bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vitamins and other immune-supportive elements as cofactors for passing the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Saeed Haitham , Osama Hasnaa , Abdelrahman Mona A. , Madney Yasmin M. , Harb Hadeer S. , Abdelrahim Mohamed E. A. , Ali Fatma
Published: October 2021

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease that causes a respiratory disorder, started in December of 2019 in China. Several vitamins and trace elements could help in enhancing host immunity producing antioxidant or anti-inflammatory action. This work aimed to identify the role of different nutrition, vitamins, and trace elements on the immunity status of the infected subject and the possibility of the beneficial role of these elements in the management of COVID-19.

Main body

After collecting (PubMed, scholar, OVID, Embase, Cochrane Library) and investigating published articles, testing the effect of these elements on viral infection, it was found that most of these elements have a significant role during viral infection through a different mechanism, like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulation. Nutritional interventions in COVID-19 infections are very important currently, and it was reported that vitamin C and D reduce the risk of acute respiratory infections. In addition, low vitamin A diets compromise the effectiveness of inactivated bovine coronavirus vaccines. Administration of N-acetyl cysteine showed a beneficial inhibitory effect in viral infections and enhanced glutathione production. The deficiency of selenium on COVID-19 subjects has a significant impact on the clinical outcome of the subjects. In addition, supplementation with vitamins proved to enhance immune response during viral infection. Vitamins and trace elements not only showed a beneficial effect but also Omega 3 fatty acids showed an immunomodulating effect during infections.

Short conclusions

Assessment of levels for these trace elements at the baseline and providing supplementation containing different vitamins and elements could result in better control and clinical outcomes in the case of COVID-19.
Mycorrhizal impact on Ocimum basilicum grown under drought stress
Authors: Abd-Elghany Shaimaa E. , Moustafa Attaya A. , Gomaa Nasr H. , Hamed Badr-eldin A.
Published: October 2021

Background

Ocimum basilicumwas grown under three levels of drought stress (100% Field capacity, 70% Field capacity, and 40% Field capacity). Half of the plants were inoculated with Arbuscular mycorrhiza and the other half was not inoculated. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were applied to improve plant growth and to alleviate drought stress on sweet basil.

Results

Drought Couse inhibition in the colonization of Arbuscular mycorrhiza, reduction in plant growth, decrease stomatal size increase stomatal density, a decline in soluble carbohydrates, accumulation of amino acids, proline, and glycine betaine, and reduction in some minerals such as P, K, and Na.

Conclusions

The effect of drought was alleviated by the application of inoculation with Arbuscular mycorrhiza.
Detecting the nation-based characteristics of industries in the global input-output network of networks
Authors: An Feng , Wu Sen , Gao Xiangyun , Stanley H. Eugene
Published: October 2021

Under the influence of national policies, development plans, and subsidies, industries from the same nation perform similarly and inherit a part of their nations' characteristics. Unlike the one-layer input-output network that treats industries as isolated, our model treats industries from the same nation as a relative tight community. Thus, the characteristics of industries are inherited from their nation, which is defined as the nation-based characteristics. To accurately account for the nation-based contributions of each industry, we construct a global input-output NoN (network of networks) model. The global input-output NoN is transformed from the international input-output tables based on hypermatrices and the network of networks model. Based on the global input-output NoN, we propose six nation-based indexes to assess different aspects of industries' nation-based contributions. Our network model and nation-based indexes are applied on the international input-output tables from 2010 to 2015. We confirm the applicability of our model and discover several interesting findings. Overall, the most important one is that some nonmanufacturing industries (e.g., health, education, and public administration) may be more critical than some significant manufacturing industries.
Tokens of Love
Authors: Mascetti Yaakov A.
Published: October 2021

The third and final installment of this book-length contribution to the Common Knowledge symposium “Contextualism—the Next Generation” treats two further writers in seventeenth-century England whose work is not representative of any stance or discourse that contextualist historians have recognized as available in that era. In Aemelia Lanyer's poetry, we find a resistance to established perspectives that is related to her sense that divine signification is always incomplete and that, therefore, the diffidence of female cognition is superior, when approaching religious texts, to the assertive mentality that she associates with men. Despite his sex, however, and his reputation for theological and political radicalism, Milton too explicitly contends that the interpretation of scripture should always be “non-committal” because its signification is always incomplete. The “very magnitude” of the “great mystery” of the Incarnation, Milton argues in De Doctrina Christiana, should encourage the reader's mind to stand on “guard from the outset” against the tendency to make “rash or hasty assertions.” The urge to tamper with, pry into, add to, or hasten to understand the signifiers of divine meaning is shown, in Paradise Lost, to be the original sin of the first human couple. As much as for Lanyer, then, sex is for Milton bound up with hermeneutics—and, for both poets, the individual's relationship with God is a consuming passion, about which one may report a phenomenology of affects but can offer no contentions or arguments.
FAM71F1 binds to RAB2A and RAB2B and is essential for acrosome formation and male fertility in mice
Authors: Morohoshi Akane , Miyata Haruhiko , Oyama Yuki , Oura Seiya , Noda Taichi , Ikawa Masahito
Published: October 2021

