bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Whole gut imaging allows quantification of all enteric neurons in the adult zebrafish intestine
Authors: El‐Nachef Wael N. , Hu Claire , Bronner Marianne E.
Published: December 2021

Background

A fundamental understanding of the enteric nervous system in normal and diseased states is limited by the lack of standard measures of total enteric neuron number. The adult zebrafish is a useful model in this context as it is amenable toin totoimaging of the intestine. We leveraged this to develop a technique to image and quantify all enteric neurons within the adult zebrafish intestine and applied this method to assess the relationship between intestinal length and total enteric neuron number.

Methods

Dissected adult zebrafish intestines were immunostained in wholemount, optically cleared with refractive index‐matched solution, and then imaged in tiles using light‐sheet microscopy. Imaging software was used to stitch the tiles, and the full image underwent automated cell counting. Total enteric neuron number was assessed in relation to intestinal length using linear regression modeling.

Key Results

Whole gut imaging of the adult zebrafish intestine permits the visualization of endogenous and immunohistochemistry‐derived fluorescence throughout the intestine. While enteric neuron distribution is heterogeneous between intestinal segments, total enteric neuron number positively correlates with intestinal length.

Conclusions & Inferences

Imaging of all enteric neurons within the adult vertebrate intestine is possible in models such as the zebrafish. In this study, we apply this to demonstrate a positive correlation between enteric neuron number and intestinal length. Quantifying total enteric numbers will facilitate future studies of enteric neuropathies and ENS structure in animal models and potentially in biopsied tissue samples.
Dietary intake and associations with myopia in Singapore children
Authors: Li Mijie , Tan Chuen‐Seng , Foo Li‐Lian , Sugianto Ray , Toh Jia Ying , Sun Chen‐Hsin , Yap Fabian , Sabanayagam Charumathi , Chong Foong‐Fong Mary , Saw Seang‐Mei
Published: December 2021

Purpose

To evaluate associations of dietary factors with myopia, spherical equivalent refractive error (SE) and axial length (AL) in children at age 9 from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) birth cohort.

Methods

We included 467 multi‐ethnic children (933 eyes) who participated in the GUSTO prospective birth cohort and were delivered in two major hospitals in Singapore (2009–2010). At the 9‐year visit, we assessed the 6‐year incidence of myopia (between ages 3 to 9), cycloplegic SE and AL in children without myopia (SE ≤ −0.5 D in either eye) at the 3‐year visit. Using a validated 112‐item food frequency questionnaire, parents reported each child's average daily intake of dietary factors (nutrients and food groups) in the past month. Paired eyes were analysed using Generalised Estimating Equations with multivariable logistic or linear regression. Bonferroni corrections were applied, correcting for multiple comparisons between the 13 nutrients (p < 0.004) or 8 food groups (p < 0.006) and each outcome.

Results

In children aged 9 years (51.0% boys; 56.3% Chinese), the 6‐year incidence of myopia was 35.5%. Overall, the mean (SD) SE and AL were −0.3 (1.7) D and 23.4 (1.0) mm, respectively. In multivariable regression, macronutrients or micronutrients were not associated with incident myopia (p ≥ 0.004 for all), adjusting for total energy, gender, ethnicity, time outdoors, near‐work and the number of myopic parents (additionally child's height for outcome AL). Similarly, all food groups (including refined grains, sugar‐sweetened beverages, protein foods, fruits and vegetables) were not associated with incident myopia (p ≥ 0.006 for all). Additionally, none of the nutrients (p ≥ 0.004 for all) or food groups (p ≥ 0.006 for all) were associated with SE or AL.

Conclusions

Our study findings of no significant association between specific nutrients or food groups and incident myopia or SE or AL suggest that diet may not be associated with myopia in children aged 9 years. Well‐conducted prospective studies in other populations may clarify the association.
Reuse of cardiac implantable electronic devices in developing countries perspectives: A literature review
Authors: Lorenzo Ruiz Iñigo
Published: December 2021

Introduction and Objectives

Access to cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) is limited in developing countries. Postmortem CIED donation from developed countries to developing countries could be an important resource for those who cannot afford a new one. The objective of this paper was to identify and synthesize the perspectives on the donation of CIEDs for potential reuse in patients without resources living in developing countries.

Methods

A bibliographic review was carried out in the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases. The search strategy was limited to articles published in English or Spanish.

Results

Eight publications were analyzed. The main results were grouped into two large frameworks on perceptions, preferences, attitudes and opinions of developed countries and developing countries towards the donation and reuse of CIEDs. Positive perspectives were identified towards the donation of CIEDs for their reuse in the majority of patients with a CIED, relatives, funeral homes and physicians of developed countries, as well as in physicians and potential recipient patients of developing countries.

