bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MMSE based beamformer in massive MIMO-IDMA downlink systems
Authors: Shukla Aasheesh , Goyal Vishal , Kumar Manish , Trivedi Munesh Chandra , Deolia Vinay Kumar
Published: May 2020

Now-a-days Massive MIMO (mMIMO) become an attractive technology due to its spectral and energy efficiency by the means of simple signal processing. However, in overloaded scenario, wherein the number of users equipments (UEs) are larger than number of antennas, the spectral effciency (SE) suffers and hence error rate performance, it has been shown recently that use of code domain NOMA in mMIMO can improve the SE performance. Further, interleave division multiple access (IDMA) has been drawn much attention as a suitable code domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) for future communication standards. This paper proposes the work in two folds, first a massive multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) and IDMA communication system is jointly proposed in which antennas on the base station serves users simultaneously in the same frequency band. Both and are large in numbers. Secondly, the minimum mean square error (MMSE) based beamformer is suggested to combat the propagation loss and effect of multiple access interference (MAI), for massive MIMO-IDMA system under downlink communication constraints. With the help of simulation results, the performance of the proposed system with MMSE beamforming have been investigated in terms of BER vs SNR curve plot.
Automatic statistical evaluation of quality of unit selection speech synthesis with different prosody manipulations
Authors: Přibil Jiří , Přibilová Anna , Matoušek Jindřich
Published: May 2020

Quality of speech synthesis is a crucial issue in comparison of various text-to-speech (TTS) systems. We proposed a system for automatic evaluation of speech quality by statistical analysis of temporal features (time duration, phrasing, and time structuring of an analysed sentence) together with standard spectral and prosodic features. This system was successfully tested on sentences produced by a unit selection speech synthesizer with a male as well as a female voice using two different approaches to prosody manipulation. Experiments have shown that for correct, sharp, and stable results all three types of speech features (spectral, prosodic, and temporal) are necessary. Furthermore, the number of used statistical parameters has a significant impact on the correctness and precision of the evaluated results. It was also demonstrated that the stability of the whole evaluation process is improved by enlarging the used speech material. Finally, the functionality of the proposed system was verified by comparison of the results with those of the standard listening test.
Functional nano-structuring of thin silicon nitride membranes
Authors: Matějka Milan , Krátký Stanislav , Řiháček Tomáš , Knápek Alexandr , Kolařík Vladimír
Published: May 2020

The paper describes the development and production of a nano-optical device consisting of a nano-perforated layer of silicon nitride stretched in a single-crystal silicon frame using electron beam lithography (EBL) and reactive ion etching (RIE) techniques. Procedures for transferring nanostructures to the nitride layer are described, starting with the preparation of a metallic mask layer by physical vapor deposition (PVD), high-resolution pattern recording technique using EBL and the transfer of the motif into the functional layer using the RIE technique. Theoretical aspects are summarized including technological issues, achieved results and application potential of patterned silicon nitride membranes.
Investigation of physiological swelling on conductivity distribution in lower leg subcutaneous tissue by electrical impedance tomography
Authors: Ogawa R. , Baidillah M. R. , Akita S. , Takei M.
Published: May 2020

There is a strong need for a non-invasive measurement technique that is capable of accurately identifying the physiological condition change or heterogeneity of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) by localizing the abnormalities within the compartment. This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) to assess the interstitial fluid in subcutaneous adipose tissue as an enhancement method of bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS). Here, we demonstrate the preliminary result of EIT with a wearable 16 electrodes sensor. The image-based reference EIT with fat weighted threshold method is proposed. In order to evaluate the performance of our novel method, a physiological swelling experiment is conducted, and Multi-Frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (MFBIA) is also applied as a comparison with EIT results. The experimental results showed that the proposed method was able to distinguish the physiological swelling condition and effectively to remove the unexpected background noise. Furthermore, the conductivity variation in the subcutaneous layer had a good correlation with extracellular water volume change from MFBIA data; the correlation coefficient R2 = 0.927. It is concluded that the proposed method provides a significant prospect for SAT assessment.
The Concept of a Sustainable Urban Transport System Model for Developing Countries on the Example of Lagos
Authors: Udoji Chinonso Uchenna , Szpytko Janusz
Published: May 2020

