bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study of bypassing Microsoft Windows Security using the MITRE CALDERA Framework
Authors: Mohamed Nachaat
Published: May 2022

Background: Microsoft Windows Security is a recently implemented safeguard for the Windows operating systems, including the latest versions of Windows10 and 11. However, there is a major shortcoming in this system to stop Advanced Persistent Threat (APT). These are government-financed groups that are funded to attack other government entities. Following the initial security breach, the hacked Windows device is used to access the rest of the network devices in order to transfer data to external storage (Exfiltration).

Methods: In this work, we have tested the Microsoft Windows Security system using MITRE CALDERA and ATT&CK frameworks and explain how APT groups are able to bypass Windows Security.

Results: In this study we used "54ndc47" agent through GoLang feature in MITRE CALDERA platform to test and bypass Microsoft Windows Security systems (MS Windows 10). Through it, we were able to bypass the Windows Security system and display entire files in the victim's device.

Conclusions: In this paper, we have provided recommendations to Microsoft to improve their Windows Security tool through the use of Artificial intelligence (AI).
Financial logistics models based on systematic approach improving management solutions
Authors: Evgenievich Barykin Sergey , Vasilievna Kapustina Irina , Mikhailovich Sergeev Sergey , Mehrab Daniali Sara , Anatolievna Kopteva Lyudmila , Nikolaevna Semenova Galina , Petrovich Pryadko Igor , Mikhaylov Alexey , Baboshkin Pavel , Datsyuk Polina , Senjyu Tomonobu
Published: May 2022

Background: Some firms with good growth opportunities and additional funds could have difficulties accessing external finance. One possible way to enhance their financial inclusion could be an exciting approach to planning the money reserve collected on a firm’s account.

Methods: This article aims to disclose the introduction of financial logistics as the new theoretical field of management science. The authors present, in this paper, the key findings on the development of logistical models of an optimum money reserve calculation taking into account digital transformation and industry 4.0 technologies and optimization methods.

Results: The monetary reserve models are analogies of models of storekeeping in supply chains. The specific area of the theoretical research of logistics is shown in this paper, which could be disclosed as the subject of financial logistics as a science. The authors consider the term “Financial Logistics” based on logistics theory and money demand.

Conclusions: Authors suggest the methodology of studying the nature of both financial and material flows of resources by comparing the relevant formulas. From the researchers’ points of view, financial logistics could be defined as the theory of managing the cash flows based on the logistical models for calculating a corporation’s cash reserve. The authors find it interesting to expand the conditions for calculating financial flows since the uncertainty of external market conditions always influences actual commercial activity.
An Interoperability Framework for electromobility (INFRA): The main results from the USER-CHI framework implementation in a new spotlight
Authors: Csillak Katharina , Moreno Kuhnke Mariana
Published: May 2022

In 2021 the number of electric vehicles (EV) circulating in the European Union (EU) was higher than ever before. The innovative solutions of the user centric charging infrastructure (USER-CHI) project aim at devising the basic guidelines for an interoperable charging infrastructure for EV. The future goal is for users to be able to charge “anywhere, anytime”. USER-CHI works towards a large-scale e-mobility market and the development of integrated smart solutions and new business models. These will be demonstrated in five urban areas, which are part of the Trans-European Transport Network corridor (Barcelona metropolitan area, Rome, Berlin, Budapest, and Turku).

To make access to the charging infrastructure possible irrespectively of vehicle brands and operators, an analysis of the existing interoperability framework was considered essential within the USER-CHI project. Pursuant to this, the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) developed INFRA (Interoperability Framework), a study that contains an analysis of the four layers that condition interoperability in the electromobility sector (organizational, semantic, technical and legal). Building on this analysis, the existing barriers for interoperability in each layer were identified and guidelines and recommendations were elaborated. The baseline of this paper are the role schemes, guidelines and recommendations elaborated for INFRA summarized in minimum requirements within each layer. The INFRA results are already available on CORDIS.

In addition, further desk research shows the latest developments in the EU regarding electromobility and puts INFRA in the context of the most recent discourse. The new insights of this paper offer an updated overall short summary of the main requirements for an interoperability framework for electromobility in the EU.

In conclusion the current developments underline the importance of the minimum requirements identified in INFRA and first steps towards a more interoperable infrastructure system have been taken.
Fidel Semantics for Propositional and First-Order Version of the Logic of CG’3
Authors: Figallo Orellano Aldo , Pérez-Gaspar Miguel , Bárcenas Everardo
Published: May 2022

Paraconsistent extensions of 3-valued Gödel logic are studied as tools for knowledge representation and nonmonotonic reasoning. Particularly, Osorio and his collaborators showed that some of these logics can be used to express interesting nonmonotonic semantics. CG’3 is one of these 3-valued logics. In this paper, we introduce Fidel semantics for a certain calculus of CG’3 by means of Fidel structures, named CG’3-structures. These structures are constructed from enriched Boolean algebras with a special family of sets. Moreover, we also show that the most basic CG’3-structures coincide with da Costa–Alves’ bi-valuation semantics; this connection is displayed through a Representation Theorem for CG’3-structures. By contrast, we show that for other paraconsistent logics that allow us to present semantics through Fidel structures, this connection is not held. Finally, Fidel semantics for the first-order version of the logic of CG’3 are presented by means of adapting algebraic tools.
T.L. Saaty Decision Making for Leaders Hackathon
Authors: Saaty Rozann , Mu Enrique
Published: May 2022

