bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Multiregional Input–Output Hydro-Economic Modeling Framework: An Application to the Ebro River Basin
Authors: Almazán-Gómez Miguel A. , Kahil Taher , Duarte Rosa , Sánchez-Chóliz Julio
Published: November 2021

Sustainable water management is challenging because of the wide range of agents who need water and the different kinds of use, in a context of limited water availability. The availability of water for use, at a given point in time and space, depends on numerous physical and climatic variables, as well as upstream uses and downstream commitments. Therefore, any analysis of water use and management must inevitably be made in the context of such variability. This paper develops an integrated, multiregional, hydro-economic modeling framework to analyze the spatial and temporal dependencies between economic agents in the different regions and areas of a river basin. We combine hydro-economic modeling (partial economic equilibrium) and a multiregional input–output model (general equilibrium) to take advantage of both methodologies. Spatial variability is considered in the input–output models, but variability in both time and space is also considered by the hydro-economic model. Hydro-economic models are used to quantify direct impacts, but not indirect impacts in some specific sectors of the economy, while the input–output model reveals the relationships between all sectors and regions, and facilitates the assessment of total impacts (direct plus indirect) of a range of scenarios. While the methodology described in this paper is applicable to any river basin, the case study considered is the Ebro River Basin, in Spain. To show the potential of the modeling framework, two scenarios are simulated to assess the impacts on water use, value added, and jobs across scales. The results of these scenarios show that decreases in water availability have negative impacts on socio-economic variables (value added and employment). The trade-off between water availability and socio-economic variables depends on the temporal and spatial variability of the resource, and affects each location in the basin in a different way, demonstrating the importance of the methodology developed.
The hardware lottery
Authors: Hooker Sara
Published: November 2021

After decades of incentivizing the isolation of hardware, software, and algorithm development, the catalysts for closer collaboration are changing the paradigm.
When curation becomes creation
Authors: Leqi Liu , Hadfield-Menell Dylan , Lipton Zachary C.
Published: November 2021

Algorithms, microcontent, and the vanishing distinction between platforms and creators.
Software-defined cooking using a microwave oven
Authors: Jin Haojian , Wang Jingxian , Kumar Swarun , Hong Jason
Published: November 2021

Despite widespread popularity, today's microwave ovens are limited in their cooking capabilities, given that they heat food blindly, resulting in a nonuniform and unpredictable heating distribution. We present software-defined cooking (SDC), a low-cost closed-loop microwave oven system that aims to heat food in a software-defined thermal trajectory. SDC achieves this through a novel high-resolution heat sensing and actuation system that uses microwave-safe components to augment existing microwaves. SDC first senses the thermal gradient by using arrays of neon lamps that are charged by the electromagnetic (EM) field a microwave produces. SDC then modifies the EM-field strength to desired levels by accurately moving food on a programmable turntable toward sensed hot and cold spots. To create a more skewed arbitrary thermal pattern, SDC further introduces two types of programmable accessories: A microwave shield and a susceptor. We design and implement one experimental test bed by modifying a commercial off-the-shelf microwave oven. Our evaluation shows that SDC can programmatically create temperature deltas at a resolution of 21°C with a spatial resolution of 3 cm without the programmable accessories, and 183°C with them. We further demonstrate how an SDC-enabled microwave can be enlisted to perform unexpected cooking tasks: Cooking meat and fat in bacon discriminatively and heating milk uniformly.
A Framework for the Study of Persuasion
Authors: Druckman James N.
Published: November 2021

Persuasion is a vital part of politics—who wins elections and policy disputes often depends on which side can persuade more people. Given this centrality, the study of persuasion has a long history with an enormous number of theories and empirical inquiries. However, the literature is fragmented, with few generalizable findings. I unify previously disparate dimensions of this topic by presenting a framework focusing on actors (speakers and receivers), treatments (topics, content, media), outcomes (attitudes, behaviors, emotions, identities), and settings (competition, space, time, process, culture). This Generalizing Persuasion (GP) Framework organizes distinct findings and offers researchers a structure in which to situate their work. I conclude with a discussion of the normative implications of persuasion.
Understanding the molecular basis of cardiomyopathy
Authors: Bang Marie-Louise , Bogomolovas Julius , Chen Ju
Published: November 2021

Inherited cardiomyopathies are a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide and can be caused by mutations in a wide range of proteins located in different cellular compartments. The present review is based on Dr. Ju Chen’s 2021 Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship of the American Physiological Society Cardiovascular Section, in which he provided an overview of the current knowledge on the cardiomyopathy-associated proteins that have been studied in his laboratory. The review provides a general summary of the proteins in different compartments of cardiomyocytes associated with cardiomyopathies, with specific focus on the proteins that have been studied in Dr. Chen’s laboratory.
Dysregulation of miR-21-associated miRNA regulatory networks by chronic ethanol consumption impairs liver regeneration
Authors: Parrish Austin , Srivastava Ankita , Juskeviciute Egle , Hoek Jan B. , Vadigepalli Rajanikanth
Published: November 2021

