bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eukaryotic SNARE VAMP3 Dynamically Interacts with Multiple Chlamydial Inclusion Membrane Proteins
Authors: Bui Duc-Cuong , Jorgenson Lisa M. , Ouellette Scot P. , Rucks Elizabeth A.
Published: November 2020

Chlamydia trachomatis
, an obligate intracellular pathogen, undergoes a biphasic developmental cycle within a membrane-bound vacuole called the chlamydial inclusion. To facilitate interactions with the host cell,
Chlamydia
modifies the inclusion membrane with type III secreted proteins, called Incs.
Supplemental Material: Hydrothermal formation of iron-oxyhydroxide chimney mounds in a shallow semi-enclosed bay at Satsuma Iwo-Jima Island, Kagoshima, Japan
Authors: Kiyokawa Shoichi , al. et
Published: November 2020

Figure S1. Fe/Ti vs. Al/(Al + Fe + Mn + Na + K + Ca) diagram.
First line drug treatment for hypertension and reductions in blood pressure according to age and ethnicity: cohort study in UK primary care
Authors: Sinnott Sarah-Jo , Douglas Ian J , Smeeth Liam , Williamson Elizabeth , Tomlinson Laurie A
Published: November 2020

Objective

To study whether treatment recommendations based on age and ethnicity according to United Kingdom (UK) clinical guidelines for hypertension translate to blood pressure reductions in current routine clinical care.

Design

Observational cohort study.

Setting

UK primary care, from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2017.

Participants

New users of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB), calcium channel blockers (CCB), and thiazides.

Main outcome measures

Change in systolic blood pressure in new users of ACEI/ARB versus CCB, stratified by age (<
v
≥55) and ethnicity (black
v
non-black), from baseline to 12, 26, and 52 week follow-up. Secondary analyses included comparisons of new users of CCB with those of thiazides. A negative outcome (herpes zoster) was used to detect residual confounding and a series of positive outcomes (expected drug effects) was used to determine whether the study design could identify expected associations.

Results

During one year of follow-up, 87 440 new users of ACEI/ARB, 67 274 new users of CCB, and 22 040 new users of thiazides were included (median 4 (interquartile range 2-6) blood pressure measurements per user). For non-black people who did not have diabetes and who were younger than 55, CCB use was associated with a larger reduction in systolic blood pressure of 1.69 mm Hg (99% confidence interval −2.52 to −0.86) relative to ACEI/ARB use at 12 weeks, and a reduction of 0.40 mm Hg (−0.98 to 0.18) in those aged 55 and older. In subgroup analyses using six finer age categories of non-black people who did not have diabetes, CCB use versus ACEI/ARB use was associated with a larger reduction in systolic blood pressure only in people aged 75 and older. Among people who did not have diabetes, systolic blood pressure decreased more with CCB use than with ACEI/ARB use in black people (reduction difference 2.15 mm Hg (−6.17 to 1.87)); the corresponding reduction difference was 0.98 mm Hg (−1.49 to −0.47) in non-black people.

Conclusions

Similar reductions in blood pressure were found to be associated with new use of CCB as with new use of ACEI/ARB in non-black people who did not have diabetes, both in those who were aged younger than 55 and those aged 55 and older. For black people without diabetes, CCB new use was associated with numerically greater reductions in blood pressure than ACEI/ARB compared with non-black people without diabetes, but the confidence intervals were overlapping for the two groups. These results suggest that the current UK algorithmic approach to first line antihypertensive treatment might not lead to greater reductions in blood pressure. Specific indications could be considered in treatment recommendations.
Association between behavioural risk factors for chronic liver disease and transient elastography measurements across the UK: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Oztumer Ceyhun Aksel , Chaudhry Rayhan Mehmood , Alrubaiy Laith
Published: November 2020

Objective

Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a largely preventable condition with increasing burden on National Health Service resources. We aimed to determine the prevalence of behavioural risk factors for CLD and their association with liver stiffness and socioeconomic status in the UK.

Design

In this cross-sectional study, adults aged ≥18 years were invited to complete a liver health screener and have a liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography (TA) to screen for alcohol intake, obesity and viral hepatitis risk across different areas in the UK. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores were used as a measure of socioeconomic status. We performed binary logistic regression, adjusting for age, gender, alcohol consumption, body mass index, diet and viral hepatitis risk to determine the factors associated with LSM and IMD.

Results

We analysed the data from 2150 individuals across 25 UK areas. Of those, 24.1% had high-risk alcohol consumption, 29.6% had high-risk diets, 24.7% were obese and 32.7% had risk factors for viral hepatitis. LSMs were available for 1043 participants, of which 16.2% were ≥7 kPa. Independent predictors of an LSM≥7 kPa were an age≥40 years (OR, 1.986; 95% CI, 1.280 to 3.081), male gender (OR, 1.599; 95% CI, 1.128 to 2.266), obesity (OR, 2.526; 95% CI, 1.383 to 4.614) and high-risk diet (OR, 2.197; 95% CI, 1.000 to 4.826). Five-unit increases in IMD score were an independent predictor of obesity (OR, 1.110; 95% CI, 1.028 to 1.200), but not high-risk alcohol consumption (p=0.88) or viral hepatitis risk (p=0.05).

