bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Barriers and facilitators to populational adherence to prevention and control measures of COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases: a rapid qualitative evidence synthesis protocol
Authors: Monteiro Karolinne Souza , Santino Thayla Amorim , Jácome Ada Cristina , Silva Baldomero , Patino Cecilia M , Chaves Gabriela , Alchieri João Carlos , Leite Sarah , Luz Kleber Giovanni , Guerra Ricardo O , Mendonça Karla Morganna Pereira Pinto de
Published: January 2021

Introduction

The current COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for populational adherence to measures for the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases. However, their effectiveness depends on the population’s preventive behaviour, which may be divergent from public policies. Therefore, this study aims to summarise and evaluate the evidence on barriers and facilitators to populational adherence to prevention and control measures in COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases.

Methods and analysis

We will search on MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO for studies focusing on adults receiving protective behaviour recommendations to combat COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases. The searches will be carried out from database’s inception to the present. We will include studies that use qualitative methods in their data collection and analysis and studies that use mixed methods if they include any qualitative methods of analysis. Studies published in English, Portuguese and Spanish will be included. Two review authors will independently screen the studies for inclusion and extract data. We will assess the quality of the included studies using the Critical Skills Appraisal Programme tool. For the assessment of the confidence in the synthesised findings, we will use the GRADE-Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research. Data analysis will be conducted using the best-fit framework approach based on adapted dimensions from the Health Belief Model and the Behaviour Change Wheel.

Ethics and dissemination

This study will be conducted on published evidence, and thus, no ethical approval is required. The findings of this rapid qualitative evidence synthesis will be disseminated to academic audiences, health policy-makers and the general population. We will publish the results in peer-reviewed journals, present our findings in conferences, and disseminate results via social media. We also aim to present the research findings in plain language and disseminate the knowledge to the general population to increase public interest.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020205750.
Scaling VO2max to body size differences to evaluate associations to CVD incidence and all-cause mortality risk
Authors: Salier Eriksson Jane , Ekblom Björn , Andersson Gunnar , Wallin Peter , Ekblom-Bak Elin
Published: January 2021

Objective

To evaluate and compare ratio and allometric scaling models of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) for different body size measurements in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and all-cause mortality.

Methods

316 116 individuals participating in occupational health screenings, initially free from CVD, were included. VO2max was estimated using submaximal cycle test. Height, body mass and waist circumference (WC) were assessed, and eight different scaling models (two evaluated in a restricted sample with WC data) were derived. Participants were followed in national registers for first-time CVD event or all-cause mortality from their health screening to first CVD event, death or 31 December 2015.

Results

Increasing deciles of VO2max showed lower CVD risk and all-cause mortality for all six models in the full sample (p<0.001) as well as with increasing quintiles in the restricted sample (eight models) (p<0.001). For CVD risk and all-cause mortality, significantly weaker associations with increasing deciles for models 1 (L·min−1) and 5 (mL·min−1·height−2) were seen compared with model 2 (mL·min−1·kg−1), (CVD, p<0.00001; p<0.00001: all-cause mortality, p=0.008; p=0.001) and in some subgroups. For CVD, model 6 (mL·min−1·(kg1·height−1)−1) had a stronger association compared with model 2 (p<0.00001) and in some subgroups.

In the restricted sample, trends for significantly stronger associations for models including WC compared with model 2 were seen in women for both CVD and all-cause mortality, and those under 50 for CVD.

Conclusion

In association to CVD and all-cause mortality, only small differences were found between ratio scaling and allometric scaling models where body dimensions were added, with some stronger associations when adding WC in the models.
Propofol for painful procedures in palliative care
Authors: Jacquin Pierre-Henri , Ciais Jean-François , Marrec Amélie , Hebert Pascal
Published: January 2021

Refractory pain during care procedures causes a real challenge for terminally ill patients. We are hereby publishing three cases of patients who received repeated procedural sedations using propofol during the painful care procedures. All patients experience pain relief with no side effects although care procedures initially were a traumatic experience to them despite the usual medication. This therapeutic solution, which would need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis by evaluating the benefit–risk balance, could become a suitable comfort treatment used by palliative care teams.
Liver function test abnormalities at hospital admission are associated with severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Weber Sabine , Hellmuth Johannes C , Scherer Clemens , Muenchhoff Maximilian , Mayerle Julia , Gerbes Alexander L
Published: January 2021

Objective

Liver injury has frequently been reported in COVID-19 patients. The clinical relevance of liver injury related to SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unclear with a need for prospective studies on the impact of liver function test (LFT) abnormalities at baseline.

Design

Data of 217 patients without pre-existing liver disease prospectively included in the COVID-19 registry of the LMU university hospital were analysed in order to assess the association of abnormal LFT at admission and course of the disease. Severe course was defined as admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) or as COVID-19-related death.

