bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Circle of Willis Variations and Cerebral or Cervical Arteries Stenosis Investigated by Computer Tomography Angiography and Multitask Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Hou Jin , Gao Ming Yong , Pan Ai Zhen , Wang Qiu Dian , Liu Bin , Jin Ya Bin , Lu Jia Bin , He Qing Yuan , Zhang Xiao Dong , Wang Wei
Published: October 2021

Circle of Willis (CoW) is the most critical collateral pathway that supports the redistribution of blood supply in the brain. The variation of CoW is closely correlated with cerebral hemodynamic and cerebral vessel-related diseases. But what is responsible for CoW variation remains unclear. Moreover, the visual evaluation for CoW variation is highly time-consuming. In the present study, based on the computer tomography angiography (CTA) dataset from 255 patients, the correlation between the CoW variations with age, gender, and cerebral or cervical artery stenosis was investigated. A multitask convolutional neural network (CNN) was used to segment cerebral arteries automatically. The results showed the prevalence of variation of the anterior communicating artery (Aco) was higher in the normal senior group than in the normal young group and in females than in males. The changes in the prevalence of variations of individual segments were not demonstrated in the population with stenosis of the afferent and efferent arteries, so the critical factors for variation are related to genetic or physiological factors rather than pathological lesions. Using the multitask CNN model, complete cerebral and cervical arteries could be segmented and reconstructed in 120 seconds, and an average Dice coefficient of 78.2% was achieved. The segmentation accuracy for precommunicating part of anterior cerebral artery and posterior cerebral artery, the posterior communicating arteries, and Aco in CoW was 100%, 99.2%, 94%, and 69%, respectively. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be considered as an adjunct tool for detecting the CoW, particularly related to reducing workload and improving the accuracy of the visual evaluation. The study will serve as a basis for the following research to determine an individual’s risk of stroke with the aid of AI.
State Measurement and Control Technology of Unmanned Vehicle Based on High-Precision Positioning
Authors: Zhao Zhongyi , Cui Yongzhi
Published: October 2021

For the unmanned vehicle system, the state measurement and control technology is one of the key links to realize the real unmanned vehicle. Based on RTK positioning technology and ultrashort wave spread spectrum communication technology, the key technologies of special vehicles with unmanned automatic operation are studied, and a set of state monitoring and control system of special vehicles with unmanned automatic operation is developed. Through the experimental research, the unmanned vehicle state monitoring and control system can better complete the functions of vehicle location and electronic map display and meet the design requirements. The research results provide technical support for the practical application of special vehicles with unmanned automatic operation.
Denoising of Tourist Street Scene Image Based on ROF Model of Second-Order Partial Differential Equation
Authors: Yang Xiaofeng
Published: October 2021

The noise pollution in tourist street view images is caused by various reasons. A major challenge that researchers have been facing is to find a way to effectively remove noise. Although in the past few decades people have proposed many methods of denoising tourist street scene images, the research on denoising technology of tourist street scene images is still not outdated. There is no doubt that it has become a basic and important research topic in the field of digital image processing. The evolutionary diffusion method based on partial differential equations is helpful to improve the quality of noisy tourist street scene images. This method can process tourist street scene images according to people’s expected diffusion behavior. The adaptive total variation model proposed in this paper is improved on the basis of the total variation model and the Gaussian thermal diffusion model. We analyze the classic variational PDE-based denoising model and get a unified variational PDE energy functional model. We also give a detailed analysis of the diffusion performance of the total variational model and then propose an adaptive total variational diffusion model. By improving the diffusion coefficient and introducing a curvature operator that can distinguish details such as edges, it can effectively denoise the tourist street scene image, and it also has a good effect on avoiding the step effect. Through the improvement of the ROF model, the loyalty term and regular term of the model are parameterized, the adaptive total variation denoising model of this paper is established, and a detailed analysis is carried out. The experimental results show that compared with some traditional denoising models, the model in this paper can effectively suppress the step effect in the denoising process, while protecting the texture details of the edge area of the tourist street scene image. In addition, the model in this paper is superior to traditional denoising models in terms of denoising performance and texture structure protection.
Developing Reverse Order Law for the Moore–Penrose Inverse with the Product of Three Linear Operators
Authors: Qi Yang , Xiaoji Liu , Yaoming Yu
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we study the reverse order law for the Moore–Penrose inverse of the product of three bounded linear operators in Hilbert spaces. We first present some equivalent conditions for the existence of the reverse order law

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Modeling Respiratory Signals by Deformable Image Registration on 4DCT Lung Images
Authors: Bao Pham The , Trang Hoang Thi Kieu , Tuan Tran Anh , Thanh Tran Thien , Hai Vo Hong
Published: October 2021

