bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Activation of LH GABAergic inputs counteracts fasting‐induced changes in tVTA/RMTG neurons
Authors: Godfrey Nathan , Qiao Min , Borgland Stephanie L.
Published: March 2022

Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are strongly innervated by GABAergic neurons in the ‘tail of the VTA’ (tVTA), also known as the rostralmedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg). Disinhibition of dopamine neurons through firing of the GABAergic neurons projecting from the lateral hypothalamus (LH) leads to reward seeking and consumption through dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. VTA dopamine neurons respond to changes in motivational state, yet less is known about whether tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons or the LH GABAergic neurons that project to them are also affected by changes in motivational state, such as fasting. An acute 16 h overnight fast decreased the excitability of tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons of male and female mice. In addition, fasting decreased synaptic strength at LH GABA to tVTA/RMTg GABAergic synapses, indicated by reduced amplitude of optically evoked currents, decreased readily releasable pool (RRP) size and replenishment. Optical stimulation of LH GABA terminals suppressed evoked action potentials of tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons in unfasted mice, but this effect decreased following fasting. Furthermore, during fasting, LH GABA inputs to tVTA/RMTg neurons maintained functional connectivity during depolarization, as depolarization block was reduced following fasting. Taken together, inhibitory synaptic transmission from LH GABA inputs onto tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons decreases following fasting; however, ability to functionally inhibit tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons is preserved, allowing for possible disinhibition of dopamine neurons and subsequent foraging.

Key points

While dopamine neuronal activity changes with motivational state, it is unknown if fasting influences tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons, a major inhibitory input to ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons.

In unfasted mice, there were sex differences in inhibitory synaptic transmission onto tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons.

Activation of lateral hypothalamus (LH) GABAergic neurons decreases firing of tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons through a monosynaptic input.

An acute fast decreases the excitability of tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons.

An acute fast decreases inhibitory synaptic transmission of the LH GABA input to tVTA/RMTg GABAergic neurons in both male and female mice.
Investigating the Influence of Mainstream Turbulence and Large Vortices on Gas Turbine Trenched Film Cooling Flows Using Planar Temperature-Velocity Imaging
Authors: Straußwald Michael , Sander Tobias , Abram Christopher , Pfitzner Michael
Published: March 2022

Film cooling is a critical gas turbine technology to reduce heat loads on the combustion chamber and the turbine vanes and blades. To improve film cooling performance, trenched cooling configurations where the holes are connected by a cross-stream slot in the surface have been developed. In this study, for the first time, we experimentally examine the influence of mainstream turbulence and large vortices on trenched film cooling flows. We apply an imaging technique based on thermographic phosphor particles seeded into the flow to measure 2D time-resolved gas temperature and velocity distributions in film cooling flows established in a closed-loop heated wind tunnel. Two trenched configurations (straight and an optimized zigzag design) are compared with ordinary effusion holes at momentum ratios (I=3.5,5.7, and 8.3) relevant to gas turbine combustors. Furthermore, two turbulence generation methods were used to create realistic mainstream turbulence levels (Tu=16.4% and 22.7%) and large vortices, so film cooling flows at typical wind tunnel turbulence (Tu=5.3%) can be compared with combustor-relevant conditions. By comparing the film position derived from the time-average temperature fields, the optimized trench performs best at low momentum ratios and turbulence levels but the performance rapidly drops when the momentum ratio rises or the turbulence level is increased. The straight trench performs best across all conditions studied and this configuration is therefore recommended for combustor liner cooling where main flow turbulence levels are high. In general, increased turbulence intensity reduces the effective length of the cooling film for all geometries. The straight trench, however, produces a more stable cooling film than typical effusion holes or the optimized trench configuration. Both phase-locked and time-resolved data indicate that, in the presence of a dominating frequency in the turbulent main flow field produced using a vortex generator, there are instances where the cooling films are strongly disturbed in the streamwise direction and hot gas is locally in contact with the surface.
Personalized Hydration Requirements of Runners
Authors: Cheuvront Samuel N. , Kenefick Robert W.
Published: March 2022

This study sought to (a) estimate how the duration of running influences sweat losses and contributes to the daily fluid requirement, and (b) empirically estimate the drinking rates required to prevent significant dehydration (≥2% body weight as body water). Individual sweating data and running duration were obtained from male (n = 83) and female (n = 36) runners (n = 146 total observations) performing under highly heterogeneous conditions and over a range of exercise durations (33–280 min). Running <60 min/day increased daily fluid needs by a factor of 1.3, whereas running >60 min/day increased the daily fluid need by a factor of 1.9–2.3. Running <60 min/day generally required no fluid intake to prevent significant dehydration before run completion (31/35 runners). In contrast, running >60 min/day required more than 50% replacement of sweating rates to prevent the same (65/111 runners). Overall sweat losses ranged from ∼0.2 to ∼5.0 L/day, whereas the drinking rates required to prevent significant dehydration ranged from 0 to 1.4 L/hr. The characterization of sweat losses, sweat rate, and required drinking among runners in this study indicate wide individual variability that warrants personalized hydration practices, particularly when running is prolonged (>60 min) and performance is important. This study may serve as a useful guidepost for sports dietitians when planning and communicating fluid needs to athletes, as well as complement guidance related to both personalized programmed and thirst-driven drinking strategies.
Weight loss during ambulatory tube weaning: don’t put the feeds back up
Authors: Wright Charlotte Margaret , McNair Stephanie , Milligan Beatrice , Livingstone Jennifer , Fraser Emily
Published: March 2022

Objective

To describe the prevalence of weight loss during tube weaning and its impact on wean duration and growth.

