bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Journey of a Radio Astronomer: Growth of Radio Astronomy in India
Authors: Swarup Govind
Published: April 2021

In this autobiographical account, I first describe my family, then childhood and education in India. During 1953–55, I worked in the new field of radio astronomy at the Division of Radiophysics of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia. During 1956–57, I worked at the Radio Astronomy Station of Harvard University at Fort Davis, Texas, where I made observations of solar radio bursts at decimeter wavelengths. I then joined Stanford University as a graduate student in 1957. I contributed to the successful operation of the Stanford Cross Antenna and then used it for studying microwave radio emission from the Sun. I was awarded the Ph.D. degree by Stanford University in 1960 and was then appointed as an Assistant Professor for three years. With an urge to contribute to evolving scientific endeavors in India, I joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) at Mumbai, India, in April 1963. In my stay of more than three decades at TIFR, I conceived of, and guided, construction of two of the world's largest radio telescopes, namely the Ooty Radio Telescope and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. These instruments have led to several outstanding contributions and discoveries in the areas of radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and cosmology.
Recent Advances in Aptamer-Based Biosensors for Global Health Applications
Authors: Stanciu Lia A. , Wei Qingshan , Barui Amit K. , Mohammad Noor
Published: April 2021

Since aptamers were first reported in the early 2000s, research on their use for the detection of health-relevant analytical targets has exploded. This review article provides a brief overview of the most recent developments in the field of aptamer-based biosensors for global health applications. The review provides a description of general aptasensing principles and follows up with examples of recent reports of diagnostics-related applications. These applications include detection of proteins and small molecules, circulating cancer cells, whole-cell pathogens, extracellular vesicles, and tissue diagnostics. The review also discusses the main challenges that this growing technology faces in the quest of bringing these new devices from the laboratory to the market.
Interaction of Viruses with the Insect Intestine
Authors: Ma Enhao , Zhu Yibin , Liu Ziwen , Wei Taiyun , Wang Penghua , Cheng Gong
Published: April 2021

In nature, insects face a constant threat of infection by numerous exogeneous viruses, and their intestinal tracts are the predominant ports of entry. Insects can acquire these viruses orally during either blood feeding by hematophagous insects or sap sucking and foliage feeding by insect herbivores. However, the insect intestinal tract forms several physical and immunological barriers to defend against viral invasion, including cell intrinsic antiviral immunity, the peritrophic matrix and the mucin layer, and local symbiotic microorganisms. Whether an infection can be successfully established in the intestinal tract depends on the complex interactions between viruses and those barriers. In this review, we summarize recent progress on virus-intestinal tract interplay in insects, in which various underlying mechanisms derived from nutritional status, dynamics of symbiotic microorganisms, and virus-encoded components play intricate roles in the regulation of virus invasion in the intestinal tract, either directly or indirectly.
Neonatal IL-4 exposure decreases adipogenesis of male rats into adulthood
Authors: Ying Tammy , Golden Thea , Cheng Lan , Ishibashi Jeff , Seale Patrick , Simmons Rebecca A.
Published: April 2021

We used neonatal injections in rat to show that IL-4 decreases adipogenesis and increases browning of white fat. In adulthood, adipocyte precursors show persistently decreased adipogenesis but not increased browning. These studies in the neonate are the first, to our knowledge, to show that IL-4 can have long-lasting effects.
Increased postprandial nonesterified fatty acid efflux from adipose tissue in prediabetes is offset by enhanced dietary fatty acid adipose trapping
Authors: Montastier Émilie , Ye Run Zhou , Noll Christophe , Bouffard Lucie , Fortin Mélanie , Frisch Frédérique , Phoenix Serge , Guérin Brigitte , Turcotte Éric E. , Lewis Gary F. , Carpentier André C.
Published: April 2021

We found higher adipose tissue dietary fatty acid trapping, limiting spillover to lean organs, that in part offsets the increase in appearance rate of palmitate from intracellular lipolysis in prediabetes. These results point to the adaptive nature of adipose tissue trapping and dietary fatty acid spillover as a protective mechanism against excess obesity-related palmitate appearance rate from intracellular adipose tissue lipolysis.
Sexual dimorphism in the progression of type 2 diabetic kidney disease in T2DN rats
Authors: Spires Denisha R. , Palygin Oleg , Levchenko Vladislav , Isaeva Elena , Klemens Christine A. , Khedr Sherif , Nikolaienko Oksana , Kriegel Alison , Cheng Xi , Yeo Ji-Youn , Joe Bina , Staruschenko Alexander
Published: April 2021

