bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
First Serological Study Revealing High Humoral Response and Evidence for Antigenic Heterogeneity in Leishmania donovani Induced CL in Sri Lanka
Authors: Deepachandi Bhagya , Weerasinghe Sudath , Ranasinghe Samantha , Andrahennadi Thisira P. , Wickramanayake Mahendra N. , Siri Shantha , Karunaweera Nadira , Chandrasekharan Vishvanath , Chatterjee Mitali , Soysa Preethi , Siriwardana Yamuna
Published: October 2020

Posing a threat to the ongoing leishmaniasis elimination efforts in the Indian subcontinent, L. donovani‐induced cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has been recently reported in many countries. Sri Lanka reports a large focus of human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania donovani, a usually visceralizing parasite. Enhanced case detection, early treatment, and in‐depth understanding of sequalae are required to contain the spread of disease. Visceralizing potential of dermotropic strains has not been fully ruled out. Sri Lankan strains have shown a poor response to established serological assays. The present concern was to develop an in‐house serological assay and to determine the seroprevalence of CL for identifying visceralizing potential and its usefulness in enhancing case detection. Crude cell lysate of dermotropic L. donovani promastigotes‐based indirect enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was previously optimized. Assay was evaluated using sera from 200 CL patients, 50 endemic and 50 nonendemic healthy controls, 50 patients with other skin diseases, and 50 patients with other systemic diseases. Seroprevalence and clinicoepidemiological associations were analyzed. Assay was compared with light microscopy (LM) and in vitro culturing (IVC). Cost comparison was carried out. Seroprevalence of CL was 82.0%. The assay had 99.5% specificity, and all healthy controls were negative at 0.189 cut‐off. Positive and negative predictive values were 99.4% and 84.7%, respectively. Positivity obtained in ELISA was comparable to LM and higher than that of IVC. Cost per patient was 3.0 USD for both ELISA and LM and 6.0 USD for IVC. Infections occurring in all age groups and both genders demonstrated >75.0% of seropositivity. Patients had lesions with different durations/types/sizes showed >70.0% of seropositivity. Study identified a high seroprevalence of L. donovani‐induced CL for the first time, indicating potential for visceralization or transient serological response. This can be used as a second line test in LM‐negative CL cases to enhance clinical case detection. Further studies are warranted to examine in‐depth correlations, antigen profiles, comparison with other established serological tools, and usefulness in the detection of asymptomatic cases. (National patent LK/P/1/19697).
A Morphological and Immunohistochemical Study of the Tumoral and Inflammatory Cells in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Herlea Vlad , Mustafa Elena Stoica , Iorgescu Andreea Cristina , Pechianu Nicolae Catalin , Cretoiu Dragos , Sajin Maria , Dima Simona Olimpia , Vasilescu Catalin , Stroescu Cezar , Ungureanu Constantin , Dumitrascu Traian , Brasoveanu Vladislav , Ghinescu Minerva , Popescu Irinel , Neagu Monica
Published: October 2020

This study is aimed at investigating tumoral and inflammatory cells and the significance of the prognostic factors of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); it is also aimed at determining the role of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis and prognosis of this neoplasm. Materials and Methods. 230 cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were included in the study group; these cases were selected from the archives of the Department of Pathology of the Fundeni Clinical Institute over a ten-year period. Immunohistochemistry was performed using the following antibodies: MUC 1, CD 34, Factor VIII, CD 68, MMP-7, CEA, p21, p53, and Ki 67. Results. There were 133 male (57.8%) and 97 female (42.2%) patients included in this study, with ages between 20 and 81 years old (mean age: 58.2 years) and with tumors located in the pancreatic head (

n
=
196

; 85.2%), pancreatic body (

n
=
12

; 5.2%), and pancreatic tail (

n
=
20

, 8.7%), as well as panpancreatic tumors (

n
=
2

; 0.9%). Patients presented with early stages (IA and IB), with low pathologic grade (G1), with small size tumors (less than 1-1.5 cm), with tumors located in the head of the pancreas, (p53: negative; p21: positive; and CD 68: positive in peritumoral tissue), with low nuclear index (

Ki
 
67
<
10
%

), without metastases at the time of surgery (had a better prognosis), and with a survival rate of about 7 months. Conclusions. Immunohistochemistry is useful for an accurate diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and establishment of additional factors that might have a prognostic importance. It is recommended to study peritumoral tissue from the quantitative and qualitative points of view to increase the number of prognostic factors. This study represents a multidisciplinary approach, and it is a result of teamwork; it presents histopathological methods of examination of this severe illness and describes only a part of the scientific effort to determine the main pathological mechanisms of this neoplasm.
MicroRNA-31-5p Exacerbates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury via Inactivating Cab39/AMPKα Pathway
Authors: Jiang Wan-li , Zhao Kao-chang , Yuan Wen , Zhou Fang , Song Heng-ya , Liu Gao-li , Huang Jie , Zou Jin-jing , Zhao Bo , Xie Song-ping
Published: October 2020

