bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection of COVID-19 using Hybrid ResNet and SVM
Authors: Enireddy Vamsidhar , Kumar Mathe John Kenny , Donepudi Babitha , Karthikeyan C
Published: December 2020

The whole world facing a huge crisis because of Corona virus also known as COVID-2019, identified first in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan located in China. The detection of persons infected with the virus is most important as it can be spread easily from him to others and also the person infected with the virus may not know that he is infected until a number of symptoms fallout from him. In this paper the virus detection is done using deep learning and machine learning algorithms using the X-ray images. A dataset is created with three classes consisting of normal, corona virus, and pneumonia images. The proposed method uses ResNet50 and SVM, deep learning features are extracted using ResNet50 and classification is done using SVM classifier. The classification accuracy obtained from the model is 100% when testing on the Corona virus and normal images, whereas the results obtained from the model is 94% when it is tested on the dataset consisting of normal, Corona virus and pneumonia images and performed well compared to VGG16.
Bus route recognition for visually impaired people
Authors: Shobana R , Muthu Selvan S , Aishwarya A , Apoorva N D , Christon Gavin
Published: December 2020

Most important part in human’s life is our six senses, if we are not having any one of the senses, it will be more difficult to run our day to day life. Here we are going to help the visually impaired peoples to listen where there are and what are they going to do next as a sense in our body. visually impaired usually get information for their next move from others, this may create a inferiority complex to them that they can’t be like normal human beings, they are always dependent on others. To make them fell self-confident and to face their obstacles by themselves we have specially customized a smart cap for visually impaired peoples, as they can help them in their day to day life. Vision plays a significant role. Persons without vision can gather information through their hearing skills. The proposed system is an innovative implementation of a smart guidance system for those with vision. The system is a novel and real-time cost-effective technique. The system consists of three modules: voice search module, image processing module and voice processing module. These modules are executed using the keyword function search, which is in voice form, provided by the user. The system combines the concept of optical character recognition and the text to speech synthesizer. It involves extracting text from the image and translating the text into speech; this makes it easier for the user to read the text. From a computer standpoint, extracting text from color images is a difficult task. It can also be used to identify the bus name and bus number at the bus stop or bus stand for the blind and prevents it from being used by an ultrasonic sensor and is communicated to the user by the vibration sensing mechanism.
Image Segmentation Techniques for Remote Sensing Satellite Images
Authors: Bhadoria Priyanka , Agrawal Shikha , Pandey Rajeev
Published: December 2020

The use of satellite imagery has become an integral aspect in the planning of multiple domains that include disaster management and analysis of natural calamity images, snow cover mapping, smart city development, etc. Extraction of urban information like linear features(roads), structured features( buildings, dams, man-made structures), boundaries of water bodies) from satellite images has now become an important area in remote sensing studies.

The whole part of a digital image is not useful for a particular purpose hence the image needs to be segmented. Various methods for image segmentation have been proposed but the choice of a particular method depends upon our requirement. Hence it is necessary to have a basic insight of different methods used for remote sensing satellite images. This paper gives a brief explanation of various segmentation methods and the use of these methods on different data sets.
Review for Detecting Smoke and Fire in Forest using Different Technologies
Authors: Komarasamy Dinesh , Gokuldhev M. , Jenita Hermina J , Gokulapriya M , Manju M
Published: December 2020

Nature has a huge role to maintain the stability in the environment. But, natural disasters damage the environment, affect the life cycle and decline the lifetime of living beings. Nature is destroyed by different disasters namely earthquake, fire, flood, landslide, air pollution and so on. Among these, forest fire is one of the foremost dangerous natural disasters which cause several serious issues like biodiversity loss, global warming, fuel wood loss and air pollution in the environment. Therefore, prediction of fire occurring in forest plays a crucial role to save lots of the environment. Thus, researchers focused on different technologies with different methodologies for predicting the fire that occurred in forest, as early as possible. Moreover, smoke is the focal point for fire, some of the researchers pay their attention on detecting the smoke of the forest using different technologies. Therefore, this paper gives a summary for effectively detecting the smoke and fire in forest.
Power Optimization by Using Reconfigurable LFSR with Gated Clock
Authors: Anandhi S. , Neela R. , Janaki Rani M.
Published: December 2020

LFSR are the most commonly used test pattern generators due to its efficiency than any binary counters. This paper presents the design of a novel reconfigurable LFSR with clock gating for VLSI testing. The technology advancement in VLSI has increased the complexity of chip testing. This complexity in testing has made the Logic BIST (LBIST) more popular than Automatic Test Equipment. This helps the testing with an additional hardware added inside the circuit. ATE does not apply any test patterns but the test patterns are generated by the testing circuits which are inbuilt in the hardware. Thus the cost of testing is greatly reduced. In the LBIST, reconfigurable LFSR are used for the test pattern generation which improves the fault coverage in IC testing. This increases the generation of random test pattern. To increase the speed of testing and reduce the power required a clock gating is introduced in the reconfigurable LFSR. In traditional testing more transistors are required in the circuits resulting in consumption of more power than power required for the functioning of the circuit. Conventional clock circuit consumes 70% of the clock buffer. This reduces the number of switching activities in the BIST. The power consumption of the proposed reconfigurable LFSR with gated clocking is significantly reduced when compared with the conventional LFSR with clocking circuits.
Supervisory Protection Scheme for a Wide Area 400KV Power Network
Authors: Nalini A , Sheeba Percis E , Jijina G O , Raja M , Sendilvelan S
Published: December 2020

