bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Challenges in the management of older patients with acute coronary syndromes in the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Rowland Ben , Kunadian Vijay
Published: May 2020

Ischaemic heart disease (IHD), in particular acute coronary syndrome (ACS), comprising ST-elevation myocardial infarction, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction and unstable angina, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Age is a major predictor of adverse outcome following ACS. COVID-19 infection seems to escalate the risk in older patients with heart disease. Increasing odds of in-hospital death is associated with older age following COVID-19 infection. Importantly, it seems older patients with comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), in particular IHD, diabetes and hypertension, are at the highest risk of mortality following COVID-19 infection. The evidence is sparse on the optimal care of older patients with ACS with lack of robust randomised controlled trials. In this setting, with the serious threat imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of rapidly evolving knowledge with much unknown, it is important to weigh the risks and benefits of treatment strategies offered to older patients. In cases where risks outweigh the benefits, it might not be an unreasonable option to treat such patients with a conservative or a palliative approach. Further evidence to elucidate whether invasive management is beneficial in older patients with ACS is required out-with the COVID-19 pandemic. Though it is hoped that the actual acute phase of COVID-19 infection will be short lived, it is vital that important clinical research is continued, given the long-term benefits of ongoing clinical research for patients with long-term conditions, including CVD. This review aimed to evaluate the challenges and the management strategies in the care of older patients presenting with ACS in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Six-year prospective follow-up study in 151 carriers of the mitochondrial DNA 3243 A>G variant
Authors: de Laat Paul , Rodenburg Richard R , Roeleveld Nel , Koene Saskia , Smeitink Jan A , Janssen Mirian CH
Published: May 2020

Background

The mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) 3243A>G variant is the most common pathogenic variant of the mDNA. To interpret results of clinical trials in mitochondrial disease, it is important to have a clear understanding of the natural course of disease. To obtain more insight into the disease burden and the progression of disease in carriers of the mDNA 3243 A>G variant, we followed a cohort of 151 carriers from 61 families prospectively for up to 6 years.

Methods

The disease severity was scored using the Newcastle Mitochondrial Disease Adult Scale (NMDAS), including SF-36 quality of life (QoL) scores. Heteroplasmy levels were measured in urinary epithelial cells (UEC), leucocytes and saliva. The progression of the disease was studied using linear mixed model analysis.

Results

One hundred twenty-four carriers (out of 151) were symptomatic. Four clinical groups were identified: 1) classical mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes syndrome (n=7), 2) maternally inherited diabetes deafness syndrome (n=60), 3) ‘other’ (n=57) and 4) dormant carriers (n=27). A yearly increase of NMDAS score of 0.47 point was measured in the total group. Heteroplasmy levels in both leucocytes and UEC were only weakly correlated with disease severity. Physical QoL declined with age. The most important determinants of QoL decline were hearing loss, speech problems, exercise intolerance, gait instability, psychiatric problems and gastrointestinal involvement.

Conclusion

The mDNA 3243 A>G variant causes a slowly progressive disease, with a yearly increase of NMDAS score of ~0.5 point overall with the clinical phenotype being the only determinant of disease progression.
Global prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems in police personnel: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Syed Shabeer , Ashwick Rachel , Schlosser Marco , Jones Rebecca , Rowe Sarah , Billings Jo
Published: May 2020

Police face an increased risk of developing mental health problems, yet reliable estimates of their psychological difficulties remain unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis estimate the pooled prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems among police personnel worldwide. Three independent reviewers searched 16 databases and screened 11 506 articles published between January 1980 and October 2019. Eligible studies involved at least 100 active police professionals and used validated instruments to ascertain specific mental health problems. Estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. In total, 60 cross-sectional and seven longitudinal studies, involving 272 463 police personnel from 24 countries met criteria for inclusion. The overall pooled point prevalence was 14.6% for depression (95% CI 10.9% to 18.6%), 14.2% for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 95% CI 10.3% to 18.7%), 9.6% for a generalised anxiety disorder (95% CI 6.7% to 12.9%), 8.5% for suicidal ideation (95% CI 6.1% to 11.2%), 5.0% for alcohol dependence (95% CI 3.5% to 6.7%) and 25.7% for hazardous drinking (95% CI 19.6% to 32.4%). The strongest risk factor for depression and suicidal ideation was higher occupational stress, and the strongest risk factors for PTSD were higher occupational stress and avoidant coping strategies. Higher levels of peer-support were associated with significantly lower PTSD symptoms. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of mental health problems among police exceeds twice that previously reported in mixed samples of first responders, and is associated with poor social support, occupational stress and maladaptive coping strategies. Without effective intervention, psychological difficulties will remain a substantial health concern among police.
Next steps after diagnosing dementia: interventions to help patients and families
Authors: Bayer Antony
Published: May 2020

