bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adopting Diffractive Reading to Advance HCI Research: A Case Study on Technology for Aging
Authors: Lazar Amanda , Jelen Ben , Pradhan Alisha , Siek Katie A.
Published: August 2021

Researchers in Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) have long developed technologies for older adults. Recently, researchers are engaging in critical reflections of these approaches. IoT for aging in place is one area around which these conflicting discourses have converged, likely in part driven by government and industry interest. This article introduces diffractive analysis as an approach that examines difference to yield new empirical understandings about our methods and the topics we study. We constructed three analyses of a dataset collected at an IoT design workshop and then conducted a diffractive analysis. We present themes from this analysis regarding the ways that participants are inscribed in our research, considerations related to transferability and novelty between work centered on older adults and other work, and insights about methodologies. Our discussion contributes implications for researchers to form teams and account for their roles in research, as well as recommendations how diffractive analysis can support other research agendas.
A Quality-assured Approximate Hardware Accelerators–based on Machine Learning and Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration
Authors: Masadeh Mahmoud , Elderhalli Yassmeen , Hasan Osman , Tahar Sofiene
Published: August 2021

Machine learning is widely used these days to extract meaningful information out of the Zettabytes of sensors data collected daily. All applications require analyzing and understanding the data to identify trends, e.g., surveillance, exhibit some error tolerance. Approximate computing has emerged as an energy-efficient design paradigm aiming to take advantage of the intrinsic error resilience in a wide set of error-tolerant applications. Thus, inexact results could reduce power consumption, delay, area, and execution time. To increase the energy-efficiency of machine learning on FPGA, we consider approximation at the hardware level, e.g., approximate multipliers. However, errors in approximate computing heavily depend on the application, the applied inputs, and user preferences. However, dynamic partial reconfiguration has been introduced, as a key differentiating capability in recent FPGAs, to significantly reduce design area, power consumption, and reconfiguration time by adaptively changing a selective part of the FPGA design without interrupting the remaining system. Thus, integrating “Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration” (DPR) with “Approximate Computing” (AC) will significantly ameliorate the efficiency of FPGA-based design approximation. In this article, we propose hardware-efficient quality-controlled approximate accelerators, which are suitable to be implemented in FPGA-based machine learning algorithms as well as any error-resilient applications. Experimental results using three case studies of image blending, audio blending, and image filtering applications demonstrate that the proposed adaptive approximate accelerator satisfies the required quality with an accuracy of 81.82%, 80.4%, and 89.4%, respectively. On average, the partial
bitstream
was found to be 28.6

smaller than the full
bitstream
.
An Exploration of Freehand Crossing Selection in Head-Mounted Augmented Reality
Authors: Uzor Stephen , Kristensson Per Ola
Published: August 2021

Crossing, or goal crossing, has proven useful in various selection scenarios, including pen, mouse, touch, and virtual reality (VR). However, crossing has not been exploited for freehand selection using augmented reality head-mounted displays (AR HMDs). Using the HoloLens, we explore freehand crossing for selection and compare it to the state-of-the-art “gaze and commit” (head gaze) method. We report on three studies investigating freehand crossing in multiple use cases. The first study shows that crossing outperforms head gaze in selection scenarios of varying target arrangements. The second explores crossing, head gaze, and hand pointing in radial menu and dynamic interface scenarios. The third explores crossing as a function carrier for a variety of basic interaction functions in a drawing application. This work builds on existing knowledge on the goal-crossing paradigm by demonstrating its potential as a useful interaction method in 3D AR HMD interfaces.
A Survey on the Role of Centrality as Seed Nodes for Information Propagation in Large Scale Network
Authors: Dey Paramita , Bhattacharya Subhayan , Roy Sarbani
Published: August 2021

From the popular concept of six-degree separation, social networks are generally analyzed in the perspective of small world networks where centrality of nodes play a pivotal role in information propagation. However, working with a large dataset of a scale-free network (which follows power law) may be different due to the nature of the social graph. Moreover, the derivation of centrality may be difficult due to the computational complexity of identifying centrality measures. This study provides a comprehensive and extensive review and comparison of seven centrality measures (clustering coefficients, Node degree, K-core, Betweenness, Closeness, Eigenvector, PageRank) using four information propagation methods (Breadth First Search, Random Walk, Susceptible-Infected-Removed, Forest Fire). Five benchmark similarity measures (Tanimoto, Hamming, Dice, Sorensen, Jaccard) have been used to measure the similarity between the seed nodes identified using the centrality measures with actual source seeds derived through Google's LargeStar-SmallStar algorithm on Twitter Stream Data. MapReduce has been utilized for identifying the seed nodes based on centrality measures and for information propagation simulation. It is observed that most of the centrality measures perform well compared to the actual source in the initial stage but are saturated after a certain level of influence maximization in terms of both affected nodes and propagation level.
PoBery: Possibly-complete Big Data Queries with Probabilistic Data Placement and Scanning
Authors: Song Jie , He Qiang , Chen Feifei , Yuan Ye , Yu Ge
Published: August 2021

