External Label Research Articles

Dvojí život historické antropologie.

Since 1989 modern western methodological approaches, including historical anthropology, have been adopted in Czech academic circles, both spontaneously (among historians) and in institutionalised form (the case of ethnology). Very often, however, historical anthropology has been taken up only as an external label that has not meant any real change in research methods. This has simply encouraged the replication of the formal and informal ties and institutions inside the academic community that originated in the period of "normalisation" and that undermine the possibility of the real transformation of our academic environment. The author therefore attempts to distinguish in terms of both theory and method between two types of "historical anthropology": chronologically the first type has been closer to historical sociology (and directed in its way to the history of mentalities), while the second drew inspiration from social anthropology and led towards micro-history. In the Czech environment the ethnologists are closer to the first and the historians to the second, but often without either group being aware of the fundamental difference between the two types.

CLESR: Context-Based Label Knowledge Enhanced Span Recognition for Named Entity Recognition

Named entity recognition (NER) stands as a pivotal task in natural language processing, bearing profound implications for diverse downstream applications. Recent scholarship underscores the substantial performance gains attainable by integrating label knowledge into token representations, effectively treating named entity recognition as a machine reading comprehension task. Nevertheless, extant methodologies often inadequately leverage the potential of label knowledge. In response to this limitation, we introduce the Context-based Label Knowledge Enhanced Span Recognition (CLESR) architecture, designed to augment label knowledge through the assimilation of contextual information. We formulate an annotation paradigm tailored to nested scenarios, concurrently training external context-based label knowledge using conventional word association learning algorithms. The ensuing context-based label knowledge is seamlessly integrated into the model via a dedicated label attention module, thereby fortifying label learning capabilities during training. To adeptly manage both flat and nested entities, we implement a global pointer as our decoding strategy, enabling direct predictions of the positions and corresponding categories of named entities. Rigorous experimentation across six widely recognized benchmarks substantiates the efficacy of CLESR in both flat and nested tasks. Impressively, our model achieves performance enhancements surpassing those of the baseline BERT-MRC model, with gains of + 0.29%, + 0.77%, + 0.39%, + 1.9%, and + 0.47% on English CoNLL2003, English OntoNotes 4.0, Chinese MSRA, English ACE2004, and English ACE2005, respectively.

Rapid SERS Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful technique for decoding of 2-5-component mixes of analytes. Low concentrations of analytes and complex biological media are usually non-decodable with SERS. Recognition molecules, such as antibodies and aptamers, provide an opportunity for a specific binding of ultra-low contents of analyte dissolved in complex biological media. Different approaches have been proposed to provide changes in SERS intensity of an external label upon binding of ultra-low contents of the analytes. In this paper, we propose a SERS-based sensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of botulinum toxin type A. The silver nanoisland SERS substrate was functionalized using an aptamer conjugated with a Raman label. The binding of the target affects the orientation of the label, providing changes in an analytical signal. This trick allowed detecting botulinum toxin type A in a one-stage manner without additional staining with a monotonous dose dependence and a limit of detection of 2.4 ng/mL. The proposed sensor architecture is consistent with the multiarray detection systems for multiplex analyses.

Micro perforation based smart label to guide freshness of pasteurized milk packet

A colour code-based Time Temperature Indicator (TTI) is a consumer-friendly option to monitor the freshness of packaged milk. This study aimed to develop a micro-perforation-based external TTI label that is cost-effective, efficient and on-time activation. To understand the spoilage of milk, various quality parameters at storage conditions, 4 ± 1, 27 ± 2 and 37 ± 4 °C, were evaluated. The Ea of the developed TTI was co-related with the Ea of spoiled packaged milk. An activated TTI label was sticked on the milk packet to check its applicability. The TTI changes colour from green to red, indicating spoilage of packaged milk.

Autofluorescent antimalarials by hybridization of artemisinin and coumarin: in vitro/in vivo studies and live-cell imaging.

