bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The measurement of radiation doses in brachytherapy using an alanine dosimeter
Authors:   Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand., Chaluaysang Kanyarat , Pongsuwan Nutchanon ,   Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand., Awikunprasert Panatsada ,   Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand., Ninlapruk Sumalee ,   Ionising Radiation Metrology Group, Office of Atoms for Peace, Bangkok, Thailand., Pungkun Vithit ,   Ionising Radiation Metrology Group, Office of Atoms for Peace, Bangkok, Thailand.
Published: August 2023

Background: Brachytherapy involves the use of high radiation doses to treat cancer patients, making it essential to have appropriate dosimeter properties to confirm the accuracy and precision of the dose delivered to the patient. Objectives: This study was to investigate the relationship between radiation dose and electron spin resonance (ESR) signal and to evaluate the optimal conditions for the ESR technique. Additionally, the radiation dose from brachytherapy was measured in a solid phantom using alanine in combination with the ESR technique. Materials and methods: The alanine dosimeter (FWT-50-10, Steris, USA), ionization chamber (TW30013, PTW Freiburge, Germany), and transferring tube were positioned inside the solid phantom (Krieger, T9193, PTW Freiburge, Germany), with the BEBIG Co-60 source located at the center of the phantom. Dwell times were calculated to obtain a radiation dose range of 0.06-1.5 Gy. Following irradiation, the alanine derivative was measured using an ESR spectrometer, and a graph was generated to determine the relationship between radiation dose and ESR signal. The uncertainty and fading of the ESR signal were also evaluated. Results: The results indicate that there is a linear relationship (R2 = 0.877) between the radiation dose range of 0.49-1.5 Gy and ESR signal, with a microwave power of 1.5 milliwatt. The uncertainty of the ESR signal was found to be in the range of 0.12% - 3.79%. Signal fading was observed to be in the range of 7.2% - 27.4% over a period of two weeks. Conclusion: Alanine and ESR technique can be used to measure absorbed dose in brachytherapy. The dose response of alanine was linear for radiation doses above 0.49 Gy. The advantages of alanine dosimetry are that alanine is tissue equivalent, nondestructive, small in size, and has low signal uncertainty.
VIRTUAL FRACTURE CLINIC TRIAGE AND SELECTIVE USE OF MRI: A HYBRID MODEL FOR MANAGING SUSPECTED SCAPHOID FRACTURES
Authors: Heylen J. , Macdonald N. , Larsson E. , Moon K-H. , Vaughan A. , Owens R.
Published: August 2023

In current practice in the UK there are three main approaches to investigating suspected scaphoid fractures not seen on initial plain film x-rays.

Early MRI of all cases

Review all cases in clinic at two weeks with repeat x-rays

Hybrid model. Virtual Fracture Clinic (VFC) triage to reduce those who are seen in clinic at two weeks by:

Organising early MRI for those with high-risk presentation.

Discharging those with an alternative more likely diagnosis.

Our unit uses the VFC model. We aimed to evaluate its efficiency, safety, clinical outcomes and economic viability.

All patients attending the emergency department with either a confirmed or suspected scaphoid fracture between March and December 2020 were included (n=305). Of these 297 were referred to the VFC: 33 had a confirmed fracture on x-ray and 264 had a suspected fracture.

Of the suspected fractures reviewed in VFC 14% had an MRI organised directly owing to a high-risk presentation, 79% were brought for fracture clinic review and 17% discharged with an alternative diagnosis such as osteoarthritis.

Of those subsequently reviewed in fracture clinic at two weeks: 9% were treated as scaphoid fractures (based on clinical suspicion and repeat x-rays), 17% had MRI or CT imaging organised, 5% did not attend and 69% were discharged.

Overall, 17% of cases initially triaged, had further imaging – 41 MRIs and 5 CTs. MRI detected: 5% scaphoid fracture, 17% other fracture, 24% bone contusion, complete ligament tear 10%, partial ligament tear 39% and normal study 10%. The results of MRI minimally affected management. 3 patients were taken out of plaster early, 1 patient was immobilized who was not previously and no patients underwent operative management.

In the following 12-month period one patient re-presented with a hand or wrist issue.

This approach avoided 218 MRIs, equating to £24000 and 109 hours of scanner time.

VFC triage and selective use of MRI scanning is a safe, efficient and cost-effective method for the management suspected scaphoid fractures. This can be implemented in units without the resource to MRI all suspected scaphoid fractures from the emergency department.
Elegiac Additions: Marking Arthur's Death in Manuscripts of Geoffrey of Monmouth
Authors: Echard Siân
Published: August 2023

Abstract: Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae is structured around the sequence of British rulers. This structure inevitably means that the text is punctuated by death: an old ruler dies, and another succeeds. The reception of Arthur's death varies across time and manuscript witnesses. This article traces some of the ways that Arthur's death (or his departure) is marked in the manuscript tradition. Both the original design of a manuscript and interventions by later readers can shift how the transition from Arthur's reign is presented and received.
William Apess's Indian Nullification : Narrating Mashpee Wampanoag Sovereignty in Nineteenth-Century America and Beyond
Authors: Zuck Rochelle Raineri
Published: August 2023

