bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Meaning making in the context of EFL teaching and learning with an artificial intelligence system
Authors: Hashiguti Simone Tiemi , Brito Cristiane Carvalho de Paulo , Ângelo Rogério de Castro
Published: July 2021

Within the realm of a technological innovation project for the creation of a virtual laboratory for teaching and learning English as a foreign language, this paper explores the discursive-performatic theory on language that is one of the principles guiding the work. Practical examples from the laboratory are described and fundamental concepts are explained. Meaning making in the historical/technological conditions of the laboratory is seen as taking place in the space between the reexamination of ways to teach formal, institutionalized knowledge on language structure while problematizing meanings and social themes, and reflecting on how language creates realities.
Multimodality and transculturalism in a proposal of a LIBRAS didactic material for hearing people
Authors: Kumada Kate Mamhy Oliveira , Silva Ivani Rodrigues , Sato Fernando Henrique , Carvalho Karina Vaneska Pereira de
Published: July 2021

From the officialization of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), the deaf person acquires the right to be recognized as a bilingual individual and to ensure this condition, hearing professionals from different areas start to learn Libras, which is even established as a mandatory subject for graduation in some Brazilian higher education courses. Thus, discussions involving the language teaching process, the production of didactic materials, transculturalism and multimodality are necessary for this political and sociolinguistically complex context. From a qualitative research, the objective of this article was to discuss the multimodality and transculturalism present in a proposal for a didactic material to teach Libras in a course involving hearing professionals in the healthcare area. For this purpose, the constructed material considered as legitimate resources the writing of Portuguese, illustrations and photographs of Libras signs, as well as access to videos with different speakers of that language from the scanning of the QR Code incorporated in the material. It is understood that all these elements need to be addressed in an integrated way in the learning of Libras by hearing people, as they constitute the reading of the contemporary world, in which visual and digital resources are also part of the language.
Políticas lingüísticas in vivo e in vitro en el contexto de frontera
Authors: Pires-Santos Maria Elena , De Paiva Tatiane Lima , Macaringue Ilídio
Published: July 2021

El objetivo de este artículo es comprender cómo las políticas lingüísticas “in vivo e in vitro” (Calvet, 2007; Oliveira e Altenhofen, 2011) se actualizan en el paisaje lingüístico de Ciudad del Este, más específicamente en el microcentro dirigido hacia el turismo de compras, en la región de libre comercio de la ciudad. Por tanto, tomamos en cuenta el principio defendido por Bourdieu (2008), según el cual no es el espacio que determina la lengua; por el contrario, es la lengua que define su espacio. Para tanto, adoptamos un estudio cualitativo/interpretativista, basándose en el escenario lingüísticocultural de frontera Brasil/Paraguay, en este artículo interesa a nosotros comprender cómo las Políticas Lingüísticas in vivo e in vitro se actualizan en el paisaje lingüístico de Ciudad del Este, capturada por medio de fotografías. Los resultados del paisaje lingüístico nos permitieron constatar que, en este contexto superdiverso de fronteras, las prácticas plurilingües y pluriculturales performatizan identidades que reposicionan las relaciones de poder subyacentes a las políticas lingüísticas in vitro ancladas en el estado-nación, engendrando políticas lingüísticas in vivo.
Perception of Taxpayers and Tax Administrators Towards Value Added Withholding Tax in Zimbabwe
Authors: Hamudi Simbarashe
Published: July 2021

Value added tax is a key tax for generating revenue in Zimbabwe and all African states, and for financing the budget in African countries. VAT revenue has an essential role in budgetary policymaking. Every year revenue authorities are not collecting large amounts of VAT for various reasons, including ineffective administration and tax evasion. This brings the question of the reform of the VAT system to the forefront. In Zimbabwe, attempts to improve VAT revenue collection have been made over several years. Hopes were pinned on the use of fiscalisation and audits of VAT refunds.1 However, traders continue to evade VAT – and this has led to the introduction of value added withholding tax to improve VAT revenue collection.
Nepal Sanitation Movement Lessons Learnt on Targets and Monitoring
Authors: Adhikari Kamal , Adhikari Bharat
Published: July 2021

Many governments in Asia and Africa have set ambitious target dates for their countries becoming open defecation free (ODF). Some have recently concluded national sanitation campaigns; a number of countries have campaigns underway; while others are in the conceptualising and planning process. Monitoring and reporting results is one of the key challenges associated with these campaigns. This case study accompanies the publication: ‘Monitoring sanitation campaigns: Targets, reporting and realism’ which presents lessons learnt to date to inform ongoing and future government campaigns intended to end open defecation and improve access to safely managed sanitation.
МИКРОБИОМ КИШЕЧНИКА И ОБМЕН МАКРОЭЛЕМЕНТОВ В ТЕЛЕ РЫБ НА ФОНЕ ПРИСУТСТВИЯ В ВОДНОЙ СРЕДЕ НАНОЧАСТИЦ МОЛИБДЕНА
Authors:   10.19112/2413-6174-2021-S1-05, Мирошникова Е.П. , Аринжанов А.Е. ,   10.19112/2413-6174-2021-S1-05, Килякова Ю.В. ,   10.19112/2413-6174-2021-S1-05
Published: July 2021

