bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Collaborative Consumption Digital Platform for Government Organizations using Design Science
Authors: Gebeyehu Seffi , Twinomurinzi Hossana
Published: March 2022

The growth of digital technologies that enable the sharing of resources, underutilized assets, and services, is bringing new ways of shared consumption commonly called the “sharing economy” or “collaborative consumption”. This study used a design science paradigm and the
elaborated action design method (eADR)
to design and develop a
“collaborative consumption” (CC)
digital artifact under the
government to government (G2G)
domain towards improving resource limitations in developing country contexts. The Ethiopian WoredaNet government project was used as a case study. The new artifact was evaluated using the post-study system usability framework (
n
= 35) to reveal its practical usefulness in improving resource limitations. A new design principle was also elicited: intentionally elicit user responses for unfamiliar digital innovations. The study recommends for policymakers of low-income countries (LICs) to create new sharing-capable policies in the G2G domain, and consider extending it towards non-government organizations and citizens. Overall, the findings contribute to Information Systems discourse and digital government practice by identifying the importance of novel CC digital platforms to optimize government resources in LICs. The study also contributes to the eADR method by identifying that the action research cycle is not a strict requirement but helpful as an entry point into design science efforts.
Risk-aware Collection Strategies for Multirobot Foraging in Hazardous Environments
Authors: Di Kai , Zhou Yifeng , Jiang Jiuchuan , Yan Fuhan , Yang Shaofu , Jiang Yichuan
Published: March 2022

Existing studies on the multirobot foraging problem often assume safe settings, in which nothing in an environment hinders the robots’ tasks. In many real-world applications, robots have to collect objects from hazardous environments like earthquake rescue, where possible risks exist, with possibilities of destroying robots. At this stage, there are no targeted algorithms for foraging robots in hazardous environments, which can lead to damage to the robot itself and reduce the final foraging efficiency. A motivating example is a rescue scenario, in which the lack of a suitable solution results in many victims not being rescued after all available robots have been destroyed. Foraging robots face a dilemma after some robots have been destroyed: whether to take over tasks of the destroyed robots or continue executing their remaining foraging tasks. The challenges that arise when attempting such a balance are twofold: (1) the loss of robots adds new constraints to traditional problems, complicating the structure of the solution space, and (2) the task allocation strategy in a multirobot team affects the final expected utility, thereby increasing the dimension of the solution space. In this study, we address these challenges in two fundamental environmental settings: homogeneous and heterogeneous cases. For the former case, a decomposition and grafting mechanism is adopted to split this problem into two weakly coupled problems: the foraging task execution problem and the foraging task allocation problem. We propose an exact foraging task allocation algorithm, and graft it to another exact foraging task execution algorithm to find an optimal solution within the polynomial time. For the latter case, it is proven

\( \mathcal {NP} \)

-hard to find an optimal solution in polynomial time. The decomposition and grafting mechanism is also adopted here, and our proposed greedy risk-aware foraging algorithm is grafted to our proposed hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm to find high-utility solutions with low computational overhead. Finally, these algorithms are extensively evaluated through simulations, demonstrating that compared with various benchmarks, they can significantly increase the utility of objects returned by robots before all the robots have been stopped.
Contention Grading and Adaptive Model Selection for Machine Vision in Embedded Systems
Authors: Kutukcu Basar , Baidya Sabur , Raghunathan Anand , Dey Sujit
Published: March 2022

Real-time machine vision applications running on resource-constrained embedded systems face challenges for maintaining performance. An especially challenging scenario arises when multiple applications execute at the same time, creating contention for the computational resources of the system. This contention results in increase in inference delay of the machine vision applications, which can be unacceptable for time-critical tasks. To address this challenge, we propose an adaptive model selection framework that mitigates the impact of system contention and prevents unexpected increases in inference delay by trading off the application accuracy minimally. The framework has two parts, which are performed pre-deployment and at runtime. The pre-deployment part profiles the system for contention in a black-box manner and produces a model set that is specifically optimized for the contention levels observed in the system. The runtime part predicts the inference delays of each model considering the system contention and selects the best model according to the predictions for each frame. Compared to a fixed individual model with similar accuracy, our framework improves the performance by significantly reducing the inference delay violations against a specified threshold. We implement our framework on the Nvidia Jetson TX2 platform and show that our approach achieves greater than 20% reductions in delay violations over the individual baseline models.
Unified Meaning Representation Format (UMRF) - A Task Description and Execution Formalism for HRI
Authors: Valner Robert , Wanna Selma , Kruusamäe Karl , Pryor Mitch
Published: March 2022

