bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Will You Ever Become Popular? Learning to Predict Virality of Dance Clips
Authors: Wang Jiahao , Wang Yunhong , Weng Nina , Chai Tianrui , Li Annan , Zhang Faxi , Yu Sansi
Published: February 2022

Dance challenges are going viral in video communities like TikTok nowadays. Once a challenge becomes popular, thousands of short-form videos will be uploaded within a couple of days. Therefore, virality prediction from dance challenges is of great commercial value and has a wide range of applications, such as smart recommendation and popularity promotion. In this article, a novel multi-modal framework that integrates skeletal, holistic appearance, facial and scenic cues is proposed for comprehensive dance virality prediction. To model body movements, we propose a pyramidal skeleton graph convolutional network (PSGCN) that hierarchically refines spatio-temporal skeleton graphs. Meanwhile, we introduce a relational temporal convolutional network (RTCN) to exploit appearance dynamics with non-local temporal relations. An attentive fusion approach is finally proposed to adaptively aggregate predictions from different modalities. To validate our method, we introduce a large-scale viral dance video (VDV) dataset, which contains over 4,000 dance clips of eight viral dance challenges. Extensive experiments on the VDV dataset well demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. Furthermore, we show that short video applications such as multi-dimensional recommendation and action feedback can be derived from our model.
Deep Semantic and Attentive Network for Unsupervised Video Summarization
Authors: Zhong Sheng-Hua , Lin Jingxu , Lu Jianglin , Fares Ahmed , Ren Tongwei
Published: February 2022

With the rapid growth of video data, video summarization is a promising approach to shorten a lengthy video into a compact version. Although supervised summarization approaches have achieved state-of-the-art performance, they require frame-level annotated labels. Such an annotation process is time-consuming and tedious. In this article, we propose a novel deep summarization framework named
Deep Semantic and Attentive Network for Video Summarization
(DSAVS) that can select the most semantically representative summary by minimizing the distance between video representation and text representation without any frame-level labels. Another challenge associated with video summarization tasks mainly originates from the difficulty of considering temporal information over a long time. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) performs well for temporal dependencies modeling but does not work well with long video clips. Therefore, we introduce a self-attention mechanism into our summarization framework to capture the long-range temporal dependencies among the frames. Extensive experiments on two popular benchmark datasets, i.e., SumMe and TVSum, show that our proposed framework outperforms other state-of-the-art unsupervised approaches and even most supervised methods.
SADnet: Semi-supervised Single Image Dehazing Method Based on an Attention Mechanism
Authors: Sun Ziyi , Zhang Yunfeng , Bao Fangxun , Wang Ping , Yao Xunxiang , Zhang Caiming
Published: February 2022

Many real-life tasks such as military reconnaissance and traffic monitoring require high-quality images. However, images acquired in foggy or hazy weather pose obstacles to the implementation of these real-life tasks; consequently, image dehazing is an important research problem. To meet the requirements of practical applications, a single image dehazing algorithm has to be able to effectively process real-world hazy images with high computational efficiency. In this article, we present a fast and robust semi-supervised dehazing algorithm named SADnet for practical applications. SADnet utilizes both synthetic datasets and natural hazy images for training, so it has good generalizability for real-world hazy images. Furthermore, considering the uneven distribution of haze in the atmospheric environment, a Channel-Spatial Self-Attention (CSSA) mechanism is presented to enhance the representational power of the proposed SADnet. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the presented approach achieves good dehazing performances and competitive running times compared with other state-of-the-art image dehazing algorithms.
Music2Dance: DanceNet for Music-Driven Dance Generation
Authors: Zhuang Wenlin , Wang Congyi , Chai Jinxiang , Wang Yangang , Shao Ming , Xia Siyu
Published: February 2022

Synthesize human motions from music (i.e., music to dance) is appealing and has attracted lots of research interests in recent years. It is challenging because of the requirement for realistic and complex human motions for dance, but more importantly, the synthesized motions should be consistent with the style, rhythm, and melody of the music. In this article, we propose a novel autoregressive generative model, DanceNet, to take the style, rhythm, and melody of music as the control signals to generate 3D dance motions with high realism and diversity. Due to the high long-term spatio-temporal complexity of dance, we propose the dilated convolution to improve the receptive field, and adopt the gated activation unit as well as separable convolution to enhance the fusion of motion features and control signals. To boost the performance of our proposed model, we capture several synchronized music-dance pairs by professional dancers and build a high-quality music-dance pair dataset. Experiments have demonstrated that the proposed method can achieve state-of-the-art results.
A Computational Study of Using Black-box QR Solvers for Large-scale Sparse-dense Linear Least Squares Problems
Authors: Scott Jennifer , Tůma Miroslav
Published: February 2022