The subject of the article is the concept of a sustainable urban transport system model for developing countries on the example of Lagos in Nigeria. The city of Lagos is the largest and most populated city in Africa. Nowadays, the state of Lagos is facing many challenges, and the problem of urban transport is becoming more and more important due to the increase in the number of inhabitants and the size of the city. Significant problems were identified in the urban transport system in the Lagos state, and conceptual solutions were proposed taking into account the approach of sustainable development.
Research progress in the treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy using traditional Chinese medicine
Authors: Lang Rui , Wang Xinhui , Liang Ying , Yan Lei , Shi Bin , Yu Renhuan
Published: May 2020

This article reviews the most significant literature of the recent years on the treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). One major goal of the article is to classify and summarize the research on the clinical aspects and the associated mechanisms of the use of Chinese herbal compounds and single drugs to treat IMN. It was found that TCM treats IMN via two major approaches: by benefiting qi, activating blood circulation and eliminating dampness, or by benefiting qi and nourishing yin. The method of benefiting qi, to activate blood circulation and eliminate dampness for dredging channels, is the most popular. The commonly used drugs in this approach include Huang Qi (astragalus), Dang Shen (codonopsis root), Bai Zhu (white atractylodes rhizome), Fu Ling (poria cocos), Dang Gui (angelica sinensis), and so on. Several randomized, controlled, clinical trials are reviewed in the article, including a multicenter one.
Concise review: Harnessing iPSC-derived cells for ischemic heart disease treatment
Authors: Duan Bin
Published: May 2020

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases and is the leading cause of death worldwide. Stem cell therapy is a promising strategy to promote cardiac regeneration and myocardial function recovery. Recently, the generation of human induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs) and their differentiation into cardiomyocytes and vascular cells offer an unprecedented opportunity for the IHD treatment. This review briefly summarizes hiPSCs and their differentiation, and presents the recent advances in hiPSC injection, engineered cardiac patch fabrication, and the application of hiPSC derived extracellular vesicle. Current challenges and further perspectives are also discussed to understand current risks and concerns, identify potential solutions, and direct future clinical trials and applications.
Ketogenic, hypocaloric diet improves nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Authors: Belopolsky Yuliya , Khan Mohammad Q. , Sonnenberg Amnon , Davidson David J. , Fimmel Claus J.
Published: May 2020

Background and objectives

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is strongly associated with obesity. A weight loss of ≥10% is necessary to improve NASH severity, but this goal has rarely been achieved in published studies using different diet protocols. The effect of a ketogenic, hypocaloric, commercial diet (“Ideal Protein,” IP) on body weight, metabolic markers, and liver tests in a group of NASH patients is evaluated in this study. Daily calorie intake was tailored to achieve a weight loss of ≥10%.

Methods

We analyzed 38 patients with NASH who were placed on the IP diet between 2014 and 2018 and compared their outcomes with 6 control patients who declined the diet. All patients were evaluated by a trained health coach in weekly intervals throughout the study period. Clinical and laboratory data obtained before and at 6.5 months after intervention were compared using paired t-testing.

Results

The patients on the IP diet experienced a significant weight reduction (217 ± 8 lb vs. 194 ± 7 lb; mean ± S.E.M.), corresponding to an average weight loss of 9.7% ± 1.6%. Significant changes in systolic blood pressure (133 ± 3 mmHg vs. 123 ± 3 mmHg), triglycerides (200 ± 21 mmol/L vs. 132 ± 11 mmol/L), hemoglobin A1c (6.71% ± 0.29% vs. 5.74% ± 0.19%), SGPT (97.3 ± 11.1 IU/L vs. 44.2 ± 5.9 IU/L), SGOT (82.4 ± 10.5 IU/L vs. 32.8 ± 5.2 IU/L), and Fib-4 scores (2.25 ± 0.23 vs. 1.40 ± 0.13) were also observed (P<0.05 in all cases). In the IP group, 50.5% of patients lost ≥10% body weight. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in the control group. The IP diet was well tolerated, and no safety signals were noticed.