Acute lung injury (ALI) and the subsequent acute respiratory distress syndrome remain devastating diseases with high mortality rates and poor prognoses among patients in intensive care units. The present study is aimed at investigating the role and underlying mechanisms of microRNA-31-5p (miR-31-5p) on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced ALI. Mice were pretreated with miR-31-5p agomir, antagomir, and their negative controls at indicated doses for 3 consecutive days, and then they received a single intratracheal injection of LPS (5 mg/kg) for 12 h to induce ALI. MH-S murine alveolar macrophage cell lines were cultured to further verify the role of miR-31-5p in vitro. For AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) and calcium-binding protein 39 (Cab39) inhibition, compound C or lentiviral vectors were used in vivo and in vitro. We observed an upregulation of miR-31-5p in lung tissue upon LPS injection. miR-31-5p antagomir alleviated, while miR-31-5p agomir exacerbated LPS-induced inflammation, oxidative damage, and pulmonary dysfunction in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, miR-31-5p antagomir activated AMPKα to exert the protective effects that were abrogated by AMPKα inhibition. Further studies revealed that Cab39 was required for AMPKα activation and pulmonary protection by miR-31-5p antagomir. We provide the evidence that endogenous miR-31-5p is a key pathogenic factor for inflammation and oxidative damage during LPS-induced ALI, which is related to Cab39-dependent inhibition of AMPKα.
Nanosize CaCu3Ti4O12 Green Synthesis and Characterization of a Precursor Oxalate Obtained from Averrhoa carambola Fruit Juice and Its Thermal Decomposition to the Perovskite
Authors: Etape Ekane Peter , Foba-Tendo Josepha , Namondo Beckley Victorine , Yufanyi Divine Mbom , Tedjieukeng Hypolite Mathias Kamta , Fomekonga Roussin Lontio , Ngolui Lambi John
Published: October 2020

Improving on the very high temperatures used in solid-state synthesis routes to prepare CCTO ignited the idea of using oxalate routes which make use of organic solvents in the synthesis of CCTOX as oxalate intermediates to the decomposition product, CCTO. The use of commercial oxalic acids and oxalate has not only recorded a solubility problem which reflects on the size, shape, homogeneity, and morphology of the final product but also has an environmental impact originating from the solvents used. Both the composition and morphology of these inhomogeneities play a role in the behaviour of the final product, pointing out the need to assess the dependence of size, shape, homogeneity, and morphology and the material performance on the sample synthesis history. In this study, nanosized particles of calcium copper titanium oxide, CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO), were successfully synthesized by pyrolysis of the corresponding heterometal oxalate precursors obtained via coprecipitation using the edible carambola fruit juice as a precipitating agent and investigated in detail. The precursors were characterized, and the results revealed the formation of a single molecular precursor represented by the formula CaCu3(TiO)4(C2O4)8·9H2O (CCTOX). The decomposition products, obtained via calcination in air, were subsequently subjected to thermal treatments at different temperatures for 4 hours. The morphology and microstructure were characterized, and analysis showed the formation of a single phase, CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) with CuO and CaTiO3 as impurity. It was observed from microscopy that the samples obtained from sintering at 600°C for four hours had discrete particles with regular morphology, limited size distribution, high degree of homogeneity, and multiple dimensions ranging between 10 and 35 nm and showed some degree of ellipticity in shape. Increasing the sintering temperature from 600°C to 700°C and 800°C increased the grain growth in the ceramic as well as the densification. The method makes advantage of the fact that oxalate precursors decomposed at relatively lower temperatures and the fact that the oxalate in the juice is in the solution which downplays both the solubility and environmental pollution problems since no additional solvents are used.
Bilateral Traumatic Facial Paralysis with Hearing Impairment and Abducens Palsy
Authors: Ouhbi Imane , Abdellaoui Taoufik , Errami Noureddine , Benariba Fouad
Published: October 2020

The temporal bone is often affected in basilar skull fractures. Fractures involving the petrous portion are particularly significant, as they may be associated with neurovascular sequelae. Bilateral facial paralysis secondary to bilateral temporal bone fracture is a rare clinical entity, even more so when associated with other cranial nerve damage such as abducens nerve paralysis and hearing impairment. Only 4 similar cases have been reported in the literature to date. In this paper, we describe a 28-year-old male patient with bilateral facial paralysis, unilateral abducens palsy, and bilateral hearing loss due to bitemporal fractures that developed after a motor vehicle accident. Conservative management was preferred. The 6-month follow-up showed remarkable improvement. This report highlights the effectiveness of conservative management in posttraumatic complete facial and abducens palsy.
Consensus Mechanism of IoT Based on Blockchain Technology
Authors: Wu Yue , Song Liangtu , Liu Lei , Li Jincheng , Li Xuefei , Zhou Linli
Published: October 2020

