bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vision Transformer Prediction of Delirium
Authors: Mulkey Malissa , Huang Huyunting , Albanese Thomas , Sunghan Kim , Yang Baijian
Published: November 2022

As many as 80% of critically ill patients develop delirium increasing the need for institutionalization and higher morbidity and mortality. Clinicians detect less than 40% of delirium when using a validated screening tool. EEG is the criterion standard but is resource intensive thus not feasible for widespread delirium monitoring. This study evaluated the use of limited-lead rapid-response EEG and supervised deep learning methods with vision transformer to predict delirium. This proof-of-concept study used a prospective design to evaluate use of supervised deep learning with vision transformer and a rapid-response EEG device for predicting delirium in mechanically ventilated critically ill older adults. Fifteen different models were analyzed. Using all available data, the vision transformer models provided 99.9%+ training and 97% testing accuracy across models. Vision transformer with rapid-response EEG is capable of predicting delirium. Such monitoring is feasible in critically ill older adults. Therefore, this method has strong potential for improving the accuracy of delirium detection, providing greater opportunity for individualized interventions. Such an approach may shorten hospital length of stay, increase discharge to home, decrease mortality, and reduce the financial burden associated with delirium.
Improved activity and stability for chlorobenzene oxidation over ternary Cu-Mn-O-Ce solid solution supported on cordierite
Authors: Gu Mingyang , Huang Qiong , Xu Lirui , Zhu Jie , Sun Yueyin , Tao Tao , Yang Bo , Chen Mindong , Yang Hong
Published: November 2022

A series of CuMnOx/CeO2/Cordierite and CuMnCeOx/Cordierite catalysts prepared by a complex method with citric acid were investigated on the performance of chlorobenzene (CB) oxidation. The effects of the molar ratio of Mn/Cu, transition metal oxide loading, calcination temperature and time were investigated as the main investigation factor on the performance. Meanwhile, XRD, SEM, BET, H2-TPR, O2-TPD and XPS were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of the samples. The results demonstrated that CuMnOx/CeO2/Cordierite catalysts with step-by-step synthesis exhibited high activity (T90 = 350oC) at the Cu/Mn molar ratio of 5:2, because the incorporation of CuO and MnOx formed CuMn2O4 spinel oxide supported on the surface of CeO2. More importantly, CuMnCeOx/Cordierite catalysts prepared by one-step synthesis exhibited the highest oxidation activity (T90 < 300oC) attributed to the low H2 reduction temperature and desorption energy of surface oxygen, and the formed Cu-Mn-O-Ce solid solution and CeO2 favorable promoted the high dispersion of CuMnOx in the supported catalysts. Enhanced oxygen concentration and mobility, abundant oxygen vacancy, high surface areas, and active sites of CuMnCeOx catalysts promoted the desorption of adsorbed Cl, which is associated with superior activity, repeatability, and stability. In addition, the possible oxidation mechanism was described to demonstrate the by-products generation and oxygen transfer of CuMnCeOx catalysts. The excellent performance for CB degradation exhibited a great promising to resolve CVOCs pollution.
Nonlinear characteristic analysis of gas-interconnected quasi-zero stiffness pneumatic suspension system:A theoretical and experimental study
Authors: Jiang Xinwei , Xu Xing , Shi Tianling , Atindana Vincent Akolbire
Published: November 2022

Since traditional air suspension system is limited to respond the greatly changed load of commercial vehicles, a new Gas-Interconnected Quasi-Zero Stiffness Pneumatic Suspension (GIQZSPS) is presented in this paper. Firstly, a nonlinear mechanical model including the dimensionless stiffness characteristic and interconnected pipeline model is derived for GIQZSPS system. The restoring force of suspension system is simplified by Taylor series expansion, which is brought into the motion differential equation and the steady-state response solution is obtained by using the harmonic balance method. Next, the influence of stiffness and damping ratio on the jump frequency is discussed, and the vibration isolation performance of GIQZSPS system is analyzed by adopting the force transmissibility rate as the evaluation index. Finally, a testing bench simulating 1/4 GIQZSPS system is designed, and the testing analysis of the model validation and isolating performance is carried out. The results show that the proposed GIQZSPS system in gas connected and disconnected states have the same natural frequency, and GIQZSPS system in the disconnected state has higher stiffness but is sensitive to load changes. Meanwhile, the proposed GIQZSPS system in the connected state has a higher resonance peak value and exhibits better vibration isolation at higher loads. Accordingly, the proposed GIQZSPS system can adjust the connectivity status according to different load conditions.
The Charlson Age Comorbidity Index Associated with Geriatric Patient’s Mortality after Emergency Surgery: A prospective National Multicenter Study
Authors: Isngadi Isngadi , Asmoro Aswoco A , Hariyanto Achmad , Siswagama Taufiq A , Rehatta Nancy M , Chandra Susilo , Sari Djayanti , Lestari Mayang I , Senapathi Tjokorda GA , Nurdin Haizah , Wirabuana Belindo , Pramodana Bintang , Pradhana Adinda P , Anggraeni Novita , Sikumbang Kenanga M , Halimi Radian A , Jasa Zafrullah K , Nasution Akhyar Hamonangan , Mochamat Mochamat , Purwoko Purwoko
Published: November 2022