Conclusions

A ketogenic, hypocaloric resulted in striking weight loss and significant improvements in metabolic parameters and liver tests, suggesting that this approach carries promise for the dietary management of patients with NASH.
Molecular study of Cysticercus tenuicollis from slaughtered sheep in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq
Authors: Mohammed Aram Ahmad
Published: May 2020

Introduction

Cysticercosis caused by the larval stage of Taenia hydatigena is economically the most important endemic parasitic disease in Iraq. Few data are available relating to the genetic divergence of this helminth. This study aimed to molecularly characterise Cysticercus tenuicollis isolates from sheep in Sulaymaniyah province, Iraq.

Material and Methods

DNA extraction and amplification of specimens of C. tenuicollis from 46 sheep were conducted by PCR for the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. The 19 amplicons were subjected to purification and partial sequencing.

Results

Five 12S rRNA nucleotide sequence haplotypes were found. The pairwise nucleotide difference between haplotypes of 12S rRNA gene ranged from 0.2% to 0.7%. Four out of the five haplotypes of C. tenuicollis contained one to two base mutations and were discovered in Iraq for the first time, and this may be a unique mutation globally which has not been recorded previously. Three newly recorded haplotypes contained only one single mutation, and the other one contained two mutations. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all isolated strains were closely related to Iranian sheep isolates.

Conclusions

Four new strains of T. hydatigena were discovered for the first time in the study area.
Corrosion studies on XD3 reinforced concrete samples prepared by using calcium nitrate as inorganic corrosion inhibitor with different superplasticizers
Authors: Abdulsada S. A. , Bak R. , Heczel A. , Török T. I.
Published: May 2020

This research paper presents an analysis of the corrosion properties of steel-reinforced concrete samples during immersion in 3.5 wt. % NaCl aqueous solution by measuring their response both cathodic and anodic polarization in order to determine the corrosion rates in the function of their calcium nitrate inhibitor content. This cheap inorganic inhibitor was added to the concrete mix in concentrations of 1% and 3% by weight of cement in addition to two different superplasticizers (MapeiDynamon SR 31 and Oxydtron). The compressive strengths of the so prepared samples were also checked according to the relevant European standard and were within the acceptable limits, so this inhibitor does not weaken this important property of the concrete samples.

The test results on steel reinforced samples immersed in 3.5 wt. % NaCl aqueous solutions at room temperature showed promising corrosion mitigating effects just after 6 months testing period. After 6 months the lower corrosion currents (i.e. better corrosion resistance) for both types of superplasticizers were observed with those samples which contained 3% calcium nitrate inhibitor. The best result was observed with sample C4 (in this case 3% calcium nitrate was added to the mixture of cement+Oxydtron superplasticizer). The advantageous inhibition mechanism of nitrate anions is also discussed and interpreted.
Petrology and origin of the Lar igneous complex of the Sistan suture zone, Iran
Authors: Boomeri Mohammad , Moradi Rahele , Bagheri Sasan
Published: May 2020

The Oligocene Lar igneous complex is located in the Sistan suture zone of Iran, being emplaced in Paleocene to Eocene flysch-type rocks. This complex includes mainly intermediate K-rich volcanic (trachyte, latite and andesite) and plutonic (syenite and monzonite) rocks that belong to shoshonitic magma. The geochemical characteristics of the Lar igneous complex, such as an enrichment of LREE and LILE relative to HREE and HFSE, respectively, a negative anomaly of Ti, Ba and Nb and a positive anomaly of Rb and Th are similar to those of arc-type igneous rocks. Tectonic discrimination diagrams also show that rocks of the Lar igneous complex fall within the arc-related and post-collisional fields and K-enrichment of these rocks confirm the post-collisional setting. Based on geochemical features, the Lar igneous complex magma was derived from partial melting of a phlogopite-bearing, enriched and metasomatised lithospheric mantle source and the magma was affected by some evolutionary processes like fractional crystallisation and crustal contamination.
The Nowdan anticline of the Zagros orogen as a geoheritage ‘window’ into the late Mesozoic–Cenozoic evolution of the African–Arabian continental margin
Authors: Habibi Tahereh , Ruban Dmitry A. , Yashalova Natalia N.
Published: May 2020

