bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF LOADS AND BIO-LUBRICANTS ON TRIBOLOGICAL STUDY OF ZIRCONIA AND ZIRCONIA TOUGHENED ALUMINA AGAINST Ti6Al4V FOR HIP PROSTHESIS
Authors: SHANKAR S. , NITHYAPRAKASH R. , NAVEEN KUMAR R. , ARAVINTHAN R. , PRAMANIK ALOKESH , KUMAR BASAK ANIMESH
Published: August 2021

Zirconia and zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) are widely used for biomedical applications. Owing to the superior mechanical and bio-compatible properties of ZTA, it is now gaining more importance over zirconia, as it has the profound strength of zirconia and alumina. This study examines the tribological behavior of Zirconia and ZTA balls sliding against a Ti6Al4V disc using the Ball-on-disc (BOD) Tribometer. The effect of loads and bio-lubricants influencing the tribological behavior is investigated for a sliding distance of 2[Formula: see text]km using BoD Tribometer. The friction and wear coefficients are examined under these loading and lubrication conditions. Five bio-lubricants considered for the tribological study of biomaterials include ringer’s solution, phosphate buffer saline (PBS), distilled water, NaCl 0.9% saline solution and sesame oil. The result showed that ZTA had a lower coefficient of friction (CoF) value of 0.34 for NaCl bio-lubricant. The ZTA and zirconia exhibited the least wear coefficient values under sesame oil lubrication. Overall, ZTA had better CoF under high loads for PBS, distilled water and sesame oil bio-lubricants. However, zirconia exhibited a better wear coefficient under all loads and lubrication conditions.
EFFECT OF HEAT INPUT AND POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT ON THE PHASE TRANSFORMATION TEMPERATURE OF TIG-WELDED NiTinol SHEETS
Authors: R MANOJ SAMSON , T DEEPAN BHARATHI KANNAN
Published: August 2021

NiTinol Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) are becoming one of the ideal choices for biomedical industries due to their unique properties such as Shape Memory Effect (SME), Super Elasticity (SE) and Biocompatibility. In the process of making complicated biomedical implants, welding processes play a vital role. In this work, an attempt was made to study the effect of heat input and Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) on the TIG-welded NiTinol SMA. TIG welding was carried out on 1-mm thick NiTinol sheets. With increase in heat input, there was a significant variation in Phase Transformation Temperature (PTT) of welded samples. The variation in PTT is attributed to the formation of intermetallic phases such as Ti2Ni, Ni3Ti and NiTiO3 and coarse grain formation. Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) analysis on the weld revealed that the average grain size of parent material was increased from 9.92851[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m to 48.292345[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m after the welding process. The PWHT was carried out on the best weld characteristic sample. PWHT did not produce significant effect on PTT. Austenite start and finish temperature slightly decreased after PWHT, whereas slight drift towards the positive side was noticed in martensite start and finish temperature.
On Crack Detection in a Laminated Glass/Epoxy Composite Beam under Free Vibration with Fuzzy Logic Aid
Authors: Das Priyadarshi , Muni Manoj Kumar , Sahu Shishir Kumar
Published: August 2021

This study focuses on developing and implementing Mamdani hybrid fuzzy logic inference system (FIS) for transverse crack detection and fault diagnosis in a woven fiber laminated glass/epoxy composite beam using different vibration modes of natural frequencies. The shifting of vibration is attributed to the implication of cracks. These vibration signatures are fuzzified through hybrid fuzzy sets (triangular, trapezoidal, Gaussian) and scaled to crack location and depth using the fuzzy rules and defuzzification process. The vibration signatures are recorded using ABAQUS finite element (FE) simulation software for a fixed beam and are fed as input parameters to the developed FIS for computing the desired outputs. The realization for crack depth and position is experimentally verified through a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analyzer. The experimental results with simulated data show that fuzzy logic application detects crack positions and depth accurately at different levels. It is concluded that the hybrid FIS bears a close resemblance to the experimental analysis and also stands out as an effective method for crack detection in LCB over other standalone methods. The current method can be used as a cost-effective non-destructive technique for health monitoring and fault diagnosis of composite beam structures in any practical field.
Country Efficiency Study Based on Science & Technology Indicators: DEA Approach
Authors: Carracedo Patricia , Puertas Rosa
Published: August 2021

This paper examines the relative efficiency of the innovation process in 75 countries worldwide during the period 2010–2018 using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Research and development (R&D) technical efficiency is examined using a model with R&D expenditure as an input and patents, trademark applications and scientific and technical journal papers as outputs. The results of this work confirm that there is no direct relationship between innovation efficiency and the resources are devoted to it. Furthermore, a lack of concern for technological progress was detected, focusing efforts on the best use of available technology and on changes of scale in innovation activities. For this reason, the governments of the countries should promote scientific and technological research which will make it possible to create and improve the current technologies and to have human resources that are highly trained and qualified for the working environment.
The Exploitation of Distance Distributions for Clustering
Authors: Thrun Michael C.
Published: August 2021