Applying blockchain technology to the Internet of Things (IoT) remains a huge challenge. To meet the actual needs of IoT, a lightweight and high-throughput consensus mechanism, combined with blockchain technology, is proposed in this study. Blockchain nodes use the Diffie–Hellman algorithm for key negotiation. Sensors and blockchain nodes can use the shared key to generate HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) signatures for sensor-aware transactions and use the Verifiable Random Function to implement block nodes. Offline fast election, which is the node that wins the election, becomes the block node. Machine learning methods are also introduced to identify or remove outliers in the sensor data before such data are uploaded to the chain. Experimental results show that the system throughput synchronously increases as the test load increases. Moreover, when the test load is 800 tps, the system throughput reaches the maximum, close to 600 tps. When the test load exceeds 800 tps, the actual system throughput starts to drop, and approximately 90% of transactions have a delay time within 5000 ms. This method can be used in a lightweight IoT system.
Clinical Relevance of Pharmacogenetics in Serotonin Syndrome
Authors: Pandya Dehuti , Tran My , Verduzco-Gutierrez Monica
Published: October 2020

Serotonin syndrome is a predictable life-threatening condition that is caused by serotonergic stimulation of the central and peripheral nervous systems. A patient’s genetic profile can amplify exposure risk as many serotonergic drugs are metabolized by CYP450 enzymes, and these enzymes may be altered in functionality. We report a case of an elderly man who presented with serotonin syndrome after a dose change in valproic acid 5 weeks prior. His medication list consisted of low-dose serotonergic agents, which is unusual as most cases of serotonin syndrome involve higher doses. A review of his pharmacogenetic profile is presented to retrospectively evaluate the additive risk for serotonin syndrome and implications on resuming serotonergic agents.
Cardiovascular Family History Increases Risk for Late-Onset Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes in Childhood Cancer Survivors: A St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Report
Authors: Goldberg Jason F. , Ness Kirsten K. , Chi Xiaofei , Santucci Aimee K. , Plana Juan Carlos , Joshi Vijaya M. , Luepker Russell V. , Durand Jean-Bernard , Partin Robyn E. , Howell Rebecca M. , Wilson Carmen L. , Towbin Jeffrey A. , Jefferies John L. , Srivastava Deo Kumar , Hudson Melissa M. , Robison Leslie L. , Armstrong Gregory T.
Published: October 2020

Background:

Survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk of therapy-related cardiovascular disease. It is not known whether family history of cardiovascular disease further increases risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes among survivors.

Methods:

Family history of cardiovascular disease was collected from 1,260 survivors [median age at diagnosis, 8 years (range, 0–23); age at last follow-up, 35 years (range, 18–66)] of childhood cancer in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study. Multivariable risk models evaluated associations with cardiovascular disease (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 2–4 events) and cardiovascular risk factors.

Results:

Among survivors exposed to chest-directed radiation and/or anthracycline chemotherapy (n = 824), 7% reported a first-degree family history of heart failure, 19% myocardial infarction, 11% stroke, 26% atherosclerotic disease (myocardial infarction and/or stroke), 62% hypertension, and 31% diabetes mellitus. Eighteen percent of exposed survivors developed heart failure, 9% myocardial infarction, 3% stroke, 11% atherosclerotic disease, 30% hypertension, and 9% diabetes mellitus. Having a first-degree family history of atherosclerotic disease was independently associated with development of treatment-related heart failure [RR, 1.38; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01–1.88; P = 0.04] among exposed survivors. Risk for hypertension was increased among exposed survivors with a first-degree family history of hypertension (RR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.26–1.92; P < 0.0001) or of any cardiovascular disease [myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure (RR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.06–1.59; P = 0.01)].

Conclusions:

Family history of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors independently increased risk of heart failure and hypertension among survivors of childhood cancer exposed to cardiotoxic therapies.

Impact:

These data show the importance of cardiovascular family history as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in survivors of childhood cancer.
MP-Pt(IV): A MAOB-Sensitive Mitochondrial-Specific Prodrug for Treating Glioblastoma
Authors: Raghavan Sudhir , Baskin David S. , Sharpe Martyn A.
Published: October 2020

We have previously reported the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-2-(1-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)propenamide (MP-MUS), a prodrug that targeted the mitochondria of glioblastoma (GBM). The mitochondrial enzyme, monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), is highly expressed in GBM and oxidizes an uncharged methyl-tetrahydropyridine (MP-) moiety into the mitochondrially targeted cationic form, methyl-pyridinium (P+-). Coupling this MAOB-sensitive group to a nitrogen mustard produced a prodrug that damaged GBM mitochondria and killed GBM cells. Unfortunately, the intrinsic reactivity of the nitrogen mustard group and low solubility of MP-MUS precluded clinical development. In our second-generation prodrug, MP-Pt(IV), we coupled the MP group to an unreactive cisplatin precursor. The enzymatic conversion of MP-Pt(IV) to P+-Pt(IV) was tested using recombinant human MAOA and rhMAOB. The generation of cisplatin from Pt(IV) by ascorbate was studied optically and using mass spectroscopy. Efficacy toward primary GBM cells and tumors was studied in vitro and in an intracranial patient-derived xenograft mice GBM model. Our studies demonstrate that MP-Pt(IV) is selectively activated by MAOB. MP-Pt(IV) is highly toxic toward GBM cells in vitro. MP-Pt(IV) toxicity against GBM is potentiated by elevating mitochondrial ascorbate and can be arrested by MAOB inhibition. In in vitro studies, sublethal MP-Pt(IV) doses elevated mitochondrial MAOB levels in surviving GBM cells. MP-Pt(IV) is a potent chemotherapeutic in intracranial patient-derived xenograft mouse models of primary GBM and potentiates both temozolomide and temozolomide–chemoradiation therapies. MP-Pt(IV) was well tolerated and is highly effective against GBM in both in vitro and in vivo models.
Bleeding Gastric Heterotopic Polyp in the Duodenum of a Teenager with Severe Factor VII Deficiency
Authors: Tibesar Eric E.
Published: October 2020

