bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rhinothermy delivered by nasal high flow therapy in the treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Bird Grace , Braithwaite Irene , Harper James , Koorevaar Iris , van den Berg Marthe , Maijers Ingrid , Kearns Nethmi , Dilcher Meik , Jennings Lance , Fingleton James , Shortt Nick , Weatherall Mark , Beasley Richard
Published: November 2021

Background

The common cold is the most common infectious disease affecting humans and has a substantial economic impact on society. Human rhinoviruses, which cause almost two-thirds of colds, have demonstrated temperature-dependent replication which is optimal between 33°C and 35°C.

Methods

This randomised, single-blind, parallel-group trial completed at a single-centre in New Zealand, recruited 170 participants aged 18–75 years (mean age 27.5 years) who were within 48 hours of common cold symptom onset and had a symptom score (the Modified Jackson Score (MJS)) ≥7 and a negative point-of-care test for influenza. Participants were blinded to the intervention and randomised (1:1) to 5 days of either nasal high flow rhinothermy (rNHF) (100% humidified air delivered at 35 L/min and 41°C for 2 hours daily) (n=85) or ‘sham’ rhinothermy (100% humidified air delivered at 10 L/min and 31°C for 10 min daily) (n=85) and completed daily symptom diaries, which included the MJS, for 14 days, to investigate whether rNHF reduced common cold symptom severity and duration compared with ‘sham’ rhinothermy.

Results

An intention-to-treat superiority analysis included all randomised participants and showed no difference between treatment groups for the primary outcome, the day 4 MJS analysed by analysis of covariance: mean (SD) 6.33 (3.97) for rNHF vs 5.8 (3.15) for ‘sham’; estimated difference (95% CI) 0.37 (−0.69 to 1.42), p=0.49. There was no difference in time until resolution of symptoms: mean (SD) 5.96 (4.47) days for rNHF vs 6.42 (4.09) days for ‘sham’; estimated difference (95% CI) 1.02 (0.75 to 1.38), p=0.91. There were no serious adverse events related to the study treatments.

Conclusions

This well-powered, single-blind randomised controlled trial does not provide evidence that 5 days of rNHF (100% humidified air heated to 41°C delivered at 35 L/min for 2 hours daily) reduces common cold symptom severity or duration. However, investigation of rNHF in the treatment of influenza is warranted.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12617001340325.
Study protocol for an online randomised controlled trial among non-treatment seeking problem gamblers: training inhibition in online problem gambling (TRAIN-online) trial
Authors: Santiago Antoine , Carré Arnaud , Miranda Ruben , Lemogne Cédric , LeStrat Yann , Benyamina Amine , Perney Pascal , Luquiens Amandine
Published: November 2021

Introduction

Development of fully internet-based programs could provide a new avenue to improve access to healthcare for problem gamblers. In this project, we aim to assess the efficacy of a web-based cognitive intervention targeting inhibitory control among problem gamblers, using a randomised controlled design. As impaired inhibitory control is involved in self-regulation difficulties in behavioural addictions, it represents a particularly relevant cognitive process to target for an online psychological intervention.

Methods and analysis

This will be a single-blinded, randomised, comparative therapeutic web-based, controlled trial. Up to 200 non-treatment seeking adult problem gamblers with a Problem Gambling Severity Index-recent (PGSI-recent) score ≥5 will be included. The intervention will be a computerised cognitive training program targeting inhibitory skills. The comparator, an active control, will be a computerised neutral sensorial program. Both programs will be carried out under similar conditions: biweekly online training for 6 weeks and optional telephone support will be offered to patients for debriefing. The main objective of the study is to assess the clinical efficacy of the online cognitive training program at 6 weeks, measured with the PGSI-recent. The secondary objectives are to assess the efficacy on the gambling behaviour assessed by the account-based gambling data, on the self-reported gambling practice, and on the inhibition performance at the neuropsychological level at 6, 14 and 52 weeks. We will also assess the acceptability of this program and the preferred level of guidance. Data analysis will be in intention-to-treat.

Ethics and dissemination

This randomized controlled trial will be executed in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration, and was approved by the local ethics boards (Comité de Protection des Personnes) in October 2017. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration number

NCT03673800.
Psychological impact of repeated epidemic exposure on healthcare workers: findings from an online survey of a healthcare workforce exposed to both SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and COVID-19
Authors: Chan Lai Gwen , Tan Pei Lin Lynnette , Sim Kang , Tan Ming Yee , Goh Kah Hong , Su Pei Qi , Tan Alvin Kah Heng , Lee Eng Sing , Tan Shu Yun , Lim Wen Phei , Aw Chia Hui , Goh Yi Zhen , Sadarangani Sapna , Chow Angela
Published: November 2021

Objective

To measure the psychological well-being of healthcare workers (HCWs) during this COVID-19 pandemic and examine the experiences of the subgroup of participants who were also HCWs during the 2003 SARS epidemic.

