bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Home health monitoring around the time of surgery: qualitative study of patients’ experiences before and after joint replacement
Authors: Grant Sabrina , Blom Ashley W , Craddock Ian , Whitehouse Micheal , Gooberman-Hill Rachael
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Hip and knee replacements are common major elective surgical interventions with over 200 000 performed annually in the UK. Not all patients achieve optimal outcomes or experience problems or delays in recovery. The number of patients needing these operations is set to increase, and routine clinical monitoring is time-consuming and resource-consuming for patients and healthcare providers; therefore, innovative evaluation of surgical outcomes is needed. The aim of this qualitative study was to capture the patient experience of living with a novel home monitoring sensing system during the period around joint replacement.

Setting

One secondary care hospital in the South West, UK.

Participants

13 patients (8 female, 63–89 years) undergoing total hip or knee replacement enrolled into the study.

Design

Qualitative study with thematic analysis. The system remained in situ for up to 12 weeks after their surgery and comprised a group of low-powered sensors monitoring the environment (temperature, light and humidity) and activity of people within the home. Patients were interviewed at two timepoints: before and after surgery. Interviews explored views about living with the technology, its acceptability, as well as attitudes towards health technology.

Results

Three main themes emerged: installation of home-sensing technology on the journey to surgery, the home space and defining unobtrusiveness and pivotal role of social support networks.

Conclusions

Patients who agreed to the technology found living with it acceptable. A home-sensing system that monitors the environment and activity of the people in the home could provide an innovative way of assessing patients’ surgical outcomes. At a time characterised by reduced mobility, functional limitations and increased pain, patients in this study relied on informal and formal supportive networks to help maintain the system through the busy trajectory of the perioperative period.
Door-to-needle time for thrombolysis: a secondary analysis of the TIPS cluster randomised controlled trial
Authors: Hasnain Md Golam , Paul Christine L , Attia John R , Ryan Annika , Kerr Erin , D'Este Catherine , Hall Alix , Milton Abul Hasnat , Hubbard Isobel J , Levi Christopher R
Published: December 2019

Objective

The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of a multi-component in-hospital intervention on the door-to-needle time for intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke.

Design

This study was a post hoc analysis of door-to-needle time data from a cluster-randomised controlled trial testing an intervention to boost intravenous thrombolysis implementation.

Setting

The study was conducted among 20 hospitals from three Australian states.

Participant

Eligible hospitals had a Stroke Care Unit or staffing equivalent to a stroke physician and a nurse, and were in the early stages of implementing thrombolysis.

Intervention

The intervention was multifaceted and developed using the behaviour change wheel and informed by breakthrough collaborative methodology using components of the health behaviour change wheel.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The primary outcome for this analysis was door-to-needle time for thrombolysis and secondary outcome was the proportion of patients received thrombolysis within 60 min of hospital arrival.

Results

The intervention versus control difference in the door-to-needle times was non-significant overall nor significant by hospital classification. To provide additional context for the findings, we also evaluated the results within intervention and control hospitals. During the active-intervention period, the intervention hospitals showed a significant decrease in the door-to-needle time of 9.25 min (95% CI: -16.93 to 1.57), but during the post-intervention period, the result was not significant. During the active intervention period, control hospitals also showed a significant decrease in the door-to-needle time of 5.26 min (95% CI: −8.37 to −2.14) and during the post-intervention period, this trend continued with a decrease of 12.13 min (95% CI: -17.44 to 6.81).

Conclusion

Across these primary stroke care centres in Australia, a secular trend towards shorter door-to-needle times across both intervention and control hospitals was evident, however the TIPS (Thrombolysis ImPlementation in Stroke) intervention showed no overall effect on door-to-needle times in the randomised comparison.

Trial registration number

Trial Registration-URL:http://www.anzctr.org.au/Unique Identifier: ACTRN 12613000939796.
Effect of polycystic ovary syndrome on cardiac autonomic function at a late fertile age: a prospective Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study
Authors: Ollila Meri-Maija , Kiviniemi Antti , Stener-Victorin Elisabet , Tulppo Mikko , Puukka Katri , Tapanainen Juha , Franks Stephen , Morin-Papunen Laure , Piltonen Terhi
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Previous studies of women in their 20s and 30s have reported impaired autonomic function in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We aimed to study, for the first time, whether PCOS is associated with impaired cardiac autonomic function independent of metabolic and hormonal status in their late reproductive years.

Design

A prospective Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) study including 5889 women born in 1966 and followed through the age of 46. At that age, n=3706/5123 women (72%) answered the postal questionnaires and n=3280/5123 women (64%) participated in the clinical examination.

Setting

General community.

Participants

The sample included women presenting both irregular menses (oligomenorrhoea or amenorrhoea) and hirsutism at age 31 (n=125) or with formally diagnosed PCOS by age 46 (n=181) and women without PCOS symptoms or diagnosis (n=1577).

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Heart rate variability parameters: the root mean square of successive R-R differences (rMSSD), spectral power densities (LF: low frequency and HF: high frequency) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS).