The acrosome is a cap-shaped, Golgi-derived membranous organelle that is located over the anterior of the sperm nucleus and highly conserved throughout evolution. Although morphological changes during acrosome biogenesis in spermatogenesis have been well described, the molecular mechanism underlying this process is still largely unknown. Family with sequence similarity 71, member F1 and F2 (FAM71F1 and FAM71F2) are testis-enriched proteins that contain a RAB2B-binding domain, a small GTPase involved in vesicle transport and membrane trafficking. Here, by generating mutant mice for each gene, we found that Fam71f1 is essential for male fertility. In Fam71f1-mutant mice, the acrosome was abnormally expanded at the round spermatid stage, likely because of enhanced vesicle trafficking. Mass spectrometry analysis after immunoprecipitation indicated that, in testes, FAM71F1 binds not only RAB2B, but also RAB2A. Further study suggested that FAM71F1 binds to the GTP-bound active form of RAB2A/B, but not the inactive form. These results indicate that a complex of FAM71F1 and active RAB2A/B suppresses excessive vesicle trafficking during acrosome formation.
Local Protectionism, Market Structure, and Social Welfare: China’s Automobile Market
Authors: Barwick Panle Jia , Cao Shengmao , Li Shanjun
Published: October 2021

This study documents the presence of local protectionism and quantifies its impacts on market competition and social welfare in the context of China’s automobile market. A salient feature of China’s auto market is that vehicle models by joint ventures and state-owned enterprises command much higher market shares in their headquarter provinces than at the national level. Through county border analysis, falsification tests, and a consumer survey, we uncover protectionist policies such as subsidies to local brands as the primary contributing factor to the observed home bias. We then set up and estimate a market equilibrium model to quantify the impact of local protection, controlling for other demand and supply factors. Counterfactual analysis shows that local protection leads to significant consumer choice distortions and results in 21.9 billion yuan of consumer welfare loss, amounting to 41 percent of total subsidy. Provincial governments face a prisoner’s dilemma: local protection reduces aggregate social welfare, but provincial governments have no incentive to unilaterally remove local protection. (JEL L24, L32, L62, O14, O18, P25, R12)
Corporate Taxation under Weak Enforcement
Authors: Bachas Pierre , Soto Mauricio
Published: October 2021

How should developing countries tax corporate income? We study this question in Costa Rica, where firms face higher average tax rates on profits when revenues marginally increase. We combine discontinuity and bunching designs to estimate the elasticity of taxable profit and separate it into revenue and cost elasticities. We find that firms faced with a higher tax rate slightly reduce revenues but considerably increase costs, thus producing a large elasticity of taxable profit of 3–5. In this context, the revenue-maximizing rate for a corporate tax on profit is below 25 percent, and we show that a tax policy that broadens the base while lowering the rate can almost double the tax revenue collected from these firms. (JEL D22, H25, H26, H32, K34, L25, O23)
Democracy and Aid Donorship
Authors: Budjan Angelika J. , Fuchs Andreas
Published: October 2021

Almost half of the world’s states provide bilateral development assistance. While previous research takes the set of donor countries as exogenous, this article introduces a new dataset on aid giving that covers all countries in the world, both rich and poor, and explores the determinants of aid donorship. It argues and shows empirically that democratic institutions support the setup of an aid program in richer countries but undermine its establishment in poorer countries. The findings hold in instrumental-variable regressions and the pattern is similar for the amount of aid. (JEL D72, F35, H87, O17, O19)
Market Power and Income Taxation
Authors: Kaplow Louis
Published: October 2021

This article analyzes concerns about market power and inequality in a model with multiple sectors, heterogeneous abilities, endogenous labor supply, and nonlinear income taxation. Proportional markups with no profit dissipation have no effect on the economy, and a policy that reduces a nonproportional markup raises (lowers) welfare when it is higher (lower) than a weighted average of other markups. With proportional (partial or full) profit dissipation, proportional markups are equivalent to a downward shift of the distribution of abilities, and the optimal policy rule with nonproportional markups maximizes consumer plus producer surplus despite concerns for distribution and labor supply distortion. (JEL D43, D61, H21, H23, H24, K21, L13, L40)
Case Report: Portal cavernoma secondary to multiple liver hydatidosis: A rare cause of cataclysmic haemorrhage in a young adult
Authors: Zouaghi Alia , Bellil Nawel , Ben Abdallah Khalaf , Hadded Dhafer , Zaafouri Haithem , Cherif Mona , Ben Maamer Anis
Published: October 2021

Clinical presentation of liver hydatidosis can vary from asymptomatic forms to lethal complications. We report a rare case of a 27-year-old male from a rural Tunisian region who presented with large-abundance haematemesis, haemodynamic instability, and marked biological signs of hypersplenism. Endoscopy showed bleeding esophageal varicose veins that were ligated. Abdominal ultrasound concluded the presence of three type CE2 hydatic liver cysts causing portal cavernoma with signs of portal hypertension. Despite resuscitation, the patient died of massive rebleeding leading to haemorrhagic shock. Hepatic hydatid cyst should be considered as an indirect cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in endemic countries. Early abdominal ultrasound in varicose haemorrhage is essential in orienting the diagnosis.
The genome sequence of the tapered dronefly, Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)
Authors: Hawkes William , Wotton Karl ,   University of Oxford and Wytham Woods Genome Acquisition Lab,   Darwin Tree of Life Barcoding collective,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life programme,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations: DNA Pipelines collective,   Tree of Life Core Informatics collective,   Darwin Tree of Life Consortium
Published: October 2021

