bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stacked generative adversarial networks for image compositing
Authors: Yu Bing , Ding Youdong , Xie Zhifeng , Huang Dongjin
Published: March 2021

Perfect image compositing can harmonize the appearance between the foreground and background effectively so that the composite result looks seamless and natural. However, the traditional convolutional neural network (CNN)-based methods often fail to yield highly realistic composite results due to overdependence on scene parsing while ignoring the coherence of semantic and structural between foreground and background. In this paper, we propose a framework to solve this problem by training a stacked generative adversarial network with attention guidance, which can efficiently create a high-resolution, realistic-looking composite. To this end, we develop a diverse adversarial loss in addition to perceptual and guidance loss to train the proposed generative network. Moreover, we construct a multi-scenario dataset for high-resolution image compositing, which contains high-quality images with different styles and object masks. Experiments on the synthesized and real images demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our network in producing seamless, natural, and realistic results. Ablation studies show that our proposed network can improve the visual performance of composite results compared with the application of existing methods.
Thousands of previously unknown phages discovered in whole-community human gut metagenomes
Authors: Benler Sean , Yutin Natalya , Antipov Dmitry , Rayko Mikhail , Shmakov Sergey , Gussow Ayal B. , Pevzner Pavel , Koonin Eugene V.
Published: March 2021

Background

Double-stranded DNA bacteriophages (dsDNA phages) play pivotal roles in structuring human gut microbiomes; yet, the gut virome is far from being fully characterized, and additional groups of phages, including highly abundant ones, continue to be discovered by metagenome mining. A multilevel framework for taxonomic classification of viruses was recently adopted, facilitating the classification of phages into evolutionary informative taxonomic units based on hallmark genes. Together with advanced approaches for sequence assembly and powerful methods of sequence analysis, this revised framework offers the opportunity to discover and classify unknown phage taxa in the human gut.

Results

A search of human gut metagenomes for circular contigs encoding phage hallmark genes resulted in the identification of 3738 apparently complete phage genomes that represent 451 putative genera. Several of these phage genera are only distantly related to previously identified phages and are likely to found new families. Two of the candidate families, “Flandersviridae” and “Quimbyviridae”, include some of the most common and abundant members of the human gut virome that infect Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Prevotella. The third proposed family, “Gratiaviridae,” consists of less abundant phages that are distantly related to the families Autographiviridae, Drexlerviridae, and Chaseviridae. Analysis of CRISPR spacers indicates that phages of all three putative families infect bacteria of the phylum Bacteroidetes. Comparative genomic analysis of the three candidate phage families revealed features without precedent in phage genomes. Some “Quimbyviridae” phages possess Diversity-Generating Retroelements (DGRs) that generate hypervariable target genes nested within defense-related genes, whereas the previously known targets of phage-encoded DGRs are structural genes. Several “Flandersviridae” phages encode enzymes of the isoprenoid pathway, a lipid biosynthesis pathway that so far has not been known to be manipulated by phages. The “Gratiaviridae” phages encode a HipA-family protein kinase and glycosyltransferase, suggesting these phages modify the host cell wall, preventing superinfection by other phages. Hundreds of phages in these three and other families are shown to encode catalases and iron-sequestering enzymes that can be predicted to enhance cellular tolerance to reactive oxygen species.

Conclusions

Analysis of phage genomes identified in whole-community human gut metagenomes resulted in the delineation of at least three new candidate families of Caudovirales and revealed diverse putative mechanisms underlying phage-host interactions in the human gut. Addition of these phylogenetically classified, diverse, and distinct phages to public databases will facilitate taxonomic decomposition and functional characterization of human gut viromes.
Machine learning approach to drivers of bank lending: evidence from an emerging economy
Authors: Ozgur Onder , Karagol Erdal Tanas , Ozbugday Fatih Cemil
Published: March 2021

The study analyzes the performance of bank-specific characteristics, macroeconomic indicators, and global factors to predict the bank lending in Turkey for the period 2002Q4–2019Q2. The objective of this study is first, to clarify the possible nonlinear and nonparametric relationships between outstanding bank loans and bank-specific, macroeconomic, and global factors. Second, it aims to propose various machine learning algorithms that determine drivers of bank lending and benefits from the advantages of these techniques. The empirical findings indicate favorable evidence that the drivers of bank lending exhibit some nonlinearities. Additionally, partial dependence plots depict that numerous bank-specific characteristics and macroeconomic indicators tend to be important variables that influence bank lending behavior. The study’s findings have some policy implications for bank managers, regulatory authorities, and policymakers.
Anesthetic management of a patient with situs inversus totalis undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery: a case report
Authors: Nakasone Chigusa , Kanamoto Masafumi , Tatsuishi Wataru , Abe Tomonobu , Saito Shigeru
Published: March 2021

Background

Anesthetic management of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) in a dextrocardia patient with situs inversus totalis is rarely encountered and seldom reported in the literature.

Case presentation

A 76-year-old Japanese female patient had been diagnosed with situs inversus totalis and coronary artery disease of 3 vessels, and she subsequently underwent elective CABG. A preoperative examination showed almost normal results. ECG showed right deviation with the normal lead position. In the operating room, ECG leads were applied in reverse. Pulmonary artery catheterization was performed via the left internal jugular vein. A transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe was introduced without difficulty. A different angle was needed to acquire the desired views because of her atypical anatomy.

