Unique Sign Research Articles

Rūmī’s Verse at the Crossroads of Language and Music

AbstractThis article demonstrates how Rūmī has made use of the Iranian musical system and Persian classical prosody, two separate semiotic systems with overlapping forms and aesthetic principles, in order to create a hybrid semiotic system in his poetry. His poetic feat can be observed through a comparative analysis of the linguistic and musical components of his poems in the Divān-e Shams-e Tabrizi, used extensively in the sacred tradition of samāʿ as well as in Iranian musical performances. This essay shows how the systematic use of rhythm and music in versification reaches new heights in Rumi’s ghazals, where the combination of language and music gives birth to a transcendental mode of expression devised with the aim of expressing the ineffable Ultimate Truth. Rumi employed this unique sign system to communicate a mystical message that cannot be conveyed using ordinary language. His unparalleled means of expression, in direct relation with the mystic experience of wajd, is used to incarnate what Sufis call maʿnā (the archetypal meaning). These archetypal ideas cannot be understood through dialectic means of the intellect but can only be taken in by the heart of the mystic in a state of ecstasy.

Ovarian Hemangioma Presented as an Incidental Ovarian Mass: A Rare Case Report along with Literature Review

Vascular malformation tumors in the female genital tract, especially those arising in the ovary are uncommon with low morbidity. Ovarian hemangioma (OH) featured as a benign rare tumor occurs among adults and children with the age ranging from infancy till octogenarian. Moreover, it presents as an obscured landscape in the backdrop of other gynecologic issues, making hard accuracy perceiving an isolated diagnosis. Usually asymptomatic cases amid patients are being investigated, remaining in dormant phase for a long time and until simultaneously cohabiting with another primary pathology. Metrorrhagia, a dysfunction uterine bleeding, might be a unique sign or association with suprapubic abdominal pain may suggest a vascular ovarian hemangioma.

Cardiac Murmurs in Children: A Challenge For The Primary Care Physician.

Congenital heart disease is present in almost 1% of live births and despite current progress in prenatal screening a significant percentage has delayed diagnosis or remain undiagnosed. A cardiac murmur may be the first or unique clinical sign of congenital heart disease in childhood, however, less than 1% of auscultated murmurs are of an organic cause. Distinguishing between an innocent and a pathologic murmur can be challenging and the experience of the examiner is crucial for identifying the distinctive properties of an innocent murmur. Timely diagnosis of underlying cardiovascular pathology is of great significance so that prompt management is provided and morbidity or mortality are restricted. Of similar importance is the avoidance of unnecessary anxiety for the parents and unreasonable referrals to Paediatric Cardiologists. Indications for referral include a medical history suggestive of a cardiac abnormality, such as the presence of relevant symptoms, the identification of abnormal findings on clinical examination, auscultatory findings suggestive of an organic murmur, and very young patient age. ECG and a chest X-ray are not usually part of the diagnostic approach of a child with a cardiac murmur, as they do not increase the success rate of diagnosing heart disease, as compared to a detailed medical history accompanied by a thorough physical examination. In conclusion, the recognition of suspicious distinctive features of cardiac murmurs is crucial and requires skills based on sufficient training and experience.

Acute levodopa dosing around-the-clock ameliorates REM sleep without atonia in hemiparkinsonian rats

Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep without atonia (RSWA), a marker of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), is frequently comorbid with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although rodent models are commonly used for studying PD, the neurobiological and behavioral correlates of RBD remain poorly understood. Therefore, we developed a behavior-based criteria to identify RSWA in the hemiparkinsonian rat model of PD. Video recordings of rats were analyzed, to develop a criteria consisting of behavioral signs that occurred during polysomnographically confirmed epochs of sleep-wake stages. The sleep-slouch, a postural shift of the body or head caused only by gravity, was identified as a unique behavioral sign of REM sleep onset and was altered in hemiparkinsonian rats during RSWA. There was a significant correlation between the behavior-based criteria and polysomnograms for all sleep-wake stages in control but not hemiparkinsonian rats indicating a deterioration of sleep-wake architecture in parkinsonism. We then tested the efficacy of levodopa in ameliorating RSWA using intermittent and around-the-clock (ATC) dosing regimens. ATC levodopa dosing at 4 mg/kg for 48 h caused a significant reduction of RSWA as measured by polysomnography and the behavioral-based criteria along with an amelioration of forelimb motor deficits. Our findings show that the phenomenological correlates of RSWA can be reliably characterized in the hemiparkinsonian rat model. ATC levodopa administration ameliorates RSWA in this model without deleterious consequences to the overall sleep-wake architecture and therapeutic benefits for parkinsonian motor deficits. These findings suggest that further study may allow for the application of a similar approach to treat RBD in PD patients.

