bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Uncertain futures and unsolicited findings in pediatric genomic sequencing: guidelines for return of results in cases of developmental delay
Authors: Cornelis Candice , Dondorp Wybo , Bolt Ineke , de Wert Guido , van Summeren Marieke , Brilstra Eva , Knoers Nine , Bredenoord Annelien L.
Published: November 2023

Background

Massively parallel sequencing techniques, such as whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), may reveal unsolicited findings (UFs) unrelated to the diagnostic aim. Such techniques are frequently used for diagnostic purposes in pediatric cases of developmental delay (DD). Yet policy guidelines for informed consent and return of UFs are not well equipped to address specific moral challenges that may arise in these children’s situations.

Discussion

In previous empirical studies conducted by our research group, we found that it is sometimes uncertain how children with a DD will develop and whether they could come to possess capacities for autonomous decision-making in the future. Parents sometimes felt this brought them into a Catch-22 like situation when confronted with choices about UFs before undergoing WES in trio-analysis (both the parents’ and child’s DNA are sequenced). An important reason for choosing to consent to WES was to gain more insight into how their child might develop. However, to make responsible choices about receiving or declining knowledge of UFs, some idea of their child’s future development of autonomous capacities is needed. This undesirable Catch-22 situation was created by the specific policy configuration in which parents were required to make choices about UFs before being sequencing (trio-analysis). We argue that this finding is relevant for reconfiguring current policies for return of UFs for WES/WGS and propose guidelines that encompass two features. First, the informed consent process ought to be staged. Second, differing guidelines are required for withholding/disclosing a UF in cases of DD appropriate to the level of confidence there is about the child’s future developmental of autonomous capacities.

Conclusion

When combined with a dynamic consent procedure, these two features of our guidelines could help overcome significant moral challenges that present themselves in the situations of children undergoing genomic sequencing for clarifying a DD.
Non-homogeneity in the efficiency evaluation of health systems
Authors: Dlouhý Martin
Published: November 2023

Background

An international comparison of health system performance is a popular tool of health policy analysis. However, the efficiency evaluation of health systems is a practical example of an international comparison in which non-homogeneity is expected. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of health systems by models in which a degree of non-homogeneity among countries is considered.

Methods

We study the problem of non-homogeneity of health systems in the theoretical framework of the data envelopment analysis (DEA), which is a popular method of efficiency evaluation with hundreds of applications from various fields. DEA assume the homogeneity of production units and the homogeneity of the environment in which the production units operate. Hence, we compiled a summary of 14 recommendations on how to deal with the non-homogeneity in the DEA models. The analysed sample includes 38 OECD member countries. The data are from the year 2019.

Results

As an example, we evaluated the health system efficiency of the Czech Republic. We used the DEA models with the neighbourhood measure of distance and the constraint limiting the comparison of countries with different levels of economic development. The health system inputs were the numbers of physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. In the production of the intermediate outputs (doctor consultations, inpatient care discharges), the Czech Republic should look at Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. In the production of health outcomes (life expectancy), the peer countries are France, Italy and Switzerland.

Conclusions

The results of the DEA analysis are only indicative because no single analytical method can determine whether a health system is better or worse than others. We need to combine different methods, and DEA is one of them. We consider DEA as an exploratory method, not a method providing definitive answers.
A Bayesian spatio-temporal framework to assess the effect of seasonal malaria chemoprevention on children under 5 years in Cameroon from 2016 to 2021 using routine data
Authors: Fottsoh Fokam Arnold , Rouamba Toussaint , Samadoulougou Sekou , Ye Yazoume , Kirakoya-Samadoulougou Fati
Published: November 2023

Background

Malaria affects millions of Cameroonian children under 5 years of age living in the North and Far North regions. These regions bear the greatest burden, particularly for children under 5 years of age. To reduce the burden of disease in these regions, Cameroon adopted the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in 2016 and has implemented it each year since its adoption. However, no previous studies have systematically assessed the effects of this intervention in Cameroon. It is important to understand its effect and whether its implementation could be improved. This study aimed to assess the effect of SMC in Cameroon during the period 2016–2021 on malaria morbidity in children under 5 years of age using routine data.

Methods

Data on malaria cases were extracted from the Cameroon Health Monitoring Information System (HMIS) from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2021. Health facilities report these data monthly on a single platform, the District Health Information System version 2 (DHIS2). Thus, a controlled interrupted time-series model in a Bayesian framework was used to evaluate the effects of the SMC on malaria morbidity.

Results

SMC implementation was associated with a reduction in the incidence of uncomplicated malaria cases during the high-transmission periods from 2016 to 2021. Regarding the incidence of severe malaria during the high-transmission period, a reduction was found over the period 2016–2019. The highest reduction was registered during the second year of implementation in 2017:15% (95% Credible Interval, 10–19) of uncomplicated malaria cases and 51% (47–54) of confirmed severe malaria cases.