The way that a diagnosis of dementia is delivered to patients, what information is provided and what practical advice and support is arranged has a lasting impact and deserves at least as much attention as the process of assessment and investigation. Individuals and their families require an honest yet sensitive discussion about the nature and cause of their problems, using non-technical language and tailored to their priorities and needs. This should lead on to the provision of good-quality information in an accessible format. Priorities for intervention include medication review, attention to sensory deficits, appropriate pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment, best use of memory aids and strategies and discussion of driving eligibility, financial entitlement and legal advice. Referral onwards should be made to an appropriate individual or service to provide ongoing emotional and practical support and signposting.
Effects of earthworms and warming on tree seedling growth: a small-scale microcosm experiment
Authors: Gaudon Justin M. , McTavish Michael J. , Sivarajah Sivajanani , Snyder Emmett H.U. , Andrade Samara M.M. , Murphy Stephen D.
Published: May 2020

Warming global temperatures are expected to strongly influence plant communities, yet there is limited knowledge of how these changes will interact with stressors such as the invasion of exotic earthworms. We conducted a small-scale microcosm experiment to assess the individual and interactive effects of warming and exotic anecic earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris L.) on the growth of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) seedlings. After 50 days, the elevated-temperature chamber created warmer and drier soil conditions and increased several measures of plant growth, including stem width, ratio of stem width to stem height, stem biomass, and fine-root biomass. Earthworms did not have any clear impacts on plant growth on their own nor in interactions with the temperature chambers. However, earthworms both reduced surface leaf litter cover and exposed soils, which could exacerbate evaporative losses and moisture stress in field soils resulting from a warming climate under different growing conditions. Future studies should consider the long-term effects of earthworm–temperature interactions on sugar maple growth, as well as diurnal and seasonal changes in temperature.
Addendum to: Dynamical system analysis of a three fluid cosmological model: an invariant manifold approach
Authors: Pal Subhajyoti , Chakraborty Subenoy
Published: May 2020

We the authors want to further mention that the three fluid cosmological model has been considered before in some earlier works.
Radiative corrections and Lorentz violation
Authors: Ferrari A. F. , Nascimento J. R. , Petrov A. Yu.
Published: May 2020

Radiative corrections in Lorentz violating (LV) models have already received a lot of attention in the literature in recent years, with many instances where a LV operator in one sector of the Standard Model Extension (SME) generates, via loop corrections, one of the LV coefficients in the photon sector, which is probably the most understood and well constrained part of the SME. In many of these works, however, the now standard notation of the SME is not used, which can obscure the comparison of different results, and their possible phenomenological relevance. In this work, we fill this gap, trying to build up a more general perspective on the topic, bringing many of the results to the SME conventional notation and commenting on their possible phenomenological relevance. We uncover one example where a result already presented in the literature can be used to place a stronger bound on the temporal component of the $$b_{\mu }$$bμ coefficient of the fermion sector of the SME.
Variations of Oral Microbiome in Chronic Insomnia Patients with Different Tongue Features
Authors: Liu Meng , Wang Xiting , Wu Fengzhi , Dai Ning , Chen Mindan , Yu Jiaojiao , Guan Jing , Li Feng
Published: May 2020

Chronic insomnia is a disease which brings intense mental pain and disturbing complications to patients worldwide. The oral microbiome exhibits a mechanistic influence on human health. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the oral microbial diversity in insomnia. Tongue diagnosis has been considered a critical basic procedure in insomnia therapeutic decision-making in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Hence, it is significant to elucidate the various oral microbiome differences in chronic insomnia patients with different tongue features. In this paper, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatics analysis to investigate dynamic changes in oral bacterial profile and correlations between chronic insomnia patients and healthy individuals, as well as in patients with different tongue coatings. Moreover, the relationship between the severity of insomnia and oral microbiota was explored. Our findings showed that chronic insomnia patients harbored a significantly higher diversity of oral bacteria when compared to healthy controls. More importantly, the results revealed that the diversity and relative abundance of the bacterial community was significantly altered among different tongue coatings in patients but not in healthy individuals. Oral bacteria with a relative abundance [Formula: see text]1% and [Formula: see text] among different tongue groups were considered remarkable bacteria, which included three phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Gracilibacteria, and four genera, Streptococcus, Prevotella_7, Rothia, and Neisseria. Our findings indicate that changes in oral microbiome correlate with tongue coatings in patients with chronic insomnia. Thus, the remarkable microbiome may provide inspiration for further studies on the correlation between tongue diagnosis and oral microbiome in chronic insomnia patients.
Representations of the infinite-dimensional p-adic affine group
Authors: Kochubei Anatoly N. , Kondratiev Yuri
Published: May 2020

