bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of red blood cell size and physical fitness in a military male cohort: The CHIEF study
Authors: Lai Shiue‐Wei , Tsai Kun‐Zhe , Lin Yen‐Po , Liu Pang‐Yen , Lin Yu‐Kai , Chang Ping‐Ying , Dai Ming‐Shen , Chao Tsu‐Yi , Han Chih‐Lu , Lin Gen‐Min
Published: September 2020

Anemia manifested as reduced red blood cell (RBC) amounts or hemoglobin levels has been associated with lower cardiorespiratory fitness. However, the relationship of smaller RBC with physical fitness was unknown. We included 2933 non‐anemic military males (hemoglobin levels: 11.1‐15.9 g/dL and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) <100 fL) in Taiwan during 2014. Aerobic fitness was assessed by time for a 3000‐meter run, and anaerobic fitness was evaluated by numbers of sit‐ups and push‐ups, each performed within 2 minutes. Multiple linear and logistic regression models adjusting for age, service specialty, lipid profiles, and hemoglobin levels were used to determine the associations. Microcytosis and normocytosis were defined as MCV ≤ 70 fL (n = 190) and MCV > 70 fL (n = 2743), respectively. The linear regression shows that as compared with microcytosis, normocytosis was associated with more numbers of sit‐ups performed within 2 minutes (β = 1.51, P‐value = 0.02). The logistic regression also reveals that those males with microcytosis had higher probability as the worst 10% performers in the 2‐minute push‐up test (odds ratio: 1.91, 95% confidence intervals: 1.18‐3.12). By contrast, there was no association of microcytosis with 3000‐meter running time. Our study suggests that non‐anemic microcytosis was associated with lower anaerobic fitness but not with aerobic fitness. Whether the causative factors for microcytosis such as iron deficiency status and thalassemia trait unavailable in the study might account for the relationship needs further investigations.
Menstrual dysfunction and body weight dissatisfaction among Finnish young athletes and non‐athletes
Authors: Ravi Suvi , Waller Benjamin , Valtonen Maarit , Villberg Jari , Vasankari Tommi , Parkkari Jari , Heinonen Olli J. , Alanko Lauri , Savonen Kai , Vanhala Marja , Selänne Harri , Kokko Sami , Kujala Urho M.
Published: September 2020

To determine the prevalence of menstrual dysfunction (MD; ie, oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea) and attitudes toward body weight among athletes and non‐athletes, we studied a cohort of athletes and non‐athletes, in adolescence (14‐16 years) and subsequently in young adulthood (18‐20 years). We further studied the differences between athletes reporting MD and eumenorrheic athletes at both time periods and identified physical and behavioral characteristics that might predict MD in young adulthood. Data were collected using questionnaires, accelerometers, and a pre‐participation screening. In adolescence, the athletes reported current primary amenorrhea more often than the non‐athletes (4.7% vs 0%, P = .03). In young adulthood, athletes reported MD more frequently than non‐athletes (38.7% vs 5.6%, P < .001). Athletes had less desire than non‐athletes to lose weight at both time points, and in adolescence, athletes were more satisfied with their weight. However, about one fifth of the athletes and about 40% of the non‐athletes experienced body weight dissatisfaction at both time points. In adolescence, athletes reporting MD had lower BMI than eumenorrheic athletes. In young adulthood, athletes with MD were more physically active than eumenorrheic athletes. The only longitudinal predictor of MD in young adulthood was MD in adolescence. Our findings indicate that MD is relatively frequent among young Finnish athletes. However, athletes appear to have a smaller tendency to experience body weight dissatisfaction than their non‐athletic peers. MD seems to track from adolescence to adulthood, suggesting that there is a need to focus on possible causes at the earliest feasible phase of an athlete's career.
Executive functioning moderates associations between shyness and pragmatic abilities
Authors: Nilsen Elizabeth S. , Silva Janel , McAuley Tara , Floto Shanan
Published: September 2020

While elevated shyness is associated with weaker pragmatic language abilities for some children, not all shy children demonstrate pragmatic challenges. Understanding the factors that may account for this variability is important as proficient pragmatic abilities have been found to protect shy children from subsequent socio‐emotional maladjustment (Coplan & Weeks, 2009). Individual differences in cognitive processes may account for why some shy children evidence difficulty in pragmatic abilities whereas others do not. In the current study, associations between shyness, executive functioning (performance‐based and parent‐reported), and pragmatic abilities (knowledge and demonstrated abilities) were examined in a community sample of 8 to 12‐year‐old children (N = 81). Consistent with past work, shyness was associated with weaker pragmatic knowledge. However, parent‐reported executive functioning moderated associations between shyness and both pragmatic knowledge and demonstrated pragmatic abilities in everyday activities. Only those shy children with weaker parent‐reported executive functioning showed difficulties in their pragmatic abilities. That is, strength in applying executive functioning in everyday settings (or less executive dysfunction) seems to buffer shy children from pragmatic challenges. We discuss our results in terms of the way children acquire pragmatic competence and the temperamental and cognitive factors that may affect such development.
Optimizing collaborative learning in online courses
Authors: de Nooijer Jascha , Schneider Francine , Verstegen Daniëlle ML
Published: September 2020