BIM-ORIENTED ALGORITHMIC RECONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING COMPONENTS FOR EXISTING HERITAGE

Abstract. This study is part of a more complex research aimed at establishing guidelines to simplify the digitalization process used to manage existing building heritage. Working in a BIM environment, this paper will present two different algorithms: a modelling algorithm, a data analysis algorithm, and relative applications in the digitalization of a contemporary building. All the archival data required for the digitalization process was collected and those in two-dimensional digital vector format have aroused particular interest because they enabled initiation of the reconstruction process of the BIM model. One of the two algorithms allowed us to identify recurrent elements in a CAD drawing, based on geometric 2D primitives. The final outcome of the first phase involves quadrilateral or circular surfaces and can be viewed in algorithmic environment. The next phase involves applying a unique coloured sign to the identified sections and then export them all in a BIM software. This tool produced unexpected positive results: the presence of a small coloured grid emphasized the discrepancies created between the two-dimensional drawings and the vertical elements. We were thus able to identify the objects with these inconsistencies: they were verified using accurate surveys and then corrected.

Realizing Room-Temperature Resonant Tunnel Magnetoresistance in Cr/Fe/MgAl2O4 Quasi-Quantum Well Structures.

The quantum well (QW) realizes new functionalities due to the discrete electronic energy levels formed in the well‐shaped potential. Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) combined with a quasi‐QW structure of Cr/ultrathin‐Fe/MgAl2O4(001)/Fe, in which the Cr quasi‐barrier layer confines Δ 1 up‐spin electrons to the Fe well, are prepared with perfectly lattice‐matched interfaces and atomic layer number control. Resonant peaks are clearly observed in the differential conductance of the MTJs due to the formation of QWs. Furthermore, enhanced tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) peaks at the resonant bias voltages are realized for the MTJs at room temperature, i.e., it is observed that TMR ratios at specific and even high bias‐voltages (V bias) are larger than zero‐bias TMR ratios for the MTJs with odd Fe atomic layers, in contrast to the earlier experimental studies. In addition, a new finding in this study is unique sign changes in the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) depending on the Fe thickness and V bias, which is interpreted as a signature of the QW formation of Δ1 symmetry electronic states. The present study suggests that the spin‐dependent resonant tunneling via the QWs formed in Cr/ultrathin‐Fe/MgAl2O4/Fe structures should open a new pathway to achieve a large TMR at practically high V bias.

Neural Sign Language Translation Based on Human Keypoint Estimation

We propose a sign language translation system based on human keypoint estimation. It is well-known that many problems in the field of computer vision require a massive dataset to train deep neural network models. The situation is even worse when it comes to the sign language translation problem as it is far more difficult to collect high-quality training data. In this paper, we introduce the KETI (Korea Electronics Technology Institute) sign language dataset, which consists of 14,672 videos of high resolution and quality. Considering the fact that each country has a different and unique sign language, the KETI sign language dataset can be the starting point for further research on the Korean sign language translation. Using the KETI sign language dataset, we develop a neural network model for translating sign videos into natural language sentences by utilizing the human keypoints extracted from the face, hands, and body parts. The obtained human keypoint vector is normalized by the mean and standard deviation of the keypoints and used as input to our translation model based on the sequence-to-sequence architecture. As a result, we show that our approach is robust even when the size of the training data is not sufficient. Our translation model achieved 93.28% (55.28%, respectively) translation accuracy on the validation set (test set, respectively) for 105 sentences that can be used in emergency situations. We compared several types of our neural sign translation models based on different attention mechanisms in terms of classical metrics for measuring the translation performance.

