bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Handheld electronic device use in patient care: the emergency department patient perspective—a cross-sectional survey
Authors: Tilbury Nicholas , Johnson Graham D , Rusk Zoe , Byrne Carol , Shergill Maleasha , Churchman Adam , Tabner Andrew
Published: September 2020

Background

Staff use of smartphones and tablets in the healthcare setting is increasingly prevalent, but little is known about whether this use is acceptable to patients. Staff are concerned that the use of handheld electronic devices (HEDs) may be negatively misconstrued by patients. The HED can be a valuable tool, offering the emergency clinician access to a wealth of resources; it is therefore vital that patient views are addressed during their widespread adoption into clinical practice.

Methods

Patients, or those accompanying them, within the ED of the Royal Derby Hospital between April and June 2017 were asked to complete a survey consisting of 22 questions. Data collection took place to include all times of day and every day of the week. Every eligible individual within the department during a data collection period was approached.

Results

A total of 438 respondents successfully completed the survey with a response rate of 92%. Only 2% of those who observed staff using HEDs during their ED visit thought that they were being used for non-clinical purposes. 339 (78%) agreed that staff should be allowed to use HEDs in the workplace. Concerns expressed by respondents included devices being used for non-clinical purposes and data security. The main suggestion by respondents was that the purpose of the HEDs should be explained to patients to avoid misinterpretation.

Conclusion

Our survey shows that the majority of survey respondents felt that clinical staff should be allowed to use HEDs in the workplace and that many of the concerns raised could be addressed with adequate patient information and clear governance.
Analysis of correlated data with feedback for time-dependent covariates in psychiatry research
Authors: Vazquez Arreola Elsa , Wilson Jeffrey R , Chen Ding-Geng
Published: September 2020

In studies on psychiatry and neurodegenerative diseases, it is common to have data that are correlated due to the hierarchical structure in data collection or to repeated measures on the subject longitudinally. However, the feedback effect created due to time-dependent covariates in these studies is often overlooked and seldom modelled. This article reviews the methodological development of feedback effects with marginal models for longitudinal data and discusses their implementation.
RASA1 phenotype overlaps with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia: two case reports
Authors: El Hajjam Mostafa , Mekki Ahmed , Palmyre Aurelien , Eyries Melanie , Soubrier Florent , Bourgault Villada Isabelle , Ozanne Augustin , Carlier Robert Yves , Chinet Thierry
Published: September 2020

Background We report two cases of RASA1-related capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation (CM-AVM1) syndrome mimicking hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT).

Methods and results A 28-year-old man, previously embolised for cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), presented with epistaxis and typical nasal telangiectasias of HHT. CT scan revealed a large portocaval shunt. The second patient was a 9-year-old girl presenting with cyanosis and several mucocutaneous telangiectasias, similar to those observed in typical cases of HHT. CT scan revealed a huge and complex pulmonary AVM of the right lower lobe and a hepatic AVM within the left lobe. HHT diagnosis was considered possible according to the Curaçao criteria for the two patients, with at least two criteria for each. Genetic tests did not find any mutation in the three classic genes (Endoglin, Activin receptor-like kinase 1 or Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4), but identified in both cases an RASA1 mutation, known to cause CM-AVM1 syndrome.

Conclusions Pulmonary AVM and portocaval shunt, usually encountered in HHT, have not yet been described in the CM-AVM1 syndrome. RASA1 screening may be considered in case of HHT suspicion, particularly when mutations are not found in the usually affected genes.
Is one narrative enough? Analytical tools should match the problems they address
Authors: Hodson Nathan , Bewley Susan
Published: September 2020

Jeff Nisker describes his personal experience of a diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer and the kindnesses he received from friendly doctors. He claims that this narrative account supports the promotion of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening for asymptomatic men and impugns statisticians, mistakenly thinking that their opposition to PSA screening derives from concerns about financial cost. The account inadvertently demonstrates the danger of over-reliance on a single ethical tool for critical analysis. In the first part of this response, we describe the statistical evidence. The most reliable Cochrane meta-analyses have not shown that PSA screening saves lives overall. Moreover, the high false positive rate of PSA screening leads to overinvestigation which results in unnecessary anxiety and increased cases of unnecessary sepsis, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction. Then we describe how narrative ethics alone is an insufficient tool to make claims about policies, such as PSA screening, which have hidden harms. Although Nisker’s story-telling is compelling and evokes emotions, narrative ethics of this sort have an inherent bias against people who would be harmed by the counterfactual. Particular care must be taken to look for and consider those untellable stories. Ethicists who only consider narratives which are readily at hand risk harming those who are voiceless or protected by the status quo. PSA screening is the wrong tool to reduce prostate cancer deaths and narrative ethics is the wrong tool to appraise this policy. It is vital that the correct theoretical tools are applied to the medical and ethical questions under scrutiny.
Postmortem non-directed sperm donation: quality matters
Authors: Parker Joshua , Hodson Nathan
Published: September 2020

