bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrin α5β1, as a Receptor of Fibronectin, Binds the FbaA Protein of Group A
Streptococcus
To Initiate Autophagy during Infection
Authors: Wang Jiachao , Meng Meiqi , Li Miao , Guan Xiaofei , Liu Jianguo , Gao Xue , Sun Qingqing , Li Jinquan , Ma Cuiqing , Wei Lin
Published: June 2020

Autophagy is generally considered a strategy used by the innate immune system to eliminate invasive pathogens through capturing and transferring them to lysosomes. Currently, researchers pay more attention to how virulence factors secreted by GAS regulate the autophagic process. Here, we provide the first evidence that the structural protein FbaA of M1 GAS strain SF370 is a potent inducer of autophagy in epithelial cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that integrin α5β1 in epithelial cells
in vitro
and
in vivo
acts as a receptor to initiate the signaling for inducing autophagy by binding to FbaA of M1 GAS strain SF370 via Fn. Our study reveals the underlying mechanisms by which pathogens induce Fn-integrin α5β1 to trigger autophagy in a conserved pattern in epithelial cells.
Inhibition of the Super Elongation Complex Suppresses Herpes Simplex Virus Immediate Early Gene Expression, Lytic Infection, and Reactivation from Latency
Authors: Alfonso-Dunn Roberto , Arbuckle Jesse H. , Vogel Jodi L. , Kristie Thomas M.
Published: June 2020

HSV infections can cause pathologies ranging from recurrent lesions to significant ocular disease. Initiation of lytic infection and reactivation from latency in sensory neurons are dependent on the induced expression of the viral immediate early genes. Transcription of these genes is controlled at multiple levels, including modulation of the chromatin state of the viral genome and appropriate recruitment of transcription factors and coactivators. Following initiation of transcription, IE genes are subject to a key regulatory stage in which transcriptional elongation rates are controlled by the activity of the super elongation complex. Inhibition of the SEC blocks both lytic infection and reactivation from latency in sensory neurons. In addition to providing insights into the mechanisms controlling viral infection and reactivation, inhibitors of critical components such as the SEC may represent novel antivirals.
Coupling Bacterial Community Assembly to Microbial Metabolism across Soil Profiles
Authors: Luan Lu , Liang Chao , Chen Lijun , Wang Haotian , Xu Qinsong , Jiang Yuji , Sun Bo
Published: June 2020

We have provided a framework to better understand the mechanisms governing the balance between stochastic and deterministic processes and to integrate the shifts in community assembly processes with microbial carbon metabolism. Our study reinforced that environmental filtering and bacterial cooccurrence patterns influence the stochastic/deterministic continuum of soil bacterial community assembly and that stochasticity may act through deeper soil layers to influence carbon metabolism. Delineating theoretically the potential linkages between community assembly and SOC dynamics across a broad range of microbial systems represents an interesting topic for future research.
Human Milk Oligosaccharides Modulate the Risk for Preterm Birth in a Microbiome-Dependent and -Independent Manner
Authors: Pausan Manuela-Raluca , Kolovetsiou-Kreiner Vassiliki , Richter Gesa Lucia , Madl Tobias , Giselbrecht Elisabeth , Obermayer-Pietsch Barbara , Weiss Eva-Christine , Jantscher-Krenn Evelyn , Moissl-Eichinger Christine
Published: June 2020

The causes for preterm birth (PTB) often remain elusive. We investigated whether circulating human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) might be involved in modulating urinary and vaginal microbiome promoting or preventing PTB. We identified here HMOs and key microbial taxa associated with indicators of PTB. Based on our results, we propose two models for how HMOs might modulate risk for PTB: (i) by changes in HMOs associated with sterile inflammation (microbiome-independent) and (ii) by HMO-driven shifts in microbiome (microbiome-dependent). Our findings will guide current efforts to better predict the risk for PTB in seemingly healthy pregnant women and also provide appropriate preventive strategies.
Popliteal artery cannulation as a saviour during prone positioning
Authors: Bala Narayan , Pathak Vinay , Goyal Shilpa , Kothari Nikhil
Published: June 2020

The cannulation of the peripheral artery is a prerequisite for invasive blood pressure monitoring and repeated arterial blood gas sampling. Radial artery is commonly used site for inserting an arterial cannula. Many times, either during the change of posture or during prone ventilation, the arterial cannula gets displaced, and it is challenging to reinsert the arterial cannula in the lateral or prone position. In such circumstances, an alternative site of arterial cannulation needs to be looked into; we report a case in which the popliteal artery was used for arterial cannulation while the patient was in a prone position.
Characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK: national population based cohort study
Authors: Knight Marian , Bunch Kathryn , Vousden Nicola , Morris Edward , Simpson Nigel , Gale Chris , O’Brien Patrick , Quigley Maria , Brocklehurst Peter , Kurinczuk Jennifer J
Published: June 2020

Objectives

To describe a national cohort of pregnant women admitted to hospital with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the UK, identify factors associated with infection, and describe outcomes, including transmission of infection, for mothers and infants.

Design

Prospective national population based cohort study using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS).