To facilitate continuous development of novel HRI systems, it is beneficial to have tools that enable quick adjustments, flexibility, or re-invention of the human interfaces when system requirements change due to updates in the state-of-the-art, application domain, etc. Thus, modularity is a key design principle which promotes software reuse and scalability, and reduces development time and cost. Hence, a robot’s autonomous capabilities should not depend on the command interface and should be decoupled via a common format that possesses the descriptive capabilities for outlining tasks and has a sensible syntax for HRI. In this paper, we propose the
Unified Meaning Representation Format (UMRF)
, which provides the syntax and semantics for passing both simple and complex commands modelled as control flow graphs. UMRF is a standalone meaning representation container that supports embedding other meaning representation formalisms, such as predicate-argument semantics and graphical meaning representation formats, making it adoptable as a standard task description format for semi-autonomous systems in HRI domains. In this article, we define the UMRF syntax and semantics, summarize its unique aspects relative to related task description formats, and demonstrate its descriptiveness by navigating a robot via concurrent (e.g., gestures and speech) and interchangeable input systems (e.g., Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa).
Performance Evaluation of Group OSCORE for Secure Group Communication in the Internet of Things
Authors: Gunnarsson Martin , Malarski Krzysztof Mateusz , Höglund Rikard , Tiloca Marco
Published: March 2022

The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a major application-layer protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT). The recently standardized security protocol Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments (OSCORE) efficiently provides end-to-end security of CoAP messages at the application layer, also in the presence of untrusted intermediaries. At the same time, CoAP supports one-to-many communication, targeting use cases such as smart lighting and building automation, firmware update, or emergency broadcast. Securing group communication for CoAP has additional challenges. It can be done using the novel Group Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments (Group OSCORE) security protocol, which fulfills the same security requirements of OSCORE in group communication environments. While evaluations of OSCORE are available, no studies exist on the performance of Group OSCORE on resource-constrained IoT devices.

This article presents the results of our extensive performance evaluation of Group OSCORE over two popular constrained IoT platforms, namely Zolertia Zoul and TI Simplelink. We have implemented Group OSCORE for the Contiki-NG operating system and made our implementation available as open source software. We compared Group OSCORE against unprotected CoAP as well as OSCORE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive and experimental evaluation of Group OSCORE over real constrained IoT devices.
Examining Attachment to Robots: Benefits, Challenges, and Alternatives
Authors: Law Theresa , Chita-Tegmark Meia , Rabb Nicholas , Scheutz Matthias
Published: March 2022

Potential applications of robots in private and public human spaces have prompted the design of so-called “social robots” that can interact with humans in social settings and potentially cause humans to attach to the robots. The focus of this article is an analysis of possible benefits and challenges arising from such human-robot attachment as reported in the HRI literature, followed by guidelines for the use and the design of robots that might elicit attachment bonds. We start by analyzing the potential benefits for humans becoming attached to robots, which might include increased natural interaction, effectiveness and acceptance of the robot, social companionship, and well-being for the human. Turning to the potential risks associated with human-robot attachment, we discuss the possibly suboptimal use of the robot in the most benign cases, but also the potential formation of unidirectional emotional bonds, and the potential for deception and subconscious influence of the robot on the person in more severe cases. The upshot of the analysis then is a recommendation to reconceptualize relationships with social robots in an attempt to retain potential benefits of human-robot attachment, while mitigating (to the extent possible) its downsides.
Ergodic Shared Control: Closing the Loop on pHRI Based on Information Encoded in Motion
Authors: Fitzsimons Kathleen , Murphey Todd D.
Published: March 2022

Advances in exoskeletons and robot arms have given us increasing opportunities for providing physical support and meaningful feedback in training and rehabilitation settings. However, the chosen control strategies must support motor learning and provide mathematical task definitions that are actionable for the actuation. Typical robot control architectures rely on measuring error from a reference trajectory. In physical human-robot interaction, this leads to low engagement, invariant practice, and few errors, which are not conducive to motor learning. A reliance on reference trajectories means that the task definition is both over-specified—requiring specific timings not critical to task success—and lacking information about normal variability. In this article, we examine a way to define tasks and close the loop using an ergodic measure that quantifies how much information about a task is encoded in the human-robot motion. This measure can capture the natural variability that exists in typical human motion, enabling therapy based on scientific principles of motor learning. We implement an ergodic hybrid shared controller (HSC) on a robotic arm as well as an error-based controller—virtual fixtures—in a timed drawing task. In a study of 24 participants, we compare ergodic HSC with virtual fixtures and find that ergodic HSC leads to improved training outcomes.
Deterministic Leader Election in Anonymous Radio Networks
Authors: Miller Avery , Pelc Andrzej , Yadav Ram Narayan
Published: March 2022

Leader election is a fundamental task in distributed computing. It is a symmetry breaking problem, calling for one node of the network to become the
leader
, and for all other nodes to become
non-leaders
. We consider leader election in anonymous radio networks modeled as simple undirected connected graphs. Nodes communicate in synchronous rounds. In each round, a node can either transmit a message to all its neighbours, or stay silent and listen. A node
v
hears a message from a neighbour
w
in a given round if
v
listens in this round and if
w
is its only neighbour transmitting in this round. If
v
listens in a round in which more than one neighbour transmits, then
v
hears noise that is different from any message and different from silence.

