bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adversarial EXEmples
Authors: Demetrio Luca , Coull Scott E. , Biggio Battista , Lagorio Giovanni , Armando Alessandro , Roli Fabio
Published: September 2021

Recent work has shown that adversarial Windows malware samples—referred to as adversarial
EXE
mples in this article—can bypass machine learning-based detection relying on static code analysis by perturbing relatively few input bytes. To preserve malicious functionality, previous attacks either add bytes to existing non-functional areas of the file, potentially limiting their effectiveness, or require running computationally demanding validation steps to discard malware variants that do not correctly execute in sandbox environments. In this work, we overcome these limitations by developing a unifying framework that does not only encompass and generalize previous attacks against machine-learning models, but also includes three novel attacks based on practical, functionality-preserving manipulations to the Windows Portable Executable file format. These attacks, named
Full DOS
,
Extend
, and
Shift
, inject the adversarial payload by respectively manipulating the DOS header, extending it, and shifting the content of the first section. Our experimental results show that these attacks outperform existing ones in both white-box and black-box scenarios, achieving a better tradeoff in terms of evasion rate and size of the injected payload, while also enabling evasion of models that have been shown to be robust to previous attacks. To facilitate reproducibility of our findings, we open source our framework and all the corresponding attack implementations as part of the secml-malware Python library. We conclude this work by discussing the limitations of current machine learning-based malware detectors, along with potential mitigation strategies based on embedding domain knowledge coming from subject-matter experts directly into the learning process.
What do we mean when we talk about “structure/function” relationships?
Authors: Michael Joel
Published: September 2021

In multiple studies “structure/function” has been identified as an important core concept in biology and physiology. Teachers expect their students to be able to use this concept in making sense of physiology. However, it is unclear exactly what physiologists are referring to when they use the term “structure/function.” Here I first offer examples of four different ways in which I have used the term in the classroom. Then, I propose a conceptual framework that is an explicit statement of the “structure/function” core concept that can be used by teachers and their students as they attempt to master physiology. Determining whether this conceptual framework is completely accurate and whether it will prove useful in the classroom will require feedback from physiology teachers who attempt to use it in their classroom with their students.
Faculty perceptions of the exercise science student learning experience during the coronavirus pandemic
Authors: Caputo Jennifer L. , Mel Astrid E. , Stenson Mary C. , Fleming Jessica K. , Johnson Samantha L. , (Clark) Spillios Katherine E.
Published: September 2021

Significant disruptions in higher education course delivery occurred during the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) offered exercise science faculty a safe method to continue educating students in courses generally taught face-to-face. The purpose of this investigation was to explore faculty perceptions of their ERT efforts with respect to student successes, challenges, and faculty expectations. Through an electronic survey, participants ( n = 112) from higher education institutions in 31 states and three Canadian provinces provided feedback on their perceptions of the student experience across 315 fall 2020 courses. Data analysis included a thematic analysis to identify themes and trends in participant responses. Faculty identified student adaptability, increased autonomy of learning, and maintenance of learning as successes. Also noted was the increased flexibility of alternative pedagogy methods. Participants perceived student challenges related to technology, time management, and well-being. Faculty perceived students expected increased accommodations and instructor responsiveness during fall 2020. While faculty and students were challenged to adapt during the global pandemic, the perceived ERT experiences during COVID-19 highlight the resiliency of higher education students and underscores changes needed by educational institutions to provide resources and training upon return to traditional education or in response to a future crisis.
Positive end-expiratory pressure affects geometry and function of the human diaphragm
Authors: Jansen Diana , Jonkman Annemijn H. , Vries Heder J. de , Wennen Myrte , Elshof Judith , Hoofs Maud A. , van den Berg Marloes , Man Angélique M. E. de , Keijzer Christiaan , Scheffer Gert-Jan , van der Hoeven Johannes G. , Girbes Armand , Tuinman Pieter Roel , Marcus J. Tim , Ottenheijm Coen A. C. , Heunks Leo
Published: September 2021

We demonstrate that PEEP causes changes in diaphragm geometry, especially muscle shortening, and decreases in vivo diaphragm contractile function. Thus prerequisites for the development of diaphragm longitudinal muscle atrophy are present with the acute application of PEEP. Once confirmed in ventilated critically ill patients, this could provide a new mechanism for ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction and ventilator weaning failure in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Similarity Model Test on the Spatiotemporal Evolution Law of Deformation and Failure of Surrounding Rock‐Induced Caving in Multi‐Mined‐Out Areas
Authors: Ren Fengyu , Zhou Yanjun , He Rongxing , Cao Jianli , Zou Kaihua
Published: September 2021