Setting

Tertiary feeding clinic, UK.

Patients

All children seen for weaning from long-term enteral feeding between 2008 and 2016.

Interventions

Outpatient withdrawal of enteral feeding.

Design

Case series of children being weaned from tube feeding, documenting clinical details, periods of weight loss and timing of feed changes, as well as height and weight at baseline and within 1 year after feed cessation.

Main outcome measures

Amount and frequency of weight loss, wean duration, change in body mass index (BMI) and height SD z score.

Results

Weaning was attempted in 58 children, median age 2.7 years, and 90% had stopped feeds after median (range) 5.9 (1–40) months. Weight loss was seen in 51 (88%) children and was more common and severe in children with initially higher BMI. Time to feed cessation reduced by median 4.9 months between 2008–2011 and 2012–2016, while having feeds increased prolonged the wean duration, by median 13 months. After feed cessation, mean (95% CI) BMI had dropped by 0.84 (0.5 to 1.2) z scores, but neither change in BMI, nor the amount and frequency of weight loss, related to growth.

Conclusions

Short-term weight loss is to be expected during tube weaning and is not associated with compromised growth. It is important to avoid overfeeding enterally fed children and not to increase feeds again in response to weight loss.
Different uses of the breast implant to prevent empty pelvic complications following pelvic exenteration
Authors: Omarov Nail , Uymaz Derya Salim , Bugra Dursun
Published: March 2022

Pelvic exenteration surgery is used as a standard procedure in recurrent pelvic cancers. Total pelvic exenteration (TPE) includes resection of the uterus, prostate, ureters, bladder and rectosigmoid colon from pelvic space. Empty pelvis syndrome is a complication of the TPE procedure. Following TPE, complications such as haematoma, abscess leading to permanent pus discharge and chronic infections can occur. Herein, we present the case of a man in his 50s who was referred for pelvic pain, foul-smelling discharge and non-functioning colostomy, and operated for distal rectal cancer 1.5 years ago and underwent low anterior resection. In this case, we performed TPE for the recurrent tumour. To prevent TPE complications, we used a breast implant for filling the pelvic cavity. The early and late postoperative course was uneventful.
Dynamic changes of Elschnig pearls posterior capsule opacification
Authors: Basiron Siti Farhah 'Adilah , Khaw Adeline Mae Li , Ch'ng Tun Wang , Othman Othmaliza
Published: March 2022

An adolescent female with underlying bilateral pseudophakia and idiopathic intermediate uveitis had reduced visual acuity due to posterior capsule opacification (PCO). The rapid progression and different morphological formations of Elschnig pearls were not influenced by the uveitis and immunosuppressive treatment. No capsulotomy was performed, and the PCO regressed spontaneously over time.
Secondary osteonecrosis of the knee as a part of long COVID-19 syndrome: a case series
Authors: Agarwala Sanjay R , Vijayvargiya Mayank , Sawant Tushar
Published: March 2022

COVID-19 infection affects different organ systems with long-term sequelae, which has been termed as long COVID-19 syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, osteonecrosis of the knee as a part of long COVID-19 syndrome has not been documented. Corticosteroids are being used extensively in moderate and severe cases of COVID-19. We report two cases who developed osteonecrosis of the knee after being treated for COVID-19 infection. In our case series, the mean cumulative dose of prednisolone was 1156.5 mg (900–1413 mg), which is less than the cumulative dose reported in literature for osteonecrosis of the knee. In our case series, the patients developed symptomatic osteonecrosis at a mean interval of 73 days after initiation of steroid therapy, with the earliest presenting at 25 days. Early diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the knee on high clinical suspicion by MRI would help in early intervention with bisphosphonate therapy.
Menthol versus non-menthol flavouring and switching to e-cigarettes in black and Latinx adult menthol combustible cigarette smokers: secondary analyses from a randomised clinical trial
Authors: Nollen Nicole L , Leavens Eleanor L S , Ahluwalia Jasjit S , Rice Myra , Mayo Matthew S , Pulvers Kim
Published: March 2022

Background

As the US Food and Drug Administration takes regulatory action on menthol cigarettes, debate continues about how restricting menthol e-liquids might impact adult menthol smokers in switching to e-cigarettes.

Methods

Switching patterns and e-cigarette acceptability were assessed at week 6 among 64 black and Latinx menthol cigarette smokers who used JUUL menthol (n=39) or non-menthol e-cigarettes ((n=25), primarily mint or mango) as part of a randomised switching trial.