Malaria is one of our planet's most widespread and deadliest diseases, and there is an ever-consistent need for new and improved pharmaceuticals. Natural products have been an essential source of hit and lead compounds for drug discovery. Antimalarial drug artemisinin (ART), a highly effective natural product, is an enantiopure sesquiterpene lactone and occurs in Artemisia annua L. The development of improved antimalarial drugs, which are highly potent and at the same time inherently fluorescent is particularly favorable and highly desirable since they can be used for live-cell imaging, avoiding the requirement of the drug's linkage to an external fluorescent label. Herein, we present the first antimalarial autofluorescent artemisinin-coumarin hybrids with high fluorescence quantum yields of up to 0.94 and exhibiting excellent activity in vitro against CQ-resistant and multidrug-resistant P. falciparum strains (IC50 (Dd2) down to 0.5 nM; IC50 (K1) down to 0.3 nM) compared to reference drugs CQ (IC50 (Dd2) 165.3 nM; IC50 (K1) 302.8 nM) and artemisinin (IC50 (Dd2) 11.3 nM; IC50 (K1) 5.4 nM). Furthermore, a clear correlation between in vitro potency and in vivo efficacy of antimalarial autofluorescent hybrids was demonstrated. Moreover, deliberately designed autofluorescent artemisinin-coumarin hybrids, were not only able to overcome drug resistance, they were also of high value in investigating their mode of action via time-dependent imaging resolution in living P. falciparum-infected red blood cells.

Picti: from Roman name to internal identity

ABSTRACT Recent scholarship has become increasingly sceptical about the importance of Pictish identity in the first millennium A.D. It has been suggested that Picti was an external classical general label for people inhabiting northern Britain only adopted internally in the late seventh century. This article reviews the references to Picti in late antique and subsequent Insular sources from the late third century to A.D. 700. It proposes that the term was adopted in northern Britain by the end of the Roman period and maintained afterwards through the usage of Latin, due to imperial influence and conversion to Christianity. While not the only ethnic identity upheld in the region, the concept of Picti was used by the kings of Fortriu for their wider realm in the late seventh century because it was already known and significant.

Unsupervised Deep Joint Segmentation of Multitemporal High-Resolution Images

High/very-high-resolution (HR/VHR) multitemporal images are important in remote sensing to monitor the dynamics of the Earth's surface. Unsupervised object-based image analysis provides an effective solution to analyze such images. Image semantic segmentation assigns pixel labels from meaningful object groups and has been extensively studied in the context of single-image analysis, however not explored for multitemporal one. In this article, we propose to extend supervised semantic segmentation to the unsupervised joint semantic segmentation of multitemporal images. We propose a novel method that processes multitemporal images by separately feeding to a deep network comprising of trainable convolutional layers. The training process does not involve any external label, and segmentation labels are obtained from the argmax classification of the final layer. A novel loss function is used to detect object segments from individual images as well as establish a correspondence between distinct multitemporal segments. Multitemporal semantic labels and weights of the trainable layers are jointly optimized in iterations. We tested the method on three different HR/VHR data sets from Munich, Paris, and Trento, which shows the method to be effective. We further extended the proposed joint segmentation method for change detection (CD) and tested on a VHR multisensor data set from Trento.

DLI-IT: a deep learning approach to drug label identification through image and text embedding