Conclusion

The addition of SMC to the malaria intervention package in Cameroon decreased the incidence of uncomplicated and severe malaria among children under 5 years of age. Based on these findings, this study supports the wide implementation of SMC to reduce the malaria burden in Cameroon as well as the use of routine malaria data to monitor the efficiency of the strategy in a timely manner.
Career urgency and turnover intention among young adult workers: a comparison by gender and employment status
Authors: Ono Hiromi
Published: November 2023

Background

This study aimed to analyze, by grouping young adult workers by gender and employment status, the model that states that the tendency for impatience in situations such as “stagnation in career exploration,” “low evaluation from affiliation,” “upward comparison of careers between friends and acquaintances,” and “lack of work–life balance” leads to turnover intention through career urgency such as the “feeling of being pressurized,” having the “urge to develop one’s career,” and having “concern for one’s career.”

Methods

An online survey was conducted targeting 400 young adult workers. A simultaneous multi-population analysis was performed.

Results

For both male and female regular employees, the tendency for impatience when their career exploration stagnated led to their turnover intention by the “feeling of being pressurized.” However, for both male and female non-regular employees, although the tendency for impatience promotes the “feeling of being pressurized” upon stagnation in career exploration, it does not lead to turnover intention. Further, the results showed that in the case of female non-regular employees, the tendency for impatience when comparing their own career to those of friends and acquaintances, who are in a more desirable state than their own, leads to turnover intention through “concern for one’s career.”

Conclusions

Future research should consider marital status and the presence or absence of children in addition to gender and employment. Future studies should consider whether non-regular employees are of the involuntary type and whether they wish to change their status as regular employees.
Search-engine-based surveillance using artificial intelligence for early detection of coronavirus disease outbreak
Authors: Wang Ligui , Liu Yuqi , Chen Hui , Qiu Shaofu , Liu Yonghong , Yang Mingjuan , Du Xinying , Li Zhenjun , Hao Rongzhang , Tian Huaiyu , Song Hongbin
Published: November 2023

The search-engine-based surveillance methods for the early warning and prediction of infectious diseases cannot achieve search engine keywords automatic filtering and real-time updating, lead to powerless for the early warning of emerging infectious diseases. The aim of this study is to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) method for search-engine-based surveillance to improve the early warning ability for emerging infectious diseases. The 32 keywords (444 million search queries) that may be related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was collected from December 18, 2019 to February 11, 2020 from Baidu’s search engine database. The graph convolution network (GCN) model was used to select search engine keywords automatically, and then, multiple linear regression was performed to explore the relationship between the daily query frequencies of keywords and daily new cases. The GCN model was used to automatically select keywords. The prediction trend of the GCN model was highly consistent with the true curve with a mean absolute error of 81.65. Three keywords including “epidemic”, “mask” and “coronavirus” were selected. The selection keywords in the search queries were highly correlated with the daily number of confirmed cases (r = 0.96, 0.94, and 0.89; P < 0.01). An abnormal initial peak (3.05 times the normal volume) in queries appeared on December 31, 2019, which could have served as an early warning signal for an outbreak. Of particular concern, 17.5% of query volume originated from the Hubei Province, 51.15% of which was from Wuhan City. The coefficients of determination (R2) of our constructed model were 0.88, 0.88, 0.84, 0.77, 0.77, 0.75, 0.73, and 0.73 for a time lag of 0–7 days, respectively, using selection keywords. The model we constructed was used in the Beijing Xinfadi outbreak as an independent test dataset, which successfully predicted the daily numbers of cases for the following days and detected an early signal during the Beijing Xinfadi outbreak (R2 = 0.79). In this paper search-engine-based surveillance based on the AI method was established for the early detection of the COVID-19 epidemic for the first time. The model achieves automatic filtering and real-time updating of search engine keywords and can effectively detect the early signals of emerging infectious diseases.
Burkholderia cepacia skin-related ulceration: a case report
Authors: Rivolo Massimo , Ruka Erind , Piazza Salvatore
Published: November 2023

Treatment of infected wounds remains a major challenge for clinicians. Antimicrobial stewardship is an important pillar in wound treatment and, as the role of bacteria in wound repair is not well understood, new treatment options and products are constantly being developed to tackle local infection and biofilm. This case report describes a case of antibiotic-resistant Burkholderia cepacia skin infection and subsequent leg ulceration in an 86-year-old man during the COVID pandemic in Italy, which was successfully treated in a conservative way using 1% acetic acid and silver oxysalts in conjunction with compression bandage.
Exploring the Institute of Fiscal Studies report on sector funding
Authors: Cowley Sue
Published: November 2023

In September 2023, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published a report analysing the changes in early years spending over the past 25 years. The report also looks ahead to the implications of the major reforms to early years entitlement funding which were announced in the last Budget. Sue Cowley examines the details and considers what the changes mean for settings.
Helping parents navigate the funding changes coming in 2024
Authors: Jackson Louise
Published: November 2023