Conclusion

Careful perioperative evaluation, intraoperative management, and inspection of multiplane angle and probe adjustments in TEE are needed for anatomically abnormal patients.
Slip-free multiplication and complexity of dislocation networks in FCC metals
Authors: Akhondzadeh Sh. , Bertin Nicolas , Sills Ryan B. , Cai Wei
Published: March 2021

During plastic deformation of crystalline solids, intricate networks of dislocation lines form and evolve. To capture dislocation density evolution, prominent theories of crystal plasticity assume that 1) multiplication is driven by slip in active slip systems and 2) pair-wise slip system interactions dominate network evolution. In this work, we analyze a massive database of over 100 discrete dislocation dynamics simulations (with cross-slip suppressed), and our findings bring both of these assumptions into question. We demonstrate that dislocation multiplication is commonly observed on slip systems with no applied stress and no plastic strain rate, a phenomenon we refer to as slip-free multiplication. We show that while the formation of glissile junctions provides one mechanism for slip-free multiplication, additional mechanisms which account for the influence of coplanar interactions are needed to fully explain the observations. Unlike glissile junction formation which results from a binary reaction between a pair of slip systems, these new multiplication mechanisms require higher order reactions that lead to complex network configurations. While these complex configurations have not been given much attention previously, they account for about 50% of the line intersections in our database.
The role of picornavirus infection in epileptogenesis
Authors: Zhang Runxuan , Mu Jie , Chi Jing , Jiang Weijia , Chi Xiaosa
Published: March 2021

Picornaviridae are a family of small positive-strand RNA viruses, and transmitted via the respiratory or fecal-oral route. The neurotropic picornaviruses can induce acute or late recurrent seizures following central nervous system infection, by infecting the peripheral nerve, crossing the blood-brain barrier and migrating in the Trojan-horse method. Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), as a member of Picornaviridae family, can cause encephalitis, leading to chronic spontaneous seizures. TMEV-infected C57BL/6 mice have been used as an animal model for exploring the mechanism of epileptogenesis and assessing new antiepileptic drugs. Astrogliosis, neuronal death and microglial recruitment have been detected in the hippocampus following the picornaviruse-induced encephalitis. The macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils, as well as IL-6 and TNF-α released by them, play an important role in the epileptogenesis. In this review, we summarize the clinical characteristics of picornavirus infection, and the immunopathology involved in the TMEV-induced epilepsy.
Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of multidrug-resistant bacteria among intensive care units patients at Ain Shams University Hospitals in Egypt—a retrospective study
Authors: Fahim Noha Alaa Eldin
Published: March 2021

Background

The nightmare of the rising numbers of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) requires the implementation of effective stewardship programs. However, this should be preceeded by making available  evidence-based knowledge regarding the local antimicrobial resistance pattern, which is fundamental. The aim of the current study is to determine the prevalence of MDRO among different Ain Shams University Hospitals (ASUHs) intensive care units (ICUs) and detect the resistance profile of the common pathogens.

Results

The 1-year records of a total of 1280 pathogens were studied. The highest number of pathogens were isolated from blood cultures (44.84%), followed by urine (41.41%) then wound swabs (13.75%). Gram-negative isolates (57.5%) were more prevalent than gram-positive ones (31.1%). The most frequently isolated pathogens were Klebsiella spp. (22.5%), Escherichia coli (13.4%), and Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (12.5%). The highest percentage of resistance among gram-positive organisms was exhibited by penicillin (89.5%) followed by erythromycin (83.98%) and then cefoxitin (76.52%). None of the isolates showed resistance to linezolid and resistance to vancomycin was minimal (2.62%). Gram-negative isolates exhibited high overall resistance to all used antibiotic classes. The least frequency of resistance was recorded against nitrofurantoin (52.5%), amikacin (58.01%), followed by imipenem (59.78%) and meropenem (61.82%). All isolates of Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter showed 100% susceptibility to colistin.

Conclusions

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Ain Shams University Hospitals (ASUHs) was high among both gram-negative and gram-positive organisms. This high resistance pattern foreshadows an inevitable catastrophe that requires continuous monitoring and implementation of effective antibiotic stewardship.
Fracture detection using scattered waves in the angle domain
Authors: Yan Tianfan , Liu Yike
Published: March 2021

The singly and multiply scattered waves generated from interfaces of a fractured medium have strong energy, and their propagation directions contain information of fracture parameters. To exploit the useful information in the scattered waves, a fracture scattering imaging method is developed based on reverse time migration and angle decomposition. In this method, a fracture-parameter-related local image matrix is constructed in the angle domain based on the relation between the fracture parameters and the propagation angle of the scattered waves. The distribution of the scattered waves in the proposed image matrix can be used to invert for fracture parameters and identify the energy of scattered waves. Images of the fractures can be obtained by summing up the energy of the scattered waves from the proposed image matrix. Synthetic and field examples are provided to determine that the new method is effective in migrating the fracture-scattered waves at the correct spatial position and accurately extracting fracture parameters.
Seismic inversion of shale reservoir properties using microseismic-induced guided waves recorded by distributed acoustic sensing
Authors: Luo Bin , Lellouch Ariel , Jin Ge , Biondi Biondo , Simmons James
Published: March 2021

