bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Auricular Acupuncture for Treatment of Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Scheduled for Ambulatory Gynaecological Surgery: A Prospective Controlled Investigation with a Non-Randomised Arm
Authors: Wunsch Jakub K , Klausenitz Catharina , Janner Henriette , Hesse Thomas , Mustea Alexander , Hahnenkamp Klaus , Petersmann Astrid , Usichenko Taras I
Published: July 2018

Objective

Auricular acupuncture (AA) is a promising alternative treatment for situational anxiety. The aim of this pilot investigation was to test the acceptability and feasibility of AA as a treatment for preoperative anxiety (PA) in preparation for a subsequent randomised controlled trial.

Methods

AA was offered for treatment of PA to female patients who were scheduled for ambulatory gynaecological surgery. In patients who agreed, indwelling fixed needles were applied bilaterally at the points MA-IC1, MA-TF1, MA-SC, MA-AH7 and MA-T the day before surgery. Patients who declined AA but agreed to be examined constituted the control group (no intervention). State anxiety (primary outcome) was measured using the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before AA (time I), the evening before surgery (time II) and immediately before surgery (time III). Anxiety was measured with a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS-100); heart rate, blood pressure and serum cortisol were also quantified.

Results

Data from 62 patients (32 with AA and 30 with no intervention) were analysed. Whereas preoperative anxiety was reduced after AA the evening before surgery (P<0.01), anxiety levels in the control group increased from the first to the last measurement (P<0.001). Secondary outcomes were comparable between the patients from both groups.

Conclusions

AA was acceptable and feasible as a treatment for preoperative anxiety. The results were used for the sample size calculation of a subsequent randomised controlled clinical trial.

Trial Registration Number

NCT02656966; Results.
Hanging and near hanging in children: injury patterns and a clinical approach to early management
Authors: van Hasselt Tim J , Hartshorn Stuart
Published: July 2018

Near hanging refers to survival following suspension by the neck. This is a devastating injury which can lead to mortality or serious long-term morbidity. Children and young people present to emergency departments following accidental or deliberate near hanging. This article describes the patterns of injury, the initial management and important prognostic factors.
Advance decisions in dementia: when the past conflicts with the present
Authors: Gillett George
Published: July 2018

As the prevalence of dementia increases across the Western world, there is a growing interest in advance care planning, by which patients may make decisions on behalf of their future selves. Under which ethical principles is this practice justified? I assess the justification for advance care planning put forward by the philosopher Ronald Dworkin, which he rationalises through an integrity-based conception of autonomy. I suggest his judgement is misguided by arguing in favour of two claims. First, that patients with dementia qualify for some right to contemporary autonomy conceptualised under the ‘sense of liberty’ it provides. Second, that respecting precedent autonomy, such as an advance care plan, is not essential to Dworkin’s integrity-based account of autonomy. Together, my claims problematise the practice of using advance decisions in the context of dementia.
Cortical Coding of Auditory Features
Authors: Wang Xiaoqin
Published: July 2018

How the cerebral cortex encodes auditory features of biologically important sounds, including speech and music, is one of the most important questions in auditory neuroscience. The pursuit to understand related neural coding mechanisms in the mammalian auditory cortex can be traced back several decades to the early exploration of the cerebral cortex. Significant progress in this field has been made in the past two decades with new technical and conceptual advances. This article reviews the progress and challenges in this area of research.
Computational Principles of Supervised Learning in the Cerebellum
Authors: Raymond Jennifer L. , Medina Javier F.
Published: July 2018

Supervised learning plays a key role in the operation of many biological and artificial neural networks. Analysis of the computations underlying supervised learning is facilitated by the relatively simple and uniform architecture of the cerebellum, a brain area that supports numerous motor, sensory, and cognitive functions. We highlight recent discoveries indicating that the cerebellum implements supervised learning using the following organizational principles: ( a) extensive preprocessing of input representations (i.e., feature engineering), ( b) massively recurrent circuit architecture, ( c) linear input–output computations, ( d) sophisticated instructive signals that can be regulated and are predictive, ( e) adaptive mechanisms of plasticity with multiple timescales, and ( f) task-specific hardware specializations. The principles emerging from studies of the cerebellum have striking parallels with those in other brain areas and in artificial neural networks, as well as some notable differences, which can inform future research on supervised learning and inspire next-generation machine-based algorithms.
S100A4 May Be a Good Prognostic Marker and a Therapeutic Target for Colon Cancer
Authors: Destek Sabahattin , Gul Vahit Onur
Published: July 2018

