bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Protective Effects of Aminooxyacetic Acid on Colitis Induced in Mice with Dextran Sulfate Sodium
Authors: Li Wenyang , Yu Jianghong , Jin Bohan , Zhang Huilu , Zhang Jun
Published: December 2021

As a known inhibitor of pyridoxal phosphate‐dependent transaminase glutamic‐oxaloacetic transaminase 1 (GOT1), aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA) has been pointed out to have potential pharmacological effects in antiepileptic, anticonvulsant, antibacterial, cancer cell proliferation inhibition, and acute myocardial infarction (MI) relief. However, its role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been reported. Through the in vivo experiment of dextran sulfate sodium‐ (DSS‐) induced colitis in mice, it was found that AOAA significantly attenuated the symptoms, signs, and pathological changes of colitis. In addition, AOAA treatment prevented gut barrier damages by enhancing the expression of zona occludens‐ (ZO‐) 1, occludin, claudin‐1, and E‐cadherin and recovering the upregulation of the most abundant intermediate filament protein (vimentin). Moreover, the release of interleukin‐ (IL‐) 1β, IL‐6, and tumour necrosis factor‐ (TNF‐) α was suppressed, yet the level of IL‐10 was upregulated by AOAA treatment compared to the model group. Furthermore, it was shown that AOAA administration boosted M2‐like phenotype and effectively reduced M1 macrophage phenotype in the lamina propria of mouse colonic epithelium. Similarly, the effect of AOAA was verified in vitro. AOAA effectively inhibited the classically activated M1 macrophage phenotype and proinflammatory cytokine (IL‐1β, TNF‐α, and IL‐6) expression induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and promoted M2‐like phenotype. Collectively, this study reveals for the first time that short‐term treatment of AOAA can significantly alleviate DSS‐induced acute colitis by regulating intestinal barrier function and macrophage polarization, which provides a theoretical basis for the potential use of AOAA in the treatment of IBD.
Association of Obesity and Hypertension: A Cohort Study in China
Authors: Li Xia , Niu Huiqin , Bai XiaoGang , Wang YuWei , Wang Weihua
Published: December 2021

The prevalence of general and central obesity has increased rapidly in China for decades, while little is known on obesity-normal weight-central obesity (NWCO) in China. In this study, we aim to depict the trend of the three kinds of obesity and to explore their associations with hypertension in a cohort study in China. We used data from eight waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015 for analysis. The Cochran–Armitage test was used for trend of the three kinds of obesity or hypertension. Mixed logistic regression was used to explore their relationship. In this study, we found the prevalence of general obesity increased from 20.81% in 1993 to 50.57% in 2015 in China, which was from 19.23% to 56.15% for central obesity and from 27.20% to 49.07% for NWCO, respectively. Males had the highest increase among all the subgroups. The RR for hypertension and general obesity was 3.71 (95%CI: 3.26–4.22), 3.62 (95%CI 3.19–4.12) for central obesity, and 1.60 (95%CI 1.23–2.06) for NWCO after adjusted for age, sex, education, smoking, alcohol drinking, marriage status, urbanicity and income. Both prevalence of obesity and hypertension have increased significantly in China for the two decades. The general obesity was most likely to develop hypertension compared to central or NOCWO in this study.
Color Image Landscape Photo Hand-Painted Effect Evaluation with PFA Algorithm
Authors: Liu Shizhang
Published: December 2021

With the continuous development of society and economy, diversified presentation and publicity of landscape are becoming more and more popular among the public, such as using color pictures to display multimedia publicity videos or APP, WeChat public accounts, and other new media. There are various ways of expression. Against the limitations of color image landscape, this article introduced the PFA algorithm, during the experiment of hand-painted landscape pictures, the effect of color hand-painted images is evaluated by using the coordination degree of natural target detection scene, and the corresponding image evaluation index values are obtained for effective analysis, and the prediction model is established. The simulation results show that the PFA algorithm is effective and can support the evaluation of the hand-painted effect of color landscape photos.
Supervised Machine Learning-Based Cardiovascular Disease Analysis and Prediction
Authors: Hossen M. D. Amzad , Tazin Tahia , Khan Sumiaya , Alam Evan , Sojib Hossain Ahmed , Monirujjaman Khan Mohammad , Alsufyani Abdulmajeed
Published: December 2021

Cardiovascular illness, often commonly known as heart disease, encompasses a variety of diseases that affect the heart and has been the leading cause of mortality globally in recent decades. It is associated with numerous risks for heart disease and a requirement of the moment to get accurate, trustworthy, and reasonable methods to establish an early diagnosis in order to accomplish early disease treatment. In the healthcare sector, data analysis is a widely utilized method for processing massive amounts of data. Researchers use a variety of statistical and machine learning methods to evaluate massive amounts of complicated medical data, assisting healthcare practitioners in predicting cardiac disease. This study covers many aspects of cardiac illness, as well as a model based on supervised learning techniques such as Random Forest (RF), Decision Tree (DT), and Logistic Regression (LR). It makes use of an existing dataset from the UCI Cleveland database of heart disease patients. There are 303 occurrences and 76 characteristics in the collection. Only 14 of these 76 characteristics are evaluated for testing, which is necessary to validate the performance of various methods. The purpose of this study is to forecast the likelihood of individuals getting heart disease. The findings show that logistic regression achieves the best accuracy score (92.10%).
Effect of WeChat-Based Health Education Combined with Satir Model on Self-Management Behaviors and Social Adaptation in Colorectal Cancer Patients during the Perioperative Period
Authors: Feng Limin , Wang Weina , Wu Meiying , Ma Huili
Published: December 2021