Shale formation properties are crucial for the hydrocarbon production performance of unconventional reservoirs. Microseismic-induced guided waves, which propagate within the low-velocity shale formation, are an ideal candidate for accurate estimation of shale thickness, velocity, and anisotropy. A distributed acoustic sensing fiber deployed along the horizontal section of a monitor well can provide a high-resolution recording of guided waves excited by microseismic events during hydraulic fracturing operations. These guided waves manifest a highly dispersive behavior that allows for seismic inversion of the shale formation properties. An adaptation of the propagator matrix method is presented to estimate guided-wave dispersion curves, and its accuracy is validated by comparison to 3D elastic wavefield simulations. The propagator matrix formulation holds for cases of vertical transverse isotropy (VTI) as well. A sensitivity analysis of the theoretical dispersion relations of the guided waves indicates that they are mostly influenced by the thickness and S-wave velocity of the low-velocity shale reservoir. The VTI parameters of the formation are also shown to have an impact on the dispersion relations. These physical insights provide the foundation for a dispersion-based model inversion for a 1D depth-dependent structure of the reservoir and its surroundings. The inversion procedure is validated in a synthetic case and applied to the field records collected in an Eagle Ford hydraulic fracturing project. The inverted structure agrees well with a sonic log acquired several hundred meters away from the monitor well. Therefore, seismic inversion using guided-wave dispersion indicates promise to become a novel and cost-effective strategy for in situ estimation of reservoir structure and properties, which complements microseismic-based interpretation and production-related information.
Fluvial reservoir architecture interpretation below the seismic resolution in an offshore oilfield
Authors: Zhang Dong , Huang Xuri , Fan Ting’en , Wang Haifeng , Ding Feng , Yin Cheng
Published: March 2021

Reservoir discontinuity is a practical representation of reservoir heterogeneity, which leads to the nonuniform flow of hydrocarbons during production and increases the difficulties of producing the remaining oil in clastic reservoirs. For offshore oilfields, reservoir discontinuity analysis will have to rely on seismic data due to their sparse well distribution. However, traditional discontinuity detection methods are restricted to large-scale discontinuities (such as faults). It is difficult to detect small-scale discontinuities in seismic data such as interfaces of sands. To interpret small-scale discontinuities below the seismic resolution, we have adopted a direction-adaptive mathematical morphology gradient algorithm that can detect the boundaries of reservoir architectures in different directions on horizon-based seismic attributes. We elaborated a hierarchy of fluvial reservoir architectures and classified compound sandstones as different architectural elements according to the deposition period. Forward models were designed to analyze the seismic responses of the architectures. The results demonstrate that amplitude-related seismic attributes could be sensitive to different reservoir architectures below the seismic resolution. The amplitude-related seismic attributes can be extracted through a time window guided by the horizons. The horizon-based attributes can be treated as digital images, which may contain the information of compound sandstones with hidden discontinuity boundaries. Then, our algorithm is applied to detect discontinuity boundaries based on this extracted attribute. The application to field data in the Bohai Bay demonstrates that our algorithm can detect the discontinuity boundaries inside the compound sandstone, which is less than the seismic resolution. This method could enhance our capability to visualize and understand the complexity of reservoir heterogeneity.
Childhood trauma and cardiometabolic risk in severe mental disorders: The mediating role of cognitive control
Authors: Lunding Synve Hoffart , Simonsen Carmen , Aas Monica , Rødevand Linn , Werner Maren Caroline Frogner , Laskemoen Jannicke Fjæra , Hjell Gabriela , Ringen Petter Andreas , Lagerberg Trine Vik , Melle Ingrid , Andreassen Ole A. , Ueland Torill , Steen Nils Eiel
Published: March 2021

Background

Cardiometabolic risk is increased in severe mental disorders (SMDs), and there appears to be a relationship between childhood trauma and cardiometabolic risk, possibly related to adverse health behavior. The current study examined the association between childhood trauma and serum lipids and adiposity in SMDs and the potential mediating role of cognitive and personality characteristics.

Methods

Participants with schizophrenia and bipolar spectrum disorders (N = 819) were included, cardiometabolic risk factors (serum lipids,body mass index, andwaist circumference)were measured, and history ofchildhood traumawas assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Cognitive and personality characteristics were available in subsamples, with assessments of cognitive control, impulsiveness, self-esteem, and affective lability. Linear regressions and mediation analyses with Hayes’ PROCESS were performed, adjusting for age, sex, antipsychotic agent propensity of metabolic side-effect, and diagnostic group.

Results

Experience of three or more subtypes of childhood trauma was positively associated with waist circumference in patients with SMDs (p = 0.014). There were no other significant associations between trauma variables and lipid or adiposity measures in the total sample. Cognitive control was a significant mediator between experience of one or two subtypes of childhood trauma and waist circumference.

Conclusions

The results indicate childhood trauma as a predisposing factor for increased waist circumference in individuals with SMDs. Poorer cognitive control, suggestive of adverse health behavior, might be a mediating factor of the association, and the findings indicate the potential importance of increased focus on these factors in prevention and treatment regimens targeting cardiometabolic health.
Dynamic interaction induced explosive death
Authors: Dixit Shiva , Nag Chowdhury Sayantan , Ghosh Dibakar , Dev Shrimali Manish
Published: March 2021