Impaired liver regeneration has been considered as a hallmark of progression of alcohol-associated liver disease. Our previous studies demonstrated that in vivo inhibition of the microRNA (miRNA) miR21 can restore regenerative capacity of the liver in chronic ethanol-fed animals. The present study focuses on the role of microRNA regulatory networks that are likely to mediate the miR-21 action. Rats were chronically fed an ethanol-enriched diet along with pair-fed control animals and treated with AM21 (anti-miR-21), a locked nucleic acid antisense to miR-21. Partial hepatectomy (PHx) was performed and miRNA expression profiling over the course of liver regeneration was assessed. Our results showed dynamic expression changes in several miRNAs after PHx, notably with altered miRNA expression profiles between ethanol and control groups. We found that in vivo inhibition of miR-21 led to correlated differential expression of miR-340-5p and anticorrelated expression of miR-365, let-7a, miR-1224, and miR-146a across all sample groups after PHx. Gene set enrichment analysis identified a miRNA signature significantly associated with hepatic stellate cell activation within whole liver tissue data. We hypothesized that at least part of the PHx-induced miRNA network changes responsive to miR-21 inhibition is localized to hepatic stellate cells. We validated this hypothesis using AM21 and TGF-β treatments in LX-2 human hepatic stellate cells in culture and measured expression levels of select miRNAs by quantitative RT-PCR. Based on the in vivo and in vitro results, we propose a hepatic stellate cell miRNA regulatory network as contributing to the restoration of liver regenerative capacity by miR-21 inhibition.
Econometric Analysis of the Impact of Financial Structure on Innovation Based on the Fixed Effects Panel Model
Authors: Wang Cheng-Ben , Huang Zhigang
Published: November 2021

This study addresses the impact of financial structure on innovation. The mechanism of the impact of financial structure on innovation at different levels of economic development is elucidated from the perspective of optimal financial structure decision theory and development economics, and empirical evidence is provided using manufacturing data from 59 countries or regions for the period 1996–2015. The study finds that financial structure has no significant effect on innovation at lower levels of economic development, but at higher levels of economic development, market-based financial structure significantly promotes innovation in the industry. The role of financial structure in innovation shifts in the interval where per capita income is greater than 9747 International dollar (hereinafter called I$9747) and less than I$17070. This paper verifies that the innovation approach of technological imitation requires the support of a bank-based financial structure, while the innovation approach of independent innovation requires the support of a market-based financial structure. The differences in innovation approaches at different stages of economic development lead to the evolution of the inherent demand for financial structures in the economy. Promoting the evolution of financial structures according to the stage of economic development is of great significance in building an innovative country and leading the sustainable and healthy development of the economy.
Design and Optimization of 2.1 mW ULP Doherty Power Amplifier with Interstage Capacitances Using 65 nm CMOS Technology
Authors: Akhter Muhammad Ovais , Amin Najam Muhammad
Published: November 2021

This research proposed the design and calculations of ultra-low power (ULP) Doherty power amplifier (PA) using 65 nm CMOS technology. Both the main and the peaking amplifiers are designed and optimized using equivalent lumped parameters and power combiner models. The operation has been performed in RF-nMOS subthreshold or triode region to achieve ultra-low power (ULP) and to improve the linearity of the overall power amplifier (PA). The novel design consumes a DC power of 2.1 mW, power-added efficiency (PAE) of 29.8%, operating at 2.4 GHz band, and output referred 1 dB compression point at 4.1dBm. The simulation results show a very good capability of drive current, high gain, and very low input and output insertion losses.
Numerical Analysis on Flexural Behaviors of Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with NSM CFRP Strips
Authors: Yang Jia , Liu Xiao , Li Wei
Published: November 2021

This paper presents the numerical analysis of prestressed reinforced concrete (PRC) beams strengthened with near‐surface mounted (NSM) carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). ABAQUS finite element software was used to simulate the existing test beams to investigate the flexural behaviors of PRC beams strengthened with NSM CFRP strips. The finite element model of beams strengthened with NSM CFRP strips was established. The finite element calculation results were compared with the experimental results to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the model. Based on this model, the influences of concrete strength grade and amount of CFRP strips on the flexural behaviors of directly strengthened beams and the cycle numbers and overload amplitude on the flexural behaviors of damaged strengthened beam were further analyzed, and the load‐carrying capacity calculation formula of PRC beam strengthened with NSM CFRP strips was established. The results showed that the simulation results and the theoretical calculation were consistent with the test results. With the increase of concrete strength grade and amount of CFRP strips, the ultimate load of directly strengthened beams increased significantly, with a maximum increase of 21.3% and 23.0%, respectively. When the concrete strength grade exceeded C50, the improvement of the ultimate load was limited. When the overload amplitude was less than 60% of the ultimate load, the cycle numbers (within 500 times) had little effect on the yield load, ultimate load, and deformation. When the overload amplitude was higher than 60% of the ultimate load, the deformation increased, and the ultimate load decreased with the increase of the cycle numbers. The larger the overload amplitude, the smaller the ultimate load, and the larger the deformation under the same cycle numbers.
Deep Learning-Based Diagnosis Method of Emergency Colorectal Pathology
Authors: Wang Chen , Zhang Ning
Published: November 2021

