bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
β-Cell Insulin Resistance Plays a Causal Role in Fat-Induced β-Cell Dysfunction In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Ivovic Aleksandar , Yung Justin Hou Ming , Oprescu Andrei I , Vlavcheski Filip , Mori Yusaku , Rahman S M Niazur , Ye Wenyue , Eversley Judith A , Wheeler Michael B , Woo Minna , Tsiani Evangelia , Giacca Adria
Published: April 2024

In the classical insulin target tissues of liver, muscle, and adipose tissue, chronically elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFA) impair insulin signaling. Insulin signaling molecules are also present in β-cells where they play a role in β-cell function. Therefore, inhibition of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 pathway may be involved in fat-induced β-cell dysfunction. To address the role of β-cell insulin resistance in FFA-induced β-cell dysfunction we co-infused bisperoxovanadate (BPV) with oleate or olive oil for 48 hours in rats. BPV, a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, acts as an insulin mimetic and is devoid of any antioxidant effect that could prevent β-cell dysfunction, unlike most insulin sensitizers. Following fat infusion, rats either underwent hyperglycemic clamps for assessment of β-cell function in vivo or islets were isolated for ex vivo assessment of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). We also incubated islets with oleate or palmitate and BPV for in vitro assessment of GSIS and Akt (protein kinase B) phosphorylation. Next, mice with β-cell specific deletion of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog; negative regulator of insulin signaling) and littermate controls were infused with oleate for 48 hours, followed by hyperglycemic clamps or ex vivo evaluation of GSIS. In rat experiments, BPV protected against fat-induced impairment of β-cell function in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro. In mice, β-cell specific deletion of PTEN protected against oleate-induced β-cell dysfunction in vivo and ex vivo. These data support the hypothesis that β-cell insulin resistance plays a causal role in FFA-induced β-cell dysfunction.
Collapse of late endosomal pH elicits a rapid Rab7 response via the V-ATPase and RILP
Authors: Mulligan Ryan J. , Magaj Magdalena M. , Digilio Laura , Redemann Stefanie , Yap Chan Choo , Winckler Bettina
Published: April 2024

Endosomal-lysosomal trafficking is accompanied by the acidification of endosomal compartments by the H+-V-ATPase to reach low lysosomal pH. Disruption of the correct pH impairs lysosomal function and the balance of protein synthesis and degradation (proteostasis). Here, we treated mammalian cells with the small dipeptide LLOMe, which is known to permeabilize lysosomal membranes, and find that LLOMe also impacts late endosomes (LEs) by neutralizing their pH without causing membrane permeabilization. We show that LLOMe leads to hyperactivation of Rab7 (herein referring to Rab7a), and disruption of tubulation and mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CI-M6PR; also known as IGF2R) recycling on pH-neutralized LEs. pH neutralization (NH4Cl) and expression of Rab7 hyperactive mutants alone can both phenocopy the alterations in tubulation and CI-M6PR trafficking. Mechanistically, pH neutralization increases the assembly of the V1G1 subunit (encoded by ATP6V1G1) of the V-ATPase on endosomal membranes, which stabilizes GTP-bound Rab7 via RILP, a known interactor of Rab7 and V1G1. We propose a novel pathway by which V-ATPase and RILP modulate LE pH and Rab7 activation in concert. This pathway might broadly contribute to pH control during physiologic endosomal maturation or starvation and during pathologic pH neutralization, which occurs via lysosomotropic compounds and in disease states.
Long-Term Oncologic Outcome following Duodenum-Preserving Pancreatic Head Resection for Benign Tumors, Cystic Neoplasms, and Neuroendocrine Tumors: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Beger Hans G. , Mayer Benjamin , Poch Bertram
Published: April 2024

Background

Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) has a considerable surgical risk for complications and late metabolic morbidity. Parenchyma-sparing resection of benign tumors has the potential to cure patients associated with reduced procedure-related short- and long-term complications.

Materials and Methods

Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane libraries were searched for studies reporting surgery-related complications following PD and duodenum-preserving total (DPPHRt) or partial (DPPHRp) pancreatic head resection for benign tumors. A total of 38 cohort studies that included data from 1262 patients were analyzed. In total, 729 patients underwent DPPHR and 533 PD.

Results

Concordance between preoperative diagnosis of benign tumors and final histopathology was 90.57% for DPPHR. Cystic and neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNETs) and periampullary tumors (PATs) were observed in 497, 89, and 31 patients, respectively. In total, 34 of 161 (21.1%) patients with intraepithelial papillar mucinous neoplasm exhibited severe dysplasia in the final histopathology. The meta-analysis, when comparing DPPHRt and PD, revealed in-hospital mortality of 1/362 (0.26%) and 8/547 (1.46%) patients, respectively [OR 0.48 (95% CI 0.15–1.58); p = 0.21], and frequency of reoperation of 3.26 % and 6.75%, respectively [OR 0.52 (95% CI 0.28–0.96); p = 0.04]. After a follow-up of 45.8 ± 26.6 months, 14/340 patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms/mucinous cystic neoplasms (IPMN/MCN, 4.11%) and 2/89 patients with PNET (2.24%) exhibited tumor recurrence. Local recurrence at the resection margin and reoccurrence of tumor growth in the remnant pancreas was comparable after DPPHR or PD [OR 0.94 (95% CI 0.178–5.34); p = 0.96].

