bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic umbrella review of the global evidence
Authors: Fernandez Ritin , Sikhosana Nqobile , Green Heidi , Halcomb Elizabeth J , Middleton Rebekkah , Alananzeh Ibrahim , Trakis Stamatia , Moxham L
Published: September 2021

Objectives

To summarise the evidence relating to the prevalence of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design

An umbrella review of systematic reviews was undertaken using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methods.

Data sources

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, JBI Evidence Synthesis, MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase and CINAHL were searched in March 2021 for reviews published in English.

Eligibility criteria

Systematic reviews reporting the prevalence of anxiety and depression among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two researchers screened each abstract and independently reviewed full text articles. Study quality was assessed using the JBI critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews, and the degree of overlap in primary studies was calculated.

Results

Ten systematic reviews (100 unique studies), including 169 157 HCWs from 35 countries were included. The prevalence of anxiety among all HCWs ranged from 22.2% (95% CI 21.3% to 23.1%) to 33.0% (95% CI 31.9% to 34.1%). The prevalence of anxiety among physicians (n=5820) was reported to be between 17% and 19.8% and for nurses (n=14 938) between 22.8% and 27%. The prevalence of depression among all HCWs ranged from 17.9% (95% CI 17.1% to 18.8%) to 36% (95% CI 34.9% to 37.1%). The prevalence of depression among physicians (n=643) and nurses (n=8063) was reported to be 40.4% and 28%, respectively.

Conclusions

There is wide variation evident in the presence of anxiety and depression among HCWs. In particular, the prevalence of depression among physicians was high. Strategies to reduce the incidence of anxiety and depression are urgently required.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021238960.
New insights into soil arching behaviour in column-supported embankments
Authors: Smith Edward J. , Bouazza Abdelmalek , King Louis E. , Rowe R. Kerry
Published: September 2021

The observation of failure surfaces within column-supported embankments is critical to understanding how the embankment stresses are transferred towards the column heads. In this study, finite element simulations utilising a strain-softening constitutive model, nonlocal regularisation, and the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation are used to examine these failure surfaces over various embankment geometries. This methodology offers insights into the nature of the failure mechanism, the development of a plane of equal settlement, and the influence of the subsoil settlement profile. Depending on the embankment geometry, the results indicate a punching failure, inverted general bearing failure, or a localised failure develops. The transition between punching and inverted general bearing failure is found to be closely related to the establishment of a plane of equal settlement within the embankment. The height of the plane of equal settlement and the range of failure mechanisms that develop were largely insensitive to the nature of the subsoil settlement profiles simulated. These findings have implications for the practical design of efficient embankments and the effective design of future experimental studies.
Interaction between cement clinker constituents and clay minerals and their influence on the strength of cement-based stabilized soft clay
Authors: Wu Jun , Deng Zuhua , Deng Yongfeng , Zhou Annan , Zhang Yunsheng
Published: September 2021

The strength of cement-based stabilized clay is less than that of concrete and mortar and shows a distinct variability owing to the existence of various clay minerals. To better understand the cement–clay reactions and the strength generation, two artificial clays with the unique clay mineral and major strength-producing constituents of cement clinker were investigated via mechanical, compositional, and microstructural analyses. Results show that C3A-stabilized clay gains strength rapidly in the first 3 days, but this favourable tendency vanishes over time. After 90 days of curing, the strength of C3S-stabilized clay is about four times that of the corresponding C3A-stabilized clay, indicating the remarkable long-term stabilization efficiency of C3S. Furthermore, clay minerals primarily draw into strength evolution in the reaction process. Despite that bentonite is more reactive than kaolin as long as the highly alkaline conditions persist, it has a higher probability to flocculate into large aggregates during the mixing process, which may impair the reaction efficiency and even brings adverse stabilization effects, suggesting the importance of uniformity control.
Anisotropic constant-roll inflation for the Dirac–Born–Infeld model
Authors: Nguyen Duy H. , Pham Tuyen M. , Do Tuan Q.
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we study a non-canonical extension of a supergravity-motivated model acting as a vivid counterexample to the cosmic no-hair conjecture due to its unusual coupling between scalar and electromagnetic fields. In particular, a canonical scalar field is replaced by the string-inspired Dirac–Born–Infeld one in this extension. As a result, exact anisotropic inflationary solutions for this Dirac–Born–Infeld model are figured out under a constant-roll condition. Furthermore, numerical calculations are performed to verify that these anisotropic constant-roll solutions are indeed attractive during their inflationary phase.
The new innovative optic complete method of identification of oil and its fraction
Authors: Ahmadova Kh. N.
Published: September 2021