How long does it take to learn and use AHP for managerial decision making? Based on a recent experience, it can take a surprisingly short time! Students from the University of Pittsburgh competed in the first TL Saaty Decision Making for Leaders Hackathon March 18 to 20, 2022.
Single image dehazing algorithm based on optical diffraction deep neural networks
Authors: Song Mingzhu , Li Runze , Guo Rong , Ding Gege , Wang Yuezhu , Wang Junsheng
Published: May 2022

Single image dehazing is a challenging task because of the hue and brightness distortion problems due to the atmospheric scattering. These problems limit the perceptual fidelity, as well as information integrity, of a given image. In this paper, we propose an image dehazing method based on the optical neural networks dehazing by simulating optical diffraction. The algorithm is trained from a large number of hazy images and their corresponding clean images. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has reached an advanced level in both PSNR and SSIM dehazing performance indicators, and the amount of calculation is less than most artificial neural networks.
Informatics-based computational lithography for phase-shifting mask optimization
Authors: Pan Yihua , Ma Xu
Published: May 2022

Phase-shifting mask (PSM) is widely used in semiconductor fabrication to improve the resolution and image fidelity of optical lithography process. However, the theoretical image fidelity limit of the PSM lithography process is not fully understood. In this paper, the information transmission mechanism of PSM layout in optical lithography system is unveiled from the perspective of information theory. First, an information channel model is established to depict the information transfer of PSM layout in optical lithography system. Based on the law of information entropy, the optimal mutual information (OMI) of the PSM lithography process is derived, and the theoretical lower bound of the PSM image error is obtained. Finally, an informatics-based computational lithography approach is proposed to optimize the PSM, which achieves higher image fidelity compared to the traditional optimization algorithm. The benefit of PSM over the binary lithography mask is also discussed from the information theoretical aspects.
Equivalence of photonic sampling to signal holding in channel-interleaved photonic ADCs by controlling photo-detection response
Authors: Hua Shiyu , Qian Na , Deng Anyi , Zou Weiwen
Published: May 2022

Substantial interests have been attracted in the use of photonic sampling and electronic digitizing for photonic analog-to-digital converter (PADC). However, the nature of that photo-detection with signal holding effects has not been well established. This paper analyzes the equivalence of photonic sampling to signal holding by controlling photo-detection response. In the frequency domain, the high-frequency components generated by the sampling pulse train are folded back into the Nyquist band resulting the signal holding response when the output is digitized. We proposed an approximate response of the photodetector (PD) to verify the theoretical analysis. It is found that the photonic sampling serves as the conventional switch-based sample-and-hold (S&H) circuit in channel-interleaved photonic analog-to-digital converter. In the experiment, the signal holding directly inhibits the timing mismatch without sophisticated calibrations.
Spectral broadening of a mixed Nd: CYGA crystal with tunable laser operation beyond 1100 nm
Authors: Chen Hongling , Zhang Peixiong , Song Jiawan , Yin Hao , Hang Yin , Yang Qiguo , Li Zhen , Chen Zhenqiang
Published: May 2022

A broader emission band of the novel Nd: CaY0.9Gd0.1AlO4 (Nd: CYGA) mixed crystal was proved by the introduction of Gd3+ ions in Nd: CaYAlO4 (Nd: CYA) crystal, and a diode-pump tunable Nd: CYGA laser operation was achieved successfully. Due to the broad emission spectrum with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 23 nm, a tuning range of 32 nm from 1075 nm to 1107 nm was achieved, and the results were considered to be the first time for Nd-doped crystals to be tuned to such a long wavelength at 1107 nm, which promotes the further development of near-infrared tunable lasers. The maximum output power was 1.05 W at the center wavelength of 1081.4 nm, corresponding to the slope efficiency of 26.6%. Furthermore, we also demonstrated a continuous-wave 1105 nm laser with the output power of 53 mW. Our work indicates that Nd: CYGA crystal is a potential Nd-doped gain medium for generating all-solid-state near-infrared lasers.
224-Gbit/s 4-PAM operation of a high-modulation-bandwidth high-output-power Hi-FIT AXEL transmitter
Authors: Kanazawa Shigeru , Shindo Takahiko , Chen Mingchen , Nakanishi Yasuhiko , Nakamura Hirotaka , Matsuzaki Hideaki
Published: May 2022

