bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isolation, identification, and assessment of soil bacteria as biocontrol agents of pea root rot caused by Aphanomyces euteiches
Authors: Godebo Ashebir T. , Germida James J. , Walley Fran L.
Published: March 2020

Aphanomyces euteiches is a soil-borne pathogen that causes root rot of pea and can significantly affect pea production in western Canada. This study aimed to isolate and identify soil bacteria with antagonistic activity towards A. euteiches mycelial and zoospore developmental stages under in vitro conditions and assess their potential as biocontrol agents against aphanomyces root rot in field pea under growth chamber conditions. In vitro screening of soil bacteria identified 184 antagonistic isolates, including 22 from an existing culture collection. Mean mycelial growth inhibition zones ranged from 1 to 12 mm, and mean zoospore germination inhibition ranged from 0% to 100%. Use of 16S rDNA sequence analysis placed isolates into 18 different bacterial genera. Screening of 47 bacteria that inhibited both infective stages identified 29 potential biocontrol strains, including Rhizobium spp. that significantly (α = 0.05) suppressed aphanomyces root rot in field pea grown in vermiculite, suggesting the intriguing possibility of using N-fixing Rhizobium inoculants as biocontrol agents for aphanomyces control. Further screening of 20 isolates as soil inoculants identified K-Hf-L9 (Pseudomonas fluorescens), PSV1-7 (Pantoea agglomerans), and K-Hf-H2 (Lysobacter capsici) isolates as having the highest biocontrol activity, significantly (α = 0.05) suppressing aphanomyces root rot in field pea in growth chamber trials. This study demonstrates the possibility of aphanomyces root rot management using biocontrol agents.
Computational study on interfacial peeling by uniformly distributed loading on aluminum hybrid anti-mechanical vibration panel
Authors: Yoon Sung-Min , Bae Sung-Youl , Kim Yun-Hae
Published: March 2020

The purpose of this case study is to calculate the critical condition of interfacial peeling on aluminum hybrid anti-mechanical vibration panel. An area of thin-cored resin layer with two aluminum skins is located to design a hybrid panel. The system of hybrid panel is normally used for mechanical parts, which need to dampen mechanical vibration. In this structure, a thin core plays an especially important role to dampen vibration. However, this structure has a disadvantage of delaminating and peeling with perpendicular loading from the adhesive core. At a given level of adhesion, one calculates deflection and stress state as a function of loading. To confirm that this model is directly applicable to the quantity of deflection, the geometry of three layers is designed with actual product thickness. A total of five cases of loading condition are simulated to deduce the stress distribution. The interfacial area is the main interest for this simulation which can be related with critical peeling condition. As a result, the comparison with the practical values of adhesion shows a possibility of estimation for the peeling limit of this hybrid panel system.
A GENERAL COMPARISON PRINCIPLE FOR CAPUTO FRACTIONAL-ORDER ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
Authors: WU CONG
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we work on a general comparison principle for Caputo fractional-order ordinary differential equations. A full result on maximal solutions to Caputo fractional-order systems is given by using continuation of solutions and a newly proven formula of Caputo fractional derivatives. Based on this result and the formula, we prove a general fractional comparison principle under very weak conditions, in which only the Caputo fractional derivative is involved. This work makes up deficiencies of existing results.
IMPROVED MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE FOR SOLVING HAUSDORFF DERIVATIVE DIFFUSION EQUATIONS
Authors: WANG JIANG , LIANG YINGJIE , QIU LIN , YANG XU
Published: March 2020

This study aims at combining the machine learning technique with the Hausdorff derivative to solve one-dimensional Hausdorff derivative diffusion equations. In the proposed artificial neural network method, the multilayer feed-forward neural network is chosen and improved by using the Hausdorff derivative to the activation function of hidden layers. A trial solution is a combination of the boundary and initial condition terms and the network output, which can approximate the analytical solution. To transform the original Hausdorff derivative equation into a minimization problem, an error function is defined, where the coefficients are approximated by using the gradient descent algorithm in the back-propagation process. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the accuracy and the robustness of the proposed method. The obtained results show that the improved machine learning technique is efficient in computing the Hausdorff derivative diffusion equations both from computational accuracy and stability.
A NEW FRACTAL TEMPORAL CONDUCTIVITY MODEL FOR PROPPED FRACTURE AND ITS APPLICATION IN TIGHT RESERVOIRS
Authors: CAI MINGYU , ELSWORTH DEREK , SU YULIANG , LU MINGJING
Published: March 2020

