bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electroencephalographic and Neuroimaging Asymmetry Correlation in Patients with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Longarzo M. , Cavaliere C. , Alfano V. , Mele G. , Salvatore M. , Aiello M.
Published: September 2020

The present study explores the correlation between electroencephalographic and neuroimaging asymmetry index from EEG-MRI functional connectome and EEG power analysis in inattention, motion, and mixed profile subgroups of ADHD. Sixty-two subjects from Healthy Brain Network Biobank of the Child Mind Institute dataset were selected basing on the quotient score. From both MRI and EEG asymmetry index, Pearson’s correlation, ANOVA, and partial least square analysis were performed matching left and right brain parcels and channels. The asymmetry index significantly correlated across subjects between fMRI and power-EEG in the inattention group in frontal and temporal areas for theta and alpha bands, an anticorrelation in the same areas for delta band was found. Significant patterns of hemispheric asymmetry index have been reported, involving EEG bands that underlie cognitive impairments in ADHD. Alpha and theta bands were altered in the inattention group of patients, reflecting widespread deficiency of basic attentional processing.
Clinical Difference between Acute Appendicitis and Acute Right-Sided Colonic Diverticulitis
Authors: Song Ji Ho , Kim Yong Won , Lee Sanghun , Do Han Ho , Seo Jun Seok , Lee Jeong Hun , Lee Seung Chul
Published: September 2020

Background. Clinical presentations of acute appendicitis (AA) and acute right-sided colonic diverticulitis (ARCD) are similar. However, the usual treatment for each disease differs between surgical and conservative management. The aim of this study was to identify clinical differences between AA and ARCD. Method. We performed a single-center retrospective study on adult patients, with uncomplicated AA and ARCD confirmed by computed tomography, who visited an emergency department between March 2018 and August 2019. Clinical variables including past medical history, presented symptoms and signs, and laboratory findings were compared between the two groups. A logistic regression analysis was subsequently performed to differentiate ARCD from AA based on results of univariate analyses. Results. A total of 212 (79.1%) and 56 (20.9%) patients were enrolled in AA and ARSD groups, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a past history of diverticulitis [OR: 102.679 (95% CI: 9.964–1058.055), p<0.001] was associated with ARCD, while ketonuria [OR: 2.907 (95% CI: 1.091–7.745), p=0.033], anorexia [OR: 21.544 (95% CI: 3.905–118.868), p<0.001], and neutrophilia [OR: 3.406 (95% CI: 1.243–9.336), p=0.017] were associated with AA. Conclusion. Anorexia, neutrophilia, and ketonuria were predictors of AA while a history of diverticulitis was a predictor of ARCD.
Is Unfavourable Cervix prior to Labor Induction Risk for Adverse Obstetrical Outcome in Time of Universal Ripening Agents Usage? Single Center Retrospective Observational Study
Authors: Jakub Mlodawski , Marta Mlodawska , Jagoda Galuszewska , Kamila Glijer , Stanislaw Gluszek
Published: September 2020

Cervical assessment on the Bishop scale prior to induction of labor (IOL) is one of the strongest prognostic criteria in relation to the success of the procedure. The commonly used preinduction methods are mainly aimed at reducing the percentage of cesarean sections. Our study has analyzed obstetric results of patients who had unripe cervix (Bishop score <7) before IOL and used preinduction (Foley catheter or misoprostol vaginal insert releasing 7 mcg of misoprostol per hour for 24 hours) with obstetric results of patients in whom, due to favourable cervix, only a low-dose infusion of oxytocin was used. We reviewed the medical records of 1010 single pregnancies in whom IOL was performed. We divided the patients into two groups: group A (where preinduction was used) and group B (Bishop score ≥7 points) where preinduction was not used. Patients in group A were more likely to complete the delivery by caesarean section (OR=4.58, 95% CI 3.22-6.51), and more likely to have events that were indications for operative delivery: unreassuring fetal heart rate trace (OR=3.29, 95% CI 2.07-5.23) and arrested labor or failed induction (OR=3.4, 95% CI 2.06-5.62). The groups did not differ in the percentage of vacuum extraction, postpartum haemorrhage, and meconium stained amniotic fluid. In group B, more infants were born with umbilical cord blood pH <7.1 (1.38% vs. 0%), both groups included no deliveries of newborns with Apgar score ≤3 points, the groups did not differ in terms of the percentage of newborns with Apgar score between 4 and 7 at birth (OR=0.66, 95% CI 0.29-1.49). The immature cervix and the need to use labor preinduction is a risk factor for caesarean section. The necessity of preinduction does not impair neonatological results.
Association between Intimate Partner Violence and Abortion in Nepal: A Pooled Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (2011 and 2016)
Authors: Thakuri Dipendra Singh , Ghimire Pramesh Raj , Poudel Samikshya , Khatri Resham Bahadur
Published: September 2020

