bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“As crianças são seres carregados de esperança”: uma entrevista com o cineasta Flora Gomes
Authors: Oliveira Jusciele Conceição Almeida de , Reis Mírian Sumica Carneiro
Published: August 2021

Entrevista realizada com o cineasta bissau-guineense Flora Gomes, no ambito da abertura do Encontro Virtual Literarte 5 anos. No bate-papo pelo youtube, conversou-se sobre história, política, estéticas e cinemas africanos contemporâneos.
Cost-effectiveness of surgical treatments compared with early structured physiotherapy in secondary care for adults with primary frozen shoulder
Authors: Corbacho Belen , Brealey Stephen , Keding Ada , Richardson Gerry , Torgerson David , Hewitt Catherine , McDaid Catriona , Rangan Amar ,   On behalf of the UK FROST trial team
Published: August 2021

Aims

A pragmatic multicentre randomized controlled trial, UK FROzen Shoulder Trial (UK FROST), was conducted in the UK NHS comparing the cost-effectiveness of commonly used treatments for adults with primary frozen shoulder in secondary care.

Methods

A cost utility analysis from the NHS perspective was performed. Differences between manipulation under anaesthesia (MUA), arthroscopic capsular release (ACR), and early structured physiotherapy plus steroid injection (ESP) in costs (2018 GBP price base) and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) at one year were used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the treatments using regression methods.

Results

ACR was £1,734 more costly than ESP ((95% confidence intervals (CIs) £1,529 to £1,938)) and £1,457 more costly than MUA (95% CI £1,283 to £1,632). MUA was £276 (95% CI £66 to £487) more expensive than ESP. Overall, ACR had worse QALYs compared with MUA (-0.0293; 95% CI -0.0616 to 0.0030) and MUA had better QALYs compared with ESP (0.0396; 95% CI -0.0008 to 0.0800). At a £20,000 per QALY willingness-to-pay threshold, MUA had the highest probability of being cost-effective (0.8632) then ESP (0.1366) and ACR (0.0002). The results were robust to sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion

While ESP was less costly, MUA was the most cost-effective option. ACR was not cost-effective. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(8):685–695.
Microwave Nondestructive Sensing of Moisture Content and Water Activity of Almonds
Authors: Trabelsi Samir
Published: August 2021

Highlights

Moisture and water activity were determined nondestructively and in real time from measurement of dielectric properties.

Moisture and water activity calibration equations were established in terms of the dielectric properties.

Situations in which bulk density was known or unknown were considered.

SEC ranged from 0.41% to 0.68% for moisture and from 0.02 to 0.04 for water activity.

Abstract. A method for rapid and nondestructive determination of moisture content and water activity of granular and particulate materials was developed. The method relies on measurement of the dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor at a single microwave frequency. For the purpose of illustration, the method was applied to predicting the moisture content and water activity of almond kernels. A free-space transmission technique was used for accurate measurement of the dielectric properties. Samples of Bute Padre almond kernels with moisture content ranging from 4.8% to 16.5%, wet basis (w.b.), and water activity ranging from 0.50 to 0.93 were loaded into a Styrofoam sample holder and placed between two horn-lens antennas connected to a vector network analyzer. The dielectric properties were calculated from measurement of the attenuation and phase shift at 8 GHz and 25°C. The dielectric properties increased linearly with moisture content, while they showed an exponential increase with water activity. Situations in which the bulk density was known and unknown were considered. Linear and exponential growth regressions provided equations correlating the dielectric properties with moisture content and water activity with coefficients of determination (r2) higher than 0.96. Analytical expressions of moisture content and water activity in terms of the dielectric properties measured at 8 GHz and 25°C are provided. The standard error of calibration (SEC) was calculated for each calibration equation. Results show that moisture content can be predicted with SECs ranging from 0.41% to 0.68% (w.b.) and water activity with SECs ranging from 0.02 to 0.04 for almond kernel samples with water activity ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 and moisture contents ranging from 4.8% to 16.5% (w.b.). Keywords: Bulk density, Dielectric constant, Dielectric loss factor, Free-space measurements, Loss tangent, Microwave frequencies, Moisture content, Water activity.
Power-Saving Solutions for Pre-Compensated Load-Sensing Systems on Mobile Machines
Authors: Tian Xin , Stump Patrick , Vacca Andrea , Fiorati Stefano , Pintore Francesco
Published: August 2021

Highlights

Two methods (VPM and HVM) are proposed to improve the hydraulic system efficiency of agricultural tractors.

VPM and HVM both target reducing the power loss at the flow control valve of the hydraulic system.

The solutions are presented conceptually and then numerically modeled, and VPM is tested on an actual tractor.

Results show that the VPM solution achieves 6.7% power saving, while HVM achieves 15.6% power saving.

