bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two microbiota subtypes identified in irritable bowel syndrome with distinct responses to the low FODMAP diet
Authors: Vervier Kevin , Moss Stephen , Kumar Nitin , Adoum Anne , Barne Meg , Browne Hilary , Kaser Arthur , Kiely Christopher J , Neville B Anne , Powell Nina , Raine Tim , Stares Mark D , Zhu Ana , De La Revilla Negro Juan , Lawley Trevor D , Parkes Miles
Published: November 2021

Objective

Reducing FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) can be clinically beneficial in IBS but the mechanism is incompletely understood. We aimed to detect microbial signatures that might predict response to the low FODMAP diet and assess whether microbiota compositional and functional shifts could provide insights into its mode of action.

Design

We used metagenomics to determine high-resolution taxonomic and functional profiles of the stool microbiota from IBS cases and household controls (n=56 pairs) on their usual diet. Clinical response and microbiota changes were studied in 41 pairs after 4 weeks on a low FODMAP diet.

Results

Unsupervised analysis of baseline IBS cases pre-diet identified two distinct microbiota profiles, which we refer to as IBSP (pathogenic-like) and IBSH (health-like) subtypes. IBSP microbiomes were enriched in Firmicutes and genes for amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism, but depleted in Bacteroidetes species. IBSH microbiomes were similar to controls. On the low FODMAP diet, IBSH and control microbiota were unaffected, but the IBSP signature shifted towards a health-associated microbiome with an increase in Bacteroidetes (p=0.009), a decrease in Firmicutes species (p=0.004) and normalisation of primary metabolic genes. The clinical response to the low FODMAP diet was greater in IBSP subjects compared with IBSH (p=0.02).

Conclusion

50% of IBS cases manifested a ‘pathogenic’ gut microbial signature. This shifted towards the healthy profile on the low FODMAP diet; and IBSP cases showed an enhanced clinical responsiveness to the dietary therapy. The effectiveness of FODMAP reduction in IBSP may result from the alterations in gut microbiota and metabolites produced. Microbiota signatures could be useful as biomarkers to guide IBS treatment; and investigating IBSP species and metabolic pathways might yield insights regarding IBS pathogenic mechanisms.
Should rare diseases get special treatment?
Authors: Magalhaes Monica
Published: November 2021

Orphan drug policy often gives ‘special treatment’ to rare diseases, by giving additional priority or making exceptions to specific drugs, based on the rarity of the conditions they aim to treat. This essay argues that the goal of orphan drug policy should be to make prevalence irrelevant to funding decisions. It aims to demonstrate that it is severity, not prevalence, which drives our judgments that important claims are being overlooked when treatments for severe rare diseases are not funded. It shows that prioritising severity avoids problems caused by prioritising rarity, and that it is compatible with a range of normative frameworks. The implications of a severity-based view for drug development are then derived. The severity-based view also accounts for what is wrong with how the current system of drug development unfairly neglects common diseases that burden the developing world. Lastly, the implications of a severity-based view for current orphan drug policies are discussed.
Does Zero-COVID neglect health disparities?
Authors: Jecker Nancy S , Au Derrick K S
Published: November 2021

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) first declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic, diverse strategies have emerged to address it. This paper focuses on two leading strategies, elimination and mitigation, and examines their ethical basis. Elimination or ‘Zero-COVID’ dominates policies in Pacific Rim societies. It sets as a goal zero deaths and seeks to contain transmission using stringent short-term lockdowns, followed by strict find, test, trace and isolate methods. Mitigation, which dominates in the US and most European nations, sets targets for community transmission and lifts restrictions once targets are met. This approach takes calculated risks and regards a certain amount of disease and death as ethically justified. Section I examines different societal responses to risk that underlie these different policy approaches. Section II focuses on ethical arguments favouring Zero-COVID and raises health equity objections. Section III proposes a long-term strategy that balances the twin goals of promoting population health and health equity.
Unified FSM treatment of CP physics extended to hidden sector giving (i) δCP for leptons as prediction, (ii) new hints on the material content of the universe
Authors: Bordes José , Chan Hong-Mo , Tsou Sheung Tsun
Published: November 2021