Background. Intimate partner violence (IPV) adversely affects female reproductive health in different ways. However, the relationship between IPV and abortion has not been adequately examined in Nepal. This study is aimed at examining the association between IPV and abortion in Nepal. Methods. Data for this study was derived from the Nepal Demographic Health Surveys (NDHS) of 2011 and 2016. A total of 8641 women aged 15‐49 years were selected for the violence module in NDHS 2011 and 2016. The analysis was restricted to 2978 women who reported at least one pregnancy five years preceding each survey. Among them, 839 women who experienced different forms of violence were included in the analysis. Various forms of IPV were taken as exposure variables while abortion as an outcome of interest. The study employed logistic regression analysis to examine the association between IPV and abortion. Results. Nearly one in three (28.2%) women experienced any forms of IPV. A total of 22.2% women experienced physical violence. Almost one in five (19.5%) women were slapped. More than half (52.8%) of the women with no education experienced IPV. The logistic regression analyses showed a significant association between IPV and abortion. Women with severe physical violence had nearly two‐fold higher odds (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.64) of having abortion. Similarly, women who reported physical violence were more likely to have abortion (aOR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.19) compared to those who did not experience such violence. Conclusion. Intimate partner violence is associated with abortion in Nepal. It is imperative that effective implementation of IPV‐preventive measures through the promotion of appropriate social and policy actions can help reduce abortion in Nepal.
Larvicidal Effect of Vorticella microstoma (Ehrenberg, 1830) on Mosquito Larvae, and Morphological Changes under Induced Environmental Conditions
Authors: Ranasinghe Achini Koshila , Amarasinghe L. D.
Published: September 2020

Development of microbiota assemblage usually occurs in all most all domestic and peridomestic mosquito breeding habitats. There may be parasitic, epibiont, pathogenic, or even predatory species among this biota, and to investigate their potential against the mosquito population is worth studying. This may contribute to formulating environmentally agreeable approaches in controlling mosquitoes which is a current need. Vorticella spp. is a peritrich ciliate, and its trophont stage has become epibiont to certain biota. Further, their existence in seasonal water bodies that dry off during drought in tropical weather conditions is not known. Therefore, the potential of the larvicidal effect of Vorticella microstoma on different species of mosquito larvae was studied. We found that V. microstoma causes the 100% death of the third instar larvae of Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Giles, 1901) within 48 h of exposure. In contrast to that, this species did not cause any mortality to Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) and Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus in Hasselquist, 1762) mosquito larvae in repeated trials. The dynamics of polymorphism of V. microstoma was studied under induced environmental conditions. V. microstoma remained as trophont stage throughout at room temperature (25±2°C). When the temperature was reduced to 6°C, V. microstoma settled in the cyst stage. Evidently, V. microstoma is a good biocontrol agent of Culex species mosquito larvae, and they able to overcome drought periods in cyst forms. The findings of this study would be considered as the first step for a new avenue to work on environmentally agreeable manner in reducing the Culex spp. mosquito populations.
Network Pharmacology Analysis and Molecular Characterization of the Herbal Medicine Formulation Qi-Fu-Yin for the Inhibition of the Neuroinflammatory Biomarker iNOS in Microglial BV-2 Cells: Implication for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Ngo Fung Yin , Wang Weiwei , Chen Qilei , Zhao Jia , Chen Hubiao , Gao Jin-Ming , Rong Jianhui
Published: September 2020

Aberrant microglial activation drives neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The present study is aimed at investigating whether the herbal formula Qi-Fu-Yin (QFY) could inhibit the inflammatory activation of cultured BV-2 microglia. A network pharmacology approach was employed to predict the active compounds of QFY, protein targets, and affected pathways. The representative pathways and molecular functions of the targets were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment. A total of 145 active compounds were selected from seven herbal ingredients of QFY. Targets (e.g., MAPT, APP, ACHE, iNOS, and COX-2) were predicted for the selected active compounds based on the relevance to AD and inflammation. As a validation, fractions were sequentially prepared by aqueous extraction, ethanolic precipitation, and HPLC separation, and assayed for downregulating two key proinflammatory biomarkers iNOS and COX-2 in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) challenged BV-2 cells by the Western blotting technique. Moreover, the compounds of QFY in 90% ethanol downregulated iNOS in BV-2 cells but showed no activity against COX-2 induction. Among the herbal ingredients of QFY, Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma contributed to the selective inhibition of iNOS induction. Furthermore, chemical analysis identified ginsenosides, especially Rg3, as antineuroinflammatory compounds. The herbal formula QFY may ameliorate neuroinflammation via downregulating iNOS in microglia.
Adaptive Neural Network Variable Structure Control for Liquid-Filled Spacecraft under Unknown Input Saturation
Authors: Wang Hongwei , Lu Shufeng , Song Xiaojuan
Published: September 2020

