bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Αρχαιολογία στο μέτωπο
Authors: Λεκάκης Στέλιος
Published: December 2022

Το έργο εξετάζει τις δραστηριότητες των ελλήνων αρχαιολόγων στη Μικρά Ασία το διάστημα 1919-1922 και τον ρόλο τους στη σύνθεση των εθνικών ταυτοτήτων στη Νοτιοανατολική Ευρώπη και την Τουρκία, μετά τον Πρώτο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο. Η έρευνα βασίζεται σε βιβλιογραφική και αρχειακή έρευνα, συνθέτοντας ένα σύνολο πληροφορίας για κάποιες αρχαιολογικές θέσεις στη Μικρά Ασία – θέατρα μιας ιδιότυπης «συγκρουσιακής» αρχαιολογίας και διαχείρισης μνημείων στις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα.

Το έργο αποτελεί συστηματική έρευνα και σύνθεση δεδομένων σχετικά με τις δραστηριότητες της Αρχαιολογικής Αποστολής Μικράς Ασίας (1919-1922), τις εξέχουσες προσωπικότητες που τη στελέχωσαν και τον ρόλο τους στα πολιτικά συμφραζόμενα της αποσύνθεσης της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας και του αυξανόμενου οικονομικού ανταγωνισμού των ευρωπαϊκών δυνάμεων στην περιοχή.

Στα κύρια ερευνητικά ερωτήματα περιλαμβάνονται τα εξής:

Η εξέταση της επιλογής των συγκεκριμένων θέσεων για αρχαιολογική διερεύνηση, ο τρόπος διερεύνησής τους και κάποια από τα ευρήματα.

Η μελέτη των δραστηριοτήτων της Αρχαιολογικής Αποστολής Μικράς Ασίας και οι σχέσεις τους με τα σύγχρονα πολιτιστικά έργα στην Ελλάδα και την Τουρκία, εξετάζοντας παράλληλα το πώς συνέβαλαν ο «κλασικισμός» και η «βυζαντινή ταυτότητα» στη σύνθεση των εθνικών κρατών στις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα.

Η ανάλυση της σχέσης μεταξύ των δραστηριοτήτων της Αρχαιολογικής Αποστολής και της ανασκαφής/μετακίνησης των αρχαιοτήτων στη Μικρά Ασία μετά τον Πρώτο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο από άλλα ξένα αρχαιολογικά ιδρύματα.

Η εξέταση του τρόπου με τον οποίο οι ανακαλυπτόμενες αρχαιότητες οργανώθηκαν σε διαφορετικά εθνικά αφηγήματα και η δυνατότητα που μας δίνει αυτός ως σημείο αναφοράς για να προσεγγίσουμε χρήσεις και καταχρήσεις της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς στη δημιουργία «εθνικής συνείδησης» για τις «φαντασιακές κοινότητες» της Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης στις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα.

Η προοπτική θεώρηση αυτής της μελέτης περίπτωσης, που αφορά τη χρήση της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς σε μια ταραγμένη περίοδο, ως βάση για μελλοντικά προγράμματα, με σκοπό την προώθηση της αλληλοκατανόησης και της συνεργασίας μεταξύ Ελλάδας και Τουρκίας.

Η εξέταση της αξίας της αρχαιολογικής γνώσης που δημιουργήθηκε στις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα, ως βάση για συνεργατικά σχέδια διαχείρισης αρχαιολογικών θέσεων με αντικρουόμενες ιστορίες/ερμηνείες, όπως είναι και τα εξεταζόμενα.

Το έργο συνιστά την τελευταία φάση ενός ευρύτερου προγράμματος που ξεκίνησε το 2007 και ολοκληρώνεται με τη σύνθεση ενός μικρού βιβλίου, το 2019, εκατό χρόνια μετά την απόβαση των ελληνικών δυνάμεων στη Μικρά Ασία.
Factors of Successful Communicative Interaction Between the Writer and the Reader in Written Discourse
Authors: Fedotova Oksana
Published: December 2022

The paper deals with the issues of fictional communication: it touches upon conditions of effective interaction between the reader and the author of the work of fiction. Like in oral discourse, while reading narrative, different factors such as age, education, worldview etc. influence the process of understanding. The more factors coincide, the better the reader can understand the idea of the author. Written narrative has different communicative markers that are characteristic of oral discourse. Such markers help to attract the attention of the reader to the text. Besides, modal verbs, oblique mood and rhetorical questions also contribute to establishing contact between the author and the reader.
Language and Communication of the Current Moment: Social, Professional, Spiritual Aspects
Authors: Goncharova Lyubov
Published: December 2022

The Word of the Editor-in-Chief reflects the main trends and directions of communication research, and also contains an overview of the current issue. In accordance with the headings, key topics are noted and the problems of the articles are highlighted.
The Strategy of Teaching Dialogic Foreign language Communication at Non linguistic Universities
Authors: Ivanova L. , Lukomskaya E.
Published: December 2022

