bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Delivery preferences for psychological intervention in cardiac rehabilitation: a pilot discrete choice experiment
Authors: Shields Gemma Elizabeth , Wright Stuart , Wells Adrian , Doherty Patrick , Capobianco Lora , Davies Linda Mary
Published: August 2021

Background

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a programme of care offered to people who recently experienced a cardiac event. There is a growing focus on home-based formats of CR and a lack of evidence on preferences for psychological care in CR. This pilot study aimed to investigate preferences for delivery attributes of a psychological therapy intervention in CR patients with symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.

Methods

A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted and recruited participants from a feasibility trial. Participants were asked to choose between two hypothetical interventions, described using five attributes; intervention type (home or centre-based), information provided, therapy manual format, cost to the National Health Service (NHS) and waiting time. A separate opt-out was included. A conditional logit using maximum likelihood estimation was used to analyse preferences. The NHS cost was used to estimate willingness to pay for aspects of the intervention delivery.

Results

35 responses were received (39% response rate). Results indicated that participants would prefer to receive any form of therapy compared with no therapy. Statistically significant results were limited, but included participants being keen to avoid not receiving information prior to therapy (β=−0.270; p=0.03) and preferring a lower cost to the NHS (β=−0.001; p=0.00). No significant results were identified for the type of psychological intervention, format of therapy/exercises and programme start time. Coefficients indicated preferences were stronger for home-based therapy compared with centre-based, but this was not significant.

Conclusions

The pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of a DCE in this group, it identifies potential attributes and levels, and estimates the sample sizes needed for a full study. Preliminary evidence indicated that sampled participants tended to prefer home-based psychological therapy in CR and wanted to receive information before initiating therapy. Results are limited due to the pilot design and further research is needed.
Fibromyalgia: a new facet of the post-COVID-19 syndrome spectrum? Results from a web-based survey
Authors: Ursini Francesco , Ciaffi Jacopo , Mancarella Luana , Lisi Lucia , Brusi Veronica , Cavallari Carlotta , D’Onghia Martina , Mari Anna , Borlandelli Elena , Faranda Cordella Jacopo , La Regina Micaela , Viola Pasquale , Ruscitti Piero , Miceli Marco , De Giorgio Roberto , Baldini Nicola , Borghi Claudio , Gasbarrini Alessandro , Iagnocco Annamaria , Giacomelli Roberto , Faldini Cesare , Landini Maria Paola , Meliconi Riccardo
Published: August 2021

Objective

Postacute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) is an emerging entity characterised by a large array of manifestations, including musculoskeletal complaints, fatigue and cognitive or sleep disturbances. Since similar symptoms are present also in patients with fibromyalgia (FM), we decided to perform a web-based cross-sectional survey aimed at investigating the prevalence and predictors of FM in patients who recovered from COVID-19.

Methods

Data were anonymously collected between 5 and 18 April 2021. The collection form consisted of 28 questions gathering demographic information, features and duration of acute COVID-19, comorbid diseases, and other individual’s attributes such as height and weight. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Survey Criteria and the Italian version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire completed the survey.

Results

A final sample of 616 individuals (77.4% women) filled the form 6±3 months after the COVID-19 diagnosis. Of these, 189 (30.7%) satisfied the ACR survey criteria for FM (56.6% women). A multivariate logistic regression model including demographic and clinical factors showed that male gender (OR: 9.95, 95% CI 6.02 to 16.43, p<0.0001) and obesity (OR: 41.20, 95% CI 18.00 to 98.88, p<0.0001) were the strongest predictors of being classified as having post-COVID-19 FM. Hospital admission rate was significantly higher in men (15.8% vs 9.2%, p=0.001) and obese (19.2 vs 10.8%, p=0.016) respondents.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that clinical features of FM are common in patients who recovered from COVID-19 and that obesity and male gender affect the risk of developing post-COVID-19 FM.
Baseline clinical characteristics of predicted structural and pain progressors in the IMI-APPROACH knee OA cohort
Authors: van Helvoort Eefje Martine , Ladel Christoph , Mastbergen Simon , Kloppenburg Margreet , Blanco Francisco J , Haugen Ida K , Berenbaum Francis , Bacardit Jaume , Widera Pawel , Welsing Paco M J , Lafeber Floris
Published: August 2021

Objectives

To describe the relations between baseline clinical characteristics of the Applied Public-Private Research enabling OsteoArthritis Clinical Headway (IMI-APPROACH) participants and their predicted probabilities for knee osteoarthritis (OA) structural (S) progression and/or pain (P) progression.

Methods

Baseline clinical characteristics of the IMI-APPROACH participants were used for this study. Radiographs were evaluated according to Kellgren and Lawrence (K&L grade) and Knee Image Digital Analysis. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were used to evaluate pain. Predicted progression scores for each individual were determined using machine learning models. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to evaluate correlations between scores for predicted progression and baseline characteristics. T-tests and χ2 tests were used to evaluate differences between participants with high versus low progression scores.