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Eristalis tenax (the tapered dronefly; Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera; Syriphidae). The genome sequence is 487 megabases in span. The majority of the assembly (95.23%) is scaffolded into seven chromosomal pseudomolecules, with the X and Y sex chromosomes assembled. The complete mitochondrial genome was also assembled and is 17.2 kilobases in length.
Elimination of Difficulties in Teaching Primary School Students by Means of Controlling Metasubject Achievements
Authors: Petrashko O.
Published: October 2021

The article highlights the possibilities of pedagogical control, which makes it possible to eliminate difficulties in the process of formation and

development of universal educational actions in younger schoolchildren, which contributes to the achievement of metasubject learning outcomes. Examples of test and diagnostic tasks are given, with the help of which the level of formation of students’ cognitive, communicative, regulatory universal educational actions, which determine the degree of readiness to solve problems of a metasubject nature, is checked. It is emphasized that the collective analysis of the independent learning activity of younger schoolchildren provides not only the removal of difficulties and mistakes in the performance of tasks, but also their prevention.
Problems Arising in the Course of Teaching Younger Schoolchildren with Different Levels of Academic Achievement, and Ways to Solve Them
Authors: Vinogradova Natalya
Published: October 2021

The article presents the results of a study carried out in the laboratory of primary general education of the Institute of Education Development Strategy of the Russian Academy of Education, to determine the reasons for the difficulties that appear in younger schoolchildren in the process of mastering the content of elementary school subjects. Typical general didactic problems arising in the professional activity of a teacher and provoking mistakes and difficulties of the student are discussed. The groups of primary school students with different levels of success in educational activities are characterized, recommendations are given to the teacher on the organization of individually differentiated work, taking into account the level of success of each student.
“The-World-Around-Us” Lesson in the Fourth Grade: “Poisonous Animals. Poisonous Mushrooms”
Authors: Nikol'skaya V.
Published: October 2021

The article discusses the structure and methodology of conducting a lesson with fourth-graders on the natural history topic “Poisonous animals.

Poisonous Mushrooms “within the framework of mastering the content of the training course “The-World-Around-Us”. The teacher implements

the set goals of the lesson on the basis of the use of problem situations, comparison of drawings with the corresponding texts, the widespread

use of visual material and works of art. Simultaneously with the expansion of knowledge about poisonous animals and mushrooms, younger

schoolchildren develop ideas about the
Features of Conducting an Independent Assessment of the Quality of the Conditions for the Implementation of Educational Activities by Educational Institutions of Higher Education in 2020
Authors: Bulaeva N. , Ganeev A.
Published: October 2021

The article highlights the key features of conducting in 2020, commissioned by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, a study on an independent assessment of the quality of conditions for the implementation of educational activities by higher education organizations. The main results of the study are presented.
Forming the Competence of the Teacher of Educational Robotics
Authors: Pankratova O. , Ledovskaya N. , Konopko E.
Published: October 2021

In the near future, the most popular professions will be those related to digital technologies: IT specialist, big data engineer, data architect, robot developer, operator of robotic systems. In this regard, the modern digital society needs professionals with knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence, physics, electronics, programming and design. In order for such demanded personnel to appear on the labor market, their training must begin at school, developing children's interest in engineering and technical professions. To solve this problem, a subject was introduced into schools aimed at the formation of technical and engineering knowledge of students - educational robotics. At the same time, there was a need to train teachers in this area. The article describes a meaningful model of training future teachers of educational robotics, in which the components of their professional competence are highlighted, the target and methodological components of training are presented, the organizational conditions for the formation of teachers' competence for the successful implementation of professional activities in the field of educational robotics are determined.
Modeling Ethical and Operational Preferences in Automated Driving Systems
Authors: Caballero William N. , Naveiro Roi , Ríos Insua David
Published: October 2021

Whereas automated driving technology has made tremendous gains in the last decade, significant questions remain regarding its integration into society. Given its revolutionary nature, the use of automated driving systems (ADSs) is accompanied by myriad novel quandaries relating to both operational and ethical concerns that are relevant to numerous stakeholders (e.g., governments, manufacturers, and passengers). When considering any such problem, the ADS’s decision-making calculus is always a central component. This is true for concerns about public perception and trust to others regarding explainability and legal certainty. Therefore, in this manuscript, we set forth a general decision-analytic framework tailorable to multitudinous stakeholders. More specifically, we develop and validate a generic tree of ADS management objectives, explore potential attributes for their measurement, and provide multiattribute utility functions for implementation. Given the contention surrounding numerous ethical concerns in ADS operations, we explore how each of the aforementioned components can be tailored in accordance with the stakeholder’s desired ethical perspective. A simulation environment is developed upon which our framework is tested. Within this environment we illustrate how our approach can be leveraged by stakeholders to make strategic trade-offs regarding ADS behavior and to inform policymaking efforts. In so doing, our framework is demonstrated as a practical, tractable, and transparent means of modeling ADS decision making.
Social Exchange and the Reciprocity Roller Coaster: Evidence from the Life and Death of Virtual Teams
Authors: Hergueux Jérôme , Henry Emeric , Benkler Yochai , Algan Yann
Published: October 2021