Taking the deep mined‐out areas of Paishanlou Gold Mine as the research object, we designed the indoor similar physical model test and used VIC‐3D and resistance pressure sensors to record the vertical stress and strain of the model during the test. And based on the results of digital image correlation (DIC) analysis, we deeply analyzed the deformation and failure characteristics of the surrounding rock in the process of goaf caving. At the same time, the failure mechanism of surrounding rock mass and the law of temporal and spatial evolution during the excavation process of pillars between the mined‐out areas were studied. According to the characteristics of the caving process, it can be divided into three stages: initial caving in a small range at the arch angle, continuous vault collapse, and instantaneous huge caving of the roof. Before the occurrence of instantaneous large caving at the top, the phenomenon of sudden increase of caving arch curvature appears. Based on the monitoring results, it can also be seen that the deformation of overlying rock mass is most affected by the span of the cavity, and the vertical strain is inversely proportional to the depth. The rock mass stress and strain caused by the excavation of isolation pillars between adjacent two goafs have an obvious time delay phenomenon. The time delay effect of the strain is proportional to the span of the cavity; conversely, it is inversely proportional to the span of the cavity. Specifically, throughout the experiment, the subsidence of the target area of the test model is larger in the middle and smaller on both sides; simultaneously, the upper part is high, and the lower part is low. However, the variation of the stress value shows the characteristics of higher on both sides and lower on the middle area and higher on the upper part and lower on the lower part. To sum up, the experimental results show that the caving process can be predicted and effectively controlled manually, and a new treatment method can be provided for the control and prevention of the large caving and mining subsidence damage in the goaf combined with the field monitoring method.
Study on Airborne Radionuclide Dispersion in Floating Nuclear Power Plant under the Loss-of-Coolant Accident
Authors: Zou Shuliang , Liu Na , Huang Binhai
Published: September 2021

Floating nuclear power plant is a kind of nuclear power plant on a barge moored specifically in an area of the sea. In order to study the factors influencing airborne radionuclide dispersion induced by the loss-of-coolant accident in floating nuclear power plant, the floating nuclear power plant platform was taken as the research object, and the dispersion of airborne radionuclide under combined conditions of platform positions, wind directions, and break directions (north, south, west, and east) was simulated by the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) method. The results show that northern and southern breaks have less dangerous island area than western and eastern ones but have more platform dangerous area than the western and eastern ones. The risk of the southern break is the greatest, and that of the western break is the least. Rotating the floating nuclear power plant platform in a certain angle can reduce the damage of loss-of-coolant accident. The effects of the dose received by the personnel under the condition of the severe accident were evaluated based on previous research, showing that the inhalation effective dose and the effective dose of plume immersion exposure were less than the radiation dose limit of 0.25 Sv within two hours in the accident. The results of the study can provide reference for the design of floating nuclear power plant platform and the formulation of emergency plan.
Elastic‐Viscoplastic Constitutive Model of Soil under Cyclic Loading
Authors: Ma Yuan , Liang Hua , You Yongxue , Zhang Weiguang , Guo Limin , Fan Jianwei , Cao Zhihui
Published: September 2021

The creep problems are often involved in soil under cyclic loading, and its behaviors of soil under cyclic loading sparks many arguments in current research field. To propose one new model to demonstrate these creep behaviors of soil under cyclic loading, the cyclic loading was simplified equivalently, and the elastic‐viscoplastic model (EVPM) for soil under cyclic loading was established based on the Bingham model. The yield criterion for soil under cyclic loading with constant amplitude was proposed following the simplified load. A constitutive equation based on the EVPM was constructed by using the flow criterion related to the yield criterion. Meanwhile, the parameters of EVPM were identified and discussed. In addition, the case analysis of the EVPM was also performed. The results indicate that the stable and destructive creep behaviors of soil under cyclic loading could be well described by the recommended EVPM, and the obtained parameters in the model exhibited a clear regularity with the increase of dynamic stress amplitude. Besides, the established model could be selected to predict the stable and destructive creep behavior of soil under cyclic loading.
Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Targeted Therapies for Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis
Authors: Chen Yusi , Li Fang , Luo Jun , Chen Jingyuan , Luo Peng , Li Jiang
Published: September 2021

Background. There is significant controversy relating to whether chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) can be treated with pulmonary arterial hypertension- (PAH-) targeted therapies and which therapy is the optimal choice for patients. A large number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have compared PAH-targeted therapies with placebo or conventional therapies. In this study, we aimed to compare all of the PAH-targeted medications that are used to treat CTEPH and rank their efficacy by the application of network meta-analysis (NMA). Methods. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register, https://clinicaltrials.gov, and who.int/trialsearch/, for relevant RCTs published up to January 2020. In addition to traditional meta-analysis, we also performed NMA in our systematic review, as deployed in a previous protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42020173765). Results. Our study identified eight eligible RCTs that evaluated seven PAH-targeted therapies in 703 patients with CTEPH. NMA revealed that riociguat was ranked first as the most optimized therapy for ameliorating the 6-minute walk distance with a probability of 80.4%. Bosentan was significantly better than others with regard to reducing brain natriuretic peptide/N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide with a probability of 84.3%. Sildenafil was identified as the best drug in terms of improving the New York Heart Association/World Health Organization functional class with a probability of 87.3%. Treprostinil and macitentan were more beneficial than other drugs in reducing pulmonary vascular resistance and lowering the incidence of clinical worsening with probabilities of 86.2% and 79.2%, respectively. Conclusion. Analysis revealed positive advantages for the use of PAH-targeted drugs in patients with CTEPH. Overall, treprostinil and riociguat were superior to all other PAH-targeted medications in most of the outcomes investigated.
Influence of Parallel‐Joint Position on Mechanical Behavior and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Rock Pillar
Authors: Zhang Pei , He Yanpeng , Sun Zhimeng , Yue Dong
Published: September 2021

