initial cluster centre point, so each calculation result that reflects the efficiency characteristics of the block system cannot be unified. To solve the aforementioned problems affecting the k-means algorithm, the correlation coefficient of all the factors was first calculated, followed by extracting the system efficiency of the positive and negative indicators of standardization. Next, the moisture value was calculated to obtain the weight of each factor used as a coefficient to calculate the Euclidean distance. Finally, the initial centre point selection of the k-means algorithm problem was solved by combining the dbscan and weighted k-means algorithm. Taking an oil production block in the Daqing Oilfield as the research object, the k-means and improved algorithm are used to analyse the main control factors influencing mechanical production efficiency. The clustering results of the two algorithms have the characteristics of overlapping blocks, but the improved algorithm’s clustering findings are as follows: this block features motor utilization, pump efficiency and daily fluid production, which are positively correlated with system efficiency. Further, low-efficiency wells are characterized by the fact that the pump diameter, power consumption, water content, daily fluid production, oil pressure and casing pressure are significantly lower than the block average; high-efficiency wells are characterized by pump depths lower than the block average. For this block, it is possible to reduce the depth of the lower pump and increase the water-injection effect to increase the output under conditions of meeting the submergence degree, which can effectively improve the system efficiency.
Acceptability of daily pre-exposure prophylaxis among adolescent men who have sex with men, travestis and transgender women in Brazil: A qualitative study
Authors: Zucchi Eliana Miura , Couto Marcia Thereza , Castellanos Marcelo , Dumont-Pena Érica , Ferraz Dulce , Félix Pinheiro Thiago , Grangeiro Alexandre , da Silva Luís Augusto Vasconcelos , Dourado Inês , Pedrana Leo , Santos Fernanda Soares de Resende , Magno Laio
Published: May 2021

Background

Adolescents face socio-structural, personal and programmatic barriers to HIV prevention services, highlighting the importance of understanding knowledge and acceptability as essential aspects to promote their broader access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We analyzed the acceptability of PrEP among adolescent men who have sex with men (MSM), travestis and transgender women (TGW).

Methods

A qualitative investigation was conducted as part of the formative research of the PrEP15-19 study, an ongoing demonstration study that analyzes the effectiveness of daily PrEP among adolescent MSM, travestis and TGW aged 15–19 in three Brazilian cities. A total of 37 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus groups were conducted. Building from thematic analysis focusing on participants’ sexual encounters, perceptions about PrEP efficacy, and vulnerability contexts, we analyzed prospective acceptability of PrEP.

Findings

Knowledge about PrEP was incipient and characterized by adolescents’ frequent doubts about its prescription and efficacy. The ‘ideal’ use of PrEP appeared together with consistent condom use, especially in casual sex. PrEP use was also mentioned as depending on increased learning about prevention management over time. Main barriers to PrEP use included the incorporation of a daily medication into participants’ routine and its impact on their social lives, especially related to stigma. Concerns over short- and long-term side effects were also reported as barriers to PrEP use. TGW and travestis contrasted using PrEP with the precarity of their life conditions, and some expressed a critical vision about PrEP by associating it with pharmaceuticalization and trans necropolitics.

Conclusions

Participants’ low knowledge and acceptability of PrEP are circumscribed by a rigid perception of condom as the ideal prevention method and the context of their sexual relations. Prospective acceptability highlights that the successful uptake of PrEP depends on overcoming barriers of access to health services and confronting transphobia and homophobia as part of care.
Tree growth responses to temporal variation in rainfall differ across a continental-scale climatic gradient
Authors: O’Donnell Alison J. , Renton Michael , Allen Kathryn J. , Grierson Pauline F.
Published: May 2021

