bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hybrid classifier for sentiment analysis in Malayalam with modified TF-IDF features
Authors: Ambily Pramitha P , Abraham John T
Published: December 2022

Sentiment Analysis (SA) is a computational study that examines people’s opinions, attitudes, and opinions based on their written text. Keralites’ mother tongue, Malayalam, is the most often used language to express themselves on Twitter. As there is no automatic Sentiment Analyzer in Malayalam, the SA of Twitter messages is necessary. In this research work, a Malayalam sentiment analysis model is introduced. The input raw data in the form of reviews are fed for the pre-processing stage. The pre-processing module includes sentence tokenization via Sandi Splitting and parts of speech (POS) tagging. Subsequently, Bag of Word, the Proposed weightage-based Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency, Unigram with the dictionary and Unigram with dictionary including negation words have been considered for feature vector formation. Finally, the review classification is undergone via the proposed hybrid classifier, which is constructed by hybridizing the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), respectively. To enhance the classification performance, the weight of the CNN classifier will be fine-tuned via an Improved Bumble bee mating Optimization (IBBMO), which is an advanced version of standard BBMO. The performance of the proposed work is compared over other conventional models in terms of positive, negative, convergence, and other measures. The accuracy of the proposed method is 95.436, which is much better than the existing works like DBN[Formula: see text]86.25, NN[Formula: see text]87.080, SVM[Formula: see text]87.234, WOA+Hybrid Classifier[Formula: see text]88.440, LA+Hybrid Classifier[Formula: see text]89.35285, CSO+Hybrid Classifier[Formula: see text]92.021, BBMO+Hybrid Classifier[Formula: see text]93.4248, and ML techniques[Formula: see text]94.014, at the 90th training percentage.
Negishi or Suzuki–Miyaura Pd-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reaction: Which Reaction Mechanism is Ahead for the Formation of Well-Known Anticancer Drug Combretastatin A-4 Analogue?
Authors: Ahmadvand Zeinab , Bayat Mehdi
Published: December 2022

In recent years, scientists have become increasingly interested in finding high-efficacy, low-toxicity anti-tumor compounds. Combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) is supposed to be one of the materials that has excellent anti-tumor properties. This study intends to develop a more acceptable pathway and cross-coupling mechanism to resolve the contest between Negishi and Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling to form a combretastatin analogue A-4 by using the CAM-B3LYP-D3 theory level with DEF2-SVP basis set in the presence of [Formula: see text],[Formula: see text]-dimethylformamide as a solvent. First, due to the experimental data for the formation of 4-methyl-[Formula: see text]-methoxybiphenyl in the Suzuki–Miyaura and Negishi reactions, two designated reactions were used to determine the 4-methyl-[Formula: see text]-methoxybiphenyl formation cycle. The mechanism for the progression of the regioselective compound 2-methoxy-5-(3-(3,4,5-trimethoxy phenyl) furan-2-yl) phenol via Suzuki–Miyaura and Negishi reactions can theoretically be reconciled with a more appropriate cross-coupling and pathway.
Foregrounding Women's Safety in Mobile Social Matching and Dating Apps
Authors: Aljasim Hanan Khalid , Zytko Douglas
Published: December 2022

The design of social matching and dating apps has changed continually through the years, marked notably by a shift to mobile devices, and yet user safety has not historically been a driver of design despite mounting evidence of sexual and other harms. This paper presents a participatory design study with women-a demographic at disproportionate risk of harm through app-use-about how mobile social matching apps could be designed to foreground their safety. Findings indicate that participants want social matching apps to augment women's abilities for self-protection, reflected in three new app roles: 1) the cloaking device, through which the social matching app helps women dynamically manage visibility to geographically nearby users, 2) the informant, through which the app helps women predict risk of harm associated with a recommended social opportunity, and 3) the guardian, through which the app monitors a user's safety during face-to-face meetings and augments their response to risk.
Who Moderates on Twitch and What Do They Do?
Authors: Seering Joseph , Kairam Sanjay R.
Published: December 2022

Volunteer moderators are an increasingly essential component of effective community management across a range of services, such as Facebook, Reddit, Discord, YouTube, and Twitch. Prior work has investigated how users of these services become moderators, their attitudes towards community moderation, and the work that they perform, largely through interviews with community moderators and managers. In this paper, we analyze survey data from a large, representative sample of 1,053 adults in the United States who are active Twitch moderators. Our findings -- examining moderator recruitment, motivations, tasks, and roles -- validate observations from prior qualitative work on Twitch moderation, showing not only how they generalize across a wider population of livestreaming contexts, but also how they vary. For example, while moderators in larger channels are more likely to have been chosen because they were regular, active participants, mods in smaller channels are more likely to have had a pre-existing connection with the streamer. We similarly find that channel size predicts differences in how new moderators are onboarded and their motivations for becoming moderators. Finally, we find that moderators' self-perceived roles map to differences in the patterns of conversation, socialization, enforcement, and other tasks that they perform. We discuss these results, how they relate to prior work on community moderation across services, and applications to research and design in volunteer moderation.
Caching Historical Embeddings in Conversational Search
Authors: Frieder Ophir , Mele Ida , Muntean Cristina Ioana , Nardini Franco Maria , Perego Raffaele , Tonellotto Nicola
Published: December 2022