Currently, higher education institutes are urged to adapt their education programmes rapidly to online courses. This toolbox article provides recommendations for optimising collaborative learning in online courses from the perspective of course design, and the roles of teachers and students, all illustrated in our example. With regards to course design, it is recommended to construct learning tasks for which students need to collaborate to reach a shared goal, use collaboration scripts to structure activities and communication, manage expectations about collaboration, provide room for discussion about the team process, facilitate autonomy and use existing communication tools. The presence of teachers online is essential, to provide feedback on the content and to guide team processes. Finally, students are recommended to get to know fellow students, to create a positive atmosphere and to reflect on the collaboration. We conclude that online collaborative learning can work well, but requires a balance between course structure and autonomy, and needs active monitoring during implementation. If this is done, it is perfectly possible to engage students and teachers, to support deep learning and to develop collaboration skills.
Empiric vs screening‐based use of isoniazid for tuberculosis prophylaxis: Safety and effectiveness in lung transplant recipients in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Korayem Ghazwa B. , Alissa Dema A. , AlSuhaibani Norah I. , AlSwailem Ghaliah S. , AlShammari Monifah A. , Yaqoob Imran , Aljasser Doaa S. , Almaghrabi Reem S.
Published: September 2020

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major complication following transplantation. The likelihood of TB may be increased in transplant patients living in TB‐endemic areas such as Saudi Arabia. In areas where TB is less common, guidelines recommend isoniazid (INH) for TB prophylaxis depending on patient and donor screening results. However, in TB‐endemic regions, studies have supported its use in all transplant patients regardless of TB screening results. This study aimed to compare the safety and effectiveness of administering INH prophylaxis therapy based on the TB screening results of lung transplant (LT) recipients.

Methods

We conducted a single‐center retrospective cohort study on LT recipients. The outcomes were compared between patients who were administered screening‐based prophylaxis (SBP) with INH based on their tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) or QuantiFERON results and those who were administered empirical prophylaxis (EP) with INH regardless of TB screening results. The primary endpoint was the incidence of TB infection, and the secondary endpoints were INH‐induced hepatotoxicity and INH resistance.

Results

A total of 50 patients received SBP and 30 received EP. TB incidences were 8% and 0%, respectively (P = .0487). One of these patients had INH resistance, and one patient experienced INH‐induced hepatotoxicity (P = .1591); both were in the SBP group.

Conclusion

The low rates of TB infection, INH‐induced hepatotoxicity, and INH resistance in the EP group suggest that INH prophylaxis appears to prevent TB and can be safely used in all LT recipients. However, prospective studies using large sample sizes are required to confirm these findings.
Treatment of multidrug‐resistant gram‐negative bacilli after solid organ transplant: Outcomes and complications
Authors: Heldman Madeleine R. , Guo Kexin , Nelson Brett , Babu Tenzin , Ison Michael G.
Published: September 2020

Background

Infections caused by multidrug‐resistant gram‐negative bacilli (GNB) cause significant morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients.

Methods

We retrospectively collected data from all SOT recipients at a single center from 1 January 2007 to 15 April 2017 treated for infections caused by multi‐drug‐resistant GNB. This study examined the effects of specific antibiotics on nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, 30‐day mortality, and length of stay in the hospital and intensive care unit.

Results

A total of 225 infections were identified among 143 patients. Carbapenem‐sensitive organisms were present in 112 (49.8%) infections and were associated with decreased 30‐day mortality (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.16‐0.75). Neurotoxicity was associated with polymyxin use with an 8% increase in odds of neurotoxicity per day of exposure (P=.03). There was no relationship between nephrotoxicity and any individual antibiotic class. Increased hospital length‐of‐stay occurred among patients exposed to aminoglycosides (β‐statistic = 0.48 (0.23); P = .04), while there was no relationship between antibiotic class and intensive care unit (ICU) length‐of‐stay. Mortality at 30 days occurred in 37 infections (16%). Carbapenem exposure was associated with decreased 30‐day mortality (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.90‐0.98; P = .02). No other antibiotic class had a significant impact on 30‐day mortality.