The article deals with the phenomenon of dialogical speech activity in foreign language. Much attention is given to the notion of dialogic communication. A number of definitions of the dialogue are given. The article features communicative interaction. The key functions of dialogical speech communication are described. The article presents the main type of dialogue among which the authors highlight the ones of great importance for students to master professionally-oriented foreign language communication. Fundamental characteristics of dialogic discourse are analyzed. The article provides the definition to the concept of “ability”; groups of abilities necessary to carry out oral communication are outlined, the authors examine their most significant properties. The questions of division of abilities of foreign language dialogical speech activity development and theoretical justification of their typology are considered. The tree-phase structure of speech actions is revealed the elemental composition of the exercise is determined. The existing typologies of communicative tasks in domestic and foreign linguodidactics are analyzed, each type is characterized. The article provides a system of exercises aimed at developing communicative skils and abilities in the process of learning a foreign language.
Pun in Japanese Advertisement: Language, Cultural and Communicative Specifics
Authors: Mozgunova A.
Published: December 2022

The article dwells upon cultural specific of pun in Japanese advertisement. Indirect communication strategy which includes word play is an essential part of advertising communication. Pun (word play) is considered to be amusing, humorous use of homophones, however, despite humorous effect and ambiguity of pun, pun is not necessary a joke in advertisement. The study is considered to be relevant due to a distinct role of pun in advertisement. About 28% of Japanese TV advertisement is humorous and 12% contains pun.

Game, and language game in particular, are considered to be culturally influenced and play important social role. This influence is reflected in using of precedent-related phenomena, idioms, cultural-specific realia. The paper shows that phonetic puns are used more frequently due to abundance of homophones; graphic transposition is also one of frequent types, but Japanese puns in ads do not use Latin alphabet – this is linked to specific of Japanese writing system and language competence; in order to solve a pun communicative competence is required as a large number of puns are created on the basis of linguocultiral and precedent-related phenomena; among jokes in Japanese ads harmless, nonaggressive are prevail that shows specific of Japanese humor and advertising communication. However transformation of linguistic and social standards may cause communicative fail.

The object of this research is pun in Japanese advertisement. The principle aims are to reveal cultural specific of pun.

As illustrative material pieces of Japanese advertisement and TV commercials were selected via Internet – all of them were published in 2014-2020.
Cooperative Learning for Smart Charging of Shared Autonomous Vehicle Fleets
Authors: Ahadi Ramin , Ketter Wolfgang , Collins John , Daina Nicolò
Published: December 2022

We study the operational problem of shared autonomous electric vehicles that cooperate in providing on-demand mobility services while maximizing fleet profit and service quality. Therefore, we model the fleet operator and vehicles as interactive agents enriched with advanced decision-making aids. Our focus is on learning smart charging policies (when and where to charge vehicles) in anticipation of uncertain future demands to accommodate long charging times, restricted charging infrastructure, and time-varying electricity prices. We propose a distributed approach and formulate the problem as a semi-Markov decision process to capture its stochastic and dynamic nature. We use cooperative multiagent reinforcement learning with reshaped reward functions. The effectiveness and scalability of the proposed model are upgraded through deep learning. A mean-field approximation deals with environment instabilities, and hierarchical learning distinguishes high-level and low-level decisions. We evaluate our model using various numerical examples based on real data from ShareNow in Berlin, Germany. We show that the policies learned using our decentralized and dynamic approach outperform central static charging strategies. Finally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis for different fleet characteristics to demonstrate the proposed model’s robustness and provide managerial insights into the impacts of strategic decisions on fleet performance and derived charging policies.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.1187 .
Predicted waiting times for orthopaedic surgery
Authors: Farrow Luke , Jenkins Paul J. , Dunstan Edward , Murray Alastair , Blyth Mark J. G. , Simpson A. Hamish R. W. , Clement Nick D.
Published: December 2022

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2022;11(12):890–892.
Amplitude structure of optical vortices determines annihilation dynamics
Authors: Andersen Jasmine M. , Voitiv Andrew A. , Ford Patrick C. , Siemens Mark E.
Published: December 2022

We show that annihilation dynamics between oppositely charged optical vortex pairs can be manipulated by the initial size of the vortex cores, consistent with hydrodynamics. When sufficiently close together, vortices with strongly overlapped cores annihilate more quickly than vortices with smaller cores that must wait for diffraction to cause meaningful core overlap. Numerical simulations and experimental measurements for vortices with hyperbolic tangent cores of various initial sizes show that hydrodynamics governs their motion, and reveal distinct phases of vortex recombination; decreasing the core size of an annihilating pair can prevent the annihilation event.
Gaining the system: limits to compensating color deficiencies through post-receptoral gain changes
Authors: Emery Kara J. , Isherwood Zoey J. , Webster Michael A.
Published: December 2022

Color percepts of anomalous trichromats are often more similar to normal trichromats than predicted from their receptor spectral sensitivities, suggesting that post-receptoral mechanisms can compensate for chromatic losses. The basis for these adjustments and the extent to which they could discount the deficiency are poorly understood. We modeled the patterns of compensation that might result from increasing the gains in post-receptoral neurons to offset their weakened inputs. Individual neurons and the population responses jointly encode luminance and chromatic signals. As a result, they cannot independently adjust for a change in the chromatic inputs, predicting only partial recovery of the chromatic responses and increased responses to achromatic contrast. These analyses constrain the potential sites and mechanisms of compensation for a color loss and characterize the utility and limits of neural gain changes for calibrating color vision.
The Verriest Lecture: Pathways to color in the eye and brain
Authors: Martin Paul R.
Published: December 2022