We assume that nodes are identical (anonymous) and execute the same deterministic algorithm. Under this scenario, symmetry can be broken only in one way: by different wake-up times of the nodes. In which situations is it possible to break symmetry and elect a leader using time as symmetry breaker? In order to answer this question, we consider
configurations
. A configuration is the underlying graph with nodes tagged by non-negative integers with the following meaning. A node can either wake up spontaneously in the round shown on its tag, according to some global clock, or can be woken up hearing a message sent by one of its already awoken neighbours. The local clock of a node starts at its wakeup and nodes do not have access to the global clock determining their tags. A configuration is
feasible
if there exists a distributed algorithm that elects a leader for this configuration.

Our main result is a complete algorithmic characterization of feasible configurations. More precisely, we design a centralized decision algorithm, working in polynomial time, whose input is a configuration and which decides if the configuration is feasible. Using this algorithm we also provide a dedicated deterministic distributed leader election algorithm for each feasible configuration that elects a leader for this configuration in time
O
(
n
2
σ, where
n
is the number of nodes and σ is the difference between the largest and smallest tag of the configuration. We then ask the question whether there exists a universal deterministic distributed algorithm electing a leader for all feasible configurations. The answer turns out to be no, and we show that such a universal algorithm cannot exist even for the class of 4-node feasible configurations. We also prove that a distributed version of our decision algorithm cannot exist.
Modified Nonnutrient Agar Plate Culture for the Diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis and Hookworm Infections in La-Ngu District, Satun Province, Southern Thailand
Authors: Kitvatanachai Sirima , Kritsiriwutthinan Kanyanan , Taylor Aree , Rhongbutsri Pochong
Published: March 2022

Due to the low prevalence and light intensity of Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis, Ss) and hookworm (HW) in Thailand, an increase in the efficacy of detection with the appropriate diagnosis is needed. This cross-sectional survey is aimed at using modified nonnutrient agar plate culture (mNNAPC) to assess the prevalence of S. stercoralis and hookworm infections and to report intestinal parasitic infections in La-Ngu villagers, Satun Province in Southern Thailand. We used wet smear, modified Harada-Mori filter paper culture (mHMFPC), and mNNAPC to investigate 204 villagers (4 villages) between August 2016 and January 2017. The combination of mHMFPC and mNNAPC raised the prevalence of S. stercoralis and hookworm infections among the study population from 3.4% and 1.0% to 6.9% and 2.5%, respectively. There were no significant differences between demographic characteristics and these infections (

p
<
0.05

). Three types of protozoal infections, Blastocystis spp. (2.9%), Entamoeba histolytica-like (0.5%), and Giardia duodenalis (0.5%), and 3 species of helminthic infections, S. stercoralis (6.9%) (14 cases), hookworm 2.5%, and Enterobius vermicularis 0.5%, were demonstrated in this area. The mNNAPC showed the highest efficacy in detecting both parasites (Ss 92.9% and HW 80%), whereas the wet smear detected none.
Transceiver Decoupling of Multivariate Symmetric Hybrid Precoding Based on 5G
Authors: Zhang Qiuliang , Zhang Zhike , Wang Zhihui , Yang Dong
Published: March 2022

Mobile Internet will promote the continuous change of human interaction, leading to an increase in mobile traffic, so the demand for network bandwidth and data volume is rising rapidly, which is also one of the problems that 5G needs to solve. The mobile communication network of the railway system has the characteristics of high-speed user mobility, large-scale group mobility of users, high certainty of user mobile lines, and high QoS requirements for dispatching information. In order to improve the transmission reliability requirements of the railway system for wireless communication, a quick search method algorithm based on GMCS model to encode the number of each subinterval is proposed. Hybrid precoding is designed according to multivariate symmetry rules. The target beam is designed according to the GMCS model, and the hierarchical training beam is designed to minimize the mean square error between the training beam and the target beam as the objective function. Then, the fast search model based on beam overlap is extended to NLoS to solve the problem of misjudgment caused by multipath. In the simulation experiment, it proves that the search success rate of the research in this paper is 10% higher than that of the traditional algorithm. It improves the search speed and has obvious advantages in complexity. It can provide a dynamic reliable conversion mechanism for the railway communication environment, reduce the transmission power of the base station, and optimize the actual effect of uplink and downlink service requirements.
[Retracted] Design and Characterization of Agarose/HPMC Buccal Films Bearing Ondansetron HCl In Vitro and In Vivo: Enhancement Using Iontophoretic and Chemical Approaches
Authors: Jillani Umair , Mudassir Jahanzeb , Ijaz Qazi Amir , Latif Sumera , Qamar Nadia , Aleem Ambreen , Ali Ejaz , Abbas Khizar , Wazir Muhammad Asif , Hussain Amjad , Abbas Nasir , Arshad Muhammad Sohail
Published: March 2022