We fabricated an optical transmitter with high frequency and integrated design based on the flip-chip interconnection technique (Hi-FIT) and assisted extended reach electroadsorption modulator integrated distributed feedback (EADFB) laser (AXEL) for 200-Gbit/s/λ application. The Hi-FIT makes it possible to increase modulation bandwidth thanks to wire-free interconnection and peaking control techniques while the AXEL can increase the optical modulation output power thanks to an integrated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). The fabricated Hi-FIT AXEL transmitter has a 3-dB bandwidth of more than 66 GHz. We obtained clear 224-Gbit/s 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (4-PAM) eye diagrams with a chip-output optical modulation amplitude (OMA) of more than +7.9 dBm at distributed feedback (DFB) laser and SOA currents of 70 and 30 mA, respectively.
Brain stimulation competes with ongoing oscillations for control of spike timing in the primate brain
Authors: Krause Matthew R. , Vieira Pedro G. , Thivierge Jean-Philippe , Pack Christopher C.
Published: May 2022

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a popular method for modulating brain activity noninvasively. In particular, tACS is often used as a targeted intervention that enhances a neural oscillation at a specific frequency to affect a particular behavior. However, these interventions often yield highly variable results. Here, we provide a potential explanation for this variability: tACS competes with the brain’s ongoing oscillations. Using neural recordings from alert nonhuman primates, we find that when neural firing is independent of ongoing brain oscillations, tACS readily entrains spiking activity, but when neurons are strongly entrained to ongoing oscillations, tACS often causes a decrease in entrainment instead. Consequently, tACS can yield categorically different results on neural activity, even when the stimulation protocol is fixed. Mathematical analysis suggests that this competition is likely to occur under many experimental conditions. Attempting to impose an external rhythm on the brain may therefore often yield precisely the opposite effect.
Anatomy of the first six months of COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Italy
Authors: Gozzi Nicolò , Chinazzi Matteo , Davis Jessica T. , Mu Kunpeng , Pastore y Piontti Ana , Ajelli Marco , Perra Nicola , Vespignani Alessandro
Published: May 2022

We analyze the effectiveness of the first six months of vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 in Italy by using a computational epidemic model which takes into account demographic, mobility, vaccines data, as well as estimates of the introduction and spreading of the more transmissible Alpha variant. We consider six sub-national regions and study the effect of vaccines in terms of number of averted deaths, infections, and reduction in the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) with respect to counterfactual scenarios with the actual non-pharmaceuticals interventions but no vaccine administration. Furthermore, we compare the effectiveness in counterfactual scenarios with different vaccines allocation strategies and vaccination rates. Our results show that, as of 2021/07/05, vaccines averted 29, 350 (IQR: [16, 454–42, 826]) deaths and 4, 256, 332 (IQR: [1, 675, 564–6, 980, 070]) infections and a new pandemic wave in the country. During the same period, they achieved a −22.2% (IQR: [−31.4%; −13.9%]) IFR reduction. We show that a campaign that would have strictly prioritized age groups at higher risk of dying from COVID-19, besides frontline workers and the fragile population, would have implied additional benefits both in terms of avoided fatalities and reduction in the IFR. Strategies targeting the most active age groups would have prevented a higher number of infections but would have been associated with more deaths. Finally, we study the effects of different vaccination intake scenarios by rescaling the number of available doses in the time period under study to those administered in other countries of reference. The modeling framework can be applied to other countries to provide a mechanistic characterization of vaccination campaigns worldwide.
Competence shut-off by intracellular pheromone degradation in salivarius streptococci
Authors: Knoops Adrien , Ledesma-García Laura , Waegemans Alexandra , Lamontagne Morgane , Decat Baptiste , Degand Hervé , Morsomme Pierre , Soumillion Patrice , Delvigne Frank , Hols Pascal
Published: May 2022

Competence for DNA transformation is a major strategy for bacterial adaptation and survival. Yet, this successful tactic is energy-consuming, shifts dramatically the metabolism, and transitory impairs the regular cell-cycle. In streptococci, complex regulatory pathways control competence deactivation to narrow its development to a sharp window of time, a process known as competence shut-off. Although characterized in streptococci whose competence is activated by the ComCDE signaling pathway, it remains unclear for those controlled by the ComRS system. In this work, we investigate competence shut-off in the major human gut commensal Streptococcus salivarius. Using a deterministic mathematical model of the ComRS system, we predicted a negative player under the control of the central regulator ComX as involved in ComS/XIP pheromone degradation through a negative feedback loop. The individual inactivation of peptidase genes belonging to the ComX regulon allowed the identification of PepF as an essential oligoendopeptidase in S. salivarius. By combining conditional mutants, transcriptional analyses, and biochemical characterization of pheromone degradation, we validated the reciprocal role of PepF and XIP in ComRS shut-off. Notably, engineering cleavage site residues generated ultra-resistant peptides producing high and long-lasting competence activation. Altogether, this study reveals a proteolytic shut-off mechanism of competence in the salivarius group and suggests that this mechanism could be shared by other ComRS-containing streptococci.
Identification of key genes and signaling pathways related to Hetian sheep wool density by RNA-seq technology
Authors: Shi Ruijun , Li Shuwei , Liu Penggang , Zhang Shuhui , Wu Zhenhui , Wu Tinghui , Gong Shujuan , Wan Yu
Published: May 2022