Heterotopic gastric tissue can be found throughout the intestinal tract, and when it is present in the small intestine, it can present with symptoms that include gastrointestinal bleeding, chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea, and chronic dyspepsia. This finding is incredibly rare in pediatrics, but if present, it can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. This can be especially true if a patient presents with a comorbidity of a bleeding disorder. We here present the case of a teenage male with a history of severe factor VII deficiency who was found to have iron deficiency anemia resulting in multiple blood transfusions from an occult lower gastrointestinal bleed. He was ultimately found to have a bleeding gastric heterotopic polyp in his duodenum that was successfully removed via surgery.
Fatal Disseminated Mucormycosis in a Hematological Immunocompromised Patient with Extensive Voriconazole Exposure: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Humphrey Victoria S. , Li Xiaoxiao , Choudhary Sonal , Patton Timothy
Published: October 2020

Disseminated mucormycosis is a rare, opportunistic, and aggressive infection typically presenting in immunocompromised patients. Herein, we report a 55-year-old male with a past medical history of Philadelphia-negative B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia who presented with a 2-month history of non-painful necrotic ulcers on the nose, knuckles, elbow, foot, and scrotum following 3 months of voriconazole (VRC) exposure in the setting of an unrelated fungal pneumonia. Our case reinforces the virulent and often fatal nature of the disease amongst immunocompromised patients, along with extensive VRC exposure as a possible supplementary risk factor. Disseminated cutaneous mucormycosis should be regarded as a differential diagnosis in all immunocompromised patients, especially those with hematologic malignancies or a history of VRC use, who present with cutaneous ulcerations and eschars.
Do Direct Bypasses Really Resolve Capillary Vessels in Moyamoya Disease? Delayed Hemorrhage Potentially Relevant to Direct Bypasses: A Pathological Investigation
Authors: Eguchi Seiichiro , Aihara Yasuo , Chiba Kentaro , Yamaguchi Koji , Kawashima Akitsugu , Okada Yoshikazu , Kawamata Takakazu
Published: October 2020

Objective: Moyamoya disease is a chronic but progressive obliterative cerebrovascular disease of bilateral internal carotid arteries (ICAs) causing hemorrhagic or ischemic cerebral strokes. Surgical revascularization has the potential for resolving the capillary vessels, but the effect on the occlusive ICA and the moyamoya vessels after a direct bypass remains unclear. Patient: A 2-year-old girl with a history of repeated transient ischemic attacks and direct bypasses but demonstrating improvement and associated anomaly is reported. A year and a half later, after a bilateral revascularization, an intracerebral capsulized hematoma growth was identified, and it was removed surgically. Neovascularization including many microvessels similar to capillary telangiectasia were identified by pathological investigation despite the reduction of moyamoya vessels on the repeated angiograms after the revascularization surgeries. In the present case, proliferation of capillary vessels was clearly confirmed by direct bypasses. Conclusion: There is no doubt that direct bypasses prevent further ischemic stroke by improving cerebral blood flow. However, they may result in failure in reducing the load of moyamoya vessels, albeit decreasing the potential risk of hemorrhagic strokes.
Occurrence of Cerebrovascular Diseases Decreased after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011
Authors: Omama Shinichi , Komoribayashi Nobukazu , Inoue Yoshihiro , Mase Tomohiko , Ogasawara Kuniaki , Ishibashi Yasuhiro , Ohsawa Masaki , Onoda Toshiyuki , Itai Kazuyoshi , Tanno Kozo , Sakata Kiyomi
Published: October 2020