Results

No clear evidence of effects was found between menthol versus non-menthol e-cigarettes on use or subjective effects/acceptability, effect sizes for all comparisons were small (effect size=0.0–0.2), and Bayes factor ranged from 0.10 to 0.15. Specifically, 82.1% of participants who used menthol-flavoured e-cigarettes fully or partially switched to e-cigarettes compared with 88.0% of participants who used a non-menthol (p=0.75). Further, both groups demonstrated substantial reductions in cigarettes per day (menthol e-cigarettes: −8.5±10.4 vs non-menthol e-cigarettes: −8.8±5.8, p=0.87), comparable grams of e-liquid consumed (menthol e-cigarettes: 9.2±9.8 g vs non-menthol e-cigarettes: 11.0±11.0 g, p=0.47), and positive subjective effects, including ‘just right’ throat hit (menthol e-cigarettes: 70.7% vs non-menthol e-cigarettes: 66.7%, p=0.93) and flavour liking (menthol e-cigarettes: 75.6% vs non-menthol e-cigarettes: 66.7%, p=0.32).

Conclusions

Both menthol and non-menthol e-cigarettes were associated with high rates of use and acceptability among menthol smokers. Findings require confirmation in a fully powered non-inferiority or equivalence study but provide preliminary evidence to inform regulatory action on menthol e-cigarettes that could slow youth initiation without impacting black and Latinx menthol cigarette smokers interested in switching to e-cigarettes.

Trial registration number

NCT03511001.
Coincidence mass spectrometry study of double ionization of anthracene by 70 eV electron impact
Authors: van der Burgt Peter J. M. , Gradziel Marcin L.
Published: March 2022

Double ionization of anthracene molecules by 70 eV electron impact results in a number of prominent fragmentations producing two singly ionized fragments. In our experiment, ionized fragments were detected using a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer. A field programmable gate array was used for the timing and the recording of mass spectra on an event-by-event basis. A detailed model of the coincidence data acquisition was developed, enabling us to reliably obtain the map of true coincidences. Our measurements show that fragmentations for which the total number of carbon atoms in the two singly ionized fragments is even are generally significantly stronger than fragmentations for which the total is odd. No fragmentations are observed for a total number of 13 carbon atoms. There are only very weak fragmentations where one of the fragments only contains one carbon atom. Most of the fragments have 2 or 3 hydrogen atoms. There are several fragmentations in which the larger fragment has 9, 10, 11 or 12 carbon atoms and 5, 6, 7 or 8 hydrogen atoms. Fragments with only carbon atoms and no hydrogen atoms are not present, and only few fragmentations are observed with a fragment containing only one hydrogen atom.

Graphical abstract
Neighborhood Learning-Based Cuckoo Search Algorithm for Global Optimization
Authors: Xiong Yan , Cheng Jiatang , Zhang Lieping
Published: March 2022

This paper presents a new variant of cuckoo search (CS) algorithm named neighborhood learning-based CS (NLCS) to address global optimization problems. Specifically, in this modified version, each individual learns from the personal best solution rather than the best solution found so far in the entire population to discourage premature convergence. To further enhance the performance of CS on complex multimode problems, each individual is allowed to learn from different learning exemplars on different dimensions. Moreover, the exemplar individual is chosen from a predefined neighborhood to further maintain the population diversity. This scheme enables each individual to interact with the historical experience of its own or its neighbors, which is controlled by using a learning probability. Extensive comparative experiments are conducted on 39 benchmark functions and two application problems of neural network training. Comparison results indicate that the proposed NLCS algorithm exhibits competitive convergence performance.
3D Tooth Instance Segmentation Learning Objectness and Affinity in Point Cloud
Authors: Tian Yan , Zhang Yujie , Chen Wei-Gang , Liu Dongsheng , Wang Huiyan , Xu Huayi , Han Jianfeng , Ge Yiwen
Published: March 2022

Digital dentistry has received more attention in the past decade. However, current deep learning-based methods still encounter difficult challenges. The proposal-based methods are sensitive to the localization results due to the lack of local cues, while the proposal-free methods have poor clustering outputs because of the affinity measured by the low-level characteristics, especially in situations of tightly arranged teeth. In this article, we present a novel proposal-based approach to combine objectness and pointwise knowledge in an attention mechanism for point cloud-based tooth instance segmentation, using local information to improve 3D proposal generation and measuring the importance of local points by calculating the center distance. We evaluate the performance of our approach by constructing a Shining3D tooth instance segmentation dataset. The experimental results verify that our approach gives competitive results when compared with the other available approaches.
Verification of Crashsafe Caching in a Virtual File System Switch
Authors: Bodenmüller Stefan , Schellhorn Gerhard , Reif Wolfgang
Published: March 2022

When developing file systems, caching is a common technique to achieve a performant implementation. Integrating write-back caches is not primarily a problem for functional correctness, but is critical for proving crash safety. Since parts of written data are stored in volatile memory, special care has to be taken when integrating write-back caches to guarantee that a power cut during a running operation leads to a consistent state. This article shows how non-order-preserving caches can be added to a virtual file system switch (VFS) and gives a novel crash-safety criterion matching the characteristics of such caches. Broken down to individual files, a power cut can be explained by constructing an alternative run, where all writes since the last synchronization of that file have written a prefix. VFS caches have been integrated modularly into Flashix, a verified file system for flash memory, and both functional correctness and crash-safety of this extension have been verified with the interactive theorem prover KIV.
Human-Robot Scaffolding: An Architecture to Foster Problem-solving Skills
Authors: Páez John , González Enrique
Published: March 2022