The lung organ of human anatomy captured by a medical device reveals inhalation and exhalation information for treatment and monitoring. Given a large number of slices covering an area of the lung, we have a set of three‐dimensional lung data. And then, by combining additionally with breath‐hold measurements, we have a dataset of multigroup CT images (called 4DCT image set) that could show the lung motion and deformation over time. Up to now, it has still been a challenging problem to model a respiratory signal representing patients’ breathing motion as well as simulating inhalation and exhalation process from 4DCT lung images because of its complexity. In this paper, we propose a promising hybrid approach incorporating the local binary pattern (LBP) histogram with entropy comparison to register the lung images. The segmentation process of the left and right lung is completely overcome by the minimum variance quantization and within class variance techniques which help the registration stage. The experiments are conducted on the 4DCT deformable image registration (DIR) public database giving us the overall evaluation on each stage: segmentation, registration, and modeling, to validate the effectiveness of the approach.
An Experimental Performance on Solar Photovoltaic Thermal Collector with Nanofluids for Sustainable Development
Authors: Gundala Srinivasulu , Basha M. Mahaboob , Madhurima V. , Praveena N. , Kumar S. Venkatesh
Published: October 2021

In this article, the photovoltaic thermal collector (PVT) have designed and fabricated using nanoparticle nanofluid. The cause of this is to check out the effect of using water and water-based totally graphene nanoplatelets at an awareness of 0.05 wt% on the performance of PVT structures. Outdoor assessments have been performed at quantity along with the float prices of 0.5 L/min and 1.0 L/min for the aforementioned nanofluids, respectively, using water as a reference fluid. The results that have been analyzed from an active angle confirmed and determined that, graphene water nanofluid achieved higher in phrases of photovoltaic active conversion, than water that might generate the first-class thermal performance sooner or later of the peak period of sun radiation and high mobile temperature. The inclusion of water in the PVT collector increases average daily electrical efficiency by 7.8%, and 8.5%at flow rates of 0.5 LPM and 1.0 LPM, respectively. Furthermore, using water in the PVT collector increases average daily thermal efficiency by 24.9%, and 26.3%at flow rates of 0.5 LPM and 1.0 LPM, respectively.
Chemical Composition and In Vitro Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Marrubium vulgare L.
Authors: Mssillou Ibrahim , Agour Abdelkrim , Hamamouch Noureddine , Lyoussi Badiaa , Derwich Elhoussine
Published: October 2021

In this study, the polyphenol content and the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of hydroethanolic (MVE) and hydroacetonic (MVA) leaf extracts of Marrubium vulgare L. were examined. The results indicated that the total phenolic content was higher in MVA (112.09 ± 4.77 mg GAE/DW) compared to MVE extract (98.77 ± 1.68 mg GAE/DW). The total flavonoid content was also higher in MVA extract (21.08 ± 0.38 mg QE/g DW) compared to MVE (17.65 ± 0.73 mg QE/g DW). Analysis of the chemical composition revealed the presence of 13 compounds with a total of 96.14%, with the major compound being malic acid (22.57%). Both extracts possess a good total antioxidant activity. DPPH and FRAP assays indicated that the MVE extract possesses a better antioxidant activity, with IC50 = 52.04 µg/mL ± 0.2 and EC50 of 4.51 ± 0.5 mg/mL, compared to MVA extract (IC50 = 60.57 ± 0.6 µg/mL and EC50 of 6.43 ± 0.0411 mg/mL). Moreover, both extracts exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against certain nosocomial strains as indicted by the MIC values, which ranged between 0.93 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL. Taken together, these results reveal the importance of M. vulgare as a natural antioxidant with important antimicrobial activity.
Improved Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor for Designing a Hearing Aid Filtering Application
Authors: Mohana Sundaram K. , Prakash P. , Karthikeyan D. , Mammo Wubishet Degife
Published: October 2021

Designing a hearing aid device is one of the challenging applications recently, since it is useful for the people with hearing loss. For this purpose, various circuit designing procedures such as MOSFET and carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET) are introduced in the existing works. But it mainly lacks the following drawbacks: increased leakage current, not highly efficient, and increased area and power consumption. In order to mitigate these issues, this paper is aimed at designing an improved CNTFET (ECNFET) for hearing aid filtering application. The major objectives of the proposed work are leakage current minimization and the improvements in transconductance and mobility. At first, the layout is designed with 10 layers based on the specific dimensionalities, and different materials are placed in each and every layer. It includes gold, silicon, silicon dioxide, bismuth telluride, and carbon tube. Then, the parameters such as band gap, electron concentration, hole concentration, electron mobility, hole mobility, and insulator breakage voltage are verified to determine the efficiency of the layout. If all the parameters are satisfied, the characteristics such as voltage current, leakage current, mobility, and transconductance are validated. If all measures are satisfied, the library is created for the designed ECNFET layout by using the Comsol tool. Furthermore, the operational amplifier is designed based on the generated library function. After amplification, the hearing aid filter is designed with the use of the proposed ECNFET layout. The experimental validation of the proposed work and comparison with the existing method based on the measures of area consumption, power consumption, speed, and frequency range confirm the effectiveness of ECNTFET in filtering applications.
Effect of Amelogenin Solution in the Microhardness of Remineralized Enamel and Shear Bond Strength of Orthodontic Brackets
Authors: Genovez-Júnior Guilherme , Berger Sandrine Bittencourt , dos Santos Lucineide Lima , Paloco Eloisa Aparecida Carlesse , Lopes Murilo Baena , Giuliangeli Débora Fernandes , dos Santos Júlia Graciela Monteiro , Guiraldo Ricardo Danil
Published: October 2021