Abstract: William Apess's Indian Nullification (1835) engages various forms of nullification, drawn from contemporary politics, secular history, and Judeo-Christian tradition, as part of a collective expression of sovereignty meant to gain ground (literally and figuratively) for the Mashpee Wampanoags. This essay argues that, for Apess, nullification emerges as a transformative practice that can be used in the absence of treaties to articulate the Mashpees' political and religious claims and leverage new political possibilities for them, in part through its invocation of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution. References to nullification also allow him to transform and elevate the Mashpees' situation from one of local concern to national and even eschatological importance. Nullification provides an avenue to respond to characterizations of Mashpees that circulated in the New England press in which their situation was used as an occasion, or even a vehicle, for working through issues of concern for many white Americans, such as miscegenation (to use a term common in the era) and growing sectional tensions. The essay concludes by briefly connecting Apess's arguments with the Mashpee Wampanoags' more recent efforts to gain federal recognition and assert their territorial claims.
Dual-modal identification of jadeite based on optical coherence tomography images and Raman spectral features
Authors: Zou Tu , Ma Sha , Cui Minrou , Zhu Liang , Hao Yue , Fang Xianglin , Lin Lin
Published: August 2023

Low-quality jadeite is often subjected to bleaching, filling, and dyeing to improve its texture and consequently increase its value. In this study, natural jadeite, bleached and filled jadeite, and dyed jadeite were investigated by combining Raman spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The results show that jadeite composition can be identified from Raman peaks around 205, 377, 700, and 1040cm−1. The presence of epoxy filler can be detected from Raman peaks at 1113, 1187, and 1609cm−1, among which the features of 1113 and 1609cm−1 are particularly significant. Dyed jadeite exhibits a pronounced fluorescence background in its Raman spectrum due to the injected dye. After noise reduction, texture vectors representing the texture of bleached or dyed jadeite can be obtained from OCT images. These vectors differ from the corresponding texture vector of natural jadeite. Most processed jadeites have relatively low texture vector intensities due to particle reduction and texture damage during processing. However, the texture vector strengths of jadeites can be increased through internal silting.
Study on the influence of surface roughness on the diffraction efficiency of two-dimensional gratings
Authors: Ban Yaowen , Zhao Guobo , Zhang Zhenghui , Chen Bangdao , Lu Bingheng , Liu Hongzhong
Published: August 2023

This study investigates the effect of surface roughness on the diffraction efficiency of two-dimensional gratings. Firstly, a roughness model was constructed using FDTD, followed by a significant analysis of the ridge roughness, groove roughness, and sidewall roughness on diffraction efficiency. Then, the impact of each roughness type on diffraction efficiency was studied separately. Results indicate that ridge roughness has a negative impact on diffraction efficiency, whereas groove roughness and sidewall roughness have a positive impact on the diffraction efficiency of two-dimensional gratings. When ridge, groove, and sidewall roughness coexist, diffraction efficiency decreases with an increase in roughness, consistent with previous research. However, under conditions of minimal roughness, diffraction efficiency actually increases. Finally, an experiment was conducted to verify the conclusions. The results of this study have significant reference value for the application and development of precision measurement techniques for gratings.
On-target delivery of intense ultrafast laser pulses through hollow-core anti-resonant fibers
Authors: Lekosiotis Athanasios , Belli Federico , Brahms Christian , Sabbah Mohammed , Sakr Hesham , Davidson Ian A. , Poletti Francesco , Travers John C.
Published: August 2023

We report the flexible on-target delivery of 800 nm wavelength, 5 GW peak power, 40 fs duration laser pulses through an evacuated and tightly coiled 10 m long hollow-core nested anti-resonant fiber by positively chirping the input pulses to compensate for the anomalous dispersion of the fiber. Near-transform-limited output pulses with high beam quality and a guided peak intensity of 3 PW/cm2 were achieved by suppressing plasma effects in the residual gas by pre-pumping the fiber with laser pulses after evacuation. This appears to cause a long-term removal of molecules from the fiber core. Identifying the fluence at the fiber core-wall interface as the damage origin, we scaled the coupled energy to 2.1 mJ using a short piece of larger-core fiber to obtain 20 GW at the fiber output. This scheme can pave the way towards the integration of anti-resonant fibers in mJ-level nonlinear optical experiments and laser-source development.
High-speed silicon photonic electro-optic Kerr modulation
Authors: Peltier Jonathan , Zhang Weiwei , Virot Leopold , Lafforgue Christian , Deniel Lucas , Marris-Morini Delphine , Aubin Guy , Amar Farah , Tran Denh , Yan Xingzhao , Littlejohns Callum G. , Alonso-Ramos Carlos , Li Ke , Thomson David J. , Reed Graham , Vivien Laurent
Published: August 2023

