bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting and classifying Japanese singleton and geminate consonants using logarithmic duration
Authors: Amano Shigeaki , Kondo Mariko , Yamakawa Kimiko
Published: September 2021

To clarify the acoustic variables for predicting and classifying Japanese singleton and geminate consonants, raw and logarithmic durations of the consonants and their related segments were examined using 12 minimal pair words that were pronounced in a carrier sentence at various speaking rates by 20 native Japanese speakers. Regression and discriminant analyses revealed that the logarithmic durations were better at predicting and classifying Japanese singleton and geminate consonants than the raw durations used in many previous studies. Specifically, the best acoustic variables were the logarithmic duration of the consonant's closure or frication and the logarithmic average duration of the mora in the preceding carrier phrase. These results suggest that logarithmic durations are relational invariant acoustic variables that can cope with the durational variations of singleton and geminate consonants in a wide range of speaking rates.
An Examination of Sport Management Doctoral Programs and the Organizational Environment Through Person–Environment Fit Theory
Authors: Martyn Jay , Brannigan Kyle J. , Oja Brent D. , Zvosec Claire C.
Published: September 2021

Scholarly literature focusing on organizational environments and organizational fit highlights the importance of a Multi-Fit perspective, which includes person–environment fit, person–culture fit, and person–vocation fit. However, relatively few scholars in sport management have focused on the organizational environment that includes sport management faculty and doctoral students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine sport management doctoral programs to evaluate how sport management faculty and sport management doctoral students assessed the academic environment. Findings from 15 sport management faculty and 13 doctoral students resulted in three distinct overarching themes: (a) initial evaluations from person–environment fit, (b) fitting in with person–culture fit, and (c) the gap in person–culture fit. Moreover, subthemes emerging from faculty were (a) coachable, (b) well-roundedness, (c) experience, (d) research interests, and (e) statistical knowledge. Subthemes emerging from sport management doctoral students were (a) funding, (b) initial contact, (c) geography, (d) foundation, and (e) cohort mentality. The findings of this study have significant importance to the sport management academy as scholars have suggested approximately 50% of doctoral students fail to receive their degree, and cohort entrance and exit attrition may be as high as 85%. Therefore, the goal of this study was to increase the extant knowledge pertaining to person–environment fit and the sport management doctoral matriculation and enrollment process between sport management faculty and sport management doctoral students.
Bile acids for immune tolerance
Authors: VanHook Annalisa M.
Published: September 2021

The bacterial bile acid metabolite isoalloLCA stimulates the differentiation of T
reg
cells.
MARCH8 Restricts Influenza A Virus Infectivity but Does Not Downregulate Viral Glycoprotein Expression at the Surface of Infected Cells
Authors: Villalón-Letelier Fernando , Brooks Andrew G. , Londrigan Sarah L. , Reading Patrick C.
Published: September 2021

The antiviral activity of MARCH8 has been associated with the downregulation of envelope glycoproteins from a range of different viruses, resulting in reduced incorporation into nascent virions. Here, we show that MARCH8 restricts IAV at a late stage in virus replication, but this was not associated with reduced expression of IAV envelope glycoproteins on the surfaces of infected cells, pointing to a distinct mechanism of antiviral activity.
Diversification of the Type VI Secretion System in Agrobacteria
Authors: Wu Chih-Feng , Weisberg Alexandra J. , Davis Edward W. , Chou Lin , Khan Surtaz , Lai Erh-Min , Kuo Chih-Horng , Chang Jeff H.
Published: September 2021

The T6SS is used by several taxa of Gram-negative bacteria to secrete toxic effector proteins to attack others. Diversification of effector collections shapes bacterial interactions and impacts the health of hosts and ecosystems in which bacteria reside.
Genomic Features Associated with the Degree of Phenotypic Resistance to Carbapenems in Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Bulman Zackery P. , Krapp Fiorella , Pincus Nathan B. , Wenzler Eric , Murphy Katherine R. , Qi Chao , Ozer Egon A. , Hauser Alan R.
Published: September 2021

Klebsiella pneumoniae
can cause severe infections in the blood, urinary tract, and lungs. Resistance to carbapenems in
K. pneumoniae
is an urgent public health threat, since it can make these isolates difficult to treat.
Nitric Oxide Impacts Human Gut Microbiota Diversity and Functionalities
Authors: Leclerc Marion , Bedu-Ferrari Cassandre , Etienne-Mesmin Lucie , Mariadassou Mahendra , Lebreuilly Lucie , Tran Seav-Ly , Brazeau Laurence , Mayeur Camille , Delmas Julien , Rué Olivier , Denis Sylvain , Blanquet-Diot Stéphanie , Ramarao Nalini
Published: September 2021

Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been associated with inflammatory diseases. The human inflammatory response leads to an overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) in the gut.
Bridging the Gap between Analytical and Microbial Sciences in Microbiome Research
Authors: Quinn Robert A. , Hagiwara Kehau A. , Liu Ken , Goudarzi Maryam , Pathmasiri Wimal , Sumner Lloyd W. , Metz Thomas O.
Published: September 2021