Objectives. To evaluate the microhardness of tooth enamel remineralized with enamel matrix protein solution as well as the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets bonded to this surface. Materials and Methods. In total, 24 human premolars were selected and divided into 3 experimental groups (n = 8): SE—sound enamel, DE—demineralized enamel, and TE—demineralized enamel treated with amelogenin solution. Samples from DE and TE groups were subjected to pH cycling to induce initial artificial caries lesion. TE group was treated with amelogenin solution. Samples were placed in artificial saliva for 7 days. Knoop microhardness was measured before any intervention (T0), after pH cycling (T1) and after amelogenin solution treatment application (T2). Twenty-four hours after ceramic orthodontic brackets were bonded, samples were subjected to shear test in a universal testing machine. Microhardness and shear measurement distributions were subjected to Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test, which was followed by parametric tests (α = 0.05): 2-way analysis of variance (factors: enamel condition × treatment) and Tukey posttest for all three groups (SE, DE, and TE) in T0 and T2 for microhardness; analysis of variance and Tukey’s test, for shear bond strength test. Results. Means recorded for Knoop microhardness in T2, for the SE (366.7 KHN) and TE (342.8 KHN) groups, were significantly higher than those recorded for the DE group (263.5 KHN). The shear bond strength of the SE (15.44 MPa) and TE (14.84 MPa) groups statistically differed from that of the DE group (11.95 MPa). Conclusion. In vitro demineralized enamel treatment with amelogenin solution was capable of taking samples’ hardness back to levels similar to those observed for sound enamel. The shear bond strength on the enamel subjected to this treatment was similar to that observed for healthy enamel and higher than that observed for demineralized enamel.
QiangGuYin Modulates the OPG/RANKL/RANK Pathway by Increasing Secretin Levels during Treatment of Primary Type I Osteoporosis
Authors: Li Xuefei , Cui Longkang , Chen Wenhua , Fang Yuan , Shen Gaobo , Li Zhen , Zhang Bingbing , Wu Lianguo
Published: October 2021

QiangGuYin (QGY) is a common Traditional Chinese medicine prescription for the treatment of osteoporosis. Previous clinical studies have found that QGY effectively improves bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. The osteoprotegerin (OPG)/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B (RANK) pathway is a classic pathway involved in osteoporosis. Secretin levels are a serum marker of osteoporosis, but their effect on the OPG/RANKL/RANK pathway has not been reported. Hence, we investigated the relationship between the OPG/RANKL/RANK pathway and secretin and further revealed the mechanism underlying the effect of QGY in the treatment of osteoporosis. Mice were divided into secretin knockdown, secretin overexpression, and corresponding control groups. Micro-computed tomography was used to detect BMD in different groups, and the results show that QGY significantly improved BMD in mice of the secretin knockdown group. To further verify this, the serum levels of OPG, RANKL, RANK, and secretin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and femur levels of OPG, RANKL, RANK, and secretin were evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting. The results show that the expression of OPG was inhibited and that of RANKL and RANK was increased in mice from the secretin knockdown group, whereas the expression of OPG was upregulated and that of RANKL and RANK was downregulated after QGY intervention. Therefore, QGY inhibited bone resorption by promoting the expression of secretin and modulating the OPG/RANKL/RANK pathway. In addition to the effect of QGY, we also revealed the general regulatory effect of secretin on the OPG/RANKL/RANK pathway. We conclude that QGY modulates the OPG/RANKL/RANK pathway by increasing secretin levels during treatment of primary type I osteoporosis. This work provides a theoretical basis for the clinical use of QGY in the treatment of osteoporosis.
Prediction of Ionospheric TEC Based on the NARX Neural Network
Authors: Guoyan Liu , Wang Gao , Zhengxie Zhang , Qing Zhao
Published: October 2021

Effective prediction of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is very important for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning and other related applications. This paper proposes an ionospheric TEC prediction method using the nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input (NARX) neural network, which uses previous TEC data and external time parameter inputs to establish a TEC prediction model. During the years of different solar activities, 12 datasets of 3 stations with different latitudes are used for experiments. Each dataset uses the first 120 days for training and the next 20 days for testing. For each test dataset, a sliding window strategy is adopted in the prediction process, wherein the TEC of future 2 days are predicted by the true TEC values of the previous 2 days. The results show that in the year with active solar activity (2011), the TEC prediction with the NARX network can improve the accuracy by 32.3% and 43.5%, compared with the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and the 2-day predicted TEC product, named C2PG. While in the year with calm solar activity (2017), the prediction accuracy can be improved by 20.7% and 22.7%.
A New Transferable Fault Diagnosis Approach of Rotating Machinery Based on Deep Autoencoder and Dominant Features Selection under Different Operating Conditions
Authors: Dong Fei , Yu Xiao , Shi Xinguo , Liu Ke , Wu Zhaoli , Yu Wanli
Published: October 2021