In our paper ‘The ethical case for non-directed postmortem sperm donation’ we argued that it would be ethical for men to donate sperm after death for use by strangers. In their thoughtful response Fredrick and Ben Kroon lay out practical concerns regarding our proposal. They raise issues regarding the quality of sperm collected postmortem based on empirical studies. Second, they claim that concerns about quality would make women unlikely to use sperm collected after death. In this response we explore issues of sperm quality in both living and dead donors. We consider whether there might be ways to ensure quality in both. Finally, we question whether quality should be a barrier to women choosing to use sperm donated after death.
Uncertainty, error and informed consent to challenge trials of COVID-19 vaccines: response to Steelet al
Authors: Keren Arnon , Lev Ori
Published: September 2020

In a recent article, Steel, Buchak and Eyal (SBE) argue that current levels of uncertainty do not present a good reason to bar controlled human infection (CHI) trials of COVID-19 vaccines from proceeding. We argue that their argumentation for this conclusion is flawed. SBE are mistaken about the effects which different forms of ignorance have on participants’ ability to provide valid informed consent. Decision-makers considering whether to allow such trials, we argue, must ultimately consider the likelihood that consent to participation in such trials under current conditions would be valid, and whether this likelihood is high enough to permit such trials. This is a question that SBE completely ignore. We conclude that there indeed are valid concerns about conducting CHI trials given the current state of knowledge about COVID-19, concerns which SBE fail to address.
Minimally invasive surgiscopic evacuation of intracerebral hemorrhage
Authors: Troiani Zachary , Ascanio Luis C , Yaeger Kurt A , Ali Muhammad , Kellner Christopher Paul
Published: September 2020

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating form of stroke associated with a 40% mortality rate at 30 days and a 75% functional dependence rate at 6 months. The role of surgery to treat ICH remains controversial. Preclinical studies suggest minimally invasive clot evacuation following ICH may benefit patients by mitigating primary and secondary brain injury.1 2 In this video, we report the operative technique used in minimally invasive surgicsopic evacuation following ICH (video 1). We demonstrate our presurgical approach using preoperative volumetric imaging loaded onto a stereotactic guidance system. Evacuation of intraparenchymal and intraventricular components of a hemorrhage are shown under direct surgiscopic vision using the Aurora System (Integra LifeSciences, Princeton, NJ, USA). Hemostasis is achieved when actively bleeding vessels are directly cauterized and irrigation of the clot cavity yields no fresh blood. Pre- and postevacuation radiographic differences illustrate the mitigation of clot burden in an elderly patient.

Video 1
Indian medical graduates in New Zealand: does anyone win?
Authors: Kumar Rishi
Published: September 2020

Medical migration has become a global phenomenon, partly led by easier air travel, economic factors and the expansion of medical technology. New Zealand has gradually evolved from being ‘bicultural’ to a multicultural, multitextured society. The movement of the Indian people, particularly Indian physicians, will be the focus of this paper. In the last three decades, migration eligibility in New Zealand has changed from countries of origin or ability to speak English, to profession and skills. Despite struggling with its own issues, New Zealand has proven to be a preferred destination for Indian medical graduates (IMGs). India is widely recognised as the largest ‘donor country’ for doctors, many of whom go on to establish themselves as leaders and prominent figures in their field. This migration involves three parties: India as a donor country, New Zealand as a recipient country and IMGs as the drivers of this process. Factors behind this growing phenomenon are examined and recommendations are made so that all three parties can benefit from it.
Comorbidity management in spondyloarthritis
Authors: López-Medina Clementina , Molto Anna
Published: September 2020

Comorbidities are defined as coexistent clinical disorders that appear as a consequence of persistent inflammatory activity and/or treatment. Comorbidities in spondyloarthritis (SpA) are frequent, contributing to a poorer quality of life, higher mortality and incremented healthcare costs. Several recommendations for the screening and management of these comorbidities have been developed in recent years with the aim of improving the different outcomes in these patients. Osteoporosis is the most prevalent comorbidity in patients with SpA, mainly caused by systemic inflammation and a lack of mobility, while cardiovascular diseases explain the increased mortality in patients with SpA with regard to the general population. Data from randomised controlled trials show a low incidence of infections in both patients with and without immunosuppressive treatment, and no evidence of a high incidence of malignant diseases has been demonstrated in these patients. Finally, concomitant fibromyalgia deserves attention, since its coexistence with SpA leads to a poorer treatment response and more switches of anti-TNF treatments. In this review, we show an update of the most common comorbidities in patients with SpA, and we discuss the latest evidence on the management of such comorbidities.
Does thermal plasticity affect susceptibility to capture in fish? Insights from a simulated trap and trawl fishery
Authors: Hollins J. , Koeck B. , Crespel A. , Bailey D.M. , Killen S.S.
Published: September 2020