Silicon-based electro-optic modulators contribute to easing the integration of high-speed and low-power consumption circuits for classical optical communications and data computations. Beyond the plasma dispersion modulation, an alternative solution in silicon is to exploit the DC Kerr effect, which generates an equivalent linear electro-optical effect enabled by applying a large DC electric field. Although some theoretical and experimental studies have shown its existence in silicon, limited contributions relative to plasma dispersion have been achieved in high-speed modulation so far. This paper presents high-speed optical modulation based on the DC Kerr effect in silicon PIN waveguides. The contributions of both plasma dispersion and Kerr effects have been analyzed in different waveguide configurations, and we demonstrated that the Kerr induced modulation is dominant when a high external DC electric field is applied in PIN waveguides. High-speed optical modulation response is analyzed, and eye diagrams up to 80 Gbit/s in NRZ format are obtained under a d.c. voltage of 30 V. This work paves the way to exploit the Kerr effect to generate high-speed Pockels-like optical modulation.
Spatial organisation of the mesoscale connectome: A feature influencing synchrony and metastability of network dynamics
Authors: Mackay Michael , Huo Siyu , Kaiser Marcus
Published: August 2023

Significant research has investigated synchronisation in brain networks, but the bulk of this work has explored the contribution of brain networks at the macroscale. Here we explore the effects of changing network topology on functional dynamics in spatially constrained random networks representing mesoscale neocortex. We use the Kuramoto model to simulate network dynamics and explore synchronisation and critical dynamics of the system as a function of topology in randomly generated networks with a distance-related wiring probability and no preferential attachment term. We show networks which predominantly make short-distance connections smooth out the critical coupling point and show much greater metastability, resulting in a wider range of coupling strengths demonstrating critical dynamics and metastability. We show the emergence of cluster synchronisation in these geometrically-constrained networks with functional organisation occurring along structural connections that minimise the participation coefficient of the cluster. We show that these cohorts of internally synchronised nodes also behaveen masseas weakly coupled nodes and show intra-cluster desynchronisation and resynchronisation events related to inter-cluster interaction. While cluster synchronisation appears crucial to healthy brain function, it may also be pathological if it leads to unbreakable local synchronisation which may happen at extreme topologies, with implications for epilepsy research, wider brain function and other domains such as social networks.
The RNA-binding protein Adad1 is necessary for germ cell maintenance and meiosis in zebrafish
Authors: Islam Kazi Nazrul , Ajao Anuoluwapo , Venkataramani Kavita , Rivera Joshua , Pathania Shailja , Henke Katrin , Siegfried Kellee Renee
Published: August 2023

The double stranded RNA binding protein Adad1 (adenosine deaminase domain containing 1) is a member of theadenosinedeaminaseacting onRNAs (Adar) protein family with germ cell-specific expression. In mice, Adad1 is necessary for sperm differentiation, however its function outside of mammals has not been investigated. Here, through an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) based forward genetic screen, we identified anadad1mutant zebrafish line that develops as sterile males. Further histological examination revealed complete lack of germ cells in adult mutant fish, however germ cells populated the gonad, proliferated, and entered meiosis in larval and juvenile fish. Although meiosis was initiated inadad1mutant testes, the spermatocytes failed to progress beyond the zygotene stage. Thus, Adad1 is essential for meiosis and germline maintenance in zebrafish. We tested if spermatogonial stem cells were affected usingnanos2RNA FISH and a label retaining cell (LRC) assay, and found that the mutant testes had fewer LRCs andnanos2-expressing cells compared to wild-type siblings, suggesting that failure to maintain the spermatogonial stem cells resulted in germ cell loss by adulthood. To identify potential molecular processes regulated by Adad1, we sequenced bulk mRNA from mutants and wild-type testes and found mis-regulation of genes involved in RNA stability and modification, pointing to a potential broader role in post-transcriptional regulation. Our findings suggest that the RNA regulatory protein Adad1 is required for fertility through regulation of spermatogonial stem cell maintenance in zebrafish.
Aflatoxicosis outbreak and its associated factors in Kiteto, Chemba and Kondoa Districts, Tanzania
Authors: Kinyenje Erick , Kishimba Rogath , Mohamed Mohamed , Mwafulango Ambele , Eliakimu Eliudi , Kwesigabo Gideon
Published: August 2023

Tanzania had experienced hundreds of cases of aflatoxicosis in the districts of Kiteto, Chemba, and Kondoa for the three consecutive years since 2016. Cases may end up with liver cancer. Aflatoxin-induced liver cancer had resulted in the demise of roughly three persons per 100,000 in the country during the same year, 2016. We investigated to characterize the latest outbreak of 2019 and identify its risk factors. This case-control study enrolled all patients presented with acute jaundice of unknown origin and laboratory test results confirmed an acute liver injury with or without abdominal pain, distension, vomiting, or fever during the period of June to November 2019 and had epidemiological link with cases confirmed with Aflatoxin-B1-Lysine. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to identify independent factors associated with aflatoxicosis. We analyzed 62 cases with median age of 7 years (0.58–50 years) and 186 controls with median age of 24 years (range 0.42–55) with onset of symptoms ranging from 1st June 2019 to 16th July 2019. Case-parents had higher serum aflatoxin-B1–lysine adduct concentrations than did controls; 208.80 ng/mg (n = 45) vs. 32.2 ng/mg (n = 26); p<0.01. Storing foods at poor conditions (AOR 5.49; 95% CI 2.30–13.1), age <15 years (AOR 4.48; 95% CI 1.63–12.3), chronic illness (AOR 3.05; 95% CI 1.19–7.83) and being male (AOR 2.31; 95% CI 1.01–5.30) were significantly associated with the disease, whereas cleaning foods before milling decreased the risk of getting the disease by 88% (AOR 0.12; 95% CI 0.05–0.29). According to the results, the outbreak resulted from a globally highest-ever recorded aflatoxin-B1-lysine that originated from a common source. To prevent future outbreaks, it is crucial to store and clean food crops safely before milling. We recommend strict regulations and enforcement around aflatoxin levels in food products.
Facilitators and barriers to use rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2 among community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong: A population-based cross-sectional random telephone survey
Authors: Kawuki Joseph , Fang Yuan , Yu Fuk-yuen , Ye Danhua , Chan Paul Shing-fong , Chen Siyu , Wang Zixin
Published: August 2023

