bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RCE-HIL
Authors: Huang Xin , Peng Yuxin , Wen Zhang
Published: March 2020

Entailment recognition is an important paradigm of reasoning that judges if a hypothesis can be inferred from given premises. However, previous efforts mainly concentrate on text-based reasoning as
recognizing textual entailment (RTE)
, where the hypotheses and premises are both textual. In fact, humans’ reasoning process has the characteristic of
cross-media reasoning
. It is naturally based on the joint inference with different sensory organs, which represent complementary reasoning cues from unique perspectives as language, vision, and audition. How to realize cross-media reasoning has been a significant challenge to achieve the breakthrough for width and depth of entailment recognition. Therefore, this article extends RTE to a novel reasoning paradigm:

recognizing cross-media entailment (RCE)

, and proposes

heterogeneous interactive learning (HIL)

approach. Specifically, HIL recognizes entailment relationships via cross-media joint inference, from image-text premises to text hypotheses. It is an end-to-end architecture with two parts: (1) Cross-media hybrid embedding is proposed to perform cross embedding of premises and hypotheses for generating their fine-grained representations. It aims to achieve the alignment of cross-media inference cues via image-text and text-text interactive attention. (2) Heterogeneous joint inference is proposed to construct a heterogeneous interaction tensor space and extract semantic features for entailment recognition. It aims to simultaneously capture the interaction between cross-media premises and hypotheses and distinguish their entailment relationships. Experimental results on widely used Stanford natural language inference (SNLI) dataset with image premises from Flickr30K dataset verify the effectiveness of HIL and the intrinsic inter-media complementarity in reasoning.
Cross Refinement Techniques for Markerless Human Motion Capture
Authors: Li Miaopeng , Zhou Zimeng , Liu Xinguo
Published: March 2020

This article presents a global 3D human pose estimation method for markerless motion capture. Given two calibrated images of a person, it first obtains the 2D joint locations in the images using a pre-trained 2D Pose CNN, then constructs the 3D pose based on stereo triangulation. To improve the accuracy and the stability of the system, we propose two efficient optimization techniques for the joints. The first one, called cross-view refinement, optimizes the joints based on epipolar geometry. The second one, called cross-joint refinement, optimizes the joints using bone-length constraints. Our method automatically detects and corrects the unreliable joint, and consequently is robust against heavy occlusion, symmetry ambiguity, motion blur, and highly distorted poses. We evaluate our method on a number of benchmark datasets covering indoors and outdoors, which showed that our method is better than or on par with the state-of-the-art methods. As an application, we create a 3D human pose dataset using the proposed motion capture system, which contains about 480K images of both indoor and outdoor scenes, and demonstrate the usefulness of the dataset for human pose estimation.
Application-Specific Arithmetic in High-Level Synthesis Tools
Authors: Uguen Yohann , Dinechin Florent De , Lezaud Victor , Derrien Steven
Published: March 2020

This work studies hardware-specific optimization opportunities currently unexploited by high-level synthesis compilers. Some of these optimizations are specializations of floating-point operations that respect the usual semantics of the input program without changing the numerical result. Some other optimizations, locally triggered by the programmer thanks to a pragma, assume a different semantics, where floating-point code is interpreted as the specification of computation with real numbers. The compiler is then in charge to ensure an application-level accuracy constraint expressed in the pragma and has the freedom to use non-standard arithmetic hardware when more efficient. These two classes of optimizations are prototyped in the GeCoS source-to-source compiler and evaluated on the Polybench and EEMBC benchmark suites. Latency is reduced by up to 93%, and resource usage is reduced by up to 58%.
A Novel, Highly Integrated Simulator for Parallel and Distributed Systems
Authors: Tampouratzis Nikolaos , Papaefstathiou Ioannis , Nikitakis Antonios , Brokalakis Andreas , Andrianakis Stamatis , Dollas Apostolos , Marcon Marco , Plebani Emanuele
Published: March 2020

In an era of complex networked parallel heterogeneous systems, simulating independently only parts, components, or attributes of a system-under-design is a cumbersome, inaccurate, and inefficient approach. Moreover, by considering each part of a system in an isolated manner, and due to the numerous and highly complicated interactions between the different components, the system optimization capabilities are severely limited. The presented fully-distributed simulation framework (called as COSSIM) is the first known open-source, high-performance simulator that can handle holistically system-of-systems including processors, peripherals and networks; such an approach is very appealing to both Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) and Highly Parallel Heterogeneous Systems designers and application developers. Our highly integrated approach is further augmented with accurate power estimation and security sub-tools that can tap on all system components and perform security and robustness analysis of the overall system under design—something that was unfeasible up to now. Additionally, a sophisticated Eclipse-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been developed to provide easy simulation setup, execution, and visualization of results. COSSIM has been evaluated when executing the widely used Netperf benchmark suite as well as a number of real-world applications. Final results demonstrate that the presented approach has up to 99% accuracy (when compared with the performance of the real system), while the overall simulation time can be accelerated almost linearly with the number of CPUs utilized by the simulator.
Frame-level Bit Allocation Optimization Based on Video Content Characteristics for HEVC
Authors: Pan Zhaoqing , Yi Xiaokai , Zhang Yun , Yuan Hui , Wang Fu Lee , Kwong Sam
Published: March 2020

