bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Role of cumulative biological risk in mediating socioeconomic disparities in cognitive function in the elderly: a mediation analysis
Authors: Akrivos Jimmy , Zhu Carolyn Wei , Haroutunian Vahram
Published: September 2020

Objectives

To evaluate whether allostatic load (AL), a measure of cumulative biological risk, fully or partially mediates observed socioeconomic status (SES) differences in cognitive function in the elderly.

Design

Cross-sectional mediation analysis.

Setting

Community-dwelling US elderly who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Participants

The NHANES uses a complex, multistage, probability sampling design to select a nationally representative sample. Of the 4976 elderly (60 years or older) who were selected, 3234 agreed to participate in the household and medical exam interviews (65% response rate).

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Performance on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST)—a measure of cognitive function.

Results

Relative to participants with the lowest level of education or family income, participants who were college graduates (β=24.4, 95% CI 22 to 26.8, p<0.0001) or in the highest income quartile (β=17.3, 95% CI 15.2 to 19.4, p<0.0001) had the highest DSST scores and the least AL burden (β=−0.72, 95% CI −0.98 to −0.47 and β=−0.82, 95% CI −1 to −0.57; p<0.0001, respectively). Although, AL was significantly negatively associated with cognitive performance (β = −1, 95% CI −1.4 to −0.5, p<0.0001), it mediated at most 4.5% of the SES effect on DSST performance.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that AL, as measured by a summary index of parameters for cardiovascular function, metabolism and chronic inflammation, is not a significant mediator of SES-related differences in cognitive function in the elderly. Further efforts are required to elucidate the exact physiological pathways and mechanisms through which SES impacts cognitive function in late life.
Cohort profile: he East London Health and Care Partnership Data Repository: using novel integrated data to support commissioning and research
Authors: Ronaldson Amy , Chandakas Evangelos , Kang Qiongwen , Brennan Katie , Akande Aminat , Ebyarimpa Irene , Wyllie Eleanor , Howard George , Fradgley Richard , Freestone Mark , Bhui Kamaldeep
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The East London Health and Care Partnership (ELHCP) Data Repository was established to support commissioning decisions in London. This dataset comprises routine clinical data for the general practitioner (GP)-registered populations of two London boroughs, Tower Hamlets and City and Hackney, and provides a rich source of demographic, clinical and health service use data of relevance to clinicians, commissioners, researchers and policy makers. This paper describes the dataset in its current form, its representativeness and data completeness.

Participants

There were 351 749 and 344 511 members of the GP-registered population in the two boroughs, respectively, for the financial year 2017/2018. Demographic information and prevalence data were available for 9 mental health and 15 physical health conditions. Prevalence rates from the cohort were compared with local and national data. In order to illustrate the health service use data available in the dataset, emergency department use across mental health conditions was described. Information about data completeness was provided.

Findings to date

The ELHCP Data Repository provides a rich source of information about a relatively young, urban, ethnically diverse, population within areas of socioeconomic deprivation. Prevalence data were in line with local and national statistics with some exceptions. Physical health conditions were more common in those with mental health conditions, reflecting that comorbidities are the norm rather than the exception. This has implications for integrated care. Data completeness for risk factors (eg, blood pressure, cholesterol) was high in patients with long-term conditions.

Future plans

The data are being further cleaned and evaluated using imputation, Bayesian and economic methods, principally focusing on specific cohorts, including type II diabetes, depression and personality disorder. Data continue to be collected for the foreseeable future to support commissioning decisions, which will also enable more long-term prospective analysis as data become available at the end of each financial year.
Permeability of the blood-brain barrier through the phases of ischaemic stroke and relation with clinical outcome: protocol for a systematic review
Authors: Bernardo-Castro Sara , Donato Helena , Ferreira Lino , Sargento-Freitas João
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Ischaemic stroke is the most prevalent type of stroke and is characterised by a myriad of pathological events triggered by a vascular arterial occlusion. Disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a key pathological event that may lead to fatal outcomes. However, it seems to follow a multiphasic pattern that has been associated with distinct biological substrates and possibly contrasting outcomes. Addressing the BBB permeability (BBBP) along the different phases of stroke through imaging techniques could lead to a better understanding of the disease, improved patient selection for specific treatments and development of new therapeutic modalities and delivery methods. This systematic review will aim to comprehensively summarise the existing evidence regarding the evolution of the BBBP values during the different phases of an acute ischaemic stroke and correlate this event with the clinical outcome of the patient.