In common with the majority of New World monkeys, marmosets show polymorphic color vision by allelic variation of X-chromosome genes encoding opsin pigments in the medium/long wavelength range. Male marmosets are thus obligate dichromats (“red-green color blind”), whereas females carrying distinct alleles on X chromosomes show one of three trichromatic phenotypes. Marmosets thus represent a “natural knock-out” system enabling comparison of red-green color vision in dichromatic and trichromatic visual systems. Further, study of short-wave (blue) cone pathways in marmosets has provided insights into primitive visual pathways for depth perception and attention. These investigations represent a parallel line to clinical research on color vision defects that was pioneered in studies by Guy Verreist, whom we honor in this eponymous lecture.
Optimization of heterogeneously integrated InP-Si on-chip photonic components
Authors: Mrowiński Paweł , Holewa Paweł , Sakanas Aurimas , Sęk Grzegorz , Semenova Elizaveta , Syperek Marcin
Published: December 2022

We demonstrate comprehensive numerical studies on a hybrid III-V/Si-based waveguide system, serving as a platform for efficient light coupling between an integrated III-V quantum dot emitter to an on-chip quantum photonic integrated circuit defined on a silicon substrate. We propose a platform consisting of a hybrid InP/Si waveguide and an InP-embedded InAs quantum dot, emitting at the telecom C-band near 1550 nm. The platform can be fabricated using existing semiconductor processing technologies. Our numerical studies reveal nearly 87% of the optical field transfer efficiency between geometrically-optimized InP/Si and Si waveguides, considering propagating field along a tapered geometry. The coupling efficiency of a directional dipole emission to the hybrid InP/Si waveguide is evaluated to ∼38%, which results in more than 33% of the total on-chip optical field transfer efficiency from the dipole to the Si waveguide. We also consider the off-chip outcoupling efficiency of the propagating photon field along the Si waveguide by examining the normal to the chip plane and in-plane outcoupling configurations. In the former case, the outcoupling amounts to ∼26% when using the circular Bragg grating outcoupler design. In the latter case, the efficiency reaches up to 8%. Finally, we conclude that the conceptual device's performance is weakly susceptible to the transferred photon wavelength, offering a broadband operation within the 1.5-1.6 µm spectral range.
Characterization of high-speed electro-optic phase modulators based on heterodyne carrier mapping at a fixed low-frequency
Authors: Xu Ying , Zhang Shangjian , Zou Xinhai , Ruan Zhongtao , He Yutong , Li Heping , Zhang Yali , Zhang Zhiyao , Liu Yong , Zhu Ninghua
Published: December 2022

A self-referenced method based on heterodyne carrier mapping is proposed to characterize the modulation efficiency of high-speed electro-optic phase modulators (EOPMs). The heterodyne carrier mapping replicates the optical carrier after phase modulation to an electrical replica, which enables observing the power variation of the optical carrier at a fixed low-frequency in the electrical domain. The modulation depths and half-wave voltages within the frequency range of up to 40 GHz are determined by measuring the amplitude ratio of the mapped low-frequency component at 80 MHz in the cases of on and off single-tone modulation of the EOPM. The measured results are compared to those obtained with the traditional optical spectrum analysis method and the electrical spectrum sweep method to check the consistency and accuracy. Surpassing the heterodyne spectrum mapping (HSM) scheme, our method only requires a single-tone driving of the EOPM under test and completely avoids the roll-off responsivity of the photodetector through the fixed low-frequency detection.
Time-domain measurement of twin beams produced by fiber amplifiers with an ultra-fast pulse train as a pump
Authors: Zhao Wen , Guo Xueshi , Li Xiaoying
Published: December 2022

A pulsed pumped four-wave mixing process via χ(3) nonlinearity in an optical fiber can generate optical pulses with continuous variable quantum correlation. However, pairwise correlation of the generated pulses in this system has not been demonstrated. Here we report a time-domain measurement of an intensity difference squeezed state generated in a fiber. With a fast response differential detection system, we show the generated twin-beam pulses are pairwisely correlated, and −3.8-dB (−8.1 dB after detection losses correction) intensity difference squeezing degree is measured in the time domain. Our result is beneficial for generating multi-mode entangled state by time-division multiplexing in fiber system.
Dissecting peripheral protein-membrane interfaces
Authors: Tubiana Thibault , Sillitoe Ian , Orengo Christine , Reuter Nathalie
Published: December 2022

