bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deep image enhancement for ill light imaging
Authors: Khan Rizwan , Yang You , Liu Qiong , Shen Jialie , Li Bing
Published: April 2021

Imaging in the natural scene under ill lighting conditions (e.g., low light, back-lit, over-exposed front-lit, and any combinations of them) suffers from both over- and under-exposure at the same time, whereas processing of such images often results in over- and under-enhancement. A single small image sensor can hardly provide satisfactory quality for ill lighting conditions with ordinary optical lenses in capturing devices. Challenges arise in the maintenance of a visual smoothness between those regions, while color and contrast should be well preserved. The problem has been approached by various methods, including multiple sensors and handcrafted parameters, but extant model capacity is limited to only some specific scenes (i.e., lighting conditions). Motivated by these challenges, in this paper, we propose a deep image enhancement method for color images captured under ill lighting conditions. In this method, input images are first decomposed into reflection and illumination maps with the proposed layer distribution loss net, where the illumination blindness and structure degradation problem can be subsequently solved via these two components, respectively. The hidden degradation in reflection and illumination is tuned with a knowledge-based adaptive enhancement constraint designed for ill illuminated images. The model can maintain a balance of smoothness and contribute to solving the problem of noise besides over- and under-enhancement. The local consistency in illumination is achieved via a repairing operation performed in the proposed Repair-Net. The total variation operator is optimized to acquire local consistency, and the image gradient is guided with the proposed enhancement constraint. Finally, a product of updated reflection and illumination maps reconstructs an enhanced image. Experiments are organized under both very low exposure and ill illumination conditions, where a new dataset is also proposed. Results on both experiments show that our method has superior performance in preserving structural and textural details compared to other states of the art, which suggests that our method is more practical in future visual applications.
Simulations of micro-sphere/shell 2D silica photonic crystals for radiative cooling
Authors: Whitworth G. L. , Jaramillo-Fernandez J. , Pariente J. A. , Garcia P. D. , Blanco A. , Lopez C. , Sotomayor-Torres C. M.
Published: April 2021

Passive daytime radiative cooling has recently become an attractive approach to address the global energy demand associated with modern refrigeration technologies. One technique to increase the radiative cooling performance is to engineer the surface of a polar dielectric material to enhance its emittance at wavelengths in the atmospheric infrared transparency window (8–13 µm) by outcoupling surface-phonon polaritons (SPhPs) into free-space. Here we present a theoretical investigation of new surface morphologies based upon self-assembled silica photonic crystals (PCs) using an in-house built rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) code. Simulations predict that silica micro-sphere PCs can reach up to 73 K below ambient temperature, when solar absorption and conductive/convective losses can be neglected. Micro-shell structures are studied to explore the direct outcoupling of the SPhP, resulting in near-unity emittance between 8 and 10 µm. Additionally, the effect of material composition is explored by simulating soda-lime glass micro-shells, which, in turn, exhibit a temperature reduction of 61 K below ambient temperature. The RCWA code was compared to FTIR measurements of silica micro-spheres, self-assembled on microscope slides.
Demonstration of terabit coherent on-chip optical interconnects employing mode-division multiplexing
Authors: Huang Hanzi , Huang Yetian , He Yu , Chen Haoshuo , Zhang Yong , Zhang Qianwu , Fontaine Nicolas K. , Ryf Roland , Song Yingxiong , Su Yikai
Published: April 2021

We experimentally demonstrate a net capacity per wavelength of 1.23 Tb/s with 30 GBaud 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) mode-division multiplexing (MDM) signals over a single silicon-on-insulator (SOI) multimode waveguide for optical interconnects employing

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multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) digital signal processing. In order to simplify the receiver architecture for coherent optical interconnects, we further propose and evaluate an on-chip self-homodyne coherent detection (SHCD) scheme. In the experiment, 30 Gbaud quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals carried by 10 waveguide modes are successfully recovered with bit error rates (BERs) below 7% forward error correction (FEC) threshold using the pilot tone delivered by

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mode as a local oscillator. Around 10% penalty on error vector magnitude (EVM) is observed due to modal cross talk compared to homodyne detection.
Neural stem cells traffic functional mitochondria via extracellular vesicles
Authors: Peruzzotti-Jametti Luca , Bernstock Joshua D. , Willis Cory M. , Manferrari Giulia , Rogall Rebecca , Fernandez-Vizarra Erika , Williamson James C. , Braga Alice , van den Bosch Aletta , Leonardi Tommaso , Krzak Grzegorz , Kittel Ágnes , Benincá Cristiane , Vicario Nunzio , Tan Sisareuth , Bastos Carlos , Bicci Iacopo , Iraci Nunzio , Smith Jayden A. , Peacock Ben , Muller Karin H. , Lehner Paul J. , Buzas Edit Iren , Faria Nuno , Zeviani Massimo , Frezza Christian , Brisson Alain , Matheson Nicholas J. , Viscomi Carlo , Pluchino Stefano
Published: April 2021