Setting

All 194 obstetric units in the UK.

Participants

427 pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1 March 2020 and 14 April 2020.

Main outcome measures

Incidence of maternal hospital admission and infant infection. Rates of maternal death, level 3 critical care unit admission, fetal loss, caesarean birth, preterm birth, stillbirth, early neonatal death, and neonatal unit admission.

Results

The estimated incidence of admission to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy was 4.9 (95% confidence interval 4.5 to 5.4) per 1000 maternities. 233 (56%) pregnant women admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy were from black or other ethnic minority groups, 281 (69%) were overweight or obese, 175 (41%) were aged 35 or over, and 145 (34%) had pre-existing comorbidities. 266 (62%) women gave birth or had a pregnancy loss; 196 (73%) gave birth at term. Forty one (10%) women admitted to hospital needed respiratory support, and five (1%) women died. Twelve (5%) of 265 infants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, six of them within the first 12 hours after birth.

Conclusions

Most pregnant women admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection were in the late second or third trimester, supporting guidance for continued social distancing measures in later pregnancy. Most had good outcomes, and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to infants was uncommon. The high proportion of women from black or minority ethnic groups admitted with infection needs urgent investigation and explanation.

Study registration

ISRCTN 40092247.
Risk of early neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with prenatal exposure to the antiepileptic drugs most commonly used during pregnancy: a French nationwide population-based cohort study
Authors: Blotière Pierre-Olivier , Miranda Sara , Weill Alain , Mikaeloff Yann , Peyre Hugo , Ramus Franck , Mahmoud Zureik , Coste Joël , Dray-Spira Rosemary
Published: June 2020

Objectives

To assess the association between prenatal exposure to monotherapy with the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) most commonly used during pregnancy and the risk of various neurodevelopmental outcomes compared with lamotrigine.

Design

Nationwide population-based cohort study.

Setting

French national healthcare databases.

Participants

Children born alive between 2011 and 2014 and prenatally exposed to AED monotherapy.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Outcomes included neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), defined by International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes F70-F98—pervasive developmental disorders (PDD, F84) and mental retardation (MR, F70-F79) were studied separately—and visits to speech therapists. The reference group comprised children prenatally exposed to lamotrigine. Children were followed until outcome, loss to follow-up, death or 31 December 2016. We performed inverse probability of treatment weighting analyses using the propensity score, which included maternal and infant characteristics. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox models.

Results

The cohort comprised 9034 children, 2916 of which were exposed to lamotrigine, 1627 to pregabalin, 1246 to clonazepam, 991 to valproic acid (VPA), 621 to levetiracetam, 502 to carbamazepine, 477 to topiramate, 378 to gabapentin and 143 to oxcarbazepine. None of these AEDs, except VPA, was associated with an increased risk of any of the four neurodevelopmental outcomes investigated. Exposure to VPA was associated with increased risks of NDDs (HR=2.7, 95% CI (1.8 to 4.0)), PDD (HR=4.4 (2.1 to 9.3)), MR (HR=3.1 (1.5 to 6.2)) and visits to speech therapists (HR=1.5 (1.1 to 1.9)), with a dose-response relationship.

Conclusions

No increased risk of any of the neurodevelopmental outcomes investigated in this study was observed with prenatal exposure to levetiracetam, pregabalin, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, gabapentin, clonazepam or carbamazepine, compared with lamotrigine. However, this study corroborates the well-known association between maternal use of VPA during pregnancy and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring. Longer follow-up is necessary to confirm these findings.
Reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies of US-BI-RADS 4a lesions through a deep learning method for residents-in-training: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Zhao Chenyang , Xiao Mengsu , Liu He , Wang Ming , Wang Hongyan , Zhang Jing , Jiang Yuxin , Zhu Qingli
Published: June 2020

Objective

The aim of the study is to explore the potential value of S-Detect for residents-in-training, a computer-assisted diagnosis system based on deep learning (DL) algorithm.

Methods

The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Routine breast ultrasound examinations were conducted by an experienced radiologist. The ultrasonic images of the lesions were retrospectively assessed by five residents-in-training according to the Breast Imaging Report and Data System (BI-RADS) lexicon, and a dichotomic classification of the lesions was provided by S-Detect. The diagnostic performances of S-Detect and the five residents were measured and compared using the pathological results as the gold standard. The category 4a lesions assessed by the residents were downgraded to possibly benign as classified by S-Detect. The diagnostic performance of the integrated results was compared with the original results of the residents.

Participants

A total of 195 focal breast lesions were consecutively enrolled, including 82 malignant lesions and 113 benign lesions.

Results

S-Detect presented higher specificity (77.88%) and area under the curve (AUC) (0.82) than the residents (specificity: 19.47%–48.67%, AUC: 0.62–0.74). A total of 24, 31, 38, 32 and 42 identified as BI-RADS 4a lesions by residents 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were downgraded to possibly benign lesions by S-Detect, respectively. Among these downgraded lesions, 24, 28, 35, 30 and 40 lesions were proven to be pathologically benign, respectively. After combining the residents' results with the results of the software in category 4a lesions, the specificity and AUC of the five residents significantly improved (specificity: 46.02%–76.11%, AUC: 0.71–0.85, p<0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficient of the five residents also increased after integration (from 0.480 to 0.643).

