bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sedentary behaviour in non-ambulant children and young people with physical disabilities: a systematic search and review protocol
Authors: Bradbury Marilyn , O"Brien Ciara , Giles Nathan , Fenton Sally , Neilson Sue , Duda Joan L
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Non-ambulant children and young people with physical disabilities are at high risk of experiencing negative health outcomes associated with sedentary time. A previous scoping review summarising evidence relating to sedentary behaviours of children with physical disabilities identified the need for validated methods of measuring physical activity of children who use wheelchairs and evaluation of interventions to reduce sedentary time. The scoping review did not assess the quality of evidence relating to this topic, therefore its validity remains unclear. No reviews focussing on non-ambulant children and young people up to the age of 25 years have been undertaken.

The objectives of this systematic search and review are to:

Identify all peer-reviewed articles relating to sedentary behaviour of non-ambulant children and young people.

Categorise the articles according to study design and four subquestions relating to (i) measurement, (ii) patterns, (iii) associated risks and (iv) interventions to reduce sedentary time or behaviour.

Critically appraise quality of the articles using established critical appraisal tools.

Summarise the evidence for each subquestion. Describe its cumulative strength and identify knowledge gaps.

Methods and analysis

This protocol was developed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) checklist. The research questions, inclusion/exclusion criteria and search terms have been developed a priori using the ‘Population, Concept and Context’ framework. Online databases will be systematically searched to identify peer-reviewed articles published between 1996 and 2021. Two reviewers will screen, categorise and critically appraise the articles. Data extraction and analysis will be verified by the second reviewer.

Results will be reported as a best evidence synthesis, with reference to the PRISMA checklist.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval is not required. The review will be submitted to an appropriate peer-reviewed journal.

Registration

The review is registered on the Open Science Framework database. DOI:https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SQXJB. Any protocol amendments will be recorded in the Open Science Framework database.
Exploring key stakeholders’ attitudes and opinions on medical assistance in dying and palliative care in Canada: a qualitative study protocol
Authors: Shapiro Gilla K , Tong Eryn , Nissim Rinat , Zimmermann Camilla , Allin Sara , Gibson Jennifer , Li Madeline , Rodin Gary
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Canadians have had legal access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) since 2016. However, despite substantial overlap in populations who request MAiD and who require palliative care (PC) services, policies and recommended practices regarding the optimal relationship between MAiD and PC services are not well developed. Multiple models are possible, including autonomous delivery of these services and formal or informal coordination, collaboration or integration. However, it is not clear which of these approaches are most appropriate, feasible or acceptable in different Canadian health settings in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the post-pandemic period. The aim of this qualitative study is to understand the attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders from the government, health system, patient groups and academia in Canada regarding the optimal relationship between MAiD and PC services.

Methods and analysis

A qualitative, purposeful sampling approach will elicit stakeholder feedback of 25–30 participants using semistructured interviews. Stakeholders with expertise and engagement in MAiD or PC who hold leadership positions in their respective organisations across Canada will be invited to provide their perspectives on the relationship between MAiD and PC; capacity-building needs; policy development opportunities; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationship between MAiD and PC services. Transcripts will be analysed using content analysis. A framework for integrated health services will be used to assess the impact of integrating services on multiple levels.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has received ethical approval from the University Health Network Research Ethics Board (No 19-5518; Toronto, Canada). All participants will be required to provide informed electronic consent before a qualitative interview is scheduled, and to provide verbal consent prior to the start of the qualitative interview. Findings from this study could inform healthcare policy, the delivery of MAiD and PC, and enhance the understanding of the multilevel factors relevant for the delivery of these services. Findings will be disseminated in conferences and peer-reviewed publications.
Pulmonary referrals to specialist palliative medicine: a survey
Authors: Bonares Michael , Mah Kenneth , Christiansen David , Granton John , Weiss Andrea , Lau Christine , Rodin Gary , Zimmermann Camilla , Wentlandt Kirsten
Published: December 2021

Objectives

Patients with chronic respiratory disease have significant palliative care needs, but low utilisation of specialist palliative care (SPC) services. Decreased access to SPC results in unmet palliative care needs among this patient population. We sought to determine the referral practices to SPC among respirologists in Canada.

Methods

Respirologists across Canada were invited to participate in a survey about their referral practices to SPC. Associations between referral practices and demographic, professional and attitudinal factors were analysed using regression analyses.

Results

The response rate was 64.7% (438/677). Fifty-nine per cent of respondents believed that their patients have negative perceptions of palliative care and 39% were more likely to refer to SPC earlier if it was renamed supportive care. While only 2.7% never referred to SPC, referral was late in 52.6% of referring physicians. Lower frequency of referral was associated with equating palliative care to end-of-life care (p<0.001), male sex of respirologist (p=0.019), not knowing referral criteria of SPC services (p=0.015) and agreement that SPC services prioritise patients with cancer (p=0.025); higher referral frequency was associated with satisfaction with SPC services (p=0.001). Late referral was associated with equating palliative care to end-of-life care (p<0.001) and agreement that SPC services prioritise patients with cancer (p=0.013).