Results

We found that parasympathetic activity (assessed by rMSSD: 19.5 (12.4; 31.9) vs 24.3 (16.1; 34.8) ms, p=0.004 and HF: 172 (75; 399) vs 261 (112; 565) ms2, p=0.002) and BRS (6.13±3.12 vs 6.99±3.52 ms/mm Hg, p=0.036) were lower in women with PCOS compared with the controls. However, in the multivariate regression analysis, PCOS, body mass index and the free androgen index did not significantly associate with rMSSD, whereas blood pressure, insulin resistance and triglycerides did.

Conclusions

We report here for the first time that late reproductive-aged women with PCOS display impaired cardiac autonomic function manifested as decreased vagal activity. Metabolic status, rather than hyperandrogenaemia and PCOS per se, was the strongest contributing factor. Given the link between cardiac morbidity and impaired autonomic function, the findings underline the importance of screening and treating metabolic abnormalities early on in women with PCOS.
Health-related preferences of older patients with multimorbidity: an evidence map
Authors: Gonzalez Ana Isabel , Schmucker Christine , Nothacker Julia , Motschall Edith , Nguyen Truc Sophia , Brueckle Maria-Sophie , Blom Jeanet , van den Akker Marjan , Röttger Kristian , Wegwarth Odette , Hoffmann Tammy , Straus Sharon E , Gerlach Ferdinand M , Meerpohl Joerg J , Muth Christiane
Published: December 2019

Objectives

To systematically identify knowledge clusters and research gaps in the health-related preferences of older patients with multimorbidity by mapping current evidence.

Design

Evidence map (systematic review variant).

Data sources

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, CINAHL and Science Citation Index/Social Science Citation Index/-Expanded from inception to April 2018.

Study selection

Studies reporting primary research on health-related preferences of older patients (mean age ≥60 years) with multimorbidity (≥2 chronic/acute conditions).

Data extraction

Two independent reviewers assessed studies for eligibility, extracted data and clustered the studies using MAXQDA-18 content analysis software.

Results

The 152 included studies (62% from North America, 28% from Europe) comprised 57 093 patients overall (range 9–9105). All used an observational design except for one interventional study: 63 (41%) were qualitative (59 cross-sectional, 4 longitudinal), 85 (57%) quantitative (63 cross-sectional, 22 longitudinal) and 3 (2%) used mixed methods. The setting was specialised care in 85 (56%) and primary care in 54 (36%) studies. We identified seven clusters of studies on preferences: end-of-life care (n=51, 34%), self-management (n=34, 22%), treatment (n=32, 21%), involvement in shared decision making (n=25, 17%), health outcome prioritisation/goal setting (n=19, 13%), healthcare service (n=12, 8%) and screening/diagnostic testing (n=1, 1%). Terminology (eg, preferences, views and perspectives) and concepts (eg, trade-offs, decision regret, goal setting) used to describe health-related preferences varied substantially between studies.

Conclusion

Our study provides the first evidence map on the preferences of older patients with multimorbidity. Included studies were mostly conducted in developed countries and covered a broad range of issues. Evidence on patient preferences concerning decision-making on screening and diagnostic testing was scarce. Differences in employed terminology, decision-making components and concepts, as well as the sparsity of intervention studies, are challenges for future research into evidence-based decision support seeking to elicit the preferences of older patients with multimorbidity and help them construct preferences.

Trial registration number

Open Science Framework (OSF): DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/MCRWQ.
Age and nationality in relation to injuries at sea among officers and non-officers: a study based on contacts from ships to Telemedical Assistance Service in Denmark
Authors: Herttua Kimmo , Gerdøe-Kristensen Stine , Vork Jan C , Nielsen Jesper Bo
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Characterisation of worker injuries on board merchant ships is modest. Using telemedical service contacts in Denmark, we describe the worker injuries patterns and factors related to injury incidence.

Methods

The data for this study were based on contacts (n=1401) from ships to Telemedical Assistance Service (TMAS) in Denmark in 2004–2014, which were supplemented with data on the annual estimation of all seafarers from the Danish Maritime Authority (n=73 336). The final data included information on broad age groups, occupation and nationality. The outcomes were injuries from any cause and six broad categories of injuries characterised by anatomic location or type of injury.

Results

During the observation period of 11 years, there were 1401 contacts to TMAS due to injuries, of which 36% were in upper limb, 18% in lower limb and 13% in the head. Age-adjusted incidence rates for all injuries varied between 13.6 and 26.8 incidences per 1000 person-years in 2004–2014. In most types of injuries, younger and older seafarers had higher risk for injuries than seafarers aged 30–49 years. Depending on the type of injury, non-officers had threefold to fivefold increased odds of injuries compared with officers, the risk being highest for head injuries with an OR of 5.00 (95% CI 3.19 to 7.83). Non-officers from the European Union (EU) had higher risk in most types of injuries than non-officers from outside the EU, whereas the pattern of this risk was inverse among officers.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that non-officers and European seafarers have an increased risk for several types of injuries on board Danish-flagged merchant ships. Additionally, age affected risk with the younger (<30 years) and older (>50 years) seafarers having increased risk.
Novel tools for a learning health system: a combined difference-in-difference/regression discontinuity approach to evaluate effectiveness of a readmission reduction initiative
Authors: Walkey Allan J , Bor Jacob , Cordella Nicholas J
Published: December 2019