Background. Globally, the colorectal cancers rank the third in terms of cancer incidence and rank the fourth in cancer-associated deaths. S100A4, an important member of the S100 protein family, serves to promote tumor progression and metastasis. By conducting this study, we aim to examine the role of S100A4 in the prognosis of colon cancer and to demonstrate its prognostic significance. Methods. Tissue samples of colon cancer from 148 patients who underwent colon resection due to colon cancer were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining to determine the protein expression levels of S100A4. The protein expression levels of S100A4 in tumor tissue were matched with the clinicopathologic factors including patient survival. Results. Cytoplasmic expression of S100A4 protein was demonstrated in the tumor tissue of 132 patients (89.2%) out of a total of 148 study patients. Statistically, the expression levels of the cytoplasmic S100A4 protein correlated significantly with the TNM stages and patient survival. The distribution of the S100A4 protein staining in the tumor tissue was associated with the age groups, tumor localization, TNM staging, and patient survival with statistical significance. The levels of S100A4 protein expression were found to be an independent prognostic factor for TNM staging and poor survival. Conclusion. Expression of the S100A4 protein in colon cancers may be an indicator of tumor progression and lymph node metastasis and may be useful for predicting the overall survival of the patients with colon cancer. In patients with colon cancer, it may be used as an indicator of poor prognosis.
Advective Heat Transport and the Salt Chimney Effect: A Numerical Analysis
Authors: Canova David P. , Fischer Mark P. , Jayne Richard S. , Pollyea Ryan M.
Published: July 2018

We conducted numerical simulations of coupled fluid and heat transport in an offshore, buried salt diapir environment to determine the effects of advective heat transport and its relation to the so-called “salt chimney effect.” Model sets were designed to investigate (1) salt geometry, (2) depth-dependent permeability, (3) geologic heterogeneity, and (4) the relative influence of each of these factors. Results show that decreasing the dip of the diapir induces advective heat transfer up the side of the diapir, elevating temperatures in the basin. Depth-dependent permeability causes upwelling of warm waters in the basin, which we show to be more sensitive to basal heat flux than brine concentration. In these model scenarios, heat is advected up the side of the diapir in a narrower zone of upward-flowing warm water, while cool waters away from the diapir flank circulate deeper into the basin. The resulting fluid circulation pattern causes increased discharge at the diapir margin and fluid flow downward, above the crest of the diapir. Geologic heterogeneity decreases the overall effects of advective heat transfer. The presence of low permeability sealing horizons reduces the vertical extent of convection cells, and fluid flow is dominantly up the diapir flank. The combined effects of depth-dependent permeability coupled with geologic heterogeneity simulate several geologic phenomena that are reported in the literature. In this model scenario, conductive heat transfer dominates in the basal units, whereas advection of heat begins to affect the middle layers of the model and dominates the upper units. Convection cells split by sealing layers develop within the upper units. From our highly simplified models, we can predict that advective heat transport (i.e., thermal convection) likely dominates in the early phases of diapirism when sediments have not undergone significant compaction and retain high porosity and permeability. As the salt structures mature into more complex geometries, advection will diminish due to the increase in dip of the salt-sediment interface and the increased hydraulic heterogeneity due to complex stratigraphic architecture.
Applications of General Residual Power Series Method to Differential Equations with Variable Coefficients
Authors: Chen Bochao , Qin Li , Xu Fei , Zu Jian
Published: July 2018

This paper is devoted to studying the analytical series solutions for the differential equations with variable coefficients. By a general residual power series method, we construct the approximate analytical series solutions for differential equations with variable coefficients, including nonhomogeneous parabolic equations, fractional heat equations in 2D, and fractional wave equations in 3D. These applications show that residual power series method is a simple, effective, and powerful method for seeking analytical series solutions of differential equations (especially for fractional differential equations) with variable coefficients.
Reentrant Flow Shop Scheduling considering Multiresource Qualification Matching
Authors: Chu Feng , Liu Ming , Liu Xin , Chu Chengbin , Jiang Juan
Published: July 2018

With the development of technology and industry, new research issues keep emerging in the field of shop scheduling. Most of the existing research assumes that one job visits each machine only once or ignores the multiple resources in production activities, especially the operators with skill qualifications. In this paper, we consider a reentrant flow shop scheduling problem with multiresource considering qualification matching. The objective of the problem is to minimize the total number of tardy jobs. A mixed integer programming (MIP) model is formulated. Two heuristics, namely, the hill climbing algorithm and the adapted genetic algorithm (GA), are then developed to efficiently solve the problem. Numerical experiments on 30 randomly generated instances are conducted to evaluate the performance of proposed MIP formulation and heuristics.
A Long-Term Study of a Lipid-Buprenorphine Implant in Rats
Authors: Guarnieri Michael , Brayton Cory , Tyler Betty M.
Published: July 2018