In the actual industrial scenarios, most existing fault diagnosis approaches are faced with two challenges, insufficient labeled training data and distribution divergences between training and testing datasets. For the above issues, a new transferable fault diagnosis approach of rotating machinery based on deep autoencoder and dominant features selection is proposed in this article. First, maximal overlap discrete wavelet packet transform is applied for signals processing and mix‐domains statistical feature extraction. Second, dominant features selection by importance score and differences between domains is proposed to select dominant features with high fault‐discriminative ability and domain invariance. Then, selected dominant features are used for pretraining deep autoencoder (source model), which helps in enhancing the fault representative ability of deep features. The parameters of the source model are transferred to the target model, and normal state features from target domain are adopted for fine‐tuning the target model. Finally, the target model is applied for fault patterns classification. Motor and bearing fault datasets are used for a series of experiments, and the results verify that the proposed methods have better cross‐domain diagnosis performance than comparative models.
A Semidecentralized PKI System Based on Public Blockchains with Automatic Indemnification Mechanism
Authors: Hwang Gwan-Hwan , Chang Tao-Ku , Chiang Hung-Wen
Published: October 2021

The PKI framework is a widely used network identity verification framework. Users will register their identity information with a certification authority to obtain a digital certificate and then show the digital certificate to others as an identity certificate. After others receive the certificate, they must check the revocation list from the CA to confirm whether the certificate is valid. Although this architecture has a long history of use on the Internet, significant doubt surrounds its security. Because the CA may be attacked by DDoS, the verifier may not obtain the revocation list to complete the verification process. At present, there are many new PKI architectures that can improve on the CA’s single point of failure, but since they still have some shortcomings, the original architecture is still used. In this paper, we proposed a semidecentralized PKI architecture that can easily prevent a single point of failure. Users can obtain cryptographic evidence through specific protocols to clarify the responsibility for the incorrect certificate and then submit the cryptographic evidence to the smart contract for automatic judgment and indemnification.
Application of Linear Gradient Solvent System in Centrifugal Partition Chromatography Facilitating Bioassay-Guided Fractionation of Yongdamsagan-Tang, Traditional Oriental Decoction
Authors: Kim Ji Hoon , Jung Eun Ju , Lee Yun Jung , Kim Chul Young , Jeon Je-Seung
Published: October 2021

As important pharmaceutical resources, traditional herbal medicines retain continuous attention. To do that, isolation and identification of bioactive molecules from traditional herbal decoction are important. However, conventional fractionation through octadecyl silica column faces irreversible sample adsorption that causes a bias in bioactivity assessment. However, liquid-liquid chromatographic system suffers tedious K value calculation as well as insufficient capacity in separation power when crude extract composed of widely ranging polarities. Here, we developed a comprehensive linear gradient solvent system for centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) to aid bioassay-guided isolation. The lower aqueous phase of the n-hexane-acetonitrile-water (10:2:8, v/v) was used as the stationary, whereas its upper organic phase followed by the upper phase of ethyl acetate-acetonitrile-water and water-saturated n-butanol-acetonitrile-water in the same ratio were eluted in a linear gradient mode, thereby increasing polarity in the mobile phase. The HPLC profiling of CPC fraction showed that proposed gradient CPC was suitable to separate metabolites from Yongdamsagan-Tang, a traditional medicinal decoction made of ten herbal plants. Exhibiting a high recovery yield of 98.3%, antioxidant response element (ARE) luciferase-inducing assay in HepG2 cells indicated that the fractions composed of baicalein and wogonin, the marker natural products of Scutellaria baicalensis, were to be the most effective molecules from Yongdamsagan-Tang. The presented results demonstrated that bioassay-guided separation that assisted with a linear gradient CPC is an incomparable alternative to HPLC and biphasic CPC in terms of higher yield rate and redundant K value calculation, respectively, which led to an unbiased/time-saving separation and identification of bioactive molecules from the complex crude extract of natural products.
The Residual Copper and Zinc in Tropical Soil over 21 Years after Amendment with Heavy Metal Containing Waste, Lime, and Compost
Authors: Salam Abdul Kadir , Pakpahan Asri Foresta , Susilowati Galih , Fernando Niko , Sriyani Nanik , Sarno Sarno , Novpriansyah Hery , Yusnaini Sri , Dermiyati Dermiyati
Published: October 2021

This research aimed to evaluate the residual Cu and Zn in tropical soil over 21 years after amendment with industrial waste, lime, and compost. Soil samples were collected from a well-maintained experimental field amended one time with industrial waste high in Cu and Zn set in 1998 at about 1.5–20 years after amendment. Treatments were arranged in a randomized block design with a metal-wares industrial waste at rates 0, 15, and 60 Mg·ha−1, lime at 0 and 5 Mg·ha−1, and compost at 0 and 5 Mg·ha−1. Soil samples were also taken vertically in the exact plot centers at depths of 0–75 cm of plots not amended with lime and compost and also from topsoils (0–15 cm) at 90 points with distances 50 cm between each other in each of the respective plots 21 years after amendment. Significant increases in Cu and Zn caused by waste were observed over 21 years. The increase in soil pH by lime was observed over 10 years but its effect in decreasing Cu and Zn was observed only at 1.5 years, particularly in topsoils. However, the effect of lime in lowering Cu and Zn was observed over 20 years when waste and/or compost were also given. Similarly, the effect of compost was absent over 20 years but significant when waste and/or lime were also given. The relative concentration of Cu and Zn in the 60 Mg waste ha−1 plots decreased over 20 years to 17–53% for Cu and to 12–33% for Zn; their concentrations were, in general, lower with lime and/or compost addition. The relative concentrations of Cu and Zn significantly decreased over 21 years in plots with 15 or 60 Mg·ha−1 and increased in the control plots. Heavy metals moved in soil significantly through soil tillage and erosion and partially by leaching.
Study on Mechanical Properties of Recycled Mixture with High Content of Iron Tailings Sand
Authors: Dong Yuanshuai , Zhang Hong , Hou Yun , Qian Zhenyu , Tian Jialei
Published: October 2021