Conclusions

This review highlights the positive perspectives on CIED donation from developed countries to patients in need of developing countries among all studied groups. In view of the feasibility of collecting postmortem devices, we advocate studying the feasibility of more local CIED donation initiatives.
Association of clinical and social factors with risk of fracture in children with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Ha Eun Kyo , Kim Ju Hee , Kwak Ji Hee , Lee Soonchul , Cha Hye Ryeong , Chung Eun Hee , Han Man Yong
Published: December 2021

Background

Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) have multiple risk factors for accidental fractures, injuries that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the factors that mediate the relationship between AD and fracture in children.

Objective

Our purpose was to examine the association of AD with fracture and to identify potential mediating factors.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study examined children with and without AD from a longitudinal matched cohort database of 353,040 children registered in the national health insurance service and participated in the national health‐screening program of Korea. We defined AD using medical claims and medication prescription records. We investigated accidental fracture events between the index date and the end of follow‐up in a propensity score–matched cohort. Pre‐specified subgroup analyses considered fractures in four different regions of the body. The mediating effects of 10 possible clinical factors (including the use of antihistamines and systemic corticosteroids) and social factors (including nutritional status and parental safety awareness) were determined.

Results

There were 145,704 participating children, 20% with AD and 49% girls. Fractures occurred in 6,652 of the children with AD (23%, mean age: 64.6 ± 29.2 months) and in 24,698 of the control group (21%, mean age 65.0 ± 28.9 months). Children with AD had an 8% greater risk of fracture events overall (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.05–1.10). In subgroup analysis, AD was related to increased rates of skull and facial bone fracture (aRR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04–1.14), for trunk including vertebrae (aRR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.22– 2.05), and for distal limbs (aRR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.07–1.15). However, the relationship with proximal limb fracture was insignificant. Duration of systemic corticosteroid prescription was the largest mediating factor, followed by duration of antihistamine prescription, and infant feeding practices. In particular, the duration of systemic corticosteroid prescription was significantly associated with fracture events (incidence: 20.1% at the 25th percentile and 23.6% at the 75th percentile; difference: 3.4% [95% CI: 2.8–4.0%]).

Conclusions

Children with AD were related to increased fracture events. The key factors with mediating effects were systemic use of corticosteroid and antihistamine. Infant feeding practices had weaker mediating effects.
Carbon pricing ethics
Authors: Mintz‐Woo Kian
Published: December 2021

The three main types of policies for addressing climate change are command and control regulation, carbon taxes (or price instruments), and cap and trade (or quantity instruments). The first question in the ethics of carbon pricing is whether the latter two (price and quantity instruments) are preferable to command and control regulation. The second question is, if so, how should we evaluate the relative merits of price and quantity instruments. I canvass relevant arguments to explain different ways of addressing these important policy questions, suggesting that carbon pricing is preferable to command and control regulation, and that price instruments have the theoretical edge over quantity instruments.
Reprotoxic effects of fenpropimorph on the fertilizing potential of AI boars: A case study
Authors: Schulze Martin , Hensel Britta , Schröter David , Leiding Claus , Jung Markus , Lautner Matthias
Published: December 2021

Contents

This case study describes the effects of a contamination of boar bedding material with reprotoxic compounds in an AI centre in southern Germany. The origin of the investigations was an extreme decline in the production output of the boars. In July 2021, more than 54% of boars were not in production and over 45% of ejaculates had insufficient sperm quality and quantity, which is a significant drop in comparison with the other months. This drop was accompanied by oligozoospermia (azoospermia), asthenozoospermia and teratozoospermia. Through intensive troubleshooting, the changes could be attributed to fenpropimorph, an ergosterol biosynthesis‐inhibiting fungicide with reprotoxic potential, which was found in the sawdust used as bedding as well as in liver samples of affected animals, reaching a concentration (mean ± SD) between 0.20 ± 0.36 mg/kg and 0.019 ± 0.001 mg/kg respectively. Furthermore, autopsy findings revealed hyperaemia of the testis, histologically focal degeneration of the germinal epithelium and signs of reduced spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis.
Poverty Reduction in Rural India During 2004–2005 to 2011–2012: Role of Growth, Redistribution, and Population‐Shifts
Authors: Naraparaju Karthikeya , Chandrasekhar S.
Published: December 2021

We assess the relative importance of factors contributing to poverty reduction in rural India, between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012, a period when India was one of the fastest growing economies of the world, at the national as well as sub‐national level. We quantify the relative importance of population shifts across land size classes in determining the pace of poverty reduction vis‐à‐vis the intra‐land size class growth in average consumption and redistribution components. While we do not find population shifts to be a statistically significant factor in explaining poverty reduction, we find that growth in intra land consumption is the dominant factor accounting for poverty reduction in each Indian state as well as at the national level. While the impact of redistribution component varied at the sub‐national level, overall, it marginally impeded the pace of poverty reduction at the national level.
HLA‐EPI: A new EPIsode in exploring donor/recipient epitopic compatibilities
Authors: Geffard Estelle , Boussamet Léo , Walencik Alexandre , Delbos Florent , Limou Sophie , Gourraud Pierre‐Antoine , Vince Nicolas
Published: December 2021