One of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive tract is emergency colorectal cancer. In recent years, both morbidity and mortality rates, particularly in our country, are getting higher and higher. At present, diagnosis of colorectal cancer, specifically in the emergency department of a hospital, is based on the doctor's pathological diagnosis, and it is heavily dependent on the doctor's clinical experience. The doctor's workload is heavy, and misdiagnosis events occur from time to time. Therefore, computer-aided diagnosis technology is desperately needed for colorectal pathological images to assist pathologists in reducing their workload, improve the efficiency of diagnosis, and eliminate misdiagnosis. To address these issues, a gland segmentation of emergency colorectal pathology images and diagnosis of benign and malignant pathology is presented in this paper. Initially, a multifeatured auxiliary diagnosis is designed to enable diagnosis of benign and malignant diagnosis of emergency colorectal pathology. The proposed algorithm constructs an SVM-enabled pathological diagnosis model which is based on contour, color, and texture features. Additionally, their combination is used for pathological benign and malignant pathological diagnosis of two types of data sets D1 (original pathological image dataset) and D2 (dataset that has undergone glandular segmentation) diagnosis. Experimental results show that the proposed pathological diagnosis model has higher diagnostic accuracy on D2. Among these datasets, SVM based on the multifeature fusion of contour and texture achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy rate, i.e., 83.75%, which confirms that traditional image processing methods have limitations. Diagnosing benign and malignant colorectal pathology in an emergency is more difficult and must be treated on a priority basis. Finally, an emergency colorectal pathology diagnosis method, which is based on deep convolutional neural networks such as CIFAR and VGG, is proposed. After configuring and training process of the two networks, trained CIFAR and VGG network models are applied to the diagnosis of both datasets, i.e., D1 and D2, respectively.
Effect of Electroacupuncture on Shoulder Subluxation in Poststroke Patients with Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain: A Sham-Controlled Study Using Multidimensional Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Assessment
Authors: Sui Minghong , Jiang Naifu , Yan Luhui , Liu Jiaqing , Luo Bin , Zhang Chenxi , Yan Tiebin , Xiang Yun , Li Guanglin
Published: November 2021

Objective. This study aimed to use multidimensional musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging technique to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on shoulder subluxation in poststroke patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain. Methods. In this prospective single-blind, randomized, sham-controlled study, thirty-four patients with shoulder subluxation and hemiplegic shoulder pain were recruited and randomly assigned into the EA group or the sham EA (SEA) group. In the EA group, EA was applied to the Jian yu (LI15), Bi nao (LI14), Jian zhen (SI9), and Jian liao (TE14) acupoints. In the SEA group, the EA was applied 15 mm away from the Lou gu (SP7), Di ji (SP8), Jiao xin (KI8), and Zhu bin (KI9) acupoints. Both groups underwent treatment 30 minutes/day, five days a week, for two weeks using dense waves with a frequency of 2/100 Hz. A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment in reducing shoulder pain. Musculoskeletal ultrasound was used to evaluate the changes of measures of shoulder subluxation in multidimensions (i.e., the acromiohumeral distance, AHD; acromion-greater tuberosity, AGT; and acromion-lesser tuberosity, ALT). Both the within- and between-groups treatment effects were assessed. Results. The pain intensity measured by VAS and shoulder subluxation measured by musculoskeletal ultrasound (i.e., AHD, AGT, and ALT) showed significant (

p
<
0.05

) within-group difference in both groups. The between-group difference appeared in the pain intensity (

p
<
0.05

), while it disappeared in the three measures of shoulder subluxation (

p
>
0.05

). Conclusions. Using VAS for measuring pain intensity and multidimensional musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging technique for measuring shoulder subluxation, this study finds that the hemiplegic shoulder pain can be improved significantly by the EA while the shoulder subluxation cannot be. Our findings further reveal the analgesic mechanism of EA on hemiplegic shoulder pain following stroke.
Application Analysis of 3D Printing Technology in Design Field: Taking Shoe Design as an Example
Authors: Gong Taisheng , Kang Luping
Published: November 2021

The development of 3D technology has brought opportunities and challenges to the footwear industry because people’s living standards have been improving due to economic development, and people have higher requirements for the design of fashion shoes and boots. The use of 3D printing technology in the design of fashion shoes and boots can enable faster molding of footwear products, enrich the shape of footwear, and meet people’s aesthetic needs for fashion shoes. In this paper, we firstly describe the advantages of 3D printing molding shoe models and then use 3D laser foot scanning and measuring instrument to scan and obtain the cloud map of shoe lasts and foot-related data. Secondly, we realize the digital management of shoe lasts by establishing the database of solid models. On this basis, we apply the technology of least squares support vector machine improvement algorithm to make partial modifications to the lasts according to the need to leave the appropriate helper and foot lining degrees. Finally, based on this technology, we apply the least squares support vector machine improvement algorithm technology to make partial modifications to the last shape according to the need for appropriate helper and foot lining degrees to realize the process of shoe last redesign. The last model and role model can also be produced by 3D printing technology, which can be used as a mold to facilitate the processing of the cut last 2D unfolding material for shoe and boot production later. Therefore, the article studies and analyzes the design and manufacturing process of digital shoe lasts based on individual foot shape and uses CAD/CAM technology to realize the digitalization of shoe last design.
[Retracted] Optimal Method of Vision Sensor Digital Image Edge Detection for Commercial Investment in Film Field
Authors: Liu Zheng
Published: November 2021

