bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nonuniqueness of hydrodynamic dispersion revealed using fast 4D synchrotron x-ray imaging
Authors: Chen Yongqiang , Steeb Holger , Erfani Hamidreza , Karadimitriou Nikolaos K. , Walczak Monika S. , Ruf Matthias , Lee Dongwon , An Senyou , Hasan Sharul , Connolley Thomas , Vo Nghia T. , Niasar Vahid
Published: December 2021

4D x-ray imaging of transport in porous media shows that hydrodynamic dispersion is larger during cleanup versus contamination.
Effects of photon recycling and scattering in high-performance perovskite solar cells
Authors: Cho Changsoon , Jang Yeoun-Woo , Lee Seungmin , Vaynzof Yana , Choi Mansoo , Noh Jun Hong , Leo Karl
Published: December 2021

The contributions of photon recycling and light scattering to the performance of perovskite solar cells are quantified.
The US3 Kinase of Herpes Simplex Virus Phosphorylates the RNA Sensor RIG-I To Suppress Innate Immunity
Authors: van Gent Michiel , Chiang Jessica J. , Muppala Santoshi , Chiang Cindy , Azab Walid , Kattenhorn Lisa , Knipe David M. , Osterrieder Nikolaus , Gack Michaela U.
Published: December 2021

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) establishes lifelong latency in the majority of the human population worldwide. HSV-1 occasionally reactivates to produce infectious virus and to facilitate dissemination.
Understanding of the Site-Specific Microbial Patterns towards Accurate Identification for Patients with Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Authors: Zhu Xue , Hong Gaichao , Li Ying , Yang Pengshuo , Cheng Mingyue , Zhang Lei , Li Yuxue , Ji Lei , Li Gangping , Chen Chaoyun , Zhong Chaofang , Jin Yu , Yang Min , Xiong Hanhua , Qian Wei , Ding Zhen , Ning Kang , Hou Xiaohua
Published: December 2021

Microbial community varied from one site to another along the gastrointestinal tract, but current studies about intestinal microbial community in IBS-D were mainly based on fecal samples. Based on 283 intestinal samples collected from DM, DL, RM, and RL of HC and IBS-D, we found different intestinal sites had their site-specific microbial patterns in IBS-D.
Two Cholesterol Recognition Amino Acid Consensus Motifs of GP64 with Uncleaved Signal Peptide Are Required for Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedrovirus Infection
Authors: Hao Bifang , Nan Wenbin , Xu Ying , Liu Lin , Liu Na , Huang Jinshan
Published: December 2021

BmNPV is a severe pathogen that mainly infects silkworms. GP64 is the key membrane fusion protein that mediates BmNPV infection, and some studies have indicated that cholesterol and lipids are involved in BmNPV infection.
Augmentation of an Engineered Bacterial Strain Potentially Improves the Cleanup of PCB Water Pollution
Authors: Hara Tomijiro , Takatsuka Yumiko , Nakata Eiji , Morii Takashi
Published: December 2021

PCB cleanup technique in a natural environment relies on the use of enzymes from microorganisms, primarily biphenyl dioxygenase and dehalogenase. Herein, we focused on biphenyl dioxygenase and created a recombinant PCB-degrading
E. coli
strain.
Analysis of an IncR Plasmid Carrying
bla
NDM-1
Linked to an Azithromycin Resistance Region in Enterobacter hormaechei Involved in an Outbreak in Quebec
Authors: Doualla-Bell Florence , Boyd David A. , Savard Patrice , Yousfi Khadidja , Bernaquez Isabelle , Wong Simon , Usongo Valentine , Mataseje Laura F. , Mulvey Michael R. , Bekal Sadjia
Published: December 2021

Analyzing the genetic environment of clinically relevant MDR genes can provide information on the way in which such genes are maintained and disseminated. Understanding this phenomenon is of interest for clinicians as it can also provide insight on where these genes might have been sourced, possibly supporting outbreak investigations.
Biochemically normal adrenal pheochromocytoma following extensive central necrosis in a child with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene mutation
Authors: Ng Benjamin Wei-Liang , Wong Jeanne Sze-Lyn , Toh Teck-Hock
Published: December 2021

Pheochromocytomas are rare in children. The diagnosis is usually established from a raised urinary or plasma catecholamine or their metabolites. We present a girl aged 11 years who manifested with a hypertensive crisis secondary to an adrenal tumour but with unexpectedly normal urinary metanephrine and catecholamine results. She improved spontaneously following the crisis and underwent surgery later. The histopathological study confirmed a pheochromocytoma with large central necrosis. Her genetic screening reported a pathogenic von Hippel-Lindau gene mutation. Surveillance scan postsurgery detected no other tumours. Following the catecholamine crisis, an acute infarct occurred, resulting in extensive tumour necrosis and subsequent rapid remission of symptoms and paradoxically normal biochemical markers. Although not unheard of in adults, we believe this is the first reported case of an extensive spontaneous necrosis resulting in a biochemically normal pheochromocytoma in a child.
Management of a malpositioned central venous catheter in the accessory hemiazygos vein
Authors: Izumi Yuki , Cammack Ivor , Yokoyama Takeshi
Published: December 2021