Conclusions

We identified a high prevalence of risk factors for CLD, most of which are addressable through raising public awareness to inculcate healthy habits. More studies are needed to assess longitudinal outcomes of liver screening using TA, accounting for societal factors and comorbidities, to help inform resource allocation and policy-making in the future.
Plasmodium falciparum resistance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in Africa: a systematic analysis of national trends
Authors: Amimo Floriano , Lambert Ben , Magit Anthony , Sacarlal Jahit , Hashizume Masahiro , Shibuya Kenji
Published: November 2020

Introduction

The rising burden of drug resistance is a major challenge to the global fight against malaria. We estimated national Plasmodium falciparum resistance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) across Africa, from 2000 to 2020.

Methods

We assembled molecular, clinical and endemicity data covering malaria-endemic African countries up to December 2018. Subsequently, we reconstructed georeferenced patient data, using pfdhps540E and pfdhps581G to measure mid-level and high-level SP resistance. Gaussian process regression was applied to model spatiotemporal standardised prevalence.

Results

In eastern Africa, mid-level SP resistance increased by 64.0% (95% uncertainty interval, 30.7%–69.8%) in Tanzania, 55.4% (31.3%–65.2%) in Sudan, 45.7% (16.8%–54.3%) in Mozambique, 29.7% (10.0%–45.2%) in Kenya and 8.7% (1.4%–36.8%) in Malawi from 2000 to 2010. This was followed by a steady decline of 76.0% (39.6%–92.6%) in Sudan, 65.7% (25.5%–85.6%) in Kenya and 17.4% (2.6%–37.5%) in Tanzania from 2010 to 2020. In central Africa, the levels increased by 28.9% (7.2%–62.5%) in Equatorial Guinea and 85.3% (54.0%–95.9%) in the Congo from 2000 to 2020, while in the other countries remained largely unchanged. In western Africa, the levels have remained low from 2000 to 2020, except for Nigeria, with a reduction of 14.4% (0.7%–67.5%) and Mali, with an increase of 7.0% (0.8%–25.6%). High-level SP resistance increased by 5.5% (1.0%–20.0%) in Malawi, 4.7% (0.5%–25.4%) in Kenya and 2.0% (0.1%–39.2%) in Tanzania, from 2000 to 2020.

Conclusion

Under the WHO protocols, SP is no longer effective for intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy and infancy in most of eastern Africa and parts of central Africa. Strengthening health systems capacity to monitor drug resistance at subnational levels across the endemicity spectrum is critical to achieve the global target to end the epidemic.
What people share about the COVID-19 outbreak on Twitter? An exploratory analysis
Authors: Karmegam Dhivya , Mapillairaju Bagavandas
Published: November 2020

Background

The recent outbreak of respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, has received global attention as it has infected thousands of individuals there, and later it has also been reported from other countries internationally. This study aims at performing an exploratory study on Twitter to understand the information shared among the community regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

COVID-19 related tweets were collected from Twitter using keywords from 18 January to 25 January 2020. Top-ranking tweets were taken as samples and then categorised based on the content. Expressions or opinion tweets were analysed qualitatively to understand the mindset of the people regarding the outbreak. Theme wise reachability evaluation of the messages was also performed.

Results

Based on the content of the tweets, five themes were evolved: (1) general information; (2) health information; (3) expressions; (4) humour and (5) others. 57.42% of messages are general information followed by expressive tweets (24.12%). Humorous messages were liked the most, whereas health information tweets were retweeted the maximum. Fear was the predominant emotion expressed in the messages.

Conclusion

The results of the study would be useful to focus on the dissemination of the right information and effective communication on Twitter related to health and outbreak management.
Trajectories of fatigue in actively treated patients with established rheumatoid arthritis starting biologic DMARD therapy
Authors: Provan Sella Aarrestad , Michelsen Brigitte , Sexton Joseph , Uhlig Tillmann , Hammer Hilde Berner
Published: November 2020

Objectives

To define fatigue trajectories in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who initiate biological DMARD (bDMARD) treatment, and explore baseline predictors for a trajectory of continued fatigue.

Methods

One-hundred and eighty-four patients with RA initiating bDMARDs were assessed at 0, 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months. Swollen and tender joint counts, patient reported outcomes (PROMs), blood samples and ultrasound examinations were collected at each time point. Fatigue was assessed by the fatigue Numeric Rating Scale (0–10) from the Rheumatoid Arthritis Impact of Disease (RAID) questionnaire. Clinically significant fatigue was predefined as fatigue ≥4. Three trajectories of interest were defined according to level of RAID fatigue: no fatigue (≤3 at 5/6 visits), improved fatigue (≥4 at start, but ≤3 at follow-up) and continued fatigue (≥4 at 5/6 visits). Baseline variables were compared between groups by bivariate analyses, and logistic regression models were used to explore baseline predictors of continued vs improved fatigue.

Results

The majority of patients starting bDMARD therapy followed one of three fatigue trajectories, (no fatigue; n=61, improved; n=33 and continued fatigue; n=53). Patients with continued fatigue were more likely to be anti–citrullinated protein antibody and/or rheumatoid factor positive and had higher baseline PROMs compared to the other groups, while there were no differences between the groups for variables of inflammation including. Patient global, tender joint count and anxiety were predictors for the continued fatigue trajectory.

