bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Facies Composition and Stratigraphic Position of the Quaternary Upper Yenisei Sequence in the Tuva and Minusa Depressions
Authors: Zol’nikov I.D. , Novikov I.S. , Deev E.V. , Shpansky A.V. , Mikharevich M.V.
Published: October 2021

—The paper concerns the sediment sequence, which is widespread in the Yenisei valley and in the Tuva and Minusa depressions and also present in the valleys of the southern Chulym plain. The sediments of this sequence were previously described as “Neogene mud-shedding”, as well as moraines, alluvial fan deposits, alluvium of Middle Pleistocene high terraces, and lacustrine sediments. The giant ripple marks on the Upper Yenisei terraces was commonly interpreted as ribbed moraines; however, in recent studies, these ridges have been repeatedly referred to as marks of giant current ripples. Besides, some recently published papers provide description of geology of this sequence fragments suggesting its deposition by cataclysmic floods. Geomorphological analysis of the area shows Pleistocene glaciers to have been localized within the medium–high mountainous areas. The glaciers did not reach the Tuva and Minusa depressions and occupied large areas only in the Todzha basin and on the periphery of the Darkhat basin, forming a glacial dam at its outlet, which resulted in glacial-dammed lakes filling the basin completely. These lakes outburst, and the resultant flooding led to the deposition of megaflood sediments, which we refer to here as the Upper Yenisei sediment sequence. A detailed analysis of its facies architecture revealed similarity of these sediments to those of the Sal’dzhar and Inya sequences in Gorny Altai. Most of the Upper Yenisei megaflood sediments are localized in topographic lows of the Tuva and Minusa depressions. Beyond the Altai–Sayan mountainous area, the megaflood sediments of the Upper Yenisei sequence compose high terraces of the Yenisei, Chulym, Chet’, and Kiya rivers in the southern Chulym plain. The formation of Upper Yenisei sequence dates to the first half of the Late Pleistocene, inasmuch as it contains inset alluvial sediments of the second terrace of the Yenisei River. The available data allow suggesting that the Upper Yenisei sequence formed in the first Late Pleistocene regional glaciation. The Sal’dzhar sequence in Gorny Altai and the fourth terrace of the Ob’ River on the Fore-Altai plain are stratigraphic analogs of the Upper Yenisei sequence. The Upper Yenisei and Sal’dzhar sequences can thus be considered future regional markers serving as a link for the local stratigraphic schemes of the Altai–Sayan mountainous area and adjacent West Siberian plains. The results obtained call for verification by geochronological dating, first of all, by modern luminescence dating methods covering a wider chronological interval than radiocarbon dating.
Volatile Components in Cordierite and Coexisting Tourmaline and Quartz from Pegmatites of the Kuhilal Deposit (Pamir, Tajikistan)
Authors: Zatolokina K.I. , Tomilenko A.A. , Bul’bak T.A. , Lepezin G.G.
Published: October 2021

—The compositions of volatile components in cordierite, tourmaline, and quartz from pegmatites of the Kuhilal deposit were studied by pyrolysis-free gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), IR and Raman spectroscopy, and microthermometry, and their comparative analysis was performed. Capillary GC–MS was applied to determine the component composition and relative contents (rel.%) of volatiles from different zones of crystals and fractions of cordierite. It has been established that water and carbon dioxide prevail among them. Among hydrocarbons, aliphatic, cyclic, and oxygenated ones are predominant. Heterocyclic, nitrogenated, and sulfonated compounds have also been found. In tourmaline and quartz, volatile components are present in gas–liquid inclusions; in cordierites, they are localized both in structural cavities and in nonstructural positions.
Fetal Hematopoiesis is Driven by Privileged Expansion and Differentiation of HSC-Independent Erythro-Myeloid Progenitors
Authors: Freyer Laina , Iturri Lorea , Biton Anne , Sommer Alina , Dardenne Pascal , Cumano Ana , Perdiguero Elisa Gomez
Published: October 2021

Most blood and immune cells are produced by Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC) throughout life. However, several tissue resident immune populations can only be generated from developmentally restricted progenitors. This questions to what extent fetal HSC differentiate in utero, implicating an essential role for HSC-independent progenitors in supporting embryonic viability and innate immunity in the perinatal period. Among them, Erythro-Myeloid Progenitors (EMP) emerge from the extraembryonic yolk sac prior to HSC and their progeny (resident macrophages and skin mast cells) persist in adulthood. Here, we showed that HSC contributed minimally to fetal myelopoiesis as we exposed a developmentally-restricted privilege for erythro-myeloid differentiation from EMP in the fetal liver. EMP-derived myeloid progenitors displayed distinct molecular features and were functionally inequivalent to fetal HSC-derived counterparts. These findings inform future studies of HSC-dependent and HSC-independent hematopoiesis in view of neonatal immunity and pediatric blood disorders for which the cell of origin is poorly understood.
The study of the intention to leave work and its relationship with job burnout among midwives: the long-lasting impacts of COVID-19
Authors: ahmadi sahar , maleki azam
Published: October 2021