Rapid response, namely, low latency, is fundamental in search applications; it is particularly so in interactive search sessions, such as those encountered in conversational settings. An observation with a potential to reduce latency asserts that conversational queries exhibit a temporal locality in the lists of documents retrieved. Motivated by this observation, we propose and evaluate a client-side document embedding cache, improving the responsiveness of conversational search systems. By leveraging state-of-the-art dense retrieval models to abstract document and query semantics, we cache the embeddings of documents retrieved for a topic introduced in the conversation, as they are likely relevant to successive queries. Our document embedding cache implements an efficient metric index, answering nearest-neighbor similarity queries by estimating the approximate result sets returned. We demonstrate the efficiency achieved using our cache via reproducible experiments based on Text Retrieval Conference Conversational Assistant Track datasets, achieving a hit rate of up to 75% without degrading answer quality. Our achieved high cache hit rates significantly improve the responsiveness of conversational systems while likewise reducing the number of queries managed on the search back-end.
Fusion Pre-trained Emoji Feature Enhancement for Sentiment Analysis
Authors: Chen Jie , Yao Zhiqiang , Zhao Shu , Zhang Yanping
Published: December 2022

Emoji are often used in social media to enrich users’ emotions, and they play an important role in the task of social media sentiment analysis. In practice, researchers are more likely to consider emoji as special symbols and treat them separately from the text. Some existing methods use emoji as a dictionary for matching or converting emoji into text. However, these methods disregard the relationship between emoji and context, blue and they do not reflect the emotions that users are expected to express. It is challenging to incorporate the original emotions of emoji in social media sentiment analysis. In this article, we propose the EPE model: Emoji Pre-trained feature Enhanced sentiment analysis. Specifically, we collected 8 million tweets and selected 5 million tweets with pre-trained emoji with context using the BERT model. We labeled 20,000 tweets as a three-category dataset and used Bi-LSTM with an attention layer to extract text features. Emoji were retained as key emotion information and combined with text features in the final layer as a connected vector for final prediction. Experimental results with our dataset showed that the proposed EPE model achieved better performance than other baseline models.
Exploring the Effect of High-frequency Components in GANs Training
Authors: Li Ziqiang , Xia Pengfei , Rui Xue , Li Bin
Published: December 2022

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have the ability to generate images that are visually indistinguishable from real images. However, recent studies have revealed that generated and real images share significant differences in the frequency domain. In this article, we argue that the frequency gap is caused by the high-frequency sensitivity of the discriminator. According to our observation, during the training of most GANs, severe high-frequency differences make the discriminator focus on high-frequency components excessively, which hinders the generator from fitting the low-frequency components that are important for learning images’ content. Then, we propose two simple yet effective image pre-processing operations in the frequency domain for eliminating the side effects caused by high-frequency differences in GANs training: High-frequency Confusion (HFC) and High-frequency Filter (HFF). The proposed operations are general and can be applied to most existing GANs at a fraction of the cost. The advanced performance of the proposed operations is verified on multiple loss functions, network architectures, and datasets. Specifically, the proposed HFF achieves significant improvements of 42.5% FID on CelebA (128*128) unconditional generation based on SNGAN, 30.2% FID on CelebA unconditional generation based on SSGAN, and 69.3% FID on CelebA unconditional generation based on InfoMAXGAN. Furthermore, we also adopt HFF as the first attempt at data augmentation in the frequency domain for contrastive learning, achieving state-of-the-art performance on unconditional generation. Code is available athttps://github.com/iceli1007/HFC-and-HFF.
Ultrathin α-Bi2O3 Nanosheets Prepared via Hydrothermal Method for Electrochemical Supercapacitor Applications
Authors: Sohail Aamir , Shah M. A. , Majid Kowsar
Published: December 2022

Monoclinic bismuth oxide nanosheets (α-Bi2O3 NSs) of average thickness 28 nm were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method. Various characterization techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ramman spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) coupled with Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) were employed to investigate the prepared bismuth oxide nanopowder in terms of its structural, morphological and optical properties. Electrochemical measurements of α-Bi2O3 NSs deposited on nickel foam substrate were carried out in a 6 M KOH electrolyte to examine its supercapacitive performance. The α-Bi2O3 NSs based electrode with 90 wt% active material exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with pronounced oxidation and reduction peaks, confirming the pseudocapacitive behavior with a high specific capacitance of 764.5 Fg−1 at 5 mVs−1 scan rate. The electrode also presented good cycling stability of about 69% capacitive retention after 3000 cycles measured at 10 mAcm−2 current density. This enhanced specific capacitance, excellent cycling stability and high specific energy (Es = 164.2 Whkg−1) rendered by the electrode which is attributed to widely open and ultrathin nanosheet like morphology, reveals that such a material is instrumental in energy storage applications.
The influence of respiration, neck flexion, and arterial segment on carotid artery longitudinal wall motion
Authors: Athaide Chloe E. , Samuel Maryia , Jutlah Lauren B. L. , Bryans Carol G. , Au Jason S.
Published: December 2022

