bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Value of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Predicting the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Liu Wanjun , Liu Xiaolei , Liu Tao , Xie Yang , He Xingwei , Zuo Houjuan , Zeng Hesong
Published: July 2022

Background: There have been a limited number of quantitative studies on the relationship between coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), as measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between CRF and the severity of coronary artery disease from the most comprehensive perspective possible, and to affirm the predictive value of CPET in the severity assessment of CAD. Methods: Our study included 280 patients with coronary angiography, who had undergone CPET in Tongji Hospital. The patients’ CRF was measured through their peak oxygen uptake (VO2@peak), their oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold (VO2@AT) and through other parameters of CPET on a bicycle ergometer. The severity of the coronary artery disease was assessed in the following three layers: functionally significant lesions (quantitative flow ratio [QFR] ≤ 0.8), the number of stenotic coronary arteries (SCA, stenosis ≥ 50%) and the Gensini score. The correlation analyses were carried out between the CRF and the severity of the coronary artery disease. A ROC curve was plotted, and the AUC was calculated to distinguish the severe CAD and the non-severe CAD patients, as measured by the QFR, the number of SCA, and the Gensini score. Results: The VO2@AT and VO2@peak were inversely associated with the QFR. The VO2@AT, VO2@peak and VO2/kg@peak were associated with the number of SCA. Meanwhile, the VO2@AT, VO2/kg@AT, VO2@peak and VO2/kg@peak were associated with the Gensini score. An ROC analysis proved that a combination of traditional clinical risk factors and the VO2@peak/VO2prediction is valuable in predicting CAD severity. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a strong and inverse association between CRF and the severity of CAD. A combination of traditional clinical risk factors and CRF is valuable in predicting CAD severity.
Zn–Mn-Doped Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Nanoparticle-Loaded Zein Coatings for Bioactive and Antibacterial Orthopedic Implants
Authors: Batool Syeda Ammara , Ahmad Khalil , Irfan Muhammad , Ur Rehman Muhammad Atiq
Published: July 2022

In recent years, natural polymers have replaced synthetic polymers for antibacterial orthopedic applications owing to their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Zein is a biopolymer found in corn. The lacking mechanical stability of zein is overcome by incorporating bioceramics, e.g., mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs). In the present study, pure zein and zein/Zn–Mn MBGN composite coatings were deposited via electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on 316L stainless steel (SS). Zn and Mn were co-doped in MBGNs in order to make use of their antibacterial and osteogenic potential, respectively. A Taguchi design of experiment (DoE) study was established to evaluate the effect of various working parameters on the morphology of the coatings. It was observed that coatings deposited at 20 V for 5 min with 4 g/L concentration (conc.) of Zn–Mn MBGNs showed the highest deposition yield. Uniform coatings with highly dispersed MBGNs were obtained adopting these optimized parameters. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to investigate the morphology and elemental composition of zein/Zn–Mn MBGN composite coatings. Surface properties, i.e., coating roughness and wettability analysis, concluded that composite coatings were appropriate for cell attachment and proliferation. For adhesion strength, various techniques, including a tape test, bend test, pencil hardness test, and tensile test, were performed. Wear and corrosion analysis highlighted the mechanical and chemical stability of the coatings. The colony forming unit (CFU) test showed that the zein/Zn–Mn MBGN composite coating was highly effective against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) due to the presence of Zn. The formation of a hydroxyapatite (HA)-like structure upon immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) validated the in vitro bioactivity of the coating. Moreover, a WST-8 assay depicted that the MG-63 cells proliferate on the composite coating. It was concluded that the zein/Zn–Mn MBGN coating synthesized in this work can be used for bioactive and antibacterial orthopedic applications.
Dynamic SIMD Parallel Execution on GPU from High-Level Dataflow Synthesis
Authors: Bloch Aurelien , Casale-Brunet Simone , Mattavelli Marco
Published: July 2022

Developing and fine-tuning software programs for heterogeneous hardware such as CPU/GPU processing platforms comprise a highly complex endeavor that demands considerable time and effort of software engineers and requires evaluating various fundamental components and features of both the design and of the platform to maximize the overall performance. The dataflow programming approach has proven to be an appropriate methodology for reaching such a difficult and complex goal for the intrinsic portability and the possibility of easily decomposing a network of actors on different processing units of the heterogeneous hardware. Nonetheless, such a design method might not be enough on its own to achieve the desired performance goals, and supporting tools are useful to be able to efficiently explore the design space so as to optimize the desired performance objectives. This article presents a methodology composed of several stages for enhancing the performance of dataflow software developed in RVC-CAL and generating low-level implementations to be executed on GPU/CPU heterogeneous hardware platforms. The stages are composed of a method for the efficient scheduling of parallel CUDA partitions, an optimization of the performance of the data transmission tasks across computing kernels, and the exploitation of dynamic programming for introducing SIMD-capable graphics processing unit systems. The methodology is validated on both the quantitative and qualitative side by means of dataflow software application examples running on platforms according to various different mapping configurations.
Time-Optimal Path Planning of a Hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Based on Ocean Current Neural Point Grid
Authors: Hua Chenhua , Wu Nailong , Yuan Haodong , Chen Xinyuan , Dong Yuqin , Zeng Xianhui
Published: July 2022

