bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Test of cure study: a feasibility study to estimate the time to test of cure (TOC) for
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
and
Chlamydia trachomatis
infections
Authors: Sultan Binta , Benn Paul , Schembri Gabriel , Patel Hemanti , Brima Nataliya , Alexander Sarah , Ison Catherine A
Published: May 2020

Objectives

Test of cure (TOC) for
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
(NG) and
Chlamydia trachomatis
(CT) infection is an important tool in the public health management of STIs. However, there are limited data about the optimal time to perform TOC using nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for NG and CT infections. A study was performed to assess the feasibility of a larger study to determine the optimal time to TOC using NAATS.

Methods

The Sexually Transmitted Bacteria Reference Unit at Public Health England undertook testing of gonococcal and chlamydial nucleic acids within neat urine stored in different conditions over 25 days to provide evidence of the stability of the nucleic acid prior to recruitment. Individuals diagnosed with uncomplicated NG or CT infection were recruited from three sexual health clinics. Individuals were asked to return nine self-taken samples from the site of infection over a course of 35 days. Survival analyses of time to first negative NAAT result for NG and CT infection and univariate regression analysis of factors that affect time to clearance were undertaken.

Results

At room temperature, chlamydial DNA in urine is stable for up to 3 weeks and gonococcal DNA for up to 11 days. We analysed data for 147 infections (81 NG and 66 CT). The median time to clearance of infection was 4 days (IQR 2–10 days) for NG infection and 10 days (IQR 7–14 days) for CT infection. Vaginal CT infections took longer to clear (p=0.031). NG infection in men who have sex with men took longer to clear (p=0.052).

Conclusion

Chlamydial and gonococcal nucleic acids are stable in urine before addition of preservatives, longer than recommended by the manufacturer. The TOC results suggest that it may be possible to undertake TOC for NG and CT infections earlier than current guidelines suggest and that anatomical site of infection may affect time to clearance of infection.
‘It has candy. You need to press on it’: young adults’ perceptions of flavoured cigarettes in the Philippines
Authors: Brown Jennifer , Zhu Meng , Moran Meghan , Hoe Connie , Frejas Ferdie , Cohen Joanna E
Published: May 2020

Background

The Philippines has a high smoking prevalence and one of the largest tobacco menthol market shares in the world. Flavour capsule cigarettes were introduced to the Philippines in 2013, most of which are menthol flavoured, and their market share is increasing. We explored perceptions of flavoured cigarette packaging among young adult Filipinos.

Methods

We conducted eight focus groups with 63 young adults ages 18–24 years in Manila in 2019, stratified by gender and smoking status. We conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts.

Results

Most participants assessed relative harm of cigarettes based on strength, mainly determined by colour of the packaging. Menthol cigarettes with primarily blue packaging were considered less harmful than menthol cigarettes with primarily green packaging. Many participants considered flavour capsule packs most attractive, compared with non-flavoured and traditional menthol cigarettes, due to the colouring of the packs and expectations regarding taste. Some participants likened the capsules and the taste of flavour capsule cigarettes to candy, and many participants thought flavour capsule cigarettes would most likely be smoked by teenagers or young adults.

Conclusions

Young adult Filipinos believe that some menthol-flavoured cigarettes are less harmful than other flavoured cigarettes and non-flavoured cigarettes and find flavour capsule cigarettes attractive. A tobacco flavour ban and implementation of plain packaging might help reduce misperceptions of risk and make cigarettes less appealing.
Age-, sex-, and region-specific differences in skeletal muscle size and quality
Authors: Stock Matt S. , Oranchuk Dustin J. , Burton Adam M. , Phan David C.
Published: May 2020

Ultrasonography-derived cross-sectional area (CSA) and echo intensity (EI) are increasingly utilized by investigators to study muscle size and quality, respectively. We sought to examine age, sex, and region (proximal, middle, distal) differences in vastus lateralis and rectus femoris CSA and EI, and determine whether correction for subcutaneous fat thickness influences the magnitude of EI differences. Fifteen younger men (mean age = 23 years), 15 younger women (aged 21 years), 11 older men (aged 74 years), and 15 older women (aged 70 years) participated. Clear differences were observed among age, sex, and region for vastus lateralis CSA (p ≤ 0.013, d = 0.38–0.73), whereas rectus femoris CSA was only different between younger and older participants at the proximal region (p = 0.017, d = 0.65). Uncorrected EI was greatest at the distal region of both muscles (p < 0.001, d = 0.59–1.38), with only the younger men having significantly lower EI values than the other groups (p ≤ 0.043, d = 0.37–0.63). Subcutaneous fat correction resulted in a marked increase in the magnitude of sex-specific EI differences (p ≤ 0.032, d ≥ 0.42). Additionally, subcutaneous fat correction increased the uniformity of EI throughout the thigh. These findings highlight considerable region-specific differences in muscle size and quality among younger and older men and women and highlight the need to correct for subcutaneous fat thickness when examining EI.