Results

Participants with high S progressions score were found to have statistically significantly less structural damage compared with participants with low S progression scores (minimum Joint Space Width, minJSW 3.56 mm vs 1.63 mm; p<0.001, K&L grade; p=0.028). Participants with high P progression scores had statistically significantly more pain compared with participants with low P progression scores (KOOS pain 51.71 vs 82.11; p<0.001, NRS pain 6.7 vs 2.4; p<0.001).

Conclusions

The baseline minJSW of the IMI-APPROACH participants contradicts the idea that the (predicted) course of knee OA follows a pattern of inertia, where patients who have progressed previously are more likely to display further progression. In contrast, for pain progressors the pattern of inertia seems valid, since participants with high P score already have more pain at baseline compared with participants with a low P score.
Consensus-based Standards and Indicators to strengthen trauma center injury and violence prevention programs
Authors: Adams Christy , Kuhls Deborah A , Stephens-Stidham Shelli , Alonso Julie , Williams Stewart , Tinkoff Glen H
Published: August 2021

For decades, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT) has publishedResources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient,which outlines specific criteria necessary to be verified by the college as a trauma center, including having an organized and effective approach to prevention of trauma. However, the document provides little public health-specific guidance to assist trauma centers with developing these approaches. An advisory panel was convened in 2017 with representatives from national trauma and public health organizations with the purpose of identifying strategies to support trauma centers in the development of a public health approach to injury and violence prevention and to better integrate these efforts with those of local and state public health departments. This panel developed theStandards and Indicators for Model Level I and II Trauma Center Injury and Violence Prevention Programs. The document outlines five, consensus-based core components of a model injury and violence prevention program: (1) leadership, (2) resources, (3) data, (4) effective interventions, and (5) partnerships. We think this document provides the missing public health guidance and is an essential resource to trauma centers for effectively addressing injury and violence in our communities. We recommend the Standards and Indicators be referenced in the injury prevention chapter of the upcoming revision of ACSCOT’sResources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patientas guidance for the development, implementation and evaluation of injury prevention programs and be used as a framework for program presentation during ACSCOT verification visits.
Static cylindrical symmetric solutions in the Einstein-Aether theory
Authors: Chan R. , da Silva M. F. A.
Published: August 2021

In this work, we present all the possible solutions for a static cylindrical symmetric spacetime in the Einstein-Aether (EA) theory. As far as we know, this is the first work in the literature that considers cylindrically symmetric solutions in the theory of EA. One of these solutions is the generalization in EA theory of the Levi-Civita (LC) spacetime in General Relativity (GR) theory. We have shown that this generalized LC solution has unusual geodesic properties, depending on the parameter [Formula: see text] of the aether field. The circular geodesics are the same of the GR theory, no matter the values of [Formula: see text]. However, the radial and [Formula: see text]-direction geodesics are allowed only for certain values of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text]-direction geodesics are restricted to an interval of [Formula: see text] different from those predicted by the GR and the radial geodesics show that the motion is confined between the origin and a maximum radius. The latter is not affected by the aether field but the velocity and acceleration of the test particles are besides, for [Formula: see text], when the cylindrical symmetry is preserved, this spacetime is singular at the axis [Formula: see text], although for [Formula: see text] exists interval of [Formula: see text] where the spacetime is not singular, which is completely different from that one obtained with the GR theory, where the axis [Formula: see text] is always singular.
Error estimates of a finite element method for stochastic time-fractional evolution equations with fractional Brownian motion
Authors: Lv Jingyun
Published: August 2021

The aim of this paper is to consider the convergence of the numerical methods for stochastic time-fractional evolution equations driven by fractional Brownian motion. The spatial and temporal regularity of the mild solution is given. The numerical scheme approximates the problem in space by the Galerkin finite element method and in time by the backward Euler convolution quadrature formula, and the noise by the [Formula: see text]-projection. The strong convergence error estimates for both semi-discrete and fully discrete schemes are established. A numerical example is presented to verify our theoretical analysis.
Complexity of Eccentricities and All-Pairs Shortest Paths in the Quantum CONGEST Model
Authors: Wang Changsheng , Wu Xudong , Yao Penghui
Published: August 2021

Computing the distance parameters of a network, including the diameter, radius, eccentricities and the all-pairs shortest paths (APSP) is a central problem in distributed computing. This paper investigates the distance parameters in the quantum CONGEST models and establishes almost linear lower bounds on eccentricities and APSP, which match the classical upper bounds. Our results imply that there is not quantum speedup for these two problems. In contrast with the diameter and radius, exchanging quantum messages is able to save the communication when the networks have low diameters [F. L. Gall and F. Magniez, Sublinear-time quantum computation of the diameter in CONGEST networks, in Proc. 2018 ACM Symp. Principles of Distributed Computing (PODC), (2018), pp. 337–346; F. Magniez and A. Nayak, arXiv:2002.11795 ]. We obtain the lower bounds via a reduction from the two-way quantum communication complexity of the set intersection [A. A. Razborov, Izv. Math. 159 (2003)].
Online Non-preemptive Scheduling on Unrelated Machines with Rejections
Authors: Lucarelli Giorgio , Moseley Benjamin , Thang Nguyen Kim , Srivastav Abhinav , Trystram Denis
Published: August 2021

When a computer system schedules jobs there is typically a significant cost associated with preempting a job during execution. This cost can be incurred from the expensive task of saving the memory’s state or from loading data into and out of memory. Thus, it is desirable to schedule jobs non-preemptively to avoid the costs of preemption.

