Jagged Edges Research Articles

A Study of Onychoscopic Findings in Various Dermatological Disorders

Context: About 10% of all the dermatological conditions are comprised nail disorders. It is challenging for the dermatologists to diagnose nail disorders quickly without the help of invasive procedures. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate onychoscopic patterns associated with various nail disorders. Settings and Designs: Hospital-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching institute in Maharashtra, India from November 2019 to May 2021. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty patients, with a history and clinical presentation suggestive of nail disorders, were recruited in the study after confirming the clinical diagnosis. Patients having secondarily modified lesions were excluded. Dry as well as wet onychoscopy using polarized and nonpolarized modes was performed with the help of DermLite 4 dermoscope with an attached OnePlus 8T mobile phone camera to capture and save the dermoscopic images. Data were compiled and statistically analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Statistical Analysis Used: Categorical variables were expressed in frequency and percentages. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS version 20. P value (using Z-test for proportions) was calculated wherever needed. Results: The majority of the patients were in the age group of 21–50 years with slight male preponderance. Overall most common onychoscopic findings studied in all the disorders were the nail plate alterations followed by chromonychia. The most common nail changes associated with connective tissue disorders were changes in the proximal nail fold capillaries along with changes in the curvature. The most common change observed in onychomycosis was chromonychia. Aurora borealis, spikes, and jagged edges of onycholytic plate with ruin pattern of hyperkeratosis were specific to onychomycosis. Inflammatory disorders of the nail unit (e.g., lichen planus and nail psoriasis) showed nail plate alterations with increased nail plate fragility. Conclusions: Some onychoscopic patterns are observed consistently with certain diseases, and these can be used for their diagnosis, hence, avoiding unnecessary biopsies, thus improving the patient outcome.

Single Crystalline GeSe Van Der Waals Ribbons With Uniform Layer Stacking, High Carrier Mobility, and Adjustable Edge Morphology.

Performance of the group IV monochalcogenide GeSe in solar cells, electronic, and optoelectronic devices is expected to improve when high-quality single crystalline material is used rather than polycrystalline films. Crystalline flakes represent an attractive alternative to bulk single crystals as their synthesis may be developed to be scalable, faster, and with higher overall yield. However, large - and especially large and thin - single crystal flakes are notoriously hard to synthesize. Here it is demonstrated that vapor-liquid-solid growth combined with direct lateral vapor-solid incorporation produces high-quality single crystalline GeSe ribbons with tens of micrometers size and controllable thickness. Electron microscopy shows that the ribbons exhibit perfect equilibrium (AB) van der Waals stacking order without extended defects across the entire thickness, in contrast to the conventional case of substrate-supported flakes where material is added via layer-by-layer nucleation and growth on the basal plane. Electrical measurements show anisotropic transport and a high Hall mobility of 85 cm2V-1s-1, on par with the best single crystals to date. Growth from mixed GeSe and SnSe vapors, finally, yields ribbons with unchanged structure and composition but with jagged edges, promising for applications that rely on ample chemically active edge sites, such as catalysis or photocatalysis.

A hierarchical progressive recognition network for building change detection in high‐resolution remote sensing images

AbstractBuilding change detection (BCD) plays a crucial role in urban planning and development. However, several pressing issues remain unresolved in this field, including false detections of buildings in complex backgrounds, the occurrence of jagged edges in segmentation results, and detection blind spots in densely built‐up areas. To address these challenges, this study innovatively proposes a Hierarchical Adaptive Gradual Recognition Network (HAGR‐Net) to improve the accuracy and robustness of BCD. Additionally, this research is the first to employ the Reinforcement Learning Optimization Algorithm Based on Particle Swarm (ROPS) to optimize the training process of HAGR‐Net, thereby accelerating the training process and reducing memory overhead. Experimental results indicate that the optimized HAGR‐Net outperforms state‐of‐the‐art methods on the WHU_CD, Google_CD, and LEVIR_CD data sets, achieving F1 scores of 93.13%, 85.31%, and 91.72%, and mean intersection over union (mIoU) scores of 91.20%, 85.99%, and 90.01%, respectively.