Animal models to study opiates are of growing interest. We have examined the short-term safety of buprenorphine implants in Fischer F344/NTac rats treated with excess doses of a cholesterol-triglyceride suspension of buprenorphine. A single injection of 0.65 mg/kg afforded clinically significant blood levels of analgesia for 3 days. Chemistry, hematology, coagulation, and urinalysis values with 2- to 10-fold excess doses of the drug-lipid suspension were within normal limits. Histopathology findings were unremarkable. The skin and underlying tissue surrounding the drug injection were unremarkable. Here we report the results of a long-term follow-up study of female rats injected with 0.65 and 1.3 mg/kg. The 14-month evaluation showed no abnormal findings that could be attributed to the drug or lipid suspension. These results confirm the safety of cholesterol-triglyceride carrier systems for subcutaneous drug delivery in laboratory animals and suggest that this model may be used to study long-term effects of opiate therapy.
Bianchi Type-I Dark Energy Cosmology with Power-Law Relation in Brans-Dicke Theory of Gravitation
Authors: Katore S. D. , Kapse D. V.
Published: July 2018

We have studied the interacting and non-interacting dark energy and dark matter in the spatially homogenous and anisotropic Bianchi type-I model in the Brans-Dicke theory of gravitation. The field equations have been solved (i) by using power-law relation and (ii) by assuming scale factor in terms of redshift. Here we have considered two cases of an interacting and non-interacting dark energy scenario and obtained general results. It has been found that for suitable choice of interaction between dark energy and dark matter we can avoid the coincidence problem which appears in the ΛCDM model. Some physical aspects and stability of the models are discussed in detail. The statefinder diagnostic pair, i.e., {r,s}, is adopted to differentiate our dark energy models.
Prevalence and Risk Factors for Antenatal Depression in Ethiopia: Systematic Review
Authors: Getinet Wondale , Amare Tadele , Boru Berhanu , Shumet Shegaye , Worku Wubet , Azale Telake
Published: July 2018

Introduction. Antenatal depression is a syndrome, in which women experience depressed mood, excessive anxiety, insomnia, and change in weight during the period of pregnancy. Maternal depression negatively influences child outcomes and maternal health. Antenatal depression was measured by different rating scales, namely, BDI, EPDS, and PHQ. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize logical evidence about the prevalence and potential risk factors of antenatal depression in Ethiopia. Methods. Our team explored multiple databases including PSYCHINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, Google Scholar, and Google Search to detect studies published with data on the prevalence of antenatal depression. We found 246 research papers on antenatal depression, of which 210 did not correspond to the title and 27 were duplicates. Subsequently, nine articles were used for synthesis prevalence, of which four studies were selected in the analysis of the effect of unplanned pregnancy on antenatal depression. Figures were extracted from published reports and grey literature, and any lost information was requested from investigators. Estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. Results. The pooled prevalence of antenatal depression for five studies selected, which had used BDI, was 25.33 (20.74, 29.92). The other four studies that had included other screening tools (3 EPDS and 1 PHQ) had the prevalence decreased to 23.56 (19.04, 28.07), and the pooled effect of unplanned pregnancy on antenatal depression was 1.93 (1.81, 2.06). Factors such as age, marital status, income, occupation, history of the previous mental disorder, antenatal follow-up, unplanned pregnancy, complication during to pregnancy, age of mother during pregnancy, conflict, and social support were associated with antenatal depression. Conclusions. Antenatal depression is a common maternal problem; further attention should be given to the effect of unplanned pregnancy, social support, pregnancy-related complications, family conflicts, and violence on pregnant women. All these are possible risk factors for antenatal depression.
Analysis of Loss of Essential Power System Reported in Nuclear Power Plants
Authors: Volkanovski Andrija , Peinador Veira Miguel
Published: July 2018

The essential power supply system is important for the nuclear safety and accident mitigation of the currently operating nuclear power plants. This system provides electrical power to the essential instrumentation and control systems of the nuclear power plant when all alternate current power sources are lost. This event is known as station blackout (SBO) event. Operational events of failure or deficiency of the essential power supply system are analyzed in this paper. The relevant events were searched and identified in four databases of operational events. The report includes events identified in French SAPIDE and German VERA operational events records for the time period 1996 to 2015. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) IRS and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) LER operational events databases were screened for relevant events that occurred in the period between 2000 and 2016. In total, 308 relevant events are identified in the SAPIDE, 103 in VERA, 56 in LER, and 15 in IRS operational events database. Classification and in-depth analysis were done on the identified events considering the following predefined categories: the plant status during the event, circumstances, affected equipment, cause of the event (direct and root), and implications of the event on plant safety. Main findings from the evaluation of the events are presented. Observations of the causes resulting in the events and potential actions that can decrease the number and consequences of the events are presented.
Personalized POI Recommendation Based on Subway Network Features and Users’ Historical Behaviors
Authors: Yan Danfeng , Zhao Xuan , Guo Zhengkai
Published: July 2018