Представлены экспериментальные данные о влиянии наночастиц MoO3 (концентрация 0,2 мг/дм3) 99,8% чистоты и размером 92 нм, полученные плазмохимическим синтезом, на обмен макроэлементов в теле рыб и на таксономию микробиоты Daniorerio. Наночастицы вводили один раз в течение 2 суток в форме лиозолей с кормом для рыб. Установлено отрицательное влияние НЧ на депонирование макроэлементов в теле рыб относительно контроля. Выявлено снижение уровня концентрации макроэлементов (Ca, Mg, Na, P) в теле рыб в первые недели экспозиции (до 21 суток) относительно контроля, и повышение содержания макроэлементов до контрольных значений уже на 28-е сутки. Исследование показало влияние наночастиц на смену биоразнообразия желудочно-кишечного тракта Daniorerio. Видовое разнообразие микрофлоры кишечника Daniorerio на 7-е сутки эксперимента было представлено 393, а на 14-е сутки – 299 морфологически различными бактериальными разновидностями.
ОСОБЕННОСТИ МИКРОЭЛЕМЕНТНОГО СОСТАВА У ДЕТЕЙ С ОЖИРЕНИЕМ
Authors:   Саратовский государственный медицинский университет им В.И. Разумовского Минздрава России, Болотова Н.В. , Филина Н.Ю. ,   Саратовский государственный медицинский университет им В.И. Разумовского Минздрава России, Петрухина Е.А. ,   Саратовский государственный медицинский университет им В.И. Разумовского Минздрава России, Николаева Н.А. ,   Саратовский государственный медицинский университет им В.И. Разумовского Минздрава России, Акопян А.А. ,   Саратовский государственный медицинский университет им В.И. Разумовского Минздрава России
Published: July 2021

В современном мире проблема ожирения имеет повсеместную распространенность, в том числе и среди детского населения. В исследовании была проведена оценка рационов питания, по результатам которой выявлено нерациональное потребление продуктов. Дети употребляли пищу с избыточным содержанием жиров и недостаточным количеством белка, овощей и фруктов, что приводило к ожирению. В связи с этим изучен микроэлементный состав организма детей для перспектив последующей коррекции.
Fatores associados à prática insuficiente de atividade física em professores escolares brasileiros: um estudo de revisão integrativa
Authors: De Alencar Gildiney Penaves , Maluf Rabacow Fabiana , Maria Almeida Carvalho Alexandra
Published: July 2021

A prática de atividade física é importante na prevenção de doenças crônicas, e sua investigação é válida para estimular hábitos saudáveis entre os professores. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar os fatores associados à prática insuficiente de atividade física em professores escolares brasileiros, por meio de uma revisão integrativa de artigos publicados de 2009 a 2019 nas bases de dados Lilacs, SciELO, DOAJ, PubMed, Dialnet e Web of Science, por meio das combinações dos descritores exatos e sinônimos em português e em inglês, pelos termos “Professores Escolares”, “Atividade Física” e “Brasil”. A maioria dos professores são insuficientemente ativos e, entre os fatores associados a esta condição, estão o excesso de peso, massa corporal elevada, maior percentual de gordura, dor crônica, problemas relacionados à voz, tabagismo e fatores ocupacionais, como o excesso de trabalho, contrato temporário, falta de autonomia e o tempo em pé.
Mídias sociais e a construção da imagem do político João Doria: um estudo a partir do Facebook
Authors: Bazi Rogério Eduardo Rodrigues
Published: July 2021

O artigo expõe a importância das mídias sociais no contexto midiático e político, e como João Doria, então candidato a governador de São Paulo nas últimas eleições nacionais, em 2018, utiliza-se da campanha permanente nas mídias sociais. A pesquisa identificou 266 postagens do político na fan page (https://www.facebook.com/jdoriajr), entre fotos e vídeos, classificando as mais curtidas, as mais compartilhadas e comentadas. Como procedimentos metodológicos, apoiou-se na análise de conteúdo e no estudo exploratório e descritivo. Entende-se que o político explora as mídias sociais como estratégica midiática, a fim de manter-se em plena evidência, tornando-se um político-ator de sua própria história.
ANALYSIS AND FORECASTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ISO STANDARDS IN CROATIA
Authors: Baldigara Tea , Brajdić Igor
Published: July 2021

The certification process has developed consistently in the past years, and the number of issued certificates has grown exponentially. The paper represents an analysis of the certification process in the World with an overview of the Croatian situation. Comparisons and forecasts are based on the logistic model.
THE ROLE OF LEASING IN EU ECONOMY
Authors: Vizjak Ana , Alkier Romina
Published: July 2021