With the rapid development of the national economy, the film industry has risen rapidly under these conditions, and the development of film occupies a more important position in this process, which has led to the development of investment in the film field, an internationally recognized cultural space. This paper studies the commercial investment in the film field based on the edge detection of the digital image of the visual sensor. The purpose of the research is to point out the direction of commercial investment in the film industry by studying the effect of the edge detection of the digital image of the visual sensor on the application of the film object. The image edge detection algorithm based on wavelet transform and morphology and the application of these image edge detection algorithms such as wavelet theory analyze the shortcomings of movie, sound effects, and pictures and make a comparison before and after the improvement. Audiences, as the direct enjoyers of the cultural product of the film, their opinions, and evaluations of the film, largely determine the quality of the work. On the contrary, a good work can attract the public’s attention and bring a large impact. The data acquisition in this process is mainly based on the questionnaire survey of the audience. The experimental results show that before applying digital image edge detection to transform the clip, 7 people thought that the clip needed to be further improved to improve the quality of the film itself, and only 1 person affirmed the film; after the modification, 9 people proposed the film praise; in addition, 15 people audience watched the film processed by the edge detection method and gave high evaluations to the three aspects of sound effects, special effects, and editing, especially the editing part, with a score of 8.9.
Dynamic Mathematical Models’ System and Synchronization
Authors: Alazzam Malik Bader , Hamad Abdulsattar Abdullah , AlGhamdi Ahmed S
Published: November 2021

We created the equilibrium, which includes sickness outcomes, health and risk behaviors, environmental factors, and health-related assets and delivery systems, and it should be incorporated in system Dyc (dynamic) modelling of chronic disease prevention. System Dyc has the ability to model a variety of interconnected illnesses and dangers, as well as the interaction between delivery systems and afflicted people, as well as state and national policies. This paper proposes a unique idea. Hybrid synchronization utilizes four positive LYP (Lyapunov) exponents based on state feedback management with two identical systems of the Lorenz system 6D HYCH system.
Implementation of Real-Time Medical and Health Data Mining System Based on Machine Learning
Authors: Wang Pengyuan , Li Jie
Published: November 2021

This article analyzes the application process of data mining technology in the medical and health management system and uses machine learning algorithms to design a medical and health data mining system. The system collects patient’s physical health data based on wireless sensing technology and uses machine learning algorithms to analyze the data. The system uploads the collected health data to the system for cluster analysis. Finally, the method is applied to the diagnosis data mining of patients, so as to prove the effectiveness of the classification method in the medical field through examples.
Genetic CFL: Hyperparameter Optimization in Clustered Federated Learning
Authors: Agrawal Shaashwat , Sarkar Sagnik , Alazab Mamoun , Maddikunta Praveen Kumar Reddy , Gadekallu Thippa Reddy , Pham Quoc-Viet
Published: November 2021

Federated learning (FL) is a distributed model for deep learning that integrates client‐server architecture, edge computing, and real‐time intelligence. FL has the capability of revolutionizing machine learning (ML) but lacks in the practicality of implementation due to technological limitations, communication overhead, non‐IID (independent and identically distributed) data, and privacy concerns. Training a ML model over heterogeneous non‐IID data highly degrades the convergence rate and performance. The existing traditional and clustered FL algorithms exhibit two main limitations, including inefficient client training and static hyperparameter utilization. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel hybrid algorithm, namely, genetic clustered FL (Genetic CFL), that clusters edge devices based on the training hyperparameters and genetically modifies the parameters clusterwise. Then, we introduce an algorithm that drastically increases the individual cluster accuracy by integrating the density‐based clustering and genetic hyperparameter optimization. The results are bench‐marked using MNIST handwritten digit dataset and the CIFAR‐10 dataset. The proposed genetic CFL shows significant improvements and works well with realistic cases of non‐IID and ambiguous data. An accuracy of 99.79% is observed in the MNIST dataset and 76.88% in CIFAR‐10 dataset with only 10 training rounds.
Research on Online Defect Detection Method of Solar Cell Component Based on Lightweight Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Liu Huaiguang , Ding Wancheng , Huang Qianwen , Fang Li
Published: November 2021

The defects of solar cell component (SCC) will affect the service life and power generation efficiency. In this paper, the defect images of SCC were taken by the photoluminescence (PL) method and processed by an advanced lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN). Firstly, in order to solve the high pixel SCC image detection, each silicon wafer image was segmented based on local difference extremum of edge projection (LDEEP). Secondly, in order to detect the defects with small size or weak edges in the silicon wafer, an improved lightweight CNN model with deep backbone feature extraction network structure was proposed, as the enhancing feature fusion layer and the three-scale feature prediction layer; the model provided more feature detail. The final experimental results showed that the improved model achieves a good balance between the detection accuracy and detection speed, with the mean average precision (mAP) reaching 87.55%, which was 6.78% higher than the original algorithm. Moreover, the detection speed reached 40 frames per second (fps), which meets requirements of precision and real-time detection. The detection method can better complete the defect detection task of SCC, which lays the foundation for automatic detection of SCC defects.
A Comparative Study of Soft Computing Models for Prediction of Permeability Coefficient of Soil
Authors: Pham Binh Thai , Nguyen Manh Duc , Al-Ansari Nadhir , Tran Quoc Anh , Ho Lanh Si , Le Hiep Van , Prakash Indra
Published: November 2021