Background
Aging is an irreversible, progressive and cumulative process that involves biological, anatomical, physiological, and functional changes that occur over a period of time. Emergency surgery in geriatrics is challenging due to the limited time for surgery planning. Charlson Age Comorbidity Index (CACI) can be used as a predictor of mortality in geriatric patients undergoing surgery. The study’s aim is to determine the association between CACI and mortality in geriatric patients undergoing emergency surgery.
Methods
This study was a prospective analytic observational multicenter study. This study was conducted from February 2021 to April 2021. This study used the whole sampling method and was followed up 30 days after surgery. The data were analyzed using regression and the ROC Curve test with a confidence interval of 95%.
Results
We obtained 116 geriatric patients undergoing emergency surgery with a 30-day mortality rate of 11.2%. CACI significantly correlated with 30 day-mortality in geriatric underwent emergency surgery (p = 0.000) with B = 4.831. The AUC of the CACI score was 0.966, with a cut-off value of 5.5. For geriatric patients with CACI scores > 5.5, the risk of mortality within 30 days of treatment is 125.33 times greater (95% CI: 14.58–1077.67) than for patients with CACI scores < 5.5.
Conclusion
CACI is associated with 30-day mortality in geriatric patients undergoing emergency surgery. CACI score also could be used to predict 30-day mortality in geriatric underwent emergency surgery.
Attitude and Readiness to Online Learning and Challenges among First-Year Medical Students
Authors: Limenie Abebaye Aragaw
Published: November 2022

Background Most of the systems, including education, in the world are becoming web and technology-based. Assessing students’ attitudes, readiness, and challenges is important for effective implementation. This study is, therefore, aimed to assess students’ attitudes, readiness, and challenges affecting online learning among medical students at Addis Ababa University, School of Medicine. Methods a total of 150 undergraduate medical students were involved in this study. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was used. Data were collected through a structured google form questionnaire. A 5-point Likert scale instrument was used to measure students ’ level of agreement on the items of attitude, readiness, and challenges affecting their online learning activities. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS (version 26). Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA followed by Post Hoc Turkey multiple comparison tests were used. The data were expressed as means ± standard deviation (SD). Differences with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Students’ attitudes toward online learning were high (mean: 3.49) and significantly affected by extra computer training at the high school level (t (148) = 2.57, p = .010), basic computer skills (F (3,146) = 5.65, p = .001), online learning accessing skills (F (3,146) = 2.71, p = .048) and online learning destructors eliminating skills (F (3,146) = 15.99, p = .000). The readiness was moderate (mean = 3.23) and was significantly higher in males than females (t (148) = 2.17, p = .032). The readiness of the students for online learning was significantly affected by personal (mean = 2.60; SD = .56 vs mean = 2.40; SD = .68; p = .037) and technological (mean = 2.61; SD = .05 vs mean = 2.40; SD = .68; p = .027) related challenges than institutional challenges. Unavailable of quality technology was the first technology-related challenge affecting medical students’ online learning (mean = 3.16), while the students’ perception was the first challenge in the personal-related factors (mean = 3.31). Conclusion Students’ attitudes towards online learning were high and affected by extra computer training at the high school level. Readiness was moderate and affected by gender. Students should increase their computer skills and it is required to motivate females to practice online learning. Educational management is required to select appropriate online-teaching tools before starting online teaching.
A multi-blockchain system application based on improved PBFT consensus mechanism for online rumor co-governance
Authors: Chen Yuetong , Liu Fengming
Published: November 2022

At present, there are difficulties in the governance of Internet rumors, such as slow control and information barriers. In the face of the confused and complex social public opinion environment, it is urgent to innovate technical means to break through the bottleneck of rumor prevention and control. Firstly, based on the architecture characteristics and core technologies of blockchain, this paper designs a multi-blockchain system architecture for the collaborative co-governance scenario of online rumors, and puts forward the design ideas of smart contracts and consensus mechanisms for the functions of different chains, so as to enable different chains and different nodes within each chain to achieve collaborative interaction of rumor dispelling and rumor suppression strategies. Secondly, according to the requirements of the rumor co-governance scenario, we improve the original PBFT consensus algorithm on the basis of analyzing the defects, and propose the RK-PBFT consensus mechanism based on rumor refutation reliability and K-Medoids clustering algorithm. Through the simulation experiment, the algorithm is compared before and after the improvement. The results show that the delay of the proposed improved consensus algorithm is significantly reduced and the throughput is greatly improved, in addition, in the case of the same number of nodes, the more the number of packets, the lower the delay and the higher the throughput. This means that the proposed consensus algorithm not only improves the delay and throughput performance of the original algorithm, but also ensures the reliability and operation efficiency of the rumor co-governance system.
Nrf2 is predominantly expressed in hippocampal neurons in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Sandouka Sereen , Saadi Aseel , Singh Prince Kumar , Olowe Rhoda , Shekh-Ahmad Tawfeeq
Published: November 2022