Derived from the English "to lease", the term “leasing" refers to hiring or renting. In international economic practice the expression is used in its original form to signify one of the means of financing movable and immovable investments, granted to the buyer or the leasee for a specified rent based on mutual agreement. Leasing experienced rapid growth during the 1930s, first in real estate financing, and later in financing movable capital equipment. Leasing operations are handling by special leasing companies, which provide the use of equipment or objects against specified compensation. In Europe the leasing system is most widely used in Gennany, Italy, France and Great Britain, the most advanced EU countries. All are members of “Leaseuropa“, an organisation bringing together 26 countries. In the EU’s five latest member countries, leasing helped to encourage vigorous growth in the years leading up to full membership, although the market for leasing did became somewhat saturated after that. Nevertheless, leasing has sent the trend for new and stronger development. In Croatia leasing has emerged as the fastest growing part of the financial market and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to sustain the leaps this rapid growth is taking. On the financial market, only investment funds are capable of keeping up with this type of development. Today there are thirteen leasing companies operating in Croatia. Although the leasing market in Croatia still lacks a proper legal framework, the leasing business is steadily growing and is showing a trend in specialising towards specific types of operations.
INTEGRATION AND ADAPTATION OF ANGLICISMS IN GERMAN TEXTS IN THE FIELD OF HOTEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
Authors: Bosnar-Valkovic Brigita
Published: July 2021

The paper discusses the integration and adaptation of loan words from the English language into German. The analysis was performed on a sample of loan words from the English language taken from German journals from the fields of tourism and hotel industry. English loan words appear frequently, and their occurences were classified and analyzed at the levels of morphology and syntax. A matter of concern is the deviation from the German standard in the deep linguistic code resulting with deregulation and classification of German as an endangered idiom, so that the need for cooperation between field and language specialists is stressed in order to avoid unnecessary and uncritical linguistic borrowing with far-reaching effects.
NEW MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERIPHERAL TOURISM SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SME’S): THE RENAL PATIENTS’ MARKET
Authors: Karamanidis Ioannis
Published: July 2021

Competition in the tourism sector is becoming extremely intensive worldwide. This paper shows that an additional opportunity is offered to small tourism SMEs located in peripheral destinations, occurring from a new market: kidney patients in the UK, in search for holidays abroad. Due to the latest medical technology, this category of patients is nowadays enabled to follow their daily machine assisted haemodialysis treatment even away from home in remote destination, with the provision of adequate medical infrastructure in the accommodation at destination. Kidney patients form a special group of potential customers with similar needs and characteristics, hence a market niche. This paper aims at examining and assessing in-depth alternative niche marketing strategies that may be used by tourism SMEs for effective positioning at kidney patient’s markets.
Seismic Performance Assessment of RC Moment Frames Considering Stiffness Modification in Nonlinear Concentrated Plasticity Formulation for Modeling Damping
Authors: Mohammadgholibeyki Negar
Published: July 2021

In order to alleviate the problems regarding conventional damping modeling techniques in nonlinear structural simulations, using concentrated plasticity formulation including rotational end springs with no damping plus middle elastic parts with modified assigned damping has recently been proposed. However, a proper selection for springs’ stiffness is a source of contention. In this paper, the effect of choosing different ratios for springs’ rotational stiffness to the elastic part of the elements on the seismic performance of RC moment frames was investigated. Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) was performed and the derived responses were used for seismic performance assessment methodology. The results demonstrate that using flexible springs may lead to a greatly conservative estimation of collapse capacity, annual losses, and repair costs compared to a rigid one. Due to lack of experimental data, it is not possible to certainly assert the most appropriate ratio. However, such variation in the seismic performance of a building model with different stiffness modification necessitates more investigation on this modeling strategy.
Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Implications in Neostigmine versus Sugammadex
Authors: Johnson Corey , James Colton , Traughber Sarah , Walker Charles
Published: July 2021

Purpose/Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a frequent complaint in the postoperative period, which can delay discharge, result in readmission, and increase cost for patients and facilities. Inducing paralysis is common in anesthesia, as is utilizing the drugs neostigmine and sugammadex as reversal agents for non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers. Many studies are available that compare these two drugs to determine if neostigmine increases the risk of PONV over sugammadex. Sugammadex has a more favorable pharmacologic profile and may improve patient outcomes by reducing PONV. Methods: This review included screening a total of 39 studies and peer-reviewed articles that looked at patients undergoing general anesthesia who received non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers requiring either neostigmine or sugammadex for reversal, along with their respective PONV rates. 8 articles were included, while 31 articles were removed based on our exclusion criteria. These were published between 2014 and 2020 exclusively. The key words used were “neostigmine”, “sugammadex”, “PONV”, along with combinations “paralytic reversal agents and PONV”. This search was performed on the scholarly database MEDLINE. The data items were PONV rates in neostigmine group, PONV rates in sugammadex group, incidence of postoperative analgesic consumption in neostigmine group, and incidence of postoperative analgesic consumption in sugammadex group. Results: Despite numerical differences being noted in the incidence of PONV with sugammadex over reversal with neostigmine, there did not appear to be any statistically significant data in the multiple peer-reviewed trials included in our review, for not one of the 8 studies concluded that there was a higher incidence of PONV in one drug or the other of an y clinical relevance. Although the side-effect profile tended to be better in the sugammadex group than neostigmine in areas other than PONV, there was not sufficient evidence to conclude that one drug was superior to the other in causing a direct reduction of PONV. Implications for Nursing Practice: There were variable but slight differences noted between both drug groups in PONV rates, but it remained that none of the studies determined it was statically significant or clinically conclusive. This review did, however, note other advantages to sugammadex over neostigmine, including its pharmacologic profile of more efficiently reversing non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking drugs and its more favorable pharmacokinetics. This lack of statistically significant evidence found within these studies consequentially does not support pharmacologic decision-making of one drug in favor of the other for reducing PONV; therefore, PONV alone is not a sufficient rationale for a provider to justify using one reversal over another at the current time until further research proves otherwise.
Safeguarding Women’s Constitutional Rights in the Judicial Reviews of Marriage Law on the Minimum Married Age Limit
Authors: Hamidin Hamidin , Alfitri Alfitri
Published: July 2021

