bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Validity and Reliability of the Thai Version of the Gait Assessment and Intervention Tool (G.A.I.T.)
Authors: Saengsuwan Jittima , Sirasaporn Patpiya
Published: August 2020

Introduction. The Gait Assessment and Intervention Tool (G.A.I.T.) is well-accepted for determining changes in gait quality in neurological patients. This study is aimed at translating the G.A.I.T. to Thai and to examine its validity and reliability. Methods. The Thai translation and back-translation into English were done according to international guidelines. Sixty-eight patients with subacute to chronic stroke were recruited. Concurrent validity was determined by the correlation coefficient between the Thai G.A.I.T. scale and a comfortable vs. fast gait speed. The convergent validity was determined by the correlation coefficient between the Thai G.A.I.T. and the lower extremity Motricity Index, the Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Interrater reliability was assessed using videos of 68 patients analysed by two independent raters. Each rater was randomly assigned to rescore the Thai G.A.I.T. for each patient over at least two weeks to assess intrarater reliability. Results. The concurrent validity of the Thai G.A.I.T. vs. the respective comfortable and fast gait speeds was excellent (Rs=−0.79 and Rs=−0.68, p<0.001). The respective convergent validity with the lower extremity Motricity Index, NIHSS, and FAC was Rs=−0.62, 0.57, and -0.51, respectively. The respective inter- and intrarater reliabilities were excellent (ICC=0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.96 and 0.95, 95% CI 0.91-0.97). Conclusion. A Thai version of the G.A.I.T. was developed, and its validity and reliability for use among patients with subacute to chronic stroke were established. Further work regarding the responsiveness of the tool is needed.
On the Cohomology and Extensions of n-ary Multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie Superalgebras
Authors: Tian Lijun , Guan Baoling , Ma Yao
Published: August 2020

In this paper, we discuss the representations of n-ary multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie superalgebras as a generalization of the notion of representations for n-ary multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie algebras. We also give the cohomology of an n-ary multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie superalgebra and obtain a relation between extensions of an n-ary multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie superalgebra b by an abelian one a and Z1b,a0¯. We also introduce the notion of T∗-extensions of n-ary multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie superalgebras and prove that every finite-dimensional nilpotent metric n-ary multiplicative Hom-Nambu-Lie superalgebra over an algebraically closed field of characteristic not 2 in the case α is a surjection is isometric to a suitable T∗-extension.
Assessment of Malaria Predisposing Factors among Crop Production Farmers Attending the Ndop District Hospital, Northwest Region of Cameroon
Authors: Nlinwe Nfor Omarine , Ateh Tamombi Akonji Emmanuel
Published: August 2020

The widespread impacts of malaria in the tropical regions of the developing world are not only on healthcare issues but also an agricultural output. Malaria causes manpower loss when it strikes farmers at critical planting, weeding, and harvesting times. Given the above, the expected outcome to malaria prevention programs in farming communities remains a far cry, especially where the predisposing factors are not properly identified and long-lasting solutions proffered. Consequently, this study was designed to assess the malaria predisposing factors among the crop production farmers attending the Ndop District Hospital. The microscopy method was used to determine the presence of malaria parasitaemia. The following categorical variables were considered predisposing factors: Sex, history on malaria illness/treatment, use of long-lasting insecticide nets (LLINs) and knowledge on malaria transmission/prevention. A four-point Likert-type rating scale was adopted for the scoring of the responses given on the predisposing factors, while Fisher’s exact test was used to assess the associations between malaria and each of the predisposing factors. The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among the crop production farmers was 20% (143/715). The predisposing factors tested were found to be significantly associated to the occurrence of malaria among the crop production farmers. Therefore, the combination of improved existing and innovative malaria control strategies may possibly ensure sustained malaria decrease among the farmers in the Ndop Health District.
Control Optimization of Stochastic Systems Based on Adaptive Correction CKF Algorithm
Authors: Hu FengJun , Zhang Qian , Wu Gang
Published: August 2020

Standard cubature Kalman filter (CKF) algorithm has some disadvantages in stochastic system control, such as low control accuracy and poor robustness. This paper proposes a stochastic system control method based on adaptive correction CKF algorithm. Firstly, a nonlinear time-varying discrete stochastic system model with stochastic disturbances is constructed. The control model is established by using the CKF algorithm, the covariance matrix of standard CKF is optimized by square root filter, the adaptive correction of error covariance matrix is realized by adding memory factor to the filter, and the disturbance factors in nonlinear time-varying discrete stochastic systems are eliminated by multistep feedback predictive control strategy, so as to improve the robustness of the algorithm. Simulation results show that the state estimation accuracy of the proposed adaptive cubature Kalman filter algorithm is better than that of the standard cubature Kalman filter algorithm, and the proposed adaptive correction CKF algorithm has good control accuracy and robustness in the UAV control test.
A Robust Direct Parameter Identification of Exponentially Damped Low-Frequency Oscillation in Power Systems
Authors: Chu Zhaobi , Pan Yuanyuan , Tang Haiyan , Zhu Min , Dong Xueping
Published: August 2020