Development and demonstration of a new method for highly accurate forecasting of the hydrocarbon composition of oil based on determining the spectrum of its universal material constant–dielectric function, as by direct measurement using the method of spectroscopic ellipsometry, are today accepted as the world standard for determining the optical functions of any substance in a liquid or solid state, and by its quantum-mechanical calculation from first principles to complete coincidence with the measurement results. A methodology will be proposed for the complete description of any oil and the identification of it belonging to a particular oilfield. The methodology is not only universal and highly accurate, but also economical. In this work, we obtained several groups of fractions of crude oilsamples from different oil fields in Azerbaijan, which were accessed by spectroscopic ellipsometry over the 1.5–6.5 eV spectral range at room-temperature. Optical constants and dielectric function were obtained for massive samples of each substance and fractions. The proposed method is a complete dielectric fingerprint of oils for widespread use, including for environmental monitoring of oil-contaminated areas of the sea and land.
A plentiful supply of soliton solutions for DNA Peyrard–Bishop equation by means of a new auxiliary equation strategy
Authors: Ouahid Loubna , Abdou M. A. , Kumar Sachin , Owyed Saud , Ray S. Saha
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we present a work on dynamic equation of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) derived from the Peyrard–Bishop (PB) model oscillator chain for various dynamical solitary wave solutions. In order to construct novel soliton solutions in the DNA dynamic PB model with beta-derivative, the efficiency of the newly developed algorithms is being investigated, which could include a new auxiliary equation strategy (NAES). Some precise soliton solutions comprising dark, light and other forms of multi-wave soliton solutions are achieved via the proposed methods. Furthermore, mathematical models demonstrate the singularity of our work in comparison to current literary materials and even describe some results using the classic Peyrard–Bishop model. All the established results contribute to the possibility of extending the approach to solve other nonlinear equations of fractional space–time derivatives in nonlinear sciences. The strategy that has been proposed recently is specific and is being employed to produce novel closed-form solutions for all many other FNLEEs.
Dynamics of Marangoni convection in radiative flow of power-law fluid with entropy optimization
Authors: Malaikah Hunida , Khan M. Ijaz
Published: September 2021

The flow of non-Newtonian liquids and their heat transfer characteristic gained more importance due to their technological, industrial and in many engineering applications. Inspired by these applications, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of non-Newtonian liquid characterized by a power-law model is scrutinized. Further, viscous dissipation, Marangoni convection and thermal radiation are taken into the account. In addition, the production of entropy is investigated as a function of temperature, velocity and concentration. For different flow parameters, the total entropy production (EP) rate is examined. The appropriate similarity transformations are used to reduce the modeled equations reduced into ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg 45-order procedure is then used to solve these reduced equations numerically using the shooting technique. Results reveal that the escalating values of radiation parameter escalate the heat transference, but the contrary trend is portrayed for escalating values of power-law index. The augmented values of thermal Marangoni number decline the heat transference. The gain in values of radiation parameter progresses the entropy generation.
The Influence of Nonhomogeneous Interlayer Stiffness on Dynamic Response of Orbit-Girder System under Moving Load
Authors: Liu Shaohui , Jiang Lizhong , Zhou Wangbao , Zhang Yuntai , Feng Yulin , Wu Lingxu
Published: September 2021

Based on the finite Fourier series method and the principle of energy variation, a method for calculating the dynamic response of an orbit-girder system is proposed, which is suitable for general spring boundary and nonhomogeneous interlayer stiffness distribution. Two numerical examples are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method under different moving load speeds and different stiffness distribution patterns. Based on this method, the influence of boundary conditions, interlayer stiffness degradation mode and degradation amplitude as well as the motion load on the dynamic response of the orbit-girder system is analyzed. A formula for calculating the peak value of additional dynamic response caused by interlayer stiffness degradation is proposed based on the nonlinear fitting method, and the factors affecting the additional response are analyzed. Results show that the variation of boundary conditions does not affect the additional dynamic response of the orbit-girder system. The mode of interlayer stiffness degradation and the degree of nonhomogeneous distribution have a significant influence on the peak of additional dynamic response. The additional dynamic response peak value of the orbit-girder system increases significantly with an increasing degree of nonhomogeneous degradation of the interlayer stiffness. The orbit-girder system has multiple critical speeds under the action of moving load. The magnitude of moving load has an important effect on the additional response peaks of the orbit-girder system. The additional response peaks increase approximately linearly with the increase of the motion load.
Thermal metamorphism on the Moon as recorded by the granulite suite
Authors: Pernet-Fisher John F. , Joy Katherine H.
Published: September 2021

Thermally metamorphosed rocks on the Moon are an important, yet under-studied, suite of lithologies that have been identified within the Apollo and lunar meteorite collections. These rocks, with granoblastic and poikilitic textures, are generally referred to as granulites. However, unlike their terrestrial counterparts, which are the metamorphic products of both high temperatures and high pressures, lunar granulites are thought to be the products of only high-temperature (>1000°C) thermal metamorphism, which completely recrystallized their protoliths. We summarize the range of textures and chemical systematics reported from lunar granulites. These data enable constraints to be placed on the thermal conditions in the lunar crust required for high-temperature metamorphism to have taken place. Most studies indicate that impact melt sheets have the relevant thermal properties to sustain high temperatures over the timescales required to fully recrystallize the surrounding crustal lithologies. However, the roles of alternative heat sources, such as magmatic intrusions into the crust, have not been extensively investigated and, as such, cannot be ruled out. In addition, the chemical data yield important insights into the protoliths of the granulite suite. By identifying the protoliths, we greatly enhance our understanding of the range of lithologies that make up the primary lunar crust. In turn, this enables crustal formation models to be better constrained.