The HLA system plays a pivotal role both in transplantation and immunology. While classical HLA genotypes matching is made at the allelic level, recent progresses were developed to explore antibody–antigen recognition by studying epitopes. Donor to recipient matching at the epitopic level is becoming a trending topic in the transplantation research field because anti‐HLA antibodies are epitope‐specific rather than allele‐specific. Indeed, different HLA alleles often share common epitopes. We present the HLA‐Epi tool (hla.univ-nantes.fr) to study an HLA genotype at the epitope level. Using the international HLA epitope registry (Epregistry.com.br) as a reference, we developed HLA‐Epi to easily determine epitopic and allelic compatibility levels between several HLA genotypes. The epitope database covers the most common HLA alleles (N = 2976 HLA alleles), representing more than 99% of the total observed frequency of HLA alleles. The freely accessible web tool HLA‐Epi calculates an epitopic mismatch load between different sets of potential recipient‐donor pairs at different resolution levels. We have characterized the epitopic mismatches distribution in a cohort of more than 10,000 kidney transplanted pairs from European ancestry, which showed low number of epitopic mismatches: 56.9 incompatibilities on average. HLA‐Epi allows the exploration of epitope pairing matching to better understand epitopes contribution to immune responses regulation, particularly during transplantation. This free and ready‐to‐use bioinformatics tool not only addresses limitations of other related tools, but also offers a cost‐efficient and reproducible strategy to analyze HLA epitopes as an alternative to HLA allele compatibility. In the future, this could improve sensitization prevention for allograft allocation decisions and reduce the risk of alloreactivity.
Effects of cryopreservation on gram‐positive bacteria contaminants in umbilical cord blood
Authors: Boey Kenny P. Y. , Zhu Pengcheng , Tan Hweeyin , Abdullah Muhammed Asyraf Bin , Tang Kin Fai , Li Ming Ming , Loke Ian , Hariharan Menaka
Published: December 2021

Objective

To evaluate the effects of cryopreservation in post‐thaw umbilical cord blood units for the survivability of Gram‐positive bacteria strains.

Background

Microbial screening is required for all cord blood units (CBUs). Four gram‐positive contaminants were documented to survive cryopreservation poorly and isolation of other contaminants were reported.

Methods

Forty‐eight contaminated CBUs detected with either Staphylococcus epidermidis, Corynebacterium species, Peptostreptococcus or Streptococcus species before cryopreservation were used in this study. CBUs were processed, DMSO‐infused and microbial screened before cryopreservation. Post‐thaw microbial screening was achieved using 1 and 10 ml inoculants in BACTEC culture bottles. Positive bottles were subjected for microbial identification and results were compared with those from pre‐freeze.

Results

A higher rate of microbial contamination was found using the 10 ml inoculant. Screening of 11 CBUs did not detect any contaminants while 30 CBUs screened detected more than one unknown contaminants and majority of contaminants were identified to be gram‐negative species.

Conclusion

A higher inoculation volume used at post‐thaw for microbial screening improves contamination detection but leads to the loss of precious cord blood. Some contaminants did not survive cryopreservation or were not identified due to their low microbial levels. Contrasting contaminants found at post‐thaw suggest the improvements made in detection and identification of contaminants over the years.
A framework for assessing the impact of disease treatment
Authors: Hassoun Nicole , Friedman Jacob , Cosler Leon E.
Published: December 2021

Objectives

To address ongoing pandemics and epidemics, policy makers need good data not only on the need for treatments but also on new interventions’ impacts. We present a mathematical model of medicines’ health consequences using disease surveillance data to inform health policy and scientific research that can be extended to address the current public health crisis.

Methods

The Global Health Impact index calculates the amount of mortality and morbidity averted by key medicines for malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and several Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) using data on outcomes in the absence of treatment, treatment effectiveness and access to needed treatment. Country‐level data were extracted from data repositories maintained by the Global Burden of Disease study, Global Health Observatory, WHO, UNICEF and a review of the scientific literature.

Results

The index aggregates drug impact by country, disease, company and treatment regimen to identify the spatial and temporal patterns of treatment impact and can be extended across multiple diseases. Approximately 62 million life‐years were saved by key drugs that target malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and NTDs in our latest model year. Malaria and TB medicines together were responsible for alleviating 95% of this burden, while HIV/AIDS and NTD medicines contribute 4% and 1%, respectively. However, the burden of disease in the absence of treatment was nearly evenly distributed among malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS.

Conclusions

A common framework that standardises health impact across diseases and their interventions can aid in identifying current shortcomings on a global scale.
Current challenges of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seroprevalence studies among blood donors: A scoping review
Authors: Saeed Sahar , Uzicanin Samra , Lewin Antoine , Lieshout‐Krikke Ryanne , Faddy Helen , Erikstrup Christian , Osiowy Carla , Seed Clive R. , Steele Whitney R. , Davison Katy , Custer Brian , O'Brien Sheila F. ,   Surveillance Risk Assessment and Policy (SRAP) Sub‐group of the Transfusion Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party of the International Society of Blood Transfusion
Published: December 2021

Background and Objectives

Blood donors are increasingly being recognized as an informative resource for surveillance. We aimed to review severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seroprevalence studies conducted among blood donors to investigate methodological biases and provide guidance for future research.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a scoping review of peer‐reviewed and preprint publications between January 2020 and January 2021. Two reviewers used standardized forms to extract seroprevalence estimates and data on methodology pertaining to population sampling, periodicity, assay characteristics, and antibody kinetics. National data on cumulative incidence and social distancing policies were extracted from publicly available sources and summarized.