There is a need for non-preemptive system schedulers for desktops, servers, and data centers. Despite this need, there is a gap between theory and practice. Indeed, few non-preemptive
online
schedulers are known to have strong theoretical guarantees. This gap is likely due to strong lower bounds on any online algorithm for popular objectives. Indeed, typical worst-case analysis approaches, and even resource-augmented approaches such as speed augmentation, result in all algorithms having poor performance guarantees.

This article considers online non-preemptive scheduling problems in the worst-case rejection model where the algorithm is allowed to reject a small fraction of jobs. By rejecting only a few jobs, this article shows that the strong lower bounds can be circumvented. This approach can be used to discover algorithmic scheduling policies with desirable worst-case guarantees.

Specifically, the article presents algorithms for the following three objectives: minimizing the total flow-time, minimizing the total weighted flow-time plus energy where energy is a convex function, and minimizing the total energy under the deadline constraints. The algorithms for the first two problems have a small constant competitive ratio while rejecting only a constant fraction of jobs. For the last problem, we present a constant competitive ratio without rejection.

Beyond specific results, the article asserts that alternative models beyond speed augmentation should be explored to aid in the discovery of good schedulers in the face of the requirement of being online and non-preemptive.
The Meaning of the Victim–Offender Overlap for Criminological Theory and Crime Prevention Policy
Authors: Berg Mark T. , Schreck Christopher J.
Published: August 2021

Criminological theory developed without an expectation of a victim–offender overlap. Among most crime theorists and policymakers, to solve crime it is necessary to solve the criminal offender. Modern choice theories took a different view by evolving from victim data, treating target vulnerability as essential to the criminal act and with full awareness of the overlap. Here, we discuss the emphasis on offenders in criminology as being inconsistent with the facts of the overlap. The evidence shows that the victim–offender overlap is consistently found, implying that offending and victimization arise for similar substantive reasons and that offenders act principally in response to targets. This conclusion has important implications. First, any theory of crime that cannot logically predict the overlap as a fact may be subject to falsification. Second, the choice perspective suggests a theory of precautionary behavior, which urges a policy agenda that encourages actions against crime by potential targets.
Biotic and Abiotic Controls on the Phanerozoic History of Marine Animal Biodiversity
Authors: Bush Andrew M. , Payne Jonathan L.
Published: August 2021

During the past 541 million years, marine animals underwent three intervals of diversification (early Cambrian, Ordovician, Cretaceous–Cenozoic) separated by nondirectional fluctuation, suggesting diversity-dependent dynamics with the equilibrium diversity shifting through time. Changes in factors such as shallow-marine habitat area and climate appear to have modulated the nondirectional fluctuations. Directional increases in diversity are best explained by evolutionary innovations in marine animals and primary producers coupled with stepwise increases in the availability of food and oxygen. Increasing intensity of biotic interactions such as predation and disturbance may have led to positive feedbacks on diversification as ecosystems became more complex. Important areas for further research include improving the geographic coverage and temporal resolution of paleontological data sets, as well as deepening our understanding of Earth system evolution and the physiological and ecological traits that modulated organismal responses to environmental change.
Commons Movements: Old and New Trends in Rural and Urban Contexts
Authors: Villamayor-Tomas Sergio , García-López Gustavo A.
Published: August 2021

Over the past few years, studies in political ecology and environmental justice have been increasingly connecting the commons and social movements empirically, giving shape to a new, distinctive body of research on commons movements. In our review, we first organize and synthesize empirical lessons from this body of literature. We then highlight recent theoretical efforts made by scholars to both bridge and transcend the gap between the theory of the commons and social movement theory. As we illustrate, movements can help create and strengthen commons institutions and discourses, as well as rescale them horizontally and vertically. This is particularly evident in the context of rural community-rights movements in the global South, as well as in new water and food commons movements and community energy movements in both the global South and North. Commons institutions, in turn, can serve as the basis of social mobilization and become a key frame for social movements, as shown in the context of local environmental justice and livelihoods conflicts and anti-privatization struggles. Tensions and contradictions of commons-movement dynamics also exist and reflect trade-offs between diversity versus uniformization and organizational closure versus expansion of discourses and practices. Theoretically, there is an opportunity to cross boundaries from the theory of the commons to social movementtheory and vice versa, e.g., by highlighting the role of political opportunities and framing, and biophysical factors and polycentricity, respectively. More importantly, a new commons movements theory is emerging focusing on cross-scalar organizations, the virtuous cycles between commons projects and mobilization, and the processes of commons-making.
Diabetic ferroptosis plays an important role in triggering on inflammation in diabetic wound
Authors: Li Shuangwen , Li Yuan , Wu Ziyu , Wu Zhongming , Fang Hongjuan
Published: August 2021