The study was aimed at designing and characterizing the ondansetron hydrochloride (OND) bearing agarose (AG), and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) mucoadhesive buccal films employing glycerol as a plasticizer. The buccal delivery of ondansetron hydrochloride was remarkably boosted by employing physical (iontophoresis) and chemical enhancement approaches (chemical penetration enhancers). To explore the influence of different formulation components, i.e., agarose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), and glycerol on various evaluating parameters, i.e., tensile strength, swelling index, ex vivo mucoadhesion time, and subsequently on in vitro drug release, a D‐optimal design was opted. A buccal film bearing OND was mounted on bovine buccal mucosa for ex vivo permeation studies and impact of chemical and physical enhancement techniques on the permeation profile was also analysed. A linear release profile was revealed in in vitro drug release of OND over 60 minutes and outcomes ascertained the direct relationship between HPMC content and in vitro drug release and inverse relationship was depicted by AG content. The FTIR and DSC thermal analysis was executed to determine the physicochemical interactions and results exposed no chemical interactions between drug and polymers. The drug (OND) appeared as tiny crystals on smooth film surface during scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. A notable enhancement in permeation flux, i.e., 761.02 μg/min of OND during ex vivo permeation studies was witnessed after the application of current (0.5‐1 mA) without any time lag and with enhancement ratio of 3.107. A time lag of 15 minutes, 19 minutes, and 26 minutes with permeation flux of 475.34 μg/min, 399.35 μg/min, and 244.81 μg/min was observed after chemical enhancer pretreatment with propylene glycol, Tween 80, and passive, respectively. Rabbit was employed as the experimental animal for pharmacokinetic studies (in vivo) and cats for pharmacological activity (in vivo), and the results illustrated the enhanced bioavailablity (2.88 times) in the iontophoresis animal group when compared with the rabbits of control group. Likewise, a remarkable reduction in emesis events was recorded in cats of iontophoresis group. Conclusively, the histopathological examinations on excised buccal mucosa unveiled no severe necrotic or cytopathetic outcomes of current.
IPO Pricing, Investor Behavior, and IPO Underpricing of High‐Tech Companies: Evidence from SSE STAR Market and Nasdaq Market
Authors: Ma Yu , Liu Guiling , Qi Chaoping
Published: March 2022

There is a significant IPO underpricing phenomenon in the stocks of high‐tech companies on China Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market). In order to analyze the causes of high IPO underpricing on STAR Market, from the perspective of investor behavior, this paper uses the Two‐tier Stochastic Frontier Model to decompose IPO underpricing into two parts, the pricing impact of the primary market and the transaction impact of the secondary market, and then studies the differences of the impact of different markets on IPO underpricing. The results show the following: (1) the primary market pricing of most stocks, that is, the difference between the issuance price of stocks and the real value of stocks is small, which shows that the primary market pricing has a weak impact on the IPO underpricing of the STAR Market, which in turn shows that the implementation of the registration system has significantly improved the IPO pricing efficiency of the STAR Market; (2) the closing price of most stocks fell on debut, that is, the trading price of stocks is significantly higher than its real value, which shows that the blind optimism of investors in the secondary market and the irrationality of investor structure are the main factors leading to the IPO underpricing of the STAR Market; and (3) through the variance decomposition and the robustness test of grouping the industry to which the enterprise belongs, the year of listing, and issuance and the size of the enterprise, we find that in different years and different industries, the impact of investor behavior in the secondary market on IPO underpricing is significantly higher than that in the primary market. In addition, the IPO underpricing of enterprises is not affected by the size of enterprises. This shows that the behavior of investors in the secondary market has always been the main means to affect the IPO underpricing of the STAR Market. This paper expands the analysis idea of IPO underpricing, which has a certain reference significance for the reform of STAR Market and the listing and financing of scientific and technological innovation enterprises.
[Retracted] The Valuable Role of ARMC1 in Invasive Breast Cancer as a Novel Biomarker
Authors: Gan Yunhao , Zhong Fuxin , Wang Hao , Li Lingyu
Published: March 2022