Peripheral membrane proteins (PMPs) include a wide variety of proteins that have in common to bind transiently to the chemically complex interfacial region of membranes through their interfacial binding site (IBS). In contrast to protein-protein or protein-DNA/RNA interfaces, peripheral protein-membrane interfaces are poorly characterized. We collected a dataset of PMP domains representative of the variety of PMP functions: membrane-targeting domains (Annexin, C1, C2, discoidin C2, PH, PX), enzymes (PLA, PLC/D) and lipid-transfer proteins (START). The dataset contains 1328 experimental structures and 1194 AphaFold models. We mapped the amino acid composition and structural patterns of the IBS of each protein in this dataset, and evaluated which were more likely to be found at the IBS compared to the rest of the domains’ accessible surface. In agreement with earlier work we find that about two thirds of the PMPs in the dataset have protruding hydrophobes (Leu, Ile, Phe, Tyr, Trp and Met) at their IBS. The three aromatic amino acids Trp, Tyr and Phe are a hallmark of PMPs IBS regardless of whether they protrude on loops or not. This is also the case for lysines but not arginines suggesting that, unlike for Arg-rich membrane-active peptides, the less membrane-disruptive lysine is preferred in PMPs. Another striking observation was the over-representation of glycines at the IBS of PMPs compared to the rest of their surface, possibly procuring IBS loops a much-needed flexibility to insert in-between membrane lipids. The analysis of the 9 superfamilies revealed amino acid distribution patterns in agreement with their known functions and membrane-binding mechanisms. Besides revealing novel amino acids patterns at protein-membrane interfaces, our work contributes a new PMP dataset and an analysis pipeline that can be further built upon for future studies of PMPs properties, or for developing PMPs prediction tools using for example, machine learning approaches.
Interpreting tree ensemble machine learning models with endoR
Authors: Ruaud Albane , Pfister Niklas , Ley Ruth E. , Youngblut Nicholas D.
Published: December 2022

Tree ensemble machine learning models are increasingly used in microbiome science as they are compatible with the compositional, high-dimensional, and sparse structure of sequence-based microbiome data. While such models are often good at predicting phenotypes based on microbiome data, they only yield limited insights into how microbial taxa may be associated. We developed endoR, a method to interpret tree ensemble models. First, endoR simplifies the fitted model into a decision ensemble. Then, it extracts information on the importance of individual features and their pairwise interactions, displaying them as an interpretable network. Both the endoR network and importance scores provide insights into how features, and interactions between them, contribute to the predictive performance of the fitted model. Adjustable regularization and bootstrapping help reduce the complexity and ensure that only essential parts of the model are retained. We assessed endoR on both simulated and real metagenomic data. We found endoR to have comparable accuracy to other common approaches while easing and enhancing model interpretation. Using endoR, we also confirmed published results on gut microbiome differences between cirrhotic and healthy individuals. Finally, we utilized endoR to explore associations between human gut methanogens and microbiome components. Indeed, these hydrogen consumers are expected to interact with fermenting bacteria in a complex syntrophic network. Specifically, we analyzed a global metagenome dataset of 2203 individuals and confirmed the previously reported association betweenMethanobacteriaceaeandChristensenellales. Additionally, we observed thatMethanobacteriaceaeare associated with a network of hydrogen-producing bacteria. Our method accurately captures how tree ensembles use features and interactions between them to predict a response. As demonstrated by our applications, the resultant visualizations and summary outputs facilitate model interpretation and enable the generation of novel hypotheses about complex systems.
Sequence-sensitive elastic network captures dynamical features necessary for miR-125a maturation
Authors: Mailhot Olivier , Frappier Vincent , Major François , Najmanovich Rafael J.
Published: December 2022

The Elastic Network Contact Model (ENCoM) is a coarse-grained normal mode analysis (NMA) model unique in its all-atom sensitivity to the sequence of the studied macromolecule and thus to the effect of mutations. We adapted ENCoM to simulate the dynamics of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules, benchmarked its performance against other popular NMA models and used it to study the 3D structural dynamics of human microRNA miR-125a, leveraging high-throughput experimental maturation efficiency data of over 26 000 sequence variants. We also introduce a novel way of using dynamical information from NMA to train multivariate linear regression models, with the purpose of highlighting the most salient contributions of dynamics to function. ENCoM has a similar performance profile on RNA than on proteins when compared to the Anisotropic Network Model (ANM), the most widely used coarse-grained NMA model; it has the advantage on predicting large-scale motions while ANM performs better on B-factors prediction. A stringent benchmark from the miR-125a maturation dataset, in which the training set contains no sequence information in common with the testing set, reveals that ENCoM is the only tested model able to capture signal beyond the sequence. This ability translates to better predictive power on a second benchmark in which sequence features are shared between the train and test sets. When training the linear regression model using all available data, the dynamical features identified as necessary for miR-125a maturation point to known patterns but also offer new insights into the biogenesis of microRNAs. Our novel approach combining NMA with multivariate linear regression is generalizable to any macromolecule for which relatively high-throughput mutational data is available.
Use of multibeam imaging sonar for observation of marine mammals and fish on a marine renewable energy site
Authors: Francisco Francisco , Bender Anke , Sundberg Jan
Published: December 2022