Conclusions

Possible barriers to respirologists’ timely SPC referral include misperceptions about palliative care, lack of awareness of referral criteria and the belief that SPC services prioritise patients with cancer. Future studies should confirm these barriers and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to overcome them.
Immunization with short peptide particles reveals a functional CD8+T-cell neoepitope in a murine renal carcinoma model
Authors: He Xuedan , Zhou Shiqi , Dolan Melissa , Shi Yuhao , Wang Jianxin , Quinn Breandan , Jahagirdar Dushyant , Huang Wei-Chiao , Tsuji Moriya , Pili Roberto , Ito Fumito , Ortega Joaquin , Abrams Scott I , Ebos John M L , Lovell Jonathan F
Published: December 2021

Background

Induction of CD8+T cells that recognize immunogenic, mutated protein fragments in the context of major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) is a pressing challenge for cancer vaccine development.

Methods

Using the commonly used murine renal adenocarcinoma RENCA cancer model, MHC-I restricted neoepitopes are predicted following next-generation sequencing. Candidate neoepitopes are screened in mice using a potent cancer vaccine adjuvant system that converts short peptides into immunogenic nanoparticles. An identified functional neoepitope vaccine is then tested in various therapeutic experimental tumor settings.

Results

Conversion of 20 short MHC-I restricted neoepitope candidates into immunogenic nanoparticles results in antitumor responses with multivalent vaccination. Only a single neoepitope candidate, Nesprin-2 L4492R (Nes2LR), induced functional responses but still did so when included within 20-plex or 60-plex particles. Immunization with the short Nes2LR neoepitope with the immunogenic particle-inducing vaccine adjuvant prevented tumor growth at doses multiple orders of magnitude less than with other vaccine adjuvants, which were ineffective. Nes2LR vaccination inhibited or eradicated disease in subcutaneous, experimental lung metastasis and orthotopic tumor models, synergizing with immune checkpoint blockade.

Conclusion

These findings establish the feasibility of using short, MHC-I-restricted neoepitopes for straightforward immunization with multivalent or validated neoepitopes to induce cytotoxic CD8+T cells. Furthermore, the Nes2LR neoepitope could be useful for preclinical studies involving renal cell carcinoma immunotherapy.
Incidence of COVID-19 in patients treated with infliximab compared with patients treated with rituximab
Authors: Melong Pianta Taleng Cathy Mireille , Lauper Kim , Gilbert Benoit , Cunningham Tim , Guemara Romain , Brulhart Laure , Dan Diana , Courvoisier Delphine , Finckh Axel
Published: December 2021

Objective

To determine whether patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases treated with rituximab (RTX) have more severe forms of COVID-19 compared with patients treated with anticytokine therapies, such as Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) inhibitors.

Methods

We included all patients who were on either RTX or infliximab (IFX) in two Swiss cantons during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected self-reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19, PCR-confirmed diagnoses of COVID-19 and the evolution of COVID-19 infections. We computed the raw and propensity score-adjusted incidence of COVID-19 by treatment group.

Results

190 patients were enrolled, of whom 121 (64%) were in the RTX group and 69 (36%) were in the IFX group. Twenty-one patients (11%) reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19 (RTX: 10, IFX: 11, p=0.14). Among patients with COVID-19 symptoms, four developed severe forms of the disease, with life-threatening pulmonary manifestations requiring intensive mechanical ventilation (RTX: 4 of 10, IFX: 0 of 11, Fisher’s exact test p=0.04). The incidence rate of COVID-19 symptoms was 0.73 (95% CI 0.39 to 1.37) cases per 1000 patient-days on RTX vs 1.52 (95% CI 0.82 to 2.85) cases per 1000 patient-days on IFX (crude p=0.10, adjusted p=0.07). The incidence rate of severe COVID-19 was 0.28 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.7.2) cases per 1000 patient-days on RTX compared with null on IFX (95% CI 0.0 to 0.44) (p=0.13). A replication in an independent validation cohort confirmed these findings, with consistent results in the Swiss Clinical Quality Management registry.

Conclusion

While the incidence of symptoms compatible with COVID-19 was overall similar in patients receiving RTX or IFX, the incidence of severe COVID-19 tended to be higher in the RTX group.
Risk factors for progression of juvenile-onset non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis to juvenile-onset ankylosing spondylitis: a nested case–control study
Authors: Li Hao-Guang , Wang Dan-Min , Shen Feng-Cai , Huang Shu-Xin , Hou Zhi-Duo , Lin Ling , Xiao Zheng-Yu
Published: December 2021

Objective

To evaluate the clinical characteristics of juvenile-onset non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) and to investigate risk factors associated with progression to juvenile-onset ankylosing spondylitis (JoAS).

