bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Novel online calculator to predict reduced risk of early recurrence from adjuvant transarterial chemoembolisation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Chen Wei-Yue , Li Chao , Liu Zhi-Peng , Kong Qing-Yu , Sun Li-Yang , Zeng Yong-Yi , Liang Ying-Jian , Zhou Ya-Hao , Chen Ting-Hao , Chen Zi-Xiang , Wang Ming-Da , Yao Lan-Qing , Lau Wan Yee , Pawlik Timothy M , Shen Feng , Ji Jian-Song , Yang Tian
Published: August 2023

Background

The role of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) to reduce postoperative recurrence varies widely among patients undergoing hepatectomy with curative intent for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Personalised predictive tool to select which patients may benefit from adjuvant TACE is lacking. This study aimed to develop and validate an online calculator for estimating the reduced risk of early recurrence from adjuvant TACE for patients with HCC.

Methods

From a multi-institutional database, 2590 eligible patients undergoing curative-intent hepatectomy for HCC were enrolled, and randomly assigned to the training and validation cohorts. Independent predictors of early recurrence within 1 year of surgery were identified in the training cohort, and subsequently used to construct a model and corresponding prediction calculator. The predictive performance of the model was validated using concordance indexes (C-indexes) and calibration curves, and compared with conventional HCC staging systems. The reduced risk of early recurrence when receiving adjuvant TACE was used to estimate the expected benefit from adjuvant TACE.

Results

The prediction model was developed by integrating eight factors that were independently associated with risk of early recurrence: alpha-fetoprotein level, maximum tumour size, tumour number, macrovascular and microvascular invasion, satellite nodules, resection margin and adjuvant TACE. The model demonstrated good calibration and discrimination in the training and validation cohorts (C-indexes: 0.799 and 0.778, respectively), and performed better among the whole cohort than four conventional HCC staging systems (C-indexes: 0.797 vs 0.562–0.673, all p<0.001). An online calculator was built to estimate the reduced risk of early recurrence from adjuvant TACE for patients with resected HCC.

Conclusions

The proposed calculator can be adopted to assist decision-making for clinicians and patients to determine which patients with resected HCC can significantly benefit from adjuvant TACE.
The Pregnancy Rescue Case: a reply to Hendricks
Authors: Davies Nathan William
Published: August 2023

In ‘The Pregnancy Rescue Case: why abortion is immoral’, Hendricks presents The Pregnancy Rescue Case. In this reply I argue that even if it would be better (i.e., less bad) for the abortion to be prevented in The Pregnancy Rescue Case, that does not mean that typical abortions are impermissible. I also argue that there is a possible explanation, consistent with the pro-choice view and empirically testable, as to why people would think it better for the abortion to be prevented in The Pregnancy Rescue Case.
The singly charmed pentaquark molecular states via the QCD sum rules
Authors: Xin Qi , Yang Xiao-Song , Wang Zhi-Gang
Published: August 2023

In this work, we systematically investigate the singly charmed pentaquark molecular states [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] with the QCD sum rules by carrying out the operator product expansion up to the vacuum condensates of dimension 13 and taking fully account of the light-flavor [Formula: see text] breaking effects. The numerical results favor assigning the [Formula: see text] as the [Formula: see text] molecular state with the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], assigning the [Formula: see text] as the [Formula: see text] molecular state with the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], assigning the [Formula: see text] as the [Formula: see text] molecular state with the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], and assigning the [Formula: see text] as the [Formula: see text] molecular state with the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Other potential molecule candidates are also predicted, which may be observed in future experiments. For example, we can search for the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] molecular states with the isospin [Formula: see text] in the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mass spectrum, respectively, in the future, which could shed light on the nature of the [Formula: see text].
Spontaneous emission in the supercritical QED: What is wrong and what is possible
Authors: Grashin P. , Sveshnikov K.
Published: August 2023

Spontaneous positron emission, caused by the supercritical Coulomb source with charge [Formula: see text] and size [Formula: see text], is explored in essentially nonperturbative approach with emphasis on the VP-energy [Formula: see text] a , considered as a function of the Coulomb source parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The specific contribution to [Formula: see text], which appears in the supercritical case due to direct Coulomb interaction between VP-charge densities [Formula: see text], is outlined and studied in detail. It is shown that after first levels diving into the lower continuum, this contribution to [Formula: see text], being properly renormalized, turns out to be negative in contrast to the classical electrostatics and so could play an important role in spontaneous emission, especially for [Formula: see text] just above the first [Formula: see text]. The additional problems of spontaneous emission, caused by the lepton number conservation, are also discussed.
Directed Ramsey and anti-Ramsey schemes and the Flexible Atom Conjecture
Authors: Alm Jeremy F. , Levet Michael
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we shed new light on the Flexible Atom Conjecture. We first give finite representation results for relation algebras [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Prior to our paper, only [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were known to be finitely representable. We accomplish this by generalizing the notion of a relation algebra generated by a Ramsey scheme to the directed (antisymmetric) setting, and then showing that each of these algebras embeds into a finite directed anti-Ramsey scheme. The notion of a directed anti-Ramsey scheme may be of independent interest.