Design

Anonymous online survey adapted from a similar study conducted during the SARS epidemic, disseminated from July 2020 to August 2020.

Setting

Nine healthcare institutions across Singapore ranging from primary care, community care, tertiary care and specialised referral centres.

Participants

Employees working in the participating healthcare institutions.

Results

Of 3828 survey returns, 3616 had at least one completed item on the questionnaire. Majority were female (74.7%), nurses (51.7%), foreign-born (53.2%) and not working in the tertiary care setting (52.1%). The median score on the Impact of Events Scale (IES) was 15 (IQR 23) and 28.2% of the sample scored in the moderate/severe range. 22.7% of the participants were also HCWs during SARS and more than half of them felt safer and better equipped in the current pandemic. 25.2% of SARS HCWs and 25.9% of non-SARS HCWs had moderate/severe IES scores (p=0.904). After adjusting for age, marital status, parity and length of work experience, racial minority groups and living apart from family were independent predictors of high IES regardless of prior SARS epidemic experience. Daily exposure to confirmed or suspect COVID-19 cases increased the odds of high IES for non-SARS HCWs only.

Conclusions and relevance

Overall, while 28% of HCWs in our study suffered from significant trauma-related psychological symptoms regardless of prior experience with the SARS epidemic, those with prior experience reported feeling safer and better equipped, finding the workload easier to manage, as well as having more confidence in their healthcare leaders. We recommend for more trauma-informed support strategies for our HCWs especially those from racial minority groups, who are foreign-born and isolated from their families.
FOREST protocol: a qualitative study exploring health and sexuality of transmasculine individuals in France
Authors: Mabire Xavier , Robin-Radier Suzanne ,   OUTrans NGO, Ferraz Dulce , Preau Marie
Published: November 2021

Introduction

While current research on sexuality and health often explores sexual behaviours among heterosexual and gay cisgender individuals, little is known about the sexualities of transgender people, especially transmasculine people. When data are available, sexual health is often reduced to risk exposure, not considering in detail social context and determinants that could contribute to a more comprehensive approach, such as general health, class, race, exposure to violence or social representations. Recognising this gap, identified in both national (French) and international scientific literature, this study aims to explore the sexual health of transmasculine people, employing an intersectional approach and considering both positive and negative health determinants.

Methods

This 2-year research based in the disciplinary field of social psychology, with a gender perspective, and will apply qualitative methods. We adopt a community-based research approach, integrating one university and one community-based organisation in the coordination of the study. In a triangulation perspective, two rounds of semistructured interviews will be performed with key informants (medical practitioners, community-based support services workers, etc) and with people self-identifying as transmasculine. Focus groups will complement data collection.

Ethics and dissemination

FOREST protocol was approved by the Comité d’Évaluation Éthique (CEEI) de l’Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale (CEEI/International Review Board 00003888). The research adopts the principles of open science, and findings will be published assuring participants’ confidentiality. Informative flyers and videos will be elaborated to communicate study findings to participants, stakeholders and the transcommunities at large, and data will be stored in lasting archives.
COVID-19 management in nursing homes by outbreak teams (MINUTES) — study description and data characteristics: a qualitative study
Authors: van Tol Lisa S , Smaling Hanneke J A , Groothuijse Janneke M , Doornebosch Arno J , Janus Sarah I M , Zuidema Sytse U , Caljouw Monique A A , Achterberg Wilco P , de Waal Margot W M
Published: November 2021

Objectives

Nursing homes are hit relatively hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dutch long-term care (LTC) organisations installed outbreak teams (OTs) to coordinate COVID-19 infection prevention and control. LTC organisations and relevant national policy organisations expressed the need to share experiences from these OTs that can be applied directly in COVID-19 policy. The aim of the ‘COVID-19 management in nursing homes by outbreak teams’ (MINUTES) study is to describe the challenges, responses and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dutch nursing homes. In this first article, we describe the MINUTES Study and present data characteristics.

Design

This large-scale multicentre study has a qualitative design using manifest content analysis. The participating organisations shared their OT minutes and other meeting documents on a weekly basis. Data from week 16 (April) to week 53 (December) 2020 included the first two waves of COVID-19.

Setting

National study with 41 large Dutch LTC organisations.

Participants

The LTC organisations represented 563 nursing home locations and almost 43 000 residents.

Results

At least 36 of the 41 organisations had one or more SARS-CoV-2 infections among their residents. Most OTs were composed of management, medical staff, support services staff, policy advisors and communication specialists. Topics that emerged from the documents were: crisis management, isolation of residents, personal protective equipment and hygiene, staff, residents’ well-being, visitor policies, testing and vaccination.