Gca-pvt-net: group convolutional attention and PVT dual-branch network for oracle bone drill chisel segmentation

Oracle bones (Obs) are a significant carrier of the shang dynasty civilization, primarily consisting of tortoise shells and animal bones, through the study of which we can gain a deeper understanding of the political, economic, religious, and cultural aspects of the shang dynasty. The oracle bone drill chisel (Obdc) is considered an essential non-textual material. The segmentation of Obdc assists archaeologists determine the approximate age of the Obs, which possesses considerable research value. However, the breakage of thousands of years of underground buried Obs, the blurring of the edges of the area burned by the Obdc, the different shapes, and the inconsistent number have brought challenges to the accurate segmentation of the Obdc. In this article, we propose a group convolutional attention and pvt dual-branch network (GCA-PVT-Net) for Obdc segmentation. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to research the automatic segmentation of Obdc. It is a hybrid Convolutional neural network (CNN) and Transformer framework. The work offers the following contributions: (1) The Obdc images are labeled based on the delineation criteria of different drill chisel (DC) shapes to create the Obdc dataset. (2) A convolutional attention module (CAM) is proposed as both an encoder and decoder. The feature extraction process, which effectively integrates global and local information, ensures better modeling of long-term correlations in images while preserving details. (3) A channel feature aggregation module (CFAM) is designed to enhance the effective integration of channel features, enabling feature fusion across various branches and at different levels. (4) The edge deep supervision strategy is applied to smooth the jagged edge of the predicted images at the decoder’s end. Extensive experiments on the Obdc dataset show that GCA-PVT-Net outperforms other state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods. The comparative experimental results show that the edge accuracy and segmentation accuracy of the model reach the top 1.

Building footprint extraction from aerial images using an edge-aware YOLO-v8 network

Abstract. Building footprint extraction is a critical indicator for assessing urban infrastructure, and extracting building footprints from remote sensing imagery can have significant practical applications. However, achieving rapid and accurate extraction of building footprints remains highly challenging, especially in scenarios with complex scenes, dense building distributions, and small targets. The instance segmentation models of the YOLO series offer strong real-time performance, reducing considerable time and effort in practical applications. Therefore, we propose building footprint extraction based on an enhance YOLO-v8 network. This study focuses on three enhancements to the YOLO-v8 network to improve extraction accuracy. Building upon the YOLO-v8 framework, we have incorporated the Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) module into feature maps at all scales to efficiently propagate high-level semantic information. Additionally, we introduce the Triple Feature Encoder (TFE) module, which integrates spatial detail information from feature maps at three different scales to enhance the network's ability to extract multi-scale information. Finally, we explore the integration of the Prewitt model, a conventional edge detection operator, to assist in extracting edge features in target regions of feature maps. This integration aims to reduce the jagged edges frequently seen in the outcomes of the original YOLO-v8. Furthermore, the Prewitt operator's noise suppression capability helps mitigate the influence of non-target areas in the feature maps. The proposed framework achieves an instance segmentation accuracy of mAP50 is 84.6% and mAP50:95 is 51.4% on public datasets, outperforming the original YOLO-v8 network.

Fabrication of hollow microneedles with jagged edges mimicking mosquitoes’ needles using a thermal nanoimprinting method and a mold combining soft and hard materials

In the aim of realizing minimally invasive needles, a hollow microneedle mimicking a mosquito’s proboscis was developed by a thermal nanoimprinting method using the polylactic acid (PLA) of a biodegradable thermoplastic. A mold was proposed and developed, which consisted of a soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) body and a hard acrylic center pillar for creating the hole. Note that, if a mold is made of a single PDMS, the pillar cannot withstand the imprint pressure and tilts. By imprinting the mold against a PLA sheet, a hollow structure with a high aspect ratio of five (i.e., outer/inner diameter: 200/100 μm; height: 1,000 μm) with a sharp tip and jagged edge was successfully achieved.