Background
Drug resistance is a particular problem in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, where seizures originate mainly from the hippocampus. Many of these epilepsies are acquired conditions following an insult to the brain such as a prolonged seizure and are characterized by pathophysiological mechanisms that synergistically mediate the secondary brain damage, prominently including massive oxidative stress that evolves over time, contributing to the development of epilepsy. The transcription factor nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) has emerged in recent years as an attractive therapeutic approach targeting to upregulate the antioxidative defenses in the cell, to ameliorate the oxidative stress-induced damage. Thus, it is important to understand the characteristics of Nrf2 activation during epileptogenesis and epilepsy. Here, we studied the temporal, regional, and cell-type specific expression of Nrf2 in the brain, in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy.
Results
Early after status-epilepticus, Nrf2 is mainly activated in the hippocampus and maintained during the whole period of epileptogenesis. Only low expression of Nrf2 was observed in the cortex. Nevertheless, the expression of several Nrf2 antioxidant target genes was increased within 24-hrs after status-epilepticus in both the cortex and the hippocampus. We demonstrated that after status-epilepticus in rats, Nrf2 is predominantly expressed in neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus, and only astrocytes in the CA1 increase their Nrf2 expression
Conclusions
In conclusion, our data identify previously unrecognized spatial and cell-type dependent activation of Nrf2 during epilepsy development, highlighting the need for a time-controlled, and cell-type specific activation of the Nrf2 pathway for mediating anti-oxidant response after brain insult, to modify the development of epilepsy.
Regulation of dental consultations in primary health care and performance of services in Dental Speciality Centers
Authors: Silva Barbara Campos da , Viana Jhenyffer Andrade , Buzinaro Giovana Soares , Cunha Inara Pereira da , de Lacerda Valéria Rodrigues , Bomfim Rafael Aiello
Published: November 2022

Objective: This study analyzed the regulation of dental specialty centers (CEOs) coordinated exclusively by Primary Health Care (PHC) in four primary outcomes: access and dental consultation, reception services, bonding and responsibility, and social participation.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using secondary data from the National Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality of Dental Specialty Centers (PMAQ-CEO): second cycle, using multilevel logistic regression to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and individual covariates.
Results: The analytical sample consisted of 9,599 CEO users who had completed all the variables analyzed. Of these, 63.5% were referred to the CEO by PHC. Dental care regulated by PHC was related to better access (OR 1.36, CI 95% 1.10-1.68), better reception (OR 1.33, CI 95% 1.03-1.71), better bonding and responsibility (OR 1.36, CI 95% 0.91-2.04), and social participation (OR 1.13, CI 95% 0.93-1.35) compared to those not regulated by primary health care as the exclusive pathway.
Conclusion: The regulation of access to the CEO coordinated by PHC presented the best performance. It is suggested that this form of PHC regulation, as a route for dental specialty centers, can be established in the national oral health care policy for better service performance.
Mystery of Siljan Crater
Authors: Kutcherov Vladimir , Buzilov Alexander , Postnikov Alexander
Published: November 2022

A substantial number of ring structures have been identified on the Earth's surface. The overwhelming majority of these structures are considered meteorite craters. Signs of impact metamorphism argue for the impact origin of such structures although this cannot be considered an indisputable confirmation of their origin. Impact appearance can be explained by both exogenous and endogenous causes. Among the latter are high-temperature mantle gas explosions. We have found at least four stages of tectonic dislocations in the basement rocks of the Siljan ring structure, which favor the explosive eruptions origin hypothesis. It can thus be assumed that many ring structures referred to as impact structures are of terrestrial origin.
Survival Benefit of Lymphadenectomy for Endometrioid Carcinoma of Ovary: A SEER-based Study
Authors: Zhu Jing , Kang Lin , Li Haili
Published: November 2022