Current recommender systems often take fusion factors into consideration to realize personalize point‐of‐interest (POI) recommendation. Historical behavior records and location factors are two kinds of significant features in most of recommendation scenarios. However, existing approaches usually use the Euclidean distance directly without considering the traffic factors. Moreover, the timing characteristics of users’ historical behaviors are not fully utilized. In this paper, we took the restaurant recommendation as an example and proposed a personalized POI recommender system integrating the user profile, restaurant characteristics, users’ historical behavior features, and subway network features. Specifically, the subway network features such as the number of passing stations, waiting time, and transfer times are extracted and a recurrent neural network model is employed to model user behaviors. Experiments were conducted on a real‐world dataset and results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms the baselines on two metrics.
Effects of Juniperus phoenicea Hydroalcoholic Extract on Inflammatory Mediators and Oxidative Stress Markers in Carrageenan-Induced Paw Oedema in Mice
Authors: Zouari Bouassida Karama , Makni Samar , Tounsi Amina , Jlaiel Lobna , Trigui Mohamed , Tounsi Slim
Published: July 2018

Juniperus phoenicea (J. phoenicea) is a wild tree belonging to the Cupressaceae family, commonly used for the treatment of several disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the potential protective effects of J. phoenicea hydroethanolic extract (EtOH-H2OE) against oxidation, acute inflammation, and pain in mice models. For the purpose, chemical compounds of J. phoenicea EtOH-H2OE were also analyzed by GC-MS. The J. phoenicea EtOH-H2OE showed a potent antioxidant activity in vitro, thanks to its richness in phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Mice treated with EtOH-H2OE (100 mg/kg BW) showed reduced paw oedema formation and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The evaluation of antioxidant enzyme activities in paw oedema tissue after five hours of carrageenan induction showed a significant increase (P<0.05). Inflammatory biomarkers explorations of J. phoenicea EtOH-H2OE-treated mice showed a restoration of the studied parameters to near-normal values. Furthermore, EtOH-H2OE of J. phoenicea produced a significant reduction of the number of abdominal writhes (P<0.05) in a dose-dependent way. Phytochemical analysis of the J. phoenicea EtOH-H2OE by GC-MS showed the presence of hexadecanoic and stearic acids known as anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds. Our investigation provided evidence that J. phoenicea EtOH-H2OE can effectively reduce the inflammation and pain in mice models.
Analysis of Spatial Discretization Error Estimators Implemented in ARES Transport Code for SN Equations
Authors: Zhang Liang , Zhang Bin , Liu Cong , Chen Yixue
Published: July 2018

The discrete ordinates method (SN) is one of the mainstream methods for neutral particle transport calculations. Assessing the quality of the numerical solution and controlling the discrete error are essential parts of large-scale high-fidelity simulations of nuclear systems. Three error estimators, a two-mesh estimator, a residual-based estimator, and a dual-weighted residual estimator, are derived and implemented in the ARES transport code to evaluate the error of zeroth-order spatial discretization for SN equations. The difference in scalar fluxes on coarse and fine meshes is adopted to indicate the error in the two-mesh method. To avoid zero residual in zeroth-order discretization, angular fluxes within one cell are reconstructed by Legendre polynomials. The error is estimated by inverting the discrete transport operator using the estimated directional residual as an anisotropic source. The inner product of the forward directional residual and the adjoint angular flux is employed to quantify the error in quantities of interest which can be denoted by a linear functional of forward angular flux. Method of Manufactured Solutions (MMS) is adopted to generate analytical solutions for SN equation with scattering and the determined true error is used to evaluate the effectivity of these estimators. Promising results are obtained in the numerical results for both homogeneous and heterogeneous cases. The larger error region is well captured and the average effectivity index for the local error estimation is less than unity. For the series test problems, the estimated goal quantity error can be contained within an order of magnitude around the exact error.
Seismic Response of the Three‐Span Bridge with Innovative Materials Including Fault‐Rupture Effect
Authors: Ge Jiping , Saiidi M. Saiid
Published: July 2018

The seismic performance of the SR99 Bridge with conventional and advanced details in Seattle, Washington, was studied via a nonlinear, time history analysis of a multidegree of freedom model. The bridge consists of three spans supported on two single‐column piers and will be the first built bridge in the world in which superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) and engineered cementitious composite (ECC) are implemented to reduce damage at plastic hinges and minimize residual displacements. Existing finite‐element formulations in the finite‐element software OpenSees are used to capture the response of the advanced materials used in the bridge. The earthquake induced by strike‐slip fault was assumed to produce a surface rupture across the SR99 Bridge. The effect of the rupture was modeled by a static, differential ground displacement in the fault‐parallel direction across the rupture. The synthetic suite of scaled bidirectional near‐fault ground motions used in the analysis contains common near‐fault features including a directivity pulse in the fault‐normal direction and a fling step in the fault‐parallel direction. Comparisons are made on behavior of two different bridge types. The first is a conventional reinforced concrete bridge and the second is a bridge with Nickel‐Titanium (NiTi) SMA reinforcing bar at the plastic hinge zone and ECC in the whole column. Fault‐parallel near‐fault earthquakes typically exhibit a static permanent ground displacement caused by the relative movement of the two sides of the fault. When the fault is located between piers, the pier shows a higher demand. Fault‐normal analysis results show effectiveness of the innovative interventions on the bridges in providing excellent recentering capabilities with minimal damage to the columns. But the maximum drift computed in the SMA bridge is slightly higher than reinforced concrete (RC) bridges, contributed by comparatively low stiffness of the superelastic SMA bars compared to the steel reinforcing bars.
Cellular Stresses and Stress Responses in the Pathogenesis of Insulin Resistance
Authors: Onyango Arnold N.
Published: July 2018