Rate control plays an important role in high efficiency video coding (HEVC), and bit allocation is the foundation of rate control. The video content characteristics are significant for bit allocation, and modeling an accurate relationship between video content characteristics and bit allocation is essential for bit allocation optimization. Therefore, in this article, a video content characteristics–based frame-level optimal bit allocation algorithm is proposed for improving the rate distortion (RD) performance of HEVC. First, the number of search points of motion estimation is used to evaluate the motion activity of video content, and the relationship between the search points and bit allocation is modeled as the search-points model. Second, the grey level co-occurrence matrix and temporal perceptual information are used to evaluate the spatial and temporal texture complexity, and the relationship between the video content texture complexity and bit allocation is modeled as the texture-complexity model. Then, the search-points model and texture-complexity model are jointly employed to allocate the coding bits for the second and third layers of the HEVC hierarchical coding structure. Finally, the remaining coding bits of a group-of-pictures (GOP) are allocated to the first layer of HEVC coding structure. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, the RD performance and bitrate accuracy are used as evaluation criteria, and the experimental results show that when compared with the popularly used R-λ model–based bit allocation algorithm, the proposed algorithm achieves an average of -3.43% BDBR reduction and 0.13 dB BDPSNR gains with only 0.02% loss of bitrate accuracy.
Airway submucosal glands from cystic fibrosis swine suffer from abnormal ion transport across the serous acini, collecting duct, and ciliated duct
Authors: Luan Xiaojie , Tam Julian S. , Jagadeeshan Santosh , Grishchenko Nikolay , Hassan Noman , Gioino Paula , Shipley Alan M. , Machen Terry E. , Ianowski Juan P.
Published: March 2020

The human airway is protected by an efficient innate defense mechanism that requires healthy secretion of airway surface liquid (ASL) to clear pathogens from the lungs. Most of the ASL in the upper airway is secreted by submucosal glands. In cystic fibrosis (CF), the function of airway submucosal glands is abnormal, and these abnormalities are attributed to anomalies in ion transport across the epithelia lining the different sections of the glands that function coordinately to produce the ASL. However, the ion transport properties of most of the anatomical regions of the gland have never been measured, and there is controversy regarding which segments express CFTR. This makes it difficult to determine the glandular abnormalities that may contribute to CF lung disease. Using a noninvasive, extracellular self-referencing ion-selective electrode technique, we characterized ion transport properties in all four segments of submucosal glands from wild-type and CFTR−/−swine. In wild-type airways, the serous acini, mucus tubules, and collecting ducts secrete Cl−and Na+into the lumen in response to carbachol and forskolin stimulation. The ciliated duct also transports Cl−and Na+but in the opposite direction, i.e., reabsorption from the ASL, which may contribute to lowering Na+and Cl−activities in the secreted fluid. In CFTR−/−airways, the serous acini, collecting ducts, and ciliated ducts fail to transport ions after forskolin stimulation, resulting in the production of smaller volumes of ASL with normal Cl−, Na+, and K+concentration.
Effects of pre- and postnatal protein restriction on maternal and offspring metabolism in the nonhuman primate
Authors: Kirigiti Melissa A. , Frazee Tim , Bennett Baylin , Arik Anam , Blundell Peter , Bader Lindsay , Bagley Jennifer , Frias Antonio E. , Sullivan Elinor L. , Roberts Charles T. , Kievit Paul
Published: March 2020

Women in low- and middle-income countries frequently consume a protein-deficient diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The effects of gestational malnutrition on fetal and early postnatal development can have lasting adverse effects on offspring metabolism. Expanding on previous studies in rodent models, we utilized a nonhuman primate model of gestational and early-life protein restriction (PR) to evaluate effects on the organ development and glucose metabolism of juvenile offspring. Offspring were born to dams that had consumed a control diet containing 26% protein or a PR diet containing 13% protein. Offspring were maintained on the PR diet and studied [body and serum measurements, intravenous glucose tolerance tests (ivGTTs), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans] up to 7 mo of age, at which time tissues were collected for analysis. PR offspring had age-appropriate body weight and were euglycemic but exhibited elevated fasting insulin and reduced initial, but increased total, insulin secretion during an ivGTT at 6 mo of age. No changes were detected in pancreatic islets of PR juveniles; however, PR did induce changes, including reduced kidney size, and changes in liver, adipose tissue, and muscle gene expression in other peripheral organs. Serum osteocalcin was elevated and bone mineral content and density were reduced in PR juveniles, indicating a significant impact of PR on early postnatal bone development.
Angiotensin II-mediated nondipping during sleep in healthy humans: effects on baroreflex function at subsequent daytime
Authors: Sayk Friedhelm , Twesten Christoph , Adametz Isabel , Franzen Klaas , Vonthein Reinhard , Dodt Christoph , Meusel Moritz
Published: March 2020