Conclusions

With the help of the DL software, the specificity, overall diagnostic performance and interobserver agreement of the residents greatly improved. The software can be used as adjunctive tool for residents-in-training, downgrading 4a lesions to possibly benign and reducing unnecessary biopsies.
Quality of maternal and newborn care in limited-resource settings: a facility-based cross-sectional study in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: Millogo Tieba , Agbre-Yace Marie Laurette , Kourouma Raissa K , Yaméogo W Maurice E , Tano-Kamelan Akoua , Sissoko Fatou Bintou , Koné-Coulibaly Aminata Soltié , Thorson Anna , Kouanda Seni
Published: June 2020

Objective

To assess and compare the quality of intrapartum and immediate postpartum care across levels of healthcare in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire using validated process indicators.

Design

Health facility-based cross-sectional study with direct observation of healthcare workers’ practices while caring for mother–newborn pairs during intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods.

Setting

Primary healthcare facilities and their corresponding referral hospitals in the Central-North region in Burkina Faso and the Agneby-Tiassa-Mé region in Côte d’Ivoire.

Participants

Healthcare providers who care for mother–newborn pairs during intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods, the labouring women and their newborns after childbirth.

Main outcome measure(s)

Adherence to essential best practices (EBPs) at four pause points in each birth event and the overall quality score based on the level of adherence to the set of EBPs observed for a selected pause point.

Results

A total of 532 and 627 labouring women were included in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively. Overall, the compliance with EBPs was insufficient at all the four pause points, even though it varied widely from one EBP to another. The adherence was very low with respect to hand hygiene practices: the care provider wore sterile gloves for vaginal examination in only 7.96% cases (95% CI 5.66% to 11.06%) in Burkina Faso and the care provider washed hands before examination in 6.71% cases (95% CI 3.94% to 11.20%) in Côte d’Ivoire. The adherence was very high with respect to thermal management of newborns in both countries (>90%). The overall mean quality scores were consistently higher in referral hospitals in Burkina Faso at all pause points excluding immediate post partum.

Conclusions

Women delivering in healthcare facilities do not always receive proven EBPs needed to prevent poor childbirth outcomes. There is a need for quality improvement interventions.
Shifting, overlapping and expanding use of “precision oncology” terminology: a retrospective literature analysis
Authors: Tran Audrey , Klossner Quiana , Crain Tyler , Prasad Vinay
Published: June 2020

Importance

The terms “personalized oncology” and “precision oncology” have increased in usage and have generated considerable traction in terms of public attention and research funding. To our knowledge, no prior study has as thoroughly documented the use of the “precision oncology” terminology over the last decade.

Objective

To determine how the use of the terms “personalized oncology” and “precision oncology” have changed over time.

Design

A retrospective literature analysis using two databases (PubMed and Scopus) over 10 years was performed. Manuscripts using either term “personalized oncology” or “precision oncology” were collected. Manuscripts published in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and through 30 June 2019 were pulled for text analysis. Common reasons for exclusion were if the search term appeared in the institution name only, the search term appeared only in keyword or publication title, or the search term was used to justify the relevance or application of research with no clear definition.

Setting

Manuscripts published and catalogued in PubMed or Scopus.

Results

In our study, we analysed 399 unique manuscripts published over the last decade. Over time, the terminology has shifted from “personalized oncology” to “precision oncology”. Targeted therapy, molecular biomarker-guided tumour profiling and next generation sequencing (ie, “omics-guided tumor profiling”) are the three most common definitions of the term. While these definitions are somewhat overlapping in concept, over the decade we observed an increase in the number of distinct interpretations of “precision oncology”, ranging from structural biology to clinical practice.

Conclusions and relevance

We have observed that the phrase “precision oncology” is shifting, overlapping and expanding in definition. This all-encompassing approach to defining “precision oncology” ironically renders the term imprecise. Our analysis highlights the inherent challenges in defining novel movements in medicine.
Health and financial burden of adverse childhood experiences in England and Wales: a combined primary data study of five surveys
Authors: Hughes Karen , Ford Kat , Kadel Rajendra , Sharp Catherine A , Bellis Mark A
Published: June 2020

Objective

To estimate the health and financial burden of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in England and Wales.

Design

The study combined data from five randomly stratified cross-sectional ACE studies. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated for major health risks and causes of ill health and applied to disability adjusted life years (DALYs), with financial costs estimated using a modified human capital method.

Setting

Households in England and Wales.

Participants

15 285 residents aged 18–69.

Outcome measures

The outcome measures were PAFs for single (1 ACE) and multiple (2–3 and ≥4 ACEs) ACE exposure categories for four health risks (smoking, alcohol use, drug use, high body mass index) and nine causes of ill health (cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, violence, anxiety, depression, other mental illness); and annual estimated DALYs and financial costs attributable to ACEs.