Methods and analysis

We will conduct a computerised search on Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus and Web of Science. In addition, grey literature and ClinicalTrials.gov will be scanned. We will include randomised controlled trials, cohort, cross-sectional and case-controlled studies on humans that quantitatively assess the BBBP in stroke. Retrieved studies will be independently reviewed by two authors and any discrepancies will be resolved by consensus or with a third reviewer. Reviewers will extract the data and assess the risk of bias of the selected studies. If possible, data will be combined in a quantitative meta-analysis following the guidelines provided by Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We will assess cumulative evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval is not needed. All data used for this work are publicly available. The result obtained from this work will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated in relevant conferences.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42019147314.
Determinants of neonatal jaundice among neonates admitted to five referral hospitals in Amhara region, Northern Ethiopia: an unmatched case-control study
Authors: Bizuneh Asmamaw Demis , Alemnew Birhan , Getie Addisu , Wondmieneh Adam , Gedefaw Getnet
Published: September 2020

Background

Neonatal jaundice is associated with a significant risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality. It is a major cause of hospital neonatal intensive care unit admission and readmissions during the neonatal period. Hence, the study aimed to identify the determinant factors of neonatal jaundice among neonates admitted at five referral hospitals in Amhara region, Northern Ethiopia.

Method

A hospital-based unmatched case-control study design was employed, on 447 neonates (149 cases and 298 controls) at referral hospitals in Amhara region, Northern Ethiopia, from 1 March to 30 July 2019. Consecutive sampling method was used to select both the cases and controls. The collected data were entered into Epi data V.4.2 and then exported into SPSS window V.24 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable analysis were carried out by using binary logistic regression. A p value of <0.05 was considered as significant difference between cases and controls for the exposure variable of interest.

Results

The median (±IQR) age of neonate at the time of admission and gestational age were 3±2 days and 38 (±3) weeks, respectively. Prolonged duration of labour (adjusted OR (AOR)=2.45, 95% CI 1.34 to 4.47), being male sex (AOR=3.54, 95% CI 1.99 to 6.29), low birth weight (AOR=5.06, 95% CI 2.61 to 9.82), birth asphyxia (AOR=2.88, 95% CI 1.38 to 5.99), sepsis (AOR=2.49, 95% CI 1.22 to 5.11) and hypothermia (AOR=2.88, 95% CI 2.63 to 14.02) were the determinant factors for neonatal jaundice.

Conclusions

Prolonged duration of labour, hypothermia, sepsis, birth asphyxia, low birth weight and sex of neonate were independent determinants of neonatal jaundice. Early recognition and management of identified modifiable determinants are the recommended interventions.
Emergency department use during COVID-19 as described by syndromic surveillance
Authors: Hughes Helen E , Hughes Thomas C , Morbey Roger , Challen Kirsty , Oliver Isabel , Smith Gillian E , Elliot Alex J
Published: September 2020

On 12 March 2020 the UK entered the ‘delay phase’ of the COVID-19 pandemic response. The Public Health England Emergency Department Syndromic Surveillance System (EDSSS) carries out daily (near real-time) public health surveillance of emergency department (ED) attendances across England. This retrospective observational analysis of EDSSS data aimed to describe changes in ED attendances during March–April 2020, and identify the attendance types with the largest impact. Type 1 ED attendances were selected from 109 EDs that reported data to EDSSS for the period 1 January 2019 to 26 April 2020. The daily numbers of attendances were plotted by age group and acuity of presentation. The 2020 ’COVID-19’ period (12 March 2020 to 26 April 2020) attendances were compared with the equivalent 2019 ’pre-COVID-19’ period (14 March 2019 to 28 April 2019): in total; by hour and day of the week; age group(<1, 1-4, 15-14, 15-44, 45-64 and 65+ years); gender; acuity; and for selected syndromic indicators(acute respiratory infection, gastroenteritis, myocardial ischaemia). Daily ED attendances up to 11 March 2020 showed regular trends, highest on a Monday and reduced in children during school holidays. From 12 March 2020 ED attendances decreased across all age groups, all acuity levels, on all days and times. Across age groups the greatest percentage reductions were seen in school age children (5–14 years). By acuity, the greatest reduction occurred in the less severe presentations. Syndromic indicators showed that the greatest reductions were in non-respiratory indicators, which fell by 44–67% during 2020 COVID-19, while acute respiratory infection was reduced by −4.4% (95% CI −9.5% to 0.6%). ED attendances in England have been particularly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in healthcare seeking behaviour. EDSSS has enabled real-time daily monitoring of these changes, which are made publicly available to facilitate action. The EDSSS provides valuable surveillance of ED attendances in England. The flexibility of EDSSS allowed rapid development of new indicators (including COVID-19-like) and reporting methods.
AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER FROM GLOBAL FLAGSHIPS TO LOCAL FIRMS IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS
Authors: DU JIAN , LU JIE , WU DONG , CHANG XIAORAN
Published: September 2020