Methods

A nested case–control study was conducted using the retrospectively collected data of 106 patients with juvenile-onset nr-axSpA (age at disease onset, <16 years) in the Clinical characteristic and Outcome in Chinese Axial Spondyloarthritis study cohort. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics and prognosis were reviewed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate risk factors associated with progression to JoAS.

Results

Overall, 58.5% of patients with juvenile-onset nr-axSpA presented with peripheral symptoms at disease onset. In 82.1% of these patients, axial with peripheral involvement occurred during the disease course. The rate of disease onset at >12 years and disease duration of ≤10 years were significantly higher in those with progression to JoAS than in those without progression to JoAS (83.0% vs 52.8%, p=0.001; 92.5% vs 56.6%, p<0.001, respectively). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that inflammatory back pain (IBP) (OR 13.359 (95% CI 2.549 to 70.013)), buttock pain (OR 10.171 (95% CI 2.197 to 47.085)), enthesitis (OR 7.113 (95% CI 1.670 to 30.305)), elevated baseline C reactive protein (CRP) levels (OR 7.295 (95% CI 1.984 to 26.820)) and sacroiliac joint-MRI (SIJ-MRI) positivity (OR 53.821 (95% CI 9.705 to 298.475)) were significantly associated with progression to JoAS.

Conclusion

Peripheral involvement was prevalent in juvenile-onset nr-axSpA. IBP, buttock pain, enthesitis, elevated baseline CRP levels and SIJ-MRI positivity in patients with the disease are associated with higher risk of progression to JoAS.
Risk of psoriatic arthritis depending on age: analysis of data from 65 million people on statutory insurance in Germany
Authors: Deike Madeline , Brinks Ralph , Meller Stephan , Schneider Matthias , Sewerin Philipp
Published: December 2021

Objectives

This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the age-dependent risk of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). For this purpose, it focuses on the varying incidences within the different age groups.

Methods

The data were collected as part of the morbidity-based risk adjustment of the statutory health insurance companies in Germany. This survey recorded the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)-coded diagnoses of 65 million German citizens. Our population-based study used these raw data to calculate the prevalence of PsA in the first step. Subsequently, we employed a new approach for the estimation of the age-specific and sex-specific incidence of PsA.

Results

The age-specific and sex-specific incidence of PsA showed a continuous increase with rising age until it peaked slightly before the age of 60 and declined thereafter. The maximum value was higher in women (40 per 100 000 py) than in men (30 per 100 000 py). Furthermore, the incidence rate tends to climb over the survey period.

Conclusions

The data sets identified an unexpected high incidence. A meta-analysis by Scotti et al and other recent population-based studies served as a reference for the comparison. The pattern of the age-specific incidence illustrated that the risk for PsA disease shows considerable variations depending on age.
Erratum to: Model compression and simplification pipelines for fast deep neural network inference in FPGAs in HEP
Authors: Francescato Simone , Giagu Stefano , Riti Federica , Russo Graziella , Sabetta Luigi , Tortonesi Federico
Published: December 2021

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09770-w
Deep Convolutional Neural Network driven Neuro-Fuzzy System for Moving Target Detection Using the Radar Signals
Authors: Bharat Kumar M. , Rajesh Kumar P.
Published: December 2021

In radar signal processing, detecting the moving targets in a cluttered background remains a challenging task due to the moving out and entry of targets, which is highly unpredictable. In addition, detection of targets and estimation of the parameters have become a major constraint due to the lack of required information. However, the appropriate location of the targets cannot be detected using the existing techniques. To overcome such issues, this paper presents a developed Deep Convolutional Neural Network-enabled Neuro-Fuzzy System (Deep CNN-enabled Neuro-Fuzzy system) for detecting the moving targets using the radar signals. Initially, the received signal is presented to the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT), matched filter, radar signatures-enabled Deep Recurrent Neural Network (Deep RNN), and introduced deep CNN to locate the targets. The target location output results are integrated using the newly introduced neuro-fuzzy system to detect the moving targets effectively. The proposed deep CNN-based neuro-fuzzy system obtained effective moving target detection results by varying the number of targets, iterations, and the pulse repetition level for the metrics, like detection time, missed target rate, and MSE with the minimal values of 1.221s, 0.022, and 1,952.15.
THE MODERATING ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETATION BETWEEN DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES AND FIRM CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS
Authors: NOMAN DHIA , BASIRUDDIN ROHAIDA
Published: December 2021