Although distance measures are used in many machine learning algorithms, the literature on the context-independent selection and evaluation of distance measures is limited in the sense that prior knowledge is used. In cluster analysis, current studies evaluate the choice of distance measure after applying unsupervised methods based on error probabilities, implicitly setting the goal of reproducing predefined partitions in data. Such studies use clusters of data that are often based on the context of the data as well as the custom goal of the specific study. Depending on the data context, different properties for distance distributions are judged to be relevant for appropriate distance selection. However, if cluster analysis is based on the task of finding similar partitions of data, then the intrapartition distances should be smaller than the interpartition distances. By systematically investigating this specification using distribution analysis through the mirrored-density (MD plot), it is shown that multimodal distance distributions are preferable in cluster analysis. As a consequence, it is advantageous to model distance distributions with Gaussian mixtures prior to the evaluation phase of unsupervised methods. Experiments are performed on several artificial datasets and natural datasets for the task of clustering.
Near-infrared spectroscopy as a promising tool in stroke: Current applications and future perspectives
Authors: Sun Jinyan , Pang Richong , Chen Sisi , Chen Hucheng , Xie Yuanrong , Chen Dandan , Wu Kai , Liang Jianbin , Yan Kecheng , Hao Zhifeng
Published: August 2021

Stroke is caused by an acute focal disruption of the vasculature in the central nervous system. Neurological-related functional deficits are the most devastating consequences for stroke survivors. Neural signals from stroke patients can reflect the functional statuses of patients and provide insights into the neuronal recovery mechanism for functioning, which could be used as the basis for designing optimal treatment strategies. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a low-cost, noninvasive, easily operated neuroimage method and it is compatible with various rehabilitative programs. These advantages make NIRS an excellent candidate in research for stroke recovery. Here, we focused on the brain functions and recovery for stroke patients at stable status, conducted a systematic literature review about NIRS applications in stroke since 2000 and identified a total of 72 references through ScienceDirect and PubMed database retrieval. The NIRS studies in stroke include resting-state function and its recovery, motor function and its recovery, motor and cognition interference, cognitive function and its recovery, language function and its recovery, emotional function and its recovery and other applications. Based on the results of the quality assessment, we identified some study gaps from the previous research and provided suggestions for some methodological improvement in the future. The trend of NIRS gives a boost to its application in stroke, and the potential research directions for NIRS in stroke are prospected, including multi-center clinical research, treatment efficacy prediction research and brain–muscle coupling research. Finally, limitations of NIRS are discussed.
Flooded Social Connections
Authors: Ratnadiwakara Dimuthu
Published: August 2021

Does salient information on social media influence individuals’ economic decisions and beliefs? Using aggregated data from Facebook and a difference-in-differences strategy, I show that individuals who are socially connected to someone affected by Hurricane Harvey are more likely to purchase flood insurance policies after the event. This effect is stronger in areas at higher risk of flooding. Being socially connected to someone affected by Hurricane Harvey also influences individuals’ perceptions of global warming.
Digitalization and 3D Documentation Techniques Applied to Two Pieces of Visigothic Sculptural Heritage in Merida Through Structured Light Scanning
Authors: García-Molina Diego F. , López-Lago Samuel , Hidalgo-Fernandez Rafael E. , Triviño-Tarradas Paula
Published: August 2021

Technological advancements have a great impact on the dissemination and understanding of the cultural heritage reality due to innovative techniques. These innovations are based on high-precision and high-resolution technologies that allow for the geometric documentation of any object within the fields of history and the arts. Through these techniques, new proposals may be studied and objects can be placed in any historical context. Three-dimensional (3D) digitization allows one to obtain a digital 3D model, which can be handled virtually and recreated at any historical period, enabling the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage. Society currently demands new visualization techniques that allow interacting with architectural and artistic heritage, which have been applied in numerous virtual reconstructions of historical sites or singular archaeological pieces.

This project allowed us to geometrically document a reused piece with two surfaces (shield and columns) and a plaque of the city of Merida using a structured light scanner from a theoretical-practical perspective. The 3D virtual reconstruction of the pieces was accomplished within this study. The generation of QR codes enabled the interactive display of the heritage pieces. Likewise, a proposal was made to reuse the aforementioned pieces through virtual archaeology. The initial hypothesis is based on the possible existence of a Visigothic niche as an original form. This research reports significant advances in the conservation and exploitation of cultural heritage.
Single Image Façade Segmentation and Computational Rephotography of House Images Using Deep Learning
Authors: Ali Dilawar , Verstockt Steven , Van De Weghe Nico
Published: August 2021

