bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thrombolysis with alteplase 3–4.5 hours after acute ischaemic stroke: trial reanalysis adjusted for baseline imbalances
Authors: Alper Brian Scott , Foster Gary , Thabane Lehana , Rae-Grant Alex , Malone-Moses Meghan , Manheimer Eric
Published: May 2020

Objectives

Alteplase is commonly recommended for acute ischaemic stroke within 4.5 hours after stroke onset. The Third European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS III) is the only trial reporting statistically significant efficacy for clinical outcomes for alteplase use 3–4.5 hours after stroke onset. However, baseline imbalances in history of prior stroke and stroke severity score may confound this apparent finding of efficacy. We reanalysed the ECASS III trial data adjusting for baseline imbalances to determine the robustness or sensitivity of the efficacy estimates.

Design

Reanalysis of randomised placebo-controlled trial. We obtained access to the ECASS III trial data and replicated the previously reported analyses to confirm our understanding of the data. We adjusted for baseline imbalances using multivariable analyses and stratified analyses and performed sensitivity analysis for missing data.

Setting

Emergency care.

Participants

821 adults with acute ischaemic stroke who could be treated 3–4.5 hours after symptom onset.

Interventions

Intravenous alteplase (0.9 mg/kg of body weight) or placebo.

Main outcome measures

The original primary efficacy outcome was modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 0 or 1 (ie, being alive without any disability) and the original secondary efficacy outcome was a global outcome based on a composite of functional end points, both at 90 days. Adjusted analyses were only reported for the primary efficacy outcome and the original study protocol did not specify methods for adjusted analyses. Our adjusted reanalysis included these outcomes, symptom-free status (mRS 0), dependence-free status (mRS 0–2), mortality (mRS 6) and change across the mRS 0–6 spectrum at 90 days; and mortality and symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage at 7 days.

Results

We replicated previously reported unadjusted analyses but discovered they were based on a modified interpretation of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. The secondary efficacy outcome was no longer significant using the original NIHSS score. Previously reported adjusted analyses could only be replicated with significant effects for the primary efficacy outcome by using statistical approaches not reported in the trial protocol or statistical analysis plan. In analyses adjusting for baseline imbalances, all efficacy outcomes were not significant, but increases in symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage remained significant.

Conclusions

Reanalysis of the ECASS III trial data with multiple approaches adjusting for baseline imbalances does not support any significant benefits and continues to support harms for the use of alteplase 3–4.5 hours after stroke onset. Clinicians, patients and policymakers should reconsider interpretations and decisions regarding management of acute ischaemic stroke that were based on ECASS III results.

Trial registration number

NCT00153036
.
Maximising comfort: how do patients describe the care that matters? A two-stage qualitative descriptive study to develop a quality improvement framework for comfort-related care in inpatient settings
Authors: Wensley Cynthia , Botti Mari , McKillop Ann , Merry Alan F
Published: May 2020

Objective

To develop a multidimensional framework representing patients’ perspectives on comfort to guide practice and quality initiatives aimed at improving patients’ experiences of care.

Design

Two-stage qualitative descriptive study design. Findings from a previously published synthesis of 62 studies (stage 1) informed data collection and analysis of 25 semistructured interviews (stage 2) exploring patients’ perspectives of comfort in an acute care setting.

Setting

Cardiac surgical unit in New Zealand.

Participants

Culturally diverse patients in hospital undergoing heart surgery.

Main outcomes

A definition of comfort. The Comfort ALways Matters (CALM) framework describing factors influencing comfort.

Results

Comfort is transient and multidimensional and, as defined by patients, incorporates more than the absence of pain. Factors influencing comfort were synthesised into 10 themes within four inter-related layers: patients’ personal (often private) strategies; the unique role of family; staff actions and behaviours; and factors within the clinical environment.

Conclusions

These findings provide new insights into what comfort means to patients, the care required to promote their comfort and the reasons for which doing so is important. We have developed a definition of comfort and the CALM framework, which can be used by healthcare leaders and clinicians to guide practice and quality initiatives aimed at maximising comfort and minimising distress. These findings appear applicable to a range of inpatient populations. A focus on comfort by individuals is crucial, but leadership will be essential for driving the changes needed to reduce unwarranted variability in care that affects comfort.
Effect of an editorial intervention to improve the completeness of reporting of randomised trials: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Blanco David , Schroter Sara , Aldcroft Adrian , Moher David , Boutron Isabelle , Kirkham Jamie J , Cobo Erik
Published: May 2020

Objective

To evaluate the impact of an editorial intervention to improve completeness of reporting of reports of randomised trials.

Design

Randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Setting

BMJ Open’s quality improvement programme.

Participants

24 manuscripts describing RCTs.

Interventions

We used an R Shiny application to randomise manuscripts (1:1 allocation ratio, blocks of 4) to the intervention (n=12) or control (n=12) group. The intervention was performed by a researcher with expertise in the content of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and consisted of an evaluation of completeness of reporting of eight core CONSORT items using the submitted checklist to locate information, and the production of a report containing specific requests for authors based on the reporting issues found, provided alongside the peer review reports. The control group underwent the usual peer review.