Organizations are riddled with cooperation problems, that is, instances in which workers need to voluntarily exert effort to achieve efficient collective outcomes. To sustain high levels of cooperation, the experimental literature demonstrates the centrality of reciprocal preferences but has also overlooked some of its negative consequences. In this paper, we ran lab-in-the-field experiments in the context of open-source software development teams to provide the first field evidence that highly reciprocating groups are not necessarily more successful in practice. Instead, the relationship between high reciprocity and performance can be more accurately described as U-shaped. Highly reciprocal teams are generally more likely to fail and only outperform other teams conditional on survival. We use the dynamic structure of our data on field contributions to demonstrate the underlying theoretical mechanism. Reciprocal preferences work as a catalyst at the team level: they reinforce the cooperative equilibrium in good times but also make it harder to recover from a negative signal (the project dies). Our results call into question the idea that strong reciprocity can shield organizations from cooperation breakdowns. Instead, cooperation needs to be dynamically managed through relational contracts.

History: This paper has been accepted for the Organization Science Special Issue on Experiments in Organizational Theory.

Funding: This research was funded by the consolidator grant agreement [Grant 647870] from the European Research Council, European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Yann Algan).

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1515 .
Robotically aligned optical coherence tomography with 5 degree of freedom eye tracking for subject motion and gaze compensation
Authors: Ortiz Pablo , Draelos Mark , Viehland Christian , Qian Ruobing , McNabb Ryan P. , Kuo Anthony N. , Izatt Joseph A.
Published: October 2021

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has revolutionized diagnostics in ophthalmology. However, OCT requires a trained operator and patient cooperation to carefully align a scanner with the subject’s eye and orient it in such a way that it images a desired region of interest at the retina. With the goal of automating this process of orienting and aligning the scanner, we developed a robot-mounted OCT scanner that automatically aligned with the pupil while matching its optical axis with the target region of interest at the retina. The system used two 3D cameras for face tracking and three high-resolution 2D cameras for pupil and gaze tracking. The tracking software identified 5 degrees of freedom for robot alignment and ray aiming through the ocular pupil: 3 degrees of translation (x, y, z) and 2 degrees of orientation (yaw, pitch). We evaluated the accuracy, precision, and range of our tracking system and demonstrated imaging performance on free-standing human subjects. Our results demonstrate that the system stabilized images and that the addition of gaze tracking and aiming allowed for region-of-interest specific alignment at any gaze orientation within a 28° range.
Narrow- or wide-band channel for a high baud rate fiber communication system: a judgment based on a temporal and spectral evolution PMD model
Authors: Cui Nan , Zhang Xiaoguang , Zhang Qi , Zhang Xulun
Published: October 2021

In optical fiber communication systems, the tendency to prefer increasingly higher baud rates, up to 100 or 200 Gbaud, compels us to deal with wideband fiber channels in which polarization effects must be treated in a more complicated manner. In contrast to the conventional 50 GHz bandwidth wavelength division multiplexing channel, polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is observed in an all-order manner in a wideband fiber channel beyond 100 GHz, rather than only first- and second-order. In this study, certain principles that should be followed in establishing a PMD emulation model in a wideband fiber channel were put forward. Then, a temporal and spectral evolution PMD model that can reflect and emulate the evolution features of the polarization effects in a real fiber channel was proposed and demonstrated. The analyses show the PMD model satisfies all the principles for the wideband channels. Finally, we suggested some approaches to define a narrowband or wideband channel only considering the polarization effects to deal with PMD in a high baud rate optical fiber communication system.
Clustering-based CLEAN algorithm in ghost imaging with sparse spatial frequencies
Authors: Chang Chen , Wu Guohua , Yang Dongyue , Yin Longfei , Luo Bin
Published: October 2021

When insufficient samples in the spatial frequency domain could be effectively compensated by the modified CLEAN algorithm, a novel aperture-synthetic scheme of ghost imaging takes advantage of a superior speed of modulation and an enhancement on the spatial resolution. However, there still exist some imperfections in the modified CLEAN reconstructions, such as the fact that some omitted scatter noise still remains or the object contour may be incomplete. Therefore, we optimize the modified CLEAN algorithm by proposing a density clustering algorithm to overcome these drawbacks and improve the visual quality.
MoS2-based multiple surface plasmonic coupling for enhanced surface-enhanced Raman scattering and photoelectrocatalytic performance utilizing the size effect
Authors: Zhang Chao , Ji Chang , Yu Jing , Li Zhen , Li Zhaoxiang , Li Chonghui , Xu Shicai , Li Weifeng , Man Baoyuan , Zhao Xiaofei
Published: October 2021