In big data query processing, there is a trade-off between query accuracy and query efficiency, for example, sampling query approaches trade-off query completeness for efficiency. In this article, we argue that query performance can be significantly improved by slightly losing the possibility of query completeness, that is, the chance that a query is complete. To quantify the possibility, we define a new concept, Probability of query Completeness (hereinafter referred to as PC). For example, If a query is executed 100 times, PC = 0.95 guarantees that there are no more than 5 incomplete results among 100 results. Leveraging the probabilistic data placement and scanning, we trade off PC for query performance. In the article, we propose PoBery (POssibly-complete Big data quERY), a method that supports neither complete queries nor incomplete queries, but possibly-complete queries. The experimental results conducted on HiBench prove that PoBery can significantly accelerate queries while ensuring the PC. Specifically, it is guaranteed that the percentage of complete queries is larger than the given PC confidence. Through comparison with state-of-the-art key-value stores, we show that while Drill-based PoBery performs as fast as Drill on complete queries, it is 1.7 ×, 1.1 ×, and 1.5 × faster on average than Drill, Impala, and Hive, respectively, on possibly-complete queries.
Long Noncoding RNAs and Human Liver Disease
Authors: DiStefano Johanna K. , Gerhard Glenn S.
Published: August 2021

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are pervasively transcribed in the genome, exhibit a diverse range of biological functions, and exert effects through a variety of mechanisms. The sheer number of lncRNAs in the human genome has raised important questions about their potential biological significance and roles in human health and disease. Technological and computational advances have enabled functional annotation of a large number of lncRNAs. Though the number of publications related to lncRNAs has escalated in recent years, relatively few have focused on those involved in hepatic physiology and pathology. We provide an overview of evolving lncRNA classification systems and characteristics and highlight important advances in our understanding of the contribution of lncRNAs to liver disease, with a focus on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and cholestatic liver disease.
Methods Based on Semiparametric Theory for Analysis in the Presence of Missing Data
Authors: Davidian Marie
Published: August 2021

A statistical model is a class of probability distributions assumed to contain the true distribution generating the data. In parametric models, the distributions are indexed by a finite-dimensional parameter characterizing the scientific question of interest. Semiparametric models describe the distributions in terms of a finite-dimensional parameter and an infinite-dimensional component, offering more flexibility. Ordinarily, the statistical model represents distributions for the full data intended to be collected. When elements of these full data are missing, the goal is to make valid inference on the full-data-model parameter using the observed data. In a series of fundamental works, Robins, Rotnitzky, and colleagues derived the class of observed-data estimators under a semiparametric model assuming that the missingness mechanism is at random, which leads to practical, robust methodology for many familiar data-analytic challenges. This article reviews semiparametric theory and the key steps in this derivation.
Human Resource Management of Internet Enterprises Based on Big Data Mobile Information System
Authors: Liu Shui
Published: August 2021

With the progress of science and technology, the advent of VR panorama, the era of Big Data has arrived, which has set off a revolution in the development and future destiny of Internet companies. Human resource management (HRM) is an important department of Internet companies. This paper introduces the principle and value of Big Data and related theories of HRM. This paper discusses three aspects of HRM in our company using Big Data theory: employee turnover prediction, salary comparison, and talent evaluation method, and puts forward suggestions for optimization and improvement of the company’s HRM. The results show that, through the company’s project manager’s ability to quantify data and analyze a set of data quantitative research, comparative analysis of the ability of three candidates Q, W, and E showed that W is the most suitable for the company’s project manager staff.
The Meridian Tropism and Classification of Red Yeast Rice Investigated by Monitoring Dermal Electrical Potential
Authors: Wang Meng-Tian , He Qiao-Juan , Guo Jing-Ke , Liu Shu-Tao , Ni Li , Rao Ping-Fan , Chen Tian-Bao , Wu Sheng-Bin , Zhao Shuai-Jun , Qiao Jia-Hui , Zhang Peng-Wei , Li Yu-Bo
Published: August 2021

Red yeast rice is a traditional Chinese medicine and food that has been purported to color food, ferment, and lower cholesterol. In order to study the antioxidative capacity of red yeast rice and the effects on electrical potential difference (EPD) of 12 acupuncture meridians, the pH value, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), ABTS, FRAP, T-SOD, and particle size distribution of red yeast rice were analyzed. 20 volunteers were recruited and randomly divided into two groups, the red yeast rice group (10 g red yeast rice and 40 g water) and control CK group (50 g water). The left 12 acupuncture meridians’ EPD was real-time monitored. Samples were taken at the 10th minutes. The whole procedure continued for 70 minutes. It is shown that the pH value of the red yeast rice was 4.22, the ORP was 359.63 mV, the ABTS was 0.48 mmol Trolox, the FRAP was 0.08 mmol FeSO4, the T-SOD was 4.71 U, and the average particle size was 108 nm (7.1%) and 398.1 nm (92.9%). The results of 12 acupuncture meridians’ EPD showed that the red yeast rice can significantly affect the EPD of stomach, heart, small intestine, and liver meridians.
Sex-Biased Gene Expression of Mesobuthus martensii Collected from Gansu Province, China, Reveals Their Different Therapeutic Potentials
Authors: Gao Songyu , Wu Feng , Chen Xintong , Yang Ying , Zhu Yina , Xiao Liang , Shang Jing , Bao Xiaowei , Luo Yi , Chen Haihu , Liu Qing
Published: August 2021