A unified treatment of CP physics for quarks and leptons in the framed Standard Model (FSM) is extended to include the predicted hidden sector giving as consequences: (i) that an earlier part estimate of the Jarlskog invariant [Formula: see text] for leptons is turned into a prediction for its actual value, i.e. [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text], which is of the right order of magnitude, of the right sign, and in the range of values favoured by the present experiment, (ii) some novel twists to the effects of CP-violation on the material content of the universe.
Khovanov polynomials for satellites and asymptotic adjoint polynomials
Authors: Anokhina A. , Morozov A. , Popolitov A.
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we compute explicitly the Khovanov polynomials (using the computer program from katlas.org) for the two simplest families of the satellite knots, which are the twisted Whitehead doubles and the two-strand cables. We find that a quantum group decomposition for the HOMFLY polynomial of a satellite knot can be extended to the Khovanov polynomial, whose quantum group properties are not manifest. Namely, the Khovanov polynomial of a twisted Whitehead double or two-strand cable (the two simplest satellite families) can be presented as a naively deformed linear combination of the pattern and companion invariants. For a given companion, the satellite polynomial “smoothly” depends on the pattern but for the “jump” at one critical point defined by the [Formula: see text]-invariant of the companion knot. A similar phenomenon is known for the knot Floer homology and [Formula: see text]-invariant for the same kind of satellites.
Complex Fluctuation of Power Price in Dual-Channel and Multienergy Supply Chain Based on Sticky Expectation
Authors: Wu Fang , Ma Junhai , Li Yaping
Published: November 2021

According to the current power supply focused reform in China, a dual-channel and multienergy supply chain model is constructed. The supply chain has a new energy enterprise, a traditional energy enterprise, and the State Grid that is the retailer. New energy company and traditional energy company sell electricity to the State Grid at wholesale prices, and at the same time they enter the market to retail power products. Multiequilibriums and their practical significance are discussed. The complex dynamic is investigated using a bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov exponent, parameter basin, and fractal dimension. In this multilayer supply chain network, the price adjustment of the State Grid will make the entire supply chain face greater volatility risks, and dual-channel suppliers, that is, new energy and traditional energy companies are also involved in this volatility. Further, considering the sticky information, the sticky expectation of electricity price is built for studying the lagging electricity price. The dynamic characteristics of the sticky model are investigated, and new phenomena are discovered: 3-orbit bifurcation and mutation appear with fractals. This means that prices continue to swing and oscillate on three tracks. Through comparison of the fractal dimension, an important conclusion is discovered: the purpose of sticky expectations for electricity prices is to stabilize price fluctuations, but sticky expectations make the market more complicated. The article provides a strategic reference for exploring the power market in China.
The Effects of Symmetry Breaking Perturbation on the Dynamics of a Novel Chaotic System with Cyclic Symmetry: Theoretical Analysis and Circuit Realization
Authors: Kengne Jacques , Dountsop Sandrine Zoulewa , Chedjou Jean Chamberlain , Nosirov Khabibullo
Published: November 2021

Symmetry is an important property shared by a large number of nonlinear dynamical systems. Although the study of nonlinear systems with a symmetry property is very well documented, the literature has no sufficient investigation on the important issues concerning the behavior of such systems when their symmetry is broken or altered. In this work, we introduce a novel autonomous 3D system with cyclic symmetry having a piecewise quadratic nonlinearity [Formula: see text] where parameter [Formula: see text] is fixed and parameter [Formula: see text] controls the symmetry and the nonlinearity of the model. Obviously, for [Formula: see text] the system presents both cyclic and inversion symmetries while the inversion symmetry is explicitly broken for [Formula: see text]. We consider in detail the dynamics of the new system for both two regimes of operation by using classical nonlinear analysis tools (e.g. bifurcation diagrams, plots of largest Lyapunov exponents, phase space trajectory plots, etc.). Several nonlinear patterns are reported such as period doubling, periodic windows, parallel bifurcation branches, hysteresis, transient chaos, and the coexistence of multiple attractors of different topologies as well. One of the most gratifying features of the new system introduced in this work is the existence of several parameter ranges for which up to twelve disconnected periodic and chaotic attractors coexist. This latter feature is rarely reported, at least for a simple system like the one discussed in this work. An electronic analog device of the new cyclic system is designed and implemented in PSpice. A very good agreement is observed between PSpice simulation and the theoretical results.
Dynamics of Dissipative Systems with Hamiltonian Structures
Authors: Zhang Xiaoming , Cao Zhenbang , Xie Jianhua , Li Denghui , Grebogi Celso
Published: November 2021

In this work, we study a class of dissipative, nonsmooth [Formula: see text] degree-of-freedom dynamical systems. As the dissipation is assumed to be proportional to the momentum, the dynamics in such systems is conformally symplectic, allowing us to use some of the Hamiltonian structure. We initially show that there exists an integral invariant of the Poincaré–Cartan type in such systems. Then, we prove the existence of a generalized Liouville Formula for conformally symplectic systems with rigid constraints using the integral invariant. A two degree-of-freedom system is analyzed to support the relevance of our results.
SPLINES SOLUTIONS OF HIGHER-ORDER BVPs THAT ARISE IN CONSISTENT MAGNETIZED FORCE FIELD
Authors: KHALID AASMA , REHAN AKMAL , NISAR KOTTAKKARAN SOOPPY , ABDEL-ATY ABDEL-HALEEM , ZAKARYA MOHAMMED
Published: November 2021