MoS2-based heterostructures have received increasing attention for not only surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) but also for enhanced photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) performance. This study presents a hydrothermal method for preparing vertical MoS2 nanosheets composed of in situ grown AuNPs with small size and chemically reduced AgNPs with large size to achieve the synergistic enhancement of SERS and PEC properties owing to the size effect of the plasmonic structure. Compared with pristine MoS2 nanosheets and unitary AuNPs or AgNPs composited with MoS2 nanosheets, the ternary heterostructure exhibited the strongest electromagnetic field and surface plasmon coupling, which was confirmed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation and absorption spectra. In addition, the experimental results confirmed the outstanding SERS enhancement with an EF of 1.1×109, and the most efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity with a sensitive photocurrent response, attributing to the multiple surface plasmonic coupling effects of the Au-Ag bimetal and efficient charge-transfer process between MoS2 and the bimetal. That is, it provides a robust method for developing multi-size bimetal-semiconductor complex nanocomposites for high-performance SERS sensors and PEC applications.
Characteristics and preparation of a polarization beam splitter based on a chalcogenide dual-core photonic crystal fiber
Authors: Zhang Xusheng , Liu Zijun , Gui Yiming , Gan Haotian , Guan Yongnian , He Lelu , Wang Xunsi , Shen Xiang , Dai Shixun
Published: October 2021

We reported on a polarization beam splitter based on a novel chalcogenide dual-core photonic crystal fiber. The glass matrix of the optical fiber is Ge10As22Se68. We used computerized numerical control precision drilling methods to manufacture preforms. Then the preform was drawn into an optical fiber with a regular hole structure. The maximum extinction ratio reached -32.76 dB with a 26.27 mm-long optical fiber. Numerical results show that the shortest working length of the designed polarization beam splitter is 636 µm. In addition, the modeling analysis based on the actual structure shows that the theoretical value is consistent with the measured value.
Nondipole effects on the double-slit interference in molecular ionization by xuv pulses
Authors: Liu Kunlong , Hu Yibo , Zhang Qingbin , Lu Peixiang
Published: October 2021

The double-slit interference in single-photon ionization of the diatomic molecular ion H2+ is theoretically studied beyond the dipole approximation. Via simulating and comparing the interactions of the prealigned H2+ and the hydrogen atom with the xuv pulses propagating in different directions, we illustrate two kinds of effects that are encoded in the interference patterns of the photoelectrons from H2+: the single-atom nondipole effect and the two-center-interference one, both associated with the finite speed of light. While the two effects could modify the maxima of the interference fringes, we show that the former one hardly affects the interference minima. Our results and analysis show that the interference minima rule out the influences of the photon-momentum transfer and, potentially, the multielectron effect, thus performing a better role in decoding the zeptosecond time delay for the pulse hitting one and the other atomic centers of the molecule.
Compact polarization-resolved common-path digital holography based on the Pancharatnam–Berry phase
Authors: Zhang Jiwei , Dou Jiazhen , Zhang Mengmeng , Qi Shuxia , Zhao Jianlin
Published: October 2021

We propose a compact polarization-resolved common-path digital holography for measuring the polarization distribution of a light field dynamically with high temporal stability. The designed experimental setup allows simultaneously recording, in a common-path manner, two holograms carrying the complex amplitude information of two orthogonal polarization components of the light field. Based on the theory of the Pancharatnam–Berry phase to retrieve the full Stokes parameters of the light field, we demonstrate the experiments with polarized optical elements, stressed glass plate, and micrometer-sized liquid crystal droplet. The measurement results verify the method’s high accuracy and stability, and the capability of measuring light fields with sizes ranging from centimeters to micrometers. Owing to the stable and compact optical path structure, this method is conducive to instrumentation and is expected to find wide applications in many fields.
Sensing enhancement ammonia gas sensor based on a hybrid film fiber
Authors: Gu Qiongqiong , Ma Yukuan , Chen Xiaoxu , Wu Zhujing , Wang Fangjie , Zhang Hong , Zhou Hao , Deng Guoliang , Zhou Shouhuan
Published: October 2021

A sensing enhancement sensor based on hybrid film fiber has been proposed to detect ammonia. The hybrid film coated on the MMF-SMF-MMF (Multimode Fiber–Single-mode Fiber–Multimode Fiber) structure is composed of single-walled carbon nanotubes with carboxylic acid groups (SWCNTs-COOH) self-assembled film and the silver film that was used to excite surface plasmon polariton (SPP) which contribute to enhancing the sensitive for refractive index (RI). The presence of free carboxylic acid functional groups and large surface area on the SWCNTs-COOH leads to high adsorption and selectivity toward amine compounds. The sensor works under a wavelength modulation scheme. And the resonance wavelength showed a red shift with an increase of the effective RI of the SWCNTs-COOH self-assembled film affected by ammonia concentration. The experimental results show that the sensor coated with hybrid film has high sensitivity and selectivity to ammonia gas. The proposed sensor is linearly responsive to ammonia concentration in the range 0 - 30 ppm, with a maximum sensitivity of 0.8 nm/ppm, the resolution 0.375 ppm, and the measured response 30 s, respectively. Finally, the sensor also has the advantages of simple structure and compact size, excellent stability, and low cost.
Nothing but the truth? Effects of faking on the validity of the crosswise model
Authors: Hoffmann Adrian , Meisters Julia , Musch Jochen
Published: October 2021