Blood pressure dipping at night is mediated by sleep-inherent, active downregulation of sympathetic vascular tone. Concomitantly, activity of the renin-angiotensin system is reduced, which might contribute to the beneficial effect of baroreflex downward resetting on daytime blood pressure homeostasis. To evaluate whether experimental nondipping mediated by angiotensin II during sleep would alter blood pressure and baroreflex function the next day in healthy humans, angiotensin-II or placebo (saline) was infused for a 7-h period at night, preventing blood pressure dipping in 11 sleeping normotensive individuals (5 males, balanced, crossover design). Baroreflex function was assessed about 1 h upon awakening and stop of infusion via microneurographic recordings of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), showing that resting MSNA was significantly increased following angiotensin II nondipping compared with placebo ( P = 0.029), whereas blood pressure and heart rate remained unchanged. Baroreflex sensitivity in response to vasoactive drug challenge was preserved, and neuroendocrine markers of fluid balance and electrolytes did not differ between conditions. Ambulatory blood pressure during subsequent daytime was not altered. Data were compared with analog experiments previously performed within the same subjects during awake daytime (ANCOVA). We conclude that angiotensin-II mediated nocturnal nondipping did not induce blood pressure elevation at subsequent daytime in healthy humans but was linked to increased vasoconstrictive sympathetic activity. This is in contrast to a prolonged increase in blood pressure in corresponding daytime experiments of the same individuals. Evidently, sleep strongly preserves normotensive blood pressure homeostasis in healthy humans.
Comparison of Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy to Physical Therapy following Degenerative Meniscus Tears: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis
Authors: Li Juntan , Zhu Wannan , Gao Xiang , Li Xu
Published: March 2020

Objective. To compare the effectiveness of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) and physical therapy (PT) for degenerative meniscus tears. Method. We conducted a literature search through PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Randomized controlled trials in adults with degenerative meniscal tears without symptoms of locking were considered for inclusion. Two researchers independently performed the literature search, assessed the risk of bias, and selected eligible studies. The primary outcome was function at different follow‐up time points and the secondary outcome was pain at different follow‐up time points. Results. We included 6 randomized controlled trials, with a total of 1006 participants, among which 495 were in the APM group and 511 were in the PT group. We found a small benefit in functional outcomes in the APM group until the 12 months follow‐up time point (SMD = 0.20; 95%CI = 0.0‐0.33; p = 0.002; I2 = 34%), but no significant differences in function between groups at the 24‐month follow‐up time point (SMD = 0.12; 95%CI = −0.04 − 0.28; p = 0.14; I2 = 28%). There was also small benefit in the APM group until the 12 months follow‐up time point for pain (SMD = 0.14; 95%CI = 0.01 − 027; p = 0.03; I2 = 36%), but no significant difference in pain between groups at 24 months (SMD = 0.11; 95%CI = −0.05 − 0.28; p = 0.18; I2 = 0%). Conclusion. In the treatment of degenerative meniscus tears, APM yielded better functional and pain outcomes compared with physical therapy in the short term until 12 months, but there were comparable results for pain and functional outcomes between the groups at the 24 months follow‐up time point.
Characteristics and Functions of the Rumen Microbial Community of Cattle‐Yak at Different Ages
Authors: Sha Yuzhu , Hu Jiang , Shi Bingang , Dingkao Renqing , Wang Jiqing , Li Shaobin , Zhang Wei , Luo Yuzhu , Liu Xiu
Published: March 2020

A cattle‐yak, which is a hybrid between a yak (Bos grunniens) and cattle (Bos taurus), is an important livestock animal, but basic questions regarding its physiology and environmental adaptation remain unanswered. To address this issue, the present study examined the species composition and functional characteristics of rumen microorganisms in the cattle‐yak of different ages (2 and 3 years old) by metagenomic analysis. We found that rumen microbial community composition was similar at the two ages. Firmicutes, Fibrobacteres, Euryarchaeota, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were the predominant phyla, with Firmicutes accounting for the highest percentage of bacteria in 2‐year‐old (48%) and 3‐year‐old (46%) animals. Bacterial species involved in lignocellulose degradation were detected in the rumen of adult cattle‐yaks including Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Ruminococcus albus, Fibrobacter succinogenes, and Prevotella ruminicola, with F. succinogenes being the most abundant. A total of 145,489 genes were annotated according to the Carbohydrate‐active Enzyme database, which identified glycoside hydrolases as the most highly represented enzyme family. Further functional annotation revealed specific microflora and genes in the adult rumen that are potentially related to plateau adaptability. These results could explain the heterosis of the cattle‐yak and provide insight into mechanisms of physiologic adaptation in plateau animals.
Hypermethylation in Calca Promoter Inhibited ASC Osteogenic Differentiation in Rats with Type 2 Diabetic Mellitus
Authors: Wang Lei , Ding Feng , Shi Shaojie , Wang Xingxing , Zhang Sijia , Song Yingliang
Published: March 2020