This study addresses the problem of attitude maneuver control for a three-axis stabilized liquid-filled spacecraft using an adaptive neural network variable structure control algorithm in the presence of parametric uncertainty, external disturbances, and control input saturation. The liquid fuel is equivalent to a spherical pendulum model, and the coupled dynamic model of liquid-filled spacecraft is derived using the conservation law of angular momentum moment. Then, adaptive variable structure control technique is designed, which contains hyperbolic tangent function that preserves control smoothness at all times. The proposed control algorithm has the properties that state variables converge to the origin asymptotically under parametric uncertainty and external disturbance. Furthermore, the controller derived here is extended by adding a feed-forward saturation compensation scheme to reduce the influence of unknown control input saturation on the system. Also, the saturation compensation scheme is derived by using a radial basis function neural network to approximate the unknown saturation nonlinearity. The associated stability proof of the resulting closed-loop system is presented based on Lyapunov analysis, and asymptotic convergence of the state variables is guaranteed via the Barbalat lemma. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the spacecraft performance obtained by using the proposed controllers.
Effect of Pingchuan Formula on Toll‐Like Receptors and Dendritic Cells in an Asthmatic Mouse Model
Authors: Liu Fei , Bai Li , Xue Zheng , Pan Wei , Yu Jianer
Published: September 2020

Pingchuan formula (PCF) was created by Professor Yu Jianer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PCF on dendritic cells (DCs) and toll‐like receptors (TLRs) in initiating immunity. A bronchial asthma BALB/c mouse model was established using an OVA excitation method. PCF was immediately administered by gavage after the first excitation. After 7 d, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes in the asthma model. Eosinophil infiltration and concentrations of IL‐4, IFN‐r, IL‐12, and IFN‐α in BALF were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Real‐time PCR was used to determine mRNA levels of IL‐12 and IFN‐α. Protein expression levels of ERK, Toll‐2, IDO, and Toll‐9 were measured by immunoblot. HE and ELISA showed that PCF could improve lung pathological changes and significantly decrease the concentration of IL‐4 in BALF. Moreover, PCF could increase IL‐12, IFN‐α, and IFN‐r in BALF. Real‐time PCR and western blot showed that PCF restored the DCs and TLRs in initiating immunity. In summary, this study found that PCF can improve the pathological changes and reduce the symptoms of asthma in a BALB/c mouse model. It can facilitate the initiation of immunity by restoring the DCs and TLRs.
Effects of the Intervention “Reflective STRENGTH-Giving Dialogues” for Older Adults Living with Long-Term Pain: A Pilot Study
Authors: Hedén Lena , Berglund Mia , Gillsjö Catharina
Published: September 2020

Background. Long-term musculoskeletal pain is a major, often undertreated, disabling health problem among an increasing number of older adults. Reflective STRENGTH-giving dialogues (STRENGTH) may be a tool to support older adults living with long-term pain. The main aim of this pilot study was to investigate the immediate and longitudinal effect of the intervention STRENGTH on levels of pain, wellbeing, occurrence of depression symptoms, and sense of coherence (SOC) among community-dwelling older adults suffering from musculoskeletal pain compared to a control group. Methods. The study was semiexperimental with an intervention group and a control group. The effect of a single STRENGTH intervention was reported on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) regarding pain and wellbeing. To evaluate the longitudinal effect of STRENGTH, using the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF), the Geriatric Depression Scale-20 (GDS-20), SOC-13 at baseline (T1), and six months after the intervention/no intervention (T2), a total of 30 older adults, aged 72 to 97 years (Mdn 86 years), were included consecutively and fulfilled the intervention series (n = 18) or untreated controls (n = 12). Results. The intervention with STRENGTH decreases pain (NRS 6 Mdn versus NRS 4 Mdn, p<0.001) and increases wellbeing (NRS 7 Mdn versus NRS 8 Mdn, p<0.001). After a six-month study period with STRENGTH, no longitudinal effect difference was found compared to baseline. Compared to the control group, there was an increasing trend between decreased pain level and increased SOC level for STRENGTH intervention. Conclusions. This pilot study supports STRENGTH’s effect as a pain-alleviating model that provides a decrease in pain levels and an increase of wellbeing in older adults with long-term pain. STRENGTH dialogues could be a useful intervention to provide individually holistic care in older adults living with long-term pain.
Using Augmented Reality with Older Adults in the Community to Select Design Features for an Age-Friendly Park: A Pilot Study
Authors: Vieira Edgar R. , Civitella Fernanda , Carreno Jorge , Junior Miburge G. , Amorim Cesar F. , D’Souza Newton , Ozer Ebru , Ortega Francisco , Estrázulas Jansen A.
Published: September 2020