In this paper, the parallel‐joint rock column model is established based on PFC software, and the effects of different joint positions on the mechanical properties, acoustic emission characteristics, and damage evolution characteristics of rock columns are analyzed. In the PFC models, the intact rock is simulated by parallel‐bond model, and the joints are simulated by flat‐joint contact model. The research result shows that on the whole, when the joint is outside the rock pillar, the UCS of the rock pillar is higher than that of the joint inside the rock pillar, while the elastic modulus is less than that of rock pillar with joint inside. The evolution characteristics of acoustic emission of rock pillars at different joint positions are basically the same. However, the maximum value of acoustic emission events and corresponding deformation of rock pillars at different joint positions are different. The damage of jointed rock mass can generally show three stages: no damage, slow damage increase, and sharp damage increase.
Gastrointestinal Bleeding in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Authors: Marasco Giovanni , Maida Marcello , Morreale Gaetano Cristian , Licata Massimo , Renzulli Matteo , Cremon Cesare , Stanghellini Vincenzo , Barbara Giovanni
Published: September 2021

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported to affect the gastrointestinal system with a variety of symptoms, including bleeding. The prevalence of bleeding in these patients remains unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis is to estimate the rate of gastrointestinal bleeding in COVID-19 patients and its association with mortality. MEDLINE and Embase were searched through December 20, 2020. Studies reporting COVID-19 patients with and without gastrointestinal bleeding were included. Estimated prevalence with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was pooled; heterogeneity was expressed as I2. Metaregression analysis was performed to assess the impact of confounding covariates. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. A total of 91887 COVID-19 patients were considered, of whom 534 reported gastrointestinal bleeding (0.6%) [409 (76.6%) upper and 121 (22.7%) lower gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB and LGIB, resp.)]. The overall pooled gastrointestinal bleeding rate was 5% [95% CI 2–8], with high heterogeneity (I2 99.2%); “small study effect” was observed using the Egger test (

p
=
0.049

). After removing two outlier studies, the pooled bleeding rate was 2% [95% CI 0–4], with high heterogeneity (I2 99.2%), and no “small study effect” (

p
=
0.257

). The pooled UGIB rate was 1% (95% CI 0–3, I2 98.6%,

p
=
0.214

), whereas the pooled LGIB rate was 1% (95% CI 0–2, I2 64.7%,

p
=
0.919

). Metaregression analysis showed that overall estimates on gastrointestinal bleeding were affected by studies reporting different sources of bleeding. No significant association between gastrointestinal bleeding and mortality was found. In this meta-analysis of published studies, individuals with COVID-19 were found to be at risk for gastrointestinal bleeding, especially upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
Altered Regional Homogeneity and Functional Connectivity during Microlesion Period after Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Luo Bei , Lu Yue , Qiu Chang , Dong Wenwen , Xue Chen , Liu Dongming , Zhang Li , Liu Weiguo , Zhang Wenbin
Published: September 2021

Background. Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) undergoing deep brain electrode implantation experience a temporary improvement in motor symptoms before the electrical stimulation begins. We usually call this the microlesion effect (MLE), but the mechanism behind it is not clear. Purpose. This study aimed to assess the alterations in brain functions at the regional and whole-brain levels, using regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC), during the postoperative microlesion period after deep brain stimulation (DBS) in PD patients. Method. Resting-state functional MRI data were collected from 27 PD patients before and after the first day of DBS and 12 healthy controls (HCs) in this study. The ReHo in combination with FC analysis was used to investigate the alterations of regional brain activity in all the subjects. Results. There were increased ReHo in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit (left supplementary motor area and bilateral paracentral lobule), whereas decreased ReHo in the default mode network (DMN) (left angular gyrus, bilateral precuneus), prefrontal cortex (bilateral middle frontal gyrus), and the cerebello-thalamocortical (CTC) circuit (Cerebellum_crus2/1_L) after DBS. In addition, we also found abnormal FC in the lingual gyrus, cerebellum, and DMN. Conclusion. Microlesion of the thalamus caused by electrode implantation can alter the activity of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit, prefrontal cortex, DMN, and CTC circuit and induce abnormal FC in the lingual gyrus, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, and DMN among PD patients. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of MLE.
The Influence of Executive Compensation Gap on Earnings Management from the Perspective of Media Supervision: Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Ye , Wang Fusheng , Liu Shiyu
Published: September 2021