The Occurrences of blackout has emphasized the Engineers to enhance the protection schemes. The faulted areas are isolated and therefore the remainder of the areas are protected. During the faulted conditions like Congestion, Over/Under Voltage, Over/Under current, Over/Under Frequency etc, the dimensions and complexity of the facility grid makes the system vulnerable. In this paper Wide area protection scheme is applied to a 400kv Network. For detection and to initiate remedial actions, SCADA alongside Phasor Measurement Unit is applied for Wide Area Protection for robustness of the facility Grid.
IoT Webserver to Analyze the Quality of Air, Temperature, Humidity and noise in Our Environment
Authors: Mohana Priya R , Hema L. K. , Harishankari G. , Pavithra G. , Suva Lakshmi T.
Published: December 2020

The proposed system is for the weather parameter and quality of air temperature coverage over the web. It permits the individuals to directly check the surrounding environmental condition on-line while not the necessity of a prognostication agency. System uses temperature, humidness also as rain sensing element to watch weather and supply live coverage of the weather statistics. The system perpetually monitors temperature victimization temperature sensing element, humidness victimization humidness sensing element and additionally for rain. The system will transmit this information to the microcontroller that currently processes this information and keeps on transmitting it to the net web server over a Wi-Fi association. This information will be live updated on the net server system.
Automatic Irrigation Systems for Efficient usage of Water using Embedded Control Systems
Authors: Vijendra Babu D , Shijin K V , Sreejith N S , Sureshbabu Anjana V , Karthikeyan C
Published: December 2020

Agriculture, the main livelihood of millions depends mostly on the regular supply of water. With fast depleting fresh water resources the need of the hour is effective utilization of water. Till recently farmers have been irrigating using water when and wherever needed by manually switching on or off the motor pumps. This required constant monitoring of the water supply and also there were problems of power supply not being available during day times. With the introduction of modern techniques like drip water irrigation and even fertilizer supply being done along with water, we needed automation techniques. Remote monitoring and control have been introduced due to non-availability of cheap human resources. Now it is being introduced in all places for efficient utilization of water.
Performance Analysis of Cost and Accuracy for Whale Swarm and RMSprop Optimizer
Authors: Vijendra Babu D , Karthikeyan C , Shreya  , Kumar Abhishek
Published: December 2020

The scientific fields’ deals with day to day problems, like economic planning and engineering design, mostly are disconnected, high dimensional, multimodal and oscillated optimization problems. These complex problems cannot be solved well within reasonable time using conventional process based on gradient. The natural phenomenon motivates and animal group behavior characteristics, the investigators have anticipated many efficient natural heuristic algorithms for high-dimensional complex optimization problems in real-world. This manuscript deals with one of the meta-heuristic algorithm, Whale Swarm Optimization algorithm (WSO) and compares the performance with RMS prop optimization techniques.
Use of Statistical Techniques in Ceramic Industry to Reduce Complexities
Authors: Kiradoo Giriraj
Published: December 2020

:The exercises of the directors of clay industry are transforming into complex, and it is critical to take the right choices to decrease the large misfortunes. The hierarchical assets are to be utilized ideally. The motivation behind the investigation is to investigate the function of factual procedures that can be taken reasonably in research alongside taking a gander at the couple of difficulties of measurable strategies and likely methods of drop down complexities of earthenware industry. The utilization of subjective exploration is to be accomplished for having a profound comprehension of the measurable procedures. The use of the subjective system has been received to attract data about quantitative methods insights to help business dynamic. The utilization of diaries, books and web articles have been utilized thoroughly. The utilization of various measurable strategies have been concentrated to give its significance in business dynamic. The various methods fill the regular need to accomplish better administrative choices for the chief to help the associations. The article had set out the strategies that appear to be a measurable methodology for the organizations. The figures give the plans to the supervisors to settle on choices so the odds of disappointments can be limited. The strategies are to be utilized in the business as it is imperative to get the strong proof for the choices made. The difficulties are likewise to be found in procedures use with the goal that supervisors can plan for possibility misfortunes also.
Green Synthesized Nano Particles Based Inspection of Ethano-Medicinal Flora of Cholistan Desert, Pakistan
Authors: Jaleel F , Shahid Samiullah Sohu A , Akhtar M , Irshad K , Irshad M B , Mehboob S
Published: December 2020

Besides the availability of herbal drugs in accordance with their native areas, mankind appreciates the benefits of green gold for curing the diseases from prehistoric times. The advancement to overcome the basic problem of delayed action of these herbal drugs is effectively tackled by the introduction of Nanotechnology specifically in this field. Some of the admiring aspects of this technique are the improvement of the drug delivery system which improves its effectiveness against diseases and worldwide spread of the drug is possible. Deserted land of the Cholistan region, Punjab; Pakistan, provides an excellent source for the supply of many medicinally important plants, attracting researchers for the exploration of Nanomedicines against several diseases. This review emphasizes the importance of Cholistan desert flora and discusses the prospects of the medicinal corridor through the gateway of the Cholistan desert not only in the advanced field of Nanomedicines but also for providing the better living standards.
A Compact Polarization Independent Power splitter for Mid IR Range
Authors: Kaur H , Jindal P
Published: December 2020