Conclusions

OT meeting minutes are a valuable data source to monitor the impact of and responses to COVID-19 in nursing homes. Depending on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection and analysis will continue until November 2021. The results are used directly in national and organisational COVID-19 policy.
Research priorities for the management of complex fractures: a UK priority setting partnership with the James Lind Alliance
Authors: Bretherton Christopher Patrick , Claireaux Henry A , Gower Jonathan , Martin Shan , Thornhill Angela , Johnson Louise , Silvester Lucy , Kearney Rebecca Samantha , Baxter Mark , Dixon Paul , Giblin Victoria , Griffin Xavier Luke , Eardley William
Published: November 2021

Objective

To determine research priorities for the management of complex fractures, which represent the shared priorities of patients, their families, carers and healthcare professionals.

Design/setting

A national (UK) research priority setting partnership.

Participants

People who have experienced a complex fracture, their carers and relatives, and relevant healthcare professionals and clinical academics involved in treating patients with complex fractures. The scope includes open fractures, fractures to joints broken into multiple pieces, multiple concomitant fractures and fractures involving the pelvis and acetabulum.

Methods

A multiphase priority setting exercise was conducted in partnership with the James Lind Alliance over 21 months (October 2019 to June 2021). A national survey asked respondents to submit their research uncertainties which were then combined into several indicative questions. The existing evidence was searched to ensure that the questions had not already been sufficiently answered. A second national survey asked respondents to prioritise the research questions. A final shortlist of 18 questions was taken to a stakeholder workshop, where a consensus was reached on the top 10 priorities.

Results

A total of 532 uncertainties, submitted by 158 respondents (including 33 patients/carers) were received during the initial survey. These were refined into 58 unique indicative questions, of which all 58 were judged to be true uncertainties after review of the existing evidence. 136 people (including 56 patients/carers) responded to the interim prioritisation survey and 18 questions were taken to a final consensus workshop between patients, carers and healthcare professionals. At the final workshop, a consensus was reached for the ranking of the top 10 questions.

Conclusions

The top 10 research priorities for complex fracture include questions regarding rehabilitation, complications, psychological support and return to life-roles. These shared priorities will now be used to guide funders and teams wishing to research complex fractures over the coming decade.
Night-time diastolic blood pressure variability relates to stroke recurrence in patients who had ischaemic stroke with small artery occlusion
Authors: Wang Tingting , Xu Jie , Wang Anxin , Liu Ying , Zhao Xingquan , Wang Yongjun , Wang Yilong
Published: November 2021

Background and purpose

The association between blood pressure variability (BPV) and stroke recurrence among patients who had ischaemic stroke (IS) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between BPV and stroke recurrence in patients who had IS of large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) subtype and small artery occlusion (SAO) subtype.

Methods

Data from the BOSS (Blood Pressure and Clinical Outcome in Transient Ischemic Attack or Ischemic Stroke) study were examined. IS subtypes were diagnosed according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria. BPV was performed by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and defined through SD of blood pressure. The primary outcome was stroke recurrence within 90 days after discharge. Multivariable Cox regression model was used to assess the association between BPV and stroke recurrence in patients who had IS of LAA subtype and SAO subtype.

Results

A total of 1390 patients who had IS from the BOSS study were included in the present study. Multivariable analysis suggests that 24-hour systolic BPV (SBPV) and night-time diastolic BPV (DBPV) were significantly associated with stroke recurrence among all patients who had IS (HR, 2.50, 95% CI 1.07 to 5.84; HR, 1.85, 95% CI 1.07 to 3.21, respectively). Night-time SBPV and night-time DBPV were significantly associated with stroke recurrence in patients with SAO subtype (HR, 2.77, 95% CI 1.07 to 7.15; HR, 3.60, 95% CI 1.39 to 9.29, respectively). However, in the adjusted model, only night-time DBPV remained significant in patients with SAO subtype (HR, 3.87, 95% CI 1.40 to 10.71). Similar results were not found in patients who had IS of LAA subtype.

Conclusions

High night-time DBPV was associated with increased risk of stroke recurrence among patients who had IS of SAO subtype. The results of this study have implications for the secondary prevention management and future research of patients who had IS of SAO subtype. The association between BPV and stroke recurrence in patients who had IS of LAA subtype and SAO subtype should be investigated in larger, population-based studies.
Tranexamic acid for intracerebral haemorrhage within 2 hours of onset: protocol of a phase II randomised placebo-controlled double-blind multicentre trial
Authors: Yassi Nawaf , Zhao Henry , Churilov Leonid , Campbell Bruce C V , Wu Teddy , Ma Henry , Cheung Andrew , Kleinig Timothy , Brown Helen , Choi Philip , Jeng Jiann-Shing , Ranta Annemarei , Wang Hao-Kuang , Cloud Geoffrey C , Grimley Rohan , Shah Darshan , Spratt Neil , Cho Der-Yang , Mahawish Karim , Sanders Lauren , Worthington John , Clissold Ben , Meretoja Atte , Yogendrakumar Vignan , Ton Mai Duy , Dang Duc Phuc , Phuong Nguyen Thai My , Nguyen Huy-Thang , Hsu Chung Y , Sharma Gagan , Mitchell Peter J , Yan Bernard , Parsons Mark W , Levi Christopher , Donnan Geoffrey A , Davis Stephen M
Published: November 2021

Rationale

Haematoma growth is common early after intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), and is a key determinant of outcome. Tranexamic acid, a widely available antifibrinolytic agent with an excellent safety profile, may reduce haematoma growth.