Current hydraulic fracture conductivity evolution models fail to incorporate the fractures microscopic petrophysical properties, and notable discrepancies consequently exist between predictions and observations. We present a new conductivity model considering the irregular fracture undulation and channel roughness in propped fractures. The propped fracture networks are treated as bundles of tortuous capillaries with a fractal distribution of sizes with the size of a single capillary calculated using a constitutive model representing contacting rock surfaces under normal cyclic loading. The capillaries tortuosity is described by the effective inclination angle, and the fracture closure is calculated by the history of the in situ stress distribution and rock property changes. The fracture surface roughness, number of capillaries per unit width of the hydraulic fracture, and total cross-sectional area are obtained using fractal theory. The proposed model is validated by comparison with experimental data and other analytical solutions. The results indicate that the apparent permeability and conductivity of the fracture significantly decrease to 58.0% and 48.2% within 2 years of production, respectively, and then remain steady for the remainder of the well life. Compared with fixed fracture conductivity, the temporal variability in conductivity leads to a lower formation pressure drop and reduction in final production. Furthermore, the influences of the effective inclination angle, relative roughness of micro-channel, fracture porosity, and microchannel fractal dimension on the conductivity are investigated and the conductivity proves to be largely controlled by the fracture porosity, while the influence of the relative roughness ratio on the conductivity is least significant.
MEAN VALUE PROPERTY OF HARMONIC FUNCTION ON THE HIGHER-DIMENSIONAL SIERPINSKI GASKET
Authors: WU YIPENG , CHEN ZHILONG , ZHANG XIA , ZHAO XUDONG
Published: March 2020

Harmonic functions possess the mean value property, that is, the value of the function at any point is equal to the average value of the function in a domain that contain this point. It is a very attractive problem to look for analogous results in the fractal context. In this paper, we establish a similar results of the mean value property for the harmonic functions on the higher-dimensional Sierpinski gasket.
A MODIFIED COMPLETE NORMAL CONTACT STIFFNESS MODEL OF A FRACTAL SURFACE CONSIDERING CONTACT FRICTION
Authors: WEI CHUNLING , ZHU HUA , LANG SHIHUI
Published: March 2020

This paper presents a modified complete normal contact stiffness model of a fractal surface considering contact friction. We use this model to study the influence of fractal dimensions and fractal roughness on normal contact stiffness. The fractal micro-contact model of an asperity and the complete length scale contact model of fractal surface (both contrasting classical mechanics) are revised. The influence of frictional resistance at micro-contact interfaces on normal contact stiffness is also considered. Predictions of the new model are found to be in greater agreement with the results of the experiments than the predictions of the original model. The study analyzes the influence of fractal dimensions and fractal roughness on the normal contact stiffness. With the increase of these two fractal parameters, their influences on the normal contact stiffness are opposite and are different under high pressure and low pressure.
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RESISTIVE AND INDUCTIVE LOADS OF AN ENERGY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WITH JULIA FRACTAL SETS
Authors: TABARES-OSPINA HÉCTOR A. , OSORIO MAURICIO
Published: March 2020

The present paper characterizes the resistive and inductive loads of an electric distribution system by Julia fractal sets, in order to discover other observations enabling the elevation of new theoretical approaches. The result shows that indeed the electrical load reflects a clear graphic pattern in the fractal space of the Julia sets. This result, then, is a new contribution that extends the universal knowledge about fractal geometry.
INVESTIGATIONS ON REPRESENTATIVE ELEMENTARY VOLUME AND DIRECTIONAL PERMEABILITY OF FRACTAL-BASED FRACTURE NETWORKS USING POLYGON SUB-MODELS
Authors: ZHANG JING , LIU RICHENG , YU LIYUAN , JING HONGWEN , YIN QIAN
Published: March 2020

Since the directional permeability of fractured rock masses is significantly dependent on the geometric properties of fractures, in this work, a numerical study was performed to analyze the relationships between them, in which fracture length follows a fractal distribution. A method to estimate the representative elementary volume (REV) size and directional permeability ([Formula: see text] by extracting regular polygon sub-models with different orientation angles ([Formula: see text] and side lengths ([Formula: see text] from an original discrete fracture network (DFN) model was developed. The results show that the fracture number has a power law relationship with the fracture length and the evolution of the exponent agrees well with that reported in previous studies, which confirms the reliability of the proposed fractal length distribution and stochastically generated DFN models. The [Formula: see text] varies significantly due to the influence of random numbers utilized to generate fracture location, orientation and length when [Formula: see text] is small. When [Formula: see text] exceeds some certain values, [Formula: see text] holds a constant value despite of [Formula: see text], in which the model scale is regarded as the REV size and the corresponding area of DFN model is represented by [Formula: see text] (in 2D). The directional permeability contours for DFN models plotted in the polar coordinate system approximate to circles when the model size is greater than the REV size. The [Formula: see text] decreases with the increment of fractal dimension of fracture length distribution ([Formula: see text]. However, the decreasing rate of [Formula: see text] (79.5%) when [Formula: see text] increases from 1.4 to 1.5 changes more significantly than that (34.8%) when [Formula: see text] increases from 1.5 to 1.6 for regular hexagon sub-models. This indicates that the small non-persistent fractures dominate the preferential flow paths; thereafter, the flow rate distribution becomes more homogeneous when [Formula: see text] exceeds a certain value (i.e. 1.5). A larger [Formula: see text] results in a denser fracture network and a stronger conductivity.
THE AMERICAN DREAM, MELTING POT AND REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE STOCK AS DRIVERS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
Authors: AREND RICHARD J. , PATEL PANKAJ C.
Published: March 2020