Faster diagnosis of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial for surveillance, prompt implementation of infection control measures and adequate patient care among older adults. This study investigated the behavioral intention to use Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) and associated factors among older adults in Hong Kong for health monitoring and when having COVID-19-like symptoms. This was a population-based cross-sectional random telephone survey of 370 Chinese-speaking adults aged ≥65 years. The behavioral intention to use RAT was the main outcome, and logistic regression models were used to assess the associated factors, using SPSS (version 26.0.). Results indicate that among the participants, 90.3% had used RAT, of which 21.6% obtained positive results. The common challenges faced when using RAT included: difficulty choosing the right RAT kit, uncertainty about how to use RAT, and not knowing what to do after getting a positive result. Additionally, 27.3% intended to use RAT regularly for health status monitoring without any symptoms, while 87.0% if they had COVID-19-like symptoms. After adjustment for significant background characteristics, positive attitudes, perceiving Hong Kong government and their children and/or other family members would support them using RAT, belief that RAT health promotion materials were helpful to understand how to use RAT and thoughtful consideration of the veracity of COVID-19 specific information were associated with higher behavioral intention to use RAT both when having no symptoms and in presence of COVID-19-like symptoms. Having negative attitudes toward RAT was associated with a lower intention of RAT use only when having no symptoms. Addressing difficulties faced when using RAT, strengthening positive attitudes, involving significant others and empowering with adequate information-veracity evaluating skills are potentially vital strategies to increase RAT use among older adults.
Evaluation of attraction and spatial pattern analysis of world cultural and natural heritage tourism resources in China
Authors: Zhang Hui , Long Shujing
Published: August 2023

The attraction of tourism resources is very important to promote the sustainable development of tourism industry. This study takes China’s world cultural and natural heritage as the research object, and constructs an attractiveness evaluation system for China’s world cultural and natural heritage tourism resources by collecting user feedback data from three major travel OTA platforms. At the same time, ArcGIS 10.7 software was used for spatial autocorrelation analysis and kernel density analysis to explore the spatial distribution pattern of tourism resource attraction. The results show that China’s world cultural and natural heritage can be subdivided into 5 main categories and 10 sub-categories. From the perspective of spatial aggregation, only the Moran’s I index of tourist resource points showing a significant spatial aggregation feature. This study is helpful to reveal the weaknesses of tourism resource points and provide reference for sustainable development of attraction and optimization of tourism planning and management.
Determination of residue levels of rodenticide in rodent livers offered novel diphacinone baits by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Goldade David A. , Siers Shane R. , Hess Steven C. , Sugihara Robert T. , Riekena Craig A.
Published: August 2023

A specific and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of the anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone (DPN) in mouse and rat liver. Tissue samples were extracted with a mixture of water and acetonitrile containing ammonium hydroxide. The extracted sample was cleaned up with a combination of liquid-liquid partitioning and dispersive solid phase extraction. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a Waters X-Bridge BEH C-18 LC column (50 mm, 2.1 mm ID, 2.5 μm particle size) with detection on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The monitored transition for DPN was m/z 339.0 → 167.0 for quantitation and 339.0 → 172.0 and 339.0 → 116.0 for confirmation. The linear range was 0.5 to 375 ng/mL. The average precision of DPN, represented by the relative standard deviation of the observed concentrations, was 7.2% (range = 0.97% - 20.4%) and the average accuracy, represented by the relative error, was 5.8% (range = 1.06% - 14.7%). The recovery of DPN fortified at 3 different levels averaged 106% in rat liver and 101% in mouse liver. The established method was successfully used to determine DPN residue levels in Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) and mice (Mus musculus) fed two different formulated baits containing DPN. The observed residue levels were consistent with values observed in other rodent studies. However, the amount of bait consumed was lower for the novel baits evaluated in this study.
Cognition and education benefits of increased hemoglobin and blood oxygenation in children with sickle cell disease
Authors: MacEwan Joanna P. , King Allison A. , Nguyen Andy , Mubayi Anuj , Agodoa Irene , Smith-Whitley Kim
Published: August 2023

Background

Among individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), decreased hemoglobin is associated with lower oxygen saturation (SpO2) and increased risk of stroke, both of which are associated with lower intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. Thus, increasing hemoglobin and SpO2in individuals with SCD may increase IQ and educational attainment.