We introduce an infinite-dimensional [Formula: see text]-adic affine group and construct its irreducible unitary representation. Our approach follows the one used by Vershik, Gelfand and Graev for the diffeomorphism group, but with modifications made necessary by the fact that the group does not act on the phase space. However, it is possible to define its action on some classes of functions.
A Resource Optimization Allocation Strategy for China’s Shipbuilding Industry Green Innovation System
Authors: Bi Kexin , An Kwangil , Li Xiang
Published: May 2020

In order to realize the resource optimization allocation in the green innovation system of China’s shipbuilding industry under the internet environment, to improve the level of green innovation and to reduce the resource consumption, a resource optimization allocation model and the corresponding allocation strategy are proposed. The model integrates and shares the innovation resource data through Internet of Things (IOT) technology, and optimizes the allocation decision by using the cooperative differential game and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. At the same time, it ensures the robustness of green innovation system and realizes the optimization allocation of resources. A case study is given to illustrate the feasibility of the model. The results show that the green innovation subject can carry out strategic interaction by adjusting the allocation proportion of innovation resources through the proposed model, so as to optimize the overall green innovation benefits of the system.
Modified Selfish Herd Optimizer for Function Optimization
Authors: Zhao Ruxin , Wang Yongli , Liu Chang , Hu Peng , Li Yanchao , Li Hao , Yuan Chi
Published: May 2020

Selfish herd optimizer (SHO) is a new optimization algorithm. However, its optimization performance is not satisfactory. The main reason for this phenomenon is the weak global search ability of SHO. In this paper, in order to increase the global search ability of SHO, we add Levy-flight distribution strategy. To verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, we use 10 benchmark functions as test cases. Experiment results show that our algorithm is more competitive.
Geometric Hardy and Hardy–Sobolev inequalities on Heisenberg groups
Authors: Ruzhansky Michael , Sabitbek Bolys , Suragan Durvudkhan
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we present geometric Hardy inequalities for the sub-Laplacian in half-spaces of stratified groups. As a consequence, we obtain the following geometric Hardy inequality in a half-space of the Heisenberg group with a sharp constant: [Formula: see text] which solves a conjecture in the paper [S. Larson, Geometric Hardy inequalities for the sub-elliptic Laplacian on convex domain in the Heisenberg group, Bull. Math. Sci. 6 (2016) 335–352]. Here, [Formula: see text] is the angle function. Also, we obtain a version of the Hardy–Sobolev inequality in a half-space of the Heisenberg group: [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is the Euclidean distance to the boundary, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. For [Formula: see text], this gives the Hardy–Sobolev–Maz’ya inequality on the Heisenberg group.
The BLAS API of BLASFEO
Authors: Frison Gianluca , Sartor Tommaso , Zanelli Andrea , Diehl Moritz
Published: May 2020

Basic Linear Algebra Subroutines For Embedded Optimization (BLASFEO) is a dense linear algebra library providing high-performance implementations of BLAS- and LAPACK-like routines for use in embedded optimization and other applications targeting relatively small matrices. BLASFEO defines an application programming interface (API) which uses a packed matrix format as its native format. This format is analogous to the internal memory buffers of optimized BLAS, but it is exposed to the user and it removes the packing cost from the routine call. For matrices fitting in cache, BLASFEO outperforms optimized BLAS implementations, both open source and proprietary. This article investigates the addition of a standard BLAS API to the BLASFEO framework, and proposes an implementation switching between two or more algorithms optimized for different matrix sizes. Thanks to the modular assembly framework in BLASFEO, tailored linear algebra kernels with mixed column- and panel-major arguments are easily developed. This BLAS API has lower performance than the BLASFEO API, but it nonetheless outperforms optimized BLAS and especially LAPACK libraries for matrices fitting in cache. Therefore, it can boost a wide range of applications, where standard BLAS and LAPACK libraries are employed and the matrix size is moderate. In particular, this article investigates the benefits in scientific programming languages such as Octave, SciPy, and Julia.
Lipi Gnani
Authors: Kumar H. R. Shiva , Ramakrishnan A. G.
Published: May 2020

A Kannada OCR, called
Lipi Gnani
, has been designed and developed from scratch, with the motivation of it being able to convert printed text or poetry in Kannada script, without any restriction on vocabulary. The training and test sets have been collected from more than 35 books published from 1970 to 2002, and this includes books written in Halegannada and pages containing Sanskrit slokas written in Kannada script. The coverage of the OCR is nearly complete in the sense that it recognizes all punctuation marks, special symbols, and Indo-Arabic and Kannada numerals. Several minor and major original contributions have been done in developing this OCR at different processing stages, such as binarization, character segmentation, recognition, and Unicode mapping. This has created a Kannada OCR that performs as good as, and in some cases better than, Google’s Tesseract OCR, as shown by the results. To the best of our knowledge, this is the maiden report of a complete Kannada OCR, handling all issues involved. Currently, there is no dictionary-based postprocessing, and the obtained results are due solely to the recognition process. Four benchmark test databases containing scanned pages from books in Kannada, Sanskrit, Konkani, and Tulu languages, but all of them printed in Kannada script, have been created. The word-level recognition accuracy of Lipi Gnani is 5.3% higher on the Kannada dataset than that of Google’s Tesseract OCR, 8.5% higher on the Sanskrit dataset, and 23.4% higher on the datasets of Konkani and Tulu.
Using an Inverted Index Synopsis for Query Latency and Performance Prediction
Authors: Tonellotto Nicola , Macdonald Craig
Published: May 2020