Results

Cumulative relationships were found between ACEs and risks of all outcomes. For health risks, PAFs for ACEs were highest for drug use (Wales 58.8%, England 52.6%), although ACE-attributable smoking had the highest estimated costs (England and Wales, £7.8 billion). For causes of ill health, PAFs for ACEs were highest for violence (Wales 48.9%, England 43.4%) and mental illness (ranging from 29.1% for anxiety in England to 49.7% for other mental illness in Wales). The greatest ACE-attributable costs were for mental illness (anxiety, depression and other mental illness; England and Wales, £11.2 billion) and cancer (£7.9 billion). Across all outcomes, the total annual ACE-attributable cost was estimated at £42.8 billion. The majority of costs related to exposures to multiple rather than a single ACE (ranging from 71.9% for high body mass index to 98.3% for cancer).

Conclusions

ACEs impose a substantial societal burden in England and Wales. Policies and practices that prevent ACEs, build resilience and develop trauma-informed services are needed to reduce burden of disease and avoidable service use and financial costs across health and other sectors.
Does delaying discharge from intensive care until after tracheostomy removal affect 30-day mortality? Propensity score matched cohort study
Authors: Vollam Sarah , Harrison David A , Young J Duncan , Watkinson Peter J
Published: June 2020

Objective

To investigate the short-term mortality effect of discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) with a tracheostomy in place in comparison to delaying discharge until after tracheostomy removal.

Design

A propensity score matched cohort study using data from the TracMan study.

Setting

Seventy-two UK ICUs taking part in the TracMan study, a randomised controlled trial comparing early tracheostomy (within 4 days of critical care admission) with deferred tracheostomy (after 10 days if still indicated).

Participants

622 patients who underwent a tracheostomy while in the TracMan study between November 2004 and November 2008. 144 patients left ICU with a tracheostomy. 999 days of observation from 294 patients were included in the control pool.

Interventions

We matched patients discharged with a tracheostomy in place 1:1 with patients who remained in an ICU until either their tracheostomy was removed or they died with the tracheostomy in place. Propensity models were developed according to discharge destination, accounting for likely confounding factors.

Primary outcome measure

The primary outcome was 30-day mortality from the matching day. For the ‘discharged with a tracheostomy’ group, this was death within 30 days after the discharge day. For the ‘remained in ICU’ group, this was death within 30 days after the matched day.

Results

22 (15.3%) patients who left ICU with a tracheostomy died within 30 days compared with 26 (18.1%) who remained in ICU (relative risk 0.98, 95% CI 0.43 to 2.23).

Conclusion

Keeping patients on an ICU to provide tracheostomy care was not found to affect mortality. Tracheostomy presence may indicate a higher risk of mortality due to underlying diseases and conditions rather than posing a risk in itself.

The TracMan trial was registered on the ISRCTN database (ISRCTN28588190).
Prevalence of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in adults and children with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Kapoor Teja , Mahadeshwar Pooja , Hui-Yuen Joyce , Quinnies Kayla , Tatonetti Nicholas , Gartshteyn Yevgeniya , Guo Cathy , Geraldino-Pardilla Laura , Askanase Anca D
Published: June 2020

Objective

To define the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in SLE.

Methods

This is a retrospective observational study to evaluate PML cases in patients with SLE admitted to two large academic hospitals. Using electronic medical record (EMR) data, International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes identified PML cases among patients with SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (controls), had renal transplant and with HIV. Medication exposure was reviewed.

Results

A total of 5409 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) patients and 2046 Northwell Health patients were identified using one ICD code for SLE. Of 7455 patients, three had an ICD code for PML. On EMR review, however, PML was substantiated in only one fatal SLE case with significant immunosuppressant use and severe lymphopenia (<0.5 cells x 109/L); one patient was evaluated for PML but cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was negative for JC virus and improved with treatment of central nervous system (CNS) lupus. EMR data were very limited for the third patient and diagnosis could not be confirmed. None of the 13 342 patients with RA ICD codes had PML. Of the 5409 patients with an SLE ICD code at CUMC, 212 also had a renal transplant ICD code, and 83 had concomitant HIV/AIDS. Based on inpatient pharmacy records of 5409 hospitalised patients at CUMC, 59.2% were treated with steroids, and 16.09% with immunosuppressants (7.76% mycophenolate, 3.42% cyclophosphamide, 2.88% azathioprine and 2.03% rituximab). No patients with paediatric SLE (pSLE) (n=538) had PML. The combined prevalence of PML in hospitalised patients with SLE at the two hospitals was 13–27/100 000 patients.