Background. Invasive breast carcinoma (BRCA) is a common type of breast cancer with a high clinical incidence. Thus, it is significant to find effective biomarkers for BRCA diagnosis and treatment. Although some members of armadillo (ARM) repeat family of proteins are confirmed to be biomarkers in cancers, the role of armadillo repeat‐containing 1 (ARMC1) in BRCA remains unknown. Methods. We firstly analyzed the ARMC1 expression in normal breast tissues and BRCA samples and its association with overall survival by the public database. Next, the χ2 test was used to evaluate the prognostic significance of ARMC1 expression in TCGA‐BRCA patient samples. The ARMC1 mutations in BRCA were explored in the cBioportal database. Besides, the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were used to explore the biological functions of ARMC1 in BRCA. Finally, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining were performed to validate the ARMC1 expression in BRCA. Results. ARMC1 expression in tumor samples was significantly higher than that in normal tissues, and higher expression of ARMC1 was related to lower survival. Moreover, the tumor stage and histology of BRCA patients were associated with ARMC1 expression. ARMC1 genetic mutations occurred in 32% of BRCA patients, and the amplification and high expression of ARMC1 accounted for most of them. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis suggested that ARMC1 might be involved in the cell cycle in BRCA. Ultimately, increased ARMC1 expression was found in clinical breast carcinoma tissues by our confirmatory experiments. Conclusions. ARMC1 may play a significant role in BRCA and act as a biomarker, which provides valuable clues for the treatment and diagnosis of BRCA.
A Study on the Application of Visual Perception in Art Design Based on Industrial Mathematics Models
Authors: Zhang Xuanhan
Published: March 2022

To study the beautification of art design and analyze the application of visual perception in art design, this paper proposes an image beautification processing technique based on multiple chromatic aberration compensation of illumination. The paper will then investigate the task of classifying styles, genres, and artists based on deep learning methods on fine art design images. The proposed method automatically classifies fine art design images with significant improvements in classification accuracy and efficiency. Experimental tests are conducted and the results show that the beautification of night images using this technique has good fine art presentation capabilities, improves the aesthetic and visual sensory expressive performance of the images, and has good fine art application value.
Research on Low-Frequency Noise Control Based on Fractal Coiled Acoustic Metamaterials
Authors: Cui Hongyu , Liu Chengtao , Hu Haoming
Published: March 2022

In this paper, a self-similar fractal coiled acoustic metamaterial is designed for the low-frequency noise control problem by combining a perforated plate and a coiled back cavity structure. Based on the multiphysics field coupling method and thermoviscous acoustic theory, the effect of structural parameter changes on the sound absorption performance of the metamaterial structure is investigated using finite element analysis. The sound energy dissipation mechanism of the metamaterial structure is studied. Finally, 3D printing technology is used to prepare the metamaterial model structure, and the low-frequency sound absorption performance of the metamaterial structure is tested through structural sound absorption performance experiments, which verify that the metamaterial has subwavelength sound absorption performance.
Phenethyl Isothiocyanate Suppresses the Proinflammatory Cytokines in Human Glioblastoma Cells through the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Signaling Pathway In Vitro
Authors: Hsu Sheng-Yao , Lee Shih-Chieh , Liu Hsin-Chung , Peng Shu-Fen , Chueh Fu-Shin , Lu Tai-Jung , Lee Hsu-Tung , Chou Yu-Cheng
Published: March 2022

Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), extracted from cruciferous vegetables, showed anticancer activity in many human cancer cells. Our previous studies disclosed the anticancer activity of PEITC in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) 8401 cells, including suppressing the cell proliferation, inducing apoptotic cell death, and suppressing cell migration and invasion. Furthermore, PEITC also inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors of human glioblastoma cells. We are the first to investigate PEITC effects on the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling pathway and the effects of proinflammatory cytokines on glioblastoma. The cell viability was analyzed by flow cytometric assay. The protein levels and mRNA expressions of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) reader and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, respectively. Furthermore, nuclear factor-kappa B- (NF-κB-) associated proteins were evaluated by western blotting. NF-κB expression and nuclear translocation were confirmed by confocal laser microscopy. NF-κB binding to the DNA was examined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Our results indicated that PEITC decreased the cell viability and inhibited the protein levels and expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α genes at the transcriptional level in GBM 8401 cells. PEITC inhibited the binding of NF-κB on promoter site of DNA in GBM 8401 cells. PEITC also altered the protein expressions of protein kinase B (Akt), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and NF-κB signaling pathways. The inflammatory responses in human glioblastoma cells may be suppressed by PEITC through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, PEITC may have the potential to be an anti-inflammatory agent for human glioblastoma in the future.
China’s Economic Forecast Based on Machine Learning and Quantitative Easing
Authors: Qiu Chang
Published: March 2022

In this paper, six variables, including export value, real exchange rate, Chinese GDP, and US IPI, and their seasonal variables, are used as determinants to model and forecast China’s export value to the US using three methods: BP neural network, ARIMA, and AR-GARCH. Error indicators were chosen to compare the simulated and predicted results of the three models with the real values. It is found that the results of all three models are satisfactory, although there are some differences in their simulation and forecasting capabilities, but the ARIMA model has a clear advantage. This paper analyses the reasons for these results and proposes suggestions for improving China’s exports in the context of the models.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Observation of Frontal Lobe Multidirectional Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Stroke Patients with Memory Impairment
Authors: Hua Hualiu , Zhang Baixiang , Wang Xiuling , He Yixian , Lai Mengting , Chen Ninghua , Liu Juan
Published: March 2022