Outcomes

The primary outcome is the number of adequately reported items (0–8 scale) in the revised manuscript after the first round of peer review. The main analysis was intention-to-treat (n=24), and we imputed the scores of lost to follow-up manuscripts (rejected after peer review and not resubmitted). The secondary outcome is the proportion of manuscripts where each item was adequately reported. Two blinded reviewers assessed the outcomes independently and in duplicate and solved disagreements by consensus. We also recorded the amount of time to perform the intervention.

Results

Manuscripts in the intervention group (mean: 7.01; SD: 1.47) were more completely reported than those in the control group (mean: 5.68; SD: 1.43) (mean difference 1.43, 95% CI 0.31 to 2.58). We observed the main differences in items 6a (outcomes), 9 (allocation concealment mechanism), 11a (blinding) and 17a (outcomes and estimation). The mean time to perform the intervention was 87 (SD 42) min.

Conclusions

We demonstrated the benefit of involving a reporting guideline expert in the editorial process. Improving the completeness of RCTs is essential to enhance their usability.

Trial registration number

NCT03751878.
Evaluating the real-world implementation of the Family Nurse Partnership in England: protocol for a data linkage study
Authors: Cavallaro Francesca L , Gilbert Ruth , Wijlaars Linda , Kennedy Eilis , Swarbrick Ailsa , van der Meulen Jan , Harron Katie
Published: May 2020

Introduction

Almost 20 000 babies are born to teenage mothers each year in England, with poorer outcomes for mothers and babies than among older mothers. A nurse home visitation programme in the USA was found to improve a wide range of outcomes for young mothers and their children. However, a randomised controlled trial in England found no effect on short-term primary outcomes, although cognitive development up to age 2 showed improvement. Our study will use linked routinely collected health, education and social care data to evaluate the real-world effects of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) on child outcomes up to age 7, with a focus on identifying whether the FNP works better for particular groups of families, thereby informing programme targeting and resource allocation.

Methods and analysis

We will construct a retrospective cohort of all women aged 13–24 years giving birth in English NHS hospitals between 2010 and 2017, linking information on mothers and children from FNP programme data, Hospital Episodes Statistics and the National Pupil Database. To assess the effectiveness of FNP, we will compare outcomes for eligible mothers ever and never enrolled in FNP, and their children, using two analysis strategies to adjust for measured confounding: propensity score matching and analyses adjusting for maternal characteristics up to enrolment/28 weeks gestation. Outcomes of interest include early childhood development, childhood unplanned hospital admissions for injury or maltreatment-related diagnoses and children in care. Subgroup analyses will determine whether the effect of FNP varied according to maternal characteristics (eg, age and education).

Ethics and dissemination

The Nottingham Research Ethics Committee approved this study. Mothers participating in FNP were supportive of our planned research. Results will inform policy-makers for targeting home visiting programmes. Methodological findings on the accuracy and reliability of cross-sectoral data linkage will be of interest to researchers.
Virtual reality simulation increases Chinese physicians’ and lab technicians’ familiarity and confidence regarding proper clinical wastes segregation/disposal: a 2-year pilot study
Authors: Wu Szu-Hsien , Yang Ying-Ying , Huang Chia-Chang , Liu Chih-Wei , Yang Ling-Yu , Chen Chen-Huan , Kao Shou-Yen , Lee Fa-Yauh
Published: May 2020

Although they receive regular training, the survey we administered to our junior physicians and lab technicians revealed that they lack familiarity and confidence regarding the proper segregation/disposal of clinical wastes. In this pilot prospective study, carried out between September 2017 and September 2019, we developed a virtual reality (VR) simulation and integrated it into the steps of Gangen’s training flow. Next, we analysed objective performance, recorded by the App in the VR system as well as the subjective self-assessments of 96 junior physicians and lab technicians after two practices of VR games. Before receiving training, lab technicians' self-assessed familiarity and confidence regarding proper clinical wastes segregation/disposal were higher than among physicians. Compared with the first VR game, we noted greater improvement in accuracy as well as a higher percentage of shortened time to complete 10 actions of segregation/disposal of VR clinical wastes, among junior physicians/male trainees, that of junior lab technicians/female trainees in the second VR game. Most of the trainees (81%–88%) reported that they found the VR game-based training to be useful, in contrast to poster-mass media-based training. Our initial positive results indicated the possibility of applying this VR game-based simulation system to regular institution-wide staff education in future.
De novo variants in SIAH1, encoding an E3 ubiquitin ligase, are associated with developmental delay, hypotonia and dysmorphic features
Authors: Buratti Julien , Ji Lei , Keren Boris , Lee Youngha , Booke Stephanie , Erdin Serkan , Kim Soo Yeon , Palculict Timothy Blake , Meiner Vardiella , Chae Jong Hee , Woods Christopher Geoffrey , Tam Allison , Héron Delphine , Cong Feng , Harel Tamar
Published: May 2020

Background

Ubiquitination has a central role in numerous biological processes, including cell development, stress responses and ageing. Perturbed ubiquitination has been implicated in human diseases ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. SIAH1 encodes a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in protein ubiquitination. Among numerous other roles, SIAH1 regulates metabotropic glutamate receptor signalling and affects neural cell fate. Moreover, SIAH1 positively regulates Wnt signalling through ubiquitin-mediated degradation of Axin and accumulation of β-catenin.