Supplementary material: All the geochemical data discussed within this review are available at:
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5623326
Current practices in mental health sensing
Authors: Nepal Subigya , Wang Weichen , Sharma Bishal , Paudel Prabesh
Published: September 2021

The ubiquity of smartphones and wearables makes it an attractive option to passively study human behavior. We explore the current practices of using passive sensing devices to assess mental health and wellbeing, including the limitations and future directions.
Study of the Strong Interaction Among Hadrons with Correlations at the LHC
Authors: Fabbietti L. , Sarti V. Mantovani , Doce O. Vázquez
Published: September 2021

The strong interaction among hadrons has been measured in the past by scattering experiments. Although this technique has been extremely successful in providing information about the nucleon–nucleon and pion–nucleon interactions, when unstable hadrons are considered the experiments become more challenging. In the last few years, the analysis of correlations in the momentum space for pairs of stable and unstable hadrons measured in pp and p+Pb collisions by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC has provided a new method to investigate the strong interaction among hadrons. In this article, we review the numerous results recently achieved for hyperon–nucleon, hyperon–hyperon, and kaon–nucleon pairs, which show that this new method opens the possibility of measuring the residual strong interaction of any hadron pair.
Ceria-Based Abrasive Composite to Improve MRR of SiO2 in 3D-NAND
Authors: Zhaoxia Yang , Zhang Baoguo , Xiaofan Yang , Ye Li , Haoran Li
Published: September 2021

The effect of ceria abrasive compound with zirconia and silica on polishing performance of SiO2 dielectric was studied. The results show that adding zirconia and silica to the ceria slurry can improve the polishing performance of SiO2 dielectric. When the mass ratio of ceria and zirconia is 4:3, the material removal rate (MRR) of SiO2 dielectric is increased to 218.6 nm min−1 at pH 3. Meanwhile, under the same pH, when the ratio of ceria to silica is 2:1, the MRR of SiO2 dielectric is 228.8 nm min−1. But the MRR reaches the highest at pH 5, the MRR of SiO2 dielectric reached 477.7 nm min−1 after the combination of ceria and zirconia, and 538.2 nm min−1 after the composite of ceria and silica. With the increase of the average particle size of silica, the MRR of SiO2 dielectric increases gradually. When the silica particle size is 80 nm, the MRR of SiO2 dielectric is the highest of 538.2 nm min−1. When using PL-3 instead of alkaline silica to verify the polishing rate of TEOS dielectric and Si3N4, the removal rate of TEOS dielectric reached 1080.6 nm min−1, the removal rate of Si3N4 was only 91.9 nm min−1, and the removal rate selectivity was 11.75:1. At the same time, the surface roughness of SiO2 dielectric is also decreased after the abrasive mixture.
Damage Evolution of Concrete Piles Mixed with Admixtures in Marine Corrosion and Freeze-Thaw Environment
Authors: Li Yan , Li Bing , Zhang Lianying , Ma Chao
Published: September 2021

Marine corrosion and freeze-thaw environment will bring serious damage to marine concrete structures, leading to affect the safety and service life of structures. With the help of artificial climate and environment simulation laboratory, the variation of the compression strength and elastic modulus of concrete with the number of freeze-thaw cycles and corrosion time under the corrosion and freeze-thaw environment is studied. The results show that both of them firstly increase and then decrease with corrosion time. When the corrosion time is 270 d and the freeze-thaw time is 90 times, the strength of concrete decreases by 13% and the elastic modulus decreases by 5%. Then, based on the theory of damage mechanics, the damage evolution and constitutive model of concrete under the marine corrosion and freeze-thaw environment are established. Compared with the experimental results, it is found that the model can well describe the damage evolution characteristics of concrete under marine corrosion and freeze-thaw environment. Finally, a numerical model is established on the basis of elastic modulus and strength degradation model of concrete under marine corrosion and freeze-thaw environment. Elevated pile caps of concrete pile component are taken as an example to analyze the process of damage, and the change rules of displacement, deformation, and damage of concrete pile are obtained.
The Role of Inflammasome Activation in Early HIV Infection
Authors: Ekabe Cyril Jabea , Clinton Njinju Asaba , Kehbila Jules , Franck Ngangom Chouamo
Published: September 2021