Path planning is the precondition for Hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (HAUV) to enter the submerged area to undertake a mission. The influence of ocean currents on HAUV should be further investigated to obtain a time-optimal path. The improved A* algorithm and the neural network model are employed in this paper to plan a time-optimal path for the vehicle. The HAUV in glider mode is capable of traveling forward mainly through the zigzag motion in vertical plane. Since the vehicle can only receive the command orders when it surfaces from the water, the path is expected to include a series of discrete waypoints in the water surface. At the same time, the presence of submerged riverbeds is also taken into account to avoid hazards for HAUVs when it navigates in the water. It can be demonstrated that ocean currents can be used to decrease the operating time. The comparison results of the two methods verify that the size of the map affects the calculation time. In addition, the neural node represented method surpasses the modified A* method, especially when the map is too large.
A Wet/Dry Point Treatment Method of FVCOM, Part II: Application to the Okatee/Colleton River in South Carolina
Authors: Chen Changsheng , Huang Haosheng , Lin Huichan , Blanton Jack , Li Chunyan , Andrade Francisco
Published: July 2022

The wet/dry point treatment method of FVCOM was applied to simulate the tide-induced flooding/drying process in the estuarine–tidal-creek–saltmarsh complex of the Okatee/Colleton River Estuary, South Carolina. The simulation results were compared with observed currents at three mooring sites and flooded areas observed from remote-sensing hypsometric measurements, demonstrating that FVCOM can robustly reproduce tidal and residual currents in the river and the flooding process onto the intertidal saltmarsh. The simulated flow field reveals that the Okatee/Colleton River Estuary is characterized by multiple residual eddies. Driven by the periodic tidal forcing, this estuarine system features a chaotic water transport process. Numerous residual eddies around the barrier complex in the Colleton River likely enhance the water exchange between the Okatee/Colleton River Estuary and the outer Broad River. A sensitivity study of flooding speed to the slope of the inter-tidal zone suggests that the saltmarsh bathymetry considerably influences the water elevation near low slack water but not on the maximum water coverage area at high slack water.
Arsenic, Oxidative Stress and Reproductive System
Authors: Zargari Felor , Rahaman Md. Shiblur , KazemPour Robab , Hajirostamlou Mahbobeh
Published: July 2022

Infertility is a severe medical problem and is considered a serious global public health issue affecting a large proportion of humanity. Oxidative stress is one of the most crucial factors involved in infertility. Recent studies indicate that the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) may cause damage to the male and female reproductive systems leading to infertility. Low amounts of ROS and RNS are essential for the normal functioning of the male and female reproductive systems, such as sperm motility, acrosome reaction, interactions with oocytes, ovulation, and the maturation of follicles. Environmental factors such as heavy metals can cause reproductive dysfunction in men and women through the overproduction of ROS and RNS. It is suggested that oxidative stress caused by arsenic is associated with male and female reproductive disorders such as through the alteration in sperm counts and motility, decreased sex hormones, dysfunction of the testis and ovary, as well as damage to the processes of spermatogenesis and oogenesis. This review paper highlights the relationship between arsenic-induced oxidative stress and the prevalence of infertility, with detailed explanations of potential underlying mechanisms.
Personalized Medicine Approach in a DCM Patient with LMNA Mutation Reveals Dysregulation of mTOR Signaling
Authors: Neupane Balram , Pradhan Kabita , Ortega-Ramirez Audrey Magdalena , Aidery Parwez , Kucikas Vytautas , Marks Matthias , van Zandvoort Marc A. M. J. , Klingel Karin , Witte Klaus K. , Gründer Stefan , Marx Nikolaus , Gramlich Michael
Published: July 2022

Background: Mutations in the Lamin A/C (LMNA) gene are responsible for about 6% of all familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases which tend to present at a young age and follow a fulminant course. Methods: We report a 47-year-old DCM patient with severely impaired left ventricular ejection fraction and NYHA functional class IV despite optimal heart failure treatment. Whole-exome sequencing revealed an LMNA E161K missense mutation as the pathogenetic cause for DCM in this patient. We generated a patient-specific LMNA-knock in (LMNA-KI) in vitro model using mES cells. Results: Beta adrenergic stimulation of cardiomyocytes derived from LMNA-KI mES cells resulted in augmented mTOR signaling and increased dysregulation of action potentials, which could be effectively prevented by the mTOR-inhibitor rapamycin. A cardiac biopsy confirmed strong activation of the mTOR-signaling pathway in the patient. An off-label treatment with oral rapamycin was initiated and resulted in an improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (27.8% to 44.5%), NT-BNP (8120 ng/L to 2210 ng/L) and NYHA functional class. Conclusion: We have successfully generated the first in vitro model to recapitulate a patient-specific LMNA E161K mutation which leads to a severe form of DCM. The model may serve as a template for individualized and specific treatment of heart failure.
A Deep Learning Algorithm for Detecting Acute Pericarditis by Electrocardiogram
Authors: Liu Yu-Lan , Lin Chin-Sheng , Cheng Cheng-Chung , Lin Chin
Published: July 2022