In order to give assertive support, robots need to understand the cognitive and emotional characteristics of learners while in the learning process. Also, if the task involves handling capacity, robots must have similar skills. Three concepts were explored to control the cognitive and emotional robot’s behavior: the psychological flow theory, the scaffolding pedagogic strategy, and the multiagents-software paradigm. Based on these concepts, the Human-Robot Scaffolding architecture was designed. It is divided into five blocks. First, the sensory block recognizes body gestures, speech, and task state. Second, the beliefs block estimates the skills and emotional state of learners. Third, the desires block validates the goals the robot can reach; the goals are grouped in skills development, emotional control, cognitive control, challenge control, life signals, and immediate support. Fourth, the intentions block, based on the goals competition strategy, selects the goal that the robot will perform. Finally, the action-planner block regulates the robot’s movements according to the robot’s emotions. The validation procedure was done with 53 learners ranging between 10 and 13 years old who study in public and private schools. Based on the research achievements, the robot fosters learning the Mean-Ends Analysis strategy and the solution of a problem. A video fragment that summarizes the research process is available inhttps://youtu.be/qbohCjBIwYc.
QEST: Quantized and Efficient Scene Text Detector Using Deep Learning
Authors: Manjari Kanak , Verma Madhushi , Singal Gaurav , Namasudra Suyel
Published: March 2022

Scene text detection is complicated and one of the most challenging tasks due to different environmental restrictions, such as illuminations, lighting conditions, tiny and curved texts, and many more. Most of the works on scene text detection have overlooked the primary goal of increasing model accuracy and efficiency, resulting in heavy-weight models that require more processing resources. A novel lightweight model has been developed in this article to improve the accuracy and efficiency of scene text detection. The proposed model relies on ResNet50 and MobileNetV2 as backbones with quantization used to make the resulting model lightweight. During quantization, the precision has been changed from float32 to float16 and int8 for making the model lightweight. In terms of inference time and Floating-Point Operations Per Second, the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques by around 30–100 times. Here, well-known datasets, i.e., ICDAR2015 and ICDAR2019, have been utilized for training and testing to validate the performance of the proposed model. Finally, the findings and discussion indicate that the proposed model is more efficient than the existing schemes.
MHDeep: Mental Health Disorder Detection System Based on Wearable Sensors and Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Hassantabar Shayan , Zhang Joe , Yin Hongxu , Jha Niraj K.
Published: March 2022

Mental health problems impact the quality of life of millions of people around the world. However, diagnosis of mental health disorders is a challenging problem that often relies on self-reporting by patients about their behavioral patterns and social interactions. Therefore, there is a need for new strategies for diagnosis and daily monitoring of mental health conditions. The recent introduction of body-area networks consisting of a plethora of accurate sensors embedded in smartwatches and smartphones and edge-compatible deep neural networks (DNNs) points toward a possible solution. Such wearable medical sensors (WMSs) enable continuous monitoring of physiological signals in a passive and non-invasive manner. However, disease diagnosis based on WMSs and DNNs, and their deployment on edge devices, such as smartphones, remains a challenging problem. These challenges stem from the difficulty of feature engineering and knowledge distillation from the raw sensor data, as well as the computational and memory constraints of battery-operated edge devices. To this end, we propose a framework called MHDeep that utilizes commercially available WMSs and efficient DNN models to diagnose three important mental health disorders: schizoaffective, major depressive, and bipolar. MHDeep uses eight different categories of data obtained from sensors integrated in a smartwatch and smartphone. These categories include various physiological signals and additional information on motion patterns and environmental variables related to the wearer. MHDeep eliminates the need for manual feature engineering by directly operating on the data streams obtained from participants. Because the amount of data is limited, MHDeep uses a synthetic data generation module to augment real data with synthetic data drawn from the same probability distribution. We use the synthetic dataset to pre-train the weights of the DNN models, thus imposing a prior on the weights. We use a grow-and-prune DNN synthesis approach to learn both architecture and weights during the training process. We use three different data partitions to evaluate the MHDeep models trained with data collected from 74 individuals. We conduct two types of evaluations: at the data instance level and at the patient level. MHDeep achieves an average test accuracy, across the three data partitions, of 90.4%, 87.3%, and 82.4%, respectively, for classifications between healthy and schizoaffective disorder instances, healthy and major depressive disorder instances, and healthy and bipolar disorder instances. At the patient level, MHDeep DNN models achieve an accuracy of 100%, 100%, and 90.0% for the three mental health disorders, respectively, based on inference that uses 40, 16, and 22 minutes of sensor data collection from each patient.
Construction of a Chinese Corpus for Multi-Type Economic Event Relation
Authors: Wan Qizhi , Wan Changxuan , Xiao Keli , Liu Dexi , Liu Qing , Deng Jiangling , Luo Wenkang , Hu Rong
Published: March 2022