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation induces recovery in animal models of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Although the replacement of lost endogenous cells was originally proposed as the primary healing mechanism of NSC grafts, it is now clear that transplanted NSCs operate via multiple mechanisms, including the horizontal exchange of therapeutic cargoes to host cells via extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are membrane particles trafficking nucleic acids, proteins, metabolites and metabolic enzymes, lipids, and entire organelles. However, the function and the contribution of these cargoes to the broad therapeutic effects of NSCs are yet to be fully understood. Mitochondrial dysfunction is an established feature of several inflammatory and degenerative CNS disorders, most of which are potentially treatable with exogenous stem cell therapeutics. Herein, we investigated the hypothesis that NSCs release and traffic functional mitochondria via EVs to restore mitochondrial function in target cells. Untargeted proteomics revealed a significant enrichment of mitochondrial proteins spontaneously released by NSCs in EVs. Morphological and functional analyses confirmed the presence of ultrastructurally intact mitochondria within EVs with conserved membrane potential and respiration. We found that the transfer of these mitochondria from EVs to mtDNA-deficient L929 Rho0 cells rescued mitochondrial function and increased Rho0 cell survival. Furthermore, the incorporation of mitochondria from EVs into inflammatory mononuclear phagocytes restored normal mitochondrial dynamics and cellular metabolism and reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory markers in target cells. When transplanted in an animal model of multiple sclerosis, exogenous NSCs actively transferred mitochondria to mononuclear phagocytes and induced a significant amelioration of clinical deficits. Our data provide the first evidence that NSCs deliver functional mitochondria to target cells via EVs, paving the way for the development of novel (a)cellular approaches aimed at restoring mitochondrial dysfunction not only in multiple sclerosis, but also in degenerative neurological diseases.
Cell volume homeostatically controls the rDNA repeat copy number and rRNA synthesis rate in yeast
Authors: Pérez-Ortín José E. , Mena Adriana , Barba-Aliaga Marina , Singh Abhyudai , Chávez Sebastián , García-Martínez José
Published: April 2021

The adjustment of transcription and translation rates to the changing needs of cells is of utmost importance for their fitness and survival. We have previously shown that the global transcription rate for RNA polymerase II in budding yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeis regulated in relation to cell volume. Total mRNA concentration is constant with cell volume since global RNApol II-dependent nascent transcription rate (nTR) also keeps constant but mRNA stability increases with cell size. In this paper, we focus on the case of rRNA and RNA polymerase I. Contrarily to that found for RNA pol II, we detected that RNA polymerase I nTR increases proportionally to genome copies and cell size in polyploid cells. In haploid mutant cells with larger cell sizes, the rDNA repeat copy number rises. By combining mathematical modeling and experimental work with the large-sizecln3strain, we observed that the increasing repeat copy number is based on a feedback mechanism in which Sir2 histone deacetylase homeostatically controls the amplification of rDNA repeats in a volume-dependent manner. This amplification is paralleled with an increase in rRNA nTR, which indicates a control of the RNA pol I synthesis rate by cell volume.
Relay protection system of transmission line based on AI
Authors: Zheng Xiangyu , Jia Rong , Gong Linling , Aisikaer  , Ma Xiping , Dang Jian
Published: April 2021

With the development of modern power systems, higher requirements are imposed on relay protection technology. Traditional relay protection and fault diagnosis technologies have been unable to meet the requirements of the continuous development of power systems, and relay protection systems based on artificial intelligence(AI) technology have received increasing attention. Therefore, this document first analyses the weaknesses of traditional broadcast line protection and uses the adaptability and self-learning of artificial intelligence(AI); to propose the concept of protection of a relay line based on AI. In combination with the artificial nervous network, the AI-based relay protection system shall be studied and the experimental model shall be developed. This paper validates it with simulation experiments. The research results show that for the analysis of the ANN test results of the subnetwork, the actual output of the subnetwork is very close to the ideal output, and the error does not exceed 0.2%. The system has good performance and high reliability.
Cost–benefit model for multi-generational high-technology products to compare sequential innovation strategy with quality strategy
Authors: Kim Hyoung Jun , Jee Su Jung , Sohn So Young
Published: April 2021

In the rapidly changing high-tech industry, firms that produce multi-generational products struggle to consistently introduce new products that are superior in innovativeness. However, developing innovative products in a short time sequence period is likely to cause quality problems. Therefore, considering time and resource constraints, two kinds of strategies are commonly employed: sequential innovation strategy, sequentially introducing a new generation of technology product at every launch interval, ensuring timely innovativeness but with relatively uncertain quality, or quality strategy, intermittently introducing a new generation of products, together with a derivative model between generations to enhance the quality. In this study, we propose a framework for a cost–benefit analysis that compares these two strategies by considering competition between firms within a generation as well as that within a firm across multiple generations (i.e., cannibalization) throughout the launch cycle of high-tech products. We apply our proposed framework to the smartphone market and conduct a sensitivity analysis. The results are expected to contribute to strategic decision-making related to the introduction of multi-generational technology products.
A new addition to the embalmed fauna of ancient Egypt: Güldenstaedt’s White-toothed Shrew, Crocidura gueldenstaedtii (Pallas, 1811) (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Authors: Woodman Neal , Ikram Salima , Rowland Joanne
Published: April 2021