In this paper, cubic polynomial and nonpolynomial splines are developed to solve solutions of 10th- and 12th-order nonlinear boundary value problems (BVPs). Such types of BVPs occur when a consistent magnetized force field is applied crosswise the fluid in the substance of gravitational force. We will amend our problem into such a form that converts the system of [Formula: see text]th- [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]th-order BVPs into a new system of [Formula: see text]nd-order BVPs. The appropriate outcomes by using CP Spline and CNP Spline are compared with the exact root. To show the efficiency of our results, absolute errors calculated by using CP Spline and CNP Spline have been compared with other methods like differential transform method, Adomian decomposition method, variational iteration method, cubic B-spline, homotopy perturbation method, [Formula: see text]th- and [Formula: see text]th-order B-spline and our results are very encouraging. Graphs and tables are also presented in the numerical section of this paper.
Reliability Analysis of an Automobile System Using Idea Algebra Method Equipped with Dynamic Bayesian Network
Authors: Amrin Andas , Zarikas Vasilios , Spitas Christos
Published: November 2021

In this work, a methodology that uses the dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs) in combination with an idea algebra is developed for assessing the dynamic reliability of engineering systems. A network representation of the system topology is first introduced in the form of “idea” objects representing components and their functional interfaces, thus integrating the functional and material descriptions of the system. Various time-dependent functionalities can thus be mapped to segments or loops of the resulting network, which are then translated automatically into the form of a DBN, thereby avoiding the need to manually generate the dynamic fault tree (DFT) logic that would normally serve as a starting point. The methodology is demonstrated in a case study, where reliability analysis of an automobile system is performed. The idea algebra is automatically deployed in Mathematica and evaluated in the GeNIe platform. Weibull distribution was used for the generation of the dynamic values for the reliability analysis of the system within a certain period.
Identifying the News in Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts Revisions: An Alternative to the Random Walk Expectation
Authors: Pfeiffer Ray , Teitel Karen , Wahab Susan , Wahab Mahmoud
Published: November 2021

Previous research indicates that analysts’ forecasts are superior to time series models as measures of investors’ earnings expectations. Nevertheless, research also documents predictable patterns in analysts’ forecasts and forecast errors. If investors are aware of these patterns, analysts’ forecast revisions measured using the random walk expectation are an incomplete representation of changes in investors’ earnings expectations. Investors can use knowledge of errors and biases in forecasts to improve upon the simple random walk expectation by incorporating conditioning information. Using data from 2005 to 2015, we compare associations between market-adjusted stock returns and alternative specifications of forecast revisions to determine which best represents changes in investors’ earnings expectations. We find forecast revisions measured using a ‘bandwagon expectations’ specification, which includes two prior analysts’ forecast signals and provides the most improvement over random-walk-based revision measures. Our findings demonstrate benefits to considering information beyond the previously issued analyst forecast when representing investors’ expectations of analysts’ forecasts.
A low-carbon future for The North Sea Basin
Authors: Quirk David G. , Underhill John R. , Gluyas Jon G. , Howe Matthew J. , Wilson Hamish A. M. , Anderson Sean
Published: November 2021

Human emissions of greenhouse gases have caused a predictable rise of 1.2 °C in global temperatures. Over the last 70 years, the rise has occurred at a geologically unprecedented speed and scale. To avoid a worsening situation, most developed nations are turning to renewable sources of power to meet their climate commitments, including the UK, Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands. The North Sea basin offers many advantages in the transition from fossil fuels by virtue of its natural resources, physical setting, offshore infrastructure and skilled workforce. Nonetheless, the magnitude of the up-front costs and the scale required to achieve net zero emissions are rarely acknowledged. In addition, some of the technologies being planned are commercially immature. In particular, the current cost of the capture, transport and disposal of carbon dioxide is problematic as a large-scale solution to industrial emissions. Repurposing the North Sea to meet a low-carbon future will require substantial collaboration between governments and industrial sectors. There are nonetheless significant opportunities for companies prepared to switch from the traditional oil and gas business to renewable energy production and other sustainable activities.
Reinforcement Learning in Healthcare: A Survey
Authors: Yu Chao , Liu Jiming , Nemati Shamim , Yin Guosheng
Published: November 2021

As a subfield of machine learning,
reinforcement learning
(RL) aims at optimizing decision making by using interaction samples of an agent with its environment and the potentially delayed feedbacks. In contrast to traditional supervised learning that typically relies on one-shot, exhaustive, and supervised reward signals, RL tackles sequential decision-making problems with sampled, evaluative, and delayed feedbacks simultaneously. Such a distinctive feature makes RL techniques a suitable candidate for developing powerful solutions in various healthcare domains, where diagnosing decisions or treatment regimes are usually characterized by a prolonged period with delayed feedbacks. By first briefly examining theoretical foundations and key methods in RL research, this survey provides an extensive overview of RL applications in a variety of healthcare domains, ranging from dynamic treatment regimes in chronic diseases and critical care, automated medical diagnosis, and many other control or scheduling problems that have infiltrated every aspect of the healthcare system. In addition, we discuss the challenges and open issues in the current research and highlight some potential solutions and directions for future research.
A Comprehensive Taxonomy of Dynamic Texture Representation
Authors: Nguyen Thanh Tuan , Nguyen Thanh Phuong
Published: November 2021