This paper focuses on the disposal of iron tailings sand (ITS) and reclaimed inorganic binder stabilized aggregate (RAI), and a new “ITS plus RAI” solid waste treatment method is innovatively proposed, which uses ITS and RAI as a new base course material to replace of new aggregates by 100%. It is found that the new ITS and RAI mixture has excellent compressive performance by designing the material composition of the mixture, which can meet the design strength of different levels of pavement under various load conditions. A series of laboratory tests are used to study the effect of the content of special cementitious material and iron tailings on the uniaxial compressive strength, flexural‐tensile strength, compressive resilience modulus, and flexural‐tensile resilience modulus of recycled mixture. And, the scanning electron microscope test (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction test (XRD) are used to compare the surface morphology characteristics and hydration products of the recycled mixture under different ratios and to discuss the formation mechanism of the strength of the mixture. The test results show that the macroscopic change pattern in laboratory tests is basically consistent with the results in microanalysis. The relationship between compressive strength and compressive resilience modulus and flexural resilience modulus is also established by linear regression. This solid waste treatment method is applied to the pavement renovation project of national and provincial roads in Shanxi Province (within Linfen), to replace the existing base material by using recycled mixture, and the results show that it can save not only the carbon emission from stone mining and processing but also the construction cost, while producing good social and economic benefits and promoting the process of carbon neutralization in the world.
Research on Aluminum Honeycomb Buffer Device for Soft Landing on the Lunar Surface
Authors: Wei Wei , Zhang Shijie , Zhao Ximing , Quan Xinyu , Zhou Jie , Yu Nan , Wang Hongxiang , Li Meng , Hou Xuyan
Published: October 2021

To obtain the resources of the moon, humans have launched a series of exploration activities on the moon, and the landing buffer device is an indispensable device on the lander required to perform lunar surface exploration missions. It can effectively protect the lander during landing scientific payloads such as instruments on the lander. Based on the mechanical properties and deformation mechanism of the aluminum honeycomb as buffer material, this paper compares and analyzes different simulation schemes and finally establishes the bonding model of the honeycomb by using the discrete element method; the parameters of the honeycomb material are matched through compression experiments to verify the discrete element honeycomb simulation and the feasibility of the scheme and its parameters. To meet the buffering requirements of large landers, a spider web honeycomb structure is proposed, its modeling method is studied by using the discrete element secondary development program, and the model is compressed as a whole to verify the energy consumption characteristics of the spider web honeycomb structure. Aiming at the honeycomb buffer device during the landing process, the cobweb honeycomb buffer structure and its corresponding landing coupling model were established using the discrete element method, the landing process was simulated and analyzed, and the landing results were predicted to verify the feasibility of the device, providing a reference for the design of the lander and its buffer device.
Validation of AD8-Philippines (AD8-P): A Brief Informant-Based Questionnaire for Dementia Screening in the Philippines
Authors: Dominguez Jacqueline C. , de Guzman Ma. Fe P. , Joson Ma. Lourdes C. , Fowler Krizelle , Natividad Boots P. , Cruz Precy S. , Jiloca Jose Leo , Mactal Primitivo B. , Dominguez Jayvee Dyne , Domingo Jeffrey , Dominguez-Awao Jhozel Kim , Reandelar Macario , Javier Jem R. , Phung ThienKieuThi , Morris John C. , Galvin James E.
Published: October 2021

Aim. This study was aimed at validating the Filipino version of AD8 (AD8-P). Methods. Community-dwelling Filipino older persons aged ≥60 years, together with their informants, participated in this study. Psychologists independently interviewed the informants with AD8-P and administered the Filipino-validated Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-P) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-P) to the older persons. Neurologists and geriatrician conducted physical and neurological examination and Clinical Dementia Rating™ (CDR™) to determine cognitive diagnosis and were blinded with the results of AD8-P. Dementia was diagnosed based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. AD8-P discriminatory ability to screen for dementia was evaluated according to DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for dementia. Results. A total of 366 community-dwelling Filipino older persons aged ≥60 years, 213 with normal cognition and 153 with dementia, and their informants were included in this study. Majority (90%) were at the mildest stage of dementia. Area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUROC) for AD8-P was 0.94 (95% CI 0.92 to 0.96), demonstrating excellent overall predictive power to screen for dementia. The optimal AD8-P cut-off score with best balance sensitivity (91.5%) and specificity (77.9%) was ≥3. Conclusion. AD8-P demonstrated good psychometric properties to screen for dementia, even at the earliest stage of cognitive decline.
[Retracted] A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety of Alirocumab and Evolocumab on Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Authors: Ge Xiaoyue , Zhu Tiantian , Zeng Hao , Yu Xin , Li Juan , Xie Shanshan , Wan Jinjin , Yang Huiyao , Huang Keke , Zhang Weifang
Published: October 2021