The Falcon Necropolis at Quesna in the Nile Delta of Egypt is considered to have been founded by the priest Djedhor, the Saviour, of Athribis (Tell Atrib in modern Benha) at the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period. Recent excavations here have revealed abundant avian remains from mummies dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Horus Khenty-Khety. Among the few mammal remains from the site are five species of shrews (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), including some that we identified as Güldenstaedt’s White-toothed Shrew, Crocidura gueldenstaedtii (Pallas, 1811). Discovery of this species at Quesna increases the number of shrews recovered from ancient Egyptian archaeological sites to eight species. Crocidura gueldenstaedtii no longer occurs in the Nile Delta, and its presence in a diverse shrew fauna at Quesna that includes one other extirpated species, Crocidura fulvastra (Sundevall, 1843), supports the hypothesis of a moister regional environment 2000–3000 years ago. Inadvertently preserved local faunas, such as that from Quesna, can provide valuable information about ancient environments and subsequent turnover in faunal communities.
No interaction between fundamental-frequency differences and spectral region when perceiving speech in a speech background
Authors: Madsen Sara M. K. , Dau Torsten , Oxenham Andrew J.
Published: April 2021

Differences in fundamental frequency (F0) or pitch between competing voices facilitate our ability to segregate a target voice from interferers, thereby enhancing speech intelligibility. Although lower-numbered harmonics elicit a stronger and more accurate pitch sensation than higher-numbered harmonics, it is unclear whether the stronger pitch leads to an increased benefit of pitch differences when segregating competing talkers. To answer this question, sentence recognition was tested in young normal-hearing listeners in the presence of a single competing talker. The stimuli were presented in a broadband condition or were highpass or lowpass filtered to manipulate the pitch accuracy of the voicing, while maintaining roughly equal speech intelligibility in the highpass and lowpass regions. Performance was measured with average F0 differences (ΔF0) between the target and single-talker masker of 0, 2, and 4 semitones. Pitch discrimination abilities were also measured to confirm that the lowpass-filtered stimuli elicited greater pitch accuracy than the highpass-filtered stimuli. No interaction was found between filter type and ΔF0 in the sentence recognition task, suggesting little or no effect of harmonic rank or pitch accuracy on the ability to use F0 to segregate natural voices, even when the average ΔF0 is relatively small. The results suggest that listeners are able to obtain some benefit of pitch differences between competing voices, even when pitch salience and accuracy is low.
Whose shoulders is health research standing on? Determining the key actors and contents of the prevailing biomedical research agenda
Authors: Testoni Federico E. , García Carrillo Mercedes , Gagnon Marc-André , Rikap Cecilia , Blaustein Matías
Published: April 2021

Background

Conflicts of interest in biomedical research can influence research results and drive research agendas away from public health priorities. Previous agenda-setting studies share two shortfalls: they only account for direct connections between academic institutions and firms, as well as potential bias based on researchers’ personal beliefs. This paper’s goal is to determine the key actors and contents of the prevailing health and biomedical sciences (HBMS) research agenda, overcoming these shortfalls.

Methods

We performed a bibliometric and lexical analysis of 95,415 scientific articles published between 1999 and 2018 in the highest impact factor journals within HBMS, using the Web of Science database and the CorText platform. HBMS’s prevailing knowledge network of institutions was proxied with network maps where nodes represent affiliations and edges the most frequent co-authorships. The content of the prevailing HBMS research agenda was depicted through network maps of prevalent multi-terms found in titles, keywords, and abstracts.

Results

The HBMS research agendas of large private firms and leading academic institutions are intertwined. The prevailing HBMS agenda is mostly based on molecular biology (40% of the most frequent multi-terms), with an inclination towards cancer and cardiovascular research (15 and 8% of the most frequent multi-terms, respectively). Studies on pathogens and biological vectors related to recent epidemics are marginal (1% of the most frequent multi-terms). Content of the prevailing HBMS research agenda prioritizes research on pharmacological intervention over research on socio-environmental factors influencing disease onset or progression and overlooks, among others, the study of infectious diseases.

Conclusions

Pharmaceutical corporations contribute to set HBMS’s prevailing research agenda, which is mainly focused on a few diseases and research topics. A more balanced research agenda, together with epistemological approaches that consider socio-environmental factors associated with disease spreading, could contribute to being better prepared to prevent and treat more diverse pathologies and to improve overall health outcomes.
Clinical characterization, cardiovascular risk factor profile and cardiac strain analysis in a Uganda cancer population: The SATRACD study
Authors: Zhang Wanzhu , Azibani Feriel , Okello Emmy , Kayima James , Sinabulya Isaac , Leeta Joseph , Walusansa Victoria , Orem Jackson , Sliwa Karen
Published: April 2021

Background

The link between cancer and cardiovascular disease is firmly established. We sought to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in Uganda cancer patients, their pre-chemotherapy left ventricular strain echocardiographic pattern and its associations with the CVD risk factors.