Sedentary behavior is prevalent in older adults. Older adults often underutilize public parks for exercising because the parks do not support their needs and preferences. Engaging older adults on the redesign of parks may help promote active lifestyles. The objectives of this pilot study were to evaluate (1) the effects of wearing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) glasses on balance; (2) the effects of different virtual walls separating the walking trail from the roadway on older adults’ gait, and (3) the preferences of the participants regarding wall design and other features. The participants were ten older adults (68 ± 5 years) who lived within two miles from the park. Balance and gait were assessed using a force plate and an instrumented mat. It was feasible to use AR with older adults in the park to evaluate features for redesign. Motion sickness was not an issue when using AR glasses, but balance was affected when wearing VR goggles. The area of postural sway increased approximately 25% when wearing AR glasses, and it increased by close to 70% when wearing VR goggles compared to no glasses. This difference is clinically relevant; however, we did not have enough power to identify the differences as statistically significant because of the small sample size and large variability. Different walls did not significantly affect the participants’ gait either because they did not alter the way they walked or because the holograms were insufficiently realistic to cause changes. The participants preferred a transparent wall rather than tall or short solid walls to separate the park from the roadway.
Prevalence and Determinants of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among School Children at Goro Primary School, South West Shewa, Ethiopia
Authors: Tiruneh Tigist , Geshere Geleta , Ketema Tsige
Published: September 2020

Background. Soil-transmitted helminths (STH)/geohelminths are human parasitic nematodes which need soil contact for their egg development and become infectious. It is widely prevalent in developing countries. In Ethiopia, too, the same problem exists although the prevalence varies from place to place depending on the presence of risk factors and hygienic status of the community. Therefore, the current study is designed to assess the prevalence and determinants of STH among school children at Goro Primary School of Southwest Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study design was employed from April to June 2019. The stool samples were collected in prelabeled, clean, and leak-proof stool cups and examined immediately. Direct wet mount and formalin ether concentration techniques were utilized to detect the STHs in a stool sample collected from all study subjects. A total of 387 stool samples were analyzed. Moreover, community- and individual-level risk factors associated with STH infection were assessed using semistructured questionnaire. Results. The overall prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections observed at the study area was 15.8% (n=61/387). Among these, the most abundant STH parasite was hookworms (n=39/61, 63.93%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (n=22/61, 36.06%). Factors independently associated with soil-transmitted helminth infections were children from illiterate mother (AOR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.1-4.8, P=0.021), lack of habit of wearing shoes (AOR=4.1, 95% CI: 2.0-8.5, P<0.001), lack of frequent handwashing practice before meal (AOR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.5, P=0.019), use of unprotected drinking water (AOR=39, CI:3.9-393, P=0.002), and presence of dirt in their fingernails (AOR=3.5, 95% CI: 1.8-6.9, P<0.001). Conclusions. STH infection observed in the study area could be classified into the low-risk area group (according to the World Health Organization classification) calling for none or case-by-case treatment. Thus, enhancing awareness of the community in the study area on how to keep personal hygiene and environmental sanitation is quite important to keep the burden to a controllable level, besides implementation of regular deworming program in the locality.
Safety Analysis of Integrated Modular Avionics System Based on FTGPN Method
Authors: Yang Haiyun , Sun Youchao , Li Longbiao , Guo Yundong , Su Siyu , Huangfu Qijun
Published: September 2020

Compared with federated avionic architecture, the integrated modular avionic (IMA) system architecture in the aircraft can provide more sophisticated and powerful avionic functionality, and meanwhile, it becomes structurally dynamic, variably interconnected, and highly complex. The traditional approach such as fault tree analysis (FTA) becomes neither convenient nor sufficient in making safety analysis of the IMA system. In order to overcome the limitations, the approach that FTA combines with generalized stochastic petri net (GSPN) is proposed. First, FTA is used to establish the static model for the top level of the IMA system, while GSPN is used to build a dynamic model for each cell system. Finally, the combination model is generated, which is called the FTGPN model. Moreover, the FTGPN model is made safety analysis with the PIPE2 tool. According to the simulation result, corresponding measures are taken to meet the safety requirements of the IMA system.
Technical Note on Root Coverage of Lower Anterior Teeth Using a Partially Deepithelialized Connective Tissue Graft (PE-CTG) Aided by a High-Speed Handpiece
Authors: Lim Kyeong-Ok , Kim Byung-Ock , Lee Won-Pyo
Published: September 2020

Root coverage in the mandibular anterior region is challenging because of a thin gingival biotype, shallow vestibule, and high frenum attachment. Several methods have been introduced to predict the root coverage in this area. Stimmelmayr proposed a method of performing root coverage using a combination epithelialized-subepithelial connective tissue graft (CTG). However, it is difficult to precisely acquire connective tissue according to this method. Therefore, in this case report, we would like to introduce a technique to harvest a partially deepithelialized CTG (PE-CTG) aided by a high-speed handpiece, which helps in procuring the graft easily and quickly. This method could lower the patient’s morbidity at donor sites and enhance the healing process. Additionally, it could increase the amount of keratinized gingiva in the mandibular anterior region without reducing the vestibular depth. Therefore, PE-CTG using a high-speed handpiece can be a promising treatment option for the root coverage of the mandibular anterior teeth.
Experimental Study on Pulse Detonation Engine with Two-Phase Inhomogeneous Mixture
Authors: Gong Jishuang , Ma Hu
Published: September 2020