Background: It is important to evaluate the long-term effects of the Covid 19 epidemic on the tendency of midwives to leave their jobs. The study was aimed to examine the intention to leave work and its relationship with job burnout among midwives working at Ayatollah Mousavi hospital of Zanjan one year after the Covid-19 disease. In a descriptive-analytical study, the tendency of 88 midwives to leave their jobs was evaluated one year after the outbreak of Covid disease in 2021. The midwives were selected by convenience sampling methods. Data were collected using the Maslach burnout questionnaire and Attwood and Hinshaw tendency to leave the job. Data analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression model with the stepwise method at 95% confidence level.Results:The mean tendency to leave the job was 29.71 ± 6.75. Most of the midwives have a moderate level of the tendency to leave the job (47.7%). There was a significant positive correlation between all three components of burnout and the tendency to leave the job. The odds of leaving the job were 0.344 times higher in people with high emotional fatigue and 0.276 times in people with rotational shift work.Conclusion:It can be concluded that the tendency to leave the job was moderate. Given the relationship between emotional fatigue and the tendency to leave the job, planning to increase the mental strength and resilience of midwives during the epidemic of COVID-19 seems necessary.
Spatiotemporal, Kinematic and Kinetic Assessment of the Effects of a Foot Drop Stimulator for Home-Based Rehabilitation of Patients with Chronic Stroke -- A Three-Dimensional Motion Analysis
Authors: Mao Yurong , Zhao Jiangli , Bian Minjie , Lo Wai Leung Ambrose , Leng Yan , Bian Ruihao , Huang Dongfeng
Published: October 2021

Background: Gait disability affects the daily lives of patients with stroke in both home and community settings. An abnormal foot–ankle position can cause instability on the supporting surface and negatively affect gait. Our research team explored the ability of a portable peroneal nerve-targeting electrical stimulator to improve gait ability by adjusting the foot–ankle position during walking in patients with chronic stroke undergoing home-based rehabilitation. Methods: This was a double-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Thirty-one patients with chronic stroke and ankle–foot motor impairment were randomized to receive 3 weeks of gait training, which involved using the transcutaneous peroneal nerve stimulator while walking (tPNS group; n = 16, mean age: 52.25 years), or conventional home and/or community gait training therapy (CT group; n = 15, mean age: 54.8 years). Functional assessments were performed before and after the 3-week intervention. The outcome measures included spatiotemporal gait parameters, three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data on the ankle-foot joint, and a clinical motor and balance function assessment based on the Fugl–Meyer Assessment of Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) and Berg Balance scales (BBS). Additionally, 16 age-matched healthy adults served as a baseline control of three-dimensional gait data for both trial groups.Results: The FMA-LE and BBS scores improved in both the tPNS groups (p = .004 and .001, respectively) and CT groups (p = .034 and .028, respectively) from before to after training. Participants in the tPNS group exhibited significant differences in spatiotemporal gait parameters, including opposite foot off, double support, stride length, and walking speed, after training (p = .010, .042, .017 and .001, respectively). Additionally, the tPNS group exhibited significant differences in kinematic parameters, such as the ankle angle at the transverse plane (p = .021) and foot progression angle at the frontal plane (p = .009) upon initial contact, and the peak ankle joint angle at the transverse plane (p = .023) and foot progression angle at the frontal and transverse planes (p = .032 and .046, respectively) during gait cycles after 3 weeks of training.Conclusions: Use of a portable tPNS device during walking tasks appeared to improve spatiotemporal gait parameters and ankle and foot angles more effectively than conventional home rehabilitation in patients with chronic stroke. Although guidelines for home-based rehabilitation training services and an increasing variety of market devices are available, no evidence for improvement of motor function and balance was superior to conventional rehabilitation.Trial registration: Chictr, ChiCTR2000040137. Registered 22 November 2020, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=64424
A Comparative Analysis of Single Cell Small RNA Sequencing Data Reveals Heterogenous Isomir Expression and Regulation.
Authors: Smith Christopher Michael , Hutvagner Gyorgy
Published: October 2021

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding small RNAs which play a critical role in the regulation of gene expression in cells. It is known that miRNAs are often expressed as multiple isoforms, called isomiRs, which may have alternative regulatory functions. Despite the recent development of several single cell small RNA sequencing protocols, these methods have not been leveraged to investigate isomiR expression and regulation to better understand their role on a single cell level. Here we integrate sequencing data from three independent studies and find substantial differences in isomiR composition that suggest that cell autonomous mechanisms may drive isomiR processing. We also find evidence of altered regulatory functions of different classes of isomiRs, when compared to their respective wild-type miRNA, which supports a biological role for many of the isomiRs that are expressed.
DeepMicrobeFinder Sorts Metagenomes into Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes and Viruses, with Marine Applications
Authors: Hou Shengwei , Cheng Siliangyu , Chen Ting , Fuhrman Jed A. , Sun Fengzhu
Published: October 2021