Rephotography is the process of recapturing the photograph of a location from the same perspective in which it was captured earlier. A rephotographed image is the best presentation to visualize and study the social changes of a location over time. Traditionally, only expert artists and photographers are capable of generating the rephotograph of any specific location. Manual editing or human eye judgment that is considered for generating rephotographs normally requires a lot of precision, effort and is not always accurate. In the era of computer science and deep learning, computer vision techniques make it easier and faster to perform precise operations to an image. Until now many research methodologies have been proposed for rephotography but none of them is fully automatic. Some of these techniques require manual input by the user or need multiple images of the same location with 3D point cloud data while others are only suggestions to the user to perform rephotography. In historical records/archives most of the time we can find only one 2D image of a certain location. Computational rephotography is a challenge in the case of using only one image of a location captured at different timestamps because it is difficult to find the accurate perspective of a single 2D historical image. Moreover, in the case of building rephotography, it is required to maintain the alignments and regular shape. The features of a building may change over time and in most of the cases, it is not possible to use a features detection algorithm to detect the key features. In this research paper, we propose a methodology to rephotograph house images by combining deep learning and traditional computer vision techniques. The purpose of this research is to rephotograph an image of the past based on a single image. This research will be helpful not only for computer scientists but also for history and cultural heritage research scholars to study the social changes of a location during a specific time period, and it will allow users to go back in time to see how a specific place looked in the past. We have achieved good, fully automatic rephotographed results based on façade segmentation using only a single image.
MovEcho
Authors: Bressolette Benjamin , Denjean Sébastien , Roussarie Vincent , Aramaki Mitsuko , Ystad Sølvi , Kronland-Martinet Richard
Published: August 2021

Most recent vehicles are equipped with touchscreens, which replace arrays of buttons that control secondary driving functions, such as temperature level, strength of ventilation, GPS, or choice of radio stations. While driving, manipulating such interfaces can be problematic in terms of safety, because they require the drivers’ sight. In this article, we develop an innovative interface, MovEcho, which is piloted with gestures and associated with sounds that are used as informational feedback. We compare this interface to a touchscreen in a perceptual experiment that took place in a driving simulator. The results show that MovEcho allows for a better visual task completion related to traffic and is preferred by the participants. These promising results in a simulator condition have to be confirmed in future studies, in a real vehicle with a comparable expertise for both interfaces.
CemoMemo
Authors: May Michael J. , Kantor Efrat , Zror Nissim
Published: August 2021

Digitizing cemeteries and gravestones aids cultural preservation, genealogical search, dark tourism, and historical analysis. CemoMemo, an app and associated website, enables bottom-up crowd-sourced digitization of cemeteries, categorizing and indexing of gravestone data and metadata, and offering powerful full-text and numerical search. To date, CemoMemo has nearly 5,000 graves from over 130 cemeteries in 10 countries with the majority being Jewish graves in Israel and the USA. We detail CemoMemo's deployment and component models, technical attributes, and user models. CemoMemo went through two design iterations and architectures. We detail its initial architecture and the reasons that led to the change in architecture. To show its utility, we use CemoMemo's data for a historical analysis of two Jewish cemeteries from a similar period, eliciting cultural and ethnological difference between them. We present lessons learned from developing and operating CemoMemo for over 1 year and point to future directions of development.
When Scents Help Me Remember My Password
Authors: Alkasasbeh Anas Ali , Spyridonis Fotios , Ghinea Gheorghita
Published: August 2021

Current authentication processes overwhelmingly rely on audiovisual data, comprising images, text or audio. However, the use of olfactory data (scents) has remained unexploited in the authentication process, notwithstanding their verified potential to act as cues for information recall. Accordingly, in this paper, a new authentication process is proposed in which olfactory media are used as cues in the login phase. To this end,

PassSmell

, a proof of concept authentication application, is developed in which words and olfactory media act as passwords and olfactory passwords, respectively. In order to evaluate the potential of PassSmell, two different versions were developed, namely one which was olfactory-enhanced and another which did not employ olfactory media. Forty-two participants were invited to take part in the experiment, evenly split into a control and experimental group. For assessment purposes, we recorded the time taken to logon as well as the number of failed/successful login attempts; we also asked users to complete a
Quality of Experience (QoE)
questionnaire. In terms of time taken, a significant difference was found between the experimental and the control groups, as determined by an independent sample t-test. Similar results were found with respect to average scores and the number of successful attempts. Regarding user QoE, having olfactory media with words influenced the users positively, emphasizing the potential of using this kind of authentication application in the future.
SwissCovid in the Perspective of Its Goals
Authors: Vaudenay Serge , Vuagnoux Martin
Published: August 2021