Methods

A cohort simulation model was built to determine academic performance and educational attainment based on cognitive function (measured by IQ) of a pediatric SCD cohort randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The model contained two key stages: childhood (<10 years) and adolescence (≥10 years). In stage 1, increased hemoglobin and increased SpO2(assigned to the treatment group) were determinants of higher IQ, prevention of IQ deterioration over time. Increased hemoglobin was also a determinant of decreased stroke risk. In stage 2, improvement in adolescent IQ as a result of treatment was a determinant of academic performance.

Results

In a simulated cohort of 2000 children and adolescents with SCD (52.5% female, 50% treated), stroke incidence was predicted to be 44.4% lower among the treated group than the untreated group (4.5% versus 8.1%, respectively). The average IQ among the treated group was estimated to be 91.1 compared with 82.9 in the untreated group (a 9.9% difference;P<0.001). Finally, high school (≥12 years of education) completion rates were estimated to be 64.7% higher among the treated group: 76.1% of the treated group was projected to complete high school compared with 46.2% of the untreated group.

Conclusions

Our model predicts that an average improvement in hemoglobin of 1.1 g/dL (11 g/L) among individuals with SCD may be associated with improved neurocognition and educational outcomes. These improvements may also generate benefits not captured by our model, including improved quality of life, employment, and income.
Factors associated with pentavalent vaccine coverage among 12-23-month-old children in Afghanistan: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Frozanfar Muhammad Kamel , Hamajima Nobuyuki , Fayaz Said Hafizullah , Rahimzad Abdullah Darman , Stanekzai Hedayatullah , Inthaphatha Souphalak , Nishino Kimihiro , Yamamoto Eiko
Published: August 2023

Introduction

This study aimed to identify the factors associated with the coverage of the third dose of pentavalent vaccine (Penta3) among children aged 12–23 months in Afghanistan.

Methods

The data of 3,040 children aged 12–23 months were taken from the Afghanistan Health Survey 2018, including characteristics of the children and their households, household heads, and mothers/primary care givers. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using a logistic model. Multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis with forward-selection (Model 1) and backward-selection (Model 2) was performed using variables that showed significant differences by bivariate analysis.

Results

The coverage of Penta3 among 12–23-month-old children was 82.3%. Factors associated with Penta3 coverage in the two models of multivariable analysis were 18–23 months old compared to 12–17 months old; having no diarrhea in the last two weeks compared to having diarrhea; no bipedal edema compared to having edema; taking vitamin A supplement; 1–2 children under five years in a household compared to three or more; distance from residence to the nearest health facility ≤2 hours on foot; having a radio; having a TV; educated heads of households; non-smoking of heads of households; and literacy of mothers/primary caregivers.

Conclusions

Penta3 coverage among 12–23-month-old children improved but was still lower than the target. Primary education should be provided to all children throughout the country. TV and radio are useful tools for providing health information. Mobile outreach programs and the establishment of new health facilities should be promoted to improve access to health service for all people in Afghanistan.
Gridded precipitation products on the Hindu Kush-Himalaya: Performance and accuracy of seven precipitation products
Authors: Mishra Bhogendra , Panthi Saroj , Ghimire Bhoj Raj , Poudel Shobha , Maharjan Bijaya , Mishra Yogendra
Published: August 2023

Climate change is expected to change precipitation and temperature patterns, which will impact the hydrological regime in Asia. Most river systems in the region originate from the Hindu Kush-Himalayas, and the altered precipitation patterns pose a threat to their sustainability, making it a major concern for planners and stakeholders. Obtaining accurate data on precipitation distribution is crucial for water accounting, which poses challenge. To address this, gridded precipitation products developed from satellite imagery and modeling techniques have become a viable alternative or addition to observed rainfall. However, the accuracy of these products in the region is uncertain. In this study, we aim to evaluate and compare the seven most commonly used precipitation products for the regions to address this gap. The study evaluated seven rainfall products, namely APHRODITE, TRMM, CHIRPS, PERSIANN-CDR, CMORPH, WFDEI, and GPCC by comparing daily, dekadal, and monthly rainfall data to 168 stations data in six countries and 11 river basins in the HKH region. The analysis used four continuous statistical indicators (Pearson correlation coefficient, Bias, Root Mean Square Error, and Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency coefficient) and two categorical indicators (Probability of Detection and False Alarm Ratio). APHRODITE consistently performed well in several basins with high r values and low RMSE values, but had positive or negative bias values in different basins. CMORPH had the lowest positive bias value in the Ganga_Brahmaputra basin, while GPCC showed the largest r value and lowest RMSE value in the Sindha basin. CHIRPS performed well in Afghanistan, but had positive bias values. GPCC performed well in Myanmar and Pakistan, but had negative or positive bias values. APHRODITE performed consistently well in Nepal, but had negative bias values. Overall, the performance of different gridded precipitation products varies depending on the country and type of evaluation.
Stable, Site-Specific ADC Conjugation with SMARTag® Technology and Innovative Linker
Authors:   Catalent Biologics, Drake Penelope
Published: August 2023