Methods

Trio exome sequencing followed by Sanger validation was undertaken in five individuals with syndromic developmental delay. Three-dimensional structural modelling was used to predict pathogenicity of affected residues. Wnt stimulatory activity was measured by luciferase reporter assays and Axin degradation assays in HEK293 cells transfected with wild-type and mutant SIAH1 expression plasmids.

Results

We report five unrelated individuals with shared features of developmental delay, infantile hypotonia, dysmorphic features and laryngomalacia, in whom exome sequencing identified de novo monoallelic variants in SIAH1. In silico protein modelling suggested alteration of conserved functional sites. In vitro experiments demonstrated loss of Wnt stimulatory activity with the SIAH1 mutants, suggesting variant pathogenicity.

Conclusion

Our results lend support to SIAH1 as a candidate Mendelian disease gene for a recognisable syndrome, further strengthening the connection between SIAH1 and neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, the results suggest that dysregulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis.
Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of hemiplegic migraine
Authors: Di Stefano Vincenzo , Rispoli Marianna Gabriella , Pellegrino Noemi , Graziosi Alessandro , Rotondo Eleonora , Napoli Christian , Pietrobon Daniela , Brighina Filippo , Parisi Pasquale
Published: May 2020

Hemiplegic migraine (HM) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous condition with attacks of headache and motor weakness which may be associated with impaired consciousness, cerebellar ataxia and intellectual disability. Motor symptoms usually last <72 hours and are associated with visual or sensory manifestations, speech impairment or brainstem aura. HM can occur as a sporadic HM or familiar HM with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Mutations in CACNA1A, ATP1A2 and SCN1A encoding proteins involved in ion transport are implicated. The pathophysiology of HM is close to the process of typical migraine with aura, but appearing with a lower threshold and more severity. We reviewed epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment of HM to offer the best evidence of this rare condition. The differential diagnosis of HM is broad, including other types of migraine and any condition that can cause transitory neurological signs and symptoms. Neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and electroencephalography are useful, but the diagnosis is clinical with a genetic confirmation. The management relies on the control of triggering factors and even hospitalisation in case of long-lasting auras. As HM is a rare condition, there are no randomised controlled trials, but the evidence for the treatment comes from small studies.
POCOP-type cobalt and nickel pincer complexes bearing an appended phosphinite group
Authors: Li Yingze , Krause Jeanette A. , Guan Hairong
Published: May 2020

The reaction of 1,3,5-(iPr2PO)3C6H3 with Co2(CO)8 leads to the isolation of a POCOP-type mononuclear pincer complex {κP,κC,κP-2,4,6-(iPr2PO)3C6H2}Co(CO)2 (1) or a tetranuclear species {κP-{κP,κC,κP-2,4,6-(iPr2PO)3C6H2}Co(CO)2}2Co2(CO)6 (2), depending on the ligand to cobalt ratio employed. The latter compound can be an impurity during the synthesis of {2,6-(iPr2PO)2-4-Me2N-C6H2}Co(CO)2, when the ligand precursor 5-(dimethylamino)resorcinol is contaminated with phloroglucinol due to incomplete monoamination. Similarly, the reaction of 1,3,5-(iPr2PO)3C6H3 with NiCl2 in the presence of 4-dimethylaminopyridine provides {κP,κC,κP-2,4,6-(iPr2PO)3C6H2}NiCl (3) bearing an appended phosphinite group. Structures 1–3 have been studied by X-ray crystallography.
Ore geology, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope constraints on the origin of the Damoqujia gold deposit, Jiaodong Peninsula, China
Authors: Chai Peng , Zhang Hong-rui , Hou Zeng-qian , Zhang Zhi-yu , Dong Lei-lei
Published: May 2020

The Damoqujia gold deposit within the Zhaoping Fault Zone on Jiaodong Peninsula in eastern China is hosted primarily by Mesozoic granitoids and contains >60 t of gold, making it an important gold producer. Three mineralization stages are distinguished (early, middle, and late): (K-feldspar)–sericite–quartz–pyrite, quartz – gold – polymetallic sulfides, and quartz–carbonate. Gold deposition occurred mainly in the middle stage. The primary fluid inclusions of three stages are mainly homogenized at temperatures of 236–389, 191–346, and 104–251 °C, with salinities of 2.96–11.33, 1.39–17.28, and 0.53–11.48 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. Fluid inclusion studies indicate that the metallogenic system evolved from CO2-rich mesothermal homogeneous fluids to CO2-poor aqueous fluids due to inputs of meteoric waters. The gold was carried as a bisulfide complex in the ore-forming fluids. Precipitation of gold was caused by a combination of fluid immiscibility and water–rock interaction. Studies of the fluid inclusion characteristics (medium temperature, CO2-rich, and low salinity H2O–CO2–NaCl homogeneous system), hydrogen and oxygen isotopes ([Formula: see text] = –1.0‰ to 7.6‰, δD = –109‰ to –77‰), sulfur values ([Formula: see text] = 4.5‰ to 8.5‰), and regional geological events show that the ore-forming fluids reservoir was likely metamorphic in origin. Based on the immiscibility of fluid inclusion assemblages, the estimated depth and pressure of trapping are 8.3–10.2 km and 83–276 MPa, respectively, corresponding to the depth and pressure of mineralization.
Geometry of the Copositive Tensor Cone and its Dual
Authors: Dong Man-Man , Chen Hai-Bin
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we explore some geometric properties of the cones in terms of extreme rays, exposed rays, the exposed face and the maximal face. To this end, we first show that all copositive tensors orthogonal to the generating tensor of the exposed ray in completely positive tensor cone construct a maximal face of the copositive tensor cone, then give a characterization on the maximal face of the copositive tensor cone. Third, we show that each extreme ray of the completely positive tensor cone is an exposed ray in the even order case. Finally, we give a lower bound and an upper bound for the maximal face of the completely positive tensor cone.
A Three-Operator Splitting Perspective of a Three-Block ADMM for Convex Quadratic Semidefinite Programming and Beyond
Authors: Chen Liang , Chang Xiaokai , Liu Sanyang
Published: May 2020