SwissCovid is the Swiss digital contact tracing app, which was deployed to help fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. After a year of activity, it is high time to evaluate how effective it has been in its mission. At the highest peak, about 22% of the Swiss population was actively using SwissCovid. The activity of SwissCovid follows the curve on the number of COVID-19 cases. However, performances are rather poor. About 1% of the cases may have been discovered by SwissCovid and much less than 2% of SwissCovid alerts may have been useful, while SwissCovid generates 5% of the quarantines. The measure of the proximity of each encounter and its duration are also imprecise. It further comes with security and privacy issues: adversaries can inject false alerts for SwissCovid users and users can be tracked. On top of that, SwissCovid contributes to strengthen the monopoly of Apple and Google and to make users and their data captive of these giants. It also digs the digital divide. Contrarily to the original plan, the implementation is not open source and the law was twisted to fit the constraints by Apple and Google. Therefore, SwissCovid did not meet its goals.
Challenges in designing a brain-machine search interface
Authors: Liu Yiqun , Mao Jiaxin , Xie Xiaohui , Zhang Min , Ma Shaoping
Published: August 2021

While search engines have reshaped how human beings learn and think, the interaction paradigm of search has remained relatively stable for decades. With the development of neural science and biomedical engineering, it is possible to build a direct communication pathway between a computing device and the human brain via Brain-machine Interfaces (BMIs), which may revolutionize the search paradigm in a predictable future. Therefore, in this paper, we extensively discuss the possibility, benefits, and potential challenges in using BMI as a new interface for search, and call for more research efforts in this promising direction.
Demographic Consequences of Phenological Shifts in Response to Climate Change
Authors: Iler Amy M. , CaraDonna Paul J. , Forrest Jessica R.K. , Post Eric
Published: August 2021

When a phenological shift affects a demographic vital rate such as survival or reproduction, the altered vital rate may or may not have population-level consequences. We review the evidence that climate change affects populations by shifting species’ phenologies, emphasizing the importance of demographic life-history theory. We find many examples of phenological shifts having both positive and negative consequences for vital rates. Yet, few studies link phenological shifts to changes in vital rates known to drive population dynamics, especially in plants. When this link is made, results are largely consistent with life-history theory: Phenological shifts have population-level consequences when they affect survival in longer-lived organisms and reproduction in shorter-lived organisms. However, there are just as many cases in which demographic mechanisms buffer population growth from phenologically induced changes in vital rates. We provide recommendations for future research aiming to understand the complex relationships among climate, phenology, and demography, which will help to elucidate the extent to which phenological shifts actually alter population persistence.
The Environmental and Resource Dimensions of Automated Transport: A Nexus for Enabling Vehicle Automation to Support Sustainable Urban Mobility
Authors: Nikitas Alexandros , Thomopoulos Nikolas , Milakis Dimitris
Published: August 2021

Automation carries paradigm-shifting potential for urban transport and has critical sustainability dimensions for the future of our cities. This article examines the diverse environmental and energy-related dimensions of automated mobility at the city level by reviewing an emerging and increasingly diversified volume of literature for road, rail, water, and air passenger transport. The multimodal nature of this investigation provides the opportunity for a novel contribution that adds value to the literature in four distinctive ways. It reviews from a sustainability angle the state of the art underpinning the transition to a paradigm of automated mobility, identifies current knowledge gaps highlighting the scarcity of non-technical research outside the autonomous car's realm, articulates future directions for research and policy development, and proposes a conceptual model that contextualizes the automation-connectivity-electrification-sharing-multimodality nexus as the only way forward for vehicle automation to reach its pro-environmental and resource-saving potential.
Regulatory Themes and Variations by the Stress-Signaling Nucleotide Alarmones (p)ppGpp in Bacteria
Authors: Anderson Brent W. , Fung Danny K. , Wang Jue D.
Published: August 2021

Bacterial stress-signaling alarmones are important components of a protective network against diverse stresses such as nutrient starvation and antibiotic assault. pppGpp and ppGpp, collectively (p)ppGpp, have well-documented regulatory roles in gene expression and protein translation. Recent work has highlighted another key function of (p)ppGpp: inducing rapid and coordinated changes in cellular metabolism by regulating enzymatic activities, especially those involved in purine nucleotide synthesis. Failure of metabolic regulation by (p)ppGpp results in the loss of coordination between metabolic and macromolecular processes, leading to cellular toxicity. In this review, we document how (p)ppGpp and newly characterized nucleotides pGpp and (p)ppApp directly regulate these enzymatic targets for metabolic remodeling. We examine targets’ common determinants for alarmone interaction as well as their evolutionary diversification. We highlight classical and emerging themes in nucleotide signaling, including oligomerization and allostery along with metabolic interconversion and crosstalk, illustrating how they allow optimized bacterial adaptation to their environmental niches.
The tracrRNA in CRISPR Biology and Technologies
Authors: Liao Chunyu , Beisel Chase L.
Published: August 2021

CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems in bacteria and archaea utilize short CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) to guide sequence-specific recognition and clearance of foreign genetic material. Multiple crRNAs are stored together in a compact format called a CRISPR array that is transcribed and processed into the individual crRNAs. While the exact processing mechanisms vary widely, some CRISPR-Cas systems, including those encoding the Cas9 nuclease, rely on a trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA). The tracrRNA was discovered in 2011 and was quickly co-opted to create single-guide RNAs as core components of CRISPR-Cas9 technologies. Since then, further studies have uncovered processes extending beyond the traditional role of tracrRNA in crRNA biogenesis, revealed Cas nucleases besides Cas9 that are dependent on tracrRNAs, and established new applications based on tracrRNA engineering. In this review, we describe the biology of the tracrRNA and how its ongoing characterization has garnered new insights into prokaryotic immune defense and enabled key technological advances.
The Functional and Ecological Significance of Deep Diving by Large Marine Predators
Authors: Braun Camrin D. , Arostegui Martin C. , Thorrold Simon R. , Papastamatiou Yannis P. , Gaube Peter , Fontes Jorge , Afonso Pedro
Published: August 2021

Many large marine predators make excursions from surface waters to the deep ocean below 200 m. Moreover, the ability to access meso- and bathypelagic habitats has evolved independently across marine mammals, reptiles, birds, teleost fishes, and elasmobranchs. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests a number of plausible functional hypotheses for deep-diving behavior. Developing ways to test among these hypotheses will, however, require new ways to quantify animal behavior and biophysical oceanographic processes at coherent spatiotemporal scales. Current knowledge gaps include quantifying ecological links between surface waters and mesopelagic habitats and the value of ecosystem services provided by biomass in the ocean twilight zone. Growing pressure for ocean twilight zone fisheries creates an urgent need to understand the importance of the deep pelagic ocean to large marine predators.
MCU overexpression evokes disparate dose-dependent effects on mito-ROS and spontaneous Ca2+ release in hypertrophic rat cardiomyocytes
Authors: Hamilton Shanna , Terentyeva Radmila , Perger Fruzsina , Hernández Orengo Benjamín , Martin Benjamin , Gorr Matthew W. , Belevych Andriy E. , Clements Richard T. , Györke Sandor , Terentyev Dmitry
Published: August 2021

Defective intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and aberrant mitochondrial function are common features in cardiac disease. Here, we directly compared potential benefits of mito-ROS scavenging and restoration of mito-Ca2+ uptake by overexpressing MCU in ventricular myocytes from hypertrophic rat hearts. Experiments using novel mito-ROS and Ca2+ biosensors demonstrated that mito-ROS scavenging rescued both cytosolic and mito-Ca2+ homeostasis, whereas moderate and high MCU overexpression demonstrated disparate effects on mito-ROS emission, with only a moderate increase in MCU being beneficial.
Cortical bone stem cells modify cardiac inflammation after myocardial infarction by inducing a novel macrophage phenotype
Authors: Hobby Alexander R. H. , Berretta Remus M. , Eaton Deborah M. , Kubo Hajime , Feldsott Eric , Yang Yijun , Headrick Alaina L. , Koch Keith A. , Rubino Marcello , Kurian Justin , Khan Mohsin , Tan Yinfei , Mohsin Sadia , Gallucci Stefania , McKinsey Timothy A. , Houser Steven R.
Published: August 2021

Cortical bone stem cell (CBSC) therapy after myocardial infarction alters the inflammatory response to cardiac injury. We found that cortical bone stem cell therapy induces a unique macrophage phenotype in vitro and can modulate macrophage/fibroblast cross talk.
Inhalation of particulate matter containing free radicals leads to decreased vascular responsiveness associated with an altered pulmonary function
Authors: Harmon Ashlyn C. , Noël Alexandra , Subramanian Balamurugan , Perveen Zakia , Jennings Merilyn H. , Chen Yi-Fan , Penn Arthur L. , Legendre Kelsey , Paulsen Daniel B. , Varner Kurt J. , Dugas Tammy R.
Published: August 2021

Particulate matter (PM) resulting from the combustion of organic matter is known to contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Despite hypotheses that cardiovascular dysfunction occurring after PM exposures is secondary to lung or systemic inflammation, these studies investigating exposures to PM-containing environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) demonstrate that cardiovascular dysfunction precedes pulmonary inflammation. The cardiopulmonary health consequences of EPFRs have yet to be thoroughly evaluated, especially in healthy, adult mice. Our data suggest the vasculature as a direct target of PM exposure, and our studies aimed to elucidate the mechanisms contributing to EPFR-induced vascular dysfunction.
Design and Reconstruction of Visual Art Based on Virtual Reality
Authors: Yun Bai
Published: August 2021

Because traditional methods generally lack the image preprocessing link, the effect of visual image detail processing is not good. In order to enhance the image visual effect, a visual art design method based on virtual reality is proposed. Wavelet transform method is used to denoise the visual image and the noise signal in the image is removed; a binary model of fuzzy space vision fusion is established, the space of the visual image is planned, and the spatial distribution information of the visual image is obtained. According to the principle of light and shadow phenomenon in visual image rendering, the Extend Shadow map algorithm is used to render the visual image. Virtual reality technology was used to reconstruct the preprocessed visual image, and the ant colony algorithm was used to optimize the visual image to realize the visual image design. The results show that the peak signal-to-noise ratio of the visual image processed by the proposed method is high, and the image detail processing effect is better.
The Local and Parallel Finite Element Scheme for Electric Structure Eigenvalue Problems
Authors: Lin Fubiao , Cao Junying , Liu Zhixin
Published: August 2021