Background: A temporary increase in the occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 was reported; however, no studies have been conducted to investigate long-term effects. We assessed the long-term impact of the disaster on the incidence of CVDs. Methods: Incidence data for CVDs from 2008 to 2017 were acquired from the population-based Stroke Registry with an inventory survey of Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Part of the coastal area in Iwate Prefecture was mildly flooded and the other part was severely flooded. Age-adjusted incidence rates of CVDs (according to the Japanese standard population) were calculated for each area. The relative risk (RR) of incidence based on the years before the disaster (2008–2010), adjusted by stratified age groups, was calculated for the year of the disaster (2011), and the years after the disaster (2012–2017) in each area. Results: The age-adjusted incidence rates gradually decreased in all areas, with the exception of a temporary increase among men who lived on the coast the year the disaster occurred. The adjusted RR in the disaster year were not significant in any area and those of the postdisaster years were 0.91 (95% CI 0.87–0.96) for all inland men, 0.93 (0.89–0.97) for all inland women, 0.85 (0.78–0.93) for all coastal men, 0.87 (0.81–0.94) for all coastal women, 0.88 (0.80–0.98) for men at mildly flooded coast, 0.82 (0.75–0.89) for women at mildly flooded coast, 0.79 (0.68–0.91) for men at severely flooded coast, and 0.98 (0.86–1.11) for women at severely flooded coast. Conclusions: The occurrence of CVDs in the flooded coastal areas did not increase in the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami; furthermore, it decreased for men according to the severity of flood damage in the subsequent years; this can be attributed to supportive activities for the tsunami victims and the migration of the population.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Silent Brain Infarction in Patients with Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Ito Ayaka , Iwata Shinichi , Tamura Soichiro , Kim Andrew T. , Nonin Shinichi , Ishikawa Sera , Ito Asahiro , Izumiya Yasuhiro , Abe Takato , Shibata Toshihiko , Yoshiyama Minoru
Published: October 2020

Introduction: Silent brain infarction (SBI) is an independent risk factor for subsequent symptomatic stroke in the general population. Although aortic stenosis (AS) is also known to be associated with an increased risk of future symptomatic stroke, little is known regarding the prevalence and risk factors for SBI in patients with AS. Methods: The study population comprised 83 patients with severe AS with no history of stroke or transient ischemic attack and paralysis or sensory impairment (mean age 75 ± 7 years). All patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging to screen for SBI and multidetector-row computed tomography to quantify the aortic valve calcification (AVC) volume. Comprehensive transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography were performed to evaluate left atrial (LA) abnormalities, such as LA enlargement, spontaneous echo contrast, or abnormal LA appendage emptying velocity (<20 cm/s), and complex plaques in the aortic arch. Results: SBI was detected in 38 patients (46%). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that CHA2DS2-VASc score and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were independently associated with SBI (p < 0.05), whereas LA abnormalities and AVC volume were not. When patients were divided into 4 groups according to CHA2DS2-VASc score and eGFR, the group with a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (≥4) and a lower eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) had a greater risk of SBI than the other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings indicate that AS is associated with a high prevalence of SBI, and that the CHA2DS2-VASc score and eGFR are useful for risk stratification.
Serum Sodium Modifies the Association of Systolic Blood Pressure with Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients
Authors: Qiu Yagui , Ye Hongjian , Fan Li , Zheng Xunhua , Li Wei , Huang Fengxian , Chen Wei , Yang Xiao , Mao Haiping
Published: October 2020

Introduction: High serum sodium is associated with increased blood pressure (BP) in dialysis patients, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) disease. However, the interaction between serum sodium and BP and their association with clinical outcomes in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is uncertain. Methods: We analyzed a retrospective cohort of 1,656 incident PD patients from January 2006 to December 2013, who were followed up until December 2018. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the association of serum sodium and BP with all-cause and CV mortality. A priori interaction between serum sodium and systolic BP (SBP) was explored, and a subgroup analysis was performed by stratifying SBP into the following 3 groups: <110, 110–130, and >130 mm Hg. Results: Mean baseline serum sodium was 140.2 ± 3.6 mmol/L, mean SBP was 137 ± 20 mm Hg, and diastolic BP was 85 ± 14 mm Hg. During a median (range) follow-up time of 46.5 (2.6–154.3) months, 507 patients died, 252 of whom died due to CV disease. SBP did not predict all-cause and CV mortality when BP was assessed as a continuous variable. However, SBP >130 or <110 mm Hg was associated with higher risk of all-cause and CV mortality compared with SBP of 110–130 mm Hg. There was a significant interaction between baseline serum sodium and SBP for all-cause mortality (p for interaction = 0.016). In subgroup analysis, among those with SBP >130 mm Hg, the risk of all-cause mortality was elevated in those with serum sodium ≥140 mmol/L (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.45 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07–1.98]), but not for those with serum sodium <140 mmol/L (aHR 1.27 [95% CI: 0.89–1.82]). Conversely, among those with SBP <110 mm Hg, those with serum sodium <140 mmol/L had an elevated risk of mortality (aHR 1.99 [95% CI: 1.31–3.02]), but not those with serum sodium ≥140 mmol/L (aHR 1.15 [95% CI: 0.74–1.79]) (p for interaction = 0.028). Conclusion: The association of BP with mortality was modified by serum sodium levels in PD patients. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether individualized BP control based on serum sodium levels contributes to improve patient outcomes.
Preserving a Rare Type of Variant Right Hepatic Artery Combines Surgical Radicality and Intact Liver Perfusion during Pancreatectomy
Authors: Aghalarov Ilgar , Lutz Theodor , Uhl Waldemar , Belyaev Orlin
Published: October 2020