Background. The potential therapeutic benefits of lymphadenectomy for patients with ovarian endometrioid carcinoma (EOC) remain vague. Therefore, a retrospective population-based analysis was performed to determine the relationship between lymphadenectomy and the survival rate of female patients with EOC.
Materials and Methods. The surveillance, epidemiology and final results (SEER) program database was retrospectively analyzed and data were collected on 6106 female patients with EOC from 2004 to 2015. Main patient and tumor characteristics include marital status, age, ethnicity, time of diagnosis, stage, stage, grade, tumor size, radiotherapy, treatment, chemotherapy, and lymphadenectomy status. Using the IT-AIC method to estimate the effects of lymphadenectomy in a multivariate environment, Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional risk regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between lymphadenectomy and EOC overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS).
Results. A total of 3587 and 1332 women with stage I and III-IV EOC who met the inclusion criteria were identified. Lymphadenectomy 2738 (76.3%) and 786 (59.0%) (P < 0.001). With multivariate analysis, lymphadenectomy as a classification and continuous variable is an independent prognostic factor, and patients with lymphadenectomy have a better prognosis. And the results showed that age, marital status, TNM staging, grading, surgery, chemotherapy and lymphadenectomy had a significant correlation with the CSS of EOC, and the age < 50 years, chemotherapy, early staging and early grading, and women with EOC who did not undergo debulking surgery and married had a better prognosis.
Conclusions. Lymphadenectomy can improve long-term OS and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of EOC.
A framework for developing context-aware mobile applications based on modularity, scalability, and compatibility
Authors: Magalhães Clayton , de Marchi Ana Carolina B. , de Bortoli Lis Angela
Published: November 2022

Research highlights the growing expansion of mobile devices equipped with sensors that enable the adaptation of context-aware applications. Thus, approaches that guide the development of these applications must be investigated. This study presents a framework for the development of a context-aware mobile application, through integrated representation models, architecture, and implementation guidelines, considering principles of modularity, scalability, and compatibility. To verify the assertiveness of the conceptual model and the proposed architecture, an evaluation was conducted with three systems analysts. The experts were able to practice the proposed concepts by answering a feedback questionnaire. The study also included the development of a mobile application with context-aware features, considering the guidelines defined in the framework. The application focused on dietary care and was tested by six nutrition professionals. After using the application for seven days, the professionals answered a context-aware perception questionnaire about the functionalities. Data were analyzed and the results showed that the feedback was satisfactory. Furthermore, the application created from the framework verified the feasibility of the proposed structure through its practical use with software experts and a case study.
Systematic and benchmarking studies of pipelines for mammal WGBS data in the novel NGS platform
Authors: Lin Qun-ting , Yang Wei , Zhang Xin , Li Qi-gang , Liu Yong-feng , Yan Qin , Sun Lei
Published: November 2022

Background:
Whole genome bisulfite sequencing(WGBS), possesses theaptitude to dissect methylation status at the nucleotide-level resolution of 5-methylcytosine(5mC) on a genome-wide scale. It is a powerful technique for epigenome in various cell types, and tissues. As a recently established next-generation sequencing(NGS) platform, GenoLab M is a promising alternative platform. However, its comprehensive evaluation for WGBS has not been reported. We sequenced two bisulfite-converted mammal DNA in this researchusing our GenoLab M and NovaSeq 6000, respectively. Then, we systematically compared those data via four widely used WGBS tools: BSMAP, Bismark, BatMeth2, and BS-Seeker2. We interrogated their computational time, genomedepth and coverage, and evaluated their percentage of methylated Cs.
Result:
Here, benchmarking a combination of pre- and post-processing methods, we found that trimming improved the performance of mapping efficiency in eight datasets. The data from two platformsuncovered ~80% of CpG sites genome-wide in the human cell line. Those data sequenced by GenoLab M achieved a far lower proportion of duplicates(~5.5%). Among pipelines, BSMAP provided an intriguing representation of 5mC distribution at CpG sites with 5mC levels >~78% in datasets from human cell lines, especially in the GenoLab M. BSMAP performed more advantages in running time, uniquely mapped reads percentages, genomic coverage, and quantitative accuracy. Finally, comparedwith the previous methylation pattern of human cell line and mouse tissue, we confirmed that the data from GenoLab M performed similar consistency and accuracy in methylation levels of CpG sites withthat from NovaSeq 6000.
Conclusion:
Together we confirmed that GenoLab M was a qualified NGS platform for WGBS with high performance. Our results showed that BSMAP was the suitable pipeline that allowed for WGBS studies on the GenoLab M platform.
Probing BERT on Syntactic Representation Paradigms: Dependency vs Constituency Trees
Authors: Alzetta Chiara , Miaschi Alessio , Dell'Orletta Felice , Venturi Giulia , Montemagni Simonetta
Published: November 2022

On the quest for interpreting deep Neural Language Models (NLMs), linguistically annotated probing sets are essential tools for investigating models' linguistic abilities. Such a line of research is currently dominated by dependency-based syntactic annotation formalisms, and particularly by Universal Dependencies treebanks. In this work, we test whether different Syntactic Representation Paradigms (SRP) have an impact on the performance of NLMs. To this aim, we set up a multilingual study where we compare the scores obtained by BERT on a set of probing tasks performed on 10 treebanks annotated according to two paradigms, i.e. the dependency and the constituency one, which diverges on fundamental annotation principles. Results suggest that BERT performance is minimally but consistently affected by SRPs and that such impact mostly concerns specific linguistic phenomena.
A Novel Rat-Tail Model for Studying Human Finger Vibration Health Effects
Authors: Dong Ren G. , Warren Christopher , Xu Xueyan S. , Wu John Z. , Welcome Daniel E. , Waugh Stacey , Krajnak Kristine
Published: November 2022