The abnormal environment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) leads to a substantial decrease in osteogenic function of stem cells. However, the gene sequence does not vary before and after disease for the patient. This phenomenon may be related to changes in osteogenesis-related gene expression caused by DNA methylation. In this study, we established T2DM models to extract adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) for different gene identifications through DNA methylation sequencing. Specific fragments of methylation changes in the target gene (Calca) were identified by IGV analysis. CGRP was applied to compare the effects on ASCs-T2DM morphology via phalloidin staining, proliferation through CCK-8 assay, and osteogenic differentiation with osteogenic staining, qPCR, and repair of calvarial defect. Furthermore, 5-azacytidine (5-az) was used to intervene ASCs-T2DM to verify the relationship between the methylation level of the target fragment and expression of Calca. We found that the DNA methylation level of target fragment of Calca in ASCs-T2DM was higher than that in ASCs-C. CGRP intervention showed that it did not change the morphology of ASCs-T2DM but could improve proliferation within a certain range. Meanwhile, it could significantly enhance the formation of ALP and calcium nodules in ASCs-T2DM, increase the expression of osteogenesis-related genes in vitro, and promote the healing of calvarial defects of T2DM rat in a concentration-dependent manner. 5-az intervention indicated that the reduction of the methylation level in Calca target fragment of ASCs-T2DM indeed escalated the gene expression, which may be related to DNMT1. Taken together, the environment of T2DM could upregulate the methylation level in the promoter region of Calca and then decrease the Calca expression. The coding product of Calca revealed a promoting role for osteogenic differentiation of ASCs-T2DM. This result provides an implication for us to understand the mechanism of the decreased osteogenic ability of ASCs-T2DM and improve its osteogenic capacity.
Research on Quantitative Remote Sensing Monitoring Algorithm of Air Pollution Based on Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Liu Yun , Jing Yuqin , Lu Yinan
Published: March 2020

When the current algorithm is used for quantitative remote sensing monitoring of air pollution, it takes a long time to monitor the air pollution data, and the obtained range coefficient is small. The error between the monitoring result and the actual result is large, and the monitoring efficiency is low, the monitoring range is small, and the monitoring accuracy rate is low. An artificial intelligence-based quantitative monitoring algorithm for air pollution is proposed. The basic theory of atmospheric radiation transmission is analyzed by atmospheric radiation transfer equation, Beer–Bouguer–Lambert law, parallel plane atmospheric radiation theory, atmospheric radiation transmission model, and electromagnetic radiation transmission model. Quantitative remote sensing monitoring of air pollution provides relevant information. The simultaneous equations are constructed on the basis of multiband satellite remote sensing data through pixel information, and the aerosol turbidity of the atmosphere is calculated by the equation decomposition of the pixel information. The quantitative remote sensing monitoring of air pollution is realized according to the calculated aerosol turbidity. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has high monitoring efficiency, wide monitoring range, and high monitoring accuracy.
Aging Induced p53/p21 in Genioglossus Muscle Stem Cells and Enhanced Upper Airway Injury
Authors: Zhu Lu-Ying , Yu Li-Ming , Zhang Wei-Hua , Deng Jia-Jia , Liu Shang-Feng , Huang Wei , Zhang Meng-Han , Lu Yan-Qin , Han Xin-Xin , Liu Yue-Hua
Published: March 2020

Aging of population brings related social problems, such as muscle attenuation and regeneration barriers with increased aging. Muscle repair and regeneration depend on muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) rises in the aging population. OSA leads to hypoxia and upper airway muscle injury. However, little is known about the effect of increasing age and hypoxia to the upper airway muscle. The genioglossus (GG) is the major dilator muscle to keep the upper airway open. Here, we reported that muscle fiber and MuSC function declined with aging in GG. Increasing age also decreased the migration and proliferation of GG MuSCs. p53 and p21 were high expressions both in muscle tissue and in GG MuSCs. We further found that hypoxia inhibited GG MuSC proliferation and decreased myogenic differentiation. Then, hypoxia enhanced the inhibition effect of aging to proliferation and differentiation. Finally, we investigated that hypoxia and aging interact to form a vicious circle with upregulation of p53 and p21. This vicious hypoxia plus aging damage accelerated upper airway muscle injury. Aging and hypoxia are the major damage elements in OSA patients, and we propose that the damage mechanism of hypoxia and aging in GG MuSCs will help to improve upper airway muscle regeneration.
Identification of Long Noncoding RNAs as Predictors of Survival in Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer Based on Network Analysis
Authors: Li Xiao-Xiao , Wang Li-Juan , Hou Jie , Liu Hong-Yang , Wang Rui , Wang Chao , Xie Wen-Hai
Published: March 2020