An anomalous anatomy of the celiac trunk, and particularly of the right hepatic artery, may have a significant impact on major hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. According to some authors, every third patient has an aberrant right hepatic artery. We present a very rare case of replaced right hepatic artery (RRHA) arising from the gastroduodenal artery associated with an accessory left hepatic artery originating from the left gastric artery in a 54-year-old woman with a pancreatic head carcinoma. The patient underwent total pancreatectomy on account of a soft lipomatous pancreas with heterogeneous changes of the pancreatic body and tail. We preserved the RRHA and achieved R0 resection margins. Preoperative evaluation of CT angiograms, an awareness of any anomalous arterial anatomy of the upper abdomen, and a meticulous surgical technique are the key to performing oncologically radical surgery without threatening the arterial liver supply.
Z Source Inverter Topologies-A Survey
Authors: Saravanan V. , Aravindan M. , Balaji V. , Arumugam M.
Published: October 2020

Need for alternative energy sources to satisfy the rising demand in energy consumption elicited the research in the area of power converters/inverters. An increasing interest of using Z source inverter/converter in power generation involving renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy for both off grid and grid tied schemes were originated from 2003. This paper surveys the literature of Z source inverters/converter topologies that were developed over the years.
Review of Detection DDOS Attack Detection Using Naive Bayes Classifier for Network Forensics
Authors: Fadlil Abdul , Riadi Imam , Aji Sukma
Published: October 2020

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is a type of attack using the volume, intensity, and more costs mitigation to increase in this era. Attackers used many zombie computers to exhaust the resources available to a network, application or service so that authorize users cannot gain access or the network service is down, and it is a great loss for Internet users in computer networks affected by DDoS attacks. In the Network Forensic, a crime that occurs in the system network services can be sued in the court and the attackers will be punished in accordance with law. This research has the goal to develop a new approach to detect DDoS attacks based on network traffic activity were statistically analyzed using Naive Bayes method. Data were taken from the training and testing of network traffic in a core router in Master of Information Technology Research Laboratory University of Ahmad Dahlan Yogyakarta. The new approach in detecting DDoS attacks is expected to be a relation with Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to predict the existence of DDoS attacks.
The Role of Organizational and Individual Factors in Knowledge Management System Acceptance
Authors: Assegaff Setiawan
Published: October 2020

The aim of this study is to investigates the how individual and organizational factors influence people behavior in using knowledge management.  This research applied Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a basis theory; TAM was enriched with individual and organizational factors for this study. A survey approach was conducted for data collection. Three of institutions in Banking Sector at Indonesia were invited to join this study and 215 knowledge workers were participated for the survey. Data from survey were analyzed through Structural Equations Model (SEM) using PLS (Partial Least Square) V2. The conclusion specify that ‘‘individual elements’’ and ‘‘organizational elements’’ are the significantly affect people behavior in KMS acceptance factors that influence knowledge worker behavior in knowledge sharing. However this study not found relationship between individual and organization factors and “perceived ease of use” construct with people behavior in accept KMS.
Optimized OFDM Model Using CMA Channel Equalization for BER Evaluation
Authors: Manhas Pratima , Soni M.K
Published: October 2020

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a type of Multicarrier Modulation (MCM) technique in which entire bandwidth is divided into large number of small sub-carriers and each subcarrier is transmitted parallel to achieve higher data rates. It has various applications like Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) and wireless LAN.OFDM technique is widely used in wireless communication system because of its very high data rate. The performance of FFT based OFDM system using Linear and cyclic channel coding and Constant Modulus Algorithm (CMA) equalizer is simulated using simulink model. The BER saving using the optimized proposed model with both linear and cyclic channel coding along with CMA equalizer is evaluated. The proposed work using cyclic channel coding with QPSK/QAM modulation and CMA as channel equalization under AWGN channel results in 52.6% and 96.3% BER reduction as compared to conventional OFDM model without channel coding, channel equalization and channel fading. So, CMA equalizer is used to enhance the performance of OFDM system.
Effectiveness of MPEG-7 Color Features in Clothing Retrieval
Authors: Dewi Arsy Febrina , Arnia Fitri , Muharar Rusdha
Published: October 2020

Clothing is a human used to cover the body. Clothing consist of dress, pants, skirts, and others. Clothing usually consists of various colors or a combination of several colors. Colors become one of the important reference used by humans in determining or looking for clothing according to their wishes. Color is one of the features that fit the human vision. Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) is a technique in Image Retrieval that give index to an image based on the characteristics contained in image such as color, shape, and texture. CBIR can make it easier to find something because it helps the grouping process on image based on its characteristic. In this case CBIR is used for the searching process of Muslim fashion based on the color features. The color used in this research is the color descriptor MPEG-7 which is Scalable Color Descriptor (SCD) and Dominant Color Descriptor (DCD). The SCD color feature displays the overall color proportion of the image, while the DCD displays the most dominant color in the image. For each image of Muslim women's clothing, the extraction process utilize SCD and DCD. This study used 150 images of Muslim women's clothing as a dataset consistingclass of red, blue, yellow, green and brown. Each class consists of 30 images. The similarity between the image features is measured using the eucludian distance. This study used human perception in viewing the color of clothing.The effectiveness is calculated for the color features of SCD and DCD adjusted to the human subjective similarity. Based on the simulation of effectiveness DCD result system gives higher value than SCD.
VTrace-A Tool for Visualizing Traceability Links among Software Artefacts for an Evolving System
Authors: Satish C J , M Anand
Published: October 2020