Objective. To explore the effect of WeChat-based health education combined with the Satir model on self-management behaviors and social adaptation in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients during the perioperative period. Methods. A total of 100 CRC patients treated in our hospital from April 2018 to April 2020 were selected as the objects for the retrospective study and divided into the observation group and the reference group according to their admission order, with 50 cases each. The patients in both groups accepted health education based on the WeChat platform, and additionally, those in the observation group received the Satir group intervention on self-approval for 3 months to compare the patients’ scores on self-management behaviors, social adaptation, and self-care agency before and after the intervention between the two groups. Results. Between the observation group and the reference group, the patients’ general information, including age, gender ratio, and course of the disease, was not statistically different (

P
>
0.05

). After nursing intervention, the scores on patients’ self-management behaviors, social adaptation, and self-care agency were significantly higher in the observation group than in the reference group (

P
<
0.001

). Conclusion. Combining the WeChat-based health education with the Satir model can improve the self-management awareness in the CRC patients during the perioperative period, enhance their self-care agency and self-management behaviors, and promote their social adaptation, demonstrating that such a nursing intervention model is worthy of clinical promotion.
Chemical Profiles of Herbal Compress and Their Persistence Affected by Steaming and Storage Time
Authors: Panakkal Elizabeth J. , Tantayotai Prapakorn , Adediran Adeolu Adesoji , Phusantisampan Theerawut , Sriariyanun Malinee
Published: December 2021

The steamed herbal compress is one of the well-known traditional medicines used to relieve pain and stress and to promote emotional and physical well-being. Although it has several therapeutic benefits due to its chemical compounds, there are insufficient reports on the effect of steaming of the herbal compress to promote the release of active compounds and its shelf life. Hence, this study aims at analysing the effect of various steaming processes and storage conditions on the chemical composition of most commonly used herbs such as kaffir lime, lemongrass, plai, soap pod, tamarind, and turmeric. The herbs were extracted with solid-liquid and Soxhlet-mediated extraction using 95% ethanol, hexane, and water as solvents. The analysis of chemical profiles of herbs indicated that Soxhlet extraction is the best extraction procedure based on the extraction yield and abundance of eluted compounds. The herbs were then steam-processed according to the traditional practice of using herbal compress with water alone, and water in combination with 5% ethanol or 5% coconut oil to analyse the effect of steaming. The results indicated that a steaming process can promote the release of bioactive compounds from herbs. The effect of storage was also investigated by storing herbs for 1 day and 7 days at 4°C. The finding suggested that storage has resulted in changes in the bioactive composition of herbs pointing to the necessity of modifying storage conditions to eliminate the loss of beneficial compounds. Thus, this study can be helpful for product development to improve the quality of products by modifying their steaming or storage conditions.
Risk Prediction by Using Artificial Neural Network in Global Software Development
Authors: Iftikhar Asim , Alam Muhammad , Ahmed Rizwan , Musa Shahrulniza , Su’ud Mazliham Mohd
Published: December 2021

The demand for global software development is growing. The nonavailability of software experts at one place or a country is the reason for the increase in the scope of global software development. Software developers who are located in different parts of the world with diversified skills necessary for a successful completion of a project play a critical role in the field of software development. Using the skills and expertise of software developers around the world, one could get any component developed or any IT‐related issue resolved. The best software skills and tools are dispersed across the globe, but to integrate these skills and tools together and make them work for solving real world problems is a challenging task. The discipline of risk management gives the alternative strategies to manage risks that the software experts are facing in today’s world of competitiveness. This research is an effort to predict risks related to time, cost, and resources those are faced by distributed teams in global software development environment. To examine the relative effect of these factors, in this research, neural network approaches like Levenberg–Marquardt, Bayesian Regularization, and Scaled Conjugate Gradient have been implemented to predict the responses of risks related to project time, cost, and resources involved in global software development. Comparative analysis of these three algorithms is also performed to determine the highest accuracy algorithms. The findings of this study proved that Bayesian Regularization performed very well in terms of the MSE (validation) criterion as compared with the Levenberg–Marquardt and Scaled Conjugate Gradient approaches.
Multisensor Hybrid Dynamic Alliance Formation Problem Using Sensitive Particle-Based Dynamic Discrete PSO
Authors: Wei Daozhi , Zhang Zhaoyu , Xie Jiahao , Yao Liang fu , Li Ning
Published: December 2021