Discussion

A trajectory of continued fatigue was determined by PROMs and not by inflammatory RA disease activity.
Intravenous sulforhodamine B reduces alveolar surface tension, improves oxygenation, and reduces ventilation injury in a respiratory distress model
Authors: Wu You , Nguyen Tam L. , Perlman Carrie E.
Published: November 2020

Sulforhodmaine B lowers T in alveolar edema liquid. Given the problematic intratracheal delivery of surfactant therapy for ARDS, intravenous SRB might constitute an alternative therapeutic. In a lung injury model, we find that intravenously administered SRB crosses the injured alveolar-capillary barrier, reduces T specifically in injured lung regions, improves oxygenation, and reduces the degree of further lung injury. Intravenous SRB administration might help respiratory distress patients, including those with the novel coronavirus, avoid mechanical ventilation or, once ventilated, survive.
Current perspectives on obesity and skeletal muscle contractile function in older adults
Authors: Straight Chad R. , Toth Michael J. , Miller Mark S.
Published: November 2020

Obesity has become one of the most pressing public health issues of the 21st century and currently affects a substantial proportion of the older adult population. Although the cardiometabolic complications are well documented, research from the past 20 years has drawn attention to the detrimental effects of obesity on physical performance in older adults. Obesity-related declines in physical performance are due, in part, to compromised muscle strength and power. Recent evidence suggests there are a number of mechanisms potentially underlying reduced whole muscle function, including alterations in myofilament protein function and cellular contractile properties, and these may be related to morphological adaptations, such as shifts in fiber type composition and increased intramyocellular lipid content within skeletal muscle. To date, even less research has focused on how exercise and weight loss interventions for obese older adults affect these mechanisms. In light of this work, we provide an update on the current knowledge related to obesity and skeletal muscle contractile function and highlight a number of questions to address potential etiologic mechanisms as well as intervention strategies, which may help advance our understanding of how physical performance can be improved among obese older adults.
Walking exercise alters protein digestion, amino acid absorption, and whole body protein kinetics in older adults with and without COPD
Authors: Cruthirds Clayton L. , Deutz Nicolaas E. P. , Ligthart-Melis Gerdien C. , Simbo Sunday Y. , Engelen Mariëlle P. K. J.
Published: November 2020

Gut function is disturbed in older adults with COPD. As exercise is the cornerstone of pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD, knowledge of the response of the gut to aerobic exercise is of importance.
An Air Traffic Controller Action Extraction-Prediction Model Using Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Pham Duc-Thinh , Alam Sameer , Duong Vu
Published: November 2020

In air traffic control, the airspace is divided into several smaller sectors for better management of air traffic and air traffic controller workload. Such sectors are usually managed by a team of two air traffic controllers: planning controller (D-side) and executive controller (R-side). D-side controller is responsible for processing flight-plan information to plan and organize the flow of traffic entering the sector. R-side controller deals with ensuring safety of flights in their sector. A better understanding and predictability of D-side controller actions, for a given traffic scenario, may help in automating some of its tasks and hence reduce workload. In this paper, we propose a learning model to predict D-side controller actions. The learning problem is modeled as a supervised learning problem, where the target variables are D-side controller actions and the explanatory variables are the aircraft 4D trajectory features. The model is trained on six months of ADS-B data over an en-route sector, and its generalization performance was assessed, using crossvalidation, on the same sector. Results indicate that the model for vertical maneuver actions provides highest prediction accuracy (99%). Besides, the model for speed change and course change action provides predictability accuracy of 80% and 87%, respectively. The model to predict the set of all the actions (altitude, speed, and course change) for each flight achieves an accuracy of 70% implying for 70% of flights; D-side controller’s action can be predicted from trajectory information at sector entry position. In terms of operational validation, the proposed approach is envisioned as ATCO assisting tool, not an autonomous tool. Thus, there is always ATCO discretion element, and as more ATCO actions are collected, the models can be further trained for better accuracy. For future work, we will consider expanding the feature set by including parameters such as weather and wind. Moreover, human in the loop simulation will be performed to measure the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Testing Liquid Distribution in a Vane-Type Propellant Tank under Conditions of Microgravity Using a Drop Tower Test
Authors: Liu Jintao , Li Yong , Li Wen , Zhai Hua , Chen Lei
Published: November 2020

Propellant management devices (PMDs) are a key component used to manage liquid propellant in a propellant tank under zero gravity conditions. A microgravity drop tower test system was established to investigate the performance of a PMD. A single module was used for the experiments, and the microgravity level was less than