Geological heritage can contribute to our understanding of the long-term evolution of important sectors of our planet. Cretaceous–Neogene rocks (chiefly carbonates) crop out in the Nowdan anticline of the Zagros orogen. Field investigations have permitted the establishment of 10 key localities (stratigraphical reference sections) that represent these rocks within this anticline, which is a single large geosite. The formations are related to the main phases in the evolution of the northeastern sector of the African–Arabian continental margin. For instance, carbonate rocks of the Asmari Formation mark changes in the affinity of the study area, from the African–Arabian plate to only the Arabian plate, separated in conjunction with Red Sea rifting during the Oligocene. Information on the palaeogeographical changes is really precious to geoscientists and geotourists alike, and contributes to the great value of the Nowdan anticline geosite. Evidence from the latter, as well as from a few other places (i.e., the Mountainous Adygeya geodiversity hotspot in Russia, the North Coast of São Paulo in Brazil and the possible Gondwanan geopark in Namibia) illustrates the necessity of distinguishing a palaeomapping subtype in palaeogeographical characterisation of geological heritage.
Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plants as Enablers for Transition to Circular Economy in Energy Sector: A Case of Latvia
Authors: Zvirgzdins J. , Linkevics O.
Published: May 2020

Nowadays the planet is facing emerging global issues related to climate change, pollution, deforestation, desertification and the number of challenges is expected to grow as the global population is forecasted to reach 10 billion margin by 2050. A concept of circular economy can have a positive contribution to the current development trajectories. In order to implement it, preferably all the energy should be produced by using renewable energy sources, but there has always been a challenge for storage of renewable energy. Therefore, considering technical and economical parameters, construction options for a pumped storage hydropower plant in Latvia have been evaluated using the desk research methodology. Results have shown that Daugavpils PSHP is the most attractive project from the technological point of view, but it requires the greatest amount of investment and construction of Daugavpils HPP. At present all the construction options for PSHP in Latvia are economically disadvantageous and would not be viable without co-financing from European or national funds. Considering both technical and economical parameters, the authors emphasise Plavinas PSHP construction option.
Morphology of the Vascular Bodies of the Encephalon’s Ventricles of Cow (Bos Taurus Taurus)
Authors: Prusakov Aleksey , Zelenevskiy Nikolay , Shchipakin Mikhail , Bylinskaya Dar’ya , Barteneva Yuliya , Vasil’yev Dmitriy , Stratonov Andrey , Khvatov Viktor
Published: May 2020

The aim of the research was to establish the morphology of the vascular bodies of the encephalon ventricles of cow (Bos taurus taurus). Methods used: thin anatomical preparation, histological method of examination, transmission electron microscopy. Given the relationship, structure and general origin of the vascular bodies, they were divided into bodies III, IV and the lateral ventricles of the encephalon. This unit has topographical nature. Functionally, vascular bodies are an indivisible organ whose main function is the secretion of the cerebrospinal fluid, which maintains the constancy of the central nervous system internal environment. Three types of capillaries, differing in their morphology, were found in the composition of the vascular bodies’ villi in Bos taurus taurus.
Using local climate zones to compare remotely sensed surface temperatures in temperate cities and hot desert cities
Authors: Fricke Cathy , Pongrácz Rita , Gál Tamás , Savić Stevan , Unger János
Published: May 2020