In this paper, an efficient multiscale finite element method via local defect-correction technique is developed. This method is used to solve the Schrödinger eigenvalue problem with three-dimensional domain. First, this paper considers a three-dimensional bounded spherical region, which is the truncation of a three-dimensional unbounded region. Using polar coordinate transformation, we successfully transform the three-dimensional problem into a series of one-dimensional eigenvalue problems. These one-dimensional eigenvalue problems also bring singularity. Second, using local refinement technique, we establish a new multiscale finite element discretization method. The scheme can correct the defects repeatedly on the local refinement grid, which can solve the singularity problem efficiently. Finally, the error estimates of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are also proved. Numerical examples show that our numerical method can significantly improve the accuracy of eigenvalues.
Inflation Prediction Method Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Yang Cheng , Guo Shuhua
Published: August 2021

Forward‐looking forecasting of the inflation rate could help the central bank and other government departments to better use monetary policy to stabilize prices and prevent the impact of inflation on market entities, especially for low‐ and middle‐income groups. It can also help financial institutions and investors better make investment decisions. In this sense, the forecast of inflation rate is of great significance. The existing literature mainly uses linear models such as autoregressive (AR) and vector autoregressive (VAR) models to predict the inflation rate. The nonlinear relationship between variables and the mining of historical data information are relatively lacking. Therefore, the prediction strategies and accuracy of the existing literature need to be improved. The predictive model designed in deep learning can fully mine the nonlinear relationship between variables and process complex long‐term time series dynamic information, thereby making up for the deficiencies of existing research. Therefore, this paper employs the recurrent neural networks with gated recurrent unit (GRU‐RNN) model to train and analyze the Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicators to obtain inflation‐related prediction results. The experimental results on historical data show that the GRU‐RNN model has good performance in predicting China’s inflation rate. In comparison, the performance of the proposed method is significantly better than some traditional models, showing its superior effectiveness.
[Retracted] Development of Smart Sensing Technology Approaches in Structural Health Monitoring of Bridge Structures
Authors: Sivasuriyan Arvindan , Vijayan D. S. , LeemaRose A. , Revathy J. , Gayathri Monicka S. , Adithya U. R. , Jebasingh Daniel J.
Published: August 2021

In recent years, immense development in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of bridges helps address the life span and reliability of bridge structure at contrasting phases of their service life. This article provides a detailed understanding of bridge monitoring, and it focuses on sensors utilized and all kinds of damage detection (strain, displacement, acceleration, and temperature) according to bridge nature (scour, suspender failure, disconnection of bolt and cables, etc.) and environmental degradation under static and dynamic loading. This paper presents information about various methods, approaches, case studies, advanced technologies, real‐time experiments, stimulated models, data acquisition, and predictive analysis. Future scope and research also discussed the implementation of SHM in bridges. The main aim of this research is to assist researchers in better understanding the monitoring mechanism in bridges.
Comparing the Therapeutic Potential of Stem Cells and their Secretory Products in Regenerative Medicine
Authors: Foo Jhi Biau , Looi Qi Hao , Chong Pan Pan , Hassan Nur Hidayah , Yeo Genieve Ee Chia , Ng Chiew Yong , Koh Benson , How Chee Wun , Lee Sau Har , Law Jia Xian
Published: August 2021

Cell therapy involves the transplantation of human cells to replace or repair the damaged tissues and modulate the mechanisms underlying disease initiation and progression in the body. Nowadays, many different types of cell-based therapy are developed and used to treat a variety of diseases. In the past decade, cell-free therapy has emerged as a novel approach in regenerative medicine after the discovery that the transplanted cells exerted their therapeutic effect mainly through the secretion of paracrine factors. More and more evidence showed that stem cell-derived secretome, i.e., growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular vesicles, can repair the injured tissues as effectively as the cells. This finding has spurred a new idea to employ secretome in regenerative medicine. Despite that, will cell-free therapy slowly replace cell therapy in the future? Or are these two modes of treatment still needed to address different diseases and conditions? This review provides an indepth discussion about the values of stem cells and secretome in regenerative medicine. In addition, the safety, efficacy, advantages, and disadvantages of using these two modes of treatment in regenerative medicine are also critically reviewed.
A Study on the Application of Interactive English‐Teaching Mode under Complex Data Analysis
Authors: Xu Dongyang , Tsai Sang-Bing
Published: August 2021