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common complication of diabetes, which frequently leads to end-stage renal failure and increases cardiovascular disease risk. Hyperglycemia promotes renal pathologies such as glomerulosclerosis, tubular hypertrophy, microalbuminuria, and a decline in glomerular filtration rate. Importantly, recent clinical data have demonstrated distinct sexual dimorphism in the pathogenesis of DKD in people with diabetes, which impacts both severity- and age-related risk factors. This study aimed to define sexual dimorphism and renal function in a nonobese type 2 diabetes model with the spontaneous development of advanced diabetic nephropathy (T2DN rats). T2DN rats at 12- and over 48-wk old were used to define disease progression and kidney injury development. We found impaired glucose tolerance and glomerular hyperfiltration in T2DN rats to compare with nondiabetic Wistar control. The T2DN rat displays a significant sexual dimorphism in insulin resistance, plasma cholesterol, renal and glomerular injury, urinary nephrin shedding, and albumin handling. Our results indicate that both male and female T2DN rats developed nonobese type 2 DKD phenotype, where the females had significant protection from the development of severe forms of DKD. Our findings provide further evidence for the T2DN rat strain’s effectiveness for studying the multiple facets of DKD.
Whole genome transcriptome analysis of the stomach resected in human vertical sleeve gastrectomy: cutting more than calories
Authors: Dungan William C. , Garrett Michael R. , Welch Bradley A. , Lawson William J. , Himel Alexandra R. , Dungey Adam , Vick Kenneth D. , Grayson Bernadette E.
Published: April 2021

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) is a surgical weight loss procedure that resects 80% of the stomach, creating a tube linking the esophagus to the duodenum. Because of the efficacy and relative simplicity of VSG, it is preferred in the United States, with VSG currently at >61% of bariatric surgeries performed. Surprisingly, there has never been a complete molecular characterization of the human stomach greater curvature’s fundus and corpus. Here we compare and contrast the molecular makeup of these regions. We performed a prospective cohort study to obtain gastric tissue samples from patients undergoing elective VSG. Paired fundus and corpus samples were obtained. Whole genome transcriptome analysis was performed by RNA sequencing ( N = 10), with key findings validated by qPCR ( N = 24). Participants were primarily female (95.8%) and White (79.15%). Mean body mass index, body weight, and age were 46.1 kg/m2, 121.6 kg, and 43.29 yr, respectively. Overall, 432 gene transcripts were significantly different between the fundus and the corpus ( P < 0.05). A significant correlation was found between the RNA sequencing dataset and qPCR validation, demonstrating robust gene expression differences between the fundus and the corpus. Significant genes included progastricsin, acidic chitinase, and gastokine 1 and 2 in both the fundus and the corpus. Of the very highly expressed genes in both regions, 87% were present in both the stomach’s fundus and corpus, indicating substantial overlap. Despite significant overlap in the greater curvature gene signature, regional differences exist within the fundus and the corpus. Given that the mechanism of VSG is partly unresolved, the potential that the resected tissue may express genes that influence long-term body weight regulation is unknown and could influence VSG outcomes.
Associated Factors for Dropout of First Vs Third Doses of Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis (DPT) Vaccination in Nepal
Authors: Thapa Kanchan , Adhikary Pratik , Faruquee Mahmud Hossain , Suwal Bhim Raj
Published: April 2021

Background. Immunization acts as a key intervention to reduce under-five mortality and morbidity. Despite global progress on vaccination, difficulties in the utilization of this service in developing countries have been observed. According to Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2016, only 78% of children received a complete dose of vaccine among which the first-dose receiver of DPT is 98%, whereas only 83% received a third dose. This study aims to explore the influencing factors of DPT vaccination dropout in Nepal. Methods. The explorative study was done through secondary data analysis of NDHS 2016. The KR file was used for the analysis of information for 2883 children. Factors influencing dropout of DPT vaccination were explored against the independent variables such as external environment, predisposing factors, and enabling resources. All the analyses were weighted before the analysis. The descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed. The variables showing collinearity have been removed in the final model. Results. A higher dropout was reported in Terai (18.9%) and province 2 (22.0%), among uneducated mothers (18.1%) and uneducated fathers (19.4%), less than once a week internet users (22.2%), the nonradio listener (17.4%), who had <4 ANC visits (22.7%), home delivery (19.2%), no advised SBA (19.1%), long distance to health facility (17.9%), no iron supplementation in pregnancy (24.3%), and PNC by TBA/others (21.1%). All these tested relationships were found statistically significant (

P

value <0.05). The aOR for dropout was found to be 7.94 (4.07–15.51) for mothers with less than 4 or no ANC visit, long distance to health facility 4.68 (1.98–10.67), province 2 3.53 (1.13–11.03), and mother without formal employment 2.33 (1.52–3.55). Conclusion. Factors related to health services, distance, provinces, and socioeconomic status of the family were influencers for vaccine dropout. Targeted intervention towards disadvantaged regions, counseling the mother during ANC, improving the education status of parents, access to the health facility, and use of mass media for advocacy are hereby recommended.
Could the Gut Microbiota Serve as a Therapeutic Target in Ischemic Stroke?
Authors: Zhang Jiyao , Tang Qiang , Zhu Luwen
Published: April 2021