Results

Thirty‐three studies representing 1,323,307 blood donations from 20 countries worldwide were included (sample sizes ranged from 22 to 953,926 donations). The majority of the studies (79%) reported seroprevalence rates <10% (ranging from 0% to 76% [after adjusting for waning antibodies]). Overall, less than 1 in 5 studies reported standardized seroprevalence rates to reflect the demographics of the general population. Stratification by age and sex were most common (64% of studies), followed by region (48%). A total of 52% of studies reported seroprevalence at a single time point. Overall, 27 unique assay combinations were identified, 55% of studies used a single assay and only 39% adjusted seroprevalence rates for imperfect test characteristics. Among the nationally representative studies, case detection was most underrepresented in Kenya (1:1264).

Conclusion

By the end of 2020, seroprevalence rates were far from reaching herd immunity. In addition to differences in community transmission and diverse public health policies, study designs and methodology were likely contributing factors to seroprevalence heterogeneity.
Fine‐scale population structure within an Eastern Nearctic snake complex (Pituophis melanoleucus)
Authors: Nikolakis Zachary L. , Orton Richard W. , Crother Brian I.
Published: December 2021

Understanding the processes and mechanisms that promote lineage divergence is a central goal in evolutionary biology. For instance, studies investigating the spatial distribution of genomic variation often highlight biogeographic barriers underpinning geographic isolation or patterns of isolation by environment and isolation by distance that can also lead to lineage divergence. However, the patterns and processes that shape genomic variation and drive lineage divergence may be taxon‐specific, even across closely related taxa co‐occurring within the same biogeographic region. Here, we use molecular data in the form of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to infer the evolutionary relationships and population genomic structure of the Eastern Pinesnake complex (Pituophis melanoleucus)—a polytypic wide‐ranging species that occupies much of the Eastern Nearctic. In addition to inferring evolutionary relationships, population genomic structure and gene flow, we also test relationships between genomic diversity and putative barriers to dispersal, environmental variation, and geographic distance. We present results that reveal shallow population genomic structure and ongoing gene flow, despite an extensive geographic range that transcends geographic features found to reduce gene flow among many taxa, including other squamate reptiles within the Eastern Nearctic. Further, our results indicate that the observed genomic diversity is spatially distributed as a pattern of isolation by distance and suggest that the current subspecific taxonomy do not adhere to independent lineages, but, rather, show a significant amount of admixture across the entireP. melanoleucusrange.
Gas-Phase Nucleation of Diamond Clusters upon a Sharp Rise in Temperature under Conditions of CVD Synthesis
Authors: Alekseev N. I. , Khadutin V. S. , Khmel’nitskii I. K.
Published: December 2021

It is shown that the predominant nucleation of diamond nuclei (instead of graphite ones) in plasma or hot-filament assisted CVD technology is due to a sharp increase in the temperature of the region of the initial gas mixture’s motion. The nucleation of diamond nuclei then occurs immediately in the gas phase. The reason for such predominant nucleation is high oversaturation by small hydrocarbon fragments in the gas mixture, due to a rapid change in temperature and substantial differences between the desorption of such fragments from the surfaces of nuclei and the oxidation of nuclei. A way is described of synthesizing massive diamonds without the use of high pressures and CVD technology in its traditional form.
Features of the Thermolysis of Aromatic Compounds
Authors: Zherebtsov D. A. , Nayfert S. A. , Polozov M. A. , Morozov R. S.
Published: December 2021

The effect of structure of 25 aromatic compounds on the morphology of carbon formed from them during heating to a temperature of 970°C in an inert atmosphere is studied. The specific surface area is determined for a number of products via nitrogen adsorption (28–48 m2/g). Several aromatic compounds are shown to form carbon without melting stage. X-ray phase analysis nevertheless confirms the formation of just amorphous carbon in all cases, and a negligible amount of graphite in amorphous carbon in only two cases. The thermolysis of a number of compounds is studied via synchronous thermal analysis. It is shown that slow heating during thermolysis can reduce the temperatures of transformation by tens of degrees and even alter the nature of thermolysis.
Physical and biological constraints on the capacity for life-history expression of anadromous salmonids: an Eel River, California, case study
Authors: FitzGerald Alyssa M. , Boughton David A. , Fuller Joshua , John Sara N. , Martin Benjamin T. , Harrison Lee R. , Mantua Nathan J.
Published: December 2021