Conclusion

Among 7455 adult patients with SLE ICD codes, there were two PML cases, with only one confirmed case associated with severe lymphopenia and immunosuppressants, corresponding to a prevalence of 13–27 per 100 000 patients. No PML cases in pSLE were found. A high index of suspicion in patients with SLE and CNS manifestations is required for the prompt diagnosis of PML.
Addendum to: Emerging patterns of New Physics with and without Lepton Flavour Universal contributions
Authors: Algueró Marcel , Capdevila Bernat , Crivellin Andreas , Descotes-Genon Sébastien , Masjuan Pere , Matias Joaquim , Novoa-Brunet Martín , Virto Javier
Published: June 2020

This paper is an addendum to Ref. Eur. Phys. J. C79 (2019) no. 8, 714 that supersedes all results (Tables and Figures) in that paper after including the new data on the $$B\rightarrow K^*\mu \mu $$B→K∗μμ angular distribution released in 2020 by the LHCb collaboration. The new results confirm all the conclusions in Eur. Phys. J. C79 (2019) no. 8, 714, exhibiting an increase in the coherence and significance of the hypotheses and confirming the existence of a puzzle.
The Coexisting Behaviors on the Boundary of a Duffing-like Oscillator with Signum Nonlinearity and Its FPGA-Based Implementation
Authors: Min Fuhong , Chen Jiayun
Published: June 2020

In this paper, the nonlinear behaviors of a Duffing-like system with signum function are investigated through the theory of discontinuous dynamical systems. The necessary and sufficient conditions for motion switchability on the boundary between two domains are analyzed to understand the switching mechanism. The switching velocity with varying different system parameters and the parameter mappings are carried out to illustrate the dynamical motions. The attraction basins are depicted to express the coexistence of the Duffing-like oscillator with different initial values, and the coexisting trajectories in phase space with various initial conditions are also exhibited. The effectiveness of the analysis conditions of periodic and chaotic motions with different mapping structures are verified through numerical simulations. Moreover, a hardware circuit of the Duffing-like system is established via Field Programmable Gate Array for the validation of the numerical analysis.
Multistability and Hidden Attractors in a Three-Dimensional Chaotic System
Authors: Yang Ting
Published: June 2020

This paper proposes a novel three-dimensional autonomous chaotic system. Interestingly, when the system has infinitely many stable equilibria, it is found that the system also has infinitely many hidden chaotic attractors. We show that the period-doubling bifurcations are the routes to chaos. Moreover, the Hopf bifurcations at all equilibria are investigated and it is also found that all the Hopf bifurcations simultaneously occur. Furthermore, the approximate expressions and stabilities of bifurcating limit cycles are obtained by using normal form theory and bifurcation theory.
Stability Analysis and Bifurcation Control of a Delayed Incommensurate Fractional-Order Gene Regulatory Network
Authors: Liu Feng , Dong Ting , Guan Zhi-Hong , Wang Hua O.
Published: June 2020

In this paper, stability analysis and bifurcation control for a novel incommensurate fractional-order delayed gene regulatory network are investigated. Firstly, the associated characteristic equation is analyzed by taking time delay as a bifurcation parameter, and the conditions of creation for Hopf bifurcation are established. It is demonstrated that the time delay can profoundly affect the dynamics of the proposed system and each order has a significant influence on the creation of bifurcation simultaneously. Then we study the stability and bifurcation behavior of the fractional-order networks by adding a nonlinear feedback controller. Finally, numerical simulations of two examples validate the obtained results.
Spectral and Dynamic Consequences of Network Specialization
Authors: Bunimovich Leonid , Passey D. J. , Smith Dallas , Webb Benjamin
Published: June 2020

One of the hallmarks of real networks is the ability to perform increasingly complex tasks as their topology evolves. To explain this, it has been observed that as a network grows certain subsets of the network begin to specialize the function(s) they perform. A recent model of network growth based on this notion of specialization has been able to reproduce some of the most well-known topological features found in real-world networks including right-skewed degree distributions, the small world property, modular as well as hierarchical topology, etc. Here we describe how specialization under this model also effects the spectral properties of a network. This allows us to give the conditions under which a network is able to maintain its dynamics as its topology evolves. Specifically, we show that if a network is intrinsically stable, which is a stronger version of the standard notion of global stability, then the network maintains this type of dynamics as the network evolves. This is one of the first steps toward unifying the rigorous study of the two types of dynamics exhibited by networks. These are the dynamics of a network, which is the topological evolution of the network’s structure, modeled here by the process of network specialization, and the dynamics on a network, which is the changing state of the network elements, where the type of dynamics we consider is global stability. The main examples we apply our results to are recurrent neural networks, which are the basis of certain types of machine learning algorithms.
Effects of Different Fast Periodic Excitations on the Pitchfork Bifurcation and Vibrational Resonance
Authors: Zhang Jiaqi , Yang Jianhua , Zhu Zhencai , Shen Gang , Sanjuán Miguel A. F.
Published: June 2020

We investigate the effects on the pitchfork bifurcation and the vibrational resonance of an overdamped bistable system subjected to both a slow harmonic excitation and a fast periodic excitation with different waveforms. We use numerical simulations along with theoretical explanations to analyze some interesting phenomena. The bifurcation configuration depends closely on the form of the fast excitation. As a result, we have found that the key factor to influence the bifurcation configuration is the symmetry property of the fast excitation. Further, due to the relationship of the vibrational resonance with the pitchfork bifurcation, the vibrational resonance also depends closely on the form of the fast periodic excitation. Moreover, for anharmonic fast excitations, if it is asymmetric, the vibrational resonance usually depends closely on the initial conditions.
Overcoming Oscillation Quenching via Mean-Field Feedback
Authors: Zhao Nannan , Sun Zhongkui
Published: June 2020