The brain-gut axis is a relatively recent discovery of a two-way regulation system between the gut and brain, suggesting that the gut microbiota may be a promising targeted prevention and treatment strategy for patients with a high risk of acute cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. There are many risk factors for ischemic stroke, and many studies have shown that the gut microbiota affects the absorption and metabolism of the body, as well as the risk factors of stroke, such as blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, and atherosclerosis, either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, the gut microbiota can affect the occurrence and prognosis of ischemic stroke by regulating risk factors or immune responses. Therefore, this study aimed to collect evidence of the interaction between gut microbiota and ischemic stroke, summarize the interaction mechanism between the two, and explore the gut microbiota as a new targeted prevention and treatment strategy for patients with high ischemic risk.
A Two-Phase Gradient Projection Algorithm for Solving the Combined Modal Split and Traffic Assignment Problem with Nested Logit Function
Authors: Ryu Seungkyu , Chen Anthony , Kitthamkesorn Songyot
Published: April 2021

This study provides a gradient projection (GP) algorithm to solve the combined modal split and traffic assignment (CMSTA) problem. The nested logit (NL) model is used to consider the mode correlation under the user equilibrium (UE) route choice condition. Specifically, a two-phase GP algorithm is developed to handle the hierarchical structure of the NL model in the CMSTA problem. The Seoul transportation network in Korea is adopted to demonstrate an applicability in a large-scale multimodal transportation network. The results show that the proposed GP solution algorithm outperforms the method of the successive averages (MSA) algorithm and the classical Evan’s algorithm.
Prognostic Value of 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography after Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Lymphoma Using Deauville Scores
Authors: Dai Na , Zhou Yeye , Deng Shengming , Sang Shibiao , Wu Yiwei
Published: April 2021

Purpose. In the present study, we mainly aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in lymphoma. Procedures. A total of 76 lymphoma patients who benefited from [18F]F-FDG PET-CT (within 3 months and 3–6 months) after ASCT in our institution between April 2010 and December 2019 were enrolled in this retrospective study. These abovementioned patients were divided into two groups based on the Deauville criteria. The Kaplan–Meier method was used in survival analysis, and the log-rank method was adopted in comparison. Prognostic factor analysis was performed by the Cox regression model. Results. Positive post-ASCT [18F]F-FDG PET-CT was associated with lower progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (

p

 = 0.001 and

p

 = 0.022, respectively). Univariate analysis showed the post-ASCT PET-CT result was the only independent factor associated with PFS (

p

 = 0.002). Both the number of previous treatments and post-ASCT PET-CT result had a different impact on OS (

p

 = 0.040 and

p

 = 0.028, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed the post-ASCT PET-CT result was the only independent factor associated with OS (

p

 = 0.028). The results showed no significant change from the abovementioned results when DS < 3 was defined as the negative result. For patients who had a PET-CT scan within 3–6 months after ASCT, the negative PET-CT group had a better prognosis including PFS and OS (

p

 = 0.009 and

p

 = 0.025, respectively). However, among the patients receiving PET-CT within 3 months, the result was not statistically significant (

p

 = 0.064 and

p

 = 0.445, respectively). Conclusion. Collectively, we found that the post-ASCT [18F]F-FDG PET-CT was a strong indicator for PFS and OS, and a time window of 3–6 months was appropriate for post-ASCT [18F]F-FDG PET-CT. Trial registration number: ChiCTR2100042745.
Vehicle Routing Problem for Collaborative Multidepot Petrol Replenishment under Emergency Conditions
Authors: Xu Guangcan , Lyu Qiguang
Published: April 2021

In recent years, emergency events have affected urban distribution with increasing frequency. For example, the 2019 novel coronavirus has caused a considerable impact on the supply guarantee of important urban production and living materials, such as petrol and daily necessities. On this basis, this study establishes a dual-objective mixed-integer linear programming model to formulate and solve the cooperative multidepot petrol emergency distribution vehicle routing optimization problem with multicompartment vehicle sharing and time window coordination. As a method to solve the model, genetic variation of multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm is considered. The effectiveness of the proposed method is analyzed and verified by first using a small-scale example and then investigating a regional multidepot petrol distribution network in Chongqing, China. Cooperation between petrol depots in the distribution network, customer clustering, multicompartment vehicle sharing, time window coordination, and vehicle routing optimization under partial road blocking conditions can significantly reduce the total operation cost and shorten the total delivery time. Meanwhile, usage of distribution trucks is optimized in the distribution network, that is, usage of single- and double-compartment trucks is reduced while that of three-compartment trucks is increased. This approach provides theoretical support for relevant government departments to improve the guarantee capability of important materials in emergencies and for relevant enterprises to improve the efficiency of emergency distribution.
Fraxetin Inhibits the Proliferation and Metastasis of Glioma Cells by Inactivating JAK2/STAT3 Signaling
Authors: Qu Liangchen , Lin Pan , Lin Minjie , Ye Shumin , Papa Akuetteh Percy David , Youyou Zhu
Published: April 2021