The Government's announcement earlier this year of changes to the funding for early years education and care has been widely reported. However, with more complexity coming into the system next year, supporting parents to navigate the new funding entitlements can be challenging. To help settings understand the changes, Louise Jackson, Educational Content writer for Blossom Educational, outlines what funding will be available in 2024 and how to support parents from their initial application through to the reconfirmation of their eligibility.
Supporting children born during the Covid-19 pandemic now coming into early years settings
Authors: Webster Chloe
Published: November 2023

Children who were born during the pandemic are now at an age where most of them will be entering early years education. However there have been many reports about the unique needs and experiences of this cohort, due to the effect of the lockdowns in the earliest months and years of their lives. Chloe Webster, early years practitioner and writer, explores these and discusses ways practitioners can provide additional support to children who were born during the pandemic.
Remembering the forgotten: How can we help looked-after children's social and emotional development in the early years?
Authors: Gillespie Emma
Published: November 2023

The development of looked-after children (LAC) is greatly ignored in early years research, with few interventions designed specifically to tackle the issues that may arise as a result of becoming a LAC. In the final instalment of this three-part series, Emma Gillespie, early years educator, discusses the importance of understanding the factors that may contribute to poorer social and emotional development for LAC than their peers. She hopes that greater understanding will enable practitioners to provide better support to LAC where the odds have been stacked against them.
‘Be passionate about what you do and always consider the child at the centre of every decision’
Authors: Roberts Elly
Published: November 2023

Mandy Guttadauro, operations director at Bright Little Stars Head Office, discusses her career and what inspires her each day.
Using art as a tool for holistic development
Authors: Rana Priyanka
Published: November 2023

Exploring the benefits of a long-term art project inspired by Paul Klee's Castle and Sun.
Management of the older horse
Authors: Austin Scott
Published: November 2023

The increasing age of horses presented for veterinary care has been recognised over several decades. The increase in the percentage of horses older than 20 years of age has been attributed to improved nutrition, early recognition and management of conditions seen more frequently in the geriatric horse, and the increased willingness of owners to pursue veterinary care to maintain the comfort of their senior horses. Geriatric medicine is devoted to the management of conditions that have increasing age as a risk factor for their development. Conditions that are seen more frequently in older horses include pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, chronic weight loss, obesity, osteoarthritis, laminitis, neoplasia and cardiovascular dysfunction. In addition, routine wellness care is essential for early recognition of age-related changes and prompt institution of appropriate care to maintain the comfort of the horse.
Implementation of a quantum walk in a cycle of four nodes using an alternative method based on the Swap gate
Authors: Freitas Dagoberto S , Barbosa Aisis R
Published: November 2023

This work has the objective of implementing quantum random walks in a graph with 4 nodes represented by a circle. It was observed that during the implementation of a discrete-time quantum walk, based on Hadamard's coin, the simulated results diverge from the theoretically expected results. In order to correct the discrepancies between the processed and theoretically expected results we use an alternative method based on the Swap port. To perform the simulation of the algorithms, the Qiskit framework and a real processor provided by IBM through remote access was used. The simulations performed in the real processor showed small fluctuations, however the quantum states were obtained with satisfactory probabilities.
Unexceptional neoliberalism and the future of work: constrained enterprise and worker subjectivities in the gig economy of India
Authors: Nair Gayatri , Divyadarshi Jennifer
Published: November 2023

The discourse and policy of ‘entrepreneurial development’ has been critical to the spread of platform-based gig work in India. Digital platforms introducing gig work for location-based services, are perceived as vital in providing opportunities for dignified work marking a break from informality and are accompanied by the state’s push towards cultivating neoliberal subjectivities of ‘self-reliance’. We examine how a discourse of entrepreneurial development and the ‘enterprising self’ underpins the structural conditions of location-based gig work, through an examination of conditions of work in the ride hailing, food delivery and beauty/spa sector, in the Delhi National Capital Region. Although gig work has been defined as fertile ground for enterprise culture to take root, we find that neoliberal subjectivities within it have not thrived. An enterprising spirit can only survive through a subversion of the platform rather than by working on it. Our findings also suggest that gig workers’ drive to earn more, and for autonomy is underpinned by social considerations, including that of survival and mobility for the self and families. Gig work, then, is not a radical break from informality, instead workers experience social and economic insecurity common to informal workforces, which is now reproduced through digital technology and the ‘unexceptional’ change of neoliberalism.
Bodies, Shawls, and Train Cars: Women and the Traveling Homes of the Mexican Revolution
Authors: Gutiérrez-Monroy Tania
Published: November 2023