Predicting the query latency by a search engine has important benefits, for instance, in allowing the search engine to adjust its configuration to address long-running queries without unnecessarily sacrificing its effectiveness. However, for the dynamic pruning techniques that underlie many commercial search engines, achieving accurate predictions of query latencies is difficult. We propose the use of index synopses—which are stochastic samples of the full index—for attaining accurate timing predictions. Indeed, we experiment using the TREC ClueWeb09 collection, and a large set of real user queries, and find that using small index synopses it is possible to very accurately estimate properties of the larger index, including sizes of posting list unions and intersections. Thereafter, we demonstrate that index synopses facilitate two key use cases: first, for query efficiency prediction, we show that predicting the query latencies on the full index and classifying long-running queries can be accurately achieved using index synopses; second, for query performance prediction, we show that the effectiveness of queries can be estimated more accurately using a synopsis index post-retrieval predictor than a pre-retrieval predictor. Overall, our experiments demonstrate the value of such a stochastic sample of a larger index at predicting the properties of the larger index.
Fully Online Matching
Authors: Huang Zhiyi , Kang Ning , Tang Zhihao Gavin , Wu Xiaowei , Zhang Yuhao , Zhu Xue
Published: May 2020

We introduce a fully online model of maximum cardinality matching in which all vertices arrive online. On the arrival of a vertex, its incident edges to previously arrived vertices are revealed. Each vertex has a deadline that is after all its neighbors’ arrivals. If a vertex remains unmatched until its deadline, then the algorithm must irrevocably either match it to an unmatched neighbor or leave it unmatched. The model generalizes the existing one-sided online model and is motivated by applications including ride-sharing platforms, real-estate agency, and so on.

We show that the Ranking algorithm by Karp et al. (STOC 1990) is 0.5211-competitive in our fully online model for general graphs. Our analysis brings a novel charging mechanic into the randomized primal dual technique by Devanur et al. (SODA 2013), allowing a vertex other than the two endpoints of a matched edge to share the gain. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of Ranking that beats 0.5 on general graphs in an online matching problem, a first step toward solving the open problem by Karp et al. (STOC 1990) about the optimality of Ranking on general graphs. If the graph is bipartite, then we show a tight competitive ratio ≈0.5671 of Ranking. Finally, we prove that the fully online model is strictly harder than the previous model as no online algorithm can be 0.6317 < 1- 1/e-competitive in our model, even for bipartite graphs.
Metaphilosophical Musings
Authors: Stafford Tom
Published: May 2020

It has been some time now since we have had our Philosopher's Corner feature in place at The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, and we have seen some truly magnificent work appear in these pages in that time. I am gilding the lily in saying so, to be sure, but as an Editor-in-Chief, I have a certain pride of ownership in regard to it. I don't want to claim that The Philosopher's Corner was all my idea; we are a team here in the Editorial office, and we do things as a team and by consensus.

Even so, I have a great deal of enthusiasm for the feature and take it upon myself to shamelessly promote it at every turn and in every quarter. Just as I am now.
How Do Institutional Pressures and Behavioral Intentions Affect Mobile Services Adoption?
Authors: Abayomi Owolabi Justine , Zhang Xuehe , Peng Xiaobao , Zhao Shuliang
Published: May 2020

Technology adoption models have been proposed in the literature to explain mobile banking adoption, but institutional pressures have not been addressed. Drawing upon behavioral intention and institutional theory, this study proposes a model to examine three institutional pressures - coercive, normative and mimetic - and how they affect mobile banking adoption including how such effects are moderated by perceived risk. The model was tested using survey data of 425 respondents. The results reveal institutional pressures, i.e., coercive and mimetic pressures, are positively associated with mobile banking adoption; but normative pressures have negative effects on mobile banking adoption. In addition, behavioral intention plays a mediating role between institutional pressures and mobile banking adoption, while perceived risk negatively moderates the relationship between behavioral intention and adoption. The findings provide valuable insights for bank managers who manage mobile banking services. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.
Data Science for Earth
Authors: Eftelioglu Emre , Shekhar Shashi , Hudson James , Joppa Lucas , Baru Chaitanya , Janeja Vandana
Published: May 2020