Glioma is the most common brain tumor and is characterized by high mortality rates, high recurrence rates, and short survival time. Migration and invasion are the basic features of gliomas. Thus, inhibition of migration and invasion may be beneficial for the treatment of patients with glioma. Due to its antitumor activity and chemical reactivity, fraxetin has attracted extensive interest and has been proven to be an effective antitumor agent in various cancer types. However, currently, the potential effects of fraxetin on glioma have not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate that fraxetin can inhibit the proliferation, invasion, and migration of glioma and induce apoptosis of glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, these findings establish fraxetin as a drug candidate for glioma treatment. Furthermore, fraxetin was able to effectively inhibit the JAK2/STAT3 signaling in glioma. In summary, our results show that fraxetin inhibits proliferation, invasion, and migration of glioma by inhibiting JAK2/STAT3 signaling and inducing apoptosis of glioma cells. The present study provides a solid basis for the development of new glioma therapies.
Penot’s Compactness Property in Ultrametric Spaces with an Application
Authors: Bachar Mostafa , Bounkhel Messaoud , Lazaiz Samih
Published: April 2021

In this work, we investigate the compactness property in the sense of Penot in ultrametric spaces. Then, we show that spherical completeness is exactly the Penot’s compactness property introduced for convexity structures. The spherical completeness property misled some mathematicians to it to hyperconvexity in metric spaces. As an application, we discuss some fixed point results in spherically complete ultrametric spaces.
A Novel Evaluation System of Psoriasis Curative Effect Based on Bayesian Maximum Entropy Weight Self-Learning and Extended Set Pair Analysis
Authors: Kuai Le , Fei Xiao-ya , Jiang Jing-si , Li Xin , Zhang Ying , Ru Yi , Luo Ying , Song Jian-kun , Li Wei , Yin Shuang-yi , Li Bin
Published: April 2021

Background. Psoriasis is a complex skin disease and difficult to evaluate, and this study aimed to provide an objective and systematic approach for evaluating the efficacy of psoriasis. Methods. We sought to construct a Bayesian network from sixteen indicators in four aspects of psoriasis (skin lesion conditions, laboratory indexes, quality of life, and accompanying symptoms) and obtained weights of each index by combining the analytic hierarchy process with maximum entropy self-learning. Furthermore, we adopted stability analysis to calculate the minimum sample size of the system. The extended set pair analysis was utilized to evaluate the efficacy based on improved weights, which overcomes the limitation of set pair analysis (unable to evaluate the efficacy with uncertain grades and thresholds). Results. A total of 100 psoriasis vulgaris patients were included to evaluate the curative effect by the system. We obtained the weights of each index and the Euclidean distance for efficacy evaluation of 100 patients. The sensitivity analysis proved that the results had no significant change with the variation of single patient’s indexes, which indicated that our results were stable to assess the effectiveness. Conclusions. We provided an available method of comprehensive effective evaluation of various indicators of psoriasis and based on both subjective and objective weights.
Network Public Opinion Prediction and Control Based on Edge Computing and Artificial Intelligence New Paradigm
Authors: Zhu Ying
Published: April 2021

In this paper, an adaptive edge service placement mechanism based on online learning and a predictive edge service migration method based on factor graph model are proposed to solve the edge computing service placement problem from the edge computing dimension. First, the time series of the development of online chaotic public opinion is a platform for vectorized collection of keyword index trends using the theory of chaotic phase space reconstruction. Secondly, it is necessary to use the main index method to judge whether the time series has the chaotic characteristics of the network public opinion data. The simulation results show that network public opinion is the development characteristic of chaotic time series. Finally, the prediction model is improved by using complex network topology. Through the simulation experiment of network public opinion and chaotic time series, the results show that the improved model has the advantages of accuracy, rapidity, and self‐adaptability and can be applied to other fields.
Systematic Identification of Survival-Associated Alternative Splicing Events in Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Wei Yubin , Zhang Zheng , Peng Rui , Sun Yan , Zhang Luyu , Liu Handeng
Published: April 2021

There is growing evidence that aberrant alternative splicing (AS) is highly correlated with driving tumorigenesis, but its function in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) remains to be discovered. In this study, we obtained the level-3 RNA sequencing and clinical data of KIRC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TGCA). Combining with the splicing event detail information from TGCA SpliceSeq database, we established the independent prognosis signatures for KIRC with the univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Then, we used the Kaplan-Meier analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) to assess the accuracy of prognosis signatures. We also constructed the regulatory network of splicing factors (SFs) and AS events. Our results showed that a total of 12029 survival-associated AS events of 5761 genes were found in 524 KIRC patients. All types of prognosis signatures displayed a satisfactory ability to reliably predict, especially in exon skip model which the area under curve of ROC was 0.802. Moreover, 18 splicing factors (SFs) highly correlated to AS events were identified. With the construction of the SF-AS interactive network, we found that SF powerfully promotes the occurrence of abnormal AS and may have a profound role in KIRC. Collectively, we screened survival-associated AS events and established prognosis signatures for KIRC, coupling with the SF-AS interactive network, which might provide a key perspective to clarify the potential mechanism of AS in KIRC.
Analysis on Rock Burst Risks and Prevention of a 54 m‐Wide Coal Pillar for Roadway Protection in a Fully Mechanized Top‐Coal Caving Face
Authors: Li Zhihua , Yang Ke , Ji Jianshuai , Jiao Biao , Tian Xiaobing
Published: April 2021