abstract: This article examines the ephemeral architectures and the place-making practices of the women in charge of building the mobile dwellings of military columns during the early twentieth-century Mexican Revolution. During this decade-long civil war, federal and rebel armies mobilized throughout Mexico and were heavily dependent on the services provided by the crowds of working-class women who traveled with them. Better known as soldaderas , these camp followers cared for the daily necessities of cooking, laundry, and health care for soldiers, while also creating ephemeral dwellings for the military columns. These domestic settings developed cyclically in a process of building, using, dismantling, transporting, and building anew. Two different artifacts remained constant and central to the building and rebuilding work of soldaderas: the train car and the shawl. This article analyzes how they worked in tandem with the bodies of soldaderas to produce a domestic architecture in need of constant rebuilding, a domestic architecture whose contingent transformation meaningfully fused the fabrication process and its material malleability. Losing its unity and fixity, this architecture unfolded in a series of domestic and material practices that were no longer contained in a single site and moment.
Veiled Reading, Reading Veils: Textile Curtains and the Experiences of Medieval French Manuscripts, 1200–1325
Authors: Ravenhall Henry
Published: November 2023

Abstract: Building on groundbreaking studies by Christine Sciacca and Morgan Simms Adams, this article addresses an understudied phenomenon of medieval French manuscript culture: the sewing of textile curtains—fabric pieces made of silk, linen, or cotton gauze—above or beside illuminations to protect and veil them. Presenting a corpus of forty-six manuscripts of medieval French texts that once contained curtains, I demonstrate how this practice extended beyond the realm of Latin and devotional books to some of the most popular vernacular illuminated book traditions of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. Through a series of examples, the different performative potentialities of the veil—its affordances—are shown to far exceed its presumed protective function. Indeed, I argue that the textile curtain, operating at the intersection of touch and sight, should be considered an important part of how certain French books were experienced in the Middle Ages.
"Birds Do It, Bees Do It": Avian Variance in Two Italian Witnesses of Richard de Fournival's Bestiaire d'amour
Authors: O'Brock Emily
Published: November 2023

Abstract: This article examines the implications of a textual variant found in two Italian witnesses of Richard de Fournival's Bestiaire d'amour that transforms the section on bees and song into one about birds and song. These witnesses are not entirely unique, as the bees are eliminated from nearly half of the surviving manuscripts of the Bestiaire in clearly intentional ways. The high concentration of variants to the bee section in this manuscript tradition destabilizes any authority that might be attributed to the dominant bee text and highlights a tension between Richard's claims about bees and the views of his readers. The specific textual features of the two Italian manuscripts on which I focus, Morgan Library, M. 459 and Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plutei, LXXVI. 7n, make plain the ways in which bees were not an intuitive example in a discussion of song. Despite ample textual clues that the passage is about bees, as found in the most-used version of the text, the creators of these Italian witnesses assumed it had to be about birds because birds sing and bees do not. The variations found in these manuscripts also make an explicit interpretation of the text, clearing up an ambiguity regarding the application of the bees to the lover's situation. These variations make it plain that the bees-turned-birds represent the lover who is drawn in by his lady's song. Rather than representing scribal errors or corruptions, these variants give insights into the life of the text, illustrating how it was received, understood, and transmitted over time.
The Sacramentality of Scripture in the Writings of Johann Gerhard
Authors: Admiraal Lucas J.
Published: November 2023

Abstract: Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) was a Lutheran pastor and university professor in Germany whose writings on scripture stand as some of his most important theological contributions. In these works, he developed the doctrine of scripture in several significant ways. This essay addresses one such development: Gerhard’s understanding of the sacramentality of scripture. Though scripture is not a sacrament properly speaking, the relationship of its external form to its internal divine meaning and purpose presents an interesting sacramental analogy. In speaking of sacramentality, Gerhard is concerned with the status of scripture as a means of grace and the efficacy of the word in itself. This essay will focus on the continuity of Gerhard’s views on the efficacy of scripture, especially in the face of an episode known as the Rahtmannian debate. Two points will be stressed throughout: (1) Gerhard took a consistent approach to the efficacy of scripture throughout his writings and (2) this approach provides a helpful foundation upon which to establish a theology of the sacramentality of scripture.
How the Priesthood of All Believers Became American
Authors: Strom Jonathan
Published: November 2023

Abstract: This article examines how the common priesthood or priesthood of all believers emerged from a narrow German Lutheran context and became “Americanized” in the nineteenth century. References to the common priesthood in any of its variations were seldom in early America, and the article traces how Americans in the mid-nineteenth century, especially the church historian Philip Schaff, drew on new understandings of the common priesthood in nineteenth-century Germany propagated by August Neander, among others, and applied it to the American republican context. By the end of the nineteenth century, it had gained wide currency among Protestants in America and would become a key element of American Protestant self-understanding. Lutherans drew on it as well, but many remained ambivalent about broader claims, especially as it might impinge on the authority of the ordained office. In the formulation “the priesthood of all believers,” the common priesthood continues to resonate in the twentieth century among a diverse range of American denominations from peace church Quakers to conservative Evangelicals, although interpretations of it continue to vary widely.
An Application of Cellular Automata (CA) and Markov Chain (MC) Model in Urban Growth Prediction: A case of Surat City, Gujarat, India
Authors: Sheladiya Kaushikkumar Prafulbhai , Patel Chetan R.
Published: November 2023