Conclusions

DPPHR for benign, premalignant neoplasms provides a cure for patients with low risk of tumor recurrence and significantly fewer early surgery-related complications compared with PD. DPPHR has the potential to replace PD for benign, premalignant cystic and neuroendocrine neoplasms.
Long-read datasets of Kayu Bawang (Azadirachta excelsa (Jack) Jacobs) from 3 different identified seed stands in Bengkulu (Sumatra), Indonesia and its phylogenetic relationships
Authors: Depari Efratenta Katherina , Wijayanto Nurheni , Karlinasari Lina , Rafi Mohamad , Siregar Iskandar Zulkarnaen
Published: April 2024

Abstract* Azadirachta excelsa (Jack) Jacobs, Kayu bawang (Meliaceae) is economically valuable and widely used by the local community in Bengkulu (Sumatra) as carpentry and construction wood because of its good durability class. However, it still has ambiguous scientific multiple names, such as Azadirachta excelsa, Protium javanicum, and Dysoxylum mollissimum. Additional tools such as molecular approaches can be used to verify whether it is true or not that Kayu bawang is scientifically named as Azadirachta excelsa based on previous morphological identification. This study aimed to construct draft chloroplast genome and verify the scientific name based on molecular identification using a single rbcL gene marker. Genomic DNA was extracted from bark cambium originated from three different provenances in Bengkulu, Indonesia, namely TBT-A, TBT-K, and TBT-S. MinION from Oxford Nanopore Technologies was used to sequence the samples following manufacture protocols SQK-LSK109 yielding 481.6 Mb for TBT-A, 597.4 Mb for TBT-K, and 853.1 Mb for TBT-S, respectively. Generated data were assembled and constructed, namely 58,780 bp (14 tRNAs and 47 encoding genes) for TBT-A, 142,139 bp (4 rRNAs, 24 tRNAs, and 78 encoding genes) for TBT-K, and 84,906 bp (24 tRNAs and 53 encoding genes) for TBT-S. Based on the phylogenetic tree, Azadirachta excelsa from three identified tree stands were placed in the same group with other Azadirachta excelsa accessions.
Validating a Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (QuesCa) for Arabic-Speaking Children Aged 9-15 Years: Translation and Cultural Adaptation
Authors: Ben Othman Rym , Amorri Amani , Ben Zina Beya Farah , Ben Mansour Nadia , Kasraoui Sabeh , Berriche Olfa , Gamoudi Amel , Mizouri Ramla , Abdesselem Haifa , Sebai Imen , Jamoussi Henda
Published: April 2024

Background a valid measurement tool is required to assess the nutrition knowledge of children. The questionnaire of nutrition knowledge (QuesCa) has so far not been in use in Arabic-speaking populations. The objective of this study was to validate the Arabic version of the QuesCa questionnaire in a sample of Arabic-speaking children. Methods this is a cross-sectional study which envolved 524 preadolescents and teenagers, with 315 participants aged between 9 and 11 years and 209 participants aged between 12 and 15 years. Children were recruited from the national centre for school and university medicine in Tunis and from randomly selected school nurseries. Results The adapted QuesCa AR comprised 9 items for children aged 9-11 and 12-15, which included traditional African foods. The 9-item QuesCa 9-11 AR scale showed a low internal consistency reliability (Cronbach alpha for the total scale was 0.337). The overall Cronbach’s alpha value of the QuesCA 12-15 AR obtained was 0.284 for the 9 items. The multivariate analysis specific to the 9-11 age group showed that neither gender nor socio-economic level, nor affiliation to a public or private institution could predict the level of nutritional knowledge among Tunisian children aged 9 to 11. However, it did show an association between a good level of nutritional knowledge in Tunisian children aged 12 to 15 years with having a good socioeconomic level and being educated in a private institution. Conclusions The QuesCa AR’s inclusion of traditional African foods makes it a tool for researchers in Arab countries to assess nutrition knowledge levels.
Facial Recognition and Human Rights in the European Union and Latin America
Authors: Schippers Laurianne-Marie
Published: April 2024

Facial recognition has become increasingly present in the private and public life worldwide. This technology, which is frequently justified as providing greater security, is constantly criticized for escalating surveillance and violating fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of expression. This study aims to demonstrate that, although many criticisms related to human rights violations are common worldwide, some regions may suffer greater or lesser impacts from this technology due to historical, social, economic, and cultural aspects. In that sense, a comparison is made regarding the effects of facial recognition in Latin America and Europe, considering the context of each region.
Measuring Intangible Capital with Market Prices
Authors: Ewens Michael , Peters Ryan H. , Wang Sean
Published: April 2024

Accounting standards prohibit internally created knowledge and organizational capital from being disclosed on firm balance sheets. As a result, balance sheets exhibit downward biases that have become exacerbated by increasing levels of intangible investments. To offset these biases, researchers must estimate the value of these off-balance sheet intangibles by capitalizing prior flows of research and development (R&D) and selling, general, and administrative (SG&A). In doing so, a set of capitalization parameters must be assumed (i.e., the R&D depreciation rate and the fraction of SG&A that represents a long-lived asset). We estimate these parameters using market prices from firm exits and use them to capitalize intangibles for a comprehensive panel of firms from 1978 to 2017. We then use a series of validation tests to examine the performance of our intangible capital stocks versus those developed from commonly used parameters. On average, our estimates of intangible capital are 15% smaller than estimates from status quo parameters while exhibiting larger variation across industry. Intangible capital stocks derived from exit price parameters outperform existing measures when explaining market enterprise values and identifying human capital risk. Adjusting book values with exit-based intangible capital stocks markedly attenuates well-documented biases in market-to-book and return on equity ratios while increasing the precision of the high-minus-low asset pricing factor. We conclude that our capitalization parameters create intangible stocks that perform equal to or better than status quo measures in various applications.