In recent years, several convergent variants of the multi-block alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) have been proposed for solving the convex quadratic semidefinite programming via its dual, which is inherently a [Formula: see text]-block separable convex optimization problem with coupled linear constraints. Among these multi-block ADMM-type algorithms, the modified [Formula: see text]-block ADMM in [Chang, XK, SY Liu and X Li (2016). Modified alternating direction method of multipliers for convex quadratic semidefinite programming. Neurocomputing, 214, 575–586] bears a peculiar feature that the augmented Lagrangian function is not necessarily to be minimized with respect to the block-variable corresponding to the quadratic term in the objective function. In this paper, we lay the theoretical foundation of this phenomenon by interpreting this modified [Formula: see text]-block ADMM as a special implementation of the Davis–Yin [Formula: see text]-operator splitting [Davis, D and WT Yin (2017). A three-operator splitting scheme and its optimization applications. Set-Valued and Variational Analysis, 25, 829–858]. Based on this perspective, we are able to extend this modified [Formula: see text]-block ADMM to a generalized [Formula: see text]-block ADMM, in the sense of [Eckstein, J and DP Bertsekas (1992). On the Douglas–Rachford splitting method and the proximal point algorithm for maximal monotone operators. Mathematical Programming, 55, 293–318], which not only applies to the more general convex composite quadratic programming problems but also admits the flexibility of achieving even better numerical performance.
Second-Order Composed Radial Derivatives of the Benson Proper Perturbation Map for Parametric Multi-Objective Optimization Problems
Authors: Wang Qilin , Zhang Xiaoyan
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we introduce second-order composed radial derivatives of set-valued maps and establish some of its properties. By applying this second-order derivative, we obtain second-order sensitivity results for parametric multi-objective optimization problems under the Benson proper efficiency without assumptions of cone-convexity and Lipschitz continuity. Some of our results improve and derive the recent corresponding ones in the literature.
Intrusion Detection for In-vehicle Network by Using Single GAN in Connected Vehicles
Authors: Yang Yuanda , Xie Guoqi , Wang Jilong , Zhou Jia , Xia Ze , Li Renfa
Published: May 2020

Controller area network (CAN) bus-based connected and even self-driving vehicles suffer severe cybersecurity challenges because connections from outside the vehicle and an existing security vulnerability on CAN expose passengers to privacy and security threats. Generative adversarial nets (GAN)-based intrusion detection systems (IDSs) for in-vehicle network can eliminate the limit of insufficient types of attack data suffered by the deep learning-based IDSs. The existing GAN-based IDS is a hybrid deep learning model built by DNN and GAN, which is too complex to have a short detection time. The evaluation performance of this model can be further improved. To mitigate this issue, we propose another GAN-based intrusion detection method for in-vehicle network, which is a single improved GAN. The proposed model can have better evaluation metrics, e.g., the testing accuracy rate is up to 99.8% and poor detection performance is addressed when a single GAN is used in intrusion detection for the in-vehicle network. In this paper, we design a new loss function for generator in GAN to enhance an ability to produce fake abnormal data, and utilize a sparse enhancement training method helping discriminator in GAN to correct the arbitration bias for fake attack data every 100 steps. In addition, we utilize fewer convolution and de-convolution layers for constructing GAN model, which can reduce the calculation time theoretically and ultimately shorten the detection time to [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]ms for a data block built by 64 CAN messages. We evaluate this improved GAN-based intrusion detection by test set. The results demonstrate that our method has not only a capacity of five classifications, but also better evaluation performance than the existing method in the area of GAN-based IDSs for the in-vehicle network.
UL-CNN: An Ultra-Lightweight Convolutional Neural Network Aiming at Flash-Based Computing-In-Memory Architecture for Pedestrian Recognition
Authors: Yang Chen , Zhang Jingyu , Chen Qi , Xu Yi , Lu Cimang
Published: May 2020