Insulin resistance (IR), a key component of the metabolic syndrome, precedes the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Its etiological pathways are not well defined, although many contributory mechanisms have been established. This article summarizes such mechanisms into the hypothesis that factors like nutrient overload, physical inactivity, hypoxia, psychological stress, and environmental pollutants induce a network of cellular stresses, stress responses, and stress response dysregulations that jointly inhibit insulin signaling in insulin target cells including endothelial cells, hepatocytes, myocytes, hypothalamic neurons, and adipocytes. The insulin resistance‐inducing cellular stresses include oxidative, nitrosative, carbonyl/electrophilic, genotoxic, and endoplasmic reticulum stresses; the stress responses include the ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway, the DNA damage response, the unfolded protein response, apoptosis, inflammasome activation, and pyroptosis, while the dysregulated responses include the heat shock response, autophagy, and nuclear factor erythroid‐2‐related factor 2 signaling. Insulin target cells also produce metabolites that exacerbate cellular stress generation both locally and systemically, partly through recruitment and activation of myeloid cells which sustain a state of chronic inflammation. Thus, insulin resistance may be prevented or attenuated by multiple approaches targeting the different cellular stresses and stress responses.
Stability Assessment of the Excavated Rock Slope at the Dagangshan Hydropower Station in China Based on Microseismic Monitoring
Authors: Ma K. , Xu N. W. , Liang Z. Z.
Published: July 2018

A high‐resolution microseismic (MS) monitoring system was implemented at the right bank slope of the Dagangshan hydropower station in May 2010 to analyse the slope stability subjected to continuous excavation. The MS monitoring system could real‐time capture a large number of seismic events occurring inside the rock slope. The identification and delineation of rock mass damage subject to excavation and consolidation grouting can be conducted based on the analysis of tempospatial distribution of MS events. However, how to qualitatively evaluate the stability of the rock slope by utilizing these MS data remains challenging. A damage model based on MS data was proposed to analyse the rock mass damage, and a 3D finite element method model of the rock slope was also established. The deteriorated mechanical parameters of rock mass were determined according to the model elements considering the effect of MS damage. With this method, we can explore the effect of MS activities, which are caused by rock mass damage subjected to excavation and strength degradation to the dynamic instability of the slope. When the MS damage effect was taken into account, the safety factor of the rock slope was reduced by 0.18 compared to the original rock slope model without considering the effect. The simulated results show that MS activities, which are subjected to excavation unloading, have only a limited effect on the stability of the right bank slope. The proposed method is proven to be a better approach for the dynamical assessment of rock slope stability and will provide valuable references for other similar rock slopes.
The Treatment of Cleidocranial Dysostosis (Scheuthauer-Marie-Sainton Syndrome), a Rare Form of Skeletal Dysplasia, Accompanied by Spinal Deformities: A Review of the Literature and Two Case Reports
Authors: Balioğlu Mehmet Bülent , Kargın Deniz , Albayrak Akif , Atıcı Yunus
Published: July 2018

Cleidocranial dysostosis is a skeletal dysplasia inherited in an autosomal dominant manner and may lead to complications such as scoliosis and kyphosis, concurrent with various orthopedic involvements. Since concurrent spinal deformities are of progressive nature, surgical treatment may be necessary. In addition to other orthopedic problems, possible accompanying complications such as atlanto-axial subluxation, myelopathy, syringomyelia, congenital spine deformities, spondylosis, and spondylolisthesis should be kept in mind while planning for the treatment of scoliosis and kyphosis. Lengthening the use of growth-friendly systems (growing rod) in patients, like ours, with an early onset of symptoms, and performing posterior instrumentation and fusion once the spinal growth is complete will yield successful results with no complications in the middle and the long term. Further multicenter studies with more comprehensive assessments are required to find solutions to spinal problems related to this rare skeletal dysplasia.
Seepage Behavior of an Inclined Wall Earth Dam under Fluctuating Drought and Flood Conditions
Authors: Ye Wei , Ma Fuheng , Hu Jiang , Li Ziyang
Published: July 2018