Representing dynamic textures (DTs) plays an important role in many real implementations in the computer vision community. Due to the turbulent and non-directional motions of DTs along with the negative impacts of different factors (e.g., environmental changes, noise, illumination, etc.), efficiently analyzing DTs has raised considerable challenges for the state-of-the-art approaches. For 20 years, many different techniques have been introduced to handle the above well-known issues for enhancing the performance. Those methods have shown valuable contributions, but the problems have been incompletely dealt with, particularly recognizing DTs on large-scale datasets. In this article, we present a comprehensive taxonomy of DT representation in order to purposefully give a thorough overview of the existing methods along with overall evaluations of their obtained performances. Accordingly, we arrange the methods into six canonical categories. Each of them is then taken in a brief presentation of its principal methodology stream and various related variants. The effectiveness levels of the state-of-the-art methods are then investigated and thoroughly discussed with respect to quantitative and qualitative evaluations in classifying DTs on benchmark datasets. Finally, we point out several potential applications and the remaining challenges that should be addressed in further directions. In comparison with two existing shallow DT surveys (i.e., the first one is out of date as it was made in 2005, while the newer one (published in 2016) is an inadequate overview), we believe that our proposed comprehensive taxonomy not only provides a better view of DT representation for the target readers but also stimulates future research activities.
Gains and Losses of Agricultural Food Production: Implications for the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Komarnytsky Slavko , Retchin Sophia , Vong Chi In , Lila Mary Ann
Published: November 2021

The world food supply depends on a diminishing list of plant crops and animal livestock to not only feed the ever-growing human population but also improve its nutritional state and lower the disease burden. Over the past century or so, technological advances in agricultural and food processing have helped reduce hunger and poverty but have not adequately addressed sustainability targets. This has led to an erosion of agricultural biodiversity and balanced diets and contributed to climate change and rising rates of chronic metabolic diseases. Modern food supply chains have progressively lost dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates, micronutrients, and several classes of phytochemicals with high bioactivity and nutritional relevance. This review introduces the concept of agricultural food systems losses and focuses on improved sources of agricultural diversity, proteins with enhanced resilience, and novel monitoring, processing, and distribution technologies that are poised to improve food security, reduce food loss and waste, and improve health profiles in the near future.
Genetic Regulation of RIPK1 and Necroptosis
Authors: Xu Daichao , Zou Chengyu , Yuan Junying
Published: November 2021

The receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) is recognized as a master upstream regulator that controls cell survival and inflammatory signaling as well as multiple cell death pathways, including apoptosis and necroptosis. The activation of RIPK1 kinase is extensively modulated by ubiquitination and phosphorylation, which are mediated by multiple factors that also control the activation of the NF-κB pathway. We discuss current findings regarding the genetic modulation of RIPK1 that controls its activation and interaction with downstream mediators, such as caspase-8 and RIPK3, to promote apoptosis and necroptosis. We also address genetic autoinflammatory human conditions that involve abnormal activation of RIPK1. Leveraging these new genetic and mechanistic insights, we postulate how an improved understanding of RIPK1 biology may support the development of therapeutics that target RIPK1 for the treatment of human inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Development of a Liquid Immersion-Type Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery Under High-Pressure
Authors: Maeda Kouji , Yae Shinji , Fukumuro Naoki , Iimura Kenji , Matsumoto Ayumu
Published: November 2021

A nickel-metal hydride (Ni–MH) prototype battery completely immersed in an aqueous electrolyte solution of KOH under high-pressure was fabricated to examine the effects of high-pressure on the quality of Ni–MH batteries. The small battery cell comprised positive and negative electrode materials, as used in electric vehicles, and an Ag/AgO reference electrode. The electric capacity of the Ni–MH battery was measured at different temperatures and pressures with small currents and charge/discharge voltages of 1.6–1.0 V. High-pressure was found to clearly and effectively enhance the electric capacity of the Ni–MH battery at larger currents. The considerable effect of high-pressure on the Ni–MH battery was elucidated by the change in internal resistance during the charge/discharge cycle life experiment, indicating that the voltage of the positive electrode did not appreciably change under high-pressure compared to that of the negative electrode. Moreover, the use of large currents in rapid charge/discharge cycle tests at high pressures of up to 30 MPa resulted in charge/discharge cycles that were five times faster and a quick recovery of capacity was achieved in the 0.5–2.1 V range.
Factors Affecting the Incidence, Progression, and Severity of COVID‐19 in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Ahmed Amira S. , Alotaibi Wejdan S. , Aldubayan Maha A. , Alhowail Ahmad H. , Al-Najjar Amal H. , Chigurupati Sridevi , Elgharabawy Rehab M.
Published: November 2021