Sequence classification is valuable for reducing the complexity of metagenomes and providing a fundamental understanding of the composition of metagenomic samples. Binary metagenomic classifiers offer an insufficient solution because metagenomes of most natural environments are typically derived from multiple sequence sources including prokaryotes, eukaryotes and the viruses of both. Here we introduce a deep-learning based (not reference-based) sequence classifier, DeepMicrobeFinder, that classifies metagenomic contigs into five sequence classes, e.g., viruses infecting prokaryotic or eukaryotic hosts, eukaryotic or prokaryotic chromosomes, and prokaryotic plasmids. At different sequence lengths, DeepMicrobeFinder achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) scores >0.9 for most sequence classes, the exception being distinguishing prokaryotic chromosomes from plasmids. By benchmarking on 20 test datasets with variable sequence class composition, we showed that DeepMicrobeFinder obtained average accuracy scores of ~0.94, ~0.87, and ~0.92 for eukaryotic, plasmid and viral contig classification respectively, which were significantly higher than the other state-of-the-art individual predictors. Using a 1-300 µm daily time-series metagenomic dataset sampled from coastal Southern California as a case study, we showed that metagenomic read proportions recruited by eukaryotic contigs could be doubled with DeepMicrobeFinder’s classification compared to the counterparts of other reference-based classifiers. In addition, a positive correlation could be observed between eukaryotic read proportions and potential prokaryotic community growth rates, suggesting an enrichment of fast-growing copiotrophs with increased eukaryotic particles. With its inclusive modeling and unprecedented performance, we expect DeepMicrobeFinder will promote metagenomic studies of under-appreciated sequence types.
Effect of Commercial Slow-Release Urea Product on in Vitro Rumen Fermentation and Ruminal Microbial Community Using RUSITEC Technique
Authors: Guo Yongmei , Xiao Ling , Jin Long , Yan Sumei , Niu Dongyan , Yang Wenzhu
Published: October 2021

Background

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of commercial slow-release urea (SRU) on in vitro fermentation characteristics, nutrient digestibility, gas production, microbial protein synthesis and bacterial community using rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC). The experiment was a completely randomized design with four treatments and four replications of each treatment. Treatments were: control diet (no SRU addition), control diet plus 0.28% SRU (U28), or plus 0.56% SRU (U56), and control diet that was modified for substituting with 0.35% SRU for equavelant soybean protein (MU35; dry matter [DM] basis). The experiment consisted of 8 days of adaptation and 7 days of data and sample collection. Rumen inoculum was obtained from three ruminally fistulated Angus cows fed the same diet to the substrate incubated.
Results

Digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), fibre and starch was not affected, but daily production of gas (P < 0.07) and methane (P < 0.05) was quadratically changed with increasing SRU supplementation. The increase of SRU addition did not affect fermentation pH and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, whereas linearly (P < 0.01) decreased proportion of propionate, and linearly (P < 0.01) increased acetate to propionate ratio and ammonia nitrogen (N) concentration. The microbial N efficiency also linearly (P < 0.03) improved with increasing supplementation of SRU. In comparison with control diet, the dietary substitution of SRU for part of soybean meal increased (P < 0.05) the digestibility of DM, OM and CP and decreased (P < 0.02) the total gas production. The total VFA production and acetate to propionate ratio did not differ between control and MU35, whereas the proportion of butyrate was lower (P < 0.05) and that of branched-chain VFA was greater (P < 0.05) with MU35 than control diet. Total and liquid-associated microbial N production as well as ammonia N concentration were greater (P < 0.03) with MU35 than control diet. Observed OTUs, Shannon diversity index, and beta diversity of the microbial community did not differ among treatments. Taxonomic analysis revealed no effect of adding SRU on the relative abundance of bacteria at the phylum level, while at the genus level, the impact of SRU addition on microbial community was greater with MU35 either for liquid associate bacteria or feed particle-associated bacteria.
Conclusions

Supplementation of a dairy cow diet with SRU showed potential of increase in ammonia N concentration and microbial protein production, and change fermentation pattern to more acetate production. Adding SRU in dairy cow diet also showed beneficial effect on improving digestibility of OM and fibre. The results suggest that SRU can partially substitute soybean meal in dairy cow diet to increase microbial protein production without impairing rumen fermentation.
Conditional power, predictive power and probability of success in clinical trials with continuous, binary and time-to-event endpoints
Authors: Kundu Madan Gopal , Samanta Sandipan , Mondal Shoubhik
Published: October 2021

Assessment of study success using conditional power (CP), the predictive power of success (PPoS) and probability of success (PoS) is becoming increasingly common for resource optimization and adaption of trials in clinical investigation. Determination of these measures is often a non-trivial mathematical task. Further, the terminologies used across the literature are not consistent, and there is no consolidated presentation on this. Lastly, certain types of trials received more attention where others (e.g., single-arm trial with time-to-event endpoints) were completely ignored. We attempted to fill these gaps. This paper first provides a detailed derivation of CP, PPoS and PoS in a general setting with normally distributed test statistics and normal prior. Subsequently, expressions for these measures are obtained for continuous, binary, and time-to-event endpoints in single-arm and two-arm trial settings. We have discussed both clinical success and trial success. Importantly, we have derived the expressions for CP, PPoS and PoS in a single-arm trial with a time-to-event endpoint that was never addressed in the literature to our knowledge. In that discussion, we have also shown that commonly recommended 1/d consistently under-estimates the variance of log(median) and alternative expression for variance was derived. We have also presented the PPoS calculation for the binomial endpoint with a beta prior. Examples are given along with the comparison of CP and PPoS. Expressions presented in this paper are implemented in LongCART package in R. An R shiny app is also available at https://ppos.herokuapp.com/ .
Systematic review on knowledge and skills level among nurses following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (cpr) training
Authors: Ahmed S , Ismail I , Lee K , Lim PY
Published: October 2021