Malposition of a central venous catheter (CVC) in the accessory hemiazygos vein is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication; however, there is limited information regarding the preferred removal technique. We report a patient, a 57-year-old woman, who presented with overdose of her prescribed sedatives, who experienced this catheter complication after CVC insertion in the left internal jugular vein. The CVC was placed without resistance but routine postplacement chest X-ray showed abnormal coursing of the catheter close to the descending aorta. We used non-enhanced CT as an adjunct to safely identify the catheter position and assess for any bleeding during removal. CT images taken after retraction of the catheter tip by 10 cm showed no bleeding and we were able to remove the catheter safely. We recommend using CT as an adjunct to safely remove malpositioned catheters and reduce the risk of further complication.
Hyperproliferative embryotoxon simulating double cornea
Authors: Mahalingam Karthikeyan , Singh Abhishek , Gupta Viney , Gupta Shikha
Published: December 2021

Posterior embryotoxon, an anteriorly displaced Schwalbe’s line, is the most common feature of Axenfeld Rieger syndrome. We report a case of Axenfeld anomaly with unusual corneal manifestation, that is, a fairly symmetric, hyperproliferated posterior embryotoxon mimicking double cornea as well as a double pupil.
Lung ultrasound in ruling out COVID-19 pneumonia in the ED: a multicentre prospective sensitivity study
Authors: Di Gioia Carmine Cristiano , Artusi Nicola , Xotta Giovanni , Bonsano Marco , Sisto Ugo Giulio , Tecchiolli Marzia , Orso Daniele , Cominotto Franco , Amore Giulia , Meduri Stefano , Copetti Roberto
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Early diagnosis of COVID-19 has a crucial role in confining the spread among the population. Lung ultrasound (LUS) was included in the diagnostic pathway for its high sensitivity, low costs, non-invasiveness and safety. We aimed to test the sensitivity of LUS to rule out COVID-19 pneumonia (COVIDp) in a population of patients with suggestive symptoms.

Methods

Multicentre prospective observational study in three EDs in Northeastern Italy during the first COVID-19 outbreak. A convenience sample of 235 patients admitted to the ED for symptoms suggestive COVIDp (fever, cough or shortness of breath) from 17 March 2020 to 26 April 2020 was enrolled. All patients underwent a sequential assessment involving: clinical examination, LUS, CXR and arterial blood gas. The index test under investigation was a standardised protocol of LUS compared with a pragmatic composite reference standard constituted by: clinical gestalt, real-time PCR test, radiological and blood gas results. Of the 235 enrolled patients, 90 were diagnosed with COVIDp according to the reference standard.

Results

Among the patients with suspected COVIDp, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 38.3%. The sensitivity of LUS for diagnosing COVIDp was 85.6% (95% CI 76.6% to 92.1%); the specificity was 91.7% (95% CI 86.0% to 95.7%). The positive predictive value and the negative predictive value were 86.5% (95%CI 78.8% to 91.7%) and 91.1% (95% CI 86.1% to 94.4%) respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of LUS for COVIDp was 89.4% (95% CI 84.7% to 93.0%). The positive likelihood ratio was 10.3 (95% CI 6.0 to 17.9), and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.16 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.3).

Conclusion

In a population with high SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, LUS has a high sensitivity (and negative predictive value) enough to rule out COVIDp in patients with suggestive symptoms. The role of LUS in diagnosing patients with COVIDp is perhaps even more promising. Nevertheless, further research with adequately powered studies is needed.

Trial registration number

NCT04370275.
Predictors of health-related quality of life following injury in childhood and adolescence: a pooled analysis
Authors: Dipnall Joanna F , Rivara Frederick P , Lyons Ronan A , Ameratunga Shanthi , Brussoni Mariana , Lecky Fiona E , Bradley Clare , Beck Ben , Lyons Jane , Schneeberg Amy , Harrison James E , Gabbe Belinda J
Published: December 2021

Background

Injury is a leading contributor to the global disease burden in children and places children at risk for adverse and lasting impacts on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and development. This study aimed to identify key predictors of HRQoL following injury in childhood and adolescence.

Methods

Data from 2259 injury survivors (<18 years when injured) were pooled from four longitudinal cohort studies (Australia, Canada, UK, USA) from the paediatric Validating Injury Burden Estimates Study (VIBES-Junior). Outcomes were the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) total, physical, psychosocial functioning scores at 1, 3–4, 6, 12, 24 months postinjury.

Results

Mean PedsQL total score increased with higher socioeconomic status and decreased with increasing age. It was lower for transport-related incidents, ≥1 comorbidities, intentional injuries, spinal cord injury, vertebral column fracture, moderate/severe traumatic brain injury and fracture of patella/tibia/fibula/ankle. Mean PedsQL physical score was lower for females, fracture of femur, fracture of pelvis and burns. Mean PedsQL psychosocial score was lower for asphyxiation/non-fatal submersion and muscle/tendon/dislocation injuries.