Pedestrian recognition has achieved the state-of-the-art performance due to the progress of recent convolutional neural network (CNN). However, mainstream CNN models are too complicated to emerging Computing-In-Memory (CIM) architectures for hardware implementation, because enormous parameters and massive intermediate processing results may incur severe “memory bottleneck”. This paper proposed a design methodology of Parameter Substitution with Nodes Compensation (PSNC) to significantly reduce parameters of CNN model without inference accuracy degradation. Based on the PSNC methodology, an ultra-lightweight convolutional neural network (UL-CNN) was designed. The UL-CNN model is a specially optimized convolutional neural network aiming at a flash-based CIM architecture (Conv-Flash) and to apply for recognizing person. The implementation result of running UL-CNN on Conv-Flash shows that the inference accuracy is up to 94.7%. Compared to LeNet-5, on the premise of the similar operations and accuracy, the amounts of UL-CNN’s parameters are less than 37% of LeNet-5 at the same dataset benchmark. Such parameter reduction can dramatically speed up the training process and economize on-chip storage overhead, as well as save the power consumption of the memory access. With the aid of UL-CNN, the Conv-Flash architecture can provide the best energy efficiency compared to other platforms (CPU, GPU, FPGA, etc.), which consumes only 2.2 × 105J to complete pedestrian recognition for one frame.
The binomial equivalence classes of finite words
Authors: Lejeune Marie , Rigo Michel , Rosenfeld Matthieu
Published: May 2020

Two finite words [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are [Formula: see text]-binomially equivalent if, for each word [Formula: see text] of length at most [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] appears the same number of times as a subsequence (i.e., as a scattered subword) of both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. This notion generalizes abelian equivalence. In this paper, we study the equivalence classes induced by the [Formula: see text]-binomial equivalence. We provide an algorithm generating the [Formula: see text]-binomial equivalence class of a word. For [Formula: see text] and alphabet of [Formula: see text] or more symbols, the language made of lexicographically least elements of every [Formula: see text]-binomial equivalence class and the language of singletons, i.e., the words whose [Formula: see text]-binomial equivalence class is restricted to a single element, are shown to be non-context-free. As a consequence of our discussions, we also prove that the submonoid generated by the generators of the free nil-[Formula: see text] group (also called free nilpotent group of class [Formula: see text]) on [Formula: see text] generators is isomorphic to the quotient of the free monoid [Formula: see text] by the [Formula: see text]-binomial equivalence.
Lorentzian quintessential inflation
Authors: Benisty David , Guendelman Eduardo I.
Published: May 2020

From the assumption that the slow-roll parameter [Formula: see text] has a Lorentzian form as a function of the e-folds number [Formula: see text], a successful model of a quintessential inflation is obtained. The form corresponds to the vacuum energy both in the inflationary and in the dark energy epochs. The form satisfies the condition to climb from small values of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] at the end of the inflationary epoch. At the late universe, [Formula: see text] becomes small again and this leads to the dark energy epoch. The observables that the models predict fits with the latest Planck data: [Formula: see text]. Naturally, a large dimensionless factor that exponentially amplifies the inflationary scale and exponentially suppresses the dark energy scale appearance, producing a sort of cosmological seesaw mechanism. We find the corresponding scalar Quintessential Inflationary potential with two flat regions — one inflationary and one as a dark energy with slow-roll behavior.
BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROSPUN NANOFIBERS
Authors: YANCONG ZHANG , LINBO DOU , NING MA , FUHUA WU , JINCHENG NIU
Published: May 2020

Electrospun technology is a simple and flexible method for preparation of nanofiber materials with unique physical and chemical properties. The nanofiber diameter is adjustable from several nanometers to few microns during the preparation. Electrospun nanofiber materials are easy to be assembled into different shapes of three-dimensional structures. These materials exhibit high porosity and surface area and can simulate the network structures of collagen fibers in a natural extracellular matrix, thereby providing a growth microenvironment for tissue cells. Electrospun nanofibers therefore have extensive application prospects in the biomedicine field, including in aerospace, filtration, biomedical applications, and biotechnology. Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize many fields, such as surface microscopy, silicon fabrication, biochemistry, molecular biology, physical chemistry, and computational engineering, while the advent of nanofibers has increased the understanding of nanotechnology among academia, industry, and the general public. This paper mainly introduces the application of nanofiber materials in tissue engineering, drug release, wound dressing, and other biomedicine fields.
VoroCrust
Authors: Abdelkader Ahmed , Bajaj Chandrajit L. , Ebeida Mohamed S. , Mahmoud Ahmed H. , Mitchell Scott A. , Owens John D. , Rushdi Ahmad A.
Published: May 2020

Polyhedral meshes are increasingly becoming an attractive option with particular advantages over traditional meshes for certain applications.

