bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the Migration Potential through Microperforated Membranes of CD146+ GMSC Population versus Heterogeneous GMSC Population
Authors: Al Bahrawy Mohamed
Published: March 2021

Background. Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is a powerful modality for periodontal regeneration, but it blocks the periosteum and gingival stem cells (GMSCs), from supporting periodontal wound by the nutrients, growth factors, and regenerative cells. The microperforated membrane considered a rewarding solution for this major drawback; GMSCs can migrate through a GTR microperforated membrane toward a chemoattractant, with the blocking of other unfavorable epithelial cells and fibroblasts. In the absence of a sole marker for MSC, a homogeneous population of GMSC is difficult to isolate; using CD146 as confirmatory markers for MSC identification, testing the behaviour of such homogeneous population in migration dynamics was the question to answer in this study. Materials and Methods. GMSCs from healthy crown lengthening tissue was isolated (

n
=
3

), its stem cell nature was confirmed, CD146 and CD271 markers were confirmatory markers to confirm homogenous stem cell population, and magnetic sorting was used to isolate GMSC with CD146 markers. A homogenous CD146 population was compared to heterogeneous GMSCs of origin; the population doubling time and MTT test of the two populations were compared. Migration dynamics were examined in a transwell migration chamber through 8 μm perforated polycarbonic acid membrane, and 0.4 μm and 3 μm perforated collagen-coated polytetrafluoroethylene membrane (PTFE) and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) were the chemoattractants used in the lower compartment to induce cell migration, were incubated in a humidified environment for 24 hours, then migrated the cell in the lower compartment examined by a light and electron microscope. Results. GMSCs fulfilled all the minimal criteria of stem cells and showed low signal 10% for CD146 on average and extremely low signal 2% for CD271 on average. Magnetic sorting optimized the signal of CD146 marker to 55%. GMSC CD146 population showed nonstatistically significant shorter population doubling time. CD146 homogeneous population migrated cell numbers were statistically significant compared to the heterogeneous population, through 0.4 μm and 3 μm perforated collagen membrane and 8 μm perforated polycarbonate membrane. Scanning electron microscopy proved the migration of the cells. Conclusions. A subset of the isolated GMSC showed a CD146 marker, which is considered a dependable confirmatory marker for the stem cells. In terms of GMSC migration through the microperforated membrane, a homogeneous CD146 population migrates more statistically significant than a heterogeneous GMSC population.
Cucurbitacin B as a Chinese Medicine Monomer Inhibits Cell Proliferation, Invasion, and Migration in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Authors: Xu Ning , Zhang Bei-Bei , Yang Meng-Zhe , Bai Xian-Yu , Liang Zhen-Qiang , Cheng Nan-Nan , Lv An-Qiao , Yang Jian-Yu , Guo Xing-Zhe , Jiao Ai-Jun , Huang Yuan-Jiao
Published: March 2021

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant epithelial tumor in southern China. Cucurbitacin B (CuB) is a tetracyclic triterpene compound isolated from Cucurbitaceae plants which has anti-inflammation and antitumor properties and low toxic side effects. In this study, we use a series of wet experiments and network pharmacology analyses to explore the effects of CuB on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of highly metastatic 5-8F NPC cells. The findings suggest that CuB inhibits NPC cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner and that cancer migration and invasion abilities decrease significantly after CuB treatments. Mechanistically, CuB could increase the proportion of cells in the G2/M phase and reduce it in the G0/G1 phase, leading to apoptosis. The network pharmacological analyses and wet experiments uncovered that the MAPK pathway is a central target by pathway enrichment analysis, affecting the fate of cancer cells and influencing proliferation and apoptosis. Taken together, our study reveals that CuB could effectively inhibit 5-8F NPC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via cell cycle blockage and cell apoptosis. Collectively, we have shown that CuB is a promising anti-NPC candidate compound for future preclinical study.
A Test Cases Generation Method for Industrial Control Protocol Test
Authors: Shang Wenli , Zhang Guanyu , Wang Tianyu , Zhang Rui
Published: March 2021

The coverage of test cases is an important indicator for the security and robustness test of industrial control protocols. It is an important research topic to complete the test with less use cases. Taking Modbus protocol as an example, a calculation method of case similarity and population dispersion based on weight division is proposed in this paper. The method can describe the similarity of use cases and the dispersion degree of individuals in the population more accurately. Genetic algorithm is used to generate and optimize test cases, and individual similarity and population dispersion are used as fitness functions of genetic algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed method can increase the population dispersion by 3.45% compared with the conventional methods and effectively improve the coverage of test cases.
Cyclic Behavior and Modeling of Bolted Glulam Joint with Cracks Loaded Parallel to Grain
Authors: Zhang Jing , Liu Zhi-Fang , Xu Yong , Zhang Mai-Li , Mo Liu-Cheng
Published: March 2021