The interpretation of managers of environmental changes helps in identifying the gaps between the environment and a firm’s capabilities. This in turn can support a firm’s ability to use dynamic capabilities in an effective way to reconfigure the firm’s resources into new operational capabilities that better match the environment and to exploit environmental opportunities. However, extant studies have ignored the moderating role of managers’ interpretation of environmental changes in the capabilities building paradigm. This study empirically examines the moderating role of environmental interpretation in the relationship between dynamic capabilities and improvement capabilities. To operationalise environmental interpretation to enable the development of a measurable model for this construct, which has yet to be developed, 209 large manufacturing firms were selected as a sample to study the relationship between environmental interpretation and firm’s capabilities. By applying the PLS-SEM technique, this study finds that environmental interpretation moderates the relationship between learning capability, integrating capability and coordinating capability and improvement capability.
Radius of Limaçon starlikeness for Janowski starlike functions
Authors: Kanaga R. , Ravichandran V.
Published: December 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be an analytic function defined on the open unit disc [Formula: see text], with [Formula: see text], satisfying the subordination [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text]. The domain [Formula: see text] is bounded by a Limaçon and the function [Formula: see text] is called starlike function associated with Limaçon domain. For [Formula: see text], we find the smallest disc [Formula: see text] and the largest disc [Formula: see text], centered at [Formula: see text] such that the domain [Formula: see text] is contained in [Formula: see text] and contains [Formula: see text]. By using this result, we find the radius of Limaçon starlikeness for the class of starlike functions of order [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and the class of functions [Formula: see text] satisfying [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]. We give extension of our results for Janowski starlike functions.
Extended Green’s relations on Mn(D), a characterization
Authors: Narasimha Shenoi Prakash G. , Rajan A. R.
Published: December 2021

In this paper, we consider the semiring [Formula: see text] of all [Formula: see text] matrices over a distributive lattice [Formula: see text] and extended Green’s relations [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] using [Formula: see text]-ideals. A (left, right) ideal [Formula: see text] of a semiring [Formula: see text] is called a (left, right) [Formula: see text]-ideal if [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text]. We define [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] on a [Formula: see text]-regular semiring [Formula: see text], in which [Formula: see text] is a semilattice, as follows: [Formula: see text]  if [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]  if [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the left [Formula: see text]-ideal generated by [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is the right [Formula: see text]-ideal generated by [Formula: see text]. Here we characterize [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] in terms of rows and columns of the matrices.
Exergoeconomic Analysis of the Cycle of Cogeneration of Power, Cooling and Freshwater for a Residential Complex in Iran
Authors: Bazregari Mohammad Javad , Gholinejad Mahdi , Peydayesh Yashar , Norouzi Nima , Fani Maryam
Published: December 2021

This research presents a system to use natural gas to meet electricity, freshwater and cooling needs for a residential building in Bandar Abbas. The system includes a gas turbine, absorption chiller and multi-effect desalination (MED) plant. The energy produced in the gas turbine is used to generate electricity, and the excess energy is used to produce cooling and freshwater. Finally, an exergoeconomic evaluation of the system is performed. The effects of ambient temperature on the output power as well as the exergy current have been investigated. The COP of the absorption cycle has been investigated, and the results show that at an operating temperature of 150∘C compared to 90∘C, the efficiency rate increases to 20%. The highest exergoeconomic cost rate is related to absorption chiller, and the lowest is related to heat recovery steam generation. The results show that if the ambient temperature increases, the production capacity decreases. Increasing the fuel flow rate increases the power. Evaluation of two different solutions to reduce the ambient temperature and increase the fuel flow shows that increasing the fuel flow is a better solution, considering the exergy cost of the absorption chiller, which is 10 times higher than that of the gas turbine.
Photocatalytic degradations of JWS-type kinetics
Authors: Wang C. L.
Published: December 2021

Photocatalytic degradation kinetics of Jurlewicz–Weron–Stanislavsky (JWS) type has been identified. Experimental data are taken from previous published works, and fitted with the JWS relaxation function as well as that of the Havriliak–Negami (HN) model. All experimental data can fit with either model fairly good. From the fitting parameters, the Jonscher indices are calculated and Jonscher diagram is plotted for the chemical kinetics of photocatalytic degradations. This work suggests that material parameters of photocatalysts can be well defined in the sense of fractional calculus.
Large scale services for connecting and integrating hundreds of linked datasets
Authors: Mountantonakis Michalis
Published: December 2021

Michalis Mountantonakis is a Postdoctoral Researcher of the Information Systems Laboratory at FORTH-ICS (Greece) and a Visiting Lecturer in the Computer Science Department at University of Crete (CSD-UoC), Greece. He obtained his PhD degree from the CSD-UoC in 2020. His research interests fall in the areas of large-scale semantic data integration, linked data and semantic data management. The results of his research have been published in more than 20 research papers. For his dissertation, he awarded a) the prestigious SWSA Distinguished Dissertation Award 2020, which is given to the PhD dissertation from the previous year with the highest originality, significance, and impact in the area of semantic web, and b) the Maria Michael Manasaki Legacy's fellowship, which is awarded to the best graduate student of CSD-UoC, once a year.