Low-frequency oscillations in power systems can be modeled as an exponentially damped sinusoid (EDS) signal. Its frequency, damping factor, and amplitude are identified by the robust algorithm proposed in this paper. Under the condition of no noise, the exponentially convergent property of the proposed identification is proved by the use of time scale change, variable transformation, slow integral manifold, averaging method, and Lyapunov stability theorem in sequence. Under the condition of bounded additive noise, the antinoise performance of the identification of each parameter is investigated by the perturbed system theorem and error synthesis principle. The robustness of the proposed method is embodied in the following aspects: the exponential convergence for EDS signal with a wide range of frequency, especially with a rather low frequency; the boundary values of identification errors resulting from high-frequency sinusoidal noise of both frequency and damping factor can be adjusted by tuning the design parameters; and the different effects of the four design parameters on tracking performance and antinoise performance of each parameter identification. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the algorithm and validate the conclusions.
The Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for the Two-Dimensional Mathews-Lakshmanan Oscillator
Authors: Guangbao Wang , Guangtao Ding
Published: August 2020

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the theory and methods of analytical mechanics that can be effectively applied to the research of some nonlinear nonconservative systems through the case study of two-dimensionally coupled Mathews-Lakshmanan oscillator (abbreviated as M-L oscillator). (1) According to the inverse problem method of Lagrangian mechanics, the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian function in the form of rectangular coordinates of the two-dimensional M-L oscillator is directly constructed from an integral of the two-dimensional M-L oscillators. (2) The Lagrange and Hamiltonian function in the form of polar coordinate was rewritten by using coordinate transformation. (3) By introducing the vector form variables, the two-dimensional M-L oscillator motion differential equation, the first integral, and the Lagrange function are written. Therefore, the two-dimensional M-L oscillator is directly extended to the three-dimensional case, and it is proved that the three-dimensional M-L oscillator can be reduced to the two-dimensional case. (4) The two direct integration methods were provided to solve the two-dimensional M-L oscillator by using polar coordinate Lagrangian and pointed out that the one-dimensional M-L oscillator is a special case of the two-dimensional M-L oscillator.
Fluorescent Mitoxantrone Hydrochloride Nanoparticles Inhibit the Malignant Behavior of Giant Cell Tumor of Bone via miR-125b/PTH1R Axis
Authors: Su Baohui , Yuan Yanguang , Zhang Junshan , Li Yuezhong , Zhang Qihui
Published: August 2020

Objective. To explore the therapeutic effects and mechanism of fluorescent mitoxantrone hydrochloride nanoparticles on giant cell tumor of bone. Methods. The adsorption capacity of nanoparticles to hydroxyapatite (HA), cell adsorption capacity, encapsulation rate, particle size, and potential of the nanoparticles were determined by HPLC and Zetasizer Nano ZS nanomicelle potentiometer. MTT assay was used to determine the toxicity of nanoparticles to cells. The fluorescent intensity of the nanoparticles and their location in the cells were observed under a fluorescence microscope. RT-qPCR and Western blotting were then used to measure the expression levels of miRNA, mRNA, and proteins in cells. Transwell and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining tests were used to study the cell invasion and apoptotic rate, respectively. The dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment was then carried out to verify the binding relationship between miR-125b and its predicted target. Results. ALN-FOL-MTO-NLC nanoparticles showed a stronger adsorption capacity for HA and stronger toxicity to GCTB28 cells. Compared to normal tissues, the expression level of miR-125b in giant bone tumor tissue and cells was significantly downregulated, and the expression level of miR-125b was upregulated to some extent after treatment. Overexpression of miR-125b or treatment of ALN-FOL-MTO-NLC nanoparticles can inhibit the malignant behavior of GCTB28 cells, whereas the inhibition of the expression of miR-125b can promote the malignant behavior of GCTB28 cells. The result showed that parathyroid hormone receptor 1 (PTH1R) was a downstream target gene for miR-125b. Rescue experiment showed that the treatment of GCTB28 with ALN-FOL-MTO-NLC nanoparticles while inhibiting miR-125b expression can reduce the inhibitory effect of miR-125b on the malignant behavior of GCTB28 cells, whereas upregulating the expression levels of miR-125b and PTH1R in GCTB28 cells had no significant effect on the malignant behavior of GCTB28 cells. Conclusion. ALN-FOL-MTO-NLC nanoparticles have a certain inhibitory effect on the malignant behavior of giant cell tumor of bone through the miR-125b/PTH1R molecular axis.
Supergravity Model of Inflation and Explaining IceCube HESE Data via PeV Dark Matter Decay
Authors: Chakravarty Girish Kumar , Khan Najimuddin , Mohanty Subhendra
Published: August 2020