Environmental data is crucial for planning, permitting, execution and post construction monitoring of marine renewable energy projects. In harsh conditions in which marine renewable energy is harvested, integrated monitoring platforms comprising multibeam imaging sonar systems coupled with other sensors can provide multiparametric data of the marine environment surrounding marine renewable energy installations. The aim of this study was to test the possibilities of observing the occurrence of fish and marine mammals using a multibeam imaging sonar system deployed at a wave power test site. The results obtained from a ten-day data set proved the platform as suitable for long time underwater monitoring and also revealed that the occurrence of fish and marine mammals was distributed across characteristic time and space domains. Large fish [>0.4 m] frequently occurred at night-time and near the benthic zone. Small fish [<0.2 m] frequently occurred during daylight and within the pelagic zone. The occurrence of seals was periodically distributed along a daily cycle, with intervals of 1–2 hours between maxima and minima. In conclusion, the use of multibeam imaging sonar can be a reliable technique for the qualitative and quantitative observations of fish and marine mammals in general and at marine renewable energy sites specifically, including protected and economically important species.
Temporal trends of hospitalizations, comorbidity burden and in-hospital outcomes in patients admitted with asthma in the United States: Population-based study
Authors: Zghebi Salwa S. , Mohamed Mohamed O. , Mamas Mamas A. , Kontopantelis Evangelos
Published: December 2022

Background

Asthma is a prevalent chronic respiratory condition and remains a common cause for hospitalization. However, contemporary data on asthma hospitalization rates, comorbidity burden, and in-hospital outcomes are lacking.

Methods

Survey-weighted analysis of hospitalization records with a primary diagnosis of asthma using data from the US National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample between 2004 and 2017. Outcomes were number of hospitalizations per 100,000 population and in-hospital outcomes including receipt of ventilation, length of stay, and hospital costs. Patient and admission characteristics and comorbidity burden were examined over time. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models were fitted for over-time risks of the outcomes.

Results

Among 3,098,863 asthma admissions between 2004 and 2017, mean (±SD) age was 29 (±25), 57% females, 36% White, 40% had Medicaid as primary payer. During 2004–2017, asthma hospitalizations declined from 89 to 56 per 100,000 population; length of stay remained overall stable; median (interquartile range IQR) inflation-adjusted hospital costs doubled from $8,446 (9,227) in 2004 to $17,756 (19,434) in 2017. Common comorbidities in patients admitted with asthma were hypertension and diabetes in adults, but gastroesophageal reflux disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, anemia, and obesity in children. Over time, the prevalence of mental illness increased by >50%. Severe asthma (IRR, 2.48; 95%CI: 2.27–2.72) and psychoses (IRR, 1.10; 1.05–1.14) were predictors of prolonged hospitalization. Asian/Pacific Islanders were more likely to receive ventilation (OR: 2.35; 1.73–3.20) than White patients. Hospital costs were significantly higher in females and adults with hypertension (coefficient, 1405.2; 283.1–2527.4) or psychoses (coefficient, 1978.4; 674.9–3282.0).

Conclusions

US asthma hospitalization rates fluctuated in earlier years but declined over time, which may reflect improvements in community care and declining asthma prevalence. Comorbidity burden, including mental illness, increased over time and is associated with in-hospital outcomes. This highlights the changing landscape of asthma admissions which may inform redesigning services to support pre-hospitalization asthma care and help further reduce admissions, particularly among patients with multimorbidity.
Parallel engineering of environmental bacteria and performance over years under jungle-simulated conditions
Authors: Chemla Yonatan , Dorfan Yuval , Yannai Adi , Meng Dechuan , Cao Paul , Glaven Sarah , Gordon D. Benjamin , Elbaz Johann , Voigt Christopher A.
Published: December 2022

Engineered bacteria could perform many functions in the environment, for example, to remediate pollutants, deliver nutrients to crops or act as in-field biosensors. Model organisms can be unreliable in the field, but selecting an isolate from the thousands that naturally live there and genetically manipulating them to carry the desired function is a slow and uninformed process. Here, we demonstrate the parallel engineering of isolates from environmental samples by using the broad-host-range XPORT conjugation system (Bacillus subtilis mini-ICEBs1) to transfer a genetic payload to many isolates in parallel. Bacillus and Lysinibacillus species were obtained from seven soil and water samples from different locations in Israel. XPORT successfully transferred a genetic function (reporter expression) into 25 of these isolates. They were then screened to identify the best-performing chassis based on the expression level, doubling time, functional stability in soil, and environmentally-relevant traits of its closest annotated reference species, such as the ability to sporulate and temperature tolerance. From this library, we selected Bacillus frigoritolerans A3E1, re-introduced it to soil, and measured function and genetic stability in a contained environment that replicates jungle conditions. After 21 months of storage, the engineered bacteria were viable, could perform their function, and did not accumulate disruptive mutations.
Chlorhexidine and octenidine susceptibility of bacterial isolates from clinical samples in a three-armed cluster randomised decolonisation trial
Authors: Denkel Luisa A. , Kramer Tobias S. , Schwab Frank , Golembus Jennifer , Wolke Solvy , Gastmeier Petra , Geffers Christine
Published: December 2022

Background

Routine use of chlorhexidine or octenidine for antiseptic bathing may have unintended consequences. Our analysis aimed to assess the phenotypic susceptibility of bacterial isolates from clinical samples to chlorhexidine and octenidine collected from intensive care units (ICU) that routinely used 2% chlorhexidine-impregnated wash cloths or 0.08% octenidine wash mitts (intervention) or water and soap (control) for daily patient care.