Methods and results

Baseline pre-chemotherapy data of patients who were enrolled in the SATRACD study (a cancer cohort, who were planned for anthracycline therapy), were analyzed. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and baseline strain echocardiographic images were assessed. Among the 355 patients who were recruited over a period of 15 months, 283 (79.7%) were female, with a mean age of 43 years. The types of cancer of the study patients included breast cancer (70.6%), lymphomas, sarcomas, leukemias and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity (27.0%). The prevalence of obesity was 12.1% and that of HIV was 18.3%. All patients had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The mean global longitudinal strain (GLS) was -20.92 ±2.43%, with females having a significantly higher GLS than males (-21.09±2.42 vs -20.25±2.39, p = 0.008). Fifty-three patients (14.9%) had suboptimal GLS (absolute GLS≤18.00%), which was associated with obesity (POR = 3.07; 95% CI, 1.31–6.98; p = 0.003), alcohol use (POR = 1.94; 95% CI, 1.01–3.74; p = 0.044), long QTc interval in electrocardiogram (POR = 2.54; 95% CI, 1.06–5.74; p = 0.015,) and impaired left ventricular relaxation (POR = 2.24; 95% CI, 1.17–4.25; p = 0.007). On multivariable logistic regression analysis, obesity (POR = 2.95; 95% CI, 1.24–7.03; p = 0.014) was the only independent factor associated with suboptimal GLS.

Conclusion

There is high prevalence and a unique pattern of cardiovascular risk factors in Uganda cancer patients. In cancer patients with cardiovascular risk conditions, there is reduction in GLS despite preserved LVEF. Longitudinal research is needed to study the predictive value of cardiovascular risk factors and baseline GLS for post chemotherapy cardiac dysfunction.
Induction of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the endometrium by chronic endometritis in infertile patients
Authors: Ishida Mitsuaki , Takebayashi Akie , Kimura Fuminori , Nakamura Akiko , Kitazawa Jun , Morimune Aina , Hanada Tetsuro , Tsuta Koji , Murakami Takashi
Published: April 2021

Background

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between chronic endometritis and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the endometrium of infertile patients in the implantation phase.

Methods

Endometrial biopsy specimens from 66 infertility patients were analyzed. The presence of chronic endometritis was investigated by immunostaining for CD138. Immunohistochemical staining for E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Slug, and Snail was performed, and the expression profiles were statistically analyzed according to the presence of chronic endometritis. When the loss of E-cadherin expression and/or the positive expression of N-cadherin was detected, the specimen was considered epithelial-mesenchymal transition-positive. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition-positive cases were also statistically analyzed according to the presence of chronic endometritis. The characteristics of the patients in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition-positive and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-negative groups were compared. The association between variables, including age, body mass index, gravidity, parity, and each causative factor of infertility and epithelial-mesenchymal transition positivity was analyzed.

Results

The rates of the loss of E-cadherin expression, the gain of N-cadherin and epithelial-mesenchymal transition positivity were significantly higher in chronic endometritis patients. The expression of Slug, cytoplasmic Snail, and nuclear Snail was also detected at significantly higher rates in chronic endometritis patients. Chronic endometritis were related to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Conclusion

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition was frequently detected in the endometrium in infertile patients with chronic endometritis. Since the epithelial-mesenchymal transition is associated with chronic endometritis, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition appears to be involved in the alteration of mechanisms of implantation.
Infection control measures in nosocomial MRSA outbreaks—Results of a systematic analysis
Authors: Pannewick Béke , Baier Claas , Schwab Frank , Vonberg Ralf-Peter
Published: April 2021

There is a lack of data on factors that contribute to the implementation of hygiene measures during nosocomial outbreaks (NO) caused by Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA). Therefore, we first conducted a systematic literature analysis to identify MRSA outbreak reports. The expenditure for infection control in each outbreak was then evaluated by a weighted cumulative hygiene score (WCHS). Effects of factors on this score were determined by multivariable linear regression analysis. 104 NO got included, mostly from neonatology (n = 32), surgery (n = 27), internal medicine and burn units (n = 10 each), including 4,361 patients (thereof 657 infections and 73 deaths) and 279 employees. The outbreak sources remained unknown in 10 NO and were not reported from further 61 NO. The national MRSA prevalence did not correlate with the WCHS (p = .714). There were significant WCHS differences for internal medicine (p = 0.014), burn units (p<0.01), for Japanese NO (p<0.01), and NO with an unknown source (p<0.01). In sum, management of a NO due to MRSA does not depend on the local MRSA burden. However, differences of MRSA management among medical departments do exist. Strict adherence to the Outbreak Reports and Intervention Studies Of Nosocomial infection (ORION) statement is highly recommended for. The WCHS may also serve as a useful tool to quantify infection control effort and could therefore be used for further investigations.
Impact of a transdiagnostic prevention protocol for targeting adolescent anxiety and depression
Authors: Allan Sharon , Uzun Bilge , Essau Cecilia A.
Published: April 2021