We construct a unified model of inflation and PeV dark matter with an appropriate choice of no-scale Kähler potential, superpotential, and gauge kinetic function in terms of MSSM fields and hidden sector Polonyi field. The model is consistent with the CMB observations and can explain the PeV neutrino flux observed at IceCube HESE. A Starobinsky-like Higgs-sneutrino plateau inflation is obtained from the D-term SUGRA potential while F-term being subdominant during inflation. To get PeV dark matter, SUSY breaking at PeV scale is achieved through Polonyi field. This sets the scale for soft SUSY breaking parameters m0,m1/2,A0 at the GUT scale in terms of the parameters of the model. The low-energy particle spectrum is obtained by running the RGEs. We show that the ~125 GeV Higgs and the gauge coupling unification can be obtained in this model. The 6 PeV bino-type dark matter is a subdominant fraction (~11%) of the relic density, and its decay gives the PeV scale neutrino flux observed at IceCube by appropriately choosing the couplings of the R-parity violating operators. Also, we find that there is degeneracy in scalar field parameters γ,β and coupling ζ value in producing the correct amplitude of CMB power spectrum. However, the value of parameter tanβ=1.8, which is tightly fixed from the requirement of PeV scale SUSY breaking, removes the degeneracy in the values of the scalar field parameters to provide a unique solution for inflation. In this way, it brings the explanation for dark matter, PeV neutrinos, and inflation within the same framework.
A Systematic Review on Clinimetric Properties of Play Instruments for Occupational Therapy Practice
Authors: Romli Muhammad Hibatullah , Wan Yunus Farahiyah
Published: August 2020

Play is considered the main occupation for children. Pediatric occupational therapists utilize play either for evaluation or intervention purpose. However, play is not properly measured by occupational therapists, and the use of play instrument is limited. This systematic review was aimed at identifying play instruments relevant to occupational therapy practice and its clinimetric properties. A systematic search was conducted on six databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection, Scopus, and ASEAN Citation Index) in January 2020. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using Law and MacDermid’s Appraisal for Clinical Measurement Research Reports, and psychometric properties of play instruments were evaluated using Terwee’s checklist while the clinical utility is extracted from each instrument. Initial search identifies 1,098 articles, and only 30 articles were included in the final analysis, extracting 8 play instruments. These instruments were predominantly practiced in the Western culture, which consists of several psychometric evidences. The Revised Knox Preschool Play Scale is considered the most extensive and comprehensive play instrument for extrinsic aspect, whereas the Test of Playfulness + Test of Environmental Supportiveness Unifying Measure is a promising play instrument for intrinsic aspect on play, where both instruments utilize observation. My Child’s Play is a potential questionnaire-based play instrument. However, the current development of play instruments in the occupational therapy field is immature and constantly evolving, and occupational therapists should exercise good clinical reasoning when selecting a play instrument to use in practice.
A Simple Method to Train the AI Diagnosis Model of Pulmonary Nodules
Authors: He Zhehao , Lv Wang , Hu Jian
Published: August 2020

Background. The differential diagnosis of subcentimetre lung nodules with a diameter of less than 1 cm has always been one of the problems of imaging doctors and thoracic surgeons. We plan to create a deep learning model for the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules in a simple method. Methods. Image data and pathological diagnosis of patients come from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from October 1, 2016, to October 1, 2019. After data preprocessing and data augmentation, the training set is used to train the model. The test set is used to evaluate the trained model. At the same time, the clinician will also diagnose the test set. Results. A total of 2,295 images of 496 lung nodules and their corresponding pathological diagnosis were selected as a training set and test set. After data augmentation, the number of training set images reached 12,510 images, including 6,648 malignant nodular images and 5,862 benign nodular images. The area under the P-R curve of the trained model is 0.836 in the classification of malignant and benign nodules. The area under the ROC curve of the trained model is 0.896 (95% CI: 78.96%~100.18%), which is higher than that of three doctors. However, the P value is not less than 0.05. Conclusion. With the help of an automatic machine learning system, clinicians can create a deep learning pulmonary nodule pathology classification model without the help of deep learning experts. The diagnostic efficiency of this model is not inferior to that of the clinician.
A Species Conservation-Based Particle Swarm Optimization with Local Search for Dynamic Optimization Problems
Authors: Shen Dingcai , Qian Bei , Wang Min
Published: August 2020

In the optimization of problems in dynamic environments, algorithms need to not only find the global optimal solutions in a specific environment but also to continuously track the moving optimal solutions over dynamic environments. To address this requirement, a species conservation-based particle swarm optimization (PSO), combined with a spatial neighbourhood best searching technique, is proposed. This algorithm employs a species conservation technique to save the found optima distributed in the search space, and these saved optima either transferred into the new population or replaced by the better individual within a certain distance in the subsequent evolution. The particles in the population are attracted by its history best and the optimal solution nearby based on the Euclidean distance other than the index-based. An experimental study is conducted based on the moving peaks benchmark to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm in comparison with several state-of-the-art algorithms widely used in dynamic optimization problems. The experimental results show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm for tracking the moving optima in dynamic environments.
Characterization ofStaphylococcus aureusStrains Isolated from Veterinary Hospital
Authors: Stella Ariel E. , Lima Thaís F. , Moreira Cecília N. , De Paula Eric M. N.
Published: August 2020