We complement our upper bounds with some lower bounds. Namely, we show that any square representation of [Formula: see text] requires at least 14 points, any square representation of [Formula: see text] requires at least 11 points, and any square representation of [Formula: see text] requires at least 12 points. Our technique adapts previous work of Alm et al. [Algebra Univ. (2022)], in that we examine the combinatorial structure induced by the flexible atom.
On residual nilpotence of group extensions
Authors: Bardakov V. G. , Bryukhanov O. V. , Neshchadim M. V.
Published: August 2023

We study the following question: under what conditions extension of one residually nilpotent group by another residually nilpotent group is residually nilpotent? We prove some sufficient conditions under which this extension is residually nilpotent. Also, we study this question for semi-direct products and, in particular, for extensions of free group by infinite cyclic group: [Formula: see text]. We find conditions under which this group is residually nilpotent, find conditions under which this group has long lower central series. In particular, we prove that for [Formula: see text] the length of the lower central series of [Formula: see text] is equal to 2, [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text].
Instability of closed p-elastic curves in 𝕊2
Authors: Gruber Anthony , Pámpano Álvaro , Toda Magdalena
Published: August 2023

For [Formula: see text], we show that non-circular closed [Formula: see text]-elastic curves in [Formula: see text] exist only when [Formula: see text], in which case they are classical elastic curves, or when [Formula: see text]. In the latter case, we prove that for every pair of relatively prime natural numbers [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] satisfying [Formula: see text], there exists a closed spherical [Formula: see text]-elastic curve with non-constant curvature which winds around a pole [Formula: see text] times and closes up in [Formula: see text] periods of its curvature. Further, we show that all closed spherical [Formula: see text]-elastic curves for [Formula: see text] are unstable as critical points of the [Formula: see text]-elastic energy.
Prescribed solutions of a nonlinear fractional Schrödinger system with quadratic interaction
Authors: Esfahani Amin
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we consider a nonlinear Schrödinger system with fractional derivative and quadratic interaction. Using constrained variational methods, we prove that this problem has a prescribed solution. Our contribution is that we can deal with a case in the supercritical range.
Optimal control of a reaction–diffusion model related to the spread of COVID-19
Authors: Colli Pierluigi , Gilardi Gianni , Marinoschi Gabriela , Rocca Elisabetta
Published: August 2023

This paper is concerned with the well-posedness and optimal control problem of a reaction–diffusion system for an epidemic susceptible–exposed–infected–recovered–susceptible mathematical model in which the dynamics develops in a spatially heterogeneous environment. Using as control variables the transmission rates [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] of contagion resulting from the contact with both asymptomatic and symptomatic persons, respectively, we optimize the number of exposed and infected individuals at a final time [Formula: see text] of the controlled evolution of the system. More precisely, we search for the optimal [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] such that the number of infected plus exposed does not exceed at the final time a threshold value [Formula: see text], fixed a priori. We prove here the existence of optimal controls in a proper functional framework and we derive the first-order necessary optimality conditions in terms of the adjoint variables.
Multiplicity of positive solutions for the fractional Schrödinger–Poisson system with critical nonlocal term
Authors: Dou Xilin , He Xiaoming , Rădulescu Vicenţiu D.
Published: August 2023

This paper deals with the following fractional Schrödinger–Poisson system: [Formula: see text] with multiple competing potentials and a critical nonlocal term, where [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] is the fractional critical exponent. By combining the Nehari manifold analysis and the Ljusternik–Schnirelmann category theory, we establish how the coefficient [Formula: see text] of the nonlocal critical nonlinearity affects the number of positive solutions. We propose a new relation between the number of positive solutions and the category of the global maximal set of [Formula: see text].
Methods of Improving Japanese-Chinese Machine Translation System through Machine Learning and Human-Computer Interaction
Authors: Ma Yuwei , Qian Yu
Published: August 2023