Antibody-drug conjugates have achieved commercial success over the last 10 years with 15 therapies launched globally to date, including 11 with U.S. FDA approval, and two biosimilars. With their ability to direct highly potent cytotoxic payloads selectively to target cells, ADCs offer the prospect of more precise treatments and a reduction in off-target effects.
Lettuce weed control with prior soil solarization
Authors: Pereira Larissa , Tejada Jorge Luis , Cecílio Filho Arthur Bernardes , Da Costa Aguiar Alves Pedro Luís
Published: August 2023

Lettuce is a leafy crop appreciated for the supply of nutrients that favor the immune system. However, like other crops, it is subject to weed interference. Due to its low competitiveness and the impacts of herbicides, it is necessary to search new ways to control weeds. This work aims to determine the effects of solarization on weed control and on the productivity of 'Verônica' lettuce with or without soil revolving after solarization (SRAS). The experimental design was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme 7x2 with four replications. The beds were weeded, irrigated and covered with 150 µm-thick transparent polyethylene in different periods (first factor): five solarization periods (75, 60, 45, 30, and 15 days prior to planting) and two controls (without and with weeds), with or without SRAS (second factor). Weed phytosociology (frequency, density and relative dominance, importance value index, and relative importance) and lettuce productivity were evaluated. The control of the weed community (with a predominance of Java grass, Indian goosegrass, and crabgrass) with solarization is not efficient. However, the non-SRAS treatment decreases the density of some weeds and positively affects the productivity and commercial characteristics of lettuce.
Gas exchange and leaf area requirement in tall ‘Prata’ banana
Authors: Luiz Rodrigues Donato Sérgio , De Magalhães Arantes Alessandro , Rodrigues Silva Soares Alex , Geralda Vilela Rodrigues Maria , Rocha dos Santos Marcelo
Published: August 2023

The objective of this study was to evaluate the gas exchange and leaf area requirement for yield of six tall ‘Prata’ banana genotypes, under semi-arid conditions. The genotypes ‘Pacovan’ (AAB), ‘Pacovan Ken’ (AAAB), ‘Preciosa’ (AAAB), ‘Japira’ (AAAB), ‘PV79-34’ (AAAB) and ‘Garantida’ (AAAB) (four tetraploid hybrids and one triploid cultivar) were evaluated in two cycles, arranged in a completely randomized design in a factorial scheme, with five replicates and four usable plants per plot. For the physiological characteristics, a 6 x 12 x 2 factorial arrangement was adopted, with six genotypes, 12 evaluation periods and two reading times in each period, arranged in a completely randomized design. Of the 12 phytotechnical characteristics measured, seven were influenced by the interaction between the factors cultivar and cycle. Internal CO2 concentration, net photosynthesis rate, instantaneous water use efficiency, carboxylation efficiency and quantum efficiency of photosynthesis recorded in banana leaves are higher in the morning, favored by higher stomatal conductance and lower leaf temperature resulting from the meteorological conditions, while transpiration and intrinsic water use efficiency increase in the afternoon. The hybrid ‘PV79-34’ has higher yield and production efficiency per unit of leaf area, associated with high transpiration, compared to the tall ‘Prata’ banana cultivars.
Corrosion Behavior of AA70 Reinforced Zea mays Husk Particle in NaCl/H2SO4 Concentrations
Authors: Falodun Oluwasegun , Loto Roland
Published: August 2023

The effects of Zea mays husk particle and heat treatment on the corrosion behavior of AA70 matrix composite in 1.5 wt.% NaCl/0.0125 M H2SO4 concentrations were studied using an electrochemical technique and optical microscopy. Results showed that the samples had similar anodic-cathodic polarization behavior after heat treatment, with no passivation. However, the heat-treated AA70 matrix composites were more corrosion-resistant than the untreated AA70 matrix composite material in 1.5 wt.% NaCl/0.0125 M H2SO4 concentrations. The composite with 15 wt.% Zea mays husk and a particle size of 300 μm reinforced AA70 matrix revealed the least corrosive tendency and is the most thermodynamically stable in chloride and sulphate ions conditions. Therefore, the corrosion behavior of heat-treated AA70 matrix composites was better compared to that of AA70 material in 1.5 wt.% NaCl/0.0125 M H2SO4 solution. Furthermore, the presence of a high concentration of aggressive chloride ions increases the corrosion susceptibility, and the Zea mays husk particle breaks down the stable oxide film, resulting in increased chloride ion adsorption. The optical microscopy examination suggested the presence of localized corrosion on the material surface.
Projeto da Modernidade Ocidental da Educação e Epistemologias Resistentes
Authors: Melo Maria Aparecida , Almeida Ricardo
Published: August 2023