We construct a
Chinese Economic Event Treebank (CEETB)
, focusing on revealing economic and finance events and their relations. Investigating economic event relations will benefit academic research and practice in not just economics but many other scientific areas. The characteristics of economic-related texts (e.g., abundant longer enterprises names and terms) and the Chinese language speciality (e.g., component ellipsis in long sentences) have resulted in challenges in the event relation extraction task. Existing Chinese corpora containing economic event relations mainly focused on finance areas (e.g., the equity market) and only covered a few event types. To support research that may involve economic text analysis in Chinese, our CEETB is constructed following a carefully designed process. First, based on practical and research requirements, we summarize nine different types of event relations and four types of component ellipses in economic texts. Then, an excellent annotation scheme is presented to hyalinize the model, strategy, and process in annotation, followed by statistical analysis and quality evaluation for the CEETB corpus. Finally, to demonstrate the strengths of the constructed corpus in practical applications, we conduct experiments on five SOTA models for event relation extraction.
Azithromycin inhibits mucin secretion, mucous metaplasia, airway inflammation, and airways hyperresponsiveness in mice exposed to house dust mite extract
Authors: Mann Tracy S. , Larcombe Alexander N. , Wang Kimberley C. W. , Shamsuddin Danial , Landwehr Katherine R. , Noble Peter B. , Henry Peter J.
Published: March 2022

Excessive production, secretion, and retention of abnormal mucus is a pathological feature of many obstructive airways diseases including asthma. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also possesses immunomodulatory and mucoregulatory activities, which may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in asthma. The current study investigated these nonantibiotic activities of azithromycin in mice exposed daily to intranasal house dust mite (HDM) extract for 10 days. HDM-exposed mice exhibited airways hyperresponsiveness to aerosolized methacholine, a pronounced mixed eosinophilic and neutrophilic inflammatory response, increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) thickness, and elevated levels of epithelial mucin staining. Azithromycin (50 mg/kg sc, 2 h before each HDM exposure) attenuated HDM-induced airways hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, airways inflammation (bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophil and neutrophils numbers, and IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, and RANTES levels), and epithelial mucin staining (mucous metaplasia) by at least 50% (compared with HDM-exposed mice, P < 0.05). Isolated tracheal segments of HDM-exposed mice secreted Muc5ac and Muc5b (above baseline levels) in response to exogenous ATP. Moreover, ATP-induced secretion of mucins was attenuated in segments obtained from azithromycin-treated, HDM-exposed mice ( P < 0.05). In additional ex vivo studies, ATP-induced secretion of Muc5ac (but not muc5b) from HDM-exposed tracheal segments was inhibited by in vitro exposure to azithromycin. In vitro azithromycin also inhibited ATP-induced secretion of Muc5ac and Muc5b in tracheal segments from IL-13-exposed mice. In summary, azithromycin inhibited ATP-induced mucin secretion and airways inflammation in HDM-exposed mice, both of which are likely to contribute to suppression of airways hyperresponsiveness.
A Novel Method to Broaden the Single-Mode Bandwidth of the Rectangular Waveguide
Authors: Xie Tingting , Cheng Xiaohe , Yao Yuan , Yang Yaohui , Zhang Ting , Yu Junsheng , Chen Xiaodong
Published: March 2022

In this paper, a new class of broadband and low-loss transmission line called slotted rectangular waveguide (SRW) is proposed and analyzed. The proposed SRW consists of the rectangular waveguide and the inverted low-loss slotline, which can selectively suppress the higher-order mode (TE20 mode) and broaden the single dominant mode (TE10 mode) bandwidth in a rectangular waveguide (RW). The design principle and transmission characteristics of the SRW are illustrated and analyzed in this work. The transmission dominant mode bandwidth of the proposed SRW is analyzed and compared with the classic rectangular waveguide (RW), in which the dominant mode bandwidth of 60–155 GHz (88.4% bandwidth) is broader than the RW bandwidth of 60–116 GHz (63%). Two feed structures that can excite the two operating bandwidths (W and D band) of them separately are also designed. The SRW and transition exhibit broadband and low-loss characteristics from 75 GHz to 155 GHz, in which the transmission loss is lower than 0.68 dB and the return loss is over 18 dB.
Allocation of Optimal PMUs for Power System Observability Using PROMETHEE Approach
Authors: Kundu Shubhrajyoti , Alam Mehebub , Saha Roy Biman K. , Thakur Siddhartha Sankar
Published: March 2022

Phasor measurement units (PMUs) are becoming a vital measurement device in wide-area monitoring, operation, and control. The allocation of PMU at each bus will make that bus directly observable. However, considering the high installation costs, it is not feasible to place PMU at each bus. Thus, placing the PMUs at optimal locations is extremely important. In this study, the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment of Evaluation (PROMETHEE)-based multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique has been applied for the optimal allocation of phasor measurement units (PMUs) with the aim of achieving full system observability. Along with the entire network observability, the proposed approach provides maximum measurement redundancy (MR) too. Unlike some previous popular MCDM techniques, the proposed approach obtains optimal PMU placement (OPP) solution without performing pruning operations. Different criterion has been formulated to construct a decision matrix (DM). This DM helps in calculating the net outranking flow (NOF) of all the buses during the PROMETHEE approach. Based on the maximum NOF value, the PMUs are placed at those buses. The proposed approach also considers the inclusion of zero injection buses (ZIBs). Further, cases such as single PMU outage and existence of conventional measurements have been considered while determining optimal locations of PMUs. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on IEEE 14-bus, 30-bus, 57-bus, and 118-bus systems, one Indian practical utility, i.e., Northern Regional Power Grid (NRPG) 246-bus system, and larger Polish 2383-bus system. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, it has been compared with some of the popular existing techniques.
Athletes’ State Monitoring under Data Mining and Random Forest
Authors: Li Xiaolei
Published: March 2022