Objectives. This study screened for factors affecting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) incidence in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients, appraised vitamin D’s efficacy in preventing COVID‐19, and assessed the effects of clinical characteristics, glycemic status, vitamin D, and hydroxychloroquine administration on COVID‐19’s progression and severity in T1DM patients. Methods. This retrospective research on 150 adults was conducted at Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, KSA. Participants were allocated to three groups (50/group): control, T1DM, and T1DM with COVID‐19. Participants’ fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), complete blood count, vitamin D, C‐reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, D‐dimer, liver and kidney function, and hydroxychloroquine treatment were retrieved and analyzed. Results. The percentages of comorbidities and not taking hydroxychloroquine were significantly higher among T1DM patients with COVID‐19 than patients with T1DM only. Mean vitamin D level was significantly lower in T1DM with COVID‐19 patients than in the other two groups. Vitamin D showed a significant negative correlation with LDH, CRP, ESR, ferritin, and D‐dimer, which was the most reliable predictor of COVID‐19 severity in T1DM patients. Conclusion. Comorbidities and vitamin D deficiency are risk factors for COVID‐19 in patients with T1DM. Patients who do not take hydroxychloroquine and have higher FBG and HbA1c levels are vulnerable to COVID‐19. Vitamin D may be useful for preventing COVID‐19 in T1DM patients. Comorbidities, higher FBG and HbA1c levels, not taking hydroxychloroquine, and vitamin D inadequacy elevate COVID‐19 progression and severity in patients with T1DM.
Construction of Uniaxial Interaction Diagram for Slender Reinforced Concrete Column Based on Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Ahmed Bedaso , Zerfu Kefiyalew , Agon Elmer C.
Published: November 2021

Slender reinforced concrete column may fail in material failure or instability failure. Instability failure is a common problem which cannot be analyzed with first‐order analysis. So, second‐order analysis is required to analyze instability failure of slender RC column. The main objective of this study was to construct uniaxial interaction diagram for slender reinforced concrete column based on nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) software. The key parameters which were studied in this study were eccentricity, slenderness ratio, steel ratio, and shape of the column. Concrete damage plasticity (CDP) was utilized in modeling the concrete. Material nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity, effect of cracking, and tension stiffening effect were included in the modeling. The results reveal that, as slenderness ratio increases, the balanced moment also increases, but the corresponding axial load was decreased. However, increasing the amount of steel reinforcement to the column increases the stability of the column and reduces the effect of slenderness ratio. Also, the capacity of square slender RC column is larger than rectangular slender RC column with equivalent cross section. However, the result is close to each other as slenderness ratio increased. Finally, validation was conducted by taking a benchmark experiment, and it shows that FEA result agrees with the experimental by 85.581%.
Dual-Channel Green Supply Chain Decision-Making and Coordination considering CSR and Consumer Green Preferences
Authors: Chen Xiaochun , Zhang Rui , Lv Bo
Published: November 2021

With the rapid development of the Internet and changes in consumer buying habits, many manufacturers are increasingly relying on online channels to sell their products as opposed to traditional retail channels. In this study, we innovatively investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer green preferences (CGP) on supply chain performance and product green level in the dual-channel green supply chain (DCGSC). Specifically, four models of DCGSC (centralized, independent CSR, cooperative CSR, and collaboration contract) are investigated. Next, we use game theory to investigate the optimal product green level, online and offline selling prices, social welfare, profits of supply chain enterprises, and the whole supply chain under the four models. We give numerical examples to demonstrate the effectiveness and viability of the four models. We find several interesting conclusions. First, increasing the attention to both CSR and CGP by supply chain enterprises is conducive to stimulating innovation and improving product green level. Second, when supply chain enterprises actively execute their CSR, they can reasonably control online and offline selling prices and increase consumer surplus and the profits of whole supply chain and social welfare are increased. Third, it is beneficial to increase the value of supply chain enterprises to enhance CSR within a certain threshold, but when CSR is higher than the threshold, the profitability of supply chain enterprises is weakened. Finally, collaboration contracts are capable of coordinating DCGSC and guaranteeing the profitability of supply chain enterprises.
Characterization of Medication Trends for Chronic Kidney Disease: Mineral and Bone Disorder Treatment Using Electronic Health Record‐Based Common Data Model
Authors: Han Sungdam , Son Minkook , Choi Byungjin , Park ChulHyoung , Shin Dong Ho , Jung Jong Hwan , Lee Min-Jeong , Shin Gyu-Tae , Kim Heungsoo , Park Rae Woong , Park Inwhee
Published: November 2021