Novelty Rectus femoris CSA is similar between younger and older adults except at the most proximal site evaluated. Age- and sex-specific differences in uncorrected EI are nonuniform across the thigh. Correction for subcutaneous fat thickness substantially increased EI in women, resulting in greater sex differences.
Activation energy and binary chemical reaction effect in nonlinear thermal radiative stagnation point flow of Walter-B nanofluid: Numerical computations
Authors: Ijaz Khan M. , Alzahrani Faris
Published: May 2020

This paper examines nonlinear thermal radiative stagnation point flow of Walter-B nanofluid. The characteristics of nanofluid are explored using Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects. In the presence of uniform magnetic field, fluid is conducting electrically. Furthermore, phenomena of mass and heat transfer are studied by implementing the effects of chemical reaction, Joule heating and activation energy. Outcomes of distinct variables such as induced magnetic parameter, Eckert number, thermal radiation parameter, Weissenberg number, ratio of rate constant, heat capacity ratio, thermal Biot number, solutal Biot number, Prandtl number, heat generation parameter, Schmidt number on concentration, temperature and velocity distributions are explored. The numerical method is implemented to solve the governing flow expression. Further, Sherwood number, Nusselt number and skin friction coefficient are analyzed and discussed in tables. Weissenberg number have opposite behavior on velocity field while it increases for larger values of mixed convection parameter. Temperature of the fluid rises for higher values of thermal Biot number, thermophoresis diffusion coefficient, heat generation parameter and Eckert number Activation energy parameter and Weissenberg number have direct relation with concentration field.
Theoretical investigation of the structural stabilities, optoelectronic and thermoelectric properties of ternary alloys NaInY2 (Y = S, Se and Te) through modified Becke–Johnson exchange potential
Authors: Yaseen Muhammad Shahzad , Murtaza G. , Murtaza G.
Published: May 2020

The ground-state physical properties of compounds [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] are investigated using all electron full potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbital (FP-LAPW+lo) method. These properties include thermoelectric, optical, electronic and structural properties. The generalized gradient approximation (GGA) due to Wu Cohen (WC) exchange potential for the exchange correlation (XC) effects was used. The modified Becke–Johnson (mBJ) approximation has also been exploited for the precise measurement of XC energy. The stability of crystal structures in tetragonal chalcopyrite phase was determined by calculating the enthalpies of formation. The electronic properties have been studied by plotting the total density of states (TDOS) and partial density of states (PDOS) as well as band structures. These properties show that all compounds have direct band gaps. By exploiting the imaginary part of the dielectric function [Formula: see text], optical properties such as energy loss spectrum [Formula: see text], reflectivity [Formula: see text], extinction coefficient [Formula: see text], refractive index [Formula: see text], optical conductivity [Formula: see text] and absorption coefficient [Formula: see text] were calculated. It can be seen that threshold absorption for all compounds occurs in the lower energy regions of solar spectrum. Thermoelectric properties like figure of merit (ZT), power factor (PF), electrical conductivity [Formula: see text], thermal conductivity [Formula: see text] and Seebeck coefficient [Formula: see text], were also calculated by employing Boltz Trap code. While studying transport properties, [Formula: see text] was found to be comparatively more efficient than [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] having maximum value of ZT. Therefore, first principle study of these chalcopyrite compounds revels that they are promising materials for photovoltaics in the infrared and visible part of solar energy.
Transmission and reflection characteristics of normal incidence on silicon-metal-silicon interface
Authors: Sun Xu , Zhu Pengfei , Ping Yunxia , Zhu Kun , Zhang Chaomin , Sun Xiaohui , Song Pei
Published: May 2020

We investigate transmission and reflection properties of a broadband pulse with normal incidence on silicon-metal-silicon (SMS) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The results show that in lower frequency range, the transmission is close to zero, and the reflection and loss are in the range 0.50–0.90, 0.10 to 0.50, respectively. In higher frequency range, the transmission spectrum has two peaks, with transmittance 0.69, 0.90, and at same frequencies as the transmission peaks, the reflection spectrum has two troughs with reflectance 0.00, 0.02 and corresponding losses are 0.10, 0.29, respectively. This simple waveguide structure may have potential applications in silicon photonics, such as filters and laser oscillation cavities.
Displacement Transmissibility of a Four-Parameter Isolator with Geometric Nonlinearity
Authors: Liu Haiping , Zhao Pengpeng
Published: May 2020

This study is concerned with structural vibration reduction using a four-parameter isolator designed as a scissor-like structure, which can induce geometric nonlinearity during the deformation process. The displacement transmissibility of the isolator including the geometric nonlinearity under base excitations is thoroughly investigated. First, the dynamic model of the four-parameter isolator is presented. Then, by utilizing the harmonic balanced method (HBM), the steady-state solutions of the inertia mass and auxiliary spring of the proposed isolator are derived. The analytical solutions are validated by comparing with those obtained by the direct numerical integrating method. Besides, the natural frequency of the nonlinear isolation system is presented and investigated. Moreover, the isolation performance of the four-parameter isolator is assessed in terms of the relative and absolute displacement transmissibilities, and compared with that of the linear Zener model, by which the advantages of the present isolator have been clearly revealed. The effects of various design parameters on the displacement transmissibility of the isolator are also analyzed. Finally, a further comparison between the analytical and experimental results under base excitation also shows that the mechanical model used for the four-parameter isolator is accuracy enough. The present results may provide a useful theoretical basis for the design of the four-parameter isolator in engineering practice.
On graded primitive Leavitt path algebras
Authors: Rangaswamy Kulumani M.
Published: May 2020