Photonic crystal based Power splitters being associated with significant advantages related to dimensions have been widely explored in literature in last few years. However these devices are associated with a serious drawback of polarization dependency which restricts their operation in various optical interconnects. This paper designs compact Photonic crystal based polarization independent Power splitter for Mid IR Range. The proposed structure has very small footprints with dimensions of 10×10μm2 shows a transmission efficiency of efficiency of 97% at wavelength of 1430 nm. Such a small footprint power splitter can help significantly while designing optical setups in areas of spectroscopy and security.
Investigation on mechanical behaviour of Al-6061 SiC Metal Matrix with Ni composite
Authors: Mani N , Palanivendhan M , Siranjeevi M , Balaji K
Published: December 2020

In today’s world, the requirement of light, inexpensive, and quickly processed materials has increased to a great extent. Composite materials that main have their constituent part as metal are called Metal Matrix Composites (MMC). Reinforcement is used to improve different properties of the main material, such as wear resistance, hardness, fatigue resistance, friction coefficient, thermal conductivity, etc. Aluminium alloy (Al-6061) reinforced with silicon carbide and Nickel micro size particles and fabricated by using a stir casting process was investigated for its mechanical properties. The mechanical characteristics of the composition (Al-6061 - SiC - Ni) are studied by varying the Ni composition as 1wt% and 2wt% and 3wt% and by keeping the composition of SiC as 5wt%. The mechanical properties that were obtained by undergoing various tests were compared and studied. Their behaviour according to the various tests were tabulated and the results that are obtained were also plotted in a graph.
Transient thermal analysis of brake disc in c++
Authors: Palanivendhan M , Senthilkumar S , Chandradass J , vatsa Satvik
Published: December 2020

This work examines the development of a C++ program to analyze one dimensional thermal conduction for asymmetrical domain using Finite Element Method in C++ environment. Finite Element Library has been used to incorporate various pre-defined Finite Element classes. The various classes have been further grouped into several modules which serve as the fundamental units of any program that encapsulated Finite Element Method. The work strives to illuminate the abstraction behind the computation of the desired unknown solution to a complex real-world problem by capturing the physics of heat conduction and highlights the mathematics required to arrive at an understandable transient solution, which adheres to the conditions of stability, and thus can be relied upon to be implemented in various automotive engineering applications. It also identifies the underlying mechanism through which simple one-dimensional and multi-dimensional partial differential equation problem are generally solved. The elliptic, classic form of partial differential equation has been developed in the form of C++ code. The development begins with elliptic partial differential equations in multi-dimension dimension for steady state heat conduction and then is expanded to included time discretization, which is requirement of a time-dependent problem. Then output of the code is compared to the solution is validated iteratively so as to find the critical time step size for stability, which also validates whether the code actually works for different numerical techniques such as Forward Difference, Backward Difference and the Crank-Nicholson Method, all three distinguished by certain value of a common parameter. The C++ code is both flexible as well as expandable and can be thought of as a mathematical model to solve time-dependent heat conduction problem.
Design, Fabrication and Analysis of Bladeless Turbine
Authors: Yogesh babu M S , Aravind Kumar S , Hari Prasat M , Vignesh R , Devendra Kumar Rao D , Vijay Ashwin , Reena Christy Elizabeth S , Jerome Stanley M
Published: December 2020

A bladeless turbine is capable of using the exhaust gas energy adiabatically by converting most of its energy into shaft power. This bladeless turbine is widely known as Boundary-layer turbine or Cohesion-type turbine. The fundamental physics behind the working of the bladeless turbine is boundary layer effect; boundary layer is the layer of fluid in the immediate vicinity of a bounding surface where the effects of viscosity are significant. The heat energy that is being wasted as exhaust in a four-stroke engine can be utilized by using a bladeless turbine which is capable of converting a fast-moving fluid (exhaust gas) to shaft work. This shaft work can be used for various applications like to run an alternator or a compressor. The prototype model of bladeless Turbine has been designed and tested with different experiments were made under varying mass air flow rate of compressed air.
Wavelet Transform based Multiple Image Watermarking Technique
Authors: Nanmaran R , Nagarajan S , Sindhuja R , Charan Garudadri Venkata Sree , Pokala Venkata Sai Kumar , Srimathi S , Gulothungan G , Vickram A. S , Thanigaivel S
Published: December 2020