Another new species of karst-associated pitviper (Serpentes, Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from the Isthmus of Kra, Peninsular Thailand

We describe a new species of karst-dwelling pitviper from Chumphon Province of Peninsular Thailand, in the Isthmus of Kra, based on morphological and molecular data (2427 bp from cyt b, ND4 and 16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA genes). Morphologically, Trimeresurus kraensis sp. nov. is distinguished from other congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: a dark/bottle-green dorsum with reddish-brown or purple crossbands; pale green venter lacking dark dots; stripes present on the lateral sides of the ventrals; internasals generally in contact; one large supraocular scale on each side of the head; iris pale copper; tail brown with dark purplish-brown crossbars; dorsal scales in 21–21–15 rows; ventral scales 167 in a single male, 169–171 in females; subcaudal scales 62 in a single male, 52–54 in females, all paired. White vertebral spots present in males, located on approximately every two or four dorsal scales; dark brown spots forming discontinuous pattern present on 1–3 lateral dorsal scale rows; males with reddish-brown postocular stripe with jagged edges. The new species differs from the morphologically similar species Trimeresurus venustus s. str. by a notable divergence in cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA gene sequences (p = 5.9%).

Abstract B028: Epithelial-specific loss of PIK3R1 in a murine model result in endometrial hyperplasia

Abstract Somatic mutations in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway occur in 84% of endometrial carcinomas (EC) and up to 68% of endometrial hyperplasia (EH). Regulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling is integral for normal endometrial function and is governed by tumor suppressor genes PTEN and PIK3R1 and proto-oncogene PIK3CA. While the actions of PTEN and PIK3CA are in direct opposition as a phosphatase and kinase, respectively, PIK3R1 regulates PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling in two distinct ways. As the regulatory subunit of the PI3K enzyme, PIK3R1 controls the catalytic activity of PIK3CA and augments PTEN activity. Mutations or alterations in PIK3R1 are present in 33% of EC and 9% of EH, the majority of which lead to loss of PIK3R1 protein (p85a). Both loss of PTEN and PIK3R1 lead to increased proliferation through PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling, but the structural, functional, and mechanistic implications of PIK3R1 loss in the endometrial epithelium (EE) in vivo are largely unexplored. To further interrogate the changes in the endometrium resulting from PIK3R1 loss, we have created a murine model of endometrial epithelial-specific PIK3R1 loss driven by Pax8-Cre. Mice were estrus cycle staged and sacrificed in the diestrus phase to reduce confounding variables when assessing phenotypes between genotypes. PIK3R1 loss was confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Histology and immunostaining of control and PIK3R1 knockout (KO) mice were assessed by IHC and immunofluorescence. We found that PIK3R1 loss in the EE leads to EH distinct from what is observed with PTEN loss. In contrast to the EH with atypia seen In PTEN KO mice, the EH resulting from PIKR1 loss more closely resembles EH without atypia. The endometrium of PIK3R1 KO mice is characterized by thickened luminal epithelia with jagged edges and irregularities, mild glandular crowding, and occasional nuclear atypia. PIK3R1 KO mice also showed an increase in proliferation (Ki-67) and downstream PI3K signaling (phospho-S6) in the EE. Gene expression changes occurring within the EE from PIK3R1 KO and Cre-negative control mice were also assessed by RNA-seq. In vivo genomic analyses were compared to in vitro knockdown of PIK3R1 and publicly available patient data. We found that PIK3R1 loss leads to an increase in signaling through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MAPK pathways. Our data show that the effect of PIK3R1 loss is sufficient to cause EH and may have shared and distinct actions from PTEN. Citation Format: Shannon K. Harkins, Hilary J. Skalski, Amelia Arendt, Laura Pavliscak, Mike R. Wilson, Ronald L. Chandler. Epithelial-specific loss of PIK3R1 in a murine model result in endometrial hyperplasia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Endometrial Cancer: Transforming Care through Science; 2023 Nov 16-18; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2024;30(5_Suppl):Abstract nr B028.

2D petal-like PdAg nanosheets promote efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol and methanol.