Under varying humidity and temperature conditions, with the constraint of metal fasteners to wood shrinkage, cracks along the bolt lines are generally observed in bolted glulam joints. A three‐dimensional (3D) numerical model was established in software package ANSYS to investigate the cyclic behavior of bolted glulam joints with local cracks. A reversed cyclic loading was applied in the parallel‐to‐grain direction. The accuracy of numerical simulation was proved by comparison with full‐scale experimental results. Typical failure modes were reproduced in the numerical analysis with the application of wood foundation zone material model and cohesive zone material model. The effect of crack number and length on the hysteretic behavior of bolted glulam joints was quantified by a parametric study. It was found that initial cracks impair the peak capacity and elastic stiffness of bolted glulam joints significantly. More decrease in capacity was observed in joints with more cracks, and longer cracks affect elastic stiffness more dramatically. Moreover, with the existence of initial cracks, the energy dissipated and equivalent viscous damping ratio of bolted joints are reduced by 24% and 13.3%, respectively.
Rapid Determination of Pemetrexed Concentration and Distribution in Human Breast Cancer Cells (McF-7) Based on UHPLC-MS/MS
Authors: Zhang Mengwei , Wang Zhipeng , Zhang Qiqiang , Ye Qing , Xu Fengjing , Cui Lili , Liu Yanping , Gao Shouhong , Chen Wansheng , Liu Yan
Published: March 2021

Cell is the basic unit of structure and function of all living bodies. The study of intracellular drug concentration distribution is helpful to understand the drug efficacy of target site. Pemetrexed is a new multitarget folate antagonist with pyrrolidine group as its core structure. An ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for rapid quantification of pemetrexed concentration in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Sample pretreatment was completed by protein precipitation using methanol. The optimized chromatographic separation was achieved on a ZORBAX SB-C18 column (2.1 × 150 mm, 3.5 μm). The column was equilibrated with initial mobile phase and eluted under gradient phases containing 0.1% formic acid in water (phase A) and in acetonitrile (phase B). The gradient program started at 5% B, increased to 95% B in 2 min, and then held at 95% B for 1.5 min. The linear range of pemetrexed in cells and nucleus was 2.0–200.0 ng/mL, while in the medium sample it was 50.0–5000.0 ng/ml, and the correlation coefficients were all greater than 0.99. The recovery was 47.50–67.55% (2.0–200.0 ng/mL) and 82.72–97.15% (50.0–5000.0 ng/mL), and the matrix effect was 98.10–100.62% (2.0–200.0 ng/mL) and 89.78–97.65% (50.0–5000.0 ng/mL). Interday precision and intraday precision (RSD%) were less than 15.0% (for LLOQ, less than 20%), and accuracy (RE%) was within ±15%; the deviation of stability was within ±15%, all meeting the requirements of biological sample analysis. The results of intracellular samples showed that the concentration of pemetrexed reached its peak at 3 h after administration. The concentration of pemetrexed in the nucleus continued to increase 2 h after administration and may have reached the maximum concentration at 6 h.
Research on Coal and Rock Type Recognition Based on Mechanical Vision
Authors: Zhang Qiang , Gu Jieying , Liu Junming
Published: March 2021

In order to identify different kinds of coal, rock, and gangue, the FPV integrated image transmission camera is used to collect images of 6 types of coal, 8 types of rocks, and 2 types of coal gangue, and the images are processed based on the two‐dimensional discrete wavelet transform (2D‐DWT) based on the steerable pyramid decomposition (SPD). The maximum likelihood estimation method is used to estimate the parameters, and, the coal and rock types are judged by comparing the similarity of each image. The results show the following: (1) in the eight kinds of rocks, the recognition accuracy of shale and limestone is 90%, that of anorthosite is 95%, and those of other rocks are 100%; (2) the accuracy of comprehensive identification of coal, rock, and gangue is 93%, the comprehensive of coal and gangue is 78%, and the rock classification is 97%; (3) the identification time of 6 types of coal samples, 8 types of rock samples, and 2 types of coal gangue samples are in the range of 2 s∼3 s, which is far less than 10 s, which can meet the requirements of coal and rock identification in terms of recognition speed; and (4) according to 20 groups of data, the range, variance, and standard deviation of the same coal gangue sample meet the accuracy requirements of coal and rock identification. The identification method provides an effective method to improve the efficiency of coal separation, effectively determine the distribution of coal and rock, and timely adjust the cutting height of shearer drum and the operation parameters of various fully mechanized mining equipment, so as to improve the recovery rate of coal resources.
Development of a Territorial Planning Model of Wind and Photovoltaic Energy Plants for Self‐Consumption as a Low Carbon Strategy
Authors: Santana-Sarmiento Francisco , Velázquez-Medina Sergio
Published: March 2021