Determination of the permeability coefficient (K) of soil is considered as one of the essential steps to assess infiltration, runoff, groundwater, and drainage in the design process of the construction projects. In this study, three cost-effective algorithms, namely, artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF), which are well-known as advanced machine learning techniques, were used to predict the permeability coefficient (K) of soil (10−9 cm/s), based on a set of simple six input parameters such as natural water content

w

(%), void ratio (e), specific density (g/cm3), liquid limit (LL) (%), plastic limit (PL) (%), and clay content (%). For this, a total of 84 soil samples data collected from the detailed design stage investigations of Da Nang-Quang Ngai national road project in Vietnam was used to generate training (70%) and testing (30%) datasets for building and validating the models. Statistical error indicators such as RMSE and MAE and correlation coefficient (R) were used to evaluate and compare performance of the models. The results show that all the three models performed well (R > 0.8) for the prediction of permeability coefficient of soil, but the RF model (RMSE = 0.0084, MAE = 0.0049, and R = 0.851) is more efficient compared with the other two models, namely, ANN (RMSE = 0.001, MAE = 0.005, and R = 0.845) and SVM (RMSE = 0.0098, MAE = 0.0064, and R = 0.844). Thus, it can be concluded that the RF model can be used for accurate estimation of the permeability coefficient (K) of the soil.
Research on Optimal Matching Scheme of Public Resource Management Based on the Computational Intelligence Model
Authors: Li Linna , Liu Renjun
Published: November 2021

The management of public resources means that people’s governments at all levels and other public administrative subjects should use certain means and methods, follow certain principles, rationally allocate and utilize public resources, and maximize their functions and benefits. Under the background of limited human resources, this study adheres to the principle of maximizing the benefits of human resources and rationally allocates the use of human resources. In this study, this kind of resource allocation problem is regarded as a linear programming problem by specifying the benefit function, and then, genetic algorithm, ant colony algorithm, and hybrid genetic-ant colony algorithm are used to solve the problem; the cost and time consumption of different algorithms under different scales are evaluated. Finally, it is found that genetic algorithm is superior to ant colony algorithm when the task scale is small and the effect of genetic algorithm is lower than ant colony algorithm with the expansion of task scale, whereas the improved hybrid genetic-ant colony algorithm is better than ordinary algorithm in general.
Meckel’s Diverticulum Diagnosed by Balloon-Assisted Enteroscopy: A Multicenter Report from the Taiwan Association for the Study of Small Intestinal Diseases (TASSID)
Authors: Chou Jen-Wei , Chung Chen-Shuan , Huang Tien-Yu , Tu Chia-Hung , Chang Chen-Wang , Chang Chung-Hsin , Wang Yen-Po , Hsu Wen-Hung , Yen Hsu-Heng , Kuo Chia-Jung , Chuang Chiao-Hsiung , Lin Ching-Pin , Tsai Tzung-Jiun , Su Ming-Yao , Wang Horng-Yuan , Wu Deng-Chyang , Chiu Cheng-Tang
Published: November 2021

Background and Aims. Patients with Meckel’s diverticulum (MD) are difficult to preoperatively diagnose because of its endoscopic inaccessibility. Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) allows endoscopic access to the entire small intestine. The aim of the current study was to investigate patients with MD diagnosed by BAE in Taiwan. Methods. We conducted a retrospective, multicenter study of patients with MD who were diagnosed by BAE in Taiwan. The clinical characteristics, endoscopic features, histopathological findings, treatment methods, and outcomes were analyzed. Results. A total of 55 patients with MD were enrolled (46 males and 9 females). The mean age at diagnosis was 34.1 years. Overt gastrointestinal bleeding (87.3%) was the primary indication for BAE, followed by abdominal pain (9.1%), suspected small bowel tumor (1.8%), and Crohn’s disease follow-up (1.8%). The mean distance between the ileocecal valve and MD was 71.6 cm (regarding diagnostic yields: BAE—100%, capsule endoscopy—40%, Meckel’s scan—35.7%, computed tomography—14.6%, small bowel series—12.5%, and angiography—11.1%; regarding endoscopic features of MD: a large ostium—89.1%, a small ostium—7.3%, and a polypoid mass—3.6%). Surgical treatment was performed in 76.4% patients, and conservative treatment was performed in 23.6% patients. The mean length of MD in 42 patients who underwent surgical resection was 5.2 cm (in 43 patients of MD with available histopathology: heterotopic gastric tissue, 42.4%, heterotopic gastric and pancreatic tissues, 7%; heterotopic pancreatic tissue, 4.7%; heterotopic colonic tissue, 2.3%; and a neuroendocrine tumor, 2.3%). Conclusions. The current study showed BAE is a very useful modality for detecting MD compared with other conventional modalities.
Epigenetic Therapeutic Strategies to Target Molecular and Cellular Heterogeneity in Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Versemann Lennart , Hessmann Elisabeth , Ulisse Maria
Published: November 2021