To pursue higher compensation, the agent’s earnings management behavior may damage the principal’s interests. Can managers whose compensation reaches the expected level seek benefits for the company through earnings management? This study takes China’s A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2018 as samples. The conclusions show that managers with higher compensation levels will carry out earnings management in favor of the company while taking their own interests into consideration. For companies with stronger profitability, the higher the managers’ compensation is, the more they are inclined to reduce accrued earnings in the current period to further reduce taxes and fees. For companies with weaker profitability, managers with higher compensation tend to choose to increase real earnings to further optimize financial indicators. It has been found through further research that high pressure generated by media attention can make well-paid executives restrain the above earnings management behavior, which serves as an effective method to protect investors’ rights and interests.
V-LDAA: A New Lattice-Based Direct Anonymous Attestation Scheme for VANETs System
Authors: Chen Liquan , Tu Tianyang , Yu Kunliang , Zhao Mengnan , Wang Yingchao
Published: September 2021

Privacy protection and message authentication issues in VANETs have received great attention in academia. Many authentication schemes in VANETs have been proposed, but most of them are based on classical difficult problems such as factorization in RSA setting or Elliptic Curve setting and are therefore not quantum resistant. If a quantum computer becomes available in the next few decades, the security of these schemes will be at stake. This paper presents a vehicular lattice-based direct anonymous attestation (V-LDAA) scheme adopting an optimized signature scheme based on automorphism stability which achieves postquantum security. A distributed pseudonym update and vehicle revocation mechanism based on the lattice is introduced in this paper, which means vehicles can update their pseudonyms and revoke the identity certificate by themselves without the need for pseudonym resolutions or CRLs checking. Compared with the existing lattice-based attestation schemes in VANETs, computation costs during signing and verification operations in V-LDAA are no longer related to the number of users, which makes it suitable for large-scale VANETs. Security analysis shows that V-LDAA resists TPM theft attacks and provides users with user-controlled anonymity, user-controlled unlinkability, and unforgeability against quantum adversaries. Experimental results show that V-LDAA reduces the blind signature size by 18%. The speed of blind signing is increased by 30%, and blind verification operation is accelerated 3 times compared with the existing lattice-based direct anonymous attestation (LDAA) scheme.
Outcomes of Patients with Malignancy Admitted to the Intensive Care Units: A Prospective Study
Authors: Assi Hazem I. , Halim Nour Abdul , Alameh Ibrahim , Khoury Jessica , Nahra Vicky , Sukhon Fares , Charafeddine Maya , El Nakib Clara , Moukalled Nour , Bou Zerdan Maroun , Bou Khalil Pierre
Published: September 2021

Introduction. Decisions regarding whether advanced cancer patients should be admitted to the ICU are based on a complex suite of considerations, including short- and long-term prognosis, quality of life, and therapeutic options to treat cancer. We aimed to describe demographic, clinical, and survival data and to identify factors associated with mortality in critically ill advanced cancer patients with nonelective admissions to general ICUs. Materials and Methods. Critically ill adult (≥18 years old) cancer patients nonelectively admitted to the intensive care units at the American University of Beirut Medical Center between August 1st 2015 and March 1st 2019 were included. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were prospectively collected from the first day of ICU admission up to 30 days after discharge. This study was strictly observational, and clinical decisions were left to the discretion of the ICU team and attending physician. Results. 272 patients were enrolled in the study between August 1st 2015 and March 1st 2019, with an ICU mortality rate of 43.4%, with the number rising to 59% within 30 days of ICU discharge. The mean length of stay in our ICU was 14 days (IQR: 1–120) with a median overall survival of 22 days since the date of ICU admission. The major reasons for unplanned ICU admission were sepsis/septic shock (54%) and respiratory failure (33.1%). Cox regression analysis revealed 7 major predictors of poor prognosis. Direct admission from the ED was associated with a higher risk of mortality (48.9%) than being transferred from the floor (32.6%) (

p
=
0.014

). Conclusion. Our study has shown that being directly admitted to the ICU from the ED rather than being transferred from regular wards, developing AKI, sepsis, MOF, and ARDS, or having an uncontrolled malignancy are all predictive factors for short-term mortality in critically ill cancer patients nonelectively admitted to the ICU. Vasopressor use and mechanical ventilation were also predictors of mortality.
The Rare Cases of Parotid Gland Arteriovenous Malformations
Authors: Gupta Manish , Shrawan Nijhawan Vijay , Kaur Cynthia , Kaur Sukhpreet , Gupta Akanksha
Published: September 2021