Globally, many biomes are being impacted by significant shifts in total annual rainfall as well as increasing variability of rainfall within and among years. Such changes can have potentially large impacts on plant productivity and growth, but remain largely unknown, particularly for much of the Southern Hemisphere. We investigate how growth of the widespread conifer, Callitris columellaris varied with inter-annual variation in the amount, intensity and frequency of rainfall events over the last century and between semi-arid (<500 mm mean annual rainfall) and tropical (>800 mm mean annual rainfall) biomes in Australia. We used linear and polynomial regression models to investigate the strength and shape of the relationships between growth (ring width) and rainfall. At semi-arid sites, growth was strongly and linearly related to rainfall amount, regardless of differences in the seasonality and intensity of rainfall. The linear shape of the relationship indicates that predicted future declines in mean rainfall will have proportional negative impacts on long-term tree growth in semi-arid biomes. In contrast, growth in the tropics showed a weak and asymmetrical (‘concave-down’) response to rainfall amount, where growth was less responsive to changes in rainfall amount at the higher end of the rainfall range (>1250 mm annual rainfall) than at the lower end (<1000 mm annual rainfall). The asymmetric relationship indicates that long-term growth rates of Callitris in the tropics are more sensitive to increased inter-annual variability of rainfall than to changes in the mean amount of rainfall. Our findings are consistent with observations that the responses of vegetation to changes in the mean or variability of rainfall differ between mesic and semi-arid biomes. These results highlight how contrasting growth responses of a widespread species across a hydroclimatic gradient can inform understanding of potential sensitivity of different biomes to climatic variability and change.
Protective role of resolvin D1, a pro-resolving lipid mediator, in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced small intestinal damage
Authors: Kuzumoto Takuya , Tanigawa Tetsuya , Higashimori Akira , Kitamura Hiroyuki , Nadatani Yuji , Otani Koji , Fukunaga Shusei , Hosomi Shuhei , Tanaka Fumio , Kamata Noriko , Nagami Yasuaki , Taira Koichi , Watanabe Toshio , Fujiwara Yasuhiro
Published: May 2021

Resolvin D1, a specialized pro-resolving lipid mediator produced from docosahexaenoic acid by 15- and 5-lipoxygenase, exerts anti-inflammatory effects driving to the resolution of inflammation. The present study aimed to elucidate its role in small intestinal damage induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Indomethacin was administered orally to C57BL/6J male mice, which were sacrificed 24 h later to collect small intestine specimens. Before administration of indomethacin, mice were subjected to intraperitoneal treatment with resolvin D1 or oral administration of baicalein, a 15-lipoxygenase inhibitor. Small intestinal damage induced by indomethacin was attenuated by pretreatment with resolvin D1. Furthermore, resolvin D1 reduced the gene expression levels of interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and CXCL1/keratinocyte chemoattractant. Conversely, the inhibition of 15-lipoxygenase activity by baicalein increased the expression of genes coding for these inflammatory cytokines and chemokine, leading to exacerbated small intestinal damage, and reduced the concentration of resolvin D1 in the small intestinal tissue. Exogenous treatment with resolvin D1 negated the deleterious effect of baicalein. 15-lipoxygenase was mainly expressed in the epithelium and inflammatory cells of the small intestine, and its gene and protein expression was not affected by the administration of indomethacin. Inhibition of the resolvin D1 receptor, lipoxin A4 receptor /formyl peptide receptor 2, by its specific inhibitors Boc-1 and WRW4 aggravated indomethacin-induced small intestinal damage. Collectively, these results indicate that resolvin D1 produced by 15-lipoxygenase contributes to mucoprotection against NSAID-induced small intestinal damage through its anti-inflammatory effect.
Parameter identification of sound absorption model of porous materials based on modified particle swarm optimization algorithm
Authors: Xu Xiaomei , Lin Ping
Published: May 2021

Porous materials have been widely used in the field of noise control. The non-acoustical parameters involved in the sound absorption model have an important effect on the sound absorption performance of porous materials. How to identify these non-acoustical parameters efficiently and accurately is an active research area and many researchers have devoted contributions on it. In this study, a modified particle swarm optimization algorithm is adopted to identify the non-acoustical parameters of the jute fiber felt. Firstly, the sound absorption model used to predict the sound absorption coefficient of the porous materials is introduced. Secondly, the model of non-acoustical parameter identification of porous materials is established. Then the modified particle swarm optimization algorithm is introduced and the feasibility of the algorithm applied to the parameter identification of porous materials is investigated. Finally, based on the sound absorption coefficient measured by the impedance tube the modified particle swarm optimization algorithm is adopted to identify the non-acoustical parameters involved in the sound absorption model of the jute fiber felt, and the identification performance and the computational performance of the algorithm are discussed. Research results show that compared with other identification methods the modified particle swarm optimization algorithm has higher identification accuracy and is more suitable for the identification of non-acoustical parameters of the porous materials. The sound absorption coefficient curve predicted by the modified particle swarm optimization algorithm has good consistency with the experimental curve. In the aspect of computer running time, compared with the standard particle swarm optimization algorithm, the modified particle swarm optimization algorithm takes shorter running time. When the population size is larger, modified particle swarm optimization algorithm has more advantages in the running speed. In addition, this study demonstrates that the jute fiber felt is a good acoustical green fibrous material which has excellent sound absorbing performance in a wide frequency range and the peak value of its sound absorption coefficient can reach 0.8.
Regimen simplification and medication adherence: Fixed-dose versus loose-dose combination therapy for type 2 diabetes
Authors: Böhm Anna-Katharina , Schneider Udo , Aberle Jens , Stargardt Tom
Published: May 2021