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a major challenge in cancer medicine and is characterized by a 5-year survival rate of <10%. Compelling evidence suggests that the devastating disease outcome of PDAC patients is linked to a high degree of intra- and interindividual tumor heterogeneity, which is predominantly installed at the level of gene transcription. The cellular and molecular complexities of the disease explain the poor efficacy of “one-size-fits-all” therapeutic approaches in PDAC treatment and strongly argue for pursuing tailored therapeutic strategies to tackle PDAC. In a highly dynamic manner, a network of transcription factors and epigenetic regulatory proteins temporally and spatially control the diverse transcriptomic states determining PDAC heterogeneity. Given the reversibility of epigenetic processes, pharmacological intervention with key epigenetic drivers of PDAC heterogeneity appeals as a promising concept to shift the transcriptomic phenotype of PDAC toward a less aggressive and more chemosensible state. Summary: In this review, we discuss the chances and pitfalls of epigenetic treatment strategies in overcoming and shifting molecular and cellular PDAC heterogeneities in order to combat PDAC. To this end, we utilized the keywords “pancreatic cancer,” “heterogeneity,” and “epigenetics” to search for relevant articles on the database PubMed and selected interventional studies enrolling PDAC patients as displayed in clinicaltrails.gov to generate a synopsis of clinical trials involving epigenetic targeting. Key Messages: Targeting epigenetic regulators in PDAC represents a promising concept to reprogram molecular and cellular tumor heterogeneities in the pancreas and hence to modulate the PDAC phenotype in favor of a less aggressive and more therapy susceptible disease course. However, we just start to understand the complex interactions of epigenetic regulators in controlling PDAC plasticity, and a clinical breakthrough utilizing epigenetic targeting in PDAC patients has not been achieved yet. Nevertheless, increasing translational efforts which consider the pleiotropic effects of targeting epigenetic regulation in different cellular compartments of the tumor and that focus on the utility and sequence of combinatory treatment approaches might pave the way toward novel epigenetic treatment strategies in PDAC therapy.
Seamless Genetic Recording of Transiently Activated Mesenchymal Gene Expression in Endothelial Cells During Cardiac Fibrosis
Authors: Zhang Shaohua , Li Yan , Huang Xiuzhen , Liu Kuo , Wang Qing-Dong , Chen Alex F. , Sun Kun , Lui Kathy O. , Zhou Bin
Published: November 2021

Background:

Cardiac fibrosis is a lethal outcome of excessive formation of myofibroblasts that are scar-forming cells accumulated after heart injury. It has been reported that cardiac endothelial cells (ECs) contribute to a substantial portion of myofibroblasts through endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndoMT). Recent lineage tracing studies demonstrate that myofibroblasts are derived from the expansion of resident fibroblasts rather than from the transdifferentiation of ECs. However, it remains unknown whether ECs can transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts reversibly or EndoMT genes were just transiently activated in ECs during cardiac fibrosis.

Methods:

By using the dual recombination technology based on Cre-loxP and Dre-rox, we generated a genetic lineage tracing system for tracking EndoMT in cardiac ECs. We used it to examine if there is transiently activated mesenchymal gene expression in ECs during cardiac fibrosis. Activation of the broadly used marker gene in myofibroblasts, αSMA (α-smooth muscle actin), and the transcription factor that induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition, Zeb1 (zinc finger E-box–binding homeobox 1), was examined.

Results:

The genetic system enables continuous tracing of transcriptional activity of targeted genes in vivo. Our genetic fate mapping results revealed that a subset of cardiac ECs transiently expressed
αSMA
and
Zeb1
during embryonic valve formation and transdifferentiated into mesenchymal cells through EndoMT. Nonetheless, they did not contribute to myofibroblasts, nor transiently expressed
αSMA
or
Zeb1
after heart injury. Instead, expression of
αSMA
was activated in resident fibroblasts during cardiac fibrosis.

Conclusions:

Mesenchymal gene expression is activated in cardiac ECs through EndoMT in the developing heart, but ECs do not transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts, nor transiently express some known mesenchymal genes during homeostasis and fibrosis in the adult heart. Resident fibroblasts that are converted to myofibroblasts by activating mesenchymal gene expression are the major contributors to cardiac fibrosis.
Dietary Fatty Acids, Macronutrient Substitutions, Food Sources and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease: Findings From the EPIC‐CVD Case‐Cohort Study Across Nine European Countries
Authors: Steur Marinka , Johnson Laura , Sharp Stephen J. , Imamura Fumiaki , Sluijs Ivonne , Key Timothy J. , Wood Angela , Chowdhury Rajiv , Guevara Marcela , Jakobsen Marianne U. , Johansson Ingegerd , Koulman Albert , Overvad Kim , Sánchez Maria‐José , van der Schouw Yvonne T. , Trichopoulou Antonia , Weiderpass Elisabete , Wennberg Maria , Zheng Ju‐Sheng , Boeing Heiner , Boer Jolanda M. A. , Boutron‐Ruault Marie‐Christine , Ericson Ulrika , Heath Alicia K. , Huybrechts Inge , Imaz Liher , Kaaks Rudolf , Krogh Vittorio , Kühn Tilman , Kyrø Cecilie , Masala Giovanna , Melander Olle , Moreno‐Iribas Conchi , Panico Salvatore , Quirós José R. , Rodríguez‐Barranco Miguel , Sacerdote Carlotta , Santiuste Carmen , Skeie Guri , Tjønneland Anne , Tumino Rosario , Verschuren W. M. Monique , Zamora‐Ros Raul , Dahm Christina C. , Perez‐Cornago Aurora , Schulze Matthias B. , Tong Tammy Y. N. , Riboli Elio , Wareham Nicholas J. , Danesh John , Butterworth Adam S. , Forouhi Nita G.
Published: November 2021

Background

There is controversy about associations between total dietary fatty acids, their classes (saturated fatty acids [SFAs], monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids), and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Specifically, the relevance of food sources of SFAs to CHD associations is uncertain.

Methods and Results

We conducted a case‐cohort study involving 10 529 incident CHD cases and a random subcohort of 16 730 adults selected from a cohort of 385 747 participants in 9 countries of the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. We estimated multivariable adjusted country‐specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs per 5% of energy intake from dietary fatty acids, with and without isocaloric macronutrient substitutions, using Prentice‐weighted Cox regression models and pooled results using random‐effects meta‐analysis. We found no evidence for associations of the consumption of total or fatty acid classes with CHD, regardless of macronutrient substitutions. In analyses considering food sources, CHD incidence was lower per 1% higher energy intake of SFAs from yogurt (HR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.88–0.99]), cheese (HR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.96–1.00]), and fish (HR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.75–1.00]), but higher for SFAs from red meat (HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 1.02–1.12]) and butter (HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.00–1.04]).

Conclusions

This observational study found no strong associations of total fatty acids, SFAs, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with incident CHD. By contrast, we found associations of SFAs with CHD in opposite directions dependent on the food source. These findings should be further confirmed, but support public health recommendations to consider food sources alongside the macronutrients they contain, and suggest the importance of the overall food matrix.
Direct Transfer to Angiosuite Triage Strategy for Patients Undergoing Mechanical Thrombectomy in a Rural Setting
Authors: Mendez Aldo A. , Farooqui Mudassir , Dajles Andres , Zevallos Cynthia B. , Quispe‐Orozco Darko , Mendez‐Ruiz Alan , Vivanco‐Suarez Juan , Samaniego Edgar A. , Limaye Kaustubh , Dandapat Sudeepta , Jovin Tudor G. , Ortega‐Gutierrez Santiago
Published: November 2021

Background

A direct admission to angiosuite (DAA) strategy in transfer patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) is considered to decrease stroke time metrics and benefit functional outcomes. However, feasibility and effectiveness of DAA have not been established in rural settings. Fast door‐to‐reperfusion times and high‐quality reperfusion are key predictors of outcome in patients with LVO. To reduce treatment times in transferred patients with suspected LVO, we initiated a DAA triage protocol in 2017.

Methods

We conducted a nested interventional cohort study of adult patients with anterior LVO from January 2015 to August 2019 transferred to our center from an outside hospital. Patients were divided into DAA for mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and patients directly admitted to the emergency department (DAED). DAED was subdivided into patients undergoing MT and patients who did not. Workflow times and clinical and radiographic outcomes were analyzed.

Results

Forty‐five DAA patients and 241 DAED patients (DAED patients undergoing MT=134 patients and DAED patients not undergoing MT=107 patients) were identified. DAA patients had significantly shorter median door‐to‐arterial‐puncture times (15 versus 71 minutes) and puncture‐to‐recanalization times (27 versus 42.5 minutes). At discharge, DAA patients had a significant decrease in median admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (ΔNIHSS score 10 versus 4;
P
=0.02), and higher rate of dramatic clinical improvement (ΔNIHSS score >10; 48.9% versus 23.5%;
P
<0.001). Both groups had comparable rates of functional independence (modified Rankin Scale; mRS 0–2; 36.1% versus 29.2%;
P
=0.52), and mortality at 90 days (
P
=0.63). When mortality was excluded, DAA patients showed a significant proportion of excellent functional outcome (mRS 0–1; 50% versus 26%) before (
P
=0.04) and after (
P
=0.02) adjusting for confounders.