Abstract. Load sensing (LS) is a dominant fluid power actuation technology in mobile machines, particularly in construction and agriculture. It has the advantage of guaranteeing good controllability in systems with multiple actuators while promoting higher energy efficiency. Several variants of LS systems have been proposed over the years, and research on cost-effective methods to further increase their efficiency is still of interest for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the fluid power community. This article presents two solution, referred to as variable pump margin (VPM) and hybrid variable margin (HVM), suitable to improve the energy efficiency in pre-compensated LS systems such as those used in agricultural tractors. Both methods allow either downsizing the control valves or reducing the power consumption over the working range. Compared to a standard LS system, the VPM solution lowers the pump pressure using an electronic proportional pressure-reducing valve (ep-PRV), while the HVM solution uses a second ep-PRV in the compensator’s pilot line to further minimize the pressure differential across the LS valve. Simulation and experimental results show that, among the main working conditions, the VPM solution on average achieved 6.7% power saving over the standard LS system, while the model predicted an average improvement of 15.6% for the HVM solution. Keywords: Efficiency, Experiments, Hydraulic, Load sensing, Modeling, Pump.
Cultural Studies, Critical Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis: Histories, Remembering and Futures
Authors: Threadgold Terry
Published: August 2021

In this paper I have explored some of the histories which inevitably connect, but also differentiate, critical discourse analysis and cultural studies. I have argued that both are strongly influenced by the versions of critical theory which have been characterised as 'postmodernism' and 'poststructuralism' and that both could benefit not only from some serious engagement with the several disciplines from which their interdisciplinarity is derived but also from some further in depth exploration of the critical theory which informs them and which they have often 'translated' or 'co-opted' in reductionist ways. I have also argued that the claims sometimes made for critical discourse analysis are inflated and that without serious ethnographies and attention to the theorisation as well as research of contexts those claims cannot really be sustained. On the other hand 'resignification' or the cultural politics of CDA are important agendas and we need to do much more work on establishing exactly how social change can be effected through the kinds of work CDA could do. My conclusion is that we need to reframe and recontextualise the ways in which we define and perform CDA and that that will involve bringing cultural studies and critical discourse analysis together in productive new ways with other disciplinary and theoretical formations and with proper attention to the new and different global and local contexts in which we work.
Die Konstituierung von Interkulturalität in der deutsch-schwedischen Wirtschaftskommunikation
Authors: Siegfried Doreen
Published: August 2021

This article is a contribution to the investigation of intercultural communication. On the basis of a concrete corpus of German-Swedish business communication, it looks into the question of the manifestation of cultural self- and other-ascription in natural data. The article shows which verbal means interactants use to present cultural knowledge, anticipate different cultural knowledge and orient themselves to an intercultural participation that is implicitly or explicitly apparent. This article also shows what the participants consider to be culture resp. cultural in this professional setting and how the constitution of interculturality is used functionally. At the same time, the article can be read as a plea for an endogenous investigation of intercultural communication.
Problem-based Web-based Teaching in a Computational Linguistics Curriculum
Authors: Carstensen Kai-Uwe , Hess Michael
Published: August 2021

This paper presents an approach for combining web-based learning (WBL) with problem-based learning (PBL), aiming at computer aided learning (CAL) support for introductory lectures to Computational Linguistics. Contrary to most current learning paradigms, we neither follow the "platform + content"-approach of current learning management systems used for distance learning, nor focus on the collaborative aspects of PBL. Instead we propose a text-centred concept for individual learning featuring problem-based interactive learning applications (TIP).
Konkurrenz, Komplementarität und Kooperation im Bereich der Präpositionen und Verbalpartikeln
oder
Wie lange noch müssen Präpositionen und Verbalpartikeln in Grammatiken ein Schattendasein führen?
Authors: Krause Maxi
Published: August 2021

The large literature on compliments so far reveals that the way these speech acts are uttered depends on languages, countries or cultures. A look at the compliment behaviour of Germans and Americans for instance shows that they are fond of formulaic expressions. The present paper aims at underscoring that most Cameroonians, unlike most Germans, use variable, complex and imaginative structures to express praise or admiration. The study particularly focuses on stylistic and lexical devices.
Vorbereitende Bedingungen von Sprechakten und mentale Räume
Authors: Huelva Unternbäumen Enrique
Published: August 2021

In this paper I shall analyze interaction sequences in which the interactants explicitly thematize and problematize whether the preparatory conditions of a speech act in a specific enunciation situation can be considered as satisfied or not. In these sequences the interaction develops an open, and consequently, observable contextualization process. In order to describe the dynamics of this process, central concepts and methods of Mental Space Theory will be applied. Contextualization will be characterized as a continuous process of construction, connection and modification of mental spaces.
Si isch grösser weder ig! Zum Komparativanschluss im Schweizerdeutschen
Authors: Friedli Matthias
Published: August 2021

Whereas in Standard High German (SHG) there is only one comparative particle, in Swiss German Dialects (SGD) different lexemes may fulfill the function of a comparative particle:
(1) SHG: Sie ist grösser als ich
SGD: Si isch grösser als / as / weder / wan / wie ig
'She is bigger than me'
The present paper describes the geographical distribution of the comparative particles in the Swiss German area in contexts such as (1). Whereas in some small areas only one comparative particle is found, in the rest of the Swiss German speaking area several competing variants coexist. The data are taken from the third questionnaire of the Syntactic Atlas of Swiss German Dialects, where three different comparative constructions have been investigated. A sociolinguistic analysis of the data reveals differences in the use of the particles: On the one hand, older people tend to use only one comparative particle, whereas younger people show a higher degree of variation. Moreover, older people tend to use the particle weder, in contrast to younger people who tend to use the particle wie. On the other hand, higher educated people use more than one comparative particle, whereas less educated people tend to use one variant only. The analysis of two other constructions also shortly mentioned in the paper shows that syntactic factors have an impact on variant selection, too.
W-Wort-Verdoppelung im Schweizerdeutschen
Authors: Frey Natascha
Published: August 2021