The inflammasome pathway is an important arm of the innate immune system that provides antiviral immunity against many viruses. The main pathways involved in virus infections include the NLRP3, IFI16, and AIM2 pathways. However, a succinct understanding of its role in HIV is not yet well elucidated. In this review, we showed that NLRP3 inflammasome activation plays a vital role in inhibiting HIV entry into target cells via the purinergic pathway; IFI16 detects intracellular HIV ssDNA, triggers interferon I and III production, and inhibits HIV transcription; and AIM2 binds to HIV dsDNA and triggers acute inflammation and pyroptosis. Remarkably, by understanding these mechanisms, new therapeutic strategies can be developed against the disease.
Technology of Coal Seam Long Borehole Blasting and Comprehensive Evaluation Method of Pressure Relief Effect in High Rockburst Proneness Longwall Panel
Authors: Hui Qianjia , Shi Zengzhu , Jia Dongxu
Published: September 2021

On August 2, 2019, a catastrophic rockburst disaster occurred in Tangshan mine, causing death of 7 miners. After the investigation, the coal mine is facing reproduction. Taking the 0291 panel as the engineering background, this paper studies the coal seam blasting pressure relief and ground stress monitoring technology in working face retreat. During the roadway development and working face excavation, coal seam blasting was adopted to transfer the high ground stress of coal seam to the deep ground of the coal body. The blasting operation is presented in detail in this paper. In the working face retreat stage, drilling powder method, hydraulic shield resistance monitoring, roof displacement, and vibration monitoring methods are implemented. The results show that the pressure relief range of coal seam is 4–12 m in the coal mass after blasting. The shield working resistance is stable at 20–30 MPa. The range of relative displacement of the roof is about −1.0 to 2.5 mm, and the maximum vertical vibration velocity is in the range of 7–11 cm/s, up to 12 cm/s. The measured parameters are acceptable, so it is concluded that 0291 panel can be safely mined. This study provides a reference for the coal seam blasting design for rockburst coal mine and provides a technical means for the analysis of pressure release effect and dynamic pressure monitoring during working face retreating.
Analysis on Health Information Acquisition of Social Network Users by Opinion Mining: Case Analysis Based on the Discussion on COVID-19 Vaccinations
Authors: Bi Datian , Kong Jingyuan , Zhang Xue , Yang Junli
Published: September 2021

This study aims to explore phenomena and laws that occur when different users on social network platforms obtain health information by constructing an opinion mining model, analyzing the user’s position on selected cases, and exploring the reflection of the phenomenon of truth decay on platforms. It selects group posts regarding the COVID-19 vaccination dispute on the Douban platform, analyzes the positions of different users, and explores phenomena related to users obtaining health information on domestic social platforms according to different topics and information behaviors. The results reveal a linear relationship between the negative and neutral attitudes of netizens on social networking platforms. Moreover, netizens tend to hold subjective language when expressing their views and attitudes, and their views on social platforms will not change easily. The study explores the health information acquisition behavior of netizens on social platforms based on the constructed user opinion mining model. The study is helpful for relevant units and platforms to make scientific decisions and provide guidance according to different positions of Internet users.
Utilization of Macadamia Nutshell Residue for the Synthesis of Magnetic Activated Carbon toward Zinc (II) Ion Removal
Authors: Dao Minh-Trung , Tran Thi-Phuong-Linh , Vo Duc-Thuong , Nguyen Van-Kieu , Hoang Le-Thuy-Thuy-Trang
Published: September 2021

In this study, macadamia nutshell residue, a prevalent leftover and green agricultural waste in Vietnam, was utilized to prepare a magnetic activated carbon adsorbent. The obtained material was characterized by its surface functionalities, elemental composition, crystalline structure, and magnetic properties. The characterization results revealed that the composite comprised Fe3O4 nanoparticles attached to the carbon matrix. The saturation magnetization (Ms) of the composite was found to be 38.2 emu g−1, indicating a convenient separation of the solid adsorbent from aqueous media using an external magnetic field. The feasibility of removing zinc (II) ion from an aqueous solution of the activated carbon/Fe3O4 (AC/Fe3O4) composite was examined. The adsorption kinetics were best explained by the Elovich model and the pseudo‐second‐order model. The adsorption capacity at equilibrium and the initial rate of Zn2+ adsorption determined by the pseudo‐second‐order model were 22.73 mg g−1 and 4.18 mg g−1 min−1, respectively. The implications of this study are that a low‐cost, green, and magnetically separable material prepared by a large‐scale available solid waste can be a promising adsorbent for the elimination of heavy metals.
A Robust Approach for Blur and Sharp Regions’ Detection Using Multisequential Deviated Patterns
Authors: Khan Awais , Javed Ali , Irtaza Aun , Mahmood Muhammad Tariq
Published: September 2021