The Constitutional Court seems inconsistent when examining the same legal issue, i.e., the constitutionality of the minimum married age limit for women, but with different decisions. In the 2014 decision, the Court rejected the petition, while in the 2017 decision, the Court accepted it. This paper analyzes the considerations of constitutional judges in deciding the case to understand whether women’s constitutional rights have been protected in both decisions. Using the case and statutory approach, this article concludes that the 2014 decision rejecting the petition to increase the minimum married age limit for women does not fulfill women’s constitutional rights. Sixteen years old as the minimum age limit for women and nineteen years for men is discriminatory and deprives girls’ rights to health and education. The judges’ consideration in the 2017 decision, which granted the petition, was that determining the minimum married age limit is a legal policy. Still, if the policy contradicts the 1945 Constitution, citizens can challenge its constitutionality. The Marriage Law is a past product, so it needs to be adapted to developments and the 1945 Constitution’s norms. The difference in the Constitutional Court’s decisions on examining the same issue is due to different interpretations and efforts to protect the constitutional rights of citizens.
Selective Channel Assignment Method in Cognitive Radio System
Authors: Gowda C P Mallikarjuna , Vijayakumar T
Published: July 2021

An Efficient Channel assignment method for cognitive radio system has been proposed in this paper, by considering primary and secondary calls separately in the network for the cases of with and without usage of converters. The proposed channel assignment method known as selective channel assignment method its performance is compared with the existing first fit assignment and uniformly distributed random assignment methods. Each of the models has variant for with conversion and without conversion of wavelength. The simulations are run for a network having 10, 20 channels, 12, 15 and 25 links and 8 Erlangs of load. By carrying out the simulations of the proposed and existing channel assignment methods, the blocking probabilities, throughput and channel usage frequencies are computed for each of the assignment methods. When the selective channel assignment method was used, the blocking probabilities are around 41% and 39% for 50% PU calls case and 64% and 26% for 75% PU calls case when there were no converters in the network. When converters are used, the blocking probabilities are around 30% and 36% for 50% PU calls case and 38% and 18% for 75% PU calls case. Our simulations validated the effectiveness of the proposed channel assignment scheme in terms of blocking probability, throughput and channel usage as performance parameters.
Memory of land surface and subsurface temperature (LST/SUBT) initial anomalies over Tibetan Plateau in different land models
Authors: Qiu Yuan , Feng Jinming , Wang Jun , Xue Yongkang , Xu Zhongfeng
Published: July 2021

This study applies three widely used land models (SSiB, CLM, and Noah-MP) coupled in a regional climate model to quantitatively assess their skill in preserving the imposed ± 5℃ anomalies on the initial land surface and subsurface temperature (LST/SUBT) and generating the 2-m air temperature (T2m) anomalies over Tibetan Plateau (TP) during May-August. The memory of the LST/SUBT initial anomalies (surface/soil memory) is defined as the first time when time series of the differences in daily LST/SUBT cross the zero line during the simulation, with the unit of days. The memory of the T2m anomalies (T2m memory) is defined in the same way. The ensemble results indicate that the simulated soil memory generally increases with soil depth, which is consistent with the results based on the observations with statistic methods. And the soil memory is found to change rapidly with depth above ~ 0.6-0.7m and vary gradually below it. The land models have fairly long soil memories, with the regional mean 1.0-m soil memory generally longer than 60 days. However, they have short T2m memory, with the regional means generally below 20 days. This may bring a big challenge to use the LST/SUBT approach on sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) prediction. Comparison between the three land models shows that CLM and Noah-MP have longer soil memory at the deeper layers ( > ~ 0.05m) while SSiB has longer T2m/surface memories and near-surface (\(\le\)~0.05m) soil memory. As a result, it is difficult to say which land model is optimal for the application of the LST/SUBT approach on the S2S prediction. The T2m/surface/soil memories are various over TP, distinct among the land models, and different between the + 5℃ and − 5℃ experiment, which can be explained by both changes in the surface heat fluxes and variances in the hydrological processes over the plateau.
Compressed Sensing System for a Fingerprint Image Recognition Using Sensing Matrix with Chaotic Model-Based Deterministic Row Indexes
Authors: Hailemariam Workneh Wolde , Gupta Pallavi
Published: July 2021