Urban and rural thermal properties mainly depend on surface cover features as well as vegetation cover. Surface classification using the local climate zone (LCZ) system provides an appropriate approach for distinguishing urban and rural areas, as well as comparing the surface urban heat island (SUHI) of climatically different regions. Our goal is to compare the SUHI effects of two Central European cities (Szeged, Hungary and Novi Sad, Serbia) with a temperate climate (Köppen-Geiger’s Cfa), and a city (Beer Sheva, Israel) with a hot desert (BWh) climate. LCZ classification is completed using WUDAPT (World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools) methodology and the thermal differences are analysed on the basis of the land surface temperature data of the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor, derived on clear days over a four-year period. This intra-climate region comparison shows the difference between the SUHI effects of Szeged and Novi Sad in spring and autumn. As the pattern of NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) indicates, the vegetation coverage of the surrounding rural areas is an important modifying factor of the diurnal SUHI effect, and can change the sign of the urban-rural thermal difference. According to the inter-climate comparison, the urban-rural thermal contrast is the strongest during daytime in summer with an opposite sign in each season.
How to organise limited space: Micro-regionalisation of La Digue island (Seychelles)
Authors: Henryk Jędrusik Maciej
Published: May 2020

Islands, especially small ones, are commonly studied as microcosms of natural and social processes. In this article, La Digue island (10 km2) in the Seychelles archipelago was treated as such. An attempt was made to analyse the significance of the natural environment for the features of spatial development under conditions of intense globalisation. For this purpose, functional micro-regions were determined, along with their genesis and evolution. Spatial dynamics and individual features of space are presented as chorème (Brunet 1986). The analysis was based on data from a library query and field observation and field studies in July 2018. Twelve functional regions were determined. Analysis of the distribution and evolution of their functions reveals a high dependence on natural environmental features, especially topography, and thus confirms (at the scale in question) a geographical determinism.
Micro-structural and bonding structure analysis of TiAlN thin films deposited with varying N2 flow rate via ion beam sputtering technique
Authors: Das Soham , Gupta Mukul , Sharma Ashis , Swain Bibhu P.
Published: May 2020

Titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) thin films were deposited on Si(1 0 0 ) substrate using titanium and aluminum targets in 1:1 ratio at various N2 flow rates using ion beam sputtering (IBS) technique. The morphology, particle and crystallite size of TiAlN thin films were estimated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) technique, respectively. The SEM images of the TiAlN thin films revealed smooth and uniform coating, whereas AFM images confirmed the particle size varying from 2.5 nm to 8.8 nm, respectively. The crystallite size and lattice strain were observed to vary from 4.79 nm to 5.5 nm and 0.0916 and 0.0844, respectively, with an increase in N2 flow rate in the TiAlN thin films. The X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) results showed Ti L, N K and O K-edges of TiAlN coating within a range of 450 eV to 470 eV, 395 eV to 410 eV and 480 eV to 580 eV photon energy, respectively. The electronic structure and chemical bonding of state of c-TiAlN thin film of Ti L, N K and O K-edges were analyzed through semi-empirical curve fitting technique.
Plasmonic nanostructures of SnO2:Sb thin film under gamma radiation response
Authors: Maged A. F. , Amin M. , Osman H. , Nada L.A. M.
Published: May 2020

This paper is a part of a natural dye solar cell project. Conductive transparent oxide (CTO) films have been deposited onto preheated glass substrates using a spray pyrolysis technique. The optical, electrical, structural properties as well as thermal annealing and gamma radiation response were studied. The average optical energy gap of doped films for direct allowed and direct forbidden transitions were found to be 3.92 and 3.68 eV, respectively. The plasmon frequency and plasmon energy after doping were found to be 3.48 × 1014 s −1 and 0.23 eV. The negative absorbance of the doped film was observed in UV-Vis range after applying both thermal annealing and γ-dose irradiation with 22 kGy. The negative refractive index of the doped film in UV range (220 – 300 nm) is promising for optical applications. The electron mobility μe reached a maximum of 27.4 cm2 V−1 s−1 for Sb concentration of 10 %. The corresponding resistivity ρ, and sheet resistance Rs reached their minimum values of 1.1 × 10−3 Ω cm and 35 Ω sq−1, respectively. The dopant concentration has been increased from 4.13 × 1019 to 2.1 × 1020cm−3. The doped film was found to exhibit three diffraction peaks associated with (2 2 2), (2 0 0), and (2 1 1) reflection planes, of which the peak of (2 2 2) of Sb2O3 and the peak of (2 0 0) were very close.
Microstructure, transmittance and upconversion luminescence of Y2O3:Er3+ translucent ceramics
Authors: Guo Yanyan , Wu Xinghua , Wang Qingkai , Wang Dianyuan
Published: May 2020