Conclusions

Postinjury HRQoL was associated with survivors’ socioeconomic status, intent, mechanism of injury and comorbidity status. Patterns of physical and psychosocial functioning postinjury differed according to sex and nature of injury sustained. The findings improve understanding of the long-term individual and societal impacts of injury in the early part of life and guide the prioritisation of prevention efforts, inform health and social service planning to help reduce injury burden, and help guide future Global Burden of Disease estimates.
Recovery after stroke: the severely impaired are a distinct group
Authors: Bonkhoff Anna K , Hope Tom , Bzdok Danilo , Guggisberg Adrian G , Hawe Rachel L , Dukelow Sean P , Chollet François , Lin David J , Grefkes Christian , Bowman Howard
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Stroke causes different levels of impairment and the degree of recovery varies greatly between patients. The majority of recovery studies are biased towards patients with mild-to-moderate impairments, challenging a unified recovery process framework. Our aim was to develop a statistical framework to analyse recovery patterns in patients with severe and non-severe initial impairment and concurrently investigate whether they recovered differently.

Methods

We designed a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate 3–6 months upper limb Fugl-Meyer (FM) scores after stroke. When focusing on the explanation of recovery patterns, we addressed confounds affecting previous recovery studies and considered patients with FM-initial scores <45 only. We systematically explored different FM-breakpoints between severe/non-severe patients (FM-initial=5–30). In model comparisons, we evaluated whether impairment-level-specific recovery patterns indeed existed. Finally, we estimated the out-of-sample prediction performance for patients across the entire initial impairment range.

Results

Recovery data was assembled from eight patient cohorts (n=489). Data were best modelled by incorporating two subgroups (breakpoint: FM-initial=10). Both subgroups recovered a comparable constant amount, but with different proportional components: severely affected patients recovered more the smaller their impairment, while non-severely affected patients recovered more the larger their initial impairment. Prediction of 3–6 months outcomes could be done with an R2=63.5% (95% CI=51.4% to 75.5%).

Conclusions

Our work highlights the benefit of simultaneously modelling recovery of severely-to-non-severely impaired patients and demonstrates both shared and distinct recovery patterns. Our findings provide evidence that the severe/non-severe subdivision in recovery modelling is not an artefact of previous confounds. The presented out-of-sample prediction performance may serve as benchmark to evaluate promising biomarkers of stroke recovery.
Frailty, lifestyle, genetics and dementia risk
Authors: Ward David D , Ranson Janice M , Wallace Lindsay M K , Llewellyn David J , Rockwood Kenneth
Published: December 2021

Objective

To optimise dementia prevention strategies, we must understand the complex relationships between lifestyle behaviours, frailty and genetics.

Methods

We explored relationships between frailty index, healthy lifestyle and polygenic risk scores (all assessed at study entry) and incident all-cause dementia as recorded on hospital admission records and death register data.

Results

The analytical sample had a mean age of 64.1 years at baseline (SD=2.9) and 53% were women. Incident dementia was detected in 1762 participants (median follow-up time=8.0 years). High frailty was associated with increased dementia risk independently of genetic risk (HR 3.68, 95% CI 3.11 to 4.35). Frailty mediated 44% of the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviours and dementia risk (indirect effect HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.95 to 0.96). Participants at high genetic risk and with high frailty had 5.8 times greater risk of incident dementia compared with those at low genetic risk and with low frailty (HR 5.81, 95% CI 4.01 to 8.42). Higher genetic risk was most influential in those with low frailty (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.40) but not influential in those with high frailty (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.28).

Conclusion

Frailty is strongly associated with dementia risk and affects the risk attributable to genetic factors. Frailty should be considered an important modifiable risk factor for dementia and a target for dementia prevention strategies, even among people at high genetic risk.
Medical students’ and junior doctors’ leadership and teamwork skills improved after involvement with Simulation via Instant Messaging-Birmingham Advance (SIMBA)
Authors: Ng Cai Ying , Allison Isabel , Ooi Emma , Davitadze Meri , Melson Eka , Kempegowda Punith
Published: December 2021

Background

Leadership and teamwork skills are essential components of medical education. Simulation via Instant Messaging-Birmingham Advance (SIMBA) is an innovative simulation-based learning tool mainly delivered by medical students and junior doctors. This study aimed to investigate the effect of SIMBA on leadership and teamwork skills of medical students and junior doctors during COVID-19.

Methods

All medical students and junior doctors involved in the delivery of SIMBA were invited to complete the Leadership Trait Questionnaire (LTQ) and Teamwork Skills Questionnaire (TSQ) assessing their views pre-SIMBA and post-SIMBA involvement. The changes in scores were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Open-ended questions were reviewed in an inductive thematic analysis.

Results

A total of 33 SIMBA team members completed both questionnaires. There was improvement in all traits measured in the LTQ and TSQ, significant in 9/14 LTQ traits, and all 6 TSQ traits (p<0.05). ‘Decision making’ had the highest improvement (p<0.0001). Response to open-ended questions reported positive effects on personal development, medical professionalism, communication skills and medical/clinical knowledge.