A case study based on the 401103 fully mechanized caving face in the Hujiahe Coal Mine was carried out in this research to analyze the rock burst risks in a 54 m‐wide coal pillar for roadway protection. Influencing factors of rock burst risks on the working face were analyzed. Stress distribution characteristics on the working face of the wide coal pillar for roadway protection were discussed using FLAC3D numerical simulation software. Spatial distribution characteristics of historical impact events on the working face were also investigated using the microseismic monitoring method. Results show that mining depth, geological structure, outburst proneness of coal strata, roof strata structure, adjacent mining area, and mining influence of the current working face are the main influencing factors of rock burst on the working face. Owing to the collaborative effects of front abutment pressure of the working face and lateral abutment pressure in the goaf, the coal pillar is in the ultimate equilibrium state and microseismic events mainly concentrate in places surrounding the coal pillars. Hence, wide coal pillars become the regions with rock burst risks on the working face. The working face adopts some local prevention technologies, such as pressure relief through presplitting blasting in roof, pressure relief through large‐diameter pores in coal seam, coal seam water injection, pressure relief through large‐diameter pores at bottom corners, and pressure relief through blasting at bottom corners. Moreover, some regional prevention technologies were proposed for narrow coal pillar for roadway protection, including gob‐side entry, layer mining, and fully mechanized top‐coal caving face with premining top layer.
Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals an Altered Hcy Metabolism in the Stria Vascularis of the Pendred Syndrome Mouse Model
Authors: Xue Wenyue , Tian Yuxin , Xiong Yuanping , Liu Feng , Feng Yanmei , Chen Zhengnong , Yu Dongzhen , Yin Shankai
Published: April 2021

Purpose. Slc26a4-/- mice exhibit severer defects in the development of the cochlea and develop deafness, while the underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects remain unclear. Our study was to investigate the potential mechanism linking SLC26A4 deficiency to hearing loss. Materials and Methods. RNA sequencing was applied to analyze the differential gene expression of the stria vascularis (SV) from wildtype and Slc26a4-/- mice. GO and KEGG pathway analysis were performed. Quantitative RT-PCR was applied to validate the expression of candidate genes affected by Slc26a4. ELISA and immunofluorescence technique were used to detect the homocysteine (Hcy) level in serum, brain, and SV, respectively. Results. 183 upregulated genes and 63 downregulated genes were identified in the SV associated with Slc26a4 depletion. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that Slc26a4 deficiency significantly affected the expression of genes associated with cell adhesion, transmembrane transport, and the biogenesis of multicellular organisms. The SV from Slc26a4-/- mice exhibited a higher expression of Bhmt mRNAs, as well as altered homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism. Conclusions. The altered expression of Bhmt results in a dramatic change in multiple biochemical reactions and a disruption of nutrient homeostasis in the endolymph which may contribute to hearing loss of Slc26a4 knockout mouse.
Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score Predicts the Mortality of Patients with Coronary Heart Disease Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Chen You , Han Min , Zheng Ying-Ying , Zhu Feng , Aisan Aikebai , Maheshati Tunike , Ma Yi-Tong , Xie Xiang
Published: April 2021

Background. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is caused by the blockage or spasm of coronary arteries. Evidence shows that liver disease is related to CHD. However, the correlation between the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score and outcomes in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was unclear. Method. A retrospective cohort study involved 5373 patients with coronary heart disease after PCI was conducted from January 2008 to December 2016. Participants were classified to four groups according to the MELD score by quartiles. The primary endpoint was long-term mortality including all-case mortality (ACM) and cardiac mortality (CM). Secondary endpoints included bleeding events, readmission, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), major adverse cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). The longest follow-up time was almost 10 years. Results. There were significant differences in the incidences of ACM (

p
=
0.038

) and CM (

p
=
0.027

) among the four MELD groups, but there was no significant difference in MACEs (

p
=
0.496

), MACCEs (

p
=
0.234

), readmission (

p
=
0.684

), and bleeding events (

p
=
0.232

). After adjusting the age, gender, smoking, drinking status, and diabetes by a multivariable Cox regression analysis, MELD remains independently associated with ACM (HR:1.57, 95%CI 1.052–2.354,

p
=
0.027

) and CM (HR:1.434, 95% CI 1.003–2.050,

p
=
0.048

). Conclusion. This study indicated that the MELD score had a strong prediction for long-term mortality in CHD patients who underwent PCI.
Anti-Interleukin-16-Neutralizing Antibody Attenuates Cardiac Inflammation and Protects against Cardiac Injury in Doxorubicin-Treated Mice
Authors: Zhang Jianwei , Yang Zicong , Liang Zhishan , Wang Mengjie , Hu Changxing , Chang Chao , Shi Lei , Ji Qingwei , Liu Ling
Published: April 2021