Metabolites from the microbiome influence human, animal, and environmental health, but the diversity and functional roles of these compounds have only begun to be elucidated. Comprehensively characterizing these molecules are significant challenges, as it requires expertise in analytical methods, such as mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, skills that not many traditional microbiologists or microbial ecologists possess.
Retooling Microbiome Engineering for a Sustainable Future
Authors: Lawson Christopher E.
Published: September 2021

Microbial communities (microbiomes) have been harnessed in biotechnology applications such as wastewater treatment and bioremediation for over a century. Traditionally, engineering approaches have focused on shaping the environment to steer microbiome function versus direct manipulation of the microbiome’s metabolic network.
Gut Metabolites Are More Predictive of Disease and Cohoused States than Gut Bacterial Features in a Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Like Mouse Model
Authors: Ho Bryan , Ryback Daniel , Benson Basilin , Mason Cayla N. , Torres Pedro J. , Quinn Robert A. , Thackray Varykina G. , Kelley Scott T.
Published: September 2021

Using a combination of untargeted metabolomics and metagenomics, we performed a comparative longitudinal analysis of the feces collected in a cohousing study with a PCOS-like mouse model. Our results showed that gut metabolite composition experienced earlier and more pronounced differentiation in both the disease model and cohoused mice compared with the microbial composition.
Multiple, large intra-abdominal cystic lesions and iron deficiency anaemia as the presenting symptoms of SDHD gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) in a young sub-Saharan woman
Authors: Nyenyeri Lieve Darlene , Niyomwungeri Reverien , van Leeuwen Dirk J , Ruhangaza Deo
Published: September 2021

We report the case of a 27-year-old female patient from sub-Saharan Africa who presented with non-specific abdominal complaints, iron deficiency anaemia and multiple, large intra-abdominal cystic lesions on imaging. The lesions appeared to be a most unusual presentation of gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST). GIST is a sarcomatous tumour that comprises only 0.2% of all gastrointestinal (GI) tumours; it is the most common mesenchymal malignancy of the GI tract. Our patient had the succinate dehydrogenase-deficient (SDHD) subtype, identified in some 5%–10% of patients with GIST only, commonly found in women and younger patients. The differential diagnosis of intra-abdominal cystic lesions is briefly discussed, including the relevance of a correct pathological diagnosis. This impacts medical and surgical management decisions, including predicting response to targeted therapy. Tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy has been a breakthrough in the treatment of GISTs, although with extensive disease, and certainly in case of the SDHD subtype, long-term outcome remains disappointing.
Diagnosis of Sweet’s syndrome in otolaryngology
Authors: Berger Danique M S , Schaeffers Anouk W M A , van Dijk Marijke R , Kamalski Digna M A
Published: September 2021

Sweet’s syndrome (acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis) consists of acute onset of painful cutaneous erythematous lesions, mostly found in the upper extremities followed by the head and neck region, particularly in patients with underlying malignancies. We describe the case of a woman in her mid-30s, who was treated for acute myeloid leukaemia and presented with a severe painful and progressive erythematous lesion of the retroauricular skin. Clinical features, laboratory tests, blood cultures and histological biopsy yielded a diagnosis of Sweet’s syndrome. The treatment consisted of oral and topical corticosteroids and her signs and symptoms resolved within 1 week. Although Sweet’s syndrome is uncommon, awareness among otolaryngologists is crucial to ensure a prompt diagnosis, cure and referral to an oncologist (if not already involved) for patients with Sweet’s syndrome in the head and neck area.
Two-year use of flash glucose monitoring is associated with sustained improvement of glycemic control and quality of life (FLARE-NL-6)
Authors: Lameijer Annel , Fokkert Marion J , Edens Mireille A , Gans Reinold O B , Bilo Henk J G , van Dijk Peter R
Published: September 2021

Introduction

The FreeStyle Libre (FSL) is a flash glucose monitoring (FGM) system. The Flash Monitor Register in the Netherlands (FLARE-NL-4) study previously demonstrated the positive effects of FSL-FGM use during 1 year on glycemic control, quality of life and disease burden among persons with diabetes mellitus (DM). The present follow-up study assesses the effects of FSL-FGM after 2 years.

Research design and methods

Patients included in the FLARE-NL-4 study who continued FSL-FGM during the 1-year study period were invited to participate (n=687). Data were collected using questionnaires (the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey version 2 (SF-12v2) and the EuroQol 5-Dimension 3-Level (EQ-5D-3L) for quality of life), including self-reported hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).