Most dam seepage safety analyses evaluate a stable seepage field, infiltration line, and seepage flow. However, under fluctuating drought-flood conditions, the soil surface becomes cracked, making it too complicated to conduct a routine seepage analysis. In this paper, the seepage characteristics of an inclined wall dam under fluctuating drought-flood conditions were studied using a large-scale physical model. The results show that after drought, the permeability coefficient of clay with low crack development was smaller than that of the saturated permeability, but for cracked areas, with high permeability, permeability coefficients were much larger than those of the saturated permeability. As the water level rose, cracks could heal themselves, but this healing was superficial, and the soil could no longer return to its predrought state. After crack healing, the integrity of the dam slope was much less than its original state. In addition, the formation of cracks increased the porosity of the soil and changed the soil permeability, which permanently weakened the antiseepage performance of the clay soil. This study evaluated the seepage flow behavior of an inclined wall dam under fluctuating drought-flood conditions, and results can be used to monitor and protect the weak parts of seepage dams in practical engineering projects.
Determine the Role of FSH Receptor Binding Inhibitor in Regulating Ovarian Follicles Development and Expression of FSHR and ERα in Mice
Authors: Lai Luju , Shen Xiaoyun , Liang Haoqin , Deng Yingying , Gong Zhuandi , Wei Suocheng
Published: July 2018

Mice of FRBI-1, FRBI-2, and FRBI-3 groups were intramuscularly injected with 20, 30, and 40mg/kg, respectively, for five consecutive days. Ovarian weights of three FRBI groups were reduced in comparison with FSH group. Ovarian cortex thicknesses (OCT) of the FRBI-3 group were less than that of the FSH group (P<0.05). As compared to FSH group, there were fewer numbers of secondary follicles (SFs) and mature follicles (MF) on the ovaries of FRBI-treated mice numbers of primary follicles (PFs) and SFs also decreased. In FRBI-3 mice, we found that the primordial follicles (POF) were scarcer, the follicles developed poorly, and granulosa cells became apoptosis. SF numbers of FRBI-2 and FRBI-3 groups were less than that of the FSH group on day 20 (P<0.05). Maximum longitudinal diameter (MLD) and transverse diameter (MTD) of three FRBI groups became decreased during the experiment. MLD and MTD of the FRBI-3 group were smaller than FSH group. Levels of FSHR mRNA and protein were less than that of CG and FSH group (P<0.05). ERα protein levels of FRBI group and serum concentrations of FSH and estradiol (E2) in the FRBI-treated mice were decreased when compared to CG and FSH group. In conclusion, FSH treatment could increase the numbers of SF and MF, enhance follicle development, reduce the numbers of SF and MF, and depress the follicular development of mice. Furthermore, FRBI declined the mRNA and protein levels of ERα and FSHR in the ovaries and dropped serum concentrations of FSH and E2 of mice.
Effect of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes and their Citric Acid Polymerization on Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Vitro
Authors: Garnica-Gutiérrez Rosa L. , Lara-Martínez Luis A. , Palacios Eduardo , Masso Felipe , Contreras Alejandra , Hernández-Gutiérrez Salomón , Cervantes-Sodi Felipe
Published: July 2018

The effects of acid-functionalized and polycitric acid- (PCA-) polymerized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in contact with the extracellular membrane of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), a genetically unmodified cell line with differentiation capability, was evaluated with different cellular parameters. The modified CNTs show differences in the analyzed biological behaviors, that is, intracellular incorporation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cytotoxicity as compared with those unpolymerized nanotubes. Due to the reduced cellular uptake of polymerized CNTs, PCA-polymerized CNTs are less cytotoxic and are associated with less apoptotic cell death than the acid-functionalized ones. The effects of nitrogen-doped CNTs (CNx) is also reported, showing that functionalized undoped CNTs present strong stimulation of cell proliferation, whereas functionalized and polymerized CNxs stimulate an apoptotic behavior. The study of MSCs in contact with CNTs and PCA is challenging due to the complexity of its various signaling components. Our results provide basis for further studies aimed to understand the relevant role that the interaction of these nanotubes with extracellular membrane could have a crucial structure for tissue grafting.
Phase-Shift Keying Modulated Data Signal Using SOA-MZI-Based All-Optical Logic AND Gate at 80 Gb/s
Authors: Kotb Amer , Mohamed Yasser
Published: July 2018

All-optical logic AND operation with phase-shift keying (PSK) modulated data signals based on a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) assisted Mach-Zehnder interferometer is numerically analyzed and investigated. By solving the rate equations of the SOA, the dependence of the quality factor on the critical parameters of the input signal and the SOA is examined, including the impact of the amplified spontaneous emission to obtain realistic results. The obtained results confirm that the all-optical logic AND scheme with PSK modulated data signals is capable of operating at a data rate of 80 Gb/s with both logical correctness and acceptable quality compared to the system using on-off-keying signal.
Protective Effects of Miswak (Salvadora persica) against Experimentally Induced Gastric Ulcers in Rats
Authors: Lebda Mohamed A. , El-Far Ali H. , Noreldin Ahmed E. , Elewa Yaser H. A. , Al Jaouni Soad K. , Mousa Shaker A.
Published: July 2018