Breast cancer is the most common cancer observed in adult females, worldwide. Due to the heterogeneity and varied molecular subtypes of breast cancer, the molecular mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis in different subtypes of breast cancer are distinct. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to be oncogenic or play important roles in cancer suppression and are used as biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy. In this study, we identified 134 lncRNAs and 6,414 coding genes were differentially expressed in triple‐negative (TN), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2‐ (HER2‐) positive, luminal A‐positive, and luminal B‐positive breast cancer. Of these, 37 lncRNAs were found to be dysregulated in all four subtypes of breast cancers. Subtypes of breast cancer special modules and lncRNA‐mRNA interaction networks were constructed through weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). Survival analysis of another public datasets was used to verify the identified lncRNAs exhibiting potential indicative roles in TN prognosis. Results from heat map analysis of the identified lncRNAs revealed that five blocks were significantly displayed. High expressions of lncRNAs, including LINC00911, CSMD2‐AS1, LINC01192, SNHG19, DSCAM‐AS1, PCAT4, ACVR28‐AS1, and CNTFR‐AS1, and low expressions of THAP9‐AS1, MALAT1, TUG1, CAHM, FAM2011, NNT‐AS1, COX10‐AS1, and RPARP‐AS1 were associated with low survival possibility in TN breast cancers. This study provides novel lncRNAs as potential biomarkers for the therapeutic and prognostic classification of different breast cancer subtypes.
Real-Time Nonlinear Characterization of Soft Tissue Mechanical Properties
Authors: Shin Jaehyun , Zhong Yongmin , Gu Chengfan
Published: March 2020

Online soft tissue characterization is important for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery to achieve precise and stable robotic control with haptic feedback. This paper presents a new nonlinear recursive adaptive filtering methodology for online nonlinear soft tissue characterization. An adaptive unscented Kalman filter is developed based on the Hunt-Crossley model by windowing approximation to online estimate system and measurement noise covariances. To improve the accuracy of noise covariance estimations, a recursive formulation is subsequently developed for estimation of system and measurement noise covariances by introducing a weighting factor. This weighting factor is further modified to accommodate noise statistics of large variation which could be caused by rupture events and geometric discontinuities in robotic-assisted surgery. Simulations, experiments, and comparison analyses demonstrate that the proposed nonlinear recursive adaptive filtering methodology can characterize soft tissue parameters in the presence of system or measurement noise statistics in both small and large variations for robotic-assisted surgery. The proposed methodology can effectively estimate soft tissue parameters under system and measurement noises in both small and large variations, leading to improved filtering accuracy and robustness in comparison with UKF.
Insurance Coverage, Employment Status, and Financial Well-Being of Young Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer
Authors: Tangka Florence K.L. , Subramanian Sujha , Jones Madeleine , Edwards Patrick , Flanigan Timothy , Kaganova Yevgeniya , Smith Kevin W. , Thomas Cheryll C. , Hawkins Nikki A. , Rodriguez Juan , Fairley Temeika , Guy Gery P.
Published: March 2020

Background:

The economic cost of breast cancer is a major personal and public health problem in the United States. This study aims to evaluate the insurance, employment, and financial experiences of young female breast cancer survivors and to assess factors associated with financial decline.

Methods:

We recruited 830 women under 40 years of age diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2013 and December 2014. The study population was identified through California, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina population-based cancer registries. The cross-sectional survey was fielded in 2017 and included questions on demographics, insurance, employment, out-of-pocket costs, and financial well-being. We present descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis to assess factors associated with financial decline.

Results:

Although 92.5% of the respondents were continuously insured over the past 12 months, 9.5% paid a “higher price than expected” for coverage. Common concerns among the 73.4% of respondents who were employed at diagnosis included increased paid (55.1%) or unpaid (47.3%) time off, suffering job performance (23.2%), and staying at (30.2%) or avoiding changing (23.5%) jobs for health insurance purposes. Overall, 47.0% experienced financial decline due to treatment-related costs. Patients with some college education, multiple comorbidities, late stage diagnoses, and self-funded insurance were most vulnerable.

Conclusions:

The breast cancer diagnosis created financial hardship for half the respondents and led to myriad challenges in maintaining employment. Employment decisions were heavily influenced by the need to maintain health insurance coverage.

Impact:

This study finds that a breast cancer diagnosis in young women can result in employment disruption and financial decline.
Associations of Abdominal Skeletal Muscle Mass, Fat Mass, and Mortality among Men and Women with Stage I–III Colorectal Cancer
Authors: van Baar Harm , Winkels Renate M. , Brouwer Jesca G.M. , Posthuma Liesbeth , Bours Martijn J.L. , Weijenberg Matty P. , Boshuizen Hendriek C. , van Zutphen Moniek , van Duijnhoven Fränzel J.B. , Kok Dieuwertje E. , Wesselink Evertine , Slooter Gerrit D. , Spillenaar Bilgen Ernst J. , Hansson Birgitta M.E. , de Wilt Johannes H.W. , Kampman Ellen , Beijer Sandra
Published: March 2020

Background:

The associations of abdominal skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT, respectively), and mortality among patients with stage I–III colorectal cancer may differ for men and women, but only few studies stratified their data into men and women. We investigated associations of abdominal SMI, VAT, and SAT with overall mortality among men and among women with stage I–III colorectal cancer.