This research takes vocabulary learning in college English courses as an entry point and investigates the interrelationship between college students and electronic media, the presentation of interactive English‐teaching content in college English, and the effect of different English‐teaching modes on the effect of vocabulary learning through empirical methods in the form of network multimedia. This study provides ideas for an in‐depth understanding of the incongruities that exist between interactive English teaching and environment, teacher and environment, and students and environment in the network multimedia environment and also brings thoughts on how to adapt interactive English teaching in college English to the development of modern information technology on the concept of interactive English teaching, interactive English‐teaching methods, and interactive English‐teaching modes. The concepts related to the adaptation of interactive English teaching based on multimedia, the compilation of the scale of adaptation of interactive English teaching based on multimedia and its influencing factors, and the construction of the model of influencing factors of adaptation of interactive English teaching based on multimedia, to a certain extent, enrich the theoretical system of learning adaptation. The design of the intervention model of adaptation of interactive English teaching based on multimedia broadens the intervention theory of learning adaptation; the study is also aimed at developing a multimedia‐based interactive English‐teaching adaptation intervention model and broadening the theory and method of learning adaptation.
A Controlled Study of Continuous Lumbar Drainage of Fluid and Lumbar Puncture Drainage for Aneurysmal SAH after Intracranial Aneurysm Clipping
Authors: Duan Fei , Wang Guofei , Ma Xiaohu , Zhao Yue , Xu Xuanle , Dong Fada
Published: August 2021

Objective. To analyze the different effects of Continuous Lumbar Drainage of fluid and lumbar puncture drainage for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) after intracranial aneurysm clipping. Method. Seventy-five patients with aneurysmal SAH who underwent aneurysm clipping were retrospectively analyzed and were divided into two groups according to the different postoperative drainage methods. The lumbar spine group received lumbar puncture drainage, and the lumbar cistern group received lumbar pool continuous drainage to compare the efficacy. Result. The time to normalize intracranial pressure and headache relief after drainage treatment in the lumbar cistern group was shorter than that in the lumbar spine group. The GOS score was higher than that in the lumbar spine group, and the cerebral artery flow velocity and NIHSS score were significantly lower than those in the lumbar spine group (

P
<
0.05

). The total effective rate of drainage treatment was 76.32% in the lumbar cistern group, which was higher than that in the lumbar spine group (54.05%) (

P
<
0.05

). The total complication rate was 18.42% in the lumbar cistern group, which was lower than that in the lumbar spine group (40.54%) (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Continuous Lumbar Drainage of fluid after intracranial aneurysm clipping for aneurysmal SAH can control symptoms more rapidly, reduce neurological deficits, and improve prognosis than lumbar puncture. Also, the drainage is safer and more widely used.
Optimal Diagnosis of COVID‐19 Based on Convolutional Neural Network and Red Fox Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Khorami Ehsan , Mahdi Babaei Fatemeh , Azadeh Aidin
Published: August 2021

SARS‐CoV‐2 is a specific type of Coronavirus that was firstly reported in China in December 2019 and is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). In March 2020, this disease spread to different parts of the world causing a global pandemic. Although this disease is still increasing exponentially day by day, early diagnosis of this disease is very important to reduce the death rate and to reduce the prevalence of this pandemic. Since there are sometimes human errors by physicians in the diagnosis of this disease, using computer‐aided diagnostic systems can be helpful to get more accurate results. In this paper, chest X‐ray images have been examined using a new pipeline machine vision‐based system to provide more accurate results. In the proposed method, after preprocessing the input X‐ray images, the region of interest has been segmented. Then, a combined gray‐level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM) and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) features have been extracted from the processed images. Finally, an improved version of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on the Red Fox Optimization algorithm is employed for the classification of the images based on the features. The proposed method is validated by performing to three datasets and its results are compared with some state‐of‐the‐art methods. The final results show that the suggested method has proper efficiency toward the others for the diagnosis of COVID‐19.
P2X7 Receptor Antagonist Attenuates Retinal Inflammation and Neovascularization Induced by Oxidized Low‐Density Lipoprotein
Authors: Yang Mingzhu , Qiu Ruiqi , Wang Weiping , Liu Jingyang , Jin Xiuxiu , Li Ya , Li Lei , Lei Bo
Published: August 2021

Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common and severe blinding disease among people worldwide. Retinal inflammation and neovascularization are two fundamental pathological processes in AMD. Recent studies showed that P2X7 receptor was closely involved in the inflammatory response. Here, we aim to investigate whether A740003, a P2X7 receptor antagonist, could prevent retinal inflammation and neovascularization induced by oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL) and explore the underlying mechanisms. ARPE‐19 cells and C57BL/6 mice were treated with ox‐LDL and A740003 successively for in vitro and in vivo studies. In this research, we found that A740003 suppressed reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inhibited the activation of Nod‐like receptor pyrin‐domain protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) pathway. A740003 also inhibited the generation of angiogenic factors in ARPE‐19 cells and angiogenesis in mice. The inflammatory cytokines and phosphorylation of inhibitor of nuclear factor‐κB alpha (IKBα) were repressed by A740003. Besides, ERG assessment showed that retinal functions were remarkably preserved in A740003‐treated mice. In summary, our results revealed that the P2X7 receptor antagonist reduced retinal inflammation and neovascularization and protected retinal function. The protective effects were associated with regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome and the NF‐κB pathway, as well as inhibition of angiogenic factors.
p300/Sp1-Mediated High Expression of p16 Promotes Endothelial Progenitor Cell Senescence Leading to the Occurrence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: He Zhihui , Peng Huaihuai , Gao Min , Liang Guibin , Zeng Menghao , Zhang Xuefeng
Published: August 2021