The scorpions, named Mesobuthus martensii, commonly called Quanxie (全蝎) in Chinese, have been widely used as one of the animal medicines for more than 1,000 years because of the strong toxicity of their venoms. Meanwhile, scorpions are sexually dimorphic in appearance, and many exhibit traits associated with sex-biased gene expression, including maternal care, mating competition, female mating choices, ecology, and even venom composition and lethality. This study aims to explore the differences in composition of the venom of scorpions of different sex using the method of transcriptomics. Whole de novo transcriptomes were performed on the samples of M. martensii captured from Gansu Province to identify their sex-biased gene expression. The conserved CO-1 sequences of the captured samples matched that of M. martensii. A total of 8,444 (35.15%), 7,636 (31.78%), 8,510 (35.42%), 7,840 (32.63%), 9,980 (41.54%), and 11,829 (49.23%) unigenes were annotated with GO, KEGG, Pfam, Swissprot, eggNOG, and NR databases. Moreover, a total of 43 metalloproteases, 40 potassium channel toxins, 24 phospholipases, 12 defensins, 10 peroxiredoxins, 9 cysteine proteinase inhibitors, 7 serine protease inhibitors, 6 sodium channel toxins, 2 NDBPs, 1 calcium channel toxin, 1 waprin-like peptide, 1 antibacterial peptide, 1 antimicrobial peptide, and 1 anticoagulant peptide were screened out. With the fold change of 2 and 0.5,

p

value < 0.01, and q value < 0.05 as thresholds, a total of 41 out of 157 (26.11%) toxin-related unigenes had significant differential expression, and this ratio was much higher than the ratio of differentially expressed unigenes out of all annotated ones (8.84%). Of these differentially expressed toxins, 28 were upregulated and occupied the majority, up to 68.30%. The female scorpions showed more upregulated unigenes that annotated with toxins and had the potential to be used as more effective therapeutic drugs. In addition, this method of omics can be further used as a useful way to identify the difference between female and male toxic animals.
Weaving Frames in Hilbert

C

∗

-Modules
Authors: Zhao Xin , Li Pengtong
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we investigate weaving frames in Hilbert

C

∗

-modules. We show that the equivalence of woven and weakly woven frames is still true for modular frames under certain conditions. By using the analysis operators of frames and frame operators of canonical duals, we obtain several perturbation results for given weaving frames and different weaving frame pairs. When the

C

∗

-algebra is nonunital, we derive a correspondence of adjointable operators which is bounded below woven families. Finally, we discuss the redundancy of weaving frames in Hilbert

C

∗

-modules.
The Relationship between the Structure and Thermal Properties of Bi2O3-ZnO-B2O3 Glass System
Authors: Lan Sung-Hung , Lee Chin-Tung , Lai Yi-Sheng , Chen Chien-Chon , Yang Hsi-Wen
Published: August 2021

The influence of Bi2O3 and melting temperature on the thermal and structural properties of xBi2O3-(60-x) ZnO-40B2O3 glasses has been investigated in this study. It is expected that these factors can be used to control the degree of reduction of Bi2O3, and the relationship between these factors and the color change of the process for bismuth glass is discussed. Due to high-temperature melting, the bismuth-doped borate glasses have changed into dark/black from original transparent yellow and the light transmittance will decrease, so it is not used in optical applications. The thermal properties of glass are measured by a thermomechanical analyzer (TMA), and the glass structure is analyzed by FTIR and XPS. The results show that the glass is mainly composed of [BiO6] octahedron, [BiO3] triangle, [BO4] tetrahedron, and triangle [BO3] units, and the network of the glass system is mainly bonded by B-O-B, B-O-Zn, B-O-Bi, and Bi-O-Bi. The glass thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of this glass system increases with the increase of Bi2O3 content, and the O1s nuclear electron binding energy shifts to the lower energy direction with the increase of Bi2O3 addition. In terms of FTIR, as the melting temperature rises, the B-O-B bonding vibration concentration of [BO4] inside the borate glass decreases, and the density of B-O-B bonding vibration of [BO3] increases, Moreover, the increase in melting temperature increases the probability of reducing Bi ions to Bi0, reduces the bonding of Bi-O-B, and increases the bonding of B-O-B, and the CTE also slightly decreases.
Clinical Effect and Aesthetic Observation of All-on-4 Immediate Loading Implant Denture in Severe Periodontitis
Authors: Cheng Zhe , Zheng Wanlai
Published: August 2021