Methods

This study was conducted within the context of a three armed cluster-randomised controlled decolonisation trial (Registration number DRKS00010475, registration date August 18, 2016). Bacterial isolates were collected prior to and at the end of a 12-month-intervention period from patients with ≥ 3 days length of stay at an ICU assigned to one of two intervention groups or the control group. Phenotypic susceptibility to chlorhexidine and octenidine was assessed by an accredited contract research laboratory determining minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) as percentage of extraction solutions used. MIC were reported as estimated concentrations in μg/ml derived from the chlorhexidine and octenidine extraction solutions. Statistical analyses including generalized estimating equation models were applied.

Results

In total, 790 ICU-attributable bacterial isolates from clinical samples (e.g. blood, urine, tracheal aspirate) were eligible for all analyses. Pathogens included were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 155), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS, n = 122), Escherichia coli (n = 227), Klebsiella spp. (n = 150) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 136). For all species, chlorhexidine and octenidine MIC did not increase from baseline to intervention period in the antiseptic bathing groups. For proportions of bacterial isolates with elevated chlorhexidine / octenidine MIC (≥ species-specific chlorhexidine / octenidine MIC50), adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) showed no differences between the intervention groups and the control group (intervention period).

Conclusion

We found no evidence for reduced phenotypic susceptibilities of bacterial isolates from clinical samples to chlorhexidine or octenidine in ICUs 12 months after implementation of routine antiseptic bathing with the respective substances.
The Drosophila melanogaster attP40 docking site and derivatives are insertion mutations of msp-300
Authors: van der Graaf Kevin , Srivastav Saurabh , Singh Pratibha , McNew James A. , Stern Michael
Published: December 2022

The ɸC31 integrase system is widely used inDrosophila melanogasterto allow transgene targeting to specific loci. Over the years, flies bearing any of more than 100attPdocking sites have been constructed. One popular docking site, termedattP40, is located close to theNesprin-1orthologuemsp-300and lies upstream of certainmsp-300isoforms and within the first intron of others. Here we show thatattP40causes larval muscle nuclear clustering, which is a phenotype also conferred bymsp-300mutations. We also show that flies bearing insertions withinattP40can exhibit decreasedmsp-300transcript levels in third instar larvae. Finally, chromosomes carrying certain “transgenic RNAi project” (TRiP) insertions intoattP40can confer pupal or adult inviability or infertility, or dominant nuclear clustering effects in certain genetic backgrounds. These phenotypes do not require transcription from the insertions withinattP40. These results demonstrate thatattP40and insertion derivatives act asmsp-300insertional mutations. These findings should be considered when interpreting data fromattP40-bearing flies.
Importance of two-dimensional gaze analyses in the assessment of reading performance in patients with retinitis pigmentosa
Authors: Yoshida Masako , Seiyama Akitoshi
Published: December 2022

The causes of reading difficulties in people with peripheral visual field loss are not fully understood. We conducted a two-dimensional gaze analysis on eye movements during reading in patients with retinitis pigmentosa to investigate the causes of reading difficulties in relation to the central visual field using a binocular eye mark recorder (EMR-9). Twenty-seven patients with retinitis pigmentosa whose central visual field narrowed to ≤ 20° using Goldmann kinetic perimetry (I/4 target) and this present study included eight healthy participants. The participants’ visual acuities were corrected to better than +0.4 logMAR. Correlations and multivariate regression analyses were investigated between the number of letters read correctly, the I/4 central visual field, V/4 perifoveal and peripheral visual field, and visual acuity. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that all these parameters played almost equal roles in the number of letters read correctly. In the two-dimensional gaze analysis, the task performance time of patients during reading increased as the I/4 central visual field narrowed. The task performance time was more clearly correlated with the rotation saccade (r = 0.428, p <0.05) and the distance of the vertical direction (ΣY) of eye movements (r = 0.624, p < 0.01), but not with regressive saccade and the distance of the horizontal direction (ΣX). Visual acuity was correlated with the task performance time (-0.436, <0.05) but not with eye movement directionality. Reading difficulties in patients with retinitis pigmentosa result from impaired eye movement directionality. Understanding eye measurements for people with tunnel vision required a two-dimensional gaze analysis. The two-dimensional gaze analysis also showed that the involvement of the perifoveal and peripheral visual fields, visual acuity, and I/4 central visual field was important for reading in people with tunnel vision.
Self-restraint, subsidy, and stock market reactions to the coronavirus outbreak: Evidence from the Japanese restaurant industry
Authors: Sakawa Hideaki , Watanabel Naoki
Published: December 2022

This study examined the stock market response of the Japanese restaurant industry to the announcement of the self-restraint request and subsidy for restaurants by the Japanese government during the coronavirus outbreak. Using the event study approach, it was found that the market reacted negatively to the self-restraint request and positively to the subsidy for restaurants. Following the announcement of the self-restraint request, investors in the restaurant industry responded positively to the government’s stringent policy responses. Conversely, following the announcement on the “dining-out” subsidy, investors reacted negatively to the stringent government policies. Our findings provide useful information for policy makers and practitioners to mitigate losses in the hospitality industry during the pandemic.
Gut dysbiosis and bacterial translocation in the aneurysmal wall and blood in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm
Authors: Nakayama Ken , Furuyama Tadashi , Matsubara Yutaka , Morisaki Koichi , Onohara Toshihiro , Ikeda Tetsuo , Yoshizumi Tomoharu
Published: December 2022