We explore whether the generally construed positive effects of intergenerational upward mobility and racial desegregation, under increasing local knowledge stocks, are positively associated with regional entrepreneurial activity. We find the opposite association in a sample of 2,717 US counties. Our results imply that, when county-level knowledge stocks are high, the American Dream (of greater intergenerational upward mobility) and the American Melting Pot (of lower racial segregation) appear, at a minimum, to be not associated with greater entrepreneurial activity. The results are robust to a variety of alternate specifications. For example, when Metropolitan Statistical Area data are used in lieu of county-level data, the results are broadly consistent with those in the main results.
A rare and unusual trace fossil from the Lower Jurassic (Lias Group) of Ketton, East Midlands, UK
Authors: Donovan Stephen K. , del Strother Peter , Ewin Timothy A. M.
Published: March 2020

The top of the Whitby Mudstone Formation (Lias Group, Toarcian, Bifrons ammonite Zone) is exposed low in the geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Ketton Quarry, East Midlands. A rare burrow of
Fustiglyphus annulatus
Vialov from this part of the succession, not reported from the Whitby Mudstone Formation hitherto, was collected from float. In the dull brown mudrock, the burrow has a contrasting fill of grey sandstone. The shaft of the burrow is cylindrical, with two broad, bell-shaped chambers.
Fustiglyphus annulatus
is found in deeper water deposits in the post-Palaeozoic, so its occurrence in the Whitby Mudstone Formation, an offshore shelf deposit, is not unexpected. However, orientation is equivocal; the burrow was either angled at 45° to bedding, based on the evidence of an associated
Arenicolites
isp., or parallel to bedding, its common configuration.
A Nanoscale Study of Thermally Grown Chromia on High-Cr Ferritic Steels and Associated Oxidation Mechanisms
Authors: Vayyala Ashok , Povstugar Ivan , Naumenko Dmitry , Quadakkers Willem J. , Hattendorf Heike , Mayer Joachim
Published: March 2020

Fe-22Cr-0.5Mn based ferritic steels are used as interconnect materials for solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cells. Four steel samples, including the commercial steel Crofer 22 H, were oxidized at 800 °C in a model Ar-4%H2−4%H2O atmosphere simulating the fuel side of the cells and investigated by atom probe tomography (APT) in conjunction with electron microscopy and thermogravimetry. All steels form an oxide scale mainly consisting of MnCr2O4 spinel on top of Cr2O3. APT revealed segregation of minor alloying constituents (Nb and Ti) to chromia grain boundaries and highlighted their effect on mass transport through the chromia scale. Relationships between segregation activity of individual elements (in terms of Gibbsian interfacial excess), oxide scale microstructure and alloy oxidation rate have been established based on the APT results. Comparison of segregation activities revealed that vacancies formation due to Wagner-Hauffe doping with aliovalent Ti and Nb impurities cannot be solely responsible for faster oxidation, assuming alteration of the grain boundary structure and associated changes of their mass transport properties. Controlled Si addition to the alloy (about 0.4 at%) suppresses the detrimental effect of Nb on the oxidation resistance but results in formation of a thin, although still discontinuous, SiO2 layer at the metal-oxide interface.
Unilateral lingual nerve transection alters jaw-tongue coordination during mastication in pigs
Authors: Montuelle Stéphane J. , Olson Rachel A. , Curtis Hannah , Williams Susan H.
Published: March 2020

During chewing, movements and deformations of the tongue are coordinated with jaw movements to manage and manipulate the bolus and avoid injury. Individuals with injuries to the lingual nerve report both tongue injuries due to biting and difficulties in chewing, primarily because of impaired bolus management, suggesting that jaw-tongue coordination relies on intact lingual afferents. Here, we investigate how unilateral lingual nerve (LN) transection affects jaw-tongue coordination in an animal model (pig, Sus scrofa). Temporal coordination between jaw pitch (opening-closing) and 1) anteroposterior tongue position (i.e., protraction-retraction), 2) anteroposterior tongue length, and 3) mediolateral tongue width was compared between pre- and post-LN transection using cross-correlation analyses. Overall, following LN transection, the lag between jaw pitch and the majority of tongue kinematics decreased significantly, demonstrating that sensory loss from the tongue alters jaw-tongue coordination. In addition, decrease in jaw-tongue lag suggests that, following LN transection, tongue movements and deformations occur earlier in the gape cycle than when the lingual sensory afferents are intact. If the velocity of tongue movements and deformations remains constant, earlier occurrence can reflect less pronounced movements, possibly to avoid injuries. The results of this study demonstrate that lingual afferents participate in chewing by assisting with coordinating the timing of jaw and tongue movements. The observed changes may affect bolus management performance and/or may represent protective strategies because of altered somatosensory awareness of the tongue.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Chewing requires coordination between tongue and jaw movements. We compared the coordination of tongue movements and deformation relative to jaw opening-closing movements pre- and post-lingual nerve transection during chewing in pigs. These experiments reveal that the timing of jaw-tongue coordination is altered following unilateral disruption of sensory information from the tongue. Therefore, maintenance of jaw-tongue coordination requires bilateral sensory information from the tongue.
Hot-water immersion does not increase postprandial muscle protein synthesis rates during recovery from resistance-type exercise in healthy, young males
Authors: Fuchs Cas J. , Smeets Joey S. J. , Senden Joan M. , Zorenc Antoine H. , Goessens Joy P. B. , van Marken Lichtenbelt Wouter D. , Verdijk Lex B. , van Loon Luc J. C.
Published: March 2020