The main purpose of this study is to detect land use land cover change for 1990-2000, 2000-2010, and 2010-2020 using multispectral Landsat images as well as to simulate and predict urban growth of Surat city using Cellular Automata-based Markov Chain Model. Maximum likelihood supervise classification was used to generate LULC maps of the years 1990,2000,2010, and 2020 and the overall accuracy of these maps were 90%, 95%, 91.25%, and 96.25%, respectively. Two transition rules were commuted to predict the LULC of 2010 and 2020. For validation of these LULC maps, the Area Under Characteristics curve was used, and these maps' accuracy was 95.30% and 86.90%. This validation predicted LULC maps for the years 2035 and 2050. Transition rules of 2010-2035 showed that there will be a probability that 36.33% of vegetation area and 40.27% of the vacant land area will be transited into built-up by the year 2035, and it will be 49.20 % of the total area. Also, 57.77% of the vegetation area and 60.24% of the built-up area will be transformed into urban areas by the year 2050, almost 62.60 %. Analysis of LULC maps 2035 and 2050 exhibits that there will be abundant growth in all directions except the South Zone and Southwest Zone. Therefore, this study helps urban planners and decision-makers decide what to retain, where to plan for new development and type of development, what to connect, and what to protect in coming years.
Two-distance vertex-distinguishing index of sparse graphs
Authors: He Zhengyue , Liang Li , Gao Wei
Published: November 2023

The two-distance vertex-distinguishing index

χ

d
2

′

(

G

)

{\chi }_{d2}^{^{\prime} }\left(G)

of graph

G

G

is defined as the smallest integer

k

k

, for which the edges of

G

G

can be properly colored using

k

k

colors. In this way, any pair of vertices at distance of two have distinct sets of colors. The two-distance vertex-distinguishing edge coloring of graphs can be used to solve some network problems. In this article, we used the method of discharging to prove that if

G

G

is a graph with mad

(

G

)

<

8

3

\left(G)\lt \frac{8}{3}

, then

χ

d
2

′

(

G

)

≤
max

{

7
,
Δ
+
2

}

{\chi }_{d2}^{^{\prime} }\left(G)\le \max \left\{7,\Delta +2\right\}

, which improves the result that a graph

G

G

of

Δ

(

G

)

≥
4

\Delta \left(G)\ge 4

has

χ

d
2

′

(

G

)

≤
Δ

(

G

)

+
2

{\chi }_{d2}^{^{\prime} }\left(G)\le \Delta \left(G)+2

if mad

(

G

)

<

5

2

\left(G)\lt \frac{5}{2}

, and

χ

d
2

′

(

G

)

≤
Δ

(

G

)

+
3

{\chi }_{d2}^{^{\prime} }\left(G)\le \Delta \left(G)+3

if mad

(

G

)

<

8

3

\left(G)\lt \frac{8}{3}

.
Regularity and abundance on semigroups of partial transformations with invariant set
Authors: Pantarak Thapakorn , Chaiya Yanisa
Published: November 2023

Let

P

(

X

)

P\left(X)

be a partial transformation semigroup on a non-empty set

X

X

. For a fixed non-empty subset

Y

Y

of

X

X

, let

P
T

¯

(

X
,
Y

)

=

{

α
∈
P

(

X

)

∣

(

dom

α
∩
Y

)

α
⊆
Y

}

.

\overline{PT}\left(X,Y)=\left\{\alpha \in P\left(X)| \left({\rm{dom}}\hspace{0.33em}\alpha \cap Y)\alpha \subseteq Y\right\}.

Then,

P
T

¯

(

X
,
Y

)

\overline{PT}\left(X,Y)

consists of all the mapping in

P

(

X

)

P\left(X)

that leave

Y
⊆
X

Y\subseteq X

as an invariant. It is a generalization of

P

(

X

)

P\left(X)

since

P
T

¯

(

X
,
X

)

=
P

(

X

)

\overline{PT}\left(X,X)=P\left(X)

. In this article, we present the necessary and sufficient conditions for elements of

P
T

¯

(

X
,
Y

)

\overline{PT}\left(X,Y)

to be regular, left regular, and right regular. The results are used to describe the relationships between these elements and determine their number when

X

X

is a finite set. Moreover, we show that

P
T

¯

(

X
,
Y

)

\overline{PT}\left(X,Y)

is always abundant.
Prognostic potential of m7G-associated lncRNA signature in predicting bladder cancer response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy
Authors: Li Deng-xiong , Wu Rui-cheng , Wang Jie , Feng De-chao , Deng Shi
Published: November 2023

Objectives

The influence of N7-methylguanosine (m7G) on cancer prognosis and immune response has been well-reported. However, the role of m7G-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in bladder cancer (BC) remains largely unexplored. This study wanted to explore the relationship between m7G-related lncRNAs and BC.