Results

A total of 342 patients agreed to participate: mean age 48.0 (±15.6) years, 52% men and 79.5% with type 1 DM. HbA1c decreased from 60.7 (95% CI 59.1 to 62.3) mmol/mol before use of FSL-FGM to 57.3 (95% CI 55.8 to 58.8) mmol/mol after 1 year and 57.8 (95% CI 56.0 to 59.5) mmol/mol after 2 years. At the end of the 2-year follow-up period, 260 (76%) persons were still using the FSL-FGM and 82 (24%) had stopped. The main reason for stopping FSL-FGM was financial constraints (55%). Concerning the whole 2-year period, there was a significant decrease in HbA1c among persons who continued use of FSL-FGM (−3.5 mmol/mol, 95% CI −6.4 to –0.7), while HbA1c was unaltered compared with baseline among persons who stopped FSL-FGM (−2.4 mmol/mol, 95% CI −7.5 to 2.7): difference between groups 2.2 (95% CI −1.3 to 5.8) mmol/mol. After 2 years, persons who continued use of FSL-FGM had higher SF-12 mental component score and higher EQ-5D Dutch tariff score and felt less often anxious or depressed compared with persons who discontinued FSL-FGM.

Conclusions

Although the considerable number of non-responders limits generalizability, this study suggests that persons who continue to use FSL-FGM for 2 years may experience sustained improvement in glycemic control and quality of life.
“What are you carrying?” Experiences of mothers with preterm babies in low-resource setting neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study
Authors: Namusoke Fatuma , Sekikubo Musa , Namiiro Flavia , Nakigudde Janet
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Babies born preterm often have challenges in feeding, temperature control and breathing difficulty and are prone to infection during the neonatal period. These usually necessitate admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Admission to NICU disrupts the mother–baby bonding.

Objective

This study explored the lived experiences of mothers with preterm babies admitted to NICU in a low-resource setting.

Study design

This was a qualitative study where 16 participants took part in indepth interviews and 35 in focus group discussions. We included mothers who delivered and were caring for preterm babies at the NICU of Mulago National Referral Hospital.

Study setting

Data were collected from a public hospital, which works as a district and national referral hospital located in the capital of Uganda.

Participants

Fifty-one mothers with preterm babies in the NICU were sampled and recruited after informed consent. Data were analysed using manual thematic analysis.

Results

There were six themes on the experiences of mothers of preterm babies in NICU: constant worry and uncertainty about the survival of their babies, baby feeding challenges, worries of discharge, communication gaps between mothers and nurses, community acceptability and disdain for preterm babies, and financial challenges.

Conclusions and recommendations

Mothers of preterm babies admitted to NICU in a low-resource setting still need a lot of support other than the medical care given to their babies. Support groups in the hospital and community are recommended to help in dealing with these challenges.
Inhaled amikacin versus placebo to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia: the AMIKINHAL double-blind multicentre randomised controlled trial protocol
Authors: Tavernier Elsa , Barbier Francois , Meziani Ferhat , Quenot Jean-Pierre , Herbrecht Jean-Etienne , Landais Mickael , Roux Damien , Seguin Philippe , Schnell David , Veinstein Anne , Veber Benoît , Lasocki Sigismond , Lu Qin , Beduneau Gaetan , Ferrandiere Martine , Dahyot-Fizelier Claire , Plantefeve Gaetan , Nay Mai-Anh , Merdji Hamid , Andreu Pascal , Vecellio Laurent , Muller Grégoire , Cabrera Maria , Le Pennec Deborah , Respaud Renaud , Lanotte Philippe , Gregoire Nicolas , Leclerc Marie , Helms Julie , Boulain Thierry , Lacherade Jean-Claude , Ehrmann Stephan
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Pre-emptive inhaled antibiotics may be effective to reduce the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia among critically ill patients. Meta-analysis of small sample size trials showed a favourable signal. Inhaled antibiotics are associated with a reduced emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the benefit of a 3-day course of inhaled antibiotics among patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation for more than 3 days on the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Methods and analysis

Academic, investigator-initiated, parallel two group arms, double-blind, multicentre superiority randomised controlled trial. Patients invasively ventilated more than 3 days will be randomised to receive 20 mg/kg inhaled amikacin daily for 3 days or inhaled placebo (0.9% Sodium Chloride). Occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia will be recorded based on a standardised diagnostic framework from randomisation to day 28 and adjudicated by a centralised blinded committee.

Ethics and dissemination

The protocol and amendments have been approved by the regional ethics review board and French competent authorities (Comité de protection des personnes Ouest I, No.2016-R29). All patients will be included after informed consent according to French law. Results will be disseminated in international scientific journals.

Trial registration numbers

EudraCT 2016-001054-17 andNCT03149640.
Assessing the safety of home oximetry for COVID-19: a multisite retrospective observational study
Authors: Clarke Jonathan , Flott Kelsey , Fernandez Crespo Roberto , Ashrafian Hutan , Fontana Gianluca , Benger Jonathan , Darzi Ara , Elkin Sarah
Published: September 2021

Objectives

To determine the safety and effectiveness of home oximetry monitoring pathways for patients with COVID-19 in the English National Health Service.