Conclusions

Carbapenems appear to be a safe and effective treatment for solid‐organ transplant recipients with infections caused by carbapenem‐sensitive multidrug‐resistant GNB; treatment of carbapenem‐resistant gram‐negatives remains challenging.
Bronchial anastomosis dehiscence and stenosis caused by donor‐transmitted Mycoplasma hominis infection in a lung transplant recipient: Case report and literature review
Authors: Vecchio Matteo , Koutsokera Angela , Touilloux Brice , Perentes Jean‐Yannis , Manuel Oriol , Noirez Leslie , Aubert John‐David , Lenoir Alexandra
Published: September 2020

Pulmonary infection by Mycoplasma hominis (M hominis) in lung transplant (LTx) recipients is an uncommon yet potentially severe complication. Bronchial dehiscence in the context of M hominis infection has not been previously reported. In this report, we discuss a case of donor‐derived M hominis infection in a LTx recipient with bilateral bronchial anastomoses dehiscence and stenosis. The infection was managed using a multidisciplinary approach: repeat surgical revision of the necrotic anastomosis; targeted antibiotic therapy with the combination of oral and inhaled fluoroquinolones, and oral doxycycline and continuous ventilatory support. Response to therapy was monitored through repeat bronchoscopy and serial quantitative PCR assays for M hominis in bronchoalveolar lavage and aspiration. The rare nature of M hominis infection after LTx, its difficult detection in conventional cultures and innate resistance to beta‐lactams make diagnosis and timely treatment of this organism challenging. We recommend that transplant centers have a low threshold for screening for Mycoplasma infection, particularly in patients with unsatisfactory postoperative course and little response to broad‐spectrum antimicrobial and antifungal coverage. Monitoring with PCR may help to adapt the duration of antibiotic therapy.
The effects of text messaging for promoting the retention of the first‐time blood donors, a randomized controlled study (TEXT study)
Authors: Pongsananurak Chontara , Norasetthada Lalita , Tantiworawit Adisak , Rattarittamrong Ekarat , Rattanathammethee Thanawat , Hantrakool Sasinee , Piriyakhuntorn Pokpong , Sriwichai Maitree , Leetrakool Nipapan , Chai‐Adisaksopha Chatree
Published: September 2020

Background

Donor recruiting remains a challenging process to obtain sufficient blood product supply worldwide. This was a randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of text messaging for promoting the retention of first‐time blood donors.

Study Design and Methods

Participants enrolled were 18 years of age or older who were first‐time blood donors and able to understand text messages. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio (text group vs control group). Only participants who were allocated in the “text group” received a text message once their blood product was dispatched from the transfusion service. The content of the text message was “We would like to inform you that your blood has been used for patients on the date (DD/MM/YY).” The primary outcome of the study was the rate of returning at 9 months after the first donation.

Results

In an intention‐to‐treat analysis, 1270 participants were allocated to the text group and 1270 participants to the control group. The primary outcome occurred in 199 in the text group (22.4 per 100 donor‐years) and 152 in the control group (16.9 per 100 donor‐years). The incidence rate ratio was 1.31 (95% confidence interval, 1.06‐1.63; P = .005). The number needed to treat was 22. The median time to return for blood donation was 112 days (interquartile range [IQR], 98‐146) in the text group and 113 days (IQR, 97‐144) in the control group.

Conclusion

Among first‐time blood donors, text messaging after blood product being dispatched is an effective and simple intervention to increase the retention rate for subsequent donations.
Characterization of 100 sequential SARS‐CoV‐2 convalescent plasma donations
Authors: Jungbauer Christof , Weseslindtner Lukas , Weidner Lisa , Gänsdorfer Simon , Farcet Maria R. , Gschaider‐Reichhart Eva , Kreil Thomas R.
Published: September 2020

Background

Transfusion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) convalescent plasma is a promising treatment for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) cases, with success of the intervention based on neutralizing antibody content. Measurement by serologic correlates without biocontainment needs as well as an understanding of donor characteristics that may allow for targeting of more potent donors would greatly facilitate effective collection.

Study Design and Methods

One hundred convalescent plasma units were characterized for functionally active SARS‐CoV‐2 neutralizing antibodies, as well as for SARS‐CoV‐2 binding antibodies, with the intention to establish a correlation between the functionally more relevant neutralization assay and the more accessible enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Donor demographics such as COVID‐19 severity, age, and sex were correlated with antibody titers.

Results

A mean neutralization titer 50% of 230 (range, <8‐1765) was seen for the 100 convalescent plasma units, with highly significant (P < .0001) yet quantitatively limited (R2 = 0.2830) correlation with results of the ELISA. Exclusion of units with particularly high titers (>500) from analysis improved correlation (R2 = 0.5386). A tendency of higher‐titer plasma units from donors with increased disease severity, of advanced age, and of male sex was seen, yet the functional relevance of this difference is questionable.

Conclusion

The ELISA‐based correlation to neutralization titer enabled a threshold proposal that could be used to eliminate lower‐titer units from the clinical supply for COVID‐19 treatment. Disease severity may be associated with the development of higher titers of neutralizing antibodies, although larger case numbers will be needed for additional confirmation.
Outcomes of dogs undergoing immediate or delayed surgical treatment for gastrointestinal foreign body obstruction: A retrospective study by the Society of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery
Authors: Maxwell Elizabeth A. , Dugat Danielle R. , Waltenburg Michelle , Upchurch David , Soto‐Elias Pedro , Duffy Daniel J. , Spector Daniel , Petrovsky Brian , Payton Mark
Published: September 2020

Objective

To evaluate gastrointestinal injury and outcomes between dogs treated with immediate surgical intervention vs those treated with delayed surgical intervention for gastrointestinal foreign body obstruction (GIFBO).