Y2O3:Er3+ translucent ceramics was fabricated with addition of La(OH)3 nanopowder as a sintering aid. The influence of La(OH)3 addition on the microstructure, transmittance and upconversion luminescence of Y2O3:Er3+ ceramics was investigated in detail. The results show that the ceramics sample with 5 mol % La(OH)3 additives exhibits finer microstructure with fewer pores and higher optical transmittance than others. It was proved that La(OH)3 additives could greatly reduce the porosity and improve the transparency of Y2O3:Er3+ ceramics. By using a 980 nm diode laser as a pumping source, the Y2O3:Er3+ ceramics gave bright visible upconversion luminescence, which was ascribed to the radiative transitions of 2H11/2,4S3/2 →4I15/2 and 4F9/2 →4I15/2 of Er3+ ions, respectively. The possible upconversion mechanism has been proposed accordingly.
SCMNPs@Uridine/Zn: An efficient and reusable heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the rapid one-pot synthesis of tricyclic fused pyrazolopyranopyrimidine and 3-methyl carboxylate substituted pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives under solvent-free conditions
Authors: Wei Jia , Gui Wenjun , Cui Yanjun , Zhang Zhifang , Yousif Qahtan A.
Published: May 2020

SCMNPs@Uridine/Zn is utilized as an environmental-friendly and efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst for two one-pot four-component condensation reactions, containing hydrazine hydrate, arylaldehyde, ethyl acetoacetate, and barbituric acid to yield tricyclic fused pyrazolopyranopyrimidine derivatives (5a-q), and hydrazine hydrate, arylaldehyde, malononitrile, and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate/diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to yield 3-methyl carboxylate substituted pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives (8a-y) under solvent-free conditions with high to excellent yields. The main advantages of this process are easy work-up, short reaction times, no chromatographic purifications, and recyclability of the catalyst for a minimum of six runs without any significant decrease in yields of the products. Also, the prepared catalyst SCMNPs@Uridine/Zn was synthesized and fully characterized by various techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Raman spectroscopy.
The impact of reagents concentration on the efficiency of obtaining high-purity magnesium hydroxide
Authors: Radomski Piotr , Jarosiński Andrzej , Wzorek Zbigniew , Nowak Anna K.
Published: May 2020

The work presents the impact of reagents concentration and the drying process on the efficiency of obtaining magnesium hydroxide and its specific surface area. Magnesium sulphate(VI) within the concentration range of 0.7–2.0 mol/dm3 was used in the research as magnesium feedstock and sodium hydroxide was used as a precipitating agent within the same concentration range. The process of obtaining magnesium hydroxide was carried out with a 25% excess of the precipitating agent in relation to the reaction stoichiometry. The obtained suspension was separated by way of multi-stage sedimentation with the use of acetone and freezing samples. Depending on the concentration of reagents the efficiency of obtaining magnesium hydroxide fell within the range of 88–99%, whereas the specific surface area – within 115–609 m2/g, while the high purity of samples above 99% of magnesium hydroxide was maintained.
Multi spectral classification and recognition of breast cancer and pneumonia
Authors: Kakde Aditya , Arora Nitin , Sharma Durgansh , Sharma Subhash Chander
Published: May 2020