Objectives. The aim of this study was to provide the first study to systematically analyze the efficacy and safety of PCSK9‐mAbs in the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Methods. A computer was used to search the electronic Cochrane Library, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Embase databases for clinical trials using the following search terms: “AMG 145”, “evolocumab”, “SAR236553/REGN727”, “alirocumab”, “RG7652”, “LY3015014”, “RN316/bococizumab”, “PCSK9”, and “familial hypercholesterolemia” up to November 2020. Study quality was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool, and publication bias was evaluated by a contour‐enhanced funnel plot and the Harbord modification of the Egger test. After obtaining the data, a meta‐analysis was performed using R software, version 4.0.3. Results. A meta‐analysis was performed on 7 clinical trials (926 total patients). The results showed that PCSK9‐mAbs reduced the LDL‐C level by the greatest margin, WMD −49.14%, 95% CI: −55.81 to −42.47%, on FH versus control groups. PCSK9‐mAbs also significantly reduced lipoprotein (a) (Lp (a)), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein‐B (Apo‐B), and non‐high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (non‐HDL‐C) levels and increased HDL‐C and apolipoprotein‐A1 (Apo‐A1) levels of beneficial lipoproteins. Moreover, no significant difference was found between PCSK9‐mAbs treatment and placebo in common adverse events, serious events, and laboratory adverse events. Conclusion. PCSK9‐mAbs significantly decreased LDL‐C and other lipid levels with satisfactory safety and tolerability in FH treatment.
Approximate Inertial Manifold‐Based Model Reduction and Vibration Suppression for Rigid‐Flexible Mechanical Arms
Authors: Xu Lisha , Deng Hua , Lin Chong , Zhang Yi
Published: October 2021

The dynamic characteristics of the mechanical arm with a rigid‐flexible structure are very complex. The reason is that it is a complex DPS (distributed parameter system) with infinite dimension and nonlinearity in essence due to the rigid‐flexible coupling. So, accurately positioning and controlling the rigid‐flexible mechanical arms could be difficult. Therefore, a model reduction method of rigid‐flexible mechanical arms based on the approximate inertial manifold is put forward. To repress the residual vibration of the end of the mechanical arm, a feedforward control strategy is designed. The high‐dimensional solution of the vibration equation of the rigid‐flexible mechanical arms is projected into the complete space composed of orthogonal decomposition modes. By using Galerkin’s method, the system is simplified and the approximate solution is obtained through the interaction between high‐order and low‐order modes. The truncated finite mode is also used to construct a lowest‐order dynamic model on the basis of approximate inertia manifold. Given the reduced‐order rigid‐flexible mechanical arms dynamic model, dynamic response analysis is conducted to optimize the target position error and end residual vibration. A limited number of sinusoidal signals approximately combine the input signal, by using the particle swarm optimization algorithm to optimize the input signal, and the amplitude of the sinusoidal signal is corrected. The simulation results depict the superiority of the proposed method, which greatly suppresses the end residual vibration of the mechanical arm and realizes the accurate positioning of the end of the mechanical arm. In addition, the hardware experimental device of the rigid‐flexible mechanical arms is constructed, and the experimental verification of the above method is put into effect. The simulation results of angular displacement and end vibration of the reduced model are accordant which is shown by the experimental results of the hardware platform.
An Atypical Presentation of Sinonasal Tract Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in a Young Male Patient Submitted to Multimodality Treatment
Authors: Bernaola-Paredes Wilber E. , Favareto Sergio Leonardo , Filho Valdener Bella , Filippetti Eloah Pascuotte , Bellotto Walkiria Pantoja , Veronese Henrique Rocha Mazorchi , de Martins Moraes Lucas Neves , D’Almeida Costa Felipe , Pellizzon Antonio Cassio Assis
Published: October 2021