It has been generally hypothesized that the biodynamic responses to vibration such as vibration stress, strain, and power absorption density of the human finger tissues are among the major stimuli that cause vibration health effects, because mechanics regulates biological processes. Furthermore, the finger contact pressure can affect these effects. It is difficult to test these hypotheses using human subjects or existing animal models. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a new rat-tail exposure system and its related analytical method to investigate the combined effects of vibration and contact pressure and to identify their relationships with the biodynamic responses. Physically, the new exposure system was developed based on the existing NIOSH rat-tail model by adding a loading device to it. An analytical model of the rat-tail exposure system was also proposed and used to formulate the methods for quantifying the tail biodynamic responses required to test the hypotheses. A series of experiments with a tail dissected from a rat cadaver were conducted to test and evaluate the new tail model. The experimental and modeling results demonstrate that the new model behaves as designed. Unlike the previous model, the vibration strain and stress of the rat tail do not depend primarily on the vibration response of the tail itself but on that of the loading plate. This makes it possible to quantify and control the biodynamic responses conveniently and reliably by measuring the plate response. Examples of the quantified tail biodynamic responses are demonstrated and discussed.
Systematic Pan-Cancer Analysis Identifies SLC31A1 as a Biomarker in Multiple Tumor Types
Authors: Kong Fan-Sheng , Ren Chun-Yan , Jia Ruofan , Zhou Yuan , Chen Jian-Huan , Ma Yaping
Published: November 2022

Background
Solute Carrier Family 31 Member 1 (SLC31A1) has recently been identified as a cuproptosis-regulatory gene. Recent studies have indicated that SLC31A1 may play a role in colorectal and lung cancer tumorigenesis. However, the role of SLC31A1 and its cuproptosis-regulatory functions in multiple tumor types remains to be further elucidated.
Methods
In this study, we used some website tools such as HPA, GEPIA2 and cBioPortal to estimate the expression, genetic alteration and prognostic in multiple cancer types. TIMER2 was used to evaluate the cancer-associated fibroblast infiltration. DAVID and BioGRID were used to conduct functional analysis and constructe the PPI network, respectively.
Results
In general, the TCGA datasets showed increased SLC31A1 expression in tumor tissues compared with non-tumor tissues in most tumor types. In patients with tumor types including Adrenocortical Carcinoma (ACC), Low-Grade Glioma (LGG), or Mesothelioma (MESO), higher SLC31A1 expression was correlated with shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Moreover, the expression of SLC31A1 was also implicated to be positively correlated with the infiltration of fibroblasts into tumor tissues. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that SLC31A1 co-expressed genes were involved in protein binding, integral components of the membrane, metabolic pathways, and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum. Protein-protein interaction network analysis showed that SLC31A1 interacted with Copper Chaperone for Superoxide Dismutase (CCS), and Erb-B2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 3 (ERBB3), which had been known to be associated with copper transportation and tumorigenesis.
Conclusions
These findings demonstrated that SLC31A1 is associated with multiple tumor types and prognosis. SLC31A1 may be a potential key biomarker and therapeutic target in cancers. As a result, it will be a novel new therapy for cancer patients to improve the prognosis of cancer patients.
Securing Health Care Data through Blockchain enabled Collaborative Machine Learning
Authors: Kumar Om , G Sudhakaran , V Balaji , A Nhaveen , S Sai Balakrishnan
Published: November 2022

Transferring of data in machine learning from one party to another party is one of the issues that has been in existence since the development of technology. Health care data collection using machine learning techniques can lead to privacy issues which cause disturbances among the parties and reduces the possibility to work with either of the parties. Since centralized way of information transfer between two parties can be limited and risky as they are connected using machine learning, this factor motivated us to use the decentralized way where there is no connection but model transfer between both parties will be in process through a federated way. The purpose of this research is to investigate a model transfer between a user and the client(s) in an organization using federated learning techniques and reward the client(s) for their efforts with tokens accordingly using blockchain technology. In this research the user shares a model to organizations that are willing to volunteer their service to provide help to the user. The model is trained and transferred among the user and the clients in the organizations in a privacy preserving way. In this research we found that the process of model transfer between user and the volunteered organizations works completely fine with the help of federated learning techniques and the client(s) is/are rewarded with tokens for their efforts. We used the Covid 19 dataset to test the federation process, which yielded individual results of 88 percent for contributor a, 85 percent for contributor b, and 74 percent for contributor c. When using the FedAvg algorithm, we were able to achieve a total accuracy of 82 percent.
Amniotic membrane application in surgical treatment of conjunctival tumors
Authors: Furdova Alena , Czanner Gabriela , Koller Jan , Vesely Pavol , Furda Robert , Pridavkova Zuzana
Published: November 2022