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) results from errors in vascular development during embryogenesis; absent capillary beds lead to shunting directly from the arterial to venous circulation. Although it is common in the head and neck region, AVMs located in the parotid gland are quite rare. Here, we report two cases of arteriovenous malformation of the parotid gland that presented to our out-patient setup with swelling in the parotid region and were diagnosed as arteriovenous malformation on histopathological study after surgical resection.
Ontology-Based Risk Knowledge Construction for Integrated Pipeline Corridors
Authors: Han Bao-Jiang
Published: September 2021

In the construction process of different integrated pipe corridors, there exist a large number of similar and reusable risk analysis results. In order to improve the efficiency of risk analysis and the efficiency of dealing with accidents in the process of construction management of integrated pipeline corridors and systematize the fragmented risk analysis knowledge, this paper will build ontology-based knowledge for risk response in integrated pipeline corridors. This ontology knowledge base can not only standardize and informatize knowledge through the definition of knowledge attributes and classification of knowledge, which can help reuse risk management metaknowledge at different levels and greatly improve the efficiency of risk management, but also reason out the risk-causing mechanism and response strategy of new integrated pipeline corridor risk through the similarity between risks and the correlation between risk-causing factors, so as to realize the repeated application of risk knowledge.
Same Gender Erotomania: When the Psychiatrist Became the Delusional Theme—A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Jamaluddin Ruzita
Published: September 2021

Erotomania is a rare subtype of delusional disorder, whereby the affected person believes that another individual, usually someone with higher socio-economic status, is in love with them despite having little or no contact. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case of same gender erotomania, involving a 28-year-old single lady and a 42-year-old divorcee towards a female psychiatrist. We aimed to share the challenges experienced by the managing psychiatrist as she inopportunely became the theme of her patients’ delusion. We also reviewed and discussed recent literature on erotomania to create awareness among psychiatrists towards this rare psychiatric condition.
Female Directors and Carbon Information Disclosure: Evidence from China
Authors: He Ren , Zhou Mingdian , Liu Jing , Yang Qing
Published: September 2021

In recent years, natural disasters and public health events caused by global warming have occurred frequently around the world. It has become a global consensus to actively respond to climate change. Firms are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. The disclosure of carbon information is one of the most important ways for firms to respond to climate change. The effect of female directors on carbon information disclosure is still unclear. Considering that China is the largest country in greenhouse gas emissions and the social status of females in China is different from western countries, this paper explores the effect of female directors on carbon information disclosure by firms in China. Based on the sample of listed Chinese firms in high carbon industries during the period of 2012–2017, our empirical results show that female directors have a positive association with carbon information disclosure. In addition, we find that the power, educational level, and financial background of female directors have positive impacts on firms’ carbon information disclosure. Our findings make a significant contribution to the ongoing debate on the role of female directors and provide new insights and policy implications for firms, regulators, and other stakeholders.
Development of Macroscopic Cell-Based Logistic Lane Change Prediction Model
Authors: Ng Christina , Susilawati Susilawati , Samad Kamal Md Abdus , Leng Chew Irene Mei
Published: September 2021

This paper aims at developing a macroscopic cell-based lane change prediction model in a complex urban environment and integrating it into cell transmission model (CTM) to improve the accuracy of macroscopic traffic state estimation. To achieve these objectives, first, based on the observed traffic data, the binary logistic lane change model is developed to formulate the lane change occurrence. Second, the binary logistic lane change is integrated into CTM by refining CTM formulations on how the vehicles in the cell are moving from one cell to another in a longitudinal manner and how cell occupancy is updated after lane change occurrences. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated by comparing the simulated cell occupancy of the proposed model with cell occupancy of US-101 next generation simulation (NGSIM) data. The results indicated no significant difference between the mean of the cell occupancies of the proposed model and the mean of cell occupancies of actual data with a root-mean-square-error (RMSE) of 0.04. Similar results are found when the proposed model was further tested with I80 highway data. It is suggested that the mean of cell occupancies of I80 highway data was not different from the mean of cell occupancies of the proposed model with 0.074 RMSE (0.3 on average).
Analysis of Economic Effect and Mechanism of Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees in China
Authors: Li Yi , Zhang Xia , Yang Xia
Published: September 2021

The purpose of social basic medical insurance is to solve the problem that “medical treatment is difficult and expensive.” With the implementation of new technologies and new diagnosis and treatment methods, the price of medicine has risen sharply. Under this background, can basic medical insurance still relieve the economic pressure of patients? Based on the tracking data of China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 2006 to 2015, by constructing Heckman sample selection model, the paper finds that the basic medical insurance for urban employees (UEBMI) leads to an increase in medical expenses, among which only 0.61% can be attributed to the release of normal medical demand and 114.47% can be attributed to moral hazard; for flexible employees, 249.52% increase can be attributed to adverse selection. Based on this, the paper puts forward two suggestions: first, promoting Hierarchical Treatment Model to control the growth of medical expenses and second, guiding flexible employees to participate in the UEBMI.
Paeoniflorin Protects against ANIT-Induced Cholestatic Liver Injury in Rats via the Activation of SIRT1-FXR Signaling Pathway
Authors: Chen Lisheng , Wei Shizhang , Liu Honghong , Li Jianyu , Jing Manyi , Tong Yuling , Li Ruisheng , Wen Jianxia , Zhan Hanqiu , Zhao Yanling
Published: September 2021