This paper proposes a novel design approach for a secured compressed sensing system for fingerprint sensing and transmission. In the proposed design, the first stage is acquiring the signal followed by sparsely modeling it using Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) algorithm then compressing. In addition to compressing, we multiply the sparse modeled data by a novel, deterministic, and partially orthogonal Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) sensing matrix to guarantee its security. Furthermore, the construction of the sensing matrix uses a modified Multiplicative Linear Congruential Generator (MLCG) to select the row index appropriately from chaotically re-arranged rows of DCT pseudo-randomly. On the other hand, the compressed image's simultaneous recovery and decryption accomplished using a convex optimization method—the proposed system tested by employing different image and security assessment techniques. The results show that we have archived a better Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) than the recommended value for wireless transmission using samples below 25%.
“Enhancement of Vincristine Under In Vitro Culture of Catharanthus Roseus Supplemented With Alternaria Sesami Endophytic Fungal Extract As Biotic Elicitor”
Authors: Birat Kanchan , Siddiqi Tariq Omar , Mir Showkat Rasool , Aslan Junaid , Bansal Rakhi , Khan Wasim , Panda Bibhu Prasad
Published: July 2021

Vincristine, one of the major vinca alkaloid of Catharanthus roseus(L.) G. Don. (Apocynaceae) was enhanced under in vitro culture of C.roseus using fungal extract of an endophyte Alternaria sesami isolated from the surface-sterilized root cuttings of C.roseus. Vindoline, a precursor molecule of Vincristine was detected for the first time from the fungal endophyte A.sesami which was used as biotic elicitor to enhance Vincristine content in the C.roseus callus.It was identified using high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy techniques by matching retention time and mass data with reference molecule. Supplementing heat sterilized A.sesami endophytic fungal culture extract into callus culture medium of C. roseus enhanced the Vincristine content in C. roseus callus by 21.717% after 105 day culture.
Grey Wolf Optimization Based Energy Efficiency Management System for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Pratha S. Jaya , Asanambigai V. , Mugunthan S.R.
Published: July 2021

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is the fundamental technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). It is a network formed from several sensor nodes to sense the changes in the environment. The nodes are battery powered that performs sensing and transmission of information to other nodes in the network. Thus, the energy of the sensor node plays a crucial role in WSN. Thus, intelligent models are anticipated to solve the network problems by optimizing or minimizing the mechanism inorder to improve the energy efficiency. In this paper, a combined meta-heuristic approach called Grey Wolf Optimization based Game theoretical Approach (GWOGA) is proposed that helps for clustering to find the best solutions for selection of aggregation points and this optimal selection of aggregation points lead the nodes to maximize its battery/lifetime. Experimental and simulation analysis shows that the GWOGA outperforms the existing models and retains the lifetime of the network.
Metformin Inhibits BMP9-Induced Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Lung Fibroblasts via AMPK Signaling
Authors: Chen Qiongfeng , Wang Yaqun , Sheng Linna , Yang Zhijun , Ying Ying , Huang Yonghong
Published: July 2021

Adenosine monophosphosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and its activator metformin were found to be involved in the regulation of fibroblast activation and pulmonary fibrosis. However, the regulatory mechanism has been undetermined. Recently, AMPK has been reported to exert its effect through inhibiting bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway. In this study, HFL-1 cells were treated with metformin or specific AMPKα1 mutants, including constitutively activated mutant (AMPK-CA) and dominant negative mutant (AMPK-DN), combined with BMP9, and then the absorbance of these cells was measured by cell counting kit (CCK)-8 assay. The colony number of HFL-1 cells stimulated by metformin with or without BMP9 was examined by colony formation assay. The protein expressions of differentiated markers (α-smooth muscle actin, collagen I and collagen III) and the key molecules of BMP9 signaling, including activin receptor-like kinase (ALK) 1 and phosphorylated small mother against decapentaplegic (p-Smad)1/5, were also evaluated by western blot. Data revealed that BMP9 induced the proliferation and differentiation of HFL-1 cells which was suppressed by metformin or AMPK-CA. Meanwhile, the effect of metformin on BMP9-induced activation was counteracted by AMPK-DN. In addition, we found that the expressions of ALK1 and p-Smad1/5 induced by BMP9 were attenuated by metformin and AMPK-CA, whereas the inhibitory responses of metformin to the increased ALK1 and p-Smad1/5 were reduced by AMPK-DN. Accordingly, these results suggested that metformin mitigated BMP9-induced proliferation and differentiation of HFL-1 cells, which was achieved partly through the activation of AMPK and inhibition of ALK1/Smad1/5 signaling.
The Power Analysis of 1T-DRAM Cell with Different FET technologies
Authors: Addala Durgesh , Sinha Sanjeet Kumar , Chandu Gadiparthi Mohan
Published: July 2021