Graded primitive Leavitt path algebras of arbitrary directed graphs over a field [Formula: see text] are completely characterized by means of graphical conditions. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given under which a graded prime Leavitt path algebra becomes graded primitive and this leads to answering the graded version of a question of Kaplansky on von Neumann regular prime rings in the context of Leavitt path algebras.
The convergence properties of orthogonal rational functions on the extended real line and analytic on the upper half plane
Authors: Xu Xu , Xu Xiaoqiang , Zhu Laiyi
Published: May 2020

We study the orthogonal rational functions with a given sequence of poles on the half plane. We give the weak-star convergence results for the rational measures which relate to the Poisson kernel and reproducing kernel. Those rational measures represent the same inner product as the normalized Nevanlinna measure in [Formula: see text]. Moreover, we consider the convergence properties of the interpolants which interpolate the Carathéodory function [Formula: see text].
Analysis of Social Media Based on Terrorism — A Review
Authors: Jain Pooja N , Vaidya Archana S
Published: May 2020

With the ever-growing number of online social media platforms, the world has shrunk even further with regards to communication and knowledge-sharing perspective. However, communication, at times, can be deterrent when misused using such widespread social media tools. The acts of terrorism become seemingly convenient as the barrier of communication is nullified. This propagation of hateful content becomes much more easier and even recruiting anti-socials gets easier. Oddly, these social media platforms are the ones that prove essential during such crisis situations. This paper reviews most of the works reported by various authors in the last 10 years on the use of social media during a time of terrorist attack to addressing how to use social media for public communication with the emergency organization and military or police during terrorist attack, how to perform post-attack social media analytic and how to detect acts of terrorism, unrest, and hatred using social media analytic. With this objective, the authors also hope to inspire other researchers to work in this direction and use this review as a guide for instigating future research to counter-attack terrorism as it is the need of the hour for our country in the wake of recent Uri and Pulwama attack.
Using the Long Wavelength Array to Search for Cosmic Dawn
Authors: DiLullo Christopher , Taylor Gregory B. , Dowell Jayce
Published: May 2020

The search for the spectral signature of hydrogen from the formation of the first stars, known as Cosmic Dawn or First Light, is an ongoing effort around the world. The signature should present itself as a decrease in the temperature of the 21[Formula: see text]cm transition relative to that of the Cosmic Microwave Background and is believed to reside somewhere below 100[Formula: see text]MHz. A potential detection was published by the Experiment to Detect the Global EoR Signal (EDGES) collaboration with a profile centered around 78[Formula: see text]MHz of both unexpected depth and width (Bowman et al. [2018] Nature 555, 67). If validated, this detection will have profound impacts on the current paradigm of structure formation within [Formula: see text]CDM cosmology. We present an attempt to detect the spectral signature reported by the EDGES collaboration with the Long Wavelength Array station located on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA (LWA-SV). LWA-SV differs from other instruments in that it is a 256 element antenna array and offers beamforming capabilisties that should help with calibration and detection. We report first limits from LWA-SV and look toward future plans to improve these limits.
A User-centric Security Solution for Internet of Things and Edge Convergence
Authors: Puthal Deepak , Yang Laurence T. , Dustdar Schahram , Wen Zhenyu , Jun Song , Moorsel Aad van , Ranjan Rajiv
Published: May 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a backbone of sensing infrastructure to several mission-critical applications such as smart health, disaster management, and smart cities. Due to resource-constrained sensing devices, IoT infrastructures use Edge datacenters (EDCs) for real-time data processing. EDCs can be either static or mobile in nature, and this article considers both of these scenarios. Generally, EDCs communicate with IoT devices in emergency scenarios to evaluate data in real-time. Protecting data communications from malicious activity becomes a key factor, as all the communication flows through insecure channels. In such infrastructures, it is a challenging task for EDCs to ensure the trustworthiness of the data for emergency evaluations. The current communication security pattern of “communication before authentication” leaves a “black hole” for intruders to become part of communication processes without authentication. To overcome this issue and to develop security infrastructures for IoT and distributed Edge datacenters, this article proposes a user-centric security solution. The proposed security solution shifts from a network-centric approach to a user-centric security approach by authenticating users and devices before communication is established. A trusted controller is initialized to authenticate and establishes the secure channel between the devices before they start communication between themselves. The centralized controller draws a perimeter for secure communications within the boundary. Theoretical analysis and experimental evaluation of the proposed security model show that it not only secures the communication infrastructure but also improves the overall network performance.
SAMAF
Authors: Báez-Suárez Abraham , Shah Nolan , Nolazco-Flores Juan Arturo , Huang Shou-Hsuan S. , Gnawali Omprakash , Shi Weidong
Published: May 2020