Energy self‐consumption is one of the strategies used for the optimization of renewable energy integration in electrical systems within a framework of sustainable energy policy development. Renewable energy self‐consumption additionally contributes to the promotion of distributed generation. The aim of the present study is to develop a hybrid territorial planning model for the siting of areas suitable for the joint exploitation of wind and solar energy targeted principally at self‐consumption. The methodology employed was based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information systems (GIS), and the general area considered was the island of Gran Canaria (Spain). This island has an isolated electrical system. The case study involved locating areas close to populated settlements which are generally cut off from areas commonly marked out for large‐scale wind and solar energy exploitation. The areas located with the model were differentiated according to the municipality they were in. The model that has been developed can be applied to any territory. The results obtained with the model can then be incorporated into territorial planning documents and/or national and regional and/or municipal files with the aim of optimizing the integration of renewable energy for self‐consumption and advancing distributed electrical energy systems.
Use of Different Natural Products to Control Growth of Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles in Green Solvent Emulsion, Characterization, and Their Photocatalytic Application
Authors: Tilahun Bekele Eneyew , Gonfa Bedasa Abdisa , Sabir Fedlu Kedir
Published: March 2021

Water, one of the crucial and the pillar resources to every living thing, could be polluted day to day by different causes such as expansion in industrialization, rapid increment in population size, the threat of climate, and growth of urbanization. The existence of a number of organic dyes, detergents, and pesticides from industrial effluents could lead to severe diseases and even to the death of human beings. Currently, remediation of those hazardous organic contaminants using semiconductor metal oxide catalysts has received extensive attention in recent years. Among the numerous nanometal oxides, titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) have been well known as a significant photocatalytic material due to their suitable physiochemical behaviors such as stability, conductivity, high surface area to volume ratio, structure, and porosity nature at the nanoscale level. TiO2 semiconductor nanoparticles could be synthesized via several physiochemical approaches; among those, the biogenic technique is the most selective one which involves the synthesis of NPs using different templates. Biogenic synthesis of nanoparticles is an environmentally friendly protocol that involves the use of different parts and types of biogenic sources such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, virus, and green plants or the byproducts of their metabolism, which act as both reducing and stabilizing agents. TiO2 NPs obtained via the biogenic method provide a potential application for the degradation of organic dyes and other pollutants in wastewater. This method of synthesis of NPs has been given a great attention by researchers due to their nontoxicity, low cost, environmental friendliness, the usage of green solvents, and simplicity of the process. This review focuses on summarizing the synthesis of TiO2 NPs using various biogenic sources, characterization, and their photocatalytic applications for the degradation of different wastes and organic dyes from polluted water.
A Study on the Heterogeneity Characteristics of Geological Controls on Coalbed Methane Accumulation in Gujiao Coalbed Methane Field, Xishan Coalfield, China
Authors: Yan Taotao , He Shan , Bai Yadong , He Zhiyong , Liu Dameng , Zeng Fangui , Chen Xiaozhen , Fu Xinyu
Published: March 2021

Commercial exploration and exploitation of coalbed methane (CBM) in Gujiao coalbed methane (CBM) field, Xishan coalfield, have rapidly increased in recent decades. The Gujiao CBM field has shown strong gas distribution heterogeneity, low gas content, and wide distribution of wells with low production. To better understand the geological controlling mechanism on gas distribution heterogeneity, the coal reservoir evolution history and CBM accumulation process have been studied on the base of numerical simulation work. The burial history of coal reservoir can be classified into six stages: shallowly buried stage; deeply buried stage; uplifting stage; short-term tectonic subsidence stage; large-scale uplifting stage; and sustaining uplifting and structural inversion stage. Mostly, coal seams have experienced two-time thermal metamorphisms with twice hydrocarbon-generation processes in this area, whereas in the southwest part, the coal seams in there suffered three-time thermal metamorphisms and hydrocarbon-generation processes. The critical tectonic events of the Indosinian, Yanshanian, and Himalayan orogenies affect different stages of the CBM reservoir accumulation evolution process. The Indosinian orogeny mainly controls the primary CBM generation. The Yanshanian orogeny dominates the second and third gas generation and migration processes. The Himalayan orogeny mainly affects the gas dissipation process and current CBM distribution heterogeneity.
The Anomaly- and Signature-Based IDS for Network Security Using Hybrid Inference Systems
Authors: Einy Sajad , Oz Cemil , Navaei Yahya Dorostkar
Published: March 2021

With the expansion of communication in today’s world and the possibility of creating interactions between people through communication networks regardless of the distance dimension, the issue of creating security for the data and information exchanged has received much attention from researchers. Various methods have been proposed for this purpose; one of the most important methods is intrusion detection systems to quickly detect intrusions into the network and inform the manager or responsible people to carry out an operational set to reduce the amount of damage caused by these intruders. The main challenge of the proposed intrusion detection systems is the number of erroneous warning messages generated and the low percentage of accurate detection of intrusions in them. In this research, the Suricata IDS/IPS is deployed along with the NN model for the metaheuristic’s manual detection of malicious traffic in the targeted network. For the metaheuristic-based feature selection, the neural network, and the anomaly-based detection, the fuzzy logic is used in this research paper. The latest stable version of Kali Linux 2020.3 is used as an attacking system for web applications and different types of operating systems. The proposed method has achieved 96.111% accuracy for detecting network intrusion.
Identification of a Potential PPAR-Related Multigene Signature Predicting Prognosis of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Xu Wenfang , Chen Zhen , Liu Gang , Dai Yuping , Xu Xuanfu , Ma Duan , Liu Lei
Published: March 2021