Unusual foreign body related ultrasound features of breast

Purpose to show the variety of imaging findings of unusual foreign body related Ultrasound features of Breast. Materials & Methods We retrospectively collected the data and analyzed Ultrasound features and Mammography findings. We correlated Ultrasound images with surgical specimen and histo-pathological findings. Results We collected total seven cases of unusual foreign body related breast lesions. Age range was from 38 years to 72 years. Two cases of Sparganosis and two cases of implant rupture, one case of silicone granuloma, one case of oriental herbal metallic component mimicking microcalcification in fiboglandular tissue and one case of charcoal granuloma of breast. The parasite, Sparganosis related breast lesion is very rare. But the feature is very characteristic. Tubular, tortuous hypoechoic lesion is very unique sign of Sparganosis. Silicone granuloma shows hyperechoic mass with fine internal echoes as snowstorm appearnace. Oriental herbal metallic component is mimicking microcalcification. Medical history of breast abscess with treatment using oriental herbal attachment, 25-45 years ago is very useful for diagnosis. The reason hyperdense dots like microcalcification in mammography is that the oriental herb contains Ag++ component. Charcoal granuloma is difficult to be diagnosed pre-operatively. So medical history which got tattooing on breast for operation is very helpful. Increased echogenic nodular lesion involving premammarry layer is seen in Charcoal granuloma. The history of breast augmentation can be given much information to be diagnosed pre-operatively. We may search for the silicone related lesion in the breast. Internal echoes within fluid collected bag is seen in ruptured implant case. Conclusion the Knowledge of various image features of unusual foreign body related pathologic breast lesions can be very useful for accurate diagnosis and guiding treatment.

Diagnostic accuracy of a novel ‘winking coronary angiographic sign’ in patients presenting with ventricular septal rupture complicating acute myocardial infarction

Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is an uncommon but potentially lethal complication of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Its prompt recognition is essential to permit timely institution of corrective measures. The present study was undertaken to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a novel and unique angiographic sign, the ‘winking coronary sign (WCS)’, for recognizing post-MI VSR. The WCS is defined as partial transient occlusion of the infarct-related culprit artery overlying the site of VSR during ventricular systole with near normal filling in the diastole. A total of 56 patients with post-MI VSR (mean age 60.9 ± 9.9 years, 75% male) were compared with 73 age- and sex-matched acute MI patients without VSR. The extent of coronary artery disease was not different between the two groups, but higher number of patients in the VSR group had thrombolysis in MI grade 3 flow (57.1% vs 34.5%, P 0.01). The WCS was observed in 67.9% of the patients with VSR but in none of the patients without VSR (p < 0.0001), yielding a sensitivity of 67.9% and specificity of 100% for this sign for diagnosing underlying VSR. This demonstrates the potential utility of the WCS for diagnosing VSR in patients in whom the VSR has developed in the time frame between the echocardiography and angiography or has been missed during the initial clinical and/or echocardiographic evaluation.

Cyclic changes in sensations to painful stimuli in migraine patients.

Migraine is characterized by cycling phases (interictal, preictal, ictal and postictal) with differing symptoms, while in chronic tension type headache pain phases are fluctuating. The question we asked is whether these phases are associated with changes in parameters of somatosensation and axon-reflex erythema. Patients with episodic migraine and chronic tension type headache were examined psychophysically in the interictal, preictal and ictal phase and healthy subjects on five different test days. Thresholds and suprathreshold ratings of pressure and electrical pain were assessed on three different regions of the head. In migraine patients and in healthy controls, electrically induced axon-reflex erythema was measured in the area of the first trigeminal branch. All migraine patients filled out questionnaires about prodromal symptoms at every visit. The axon-reflex erythema was always larger in patients with migraine in contrast to healthy subjects. The pressure pain threshold was lower in migraine patients and chronic tension type headache in comparison to healthy subjects. Electrical pain thresholds did not differ between headache patients and healthy subjects and showed no changes between the phases. However, suprathreshold pain ratings showed less habituation solely in the preictal phase of migraine. The number of prodromal symptoms in migraine patients was increased in the preictal and ictal phase. Reduced habituation was the unique sign of the preictal phase in migraine patients, independently of prodromal symptoms, whereas a larger axon-reflex erythema and higher pressure pain sensitivity are constitutional and non-phase dependent properties of migraine. Reduced inhibitory mechanisms in the preictal phase may contribute to trigger headache attacks in migraine.