Results

Abnormal LFT at baseline was present in 58% of patients, with a predominant elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (42%), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) (37%) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (27%), hypoalbuminaemia was observed in 33%. Elevation of ALT and GGT, as well as hypoalbuminaemia, was associated with higher proportions of patients requiring ICU treatment and mechanical ventilation. After adjusting for age, gender and comorbidities, hypoalbuminaemia combined with abnormal AST or GGT at hospital admission was a highly significant independent risk factor for ICU admission (OR 46.22 and 38.8, respectively) and for a composite endpoint of ICU admission and/or COVID-19-related death (OR 42.0 and 26.9, respectively).

Conclusion

Abnormal LFTs at hospital admission, in particular GGT and albumin, are associated with a severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Safety and efficacy of intra-arterial fibrinolytics as adjunct to mechanical thrombectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational data
Authors: Kaesmacher Johannes , Meinel Thomas Raphael , Kurmann Christoph , Zaidat Osama O , Castonguay Alicia C , Zaidi Syed F , Mueller-Kronast Nils , Kappelhof Manon , Dippel Diederik W J , Soudant Marc , Bracard Serge , Hill Michael D , Goyal Mayank , Strbian Daniel , Heiferman Daniel M , Ashley William , Anadani Mohammad , Spiotta Alejandro M , Dobrocky Tomas , Piechowiak Eike I , Arnold Marcel , Goeldlin Martina , Seiffge David , Mosimann Pascal J , Mordasini Pasquale , Gralla Jan , Fischer Urs
Published: January 2021

Background

Achieving the best possible reperfusion is a key determinant of clinical outcome after mechanical thrombectomy (MT). However, data on the safety and efficacy of intra-arterial (IA) fibrinolytics as an adjunct to MT with the intention to improve reperfusion are sparse.

Methods

We performed a PROSPERO-registered (CRD42020149124) systematic review and meta-analysis accessing MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase from January 1, 2000 to January 1, 2020. A random-effect estimate (Mantel-Haenszel) was computed and summary OR with 95% CI were used as a measure of added IA fibrinolytics versus control on the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and secondary endpoints (modified Rankin Scale ≤2, mortality at 90 days).

Results

The search identified six observational cohort studies and three observational datasets of MT randomized-controlled trial data reporting on IA fibrinolytics with MT as compared with MT alone, including 2797 patients (405 with additional IA fibrinolytics (100 urokinase (uPA), 305 tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)) and 2392 patients without IA fibrinolytics). Of 405 MT patients treated with additional IA fibrinolytics, 209 (51.6%) received prior intravenous tPA. We did not observe an increased risk of sICH after administration of IA fibrinolytics as adjunct to MT (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.76), nor excess mortality (0.81, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.08). Although the mode of reporting was heterogeneous, some studies observed improved reperfusion after IA fibrinolytics.

Conclusion

The quality of evidence regarding peri-interventional administration of IA fibrinolytics in MT is low and limited to observational data. In highly selected patients, no increase in sICH was observed, but there is large uncertainty.
Aspirin monotherapy in the treatment of distal intracranial aneurysms with a surface modified flow diverter: a pilot study
Authors: de Castro-Afonso Luis Henrique , Nakiri Guilherme Seizem , Abud Thiago Giansante , Monsignore Lucas Moretti , de Freitas Rafael Kiyuze , Abud Daniel Giansante
Published: January 2021

Background

Flow diverters (FDs) result in high occlusion rates of aneurysms located distally to the carotid artery. However, the complications reported are not negligible. New modified surface FDs have low thrombogenic properties that may reduce ischemic complications related to the treatment. In addition, a modified surface FD may allow for the use of a single antiplatelet medication to reduce hemorrhagic risk during the procedure. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the p48 MW HPC (phenox, Bochum, Germany) to treat distal intracranial aneurysms under the use of aspirin monotherapy.

Methods

The primary endpoint was the incidence of any neurologic deficit after treatment after 6 months of follow-up. The secondary endpoint was the rate of the complete occlusion of the aneurysms at the 6-month follow-up. Enrollment of 20 patients was planned, but after inclusion of seven patients the study was stopped due to safety issues.

Results

Seven patients with eight aneurysms were included. Among the seven patients, three (42.8%) had ischemic complications on the second day after FD deployment. Two patients experienced complete recovery at discharge (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score=0), while one patient maintained mild dysarthria at discharge (NIHSS score=1) which improved after 6 months (NIHSS score=0). All three patients had no new symptoms during the 6-month follow-up. Complete aneurysm occlusion occurred in six (75%) of the eight aneurysms at the 6-month follow-up.

Conclusions

Antiplatelet monotherapy with aspirin for the treatment of distal intracranial aneurysms with this modified surface FD resulted in a significant incidence of ischemic complications after treatment.
Diagnostic issues in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic literature review informing the EULAR recommendations for the management of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Roodenrijs Nadia M T , Kedves Melinda , Hamar Attila , Nagy György , van Laar Jacob M , van der Heijde Désirée , Welsing Paco M J
Published: January 2021

Objectives

To summarise the evidence on diagnostic issues in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2T RA) informing the EULAR recommendations for the management of D2T RA.