This paper was accepted by Victoria Ivashina, finance.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.02058 .
Maximising your clinical placement experience
Authors: Wanogho Aghogho
Published: April 2024

Final-year student Aghogho Wanogho offers advice, for those starting out on their nursing journey, on making the most of the learning opportunities while on placement
Still a long way to go on patient safety
Authors: Foster Sam
Published: April 2024

Sam Foster, Executive Director of Professional Practice, Nursing and Midwifery Council, looks at the findings of a parliamentary review into progress on safety proposals and encourages nurses to be part of the culture change
Extravasation and infiltration: under-recognised complications of intravenous therapy
Authors: Barton Andrew
Published: April 2024

Occasionally, the administration of intravenous (IV) therapies can go wrong. Infiltration or extravasation is a complication when a drug or IV therapy leaks into the tissues surrounding the vascular access device. Extravasation can cause serious and often life-changing injuries. Extravasation is often associated with systemic anti-cancer therapy but non-chemotherapy drugs have been reported as having a greater risk of serious complications. This study outlines the first UK Infusion unit evaluation of the ivWatch infusion monitoring device which was undertaken from August 2023 to January 2024. Out of 2254 infusions monitored with ivWatch, the device prevented 122 cases of infiltration and extravasation from causing any harm to the patient, corresponding to a 5.4% ‘check IV’ notification rate.
Fostering Decision-Making and Ethics: Problem-Based Learning for Female Tertiary Learners in Israel
Authors: Khazen Manal
Published: April 2024

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) within a teaching unit on the advancement of ethical reasoning and decision-making skills among Israeli female tertiary students. Employing a quasi-experimental design, 48 female students were distributed into three groups, with two serving as control groups receiving conventional curriculum-based instruction and one as an experimental group exposed to the PBL methodology. Both before and after implementation, all groups underwent assessments using a decision-making competency test and an ethical reasoning scale. The results unequivocally demonstrated the significant enhancement of decision-making abilities and ethical thinking through the implementation of the PBL strategy. Comparative analysis revealed substantial improvements in the experimental group compared to the control groups, emphasizing the efficacy of PBL in fostering comprehensive skill development. Furthermore, a positive correlation between ethical thinking and decision-making skills further reinforces the beneficial outcomes associated with PBL. These findings advocate for the widespread integration of PBL techniques across various academic disciplines.
“This man is an ass!” Maledicta in Akkadian
Authors: Streck Michael P.
Published: April 2024

Maledicta (insults) occur in Akkadian (Babylonian-Assyrian) letters, literary text genres, royal inscriptions and lexical texts. A semantic typology of Akkadian maledicta distinguishes the following groups: animals, sexual and scatological maledicta; maledicta referring to dirt, physical or mental handicaps, to an unknown or bad origin, to the abandonment by god; maledicta designating a person as deceiver, denunciator, chatterer, criminal or evildoer. Maledicta are a source for the Mesopotamian canon of values. Keywords: Mesopotamia, Akkadian, maledicta, insults, canon of values.
Masculine plural agreement with inanimates and animals in the Qurʾān. Simply “personification,” or an early Neo-Arabic feature?
Authors: Hanitsch Melanie
Published: April 2024

With plurals referring to inanimates and animals Qurʾānic Arabic mostly displays the (pre-)Classical agreement variation F.SG ~ F.PL/CG.PL. The occasional occurrence of M.PL agreement (e.g., Q 26:4), is usually accounted for in terms of “personification” and not further contextualized within the range of Arabic varieties. However, in light of the structural and language historical contiguity between Qurʾānic M.PL and the Neo-Arabic uses of M.PL (Middle Arabic, Modern Dialects), we must address the question of whether the former represents an early Neo-Arabic feature. The problem is approached by offering a statistical analysis (based on Corbett’s “agreement hierarchy”) and a micro-typology of the relevant Qurʾānic material. The statistic shows that the distribution of M.PL is in favor of its interpretation as a new, just-emerging agreement type. The microtypology suggests that the main reasons for the use of M.PL are metonymy and animacy resolution and that some contexts favor reanalyzing M.PL as a “plural of common animacy.” I conclude that, although Qurʾānic M.PL with inanimates/animals is not a full-grown Neo-Arabic feature, it represents the last layers of an evolution toward the Neo-Arabic type of construction. Keywords: Qurʾānic Arabic, Neo-Arabic, Modern Arabic Dialects, Middle Arabic, Arabic historical linguistics, personification, metonymy, loss of gender distinction, animacy, grammatical agreement resolution
Old vernacular features of Moroccan Arabic under the light of their Portuguese translation (16th century)
Authors: Benjamin Francisco Felipe
Published: April 2024