Stroke is a group of diseases caused by the sudden rupture or blockage of blood vessels in the brain that prevent blood from flowing into the brain, resulting in brain tissue damage and dysfunction. Stroke has the characteristics of high morbidity, high disability, and high mortality. To investigate the effect of multidirectional transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal lobe in stroke memory disorder. We evaluated 60 patients with poststroke memory impairment who underwent magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) during their admission to our hospital between January 2018 and December 2020. The patients were divided into the prefrontal group (n = 15), dorsolateral group (n = 15), prefrontal + dorsolateral group (n = 15), and pseudostimulation group (n = 15). Assessments using the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT), Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), Lovingston Occupational Therapy Cognitive Scale (LOTCA), and frontal lobe fractional anisotropy (FA) were performed before and after treatment. The RBMT, MoCA, and LOTCA scores in the prefrontal + dorsolateral group were significantly higher than those in the dorsolateral, prefrontal, and sham groups (all

P
<
0.05

). The posttreatment FA value of the frontal lobe was significantly higher in the prefrontal + dorsolateral group than in the dorsolateral, prefrontal, and sham stimulation groups (all

P
<
0.05

). The FA value of the frontal lobe was significantly lower in patients with severe memory impairment than in patients with mild-moderate memory impairment (

P
<
0.05

). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.801 (95% CI: 0.678–0.925,

P
<
0.05

), and the optimal cut-off value was 0.34, with a sensitivity and specificity of 81.60% and 72.70%, respectively. Prefrontal lobe + dorsolateral tDCS is beneficial in the treatment of post-stroke memory impairment. The DTI FA value can be useful in determining the degree of memory impairment.
Effects of Peroxiredoxin 6 and Its Mutants on the Isoproterenol Induced Myocardial Injury in H9C2 Cells and Rats
Authors: Mu Runhong , Ye Siping , Lin Rui , Li Yupeng , Guo Xiao , An Liping
Published: March 2022

Background. Peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) is an important antioxidant enzyme, with a potential application value in the treatment of diseases caused by oxidative damage. Methods. PRDX6 and a mutant (mPRDX6) were heterologously expressed by using an E.coli expression system and purified by Ni-affinity chromatography. Isoproterenol (ISO) was used to induce a myocardial cell injury model and an animal myocardial injury model. After the treatment with PRDX6 and mPRDX6, the proliferation activity of H9C2 cells was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) method; the apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry, and the histological changes of myocardial cells were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, the levels of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in ISO-treated H9C2 cells as well as in the heart tissue and serum of rats treated with ISO were detected, and the expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2 and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors-γ (PPAR-γ) proteins were detected by Western blot. Results. PRDX6 and mPRDX6 were successfully expressed and purified. The results of efficacy study showed that the mutant mPRDX6, in which the phospholipaseA2 (PLA2) activity of PRDX6 was deleted by site directed mutation, had a better protective effect against the myocardial injury than PRDX6. CCK8 results showed that compared with that in ISO group, the proliferation activity of H9C2 cells was significantly enhanced (

P
<
0.01

), the apoptosis rate was significantly decreased (

P
<
0.01

), and the fluorescence intensity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly decreased (

P
<
0.01

) in mPRDX6 group. The results of H&E staining showed that the myocardial injury was alleviated to a certain extent in mPRDX6 group. Compared with those in ISO group, the activities of CAT, GPX, and SOD in H9C2 cells and the heart tissue and serum of rats were significantly increased (

P
<
0.05

), while the contents of MDA were significantly decreased (

P
<
0.05

). Western blot analysis showed that the expression level of Bcl-2 in H9C2 cells was significantly decreased (

P
<
0.01

), and that of Bax and PPAR-γ was significantly increased (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. mPRDX6 has a protective effect against the myocardial injury induced by ISO, and the mechanism may be related to its antioxidation. This study may provide a theoretical basis for the research and development of drugs used for the treatment of myocardial injury.
A Facile Synthesis and Properties of Graphene Oxide-Titanium Dioxide-Iron Oxide as Fenton Catalyst
Authors: Jain Bhawana , Gade Jaya V. , Hadap Arti , Ali Huma , Katubi Khadijah Mohammedsaleh , Sasikumar Bashyam , Rawat Reena
Published: March 2022