In his dissertation, supervised by Associate Professor Yannis Tzitzikas (Computer Science Department at University of Crete), Michalis Mountantonakis dealt with the problem of Linked Data Integration at large scale, which is a very big challenging problem. He factorized the integration process according to various dimensions, for better understanding the overall problem and for identifying the open challenges, and proposed novel indexes and algorithms for providing core services, which can be exploited for several tasks related to Data Integration, such as: for finding all the URIs and all the available information for an entity, for producing connectivity analytics, for discovering the most relevant datasets for a given task, for dataset enrichment, and many others.
COVID and social media
Authors: Puri Manish , Dau Zachary , Varde Aparna S.
Published: December 2021

The Coronavirus pandemic is one of the most devastating encounters in modern times. Over 175 million cases have been recorded globally with over 3.5 million deaths. Disseminating information to billions of people during the pandemic has been challenging, and social media has been one of the key resources for the public during these excruciating circumstances. Social media and other online sources have made it easier to access information on a variety of topics. This article presents an exploration of social media trends pertinent to information on the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of several technological advances, as well as methods for evaluating their effectiveness in combating COVID-19. We examine global case studies on the use of data from various sources to tackle COVID-19, address the issue of trust between the government and the public, and shed light on the manner in which it influences the public perception of information. We delve into the role of advances in web technology and data science in curbing COVID-19 while also touching upon the impacts in the field of smart living and healthcare. We examine studies from regions around the world, explore how the pandemic has affected people from different walks of life, and peek into the utilization of advances for disseminating information as well as curbing the spread of the virus. Additionally, we briefly discuss how the works investigated here can open pathways of research to help in further enhancing the situation as we all head towards the light at the end of the tunnel, and strive to restore global normalcy.
REDACT
Authors: Devraj Arjun , Wang Liang , Rexford Jennifer
Published: December 2021

Refraction networking is a promising censorship circumvention technique in which a participating router along the path to an innocuous destination deflects traffic to a covert site that is otherwise blocked by the censor. However, refraction networking faces major practical challenges due to performance issues and various attacks (e.g., routing-around-the-decoy and fingerprinting). Given that many sites are now hosted in the cloud, data centers offer an advantageous setting to implement refraction networking due to the physical proximity and similarity of hosted sites. We propose REDACT, a novel class of refraction networking solutions where the decoy router is a border router of a multi-tenant data center and the decoy and covert sites are tenants within the same data center. We highlight one specific example REDACT protocol, which leverages TLS session resumption to address the performance and implementation challenges in prior refraction networking protocols. REDACT also offers scope for other designs with different realistic use cases and assumptions.
Machine learning-based analysis of COVID-19 pandemic impact on US research networks
Authors: Kiran Mariam , Campbell Scott , Wala Fatema Bannat , Buraglio Nick , Monga Inder
Published: December 2021

This study explores how fallout from the changing public health policy around COVID-19 has changed how researchers access and process their science experiments. Using a combination of techniques from statistical analysis and machine learning, we conduct a retrospective analysis of historical network data for a period around the stay-at-home orders that took place in March 2020. Our analysis takes data from the entire ESnet infrastructure to explore DOE high-performance computing (HPC) resources at OLCF, ALCF, and NERSC, as well as User sites such as PNNL and JLAB. We look at detecting and quantifying changes in site activity using a combination of t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) and decision tree analysis. Our findings bring insights into the working patterns and impact on data volume movements, particularly during late-night hours and weekends.
Feature Optimization of Exhaled Breath Signals Based on Pearson-BPSO
Authors: Hao Lijun , Zhang Min , Huang Gang
Published: December 2021

Feature optimization, which is the theme of this paper, is actually the selective selection of the variables on the input side at the time of making a predictive kind of model. However, an improved feature optimization algorithm for breath signal based on the Pearson-BPSO was proposed and applied to distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma by electronic nose (eNose) in the paper. First, the multidimensional features of the breath curves of hepatocellular carcinoma patients and healthy controls in the training samples were extracted; then, the features with less relevance to the classification were removed according to the Pearson correlation coefficient; next, the fitness function was constructed based on K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) classification error and feature dimension, and the feature optimization transformation matrix was obtained based on BPSO. Furthermore, the transformation matrix was applied to optimize the test sample’s features. Finally, the performance of the optimization algorithm was evaluated by the classifier. The experiment results have shown that the Pearson-BPSO algorithm could effectively improve the classification performance compared with BPSO and PCA optimization methods. The accuracy of SVM and RF classifier was 86.03% and 90%, respectively, and the sensitivity and specificity were about 90% and 80%. Consequently, the application of Pearson-BPSO feature optimization algorithm will help improve the accuracy of hepatocellular carcinoma detection by eNose and promote the clinical application of intelligent detection.
A RFID Authentication Protocol for Epidemic Prevention and Epidemic Emergency Management Systems
Authors: Chen Xiuqing , Zhang Xiao , Geng Deqin , Zhou Lei , Chen Junshu , Lu Fan
Published: December 2021