Background

Suboptimal patient adherence to pharmacological therapy of type 2 diabetes may be due in part to pill burden. One way to reduce pill burden in patients who need multiple medications is to use fixed-dose combinations. Our study aimed to compare the effects of fixed-dose combination versus loose-dose combination therapy on medication adherence and persistence, health care utilization, therapeutic safety, morbidities, and treatment modification in patients with type 2 diabetes over three years.

Methods

Using administrative data, we conducted a retrospective controlled cohort study comparing type 2 diabetes patients who switched from monotherapy to either a fixed-dose combination or a loose-dose combination. Adherence was assessed as the primary endpoint and calculated as the proportion of days covered with medication. After using entropy balancing to eliminate differences in observable baseline characteristics between the two groups, we applied difference-in-difference estimators for each outcome to account for time-invariant unobservable heterogeneity.

Results

Of the 990 type 2 diabetes patients included in our analysis, 756 were taking a fixed-dose combination and 234 were taking a loose-dose combination. We observed a statistically significantly higher change in adherence (year one: 0.22, p<0.001, year two: 0.25, p<0.001, and year three: 0.29, p<0.001) as well as higher persistence and a smaller change in the number of drug prescriptions in each of the three years in the fixed-dose combination group compared to the loose-dose combination group. The differences were most pronounced in patients who were poorly adherent, had a high pill burden, or did not have a severe concomitant disease.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that taking a fixed-dose combination can lead to a significant improvement in adherence to pharmacological therapy of type 2 diabetes compared to a loose-dose combination. In particular, these findings suggest that reducing pill burden may improve disease management among patients with more complex medication demand and patients who have demonstrated poor medication adherence.
The influence of emotional face distractors on attentional orienting in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Zhang Li , Yan Guoli , Benson Valerie
Published: May 2021

The current study examined how emotional faces impact on attentional control at both involuntary and voluntary levels in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A non-face single target was either presented in isolation or synchronously with emotional face distractors namely angry, happy and neutral faces. ASD and typically developing children made more erroneous saccades towards emotional distractors relative to neutral distractors in parafoveal and peripheral conditions. Remote distractor effects were observed on saccade latency in both groups regardless of distractor type, whereby time taken to initiate an eye movement to the target was longest in central distractor conditions, followed by parafoveal and peripheral distractor conditions. The remote distractor effect was greater for angry faces compared to happy faces in the ASD group. Proportions of failed disengagement trials from central distractors, for the first saccade, were higher in the angry distractor condition compared with the other two distractor conditions in ASD, and this effect was absent for the typical group. Eye movement results suggest difficulties in disengaging from fixated angry faces in ASD. Atypical disengagement from angry faces at the voluntary level could have consequences for the development of higher-level socio-communicative skills in ASD.
Sustainability assessment and improvement strategies research for typical arid and resource-developing regions
Authors: Zhou Xudong
Published: May 2021