In fishes, physiological and behavioural traits can correlate with vulnerability to capture with fishing gears, highlighting the capacity of fisheries selection to drive phenotypic change in exploited populations. There remains a paucity of information regarding how different fishing gears may select on phenotypic traits and how relationships between individual traits and capture vulnerability change across environmental gradients. By simulating the capture process in a trawl and trap using wild minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) acclimated to different temperatures, we investigated how contrasting fishing gears select on behavioural and physiological traits and how this selection is modulated by temperature. Despite similar risk of capture in each gear, selection differed between traps and trawls. Fish exhibiting low spontaneous activity were at greater capture risk in the trawl across all temperatures, while traps showed no selection except at 24 °C. No relationships between physiological traits and capture vulnerability were found, except between swim performance and trap capture vulnerability at 24 °C. This study demonstrates that fisheries selection on individual traits is likely context-specific, depending on both fishing gear type and environment.
Assessing lean and positional error of individual mature Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) trees using active and passive sensors
Authors: Garms Cory G. , Simpson Chase H. , Parrish Christopher E. , Wing Michael G. , Strimbu Bogdan M.
Published: September 2020

There is a growing demand for point cloud data that can produce reliable single-tree measurements. The most common platforms for obtaining such data are unmanned aircraft systems with passive sensors (UAS), unmanned aircraft equipped with aerial lidar scanners (ALS), and mobile lidar scanners (MLS). Our objectives were to compare the capabilities of the UAS, ALS, and MLS to locate treetops and stems and to estimate tree lean. The platforms were used to produce overlapping point clouds of a mature Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stand, from which 273 trees were manually identified. Control trees were used to test tree detection accuracy of four algorithms and the number of stems detectable using each platform. Tree lean was calculated in two ways: using the stem location near the canopy and using the treetop. The treetops were detected more accurately from ALS and UAS clouds than from MLS, but the MLS outperformed ALS and UAS in stem detection. The platform influenced treetop detection accuracy, whereas the algorithms did not. The height estimates from the ALS and MLS were correlated (R2 = 0.96), but the MLS height estimates were unreliable, especially as distance from the scanner increased. The lean estimates using the stem locations or treetop locations produced analogous distributions for all three platforms.
Cpt1a promoted ROS-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in liver injury via the Nrf2/HO-1 and NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway
Authors: Luo Xigang , Sun Dapeng , Wang Yinxiang , Zhang Fengxiang , Wang Yi
Published: September 2020

Various liver diseases caused by liver damage seriously affect people’s health. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects and the mechanisms of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (Cpt1a) on oxidative stress and inflammation in liver injury. It was found that the expression of Cpt1a mRNA was upregulated in a model of liver injury in mice. Thus, overexpression of Cpt1a increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) levels in an in vitro model of liver injury. It was also shown that overexpression of Cpt1a suppressed the nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling pathway. In summary, these data indicate that Cpt1a promotes ROS-induced oxidative stress in liver injury via the Nrf2/HO-1 and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome signaling pathway.
Tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside alleviates angiotensin II induced HUVEC senescence via SIRT1
Authors: Fan Wenxue , Guo Yan , Cao Shidong , Cao Shuyu , Xie Yuefeng , Liu Xiangdong , Jin Bo
Published: September 2020

Tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside (TSG), an active ingredient of Polygonum multiflorum, has been known for certain anti-aging effects. In this study, the possible protective mechanism of TSG on human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) senescence induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) was investigated. The results revealed that TSG pretreatment could reduce the percentage of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) positive cells and decrease the expression levels of the cellular senescence biomarker proteins p53 and PAI-1. At the same time, the expression of SIRT1 in senescent cells showed an upward trend due to TSG treatment. When inhibiting the expression of SIRT1 by EX527, our results showed that TSG reversed the effect of EX527 by promoting the expression level of SIRT1, reducing the expression of SA-β-gal positive cells and the expression level of p53 and PAI-1 proteins. The present study demonstrated that TSG could protect against HUVEC senescence induced by Ang II, potentially through modulation of SIRT1 activity.
On the connection between quark propagation and hadronization
Authors: Accardi Alberto , Signori Andrea
Published: September 2020

We investigate the properties and structure of the recently discussed “fully inclusive jet correlator”, namely, the gauge-invariant field correlator characterizing the final state hadrons produced by a free quark as this propagates in the vacuum. Working at the operator level, we connect this object to the single-hadron fragmentation correlator of a quark, and exploit a novel gauge invariant spectral decomposition technique to derive a complete set of momentum sum rules for quark fragmentation functions up to twist-3 level; known results are recovered, and new sum rules proposed. We then show how one can explicitly connect quark hadronization and dynamical quark mass generation by studying the inclusive jet’s gauge-invariant mass term. This mass is, on the one hand, theoretically related to the integrated chiral-odd spectral function of the quark, and, on the other hand, is experimentally accessible through the E and $${\widetilde{E}}$$

E
~

twist-3 fragmentation function sum rules. Thus, measurements of these fragmentation functions in deep inelastic processes provide one with an experimental gateway into the dynamical generation of mass in Quantum Chromodynamics.
Quantum entanglement purification assisted by classical phase noise
Authors: Zhi Qi-Jun , Zheng Qiang
Published: September 2020