(1) Background: Acute pericarditis is often confused with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) among patients presenting with acute chest pain in the emergency department (ED). Since a deep learning model (DLM) has been validated to accurately identify STEMI cases via 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), this study aimed to develop another DLM for the detection of acute pericarditis in the ED. (2) Methods: This study included 128 ECGs from patients with acute pericarditis and 66,633 ECGs from patients visiting the ED between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2020. The ECGs were randomly allocated based on patients to the training, tuning, and validation sets, at a 3:1:1 ratio. We used raw ECG signals to train a pericarditis-DLM and used traditional ECG features to train a machine learning model. A human–machine competition was conducted using a subset of the validation set, and the performance of the Philips automatic algorithm was also compared. STEMI cases in the validation set were extracted to analyze the DLM ability of differential diagnosis between acute pericarditis and STEMI using ECG. We also followed the hospitalization events in non-pericarditis cases to explore the meaning of false-positive predictions. (3) Results: The pericarditis-DLM exceeded the performance of all participating human experts and algorithms based on traditional ECG features in the human–machine competition. In the validation set, the pericarditis-DLM could detect acute pericarditis with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.954, a sensitivity of 78.9%, and a specificity of 97.7%. However, our pericarditis-DLM also misinterpreted 10.2% of STEMI ECGs as pericarditis cases. Therefore, we generated an integrating strategy combining pericarditis-DLM and a previously developed STEMI-DLM, which provided a sensitivity of 73.7% and specificity of 99.4%, to identify acute pericarditis in patients with chest pains. Compared to the true-negative cases, patients with false-positive results using this strategy were associated with higher risk of hospitalization within 3 days due to cardiac disorders (hazard ratio (HR): 8.09; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.99 to 16.39). (4) Conclusions: The AI-enhanced algorithm may be a powerful tool to assist clinicians in the early detection of acute pericarditis and differentiate it from STEMI using 12-lead ECGs.
Transition in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD): A German Consensus Recommendation
Authors: Alashkar Ferras , Aramayo-Singelmann Carmen , Böll Janine , Hoferer Annette , Jarisch Andrea , Kamal Haytham , Oevermann Lena , Schwarz Michaela , Cario Holger
Published: July 2022

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is considered a rare disease in Germany. Due to the increasing prevalence, the acute and chronic morbidities associated with the disease and the sharp increase in the mortality rate of young adults, a need-based transition structure for patients with SCD in Germany is explicitly required. This is the first multicenter German consensus statement addressing the importance of implementing a standardized transition guideline that allows adolescents and young adults to safely transition from pediatric to adult care. Early identification of medical needs and intervention remains important in the context of chronic diseases. Effective measures can improve health care in general, as they lead to a reduction in disease and the consequential economic burden. It is noteworthy that improving structural barriers remains a key challenge even in highly developed countries such as Germany. Inclusion of these transition services for patients with SCD into the regular care of chronically ill adolescents and young adults should be ensured, as well as the coverage of costs associated with a structured transition process.
The Application of Artificial-Intelligence-Assisted Dental Age Assessment in Children with Growth Delay
Authors: Wu Te-Ju , Tsai Chia-Ling , Gao Quan-Ze , Chen Yueh-Peng , Kuo Chang-Fu , Huang Ying-Hua
Published: July 2022

Background: This study aimed to reveal the efficacy of the artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted dental age (DA) assessment in identifying the characteristics of growth delay (GD) in children. Methods: The panoramic films matching the inclusion criteria were collected for the AI model training to establish the population-based DA standard. Subsequently, the DA of the validation dataset of the healthy children and the images of the GD children were assessed by both the conventional methods and the AI-assisted standards. The efficacy of all the studied modalities was compared by the paired sample t-test. Results: The AI-assisted standards can provide much more accurate chronological age (CA) predictions with mean errors of less than 0.05 years, while the traditional methods presented overestimated results in both genders. For the GD children, the convolutional neural network (CNN) revealed the delayed DA in GD children of both genders, while the machine learning models presented so only in the GD boys. Conclusion: The AI-assisted DA assessments help overcome the long-standing populational limitation observed in traditional methods. The image feature extraction of the CNN models provided the best efficacy to reveal the nature of delayed DA in GD children of both genders.
Use of Sonophoresis with Corticosteroids in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Martin-Vega Francisco Javier , Vinolo-Gil Maria Jesus , Perez-Cabezas Veronica , Rodríguez-Huguet Manuel , Garcia-Munoz Cristina , Gonzalez Medina Gloria
Published: July 2022