Historicamente a educação perpassa por facetas que atravessam o projeto da modernidade ocidental da educação. Em contrapartida a este processo dominador de conhecimento surgem as epistemologias resistentes. Desse modo, interessa-nos assinalar as séries de signos das epistemologias da resistência que se contrapõem ao projeto da modernidade ocidental da educação, especificamente faremos o mapeamento das fontes que se ocupam das pedagogias que permeiam a práxis das epistemologias resistentes, escavaremos as fraturas de texto que assinalam o processo dominante do projeto da modernidade ocidental da educação e por fim analisaremos/descreveremos os processos educativos que permeiam a superação do projeto da modernidade ocidental da educação em detrimento das epistemologias resistentes. Para tal, importa saber: quais são as pedagogias que atravessam as epistemologias resistentes dos movimentos sociais? Neste intuito, faremos jus à caixa de ferramenta metodológica da Análise Arqueológica do Discurso (AAD) de Foucault (2008). No conjunto das coisas ditas e escritas foi possível assinalar que os movimentos sociais são essenciais no processo da superação da educação eurocêntrica, etnocêntrica e sociocêntrica, porquanto, as epistemologias resistentes estão acionadas nas pedagogias da Educação Popular, da Pedagogia do Oprimido e da Pedagogia do Movimento. Pedagogias que descolonizam a educação ocidentalizada.
Análise das Debilidades de Representações Gráficas de Dados Estatísticos no Âmbito da Segurança do Trabalho
Authors: Santos Carla , Dias Cristina , Dias Ana , Santos Cláudia
Published: August 2023

A relevância dos dados estatísticos, na sociedade, impôs a urgência de garantir a literacia estatística de todos os indivíduos. Desta necessidade resultou um reforço do estudo da Estatística, com reflexo em todos os níveis de ensino, e com particular incidência na formação de profissionais cuja atividade envolverá o tratamento de dados estatísticos. Na área da segurança e saúde no trabalho, como noutras áreas, os profissionais envolvidos no processo de recolha, organização, análise e reporte de dados estatísticos, recorrem a diversos métodos e ferramentas estatísticas, que, no desfecho do processo, lhes permitirão apreciar, traduzir, revelar e comunicar a informação contida nos dados. Pelo importante contributo que os gráficos estatísticos proporcionam na tarefa de organização e apresentação de dados em relatórios, melhorando a eficácia na transmissão de informação, é imperioso garantir a correção e adequação destas representações. Na presente pesquisa, despoletada pela preocupação dos autores com a desadequação de muitos dos gráficos produzidos no âmbito de pesquisas no domínio da segurança e saúde no trabalho, analisámos os gráficos estatísticos presentes em três relatórios técnicos, no contexto da segurança e saúde no trabalho, focando os aspetos que violam os princípios orientadores da construção de gráficos estatísticos. Com este intuito assumimos uma investigação de abordagem exploratória, com recurso a métodos qualitativos, e recolha bibliográfica de dados. Os resultados revelam a presença de inúmeras debilidades nos gráficos, com violação de alguns dos mais importantes princípios que devem reger a construção de gráficos estatísticos, e que poderão comprometer a validade e utilidade desses gráficos.
Deliberate Teaching of Collocations – an Intervention Study of Czech Upper-Intermediate EFL Students
Authors: Kacafírková Petra , Špačková Klára , Valentová Hana , Topková Petra , Kucharská Anna
Published: August 2023

Collocation knowledge is claimed to be poor even among upper-intermediate and advanced learners of English as a second language, which implies that not enough attention is being drawn to these lexical items in lessons. To address this problem, we designed a 12-week teaching intervention in which the participants (39 students of Charles University in Prague) were divided into two groups: an experimental group with an intensive explicit collocation focus (20) and a control group with no such care dedicated to collocations (19). Th e division of the students was performed in such a way that the groups were equal in terms of the variables whichtend to infl uence the learning process the most, namely language aptitude, anxiety, motivation, and learning strategies. Th e results showed that the experimental group achieved signifi cantly higher scores for collocation knowledge. No signifi cant diff erence was found between the groups in understanding of word meanings. Deliberate teaching of collocations with systematic revisionand practice thus proved to be more eff ective than meaning-focused teaching of individual words.
Evaluación de las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Curiosidad Epistémica de Litman en hispanohablantes
Authors: Sánchez Navarro María Esmeralda , Álvarez-Montero Francisco José , Reyes-Sosa Hiram
Published: August 2023

La Curiosidad Epistémica (CE) es el deseo que motiva a las personas a adquirir nuevo conocimiento. La escala de CE de Litman fue desarrollada para operacionalizar este constructo, y aunque su estructura latente ha sido validada en varios estudios, estos se han realizado en su mayoría en Alemania, EE. UU y los Países Bajos, que son sociedades educadas, industrializadas, ricas y democráticas. Por consiguiente, el presente estudio evaluó las propiedades psicométricas de la escala de CE, en una muestra de adultos del noroeste de México (N = 334) con edades de 18 a 50 años. Al igual que en investigaciones previas, se compararon dos modelos: unidimensional y bidimensional, mediante análisis factoriales confirmatorios.Adicionalmente, se incluyeron los residuales correlacionados significativos, como parte de ambos modelos, y se examinó si el instrumento tiene invarianza de medición. Los resultados muestran que el modelo bifactorial presentó el mejor ajuste.La consistencia interna fue aceptable, y se comprobó que la escala posee invarianza configural, métrica, escalar y estricta.Usos potenciales de este constructo emergente incluyen su estudio como un factor motivacional relevante, en el nivel deinvolucramiento y las estrategias de formación de los estudiantes, así como su papel mediador en varios tipos de ansiedaden el aprendizaje
Falcon: A Privacy-Preserving and Interpretable Vertical Federated Learning System
Authors: Wu Yuncheng , Xing Naili , Chen Gang , Dinh Tien Tuan Anh , Luo Zhaojing , Ooi Beng Chin , Xiao Xiaokui , Zhang Meihui
Published: August 2023

Federated learning (FL) enables multiple data owners to collaboratively train machine learning (ML) models without disclosing their raw data. In the vertical federated learning (VFL) setting, the collaborating parties have data from the same set of users but with disjoint attributes. After constructing the VFL models, the parties deploy the models in production systems to infer prediction requests. In practice, the prediction output itself may not be convincing for party users to make the decisions, especially in high-stakes applications. Model interpretability is therefore essential to provide meaningful insights and better comprehension on the prediction output.