The development of efficient alcohol electrooxidation catalysts is of vital importance for the commercialization of direct liquid fuel cells. As emerging advanced catalysts, two-dimensional (2D) noble metal nanomaterials have attracted much research attention due to their intrinsic structural advantages. Herein, we report the synthesis of petal-like PdAg nanosheets (NSs) with an ultrathin 2D structure and jagged edges via a facile wet-chemical approach, combining doping engineering and morphology tuning. Notably, the highly active sites and Pd-Ag composition endowed PdAg NSs with improved toxicity tolerance and substantially improved the durability toward the ethanol/methanol oxidation reaction (EOR/MOR). Moreover, the electronic effect and synergistic effect significantly enhanced the EOR and MOR activities in comparison with Pd NSs and commercial Pd/C. This work provides efficient catalysts for fuel electrooxidations and deep insight into the rational design and fabrication of novel 2D nanoarchitecture.

Simplification and Regularization Algorithm for Right-Angled Polygon Building Outlines with Jagged Edges

Building outlines are important for emergency response, urban planning, and change analysis and can be quickly extracted from remote sensing images and raster maps using deep learning technology. However, such building outlines often have irregular boundaries, redundant points, inaccurate positions, and unclear turns arising from variations in the image quality, the complexity of the surrounding environment, and the extraction methods used, impeding their direct utility. Therefore, this study proposes a simplification and regularization algorithm for right-angled polygon building outlines with jagged edges. First, the minimum bounding rectangle of the building outlines is established and populated with a square grid based on the smallest visible length principle. Overlay analysis is then applied to the grid and original buildings to extract the turning points of the outlines. Finally, the building orientation is used as a reference axis to sort the turning points and reconstruct the simplified building outlines. Experimentally, the proposed simplification method enhances the morphological characteristics of building outlines, such as parallelism and orthogonality, while considering simplification principles, such as the preservation of the direction, position, area, and shape of the building. The proposed algorithm provides a new simplification and regularization method for right-angled polygon building outlines with jagged edges.

Super-Resolution Degradation Model: Converting High-Resolution Datasets to Optical Zoom Datasets

Despite remarkable progress in single-image super-resolution based on neural networks, the results are not ideal when applied to real-world images, because the real-world degradation process is unknown and complex. The emergence of some optical zoom datasets shows that neural networks still achieve good results on real-world images as long as the low-resolution images used for training have similar features and distributions with the real-world images. However, obtaining such optical zoom datasets is complicated and the datasets are only applicable to specific cameras and shooting conditions. By studying the optical zoom datasets, we propose a super-resolution image degradation model consisting of blurring, frequency domain processing, adding noise and downsampling. Specifically, blurring uses a blur kernel with a wave-like shape inferred from the point spread function, which produces the artifacts like real-world images. Frequency domain processing simulates the frequency domain aliasing of real-world images, such as jagged edges and background stripes. Experiments demonstrate that the new degradation model achieves visual effects comparable to optical zoom datasets. Existing high-resolution datasets can be converted to “optical zoom datasets” by the degradation model, where the synthetic low-resolution images have real-world image features, thereby extending super-resolution methods to real-world images.

FPGA design of FFT based intelligent accelerator with optimized Wallace tree multiplier for image super resolution and quality enhancement

The super-resolution (SR) method has been widely used to improve the resolution and quality of natural images, and it is currently being employed in medical imaging. Recently, many techniques have been introduced by researchers to improve the resolution and quality of the image. However, these approaches generate blurring and jagged edges in images. Hence, this article introduces novel deep learning (DL) with a fast Fourier transform (FFT) based intelligent approach (IA) to improve the quality and resolution of the image. A convolutional neural network (CNN) is emphasized for quality enhancement and resolution to recover lost information during image acquisition. This work undergoes three significant stages: de-noising, segmentation, and resolution improvement of the noisy input image. The double density discrete wavelet transform (DDDWT) technique is introduced to remove the noise and improve the visual image’s quality. Finally, the image resolution and quality enhancement are done using CNN with overlap and add (OA)-FFT based Wallace tree multiplier-red deer optimization (WT-RDO) technique. In the experimental scenario, the quality enhancement and image resolution outcome achieved accuracy of 97 % and 98 %, precision of 97 % and 97 %, sensitivity of 96 % and 98 %, specificity of 96 % and 98 %, PSNR of 30 dB and 26 dB, structural similarity index (SSIM) of 0.86 and 0.85, mean square error (MSE) of 0.01, mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.8, the time complexity of 61, power of 0.08 W, delay of 0.6 ns and throughput of 3.2 MB/s.