Located in the Eurasian continent’s hinterland, Xinjiang is a typical arid and resource-developing region in China’s northwest. Problems such as excessive resource consumption, environmental pollution, and ecological imbalance are becoming severe, which have become the bottleneck that further restricts Xinjiang’s sustainable development. Due to its outstanding quantitative advantages, ecological efficiency has become a significant indicator and analytical tool for measuring the green economy and sustainable development. In this study, we analyzed ecological efficiency variation for Xinjiang’s 14 prefectures between 2001 and 2015 using a super-efficient data envelopment model (DEA), Malmquist Index, and Tobit model. These analyses indicated that: (1) The overall ecological efficiency level of Xinjiang is low, and development among regions is unbalanced, out of sync, lacks sustainability. (2) From 2001 to 2015, Xinjiang’s ecological efficiency showed a W-shaped rising trend and finally increased by 5.7%. It is due to the substantial improvement in environmental efficiency. (3) By analyzing the environmental efficiency and resource efficiency, 14 prefectures in Xinjiang consist of four development modes: low energy consumption and low emission, high energy consumption and low emission, low energy consumption and high emission, and high energy consumption and high emission. (4) Water resources are restricting factors of arid regions. In most prefectures, there exist excessive water resource investment, excessive COD, and NH3-N emissions. (5) By analyzing the Malmquist index, it shows that the technical progress index(TC) restricted ecological efficiency. In contrast, the technical efficiency index (EC) promoted ecological efficiency.(6)The ecological efficiency was positively correlated with the utilization of foreign capital, urbanization rate, and average education degree but negatively correlated with the marketization degree. The study has guidance and reference function for the sustainable development of Xinjiang—a vital corridor of the Silk Road Economic Belt, and also provides a reference to the research work of other arid resource-based regions.
COS: A new MeSH term embedding incorporating corpus, ontology, and semantic predications
Authors: Ding Juncheng , Jin Wei
Published: May 2021

The embedding of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms has become a foundation for many downstream bioinformatics tasks. Recent studies employ different data sources, such as the corpus (in which each document is indexed by a set of MeSH terms), the MeSH term ontology, and the semantic predications between MeSH terms (extracted by SemMedDB), to learn their embeddings. While these data sources contribute to learning the MeSH term embeddings, current approaches fail to incorporate all of them in the learning process. The challenge is that the structured relationships between MeSH terms are different across the data sources, and there is no approach to fusing such complex data into the MeSH term embedding learning. In this paper, we study the problem of incorporating corpus, ontology, and semantic predications to learn the embeddings of MeSH terms. We propose a novel framework, Corpus, Ontology, and Semantic predications-based MeSH term embedding (COS), to generate high-quality MeSH term embeddings. COS converts the corpus, ontology, and semantic predications into MeSH term sequences, merges these sequences, and learns MeSH term embeddings using the sequences. Extensive experiments on different datasets show that COS outperforms various baseline embeddings and traditional non-embedding-based baselines.
Field efficacy of Bt cotton containing events DAS-21023-5 × DAS-24236-5 × SYN-IR102-7 against lepidopteran pests and impact on the non-target arthropod community in Brazil
Authors: Marques Luiz H. , Lepping Miles , Castro Boris A. , Santos Antonio C. , Rossetto Jaedino , Nunes Marcelo Z. , Silva Oscar A. B. N. , Moscardini Valeria F. , de Sá Verissimo G. M. , Nowatzki Timothy , Dahmer Mark L. , Gontijo Pablo C.
Published: May 2021

The efficacy and non-target arthropod effects of transgenic DAS-21023-5 × DAS-24236-5 × SYN-IR102-7Btcotton, expressing proteins Cry1Ac, Cry1F and Vip3Aa19, was examined through field trials in Brazil. Fifteen field efficacy experiments were conducted from 2014 through the 2020 growing season across six different states in Brazil to evaluate performance against key lepidopteran pests through artificial infestations ofChrysodeixis includens(Walker),Spodoptera frugiperda(J.E. Smith,1797),Spodoptera cosmioides(Walker, 1858) andChloridea virescens(F., 1781), and natural infestations ofAlabama argillacea(Hübner) andS.frugiperda. The impact of thisBtcotton technology on the non-target arthropod community in Brazilian cotton production systems was also assessed in a multi-site experiment. DAS-21023-5 × DAS-24236-5 × SYN-IR102-7 cotton significantly reduced the feeding damage caused by S.frugiperda,S.cosmioides,C.includens,C.virescensandA.argillacea, causing high levels of mortality (greater than 99%) to all target lepidopteran pests evaluated during vegetative and/or reproductive stages of crop development. Non-target arthropod community-level analyses confirmed no unintended effects on the arthropod groups monitored. These results demonstrate the value of transgenicBtcotton containing event DAS-21023-5 × DAS-24236-5 × SYN-IR102-7 for consideration as part of an integrated approach for managing key lepidopteran pests in Brazilian cotton production systems.
High rate of critical coronary stenosis in comatose patients with Non-ST-elevation out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (NSTE-OHCA) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia—Experience from the HAnnover COoling REgistry (HACORE)
Authors: Garcheva Vera , Akin Muharrem , Adel John , Sanchez Martinez Carolina , Bauersachs Johann , Schäfer Andreas
Published: May 2021

