Simplification Strategy Research Articles

Outcomes of an automated alert system from Microbiology to link diagnosis to treatment in patients with hepatitis C virus.

simplification strategies for the care circuit of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are key to achieve eradication. An electronic identification system was set up for HCV serology to link diagnosis to specialist management, aimed to reduce patient loss. a retrospective, single-center study was performed in patients with HCV identified from 15/3/2020 to 15/12/2021, using an alert system from Microbiology that notified specialists of positive cases. The patient was contacted and appointed a Fibroscan® and viral load measurement, with antiviral therapy prescribed on the same day. Origin, public health data, patient location rate and antiviral therapy prescription were recorded. of 174 patients identified, 171 had positive viremia, with a mean age of 59.6 ± 15.9 years, 61.5 % were males and 81.2 % were Spanish nationals. Origin in the outpatient setting predominated (57.9 %, 99/171), particularly Primary Care (51/171), penitentiaries (21/171) and addiction units (14/171). Overall, 43.3 % (74/171) were aware of their diagnosis; 19.4 % (20/103) of patients had F3 fibrosis and 25.2 % (26/103) had F4 fibrosis. Also, 78.4 % (134/171) were deemed candidates for treatment. Of these, 74.6 % (100/134) were located and treatment was initiated, and all those who completed their treatment achieved a sustained viral response (96/96). This system managed 58.5 % (100/171) of the patients identified. The only association found between antiviral therapy and patient variables was comorbidities with being untreated (OR, 7.14; p ˂ 0.001). this alert system allows to minimize patient loss in the care circuit and provides high rates of treated patients.

Content-Aware Point Cloud Simplification of Natural Scenes

Laser scanning technology is becoming ubiquitous in studies involving 3D characterizations of natural scenes, e.g., for geomorphological or archaeological interpretations. Setting the point density in such scanning campaigns is usually dictated by the objects of interest within the site yet is applied to the entire scene. Such campaigns result in large data volumes, which are difficult to analyse and where the objects of interest may be hidden in the redundant data. To reduce these excessive volumes, existing simplification strategies maintain smoothness, preserve discontinuities in the point cloud, but disregard the need to preserve detail at the regions of interest (ROI). To address that, this paper proposes a new, context-aware, subsampling approach that retains the high resolution of objects of interest while reducing the data load of less important regions. To do so, we identify the ROI by means of visual saliency measures and reduce the data volume only at the non-salient regions. To facilitate progressive subsampling the reduction is based on a hierarchical data structure that is surficial in nature. This way, the retained representative points describe the underlying surface rather than an interpolation of it. We demonstrate our proposed model on datasets originating from different scanners that feature a variety of scenes. We compare our results to three common simplification approaches. Our results show a reduced point cloud that is similar to the original and allows analysis of ROI at the required point resolution, regardless of the level of simplification.

Cluster repair strategies in child Greek: An optimality theoretic account

This case study investigates the simplification strategies of reduction to the more sonorous cluster member and cluster deletion in [obstruent + liquid] clusters. These strategies are in complementary distribution: the former applies in [obstruent + lateral] clusters and the latter in [obstruent + rhotic] ones. There is a contiguity effect in the child’s system, i.e. the grammar requires that the adjacent segments in the input be adjacent in the output. The pattern of reduction to the more sonorous member of the cluster in [obstruent + lateral] clusters is contiguity-driven and satisfies the adjacency requirement. The adjacency requirement is not met in [obstruent + rhotic] clusters. The complementary distribution of these strategies emerges from the permission of lateral-initial onsets and the prohibition of rhotic-initial ones in the output. We claim that cluster deletion is an epiphenomenon of the grammar’s restrictions on onsets, i.e. the contiguity effect and the prohibition of rhotic-initial onsets results in cluster deletion.

Determination of In Vivo Biotransformation Kinetics Using Early-Time Biota Concentrations.