Gastric ulcers are among the most broadly perceived illnesses affecting individuals. Alcohol consumption is the main cause of gastric ulceration. This study assessed the protective effects of Salvadora persica (SP) extract against ethanol‐induced gastric ulcer and elucidated the conceivable underlying mechanisms involved. For this purpose, 40 rats were allotted into 4 equal groups (control, ethanol‐ (EtOH‐) treated, and SP‐treated “SP200 and SP400” groups). The control and EtOH‐treated groups were given phosphate buffer saline (PBS), and both the SP200 and SP400 groups were given SP extract dissolved in PBS at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg b.w., respectively. All treatments were given orally for 7 constitutive days. On the 8th day, all rats were fasted for 24 h followed by oral gavage of PBS in the control group and chilled absolute ethanol solution (5 ml/kg b.w.) in the EtOH‐ and SP‐treated groups to induce gastric lesions. One hour later, the rats were sacrificed and the stomachs were harvested. Gross and microscopic examinations of the EtOH‐treated group showed severe gastric hemorrhagic necrosis, submucosal edema, destruction of epithelial cells, and reduced glycoprotein content at the mucus surface. These pathological lesions were defeated by SP extract treatment. Administration of SP extract modulated the oxidative stress and augmented the antioxidant defenses. The elevated ethanol‐expressed tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) genes, as well as bcl‐2‐like protein 4 (Bax) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), were diminished in the SP‐treated group. Curiously, SP extract upregulated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) gene expression comparable to that of the EtOH‐treated rats. Aggregately, SP exerted antiulcer activities in ethanol‐induced gastric ulcer rat models via modulation of oxidant/antioxidant status, mitigation of proinflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis, as well as remodeling of both NOS isoforms.
Useful Piezoelectric Sensor to Detect False Liquor in Samples with Different Degrees of Adulteration
Authors: Carvajal Ahumada Luis Armando , Sandoval Cruz Andrés Felipe , García Fox Mario Alejandro , Herrera Sandoval Oscar Leonardo
Published: July 2018

The main objective of this article is to demonstrate by experimental measurements the capability of the quartz crystal resonator (QCR) to characterize samples of liquor at different concentrations of adulteration with methanol, classify them according to their viscosity, and identify how to use this capability as a potential detection of fake liquor. According to the literature, the fake liquor is a common problem detected in several countries across the globe. The current strategy to detect the fake liquor is based on a piezoelectric biosensor that permits the classification of the samples according to its viscosity. The viscosity is a useful variable to determinate the degree of adulteration in the liquor samples because the viscosity value between ethanol (straight liquor) and methanol (most common fake liquor) is very different.
The Approximate Solution of 2D Dirichlet Problem in Doubly Connected Domains
Authors: El-shenawy Atallah , Shirokova Elena A.
Published: July 2018

We propose a new method for constructing an approximate solution of the two-dimensional Laplace equation in an arbitrary doubly connected domain with smooth boundaries for Dirichlet boundary conditions. Using the fact that the solution of the Dirichlet problem in a doubly connected domain is represented as the sum of a solution of the Schwarz problem and a logarithmic function, we reduce the solution of the Schwartz problem to the Fredholm integral equation with respect to the boundary value of the conjugate harmonic function. The solution of the integral equation in its turn is reduced to solving a linear system with respect to the Fourier coefficients of the truncated expansion of the boundary value of the conjugate harmonic function. The unknown coefficient of the logarithmic component of the solution of the Dirichlet problem is determined from the following fact. The Cauchy integral over the boundary of the domain with a density that is the boundary value of the analytical in this domain function vanishes at points outside the domain. The resulting solution of the Dirichlet problem is the sum of the real part of the Cauchy integral in the given domain and the logarithmic function. In order to avoid singularities of the Cauchy integral at points near the boundary, the solution at these points is replaced by a linear function. The resulting numerical solution is continuous in the domain up to the boundaries. Three examples of the solution of the Dirichlet problem are given: one example demonstrates the solution with constant boundary conditions in the domain with a complicated boundary; the other examples provide a comparison of the approximate solution with the known exact solution in a noncircular domain.
Unsupervised Domain Adaptation for Facial Expression Recognition Using Generative Adversarial Networks
Authors: Wang Xiaoqing , Wang Xiangjun , Ni Yubo
Published: July 2018

In the facial expression recognition task, a good-performing convolutional neural network (CNN) model trained on one dataset (source dataset) usually performs poorly on another dataset (target dataset). This is because the feature distribution of the same emotion varies in different datasets. To improve the cross-dataset accuracy of the CNN model, we introduce an unsupervised domain adaptation method, which is especially suitable for unlabelled small target dataset. In order to solve the problem of lack of samples from the target dataset, we train a generative adversarial network (GAN) on the target dataset and use the GAN generated samples to fine-tune the model pretrained on the source dataset. In the process of fine-tuning, we give the unlabelled GAN generated samples distributed pseudolabels dynamically according to the current prediction probabilities. Our method can be easily applied to any existing convolutional neural networks (CNN). We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on four facial expression recognition datasets with two CNN structures and obtain inspiring results.
Two-Stage Fuzzy Logic Model for Cloud Service Supplier Selection and Evaluation
Authors: Paunović Marija , Ralević Nebojša M. , Gajović Vladimir , Mladenović Vojinović Biljana , Milutinović Olivera
Published: July 2018