Hetian sheep is a breed of sheep unique to the Hetian area of Xinjiang whose wool is used for producing blankets. Individual differences and hair follicle density are the key factors affecting wool production. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the Hetian sheep having different wool densities to statistically analyze the wool traits and hair follicle parameters. Furthermore, the transcriptome sequencing analysis was performed onthe skins with different wool densities. The results showed that wool quantity and total hair follicle density of the high wool density sheep was significantly higher than low wool density sheep. The sheepskin with high wool density was found to grow more and finer wool than sheepskin with low wool density. A total of 1,452 differentially expressed genes were screened from the two sets of samples, including 754 upregulated and 698 downregulated genes. The differentially expressed genes were involved in the TGF-β/BMP and MAPK signaling pathways related to hair growth. Eleven differentially expressed genes belonging to the KAPs and KIFs might affect the fineness of the wool. The key genes, like theTNF,MAP2K2,INHBA,FST,PTPN11,MAP3K7,KIT, andBMPR1A, were found to probably affect the growth and density of the wool. The qPCR verified eight genes related to the MAPK pathway whose gene expression trends were consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results. This study furnishes valuable resources for enhancing the quality and production of wool in the Hetian sheep.
A two-stage simulation analysis of uncertain road damage on the urban emergency delivery network
Authors: Song Yinghua , Wu Ke , Liu Dan
Published: May 2022

When a city encounters a natural disaster, the traffic capacity of the road will change uncertainly over time as the disaster spreads. At this time, it will affect the overall distribution of the urban road network. Therefore, in order to ensure the normal operation of the city, evaluate the objective regularities of impact is of great significance and urgency to emergency decision-makers. The extent and scope of road damaged in the disaster-stricken area varies with time due to the impact of natural calamities. To reveal the regularities impact, this paper provides a two-stage analysis method based on the distribution path of the road network, offering basic data analysis and nonlinear fitting regression analysis on distribution costs, spatial accessibility and distribution efficiency. This study uses the degree of road network damage and the double randomness of road damaged to establish a transportation model for dynamic simulation analysis. The research results show that the delivery regularity of costs, spatial accessibility, and efficiency present the s-curve changes obviously. There are obvious inflection points when the damaged road percentage reaches about 10%-15% and 30%-40%. Therefore, the most suitable delivery route and time can be selected to maximize efficiency and reduce losses.
To what extent does confounding explain the association between breastfeeding duration and cognitive development up to age 14? Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
Authors: Pereyra-Elías Reneé , Quigley Maria A. , Carson Claire
Published: May 2022

Background

Breastfeeding duration is associated with improved cognitive development in children, but it is unclear whether this is a causal relationship or due to confounding. This study evaluates whether the observed association is explained by socioeconomic position (SEP) and maternal cognitive ability.

Methods

Data from 7,855 singletons born in 2000–2002 and followed up to age 14 years within the UK Millennium Cohort Study were analysed. Mothers reported breastfeeding duration, and children’s cognitive abilities were assessed at 5, 7, 11, and 14 years using validated measures. Standardised verbal (age 5 to 14) and spatial (age 5 to 11) cognitive scores were compared across breastfeeding duration groups using multivariable linear mixed-effects models (repeated outcome measures).

Results

At all ages, longer breastfeeding durations were associated with higher cognitive scores after accounting for the child’s own characteristics. Adjustment for SEP approximately halved the effect sizes. Further adjustment for maternal cognitive scores removed the remaining associations at age 5, but not at ages 7, 11 and 14 (e.g.: verbal scores, age 14; breastfed ≥12 months vs never breastfed: 0.26 SD; 95%CI: 0.18, 0.34).

Conclusion

The associations between breastfeeding duration and cognitive scores persist after adjusting for SEP and maternal cognitive ability, however the effect was modest.
In-vitro and in-vivo evaluations of tocotrienol-rich nanoemulsified system on skin wound healing
Authors: Chong Wai Ting , Tan Chin Ping , Cheah Yoke Kqueen , Lai Oi Ming
Published: May 2022

Proper wound healing is vital for the survival of higher organisms. Responses to skin injury can lead to complications such as scar formation that can affect the quality of life. In this study, keratinocytes migration (scratch assay) and zebrafish tail regeneration experiments were used to evaluate the wound healing effect of a tocotrienol-based nanoemulsified (NE) system against ascorbic acid and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as positive and negative controls, respectively. MTT assay provided a concentration range of 0.35–8.75 μg/ml of nanoemulsion that produced cell viability more than 100%. After 24 hours of treatment, the wound closure of keratinocytes were found to be significantly faster by 73.76%, 63.37% and 35.56%, respectively when treated with 3.50 μg/ml and 1.75 μg/ml of NE compared to the blank. The lethal concentration at 50% (LC50 value) obtained from acute and prolonged toxicity was almost similar, which was 4.6 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml, respectively. Growth of zebrafish tail regeneration treated with NE at a concentration of 2.5 mg/ml was significantly faster than the untreated zebrafish, which regenerated to 40% on the fifth day, more than 60% on the tenth day of treatment and fully recovered at the twentieth day. In conclusion, these results showed the potential of the tocotrienols-based nanoemulsified system in enhancing wound healing through accelerated wound closure.
Circulating extracellular vesicles exhibit a differential miRNA profile in gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies
Authors: Thamotharan Shanthie , Ghosh Shubhamoy , James-Allan Laura , Lei Margarida Y. Y. , Janzen Carla , Devaskar Sherin U.
Published: May 2022