Large-scale overdetermined linear least squares problems arise in many practical applications. One popular solution method is based on the backward stable QR factorization of the system matrix
A
. This article focuses on sparse-dense least squares problems in which
A
is sparse except from a small number of rows that are considered dense. For large-scale problems, the direct application of a QR solver either fails because of insufficient memory or is unacceptably slow. We study several solution approaches based on using a sparse QR solver without modification, focussing on the case that the sparse part of
A
is rank deficient. We discuss partial matrix stretching and regularization and propose extending the augmented system formulation with iterative refinement for sparse problems to sparse-dense problems, optionally incorporating multi-precision arithmetic. In summary, our computational study shows that, before applying a black-box QR factorization, a check should be made for rows that are classified as dense and, if such rows are identified, then
A
should be split into sparse and dense blocks; a number of ways to use a black-box QR factorization to exploit this splitting are possible, with no single method found to be the best in all cases.
Extraction of Distribution Function of Relaxation Times by using Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm: A New Approach to Apply a Discretization Error Free Jacobian Matrix
Authors: Žic M. , Vlašić L. , Subotić V. , Pereverzyev S. , Fajfar I. , Kunaver M.
Published: February 2022

Nowadays, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy is attracting more attention due to an increasing production of power sources. One of highly popular tools to diagnose diverse power sources is Distribution Function of Relaxation Times (DRT). Because of that, there are numerous approaches to extract DRT from impedance data. The majority of them are based on the numerical approximation of integral. However, herein we have applied an analytical approximation of the EIS integral. For the first time, we have employed Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm (LMA) to extract the applicable DRT from impedance data by using the Jacobian matrix that was obtained without any discretization errors. Although LMA was previously used to fit EIS data by DRT characteristics, the DRT profile was not applicable due to discretization errors. In this work, LMA was applied as it has an automatic update of the regularization (λ) parameter. The tests conducted in this work have shown that LMA is capable of extracting DRT from ZARC and FRAC synthetic data.
Application of Finite Element Modeling to Macro-Galvanic Coupling of AA7050 and SS316: Validation Using the Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique
Authors: Charles-Granville Utibe-Eno , Marshall Rebecca S. , Moraes Carolina V. , Glover Carol F. , Scully John R. , Kelly Robert G.
Published: February 2022

The scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) was utilized to experimentally validate the applicability of finite element modeling (FEM) in simulating macro-galvanic-induced corrosion of AA7050 coupled to SS316, in environments representative of the boldly exposed surface of an actual fastener couple. The FEM boundary conditions were modified from the SVET environments in which the AA7050-SS316 couple sample was initially exposed, in order to better represent the steady-state corroding surface of the localized corrosion-prone AA7050. Better agreements between the SVET-derived data and the model in the case of macro-galvanic coupling behavior were achieved for near-neutral conditions, compared to acidic conditions. The current density at the electrode/electrolyte interface was determined with the validated model. In addition, the percent difference between the measured current density at the SVET probe height and that at the electrode surface was observed to scale with the magnitude of current density at the electrode surface, with the largest discrepancy seen at the galvanic couple interface. Plausible reasons for the deviation of the model predictions from the SVET-derived data are discussed.
Exercise mitigates the Toll of muscle atrophy: a narrative review of the effects of exercise on Toll-like receptor-4 in leukocytes and skeletal muscle
Authors: Ducharme Jeremy B. , McKenna Zachary J. , Deyhle Michael R.
Published: February 2022

Conditions characterized by muscle wasting such as cachexia and sarcopenia are devastating at the individual level, and they place a profound burden on public health. Evidence suggests that inflammation is likely a mechanistic contributor to the pathogenesis of these conditions. One specific molecule, lipopolysaccharide, has gained attention due to its role in initiating inflammation. Toll-like receptor-4 is the primary receptor for lipopolysaccharide and has been shown to be implicit in the downstream proinflammatory response associated with lipopolysaccharide. Importantly, Toll-like receptor-4 is expressed in various cell types throughout the human body such as leukocytes and skeletal muscle fibers and may have site-specific effects that contribute to muscle wasting conditions based on the location in which activation occurs. Accordingly, reducing proinflammatory signaling at these locations may be an effective strategy at mitigating muscle wasting. Regular exercise training is believed to elicit anti-inflammatory adaptations, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are yet to be fully understood. Understanding the mechanisms by which Toll-like receptor-4 activation contributes to muscle wasting and how exercise affects this may allow for the development of a nonpharmacological therapeutic intervention. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the current understanding of the lipopolysaccharide/Toll-like receptor-4 axis in leukocytes and skeletal muscle fibers on the pathogenesis of muscle wasting conditions and we critically examine the current evidence regarding the effects of exercise on this axis.
Diet-Induced High Serum Levels of Trimethylamine-N-oxide Enhance the Cellular Inflammatory Response without Exacerbating Acute Intracerebral Hemorrhage Injury in Mice
Authors: Li Caizhen , Zhu Li , Dai Yinming , Zhang Zhiying , Huang Leo , Wang Tom J. , Fu Peiji , Li Yinuo , Wang Jian , Jiang Chao
Published: February 2022