Carotid artery longitudinal wall motion (CALM) provides unique cardiovascular health information, yet a standardized approach to measurement is nonexistent. We tested CALM during manipulation of common external factors including probe position, neck angle, and breathing. All three conditions were found to alter CALM with drift in the breathing condition correctable by use of a linear bias correction. Consistent techniques should be used in CALM acquisition to reduce variability between individuals and population groups.
miR-576-5p Promotes the Proliferation of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma through the MAPK4-AKT Pathway
Authors: Hai Rui , Zhou Yang , Li Fan , Guo Qingxi , Long Yang , Wang Fang , Cheng Lian , Wu Fei , Chen Shi , Zhou Xiangyu
Published: December 2022

Background. MicroRNA-576-5p (miR-576-5p) plays an important role in different human cancers. However, the biological function of miR-576-5p in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is still unclear. In this study, we explored the function and specific role of miR-576-5p in PTC. Methods. Expression levels of miR-576-5p in PTC patient tissues and cell lines were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR). Cell counting using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), wound healing, and Transwell assays were performed to evaluate the effect of miR-576-5p on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TPC-1 cells. Expression levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase 4 (MAPK4) and phosphorylation levels of protein kinase B (AKT), extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK), and P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (P38) were detected by western blotting or immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results. The expression level of miR-576-5p in PTC tissues and TPC-1 cells was significantly increased. In vitro, overexpression of miR-576-5p promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TPC-1 cells. In addition, MAPK4 was highly expressed in PTC tissues, and miR-576-5p could upregulate the expression of MAPK4. Interestingly, MAPK4 knockdown reversed cell proliferation but not migration and invasion in TPC-1 cells after miR-576-5p was overexpressed. Moreover, overexpression of miR-576-5p induced activation of the AKT pathway in TPC-1 cells, and MAPK4 gene knockout reversed this AKT pathway activation. Conclusion. In this study, we found that miR-576-5p was significantly overexpressed in PTC tissues and TPC-1 cells. In addition, miR-576-5p promoted the proliferation of TPC-1 cells by enhancing expression of MAPK4 and activating the AKT pathway.
LncRNA MIAT Upregulates NEGR1 by Competing for miR-150-5p as a Competitive Endogenous RNA in SCIRI Rats
Authors: Wang Zheng , Liu Jianguang , Yang Qiuxiang , Ma Mengjie
Published: December 2022

Objective. Spinal cord ischemia–reperfusion injury (SCIRI) can cause a pathological state of irreversible delayed death of neurons in the spinal cord tissue and a range of complications, such as spinal cord dysfunction and motor function impairment. This study aimed to determine whether the long-stranded non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA), myocardial infarction-associated transcript (MIAT), could upregulate neuronal growth regulator 1 (NEGR1) by competing for miR-150-5p as a competitive endogenous RNA in a rat SCIRI model. Methods. The MIAT knockdown vector or the corresponding blank vector was injected into the spinal cord of healthy sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Administration of the MIAT knockdown vector led to the establishment of the SCIRI rat model. Basso, Beattie & Bresnahan locomotor rating scale (BBB) assessment of hind limb motion. Pathological changes in the spinal cord were observed via hematoxylin and eosin staining and eosin staining. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the expression levels of the candidate microRNAs and predicted candidate genes, and the relationship between them. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling assay (TUNEL) staining was used to detect apoptosis in the spinal cord tissue of rats in each group. Western blotting was performed to determine the expression of the apoptosis-related proteins, caspase-9, caspase-3, and BCL2-Associated X (Bax)/B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2). The luciferase reporter gene was used to assess the interaction among the lncRNA, MIAT, and miR-150-5, and the interaction between miR-150-5 and NEGR1. Results. The sh-lncRNA, MIAT, improved exercise status, and pathological changes in the spinal cord of SCIRI rats, inhibited apoptosis, increased the expression of miR-150-5p, and reduced the expression of NEGR1. Compared with mimics-NC, the transfection of miR-150-5p significantly decreased the relative fluorescence activity ratio of MIAT 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) wild-type Human embryonic kidney cells 293 (HEK-293 cells). Compared with mimics-negative control (NC), the transfection of miR-150-5p significantly decreased the relative fluorescence activity ratio of NEGR1 3′-UTR wild-type HEK-293 cells. Conclusion. MIAT can affect the symptoms of SCIRI in rats. Furthermore, as a competitive endogenous RNA, MIAT upregulates NEGR1 by competing with miR-150-5p in SCIRI rats.
In Vitro Experimental Assessment of Ethanolic Extract of Moringa oleifera Leaves as an α-Amylase and α-Lipase Inhibitor
Authors: Ogundipe Adebanke , Adetuyi Babatunde , Iheagwam Franklyn , Adefoyeke Keleko , Olugbuyiro Joseph , Ogunlana Oluseyi , Ogunlana Olubanke
Published: December 2022