BackgroundDrug label, or packaging insert play a significant role in all the operations from production through drug distribution channels to the end consumer. Image of the label also called Display Panel or label could be used to identify illegal, illicit, unapproved and potentially dangerous drugs. Due to the time-consuming process and high labor cost of investigation, an artificial intelligence-based deep learning model is necessary for fast and accurate identification of the drugs.MethodsIn addition to image-based identification technology, we take advantages of rich text information on the pharmaceutical package insert of drug label images. In this study, we developed the Drug Label Identification through Image and Text embedding model (DLI-IT) to model text-based patterns of historical data for detection of suspicious drugs. In DLI-IT, we first trained a Connectionist Text Proposal Network (CTPN) to crop the raw image into sub-images based on the text. The texts from the cropped sub-images are recognized independently through the Tesseract OCR Engine and combined as one document for each raw image. Finally, we applied universal sentence embedding to transform these documents into vectors and find the most similar reference images to the test image through the cosine similarity.ResultsWe trained the DLI-IT model on 1749 opioid and 2365 non-opioid drug label images. The model was then tested on 300 external opioid drug label images, the result demonstrated our model achieves up-to 88% of the precision in drug label identification, which outperforms previous image-based or text-based identification method by up-to 35% improvement.ConclusionTo conclude, by combining Image and Text embedding analysis under deep learning framework, our DLI-IT approach achieved a competitive performance in advancing drug label identification.

Won\u2019t Get Fooled Again: The Effects of Internal and External CSR ECO-Labeling

Although most consumers are positive about socially responsible companies, in order to benefit from CSR efforts, effective and clear CSR communication is important. However, due to the constantly rising profusion of eco-labels, based on either own claims from the organization or claims made by an external third party, consumers may encounter difficulties in identifying truly responsible firms, which could result in less effective CSR initiatives, even for those responsible firms. Therefore, building on attribution theory, this study seeks to identify how uncertified internal CSR claims and external third-party CSR labels should be used in order to deter greenwashing and increase positive consumer evaluations. Within a 3 (external third-party CSR label: positive vs. negative vs. no label) × 2 (uncertified internal CSR claim: present vs. absent) design, respondents are exposed to different coffee product packages measuring their attitude toward the brand, corporate credibility, purchase intention, and scent perception, as well as perceived attributional CSR motives. Overall, findings indicate that especially an external CSR label affects consumer responses toward the firm. Moreover, perceived CSR motives serve as a mediator between an external CSR label and corporate credibility and brand attitude, respectively. These findings warrant further consideration of introducing an external multilevel rating systems by governmental law.

Quality Assurance of Sterile, Single Use Savi(TM) Applicators at the Time of Simulation to Verify That Channel Positions Do Not Deviate from Their Expected Locations

Quality Assurance of Sterile, Single Use Savi(TM) Applicators at the Time of Simulation to Verify That Channel Positions Do Not Deviate from Their Expected Locations

Electrochemical oligonucleotide-based biosensor for the determination of lead ion

The possibility of utilization of gold electrodes modified with short guanine-rich ssDNA probes for determination of Pb2+ was examined. Interaction between guanine residues and lead ion followed by formation of G-quadruplex structures was confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy investigations. An external cationic redox label, methylene blue, was employed in voltammetric measurements for analytical signal generation. It was shown that due to the G-quadruplex formation, the oligonucleotides in the recognition layer fold, which enhances the electron transfer between methylene blue and the electrode surface. The MB current signal rises proportionally to the lead ion concentration in the range from 0.05 to 1μmol/L. The developed biosensor demonstrated high selectivity towards Pb2+ ion, with only minor response towards interfering metal cations. The calculated limit of detection was of 34.7nmol/L. The utilization of the biosensor for Pb2+ determination in real samples of water was also tested.

Retention of immunolabels by Diorhabda carinulata, a biological control agent of saltcedar