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has exposed many problems in the auxiliary information system for epidemic prevention and control, which needs to be resolved by using methods such as the antitampering of logistics data and the management and control of epidemic materials. This article discusses the introduction of emerging technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which support privacy protection into the auxiliary information system for epidemic prevention and control. Recently, this paper found that Khwaja et al.’s protocol (RAPUS protocol) is susceptible to database impersonation attacks and reader impersonation attacks. Therefore, this article proposes the enhanced protocol, which not only perfectly solves the problems of the abovementioned protocols but also comprehensively compares multiple protocols. The enhanced protocol has higher efficiency and security. The security of the proposed protocol (RAPUS + protocol) is analyzed by GNY logic and the AVISPA model. The designed scheme can help realize the safety and traceability of epidemic prevention materials and improve the automation and decision-making efficiency of the epidemic prevention.
Acupuncture for Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Potential Mechanism from an Anti-Inflammatory Perspective
Authors: Yu Wen-Yan , Ma Liang-Xiao , Zhang Zhou , Mu Jie-Dan , Sun Tian-Yi , Tian Yuan , Qian Xu , Zhang Yi-Dan
Published: December 2021

The low adverse effects of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea (PD), known as one of the most commonly reported gynecological debilitating conditions affecting women’s overall health, have been thus far confirmed. Moreover, it has been increasingly recognized that inflammation is involved in such menstrual cramps, and recent studies have further shown that the anti-inflammatory effects of acupuncture are helpful in its control. This review portrays the role of inflammation in PD pathophysiology, provides evidence from clinical and animal studies on acupuncture for inflammation-induced visceral pain, and reflects on acupuncture-related therapies for dysmenorrhea with regard to their anti-inflammatory characteristics. Further research accordingly needs to be carried out to clarify the effects of acupuncture on proinflammatory factors in PD, particularly chemokines and leukocytes. Future studies on this condition from an anti-inflammatory perspective should be also performed in line with the notion of emphasizing stimulation modes to optimize the clinical modalities of acupuncture. Additionally, the effects and mechanism of more convenient self-healing approaches such as TENS/TEAS for PD should be investigated.
The Improved Constraint Methods for Foot-Mounted Pedestrian Three-Dimensional Inertial Navigation
Authors: Wu Xiaomeng , Zhao Liying , Guo Shuli , Zhang Lintong
Published: December 2021

The foot-mounted pedestrian navigation system (PNS) that uses microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial measurement units (IMUs) to track the person’s position. However errors accumulate over time during inertial navigation solutions, which affects the positioning precision. In this paper, a multicondition zero velocity detector is used to detect the stance phase of gait. Then the errors are corrected in the stance phase and the swing phase, respectively, through the Kalman filter. When pedestrians are going up and down the stairs, the divergence of height will reduce the accuracy of three-dimensional positioning. In this paper, an accelerometer and a barometer are used to obtain altitude variation, and after that the stair condition detection (SCD) algorithm is proposed to correct the height of Kalman filter output and detect the walking state of pedestrians. Through theoretical research and field experiments, these algorithms are studied carefully. The results of the experiment show that the algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively eliminate errors and achieve more accurate positioning.
Blockchain Technology for Management of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Authors: Lvping Shen
Published: December 2021

With the development of information technology and network technology, digital archive management systems have been widely used in archive management. Different from the inherent uniqueness and strong tamper-proof modification of traditional paper archives, electronic archives are stored in centralized databases which face more risks of network attacks, data loss, or stealing through malicious software and are more likely to be forged and tampered by internal managers or external attackers. The management of intangible cultural heritage archives is an important part of intangible cultural heritage protection. Because intangible heritage archives are different from traditional official archives, traditional archive management methods cannot be fully applied to intangible heritage archives’ management. This study combines the characteristics of blockchain technology with distributed ledgers, consensus mechanisms, encryption algorithms, etc., and proposes intangible cultural heritage file management based on blockchain technology for the complex, highly dispersed, large quantity, and low quality of intangible cultural heritage files. Optimizing methods, applying blockchain technology to the authenticity protection of electronic archives and designing and developing an archive management system based on blockchain technology, help to solve a series of problems in the process of intangible cultural heritage archives management.
The Optimal Bandwidth Parameter Selection in GPH Estimation
Authors: Zhou Weijie , Tao Huihui , Wang Feifei , Pan Weiqiang
Published: December 2021

In this paper, the optimal bandwidth parameter is investigated in the GPH algorithm. Firstly, combining with the stylized facts of financial time series, we generate long memory sequences by using the ARFIMA (1, d, 1) process. Secondly, we use the Monte Carlo method to study the impact of the GPH algorithm on existence test, persistence or antipersistence judgment of long memory, and the estimation accuracy of the long memory parameter. The results show that the accuracy of above three factors in the long memory test reached a relatively high level within the bandwidth parameter interval of 0.5 < a < 0.7. For different lengths of time series, bandwidth parameter a = 0.6 can be used as the optimal choice of the GPH estimation. Furthermore, we give the calculation accuracy of the GPH algorithm on existence, persistence or antipersistence of long memory, and long memory parameter d when a = 0.6.
Mangiferin Inhibits PDGF‐BB‐Induced Proliferation and Migration of Rat Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Alleviates Neointimal Formation in Mice through the AMPK/Drp1 Axis
Authors: Wu Qi , Chen Yuanyang , Wang Zhiwei , Cai Xin , Che Yanjia , Zheng Sihao , Yuan Shun , Zhong Xiaohan
Published: December 2021