Introduction:

Although millions of healthcare providers and lay providers are trained globally in CPR each year, there are major gaps in delivering adequate medical emergency care such as poor quality CPR in the hospitals or none performance of CPR in out of hospital settings for people with cardiac arrest.
Objective

This systematic review aim to highlight the effect of training on knowledge and skills retention as well as the effect of different methods of training on knowledge and skills
Methods

The review used six online databases: Scopus, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, Medline and reviewed reference citations for additional studies. Systematic analysis was use in excluding articles from the database by the latest 2015 American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, known as Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) for the evaluation of knowledge and skills retention.
Results

A total of 71,671 possible articles were registered in six databases, with 331 articles found meeting eligibility criteria. And only 20 were finally included that met all the qualifying criteria for this systemic analysis. Most research used multi-choice questionnaires to assess retention of both knowledge and skills. From the pretest to the posttest, studies have shown that knowledge or skill rates differ and decrease from 6 weeks to 2 years after training. Between the reviewed papers, significant variations in retaining knowledge and skills were found between instructor-led training and other forms of teaching methods.
Conclusion

Between the pre-test and post-test outcomes, knowledge and skills have shown a substantial overall improvement in acquisition and retention. However, skills were observed to decay faster than knowledge. Skills start to decay as early as 2 weeks whereas knowledge retention start to decline on average between 1 month and 6 month after BLS/CPR training. Most of the articles showed that other forms of teaching methods are also as effective as the instructor led/traditional teaching methods in knowledge and skills levels among nurses. Therefore, future research should concentrate on the ideal timeline needed after initial training for the re-certification of the BLS/CPR.
ARID1B is a Dosage-sensitive Regulator of Polycomb Repressive Complex Distribution and HOX Gene Regulation in Patient-derived Neural Progenitors
Authors: Crabtree Gerald , Son Esther , Krokhotin Andrey , Gourisankar Sai , Chang Chiung-Ying
Published: October 2021

Recent unbiased exome and whole-genome sequencing studies have identified ARID1B (originally BAF250b) as the most frequently mutated gene in human de novo neurodevelopmental disorders and a high confidence autism gene. ARID1B is a subunit of the multimeric SWI/SNF or Brg/Brahma-Associated Factor (BAF) ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complex. Studies of Arid1b+/- mice as well as other BAF subunit mutants have found defects in neural progenitor proliferation and activity-dependent neuronal dendritogenesis; however, to date, the molecular impact of ARID1B mutations on the human neural lineage has not been investigated. Remarkably, ARID1B is required for expression of HOX genes, including anterior HOX genes necessary for brain development. Despite the high homology with ARID1A and the fact that ARID1A is expressed at about 3-fold higher levels, it is unable to compensate for heterozygous loss of ARID1B. These changes in gene expression were paralleled by dosage-sensitive altered deposition of histone H3 lysine-27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) and histone H2A lysine-119 ubiquitination (H2AK119ub) indicating that an evolutionarily conserved pathway of HOX gene regulation underlies the neurodevelopmental defects accompanying ARID1B haploinsufficiency. Using FIRE-Cas9, we show that the unmutated ARID1B allele can be activated to near normal and potentially therapeutic levels.
Is Tracheostomy Safe?: Common Indications and Early Complications Among Ugandan Patients In A Pre-Covid-19 Era.
Authors: Nyanzi Daniel James , Atwine Daniel , Kamoga Ronald , Birungi Caroline , Nansubuga Caroline A , Nyaiteera Victoria , Nakku Doreen
Published: October 2021

Background: Tracheostomy is a life-saving procedure whose outcomes may vary between hospitals based on disparities in their existing expertise. We aimed at establishing the indications, early tracheostomy-related complications and their associated factors in Uganda. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, we consecutively enrolled one-hundred patients, both adults and children 2 hours post-tracheostomy procedure. At baseline, information on patients’ socio-demographics, tracheostomy indications, pre- and post-procedural characteristics was collected through researcher administered questionnaires and from medical records. Clinical examination was performed at baseline but also at either day 7 or whenever a tracheostomy-related complication was suspected during the 7days follow-up. Comparison of patients’ baseline characteristics, tracheostomy indications and complications across two hospitals was done using Pearson’s chi-square. For predictors of early tracheostomy complications, bivariate and multivariate analysis models were fitted using binomial regression in STATA 13.0 software. Results: Majority of patients were adults (84%) and males (70%). The commonest tracheostomy indications were; pulmonary toilet (58%) and anticipated prolonged intubation (42%). Overall, 53% (95% CI: 43.0 – 62.7) had early complications with the commonest being tube obstruction (52.6%). Independent predictors of early tracheostomy-related complications were; anticipated having prolonged intubation as an indication (RR=1.8, 95%CI: 1.19 – 2.76), Bjork flap tracheal incision (RR=1.6, 95%CI: 1.09 – 2.43), vertical tracheal incision (RR=1.53, 95%CI: 1.02 – 2.27), and age below 18 years (RR=1.22, 95%CI: 1.00 – 1.47).Conclusion: Within a pre-COVID-19 context, pulmonary toilet is the commonest tracheostomy indication at major hospitals in Uganda. The incidence of early tracheostomy complications is high and majorly related to post-procedure tracheostomy tube management. Having anticipated prolonged intubation as an indication for tracheostomy, a Bjork flap or vertical tracheal incisions and being a child increases the risk of complications. Emphasis on surgical training and post-procedural management for both clinicians and nurses should be made. New data will be needed within the COVID-19 era.
Online Positive Parenting Program for Promoting Parenting Competencies and Skills: Randomised Controlled Trial
Authors: Tuntipuchitanon Sararat , Kangwanthiti Ing-on , Jirakran Ketsupar , Trairatvorakul Pon , Chonchaiya Weerasak
Published: October 2021