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a neuropathic disease. It is one of the most frequent musculoskeletal pathologies affecting the upper limbs. One of most frequently used non-surgical treatments is corticosteorids. There are several alternatives for corticosteroids administration. One of them is phonophoresis, this being an effective and painless method of treatment. A systematic review and meta-analysis have been conducted over the use of phonophoresis with corticosteroids for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome compared to other non-surgical treatment methods. Keywords from Medical Subjects Headings (MeSH) were used in the following databases: Wos, Scopus, CINHAL, SciELO and PeDro. A total of 222 potentially relevant articles were retrieved. Eleven articles analysing the efficacy of phonophoresis with corticosteroids in reducing pain symptoms in individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome were included, 10 of which were used to conduct the meta-analysis. A conclusion could not be reached as to the application of phonophoresis with corticosteroids being better than other treatment methods, except for the perception of pain and an improved motor and sensory nerve conduction in cases of mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.
Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Multiple Susceptibility Loci for Malignant Neoplasms of the Brain in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Jang-Chun , Wu Yi-Chieh , Yang Fu-Chi , Tsai Jo-Ting , Huang David YC , Liu Wei-Hsiu
Published: July 2022

Primary brain malignancy is a rare tumor with a global incidence of less than 10 per 100,000 people. Hence, there is limited power for identifying risk loci in individual studies, especially for Han Chinese. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Taiwan, including 195 cases and 195 controls. We identified five new genes for malignant neoplasms of the brain: EDARADD (rs645507, 1p31.3, p = 7.71 × 10−5, odds ratio (OR) = 1.893), RBFOX1 (rs8044700, p = 2.35 × 10−5, OR = 2.36), LMF1 (rs3751667, p = 7.24 × 10−7, OR = 2.17), DPP6 (rs67433368, p = 8.32 × 10−5, OR = 3.94), and NDUFB9 (rs7827791, p = 9.73 × 10−6, OR = 4.42). These data support that genetic susceptibility toward GBM or non-GBM tumors is highly distinct, likely reflecting different etiologies. Combined with signaling analysis, we found that RNA modification may be related to major risk factors in primary malignant neoplasms of the brain.
Association between Present Teeth and Muscle Strength in Older People in Korea
Authors: Kim Ji-Eun , Kim Na-Yeong , Choi Choong-Ho , Chung Ki-Ho
Published: July 2022

Background: As the world population continues to age, interest in muscle strength loss in older people is increasing. This study aimed to confirm the association between present teeth and muscle strength in older people in Korea. Methods: Using data extracted from the 2014–2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we analyzed 5136 older people aged 65–79 years. The present teeth were based on 20 teeth, which is the criteria for comfortable mastication. The association of the risk of low muscle strength according to the present teeth was assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis, and the association was confirmed by dividing into subgroups according to sex. Results: The prevalence of low muscle strength was 17.87% among all participants. Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed the association between low muscle strength and present teeth; a significant association was found even in the model in which all covariates were adjusted (odds ratios (OR) = 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–1.61). Subgroup analysis revealed a significant association between present teeth and low muscle strength even in the model in which both covariates were adjusted for sex (Men, OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.02–1.95; Women, OR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.06–1.6). Conclusion: An association between present teeth and low muscle strength was confirmed in older people in Korea. These results indicate that the importance of oral hygiene management should be emphasized to prevent muscle strength loss in older people.
Minimum 2-Year Radiographic and Clinical Outcomes of Kinematic Alignment Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Valgus Knee
Authors: Bar-Ziv Yaron , Beit ner Eran , Lamykin Konstantin , Essa Ahmad , Gilat Ron , Livshits Gilad , Shohat Noam , Beer Yiftah
Published: July 2022

Kinematic alignment (KA) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has gained popularity in the past decade, but outcomes of KA-TKA in the valgus knee have never been specifically evaluated. In this retrospective single institution study, we analyzed patient reported outcomes and radiographic measurements at minimum 2 years following KA-TKA for valgus knees (n = 51) and compared the results to KA-TKA performed for non-valgus knees (n = 275). The same approach, technique, and implants were used in both groups without the need to release soft tissues or use constrained implants. Surgery duration was similar between groups (p = 0.353). Lateral distal femoral angle was lower in the valgus group postoperatively (p = 0.036). In both groups significant improvement was seen in relieving pain and improving function, while average scores were superior in the non-valgus group for visual analog score (p = 0.005), oxford knee score (p = 0.013), and knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (p = 0.009). However, these differences did not translate to statistically significant differences in minimal clinical important difference achievement rates. In conclusion, KA-TKA is efficient in relieving pain and improving function, as reported in subjective questionnaires, and holds advantage in patients with valgus alignment by avoiding soft tissue releases and use of constrained implants. Future studies should examine whether bone loss occurs in the lateral distal femur.
The COVID-19 Pandemic as an Impulse for the Development of Telemedicine in Primary Care in Poland
Authors: Furlepa Kamila , Śliwczyński Andrzej , Kamecka Karolina , Kozłowski Remigiusz , Gołębiak Izabela , Cichońska-Rzeźnicka Dominika , Marczak Michał , Glinkowski Wojciech Michał
Published: July 2022