Background and Objectives. Moringa oleifera has been scientifically reported to have effects on diabetes and obesity. An explanatory mechanism on how the plant exerts its enzyme inhibitory activities are yet to be detailed. This study was aimed at carrying out an in vitro assessment of ethanolic extracts (AEEs) of M. oleifera leaves for their antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiobesity activities. Methods. Phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity, α-amylase, and α-lipase inhibitory assessment were carried out on Moringa oleifera extract. Results. The result of the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of total phenolic, flavonoid, tannin, and alkaloid contents of values 0.070 ± 0.005 mg gallic acid equivalent/g, 0.180 ± 0.020 mg rutin equivalent/g, 0.042 ± 0.001 mg tannic equivalent/g, and 12.17 ± 0.001%, respectively, while the total protein analysis was 0.475 ± 0.001 mg bovine serum albumin equivalent/g. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) values were 0.534 ± 0.001 mg gallic acid equivalent/g and 0.022 ± 0.00008 mg rutin equivalent/g, respectively. Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis (ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), and nitric oxide (NO) assays showed the extract to have a strong free radical scavenging activity. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of the lipase and amylase activities of the extract are 1.0877 mg/mL and 0.1802 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion. However, α-lipase and α-amylase inhibiting activity of M. oleifera could be related to the phytochemicals in the extract. This research validates the ethnobotanical use of M. oleifera leaves as an effective plant-based therapeutic agent for diabetes and obesity.
Reproductive Disorders of Cattle in the Tole District of Southwest Ethiopia and Their Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors
Authors: Tulu Dereje , Negera Chaluma
Published: December 2022

Reproduction is a basic requirement for efficient cattle production to continue or cease; whereas, reproductive disorders are the leading cause of economic loss in the cattle industry. To determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of major reproductive disorders in cattle in the Tole district, a cross-sectional study design was conducted from October, 2020, to October, 2021. To identify potential risk factors for cattle reproductive disorders, a multivariable random effect logistic regression analysis was used. A total of 400 randomly selected cows were examined, and 37.8% of them had at least one reproductive disorder. The three main reproductive disorders observed in the study area were abortion (17.8%), stillbirth (4.8%), and dystocia (3.3%). Risk factors for reproductive disorders in the study area included the calving season (OR = 3.7, 95% CL-1.37–7.18) and the accessibility of dogs to cattle (OR = 2.5, 95% CL-1.64–3.85). Accessibility of dogs to cattle in the study areas was also a risk factor for abortion (OR = 7.5, 95% CL-3.59–15.54). The present study also identified parity (OR = 5.2, 95% CL-1.05–26.04) as a risk factor for dystocia in cattle in the study areas. This demonstrated that losses in cattle production in the study areas are significantly attributed to reproductive problems. Hence, it is essential to increase public awareness of how reproductive disorders affect cattle production and to develop and implement appropriate control measures for these disorders. The causes of abortion and dystocia in various areas should be precisely identified and described through further research.
Assessment of Combined Karyotype Analysis and Chromosome Microarray Analysis in Prenatal Diagnosis: A Cohort Study of 3710 Pregnancies
Authors: Wang Jin , Wang Danni , Yin Yan , Deng Yi , Ye Mengling , Wei Ping , Zhang Zhuo , Chen Chun , Qin Shengfang , Wang Xueyan
Published: December 2022

Objective. The current study aimed to compare the characteristics of chromosome abnormalities detected by conventional G-banding karyotyping, chromosome microarray analysis (CMA), or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)/CNVplex analysis and further explore the application value of combined karyotype analysis and CMA in prenatal diagnosis with a larger sample size. Methods. From March 2019 to March 2021, 3710 amniocentesis samples were retrospectively collected from women who accepted prenatal diagnosis at 16 to 22 + 6 weeks of pregnancy. The pregnant women underwent karyotype analysis and CMA. In the case of fetal chromosomal mosaicism, FISH or CNVplex analysis was utilized for validation. Results. In total, 3710 G-banding karyotype results and CMA results from invasive prenatal diagnosis were collected. Of these, 201 (5.41%) fetuses with an abnormal karyotype were observed. The CMA analysis showed that the abnormality rate was 9.14% (340/3710). The detection rate of CMA combined with karyotype analysis was 0.35% higher than that of CMA alone and 4.08% higher than that of karyotyping alone. Additionally, 12 cases had abnormal karyotype analysis, despite normal CMA results. To further detect the chromosome mosaicism, we used FISH analysis to correct the karyotype results of case 1. Correspondingly, a total of 157 cases showed abnormal CMA results but normal karyotype analysis. We also found chromosomal mosaicism in 4 cases using CMA. Moreover, CNVplex and CMA demonstrated that representative case 15 was mosaicism for trisomy 2. Conclusions. Conventional G-banding karyotyping and CMA have their own advantages and limitations. A combination of karyotype analysis and CMA can increase the detection rate of chromosome abnormalities and make up for the limitation of signal detection.
Modified t-Distribution Stochastic Neighbor Embedding Using Augmented Kernel Mahalanobis-Distance for Dynamic Multimode Chemical Process Monitoring
Authors: Gu Haoyu , Wang Li
Published: December 2022