Study design

Retrospective cohort study.

Sample population

Client‐owned dogs (n = 855) from five referral hospitals.

Methods

Medical records of dogs in which GIFBO had been diagnosed between 2007 and 2017 were reviewed for preoperative management, timing of surgery, intraoperative findings, postoperative management, outcome, and survival. Surgical intervention was classified as immediate when it occurred within 6 hours of presentation and delayed when it occurred >6 hours after presentation.

Results

Outcomes did not differ between dogs treated immediately (n = 584) or over 6 hours after presentation (n = 210). Intestinal necrosis and perforations were more common when surgery was delayed (P= .008;P= .019) but became nonsignificant after controlling for preoperative differences. Risk factors for necrosis and perforations included duration of clinical signs, increased lactate, linear foreign material, and timing of surgery. Enterectomies (P= .004) as well as the duration of surgery (P= .004) and anesthesia (P= .001) were increased when surgery was delayed. Immediate surgery was associated with earlier return to feeding (P= .004) and discharge from the hospital (P < .001); (5%) dogs in each group (n = 33 immediate; n = 11 delayed) either had a negative explore or the foreign body was milked aborally into the colon at the time of surgery.

Conclusion

Although outcomes were not associated with surgical timing, the unadjusted prevalence of gastrointestinal injury and, thus, the requirement for complex surgical procedures was higher in the delayed group.

Clinical significance:Earlier surgical treatment of stabilized dogs with GIFBO may involve fewer complex procedures and accelerate recovery.
AN INTRODUCTION TO PANSPIRITISM: AN ALTERNATIVE TO MATERIALISM AND PANPSYCHISM
Authors: Taylor Steve
Published: September 2020

This article is an introduction to a philosophical approach termed “panspiritism.” The fundamental principles of this approach are summarized, with discussion of how it links to earlier (mainly Eastern) philosophical perspectives, how it differs from panpsychism and its relationship to idealism and theism. Issues such as the relationship between mind and matter, the relationship between the mind and the brain, and the emergence of mind are discussed from a “panspiritist” perspective. There is a discussion of how panspiritism relates to mystical experiences. The article concludes by suggesting that this approach can help to elucidate a wide range of phenomena that appear anomalous or problematic from a materialist point of view.
The role of muscle mechano and metaboreflexes in the control of ventilation: breathless with (over) excitement?
Authors: White Michael , Bruce Richard
Published: September 2020

Mechanically and metabolically sensitive thin fibre (group III and IV) muscle afferents are activated during exercise, causing reflex cardiovascular responses that are essential to normal cardiovascular control. Impaired exercise performance in some disease states can be linked to abnormal muscle mechanoreflex and muscle metaboreflex activity. A role for this same afferent feedback in contributing to the hyperpnoea of exercise and the dyspnoea experienced by some patient groups on exercise has recently received increased attention. Evidence is summarised here that supports a role for muscle mechanoreflex and muscle metaboreflex involvement in the human ventilatory response to exercise and also their synergistic interaction with the central chemoreflex during muscular activity. The effects of local muscle training induced attenuation of the human muscle metaboreflex on this synergistic interaction and associated decrease in ventilation is discussed.
Supplemental Material: Evidence for a late glacial advance near the beginning of the Younger Dryas in western New York State: An event postdating the record for local Laurentide ice sheet recession
Authors: Young R.A. , al. et
Published: September 2020

An extended discussion relating to the identification of glacial tills at the critical sites in this investigation is provided as a Supplemental File to eliminate any concerns that the exposures might be landslide debris as opposed to primary glacial till. The supplement also speculates as to why the advance in western New York State may not have been obvious in the extensive research published for the St. Lawrence Valley.
Supplemental Material: Age and mantle sources of Quaternary basalts associated with “leaky” transform faults of the migrating Anatolia-Arabia-Africa triple junction
Authors: Cosca M.A. , al. et
Published: September 2020

Table of published geochemical and isotopic data and pressure estimates for volcanic rocks of the Toprakkale and Karasu volcanic fields.
Incidence, timing and risk factors of type 1 retinopathy of prematurity in a North American cohort
Authors: Yu Yinxi , Tomlinson Lauren A , Binenbaum Gil , Ying Gui-shuang
Published: September 2020

Background/Aims

Early detection and timely treatment of type 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) can reduce the risk of blindness. To evaluate the incidence, timing and risk factors of type 1 ROP in a large, broad-risk cohort of premature infants.

Methods

Secondary analysis of data from the two Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity studies. Main outcomes are the incidence and timing of type 1 ROP.