This study aims to detectStaphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) resistance in the veterinary hospital environment.S. aureusare one of the components of the microbiota, and they may be present in patients in a veterinary hospital environment. Methicillin resistance is determined by a chromosomal gene (mecA), which codes for modifications in the beta-lactam antibiotic receptor, where the penicillin-binding protein will have a low affinity for the antibiotic. Samples were collected through swabs of materials and equipment at the hospital.S. aureuswas identified in 7.6% (21/276) of the samples collected, and of the 21 strains isolated, 4 (19.0%) carried themecAgene. MRSA are all strains ofS. aureusthat express themecAgene. Four strains harbor themecAgene; however, only two expressed the phenotypic resistance to cefoxitin and were characterized as MRSA. An isolate (strain 18) present on a patient care table was identified as methicillin-resistantS. aureuswith intermediate sensitivity to vancomycin (VISA). Our observations suggest the need for containment measures (good antisepsis practices) to avoid the possible transmission of resistant bacterial agents for the veterinary hospital environment.
Transcript Profiles of Stria Vascularis in Models of Waardenburg Syndrome
Authors: Chen Linjun , Wang Lin , Chen Lei , Wang Fangyuan , Ji Fei , Sun Wei , Zhao Hui , Han Weiju , Yang Shiming
Published: August 2020

Background. Waardenburg syndrome is an uncommon genetic condition characterized by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies. However, the genetic pathway affecting the development of stria vascularis is not fully illustrated. Methods. The transcript profile of stria vascularis of Waardenburg syndrome was studied using Mitf-M mutant pig and mice models. Therefore, GO analysis was performed to identify the differential gene expression caused by Mitf-M mutation. Results. There were 113 genes in tyrosine metabolism, melanin formation, and ion transportations showed significant changes in pig models and 191 genes in mice models. In addition, there were some spice’s specific gene changes in the stria vascularis in the mouse and porcine models. The expression of tight junction-associated genes, including Cadm1, Cldn11, Pcdh1, Pcdh19, and Cdh24 genes, were significantly higher in porcine models compared to mouse models. Vascular-related and ion channel-related genes in the stria vascularis were also shown significantly difference between the two species. The expression of Col2a1, Col3a1, Col11a1, and Col11a2 genes were higher, and the expression of Col8a2, Cd34, and Ncam genes were lower in the porcine models compared to mouse models. Conclusions. Our data suggests that there is a significant difference on the gene expression and function between these two models.
Sources and Effects of Fluids in Continental Retrograde Shear Zones: Insights from the Kuckaus Mylonite Zone, Namibia
Authors: Stenvall C. A. , Fagereng A. , Diener J. F. A. , Harris C. , Janney P. E.
Published: August 2020

Midcrustal rocks in retrograde metamorphic settings are typically H2O-undersaturated and fluid-absent and have low permeability. Exhumed continental retrograde faults, nonetheless, show evidence for the operation of fluid-mediated weakening mechanisms during deformation at midcrustal conditions. To explore the origin and effects of fluids in retrograde faults, we study the Kuckaus Mylonite Zone (KMZ), an exhumed crustal-scale, strike-slip shear zone in the southern Namibian Namaqua Metamorphic Complex. The KMZ deformed quartzofeldspathic migmatised gneisses at midcrustal retrograde conditions (450-480°C, 270-420 MPa) in the Mesoproterozoic, 40 Ma after granulite facies peak metamorphism at 825°C and 550 MPa. The mylonites contain fully hydrated retrograde mineral assemblages, predominantly adjacent to anastomosing high-strain zones, providing evidence of local H2O saturation and fluid presence during deformation. Whole rock and quartz veinδ18O values suggest that at least some of the fluids were meteoric in origin. The rocks across the shear zone retain the effect of different protoliths, implying little effect of fluid-rock interaction on whole rock major element chemistry. Together with a general scarcity of quartz veins, this suggests that fluid/rock ratios remained low in the KMZ. However, even small amounts of H2O allowed reaction weakening and diffusion-precipitation, followed by growth and alignment of phyllosilicates. In the ultramylonites, a fine grain size in the presence of fluids allowed for grain size sensitive creep. We conclude that the influx of even small volumes of fluids into retrograde shear zones can induce drastic weakening by facilitating grain size sensitive creep and retrograde reactions. In retrograde settings, these reactions consume fluids, and therefore elevated fluid pressures will only be possible after considerable weakening has already occurred. Our findings imply that the range of seismic styles recently documented at active retrograde transform faults may not require high fluid pressures but could also arise from other local weakening mechanisms.
Enhanced Human Action Recognition Using Fusion of Skeletal Joint Dynamics and Structural Features
Authors: Muralikrishna S. N. , Muniyal Balachandra , Acharya U. Dinesh , Holla Raghurama
Published: August 2020