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and part of their target genes have been reported to be related to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The prognosis of HCC is not optimistic, and more accurate prognostic markers are needed. This study focused on discovering potential prognostic markers from the PPAR-related gene set. The mRNA data and clinical information of HCC were collected from TCGA and GEO platforms. Univariate Cox and lasso Cox regression analyses were used to screen prognostic genes of HCC. Three genes (MMP1, HMGCS2, and SLC27A5) involved in the PPAR signaling pathway were selected as the prognostic signature of HCC. A formula was established based on the expression values and multivariate Cox regression coefficients of selected genes, that was,

risk
 
score
=
0.1488
∗
expression
 
value
 
of
 
M
M
P
1
+

−
0.0393

∗
expression
 
value
 
of
 
H
M
G
C
S
2
+

−
0.0479

∗
expression
 
value
 
of
 
S
L
C
27
A
5

. The prognostic ability of the three-gene signature was assessed in the TCGA HCC dataset and verified in three GEO sets (GSE14520, GSE36376, and GSE76427). The results showed that the risk score based on our signature was a risk factor with a HR (hazard ratio) of 2.72 (

95
%
CI
 

Confidence
 
Interval

=
1.87
~
3.95

,

p
<
0.001

) for HCC survival. The signature could significantly (

p
<
0.0001

) distinguish high-risk and low-risk patients with poor prognosis for HCC. In addition, we further explored the independence and applicability of the signature with other clinical indicators through multivariate Cox analysis (

p
<
0.001

) and nomogram analysis (

C
‐
index
=
0.709

). The above results indicate that the combination of MMP1, HMGCS2, and SLC27A5 selected from the PPAR signaling pathway could effectively, independently, and applicatively predict the prognosis of HCC. Our research provided new insights to the prognosis of HCC.
Joint Strategy of Dynamic Ordering and Pricing for Competing Perishables with Q‐Learning Algorithm
Authors: Zheng Jiangbo , Gan Yanhong , Liang Ying , Jiang Qingqing , Chang Jiatai
Published: March 2021

We use Machine Learning (ML) to study firms’ joint pricing and ordering decisions for perishables in a dynamic loop. The research assumption is as follows: at the beginning of each period, the retailer prices both the new and old products and determines how many new products to order, while at the end of each period, the retailer decides how much remaining inventory should be carried over to the next period. The objective is to determine a joint pricing, ordering, and disposal strategy to maximize the total expected discounted profit. We establish a decision model based on Markov processes and use the Q‐learning algorithm to obtain a near‐optimal policy. From numerical analysis, we find that (i) the optimal number of old products carried over to the next period depends on the upper quantitative bound for old inventory; (ii) the optimal prices for new products are positively related to potential demand but negatively related to the decay rate, while the optimal prices for old products have a positive relationship with both; and (iii) ordering decisions are unrelated to the quantity of old products. When the decay rate is low or the variable ordering cost is high, the optimal orders exhibit a trapezoidal decline as the quantity of new products increases.
In Situ Frost‐Heaving Characteristics of Shallow Layer of Soil Slopes in Intermittently Frozen Region Based on PFC3D
Authors: Ke Yunbin , Que Yun , Fu Yuanshuai , Jiang Zhenliang , Easa Said , Chen Yanyu
Published: March 2021

The in situ frost‐heaving (FH) process and characteristics of the shallow layer of a residual soil slope in the intermittently frozen zone were simulated by a modified three‐dimensional particle flow code (PFC3D) model, of which the mesoscopic parameters of soil and ice particles were calibrated through the indoor experiments. In this model, the in situ FH process was gradually achieved by expanding the volume of ice particles (divided into 24 times of expansion), and the process was terminated when the monitored porosity was stable. These countermeasures avoided the stress accumulation and effectively realized the simulation of the in situ FH process. The results found that the displacement occurred firstly and got the largest final value at the surface angle (SA) under the in situ FH effect, followed by that at the foot, and it gradually extended to the interior based on these two regions. The vertical tension was present at the SA, and the major force type in the lateral interlayer was pressure. In addition, the FH effect seemed to be strongly related to the frozen depth, and a sliding surface was found in a steeper slope. Finally, the smaller stone appeared to be favorable to the slope stability, but it was reduced by the larger stone to some extent.
Modeling the Dynamics of Coronavirus Disease Pandemic Coupled with Fear Epidemics
Authors: Mpeshe Saul C. , Nyerere Nkuba
Published: March 2021

A modeling approach to investigate the dynamics of COVID-19 epidemics coupled with fear is presented in this paper. The basic reproduction number