With globalization, the exchange of people between different countries is becoming more frequent. Due to different languages, there are serious obstacles to personnel exchanges. To a large extent, they hinder the growth of industries such as economy, culture and tourism in each country. The emergence of Machine Translation (MT) has effectively improved the problem of language barriers, and greatly reduced the workload of translators in text translation. However, MT does not have the same flexible flexibility as human translation. It just translates the text word by word, which is often difficult to meet people's higher needs. This paper proposed to build a Japanese-Chinese MT system and integrate machine learning and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) technology into the system. To further enhance the efficiency of the system, enhancement algorithms were also applied to the system to optimize the performance of the system. From the experimental results, in terms of BLEU (Bilingual Evaluation Understudy) index, the average BLEU index of the algorithm in this paper was 8.59, and that of the traditional algorithm was 6.55. In terms of translation precision, the average precision of the algorithm in this paper was 91.53%, while that of the traditional algorithm was 87.28%. In terms of translation readability, the average readability of the algorithm in this paper was 93.32%, while that of the traditional algorithm was 89.22%. By comparison, the average BLEU index of the algorithm in this paper has increased by 2.04; the average accuracy of translation increased by 4.25%; the average readability increased by 4.1%. From the above data, it was evident that the enhancement algorithm can optimize the performance of the Japanese-Chinese MT system well.
A Domain-theoretic Approach to Statistical Programming Languages
Authors: Goubault-Larrecq Jean , Jia Xiaodong , Théron Clément
Published: August 2023

We give a domain-theoretic semantics to a statistical programming language, using the plain old category of dcpos, in contrast to some more sophisticated recent proposals. Remarkably, our monad of minimal valuations is commutative, which allows for program transformations that permute the order of independent random draws, as one would expect. A similar property is not known for Jones and Plotkin’s monad of continuous valuations. Instead of working with true real numbers, we work with exact real arithmetic, providing a bridge towards possible implementations (implementations by themselves are not addressed here). Rather remarkably, we show that restricting ourselves to minimal valuations does not restrict us much:
All
measures on the real line can be modeled by minimal valuations on the domain
I
ℝ
⊥
of exact real arithmetic. We give three operational semantics for our language, and we show that they are all adequate with respect to the denotational semantics. We also explore quite a few examples to demonstrate that our semantics computes exactly as one would expect and to debunk the myth that a semantics based on continuous maps would not be expressive enough to encode measures with non-compact support using only measures with compact support, or to encode measures via non-continuous density functions, for instance. Our examples also include some useful, non-trivial cases of distributions on higher-order objects.
Self-Supervised Consistency Based on Joint Learning for Unsupervised Person Re-identification
Authors: Lou Xulei , Wu Tinghui , Hu Haifeng , Chen Dihu
Published: August 2023

Recently, unsupervised domain adaptive person re-identification (Re-ID) methods have been extensively studied thanks to not requiring annotations, and they have achieved excellent performance. Most of the existing methods aim to train the Re-ID model for learning a discriminative feature representation. However, they usually only consider training the model to learn a global feature of a pedestrian image, but neglecting the local feature, which restricts further improvement of model performance. To address this problem, two local branches are added to the networks, aiming to allow the model to focus on the local feature containing identity information. Furthermore, we propose a self-supervised consistency constraint to further improve robustness of the model. Specifically, the self-supervised consistency constraint uses the basic data augmentation operations without other auxiliary networks, which can improve performance of the model effectively. Then, a learnable memory matrix is designed to store the mapping vectors that maps person features into probability distributions. Finally, extensive experiments are conducted on multiple commonly used person Re-ID datasets to verify the effectiveness of the proposed generative adversarial networks fusing global and local features. Experimental results reveal that our method achieves results comparable to state-of-the-art methods.
Non-imaging Medical Data Synthesis for Trustworthy AI: A Comprehensive Survey
Authors: Xing Xiaodan , Wu Huanjun , Wang Lichao , Stenson Iain , Yong May , Del Ser Javier , Walsh Simon , Yang Guang
Published: August 2023

Data quality is a key factor in the development of trustworthy AI in healthcare. A large volume of curated datasets with controlled confounding factors can improve the accuracy, robustness, and privacy of downstream AI algorithms. However, access to high-quality datasets is limited by the technical difficulties of data acquisition, and large-scale sharing of healthcare data is hindered by strict ethical restrictions. Data synthesis algorithms, which generate data with distributions similar to real clinical data, can serve as a potential solution to address the scarcity of good quality data during the development of trustworthy AI. However, state-of-the-art data synthesis algorithms, especially deep learning algorithms, focus more on imaging data while neglecting the synthesis of non-imaging healthcare data, including clinical measurements, medical signals and waveforms, and electronic healthcare records (EHRs). Therefore, in this article, we will review synthesis algorithms, particularly for non-imaging medical data, with the aim of providing trustworthy AI in this domain. This tutorial-style review article will provide comprehensive descriptions of non-imaging medical data synthesis, covering aspects such as algorithms, evaluations, limitations, and future research directions.
Local Self-attention-based Hybrid Multiple Instance Learning for Partial Spoof Speech Detection
Authors: Zhu Yupeng , Chen Yanxiang , Zhao Zuxing , Liu Xueliang , Guo Jinlin
Published: August 2023