We undertook a prospective temporal study collecting blood samples from consenting pregnant women, to test the hypothesis that circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) carrying specific non-codingmicroRNAsignatures can underlie gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). To test this hypothesis,miRNAcargo of isolated and characterizedEVsrevealed contributions from the placenta and differential expression at all three trimesters and at delivery between pregnant and non-pregnant states. ManymiRNAsoriginate from the placental-specific chromosome 19 microRNA cluster (19MC) and chromosome 14 microRNA cluster (14MC). Further a positive correlation emerged between third trimester and at deliveryEVscontainingmiRNAsand those expressed by the corresponding post-parturient placentas (R value= 0.63 to 0.69, p value = 2.2X10-16), in normal and GDM. In addition, distinct differences at all trimesters emerged between women who subsequently developed GDM. Analysis by logistic regression with leave-one-out-cross validation revealed the optimal combination ofmiRNAsusing all the circulatingmiRNAs(miR-92a-3p,miR-192-5p,miR-451a,miR-122-5p), or using only the differentially expressedmiRNAs(has-miR-92a-3p, hsa-miR-92b-3p, hsa-miR-100-5p and hsa-miR-125a-3p) in GDM during the first trimester. As an initial step, both sets ofmiRNAsdemonstrated a predictive probability with an area under the curve of 0.95 to 0.96. ThesemiRNAstargeted genes involved in cell metabolism, proliferation and immune tolerance. In particular genes of theP-I-3-Kinase,FOXO, insulin signaling and glucogenic pathways were targeted, suggestive of placental connectivity with various maternal organs/cells, altering physiology along with pathogenic mechanisms underlying the subsequent development of GDM. We conclude that circulatingEVsoriginating from the placenta with theirmiRNAcargo communicate and regulate signaling pathways in maternal organs, thereby predetermining development of GDM.
The relationship between medical comorbidities and health-related quality of life among adults with type 2 diabetes: The experience of different hospitals in southern Bangladesh
Authors: Mannan Adnan , Akter Farhana , Hasan A. Chy Naim Uddin , Alam Nazmul , Rana Md. Mashud , Chowdhury Nowshad Asgar , Hasan Md. Mahbub
Published: May 2022

Objective

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a critical determinant to assess the severity of chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus. It has a close association with complications, comorbidities, and medical aid. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of medical comorbidities and determine the relationship between comorbidities and HRQoL among type 2 diabetic patients of southern Bangladesh.

Method

This study was a cross-sectional study conducted through face to face interviews using a pre-tested structured questionnaire and by reviewing patient’s health records with prior written consent. The study was conducted on 2,136 patients with type 2 diabetes attending five hospitals of Chattogram, Bangladesh, during the tenure of November 2018 to July 2019. Quality of life was measured using the widely-used index of EQ-5D that considers 243 different health states and uses a scale in which 0 indicates a health state equivalent to death and 1 indicates perfect health status. The five dimensions of the quality index included mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression.

Results

Patients with three comorbidities and with four or more comorbidities had a higher probability of reporting “extreme problem” or “some problem” in all five dimensions of the EQ-5D index compared with those without comorbidity (Odds ratio: mobility, 3.99 [2.72–5.87], 6.22 [3.80–10.19]; usual activity, 2.67 [1.76–4.06], 5.43 [3.28–8.98]; self-care, 2.60 [1.65–4.10], 3.95 [2.33–6.69]; pain or discomfort, 2.22 [1.48–3.33], 3.44 [1.83–6.45]; anxiety or depression, 1.75 [1.07–2.88], 2.45 [1.19–5.04]). The number of comorbidities had a negative impact on quality of life.

Conclusion

Prevalent comorbidities were found to be the significant underlying cause of declined HRQoL. To raise diabetes awareness and for better disease management, the exposition of comorbidities in regards to HRQoL of people with diabetes should be considered for type 2 diabetes management schemas.
Trends in social exposure to SARS-Cov-2 in France. Evidence from the national socio-epidemiological cohort–EPICOV
Authors: Warszawski Josiane , Meyer Laurence , Franck Jeanna-Eve , Rahib Delphine , Lydié Nathalie , Gosselin Anne , Counil Emilie , Kreling Robin , Novelli Sophie , Slama Remy , Raynaud Philippe , Bagein Guillaume , Costemalle Vianney , Sillard Patrick , Fourie Toscane , de Lamballerie Xavier , Bajos Nathalie ,   Epicov Team
Published: May 2022

Background

We aimed to study whether social patterns of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection changed in France throughout the year 2020, in light to the easing of social contact restrictions.