Mangiferin is a naturally occurring xanthone C‐glycoside that is widely found in various plants. Previous studies have reported that mangiferin inhibits tumor cell proliferation and migration. Excessive proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is associated with neointimal hyperplasia in coronary arteries. However, the role and mechanism of mangiferin action in neointimal hyperplasia is still unknown. In this study, a mouse carotid artery ligation model was established, and primary rat smooth muscle cells were isolated and used for mechanistic assays. We found that mangiferin alleviated neointimal hyperplasia, inhibited proliferation and migration of SMCs, and promoted platelets derive growth factors‐BB‐ (PDGF‐BB‐) induced contractile phenotype in SMCs. Moreover, mangiferin attenuated neointimal formation by inhibiting mitochondrial fission through the AMPK/Drp1 signaling pathway. These findings suggest that mangiferin has the potential to maintain vascular homeostasis and inhibit neointimal hyperplasia.
Transcriptome Analysis of Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Response to Heat Stress
Authors: Yang Lei , Jin Juan , Fan Dingyu , Hao Qing , Niu Jianxin
Published: December 2021

Heat stress (HS) is a common stress influencing the growth and reproduction of plant species. Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is an economically important tree with strong abiotic stress resistance, but the molecular mechanism of its response to HS remains elusive. In this study, we subjected seedlings of Z. jujuba cultivar “Hqing1-HR” to HS (45°C) for 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days, respectively, and collected the leaf samples (HR0, HR1, HR3, HR5, and HR7) accordingly. Fifteen cDNA libraries from leaves were constructed for transcriptomics assays. RNA sequencing and transcriptomics identified 1,642, 4,080, 5,160, and 2,119 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in comparisons of HR1 vs. HR0, HR3 vs. HR0, HR5 vs. HR0, and HR7 vs. HR0, respectively. Gene ontology analyses of the DEGs from these comparisons revealed enrichment in a series of biological processes involved in stress responses, photosynthesis, and metabolism, suggesting that lowering or upregulating expression of these genes might play important roles in the response to HS. This study contributed to our understanding of the molecular mechanism of jujube response to HS and will be beneficial for developing jujube cultivars with improved heat resistance.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Effects of Methane Hydrate Phase Transition on Mechanical Properties of Deep‐Sea Methane Hydrate‐Bearing Soil
Authors: Zhang Yanmei , Zhang Jian , Li Guoxun , Sun Changda , Luan Yalin , Liu Jianlin
Published: December 2021

In this paper, the methane hydrate phase transition process in deep‐sea methane hydrate‐bearing soil under heating and compression was simulated by the molecular dynamics method. The evolution of deep‐sea methane hydrate‐bearing soil’s microstructure, system energy, intermolecular interaction energy, and radial distribution function during heating and compression was investigated. The micromechanism of the influence of the methane hydrate phase transition on the mechanical properties of deep‐sea methane hydrate‐bearing soil was analyzed. The results demonstrated that the methane hydrate dissociation starts from both sides to the middle and the void spaces between the soil particles had nearly no change during the heating process. For the compression process, the methane hydrate on both sides and the middle dissociated at the same time, and the void spaces became smaller. The methane hydrate phase transition on the effects of mechanical properties of the deep‐sea methane hydrate‐bearing soil is mainly caused by three aspects. (1) the dissociation of methane hydrate incurs the decrease of methane hydrate saturation. The free water and methane molecules generated cannot migrate in time and thus lead to the increase of excess pore water press and excess pore gas press. (2) The dissipated energy causes the decrease of the effective stress between the soil particles. (3) Due to the methane hydrate decomposition, the free water molecules increase, which reduces the friction of soil particles.
[Retracted] Heterogeneous Multi UAV Mission Planning Based on Ant Colony Algorithm Powered BP Neural Network
Authors: Tan Wei , Hu Yongjiang , Zhao Yuefei , Li Wenguang , Li Yongke , Zhang Xiaomeng
Published: December 2021

With the development of modern science and technology, the field of UAV has also entered the era of high‐tech exploration. Among them, the task planning, allocation, path exploration, and algorithm optimization of heterogeneous multi UAV technology are our main concerns. Based on the above situation, this paper proposes a heterogeneous multi UAV task planning technology based on ant colony algorithm powered BP neural network. The planning, research, and design are mainly carried out according to the actual situation of the UAV flight test, and the mathematical programming model is established according to the UAV load degree and maximum flight distance as constraints. This paper focuses on the contribution of the ant colony optimization algorithm to benefit maximization and task minimization. The experimental results show that the BP neural network optimized by the ant colony algorithm can improve the number of iterations and training time. Compared with some comparative algorithms, its performance is better.
Fault Diagnosis Method for Rotating Machinery Based on Hierarchical Amplitude‐Aware Permutation Entropy and Pairwise Feature Proximity
Authors: Shu Ling , Shen Jinxing , Liu Xiaoming
Published: December 2021