Current methods used to evaluate the effects of healthcare improvement efforts have limitations. Designs with strong causal inference—such as individual patient or cluster randomisation—can be inappropriate and infeasible to use in single-centre settings. Simpler designs—such as prepost studies—are unable to infer causal relationships between improvement interventions and outcomes of interest, often leading to spurious conclusions regarding programme success. Other designs, such as regression discontinuity or difference-in-difference (DD) approaches alone, require multiple assumptions that are often unable to be met in real world improvement settings. We present a case study of a novel design in improvement and implementation research—a hybrid regression discontinuity/DD design—that leverages risk-targeted improvement interventions within a hospital readmission reduction programme. We demonstrate how the hybrid regression discontinuity-DD approach addresses many of the limitations of either method alone, and represents a useful method to evaluate the effects of multiple, simultaneous heath system improvement activities—a necessary capacity of a learning health system. Finally, we discuss some of the limitations of the hybrid regression discontinuity-DD approach, including the need to assign patients to interventions based upon a continuous measure, the need for large sample sizes, and potential susceptibility of risk-based intervention assignment to gaming.
The effect of external magnetic field on the coherent to Compton scattering differential cross section ratios of elements in the range 20 ≤ Z ≤ 32
Authors: Demir Lütfü , Uğurlu Mine
Published: December 2019

The coherent to Compton differential cross section ratios were calculated for elements in the range 20 ≤ Z ≤ 32 under an external magnetic field. The elements were irradiated by 59.54 keV gamma rays from an 241Am radioactive source. A Si(Li) detector was used to detect the scattered photons. It was observed that the coherent to Compton differential cross section ratios of the samples increase with the magnetic field (B = 0, 0.4, and 0.8 T). The theoretical results were obtained with two different methods and compared with the experimental results at 0 T.
Lepton flavor violating $$\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda \ell _1\ell _2$$ decay
Authors: Das Diganta
Published: December 2019

Inspired by the recent hints of lepton flavor universality violation in$$b\rightarrow s\ell \ell $$b→sℓℓand$$b\rightarrow c\ell \nu $$b→cℓνtransitions, we study lepton flavor violating exclusive$$\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda \ell _1^+\ell _2^-$$Λb→Λℓ1+ℓ2-($$\ell _1\ne \ell _2$$ℓ1≠ℓ2) decay, which is forbidden in the Standard Model. Starting from a general effective Hamiltonian for a$$b\rightarrow s\ell _1^+\ell _2^-$$b→sℓ1+ℓ2-transition that includes vector and axial-vector operators, and scalar and pseudo-scalar operators, we derive a two-fold decay distribution of$$\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda \ell _1^+\ell _2^-$$Λb→Λℓ1+ℓ2-. The distribution helps us to construct the differential branching ratio and the lepton-side forward–backward asymmetry, which are studied in a vector leptoquark model. The parameter space of the vector leptoquark model is constrained by low energy observables.
Nelumbo nucifera Leaves Prevent NMU-Induced Mammary Tumor through Downregulation of Fatty Acid Synthase, Estrogen Receptor-α and Her2 Expression
Authors: Hsu Li-Sung , Chang Chun-Hua , Lee Yi-Ju , Wang Chau-Jong
Published: December 2019

Diet polyphenol can reportedly prevent the formation of breast-cancer cells. Nelumbo nucifera leaf extract (NLE) is enriched with polyphenols and has several cellular functions, such as anti-atherosclerosis, anti-inflammation, and antitumor. In this study, we investigated the role of NLE in the prevention of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (NMU)-induced mammary tumor formation. Cotreatment with NLE significantly reduced the NMU-induced tumor incidence, number, and volume. NLE administration significantly repressed the tumor growth and weight of nude mice upon inoculation with BT-474 cancer cells. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that fatty acid synthetase, estrogen receptor (ER)-[Formula: see text], and phosphorylated ER-[Formula: see text] were obviously reduced in the cancer part of BT-474 inoculated nude mice upon administration of 2% NLE. Western blot analysis revealed that NLE and NLPE (polyphenol-rich NLE) repressed ER-[Formula: see text] expression and phosphorylation and decreased the phosphorylation of Her-2 without affecting their expression. Overall, NLE and NLPE exhibited more effective antitumor abilities in NMU-induced mammary cancer formation than with tamoxifen and Herceptin.
Matrix factorizations for self-orthogonal categories of modules
Authors: Bergh Petter Andreas , Thompson Peder
Published: December 2019

For a commutative ring [Formula: see text] and self-orthogonal subcategory [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text], we consider matrix factorizations whose modules belong to [Formula: see text]. Let [Formula: see text] be a regular element. If [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text]-regular for every [Formula: see text], we show there is a natural embedding of the homotopy category of [Formula: see text]-factorizations of [Formula: see text] into a corresponding homotopy category of totally acyclic complexes. Moreover, we prove this is an equivalence if [Formula: see text] is the category of projective or flat-cotorsion [Formula: see text]-modules. Dually, using divisibility in place of regularity, we observe there is a parallel equivalence when [Formula: see text] is the category of injective [Formula: see text]-modules.
A RESONANCE FREQUENCY ANALYSIS MODEL OF A CURVED BEAM DIAPHRAGM FOR THE EFFICIENT IMPROVEMENT OF BONE CONDUCTION HEARING AIDS
Authors: PARK JAE SUNG , NA SUNG DAE , SEONG KI WOONG , LEE JUNG HYUN , WOO SEONG TAK , KIM MYOUNG NAM
Published: December 2019