Blur detection (BD) is an important and challenging task in digital imaging and computer vision applications. Accurate segmentation of homogenous smooth and blur regions, low-contrast focal regions, missing patches, and background clutter, without having any prior information about the blur, are the fundamental challenges of BD. Previous work on BD has emphasized much effort on designing local sharpness metric maps from the images. However, the smooth/blurred regions having the same patterns as sharp regions make them problematic. This paper presents a robust novel method to extract the local metric map for blurred and nonblurred regions based on multisequential deviated patterns (MSDPs). Unlike the preceding, MSDP extracts the local sharpness metric map on the images at multiple scales using different adaptive thresholds to overcome the problems of smooth/blur regions and missing patches. By using the integral values of the image along with image masking and Otsu thresholding, highly accurate segmented regions of the images are acquired. We argue/hypothesize that the local sharpness map extraction by using direct integral information of the image is highly affected by the threshold selected for distinction between the regions, whereas MSDP feature extraction overcomes the limitations substantially by using automatic threshold computation over multiple scales of the images. Moreover, the proposed method extracts the relatively accurate sharp regions from the high-dense blur and noisy images. Experiments are conducted on two commonly used SHI and DUT datasets for blur and sharp region classifications. The results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of sharp segmented regions. Experimental results of qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the proposed method with ten comparative methods demonstrate the superiority of our method. Moreover, the proposed method is also computationally efficient over state-of-the-art methods.
Research on the Undulatory Motion Mechanism of Seahorse Based on Dynamic Mesh
Authors: Quan Xinyu , Zhao Ximing , Zhang Shijie , Zhou Jie , Yu Nan , Hou Xuyan
Published: September 2021

The seahorse relies on the undulatory motion of the dorsal fin to generate thrust, which makes it possess quite high maneuverability and efficiency, and due to its low volume of the dorsal fin, it is conducive to the study of miniaturization of the driving mechanism. This paper carried out a study on the undulatory motion mechanism of the seahorse’s dorsal fin and proposed a dynamic model of the interaction between the seahorse’s dorsal fin and seawater based on the hydrodynamic properties of seawater and the theory of fluid-structure coupling. A simulation model was established using the Fluent software, and the 3D fluid dynamic mesh was used to study the undulatory motion mechanism of the seahorse’s dorsal fin. The effect of the swing frequency, amplitude, and wavelength of the seahorse’s dorsal fin on its propulsion performance was studied. On this basis, an optimized design method was used to design a bionic seahorse’s dorsal fin undulatory motion mechanism. The paper has important guiding significance for the research and miniaturization of new underwater vehicles.
SESCon: Secure Ethereum Smart Contracts by Vulnerable Patterns’ Detection
Authors: Ali Amir , Abideen Zain Ul , Ullah Kalim
Published: September 2021

Ethereum smart contracts have been gaining popularity toward the automation of so many domains, i.e., FinTech, IoT, and supply chain, which are based on blockchain technology. The most critical domain, e.g., FinTech, has been targeted by so many successful attacks due to its financial worth of billions of dollars. In all attacks, the vulnerability in the source code of smart contracts is being exploited and causes the steal of millions of dollars. To find the vulnerability in the source code of smart contracts written in Solidity language, a state-of-the-art work provides a lot of solutions based on dynamic or static analysis. However, these tools have shown a lot of false positives/negatives against the smart contracts having complex logic. Furthermore, the output of these tools is not reported in a standard way with their actual vulnerability names as per standards defined by the Ethereum community. To solve these problems, we have introduced a static analysis tool, SESCon (secure Ethereum smart contract), applying the taint analysis techniques with XPath queries. Our tool outperforms other analyzers and detected up to 90% of the known vulnerability patterns. SESCon also reports the detected vulnerabilities with their titles, descriptions, and remediations as per defined standards by the Ethereum community. SESCon will serve as a foundation for the standardization of vulnerability detection.
Smart and IoT-Based Coupling and Coordination Development for Financial and Logistics Industries
Authors: Li Ji-you , Zhou Qi-qing , Yin Pan-pan
Published: September 2021

Based on the panel data, collected through various Internet of Things (IoT) devices, of 31 various provinces and cities in the Republic of China from 2004 to 2019, due to the analysis of mechanism and the significance of coupled and coordinated development, methods like fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, entropy, coupling, and coordination degree model, exploratory spatial data analysis, and Theil index are widely used to analytically evaluate the dynamic coupling development of China’s financial and logistics industries. The analysis of the collected data shows that demand promotion, technological progress, corporate decision-making, and policy stimulus are the driving forces for the coordinated development. In addition, the coordinated development of both industries can achieve a win-win situation. Moreover, during the sample period, the level of coupled and coordinated development has made considerable progress, achieving a transition from moderate to slightly unbalanced level, but overall, it is still at a low level. The level of coupled and coordinated development is showing east-central-west, that is, a three-level declining trend. Guangdong is the province with the highest level, and Qinghai and Ningxia are the provinces with the lowest levels of coupled and coordinated development. The general evolution trend of the total difference in the levels of coupled and coordinated development is declining in fluctuation, and the differences in the eastern region and within the zones are the main reasons for the total difference.
Infected Nonunion of the Distal Femur in the Elderly with Bone Loss: Case Report and Treatment Options
Authors: Starčević Neven , Karačić Andrija
Published: September 2021