Objective. To explore the clinical effect and aesthetics of All-on-4 immediate loading implant denture in severe periodontitis. Methods. Totally, 60 patients with dentition loss caused by severe periodontitis who were admitted to our hospital from February 2017 to February 2019 were selected. The patients were randomly divided into the observation group (n = 30) and the control group (n = 30) according to different restoration methods. The control group was used in traditional implant restoration treatment, and the observation group was used in All-on-4 immediate loading implant denture restoration. The clinical effect, periodontal index, aesthetic effect, and complications of the two groups were compared, and the levels of serum leptin (LEP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. Results. The total effective rate of the observation group (83.33%) was higher than that of the control group (60.00%) (

P
<
0.05

). After treatment, the plaque index, gingival sulcus bleeding index, and depth of exploration of the two groups were lower than those before treatment (

P
<
0.05

), and there was no significant difference between the two groups (

P
>
0.05

). After treatment, the serum LEP, TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6 in both groups were lower than before treatment, and the serum LEP, TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6 in the observation group were lower than that in the control group (

P
<
0.05

). The aesthetic rate of teeth in the observation group (90.00%) was higher than that in the control group (66.67%) (

P
<
0.05

). There was no significant difference in the total incidence of complications between the two groups (

P
>
0.05

). Conclusion. All-on-4 immediate loading implant denture has a good effect in the treatment of severe periodontitis, which is conducive to maintaining periodontal health, reducing the level of inflammation, improving aesthetics, and has high safety.
Analysis of Microscopic Main Controlling Factors for Occurrence of Movable Fluid in Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs Based on Improved Grey Correlation Theory
Authors: Lu Xuefei , Dong Fengjuan , Wei Xiaolong , Wang PengTao , Liu Na , Ren Dazhong
Published: August 2021

Tight sandstone reservoirs have the characteristics of poor physical properties, fine pore throats, and strong microheterogeneity compared with conventional reservoirs, which results in complicated movable fluid occurrence laws and difficult mining. Taking the tight sandstone gas reservoir of He 8 formation in Sulige gas field as an example, based on physical property test analysis, constant velocity mercury injection, and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments, an optimized gray correlation calculation model is established by improved gray correlation theory, which quantitatively characterizes the influence of microscopic pore structure parameters of different types of tight sandstone gas reservoirs on the occurrence of movable fluids, and the main controlling microgeological factors for the occurrence of movable fluid in tight sandstone gas reservoirs with close/similar physical properties are selected. The results show that the occurrence of movable fluid in Type I reservoirs is mainly affected by the effective pore-throat radius ratio, the saturation of mercury in the total throat, and the effective pore radius, and the occurrence of movable fluid in Type II reservoirs is mainly affected by the effective throat radius per unit volume and total throat mercury saturation and mainstream throat radius. Moreover, the occurrence state of movable fluids in Type II reservoirs is controlled by the throat radius stronger than that of Type I reservoirs. It has important guiding significance for the efficient development of tight sandstone gas reservoirs.
Learning Deformable Network for 3D Object Detection on Point Clouds
Authors: Zhang Wanyi , Fu Xiuhua , Li Wei
Published: August 2021

3D object detection based on point cloud data in the unmanned driving scene has always been a research hotspot in unmanned driving sensing technology. With the development and maturity of deep neural networks technology, the method of using neural network to detect three-dimensional object target begins to show great advantages. The experimental results show that the mismatch between anchor and training samples would affect the detection accuracy, but it has not been well solved. The contributions of this paper are as follows. For the first time, deformable convolution is introduced into the point cloud object detection network, which enhances the adaptability of the network to vehicles with different directions and shapes. Secondly, a new generation method of anchor in RPN is proposed, which can effectively prevent the mismatching between the anchor and ground truth and remove the angle classification loss in the loss function. Compared with the state-of-the-art method, the AP and AOS of the detection results are improved.
Vitamin D Deficiency in Lebanese Adults: Prevalence and Predictors from a Cross-Sectional Community-Based Study
Authors: Arabi Asma , Chamoun Nariman , Nasrallah Mona P. , Tamim Hani M.
Published: August 2021

Background/Objectives. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the Middle Eastern population remains among the highest in the world, despite the region enjoying sunlight most days of the year. This study aimed at assessing the status of serum vitamin D and determining factors associated with vitamin D deficiency among community-dwelling adults residing in Greater Beirut, Lebanon. Methods. A random sample of Lebanese adults residing in the Greater Beirut area was selected based on area probability and multistage cluster sampling. Data from 446 participants (68% females) with mean age 45.3 ± 15 years were used for the analyses. Participants were recruited between March and May. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured using electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. Results. Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent whether using the cutoff of 50 nmol/L or using the more conservative cutoff of 30 nmol/L; more specifically, 71.9% and 39.1% of the study population were deficient using the above cutoffs, respectively In the bivariate analyses, gender, BMI and body fat mass, socioeconomic factors (income and education level), alcohol consumption, dietary intake of fat and of vitamin D, serum LDL-cholesterol, and serum creatinine were all associated with vitamin D status. After adjustment for multiple covariates, age, income, alcohol consumption, and serum creatinine were independent predictors of vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Lebanon. Preventive measures should target the modifiable risk factors.
Group Signature with Verifier-Local Revocation Based on Coding Theory
Authors: Wang Luping , Zhang Kai , Qian Haifeng , Chen Jie
Published: August 2021