It is known that global flagships’ capacity and willingness to transfer knowledge in global production networks will affect the knowledge acquisition of local firms. However, the mechanism is not clear enough, or rather scattered, and thus lacks an integrated model for comprehensive conceptualization. Adopting a sample of 105 Chinese firms, we construct an integrated two-stage model to interpret the mechanism of knowledge transfer from global flagships to local firms and find that global flagships’ capacity and willingness to transfer positively impact the knowledge acquired by local firms through the mediation of the knowledge contributed by the global flagships. Organizational distance and local firms’ absorptive capacity affect the knowledge acquired by local firms as well. The influences of the latter two also depend on the different types of ties between global flagships and local firms.
AN REHABILITATION ROBOT DRIVEN BY PNEUMATIC ARTIFICIAL MUSCLES
Authors: ZHONG JUN , HE DONGKAI , ZHAO CHUN , ZHU YUE , ZHANG QIANZHUANG
Published: September 2020

Rehabilitation robots are playing an important role in restoring movement ability of hemiplegic patients. However, most of these robots adopt motors as actuators. Considering human body is a flexible organism, rigid motors lack compliance when getting in touch with patients. This paper designs an ankle rehabilitation robot by employing pneumatic muscle actuators which are soft and have similar compliance with biological muscles. Analysis of motion characteristics of human ankle is performed, and relationship between angle and torque of human ankle acquired from experiment is studied. Driving mechanism using pneumatic muscle actuators is addressed carefully and ankle-rehabilitation robot is designed. Then, dynamics of the robot is established and structure optimization of the driving mechanism is performed. Consequently, prototype is manufactured and assembled.
PERFORMANCE TEST AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF SPECIAL STENT FOR TREATMENT OF ILIAC VEIN STENOSIS
Authors: WANG KUN , FENG HAIQUAN , TIAN RUI , NA RISU , WANG YONGGANG , MAO YOUJUN
Published: September 2020

Objective: Animal experiments and clinical trials were carried out to evaluate the efficiency of a new stent for the treatment of iliac vein stenosis. Methods: The new iliac vein stent and the control stent were implanted, respectively, into the 12 experimental pigs. Digital Subtraction Angiography was done separately at the same day, 14th, 30th, 60th and 90th day after stent implantation to observe the stent deployment. One patient was implanted with a new iliac vein stent. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was done after the operation to calculate the lumen loss value and lumen loss rate of the stent and evaluate the performance of the new iliac vein stent at 12 months of follow-up. Results: The mechanical experiment and finite element analysis of the stent proved that the radial support force of the new stent is significantly better than that of the control stent. In animal experimental verification, both groups of stent were released satisfactorily during implantation. No obvious stent displacement was found at each time point. The patency rate of stents was 100%. Except for a small amount of old thrombosis in the stent in the control group, no other stents were found in that condition. The diameter of the stent lumen was retracted in different degrees in both groups after the operation, but no significant statistical difference was found in the comparison of the stent lumen loss rate at each relative inspection day. Conclusion: The new nickel-titanium alloy iliac vein stent has excellent radial support performance, which may be an ideal iliac vein stent.
Study of the Reactions between Ni-Rich Positive Electrode Materials and Aqueous Solutions and their Relation to the Failure of Li-Ion Cells
Authors: Hamam Ines , Zhang Ning , Liu Aaron , Johnson M. B. , Dahn J. R.
Published: September 2020

The handling of positive electrode active materials must be done carefully due to their propensity to degrade when exposed to ambient atmosphere. The growth of impurities on Ni-rich layered lithium transition metal oxides (LTMOs) is particularly concerning as these materials readily react with H2O and CO2in atmosphere. The resulting surface impurity species have detrimental effects on the performance of the Li-ion cell and are commonly removed by washing the positive electrode active materials. However, little is understood about the reaction between these materials and aqueous solutions. In this study, LTMOs samples were exposed to acidic and neutral aqueous solutions for various periods of time. The resulting material samples were analysed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (TGA-MS), and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solutions collected after washing were analysed by pH titration and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). From this, we propose two pH-dependent regimes that define the reaction between the positive electrode material and the aqueous solution used for washing. Possible consequences of these reactions on cell performance and lifetime are discussed.
Conceptualizing conduction as a pliant vasomotor response: impact of Ca2+ fluxes and Ca2+ sensitization
Authors: Hald Bjørn Olav , Welsh Donald G.
Published: September 2020

Conducted vasomotor responses depend on electrical spread in the vascular wall and its translation into vasomotor responses. Our computational investigation highlights how the regulatory state of the contractile apparatus can shape conduction without interfering with the underlying electrical spread. Contractile machinery is regulated, e.g., by regional endocrine or mechanical signals. We further illustrate how regional contractile regulation can work cooperatively with electrical spread to optimize perfusion to local tissue demands.
Novel noninvasive estimation of mixed venous oxygen saturation by echocardiography and expired gas analysis
Authors: Onoue Takeshi , Iwataki Mai , Araki Masaru , Akashi Jun , Kitano Tetsuji , Nabeshima Yosuke , Hei Soshi , Nagata Yasufumi , Hayashi Atsushi , Tsuda Yuki , Sonoda Shinjo , Fujino Yoshihisa , Levine Robert A. , Otsuji Yutaka
Published: September 2020