Telemedicine gives a safe and effective way of providing healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to offer teleconsultations in primary care (Primary Care Teleconsultation-PCT). The study aimed to present an analysis of the PCTs served in the years 2020–2021 in the field of primary care in Poland to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the development of telemedicine in primary care in Poland. The database, containing a list of medical services provided remotely obtained from the National Health Fund, was analyzed. Economic and tax indicators obtained from the Ministry of Finance were also analyzed. Personal Income Tax (PIT) value was used as an indicator of household wealth, and the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) was used as an indicator of economic activity in individual counties for 2019. Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, patients as healthcare beneficiaries can take advantage of previously unserved telemedicine services as part of primary care. The data analysis showed that, along with the introduced recommendations and restrictions in connection with the pandemic, the number of teleconsultations in 2021 increased compared to 2020. In response to the pandemic, an educational campaign targeted older patients. These indicate the most significant percentage of PCTs among patients aged 70 and older. The study shows that the awareness barrier in implementing services for the elderly population decreased significantly. There was a clear correlation between the increase in PCTs and patient age.
The Meaning and Reliability of Minimal Important Differences (MIDs) for Clinician-Reported Outcome Measures (ClinROMs) in Dermatology—A Scoping Review
Authors: Speeckaert Reinhart , Belpaire Arno , Herbelet Sandrine , Speeckaert Marijn M. , van Geel Nanja
Published: July 2022

Background: Clinician-reported outcome measures (ClinROMs) are frequently used in clinical trials and daily practice to evaluate the disease status and evolution of skin disorders. The minimal important difference (MID) represents the smallest difference that decreases the disease impact enough to make a treatment change worthwhile for patients. As no clear guidance exists on the preferred method to calculate MIDs for ClinROMs, we evaluated how the published values for different skin disorders should be interpreted. Methods: A systematic search was performed for MIDs of ClinROMs that focus on skin disorders and/or symptoms. The results of the questions in the credibility instrument for MIDs of Devji et al., 2020 were analyzed to gain insights into the meaning of these MIDs. Results: 29 MIDs were identified. The most common skin diseases were atopic dermatitis/eczema, followed by bullous disorders and psoriasis. A minimal important difference from the patients’ perspective was determined in 31% of the cases. However, in 41.4% of the cases, it concerned a substantial rather than a minimal difference in disease severity rated by physicians. Over half (55.1%) of the studies contained an inadequate number of patients (n < 150). MID values increased substantially in patients with severe compared to mild disease. Conclusions: MIDs of ClinROMs for skin disorders should be carefully interpreted due to the substantial differences in methodology between the studies. There is an urgent need for a consensus method to report reliable MIDs. Otherwise, this lack of uniformity could not only affect the design and conclusion of clinical trials but also skew treatment decisions.
Extending Radio Broadcasting Semantics through Adaptive Audio Segmentation Automations
Authors: Kotsakis Rigas , Dimoulas Charalampos
Published: July 2022

The present paper focuses on adaptive audio detection, segmentation and classification techniques in audio broadcasting content, dedicated mainly to voice data. The suggested framework addresses a real case scenario encountered in media services and especially radio streams, aiming to fulfill diverse (semi-) automated indexing/annotation and management necessities. In this context, aggregated radio content is collected, featuring small input datasets, which are utilized for adaptive classification experiments, without searching, at this point, for a generic pattern recognition solution. Hierarchical and hybrid taxonomies are proposed, firstly to discriminate voice data in radio streams and thereafter to detect single speaker voices, and when this is the case, the experiments proceed into a final layer of gender classification. It is worth mentioning that stand-alone and combined supervised and clustering techniques are tested along with multivariate window tuning, towards the extraction of meaningful results based on overall and partial performance rates. Furthermore, the current work via data augmentation mechanisms contributes to the formulation of a dynamic Generic Audio Classification Repository to be subjected, in the future, to adaptive multilabel experimentation with more sophisticated techniques, such as deep architectures.
The External Characteristics and Mechanism of Urban Road Corridors to Agglomeration: Case Study for Guangzhou, China
Authors: Qi Luhui , Jia Liqi , Luo Yubin , Chen Yuanyi , Peng Minggang
Published: July 2022