Recently, the elderly population and excessive use of multimedia devices are increasing, which contribute to the growing number of patients with hearing loss. Hearing aids are used as a hearing rehabilitation method for patients with hearing loss and can be classified as air conduction and bone conduction according to the sound transmission pathway. Bone conduction is advantageous over sound transmission as it does not affect the eardrum. Bone conduction systems are divided into BAHA, Bone Bridge and B81 according to the vibration transmission method. BAHA has disadvantages as it can result in skin diseases and has inconveniences, and patients are reluctant to accept Bone Bridge because it has to be implanted into the temporal bone. Due to its location on the skin, B81 can solve these problems; however, this method may reduce transmission efficiency. In this paper, we have proposed a resonance frequency analysis model of a curved beam diaphragm to solve these problems. The proposed method involved a natural frequency equation with derived parameters. An improved efficiency (vibration transmission) was confirmed using the fabricated diaphragm. In the future, the proposed method may be used in various fields.
Correlation Between Tunable Oxygen Defects in TiO2 Nanoflower and Its Photocatalytic Performance for the Degradation of Organic Waste
Authors: Chen Cai , Zhang Han , Ali Arshid M. , Zhang Hui
Published: December 2019

Oxygen defects of nanoflower TiO2 photo-catalyst was fabricated at the presence of hydrogen at different temperatures (100–600∘C) and the concentrations of oxygen defects were firstly quantitatively analyzed by hydrogen programmed temperature reduction techniques (H2-TPR). Total oxygen defect concentration and surface oxygen defect concentration were consistent with XPS and EPR results, respectively. Even at the hydrogen thermal temperature of 600∘C, the shape of TiO2 was still kept as nanoflower structure as characterized by SEM. However, the rutile and anatase coexist in the composition of crystal phase when hydrogen reduction temperature of the TiO2 catalyst reached 400∘C to 600∘C as proved by Raman and XRD results. TiO2 sample with oxygen defects shows excellent photo-catalytic activity for degradation of Direct Blue 78(DB) regardless of ultraviolet light (the maximum degradation rate achieved within 100[Formula: see text]min was 93.27%) or visible light (the maximum degradation rate achieved within 100[Formula: see text]min was 88.25%). The photo-catalytic activity seems to be highly correlated with the surface oxygen defects of TiO2 catalyst. With surface oxygen-defect concentrations increase, the degradation ability on DB was significantly enhanced, while bulk oxygen defects had negligible effect on the photo-catalytic activity. The enhanced photo-catalytic performance of TiO2 with a fixed amount of oxygen defects was attributed to the strong capturing capability of the photo-generated electrons. In addition, the surface defects could also improve the photo-catalytic reaction efficiency.
Nitrogen- and oxygen-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes for supercapacitor with ionic liquid-based electrolyte
Authors: Arkhipova Ekaterina A. , Viktorova Alina S. , Ivanov Anton S. , Maslakov Konstantin I. , Novotortsev Roman Yu.
Published: December 2019

Nitrogen-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing 2.2 at.% of nitrogen were produced by hydrothermal treatment of oxygen-doped CNTs with urea and tested as electrode material for the supercapacitor with ionic liquid electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed a beneficial effect of nitrogen doping on the capacitance behavior of CNTs resulted from both the changes in their electronic structure and improved interaction between the electrode surface and electrolyte ions. The specific capacitance of nitrogen-doped CNTs was 2.6 times higher than that of pristine ones.
Efficient Image Hashing with Geometric Invariant Vector Distance for Copy Detection
Authors: Liu Shiguang , Huang Ziqing
Published: December 2019

Hashing method is an efficient technique of multimedia security for content protection. It maps an image into a content-based compact code for denoting the image itself. While most existing algorithms focus on improving the classification between robustness and discrimination, little attention has been paid to geometric invariance under normal digital operations, and therefore results in quite fragile to geometric distortion when applied in image copy detection. In this article, a novel effective image hashing method is proposed based on geometric invariant vector distance in both spatial domain and frequency domain. First, the image is preprocessed by some joint operations to extract robust features. Then, the preprocessed image is randomly divided into several overlapping blocks under a secret key, and two different feature matrices are separately obtained in the spatial domain and frequency domain through invariant moment and low frequency discrete cosine transform coefficients. Furthermore, the invariant distances between vectors in feature matrices are calculated and quantified to form a compact hash code. We conduct various experiments to demonstrate that the proposed hashing not only reaches good classification between robustness and discrimination, but also resists most geometric distortion in image copy detection. In addition, both receiver operating characteristics curve comparisons and mean average precision in copy detection clearly illustrate that the proposed hashing method outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms.
Weakly-hard Real-time Guarantees for Earliest Deadline First Scheduling of Independent Tasks
Authors: Hammadeh Zain A. H. , Quinton Sophie , Ernst Rolf
Published: December 2019