Design

Retrospective, multisite, observational study of home oximetry monitoring for patients with suspected or proven COVID-19.

Setting

This study analysed patient data from four COVID-19 home oximetry pilot sites in England across primary and secondary care settings.

Participants

A total of 1338 participants were enrolled in a home oximetry programme across four pilot sites. Participants were excluded if primary care data and oxygen saturations at rest at enrolment were not available. Data from 908 participants were included in the analysis.

Interventions

Home oximetry monitoring was provided to participants with a known or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. Participants were enrolled following attendance to emergency departments, hospital admission or referral through primary care services.

Results

Of 908 patients enrolled into four different COVID-19 home oximetry programmes in England, 771 (84.9%) had oxygen saturations at rest of 95% or more, and 320 (35.2%) were under 65 years of age and without comorbidities. 52 (5.7%) presented to hospital and 28 (3.1%) died following enrolment, of which 14 (50%) had COVID-19 as a named cause of death. All-cause mortality was significantly higher in patients enrolled after admission to hospital (OR 8.70 (2.53–29.89)), compared with those enrolled in primary care. Patients enrolled after hospital discharge (OR 0.31 (0.15–0.68)) or emergency department presentation (OR 0.42 (0.20–0.89)) were significantly less likely to present to hospital than those enrolled in primary care.

Conclusions

This study finds that home oximetry monitoring can be a safe pathway for patients with COVID-19; and indicates increases in risk to vulnerable groups and patients with oxygen saturations <95% at enrolment, and in those enrolled on discharge from hospital. Findings from this evaluation have contributed to the national implementation of home oximetry across England.
Diagnostic testing and vaccination for COVID-19 among First Nations, Metis and Inuit in Manitoba, Canada: protocol for a nations-based cohort study using linked administrative data
Authors: Nickel Nathan C , Clark Wayne , Phillips-Beck Wanda , Sanguins Julianne , Enns Jennifer Emily , Lavoie Josée G , Romanescu Razvan , Katz Alan , Mahar Alyson L , Brownell Marni , Lix Lisa , Urquia Marcelo , Tso Deh Miyosha , O’Conaill Carrie , Durksen Anita , Brownell Emily
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Decades of research demonstrate that First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FN/M/I) populations have differential access to diagnostic and therapeutic healthcare. Emerging evidence shows that this continues to be the case during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In an effort to rectify these differences in access to care, our team, which is co-led by FN/M/I partners, will generate and distribute evidence on COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccination in high-priority FN/M/I populations in Manitoba, with the goal of identifying system-level and individual-level factors that act as barriers to equitable care and thereby informing Indigenous-led public health responses.

Methods and analysis

Our nations-based approach focuses on FN/M/I populations with separate study arms for each group. Linked administrative health data on COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccinations are available on a weekly basis. We will conduct surveillance to monitor trends in testing and vaccination among each FN/M/I population and all other Manitobans, map the geographic distribution of these outcomes by health region and tribal council, and identify barriers to testing and vaccination to inform public health strategies. We will follow the course of the pandemic starting from January 2020 and report findings quarterly.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approvals have been granted by the University of Manitoba Research Ethics Board and from each of our FN/M/I partners’ organisations. Our team is committed to engaging in authentic relationship-based research that follows First Nations, Metis and Inuit research ethics principles. Our FN/M/I partners will direct the dissemination of new information to leadership in their communities (health directors, community health organisations) and to decision-makers in the provincial Ministry of Health. We will also publish in open-access journals. The study will create ongoing capacity to monitor Manitoba’s pandemic response and ensure potential health inequities are minimised, with learnings applicable to other jurisdictions where detailed administrative data may not be available.
Case-finding and genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolaemia in primary care
Authors: Qureshi Nadeem , Akyea Ralph Kwame , Dutton Brittany , Humphries Steve E , Abdul Hamid Hasidah , Condon Laura , Weng Stephen F , Kai Joe
Published: September 2021

Objective

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common inherited disorder that remains mostly undetected in the general population. Through FH case-finding and direct access to genetic testing in primary care, this intervention study described the genetic and lipid profile of patients found at increased risk of FH and the outcomes in those with positive genetic test results.

Methods

In 14 Central England general practices, a novel case-finding tool (Familial Hypercholetserolaemia Case Ascertainment Tool, FAMCAT1) was applied to the electronic health records of 86 219 patients with cholesterol readings (44.5% of total practices’ population), identifying 3375 at increased risk of FH. Of these, a cohort of 336 consenting to completing Family History Questionnaire and detailed review of their clinical data, were offered FH genetic testing in primary care.

Results

Genetic testing was completed by 283 patients, newly identifying 16 with genetically confirmed FH and 10 with variants of unknown significance. All 26 (9%) were recommended for referral and 19 attended specialist assessment. In a further 153 (54%) patients, the test suggested polygenic hypercholesterolaemia who were managed in primary care. Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were higher in those patients with FH-causing variants than those with other genetic test results (p=0.010 and p=0.002).