What has been missing is a robust polyhedral meshing algorithm that can handle broad classes of domains exhibiting arbitrarily curved boundaries and sharp features. In addition, the power of primal-dual mesh pairs, exemplified by Voronoi-Delaunay meshes, has been recognized as an important ingredient in numerous formulations. The VoroCrust algorithm is the first provably correct algorithm for conforming polyhedral Voronoi meshing for non-convex and non-manifold domains with guarantees on the quality of both surface and volume elements. A robust refinement process estimates a suitable sizing field that enables the careful placement of Voronoi seeds across the surface, circumventing the need for clipping and avoiding its many drawbacks. The algorithm has the flexibility of filling the interior by either structured or random samples while preserving all sharp features in the output mesh. We demonstrate the capabilities of the algorithm on a variety of models and compare against state-of-the-art polyhedral meshing methods based on clipped Voronoi cells establishing the clear advantage of VoroCrust output.
A Deep Multi-task Contextual Attention Framework for Multi-modal Affect Analysis
Authors: Akhtar Md Shad , Chauhan Dushyant Singh , Ekbal Asif
Published: May 2020

Multi-modal affect analysis (e.g., sentiment and emotion analysis) is an interdisciplinary study and has been an emerging and prominent field in Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision. The effective fusion of multiple modalities (e.g.,
text
,
acoustic,
or
visual frames
) is a non-trivial task, as these modalities, often, carry distinct and diverse information, and do not contribute equally. The issue further escalates when these data contain noise. In this article, we study the concept of multi-task learning for multi-modal affect analysis and explore a contextual inter-modal attention framework that aims to leverage the association among the neighboring utterances and their multi-modal information. In general, sentiments and emotions have inter-dependence on each other (e.g.,
anger → negative
or
happy → positive
). In our current work, we exploit the relatedness among the participating tasks in the multi-task framework. We define three different multi-task setups, each having two tasks, i.e., sentiment 8 emotion classification, sentiment classification 8 sentiment intensity prediction, and emotion classificati on 8 emotion intensity prediction. Our evaluation of the proposed system on the CMU-Multi-modal Opinion Sentiment and Emotion Intensity benchmark dataset suggests that, in comparison with the single-task learning framework, our multi-task framework yields better performance for the inter-related participating tasks. Further, comparative studies show that our proposed approach attains state-of-the-art performance for most of the cases.
Network Embedding for Community Detection in Attributed Networks
Authors: Sun Heli , He Fang , Huang Jianbin , Sun Yizhou , Li Yang , Wang Chenyu , He Liang , Sun Zhongbin , Jia Xiaolin
Published: May 2020

Community detection aims to partition network nodes into a set of clusters, such that nodes are more densely connected to each other within the same cluster than other clusters. For attributed networks, apart from the denseness requirement of topology structure, the attributes of nodes in the same community should also be homogeneous. Network embedding has been proved extremely useful in a variety of tasks, such as node classification, link prediction, and graph visualization, but few works dedicated to unsupervised embedding of node features specified for clustering task, which is vital for community detection and graph clustering. By post-processing with clustering algorithms like
k
-means, most existing network embedding methods can be applied to clustering tasks. However, the learned embeddings are not designed for clustering task, they only learn topological and attributed information of networks, and no clustering-oriented information is explored. In this article, we propose an algorithm named Network Embedding for node Clustering (NEC) to learn network embedding for node clustering in attributed graphs. Specifically, the presented work introduces a framework that simultaneously learns graph structure-based representations and clustering-oriented representations together. The framework consists of the following three modules: graph convolutional autoencoder module, soft modularity maximization module, and self-clustering module. Graph convolutional autoencoder module learns node embeddings based on topological structure and node attributes. We introduce soft modularity, which can be easily optimized using gradient descent algorithms, to exploit the community structure of networks. By integrating clustering loss and embedding loss, NEC can jointly optimize node cluster labels assignment and learn representations that keep local structure of network. This model can be effectively optimized using stochastic gradient algorithm. Empirical experiments on real-world networks and synthetic networks validate the feasibility and effectiveness of our algorithm on community detection task compared with network embedding based methods and traditional community detection methods.
Framework for Inferring Following Strategies from Time Series of Movement Data
Authors: Amornbunchornvej Chainarong , Berger-Wolf Tanya
Published: May 2020

How do groups of individuals achieve consensus in movement decisions? Do individuals follow their friends, the one predetermined leader, or whomever just happens to be nearby? To address these questions computationally, we formalize C
oordination
S
trategy
I
nference
P
roblem
. In this setting, a group of multiple individuals moves in a coordinated manner toward a target path. Each individual uses a specific strategy to follow others (e.g., nearest neighbors, pre-defined leaders, and preferred friends). Given a set of time series that includes coordinated movement and a set of candidate strategies as inputs, we provide the first methodology (to the best of our knowledge) to infer whether each individual uses local-agreement system or dictatorship-like strategy to achieve movement coordination at the group level. We evaluate and demonstrate the performance of the proposed framework by predicting directions of movement of an individual in a group in both simulated datasets as well as in two real-world datasets: a school of fish and a troop of baboons. Moreover, since there is no prior methodology for inferring individual-level strategies, we compare our framework with the state-of-the-art approach for the task of classification of group-level-coordination models. Results show that our approach is highly accurate in inferring correct strategies in simulated datasets even in complicated mixed strategy settings, which no existing method can infer. In the task of classification of group-level-coordination models, our framework performs better than the state-of-the-art approach in all datasets. Animal data experiments show that fish, as expected, follow their neighbors, while baboons have a preference to follow specific individuals. Our methodology generalizes to arbitrary time series data of real numbers, beyond movement data.
Existence and Efficiency of Equilibria for Cost-Sharing in Generalized Weighted Congestion Games
Authors: Gairing Martin , Kollias Kostas , Kotsialou Grammateia
Published: May 2020