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a malignant tumor derived from the neoplastic proliferation of striated skeletal muscle cells, is the most common pediatric soft tissue sarcoma. Its treatment is mainly based on neoadjuvant chemotherapy (QT+), surgical resection, and adjuvant radiotherapy (RT+). RT+ has shown satisfactory results for locoregional control of the disease, in spite of promoting local side effects. The present case report was aimed at describing the clinical and therapeutic characteristics and the management of complications resulting from multimodal therapy in a patient with an atypical presentation of RMS in the sinonasal tract. A 20-year-old Afro-descendant man complained of an expansive tumor lesion, with left eye proptosis that reduced visual acuity and caused severe regional pain. Imaging analysis showed an extensive and infiltrative lesion in the periorbital region, sinonasal tract, left maxilla, and orbital roof. According to the histopathological analysis, the diagnosis was established corresponding to parameningeal alveolar RMS that was unresectable. Treatment was initiated with three cycles of QT+ which showed partial response and later RT+. After completing half of the RT+ sessions, the patient showed a complete response with reduction in tumor volume and improvement in pain and local conditions. Side effects such as alopecia and dermatological changes induced by radiation were observed. Moreover, painful erythematous areas were observed in the region of the hard and soft palate, uvula, and oropharynx, compatible with Grade 2 mucositis lesions. After the cytological swab test, some of them were diagnosed as herpes simplex lesions; thickening and decrease in salivary flow were also found. A local drug therapy approach was instituted, and photobiomodulation was performed to manage oral complications. RT+ was shown to be effective in locoregional control of the disease; however, the early management of its undesirable effects on the surrounding tissues was required.
Study on Mechanical Behavior and Seepage Characteristics of Coal Mass during Unloading
Authors: Wang Yan , Han Yongsheng , Liu Fei
Published: October 2021

With the increase of buried depth, the content of gas increases gradually. The gas in the mining process will lead to gas gush and other dynamic disasters, or even coal and gas gushing in front of the working face. Therefore, the study on the permeability distribution of coal and the surrounding rock is the core work of coal and gas mining at the same time. To study the mechanical behaviors and seepage characteristics of coal mass during unloading is to prepare for coal and gas mining in the future, which can not only ensure the safety of operators to the maximum extent but also increase the mining rate as much as possible. Based on the stress-strain curve and seepage curve, the brittleness index and seepage characteristics of coal are analyzed. The greater the brittleness index is, the more likely the coal mass is to produce cracks, and then to form large cracks, or even fracture. Through the study of brittleness index and seepage characteristics of coal mass, the mechanical behavior of coal mass can be easily obtained, so as to guide the mining of coal mass.
Damages of Underground Facilities in Coal Mines due to Gas Explosion Shock Waves: An Overview
Authors: Ran Dezhi , Cheng Jianwei , Zhang Rui , Wang Yu , Wu Yuhang
Published: October 2021

With coal mining depth increase, gas explosion accidents due to the high gas emission rates often occur which cause significant casualties and property damages. Among them, gas explosion shock waves not only can destroy the machines and equipment in mine roadways but also cause the failure of mine ventilation facilities resulting in secondary hazards. Thus, the mines’ serious disasters could happen. For many years, researchers have already done a great lot of works to study damages caused by the impact of shock waves of the gas explosions in underground mines. Research results provide a baseline for judgments of hazard effects by explosions. In this paper, the formation mechanism of the gas explosion shock wave is introduced firstly. Then, the damages for underground facilities, such as mechanical equipment, roadway, and life‐saving devices are summarized and reviewed. Finally, a brief discussion about the methods is given, and some preliminary suggestions are also listed for improvements in the future.
Effect of Orthodontic Treatment on Anterior Tooth Displacement in Patients with Periodontal Disease: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Hou Jia , Qian Yunzhu , Ma Guowu , Gao Huan , Yang Jianxin , Fan Jianlin
Published: October 2021

Objective. To systematically evaluate the effect of orthodontic treatment (ODT) on anterior tooth displacement (ATD) in patients with periodontal disease. Methods. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were electronically searched for relevant literature studies on ODT and basic treatment for ATD in patients with periodontal disease, and then the related journals and reference lists of the included studies were manually searched. The search time was set from January 2010 to May 2021. Stata 16.0 software was used for meta-analysis. Results. Totally, 783 articles were retrieved, and finally, 14 studies were included. The effective rate of basic treatment combined with OTD was significantly higher than that of basic treatment alone (OR = 7.27, 95% CI: 3.76, 14.04). Specifically, the combined treatment led to lower values of periodontal pocket depth (SMD = −2.30, 95% CI: −2.94, −1.66), anterior overjet (SMD = −2.75, 95% CI: −3.72, −1.78), anterior overbite (SMD = −2.13, 95% CI: −3.16, −1.10), and periodontal bleeding index (SMD = −4.25, 95% CI: −5.48, −3.03) compared with those of basic treatment alone. Conclusion. Compared with basic treatment, ODT combined with basic treatment is more effective for patients with periodontal disease-caused ATD and can also improve the clinical symptoms of patients.
Experimental Solution of Chitosan and Nanochitosan on Wettability in Root Dentine: In Vitro Model Prior Regenerative Endodontics
Authors: Arias Alvarado Fernando , Iriarte Maira Rivero , Jordan Mariño Freddy , Quijano-Guauque Sara , Pérez León D. , Baena Yolima , García-Guerrero Claudia
Published: October 2021