Background: Parenting programs, albeit effective, are not readily accessible to the general public, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: In 103 healthy caregiver-child dyads, we investigated the effectiveness of online positive parenting program on parenting sense of competencies (primary outcome), parenting styles and behavioural concerns of children aged 3-6 years (secondary outcomes) between 2 blinded, parallel groups. After block of 4 randomisations, intervention group (n = 52) attended 8-session, intensive video conference while active control group (n = 51) received weekly general education via communication application. Outcomes were measured at baseline, 8 and 14 weeks. Results: Most parents from both groups had high education and household income. At 14 weeks, the intervention group reported higher sense of competence (Wald 9.63, p=0.008); both groups reported using more authoritative parenting style (Wald 15.52, p≤0.001) from Generalised Estimating Equations model. Compared to baseline, both groups had significant reduction of children’s emotional problems at 14 weeks (mean change: Intervention = - 0.44, p=0.033; Control = - 0.30, p=0.046) and behavioural problems over time (Wald 7.07, p=0.029).Conclusion: Online positive parenting program offered an easily accessible, primary preventive measure to mitigate behavioural concerns and improve parental competency.Clinical Trial Registration: Thai Clinical Trials Registry; https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/; TCTR20201030001; October 30, 2020
Predictive Value of the Third Ventricle Width for Neurological Status in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Guenter Wojciech , Betscher Ewa , Bonek Robert
Published: October 2021

The third ventricle width (3VW) is an easily calculated measure of brain atrophy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of 3VW to cognitive impairment with adjustment for demographic and clinical confounders, including depression, anxiety, and fatigue, as well as to disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Symbol Digit Modalities Test, California Verbal Learning Test, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) were analysed in 93 patients with MS. Neuropsychological performance was compared to that of 150 healthy controls. Axial images from 3D FLAIR were used to measure 3VW. 25% of MS patients were impaired in at least two neuropsychological tests. Cognitive impairment and EDSS were associated with 3VW. Age and 3VW were the strongest predictors of cognitive impairment. The multiple regression model including age, 3VW, education, EDSS and MFIS explained 63% of the variance of neuropsychological tests results, while 3VW, age and duration of the disease were significant predictors of EDSS. This study confirms predictive value of 3VW for neurological status of patients with MS, especially for cognitive impairment after adjustment for demographic and clinical confounders.
Photonic Reinforcement Learning Based on Optoelectronic Reservoir Computing
Authors: Kanno Kazutaka , Uchida Atsushi
Published: October 2021

Reinforcement learning has been intensively investigated and developed in artificial intelligence in the absence of training data, such as autonomous driving vehicles, robot control, and internet advertising. However, the computational cost of reinforcement learning with deep neural networks is extremely high, and reducing the learning cost is a challenging issue. We propose a photonic on-line implementation of reinforcement learning using optoelectronic delay-based reservoir computing, both experimentally and numerically. In the proposed scheme, we accelerate reinforcement learning at a rate of several megahertz because there is no required learning process for the internal connection weights in reservoir computing. We perform two benchmark tasks, CartPole-v0 and MountanCar-v0 tasks, to evaluate the proposed scheme. Our results represent the first hardware implementation of reinforcement learning based on photonic reservoir computing and paves the way for fast and efficient reinforcement learning as a novel photonic accelerator.
Comparison of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT and Multiparametric MRI for the Detection of Low- and Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer
Authors: Zhou Chuanchi , Tang Yongxiang , Deng Zhihe , Yang Jinhui , Zhou Ming , Wang Long , Hu Shuo
Published: October 2021

Purpose: To provide a direct comparison between mpMRI and 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT for the detection of low- and intermediate-risk PCa and to determine which of low- or intermediate-risk PCa is more likely to be detected by 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT.Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who had undergone a prostate biopsy and/or radical prostatectomy, and who were scanned with 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT and mpMRI between June 2019 and March 2021. The mpMRI images were scored with the Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System Version 2.1 (PI-RADS) and were classified as either negative (PI-RADS 1-3) or positive (PI-RADS 4-5). Suspicious 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT lesions were reviewed for each relevant patient and classified by double-trained board-certified nuclear medicine physicians. The results were evaluated with the histopathological outcome. All patients were classified according to the D’Amico classification, and the clinical data were combined for stratified analysis.Result: 101 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with PCa were analyzed. Of the 101 patients, 88 (80.6%) patients presented with a pathologic mpMRI, and 85 (79.1%) with a pathologic 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT. In the high-risk PCa cohort, 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT was positive in 64/66 (97.0%) patients and yielded a higher detection rate than that for the mpMRI patients (58/66, 87.9%: p<0.05). However, mpMRI provided superior diagnostic confidence in identifying low- and intermediate-risk PCa (30/35, 85.7% vs. 21/35,60.0%; p<0.05). When the age threshold exceeded 62.5 years and the serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) threshold exceeded 9.4 ng/ml, a higher uptake of PSMA was more likely to occur in the lesions of low- and intermediate-risk PCa.Conclusion: In the initial diagnosis of low- and intermediate-risk PCa, we found that mpMRI showed a higher diagnostic accuracy than 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT did. Low- and intermediate-risk PCa patients with PSA≥9.4 ng/ml and age≥62.5 years were more likely to have a positive 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT result.
Wong Cilik in Javanese History and Culture, Indonesia
Authors: Wasino Wasino , Hartatik Endah Sri , Shintasiiwi Fitri Amalia
Published: October 2021