Ferroptosis-related characteristic changes were found in diabetic wound models. Inhibition of ferroptosis improved inflammatory infiltration of diabetic wounds. PI3K/AKT signal pathway was rescued by restraining of ferroptosis. Mitigation of ferroptosis in diabetic wound promoted the wound healing.
Mast cell function in prostate inflammation, fibrosis, and smooth muscle cell dysfunction
Authors: Pattabiraman Goutham , Bell-Cohn Ashlee J. , Murphy Stephen F. , Mazur Daniel J. , Schaeffer Anthony J. , Thumbikat Praveen
Published: August 2021

LUTS-associated benign prostatic hyperplasia is derived from a combination of immune activation, extracellular matrix remodeling, hyperplasia, and smooth muscle cell contraction in prostates of men. Using a mouse model, we describe the importance of mast cells in regulating these multiple facets involved in the pathophysiology of LUTS. Mast cell inhibition alleviates both pathology and urinary dysfunction in this model, suggesting the potential for mast cell inhibition as a therapeutic that prevents and reverses pathology and associated symptomology.
Paving Plant‐Food‐Derived Bioactives as Effective Therapeutic Agents in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Cruz-Martins Natália , Quispe Cristina , Kırkın Celale , Şenol Ezgi , Zuluğ Aslı , Özçelik Beraat , Ademiluyi Adedayo O. , Oyeniran Olubukola Helen , Semwal Prabhakar , Kumar Manoj , Sharopov Farukh , López Victor , Les Francisco , Bagiu Iulia-Cristina , Butnariu Monica , Sharifi-Rad Javad , Alshehri Mohammed M. , Cho William C.
Published: August 2021

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, where social and communication deficits and repetitive behaviors are present. Plant‐derived bioactives have shown promising results in the treatment of autism. In this sense, this review is aimed at providing a careful view on the use of plant‐derived bioactive molecules for the treatment of autism. Among the plethora of bioactives, curcumin, luteolin, and resveratrol have revealed excellent neuroprotective effects and can be effectively used in the treatment of neuropsychological disorders. However, the number of clinical trials is limited, and none of them have been approved for the treatment of autism or autism‐related disorder. Further clinical studies are needed to effectively assess the real potential of such bioactive molecules.
Practice, Knowledge, and Attitude of Health Care Providers regarding Cancer Pain Management: A National Survey
Authors: Liu Jinmei , Zhang Ming , Luo Juan , Xie Jiyi , Chen Xu , Wang Hanxiang , Li Shijun , Yang Shengli , Peng Chunfen , Yang Liangle , Deng Bin , Zhang Yu , Wang Cong , Hu Jianli , Shi Chen
Published: August 2021

Background. A lack of knowledge and inadequate practices of health care providers (HCPs) are the main obstacles to effective cancer pain management (CPM). The main objective of the study was to evaluate the CPM knowledge, CPM practice, and attitudes towards pharmacists’ participation and advanced methods in CPM of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists in China. Methods. An open online survey was adopted using social media software (WeChat) as the platform to conduct a nationwide survey of HCPs involved in CPM in public medical institutions at all levels in China from March to June 2019. Results. A total of 1279 physicians, 2267 nurses, and 1466 pharmacists participated in the survey. Among the three types of professionals, nurses had the highest level of practical ability (61.63 ± 28.99) and best attitudes towards pharmacists’ participation and advanced methods in CPM (72.05 ± 33.71) and physicians had the best mastery of CPM-related knowledge (69.60 ± 28.45), while pharmacists performed the worst in these three aspects (50.04 ± 26.69, 61.49 ± 28.95, and 62.07 ± 36.46, respectively). Only 19.69% of the hospitals had a pharmacist to tumor patient ratio ≥1 : 50. Hierarchical analysis showed that passing a good pain management (GPM) ward program and participating in advanced training had positive impacts on the scores of all three parts in the three professions (ptrend <0.05). Conclusions. HCPs’ levels of practice, knowledge, and attitudes towards pharmacists and advanced methods of CPM were average in China; however, pharmacists had the worst performance, which demonstrates a need for further improvement. Furthermore, GPM ward programs and advanced trainings are helpful for improving CPM levels.
On the Fock Kernel for the Generalized Fock Space and Generalized Hypergeometric Series
Authors: Park Jong-Do
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we compute the reproducing kernel

B

m
,
α

z
,
w

for the generalized Fock space

F

m
,
α

2

ℂ

. The usual Fock space is the case when

m
=
2

. We express the reproducing kernel in terms of a suitable hypergeometric series

 