The present study examined the benefit of a transdiagnostic prevention program, Super Skills for Life (SSL), among adolescents with internalizing and/or externalizing problems in two types of school settings (mainstream school and pupil referral unit) using a randomized waitlist-controlled trial (RCT). The main aims were to examine the effects of the SSL-A in reducing internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents, and to identify the moderating role of gender, age, and school type on the intervention outcome. The RCT involved 112 adolescents aged 11 to 14 years old, randomly allocated to either an SSL intervention group or a waitlist-control group (WLC). Adolescents in the intervention group participated immediately in the SSL-A, whereas adolescents in the WLC group received the intervention after the intervention group completed the 6 months follow-up assessment. Results showed that internalizing and externalizing problems were significantly reduced from pre-test to follow-up assessments. Gender, age and school setting moderated the intervention outcome. Specifically, males, younger adolescents and adolescents from mainstream schools showed a significant reduction over time on both internalizing and externalizing problems.

This study provides evidence for the benefits of a transdiagnostic prevention program for internalizing and externalizing problems in two types of school settings.
Application of the Cognitive-Behavior Therapy principles in the development of e-mental health tools
Authors: Fonseca Ana , Branquinho Mariana , Canavarro Maria Cristina
Published: April 2021

E-mental health tools are a new format of treatment delivery that can increase population’s access to mental health services. Its effectiveness is higher when grounded on evidence-based therapeutic protocols, such as Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT). We aim to understand how CBT principles can be applied in the development of e-mental health tools, more specifically, in web-based interventions. We use the case example of the Be a Mom program, a web-based psychological intervention, grounded on the principles of CBT, designed to prevent postpartum depression and targeting high-risk postpartum women in the Portuguese population. We describe how the design of Be a Mom was grounded in CBT, by addressing: a) general CBT principles; b) its therapeutic mechanisms; and c) organization of sessions. Also, we discuss

the relevance of the therapeutic alliance in web-based interventions and the importance of evidence-based interventions. By providing insight on how the principles of CBT can be operationalized in an innovative delivery format, we can contribute to the further development of web-based interventions, as well as to increase awareness and knowledge among mental health professionals about the similarities between the principles underlying web-based and face-to-face CBT interventions.
The Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale – Infant Version
Authors: Caiado Brígida , Ventura Fernandes Daniela , Canavarro Maria Cristina , Moreira Helena
Published: April 2021

The present study aims to explore the factor structure and psychometric properties of an adapted version of the Portuguese version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale for parents of infants aged 0 to 12 months (the IM-P-I). Two studies were conducted. The first study included 560 postpartum mothers and examined the factor structure and internal consistency of the IM-P-I. The second study included 295 postpartum mothers, with the goal of cross-validating the factor structure of the questionnaire and examining its internal consistency and construct validity. In both studies, the original correlated five-factor model (which included the subscales Listening with Full Attention, Emotional Awareness of the Child, Compassion for the Child, Self-Regulation in Parenting, and Nonjudgmental Acceptance of Parental Functioning) was the best-fitting model. Adequate Cronbach’s alpha values were found for the total scale and for all subscales, except for the Emotional Awareness of the Child subscale. Moderate to strong negative correlations were found between the IM-P-I subscales and anxious and depressive symptomatology and emotional dysregulation. This study shows that the IM-P-I is a psychometrically adequate measure of mindful parenting in the postpartum period.
El programa “Alumnos Ayudantes TIC”: Evaluación y percepción del alumnado sobre competencias clave adquiridas
Authors: Giménez-Gualdo Ana María , Galán-Casado Diego A. , Moraleda-Ruano Álvaro
Published: April 2021

Esta investigación analiza la percepción del alumnado sobre su adquisición de competencias clave y la valoración global tras la implementación del programa “Alumnos Ayudantes TIC”. Participaron 188 alumnos ayudantes seleccionados de forma intencional, con edades entre los 14 y 18 años, de centros de educación secundaria de España. Se diseñó un instrumento ad hoc para la evaluación de las dimensiones de estudio. Los resultados indicaron una percepción positiva mayoritaria sobre las competencias adquiridas (lingüística, social y cívica y digital), así como de la metodología y visión global del programa, con diferencias significativas por titularidad, género y edad. Este programa contribuye a empoderar a los adolescentes en habilidades para el uso responsable de las tecnologías, competencias clave y la ciberconvivencia.
Társas kapcsolatok és interakció a szabadidősportban (Social relationships and interaction in the leisure sport)
Authors: Neulinger Ágnes
Published: April 2021