This study aims to examine six archaic linguistic forms of Moroccan Arabic found in early 16th-century documents. These vernacular features were collected in the Manuscripts 45 and 46 cataloged together with the documents written in Arabic script preserved in the Portuguese National Archive of Torre do Tombo. They consist of two letters authored by the commander Yaḥya u- Taʕfuft, who addressed them to the King of Portugal, in the context of the Portuguese occupation in Safi on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The two letters dated 1517 were written in Middle Arabic with a strong predominance of vernacular traits normally associated with the Arabic dialects of northern Morocco, but also with Jewish dialects and the dialects of old urban centers. To understand the original meaning of these old forms, reference is made to translations of the manuscripts into Portuguese dating from that same period, namely: I) a translation into Old Portuguese and II) a transcription of this translation into aljamia – Portuguese written in Arabic characters. A parallel is then established between the archaic forms and the genetically related variants found in Moroccan Arabic dialects today. In this way, the study identifies and presents at first hand the following old vernacular forms of Moroccan Arabic: I) the reflexive form of the verb ‘to go away’ جبد روح (*žbd rūḥ), II) the adverb ‘never’ عمر (*ʕmṛ), III) the verb ‘to pass’ جز (*žāz), IV) the verb ‘to be paid’ تخلص (*txlṣ), V) the lexicon item ط يڢ (*ṭyf) ‘lord’, and VI) the verb ‘to say good bye’ ص يڢط (*ṣyfṭ). It also shows how these forms seem to be related to current variants, such as: the verb dǝzbād ‘to go away’, the verb ʕǝmmǝṛ ma ~ ma ʕǝmmǝṛ ‘never’, the verb dāz ‘to pass’, the verb txǝllǝṣ ‘to be paid’, the lexicon item ḍīf ~ ḍăyf ‘master’ and the verb tṣīfǝṭ ‘to say goodbye’. These findings may be an initial contribution to fulfill the lack of information on dialectal Arabic spoken in Moroccan territory by that time. Keywords: Moroccan Arabic, Arabic Dialectology, Middle Arabic, Safi, Portuguese Aljamia
Die Rezitationen und Hymnen der Koptisch- Orthodoxen Kirche
Authors: Ghattas Michael
Published: April 2024

Der koptisch liturgische Gesang gehört zu den ältesten Traditionen christlicher Musik des Vorderen Orients. Jedoch hat sich keine Notationsform für die koptischen Gesänge und Hymnen herausgebildet. Es handelt sich um ein vorwiegend mündlich tradiertes Erbe. Bisher ist die koptische Vortragspraxis noch weitgehend unerschlossen. Das Erbe der koptischen Kirche droht auch mit dem Verlust des Koptischen als liturgische Sprache verloren zu gehen. Der folgende Aufsatz sammelt die wichtigsten Hinweise für mögliche Notationsformen und bespricht die historische Entwicklung der koptisch liturgischen Gesänge. Keywords: Koptische Liturgie, Liturgiesprache, Kirchenmusik, Notationsformen, Oralität, Musikinstrumente
Anmerkungen zur Interpretation der ʿgl bn hfʿm Inschrift mit einem neuen Vorschlag für den letzten Begriff šʿr
Authors: Ababneh Mohammad I.
Published: April 2024

Die Grabinschrift wurde von ʿgl bn hfʿm einem Adligen in Qaryat al-Fāw (der Hauptstadt des Königreichs Kinda) verfasst und in einem dortigen Grab entdeckt. Der Text ist in al-musnad-Schrift verfasst, enthält jedoch gemischte orthographische, sowohl süd- als auch nordarabische, Merkmale. Die Sprache ist als Altarabisch zu verstehen. Der Beitrag liefert neue Erkenntnisse zum Verständnis der Inschrift und schlägt eine neue Übersetzung des letzten Absatzes vor, insbesondere des Wortes šʿr „Haar“, wodurch die Übersetzung des Textes noch überzeugender wird. Keywords: ʿgl bn hfʿm, Qaryat al-Fāw, Grabinschrift, Altarabisch, šʿr „Haar“
Predictor of recurrent exacerbations in pediatric asthma
Authors: Tran Ly Cong , Phan Hung Viet , Vo-Pham-Minh Thu , Bui Nghia Quang , Nguyen-Dinh-Nguyen Chuong , Nguyen Thao Nguyen Thi , Nguyen Huynh Ai Uyen , Tran Nhu Thi Huynh , Nguyen Phuong Minh
Published: April 2024