NASI TUMPENG, A WAY TO CONVEY THE MESSAGE THROUGH MEANINGFUL SIGNS

As a country with a very large area, the sea of Indonesia consists of 40% out of its entire territory. Historically, Indonesian staple food was based on its geographical areas, either surrounded by seas or by mountains. However, through its development, rice has currently become the number one staple food for most of Indonesian people. Furthermore, this type of staple food has been improved and processed into various edible food. The most popular one is tumpeng.Based on its form and its content, tumpeng is considered unique and exclusive. Tumpeng is basically made of cooked rice, named nasi in its origin language of Indonesia. Then, the rice is placed into a winnowing tray in order to make it conical. Side dishes, such as fishes and vegetables, can be laid down arouand the rice. The side dishes surrounding the rice make tumpeng incredibly attractive, beautiful, and neat.The aim of tumpeng is basically to celebrate momentous events, such as birthdays, vows, gratefulness, or lucid dreams. The ceremony is started with prayer, then slicing the tumpeng in order to be divided equally to all attendees. Based on these steps, Indonesian people have great sense about tumpeng. They assume that tumpeng has a unique sign which there are also stronger signs and deeper meaning within.

Christian Martyrdom Never Expires: Some Theological and Ethical Aspects of Obedience usque ad sanguinem

Both in the past and today an act of bearing witness to faith in God through martyrdom has been a unique sign and testimony of love for Christ who himself was obedient to the Father usque ad mortem. It is at the same time a clear judgment against those cultures, which acknowledge odium fidei. In his moral encyclical Veritatis Splendor John Paul II points to several arguments in order to emphasize that the way of martyrdom has lost none of its relevance and significance for Christians nowadays. The Pope’s claim is grounded on the fact that “faith possesses a moral content” and so it is false to separate faith (credenda) from moral life (agenda) of those who believe. Consequently, in particular circumstances Christians are called to be ready to lay their lives both for love of God and acceptance of his commandments. Through imitating their Lord usque ad sanguinem his disciples demonstrate and defend their human dignity received from the Creator, the holiness of God’s law as well as the holiness of the Church.

»Sacramentum hoc magnum est.«

The sacrament of marriage is the foundation of Christian family from which it receives special strength to become a place of grace for society and the world. Understanding marriage exclusively as the freedom of married partners corrodes the seriousness of marital love from within, which becomes weak against even the slightest challenges. In the background of such an understanding lies the glorification of individual’s ego, which entails a negative attitude towards the traditional understanding of Christian marriage. The article shows that the celebration of the sacrament of marriage, which includes all the good and noble that a culture has introduced as a sign of the social and legal importance of marriage, places the nature of marriage in a completely new sacramental and sacred context. This horizon reveals an essential internal connection of marriage with all sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist. Continually strengthened by the Eucharist, the sacramental grace of marriage becomes active and fruitful not only in the form of eros, but mostly as an agape, as love that invites a person to die to themselves in order to truly realize oneself in marriage and family communion. The article seeks to help Christian spouses in modern temptations, to cooperate more seriously with the grace of the sacrament of marriage, with full awareness of the theological identity of a Christian family, thus becoming a unique and indispensable sign of Christ’s mystical love for the Church.