Objective. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic disease and develops rapidly into a grave public health problem worldwide. However, what exactly causes the occurrence of COPD remains largely unclear. Here, we are trying to explore whether the high expression of p16 mediated by p300/Sp1 can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through promoting the senescence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Methods. Peripheral blood EPCs were isolated from nonsmoking non-COPD, smoking non-COPD, and smoking COPD patients. The expressions of p16, p300, and senescence-related genes were detected by RT-PCR and Western Blot. Then, we knocked down or overexpressed Sp1 and p300 and used the ChIP assay to detect the histone H4 acetylation level in the promoter region of p16, CCK8 to detect cell proliferation, flow cytometry to detect the cell cycle, and β-galactosidase staining to count the proportion of senescent cells. Results. The high expression of p16 was found in peripheral blood EPCs of COPD patients; the cigarette smoke extract (CSE) led to the increase of p16. The high expression of p16 in EPCs promoted cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The CSE-mediated high expression of p16 promoted cell senescence. The expression of p300 was increased in peripheral blood EPCs of COPD patients. Moreover, p300/Sp1 enhanced the histone H4 acetylation level in the promoter region of p16, thereby mediating the senescence of EPCs. And knockdown of p300/Sp1 could rescue CSE-mediated cell senescence. Conclusion. p300/Sp1 enhanced the histone H4 acetylation level in the p16 promoter region to mediate the senescence of EPCs.
Prevalence of Intestinal Parasite Infections and Their Associated Factors among Food Handlers Working in Selected Catering Establishments from Bule Hora, Ethiopia
Authors: Hajare Sunil Tulshiram , Gobena Robe Kuti , Chauhan Nitin Mahendra , Eriso Feleke
Published: August 2021

Intestinal parasites are responsible for one of the major health problems like food contamination with socioeconomic effects in the world with a prevalence rate of 30‐60%, in developing countries that lie within tropical and subtropical areas. They pose a reasonable public health burden, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries, including Ethiopia. Globally, due to intestinal parasitic infections, around 3.5 billion people are affected and more than 200,000 deaths are reported annually. Around 50000 deaths yearly are caused by intestinal parasites in Ethiopia. As such, intestinal parasites perceived global and local burdens to various countries. The risk of food contamination depends largely on the health status of the food handlers, their hygiene, knowledge, and practice of food hygiene. Food handlers with poor personal hygiene and sanitation conditions are the major potential sources of intestinal helminthes and protozoa worldwide. The proposed study was aimed at evaluating prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and their associated factors among food handlers working in selected catering establishments. A cross‐sectional study was conducted in Bule Hora Town from March to April 2020. A total of 136 catering establishments were selected using a systematic sampling technique. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20. The prevalence of intestinal parasites in this study was 46.3%. Entamoeba histolytica was the most predominant parasite (33.3%, i.e., 21/63) while Giardia lamblia was the least (11.1%, i.e., 7/63). Consumption of vended or borehole water and hygienic practices such as hand washing before eating, after using toilet, before cooking and trimming of finger nail and wearing proper working clothes and shoes were statistically significant with intestinal parasitic infection (P < 0.05). Generally, the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in this study was high and contributed by low socioeconomic status and poor environmental and personal hygiene. Measures including education on personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, drinking water supply, regular medical checkups, and treatment should be taken into account to reduce the prevalence of intestinal parasites.
A Grey Seasonal Index Model for Forecasting Groundwater Depth of Ningxia Plain
Authors: Yin Ziqi , Zhang Kai
Published: August 2021

Forecasting the depth of groundwater in arid and semiarid areas is a great challenge because these areas are complex hydrogeological environments and the observational data are limited. To deal with this problem, the grey seasonal index model is proposed. The seasonal characteristics of time series were represented by indicators, and the grey model with fractional-order accumulation was employed to fit and forecast different periodic indicators and long-term trends, respectively. Then, the prediction results of the two were combined together to obtain the prediction results. To verify the model performance, the proposed model is applied to groundwater prediction in Yinchuan Plain. The results show that the fitting error of the proposed model is 2.08%, while for comparison, the fitting error of the grey model of data grouping and Holt–Winters model is 3.94% and 5%, respectively. In the same way, it is concluded that the fitting error of groundwater in Weining Plain by the proposed model is 2.26%. On the whole, the groundwater depth in Ningxia Plain including Yinchuan Plain and Weining Plain will increase further.