In satellite communication the information’s like frequency, Polarization, Data format, Timing information are need to be protected for secure communication. Digital watermarking is the technique which provides secure way of communication in which the secret information or watermark can be transmitted safely. Wavelet Transform is playing an increasingly important role in watermarking due to its good spatial-frequency characteristics, and its wide applications in the image and video coding standards. In this work a novel Hybrid Steerable Pyramid with Discrete Wavelet Transform (SP+DWT) based multiple watermarking is attempted for colour images. In order to increase the robustness of the algorithm Arnold transform and Fibonacci transform based image scrambler is applied to watermarks before embedding in to cover image. The performance of the proposed scheme is validated for various attacks, such as Gaussian noise, Salt & Pepper Noise, Rotation, Translation and Speckle Noise. The proposed method is withstood for all the noise attacks and the performance of the proposed algorithm is measured using Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), Normalized Correlation (NC) and Similarity Measure (SM). Pearson Independent component Analysis (ICA) is applied at the receiving end to extract watermarks from the input image. To analyse the inclusion of image scrambler the results of proposed algorithm is compared with same algorithm without image scrambler applied. The performance of proposed technique is also compared with other wavelet transforms like Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), Wavelet Packet Transform (WPT) and Integer Wavelet Transform (IWT). Simulation results such as PSNR,NC,SM shows that hybrid SP+DWT based watermarking technique and extraction using Pearson ICA results in high imperceptible, better security and robustness, when compared to DWT, WPT and IWT based watermarking and extraction using Pearson ICA.
Gabriel’s theorem and birational geometry
Authors: Calabrese John , Pirisi Roberto
Published: December 2020

Extending work of Meinhardt and Partsch, we prove that two varieties are isomorphic away from a subset of a given dimension if and only if certain quotients of their categories of coherent sheaves are equivalent. This result interpolates between Gabriel’s reconstruction theorem and the fact that two varieties are birational if and only if they have the same function field.
Risk of conversion to open surgery during robotic and laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy and effect on outcomes: international propensity score-matched comparison study
Authors: Lof S , Vissers F L , Klompmaker S , Berti S , Boggi U , Coratti A , Dokmak S , Fara R , Festen S , D’Hondt M , Khatkov I , Lips D , Luyer M , Manzoni A , Rosso E , Saint-Marc O , Besselink M G , Abu Hilal M ,   the European consortium on Minimally Invasive Pancreatic Surgery (E-MIPS)
Published: December 2020

Background

Minimally invasive pancreatoduodenectomy (MIPD) is increasingly being performed because of perceived patient benefits. Whether conversion of MIPD to open pancreatoduodenectomy worsens outcome, and which risk factors are associated with conversion, is unclear.

Methods

This was a post hoc analysis of a European multicentre retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing MIPD (2012–2017) in ten medium-volume (10–19 MIPDs annually) and four high-volume (at least 20 MIPDs annually) centres. Propensity score matching (1 : 1) was used to compare outcomes of converted and non-converted MIPD procedures. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for conversion, with results presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95 per cent confidence intervals (c.i).

Results

Overall, 65 of 709 MIPDs were converted (9.2 per cent) and the overall 30-day mortality rate was 3.8 per cent. Risk factors for conversion were tumour size larger than 40 mm (OR 2.7, 95 per cent c.i.1.0 to 6.8; P = 0.041), pancreatobiliary tumours (OR 2.2, 1.0 to 4.8; P = 0.039), age at least 75 years (OR 2.0, 1.0 to 4.1; P = 0.043), and laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy (OR 5.2, 2.5 to 10.7; P < 0.001). Medium-volume centres had a higher risk of conversion than high-volume centres (15.2 versus 4.1 per cent, P < 0.001; OR 4.1, 2.3 to 7.4, P < 0.001). After propensity score matching (56 converted MIPDs and 56 completed MIPDs) including risk factors, rates of complications with a Clavien–Dindo grade of III or higher (32 versus 34 per cent; P = 0.841) and 30-day mortality (12 versus 6 per cent; P = 0.274) did not differ between converted and non-converted MIPDs.

Conclusion

Risk factors for conversion during MIPD include age, large tumour size, tumour location, laparoscopic approach, and surgery in medium-volume centres. Although conversion during MIPD itself was not associated with worse outcomes, the outcome in these patients was poor in general which should be taken into account during patient selection for MIPD.
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Children Following In Utero Exposure to Zika in Nicaragua
Authors: Stringer Elizabeth M , Martinez Evelin , Blette Bryan , Toval Ruiz Christian Eduardo , Boivin Michael , Zepeda Omar , Stringer Jeffrey S A , Morales Marlen , Ortiz-Pujols Shiara , Familiar Itziar , Collins Matthew , Chavarria Meylin , Goldman Barbara , Bowman Natalie , de Silva Aravinda , Westreich Daniel , Hudgens Michael , Becker-Dreps Sylvia , Bucardo Filemon
Published: December 2020

Background

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of asymptomatic children exposed to Zika virus (ZIKV) in utero are not well characterized.

Methods

We prospectively followed 129 newborns without evidence of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) up to 24 months of age. Participants were classified as ZIKV exposed or ZIKV unexposed. The Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) was administered in the participants’ homes at 6, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 months of age by trained psychologists. Sociodemographic data, medical history, and infant anthropometry at birth were collected at each home visit. Our primary outcome was the Mullen Early Learning Composite Score (ECL) at 24 months of age between our 2 exposure groups. Secondary outcomes were differences in MSEL subscales over time and at 24 months.