Most previous studies on coupled dynamical systems assume that all interactions between oscillators take place uniformly in time, but, in reality, this does not necessarily reflect the usual scenario. The heterogeneity in the timings of such interactions strongly influences the dynamical processes. Here, we introduce a time-evolving state-space-dependent coupling among an ensemble of identical coupled oscillators, where individual units are interacting only when the mean state of the system lies within a certain proximity of the phase space. They interact globally with mean-field diffusive coupling in a certain vicinity and behave like uncoupled oscillators with self-feedback in the remaining complementary subspace. Interestingly due to this occasional interaction, we find that the system shows an abrupt explosive transition from oscillatory to death state. Further, in the explosive death transitions, the oscillatory state and the death state coexist over a range of coupling strengths near the transition point. We explore our claim using Van der Pol, FitzHugh-Nagumo and Lorenz oscillators with dynamic mean field interaction. The dynamic interaction mechanism can explain sudden suppression of oscillations and concurrence of oscillatory and steady state in biological as well as technical systems.
Random walks on the generalized Vicsek fractal
Authors: Ma Fei , Wang Xiaomin , Wang Ping , Luo Xudong
Published: March 2021

Fractal phenomena may be widely observed in a great number of complex systems. In this paper, motivated by the well-known Vicsek fractal, we propose the generalized Vicsek fractal whose seed is not necessarily a single edge but an arbitrary tree, and study random walks on it for the purpose of understanding how the underlying topology influences dynamic behaviors. Meanwhile, we determine the exact solution to the mean first-passage time for random walks on the generalized version in a more convenient mapping-based manner, while other methods suitable for the typical Vicsek fractal will become prohibitively complicated and even fail in this kind of situation. The analytic results suggest that the scaling relation between mean first-passage time and vertex number in generalized versions of Vicsek fractal keeps unchanged in the large graph size limit. Lastly, we conduct extensive computer simulations, and observe that experimental results are well consistent with the theoretical analysis.
Cerebral Hypoxia: Its Role in Age-Related Chronic and Acute Cognitive Dysfunction
Authors: Snyder Brina , Simone Stephanie M. , Giovannetti Tania , Floyd Thomas F.
Published: March 2021

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) has been reported with widely varying frequency but appears to be strongly associated with aging. Outside of the surgical arena, chronic and acute cerebral hypoxia may exist as a result of respiratory, cardiovascular, or anemic conditions. Hypoxia has been extensively implicated in cognitive impairment. Furthermore, disease states associated with hypoxia both accompany and progress with aging. Perioperative cerebral hypoxia is likely underdiagnosed, and its contribution to POCD is underappreciated. Herein, we discuss the various disease processes and forms in which hypoxia may contribute to POCD. Furthermore, we outline hypoxia-related mechanisms, such as hypoxia-inducible factor activation, cerebral ischemia, cerebrovascular reserve, excitotoxicity, and neuroinflammation, which may contribute to cognitive impairment and how these mechanisms interact with aging. Finally, we discuss opportunities to prevent and manage POCD related to hypoxia.
Physician Practice Organization and Negotiated Prices: Evidence from State Law Changes
Authors: Hausman Naomi , Lavetti Kurt
Published: March 2021

We study the relationship between physician organizational structures and prices negotiated with private insurers. Using variation caused by state-level judicial law changes, we show that a 10 percent increase in the enforceability of noncompete agreements (NCAs) causes 4.3 percent higher physician prices, and declines in practice sizes and concentration. Using two databases containing every physician establishment and firm between 1996 and 2007, linked to negotiated prices, we show that larger practices have lower prices for services with high fixed costs, consistent with economies of scale. In contrast, increases in firm concentration conditional on establishment concentration leads to higher prices. (JEL D24, G22, I11, J44, K22, L13)
Growing Markets through Business Training for Female Entrepreneurs: A Market-Level Randomized Experiment in Kenya
Authors: McKenzie David , Puerto Susana
Published: March 2021

A common concern with efforts to directly help some small businesses to grow is that their growth comes at the expense of their unassisted competitors. We test this possibility using a two-stage randomized experiment in Kenya that randomizes business training at the market level and then within markets to selected businesses. Three years after training, the treated businesses are selling more, earn higher profits, and their owners have higher well-being. Point estimates of the spillovers on the competing businesses are small and not statistically significant, and the markets as a whole have grown in terms of sales volume. (JEL J16, L25, L26, L53, O14)
Improving Last-Mile Service Delivery Using Phone-Based Monitoring
Authors: Muralidharan Karthik , Niehaus Paul , Sukhtankar Sandip , Weaver Jeffrey
Published: March 2021

Improving “ last-mile” public service delivery is a recurring challenge in developing countries. Could the widespread adoption of mobile phones provide a scalable, cost-effective means for improvement? We use a large-scale experiment to evaluate the impact of phone-based monitoring on a program that transferred nearly a billion dollars to 5.7 million Indian farmers. In randomly selected jurisdictions, officials were informed that program implementation would be measured via calls with beneficiaries. This led to a 7.8 percent reduction in the number of farmers who did not receive their transfers. The program was highly cost-effective, costing 3.6 cents for each additional dollar delivered. (JEL O13, O33, Q12, Q18)
The implementation of Deming’s theory of quality management in greek public administration
Authors: Σιούτου Αναστασία
Published: March 2021

Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν να: (α) αξιολογηθεί ο βαθμός εφαρμογής της Μεθόδου Διοίκησης του Deming στην ελληνική Δημόσια Διοίκηση, (β) να εξεταστεί ο βαθμός στον οποίο τα διοικητικά στελέχη της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης πιστεύουν ότι η Μέθοδος Διοίκησης του Deming προσθέτει αξία στον οργανισμό τους, (γ) να μελετηθεί ο βαθμός στον οποίο τα διοικητικά στελέχη της ελληνικής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης έχουν την πρόθεση να εφαρμόσουν τη Μέθοδο Διοίκησης του Deming στην υπηρεσία τους στο μέλλον, (δ) να διερευνηθεί ο βαθμός στον οποίο τα διοικητικά στελέχη της ελληνικής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης είναι ικανοποιημένα από το επίπεδο της οργανωσιακής επίδοσης όπως μετρήθηκε με τα επίπεδα ικανοποίησής τους σε σχέση με τους βασικούς δείκτες επίδοσης των οργανισμών τους (στόχοι, ανθρώπινοι πόροι, προμηθευτές, βελτιώσεις) και (ε) να εξεταστεί η συσχέτιση μεταξύ των βασικών παραγόντων της Μεθόδου Διοίκησης του Deming («Deming στο Ανθρώπινο Δυναμικό», «Deming στην Ηγεσία», «Deming στην Εκπαίδευση και την Επιμόρφωση», «Deming στους Προμηθευτές» και «Deming στα Συστήματα») και των δεικτών επίδοσης (στόχοι, ανθρώπινοι πόροι, προμηθευτές, βελτιώσεις) των οργανισμών της ελληνικής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Το ερωτηματολόγιο της έρευνας σχετικά με την Μέθοδο Διοίκησης του Deming, αποτελείται από 59 ερωτήσεις που αναπτύχθηκαν από τους (Kriemadis & Sioutou, 2019), και δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά. Συγκεντρώθηκαν 334 έγκυρα ερωτηματολόγια από διοικητικά στελέχη της ελληνικής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Από τα ευρήματα της έρευνας διαφαίνεται ότι: 1. Η μέθοδος Διοίκησης του Deming εφαρμόζεται σε μέτριο βαθμό στην ελληνική δημόσια διοίκηση. 2. Τα διοικητικά στελέχη της ελληνικής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης πιστεύουν σε μεγάλο βαθμό ότι η Μέθοδος Διοίκησης του Deming προσθέτει αξία στην υπηρεσία τους. 3. Τα διοικητικά στελέχη της ελληνικής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης έχουν σε μεγάλο βαθμό την πρόθεση να εφαρμόσουν τη Μέθοδο Διοίκησης του Deming στις υπηρεσίες τους στο μέλλον. 4. Διαπιστώθηκε μέτριο επίπεδο ικανοποίησης των διοικητικών στελεχών όσον αφορά στην οργανωσιακή επίδοση στους προαναφερθέντες οργανισμούς, όπως μετρήθηκε με τα επίπεδα ικανοποίησης σε σχέση με τους βασικούς δείκτες επίδοσης των οργανισμών τους (στόχοι, ανθρώπινοι πόροι, προμηθευτές, βελτιώσεις) 5. Υπήρξε μια ισχυρή και θετική συσχέτιση μεταξύ των παραγόντων της Μεθόδου Διοίκησης του Deming και των συγκεκριμένων δεικτών επίδοσης του ερωτηματολογίου, που μετρούν την επίδοση των οργανισμών της δημόσιας διοίκησης, μέσω του βαθμού ικανοποίησης των διοικητικών στελεχών της, εκτός του παράγοντα "Deming στα Συστήματα".
Η επίδραση του ρανελικού στροντίου στην πώρωση των καταγμάτων
Authors: Κούκου Ουρανία
Published: March 2021

Το Ρανελικό Στρόντιο(StR) είναι ένας αντι-οστεοπορωτικός παράγοντας που είχε χρησιμοποιηθεί και στο παρελθόν για την ενίσχυση της πώρωσης κατάγματος. Σκοπός της μελέτης ήταν η επίδραση του ρανελικού στροντίου στην πώρωση των μη παθολογικών καταγμάτων χρησιμοποιώντας ένα πειραματικό μοντέλο κονίκλου. Σαράντα ενήλικες θηλυκοί κόνικλοι συμπεριλήφθηκαν στη μελέτη και χωρίστηκαν σε ομάδες, ομάδα παρέμβασης με ρανελικό στρόντιο και ομάδα ελέγχου- μαρτύρων χωρίς θεραπεία. Όλα τα ζώα υποβλήθηκαν σε οστεοτομία της ωλένης, ενώ η αντίπλευρη ωλένη παρέμεινε ανέπαφη και χρησίμευσε ως μάρτυρας για τη εμβιομηχανική εκτίμηση της θεραπείας του κατάγματος. Τα ζώα στην ομάδα παρέμβασης έλαβαν 600 mg / kg / ημέρα ρανελικό στρόντιο από το στόμα. Όλα τα ζώα έλαβαν συνηθισμένη τροφή για κονίκλους. Στις 2 και 4 εβδομάδες, όλα τα ζώα υποβλήθηκαν σε ευθανασία και οι θέσεις οστεοτομίας αξιολογήθηκαν για επούλωση μέσω ακτινολογικών, εμβιομηχανικών και ιστοπαθολογικών δοκιμασιών. Η ομάδα παρέμβασης παρουσίασε στατιστικά σημαντική υψηλότερη διάμετρο πώρου, συνολική επιφάνεια πώρου, ποσοστό ινώδους ιστού (p <0.001), αγγείων / mm2, αριθμό συνολικών αγγείων και μικρότερο αριθμό οστεοκλαστών / mm2 (p <0.05) από το ομάδα ελέγχου στις 2 εβδομάδες. Επιπλέον, η ομάδα παρέμβασης παρουσίασε σημαντικά υψηλότερα ποσοστά νέου δοκιδώδους οστού, αγγείων / mm2, αριθμού οστεοκλαστών / mm2 και χαμηλότερες τιμές για τη διάμετρο του πώρου, καθώς και τη συνολική επιφάνεια του πώρου (p <0.05), από την ομάδα ελέγχου στις 4 εβδομάδες. Στις 4 εβδομάδες, στην ομάδα παρέμβασης, η δύναμη που ασκήθηκε (p = 0. 003), η ενέργεια αστοχίας (p = 0. 004) και το φορτίο αστοχίας (p = 0. 003) ήταν όλα σημαντικά υψηλότερα στα δείγματα αντιβραχίου με οστεοτομία ωλένης σε σύγκριση με αυτά χωρίς οστεοτομία. Η ακτινολογική πώρωση των οστών αποδείχθηκε για ζώα που έλαβαν ρανελικό στρόντιο στις 4 εβδομάδες σε σύγκριση με τους μάρτυρες (p = 0. 045). Η παρούσα μελέτη καταδεικνύει μια δυνητικά ευεργετική επίδραση ρανελικού στροντίου στην επούλωση του κατάγματος. Τα αποτελέσματα αυτά δημιουργούν νέες εναλλακτικές λύσεις για τη χρήση του ρανελικού στροντίου ως φαρμακολογικού παράγοντα με πιθανό ρόλο στην αποκατάσταση οστών που έχουν υποστεί κάταγμα. Απαιτούνται περαιτέρω μελέτες που θα αξιολογούν τον πιθανό ρόλο του φαρμάκου στην πώρωση των καταγμάτων.
Fundchronik: Ausgrabungen und Funde im Jahr 2019
Authors: Allemann Martin , Billo Sven , Braun Ingmar M. , Graber Simon , Savary Johann , Schmidig Roman , Spichtig Norbert , Steiner Susan
Published: March 2021