Paeoniflorin (PF), a water-soluble monoterpene glycoside, is initially isolated from the dried roots of Paeonia lactiflora Pall., which has effects on ameliorating cholestasis in our previous study. However, comprehensive approaches for understanding the protective effects and mechanisms underlying cholestatic liver injury from the regulating of bile acid metabolism have not been sufficiently elucidated. This study was aimed to explore the effectiveness as well as potential mechanism of PF on alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestatic liver injury. Rats with cholestasis induced by ANIT was used to evaluate the protective effects and mechanism of PF by regulating SIRT1/FXR and NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. Rats were intragastrically administrated with ANIT to establish cholestatic liver injury model. Serum levels of ALT, AST, TBA, TBIL, ALP, γ-GT and ALB in rats were detected. The histopathology of the liver of rats was analyzed in vivo. The relative mRNA expression and protein expression levels of IL-18, IL-1β, TNF-α, HO-1, Nrf2, TLR4, NLRP3, Caspase-1, ASC, NF-κB, FXR, and SIRT1 in liver of rats were investigated. The results showed that the serum indexes and the liver histopathology were significantly improved by PF. The overexpression of IL-18, IL-1β, TNF-α, NLRP3, ASC, and Caspase-1 in liver was markedly reduced by PF. Furthermore, PF dramatically increased the mRNA and protein expressions of SIRT1, FXR, HO-1, and Nrf2, but decreased NF-κB p65 and TLR4 levels in liver of rats. Taken together, the protective effects of PF on cholestatic liver injury were possibly related to the activation of the SIRT1/FXR and inhibition of NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway. These findings might provide a potential protection for cholestatic liver injury.
Sustainable Growth from a Factor Dependence and Technological Progress Perspective: A Case Study of East China
Authors: Liu Ying , Chen Wan-Ming , Wang Sheng-Yuan , Wu Xiao-Lan
Published: September 2021

The paper constructs an economic growth model that contains human, physical capital, innovation, and energy factors and estimates the output elasticity of seven provinces and cities in East China in the period of 2004–2018. Having calculated the contribution rate of these different factors to economic growth, the paper finds that factors of production have a different elasticity that impacts the growth of different regions and industries and notes that energy and physical capital are the most significant factors for the growth of primary and secondary industries. This highlights that industrial growth has not freed from the path dependence of extensive input, and the authors cite Shanghai and Jiangsu as typical regions in this regard. The former’s growth largely depends on physical capital and energy, and the latter’s growth depends on the input of diverse elements including innovation. The latter is better suited to the needs of the “new normal” economic growth. The authors construct a simulation model of economic growth based on system dynamics, and system simulation results show that energy and material capital investment not only have the most significant effect on economic growth in East China but also provide clear evidence of extensive economic growth. The paper then demonstrates that increasing the optimal allocation of input factors and the rational flow between regions is conducive to improving output efficiency and provides the results of the Malmquist index calculation: on the whole, there is no obvious technological progress in East China. Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang are, however, provincial-level regions of this part of the country which demonstrate significant technological progress in East China. In conclusion, the paper suggests that this region of China will be unable to maintain its current level of economic growth because of the combined influence of factor input constraints and insufficient technological progress.
Construction of a Novel Immune-Related lncRNA Pair Signature with Prognostic Significance for Kidney Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Sun Jian-Xuan , Xia Qi-Dong , Liu Chen-Qian , Xu Jin-Zhou , Xun Yang , Lu Jun-Lin , Hu Jia , Wang Shao-Gang
Published: September 2021

Background. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common aggressive malignant tumors in the urinary system, among which the clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common subtype. The immune-related long noncoding ribonucleic acids (irlncRNAs) which are abundant in immune cells and immune microenvironment (IME) have potential significance in evaluating the prognosis and effects of immunotherapy. The signature based on irlncRNA pairs and independent of the exact expression level seems to have a latent predictive significance for the prognosis of patients with malignant tumors but has not been applied in ccRCC yet. Method. In this article, we retrieved The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database for the transcriptome profiling data of the ccRCC and performed coexpression analysis between known immune-related genes (ir-genes) and lncRNAs to find differently expressed irlncRNA (DEirlncRNA). Then, we adopted a single-factor test and a modified LASSO regression analysis to screen out ideal DEirlncRNAs and constructed a Cox proportional hazard model. We have sifted 28 DEirlncRNA pairs, 12 of which were included in this model. Next, we compared the area under the curve (AUC), found the cutoff point by using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) value, and distinguished the patients with ccRCC into a high-risk group and a low-risk group using this value. Finally, we tested this model by investigating the relationship between risk score and survival, clinical pathological characteristics, cells in tumor immune microenvironment, chemotherapy, and targeted checkpoint biomarkers. Results. A novel immune-related lncRNA pair signature consisting of 12 DEirlncRNA pairs was successfully constructed and tightly associated with overall survival, clinical pathological characteristics, cells in tumor immune microenvironment, and reactiveness to immunotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with ccRCC. Besides, the efficacy of this signature was verified in some commonly used clinicopathological subgroups and could serve as an independent prognostic factor in patients with ccRCC. Conclusions. This signature was proven to have a potential predictive significance for the prognosis of patients with ccRCC and the efficacy of immunotherapy.
Butterfly Diversity and Abundance in the Middle Afromontane Area of Northwestern Ethiopia
Authors: Wale Melaku , Abdella Sofia
Published: September 2021