Conclusions

SIMBA is an effective model to inculcate leadership and teamwork skills among medical students and junior doctors. Prospective studies are underway to assess long-term impact.
Variation in age of primiparity in mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) estimated from horn growth increments
Authors: Rice Chad , Larue Benjamin , Festa-Bianchet Marco
Published: December 2021

Variation in age of primiparity is important for population dynamics and wildlife management because it can affect population growth. Using a novel technique based on the trade-off between annual horn growth and reproduction, we estimated the age of primiparity for 2274 female mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus (Blainville, 1816)) harvested across British Columbia, Canada, from 1976 to 2019. We then investigated spatio-temporal variation in the probability that harvested females were primiparous when aged 3, 4, or 5 years and older using Bayesian ordinal regressions. We found that the probability of primiparity at 3 years decreased over time in nearly all mountain ranges. In the Coastal Mountain range, however, the probability of primiparity at age 3 significantly increased. These results suggest that the large coastal populations of mountain goats could be more resilient to harvest than other populations in British Columbia, which may be experiencing environmental effects promoting later primiparity. Models predicting age of primiparity from annual growth measures are a valuable tool for wildlife management and could help conservation of many species.
Learning a Generalizable Model of Team Conflict from Multiparty Dialogues
Authors: Enayet Ayesha , Sukthankar Gita
Published: December 2021

Good communication is indubitably the foundation of effective teamwork. Over time teams develop their own communication styles and often exhibit entrainment, a conversational phenomena in which humans synchronize their linguistic choices. Conversely, teams may experience conflict due to either personal incompatibility or differing viewpoints. We tackle the problem of predicting team conflict from embeddings learned from multiparty dialogues such that teams with similar post-task conflict scores lie close to one another in vector space. Embeddings were extracted from three types of features: (1) dialogue acts, (2) sentiment polarity, and (3) syntactic entrainment. Machine learning models often suffer domain shift; one advantage of encoding the semantic features is their adaptability across multiple domains. To provide intuition on the generalizability of different embeddings to other goal-oriented teamwork dialogues, we test the effectiveness of learned models trained on the Teams corpus on two other datasets. Unlike syntactic entrainment, both dialogue act and sentiment embeddings are effective for identifying team conflict. Our results show that dialogue act-based embeddings have the potential to generalize better than sentiment and entrainment-based embeddings. These findings have potential ramifications for the development of conversational agents that facilitate teaming.
Automatic Title Generation for Learning Resources and Pathways with Pre-trained Transformer Models
Authors: Mishra Prakhar , Diwan Chaitali , Srinivasa Srinath , Srinivasaraghavan G.
Published: December 2021

To create curiosity and interest for a topic in online learning is a challenging task. A good preview that outlines the contents of a learning pathway could help learners know the topic and get interested in it. Towards this end, we propose a hierarchical title generation approach to generate semantically relevant titles for the learning resources in a learning pathway and a title for the pathway itself. Our approach to Automatic Title Generation for a given text is based on pre-trained Transformer Language Model GPT-2. A pool of candidate titles are generated and an appropriate title is selected among them which is then refined or de-noised to get the final title. The model is trained on research paper abstracts from arXiv and evaluated on three different test sets. We show that it generates semantically and syntactically relevant titles as reflected in ROUGE, BLEU scores and human evaluations. We propose an optional abstractive Summarizer module based on pre-trained Transformer model T5 to shorten medium length documents. This module is also trained and evaluated on research papers from arXiv dataset. Finally, we show that the proposed model of hierarchical title generation for learning pathways has promising results.
Tocilizumab and Renal Artery Stent–Therapeutic Strategy for Takayasu Arteritis
Authors: Karunanithi Srividhya , Nallasivan Subramanian , Murugan Mariappan
Published: December 2021

Takayasu vasculitis (TAK) is a form of large vessel vasculitis clinically manifesting as pulseless disease or hypertension. It is more common in South East Asia and Japan, India, and Mexico [1]. It is increasingly being recognized due to increased awareness among medical fraternity and better imaging modalities. Undetected hypertension, pulselessness, and syncope are more common symptoms and presentation during pregnancy is unusual and can lead to bad obstetric outcomes. Recent evidences support the use of tocilizumab for inducing remission in Takayasu arteritis. We report this rare case of vasculitis presenting in pregnancy as malignant hypertension. A 20-year-old pregnant woman (45 days) presented with headache and nausea but no fever. She had a history of intermittent claudication of legs for the past 3 years but not evaluated. During examination, pulses were felt normally and blood pressure (BP) 180/110, no murmurs in cardiac auscultation, but she had abdominal bruit (renal vessels). Other systems were normal. Echocardiogram (ECHO) showed dilated ascending aorta. Doppler of renal vessels showed narrowing of renal arteries. Unfortunately, she had to undergo termination of pregnancy (high BP in spite of antihypertensives). Her computed tomography (CT) angiogram showed features of TAK with type 5 pattern–she had methylprednisolone infusion 500 mg daily for 3 days, followed by injection tocilizumab 400 mg monthly 3 doses. Once remission was achieved, she had recanalization by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of right renal artery. She is currently maintained on aspirin and telmisartan. Awareness of causes of high BP, inputs by radiologist, cardiologist, and rheumatologist and understanding by the patient and family helped to achieve good outcome albeit the miscarriage.
Contrasting transform and passive margin subsidence history and heat flow evolution: insights from 3D thermo-mechanical modelling
Authors: Balázs Attila , Gerya Taras , May Dave , Tari Gábor
Published: December 2021