Technical challenges have hampered the characterization of biotransformation kinetics-a critical link in understanding and predicting the toxicokinetics and ecotoxicology of organic compounds. A shortcut approach to characterize the in vivo biotransformation rate constant (kM ) with incomplete pathway or metabolite details was proposed. The value of kM can be derived as , with fPC (t) being the molar equivalent fraction of the parent compound (PC) at an early time t in both constant exposure and decay source chemical uptake scenarios. The approximation-based kM values agreed well with kM values derived from rigorous fitting or toxicokinetic modeling (n = 42, root mean square error = 0.30) with accuracy exceeding those of typical toxicokinetic or partitioning models. The method is accurate when sampling time is adequately resolved (i.e., t < ln(2)/kM ) but will likely produce biased kM values with improper time-averaging. The approximate equation yields consistent theoretical expectations for fast and slow biotransformation reactions and is fully compatible with standard bioaccumulation and toxicity testing protocols. The simplification strategy circumvents statistical complications and numerical issues inherent in regressing or modeling the toxicokinetics of multimetabolite systems and may be adapted to similar problems at other physiological scales or ecotoxicological contexts. The method can help advance interspecies comparison of chemical metabolism and support the development of in vitro-in vivo extrapolations and in silico models needed for building next-generation ecological and health risk-assessment practices. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:148-158. © 2021 SETAC.

ENGLISH TEACHERS QUESTIONS IN PROMOTING STUDENTS THINKING SKILL IN SMK NEGERI 10 MEDAN

This study deals with teachers’ questions in promoting students’ thinking skill. The objectives of this study were to reveal the types of questions based on taxonomy that teachers used in classroom communicative practices and how the teachers employed strategies to stimulate students’ responses towards the teachers’ questions. A descriptive qualitative design was used in this study. The data was collected by observing two teachers in two classes of grade twelve. The findings of this study showed that the teachers used all of questions types. The type of teachers’ questions which were commonly used by the two teachers is Productive Questions. The cognitive domain which can be achieved from productive categories is creating level. Teacher A mostly used evaluative question. The cognitive domain which can be achieved from evaluative category is evaluating level. While, Teacher B mostly used productive questions. The cognitive domain which can be achieved from productive category is creating level. Furthermore, the less questions appearing is Empirical Question. So, the researcher can conclude that teachers’ questions can promote higher order questions instead of lower order questions. In addition, the two teachers used some strategies to stimulate students’ responses towards the teachers’ questions. Teacher A used rephrasing strategy, simplification strategy, decomposition strategy, and probing strategy, while Teacher B used rephrasing strategy, repetition strategy, and decomposition strategy.Keywords : Teachers Questions, Cognitive Domain, Question Strategy

CNS Considerations in ART Simplification Strategies.

This review summarizes current knowledge on central nervous system (CNS) considerations in ART simplification strategies. Antiretroviral therapies (ART) showing efficacy in plasma will usually show efficacy in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). ART simplification may virologically fail if the new regimen has less than two active drugs, the genetic barrier of drugs is not high, and the patient may harbour archived resistance. Dual therapies including a boosted protease inhibitor (PI) or dolutegravir (DTG) are generally effective from the CNS perspective. In cases of related neurotoxicity, switching from either efavirenz (EFV) or DTG to another equally effective drug with better CNS tolerability usually leads to complete resolution of CNS symptoms. However, improvement may be incomplete when factors other than ART that cannot be easily modified are involved.

A Comparative Study of Educational Texts for Native, Foreign, and Bilingual Young Speakers of Russian: Are Simplified Texts Equally Simple?