Chronic kidney disease–mineral bone disorder (CKD‐MBD) is the most common complication in CKD patients. Although there is a consensus on treatment guidelines for CKD‐MBD, it remains uncertain whether these treatment recommendations reflect actual practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the CKD‐MBD medication trend in real‐world practice. This was a retrospective and observational study using a 12‐year period database transformed into a common data model from three tertiary university hospitals. Study populations were subjects initially diagnosed as CKD. The date of diagnosis was designated as the index date. New patients were categorized year to year from 2008 to 2019 with a fixed observation period of 365 days to check the prescription of CKD‐MBD medications including calcium‐containing phosphate binder, noncalcium‐containing phosphate binder, aluminium hydroxide, vitamin D receptor activator (VDRA), and cinacalcet. The numbers of CKD patients in the three hospitals were 7555, 2424, and 5351, respectively. The proportion for patients with CKD‐MBD medication prescription decreased yearly regardless of hospital and CKD stage (p for trend < 0.05). The use of aluminium hydroxide disappeared steadily while the use of VDRA increased annually in all settings. Despite these changes in prescription patterns, the mean value for CKD‐MBD‐related serologic markers was almost within target range. The proportion of the population within the target value was not significantly changed. Irrespective of hospital and CKD stage, similar trends of prescription for CKD‐MBD medications were observed in real‐world practice. Further research with a distributed network study may be helpful to understand medication trends in CKD‐MBD treatment.
A Maximum Transfer Efficiency Tracking Method for Dynamic Wireless Charging Systems of Electric Vehicles
Authors: Trung Nguyen Kien , Diep Nguyen Thi
Published: November 2021

This paper proposes a new control method to improve transfer efficiency for dynamic wireless charging systems of electric vehicles (EVs). In the charging process, the equivalent impedance in the receiving side varies according to the state of charge of the battery system that reduces the transfer efficiency. An impedance control circuit is constructed on the receiving side to track the optimization impedance that transfer efficiency is maximized. However, the optimization impedance depends on the coupling coefficient. Therefore, in this paper, the coupling coefficient, which varies according to the EVs position, is online estimated only from the receiving side. A 1.5 kW dynamic wireless charging system prototype is built in the laboratory environment. In experiment results, the greatest transfer efficiency obtains 94.14% when the EVs move in aligned on the charging lane. Furthermore, the proposed control method improves by 6% on the transfer efficiency in the case of 30% misalignment when the transfer efficiency obtains 91%.
Association of KCNQ1rs2237892C
⟶
T Gene with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Han Wen-Jia , Deng Jian-Yi , Jin Hua , Yin Li-Ping , Yang Jin-Xia , Sun Jiang-Jie
Published: November 2021

Background. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases in adults, causing high morbidity and mortality worldwide. In recent years, the prevalence of T2DM has been increasing significantly, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that KCNQ1 significantly increases the risk of T2DM. Objective. To find large-scale evidence on whether the KCNQ1rs2237892C⟶T gene polymorphism is associated with T2DM susceptibility. Methods. A comprehensive review of the Chinese and English literature on the association of T2DM with KCNQ1rs2237892 is published by PubMed and Baidu Academic. The included literature was part or all of the studied loci which were evaluated for association with T2DM. Forest plots were made of the included literature to analyze the association of KCNQ1 with polymorphisms of the studied loci, and funnel plots and Egger’s test were used to evaluate the publication bias of the selected included literature. Results. Ten case-control studies including a total of 7027 cases and 8208 controls met our inclusion criteria. Allele (C allele frequency distribution) (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 0.87,1.62;

P
<
0.00001

), recessive (OR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.45,1.18;

P
<
0.00001

) genetic model under the full population was observed between KCNQ1rs2237892C⟶T gene polymorphism and T2DM without a significant relationship. In a stratified analysis by race, a meaningful association was found in non-Asian populations under the allelic genetic model, but no association was found in Asian populations. Conclusion. This meta-analysis showed no significant association between the rs2237892 polymorphism of the KCNQ1 gene and the risk of T2DM.
Effects of Hypoxia on Selected Psychophysiological Stress Responses of Military Aircrew
Authors: Bustamante-Sánchez A. , Gil-Cabrera J. , Tornero-Aguilera J. F. , Fernandez-Lucas Jesús , Ramos-Campo Domingo Jesús , Clemente-Suárez V. J.
Published: November 2021