Audio fingerprinting techniques were developed to index and retrieve audio samples by comparing a content-based compact signature of the audio instead of the entire audio sample, thereby reducing memory and computational expense. Different techniques have been applied to create audio fingerprints; however, with the introduction of deep learning, new data-driven unsupervised approaches are available. This article presents Sequence-to-Sequence Autoencoder Model for Audio Fingerprinting (SAMAF), which improved hash generation through a novel loss function composed of terms: Mean Square Error, minimizing the reconstruction error; Hash Loss, minimizing the distance between similar hashes and encouraging clustering; and Bitwise Entropy Loss, minimizing the variation inside the clusters. The performance of the model was assessed with a subset of VoxCeleb1 dataset, a“speech in-the-wild” dataset. Furthermore, the model was compared against three baselines: Dejavu, a Shazam-like algorithm; Robust Audio Fingerprinting System (RAFS), a Bit Error Rate (BER) methodology robust to time-frequency distortions and coding/decoding transformations; and Panako, a constellation-based algorithm adding time-frequency distortion resilience. Extensive empirical evidence showed that our approach outperformed all the baselines in the audio identification task and other classification tasks related to the attributes of the audio signal with an economical hash size of either 128 or 256 bits for one second of audio.
DEEPEYE
Authors: Cheng Yuan , Li Guangya , Wong Ngai , Chen Hai-Bao , Yu Hao
Published: May 2020

Video object detection and action recognition typically require deep neural networks (DNNs) with huge number of parameters. It is thereby challenging to develop a DNN video comprehension unit in resource-constrained terminal devices. In this article, we introduce a deeply tensor-compressed video comprehension neural network, called DEEPEYE, for inference on terminal devices. Instead of building a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network directly from high-dimensional raw video data input, we construct an LSTM-based spatio-temporal model from structured, tensorized time-series features for object detection and action recognition. A deep compression is achieved by tensor decomposition and trained quantization of the time-series feature-based LSTM network. We have implemented DEEPEYE on an ARM-core-based IOT board with 31 FPS consuming only 2.4W power. Using the video datasets MOMENTS, UCF11 and HMDB51 as benchmarks, DEEPEYE achieves a 228.1× model compression with only 0.47% mAP reduction; as well as 15
k
× parameter reduction with up to 8.01% accuracy improvement over other competing approaches.
Generalized Points-to Graphs
Authors: Gharat Pritam M. , Khedker Uday P. , Mycroft Alan
Published: May 2020

Computing precise (fully flow- and context-sensitive) and exhaustive (as against demand-driven) points-to information is known to be expensive. Top-down approaches require repeated analysis of a procedure for separate contexts. Bottom-up approaches need to model unknown pointees accessed indirectly through pointers that may be defined in the callers and hence do not scale while preserving precision. Therefore, most approaches to precise points-to analysis begin with a scalable but imprecise method and then seek to increase its precision. We take the opposite approach in that we begin with a precise method and increase its scalability. In a nutshell, we create naive but possibly non-scalable procedure summaries and then use novel optimizations to compact them while retaining their soundness and precision.

For this purpose, we propose a novel abstraction called the
generalized points-to graph
(GPG), which views points-to relations as memory updates and generalizes them using the counts of indirection levels leaving the unknown pointees implicit. This allows us to construct GPGs as compact representations of bottom-up procedure summaries in terms of memory updates and control flow between them. Their compactness is ensured by strength reduction (which reduces the indirection levels), control flow minimization (which removes control flow edges while preserving soundness and precision), and call inlining (which enhances the opportunities of these optimizations).

The effectiveness of GPGs lies in the fact that they discard as much control flow as possible without losing precision. This is the reason GPGs are very small even for main procedures that contain the effect of the entire program. This allows our implementation to scale to 158 kLoC for C programs.

At a more general level, GPGs provide a convenient abstraction to represent and transform memory in the presence of pointers. Future investigations can try to combine it with other abstractions for static analyses that can benefit from points-to information.
An Enhanced Dynamic Weighted Incremental Technique for QoS Support in NoC
Authors: Monemi Alireza , Khunjush Farshad , Palesi Maurizio , Sarbazi-Azad Hamid
Published: May 2020

Providing Quality-of-Service (QoS) in many-core network-on-chip (NoC) platforms is critical due to the high level of resource sharing in such systems. This article presents a hard-built Equality-of-Service (EoS) and Differential-Service (DS) as subsets of QoS in NoC using weighted round-robin arbitration policy. In the proposed technique, packets can be injected with variable initial weights. An enhanced dynamic weight incremental technique is proposed that automatically increases the weights according to the contention degree that packets face along their paths. The proposed technique provides EoS for all packets that are injected with equal initial weights. Furthermore, the router’s input port bandwidth is shared among the passing flows according to the portion of packets’ initial weights in the presence of contention (saturation). This provides DS in the network. The area and timing overhead of the proposed technique is insignificant (<%3). However, it achieves a remarkable improvement in the performance against baseline routers. The simulation using synthetic traffic patterns shows up to 67% average EoS improvement in both network throughput and worst-case delay (WCD). Two case studies are conducted for observing the DS. The first case study shows how a hotspot traffic bandwidth can be shared differently among other nodes according to the flows’ initial weights. The second case study explores the DS in an experiment running traffic patterns generated from several real applications task graphs. This case study shows when all packets of a specific application are injected with larger initial weights than the others, its WCD can be reduced up to 50% compared to the time when all applications’ packets are injected with equal initial weights.
May–Thurner Syndrome: A Consideration for Deep Vein Thrombosis in Males
Authors: Tian En Jason Tay , Jia Sheng Tay , Choke Tieng Chek Edward , Sachdeva Pooja
Published: May 2020