Observational studies have shown that many natural systems need to remain in rhythmic oscillation activity. Yet, the appearance of oscillation quenching phenomena lead to the breakdown of intrinsic behavior of practical systems, often causing unpredictable results. To address the important problem about how to avoid or revive the paralyzed system, in this work, we use the mean-field function of the entire system as an external feedback acts on every unit. Taking the classical limit cycle of Stuart–Landau model as example, we find that oscillation quenching state can be eliminated effectively and thus revoke the deprived oscillation. Through extensive theoretical analyses and numerical simulations, the results show for various death scenarios that the oscillation quenching regions shrink drastically in the parameter space with increasing feedback strength. Our method can be regarded as a general framework to maintain or retrieve the continued oscillation for coupled nonlinear systems in diverse applications.
Chemotaxis systems in complex frameworks: Pattern formation, qualitative analysis and blowup prevention
Authors: Bellomo N. , Tao Y. , Winkler M.
Published: June 2020

A presentation of a special issue is delivered by this editorial paper on the derivation and related analytical problems, of cross diffusion models in complex environments. A brief introduction to motivations toward this research topic is presented in the first part. Subsequently, a concise description of the contents follows. Lastly, some ideas on possible research perspectives are proposed mainly focusing on modeling topics.
Construction of boundary conditions for hyperbolic relaxation approximations I: The linearized Suliciu model
Authors: Zhou Yizhou , Yong Wen-An
Published: June 2020

Starting with this paper, we intend to develop a program aiming at construction of boundary conditions (BCs) for hyperbolic relaxation systems. Physically, such BCs are not always available. The construction is based on the assumption that the relaxation systems and well-posed BCs for the corresponding equilibrium systems are given. This paper focuses on the linearized Suliciu model. We obtain strictly dissipative and compatible BCs for the linearized model with different non-characteristic boundaries. Moreover, the effectiveness of the constructed BCs is shown by resorting to formal asymptotic solutions and energy estimates.
Cosmic ray driven galactic winds
Authors: Recchia Sarah
Published: June 2020

Galactic winds constitute a primary feedback process in the ecology and evolution of galaxies. They are ubiquitously observed and exhibit a rich phenomenology, whose origin is actively investigated both theoretically and observationally. Cosmic rays have been widely recognized as a possible driving agent of galactic winds, especially in Milky–Way like galaxies. The formation of cosmic ray-driven winds is intimately connected with the microphysics of the cosmic ray transport in galaxies, making it an intrinsically non-linear and multiscale phenomenon. In this complex interplay, the cosmic ray distribution affects the wind launching and, in turns, is shaped by the presence of winds. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge of the physics of cosmic rays involved in the wind formation and of the wind hydrodynamics. We also discuss the theoretical difficulties connected with the study of cosmic ray-driven winds and possible future improvements and directions.
Decision-Making for the Selection of Suppliers Based on the Process Quality Assessment
Authors: Chen Kuen-Suan , Huang Chiao-Tzu , Chang Tsang-Chuan
Published: June 2020

Supplier selection is a practical problem in supply chain management and quality is the most important criterion in supplier selection. In this study, we developed a supplier selection model based on process quality, in which the Six Sigma quality index [Formula: see text] is used as a tool to assess the process quality provided by suppliers. Note that index estimation based on sample data is prone to uncertainty in the assessment of process quality. Therefore, we derived the confidence interval of [Formula: see text] via mathematical programming to reduce the likelihood of assessment miscalculations, and then used this interval to perform a pairwise comparison of suppliers. Our goal was to identify criteria that can be used to select the optimal suppliers for long-term collaborations and sustainable partnerships. A case study is also presented to demonstrate the practical implementation of the proposed method.
Distributed Load Identification for Uncertain Structure Based on LHS-GA and Improved L-Curve Method
Authors: Zhao Haitao , Li Xiaowang , Chen Ji’an
Published: June 2020

In order to identify the upper and lower bounds of distributed force exciting on an uncertain structure, a comprehensive approach combining genetic algorithm based on Latin hypercube sampling (LHS-GA) and improved L-curve method is built up in this paper. For uncertain parameter expressed by interval form, LHS-GA is presented to seeking the maximum and minimum amplitudes of distributed load in the interval. Aiming at distributed load reconstruction for a specific sampling point in the interval, which is the objective function of LHS-GA, the traditional L-curve method is improved to weaken the ill-posedness problem and obtain accurate distributed force amplitude. Numerical example results indicate the comprehensive method is able to acquire precise bounds of distributed load. Meanwhile, it possesses a strong anti-noise performance.
HOW INNOVATIVENESS MEDIATES THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP ON PERFORMANCE
Authors: SUIFAN TAGHRID
Published: June 2020