Methods and design

Stopping intracerebral haemorrhage with tranexamic acid for hyperacute onset presentation including mobile stroke units (STOP-MSU) is a phase II double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, multicentre, international investigator-led clinical trial, conducted within the estimand statistical framework.

Hypothesis

In patients with spontaneous ICH, treatment with tranexamic acid within 2 hours of onset will reduce haematoma expansion compared with placebo.

Sample size estimates

A sample size of 180 patients (90 in each arm) would be required to detect an absolute difference in the primary outcome of 20% (placebo 39% vs treatment 19%) under a two-tailed significance level of 0.05. An adaptive sample size re-estimation based on the outcomes of 144 patients will allow a possible increase to a prespecified maximum of 326 patients.

Intervention

Participants will receive 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid over 10 min, followed by 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid over 8 hours; or matching placebo.

Primary efficacy measure

The primary efficacy measure is the proportion of patients with haematoma growth by 24±6 hours, defined as either ≥33% relative increase or ≥6 mL absolute increase in haematoma volume between baseline and follow-up CT scan.

Discussion

We describe the rationale and protocol of STOP-MSU, a phase II trial of tranexamic acid in patients with ICH within 2 hours from onset, based in participating mobile stroke units and emergency departments.
Sensory ecologies, plant-persons, and multinatural landscapes in Amazonia
Authors: Shepard Glenn H. , Daly Lewis
Published: November 2021

Seeking to generate a deeper methodological and theoretical dialogue between botanical science and anthropology, this paper summarizes interdisciplinary approaches to human–plant interactions we have described as “sensory ecology” and “phytoethnography”, applying these concepts to vital questions about human–plant relations in Amazonia. Building on this work, we broaden the scope of our investigations by considering their relevance to the field of historical ecology. In particular, we discuss Eduardo Viveiros de Castro’s concept of “multinaturalism” and explore how it can be applied to understanding management and domestication of forest landscapes in Amazonia by Indigenous Peoples.
CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND REGULATIONS IN CREDIT CARD MARKETS: EVIDENCE FROM TURKEY
Authors: AKIN G. GULSUN , AYSAN AHMET FARUK , ÖZER EZGI , YILDIRAN LEVENT
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we analyze the demand side of the credit card market. Using unique survey data and a discrete choice model, we uncover consumer preferences for all price and nonprice features of credit cards. Our results provide evidence for an alternative explanation for the credit card pricing puzzles. We show that consumers view credit cards as highly differentiated products with both bank-level and card-level nonprice features. When selecting their credit cards, they predominantly prioritize these nonprice features over prices. Although private banks charge higher prices for their credit card services than other banks, the majority of consumers choose them as issuers due to their bank-level and card-level nonprice features. Consumers who prioritize prices tend to choose the credit cards of participation or public banks. Widespread branch/automated teller machine networks as bank-level features and installments, bonuses/rewards/miles and the prestige of the card as card-level features are particularly effective in consumers’ decisions to choose private banks as issuers. Such strong preferences for nonprice features seem to furnish private banks with market power. Hence, we argue that underlying issuers’ market power is also this differentiated nature of credit cards, for which regulatory measures are not self-evident.
The violation of equivalence principle and four neutrino oscillations for long baseline neutrinos
Authors: Pandey Madhurima , Majumdar Debasish , Banik Amit Dutta , Halder Ashadul
Published: November 2021

Violation of equivalence principle predicts that neutrinos of different flavor couple differently with gravity. Such a scenario can give rise to gravity induced flavor oscillations in addition to the usual mass flavor neutrino oscillations during the neutrino propagation. Even if the equivalence principle is indeed violated, their measure will be extremely small. We explore the possibility to probe the violation of equivalence principle (VEP) for the case of long baseline (LBL) neutrinos in a 4-flavor neutrino framework (3 active + 1 sterile) where both mass and gravity induced oscillations are considered. To this end, we have explicitly calculated the oscillation probability in 4-flavor framework that includes in addition to the mass-flavor mixing in matter, the gravity-flavor mixing also. The energy eigenvalues are then obtained by diagonalizing such a 4-flavor mixing matrix. The formalism is then employed to estimate the wrong and right sign muon yields at a far detector for neutrinos produced in a neutrino factory and travel through the Earth matter. These results are compared with the similar estimations when the usual three active neutrinos are considered.
A de-Sitter weak gravity conjecture
Authors: Antoniadis Ignatios , Benakli Karim
Published: November 2021