The traditional data-driven process monitoring methods may not be applicable for the system which has dynamic and multimode characteristics. In this paper, a novel scheme named modified t-distribution stochastic neighbor embedding using augmented Mahalanobis-distance for dynamic multimode chemical process monitoring (AKMD-t-SNE) is proposed to realize dynamic multimodal process monitoring. First, the augmented matrix strategy is utilized to ensure the sample contains the autocorrelation of the process. Moreover, AKMD-t-SNE method eliminates the scale and spatial distribution differences among multiple modes by calculating the kernel Mahalanobis distance between the samples to establish the global model. The features extracted via the proposed method are obviously non-Gaussian, and there will be a deviation in the construction of traditional statistics. Then, the support vector data description (SVDD) method is used to construct statistics to deal with this problem. In addition, a hybrid correlation coefficient method (HCC) is proposed to achieve fault isolation and improve the accuracy of isolation results. The advantages of the proposed scheme are illustrated by a numerical case and the Multimode Tennessee Eastman Process (MTEP) benchmark.
An Account of University Professors’ Perceptions of Educational Knowledge and Pedagogical Skills in an Individual and Online Learning Education System: A Comparative Study
Authors: Diep Le Thi Ngoc , Mutlak Dhameer A. , Kumar Tribhuwan , Sapoeva Fotima , Hassan Isyaku , Sorkheh Abdolsatar
Published: December 2022

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to many changes in people’s lifestyles and governments’ policies worldwide. In the education area, there has been an increase in the use of online learning due to the necessity of social distancing and an interruption in the transmission of information. The present study aimed to determine differences between online and in-person education systems regarding teachers’ perceptions of educational knowledge and pedagogical skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 1,500 teachers were selected from universities with in-person classes and 1,400 instructors were chosen from online universities in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Zanjan, and Arak, Iran, in 2022. Notably, the teachers were active in the fields of general and business English. Overall, a questionnaire including 30 items was applied, and each item scored teachers’ educational knowledge and pedagogical skills based on their perceptions using a 5-point Likert scale. Data analysis was performed using MANOVA. According to the results, there was a significant difference between online and in-person education systems regarding general English teachers’ perceptions of their educational knowledge and pedagogical skills. Similar results were obtained for business English teachers. In fact, general and business English teachers of in-person universities had a higher perception of their educational knowledge and pedagogical skills compared with teachers of online universities.
Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Task Offloading for Parked Vehicle Cooperation in Vehicular Edge Computing
Authors: Zhao Hui , Hua Jiwei , Zhang Zusheng , Zhu Jinqi
Published: December 2022

Vehicular edge computing (VEC) has greatly enhanced the quality of vehicle service with low latency and high reliability. However, in some areas not covered by roadside infrastructures or in cases when the infrastructures are damaged or fail, the offloaded tasks cannot have the chance to be performed. Even in the areas deployed with infrastructures, when a large number of offloaded tasks are generated, the edge servers may not be capable of processing them in time, owing to their computing resources constraint. Based on the above observations, we proposed the idea of parked vehicle cooperation in VEC, which uses roadside parked vehicles with underutilized computational resources to cooperate with each other to perform the compute-intensive tasks. Our approach aims to overcome the challenge brought by infrastructure lacking or failure and make up for the shortage of computing resources in VEC. In our approach, firstly, the roadside parked vehicles are managed as different parking clusters. Then, the optimal amount of resources required for each offloaded task is analyzed. Furthermore, a task offloading algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is proposed to minimize the total cost, which is composed of the task execution delay and the energy consumption overhead of the parked vehicles for executing the task. A large number of simulation results show that, compared with other algorithms, our approach not only has the highest task completion execution successful rate, but also has the lowest task execution cost.
Tagatose Suppresses Grapevine Powdery Mildew and Downy Mildew under Field Conditions with No Severe Impacts on Grape Must Fermentation
Authors: Giovannini O. , Roman T. , Nesler A. , Pertot I. , Perazzolli M.
Published: December 2022

Background and Aims. Grapevine is susceptible to several diseases and requires a large use of fungicides. Sustainable alternatives must be safe for humans and the environment and also should not interfere with must fermentation. The aim of this study was to implement the use of a rare sugar, tagatose, against powdery mildew and downy mildew and to assess possible side effects on Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation. Methods and Results. Tagatose was evaluated for the suppression of powdery mildew and downy mildew under controlled and field conditions and for its impact on S. cerevisiae fermentation of synthetic and grape musts. Tagatose applied at 8 kg/hareduced powdery mildew and downy mildew severity and incidence on grapevine leaves and bunches under field conditions. Tagatose caused a limited and transient slowdown of the fermentation with no negative impact on yeast viability and wine chemical composition at the end of the fermentation. Conclusions. Tagatose is a promising alternative for sustainable grapevine protection against powdery mildew and downy mildew with no negative impacts on the must fermentation. Significance of the Study. These findings pave the way for grapevine protection strategies based on the use of rare sugars as sustainable fungicides in integration with other plant protection products.
Analysis of Transfusion-Transmitted Bacterial Infections according to German Hemovigilance Data (2011–2020)
Authors: Orru’ Stefano , Oberle Doris , Heiden Margarethe , Müller Susanne , Krut Oleg , Funk Markus Benedikt
Published: December 2022