In order to investigate the effects of fuel distribution on the operation of two-phase pulse detonation engine (PDE), a series of cold flow and multicycle PDE experiments was carried out with 9 mixing schemes. Homogeneity degree with fuel distribution considered in terms of space and time was proposed to quantitatively evaluate the mixing of liquid fuel and air by particle image velocimetry (PIV) in cold flow experiments. Operation stability of multicycle PDE was presented by statistical analysis of peak pressure at the outlet of a detonation tube. The relationship between operation stability and homogeneity degree was quantitatively elaborated. These experimental results indicated that not only using mixing reinforcement devices (such as pore plate and reed valve) was fuel distribution improved but also the effect of inlet ways on the homogeneity degree was weakened. The homogeneity degree of fuel distribution ζ=0.72 was a critical value for stable working of multicycle PDE. When homogeneity degree was lower than 0.72, stable state was not maintained and detonation wave in some cycles was not established due to poor fuel distribution. Therefore, it is necessary to hold homogeneity degree larger than 0.72 to achieve stable operation of PDE. These results contribute to enhancing the operation stability and offering guidelines for the design of PDE’s mixing scheme.
Effects of Fungi-Mediated Solid-State Fermentation on Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Activity of Brown and White Teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) Grains
Authors: Gebru Yoseph Asmelash , Sbhatu Desta Berhe
Published: September 2020

Teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is a tropical cereal used in preparing a staple food in Ethiopia and Eritrea called injera. Phenolic compounds are available in soluble and bound forms in cereals like teff. Therefore, their bioaccessibility depends on their release from the food matrix. Different food processing methods including fermentation have been applied since ancient times to aid bioaccessibility and improve the properties of food products. This study aimed at investigating changes in phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of white and brown teff grains during mushroom-mediated solid-state fermentation. Fermentation with mushroom considerably increased total phenol contents of the soluble phenol fraction with Ganoderma lucidum showing relatively higher increase than Pleurotus ostreatus. Bound fraction of teff phenol did not show noticeable changes after fermentation with the two mushroom strains. Such changes are suggested to be attributed to activities of fungal enzymes such as amylases, xylanases, and proteases that induce structural breakdown of grain components including cell walls leading to the liberation or synthesis of a variety of phenolic compounds. On the other hand, total flavonoid content of teff significantly decreased after fermentation by both strains. This is also believed to be caused by the action of fungal polyphenol oxidases that catalyze the oxidation of a variety of phenolic compounds including flavonoids to o-quinones.
Extracting Parallel Sentences from Nonparallel Corpora Using Parallel Hierarchical Attention Network
Authors: Zhu Shaolin , Yang Yong , Xu Chun
Published: September 2020

Collecting parallel sentences from nonparallel data is a long-standing natural language processing research problem. In particular, parallel training sentences are very important for the quality of machine translation systems. While many existing methods have shown encouraging results, they cannot learn various alignment weights in parallel sentences. To address this issue, we propose a novel parallel hierarchical attention neural network which encodes monolingual sentences versus bilingual sentences and construct a classifier to extract parallel sentences. In particular, our attention mechanism structure can learn different alignment weights of words in parallel sentences. Experimental results show that our model can obtain state-of-the-art performance on the English-French, English-German, and English-Chinese dataset of BUCC 2017 shared task about parallel sentences’ extraction.
Evaluation of the Effect of Environmental Parameters on the Spread of COVID-19: A Fuzzy Logic Approach
Authors: Chowdhury Mohammad Asaduzzaman , Shah Quazi Zobaer , Kashem Mohammod Abul , Shahid Abdus , Akhtar Nasim
Published: September 2020

In recent months, the world has experienced the outbreak and spread of a new infectious disease, COVID-19. The spread of this disease has been so severe, and even many developed countries have struggled to manage this situation. However, some countries, such as China and Australia, have shown success in taking effective steps towards tackling the crisis. So far, some preventive measures to contain the spread of infection have emerged. Numerous studies have been undertaken worldwide in parallel in order to develop strategies to contain the virus, as well as to determine climatic or atmospheric conditions favoring COVID-19 spread. In this research, an artificial intelligence (AI) system has been adopted to assess the effective role of various environmental conditions in the spread of COVID-19. Temperature, relative humidity (RH), and UV index (UVI) of some affected countries were considered as input parameters while the total number of infected people is taken as the output variable. After plotting all available data as linguistic variables, a relationship is established between temperature, RH, UVI, and the number of infected people. From the surface graph, it can be stated that in addition to UVI, temperature and RH have a significant impact on the number of affected people. The maximum and minimum temperatures as well as other parameters are considered on the basis of mean values.
In Vivo Structural and Functional Abnormalities of the Striatums Is Related to Decreased Astrocytic BDNF in Itpr2-/- Mice Exhibiting Depressive-Like Behavior
Authors: Zeng Shanmei , Liu Kai , Zhang Jingyu , Chen Chunhui , Xu Yihua , Wu Yulan , Deng Yanjia , Sun Xuegang , Wen Ge , Jing Linlin
Published: September 2020