At the 25th ACM SIGKDD conference on Knowledge and Data Discovery (KDD), a special Earth Day symposium was held to bring together thought leaders in academia, indus- try and government to discuss opportunities for data science to help meet the challenges facing our planet Earth. The all-day event showcased some examples of data-intensive re- search being done to study Earth-related phenomena. A key goal of the symposium was to raise awareness about the unique challenges that Earth-related datasets pose for data mining. The Earth Day website can be found at https://www. kdd.org/kdd2019/special-days/earth-day.
The effects of exercise training on lipid metabolism and coronary heart disease
Authors: Muscella Antonella , Stefàno Erika , Marsigliante Santo
Published: May 2020

Blood lipoproteins are formed by various amounts of cholesterol (C), triglycerides (TGs), phospholipids, and apolipoproteins (Apos). ApoA1 is the major structural protein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), accounting for ~70% of HDL protein, and mediates many of the antiatherogenic functions of HDL. Conversely, ApoB is the predominant low-density lipoprotein (LDL) Apo and is an indicator of circulating LDL, associated with higher coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. Thus, the ratio of ApoB to ApoA1 (ApoB/ApoA1) is used as a surrogate marker of the risk of CHD related to lipoproteins. Elevated or abnormal levels of lipids and/or lipoproteins in the blood are a significant CHD risk factor, and several studies support the idea that aerobic exercise decreases CHD risk by partially lowering serum TG and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and increasing HDL-C levels. Exercise also exerts an effect on HDL-C maturation and composition and on reverse C transport from peripheral cells to the liver to favor its catabolism and excretion. This process prevents atherosclerosis, and several studies showed that exercise training increases heart lipid metabolism and protects against cardiovascular disease. In these and other ways, it more and more appears that regular exercise, nutrition, and strategies to modulate lipid profile should be viewed as an integrated whole. The purpose of this review is to assess the effects of endurance training on the nontraditional lipid biomarkers, including ApoB, ApoA1, and ApoB/ApoA1, in CHD risk.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase increases Ca2+currents by interacting with Cav1.2 and reducing intrinsic inactivation of the L-type calcium channel
Authors: Gupte Rakhee , Dhagia Vidhi , Rocic Petra , Ochi Rikuo , Gupte Sachin A.
Published: May 2020

In this study we have identified a novel isozyme of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), a metabolic enzyme, that interacts with and contributes to regulate smooth muscle cell L-type Ca2+ion channel function, which plays a crucial role in vascular function in physiology and pathophysiology. Furthermore, we demonstrate that expression and activity of this novel G6PD isoform are increased in arteries of individuals with metabolic syndrome and in inhibition of G6PD activity in rats of metabolic syndrome reduced blood pressure.
Optimal Torque Split Strategy of Dual-Motor Electric Vehicle Using Adaptive Nonlinear Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Zheng Qingxing , Tian Shaopeng , Zhang Qian
Published: May 2020

In order to exploit the potential of energy saving of dual-motor powertrain over single-motor powertrain, this paper proposes a time-efficient optimal torque split strategy for a front-and-rear-axle dual-motor electric powertrain. Firstly, a physical model of electric vehicle powertrain is established in Matlab/Simulink platform and further validated by real-vehicle experiments. Subsequently, a three-layer energy management strategy composed of demanded torque calculation layer, mode decision layer, and torque split layer is devised to enhance the total operating efficiency of two motors. Specifically, the optimal torque split strategy using adaptive nonlinear particle swarm optimization (ANLPSO) is embedded in the torque split layer. Finally, two conventional strategies (even distributed strategy and rule-based strategy) for dual-motor powertrain are considered for comparison to verify the efficacy of the proposed strategy. Tremendous results demonstrate that the dual-motor powertrain with this proposed optimal torque split strategy develops energy saving by 11.88% and 12.18% against single-motor powertrain in the NEDC and WLTP. Compared to two conventional torque split strategies, it is able to reduce the total motor loss by 12.17% and 8.1% in NEDC and 11.91% and 8.07% in WLTP, respectively, which indicates the prominent optimization performance and a great potential in realistic applications.
The Use of Social Media by Healthcare Quality Personnel in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Alanzi Turki , Al-Habib Doaa Khalid
Published: May 2020