Methods

To construct the m7G-related lncRNA signature, we utilized data obtained from TCGA. The collected data was then analyzed using R (version 4.2.1, Bell Laboratories, Boston, USA) and relevant packages.

Results

The m7G-related lncRNA signature consisted of seven lncRNAs (including GATA3-AS1, LINC00930, LINC01341, MED14OS, MIR100HG, RUSC1-AS1, SNHG4). The prognostic and clinical relevance of the risk score was corroborated in both the TCGA and IMvigor210 datasets. Individuals characterized by a high-risk score displayed substantial enrichment in pathways associated with immunity, notably those pertaining to the innate immune response, cytokine-mediated signaling pathways, and the adaptive immune system. Additionally, the high-risk score group showed a positive correlation with many immune checkpoints, including CD274, CD40, CTLA4, PDCD1, PDCD1LG2, among others. Moreover, a significant difference in the TCIA score was observed between the high-risk and low-risk score groups, indicating the potential distinct immunotherapy response rates. Furthermore, patients with a high-risk score demonstrated increased sensitivity to cisplatin, docetaxel, doxorubicin, gemcitabine, and vinblastine.

Conclusions

This m7G-related lncRNA signature demonstrates considerable promise as a prognostic biomarker in BC, facilitating the anticipation of responses to both immunotherapy and chemotherapy. This study provides a solid foundation for future investigations into the role of m7G-related lncRNAs in BC.
NAN342K Mutation Enhances the Pathogenicity of Influenza B Virus in Mice
Authors: Chen Qi , Xu Xiaohao , Tan Min , Yang Lei , Wang Dayan , Shu Yuelong , Zhu Wenfei
Published: November 2023

Objective:

Influenza B virus is a significant respiratory pathogen responsible for seasonal influenza. In recent years the B/Yamagata lineage has demonstrated a rapid increase, predominantly featuring the neuraminidase (NA)N342K mutation. This study determined the impact of the NAN342K mutation on the pathogenicity of influenza B virus and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Methods:

Gene fragments with specific mutations were generated using site-directed mutagenesis PCR, resulting in recombinant viruses (rAH127 and rAH127/NAN342K). C57BL/6 mice were infected to evaluate the impact of amino acid mutations on virus pathogenicity. Body weight, survival rate, virus replication, and lung pathology were compared among the groups. NA enzyme activity was assessed to determine the mechanisms underlying the effects of amino acid mutations on the pathogenicity of influenza B virus.

Results:

The NAN342K mutant virus exhibited significantly increased NA enzyme activity (3.19-fold) and viral replication capacity in MDCK cells (6.76-fold) compared to wild-type virus. These changes led to enhanced pathogenicity in mice, characterized by severe weight loss, increased mortality, and heightened lung tissue inflammation.

Conclusions:

The NAN342K mutation likely enhances virus replication and pathogenicity by increasing NA enzyme activity. These findings contribute to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying influenza B virus pathogenicity and have implications for targeted therapeutic strategies.
Transparency and Readability of the Financial Statements of the Ceará Government during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Holanda Banhos Alberto Sérgio , Arbues Decoster Sonia Rosa
Published: November 2023

The context of exceptionality generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has made once insurmountable rules more flexible, bringing to the state the legal duty to act more transparently and understandably to avoid flaws in public spending. Based on the specific state legislation on data transparency in this period, this article aims to present the disclosure of information by the Government of the state of Ceará according to State Law nº 17,257 of August 3rd, 2020, and analyze the readability of the Explanatory Notes of the General Balance Sheet and the Social Balance Sheet for the financial year 2020 (Governo do Estado do Ceará, 2020). The case study demonstrates a cut in the control criteria of public spending from March 2020 to March 2021, evaluating the mechanism used descriptively and qualitatively when investigating the case of transparency in the scope of the information presented by the Ceará government and the application of the Flesch and Gunning-FOG indices adapted for the Portuguese language. In the end, we indicated some improvements in the level of systems integration. In conclusion, the degree of transparency was achieved, presenting total compliance with the specified information and median textual comprehensibility in six of the seven categories.
Osmaneli İlçe Merkezinde Kültürel Miras Değerlerin Korunması ve Turizme Kazandırılması Konusunda Yapılabileceklerin Belirlenmesi: Kavramsal Bir Analiz
Authors: COŞKUN Raziye , OKUYUCU Ayşe
Published: November 2023