In self-reports, socially desirable responding threatens the validity of prevalence estimates for sensitive personal attitudes and behaviors. Indirect questioning techniques such as the crosswise model attempt to control for the influence of social desirability bias. The crosswise model has repeatedly been found to provide more valid prevalence estimates than direct questions. We investigated whether crosswise model estimates are also less susceptible to deliberate faking than direct questions. To this end, we investigated the effect of “fake good” instructions on responses to direct and crosswise model questions. In a sample of 1,946 university students, 12-month prevalence estimates for a sensitive road traffic behavior were higher and thus presumably more valid in the crosswise model than in a direct question. Moreover, “fake good” instructions severely impaired the validity of the direct questioning estimates, whereas the crosswise model estimates were unaffected by deliberate faking. Participants also reported higher levels of perceived confidentiality and a lower perceived ease of faking in the crosswise model compared to direct questions. Our results corroborate previous studies finding the crosswise model to be an effective tool for counteracting the detrimental effects of positive self-presentation in surveys on sensitive issues.
Relationships between in vivo surface and ex vivo electrical impedance myography measurements in three different neuromuscular disorder mouse models
Authors: Pandeya Sarbesh R. , Nagy Janice A. , Riveros Daniela , Semple Carson , Taylor Rebecca S. , Sanchez Benjamin , Rutkove Seward B.
Published: October 2021

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) using surface techniques has shown promise as a means of diagnosing and tracking disorders affecting muscle and assessing treatment efficacy. However, the relationship between such surface-obtained impedance values and pure muscle impedance values has not been established. Here we studied three groups of diseased and wild-type (WT) animals, including a Duchenne muscular dystrophy model (the D2-mdx mouse), an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) model (the SOD1 G93A mouse), and a model of fat-related atrophy (the db/db diabetic obese mouse), performing hind limb measurements using a standard surface array and ex vivo measurements on freshly excised gastrocnemius muscle. A total of 101 animals (23 D2-mdx, 43 ALS mice, 12 db/db mice, and corresponding 30 WT mice) were studied with EIM across a frequency range of 8 kHz to 1 MHz. For both D2-mdx and ALS models, moderate strength correlations (Spearman rho values generally ranging from 0.3–0.7, depending on the impedance parameter (i.e., resistance, reactance and phase) were obtained. In these groups of animals, there was an offset in frequency with impedance values obtained at higher surface frequencies correlating more strongly to impedance values obtained at lower ex vivo frequencies. For the db/db model, correlations were comparatively weaker and strongest at very high and very low frequencies. When combining impedance data from all three disease models together, moderate correlations persisted (with maximal Spearman rho values of 0.45). These data support that surface EIM data reflect ex vivo muscle tissue EIM values to a moderate degree across several different diseases, with the highest correlations occurring in the 10–200 kHz frequency range. Understanding these relationships will prove useful for future applications of the technique of EIM in the assessment of neuromuscular disorders.
Bioindicator snake shows genomic signatures of natural and anthropogenic barriers to gene flow
Authors: Lettoof Damian C. , Thomson Vicki A. , Cornelis Jari , Bateman Philip W. , Aubret Fabien , Gagnon Marthe M. , von Takach Brenton
Published: October 2021

Urbanisation alters landscapes, introduces wildlife to novel stressors, and fragments habitats into remnant ‘islands’. Within these islands, isolated wildlife populations can experience genetic drift and subsequently suffer from inbreeding depression and reduced adaptive potential. The Western tiger snake (Notechis scutatus occidentalis) is a predator of wetlands in the Swan Coastal Plain, a unique bioregion that has suffered substantial degradation through the development of the city of Perth, Western Australia. Within the urban matrix, tiger snakes now only persist in a handful of wetlands where they are known to bioaccumulate a suite of contaminants, and have recently been suggested as a relevant bioindicator of ecosystem health. Here, we used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to explore the contemporary population genomics of seven tiger snake populations across the urban matrix. Specifically, we used population genomic structure and diversity, effective population sizes (Ne), and heterozygosity-fitness correlations to assess fitness of each population with respect to urbanisation. We found that population genomic structure was strongest across the northern and southern sides of a major river system, with the northern cluster of populations exhibiting lower heterozygosities than the southern cluster, likely due to a lack of historical gene flow. We also observed an increasing signal of inbreeding and genetic drift with increasing geographic isolation due to urbanisation. Effective population sizes (Ne) at most sites were small (< 100), with Ne appearing to reflect the area of available habitat rather than the degree of adjacent urbanisation. This suggests that ecosystem management and restoration may be the best method to buffer the further loss of genetic diversity in urban wetlands. If tiger snake populations continue to decline in urban areas, our results provide a baseline measure of genomic diversity, as well as highlighting which ‘islands’ of habitat are most in need of management and protection.
Non-Invasive radial pressure wave analysis may digitally predict women’s risks of type 2 diabetes (T2DM): A case and control group study
Authors: Chen Chih-Yu , Liao Kuo-meng , Wang Sheng-Hung , Chen Su-Chiu , Chang Chen-Jung , Wang Tien-Chung , Wang Gin-Chung
Published: October 2021

Background

Women not only have worse diabetes complications, but also have menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause which can make managing diabetes more difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate if radial pressure wave analysis may non-invasively screen for women’s risk of type 2 diabetes.