There is a lack of information on the psychophysiological response of pilots under hypoxic conditions. The study of the physiological, psychological, cardiorespiratory, neurological, behavioural, sensory, and cognitive symptoms that may appear during training in hypobaric chambers is essential to optimize the training processes of aircrew members. Thus, the present study is aimed at analyzing the psychophysiological responses of aircrew members in an incremental hypoxia training protocol. Psychophysiological responses of 44 aircrew members (34 males and 10 females) in an incremental hypoxia training protocol (3 minutes at 0 meters, 8 minutes at 5,000 meters, and maximum time at 7500 meters) were measured. Results suggested that the incremental hypoxia training protocol did not affect cortical arousal and handgrip strength; however, it increased the sympathetic tone, perceived stress, perceived effort, and heart rate and decreased forced expiratory volume and blood oxygen saturation. Thus, we concluded that acute hypoxic hypobaric exposure leads to decreased parasympathetic tone, blood oxygen saturation, and maximal spirometry values, without negatively affecting handgrip strength and cortical arousal. This information will lead to find specific training systems that meet the real needs of aircrew.
Safety Risk Evaluation of Construction Site Based on Unascertained Measure and Analytic Hierarchy Process
Authors: Liang Baorui , Zhang Suhua , Li Dongping , Zhai Yuxin , Wang Fei , Shi Lexian , Wang Yongbo
Published: November 2021

Due to the high risk of construction sites, it is necessary to make safety risk evaluation. With the synthetic consideration of the complexity and uncertainty of construction sites, a comprehensive evaluation index system with two levels has been based on the emphases and difficulties of the current safety work in construction industry; the index system includes civilized construction site, management of machinery, equipment, materials, occupation health protection, and the subpackage management, such as 6 one-level evaluation indexes, inspection system of safety risk, safety awareness education, and prevention and control of occupation disease, such as 33 two-level evaluation indexes. The research takes “No. A residential building and other 8 projects” as the empirical analysis object, with the weights of the first indexes and second indexes being calculated by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the information entropy, and applies the unascertained measure to comprehensively evaluate the safety risk of the construction project. The overall score of the project is 6.4475, the evaluation result is good, which is consistent with the actual situation, and the feasibility and effectiveness of the evaluation index system and evaluation model are verified, which provides a reference for safety risk management in the construction stage of construction projects.
Appendiceal Intraluminal Gas: A CT Marker for Gangrenous Appendicitis
Authors: Ip Chantelle , Wang Edward H. , Croft Michael , Lim Wanyin
Published: November 2021

Introduction. This manuscript aims to investigate the amount of intraluminal gas in acute, nonperforated appendicitis identified on computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing gangrenous appendicitis. Methods. This is a retrospective observational, case-control study with consecutive data collected at a tertiary institution over a two-year period, of patients with CT-diagnosed acute appendicitis who subsequently went on for surgery within 48 hours. Patients who were less than 16 years old, who had an interval between CT and surgery of more than 48 hours, or with CT evidence of appendiceal perforation were excluded. Images were independently assessed by 3 radiologists for intraluminal gas, and the results were then correlated with reference standards obtained from surgical and histopathology reports for the diagnosis of nongangrenous versus gangrenous appendicitis. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of CT intraluminal gas in gangrenous appendicitis were calculated. Results. Our study identified 93 patients with nonperforated acute appendicitis who underwent surgery within the stated timeframe. Intraluminal gas in the appendix was identified in 26 patients (28%), of which 54% had macroscopic and/or microscopic evidence of gangrenous appendicitis. This is in contrast to the subgroup of patients who did not have intraluminal gas (72%), of which only 33% had gangrenous appendicitis. The specificity of intraluminal gas for gangrenous appendicitis is 79%, with a negative predictive value of 86% and likelihood ratio of 1.85. Conclusion. In cases of established acute appendicitis, the presence of intraluminal gas is a moderately specific sign for gangrenous complication. This is worth reporting as it can help prognosticate and triage patients accordingly, for a timelier surgical management and a better outcome.
Key Markers Involved in the Anticolon Cancer Response of CD8+ T Cells through the Regulation of Cholesterol Metabolism
Authors: Dong Liang , Yang Xi , Wang Yangyanqiu , Jin Yin , Zhou Qing , Chen Gong , Han Shuwen
Published: November 2021

Background. T cell-mediated antitumor immune response is the basis of colorectal cancer (CRC) immunotherapy. Cholesterol plays an important role in T cell signal transduction and function. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) plays a major role in cholesterol metabolism. Objective. To screen and analyze key markers involved in the anticolon cancer response of CD8+ T cells through the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Methods. Based on the median cutoff of the expression value of APOE according to the data downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus database, patients were grouped into low and high expression groups. Differences in clinical factors were assessed, and survival analysis was performed. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the high and low expression groups were screened, followed by the analysis of differences in tumor-infiltrating immune cells and weighted gene coexpression network analysis results. The closely related genes to APOE were identified, followed by enrichment analysis, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, and differential expression analysis. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was used to detect the expression of CD8 in CRC tissues. Results. There were significant differences in prognosis and pathologic_N between the APOE low and high expression groups. A total of 2,349 DEGs between the high and low expression groups were selected. A total of 967 genes were obtained from the blue and brown modules. The probability of distribution of CD8+ T cells differed significantly between the two groups, and 320 closely related DEGs of APOE were screened. Genes including the HLA gene family, B2M, IRF4, and STAT5A had a higher degree in the PPI network. GEO datasets verified the prognosis and the related DEGs of APOE. IHC staining verified the relationship between the distribution of CD8+ T cells and APOE expression. Conclusion. Genes including the HLA gene family, B2M, IRF4, and STAT5A might be the key genes involved in the anticolon cancer response of CD8+ T cells through the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.
Analysis of the Expression and Prognostic Value of MSH2 in Pan‐Cancer Based on Bioinformatics
Authors: Qiu Wenli , Ding Ke , Liao Lusheng , Ling Yongchang , Luo Xiaoqiong , Wang Junli
Published: November 2021