In recent years, with the wide application and popularization of artificial intelligence algorithm in the field of multisensor information processing, it has been a research hotspot to solve the problem of sensor alliance formation in the battlefield environment by using multisensor cross-cueing technology. Based on the establishment of the multisensor hybrid dynamic alliance model and objective function, a multisensor cross-cueing algorithm based on dynamic discrete particle swarm optimization (DDPSO) with sensitive particles is proposed and a mechanism of “predict re-predict” is proposed in the process of sensor handover. Simulations have verified the good convergence effect and small detection error of multisensor cross-cueing technology in solving alliance formation problems. Meanwhile, compared with “measurement and then update” and “predict and update” mechanisms, the proposed mechanism is more suitable to the changing combat environment. At the same time, to some extent, it also shows that the artificial intelligence algorithm is more suitable for multisensor information processing.
[Retracted] Optimization of Sustainable Land Use Management in Water Source Area Using Water Quality Dynamic Monitoring Model
Authors: Jin Zhouyi , Ge Dabing
Published: December 2021

Land use management is the primary source of resource planning, and the management part of the sustainable ecosystem of water and soil resources is an important evidence for the sustainable development of the economic and social system. This is guided by the concept of sustainable development, and on the basis of the accumulation of relevant research practices and outcomes at home and abroad, water and land based systems are a research object and study the status of water and soil resource utilization, the state of water and soil coupling, and the supply and demand status of water resources. A balance analysis was carried out, and the gray linear programming model was used to optimize the allocation of land resources using the water quality dynamic monitoring model, which achieved the best coupling of water and soil resources and the greatest benefit. In this paper, aiming at the two types of problems in comprehensive water quality evaluation, namely, aiming at indifference and spatiotemporal changes, this article explores a powerful calculation method based on variable identification models and compiles a GIS geostatistical model (it is a computer‐based tool that can draw and analyze ground objects; event GIS technology integrates seamless visual effects between map and local analysis services and general data processing services) to perform spatial analysis and visual expression of the evaluation results, in‐depth analysis of the connotation, and theory and optimal allocation model of land resources optimal allocation. On the basis of the conceptual framework of the best share of land sources, the theories that should follow in the best share of land sources are discussed, and the available models and their characteristics are analyzed and compared. Experimental results show that, in the data provided by the analysis of water supply and demand balance at the annual spring system site by constructing an energy monitoring model, the water supply conditions of different water sources are rough, but the data of this study shows that the water shortage rate has reached 25%. In addition, the article explains the setting variables for the optimal allocation of land resources in water sources and compares and analyzes the optimization and planning of land resources in water sources.
Study on Prevalence of Trypanosomosis in Cattle of Sodo Zuriya District, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Hundessa Nato , Esrael Eshetu , Fesseha Haben , Mathewos Mesfin
Published: December 2021

Background. Trypanosomosis is a significant impediment to Ethiopia’s livestock and farm production, adding adversely to the overall growth of agriculture in general and the nation’s food self-reliance efforts in particular. Methods. Cross-sectional research was performed on the prevalence of trypanosomosis in cattle and the distinction of Trypanosoma species and potential factors in six selected provinces of the Sodo zuriya district in southern Ethiopia. Blood samples from the ear vein of 400 local and exotic cattle species were taken randomly. A hematocrit reader was used after centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for a five-minute assessment of anemic conditions of animals, and the anemia of the thin blood spraying and buffy coat procedure was tested to assess the incidence, detection, and packaging of Trypanosoma and the cell volume of each sampled animal. Results. Accordingly, twenty cattle were positive for trypanosomosis, with an overall proportion of 5.0%. From this overall prevalence, Trypanosoma congolense (3.3%) and Trypanosoma vivax (1.8%) were the two common Trypanosoma species in this study. The highest and the lowest prevalence of trypanosomes occurred in Guttuto Larena (35%) and Dalbo Wogane (0.00%), respectively. Age-wise prevalence revealed that young adults (45%) were the most affected, followed by old adults (35%) and adults (20%). Cattle with poor body condition scores (65%) were the most affected, followed by cattle with medium (30%) and good (5%) body condition scores, and this was found to be statistically significant (

p
≤
0.002

). In addition, the variation in packed cell volume (PCV) between infected and noninfected cattle was significantly different (

p
≤
0.0001

). Conclusion. Thus, the present study revealed the predominance of bovine trypanosomosis in the region and had a significant effect on body condition and anemia growth. The government and public should then collaborate in parasite-observed areas on the disease’s management and prevention efforts in an environmentally sustainable way.
Application of Self-Adhesive Soft Silicone Common Foam Dressing in Reducing Intraoperative Pressure Ulcers in Elderly ICU Patients
Authors: Wang Fen , Gan Xiaoqing , Zhou Xu , Shen Yanbing , Zhang Ruiying , Hong Sun , Tang Dan , li Sha , Shi Zeya
Published: December 2021

Pressure ulcer (PU), also called pressure injury, is localized damage to the skin and underlying soft tissues, usually over bony prominences, as a result of sustained mechanical loads applied to the tissues. However, in many situations, complete off-loading of sacral PUs is not possible. Minimising the exposure of wounds and their surroundings to elevated mechanical loads is crucial for healing. We for the first time reported the application of Meipicang in the prevention and treatment of intraoperative pressure ulcers in elderly ICU patients with severe illness. We found that the pressure ulcer risk score (