The development of speech synthesis technology has increased the attention toward the threat of spoofed speech. Although various high-performance spoofing countermeasures have been proposed in recent years, a particular scenario is overlooked: partially spoofed audio, where spoofed utterances may contain both spoofed and bona fide segments. Currently, the research on partially spoofed speech detection is lacking. The existing methods either train with partially spoofed speech at utterance level, resulting in gradient conflicting at the segment level, or directly train with segment level data, which requires segment labels that are difficult to obtain in practice. In this study, to better detect partially spoofed speech when only utterance labels are available, we formulate partially spoofed speech detection into a multiple instance learning (MIL) problem. The typical MIL uses a pooling layer to fuse patch scores as a whole, and we propose a hybrid MIL (H-MIL) framework based on max and log-sum-exp pooling methods, which can learn better segment representations to improve partially spoofed speech detection performance. Theoretical and experimental verification shows that H-MIL can effectively relieve the gradient conflicting and gradient vanishing problems. In addition, we analyze the local correlations between segments and introduce a local self-attention mechanism to enhance segment features, which further promotes the detection performance.

In our experiments, we provide not only detection results at the segment and utterance levels but also some detailed visualization analysis, including the effect of spoof ratio and cross-dataset detection. The experimental results demonstrate the effective detection performance of our method at both the utterance and segment levels, especially when dealing with low spoof ratio attacks. The results confirm that our approach can better deal with partially spoofed speech detection than previous methods.
Research of GPCEMBP Glucose Prediction Algorithm Based on Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Authors: Cai Lijun , Ge Wancheng , Liu Tingyu
Published: August 2023

In view of the poor timeliness of dynamic blood glucose data and a delay of insulin effect for blood glucose control, and considering the nonlinearity and nonstationarity of the glucose data, a new blood Glucose Prediction algorithm combined Correlation coefficient‐based complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise and back propagation neural network (GPCEMBP) was proposed to increase the prediction time and improve the prediction accuracy. It refined the mode decomposition algorithm and integrated the correlation mode filter function to extract the characteristic intrinsic mode functions from the original signal. A new neural network prediction model was constructed by optimizing the number of hidden layer neurons, the number of hidden layers, activation functions, the number of inputs, structure, and other parameters. Finally, a predicted blood glucose value was calculated by phase space reconstruction technology. Through ablation and comparison experiments, it was demonstrated that the GPCEMBP algorithm had better prediction accuracy, convergence, and robustness in blood glucose prediction within 84 min. In addition, it has good adaptability to deal with different quality glucose data.
Change in Negative Affective Bias following a Single Ketamine Treatment for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Authors: Harvey Anna J. , Nikolin Stevan , Chand Nicholas , Flanney William , Tan Liyi , Moffa Adriano , Loo Colleen K. , Martin Donel M.
Published: August 2023

Ketamine has recently emerged as a highly effective new treatment for people with treatment-resistant depression with rapid antidepressant effects. However, these effects are often short lasting, and the potential cognitive mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects, such as effects on emotional processing bias, remain poorly understood. In the present study, we explored potential changes in emotional and cognitive processing following a single treatment of subcutaneous ketamine in a randomised double-blind controlled study with an active control. Participants with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) were recruited from a single site from the Ketamine for Adult Depression Study (KADS Trial) and were randomly assigned to receive racemic ketamine hydrochloride (

n
=
10

) or midazolam hydrochloride (

n
=
11

) in a 1 : 1 ratio. A healthy control sample (

n
=
23

) was recruited to attend a single experimental session without any treatment. All MDD participants completed mood ratings and cognitive assessments prior to and one day after a single randomised treatment. The results showed no significant differences in performance changes after treatment across the majority of emotion-related (i.e., Emotional Stroop Task, Affective Go/No-Go Task) and cognitive (Ruff 2 and 7 Selective Attention Test, Controlled Word Association Test) outcome measures. Participants who received ketamine showed a significant improvement in a negative processing bias test (i.e., The Scrambled Sentence Task; Cohen’s

d
=
.67

,

p
=
.016

), which was not significantly associated with improvement in psychological symptoms (

r
=
−
.662

,

p
=
.074

). The results from this exploratory study suggest that a single ketamine treatment may modulate negative affective bias. Limitations to this study included the small sample size and lack of follow-up. Future larger trials are required to confirm this finding.
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices regarding Obesity among Population of Urban (Douala) and Rural (Manjo) Areas in Cameroon
Authors: Dongmo Fabrice Fabien Dongho , Asongni William Djeukeu , Mba Aymar Rodrigue Fogang , Etame Rebecca Madeleine Ebelle , Hagbe Diana Ngo , Zongning Guileine Linda Dongho , Touohou Suzie Vanissa Nkepndep , Sop Marie Modestine Kana , Ngane Rosalie Annie Ngono , Gouado Inocent
Published: August 2023

Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies have recently been suggested as a useful tool to understand the specificity of the population related to a disease. However, in Cameroon, there is a lack of information based on KAP studies regarding obesity. This study has been designed to collect basic indicators on the KAP of the populations regarding overweight and obesity in urban and rural areas in Cameroon (Douala and Manjo). For this purpose, an epidemiological community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in these two areas using a well-structured questionnaire. Sociodemographic and medical characteristics and KAP information were assessed. For the quantification of KAP, a score varying from 0 (poor knowledge, attitude, or practices) to 100 (good knowledge, attitude, or practices) was attributed for each question. Correlations between knowledge, attitude, and practice were determined using inferential statistics tests which were

χ

2

test, independent Student

t

-test, ANOVA (followed by Tukey’s post hoc test), and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results reveal that living in a rural area (Manjo), being overweight or obese, having complete secondary education, and being married increase the knowledge and the practice score. There is a strong and positive correlation between knowledge and practice score. However, there is no association between attitude and practice and between attitude and knowledge. Reducing the disparities between knowledge, attitude, and practices constitutes a serious track in a holistic strategy for the management of obesity in these areas.
Bayesian Regularization Backpropagation Neural Network for Glass Beams in Lateral–Torsional Buckling
Authors: Hussain Saddam , Bedon Chiara , Kumar Gaurav , Ahmed Zaheer
Published: August 2023

The lateral–torsional buckling (LTB) performance assessment of laminated glass (LG) beams is a remarkably critical issue because—among others—it can involve major consequences in terms of structural safety. Knowledge of LTB load-bearing capacity (in terms of critical buckling load Fcr and corresponding lateral displacement dLT), in this regard, is, thus, a primary step for more elaborated design considerations. The present study examines how machine learning (ML) techniques can be used to predict the response of laterally unrestrained LG beams in LTB. The potential and accuracy of artificial neural networks (ANN), based on ML methods, are addressed based on validation toward literature data. In particular, to detect the best-performing data-driven ML model, the load-bearing capacity of LG beams (i.e., Fcr and dLT) is set as output response, while geometric properties (length, width, thickness) and material features (for glass and interlayers) are used as input variables. A major advantage is taken from a literature database of 540 experiments and simulations carried out on two-ply LG beams in LTB setup. To determine the best-performing ANN model, different strategies are considered and compared. Additionally, the Bayesian regularization backpropagation (trainbr) algorithm is used to optimize the input–output relationship accuracy. The suitability of present modeling strategy for LG beams in LTB is quantitatively discussed based on error and performance trends.
Prevalence of Postpartum Depression Based on Diagnostic Interviews: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Bai Yanping , Li Qiao , Cheng Kar Keung , Caine Eric D. , Tong Yongsheng , Wu Xia , Gong Wenjie
Published: August 2023

Background. Postpartum depression (PPD) is common after childbirth. Previous reviews on the prevalence of PPD have mainly included results that relied on screening instruments or a mixture of such instruments and diagnostic interviews. In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of PPD based exclusively on studies using diagnostic interviews, as they provide the most reliable and valid approach for defining “caseness.” Methods. Using PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, and CBM up to September 18, 2022, we searched for original articles reporting data that could be used to calculate the prevalence of PPD based on diagnostic interviews. A random-effect meta-analysis model was then used to estimate the pooled prevalence. In addition, we assessed quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias across studies. Also, we did subgroup analyses to explore the pooled prevalence at different time points and settings. This study was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42021244539. Results. Of 17,115 articles retrieved, 54 studies were included (total sample

size
=
15,586

women). The pooled prevalence of all depression and major depression within one year postpartum was 12.1% (95% CI 10.3%-14.1%;

I

2

=
91.0
%

) and 7.0% (95% CI 5.7%-8.4%;

I

2

=
83.0
%

), respectively. The peaks of all depression occurred during the first 6 months postpartum, especially 2-3 weeks and 6-8 weeks. Subgroup analyses showed that the prevalence of major depression was associated with the income level of countries (higher in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high-income countries (HICs)) and diagnostic criteria (higher using ICD than using DSM and RDC). No evidence of publication bias was found. Conclusions. Approximately one in eight postpartum women experiences a depressive condition, with one in fifteen suffering major depression. The pooled prevalence based on diagnostic interviews was lower than the existing consensus, which was largely based on self-reported screening instruments. The higher prevalence in LMICs underlines the importance of strengthening research and service provision among these populations.
Antimalarial Efficacy and Antioxidant Activity of Lophira lanceolata Stem Bark Ethanol Extract Using Plasmodium berghei Induced-Malaria in Swiss Albino’s Mice
Authors: Azizi Mounvera Abdel , Nadia Noumedem Anangmo Christelle , Cedric Yamssi , Sidiki Ngouyamsa Nsapkain Aboubakar , Guy-Armand Gamago Nkadeu , Esther Djeussi Doriane , Sandra Tientcheu Noutong Jemimah , Kevin Tako Djimefo Alex , Payne Vincent Khan
Published: August 2023