Background

Myocardial infarction is the most frequent cause for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in adults. Patients with ST-segment elevations (STE) following return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) are regularly admitted to the catheterisation laboratory for urgent coronary angiography. Whether patients without obvious STE (NSTE) should receive coronary angiography as part of a standardised diagnostic work-up following OHCA is still debated.

Methods

We analysed a cohort of 517 subsequent OHCA patients admitted at our institution who received a standardised diagnostic work-up including coronary angiography and therapeutic hypothermia. Patients were 63±14 years old, 76% were male. Overall, 180 (35%) had ST-elevation in the post-ROSC ECG, 317 (61%) had shockable rhythm (ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia) at first ECG. ROSC was achieved after 26±21 minutes.

Results

Critical coronary stenosis requiring PCI was present in 83% of shockable and 87% of non-shockable STE-OHCA and in 48% of shockable and 22% of non-shockable NSTE-OHCA patients. In-hospital survival was 61% in shockable and 55% in non-shockable STE-OHCA and 60% in shockable and 28% in non-shockable NSTE-OHCA.

Conclusion

Standardised admission diagnostics in OHCA patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia with a strict admission protocol incorporating ECG and coronary catheterisation shows a high rate of relevant coronary stenosis in STE-OHCA irrespective of the initial rhythm and in NSTE-OHCA with initial shockable rhythm. Based on the unfavourable outcome and low PCI rate observed in NSTE-OHCA patients with a primary non-shockable ECG rhythm it might be reasonable to restrict routine early coronary angiography to patients with primary shockable rhythms and/or ST-segment elevations after ROSC.
Genesis and development processes of fractures in granite: Petrographic indicators of hydrothermal alteration
Authors: Yuguchi Takashi , Izumino Yuya , Sasao Eiji
Published: May 2021

Biotites occur with varying degrees of alteration within a granite. This study analyzes the relationships among alteration indicators, areal microvoid fractions in chloritized biotite, and macroscopic fracture frequencies in the Toki granite, central Japan, to establish the genesis and development processes of fractures in granite. Appropriate characterizations for the frequency distribution of macroscopic fractures in granite can assist in understanding potential hydrogeological applications, which contributes to safety evaluations for geological disposal and storage. Borehole 06MI03, drilled to a depth of 191 m, was used to obtain samples for the analysis. In total, 24 samples that depicted variations in the macroscopic fracture frequency were selected. Petrographic alteration indicators using biotite chloritization as innovative methods are proposed to evaluate the extent of hydrothermal alteration and fracture frequency within granites. The alteration indicators are defined as the ratio between the alteration product area and the original mineral area. Furthermore, the volume of microscopic fractures and micropores in the mineral was quantitatively characterized by the areal fraction of microvoids in minerals through image analysis. Samples with high macroscopic fracture frequencies correspond to a high number of areal microvoid fractions and large alteration indicators. Microvoids, which are the source of macroscopic fractures, occurred at temperatures between 350 and 780°C and can be evaluated by intrinsic factors, such as alteration indicators. Subsequent faulting and unloading (extrinsic factors) developed microvoids into macroscopic fractures. Intrinsic factors are used to evaluate the source of macroscopic fractures, and therefore contribute to the characterization of present and future distributions of macroscopic fracture frequencies.
Consolidating the Rule of Experts: A Model Village for Refugees in the Jordan Valley, 1945–55
Authors: Abusaada Nadi
Published: May 2021