The amniotic membrane (AM) has special properties, making it ideal for clinical applications in various surgical fields like ophthalmology. It is used more frequently to cover conjunctival and corneal defects. In our retrospective study we have been combined 68 patients with epibulbar conjunctival tumors they have been surgically treated in the period of 2011-2021. Seven (10.3%) patients have been treated with AM application after surgical removal of the tumor. 54 cases were malignant and 14 cases were benign. In the analyzed dataset the males had just slightly higher chance of malignancy than females, 80% versus 78.3%. For the significancy calculation the Fisher exact test was used and the result proved no significancy (p=0.99). Six patients with AM application were malignant. The observed difference in the number of quadrants of the bulbar conjunctiva infiltrated versus significant malignancy with p=0.050 calculated by Fisher Exact test and with p=0.023 calculated by Likelihood-ratio test. The results of our study indicate that AM grafts are an effective alternative to cover defects after removal of epibulbar lesions due to their anti-inflammatory properties because the conjunctiva must be preserved, and especially the most important application is in malignant epibulbar conjunctival tumors.
Dry Drilling Performance Enhancement using Optimized Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings
Authors: Messele Eyob , Jatti Vijaykumar S , Jatti Ashwini V. , Mishra Akshansh , Dhabale Rahul
Published: November 2022

This study demonstrates the performance enhancement of drill bits during dry cutting operation of LM6 aluminum alloy and bright mild steel using optimized Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC) coatings. DLC coatings are deposited using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) process by varying the process parameters, bias voltage, bias frequency, gas mixture, and working pressure. DLC coatings were grown over the silicon, high-speed steel, and stainless-steel pin substrate. Coating’s chemical, composition, topography, and mechanical properties measurements were checked using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), micro-Raman spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and intrinsic stress & nano-hardness/micro-hardness tester, respectively. Coating deposition and optimization were carried out as per the Taguchi method. Further, the optimized DLC coatings tribological test and the effect of DLC coating on the tool life were performed. Results showed that the DLC-coated substrate had less wear loss and coefficient of friction than the uncoated substrate. The dry-cutting test showed that coated drill bits produce a better surface finish and consume less power in the drilling operation than uncoated drill bits. This is due to the low coefficient of friction and low wear loss of the DLC coatings.
Accurate rare variant phasing of whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing data in the UK Biobank
Authors: Delaneau Olivier , Hofmeister Robin , Ribeiro Diogo M. , Rubinacci Simone
Published: November 2022

The UK Biobank performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and whole-exome sequencing (WES) across hundreds of thousands of individuals, allowing researchers to study the effects of both common and rare variants. Haplotype phasing distinguishes the two inherited copies of each chromosome into haplotypes and unlocks novel analyses at the haplotype level. In this work, we describe a new phasing method, SHAPEIT5, that accurately and rapidly phases large sequencing datasets and illustrates its key features on the UK Biobank WGS and WES data. First, we show that it phases rare variants with high accuracy. For instance, variants found in 1 sample out of 100,000 in the WES data are phased with accuracy above 95%. Second, we show that it can phase singletons, although with moderate accuracy, thereby making their inclusion in downstream analyses possible. Third, we show that the use of UK Biobank as a reference panel increases the accuracy of genotype imputation, an increase that is more pronounced when phased with SHAPEIT5 compared to other methods. Finally, we screen the phased WES data for loss-of-functon(LoF) compound heterozygous (CH) events and identify 549 genes in which both gene copies are found knocked out. This list of genes complements current knowledge of gene essentiality in the human genome. We provide SHAPEIT5 in an open-source format, providing researchers with the means to leverage haplotype information in genetic studies.
A Novel Approach for Comparative Analysis of Distributed Generations and Electric Vehicles in Distribution Systems
Authors: Singh Bindeshwar , Dubey Pankaj Kumar , Kumar Varun
Published: November 2022

Electric vehicles were introduced to the market as a way to reduce dependency on internal combustion engine-driven transportation systems. However, this method increased the burden on the current electrical grid rather than reducing it. In the power grid, distributed generation ideas are presented to reduce this burden. This research shows how to combine hybrid optimization algorithms for optimum location and sizing of different sorts of Distributed Generation (DGs) with Electric Vehicle (EV) scheduling in distribution systems using static and ZIP load models to reduce the system's total real power loss. For assessment, many types of DGs and EVs are evaluated. For DGs with EVs scheduling in the distribution system, multiple static and ZIP load models are examined. Real power loss mitigation is achieved via hybrid optimization strategies that include Genetic algorithms and Monte Carlo simulation methodologies. The suggested approach's practicality was tested using a 16-bus distribution test system. At both static and ZIP load models, the more effective kinds of DGs with EVs couples are DG2 with Fuel cell electric vehicles.
Design of an energy management system for microgrids applied to an isolated system incorporating solar thermal energies
Authors: Ampuño Gary , Sosa Bryan
Published: November 2022