Conclusion

Electronic case-finding and genetic testing in primary care could improve identification of FH; and the better targeting of patients for specialist assessment. A significant proportion of patients identified at risk of FH are likely to have polygenic hypercholesterolaemia. There needs to be a clearer management plan for these individuals in primary care.

Trial registration number

NCT03934320.
Artificial intelligence to diagnose ear disease using otoscopic image analysis: a review
Authors: Canares Therese L , Wang Weiyao , Unberath Mathias , Clark James H
Published: September 2021

AI relates broadly to the science of developing computer systems to imitate human intelligence, thus allowing for the automation of tasks that would otherwise necessitate human cognition. Such technology has increasingly demonstrated capacity to outperform humans for functions relating to image recognition. Given the current lack of cost-effective confirmatory testing, accurate diagnosis and subsequent management depend on visual detection of characteristic findings during otoscope examination. The aim of this manuscript is to perform a comprehensive literature review and evaluate the potential application of artificial intelligence for the diagnosis of ear disease from otoscopic image analysis.
How care holds humanity: the myth of Cura and theories of care
Authors: Hanisch Halvor
Published: September 2021

Modern medicine has often struggled to grasp the cultural aspects of interpersonal care. The medical humanities, on the other hand, have struggled to grasp the embodied, intimate character of care. In a recent appeal to the medical humanities, Julia Kristeva et al argue that care can be a point of crossing between these two ‘ontological domains’. They evoke the myth of Cura, referring to previous utilisations by such diverse thinkers as Heidegger and Kleinman, as well as Kristeva’s previous work. This study adds to these bodies of work by using the original text from Hyginus in much greater detail. Textual analysis, theoretical discussions and autotheoretical work unpack care as (1) a fundamental aspect of the human condition, (2) a holding-together of different domains of knowledge, (3) a withholding from these domains and (4) the site of intimate knowledge that both ‘ontological domains’ struggle to grasp.
Direct discovery of new light states at the FCCee
Authors: Knapen Simon , Thamm Andrea
Published: September 2021

Light new states are ubiquitous in many models that address fundamental outstanding questions within the standard model (SM). The FCCee provides an excellent opportunity to probe these new particles with masses between 1 and $$100\,$$

100

GeV and their electroweak couplings. Here we discuss the theory motivations for axion-like particles and heavy neutral leptons and detail the potential of direct discovery at the FCCee. We highlight that our current understanding requires light new states to be embedded within a bigger theory framework and thus the complementarity of the precision frontier at the FCCee and the high energy frontier of the FCChh program.
Temperature-dependent criticality in random 2D Ising models
Authors: Metra Matteo , Zorrilla Luc , Zani Maurizio , Puppin Ezio , Biscari Paolo
Published: September 2021

We consider 2D random Ising ferromagnetic models, where quenched disorder is represented either by random local magnetic fields (random-field Ising model) or by a random distribution of interaction couplings (random-bond Ising model). In both cases, we first perform zero- and finite-temperature Monte Carlo simulations to determine how the critical temperature depends on the disorder parameter. We then focus on the reversal transition triggered by an external field and study the associated Barkhausen noise. Our main result is that the critical exponents characterizing the power law associated with the Barkhausen noise exhibit a temperature dependence in line with existing experimental observations.
THE EFFECTS OF CHINESE POLICY UNCERTAINTY ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT AND TRADE MARKETS
Authors: JIANG WEI , MA YETING
Published: September 2021

This paper examines the international effects of Chinese policy uncertainty shock. Using the factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) model which can accommodate several economic variables from multiple countries, we model Chinese policy uncertainty jointly with three latent factors extracted from industrial production index, import value and export value. The results reveal that the change of one standard deviation of Chinese economic policy uncertainty (EPU) has a negative interference effect on global trade markets and industrial production, and so does the fiscal policy uncertainty (FPU). However, the impact of Chinese trade policy and monetary policy on three latent factors is not statistically significant. A country-level analysis shows that due to the heterogeneity of the economic structure and trade structure of each economy, countries have different responses to the uncertainty of Chinese economic policy. In particular, the extent to which imports and exports of each economy are affected is asymmetric.
A Novel Refreshment Circuit for 2T1M Neuromorphic Synapse
Authors: Goda Mai M. , Hassan Ahmed H. , Mostafa Hassan , Soliman Ahmed M.
Published: September 2021