This study explores how innovativeness mediates the effects of organizational culture and leadership on performance. Survey data are collected from 288 middle and top managers in the Jordanian airline industry. Validity and reliability analyses are performed, and direct and indirect effects are tested using structural equation modeling. Innovativeness positively and significantly mediates the effects of organizational culture and leadership on performance. Organizational culture, in turn, may contribute to innovativeness and performance, depending on the effectiveness of the organization’s leadership style. A bureaucratic culture does not statistically or significantly correlate with the perceived organizational performance, but it does positively and significantly affect the perceived market performance. This study is one of the first investigations that connects innovativeness to culture and leadership, and provides empirical evidence on the topic.
New Descriptors of Textual Records: Getting Help from Frequent Itemsets
Authors: Bokhabrine Ayoub , Biskri Ismaïl , Ghazzali Nadia
Published: June 2020

The analysis of numerical data, whether structured, semi-structured, or raw, is of paramount importance in many sectors of economic, scientific, or simply social activity. The process of extraction of association rules is based on the lexical quality of the text and on the minimum support set by the user. In this paper, we implemented a platform named “IDETEX” capable of extracting itemsets from textual data and using it for the experimentation in different types of clustering methods, such as [Formula: see text]-Medoids and Hierarchical clustering. The experiments conducted demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach for defining similarity between segments.
Alpha-N-V2: Shortest Path Finder Automated Delivery Robot with Obstacle Detection and Avoiding System
Authors: Neloy Asif Ahmed , Bindu Rafia Alif , Alam Sazid , Haque Ridwanul , Khan Md. Saif Ahammod , Mishu Nasim Mahmud , Siddique Shahnewaz
Published: June 2020

An improved version of Alpha-N, a self-powered, wheel-driven Automated Delivery Robot (ADR), is presented in this study. Alpha-N-V2 is capable of navigating autonomously by detecting and avoiding objects or obstacles in its path. For autonomous navigation and path planning, Alpha-N uses a vector map and calculates the shortest path by Grid Count Method (GCM) of Dijkstra’s Algorithm. The RFID Reading System (RRS) is assembled in Alpha-N to read Landmark determination with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. With the help of the RFID tags, Alpha-N verifies the path for identification between source and destination and calibrates the current position. Along with the RRS, GCM, to detect and avoid obstacles, an Object Detection Module (ODM) is constructed by Faster R-CNN with VGGNet-16 architecture that builds and supports the Path Planning System (PPS). In the testing phase, the following results are acquired from the Alpha-N: ODM exhibits an accuracy of [Formula: see text], RRS shows [Formula: see text] accuracy and the PPS maintains the accuracy of [Formula: see text]. This proposed version of Alpha-N shows significant improvement in terms of performance and usability compared with the previous version of Alpha-N.
Stretching a Hanging Chain without Work
Authors: Kajiyama Yuji
Published: June 2020

We study a variation of the hanging chain problem. If one end (or both) of a hanging chain moves with stretching the chain along a path such that an external force(s) supporting the chain does not do any work, what path does the movable end draw? Sketching the path (“the workless curve”) will help students to acquire a qualitative understanding of work. In its mathematical derivation, one has to solve transcendental equations under an approximation including the Lambert [Formula: see text] function. It is suitable for undergraduate students in calculus-based physics courses.
Basic Physics and the Shape of Glaciers
Authors: Faraoni Valerio
Published: June 2020

Glaciers provide an impressive application of fluid mechanics and materials, and thermal physics. The basic microphysical properties of ice determine the shape of a glacier or ice cap. The order of magnitude of the maximum ice thickness is predicted using Weisskopf’s heuristic argument for the maximum height of a mountain, which involves only the specific latent heat of fusion and the acceleration of gravity. The local thickness of a glacier depends on the assumed ice rheology. The equations describing the steady state longitudinal glacier profile differ greatly for perfectly plastic ice and for ice following Glen’s law. Analytical solutions of these equations are derived: they fit well the data for ice caps but less so for alpine glaciers. Volume-area scaling, a major tool of glaciology, is discussed in relation with glacier profiles.
When Are Cyber Blackouts in Modern Service Networks Likely?
Authors: Pal Ranjan , Psounis Konstantinos , Crowcroft Jon , Hui Pan , Tarkoma Sasu , Kumar Abhishek , Kelly John , Chatterjee Aritra , Golubchik Leana , Sastry Nishanth , Nag Bodhibrata
Published: June 2020