Methods

Spectrum analysis of the radial pressure wave was performed to evaluate the first five harmonic components, C1 to C5. The study consisted of a total of 808 non-pregnant female subjects aged 20–95 over the period of 4 years, and 404 of them were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes as the case group.

Result

The first five harmonic components are significantly different in a comparison of the case group and the control group. In the logistic regression analysis, T2DM was found to be associated with C1 (OR = 1.055, CI = 1.037–1.074, p < 0.001), C2 (OR = 1.051, CI = 1.019–1.085, p = 0.002), and C3 (OR = 0.972, CI = 0.950–0.994, p = 0.013). In the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis, the Area Under Curve of using C3 only (70%, p <0.05), weighted C1, C2 and C3, (75%, p < 0.05), and weighted C1, C2 and C3 and Body mass Index (84%, p <0.05) were tested for the accuracy on how well these tests separate the women into the groups with and without the T2DM.

Conclusion

We thus concluded that pulse spectrum was a non-invasive predictor for women’s risk of T2DM.
Spread of clonal genovar E Chlamydia trachomatis among men who have sex with men
Authors: Touati Arabella , Herrmann Björn , Hénin Nadège , Laurier-Nadalié Cécile , Bébéar Cécile , de Barbeyrac Bertille , Peuchant Olivia
Published: October 2021

In a previous study, we developed a Multi-Locus VNTRs Analysis (MLVA) typing system, called MLVA-5, for the discrimination of Chlamydia trachomatis genovar E strain. The results suggested the clonal spread of a MLVA-5 type 21 strain among men who have sex with men (MSM). We applied the MLVA-5 typing method on 157 French anorectal genovar E specimens and 19 Swedish specimens collected between 2010 and 2015. A total of 29 MLVA-5 types was obtained, with three predominant types among French samples: 78 specimens belonged to MLVA-5 type 21, two other types, 11 and 13, included 9 and 14 specimens, respectively. In 15 cases, one unique MLVA-5 type was observed for a single patient, 7 of which were new types not previously described. The distribution of MLVA-5 types according to sexual orientation showed that the 7 anorectal specimens from heterosexual patients belonged to 6 genotypes, and the 12 anorectal specimens from bisexual patients comprised eight types. The 95 anorectal specimens from MSM were distributed into 22 types, but 55 (57.9%) of them belonged to MLVA-5 type 21. Among the Swedish specimens from MSM, eight were from MLVA-type 21 (4 urines and 4 anorectal specimens). The results support the hypothesis of the spread of clonal genovar E strain among MSM.
Batavia shipwreck timbers reveal a key to Dutch success in 17th-century world trade
Authors: Daly Aoife , Domínguez-Delmás Marta , van Duivenvoorde Wendy
Published: October 2021

Ocean-going ships were key to rising maritime economies of the Early Modern period, and understanding how they were built is critical to grasp the challenges faced by shipwrights and merchant seafarers. Shipwreck timbers hold material evidence of the dynamic interplay of wood supplies, craftmanship, and evolving ship designs that helped shape the Early Modern world. Here we present the results of dendroarchaeological research carried out onBatavia’s wreck timbers, currently on display at the Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle. Built in Amsterdam in 1628 CE and wrecked on its maiden voyage in June 1629 CE in Western Australian waters,Bataviaepitomises Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or VOC) shipbuilding. In the 17th century, the VOC grew to become the first multinational trading enterprise, prompting the rise of the stock market and modern capitalism. Oak (Quercussp.) was the preferred material for shipbuilding in northern and western Europe, and maritime nations struggled to ensure sufficient supplies to meet their needs and sustain their ever-growing mercantile fleets and networks. Our research illustrates the compatibility of dendrochronological studies with musealisation of shipwreck assemblages, and the results demonstrate that the VOC successfully coped with timber shortages in the early 17th century through diversification of timber sources (mainly Baltic region, Lübeck hinterland in northern Germany, and Lower Saxony in northwest Germany), allocation of sourcing regions to specific timber products (hull planks from the Baltic and Lübeck, framing elements from Lower Saxony), and skillful woodworking craftmanship (sapwood was removed from all timber elements). These strategies, combined with an innovative hull design and the use of wind-powered sawmills, allowed the Dutch to produce unprecedented numbers of ocean-going ships for long-distance voyaging and interregional trade in Asia, proving key to their success in 17th-century world trade.
Potential evidence for epigenetic biomarkers of metabolic syndrome in human whole blood in Latinos
Authors: Urashima Keane , Miramontes Anastasia , Garcia Luis A. , Coletta Dawn K.
Published: October 2021