Inflammation plays a part in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and the gut microbiota affects host inflammation by bacterial translocation. The relationship between abdominal aortic aneurysm and the gut microbiota remains unknown. This study aimed to detect bacterial translocation in the aneurysmal wall and blood of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, and to investigate the effect of the gut microbiota on abdominal aortic aneurysm. We investigated 30 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm from 2017 to 2019. We analysed the aneurysmal wall and blood using highly sensitive reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and the gut microbiota was investigated using next-generation sequencing. In the 30 patients, bacteria were detected by reverse transcription- quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 19 blood samples (detection rate, 63%) and in 11 aneurysmal wall samples (detection rate, 37%). In the gut microbiota analysis, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was increased. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was higher (2.94 ± 1.77 vs 1.96 ± 0.61, P < 0.05) and the lymphocyte-monocyte ratio was lower (4.02 ± 1.25 vs 5.86 ± 1.38, P < 0.01) in the bacterial carrier group than in the bacterial non-carrier group in blood samples. The volume of intraluminal thrombus was significantly higher in the bacterial carrier group than in the bacterial non-carrier group in aneurysmal wall samples (64.0% vs 34.7%, P < 0.05). We confirmed gut dysbiosis and bacterial translocation to the blood and aneurysmal wall in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm. There appears to be a relationship between the gut microbiota and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Socioeconomic status index is an independent determinant of breast cancer screening practices: Evidence from Eastern China
Authors: Zhang Shunhua , Wang Hairuo , Liu Binhao , Yu Jianwei , Gao Yizheng
Published: December 2022

Background

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy affecting Chinese women, and early routine screening is incredibly important for its prevention and control. This study aimed to investigate the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in female breast cancer screening practices using the composite SES index.

Methods

This cross-sectional study involved 1816 women in Eastern China. Data were collected using an online self-administered questionnaire from January 2020 to May 2021. We used principal component analysis to construct the composite SES index using educational level, annual household income, and occupation. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between the SES index and breast cancer screening utilization.

Results

Of the participants, 19.27% reported having performed breast self-examination, 12.89% reported having undergone clinical breast examination, and 3.52% reported having received mammography. The SES has a significant influence on the patronage of female breast cancer screening in Eastern China. The composite SES index was found to have a positive and significant association with breast cancer screening practices. An interaction was found between the SES index and patient characteristics, such as health awareness, marital status, and location of residence. In addition, the SES index had a positive effect on breast cancer-related knowledge.

Conclusions

Socioeconomic inequalities existed in Eastern China and were related to breast cancer screening patronage. The composite SES index was identified as a significant determinant of breast cancer screening practices. Our results highlighted the negative impacts of socioeconomic inequities on female breast cancer screening utilization. This suggests that reducing socioeconomic inequalities in breast cancer screening requires more focused interventions and concerted outreach activities for groups with lower education levels, lower income, or lower occupational classes.
The incidence of deep vein thrombosis after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: An analysis using routine ultrasonography of 260 patients
Authors: Joo Yong Bum , Kim Young Mo , Song Ju-Ho , An Byung Kuk , Kim Yun Ki , Kwon Soon Tae
Published: December 2022

Background

Recent studies regarding deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction investigated only symptomatic complications. The purpose of this study was to assess the true incidence of DVT after ACL reconstruction, regardless of symptom manifestation.

Materials and methods

Medical records of 260 patients who underwent isolated ACL reconstruction between January 2014 and December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Regardless of symptom manifestation, DVT was examined for all patients at 1 week postoperatively using ultrasonography. Demographics, injury mechanism (high energy direct injury and low energy indirect injury), soft tissue injury, preoperative anterior laxity, tourniquet time, and surgical technique (transtibial, anteromedial portal, and outside-in techniques) were investigated. Soft tissue injury was evaluated on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, based on the Tscherne classification. Risk factors for proximal DVT were identified using logistic regression analyses.

Results

A total of 21 (8.1%) patients showed DVT. 5 (1.9%) patients had thrombosis at the popliteal vein; however, none of them exhibited symptoms. The other 16 patients had thrombosis at the distal veins: 1 patient at the anterior tibial vein, 5 patients at the posterior tibial vein, 3 patients at the peroneal vein, 6 patients at the soleal vein, and 1 patient at the muscular branch vein. The risk factors for proximal DVT included high energy direct injury (p = 0.013, odds ratio = 10.62) and grade 2 soft tissue injury (p = 0.039, odds ratio = 6.78).