20.15
±
2.17

) in the dressing group after intervention was higher than that (

17.42
±
3.62

) in the regular group. The incidence of pressure sores in the dressing group was 3.77% lower than the 18.88% in the regular group. The psychological concern score (

31.41
±
3.15

) of the dressing group was higher than that (

26.92
±
3.43

) of the regular group. The trust score (

29.57
±
2.61

) of the dressing group was higher than the score (

24.28
±
2.29

) of the regular group. The score of physiological problems in the dressing group (

34.69
±
3.82

) is higher than that in the regular group (

29.88
±
3.54

). The skin complication rate of the dressing group was 5.56% lower than that of the regular group (22.64%). The comfort score (92.46 ± 4.15) of the dressing group was higher than that (

80.59
±
5.43

) of the regular group. The nursing satisfaction score (

94.53
±
3.72

) of the dressing group was higher than that (

81.79
±
4.61

) of the regular group. To conclude, in this study, we found that the Meipicang dressing can reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers in ICU patients with severe ICU and improve the comfort and nursing satisfaction of elderly ICU patients with severe ICU, which is worthy of promotion.
ACPEC: A Resource Management Scheme Based on Ant Colony Algorithm for Power Edge Computing
Authors: Liu Zhu , Qiu Xuesong , Zhang Nan
Published: December 2021

With the development of power IoTs (Internet of Things) technology, more and more intelligent devices access the network. Cloud computing is used to provide the resource storage and task computing services for power network. However, there are many problems with traditional cloud computing such as the long-time delay and resource bottleneck. Therefore, in this paper, a two-level resource management scheme is put forward based on the idea of edge computing. Furthermore, a new task scheduling algorithm is presented based on the ant colony algorithm, which realized the resource sharing and dynamic scheduling. The data of simulation show that this algorithm has a good effect on the performance of task execution time, power consumption, and so on.
An Enhanced Slime Mould Algorithm and Its Application for Digital IIR Filter Design
Authors: Liang Xiaodan , Wu Dong , Liu Yang , He Maowei , Sun Liling
Published: December 2021

In the past few decades, metaheuristic algorithms (MA) have been developed tremendously and have been successfully applied in many fields. In recent years, a large number of new MA have been proposed. Slime mould algorithm (SMA) is a novel swarm-based intelligence optimization algorithm. SMA solves the optimization problem by imitating the foraging and movement behavior of slime mould. It can effectively obtain a promising global optimal solution. However, it still suffers some shortcomings such as the unstable convergence speed, the imprecise search accuracy, and incapability of identifying a local optimal solution when faced with complicated optimization problems. With the purpose of overcoming the shortcomings of SMA, this paper proposed a multistrategy enhanced version of SMA called ESMA. The three enhanced strategies are chaotic initialization strategy (CIS), orthogonal learning strategy (OLS), and boundary reset strategy (BRS). The CIS is used to generate an initial population with diversity in the early stage of ESMA, which can increase the convergence speed of the algorithm and the quality of the final solution. Then, the OLS is used to discover the useful information of the best solutions and offer a potential search direction, which enhances the local search ability and raises the convergence rate. Finally, the BRS is used to correct individual positions, which ensures the population diversity and enhances the overall search capabilities of ESMA. The performance of ESMA was validated on the 30 IEEE CEC2014 functions and three IIR model identification problems, compared with other nine well-regarded and state-of-the-art algorithms. Simulation results and analysis prove that the ESMA has a superior performance. The three strategies involved in ESMA have significantly improved the performance of the basic SMA.
Recovery from Liver Failure and Fibrosis in a Rat Portacaval Anastomosis Model after Neurointermediate Pituitary Lobectomy
Authors: Muñoz-Ortega Martín , Macías-Segura Noé , Ventura-Juárez Javier , Ávila-Blanco Manuel Enrique , Ponce-Damian Leonardo D. , González-Blas Daniel , Sánchez-Alemán Esperanza , Quintanar-Stephano Andrés
Published: December 2021

Liver diseases, including cirrhosis, viral hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, account for approximately two million annual deaths worldwide. They place a huge burden on the global healthcare systems, compelling researchers to find effective treatment for liver fibrosis-cirrhosis. Portacaval anastomosis (PCA) is a model of liver damage and fibrosis. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) has been implicated as a proinflammatory-profibrotic hormone. In rats, neurointermediate pituitary lobectomy (NIL) induces a permanent drop (80%) in AVP serum levels. We hypothesized that AVP deficiency (NIL-induced) may decrease liver damage and fibrosis in a rat PCA model. Male Wistar rats were divided into intact control (IC), NIL, PCA, and PCA+NIL groups. Liver function tests, liver gene relative expressions (IL-1, IL-10, TGF-β, COLL-I, MMP-9, and MMP-13), and histopathological assessments were performed. In comparison with those in the IC and PCA groups, bilirubin, protein serum, and liver glycogen levels were restored in the PCA+NIL group. NIL in the PCA animals also decreased the gene expression levels of IL-1 and COLL-I, while increasing those of IL-10, TGF-β, and MMP-13. Histopathology of this group also showed significantly decreased signs of liver damage with lower extent of collagen deposition and fibrosis. Low AVP serum levels were not enough to fully activate the AVP receptors resulting in the decreased activation of cell signaling pathways associated with proinflammatory-profibrotic responses, while activating cell molecular signaling pathways associated with an anti-inflammatory-fibrotic state. Thus, partial reversion of liver damage and fibrosis was observed. The study supports the crucial role of AVP in the inflammatory-fibrotic processes and maintenance of immune competence. The success of the AVP deficiency strategy suggests that blocking AVP receptors may be therapeutically useful to treat inflammatory-fibrotic liver diseases.
Intelligent Network Office System Based on Cloud Computing and Machine Learning
Authors: Guo Yinfang , Guo Yanjun
Published: December 2021