This article examines the history of the establishment and work of the Arab Development Society (ADS) in Palestine from 1945–55. While this study contextualizes the project within the broader history of global rural development projects in the post-Second-World-War era, it mainly frames the ADS’s activities within the regional context of Palestine, Jordan, and Israel and the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The discussion traces the alteration of the ADS’s mission after 1948 from a rural development project into a project that utilized its village modernization ethos to deal with the pressing problem of Palestinian refugee housing in the Jordan Valley. Drawing on archival research, the article scrutinizes ADS’s encounters with states, international bodies, and the refugee population. It shows that though the ADS was able to challenge the rule of experts on the specific case of the possibility of resettlement in the Jordan Valley, it generally consolidated the patronizing logic of expertise and failed to engage with the political visions of the refugee population. In shedding light on the widely-forgotten ADS experimental scheme, the article contributes to enriching the understanding of the overlapping nature of rural development and to the questions of resettlement and repatriation in Palestine in the aftermath of 1948.
INCUBA: red de emprendimiento social y desarrollo local recursos naturales y patrimoniales para un territorio sostenible
Authors: Calvo González José Luis , Ramón Gancedo María
Published: May 2021

El proyecto Red de Emprendimiento Social y Desarrollo Local INCUBA, Recursos Naturales y Patrimoniales para un Territorio Sostenible», es la vía por la cual la Cátedra de Turismo Sostenible y Desarrollo Local y la Diputación de León colaboran para contribuir al fomento del desarrollo local, la lucha contra la despoblación, la innovación en el medio rural y la puesta en valor y difusión del patrimonio natural y cultural del territorio a través del fomento del emprendimiento social. El proyecto incluye las siguientes actividades: Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación; Fomento del Emprendimiento; Turismo sostenible; elaboración de un Plan de Marketing-Marca; creación de una Plataforma de Comercialización y establecimiento de un Plan de Formación. Todo ello bajo un enfoque de Economía Circular y utilizando como ejes transversales la sostenibilidad, la igualdad de género, el uso de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones y el desarrollo local, con el objetivo de impulsar la reactivación socioeconómica de la zona.
The use of carotene-containing preparation in cows for the prevention of postpartum complications
Authors: Zubova Tatyana Vladimirovna , Pleshkov Vladimir Alexandrovich , Smolovskaya Oksana Vladimirovna , Mironov Alexander Nikolaevich , Korobeynikova Larisa Nikolaevna
Published: May 2021

Background and Aim: It is known that metabolic disturbances in the animal body negatively affect parturition, uterine involution, and, ultimately, fertility, especially in cows, during the first insemination. Although the method of diet optimization with the use of a software package results in positive outcomes, adjustment is required for certain groups of animals (e.g., cows), in accordance with the period of the year. Every year, in the spring and autumn, blood is taken from animals to detect metabolic disorders, and then either the diet is balanced or, if the cows lack vitamins and minerals, they are administered to cows parenterally or with food. The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of using carotene-containing preparation in the prevention of postpartum complications in cows.

Materials and Methods: Before the start of the experiment, blood was collected from the animals of the experimental and control groups, with ten animals in each group, and its serum was examined for the presence of carotene. Low carotene content was found in the serum of all animals (from 0.2 to 0.25 mg%) with the norm within the range of 0.40-0.62 mg%. The cows of the experimental group were injected subcutaneously with the carotene-containing preparation 30, 20, and 10 days before the expected calving date at a dose of 10 mL per head. The carotene-containing preparation was a solution of crystalline β-carotene substance in deodorized sunflower oil. Moreover, the share of β-carotene was at least 0.18%. The drug was administered intramuscularly into the rump.

Results: In the postpartum period, the retention of the placenta was observed in two animals of the control group. The uterine involution in the cows of the control group was 16.0 (p<0.05) days longer than that in the cows of the experimental group. The duration of placenta separation in the cows of the control group was on average 3.21 h longer (p<0.01) than that in the cows of the experimental group. The period from calving to the introduction of the embryo was 63.17±1.56 days in the control group and 48.3±0.83 days in the experimental group. The survival rate of embryos in the cows of the experimental group was 60%, and the period from the calving date to the introduction of the embryo averaged 48 days, which were 14.9 (p<0.05) days less than that in the cows of the control group.