The current trend in modeling and analyzing real-time systems is toward tighter yet safe timing constraints. Many practical real-time systems can de facto sustain a bounded number of deadline-misses, i.e., they have Weakly-Hard Real-Time (WHRT) constraints rather than hard real-time constraints. Therefore, we strive to provide tight Deadline Miss Models (DMMs) in complement to tight response time bounds for such systems. In this work, we bound the distribution of deadline-misses for task sets running on uniprocessors using the Earliest Deadline First (EDF) scheduling policy. We assume tasks miss their deadlines due to transient overload resulting from sporadic jobs, e.g., interrupt service routines. We use Typical Worst-Case Analysis (TWCA) to tackle the problem in this context. Also, we address the sources of pessimism in computing DMMs, and we discuss the limitations of the proposed analysis. This work is motivated by and validated on a realistic case study inspired by industrial practice (satellite on-board software) and on a set of synthetic test cases. The synthetic experiment is dedicated to extensively study the impact of EDF on DMMs by presenting a comparison between DMMs computed under EDF and Rate Monotonic (RM). The results show the usefulness of this approach for temporarily overloaded systems when EDF scheduling is considered. They also show that EDF is especially useful for WHRT tasks.
Random Playlists Smoothly Commuting Between Styles
Authors: Almeida Marcos Alves de , Vieira Carolina Coimbra , Melo Pedro Olmo Stancioli Vaz De , Assunção Renato Martins
Published: December 2019

Someone enjoys listening to playlists while commuting. He wants a different playlist of
n
songs each day, but always starting from
Locked Out of Heaven
, a Bruno Mars song. The list should progress in smooth transitions between successive and randomly selected songs until it ends up at
Stairway to Heaven
, a Led Zeppelin song. The challenge of automatically generating random and heterogeneous playlists is to find the appropriate balance among several conflicting goals. We propose two methods for solving this problem. One is called
ROPE
, and it depends on a representation of the songs in a Euclidean space. It generates a random path through a Brownian Bridge that connects any two songs selected by the user in this music space. The second is
STRAW
, which constructs a graph representation of the music space where the nodes are songs and edges connect similar songs.
STRAW
creates a playlist by traversing the graph through a steering random walk that starts on a selected song and is directed toward a target song also selected by the user. When compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms, our algorithms are the only ones that satisfy the following quality constraints:
heterogeneity
,
smooth transitions
,
novelty
,
scalability
, and
usability
. We demonstrate the usefulness of our proposed algorithms by applying them to a large collection of songs and make available a prototype.
Tÿcho
Authors: Cedersjö Gustav , Janneck Jörn W.
Published: December 2019

Many application areas for embedded systems, such as DSP, media coding, and image processing, are based on stream processing. Stream programs in these areas are often naturally described as graphs, where nodes are computational kernels that send data over the edges. This structure also exhibits large amounts of concurrency, because the kernels can execute independently as long as there are data to process on the edges. The explicit data dependencies also help making efficient sequential implementations of such programs, allowing programs to be more portable between platforms with various degrees of parallelism.

The kernels can be expressed in many different ways; for example, as imperative programs with read and write statements for the communication or as a set of actions that can be performed and conditions for when these actions can be executed. Traditionally, there has been a tension between how the kernels are expressed and how efficiently they can be implemented. There are very efficient implementation techniques for stream programs with restricted expressiveness, such as synchronous dataflow.

In this article, we present a framework for building stream program compilers that we call Tÿcho. At the core of this framework is a common kernel representation, based on a machine model for stream program kernels called
actor machine
, on which transformations and optimizations are performed. Both imperative and action-based kernels are translated to this common representation, making the same optimizations applicable to different kinds of kernels, and even across source language boundaries. An actor machine is described by the steps of execution that a kernel can take, and the conditions for taking them, together with a
controller
that decides how the conditions are tested and the steps are taken.

We outline how kernels of an imperative process language and an action-based language are decomposed and translated to the common kernel representation, and we describe a simple backend that generates sequential C code from this representation. We present optimization heuristics of the decision process in the controller that we evaluate using a few dozen kernels from a video decoder with various degrees of complexity. We also present kernel fusion, by merging the controllers of actor machines, as a way of scheduling kernels on the same processor, which we compare to prior art.
Soluble (pro)renin receptor regulation of ENaC involved in aldosterone signaling in cultured collecting duct cells
Authors: Wang Fei , Luo Renfei , Peng Kexin , Liu Xiyang , Xu Chuanming , Lu Xiaohan , Soodvilai Sunhapas , Yang Tianxin
Published: December 2019