Entanglement purification is a vital protocol to produce a high-quality entangled state from an ensemble of identical states. Based on the particular scheme of entanglement purification [Phys. Rev. A 87, 052316 (2013)], the effect of phase fluctuation is investigated. The convergence pattern of the initial states can be divided into two kinds of regions, corresponding to the purified outcomes being a maximally entangled state (MES) or a separable state. And there is the fractal-like structure near the boundary between these two regions. It is found that the phase noise plays a positive role in generating an MES for an initial states near some fractal boundary, which can only become the separable one if the noise is absent. It is also found that the minimal iteration steps to achieve the maximally entangled state with the phase noise can be decreased, which can save the resource in the protocol.
Effect of morphology on supercapacitive and optical properties of chemically grown Graphene-Nickel Oxide nanocomposites
Authors: Zahraei Fatemeh , Babaei Ferydon , Ehsani Ali
Published: September 2020

Graphene-Nickel Oxide (G-NiO) nanocomposites with different morphologies, such as nanowires (NWs), nanorods (NRs) and nanoparticles (NPs), are synthesized by a combination of liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) and hydrothermal methods. The synthesis of Graphene, morphology of Nickel Oxide (NiO) thin films and concentration of elements are analyzed using Raman Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. Furthermore, the capacitive behavior of nanocomposites is investigated using the Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). The optical properties of samples are extracted from measured absorbance spectra. Our results show that G-NiO NWs with the longest length have the largest specific capacitance (SC). In addition, optical data revealed that the adding Graphene to NiO thin films decreased the optical bandgap as well as the optical conductivity of nanocomposites increased with photon energy due to excitation electrons.
Some results of the BKP hierarchy as the Kupershmidt reduction of the modified KP hierarchy
Authors: Yang Yi , Wang Xiaoli , Cheng Jipeng
Published: September 2020

In this paper, the BKP hierarchy is viewed as the Kupershmidt reduction of the modified KP hierarchy. Then based upon this fact, the gauge transformation of the BKP hierarchy are obtained again from the corresponding results of the modified KP hierarchy. Also the constrained BKP hierarchy is constructed from the constrained modified KP hierarchy, and the corresponding gauge transformations are investigated. Particularly, it is found that there is a new kind of gauge transformations generated by the wave functions in the constrained BKP hierarchy.
Model of a spin-1/2 electric charge in F(B2) modified Weyl gravity
Authors: Dzhunushaliev V. , Folomeev V.
Published: September 2020

Within [Formula: see text] modified Weyl gravity, we consider a model of a spin-[Formula: see text] electric charge consisting of interior and exterior regions. The interior region is determined by quantum gravitational effects whose approximate description is carried out using Weyl gravity nonminimally coupled to a massless Dirac spinor field. The interior region is embedded in exterior Minkowski spacetime, and the joining surface is a two-dimensional torus. It is shown that mass, electric charge, and spin of the object suggested may be the same as those for a real electron.
Thermostatistical analysis for short-range interaction potentials
Authors: Neves M. J. , Abreu Everton M. C. , de Oliveira Jorge B. , Gonçalves Marcelo Kesseles
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we study the thermodynamics of short-range central potentials, namely, the Lee–Wick (LW) potential, and the Plasma potential. In the first part of the paper, we obtain the numerical solution for the orbits equation for these potentials. Posteriorly, we introduce the thermodynamics through the microcanonical and canonical ensembles formalism defined on the phase space of the system. We calculate the density of states associated with the LW and the Plasma potentials. From density of states, we obtain the thermodynamical physical quantities like entropy and temperature as functions of the energy. We also use the Boltzmann–Gibbs formalism to obtain the partition functions, the mean energy and the thermal capacity for these short-range potentials.
The minimum deformation retract on the wormhole spacetime
Authors: Abu-Saleem M.
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we investigate the topology of a wormhole from the viewpoint of the theory of retracting and var-folding. We deduce the equatorial geodesics on the line element of the wormhole and discuss the minimum deformation retract related to this space. Using the Lagrangian equations we find that there is a type of minimum retraction of a wormhole with associated topology. We also extend the result to the [Formula: see text]-dimensional wormhole and show that the end limit of var-folding is 0-dimensional wormhole and obtain the relation between limit var-folding and limit retraction. We find a new application in geometric topology and astrophysics.
Evolution of a salt-rich transtensional rifted margin, eastern North Pyrenees, France
Authors: Ford M. , Vergés J.
Published: September 2020