Recovery of anadromous salmonid populations is complicated by their complex life histories. We examined the spatiotemporal interplay of stream temperature, geomorphic features, and a species’ thermal sensitivity mediated by biological interactions in a case study of steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in California’s Eel River watershed. We estimated habitat suitability and fish capacity for each salmonid run and freshwater life stage during average, cool, and warm years in each of the watershed’s subbasins, including a historically occupied high-elevation subbasin upstream of an impassable dam. Our estimates varied depending on whether we accounted for exposure to the Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis), an introduced predator and competitor. Our results indicate that the dammed subbasin has substantial salmonid capacity relative to the rest of the watershed and could provide an important cool-water refuge during warm years and from pikeminnow, potentially improving the productivity and resilience of multiple anadromous salmonid populations. Our approach can be applied in any setting where spatially explicit habitat metrics can be estimated and population-specific and life-stage-specific habitat criteria can be specified.
Feasibility study of measuring $$b\rightarrow s\gamma $$ photon polarisation in $$D^0\rightarrow K_1(1270)^- e^+\nu _e$$ at STCF
Authors: Fan Yu-Lan , Shi Xiao-Dong , Zhou Xiao-Rong , Sun Liang
Published: December 2021

We report a sensitive study of measuring $$b\rightarrow s\gamma $$

b
→
s
γ

photon polarisation in $$D^{0}\rightarrow K_1(1270)^-e^+\nu _e$$

D
0

→

K
1

(
1270
)

-

e
+

ν
e

with an integrated luminosity of $$\mathscr {L}$$
L
= 1 ab$$^{-1}$$

-
1

at a center-of-mass energy of 3.773 GeV at a future Super Tau Charm Facility. More than 61,000 signals of $$D^{0}\rightarrow K_1(1270)^-e^+\nu _e$$

D
0

→

K
1

(
1270
)

-

e
+

ν
e

are expected. Based on a fast simulation software package, the statistical sensitivity for the ratio of up-down asymmetry is estimated to be $$1.5\times 10^{-2}$$

1.5
×

10

-
2

by performing a two-dimensional angular analysis in $$D^{0}\rightarrow K_1(1270)^-e^+\nu _e$$

D
0

→

K
1

(
1270
)

-

e
+

ν
e

. Combining with measurements of up-down asymmetry in $$B\rightarrow K_1\gamma $$

B
→

K
1

γ

, the photon polarisation in $$b\rightarrow s\gamma $$

b
→
s
γ

can be determined model-independently.
Surgical Management of Paediatric Aphakia in the Absence of Sufficient Capsular Support
Authors: Karasavvidou Evdoxia-Maria , Wilde Craig , Zaman Anwar , Orr Gavin , Kumudhan Dharmalingam , Panos Georgios D.
Published: December 2021

There are several available options for the demanding surgical correction of paediatric aphakia without sufficient capsular support. The literature suggests the implantation of a transscleral fixated posterior chamber-intraocular lens (PCIOL), an intrascleral fixated PCIOL, an iris-sutured intraocular lens (IOL), or an anterior chamber iris-claw IOL. We searched for reports on the management of paediatric aphakia in case of inadequate capsular support that delineated the diverse surgical approaches and their postoperative results. Analysis demonstrated that different complications can be encountered depending on IOL placement technique, such as suture rupture, IOL dislocation, secondary glaucoma, endophthalmitis, vitreous hemorrhage, and endothelial cell loss. However, it was shown that various IOL designs have similar visual outcomes. Taking into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of each surgical technique, ophthalmic surgeons can determine the safest and most efficient approach for paediatric aphakic patients.
Analysis of Helicobacter pylori’s Antibiotic Resistance Rate and Research on Its Eradication Treatment Plan
Authors: Jiao Li , Wang Junmin , Ma Huan
Published: December 2021

How to choose the right plan is the key to treatment, and this must take into account the local eradication of Helicobacter pylori and the drug resistance of Helicobacter pylori. In order to better eradicate Helicobacter pylori, in the current clinical treatment process, most of the combined treatments of triple drugs are used, but the therapeutic effect is still not ideal. In addition, many studies have focused on changing the types and dosages of drugs, but they have not yet achieved good results. This paper combines experimental research to analyze the drug resistance rate of Helicobacter pylori and obtains gastric mucosal specimens of patients through gastroscopy to cultivate clinical isolates of H. pylori.. Furthermore, this study used the Kirby-Bauer drug susceptibility disc technique to determine the sensitivity of H. pylori clinical isolates to a range of regularly used clinical antibiotics, as well as a set of instances of H. pylori antibiotic resistance. Finally, this research integrates experimental analyses and various successful eradication treatment plans to provide a unique eradication treatment strategy.
t-BMPNet: Trainable Bitwise Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network over Fully Homomorphic Encryption Scheme
Authors: Yoo Joon Soo , Yoon Ji Won
Published: December 2021