Fungal Keratitis. Part 1. Etiomorphology, Historical Aspects, Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Pathogenesis and Clinical Features

Fungal keratitis (FK) is 8–30 % in the structure of infectious inflammation of the cornea. There are 2 main types of mushroom growth — mycelial and yeast. Mycelial (mold) fungi grow in the form of special branched microscopic tubes — hyphae. Yeast fungi form compact colonies of individual oval cells. Due to the peculiarities of the yeast structure, the tendency to rapid spread in the tissues is reduced, which determines the less aggressive clinical course of such keratomycosis compared to mold. Until the 50s of the 20th century, the occurrence of FK in the world was low. However, probably with the introduction of corticosteroid and antibacterial drugs into medicine, their prevalence began to grow. The highest frequency of occurrence of FK is in regions with a hot climate and high involvement of the population in agriculture. The main provoking factor for the appearance of FK is corneal injury with damage to the epithelium and adhesion to the Bowman’s membrane or stroma components. Highly adhesive fungi (Aspergillus spp., Candida spp.) trigger a cascade of immune inflammatory reactions, production of reactive oxygen species and matrix metalloproteases-9, which leads to the destruction of lamellae. Fungi with low adhesive ability (Fusarium spp.) can grow parallel to lamellae for a long time and indefinitely without inducing pronounced inflammation. Symptoms of FC are similar to those observed in other forms of infectious keratitis, but more often they develop more slowly (5–10 days) and are less acute. A defect against the background of mycelial FC is more often characterized by jagged edges, a raised slough, and a non-yellow color. Yeast FK is manifested by oval ulceration of the epithelium with expanding, more sharply demarcated, densely focal suppuration.

Pemanfaatan Bakteri Termofilik Penghasil Amilase Pada Berbagai Pati

Indonesia is a country that produces a lot of starchy materials such as cassava, sago, corn and others. Indonesia has the potential to develop an enzyme-producing industry, especially amylase. The utilization of starchy materials which so far has not been maximized and is still limited to conventional methods can be increased by enzymatic development processes. This will increase its economic value and at the same time increase state income. One of the enzymes that is currently very widely used in the food and beverage industry is amylase. Nin Suharti and Geminsyah Putra 2021 have succeeded in isolating and identifying thermophilic bacteria from the sidedust hot springs of North Sumatra. The advantage of thermophilic bacteria is that they can produce enzymes that are resistant to high temperatures / thermostable enzymes. These enzymes are able to survive and are active at high temperatures. Such properties are highly needed by enzyme-based industries. The use of enzymes that can withstand high temperatures in the field of biotechnology can reduce operating costs and increase reaction speed, this study uses various types of starch including potatoes, cassava and corn as suitable and easily available carbon sources for the production of amylase enzymes. Bacteria in the media with potato starch added can produce the highest amylase enzyme from the three treatments of 65 U/L. For bacteria added with corn starch, the result was 50 U/L of amylase enzyme. Meanwhile, the lowest of the three treatments was media with added sweet potato starch with a content of 39 U/L. The isolates generally had a round shape, jagged edges, grooved, and smooth, white colonies, microscopic bacilli-shaped, endospores and motile, positive for catalase, gelatin and citrate tests. With Gram staining, it generally shows a positive Gram reaction.

Experimental investigation of nanosecond laser Machining of 3D printed carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are widely used in automotive and aerospace applications due to their high specific strengths, high fatigue and creep resistance, and excellent corrosion resistance. Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing has opened new ways of manufacturing complex 3D parts using CFRP composites. As a result, researchers have gained interest in the machining or post-processing of 3D-printed CFRP composites. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using a nanosecond laser for machining single craters or blind holes and slots on 3D printed CFRP samples and understand the effects of important process parameters on feature dimensions, (i.e., crater diameter, slot width, crater/hole depth, and slot depth), heat affected zone (HAZ), and surface quality of the machined features. A 1064 nm wavelength laser system with a focal length of 160 mm was used, whereas the number of pulses, laser energy level, and back-and-forth laser passes are varied. The heat-affected zone is found to be influenced by the laser energy level as compared to the number of pulses. It is found that for the same number of pulses, there is a clear sign of an increase in HAZ with the increase in laser energy level. With the increase in the number of pulses, the hole or slot edge becomes more defined and clearer, whereas the HAZ is mostly determined by the energy level. There is an accumulation of molten or removed materials at the edge of holes or slots causing jagged edges of machined features, which gradually diminishes when the edge becomes smoother for a higher number of pulses, or accumulated materials evaporate away at the higher setting of energy level. Finally, it is found that the nanosecond laser system is capable of machining quality holes and slots on the 3D-printed CFRP composite. To obtain features with well-defined profiles and minimal heat-affected zone, an understanding of the effects of laser process parameters is important.