Studies on simple language and simplification are often based on datasets of texts, either for children or learners of a second language. In both cases, these texts represent an example of simple language, but simplification likely involves different strategies. As such, this data may not be entirely homogeneous in terms of text simplicity. This study investigates linguistic properties and specific simplification strategies used in Russian texts for primary school children with different language backgrounds and levels of language proficiency. To explore the structure and variability of simple texts for young readers of different age groups, we have trained models for multiclass and binary classification. The models were based on quantitative features of texts. Subsequently, we evaluated the simplification strategies applied to readers of the same age with different linguistic backgrounds. This study is particularly relevant for the Russian language material, where the concept of easy and plain language has not been sufficiently investigated. The study revealed that the three types of texts cannot easily be distinguished from each other by judging the performance of multiclass models based on various quantitative features. Therefore, it can be said that texts of all types exhibit a similar level of accessibility to young readers. In contrast, binary classification tasks demonstrated better results, especially in the R-native vs. non R-native track (with 0.78 F1-score), these results may indicate that the strategies used for adapting or creating texts for each type of audience are different.

Comparison of avascular lymph node fragment transplantation techniques to optimize lymphangiogenesis in the minipig model

BackgroundSecondary lymphoedema is a challenging pandemic. This condition may arise after oncologic resection of tumor-draining lymph nodes and/or radiation. Plastic-surgical procedures for lymphoedema comprise transplantation of vascularized lymph node flaps, which are, however, technically challenging and difficult to implement on a global level due to the scarcity of microsurgery facilities in some countries. To improve this situation, comparative research in valid animal models is needed.MethodsA total of 33 minipigs were subjected to lymphatic resection in the hind limbs. This large animal model was used in a first phase to compare different lymph node fragmentation methods and assess lymphatic regeneration after avascular transplantation. In a second phase, several stimulants were tested for their effect on lymphatic regeneration after fragment transplantation. In a third phase, animals additionally received irradiation of the groin. In this novel animal model, autologous avascular lymph node fragment transplantation was complemented by peripheral injections of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C). Finally, regeneration rates were quantified in relative numbers (percentage) in the irradiated tissue.ResultsIn the first phase, transversal lymph node fragmentation under preservation of the nodal capsule showed the best percentage of regeneration (62.5%). Peripheral intradermal administration of VEGF-C enhanced lymph node fragment regeneration (70.8%) better than injections of tetanus toxoid (41.6%) or Streptococcus suis (62.5%). Lymph node fragment regeneration also occurred in an irradiated porcine model of lymphadenectomy under VEGF-C administration (66.6%).ConclusionsThe present findings provide a pre-clinical proof-of-concept for a possible simplification strategy for current operative procedures of autologous lymph node transplantation.Level of evidence : Not gradable

Phonological Analysis of Errors in the Consonant Cluster System Encountered by Saudi EFL Learners

This study investigates the pronunciation difficulty of selected English consonant clusters (CCs) encountered by Saudi EFL learners. The sample consisted of 134 female Saudi EFL students in their freshman year in the English Department at Najran University. Two instruments were used: a pronunciation test that assessed participants’ CC pronunciations in the onset and coda positions and a questionnaire that explored participants’ attitudes towards their CC pronunciations. This study provides detailed data on the participants’ pronunciation difficulties using Optimality Theory (OT). The results showed that the participants encountered CC pronunciation difficulties in both the onset and coda positions. However, most errors occurred in the coda position, especially for the four-consonant pattern (-CCCC). Participants used different strategies to simplify their CC pronunciations: epenthesis, deletion, substitution, or some combination thereof. Questionnaire data indicated that the participants attributed their pronunciation difficulties to inadequate knowledge of the pronunciation rules, insufficient language instruction, and native-language influence. The participants proffered some remedies to their difficulties, which included doing more pronunciation drills and offering a new course focused primarily on correct pronunciation. OT analysis revealed that onset clusters were mainly influenced by L1 ranking constraints whereas coda clusters were more influenced by universal Markedness constraints. OT indicated that the tendency to satisfy Markedness constraints over the Faithfulness constraints led the participants to use the above-mentioned simplification strategies.