Homomorphic encryption (HE) is notable for enabling computation on encrypted data as well as guaranteeing high-level security based on the hardness of the lattice problem. In this sense, the advantage of HE has facilitated research that can perform data analysis in an encrypted state as a purpose of achieving security and privacy for both clients and the cloud. However, much of the literature is centered around building a network that only provides an encrypted prediction result rather than constructing a system that can learn from the encrypted data to provide more accurate answers for the clients. Moreover, their research uses simple polynomial approximations to design an activation function causing a possibly significant error in prediction results. Conversely, our approach is more fundamental; we present t-BMPNet which is a neural network over fully homomorphic encryption scheme that is built upon primitive gates and fundamental bitwise homomorphic operations. Thus, our model can tackle the nonlinearity problem of approximating the activation function in a more sophisticated way. Moreover, we show that our t-BMPNet can perform training—backpropagation and feedforward algorithms—in the encrypted domain, unlike other literature. Last, we apply our approach to a small dataset to demonstrate the feasibility of our model.
Ankle Ligament Injuries Based on Medical Images of Hip‐Hop Training and Research on Training Techniques
Authors: Han Zhen , Xu Xiaofei
Published: December 2021

Ligament loss of the ankle joints is common. If it is not handled properly, it is easy to cause repeated sprains of the ankle joints. Usually, medical image examination will be the first choice for the diagnosis of ligament injury. This paper analyzes the ankle ligament injury of hip‐hop training based on medical images and studies the hip‐hop training skills, to explore the application method of medical images in ankle injury, and can provide some theoretical and practical references for other sports injuries. In this paper, several medical image‐related technologies such as texture feature extraction, main visual feature SAR method, and edge detection method are proposed. These technologies are applied to the study of ankle ligament injury, and an effective medical training therapy is determined by setting up the control group and the treatment group to observe the medical image display of each part of the ankle. Through the statistics of the clinical efficacy judgment standard results of patients in the treatment group and patients in the control group after two weeks of injury, it is found that the experimental results show that the cure rate, significant efficiency, and total effective rate of patients in the treatment group after two weeks are higher than those in the control group, and the total effective rate of the treatment group has reached 92.20%.
Introduction: The Persianate Bazaar
Authors: Bishara Fahad Ahmad , Chatterjee Nandini
Published: December 2021

The collection of essays in this volume examines forms of business documentation in the late Persianate world and the Indian Ocean, between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. Looking upon business in its broadest sense, the themes range from property disputes within families to inter-polity and inter-imperial deals, all of which is captured within the notion of the bazaar. Presenting documents and documentary forms written in Persian, but also the associated languages of Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi and Rajasthani, the articles collectively enrich the idea of the Persianate, delineating its specific dispensations within regional contexts, and also its boundaries and limitations. This is also a contribution to the study of Persographia, in this case Persianate rather than just Persian writing. The articles study specific language combinations, lexical elements and usages that came to be deployed in different areas and the legal cultures they provide evidence for.
The Diver’s New Papers: Wealth, People, and Property in a Persian Gulf Bazaar
Authors: Bishara Fahad Ahmad
Published: December 2021

This article explores the contours of debt and labor in the early twentieth-century Persian Gulf pearl dive. It examines the barwa, a declaration exchanged by nakhodas (dhow captains) about the amounts that divers owed and the terms by which they might be hired out. By looking both through and at the barwa, we find a window into the Indian Ocean maritime bazaar, and into the artifacts through which mobile and itinerant laborers were bound to the dhow and its captain. Maritime actors used these papers to navigate the boundary between person and property, and between free and unfree, all within a changing commercial and legal world.
Translating Obligations: Tamassuk and Fārigh-khaṭṭī in the Indo-Persian World
Authors: Chatterjee Nandini
Published: December 2021

A necessarily widespread feature of language practice in the Persianate world was the need for translation of speech and text, with a range of lexical and semantic challenges involved in taking meaning from one language to another. This article focusses on legal translation, with its highly functional aims, by following the career of a pair of Indo-Persian legal forms known as tamassuk and fārigh-khaṭṭī, used for recording obligation and requital respectively. Tracing their reincarnations from Persian into Marathi, Hindi and Bengali, this article reveals several forms of boundary-crossing: doctrinal, jurisdictional, political and linguistic. In doing so, it explores the legal mindscapes in the early modern Indo-Persian world, spilling from the late Mughal into the colonial, and shows how multilingualism functioned within specific parts of the Persianate cosmopolis.
Conditional Sales and Other Types of Loans in Qajar Iran
Authors: Kondo Nobuaki
Published: December 2021

This article examines various aspects of conditional sales (bayʿ-i sharṭ) and other types of loans in Qajar Iran (1796-1925). Islamic law prohibited usury, but Shiʿi jurists found a way to legalize money lending at interest. In this paper, I explore how these transactions occurred in practice and what features they had. To this end, I consider three groups of bayʿ-i sharṭ deeds from the National Archives of Iran, discussing how each case proceeded and how differences between cases reveal the ways in which this type of transaction functioned. While similar types of transactions were allowed in other regions and schools of law, the details of Shiʿi legal devices were distinctive.
Transacting Business through/for Others in Early Colonial Western India: The Text, Context, and Meaning of a Mukhtār-nāma of 1821
Authors: Nadri Ghulam A.
Published: December 2021