R

0

is computed and employed in analysing the effect of initial transmission and the conditions for disease control or eradication. Numerical simulations show that whenever there is an outbreak coupled with fear, the disease is likely to persist in the first two months, and after that, it will start to slow down as the recovery rate from fear increases. An increase in the number of recovered individuals lead to a rise in the number of susceptibles and consequently set off a second wave of infection in the third month of the epidemic.
Palmatine Protects against Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Activation of the AMPK/Nrf2 Pathway
Authors: Tang Chaoliang , Hong Junmou , Hu Chengyun , Huang Chunxia , Gao Jie , Huang Jun , Wang Di , Geng Qingtian , Dong Yongfei
Published: March 2021

Palmatine (PAL), a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, possesses extensive biological and pharmaceutical activities, including antioxidative stress, anti‐inflammatory, antitumor, neuroprotective, and gastroprotective activities. However, it is unknown whether PAL has a protective effect against ischemic stroke and cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. In the present study, a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mouse model was used to mimic ischemic stroke and cerebral I/R injury in mice. Our study demonstrated that PAL treatment ameliorated cerebral I/R injury by decreasing infarct volume, neurological scores, and brain water content. PAL administration attenuated oxidative stress, the inflammatory response, and neuronal apoptosis in mice after cerebral I/R injury. In addition, PAL treatment also decreases hypoxia and reperfusion‐ (H/R‐) induced neuronal injury by reducing oxidative stress, the inflammatory response, and neuronal apoptosis. Moreover, the neuroprotective effects of PAL were associated with the activation of the AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK)/nuclear factor E2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, and Nrf2 knockdown offsets PAL‐mediated antioxidative stress and anti‐inflammatory effects. Therefore, our results suggest that PAL may be a novel treatment strategy for ischemic stroke and cerebral I/R injury.
miR-22-3p/PGC1β Suppresses Breast Cancer Cell Tumorigenesis via PPARγ
Authors: Wang Xuehui , Yao Zhilu , Fang Lin
Published: March 2021

In this study, we found that miR-22-3p expression was decreased in breast cancer (BC) cell lines and tissues. Overexpression of miR-22-3p inhibited the proliferation and migration of BC cells in vitro and in vivo, while depletion of miR-22-3p exhibited the opposite effect. Importantly, miR-22-3p could directly target PGC1β and finally regulate the PPARγ pathway in BC. In conclusion, miR-22-3p/PGC1β suppresses BC cell tumorigenesis via PPARγ, which may become a potential biomarker and therapeutic target.
Mechanism and Test of the Impact of Lack of Human Capital on Ecological Development in Innovation Sector
Authors: Xu Xing
Published: March 2021

Based on the endogenous growth model and scenario simulation, this paper theoretically analyzes the internal mechanism of the impact of the lack of human capital in innovation departments on ecological development. The simulation results show that the lack of human capital in the innovation sector not only has a significant inhibitory effect on ecological development, but this inhibitory effect positively depends on the accumulation effect of R&D stock on knowledge production and the effect of learning-by-doing. On this basis, the empirical test of the above conclusions with the help of interprovincial panel data confirms its correctness, and the empirical results are robust. Therefore, it is recommended that the government builds an appropriate human capital allocation and compensation mechanism to induce human capital to enter the innovation sector, so as to shape a development and innovation efficiency model that is consistent with economic and ecological goals.
Study on Model of Penetration into Thick Metallic Targets with Finite Planar Sizes by Long Rods
Authors: Wang Juan , Zhao Junhai , Zhang Jianhua , Zhou Yuan
Published: March 2021

A finite cylindrical cavity expansion model for metallic thick targets with finite planar sizes, composed of ideal elastic‐plastic materials, with penetration of high‐speed long rod is presented by using the unified strength theory. Considering the lateral boundary and mass abrasion of the target, the penetration resistance and depth formulas are proposed, solutions of which are obtained by MATLAB program. Then, a series of different criteria‐based analytical solutions are obtained and the ranges of penetration depth of targets with different ratios of target radius to projectile radius (rt/rd) are predicted. Meanwhile, the numerical simulation is performed using the ANSYS/LS‐DYNA finite element code to investigate the variations in residual projectile velocity, length, and mass abrasion. It shows that various parameters have influences on the antipenetration performance of the target, such as the strength coefficient b, rt/rd, the shape of the projectile nose, and the impact velocity of the projectile, among which the penetration depth has increased by 18.95% as b = 1 decreases to b = 0 and has increased by 32.28% as rt/rd = 19.88 decreases to rt/rd = 4.9.
Energy, Exergy Analysis, and Optimizations of Collector Cover Thickness of a Solar Still in El Oued Climate, Algeria
Authors: Khechekhouche Abderrahmane , Manokar A. Muthu , Sathyamurthy Ravishankar , Essa Fadl A. , Sadeghzadeh Milad , Issakhov Alibek
Published: March 2021