The management of infected nonunion associated with bone loss in long bones is both a time-consuming and challenging procedure for the orthopedic and trauma surgeon. In this paper, we present the case of a 75-year-old woman with infected nonunion of the distal femur associated with bone loss after plate osteosynthesis for a distal femur fracture. The patient was referred for nonunion of the distal femur after plate fixation (nonlocking “classic” plate) and was treated with a locking compression plate (LCP) and autologous cancellous bone transplant. During the follow-up, the patient was ambulatory without pain; however, the nonunion failed to heal, therefore, the induced membrane technique (Masquelet procedure) was performed in two stages, tissue samples were taken and revealed a bacterial infection (S. epidermidis), and antibiotic treatment was started. Due to infection, fracture healing was slowed, but did commence. Unfortunately, the LC plate failed before union occurred, the nonunion was treated with a femoral nail and blocking (Poller) screws, and the bony defect was filled with Ca-P cement. The patient was operated one last time for cement dislocation when not only the dislocated cement was removed but also the femoral nail dynamized. After one year after treatment completion, the fracture healed, and leg length discrepancy was 1.5 cm shorter on the left side. The patient experienced significant pain relief and can walk with the help of crutches. Our paper demonstrates the application of different techniques in fracture surgery as they are required can result in fracture healing even in very adverse circumstances.
Analysis of Serum Interleukin-37 Level and Prognosis in Patients with ACS
Authors: Liu Canjun , Cui Yancui , Zhang Dan , Tian Xiao , Zhang Hongyan
Published: September 2021

Objective. To explore the level of serum interleukin-37 in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and its prognostic value. Methods. Altogether, 121 continuous ACS cases from September 2017 to June 2020 were selected as the research group (RG), and 107 healthy individuals during the same period were obtained as the control group (CG). ELISA was applied to test IL-37 in the serum of the CG and the RG. Chemiluminescence immunoassay was applied to test NT-pro BNP and hs-cTnI in each group and immune scattering turbidimetry to test hs-CRP. The correlation of IL-37 with serum NT-pro BNP, hs-cTnI, and CRP was analyzed, and the value of IL-37 in diagnosis and prognosis prediction of patients with ACS was tested. Logistic regression was applied to test the independent risk factors affecting poor prognosis of patients with ACS. Results. IL-37 was poorly expressed in patients with ACS, which had a high diagnostic value for ACS (sensitivity: 94.39%, specificity: 74.38%, and area under curve: 0.945). There was a negative correlation of IL-37 with serum NT-pro BNP, hs-cTnI, and CRP. IL-37 in patients with poor prognosis was markedly declined compared with that of patients with good prognosis, and the predicted AUC was 0.965. Logistic regression revealed that low IL-37, diabetes, high CRP, NT-pro BNP, and hs-cTnI in the blood were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with ACS. Conclusion. IL-37 is low expressed in patients with ACS, which has a good diagnostic and prognostic value for ACS, and may be applied as an important marker for the prediction of patients with ACS.
Homoharringtonine Synergized with Gilteritinib Results in the Downregulation of Myeloid Cell Leukemia-1 by Upregulating UBE2L6 in FLT3-ITD-Mutant Acute Myeloid (Leukemia) Cell Lines
Authors: Cai Jiayi , Huang Honghui , Hu Xiaoli , Lang Wenjing , Fu Wanbin , Xu Lan , Qiu Zilong , Zhong Hua , Chen Fangyuan
Published: September 2021

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) occurs in approximately 30% of all AML patients and still has a poor prognosis. This study is directed to investigate gilteritinib in combination with homoharringtonine (HHT) on FLT3-ITD-mutant AML cell lines. In our study, we found that cell proliferation was dramatically suppressed by the combination of gilteritinib and HHT. This combination therapy decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential, finally inducing apoptosis. We demonstrated that gilteritinib downregulated the expression of FLT3 and downstream signaling, further decreased the mRNA level of myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1). HHT and combination therapy could upregulate UBE2L6, which induced the degradation of Mcl-1 via ubiquitin-proteasome system. Knockdown of UBE2L6 could protect Mcl-1 from deprivation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. These findings may provide a novel theoretical basis for the treatment of AML patients with FLT3-ITD mutations.
An Approach for Thoracic Syndrome Classification with Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Juneja Sapna , Juneja Abhinav , Dhiman Gaurav , Behl Sanchit , Kautish Sandeep
Published: September 2021