We have previously shown that activation of (pro)renin receptor (PRR) induces epithelial Na+channel (ENaC) activity in cultured collecting duct cells. Here, we examined the role of soluble PRR (sPRR), the cleavage product of PRR in ENaC regulation, and further tested its relevance to aldosterone signaling. In cultured mpkCCD cells, administration of recombinant histidine-tagged sPRR (sPRR-His) at 10 nM within minutes induced a significant and transient increase in the amiloride-sensitive short-circuit current as assessed using the Ussing chamber technique. The acute ENaC activation was blocked by the NADPH oxidase 1/4 inhibitor GKT137892 and siRNA against Nox4 but not the β-catenin inhibitor ICG-001. In primary rat inner medullary collecting duct cells, administration of sPRR-His at 10 nM for 24 h induced protein expression of the α-subunit but not β- or γ-subunits of ENaC, in parallel with upregulation of mRNA expression as well as promoter activity of the α-subunit. The transcriptional activation of α-ENaC was dependent on β-catenin signaling. Consistent results obtained by epithelial volt ohmmeter measurement of equivalent current and Ussing chamber determination of short-circuit current showed that aldosterone-induced transepithelial Na+transport was inhibited by the PRR decoy inhibitor PRO20 and PF-429242, an inhibitor of sPRR-generating enzyme site-1 protease, and the response was restored by the addition of sPRR-His. Medium sPRR was elevated by aldosterone and inhibited by PF-429242. Taken together, these results demonstrate that sPRR induces two phases of ENaC activation via distinct mechanisms and functions as a mediator of the natriferic action of aldosterone.
Elucidation of cGMP-dependent induction of mitochondrial biogenesis through PKG and p38 MAPK in the kidney
Authors: Bhargava Pallavi , Janda Jaroslav , Schnellmann Rick G.
Published: December 2019

Previous studies have shown that cGMP increases mitochondrial biogenesis (MB). Our laboratory has determined that formoterol and LY344864, agonists of the β2-adrenergic receptor and 5-HT1F receptor, respectively, signal MB in a soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC)-dependent manner. However, the pathway between cGMP and MB produced by these pharmacological agents in renal proximal tubule cells (RPTCs) and the kidney has not been determined. In the present study, we showed that treatment of RPTCs with formoterol, LY344864, or riociguat, a sGC stimulator, induces MB through protein kinase G (PKG), a target of cGMP, and p38, an associated downstream target of PKG and a regulator of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) expression in RPTCs. We also examined if p38 plays a role in PGC-1α phosphorylation in vivo. Administration of l-skepinone, a potent and specific inhibitor of p38α and p38β, to naïve mice inhibited phosphorylated PGC-1α localization in the nuclear fraction of the renal cortex. Taken together, we demonstrated a pathway, sGC/cGMP/PKG/p38/PGC-1α, for pharmacological induction of MB and the importance of p38 in this pathway.
Whole genome sequencing and novel candidate genes for CAKUT and altered nephrogenesis in the HSRA rat
Authors: Showmaker Kurt C. , Cobb Meredith B. , Johnson Ashley C. , Yang Wenyu , Garrett Michael R.
Published: December 2019

The HSRA rat is a model of congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urogenital tract (CAKUT). Our laboratory has used this model to investigate the role of nephron number (functional unit of the kidney) in susceptibility to develop kidney disease as 50–75% offspring are born with a single kidney (HSRA-S), while 25–50% are born with two kidneys (HSRA-C). HSRA-S rats develop increased kidney injury and hypertension with age compared with nephrectomized two-kidney animals (HSRA-UNX), suggesting that even slight differences in nephron number can be an important driver in decline in kidney function. The HSRA rat was selected and inbred from a family of outbred heterogeneous stock (NIH-HS) rats that exhibited a high incidence of CAKUT. The HS model was originally developed from eight inbred strains (ACI, BN, BUF, F344, M520, MR, WKY, and WN). The genetic make-up of the HSRA is therefore a mosaic of these eight inbred strains. Interestingly, the ACI progenitor of the HS model exhibits CAKUT in 10–15% of offspring with the genetic cause being attributed to the presence of a long-term repeat (LTR) within exon 1 of the c-Kit gene. Our hypothesis is that the HSRA and ACI share this common genetic cause, but other alleles in the HSRA genome contribute to the increased penetrance of CAKUT (75% HSRA vs. 15% in ACI). To facilitate genetic studies and better characterize the model, we sequenced the whole genome of the HSRA to a depth of ~50×. A genome-wide variant analysis of high-impact variants identified a number of novel genes that could be linked to CAKUT in the HSRA model. In summary, the identification of new genes/modifiers that lead to CAKUT/loss of one kidney in the HSRA model will provide greater insight into association between kidney development and susceptibility to develop cardiovascular disease later in life.
The Utility of Major Salivary Gland Ultrasonographic Parameters in the Diagnosis of Sjögren Syndrome
Authors: Caraba Alexandru , Babalic Flavia Corina , Iurciuc Stela , Iurciuc Mircea
Published: December 2019

Objective. To investigate ultrasonographically the salivary glands and to correlate ultrasonographic parameters with focus score, serum beta-2-microglobulin, and stimulated salivary flow rate. Material and Methods. 32 patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) and 32 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study, performed in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timișoara, Romania. All the patients and controls were examined by salivary gland ultrasonography (B-mode, color and spectral Doppler, and sonoelastography), determining the following parameters: salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) score, resistive index (RI) of transverse facial artery, and shear wave velocity (SWV). Serum beta-2-microglobulin and stimulated saliva amount were determined in all the patients and controls. Minor salivary gland biopsy with focus score assessment was done in pSS patients. Results. Patients with pSS presented higher SGUS score and parotid and submandibular SWV and reduced RI of transverse facial artery than controls (p<0.0001). In pSS patients, statistically significant correlations were identified between assessed ultrasonographic parameters and focus score, serum beta-2-microglobulin, and respective stimulated saliva flow (p<0.0001). Conclusions. This study highlighted statistically significant correlations between salivary gland ultrasonographic parameters and focus score, serum beta-2-microglobulin, and stimulated saliva flow.
A Lightweight Secure User Authentication and Key Agreement Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Mo Jiaqing , Chen Hang
Published: December 2019