Purpose. The objective of this research was to investigate the use of social media for educational purposes by healthcare quality personnel in Saudi Arabia. Participants and Methods. A cross-sectional design study was carried out with 78 healthcare quality employees working in different hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The survey was distributed through WhatsApp, and the data were collected during November 2019. The results were analyzed and expressed in percentages using basic statistic tools. Results. More than half of the participants (74.36%) were under 40 years old, and the gender was equally distributed among them. The participants used the following social media in decreasing order for educational purposes: YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. The largest proportion of them employed YouTube, and the least used social media network was Facebook. The majority of them (58.87%) employed these platforms more than 3 hours daily. Most respondents (82%) agreed that social media can be used to educate on healthcare quality topics, and YouTube was the preferred platform for this goal. The reasons for using social media for professional purposes were networking (27%), education and professional development (24%), and health promotion (13%). Most of the responses considered that social media networks were somehow helpful and very helpful for improving knowledge about the profession (96.20%), improving creativity (90%), improving decision making (83.33%), improving critical skills (80.77%), and improving problem-solving abilities (79.49%). Conclusion. The findings showed that a high percentage of the healthcare quality personnel in Saudi Arabia used social media for educational purposes, and the most used platform for this objective was YouTube. The results suggested that social media can be potentially useful to perceive healthcare quality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
High-Resolution Squinted SAR Imaging Algorithm Applied in the Near-Field Environment
Authors: Wang Shijia , Wang Shibo , Liu Wanli
Published: May 2020

In the squinted synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging of the near-field environment, range-dependent characteristic of squint angle cannot be ignored, which causes azimuth-dependent range cell migration (RCM) after linear range walk correction (LRWC). In this study, an efficient SAR imaging algorithm applied in the near-field environment is proposed. In the processing of the range focusing, LRWC is firstly used to remove the linear RCM. Then, the residual LRCM is expanded into azimuth-invariant and azimuth-variant terms in consideration of the residual LRCM of azimuth-dependent. Range cell migration azimuth scaling (RCMAS) is designed to remove the azimuth-variant term before secondary range compression (SRC) and range compression (RC). In the azimuth focusing, azimuth distortion compensation (ADC) is performed to compensate the azimuth distortion, following which azimuth nonlinear chirp scaling (ANCS) is applied to equalize the frequency modulation (FM) rate for azimuth compression (AC). The simulated results show that more accurate and improved imaging result can be obtained with the proposed algorithm.
Clinical Effect of Preservation or Nonpreservation of Left Colic Artery in Total Mesorectal Excision under Laparoscopy: A Meta-analysis
Authors: Liu Jiefeng , Gong Yujing , He Miao , Zeng Xinyu , Liu Yiping
Published: May 2020

Background and Aims. To investigate the clinical effect of preservation or nonpreservation of the left colic artery (LCA) in total mesorectal excision (TME) under laparoscopy. Methods. The words, like “rectal cancer,” “left colonic artery,” and “laparoscopy,” were used as the retrieval terms, and the keyword retrieval method was adopted. The retrieval period was set as from January 1, 2013, to June 1, 2018. We searched databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to collect randomized and controlled trials which compared the effect of preservation or nonpreservation of the LCA in TME under laparoscopy. Two researchers independently carried out literature screening, data extraction, and literature quality evaluation; Review Manager 5.3 was used for the meta-analysis. Results. Seven studies including 1467 cases were identified for the meta-analysis. As showed by the meta-analysis, compared with the LCA nonpreservation group, the LCA preservation group had significantly reduced incidence of anastomotic leakage (OR=0.44, CI=0.30,0.65, P<0.0001) and postoperative urinary and sexual dysfunction (OR=0.26, CI=0.09,0.78, P=0.02) and significantly shorter time for intestinal function recovery (WMD=−0.26, CI=−0.41,−0.11, P=0.0008). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the duration of surgery, blood loss, number of dissected lymph nodes, or postoperative hospital stay. Conclusions. From the results, the LCA preservation group seems to achieve comparable success with acceptable safety outcomes. Therefore, this surgical method can be recommended in the clinical practice.
Decision Optimization of Low-Carbon Dual-Channel Supply Chain of Auto Parts Based on Smart City Architecture
Authors: Liu Zheng , Hu Bin , Huang Bangtong , Lang Lingling , Guo Hangxin , Zhao Yuanjun
Published: May 2020

Affected by the Internet, computer, information technology, etc., building a smart city has become a key task of socialist construction work. The smart city has always regarded green and low-carbon development as one of the goals, and the carbon emissions of the auto parts industry cannot be ignored, so we should carry out energy conservation and emission reduction. With the rapid development of the domestic auto parts industry, the number of car ownership has increased dramatically, producing more and more CO2 and waste. Facing the pressure of resources, energy, and environment, the effective and circular operation of the auto parts supply chain under the low-carbon transformation is not only a great challenge, but also a development opportunity. Under the background of carbon emission, this paper establishes a decision-making optimization model of the low-carbon supply chain of auto parts based on carbon emission responsibility sharing and resource sharing. This paper analyzes the optimal decision-making behavior and interaction of suppliers, producers, physical retailers, online retailers, demand markets, and recyclers in the auto parts industry, constructs the economic and environmental objective functions of low-carbon supply chain management, applies variational inequality to analyze the optimal conditions of the whole low-carbon supply chain system, and finally carries out simulation calculation. The research shows that the upstream and downstream auto parts enterprises based on low-carbon competition and cooperation can effectively manage the carbon footprint of the whole supply chain through the sharing of responsibilities and resources among enterprises, so as to reduce the overall carbon emissions of the supply chain system.
Families of Rational and Semirational Solutions of the Partial Reverse Space-Time Nonlocal Mel′nikov Equation
Authors: Liu Wei , Qin Zhenyun , Chow Kwok Wing , Lou Senyue
Published: May 2020