BACKGROUND Asthma imposes a heavy morbidity burden during childhood. Severe persistent asthma significantly increases patients’ risk of exacerbations, hospital admissions, and mortality and often substantially impairs their quality of life. This study aimed to identify high-risk patients for exacerbation recurrence using spirometric parameters.
METHODS A prospective cohort study involving patients with asthma aged 6–15 years was conducted at the principal children’s hospital in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, from June 2020 to June 2022. Demographic, clinical, and lung function characteristics of the patients were collected. Spirometry measurement parameters were utilized as predictive factors for the short-term asthma exacerbation recurrence.
RESULTS Among all patients (mean age of 9.5 years old), 10.4% experienced recurrent exacerbations. FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEF25–75, FEF25–75/FVC, and PEF, gradually decreased with increasing exacerbation severity (p<0.01). All patients showed a positive bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR), with a mean value of 16.85 (3.00)%, which was significantly different between the severe and non-severe asthma groups (20.53 [2.83] versus 16.00 [2.35], p<0.001). After adjusting in multivariable logistic regression, a BDR ≥20% was identified as the sole independent factor associated with an increased risk of asthma exacerbation recurrence (aOR 6.95, 95% CI 1.08–44.75, p = 0.041).
CONCLUSIONS A high BDR can serve as a predictor of acute asthma exacerbation recurrence.
‘Rocking the boat’ at the boundaries of social work practice
Authors: Ng’andu Bridget
Published: April 2024

The response to the immigration crisis of 2015 raised issues about how social work as a profession in the UK was responding to what was unfolding in Calais, France. This article draws on evidence from a qualitative study conducted between 2018 and 2020 that analysed the narratives of 13 front-line local authority social workers’ experiences of volunteering with a charity. It was found that social workers were motivated to volunteer with the charity due to its commitment to social work’s core values of social justice and human rights through a radical social work approach and activism on issues affecting asylum seekers and refugees. This article highlights the opportunities for an alternative social work practice and recommends ways of embedding this in social work practice and education.
The Politics of Wedding Poetry under the Cromwellian Protectorate: Sir William Davenant and “Hymen’s Policy”
Authors: Allsopp Niall
Published: April 2024

Abstract: This essay presents a reading of Sir William Davenant’s previously unstudied poem “Epithalamium. The Morning after the Marriage of the Earl of Barymore with Mrs. Martha Laurence,” written in October 1656. The poem offers a significant comparison to Andrew Marvell’s near-contemporary wedding song for the marriage of Oliver Cromwell’s daughter Mary. It thereby sheds light on Cromwellian poets’ efforts to formulate a poetic language in which to address the Protectoral court. The essay contextualizes the poem in the political realignment of the Cromwellian regime in 1656–1657. It suggests that Davenant’s paradoxical style attempts to adapt the courtly epithalamium to the minimalistic religious settlement and the principle of toleration for Protestants that underpinned the Cromwellian coalition. In this way, the poem illustrates how the 1650s Davenant can be read as a Cromwellian poet, alongside Marvell, Edmund Waller, and even John Milton, developing his ambitious and idiosyncratic ideas about public festivity and civil religion.
Blackness in the Black Legend: How narratives of race and slavery in the Amistad affair shaped anti-Hispanicism and "American Exceptionalism"
Authors: Cozart Dan
Published: April 2024

Abstract: This article examines Steven Spielberg's 1997 film Amistad, which depicts a slave rebellion and mutiny on a Cuban slave ship in 1839, as a lens through which to view the origins of the Black Legend. The Black Legend emerged in 1830s in the U.S. to depict Latin American instability as the result of Spanish oppression, violence, cultural inferiority and Catholicism. The narrative served to benefit the ideology of white supremacy and the myth of American (read U.S.) "exceptionalism" by drawing global attention away from the maintenance of slavery in the U.S. and highlighting Spanish and Cuban involvement in the clandestine slave trade in the nineteenth century. The article analyzes a variety of secondary and primary sources that place blackness at the center of the construction of the Black Legend, from contemporary accounts of the Amistad revolt to subsequent references to blackness in histories of U.S.-Latin American relations in the 1830s and 1840s. The article shows how Spielberg inserts Christianity as a force for racial equality and holds up the judicial branch of the U.S. government as a model for Latin America to follow, echoing the inherent contradictions of the Black Legend in the late twentieth century. Ultimately, the article argues that U.S. history must be examined in relation to the history of Latin America, and narratives of blackness in the Atlantic world shaped national mythos and identities in similar ways. Examining the African Diaspora in the Americas, as well as the subsequent national narratives of race and national identities, helps to deconstruct narratives of exceptionalism and reveal political motivations and contradictions in the Black Legend narrative.
Ins and Outs: Immigration Policies in Early 20th Century Mexico and the Arrival of Spanish Immigrants and Exiles
Authors: David Breanna
Published: April 2024

Abstract: In the early decades of the 20th century, Mexican immigration laws and government circulars dictated populations believed to be economically, racially, and intellectually favorable. Determined to be a population able to easily assimilate into Mexican society based on their ability to maintain Mexico's mestizo demographic identity, the government gave preferential treatment to Spaniards seeking the opportunity to migrate. The Mexican government sought to protect the nation's mixed-identity through the promulgation of restrictive immigration policies, establishing limitations for populations believed to be too "other" to seamlessly integrate and bring wide-spread benefit to the nation. To understand Mexico's provision of aid to Spanish exiles and refugees unable or unwilling to return to their homeland during and after the Spanish Civil War, this article examines the Ley de Migración, the Ley de General Población, and other immigration laws promulgated between 1926 and 1936 and their efforts to control who was able to enter the country.
Entre la realidad y la representación: El debate sobre Ixcanul (2015) y la minorización de la mujer
Authors: Sánchez Cabrera Manuel
Published: April 2024