With a view to solving the defect that multiscale amplitude‐aware permutation entropy (MAAPE) can only quantify the low‐frequency features of time series and ignore the high‐frequency features which are equally important, a novel nonlinear time series feature extraction method, hierarchical amplitude‐aware permutation entropy (HAAPE), is proposed. By constructing high and low‐frequency operators, this method can extract the features of different frequency bands of time series simultaneously, so as to avoid the issue of information loss. In view of its advantages, HAAPE is introduced into the field of fault diagnosis to extract fault features from vibration signals of rotating machinery. Combined with the pairwise feature proximity (PWFP) feature selection method and gray wolf algorithm optimization support vector machine (GWO‐SVM), a new intelligent fault diagnosis method for rotating machinery is proposed. In our method, firstly, HAPPE is adopted to extract the original high and low‐frequency fault features of rotating machinery. After that, PWFP is used to sort the original features, and the important features are filtered to obtain low‐dimensional sensitive feature vectors. Finally, the sensitive feature vectors are input into GWO‐SVM for training and testing, so as to realize the fault identification of rotating machinery. The performance of the proposed method is verified using two data sets of bearing and gearbox. The results show that the proposed method enjoys obvious advantages over the existing methods, and the identification accuracy reaches 100%.
Study on Thermal Effect of Nozzle Flowmeter Based on Fluid‐Solid Coupling Method
Authors: Tong Liang-Huai , Zheng Su-Lu , Zhang Yu-Liang , Zhao Yan-Juan , Zhang Kai-Yuan , Li Jin-Fu
Published: December 2021

Nozzle flowmeter is widely used in industry. In this paper, in order to study the influence of different flow rates and inner wall temperatures on the thermal effect and flow field of the nozzle flowmeter, the fluid‐solid coupling numerical calculation of the thermal effect and flow field of nozzle flowmeter is carried out under four different flow rates and five different inner wall temperatures. It is found that, with the increase of flow rate, the heat transfer effect of the nozzle flowmeter is weakened under different inner wall temperatures. The pressure distribution in the fluid domain, the dynamic stress, and fluid‐induced vibration deformation generated by the fluid of the nozzle flowmeter are less affected by inner wall temperatures.
Self-Centered Function of Adaptive Immunity in Regulation of Immune Responses and in Tolerance
Authors: Balzar Silvana
Published: December 2021

The search for common mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory conditions has crystalized the concept of continuous dual resetting of the immune repertoire (CDR) as a basic principle of the immune system function. Consequently, outlined was the first dynamic comprehensive picture of the immune system function. The goal of this study is to elaborate on regulation of immune responses and mechanisms of tolerance, particularly focusing on adaptive immunity. It is well established that the T/B cell repertoire is selected and maintained based on interactions with self. However, their activation also requires interaction with a self-specific major histocompatibility complex (MHC) “code,” i.e., the context of MHC molecules. Therefore, not only repertoire selection and maintenance but also the T/B cell activation and function are self-centered. Thus, adaptive effectors may be primarily focused on the state of self and maintenance of integrity of the self, and only to a certain degree on elimination of the foreign. As examples of such function are used immunologically poorly understood MHC-disparate settings typical for transplantation and pregnancy. Transplantation represents an extreme setting of strong systemic compartment-level adaptive/MHC-restricted immune responses. Described are clinically identified conditions for operational tolerance of MHC-disparate tissues/living systems in allotransplantation, which are in line with the CDR-proposed self-centered regulatory role of T/B cells. In contrast, normal pregnancy is coexistence of semiallogeneic or entirely allogeneic mother and fetus, but without alloreactivity akin to transplantation settings. Presented data support the notion that maintenance of pregnancy is a process that relies predominantly on innate/MHC-independent immune mechanisms. By the inception of hemotrophic stage of pregnancy (second and third trimester), both mother and child are individual living systems, with established adaptive immune repertoires. Although mother-fetus interactions at that point become indirect systemic compartment-level communications, their interactions throughout gestation remain within the innate realm of molecular-level adaptations.
A Study of Uniform Harmonic
χ
-Convex Functions with respect to Hermite-Hadamard’s Inequality and Its Caputo-Fabrizio Fractional Analogue and Applications
Authors: Vivas-Cortez Miguel , Awan Muhammad Uzair , Javed Muhammad Zakria , Noor Muhammad Aslam , Noor Khalida Inayat
Published: December 2021

In this paper, we introduce the notion of uniform harmonic

χ

-convex functions. We show that this class relates several other unrelated classes of uniform harmonic convex functions. We derive a new version of Hermite-Hadamard’s inequality and its fractional analogue. We also derive a new fractional integral identity using Caputo-Fabrizio fractional integrals. Utilizing this integral identity as an auxiliary result, we obtain new fractional Dragomir-Agarwal type of inequalities involving differentiable uniform harmonic

χ

-convex functions. We discuss numerous new special cases which show that our results are quite unifying. Finally, in order to show the significance of the main results, we discuss some applications to means of positive real numbers.