Methods

A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed regarding the optimal confirmation of a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and of mimicking diseases and the assessment of inflammatory disease activity. PubMed and Embase databases were searched up to December 2019. Relevant papers were selected and appraised.

Results

Eighty-two papers were selected for detailed assessment. The identified evidence had several limitations: (1) no studies were found including D2T RA patients specifically, and only the minority of studies included RA patients in whom there was explicit doubt about the diagnosis of RA or presence of inflammatory activity; (2) mostly only correlations were reported, not directly useful to evaluate the accuracy of detecting inflammatory activity in clinical practice; (3) heterogeneous, and often suboptimal, reference standards were used and (4) (thus) only very few studies had a low risk of bias.

To ascertain a diagnosis of RA or relevant mimicking disease, no diagnostic test with sufficient validity and accuracy was identified. To ascertain inflammatory activity in patients with RA in general and in those with obesity and fibromyalgia, ultrasonography (US) was studied most extensively and was found to be the most promising diagnostic test.

Conclusions

This SLR highlights the scarcity of high-quality studies regarding diagnostic issues in D2T RA. No diagnostic tests with sufficient validity and accuracy were found to confirm nor exclude the diagnosis of RA nor its mimicking diseases in D2T RA patients. Despite the lack of high-quality direct evidence, US may have an additional value to assess the presence of inflammatory activity in D2T RA patients, including those with concomitant obesity or fibromyalgia.
Relationship between monotonic and cyclic behavior of saturated soft clay in undrained triaxial compression tests
Authors: Wu Tingyu , Han Jie , Cai Yuanqiang , Guo Lin , Wang Jun
Published: January 2021

Cyclic loading–induced deformation of soil is a common problem in engineering practice. In current practice, however, monotonic triaxial tests are more commonly used due to the availability of apparatus and ease of operation. Thus, it would be very useful and practical if monotonic triaxial tests could be used to evaluate the behavior of soil under cyclic loading. This study aims to find an explicit relationship between monotonic and cyclic behavior of saturated soft clay. Six monotonic and nine cyclic triaxial compression tests were conducted on undisturbed saturated soft clay under an undrained condition. The test results showed that the monotonic and cyclic tests shared the same stress–strain surface in a three-dimensional p′–q–εa space (p′, effective mean principal stress; q, deviatoric stress; εa, axial strain). It was also found that it is possible to evaluate the effective stress states of cyclic tests at two specific numbers of cycles, using corresponding monotonic tests. Based on these two findings, a simple procedure is proposed to predict the peak axial strain for the saturated soft clay under different cyclic loadings based on the monotonic tests and only one cyclic test, which was further verified against additional test data from the previous literature.
Impact of ellagic acid application on doxorubicin-induced cardiovascular toxicity model
Authors: Salinger-Martinovic Sonja , Cosic Vladan , Stojiljkovic Nenad , Ilic Sonja , Stojanovic Nikola , Dencic Tijana
Published: January 2021

Doxorubicin is an anticancer agent that is commonly used to treat a number of tumors and is associated with acute and chronic changes of the cardiovascular system. Ellagic acid has strong free radical scavenging capacity, neuroprotective and hepatoprotective effects, and is known to protect against changes occurring due to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Twenty-four Wistar rats were divided in four groups: control group received saline, doxorubicin group received doxorubicin in a single dose of 20 mg/kg, ellagic acid group received ellagic acid in a dose of 4 mg/kg, and doxorubicin + ellagic acid group received doxorubicin and ellagic acid in same doses as in previous groups. The effect of ellagic acid treatment, alone or in combination with doxorubicin, was studied on isolated heart frequency and strength of the contraction, and on thoracic aorta contractile responses. Application of ellagic acid to rats pre-treated with doxorubicin significantly prevented functional changes occurring in the heart, but not in the thoracic aorta tissue. Ellagic acid statistically significantly (p < 0.001) prevented doxorubicin-induced increase in heart rate, while at the same time increased single contraction force (p < 0.001) and attenuated morphological changes on heart tissue induced by doxorubicin. We can conclude that ellagic acid has potential to prevent doxorubicin-induced changes of the cardiovascular system.
Nitrogen turnover and N2O production in incubated soils after receiving field applications of liquid manure and nitrification inhibitors
Authors: Lin Sisi , Hernandez-Ramirez Guillermo
Published: January 2021