Abstracto: Ixcanul (2015) del director guatemalteco Jayro Bustamante ha sido central para el imaginario colectivo guatemalteco por cómo cuenta su historia, y por las reacciones que ha provocado dentro y fuera de Guatemala. Este artículo hace una lectura coyuntural de Ixcanul , y discute las dificultades que la popularidad de la película ha generado a la hora de verla y analizarla. Sugiero que Ixcanul es una expresión cultural popular en Guatemala que se encuentra atrapada entre dos visiones diferentes: la occidental, y la maya. Bajo este prisma, revelo la manera en que el filme traza una ruptura importante de lo que implica hablar de lo maya contemporáneo en el país. Ixcanul pone en crisis la relación entre realidad y representación porque el problema no es tanto si la película refleja la realidad como el hecho de que en la película operan ideas preconcebidas sobre lo que se cree es la realidad de los mayas. Por último, reflexiono sobre cómo el filme, en su representación de la opresión de la protagonista, "minoriza" (Segato) los problemas de la mujer maya y, de este modo, refleja visiones coloniales sobre lo que significa el sometimiento, y sobre quiénes se asume son los sometidos.
The Quest for Memory and Truth at the Local Level: University Truth Commissions in Brazil
Authors: Snider Colin
Published: April 2024

Abstract: Alongside and in the wake of Brazil's National Truth Commission (2012–2014), local and institutional truth commissions flourished. This article examines one form of those local truth commissions: university truth commission reports. Situating them in the context of both their creation and Brazil's longer history with military rule, it analyzes the ways in which such commissions engage with, reinforce, and challenge national narratives of the military dictatorship of 1964–1985 and the ways in which they contribute new understandings to the military past. In the process, such commissions complicate the collective memory and narratives of military rule while both revealing the limitations of specialized truth commissions yet pointing to the ways in which such commissions can expand understandings of human rights both definitionally and temporally.
Multilayer lensless camera for improving the condition number
Authors: Nakamura Tomoya , Kato Reina , Iwata Kazuya , Makihara Yasushi , Yagi Yasushi
Published: April 2024

Computational lensless imaging technology implements the thinning of
the optical system by replacing optical imaging with image
reconstruction processing. The conventional optical design uses a
single coded mask and an image sensor; however, researchers have
recently proposed optical designs incorporating multiple stacked coded
apertures for multidimensional and wide-field imaging. Here, we
investigate the effects of multilayering the coded aperture on the
performance of two-dimensional spatial imaging. Through simulations
and optical experiments, we demonstrate that multilayering the coded
aperture enhances the condition number of the optical system’s
transmission matrix and consequently improves the accuracy of image
reconstruction in lensless imaging.
Differentiable ray tracing for optical design and modeling
Authors: Wang Congli
Published: April 2024

I developed an efficient differentiable ray tracing framework that tackles challenges in optical design and modeling, including freeform and end-to-end designs, and self-calibration. This framework can apply to VR/AR engineering.
Performance evaluation and comparative research of underwater wireless optical communication system by using different structured beams
Authors: He Shuang , Zhang Peng , Yu Hao , Tian Dongsheng , Chen Hang , Dai Hui , Ye Pengfei , Wang Dashuai , Tong Shoufeng
Published: April 2024

Structured beams have attracted increasing interest in free-space and fiber-based optical communications. Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) is becoming a prospective technique in marine exploration. We investigated UWOC performance using different representative structured beams. The transmission performances of the Gaussian, Bessel–Gaussian (BG), Ince–Gaussian (IG), and radially polarized Gaussian (RPG) beams were experimentally demonstrated and evaluated in underwater channels subjected to thermal gradient. The experimental results show that the BG, IG, and RPG perform better against the thermal gradient. Compared with the Gaussian beams, the beam wanders of BG, IG, and RPG beams under the thermal gradient have been reduced by 56.9%, 8.2%, and 59%, the scintillation indices have been decreased by 12.8%, 17.3%, and 28.9%, and the BER performance of the BG, IG, and RPG beams have been improved by ∼5.5, ∼3.7, and ∼5.2dB at the forward error correction threshold (FEC threshold). Based on the above results, the RPG beam is a more promising light source for UWOC. The experimental results provide a promising beam choice for UWOC.
Non-utopian optical properties computed of a tomographically reconstructed real photonic nanostructure
Authors: van Willenswaard Lars J. Corbijn , Smeets Stef , Renaud Nicolas , Schlottbom Matthias , van der Vegt Jaap J. W. , Vos Willem L.
Published: April 2024