Results

Among 11 463 infants (mean birth weight (BW), 1095 g; mean gestational age (GA), 28 weeks), 677 (5.9%, 95% CI 5.5% to 6.3%) developed type 1 ROP. Rate of type 1 ROP decreased with larger GA (28.8% for GA ≤23 weeks, 0.2% for GA of 31–32 weeks) and no infants with GA >32 weeks developed type 1 ROP. Type 1 ROP was first diagnosed at a median postmenstrual age (PMA) of 36 weeks (range 30–46 weeks) or postnatal age (PNA) of 11 weeks (range 5–21 weeks). The mean PMA at diagnosis of type 1 ROP increased with GA (35 weeks for GA of 22–24 weeks, 41 weeks for GA of 29–30 weeks), but the mean PNA at diagnosis of type 1 ROP was similar (11–13 weeks) across GA of 22–29 weeks. GA and BW dominate the association (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve=0.87, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.88).

Conclusions

Type 1 ROP developed in about 6% of premature infants over wide time windows in terms of both PMA and PNA. BW and GA are the dominant risk factors for type 1 ROP, while other prenatal factors add minimal predictive power for type 1 ROP.
Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy disease (MNGIE)
Authors: Hammans Simon R
Published: September 2020

Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy (MNGIE) is a rare autosomal recessive condition. Deficiency of thymidine phosphorylase disrupts the nucleoside pool, with progressive secondary mitochondrial DNA damage. MNGIE is clinically diagnosable because of a distinctive tetrad of gastrointestinal dysmotility, progressive external ophthalmoplegia, demyelinating neuropathy and asymptomatic leucoencephalopathy. The diagnosis may be confirmed genetically or biochemically. Misdiagnosis is frequent, but early and accurate recognition allows the possibility of novel transplant therapies capable of rectifying the biochemical defects. Its management remains difficult in the face of progressive disability and the risks of treatment.
T-folds as Poisson–Lie plurals
Authors: Hlavatý Ladislav , Petr Ivo
Published: September 2020

In previous papers we have presented many purely bosonic solutions of Generalized Supergravity Equations obtained by Poisson–Lie T-duality and plurality of flat and Bianchi cosmologies. In this paper we focus on their compactifications and identify solutions that can be interpreted as T-folds. To recognize T-folds we adopt the language of Double Field Theory and discuss how Poisson–Lie T-duality/plurality fits into this framework. As a special case we confirm that all non-Abelian T-duals can be compactified as T-folds.
SPECTRUM
Authors: Venkataramani Vanchinathan , Kulkarni Aditi , Mitra Tulika , Peh Li-Shiuan
Published: September 2020

Wireless communication standards such as Long-term Evolution (LTE) are rapidly changing to support the high data-rate of wireless devices. The physical layer baseband processing has strict real-time deadlines, especially in the next-generation applications enabled by the 5G standard. Existing basestation transceivers utilize customized DSP cores or fixed-function hardware accelerators for physical layer baseband processing. However, these approaches incur significant non-recurring engineering costs and are inflexible to newer standards or updates. Software-programmable processors offer more adaptability. However, it is challenging to sustain guaranteed worst-case latency and throughput at reasonably low-power on shared-memory many-core architectures featuring inherently unpredictable design choices, such as caches and Network-on-chip (NoC).

We propose
SPECTRUM
, a predictable, software-defined many-core architecture that exploits the massive parallelism of the LTE/5G baseband processing workload. The focus is on designing scalable lightweight hardware that can be programmed and defined by sophisticated software mechanisms.
SPECTRUM
employs hundreds of lightweight in-order cores augmented with custom instructions that provide predictable timing, a purely software-scheduled NoC that orchestrates the communication to avoid any contention, and per-core software-controlled scratchpad memory with deterministic access latency. Compared to many-core architecture like Skylake-SP (average power 215 W) that drops 14% packets at high-traffic load, 256-core
SPECTRUM
by definition has zero packet drop rate at significantly lower average power of 24 W.
SPECTRUM
consumes 2.11× lower power than C66x DSP cores+accelerator platform in baseband processing. We also enable
SPECTRUM
to handle dynamic workloads with multiple service categories present in 5G mobile network (Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-reliable and Low-latency Communications (URLLC), and Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC)), using a run-time scheduling and mapping algorithm. Experimental evaluations show that our algorithm performs task/NoC mapping at run-time on fewer cores compared to the static mapping (that reserves cores exclusively for each service category) while still meeting the differentiated latency and reliability requirements.
Generating Question Titles for Stack Overflow from Mined Code Snippets
Authors: Gao Zhipeng , Xia Xin , Grundy John , Lo David , Li Yuan-Fang
Published: September 2020