Conclusion: When the carotene-containing preparation was administered in a dose of 10 mL subcutaneously to cows 30, 20, and 10 days before the calving date, the blood carotene content increased, and the duration of the last stage and uterine involution decreased. The period from the calving date to the introduction of the embryo was reduced to 48.3±0.83 days, and the survival rate of embryos was 60%.
Comparative evaluation of isoflurane and sevoflurane in avian patients
Authors: Anjana R. R. , Parikh P. V. , Mahla J. K. , Kelawala D. N. , Patel K. P. , Ashwath S. N.
Published: May 2021

Background and Aim: Literature comparing the use of isoflurane and sevoflurane inhalation anesthetic agents in birds is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the comparison of isoflurane and sevoflurane during induction, maintenance, and recovery of anesthesia in avian patients.

Materials and Methods: In this study, 24 injured avian patients (n=24) were selected randomly and divided into four groups during kite flying festival. In the present study, isoflurane and sevoflurane were used as induction and maintenance anesthetic agents, with and without butorphanol tartrate premedication agent in all the birds. Different physiological parameters were evaluated, namely, cloacal temperature (°F), heart rate (beats/min), respiratory rate (breaths/min), and SpO2 (%) were recorded at 0, 10, 20 min, and at recovery time. The quality of anesthesia was assessed on the basis of induction time, quality of induction, production of analgesia, muscle relaxation, body reflexes, recovery time, quality of recovery, sitting, standing, and complete recovery time (CRT).

Results: The mean±standard error value of induction time was 230.00±32.55, 280.00±25.29, 180.00±21.90, and 260.00±36.87 s, respectively, in Groups I, II, III, and IV. The feather plucking, pharyngeal, and toe pinching reflexes were noticed, when the birds were passing through the light plane of anesthesia during induction. Comparison of cloacal temperature at the time of recovery between Group-I versus Group-III revealed a significant difference (p<0.05). Comparison of mean respiratory rates at the time of recovery between Group-II versus Group-IV revealed a significant difference (p<0.05). Excellent quality of recovery was observed in all the groups of anesthetic protocols. Sitting, standing, and CRT were observed shortest in avian patients maintained with sevoflurane as compared to isoflurane.

Conclusion: The quality of induction of anesthesia was rapid in avian patients when induced with sevoflurane as compared to isoflurane. Rapid onset of induction and recovery of anesthesia were found with sevoflurane followed by isoflurane. Induction and maintenance of anesthesia in avian patients with sevoflurane resulted in the lowest time required for sitting, standing, and CRT.
Analysis of the impact of parameters in TextGCN
Authors: Varella Ehrenfried Henrique , Todt Eduardo
Published: May 2021

Deep learning models uses many parameters to work properly. Asthey become more complex, the authors of these novel models cannotexplore in their papers the variation of each parameter of theirmodel. Therefore, this work describes an analysis of the impact offour different parameters (Early Stopping, Learning Rate, Dropout,and Hidden 1) in the TextGCN Model. This evaluation used fourdatasets considered in the original TextGCN publication, obtainingas a side-effect small improvements in the results of three of them.The most relevant conclusion is that these parameters influence theconvergence and accuracy, although they individually do not constitutestrong support when aiming to improve the model’s resultsreported as the state-of-the-art.
Uma Avaliação do Uso de Gamificação para Apoiar o Ensino e Aprendizagem de Testes Exploratórios
Authors: Ernesto Ferreira Costa Igor , Ronaldo Bezerra Oliveira Sandro
Published: May 2021

This paper presents the exploratory testing, an approach that has become very relevant in software testing, mainly due to the emerging the use of agile practices in the software development process to satisfy the needs of the market (Time to Market). However, it was possible to notice that it is a subject little discussed in the academic context. For this reason, this work uses gamification as a systematic strategy in teaching and learning of exploratory testing using case studies with two classes, which aims to maintain strong student involvement and an incentive for good performance, obtaining as results students prepared to use this testing approach. As a final result, the students achieved a good overall performance; with reports that gamification facilitated and collaborated greatly to achieve the best performance, converging with the quantitative data obtained. This can be evidenced by the fact that two case studies (classes) reached a percentage superior to 70% of conquest, that is, there was an excellent general performance analyzed by the proportion of medals obtained for the participation.
Desenvolvimento de uma Aplicação Web para Auxílio na Abordagem do tema Cyberbullying no Ensino Fundamental
Authors: Carlos Peres Vieira Ariel , Victoria Viana Aguiar Odakura Valguima
Published: May 2021