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of postexercise hot-water immersion on postprandial myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during recovery from a single bout of resistance-type exercise in healthy, young men. Twelve healthy, adult men (age: 23 ± 1 y) performed a single bout of resistance-type exercise followed by 20 min of water immersion of both legs. One leg was immersed in hot water [46°C: hot-water immersion (HWI)], while the other leg was immersed in thermoneutral water (30°C: CON). After water immersion, a beverage was ingested containing 20 g intrinsically L-[1-13C]-phenylalanine and L-[1-13C]-leucine labeled milk protein with 45 g of carbohydrates. In addition, primed continuous L-[ ring-2H5]-phenylalanine and L-[1-13C]-leucine infusions were applied, with frequent collection of blood and muscle samples to assess myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in vivo over a 5-h recovery period. Muscle temperature immediately after water immersion was higher in the HWI compared with the CON leg (37.5 ± 0.1 vs. 35.2 ± 0.2°C; P < 0.001). Incorporation of dietary protein-derived L-[1-13C]-phenylalanine into myofibrillar protein did not differ between the HWI and CON leg during the 5-h recovery period (0.025 ± 0.003 vs. 0.024 ± 0.002 MPE; P = 0.953). Postexercise myofibrillar protein synthesis rates did not differ between the HWI and CON leg based upon L-[1-13C]-leucine (0.050 ± 0.005 vs. 0.049 ± 0.002%/h; P = 0.815) and L-[ ring-2H5]-phenylalanine (0.048 ± 0.002 vs. 0.047 ± 0.003%/h; P = 0.877), respectively. Hot-water immersion during recovery from resistance-type exercise does not increase the postprandial rise in myofibrillar protein synthesis rates. In addition, postexercise hot-water immersion does not increase the capacity of the muscle to incorporate dietary protein-derived amino acids in muscle tissue protein during subsequent recovery.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to assess the effect of postexercise hot-water immersion on postprandial myofibrillar protein synthesis rates and the incorporation of dietary protein-derived amino acids into muscle protein. We observed that hot-water immersion during recovery from a single bout of resistance-type exercise does not further increase myofibrillar protein synthesis rates or augment the postprandial incorporation of dietary protein-derived amino acids in muscle throughout 5 h of postexercise recovery.
Countering disuse atrophy in older adults with low-volume leucine supplementation
Authors: Arentson-Lantz Emily J. , Fiebig Kinga N. , Anderson-Catania Kim J. , Deer Rachel R. , Wacher Adam , Fry Christopher S. , Lamon Séverine , Paddon-Jones Douglas
Published: March 2020

Older adults are at increased risk of being bedridden and experiencing negative health outcomes including the loss of muscle tissue and functional capacity. We hypothesized that supplementing daily meals with a small quantity (3–4 g/meal) of leucine would partially preserve lean leg mass and function of older adults during bed rest. During a 7-day bed rest protocol, followed by 5 days of inpatient rehabilitation, healthy older men and women (67.8 ± 1.1 yr, 14 men; 6 women) were randomized to receive isoenergetic meals supplemented with leucine (LEU, 0.06 g/kg/meal; n = 10) or an alanine control (CON, 0.06 g/kg/meal; n = 10). Outcomes were assessed at baseline, following bed rest, and after rehabilitation. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Functional capacity was assessed by knee extensor isokinetic and isometric dynamometry, peak aerobic capacity, and the short physical performance battery. Muscle fiber type, cross-sectional area, signaling protein expression levels, and single fiber characteristics were determined from biopsies of the vastus lateralis. Leucine supplementation reduced the loss of leg lean mass during bed rest (LEU vs. CON: −423 vs. −1035 ± 143 g; P = 0.008) but had limited impact on strength or endurance-based functional outcomes. Similarly, leucine had no effect on markers of anabolic signaling and protein degradation during bed rest or rehabilitation. In conclusion, providing older adults with supplemental leucine has minimal impact on total energy or protein consumption and has the potential to partially counter some, but not all, of the negative effects of inactivity on muscle health.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Skeletal muscle morphology and function in older adults was significantly compromised by 7 days of disuse. Leucine supplementation partially countered the loss of lean leg mass but did not preserve muscle function or positively impact changes at the muscle fiber level associated with bed rest or rehabilitation. Of note, our data support a relationship between myonuclear content and adaptations to muscle atrophy at the whole limb and single fiber level.
The Urothelium: Life in a Liquid Environment
Authors: Dalghi Marianela G. , Montalbetti Nicolas , Carattino Marcelo D. , Apodaca Gerard
Published: March 2020