Stack Overflow has been heavily used by software developers as a popular way to seek programming-related information from peers via the internet. The Stack Overflow community recommends users to provide the related code snippet when they are creating a question to help others better understand it and offer their help. Previous studies have shown that a significant number of these questions are of low-quality and not attractive to other potential experts in Stack Overflow. These poorly asked questions are less likely to receive useful answers and hinder the overall knowledge generation and sharing process. Considering one of the reasons for introducing low-quality questions in SO is that many developers may not be able to clarify and summarize the key problems behind their presented code snippets due to their lack of knowledge and terminology related to the problem, and/or their poor writing skills, in this study we propose an approach to assist developers in writing high-quality questions by automatically generating question titles for a code snippet using a deep sequence-to-sequence learning approach. Our approach is fully data-driven and uses an
attention
mechanism to perform better content selection, a
copy
mechanism to handle the rare-words problem and a
coverage
mechanism to eliminate word repetition problem. We evaluate our approach on Stack Overflow datasets over a variety of programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, Javascript, C# and SQL) and our experimental results show that our approach significantly outperforms several state-of-the-art baselines in both automatic and human evaluation. We have released our code and datasets to facilitate other researchers to verify their ideas and inspire the follow up work.
Smart Contract Repair
Authors: Yu Xiao Liang , Al-Bataineh Omar , Lo David , Roychoudhury Abhik
Published: September 2020

Smart contracts are automated or self-enforcing contracts that can be used to exchange assets without having to place trust in third parties. Many commercial transactions use smart contracts due to their potential benefits in terms of secure peer-to-peer transactions independent of external parties. Experience shows that many commonly used smart contracts are vulnerable to serious malicious attacks, which may enable attackers to steal valuable assets of involving parties. There is, therefore, a need to apply analysis and automated repair techniques to detect and repair bugs in smart contracts before being deployed. In this work, we present the first general-purpose automated smart contract repair approach that is also gas-aware. Our repair method is search-based and searches among mutations of the buggy contract. Our method also considers the gas usage of the candidate patches by leveraging our novel notion of
gas dominance relationship
. We have made our smart contract repair tool
SCRepair
available open-source, for investigation by the wider community.
Hardware Performance Counter-Based Fine-Grained Malware Detection
Authors: Kadiyala Sai Praveen , Jadhav Pranav , Lam Siew-Kei , Srikanthan Thambipillai
Published: September 2020

Detection of malicious programs using hardware-based features has gained prominence recently. The tamper-resistant hardware metrics prove to be a better security feature than the high-level software metrics, which can be easily obfuscated. Hardware Performance Counters (HPC), which are inbuilt in most of the recent processors, are often the choice of researchers amongst hardware metrics. However, a lack of determinism in their counts, thereby affecting the malware detection rate, minimizes the advantages of HPCs. To overcome this problem, in our work, we propose a three-step methodology for fine-grained malware detection. In the first step, we extract the HPCs of each system call of an unknown program. Later, we make a dimensionality reduction of the fine-grained data to identify the components that have maximum variance. Finally, we use a machine learning based approach to classify the nature of the unknown program into benign or malicious. Our proposed methodology has obtained a 98.4% detection rate, with a 3.1% false positive. It has improved the detection rate significantly when compared to other recent works in hardware-based anomaly detection.
Approximate Cache in GPGPUs
Authors: Atoofian Ehsan
Published: September 2020

There is a growing number of application domains ranging from multimedia to machine learning where a certain level of inexactness can be tolerated. For these applications, approximate computing is an effective technique that trades off some loss in output data integrity for energy and/or performance gains. In this article, we present the approximate cache, which approximates similar values and saves energy in the L2 cache of general-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs). The L2 cache is a critical component in memory hierarchy of GPGPUs, as it accommodates data of thousands of simultaneously executing threads. Simply increasing the size of the L2 cache is not a viable solution to keep up with the growing size of data in many-core applications.

This work is motivated by the observation that threads within a warp write values into memory that are arithmetically similar. We exploit this property and propose a low-cost and implementation-efficient hardware to trade off accuracy for energy. The approximate cache identifies similar values during the runtime and allows only one thread writes into the cache in the event of similarity. Since the approximate cache is able to pack more data in a smaller space, it enables downsizing of the data array with negligible impact on cache misses and lower-level memory. The approximate cache reduces both dynamic and static energy. By storing data of a thread into a cache block, each memory instruction requires accessing fewer cache cells, thus reducing dynamic energy. In addition, the approximate cache increases frequency of bank idleness. By power gating idle banks, static energy is reduced. Our evaluations reveal that the approximate cache reduces energy by 52% with minimal quality degradation while maintaining performance of a diverse set of GPGPU applications.
Why Developers Refactor Source Code
Authors: Pantiuchina Jevgenija , Zampetti Fiorella , Scalabrino Simone , Piantadosi Valentina , Oliveto Rocco , Bavota Gabriele , Penta Massimiliano Di
Published: September 2020

Refactoring aims at improving code non-functional attributes without modifying its external behavior. Previous studies investigated the motivations behind refactoring by surveying developers. With the aim of generalizing and complementing their findings, we present a large-scale study quantitatively and qualitatively investigating
why
developers perform refactoring in open source projects. First, we mine 287,813 refactoring operations performed in the history of 150 systems. Using this dataset, we investigate the interplay between refactoring operations and process (e.g., previous changes/fixes) and product (e.g., quality metrics) metrics. Then, we manually analyze 551 merged pull requests implementing refactoring operations and classify the motivations behind the implemented refactorings (e.g., removal of code duplication). Our results led to (i) quantitative evidence of the relationship existing between certain process/product metrics and refactoring operations and (ii) a detailed taxonomy, generalizing and complementing the ones existing in the literature, of motivations pushing developers to refactor source code.
Using Relative Lines of Code to Guide Automated Test Generation for Python
Authors: Holmes Josie , Ahmed Iftekhar , Brindescu Caius , Gopinath Rahul , Zhang He , Groce Alex
Published: September 2020