1

F

q

. In particular, we show that there is a close connection between

B

4
,
α

z
,
w

and the error function. We also obtain the closed forms of

B

m
,
α

z
,
w

when

m
=
1
,
2
/
3
,
1
/
2

. Finally, we also prove that

B

m
,
α

z
,
z

~

e

α

z

m

z

m
−
2

as

∣
z
∣
⟶
∞

.
Exploring the Mechanism of Action of Herbal Medicine (Gan-Mai-Da-Zao Decoction) for Poststroke Depression Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking
Authors: Ding Zhicong , Xu Fangfang , Sun Qidi , Li Bin , Liang Nengxing , Chen Junwei , Yu Shangzhen
Published: August 2021

Background. Poststroke depression (PSD) is the most common and serious neuropsychiatric complication occurring after cerebrovascular accidents, seriously endangering human health while also imposing a heavy burden on society. Nevertheless, it is difficult to control disease progression. Gan-Mai-Da-Zao Decoction (GMDZD) is effective for PSD, but its mechanism of action in PSD is unknown. In this study, we explored the mechanism of action of GMDZD in PSD treatment using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Material and methods. We obtained the active components of all drugs and their targets from the public database TCMSP and published articles. Then, we collected PSD-related targets from the GeneCards and OMIM databases. Cytoscape 3.8.2 was applied to construct PPI and composite target disease networks. In parallel, the DAVID database was used to perform GO and KEGG enrichment analyses to determine the biological processes enriched in the treatment-related drugs in vivo. Finally, molecular docking was used to verify the association between the main active ingredients and their targets. Results. The network pharmacological analysis of GMDZD in PSD revealed 107 active ingredients with important biological effects, including quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, naringenin, and isorhamnetin. In total, 203 potential targets for the treatment of this disease were screened, including STAT3, JUN, TNF, TPT53, AKT1, and EGFR. These drugs are widely enriched in a series of signaling pathways, such as TNF, HIF-1, and toll-like receptor. Moreover, molecular docking analysis showed that the core active components were tightly bound to their core targets, further confirming their anti-PSD effects. Conclusion. This prospective study was based on the integrated analysis of large data using network pharmacology technology to explore the feasibility of GMDZD for PSD treatment that was successfully validated by molecular docking. It reflects the multicomponent and multitarget characteristics of Chinese medicine and, more importantly, brings hope for the clinical treatment of PSD.
A Source Problem for the Helmholtz Equation via a Dirichlet-to-Neumann Map
Authors: Lee Kuo-Ming
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we consider a source problem for a time harmonic acoustic wave in two-dimensional space. Based on the boundary integral equation method, a Dirichlet-to-Neumann map in terms of boundary integral operators on the boundary of the source is constructed to transform this problem into two boundary value problems for the Helmholtz equation.
Effects of Cold‐Light Bleaching on Enamel Surface and Adhesion of Streptococcus mutans
Authors: Zhang Bo , Huo Sibei , Liu Shiyu , Zou Ling , Cheng Lei , Zhou Xuedong , Li Mingyun
Published: August 2021

Tooth bleaching is becoming increasingly popular among patients with tooth staining, but the safety of bleaching agents on tooth structure has been questioned. Primarily thriving on the biofilm formation on enamel surface, Streptococcus mutans has been recognized as a major cariogenic bacterial species. The present study is aimed at investigating how cold‐light bleaching would change enamel roughness and adhesion of Streptococcus mutans. Human premolars were divided into 72 enamel slices and allocated into 3 groups: (1) control, (2) cold‐light bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide (Beyond™), and (3) 35% hydrogen peroxide (Beyond™) alone. Biofilms of Streptococcus mutans were cultivated on enamel slices in 5% CO2 (v/v) at 37°C for 1 day or 3 days. Enamel surfaces and biofilms were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied to quantify the roughness of enamel surface, and the amounts of biofilms were measured by optical density of scattered biofilm and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Cold‐light bleaching significantly increased (p < 0.05) surface roughness of enamel compared to controls, but significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) adhesion of Streptococcus mutans on enamel in the bacterial cultures of both 1 day and 3 days. In conclusion, cold‐light bleaching could roughen enamel surface but inhibit Streptococcus mutans adhesion at the preliminary stage after the bleaching treatment.
Suppression of CHOP Reduces Neuronal Apoptosis and Rescues Cognitive Impairment Induced by Intermittent Hypoxia by Inhibiting Bax and Bak Activation
Authors: Xu Linhao , Bi Yanli , Xu Yizhou , Wu Yihao , Du Xiaoxue , Mou Yixuan , Chen Jian
Published: August 2021