Transform and passive margins developed during the continental rifting and opening of oceanic basins are fundamental elements of plate tectonics. It has been suggested that inherited structures, plate divergence velocities and surface processes exert a first-order control on the topographic and bathymetric evolution and thermal history of these margins and related sedimentary basins. Their complex spatial-temporal dynamics have remained controversial. Here, we conducted 3D magmatic-thermo-mechanical numerical experiments coupled with surface processes modelling to simulate the dynamics of continental rifting, continental transform fault zone formation as well as persistent oceanic transform faulting and zero-offset oceanic fracture zones development. Numerical modelling results allow to explain the first-order observations from passive and transform margins, such as diachronous rifting, heat flow rise and cooling in individual depocentres as well as contrasting basin tectonics of extensional and transtensional origin. In addition, the models reproduce the rise of both marginal ridges and transform marginal plateaus, and their interaction with erosion and sedimentation. Comparison of model results with observations from natural examples yields new insights into the tectono-sedimentary and thermal evolution of several key passive and transform continental margins worldwide.
A two-hit model of sepsis plus hyperoxia causes lung permeability and inflammation
Authors: Bastarache Julie A. , Smith Kyle , Jesse Jordan J. , Putz Nathan D. , Meegan Jamie E. , Bogart Avery M. , Schaaf Kaitlyn , Ghosh Subhajit , Shaver Ciara M. , Ware Lorraine B.
Published: December 2021

Mouse models of acute lung injury (ALI) have been instrumental for studies of the biological underpinnings of lung inflammation and permeability, but murine models of sepsis generate minimal lung injury. Our goal was to create a murine sepsis model of ALI that reflects the inflammation, lung edema, histological abnormalities, and physiological dysfunction that characterize ALI. Using a cecal slurry (CS) model of polymicrobial abdominal sepsis and exposure to hyperoxia (95%), we systematically varied the timing and dose of the CS injection, fluids and antibiotics, and dose of hyperoxia. We found that CS alone had a high mortality rate that was improved with the addition of antibiotics and fluids. Despite this, we did not see evidence of ALI as measured by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell count, total protein, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL-1) or by lung wet:dry weight ratio. Addition of hyperoxia [95% fraction of inspired oxygen ([Formula: see text])] to CS immediately after CS injection increased BAL cell counts, CXCL-1, and lung wet:dry weight ratio but was associated with 40% mortality. Splitting the hyperoxia treatment into two 12-h exposures (0–12 h and 24–36 h) after CS injection increased survival to 75% and caused significant lung injury compared with CS alone as measured by increased BAL total cell count (92,500 vs. 240,000, P = 0.0004), BAL protein (71 vs. 103 µg/mL, P = 0.0030), and lung wet:dry weight ratio (4.5 vs. 5.5, P = 0.0005), and compared with sham as measured by increased BAL CXCL-1 (20 vs. 2,372 pg/mL, P < 0.0001) and histological lung injury score (1.9 vs. 4.2, P = 0.0077). In addition, our final model showed evidence of lung epithelial [increased BAL and plasma receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)] and endothelial (increased Syndecan-1 and sulfated glycosaminoglycans) injury. In conclusion, we have developed a clinically relevant mouse model of sepsis-induced ALI using intraperitoneal injection of CS, antibiotics and fluids, and hyperoxia. This clinically relevant model can be used for future studies of sepsis-induced ALI.
Stress system dysfunction revealed by integrating reactivity of stress pathways to psychological stress in lean and overweight/obese men
Authors: Jayasinghe Sisitha Udara , Hall Sarah Janet , Torres Susan Jane , Turner Anne Isabella
Published: December 2021

Although the patterns of response within the sympathoadrenal medullary (SAM) system and hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis are interesting and important in their own accord, the overall response to acute psychological stress involves reactivity of both pathways. We tested the hypothesis that consideration of the integrated response of these pathways may reveal dysregulation of the stress systems, which is not evident when considering either system alone. Age-matched lean and overweight/obese men were subjected to a Trier Social Stress Test and reactivity of the SAM system (salivary α-amylase, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate) and the HPA axis (salivary cortisol) were measured. Relative reactivity of SAM system and HPA axis was calculated as the ratio between the measures from each pathway. Although analysis of reactivity of individual stress pathways showed no evidence of dysfunction in overweight/obese compared with lean men, analysis of HPA/SAM reactivity revealed significantly lower cortisol over systolic blood pressure (CoSBP) and cortisol over diastolic blood pressure (CoDBP) reactivity in overweight/obese compared with lean men. Other measures of HPA/SAM reactivity and all measures of SAM/HPA reactivity were unaltered in overweight/obese compared with lean men. These findings suggest that the cortisol response per unit of blood pressure response is blunted in men with elevated adiposity. Furthermore, these findings support a notion of a coordinated overall approach to activation of the stress pathways with the degree of activation in one pathway being related to the degree of activation in the other.
Study on Memory Function of Stroke Patients under Exercise Relearning Based on DWI Image Analysis Based on Optimized Registration Algorithm
Authors: Zhao Haihong , Li Bo , Zhang Xiaonian , Guo Xiaolin , Qian Lixia
Published: December 2021