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), an intestinal flora metabolite of choline, may aggravate atherosclerosis by inducing a chronic inflammatory response and thereby promoting the occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases. Knowledge about the influence of TMAO-related inflammatory response on the pathological process of acute stroke is limited. This study was designed to explore the effects of TMAO on neuroinflammation, brain injury severity, and long-term neurologic function in mice with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We fed mice with either a regular chow diet or a chow diet supplemented with 1.2% choline pre- and post-ICH. In this study, we measured serum levels of TMAO with ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry at 24 h and 72 h post-ICH. The expression level of P38-mitogen-protein kinase (P38-MAPK), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), high-mobility group box1 protein (HMGB1), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) around hematoma was examined by western blotting at 24 h. Microglial and astrocyte activation and neutrophil infiltration were examined at 72 h. The lesion was examined on days 3 and 28. Neurologic deficits were examined for 28 days. A long-term choline diet significantly increased serum levels of TMAO compared with a regular diet at 24 h and 72 h after sham operation or ICH. Choline diet-induced high serum levels of TMAO did not enhance the expression of P38-MAPK, MyD88, HMGB1, or IL-1β at 24 h. However, it did increase the number of activated microglia and astrocytes around the hematoma at 72 h. Contrary to our expectations, it did not aggravate acute or long-term histologic damage or neurologic deficits after ICH. In summary, choline diet-induced high serum levels of TMAO increased the cellular inflammatory response probably by activating microglia and astrocytes. However, it did not aggravate brain injury or worsen long-term neurologic deficits. Although TMAO might be a potential risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases, this exploratory study did not support that TMAO is a promising target for ICH therapy.
Analytical Study on Surface Settlement Troughs Induced by the Sequential Excavation of Adjacent and Parallel Tunnels in Layered Soils
Authors: Dong Cong , Lin Jian , Cao Guangyong , Cheng Hua , Shi Linlin , Zhang Xiaohui
Published: February 2022

In this paper, the settlement troughs induced by the excavation of adjacent and parallel tunnels in layered soils were studied. Firstly, a trough width parameter calculation method in layered soils was established based on the propagation model of the plastic zone and unloading disturbance zone. Secondly, the mechanism of the superposition disturbance between parallel tunnels is analyzed, and a method for calculating additional settlement trough is proposed. Finally, the applicability of the proposed model was demonstrated with two case studies of the parallel tunnels. The following conclusions were obtained: the difference of soil properties in layered soils had a significant influence on the width parameter of surface settlement trough; a Gaussian curve can describe the additional settlement caused by superimposed disturbance; and finally, the relationship between the ground loss induced by superposition disturbance and the ground loss induced by the preceding tunnel was approximately linear. The model presented in this paper is highly effective and convenient for use in practice and extends the calculation method of surface settlement trough based on the Gaussian curve.
Block of Proliferation 1 Promotes Proliferation, Invasion and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transformation in Gastric Cancer
Authors: He Jing , Chen Ziwei , Xue Qingfeng , Shi Wenyu
Published: February 2022

Background. Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide nowadays. Block of proliferation 1 (BOP1), a nucleolar protein involved in rRNA processing and ribosome assembly, is associated with tumor development in certain cancers of digestive system. Therefore, we hypothesized that BOP1 might play an important role in gastric cancer development. Methods. Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used to identify the differentially expressed genes and their clinical relevance. qPCR and western blot were performed further to examine the levels of BOP1 mRNA and protein, respectively. Cell viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion were investigated in gastric cancer cell lines with BOP1 silencing or overexpression. The epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated proteins, including E-cadherin and N-cadherin, were measured using immunoblotting. Finally, the downstream pathway of BOP1 were explored using bioinformatic analysis and qPCR. Results. BOP1 was found up-regulated in gastric tumor tissues compared with paired normal tissues (P < 0.0001). Its expression was associated with more advanced pathological grades (P = 0.0006) and tumor location (P = 0.002), as well as a poor survival (HR 1.27, P = 0.015). BOP1 expression was increased in 4 kind of tumor cell lines compared with the normal group. The overexpression of BOP1 promoted cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis, while silencing BOP1 showed a reversed trend. Immunoblotting results suggested that BOP enhanced N-cadherin, a mesenchymal marker, while reduced E-cadherin, an epithelial marker. Finally, bioinformatic prediction showed that the cell cycle could be a downstream pathway of BOP1. Conclusions. The present study demonstrated that BOP1 contributed to the development of gastric cancer by promoting proliferation, invasion and epithelial mesenchymal transformation, which could be a biomarker or therapeutic target in GC.
A Hybrid Mobile Robot Path Planning Scheme Based on Modified Gray Wolf Optimization and Situation Assessment
Authors: Liu Yilun , Li Xiaoming
Published: February 2022