In some Swiss German dialects, wh-questions can show the wh-word at the end of the sentence in addition to its 'normal' sentence initial position. This phenomenon called wh-doubling raises some puzzling questions for linguistic theories, such as: what kind of processes are involved in wh-doubling (syntactic, phonological)? Does wh-doubling enrich the poor left periphery of Swiss German? Why do speakers use an additional wh-word that seems to be absolutely superfluous? I will argue that wh-doubling depends on the information structure of the question, more specifically on the function of the wh-word as a focus constituent. Wh-doubling is also used in a special type of rhetorical questions in Swiss High German where in addition to doubling wh-words undergo diminutive formation and reduplication. My paper pursues two main goals: (i) to give a detailed description of wh-doubling constructions with regard to geographical distribution and question type (rhetorical, alternative, echo etc.); (ii) to present syntactic analyses of similar wh-doubling phenomena in other languages considering their application to Swiss German data.
Leseleistung und Rezeptionsstrategien bei Mädchen und Jungen in der Sekundarstufe I
Authors: Grütz Doris
Published: August 2021

Do girls read texts differently from boys? This contribution presents a study from empirical teaching research in secondary education ("Sekundarstufe 1") by Grütz/Belgrad/Pfaff (2005). 4500 pupils, male and female, from the 7th form of primary and secondary school were examined to determine which of the reading strategies usually adopted lead to a more successful text understanding with girls and which with boys. This study follows up a previous study done in 4th form primary school by Belgrad/Grütz/Pfaff (2003). The research design is based on the psychological cognition model of text understanding following van Dijk/Kintsch (1983), which sees the process of reading comprehension as interactional and constructive. Cognitive reading strategies were tested which are usually adopted during lessons. Major results of the study are that boys prefer similar reading strategies both in primary and secondary schools. Good results are achieved when a text is read quietly and discussed afterwards. The worst results are obtained by all boys when words have to be copied from the text. With girls a notable difference can be seen in the usage of reading strategies depending on the type of the school and the level of reading competence. Girls from primary schools achieve the best results when they can activate knowledge prior to confronting the text, girls from secondary schools achieve the best results when they quietly read through a text.
Korpuslinguistik - Corpus linguistics - Les linguistiques de corpus: Unterschiedliche Stile der Einführung in diese Disziplin? Lektüreerfahrungen eines der Einführung in die Korpuslinguistik bedürftigen weil blutigen Anfängers
Authors: Kolde Gottfried
Published: August 2021

In 2004, at the time of the seminar on German Corpus Linguistics held at Neuchatel, no introduction to this subdiscipline of German Linguistics was available. As a result, the author decided to describe, in his orally presented contribution to that seminar, his experiences in reading a French and an English book entitled Les linguistiques de corpus resp. Corpus Linguistics. In spite of the similarity of the titles, the differences in content and style were so great that even the dangerous notion of (different) national intellectual styles even came to mind. The French book turned out to be, in fact, not an introduction but a critical description of the actual state of art, whereas the English publication intends really to motivate and to inform the beginner. In the meantime just in time for the publication of the texts of 2004, there was published in 2006, the (nearly) ideal introduction to German Corpus Linguistics. It is reviewed in a short supplement to the text of 2004, as evidence for the rapid development of Corpus Linguistics as method and part of the linguistic description of natural languages and their use.
Zur linguistischen Sinnsuche in- und ausserhalb von schriftsprachlichen Korpora. Eine Replik auf Wolfgang Teuberts Beitrag
Authors: Berthele Raphael
Published: August 2021

In this reply to Wolfgang Teubert's contribution, some of the central tenets of his position are questioned. The primacy of literacy for linguistic investigations as advocated by Teubert is challenged, since the most important function of language is oral communication, and most of the world's languages exist exclusively in oral use. Counter-evidence to Teubert's claim according to which oral languages do not develop metalinguistic awareness (as e.g. the concept of "word") is given. The author scrutinizes the value added by Teubert's programmatic suggestion of "hermeneutic corpus linguistics" to the linguistic disciplines, since the sole focus on "discourse objects" unnecessarily narrows down the scope of linguistic investigation. Moreover, it seems to lead to backgrounding and neglect of what linguistics is all about: the comprehensive study of the structures, meaning potentials and usage patterns of the languages and varieties of the world, and the study of their usage-based emergence and evolution.
Satzarten unterscheiden - Kann das der Computer? Syntaktische Explorationen anhand von COSMAS II
Authors: Näf Anton
Published: August 2021