Methods:

SMI, VAT, and SAT were assessed from abdominal CT images for 1,998 patients with stage I–III colorectal cancer diagnosed between 2006 and 2015. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to investigate associations of SMI, VAT, and SAT with overall mortality.

Results:

Average age of the participants was 67.9 ± 10.6 years and 58% were men. During a median follow-up of 4.3 years, 546 (27%) patients died. Among men, the association of SMI and mortality was statistically significant in a nonlinear way in the RCS analyses, with lower SMI levels associated with higher mortality. SMI was not associated with mortality among women. SAT was associated with mortality in a nonlinear way for men and for women, with lower SAT levels being associated with higher mortality. VAT was not significantly associated with mortality in men or women.

Conclusion:

Associations of abdominal skeletal muscle mass with mortality among patients with colorectal cancer were not the same for men and for women.

Impact:

This study stresses the importance for more attention on sex-related differences in body composition and cancer outcomes.
Adolescent Use of Hair Dyes, Chemical Straighteners and Perms in Relation to Breast Cancer Risk in the Sister Study
Authors: White AJ , Taylor KW , Eberle CE , Gaston SA , O'Brien KM , Jackson CL , Sandler DP
Published: March 2020

Hair products may contain hormonally active and carcinogenic compounds. We evaluated the risk of breast cancer associated with adolescent use of hair dyes, chemical straighteners and perms in a large prospective U.S. cohort. Methods: Sister Study participants (n = 47,833) were ages 35–74 years and had a sister who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the time of enrollment (2003–2009). Enrollment questionnaires obtained information on demographics and lifestyle factors as well as frequency of use of hair dyes, chemical straighteners, and perms at ages 10–13 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association between adolescent hair product use and breast cancer risk (invasive cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ). We considered whether associations varied by invasiveness, estrogen receptor (ER) status of the tumor, menopause status and race. Results: Over an average of 8.3 years of follow-up, 2,829 cases were diagnosed. Hair dye use at ages 10–13 years was uncommon and not associated with breast cancer risk (e.g. permanent hair dye, <3%; HR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.76–1.22). Use of perms (34% non-Hispanic white vs. 8% black women) and straighteners (10% non-Hispanic white vs 75% black women) at ages 10–13 years varied by race. An elevated HR for breast cancer was observed for frequent use of chemical straighteners (HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 0.98–1.65). Though based on small numbers, this association was most pronounced for ER- invasive (HR = 2.04, 95% CI: 0.98–4.24) and premenopausal breast cancer (HR = 2.18, 95% CI 1.27–3.74). Frequent use of perms was also associated with a higher risk of invasive breast cancer and ER- tumors (HR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.00–1.57 and HR = 1.69, 95%CI: 0.96–2.98, respectively). Although product use varied by race, associations with breast cancer did not. Conclusions: Frequent use of chemical straighteners or perms during the ages of 10–13 years was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer. These results suggest that exposure to the chemicals in these hair products, especially during adolescence which may be an important biological window of susceptibility, may play a role in breast carcinogenesis.
Honoring Paul F. Engstrom, MD: A Pioneer of Cancer Prevention
Authors: Clapper Margie L. , Fang Carolyn Y.
Published: March 2020

See all articles in this Special Collection Honoring Paul F. Engstrom, MD, Champion of Cancer Prevention
Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: Impact on Exercise Capacity and Fatigue
Authors: Grongstad Anita , Spruit Martijn A. , Oldervoll Line Merethe , Vøllestad Nina Køpke , Edvardsen Anne
Published: March 2020

Background: There is limited evidence regarding the impact of multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on exercise capacity and fatigue in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact on exercise capacity and fatigue following PR, and to examine whether baseline fatigue was related to change in peak oxygen uptake (ΔV̇O2peak). Methods: Forty-one patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis attending a 4-week inpatient PR program were recruited to this pre-post study. Both maximal exercise capacity, defined as V̇O2peak and measured with a cardiopulmonary exercise test, and fatigue, assessed with the Fatigue Assessment Scale (score 10–50 points), were measured before and after PR. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in V̇O2peak (1.2 ± 2.3 mL/kg/min, p = 0.002), and fatigue decreased significantly (–1.7 ± 3.9 points, p = 0.009) following PR. Unadjusted linear regression analyses demonstrated that age (B = –0.076, p = 0.017) and baseline fatigue (B = 0.196, p = 0.001) were predictors for change in V̇O2peak, while in adjusted analyses (age, sex, baseline V̇O2peak, baseline fatigue, and diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide), only baseline fatigue predicted change in V̇O2peak following PR (B = 0.165, p = 0.026). Conclusion: A 4-week multidisciplinary PR program improves maximal exercise capacity and reduces fatigue in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Baseline fatigue only partly predicted change in V̇O2peak following PR.
Hypophysitis (Including IgG4 and Immunotherapy)
Authors: Angelousi Anna , Alexandraki Krystallenia , Tsoli Marina , Kaltsas Gregory , Kassi Eva
Published: March 2020