To better solve the problems associated with optimal pathfinding and dynamic obstacle avoidance in the path planning of mobile robots, a hybrid path planning scheme combining modified gray wolf optimization (MGWO) and situation assessment mechanism is proposed. Firstly, a MGWO algorithm is proposed to plan a global path. Secondly, different situational factors for robots in different regions are extracted from the fusion results of 2D laser measurements and image data, and a Bayesian network model of robot action selection is established. Then, the situational factors of the robot are used as evidence for reasoning. Based on the posterior probability value in the inference result, the grid to be moved is selected and the traveling direction of the robot is adjusted in order to take advantage of both global path planning and local dynamic obstacle avoidance. The simulation results show that the proposed MGWO has better optimization performance. When combined with a situation assessment mechanism, it realizes dynamic obstacle avoidance while keeping the path length as short as possible.
Classification of Fault Severity in Induction Machine Systems Based on Temporal Convolutions and Recurrent Networks
Authors: Mashayekhi V. , Hasani Borzadaran S. , Hoseintabar Marzebali M.
Published: February 2022

Detection and severity identification of mechanical and electrical faults by means of noninvasive methods such as electrical signatures of induction machine have attracted much attention in recent years. Since operating conditions of machines and severity of faults in incipient stages influence the amplitude of fault index in the fault detection process, diagnosing fault occurrence and severity can be more complicated. In this study, an efficient method for fault detection and classification in induction machine based on deep neural networks is introduced. The introduced method applies the long short-term memory (LSTM) and fully convolutional neural networks (FCNs) in a conjoined manner. The authors use the FCN architecture for feature extraction from the time-series signal and augment it with LSTM to improve classification performance. This structure has not been previously applied for fault severity detection in induction machine systems. The authors avoid manual feature engineering and, by eliminating the preprocessing phase, directly use time series of electrical signals for fault detection and classifications. The experimental results have been carried out in different fault severities and loads. The analysis of the results and comparison with other deep and classical methods show that the faulty cases can be separated based on severity and load levels with a high accuracy (98.92%), which shows that the adopted architecture is successful in automatically extracting discriminative features from the signal.
Comparative Analysis of Selected Concrete Mix Design Methods Based on Cost‐Effectiveness
Authors: Demissew Abebe
Published: February 2022

Concrete is an amalgamated material that is composed of coarse granular materials embedded in a hard matrix of material that fills the void among the aggregate particles and binds them together. Concrete ingredients have to be properly classified and proportioned to build a mix that will be economical as well as meet the minimum requirements of functionality, safety, and economics. For this, there should be appropriate proportioning or mixing methods to arrive at the right combination of ingredients for making concrete according to the given specifications. Due to this, this study was intended to conduct a comparative analysis among selected concrete mix design methods, American Concrete Institute (ACI), British Department of Energy (DOE), Ethiopian Building Code of Standards (EBCS), and Indian standards (IS), by using experimental investigation for normal concrete production, focusing on cost‐effectiveness. The concrete ingredients’ physical properties were compared as a requirement, and concrete mechanical properties were examined as per the method of concrete mix design on the 7th, 14th, and 28th days of curing. The experimental result of compressive strength for those selected concrete mix design methods with the 7th, 14th, and 28th ages has fulfilled the desire for concrete strength. However, on the 28th day of curing, compressive strength results of ACI, DOE, EBCS, and IS methods were achieved at 133.68%, 121.04%, 124.56%, and 121.04%, respectively. On the one hand, regarding the material of concrete consumption, the EBCS, DOE, and ACI methods were cast‐off in an excess amount (52.2 kg/m3, 40 kg/m3, and 20 kg/m3) of cement, respectively, concerning the IS method. But the IS method was consuming 300 kg of cement per m3 of concrete. Finally, it is concluded that the result of the compressive strength test after 28 days showed that the specimens prepared using the mixing proportions obtained from the ACI standard met the extreme compressive strength requirement more than the other methods. On the other hand, the ACI, DOE, and EBCS methods are the most expensive to absorb an excessive quantity of cement when compared to the IS method. However, the overall result showed that the concrete designed as per the IS method is relatively easy to work with and cost‐effective for developing countries such as Ethiopia for the production of normal grade concerts.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): The Effects of the Need to Belong, Perceived Centrality, and Fear of Social Exclusion
Authors: Alabri Amna
Published: February 2022

“Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) is an all-consuming feeling that is associated with mental and emotional stress. Such strains are caused by a compulsive concern that one is missing an opportunity for a socially rewarding experience often spotted on social media networks. While several personality and psychological factors have been empirically validated as correlated with FOMO, so far, little research has examined the effects of perceived group centrality (i.e., the extent to which group members feel included in the group) and fear of social exclusion on FOMO. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the mechanism that links these socially driven factors and the need to belong with social media use and, consequently, FOMO, using structural equation modeling. A total of 490 college students (

mean
 
age
=
20.56
,
SD
=
1.44

) completed a self-reported questionnaire that included measures of FOMO, the need to belong, social media use, perceived centrality, and fear of social exclusion. The need to belong emerged as the best predictor of FOMO, increasing it both directly and indirectly through the significant mediation of social media use. Females reported a greater need to belong and consequently more FOMO. Females also reported greater use of social media and greater perceived group centrality. Perceived centrality increased FOMO through social media use, but this indirect effect was not significant.
Application of a Knowledge, Attitude, Belief, and Practice Model in Pain Management of Patients with Acute Traumatic Fractures and Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Dong Ying , Gao Hui , Jin Zheyu , Zhu Jue , Yu Hao , Jiang Yingqing , Zou Jun
Published: February 2022

Objective. To evaluate the outcome of a knowledge, attitude, belief, and practice mode (KABP) in the pain management in patients with acute traumatic fractures complicated with alcohol dependence. Methods. Twenty-nine alcohol-dependent male patients with acute traumatic fractures and who received surgical treatment between January 2019 and December 2020 were included in this retrospective case-control study. The age range was 30–65 years (average 50.03 ± 7.94). Fracture Type. Six cases of spinal burst fractures and 23 cases of limb trauma fractures. Ten patients were treated with routine nursing (control group), and 19 patients were treated with pain management in KABP mode (experimental group). The control group received traditional pain care, including the conventional numerical rating scale (NRS) pain score system, with focus on symptomatic treatment. On this basis, the experimental group managed pain using KABP, including cognitive behavioral intervention, optimization programs, modification of personal beliefs, and behavior patterns. NRS, self-rated anxiety/depression scale (SAS), and quality of life (SF-36) scale were applied at admission, 1 day before surgery, and 3 months after surgery. Results. The perioperative NRS score of the KABP group was lower than that of the control group, and the postoperative anxiety levels improved. Discharge satisfaction was significantly higher than that in the control group (

p
<
0.05

). There were behaviors promoting health in the experimental group, and five patients expressed abstinence behavior after discharge (

p
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Patients with alcohol dependence represents a unique set of cases for perioperative pain management. To ensure patient safety, individualized pain management through the application of KABP can significantly reduce postoperative pain and promote the generation of healthy behaviors in patients.
Teaching Mode Based on Educational Big Data Mining and Digital Twins
Authors: Zhou Xueyun , Wu Xinling
Published: February 2022

Data mining technology has gradually become an important data analysis and knowledge discovery technology widely used in many modern industries. Data mining is a technique to find its regularity from a large amount of data by analyzing each data. It mainly includes three steps: data preparation, regularity search, and regularity representation. Data preparation is to select the required data from relevant data sources and integrate them into a data set for data mining; regular search is to find out the regularity contained in the data set by a certain method; regular expression is to be as user-readable as possible. The way of understanding (such as visualization) will represent the found patterns. This research mainly discusses the improvement of teaching mode based on digital twin-based education big data mining. Through the research on the basic principles of data mining and digital twin technology, the student evaluation tool module based on digital twin and the relevant data analysis tool module of students based on digital twin education big data mining are developed. Data mining is carried out from the data of student performance, personal basic information, and evaluation information to find the correlation between various factors, find the hidden laws, and provide support for teaching decision-making. This paper also solves the problem of frequent communication with remote databases according to the characteristics of the database data required by students and improves the efficiency and scalability of education big data mining technology based on digital twins. The goal of the virtual interactive system of the digital twin-based CNC platform is to have both three-dimensional real-time monitoring and remote control functions based on a three-dimensional virtual CNC panel. This research integrates the three-dimensional real-time monitoring and remote control of the virtual interactive system, analyzes the system operation process, develops the system interface, and improves the system sub-functions; it builds an experimental environment, conducts example tests on various functions of the digital twin platform virtual interactive system, and performs virtual interactions system performance indicators are analyzed. 60% of students believe that their innovation ability has been improved after the implementation of the digital twin teaching model; 50% of students believe that their self-evaluation ability has been improved. Applying digital twin’s educational big data mining to student information management, university teaching evaluation, student performance analysis, and examination system, it has played a very good guiding role in improving the level of school teaching management.
Sex Determination in Nematode Germ Cells
Authors: Ellis Ronald E.
Published: February 2022