Butterflies are good indicators of environmental health, and they play a critical role in the food chain. Butterfly diversity and abundance were studied for the first time at three forests and their surrounding habitats in northwestern Ethiopia, a borderline ecosystem between the subtropical savannah and the Ethiopian highlands (Afromontane). Butterfly species richness and abundance were assessed using transects between October 2018 and June 2019. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, correlation and regression analysis, diversity indices, ordination analysis, cluster analysis, and rarefaction curves. A total of 27,568 butterflies were recorded that belonged to three families, five subfamilies, and eight genera. The forest habitat had more butterfly taxa (abundance and diversity) than other habitats. Belenois spp. and Mylothris agathina were the most abundant in all three study locations. Species common to all study areas include Belenois aurota, Belenois raffrayi, Mylothris agathina, Eronia leda, Junonia terea elgiva, and Phalanta eurytis neuritis. Forest edge and woody forest habitats were the richest in terms of both number of species and number of individuals. Equitability (Pielou's index) showed equal distribution of the species, i.e., 0.8 to 0.9, except at the open grassland at Tara Gedam (0.3). Margalef's index varied between habitats and locations showing differences in species richness (from 0.25 at the woody forest of Mount Bezawit to 0.86 at the forest edge of Tara Gedam). Ordination analyses also showed that associations existed between habitats, locations, and dates of sampling. Rarefaction curves rose quickly at the forest edge and woody forest habitats compared to other forests. The cluster analysis discriminated the different habitats. Populations declined during the dry season (December to April). In conclusion, butterfly species diversity and abundance varied with respect to habitat and sampling date (season), although less diverse than other regions in the country where natural forests still widely exist. Butterfly species must be regularly monitored, and their habitats must be preserved for the health of the entire ecosystem.
Nonlinear Responses of a Rotor‐Bearing‐Seal System with Pedestal Looseness
Authors: Lin Junzhe , Zhao Yulai , Wang Pengfei , Wang Yuanyuan , Han Qingkai , Ma Hui
Published: September 2021

In this paper, a pedestal looseness fault model of a rotor‐bearing‐seal system is established. Under two working conditions of the same direction eccentricity (Working Condition 1) and reverse eccentricity (Working Condition 2), rotor orbits, vibration waveforms, spectrum cascade, and Poincaré maps are used to study the dynamic characteristics of the system when the sliding bearing support is loosened. The influence of speed, the unbalance of two discs, the looseness clearance, and the mass of bearing support on system characteristics are analyzed. The study found that Working Condition 2 is more likely to cause looseness of the bearing support. Moreover, for the rotor system in this paper, the pedestal looseness fault is more likely to occur near the second‐order critical speed. Through analysis of the spectrum, it is found that the spectrum of the looseness fault will show multiple frequencies or continuous spectra, and the rotor orbits will appear “cylindrical.”
The Business Process Reconstruction of Railway-River Combined Transportation Cloud Platform Taking China Container Export as an Example
Authors: Jia Furong , Sun Lin , Yuan Jiaxin , Li Yongping , Huang Qiang
Published: September 2021

In recent years, major large ports in China have realized the business informatization of rail-water intermodal transportation. However, the overall development level of intermodal transportation informatization has been restricted to a great extent due to the unbalanced development of intermodal transportation informatization in different regions, the rigid system architecture, the low degree of information sharing, and the lack of data management and analysis methods. Combined with the structure and business characteristics of intermodal transportation information systems, adopting cloud computing and Big Data technology, we propose an intermodal transportation information process with waybill as the information carrier and FPMS as the service fulcrum in this paper. Illustrated by the example of China’s container export process, this paper explores a series of key technical issues in the cloud environment, such as application management, business information sharing, and Big Data processing, at different levels of the construction of the rail water transport cloud platform, combined with its business characteristics, and makes experimental analysis on the relevant models to verify the feasibility of the reconstruction of the rail water transport cloud platform. It can provide theoretical and practical support for the development of rail water intermodal informatization in China.
Novel Trends in Electrochemical Biosensors for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Valkova Pavla , Pohanka Miroslav
Published: September 2021