Switched at Birth: A Game Changer for All Audiences

Switched at Birth: A Game Changer for All Audiences

Incidental spade-shaped FDG uptake in the left ventricular apex suggests apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Apical wall thickening with an "ace-of-spades" configuration is a unique sign of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (AHCM). We investigated spade-shaped FDG uptake around the left ventricular apex (SSUA) incidentally found in routine oncological FDG PET. Cases showing SSUA were selected based on retrospective review. The pattern or intensity of SSUA was compared with the results of electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiography, and stress myocardial perfusion SPECT. The diagnosis of ACHM was based on the presence of giant negative T wave in ECG, thickness of spade-shaped hypertrophy in the apex in echocardiography, and increased tracer uptake in the apex in rest SPECT. Among the 34 patients in 36 PET scans showing SSUA, SSUA was weak in 17 and intense in 17. There were isolated SSUA (n = 29) and SSUA with diffuse or other focal left ventricular uptake (n = 5). Three patients with the latter uptake pattern turned out to have coexistence of AHCM and asymmetric septal hypertrophy. Of the 16 SSUA-positive patients who underwent echocardiography, 13 (81%) were diagnosed as AHCM and the remaining 3 were regarded as borderline AHCM (apical wall thickness, 14-15mm). There were 16 patients with SSUA who also underwent PET scans after the study period among which 11 (69%) had persistent SSUA in the follow-up PET. In the remaining 5, follow-up PET scans showed diffuse left ventricular uptake and SSUA was barely visible. The intensity of SSUA was significantly or marginally associated with giant negative T wave (p < 0.01), apical asynergy (p = 0.08), and impaired coronary flow reserve (p < 0.05). There were no other factors correlated with the pattern or intensity of SSUA. SSUA incidentally found in oncological FDG PET appeared to be associated with AHCM, especially in ischemic conditions. The moderate repeatability of SSUA was probably due to obscurity by physiological uptake.

Are the classic signs of infection in concordance with results from percutaneous aspiration to diagnose infection in pressure injuries?

To explore the concordance between the presence of classic signs of infection and the positive diagnosis identified by the microbiological culture of fluid collected by percutaneous aspiration. The classic signs of infection are commonly applied in some contexts to confirm infection in pressure injuries, but its accuracy has been questioned in chronic wounds. Little is known about the concordance of this method with others, such as the deep fluid culture from pressure injuries collected by percutaneous aspiration. Multicentre, cross-sectional observational study. Pressure injuries of patients from four health centres were analysed. Three types of data were recorded between February 2011 and March 2012: i) socio-demographic and clinical data, ii) number and type of infection signs and iii) microbiological results of deep fluid culture from injuries. The concordance was calculated with the kappa index to find a possible concordance between both methods. On 40·2% (n=47) of injuries, two or more classic signs of infection or purulent exudate as unique sign were present, while the total positive results in the microbiological cultures were 50·4% (n=59). The disparity of positive results, depending on the location and the stage of the pressure injury and the method applied, suggested a poor concordance between methods. The -0·092 kappa index confirmed the non-concordance of the analysed methods. The tandem strategy is not useful to indicate an infection in pressure injuries. We advocate exploring other signs of infection and the adoption of other more reliable signs together with the classic signs of infection.

Przejście Izraelitów przez Jordan (Joz 3–4) w interpretacji patrystycznej

First of all it is presented a brief reflection on the typological value of the person and work of Joshua in the ancient Church. Christians were reading the Book of Joshua as a foreshadowing of the saving work of Jesus Christ, accomplished on the cross. Joshua replaces Moses as the lawgiver, so the order of grace in Jesus Saviour replaces the ancient order of the Law. On the basis of homonymy Joshua is associated with Christ. He was the one who would lead God’s people into the Promised Land and and he gave to them the true inheritance. Fathers conceived of the history of Israel as a unique sign announcing the Christian life. For the Christian interpretation, not only the passage through the Red Sea was a typological form of baptism, but so it was also the Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan River. It was the gateway to the Promised Land. Aver it is analyzed the problem of topographical location of Gilgal. The location fits well with the biblical narratives relating the crossing of Jordan River by Joshua and the parting of the waters by both Elijah and his successor Elisha. The Jordan River was tied with the baptism of the Saviour. The typological reading of the biblical narrative in question takes on sacramental and Christological characteristics. Origen of Alexandria saw the divided waters of the Jordan as a symbol of two kinds of people who seek Christian baptism: those who turn away from their old lives and remain in God’s grace and those who returned to their old sinful habits. The early Christian writers saw the other dimensions of the narrative of Joshua 3–4, that it is ecclesial, sacramental, moral and spiritual. The Fathers of the Church saw the memorial stones in Gilgal as a foreshadow of Jesus' twelve Apostles. They were called to become the ministers of Christian baptism and the foundation stones of the Church. In it is offered instead the forgiveness of sins, the knowledge of the truth, the entry in the new earth, God's grace, the legacy of heavenly goods, union with Christ.