Exact periodic and localized solutions of a nonlocal Mel′nikov equation are derived by the Hirota bilinear method. Many conventional nonlocal operators involve integration over a spatial or temporal domain. However, the present class of nonlocal equations depends on properties at selected far field points which result in a potential satisfying parity time symmetry. The present system of nonlocal partial differential equations consists of two dependent variables in two spatial dimensions and time, where the dependent variables physically represent a wave packet and an auxiliary scalar field. The periodic solutions may take the forms of breathers (pulsating modes) and line solitons. The localized solutions can include propagating lumps and rogue waves. These nonsingular solutions are obtained by appropriate choice of parameters in the Hirota expansion. Doubly periodic solutions are also computed with elliptic and theta functions. In sharp contrast with the local Mel′nikov equation, the auxiliary scalar field in the present set of solutions can attain complex values. Through a coordinate transformation, the governing equation can reduce to the Schrödinger–Boussinesq system.
Control Strategies to Curtail Transmission of COVID-19
Authors: Shah Nita H. , Suthar Ankush H. , Jayswal Ekta N.
Published: May 2020

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) a pandemic and a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. As of 29 March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected 199 countries and territories, resulting in 683,536 positive cases and causing 32,139 deaths. The pandemic has the potential to become extremely destructive globally if not treated seriously. In this study, we propose a generalized SEIR model of COVID-19 to study the behaviour of its transmission under different control strategies. In the model, all possible cases of human-to-human transmission are considered and its reproduction number is formulated to analyse the accurate transmission dynamics of the coronavirus outbreak. Optimal control theory is applied to the model to demonstrate the impact of various intervention strategies, including voluntary quarantine, isolation of infected individuals, improving an individual's immunity, and hospitalization. In addition, the effect of control strategies on the model is analysed graphically by simulating the model numerically.
Hyers–Ulam–Mittag-Leffler Stability for a System of Fractional Neutral Differential Equations
Authors: Ahmad Manzoor , Jiang Jiqiang , Zada Akbar , Ali Zeeshan , Fu Zhengqing , Xu Jiafa
Published: May 2020

This article concerns with the existence and uniqueness for a new model of implicit coupled system of neutral fractional differential equations involving Caputo fractional derivatives with respect to the Chebyshev norm. In addition, we prove the Hyers–Ulam–Mittag-Leffler stability for the considered system through the Picard operator. For application of the theory, we add an example at the end. The obtained results can be extended for the Bielecki norm.
Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Healthcare Workers regarding Biomedical Waste Management at Biyem-Assi District Hospital, Yaounde: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study
Authors: Woromogo Sylvain Honoré , Djeukang Gwladys Guetsé , Yagata Moussa Félicité Emma , Saba Antaon Jesse Saint , Kort Kingsley Ngah , Tebeu Pierre Marie
Published: May 2020

Background. Biomedical waste (BMW) is defined as unwanted materials generated during diagnosis, treatment, operation, immunization, or in research activities including production of biologicals. Healthcare workers are responsible for the proper management of this waste for human safety and for the protection of the environment.Methods. An analytical knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) study was carried out at Biyem-Assi District Hospital from June 1st to July 5th, 2018, including 100 health workers from different departments. Variables of interest were knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the respondents. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analysis was carried out using software Epi Info version 7.2.2.6. Logistic regression was used to establish the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and practices.Results. Nurses constituted 32.0% of the participants, and more than half of the participants had 1–4 years of working experience (56.0%). Overall, the level of knowledge was satisfactory at 50.0%, that of attitudes was as unfavorable at 83.0%, and that of practices was as poor at 50.0%. Favorable attitudes were associated to satisfactory level of knowledge (ORa = 5.14 [3.10–8.51] andp=0.005). Good practices were associated to good level of knowledge (ORa = 5.26 [3.17–8.7] andp<0.001) and a favorable attitude (ORa = 7.30 [2.25–23, 71] andp<0.001).Conclusion. The level of knowledge was considered unsatisfactory for half of the staff interviewed. Attitudes were unfavourable at 83.0% and poor practices at 50.0%. Staff with a good level of knowledge were more likely to have favourable attitudes towards BWM. Also, good knowledge and attitude positively influenced the practice with regard to BMW management.
Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Influencing Factors regarding Physical Restraint Use in the Intensive Care Unit: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Kassew Tilahun , Dejen Tilahun Ambaye , Liyew Bikis
Published: May 2020