A sporttermékek iránti kereslet kialakulására a sportszocializáció meghatározó befolyással bír. A sport kiemelkedő szerepet játszik a mai modern társadalomban. Jelentős gazdasági súlyt képvisel, továbbá lehetőséget ad a személyes fejlődésre és a társas kapcsolatok kialakítására, ápolására. Az egyéni személyes előnyök mellett a sportolás támogatása révén a társadalom egészségi állapotának költséghatékony megőrzése is biztosítható. Ezzel együtt hazánkban alacsony a szabadidősportban való részvétel, a lakosság egészségi állapota romlik, az ülő életmód egyre terjed. Az elvégzett kutatás célja az volt, hogy olyan ismeretekre tegyen szert, amelyek segítségével megérthető a sportolást befolyásoló legfőbb tényezők hatása, így az egyén szűk környezetének (család, barátok, iskola) jelentősége, a társas befolyás hazai jellegzetességei. Ezek az ismeretek elősegíthetik mind a profit, mind a non-profit szféra számára a lakosság sikeresebb megszólítását, hozzájárulva egy aktívabb társadalom megteremtéséhez. _______ Sport socialization has high relevance to generate demand for sport. Sport plays an important role in today’s modern societies. It has enormous economic significance and provides opportunity for personal development and for establishing new or keeping existing social relationships. Besides individual personal benefits, supporting sport also ensures the costefficient maintenance of good health on a social level. However sport participation and sport spectatorship are both low in Hungary. At the same time the health status of residents are worsening and the society is characterized by a sitting, sedentary lifestyle. The goal of the study is to gather information on the primary factors influencing sport participation, especially the significance of the close social environment of the individual (family, friends and education). Understanding why people participate in sports and how they can be motivated to do so is of primary importance to both the private and the state sector, explained by business interest and by the need to ensure the healthy operation of the society.
A lojalitás vizsgálata fogyasztásszociológiai szempontból
Authors: Prónay Szabolcs
Published: April 2021

A szerző célja, hogy fogyasztásszociológiai szempontból magyarázza a lojalitást, különös tekintettel annak problémás és ellentmondásos területeire. Tanulmánya problémafelvető jellegű, nem kíván konkrét magyarázatokkal szolgálni a lojalitással kapcsolatos eddigi ellentmondásokra, sokkal inkább egy olyan új megvilágításba szeretné helyezni a témát, amely megfelelő alapot nyújt későbbi kutatásokhoz, és ezáltal a lojalitás alaposabb megismeréséhez.
Vállalati kultúra, üzleti stratégia és versenyképesség
Authors: Hoványi Gábor
Published: April 2021

Egy vállalat versenyképességet növelő kultúrájának megformálása és megvalósítása empátiát, intuíciót, kombinációs készséget, rendszerszemléletet, számításokat, ítélő- és kommunikációs képességet követel meg a csúcsvezetőtől. Vagyis nem csupán a kultúra vált napjainkban „soft”-ból „hard” tényezővé a vállalati versenyben, hanem a menedzserek számára a kultúra megformálásának és megvalósításának a technikája is azzá vált. A felsővezetésnek kell megalkotnia a vállalat kultúráját, annak összehangolt elemeit és szerkezetét – méghozzá az üzleti stratégiával folytatott „párbeszéd” eredményeként. A dolgozatával ehhez a folyamathoz ad segítséget a szerző.
High-Performance Fibres – A Review of Properties and IR-Spectra
Authors: Mahltig Boris
Published: April 2021

High-performance fibres are fibre materials that exhibit at least one extraordinary property compared to conventional fibre materials. That extraordinary property is frequently related to excellent fibre stability against certain influences such as fire, heat, chemicals or light. Also, a high mechanical strength is often a property of high-performance fibres. Nevertheless, it should be noted that high-performance fibres exhibit certain weaknesses in addition to their advantages. This review presents a broad overview of the most important high-performance fibres, with a special emphasis on their chemical structure and related infrared spectra (IR-spectra). The categorization of the fibres according to chemical substance classes was performed to make it easy for the reader to find a fibre of interest. The main categories are polyethylene (PE) fibres, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibres, polyvinylalcohol (PVAL) fibres, polyester-based fibres, polyamide-based fibres, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) fibres, polyimide (PI) fibres, halogen-containing fibres, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS fibres), resin-based fibres and finally inorganic fibres. Competing materials are also discussed, and structural related materials can be easily identified. In addition to discussing fibre properties and selected applications, one of the main aims is to present a various number of IR-spectra as a tool for structural understanding and to help identify unknown fibres. Here, beside the IR-spectra of high-performance fibres, the reference IR-spectra of common fibres are presented for comparison.
"Understanding Forms and Models of Cloud Computing Technologies Adopted in the Selected Institutions in Southwestern Nigeria "
Authors: Binuyo Gbonjubola Oluwafunmilayo
Published: April 2021

The study examined the forms and models of cloud computing technology adopted in the selected institutions from four states in Southwestern Nigeria. The three purposively selected institutions were Federal, State and Private owned making twelve institutions. However, the administered questionnaire was filled in by the ten (10) IT personnel, ten (10) lecturers and five (5) students from each of the selected institutions making 300 respondents. The questionnaire elicited information on the forms and models of cloud computing technology adopted and the extent of use of the adopted cloud computing technologies in the selected institutions. Secondary data were obtained from relevant literature. Data collected were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The study concludes that the forms of cloud computing technology adopted by the selected institutions in Southwestern Nigeria are infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) while software-as-a-service (SaaS) is often used by the institutions. Also, the models of adopted cloud computing technology are private, public, hybrid and community cloud computing by the selected institutions in Southwestern Nigeria. The adopted forms and models of cloud computing technology are used for different business functions such as payroll, procurement, human resources, accounting and finance, CRM, application development, and project management.
Using Exploratory Data Analysis and Big Data Analytics for Detecting Anomalies in Cloud Computing
Authors: Muzaferija Ibrahim , Mašetić Zerina ,   International Burch University
Published: April 2021