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly prevalent worldwide. In the United States, estimates show that more than 30% of the adult population has MetS. MetS consists of multiple phenotypes, including obesity, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance. Therefore, identifying the molecular mechanisms to explain this complex disease is critical for diagnosing and treating MetS. We previously showed 70 increased genes and 20 decreased genes in whole blood in MetS participants. The present study aimed to identify blood-based DNA methylation biomarkers in non-MetS versus MetS participants. The present study analyzed whole blood DNA samples from 184 adult participants of Latino descent from the Arizona Insulin Resistance (AIR) registry. We used the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP: ATP III) criteria to identify non-MetS (n = 110) and MetS (n = 74) participants. We performed whole blood methylation analysis on select genes: ATP Synthase, H+ Transporting mitochondrial F1 Complex, Epsilon Subunit (ATP5E), Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit VIc (COX6C), and Ribosomal Protein L9 (RPL9). The pyrosequencing analysis was a targeted approach focusing on the promoter region of each gene that specifically captured CpG methylation sites. In MetS participants, we showed decreased methylation in two CpG sites in COX6C and three CpG sites in RPL9, all p < 0.05 using the Mann-Whitney U test. There were no ATP5E CpG sites differently methylated in the MetS participants. Furthermore, while adjusting for age, gender, and smoking status, logistic regression analysis reaffirmed the associations between MetS and mean methylation within COX6C and RPL9 (both p < 0.05). In addition, Spearman’s correlation revealed a significant inverse relationship between the previously published gene expression data and methylation data for RPL9 (p < 0.05). In summary, these results highlight potential blood DNA methylation biomarkers for the MetS phenotype. However, future validation studies are warranted to strengthen our findings.
Mathias Spahlinger
Authors: Smith Neil
Published: October 2021

A critical introduction to the music and thought of the German composer Mathias Spahlinger. Explored from his own perspective and discussed critically in relation to the work of French philosopher Jacques Ranciére and the continuing discourses of modernism. The first study on Spahlinger to be published in English.
A converse of Sturm's separation theorem
Authors: Gholizadeh Leila , Mingarelli Angelo
Published: October 2021

We show that Sturm's classical separation theorem on the interlacing
of the zeros of linearly independent solutions of real second order
two-term ordinary differential equations necessarily fails in the presence
of a turning point in the principal part of the equation. Related results
are discussed.
Well-posedness for a fourth-order equation of Moore–Gibson–Thompson
type
Authors: Lizama Carlos , Murillo-Arcila Marina
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we completely characterize, only in terms of the
data, the well-posedness of a fourth order abstract evolution equation
arising from the Moore–Gibson–Thomson equation with memory. This
characterization is obtained in the scales of vector-valued Lebesgue, Besov
and Triebel–Lizorkin function spaces. Our characterization is flexible
enough to admite as examples the Laplacian and the fractional Laplacian
operators, among others. We also provide a practical and general criteria
that allows Lp–Lq-well posedness.
Ground state solution of semilinear Schrödinger system with local super-quadratic conditions
Authors: Chen Jing , Li Yiqing
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we dedicate to studying the following semilinear Schrödinger systemequation*-Δu+V1(x)u=Fu(x,u,v)amp;mboxin~RN,r-Δv+V2(x)v=Fv(x,u,v)amp;mboxin~RN,ru,v∈H1(RN),endequation*where the potentialViare periodic inx,i=1,2, the nonlinearityFis allowed super-quadratic at somex∈RNand asymptotically quadratic at the otherx∈RN. Under a local super-quadratic condition ofF, an approximation argument and variational method are used to prove the existence of Nehari–Pankov type ground state solutions and the least energy solutions.
Spectrum of nitrous oxide intoxication related neurological disorders in Korea: a case series and literature review
Authors: Lee Jungsoo , Park Yangmi , Kim Hyunkee , Kim Nakhoon , Sung Wonjae , Lee Sanggon , Park Jinseok
Published: October 2021

Background: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic effects. However, neurological and psychiatric manifestations of N2O abuse have been increasingly reported among Korean adults. The aim of this study was to demonstrate laboratory findings of N2O abuse in Korean patients.Methods: Patients diagnosed with N2O-induced neuropathy or myelopathy from August 2018 to December 2019 were enrolled. Their clinical presentations and laboratory and imaging findings were analyzed.Results: Sensory changes and limb weakness were present in nine of the enrolled patients. The laboratory findings revealed that seven patients had high homocysteine levels and five had high methylmalonic acid levels in their blood. Nerve conductions studies indicated that axonal neuropathy was present in four cases and longer F-wave and Hoffman’s-reflex latencies were present in two cases. Signal changes in cervical spine imaging occurred in five patients, while two had normal results.Conclusions: Chronic N2O abuse can cause neurological damage or psychiatric problems. Because N2O is illegal for recreational use in Korea, patients tend to hide their history of use. Even though the spinal imaging results were normal, clinicians should consider the possibility of N2O use, and further electrophysiological tests should be applied for precise evaluations.