In this field study we reinterpret the narrow eastern North Pyrenean Zone, France, as an inverted salt-rich transtensional rift system based on identification of halokinetic depositional sequences across rift platform to distal rift margin domains with a cumulative throw of >2.8 km on steep Cretaceous faults. The rift platform records extension on detached rotational faults above Triassic evaporites from Jurassic to Aptian with uplift and erosion during the Albian. Transtensional Aptian–Albian minibasins align along the salt-rich rift margin fault zone. In the Aptian–Albian main rift large en echelon synclinal minibasins developed between salt walls, although Jurassic diapiric evolution is likely. Upper Cretaceous units locally record continuing diapirism. The Boucheville and Bas Agly depocentres, altered by synrift HT metamorphism, form the distal rift domain terminating south against the North Pyrenean Fault. The narrowness of the Pyrenean rift, shape of minibasins, en echelon oblique synclinal depocentres and folds coupled with a discontinuous distribution and intensity of HT metamorphism support a transtensional regime along the Iberia–Europe plate margin during late Early and early Late Cretaceous. In this model, the distal European margin comprises deep faults limiting laterally discontinuous crustal domains and ‘hot’ pull-apart basins with mantle rocks directly beneath sedimentary cover.

Supplementary material
: A table summarizing the stratigraphy of the NE Pyrenees and an interpreted Google Earth view of the Quillan syncline and minibasin are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5100036
Nd isotope record of ocean closure archived in limestones of the Devonian–Carboniferous carbonate platform, Greater Karatau, southern Kazakhstan
Authors: Belka Z. , Dopieralska J. , Jakubowicz M. , Skompski S. , Walczak A. , Korn D. , Siepak M.
Published: September 2020

The neodymium isotope composition of micritic limestones from the Devonian–Carboniferous carbonate platform of the Greater Karatau (southern Kazakhstan) was investigated to test the ability of calcite micrite to archive Nd isotope signatures of seawater. The carbonate fraction that displays seawater-like rare earth element (REE + Y) signatures is often more radiogenic than the dispersed terrigenous material in the samples. Hence, its Nd isotope composition is interpreted to correspond to the seawater from which the micrite was precipitated. The seawater on the Karatau platform exhibited an extremely wide range of ε
Nd
(t) values from –9.3 to +4.3 (the most radiogenic value measured for past seawater to date) and very uniform Sm/Nd ratios, from 0.19 to 0.22, lying within the range characteristic for modern oceanic water. The temporal trend in ε
Nd
(t) values is interpreted to document the final closure of the Uralian–Turkestan Ocean. It shows that the subduction along Kazakhstan's active margin had already started at the beginning of the Tournaisian (
c
. 355 Ma), at least 23 Myr earlier than previously thought. The application of Nd isotope time series on biostratigraphically dated carbonates opens a new direction for geotectonic studies. This approach has the potential to provide useful constraints for the precise dating of the duration of geotectonic and volcanic events.

Supplementary material:
Nd isotope and REE concentration data, summary of stratigraphic and lithological data, field photographs and additional geochemical plots are available at:
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5110163
12 Steps Toward Immersive Learning
Authors: Jacobson Dov
Published: September 2020

Presented is an overview of virtual and augmented reality techniques. This article is tailored for learning professionals who find mixed reality interesting but confusing. Included are a dozen features that differentiate points on the Mixed Reality Spectrum, enabling readers to choose the ones that are best suited for learners.
Changing the Narrative: New directions in online retention
Authors: Gregg Andrea , Ralston-Berg Penny , Carr-Chellman Alison
Published: September 2020

The growth of online higher education has outpaced residential enrollments for the past six years and adults are a significant population of online learners. While certainly concerns about the efficacy of learning online have not fully gone away, online courses, and often entire online degrees, are now an established part of the contemporary higher education landscape. At the same time, persistence and retention remain important areas of concern for both online learners and the higher education institutions serving them. In this paper, we will identify some of the key challenges adult online learners face, suggest an integrated model for approaching the retention of online learners, and offer specific examples of services and interventions to help with online retention.
Low-cost Security for Next-generation IoT Networks
Authors: Anagnostopoulos Nikolaos Athanasios , Ahmad Saad , Arul Tolga , Steinmetzer Daniel , Hollick Matthias , Katzenbeisser Stefan
Published: September 2020

In recent years, the ubiquitous nature of Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications as well as the pervasive character of next-generation communication protocols, such as the 5G technology, have become widely evident. In this work, we identify the need for low-cost security in current and next-generation IoT networks and address this demand through the implementation, testing, and validation of an intrinsic low-cost and low-overhead hardware-based security primitive within an inherent network component. In particular, an intrinsic Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) is implemented in the peripheral network module of a tri-band commercial off-the-shelf router. Subsequently, we demonstrate the robustness of this PUF to ambient temperature variations and to limited natural aging, and examine in detail its potential for securing the next generation of IoT networks and other applications. Finally, the security of the proposed PUF-based schemes is briefly assessed and discussed.
Prediction of Adhesively Bonded Polyurethane‐to‐Steel Double Butt Joint Failure Using Uncertainty Analysis
Authors: Li Xiaofu , Ji Chuanpeng , Zhang Zhi , Zhang Shiwei , Liu Hongqin , Wang Shulin
Published: September 2020