Is the computer capable of recognizing different sentence types in a linguistic corpus such as COSMAS II (Mannheim), which has not been previously treated by a tagger or a parser? The answer is in fact no. However, in the present article it is shown that under certain circumstances an automatic distinction is nevertheless possible. Making use of a procedure that we have called Anfragezuspitzung (literally: making a query pointed; encirclement of a grammatical phenomenon by a combination of several specific queries), and taking as a starting point philological prior knowledge that has been gathered "by hand", it proves to be perfectly possible to arrive at a satisfactory result. With the example of sentence types in German, in particular the distinction between interrogative and exclamatory sentences, we demonstrate in this article that such a distinction can be carried out automatically with a high degree of accuracy, e.g. the distinction between War das eine gute Idee? (Was this a good idea?) and War das eine gute Idee! (What a good idea this was!).
Der Erwerb der Verbflexion durch thailändische Immigrantinnen in der Schweiz. Eine Bestandaufnahme.
Authors: Attaviriyanupap Korakoch
Published: August 2021

This article focuses on the acquisition of German verb inflection by native speakers of Thai, an isolated language which has no concept of inflection at all. The acquisition process of German verb morphology is analyzed based on all the verb inflectional affixes found in the corpus consisting of spontaneous utterances in Standard German produced by16 female immigrants living in German-speaking Switzerland. It aims to find out a systematic acquisition order of verb inflectional morphemes and the explanation to this sequence, especially to answer the following four questions: 1) What is the acquisition order of verb inflectional morphemes found in this group of informants 2) Are there any differences between the acquisition of finite and that of non-finite verbs? 3) Are there any differences in the verb morphology acquisition of different types of verbs? 4) Does the acquisition of verb inflection by these informants share more similiarities with the instructed or with the natural acquisition of German as a second language?
Das Projekt "Deutsch als Zweitsprache in Dialektumgebung"
Authors: Ender Andrea , Li Wei , Straßl Katharina
Published: August 2021

This paper presents the ongoing project "German as a Second Language in a Dialect-Speaking Environment" which is concerned with the acquisition of German as a second language by immigrant children in the German-Speaking part of Switzerland. As this is one of the areas where a distinct dialect coexists with the standard variety, the language acquisition poses a challenge for immigrant children: The daily input does not correspond at all, or only in part, to what the immigrant children should learn (e.g. for achievement in school and career opportunities), namely standard German. The aims of the project are to evaluate existing language measuring methods for preschool children and to develop a test that is adapted to the bilingualism of the immigrant children and the specific diglossic learning situation. Furthermore, an empirical pilot study deals with the language abilities of primary school children and examines how and to what extend the local dialect influences the use of standard German in spoken and written texts.
Dialekt und Standardsprache im DaF-Unterricht. Wie Schüler urteilen - wie Lehrer urteilen.
Authors: Baßler Harald , Spiekermann Helmut
Published: August 2021

In der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion wird in jüngster Zeit gefordert, regionale Varietäten des Deutschen stärker im DaF-Unterricht zu berücksichtigen. Mithilfe einer Fragebogenuntersuchung gehen wir der Frage nach, wie Unterrichtsbeteiligte die Relevanz regionaler Varietäten einschätzen. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass DaF-Lerner die Behandlung von Dialekt und Regionalsprache als wichtig erachten, die DaF-Lehrer dagegen stärker an der Vermittlung einer standardsprachlichen Norm interessiert sind. Die Thematisierung regionaler Varianz im DaF-Unterricht scheitert allerdings häufig auch daran, dass es nur unzureichende Unterrichtsmaterialien für die unterschiedlichen deutschsprachigen Regionen gibt. Wir schließen unseren Beitrag daher mit einigen Vorschlägen für die Unterrichtspraxis ab.
FMCW lidar multitarget detection based on skeleton tree waveform matching
Authors: Li Bingchen , Mo Di , Wang Peisi , Gan Nan , Lin Miao , Wang Ran , Li Shiqiang
Published: August 2021

Frequency-modulated continuous-wave lidar realizes 4D (three-dimensional space and velocity) imaging of the scene by emitting positive and negative frequency sweep laser signals. The premise of it is to identify the frequency points corresponding to the same target in the positive and negative sweep echo signals. For dechirp receiving, there is usually one peak in the frequency spectrum of the positive and negative sweep signals, respectively. Therefore, it is easy to identify and match the peaks. But in a complex environment, the laser beam will irradiate multiple targets at the same time. In addition, beam scanning and target motion cause the echo spectrum to broaden. The above reasons make it extremely difficult to identify and match peaks in practice. To solve this problem, the waveform-matching algorithm based on the skeleton tree is first applied to multitarget echo pairing. The basic idea of the algorithm is to quantify the target echo hierarchically to generate a skeleton tree. The generation of nodes is based on the relative amplitude of waveform peaks and reflects the characteristics of wave crests nesting. Then the similarity of the signal is determined by comparing the distance between the two signal waveform feature trees. Finally, the waveforms are matched in terms of similarity. To further substantiate the role of the proposed algorithm, imaging experiments and related comparative data for different targets have been completed. The results show that the accuracy of matching processed by the algorithm exceeds 90%, which is improved by about 50% compared with not using the algorithm for the target whose overlapping part accounts for a large proportion of itself.
Fluorescence hyperspectral imaging system for analysis and visualization of oil sample composition and thickness
Authors: Xue Qingsheng , Qi Ming , Li Zhanfeng , Yang Bai , Li Wenhao , Wang Fupeng , Li Qian
Published: August 2021