The study of de-Sitter Reissner–Nordstrøm black holes allows us to uncover a Weak Gravity Conjecture in de-Sitter space. It states that for a given mass [Formula: see text] there should be a state with a charge [Formula: see text] bigger than a minimal value [Formula: see text], depending on the mass and the de-Sitter radius [Formula: see text], in Planck units. This reproduces the well-known flat space–time result [Formula: see text] in the large radius limit (large [Formula: see text]). In the highly curved de-Sitter space, ([Formula: see text]) [Formula: see text] behaves as [Formula: see text]. Finally, we discuss the case of backgrounds from gauged R-symmetry in [Formula: see text] supergravity. This paper is based on [I. Antoniadis and K. Benakli, Fortsch. Phys. 68, 2000054 (2020), arXiv:2006.12512 [hep-th]].
A variety of fractional soliton solutions for three important coupled models arising in mathematical physics
Authors: Arshed Saima , Rahman Riaz Ur , Raza Nauman , Khan Ahmad Kamal , Inc Mustafa
Published: November 2021

This paper deals with the optical solitons of fractional coupled Boussinesq, Burgers-type and mKdV equations by the hypothesis of traveling wave and [Formula: see text]-expansion scheme. These equations are important in different fields such as propagation of long water waves, fluid dynamics, and shallow water wave propagation. In comparison to other analytical procedures, the analytical methodology [Formula: see text] is an incredibly beneficial approach. This technique can also be used with other nonlinear fractional models. The suggested method generates three distinct solutions such as trigonometric, hyperbolic, and rational. Moreover, graphical representation has been used to portray the physical significance of the constructed solutions. Finally, a comprehensive study is made by using a definition of Beta fractional derivative and obtained solutions are represented graphically to understand considered models.
The effect of parabolic potential on ground state energy and vibration frequency of magnetopolaron in asymmetric Gaussian potential quantum wells
Authors: Mei Jing-Hong , Xiao Jing-Lin , Sun Yong , Zhang Bin , Miao Xiu-Juan , Zhang Wei
Published: November 2021

Anisotropy parabolic potential (APP) effects on ground state (GS) energy [Formula: see text] and the vibration frequency (VF) [Formula: see text] of weak-coupled magnetopolaron (MP) in asymmetric Gaussian quantum wells (AGQWs) were investigated using the linear combination operator and unitary transformation method. The obtained results showed that [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were increased by increasing the barrier height [Formula: see text] of AGQWs as well as transverse and longitudinal confined strengths [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] of APP and decreased with increase in the asymmetric Gaussian confinement potential (AGCP) range [Formula: see text] and transverse and longitudinal effective confined lengths [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] of APP. Thus, the GS energy and VF of MP could be changed by adjusting the confinement parameters of the APP and AGCP. The study of quantum wells’ semiconductor materials has broad potential applications in semiconductor lasers, optoelectronic devices and quantum information.
Improve urban traffic efficiency with prohibiting left-turn policy
Authors: Cheng Meng-Qin , Zhang Lele , Hu Xue-Dong , Hu Mao-Bin
Published: November 2021

Enhancing traffic flow plays an important role in the traffic management of urban arterial networks. The policy of prohibiting left-turn (PLT) at selected highly demanded intersections has been adopted as an attempt to increase the efficiency at these intersections. In this paper, we study the impact of PLT by mathematical analysis and simulations based on the cellular automaton model. Using the flow-density relation, three system performance indexes are examined: the average trip completion rate, the average traffic flow, and the average velocity of vehicles. Different route guidance strategies, including the shortest path and the quickest path, are investigated. We show that when left turn is prohibited, vehicles are distributed more homogeneously in the road network, and the system performs better and reaches a higher capacity. We also derive a critical length of link, above which the benefit of PLT will decrease.
Skew G-codes
Authors: Dougherty S. T. , Şahinkaya Serap , Yıldız Bahattin
Published: November 2021

We describe skew G-codes, which are codes that are the ideals in a skew group ring, where the ring is a finite commutative Frobenius ring and G is an arbitrary finite group. These codes generalize many of the well-known classes of codes such as cyclic, quasicyclic, constacyclic codes, skew cyclic, skew quasicyclic and skew constacyclic codes. Additionally, using the skew G-matrices, we can generalize almost all the known constructions in the literature for self-dual codes.
Stochastic numerical investigations for nonlinear three-species food chain system
Authors: Sabir Zulqurnain
Published: November 2021