3
×

10

−
3

 
g

. Anhydrous ethanol was used as the simulate liquid. Different volume fractions of liquid were used to study the influence of the PMD on performance management. Experiments were conducted with the position of the container oriented in different directions. Changes in the gas-liquid interface were studied during the test. This kind of vane transports liquid through the rectangular area between the vane and the wall. The velocity flows along the vane of different liquid volume fractions in the tank were different at the beginning (

t
<
0.8
 
s

) compared with the end of the test. The liquid relocation time was less than 0.8 s while the liquid volume fraction was larger than 25%. The liquid relocation time was prolonged when the liquid volume fraction was less than 25%. The liquid climbing height along the vane under microgravity increased as the volume fraction of liquid reduced. The climbing velocity of the liquid is half reduction when the liquid volume fraction is small. The time for the liquid transferred from the top of the tank to the liquid outlet can be obtained by climbing velocity. It shows that the maneuverability of the satellite decreases at the end of its life. The above results are applicable to all propellant tank with vertical vanes. These results provide a favorable reference for further optimized design of vertical vane-type propellant tanks.
Fixed-Point Theorem for Nonlinear
F
-Contraction via
w
-Distance
Authors: Kari Abdelkarim , Rossafi Mohamed , Marhrani El Miloudi , Aamri Mohamed
Published: November 2020

The aim of this paper is to introduce a notion of

ϕ
,
F

-contraction defined on a metric space with

w

-distance. Moreover, fixed-point theorems are given in this framework. As an application, we prove the existence and uniqueness of a solution for the nonlinear Fredholm integral equations. Some illustrative examples are provided to advocate the usability of our results.
A Smart System for Sitting Posture Detection Based on Force Sensors and Mobile Application
Authors: Matuska Slavomir , Paralic Martin , Hudec Robert
Published: November 2020

The employees’ health and well-being are an actual topic in our fast-moving world. Employers lose money when their employees suffer from different health problems and cannot work. The major problem is the spinal pain caused by the poor sitting posture on the office chair. This paper deals with the proposal and realization of the system for the detection of incorrect sitting positions. The smart chair has six flexible force sensors. The Internet of Things (IoT) node based on Arduino connects these sensors into the system. The system detects wrong seating positions and notifies the users. In advance, we develop a mobile application to receive those notifications. The user gets feedback about sitting posture and additional statistical data. We defined simple rules for processing the sensor data for recognizing wrong sitting postures. The data from smart chairs are collected by a private cloud solution from QNAP and are stored in the MongoDB database. We used the Node-RED application for the whole logic implementation.
Potential Genes Associated with the Survival of Lung Adenocarcinoma Were Identified by Methylation
Authors: Shen Ziyuan , He Chenlu , Chen Haimiao , Xiao Lishun , Jin Yingliang , Huang Shuiping
Published: November 2020

Background. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common pathological type of lung cancer. The purpose of this study is to search for genes related to the prognosis of LUAD through methylation based on a linear mixed model (LMM). Methods. Gene expression, methylation, and survival data of LUAD patients were downloaded from the TCGA database. Based on the LMM model, the GEMMA algorithm was used to screen the predictive genes related to LUAD survival. The Cox model was used to further screen the predicted genes, and then, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Through the software plugin Cytoscape MCODE 3.8.0, the most closely related genes in the PPI network module were selected for in-depth biological function analysis to further explore the interaction and correlation between genes. Results. We screened out 97 predictive genes from 18,834 genes and eliminated one gene associated with lung squamous cell carcinoma from previous studies, leaving 96 genes. The MCODE and the Kaplan-Meier curve analysis were used to finally identify two genes ASB16 and NEDD4 that are related to the prognosis of LUAD. Conclusions. The newly identified two genes associated with the prognosis of LUAD may provide a basis for the treatment of patients.
Axial Symmetry Cosmological Constant Vacuum Solution of Field Equations with a Curvature Singularity, Closed Time-Like Curves, and Deviation of Geodesics
Authors: Ahmed Faizuddin , Hazarika Bidyut Bikash , Sarma Debojit
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we present a type D, nonvanishing cosmological constant, vacuum solution of Einstein’s field equations, extension of an axially symmetric, asymptotically flat vacuum metric with a curvature singularity. The space-time admits closed time-like curves (CTCs) that appear after a certain instant of time from an initial space-like hypersurface, indicating it represents a time-machine space-time. We wish to discuss the physical properties and show that this solution can be interpreted as gravitational waves of Coulomb-type propagate on anti-de Sitter space backgrounds. Our treatment focuses on the analysis of the equation of geodesic deviations.
Variability in Prolificacy, Total Carotenoids, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin of Yellow Small-Ear Waxy Corn Germplasm
Authors: Sukto Supaporn , Lomthaisong Khomsorn , Sanitchon Jirawat , Chankaew Sompong , Scott Marvin P. , Lübberstedt Thomas , Lertrat Kamol , Suriharn Bhalang
Published: November 2020