Hypophysitis is characterized by inflammation of the pituitary gland that can be primary (PH) or secondary (SH) to other diseases or following drug administration. It may also be classified according to anatomical and histopathological criteria, leading to variable degrees of hypopituitarism and/or compressive symptoms to nearby structures. There has recently been an increase in the number of hypophysitis cases, raising the interest on the spectrum of its pathogenesis, clinical, biochemical/endocrinological, and imaging features. However, the use of conventional biomarkers, including currently utilized pituitary autoantibodies, has relatively limited diagnostic accuracy. Lymphocytic hypophysitis (LH) is the commonest cause of PH, whereas IgG4-related hypophysitis is increasingly being recognized. Histiocytosis and granulomatous diseases are the most frequent causes of SH, although infections and lymphoma have also been reported. The increasing use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in oncology is associated with a high incidence of hypophysitis, providing further understanding of its pathogenesis. Hypophysitis can occur silently and be easily missed, potentially leading to substantial morbidity or mortality due to adrenal insufficiency, requiring a high index of clinical suspicion and timely initiation of appropriate treatment. In most cases of LH or drug-induced hypophysitis, active surveillance along with replacement of established hormonal deficiencies is needed. In the presence of compressive and/or evolving symptoms, treatment with glucocorticoids either alone or in combination with other immunosuppressive agents can be used. Surgical decompression is reserved for nonresponsive cases with threatened vital structures. Timely diagnosis and intervention are important to minimize disease-related morbidity and mortality. We aimed to review current concepts and recent developments in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of hypophysitis.
Relations between the Causative Factors of Waste and Their Preventive Measures in China Construction Sites
Authors: AL-Hamadani Sulala M.Z.F , Qing Luo , Peng Guilong , Weng Miaocheng
Published: March 2020

Material waste has been considered as a major problem in the construction industry. Material waste not only has a negative impact on the success and efficiency of construction project, but also on construction cost, construction time, productivity and sustainability aspects. This paper aims to identify the major causative factors of material waste in China construction sites, their preventive measures and the relations between them. For this purpose, views of Chinese construction industry practitioners in Chongqing city were gathered by a questionnaire survey. The respondents were requested to rate a total of 34 causative factors of material waste and 9 preventive measures, which were gathered from previous literature. These causative factors were grouped into eight categories: Design, Handling, Procurement, Operation, Worker, Management, Site condition and External factors. The major causative factors of each category and preventive measures of waste were determined. Based on the identification of major factors and measures, the relations between them were also determined.
Evaluation of h- and g-indices of Scientific Authors using Modified K-Means Clustering Algorithm
Authors: Rao S. Govinda , Govardhan A.
Published: March 2020

In this paper we proposed modified K-means algorithm to assess scientific authors performance by using their h,g-indices values. K-means suffers from poor computational scaling and efficiency as the number of clusters has to be supplied by the user. Hence, in this work, we introduce a modification of K-means algorithm that efficiently searches the data to cluster points by compute the sum of squares within each cluster which makes the program to select the most promising subset of classes for clustering. The proposed algorithm was tested on IRIS and ZOO data sets as well as on our local dataset comprising of h- and g-indices, which are the prominent markers for scientific excellence of authors publishing papers in various national and international journals. Results from analysis reveal that the modified k-means algorithm is much faster and outperforms the conventional algorithm in terms of clustering performance, measured by the data discrepancy factor.
Weighted Rank Query Search over Cloud Data Storage
Authors: Gopi K.Naga , Rao K. Thirupathi , Chaitanya K. , Venkatesh R.
Published: March 2020

This paper describes and fixes the problem of multi-keyword rated look for over secured reasoning information (MRSE) while preserving strict system sensible comfort in the reasoning processing model. Information proprietors are roused to delegate their convoluted data administration frameworks from neighborhood destinations to the business open thinking for extraordinary flexibility and monetary advantages. Anyway, for safeguarding data solace, delicate data must be secured before outsourcing, which obsoletes traditional data use in light of plaintext essential word and key expression search for. To better bolster clients in their long haul data missions on the Web, Google stay informed concerning their worries and mouse snaps while seeking on the web. In this paper, we think about the issue of arranging a client's conventional concerns into gatherings in an intense and electronic style. In a flash deciding inquiry gatherings is useful for various distinctive online search for motor parts and projects, for example, question recommendations, result position, question alteration, sessionization, and community explore for. In our method, we depart past strategies to depend on literary resemblance or moment points of confinement, and we suggest a more compelling  technique that controls search for question logs.
A Simple Three-term Conjugate Gradient Algorithm for Solving Symmetric Systems of Nonlinear Equations
Authors: Waziri M. Y. , Muhammad L. , Sabi’u J.
Published: March 2020