Group signature with verifier-local revocation (VLR-GS) is a special variant of revocable group signature that not only allows a user to anonymously sign messages but also only requires the verifiers to possess some up-to-date revocation information. To date, a number of VLR-GS schemes have been proposed under bilinear groups and lattices, while they have not yet been instantiated based on coding theory. In this paper, we present a code-based VLR-GS scheme in the random oracle model, which is the first construction to the best of our knowledge. Concretely, our VLR-GS scheme does not rely on the traditional paradigm which utilizes an encryption scheme as a building block and achieves logarithmic-size group signature. To obtain the scheme, we first introduce a new code-based Stern-like interactive zero-knowledge protocol with member revocation mechanism based on syndrome decoding problem. Moreover, we employ the binary Goppa code embedded for our scheme with efficiency and security analysis.
TASC-MADM: Task Assignment in Spatial Crowdsourcing Based on Multiattribute Decision-Making
Authors: Li Yunhui , Chang Liang , Li Long , Bao Xuguang , Gu Tianlong
Published: August 2021

The methodology, formulating a reasonable task assignment to find the most suitable workers for a task and achieving the desired objectives, is the most fundamental challenge in spatial crowdsourcing. Many task assignment approaches have been proposed to improve the quality of crowdsourcing results and the number of task assignment and to limit the budget and the travel cost. However, these approaches have two shortcomings: (1) these approaches are commonly based on the attributes influencing the result of task assignment. However, different tasks may have different preferences for individual attributes; (2) the performance and efficiency of these approaches are expected to be improved further. To address the above issues, we proposed a task assignment approach in spatial crowdsourcing based on multiattribute decision-making (TASC-MADM), with the dual objectives of improving the performance as well as the efficiency. Specifically, the proposed approach jointly considers the attributes on the quality of the worker and the distance between the worker and the task, as well as the influence differences caused by the task’s attribute preference. Furthermore, it can be extended flexibly to scenarios with more attributes. We tested the proposed approach in a real-world dataset and a synthetic dataset. The proposed TASC-MADM approach was compared with the RB-TPSC and the Budget-TASC algorithm using the real dataset and the synthetic dataset; the TASC-MADM approach yields better performance than the other two algorithms in the task assignment rate and the CPU cost.
Association of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Levels with Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease (CTD-ILD)
Authors: Shi Shenyun , Chen Ling , Gui Xianhua , Chen Lulu , Qiu Xiaohua , Yu Min , Xiao Yonglong
Published: August 2021

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) in patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD). Methods. We retrospectively reviewed 213 CTD-ILD patients and 97 CTD patients without ILD from February 2017 to February 2020. Hospital and office records were used as data sources. CTD-ILD patients were followed up. Results. Patients with CTD-ILD had significantly higher RDW than those with CTD without ILD (

p
<
0.001

). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of RDW for discriminating CTD-ILD from CTD without ILD was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.57-0.70,

p
<
0.001

). The cutoff value of RDW for discriminating CTD-ILD from CTD without ILD was 13.95% with their corresponding specificity (55.9%) and sensitivity (70.1%). Correlation analyses showed that the increased RDW was significantly correlated with decreased DLCO%predicted (

r
=
−
0.211

,

p
=
0.002

). Cox multiple regression analysis indicated that RDW (

HR
=
1.495

,

p
<
0.001

) was an independent factor in the survival of CTD-ILD. The best cutoff value of RDW to predict the survival of patients with CTD-ILD was 14.05% (

AUC
=
0.78

, 95% CI: 0.72-0.84,

p
<
0.001

). The log-rank test showed a significant difference in survival between the two groups (

RDW
>
14.05
%

and

RDW
<
14.05
%

). Conclusion. RDW was higher in CTD-ILD patients and had a negative correlation with DLCO%predicted. RDW may be an important serum biomarker for severity and prognosis of patients with CTD-ILD.
An Experimental Study on the Particle Size and Shape Distribution of Coal Drill Cuttings by Dynamic Image Analysis
Authors: Zhang Zhigang , Lan Xiangyun , Wen Guangcai , Long Qingming , Yang Xuelin
Published: August 2021

Particle size and shape distribution can be measured in great detail by dynamic image analysis (DIA). The narrow dispersion of repeated experiment results indicates that the particle size distribution can be obtained with high reliability. Particle size distribution can be better fitted to Rosin-Rammler equation than Gaudin-Schuhmann distribution and the lognormal distribution. The spread parameter (

m

) and the location parameters (

d

0

) of the Rosin-Rammler equation can be calculated precisely. We analyzed the similarities and differences between the different particle shape distributions. The distributions of form factor and circularity are right-skewed distributions, while the distributions of ellipse ratio, irregularity, and aspect ratio obey a normal distribution. By studying the relation between particle size and shape, we find a linear relationship between the ellipse ratio and the Legendre ellipse diameter on the logarithmic scale.
Experimental Study on Water-Sand Seepage Characteristics in Fractured Rock Mass under Rheological Effect
Authors: Chen Jiarui , Pu Hai , Liu Jianxiong , Zhang Jihua , Qiu Peitao , Gu Wenhu , Li Qirong , Chen Zhendong
Published: August 2021