Clinical use of mixed venous oxygen saturation ([Formula: see text]) is limited for the required invasive procedure. With Fick’s equation, expired gas analysis, echocardiography, simple blood tests, and percutaneous oxygen saturation, [Formula: see text] can be calculated noninvasively. We hypothesized that noninvasively calculated [Formula: see text] shows a significant correlation and agrees well with invasively measured [Formula: see text]. The present study examined the relationship between measured [Formula: see text] and calculated [Formula: see text] in patients who underwent right heart catheterization and demonstrated acceptable agreement. This novel method can expand the indication of evaluating [Formula: see text].
Student Enrollment and Teacher Statistics Forecasting Based on Time-Series Analysis
Authors: Yang Stephanie , Chen Hsueh-Chih , Chen Wen-Ching , Yang Cheng-Hong
Published: September 2020

Education competitiveness is a key feature of national competitiveness. It is crucial for nations to develop and enhance student and teacher potential to increase national competitiveness. The decreasing population of children has caused a series of social problems in many developed countries, directly affecting education and com.petitiveness in an international environment. In Taiwan, a low birthrate has had a large impact on schools at every level because of a substantial decrease in enrollment and a surplus of teachers. Therefore, close attention must be paid to these trends. In this study, combining a whale optimization algorithm (WOA) and support vector regression (WOASVR) was proposed to determine trends of student and teacher numbers in Taiwan for higher accuracy in time-series forecasting analysis. To select the most suitable support vector kernel parameters, WOA was applied. Data collected from the Ministry of Education datasets of student and teacher numbers between 1991 and 2018 were used to examine the proposed method. Analysis revealed that the numbers of students and teachers decreased annually except in private primary schools. A comparison of the forecasting results obtained from WOASVR and other common models indicated that WOASVR provided the lowest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root mean square error (RMSE) for all analyzed datasets. Forecasting performed using the WOASVR method can provide accurate data for use in developing education policies and responses.
On the Usefulness of the Logarithmic Skew Normal Distribution for Describing Claims Size Data
Authors: Gómez–Déniz E. , Calderín-Ojeda E.
Published: September 2020

In this paper, the three-parameter skew lognormal distribution is proposed to model actuarial data concerning losses. This distribution yields a satisfactory fit to empirical data in the whole range of the empirical distribution as compared to other distributions used in the actuarial statistics literature. To the best of our knowledge, this distribution has not been used in insurance context and it might be suitable for computing reinsurance premiums in situations where the right tail of the empirical distribution plays an important role. Furthermore, a regression model can be simply derived to explain the response variable as a function of a set of explanatory variables.
Uncommon Locations of Cystic Echinococcosis: A Report of 46 Cases from Southern Iran
Authors: Shahriarirad Reza , Erfani Amirhossein , Eskandarisani Mehrdad , Rastegarian Mohammad , Sarkari Bahador
Published: September 2020

Background. Most cases of hydatid cysts form in the liver and lung and other tissues are considered as unusual locations in hydatid cysts. The current study aimed to find out the rate and features of hydatid cysts in uncommon locations in Fars Province, Southern Iran, over a 15-year period. Methods. The hospital records of patients who underwent surgery for hydatid cysts in university-affiliated hospitals in Fars Province, Southern Iran, from 2004 to 2018, were retrospectively reviewed. For each patient, clinical and demographical data were recorded. Results. During a 15-year period, a total of 501 patients were surgically treated for hydatid cysts, and out of these, 46 (9.2%) were presented with the unusual locations of hydatid disease. Males constituted 28 (60.9%) of these patients while 18 (39.1%) of the patients were females. The patients’ age ranged from 5 to 80 years (mean = 40.49; SD = 20.37). The size of the cysts ranged from 2 to 20 cm (mean = 8.69, SD = 4.59). The most common unusual location for the hydatid cyst was the spleen with 30.4% of cases, followed by the pelvic cavity (15.2%). Out of 46 cases with unusual location of the hydatid cyst, 10 (21.7%) cases had lung, 22 (47.8%) cases had liver, and 5 (10.9%) cases had both liver and lung hydatid cysts, simultaneously with cysts in unusual locations. Conclusion. In cystic echinococcosis- (CE) endemic areas, hydatid disease can affect any organ, from head to toe, in humans. The disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any cystic entities anywhere in the body.
Processing Methods and Mechanical Properties of Aluminium Matrix Composites
Authors: Aynalem Gebre Fenta
Published: September 2020

Processing methods of aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) have been changing continuously considering the ease of manufacturing and the final quality of the desired composite. The most well‐known processing techniques of AMCs such as stir casting, powder metallurgy, spark plasma sintering, squeeze casting, friction stir processing, liquid metal infiltration, spray codeposition, and reactive in situ techniques have elaborated here with their respective distinguishing features and mechanical properties of the fabricated composites. Moreover, this review paper contains the factors affecting the mechanical properties of AMCs as well as their clear justifications. The mechanical properties of AMCs are highly affected by the type of processing method, process parameters, and type, size, and composition of the reinforcing material. Concerning this, the mechanical properties of aluminium and its alloys are highly improved by adding a variety of reinforcing materials in a broader spectrum.
Antibody‐Based Immunotherapeutic Strategies for the Treatment of Hematological Malignancies
Authors: Han Yizhao , Liu Zhuojun , Liu Jia , Yan Weiqi , Xia Yuanshi , Yue Shuhua , Yu Jian
Published: September 2020