Background. Previous researches indicate that Itpr2-/- mice (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 2 knockout mice) show depressive-like symptoms; however, little is known regarding the in vivo neurobiological effect of Itpr2 as well as the specific pattern of brain abnormalities in Itpr2-/- mice. Methods/Materials. First, behavioral tests, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and resting-state functional MRI were performed on Itpr2-/- mice and matched healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry and seed-based voxel-wise functional connectivity (FC) were, respectively, calculated to assess the gray matter volume and the functional activities of the brain in vivo. Second, the sample of relevant changed brain regions was extracted to detect the expression of BDNF. Finally, to further validate the relationship between Itpr2 deficiency and the observed brain abnormalities, we performed Western blotting to detect the expression of pro-BDNF and mBDNF in Itpr2-/- C8-D1A (a type of astrocyte). Results. Compared with controls, Itpr2-/- mice showed depressive-like behaviors as well as significantly lower gray matter volume in striatums mainly, periaqueductal GM, and the right frontoparietal cortices as well as lower striatal-hippocampal and striatal-right parietal cortex (mainly for the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex) FC. Moreover, decreased expression of mBDNF was found in both sample tissues of the striatum in Itpr2-/- mice and Itpr2-/- C8-D1A. Conclusion. By combining biochemistry and MR analyses, this study provides evidences to support that the Itpr2-related neuropathological effect is possibly mediated by the striatal abnormality associated with dysfunctional astrocytes in Itpr2-/- mice in vivo, thus may help us better understand underlying mechanisms of Itpr2 deficiency as well as its relation to depressive-like behavior.
Solving Inverse Kinematics of the Shotcrete Manipulator Based on the Plane Two-Link Model and Trajectory Planning
Authors: Luo Chunlei , He Yi , Abubakar Shitu
Published: September 2020

Traditionally, the construction of tunnel support is to manually move the manipulator through the remote control. During the manual construction process, there is a large rebound rate and a reduction in the compactness of the concrete. Skilled operators can obtain better shot blasting quality, but training of a skilled worker is costly. In this study, an automatic shotcrete manipulator is proposed to complete spraying and improve the spraying quality. The model of the manipulator is simplified into a planar two-link manipulator, solved the inverse kinematics of the shotcrete manipulator, and implemented the automatic trajectory planning process. By simplifying the complex mechanical arm structure model into a simple planar two-link manipulator model, the inverse kinematics of the shotcrete manipulator is solved, and automatic trajectory planning software is developed, which can better help construction and reduce injury to personnel’s health and can also help the construction party save materials and improve economic efficiency and construction efficiency.
Characterizing Anomalies in Malware-Generated HTTP Traffic
Authors: Białczak Piotr , Mazurczyk Wojciech
Published: September 2020

Currently, we are witnessing a significant rise in various types of malware, which has an impact not only on companies, institutions, and individuals, but also on entire countries and societies. Malicious software developers try to devise increasingly sophisticated ways to perform nefarious actions. In consequence, the security community is under pressure to develop more effective defensive solutions and to continuously improve them. To accomplish this, the defenders must understand and be able to recognize the threat when it appears. That is why, in this paper, a large dataset of recent real-life malware samples was used to identify anomalies in the HTTP traffic produced by the malicious software. The authors analyzed malware-generated HTTP requests, as well as benign traffic of the popular web browsers, using 3 groups of features related to the structure of requests, header field values, and payload characteristics. It was observed that certain attributes of the HTTP traffic can serve as an indicator of malicious actions, including lack of some popular HTTP headers and their values or usage of the protocol features in an uncommon way. The findings of this paper can be conveniently incorporated into the existing detection systems and network traffic forensic tools, making it easier to spot and eliminate potential threats.
A Survey of Parallel Clustering Algorithms Based on Spark
Authors: Xiao Wen , Hu Juan
Published: September 2020

Clustering is one of the most important unsupervised machine learning tasks, which is widely used in information retrieval, social network analysis, image processing, and other fields. With the explosive growth of data, the classical clustering algorithms cannot meet the requirements of clustering for big data. Spark is one of the most popular parallel processing platforms for big data, and many researchers have proposed many parallel clustering algorithms based on Spark. In this paper, the existing parallel clustering algorithms based on Spark are classified and summarized, the parallel design framework of each kind of algorithms is discussed, and after comparing different kinds of algorithms, the direction of the future research is discussed.
Monitoring System for Circular Deformation in Metro Shield Tunnels in Soft Soils
Authors: Zhang Jinfeng , Zhao Ming
Published: September 2020