Prisoner voting in Wales: devolved autonomy and human rights at the jagged edge

In light of recent contestation between the UK Government and devolved institutions over legal human rights protections, this article examines the acute challenges that arise in the Welsh context for the implementation of article 3 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), namely the right to free and fair elections. The European Court of Human Rights has held repeatedly that a blanket prohibition on convicted prisoner voting is a violation of the ECHR. Following the devolution of competences over devolved and local elections, the fundamental question for Wales is not merely whether prisoners should get the vote, but how a more progressive policy can be delivered within the current structures of Welsh devolution. We argue that the Welsh Government’s proposals for reform – partial enfranchisement based on sentence length – will be conditioned and undermined by criminal law and sentencing policy over which it has no control. Meanwhile, other options are either beyond devolved competence or entirely contingent upon the cooperation of a UK Government which opposes prisoner enfranchisement. In tackling these issues, we aim to demonstrate the profoundly limited nature of ‘devolved autonomy’ in an area ostensibly within the competence of Welsh institutions. The case study of prisoner voting thus brings into focus the unique and significant limitations on Welsh devolution and the considerable scope for complexity at the intersection of devolved governance and international human rights obligations.

The polyvariety of <i>Acer negundo</i> L. individuals development in different conditions of the urbanized environment

The paper studies the morphological and rhythmological polyvariety of the female and male A. negundo individuals development in conditionally clean and conditionally dirty habitats. The morphological polyvariety of leaves has been analyzed according to three characteristics: shape, edge and venation. Of the 5 identified leaf forms, elliptical leaves are found with a high frequency. Two forms of the edge of the leaf blade have been revealed one-piece and toothed: female trees have an increase in the occurrence of leaves with a jagged edge; in males growing in a conditionally clean habitat, the leaves were mostly whole-edged, and in a conditionally dirty one toothed. Regardless of the habitat, three types of venation are noted: regular, opposite and mixed. The most common type of venation is mixed. The revealed diversity of leaves in A. negundo, growing in conditionally clean and conditionally dirty habitats according to the three characteristics studied, indicates the manifestation of morphological polyvariety. It is established that the flowering of A. negundo depends not only on weather conditions and the degree of illumination, but also on the location of inflorescences in different tiers of the crown. Even within the same tier, the order of flowering of inflorescences is not the same. The rhythmological polyvariety of the phenophases of A. negundo flowering manifests itself in the asynchrony of flowering, this is due to the peculiarities of individuals of the generative period and is of great biological importance for this species. Apparently, atmospheric air pollution can accelerate phenophases, so male A. negundo individuals in a conditionally dirty habitat bloomed earlier than in a conditionally clean habitat.

The Welsh criminal justice system: On the jagged edge By R.Jones, R.W.Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2022. pp. 292. £24.99 (pbk); £24.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781786839435; 9781786839442

The Welsh criminal justice system: On the jagged edge By R.Jones, R.W.Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2022. pp. 292. £24.99 (pbk); £24.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781786839435; 9781786839442