In every country, regional social concepts are of significance in the political environment. In Indonesia, about 40% of the population are ethnic Javanese. Accordingly, their cultural concepts bear a considerable influence on the political map and presidential elections. As a large community, the Javanese hold on to longstanding historical notions of the position of the ruler and the wong cilik or commoner in the mechanics of governance and governmental administration. In Javanese social stratification, the ruler and the people are conceptualised and positioned in different ways compared with governance in modern democratic societies. Two broad social levels can be distinguished the wong cilik, consisting of peasants and the city lower classes, and the priyayi (or ruling elite and high class society). They can be somehow compared with the traditional classification of the proletariat or the working class and the bourgeois, the holders of the means of production. Both have their own social and economic life but have an interdependent relationship of exchanging services and goods. This relationship is known in Java as kawula and gusti, a cultural “patron-client” relation, containing
supporting reciprocally based on authority.
Analisis Faktor Terpenting yang Mempengaruhi Corak Hubungan Malaysia-Australia Era Mahathir Mohamad, 1981–2003
Authors: Idris Rizal Zamani , Idris Asmady
Published: October 2021

Hubungan diplomatik Malaysia-Australia telah terjalin seawal 1955 apabila
pejabat Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia ditubuhkan di Kuala Lumpur dan dimeterai secara rasmi apabila Malaysia mencapai kemerdekaan pada tahun 1957. Kedua-dua negara ini telah bekerjasama dalam pelbagai bidang seperti pertahanan, pendidikan, perdagangan dan lain-lain. Malah, Australia menganggap Malaysia sebagai sekutu paling rapat di rantau ini. Sungguhpun begitu, hubungan ini mula berubah apabila Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad menjadi Perdana Menteri Malaysia (1981–2003). Hubungan bilateral Malaysia-Australia telah diuji dengan beberapa isu kontroversi. Isu-isu tersebut telah mempengaruhi hubungan Malaysia dan Australia namun tidaklah menjejaskan hubungan dua hala secara keseluruhannya. Kajian ini menganalisis faktor terpenting yang telah mempengaruhi corak dan karakter hubungan Malaysia dan Australia era Mahathir. Faktor terpenting ini dibahagikan kepada dua: faktor “pengeruh” (souring factor) dan faktor “pengukuh” (enduring factor). Metodologi kajian adalah berdasarkan
gabungan perbincangan menggunakan teori English School, pemerolehan data secara analisis dokumen dan temu bual. Pada akhir kajian ini, penulis mendapati bahawa corak hubungan Malaysia dan Australia pada era Mahathir dapat difahami dan dijelaskan dengan baik melalui perspektif yang diutarakan oleh teori English School. Oleh yang demikian, hal inilah yang menjadi sumbangan utama makalah ini dalam kajian hubungan Malaysia-Australia di bawah kepimpinan Mahathir. penambahan, pengguguran dan kuadruplet. Sesungguhnya, usaha penerokaan makna leksikal dan makna budaya kata nama khas secara menyeluruh serta penerapan prosedur terjemahan yang berkesan adalah amat mustahak. Hal ini adalah untuk memastikan makna kata nama khas dapat diungkapkan secara penuh dan difahami oleh pembaca sasaran.
Vitaliti Semasa Bahasa Melayu di Negara Brunei Darussalam
Authors: Noorashid Najib
Published: October 2021

Perdebatan mengenai “pertelingkahan bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Inggeris”
sentiasa wujud di alam Melayu. Walaupun bahasa Melayu merupakan bahasa rasmi/bahasa kebangsaan dan juga bahasa penanda budaya dan identiti orang Melayu, masih terdapat kekhuatiran terhadap kemungkinan kepupusan bahasa tersebut dalam kalangan para sarjana dan masyarakat Melayu. Perkara ini terjadi kerana peningkatan kepentingan bahasa Inggeris dalam era globalisasi. Dengan mengaplikasikan Model Sikap Bahasa dan metode Skala Penilaian Gangguan Antara Generasi Luasan serta Rangka Kerja Keberdayaan dan Kepupusan Bahasa, makalah ini membincangkan sikap bahasa dan daya hidup semasa bagi dua variasi bahasa Melayu iaitu bahasa Melayu standard dan bahasa Melayu Brunei dalam persekitaran dwibahasa di Negara Brunei Darussalam, berdasarkan bukti-bukti kajian analisis terhadap penutur bahasa Melayu Brunei dan tanggapan beberapa sarjana bahasa Melayu. Hasil analisis mendapati sikap para belia terhadap kedua-dua variasi bahasa adalah positif dan kewujudan dilestarikan melalui usaha-usaha penyelenggaraan setempat, selain kedua-dua variasi bahasa ini saling melengkapi dengan bahasa Inggeris mengikut kesesuaian konteks dan audiens. Makalah
ini turut menyangkal tanggapan yang menyatakan kedudukan dan daya hidup semasa bahasa Melayu terancam, selain turut menyanggah dakwaan kewujudan bahasa Inggeris mengancam status dan pengekalan bahasa Melayu.
The 1786 Acquisition of Pulau Pinang: Unveiling the Light Letters, Revisiting Legal History Case Materials and R. Bonney’s Kedah 1771–1821
Authors: Merican Ahmad Murad , Mohamed Amin Abd Ur-Rahman
Published: October 2021