Enhancing simulated prosthetic vision with deep learning–based scene simplification strategies

Enhancing simulated prosthetic vision with deep learning–based scene simplification strategies

Effect of a one-dimensional approach in LCA on the environmental life cycle impact of buildings: Multi-family case study in Flanders

The environmental impact of buildings is commonly quantified through life cycle assessment (LCA). Because of practical constraints (e.g. data limitations, timing, complexity), various simplifications are often made. However, the impact of certain simplifications is not clear. Due to the particular geometry of a building, the execution of renovation measures typically entails environmental impacts due to material and energy use at building envelope interfaces which are not considered in simplified LCAs. Hence, this paper examines the effect of a one-dimensional approach as simplification strategy on the environmental impact regarding material use and operational energy use for different renovation scenarios applied to a residential high-rise building. A simplified LCA is therefore compared with a detailed LCA that considers the real building design. First, the effect of linearly scaling the environmental impact based on a one square meter approach is confronted with the real building complexity. Then, the impact of neglecting thermal bridges on the operational energy use is analysed. Finally, both results are combined to evaluate the overall effect on the environmental life cycle impact. The simplifications entail an underestimation of the environmental material use, operational energy use and life cycle impact of 6–49%, 10–36% and 10–30%, respectively. The underestimation of the life cycle impact highly correlates with the operational energy use because of the significant contribution of the operational energy use to the environmental life cycle impact, namely 81–99%. As a result, the effect of simplifications concerning material use on the total life cycle impact is found to be negligible.

The applicability of mathematics in computational systems biology and its experimental relations

In 1966 Richard Levins argued that applications of mathematics to population biology faced various constraints which forced mathematical modelers to trade-off at least one of realism, precision, or generality in their approach. Much traditional mathematical modeling in biology has prioritized generality and precision in the place of realism through strategies of idealization and simplification. This has at times created tensions with experimental biologists. The past 20 years however has seen an explosion in mathematical modeling of biological systems with the rise of modern computational systems biology and many new collaborations between modelers and experimenters. In this paper I argue that many of these collaborations revolve around detail-driven modeling practices which in Levins’ terms trade-off generality for realism and precision. These practices apply mathematics by working from detailed accounts of biological systems, rather than from initially idealized or simplified representations. This is possible by virtue of modern computation. The form these practices take today suggest however Levins’ constraints on mathematical application no longer apply, transforming our understanding of what is possible with mathematics in biology. Further the engagement with realism and the ability to push realistic models in new directions aligns well with the epistemological and methodological views of experimenters, which helps explain their increased enthusiasm for biological modeling.

Energy Efficient Cross Layer MAC Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks in Remote Area Monitoring Applications

Sensor nodes are typically less mobile, much limited in capabilities, and more densely deployed than the traditional wired networks as well as mobile ad-hoc networks. General Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are designed with electro-mechanical sensors through wireless data communication. Nowadays the WSN has become ubiquitous. WSN is used in combination with Internet of Things and in many Big Data applications, it is used in the lower layer for data collection. It is deployed in combination with several high end networks. All the higher layer networks and application layer services depend on the low level WSN in the deployment site. So to achieve energy efficiency in the overall network some simplification strategies have to be carried out not only in the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer but also in the network and transport layers. An energy efficient algorithm for scheduling and clustering is proposed and described in detail. The proposed methodology clusters the nodes using a traditional yet simplified approach of hierarchically sorting the sensor nodes. Few important works on cross layer protocols for WSNs are reviewed and an attempt to modify their pattern has also been presented in this paper with results. Comparison with few prominent protocols in this domain has also been made. As a result of the comparison one would get a basic idea of using which type of scheduling algorithm for which type of monitoring applications.