The urothelium, which lines the renal pelvis, ureters, urinary bladder, and proximal urethra, forms a high-resistance but adaptable barrier that surveils its mechanochemical environment and communicates changes to underlying tissues including afferent nerve fibers and the smooth muscle. The goal of this review is to summarize new insights into urothelial biology and function that have occurred in the past decade. After familiarizing the reader with key aspects of urothelial histology, we describe new insights into urothelial development and regeneration. This is followed by an extended discussion of urothelial barrier function, including information about the roles of the glycocalyx, ion and water transport, tight junctions, and the cellular and tissue shape changes and other adaptations that accompany expansion and contraction of the lower urinary tract. We also explore evidence that the urothelium can alter the water and solute composition of urine during normal physiology and in response to overdistension. We complete the review by providing an overview of our current knowledge about the urothelial environment, discussing the sensor and transducer functions of the urothelium, exploring the role of circadian rhythms in urothelial gene expression, and describing novel research tools that are likely to further advance our understanding of urothelial biology.
Lyapunov-Type Inequalities for Second-Order Boundary Value Problems with a Parameter
Authors: Liu Haidong
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we will establish some new Lyapunov-type inequalities for a class of second-order boundary value problems with a parameter. The inequalities generalize some early results in the literature.
Interactive Echocardiography Translation Using Few-Shot GAN Transfer Learning
Authors: Teng Long , Fu ZhongLiang , Ma Qian , Yao Yu , Zhang Bing , Zhu Kai , Li Ping
Published: March 2020

Background. Interactive echocardiography translation is an efficient educational function to master cardiac anatomy. It strengthens the student’s understanding by pixel-level translation between echocardiography and theoretically sketch images. Previous research studies split it into two aspects of image segmentation and synthesis. This split makes it hard to achieve pixel-level corresponding translation. Besides, it is also challenging to leverage deep-learning-based methods in each phase where a handful of annotations are available. Methods. To address interactive translation with limited annotations, we present a two-step transfer learning approach. Firstly, we train two independent parent networks, the ultrasound to sketch (U2S) parent network and the sketch to ultrasound (S2U) parent network. U2S translation is similar to a segmentation task with sector boundary inference. Therefore, the U2S parent network is trained with the U-Net network on the public segmentation dataset of VOC2012. S2U aims at recovering ultrasound texture. So, the S2U parent network is decoder networks that generate ultrasound data from random input. After pretraining the parent networks, an encoder network is attached to the S2U parent network to translate ultrasound images into sketch images. We jointly transfer learning U2S and S2U within the CGAN framework. Results and conclusion. Quantitative and qualitative contrast from 1-shot, 5-shot, and 10-shot transfer learning show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The interactive translation is achieved with few-shot transfer learning. Thus, the development of new applications from scratch is accelerated. Our few-shot transfer learning has great potential in the biomedical computer-aided image translation field, where annotation data are extremely precious.
On Multiscale RBF Collocation Methods for Solving the Monge–Ampère Equation
Authors: Liu Zhiyong , Xu Qiuyan
Published: March 2020

This paper considers some multiscale radial basis function collocation methods for solving the two-dimensional Monge–Ampère equation with Dirichlet boundary. We discuss and study the performance of the three kinds of multiscale methods. The first method is the cascadic meshfree method, which was proposed by Liu and He (2013). The second method is the stationary multilevel method, which was proposed by Floater and Iske (1996), and is used to solve the fully nonlinear partial differential equation in the paper for the first time. The third is the hierarchical radial basis function method, which is constructed by employing successive refinement scattered data sets and scaled compactly supported radial basis functions with varying support radii. Compared with the first two methods, the hierarchical radial basis function method can not only solve the present problem on a single level with higher accuracy and lower computational cost but also produce highly sparse nonlinear discrete system. These observations are obtained by taking the direct approach of numerical experimentation.
Development of a Nonlinear Integer Optimization Model for Tenant Mix Layout in a Shopping Centre
Authors: Lv Hongyue , Wang Ting-Kwei
Published: March 2020

The tenant mix layout of shopping malls affects shopper consumption behaviour and the performance of malls. The main function of the tenant mix layout is to increase store sales by increasing footfall. However, although existing studies have shown the importance of the spatial clustering effect and the physical information about tenants, the authors of those studies did not properly consider both the spatial clustering effect and the physical information about tenants at the meantime. Through this study, we aimed to maximize the spillover effect of the stores in the shopping centre while considering both the spatial clustering effect and physical information about tenants. Therefore, we present a problem called the tenant mix problem, which is to determine the optimal tenant configuration scheme for existing shopping centre space segmentation to maximize the rental income of a shopping centre. To solve this problem, a nonlinear integer optimization model with defined characteristics was proposed and solved using a genetic algorithm. A shopping centre case study is also presented to verify the performance of the model.
The Novel Role of Healing from Bacterial Infections of Lower Limb Open Fractures by X-Ray Exposure
Authors: Mahdi Ali A. , Al-Salmani Tuqa S. , Al-Qaisi Mustafa M.
Published: March 2020