DRAM’s are essential for memory-based electronics devices and the usage of RAM is increasing day by day to reach the user's expectation the products are get designed based on low power and portable. Power dissipation is a major issue to solve this issue researchers are focusing on low power circuits and trying to design the circuits with less number of the transistor so that it will consume less amount of power. In this paper, three structures are presently based on MOSFET technology and CNTFET technology. MOSFET model structures are divided into two they are 1.DRAM circuit with Tri-state buffers and 2. DRAM circuit without Tri-state buffers. CNTFET based structure is built with the help of ‘CarbonNanoTube-FET’s and the structure is the same as DRAM without Tri-state buffers. Power analysis, voltage, delay are evaluated with the help of cadence virtuoso and LTspice Tools.
Investigation of Low Frequency Noise-current Correlation for the InAs/GaSb T2SL Long-wavelength Infrared Detector
Authors: Wang Liang , Zhu Liqi , Xu Zhicheng , Wang Fangfang , Chen Jianxin , Chen Baile
Published: July 2021

In this paper, a mesa-type 256×8 long-wavelength infrared detector is prepared by using InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice material with double barrieres structure. the area of each pixel is 25×25 μm2. The cut-off wavelength and dark current density of the detector at -0.05 V bias with liquid nitrogen temperature is 11.5 μm and 4.1×10-4 A/cm2, respectively. The power spectrum of low-frequency noise (1/f noise) at different temperatures have also been fitted by the Hooge model, and the correlations with dark current are extracted subsequently. The results shown that the 1/f noise of the detector is mainly caused by the generation-recombination current at a low reverse bias, however, when the reverse bias is high, the 1/f noise should be expressed by the sum of Igr noise and Ibtb noise which is ignored in the previous research. The 1/f noise-current correlation assessed in this work can provide insights into the low frequency noise characteristics of long-wavelength T2SL InAs/GaSb detectors, and allow for a better understanding of the main source of low-frequency noise.
Urinary 8-OxoGsn as A Potential Indicator of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Frail Patients With Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Yao Si-Min , Zheng Peipei , Sun Ning , Cai Jian-Ping , Wang Hua , Yang Jie-Fu
Published: July 2021

Background

Oxidative RNA damage has been found to be associated with age-related diseases and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-oxoGsn) is a typical marker of oxidative modification of RNA. We aimed to assess whether the measurement of urinary 8-oxoGsn could represent a potential early maker in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among frail patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Methods

Urinary 8-oxoGsn was measured in frail (Fried phenotype: 3–5) inpatients with CVD and was corrected by urinary creatinine (Cre) levels. Cognitive function was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), participants were classified into non-MCI (≥ 24) and MCI (< 24). Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the relationship between 8-oxoGsn/Cre and MCI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the 8-oxoGsn/Cre ratio in relation to MCI in frail patients with CVD.
Results

A total of 106 elderly patients were enrolled in this study. The mean age of participants was 77.9 ± 6.8 years, the overall prevalence of MCI was 22.6% (24/106). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, urinary 8-oxoGsn/Cre was independently associated with MCI (odds ratio [OR] = 1.769, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.234–2.536, p = 0.002), after adjusting for age, sex, education level, marital status, and serum prealbumin levels. The area under the ROC curve was 0.786 (0.679–0.893) (p < 0.001), and the optimal cut-off value was 4.22 µmol/mol. The urinary 8-oxoGsn/Cre ratio showed a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 69.5%.
Conclusion

The present study suggests the urinary 8-oxoGsn/Cre ratio may be a useful indicator for the early screening of MCI in frail patients with CVD.
Trial registration:

ChiCTR1800017204; date of registration: 07/18/2018. URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=28931.
New fossil discoveries reveal the diversity of past terrestrial ecosystems in New Caledonia
Authors: Garrouste Romain , Munzinger Jérôme , Leslie Andrew , (deceaded) Jessica Fisher , Folcher Nicolas , Locatelli Emma , Foy Wyndy , Chaillon Thibault , Cantrill David J. , Maurizot Pierre , Cluzel Dominique , II Porter P. Lowry , Crane Peter , Bahain Jean-Jacques , Voinchet Pierre , Jourdan Hervé , Grandcolas Philippe , Nel André
Published: July 2021

New Caledonia was, until recently, considered an old continental island harbouring a rich biota with outstanding Gondwanan relicts. However, deep marine sedimentation and tectonic evidence suggest complete submergence of the island during the latest Cretaceous to Paleocene. Molecular phylogenies provide evidence for some deeply-diverging clades that may predate the Eocene and abundant post-Oligocene colonisation events. Extinction and colonization biases, as well as survival of some groups in refugia on neighbouring paleo-islands may have obscured biogeographic trends over long time scales. Fossil data are therefore crucial for understanding the history of the New Caledonian biota, but occurrences are sparse and have received only limited attention. Here we describe five exceptional fossil assemblages that provide important new insights into New Caledonia’s terrestrial paleobiota from three key time intervals: prior to the submersion of the island, following re-emergence, and prior to Pleistocene climatic shifts. They reveal important changes in floristic composition over time, even between the early and late Miocene.
Machine Learning Algorithms for Prediabetes Risk Calculation: a Protocol of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Jeem Yaltafit Abror , Nabila Refa , Emelia Dwi Ditha , Lazuardi Lutfan , Josef Hari Kusnanto
Published: July 2021