Berichte zu den archäologischen Untersuchungen der Archäologischen Bodenforschung Basel-Stadt im Jahr 2019.
Die Entwicklung der unteren Talstadt vom Randgebiet zum urbanen Zentrum Basels
Authors: Billo Sven , Savary Johann , Bernasconi Marco
Published: March 2021

Der Neubau des Verwaltungsgebäudes für das Amt für Umwelt und Energie (AUE) in der Spiegelgasse sowie die Werkleitungsbauten und die Oberflächensanierung auf dem Marktplatz machten 2019 zwei Rettungsgrabungen nötig. Diese brachten neue Erkenntnisse zu Bedeutung und Entwicklung der im 10. Jahrhundert noch an der Peripherie der mittelalterlichen Stadt Basel gelegenen Talstadt und Einblicke in ihre Entwicklung zum urbanen Zentrum Basels.
Kenya’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: a balance between minimising morbidity and adverse economic impact
Authors: Wangari Edwin N. , Gichuki Peter , Abuor Angelyne A. , Wambui Jacqueline , Okeyo Stephen O. , Oyatsi Henry T.N. , Odikara Shadrack , Kulohoma Benard W.
Published: March 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has ravaged the world’s socioeconomic systems forcing many governments across the globe to implement unprecedented stringent mitigation measures to restrain its rapid spread and adverse effects. A disproportionate number of COVID-19 related morbidities and mortalities were predicted to occur in Africa. However, Africa still has a lower than predicted number of cases, 4% of the global pandemic burden. In this open letter, we highlight some of the early stringent countermeasures implemented in Kenya, a sub-Saharan African country, to avert the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These mitigation measures strike a balance between minimising COVID-19 associated morbidity and fatalities and its adverse economic impact, and taken together have significantly dampened the pandemic’s impact on Kenya’s populace.
Evaluating process and effectiveness of a low-intensity CBT intervention for women with gynaecological cancer (the EPELIT Trial)
Authors: Hulbert-Williams Nicholas J. , Hulbert-Williams Lee , Flynn Ryan James , Pendrous Rosina , MacDonald-Smith Carey , Mullard Anna , Swash Brooke , Evans Gemma , Price Annabel
Published: March 2021

Background: Improving survival from gynaecological cancers is creating an increasing clinical challenge for long-term distress management. Psychologist-led interventions for cancer survivors can be beneficial, but are often costly. The rise of the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) workforce in the UK might offer a cheaper, but equally effective, intervention delivery method that is more sustainable and accessible. We aimed to test the effectiveness of a PWP co-facilitated intervention for reducing depression and anxiety, quality of life and unmet needs.

Methods: We planned this trial using a pragmatic, non-randomised controlled design, recruiting a comparator sample from a second clinical site. The intervention was delivered over six-weekly sessions; data were collected from participants at baseline, weekly during the intervention, and at one-week and three-month follow-up. Logistical challenges meant that we only recruited 8 participants to the intervention group, and 26 participants to the control group.

Results: We did not find significant, between-group differences for depression, quality of life or unmet needs, though some differences at follow-up were found for anxiety (p<.001). Analysis of potential intervention mediator processes indicated the potential importance of self-management self-efficacy. Low uptake into the psychological intervention raises questions about (a) patient-driven needs for group-based support, and (b) the sustainability of this intervention programme.