In this work, three-dimensional nonlinear food chain system is numerically treated using the computational heuristic framework of artificial neural networks (ANNs) together with the proficiencies of global and local search approaches based on genetic algorithm (GA) and interior-point algorithm scheme (IPAS), i.e. ANN–GA–IPAS. The three-dimensional food chain system consists of prey populations, specialist predator and top-predator. The formulation of an objective function using the differential system of three-species food chain and its initial conditions is presented and the optimization is performed by using the hybrid computing efficiency of GA–IPAS. The achieved numerical solutions through ANN–GA–IPAS to solve the nonlinear three-species food chain system are compared with the Adams method to validate the exactness of the designed ANN–GA–IPAS. The comparison of the results is presented to authenticate the correctness of the designed ANN–GA–IPAS for solving the nonlinear three-species food chain system. Moreover, statistical representations for 40 independent trials and 30 variables validate the efficacy, constancy and reliability of ANN–GA–IPAS.
Ecofriendly Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Ananas comosus Fruit Peels: Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activities
Authors: Baran Ayşe , Keskin Cumali , Baran Mehmet Fırat , Huseynova Irada , Khalilov Rovshan , Eftekhari Aziz , Irtegun-Kandemir Sevgi , Kavak Deniz Evrim
Published: November 2021

Metallic nanoparticles are valuable materials and have a range of uses. Nanoparticles synthesized from plant wastes by environment-friendly methods have attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. Also, the advantages of biological resources and synthesis methods are attracting attention. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized from Ananas comosus fruit peels using ecofriendly method steps. The characterization of the particles obtained was determined by using a UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis.), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction diffractometer (XRD), Fourier scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanoparticles showed maximum absorbance at 463 nm, measuring 11.61 in crystal nanosize, and presented spherical in appearance. An antimicrobial activity test was determined with the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) method. The nanoparticles showed promising inhibitory activity on the Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogen microorganisms (Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC29213, Bacillus subtilis ATCC11774, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC27833 bacteria, and Candida albicans yeast) at low concentrations. The cytotoxic and growth inhibitory effects of silver nanoparticles on different cancer cell lines were examined via the MTT assay.
The Design of Teaching Evaluation and Organization System Based on the Internet of Things Using Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Software
Authors: Guo Hang
Published: November 2021

Educational evaluation is the main method of modern education management and guidance. Through a systematic collection of information and quantitative and qualitative analysis, value judgments can be made on the degree to which education adapts to needs, which can effectively improve the teaching development of applied undergraduate colleges. This article applies the Internet of Things technology to the information collection process of teaching evaluation in applied undergraduate colleges. This paper establishes an Internet of Things architecture to collect information on the impact indicators of the teaching evaluation process and builds a teaching evaluation index system. On this basis, this article combines fuzzy comprehensive evaluation for the quantification and evaluation process of index information. Through comparative analysis, the program can provide an effective way to construct a teaching evaluation system suitable for application-oriented undergraduate colleges. Constructing the research-based undergraduate classroom teaching evaluation index system aims at guiding the transformation of the concept of teaching and learning of teachers and students in research universities, perfecting the teaching and learning methods, improving the quality of teaching and learning, and promoting the common development of teachers and students.
Pharmacological Treatment Options for Coronavirus Disease-19 in Renal Patients
Authors: Jonny  , Violetta Laurencia , Kartasasmita Arief Sjamsulaksan , Amirullah Roesli Rully Marsis , Rita Coriejati
Published: November 2021

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), including dialysis and transplant patients, are at greater risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 due to kidney dysfunction and preexisting comorbidities. To date, a specific guideline on managing these high-risk patients infected with COVID-19 has not been established. As the current management of COVID-19 comprises mainly experimental drugs, the authors aim to provide information on dosing adjustments at different stages of kidney dysfunction and notable renal side effects. We performed a nonsystematical review of currently available COVID-19 drugs exploring several different clinical trial databases and search browsers. Several antivirals and monoclonal antibodies used in COVID-19 treatment require dosage adjustments in kidney dysfunction. In a global pandemic setting, nephrologists need to consider the appropriate dosage according to the renal function and closely monitor the side effects of different drug combinations to obtain the optimum therapeutic effect while avoiding further renal damage. Further studies are required to determine the safety and efficacy of these drugs in renal patients.
Computational Study on Three‐Dimensional Convective Casson Nanofluid Flow past a Stretching Sheet with Arrhenius Activation Energy and Exponential Heat Source Effects
Authors: Ragupathi P. , Saranya S. , Mittal H.V.R. , Al-Mdallal Qasem M.
Published: November 2021