The study aims to train athletes to be in top form and at their best in the competition. Based on the relevant theoretical research, archers are taken as the research subjects, the characteristics of archery are analyzed, and the electroencephalogram (EEG) features of the athletes in different stages of precompetition training are monitored. And the athletes’ competitive state monitoring model based on random forest (RF) is implemented and tested. The experimental results show that the athletes’ dominant frequency of brain band α, EEG entropy, central fatigue index, excitation inhibition index, and cerebral state index in precompetition training is significantly different from those in training (

P
<
0.05

).The monitoring model implemented classifies athletes’ competitive states. Compared with the support vector machine (SVM) classification model, its classification accuracy is higher than 90%. The overall classification accuracy is 89.74%, more significant than SVM. The research provides a reference for monitoring athletes’ competitive states and helps them regulate their states in real time.
The Interleukin-1 (IL-1) Superfamily Cytokines and Their Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)
Authors: Behzadi Payam , Sameer Aga Syed , Nissar Saniya , Banday Mujeeb Zafar , Gajdács Márió , García-Perdomo Herney Andrés , Akhtar Kulsum , Pinheiro Marina , Magnusson Peter , Sarshar Meysam , Ambrosi Cecilia
Published: March 2022

Interleukins (ILs)—which are important members of cytokines—consist of a vast group of molecules, including a wide range of immune mediators that contribute to the immunological responses of many cells and tissues. ILs are immune-glycoproteins, which directly contribute to the growth, activation, adhesion, differentiation, migration, proliferation, and maturation of immune cells; and subsequently, they are involved in the pro and anti-inflammatory responses of the body, by their interaction with a wide range of receptors. Due to the importance of immune system in different organisms, the genes belonging to immune elements, such as ILs, have been studied vigorously. The results of recent investigations showed that the genes pertaining to the immune system undergo progressive evolution with a constant rate. The occurrence of any mutation or polymorphism in IL genes may result in substantial changes in their biology and function and may be associated with a wide range of diseases and disorders. Among these abnormalities, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can represent as important disruptive factors. The present review aims at concisely summarizing the current knowledge available on the occurrence, properties, role, and biological consequences of SNPs within the IL-1 family members.
NRF3 Decreases during Melanoma Carcinogenesis and Is an Independent Prognostic Marker in Melanoma
Authors: Immonen Anni , Haapasaari Kirsi-Maria , Skarp Sini , Karihtala Peeter , Teppo Hanna-Riikka
Published: March 2022

The prognostic significance of the major redox regulator, nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2), is recognized in many cancers, but the role of NRF3 is not studied. Analysis from the Gene Expression Omnibus datasets showed that NRF3 mRNA levels increased from benign to dysplastic naevi (

p
=
0.04

). We characterized the immunohistochemical expression of NRF3 in 81 naevi, 67 primary skin melanomas, and 51 lymph node metastases. The immunohistochemical expression of cytoplasmic NRF3 decreased from benign to dysplastic naevi (

p
<
0.001

) and further to primary melanomas (

p
<
0.001

). High cytoplasmic NRF3 protein expression in pigment cells of the primary melanomas associated with worse melanoma-specific survival in multivariate analysis, specifically in the subgroup of patients with the lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis (hazard ratio 3.179; 95% confidence interval 1.065-9.493;

p
=
0.038

). Intriguingly, we did not observe associations between NRF3 and the traditional prognostic factors such as Breslow thickness, ulceration, or stage. Together, this data represents the primary description about the role of NRF3 in pigment tumours that is worthy of further explorations.
Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Inhibits Tumorigenesis of Renal Cell Carcinoma by Modulating Lipid Metabolism Targeting miR-454-3p to Repressing Metabolism Enzyme ACSL4
Authors: Zhou Xudong , Cao Tingting
Published: March 2022

Background. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) affects the life quality of patients with advanced diseases despite good prognosis and exhibits abnormal lipid metabolism. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZONs) are metal oxide nanoparticles that are regarded as promising therapeutic candidate for multiple diseases. This study was for exploring the function of ZONs in RCC. Methods. We established in vitro cell model and in vivo xenograft model to determine the antitumor effect of ZONs. Cell viability and proliferation were evaluated via the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, and 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine (EDU) assay. Protein and RNA levels were checked by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and qRT-PCR assay. ROS, malondialdehyde (MDA), triglyceride, and total cholesterol were quantified to assess lipid oxidation and synthesis. Oil red O staining was performed to check lipid droplets accumulation. The ACSL4 and miR-454-3p expression in tumor samples and normal tissues were evaluated. The luciferase reporter gene assay was performed for checking the interaction between miR-454-3p and ACSL4 3’UTR region. Results. ZONs suppressed the proliferation and viability of RCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. ZONs suppressed accumulation of ROS, MDA, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and lipid droplets in RCC cells, along with upregulated miR-454-3p. miR-454-3p targeted the 3’UTR region to suppress its expression. In patient samples, ACSL4 expression was notably elevated and indicated poor prognosis of RCC patients. Conclusion. ZONs treatment notably impeded proliferation, lipid accumulation, and oxidation in RCC cells, through upregulating miR-454-3p to suppression the function of ACSL4. Our data suggested that ZONs are promising and effective agent for RCC treatment.
Mechanism of Disease: Recessive ADAMTSL4 Mutations and Craniosynostosis with Ectopia Lentis
Authors: Gustafson Jonas , Bjork Maria , van Ravenswaaij-Arts Conny M. A. , Cunningham Michael L.
Published: March 2022

Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of the calvarial bones, has numerous etiologies. Among them, several involve mutations in genes related to the TGFb signaling pathway, a critical molecular mediator of human development. These TGFb pathway-associated craniosynostosis syndromes include Loeys–Dietz syndrome (LDS) and Shprintzen–Goldberg syndrome (SGS). LDS and SGS have many similarities common to fibrillinopathies, specifically Marfan syndrome (MFS), which is caused by mutations in FBN1. Historically discriminating features of MFS from LDS and SGS are (1) the presence of ectopia lentis (the subluxation/dislocation of the ocular lens) and (2) the absence of craniosynostosis. Curiously, several instances of a seemingly novel syndrome involving only craniosynostosis and ectopia lentis have recently been reported to be caused by recessive mutations in ADAMTSL4, a poorly characterized gene as of yet. Here, we report on two new cases of craniosynostosis with ectopia lentis, each harboring recessive mutations in ADAMTSL4. We also discuss a proposed mechanism for the relationship between ADAMTSL4, FBN1, and TGFb pathway-related syndromes.
Dynamic Early Warning Method of Multiclassification Financial Crisis of Listed Companies Based on Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Wang Yan , Chen Rui , Lu Yuanling
Published: March 2022

In the Internet plus era, the environment of the world’s economy is changing towards globalization and information. The development of Chinese enterprises is facing hitherto unknown opportunities. Meanwhile, the financial risks facing enterprises are increasing day by day, because the constraints of environmental factors, economic and market factors, laws and regulations, social and cultural factors, policy environmental factors, and other unpredictable environmental factors have brought uncertainty to the financial situation of enterprises. The way a company handles its own financial risk has a big impact on its overall success. Many enterprises fall into economic crisis early because they do not pay enough attention to financial problems in the early stages and do not take effective measures to deal with the crisis situation in a timely manner, resulting in internal management confusion, deterioration of the external environment, capital chain problems, and serious asset losses. It is difficult to recover, and individuals who are experiencing a more significant financial crisis are at risk of becoming bankrupt. As a result, the success or failure of an enterprise’s early development is determined by the success or failure of its subsequent development. As a result, in order to devote more resources to the study of enterprise financial risk, this paper develops a variety of dynamic early warning models of financial crises in publicly traded companies by analyzing relevant theories of financial risk and combining the particle swarm optimization algorithm. This model has great efficiency and scientific early warning capabilities, and it can better forecast business financial crises.
Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibition Protected against Diabetic Cardiomyopathy through Inducing Autophagy and Reducing Apoptosis Relying on Nrf2 Upregulation and Transcription Activation
Authors: Fang Qin , Liu Xiaohui , Ding Jie , Zhang Zhihao , Chen Guangzhi , Du Tingyi , Wang Yan , Xu Renfan
Published: March 2022

Background. Many patients with diabetes die from diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM); however, effective strategies for the prevention or treatment of DCM have not yet been clarified. Methods. Leptin receptor-deficient (db/db) mice were treated with either the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitor AUDA or vehicle alone. A virus carrying Nrf2 shRNA was used to manipulate Nrf2 expression in db/db mice. Cardiac structures and functions were analyzed using echocardiography and hemodynamic examinations. Primary cardiomyocytes cultured under high glucose and high fat (HGHF) conditions were used to conduct in vitro loss-of-function assays after culture in the presence or absence of AUDA (1 μM). Fluorescence microscopy-based detection of mCherry-GFP-LC3 was performed to assess autophagic flux. Results. The sEH inhibitor AUDA significantly attenuated ventricular remodeling and ameliorated cardiac dysfunction in db/db mice. Interestingly, AUDA upregulated Nrf2 expression and promoted its nuclear translocation in db/db mice and the HGHF-treated cardiomyocytes. Additionally, AUDA increased autophagy and decreased apoptosis in db/db mice heart. Furthermore, the administration of AUDA promoted autophagic flux and elevated LC3-II protein level in the presence of bafilomycin A1. However, AUDA-induced autophagy was abolished, and the antiapoptotic effect was partially inhibited upon Nrf2 knockdown. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the sEH inhibitor AUDA attenuates cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in DCM via increasing autophagy and reducing apoptosis, which is relevant to activate Nrf2 signaling pathway.
Fixed Point Property of Variable Exponent Cesàro Complex Function Space of Formal Power Series under Premodular
Authors: Bakery Awad A. , Mohamed Elsayed A. E.
Published: March 2022