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have great potential for numerous domains of application because of their ability to sense and understand unattended environments. However, a WSN is subject to various attacks due to the openness of the public wireless channel. Therefore, a secure authentication mechanism is vital to enable secure communication within WSNs, and many studies on authentication techniques have been presented to build robust WSNs. Recently, Lu et al. analyzed the security defects of the previous ones and proposed an anonymous three-factor authenticated key agreement protocol for WSNs. However, we found that their protocol is vulnerable to some security weaknesses, such as the offline password guessing attack, known session-specific temporary information attack, and no session key backward secrecy. We propose a lightweight security-improved three-factor authentication scheme for WSNs to overcome the previously stated weaknesses. In addition, the improved scheme is proven to be secure under the random oracle model, and a formal verification is conducted by ProVerif to reveal that the proposal achieves the required security features. Moreover, the theoretical analysis indicates that the proposal can resist known attacks. A comparison with related works demonstrates that the proposed scheme is superior due to its reasonable performance and additional security features.
Total Hip Arthroplasty for Bilateral Femoral Neck Stress Fracture: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Moerenhout Kevin , Gkagkalis Georgios , Laflamme G.-Yves , Rouleau Dominique M. , Leduc Stéphane , Benoit Benoit
Published: December 2019

Femoral neck stress fractures (FNSFs) can be treated conservatively or surgically, depending on initial displacement and patient condition. Surgical treatment options include internal fixation, with or without valgus osteotomy or hip arthroplasty, either hemi or total. The latter is mainly considered when initial treatment fails. A review of the literature shows that total hip arthroplasty (THA) is only considered as primary treatment in displaced fractures (type 3) in low-demand patients. We present a case of successive bilateral FNSF in a young active patient, where a THA was performed on one side, after failed internal fixation, and where it was chosen as primary treatment on the other side after failed conservative treatment.
Effect of Dietaryn‐3Source on Rabbit Male Reproduction
Authors: Castellini Cesare , Mattioli Simona , Signorini Cinzia , Cotozzolo Elisa , Noto Daria , Moretti Elena , Brecchia Gabriele , Dal Bosco Alessandro , Belmonte Giuseppe , Durand Thierry , De Felice Claudio , Collodel Giulia
Published: December 2019

In the last two decades, the human sperm count linearly decreased in Western countries. Health problems, lifestyle, pollutants, and dietary behaviours are considered as the main risk factors, and the unbalance of dietaryn‐6/n‐3fatty acids is one of the most relevant. The aim of the present research is to study the effect of different dietary sources ofn‐3polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on reproductive traits using rabbit buck as the animal model. Fifteen rabbit bucks were assigned to three experimental groups: the control group, the FLAX group fed 10% extruded flaxseed, and the FISH group fed 3.5% fish oil for 110 days (50-day adaptation and 60-day experimental periods). Semen samples were collected weekly, whereas blood was collected every two weeks for the analytical determination of semen traits, oxidative status, fatty acid profiles, isoprostanes, neuroprostanes, and the immunocytochemistry of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acid. At the end of the trial, the rabbits were killed and the testes were removed and stored for the analysis of fatty acid profile and immunocytochemistry. Results showed that dietary administration ofn‐3PUFA improved the track speed of the sperm and increased then‐3long-chain PUFA mainly confined in the sperm tail. Seminal plasma increased the thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARs) by three times in the groups fed supplementaln‐3, whereas the F2-isoprotanes (F2-IsoPs) and F4-neuroprostanes (F4-NeuroPs) were lower and higher, respectively, in both supplemented groups than in the control. The testes and sperm showed a higher DHA and EPA distribution in rabbits from then‐3supplemented groups compared with the control. In conclusion, supplemental dietaryn‐3PUFA improved sperm motion traits and resulted in an enrichment of membrane fatty acid in the sperm and testes of the rabbits. However, such an increased amount of PUFA negatively affected the sperm oxidative status, which was mainly correlated with the generation of F4-NeuroPs with respect to F2-IsoPs. Accordingly, the latter cannot be considered a good marker of oxidation when diets rich inn‐3PUFA are provided.
Duodenal Neuroendocrine Tumour Presenting as GABA B Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis
Authors: Peddawad Dhanashree , Singh Manoj K.
Published: December 2019