For in‐service metro shield tunnels in soft soils, large circular deformations are a major concern because they usually lead to various problems, such as water leakage, joint openings, and concrete cracks. However, the monitoring of circular deformation depends mainly on manual surveying, and the automatic monitoring methods developed in recent years generally have low economic applicability and are not widely implemented. In this study, an automatic and cost‐effective system was presented to monitor circular deformation in shield tunnels by using only inclinometers. Experiments were conducted to prove the assumption that each segment can be regarded as a rigid body and to investigate the position of the joint rotation center. Then, a method for monitoring circular deformation based on the rigid body and plane section assumptions was proposed. The joint opening angle, maximum joint opening width, horizontal diameter convergence, and bolt strain were calculated from rotation angles of segments which can be monitored directly by inclinometer. A case study was conducted for a section of a metro shield tunnel with an ongoing pit excavation nearby. The rotation of segments was measured using MEMS inclinometers, and the data were transmitted using ZigBee and general packet radio service (GPRS) wireless communication technology. Results show that the proposed system could be implemented to improve transportation safety in relevant situations and similar conditions.
A Probabilistic Patient Scheduling Model with Time Variable Slots
Authors: Carreras-García Danae , Delgado-Gómez David , Baca-García Enrique , Artés-Rodriguez Antonio
Published: September 2020

One of the current challenges faced by health centers is to reduce the number of patients who do not attend their appointments. The existence of these patients causes the underutilization of the center’s services, which reduces their income and extends patient’s access time. In order to reduce these negative effects, several appointment scheduling systems have been developed. With the recent availability of electronic health records, patient scheduling systems that incorporate the patient’s no-show prediction are being developed. However, the benefits of including a personalized individual variable time slot for each patient in those probabilistic systems have not been yet analyzed. In this article, we propose a scheduling system based on patients’ no-show probabilities with variable time slots and a dynamic priority allocation scheme. The system is based on the solution of a mixed-integer programming model that aims at maximizing the expected profits of the clinic, accounting for first and follow-up visits. We validate our findings by performing an extensive simulation study based on real data and specific scheduling requirements provided by a Spanish hospital. The results suggest potential benefits with the implementation of the proposed allocation system with variable slot times. In particular, the proposed model increases the annual cumulated profit in more than 50% while decreasing the waiting list and waiting times by 30% and 50%, respectively, with respect to the actual appointment scheduling system.
Efficacy and Safety of Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab versus Sunitinib in First-line Treatment of Patients with Advanced Sarcomatoid Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Tannir Nizar M. , Signoretti Sabina , Choueiri Toni K. , McDermott David F. , Motzer Robert J. , Flaifel Abdallah , Pignon Jean-Christophe , Ficial Miriam , Frontera Osvaldo Arén , George Saby , Powles Thomas , Donskov Frede , Harrison Michael R. , Barthélémy Philippe , Tykodi Scott S. , Kocsis Judit , Ravaud Alain , Rodriguez-Cid Jeronimo R. , Pal Sumanta K. , Murad Andre M. , Ishii Yuko , Saggi Shruti Shally , McHenry M. Brent , Rini Brian I.
Published: September 2020

Purpose:

Patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid features (sRCC) have poor prognoses and suboptimal outcomes with targeted therapy. This post hoc analysis of the phase III CheckMate 214 trial analyzed the efficacy of nivolumab plus ipilimumab (NIVO+IPI) versus sunitinib in patients with sRCC.

Patients and Methods:

Patients with sRCC were identified via independent central pathology review of archival tumor tissue or histologic classification per local pathology report. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive nivolumab (3 mg/kg) plus ipilimumab (1 mg/kg) every 3 weeks (four doses) then nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks, or sunitinib 50 mg orally every day (4 weeks; 6-week cycles). Outcomes in patients with sRCC were not prespecified. Endpoints in patients with sRCC and International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium intermediate/poor-risk disease included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) per independent radiology review, and objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1. Safety outcomes used descriptive statistics.

Results:

Of 1,096 randomized patients in CheckMate 214, 139 patients with sRCC and intermediate/poor-risk disease and six with favorable-risk disease were identified. With 42 months' minimum follow-up in patients with sRCC and intermediate/poor-risk disease, median OS [95% confidence interval (CI)] favored NIVO+IPI [not reached (NR) (25.2-not estimable [NE]); n = 74] versus sunitinib [14.2 months (9.3–22.9); n = 65; HR, 0.45 (95% CI, 0.3–0.7; P = 0.0004)]; PFS benefits with NIVO+IPI were similarly observed [median 26.5 vs. 5.1 months; HR, 0.54 (95% CI, 0.33–0.86; P = 0.0093)]. Confirmed ORR was 60.8% with NIVO+IPI versus 23.1% with sunitinib, with complete response rates of 18.9% versus 3.1%, respectively. No new safety signals emerged.

Conclusions:

NIVO+IPI showed unprecedented long-term survival, response, and complete response benefits versus sunitinib in previously untreated patients with sRCC and intermediate/poor-risk disease, supporting the use of first-line NIVO+IPI for this population.