This work studies the impact of cost-sharing methods on the existence and efficiency of (pure) Nash equilibria in weighted congestion games. We also study
generalized weighted congestion games
, where each player may control multiple commodities. Our results are fairly general; we only require that our cost-sharing method and our set of cost functions satisfy certain natural conditions. For general weighted congestion games, we study the existence of pure Nash equilibria in the induced games, and we exhibit a separation from the standard single-commodity per player model by proving that the
Shapley value
is the only cost-sharing method that guarantees existence of pure Nash equilibria. With respect to efficiency, we present general tight bounds on the price of anarchy, which are robust and apply to general equilibrium concepts. Our analysis provides a tight bound on the price of anarchy, which depends only on the used cost-sharing method and the set of allowable cost functions. Interestingly, the same bound applies to weighted congestion games and generalized weighted congestion games. We then turn to the price of stability and prove an upper bound for the Shapley value cost-sharing method, which holds for general sets of cost functions and which is tight in special cases of interest, such as bounded degree polynomials. Also for bounded degree polynomials, we provide a somewhat surprising result, showing that a slight deviation from the Shapley value has a huge impact on the price of stability. In fact, for this case, the price of stability becomes as bad as the price of anarchy. Again, our bounds on the price of stability are independent on whether players are single or multi-commodity.
Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy Study of Topological Quantum Materials
Authors: Zhang Chaofan , Li Yiwei , Pei Ding , Liu Zhongkai , Chen Yulin
Published: May 2020

The recently discovered topological quantum materials (TQMs) have electronic structures that can be characterized by certain topological invariants. In these novel materials, the unusual bulk and surface electrons not only give rise to many exotic physical phenomena but also foster potential new technological applications. To characterize the unusual electronic structures of these new materials, investigators have used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) as an effective experimental tool to directly visualize the unique bulk and surface electronic structures of TQMs. In this review, we first give a brief introduction of TQMs and ARPES, which is followed by examples of the application of ARPES to different TQMs ranging from topological insulators to Dirac and Weyl semimetals. We conclude with a brief perspective of the current development of ARPES and its potential application in the study of TQMs.
Multiple Positive Solutions for a System of Nonlinear Caputo-Type Fractional Differential Equations
Authors: Li Hongyu , Chen Yang
Published: May 2020

By using fixed-point index theory, we consider the existence of multiple positive solutions for a system of nonlinear Caputo-type fractional differential equations with the Riemann-Stieltjes boundary conditions.
Annexin A2 Expression in the Aerogenous Spread of Pulmonary Invasive Mucinous Adenocarcinoma with Gastric Lineage
Authors: Arai Kazumori , Iwasaki Tomohiro , Tsuchiya Chinatsu , Sonoda Akihiro
Published: May 2020

Spread through air spaces (STAS) is a unique form of lung cancer progression associated with a worse prognosis. However, the mechanisms underlying STAS and the associated proteins remain unclear. Annexin A2 (ANX A2), which is a membrane-binding protein involved in cell adhesion, is known to promote cancer invasion. In this report, we describe the immunohistochemical analysis of ANX A2 expression in an invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMAC) resected from a 63-year-old man in whom the tumor cells had detached from the alveolar wall and exhibited STAS. At the detachment site, we observed cytoplasmic ANX A2 positivity on the basal side and in the exfoliative gap, as well as reduced collagen IV positivity expression. This biomarker pattern suggested an IMAC with gastric lineage. We hypothesize that ANX A2 is secreted from the basal sides of tumor cells and induces tumor cell detachment by degrading the basement membrane. A further comparison of this case with an IMAC with nongastric lineage suggested the following probabilities: (1) ANX A2 likely contributes to STAS in a manner that is dependent on its subcellular localization. (2) Both the subcellular localization of ANX A2 and the detachment site depend on tumor cell characteristics, including the biomarker immunophenotype.
Purification, Preliminary Structural Characterization, and In Vitro Inhibitory Effect on Digestive Enzymes by β-Glucan from Qingke (Tibetan Hulless Barley)
Authors: Hu Jialiang , Wu Yue , Xie Huifang , Shi Wanyin , Chen Zhiyuan , Jiang Dan , Hu Hui , Zheng Xiangwei , Xu Jian , Yang Yuejun , Liu Yuancai
Published: May 2020