The traditional data automatic office system has limited mining and computing capabilities. Due to the iterative complexity of data mining algorithms, it is difficult to discover the relationships and rules existing in the Internet of Things data as well as impossible to advance the efficiency of the office system based on the existing Internet of Things data. This paper combines cloud computing and machine learning to construct an intelligent network office system, realizes large-scale IoT data processing through the combination of IoT data mining technology and cloud computing framework, and constructs the functional module structure of the intelligent network office system through demand analysis. On this basis, this paper conducts system performance verification and conducts experimental design based on network intelligent system demand. The experimental results show that the system constructed in this paper has certain practical effects, which can provide theoretical reference for subsequent related research.
Passive Fetal Movement Recognition Approaches Using Hyperparameter Tuned LightGBM Model and Bayesian Optimization
Authors: Liang Sensong , Peng Jiansheng , Xu Yong , Ye Hemin
Published: December 2021

Fetal movement is an important clinical indicator to assess fetus growth and development status in the uterus. In recent years, a noninvasive intelligent sensing fetal movement detection system that can monitor high‐risk pregnancies at home has received a lot of attention in the field of wearable health monitoring. However, recovering fetal movement signals from a continuous low‐amplitude background that is heavily contaminated with noise and recognizing real fetal movements is a challenging task. In this paper, fetal movement can be efficiently recognized by combining the strength of Kalman filtering, time and frequency domain and wavelet domain feature extraction, and hyperparameter tuned Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) model. Firstly, the Kalman filtering (KF) algorithm is used to recover the fetal movement signal in a continuous low‐amplitude background contaminated by noise. Secondly, the time domain, frequency domain, and wavelet domain (TFWD) features of the preprocessed fetal movement signal are extracted. Finally, the Bayesian Optimization algorithm (BOA) is used to optimize the LightGBM model to obtain the optimal hyperparameters. Through this, the accurate prediction and recognition of fetal movement are successfully achieved. In the performance analysis of the Zenodo fetal movement dataset, the proposed KF + TFWD + BOA‐LGBM approach’s recognition accuracy and F1‐Score reached 94.06% and 96.85%, respectively. Compared with 8 existing advanced methods for fetal movement signal recognition, the proposed method has better accuracy and robustness, indicating its potential medical application in wearable smart sensing systems for fetal prenatal health monitoring.
Estimating the Ground and Excited State Dipole Moments of Levofloxacin and Norfloxacin Drugs Using Solvatochromic Effects and Computational Work
Authors: Woldegiorges Kinfe , Belay Abebe , Kebede Alemu , Abebe Tamirat
Published: December 2021

Levofloxacin (LVF) and norfloxacin (NRF) are a group of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, broad spectrum used to treat various infections caused by many bacterial species. The drugs contain functional groups which control the type and degree of interaction with different solvents. In this research, the ground and excited state dipole moments of LVF and NRF drugs were estimated using solvatochromic effects and computational work. The dipole moments were estimated from absorption and emission spectra in polar and nonpolar solvents using Bakhshiev’s, Kawski–Chamma–Viallet, Lippert–Mataga, and Reichardt models. The results indicated the emission spectra are more strongly affected by solvent polarity than the absorption spectra. The calculated excited state dipole moment is larger than that of the ground state, indicating that the probe compounds are significantly more polarized in the excited state than in the ground state. From computational work, the HOMO-LUMO energy band gap, the dipole moments, electron charge density distribution, and oscillator strength were determined using the semiempirical MP6 method, DFT-B3LYP-6-31G, and DFT-B3LYP-3-21G employing Gaussian 09 software. In general, larger dipole moments were obtained by computation rather than from experiments due to the absence of solvent effects.
Some Compatible and Weakly-Compatible Four Self-Mapping Results Approach to Nonlinear Integral Equations in Fuzzy Cone Metric Spaces
Authors: Rehman Saif Ur , Yazbek Hawraa Akram , Bantan Rashad A. R. , Elgarhy Mohammed
Published: December 2021

This paper is aimed at proving some unique common fixed point theorems by using the compatible and weakly-compatible four self-mappings in fuzzy cone metric (FCM) space. We prove the results under the generalized rational contraction conditions in FCM spaces with the help of one self-map are continuous. Furthermore, we prove some rational contraction results with the weaker condition of the self-mapping continuity. Ultimately, our theoretical work has been utilized to prove the existence solution of the two nonlinear integral equations. This is an illustrative application of how FCM spaces can be used in other integral type operators.
A Novel Routing Protocol for Realistic Traffic Network Scenarios in VANET
Authors: Singh Gagan Deep , Kumar Sunil , Alshazly Hammam , Idris Sahar Ahmed , Verma Madhushi , Mostafa Samih M.
Published: December 2021

The vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) has traditional routing protocols that evolved from mobile ad hoc networks (MANET). The standard routing protocols of VANET are geocast, topology, broadcast, geographic, and cluster‐based routing protocols. They have their limitations and are not suitable for all types of VANET traffic scenarios. Hence, metaheuristics algorithms like evolutionary, trajectory, nature‐inspired, and ancient‐inspired algorithms can be integrated with standard routing algorithms of VANET to achieve optimized routing performance results in desired VANET traffic scenarios. This paper proposes integrating genetic algorithm (GA) in ant colony optimization (ACO) technique (GAACO) for an optimized routing algorithm in three different realistic VANET network traffic scenarios. The paper compares the traditional VANET routing algorithm along with the metaheuristics approaches and also discusses the VANET simulation scenario for experimental purposes. The implementation of the proposed approach is tested on the open‐source network and traffic simulation tools to verify the results. The three different traffic scenarios were deployed on Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) and tested using NS3.2. After comparing them, the results were satisfactory and it is found that the GAACO algorithm has performed better in all three different traffic scenarios. The realistic traffic network scenarios are taken from Dehradun City with four performance metric parameters including the average throughput, packet delivery ratio, end‐to‐end delay, and packet loss in a network. The experimental results conclude that the proposed GAACO algorithm outperforms particle swarm intelligence (PSO), ACO, and Ad‐hoc on Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV) routing protocols with an average significant value of 1.55%, 1.45%, and 1.23% in three different VANET network scenarios.
Circular RNA hsa_circ_0001658 Inhibits Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Development by Regulating hsa-miR-181c-5p/FAS
Authors: Meng Ge-dong , Xu Bao-shan
Published: December 2021

Background and Purpose. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is the main cause of low back pain, but its pathogenesis has not been studied clearly. Circular RNA is a type of noncoding RNA (ncRNA). In this study, we studied the potential role of circular RNA in the pathogenesis of IDD. Methods. We obtained microarray data (GSE116726, GSE67566) from Gene Expression Omnibus database, and differential expression level of ncRNA in nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues of IDD patients was analyzed. The potential circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was analyzed by starBase. The effect of the interaction between hsa_circ_0001658, hsa-miR-181c-5p, and FAS on the proliferation and apoptosis of human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) was studied. Results. hsa_circ_0001658 was significantly upregulated (

logFC
>
2.0

and

adj
.
P
.
Val
<
0.01

) in the NP tissues of IDD patients, and hsa-miR-181c-5p expression was downregulated (

logFC
<
−
2.0

and

adj
.
P
.
Val
<
0.01

). Silencing of hsa-miR-181c-5p or overexpression of hsa_circ_0001658 inhibited the proliferation of hNPCs and promoted their apoptosis. hsa_circ_0001658 acted as a sponge of hsa-miR-181c-5p. hsa-miR-181c-5p downregulated the expression of Fas cell surface death receptor (FAS), promoted the proliferation, and inhibited the apoptosis of hNPCs. hsa_circ_0001658 functioned in hNPCs through targeting hsa-miR-181c-5p/FAS. Conclusion. Circular RNA hsa_circ_0001658 inhibits IDD development by regulating hsa-miR-181c-5p/FAS. It is expected to be a potential target for the therapy of IDD.
Downregulation of TET1 Promotes Glioma Cell Proliferation and Invasion by Targeting Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway
Authors: Ji Jianwen , You Qiuxiang , Zhang Jidong , Wang Yutao , Cheng Jing , Huang Xiangyun , Zhang Yundong
Published: December 2021

Glioma is the most common malignant tumor in adult brain characteristic with poor prognosis and low survival rate. Despite the application of advanced surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the patients with glioma suffer poor treatment effects due to the complex molecular mechanisms of pathological process. In this paper, we conducted the experiments to prove the critical roles TET1 played in glioma and explored the downstream targets of TET1 in order to provide a novel theoretical basis for clinical glioma therapy. RT-qPCR was adopted to detect the RNA level of TET1 and β-catenin; Western blot was taken to determine the expression of proteins. CCK8 assay was used to detect the proliferation of glioma cells. Flow cytometry was used to test cell apoptosis and distribution of cell cycle. To detect the migration and invasion of glioma cells, wound healing assay and Transwell were performed. It was found that downregulation of TET1 could promote the proliferation migration and invasion of glioma cells and the concomitant upregulation of β-catenin, and its downstream targets like cyclinD1 and c-myc were observed. The further rescue experiments were performed, wherein downregulation of β-catenin markedly decreases glioma cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. This study confirmed the tumor suppressive function of TET1 and illustrated the underlying molecular mechanisms regulated by TET1 in glioma.
Prevalence of Ticks Infesting Dairy Cattle and the Pathogens They Harbour in Smallholder Farms in Peri-Urban Areas of Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Peter Shepelo Getrude , Kariuki Hellen Wambui , Aboge Gabriel Oluga , Gakuya Daniel Waweru , Maingi Ndichu , Mulei Charles Matiku
Published: December 2021