There have been remarkable changes in our lives and the way we perceive the world with advances in computing technology. Healthcare sector is evolving with the intervention of the latest computer-driven technology and has made a remarkable change in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. Due to many governing factors including air pollution, there is a rapid rise in chest-related diseases and the number of such patients is rising at an alarming rate. In this research work, we have employed machine learning approach for the detecting various chest-related problems using convolutional neural networks (CNN) on an open dataset of chest X-rays. The method has an edge over the traditional approaches for image segmentation including thresholding,

k

-means clustering, and edge detection. The CNN cannot scan and process the whole image at an instant; it needs to recursively scan small pixel spots until it has scanned the whole image. Spatial transformation layers and VGG19 have been used for the purpose of feature extraction, and ReLU activation function has been employed due to its inherent low complexity and high computation efficiency; finally, stochastic gradient descent has been used as an optimizer. The main advantage of the current method is that it retains the essential features of the image for prediction along with incorporating a considerable dimensional reduction. The model delivered substantial improvement over existing research in terms of precision,

f

-score, and accuracy of prediction. This model if used precisely can be very effective for healthcare practitioners in determining the thoracic or pneumonic symptoms in the patient at an early stage thus guiding the practitioner to start the treatment immediately leading to fast improvement in the health status of the patient.
Saposhnikoviae Radix Enhanced the Angiogenic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Huangqi Chifeng Tang in a Rat Model of Cerebral Infarction
Authors: Wang Qiu-Yue , Zhang Na , Liu Shu-Yu , Jiang Xi-Hong , Liu Shu-Min
Published: September 2021

Huangqi Chifeng Tang (HQCFT), a traditional Chinese formula of three herbs, has been used to treat cerebral infarction (CI). Saposhnikoviae Radix (SR) was designed as a guiding drug for HQCFT to improve its angiogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, TTC staining was used to detect the area of CI. H&E staining was used to detect the histopathologic changes in the cerebral tissue. Western blotting was performed to detect the protein expression of NLRP3, caspase 1, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, MMP-9, VEGF, and VEGFR2 in cerebral tissue. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of MMP-9, VEGF, and VEGFR2. The contents of HIF-1α, NLRP3, caspase 1, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the serum were determined by ELISA. Our study showed that HQCFT and HQCFT-SR could improve the pathological condition and reduce the infarcted area of the brain tissue in a rat model. In addition, HQCFT and HQCFT-SR significantly decreased the expression levels and serum contents of NLRP3, caspase 1, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α; increased the expression levels of the VEGF and VEGFR2 proteins; and obviously reduced the serum content of HIF-1α. Importantly, the cytokines in brain tissue and serum from the HQCFT group exhibited better efficacy than those from the HQCFT-SR group. HQCFT exerted significant angiogenic and anti-inflammatory effects in rats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO); these effects can be attributed to the guiding and enhancing effect of SR.
A Radioresponse-Related lncRNA Biomarker Signature for Risk Classification and Prognosis Prediction in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Song Jiahang , Zhang Shuming , Sun Yuanyuan , Gu Junjie , Ye Ziqi , Sun Xinchen , Tang Qiyun
Published: September 2021

Purpose. Radiotherapy resistance is now recognized as the major obstacle to the effective therapeutic management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). As a single biomarker has limited effect in stratifying NSCLC patients, this research aimed to identify long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) correlated with radiotherapy response to ameliorate forecast of NSCLC prognosis. Methods. In a cohort of NSCLC patients with radiotherapy history (n = 96) from TCGA, genetic data of lncRNA expression profiling were performed. To identify radioresponse-related lncRNA sets which dysregulated significantly between radiosensitive (RS) and radioresistant (RR) groups, differential expression analysis was carried out. Cox relative regression was implemented to set up a radioresponse-related risk model. Moreover, we adopted survival analysis to measure the predictive potentiality of the prognosis model. Results. Four radioresponse-related lncRNAs (CASC19, LINC01977, LINC02471, and MAGI2-AS3) were screened to create a prognostic signature. Then, we described a lncRNA signature-based regulatory network and explored the correlation of the immune microenvironment and the signature. Additionally, in vitro assays uncovered inhibition of LINC01977 weakened radioresistance of NSCLC cells. Conclusion. We provided a novel radioresponse-related lncRNAs signature with excellent clinical potency for an effective prognostic forecast of patients.
Nickel Removal from Aqueous Solution Using Chemically Treated Mahogany Sawdust as Biosorbent
Authors: Chanda Rajesh , Mithun Amir Hamza , Hasan Md. Abu , Biswas Biplob Kumar
Published: September 2021

Sawdust is a waste material, which is generally produced during making furniture and other necessary wood products. With a view to utilizing this waste material, a biosorbent was prepared from mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) sawdust through simple chemical treatment and was used to remove nickel ion (Ni2+) from an aqueous solution. The adsorbent material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The effects of biosorbent dosage (2∼18 g/L), pH of the tested solution (4∼10.5), contact time (up to 360 min), and temperature (298∼318 K) were studied in batchwise experiments. The maximum adsorption capacity of the treated sawdust was determined to be 13.42 mg/g at an optimum condition (sorbent dose of 15 g/L, pH of 9, and temperature of 298 K). The experimental data extrapolation revealed that the adsorption process fitted the Langmuir isotherm model and the kinetics was a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The obtained thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption reaction was spontaneous, endothermic, and random in nature. The study revealed that sawdust biosorbent has potential adsorption efficiency for nickel ion removal from an aqueous solution.
Deep Learning-Based Image Segmentation of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Images for Oral Lesion Detection
Authors: Wang Xueling , Meng Xianmin , Yan Shu
Published: September 2021