Methods

A population-based cohort of individuals aged 15 years or over was randomly selected from the national tax register to collect socio-economic data, migration history, and living conditions in May and November 2020. Home self-sampling on dried blood was proposed to a 10% random subsample in May and to all in November. A positive anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG result against the virus spike protein (ELISA-S) was the primary outcome. The design, including sampling and post-stratification weights, was taken into account in univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

Of the 134,391 participants in May, 107,759 completed the second questionnaire in November, and respectively 12,114 and 63,524 were tested. The national ELISA-S seroprevalence was 4.5% [95%CI: 4.0%-5.1%] in May and 6.2% [5.9%-6.6%] in November. It increased markedly in 18-24-year-old population from 4.8% to 10.0%, and among second-generation immigrants from outside Europe from 5.9% to 14.4%. This group remained strongly associated with seropositivity in November, after controlling for any contextual or individual variables, with an adjusted OR of 2.1 [1.7–2.7], compared to the majority population. In both periods, seroprevalence remained higher in healthcare professions than in other occupations.

Conclusion

The risk of Covid-19 infection increased among young people and second-generation migrants between the first and second epidemic waves, in a context of less strict social restrictions, which seems to have reinforced territorialized socialization among peers.
Corpus-based age of word acquisition: Does it support the validity of adult age-of-acquisition ratings?
Authors: Smolík Filip , Filip Maroš
Published: May 2022

Age of acquisition (AoA) is presumed to reflect the age or relative order in which words are learned, but is often measured using adult ratings or adult-reported observations and might thus reflect more about the adult language than about the acquisition process. Objective AoA estimates are often limited to words whose referents can be shown in pictures. We created a corpus-derived AoA estimate based on first word occurrences in a longitudinal corpus of child English, and evaluated its reliability and validity against other measures of AoA. Then we used these different measures as concurrent predictors of adult lexical decision times. Our results showed adequate reliability and good relations with other AoA measures, especially with parent-reported AoA (r = 0.56). Corpus AoA did not predict unique variance in lexical decision times, while adult AoA ratings and parent-reported AoA did. We argue that this pattern is due to two factors. First, the adult AoA ratings and parent-reported AoA are confounded with adult memory, lexical processing and reading difficulty variables. Second, the adult AoA ratings are related to actual age of acquisition only for words acquired during later preschool and school age. Our analyses support the utility of corpus-derived AoA estimates as an objective measure of acquisition age, especially for early-acquired words.
Morphological and quantitative analysis of leukocytes in free-living Australian black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto)
Authors: Hansen Dale , Hunt Brooklin E. , Falvo Caylee A. , Ruiz-Aravena Manuel , Kessler Maureen K. , Hall Jane , Thompson Paul , Rose Karrie , Jones Devin N. , Lunn Tamika J. , Dale Adrienne S. , Peel Alison J. , Plowright Raina K. ,   Bat One Health
Published: May 2022

The black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) is a natural reservoir for Hendra virus, a paramyxovirus that causes fatal infections in humans and horses in Australia. Increased excretion of Hendra virus by flying foxes has been hypothesized to be associated with physiological or energetic stress in the reservoir hosts. The objective of this study was to explore the leukocyte profiles of wild-caught P. alecto, with a focus on describing the morphology of each cell type to facilitate identification for clinical purposes and future virus spillover research. To this end, we have created an atlas of images displaying the commonly observed morphological variations across each cell type. We provide quantitative and morphological information regarding the leukocyte profiles in bats captured at two roost sites located in Redcliffe and Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, over the course of two years. We examined the morphology of leukocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes of P. alecto using cytochemical staining and characterization of blood films through light microscopy. Leukocyte profiles were broadly consistent with previous studies of P. alecto and other Pteropus species. A small proportion of individual samples presented evidence of hemoparasitic infection or leukocyte morphological traits that are relevant for future research on bat health, including unique large granular lymphocytes. Considering hematology is done by visual inspection of blood smears, examples of the varied cell morphologies are included as a visual guide. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first qualitative assessment of P. alecto leukocytes, as well as the first set of published hematology reference images for this species.
Young children’s use of probabilistic reliability and base-rates in decision-making
Authors: Gualtieri Samantha , Attisano Elizabeth , Denison Stephanie
Published: May 2022

Children are skilled reasoners who readily use causal, reliability, and base-rate (i.e., prior probability) information in their decisions. Though these abilities are typically studied in isolation, children often must consider multiple pieces of information to make an informed decision. Four experiments (N = 320) explored the development of children’s ability to use reliability and base-rate information when making decisions about draw outcomes. Experiment 1 examined the age at which children can first compare and choose between probabilistically reliable machines. Three- and 4-year-old children saw machines that were probabilistically reliable at obtaining objects while sampling from uniform distributions (i.e., all target or non-target objects). Although 4-year-old children correctly used reliability in their decisions, 3-year-olds did not. In Experiment 2a, 4- to 6-year-olds were presented with the same probabilistically reliable machines, although they sampled from a mixture of target and non-target items. Here, children tended to choose the machine with the better proportion of targets, regardless of reliability. This was replicated in Experiment 2b. In Experiment 3, children were presented with one perfectly reliable machine and one probabilistically unreliable machine. Here, children continued to mostly choose the machine with the better proportion of targets. These results raise questions about base-rate overuse early in development and highlight the need for additional work on children’s ability to use multiple pieces of information in decision-making.
Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport
Authors: Sun Jiahong , Ou Weijun , Han Derick , Paganini-Hill Annlia , Fisher Mark J. , Sumbria Rachita K.
Published: May 2022