Neuromorphic systems are the future computing systems to overcome the von Neumann’s power consumption and latency wall between memory and processing units. The two main components of any neuromorphic computing system are neurons and synapses. Synapses carry the weight of the system to be multiplied by the neuromorphic attributes, which represent the features of the task to be solved. Memristor (memoryresistor) is the most suitable circuit element to act as a synapse. Its ability to store, update and do matrix multiplication in nanoscale die area makes it very useful in neuromorphic synapses. One of the most popular memristor synapse configurations is the two-transistor–one-memristor (2T1M) synapse. This configuration is very useful in neuromorphic synapses for its ability to control reading and updating the weight on a chip by signals. The main problem with this synapse is that the reading operation is destructive, which results in changing the stored weight value. In this paper, a novel refreshment circuit is proposed to restore the correct weight in case of any destructive reading operations. The circuit makes a small interrupt time during operation without disconnecting the memristor, which makes the circuit very practical. The circuit has been simulated by using hardware-calibrated CMOS TSMC 130[Formula: see text]nm technology on Cadence Virtuoso and linear ion drift memristor Verilog-A model. The proposed circuit achieves the refreshment task accurately for several error types. It is used to refresh 2T1M synapse with any destructive reading signal shape.
Alpha decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei 104 ≤ Z ≤ 125
Authors: Vasanthi L. , Rajeswari N. S.
Published: September 2021

In order to describe scattering, fusion, fission and ground state masses, Krappe and collaborators developed unified nuclear potential, by generalizing liquid drop model. They have incorporated phenomenological parameters accounting for the attractive force between two separated fragments. One of the phenomenological parameters involved in this model is the range of folded Yukawa function, which accounts for surface diffuseness of the potential and short range attractive interaction. The role of range of folding function of Yukawa-plus-exponential potential is analyzed for alpha decay of heavy and superheavy nuclei. Significant effect of this function is noted in preformation probability which improves the accuracy of half-lives of alpha decay. Half-lives for alpha decay are better obtained for two values of the range of folding function 0.54 and 0.8[Formula: see text]fm for heavy and superheavy mass regions, respectively. The study confirms the associated shell structure [Formula: see text] in heavy nuclei and [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in superheavy nuclei. The calculations are extended to predict the half-lives of superheavy nuclei with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] which are not yet synthesized experimentally.
The age and palaeomagnetism of Jurassic dykes, western Dronning Maud Land: implications for Gondwana breakup
Authors: Morake M. A. , O'Kennedy J. N. F. , Knoper M. W. , de Kock M. , Kramers J. D. , Grantham G. H. , Belyanin G. , Elburg M. A.
Published: September 2021

New
40
Ar/
39
Ar data from dykes intruded into Sverdrupfjella and Ahlmanryggen, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, indicate that dyke emplacement commenced at
c.
207 Ma and lasted until
c.
178 Ma. Whereas the ages ascribed to the Karoo-age magmatism contributing to Gondwana breakup are typically inferred as being
c.
182 Ma, the data indicate that ages older than
c.
192 Ma in the broader Karoo Province are restricted to western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, indicating the locality where breakup was initiated. Limited palaeomagnetic data from
c.
178–185 Ma dykes combined with published palaeomagnetic data from similar-aged dykes in Vestfjella and the Ferrar Province, suggest that Antarctica had already drifted/rifted significantly away from southern Africa from
c.
207 to
c.
180 Ma, earlier than previously thought. The data, if correct, require a re-evaluation of the ages ascribed to ocean-floor anomalies used to constrain reconstructions of Gondwana and may provide insight into the history of microcontinental blocks including the Falkland Islands, Haag nunataks, Ellsworth–Whitmore block and Maurice Ewing Bank.

Supplementary material:
Petrography, Ar isotope data from all samples and summary of ages are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5612838
Analyzing Head Pose in Remotely Collected Videos of People with Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Ali Mohammad Rafayet , Sen Taylan , Li Qianyi , Langevin Raina , Myers Taylor , Dorsey E. Ray , Sharma Saloni , Hoque Ehsan
Published: September 2021

We developed an intelligent web interface that guides users to perform several Parkinson’s disease (PD) motion assessment tests in front of their webcam. After gathering data from 329 participants (N = 199 with PD, N = 130 without PD), we developed a methodology for measuring head motion randomness based on the frequency distribution of the motion. We found PD is associated with significantly higher randomness in side-to-side head motion as measured by the variance and number of large frequency components compared to the age-matched non-PD control group (p = 0.001, d = 0.13). Additionally, in participants taking levodopa (N = 151), the most common drug to treat Parkinson’s, the degree of random side-to-side head motion was found to follow an exponential-decay activity model following the time of the last dose taken (r = −0.404, p = 6e-5). A logistic regression model for classifying PD vs. non-PD groups identified that higher frequency components are more associated with PD. Our findings could potentially be useful toward objectively quantifying differences in head motions that may be due to either PD or PD medications.
Benefits of Using Activity Recommender Technology for Self-management of Depressive Symptoms
Authors: Rohani Darius A. , Faurholt-Jepsen Maria , Kessing Lars V. , Bardram Jakob E.
Published: September 2021