Waxy corn is a popular, alternative staple food in most Asian countries including Thailand. The availability of small-ear waxy corn genotypes with prolific ears and a high level of carotenoids is expected to benefit growers and consumers. Integrated evaluation among source germplasm is essential before performing further breeding efforts for enhancing prolific ears and high-carotenoid content. Thus, the present study explored the variability of ear prolificacy, total carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene among yellow small-ear waxy corn accessions. About 44 corn accessions and 4 check varieties were evaluated for agronomic traits and yield components under multienvironment trials in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The immature seed sample of these genotypes was analyzed to quantify the content of total carotenoids and some carotenoid fractions. All traits showed that low GXE interaction and significant genotypic diversity existed among all tested accessions with the predominant contribution of genotype to total phenotypic variation and beta-carotene. Accessions were clustered into four major groups based on the similarity of multiple carotenoids profiles. Three selected accessions (UT121001, KKU-WX112087, and KKU-WX212001) had higher values of total carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene than those of all check varieties. High and positive correlations among second-emerged ears, marketable second-emerged ears, and total ear number indicate that a higher chance of secondary ears becomes marketable ears with an increase of total ears per plant per hectare. Lutein and zeaxanthin had positive, strong correlations with total carotenoids. The implications and breeding strategies are discussed prior to promoting yellow small-ear waxy corn as a biofortified crop.
Rapid Analysis of Aristolochic Acid Analogues in Traditional Chinese Patent Medicine by LC-MS/MS
Authors: Liu Jing , Liu Yang , Wu Yingxue , Dai Zhong , Ma Shuangcheng
Published: November 2020

Aristolochic acids have been demonstrated to have renal toxicity, cause carcinogenesis, and may cause gene mutations. A series of risk control measurements have been adopted worldwide since 1990s. Some varieties of traditional Chinese medicine with high content of aristolochic acids have been banned in China. However, some species containing aristolochic acids in microscale are still in use. In recent years, with the continuous awareness of drug safety, the aristolochic acid analogues were generally considered to be of potential safety risks. Among these constituents, aristolochic acid I is still the one with most studies. Therefore, in addition to aristolochic acid I, it is necessary to establish an accurate and rapid method to determine other aristolochic acid analogues. LC-MS/MS methods based on multireaction monitoring mode was established to simultaneously determine 9 aristolochic acid analogues including 5 aristolochic acids and 4 aristolactams for the first time. Furthermore, the method was applied for Long dan Xie gan Pill, a traditional complex compound preparation with a long history for treatment of diseases including hepatochlic hygropyrexia, dizziness, tinnitus, and deafness. It has attracted widespread attention because of the aristolochic acid nephropathy. The crude drug Caulis Aristolochiae manshuriensis (Guanmutong) collected in the prescription was replaced by Akebiae Caulis (Mutong), and the established method helps to understand the product safety on market. As a result, aristolochic acid I, aristolochic acid Iva, and aristolactam I were detected and determined in one batch of Long dan Xie gan Pill among 25 batches of samples. It provided practical approach to demonstrate trace aristolochic acids and aristolactams. It was beneficial to control the safety of related traditional Chinese medicine products.
DRL-Based Edge Computing Model to Offload the FIFA World Cup Traffic
Authors: Li Hongyi , Che Xinrui
Published: November 2020

In recent years, the volume of global video traffic has been increasing rapidly and it is considerably significant to offload the traffic during the process of video transmission and improve the experience of users. In this paper, we propose a novel traffic offloading strategy to provide a feasible and efficient reference for the following 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar. At first, we present the system framework based on the Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) paradigm, which supports transferring the FIFA World Cup traffic to the mobile edge servers. Then, the Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) is used to provide the traffic scheduling method and minimize the scheduling time of application programs. Meanwhile, the task scheduling operation is regarded as the process of Markov decision, and the proximal policy optimization method is used to train the Deep Neural Network in the DRL. For the proposed traffic offloading strategy, we do the simulation based on two real datasets, and the experimental results show that it has smaller scheduling time, higher bandwidth utilization, and better experience of user than two baselines.
Estimation of Landslides and Road Capacity after August 8, 2017, MS7.0 Jiuzhaigou Earthquake Using High‐Resolution Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Fu Xiao , Zhu Qing , Liu Chao , Li Naiwen , Zhuang Wenhua , Yang Zhengli , Lu Heng , Tang Min
Published: November 2020

On 8 August 2017, Jiuzhaigou earthquake, magnitude 7.0, hit northern Sichuan, China. As the earthquake‐stricken area is located in the mountainous region with forest and low residential density, the main damage is to vegetation and roads by earthquake‐triggered landslides. In this study, the core area of Jiuzhaigou natural reserve, one of the highest seismic intensity zones, is selected. The landslides are extracted by examining vegetation changes from the preearthquake and postearthquake images using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and are verified by slope. As most road damage in the mountainous region could be attributed to the landslides nearby, the impacts of landslide on road are studied based on spatial analysis and are used to infer occluded road damage. Then, a knowledge‐based method for postearthquake road detection and road capacity assessment from preearthquake road data and postearthquake high‐resolution remote sensing imagery is proposed, as well as the quantitative road capacity assessment indicators to classify the road grades. This method is evaluated using the Beijing‐2 (BJ‐2) satellite images over the study area acquired on 28 April and 9 August. Compared with visual interpretation results, the extraction accuracy reached 90% for landslides and 85% for postearthquake roads, indicating that the approaches are effective and promising for quick response to devastating earthquake in similar circumstances.
Modelling the Dynamics of Campylobacteriosis Using Nonstandard Finite Difference Approach with Optimal Control
Authors: Osman Shaibu , Togbenon Houenafa Alain , Otoo Dominic
Published: November 2020