Background. Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is an important inflammatory regulator and has been shown to have a powerful effect on the regulation of the inflammatory response. Cardiac inflammation has been reported to be closely related to doxorubicin- (DOX-) induced cardiac injury. In this study, the role of IL-16 in DOX-induced cardiac injury and the possible mechanisms were examined. Methods. Cardiac IL-16 levels were first measured in DOX- or saline-treated mice. Additionally, mice were pretreated with the anti-IL-16-neutralizing antibody (nAb) or isotype IgG for 1 day and further administered DOX or saline for 5 days. Then, cardiac injury, cardiac M1 macrophage levels, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were analyzed. The effects of the anti-IL-16 nAb on macrophage differentiation and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were also investigated in vitro. Results. DOX administration increased IL-16 expression in cardiac macrophages compared with that of saline treatment. The anti-IL-16 nAb significantly decreased serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), myocardial-bound creatine kinase (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and elevated cardiac function in DOX-induced mice. Treatment with the anti-IL-16 nAb also reduced p65 pathway activation, decreased M1 macrophage-related marker and cytokine expression, and protected against cardiomyocyte apoptosis in DOX-induced mice. In cell studies, the anti-IL-16 nAb also reduced DOX-induced M1 macrophage differentiation and alleviated apoptosis in cardiomyocytes cocultured with macrophages. Conclusions. The anti-IL-16 nAb protects against DOX-induced cardiac injury by reducing cardiac inflammation, and IL-16 may be a promising target to prevent DOX-related cardiac injury.
Arousing Effects of Electroacupuncture on the “Shuigou Point” in Rats with Disorder of Consciousness after Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Tan Li , Wang Ning , Gu Zhilin , Zhu Jiebin , Liu Chunyan , Xu Zhenhua
Published: April 2021

Orexin is an important neuropeptide that stimulates cortical activation and arousal and is involved in the regulation of wakefulness and arousal. Our previous meta-analysis showed that acupuncture fared well in the treatment of TBI-induced DOC in which “shuigou (DU 26)” was the most important and frequent point targeted. In the present study, we investigated whether electroacupuncture (EA) promotes TBI-induced unconsciousness wakefulness via orexin pathway. A TBI rat model was established using a control cortical impact (CCI) model. In the stimulated group, TBI rats received EA (15 Hz, 1.0 mA, 15 min). In the antagonist group, TBI rats were intraperitoneally injected with the orexin receptor 1 (OX1R) antagonist SB334867 and received EA. Unconsciousness time was observed in each group after TBI, and electrocorticography (ECoG) was applied to detect rats’ EEG activity. Immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and western blot were used to assess the levels of orexin-1(OX1) and OX1R expression in the mPFC. We show that duration of unconsciousness and the ratio of delta power in ECoG in the EA group were significantly reduced compared with those in the TBI group. EA could increase OX1 and OX1R expression in the mPFC and reduced the loss of orexin-producing neurons in LHA. However, all the efficacy of EA was blocked by the OX1R antagonist SB334867. Our findings suggest that EA promotes the recovery of consciousness of TBI-induced unconscious rats via upregulation of OX1and OX1R expression in mPFC.
Enhancing Dynamic Binary Translation in Mobile Computing by Leveraging Polyhedral Optimization
Authors: Li Mingliang , Pang Jianmin , Yue Feng , Liu Fudong , Wang Jun , Tan Jie
Published: April 2021

Dynamic binary translation (DBT) is gaining importance in mobile computing. Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) augments mobile devices with powerful servers, whereas edge servers and smartphones are usually based on heterogeneous architecture. To leverage high‐performance resources on servers, code offloading is an ideal approach that relies on DBT. In addition, mobile devices equipped with multicore processors and GPU are becoming ubiquitous. Migrating x86_64 application binaries to mobile devices by using DBT can also make a contribution to providing various mobile applications, e.g., multimedia applications. However, the translation efficiency and overall performance of DBT for application migration are not satisfactory, because of runtime overhead and low quality of the translated code. Meanwhile, traditional DBT systems do not fully exploit the computational resources provided by multicore processors, especially when translating sequential guest applications. In this work, we focus on leveraging ubiquitous multicore processors to improve DBT performance by parallelizing sequential applications during translation. For that, we propose LLPEMU, a DBT framework that combines binary translation with polyhedral optimization. We investigate the obstacles of adapting existing polyhedral optimization in compilers to DBT and present a feasible method to overcome these issues. In addition, LLPEMU adopts static‐dynamic combination to ensure that sequential binaries are parallelized while incurring low runtime overhead. Our evaluation results show that LLPEMU outperforms QEMU significantly on the PolyBench benchmark.
Yanyu Decoction for Aged Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Shi Shihua , Wang Zhenxing , Li Siming , Wu Xiaoping , Wang Peili , Wang Fei
Published: April 2021