Background. Malaria remains a major public health problem in the tropical and subtropical regions. This study aimed of investigating the antimalarial and antioxidant activities of ethanol extract of Lophira lanceolata stem bark. Methodology. The antimalarial activity was determined using the Peter 4-days’ suppressive and Rane’s curative tests on Swiss albino: these mice were infected with

1
×

10

7

parasitized red blood cells. The percentage reduction of parasitemia was related to each test, and the liver homogenate was used to assay malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, nitrogen monoxide, catalase, and glutathione for the evaluation of oxidative stress. During the curative test, blood was collected for hematological parameters, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase to evaluate liver function. Result. The ethanol extract of L. lanceolata showed a dose-dependent suppressive activity with the highest suppression of 88.22% at 500 mg/kg. Suppression produced by the extract was not significantly higher than that of the reference drug with 96.1%. Similarly, the extract at doses 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg showed significant decreases (

P
<
0.05

) in a dose-dependent manner during the curative test. The ethanol extract of L. lanceolata caused a reduction of tissue markers, such as hepatic oxidative stress, as it increased the enzymatic activity of antioxidant enzymes. Conclusion. The ethanol extract of L. lanceolata possesses both antimalarial and antioxidant activities. However, further in vivo toxicity tests are required to guarantee their safety.
Investigating the Relationship between the Dimensions and Morphology of Sella Turcica with the Long-Face Growth Pattern and the Vertical Growth Pattern
Authors: Nabavizadeh Ali , Zeini Negar , Azarm Ali , Khalili Parvin , Hajipour Fatemeh , Khaghani Sarah
Published: August 2023

Introduction. The sella turcica is one of the important landmarks of lateral cephalometry, which is used in orthodontics for the diagnosis, treatment plan, and evaluation of skeletal development and maturity. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the dimensions and morphology of sella turcica with the long-face growth pattern and people with an open bite. This study also examines the relationship between sella turcica bridging (STB) and the vertical growth pattern. Methods. As many as 153 radiographs were analyzed using the Romexis software, considering the basal, gonial, and FMA angles to determine the vertical growth pattern of the face. The basal angle was also used to check for an open bite. Of these patients, 80 had a long vertical face growth pattern, and 73 had a normal face growth pattern. The four landmarks of tuberculum sellae, dorsum sellae, sellae floor, and posterior clinoid were determined on the cephalograms to measure the length, depth, and anteroposterior diameter of the sella turcica. Results. In this study, it was found that the chance of developing a long face in people with partial and complete bridging is 8.37 and 1.92, respectively. An increase in the length of the sella turcica for one unit decreases the chance of a long face, and as the depth of the sella turcica increases, the chance of a long face increases. Conclusions. STB is frequently seen in people with long faces. However, this finding should be considered in relation to other diagnostic parameters. The shorter the length and higher the depth of sella turcica, the higher the chance of developing a long face.
A Three-Step Heuristic Approach to the Electric Vehicle Path Planning Problem considering Charging
Authors: Yu Shengping , Wang Yunfang , Zhang Ruiyou , Wang Junxiang
Published: August 2023

With the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, the problem of electric vehicle mileage limitation still exists. Recent studies focus on the minimum energy consumption path planning method or the charging route planning method, with a lack of studies considering midway charging scenarios. In this study, we propose a graph processing method for the electric vehicle, given the energy consumption and road conditions, and establish a mixed integer planning model for the electric vehicle path planning problem. The objective is the shortest time, with energy consumption as a constraint, aiming at the problem of shortest path planning for electric vehicles with midway charging. Taking into account real-time traffic information and energy consumption information related to road conditions, a three-step heuristic algorithm based on preprocessing traffic network, charging path planning, and subpath planning is proposed for the electric vehicle path planning problem. The simulation results show that the proposed method can determine optimal paths including charging stations and effectively alleviate electric vehicles’ “range anxiety” problem during medium- and long-distance travel.
African Religio-Cultural Heritage of ‘Charms and Amulets’
Authors: Esoh Felix Kang
Published: August 2023

This article investigates the increase in the usage of ‘symbolic ritual wrist bands’ as symbols of power, protection, and healing in neo-Pentecostals seen as resonating with the religio-cultural practice of ritual bands in African primal religions. The study demonstrates that such practices indirectly satisfy the deep yearning of traditional communities who maintain a strong feeling of the versatility of symbolic ritual bands. The fact that most Africans remain deeply ingrained in their religio-cultural environment where it is believed that ritual bands attended to their spiritual and physical needs, the usage of symbolic wrist bands in most neo-Pentecostal churches is seen as bridging the gap created by missionary Christianity. This study employs the missio-cultural theory to explore the extent to which neo-Pentecostals are reconceptualising the idea of ritual wrist bands in the practice of African Christianity. It concludes that the neo-Pentecostal proliferation of wrist bands is relevant in the spiritual, psychological, social, cultural and theological missionising effort in Africa.
Study of antioxidant enzymes’ activity in reaction wood of poplar tree (Populus alba L.)
Authors: Masoumi Abasali , Pourtahmasi Kambiz , Maali Amiri Reza
Published: August 2023