In this paper, a compact fluorescence hyperspectral imaging system based on a prism-grating-prism (PGP) structure is designed. Its spectrometer spectral range is 400–1000 nm with a spectral resolution of 2.5 nm, and its weight is less than 1.7 kg. The PGP imaging spectrometer combines the technical advantages of prism and grating, by not only using six lenses for imaging and collimation to realize the dual telecentres of object and image but also having a “straight cylinder” structure, which makes the installation and adjustment simple, compact, and stable. By the push-broom method, we obtained the three-dimensional cubic data of different oil products. By normalization processing, minimum noise separation transformation processing, visualization processing, and support vector machine classification processing of different oil fluorescence hyperspectral data, we demonstrate that the fluorescence hyperspectral imaging system can identify different kinds of oil and recognize the oil film thickness. The fluorescence hyperspectral imaging system can be used in oil spill detection, resource exploration, natural disaster monitoring, environmental pollution assessment, and many other fields.
Synchronization using quantum photons for satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution
Authors: Wang Chao-Ze , Li Yang , Cai Wen-Qi , Liu Wei-Yue , Liao Sheng-Kai , Peng Cheng-Zhi
Published: August 2021

Time synchronization is crucial for quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. In order to compensate for the time drift caused by the Doppler effect and adapt to the unstable optical link in satellite-to-ground QKD, previous demonstrations generally adopted synchronization methods requiring additional hardware. In this paper, we present a novel synchronization method based on the detected quantum photons, thus simplifying additional hardware and reducing the complexity and cost. This method adopts target frequency scanning to realize fast frequency recovery, utilizes polynomial fitting to compensate for the Doppler effect, and takes use of the vacuum state in the decoy-state BB84 protocol to recover the time offset. This method can avoid the influence of synchronization light jitter, thus improving the synchronization precision and the secure keys as well. Successful satellite-to-ground QKD based on this new synchronization scheme has been conducted to demonstrate its feasibility and performance. The presented scheme provides an effective synchronization solution for quantum communication applications.
Broadband flat-top second-order OAM mode converter based on a phase-modulated helical long-period fiber grating
Authors: Zhao Hua , Zhang Zhen , Zhang Miaomiao , Hao Yuanyuan , Wang Peng , Li Hongpu
Published: August 2021

In this study, a broadband flat-top second-order orbital angular momentum mode (OAM) converter is proposed and demonstrated using a phase-modulated second-order helical long-period fiber grating (HLPG). The proposed HLPG is designed to be inscribed in a thinned four-mode fiber and operated at wavelengths near the dispersion turning point (DTP). In contrast to most of the HLPG-based OAM mode generators reported to date, where the high-order OAM mode and flat-top broadband have rarely been achieved simultaneously, a second-order OAM(OAM-2) mode converter with a flat-top bandwidth of 113 nm @ -20 dB (ranging from 1530—1643 nm) and a depth fluctuation of less than 3 dB @-26 dB has been successfully demonstrated in this study, such flat-top bandwidth covers the entire C + L bands and represents the best result of the HLPGs reported to date. Tolerance analyses for the fabrication of the designed HLPG were also performed. It is believed that the proposed HLPG may find applications in all-fiber vortex lasers as well as the OAM mode division multiplex (MDM) system.
Dynamical manipulation of a dual-polarization plasmon-induced transparency employing an anisotropic graphene-black phosphorus heterostructure
Authors: Luo Peng , Wei Wei , Lan Guilian , Wei Xingzhan , Meng Liya , Liu Yan , Yi Juemin , Han Genquan
Published: August 2021

Dynamical tunable plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) possesses the unique characteristics of controlling light propagation states, which promises numerous potential applications in efficient optical signal processing chips and nonlinear optical devices. However, previously reported configurations are sensitive to polarization and can merely operate under specific single polarization. In this work we propose an anisotropic PIT metamaterial device based on a graphene-black phosphorus (G-BP) heterostructure to realize a dual-polarization tunable PIT effect. The destructive interference coupling between the bright mode and dark modes under the orthogonal polarization state pronounced anisotropic PIT phenomenon. The coupling strength of the PIT system can be modulated by dynamically manipulating the Fermi energy of the graphene via the external electric field voltage. Moreover, the three-level plasmonic system and the coupled oscillator model are employed to explain the underlying mechanism of the PIT effect, and the analytical results show good consistency with the numerical calculations. Compared to the single-polarization PIT devices, the proposed device offers additional degrees of freedom in realizing universal tunable functionalities, which could significantly promote the development of next-generation integrated optical processing chips, optical modulation and slow light devices.
πFBG resonator used as a transducer for trace gas photothermal detection
Authors: Lauwers Thomas , Glière Alain , Verdot Thierry , Basrour Skandar
Published: August 2021

We present an optical transduction method adapted to the detection of low frequency thermal perturbations and implemented for photothermal trace gas detection. The transducer is a π-phase shifted fiber Bragg grating, stabilized and interrogated by the Pound-Drever-Hall method. The principle of detection is based on the frequency shift of the narrow optical resonance, induced by the temperature variations. In temperature measurement mode, the stabilization leads to an estimated limit of detection of 1 µK at room temperature and at a frequency of 40 Hz. When the fiber transducer is placed in a gas cell, CO2 is detected by photothermal spectroscopy with a limit of detection of 3 ppm/