The effective applications of Casson fluid in drilling processes, biological treatments, food processing, and bio‐engineering activities have caught the interest of a wide range of researchers. The suitable knowledge of heat transfer via non‐Newtonian fluid is essential for the achievement of best quality products in industry. Thus, the three‐dimensional Casson nanofluid flow over a stretching sheet with Arrhenius activation energy and exponential heat source effects is investigated in this paper using a computational process based on iterative power series (IPS) method. To provide useful insights into the physical and dynamic examinations of this topic, convective heat and convective mass boundary conditions are used. The developed model of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) has been transformed into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) using similarity transformations. The numerical solution of the transformed ODEs is obtained by employing the IPS technique combined with shooting iteration approach. The results of this study are validated with the previous studies, and excellent agreements have been obtained. The behavior of various capable physical parameters is analyzed. It is observed that the thermal and concentration fields show an enhancement with respect to the exponential heat source parameter and thermal and concentration Biot numbers. Further, the Arrhenius activation energy parameter has shown a significant effect on the concentration field.
A Revisit Histogram of Oriented Descriptor for Facial Color Image Classification Based on Fusion of Color Information
Authors: Nguyen-Quoc Huy , Hoang Vinh Truong
Published: November 2021

Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) is a robust descriptor which is widely used in many real‐life applications, including human detection, face recognition, object counting, and video surveillance. In order to extract HOG descriptor from color images whose information is three times more than the grayscale images, researchers currently apply the maximum magnitude selection method. This method makes the information of the resulted image is reduced by selecting the maximum magnitudes. However, after we extract HOG using the unselected magnitudes of the maximum magnitude selection method, we observe that the performance is better than using the maximum magnitudes in several cases. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel approach for extracting HOG from color images such as Color Component Selection and Color Component Fusion. We also propose the extended kernels in order to improve the performance of HOG. With our new approaches in the color component analysis, the experimental results of several facial benchmark datasets are enhanced with the increment from 3 to 10% of accuracy. Specifically, a 95.92% of precision is achieved on the Face AR database and 75% on the Georgia Face database. The results are better more than 10 times compared with the original HOG approach.
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Collaborative Computation Offloading on Internet of Vehicles
Authors: Li Yureng , Xu Shouzhi , Li Dawei
Published: November 2021

With the increase of Internet of vehicles (IoVs) traffic, the contradiction between a large number of computing tasks and limited computing resources has become increasingly prominent. Although many existing studies have been proposed to solve this problem, their main consideration is to achieve different optimization goals in the case of edge offloading in static scenarios. Since realistic scenarios are complicated and generally time‐varying, these studies in static scenes are imperfect. In this paper, we consider a collaborative computation offloading in a time‐varying edge‐cloud network, and we formulate an optimization problem with considering both delay constraints and resource constraints, aiming to minimize the long‐term system cost. Since the set of feasible solutions to the problem is nonconvex, and the complexity of the problem is very large, we propose a Q‐learning‐based approach to solve the optimization problem. In addition, due to the dimensional catastrophes, we further propose a DQN‐based approach to solve the optimization problem. Finally, by comparing our two proposed algorithms with typical algorithms, the simulation results show that our proposed approaches achieve better performance. Under the same conditions, by comparing our two proposed algorithms with typical algorithms, the simulation results show that our proposed Q‐learning‐based method reduces the system cost by about 49% and 42% compared to typical algorithms. And in the same case, compared with the classical two schemes, our proposed DQN‐based scheme reduces the system cost by 62% and 57%.
Mexiletine and False Positive Urine Drug Screen for Amphetamine: A Case Review
Authors: Sohal Sumit , Sous Mina , Pethe Gauri , Padmanabhan Shanmugha V. , Akbari Rajesh , Dadkhah Shahriar
Published: November 2021

Advanced heart failure patients commonly suffer from ventricular arrhythmias which can be managed by antiarrhythmic drugs like mexiletine. These ventricular arrhythmias can be complicated by illicit drug use which alter outcomes and can potentially impact the patient-physician relationship through countertransference. However, mexiletine can lead to false positive urine drug screen testing for amphetamine, and these false-positive urine drug screen test results can affect the decision-making process. Health care providers should be aware of this fact and should either use confirmatory testing or look for confounding compounds in patients who deny using illicit substances and have a positive urine drug screen. Our patient is 64 years old who arrived at the emergency department after experiencing a shock by his intracardiac defibrillator. The patient tested positive for amphetamine on his urine drug screen and was later ruled out by confirmatory quantitative testing.
Nursing Intervention Countermeasures of Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Urological Surgery Complications
Authors: An Xushu , Zhou Jinyuan , Ma Xuenan , Song Bingbing
Published: November 2021

The objective is to explore the application effect of comprehensive nursing intervention in prevention of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in urological patients undergoing laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. From April 2019 to April 2020, 200 patients who received urological laparoscopic surgery and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery were selected. According to the random number table method, they were divided into control group and observation group, 100 cases in control group and 100 cases in observation group. Patients in control group received routine nursing, while patients in observation group received comprehensive nursing intervention. The skin condition, swelling, pain, and occurrence of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism of lower extremities in 2 groups were observed. The experimental results showed that the lower limb swelling, lower limb pain, and lower limb deep vein thrombosis in the control group were significantly higher than those in the observation group, but all patients were cured and discharged after taking effective symptomatic treatment and nursing measures in time. In the control group, pulmonary embolism occurred in 3 patients, all of whom died. There was no significant difference in skin changes of lower limbs (