Results

Of 129 infants in whom exposure status could be ascertained, 32 (24.8%) met criteria for in utero ZIKV exposure and 97 (75.2%) did not. There were no differences in maternal age, maternal educational attainment, birthweight, or gestational age at birth between the 2 exposure groups. The adjusted means and standard errors (SEs) for the ELC score between the ZIKV-exposed children compared to ZIKV-unexposed children were 91.4 (SE, 3.1) vs 96.8 (SE, 2.4) at 12 months and 93.3 (SE, 2.9) vs 95.9 (SE, 2.3) at 24 months. In a longitudinal mixed model, infants born to mothers with an incident ZIKV infection (P = .01) and low-birthweight infants (<2500 g) (P = .006) had lower composite ECL scores.

Conclusions

In this prospective cohort of children without CZS, children with in utero ZIKV exposure had lower neurocognitive scores at 24 months.
New Division Property Propagation Table: Applications to Block Ciphers with Large S-boxes
Authors: Hu Xichao , Li Yongqiang , Jiao Lin , Wang Mingsheng
Published: December 2020

The division property method is a technique for automatic searching integral distinguishers on block ciphers. Previous methods only use word-based division property to search integral distinguishers for block ciphers with large S-boxes. Since using bit-based division property may find longer integral distinguishers than word-based division property, we propose a method to automatically search the integral distinguishers based on bit-based division property for block ciphers with large S-boxes. To achieve this goal, we propose a new division property propagation table for S-boxes. Theoretically, we prove that using both the new table and the traditional method to describe the bit-based division property propagation rule of S-box will lead to the same integral distinguishers. Technically, we design a mixed-integer linear programming-based tool to search the integral distinguisher based on the new table, which helps to search new integral distinguishers for block ciphers with large S-boxes efficiently. As a result, we apply our tool to derive new integral distinguishers and get the tight bound on the rounds that no integral distinguishers exist for ICEBERG, KHAZAD, Camellia, CS-Cipher, ITUbee and SMS4. Besides, to show the availability of our integral distinguishers, we form the present best five-round and the first six-round integral attack for ICEBERG as an example.
Piracy: A Treasure Box of Otherness
Authors: Zar Mickey
Published: December 2020

This article explores the connection between maritime and digital piracy, and pursues the thought that the common moniker is more than a rhetorical flourish. Golden Age maritime piracy (1650–1730) and today’s piracy in cyberspace are by no means identical; there is no one ideal form of piracy. And yet, pirates of the literal and virtual high seas share a crucial feature: their social role as others. Piracy itself is a social function; its content is otherness. Dominant accounts of piracy note its character as a mode of resistance, but frame that resistance as either economic or political. Neither of these explanations of piracy’s resistance is sufficient on its own. The comparison of Golden Age maritime piracy with current digital piracy is telling, because what these two modes of piracy have in common is the way they highlight the relationship between capital and the state system. In other words, piracy’s political attack is not simply an assault on the idea of sovereignty, but rather a more specific critique of the way the system of sovereign states advances the interests of capital. The legal treatment of piracy, making it the pillar of universal jurisdiction, highlights the particular threat that piracy presents to the world order: the crime is political because it is an affront to the economic-political alliance that is capitalism, old or new.
Glioma-Derived TSP2 Promotes Excitatory Synapse Formation and Results in Hyperexcitability in the Peritumoral Cortex of Glioma
Authors: Wang Yao-Hui , Huang Tian-Lan , Chen Xin , Yu Si-Xun , Li Wei , Chen Tao , Li Yang , Kuang Yong-Qin , Shu Hai-Feng
Published: December 2020

Seizures are common in patients with glioma, especially low-grade glioma (LGG). However, the epileptogenic mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent evidence has indicated that abnormal excitatory synaptogenesis plays an important role in epileptogenesis. The thrombospondin (TSP) family is a key regulator of synaptogenesis. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the role of TSP2 in epileptogenesis in glioma-related epilepsy. The expression of TSP2 was increased in tumor tissue specimens from LGG patients, and this increase may have contributed to an increase in the density of spines and excitatory synapses in the peritumoral area. A glioma cell-implanted rat model was established by stereotactic implantation of wild-type TSP2-expressing, TSP2-overexpressing or TSP2-knockout C6 cells into the neocortex. Similarly, an increase in the density of excitatory synapses was also observed in the peritumoral area of the implanted tumor. In addition, epileptiform discharges occurred in the peritumoral cortex and were positively correlated with the TSP2 level in glioma tissues. Moreover, α2δ1/Rac1 signaling was enhanced in the peritumoral region, and treatment with the α2δ1 antagonist gabapentin inhibited epileptiform discharges in the peritumoral cortex. In conclusion, glioma-derived TSP2 promotes excitatory synapse formation, probably via the α2δ1/Rac1 signaling pathway, resulting in hyperexcitability in the peritumoral cortical networks, which may provide new insight into the epileptogenic mechanisms underlying glioma-related epilepsy.
Mechanical behavior of a circular dielectric elastomer membrane under out-of-plane deformation
Authors: Zhang J W , Chen J W , Ren Z Q
Published: December 2020