Male patients presenting with rapidly progressive puberty associated with malignant tumors.

In males, precocious puberty (PP) is defined as the development of secondary sexual characteristics before age 9 years. PP is usually idiopathic; though, organic abnormalities including tumors are more frequently found in male patients with PP. However, advanced puberty in male also can be an important clinical manifestation in tumors. We report 2 cases of rapidly progressive puberty in males, each associated with a germ-cell tumor. First, an 11-year-old boy presented with mild fever and weight loss for 1 month. Physical examination revealed a pubertal stage of G3P3 with 10-mL testes. Investigations revealed advanced bone age (16 years) with elevated basal luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels. An anterior mediastinal tumor was identified by chest radiography and computed tomography, and elevated α-fetoprotein (AFP) and β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels were noted. Histopathologic analysis confirmed a yolk-sac tumor. Second, a 12-year-old boy presented with diplopia, polydipsia, and polyuria for 4 months. Physical examination revealed a pubertal stage of G3P3 with 8-mL testes. Bone age was advanced (16 years) and laboratory tests indicated panhypopituitarism with elevated testosterone level. A mixed germ-cell tumor was diagnosed with elevated AFP and β-hCG levels. Of course, these patients also have other symptoms of suspecting tumors, however, rapidly progressive puberty can be the more earlier screening sign of tumors. Therefore, in male patients with accelerated or advanced puberty, malignancy should be considered, with evaluation of tumor markers. In addition, advanced puberty in male should be recognized more widely as a unique sign of neoplasm.

Autocorrelation descriptor improvements for QSAR: 2DA_Sign and 3DA_Sign.

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is a branch of computer aided drug discovery that relates chemical structures to biological activity. Two well established and related QSAR descriptors are two- and three-dimensional autocorrelation (2DA and 3DA). These descriptors encode the relative position of atoms or atom properties by calculating the separation between atom pairs in terms of number of bonds (2DA) or Euclidean distance (3DA). The sums of all values computed for a given small molecule are collected in a histogram. Atom properties can be added with a coefficient that is the product of atom properties for each pair. This procedure can lead to information loss when signed atom properties are considered such as partial charge. For example, the product of two positive charges is indistinguishable from the product of two equivalent negative charges. In this paper, we present variations of 2DA and 3DA called 2DA_Sign and 3DA_Sign that avoid information loss by splitting unique sign pairs into individual histograms. We evaluate these variations with models trained on nine datasets spanning a range of drug target classes. Both 2DA_Sign and 3DA_Sign significantly increase model performance across all datasets when compared with traditional 2DA and 3DA. Lastly, we find that limiting 3DA_Sign to maximum atom pair distances of 6Å instead of 12Å further increases model performance, suggesting that conformational flexibility may hinder performance with longer 3DA descriptors. Consistent with this finding, limiting the number of bonds in 2DA_Sign from 11 to 5 fails to improve performance.

The Role of Cultural Sign in Cultivating the Dialogical Self: The Case ofThe Ox-Herding Pictures

Based on a newly conceptualized notion of the dialogical self, achieved by integrating Bakhtin's philosophical anthropology and Karmiloff-Smith's Representational Redescription model into the existing notion proposed by Hermans and colleagues, the present study focuses on examining the role of The Ox-Herding Pictures in cultivating the dialogical self. Methodologically, this study adopted the cultural-historical perspective and microdevelopmental approach of Vygotsky. In-depth case studies consisting of six interrelated phases of interviews and written responses were conducted. The results show that such a unique cultural sign had different mediation effects upon subjects of different backgrounds. Two examples of considerable mediation effects are presented in more detail. A hermeneutical examination of this cultural object switched to a kind of self-representation in all cases, while the self-representation of all subjects developed from a less explicit to a more explicit level. Development of the dialogical self was characterized by its diversity in form and richness regarding content.