While leveraging cloud computing for large-scale distributed applications allows seamless scaling, many companies struggle following up with the amount of data generated in terms of efficient processing and anomaly detection, which is a necessary part of the management of modern applications. As the record of user behavior, weblogs surely become the research item related to anomaly detection. Many anomaly detection methods based on automated log analysis have been proposed. However, not in the context of big data applications where anomalous behavior needs to be detected in understanding phases prior to modeling a system for such use. Big Data Analytics often ignores anomalous point due to high volume of data. To address this problem, we propose a complemented methodology for Big Data Analytics – the Exploratory Data Analysis, which assists in gaining insight into data relationships without the classical hypothesis modeling. In that way, we can gain better understanding of the patterns and spot anomalies. Results show that Exploratory Data Analysis facilitates anomaly detection and the CRISP-DM Business Understanding phase, making it one of the key steps in the Data Understanding phase.
Effect of Vaccinium vitis-idaea tea and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi tea on growth of causative agents of urinary tract infections
Authors: Hafizović Lamija , Karup Selma , Hadžialić Almin
Published: April 2021

- Urinary tract infections pose a serious problem to people, both in the hospital environment and outside world. They are characterized by high mortality and ability to cause health problems in areas of the human body other than the urinary tract. It has been long clinical practice to treat these infections with antibiotics, a tactic made very ineffective with the advent of antibiotic-resistant microbial strains. The research has turned to alternative modes of treatment, such as use of herbal remedies to combat urinary tract infections. Effect of two types of herbal teas was observed through use of broth microdilution assay, to test varying concentrations of teas on the growth of selected microorganisms. Results were verified by assessment of colony growth on Mueller Hinton Agar plates. Tested microorganisms exhibited very dense colony growth. Similarity of conditions between urinary retention and conditions under which microorganisms were cultured in 96-well plates possible reason for density of growth. Methods with higher degree of confidence in treatment of urinary tract infections could likely be the combination of antibiotics with herbal teas.
INFLUENCE OF THE DISTRIBUTED GENERATION ON THE POWER QUALITY IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
Authors: Halilović Alma , Mujanović Lejla , Hivziefendić Jasna ,   International Burch University
Published: April 2021

The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the influence of distributed generation on power quality. Nowadays, interest in power quality has increased since it has become a very important issue in power system delivery. One of the major problems of ensuring a certain level of power quality are harmonics. The aim of this project is to investigate an impact of photovoltaic (PV) on harmonic voltage distortion (HD) in real MV distribution network. Different scenarios will be implemented where solar power plant is going to be modelled with high variability of load and generation to see their effects on the systems power quality (PQ). Those scenarios are when PV is disconnected from the grid and PVs are connected with 2 different powers. Results presented below showed that PV improves power quality of the system, because their inverters are source of harmonics and they increase HD. However, that impact is not very significant and harmonic limits are not violated. A load flow analysis is done for the model of test system 110/35/10kV in which a distributed generator is added, that is on-grid or off-grid. The network modelling and simulation is done in DIgSILENT PowerFactory software.
Death, Innocence, and the Cyborg: Theorizing the Gynoid Double-Bind in Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence
Authors: Tembo Kwasu D.
Published: April 2021

In Donna Haraway’s “A Cyborg Manifesto” (1983), the author presents a discussion of the concept and praxis of the cyborg in emancipatory terms. Haraway presents the cyborg as a transgressive and latently mercurial figure that decouples and contravenes numerous exploitative ideological frameworks of repressive biopower that repress human being and reproduce the conditions of said repression. Using Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence (2004) as a dialogic case study, this essay explores the manner in which the cyborg, particularly its figuration as female-gendered anthropic machine or gynoid in 20th- and 21st-century science fiction, simultaneously confirms and contradicts Haraway’s assessment of the concept of the cyborg. As to its methodology, this essay opens with a contextualizing excursus on the cyber-being in contemporary Western society and sociopolitics, with a view to offering a framework analysis of the figuration of the gynoid in Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence as a recent example of contemporary science fiction’s representation of the issues and debates inherent to the concept of the gynoid. Lastly, this essay performs a detailed close reading of Oshii’s text in relation to its exploration of themes of the conceptual emancipatory potential of the cyber-being and the paradoxically exploitative patriarchal power relations that re-inscribe said potential within what this essay refers to as ‘the gynoid double-bind.’
Vector bundles 𝐸 on ℙ3 with homological dimension 2 and 𝜒(End 𝐸) = 1
Authors: Mendes Sérgio , Miró-Roig Rosa María , Soares Helena
Published: April 2021