H
z

. This novel method, based on a single fiber, offers robustness, stabilized operation and remote detection capability.
Experimental demonstration of strong unitary uncertainty relations
Authors: Qu Dengke , Wang Kunkun , Xiao Lei , Zhan Xiang , Xue Peng
Published: August 2021

Uncertainty relations are one of the most important foundations of quantum physics. In the textbook literatures, uncertainty relations usually refer to the preparation uncertainty. Its original formulation based on variances of two observables limits on the ability to prepare an ensemble of quantum systems for which non-commuting observables will have arbitrary uncertainty. The preparation uncertainty relation has been widely investigated. On the other hand, a unitary operator is a fundamental tenet of quantum theory. Every evolution of a closed quantum system is governed by acting unitary operators on the state of the system and the evolution of an open system can be represented by acting unitary operators on an enlarged system consisting of the quantum system as a subsystem. Therefore, naturally, to understand and quantitatively capture the essence of uncertainty relations for unitary operators is important and timely. Here we report an experimental investigation of a set of uncertainty relations for two unitary operators, which are theoretically derived by using a sequence of fine-grained inequalities. We test these uncertainty relations with single photons and interferometric networks. The unitary uncertainty relation is saturated by any pure qubit state. For higher-dimensional states, it is stronger than the best known bound introduced in the previous literatures. The lower bounds of the unitary uncertainty relations can be even further strengthened by the symmetry of permutation. The experimental findings agree with the predictions of quantum theory and respect the new uncertainty relations.
Diffuse photon-remission associated with single-fiber geometry may be a simple scaling of that collected over the same area when under centered-illumination
Authors: Sun Tengfei , Piao Daqing , Yu Linhui , Murari Kartikeya
Published: August 2021

Robust models for single-fiber reflectance (SFR) are relatively complex [Opt. Lett. 45, 2078 (2020)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.385845] due to overlapping of the illumination and collection areas that entails probability weighting of the spatial integration of photon-remission. We demonstrate, via analytical means for limiting cases and Monte Carlo simulation of broader conditions, that diffuse photon-remission collected by single-fiber geometry may be scaled over the center-illuminated photon-remission. We specify for a medium revealing Henyey–Greenstein (HG) scattering anisotropy that the diffuse photon-remission from a sub-diffusive area of a top-hat illumination is

∼

84.9

%

of that collected over the same area when under a centered-illumination. This ratio remains consistent over a reduced-scattering fiber-size product of

μ
s
′

d

fib

=
[

10

−
5

,

10

0

]

, for absorption varying 3 orders of magnitude. When applied to hemoglobin oxygenation changes induced in an aqueous phantom using a 200 µm single-fiber probe, the center-illumination-scaled model of SFR produced fitting results agreeing with reference measurements.
Vibrational modes in an optically levitated droplet
Authors: Luo Xin , Zhou Zhihao , Liu Wei , Shen Dongyi , Yan Hengzhe , Lin Yiqiao , Wan Wenjie
Published: August 2021

Levitation by optical tweezers provides a unique non-invasive tool for investigating a microscale object without external perturbations. Here we experimentally levitate a micrometer-sized water droplet in the air using an optical tweezer. Meanwhile, vibrational modes of a levitated water droplet are excited by modulating the trapping laser. From their backscattered light, vibrational modes with mode numbers are observed in the spectra. Additionally, their corresponding free spectral ranges are analyzed and compared with theory and numerical simulations. This Letter, establishing a non-invasive and all-optical detection technique of optomechanical properties of levitated droplets, paves the way for their practical applications in aerosol and biomedical science.
High-stability, linearly polarized mode-locking generation from a polarization-maintaining fiber oscillator around 2.8  µm
Authors: Luo Hongyu , Wang Yongzhi , Li Jianfeng , Liu Yong
Published: August 2021

In this Letter, a high-stability, linearly polarized mode-locked polarization-maintaining (PM)

E

r

3
+

-doped fluoride fiber oscillator at

∼

2.8

µ

m

is presented for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, where an InAs-based semiconductor saturable absorber mirror is used as the mode locker, and a film polarizer is employed for maintaining the linearly polarized oscillation. In the free-running state, stable linearly polarized mode-locked pulses (

τ
=

44

p
s

and

P

=

446

m
W

) at 2.795 µm, with a high polarization extinction ratio of

>

23

d
B

and a low integrated relative intensity noise of 0.087% [1 Hz–10 MHz], have been achieved, which can be strongly immune to external mechanical perturbations. By introducing a ruled reflective diffraction grating into the cavity in a Littman configuration, the continuous wavelength tuning of the linearly polarized mode-locked pulses in the range of 2717–2827 nm is obtained as well. To the best of our knowledge, this marks the first demonstration of a linearly polarized PM fiber oscillator in the