Introduction. An open fracture refers to a break in the skin, which is exposed to microbial contamination and eventually leads to most complicated infections. X-rays can kill bacteria by causing irreversible DNA damage. Objective. To confirm the role of X-ray exposure in treating infected wound fractures at the lower limb and determine X-ray exposure times. Methods. Fifty-one wound swabs were collected from patients with infected open fractures at the lower limb with grade II, IIIA, B, and C according to the Gustilo and Anderson classification system and then cultured. The bacterial isolates were identified by biochemical tests and the VITEK-2 System and tested against several antibiotics. The X-ray exposure was done for open fractures by radiography (at kV133 and 5 milliambers). Results. The higher isolation rate was recorded for Staphylococcus aureus with 21 (41.2%) isolates, and most of them (20, 95.2%) were isolated from grade II fractures. The isolation rate of Gram-negative bacteria was 25.5% for Escherichia coli with 13 isolates, 19.6% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa with 10 isolates, and 13.7% for Klebsiella pneumoniae with 7 isolates, most of which were isolated from grade III fractures. The isolation rate of P. aeruginosa was 60% (6 isolates) from grade IIIA and 71.4% (5 isolates) from grade IIIB for K. pneumoniae, while for E. coli it was 69.2% (9 isolates) from grade IIIC. All the bacterial isolates recorded high levels of antibiotic resistance against most tested antibiotics. Wound cultures of grade II fractures appeared sterile after the first X-ray exposure, and these wounds were infected with S. aureus or P. aeruginosa. However, cultures of grade IIIA and IIIB fractures appeared sterile after the second X-ray exposure for all isolated bacteria, except for S. aureus (grade IIIA fractures) (after the third X-ray exposure). Grade IIIC fractures showed sterile culture after the third X-ray exposure for wounds infected with P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Conclusions. The study concluded that X-ray exposure showed high effectiveness in treating infected open fractures.
Unintended Pregnancy and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Bako Tibe District Public Health Facility, Oromia Region, Ethiopia
Authors: Bekele Habtamu , Dheressa Merga , Mengistie Bezatu , Sintayehu Yitagesu , Fekadu Gelana
Published: March 2020

Background. A pregnancy is described unintended if it is either unwanted or mistimed. The former occurs when no child or no more children are desired, and the latter is when the conception occurs earlier than the desired time, but wanted later. Unwanted pregnancy causes a serious health, economic, and social problem to the woman and her family. In the study area, there is limited data on unintended pregnancy. Therefore, this study fills this gap by studying the magnitude of unintended pregnancy and its associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care in the study area. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was done from 1 March to 1 April 2019, among 612 randomly selected pregnant women attending antenatal care at Bako Tibe district public health facility. The data were collected via interview using a structured and pretested questionnaire. They were entered into EpiData Version 3.1 and SPSS Version 23 for cleaning and analyses. The variables, which were significant at P≤0.2 in the bivariate logistic regression, were included in the multivariable analysis. The direction and strength of statistical association were measured by an odds ratio with 95% CI. A variable with a P value < 0.05 was considered a significantly associated factor with the outcome one. Results. In this study, the prevalence of unintended pregnancy was 33.3%, at 95% CI (29.8, 37.3). The factors that had significant association with unintended pregnancy were family size≥6 (AOR=8.0, 95% CI: 1.38–46.66), women who did not communicate about family planning with their husbands (AOR=2.8, 95% CI: 1.50–5.20), and parity≥5 (AOR=3.0, 95% CI: 1.34–6.8). Conclusion. About one-third of the pregnant women reported that their pregnancy was unintended. Parity, family size, and lack of spousal communication showed a significant association with the problem. To decrease the current level of unintended pregnancy in the area, the Bako Tibe District Health Bureau and the health workers should work harder to scale up spousal communication on family planning.
Mechanisms of Berberine for the Treatment of Atherosclerosis Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Xie Xuejiao , Ma Xingyu , Zeng Siyu , Tang Wansi , Xiao Liucheng , Zhu Chenggong , Yu Rong
Published: March 2020

Atherosclerosis is a common metabolic disease characterized by lipid metabolic disorder. The processes of atherosclerosis include endothelial dysfunction, new endothelial layer formation, lipid sediment, foam cell formation, plaque formation, and plaque burst. Owing to the adverse effects of first‐line medications, it is urgent to discover new medications to deal with atherosclerosis. Berberine is one of the most promising natural products derived from traditional Chinese medicine. However, the panoramic mechanism of berberine against atherosclerosis has not been discovered clearly. In this study, we used network pharmacology to investigate the interaction between berberine and atherosclerosis. We identified potential targets related to berberine and atherosclerosis from several databases. A total of 31 and 331 putative targets for berberine and atherosclerosis were identified, respectively. Then, we constructed berberine and atherosclerosis targets with PPI data. Berberine targets network with PPI data had 3204 nodes and 79437 edges. Atherosclerosis targets network with PPI data had 5451 nodes and 130891 edges. Furthermore, we merged the two PPI networks and obtained the core PPI network from the merged PPI network. The core PPI network had 132 nodes and 3339 edges. At last, we performed functional enrichment analyses including GO and KEGG pathway analysis in David database. GO analysis indicated that the biological processes were correlated with G1/S transition of mitotic cells cycle. KEGG pathway analysis found that the pathways directly associated with berberine against atherosclerosis were cell cycle, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, MAPK signaling pathway, and PI3K‐Akt signaling pathway. After combining the results in context with the available treatments for atherosclerosis, we considered that berberine inhibited inflammation and cell proliferation in the treatment of atherosclerosis. Our study provided a valid theoretical foundation for future research.
A Fast Compact Finite Difference Method for Fractional Cattaneo Equation Based on Caputo–Fabrizio Derivative
Authors: Qiao Haili , Liu Zhengguang , Cheng Aijie
Published: March 2020