Bu çalışmada Osmaneli’nde kültürel mirasın korunmasına ve turizme kazandırılmasına yönelik yapılabileceklerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden olan doküman incelemesi tekniği kullanılmıştır. Analiz yöntemi olarak ise içerik analizi tekniğinden yararlanmıştır. Çalışmada, kültürel miras değerlerin korunması ve turizme kazandırılması konusunda, kültür turizminde gelişme yakalamış olan Beypazarı, Safranbolu ve Cumalıkızık’ta yapılmış olan çalışmalar incelenerek, Osmaneli’nde turizm ve koruma konusunda nelerin yapılabileceğinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma için, 21 ampirik makale derinlemesine analiz edilmiştir. Nitekim, 112 kavram/kavram seti, 13 kategori ve 5 tema oluşturulmuştur. Birinci tema “turizm çekicilikleri”, ikinci tema “turizmin olumlu etkileri”, üçüncü tema “turizmin olumsuz etkileri”, dördüncü tema “turizmin gelişmesi için öneriler”, beşinci tema “geliştirilebilecek diğer turizm türleri” olarak belirlenmiştir. Ortaya çıkan bulgulardan hareketle kapsamlı bir bakış açısı geliştirerek Osmaneli için bütünleştirici bir çerçeve oluşturmaya çalışılmıştır. Osmaneli’de kültürel mirasın korunması ve turizme kazandırılması için kapsamlı bir plan yapılmalıdır. Osmaneli’nin iç turizmde adından başarıyla söz edilen bir kent durumuna gelebilmesi, ekonomik hayatının dönüşmesi ve canlanması ve kentin fiziksel olarak dönüşüm içine girmesi için, yapılan planlamaların yanı sıra turizm pazarlama stratejileri de oluşturması gerekmektedir. Yerel yönetim, üniversite, sivil toplum kuruluşları ve yerli halkın işbirliği ile alana ilişkin tanıtım ve imaj çalışmaları yapılarak destinasyonun tanınırlığı arttırılmalıdır. Osmaneli ilçesinin bütün doğal ve kültürel turizm potansiyeli belirlenerek alternatif turizm çeşitleri geliştirilmelidir.
Multi-electrode array (MEA) v1
Authors: A Parra-Rivas Leonardo
Published: November 2023

Multi-electrode array (MEA)
Resisting Modern Agricultural Practices and Urge to Practice Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer
Authors: Gnanabai B. Mercy , Dr. S. Meena Rani
Published: November 2023

Long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability is the goal of sustainable agriculture, which aims to satisfy current and future agricultural demands. Having access to enough safe and nourishing food is essential to a healthy and active life. The novel Prodigal Summer revolves around multiple problems, such as environmental conservation, food security, human-nature interdependence, sustainable farming methods, and resistance to modern agricultural practices. The narrative skilfully blends the natural world with the lives of its characters to highlight the tension between conventional farming practices and the expanding movement toward sustainable agriculture. The actors discuss both traditional and contemporary farming practices in the first speech, focusing on how they understand sustainable farming and how they disagree with issues facing the industry today, such as monoculture and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The second point of contention is how to safeguard food from modern agricultural methods and pesticides. The characters in the novel—Deanna Wolfe, Lusa, and Walker in particular—emphasize the value of biodiversity, organic farming, and the preservation of natural ecosystems in order to maintain a balance between human requirements and environmental care. These characters are acting in unique ways and using their strength and deeds to oppose males and other community members.
Goat Livestock Business Potential Viewed from Population and Production in Indonesia
Authors: Baharuddin Baharuddin  , Andi Tenri Fitriyah  , Aylee Christine Alamsyah Sheyoputri  , Sulfiana
Published: November 2023

Judging from the development aspect, the goat livestock business is very potential, easy to cultivate, both daily and commercially. Goats have several advantages and economic potential, their bodies are relatively small, they reach maturity quickly, and they are easy to maintain. Goat farming business is very easy, does not require large areas of land, relatively small business capital investment, easy to market and business capital rotates quickly.This paper aimed to determine the potential for goat farming in terms of the population and production of goats in Indonesia. This paper examines quantitative data from the last 5 years. The results show that the demand for goat meat in Indonesia is quite high because goats are one of the most consumed livestock by the people of Indonesia, the high level of demand is inseparable from the function of goat farming.
Questioning the Constructed Intangibilities of Water Resources within the Modern Household
Authors: Pretorius Mandi
Published: November 2023