Behavioral Activation (BA)therapy has shown to be effective in treating depression. Recommending healthy activities is a core principle in Behavioral Activation (BA), which is typically done by the therapist. However, most BA smartphone applications do not recommend specific activities. This article reports quantitative results from an 8-week feasibility study of a previously presented smartphone-based BA recommender system. The system supports the planning and enacting of pleasurable activities and promotes activation of diverse activity types. Enrollment included 43 clinically depressed patients who installed the system on their phone and initiated activity scheduling. Twenty-nine patients used the system daily for more than a week.These patients presented a significant reduction in depressive symptoms during the study period. They displayed a more personalized usage approach and created recurring health goals comprising of their own customized activities. Furthermore, they took inspiration within various types of activities, thereby displaying more activity diversity. This study suggests that enacting a diverse mixture of activities that promote good sleep, personal hygiene, exercise, social contact, and leisure time can be essential in managing depressive symptoms. A smartphone-based activity recommender system can help patients achieve this.
ACE-GCN: A Fast Data-driven FPGA Accelerator for GCN Embedding
Authors: Romero Hung José , Li Chao , Wang Pengyu , Shao Chuanming , Guo Jinyang , Wang Jing , Shi Guoyong
Published: September 2021

ACE-GCN is a fast and resource/energy-efficient FPGA accelerator for graph convolutional embedding under data-driven and in-place processing conditions. Our accelerator exploits the inherent power law distribution and high sparsity commonly exhibited by real-world graphs datasets. Contrary to other hardware implementations of GCN, on which traditional optimization techniques are employed to bypass the problem of dataset sparsity, our architecture is designed to take advantage of this very same situation. We propose and implement an innovative acceleration approach supported by our “implicit-processing-by-association” concept, in conjunction with a dataset-customized convolutional operator. The computational relief and consequential acceleration effect arise from the possibility of replacing rather complex convolutional operations for a faster embedding result estimation. Based on a computationally inexpensive and super-expedited similarity calculation, our accelerator is able to decide from the automatic embedding estimation or the unavoidable direct convolution operation. Evaluations demonstrate that our approach presents excellent applicability and competitive acceleration value. Depending on the dataset and efficiency level at the target, between 23× and 4,930× PyG baseline, coming close to AWB-GCN by 46% to 81% on smaller datasets and noticeable surpassing AWB-GCN for larger datasets and with controllable accuracy loss levels. We further demonstrate the unique hardware optimization characteristics of our approach and discuss its multi-processing potentiality.
Sensing to Hear
Authors: Zhang Qian , Wang Dong , Zhao Run , Yu Yinggang , Shen Junjie
Published: September 2021

Voice interactions and voice messages on mobile phones are rapidly growing in popularity. However, the user experience of these services is still worse than desired in noisy environments, especially in multi-talker scenarios, where the phone can only provide low-quality voice recordings. Speech enhancement using only audio as the input remains a grand challenge in these scenarios. In this paper, we handle this with the help of the emerging acoustic sensing technology. The key insight is that the inaudible acoustic signals emitted by speakers of phones can capture the subtle lip movements when people speak. Instead of enabling lip reading for the classification of limited voice commands, we further unlock the potential of acoustic sensing and leverage the captured lip information to improve the voice recording quality. We propose WaveVoice, a joint audio-sensory deep learning method for end-to-end speech enhancement on mobile phones. The model of WaveVoice is structured as an encoder-decoder network, in which audio and acoustic sensing data are processed through two individual CNN branches, respectively, and then fused into a joint network to generate enhanced speech. In addition, to improve the performance on new users, a self-supervised learning methodology is developed to adapt the model to extract speaker-specific features. We construct a dataset to train and evaluate WaveVoice. We also perform online tests under various noisy conditions to show the applicability of our system in real-world scenarios. Experimental results show that WaveVoice can effectively reconstruct the target clean speech from the noisy audio signals, and yield notably superior performance compared with the audio-only encoder-decoder model and the state-of-the-art speech enhancement methods. Given its promising performance, we believe that WaveVoice has made a substantial contribution to the advancement of mobile voice input.
Demystifying the Vetting Process of Voice-controlled Skills on Markets
Authors: Wang Dawei , Chen Kai , Wang Wei
Published: September 2021

Smart speakers, such as Google Home and Amazon Echo, have become popular. They execute user voice commands via their built-in functionalities together with various third-party voice-controlled applications, called skills. Malicious skills have brought significant threats to users in terms of security and privacy. As a countermeasure, only skills passing the strict vetting process can be released onto markets. However, malicious skills have been reported to exist on markets, indicating that the vetting process can be bypassed. This paper aims to demystify the vetting process of skills on main markets to discover weaknesses and protect markets better. To probe the vetting process, we carefully design numerous skills, perform the Turing test, a test for machine intelligence, to determine whether humans or machines perform vetting, and leverage natural language processing techniques to analyze their behaviors. Based on our comprehensive experiments, we gain a good understanding of the vetting process (e.g., machine or human testers and skill exploration strategies) and discover some weaknesses. In this paper, we design three types of attacks to verify our results and prove an attacker can embed sensitive behaviors in skills and bypass the strict vetting process. Accordingly, we also propose countermeasures to these attacks and weaknesses.
How Should Automated Vehicles Communicate Critical Situations?
Authors: Colley Mark , Krauss Svenja , Lanzer Mirjam , Rukzio Enrico
Published: September 2021