Introduction: Following the first assessment of the effects of safety measures taken against transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections (TTBI), the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) decided to newly analyze risk minimization measures (RMM) using German hemovigilance data from 2011 to 2020, focusing on blood components, recipients, and bacterial strains. Materials and Methods: The PEI assessed the imputability of all reported serious adverse reactions (SAR) relying mainly on microbiological test results. Reporting rates (RR) of suspected, confirmed, and fatal confirmed TTBI were calculated and compared to the previous reporting 10-year period (2001–2010) using Poisson regression to estimate RR ratios (RRR). Furthermore, details on blood component age, patients’ medical history, and bacterial pathogenicity were collected. Results: With respect to the previous 10-year period, the number of suspected TTBI increased (n = 403), while fewer cases were confirmed (n = 40); the number of deaths remained more or less unchanged (n = 8). The RR for suspected TTBI were 7.9, 18.7, and 1.6 cases per million units transfused for red blood cells (RBC), platelet concentrates (PC), and fresh frozen plasma (FFP), respectively. RRR showed a statistically significant 2.5-fold increase in the RR for suspected TTBI after RBC administration from 2001–2010 to the period under review (p < 0.0001). The RR for confirmed TTBI were 0.4, 5.0, and 0.0 cases per million units transfused for RBC, PC, and FFP, respectively. Compared to the period 2001–2010, there was a statistically significant decrease in the RR of confirmed TTBI by half for PC (p = 0.0052). The RR for confirmed PC-caused TTBI with fatal outcome was 1.4 cases per million units transfused. Regardless of type of blood product transfused and outcome of SAR, the majority of TTBI occurred after administration of a product at the end of shelf life (40.0%) and to recipients of advanced age (median age: 68.5 years) and/or with severe immunosuppression (72.5%) due to decreased myelopoiesis (62.5%). 72.5% of the involved bacteria had a middle/high human pathogenicity. Conclusion: Despite a significant decrease in confirmed TTBI following PC transfusion in Germany after implementation of RMM, the current manufacture of blood products can still not prevent TTBI with fatal outcomes. As demonstrated in various countries, RMM like bacterial screening or pathogen reduction may measurably improve the safety of blood transfusion.
Tirofiban for Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Receiving Intravenous Thrombolysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Shi Heng , Hou Miao-Miao , Ren Gang , He Ze-Fan , Liu Xiao-Lei , Li Xin-Yi , Sun Bo
Published: December 2022

Introduction: Tirofiban has been used as a rescue when thrombectomy is not successful in endovascular therapy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), but the use of tirofiban after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is controversial. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tirofiban combined with IVT in AIS compared with not receiving tirofiban. Methods: The PubMed and Embase databases were searched for all relevant studies published up to August 31, 2021. The safety endpoints included symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), any intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and mortality. The efficacy endpoint was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at the 3-month follow-up. Results: Seven articles (1,036 patients) were included. Of these, 444 patients received tirofiban, and 592 patients did not. Meta-analysis showed that tirofiban did not increase the risk of sICH (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.50–1.93; p = 0.96), any ICH (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.63–1.39; p = 0.75) or mortality (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.39–1.15; p = 0.15) and tended to be associated with a favorable functional outcome (OR 1.33; 95% CI 0.99–1.78; p = 0.06) in patients with AIS. Subgroup analysis showed that bridging therapy combined with tirofiban could reduce mortality (OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.23–0.98; p = 0.04). Tirofiban significantly improved the favorable functional outcome in patients with IVT only (non-EVT) (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.30–3.02; p = 0.002). Conclusion: Intravenous tirofiban could be safe for patients with AIS undergoing IVT, regardless of receiving EVT. Intravenous tirofiban may reduce mortality rates for patients undergoing bridging therapy. It also could increase the likelihood of a favorable functional outcome, especially for patients receiving IVT only.
Bilirubin Removal by Plasmafiltration-Adsorption: Ex vivo Adsorption Kinetics Model and Single Case Report
Authors: Marcello Matteo , Lorenzin Anna , De Cal Massimo , Zorzi Michela , La Malfa Marco Salvatore , Fin Valentina , Sandini Alessandra , Fiorin Francesco , Bellomo Rinaldo , De Rosa Silvia , Ronco Claudio , Zanella Monica
Published: December 2022

Background: Extracorporeal removal of bilirubin in patients with severe liver dysfunction is a key blood purification strategy. We conducted an ex vivo study to assess the quantitative capacity to remove bilirubin from plasma of a novel adsorptive cartridge. Methods: We studied a downscaled module of the BS330 Plasma Bilirubin Adsorption Column Cartridge (Jafron Biomedical, Zhuhai City, China) to minimize the plasma requirement in an ex vivo circulation using a solution of hyperbilirubinemic plasma. We measured the bilirubin concentration gap (ΔC) between inlet (Cpin) and outlet (Cpout) of the unit and we calculated the removal ratio (RR) as mass adsorbed at different time points. Moreover, we compared the ex vivo model with the bilirubin adsorption kinetics in a patient with acute on chronic liver failure treated with the BS330 cartridge. Results: Bilirubin concentration change across the cartridge at 30 min was 16.5%, and cartridge saturation was reached at 750 min. We used a minimodule downscaled to 1:3 and containing approximately 131 g of BS330 sorbent beads: the device retained 759 mg of bilirubin with a RR of 78.1% and a RR of 42.6% at 120 min. Thus, the adsorption capacity was 5.76 mg of bilirubin per gram of sorbent. Bilirubin adsorption kinetics in our clinical case with a full-scale unit shows a coherent trend with a total bilirubin mass adsorbed after 180 min of 470 mg. Discussion: Our findings provide the first assessment of bilirubin adsorption in an ex vivo model of plasma perfusion and can be used to design interventional studies in humans, providing guidance for an adequate prescription of treatment frequency and duration.
Neuronal Proteins as Antigenic Targets in Membranous Nephropathy
Authors: Al-Rabadi Laith Farah , Beck Jr. Laurence H.
Published: December 2022