Campylobacter genus is the bacteria responsible for campylobacteriosis infections, and it is the commonest cause of gastroenteritis in adults and infants. The disease is hyperendemic in children in most parts of developing countries. It is a zoonotic disease that can be contracted via direct contact, food, and water. In this paper, we formulated a deterministic model for Campylobacteriosis as a zoonotic disease with optimal control and to determine the best control measure. The nonstandard finite difference scheme was used for the model analysis. The disease-free equilibrium of the scheme in its explicit form was determined, and it was shown to be both locally and globally asymptotically stable. The campylobacteriosis model was extended to optimal control using prevention of susceptible humans contracting the disease and treatment of infected humans and animals. The objective function was optimised, and it was established that combining prevention of susceptible humans and treatment of infected animals was the effective control measure in combating campylobacteriosis infections. An analysis of the effects of contact between susceptible and infected animals as well susceptible and infected humans was conducted. It showed an increase in infected animals and humans whenever the contact rate increases and decreases otherwise. Biologically, it implies that campylobacteriosis infections can be controlled by ensuring that interactions among susceptible humans, infected animals, and infected humans is reduced to the barest minimum.
Digital Twin Hospital Buildings: An Exemplary Case Study through Continuous Lifecycle Integration
Authors: Peng Yang , Zhang Ming , Yu Fangqiang , Xu Jinglin , Gao Shang
Published: November 2020

Hospital buildings usually contain sophisticated facility systems and special medical equipment, strict security requirements, and business systems. Traditional methods such as BIM are becoming less capable of real‐time updates of building status and big data volume. By proposing innovations both in technique and management—a “continuous lifecycle integration” method based on the concept of Digital Twin (DT) and “early movement” of the general contractor, this paper reported a successful project case in a large hospital in China. The case realized continuous, scheduled integration of static data and dynamic data of more than 20 management systems from the design, construction, pre‐O&M phase up to the O&M phase. Then, a DT software system with real‐time visual management and artificial intelligent diagnosis modules was developed and deployed in a newly built DT control center. Managers have the ability to grasp the detailed status of the whole hospital by visual management and receive timely facility diagnosis and operation suggestions that are automatically sent back from the digital building to reality. The case has been steadily running for more than a year in the hospital and achieved desired performance by reducing energy consumption, avoiding facility faults, reducing the number of requested repairs, and enhancing the quality of daily maintenance work.
Antioxidant Activity of Telmisartan–Cu(II) Nanoparticles Connected 2‐Pyrimidinamine and Their Evaluation of Cytotoxicity Activities
Authors: Surendrakumar Radhakrishnan , Idhayadhulla Akbar , Alarifi Saud , Ahamed Nazeer Anis , Sathish Kumar Chidambaram
Published: November 2020

Copper nanoparticles (Cu‐Nps) are one of the promising materials for the advancement of nanoscience and technology. In this work, we synthesized telmisartan copper nanoparticles and 2‐pyrimidinamines via Biginelli reaction using telmisartan copper nanoparticles (Cu‐Nps) as a reusable catalyst. The synthesis of 2‐pyrimidinamine derivatives (1a‐c) was achieved in water and under solvent‐free condition (Green chemistry approach). Synthesis of 2‐pyrimidinamine with telmisartan copper nanoparticle (Cu‐Nps–Pyr) unexpected product was also isolated from synthesis of 2‐pyrimidinamine preparation. Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities were carried out both in 2‐pyrimidinamine (1a‐1c) and 2‐pyrimidinamine with telmisartan copper nanoparticles (Cu‐Nps–Pyr). The synthesized 2‐pyrimidinamine derivatives (1a‐c) were characterized from FT‐IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, mass and elemental analyses. The synthesized telmisartan copper nanoparticles (Cu‐Nps) were characterized from UV spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, EDX, AFM (atomic force microscopy), profile, waviness, and roughness analyses. Antioxidant activity was screened based on ABTS⋅+ radical scavenging and linoleic acid peroxidation performance. Cu‐Nps–Pyr‐1b showed substantial antioxidant (97.2%) activity against ABTS⋅+ assay and 91.2% activity against AAPH assays compared with Trolox. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using HepG2, HeLa, and MCF‐7 cell lines, the Cu‐Nps–Pyr‐1a is high in toxicities (GI50 = 0.01 μm) against the HeLa cancel cell line compared with doxorubicin. The developed copper NPs with 2‐pyrimidinamine (Cu‐Nps–Pyr) could provide promising advances as antioxidant activities; this nanocomposition could be considered an anticancer treatment in future investigations.
White-Box Implementation of ECDSA Based on the Cloud Plus Side Mode
Authors: Zhou Jie , Bai Jian , Jiang Meng Shan
Published: November 2020

White-box attack context assumes that the running environments of algorithms are visible and modifiable. Algorithms that can resist the white-box attack context are called white-box cryptography. The elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) is one of the most widely used digital signature algorithms which can provide integrity, authenticity, and nonrepudiation. Since the private key in the classical ECDSA is plaintext, it is easy for attackers to obtain the private key. To increase the security of the private key under the white-box attack context, this article presents an algorithm for the white-box implementation of ECDSA. It uses the lookup table technology and the “cloud plus side” mode to protect the private key. The residue number system (RNS) theory is used to reduce the size of storage. Moreover, the article analyzes the security of the proposed algorithm against an exhaustive search attack, a random number attack, a code lifting attack, and so on. The efficiency of the proposed scheme is compared with that of the classical ECDSA through experiments.
Do Public‐Private Partnerships Improve the Operational Efficiency of Infrastructure in Mainland China?
Authors: Xu Haicheng , Wei Xiao , Wang Bo , Cheng Yan , Wang Yijiao
Published: November 2020