Traceability Management plays a key role in tracing the life of a requirement through all the specifications produced during the development phase of a software project. A lack of traceability information not only hinders the understanding of the system but also will prove to be a bottleneck in the future maintenance of the system. Projects that maintain traceability information during the development stages somehow fail to upgrade their artefacts or maintain traceability among the different versions of the artefacts that are produced during the maintenance phase. As a result the software artefacts lose the trustworthiness and engineers mostly work from the source code for impact analysis. The goal of our research is on understanding the impact of visualizing traceability links on change management tasks for an evolving system. As part of our research we have implemented a Traceability Visualization Tool-VTrace that manages software artefacts and also enables the visualization of traceability links. The results of our controlled experiment show that subjects who used the tool were more accurate and faster on change management tasks than subjects that didn’t use the tool.
Internet Prospective Study
Authors: Alvarez-Cedillo Jesus Antonio , Acosta Gonzaga Elizabeth , Aguilar-Fernández Mario , Perez-Romero Patricia
Published: October 2020

The Internet is currently the largest network of communication worldwide and is where technological advances could be observed. The original creation of the Internet was based on the idea that this network would be formed mainly by multiple independent networks with an arbitrary design. The Internet is the place where all countries communicate and disseminate information in real time, this phenomenon directly affects economies, businesses, and society. This article shows what the future of the Internet is, our research carries out a qualitative prospective analysis on projects and investigations in which the scientific community is currently working, the information is analyzed, and the highlighted topics are shown.
Improving the Performance of CBIR on Islamic Women Apparels Using Normalized PHOG
Authors: Mutia Cut , Arnia Fitri , Muharar Rusdha
Published: October 2020

The designs of Islamic women apparels is dynamically changing, which can be shown by emerging of online shops selling clothing with fast updates of newest models. Traditionally, buying the clothes online can be done by querying the keywords to the retrieval system. The approach has a drawback that the keywords cannot describe the clothes designs precisely. Therefore, a searching based on content–known as content-based image retrieval (CBIR)–is required. One of the features used in CBIR is the shape. This article presents a new normalization approach to the Pyramid Histogram of Oriented Gradients (PHOG) as a mean for shape feature extraction of women Islamic clothing in a retrieval system. We refer to the proposed approach as normalized PHOG (NPHOG). The Euclidean distance measured the similarity of the clothing. The performance of the system was evaluated by using 340 clothing images, comprised of four clothing categories, 85 images for each category: blouse-pants, long dress, outerwear, and tunic. The recall and precision parameters measured the retrieval performance; the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) and PHOG were the methods for comparison. The experiments showed that NPHOG improved the HOG and PHOG performance in three clothing categories.
An Efficient Image Denoising Approach for the Recovery of Impulse Noise
Authors: Rajkumar S. , Malathi G.
Published: October 2020

Image noise is one of the key issues in image processing applications today. The noise will affect the quality of the image and thus degrades the actual information of the image. Visual quality is the prerequisite for many imagery applications such as remote sensing. In recent years, the significance of noise assessment and the recovery of noisy images are increasing. The impulse noise is characterized by replacing a portion of an image’s pixel values with random values Such noise can be introduced due to transmission errors. Accordingly, this paper focuses on the effect of visual quality of the image due to impulse noise during the transmission of images. In this paper, a hybrid statistical noise suppression technique has been developed for improving the quality of the impulse noisy color images. We further proved the performance of the proposed image enhancement scheme using the advanced performance metrics.
Smart Grid Systems Based Survey on Cyber Security Issues
Authors: Dorothy R. , Sasilatha Sasilatha
Published: October 2020

The future power system will be an innovative administration of existing power grids, which is called smart grid. Above all, the application of advanced communication and computing tools is going to significantly improve the productivity and consistency of smart grid systems with renewable energy resources. Together with the topographies of the smart grid, cyber security appears as a serious concern since a huge number of automatic devices are linked through communication networks. Cyber attacks on those devices had a direct influence on the reliability of extensive infrastructure of the power system.  In this survey, several published works related to smart grid system vulnerabilities, potential intentional attacks, and suggested countermeasures for these threats have been investigated.
Curtain Control Systems Development on Mesh Wireless Network of the Smart Home
Authors: Adiono Trio , Feranti Anindya Sinantya , Fuada Syifaul , Yusuf Fathany Maulana
Published: October 2020