Passengers of automated vehicles will likely engage in non-driving related activities like reading and, therefore, be disengaged from the driving task. However, especially in critical situations such as unexpected pedestrian crossings, it can be assumed that passengers request information about the vehicle's intention and an explanation. Some concepts were proposed for such communication from the automated vehicle to the passenger. However, results are not comparable due to varying information content and scenarios. We present a comparative study in Virtual Reality (N=20) of four visualization concepts and a baseline with Augmented Reality, a Head-Up Display, or Lightbands. We found that all concepts were rated reasonable and necessary and increased trust, perceived safety, perceived intelligence, and acceptance compared to no visualization. However, when visualizations were compared, there were hardly any significant differences between them.
COVID-19 Critical Illness: A Data-Driven Review
Authors: Ginestra Jennifer C. , Mitchell Oscar J.L. , Anesi George L. , Christie Jason D.
Published: September 2021

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges in critical care medicine, including extreme demand for intensive care unit (ICU) resources and rapidly evolving understanding of a novel disease. Up to one-third of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 experience critical illness. The most common form of organ failure in COVID-19 critical illness is acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, which clinically presents as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in three-quarters of ICU patients. Noninvasive respiratory support modalities are being used with increasing frequency given their potential to reduce the need for intubation. Determining optimal patient selection for and timing of intubation remains a challenge. Management of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 largely mirrors that of non-COVID-19 ARDS. Organ failure is common and portends a poor prognosis. Mortality rates have improved over the course of the pandemic, likely owing to increasing disease familiarity, data-driven pharmacologics, and improved adherence to evidence-based critical care.
An Efficient Network Security Situation Assessment Method Based on AE and PMU
Authors: Tao Xiao-ling , Liu Zi-yi , Yang Chang-song
Published: September 2021

Network security situation assessment (NSSA) is an important and effective active defense technology in the field of network security situation awareness. By analyzing the historical network security situation awareness data, NSSA can evaluate the network security threat and analyze the network attack stage, thus fully grasping the overall network security situation. With the rapid development of 5G, cloud computing, and Internet of things, the network environment is increasingly complex, resulting in diversity and randomness of network threats, which directly determine the accuracy and the universality of NSSA methods. Meanwhile, the indicator data is characterized by large scale and heterogeneity, which seriously affect the efficiency of the NSSA methods. In this paper, we design a new NSSA method based on the autoencoder (AE) and parsimonious memory unit (PMU). In our novel method, we first utilize an AE‐based data dimensionality reduction method to process the original indicator data, thus effectively removing the redundant part of the indicator data. Subsequently, we adopt a PMU deep neural network to achieve accurate and efficient NSSA. The experimental results demonstrate that the accuracy and efficiency of our novel method are both greatly improved.
Evaluation of Compact Boundary of Outage Probability in HetNet
Authors: Jiang Senlin , Zhang Jiamei
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we investigate the outage probability of per‐tier in heterogeneous networks (HetNet) in the presence of aggregated interference from coexisting ad hoc networks. In ad hoc networks, a receiving node suffers the cross‐tier interference signal from cellular cell and aggregated interference signal from other transmitting nodes. In order to evaluate the effect of cross‐tier interference on the outage probability of ad hoc networks, we analyze the restricted region in cellular cell that the received signal interference noise ratio (SINR) of a receiving node does not exceed the SINR threshold considering the path loss model. Further, to evaluate the effect of aggregated interference of ad hoc networks, we divide the plane area into near‐field area and far‐field area according to whether the signal of a transmitting node could cause an outage independently or not. Based on this division, we derive the compact lower and upper boundaries of outage probability of per‐tier. The computer simulations validate the results of theoretical analysis and show the effect of different factors, such as transmit power, intensity of ad hoc nodes, on the outage probability.
Development of a Method to Measure the Quality of Working Life Using the Improved Metaheuristic Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Doudaran Alireza Jafari , Ghousi Rouzbeh , Makui Ahmad , Jafari Mostafa
Published: September 2021

This paper provides a method to numerically measure the quality of working life based on the reduction of human resource risks. It is conducted through the improved metaheuristic grasshopper optimization algorithm in two phases. First, a go-to study is carried out to identify the relationship between quality of working life and human resource risks in the capital market and to obtain the factors from quality of working life which reduce the risks. Then, a method is presented for the numerical measurement of these factors using a fuzzy inference system based on an adaptive neural network and a new hybrid method called the improved grasshopper optimization algorithm. This algorithm consists of the grasshopper optimization algorithm and the bees algorithm. It is found that the newly proposed method performs better and provides more accurate results than the conventional one.