La Quinta Soledad by Silviana Wood

Reviewed by: La Quinta Soledad by Silviana Wood Melina V. Vizcaíno-Alemán SILVIANA WOOD La Quinta Soledad San Antonio, Texas. Aztlan Libre Press. 2022. 618 pages. THIS DEBUT NOVEL is not for the faint of heart nor for the linguistically challenged. Part fiction, part memoir, and full of photographic and cinematic flair, the novel recounts the life of Quinta Soledad del Valle, a self-described barrio "scribe" and aspiring writer who at the age of sixty-two works as a neighborhood typist for Barrio Anita in Tucson, Arizona. Told in two parts and forty-three chapters, with a prologue and epilogue dated Saturday, October 4, 2003, the novel covers six decades of family history in six-hundred-plus pages and within the span of a day. With attention to the bilingual and even trilingual function of language and storytelling, Quinta Soledad joins a list of Chicana protagonists who bend the rules and come of age on their own terms but within a testy grandmother's worldview. Yet Quinta's age distinguishes this coming-of-age story with a mature and even demented perspective of time, giving this debut novel a unique sensibility for our time. The plot turns on the birth and feast day of San Francisco, patron saint of Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico, and the birthplace of Quinta's mother, María Dolores (Lola), and grandmother, Nana Conchita. Quinta has just returned from Magdalena on the feast day of San Francisco when the novel opens, revealing the end from the start and upending plot conventions with a deliberate mix of language, time, and perspective. The plot turns on a raucous family road trip to Lola's birthplace, though this part of the story unfolds late in part 2 and only after we learn some of Quinta's colorful but painful past. In part 1, Nana Conchita instructs Quinta on the importance of visiting San Francisco on his feast day to fulfill a manda (promise). Quinta tells her family history, replete with her sharp-tongued grandmother, philandering mother, and four flower-named sisters, all from different men, including Orquídea (Orky), Dahlia (Dolly), María Azucena (Susie Mae), and Magnolia (Maggie). As the fifth and youngest sister, Quinta struggles with the memory of her first eight years in Tucson, and she spends the next four years with her Nina Josie in California before returning to Tucson in 1952 at her grandmother's doorstep. The main memory that haunts Quinta's dreams lies deeply buried in her past and follows her like an espanto (spook or ghost) until it fully surfaces in Mexico. The novel crosses languages, borders, and generations in familiar but epic ways [End Page 82] that shed light on cross-generational single mothers and the modern realities of memory loss. Lola is ninety years old and suffering from dementia, a character feature that becomes metaphoric for the novel's memory work unfolding like a desert blossom, stunning yet reticent. Much like Lola, Quinta struggles with memory and making sense of the trauma in her crooked life. The life story comes in pieces and through the interdependent lives of women whose jagged edges form a family saga of perseverance and laughter, even in the face of tragedy and loss. Photographs become storytelling devices that store Quinta's precious (oro molido) memories and channel the novel's complex memory work. Select chapters append "Updates" that read much like news flashes and signal an ongoing story saga about the del Valle family and Barrio Anita, making a grandmother of a novel that requires patience, perseverance, and linguistic dexterity. In the end, Wood delivers a heartwarming story about a female-centered family we come to know affectionately and in snippets of the past, much like in a family photo album with the collective force of memory in the present. Melina V. Vizcaíno-Alemán University of New Mexico Copyright © 2023 World Literature Today and the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma

Profiling and In vivo studies of Bromelain Bitter Gourd (Momodica charantia) seed protein hydrolysate with antidiabetic activity

Diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial chronic disease that affects the human population and it is the third most common cause of death worldwide. Momordica charantia is commonly known as Bitter melon, Bitter guard and used as a food and natural medicine. The scientific name, Momordica means "to bite," in Latin which is refers to the jagged edges of the leaves. Including fruits, all parts of the plant, contains a bitter compound, momordicinso and very bitter in taste. It has long been used as a traditional medicine for some ailments. Bromelain bitter guard seed protein hydrolysate was profiled by ultrafiltration and SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the lower molecular weight peptide ≤ 25 kDa exerted the high antidiabetic activity. Spontaneously diabetic rats showed a decrease in the blood Glucose level (Glu), Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level, Glycogen level and also shows lower level of Lipid profile parameters (Chol, HDL, LDL, and TG) in the serum of the diabetic rats after 21 days of oral administration of bromelain bitter guard seed protein hydrolysate at dosages of 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg. However, the effect was dose-dependent. As a novel protein hydrolysate source with invivo antidiabetic activity, future research should aim to demonstrate the molecular mechanism of action and validate its bioactivity through human intervention trials.