As the most common type of cancer in the world, hematological malignancies (HM) account for 10% of all annual cancer deaths and have attracted more attention. Conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), could relieve patients suffering HM. However, serious side effects and high costs bring patients both physical complaints and mental pressure. Recently, compared with conventional therapeutic strategies for HM patients, antibody‐based immunotherapies, including cancer vaccines, oncolytic virus therapies, monoclonal antibody treatments, and CAR‐T cell therapies, have displayed longer survival time and fewer adverse reactions, even though specific efficacy and safety of these antibody‐based immunotherapies still need to be evaluated and improved. This review summarized the advantages of antibody‐based immunotherapies over conventional treatments, as well as its existing difficulties and solutions, thereby enhancing the understanding and applications of antibody‐based immunotherapies in HM treatment.
MAGE‐Targeted Gold Nanoparticles for Ultrasound Imaging‐Guided Phototherapy in Melanoma
Authors: Li Xuelin , Zhong Shigen , Zhang Cuncheng , Li Pan , Ran Haitao , Wang Zhigang
Published: September 2020

Gold nanorods exhibit a wide variety of applications such as tumor molecular imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) due to their tunable optical properties. Several studies have demonstrated that the combination of other therapeutic strategies may improve PTT efficiency. A method called optical droplet vaporization (ODV) was considered as another noninvasive imaging and therapy strategy. Via the ODV method, superheated perfluorocarbon droplets can be vaporized to a gas phase for enhancing ultrasound imaging; meanwhile, this violent process can cause damage to cells and tissue. In addition, active targeting through the functionalization with targeting ligands can effectively increase nanoprobe accumulation in the tumor area, improving the sensitivity and specificity of imaging and therapy. Our study prepared a nanoparticle loaded with gold nanorods and perfluorinated hexane and conjugated to a monoclonal antibody (MAGE‐1 antibody) to melanoma‐associated antigens (MAGE) targeting melanoma, investigated the synergistic effect of PTT/ODV therapy, and monitored the therapeutic effect using ultrasound. The prepared MAGE‐Au‐PFH‐NPs achieved complete eradication of tumors. Meanwhile, the MAGE‐Au‐PFH‐NPs also possess significant ultrasound imaging signal enhancement, which shows the potential for imaging‐guided tumor therapy in the future.
An AHP-DEA Approach of the Bike-Sharing Spots Selection Problem in the Free-Floating Bike-Sharing System
Authors: Cheng Minjiao , Wei Wenchao
Published: September 2020

The Free-Floating Bike-Sharing system (FFBSS) connects users to public transit networks and is an important component of the “last-mile” transport network. However, the rapid development of the FFBSS in China has significantly increased the local municipal workload and deteriorated the public transport. To mitigate these negative impacts, the Chinese government has launched a pilot project of electronic fence spots, by selecting several bike-sharing parking spots from the existing ones to set up the virtual stations. Compared to the traditional public shared bicycles with fixed stations, the flexibility of choosing parking spots could dynamically cater the fast-changing traffic environment and facilitate the renting and returning for users and, therefore, render a more sparse and complicate parking spots network. In this paper, we study the location selection of bike-sharing parking points as a multidimensional problem, which considers not only the interests of users and stakeholders but also the environment and safety issues. We propose a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model including the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the weight-restricted data envelopment analysis (DEA) method to evaluate and determine the optimal bike-sharing parking points. Since the additional weight restrictions in the DEA method might lead to infeasible solutions, we introduce the weight restrictions feasibility theorem to avoid such infeasibility in the proposed weight-restricted DEA model, which has not been thoroughly studied in the literature. Specifically, a hyperplane adjusting model is developed to adjust the infeasible results. In the computational study, we evaluate 36 current parking spots in three regions in Beijing, China, to verify the rationality of the combined approach and put forward some managerial suggestions for this pilot project in Beijing, China.
Sensitivity Analysis and Experimental Verification of Bolt Support Parameters Based on Orthogonal Experiment
Authors: Zhang Kun , Su Jinpeng , Liu Zengkai , Chen Hongyue , Zhang Qiang , Sun Shaoan
Published: September 2020