Dynamicity of the cloud computing system, complexity of real-world decision-making problems, and nontransparent market imply numerous difficulties in finding the corresponding solution for cloud supplier evaluation and selection. Due to that reason, there is a need to develop a model that can contribute to increase of reliability of evaluation and reduction of subjectivity of the decision-maker. Having in mind the aforementioned, the authors proposed a new concept to model a cloud supplier evaluation based on technology perspective. Here, we developed a model that combined fuzzy techniques with implemented simulation of model parameters. The proposed method for cloud supplier evaluation is flexible with an objective evaluation and ensures more precise numerical value. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and pragmatism of the proposed approach.
Textile Concentric Ring Electrodes: Influence of Position and Electrode Size on Cardiac Activity Monitoring
Authors: Prats-Boluda Gema , Ye-Lin Yiyao , Pradas-Novella Francisco , Garcia-Breijo Eduardo , Garcia-Casado Javier
Published: July 2018

Continuous ECG monitoring can play an important role in the rapid detection of pathological signatures and arrhythmias. Current systems use electrodes with limitations in wearable long-term applications and spatial selectivity. In this work, two sizes of textile concentric ring electrodes (TCRE42 and TCRE50) were developed and tested for monitoring cardiac activity. The low-cost devices were found to be easy to implement and to potentially have the advantages of textile electrodes for being lightweight, stretchable, adjustable, washable, and long-lasting. Both TCREs yielded similar signal detectability of different ECG waves. The optimal P wave recording area (OPA) for detecting signals was on the upper right chest. Although the absolute signal amplitude of TCRE records was smaller than that of lead II, normalized amplitude in the OPA is similar for T wave and higher for P wave. The TCREs also allowed better analysis of P wave morphology and were able to detect more right and left atrial depolarization waves. TCRE48 showed slightly better detectability, normalized amplitude, and spatial selectivity than TCRE50 within the OPA. The authors consider the TCRE suitable for use in ubiquitous mobile health care systems, especially for atrial activity monitoring and diagnosis.
Prevalence and Outcome of Operative Vaginal Delivery among Mothers Who Gave Birth at Jimma University Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia
Authors: Hubena Zenebe , Workneh Ahadu , Siraneh Yibeltal
Published: July 2018

Background. Operative vaginal deliveries (OVD) are vaginal deliveries accomplished with the use of a vacuum device or forceps. If it is technically feasible and can be safely accomplished, termination of second stage labor by operative vaginal delivery is indicated in any condition threatening the mother or fetus that is likely to be relieved by delivery. Hence, the objective of this study is to assess the prevalence, common indication, outcome, and associated factors of operative vaginal delivery among mothers who gave birth in Jimma University Medical Center (JUMC). Method. A facility-based cross-sectional study design was used in maternity ward on 242 mothers who gave birth by operative vaginal delivery from December 01, 2016, to May 30, 2017. The clinical data were collected using a check list, recordings of intrapartum fetal and maternal state, and immediate fetomaternal outcomes. The study participants were recruited using consecutive sampling method. Sociodemographics and related data were collected at exit using structured interviewer administered questionnaire which was developed by reviewing different literature and the remaining information abstracted from patient charts. Data were entered to Epidata 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Bivariate analysis was done to identify candidate variables using p<0.25. Multivariable logistic regression was used to control the effect of confounding variables and to identify factors affecting the fetomaternal outcome. Statistical significance was declared at P<0.05 using adjusted OR with 95% CI. Result. Out of the 2348 pregnant mothers who gave birth in the labor ward of JUMC during the 6 months of the study period, 242 (10.3%) were by operative vaginal delivery (OVD). The commonest indication for operative vaginal delivery is found to be nonreassuring fetal heart rate pattern, 136 (56.2%). Out of all neonates delivered by operative vaginal delivery 210 (86.8%) had favorable outcome. Of all mothers who gave birth by operative vaginal delivery 232 (95.9%) had favorable outcome. Type of instrument used for operative vaginal delivery (AOR=0.228, 95%CI: 0.078, 0.671) and presence of grade two (AOR=0.163, 95%CI: 0.031, 0.858) and grade three (AOR=0.088,95%CI: 0.024,0.327) meconium stained amniotic fluid are factors affecting neonatal outcome while neonatal birth weight (AOR=0.007, 95%CI: 0.000, 0.151) is factor affecting maternal outcome of operative vaginal delivery. Conclusion. Prevalence of operative vaginal delivery is found to be 10.3% with the commonest indication of nonreassuring fetal heart rate pattern. Nearly all of mothers and neonates had favorable outcome. Type of instrument applied for operative vaginal delivery is the strongest predictor of neonatal outcome while neonatal birth weight is the only predictor of maternal outcome identified in this study.