Context: The discovery of new target antigens in membranous nephropathy (MN) has revealed new disease phenotypes and, in some cases, has suggested mechanisms of disease shared by two concurrent autoimmune diseases. Subject of Review: Several recent reports and an accompanying editorial describe the association of anti-contactin-1 (CNTN1) autoantibodies of the IgG4 subclass with a novel subtype of MN that co-occurs with a form of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy caused by anti-CNTN1 antibodies. CNTN1, the cellular source of which is still undetermined, is identified as the target antigen in the kidney since it is present within glomerular subepithelial deposits and anti-CNTN1 IgG4 antibodies can be eluted from the corresponding kidney biopsy tissue. Second Opinion: These new reports reinforce recent findings that many proteins targeted in several other types of primary and secondary MN are proteins whose expression is shared by podocytes and neurons. While complement-mediated podocyte damage represents a well-established paradigm in the pathogenesis of MN, interference with the normal functions of these shared proteins by autoantibodies should be considered as another potential mechanism of glomerular injury to be explored in future research.
The Location of the Parasympathetic Fibres within the Vagus Nerve Rootlets: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature
Authors: Alkubaisi Aisha , Dong Charles C.J. , Honey Christopher R.
Published: December 2022

The vagus nerve has motor, sensory, and parasympathetic components. Understanding the nerve’s internal anatomy, its variations, and relationship to the glossopharyngeal nerve are crucial for neurosurgeons decompressing the lower cranial nerves. We present a case report demonstrating the location of the parasympathetic fibres within the vagus nerve rootlets. A 47-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of medically refractory left-sided glossopharyngeal neuralgia and a more recent history of left-sided hemi-laryngopharyngeal spasm. magnetic resonance imaging showed her left posterior inferior cerebellar artery distorting the lower cranial nerves on the affected left side. The patient consented to microvascular decompression of the lower cranial nerves with possible sectioning of the glossopharyngeal and upper sensory rootlets of the vagus nerve. During surgery, electrical stimulation of the most caudal rootlet of the vagus nerve triggered profound bradycardia. None of the more rostral rootlets had a similar parasympathetic response. This case is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of the location of the cardiac parasympathetic fibres within the human vagus nerve rootlets. This new understanding of the vagus nerve rootlets’ distribution of pure sensory (most rostral), motor/sensory (more caudal), and parasympathetic (most caudal) fibres may lead to a better understanding and diagnosis of the vagal rhizopathies. Approximately 20% of patients with glossopharyngeal neuralgia also have paroxysmal cough. This could be due to the anatomical juxtaposition of the IXth cranial nerve with the rostral vagal rootlets with pure sensory fibres (which mediate a tickling sensation in the lungs). A subgroup of patients with glossopharyngeal neuralgia have neuralgia-induced syncope. The cause of this rare condition, “vago-glossopharyngeal neuralgia,” has been debated since it was first described by Riley in 1942. Our case supports the theory that this neuralgia-induced bradycardia is reflexively mediated through the brainstem with afferent impulses in the IXth and efferent impulses in the Xth cranial nerve. The rarer co-occurrence of glossopharyngeal neuralgia with hemi-laryngopharyngeal spasm (as seen in this case) may be explained by the proximity of the IXth nerve with the more caudal vagus rootlets which have motor (and probably sensory) supply to the throat. Finally, if there is a vagal rhizopathy related to compression of its parasympathetic fibres, one would expect it to be at the most caudal rootlet of the vagus nerve.
A Novel Role of Semaphorin 3C in Modulating Systemic and Renal Hemodynamics
Authors: Cai Anxiang , Placier Sandrine , Louedec Liliane , Frère Perrine , Ouchelouche Souhila , Chatziantoniou Christos , Calmont Amélie
Published: December 2022