REGIONAL TAX SERVICE QUALITY STRATEGY RIGHTS TO LAND AND BUILDING IN THE CITY OF BEKASI

The main problem in this research is that the service quality strategy of the Regional Tax on Acquisition of Land and Building Rights (BPHTB) in Bekasi City has not been effective. The research method used by researchers is descriptive analysis with this type of research is qualitative. Qualitative methods are chosen with the consideration that this method is expected to obtain real data and is able to study research problems in depth so that the expected results can be obtained. Based on the results of the analysis, that there are strategic factors that can improve the quality of local tax services for land and building rights acquisition fees in Bekasi City, namely structural development strategy factors, development or simplification strategies, infrastructure development strategies, cultural or cultural development strategies and development strategies. entrepreneurship However, in its implementation there are strategic factors that have not been running effectively, namely entrepreneurial development strategy factors, so that there are still problems faced related to improving the quality of local tax services for Acquisition of Land and Building Rights in Bekasi City. This of course also has not been able to provide the best way to provide quality public services, especially with regard to local tax services for Acquisition of Land and Building Rights in Bekasi City.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Dantrolene-Like Hydrazide and Hydrazone Analogues as Multitarget Agents for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Dantrolene, a drug used for the management of malignant hyperthermia, had been recently evaluated for prospective repurposing as multitarget agent for neurodegenerative syndromes, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, twenty‐one dantrolene‐like hydrazide and hydrazone analogues were synthesized with the aim of exploring structure‐activity relationships (SARs) for the inhibition of human monoamine oxidases (MAOs) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), two well‐established target enzymes for anti‐AD drugs. With few exceptions, the newly synthesized compounds exhibited selectivity toward MAO B over either MAO A or AChE, with the secondary aldimine 9 and phenylhydrazone 20 attaining IC50 values of 0.68 and 0.81 μM, respectively. While no general SAR trend was observed with lipophilicity descriptors, a molecular simplification strategy allowed the main pharmacophore features to be identified, which are responsible for the inhibitory activity toward MAO B. Finally, further in vitro investigations revealed cell protection from oxidative insult and activation of carnitine/acylcarnitine carrier as concomitant biological activities responsible for neuroprotection by hits 9 and 20 and other promising compounds in the examined series.

Discovery of Novel Small-Molecule Inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 Interaction via Structural Simplification Strategy.

Blockade of the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) interaction is currently the focus in the field of cancer immunotherapy, and so far, several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have achieved encouraging outcomes in cancer treatment. Despite this achievement, mAbs-based therapies are struggling with limitations including poor tissue and tumor penetration, long half-life time, poor oral bioavailability, and expensive production costs, which prompted a shift towards the development of the small-molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 pathways. Even though many small-molecule inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 interaction have been reported, their development lags behind the corresponding mAb, partly due to the challenges of developing drug-like small molecules. Herein, we report the discovery of a series of novel inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 interaction via structural simplification strategy by using BMS-1058 as a starting point. Among them, compound A9 stands out as the most promising candidate with excellent PD-L1 inhibitory activity (IC50 = 0.93 nM, LE = 0.43) and high binding affinity to hPD-L1 (KD = 3.64 nM, LE = 0.40). Furthermore, A9 can significantly promote the production of IFN-γ in a dose-dependent manner by rescuing PD-L1 mediated T-cell inhibition in Hep3B/OS-8/hPD-L1 and CD3-positive T cells co-culture assay. Taken together, these results suggest that A9 is a promising inhibitor of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and is worthy for further study.

A Digital Twin for Friction Prediction in Dynamic Rubber Applications with Surface Textures

Surface texturing is an effective method to reduce friction without the need to change materials. In this study, surface textures were transferred to rubber samples in the form of dimples, using a novel laser surface texturing (LST)—based texturing during moulding (TDM) production process, developed within the European Project MouldTex. The rubber samples were used to experimentally determine texture-induced friction variations, although, due to the complexity of manufacturing, only a limited amount was available. The tribological friction measurements were hence combined with an artificial intelligence (AI) technique, i.e., Reduced Order Modelling (ROM). ROM allows obtaining a virtual representation of reality through a set of numerical strategies for problem simplification. The ROM model was created to predict the friction outcome under different operating conditions and to find optimised dimple parameters, i.e., depth, diameter and distance, for friction reduction. Moreover, the ROM model was used to evaluate the impact on friction when manufacturing deviations on dimple dimensions were observed. These results enable industrial producers to improve the quality of their products by finding optimised textures and controlling nominal surface texture tolerances prior to the rubber components production.