>

2.5

µ

m

mid-infrared region.
Akzeptanzanalyse von Microsoft Teams als eKollaborationssystem bei standortverteilten und agilen Entwicklungsteams eines mittelständischen Unternehmens
Authors: Schwind Jonathan , Yetim Fahri
Published: August 2021

eKollaborationssysteme haben das Ziel, die Zusammenarbeit über zeitliche und räumliche Grenzen hinweg zu unterstützen.Microsoft Teamshat sich mittlerweile als ein eKollaborationssystem etabliert. Bisherige Forschung unterstreicht im Allgemeinen die Relevanz der Benutzerakzeptanz für die erfolgreiche Einführung und Nutzung von eKollaborationssystemen in Unternehmen. Jedoch mangelt es an empirischen Akzeptanzstudien, die sich spezifisch mit der Akzeptanz vonMicrosoft Teamsbeschäftigen. Diese Arbeit untersucht die Akzeptanz des Einsatzes vonMicrosoft Teamszur Kommunikation in standortverteilten agilen Entwicklungsteams im Kontext eines mittelständischen Unternehmens. Anhand einer Fallstudie sollen Erkenntnisse über Akzeptanz- und Nutzungsverhalten eines Entwicklungsteams im konkreten praktischen Anwendungskontext gewonnen werden, um daraus praktische Handlungsempfehlungen zur zielgerichteten Optimierung des Systems und dessen Einsatz für die Entscheidungsträger abzuleiten. Zu diesem Zweck wird eine qualitative empirische Vorgehensweise gewählt, die sich an Akzeptanztheorien orientiert, um die wichtigsten Einflussfaktoren der Akzeptanz von Microsoft Teams theoriegeleitet verstehen und erklären zu können. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen unter anderem, dass die Leistungserwartung und Aufwandserwartung besonders relevant in diesem Zusammenhang sind. Die Implikationen der Ergebnisse für weitere Forschung und Praxis werden ebenfalls kurz vorgestellt.
The Integrity of the HMR complex is necessary for centromeric binding and reproductive isolation in Drosophila
Authors: Lukacs Andrea , Thomae Andreas W. , Krueger Peter , Schauer Tamas , Venkatasubramani Anuroop V. , Kochanova Natalia Y. , Aftab Wasim , Choudhury Rupam , Forne Ignasi , Imhof Axel
Published: August 2021

Postzygotic isolation by genomic conflict is a major cause for the formation of species. Despite its importance, the molecular mechanisms that result in the lethality of interspecies hybrids are still largely unclear. The genus Drosophila, which contains over 1600 different species, is one of the best characterized model systems to study these questions. We showed in the past that the expression levels of the two hybrid incompatibility factors Hmr and Lhr diverged in the two closely related Drosophila species, D. melanogaster and D. simulans, resulting in an increased level of both proteins in interspecies hybrids. The overexpression of the two proteins also leads to mitotic defects, a misregulation in the expression of transposable elements and decreased fertility in pure species. In this work, we describe a distinct six subunit protein complex containing HMR and LHR and analyse the effect of Hmr mutations on complex integrity and function. Our experiments suggest that HMR needs to bring together components of centromeric and pericentromeric chromatin to fulfil its physiological function and to cause hybrid male lethality.
Endothelial Semaphorin 3fb regulates Vegf pathway-mediated angiogenic sprouting
Authors: Watterston Charlene , Halabi Rami , McFarlane Sarah , Childs Sarah J.
Published: August 2021

Vessel growth integrates diverse extrinsic signals with intrinsic signaling cascades to coordinate cell migration and sprouting morphogenesis. The pro-angiogenic effects of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) are carefully controlled during sprouting to generate an efficiently patterned vascular network. We identify crosstalk between VEGF signaling and that of the secreted ligand Semaphorin 3fb (Sema3fb), one of two zebrafish paralogs of mammalian Sema3F. Thesema3fbgene is expressed by endothelial cells in actively sprouting vessels. Loss ofsema3fbresults in abnormally wide and stunted intersegmental vessel artery sprouts. Although the sprouts initiate at the correct developmental time, they have a reduced migration speed. These sprouts have persistent filopodia and abnormally spaced nuclei suggesting dysregulated control of actin assembly. sema3fbmutants show simultaneously higher expression of pro-angiogenic (VEGF receptor 2(vegfr2)anddelta-like 4(dll4))and anti-angiogenic (solubleVEGF receptor 1 (svegfr1)/soluble Fms Related Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 1 (sflt1))pathway components. We show increased phospho-ERK staining in migrating angioblasts, consistent with enhanced Vegf activity. Reducing Vegfr2 kinase activity insema3fbmutants rescues angiogenic sprouting. Our data suggest that Sema3fb plays a critical role in promoting endothelial sprouting through modulating the VEGF signaling pathway, acting as an autocrine cue that modulates intrinsic growth factor signaling.
Organized primary human papillomavirus–based cervical screening: A randomized healthcare policy trial
Authors: Elfström K. Miriam , Eklund Carina , Lamin Helena , Öhman Daniel , Hortlund Maria , Elfgren Kristina , Sundström Karin , Dillner Joakim
Published: August 2021

Background

Clinical trials in the research setting have demonstrated that primary human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening results in greater protection against cervical cancer compared with cytology, but evidence from real-life implementation was missing. To evaluate the effectiveness of HPV-based cervical screening within a real-life screening program, the organized, population-based cervical screening program in the capital region of Sweden offered either HPV- or cytology-based screening in a randomized manner through a randomized healthcare policy (RHP).