May–Thurner syndrome (MTS) is an underdiagnosed cause of lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The clinical prevalence of MTS-related DVT is likely underestimated, particularly in patients with other more recognisable risk factors. MTS is classically described in females between the age group of 20–50 years. In patients with acute iliofemoral thrombosis, medical treatment with anticoagulation alone has been associated with higher risk of postthrombotic syndrome (PTS) and lower iliofemoral patency rates, as compared to endovascular correction. We describe a case of MTS-related extensive iliofemoral DVT occurring in a middle age male who presented with acute onset of left lower limb swelling and pain, complicated by pulmonary embolism. Doppler compression ultrasonography of the left lower limb showed partial DVT extending from the left external iliac to the popliteal veins, and contrasted computed tomography (CT) of the thorax abdomen and pelvis established features of MTS, together with right pulmonary embolism. He was started on low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and then underwent left lower limb AngioJet pharmacomechanical thrombolysis/thrombectomy, iliac vein stenting, and temporary inferior vena cava (IVC) filter insertion. After the procedure, the patient recovered and improved symptomatically with rapid resolution of this left lower limb swelling and pain. He was switched to an oral Factor Xa inhibitor and was subsequently discharged. After 1-month follow-up, he remained well with stent patency visualised on repeat ultrasound and underwent an uneventful elective IVC filter retrieval with subsequent plans for a 1-year follow-up.
Research on the Pricing of Global Drought Catastrophe Bonds
Authors: Deng Guoqu , Liu Shiqiang , Li Li , Deng Chushi
Published: May 2020

The rapid development of catastrophe bonds provides a new idea for catastrophe risk dispersion, since its traditional means fail to afford the economic losses caused by the global drought catastrophe. With the deepening of the concept of the community with a shared future for mankind, there is an opportunity to issue global drought catastrophe bonds through international cooperation. Based on the data of global drought catastrophe losses from 1900 to 2018, this paper selects 21 countries as the primary participants of international cooperation and studies the pricing of drought catastrophe bonds by the POT model and high quantile estimation. The results show that the first-class bond has a 10% occurrence probability with the trigger point of $252.54 million, and the second-class one has a 35% occurrence probability with the trigger point being $117.13 million. In line with high quartile estimates, the one-year principal-protected catastrophe bonds with a face value of $1,000 are valued at $957.14 and $939.29, respectively. Besides, the principal portion of the lost bonds is $912.50 and $783.04, while the total of it is $867.86 and $626.79, respectively.
Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Presenting as Metastatic Disease to the Breast
Authors: Kanteti Archana P. , Atiya Samir , Hein Ashley , Cox Jesse L. , Martinez Duarte Ernesto
Published: May 2020

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor that is derived from C cells of the thyroid gland. It is a rare aggressive tumor, known to metastasize to lymph nodes, liver, bones, and lungs. A 41-year-old female, who presented with a breast mass, was initially diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. She was also found to have a thyroid mass which was later diagnosed as MTC. On a rereview of the breast pathology, the morphologic features were strikingly similar to the MTC. Further investigation revealed that this was in fact a very rare case of MTC that had metastasized to the breast. We have identified 20 cases of MTC metastasizing to the breast in the literature that supports its occurrence as a real possibility. Albeit rare, medullary thyroid carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a breast mass.
Coordinated Optimal Control of Secondary Cooling and Final Electromagnetic Stirring for Continuous Casting Billets
Authors: Wu Dongsheng , Ji Zhenping , Yang Jian , Gao Hongwei , Yu Jiahui , Ju Zhaojie
Published: May 2020

Secondary cooling and final electromagnetic stirring (F-EMS) are both key technologies for continuous casting. These parameters are usually optimized and controlled separately which caused internal quality fluctuations in unsteady conditions. In this paper, a coordinated optimal control strategy based on a multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is proposed for the parameter optimization of secondary cooling and F-EMS, which is solved based on multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm. The solidification and heat transfer model are developed for the computation of billet temperature and the solidification, and the adaptive grid method is used to improve the diversity and robustness of optimal solutions. The secondary cooling water and F-EMS’ stirring current are dynamically controlled based on the optimization results. The results of field trials showed that the maximum carbon segregation and other quality indexes of billets can be improved significantly.
Effect of Ceramic Surface Treatment and Adhesive Systems on Bond Strength of Metallic Brackets
Authors: Juntavee Patrapan , Kumchai Hattanas , Juntavee Niwut , Nathanson Dan
Published: May 2020