This study investigates water-sand bursting disasters associated with fractured rock that affect safe mining in the mining areas of Western China. A broken rock water-sand seepage rheological test device was developed, and rheological tests were conducted on multiple groups of broken rock samples with single-stage axial loading and different load levels. When the rheology of each group of broken rock samples was stable, water-sand mixed fluid was injected into the samples at a certain pressure gradient to conduct water-sand seepage tests on broken rock masses. It was found that when the porosity of a fractured rock mass is within a certain range, the water-sand mixed fluid does not completely pass through the fractured rock mass and some sand particles are filtered by the fractured rock sample. There is an exponential relationship between the sand breaking ability and the sand filtration ability of fractured rock and its initial porosity, and the permeability of fractured rock decreases by a certain extent after sand filtration. However, for different load levels, when the flow through a fractured rock mass tends to be stable, the final porosity of the fractured rock mass decreases exponentially with axial compression. Based on the classical Kelvin rheological model and the basic theory of fractional calculus, a new fractional rheological model has been proposed and the rheological parameters under different load levels were fitted to the model. The new fractional rheological model is better able to describe the rheological characteristics of broken mudstone.
Study on Water Injection Indicator Curve Model in Fractured Vuggy Carbonate Reservoir
Authors: Yong Wang , Hanqiao Jiang , Junjian Li
Published: August 2021

Fractures and cavities are very well developed in fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs in Tahe Oilfield, showing obvious constant volume or approximate constant volume characteristics, and the development of karst vuggy reservoirs is characterized by strong randomness, locality, heterogeneity, and discontinuous development, which has a great impact on oilfield development effect. The application of conventional reservoir engineering methods in this kind of reservoir has many limitations. The traditional water injection indication curve is mainly based on a sandstone reservoir, ignoring the elastic energy of the water body in a reservoir and the combination relationship of fracture and cavity, which can not meet the needs of the carbonate reservoir. According to the principle of volume balance of constant volume body and considering the elastic energy of original formation water, a new model of improved water injection indication curve and the original water-oil ratio of carbonate reservoir is proposed, and the chart of water injection indication curve is established. Compared with other methods, this method has the advantages of low cost and accurate identification results. The calculated reservoir parameters such as single well-controlled reserves, well-controlled water volume, and original water-oil ratio have high reliability, and the chart is easy to use. The model is applied to the Yuejin block of Tahe Oilfield, and the results show that the improved model is consistent with the results of other test methods, such as high-precision seismic combined with fracture cavity carving technology, which indicates that the model has strong reliability.
Effect of Drying Temperature on the Magnetic and Microstructural Properties of BaFe12O19 Synthesized by Coprecipitation Method
Authors: Sanda Mamman Nur , Hakimi Mohsen , Samadzadeh Yazdi Mohamad Reza , Karimi Hanieh
Published: August 2021

Barium hexaferrite (BaFe12O19) has dominated many aspects of technology, serving as a permanent magnet, magnetoelectric, multiferroic, and electric motors, generators, microwave devices, and drug delivery systems. There is a challenge in the synthesis of BaFe12O19 with the coprecipitation method. As a result, research is conducted to examine the factors influencing the properties of BaFe12O19 during the preparation process, specifically on the drying temperature of the mixture. The precursors were precipitated, through some procedural steps, along with stirring at 450 rpm at a certain temperature for a while and simultaneously pouring the precipitant dropwise; the sample was dried at different temperatures. The final samples were annealed at the same rate of temperature within the same time interval. The results depicted that drying at different temperatures leads to the variation in the magnetic and microstructural properties of BaFe12O19, indicating that drying at high temperatures resulted in high coercivity with low saturated magnetization.
Development of a Relationship between Pavement Condition Index and International Roughness Index in Rural Road Network
Authors: Adeli Sasan , Najafi moghaddam Gilani Vahid , Kashani Novin Mohammad , Motesharei Ehsan , Salehfard Reza
Published: August 2021

The main objective of this paper was to investigate the relationship between PCI and IRI values of the rural road network. To this end, 6000 pavement sections of the rural road network in Iran were selected. Road surface images and roughness linear profiles were collected using an automated car to calculate PCI and IRI, respectively. Three exponential regression models were developed and validated in three different IRI intervals. Analysis of the results indicated that exponential regression was the best model to relate IRI and PCI. In these models, R2 values were found to be acceptable, equal to 0.75, 0.76, and 0.59 for roads with good, fair, and very poor qualities, respectively, indicating a good relationship between IRI and PCI. Moreover, validation results showed that the model had a high accuracy. Also, the relation between IRI and PCI became weaker as a result of increasing the level of road surface roughness, which can be caused by the increase in the number and severity of failures. Furthermore, two failures of rail R.C. and rutting were rarely observed in the studied roads. Therefore, the proposed model is more applicable for roads without the mentioned failures and asphalt‐pavement rural road network.
Rapid Coating of Aqueous Pearls with Carbon Nanotubes via In Situ Polymerization of Dopamine
Authors: Rong Lin , Mu Xiaoqing , Zhao Jinchao , Huang Leping , Ye Mingqiao , Wang Na
Published: August 2021