Applying abundant manure to soils can accelerate nitrogen (N) transformations and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. We conducted a laboratory incubation to examine the turnover of labile N in manured soils. Soils were collected from agricultural fields that had recently received spring-injected liquid dairy manure with or without admixing nitrification inhibitors. Bands and interbands of the manure plots were incubated separately. Time courses of ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3−) were used to derive and contrast zero-, first-, and second-order kinetics models. We found that nitrification rates were consistently better represented by first-order kinetics (k1). Furthermore, across all evaluated soils, the dependency of nitrification rate (k1 of NH4+) on initial NH4+ concentration was modelled by Michaelis–Menten kinetics reasonably well, with an affinity (Km) of 63 mg N·kg−1 soil (R2 = 0.82). Compared with the manure interbands, the initially NH4-enriched bands had a much faster nitrification rate, with half-life for NH4+ of only 4 d and rapid k1 (0.186 versus 0.011 d−1). Soil N substrate and k1 exerted control on N2O production. Nitrous oxide production increased linearly with both measured NH4+ intensity (R2 = 0.47) and modelled k1–NH4+ (R2 = 0.48). Conversely, N2O production increased non-linearly with NO3− intensity (R2 = 0.68), where high NO3− caused a saturation plateau with a threshold of 96 mg N·kg−1·d−1 — beyond which no additional N2O was produced. During peak N transformations, measured N2O-N flux was 1.4% ± 0.3% of the inorganic N undergoing nitrification. Heavily manured soils exhibited augmented N turnover that increased N2O fluxes, but inhibitors reduced these emissions by half.
Influence of feedlot manure on reactive phosphorus in rainfall runoff during the transition from continuous to legacy phases
Authors: Miller J.J. , Beasley B.W. , Owen M.L. , Drury C.F. , Chanasyk D.S.
Published: January 2021

Little research has compared land application of stockpiled (SM) or composted (CM) beef feedlot manure with straw (ST) or wood-chip (WD) bedding on loss of reactive phosphorus (RP) in runoff. We conducted a 6 yr (2013–2018) rainfall simulation-runoff study and utilized surface (0–5 cm) soil collected from a long-term (since 1998) field experiment on a clay loam soil in southern Alberta, Canada. The treatments consisted of SM or CM with ST or WD bedding applied at 13, 39, and 77 Mg·ha−1 (dry weight), as well as an unamended control and mineral fertilizer treatment. Surface soil was collected from all treatments after 15–17 (C15, C16, C17; 2013–2015) continual annual applications, and then 1–3 yr (L1–L3, 2016–2018) into the legacy phase after manure applications were first discontinued in 2015. The soil was packed into runoff trays, and flow-weighted mean concentrations (FWMCs) and mass loads of RP5 (<5 μm filter) in runoff water were determined during rainfall simulations. Our findings generally supported our null hypothesis of similar RP5 losses for manure type (CM = SM) and bedding (ST = WD) for most years. Successively higher application rates increased RP5 loss by 32%–121%. Termination of long-term applications dramatically reduced FWMCs by 58%–77% and mass loss by 56%–65% from the C17 to L3 years. This suggests an accumulation of soil P during continuous phase and depletion during legacy phase; therefore, lower application rates or termination of applications may reduce RP5 loss in runoff.
Aerial ropeway system — feasibility study in Doha, Qatar
Authors: Tahmasseby Shahram
Published: January 2021

Aerial ropeway systems, also called gondolas and aerial cable cars, are amongst driverless transportation modes, which are progressively drawing attention in promoting tourism. Aerial ropeway systems have been operated in touristic spots (e.g., over lakes, rivers, and hilly lands) in several countries. Passengers can enjoy a view from above and experience a stress-free and reliable trip. Furthermore, those systems can be exploited as public transportation in urbanized and populated regions. The objective of this article is to investigate the viability of implementing a gondola line over Doha Bay in Qatar as a tourist attraction from marketing, economic, and environmental points of view. In this study, the associated costs (capital, maintenance, and operating) of implementing a monocable detachable gondola technology (MDG) are estimated using international best practices. The economic analysis outcome demonstrates that the revenues generated from fares could offset the required capital investment as well as operating and maintenance costs and hence the proposed gondola could be economically attractive for investors. Moreover, no significant negative impacts and footprint on the environment are anticipated at the exploitation phase of the gondola.
Quark star matter in heavy quark stars
Authors: Chu Peng-Cheng , Zhou Yi , Jiang Yao-Yao , Ma Hong-Yang , Liu He , Zhang Xiao-Min , Li Xiao-Hua
Published: January 2021

We study the thermodynamic properties of asymmetric quark matter and large mass quark stars within the confined-isospin-density-dependent-quark-mass model. We find that the quark matter symmetry energy should be very large in order to describe the recent discovered heavy compact stars PSR J0348+0432 ($$\text {2.01}\pm \text {0.04}M_{\odot }$$

2.01
±
0.04

M
⊙

), MSP J0740+6620 ($$\text {2.14}\pm ^\text {0.10}_\text {0.09}M_{\odot }$$

2.14

±
0.09
0.10

M
⊙

of 68.3$$\%$$
%
credibility interval and $$\text {2.14}\pm ^\text {0.20}_\text {0.18}M_{\odot }$$

2.14

±
0.18
0.20

M
⊙

of 95.4$$\%$$
%
credibility interval) and PSR J2215+5135 (2.27$$\pm ^\text {0.10}_\text {0.09}M_{\odot }$$