Objective. This study evaluated the effect of ceramic surface treatments on bond strength of metal brackets to machinable ceramics and veneering porcelain using different adhesive resins. Materials and methods. Machined ceramic specimens (10 × 10 × 2 mm) were prepared from Vitablocs mark II (Vita) and IPS e.max® CAD (Ivoclar). Layered porcelain fused to metal (IPS d.Sign®, Ivoclar) was used to fabricate PFM specimens (n = 60/group). Half of specimens were etched (9.6% HF, 15 sec), and the rest were nonetched. Three resin bonding systems were used for attaching metal brackets (Victory series™ APC II, 3M) to each group (n = 10): Transbond™ XT (3M), Light Bond™ (Reliance), or Blugloo™ (Ormco), all cured with LED curing unit (Bluephase G1600, Vivadent) for 50 s each. Specimens were immersed in deionized water at 37°C for 24 hours prior to shear bond testing (Instron) at crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Debond surface of ceramic and bracket base was examined for failure mode (FM), Ceramic Damage Index (CDI), and Adhesive Remnant Index (ARI). ANOVA and post hoc multiple comparisons were used to analyze the differences in bond strength. The chi-squared test was used to determine significance effect of FM, CDI, and ARI. Results. Significant differences in shear bond strength among group were found (p≤0.05) related to ceramic, surface treatment, and resin cement. Conclusion. Bond strength of bracket to ceramic is affected by type of ceramic, resin cement, and ceramic surface conditioning. Etching ceramic surface enhanced ceramic-bracket bond strength. However, bond strengths in nontreated ceramic surface groups were still higher than bond strength required for bonding in orthodontic treatment.
Combination of Red Clover and Hops Extract Improved Menopause Symptoms in an Ovariectomized Rat Model
Authors: Kim Mi Ran , Kim Hyun Jin , Yu Su Hyun , Lee Bo Su , Jeon Se Yeong , Lee Jeong Jun , Lee Young Chul
Published: May 2020

Red clover and hops are already known for their alternative menopausal therapies; however, their combination has not yet been studied. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of red clover and hops extract (RHEC) for treating menopausal symptoms for the first time. A high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for RHEC was developed and validated for the analysis of biochanin A in red clover extract and xanthohumol in hops extract. An in vivo study was conducted using an ovariectomized rat model treated with RHEC (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg, p.o.) for a 12‐week test period. Changes in body weight, tail skin temperature (TST), serum lipid profile, bone metabolism, antioxidants, and markers of vasorelaxation and uterus endometrium were evaluated. RHEC significantly inhibited body weight gain and decreased fat weight. Changes in TST associated with flashes were significantly inhibited in the RHEC groups. Other markers related to menopausal symptoms, such as blood lipid profile (total cholesterol and low‐density‐lipoprotein cholesterol), bone metabolism (serum alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and c‐terminal telopeptide type 1), antioxidants (superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde), and vasorelaxants (endothelin‐1 and nitric oxide), were significantly improved after the administration of RHEC. We also confirmed the safety of RHEC through histopathological observation of the endometrium. Our findings demonstrate that RHEC appears to have high potential for comprehensively improving various symptoms of menopause.
Quantitative Calculation of Critical Depth in Typical Rockburst Mine
Authors: Rong Hai , Yu Shiqi , Zhang Hongwei , Liang Bing
Published: May 2020

In order to calculate the critical depth of a typical rockburst coal mine quantitatively, which is helpful in rockburst prevention and control, in this paper, the concept of typical rockburst coal mine and atypical rockburst coal mine is put forward, energy characteristics of a coal‐rock dynamic system is identified, and the relationship between rockburst and the coal‐rock dynamic system is analysed by the model of the coal‐rock dynamic system. Energy characteristics of the coal‐rock dynamic system in the gravity stress field, tectonic stress field, and mining stress field are determined, respectively, and corresponding calculation methods are put forward at the same time, and the calculation method of the coal‐rock dynamic system energy can forecast the occurrence of rockburst, with an accuracy of 80%. The calculation method of the critical depth in a typical rockburst coal mine is put forward, and the accuracy of which is validated in one typical rockburst coal mine. The degree of coincidence for the result of this method is 93.1%, which shows that the calculation method of a critical depth in a typical rockburst mine is highly reliable and practical, which could be widely used in forecasting the hazard of rockburst in typical rockburst mines. This method will be validated in more coal mines, and the calculation method of the critical depth in an atypical rockburst mine will be further researched in the future.
Physicochemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Industrial Wastewater Being Discharged to Surface Water Bodies: Significant Threat to Environmental Pollution and Human Health
Authors: Tariq Muhammad , Anayat Alia , Waseem Muhammad , Rasool Muhammad Hidayat , Zahoor Muhammad Asif , Ali Shafaqat , Rizwan Muhammad , Abdel-Daim Mohamed M. , Alkahtani Saad
Published: May 2020