This paper aimed to study the adoption of deep learning (DL) algorithm of oral lesions for segmentation of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. 90 patients with oral lesions were taken as research subjects, and they were grouped into blank, control, and experimental groups, whose images were treated by the manual segmentation method, threshold segmentation algorithm, and full convolutional neural network (FCNN) DL algorithm, respectively. Then, effects of different methods on oral lesion CBCT image recognition and segmentation were analyzed. The results showed that there was no substantial difference in the number of patients with different types of oral lesions among three groups (

P
>
0.05

). The accuracy of lesion segmentation in the experimental group was as high as 98.3%, while those of the blank group and control group were 78.4% and 62.1%, respectively. The accuracy of segmentation of CBCT images in the blank group and control group was considerably inferior to the experimental group (

P
<
0.05

). The segmentation effect on the lesion and the lesion model in the experimental group and control group was evidently superior to the blank group (

P
<
0.05

). In short, the image segmentation accuracy of the FCNN DL method was better than the traditional manual segmentation and threshold segmentation algorithms. Applying the DL segmentation algorithm to CBCT images of oral lesions can accurately identify and segment the lesions.
Fixed Points of Generalized
α
-Meir-Keeler Contraction Mappings in

S

b

-Metric Spaces
Authors: Stephen Thounaojam , Rohen Yumnam , Saleem Naeem , Devi Mairembam Bina , Singh K. Anthony
Published: September 2021

In this note, we define Meir-Keeler contraction in

S

b

-metric spaces. Further, by adding the concept of

α

-admissible mappings, we define generalized

α

s

-Meir-Keeler contraction and used it for examining the existence and uniqueness of fixed points. Various results are also given as a consequence of our results.
Arnold-Chiari Malformation Type II and CYP1B1 Congenital Glaucoma: A Possible Association
Authors: Aldossari Shaikha , Al Bakri Amani , Kamal Yumna
Published: September 2021

Background. We describe a case of an infant with Arnold-Chiari Malformation Type II (ACM-II) who was born with lumbosacral myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, and primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) together with dysmorphic features (scaphocephaly, frontal bossing, hypotelorism, entropion, and flat nasal bridge), which according to our knowledge, is a combination that has yet to be described in literature. Primary diagnosis. A 2-year-old female who is known to have ACM-II was referred due to abnormal eye examination done in a peripheral hospital that suggested infantile glaucoma in both eyes. Findings. During her last physical exam (postop), she was vitally stable, conscious with good feeding. Ophthalmic assessment revealed buphthalmia, superior paracentral scar, deep anterior chambers (AC), and round pupils with positive red reflex, clear lens, and an IOP of 16, 14 mm Hg, respectively. Neurological exam showed paraparesis and moving upper extremities and has axial hypotonia. Genetic testing showed CYP1B1 gene mutation. Conclusion. The aim of reporting this case is to share the findings in this infant as it may be a new association. The main learning message here is that ACM-II patients may present with certain ocular symptoms, including glaucoma-related ones that may mimic neurological disorders. This report brings information that could alert general practitioners, neurologists, and neurosurgeons. A deeper understanding of this rare disorder may aid the diagnosis of cases with similar characteristic physical findings by referring them to an ophthalmology clinic for further evaluation. Case presentation. A 2-year-old female who is known to have Arnold Chiari Malformation Type II (ACM- II) was referred due to abnormal eye examination done in a peripheral hospital that suggested infantile glaucoma in both eyes. MRI at 3 months of age showed lumbosacral myelomeningocele and hydrocephalus. Genetic testing confirmed a CYP1B1 mutation. These combinations of symptoms were never described in the literature before.
Estimation of Population Median under Robust Measures of an Auxiliary Variable
Authors: Irfan Muhammad , Javed Maria , Shongwe Sandile C. , Zohaib Muhammad , Haider Bhatti Sajjad
Published: September 2021

In this paper, a generalized class of estimators for the estimation of population median are proposed under simple random sampling without replacement (SRSWOR) through robust measures of the auxiliary variable. Three robust measures, decile mean, Hodges–Lehmann estimator, and trimean of an auxiliary variable, are used. Mathematical properties of the proposed estimators such as bias, mean squared error (MSE), and minimum MSE are derived up to first order of approximation. We considered various real-life datasets and a simulation study to check the potentiality of the proposed estimators over the competitors. Robustness is also examined through a real dataset. Based on the fascinating results, the researchers are encouraged to use the proposed estimators for population median under SRSWOR.