In this research work, we propose a method for human action recognition based on the combination of structural and temporal features. The pose sequence in the video is considered to identify the action type. The structural variation features are obtained by detecting the angle made between the joints during the action, where the angle binning is performed using multiple thresholds. The displacement vector of joint locations is used to compute the temporal features. The structural variation features and the temporal variation features are fused using a neural network to perform action classification. We conducted the experiments on different categories of datasets, namely, KTH, UTKinect, and MSR Action3D datasets. The experimental results exhibit the superiority of the proposed method over some of the existing state-of-the-art techniques.
Current Control and Active Damping for Single Phase LCL-Filtered Grid Connected Inverter
Authors: Alshiekh Mohammad , Marouf Alaa , Kubeitari Muhieddin
Published: August 2020

LCL filter has been widely used in the grid connected inverter, since it is effective in attenuation of the switching frequency harmonics in the inverter. However, the resonance in this filter causes stability problems and must be damped effectively to achieve stability. There are some methods to damp the resonance; one method is passive damping of resonance by adding a series resistor with the filter capacitor, but passive element reduces the inverter efficiency. Other method uses active damping (AD) by adding a proportional control loop of filter capacitor current, but this method needs additional sensor to measure filter capacitor current; moreover, when the control loops are digitally implemented, the computation delay in AD control loop will lead to some difficulties in choosing control parameters and maintaining system stability. This paper presents current control scheme for the grid connected inverter with the LCL filter. The proposed scheme ensures the control of injected current into grid with AD of the resonance in the LCL filter while keeping system stability and eliminating the effect of computation delay of the AD loop. An estimation of filter capacitor current with one step ahead is performed using the discrete time observer based on measuring the injected current. This reduces the cost and increases the robustness of the system. Proportional Resonant (PR) controller is used to control the injected current. Design of control system and choosing its parameters are studied and justified in details to ensure suitable performance with adequate stability margins. Simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed control scheme.
Algorithms for Investment Project Distribution on Regions
Authors: Alharbi Mafawez , Jemmali Mahdi
Published: August 2020

This paper proposes an optimization system for solving an NP-hard problem by using several new algorithms and application programs. This study aims to identify a suitable distribution of investment projects across several developed industrial regions. It is assumed that all industrial regions involved have the same economic and strategic characteristics. The problem involves a set of projects that are to be assigned across regions. Each project creates an estimated number of new jobs, and the distribution of projects can be guided by minimizing the maximum total number of newly created jobs. The problem is NP-hard one, and it is difficult to determine the most appropriate distribution. We apply scheduling algorithms in order to solve the analyzed problem. Severalheuristics are developedto obtain the appropriate distribution of newly created jobs across all regions. A branch-and-bound method is employed in order to obtain the exact solution. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by the experimental results for a total number of 1850 instances.
Morale in Old Age and Its Association with Sociodemographic, Social, and Health-Related Factors in Different Age Groups
Authors: Näsman Marina , Niklasson Johan , Saarela Jan , Nygård Mikael , Olofsson Birgitta , Gustafson Yngve , Nyqvist Fredrica
Published: August 2020

Morale can be viewed as a future-oriented optimism or pessimism regarding challenges associated with aging and is closely related to subjective well-being. Promoting morale in old age could be considered to have important implications for aging well, and increased knowledge about morale in different stages of old age is needed. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with morale in different age groups among old people. Data were derived from a survey conducted in 2016, as a part of the Gerontological Regional Database (GERDA). The sample consisted of 9,047 individuals aged between 65 and 86 years from Ostrobothnia and Southern Ostrobothnia in Finland, and Västerbotten in Sweden. Morale was measured with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) and regressed upon a number of sociodemographic, social, and health-related factors using linear regression analyses. The results showed that older age was an independent factor explaining lower level of morale. Additionally, the sociodemographic, social, and health-related variables could explain a large proportion of the variance in morale. Perceived loneliness, having gone through a crisis in life, poor self-rated health, and depression were associated with lower morale, and sleeping well with higher morale, in all age groups. Furthermore, the oldest age groups seem to be more exposed to several risk factors of lower morale identified in this study. Multidimensional interventions targeting especially social and mental health and the oldest-old could therefore be recommended.
Irregularity Measures for Metal-Organic Networks
Authors: Guo Xuan , Chu Yu-Ming , Hashmi Muhammad Khalid , Virk Abaid Ur Rehman , Li Jingjng
Published: August 2020

Topological index plays an important role in predicting physicochemical properties of a molecular structure. With the help of the topological index, we can associate a single number with a molecular graph. Drugs and other chemical compounds are frequently demonstrated as different polygonal shapes, trees, graphs, etc. In this paper, we will compute irregularity indices for metal-organic networks.
Adaptive Super-Twisting Sliding Mode Control for Mobile Robots Based on High-Gain Observers
Authors: Liu Haitao , Nie Jianhao , Sun Jian , Tian Xuehong
Published: August 2020