Background One strategy to resolve the increasing prevalence of T2DM is to identify and administer interventions to prediabetes patients. Risk assessment tools help detect diseases, by allowing screening to the high risk group. Machine learning is also used to help diagnosis and identification of prediabetes. This review aims to determine the diagnostic test accuracy of various machine learning algorithms for calculating prediabetes risk.Methods This protocol was written in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement. The databases that will be used include PubMed, ProQuest and EBSCO restricted to January 1999 and May 2019 in English language only. Identification of articles will be done independently by two reviewers through the titles, the abstracts, and then the full-text-articles. Any disagreement will be resolved by consensus. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale will be used to measure the quality and potential of bias. Data extraction and content analysis will be performed systematically. Quantitative data will be visualized using a forest plot with the 95% Confidence Intervals. The diagnostic test outcome will be described by the summary receiver operating characteristic curve. Data will be analyzed using Review Manager 5.3 (RevMan 5.3) software package.Discussion We will obtain diagnostic accuracy of various machine learning algorithms for prediabetes risk estimation using this proposed systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic review registration: This protocol has been registered in the Prospective Registry of Systematic Review (PROSPERO) database. The registration number is CRD42021251242.
Wnt Pathway-Related Three-mRNA Clinical Outcome Signature In Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma: Computational Biology And Experimental Analyses
Authors: Sun Siqing , Wang Yutao , Wang Jianfeng , Bi Jianbin
Published: July 2021

BackgroundThe Wnt signaling pathway is core to the growth of bladder tumors. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is significant for bladder tumor metastasis. Nevertheless, the relationship between the Wnt signaling pathway, outcomes of bladder cancer (BLCA), and the specific mechanisms driving immune infiltration have not been studied.MethodsWe obtained Wnt pathway-related gene mRNA and clinicopathological data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We obtained 34 genes that were greatly correlated with outcome using univariate Cox regression analysis and conducted a completely randomized data t-test to perform clinical staging. According to the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), the weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to identify relevant biological functions. Various subtypes were identified using consensus cluster analysis. Univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage sum selection operator–Cox regression algorithm analysis were conducted on TCGA and Gene Expression Omnibus data to identify risk characteristics. The Kaplan–Meier method and receiver running feature curves were adopted to calculate overall survival. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was adopted for the assessment of the degree of immune infiltration. Then, we demonstrated the relationship between PPP2CB and EMT function in two cell lines. ResultsThirty-four Wnt signaling pathway-related genes were risk factors for BLCA outcome, and their expression levels differed by clinical stage. The co-expression of WGCNA showed the relationship between the Wnt signaling pathway and biological functions and was closely associated with EMT. We divided BLCA patients into two subtypes using consensus clustering. Survival curves and clinical analysis showed that the Wnt pathway enriched group had worse outcomes. The Wnt signature showed the significance of the outcome for MAPK10, PPP2CB, and RAC3. Based on these genes, the degree of immune infiltration was evaluated. Cell function experiments suggested that PPP2CB drives the proliferation and migration of BLCA cells.ConclusionWe found that Wnt signaling pathway-related genes can be used as prognostic risk factors for BLCA, and the Wnt signaling pathway is a cancer-promoting signaling pathway associated with EMT. We identified three critical genes: MAPK10, RAC3, and PPP2CB. The genes in these three Wnt signaling pathways are associated with tumor cell EMT and immune cell infiltration. The most important finding was that these three genes were independent prognostic factors for BLCA.
Facile Route Fabrication of Steam Exploded Poplar Loaded with Non-metal Doped Ni-Fe Nanoparticles: Catalytic Activities in 4-nitrophenol Reduction and Electrocatalytic Reaction
Authors: Pan Cheng , Yang Guangying , Yang Haitao
Published: July 2021

A simple and effective method for the preparation of non-metallic ion-doped nickel-supported catalyst is reported. Using economical and recyclable fiber raw materials as carriers, nickel-supported catalysts are prepared by adsorption and reduction at room temperature. The nanoparticles dispersedly anchored on a rational support can efficiently inhibit the aggregation and thus enhance the catalytic activity. For the model catalytic hydrogenation of 4-NP by NaBH4, the N-B-Ni2P/SEP and N-B-NiFeP/SEP catalysts exhibited much better catalytic performances than other catalysts recently reported in terms of the catalytic activity (reaction completed within 5 min), reaction rate constant (1.617 and 0.765 min− 1) and the activity factor K (539 and 255 min− 1·g− 1), respectively. The catalyst showed activities for electrocatalytic HER and OER under ambient conditions. In general, the reported preparation method of nickel-supported catalyst is convenient, economical and environmentally friendly, which is in line with many green chemistry and sustainable development principles and widely available starting materials.
Controllable Fe ion-anchored Graphene Heterostructures for Robust and Highly Thermal Conductive Cellulose Nanofiber Composites
Authors: Shan Bo , Xiong Yuzhu
Published: July 2021