We have defined the variable exponent of the Cesàro complex function space of formal power series. We have constructed the prequasi-ideal generated by

s

-numbers and this new space of complex functions. We present some topological and geometric structures of this class of ideal. The existence of Caristi’s fixed point is examined. Some geometric properties related to the fixed point theory are presented. Finally, real-world examples and applications show solutions to some nonlinear difference equations.
Retrospective Study on the Efficacy and Safety of Pyrotinib-Based Therapy for HER2-Positive Nonbreast Advanced Solid Tumors
Authors: Wang Jianzheng , Zhang Baiwen , Cheng Xiaojiao , Li Qingli , Lv Huifang , Nie Caiyun , Chen Beibei , Xu Weifeng , Zhao Jing , He Yunduan , Tu Shuiping , Chen Xiaobing
Published: March 2022

Background. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a member of the large ErbB family and an important oncogene in many solid tumors. Pyrotinib has been approved for the treatment of HER2-positive, recurrent, or metastatic breast cancer. However, there are very few clinical studies on pyrotinib in other HER2-positive solid tumors. Therefore, more evidence of clinical research is impendently needed to shepherd pyrotinib-based therapy in HER2-positive nonbreast advanced solid tumors. Patients and Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of HER2-positive nonbreast advanced solid tumors patients with HER2 amplification or mutations who were administered with pyrotinib-based therapy in Henan Cancer Hospital between July 1, 2019, and December 2, 2021. In our research, 25 eligible patients were included with 16 patients with lung cancer, 6 patients with gastric cancer, 2 patients with colorectal cancer, and 1 patient with cholangiocarcinoma. Progression-free survival (PFS) is our main research end point. Results. The median PFS was 188 days (95% CI: 83–not reached (NR)), and overall survival (OS) was 250 days (95% CI: 188–NR), respectively. 16 patients with lung cancer had a median PFS of 204 days (95% CI: 55–NR) and 6 patients with gastric cancer had PFS of 142 days (95% CI: 83–NR), respectively. The median OS was 366 days (95% CI: 248–NR) in patients with lung cancer and 179 days (95% CI: 90–NR) in patients with gastric cancer. The median PFS and OS of patients receiving >3 line treatment were lower than those receiving ≤3 line treatment (PFS: 188 days vs 204 days,

p
=
0.92

; OS: 188 days vs 366 days,

p
=
0.43

). All 25 patients can be evaluated. The objective response rate (ORR) was 24%, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 68%. Lung cancer ORR was 25%, and gastric cancer ORR was 16.7%. In addition, the DCR of lung cancer was 62.5% and that of gastric cancer was 66.7%. In addition, the ORR and DCR of patients receiving treatment ≤3 lines were higher than those receiving treatment >3 lines (ORR: 35.7% vs 9.1%,

p
=
0.18

; DCR: 71.4% vs 63.6%,

p
>
0.99

). The most common treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were diarrhea (84%), but only 3 patients (12%) reported grade 3 diarrhea with good control. Conclusion. These results show that in HER2-positive nonbreast advanced solid tumors, the treatment based on pyrotinib regimen has good antitumor activity and acceptable safety. This retrospective study aims to promote larger clinical studies to further clarify the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib in the treatment of nonbreast solid tumors.
Reducing Subspaces for Toeplitz Operator

T

z
1

k

1

z
2

k

2

+
a

z
¯

1

l

1

z
¯

2

l

2

on the Weighted Hardy Space over the Bidisk
Authors: Wei Changguo , Ding Xin , Shi Yanyue
Published: March 2022

In this paper, we completely characterize the reducing subspaces for

T

φ

a

on weighted Hardy space

ℋ
ω
2

D

2

under three assumptions on

ω

, where

φ

a

=

z

k

+
a

z
¯

l

,

k
,
l
∈

ℕ

2

,
 
k
≠
l

, and

a
∈

0,1

. It is shown that the coefficient

a
∈

0,1

does not affect the reducing subspaces for

T

φ

a

. We also prove that, for every

δ
>
0

, weighted Dirichlet space

D
δ
2

D

2

is a weighted Hardy space which satisfies these assumptions. As an application, we describe the reducing subspaces for

T

φ

a

on

D
δ
2

D

2

and get the structure of commutant algebra

V

∗

T

φ

a

.
Molecular Identification of Fasciola Isolated from the Liver of Meat Animals in Fars Province, Iran
Authors: Saadatnia Aminallah , Solhjoo Kavous , Davami Mohamad Hasan , Raeghi Saber , Abolghazi Ahmad
Published: March 2022

Background. Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica are flatworms that infect animals and humans. Fasciola is the parasite of the liver or bile ducts and intestines of mammals, where such animals are known as their “definite hosts.” The study aims to detect the genotype of Fasciola spp. from the livers of meat animals by using RFLP-PCR in samples collected from Fars province. Methods. Sixty Fasciola spp. samples were collected from infected slaughtered animals in three counties of Fars province, Iran (Jahrom, Nourabad Mamasani, and Kazeroun).Genomic DNA was extracted by the conventional phenol-chloroform method. For the study, PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis of the first nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) region from Fasciola species were used to conduct the study. Results. The fragment of about 700 bp in all the Fasciola samples was amplified. In total, 43 samples of Fasciola gigantica and 17 samples of Fasciola hepatica were identified. Conclusion. The dominant Fasciola species in this region is Fasciola gigantica. Hence, it seems that hygienic policies should be developed to prevent and control fascioliasis because of the dominant species, Fasciola gigantica.