In the Persianate world, a mukhtār-nāma (deed of representation or a power of attorney) was a legal instrument that enabled people to transact business through a representative or agent (mukhtār or wakīl). This is a study of one such document written in Surat in 1821. It analyses the document for its socio-cultural, legal, and commercial significance as well as to explore the transition in the adjudication of commercial disputes and civil cases from Mughal to East India Company courts. It shows that there was a strong tradition of documenting business transactions in early modern South Asia and that such practices have continued into the colonial and postcolonial periods.
Huṇḍī and Nirakh Huṇḍāwan: Indic Mercantile Instruments in the Persianate Bazaar
Authors: Shahnawaz Mohammad
Published: December 2021

The huṇḍī or Indic mercantile instrument integrated networks of merchants and bankers across Persianate bazaars from South Asia to Central Asia, Iran and East Africa. Merchants performed long-distance financial transactions by means of this instrument, catering to both private individuals and the state. While much has been written about the commercial use of huṇḍīs, this paper turns to the working of huṇḍīs at the interface of mercantile and state institutions, looking in particular at the Jaipur state’s collection of nirakh huṇḍāwan registers—which tracked the rate of discounting of huṇḍīs on a daily basis. Produced at the mercantile centre of Sanganer, and open to inspection by the Jaipur state, these registers lie at the intersection of commerce and governance, and of corporation and state. They reveal an ‘economically curious’ state, which accessed and used data collected and maintained by mercantile entities to make significant economic decisions.
Extraterritoriality, Nationality, and Empire in the Persianate World, 1890-1940
Authors: Stebbins H. Lyman
Published: December 2021

Extraterritoriality and nationality were crucial to the legal landscape of the Late Persianate world and relations between Iran and British India. Extraterritoriality not only protected British subjects from Persian prosecution but also afforded the British Empire the means to rule Indians in lands beyond the Raj. Iran’s opposition to extraterritoriality led to laws that expanded Iranian nationality to include many Indians living in Iran and the Iranian diaspora living in India—who often navigated these rules as it best suited their interests. These developments reveal the significance of imperialism and state building to the emergence of modern international law and the fate of the Persianate world.
Transacting Politics in the Maratha Empire: An Agreement between Friends, 1795
Authors: Vendell Dominic
Published: December 2021

Diplomacy was a principal site of linguistic and cultural exchange in the early modern Persianate world. Focusing on the karārnāmā or agreement, this paper explores how a repertoire of Marathi and Persian documentary genres, binding formulae, and graphic procedures enabled legal, commercial, and diplomatic transactions in eighteenth-century western India. The exchange of written agreements facilitated interstate relations as well as profit-sharing contractual arrangements between individuals. Despite their centrality to interactions between European and South Asian polities, these instruments met with limited success in establishing rights to property under the legal regime of the East India Company-state and instead acquired new functions in colonial revenue administration.
The Problem of Aristippus at Cicero, De officiis 1.148
Authors: McConnell Sean
Published: December 2021

The manuscripts of De officiis all record something strange at 1.148: Cicero says that the philosophers Socrates and Aristippus had exceptional licence to flout social custom and convention owing to their ‘great and divine good qualities’ (magna et divina bona). There are no worries about Socrates, but the example of Aristippus seems preposterous. This paper makes the following argument: (1) elsewhere Cicero defines divina bona in such a way to exclude hedonists; this should rule out crediting Aristippus with magna et divina bona alongside Socrates; (2) all scholarly efforts to account for the presence of Aristippus at 1.148 fail to convince; (3) the name Aristippus at 1.148 should, therefore, be remedied; (4) there are excellent philosophical reasons to think that Antisthenes, a follower of Socrates who is credited with setting in motion the Cynic philosophical tradition, is the name that Cicero wrote or should have written in the original.
Development and Economy in Mongolia through a Human Rights Law Lens
Authors: Bohoslavsky Juan Pablo
Published: December 2021

This article studies the Mongolian economic and development policies implemented in recent years until March 2020, including its revenue matrix sustainability, from an international human rights law perspective. Policy and legal recommendations for discussion are also presented. Based on a United Nations mission the author conducted to Mongolia in 2019, this country study examines the macroeconomic policies, including debt issues, from a human rights perspective; the extent to which mineral rents are translated into inclusive and comprehensive social and environmental policies, focusing on the mining project Oyu Tolgoi; the impact of illicit financial flows on human rights; and the effects of lending for infrastructure and mining projects and other foreign direct investments. The study concludes that economic diversification and conducting effective gender-sensitive, participatory human rights and environmental impact assessments of economic reforms and mining and infrastructure projects are the main challenges Mongolia faces.
Legal Pluralism, Human Rights and the Right to Vote: The Case of the Noken System in Papua
Authors: Nugraha Ignatius Yordan
Published: December 2021