In this paper, a curtain controller for smart home is presented. The aim of this work is to develop an end device in smart home system that will support power conservation function indirectly, specifically a curtain open/close controller. To achieve this, the 28BYJ-48 stepper motor is used as actuator with the assistance of ULN2003A driver. The motor is controlled using STM32L100RCT6 microcontroller, which is chosen due to its low power consumption. The microcontroller controls the motor’s direction by using a pulse width modulation logic signals emitted from four GPIO pins, which works based on data transmitted from central host through ZigBee protocol on Mesh network. Meanwhile, from the user’s side, the control is done by using Android-based application, which is connected to central host through Bluetooth. Based on the testing conducted on a miniature curtain, the curtain can be controlled wirelessly through the Android application. Furthermore, the device consumes power 210.5 mW for idle condition and 1,586 mW for process condition. The amount of the consumed power makes it suitable for low-power operation and in alignment with the smart home system’s overall aim for power conservation in the wireless sensor network-based smart home system.
Synthesis of (Poly-methyl Methacrylate-lead Oxide) Nanocomposites and Studying their A.C Electrical Properties for Piezoelectric Applications
Authors: Hassan Dalal , Hashim Ahmed
Published: October 2020

Piezoelectric materials have been prepared from (poly-methyl methacrylate-lead oxide) nanocomposites for electronic applications. The lead oxide nanoparticles were added to poly-methyl methacrylate by different concentrations are (4, 8, and 12) wt%. The structural and dielectric properties of nanocomposites were studied. The results showed that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of nanocomposites decrease with increase in frequency of applied electric field. The A.C electrical conductivity increases with increase in frequency. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and A.C electrical conductivity of poly-methyl methacrylate increase with increase in lead oxide nanoparticles concentrations. The results of pressure sensor showed that the electrical resistance of (PMMA-PbO2) nanocomposites decreases with increase in pressure.
Efficient robust speech recognition with empirical mode decomposition using an FPGA chip with dual core
Authors: Pan Shing-Tai , Chen Ching-Fa , Tseng Wen-Sin
Published: October 2020

The purpose of this paper is to accelate the computing speed of Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) based on multi-core embedded systems for robust speech recognition. A reconfigurable chip, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), is used for the implementation of the designed system. This paper applies EMD to discompose some noised speech signals into several Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs). These IMFs will be combined to recover the original speech by multiplying their corresponding weights which were trained by Genetic Algorithms (GA). After applying Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), we obtain a cleaner speech for recognition. Due to the complexity of the computation of the EMD, a dual-core architecture of embedded system on FPGA is proposed to accelerate the computing speed of EMD for robust speech recognition. This will enhance the efficiency of embedded speech recognition system.
Modern design approach of faults (toggling faults, bridge faults and SAT) of reduced ordered binary decision diagram based on combo & sequential blocks
Authors: Vasantha Rayudu Kurada Veera Bhoga , Jahagirdar Jahagirdar , Rao P
Published: October 2020

In this Research we are going to develop ROBDD (Reduced Ordered Binary Decision Diagram) designs to detect toggling faults, bridge faults and SAT (Stuck at Fault), Here we are going to develop sequential blocks using ROBDD and applying to the mux to detect stuck at faults and also connecting the combo & Sequential blocks to find the toggling faults by connecting or using automatic test pattern generator. In this research we are going to develop the bridges between the blocks of ROBDD designs and converting them to and or logic to find the bridge faults of the design. Finding bridge and toggle faults are more difficult in logic designs, here we use an advance technique to find the faults of the design by calculating the path delays of the individual blocks of the design. More concentrating on the path delays by using basic stuck at faults methods to refer the faults (toggling and bridge faults) at mux output. In our research the basic design modules are ROBDD circuit of both combinational and sequential blocks are designed and tested using Multiplexer and K-map Simplification Methods. The main purpose of the research to find the faults at all levels of all logic designs which involves in both combinational and sequential blocks of the design.
Dynamic modeling of the birefringence effects induced in semiconductor optical amplifier for all-optical telecommunication systems
Authors: Elyamani A. , Zatni A. , Moumen A. , Bousseta H.
Published: October 2020

The semiconductor optical ampliﬁers (SOA) are all-optical multifunctional devices. The improvement of their performance will, therefore, be of great importance for modern optical telecommunication systems. We propose in this article to develop a dynamic model that enables us to simulate the dynamic behavior of SOA's birefringence effects. The determination of a numerical model is a multidisciplinary activity that needs engineering skills, optimization and physics. This numerical model enables to describe the propagation of a picosecond optical pulse passing through the SOA and takes into account its polarization and the phenomenon of energy coupling between the eigenmodes of SOA (TE mode and TM mode). In this paper, we will, first of all describe the numerical algorithm of our model, and then we will propose to make a dynamic characterization of the effect of the nonlinear polarization rotation in the SOA, which will allow us to study the all-optical logic gates as well as all the other digital components based on the nonlinear effect of birefringence in SOA.