The built environment defines how societies shape relationships within hydrological systems to ensure water security within natural and constructed limitations. Globally, due to geographic, climatic, and anthropogenic reasons, the experience of water scarcity is highly unequal. Within water-secure households, water is often taken for granted as a resource; this is in stark contrast to over a quarter of the world, including at least two million American citizens, for whom water insecurity intersects with the risk of losing residential tenure and heightened disease burden (Urban Waters Learning Network, n.d.; Fedinick et al. 2019).
In this paper, I show how centralized water governance models typically result in highly varied levels of household water security. Globally, public and private water authorities have adopted an economic model of scarcity in water management. Governments and service providers attempt to forestall unsustainable environmental degradation, costly energy intensity, and the mismanagement crippling large-scale infrastructural systems with the revenue they derive from treating water as an economic good. However, these models do not guarantee water access, safety, or affordability and have resulted in the unequal distribution of water scarcity between households.
The issues with centralized water management and the burden on communities are discussed through a case study of the ‘Day Zero’ drought in Cape Town, South Africa, which took place from 2015-2018. I discuss water access in two households before and during this three-year drought and emphasize how the built environment factors into consumption patterns, water tariffing, and the regulation of water access.
In contrast, I argue that decentralized and on-site water management could mediate regional and socio-economic disparities through increasing local water access. I foreground urban disparities in local water access to advocate for the decentralization of water infrastructure and an increase in access to and support for household water and energy security. Residential-to-neighborhood structures for on-site water management could provide more equitable resource negotiation within the built environment, increasing access and widespread security as locally attuned hybrid-decentralized systems.
Reshaping concrete
Authors: Ismail Mohamed
Published: November 2023

Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) struggle to meet the demand for affordable housing in their growing cities. There are several reasons for this, but a major constraint is the high cost of construction materials. In LEDCs, material costs can constitute 60 to 80 percent of the total cost of residential construction. Nonetheless, their construction mimics the materially inefficient practices of the More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs), which were developed to reduce labor over material costs. As a result, prismatic beams and flat slabs are often used despite their structural inefficiency. The mounting use of steel-reinforced concrete structures in LEDC cities also raises concern for the environmental costs of construction; construction accounts for 20-30 percent of LEDC carbon emissions.
This research addresses these challenges with a flexible and accessible methodology for the design and analysis of materially efficient concrete elements that may reduce the economic and environmental costs of urban construction. Designed for the constraints of LEDCs, structural elements are optimized to reduce the embodied carbon associated with the concrete and reinforcing steel while resisting the required loads of a standard building structure. The optimization method includes a novel approach to 3D-shape parameterization, as well as a decoupled analytical engineering analysis method that accounts for the key failure modes and constraints of reinforced concrete design. This method is then built into an open-source toolkit, combined with machine learning for real-time analysis and visualization, and tested using lab- and full-scale prototypes.
The goal of this research is to present several generalizable methods that are applicable and accessible to LEDC building designers. These methods can enable the design of concrete elements for multiple performance criteria such as structural behavior, acoustic transmission, and thermal mass. They can also enable an accessible design practice through machine learning, real-time iterative workflows, and visualization tools that include the end-user in the architectural design process. This paper provides a high-level overview of ongoing research that explores how materially efficient design methods might enable sustainable development through low-cost, low-carbon concrete structural systems for affordable housing in LEDCs.
Re-constituting Precarity for the BIM-Architect
Authors: Blanchard Alex
Published: November 2023

As architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) practices become broadly mediated by computational methods, this article considers the modes of precarity implied for the architect adopting BIM as a medium of modelling and design. Situating the computational apparatus as a prosthesis to the BIM-architect, the article outlines the degree of agency configured for operators of BIM applications while they utilize the structures and methods of software pre-programmed by the application’s original developers. Exploring the structures of Autodesk Revit’s database via the Application Programming Interface (API), the paper interrogates the rationale and logic of building encoded by the program through a reading of its operative code in textual form. Situating an interplay between the Revit-architect and application, who programmes a building model while their intention and conceptualization is programmed in turn, the conditions of precarity installed for the Revit-architect as operator are considered as a result of their limited capacity to modify the programme’s operative methods. Drawing from a political history of technology to interrogate the distributed agency between the Revit-architect and technical apparatus, the article ultimately explores how the architect might adopt the phenomenal experience codified by the procedural operations of algorithms through alternative means. It concludes by drawing from autoethnographic practice and situated experiences at the site of the author’s studios, offering material from which to construct an alternative and differentiated notion of algorithm-aided modelling and design according to a nuanced attention to the depth of building.
Towards an Anti-Antiutopia
Authors: Crosby Phillip
Published: November 2023

This paper examines Darko Suvin’s and Kim Stanley Robinson’s assertion that the late-stage capitalism and neoliberalism of our world can be understood as an “antiutopia” that actively works to suppress the imagination of better futures. It argues that the relatively new science fiction sub-genre of solarpunk—which sets itself in direct opposition to the dystopian visions of the more well-known subgenre cyberpunk and imagines worlds that focus on the community rather than the individual, on environmental sustainability rather than environmental degradation, on social justice rather than subjugation and inequality, and on optimism rather than nihilism—offers some of the most promising paths toward the rejection of this antiutopia in favor of an anti-antiutopian (and therefore utopian) approach that actively works to bring about a better future. The paper suggests that the solarpunk futures currently emerging in literature, art, and online communities offer architects, landscape architects, and urban designers powerful inspiration for the future of our increasingly urban world. It examines a selection of short stories, novels, films, and other media—as well as innovative projects of urbanism—for examples of how embracing the practical utopianism of solarpunk can provide both visions of better worlds and potential paths for achieving them.