The practice of simplifying texts in the teaching of Polish as a foreign language (formerly and today)

The aim of the article is to show that the practice of simplifying texts, referring to the concept of plain language, has long been present in the teaching of Polish as a foreign language. Nowadays, various strategies of text simplification are used for teaching Polish, the most useful of which are: simulation of original texts with the use of graphic materials (especially at levels A1 and A2), text development (by exemplification or paraphrasing) and the technique of text glossing (in the target or intermediary language). An analysis of old textbooks for learning Polish shows that the practice of modifying teaching texts has also been applied in the past. The transformation techniques used formerly concern both the global structure of the text and changes at the word, sentence and paragraph level.

Identification and optimization of 3-bromo-N'-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-4-methylbenzohydrazide derivatives as mTOR inhibitors that induce autophagic cell death and apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a worse prognosis than other types of breast cancer due to its special biological behavior and clinicopathological characteristics. TNBC cell proliferation and progression to metastasis can be suppressed by inducing cytostatic autophagy. mTOR is closely related to autophagy and is involved in protein synthesis, nutrient metabolism and activating mTOR promotes tumor growth and metastasis. In this paper, we adopted the strategy of structure simplification, aimed to look for novel small-molecule inhibitors of mTOR by pharmacophore-based virtual screening and biological activity determination. We found a lead compound with 3-bromo-N'-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-4-methylbenzohydrazide for rational drug design and structural modification, then studied its structure-activity relationship. After that, compound 7c with the best TNBC cells inhibitory activities and superior mTOR enzyme inhibitory activity was obtained. In addition, we found that compound 7c could induce autophagic cell death and apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468cell lines. In conclusion, these findings provide new clues for our 3-bromo-N'-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-4-methylbenzohydrazide derivatives, which are expected to become drug candidates for the treatment of TNBC in the future.

ПЕРЕКЛАД ТА МАНІПУЛЯЦІЯ

The article investigates the Ukrainian-German literary translation of the 1950s from the viewpoint of the sociology of translation (P. Bourdieu, S. Bassnett, N. Bachleitner) and the theory of rewriting and manipulation by A. Lefevere. Therefore, the emphasis is placed on the factors affecting approaches to translation, particularly ideology, patronage, poetics. Translation as rewriting is analysed based on short stories from the anthology “Aus dem Buch des Lebens. Ukrainische und estnische Novellen”, published in the GDR in 1951. Rewriting strategies are classified into two groups: a) strategies used in paratexts (foreword, comments, explanatory notes, information about the author, history of the Ukrainian culture and literature); b) strategies used by a translator in the main text: 1) simplification, 2) neutralization of regional and national flavour, 3) substitution of the Ukrainian flavour with the Russian one (russification of the work). As a result of the analysis, it can be concluded that the most frequent translation transformation encountered in the text is replacement of realia words, dialecticisms and colloquialisms with neutral lexemes (often hyperonyms), which is defined as neutralization strategy. It correlates with the simplification strategy, based on the omission of sentences and paragraphs, which are not desirable for translation, particularly textual elements with religious themes and Ukrainian realia. Substitution of the Ukrainian national flavour with the Russian one is mostly represented with the rendering of onyms (anthroponyms and toponyms) according to the norms of Russian phonetics, which marked the Ukrainian literature as part of the Russian cultural space. This kind of rewriting had the effect of German-speaking readers forming a corresponding impression of the Ukrainian culture.