State-of-the-art computational methods combined with common idealized structural models provide an incomplete understanding of experimental observations on real nanostructures, since manufacturing introduces unavoidable deviations from the design. We propose to close this knowledge gap by using the real structure of a manufactured nanostructure as input in computations to obtain a realistic comparison with measurements on the same nanostructure. We demonstrate this approach on the structure of a real inverse woodpile photonic bandgap crystal made from silicon, as previously obtained by synchrotron X-ray imaging. A 2D part of the dataset is selected and processed into a computational mesh suitable for a Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method (DGFEM) to compute broadband optical transmission. We compare this to the transmission of a utopian crystal: a hypothetical model crystal with the same filling fraction where all pores are taken to be identical and circular. The shapes of the nanopores in the real crystal differ in a complex way from utopian pores due to scallops, tapering, or roughness. Hence, the transmission spectrum is complex with significant frequency speckle both outside and inside the main gap. The utopian model provides only limited understanding of the spectrum: while it accurately predicts low frequency finite-size fringes and the lower band edge, the upper band edge is off, it completely misses the presence of speckle, the domination of speckle above the gap, and possible Anderson localized states in the gap. Moreover, unlike experiments where one can only probe from the outside of a real crystal, the use of a numerical method allows us to study all fields everywhere. While at low frequencies the effect of the pore shapes is minimal on the fields, major differences occur at higher frequencies including the gap such as high-field states localized deep inside the real crystal. We conclude that using only external measurements and utopian models may give an erroneous picture of the fields and the local density of states (LDOS) inside a real crystal, while this is remedied by our new approach.
OAM vortex wave interaction with phase modulated metasurface
Authors: Zhang Di , He Changhui , Zhu Zhenbo , Yu Fangli , Chen Qiang , Hu Jiabei , Huang Min
Published: April 2024

Phase modulated metasurface (PMM) can control the transmission state of electromagnetic (EM) wave through phase modulation scheme on the interface. Orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortex wave is denoted by the helical phase distribution of the wave front. The interaction between OAM vortex wave and PMM is investigated in this paper. The mathematical model is firstly established according to the array theory. Whereafter, two typical PMMs of chessboard metasurface (CBM) and phase gradient metasurface (PGM) are exploited as examples to uncover the scattering characteristics under illumination of OAM vortex wave. For CBM, the phase cancellation scheme is found to be broken when the OAM order l equals to ±2 under both normal incidence and oblique incidence. It reveals that the OAM vortex wave is a promising approach for metasurface stealth target detection. For PGM, the scattered wave still keeps the OAM feature but is deflected to the non-specular direction, which reveals that the generalized Snell’s law is also suitable to OAM vortex wave. The discoveries of this paper may find applications in radar detection fields using OAM vortex wave.
Sub-Poissonian twin beams
Authors: Peřina Jan , Thapliyal Kishore , Haderka Ondřej , Michálek Václav , Machulka Radek
Published: April 2024

Using the method of photon addition into both beams of a multi-mode twin beam, a new kind of highly nonclassical states is obtained. As these states exhibit tight photon-number cross-correlations and are endowed with marginal sub-Poissonian photon-number distributions, we suggest to call them sub-Poissonian twin beams. We reveal their properties in the model as well as experimentally using mesoscopic twin beams. An intensified CCD camera as a photon-number resolving detector is applied to prepare as well as characterize the states with up to three photons added into each beam and containing from 2.8 to 7.5 photons in average in each beam. Their nonclassicality as well as non-Gaussianity are determined to demonstrate their prominent features. Spatial correlations of photons in the beams are exploited to improve the properties of the generated states. The beams are promising as the quantum light source for virtual-state entangled-photon spectroscopy. Their properties are prospective for monitoring and manipulating two-photon light–matter interactions.
Partial label learning for automated classification of single-cell transcriptomic profiles
Authors: Senoussi Malek , Artieres Thierry , Villoutreix Paul
Published: April 2024

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNASeq) data plays a major role in advancing our understanding of developmental biology. An important current question is how to classify transcriptomic profiles obtained from scRNASeq experiments into the various cell types and identify the lineage relationship for individual cells. Because of the fast accumulation of datasets and the high dimensionality of the data, it has become challenging to explore and annotate single-cell transcriptomic profiles by hand. To overcome this challenge, automated classification methods are needed. Classical approaches rely on supervised training datasets. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining data annotated at single-cell resolution, we propose instead to take advantage of partial annotations. The partial label learning framework assumes that we can obtain a set of candidate labels containing the correct one for each data point, a simpler setting than requiring a fully supervised training dataset. We study and extend when needed state-of-the-art multi-class classification methods, such as SVM, kNN, prototype-based, logistic regression and ensemble methods, to the partial label learning framework. Moreover, we study the effect of incorporating the structure of the label set into the methods. We focus particularly on the hierarchical structure of the labels, as commonly observed in developmental processes. We show, on simulated and real datasets, that these extensions enable to learn from partially labeled data, and perform predictions with high accuracy, particularly with a nonlinear prototype-based method. We demonstrate that the performances of our methods trained with partially annotated data reach the same performance as fully supervised data. Finally, we study the level of uncertainty present in the partially annotated data, and derive some prescriptive results on the effect of this uncertainty on the accuracy of the partial label learning methods. Overall our findings show how hierarchical and non-hierarchical partial label learning strategies can help solve the problem of automated classification of single-cell transcriptomic profiles, interestingly these methods rely on a much less stringent type of annotated datasets compared to fully supervised learning methods.
The relationship between screen time and gross motor movement: A cross-sectional study of pre-school aged left-behind children in China
Authors: Yuan Rui , Zhang Jia , Song Pengwei , Qin Long
Published: April 2024

Objective

To investigate the level of screen time and gross motor movement level and the correlation between them in left-behind children aged 3 to 6 years old in China.

Methods

A randomized whole-group sampling method was used to study 817 left-behind children aged 3–6 years in 15 kindergartens in Xiangcheng city, Henan province. The third version of the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3) was used to test the children’s gross motor movement level, and the screen time questionnaire was used to test the children’s screen time level. The relationship between the two and the indicators was explored using Pearson’s two-sided correlation and multilevel regression.