Existing research on the agglomeration effect of urban roads mainly focuses on land use but ignores the differences between various locations, types, and directions of roads. Few studies have been conducted on the built buildings which can represent the actual utility, and land use as a kind of government authorization may not necessarily represent actual needs. This research provides an analytical framework and an empirical analysis to study the differences in impacts of different urban roads on land use and to identify its internal dynamic mechanism. Guangzhou, being the research object, is one of the five major central cities in China. By using the techniques of GIS and SPSS, together with the methods of corridor effect, correlation analysis, and geographic detector, we analyze the external characteristics of office buildings and land gathering along both sides of the roads, explore the urban characteristics of corridor effect, then analyze the relationship with urban traffic flow and bus network density in order to find out the internal motivation of corridor effect. The fundamental conclusion can be drawn that the corridor effect on the land used for commercial offices is mostly unnoticeable, and roads of different locations, types, and directions display various scope and intensity of corridor effects. The agglomeration power is mainly caused by private transportation and has no relationship with public transport. The article concludes the model of the corridor effect and provides some policy suggestions to the government in order to strengthen the linkage development of transportation and land and to promote the improvement of land use efficiency.
The Spatiotemporal Patterns of Human Settlement during the Longshan and Erlitou Periods in Relation to Extreme Floods and Subsistence Strategy in the Upper and Middle Qin River Reaches, Central China
Authors: Gao Wenhua , Hu Hainan , Hou Weidong , Zhang Pengjia , Gong Panpan , Jia Wenyan , Liu Xiaoli , Li Kaifeng
Published: July 2022

Human settlement numbers have significantly changed before and after ~4000 cal. y BP in the upper and middle Qin River reaches, but the external and internal factors driving this change remain unclear. In this study, we examine changing spatial and temporal patterns of the Longshan and Erlitou settlements in relation to extreme flooding at ~4000 cal. y BP and a variety of subsistence strategies during the Longshan and Erlitou periods. The results indicate that settlement number, settlement distribution, and subsistence strategies exhibited obvious shifts between the Longshan and Erlitou periods, and the episode at ~4000 cal. y BP was an extreme-flood-rich interval within and around the Qin River Basin. During the Longshan and Erlitou periods, millet-based agriculture dominated local subsistence strategy, and ancient people would prefer to reside in the areas suitable for farming, causing the valley plains in the upper and middle Qin River reaches to contain most Longshan and Erlitou settlements. However, the frequent occurrence of extreme floods at ~4000 cal. y BP, in conjunction with intergroup conflicts due to a large amount of population immigration during the late Longshan period, is likely to have jointly decreased the settlement number and shrunk the spatial range of human settlement distribution. Subsequently, with the end of the extreme-flood-rich episode and the increasing proportion of higher-water-requirement foxtail millet in cropping structures of human subsistence strategy, more Erlitou settlements were distributed in the wetter valley plains of the middle Qin River reaches.
A GIS Plugin for Susceptibility Modeling: Case Study of Wildfires in Vila Nova de Foz Côa
Authors: Padrão André , Duarte Lia , Teodoro Ana Cláudia
Published: July 2022

Risk mapping is a crucial part of spatial planning, as it optimizes the allocation of resources in its management. It is, therefore, of great interest to build tools that enhance its production. This work focuses on the implementation of a susceptibility model for different types of spatially distributed risk in a geographic information systems (GIS) Python plugin. As an example, the susceptibility model was applied to study the occurrence of wildfires in the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal. The plugin was developed to simplify the production and evaluation of susceptibility maps regarding the available geographical information. Regarding our case study, the data used corresponds to three training areas, ten years of burned areas and nine environmental variables. The model is applied to different combinations of these factors. The validation, performed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) of 74% for a fire susceptibility model, calculated with the same environmental factors used in official Portuguese cartography (land use and slope) and with the optimal training area, years of information on burned area and level of land use classification. After experimenting with four variable combinations, a maximum AUC of 77% was achieved. This study confirms the suitability of the variables chosen for the production of official fire susceptibility models but leaves out the comparison between the official methodology and the methodology proposed in this work.
Erosion Map Reliability Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Erosion Potential Method (EPM): A Comparison of Mapping Methods, BELGRADE Peri-Urban Area, Serbia
Authors: Veličković Nataša , Todosijević Mirjana , Šulić Desanaka
Published: July 2022

Soil erosion is a product of natural and anthropogenic factors and, at the same time, an economic and environmental concern. One of the methods applied to calculate the intensity of erosion is the erosion potential method (EPM), with two possible procedures for determining the average erosion coefficient of an area: analytical and graphical. Using GIS and EPM methods, without field observations of erosion, based on cartographic materials and satellite images, erosion maps were created for 1970 and 2018, for part of the peri-urban area of Belgrade. Based on the created erosion maps, the values of the mean coefficients of erosion, as well as the arithmetic means for the study area, were determined for the settlements. The aim of the study is to assess the reliability of the mean coefficient of soil erosion, obtained from the erosion map created from the cartographic materials and satellite images, without field observations of erosion. Thus, the obtained values of the mean erosion coefficient were compared with the values obtained from the erosion map with field observation and the values obtained by the analytical procedure. Statistical analysis (F test) for 1970 and for 2018 determined a high degree of reliability (p < 0.05) of the mean erosion coefficients of the area obtained from erosion maps that were created from cartographic materials and satellite images without field observation. Regardless of the procedure for determining the mean erosion coefficient, a significant decrease in soil losses was observed, from 10.64 to 5.97 t ha−1year−1 (average annual specific production of sediments, year 1970 and 2018, respectively).
Evaluation and Improvement Measures of the Runoff Coefficient of Urban Parks for Sustainable Water Balance
Authors: Son Jinkwan , Kwon Taegeun
Published: July 2022