GABA B receptor antibody positive autoimmune encephalitis is rarely seen in clinical practice. It is usually associated with small cell lung carcinoma, and occasionally with neuroendocrine tumour (NET) of lung. GABA B receptor antibody can be associated with other autoimmune antibodies like antinuclear antibody and antibody to Glutamic acid decarboxylase. We present a case with GABA B receptor autoimmune encephalitis associated with neuroendocrine tumour of the duodenum with special emphasis on correlation between immunostaining of the tumour and presence of GABA B receptor antibody.
Treating Primary Arthroprosthesis Infection Caused byMycobacterium abscessussubsp. abscessus
Authors: Pace Valerio , Antinolfi Pierluigi , Borroni Emanuele , Cirillo Daniela Maria , Cenci Elio , Piersimoni Claudio , Cardaccia Angela , Nofri Marco , Papalini Chiara , Petruccelli Rosario , Marzano Fabrizio , Pasticci Maria Bruna
Published: December 2019

Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria are very rare, and results of treatment can be unpredictable. A 72-year-old female underwent hip replacement after an accidental fall in a local hospital in Santo Domingo. The postoperative period was uneventful except for a traumatic wound near the surgical scar. PJI caused byMycobacterium abscessus subsp.abscessuswas diagnosed 6 months later. A two-stage reimplantation was performed after a 3-month period of aetiology-directed therapy, including amikacin, imipenem, and clarithromycin.M.abscessusisolate was reported to be resistant to clarithromycin when incubation was protracted for 14 days and to harbour the geneerm(41). The patient manifested major side effects to tigecycline. At reimplant, microbiologic investigations resulted negative. Overall, medical treatment was continued for a 7-month period. When discontinued and at 6-month follow-up, the patient was clinically well, inflammatory markers were normal, and the radiography showed well-positioned prosthesis.Mycobacterium abscessussubsp.abscessusis a very rare cause of PJI, yet it must be included in the differential diagnosis, especially when routine bacteria cultures are reported being negative. Further investigations are needed to determine any correlations between clinical results andin vitrosusceptibility tests, as well as the clinical implications ofM.abscessussubsp.abscessusharbouring the functional geneerm(41). Moreover, investigations are needed for determine optimal timings of surgery and lengths of medical therapy to improve patient outcome.
Design of a Multiple Band Vehicle-Mounted Antenna
Authors: Cheng Yong , Lu Jing , Wang Can
Published: December 2019

This paper designs a vertically polarized, horizontal, omnidirectional vehicle antenna for the mobile communication band, covering the available frequency bands of the wireless sensor network and 5G. The antenna is composed of semi-T monopole and semicone monopole, which are placed vertically on the metal plate, especially suitable for being mounted on top of a car. T-branch mainly works at low frequency, and cone branch mainly works at high frequency. The cone branch adopts tapered structure in order to improve the impedance matching of antenna and increase the bandwidth of antenna. The antenna can be miniaturized by cutting the antenna in half. The operating frequencies of the antenna are 770 MHz–1000 MHz and 1.7 GHz–3.78 GHz which can cover multiple wireless system bands, including GSM, LTE, and 5G.
ECG-Based Subject Identification Using Statistical Features and Random Forest
Authors: Alotaiby Turky N. , Alrshoud Saud Rashid , Alshebeili Saleh A. , Aljafar Latifah M.
Published: December 2019

In this work, a nonfiducial electrocardiogram (ECG) identification algorithm based on statistical features and random forest classifier is presented. Two feature extraction approaches are investigated: direct and band-based approaches. In the former, eleven simple statistical features are directly extracted from a single-lead ECG signal segment. In the latter, the single-lead ECG signal is first decomposed into bands, and the statistical features are extracted from each segment of a given band and concatenated to form the feature vector. Nonoverlapping segments of different lengths (i.e., 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, or 15 sec) are examined. The extracted feature vectors are applied to a random forest classifier, for the purpose of identification. This study considers 290 reference subjects from the ECG database of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The proposed identification algorithm achieved an accuracy rate of 99.61% utilizing the single limb lead (I) with the band-based approach. A single chest lead (V1), augmented limb lead (aVF), and Frank’s lead (Vx) achieved an accuracy rate of 99.37%, 99.76%, and 99.76%, respectively, using the same approach.
Decision Making for Principal‐Agent Contracts in Intelligent Customization for New Energy Equipment
Authors: Meng Fansheng , Song Peng , Zhao Gang
Published: December 2019

Intelligent manufacturing is a sustainable impetus to development of customization for new energy equipment. Reasonable principal‐agent contract decision making can play a positive role in improving utility for customers and securing their long‐term involvement. This paper establishes a multistage principal‐agent model of intelligent customization for new energy equipment. The principal‐agent and intelligent customization decisions, yielding risk avoidance and a better cost‐benefit ratio, emerged from solving the model. A decision modification mechanism, used to improve intelligent customization output and consolidate customer trust, was proposed for agents. Research shows that overavoidance of customization risk by new energy equipment manufacturers reduces the efficiency of intelligent customization and aggravates the cost‐benefit dilemma. Viewing intelligent customization as a long‐term cooperative process, manufacturers can achieve a larger increase in equipment customization output at a smaller cost and enhance customer trust by adopting such a decision modification mechanism. The effect of this mechanism is obvious when the risk intensity is low. However, under the assumption of a multistage model, improvement of customer utility is mainly influenced by risk controllability. This paper provides solutions to the risk avoidance and cost‐benefit dilemma problems of intelligent customization. The static principal‐agent model was improved to a multistage model by setting the timeline. Long‐term effectiveness of the decision modification mechanism was verified using this multistage model.