Results

The average daily screen time of left-behind children aged 3–6 years old increased with age, and the reporting rate of >2 h/d ranged from 22.43% to 33.73%; gross motor movement of left-behind children aged 3–6 years old increased with age, with significant differences between age (p<0.05). There was a low to moderate negative correlation (r = -0.133 to -0.354, p<0.05) between screen time and gross motor movement in children aged 3–6 years, and multiple regression analysis showed that screen time was predictive of gross motor movement in children (p<0.05), with an explanation rate of 21.4%.

Conclusion

There is a correlation between screen time and gross motor movement development in children aged 3–6 years old left behind, and the gross motor movement ability of children aged 3–6 years old can be developed by reducing screen time and increasing physical activity.
Natural zeolite for heavy metal, ammonia removal, and physiological responses in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles tanks with different densities
Authors: Sallam Ghada R. , Aly Hadir A. , Lotfy Ayman M. , Abdel-Rahim Mohamed M. , Fayed Walied M. , Teiba Islam I. , Mzengereza Kumbukani , Tembo Mavuto , Singini Wales , Habib Yusuf Jibril , Shehata Akram Ismael
Published: April 2024

The present study aims to investigate the influence of zeolite usage and stocking densities on various parameters, including ammonia removal from water, accumulation of heavy metals in fish organs, water quality, growth performance, feed efficiency, muscle composition, as well as hematological and biochemical parameters in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) over a 90-day duration. A total of 2400 D. labrax with an initial weight of 9.83 ± 2.02 g and initial length of 9.37 ± 0.32 cm were distributed among 24 tanks. The research involved six distinct treatment groups, with two different zeolite levels (0 and 15 ppt) and three stocking density levels (50, 100, and 150 fish/m3), each replicated four times. The results of the research demonstrate a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05) in water quality measures with the introduction of zeolite. The successful implementation of this amendment mitigated the adverse effects of fish density on water quality parameters. Higher stocking density negatively impacted European sea bass growth, feed utilization, and hemato-biochemical indicators. Zeolite use effectively alleviated these adverse effects, particularly on performance, feed utilization, hematological, and biochemical parameters. The study’s results indicate that the utilization of zeolite has shown to be efficacious in mitigating the accumulation of heavy metals in both water and fish organs, while concurrently augmenting fish attributes. However, the increase in density led to a significant decrease in the accumulation of heavy metals in both water and fish organs. The present study highlights the capacity of natural zeolites to mitigate the negative consequences associated with water quality concerns. The efficiency of these zeolites in limiting the accessibility of heavy metals in polluted water is shown, hence minimizing their accumulation in fish organs. In addition, the improvement of fish performance has the capacity to have a beneficial influence on both the well-being and efficiency of fish in aquaculture. Additional research is essential to fully understand the complex molecular pathways involved in utilizing natural zeolite under different fish densities.
EOTE-FSC: An efficient offloaded task execution for fog enabled smart cities
Authors: Nawaz Tareen Faheem , Alvi Ahmad Naseem , Alsamani Badr , Alkhathami Mohammed , Alsadie Deafallah , Alosaimi Norah
Published: April 2024

Smart cities provide ease in lifestyle to their community members with the help of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It provides better water, waste and energy management, enhances the security and safety of its citizens and offers better health facilities. Most of these applications are based on IoT-based sensor networks, that are deployed in different areas of applications according to their demand. Due to limited processing capabilities, sensor nodes cannot process multiple tasks simultaneously and need to offload some of their tasks to remotely placed cloud servers, which may cause delays. To reduce the delay, computing nodes are placed in different vicinitys acting as fog-computing nodes are used, to execute the offloaded tasks. It has been observed that the offloaded tasks are not uniformly received by fog computing nodes and some fog nodes may receive more tasks as some may receive less number of tasks. This may cause an increase in overall task execution time. Furthermore, these tasks comprise different priority levels and must be executed before their deadline. In this work, an Efficient Offloaded Task Execution for Fog enabled Smart cities (EOTE − FSC) is proposed. EOTE − FSC proposes a load balancing mechanism by modifying the greedy algorithm to efficiently distribute the offloaded tasks to its attached fog nodes to reduce the overall task execution time. This results in the successful execution of most of the tasks within their deadline. In addition, EOTE − FSC modifies the task sequencing with a deadline algorithm for the fog node to optimally execute the offloaded tasks in such a way that most of the high-priority tasks are entertained. The load balancing results of EOTE − FSC are compared with state-of-the-art well-known Round Robin, Greedy, Round Robin with longest job first, and Round Robin with shortest job first algorithms. However, fog computing results of EOTE − FSC are compared with the First Come First Serve algorithm. The results show that the EOTE − FSC effectively offloaded the tasks on fog nodes and the maximum load on the fog computing nodes is reduced up to 29%, 27.3%, 23%, and 24.4% as compared to Round Robin, Greedy, Round Robin with LJF and Round Robin with SJF algorithms respectively. However, task execution in the proposed EOTE − FSC executes a maximum number of offloaded high-priority tasks as compared to the FCFS algorithm within the same computing capacity of fog nodes.