Our previous study showed that growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible gene 153 (GAD153/CHOP) plays an important role in intermittent hypoxia- (IH-) induced apoptosis and impaired synaptic plasticity. This study is aimed at determining which signaling pathway is activated to induce CHOP and the role of this protein in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by IH. In the in vivo study, mice were placed in IH chambers for 8 h daily over a period of 2 weeks; the IH chambers had oxygen (O2) concentrations that oscillated between 10% and 21%, cycling every 90 s. In the in vitro study, PC12 cells were exposed to 21% O2 (normoxia) or 8 IH cycles (25 min at 21% O2 and 35 min at 0.1% O2 for each cycle). After 2 weeks of IH treatment, we observed that the expression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (p-PERK), activating transcription factor 4 (ATF-4) and phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (p-elf2α), were increased, but the levels of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF-6) and inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE-1) were not increased. GSK2606414, a specific chemical inhibitor of the PERK pathway, reduced the expression of p-PERK, ATF-4, p-elf2α, and CHOP and rescued ER structure. In addition, Bax and Bak accumulated in the mitochondria after IH treatment, which induced cytochrome c release and initiated apoptosis. These effects were prevented by GSK2606414 and CHOP shRNA. Finally, the impaired long-term potentiation and long-term spatial memory in the IH group were rescued by GSK2606414. Together, the data from the in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that IH-induced apoptosis and impaired synaptic plasticity were mediated by the PERK-ATF-4-CHOP pathway. Suppressing PERK-ATF-4-CHOP signaling pathway attenuated mitochondria-dependent apoptosis by reducing the expression of Bax and Bak in mitochondria, which may serve as novel adjunct therapeutic strategy for ameliorating obstructive sleep apnea- (OSA-) induced neurocognitive impairment.
Uncovering the Mechanisms and Molecular Targets of Weibing Formula 1 against Gastritis: Coupling Network Pharmacology with GEO Database
Authors: Chen Ke , Zhang Luojian , Qu Zhen , Wan Feng , Li Jia , Yang Ye , Yan Hui , Huang Shile
Published: August 2021

Weibing Formula 1, a classic traditional formula, has been widely used clinically to treat gastritis in recent years. However, the potential pharmacological mechanism of Weibing Formula 1 is still unclear to date. A network pharmacology‐based strategy was performed to uncover the underlying mechanisms of Weibing Formula 1 against gastritis. Furthermore, we structured the drug‐active ingredients‐genes–disease network and PPI network of shared targets, and function enrichment analysis of these targets was carried out. Ultimately, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and real‐time quantitative PCR were used to verify the related genes. We found 251 potential targets corresponding to 135 bioactive components of Weibing Formula 1. Then, 327 gastritis‐related targets were known gastritis‐related targets. Among which, 60 common targets were shared between potential targets of Weibing Formula 1 and known gastritis‐related targets. The results of pathway enrichment analysis displayed that 60 common targets mostly participated in various pathways related to Toll‐like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, cytokine‐cytokine receptor interaction pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, and apoptosis. Based on the GSE60427 dataset, 15 common genes were shared between differentially expressed genes and 60 candidate targets. The verification results of the GSE5081 dataset showed that except for DUOX2 and VCAM1, the other 13 genes were significantly upregulated in gastritis, which was consistent with the results in the GSE60427 dataset. More importantly, real‐time quantitative PCR results showed that the expressions of PTGS2, MMP9, CXCL2, and CXCL8 were significantly upregulated and NOS2, EGFR, and IL‐10 were downregulated in gastritis patients, while the expressions of PTGS2, MMP9, CXCL2, and CXCL8 were significantly downregulated and NOS2, EGFR, and IL‐10 were upregulated after the treatment of Weibing Formula 1. PTGS2, NOS2, EGFR, MMP9, CXCL2, CXCL8, and IL‐10 may be the important direct targets of Weibing Formula 1 in gastritis treatment. Our study revealed the mechanism of Weibing Formula 1 in gastritis from an overall and systematic perspective, providing a theoretical basis for further knowing and application of this formula in the future.
Some Topological Approaches for Generalized Rough Sets via Ideals
Authors: Al-shami Tareq M. , Işık Hüseyin , Nawar Ashraf S. , Hosny Rodyna A.
Published: August 2021

The idea of neighborhood systems is induced from the geometric idea of “near,” and it is primitive in the topological structures. Now, the idea of neighborhood systems has been extensively applied in rough set theory. The master contribution of this manuscript is to generate various topologies by means of the concepts of

j

-adhesion neighborhoods and ideals. Then, we define a new rough set model derived from these topologies and discussed main features. We show that these topologies are finer than those given in the previous ones under arbitrary binary relations. In addition, we elucidate that these topologies are finer than those topologies initiated based on different neighborhoods and ideals under reflexive relations. Several examples are provided to validate that our model is better than the previous ones.
Suspected Sugammadex Hypersensitivity following Repeated Administration in the Setting of Multiple Flap Takebacks in a Brief Timespan
Authors: Zolper Elizabeth G. , Kim Alan H. , Kim Kevin G. , Dekker Paige K. , Bekeny Jenna C. , Song David H. , Fan Kenneth L.
Published: August 2021