Background: Animal germ cells differentiate as sperm or as oocytes. These sexual fates are controlled by complex regulatory pathways to ensure that the proper gametes are made at the appropriate times. Summary: Nematodes like Caenorhabditis elegans and its close relatives are ideal models for studying how this regulation works, because the XX animals are self-fertile hermaphrodites that produce both sperm and oocytes. In these worms, germ cells use the same signal transduction pathway that functions in somatic cells. This pathway determines the activity of the transcription factor TRA-1, a Gli protein that can repress male genes. However, the pathway is extensively modified in germ cells, largely by the action of translational regulators like the PUF proteins. Many of these modifications play critical roles in allowing the XX hermaphrodites to make sperm in an otherwise female body. Finally, TRA-1 cooperates with chromatin regulators in the germ line to control the activity of fog-1 and fog-3, which are essential for spermatogenesis. FOG-1 and FOG-3 work together to determine germ cell fates by blocking the translation of oogenic transcripts. Key Messages: Although there is great diversity in how germ cell fates are controlled in other animals, many of the key nematode genes are conserved, and the critical role of translational regulators may be universal.
Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Decline before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the PA-COVID Survey
Authors: Amieva Helene , Retuerto Noelia , Hernandez-Ruiz Virgilio , Meillon Céline , Dartigues Jean-François , Pérès Karine
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Even though several studies reported good resilience capacities in older adults in the first period of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, in the long run, social isolation induced by the protective measures adopted by most countries may negatively impact cognitive functioning. Taking the advantage of measures collected up to 15 years before the pandemic in participants followed up in epidemiological studies, we compared cognitive decline before and after the start of the pandemic. Methods: PA-COVID is a phone survey designed in the framework of ongoing population-based studies (PAQUID, 3-City, Approche Multidisciplinaire Intégrée cohorts). Data on social functioning and mental health were collected in participants aged 80 years and older during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the participants followed up in the prospective studies completed the Mini-Mental State Examination. During the PA-COVID survey, they underwent the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. A score was computed with the 11 items shared by the 2 tests. Our analysis was carried out in the participants for whom a cognitive measure was available up to 15 years before the pandemic and during the pandemic (n = 263). Results: Compared to the slow decline of the cognitive subscore observed during the 15 years preceding the pandemic, mixed models showed an acceleration of decline after the start of the pandemic (β = −0.289, p value <0.001). Conclusions: With a design allowing comparing cognitive trajectory before and after the pandemic, this is the first study reporting an accelerated decline in older adults. Future COVID research in older adults will need to pay special attention to cognitive outcomes.
Novel Adipokines CTRP1, CTRP9, and FGF21 in Pediatric Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Authors: Arking Alexander , Sarver Dylan C. , Magge Sheela N. , Wong G. William , Wolf Risa M.
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Pediatric obesity and diabetes has increased over the last several decades. While the role of common adipokines on metabolic parameters has been well studied in adults, the relationship of novel adipokines and hepatokines in pediatric type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well understood. This study assessed novel adipokines C1q/TNF-related proteins (CTRP1 and CTRP9), and hepatokine fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) in youth with T1D and T2D diabetes. Methods: Participants (n = 80) with T1D (n = 40) enrolled in the Pediatric Diabetes Consortium (PDC) T1D NeOn registry, and T2D (n = 40) from the PDC T2D registry. Cross-sectional analysis compared adipokines (CTRP1, CTRP9, FGF21) between T1D and T2D, and regression models assessed adipokine relationship with clinical characteristics. Results: The mean age of the participants was 14.9 ± 2 years, and 50% were female. T2D participants had a shorter diabetes duration (p = 0.0009), higher weight (p < 0.0001), and BMI (p < 0.0001) than T1D participants. CTRP9 levels were higher in T1D (13,903.6 vs. 3,608.5 pg/mL, p = 0.04) than T2D, and FGF21 levels were higher in T2D (113.1 vs. 70.6 pg/mL, p = 0.03) than T1D, with no differences in CTRP1. In regression analysis of T1D, CTRP9 was positively associated with C-peptide (p = 0.006), and FGF21 was positively associated with hemoglobin A1c (p = 0.04). In T2D, CTRP1 was positively associated with HbA1c (p < 0.001) and glucose (p = 0.004), even after controlling for age, sex, and BMI. Conclusions: CTRP9 levels are higher in youth with T1D compared to T2D, and FGF21 levels are higher in youth with T2D than T1D. Novel adipokines are related to metabolic homeostasis in the inflammatory milieu of pediatric diabetes.
Estressores ocupacionais e acidentes de trabalho entre trabalhadores da saúde
Authors: Gomes Mariana Rabelo , Araújo Tânia Maria de , Soares Jorgana Fernanda de Souza , Sousa Camila Carvalho de , Lua Iracema
Published: February 2022