Conclusions: This study failed to recruit to target; the under-powered analysis likely explains the lack of significant effects reported, though some trends in the data are of interest. Retention in the intervention group, and low attrition in the control group indicate acceptability of the intervention content and trial design; however a small baseline population rendered this trial infeasible in its current design. Further work is required to answer our research questions, but also, importantly, to address low uptake for psychological interventions in this group of cancer survivors.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03553784 (registered 14 June 2018).
Sedentary behaviour levels in adults with an intellectual disability: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Lynch Louise , McCarron Mary , McCallion Philip , Burke Eilish
Published: March 2021

Background: Sedentary behaviour contributes to non-communicable diseases, which account for almost 71% of world deaths. Of these, cardiovascular disease is one of the largest causes of preventable death. It is not yet fully understood what level of sedentary behaviour is safe. People with an intellectual disability have poorer health than the general population with higher rates of multi-morbidity, obesity and inactivity. There is a paucity of evidence on whether this poorer health is due to sedentary behaviour or physical inactivity. This systematic review will investigate the sedentary behaviour levels of adults with an intellectual disability.

Method: The PRISMA-P framework will be applied to achieve high-quality articles. An extensive search will be conducted in Medline, Embase, psycINFO and Cinahl and grey literature sources. All articles will be independently reviewed by two reviewers and a third to resolve disputes. Initially, the articles will be reviewed by title and abstract and then the full article will be reviewed using stringent inclusion criteria. All article data will be summarised in a standardised tabular format. The National Institute of Health’s quality assessment tool will be used to assess article quality. GRADE will be used to assess the quality of the evidence. The primary outcome of interest is the prevalence of sedentary behaviour levels for people with an intellectual disability. The definition of sedentary behaviour to be used for the purposes of this study is: ‘low physical activity as identified by metabolic equivalent (MET) or step levels or as measured by the Rapid Assessment of Physical activity questionnaire (RAPA) or the International Physical Activity questionnaire (IPAQ) or sitting for more than 3 hours per day’.

Conclusion: This systematic review will provide a critical insight into the prevalence of sedentary behaviour in adults with an intellectual disability.
Foreign Language Terminology of Traditional Applied Art (Linguistic Aspect)
Authors: Chizh Roman
Published: March 2021

The article for the first time explores the terminology of traditional applied art in English from a linguistic point of view, defines the terms of traditional applied art, describes the structural features of these units, their specific features.
Dynamics of field-aligned currents in two hemispheres during a magnetospheric storm from magnetogram inversion technique data
Authors: Mishin Vladimir , Karavaev Yuriy , Lunyushkin Sergey , Penskikh Yury , Kapustin Vyacheslav
Published: March 2021

We continue to study the physical processes occurring during the August 17, 2001 magnetospheric storm by analyzing the dynamics of the intensity of field-aligned currents (FACs) in Iijima—Potemra Region 1 in the polar ionospheres of the two hemispheres, using the modernized magnetogram inversion technique. The results obtained on the dynamics of two types of FAC asymmetry (dawn-dusk and interhemispheric), as well as the previously obtained regularities in the behavior of Hall currents and the polar cap boundaries depending on the large azimuthal component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), observed during the storm, and the seasonal behavior of the conductivity are consistent with the open magnetosphere model and with satellite observations of auroras in two hemispheres. We have shown that the weakening of the asymmetry of two types in the FAC distribution during substorms in the storm under study occurs almost completely in the winter hemisphere and is much weaker in the summer one. We associate this phenomenon with the predominance of the effect of long-term exposure to the azimuthal IMF component in the sunlit polar ionosphere of the summer hemisphere over the substorm symmetrization effect of the night magnetosphere. A symmetrization effect of the polar cap and FACs, created by the solar wind pressure pulse at the end of the storm, is observed. We propose a qualitative explanation of this effect.
Dynamics of the field-aligned currents distribution asymmetry during substorms in the equinox season
Authors: Mishin Vladimir , Mishin Vilen , Kurikalova Marina
Published: March 2021

We continue to study the physical processes occurring during the August 17, 2001 magnetospheric storm by analyzing the dynamics of the intensity of field-aligned currents (FACs) in Iijima—Potemra Region 1 in the polar ionospheres of two hemispheres, using the modernized magnetogram inversion technique. The results obtained on the dynamics of the FAC asymmetry of two types (dawn–dusk and interhemispheric), as well as the previously obtained regularities in the behavior of Hall currents and polar cap boundaries depending on the large azimuthal component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), observed during the storm, and the seasonal behavior of the conductivity are consistent with the open magnetosphere model and with satellite observations of auroras in two hemispheres. We have shown that the weakening of the asymmetry of two types in the FAC distribution during substorms in the storm under study occurs almost completely in the winter hemisphere and is much weaker in the summer one. We associate this phenomenon with the predominance of the effect of long-term exposure to the azimuthal IMF component in the sunlit polar ionosphere of the summer hemisphere over the substorm symmetrization effect of the night magnetosphere. A symmetrization effect of the polar cap and FACs, created by the solar wind pressure pulse at the end of the storm, is observed. We propose a qualitative explanation of this effect.
Solar activity and Earth seismicity
Authors: Yanchukovsky Valery
Published: March 2021

Using the results of continuous long-term observations over 50 years (including solar cycles 20–24), we study the relationship between Earth’s seismicity and solar activity. An increase in the number of strong earthquakes on the planet occurs during the decline phase of solar activity when charged particle fluxes from high-latitude coronal holes increase, as well as during solar minimum when the intensity of galactic cosmic rays reaches a maximum. The change in the number of strong earthquakes (with magnitude 6) is considered in terms of variations in the intensity of galactic cosmic rays, Forbush decreases, and ground level enhancements in solar cosmic rays (GLE events). The number of strong earthquakes is shown to increase after Forbush decreases with a time lag from ~1 to ~6 days depending on the amplitude of Forbush decrease and after GLE events the number of strong earthquakes increases by ~8 day. In the number of strong earthquakes, a six-month variation is observed, which seems to follow the six-month variation in cosmic rays with a delay of ~1–2 months. It is surmised that the relationship between solar activity and Earth’s seismicity seems to be mediated through the modulation of galactic cosmic rays and atmospheric processes that provoke the occurrence of earthquakes in regions where the situation has already been prepared by tectonic activity.
Laser-based precision alignment for multiple span rotary shafts
Authors: Zheng Yuansong , Lou Zhifeng , Wang Xiaodong , Yu Zhenjiang
Published: March 2021