Sugammadex hypersensitivity is an uncommon event that typically occurs at higher doses. We report a case of suspected sugammadex hypersensitivity in a patient who developed hypoxia and bronchospasm following three administrations of the standard 2 mg/kg doses of sugammadex within 26 hours due to flap takebacks. Hypersensitivity to sugammadex was not initially suspected given that the patient had previous exposures. Diagnoses of pneumothorax, hemothorax, mucus plug, and tracheal tube malposition were immediately ruled out. Furthermore, the onset of hypoxia with sudden loss of tidal volume, development of high peak airway pressures, and temporal correlation with sugammadex administration all supported bronchospasm secondary to a hypersensitivity reaction. Sugammadex is a useful agent for neuromuscular blockade reversal; however, it is critical to carefully examine all adverse reactions. This case report highlights the importance of considering hypersensitivity reactions in the setting of repeat sugammadex administrations in a limited timeframe, such as in free flap reconstruction requiring multiple takebacks to the operating room in the setting of flap compromise.
Study on Impact Resistance of C/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites for Thermal Protection of the Aerospace Vehicle
Authors: Lin Ye , Liu Bin
Published: August 2021

This paper evaluates the impact damage tolerance of ceramic matrix composites and contrasts their tensile and compression strengths under impact and nonimpact conditions. The representative C/SiC composites from PIP are examined under the dropped tip system. In this paper, the surface impact test of C/SiC composites is carried out. By testing a series of specimens of various impact energies, the tensile and compression properties after impact are studied. Meanwhile, by comparing the changes of the specimens after impact and nonimpact, the fracture process, fracture modes, and residual strength are investigated. The results indicate that the residual tensile strength after impact reduces greatly, compared with the nonimpact material, by about 25%–45%, while the compression strength reduces slightly. The residual strength of tension and compression illustrates that low-energy impact effect on the structural integrity must be given priority in the thermal protection structure design of astronautics and aeronautics.
Efficient Radio Channel Allocation in Integrated mmWave/Sub-6 GHz UAV-Assisted Disaster Relief Networks
Authors: Gui Jinsong , Cai Fujian
Published: August 2021

The unmanned aerial vehicle- (UAV-) assisted sub-6 GHz disaster relief networks cannot meet high-speed transmission requirements. In this paper, the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band is combined with the sub-6 GHz frequency band to build a high-speed UAV-assisted disaster relief network. However, the high propagation path loss of mmWave signals usually needs to be compensated by beamforming, where the ground-facing beam of each UAV is the desired receiving beam of ground user information. The different channels need to be allocated to a single UAV so that this kind of beam can be used simultaneously by different ground users to communicate with this UAV. Also, the other UAVs should reuse these channels as much as possible to save spectrum resources. In this paper, the beamforming training (BFT) mechanism is firstly used to obtain the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values of all possible links between ground terminals and UAVs, which are used to estimate these links’ energy efficiency. Then, an interference graph construction algorithm is proposed to identify the links that cannot be used simultaneously in the same channel according to the system energy efficiency. Finally, an iterative channel allocation algorithm is designed to allocate new channels to eliminate the edges of the interference graph, so that the links obtained by the BFT process can be used simultaneously as much as possible under the constraint of the number of channels. The simulation results show that our proposed scheme can achieve the shorter average convergence time, the higher data rate (or the lower data loss rate), and the higher energy efficiency.
Design and Implementation of an Anomaly Network Traffic Detection Model Integrating Temporal and Spatial Features
Authors: Li Ming , Han Dezhi , Yin Xinming , Liu Han , Li Dun
Published: August 2021

With the rapid development and widespread application of cloud computing, cloud computing open networks and service sharing scenarios have become more complex and changeable, causing security challenges to become more severe. As an effective means of network protection, anomaly network traffic detection can detect various known attacks. However, there are also some shortcomings. Deep learning brings a new opportunity for the further development of anomaly network traffic detection. So far, the existing deep learning models cannot fully learn the temporal and spatial features of network traffic and their classification accuracy needs to be improved. To fill this gap, this paper proposes an anomaly network traffic detection model integrating temporal and spatial features (ITSN) using a three-layer parallel network structure. ITSN learns the temporal and spatial features of the traffic and fully fuses these two features through feature fusion technology to improve the accuracy of network traffic classification. On this basis, an improved method of raw traffic feature extraction is proposed, which can reduce redundant features, speed up the convergence of the network, and ease the imbalance of the datasets. The experimental results on the ISCX-IDS 2012 and CICIDS 2017 datasets show that the ITSN can improve the accuracy of anomaly network traffic detection while enhancing the robustness of the detection system and has a higher recognition rate for positive samples.
Exosomes: Emerging Therapy Delivery Tools and Biomarkers for Kidney Diseases
Authors: Jin Can , Wu Peipei , Li Linli , Xu Wenrong , Qian Hui
Published: August 2021