See related commentary by Hwang et al., p. 5
Abstract A007: Using latent class modeling to characterize exposome impacts on health disparities
Authors: Larsen Alexandra , Kolpacoff Viktoria , Seewaldt Victoria , Hyslop Terry
Published: September 2020

Recent work suggests that air pollutants, toxic chemicals, and other environmental exposures negatively impact health in a synergistic way. We hypothesize that these environmental exposures will vary with socioeconomic status (SES), and urban versus rural location, and contribute to health disparities. In order to measure and understand this phenomenon, we propose a latent class mixture model of multi-pollutant exposures and SES. This builds on our previous development of an SES mixture model, which includes 13 indicators of socioeconomic advantage (eg profession, education) and disadvantage (eg unemployment, single-parent households, etc). Our model identifies levels of joint exposure to three classes of toxic pollutants: volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM) and heavy metals (HM). We use publicly available data from the American Community Survey and the EPA, including the National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), for the 2,174 census tracts in North Carolina (NC). Model results indicate that mixtures of 2 levels of pollutants, 2 levels of socioeconomic advantage and 2 levels of socioeconomic disadvantage best fit data for NC. We present estimated class-membership for the state of NC, where 34.1% of the census tracts exhibit high disadvantage, 66.3% have low advantage, and 59.2% of census tracts have high mixtures of toxic pollutants. While frequently observed in urban or regional city/suburban areas, our model shows that rural areas are detected at the highest levels of pollution as well. Areas of high advantage are focused on urban/suburban and coastal areas, while disadvantage dominates the eastern half of the state as well as many urban areas. Areas with higher SES disadvantage had significantly higher black population density (p<0.001). Similarly, black population density was higher in areas with higher pollution (p<0.001). Our next focus is to incorporate spatial correlations into our models to better characterize the interactive nature of multi-pollutant and economic exposures, and apply to specific cohorts with cancer outcomes. Taken together, these extensions will be incorporated into a holistic, exposome modelling framework for estimating disparities in cancer survival.

Citation Format: Alexandra Larsen, Viktoria Kolpacoff, Victoria Seewaldt, Terry Hyslop. Using latent class modeling to characterize exposome impacts on health disparities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A007.
Abstract A015: Post-treatment patient-provider communication and follow-up care: Does written patient-provider communication improve timely follow-up care for rural cancer survivors?
Authors: Lewis-Thames Marquita W. , Carnahan Leslie R. , James Aimee S. , Watson Karriem S. , Molina Yamilé
Published: September 2020

Purpose: Patient-provider communication is a facilitator for optimizing cancer survivorship care planning. As disparities in rural-urban survivorship rates continue to widen, patient-provider communication regarding post-treatment survivorship care is a potential mechanism to improve survivorship-related outcomes. The current study examines sociodemographic and health predictors of post-treatment patient-provider communication and follow-up care, and associations between written communication and timely follow-up care for rural cancer survivors. Methods: Data was analyzed from post-treatment cancer survivor respondents of the Illinois Rural Cancer Assessment Study. The current study tested associations between sociodemographic variables and health factors on the quality of patient-provider communication and timely post-treatment follow-up care, defined as visits within three months or less of final treatment, and associations between the receipt of written patient-provider communication on timely post-treatment follow-up care. Results: Among 90 rural cancer survivors, respondents with annual incomes less than $50,000 and having a high school diploma or less were more likely to report a high quality of post-treatment patient-provider communication. Post-treatment written communication was reported by 62% of the respondents and 52% reported timely follow-up visits during the first three years of post-treatment care. Patients who reported receiving written patient-provider communication were five times more likely to have timely post-treatment follow-up care after completing active treatment than patients who had not received written patient-provider communication. Conclusions: For rural cancer survivors, written patient-provider communication improved timely follow-up care. This research supports policy and practice that recommends the receipt of a written survivorship care plans. Implementation of written survivorship care recommendations improves timely follow-up visits and has the potential to eliminate cancer survivorship disparities.

Citation Format: Marquita W. Lewis-Thames, Leslie R. Carnahan, Aimee S. James, Karriem S. Watson, Yamilé Molina. Post-treatment patient-provider communication and follow-up care: Does written patient-provider communication improve timely follow-up care for rural cancer survivors? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A015.
Abstract A027: Myths and traditions in the African American community
Authors: Herring Loretta
Published: September 2020

The poster will display the trends and traditions that have hindered the growth of knowledge in the African Americans Communities, dealing with the diagnoses of cancer, research participation, and clinical studies. Myths, misconceptions and mistrust dealing with health disparities.

Citation Format: Loretta Herring. Myths and traditions in the African American community [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A027.
Abstract A033: Communication leads to cancer research and education
Authors: Walker McKinley
Published: September 2020

Communication leads to cancer research and education.

Citation Format: McKinley Walker. Communication leads to cancer research and education [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A033.