±
0.09
0.10

M
⊙

) as QSs. The tidal deformability $$\Lambda _{1.4}$$

Λ

1.4

of the QSs is also investigated in this work, and the result indicates that $$\Lambda _{1.4}$$

Λ

1.4

may depend on the isospin effects and the strength / orientation distribution of the magnetic fields inside the quark stars.
New paradigm for glassy-like anomalies in solids from fundamental symmetries
Authors: Baggioli Matteo , Zaccone Alessio
Published: January 2021

Glasses and disordered materials are known to display anomalous features in the density of states, in the specific heat and in thermal transport. Nevertheless, in recent years, the question whether these properties are really anomalous (and peculiar of disordered systems) or rather more universal than previously thought, has emerged. New experimental and theoretical observations have questioned the origin of the boson peak (BP) and the linear in T specific heat exclusively from disorder and two-level systems (TLS). The same properties have been indeed observed in ordered or minimally disordered compounds and in incommensurate structures for which the standard explanations are not applicable. Using the formal analogy between phason modes (e.g., in quasicrystals and incommensurate lattices) and diffusions, and between amplitude modes and optical phonons, we suggest the existence of a more universal physics behind these properties. In particular, we strengthen the idea that linear in T specific heat is linked to low energy diffusive modes resulting from fundamental symmetries, and that a BP excess can be induced in crystals either by gapped optical-like modes and/or by anharmonic diffusive (Akhiezer) damping.
Pyrolysis behaviors of polyethylene terephthalate (PET): A density functional study
Authors: Zhang Jiawei , Yan Fei
Published: January 2021

In this paper, the pyrolysis mechanism of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which accounts for a large proportion in plastics component, is investigated by density functional theory (DFT). The dissociation energies of the several important bonds in PET are calculated. The results indicate that the C–C bond between two carboxyl groups in ethylene terephthalate is very weak, followed by the single bond between carboxyl group and carbon atom. The kinetic analysis shows the energy barriers of the reactions to release CO2 are stable while that of CO fluctuates. In addition, the reaction paths of the formation of cyclic compounds are proposed.
Streaming effects on dust ion acoustic wave in dense quantized plasmas
Authors: Mir Zahid , Rasheed A. , Khan Arroj A. , Asif M. , Jamil M.
Published: January 2021

The propagation of dust-ion acoustic (DIA) wave is studied with the streaming effects of ion particles in a quantum dusty plasmas. The quantum effects arising from Landau magnetization, Fermi degenerate pressure, tunneling potential and exchange-correlation potential are considered for the electrons. Linear dispersion relation is derived using Quantum Hydrodynamic Model and the results are graphically presented showing the propagation and growth rate of the electrostatic mode in the dense plasma environment.
Study on the eletronic structure and effective mass of Mg–Fe co-doped GaN based on first principles
Authors: Jia Wanli , Li Wenting , Cao Yuelong , Wang Xinmei , Zhang Lin , Chen Suguo , He Yang
Published: January 2021

According to the first-principle method for the density functional theory (DFT), combined with the hybrid functional (HSE06), the electronic structure and effective mass of Mg-doped GaN and Mg–Fe co-doped GaN systems are calculated, and the stability of the co-doped structure is analyzed from the perspective of formation energy and phonon dispersion. The results showed that the introduction of Fe improved the characteristics of GaN:Mg system: the GaN material doped with Mg merely would cause the material’s valence band maximum to exceed the Fermi level, presenting a [Formula: see text]-type conduction; the addition of Fe increased the energy band density of the system, and the insulation of the material was enhanced due to the higher energy level of the introduced impurity. Furthermore, the influence of Mg doping on the magnetic properties of GaN-based diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) was considered as well, with the magnetic moment obtained from co-doping Mg–Fe slightly reduced by a comparison of that of GaN:Fe measured by our research group. The results showed that the difference in the effective mass of GaN:Mg:Fe system in different directions was smaller than that of GaN:Mg system, indicating that the anisotropy of the system was reduced by doping Fe.
Adaptive Filtering of Electrocardiogram Signal Using Hybrid Empirical Mode Decomposition-Jaya algorithm
Authors: Bodile Roshan , Rao T. V. K. Hanumantha
Published: January 2021

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a graphical visualization of the electrical activity of the human heart that is recorded by placing a surface electrode at standardized position on a person’s chest. ECG signals suffer from artifacts/noises due to baseline wander (BW), electrode artifacts, muscle artifacts, power-line interference and channel noises during acquisition and transmission of the ECG signals. Reduction of these artifacts is crucial for efficient diagnosis and interpretation of the human heart condition. In this paper, an effective adaptive noise canceller (ANC) based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD)-Jaya algorithm is proposed for denoising electrocardiogram. In this approach, intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) produced by EMD are used as reference and Jaya algorithm is used to calculate optimum weights of finite impulse response (FIR) filter. This scheme is compared with EMD, wavelet transform (WT) thresholding, and hybrid EMD-least mean square (LMS) approaches through extensive simulation on noise corrupted ECG besides verifying the robustness with real ECG signals. The performance of the proposed technique is assessed using standard metric signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with different contamination levels. The results obtained demonstrate the superiority of the hybrid when compared to other competing approaches.
Remarks on Poincaré and interpolation estimates for Truncated Hierarchical B-splines
Authors: Buffa Annalisa , Giannelli Carlotta
Published: January 2021