Public‐private partnerships (PPPs) are widely used to achieve sustainable infrastructure provision. The purpose of this research is to monitor the effects of PPPs in practice. This study calculated the operational efficiency of toll roads in Mainland China and examined the effect of the transformation from government operations to concession on their operational efficiency. The results showed that toll road operations were inefficient in terms of cost savings and that there were significant regional differences in the impact of concession on operational efficiency among three regions. Concession played a positive role in improving the operational efficiency in the eastern region; on the contrary, the influence was significantly negative in the western region. The effect on the central region was not significant. The results indicated that the efficiency advantages of concession were not given full play. The governments of economies in transition should pay more attention to the implementation environment of PPPs to make infrastructure operations more sustainable.
Effect of Taijiquan Exercise on Rehabilitation of Male Amphetamine‐Type Addicts
Authors: Zhang Zhilei , Zhu Dong
Published: November 2020

Taijiquan is a traditional Chinese sport that is classified as a moderate exercise. Recent studies have evaluated the effectiveness of Taijiquan in substance abuse rehabilitation. Objective. To test the rehabilitation effect of Taijiquan exercise in patients with amphetamine (ATS) drug dependence. Methods. The effect of Taijiquan intervention was tested by parallel control experiment: Taijiquan group (n = 38) and control group (n = 38). The factors between the experimental groups were the group (Taijiquan group and the control group), and the factors within the group were the test time (before and after intervention). Repeated measurement analysis of variance was used to compare the two groups, and the factors that may affect the results were included in the covariance. Results. Taijiquan exercise promoted the balance control ability of ATS dependent patients (p = 0.014, η2 = 0.064), increased the overall sense of health (p = 0.029, η2 = 0.100), vitality (p = 0.030, η2 = 0.056), and mental health (p = 0.016, η2 = 0.061), improved trait anxiety (p = 0.028, η2 = 0.053), and reduced drug craving (p = 0.048, η2 = 0.048). Conclusion. Taijiquan exercise is beneficial to the physical and mental recovery of dependent patients, and the physical and mental benefits of exercise may have an effect on drug craving, which is of the most important significance for addicts to quit drugs and prevent relapse. The study is registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR1800015777).
Temporal Course of SARS‐CoV‐2 Antibody Positivity in Patients with COVID‐19 following the First Clinical Presentation
Authors: Risch Martin , Weber Myriam , Thiel Sarah , Grossmann Kirsten , Wohlwend Nadia , Lung Thomas , Hillmann Dorothea , Ritzler Michael , Ferrara Francesca , Bigler Susanna , Egli Konrad , Bodmer Thomas , Imperiali Mauro , Salimi Yacir , Fleisch Felix , Cusini Alexia , Renz Harald , Kohler Philipp , Vernazza Pietro , Kahlert Christian R. , Paprotny Matthias , Risch Lorenz
Published: November 2020

Knowledge of the sensitivities of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) antibody tests beyond 35 days after the clinical onset of COVID‐19 is insufficient. We aimed to describe positivity rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 assays employing three different measurement principles over a prolonged period. Two hundred sixty‐eight samples from 180 symptomatic patients with COVID‐19 and a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) test followed by serological investigation of SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies were included. We conducted three chemiluminescence (including electrochemiluminescence assay (ECLIA)), four enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and one lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) test formats. Positivity rates, as well as positive (PPVs) and negative predictive values (NPVs), were calculated for each week after the first clinical presentation for COVID‐19. Furthermore, combinations of tests were assessed within an orthogonal testing approach employing two independent assays and predictive values were calculated. Heat maps were constructed to graphically illustrate operational test characteristics. During a follow‐up period of more than 9 weeks, chemiluminescence assays and one ELISA IgG test showed stable positivity rates after the third week. With the exception of ECLIA, the PPVs of the other chemiluminescence assays were ≥95% for COVID‐19 only after the second week. ELISA and LFIA had somewhat lower PPVs. IgM exhibited insufficient predictive characteristics. An orthogonal testing approach provided PPVs ≥ 95% for patients with a moderate pretest probability (e.g., symptomatic patients), even for tests with a low single test performance. After the second week, NPVs of all but IgM assays were ≥95% for patients with low to moderate pretest probability. The confirmation of negative results using an orthogonal algorithm with another assay provided lower NPVs than the single assays. When interpreting results from SARS‐CoV‐2 tests, the pretest probability, time of blood draw, and assay characteristics must be carefully considered. An orthogonal testing approach increases the accuracy of positive, but not negative, predictions.
COVID-19 und Pleuraergüsse: Keine typische, aber eine klinisch relevante Kombination
Authors: Keymel Stefanie
Published: November 2020