The goal of this article is to explore the clash between international human rights law and a legal pluralist framework in the case of the noken system and also to investigate potential solutions to the clash. Elections in Indonesia are generally founded on the principle of direct, universal, free, secret, honest and fair voting. There is a notable exception in the Province of Papua, where tribes in the Central Mountains area are following the noken system. Under this system, votes are allocated to the candidate(s) based on the decision of the big man or the consensus of the tribe. The Indonesian Constitutional Court has accepted this practice as reflecting the customs of the local population. However, this form of voting seems to be contrary to the right to vote under international human rights law, since article 25(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates that elections shall be held genuinely by universal suffrage and secret ballot to guarantee the free will of the electors. Consequently, the case of the noken system in Papua reflects an uneasy clash between a legal pluralist approach and universal human rights.
Stem anatomy of Apioideae (Apiaceae): effects of habit and reproductive strategy
Authors: Frankiewicz Kamil E. , Oskolski Alexei A. , Reduron Jean-Pierre , Banasiak Łukasz , Reyes-Betancort Jorge-Alfredo , Trzeciak Paulina , Spalik Krzysztof
Published: December 2021

Apioideae is the biggest and the most diverse of four subfamilies recognised within Apiaceae. Except for a few, likely derived, woody clades, most representatives of this subfamily are herbaceous. In the present study, we assessed stem anatomy of 87, mostly therophytic and hemicryptophytic, species from at least 20 distinct lineages of Apioideae, and juxtaposed them with 67 species from our previous anatomical projects also focused on this subfamily. Comparing our data with the literature, we found that wood anatomy does not allow for a distinction between apioids and their close relatives (Azorelloideae, Saniculoideae), but more distantly related Mackinlayoideae differ from Apioideae in their perforation plate type. Vessel element and fibre length, and vessel diameter were positively correlated with plant height: phenomena already reported in literature. Similar pattern was retrieved for vertical intervessel pit diameter. Wood ground tissue in apioids ranges from entirely fibrous to parenchymatous. The shortening of internodes seems to favour the formation of parenchymatic ground tissue, whereas the early shift to flowering promotes the deposition of fibrous wood in monocarpic species. These results support a hypothesis on interdependence among internode length, reproductive strategy, and wood ground tissue type.
New dicotyledonous woods from the San Carlos Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in Northern Mexico
Authors: Estrada-Ruiz Emilio , Martínez-Cabrera Hugo I. , García-Hernández Imelda P.
Published: December 2021

We describe two new fossil woods from the San Carlos Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Chihuahua State, Mexico. The first wood resembles the fossil genus Metcalfeoxylon in having solitary vessels, scalariform perforation plates, vessel-ray parenchyma pits of similar size as the intervessel pits, axial parenchyma apotracheal diffuse and diffuse in aggregates, and heterocellular multiseriate rays with long, uniseriate tails. The second wood is a new fossil genus, and it is characterized by having diffuse porous wood, vessels predominantly solitary, vessel outlines oval and tending to be of two diameter classes, simple perforation plates, minute alternate intervessel pits, vessel-ray parenchyma pits similar to intervessel pits in size and shape, vasicentric tracheids, non-septate fibers, homocellular rays, and exclusively uniseriate and biseriate rays. This combination of features supports its placement in Myrtales (?Myrtaceae), in a new fossil-genus named Lazarocardenasoxylon. These two new records provide more information about the floristic composition of the Late Cretaceous flora of the San Carlos Formation and its relationship with those from the southern USA. However, a definitive picture of the floristic relationship of these Cretaceous floras of northern Mexico and southern USA remains elusive.
Cell-wall fluorescence highlights the phases of xylogenesis
Authors: Balzano Angela , Čufar Katarina , De Micco Veronica
Published: December 2021

The monitoring of xylogenesis makes it possible to follow tree growth responses to stress factors in real-time, by observing the course of wood cell division and differentiation. Proper microscopy techniques are of key importance to exactly identify the xylem cells during the different phases of differentiation. We aimed to apply epifluorescence microscopy to follow the lignification process during the different phases of xylogenesis in Mediterranean softwood and hardwood. Microcores from trees of Pinus halepensis Mill. and Arbutus unedo L. were collected at a site in southern Italy, during the period June-December. Fluorescence imaging of sections stained with a water solution of safranin and Astra blue clearly highlighted the contrast between lignified and un-lignified tissue. The proposed methodology is useful to quickly and unambiguously detect the different stages of cell differentiation, as well as the progress in the lignification process. Moreover, it proved to be easily applied to demanding wood materials, such as Mediterranean woods and can be helpful to better track stress responses and the development of anomalies during wood formation, such as intra-annual density fluctuations.
E Pluribus Unum
Authors: Tieleman Matthijs
Published: December 2021

Polarization is a critical problem confronting American politics and society today. The history of the Netherlands serves as both a warning and an opportunity for the United States in its quest to solve pernicious partisanship. The eighteenth-century Dutch Republic demonstrates how continued division without compromise can easily lead to revolution and civil war. In contrast, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of the Netherlands show how a pluralist political culture created a society of compromise and tolerance. This article suggests several ways in which the United States can start to create a similar society of E pluribus unum and mitigate some of the effects of polarization in contemporary American politics.