Background. MutS homolog 2 (MSH2), with the function of identifying mismatches and participating in DNA repair, is the “housekeeping gene” in the mismatch repair (MMR) system. MSH2 deficiency has been reported to enhance cancer susceptibility for the association of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. However, the expression and prognostic significance of MSH2 have not been studied from the perspective of pan‐cancer. Methods. The GTEx database was used to analyze the expression of MSH2 in normal tissues. The TCGA database was used to analyze the differential expression of MSH2 in pan‐cancers. The prognostic value of MSH2 in pan‐cancer was assessed using Cox regression and Kaplan‐Meier analysis. Spearman correlations were used to measure the relationship between the expression level of MSH2 in pan‐cancer and the level of immune infiltration, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI). Results. MSH2 is highly expressed in most type of cancers and significantly correlated with prognosis. In COAD, KIRC, LIHC, and SKCM, the expression of MSH2 was significantly positively correlated with the abundance of B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, and neutrophils. In THCA, MSH2 expression correlated with CD8+T Cell showed a significant negative correlation. MSH2 had significantly negative correlations with stromal score and immune score in a variety of cancers and significantly correlated with TMB and MSI of a variety of tumors. Conclusions. MSH2 may play an important role in the occurrence, development, and immune infiltration of cancer. MSH2 can emerge as a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
Cloud Computing Storage Backup and Recovery Strategy Based on Secure IoT and Spark
Authors: Chang Dajun , Li Li , Chang Ying , Qiao Zhangquan
Published: November 2021

Spatial data occupies a large proportion of the large amount of data that is constantly emerging, but a large amount of spatial data cannot be directly understood by people. Even a highly configured stand-alone computing device can hardly meet the needs of visualization processing. In order to protect the security of data and facilitate for users the search for data and recover by mistake, this paper conducts a research on cloud computing storage backup and recovery strategies based on the secure Internet of Things and Spark platform. In the method part, this article introduces the security Internet of Things, Spark, and cloud computing backup and recovery related content and proposes cluster analysis and Ullman two algorithms. In the experimental part, this article explains the experimental environment and experimental objects and designs an experiment for data recovery. In the analysis part, this article analyzes the challenge-response-verification framework, the number of data packets, the cost of calculation and communication, the choice of Spark method, the throughput of different platforms, and the iteration and cache analysis. The experimental results show that the loss rate of database 1 in the fourth node is 0.4%, 2.4%, 1.6%, and 3.2% and the loss rate of each node is less than 5%, indicating that the system can respond to applications.
Single-cell RNA Sequencing Reveals How the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Shapes Cellular Differentiation Potency in the Mouse Colon
Authors: Yang Yongjian , Osorio Daniel , Davidson Laurie A. , Han Huajun , Mullens Destiny A. , Jayaraman Arul , Safe Stephen , Ivanov Ivan , Cai James J. , Chapkin Robert S.
Published: November 2021

Despite recent progress recognizing the importance of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr)-dependent signaling in suppressing colon tumorigenesis, its role in regulating colonic crypt homeostasis remains unclear. To assess the effects of Ahr on intestinal epithelial cell heterogeneity and functional phenotypes, we utilized single-cell transcriptomics and advanced analytic strategies to generate a high-quality atlas for colonic intestinal crypts from wild-type and intestinal-specific Ahr knockout mice. Here we observed the promotive effects of Ahr deletion on Foxm1-regulated genes in crypt-associated canonical epithelial cell types and subtypes of goblet cells and deep crypt–secretory cells. We also show that intestinal Ahr deletion elevated single-cell entropy (a measure of differentiation potency or cell stemness) and RNA velocity length (a measure of the rate of cell differentiation) in noncycling and cycling Lgr5+ stem cells. In general, intercellular signaling cross-talk via soluble and membrane-bound factors was perturbed in Ahr-null colonocytes. Taken together, our single-cell RNA sequencing analyses provide new evidence of the molecular function of Ahr in modulating putative stem cell driver genes, cell potency lineage decisions, and cell–cell communication in vivo.

Prevention Relevance:

Our mouse single-cell RNA sequencing analyses provide new evidence of the molecular function of Ahr in modulating colonic stemness and cell–cell communication in vivo. From a cancer prevention perspective, Ahr should be considered a therapeutic target to recalibrate remodeling of the intestinal stem cell niche.