Raw lines of code (LOC) is a metric that does not, at first glance, seem extremely useful for automated test generation. It is both highly language-dependent and not extremely meaningful, semantically, within a language: one coder can produce the same effect with many fewer lines than another. However,
relative LOC
, between components of the same project, turns out to be a highly useful metric for automated testing. In this article, we make use of a heuristic based on LOC counts for tested functions to dramatically improve the effectiveness of automated test generation. This approach is particularly valuable in languages where collecting code coverage data to guide testing has a very high overhead. We apply the heuristic to property-based Python testing using the TSTL (Template Scripting Testing Language) tool. In our experiments, the simple LOC heuristic can improve branch and statement coverage by large margins (often more than 20%, up to 40% or more) and improve fault detection by an even larger margin (usually more than 75% and up to 400% or more). The LOC heuristic is also easy to combine with other approaches and is comparable to, and possibly more effective than, two well-established approaches for guiding random testing.
Regionally Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma Associated with Paraneoplastic Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis
Authors: Shalhout Sophia Z. , Emerick Kevin S. , Sadow Peter M. , Linnoila Jenny J. , Miller David M.
Published: September 2020

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive cutaneous neuroendocrine cancer with a high risk of recurrence and metastasis. MCC is generally associated with advanced age, fair skin, sun exposure, immunosuppression, and in the majority of cases, the Merkel cell polyomavirus. Neuroendocrine malignancies are associated with a variety of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS), characterized as autoimmune responses to malignancy-associated expression of neural antigens. Our literature review underscores previous case reports of MCC-associated PNS with voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) and anti-Hu (or ANNA-1) autoantibodies. We present the case of a 59-year-old male with regionally metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma complicated by the paraneoplastic manifestation of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. His primary lower neck subcutaneous MCC and metastasis were initially treated with surgery. Additional recurrent lymph node metastases were successfully treated with definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy. His PNS improved with rituximab therapy. Although rare, this case highlights that in the setting of seizures and prominent psychiatric symptoms accompanying an MCC diagnosis, evaluation for autoimmune paraneoplastic encephalitis is warranted. Awareness and detection of preexisting PNS are crucial in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) for advanced MCC, where treatment with ICI has the potential to exacerbate preexisting autoimmune PNS and lead to worsened or even lethal neurologic immune-related adverse events (nirAEs).
System Design and Optimisation Study on a Novel CCHP System Integrated with a Hybrid Energy Storage System and an ORC
Authors: Ji Jie , Ding Zujun , Xia Xin , Wang Yeqin , Huang Hui , Zhang Chu , Peng Tian , Wang Xiaolu , Nazir Muhammad Shahzad , Zhang Yue , Liu Baolian , Jia Xiaoying , Li Ruisheng , Wang Yaodong
Published: September 2020

For achieving higher energy transferring efficiency from the resources to the load, the Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) systems have been widely researched and applied as an efficient approach. The key idea of this study is designing a novel structure of a hybrid CCHP system and evaluating its performance. In this research, there is a hybrid energy storage unit enhancing the whole system’s operation flexibility while supplying cooling, heating, and power. An ORC system is integrated into the CCHP system which takes responsibility of absorbing the low-temperature heat source for electricity generation. There are a few research studies focusing on the CCHP systems’ performance with this structure. In order to evaluate the integrated system’s performance, investigation and optimisation work has been conducted with the approaches of experimental studies and modelling simulation. The integrated system’s configuration, the model building process of several key components, the optimisation method, and the case studies are discussed and analysed in this study. The design of the integrated system and the control strategy are displayed in detail. Several sets of dynamic energy demand profiles are selected to evaluate the performance of the integrated system. The simulation study of the system supplying selected scenarios of loads is conducted. A comprehensive evaluation report indicates that the system’s efficiency during each study process differs while supplying different loads. The results include the power supplied by each component, the energy consumed by each type of load, and the efficiency improvements. It is found that the integrated system fully satisfies the selected domestic loads and various selected scenarios of loads with high efficiency. Compared to conventional power plants or CHP systems, the system efficiency enhancement comes from higher amount of recovery waste heat. Especially, the ORC system can absorb the low-temperature heat source for electricity generation. Compared to the original following electrical load (FEL) control strategy, the optimisation process brings overall efficiency improvements. The system’s overall efficiency was increased by from 3%, 3.18%, 2.85%, 17.11%, 8.89%, and 21.7% in the second case studies. Through the whole study, the main challenge lies within the design and the energy management of the integrated system.
Fault-Tolerant Resolvability in Some Classes of Line Graphs
Authors: Guo Xuan , Faheem Muhammad , Zahid Zohaib , Nazeer Waqas , Li Jingjng
Published: September 2020