This article reviews the “acquisition” of Pulau Pinang by Francis Light and
the East India Company (EIC) in the year 1786. The discussion centres on the contested history of Pulau Pinang and the collective memory of the Malays. It reveals discussions between Francis Light and the sultans of Kedah on the supposed “acquisition” and sometime leasing of the island to the EIC. It is based on doubts casted by R. Bonney in his 1971 book Kedah 1771–1821: The Search for Security and Independence. This is supported by legal history and the exchanges in the Light Letters between Light and two Kedah rulers. The letters are kept at the Archives of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. This article reveals that there is no agreement of 1786. However the landing of Light at Tanjong Penaga in 1786 has been legitimised in the
historiography prompt and proper. Seen from the absence of any treaty, the “acquisition” of Pulau Pinang by the EIC in that year is treated as “illegal”.
Suomen kielen hallinta ja sen kehitys. Peruskoululaiset ja nuoret aikuiset
Authors: Pajunen Anneli , Honko Mari
Published: October 2021

The topic of the book is the incremental growth of linguistic knowledge from lexical to structural-cum-textual during the so-called later language development. Language mastery does not presuppose any acquaintance with prescriptive grammar but, instead, concerns the core of language which the so-called consensus principle applies to: the most frequent words and structures are mastered with certainty by everybody, but uncertainty increases as less frequent and more variable phenomena are taken into consideration. It is the goal of the study to make explicit the knowledge that is common to school children of different age groups, and to show how it develops both in its core and in its fringe areas. The mastery of less common aspects exhibits considerable statistical variation. The research embodies methodological pluralism insofar as it has been carried out by means both of the corpus method and the experimental method. Here experimental subsumes writing tasks, paper-and-pencil tests, and behavior under experimental conditions. The amount of participants native in Finnish varies from 300–2000. The book has a bipartite structure: mastery of meanings (Part I), and mastery of forms (Part II).
Decoherent quench dynamics across quantum phase transitions
Authors: Kuo Wei-Ting , Arovas Daniel , Vishveshwara Smitha , You Yi-Zhuang
Published: October 2021

We present a formulation for investigating quench dynamics across
quantum phase transitions in the presence of decoherence. We formulate
decoherent dynamics induced by continuous quantum non-demolition
measurements of the instantaneous Hamiltonian. We generalize the
well-studied universal Kibble-Zurek behavior for linear temporal drive
across the critical point. We identify a strong decoherence regime
wherein the decoherence time is shorter than the standard correlation
time, which varies as the inverse gap above the groundstate. In this
regime, we find that the freeze-out time
\bar{t}\sim\tau^{{2\nu z}/({1+2\nu z})}t-∼τ2νz/(1+2νz)
for when the system falls out of equilibrium and the associated
freeze-out length \bar{\xi}\sim\tau^{\nu/({1+2\nu z})}ξ‾∼τν/(1+2νz)
show power-law scaling with respect to the quench rate
1/\tau1/τ,
where the exponents depend on the correlation length exponent
\nuν
and the dynamical exponent zz
associated with the transition. The universal exponents differ from
those of standard Kibble-Zurek scaling. We explicitly demonstrate this
scaling behavior in the instance of a topological transition in a Chern
insulator system. We show that the freeze-out time scale can be probed
from the relaxation of the Hall conductivity. Furthermore, on
introducing disorder to break translational invariance, we demonstrate
how quenching results in regions of imbalanced excitation density
characterized by an emergent length scale which also shows universal
scaling. We perform numerical simulations to confirm our analytical
predictions and corroborate the scaling arguments that we postulate as
universal to a host of systems.
Entanglement measures in a nonequilibrium steady state: Exact results in one dimension
Authors: Fraenkel Shachar , Goldstein Moshe
Published: October 2021