We find the complete integer solutions of the equation

X
2

+

Y
2

+

Z
2

-

4
⁢
X
⁢
Y

-

4
⁢
Y
⁢
Z

+

10
⁢
X
⁢
Z

=
1

X^{2}+Y^{2}+Z^{2}-4XY-4YZ+10XZ=1

.
As an application, we prove that, for each solution

(
a
,
b
,
c
)

(a,b,c)

such that

a
>
0

a>0

,

b
-

2
⁢
a

>
0

b-2a>0

and

(

b
-

2
⁢
a

)

2

≥

4
⁢
a

(b-2a)^{2}\geq 4a

, there is a vector bundle 𝐸 on

P
3

\mathbb{P}^{3}

defined by a minimal linear resolution

0
→

O

P
3

⁢

(

-
2

)

a

→

O

P
3

⁢

(

-
1

)

b

→

O

P
3

c

→
E
→
0

0\to\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^{3}}(-2)^{a}\to\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^{3}}(-1)^{b}\to\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^{3}}^{c}\to E\to 0

.
In particular, 𝐸 satisfies

χ
⁢

(

End
⁡
E

)

=
1

\chi(\operatorname{End}E)=1

.
Structural and kinetic characterization of Porphyromonas gingivalis glutaminyl cyclase
Authors: Lamers Sebastiaan , Feng Qiaoli , Cheng Yili , Yu Sihong , Sun Bo , Lukman Maxwell , Jiang Jie , Ruiz-Carrillo David
Published: April 2021

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a bacterial species known to be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis, that more recently has been as well associated with Alzheimer’s disease. P. gingivalis expresses a glutaminyl cyclase (PgQC) whose human ortholog is known to participate in the beta amyloid peptide metabolism. We have elucidated the crystal structure of PgQC at 1.95 Å resolution in unbound and in inhibitor-complexed forms. The structural characterization of PgQC confirmed that PgQC displays a mammalian fold rather than a bacterial fold. Our biochemical characterization indicates that PgQC uses a mammalian-like catalytic mechanism enabled by the residues Asp149, Glu182, Asp183, Asp218, Asp267 and His299. In addition, we could observe that a non-conserved Trp193 may drive differences in the binding affinity of ligands which might be useful for drug development. With a screening of a small molecule library, we have identified a benzimidazole derivative rendering PgQC inhibition in the low micromolar range that might be amenable for further medicinal chemistry development.
Exploring the inter-subject variability in the relationship between glucose monitoring metrics and glycated hemoglobin for pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Bosoni Pietro , Calcaterra Valeria , Tibollo Valentina , Malovini Alberto , Zuccotti Gianvincenzo , Mameli Chiara , Sacchi Lucia , Bellazzi Riccardo , Larizza Cristiana
Published: April 2021

Objectives

Despite the widespread diffusion of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems, which includes both real-time CGM (rtCGM) and intermittently scanned CGM (isCGM), an effective application of CGM technology in clinical practice is still limited. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between isCGM-derived glycemic metrics and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), identifying overall CGM targets and exploring the inter-subject variability.

Methods

A group of 27 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes under multiple daily injection insulin-therapy was enrolled. All participants used the isCGM Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system on average for eight months, and clinical data were collected from the Advanced Intelligent Distant-Glucose Monitoring platform. Starting from each HbA1c exam date, windows of past 30, 60, and 90 days were considered to compute several CGM metrics. The relationships between HbA1c and each metric were explored through linear mixed models, adopting an HbA1c target of 7%.

Results

Time in Range and Time in Target Range show a negative relationship with HbA1c (R2>0.88) whereas Time Above Range and Time Severely Above Range show a positive relationship (R2>0.75). Focusing on Time in Range in 30-day windows, random effect represented by the patient’s specific intercept reveals a high variability compared to the overall population intercept.

Conclusions

This study confirms the relationship between several CGM metrics and HbA1c; it also highlights the importance of an individualized interpretation of the CGM data.
Unterwegs zum Ökumenischen Kirchentag (ÖKT)
Authors: Miron Radu Constantin
Published: April 2021

Aus der Perspektive des ACK-Vorsitzes und gleichzeitig aus der Perspektive des orthodoxen Ökumenikers, der auch Mitglied im Präsidium des 3. ÖKT ist, stellt dieser Artikel die Ideen des Ökumenischen Kirchentags 2021 vor. Er reflektiert die Situation der ‚hierzulande kleinen Kirchen‘, das Konzept der ACK-‚Polis‘ und das Motto des ÖKT.
Auf nach Karlsruhe
Authors: Bosse-Huber Petra
Published: April 2021

Aus der Perspektive der größten der gastgebenden Kirchen wird in diesem Artikel die Vorbereitung der 11. Vollversammlung des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK) beschrieben, die in Deutschland stattfinden soll und wegen der Corona-Pandemie in das Jahr 2022 verschoben werden musste. Er gibt einen Überblick über die Themen, die die Vollversammlung bearbeiten wird und beschreibt am Ende die Erwartungen und Hoffnungen, die die Autorin für die Ökumene im Besonderen und für das Zusammenleben der Menschen weltweit auf die Vollversammlung setzt.