Objective. This paper uses an optimized registration algorithm to analyze the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) scan parameters of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the memory function of stroke patients under exercise relearning (MRP). Methods. This study used a random case-control study. 65 patients with stroke and hemiplegia were randomly divided into a control group: conventional rehabilitation intervention (32 cases), and a treatment group: MRP (33 cases). Each patient uses 4 parameters for DWI examination and obtains 4 sets of images, group 1 is the control sequence, group 2 uses parallel acquisition technology, group 3 uses parallel acquisition technology and reduces the number of excitations, group 4 uses parallel acquisition technology to reduce repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE) and enlarge the field of view, and the scan time of each group is 177, 81, 23, and 18 s in sequence. At the time of enrollment and after 12 weeks of treatment, patients in each group were evaluated with Fugl-Meyer motor function score (FMA) and modified Pap index (MBI) for hand and wrist motor function and ADL. Results. After treatment, the FMA and MBI values of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the control group (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. By adopting a parallel acquisition technique and reducing the number of excitations (group 3) scanning scheme, not only the scanning time is significantly shortened, but also the image quality can meet the diagnostic requirements, which has great application value for AIS patients who need emergency treatment. MRP can obviously promote the hand and wrist motor function and daily living ability of stroke hemiplegic patients.
Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II: A Kenyan Case Series
Authors: Mungai L. N. Wainaina , Njeru C. M. , Nyamai L. A. , Maina M.
Published: December 2021

Hunter syndrome, or mucopolysaccharidosis type 2 (MPS2), is a lysosomal storage disorder associated with the involvement of multiple organs such as the central nervous system, hepatomegaly, musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiac, and hearing. This is due to the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in body tissues leading to organ failure. Since the laboratories in Kenya do not screen for metabolic diseases, there is the likelihood of assumption that these patients do not exist. These first cases were referred from the eastern part of Kenya where the majority of inhabitants are from the same ethnic community. It was noted that there was increased mortality among boys below the age of 20 years, and hence, the families sought for help in the national referral and teaching hospital. The case series is meant to show that these cases exist and the majority of the patients may be dying before the diagnosis is made. There are no data on MPS2 from Kenya, and the prevalence and incidence are unknown. In this retrospective study, we present a case series of 6 Kenyan boys with MPS2 from a national referral hospital. They were part of 17 patients who had had their blood analyzed for metabolic diseases. All of them were symptomatic with varying degrees of central nervous system involvement. They had undetectable levels of iduronate-2-sulfatase (I2S) enzyme, and three genetic mutations were detected in the IDS gene.
An Optimal Fourth-Order Finite Difference Scheme for the Helmholtz Equation Based on the Technique of Matched Interface Boundary
Authors: Cheng Dongsheng , Chen Jianjun , Long Guangqing
Published: December 2021

In this paper, a new optimal fourth-order 21-point finite difference scheme is proposed to solve the 2D Helmholtz equation numerically, with the technique of matched interface boundary (MIB) utilized to treat boundary problems. For the approximation of Laplacian, two sets of fourth-order difference schemes are derived firstly based on the Taylor formula, with a total of 21 grid points involved. Then, a weighted combination of the two schemes is employed in order to reduce the numerical dispersion, and the weights are determined by minimizing the dispersion. Similarly, for the discretization of the zeroth-order derivative term, a weighted average of all the 21 points is implemented to obtain the fourth-order accuracy. The new scheme is noncompact; hence, it encounters great difficulties in dealing with the boundary conditions, which is crucial to the order of convergence. To tackle this issue, the matched interface boundary (MIB) method is employed and developed, which is originally used to accommodate free edges in the discrete singular convolution analysis. Convergence analysis and dispersion analysis are performed. Numerical examples are given for various boundary conditions, which show that new scheme delivers a fourth order of accuracy and is efficient in reducing the numerical dispersion as well.
The Method Based on Series Solution for Identifying an Unknown Source Coefficient on the Temperature Field in the Quasiperiodic Media
Authors: Wang Bingxian , Bai Chuanzhi , Xu M. , Zhang L. P.
Published: December 2021

In this paper, we consider the reconstruction of heat field in one-dimensional quasiperiodic media with an unknown source from the interior measurement. The innovation of this paper is solving the inverse problem by means of two different homotopy iteration processes. The first kind of homotopy iteration process is not convergent. For the second kind of homotopy iteration process, a convergent result is proved. Based on the uniqueness of this inverse problem and convergence results of the second kind of homotopy iteration process with exact data, the results of two numerical examples show that the proposed method is efficient, and the error of the inversion solution

r

t

is given.
Toric Intraocular Lenses for the Management of Corneal Astigmatism at the Time of Cataract Surgery
Authors: McAlinden Colm , Janicek David
Published: December 2021