Millimeter‐scale calcium alginate aqueous core capsules (mm‐CaSA‐Caps) are suitable for embedding of temperature and chemical sensitive substances because of its excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this study, mm‐CaSA‐Caps were coated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) via in situ self‐polymerization of dopamine (DA) under mild conditions. During the modification process, mm‐CaSA‐Caps transferred quickly from colorless and transparent capsules to dark and opaque “pearls” in 15 min. The obtained MWNTs‐polydopamine‐ (PDA‐) modified mm‐CaSA‐Caps (mm‐MWNTs‐PDA@CaSA‐Caps) retained the spherical appearance of mm‐CaSA‐Caps with uniform coating of MWNTs‐PDA. Obviously, the MWNTs were easily coated on the mm‐PDA@CaSA‐Caps due to the strong adhesive property of PDA. As the MWNTs content increased, the stacking density of MWNTs on surface of the mm‐MWNTs‐PDA@CaSA‐Caps raised. The water loss ratio of mm‐MWNTs‐PDA@CaSA‐Caps was enhanced ascribed to increasing the path length of water by raising stacking density of MWNTs. This study provided a new path for enhancement of the barrier property of hydrogel capsules.
Minimum Partition of an
r
−
Independence System
Authors: Zill-e-Shams  , Salman Muhammad , Ullah Zafar , Ali Usman
Published: August 2021

Graph partitioning has been studied in the discipline between computer science and applied mathematics. It is a technique to distribute the whole graph data as a disjoint subset to a different device. The minimum graph partition problem with respect to an independence system of a graph has been studied in this paper. The considered independence system consists of one of the independent sets defined by Boutin. We solve the minimum partition problem in path graphs, cycle graphs, and wheel graphs. We supply a relation of twin vertices of a graph with its independence system. We see that a maximal independent set is not always a minimal set in some situations. We also provide realizations about the maximum cardinality of a minimum partition of the independence system. Furthermore, we study the comparison of the metric dimension problem of a graph with the minimum partition problem of that graph.
Effect of Prophylactic Radiotherapy on Patients with Stage II-III Esophageal Cancer after Esophageal Cancer Radical Operation and Influencing Factors in Its Recurrence
Authors: Guo Dan , Zheng Kang
Published: August 2021

Objective. To explore the effect of prophylactic radiotherapy on patients with stage II-III esophageal cancer (EC) after esophageal cancer radical operation (ECRO) and influencing factors on EC recurrence. Methods. Totally, 65 patients with EC in our hospital were enrolled. Among them, 30 patients were treated by routine ECRO as a control group (Con group) and 35 patients by prophylactic radiotherapy as a research group (Res group). Then, the following measures were taken: record the efficacy on both groups, quantify their C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell count (WBC) before and after therapy, evaluate their mental state through the revised piper fatigue scale (PFS-R) before and after therapy, determine their changes in Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) before and after therapy, compare them in terms of lymph-node metastatic rate (LNMR), hematogenous metastasis rate (HMR), anastomotic recurrence rate (ARR), and 3-year survival rate, compare them in terms of life quality after therapy via the Quality of Life-Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), and analyze influencing factors on their recurrence. Results. The Res group showed a notably higher total effective rate (TER) than the Con group (

P
=
0.037

). After therapy, CRP and WBC in both groups increased, but their levels were not considerably different in both (

P
>
0.05

). Additionally, after therapy, in contrast to the Con group, the Res group got notably lower PFS-R, SDS, and SAS scores, showed notably lower LNMR and ARR and notably higher 3-year survival rate, and experienced notably higher life quality (all

P
<
0.05

), and the HMR results were not considerably different in both groups (

P
>
0.05

). Moreover, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), esophageal inflammation history, family medical history, postoperative complications, and lymphatic and vascular infiltration were risk factors for the disease recurrence, and treatment method was the protective factor for it. Conclusion. For patients with stage II-III EC after ECRO, prophylactic radiotherapy is highly effective and safe and can lower the recurrence rate, so it is worth popularizing in clinical practice.
Solving Cold‐Standby Reliability‐Redundancy Allocation Problems with Particle‐Based Simplified Swarm Optimization
Authors: Huang Chia-Ling , Jiang Yunzhi , Yeh Wei-Chang
Published: August 2021