The Cattaneo equations with Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivative are investigated. A compact finite difference scheme of Crank–Nicolson type is presented and analyzed, which is proved to have temporal accuracy of second order and spatial accuracy of fourth order. Since this derivative is defined with an integral over the whole passed time, conventional direct solvers generally take computational complexity of OMN2 and require memory of OMN, with M and N the number of space steps and time steps, respectively. We develop a fast evaluation procedure for the Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivative, by which the computational cost is reduced to OMN operations; meanwhile, only OM memory is required. In the end, several numerical experiments are carried out to verify the theoretical results and show the applicability of the fast compact difference procedure.
Heterogeneous Information Network-Based Scientific Workflow Recommendation for Complex Applications
Authors: Wen Yiping , Hou Junjie , Yuan Zhen , Zhou Dong
Published: March 2020

Scientific workflow is a valuable tool for various complicated large-scale data processing applications. In recent years, the increasingly growing number of scientific processes available necessitates the development of recommendation techniques to provide automatic support for modelling scientific workflows. In this paper, with the help of heterogeneous information network (HIN) and tags of scientific workflows, we organize scientific workflows as a HIN and propose a novel scientific workflow similarity computation method based on metapath. In addition, the density peak clustering (DPC) algorithm is introduced into the recommendation process and a scientific workflow recommendation approach named HDSWR is proposed. The effectiveness and efficiency of our approach are evaluated by extensive experiments with real-world scientific workflows.
Dual EGFR and ABL Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Treatment in a Patient with Concomitant EGFR-Mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma and BCR-ABL1-Positive CML
Authors: Watanabe Kousuke , Kage Hidenori , Nagoshi Saki , Toyama Kazuhiro , Ohno Yoshiyuki , Shinozaki-Ushiku Aya , Nakazaki Kumi , Suzuki Hiroshi , Kurokawa Mineo , Nagase Takahide
Published: March 2020

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combination is expected to increase in the era of precision medicine. TKI combination may be required to treat double primary cancers, each having a targetable gene, or to treat a single malignancy with multiple targetable genes. Here, we demonstrate the first report of dual EGFR and ABL TKI treatment in a patient with concomitant EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma and BCR-ABL1-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). A 60-year-old man with an 8-year history of CML was diagnosed as advanced EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma. Complete molecular response of CML had been achieved by imatinib, and ABL-TKI had been switched to nilotinib four years previously due to muscle cramps. We discontinued nilotinib and started afatinib. Although partial response of lung adenocarcinoma was achieved, cytogenetic relapse of CML was observed following nilotinib discontinuation. We applied the previously described framework of cytochrome P450 3A4-mediated oral drug-drug interactions and selected gefitinib and nilotinib to treat both malignancies. We effectively and safely administered this combination for seven months. The present report is the first to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of dual EGFR and ABL TKI treatment in a patient with concomitant EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma and CML.
Auricular Intradermal Acupuncture as a Supplementary Motor Rehabilitation Strategy in Poststroke Patients: A Randomized Preliminary Clinical Study
Authors: Miao Dan , Lei Kuok-Tong , Jiang Jing-Feng , Wang Xin-Jun , Wang Hong , Liu Xiao-Ru , Zhang Jia-Jia , Xiong Jia-Wei
Published: March 2020

We have explored the potential of auricular intradermal acupuncture (AIA) in standard rehabilitation and acupuncture treatment for motor recovery in poststroke patients. This was a randomized, controlled preliminary clinical study in which the patients were randomly assigned to the CT group (conventional treatment, standard rehabilitation, and routine acupuncture) or AIA group (AIA combined with conventional treatment) and underwent 6 sessions in 1 week (6 days). Standard procedures and previously reported acupuncture points were used. Clinical outcomes were measured by the Fugl‐Meyer motor assessment (FMA) of flexor and extensor synergy movement (FSM and ESM) of the upper and lower extremities (UE and LE) at days 0, 3, and 6. The assessment was performed by blinded assessors. The AIA group showed a significant increase in FMA‐UE/FMA‐LE scores on day 3 (P = 0.012 and 0.001, respectively) and day 6 (P = 0.041 and P < 0.001, respectively), but this was not observed in the CT group. Furthermore, unlike the CT group, the AIA group exhibited a significant increase in the FMA‐LE score on day 3 (P = 0.004) and the FMA‐UE scores on day 6 (P = 0.048). Finally, the correlation between ESM and FMA‐UE/FMA‐LE was higher than that between FSM and FMA‐UE/FMA‐LE after treatment: for ESM and UE, r = 0.759, P = 0.007; for ESM and LE, r = 0.697, P = 0.003; for FSM and UE, r = 0.604, P = 0.049; for FSM and LE, r = 0.347, P = 0.188. AIA is useful for motor rehabilitation in poststroke patients, particularly in terms of improving extensor synergy. This trial is registered with CHiCTR1800020150.
Two Cases of Morel-Lavallée Lesion Which Resulted in a Wide Skin Necrosis from a Small Laceration
Authors: Nakajima Tadahiro , Tada Kaoru , Nakada Mika , Matsuta Masashi , Tsuchiya Hiroyuki
Published: March 2020