Developing the polymer-based thermal interface materials (TIMs) is one of the most promising approaches to address heat accumulation along with the functionalization, integration, and miniaturization of modern electronics, while it is still a great challenge to balance the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties. In this article, Fe ion-anchored graphene (FeG) is successfully fabricated by a facile in situ Fe reduction of graphene oxide (GO) approach, and then cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/FeG composites are prepared by vacuum-assisted filtration. FeG exhibits excellent dispersion and exfoliation in CNF/FeG composites, due to the strong interfacial interaction between CNF and FeG, such as hydrogen bonds and “Fe-O” complex binding. Thus, CNF/FeG composite has the largely improved thermal conductivity up to 30.2 W/mK at FeG content of 50 wt%, which is substantially increased by 1160% in comparison with that of pure CNF. In addition, the mechanical performances of CNF/FeG-50 are unexpectedly simultaneously enhanced to 244 MPa for tensile strength, 4.10% for elongation at break, and 9.5 GPa for Young’s modulus, outperforming pure CNF with increase of 137%, 33%, and 121%, respectively. This study provides a significant strategy for the design and construction of high thermal conductivity and high-performance polymeric TIMs in flexible and portable electronics.
Effects of Etomidate Combined With Dexmedetomidine on Adrenocortical Function in Elderly Patients: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Wang Fangjun , Zeng Sisi , Gao Luyue , Li Jiabei , Wang Na
Published: July 2021

Introduction

Etomidate has been advocated to be used in anesthesia of the elderly and the critically ill patients due to its faint effect on cardiovascular system. But the dose-dependent suppression of etomidate on adrenal cortex function leads to the limitation of its clinical application. Clinical research shows that dexmedetomidine can reduce the dose requirements for intravenous or inhalation anesthetics and opioids, and the hemodynamics is more stable during the operation. The objective is to observe the effect of etomidate combined with dexmedetomidine on adrenocortical function in elderly patients.
Methods

180 elder patients scheduled for elective ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy were randomly allocated to PR group anesthetized with propofol- remifentanil, ER group anesthetized with etomidate-remifentanil, and ERD group anesthetized with dexmedetomidine combined with etomidate-remifentanil. Patients in each group whose operation time was less than or equal to 1h were incorporated into short time operation group (PR1 group, ER1 group and ERD1 group), and whose operation time was more than 1h were incorporated into long time operation group (PR2 group, ER2 group and ERD2 group). The values of SBP, DBP, HR and SpO2 were recorded at T0, T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 and T7.The time of operation, the dosage of etomidate and remifentanil administrated during surgery, the time to spontaneous respiration, recovery and extubation, and the duration of stay in the PACU were recorded. The serum cortisol and ACTH concentration was measured at t0, t1, t2, t3, t4 and t5.
Results

The dosage of etomidate was significantly lower in ERD1 group and ERD2 group compared with ER1 group and ER2 group(P < 0.05), respectively. The SBP in ER2 and ERD2 group were higher at T1 and T3 compared to PR2 group (P < 0.05). The DBP in ER1 and ERD1 group were higher at T1compared to PR1 group (P < 0.05). The Serum cortisol concentration were higher at t1 ~ 2 in ERD1 group compared to ER1 group (P < 0.05). The Serum cortisol concentration were higher at t1 ~ 3 in ERD2 group compared to ER2 group (P < 0.05).The Serum ACTH concentration were lower at t1 ~ 2 in ERD1 group compared to ER1 group (P < 0.05). The Serum ACTH concentration were lower at t1 ~ 3 in ERD2 group compared to ER2 group (P < 0.05).
Conclusion

The administration of dexmedetomidine combined with etomidate can attenuate the inhibition of etomidate on adrenocortical function in elderly patients and maintain intraoperative hemodynamic stability.
Assessment of Flood Vulnerability in Jamuna Floodplain: A Case Study at Jamalpur District, Bangladesh
Authors: Haque Md. Munjurul , Islam Sabina , Sikder Md. Bahuddin , Islam Md. Saiful
Published: July 2021

Flooding is a recurring event, and Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to it. This study aimed to assess the Jamuna floodplain's community vulnerability. A concise overview of the literature had performed to identify and finalize the indicators of vulnerability. Expert judgments used to weight the selected indicators. Primary data were collected using a pretested questionnaire throughout the field, where 400 households have been interviewed. Using multi-stage sampling techniques, five Upazilas of Jamalpur district, including Dewanganj, Islampur, Madarganj, Melandaha, and Sharishabari, were purposively chosen following extensive flood damage reports. Percentage value was derived using SPSS for each variable collected from the field survey. The variable vulnerability index (VVI) was derived by dividing the weighting value by the field percentage value for each variable. Exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity have been calculated using the variable vulnerability index values. Finally, using a widely recognized established index, the vulnerability was assessed for the study area. The calculated vulnerability scores for Dewanganj, Islampur, Madarganj, Melandaha and Sharishabari are 0.86, 0.84, 0.71, 0.70 and 0.65. According to the survey findings, all the study sites are found highly vulnerable to floods, especially Dewanganj and Islampur Upazilas, due to poor socio-economic conditions, low adaptive capacities, and high exposures. This study recommends resistant materials like brick and concrete in housing construction, sustainable flood-resistant dams and improving their adaptive capacities through socio-economic uplift.