In this paper, we propose Falcon, a novel privacy-preserving and interpretable VFL system. First, Falcon supports VFL training and prediction with strong and efficient privacy protection for a wide range of ML models, including linear regression, logistic regression, and multi-layer perceptron. The protection is achieved by a hybrid strategy of threshold partially homomorphic encryption (PHE) and additive secret sharing scheme (SSS), ensuring no intermediate information disclosure. Second, Falcon facilitates understanding of VFL model predictions by a flexible and privacy-preserving interpretability framework, which enables the implementation of state-of-the-art interpretable methods in a decentralized setting. Third, Falcon supports efficient data parallelism of VFL tasks and optimizes the parallelism factors to reduce the overall execution time. Falcon is fully implemented, and on which, we conduct extensive experiments using six real-world and multiple synthetic datasets. The results demonstrate that Falcon achieves comparable accuracy to non-private algorithms and outperforms three secure baselines in terms of efficiency.
Auto-BI: Automatically Build BI-Models Leveraging Local Join Prediction and Global Schema Graph
Authors: Lin Yiming , He Yeye , Chaudhuri Surajit
Published: August 2023

Business Intelligence (BI) is crucial in modern enterprises and billion-dollar business. Traditionally, technical experts like database administrators would manually prepare BI-models (e.g., in star or snowflake schemas) that join tables in data warehouses, before less-technical business users can run analytics using end-user dashboarding tools. However, the popularity of self-service BI (e.g., Tableau and Power-BI) in recent years creates a strong demand for less technical end-users to build BI-models themselves.

We develop an Auto-BI system that can accurately predict BI models given a set of input tables, using a principled graph-based optimization problem we propose called
k-Min-Cost-Arborescence
(k-MCA), which holistically considers both local join prediction and global schema-graph structures, leveraging a graph-theoretical structure called
arborescence.
While we prove k-MCA is intractable and inapproximate in general, we develop novel algorithms that can solve k-MCA optimally, which is shown to be efficient in practice with sub-second latency and can scale to the largest BI-models we encounter (with close to 100 tables).

Auto-BI is rigorously evaluated on a unique dataset with over 100K real BI models we harvested, as well as on 4 popular TPC benchmarks. It is shown to be both efficient and accurate, achieving over 0.9 F1-score on both real and synthetic benchmarks.
Scaling a Declarative Cluster Manager Architecture with Query Optimization Techniques
Authors: Rong Kexin , Budiu Mihai , Skiadopoulos Athinagoras , Suresh Lalith , Tai Amy
Published: August 2023

Cluster managers play a crucial role in data centers by distributing workloads among infrastructure resources. Declarative Cluster Management (DCM) is a new cluster management architecture that enables users to express placement policies declaratively using SQL-like queries. This paper presents our experiences in scaling this architecture from moderate-sized enterprise clusters (102- 103nodes) to hyperscale clusters (104nodes) via query optimization techniques. First, we formally specify the syntax and semantics of DCM's declarative language, C-SQL, a SQL variant used to express constraint optimization problems. We showcase how constraints on the desired state of the cluster system can be succinctly represented as C-SQL programs, and how query optimization techniques like incremental view maintenance and predicate pushdown can enhance the execution of C-SQL programs. We evaluate the effectiveness of our optimizations through a case study of building Kubernetes schedulers using C-SQL. Our optimizations demonstrated an almost 3000× speed up in database latency and reduced the size of optimization problems by as much as 1/300 of the original, without affecting the quality of the scheduling solutions.
Mining Frequent Infix Patterns from Concurrency-Aware Process Execution Variants
Authors: Martini Michael , Schuster Daniel , van der Aalst Wil M. P.
Published: August 2023

Event logs, as considered in process mining, document a large number of individual process executions. Moreover, each process execution consists of various executed activities. To cope with the vast amount of process executions in event logs, the concept of variants exists that group process executions with identical ordering relations among their executed activities. Variants are an integral concept of process mining and help process analysts explore, filter, and manage large amounts of event data. In this paper, we consider concurrency-aware variants that allow activities within a process execution to be partially ordered---the execution of individual activities can overlap in time. However, the number of variants is often vast, making it challenging for process analysts to explore event data. Therefore, we present a novel approach to frequent pattern mining from concurrency-aware variants. We show that mining frequent patterns from concurrency-aware variants can be reduced to the frequent subtree mining problem. Further, we compare our proposed algorithm to a state-of-the-art frequent subtree mining algorithm exhibiting improved performance on real-life event logs.