This paper presents a unified supporting parameter optimization procedure for the coupled bolt-rock systems by using the orthogonal experimental methods. Convergence of surrounding rock surface and deformations in the rock are taken as the objective functions for the stability of the surrounding rock of the roadway. The key support parameters of the bolt are considered as input variables. The simulation software FLAC3D is employed to develop the mechanical model for the coupled bolt-rock system and the objective functions of the coupled system are therefore obtained in the software. Combining the variance and multivariate linear regression analysis, an approach is derived to investigate the sensitivity of the support parameters to the objective functions. The corresponding support parameters are then optimized. The 15106 working of a practical mine in Yangquan is taken as an example. According to the similar simulation theory, corresponding simulation experiments are performed. Thus, the proposed method is validated and its robust performance for optimization of supporting parameters of the bolt is also demonstrated. The method provides a theoretical basis for the determination of bolt support parameters for mining roadway in a fully mechanized mining face.
An Approach for Handling Uncertainties Related to Behaviour and Vehicle Mixes in Traffic Simulation Experiments with Automated Vehicles
Authors: Olstam Johan , Johansson Fredrik , Alessandrini Adriano , Sukennik Peter , Lohmiller Jochen , Friedrich Markus
Published: September 2020

The introduction of automated vehicles is expected to affect traffic performance. Microscopic traffic simulation offers good possibilities to investigate the potential effects of the introduction of automated vehicles. However, current microscopic traffic simulation models are designed for modelling human-driven vehicles. Thus, modelling the behaviour of automated vehicles requires further development. There are several possible ways to extend the models, but independent of approach a large problem is that the information available on how automated vehicles will behave is limited to today’s partly automated vehicles. How future generations of automated vehicles will behave will be unknown for some time. There are also large uncertainties related to what automation functions are technically feasible, allowed, and actually activated by the users, for different road environments and at different stages of the transition from 0 to 100% of automated vehicles. This article presents an approach for handling several of these uncertainties by introducing conceptual descriptions of four different types of driving behaviour of automated vehicles (Rail-safe, Cautious, Normal, and All-knowing) and presents how these driving logics can be implemented in a commonly used traffic simulation program. The driving logics are also linked to assumptions on which logic that could operate in which environment at which part of the transition period. Simulation results for four different types of road facilities are also presented to illustrate potential effects on traffic performance of the driving logics. The simulation results show large variations in throughput, from large decreases to large increases, depending on driving logic and penetration rate.
CD122-Selective IL2 Complexes Reduce Immunosuppression, Promote Treg Fragility, and Sensitize Tumor Response to PD-L1 Blockade
Authors: Drerup Justin M. , Deng Yilun , Pandeswara Sri Lakshmi , Padrón Álvaro S. , Reyes Ryan M. , Zhang Xinyue , Mendez Jenny , Liu Aijie , Clark Curtis A. , Chen Wanjiao , Conejo-Garcia José R. , Hurez Vincent , Gupta Harshita , Curiel Tyler J.
Published: September 2020

The IL2 receptor (IL2R) is an attractive cancer immunotherapy target that controls immunosuppressive T regulatory cells (Treg) and antitumor T cells. Here we used IL2Rβ-selective IL2/anti-IL2 complexes (IL2c) to stimulate effector T cells preferentially in the orthotopic mouse ID8agg ovarian cancer model. Despite strong tumor rejection, IL2c unexpectedly lowered the tumor microenvironmental CD8+/Treg ratio. IL2c reduced tumor microenvironmental Treg suppression and induced a fragile Treg phenotype, helping explain improved efficacy despite numerically increased Tregs without affecting Treg in draining lymph nodes. IL2c also reduced Treg-mediated, high-affinity IL2R signaling needed for optimal Treg functions, a likely mechanism for reduced Treg suppression. Effector T-cell IL2R signaling was simultaneously improved, suggesting that IL2c inhibits Treg functions without hindering effector T cells, a limitation of most Treg depletion agents. Anti-PD-L1 antibody did not treat ID8agg, but adding IL2c generated complete tumor regressions and protective immune memory not achieved by either monotherapy. Similar anti-PD-L1 augmentation of IL2c and degradation of Treg functions were seen in subcutaneous B16 melanoma. Thus, IL2c is a multifunctional immunotherapy agent that stimulates immunity, reduces immunosuppression in a site-specific manner, and combines with other immunotherapies to treat distinct tumors in distinct anatomic compartments.

Significance:

These findings present CD122-targeted IL2 complexes as an advancement in cancer immunotherapy, as they reduce Treg immunosuppression, improve anticancer immunity, and boost PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade efficacy in distinct tumors and anatomic locations.
Osimertinib, an Irreversible Next-Generation EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, Exerts Antitumor Activity in Various Preclinical NSCLC Models Harboring the Uncommon EGFR Mutations G719X or L861Q or S768I
Authors: Floc'h Nicolas , Lim Sangbin , Bickerton Sue , Ahmed Afshan , Orme Jonathan , Urosevic Jelena , Martin Matthew J. , Cross Darren A.E. , Cho Byoung Chul , Smith Paul D.
Published: September 2020

Osimertinib is an oral, third-generation, irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) that selectively inhibits both EGFR-TKI–sensitizing and EGFR T790M–resistance mutations with lower activity against wild-type EGFR and has demonstrated efficacy in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) CNS metastases. The sensitizing mutations, the in-frame deletions in exon 19 and the L858R point mutation in exon 21, represent between 80% and 90% of all EGFR mutations. The remaining 10% to 20% are referred to as uncommon activating mutations and are a diverse group of mutations in exons 18 to 21 within the kinase domain of the EGFR gene. Excluding those found as insertion mutations in exon 20, the uncommon mutations involving codons G719, S768, and L861 are the most prevalent.