This study aimed at determining the tick species infesting dairy cattle in Nairobi, Kenya, and the pathogens they harbour. While ticks are well-known vectors of major bacterial pathogens of both veterinary importance and public health importance, few studies have investigated the range of the tick species and the associated pathogens, especially present in unique dairy production systems, which compromise animal welfare, such as those in peri-urban areas. A cross-sectional study was undertaken involving 314 randomly selected dairy cattle in 109 smallholder farms. Each animal was examined for attached ticks followed by morphological tick identification at the species level. Genomic DNA was extracted from each of the ticks, and 16S rDNA gene was amplified for pathogen identification. Sequencing of the amplicons and subsequent BLASTn analysis, multiple sequence alignment, and phylogenetic reconstruction were performed to confirm the species of the pathogens. Sixty-six (21.0%) of the cattle examined had ticks. A total of 94 adult ticks were found on the cattle, and of these, 63 (67.0%), 18 (19.1%), and 13 (13.8%) were in the genera Rhipicephalus, Amblyomma, and Hyalomma, respectively. Twelve tick species in Rhipicephalus genus and two in Amblyomma and Hyalomma genera were identified. Although Rh. decoloratus was the most prevalent tick (24.5% (23/94)), the emerging Rh. microplus (6.4% (6/94)) was also identified. The DNA of Rickettsia was detected in the ticks, with Rickettsia conorii in H. rufipes and A. variegatum, and Rickettsia aeschlimannii in Rh. microplus and H. rufipes, while Ehrlichia ruminantium and E. canis were in A. variegatum. In conclusion, the study reported a wide range of tick species present in the study area including Rhipicephalus microplus, which is an emerging tick species in parts of Kenya. The ticks harboured DNA of Rickettsia and Ehrlichia, highlighting possible animal and human health concerns. Hence, effective tick control strategies remain paramount to prevent potential diseases associated with the harboured pathogens.
Parallel Algorithms of Well-Balanced and Weighted Average Flux for Shallow Water Model Using CUDA
Authors: Sataporn Nugool , Suwannik Worasait , Maleewong Montri
Published: December 2021

Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) implementations are presented of a well-balanced finite volume method for solving a shallow water model. The CUDA platform allows programs to run parallel on GPU. Four versions of the CUDA algorithm are presented in addition to a CPU implementation. Each version is improved from the previous one. We present the following techniques for optimizing a CUDA program: limiting register usage, changing the global memory access pattern, and using loop unroll. The accuracy of all programs is investigated in 3 test cases: a circular dam break on a dry bed, a circular dam break on a wet bed, and a dam break flow over three humps. The last parallel version shows 3.84x speedup over the first CUDA implementation. We use our program to simulate a real-world problem based on an assumed partial breakage of the Srinakarin Dam located in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand. The simulation shows that the strong interaction between massive water flows and bottom elevations under wet and dry conditions is well captured by the well-balanced scheme, while the optimized parallel program produces a 57.32x speedup over the serial version.
Serum Expression of ESM-1, HMWA, and AGEs and Its Relationship with Disease Severity in Patients with Gestational Hypertension
Authors: Yan Yun , Luan Linlin , Xu Jieru
Published: December 2021

Objective. The research is to investigate the expression and the relationship between serum endothelial cell-specific molecular molecule-1 (ESM-1), high molecular weight adiponectin (HMWA), and late glycosylation terminal product (AGEs) in patients with gestational hypertension. Methods. 75 patients with pregnant hypertension who were treated in our hospital from June 2019 to June 2020 were selected as the case group, and 70 healthy pregnant women with pregnancy examination at the same period in our hospital were selected as the control group to analyze the changes in serum ESM-1, HMWA, and AGEs levels and the correlation with the degree of illness and their predictive value. Results. Serum ESM-1 and AGEs were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group. Serum HMWA was significantly lower than that in the control group (

P
<
0.05

). The gestational hypertensive serum ESM-1 and AGEs was significantly lower than in patients with mild preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia. Serum HMWA was significantly higher than in patients with mild preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia. Serum ESM-1 and AGEs of mild preeclampsia were significantly lower than in patients with severe preeclampsia. Serum HMWA was significantly higher than in patients with severe preeclampsia (

P
<
0.05

). The result of correlation analysis shows a positive correlation between serum ESM-1 and AGEs (

P
<
0.05

). A negative correlation was observed between HMWA and the degree of illness (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Serum ESM-1, HMWA, and AGEs are abnormally expressed in gestational hypertension, are closely related to the degree of condition, and have important clinical significance for condition control.
Hunger Training as a Self-regulation Strategy in a Comprehensive Weight Loss Program for Breast Cancer Prevention: A Randomized Feasibility Study
Authors: Schembre Susan M. , Jospe Michelle R. , Bedrick Edward J. , Li Liang , Brewster Abenaa M. , Levy Erma , Dirba Danika D. , Campbell Morgan , Taylor Rachael W. , Basen-Engquist Karen M.
Published: December 2021