Morel-Lavallée lesion (MLL) is a degloving injury in soft tissues caused by shear force accompanying trauma. Even if it is a small lacrimal wound at the initial visit, there is a range of skin necrosis which is not suitable for it. As a cause of the injury, a shearing force was applied over a wide range, and penetrating blood vessel damage to the skin occurred, resulting in skin necrosis. Attention is required.
Research of Low-Rank Representation and Discriminant Correlation Analysis for Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis
Authors: Li Zhigang , Dong Aimei , Zhou Jing
Published: March 2020

As population aging is becoming more common worldwide, applying artificial intelligence into the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is critical to improve the diagnostic level in recent years. In early diagnosis of AD, the fusion of complementary information contained in multimodality data (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)) has obtained enormous achievement. Detecting Alzheimer’s disease using multimodality data has two difficulties: (1) there exists noise information in multimodal data; (2) how to establish an effective mathematical model of the relationship between multimodal data? To this end, we proposed a method named LDF which is based on the combination of low-rank representation and discriminant correlation analysis (DCA) to fuse multimodal datasets. Specifically, the low-rank representation method is used to extract the latent features of the submodal data, so the noise information in the submodal data is removed. Then, discriminant correlation analysis is used to fuse the submodal data, so the complementary information can be fully utilized. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of this method.
Giant Retrorectal Epidermoid Cyst Masquerading as a Perianal Swelling
Authors: Al-Shoura Reem , Malaekah Haifaa , Al Bassam Waddah
Published: March 2020

A retrorectal epidermoid cyst is an uncommon congenital lesion that arises from the remnants of the embryonic tissues. This type of cyst is difficult to diagnose before surgery. In this study, we report a rare case of a giant retrorectal epidermoid cyst in a 30-year-old woman. Initially, the condition was diagnosed as a perianal abscess and treated with incision and drainage. Since the abscess recurred, a pelvic magnetic resonance imaging was ordered, which revealed an 8.2 cm perianal cyst with appearance not compatible with an abscess. Postsurgical histologic analysis confirmed a retrorectal epidermoid cyst. Postoperative course was uneventful, and the woman was discharged on postoperative day 3. She was doing well at 4 months of follow-up. This report suggests that retrorectal cysts should be considered in cases of recurrent perianal swellings/abscesses.
The Role of IL-33 in Experimental Heart Transplantation
Authors: Chen Jie , He Yan , Xie Zhongming , Wei Yingying , Duan Lihua
Published: March 2020

Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a member of the IL-1 family of proteins that are produced by a variety of cell types in multiple tissues. Under conditions of cell injury or death, IL-33 is passively released from the nucleus and acts as an “alarmin” upon binding to its specific receptor ST2, which leads to proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects depending on the pathological environment. To date, numerous studies have investigated the roles of IL-33 in human and murine models of diseases of the nervous system, digestive system, pulmonary system, as well as other organs and systems, including solid organ transplantation. With graft rejection and ischemia-reperfusion injury being the most common causes of grafted organ failure or dysfunction, researchers have begun to investigate the role of IL-33 in the immune-related mechanisms of graft tolerance and rejection using heart transplantation models. In the present review, we summarize the identified roles of IL-33 as well as the corresponding mechanisms by which IL-33 acts within the progression of graft rejection after heart transplantation in animal models.
Optimizing Airport Land Side Operations: Check-In, Passengers’ Migration, and Security Control Processes
Authors: Adacher Ludovica , Flamini Marta
Published: March 2020

This paper deals with the optimization of the Check-in, passenger migration, and Security Control processes in an airport land side terminal. Given the layout of the terminal, the passengers’ flow, and the scheduled flights in a given time interval, the number and the position of Check-in counters and Security Control gates to be opened are output. The objective function is the minimization of the costs to activate the Check-in counters and the Security Control gates plus the costs that measure the passengers’ discomfort. The stochastic passengers’ behaviour and their preferences are simulated by a discrete event model, while the managing costs and the passengers’ discomfort are optimized by the Surrogate Method. Capodichino Airport, located in Naples (IT), has been considered for the test phase. Results show the effectiveness and efficiency of the solutions of the Surrogate Method compared with the performances of other algorithms.