P
>
0.05

), and there were significant differences in other skin changes (

P
<
0.05

). It proved that comprehensive nursing intervention can effectively prevent the formation of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in urological patients undergoing laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery with high-risk factors.
Enrichment of Limestone Used in the Desulphurisation of Fluidised-Bed-Boiler Flue Gases
Authors: Petr Buryan , Hlincik Tomas
Published: November 2021

In this work, we analysed the impact of adding several previously untested Sorbacal calcium-based substances to the raw limestone that is currently used for dry desulphurisation of brown-coal fluidised-bed boilers. Our focus was to examine whether these additives could potentially improve the limestone SO2 adsorption capacity. The main criterion was the time period for which each enriched limestone was able to keep its desulphurisation ability, i.e., time for which the SO2 concentration in the heated model flue gas was kept below 200 mg/m3 (current legal limit for the technology in our scope). The analysis showed that the limestone desulphurisation ability increased when 20% of Sorbacal SP was added to the calcined limestone. The overall desulphurisation capacity of this enriched mass was even higher than what would be proportional to the isolated capacity of the additive itself. On the other hand, the enrichment of raw limestone with Sorbacal H 90 proved to be unpromising for the technology of brown-coal fluidised-bed boilers as the fine particles of the additive were carried away, and fluidised bed was inhomogeneous with ducts forming in it.
Coronary Atherosclerosis and Aortic Valve Disease as Long-Term Sequelae of Radiation Therapy in Childhood
Authors: van den Handel Vestergaard Majken , Bovin Ann , Grove Erik Lerkevang
Published: November 2021

Coronary atherosclerosis and valvular heart disease are rare, but potentially severe sequelae following mediastinal radiation therapy. We present a case of premature ischemic heart disease and severe aortic stenosis in a 40-year-old woman following radiation therapy in childhood. We stress the awareness of prior mediastinal radiation therapy as an important risk factor for premature coronary atherosclerosis and valvular heart disease, particularly in younger patients without classical risk factors for coronary artery disease.
The SETDB1–TRIM28 Complex Suppresses Antitumor Immunity
Authors: Lin Jianhuang , Guo Dajiang , Liu Heng , Zhou Wei , Wang Chen , Müller Iris , Kossenkov Andrew V. , Drapkin Ronny , Bitler Benjamin G. , Helin Kristian , Zhang Rugang
Published: November 2021

The tumor immune microenvironment is influenced by the epigenetic landscape of the tumor. Here, we have identified the SETDB1–TRIM28 complex as a critical suppressor of antitumor immunity. An epigenetic CRISPR–Cas9 screen of 1,218 chromatin regulators identified TRIM28 as a suppressor of PD-L1 expression. We then revealed that expression of the SETDB1–TRIM28 complex negatively correlated with infiltration of effector CD8+ T cells. Inhibition of SETDB1–TRIM28 simultaneously upregulated PD-L1 and activated the cyclic GMP–AMP synthase (cGAS)–stimulator of interferon genes (STING) innate immune response pathway to increase infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Mechanistically, SETDB1–TRIM28 inhibition led to micronuclei formation in the cytoplasm, which is known to activate the cGAS–STING pathway. Thus, SETDB1–TRIM28 inhibition bridges innate and adaptive immunity. Indeed, SETDB1 knockout enhanced the antitumor effects of immune checkpoint blockade with anti–PD-L1 in a mouse model of ovarian cancer in a cGAS-dependent manner. Our findings establish the SETDB1–TRIM28 complex as a regulator of antitumor immunity and demonstrate that its loss activates cGAS–STING innate immunity to boost the antitumor effects of immune checkpoint blockade.
Concurrent Onset of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Atypical Phenotype Acute Myeloid Leukemia Revealed by Autopsy
Authors: Kiso Sayaka , Sugiura Hiroyuki , Kuroi Taiga , Omote Rika , Toji Tomohiro , Ishikawa Tatsunori , Okamoto Sachiyo , Nomura Naho , Masunari Taro , Sezaki Nobuo , Kiguchi Toru , Tanimoto Mitsune
Published: November 2021

The concurrent onset of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is rare, and no autopsy case has been reported. We report herein the first case of concurrent-onset CLL and AML with an atypical phenotype revealed by autopsy. Notably, the diagnosis of AML was quite difficult during the patient’s lifetime because of the atypical phenotype. However, autopsy revealed that the patient’s bone marrow, liver, and spleen were filled with myeloblasts. In addition, p53 stain and PCR of IgH rearrangement using the autopsy specimen suggested that CLL and AML might be different clones. In conclusion, our case highlights the importance of considering synchronous complications of AML in CLL patients, particularly in those with an atypical clinical course.