In developing countries, various sociodemographic and climatic factors such as urbanization, industrialization, and improved living standard, and water and energy demands will all characterize wastewater’s future. Increasing population and water shortage are the main driving forces for the reuse of untreated wastewater for irrigation and other uses in many poor countries, posing a significant threat to global food security. Although wastewater contains essential nutrients required for plant growth, it also contains toxic heavy metals and pathogens that pose a significant threat to the environment and human health. Present research work was carried out to study important physicochemical and microbiological parameters of industrial wastewater collected from various discharged points at different locations of Kala Shah Kaku (KSK) city, Pakistan. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, temperature, sodium, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates, sodium adsorption ratio, chlorides, and heavy metals such as nickel, cadmium, and iron of all industrial wastewater samples were within the standard limits. However, certain water’s quality parameters such as TSS, BOD, COD, residual sodium carbonate, heavy metals such as chromium, and total suspended solids of all samples were exceeding the maximum allowable limits listed by Pakistani Standards. Carbonates, manganese, and cobalt were not detected in any of the wastewater samples. Total viable count and total coliform counts were higher in all samples describing low levels of sanitation. Contamination of fecal coliform and Escherichia coli was observed in about 50% of the studied wastewater samples. The overall results focus on the discharge of highly polluted wastewater in and around KSK city. Indirectly it creates significant threats to environmental pollution and human health. Continuous monitoring of physicochemical and microbial indicators of effluent’s quality for its reuse for irrigation purpose is proposed to safeguard the public health and environment.
A Cell-Based MAPK Reporter Assay Reveals Synergistic MAPK Pathway Activity Suppression by MAPK Inhibitor Combination in BRAF-Driven Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma Cells
Authors: Usta Diren , Sigaud Romain , Buhl Juliane L. , Selt Florian , Marquardt Viktoria , Pauck David , Jansen Jennifer , Pusch Stefan , Ecker Jonas , Hielscher Thomas , Vollmer Johanna , Sommerkamp Alexander C. , Rubner Tobias , Hargrave Darren , van Tilburg Cornelis M. , Pfister Stefan M. , Jones David T.W. , Remke Marc , Brummer Tilman , Witt Olaf , Milde Till
Published: May 2020

Pilocytic astrocytomas as well as other pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGG) exhibit genetic events leading to aberrant activation of the MAPK pathway. The most common alterations are KIAA1549:BRAF fusions and BRAFV600E and NF1 mutations. Novel drugs targeting the MAPK pathway (MAPKi) are prime candidates for the treatment of these single-pathway diseases. We aimed to develop an assay suitable for preclinical testing of MAPKi in pLGGs with the goal to identify novel MAPK pathway–suppressing synergistic drug combinations. A reporter plasmid (pDIPZ) with a MAPK-responsive ELK-1–binding element driving the expression of destabilized firefly luciferase was generated and packaged using a lentiviral vector system. Pediatric glioma cell lines with a BRAF fusion (DKFZ-BT66) and a BRAFV600E mutation (BT-40) background, respectively, were stably transfected. Modulation of the MAPK pathway activity by MAPKi was measured using the luciferase reporter and validated by detection of phosphorylated protein levels. A screening of a MAPKi library was performed, and synergy of selected combinations was calculated. Screening of a MAPKi library revealed MEK inhibitors as the class inhibiting the pathway with the lowest IC50s, followed by ERK and next-generation RAF inhibitors. Combination treatments with different MAPKi classes showed synergistic effects in BRAF fusion as well as BRAFV600E mutation backgrounds. Here, we report a novel reporter assay for medium- to high-throughput preclinical drug testing in pLGG cell lines. The assay confirmed MEK, ERK, and next-generation RAF inhibitors as potential treatment approaches for KIAA1549:BRAF and BRAFV600E-mutated pLGGs. In addition, the assay revealed that combination treatments synergistically suppressed MAPK pathway activity.
Prospective Comparison of Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology and Frozen Section Histology on Axillary Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Early Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Abe Makoto , Yamada Tetsuya , Nakano Akinobu
Published: May 2020

Introduction: Since the late 1970s, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been used for several solid malignancies to identify lymph node metastases. This procedure is associated with less surgical morbidity than complete lymphadenectomy. Recent evidence suggests that axillary lymphadenectomy is not required for breast sentinel nodes with micrometastases (≤2 mm). Current clinical management of sentinel nodes indicates that only macrometastases (>2 mm) should be detected intraoperatively. In Japan, an intraoperative histopathological frozen section (FS) method is used to identify lymph node metastases, but this method takes more than 30 min and requires complex techniques and expensive equipment. Touch imprint cytology (TIC) is an easier, less expensive, and faster method, but its sensitivity has been shown to be low. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if TIC is more useful than FS in identifying macrometastases in sentinel lymph nodes in preoperative node-negative breast cancer operations. Methods: A prospective review of 49 consecutive patients with node-negative breast cancer treated with SLNB and intraoperative TIC and FS between November 2017 and June 2019 was performed. TIC samples were stained using Papanicolaou and Diff-Quick stains. Results were compared with routine postoperative paraffin sections. Results: With TIC, the Papanicolaou stain took a mean of 12 min, and the Diff-Quick stain took a mean of 10 min. Results of both TIC stain methods were the same. In contrast, the FS method took a mean of 80 min (including the transfer of specimens to a different hospital with the necessary equipment). TIC confirmed macrometastases in 5 cases. All macrometastases were diagnosed equally by the 2 techniques. Both the sensitivity and specificity of TIC were 100% for detection of macrometastases. Conclusion: TIC of SLNB for breast cancer is an easy and useful method for the detection of macrometastases of breast sentinel nodes.
NOTAS ACERCA DA INVENÇÃO DO NEGRO NO BRASIL
Authors: Flor Caue Gomes
Published: May 2020