AbstractMarking biological control agents facilitates studies of dispersal and predation. This study examines the feasibility of marking the various life stages of a weed biological control agent, Diorhabda carinulata (Desbrochers) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), by submersion in rabbit or chicken immunoglobulin G (IgG) protein solutions. We determined whether externally applied IgGs are effective labels of the various lifestages, whether IgGs can be retained between D. carinulata lifestages, and to what extent abiotic factors associated with field conditions mediate label retention. The presence of the labels on the various lifestages of the beetles was detected by IgG‐specific enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Duration of each immunolabel was measured on eggs and larvae in laboratory studies and on adults in laboratory and field studies. For adults, both labels showed high (>80%) retention for ca. 14 days after marking under field and laboratory conditions. Temperature and type of label (rabbit or chicken) had only a minimal effect on marker retention. Externally marked eggs exhibited high (100%) retention for both proteins over the entire duration of the egg stage. Interestingly, some larvae emerging from externally labeled eggs contained both external and internal IgG marks. To our knowledge, this is the first case of an IgG being transferred from the egg to larva of an insect. Age of eggs at the time of label application affected the intensity of the external label on neonates. For instance, larvae that emerged from eggs that were >1 day old when labeled exhibited stronger label retention than larvae that emerged from eggs that were 1 day old when labeled. For larvae, retention of rabbit IgG was greater than retention of chicken IgG. Label retention declined as larvae aged; larvae >3 days old retained significantly less label than did neonate larvae. Both IgG labels were retained from the first to second instar, but at a very low rate of <10%. Overall, our study demonstrates that protein‐marking technology has potential for use in studies of dispersal and predator–prey associations for D. carinulata.

The microstructure of the stratum corneum lipid barrier: Mid-infrared spectroscopic studies of hydrated ceramide:palmitic acid:cholesterol model systems

The current mid-infrared spectroscopic study is a systematic investigation of hydrated stratum corneum lipid barrier model systems composed of an equimolar mixture of a ceramide, free palmitic acid and cholesterol. Four different ceramide molecules (CER NS, CER NP, CER NP-18:1, CER AS) were investigated with regard to their microstructure arrangement in a stratum corneum lipid barrier model system. Ceramide molecules were chosen from the sphingosine and phytosphingosine groups. The main differences in the used ceramide molecules result from their polar head group architecture as well as hydrocarbon chain properties. The mixing properties with cholesterol and palmitic acid are considered. This is feasible by using perdeuterated palmitic acid and proteated ceramides. Both molecules can be monitored separately, within the same experiment, using mid-infrared spectroscopy; no external label is necessary.At physiological relevant temperatures, between 30 and 35°C, orthorhombic as well as hexagonal chain packing of the ceramide molecules is observed. The formation of these chain packings are extremely dependent on lipid hydration, with a decrease in ceramide hydration favouring the formation of orthorhombic hydrocarbon chain packing, as well as temperature. The presented data suggest in specific cases phase segregation in ceramide and palmitic acid rich phases. However, other ceramides like CER NP-18:1 show a rather high miscibility with palmitic acid and cholesterol. For all investigated ternary systems, more or less mixing of palmitic acid with cholesterol is observed. The investigated stratum corneum mixtures exhibit a rich polymorphism from crystalline domains with heterogeneous lipid composition to a “fluid” homogeneous phase. Thus, a single gel phase is not evident for the presented stratum corneum model systems.The study shows, that under skin physiological conditions (pH 5.5, hydrated, 30–35°C) ternary systems composed of an equimolar ratio of ceramides, free palmitic acid and cholesterol may form gel-like domains delimitated by a liquid-crystalline phase boundary. The presented results support the microstructural arrangement of the stratum corneum lipids as suggested by the domain mosaic model.

Label-free imaging of human cells: algorithms for image reconstruction of Raman hyperspectral datasets

Raman microspectroscopy-based, label-free imaging methods for human cells at sub-micrometre spatial resolution are presented. Since no dyes or labels are used in this imaging modality, the pixel-to-pixel spectral variations are small and multivariate methods of analysis need to be employed to convert the hyperspectral datasets to spectral images. Thus, the main emphasis of this paper is the introduction and comparison of a number of multivariate image reconstruction methods. The resulting Raman spectral imaging methodology directly utilizes the spectral contrast provided by small (bio)chemical compositional changes over the spatial dimension of the sample to construct images that can rival fluorescence images in terms of spatial information, yet without the use of any external dye or label.