Fault tolerance is the characteristic of a system that permits it to carry on its intended operations in case of the failure of one of its units. Such a system is known as the fault-tolerant self-stable system. In graph theory, if we remove any vertex in a resolving set, then the resulting set is also a resolving set, called the fault-tolerant resolving set, and its minimum cardinality is called the fault-tolerant metric dimension. In this paper, we determine the fault-tolerant resolvability in line graphs. As a main result, we computed the fault-tolerant metric dimension of line graphs of necklace and prism graphs (2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 05C78).
Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis Contributed to Nonylphenol-Induced Cell Damage in Mouse NCTC Clone 1469 Cells
Authors: Liu Xiaozhen , Chen Yangjie , Nie Shaoping , Li Fuxiang , Zhu Zhaoliang , Peng Gaoyi , Yu Qiang , Xie Mingyong
Published: September 2020

Nonylphenol (NP) is considered an environmental toxicant and endocrine-disrupting compound. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of NP on NCTC Clone 1469, nonparenchymal hepatocytes, and to study the molecular basis of NP-induced liver injury. The results showed that NP decreased cell viability and induced nucleus crenulation and intracellular enzyme leakage in NCTC Clone 1469 cells. Additionally, NP-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis of NCTC Clone 1469 are accompanied by upregulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, increase of Bax, decrease of Bcl-2, activation of caspase-3 and caspase-12, and release of cytosolic free Ca2+ in the cells. ROS scavenger, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), prevented the intracellular enzyme leakage induced by NP. NP induced alteration of estrogen receptor- (ER-) α and ER-β expression, while ER antagonists, ICI 182,780, showed no effect on NP-induced intracellular enzyme leakage. We proposed that NP triggered cell damage via inducing oxidative stress and apoptosis in cells, but not estrogenic effect.
Impact of Lifestyles (Diet and Exercise) on Vascular Health: Oxidative Stress and Endothelial Function
Authors: Man Andy W. C. , Li Huige , Xia Ning
Published: September 2020

Healthy lifestyle and diet are associated with significant reduction in risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidative stress and the imbalance between prooxidants and antioxidants are linked to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Changes in antioxidant capacity of the body may lead to oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction. Diet is an important source of antioxidants, while exercise offers many health benefits as well. Recent findings have evidenced that diet and physical factors are correlated to oxidative stress. Diet and physical factors have debatable roles in modulating oxidative stress and effects on the endothelium. Since endothelium and oxidative stress play critical roles in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, dietary and physical factors could have significant implications on prevention of the diseases. This review is aimed at summarizing the current knowledge on the impact of diet manipulation and physical factors on endothelium and oxidative stress, focusing on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. We discuss the friend-and-foe role of dietary modification (including different diet styles, calorie restriction, and nutrient supplementation) on endothelium and oxidative stress, as well as the potential benefits and concerns of physical activity and exercise on endothelium and oxidative stress. A fine balance between oxidative stress and antioxidants is important for normal functions in the cells and interfering with this balance may lead to unfavorable effects. Further studies are needed to identify the best diet composition and exercise intensity.
Clinical Effects and Safety of Electroacupuncture for the Treatment of Poststroke Dysphagia: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Huang Jinke , Shi Yao , Qin Xiaohui , Shen Min , Wu Manli , Huang Yong
Published: September 2020

Objectives. Electroacupuncture (EA), an extension of acupuncture, which is based on traditional acupuncture combined with modern electrotherapy, is commonly used for poststroke dysphagia (PSD) in clinical treatment and research. However, there is still a lack of sufficient evidence to recommend the routine use of EA for PSD. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of EA in the treatment of PSD. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of EA on PSD were identified through a comprehensive literature search of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Database, and VIP databases from their inception to July 2020. The quality assessment of the included trials was performed based on the guidance of the Cochrane Reviewers’ Handbook, and meta‐analysis (MA) was performed by using the RevMan 5.3 software. Results. Sixteen trials were identified, and these included 1,216 patients with PSD. The results demonstrated that EA in combination with swallowing rehabilitation training (SRT) was significantly superior to SRT alone with regard to effective rate (OR 5.40, 95% CI [3.78, 7.72], P < 0.00001, water swallow test (WST) (MD −0.78, 95% CI [−1.07, −0.50], P < 0.00001), the video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) (MD 1.47, 95% CI [1.11, 1.84], P < 0.00001), the Ichiro Fujishima Rating Scale (IFRS) (MD 1.94, 95% CI [1.67, 2.22], P < 0.00001), and the incidence of aspiration pneumonia (IAP) (OR 0.20, 95% CI [0.06, 0.61], P = 0.005). Conclusions. The results showed that EA was better than the control treatment in terms of the effective rate, WST, VFSS, IFRS, and IAP of dysphagia after stroke. Strict evaluation standards and high‐quality RCT designs are necessary for further exploration.