Aims/Background. To assess astigmatic outcomes with the use of toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) for patients with significant amounts of corneal astigmatism undergoing cataract surgery. Methods. This audit was conducted in a UK ophthalmology department and included 48 eyes of 42 patients. Surgery was performed during 2019 in patients with 2.50 diopters (D) or more corneal astigmatism. Anterior keratometry readings were used to determine the toric IOL power. Vector analysis using the Alpins method was used to assess changes in astigmatism pre to postoperatively. Results. There were 18 right and 26 left eyes included. In terms of gender, 61% of patients were female and 39% were male. The mean (±standard deviation (SD)) age was 70 (±11) years. The mean (±SD) axial length, K1, K2, and delta K was 23.55 (±1.4) mm, 42.71 (±1.39) D, 45.78 (±1.60) D, and 3.01 (±0.89) D, respectively. Postoperatively, the median spherical, cylinder, and spherical equivalent refraction was 0.00 D, −1.00 D, and 0.00 D, respectively. Postoperatively, 41% of the eyes had ≤0.50 D of spectacle astigmatism and 80% had ≤1.00 D. No patient required a secondary procedure to reposition the IOL from rotation. In vector analysis with the use of polar diagrams, there was a tendency for overcorrection of with-the-rule astigmatism and undercorrection of against-the-rule astigmatism. Conclusions. Significant reductions in astigmatism can be achieved with the use of toric IOLs in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Further improvements may be possible with surgeon-specific determination of their surgically induced astigmatism and flattening effect from the main corneal incision. Furthermore, the use of an optical biometer that directly measures the posterior corneal curvature and permits automatic toric IOL power determination with modern formulas avoiding the need for manual data entry may reduce the risk of human error and improve visual and refractive outcomes.
Optimization of Computer Communication Monitoring System for Wind Turbine Speed
Authors: Li Zuoshan
Published: December 2021

This article first studies the operating principles of wind turbines, focusing on the analysis of the structure and working principles of permanent magnet direct-drive wind turbines. According to the actual needs of the wind power system, the monitoring objects of the monitoring system are determined, and the overall monitoring plan for wind power generation is proposed to realize real-time analysis of the operating characteristics of the wind power system. At the same time, it pointed out the great significance of the wind power generation simulation experiment system and focused on the wind speed modeling. In terms of hardware research and analysis, relevant sensors, high-speed data acquisition cards, etc., were selected, and relevant signal conditioning circuits were designed, and a permanent magnet direct-drive wind power generation system simulation monitoring platform was constructed. In terms of software, LabVIEW was chosen as the design language of the monitoring system, and it pointed out the advantages of using LabVIEW in this monitoring system. Finally, the system uses the laboratory permanent magnet direct-drive wind turbine as the monitoring object. The practicality and accuracy of the system are verified through experiments such as permanent magnet motor power test, motor speed test, database system test, and remote monitoring test. The experimental results show that the monitoring system has a friendly interface and perfect functions and has important practicability and reference in the field of wind power monitoring.
Simultaneous Determination of Four Ingredients in Plantago Depressa by Single Marker
Authors: Xu Yang , Wang Yuejie , Bi Shengnan , Jia Yanxue , Bao Huiwei
Published: December 2021

Objective. To establish a quantitative analysis of multicomponents by single marker (QAMS) method for the simultaneous determination of 4 active components such as protocatechuic acid, catechin, quercetin, and luteolin in Plantago depressa. Method. 4 active components in Plantago depressa were studied. Quercetin was used as an internal reference to establish the relative correction factors among protocatechuic acid, catechin, and luteolin and calculate the contents of each component; the results were compared with those measured by the external standard method. Results. 4 components showed a good linear relationship in their respective concentration ranges (r > 0.9995). The relative correction factors (fs/k) of protocatechuic acid, catechin, and luteolin were 1.1992, 0.8613, and 1.6069, respectively. The method had good durability. The contents of protocatechuic acid, catechin, and luteolin calculated by QAMS were not significantly different from those measured by the external standard method. Conclusion. QAMS can be used to determine the content of 4 components in Plantago depressa at the same time, and the method is simple, accurate, and can be used for quality control.
Reliability Estimation of Inverse Lomax Distribution Using Extreme Ranked Set Sampling
Authors: Al-Omari Amer Ibrahim , Hassan Amal S. , Alotaibi Naif , Shrahili Mansour , Nagy Heba F.
Published: December 2021

In survival analysis, the two-parameter inverse Lomax distribution is an important lifetime distribution. In this study, the estimation of

R
=
P
 

Y
<
X

is investigated when the stress and strength random variables are independent inverse Lomax distribution. Using the maximum likelihood approach, we obtain the

R

estimator via simple random sample (SRS), ranked set sampling (RSS), and extreme ranked set sampling (ERSS) methods. Four different estimators are developed under the ERSS framework. Two estimators are obtained when both strength and stress populations have the same set size. The two other estimators are obtained when both strength and stress distributions have dissimilar set sizes. Through a simulation experiment, the suggested estimates are compared to the corresponding under SRS. Also, the reliability estimates via ERSS method are compared to those under RSS scheme. It is found that the reliability estimate based on RSS and ERSS schemes is more efficient than the equivalent using SRS based on the same number of measured units. The reliability estimates based on RSS scheme are more appropriate than the others in most situations. For small even set size, the reliability estimate via ERSS scheme is more efficient than those under RSS and SRS. However, in a few cases, reliability estimates via ERSS method are more accurate than using RSS and SRS schemes.
The Reward-Penalty Mechanism in a Closed-Loop Supply Chain with Asymmetric Information of the Third-Party Collector
Authors: Wang Wenbin , Lv Jia , An Ni , Guan Jie , Quan Shiyuan
Published: December 2021