Entanglement plays a prominent role in the study of condensed matter
many-body systems: Entanglement measures not only quantify the possible
use of these systems in quantum information protocols, but also shed
light on their physics. However, exact analytical results remain scarce,
especially for systems out of equilibrium. In this work we examine a
paradigmatic one-dimensional fermionic system that consists of a uniform
tight-binding chain with an arbitrary scattering region near its center,
which is subject to a DC bias voltage at zero temperature. The system is
thus held in a current-carrying nonequilibrium steady state, which can
nevertheless be described by a pure quantum state. Using a
generalization of the Fisher-Hartwig conjecture, we present an exact
calculation of the bipartite entanglement entropy of a subsystem with
its complement, and show that the scaling of entanglement with the
length of the subsystem is highly unusual, containing both a volume-law
linear term and a logarithmic term. The linear term is related to
imperfect transmission due to scattering, and provides a generalization
of the Levitov-Lesovik full counting statistics formula. The logarithmic
term arises from the Fermi discontinuities in the distribution function.
Our analysis also produces an exact expression for the
particle-number-resolved entanglement. We find that although to leading
order entanglement equipartition applies, the first term breaking it
grows with the size of the subsystem, a novel behavior not observed in
previously studied systems. We apply our general results to a concrete
model of a tight-binding chain with a single impurity site, and show
that the analytical expressions are in good agreement with numerical
calculations. The analytical results are further generalized to
accommodate the case of multiple scattering regions.
Methods for Determining the Parameters of Receptor-Ligand Interactions on the Model of Concanavalin A and Mannosylated Chitosans Promising Carriers for Drug Delivery to Alveolar Macrophages
Authors: Vanichkin D.A. , Kudryashova E.V.
Published: October 2021

Abstract-The search for mannosylated molecules forming strong complexes with the model mannose receptor, concanavalin A (ConA), is an important step for the creation of targeted drug carriers. The goal of this work was to develop an accurate and reproducible method for determining the parameters of lectin-ligand interactions to assess the affinity of concanavalin A to chitosan and its mannosylated derivatives. It was shown that the use of UV spectroscopy, as well as fluorescence quenching, makes it possible to determine the parameters of ligand-receptor complexation at reagent concentrations 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than those described in the literature and obtained, including by isothermal calorimetry. UV spectroscopy also opens up the possibility of analyzing a wide range of ligands and makes the process less laborious. Comparative characteristics of the above methods are given. It was proposed to use chitosans as carriers for drug delivery to macrophages due to their biocompatibility, mucoadhesiveness, as well as the ability to reduce the toxicity of antibacterial agents and enhance their absorption by macrophages. Unmodified chitosans bind to ConA relatively weakly (Kd ≈ 10-4 M). With an increase in the molecular weight, the degree of modification of chitosans with mannose, as well as with the introduction of a spermidine spacer into their molecule, the strength of complexation of the carrier with the model mannosylated receptor ConA increases significantly; Kd values are in the range of 10-6-10-7 M, which is almost an order of magnitude lower than for the natural ligand, trimannoside. The effect is achieved due to the high clustering of mannose residues (Man). Taking into account such criteria of drugs as safety and immunogenicity, we believe that among the studied chitosan molecules, a spacer-containing high-mannosylated chitosan polymer with a molecular weight of 5 kDa should be considered the optimal carrier for drug delivery to macrophages.

Key words: mannose receptors, chitosan, concanavalin A, UV spectroscopy, fluorescence quenching, dissociation constant, macrophages
Previsão do Mercado Financeiro com Redes Neurais
Authors: Mghazli Ya-Sin B. , Araujo Ricardo de Andrade , Seixas José Manoel
Published: October 2021

Diversas classes de modelos têm sido propostas como solução do dilema do passeio aleatório para previsão de séries temporais financeiras. Embora não haja nenhuma prova formal sobre sua previsibilidade, alguns trabalhos argumentam que, na prática, este fenômeno temporal é, de alguma forma, previsível. Portanto, esse trabalho analisa o desempenho de modelos de redes neurais artificiais (multilayer perceptrons, convolutional neural networks, long short- term memory e temporal fusion transformers) como solução do dilema do passeio aleatório no problema de previsão de séries temporais financeiras. Uma análise experimental é conduzida com os modelos investigados utilizando uma série temporal relacionada ao Índice da Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (IBOVESPA) e os resultados alcançados demonstraram efetividade, em desempenho preditivo, dos modelos investigados.
Evaluation of the challenges in water governance through citizen's perception and Water Quality Index: a case study of a fast-growing city in India
Authors: Navaneeth A. , Sreeda P. , Vishnu Maya T. M. , Sanusree P. S. , Harikumar P. S.
Published: October 2021

Urban water governance (UWG) plays an important role to ensure safe and sufficient water availability in cities. In developing countries, citizen centric studies, which are important to understand the ground-level scenario and the existing UWG, are often not conducted due to the lack of manpower or infrastructure. Indian cities are rapidly growing, and there is a need to revisit the existing UWG scenario in its cities. Therefore, as a first step, this study evaluates the UWG challenges in Kozhikode, Kerala, based on citizen perception and drinking water quality. The present study reports the findings from face-to-face interviews conducted (using structured questionnaires) to evaluate the knowledge of citizens in the basic areas of water resources management and conservation (n = 180) and the analysis of water samples from household sources (n = 261). The Water Quality Index (WQI) was computed and analyzed using the geographic information system (GIS). The WQI map identified the vulnerable areas requiring focused intervention to improve water quality. A poor awareness among the respondents, especially regarding the local water resources, was identified from the interviews. However, on a positive note, the citizens are willing to bridge this knowledge gap. Thus, involving citizens and understanding the issues at the ground level will aid in improving the UWG in cities.