Researches in many laboratories on solar still desalination are concerned with increasing efficiency using only solar energy. One of the techniques is the difference in the thickness of the glass cover of the distiller. In order to see the influence of this parameter on efficiency, three similar stills with three different glass coverings were investigated. The flow of heat goes through the cover, and higher glass temperature leads to solar still productivity becoming lower. This paper presents an optimization of glass thickness (

G

t

) of a conventional solar still (CSS) in El Oued climate, Algeria. Based on the experimental results, the distilled water production rate, energy, and energy efficiency of the CSS have been discussed. The results showed that the suitable

G

t

of the CSS was 3 mm. The distilled water of around 3.15, 2.02, and 1.13 kg was produced by the CSS at energy efficiency of 30.71, 19.02, and 11.44% with the

G

t

of 3, 5, and 6 mm, respectively. The daily average exergy efficiency of 2.46, 1.38, and 0.84% was calculated for the CSS at

G

t

of 3, 5, and 6 mm, respectively.
Label Rectification Learning through Kernel Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Cai Qiang , Li Fenghai , Chen Yifan , Li Haisheng , Cao Jian , Li Shanshan
Published: March 2021

Along with the strong representation of the convolutional neural network (CNN), image classification tasks have achieved considerable progress. However, majority of works focus on designing complicated and redundant architectures for extracting informative features to improve classification performance. In this study, we concentrate on rectifying the incomplete outputs of CNN. To be concrete, we propose an innovative image classification method based on Label Rectification Learning (LRL) through kernel extreme learning machine (KELM). It mainly consists of two steps: (1) preclassification, extracting incomplete labels through a pretrained CNN, and (2) label rectification, rectifying the generated incomplete labels by the KELM to obtain the rectified labels. Experiments conducted on publicly available datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. Notably, our method is extensible which can be easily integrated with off‐the‐shelf networks for improving performance.
A Procurement Method in Oil Marketing Company Based on Forecast Model and Expectation Criterion
Authors: Zhao Zhihong , Wang Yunjin
Published: March 2021

Within the oil marketing operation, various entities compete and attempt to maximize their proﬁts by providing sufficient supply to meet needs of market. It is an optimal method for oil marketing company operation with a dynamically reasonable inventory to maximize proﬁt under oil price fluctuation and inventory sales lag. In this paper, we study the optimal procurement method of oil marketing company which confirms the reasonable inventory. We build a data fusion model for the GMDH- (group method of data handling-) type neural network and normal distribution forecast results, what is trying to confirm the safety stock (SS). On the basis of the expectation criterion of risk decision and safety stock limit, oil marketing companies can make scientific purchase decision for inventory income. Numerical results reveal that this method has a good effect for inventory income.
Association between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Metabolic Syndrome in Older Adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Authors: Agarwal Subhashish , Tooze Janet A. , Bauer Douglas C. , Cauley Jane A. , Harris Tamara B. , Koster Annemarie , Womack Catherine R. , Kritchevsky Stephen B. , Houston Denise K.
Published: March 2021

Objective. Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are prevalent among older adults; however, longitudinal studies examining 25(OH)D status and MetS are lacking. We explore the association of 25(OH)D levels with prevalent and incident MetS in white and black older adults. Research Design and Methods. A total of 1620 white and 1016 black participants aged 70–79 years from the Health ABC cohort with measured 25(OH)D levels and data on MetS and covariates of interest were examined. The association between 25(OH)D levels and prevalent MetS at baseline and incident MetS at 6-year follow-up was examined in whites and blacks separately using logistic regression adjusting for demographics, lifestyle factors, and renal function. Results. At baseline, 635 (39%) white and 363 (36%) black participants had prevalent MetS. In whites, low 25(OH)D levels were associated with prevalent MetS (adjusted OR (95% CI), 1.85 (1.47, 2.34)) and 1.96 (1.46, 2.63) for 25(OH)D of 20–<30 and <20 vs. ≥30 ng/ml, respectively). The association was attenuated after adjustment for BMI but remained significant. No association was found between 25(OH)D levels and prevalent MetS in blacks. Among those without MetS at baseline (765 whites, 427 blacks), 150 (20%) whites and 87 (20%) blacks had developed MetS at 6-year follow-up. However, 25(OH)D levels were not associated with incident MetS in whites or blacks. Conclusion. In older adults, low 25(OH)D levels were associated with increased odds of prevalent MetS in whites but not in blacks. No association was observed between 25(OH)D levels and incident MetS in either whites or blacks.
Measuring Therapeutic Alliance for Tobacco Cessation Counseling for Behavioral Health Clinicians
Authors: Christiansen Bruce , Smith Stevens S. , Fiore Michael C. , Mohamed Haniki
Published: March 2021