The mechanical behavior of a circular dielectric elastomer membrane (DEM) under the contact of a rigid ball is studied in this paper. The out-of-plane deformation of the DEM is unfolded to an equivalent in-plane deformation, and the mechanical behavior is further studied through the Helmholtz free energy theory and the Gent model. The theoretical results obtained from the proposed analysis approach are validated through the out-of-plane deformation experiments, and the influence of the DEM's thickness on the mechanical behavior is revealed and explained. Furthermore, the influences of some key dimensional, dynamical and electrical parameters on the DEM's mechanical behavior are investigated and discussed. The research results are helpful for the system analysis of dielectric elastomer actuators and dielectric elastomer generators with out-of-plane deformations.
The Self in the Spectrum: A Meta-analysis of the Evidence Linking Basic Self-Disorders and Schizophrenia
Authors: Raballo Andrea , Poletti Michele , Preti Antonio , Parnas Josef
Published: December 2020

Disturbed self-experience has been reported as a characteristic feature of schizophrenia since the first formulation of its diagnostic concept; however, only in the last 2 decades an explicit notion of basic Self-disturbance, or Self-Disorders (SD), has emerged as target for a systematic research program. We conducted systematic searches in bibliographical databases to identify cross-sectional studies that explored SD across different diagnostic groups and explored diagnostic ascription within or outside schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) as main outcome. Data were pooled using fixed- and random-effects meta-analysis models. Heterogeneity was assessed using stratified meta-analyses and meta-regression. Of 218 identified studies, 32 were included in the systematic review and 27 in the meta-analysis. Patients diagnosed with SSD scored higher on measures of SD than healthy controls (HC) (Hedges’ g = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.5 to 2.0), individuals diagnosed with other mental illness (OMI) (1.9; 1.6 to 2.2), bipolar or affective disorders (1.8; 1.4 to 2.2), and clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) (1.6; 0.9 to 2.4). Patients with schizotypy or schizotypal personality disorder scored higher on measures of SD than OMI (1.5; 1.3 to 1.8) and HC (1.4; 1.1 to 1.7). Patients with first-episode psychosis scored higher on measures of SD than HC (2.5; 2.1 to 2.9) and OMI (1.6; 1.2 to 2.1). Subjects at CHR scored higher on measures of SD than HC (2.0; 1.7 to 2.2) and OMI (19; 1.6 to 2.2). Overall, heterogeneity ranged from negligible to high, especially in comparisons of the target group with OMI, probably as a reflection of the immanent diagnostic heterogeneity of this group. The findings suggest that SD selectively aggregate within schizophrenia spectrum disorders as compared to other mental disorders and that they could be a central phenotypic marker of vulnerability to schizophrenia across the different shades of severity of its spectrum of disorders.
Ethylene response factors regulate expression of HbSUT3, the sucrose influx carrier in laticifers of Hevea brasiliensis
Authors: Zhang Yi , Xin Lusheng , Pirrello Julien , Fang Yongjun , Yang Jianghua , Qi Jiyan , Montoro Pascal , Tang Chaorong
Published: December 2020

Natural rubber is an important industrial raw material and is commercially produced by rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis). The sucrose transporter HbSUT3 plays an essential role in rubber production. Its expression in latex (cytoplasm of rubber-producing laticifers) is induced by bark treatment with Ethrel, an ethylene releaser, and the inducing effect correlates well with Ethrel-stimulated rubber yield increase. However, the mechanisms of ethylene induction on HbSUT3 expression are not known. Here, five Ethylene Response Factor (ERF) genes were identified from the cDNA library of Hevea latex by yeast one-hybrid screening with the promoter of HbSUT3 gene as bait. As revealed in a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) protoplast transient expression system, these HbERFs were mainly localized in the nucleus and four of them exhibited apparent transactivation activity. Of the five HbERF genes, HbERF-IXc4 was the most frequently screened in yeast one-hybrid, accounting for 65% of the ERF clones obtained. Moreover, among the five HbERFs, HbERF-IXc4 showed the strongest transactivation capacity when expressed in tobacco protoplast, the highest transcript abundance in latex and a close expressional correlation with its target gene, HbSUT3, in response to the Ethrel treatment. Taken together, our results indicate that ERFs, especially HbERF-IXc4, are critically involved in the activation of HbSUT3 expression in latex after Ethrel treatment on Hevea bark, and thus the stimulated latex yield.
Detection of Changuinola virus (Reoviridae: Orbivirus) in field-caught sand flies in southern Thailand
Authors: Phumee Atchara , Wacharapluesadee Supaporn , Petcharat Sininat , Tawatsin Apiwat , Thavara Usavadee , Siriyasatien Padet
Published: December 2020

Background

Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors for several pathogenic bacteria, parasites and viruses that have significant impacts on public health. Sand fly-associated viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals have recently received more attention. This study aimed to detect pathogenic viruses belonging to the Orbivirus genus, Phlebovirus genus, Flavivirus genus and family Rhabdoviridae in several field-caught sand fly species in southern Thailand.

Methods

Sand flies were collected in southern Thailand using CDC light traps. Each sample was processed individually for virus screening using RT-PCR and sequencing.

Results

Seven out of 60 sand fly samples (two samples of Idiophlebotomus spp., three of Phlebotomus papatasi and two of Sergentomyia khawi) were positive for the Orbivirus genus, which is closely related to Changuinola virus (CGLV). Phlebovirus genus, Flavivirus genus and family Rhabdoviridae were negative in all samples.