Weight losses >10% favorably modulate biomarkers of breast cancer risk but are not typically achieved by comprehensive weight loss programs, including the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Combining the DPP with hunger training (HT), an evidence-based self-regulation strategy that uses self-monitored glucose levels to guide meal timing, has potential to enhance weight losses and cancer-related biomarkers, if proven feasible. This two-arm randomized controlled trial examined the feasibility of adding HT to the DPP and explored effects on weight and metabolic and breast cancer risk biomarkers. Fifty postmenopausal women [body mass index (BMI) >27 kg/m2)] at risk of breast cancer were randomized to the DPP+HT or DPP-only arm. Both arms followed a 16-week version of the DPP delivered weekly by a trained registered dietitian. Those in the DPP+HT also wore a continuous glucose monitor during weeks 4–6 of the program. Feasibility criteria were accrual rates >50%, retention rates >80%, and adherence to the HT protocol >75%. All a priori feasibility criteria were achieved. The accrual rate was 67%, retention rate was 81%, and adherence to HT was 90%. Weight losses and BMI reductions were significant over time as were changes in metabolic and breast cancer risk biomarkers but did not vary by group. This trial demonstrated that HT was feasible to add to comprehensive weight management program targeted toward postmenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer, though upon preliminary examination it does not appear to enhance weight loss or metabolic changes.

Prevention Relevance:

This study found that it was feasible to add a short glucose-guided eating intervention to a comprehensive weight management program targeting postmenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer. However, further development of this novel intervention as a cancer prevention strategy is needed.
Placental Location in Maternal-Fetal Surgery for Myelomeningocele
Authors: Lillegard Joseph B. , Eyerly-Webb Stephanie A. , Watson David A. , Bahtiyar Mert Ozan , Bennett Kelly A. , Emery Stephen P. , Fisher Allan J. , Goldstein Ruth B. , Goodnight William H. , Lim Foong-Yen , McCullough Laurence B. , Moehrlen Ueli , Moldenhauer Julie S. , Moon-Grady Anita J. , Ruano Rodrigo , Skupski Daniel W. , Treadwell Marjorie C. , Tsao KuoJen , Wagner Amy J. , Zaretsky Michael V. ,   for the fMMC Consortium Sponsored by NAFTnet
Published: December 2021

Introduction: Uterine incision based on the placental location in open maternal-fetal surgery (OMFS) has never been evaluated in regard to maternal or fetal outcomes. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether an anterior placenta was associated with increased rates of intraoperative, perioperative, antepartum, obstetric, or neonatal complications in mothers and babies who underwent OMFS for fetal myelomeningocele (fMMC) closure. Methods: Data from the international multicenter prospective registry of patients who underwent OMFS for fMMC closure (fMMC Consortium Registry, December 15, 2010–June 31, 2019) was used to compare fetal and maternal outcomes between anterior and posterior placental locations. Results: The placental location for 623 patients was evenly distributed between anterior (51%) and posterior (49%) locations. Intraoperative fetal bradycardia (8.3% vs. 3.0%, p = 0.005) and performance of fetal resuscitation (3.6% vs. 1.0%, p = 0.034) occurred more frequently in cases with an anterior placenta when compared to those with a posterior placenta. Obstetric outcomes including membrane separation, placental abruption, and spontaneous rupture of membranes were not different among the 2 groups. However, thinning of the hysterotomy site (27.7% vs. 17.7%, p = 0.008) occurred more frequently in cases of an anterior placenta. Gestational age (GA) at delivery (p = 0.583) and length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (p = 0.655) were similar between the 2 groups. Fetal incision dehiscence and wound revision were not significantly different between groups. Critical clinical outcomes including fetal demise, perinatal death, and neonatal death were all infrequent occurrences and not associated with the placental location. Conclusions: An anterior placental location is associated with increased risk of intraoperative fetal resuscitation and increased thinning at the hysterotomy closure site. Individual institutional experiences may have varied, but the aggregate data from the fMMC Consortium did not show a significant impact on the GA at delivery or maternal or fetal clinical outcomes.
Andar a pé em São Paulo: uma investigação sobre a mobilidade a pé e a fruição da cidade
Authors: Calliari Mauro Sérgio Procópio
Published: December 2021

Em São Paulo, o ato de andar a pé embute um paradoxo: apesar de as viagens a pé serem o meio mais usado de deslocamento, as condições urbanas apresentam um quadro bastante desafiador para o pedestre — infraestrutura de caminhabilidade pouco adequada, travessias arriscadas e insegurança na relação com os veículos motorizados. O objetivo deste artigo é investigar o andar a pé a partir da perspectiva do pedestre para compreender se a experiência de mobilidade (andar para chegar a algum lugar) também pode vir acompanhada de uma experiência estética — a da fruição da cidade. Metodologicamente, foi usada uma abordagem qualitativa, por meio da técnica de grupos focais, realizada no contexto da tese de doutoramento do autor, com uma amostra de pessoas que se deslocam cotidianamente a pé pela cidade. Os resultados mostram que, dadas condições mínimas de segurança e infraestrutura, existe um componente muito presente de fruição da cidade inerente ao ato de andar a pé, manifestado no prazer sensorial, nas pequenas surpresas e na constatação de que o caminhar permite “experimentar a cidade”.