Studying biochemical variation in reaction wood is needed to understand the nature of reaction wood formation and the physiology of trees. The activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX)) was studied in normal wood (NW) and reaction wood (RW) (opposite wood (OW) and tension wood (TW)) in the bole of poplar trees (Populus alba L.). Four-year-old trees were induced to produce reaction wood by forced bending. The activity of antioxidant enzymes was studied with repeated sampling during a growing season. The results showed that total protein content and antioxidant enzymes are sensitive to mechanically induced stress. TW and OW showed higher activity of enzymes than NW as well as higher amounts of total protein. OW showed a higher concentration of CAT and SOD than TW. APX was more active than GPX in both TW and OW. In addition to mechanical stress, the effect of other climate factors was observed in the reactive oxygen species accumulation.
Inconsistency in Conceptual Metaphor Theory
Authors: Kertész András , Rákosi Csilla
Published: August 2023

Although Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) theory of conceptual metaphor has been extremely popular and successful, it has been criticized in many respects, one of which is its alleged inconsistency. This criticism presupposes that the principle of non-contradiction is the most important pillar of scientific theorizing because its violation turns the theory into logical chaos. Against this background, the paper asks: What kinds of inconsistencies emerge in conceptual metaphor theory and how should they be evaluated? In order to give an answer, the authors introduce Kertész and Rákosi’s (2019) [2012], (2022) p-model as a metatheoretical framework, with the help of which they analyse those arguments which charge conceptual metaphor theory with inconsistency. The authors conclude that if the dichotomy between inconsistency and consistency is replaced by the sophisticated distinctions among strong p-inconsistency, well-motivated permanent p-paraconsistency, temporary p-paraconsistency, and p-consistency, then the initial question can be answered in a straightforward manner.
Overhauling Collostructional Analysis: Towards More Descriptive Simplicity and More Explanatory Adequacy
Authors: Gries Stefan Th.
Published: August 2023

In this paper, I make two sets of suggestions of how collostructional analysis can be updated. One set of suggestions involves simplifying the analysis for descriptive/exploratory purposes while at the same time enriching it with bootstrapped confidence intervals. The other set of suggestions involves the idea that we should move away from a single kind of association measure for theoretical/exploratory purposes and instead quantify collostructional attraction as a tuple of, minimally, three ideally orthogonal dimensions, namely frequency, association, and dispersion, because only this kind of analysis will be able to address all the dimensions that are relevant to cognitive/usage-based approaches to constructions. In addition, I end with a (renewed) plea to take the notion of construction more seriously: Rather than looking at associations of constructions to forms, which many studies have basically amounted to, I would like us to ‘go back to’ looking at associations of constructions to constructions, i.e. to take the meaning/functional pole of constructions more seriously again and include sense/function in all kinds of collostructional analyses more.
Radial Representations of the Semantics of Reduplicative Constructions in Nigerian Pidgin (Naija)
Authors: Odiegwu Nancy Chiagolum
Published: August 2023

The purpose of this study is to account for the functions of reduplication Nigerian Pidgin in a more comprehensive way than in previous work, by shifting the focus away from de-contextualized assignments of unitary meaning, and toward a full range of context-sensitive readings. The data for the study come from Wazobia fm radio programmes, as well as interviews and focus group discussions with native speakers of the language. Reduplication is attested in word classes such as ideophones, adverbs, numerals, adjectives, nouns, verbs and pronouns in Nigerian Pidgin. Using a version of the prototype theory elaborated by Lakoff and other Cognitive linguists, I represent the various readings of reduplicative constructions for each word class as radial categories, and show that both central and peripheral meanings are attested, and are indeed motivated by varying degrees of family resemblance.
What Does Rape Look Like?
Authors: Peterson Nora Martin
Published: August 2023

From the late Middle Ages into the Renaissance, a handful of narratives about sexual assault dominated Western Europe. In the seventeen novellas of Marguerite de Navarre’s Heptaméron (1559) that feature assault or attempted assault, these different narratives coexist. To date, scholarship has not extensively explored the relationship between the novellas of the Heptaméron and the first two sets of engravings to accompany them—those of Dutch artist Romeyn de Hooghe, in 1698, and those of S. Freudenberger and A. Dunker, in 1780–1781. This article addresses that gap, and, by means of a comparative reading, considers different narratives about sexual assault in the novellas and frame of the Heptaméron alongside these first two sets of visual engravings. It argues that the engravings more closely follow other visual tropes of rape than they do the text. In so doing, these first images of the Heptaméron favor more canonical representations of sexual assault that either heroicize, eroticize, or blame the subject of rape. What is lost is the polyvalence of the text; in particular, moments that document the responses and reactions of the women in the novellas and the opinions they put forth in the frame.
Impossible Representations : Fantasy, Mimesis, and Heteroglossia in Louisiana French Fiction
Authors: Cooper R. Paul
Published: August 2023