By converting the alignment issue of multiple span rotary shafts into a non-connected
shaft alignment issue, we present a precision alignment strategy for
multiple span shafts, and a laser-based method for measuring
misalignment of non-connected shafts is proposed. The quadrant
photodiode detector was calibrated at different rotation angles to
obtain the sensitivity coefficient. According to the calibration
results, the experiment scheme of the method was optimized. Then
measurement experiments were carried out and the error source, the
measurement uncertainty of the results were analyzed. Finally, the
misalignment was also measured by a coordinate measuring machine, and
the comparison results show that the relative error of the two methods
is less than 5%. Therefore, the proposed method can be applied to
align multiple span shafts accurately. Furthermore, this method can
also be used for non-connected shaft position determinations such as
wheel alignment inspections, alignment of machine spindle and center
shaft, and others.
Potential of commercial SiN MPW platforms for developing mid/high-resolution integrated photonic spectrographs for astronomy
Authors: Gatkine Pradip , Jovanovic Nemanja , Hopgood Christopher , Ellis Simon , Broeke Ronald , Ławniczuk Katarzyna , Jewell Jeffrey , Wallace J. Kent , Mawet Dimitri
Published: March 2021

Integrated photonic spectrographs offer an avenue to extreme miniaturization of astronomical instruments, which would greatly benefit extremely large telescopes and future space missions. These devices first require optimization for astronomical applications, which includes design, fabrication, and field testing. Given the high costs of photonic fabrication, multi-project wafer (MPW) silicon nitride (SiN) offerings, where a user purchases a portion of a wafer, provide a convenient and affordable avenue to develop this technology. In this work, we study the potential of two commonly used SiN waveguide geometries by MPW foundries, i.e., square and rectangular profiles, to determine how they affect the performance of mid/high-resolution arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) spectrometers around 1.5 µm. Specifically, we present results from detailed simulations on the mode sizes, shapes, and polarization properties, and on the impact of phase errors on the throughput and cross talk as well as some laboratory results of coupling and propagation losses. From the MPW run tolerances and our phase-error study, we estimate that an AWG with R

∼

10,000

can be developed with the MPW runs, and even greater resolving power is achievable with more reliable, dedicated fabrication runs. Depending on the fabrication and design optimizations, it is possible to achieve throughputs

∼

60
%

using the SiN platform. Thus, we show that SiN MPW offerings are highly promising and will play a key role in integrated photonic spectrograph developments for astronomy.
Low-threshold supercontinuum generation in polycrystalline media
Authors: Vasilyev Sergey , Gu Jiahui , Mirov Mike , Barnakov Yury , Moskalev Igor , Smolski Viktor , Peppers Jeremy , Kolesik Miroslav , Mirov Sergey , Gapontsev Valentin
Published: March 2021

Until recently, the generation of super-octave continua in bulk
materials at full repetition rates of femtosecond (fs) oscillators has
been limited to a few special cases of Kerr lens mode-locked
Ti:sapphire lasers. In 2019, we described a 3.4-octave fs source with
50 nJ pulse energy at the repetition rate of 78 MHz based on
polycrystalline Cr:ZnS [Vasilyev et al.,
Optica
6, 126 (2019)OPTIC82334-253610.1364/OPTICA.6.000126].
Here we explain the mechanism of fs supercontinuum generation in
transition-metal doped polycrystalline II-VI semiconductors at
relatively low (nJ-level) pulse energy. We demonstrate that this new
supercontinuum regime is enabled by a complex, yet well-reproducible,
interplay between the effects arising from the
third-order nonlinearity, the quadratic nonlinearities, and thermal
optical effects in the medium. We also demonstrate the control of fs
pulse propagation in disordered

χ

(
2
)

media via the control of the material
microstructure.
Statistical model for the weak turbulence-induced attenuation and crosstalk in free space communication systems with orbital angular momentum
Authors: Pan Yuting , Wang Ping , Wang Wei , Li Shuang , Cheng Mingjian , Guo Lixin
Published: March 2021

A novel statistical model connected with turbulence strength is proposed to describe the attenuation and crosstalk in a vortex-based multi-channel free space optical (FSO) communication system. In this model, self-channel fading and interference between different orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes are characterized by the mixture exponential-generalized-gamma (EGG) distribution, and the analytical relations between turbulence strength and the distribution function’s parameters are expressed by piecewise functions. The problems of obtaining parameters of this model are converted into optimization problems, and the algorithms based on the trust trigon algorithm are proposed to achieve more optimized parameters. This model is confirmed to have a good fit with the emulated data of OAM attenuation and crosstalk calculated by the square of the scalar product between the fields of two OAM modes. Furthermore, the application of the statistical model to the OAM-multiplexing FSO system with quadrature-phase-shift-keying modulation is presented, in which the theoretical average bit-error rate results match well with Monte Carlo simulation. This model can be used for FSO system design with OAM for continuous weak turbulence condition.