Desde o final dos anos 1980 os povos, tradições e culturas de origem africana têm ocupado o centro de um profundo debate epistemológico. A perspectiva pós-colonial, se não for a maior protagonista desse debate epistêmico, tem concentrado grande parte de suas preocupações na investigação dos modos pelos quais as tradições de pensamento ocidental conheceram e, sobretudo, representaram o Outro do ocidente (em nosso caso o Negro). Esse artigo busca realizar justamente essa tarefa desconstrutivista. Busca-se compreender como a antropologia, particularmente na figura de Gilberto Freyre, construiu o negro no Brasil como um objeto teórico autorizado e passou a proporcionar um vocabulário capaz de identifica-lo e representa-lo. Por meio das críticas de autores internos a própria antropologia e autores pós-coloniais, como Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall e Franz Fanon acerca das representações ocidentais sobre o Negro, o artigo conclui que, não diferente de outros contextos colonizados, a formulações de Freyre e, grosso modo, a antropologia se desdobram e reproduzem as problemáticas relações epistemológicas que marcam a relação colonial.
RESENHA: ÁFRICAS E SUAS RELAÇÕES DE GÊNERO, ORG. MARIANA BRACKS E FERNANDA CHAMARELLI. RIO DE JANEIRO: EDIÇÕES ÁFRICAS/ANCESTRE, 2019. 210 P. E-BOOK .
Authors: Ferracini Rosemberg
Published: May 2020

O livro aqui resenhando faz parte da publicação do Grupo de Pesquisa ÁFRICAS: SOCIEDADE, POLÍTICA E CULTURA, coordenado pelos professores doutores Silvio de Almeida Carvalho Filho (UFRJ) e Washington Santos Nascimento (UERJ), estando disponível em pdf no site https://grupoafricas.wixsite.com/site/edicoes-africas-lacamentos.
ENTREVISTA COM OSWALDO DE CAMARGO
Authors: Ferreira Ligia Fonseca
Published: May 2020

Em 1990, Entrevistei, em dois momentos, o escritor Oswaldo de Camargo. Interessada nas formas enunciativas do “eu-negro”, o objetivo era levantar dados e registrar a voz do escritor em evocações de períodos anteriores e posteriores à sua chegada a São Paulo, onde se tornou uma referência e um elo entre gerações. Nesta entrevista inédita, que conta com a participação do poeta Paulo Colina, Camargo fala de sua formação, das associações negras, de crises existenciais, de “malungos” negros e brancos, de sua fé e do lugar de um escritor negro na literatura brasileira.
Nearchus, Guides, and Place Names on Alexander’s Expedition
Authors: James Dylan
Published: May 2020

The use of ὀνοµαζόµενα at Arr. Ind. 27.1 continues to puzzle scholars. This article uses the textual debate as a jumping-off point to explore Nearchus’ presentation of naval guides and their role on Alexander’s expedition, something which previous interpretations of the passage have not adequately considered. Through examination of all Nearchan fragments, I argue that providing local place names was a key aspect of a guide’s role and significant for navigation. It is also suggested that the use of this verb may additionally refer to the Macedonians’ practice of giving places new names or altering indigenous names; in this section, comparative material from New World conquest is brought to bear on the ancient evidence. In light of this analysis, I conclude that the manuscript reading of ὀνοµαζόµενα should be retained.
The use of stimulants in depression: Results from a self-controlled register study
Authors: Rohde Christopher , Brink Philip , Østergaard Søren D , Nielsen Jimmi
Published: May 2020

Objective:

To investigate the effectiveness of stimulants in patients with depression, by using naturalistic outcome measures, such as psychiatric admissions, psychiatric bed-days and incidents of intentional self-harm or suicide attempts.

Methods:

Via linkage of the Danish nationwide health registers, we identified all patients with a diagnosis of depression initiating stimulants, including methylphenidate, modafinil, amphetamine, dexamphetamine or lisdexamphetamine, from 1995 to 2012. We used a mirror-image model to test whether redemption of a stimulant prescription was associated with a reduction in psychiatric admissions, inpatient days and incidents of intentional self-harm or suicide attempts. Specifically, the number of these outcomes in the 2 years leading up to redemption of a stimulant prescription was compared to the two subsequent years. Similar outcomes were used in a reverse mirror-image model to investigate the effect of stimulant termination.

Results:

A total of 3354, 935 and 105 patients diagnosed with depression redeemed prescriptions for methylphenidate, modafinil or amphetamine/dexamphetamine/lisdexamphetamine, respectively. Initiation of methylphenidate was not associated with a significant change in psychiatric admissions (mean: −0.02 admissions, p = 0.11) or inpatient days (mean: 0.13 days, p = 0.74). Similar findings were made for modafinil and the amphetamines. In addition, no clinically relevant change in psychiatric admissions or inpatient days was found after termination of a stimulant. After initiation of methylphenidate, the incidents of self-harm or suicide attempts were reduced by 54%, from 68 to 31 events ( p = 0.004). No significant change in incidents of self-harm or suicide attempts were found for modafinil or the amphetamines.

Conclusion:

This nationwide study, using naturalistic outcomes, does not support the use of stimulants in patients with depression. However, the use of methylphenidate was associated with a 54% reduction in incidents of self-harm or suicide attempts, indicating that methylphenidate may potentially be useful in patients with depression with suicidal- or self-harming behaviour. However, further studies are needed, before any firm conclusions can be made.