Modern Louisiana French fiction remains in scant supply. Modern Louisiana French fiction remains in scant supply, largely as a result of the dwindling number of French speakers. Even during the nineteenth century, French writers faced the same problems Louisiana French writers face today, how to model artistically a fading linguistic reality. This article argues that mimesis in Louisiana French fiction is impossible because there no longer exists a rich linguistic reality to use as a model. Despite this, Louisiana French fiction uses techniques from fantasy literature to bring that reality to life.
Translingualism and Histories of Violence in Francophone Algerian Writing
Authors: Hiddleston Jane
Published: August 2023

This article explores the complexity of translingualism in francophone Algerian writing and offers a close reading of Assia Djebar’s Vaste est la prison (1995) to demonstrate the variegated ways in which characters experience the interaction between languages in Algerian history. Drawing on thinkers such as Stefan Helgesson and Christina Kullberg, the article conceptualises ‘translingualism’ not so much as a sign of linguistic mastery, as has been the case in some earlier studies, but as a series of ‘events’ in which encounters between languages either blur or foreground boundaries in various ways at moments in texts where the history of Western imperialism and postcolonialism also play a role. This notion of events informs a reading of francophone Algerian writing, and in particular of Djebar, attentive to the subtle mingling and friction between languages as individuals use them in multiple and changing ways.
Interview: Faust in Three Languages, or How to Translate Goethe without Knowing German
Authors: Wanner Adrian , Astrakhan Vadim
Published: August 2023

Vadim Astrakhan is a Russian immigrant to the United States who has made a name for himself as a translator and performer of songs by Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky. While his previous translations were all from Russian, Astrakhan’s latest project is an English verse rendition of Goethe’s Faust. Astrakhan does not know German. He begins by running Goethe’s original text through Google Translate. He then collates the result with various existing English-language versions of Faust as well as the canonical Russian verse translation by Boris Pasternak (published 1953), which was his main inspiration for putting Faust into rhymed English verse. Adrian Wanner, a professor of Russian and comparative literature at Penn State and a native speaker of German, discusses with Astrakhan what prompted him to translate Goethe’s tragedy. The conversation touches on Astrakhan’s use of English and Russian sources and his methodology and goals as a translator, including the crucial importance he ascribes to bringing to life the music and humor of Goethe’s original for a contemporary American theatrical audience.
Translanguaging, Word and Image, and the Danse Macabre
Authors: Léglu Catherine
Published: August 2023

The late medieval Danse Macabre, a bilingual word-and-image tradition, may be understood through the theoretical lens of translanguaging. This article begins with an analysis of the visual reception of this tradition in a public art installation in Luxembourg City during the coronavirus pandemic, and is followed by the challenges of applying paratranslation to a page of the early printed Danse Macabre (1486). Returning to the earliest translations of the Danse, the article also examines evidence of untranslatability and tensions between three literary languages in the Catalan Dança de la Mort (c. 1490).
An overlooked human rights crisis: The accelerating persecution of Christians across the globe
Authors: Hodge David R
Published: August 2023

Human rights violations targeting Christians have accelerated dramatically in the last decade. Social work is ethically committed to challenging religious discrimination and promoting human rights, yet the profession’s literature has featured little content on this growing human rights crisis. In keeping with calls from the United Nations to address this issue, data on the increasing prevalence and intensity of human rights violations aimed at Christians are reviewed. After articulating a theoretical framework to understand the discrimination, strategies are discussed that social workers might implement to promote more inclusive, socially just societies.
Video Modeling and Systematic Instructions to Teach Graphing Skills to Elementary School Students With Intellectual and Hearing Disabilities
Authors: Nagayama Kohei , Tsutomu Kamiyama , Wakabayashi Kazusa
Published: August 2023

Systematic instruction and video modeling are evidence-based practices for teaching academic skills to students with intellectual disabilities; however, its efficacy has not been established for teaching graphing skills in a small-group setting. Three elementary school students with hearing and intellectual disabilities were taught to describe graphs and compare their differences in a math class at a special needs school using systematic instruction and video modeling. The effectiveness was evaluated using a multiple-baseline across participants’ design. The results showed an increase in correct response rates after the intervention, with similar levels of correct response rates in the probe and graphing based on tables phases. A functional relation was demonstrated between systematic instruction and video modeling and graphing behaviors.