As the impermeable sidewalk area increases in urban areas, diverse problems related to water occur. The purposes of this research were to increase the rainwater infiltration rate through water balance analysis and estimate the runoff coefficient according to land cover types in urban parks. The regression equations and runoff coefficients relative to the rainwater infiltration rate were estimated according to the land cover types and applied to eight urban parks. In the results of the experiment, the runoff coefficient was 0.245 for vegetation areas, 0.583 for permeable sidewalks, 0.963 for sidewalk blocks, and 1.000 for impervious sidewalks, which had 100% outflow. The results show that the vegetation area in urban parks is significantly related to rainfall–runoff, infiltration, and evapotranspiration. The average of eight urban parks was 126.52 mm, indicating that 11.80% of the rainfall was recharged into groundwater. Additionally, the average runoff rate was 498.56 mm, indicating that 46.52% was leaked externally. Therefore, it is suggested to decrease the impermeable sidewalk areas in urban parks. Additionally, extending the waterway, swamp, and gravel sidewalk areas is suggested. Urban parks should be developed in order to contribute to hydrological control through the water balance in urban land use.
Spoken and Sign Language Emergence: A Comparison
Authors: McWhorter John
Published: July 2022

A comparison of emerging signed languages and creole languages provides evidence that, when language is emerging, it prioritizes marking the novelty of information; is readily recursive; favors the manner of action (aspect) over the time of action (tense); develops inflection readily only in a visual, as opposed to aural, mode; and develops derivational opacity only as the result of drift over long periods of time.
Restorative Pedagogy in the University Criminology Classroom: Learning about Restorative Justice with Restorative Practices and Values
Authors: Sweeney Rowan
Published: July 2022

This paper explores the use of restorative practices and values to facilitate teaching and learning regarding restorative justice in undergraduate criminology curricula in England and Wales. Applications of restorative practice, inside and outside of criminal justice contexts, continue to progress and strengthen in the UK and internationally. Similarly, the provision of undergraduate criminology programmes at universities in England and Wales, and globally, has increased substantially in recent decades. Yet, limited research has been conducted regarding the way restorative justice is taught at universities, particularly in a UK higher education context. This paper draws on research which set out to examine the extent and form of restorative justice knowledge production and exclusion, in undergraduate criminology programmes in England and Wales. In doing so, the innovative and effective use of restorative practice pedagogically was exposed. Evidence presented in this paper was collected via seven semi-structured interviews with criminology academics working at six different universities, and three focus groups with undergraduate criminology students, each at a different university. By exploring perspectives of academics and students regarding the use of restorative practices and values to support teaching and learning about restorative justice, this paper argues that real-world contextualisation, collaboration, and experiential learning are key elements of restorative pedagogy within undergraduate criminology.
Pineal Gland from the Cell Culture to Animal Models: A Review
Authors: Peruri Alekhya , Morgan Alexandra , D’Souza Alida , Mellon Bridget , Hung Carey W. , Kayal Gabriella , Shin Haejung , Nguyen Kim , Zahed Malek , Yount Mason , Ellis Reilly , Wynne Taylor , Fritz Virginia , Simmons Zachary , Roballo Kelly C. S.
Published: July 2022

This review demonstrates current literature on pineal gland physiology, pathology, and animal model experiments to concisely explore future needs in research development with respect to pineal gland function and neuro-regenerative properties. The pineal gland plays an integral role in sleep and recovery by promoting physiologic circadian rhythms via production and release of melatonin. Yet, the current literature shows that the pineal gland has neuroprotective effects that modulate both peripheral and central nerve injuries through several direct and indirect mechanisms, such as angiogenesis and induction of growth factors and anti-inflammatory mediators. Animal models have also shown correlations between pineal gland function and metabolic homeostasis. Studies have shown that a functional pineal gland is essential in preventing and slowing the progression of certain diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, vertebral osteoarthritis, and neurodegenerative processes. Lastly, the array of cell culturing methods and animal models that can be used to further develop the study of pineal gland function and nervous system injury were reviewed.
Application of Gene Editing Technology in Resistance Breeding of Livestock
Authors: Wang Sutian , Qu Zixiao , Huang Qiuyan , Zhang Jianfeng , Lin Sen , Yang Yecheng , Meng Fanming , Li Jianhao , Zhang Kunli
Published: July 2022

As a new genetic engineering technology, gene editing can precisely modify the specific gene sequence of the organism’s genome. In the last 10 years, with the rapid development of gene editing technology, zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like endonucleases (TALENs), and CRISPR/Cas9 systems have been applied to modify endogenous genes in organisms accurately. Now, gene editing technology has been used in mice, zebrafish, pigs, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits, monkeys, and other species. Breeding for disease-resistance in agricultural animals tends to be a difficult task for traditional breeding, but gene editing technology has made this easier. In this work, we overview the development and application of gene editing technology in the resistance breeding of livestock. Also, we further discuss the prospects and outlooks of gene editing technology in disease-resistance breeding.
Benzoic Acid Metabolism and Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis of Intestinal Microbiome Affects the Health of Ruminants under Free-Range and Captive Mode
Authors: Fu Xuan , Zhang Yaopeng , Shi Bin , Wu Xiaokang , Zhao Hongwen , Xin Zhongbao , Yang Jinshui
Published: July 2022