Conclusions

The true incidence of DVT, including symptomatic and asymptomatic complications, were 8.1% after ACL reconstruction. This rate is higher than the previously known incidence which has been investigated only for symptomatic patients. Injury mechanism and soft tissue injury should be assessed when considering thromboprophylaxis.
Previsão de velocidades de tráfego com rede neural LSTM encoder-decoder
Authors: Zechin Douglas , Basso do Amaral Matheus , Bettella Cybis Helena Beatriz
Published: December 2022

Este artigo tem como objetivo propor uma modelo de previsão de velocidades para um trecho de rodovia na cidade de Porto Alegre, que apresenta congestionamentos diariamente por conta de gargalos. Para realizar as previsões foram utilizados dados de tráfego e variáveis ambientais, como intensidade de chuva, acidentes e eventos atípicos. Propôs-se então um modelo de rede neural com arquitetura encoder-decoder e camadas long short-term memory (LSTM), que possuem a característica de estabelecer relações de longa dependência temporal entre as variáveis de entrada, sendo pertinentes para aplicações na área de Transportes. Como contribuições adicionais, avaliou-se a qualidade das previsões para diferentes horizontes de predição e regimes de tráfego, e comparou-se a capacidade e as curvas de probabilidade de breakdown calculadas com dados de campo e previstos. A metodologia apresentou desempenho satisfatório com base em ambos os critérios, sendo capaz de fazer boas previsões mesmo em situações críticas de tráfego.
Estimating the resilient modulus of subgrade materials using visual inspection
Authors: De Souza Wana Maria , Alves Ribeiro Antonio Júnior , De Araújo Barroso Suelly Helena
Published: December 2022

The definition of the Resilient Modulus (MR) of subgrade soils is essential for the reliable implementation of mechanistic-empirical pavement design. The MR of the soil is measured through repeated triaxial load tests which require expensive equipment and complex analyses. This reinforces the need to develop accurate statistical models for the prediction of the MR of the subgrade soil to be used for paving highways, especially in developing countries, such as Brazil, where financial resources are limited. The present study used artificial neural networks (ANNs) to create a model for the prediction of the MR of subgrade soils based on a visual-manual classification. For this, the results of MR tests conducted on samples of different soils from northeastern Brazil were used to develop an ANNs model for the prediction of the MR. The results demonstrate that ANNs can predict reliably the MR of soils, with a good degree of correlation in comparison with the laboratory test data. These findings support the use of the ANN model as a cost-effective approach for the preliminary evaluation of subgrade soils for highway pavement design in northeastern Brazil.
Apuntes para una historia del derecho canónico español en este último siglo
Authors: Álvarez de las Asturias Nicolás
Published: December 2022

La historia del derecho canónico en los últimos cien años puede escribirse como el proceso de tres recepciones: la del Código de 1917, la de la doctrina del Concilio Vaticano II y la del Código de 1983. En el presente artículo se estudiará el modo en que dichas recepciones se produjeron en el ámbito de la ciencia canónica española, más concretamente en la elaborada por los canonistas españoles de ámbito universitario, excluyendo en general otras contribuciones significativas, como son el trabajo en la curia romana, en los tribunales eclesiásticos o en las relaciones con el poder político.
La reforma del Libro VI
Authors: Medina Ricardo Daniel
Published: December 2022

La reforma del Libro VI del CIC, sin abandonar la eclesiología de comunión que inspiró el CIC 1983, ha incorporado algunos principios e institutos tomados del Código Pío-Benedictino. El nuevo Libro VI realza el uso del ius coactivum de la Iglesia como instrumento de caridad en el gobierno.
‘Cultured’ Food Futures? Agricultural Power, New Meat Ontologies, and Law in the Anthropocene
Authors: Struthers Montford Kelly
Published: December 2022

Animal agriculture in the US and Canada is a colonial geography borne of imported ontologies of property, life, land, and food shaped by and reproducing agricultural power. This article primarily examines the ontologization of in-vitro meat (IVM) and, to a lesser degree, plant-based synthetic meat relative to our current food ontologies. IVM is positioned as the pragmatic solution to food-driven climate catastrophe in that it will supposedly allow consumers to eat meat without the ethical, environmental, safety, or health concerns associated with agriculturally produced meat. I show that arguments for and against new meat technologies pivot on ontological claims about its realness. Those in favour claim that ‘real meat’ is nothing more than a specific chemical composition that can be divorced from the animal body and current production methods. Those against IVM claim that it cannot be separated from meat as the fetishization of meat renders these technologies intelligible in the first place, and that current production methods rely on ‘livestock’ and the slaughterhouse. IVM then represents a modified form of agricultural power in which the point of application moves from the animal body to the animal cell, and synthetic meat is an articulable invention due to the material and symbolic place of animal flesh in colonial orderings of life. The regulation of these new meat technologies will likely continue to ontologize farmed animals as meat, thereby continuing dominant relationships between agricultural power and food law. I conclude by considering whether new meat technologies ought to be ontologized as food.
[Review] Maren Tova Linett. Literary Bioethics: Animality, Disability, and the Human. New York University Press, 2020. Crip: New Directions in Disability Studies. 213 pages.
Authors: Woodward Wendy
Published: December 2022

[Review] Maren Tova Linett. Literary Bioethics: Animality, Disability, and the Human. New York University Press, 2020. Crip: New Directions in Disability Studies. 213 pages.