Service liability interconnections among globally networked IT- and IoT-driven service organizations create potential channels for cascading service disruptions worth billions of dollars, due to modern cyber-crimes such as DDoS, APT, and ransomware attacks. A natural question that arises in this context is:
What is the likelihood of a cyber-blackout?
, where the latter term is defined as the probability that all (or a major subset of) organizations in a service chain become dysfunctional in a certain manner due to a cyber-attack at some or all points in the chain. The answer to this question has major implications to risk management businesses such as cyber-insurance when it comes to designing policies by risk-averse insurers for providing coverage to clients in the aftermath of such catastrophic network events. In this article, we investigate this question in general as a function of service chain networks and different cyber-loss distribution types. We show somewhat surprisingly (and discuss the potential practical implications) that, following a cyber-attack, the effect of (a) a network interconnection topology and (b) a wide range of loss distributions on the probability of a cyber-blackout and the increase in total service-related monetary losses across all organizations are
mostly
very small. The primary rationale behind these results are attributed to degrees of heterogeneity in the revenue base among organizations and the
Increasing Failure Rate
property of popular (i.i.d/non-i.i.d) loss distributions, i.e., log-concave cyber-loss distributions. The result will enable risk-averse cyber-risk managers to safely infer the impact of cyber-attacks in a worst-case network and distribution oblivious setting.
An Attention-based Rumor Detection Model with Tree-structured Recursive Neural Networks
Authors: Ma Jing , Gao Wei , Joty Shafiq , Wong Kam-Fai
Published: June 2020

Rumor spread in social media severely jeopardizes the credibility of online content. Thus, automatic debunking of rumors is of great importance to keep social media a healthy environment. While facing a dubious claim, people often dispute its truthfulness sporadically in their posts containing various cues, which can form useful evidence with long-distance dependencies. In this work, we propose to learn discriminative features from microblog posts by following their non-sequential propagation structure and generate more powerful representations for identifying rumors. For modeling non-sequential structure, we first represent the diffusion of microblog posts with propagation trees, which provide valuable clues on how a claim in the original post is transmitted and developed over time. We then present a bottom-up and a top-down tree-structured models based on
Recursive Neural Networks
(RvNN) for rumor representation learning and classification, which naturally conform to the message propagation process in microblogs. To enhance the rumor representation learning, we reveal that effective rumor detection is highly related to finding evidential posts, e.g., the posts expressing specific attitude towards the veracity of a claim, as an extension of the previous RvNN-based detection models that treat every post equally. For this reason, we design discriminative attention mechanisms for the RvNN-based models to selectively attend on the subset of evidential posts during the bottom-up/top-down recursive composition. Experimental results on four datasets collected from real-world microblog platforms confirm that (1) our RvNN-based models achieve much better rumor detection and classification performance than state-of-the-art approaches; (2) the attention mechanisms for focusing on evidential posts can further improve the performance of our RvNN-based method; and (3) our approach possesses superior capacity on detecting rumors at a very early stage.
Nuclear Reactions in Astrophysics: A Review of Useful Probes for Extracting Reaction Rates
Authors: Nunes F.M. , Potel G. , Poxon-Pearson T. , Cizewski J.A.
Published: June 2020

Astrophysical simulations require knowledge of a wide array of reaction rates. For a number of reasons, many of these reaction rates cannot be measured directly and instead are probed with indirect nuclear reactions. We review the current state of the art regarding the techniques used to extract reaction information that is relevant to describe stars, including their explosions and collisions. We focus on the theoretical developments over the last decade that have had an impact on the connection between the laboratory indirect measurement and the astrophysical desired reaction. This review includes three major probes that have been, and will continue to be, widely used in our community: transfer reactions, breakup reactions, and charge-exchange reactions.
A 1-V, 5 μW, Atto Current Bulk-Driven CMOS Based Operational Transconductance Amplifier for Biosensor Applications
Authors: Gifta G. , Rani D. Gracia Nirmala , Nirmal D.
Published: June 2020

There is an advent need in health industry, for an Implantable Medical Device (IMD) withlower power consumption, noise and area as much as possible, which aims at extending the life-span of the device by enhancing the performance of battery to avoid additional surgery and does not affect the tissue cells. The existing IMD detects a single disorder and consumes high power resulting in need of replacement within a period of time. Furthermore there is a sheer need to reduce the noise factor to achieve an uninterrupted signal. This paper proposes a novel Operational Transconductance Amplifier (OTA) which is used in the biosensors of IMD. The proposed OTA is designed in a 0.18 μm CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technology, the operational frequency is in the range of 0.36 Hz to 50 KHz and capable of measuring the gain in 60 dB. It consumes a negligible amount of (5 μW) power per OTA from 1-V single power supply and achieves minimal input referred noise of 1.24 μVrms, which is highly acceptable for biosensor used in IMD. The post layout simulation of the proposed integrated circuit has been performed successfully.
Impact of Different Gate Metals on the RF Performance of Gallium Oxide MOSFET
Authors: Yadava Narendra , Chauhan R. K.
Published: June 2020

The performance of gallium oxide MOSFET is limited due to the issues associated with the requirement of good contact materials for gate electrode. The single metal layer at the gate electrode does not possess all the suitable material properties such as good adhesive behavior, high work function, and low specific resistance. In this work, the effect of different metals, to modulate the work function of depletion-type gallium oxide MOSFET is studied so as to improve its RF performance. The advantage of work function modulation and energy band aligned gate electrode shows low specific contact resistivity with a good ohmic contact. The key figure of merits (FOMs) for its RF performance investigation includes intrinsic capacitances (Cgs & Cgd), output conductance (gd), transconductance (gm), and cut-off frequency (fT). This work elucidates that the Ti/Au metal stack with high fT value found to be superior for RF applications.