Background. There was limited evidence of treatments aiming at aged coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Yanyu decoction (YD) has been used as adjuvant therapy in aged patients with stable CAD and might be a new treatment worthy of recommendation for CAD patients. This study was to evaluate the combined effects of YD plus conventional pharmaceutical treatment (CPT) on senile patients with stable CAD. Methods. This review was designed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) recommendations. A literature search was conducted in seven electronic databases from their inception until August 2020. Primary outcomes of interest were adverse cardiovascular events, including cardiac mortality, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and unstable angina (UA). The secondary outcomes were blood lipids and hemorheology. Studies were pooled to calculate the risk ratio or weighted mean difference and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Results. Five studies recruiting 848 aged patients with stable CAD were included. Patients receiving YD as an adjuvant have fewer adverse cardiovascular events, including cardiac mortality, AMI, and UA. Besides, YD plus CPT has a better effect on reducing triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and improving high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Moreover, significant effects of YD plus CPT for reducing blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, and platelet aggregation rate were found compared with CPT alone. Conclusion. YD plus CPT showed better efficacy than CPT on reducing adverse cardiovascular events and improving hemorheology and blood lipids for aged patients with stable CAD. Our findings may suggest YD as an adjuvant natural-based treatment for CAD. However, more rigorous and larger trials are essential to validate our results, and further consideration of CAD studies specific to aged patients is needed.
Cooperative Guidance Law against Highly Maneuvering Target with Dynamic Surrounding Attack
Authors: Wang Zhikai , Fu Wenxing , Fang Yangwang , Wu Zihao , Wang Mingang
Published: April 2021

In this paper, a new dynamic surrounding attack cooperative guidance law against highly maneuvering target based on decoupled model is proposed. First, a new dynamic surrounding guidance strategy is proposed, and virtual targets are introduced to establish the cooperative guidance model for dynamic surrounding attack. Second, a dynamic inverse method is used to decouple the cooperative guidance model, and extended state observers (ESOs) are introduced to estimate the disturbances caused by target maneuver. Then, the impact time and dynamic surrounding guidance (ITDSG) law against highly maneuvering target is designed based on a prescribed-time stable method and the decoupled model. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed ITDSG.
Determination and Monitoring of Key Construction Control Indices for Low‐Temperature Performance of Asphalt Mixtures Based on BIM Platform
Authors: Zhao Yulong , Gao Ying , Zhang Ke , Zhang Yao , Yu Mingce
Published: April 2021

The construction control indices were commonly used to ensure the quality of asphalt layers in the construction process. However, the relationship between the construction control indices and the low‐temperature performance of asphalt layers is not clear. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effect of the variations of the construction control indices on the low‐temperature performance of asphalt mixtures to determine the key construction control indices, and propose the method for the monitoring of these indices using the Building Information Modeling (BIM) platform. The low‐temperature performance of asphalt mixtures was evaluated by the semicircular bend (SCB) test. A new prediction model of critical strain energy release rate was established to evaluate the low‐temperature performance of the asphalt layer. Five factors are considered for the low‐temperature performance, which are the gradation and asphalt‐aggregate ratio in the asphalt mixture plant, rolling temperature, gradation segregation, and temperature segregation. Orthogonal test (OT) results indicated that the order of importance of factors affecting the low‐temperature performance is asphalt‐stone ratio, gradation, and molding temperature. The influences of gradation segregation and temperature segregation on the low‐temperature performance were quantified in this study. Furthermore, the construction control indices were monitored by the BIM platform developed in this research. In the construction process of the asphalt layer, the gradation variation caused by the segregation should be paid more attention to ensure the low‐temperature performance of the pavement.
A New Big Data Feature Selection Approach for Text Classification
Authors: Amazal Houda , Kissi Mohamed
Published: April 2021

Feature selection (FS) is a fundamental task for text classification problems. Text feature selection aims to represent documents using the most relevant features. This process can reduce the size of datasets and improve the performance of the machine learning algorithms. Many researchers have focused on elaborating efficient FS techniques. However, most of the proposed approaches are evaluated for small datasets and validated using single machines. As textual data dimensionality becomes higher, traditional FS methods must be improved and parallelized to handle textual big data. This paper proposes a distributed approach for feature selection based on mutual information (MI) method, which is widely applied in pattern recognition and machine learning. A drawback of MI is that it ignores the frequency of the terms during the selection of features. The proposal introduces a distributed FS method, namely, Maximum Term Frequency-Mutual Information (MTF-MI), based on term frequency and mutual information techniques to improve the quality of the selected features. The proposed approach is implemented on Hadoop using the MapReduce programming model. The effectiveness of MTF-MI is demonstrated through several text classification experiments using the multinomial Naïve Bayes classifier on three datasets. Through a series of tests, the results reveal that the proposed MTF-MI method improves the classification results compared with four state-of-the-art methods in terms of macro-F1 and micro-F1 measures.
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Genes Involved in Growth and Metabolism in Muscovy Ducks
Authors: Wang Xingxin , Xiao Yingping , Yang Hua , Lu Lizhi , Liu Xiuting , Lyu Wentao
Published: April 2021