Although the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs for the common EGFR mutations is well established, much less is known about rare EGFR mutations, such as exon 20 insertions, G719X, L861Q, S768I, as most of the data consist of single case reports or small case series.

Using available patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and cell lines derived from two of these PDXs that harbor the G719X mutation, we have evaluated in vitro and in vivo the preclinical activity of osimertinib. We report osimertinib inhibits signaling pathways and cellular growth in G719X-mutant cell lines in vitro and demonstrate sustained tumor growth inhibition of PDX harboring the G719X mutation alone or in combination with L861Q and S768I.

Together, these data support clinical testing of osimertinib in patients with uncommon EGFR NSCLC.
Cancer Immunoprevention: Challenges and Potential Opportunities for Use of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Authors: Mohammed Altaf , Shoemaker Robert H. , Sei Shizuko
Published: September 2020

Cancer immunoprevention is achieved through promoting antitumor immune surveillance to block tumor formation and progression. Following the success of prophylactic vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) in preventing HPV-associated cancer, immunopreventive cancer vaccines targeting tumor antigens have been increasingly evaluated against cancers of noninfectious origin. While advances in cancer immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have clearly shown that the host immune system can mount effective antitumor immunity against tumor antigens when immune checkpoints are optimally blocked, the use of ICIs in the prevention setting has not been widely explored because of concerns of ICI-associated adverse events. In this issue of Cancer Prevention Research, Chung and colleagues demonstrate that the human cirrhotic liver harbors neoantigens, which accumulate further as the disease progresses to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), suggesting that cirrhotic liver may be susceptible to ICI therapy. Utilizing an established mouse model of carcinogen-induced liver fibrosis and HCC, they show that intermittent intervention by ICI, anti-mouse PD-1 (CD279) antibody, can prevent the progression of the precancerous stage of cirrhosis to HCC accompanied by increased T-cell infiltrates in the liver parenchyma. Importantly, there were no overt ICI-associated toxicities in the treated mice, indicating that safe dosing regimens could be established. This work is both significant and timely, opening the door to future studies, where the utility of ICI therapy can be further investigated not only in cirrhosis but other high-risk precancerous conditions. In this perspective, we discuss the implications of their findings, and the challenges and potential opportunities for use of ICIs for cancer immunoprevention.

See related article by Chung et al., p. 911
Fractional-order sliding mode controller for the two-link robot arm
Authors: Nguyen Trong-Thang
Published: September 2020

In this paper, the author proposes a sliding mode controller with the fractional-order for the two-link robot arm. Firstly, the model and dynamic equations of the two-link robot arm are presented. Based on these equations, the author builds the controller for each joint of the robot. The controller is a sliding mode controller with its order is not an integer value. The task of the controller is to adjust the torques acted on the joints in order for the angular coordinates of each link to coincide with the desired values. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is demonstrated through Matlab-Simulink software. The robot model and controller are built to investigate the system quality. The results show that the quality of the control system is very high: there is not the chattering phenomenon of torques, the response angles of each link quickly reach the desired values, and the static error equal to zero.
Speech encryption by multiple chaotic map with fast fourier transform
Authors: Alemami Yahia , Mohamed Mohamad Afendee , Atiewi Saleh , Mamat Mustafa
Published: September 2020

There are various ways of social communication including writing (WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc), calling (mobile phone) and voice recording (record your voice and then send it to the other party), but there are ways to eavesdropping the calls and voice messages, One way to solve this problem is via cryptographic approach. Chaos cryptography build on top of nonlinear dynamics chaotic system has gained some footstep in data security. It provides an alternative to conventional cryptography built on top of mathematical structures. This research focuses on the protection of speech recording by encrypting it with multiple encryption algorithms, including chaotic maps (Logistic Map and Sine Maps).
Q-Learning vertical handover scheme in two-tier LTE-A networks
Authors: Bathich Ammar , Asri Mansor Mohd , Suliman Saiful Izwan , Abid Ali Sinan Ghassan
Published: September 2020