In this paper, a robust adaptive output feedback control strategy based on a sliding mode super-twisting algorithm is designed for the trajectory tracking control of a wheeled mobile robot. First, a robust adaptive law is designed to eliminate the influence of parameter uncertainties. Second, a double-power sliding mode surface is designed to improve the response speed of the robot system. Finally, a high-gain observer is employed to estimate the speed information. The stability of the closed-loop system is proved using the Lyapunov stability theorem. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified by simulation.
Estimating Wait Time and Passenger Load in a Saturated Metro Network: A Data-Driven Approach
Authors: Qu Hezhou , Xu Xiaoyue , Chien Steven
Published: August 2020

The service quality of public transit, such as comfort and convenience, is an important factor influencing ridership and fare revenue, which also reflects the passengers’ perception to the transit performance. Passengers are frustrated while waiting to board a crowded train especially during the peak hours, while the fail-to-board (FtB) situation commonly exists. The service performance measures determined by deterministic passenger demand and service frequency cannot reflect the perceived service of passengers. With the automatic fare collection system data provided by Chengdu Metro, we develop a data-driven approach considering the joint probability of spatiotemporal passenger demand at stations based on posted train schedule to approximate passenger travel time (e.g., in-vehicle and out-of-vehicle times). It was found that the estimated wait time can reflect the actual situation as passengers FtB. The proposed modeling approach and analysis results would be useful and beneficial for transit providers to improve system performance and service planning.
Study on Periplaneta americana (Blattodea: Blattidae) Fungal Infections in Hospital Sewer System, Esfahan City, Iran, 2017
Authors: Khodabandeh Maryam , Shirani-Bidabadi Leila , Madani Mahboobe , Zahraei-Ramazani Alireza
Published: August 2020

Background. American cockroaches contaminated with pathogens inside hospital manholes can be one of the major problems that health care systems face. Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the fungal infections of American cockroaches in the Esfahan hospital sewage network. The principle goal of the study was about the roaches as a vector of fungi and other pathogens. Method. The type of study was descriptive-analytical. A total of 55 American cockroach specimens from the manhole walls of the sewerage system of 7 large hospitals were captured. Samples were taken from the surface of the body, digestive tract, and haemocoel of cockroaches. The specimens were then cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar separately, and fungi were identified according to the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. Results. All cockroaches collected from hospitals were infected with fungi. Among the 24 (13 infected and 11 noninfected) (44%) female cockroaches and 31 (18 infected and 13 noninfected) (56%) male cockroaches, it was identified that 40.00% was infected with Aspergillus niger, 3.64% with Rhizopus, 7.27% with Penicillium, and 5.45% with Mucor. 6 cockroaches had no yeast contamination. 17 (30.91%) cockroaches were contaminated with Candida glabrata, 23 (41.82%) cockroaches were contaminated with Candida krusei, and 22 (40%) cockroaches were contaminated with other yeast species. The results of this study showed that Candida krusei had the highest prevalence among the isolated fungi with 35.37% of the digestive system and Aspergillus niger with 70.97% of the surface of the cockroach body. Conclusion. The results emphasized the role played by cockroaches as potential pathogenic vectors in hospital environments. Therefore, suitable management is needed for controlling this insect to prevent disease transmission in hospitals.
New Variant of Hermite–Jensen–Mercer Inequalities via Riemann–Liouville Fractional Integral Operators
Authors: Kang Qiong , Butt Saad Ihsan , Nazeer Waqas , Nadeem Mehroz , Nasir Jamshed , Yang Hong
Published: August 2020

In this paper, certain Hermite–Hadamard–Mercer-type inequalities are proved via Riemann–-Liouville fractional integral operators. We established several new variants of Hermite–Hadamard’s inequalities for Riemann–Liouville fractional integral operators by utilizing Jensen–Mercer inequality for differentiable mappingϒwhose derivatives in the absolute values are convex. Moreover, we construct new lemmas for differentiable functionsϒ′,ϒ″, andϒ‴and formulate related inequalities for these differentiable functions using variants of Hölder’s inequality.
Asymptotic Behavior and Stationary Distribution of a Nonlinear Stochastic Epidemic Model with Relapse and Cure
Authors: Ma Jiying , Yi Qing
Published: August 2020

In this paper, by introducing environmental perturbation, we extend an epidemic model with graded cure, relapse, and nonlinear incidence rate from a deterministic framework to a stochastic differential one. The existence and uniqueness of positive solution for the stochastic system is verified. Using the Lyapunov function method, we estimate the distance between stochastic solutions and the corresponding deterministic system in the time mean sense. Under some acceptable conditions, the solution of the stochastic system oscillates in the vicinity of the disease-free equilibrium if the basic reproductive number R0≤1, while the random solution oscillates near the endemic equilibrium, and the system has a unique stationary distribution if R0>1. Moreover, numerical simulation is conducted to support our theoretical results.
Chemical Constituents and Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Incense Smoke from Agarwood Determined by GC-MS
Authors: Peng De-Qian , Yu Zhang-Xin , Wang Can-Hong , Gong Bao , Liu Yang-Yang , Wei Jian-He
Published: August 2020