OBJETIVO Testar associação entre estressores ocupacionais e acidentes de trabalho por exposição a material biológico (ATbio) em trabalhadores da saúde, considerando a análise isolada e combinada das dimensões de dois modelos, o modelo demanda-controle (MDC) e o modelo de desequilíbrio esforço-recompensa (ERI). MÉTODOS Estudo de corte transversal em amostra representativa de trabalhadores de nível superior, técnico, médio, incluindo agentes de saúde de unidades da atenção básica e média complexidade em cinco cidades da Bahia. Selecionou-se amostragem aleatória, estratificada por área geográfica, nível de complexidade do serviço e ocupação. A variável desfecho foi ATbio; a exposição principal foram os estressores ocupacionais, avaliados pelo MDC e ERI. As incidências e os riscos relativos foram estimados em função do caráter agudo, de curta duração, do desfecho de interesse. Testaram-se associações entre ATbio e as dimensões do MDC e ERI isolados e combinados. RESULTADOS Participaram do estudo 3.084 trabalhadores. A incidência global de ATbio foi de 3,4% e mostrou-se associada a alta demanda psicológica, alto esforço e alto comprometimento com o trabalho, com ajuste por sexo, idade, escolaridade e turno de trabalho. Trabalho de alta exigência e situação de desequilíbrio entre esforços e recompensas estavam associados aos ATbio. Com a combinação dos modelos, observou-se incremento da medida de associação com o desfecho. As associações significantes e de maior magnitude foram observadas nos modelos combinados completos. O risco de ATbio foi 5,23 vezes maior entre os expostos em ambos os modelos completos em comparação com a ausência de exposição nos dois modelos. CONCLUSÕES Estressores ocupacionais mostraram-se associados aos ATbio. Observaram-se vantagens no uso dos modelos combinados. A abordagem de diferentes dimensões psicossociais ampliou a capacidade de identificação de grupos expostos, oferecendo base sólida para intervenções de prevenção dos ATbio em saúde.
Mortuary Ceramics and Social Organization in The Dawenkou and Majiayao Cultures
Authors: Allard Francis
Published: February 2022

Although significant advances in the study and interpretation of burials have been made over recent decades, archaeologists have also pointed to some of the pitfalls associated with trying to reconstruct past social organization from burial evidence. A long-term perspective that focuses on the non-utilitarian component of ceramic assemblages in the graves can address some of these concerns. This approach is used to examine and compare the mortuary practices of two Neolithic cultures in China, namely the Dawenkou Culture (ca. late fifth to mid-third millennium BC) and the Majiayao Culture (ca. mid-fourth to late third millennium BC). It is found that the non-utilitarian components of their mortuary ceramic assemblages differ markedly from one another. Dawenkou Culture burials are characterized by the increasing diversification over time of the ceramic assemblages and by the prominence of stylistically elaborate goblets and serving dishes. Such trends, it is argued, suggest a need for varied social interaction as a means of gaining and maintaining status and power. In contrast, Majiayao Culture burials are marked by the limited diversification of the ceramic assemblages over time and by the emerging prominence of large painted storage jars, suggesting that storage and redistribution may have played an important role in the structuration of society. Resulting in competitive emulation, this latter strategy provides competing elites with few opportunities to expand their power base.
Mobbing behaviour in non-breeding flocks of a passerine bird in northern Patagonia
Authors: Ippi Silvina , Bravo Camila , Botero-Delgadillo Esteban , Poulin Elie , Vásquez Rodrigo A.
Published: February 2022

Animal cooperation occurs in both genetically related and unrelated groups of individuals, involving costs and benefits that have not been fully elucidated. For example, risky behaviour such as mobbing a predator would be selected if participants are genetic relatives because they share a fraction of their gene pool (i.e., kin selection or indirect benefits). However, in the absence of genetic relatedness, benefits can be achieved by direct benefits such as reciprocity or mutualism, among others. In this study we analyzed the cooperative mobbing behaviour in winter flocks of an endemic passerine of the austral temperate forests, the Thorn-tailed rayadito (Aphrastura spinicauda). We first tested whether the probability of and the latency to mobbing response differed depending on the acoustic stimulus perceived by the flock (i.e., conspecific mobbing calls vs. predator calls), and whether the intensity of the mobbing was related to the number of individuals and species participating. We found that flocks were more likely to approach the predator when the acoustic signal was a conspecific mobbing call than when it was the predator’s call, and that the intensity of mobbing increased with the number of participants. Secondly, we explored if the level of kinship within the group potentially played a role in the development of the mobbing behaviour. The proportion of close-relatives found in these flocks was low, and the within- and among-flock degree of kinship did not differ. This suggests that kin selection might not be related with the expression of mobbing behaviour in winter flocks.
Verbal Construction of Destination Image through Tourists’ Word of Mouth with Guilin as a Reference for Destinations in China and around the World
Authors: Zhu Jianbin , Xia Jiangshan , Zhang Shuanghua
Published: February 2022

The discursive construction of strong and favorable destination image has been a recent topic of discussion in both discourse and tourism studies. Aiming at unpacking what image has been constructed about Guilin as a typical scenery destination in China, this study conducts a corpus based quantitative discourse analysis on tourists’ word of mouth data about Guilin. Specifically, drawing on the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model, this study conducts topic-based sentiment analyses on topics in online travelers’ review data to detect their sentiments and attitudes. Results indicate that international tourists, on the whole regard Guilin as an attractive destination in China with beautiful scenery, exciting river cruise and many other attractions, but improvements are still needed to boost the cost performance of traveling in Guilin. These findings are expected to provide useful insights for the development of tourist attractions in Guilin and in other similar scenery attractions around Asian and Africa as well, the promotion and marketing of their images as an international tourist destination, as well as the improvement of managerial practice. The methods proposed in the current study can also be used to analyze discursive construction of image in language big data in future studies.
The Western Appropriation of Syriac as a “Kabbalistic Language” by Later Christian Kabbalists
Authors: Vileno Anna M.
Published: February 2022