This paper should be considered as an addendum to [A. Buffa and C. Giannelli, Adaptive isogeometric methods with hierarchical splines: Error estimator and convergence, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 26 (2016) 1–25] and [A. Buffa and C. Giannelli, Adaptive isogeometric methods with hierarchical splines: Optimality and convergence rates, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 27 (2017) 2781–2802] where Poincaré and approximation estimates are used as theoretical tools to study properties of adaptive numerical methods based on hierarchical B-splines. After noting that the support of truncated hierarchical B-splines may be disconnected (and thus no Poincaré estimate can hold), we study minimal extensions of their support on suitable mesh configurations such that (i) Poincaré estimates can be established on them and (ii) their overlaps stay independent of the number of levels. The Poincaré estimates proposed in this note should replace the ones used in the proofs of Theorem 11 and Lemma 7 in [A. Buffa and C. Giannelli, Adaptive isogeometric methods with hierarchical splines: Error estimator and convergence, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 26 (2016) 1–25] and [A. Buffa and C. Giannelli, Adaptive isogeometric methods with hierarchical splines: Optimality and convergence rates, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 27 (2017) 2781–2802], respectively, in order to include the most general meshes, i.e. the cases when the support of truncated basis functions can be disconnected.
Robust Finger Vein Recognition Based on Deep CNN with Spatial Attention and Bias Field Correction
Authors: Huang Zhe , Guo Chengan
Published: January 2021

As one of the biometric information based authentication technologies, finger vein recognition has received increasing attention due to its safety and convenience. However, it is still a challenging task to design an efficient and robust finger vein recognition system because of the low quality of the finger vein images, lack of sufficient number of training samples with image-level annotated information and no pixel-level finger vein texture labels in the public available finger vein databases. In this paper, we propose a novel CNN-based finger vein recognition approach with bias field correction, spatial attention mechanism and a multistage transfer learning strategy to cope with the difficulties mentioned above. In the proposed method, the bias field correction module is to remove the unbalanced bias field of the original images by using a two-dimensional polynomial fitting algorithm, the spatial attention module is to enhance the informative vein texture regions while suppressing the other less informative regions, and the multistage transfer learning strategy is to solve the problem caused by insufficient training for CNN-based model due to lack of labeled training samples in the public finger vein databases. Moreover, several measures, including a label smoothing scheme and data augmentation, are exploited to improve the performance of the proposed method. Extensive experiments have been conducted in the work on three public databases, and the results show that the proposed approach outperforms the existing state-of-the-art methods.
A Neurodynamic Optimization Approach for L1 Minimization with Application to Compressed Image Reconstruction
Authors: Dai Chengchen , Che Hangjun , Leung Man-Fai
Published: January 2021

This paper presents a neurodynamic optimization approach for l1 minimization based on an augmented Lagrangian function. By using the threshold function in locally competitive algorithm (LCA), subgradient at a nondifferential point is equivalently replaced with the difference of the neuronal state and its mapping. The efficacy of the proposed approach is substantiated by reconstructing three compressed images.
α-Attractors and reheating in a class of Galileon inflation
Authors: Shojaee R. , Nozari K. , Darabi F.
Published: January 2021

We study cosmological inflation in a Galileon inflationary model with the E-model potential to find possible [Formula: see text]-attractors. First, we calculate evolution of the perturbations in our setup. By adopting E-model potential, we show that values of the scalar spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio are universal. Also, we consider the reheating phase after inflation in this model. We compare the results with the Planck data and we find some constraints on the model’s parameter space. We find that in a Galileon inflation model, the reheating phase can last longer than that in the Standard Model. Also, in this model, the larger range of temperature is corresponding to observational viable values of [Formula: see text].
Dynamical motion of matter around a charged black hole
Authors: Turimov Bobur , Rahimov Ozodbek , Ahmedov Bobomurat , Stuchlík Zdeněk , Boymurodova Kholida
Published: January 2021