Conclusions

CGLV causes Changuinola virus disease or Changuinola fever, a febrile illness in Central and South America. The virus has never been reported in Thailand. This study is the first report of the detection of CGLV in sand flies from Thailand. An extensive study of sand flies from other regions of the country and the associations between sand flies, viruses and vertebrate hosts in Thailand should be undertaken.
Vitiligo
Authors: Stiegler Julia , Brickley Sylvana
Published: December 2020

Vitiligo is a common condition. This article provides a comprehensive overview of vitiligo including the clinical presentation, associated comorbid conditions, treatment, emerging therapies, and psychosocial and cultural considerations.
Use of a Clinic-Based Skin Cancer Prevention Bundle to Promote Sun-Protective Behaviors in Patients at Moderate to High Risk for Skin Cancer
Authors: Petitt Elizabeth K. , Taylor Richard A. , Yu Xiaoying
Published: December 2020

Background

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, and one in five Americans will develop a skin cancer at least once during their lifetime (U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group, 2016). Analysis of current skin cancer prevention practices in a large academic university dermatology clinic revealed a lack of skin cancer risk stratification, targeted prevention messaging, and assessment of sun-protective behavior (SPB) use. An improvement project was initiated to evaluate the impact of a skin cancer prevention bundle (SCPB) on SPB use and sunburn frequency over a 2-month period.

Methods

Adult clinic patients 20–65 years old, at a moderate to high risk based on Brief Skin Cancer Risk Assessment Tool scores, received an SCPB consisting of personalized Brief Skin Cancer Risk Assessment Tool risk feedback, American Academy of Dermatology skin cancer prevention recommendations, and a brief American Academy of Dermatology skin cancer prevention video. A Sun Habits Survey and an assessment of perceived skin cancer risk were performed preintervention and postintervention.

Results

Thirty-eight participants (92.7%) completed the project. Outcome measures showing significant difference postintervention included Sun Protection Habits Index summary scores (p < .0001), sunburn frequency (p < .0001), and lifetime perceived risk of skin cancer (p = .007). Individual SPB habits of limiting midday ultraviolet exposure (p = .0004) and frequency of hat use (p = .01) also showed significant increases postintervention.

Conclusions and Implications

Use of the clinic-based SCPB improved SPB use and reduced sunburn frequency. The SCPB is being considered for clinic-wide implementation based on the findings. Further study with a larger number of participants and ongoing postclinic implementation evaluation is recommended to confirm results and fully assess the potential of the SCPB to improve patient outcomes and reduce skin cancer risk.
Pediatric Myxopapillary Ependymomas: A Clinicopathologic Evaluation
Authors: Eschbacher Kathryn L. , Rao Amulya Nageswara , Greipp Patricia T. , Gliem Troy J. , Daniels David J. , Warad Deepti , Eckel Laurence J. , Raghunathan Aditya
Published: December 2020

Myxopapillary ependymomas (MPEs) have an indolent clinical course, corresponding to World Health Organization Grade I. A total of 13 pediatric MPEs have been reported in the literature with “anaplastic features,” including elevated proliferative activity (≥5 mitoses/10 high-power fields), necrosis, and microvascular proliferation. No consensus exists regarding the prognostic significance of such features. A retrospective clinicopathologic review of pediatric MPEs diagnosed between 1996 and 2018 at Mayo Clinic was performed. Totally, 8 pediatric MPEs (6 male; age: 7.52 to 16.88 y) were identified. Totally, 3 had disseminated disease at presentation. All patients underwent surgical resection (7 gross total; 1 subtotal). Totally, 5 cases harbored ≥5 mitoses/10 high-power fields (range: 5 to 9), 3 of which showed necrosis (2 with disseminated disease). Postsurgery, 2 patients received radiation; one with disseminated disease and another with increased mitotic activity/necrosis; neither has recurred (follow-up: 1.18 and 3.19 y). In all, 2 patients with disseminated disease, elevated mitotic activity, and necrosis had new metastatic disease/progression of nonresected metastatic foci (2.6 and 26.8 mo), received radiation therapy, and remain progression free (3.01 and 9.34 y). All patients are alive (median follow-up 1.31 y, range: 0.66 to 11.75). Among pediatric MPEs, the concurrent presence of elevated mitotic activity and necrosis may be associated with an aggressive clinical course, warranting closer surveillance and consideration of adjuvant therapies.
Sternal Precautions and Prone Positioning of Infants Following Median Sternotomy: A Nationwide Survey
Authors: Clifton Amanda , Cruz Giselle , Patel Yesha , Cahalin Lawrence P. , Moore James G.
Published: December 2020

Purpose:

To describe current practice of pediatric sternal precautions (PSPs) and prone positioning restrictions (PPRs) in infants after median sternotomy.

Methods:

A Web-based survey with 21 questions was developed on the basis of a review of current literature and expert consultation. Snowball sampling resulted in 68 participants well represented by profession throughout the United States.