Adhesively bonded joint has gained increasing popularity due to weight reduction and relief of stress concentration. However, damage in the mode of adhesive failure and cohesive failure, as well as the adherend failure, could still occur, and it has been realized that the reliability of the adhesively bonded joint depends on numerous complex and even nonlinearly interacting factors. Consequently, the prediction of load‐bearing capacity and damage localization for an adhesively bonded joint can be difficult due to the not well‐known effects of the variations or uncertainties in the imperfected adhesive‐adherent bonding surfaces or the environmental conditions as well as the material and geometrical nonlinearities. Although abundant uncertainties are present, the standard analysis tool in industries is still deterministic finite element analysis (FEA). The routine practice of such analysis is applying a cohesive zone model (CZM) implemented with a proper traction‐separation law to predict the onset and gradual degradation of adhesion which may underpredict or overpredict the load‐bearing capacity of an adhesively bonded joint. In this study, deterministic FEA with a CZM is first applied to predict the load‐displacement curve of an adhesively bonded polyurethane‐to‐steel double butt joint. A comparison of the prediction with the experiment reveals the inability of a deterministic approach for accurately predicting the load‐bearing capability of the joint and the failure propagation route. Then, uncertainty analysis using polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) is applied to examine if it can enhance the prediction of the joint failure. The results show the predictions generated by the uncertainty analysis correlate better than the deterministic analysis with the test data, hence demonstrating the potential of uncertainty analysis in improving the prediction of the failure mode and load‐bearing capability of an adhesively bonded polyurethane‐to‐steel double butt joint.
Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Correlate of Cardiovascular, Anthropometric, and Physical Risk Factors: Using the Ruffier Test as a Template
Authors: Alahmari Khalid A. , Rengaramanujam Kanagaraj , Reddy Ravi Shankar , Samuel Paul Silvian , Kakaraparthi Venkata Nagaraj , Ahmad Irshad , Tedla Jaya Shanker
Published: September 2020

Background. Assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a standard procedure in routine clinical practices. Early identification of risk factors through screening is vital in the fight against chronic diseases. Evaluation of CRF can impose cost implications in the clinical setting; thus, a simple and easy-to-use test is to be advocated. The Ruffier test is a simple test that can assess CRF, and it is necessary to find whether the test reflects the effects of compounding factors in CRF.Objective. This study aims to determine the association between CRF (estimated VO2max) with cardiovascular, anthropometric, and physical risk factors using the Ruffier test.Methods. A cross-sectional study with a sample of 52 male participants was conducted. Before the Ruffier test, each participant’s body weight, height, waist circumference, skinfold thickness, thigh length, lower-limb length, thigh circumference, physical activity, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and pulmonary functions were recorded, and these factors correlated with CRF.Results. There was a significant inverse relationship found between the estimated VO2maxand age, height, body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, a sum of skinfold, fat percentage, thigh length, lower-limb length, thigh circumference, smoking, blood pressure, heart rates, and diabetesp<0.05. A significant positive correlation was found between the estimated VO2maxwith physical activity and respiratory functionsp<0.05. In the multivariable model, body weight and resting heart rate were significantly inversely associated with the estimated VO2maxp<0.05.Conclusion. Using the Ruffier test, various risk factors of CRF are correlated with the estimated VO2max. This test reflects the effects of different compounding factors on CRF; therefore, it can be used in routine clinical practices to identify the risk factors early.
Diazoxide Protects against Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Moderating ERS via Regulation of the miR-10a/IRE1 Pathway
Authors: Zhang Lin , Cai Shuang , Cao Song , Nie Jia , Zhou Wenjing , Zhang Yu , Li Ke , Wang Haiying , Yu Shouyang , Yu Tian
Published: September 2020

Nowadays, reperfusion is still the most effective treatment for ischemic heart disease. However, cardiac reperfusion therapy would lead to reperfusion injury, which may have resulted from endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) during reperfusion. Diazoxide (DZ) is a highly selective mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opener. Its protective effect on I/R injury has been confirmed in many organs such as the heart and brain. However, the mechanism of its protective effect has not been fully elucidated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are widely involved in pathologies of heart disease. In this study, we found that miR-10a expression was highly upregulated in the myocardial I/R groups, and DZ treatment significantly reduced the expression of miR-10a. More importantly, we found that DZ treatment can moderate ERS via regulation of the miR-10a/IRE1 pathway in the I/R and H/R models, thereby protecting myocardial H/R injury.
A Huge Penile Fibroepithelial Polyp Treated with Partial Penectomy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Alrabadi Adel , Alhamss Sohaib , Qwaider Yasmeen Z. , Al Demour Saddam
Published: September 2020

Fibroepithelial polyps are benign tumors of mesodermal origin that usually arise on the surface of the skin and to a lesser extent in the urinary tract; however, their presence on the penis is extremely unusual. We report the case of a 73-year-old male with an extremely large broad-based penile fibroepithelial polyp (FEP) involving the penile shaft and glans penis associated with chronic condom catheter use and that was treated with partial penectomy. A review of the literature is included to highlight the rarity of this case. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest mass of its kind to be reported on the penis.
An Empirical Study for Adopting Machine Learning Approaches for Gas Pipeline Flow Prediction
Authors: Shen Guoliang , Li Mufan , Lin Jiale , Bao Jie , He Tao
Published: September 2020