Methods and findings

A total of 395,725 women aged 30 to 64 years that were invited for their routine cervical screening visit were randomized without blinding to either cytology-based screening with HPV triage (n = 183,309) or HPV-based screening, with cytology triage (n = 212,416 women) between September 1, 2014 and September 30, 2016 and follow-up through June 30, 2017. The main outcome was non-inferior detection rate of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+). Secondary outcomes included superiority in CIN2+ detection, screening attendance, and referral to histology.

In total, 120,240 had a cervical screening sample on record in the study period in the HPV arm and 99,340 in the cytology arm and were followed for the outcomes of interest. In per-protocol (PP) analyses, the detection rate of CIN2+ was 1.03% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98 to 1.10) in the HPV arm and 0.93% (0.87 to 0.99) in the cytology arm (p for non-inferiority <0.0001; odds ratio (OR) 1.11 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.22)). There were 46 cervical cancers detected in the HPV arm (0.04% (0.03 to 0.06)) and 48 cancers detected in the cytology arm (0.05% (0.04 to 0.07)) (p for non-inferiority <0.0001; OR 0.79 (0.53 to 1.18)). Intention-to-screen (ITS) analyses found few differences. In the HPV arm, there was a modestly increased attendance after new invitations (68.56% (68.31 to 68.80) vs. 67.71% (67.43 to 67.98); OR 1.02 (1.00 to 1.03)) and increased rate of referral with completed biopsy (3.89% (3.79 to 4.00) vs. 3.53% (3.42 to 3.65); OR 1.10 (1.05 to 1.15)).

The main limitations of this analysis are that only the baseline results are presented, and there was an imbalance in invitations between the study arms.

Conclusions

In this study, we observed that a real-life RHP of primary HPV-based screening was acceptable and effective when evaluated against cytology-based screening, as indicated by comparable participation, referral, and detection rates.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01511328
Extreme value theory as a framework for understanding mutation frequency distribution in cancer genomes
Authors: Tokutomi Natsuki , Nakai Kenta , Sugano Sumio
Published: August 2021

Currently, the population dynamics of preclonal cancer cells before clonal expansion of tumors has not been sufficiently addressed thus far. By focusing on preclonal cancer cell population as a Darwinian evolutionary system, we formulated and analyzed the observed mutation frequency among tumors (MFaT) as a proxy for the hypothesized sequence read frequency and beneficial fitness effect of a cancer driver mutation. Analogous to intestinal crypts, we assumed that sample donor patients are separate culture tanks where proliferating cells follow certain population dynamics described by extreme value theory (EVT). To validate this, we analyzed three large-scale cancer genome datasets, each harboring > 10000 tumor samples and in total involving > 177898 observed mutation sites. We clarified the necessary premises for the application of EVT in the strong selection and weak mutation (SSWM) regime in relation to cancer genome sequences at scale. We also confirmed that the stochastic distribution of MFaT is likely of the Fréchet type, which challenges the well-known Gumbel hypothesis of beneficial fitness effects. Based on statistical data analysis, we demonstrated the potential of EVT as a population genetics framework to understand and explain the stochastic behavior of driver-mutation frequency in cancer genomes as well as its applicability in real cancer genome sequence data.
Determinants of hypertension among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on follow-up at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa: A case-control study
Authors: Kotiso Kehabtimer Shiferaw , Degemu Nabiha , Gebremedhin Samson , Taye Melaku , Petros Adane , Belayneh Fanuel , Wolde Deneke , Hailu Dejene
Published: August 2021

Introduction

Hypertension (HTN) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common problem that increases the risk of mortality and morbidity, and lowers the quality of life. Despite the disproportionately high burden of HTN in DM patients, determinants for the comorbidity have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the determinants of HTN among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on follow-up at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital.

Methods and materials

We conducted a hospital-based unmatched case-control study at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital on 386 randomly selected patients with type 2 diabetes on follow-up (200 cases and 186 controls). We collected data by using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and data extraction form. To identify determinants of hypertension, a multivariable binary logistic regression was fitted, and the findings are presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

The mean reported age (±SD) of the cases and the controls was 60.3 (±9.9) and 55.3 (±11.3) years, respectively. The eight identified independent determinants of hypertension with AOR [95% CI] were obesity: 2.82 [1.43, 5.57], sedentary activity of ≥4hrs/day: 1.75 [1.10, 2.79], higher stress score: 1.05 [1.01, 1.10], serum creatinine above 1.1 mg/dl: 2.35 [1.13, 4.91], age: 1.05 [1.02, 1.08], being government employee as compared to private workers: 2.18 [1.06, 4.50] and family history of hypertension: 2.11 [1.26, 3.54]. Further, interaction of diabetes duration with insulin use: 1.03 [1.01, 1.07] was also a significant predictor of HTN among DM patients.

Conclusion

The finding calls for interventions for mitigating these determinants. Further research is needed to examine the interaction between diabetes duration and insulin use.