This paper presents a simple three-terms Conjugate Gradient algorithm for solving Large-Scale systems of nonlinear equations without computing Jacobian and gradient via the special structure of the underlying function. This three term CG of the proposed method has an advantage of solving relatively large-scale problems, with lower storage requirement compared to some existing methods. By incoporating the Powel restart approach in to the algorithm, we prove the global convergence of the proposed method with a derivative free line search under suitable assumtions. The numerical results are presented which show that the proposed method is promising.
Hybrid Flow Architecture for Stable and Scalable Routing in Named Data Networks
Authors: Durgaprasad P. , Kumar K. Kranthi
Published: March 2020

The named data network is a new technology in routing were its forwarding plane helps us to recover the data on its own when the network failures occur.in this NDN the major issue are when the data is sent from one network to the other the data flow is not stable. By major survey we came to know that routing protocols plays a major role for the stable and scalable data flow. This routing protocols and be classified by forwarding process and also network topologies were the protocols have the data that can be retrieved back whenever the network faults occur. In this paper we proposed that hybrid flow architecture, network topologies and routing protocols are improved to get the stable and scalable routing when the data flow is interrupted.
Conformance Testing and Analysis of Synchrophasor Communication Message Structures and Formats for Wide Area Measurement Systems in Smart Grids
Authors: Adewole Adeyemi Charles , Tzoneva Raynitchka
Published: March 2020

The renewed quest for situational awareness in power systems has brought about the use of digital signal processing of power system measurements, and the transmission of such data to control centres via communication networks. At the control centres, power system stability algorithms are executed to provide monitoring, protection, and control in order to prevent blackouts. This can be achieved by upgrading the existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems through the deployment of newly proposed power system synchrophasor-based applications for Wide Area Monitoring, Protection, and Control (WAMPAC). However, this can only be done when there is a complete understanding of the methods and technologies associated with the communication network, message structure, and formats required. This paper presents an analysis of the IEEE C37.118 synchrophasor message framework, message formats, and data communication of synchrophasor measurements from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) for WAMPAC schemes in smart grids. A newly designed lab-scale testbed is implemented and used in the practical experimentation relating to this paper. Synchrophasor measurements from the PMUs are captured using a network protocol analyzer software-Wireshark, and the compliance of the synchrophasor message structures and formats captured was compared to the specifications defined in the IEEE C37.118 synchrophasor standard.
Design of Converters for PV System Under Partial Shading Conditions
Authors: Kowsalya M. , Balsubramanyam K.
Published: March 2020

This paper presents a maximum power generation with the interconnection of photovoltaic modules under partially shaded and/or mismatching conditions. The partial shading condition reduces power level of each module. The reduction in power due to the partial shading will be compensated by the bidirectional converter. The proposed system consisting of two and three PV modules connected in series under partial shading conditions which are capable of increasing the power levels up to 50% compared to conventional by-pass diode structure. In general ‘n’ number of modules connected in series so that the maximum power gain will be expected to (100/n) %. This is achieved by developing the new control strategy in which the correct adjustment of converter duty ratio under partially shading conditions. The novel control scheme is developed by using analysis of the power converters. The proposed scheme was verified in MATLAB/SIMULINK.
Modeling of Magnetizing Inrush and Internal Faults for Three-Phase Transformers
Authors: Namdari Farhad , Bakhshipour Mohammad , Rezaeealam Behroz , Sedaghat Mohammad
Published: March 2020

Among the most noticeable root causes of improper performance in power transformers, internal short circuit faults can be noted and if not quickly be identified and addressed in the accepted time interval, irrecoverable damages such as interruption or even collapse of the network connected to the power transformer would happen. In this contribution, three-phase transformer behaviors under magnetizing inrush, internal short circuit condition and their current values determination have been surveyed using electromagnetic coupling model approach and structural finite element method. Utilizing the definition of transformer in the form of multi-coil and their electromagnetic and electric couple, a three dimensional geometric model of transformer is developed which includes nonlinear characteristics of the transformer, different states of normal and under internal short circuit occurrence and the moment of magnetizing inrush creation are investigated. The comparison between obtained results of presented model simulation with the consequences of practical studies on a typical three phase transformer reveals that the proposed model has a reliable accuracy in detection and modelling the transformer behavior in normal conditions, magnetizing inrush and different types of internal faults. The proposed approach represents an accurate model of a three-phase transformer for protection aims.
An Improved Greedy Parameter Stateless Routing In Vehicular Ad Hoc Network
Authors: Kavita Kavita , Batra Neera , Singh Rishi Pal
Published: March 2020

Congestion problem and packet delivery related issues in the vehicular ad hoc network environment is a widely researched problem in recent years. Many network designers utilize various algorithms for the design of ad hoc networks and compare their results with the existing approaches. The design of efficient network protocol is a major challenge in vehicular ad hoc network which utilizes the value of GPS and other parameters associated with the vehicles. In this paper GPSR protocol is improved and compared with the existing GPSR protocol and AODV protocol on the basis of various performance parameters like throughput of the network, delay and packet delivery ratio. The results also validate the performance of the proposed approach.