Agarwood is generally used to make incense sticks in China and Southeast Asia. It emits smoke with a pleasant odor when burned. There are few reports on the chemical components of smoke generated by burning or heating agarwood. The agarwoods were produced by the whole-tree agarwood-inducing technique (AWIT), agarwood induced by axe wounds (AAW), burning-chisel-drilling agarwood (BCDA), wood of Aquilaria sinensis trees (AS), respectively. Herein, we used GC-MS to analyze the chemical constituents of incense smoke generated from AWIT, AAW, BCDA, AS, and the extracts of sticks from agarwood produced by the whole-tree agarwood-inducing technique (EAWIT), and 484 compounds were identified. A total of 61 chemical constituents were shared among AWIT, AAW, and BCDA. The experimental data showed that aromatic compounds were the main chemical constituents in agarwood smoke and that some chromone derivatives could be cracked into low-molecular-weight aromatic compounds (LACs) at high temperature. Furthermore, agarwood incense smoke showed anti-inflammatory activities by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced TNF-α and IL-1α release in RAW264.7 cells.
Recommendations and Protocols for the Use of the Isotope Ratio Infrared Spectrometer (Delta Ray) to Measure Stable Isotopes from CO2: An Application to Volcanic Emissions at Mount Etna and Stromboli (Sicily, Italy)
Authors: Boudoire G. , Grassa F. , Giuffrida G. , Liuzzo M.
Published: August 2020

Among major volatiles released from the Earth’s interior, CO2 is an important target for the international community. The interest is keenly motivated by the contribution of CO2 in the Earth’s carbon budget and its role on past, current, and future climate dynamics. In particular, the isotopic signature of CO2 is fundamental to characterize the source of this gas and its evolution up to the atmosphere. The recent development of new laser-based techniques has marked an important milestone for the scientific community by favoring both high-frequency and in situ stable isotope measurements. Among them, the Delta Ray IRIS (Thermo Scientific Inc., Waltham, USA) is one of the most promising instruments thanks to its high precision, its limited interferences with other gaseous species (such as H2S and/or SO2), and its internal calibration procedure. These characteristics and the relative easiness to transport the Delta Ray IRIS have encouraged its use on the field to analyze volcanic CO2 emissions in recent years but often with distinct customized protocols of measurements. In this study, various tests in the laboratory and on the field have been performed to study the dependence of CO2 isotope measurements on analytical, instrumental, and environmental conditions. We emphasize the exceptional ability of the Delta Ray IRIS to perform isotope measurements for a large range of CO2 concentration (200 ppm–100%) thanks to a dilution system and to get a reliable estimation of the real CO2 content from the diluted one. These tests lead to point out major recommendations on the use of Delta Ray IRIS and allow the development of adapted protocols to analyze CO2 emissions like in volcanic environments.
A Multimodal Music Emotion Classification Method Based on Multifeature Combined Network Classifier
Authors: Chen Changfeng , Li Qiang
Published: August 2020

Aiming at the shortcomings of single network classification model, this paper applies CNN-LSTM (convolutional neural networks-long short-term memory) combined network in the field of music emotion classification and proposes a multifeature combined network classifier based on CNN-LSTM which combines 2D (two-dimensional) feature input through CNN-LSTM and 1D (single-dimensional) feature input through DNN (deep neural networks) to make up for the deficiencies of original single feature models. The model uses multiple convolution kernels in CNN for 2D feature extraction, BiLSTM (bidirectional LSTM) for serialization processing and is used, respectively, for audio and lyrics single-modal emotion classification output. In the audio feature extraction, music audio is finely divided and the human voice is separated to obtain pure background sound clips; the spectrogram and LLDs (Low Level Descriptors) are extracted therefrom. In the lyrics feature extraction, the chi-squared test vector and word embedding extracted by Word2vec are, respectively, used as the feature representation of the lyrics. Combining the two types of heterogeneous features selected by audio and lyrics through the classification model can improve the classification performance. In order to fuse the emotional information of the two modals of music audio and lyrics, this paper proposes a multimodal ensemble learning method based on stacking, which is different from existing feature-level and decision-level fusion methods, the method avoids information loss caused by direct dimensionality reduction, and the original features are converted into label results for fusion, effectively solving the problem of feature heterogeneity. Experiments on million song dataset show that the audio classification accuracy of the multifeature combined network classifier in this paper reaches 68%, and the lyrics classification accuracy reaches 74%. The average classification accuracy of the multimodal reaches 78%, which is significantly improved compared with the single-modal.
Simultaneous Determination of 34 Amino Acids in Tumor Tissues from Colorectal Cancer Patients Based on the Targeted UHPLC-MS/MS Method
Authors: Yang Yang , Zhang Feng , Gao Shouhong , Wang Zhipeng , Li Mingming , Wei Hua , Zhong Renqian , Chen Wansheng
Published: August 2020