Brain microvascular endothelial cells, forming the anatomical site of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are widely used as in vitro complements to in vivo BBB studies. Among the immortalized cells used as in vitro BBB models, the murine-derived bEnd.3 cells offer culturing consistency and low cost and are well characterized for functional and transport assays, but result in low transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). Human-induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated into brain microvascular endothelial cells (ihBMECs) have superior barrier properties, but the process of differentiation is time-consuming and can result in mixed endothelial-epithelial gene expression. Here we performed a side-by-side comparison of the ihBMECs and bEnd.3 cells for key paracellular diffusional transport characteristics. The TEER across the ihBMECs was 45- to 68-fold higher than the bEnd.3 monolayer. The ihBMECs had significantly lower tracer permeability than the bEnd.3 cells. Both, however, could discriminate between the paracellular permeabilities of two tracers: sodium fluorescein (MW: 376 Da) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)–dextran (MW: 70 kDa). FITC-dextran permeability was a strong inverse-correlate of TEER in the bEnd.3 cells, whereas sodium fluorescein permeability was a strong inverse-correlate of TEER in the ihBMECs. Both bEnd.3 cells and ihBMECs showed the typical cobblestone morphology with robust uptake of acetylated LDL and strong immuno-positivity for vWF. Both models showed strong claudin-5 expression, albeit with differences in expression location. We further confirmed the vascular endothelial- (CD31 and tube-like formation) and erythrophagocytic-phenotypes and the response to inflammatory stimuli of ihBMECs. Overall, both bEnd.3 cells and ihBMECs express key brain endothelial phenotypic markers, and despite differential TEER measurements, these in vitro models can discriminate between the passage of different molecular weight tracers. Our results highlight the need to corroborate TEER measurements with different molecular weight tracers and that the bEnd.3 cells may be suitable for large molecule transport studies despite their low TEER.
Factors associated with SARS-CoV-2-related hospital outcomes among and between persons living with and without diagnosed HIV infection in New York State
Authors: Rosenthal Elizabeth M. , Rosenberg Eli S. , Patterson Wendy , Ferguson Wendy P. , Gonzalez Charles , DeHovitz Jack , Udo Tomoko , Rajulu Deepa T. , Hart-Malloy Rachel , Tesoriero James
Published: May 2022

Background

Persons living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH) are at increased risk for severe illness due to COVID-19. The degree to which this due to HIV infection, comorbidities, or other factors remains unclear.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York State between March and June 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, to compare outcomes among 853 PLWDH and 1,621 persons without diagnosed HIV (controls). We reviewed medical records to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics at admission, comorbidities, and clinical outcomes between PLWDH and controls. HIV-related characteristics were evaluated among PLWDH.

Results

PLWDH were significantly more likely to have cardiovascular (matched prevalence-ratio [mPR], 1.22 [95% CI, 1.07–1.40]), chronic liver (mPR, 6.71 [95% CI, 4.75–9.48]), chronic lung (mPR, 1.76 [95% CI, 1.40–2.21]), and renal diseases (mPR, 1.77 [95% CI, 1.50–2.09]). PLWDH were less likely to have elevated inflammatory markers upon hospitalization. Relative to controls, PLWDH were 15% less likely to require mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and 15% less likely to require admission to the intensive care unit. No significant differences were found in in-hospital mortality. PLWDH on tenofovir-containing regimens were significantly less likely to require mechanical ventilation or ECMO (risk-ratio [RR], 0.73 [95% CI, 0.55–0.96]) and to die (RR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.57–0.96]) than PLWDH on non-tenofovir-containing regimens.

Conclusions

While hospitalized PLWDH and controls had similar likelihood of in-hospital death, chronic disease profiles and degree of inflammation upon hospitalization differed. This may signal different mechanisms leading to severe COVID-19.
Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods, Sofia Pantouvaki and Peter McNeil (2021)
Authors: Sumner Abby
Published: May 2022

Review of: Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods, Sofia Pantouvaki and Peter McNeil (2021)

London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 400 pp.,

ISBN: 978-1-35009-879-4, h/bk, $95.00
Again the ‘only one’: Edward Enninful, André Leon Talley and the sartorial contours of racialized masculinity in fashion publishing
Authors: Arzumanova Inna
Published: May 2022