The article demonstrates that the knowledge of the Syriac language in Western Europe first developed amongst Christian scholars with a strong interest in Kabbalah and that they attributed a mystical dimension to the Syriac language that was not associated with it before. After a survey of the first authors that played a significant role in shaping the appropriation of Syriac as a mystical language (Teseo Ambrogio, Postel, Widmanstetter), I show that the newly discovered last work of Christian Knorr von Rosenroth constitutes the climax of that movement. The study of the later reception of Knorr’s work in modern occultism indicates that the Syriac language was eclipsed by the renewed favor of Hebrew language, considered as the magical and mystical language par excellence.
The Discursive Side of Sociological Institutionalism in the Study of Religion
Authors: Qadir Ali , Alasuutari Pertti
Published: February 2022

This article introduces sociological institutionalism and proposes a discursive addition for enhancing its utility for the study of religion. The article reviews neoinstitutionalist social theorizing and underlines its argument that agentic actorhood is constituted by and embedded in a world-spanning culture. We point out that the potential of this line of scholarship for the study of religion remains unexplored partly because it does not say much about the actual discursive practices that motivate actors to behave in concrete situations. We illustrate how a discursive approach to sociological institutionalism can fill this gap by highlighting the relational context that all actors intuitively take account of. We then offer a brief programmatic agenda for the study of religion under the rubric of epistemic governance, indicating the potential for new theoretical insights into the category of religion, some methodological implications, and empirical studies.
The Islamic Finance Contract between Indifference, Recharacterisation, and Invalidation: A Look at the Judicial Trends in Light of Economic and Regulatory Backgrounds in Egypt, Kuwait, and Oman
Authors: Azmy Hussein M.
Published: February 2022

Despite the prominent role that the Islamic faith plays in shaping the social and regulatory aspects of Arab countries and the constitutional recognition of Islamic law (Sharīʿah) as a main source of legislation in most of these countries, judicial precedents regarding Islamic finance contracts remain scarce in the Arab world. This article sheds light on the judicial treatment of the validity and characterisation of Islamic finance contracts. It examines the economic and regulatory backgrounds of the Islamic finance industry in Egypt, Kuwait, and Oman. This examination provides a necessary prelude to the article’s discussion of the Islamic finance contract from jurisprudential and regulatory standpoints. It also provides a foundation for the analysis of noteworthy judicial precedents on the validity and characterisation of the Islamic finance contract. Following such analysis, this article makes recommendations to enhance the regulatory and judicial appreciation for the distinctiveness of Islamic finance.
City Diplomacy: An Introduction to the Forum
Authors: Amiri Sohaela
Published: February 2022

Whilst city diplomacy as a topic of study is gaining more attention, the practice is often approached through fields other than the study of diplomacy or international relations. A commonly accepted framework, and the governance system that supports it, is missing to shape research and scholarship. This forum outlines the key parameters of a framework for city diplomacy rooted in earlier research and validated through five essays by geographically and professionally diverse authors. The framework introduced in this introduction structured the direction of the essays that are informed by academic research and by practitioners. The essays also propose policies and strategies to make city diplomacy more systematically and officially integrated into global affairs.
#HandsoffEthiopia: ‘Partiality’, Polarization and Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict
Authors: Fisher Jonathan
Published: February 2022

Over a year since the outbreak of war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, the fighting continues. Indeed, the conflict theatre has now expanded considerably, with devastating consequences for many Ethiopians. With atrocities committed by all sides and a profound humanitarian crisis underway, the conflict currently stands as testament to the emptiness of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) commitments made by states and organisations across the world. This essay highlights two problematiques the Tigray conflict, and its consequences, raise for supporters and practitioners of R2P. The first relates to the relationships between R2P, social media access and governance, the second the ease with which R2P calls by Western actors especially can intersect with domestic discourses around cynical, untrustworthy and disingenuous outsiders. This is particularly so in a region where Western agendas have traditionally focused on their own geo-strategic and security concerns. Both, it is suggested, have served to reinforce the positions of the respective belligerents, making peace – sadly – a more distant prospect.
Sense Data: The Sensible Approach
Authors: García-Carpintero Manuel
Published: February 2022

In this paper, I present a version of a sense-data approach to perception, which differs to a certain extent from well-known versions like the one put forward by Jackson. I compare the sense-data view to the currently most popular alternative theories of perception, the so-called Theory of Appearing (a very specific form of disjunctivist approaches) on the one hand and reductive representationalist approaches on the other. I defend the sense-data approach on the basis that it improves substantially on those alternative theories.