We investigate the dynamical motion of test particles and accretion processes around spherically symmetric charged black hole. We first show the derivation of the Paczyňski–Wiita (PW) potential for any spherically symmetric spacetime and present analytical form of the PW potential in the Reissner–Nordström (RN) spacetime and the RN-type spacetime. We study the dependence of the characteristic orbits of test (neutral and charged) particles around a charged black hole from two main parameters, namely, charge of RN black hole and the interaction of charged particle with the external electromagnetic field of the black hole and present graphical trajectories of test particles around the black hole. It is shown that with increasing the absolute value of interaction parameter, [Formula: see text], the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) radius for charged particle always increases. It is also shown that the energy efficiency for a charged particles can reach up to [Formula: see text] in the presence of an external charged black hole, while for neutral particles it can reach up to [Formula: see text] for neutral particles. The capture cross-section of the photon is by the charged black and the optical appearance of the thin accretion disk around the charged black. Finally, we have studied the flux energy and the thermal spectrum of the accretion disk consisting of the polytropic gas, around the charged black hole.
EXAMINATION OF B4C–FeCrC COMPOSITE LAYER DURING DRY SLIDING USING STATISTICAL METHOD
Authors: GUR ALI KAYA , ICEN BUSRA , SHANKAR SUBRAMANIAM , MOHANRAJ THANGAMUTHU
Published: January 2021

In this work, the surface of AISI 430 stainless steel was coated with a hyper-eutectic FeCrC and pure B4C powders using the plasma transferred arc (PTA) welding method. Further, the microstructure, microhardness, and abrasive wear resistance of the coated layer were evaluated in this work. Hard coating layers were formed between 750[Formula: see text]HV and 1000[Formula: see text]HV from the PTA melting coating process with high energy input (due to PTA). Due to the addition of FeCrC and B4C, the martensite, austenite, M7(C-B)3, M[Formula: see text](C-B)6, Cr(C-B), FeCr, Fe2B, Fe3C, Fe2C, SiC, and Fe3(C-B) phases were formed in the coating layer which makes the layer very hard. The abrasive wear resistance of the coated layer was evaluated using the Taguchi method with L[Formula: see text] mixed-level orthogonal index. Samples, wear distance (m), applied load (N), and abrasive grain size (grid) were chosen as input parameters. The mass loss due to wearing was evaluated based on “the smaller the better”. All input parameters significantly influence the wear, but the highest effect was found with the wear (slip) distance. Also, a linear regression equation was obtained to estimate the mass loss between the parameters and the levels used.
DETERMINATION OF MAIN ELECTRICAL PARAMETERS OF Au–4H-n-SiC (MS) AND Au–Al2O3–4H-n-SiC (MIS) DEVICES
Authors: DEMİR GÜLÇİN ERSÖZ , YÜCEDAĞ İBRAHİM
Published: January 2021

In this study, Au–4H-[Formula: see text]-SiC metal–semiconductor (MS) and Au–Al2O3–4H-[Formula: see text]-SiC metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) devices were fabricated to examine the effects on the performance of electronic devices of interfacial insulating materials. In order to determine the dielectric properties, capacitance/conductance–voltage ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] measurements were realized in a wide range of voltages ([Formula: see text]3.0 V)–(11.0 V). Current–voltage ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] measurements to obtain the electric properties were realized at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]V. Moreover, both the energy distributions of surface states ([Formula: see text] and series resistance ([Formula: see text] were obtained from the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] data. Obtained results provided that series resistance originating from interfacial layer (Al2O[Formula: see text] was more effective on the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] characteristics which must be taken into account in the calculation of main electrical parameters. The rectification ratio (RR) and shunt resistance ([Formula: see text] of the MIS device were almost 103 times greater than those of the MS structure. Using Al2O3 between Au and 4H-[Formula: see text]-SiC also led to an increase in the value of barrier height (BH) and a decrease in the value of ideality factor ([Formula: see text]. These results confirmed that Al2O3 layer leads to an increase in the performance of MS device with respect to low values of [Formula: see text], reverse saturation current ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] and high values of RR, [Formula: see text] and BH.
Further Assessment of Three Bathe Algorithms and Implementations for Wave Propagation Problems
Authors: Li Jinze , Yu Kaiping , Tang Hong
Published: January 2021

This paper further analyzes three Bathe algorithms ([Formula: see text]-Bathe, [Formula: see text]-Bathe and [Formula: see text]-Bathe) with their unknown properties revealed. The analysis shows firstly that three Bathe algorithms can cover two common integration schemes, trapezoidal rule and backward Euler formula, and that the second-order [Formula: see text]-Bathe algorithm is algebraically identical to the [Formula: see text]-Bathe algorithm. Via formulation of the generalized two-sub-step Newmark algorithm, it is shown that the common Newmark method cannot be considered as a special case of the [Formula: see text]-Bathe algorithm. For wave propagation problems, optimal Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) numbers for reducing dispersion errors are found for the three Bathe algorithms by considering spatial and temporal discretizations simultaneously, while the modified integration rules are used for the element mass and stiffness matrices to reduce the anisotropy in wave propagating directions. The recommended optimal algorithmic parameters are given for the three Bathe algorithms to help users effectively solve various dynamic and wave propagation problems.
A High Level of Noradrenaline in Serum is Related to Depressive Symptoms in Early Pregnancy
Authors: Qiang Sufeng , Xuan Qiankun , Cai Yuhui , Wang Sisi , Zhang Ji , Zhang Wei , Li Yan , Qian Lin , Sun Jie , Fu Fei , Yu Xiaoyu
Published: January 2021