A targeted ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was established and validated for the simultaneous determination of 34 amino acids in tissue samples from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 column (3.0 × 150 mm, 5 μm) with a binary gradient elution system (A, 0.02% heptafluorobutyric acid and 0.2% formic acid in water, v/v; B, methanol). The run time was 10 min. The multiple reaction monitoring mode was chosen with an electrospray ionization source operating in the positive ionization mode for data acquisition. The linear correlation coefficients were >0.99 for all the analytes in their corresponding calibration ranges. The sample was pretreated based on tissue homogenate and protein precipitation with a 100 mg aliquot sample. The average recovery and matrix effect for 34 amino acids and 3 internal standards were 39.00%∼146.95% and 49.45%∼173.63%, respectively. The intra- and interday accuracy for all the analytes ranged from −13.52% to 14.21% (RSD ≤8.57%) and from −14.52% to 12.59% (RSD ≤10.31%), respectively. Deviations of stability under different conditions were within ±15% for all the analytes. This method was applied to simultaneous quantification of 34 amino acids in tissue samples from 94 CRC patients.
Extensions of Dombi Aggregation Operators for Decision Making under m-Polar Fuzzy Information
Authors: Akram Muhammad , Yaqoob Naveed , Ali Ghous , Chammam Wathek
Published: August 2020

An m-polar fuzzy set is a powerful mathematical model to analyze multipolar, multiattribute, and multi-index data. The m-polar fuzzy sets have appeared as a useful tool to portray uncertainty in multiattribute decision making. The purpose of this article is to analyze the aggregation operators under the m-polar fuzzy environment with the help of Dombi norm operations. In this article, we develop some averaging and geometric aggregation operators using Dombi t-norm and t-conorm to handle uncertainty in m-polar fuzzy (mF, henceforth) information, which are mF Dombi weighted averaging (mFDWA) operator, mF Dombi ordered weighted averaging (mFDOWA) operator, mF Dombi hybrid averaging (mFDHA) operator, mF Dombi weighted geometric (mFDWG) operator, mF Dombi weighted ordered geometric operator, and mF Dombi hybrid geometric (mFDHG) operator. We investigate properties, namely, idempotency, monotonicity, and boundedness, for the proposed operators. Moreover, we give an algorithm to solve multicriteria decision-making issues which involve mF information with mFDWA and mFDWG operators. To prove the validity and feasibility of the proposed model, we solve two numerical examples with our proposed models and give comparison with mF-ELECTRE-I approach (Akram et al. 2019) and mF Hamacher aggregation operators (Waseem et al. 2019). Finally, we check the effectiveness of the developed operators by a validity test.
Comparative Analysis of Free Amino Acids and Nucleosides in Different Varieties of Mume Fructus Based on Simultaneous Determination and Multivariate Statistical Analyses
Authors: Ou Jinmei , Wang Rui , Li Xiaoli , Huang Luqi , Yuan Qingjun , Fang Chengwu , Wu Deling
Published: August 2020

Mume Fructus (MF) contains a variety of organic acids, free amino acids, and nucleoside components, and studies have not yet analyzed the relationship between the components of free amino acids and nucleosides with the varieties of MF. A rapid and sensitive method was established for simultaneous determination of 21 free amino acids and 9 nucleosides in MF by ultrafast liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The analysis was carried out on a Waters XBridge Amide column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) with elution by the mobile phase of 0.2% aqueous formic acid (A) and 0.2% formic acid acetonitrile (B) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min with 1 μL per injection. The column temperature was maintained at 30°C. The target compounds were analyzed by the positive ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The comprehensive evaluation of the samples was carried out by principal component analysis (PCA) and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) analysis. Results showed the method could simultaneously determine 30 components in MF. The content of total analytes in six mainstream varieties was different, exhibited the order Nangao > Daqingmei > Zhaoshuimei > Yanmei > Shishengme > Baimei, and aspartic acid and adenosine were the most abundant amino acid and nucleoside. PCA and OPLS-DA could easily distinguish the samples, and 11 components could be chemical markers of sample classification. TOPSIS implied that the quality of Nangao and Daqingmei was superior to the other varieties. The results could provide a reliable basis for quality evaluation and utilisation of medicinal and edible MF.
Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
Authors: Zeng Jianhui , Zhang Yongchao , Ma Jingsheng , Liu Changling , Cao Zhe
Published: August 2020

The migration of expelled hydrocarbon from source rock into unconventional tight reservoirs is subject to different pore-scale fluid transport mechanisms as opposed to the conventional counterparts and therefore plays a crucial role in controlling the hydrocarbon distribution and accumulation in the former. One of the different mechanisms is related to the formation of a more viscous boundary layer (BL) of brine, i.e., wetting phase fluid on pore surfaces, giving rise to the so-called BL effect. In this work, a two-phase pore network model (PNM) that considers this BL effect is developed to study the influences of pore-scale characteristics on the oil migration process, manifested through the BL effect in tight-sandstone media. Good agreements are reached between experimentally derived relative permeability curves and predicted ones, by applying this model to the pore-network networks extracted from the same samples. Then, this validated model was used to evaluate the impacts of the following factors on the oil migration process: pore radius, coordination number, aspect ratio, brine viscosity, and wettability. The results show that all factors can influence the oil migration process but at different magnitudes. The applicability and significance of the developed tight oil migration PNM are discussed in this work.