As industrial control technology continues to develop, modern industrial control is undergoing a transformation from manual control to automatic control. In this paper, we show how to evaluate and build machine learning models to predict the flow rate of the gas pipeline accurately. Compared with traditional practice by experts or rules, machine learning models rely little on the expertise of special fields and extensive physical mechanism analysis. Specifically, we devised a method that can automate the process of choosing suitable machine learning algorithms and their hyperparameters by automatically testing different machine learning algorithms on given data. Our proposed methods are used in choosing the appropriate learning algorithm and hyperparameters to build the model of the flow rate of the gas pipeline. Based on this, the model can be further used for control of the gas pipeline system. The experiments conducted on real industrial data show the feasibility of building accurate models with machine learning algorithms. The merits of our approach include (1) little dependence on the expertise of special fields and domain knowledge-based analysis; (2) easy to implement than physical models; (3) more robust to environment changes; (4) requiring much fewer computation resources when it is compared with physical models that call for complex equation solving. Moreover, our experiments also show that some simple yet powerful learning algorithms may outperform industrial control problems than those complex algorithms.
An Innovative Aerial Manipulator with Tandem Ducted Fans: Modeling, Control, and Simulation
Authors: Zhang Yibo , Fan Wei , Xiang Changle , Xu Bin , Ai Tianfu , Yuan Lei , Liu Yang
Published: September 2020

This paper proposes an innovative ducted fan aerial manipulator, which is particularly suitable for the tasks in confined environment, where traditional multirotors and helicopters would be inaccessible. The dynamic model of the aerial manipulator is established by comprehensive mechanism and parametric frequency-domain identification. On this basis, a composite controller of the aerial platform is proposed. A basic static robust controller is designed via H-infinity synthesis to achieve basic performance, and an adaptive auxiliary loop is designed to estimate and compensate for the effect acting on the vehicle from the manipulator. The computer simulation analyses show good stability of the aerial vehicle under the manipulator motion and good tracking performance of the manipulator end effector, which verify the feasibility of the proposed aerial manipulator design and the effectiveness of the proposed controller, indicating that the system can meet the requirements of high precision operation tasks well.
Practical CCA-Secure Functional Encryptions for Deterministic Functions
Authors: Wang Huige , Chen Kefei , Pan Tianyu , Zhao Yunlei
Published: September 2020

Functional encryption (FE) can implement fine-grained control to encrypted plaintext via permitting users to compute only some specified functions on the encrypted plaintext using private keys with respect to those functions. Recently, many FEs were put forward; nonetheless, most of them cannot resist chosen-ciphertext attacks (CCAs), especially for those in the secret-key settings. This changed with the work, i.e., a generic transformation of public-key functional encryption (PK-FE) from chosen-plaintext (CPA) to chosen-ciphertext (CCA), where the underlying schemes are required to have some special properties such as restricted delegation or verifiability features. However, examples for such underlying schemes with these features have not been found so far. Later, a CCA-secure functional encryption from projective hash functions was proposed, but their scheme only applies to inner product functions. To construct such a scheme, some nontrivial techniques will be needed. Our key contribution in this work is to propose CCA-secure functional encryptions in the PKE and SK environment, respectively. In the existing generic transformation from (adaptively) simulation-based CPA- (SIM-CPA-) secure ones for deterministic functions to (adaptively) simulation-based CCA- (SIM-CCA-) secure ones for randomized functions, whether the schemes were directly applied to CCA settings for deterministic functions is not implied. We give an affirmative answer and derive a SIM-CCA-secure scheme for deterministic functions by making some modifications on it. Again, based on this derived scheme, we also propose an (adaptively) indistinguishable CCA- (IND-CCA-) secure SK-FE for deterministic functions. The final results show that our scheme can be instantiated under both nonstandard assumptions (e.g., hard problems on multilinear maps and indistinguishability obfuscation (IO)) and under standard assumptions (e.g., DDH, RSA, LWE, and LPN).
Evaluating the Effect of Flame for the Determination of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Dietary Fiber in Nepali Food Dhindo-Novel Food for Diabetic
Authors: Sharma Hemraj , Pudasaini Puja , Dhungana Saraswati , Pokharel Manisha , Subedi Punam , Sharma Bedraj
Published: September 2020