According to the Google I/O 2018 key notes, in future artificial intelligence, which also includes machine learning and deep learning, will mostly evolve in healthcare domain. As there are lots of subdomains which come under the category of healthcare domain, the proposed paper concentrates on one such domain, that is breast cancer and pneumonia. Today, just classifying the diseases is not enough. The system should also be able to classify a particular patient’s disease. Thus, this paper shines the light on the importance of multi spectral classification which means the collection of several monochrome images of the same scene. It can be proved to be an important process in the healthcare areas to know if a patient is suffering from a specific disease or not. The convolutional layer followed by the pooling layer is used for the feature extraction process and for the classification process; fully connected layers followed by the regression layer are used.
Comparative Studies of the Seatings of Propulsion Plantsand Auxiliary Machinery on Chocks Made of Metal and Cast from Resin Part II. Mounting on Cast Resin Chocks
Authors: Grudziński Paweł , Konowalski Konrad
Published: May 2020

This article is Part II of the paper containing a description and results of the experimental studies of the deformations, friction processes and structural damping that occur in the foundation bolted joints of propulsion plant components and auxiliary machinery installed on sea-going ships. Part I of this research work presents an analysis of the rigid mountings of machines and devices to the foundations on steel or resin chocks, and explains the need to carry out relevant research in this area. It also presents the description and results of experimental studies carried out for a foundation bolted joint with a conventionally used steel chock. Part II (this article) contains a description and results of similar studies carried out for a foundation bolted joint with a modern chock – cast from epoxy resin compound (EPY), specially developed for this purpose. Then, a comparative analysis of the results obtained for both bolted joints in question was made and the foundation chocks of the poured-in-place resin compound were demonstrated to better fulfill their technical tasks than the steel chocks traditionally used for this purpose.
Prediction of Welding-Induced Distortion of Fixed Plate Edge Using Design of Experiment Approach
Authors: Urbański Tomasz , Banaszek Andrzej , Jurczak Wojciech
Published: May 2020

The paper presents the results of experimental studies on distortion of the fixed plate edge due to formation of a butt joint. This is a hidden form of weld distortion present in structural nodes and identified at the ship hull pre-fabrication stages. The investigations were performed according to a design of experiment (DoE) approach in laboratory conditions resembling those encountered in the shipbuilding industry. The presented analysis includes the technological–construction parameters influencing the evaluated distortion shape. The implemented method of experimental results evaluation allows the utilisation of the approximation dependence to predict the fixed plate edge distortion in large-scale steel structures.
The TV is Smart and Full of Trackers: Measuring Smart TV Advertising and Tracking
Authors: Varmarken Janus , Le Hieu , Shuba Anastasia , Markopoulou Athina , Shafiq Zubair
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we present a large-scale measurement study of the smart TV advertising and tracking ecosystem. First, we illuminate the network behavior of smart TVs as used in the wild by analyzing network traffic collected from residential gateways. We find that smart TVs connect to well-known and platform-specific advertising and tracking services (ATSes). Second, we design and implement software tools that systematically explore and collect traffic from the top-1000 apps on two popular smart TV platforms, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. We discover that a subset of apps communicate with a large number of ATSes, and that some ATS organizations only appear on certain platforms, showing a possible segmentation of the smart TV ATS ecosystem across platforms. Third, we evaluate the (in)effectiveness of DNS-based blocklists in preventing smart TVs from accessing ATSes. We highlight that even smart TV-specific blocklists suffer from missed ads and incur functionality breakage. Finally, we examine our Roku and Fire TV datasets for exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) and find that hundreds of apps exfiltrate PII to third parties and platform domains. We also find evidence that some apps send the advertising ID alongside static PII values, effectively eliminating the user’s ability to opt out of ad personalization.
Privacy at a Glance: The User-Centric Design of Glanceable Data Exposure Visualizations
Authors: Wilkinson Daricia , Bahirat Paritosh , Namara Moses , Lyu Jing , Alsubhi Arwa , Qiu Jessica , Wisniewski Pamela , Knijnenburg Bart P.
Published: May 2020