Context. The wettability of the chemically modified dentin substrate is a condition that intervenes in dentin-vascular and cellular interaction across regenerative endodontics. Aims. To compare the effect of CS and CSnp on the wettability in root dentine with other irrigation protocols with an experimental in vitro model prior regenerative endodontics. Methods and Material. An in vitro experimental study that included eighty hemisected human root distributed into 8 groups: G1- distilled water; G2- 1% NaOCl/17% EDTA; G3- hypochlorous acid 0.025% HOCl, G4- 1% NaOCl/0.025% HOCl/17% EDTA, G5- 0.2 g/100 mL CS, G6- 1% NaOCl/0.2 g/100 mL CS, G7- CSnp, and G8- 1% NaOCl/CSnp. The wettability analysis calculated the contact angle (θ) between a drop of a blood-like and root dentinal surface; topographic characterization with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) quantified the diameter and number of tubules per area; spectroscopy infrared analyses (IR-S) identified chemical changes in the inorganic (phosphate/carbonate) and organic phase (amide/methyl). Statistical analysis: a linear mixed model, Kruskal–Wallis, and Holm–Bonferroni correction (

P

 < 0.05) were used. Results. Significantly higher wettability for G2 (27.1 (

P

 = 0.0001)) was found. A mean value of 67°±°for experimental groups (

P

 = 0.07) was found, and we did not identify differences between them. The SEM identified greater tubular opening and erosion for G4 and greater dentinal permeability per area for NaOCl/CS. IR-S identified dentinal organic integrity with NaOCl-CS/CSnp compared to organic reduction promoted for NaOCl/EDTA. Conclusions. This in vitro dentin determined an indirect association between the wettability and organic contents. The oxidative effect of NaOCl could be neutralized by CS-CSnp, and consequently, the wettability of the substrate decreases.
The Effect of Bariatric Surgery Volume on General Surgery Outcomes for Morbidly Obese Patients
Authors: Wilkinson Katheryn Hope , Wu Ruizhe , Szabo Aniko , Higgins Rana , Gould Jon , Kindel Tammy
Published: October 2021

Introduction. Bariatric surgery performed at high volume centers decreases length of stay, cost, and morbidity and mortality. The effect of a high volume of bariatric surgery procedures on outcomes may extend not just to bariatric surgery but to any general surgical procedure in morbidly obese patients. We hypothesized that patients with morbid obesity (body mass index >40 kg/m2) undergoing common, nonbariatric general surgery would have decreased morbidity and mortality at centers performing high volumes of bariatric surgery. Methods. The 2016 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was used to identify the number of laparoscopic gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy performed at each hospital. Hospitals were classified as high volume bariatric hospitals (HVBH) ≥10 reported cases (50 actual)/year or low volume bariatric hospitals (LVBH) <10 reported cases (50 actual)/year, as NIS reports a 20% sample of actual cases. Patients with morbid obesity undergoing laparoscopic or open appendectomy, cholecystectomy, or ventral hernia repair were included for analysis. Propensity scores were developed based on available demographics, comorbidities, and hospital procedure volume. Postoperative complications during the index hospital admission, determined by ICD-10 code, were compared using inverse propensity weights. Differences were considered significant with a

p

value of <0.05. Results. The total number of general surgery patient cases analyzed was 14,028 from 2,482 hospitals, representing 70,140 admissions. The cohort of patients undergoing operations treated at HVBH were younger (

p
=
0.03

) with higher rates of COPD (

p
=
0.04

). Patients at LVBH had higher rates of nicotine dependence (

p
=
0.0001

) and obstructive sleep apnea (

p
<
0.001

). On propensity-weighted analysis adjusting for preoperative comorbidities and hospital procedure volume, there were significantly higher rates of multiple postprocedure complications at LVBH, specifically, postprocedure respiratory failure for patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, elective ventral hernia repair with mesh and appendectomy. Conclusion. Patients with morbid obesity may have an advantage in having general surgery procedures at HVBH. HVBH may have a volume-outcomes relationship where the hospital and staff familiarity with the management principles required to minimize the postoperative risk associated with morbid obesity and improve patient outcomes.
Biosensitivity and Theoretical Electronic Structure Investigations on 3-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)-2-iminothiazolidin-4-one and Its Zn2+ and Cd2+ Metal Complexes
Authors: Gemechu Zewdu Bezu , Maria Susai Boobalan , Taddesse Abi M. , Bedada Endale Teju , Ramamoorthy R.
Published: October 2021

A two-step cyclocondensation reaction has been carried out using 2-aminophenol with 2-chloroacetyl chloride to produce o-hydroxyphenyl chloroacetamide followed by treatment with KSCN in CH3COCH3 to produce the heterocyclic ligand 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-iminothiazolidin-4-one. The Zn2+ and Cd2+ complexes with a metal : ligands ratio of 1 : 4 were synthesized in ethanol using respective metal precursors with the title ligand. Antimicrobial activities of the ligand and its complexes were checked against some bacterial and fungal strains. The result evidenced better bioactive performance of the metal complex (though lower than the standard drug) than the free ligand against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhi bacteria, as well as Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus niger fungal strains. Theoretical investigations on ligand and metal complexes help to infer the electronic structure behavior of them. Molecular geometry and bond order analysis provides detailed information on the nature of chemical structure and bonding. Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) and atomic charge analysis claims evidence on charge distribution and electrophilic, nucleophilic reactive sites. Natural bond orbital analysis provides second-order perturbed stabilization interactions, orbital population, and their energies. Other theoretical properties such as hardness, softness, electron affinities, and ionization potential were derived and discussed in detail.