Textile industries discharge wastewater in huge amount that contains several toxic contaminants, especially organic dyes. Organic dyes present in wastewater have many adverse effects on environment as well as on living organisms including human beings. The generation of a nanocomposite to trap the toxic organic dyes from wastewater is highly recommended. Herein, we report the preparation of graphene-iron-titanium oxide (GFT) nanocomposite using simple, practical, and cost-effective protocol. The prepared tri-nanocomposite was successfully recognized by employing several analytical techniques. Morphology of the prepared nanocomposites was assessed by SEM coupled with EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy). HRTEM was used to measure the size of the nanocomposites with shape and morphology. The UV-visible absorption spectra of the nanocomposites were recorded by a UV-visible spectrophotometer. Finally, the crystal structures of the nanocomposites were confirmed by XRD. Moreover, we proposed a plausible mechanism to demonstrate the catalytic activity of GFT oxide nanocomposite for the degradation auramine (AM) dye via a heterogeneous Fenton process.
High Expression of MicroRNA-200a/b Indicates Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Zhang Beilei , Li Yi , Li Yanhong , Zhao Hongxi , An Ruifang
Published: March 2022

Objective. To detect the expression levels of microRNA-200a/b (miR-200a/b) in tumor tissues and serum of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and to explore its clinical significance. Methods. A retrospective selection of 30 cases of benign ovarian disease or healthy physical examination (control group) and 55 cases of EOC patients. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression level of miR-200a/b in tumor tissues and serum, and the miR-200a/b expresses relevance in the two types of samples were evaluated at the same time. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-200a/b expression and its influence on prognosis, respectively. Results. The serum and tissue miR-200a/b expression levels in EOC patients were higher than those in the control group (

P
<
0.001

), and there was a significant positive correlation between serum and tissue miR-200a/b expression (

R

2

=
0.9419

,

P
<
0.001

and

R

2

=
0.9605

,

P
<
0.001

). ROC analysis showed that the expression of serum miR-200a/b can distinguish EOC patients from the control group. In addition, there were significant differences in the TNM stage, tumor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis between the miR-200a/b high- and low-expression groups (

P
<
0.05

). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis found that the overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with high miR-200a/b expression were shorter than those of patients with low miR-200a/b expression (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Upregulation of miR-200a/b expression is a common molecular event in EOC patients, and miR-200a/b can be used as a noninvasive biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of EOC.
Digital Protection of Cultural Heritage Based on Web Technology
Authors: Zhao Ying
Published: March 2022

With the rapid development of digital technology, it has now been widely used for the digital protection of cultural heritage. The traditional cultural heritage digital protection method of information retrieval recall rate is low, and the processing time is long. Therefore, a new digital protection method of cultural heritage based on web technology is proposed. An improved four-layer architecture design pattern is adopted to plan a web-based digital protection platform for cultural heritage. The application service provider (ASP) combines SQL server and B/S architecture to develop a database platform and functional modules for direct dynamic management of the website model. Based on this, combined with web technology, the digital image of cultural heritage is reconstructed followed by computing the uncertainty probability of web visualization, completing the modeling metalanguage, and classification of network cultural heritage. The digital image enhancement of cultural heritage is based on HSV color space. In order to realize the digital protection of traditional cultural heritage, multifiltering technology is introduced into the process of brightness digital image extraction. It is evident from the experimental results that the proposed method has higher recall and lower error and can enhance the digital image of cultural heritage in a shorter time, which shows that the proposed method can effectively achieve digital protection of cultural heritage.
Prediction of Final Displacement of Tunnels in Time-Dependent Rock Mass Based on the Nonequidistant Grey Verhulst Model
Authors: Han Un Chol , Choe Chung Song , Hong Kun Ui , Pak Chol
Published: March 2022

Time-dependent deformations of rock are important factors for the design and construction of tunnels in the rock masses with time-dependent strength and deformation properties. Therefore, determination displacement and stable time of tunnel are an indispensable task in geotechnical engineering, especially during the design and construction of underground structures. However, in some types of rock masses, the tunnel displacement may increase for months or years after the excavation owing to the rheological behavior of the surrounding rock masses, which greatly influences the selection of the initial tunnel support system, the excavation layout, and the determination of its load-carrying capacity. In this paper, we present a method to quickly predict the final displacement and stable time of tunnels in time-dependent rock mass using the improved nonequidistant grey Verhulst model (INGVM) with Fourier series, which is used to reduce the periodic residual error. The proposed method is validated fairly via a test for a newly excavated roadway of −600 m level in a coal mine, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. These results are useful references for similar projects in the future.
Effective CBMIR System Using Hybrid Features-Based Independent Condensed Nearest Neighbor Model
Authors: Praveena Hirald Dwaraka , Guptha Nirmala S. , Kazemzadeh Afsaneh , Parameshachari B. D. , Hemalatha K. L.
Published: March 2022