Label-free monitoring of site-specific DNA cleavage by EcoRI endonuclease using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance

Cyclic voltammetry (CV) combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were proposed to monitor the site-specific DNA cleavage by EcoRI endonuclease without using external label. The alteration of CV and EIS signal demonstrated that double-strands (dsDNA) contain recognition sequence was cleaved by EcoRI endonuclease. Real-time monitoring indicated that the dsDNA was cleaved by EcoRI more than 90% after 2 h of enzyme digestion time. Control experiment showed that the DNA cleavage by EcoRI endonuclease is site-specific for DNA sequence. Experimental results demonstrated that the efficiency of EcoRI cleavage was highly dependent on the concentration of EcoRI concentration in the range from 0.04 to 0.4 U μL −1 with one almost linear relationship.

Design of Electrochemical Biosensor Systems for the Detection of Specific DNA Sequences in PCR-Amplified Nucleic Acids Related to the Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val108/158Met Polymorphism Based on Intrinsic Guanine Signal

Psychiatric disorders are common and complex diseases that show polygenic and multifactorial heredity. A single nucleotide polymorphism (Val108/158Met) in the catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) gene is related to many psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, alcoholism, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Schizophrenia is a complex disorder and a single nucleotide polymorphism (Val108/158Met) at the COMT gene is related to schizophrenia susceptibility. A novel hybridization-based disposable electrochemical DNA biosensor for the detection of a common functional polymorphism in the COMT gene from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons has been described without using an external label. This developed technology combined with a disposable carbon graphite electrode and differential pulse voltammetry was performed by using short synthetic oligonucleotides and PCR amplicons in length 203 bp to measure the change of guanine oxidation signal obtained at approximately +1.0 V after DNA hybridization between probe and target (synthetic target or denatured PCR samples). COMT-specific oligonucleotides were immobilized onto the carbon surface with a simple adsorption method in two different modes: (a) Guanine-containing targets were attached or (b) inosine-substituted probes were attached onto an electrode. By controlling the surface coverage of the target DNA, the hybridization event between the probes and their synthetic targets or specific PCR products was optimized. The wild-type or polymorphic allele-specific probes/targets were also interacted with an equal amount of noncomplementary and one-base mismatch-containing DNAs in order to measure the sensor selectivity. The decrease or appearance in the intrinsic guanine signal simplified the detection procedure and shortened the assay time because protocol eliminates the label-binding step. The nonspecific binding effects were minimized by using sodium dodecyl sulfate with different washing methods. The Val108/158Met COMT genotype detection were performed with real samples containing wild-type (healthy controls), polymorphic (mutant type), and heterozygous PCR products. The detection limit (S/N = 3) of the biosensor was 2.44 pmol of target sequence in the 30-muL samples. Analytical performance of the sensor is described, along with future prospects.

Protected 32P‐Labels in Deoxyribonucleotides: Investigation of Sequence Selectivity of DNA Photocleavage by Enediyne–, Fulvene–, and Acetylene–Lysine Conjugates

Finding a compromise: The sequence selectivity of DNA photocleavage by enediyne–, acetylene–, and fulvene–lysine conjugates was investigated by using labeled DNA oligomers. Since the external 32P label was removed by these photocleavers, the label was protected by translocation inside the oligomer (see figure). The selectivity of cleavage is controlled by a compromise between AT selectivity for binding and G selectivity for electron transfer.

Estudo da movimentação de plantas aquáticas imersas presentes no reservatório da UHE Eng. Souza Dias - Jupiá