Muscovy ducks are among the best meat ducks in the world. The objective of this study was to identify genes related to growth metabolism through transcriptome analysis of the ileal tissue of Muscovy ducks. Duck ileum samples with the highest (H group, n = 5) and lowest (L group, n = 5) body weight were selected from two hundred 70‐day‐old Muscovy ducks for transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing. In the screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the H and L groups, a total of 602 DEGs with a fold change no less than 2 were identified, among which 285 were upregulated and 317 were downregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that glutathione metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and protein digestion and absorption processes played a vital role in regulating growth and metabolism. The results showed that 7 genes related to growth and metabolism, namely, ANPEP, ENPEP, UPP1, SLC2A2, SLC6A19, NME4, and LOC106034733, were significantly expressed in group H, which was consistent with the phenotype results. The validation of these 7 genes using real‐time quantitative PCR results indicated that the expression level of ENPEP was significantly different between the H and L groups (P < 0.05). This study provides a theoretical basis for exploring the influence of the ileum on growth and metabolism in ducks.
Ketamine Use in Hysterosalpingography (the Jimah Procedure): A Follow-Up of Bilateral Tubal Evaluation of 27 Infertile  Women  at a Teaching Hospital, Ghana
Authors: Jimah Bashiru Babatunde , Appiah Anthony Baffour , Sarkodie Benjamin Dabo , Anim Dorothea
Published: April 2021

Background. Pain, anxiety, and distress are common in radiological investigations including hysterosalpingogram (HSG). Studies suggest that sedation allows patients to better tolerate diagnostic imaging and image-guided procedures by relieving anxiety, discomfort, and pain. This study aimed at assessing the safety and effectiveness of ketamine use in HSG and the proportion of true positive bilateral tubal blockage during HSG using the Jimah Procedure. Methods. We performed repeated HSG workup under IV ketamine (20–40 mg/mL) sedation for 27 infertile women at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. The exclusion criteria included unilateral tubular blockage, acute infection of the vagina or cervix, active vaginal bleeding, glaucoma, and high blood pressure at the time of the study. Data were entered with Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results. A total of 27 patients (age range: 25–48 years) previously diagnosed of bilateral tubal blockage or spasm were enrolled for the repeat HSG procedure. The median age was 34 years (IQR: 32–37), while secondary infertility (20) (74.1%) was the commonest indication. None of the patients reported of pain or distress during or after the procedure. Two (7.4%) women vomited after HSG. Twelve patients (44.4%) had bilateral tubal blockage (true positive), while tubal patency was seen in 15 (55.6%) patients on HSG under ketamine sedation. Conclusion. This study found IV ketamine sedation produces profound anesthesia and analgesia and eliminates tubal spasm. We recommend that radiologists in developing countries should consider sedating patients during HSG and documenting observations and patients’ feedback to help assess safety and effectiveness in local settings.
Neural Linguistic Steganalysis via Multi-Head Self-Attention
Authors: Jiao Sai-Mei , Wang Hai-feng , Zhang Kun , Hu Ya-qi
Published: April 2021

Linguistic steganalysis can indicate the existence of steganographic content in suspicious text carriers. Precise linguistic steganalysis on suspicious carrier is critical for multimedia security. In this paper, we introduced a neural linguistic steganalysis approach based on multi-head self-attention. In the proposed steganalysis approach, words in text are firstly mapped into semantic space with a hidden representation for better modeling the semantic features. Then, we utilize multi-head self-attention to model the interactions between words in carrier. Finally, a softmax layer is utilized to categorize the input text as cover or stego. Extensive experiments validate the effectiveness of our approach.
Study on the Mechanism of Lianpu Drink for the Treatment of Chronic Gastritis Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Zhou Shuhan , Duan Yanjun , Deng Yu , Wang Miao , Huang Chaoqun , Liu Zhiyi , Xu Xiaohui , Lv Wenliang
Published: April 2021

Chronic gastritis (CG) places a considerable burden on the healthcare system worldwide. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas characterized by multicompounds and multitargets have been acknowledged with striking effects in the treatment of CG in China’s history. Nevertheless, their accurate mechanisms of action are still ambiguous. In this study, we analyzed the effective compounds, potential targets, and related biological pathway of Lianpu Drink (LPD), a TCM formula which has been reported to have a therapeutic effect on CG, by contrasting a “compound-target-disease” network. According to the results, 92 compounds and 5762 putative targets of LPD were screened; among them, 8 compounds derived from different herbs in LPD and 30 common targets related to LPD and CG were selected as candidate compounds and precision targets, respectively. Meanwhile, the predicted common targets were verified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analysis and pharmacological experiments. The results demonstrated that quercetin, ephedrine, trigonelline, crocetin, and β-sitosterol were major effective compounds of LPD responsible for the CG treatment by inhibiting the activation of the JAK 2-STAT 3 signaling pathway to reduce the expressions of cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 proteins. The study provides evidence for the mechanism of understanding of LPD for the treatment of CG.