Exosomes are nanometer-sized small EVs coated with bilayer structure, which are released by prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Exosomes are rich in a variety of biologically active substances, such as proteins, nucleotides, and lipids. Exosomes are widely present in various body fluids and cell culture supernatants, and it mediates the physiological and pathological processes of the body through the shuttle of these active ingredients to target cells. In recent years, studies have shown that exosomes from a variety of cell sources can play a beneficial role in acute and chronic kidney disease. In particular, exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells have significant curative effects on the prevention and treatment of kidney disease in preclinical trials. Besides, some encapsulated substances are demonstrated to exert beneficial effects on various diseases, so they have attracted much attention. In addition, exosomes have extensive sources, stable biological activity, and good biocompatibility and are easy to store and transport; these advantages endow exosomes with superior diagnostic value. With the rapid development of liquid biopsy technology related to exosomes, the application of exosomes in the rapid diagnosis of kidney disease has become more prominent. In this review, the latest development of exosomes, including the biosynthesis process, the isolation and identification methods of exosomes are systematically summarized. The utilization of exosomes in diagnosis and their positive effects in the repair of kidney dysfunction are discussed, along with the specific mechanisms. This review is expected to be helpful for relevant studies and to provide insight into future applications in clinical practice.
Evaluation of Clinical and Radiographic Findings among Patients with Traumatic Dental Injuries Seeking Delayed Treatment
Authors: Chaudhary Sanjeeb , Singh Harender , Gharti Archana , Adhikari Bhawana
Published: August 2021

Background. Time elapsed between trauma and treatment greatly influences the prognosis of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). The aim of this study was to analyze clinical and radiographic findings related to complications of TDIs among patients seeking delayed treatment of such injuries. Materials and Methods. 123 permanent teeth with a history of previous TDIs were included in the study. Clinical findings analyzed were the type of fracture, type and number of injured teeth, crown discoloration, and pulpal status of the injured tooth (pulpal diagnosis). The radiographic findings analyzed included pulp canal obliteration (PCO), root resorption (RR), and periapical radiolucency (PR). Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis. Results. Tooth discoloration was the most common presenting complaint (53.65%), while fall (48.78%) was the most frequent cause of trauma. The range of time duration between trauma and presentation for treatment was 5 months to 30 years (average time 12.82 years). Pulp necrosis (PN) was the most common complication (90.24%). Almost half of the teeth with PN had fracture injury and discoloration along with a high frequency of PR (78.37%). Even teeth with a normal appearance were found to have a high incidence of PN (76.92%) and PR (53.84%). The crown discoloration was the second most frequent finding (48.78%). Many teeth (41.66%) with vital pulp were also discolored. Most of the teeth (79.31%) with yellowish discoloration and all teeth with brownish discoloration were nonvital. A high frequency of PN (90%) and PR (78.33%) was found in teeth with discoloration. PR was the most common radiographic finding (69.10%), while PCO and RR were observed in 17.88% and 21.13% of teeth, respectively. Conclusion. The findings of this study support the fact that delayed treatment of TDIs leads to increased complications. PN was the most common complication followed by tooth discoloration, RR, and PCO among patients seeking delayed treatment after TDIs.
Epitope-Based Immunoinformatic Approach on Heat Shock 70 kDa Protein Complex of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii
Authors: Elhassan Reham M. , Alsony Nagla M. , Othman Khadeejah M. , Izz-Aldin Duaa T. , Alhaj Tamadour A. , Ali Abdelrahman A. , Abashir Lena A. , Ahmed Omar H. , Hassan Mohammed A.
Published: August 2021

Introduction. Cryptococcosis is a ubiquitous opportunistic fungal disease caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. It has high global morbidity and mortality among HIV patients and non-HIV carriers with 99% and 95%, respectively. Furthermore, the increasing prevalence of undesired toxicity profile of antifungal, multidrug-resistant organisms and the scarcity of FDA-authorized vaccines were the hallmark in the present days. This study was undertaken to design a reliable epitope-based peptide vaccine through targeting highly conserved immunodominant heat shock 70 kDa protein of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii that covers a considerable digit of the world population through implementing a computational vaccinology approach. Materials and Methods. A total of 38 sequences of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii’s heat shock 70 kDa protein were retrieved from the NCBI protein database. Different prediction tools were used to analyze the aforementioned protein at the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) to discriminate the most promising T-cell and B-cell epitopes. The proposed T-cell epitopes were subjected to the population coverage analysis tool to compute the global population’s coverage. Finally, the T-cell projected epitopes were ranked based on their binding scores and modes using AutoDock Vina software. Results and Discussion. The epitopes (ANYVQASEK, QSEKPKNVNPVI, SEKPKNVNPVI, and EKPKNVNPVI) had shown very strong binding affinity and immunogenic properties to B-cell. (FTQLVAAYL, YVYDTRGKL) and (FFGGKVLNF, FINAQLVDV, and FDYALVQHF) exhibited a very strong binding affinity to MHC-I and MHC-II, respectively, with high population coverage for each, while FYRQGAFEL has shown promising results in terms of its binding profile to MHC-II and MHC-I alleles and good strength of binding when docked with HLA-C∗12:03. In addition, there is massive global population coverage in the three coverage modes. Accordingly, our in silico vaccine is expected to be the future epitope-based peptide vaccine against Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii that covers a significant figure of the entire world citizens.