Introduction. Those coping with significant mental illness smoke at a high prevalence rate. Increasingly, behavioral health clinicians (BHCs) are being asked to provide tobacco-dependence interventions. In this context, it is important to measure their success at doing so. While the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) is a well-established measurement of the effectiveness of therapeutic alliance, it is not specific to tobacco-dependence interventions. The Working Alliance Inventory for Tobacco (WAIT-3) has been found valid for tobacco cessation counselors (health providers who address tobacco), but its validity has not been established when BHCs address tobacco cessation as part of addressing all other needs of their patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the WAIT-3 in the context of behavioral health clinicians. Methods. Wisconsin Community Support Programs and Comprehensive Community Services programs distributed an anonymous, brief (14 items) survey to 1,930 of their clients. Measured variables included smoking status, behavioral intentions regarding quitting, and perception of help received from their clinic. Respondents could enter a chance to win a gift card as a thank you. Results. WAIT-3 scores were correlated with quitting-related variables. Compared to those with lower WAIT-3 scores, those with higher scores reported more attempts to quit, were more motivated to quit, were more likely to have a smoking cessation/reduction goal in their general treatment plan, had more conversations about quitting with their BHC, and wanted more help from their BHC to quit. Conclusions. The WAIT-3 may be a valid way to measure the effectiveness of BHCs to address the tobacco use of their patients. Next steps include establishing its predictive validity.
The Measurement Method of Investor Sentiment and Its Relationship with Stock Market
Authors: Hu Jiangshan , Sui Yunyun , Ma Fang
Published: March 2021

Investor sentiment is a hot topic in behavioral finance. How to measure investor sentiment? Is the influence of investor sentiment on the stock market symmetrical? That is all we need to think about. Therefore, this paper firstly selects five emotional proxy variables and constructs an investor sentiment composite index by principal component analysis. Secondly, the MS‐VAR model is employed to study the dynamic relationship among investor sentiment, stock market returns, and volatility. Using the model MSIH (2)‐VAR (2), we found that the relationship among the investor sentiment, stock returns, and volatility is different in different regimes. The results of orthogonal cumulative impulse response analysis showed that the shock to investor sentiment has a significant impact on stock market returns, and this impact in the bullish stock market is significantly higher than in the bearish stock market. The impact of the shock to stock market returns on investor sentiment and stock market volatility is relatively significant. The shock to stock market volatility has significant effects on the stock market returns. Overall, the influence of investor sentiment on the stock market is asymmetric; that is, in different regimes of the stock market, the impact of investor sentiment on the stock market is different. Realizing this, investors can better understand and grasp the market, guiding their own investment behavior. Other researchers can also further study the measurement of investor sentiment on this basis to better guide investors’ behavior.
A Practical Format and Semantic Reverse Analysis Approach for Industrial Control Protocols
Authors: Wang Qun , Sun Zhonghao , Wang Zhangquan , Ye Shiping , Su Ziyi , Chen Hao , Hu Chao
Published: March 2021

Industrial control protocol is the basis of communication and interaction of industrial control system, and its security is related to the whole industrial infrastructure. Because many industrial control systems use proprietary protocols, it is necessary to adopt protocol reverse analysis technology to parse them and then detect whether there are secure vulnerabilities in the protocols by means of fuzzy testing. However, most of the existing technologies are designed for common network protocols, and there is no improvement for industrial control protocol. Therefore, we propose a multistage ensemble reverse analysis method, namely, MSERA, which fully considers the design concept of industrial control protocols. MSERA divides the traditional reverse analysis process into three stages and identifies the fields with different semantic characteristics in different stages and combines with field rectification to effectively improve the results of reverse analysis of industrial control protocols. Through the experimental comparison of some public and proprietary industrial control protocols, it is found that MSERA not only outperforms Netzob in the accuracy of field split but also far exceeds Netzob in semantic recognition accuracy. The experimental results show that MSERA is very practical and suitable for reverse analysis of industrial control protocols.
Mathematical Simulation of Lost Circulation in Fracture and Its Control
Authors: Cai Xiao , Guo Boyun , Guo Qingfeng , Jiang Hongwei
Published: March 2021

Lost circulation has been one of the major problems that impede efficient and cost-saving drilling operations. The nature of lost circulation and its control is not yet fully understood. A method to characterize the mud loss in fracture and the plugging process of lost circulation materials is highly desired to obtain a thorough understanding of mud losses in fracture and provide reference for lost circulation control. This paper presents an easy-to-use method to identify types of lost circulation in fracture and the corresponding control. Three analytical models are presented based on three loss mechanisms, namely, seepage/filtration in a fracture, pipe flow in a fracture, and gravity displacement in a fracture. A numerical model is developed to simulate the deposition of lost circulation materials in fractures and predict the time and the volume of drilling fluid needed for lost circulation control. Case studies with these analytical models provide a deeper insight of this subject. Sensitivity analyses with the numerical model identify the major factors responsible for lost circulation control. High viscosity of drilling fluid may prevent lost circulation, while low viscosity is desired for a fast control of lost circulation. Lowering the density of drilling fluid is another way to prevent the lost circulation and facilitate the deposition of lost circulation materials. Lost circulation materials with high density could deposit faster close to the wellbore and therefore accelerating the control process. High concentration of lost circulation materials is likely to shorten the plugging time, which should be determined referring to the severity of loss. This work provides drilling engineers a practical method for simulating the lost circulation and selecting lost circulation material.
The Association between Periodontitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhang Yangheng , Qiao Dan , Chen Rixin , Zhu Feng , Gong Jianfeng , Yan Fuhua
Published: March 2021