It is urgent to explore new ways to protect endangered wild animals and develop sustainable animal husbandry on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau due to its fragile ecological environment. Ruminants, raised in captivity and free-range, have important niches in the Plateau and are the best models to analyze the effects of different feeding modes on their health. In this study, two ruminants, yaks and goats in free-range and captive modes, respectively, were selected to study the relationship between gut microbes and ruminant health. The results showed that the gut microbial diversity of free-range ruminants was higher than those of captive ruminants. Principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA) showed that there were significant differences in the gut microbial communities in different breeding modes. Both the captive ruminants enriched the Succinivibrionaceae family, which had a strong potential to synthesize lipopolysaccharide, and the low exercise amount of the captive animals was significantly related to this function. Meanwhile, free-range ruminants enriched Oscillospiraceae, which had the potential to degrade benzoic acid, and this potential had a significant positive correlation with resistance to parasitic infections. We offer other possibilities, such as adding benzoic acid to feed or increasing the exercise time of captive ruminants to make them healthier.
Adhesion and Electron Properties of Quasi-2D Mo2C, Ti2C, and V2C MXene Flakes after Van Der Waals Adsorption of Alcohol Molecules: Influence of Humidity
Authors: Kolosov Dmitry A. , Levitsky Semyon G. , Glukhova Olga E.
Published: July 2022

The adhesive properties of new materials quasi-2D Mo2C, Ti2C, and V2C MXene flakes play a crucial role (1) in the formation of highly efficient lubricants; (2) in the development of highly sensitive gas sensors. This paper reports DFT modeling of adsorption of alcohol molecules onto the surface of quasi-2D nanometer-thick flakes of MXenes. The parameters characterizing the adsorption mechanism were the analyte+surface binding energy, Fermi energy, and electrical conductivity. Due to the presence of water in the environment, MXene surfaces with varying degrees of humidity were studied, and the patterns of analyte adsorption onto a wet surface were investigated. A different approach to adhesion of alcohols for wet and dry surfaces has been established in this study.
Synthesis of 1-[1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluooctyl]-3-[2-(oxiran-2-yl)ethyl]imidazolium 4-[(2-oxiran-2-yl)ethoxy]benzenesulfonate as a New Perfluorinated Ionic Monomer
Authors: Kui Tony , Livi Sébastien , Baudoux Jérôme
Published: July 2022

Access to perfluorinated compounds represents a growing challenge in the academic and industrial fields to achieve target compounds with specific physico-chemical properties. Especially, the insertion of a perfluorinated chain within an ionic liquid can provide improvements not just in terms of hydrophobicity and lipophobicity, but also viscosity, density as well as thermal stability. In this research area, we have recently developed new access points to several epoxy imidazolium salts combined with fluorinated anions such as bistriflimide (NTf2−), hexafluorophosphate (PF6−) or tetrafluoroborate (BF4−). Here, we reported the synthesis of a perfluorinated imidazolium cation associated with a sulfonate anion as a new functionalized partner. This sequence required four steps from imidazole (cationic part) and three steps from sodium 4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate (anionic part), respectively. This perfluorinated ionic liquid was fully characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance with 1H-NMR, 19F-NMR, 13C-NMR, DEPT, COSY, HSQC, HMBC and IR spectroscopy. The two parts of the salt were confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), and we combined thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the thermal properties of this new compound.
Thermomechanical Performance Analysis of Novel Cement-Based Building Envelopes with Enhanced Passive Insulation Properties
Authors: Marin-Montin Jorge , Roque Eduardo , Xu Yading , Šavija Branko , Serrano-Ruiz Juan Carlos , Montero-Chacón Francisco
Published: July 2022

The design of new insulating envelopes is a direct route towards energy efficient buildings. The combinations of novel materials, such as phase-change (PCM), and advanced manufacturing techniques, such as additive manufacturing, may harness important changes in the designing of building envelopes. In this work we propose a novel methodology for the design of cement-based building envelopes. Namely, we combined the use of a multiscale, multiphysical simulation framework with advanced synthesis techniques, such as the use of phase-change materials and additive manufacturing for the design of concrete envelopes with enhanced insulation properties. At the material scale, microencapsulated PCMs are added to a cementitious matrix to increase heat storage. Next, at the component level, we create novel designs for the blocks, here defined as HEXCEM, by means of additive manufacturing. The material and component design process is strongly supported on heat transfer simulations with the use of the finite element method. Effective thermal properties of the mixes can be obtained and subsequently used in macroscale simulations to account for the effect of the volume fraction of PCMs. From the experimental and numerical tests, we report an increase in the the thermal inertia, which results in thermal comfort indoors.