Background. Physical restraint is a common practice in the intensive care units which often result in frequent skin laceration at restraint site, limb edema, restricted circulation, and worsening of agitation that may even end in death. Despite the sensitivity of the problem, however, it is felt that there are nurses’ evidence-based practice gaps in Ethiopia. To emphasize the importance of this subject, relevant evidence is required to develop protocols and to raise evidence-based practices of health professionals. So, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and influencing factors of nurses regarding physical restraint use in the intensive care units in northwest Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was maintained from March to September 2019 at Amhara regional state referral hospitals, northwest Ethiopia. A total of 260 nurses in the intensive care units were invited to take part in the study by a convenience sampling technique. The Level of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Staff regarding Physical Restraints Questionnaire was used to assess the nurses’ knowledge and attitude. Linear regression analysis was employed to examine the influencing factors of knowledge and attitude. Adjusted unstandardized beta (β) coefficient with a 95% confidence interval was used to report the result of association with a p value < 0.05 statistical significance level. Result. The mean scores of nurses’ knowledge and attitude regarding physical restraint use among critically ill patients were 7.81 ± 1.89 and 33.75 ± 6.50, respectively. These mean scores are above the scale midpoint nearer to the higher ranges which imply a moderate level of knowledge and a good attitude regarding physical restraint. Lower academic qualification and short (<2 years) work experience were associated with lower-level of knowledge, and reading about restraint from any source and taken training regarding restraints were factors associated with a higher knowledge. Diploma and bachelor’s in academic qualification were significantly associated with a negative attitude regarding restraint. Besides, there was a more positive attitude among nurses with a higher level of knowledge and who received training regarding physical restraint use. Conclusion. The nurses working in the intensive care unit had a moderate level of knowledge and a good attitude regarding physical restraint use. So, developing and providing educational and in-service training to the nurses regarding physical restraint are necessary to strengthen the quality of care for critically ill patients.
Machine Learning Approach for Answer Detection in Discussion Forums: An Application of Big Data Analytics
Authors: Khan Atif , Ibrahim Ibrahim , Uddin M. Irfan , Zubair Muhammad , Ahmad Shafiq , Al Firdausi Muhammad Dzulqarnain , Zaindin Mazen
Published: May 2020

Nowadays, data are flooding into online web forums, and it is highly desirable to turn gigantic amount of data into actionable knowledge. Online web forums have become an integral part of the web and are main sources of knowledge. People use this platform to post their questions and get answers from other forum members. Usually, an initial post (question) gets more than one reply posts (answers) that make it difficult for a user to scan all of them for most relevant and quality answer. Thus, how to automatically extract the most relevant answer for a question within a thread is an important issue. In this research, we treat the task of answer extraction as classification problem. A reply post can be classified as relevant, partially relevant, or irrelevant to the initial post. To find the relevancy/similarity of a reply to the question, both lexical and nonlexical features are used. We proposed to use LinearSVC, a variant of support vector machine (SVM), for answer classification. Two selection techniques such as chi-square and univariate are employed to reduce the feature space size. The experimental results showed that LinearSVC classifier outperformed the other state-of-the-art classifiers in the context of classification accuracy for both Ubuntu and TripAdvisor (NYC) discussion forum datasets.
Measuring the Quality of Life in Diabetic Patients: A Scoping Review
Authors: Palamenghi Lorenzo , Carlucci Milvia Marta , Graffigna Guendalina
Published: May 2020

Background. Diabetes mellitus is a widely diffused chronic condition which impacts on several aspects of patients’ lives. In the current clinical practice, the implementation in the clinical routine of monitoring systems of patients’ outcomes has led to an increased generation and use of several measures for the assessment of patients’ quality of life (QOL). Nevertheless, this construct appears to be particularly complex, and its operationalization is variable across different measures. The purpose of this paper is to offer an updated review of the diabetes-specific QOL measures present in scientific literature with a specific focus on the broad domains assessed. Methods. A scoping review was carried out with the purpose of identifying the existing measures in literature and describing their implicit representation of QOL in diabetes care. Five different databases (Scopus; Web of Science Core Collection; Medline; PsycInfo; and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched with a string including validation studies of adult-only, diabetes-specific QOL measures. Each measure was then qualified according to its structure, a qualitative assessment of the broad domains of QOL it comprises, and finally an overview of the psychometric properties of its first validation. Results. 30 scales were identified and assessed. Theme analysis shows that QOL is operationalized with multidimensional surveys comprising of both mental, physical, and social health components. Some scales also consider the impact of societal attitudes, public policies, and context on QOL. Conclusion. Several self-report measures of QOL specifically developed for diabetic patients exist in scientific literature. The present scoping review reports scales structure, broad domains of QOL, and development purpose. This may help in understanding the concept of QOL in diabetic patients and may also serve the purpose of guiding the reader in the choice of the most appropriate instrument or in the development of a new one.