This chapter presents an hourly energy management system (EMS). The hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) is composed of a hybrid ae-generator system (WT), solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, a diesel generator (DG) and a distributed collector system (DCS) as the primary energy source. The distributed collector system (DCS) consists of a field of parabolic trough collectors that carry solar thermal energy to a power conversion unit to produce electricity, an energy storage system (ESS), the wind turbine, the PV panels and the distributed control system (DCS) are made to work at the maximum power point, while the battery acts as storage. The energy management system (EMS) uses intelligent rule-based controllers to meet the energy demanded by the load and maintain the state of charge (SOC) of the battery between certain target ranges. The controller implemented for this study is a fuzzy logic controller that mimics human understanding of various phenomena that may occur during microgrid operation.
The simulation results show that the fuzzy logic-based control meets the objectives established for the energy management system (EMS) of the hybrid renewable energy system (HRES).
TAGLN2 promotes the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of renal clear cell carcinoma through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway
Authors: He Yang , Zhang Bin , Han Dali , Du Yuelin , Zhang Xingxing , Wang Hongbo , Yue Zhongjin , Shang Panfeng
Published: November 2022

The effect of TAGLN2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is till unknown. This paper explored its potential role and mechanism in ccRCC. The expression of TAGLN2 in Pan-cancers was analyzed through the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. TCGA-KIRC database were used to analyze the subsequent prognostic survival, pathway enrichment and immune infiltration. Relevant experimental methods could explain the effect of TAGLN2 expression on tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Apoptosis, proliferation, EMT and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway related proteins expression can be realized through Western Blot. In TCGA + GTEx database, mRNA-TAGLN2 expression was obviously increased in pan-cancer tissues, and the same result was found in ccRCC patients, based on KIRC analysis results. In addition, TAGLN2 was related to poor clinical stage, pathological grade and survival prognosis. In vitro, TAGLN2 can be highly expressed in ccRCC tissues and cells. TAGLN2 silencing could inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion and EMT in ccRCC cancer cells. Furthermore, TAGLN2 related differential genes enriched in PI3K/AKT signaling pathway were negatively regulated after TAGLN2 silencing. Moreover, TAGLN2 may promote tumor immune escape and increase the risk of distant metastasis in immune infiltration-related analysis. TAGLN2 can be used as a single indicator to explain the survival probability of ccRCC patients. In vitro, TAGLN2 silencing inhibited malignant biological properties of ccRCC by blocking PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In addition, TAGLN2 contributes to the development of tumor immune escape and may become the potential therapeutic target of ccRCC.
Intentional non-adherence to official medical recommendations: An irrational choice or negative experience with the healthcare system?
Authors: Purić Danka , Petrović Marija B. , Živanović Marko , Lukić Petar , Zupan Zorana , Branković Marija , Ninković Milica , Lazarević Ljiljana , Stanković Sanda , Žeželj Iris
Published: November 2022

Background: The World Health Organization recognizes non-adherence to treatment recommendations as a growing global problem. Questionnaires typically focus on only one non-adhering behavior, e.g., medication-taking, and target people with specific health conditions. In this preregistered study, we aimed to (1) develop a novel instrument suitable to the general population, consisting of non-adherence to prescribed therapy, self-medication, and avoidance to seek medical treatment, capturing intentional non-adherence (iNAR), (2) differentiate it from habitual non-adherence, such as smoking, and (3) relate iNAR to patient-related factors, such as sociodemographics, health status, and endorsement of irrational beliefs (conspiratorial thinking and superstitions), and to a set of healthcare-related beliefs and experiences.
Methods: First, medical doctors provided a list of non-adherence behaviors in a focus group. To this list we added behaviors that fitted our definition of intentional non-adherence, identified in a thorough literature search. This initial list of 22 behaviors was further refined by a public health expert. The instrument was then tested on a sample of 583 participants, sufficiently powered to detect effects for all preregistered statistical analysis. Participants were recruited using an online snowballing procedure and via social networks.
Results: Factor analysis yielded a one-factor solution, and the final 12-item iNAR questionnaire had satisfactory internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .72). A hierarchical linear regression showed that, as expected, health condition variables and healthcare-related beliefs and experiences accounted for 14% of the variance of iNAR behaviors, whereas sociodemographics and irrational beliefs did not additionally contribute. In comparison, the same regression model with smoking (representative of habitual non-adherence) as a criterion variable, accounted for less than 3% of the variance, with education as the only significant predictor.
Conclusions: We have constructed a brief, comprehensive, and reliable measure of iNAR behaviors. Normalization of patients’ passivity and, in particular, negative experiences with the healthcare system contributed to intentional, but not habitual non-adherence. We believe that public health interventions designed to discourage intentional non-adherence should foremost attempt to improve all patients' experiences with the system and build trust with their healthcare practitioners rather than aim at specific demographic groups or at correcting patients' unfounded beliefs.
Periodic orbits in chaotic systems simulated at low precision
Authors: Klöwer Milan , Coveney Peter V. , Paxton E. Adam , Palmer Tim N.
Published: November 2022