Background: Alterations of renal hemodynamics play an essential role in renal homeostasis and kidney diseases. Recent data indicated that semaphorin 3C (SEMA3C), a secreted glycoprotein involved in vessel development, can modulate renal vascular permeability in acute kidney injury, but whether and how it might impact systemic and renal hemodynamics is unknown. Objectives: The objective of the study was to explore the effect of SEMA3C on systemic and renal hemodynamics. Methods: SEMA3C recombinant protein was administered intravenously in two-month-old wild-type mice, and the variations of mean arterial pressure, heart rate, renal blood flow, and renal vascular resistance were measured and analyzed. Results: Acute administration of SEMA3C induced (i) systemic hemodynamic changes, including mean arterial pressure decrease and heart rate augmentation; (ii) renal hemodynamic changes, including reduced vascular resistance and elevated renal blood flow. Continuous perfusion of SEMA3C had no significant effect on systemic or renal hemodynamics. Conclusion: SEMA3C is a potent vasodilator affecting both systemic and renal hemodynamics in mice.
The Association between Helicobacter pylori and Colorectal Neoplasia
Authors: Wernly Sarah , Semmler Georg , Flamm Maria , Rezar Richard , Aigner Elmar , Datz Christian , Wernly Bernhard
Published: December 2022

Objectives: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and colorectal neoplasia (CRN) are frequent entities. Epidemiological data suggest an association between H. pylori positivity (H. pylori +) and CRN, whereas pathophysiologic considerations substantiate a possible causal relationship. However, the relationship between CRN and H. pylori + may also be mediated by shared risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate a possible independent relationship between H. pylori and CRN in a Central European cohort. Methods: We included 5,707 asymptomatic patients. All patients underwent screening colonoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. We assessed the association between any CRN and advanced CRN with H. pylori + using multilevel logistic regression. We adjusted for age, sex, a positive family history of colorectal cancer, and cardiovascular risk. Results: 1,082 patients (19%) were H. pylori + and 4,625 (81%) H. pylori −. Patients with both CRN and H. pylori had more cardiometabolic risk factors. In univariate (aOR 1.20; 1.10–1.31) and multivariable analysis (aOR 1.20; 1.08–1.32), H. pylori + was associated with the diagnosis of any CRN. However, H. pylori + was associated with the presence of advanced CRN (aOR 1.26; 0.96–1.64) only in trend. Conclusions: We found a clustered co-occurrence of CRN and H. pylori. This association persisted after correction for shared cardiometabolic risk factors. We suggest that our analysis emphasizes the clinical value of H. pylori eradication. Whether “test and treat” H. pylori is warranted to prevent CRN remains unclear but is at least a possibility given the simplicity of “test and treat.”
Exergame-Assisted Rehabilitation for Preventing Falls in Older Adults at Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Lapierre Nolwenn , Um Din Nathavy , Belmin Joël , Lafuente-Lafuente Carmelo
Published: December 2022

Introduction: Exergaming is increasingly employed in rehabilitation for older adults. However, their effects on fall rate and fall risk remain unclear. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing exergame-assisted rehabilitation with control groups, published in French or English, from Web of Science, CINHAL, Embase, Medline, and CENTRAL (last search in June 2021). Two reviewers independently assessed the studies. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB2, PEDRO scale, and the GRADE system. The outcomes of interest were (a) fall rate, (b) risk of falling, measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Timed Up and Go (TUG), One-Leg Stance, or Berg Balance Scale (BBS), (c) fear of falling, measured with the Fall Efficacy Scale (FES-I) or the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) score. Data were pooled and mean differences (MDs) between exergame and control groups were calculated using a random-effects model. Results: Twenty-seven RCTs were included (1,415 participants, including 63.9% of women, with mean age ranging from 65 to 85.2 years old). Exergame-assisted interventions were associated with a reduction in the incidence of falls (4 studies, 316 participants, MD = −0.91 falls per person per year; 95% CI: −1.65 to −0.17, p = 0.02, moderate quality). Regarding fall risk (20 studies included, low-quality evidence), SPPB did not change (MD = 0.74; 95% CI: −0.12 to 1.60, p = 0.09), but all other scores were improved: BBS (MD = 2.85; 95% CI: 1.27 to −4.43, p = 0.0004), TUG (MD = −1.46; 95% CI: −2.21 to −0.71, p = 0.0001) and One-Leg Stance (MD = 7.09; 95% CI: 4.21 to 9.98, p < 0.00001). Fear of falling scores (FES-I and ABC) showed no difference. Conclusion: There is moderate-quality evidence of a reduction in the fall rate with exergame-assisted rehabilitation and low-quality evidence suggesting a mild reduction in the risk of falling. Statistically significant benefits from exergame-assisted rehabilitation did not achieve clinically meaningful changes in risk of falling assessments.
A grande cidade (Carlos Diegues, 1966): filme e música em capítulos
Authors: Alvim Luíza Beatriz
Published: December 2022

O filme A grande cidade (1966), de Carlos Diegues, é dividido em quatro capítulos por subtítulos, que correspondem a seus quatro personagens principais: Luzia, Jasão, Inácio e Calunga. Por meio de procedimentos de análise fílmica, demonstramos que as músicas do filme também podem ser divididas em capítulos, sendo mais relacionadas a cada um dos personagens. Essa divisão ocorre por gêneros musicais ou por um conjunto de músicas de um mesmo compositor (obras de Villa-Lobos para Jasão e, principalmente, canções populares para Inácio), além de demarcar o papel essencial dos personagens Luzia (elo entre os outros) e Calunga (o personagem-narrador) por sua associação com as duas músicas principais do filme: o “Concerto para piano e orquestra em formas brasileiras”, de Heckel Tavares, e o samba “A grande cidade”, de Zé Keti.