Prenatal depression is a common disease, and it is an important risk factor for depression of postpartum and the diseases of newborn. However, this diagnosis of disease was deeply dependent on questionnaires evaluation by psychologists. The methods of evaluating and monitoring depression in the clinical laboratory are very limited. We dynamically determined serum cytokines (GM-CSF, Il-1[Formula: see text], Il-2, Il-3, Il-4, Il-5, Il-6, Il-10, Il-12, Il-17, TNF-[Formula: see text] and IFN-[Formula: see text]) and catecholamine (CA) hormone (adrenaline (AD) noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA)) to screen valuable markers evaluating depression in pregnancy. A higher rate of anxiety in pregnant women was 73.58% (78/106) during early pregnancy, compared with it in middle pregnancy. A higher rate of depression in pregnant women was 31.73% (33/104) compared with it during early pregnancy. During early pregnancy, there were no significant differences in cytokine, AD and DA between healthy pregnant women, anxious and depressed pregnant women. But the severely depressed pregnant women had a high level of NA ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]pg/mL versus [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]pg/mL, [Formula: see text]) during early pregnancy. The depressed pregnant women with vaginal bleeding were at a high-level NA. During middle pregnancy, IL-1[Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), IL-6 ([Formula: see text]) and IL-10 levels ([Formula: see text]) were significantly higher in depressed women than in healthy women. There was no significant difference in CA hormones between healthy women and depressed women. Our study showed that levels of cytokines and CA hormones kept shifting during the pregnancy process. A continuous high level of NA in serum might be related to depression during early pregnancy and might have a possibility of inducing vaginal bleeding.
Tissue Engineering and its Significance in Healthcare During COVID-19 Pandemic: Potential Applications and Perspectives
Authors: Softa Abhishek , Bahl Shashi , Bagha Ashok Kumar , Sehgal Shankar , Haleem Abid , Javaid Mohd
Published: January 2021

In the present times of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great need for new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies to prevent infectious diseases worldwide. Tissue engineering covers the phenomenon of the evolution of tissue, its behavior and growth factors that are better supported in the medical environment. This area of tissue engineering can support the treatment of infected patients of COVID-19 and can help fight the current crisis and viral outbreaks in general. This study aims to identify the significant advancement of tissue engineering for taking up the challenges posed by COVID-19. Major challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the current scenario are discussed. The significant advancements of tissue engineering in the medical field are listed in chronological order. The positive impacts of tissue engineering during the COVID 19 crisis are discussed and finally its useful applications during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation are identified and briefed. This branch of science’s primary importance is to provide biological alternatives that can perform full or partial functions of the damaged, malfunctioned and failing organs or tissues in humans. It is helpful for the supply of convalescent plasma to patients especially during COVID-19. A donor is selected strictly based on a validated case of COVID-19 contagion. The donor must confirm a negative follow-up molecular examination, free from manifestations; usual good health and other pre-donation screening procedures are to be followed.
Tracking Proterozoic–Triassic sediment routing to western Laurentia via bivariate non-negative matrix factorization of detrital provenance data
Authors: Saylor Joel E. , Sundell Kurt E.
Published: January 2021

When reconstructing sediment provenance, the challenge posed by multiple univariate (i.e., age-only) detrital geochronology data sets with similar one-dimensional distributions can be mitigated by incorporation of a second variable such as Hf isotopic data. However, there is no commonly applied method of sample intercomparison, much less forward or inverse modeling of these bivariate data sets. In this paper we explore application of non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to bivariate data sets. Factorization of univariate mixed (a.k.a., sink or daughter) data sets has been demonstrated to successfully recover both the one-dimensional endmember (a.k.a., source or parent) distributions and their mixture weightings. We show that NMF can successfully recover both the two-dimensional distributions and mixing weights in synthetic data sets. Application of the method to 24 published Neoproterozoic–Triassic samples from western Laurentia yields six two-dimensional endmember distributions that are a close match to empirical sediment sources on the southern, eastern, and northern margin of Laurentia. The results are broadly consistent with previous interpretations and confirm that the method can characterize unknown sediment sources based on data from analyzed sink samples. Correlating between factorized endmembers and empirical sources indicates that the Transcontinental Arch was not a barrier to east–west sediment transport until the late Cambrian. Quantitative comparison also shows that the closest known match for a factorized endmember with highly evolved Permo-Triassic zircons is from northern South America and suggests northward transport of this detritus following assembly of Pangea. Recognizing these empirical sources and their distribution into strata that would later be incorporated into the North American Cordillera sets the stage for interpreting sediment provenance records in the Jurassic–Paleogene Cordilleran retroarc foreland basin.

Supplementary material:
The open-source software (
DZnmf2D
) and a user manual is available in public repositories:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4460336
. All other supplemental files are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5280320

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Fold-and-thrust belts and associated basins collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/fold-and-thrust-belts