Background and Objective. Qingke (Tibetan hulless barley, Hordeum vulgare L.) contains a high content of β-glucan among all the cereal varieties. Although β-glucan has multiple physiological functions, the physiological function of qingke β-glucan was few studied. In this study, the β-glucan was isolated, purified, determined the structural characterization, and measured the inhibitory activity to enzymes correlating blood sugar and lipid. Methods. β-Glucan was isolated from enzymatic aqueous extract of qingke by using deproteinization, decolorization, DEAE-52 column chromatography, and sepharose CL-4B agarose gel column chromatography. The structure of the β-glucan was determined using FT-IR and 13C-NMR spectra analysis, and molecular mass by use of HPSEC-dRI-LS. The kinematic viscosity was measured. The inhibitory effects of this β-glucan on four enzymes were investigated. Results. This β-glucan had a uniform molecular weight of 201,000 Da with β-(1⟶4) as the main chain and β-(1⟶3) as a side chain. The β-glucan presented a relatively strong inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase, moderate inhibition on invertase, and a weak inhibition on α-amylase, whereas it did not inhibit lipase. Conclusion. The study indicates that the enzymatic β-glucan from qingke has the potential as natural auxiliary hypoglycemic additives in functional medicine or foods.
Fingerspelling Identification for Chinese Sign Language via AlexNet-Based Transfer Learning and Adam Optimizer
Authors: Jiang Xianwei , Hu Bo , Chandra Satapathy Suresh , Wang Shui-Hua , Zhang Yu-Dong
Published: May 2020

As an important component of universal sign language and the basis of other sign language learning, finger sign language is of great significance. This paper proposed a novel fingerspelling identification method for Chinese Sign Language via AlexNet-based transfer learning and Adam optimizer, which tested four different configurations of transfer learning. Besides, in the experiment, Adam algorithm was compared with stochastic gradient descent with momentum (SGDM) and root mean square propagation (RMSProp) algorithms, and comparison of using data augmentation (DA) against not using DA was executed to pursue higher performance. Finally, the best accuracy of 91.48% and average accuracy of 89.48 ± 1.16% were yielded by configuration M1 (replacing the last FCL8) with Adam algorithm and using 181x DA, which indicates that our method can identify Chinese finger sign language effectively and stably. Meanwhile, the proposed method is superior to other five state-of-the-art approaches.
Simple Controlling Ecofriendly Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles at Room Temperature Using Lemon Juice Extract and Commercial Rice Vinegar
Authors: Luu T. Lan Anh , Cao X. Truong , Nguyen V. Thai , Pham N. Linh , Nguyen H. Lam , Nguyen C. Tu
Published: May 2020

Silver nanoparticles were prepared in an ecofriendly manner at room temperature via the stepwise-modified Tollens route using the lemon juice extract and commercial rice vinegar. In this work, the lemon juice extract—a natural-origin chemical—was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent, and commercial rice vinegar was used to create a low acidic environment to control the silver nanoparticle growth via the stepwise method. The average dimension of silver nanoparticles was qualitatively evaluated through the UV-Vis spectra via the Mie theory. The X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron spectroscopy were employed to study the purity, the crystal structure, and the morphology of samples, respectively. Due to the weak activity and low purity of ecofriendly chemicals, the reaction and baking times strongly affect the preparation efficiency in obtaining small-size silver nanoparticles (∼40 nm). The highest efficiency was obtained with 24 h reaction time and 48 h baking time. The bimodal distribution of the size of silver nanoparticles was observed by UV-Vis analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The obtained small-size silver nanoparticles (∼40 nm) have a uniform dimension. The quality of the obtained silver nanoparticles was evaluated through the conducting properties of silver paint made from ecosynthesized silver nanoparticles which showed a promising prospect to develop green-synthesized silver paint working at room temperature.
Balloon-Assisted Enteroscopy for Retrieval of Small Intestinal Foreign Bodies: A KASID Multicenter Study
Authors: Kim Jeongseok , Lee Beom Jae , Ham Nam Seok , Oh Eun Hye , Choi Kee Don , Ye Byong Duk , Byeon Jeong-Sik , Eun Chang Soo , Kim Jin Su , Yang Dong-Hoon
Published: May 2020

Background and Aims. Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) can be used to retrieve small intestinal foreign bodies (FBs). Here, we aimed at exploring the clinical usefulness of BAE for the retrieval of small intestinal FBs. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 34 patients who underwent BAE to retrieve small intestinal FBs at 3 tertiary referral centers between April 2005 and June 2017. Results. The retained materials included capsule endoscopes (CEs; n=18 [52.9%]), self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs; n=5 [14.7%]), biliary drainage catheters (n=4 [11.8%]), gallstones (n=3 [8.8%]), an embolization coil (2.9%), a needle, an intragastric bariatric balloon, and a razor blade. FBs were located or stuck in the ileum (n=17 [50%]), jejunum (n=16 [47.1%]), and an undetermined small intestinal segment (n=1). Seventeen cases of FBs (50%; 7 CEs, 3 biliary drainage catheters, 3 SEMSs, 2 gallstones, 1 intragastric balloon, and 1 needle) were successfully retrieved enteroscopically. FBs of 4 asymptomatic patients (3 CEs and 1 razor blade) passed spontaneously. The remaining 13 patients underwent surgery for persistent or symptomatic FBs: 12 were successfully removed and 1 CE removal procedure failed due to severe peritoneal adhesions. The presence of symptoms was the only independent predictor of successful retrieval using BAE (odds ratio 13.40, 95% confidence interval 1.10–162.56, P=0.042). BAE-related complications such as bowel perforation and acute pancreatitis occurred in 2 patients (5.9%). Conclusions. BAE can be the first option for FB removal in the small intestine. The presence of symptoms was associated with successful enteroscopic retrieval.