In recent times, a large number of medical images are generated, due to the evolution of digital imaging modalities and computer vision application. Due to variation in the shape and size of the images, the retrieval task becomes more tedious in the large medical databases. So, it is essential in designing an effective automated system for medical image retrieval. In this research study, the input medical images are acquired from new Pap smear dataset, and then, the visible quality of acquired medical images is improved by applying image normalization technique. Furthermore, the hybrid feature extraction is accomplished using histogram of oriented gradients and modified local binary pattern to extract the color and texture feature vectors that significantly reduces the semantic gap between the feature vectors. The obtained feature vectors are fed to the independent condensed nearest neighbor classifier to classify the seven classes of cell images. Finally, relevant medical images are retrieved using chi square distance measure. Simulation results confirmed that the proposed model obtained effective performance in image retrieval in light of specificity, recall, precision, accuracy, and f-score. The proposed model almost achieved 98.88% of retrieval accuracy, which is better compared to other deep learning models such as long short-term memory network, deep neural network, and convolutional neural network.
Effect of the Addition of Oil Palm Mesocarp Fibers on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of a Polyester Matrix Composite
Authors: Huisken Paul William Mejouyo , Tchemou Gilbert , Tagne Nicodème Rodrigue Sikame , Ndapeu Dieunedort , Njeugna Ebenezer
Published: March 2022

This work focuses on the assessment of oil palm mesocarp fibers as reinforcement in a composite material with an unsaturated polyester matrix. Several volume ratios of OPMF reinforcement (0 to 15%) were used, the fibers being distributed randomly. The resulting composite was characterized on the physical and mechanical aspects. Physically, the true and apparent densities were determined as well as the porosity rate. It appears that the addition of fibers further lightens the composite and increases the porosity. The water absorption rate of the different composites samples was evaluated. The more fibers the composite contains, the higher its water absorption rate. On the mechanical aspect, the bending modulus of elasticity, bending stress at break, and breaking strain were evaluated through a three-point bending test on all combinations. The same parameters were also evaluated for certain combinations by a unidirectional tensile test. It appears from this mechanical characterization that the volume fraction of 5% reinforcement has the highest specific modulus. Impact tests were performed on samples of this combination using several sizes of reinforcing fibers. Impact resistance is enhanced as the size of the inclusion increases. The Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model for randomly distributed short fiber composites was used for the inverse approach determination of the theoretical moduli of the matrix and OPMF, then in a direct approach to determine the elastic modulus of the composite at 7.5% reinforcement.
The Burden of HIV Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Jimma University Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Observational Study
Authors: Kebede Taye , Dayu Michael , Girma Abiot
Published: March 2022

Background. The HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) epidemic enters its fifth decade amid a global pandemic. Nearly 61% of the people newly infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The virus is transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, labour, delivery, and breastfeeding, warranting routine counselling at antenatal care (ANC). Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and trend of HIV infection among pregnant women on ANC follow-up at Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH) in Ethiopia from November 2018 to 2021. Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from June 25, 2021, to November 30, 2021. A total of 634 mothers were sampled by systematic random sampling, and the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics package of SPSS software. A chi-square test was employed to assess an association between variables. Analyses outputs were summarized and presented in tables and figures. Results. Among the sampled women (634), 96.1% received counselling services on the prevention of maternal-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. Around 83.1% of the mothers refused to consult their partners and were unable to persuade their surrogate or afraid to discuss HIV serostatus tests. The overall prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant mothers was 7.1% and no significant decrease in the trends of HIV prevalence over the three years study period (p value >0.05). The seroprevalence is high in urban residents (4.4%) and age group of 25–29 years (38.9%) (p value <0.05). Residence, level of education attained, and marital status of women were significantly associated (p value <0.05) with seropositivity. Conclusion. HIV burden among ANC attendees in JUSH is high as compared to the national figure and its trend over three years is steady. Accordingly, mandatory early screening tests and community-based education are mandatory for all women and adolescent girls in the reproductive age group.
Cyclic Anaerobic Exercise Performance and Neuromuscular Activity Based on Artificial Intelligence Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Wan Lun , Liu Jiannan
Published: March 2022

Anaerobic exercise capacity and neuromuscular activity research is an important content and an emerging research field in sports training research. At present, the understanding of anaerobic exercise ability in academia is still at the general and overall cognitive level, and the understanding and application of anaerobic exercise ability cannot fully meet the needs of competitive sports practice. In order to solve these problems, this paper proposes a cyclic anaerobic exercise performance and neuromuscular activity based on artificial intelligence genetic algorithm, aimed at studying the theory and application mechanism of anaerobic exercise capacity and neuromuscular activity and its application characteristics in competitive sports practice. The approach in this paper is to design genetic operators, compare artificial intelligence genetic algorithms, and test neuromuscular movements. The purpose of these methods is to provide exercisers with a feasible and more effective new method of daily training and to investigate whether this new training method can optimize anaerobic exercise in humans. In this paper, by studying the kinematic basis of anaerobic exercise capacity and the mechanism of neuromuscular regulation, a model of muscle neuron population in anaerobic exercise is established. The results showed that the CMC of the beta band was significantly higher than that of the alpha band at the same strength level, with a difference of 0.03.