Background. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder affecting mainly the population over 65 years of age. It is becoming a global health and socioeconomic problem, and the current number of patients reaching 30–50 million people will be three times higher over the next thirty years. Objective. Late diagnosis caused by decades of the asymptomatic phase and invasive and cost-demanding diagnosis are problems that make the whole situation worse. Electrochemical biosensors could be the right tool for less invasive and inexpensive early diagnosis helping to reduce spend sources— both money and time. Method. This review is a survey of the latest advances in the design of electrochemical biosensors for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Biosensors are divided according to target biomarkers. Conclusion. Standard laboratory methodology could be improved by analyzing a combination of currently estimated markers along with neurotransmitters and genetic markers from blood samples, which make the test for AD diagnosis available to the wide public.
Phase II Study of Pembrolizumab in Combination with Doxorubicin in Metastatic and Unresectable Soft-Tissue Sarcoma
Authors: Livingston Michael B. , Jagosky Megan H. , Robinson Myra M. , Ahrens William A. , Benbow Jennifer H. , Farhangfar Carol J. , Foureau David M. , Maxwell Deirdre M. , Baldrige Emily A. , Begic Xhevahire , Symanowski James T. , Steuerwald Nury M. , Anderson Colin J. , Patt Joshua C. , Kneisl Jeffrey S. , Kim Edward S.
Published: September 2021

Purpose:

Doxorubicin is standard therapy for advanced soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) with minimal improvement in efficacy and increased toxicity with addition of other cytotoxic agents. Pembrolizumab monotherapy has demonstrated modest activity and tolerability in previous advanced STS studies. This study combined pembrolizumab with doxorubicin to assess safety and efficacy in frontline and relapsed settings of advanced STS.

Patients and Methods:

This single-center, single-arm, phase II trial enrolled patients with unresectable or metastatic STS with no prior anthracycline therapy. Patients received pembrolizumab 200 mg i.v. and doxorubicin (60 mg/m2 cycle 1 with subsequent escalation to 75 mg/m2 as tolerated). The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and progression-free survival (PFS) based on RECIST v1.1 guidelines.

Results:

Thirty patients were enrolled (53.3% female; median age 61.5 years; 87% previously untreated) with 4 (13.3%) patients continuing treatment. The study met its primary safety endpoint by prespecified Bayesian stopping rules. The majority of grade 3+ treatment-emergent adverse events were hematologic (36.7% 3+ neutropenia). ORR was 36.7% [95% confidence interval (CI), 19.9–56.1%], with documented disease control in 80.0% (95% CI, 61.4–92.3%) of patients. Ten (33.3%) patients achieved partial response, 1 (3.3%) patient achieved complete response, and 13 (43.3%) patients had stable disease. Median PFS and OS were 5.7 months (6-month PFS rate: 44%) and 17 months (12-month OS rate: 62%), respectively. Programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression was associated with improved ORR, but not OS or PFS.

Conclusions:

Combination pembrolizumab and doxorubicin has manageable toxicity and preliminary promising activity in treatment of patients with anthracycline-naive advanced STS.
Neurokinin-1 Antagonism Distinguishes the Role of Norepinephrine Transporter from Dopamine Transporter in Mediating Amphetamine Behaviors
Authors: Mannangatti Padmanabhan , Ragu Varman Durairaj , Ramamoorthy Sammanda , Jayanthi Lankupalle D.
Published: September 2021

Background: Amphetamine (AMPH) and other psychostimulants act on the norepinephrine (NE) transporter (NET) and the dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) and enhance NE and DA signaling. Both NET and DAT share anatomical and functional characteristics and are regulated similarly by psychostimulants and receptor-linked signaling pathways. We and others have demonstrated that NET and DAT are downregulated by AMPH and substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R)-mediated protein kinase C pathway. Objectives: Since both NET and DAT are downregulated by AMPH and NK1R activation and share high sequence homology, the objective of the study was to determine the catecholamine transporter specificity in NK1R modulation of AMPH-induced behaviors. Methods: The effect of NK1R antagonism on AMPH-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) as well as AMPH-induced NET and DAT downregulation was examined using NET and DAT knockout mice (NET-KO and DAT-KO) along with their wild-type littermates. Results: Aprepitant (5 mg/kg i.p.) significantly attenuated AMPH (2 mg/kg i.p.)-induced CPP in the wild-type and DAT-KO but not in the NET-KO. Locomotor activity measured during the post-conditioning test (in the absence of AMPH) showed higher locomotor activity in DAT-KO compared to wild-type or NET-KO. However, the locomotor activity of all 3 genotypes remained unchanged following aprepitant. Additionally, in the ventral striatum of wild-type, the AMPH-induced downregulation of NET function and surface expression but not that of DAT was attenuated by aprepitant. Conclusions: The results from the current study demonstrate that aprepitant attenuates the expression of AMPH-induced CPP in DAT-KO mice but not in NET-KO mice suggesting a role for NK1R-mediated NET regulation in AMPH-induced behaviors.