Global mobile communication necessitates improved capacity and proper quality assurance for services. To achieve these requirements, small cells have been deployed intensively by long term evolution (LTE) networks operators beside conventional base station structure to provide customers with better service and capacity coverage. Accomplishment of seamless handover between Macrocell layer (first tier) and Femtocell layer (second tier) is one of the key challenges to attain the QoS requirements. Handover related information gathering becomes very hard in high dense femtocell networks, effective handover decision techniques are important to minimize unnecessary handovers occurred and avoid Ping-Pong effect. In this work, we proposed and implemented an efficient handover decision procedure based on users’ profiles using Q-learning technique in an LTE-A macrocell-femtocell networks. New multi-criterion handover decision parameters are proposed in typical/dense femtocells in microcells environment to estimate the target cell for handover. The proposed handover algorithms are validated using the LTE-Sim simulator under an urban environment. The simulation results showed noteworthy reduction in the average number of handovers.
Software engineering based self-checking process for cyber security system in VANET
Authors: Yasir Muntadher Naeem , Croock Muayad Sadik
Published: September 2020

Newly, the cyber security of Vehicle Ad hoc Network (VANET) includes two practicable: Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I), that have been considered due to importance. It has become possible to keep pace with the development in the world. The people safety is a priority in the development of technology in general and particular in of VANET for police vehicles. In this paper, we propose a software engineering based self-checking process to ensure the high redundancy of the generated keys. These keys are used in underlying cyber security system for VANET. The proposed self-checking process emploies a set of NIST tests including frequency, block and runs as a threshold for accepting the generated keys. The introduced cyber security system includes three levels: Firstly, the registration phase that asks vehicles to register in the system, in which the network excludes the unregistered ones. In this phase, the proposed software engineeringbased self-checking process is adopted. Secondly, the authentication phase that checks of the vehicles after the registration phase. Thirdly, the proposed system that is able to detect the DOS attack. The obtained results show the efficient performance of the proposed system in managing the security of the VANET network. The self-checking process increased the randomness of the generated keys, in which the security factor is increased.
Radiation performance enhancement of an ultra wide band antenna using metamaterial band-pass filter
Authors: Daghari Marwa , Sakli Hedi
Published: September 2020

In this paper, a metamaterial structure based on Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) cell is proposed to achieve an isotropic band-pass filtering response. This filter consists of a planar layer formed by a 3×3 metamaterials cell array with transmittive filtering behavior at 3.5 GHz. This design with 45 mm × 45 mm dimension is then integrated in close proximity at distance of 10 mm with an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) antenna to enhance it’ s performances around a 3.5 GHz operating frequency. Simulation results ensure that filter geometry provides the advantage of polarization independency and also exhibits the angular stability up to 45◦ for both Transverse Electric (TE) and Transverse magnetic (TM) modes. More importantly, enhancement in antenna radiation pattern characteristics is illustrated when the planar FSS layer is integrated at a small distance from the radiator. Moreover, antenna gain was improved to 3.22 dBi, adaptation of antenna port (S11) was increased to -53.26 dB and antenna bandwidth reduction to 1.7 GHz is also detected. All these performances make the proposed design as a good choice used to shield signals in UWB wireless applications especially for connected object in 5G.
Automatic recognition of the digital modulation types using the artificial neural networks
Authors: Hreshee Saad S.
Published: September 2020

As digital communication technologies continue to grow and evolve, applications for this steady development are also growing. This growth has generated a growing need to look for automated methods for recognizing and classifying the digital modulation type used in the communication system, which has an important effect on many civil and military applications. This paper suggests a recognizing system capable of classifying multiple and different types of digital modulation methods (64QAM, 2PSK, 4PSK, 8PSK, 4ASK, 2FSK, 4FSK, 8FSK). This paper focuses on trying to recognize the type of digital modulation using the artificial neural network (ANN) with its complex algorithm to boost the performance and increase the noise immunity of the system.

This system succeeded in recognizing all the digital modulation types under the current study without any prior information. The proposed system used 8 signal features that were used to classify these 8 modulation methods. The system succeeded in achieving a recognition ratio of at least 68% for experimental signals on a signal to noise ratio (SNR = 5dB) and 89.1% for experimental signals at (SNR = 10dB) and 91% for experimental signals at (SNR = 15dB) for a channel with Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN).
Distributed differential beamforming and power allocation for cooperative communication networks
Authors: Alabed Samer , Maaz Issam , Al-Rabayah Mohammad
Published: September 2020

Many coherent cooperative diversity techniques for wireless relay networks have recently been suggested to improve the overall system performance in terms of the achievable data rate or bit error rate (BER) with low decoding complexity and delay. However, these techniques require channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter side, at the receiver side, or at both sides. Therefore, due to the overhead associated with estimating CSI, distributed differential space-time coding techniques have been suggested to overcome this overhead by detecting the information symbols without requiring any (CSI) at any transmitting or receiving antenna. However, the latter techniques suffer from low performance in terms of BER as well as high latency and decoding complexity. In this paper, a distributed differential beamforming technique with power allocation is proposed to overcome all drawbacks associated with the later techniques without needing CSI at any antenna and to be used for cooperative communication networks. We prove through our analytical and simulation results that the proposed technique outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of BER with comparably low decoding complexity and latency.