Results:

Approximately 80% of participants reported having institutional protocols for PSPs. Most common reported PSPs were no lifting at the axillae and no pulling of arms to achieve sitting. PSPs also included PPRs. The opinions of participants supported no PPRs or modified PPRs compared with strict PPRs.

Conclusions:

Types of PPRs varied across participants, with the majority of participants in favor of modified PPRs while PSPs were less varied. Research is needed to examine the effects of PSPs and PPRs in infants post–median sternotomy.
Basic Motor Skills of Children With Down Syndrome: Creating a Motor Growth Curve
Authors: Lauteslager Peter E. M. , Volman M(Chiel). J. M. , Lauteslager Timo , Van den Heuvel Marieke E. , Jongerling Joran , Klugkist Irene G.
Published: December 2020

Purpose:

To create a motor growth curve based on the Test of Basic Motor Skills for Children with Down Syndrome (BMS) and estimate the age of achieving BMS milestones.

Methods:

A multilevel exponential model was applied to create a motor growth curve based on BMS data from 119 children with Down syndrome (DS) aged 2 months to 5 years. Logistic regression was applied to estimate the 50% probability of achieving BMS milestones.

Results:

The BMS growth curve had the largest increase during infancy with smaller increases as children approached the predicted maximum score. The age at which children with DS have a 50% probability of achieving the milestone sitting was 22 months, for crawling 25 months, and for walking 38 months.

Conclusions:

The creation of a BMS growth curve provides a standardization of the gross motor development of children with DS. Physical therapists then may monitor a child's individual progress and improve clinical decisions.
Practice Improvement for Standardized Evaluation and Management of Acute Tracheitis in Mechanically Ventilated Children
Authors: Ormsby Jennifer , Conrad Paula , Blumenthal Jennifer , Carpenter Jane , Jones Sarah , Sandora Thomas J. , Vaughan Ana , Vincuilla Julie , McAdam Alexander J. , Fogg Louis F. , Flett Kelly , Kelly Daniel P.
Published: December 2020

Introduction:

There is no consensus definition for ventilator-associated tracheitis and limited evidence to guide diagnosis and treatment. To improve acute tracheitis evaluation and management, this quality improvement project aimed to (1) improve the appropriateness of tracheal aspirate cultures while decreasing the number of unnecessary cultures by 20% and (2) decrease antibiotic use for acute tracheitis not consistent with local guidelines by 20% over 12 months among pediatric patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

Methods:

All patients admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit requiring mechanical ventilation via an artificial airway were included. Tracheal aspirate sampling criteria, technique, and minimum intervals were standardized. Primary outcome measures were the number of tracheal aspirate cultures obtained per 100 ETT/tracheostomy days and ventilator-associated antibiotic days per 100 ETT/tracheostomy days. Improvement cycles included: Implementation of tracheal aspirate sampling criteria, sampling technique standardization, limiting repeat cultures to >72-hour intervals, and standardizing empiric antibiotic therapy.

Results:

Tracheal aspirate culture rate decreased from 10.70 to 7.10 cultures per 100 ETT/tracheostomy days (P < 0.001). Cultures meeting sampling criteria increased from 28% to 80%. Ventilator-associated antibiotic use decreased from 24.88 to 7.30 ventilator-associated antibiotic days per 100 ETT/tracheostomy days. There were no associated increases in ventilator-associated events or days of mechanical ventilation.

Conclusions:

Implementation of standardized criteria for tracheal aspirate sampling, improved tracheal aspirate sampling technique, limiting repeat tracheal aspirate cultures, and utilizing standardized antibiotic treatment guidelines safely decreased resource utilization and antibiotic use among critically ill children requiring mechanical ventilation.
Quality Improvement Methodology to Optimize Safe Early Mobility in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Gupta Neha , Sones Amber , Powell Maegan , Robbins Johanna , Wilson Stephanie , Hill Amy , Thomas Christy , Ledbetter Sara , Schmidtke Anne Grace , Rutledge Chrystal , Hayes Leslie
Published: December 2020

Introduction:

Utilization of robust quality improvement methodology in conjunction with traditional interventions to enhance an Early Mobility program (EMP) in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Methods:

EMP was implemented in our PICU in May 2017. The percentage of appropriate physical and occupational therapist consults were determined. We also evaluated the activity levels received by the patient and the levels for which they qualified based on their medical condition. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) was performed to identify potential complications related to the mobilization of critically ill children. We created 4 simulation scenarios based on FMEA prioritized results.

Results:

After the implementation of EMP, appropriate physical and occupational therapist consults significantly increased (P < 0.0001). However, most patients still failed to receive the optimal level of activity recommended by protocol. This failure was partly due to concern for safety events during mobilization. FMEA identified vital sign changes [Risk Priority Number (RPN) 97.8], staff injury (RPN 64), and pain/anxiety (RPN 60.5) as potential safety events. We performed various in-situ simulation sessions based on these potential events. In post-simulation evaluations, 100% of participants agreed that the simulation experience would improve their performance in the actual clinical setting. Feedback from simulations led to the development of an EM patient safety checklist and clinical pathway.

Conclusions:

We describe a novel technique of using FMEA to develop scenarios that simulate potential adverse events to optimize safe EM in PICU. An EM checklist and pathway can guide in the implementation of safe EMP.