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and simplified swarm optimization (SSO) are two of the state‐of‐the‐art swarm intelligence technique that is widely utilized for optimization purposes. This paper describes a particle‐based simplified swarm optimization (PSSO) procedure which combines the update mechanisms (UMs) of PSO and SSO to determine optimal system reliability for reliability‐redundancy allocation problems (RRAPs) with cold‐standby strategy while aimed at maximizing the system reliability. With comprehensive experimental test on the typical and famous four benchmarks of RRAP, PSSO is compared with other recently introduced algorithms in four different widely used systems, i.e., a series system, a series‐parallel system, a complex (bridge) system, and an overspeed protection system for a gas turbine. Finally, the results of the experiments demonstrate that the PSSO can effectively solve the system of RRAP with cold‐standby strategy and has good performance in the system reliability obtained although the best system reliability is not obtained in all four benchmarks.
Research on Flexible Equipment Maintenance Process Scheduling Problems Based on HNSGSA Algorithm
Authors: Song Weixing , Kang Jianshe , Wu Jingjing , Jia Hui , Chang Huiqiang
Published: August 2021

The characteristics of military equipment maintenance work are analyzed. According to the actual needs of the army, the optimization objective is designed, and a multiobjective flexible maintenance process optimization model is built based on the maintenance business organization process. Combining the advantages of NSGA-II algorithm and the simulated annealing algorithm, this paper proposes a novel improved HNSGSA algorithm, of which algorithm flow is detailed. In accordance with the requirements of the optimization model, this paper also specifically designs the coding methods of the process sequence, the equipment selection and the process scheduling, and the corresponding cross mutation method. The feasibility of the built model is verified by the actual data of maintenance business. And, the superiority, accuracy, and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are further validated by the comparison with the NSGA-II algorithm and the simulated annealing algorithm, providing a scientific reference for the army to carry out equipment maintenance.
Knowledge-Based Structure Optimization Design for Boom of Excavator
Authors: Yang Shuan-Qiang , Huang Xin-Long , Shen Zhen-Hui , Zhang Yang-Mei
Published: August 2021

During the design optimization of the excavator boom, there are many design variables and complicated processes. The original optimization methods mainly focused on the optimization of mathematical models, and they lacked consideration in the use of domain knowledge, design-specification knowledge, expert experience knowledge, and historical examples. In order to comprehensively utilize the domain knowledge and expert experience knowledge, this study uses the optimization process analysis, uses knowledge expression and coding processing technology to encode the boom structure, builds an optimal design coding system based on knowledge guidance, and realizes the automatic optimization design of the boom structure. In the process of constructing the knowledge-oriented optimization system, to realize the reuse of the knowledge of the boom structure design in the numerical optimization iteration, a knowledge processing flowchart of the boom structure design is constructed. The concept of “shape distance” is proposed to judge the similarity feature matrix of the boom structure coding. To evaluate whether the stress distribution is uniform, a fast prediction model based on stress characteristic regions is constructed. The research results show that, under the comprehensive consideration of the four working conditions, the knowledge-guided optimization of the boom structure can avoid the deformity in the optimization process, accelerate the calculation speed of the optimization model, and improve the optimization quality of the model.
Person Retrieval in Video Surveillance Using Deep Learning–Based Instance Segmentation
Authors: Tseng Chien-Hao , Hsieh Chia-Chien , Jwo Dah-Jing , Wu Jyh-Horng , Sheu Ruey-Kai , Chen Lun-Chi
Published: August 2021

Video surveillance systems are deployed at many places such as airports, train stations, and malls for security and monitoring purposes. However, it is laborious to search for and retrieve persons in multicamera surveillance systems, especially with cluttered backgrounds and appearance variations among multiple cameras. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a person retrieval method that extracts the attributes of a masked image using an instance segmentation module for each object of interest. It uses attributes such as color and type of clothes to describe a person. The proposed person retrieval system involves four steps: (1) using the YOLACT++ model to perform pixelwise person segmentation, (2) conducting appearance‐based attribute feature extraction using a multiple convolutional neural network classifier, (3) employing a search engine with a fundamental attribute matching approach, and (4) implementing a video summarization technique to produce a temporal abstraction of retrieved objects. Experimental results show that the proposed retrieval system can achieve effective retrieval performance and provide a quick overview of retrieved content for multicamera surveillance systems.
Impact of COVID-19 on Port Production and Operation Based on System Dynamics: A Case Study of Shanghai Port in China
Authors: Tai Zili , Guo Ji , Guan Yeli , Shi Qingquan
Published: August 2021

Since the end of 2019, the outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected port production and operation. There is little research on the systematic impact assessment. This study took Shanghai Port as an example and evaluated the impact under different scenarios through establishing a System Dynamics model. It is found that the epidemic mainly has a greater impact on passenger transport, but less on cargo transport. The ports with the function of transportation in highway, railway, and waterway were the key nodes in the international logistics network. More attention should be paid to the impact assessment of COVID-19 on ports’ production and operation. It is necessary to strengthen the port’s collection and distribution capabilities, improve port production efficiency, and further strengthen port modernization. This research method proposed in this paper can provide a reference for the impact assessment of similar events, and the empirical results can provide a reference for handling the epidemic shock for the port and shipping departments.