This paper investigates the reward-penalty mechanism (RPM) implemented by the government in a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) with asymmetric information. The manufacturer produces and sells products to consumers, while the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is delegated to the third-party collector, the one who has private information about the collection effort level. An information screening contract for the manufacturer is put forward to obtain the private information from the third-party collector, which is composed of buy-back price and franchise fee. By utilizing principal-agent theory, two cases are mainly examined including the CLSC without the RPM and the CLSC with the RPM. The results demonstrate that (i) the information screening contract is effective in capturing the collector’s collection effort level, (ii) raising the buy-back price to motivate the third-party collector is confirmed to perform well on enhancing the collection quantity from consumers, (iii) H-type collector collects more WEEEs and earns more profits than L-type collector, and (iv) the RPM improves the collection quantity of the enterprise and reaps more environmental benefits. The numerical results verify the validity of the contract and the feasibility of the RPM.
Financial Management Early‐Warning Mechanism Construction and Decision Analysis Research Based on Wireless Sensor Network and Data Mining
Authors: Chang Zeyuan , Yang Heran
Published: December 2021

With the gradual and complete establishment of the current socialist legal market economy management system with Chinese characteristics and the continuous investment in deepening system reform and continuous improvement in the later period, the social financial industry and corporate financial management have gradually increased their risk awareness of corporate financial management. This paper deeply analyzes and studies the statistical methods of financial data‐related legal rule interactive mining and proposes a new improved statistical algorithm of financial‐related legal rules, which greatly improves the work efficiency of financial data interactive mining. At the same time, a multilevel analysis model based on the concept of corporate financial crisis risk assessment and a corporate financial crisis risk early‐warning analysis model for decision‐making risk evaluation are proposed. Finally, it can be determined how to choose more internationally representative corporate financial management risk analysis indicators, which have more objectivity and practical application significance than traditional analysis methods. Finally, it is concluded that the accuracy of this model is better than that of other models. The accuracy rate of financial crisis prediction reached 62.35%.
Fabrication and Experimental Analysis of Treated Snake Grass Fiber Reinforced with Polyester Composite
Authors: Jenish I. , Felix Sahayaraj A. , Appadurai M. , Fantin Irudaya Raj E. , Suresh P. , Raja T. , Salmen Saleh H. , Alfarraj Saleh , Manikandan Velu
Published: December 2021

The selection of fiber is predominant for natural fiber‐reinforced polymer composite materials, which should have easy extraction and good bonding with considerable strength. In this paper, some chemical treatments were done on the fiber material to increase interfacial bonding between the snake grass fiber (Sansevieria ehrenbergii) and polyester matrix, such as alkali treatment (NaOH), potassium permanganate treatment, sodium carbonate treatment, hydrogen peroxide treatment, and calcium carbonate treatment. The chopped snake grass fiber‐reinforced polymer composite material was prepared by keeping 25 wt.% of fiber and 30 mm fiber length reinforced with an unsaturated polyester resin that was cured with the help of the catalyst methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEPK). Cobalt naphthenate was used as an accelerator. Tribological properties were discussed for the highly potential sample with the help of a pin‐on‐disc wear tester, and the results were analysed by the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array. This paper exhibited the best mechanical and tribological properties among those chemical‐treated fibers used in fiber‐reinforced composite materials and untreated fibers used in fiber‐reinforced composite materials. CaCO3 treatment provided higher tensile strength (45 MPa), impact strength (3.35 J), and hardness (27 BHN). Finally, the mechanical and tribological characterization of the samples was done with the aid of SEM (scanning electron microscope).
Malathion-Induced Hematoxicity and Its Recovery Pattern in Barbonymus gonionotus
Authors: Mrong Cynthia E. , Islam Md. R. , Kole Kamrunnaher , Neepa Nusrat N. , Alam Md. J. , Haque Md. R. , Rahman Umme O. , Mostakim Golam M.
Published: December 2021

An experiment was conducted to assess malathion-induced hematological responses of Barbonymus gonionotus (silver barb) and its recovery patterns in malathion-free water. Fish (45 days old) were exposed to two sublethal concentrations, namely, 25% and 50% (i.e., 3.78 and 7.56 ppm) of LC50 (15.13 ppm) of malathion for 28 days, followed by a postexposure recovery period for the same time. The hematological parameters were examined after 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of exposure as well as after the postexposure recovery time. Except in the case of the control group (0% of malathion), the obtained results revealed that malathion exposure resulted in significantly (

p
<
0.05

) higher prevalence and severity of micronucleus and lower values of Hb, PCV, and RBC and significantly higher values of WBC in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The values of blood glucose, MCV, MCH, and MCHC showed mixed trends during the experiment. During the recovery period, all blood parameters (micronucleus, glucose, Hb, PCV, RBC, WBC, MCV, MCH, and MCHC) partially recovered, which means that the recovery period was not long enough for the organisms to recover from the previous exposure. The study thus confirms that hematology is a sensitive indicator for fish to detect toxicity caused by different chemicals. Changes in these parameters can provide useful information about environmental conditions and risk assessment of aquatic organisms.