Conclusions

DAA is feasible and can safely reduce reperfusion times in transferred patients with LVO to MT centers in a rural setting. Reducing workflow times may impact the functional recovery of patients undergoing MT.
Quantifying Social Biases in NLP: A Generalization and Empirical Comparison of Extrinsic Fairness Metrics
Authors: Czarnowska Paula , Vyas Yogarshi , Shah Kashif
Published: November 2021

Measuring bias is key for better understanding and addressing unfairness in NLP/ML models. This is often done via fairness metrics, which quantify the differences in a model’s behaviour across a range of demographic groups. In this work, we shed more light on the differences and similarities between the fairness metrics used in NLP. First, we unify a broad range of existing metrics under three generalized fairness metrics, revealing the connections between them. Next, we carry out an extensive empirical comparison of existing metrics and demonstrate that the observed differences in bias measurement can be systematically explained via differences in parameter choices for our generalized metrics.
Sex and age differences in skull size in Myodes glareolus from Slovakia
Authors: Csanády Alexander , Mošanský Ladislav
Published: November 2021

The results of a craniometric analysis of the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) were evaluated in this study. Twenty cranial variables were measured and evaluated on 149 skulls (78 males, 71 females) with respect to sex and age. The main aim of this study was to test the sexual dimorphism in skull size. Overall, our results showed that on average, the values for adult and subadult females of M. glareolus were higher than for males. Results presented here thus reveal sexual differences in the measured cranial traits, most expressed for the length of the mandible and the height of the mandible. The effect size was very large for the length of the first upper molar. Comparison of our results with those from other countries confirmed that there are regional differences. These findings highlight the need for craniometric analysis of species also at the regional level.
Giulio Camillo’s Theatre of Knowledge Revisited
Authors: Seip Oscar
Published: November 2021

In the Sixteenth Century, the Italian humanist Giulio Camillo built a ‘Theatre of Knowledge’ for the French King Francis I. Previous scholarship has debated whether this theatre was a physical place, a mental (mnemonic) space, or both. New archival evidence that has been overlooked in previous scholarship on Camillo, and his theatre, unequivocally proves for the first time that Camillo’s theatre had in fact been built in Paris. This invites a reconsideration of past reconstructions of the theatre and allows for the formulation of a new one. In this article, I have explored the hypothesis that Camillo’s theatre resembled an anatomy theatre. I have used 3D modelling and virtual reality in order to reconstruct some of the spatial features of Camillo’s theatre and explore how these insights further our understanding of his theatre in terms of historical and current practices surrounding the presentation of information and the invention of new knowledge.
Ideologies of Insurgency: A Comparison between Post-Colonial and Turkish Socialist Movements
Authors: Buçukcu Oner
Published: November 2021

The independence movements that emerged during the decolonization process generally defined themselves as socialism. These movements, which built world-making approaches around emphasis on independence, anti-Westernism, and anti-imperialism, basically faced three problems: rapid development, the construction of the state apparatus, and the creation of a nation. These three problems facilitated the contact of these movements with nationalism. Another result of the process is that the military bureaucracy usually leads the “revolution” processes. These countries, which entered a rapid development process, albeit briefly, were followed carefully by the socialist left in Turkey. In the period between 1960–65, Turkish socialism attaches importance to post-colonial movements with all its colors. In the period between 1965 and 1971, the perspective on experiences in these countries began to differ. Three important reasons for this situation are as follows: The differentiation of Turkey’s social, political, and economic structure from countries in the de-colonization process, the translation of Marxist classics and the disappointment created by post-colonial movements. All three reasons are based on the fact that Turkey’s historical experience differs from countries that have just gained independence. In this context, the article compares Turkish socialism and post-colonial movements between 1960–1971 on an ideational basis. This is important to understanding the foundations of subversive activities in Turkey.
Non-Violence, Armed Struggle and Politics: A Conversation with Ronnie Kasrils
Authors: Jeenah Na’eem
Published: November 2021

Based on interviews with Ronnie Kasrils, a former anc military commander and former intelligence minister in South Africa, this article examines that country’s struggle against apartheid. It looks at the interplay between violent and non-violent forms of resistance, explains the reasons for the anc and other South African liberation movements adopting the armed struggle after almost half a century of commitment to non-violence, and discusses the dilemmas within the movement in trying to ensure that the military component of the struggle always remained subservient to the political. The article also looks at the development of the political underground in South Africa, and its role, together with the armed struggle, in effecting the end of apartheid. Kasrils also discusses the period of political negotiations in South Africa, from 1990 to 1994, and the relationship between that and on-the-ground struggles – both armed and unarmed.
Context of Latin American Protests from the Analysis in Networks
Authors: León Dayana
Published: November 2021

Recent protests in Latin America demand attention. Citizens made demands due to the impact of anti-popular measures, the discontent of popular sectors due to the weight of the crisis in their economy in times of pandemic, corruption, inequality and inequities and the fiscal deficit. In this process, the streets have been witness to the voice and the action of protestors.
Associative Diffusion and the Pitfalls of Structural Reductionism
Authors: Goldberg Amir
Published: November 2021

In their insightful comment, DellaPosta and Davoodi argue that our finding (Goldberg and Stein 2018) that segmented networks inhibit cultural differentiation does not generalize to large networks. However, their demonstration rests on an incorrect implementation of the preference updating process in the associative diffusion model. We show that once this discrepancy is corrected, cultural differentiation is more pronounced in fully connected networks, irrespective of network size and even under extreme assumptions about cognitive decay. We use this as an opportunity to discuss the associative diffusion model’s assumptions and scope conditions, as well as to critically reassess prevailing contagion-based diffusion models.