Background. It has been reported that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more susceptible to periodontitis. However, data regarding the risk of periodontitis in IBD patients are scarce, and results from individual studies remain controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk of periodontitis in IBD patients. Methods. Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase were searched for studies investigating the risk of periodontitis in the IBD patient population from Jan. 2000 to Nov. 2020. Articles were included if they contained the number of people with IBD diagnosed with periodontitis (or periodontal disease parameters) compared with a control group. Case reports, reviews, animal studies, and articles without available abstracts were excluded. A pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the association between periodontitis and IBD. Results. Six studies were included in the meta‐analysis. The overall risk of periodontitis was significantly higher in IBD patients than controls (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.60‐2.74; I2 = 27%). In particular, Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were both linked to an increased risk of periodontitis (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.36‐2.19; I2 = 0% for CD vs. OR:2.39, 95% CI: 1.19‐4.80; I2 = 85% for UC). Conclusions. IBD patients are at higher risk of periodontitis than controls. After subgroup analysis, the elevated risk remained significant when analyzing CD or UC alone. UC patients were at higher risk of developing periodontitis than CD patients.
Urban Traffic Signals Timing at Four-Phase Signalized Intersection Based on Optimized Two-Stage Fuzzy Control Scheme
Authors: Jiang Taiping , Wang Zili , Chen Fuyang
Published: March 2021

This paper proposes a signal timing scheme through a two-stage fuzzy logic controller. The controller first determines the signal phase and then adjusts the green time. At the first stage, the adaptive membership function of vehicle arrival rate is improved to adapt to the changing traffic flow. In addition to arrival rate and queue vehicles, a specific phase order rule is considered to avoid disordered phase selection in fuzzy control. At the second stage, the green time detection module decides whether to extend the current green time or switch phases every few seconds and the vehicle arrival rate is not required as the input to controller in real-time detection. Differential evolution algorithm with low space complexity and fast convergence is applied to optimize the fuzzy rules for avoiding artificial uncertainty. Simulation experiments are designed to compare traditional fuzzy controller, fixed-time controller, and fuzzy controller without flow prediction. Results show that the current proposed method in this paper can reduce vehicle delay significantly.
Case Report of RANBP2 Mutation and Familial Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy
Authors: Paktinat Mohamad , Hessami Kamran , Inaloo Soroor , Nemati Hamid , Katibeh Pegah , Nejabat Marzieh , Darabi Mohammad Hassan , Bereshneh Ali Hosseini
Published: March 2021

Introduction. Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE), a rare entity with unique clinical presentation, can be associated significant morbidity and mortality. The majority of ANE reported cases are sporadic. However, reports of extremely rare familial cases are scarce. Case Presentation. We described three cases, two siblings and their cousin, affected by ANE, all of them exhibiting RAN-binding protein 2 (RANBP2) gene mutation. They all presented with seizure and decreased level of consciousness. Unlike the siblings, the cousin eventually expired mainly due to the delay in diagnosis, resulting from late presentation of typical brain involvements of ANE in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Conclusion. The presented cases are the first reports of familial ANE in Iran. Attempt was made to raise awareness on this disease, because high clinical suspicion plays an important role in the early diagnosis and proper management of these patients.
Evaluation of Chemical and Nutritional Changes in Chips, Chicken Nuggets, and Broccoli after Deep-Frying with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Canola, and Grapeseed Oils
Authors: de Alzaa Florencia , Guillaume Claudia , Ravetti Leandro
Published: March 2021

The aim of this study was to assess the food nutritional profiles of potato chips, chicken nuggets, and broccoli and their palatability after deep-frying with different oils. The trials consisted of 4 cycles of deep-frying at 180°C for 4 minutes using extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), canola, and grapeseed oils. Samples of food and oils were taken untreated and after the treatments for sensorial and chemical analysis. EVOO and canola oil deep-fried food were preferred by their colour, but canola fried food was disliked because of its flavour. Results showed that there is a transference between food and oils regarding fatty acid profile and antioxidant content as well as trans fatty acids (TFAs) and polar compounds (PCs). All food presented more antioxidants and monounsaturated fatty acids after having been cooked with EVOO than after cooking with canola and grapeseed oils. Highest PCs in food were found when using canola oil and grapeseed oils. EVOO was shown to decrease the PCs in chips and chicken nuggets. PCs were not detected in raw broccoli, and broccoli cooked in EVOO showed the lowest PCs content. Canola and grapeseed oils increased the TFAs in food, whereas EVOO decreased the TFAs in the chips and maintained the initial TFAs levels in chicken nuggets and broccoli. This study shows that EVOO improves the nutritional profile of the food when compared with canola and grapeseed oils when deep-frying without any negative impact on palatability or appearance.