Journalists have a habit of describing British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful as ‘unassuming’ or ‘understated’, referring to his personal uniform – black pants, white shirt and dark jacket – as a signifier of his accessibility and his politics. This personal style is rendered remarkable in an industry that prioritizes figures who deploy visual excess or else work to shore up the dialogue between fetishism and alienation already endemic to the industry. Furthermore, Enninful’s position as the first Black male editor of the publication makes him the cultural heir to André Leon Talley, whose own style is an exercise in using Baroque ornamentation as a way of existing outside of the prohibitive racial imaginary that would claim him, demanding an expansion of what constitutes Black masculinity. In this article, I argue that Enninful, who both dialogues with and produces the visual grammars of Black masculinity in fashion, inherits this iconography and its sartorial strategies of racial and gendered transgression, but rejects their deep reliance on the continual, public production of the self. Enninful refuses to offer himself up to the industry for easy consumption; he refuses to deploy his own body as a space for the continual production of creative labour. I argue that this withdrawal – of his sartorial self and the performative and material labour that self requires – both marks and harnesses a moment of crisis within the traditional fashion industry, importantly enabling an expanded political discourse on racial justice within the contemporary fashion industry.
Performing closeness: Al-ghurbah and co-presence in Syrian refugee women’s vernacular media
Authors: Curtis Maria F.
Published: May 2022

This ethnographic case study focuses on newly resettled refugee women from Syria to the greater Houston, Texas area and how they used smartphone technology and various social media platforms to navigate the resettlement process between 2015 and 2018. They arrived at a critical time in the United States, just having acquired refugee status and resettling in Houston at the end of the Obama era. Trump era immigration policies (known as The Muslim Ban) denied immigration and asylum from majority Muslim nations. This participatory ethnographic study examines how, under the harshest circumstances, newly arriving refugees relied on smartphones, social media platforms and digital networks to create and perform a new collective community while remaining close to displaced family members. Technological engagement and polymediated experiences are examined through the lens of co-presence, gender performativity and visual media studies and how mobile technology helped engender a new vernacular space outside of and in opposition to nativist discourse. Their transnational caregiving and emotional labour and its digital footprints are the very architecture of emerging social networks, space building, and community cohesion. Mobile technology creates new forms of connectedness, constant contact andco-presence, a state wherein people attempt to overcome physical separation anxiety by performing, reproducing and inventing new forms of ambient polymedia environments, or, forms of digital communications that blur conventional notions of presence and distance. The question here is how the rupture of displacement might drive technology usage to continually expand the ways humans connect, and more importantly, how they find new ways tofeelmore connected.
OS SABERES DA PRÁTICA PEDAGÓGICA CONSIDERANDO O CONTEXTO DA PANDEMIA DE COVID-19
Authors: Tozetto Susana Soares , Stefanello Franciele Stefanello
Published: May 2022

Este estudo surgiu com a necessidade de pensar a prática pedagógica, a partir de um olhar crítico, entendendo-a como fundamental na atuação do professor que busca proporcionar a aprendizagem signiﬁ cativa dos alunos, guiando-os para a emancipação e a autonomia. Os objetivos consistem em abordar conceitos e discorrer sobre a prática pedagógica do professor, com vista à aprendizagem dos educandos. Ao conceituar prática pedagógica, são enfatizados reﬂ exão, intencionalidade e planejamento, pois são condições para a prática pedagógica em uma perspectiva crítica. O texto traz ainda algumas reﬂ exões sobre as transformações e as diﬁ culdades da prática pedagógica no contexto da pandemia de Covid-19. Realiza-se uma explanação sobre os saberes docentes na perspectiva de Tardif (2014), pois se entende que esses saberes constituem a prática pedagógica dos professores. Por meio de um estudo bibliográﬁ co pautado nos pressupostos da abordagem qualitativa, as referências selecionadas para compor a discussão foram: Freire (2018, 2019, 2020), Martins (2003), Sacristán (1999), Santos (1997), Souza (2016) e Tardif (2014). Os resultados oportunizam compreender melhor o conceito de prática pedagógica e mostram características desta prática que objetivam a aprendizagem dos alunos. Nesse sentido, entende-se que a atuação do professor é importante em todos os níveis de ensino, da Educação Infantil ao Ensino Superior.
THE EXPANSION OF MANDATORY TEACHING IN THE DISCOURSE: THE IDEA OF CHILD AS FUTURE
Authors: Mesomo Lira Aliandra Cristina , De Barros Lara Ângela Mara
Published: May 2022

The objective of this text is to analyze how the expansion of mandatory enrollment in preschool is part of a rationale which places the child at the center of the discourses and guides the practices with young children. It carries out documentary analysis, from a critical theoretical basis, of oﬃ cial documents produced and circulated by the United Nations Educational, Scientiﬁ c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since the 1990s, with a focus on the narrative that supports the expansion of mandatory education. By questioning the meanings and intentions of the documents, we recognize that they are committed to drive the idea of the child as a future, whose care and education are concerns supported by economic interests, and thus induce the formulation of policies that indicate preschool as mandatory. In addition, we identiﬁ ed that in the process of implementing Law No. 12796 (BRASIL, 2013) in Brazil, the strategies adopted bring implications for children that are opposed to the concepts defended by the area of early childhood education.