Dhindo is a thick pasty Nepalese porridge prepared by cooking grounded, millet, or cornmeal flour. It is a staple meal in various parts of Nepal, especially in hilly areas. It is prepared by gradually adding flour to boiling water while stirring. Due to its soft pasty nature, it can be eaten by any age of people; in particular, it is good for old age people. As majority of the world population has been suffering from diabetes and dhindo being believed to have less carbohydrate content, hence, this study can serve as great nutritional value to a large number of diabetic patients. The present study was undertaken to determine nutrient contents from the novel food dhindo, which is prepared from different flours (maize, wheat, millet, and buckwheat) and to compare its nutrients with rice. Dhindo and rice were prepared and analyzed for total carbohydrate, reducing sugar, protein, and fiber. Here, we compared all the nutrients of dhindo and rice as well as determined the effect of heat on the contents of dhindo and rice. Dhindo and rice were cooked, and all the samples were evaluated for the nutritional contents. Dietary fiber was determined from the gravimetric method. The millet form of dhindo contained a high amount of dietary fiber, which was found to be 0.835 gm by the firewood method and 0.82 gm by LPG gas. Total carbohydrate, reducing sugar, and protein were determined from the UV visible spectrophotometer. Rice contained a high amount of total and reducing sugar and was found to be 31.8 mg/3 gm and 30.03 mg/3 gm by LPG and firewood, respectively, for total carbohydrates and 0.218 mg/3 gm and 0.214 mg/3 gm by LPG and firewood, respectively, for reducing sugars. The protein was found to be maximum in the buckwheat form of dhindo, which was 15.892 mg/1 gm and 15.375 mg/1 gm by LPG and firewood, respectively. From this study, we can conclude that consuming dhindo would be advantageous for a diabetic patient than rice.
Achieving Privacy-Preserving Group Recommendation with Local Differential Privacy and Random Transmission
Authors: Wang Hanyi , He Kun , Niu Ben , Yin Lihua , Li Fenghua
Published: September 2020

Group activities on social networks are increasing rapidly with the development of mobile devices and IoT terminals, creating a huge demand for group recommendation. However, group recommender systems are facing an important problem of privacy leakage on user’s historical data and preference. Existing solutions always pay attention to protect the historical data but ignore the privacy of preference. In this paper, we design a privacy-preserving group recommendation scheme, consisting of a personalized recommendation algorithm and a preference aggregation algorithm. With the carefully introduced local differential privacy (LDP), our personalized recommendation algorithm can protect user’s historical data in each specific group. We also propose an Intra-group transfer Privacy-preserving Preference Aggregation algorithm (IntPPA). IntPPA protects each group member’s personal preference against either the untrusted servers or other users. It could also defend long-term observation attack. We also conduct several experiments to measure the privacy-preserving effect and usability of our scheme with some closely related schemes. Experimental results on two datasets show the utility and privacy of our scheme and further illustrate its advantages.
Research on the Evaluation Model of Rural Information Demand Based on Big Data
Authors: Jin Yanfeng , Li Gang , Wu Jianmin
Published: September 2020

In recent years, the imbalance of rural information supply and demand has seriously hindered the process of rural informatization. Rural information demand is a decisive factor in the relationship between rural information supply and demand. Therefore, research on the influencing factors of rural information demand has attracted much attention. The traditional rural information demand factor analysis does not consider the correlation between factors. The factors themselves carry a lot of repeated information, which seriously interferes with the objectivity of the analysis results. Proceeding from the complexity and diversity of influencing factors of rural information demand, based on the selected subjective and objective factors, based on the forward partial correlation analysis and post-ROC test, a probit discriminant model of influencing factors of rural information demand was constructed, and the relationship with Lingshou was determined. There are 24 factors that are significantly related to county rural information needs. The research results show that this method not only eliminates the factors that carry highly repetitive information and the correlation is not significant but also makes the results more reliable. At the same time, it also found that rural information supply is related to farmers’ information cognition ability, acceptance awareness, and acceptance ability. This study provides new methods and new ideas for solving related problems.
A Computer Simulator Model for Generating Sulphuric Acid and Improve the Operational Results, Using Operational Data from a Chemical Plant
Authors: Leiva Claudio , Flores Víctor , Aguilar Carolina
Published: September 2020

The integration of both sensors and simulation in some industrial processes has received a large increase in the recent years, thanks to results such as increase in production indices or improvement in economic indicators. This document describes the development and validation of a simulation-based computer process for generating sulphuric acid. For this process, the data generated by simulation between the fixed beds of a catalytic reactor versus the results obtained using real data from a sulphuric acid production plant in the Antofagasta Region, Chile, have been used. This sulphuric acid production plant is designed for producing 720,000 tons of sulphuric acid annually, with a production capacity of 26 MW, which is used for both its own consumption and the Big North Interconnected System (SING, for its acronym in Spanish) and a sulphur consumption of 240,000 tons/year. For the simulation process, converter input variables such as temperature and gas flow to later observe the oxidation behavior under different operational scenarios were considered. To do it, a working method has been proposed and the software Aspen HYSYS® was used for the simulation. The simulation result was validated using design operational data provided by the company. The real results show a 99.9% of adjustment concerning the values obtained using the simulation. Based on the findings, a new operational scenario was created, and the economic indicators of the simulator implementation were determined: NPV=CLP 161,695,000 and IRR=53% with a 6% monthly production increase.