O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver um método para determinação de pontos de reprodução e de suas respectivas importâncias na disseminação das espécies E. densa, E. najas e C. demersum no reservatório de Jupiá. Foram monitorados dez locais nos quais se encontrou registro de altas infestações dessas espécies. Dois desses locais situam-se no rio Paraná, nas lagoas denominadas de "Ferradura" e "Pernilongo"; os outros oito sítios estão localizados no rio Tietê, nas lagoas marginais "Testemunha", "Barrenta", "Vírgula" e "Flórida", e no leito do rio nos pontos "Acima da Ponte dos Barrageiros", "Abaixo da Ponte", "Baía ao Lado da Ponte" e em frente da "Praia de Itapura". Em cada um desses sítios de reprodução foram liberados e monitorados dez blocos de plantas aquáticas imersas por mês. Os blocos possuíam volume de 0,14 cm³ e receberam uma etiqueta plástica de identificação externa e uma bóia de cor laranja, com o objetivo de serem facilmente localizadas ou visualizadas à distância. Após a soltura, cada bloco foi georreferenciado por meio de um aparelho GPS, sendo o seu deslocamento avaliado a cada 15 dias. Os sítios "Lagoa Vírgula", "Lagoa Testemunha" e "Lagoa Barrenta" destacaram-se quanto ao número de blocos (30, 20 e 19 blocos, respectivamente), que percorreram distâncias superiores a 500 m e, conseqüentemente, saíram de seus respectivos locais de reprodução. A grande maioria dos blocos permaneceu dentro da "Lagoa Flórida"; somente 12 blocos saíram e alcançaram o leito do rio Tietê. O sítio denominado "Leito Acima da Ponte" foi o que mais se destacou dentre os três localizados no leito do rio Tietê, pois forneceu 18 blocos de plantas, enquanto os sítios "Abaixo da Ponte" e "Baía ao Lado da Ponte" forneceram 15 e 14 blocos, respectivamente. O sítio "Praia de Itapura" foi o que apresentou menor importância em relação ao fornecimento de plantas imersas no rio Tietê, sendo localizadas apenas 11 bóias com deslocamento superior a 500 m. Os sítios de reprodução localizados no rio Paraná também contribuíram para o fornecimento de plantas imersas ao reservatório de Jupiá; nove blocos saíram da "Lagoa Pernilongo" e apresentaram deslocamentos superiores a 500 m. Entretanto, os sítios "Lagoa Barrenta" e "Lagoa Ferradura" foram aqueles que mais contribuíram com a chegada de plantas na tomada de água da UHE Eng. Souza Dias, uma vez que foram recolhidos, respectivamente, seis e quatro blocos de plantas provenientes desses locais de dispersão. A metodologia utilizada mostrou-se eficaz quanto à avaliação da movimentação de plantas aquáticas imersas dentro do reservatório de Jupiá.

Fluorescence probing of albumin–surfactant interaction

Protein–surfactant interactions were studied using bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the three surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and poly(oxyethylene)isooctyl phenyl ether (TX-100). The surfactants used belong to three broad classes, i.e., anionic, cationic, and nonionic. These categories of surfactants were used to elucidate the mechanism of surfactant binding to BSA, at pH 7. The interactions were followed fluorimetrically using both intrinsic tryptophan (Trp) fluorescence and the fluorescence of an external label. The aggregation behavior of the surfactants were studied in the presence of BSA. Steady-state fluorescence studies indicate that all three surfactants bind to BSA in a cooperative manner. This cooperative binding affects the binding of the external label to BSA. All these effects are also manifested in time-resolved fluorescence studies. The effects of surfactants on acrylamide quenching and energy transfer from Trp in BSA to bound dye provided valuable insights into the structural modification of BSA in presence of surfactants. The surfactant-induced conformational change of BSA was also confirmed by circular dichroism studies. However, among the three categories of surfactants, the nonionic surfactant shows the least interaction with BSA.

Discerning Biomolecular Interactions Using Kelvin Probe Technology

Biomolecular conformational differences of oligomeric nucleic acids were discerned using scanning Kelvin probe (SKP) analysis in an array format on gold-coated silicon substrates. Variations in work function, measured as contact potential difference, of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), and dsDNA with internal mismatches were clearly distinguished under ambient conditions without the use of an external label. We propose that the effectiveness of SKP analysis is based upon subtle changes in biomolecular conformation resulting from variations in molecule polarizability and induced dipole properties. This sensing technique can be readily incorporated into microarray format for discrimination of specific biological and chemical molecular interactions.