The paper describes a Web application focused on the theme cyber- bullying. The application aims to help educators in the approach of cyberbullying in primary schools, through a non-linear interactive narrative. The interaction of students with the application makes the learning process more attractive and interesting. The tool was evaluated based on an usability test, aiming to analyze aspects of user interaction with the system. The results show that the applica- tion complies with what is proposed, and that there was satisfaction on the part of the evaluation participants.
Google Summer of Code Gender Diversity: An analysis of the last 4 editions
Authors: Silva Mota Jhemeson , Vinicius Okimoto Marcio , Dias Canedo Edna , Silva Mota Jhonatan
Published: May 2021

This work presents a comprehensive research about the participationof men and women in the area of Information and CommunicationsTechnology (ICT) through data extracted from the last foureditions of Google Summer of Code (GSoC). The goal of this workis to find Association Rules between gender characteristics andcoding using the Apriori Algorithm. A total of 61 association ruleswere generated through the aforementioned algorithm, being 22 ofthem found only in the data set with the women, 24 found only withthe men, and 15 applicable to both sets. We can cite as one of themain findings of this work the fact that the representativeness ofwomen in GSoC is decreasing in the last few years. Despite this, therepresentativeness of women in GSoC is above average, accordingto what has been reported in other studies in the literature in whichwomen are underrepresented. When it comes to the most utilizedtechnologies, we have “Python", “Java", “C++", “C" and “JavaScript"in the top. Analyzing technologies, it’s possible to realize that themain utilized technologies for men and women are similar, but, ingeneral, men are more likely linked to programming languages.The most common project topics are: “Event Management", “Web",“Web Development", “Data Science" and “Cloud" in the top. Thiscan represent how diverse the project topics of the database are,but not necessarily has something related to gender.
Criação de um Protótipo para Auxiliar no Processo de Desenvolvimento de Aplicativos Mobile para o Público Idoso
Authors: Sipriano Marcilio Fernanda , Souza Moreira da Silva Daniela , Maria da Rocha Fernandes Anita
Published: May 2021

With the growing number of elderly people in our society and the search of this population for technologies, more specifically the use of smartphones, and considering the physical and mental difficulties that aging causes to these people, there is a need to apply concepts of usability in mobile apps. However, there are technical and cultural barriers for the application of usability to be effective in meeting the needs of the elderly. Developing systems with agility as the market demands is antagonistic to the time required for application and usability evaluation in the software. Besides, the lack of usability requirements due to knowledge absence and time are some difficulties that the development team encounters in their daily lives. Given this context, the objective of this work was to create a prototype to help the development team to integrate usability, with a focus on elderly audiences, during the construction of a mobile application. To achieve this goal, the list of requirements, metrics and usability assessment methods focusing on mobile and elderly applications were selected from related works. Then the relationship between requirements, metrics, and assessment methods was identified and tested and the prototype was developed. Finally, with the analysis of the test it was possible to verify that the prototype reaches its objectives, as 88.9% of the participants would use the prototype in their projects and all stated that the prototype can contribute to the development of mobile applications.
Aprendizagem de Máquina Aplicada a Consumidores Comerciais Buscando Identificar Padrões Atípicos de Consumo de Energia Elétrica Utilizando o Software R
Authors: Evangelista de Souza Lucas , Ghizoni Teive Raimundo
Published: May 2021

The electricity distribution network is responsible for supplying energy to consumers in the National Interconnected System, serving 99% of consumers in Brazil. There are two types of losses in this network: technical losses and non-technical losses or commercial losses. In the case of non-technical losses, the focus of this work, the existence of these results in a higher tariff for all consumers, so that the concessionaire can compensate for such reduction in revenue. Non-technical losses are usually associated with fraud (meter tampering or deviations). The main objective of this work is the application of machine learning techniques, using software R, to identify possible fraudulent behaviors of commercial consumers in the state of Santa Catarina. Considering data from typical consumer load curves and functional information from the company. Preliminary results, using real data from consumers, indicate that the SVM classifier used performed well in the cases studied, achieving precision and accuracy greater than 90%. The input variables selected for the classifier, based mainly on data and information from typical load curves, are the differential of this work, as well as the main reason for the success in the initial tests.