Coronavirus disease-19 is a respiratory viral disease that commonly presents with mild symptoms. However, it can cause serious complications such as acute respiratory disease, especially in patients with comorbidities. As it is a new disease, the full picture of the disease and its complications are not yet fully understood. Moreover, the patients at risk of complications are not well identified; and the data about the risk in patients with hematological malignancies is limited. Here, we report a 65-year-old male with accelerated phase chronic myeloid leukemia, on dasatinib, tested positive for coronavirus disease-19, then complicated with febrile neutropenia acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Hmox1 (Heme Oxygenase-1) Protects Against Ischemia-Mediated Injury via Stabilization of HIF-1α (Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α)
Authors: Dunn Louise L. , Kong Stephanie M.Y. , Tumanov Sergey , Chen Weiyu , Cantley James , Ayer Anita , Maghzal Ghassan J. , Midwinter Robyn G. , Chan Kim H. , Ng Martin K.C. , Stocker Roland
Published: November 2020

Objective:

Hmox1 (heme oxygenase-1) is a stress-induced enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of heme to carbon monoxide, iron, and biliverdin. Induction of Hmox1 and its products protect against cardiovascular disease, including ischemic injury. Hmox1 is also a downstream target of the transcription factor HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor-1α), a key regulator of the body’s response to hypoxia. However, the mechanisms by which Hmox1 confers protection against ischemia-mediated injury remain to be fully understood.

Approach and Results:

Hmox1 deficient (
Hmox1
–/–
) mice had impaired blood flow recovery with severe tissue necrosis and autoamputation following unilateral hindlimb ischemia. Autoamputation preceded the return of blood flow, and bone marrow transfer from littermate wild-type mice failed to prevent tissue injury and autoamputation. In wild-type mice, ischemia-induced expression of Hmox1 in skeletal muscle occurred before stabilization of HIF-1α. Moreover, HIF-1α stabilization and glucose utilization were impaired in
Hmox1
–/–
mice compared with wild-type mice. Experiments exposing dermal fibroblasts to hypoxia (1% O
2
) recapitulated these key findings. Metabolomics analyses indicated a failure of
Hmox1
–/–
mice to adapt cellular energy reprogramming in response to ischemia. Prolyl-4-hydroxylase inhibition stabilized HIF-1α in
Hmox1
–/–
fibroblasts and ischemic skeletal muscle, decreased tissue necrosis and autoamputation, and restored cellular metabolism to that of wild-type mice. Mechanistic studies showed that carbon monoxide stabilized HIF-1α in
Hmox1
–/–
fibroblasts in response to hypoxia.

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that Hmox1 acts both downstream and upstream of HIF-1α, and that stabilization of HIF-1α contributes to Hmox1’s protection against ischemic injury independent of neovascularization.
Singapore Convention on Mediation: Should Iran Follow the Position of Qatar?
Authors: Abrishami Ali Moghaddam
Published: November 2020

Following the recent accession of Qatar, the United Nation Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (Singapore Convention on Mediation) will come into force on 12 September 2020. As a Signatory State, Iran is assessing whether to ratify the Singapore Convention. This article illustrates and discusses the challenges and opportunities that Iran and Qatar may face in light of the Singapore Convention. The main focus of this article is on problems facing Iran in relation to the possible ratification of the Singapore Convention. Finally, it determines whether Iran would benefit from the possible implementation. It concludes that, while Qatar may benefit from joining the Singapore Convention, the possible ratification of the Convention in Iran will lead to more challenges than opportunities. For the purpose of developing international commercial mediation in Iran, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Mediation will be an appropriate alternative.
The Need to Re-examine the Route of Pre-emption Law in the Sudan: A Critical Analysis
Authors: Ismail Hafiz Gaffar Ibrahim
Published: November 2020

This article examines the concept of pre-emption rights in the Sudan, in particular, the origin, nature and domain of the principle by making four key arguments. Firstly, it argues that, although the doctrine is maintained and applied as a part of Muslim law, it is also applied between Muslims and non-Muslims as equity and good conscience rule rather than as a part of Muslim personal law. Secondly, it presupposes that the doctrine of pre-emption has its roots in Islamic law, although it is not ‘exclusive’ to Islamic systems. Thirdly, it suggests that the tendency to adopt Islamic theory as a sole reason for implementing the doctrine, sometimes led to judicial debates; for example, the question arose to whether this right existed in favour of a lease holder. Finally, Islamic theory leaves the question open as to whether pre-emptive rights exist in the domain of movable property.
Johannes Kepler and the Exploration of the Weight of Substances in the Long Sixteenth Century
Authors: Pastorino Cesare
Published: November 2020

Numerous early modern experimentalists, including Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon and Thomas Harriot, viewed one seemingly humble principle – that at a given volume, different substances can be identified by their particular weight, or specific gravity – as a fundamental key to the understanding of nature in general. Johannes Kepler’s Messekunst Archimedis of 1616 contains a striking summary of the experimental research on specific gravities in the long sixteenth-century. Counting himself amongst an extensive list of authors interested in this problem, Kepler mentions not only natural philosophers or mathematicians interested in Archimedes. His account surprisingly includes humanists, instrument makers, antiquarians and assayers. Received histories of specific gravities often focus on antecedents of modern disciplinary concepts and methodologies, where instead, Kepler’s account suggests the existence of a heterogeneous group of early modern experts involved in experiments on the quantification of matter, at the intersection between the history of science, practical mathematics and the humanities.