Non-periodic solutions are an essential property of chaotic dynamical systems. Simulations with deterministic finite-precision numbers, however, always yield orbits that are eventually periodic. With double-precision 64-bit floating-point numbers such periodic orbits are typically negligible due to very long periods. The emerging trend to accelerate simulations with low-precision numbers, such as 16-bit half-precision floats, raises questions on the fidelity of such simulations of chaotic systems. Here, we revisit the 1-variable chaotic generalised Bernoulli map with various number formats and precisions: floats, posits and logarithmic fixed-point. Simulations are improved with higher precision but stochastic rounding prevents periodic orbits even at low precision. For larger systems the performance gain from low-precision simulations is often reinvested in higher resolution or complexity, increasing the number of variables. In the Lorenz 1996 system, the period lengths of orbits increase exponentially with the number of variables. Moreover, invariant measures are better approximated with an increased number of variables than with increased precision. Extrapolating to large simulations of natural systems, such as million-variable climate models, periodic orbit lengths are far beyond reach of present-day computers. Such orbits are therefore not expected to be problematic compared to high-precision simulations but the deviation of both from the continuum solution remains unclear.
Improved Psychosocial Measures Associated with Physical Activity May Be Explained by Alterations in Brain-Gut Microbiome Signatures
Authors: Guan Michelle , Dong Tien S. , Subramanyam Vishvak , Guo Yiming , Bhatt Ravi , Vaughan Allison , Barry Robert L. , Gupta Arpana
Published: November 2022

Obesity contributes to physical comorbidities and mental health consequences. We explored whether physical activity could influence more than metabolic regulation and result in psychological benefits through the brain-gut microbiome (BGM) system in a population with high BMI. Fecal samples were obtained for 16s rRNA profiling and fecal metabolomics, along with psychological and physical activity questionnaires. Whole brain resting-state functional MRI was acquired, and brain connectivity metrics were calculated. Higher physical activity was significantly associated with increased connectivity in inhibitory appetite control brain regions, while lower physical activity was associated with increased emotional regulation network connections. Higher physical activity was also associated with microbiome and metabolite signatures protective towards mental health and metabolic derangements. The greater resilience and coping, and lower levels of food addiction seen with higher physical activity, may be explained by BGM system differences. These novel findings provide an emphasis on the psychological and resilience benefits of physical activity, beyond metabolic regulation and these influences seem to be related to BGM interactions.
Multi-component chitosan, cyclodextrin nanosponge and H 3 PMo 12 O 40 @MIL-101(Fe) beads: an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for alcohol oxidation and cascade alcohol oxidation-Knoevenagel condensation reaction
Authors: Sadjadi Samahe , Abedian-Dehaghani Neda , Heydari Abolfazl , Heravi Majid M.
Published: November 2022

Development of multi-task catalysts is a promising approach to enhance the catalytic performance toward a wide range of reactions. The subject of this study is to design a multi-component catalyst based on the metal-organic framework encapsulated phosphomolybdic acid, which is incorporated in dual chitosan-cyclodextrin nanosponge beads. We showed that the synthesized multi-functional catalyst provided a multiple-benefit potential of individual components for promoting alcohol oxidation and cascade alcohol oxidation–Knoevenagel condensation reaction in aqueous media. The phosphomolybdic acid that benefits from acidic features and redox potential could catalyze both alcohol oxidation and Knoevenagel condensation. The amino groups on the chitosan could also serve as basic catalysts, while cyclodextrin nanosponge mainly acted as a phase transfer agent. Importantly, the incorporation of phosphomolybdic acid in metal-organic framework and bead structure could suppress its leaching, which is considered a drawback for this compound. It is noticeable that the catalyst could be recycled with slight phosphomolybdic acid leaching and loss of the catalytic activity. Additionally, the true heterogeneous nature of the catalysis was confirmed by the hot filtration test. Our finding highlights the high catalytic activity of the multi-component heterogeneous catalyst as well as the broad substrate scope for both selected reactions.
Theoretical and experimental study of the “superelastic collision effects” used to excite high-g shock environment
Authors: Duan Zhengyong , Zeng Qihang , Tang Dayong , Peng Yingchun
Published: November 2022

The excitation technology for high-g-level shock environment experiments is currently a topic of interest, for which velocity amplification by collisions of vertically stacked bodies has been used to develop high-g shock tests with great success. This study investigated the superelastic collision effects generated during high-velocity one-dimensional three-body impacts. Theoretical formulae were derived in brief for an analytical investigation of the collisions. Four experiments were performed with different initial velocities obtained from free-falls from different heights. Velocity gains larger than 5 were obtained for the three-body collisions, and coefficients of restitution larger than 2.5 were observed for the second impact. The experimental results well verified the existence of superelastic collision effects in the one-dimensional three-body impacts.