Smartphone users are often unaware of mobile applications’ (“apps”) third-party data collection and sharing practices, which put them at higher risk of privacy breaches. One way to raise awareness of these practices is by providing unobtrusive but pervasive visualizations that can be presented in a glanceable manner. In this paper, we applied Wogalter et al.’s Communication-Human Information Processing model (C-HIP) to design and prototype eight different visualizations that depict smartphone apps’ data sharing activities. We varied the granularity and type (i.e., data-centric or app-centric) of information shown to users and used the screensaver/lock screen as a design probe. Through interview-based design probes with Android users (n=15), we investigated the aspects of the data exposure visualizations that influenced users’ comprehension and privacy awareness. Our results shed light on how users’ perceptions of privacy boundaries influence their preference regarding the information structure of these visualizations, and the tensions that exist in these visualizations between glanceability and granularity. We discuss how a pervasive, soft paternalistic approach to privacy-related visualization may raise awareness by enhancing the transparency of information flow, thereby, unobtrusively increasing users’ understanding of data sharing practices of mobile apps. We also discuss implications for privacy research and glanceable security.
FLASH: Fast and Robust Framework for Privacy-preserving Machine Learning
Authors: Byali Megha , Chaudhari Harsh , Patra Arpita , Suresh Ajith
Published: May 2020

Privacy-preserving machine learning (PPML) via Secure Multi-party Computation (MPC) has gained momentum in the recent past. Assuming a minimal network of pair-wise private channels, we propose an efficient four-party PPML framework over rings ℤ2ℓ, FLASH, the first of its kind in the regime of PPML framework, that achieves the strongest security notion of Guaranteed Output Delivery (all parties obtain the output irrespective of adversary’s behaviour). The state of the art ML frameworks such as ABY3 by Mohassel et.al (ACM CCS’18) and SecureNN by Wagh et.al (PETS’19) operate in the setting of 3 parties with one malicious corruption but achieve the weaker security guarantee of abort. We demonstrate PPML with real-time efficiency, using the following custom-made tools that overcome the limitations of the aforementioned state-of-the-art– (a) dot product, which is independent of the vector size unlike the state-of-the-art ABY3, SecureNN and ASTRA by Chaudhari et.al (ACM CCSW’19), all of which have linear dependence on the vector size. (b) Truncation and MSB Extraction, which are constant round and free of circuits like Parallel Prefix Adder (PPA) and Ripple Carry Adder (RCA), unlike ABY3 which uses these circuits and has round complexity of the order of depth of these circuits. We then exhibit the application of our FLASH framework in the secure server-aided prediction of vital algorithms– Linear Regression, Logistic Regression, Deep Neural Networks, and Binarized Neural Networks. We substantiate our theoretical claims through improvement in benchmarks of the aforementioned algorithms when compared with the current best framework ABY3. All the protocols are implemented over a 64-bit ring in LAN and WAN. Our experiments demonstrate that, for MNIST dataset, the improvement (in terms of throughput) ranges from 24 × to 1390 × over LAN and WAN together.
A Tale of Two Trees: One Writes, and Other Reads
Authors: Le Duc V. , Hurtado Lizzy Tengana , Ahmad Adil , Minaei Mohsen , Lee Byoungyoung , Kate Aniket
Published: May 2020

The Bitcoin network has offered a new way of securely performing financial transactions over the insecure network. Nevertheless, this ability comes with the cost of storing a large (distributed) ledger, which has become unsuitable for personal devices of any kind. Although the simplified payment verification (SPV) clients can address this storage issue, a Bitcoin SPV client has to rely on other Bitcoin nodes to obtain its transaction history and the current approaches offer no privacy guarantees to the SPV clients.

This work presents T
3, a trusted hardware-secured Bitcoin full client that supports efficient oblivious search/update for Bitcoin SPV clients without sacrificing the privacy of the clients. In this design, we leverage the trusted execution and attestation capabilities of a trusted execution environment (TEE) and the ability to hide access patterns of oblivious random access machine (ORAM) to protect SPV clients’ requests from potentially malicious nodes. The key novelty of T
3 lies in the optimizations introduced to conventional ORAM, tailored for expected SPV client usages. In particular, by making a natural assumption about the access patterns of SPV clients, we are able to propose a two-tree ORAM construction that overcomes the concurrency limitation associated with traditional ORAMs. We have implemented and tested our system using the current Bitcoin Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) Set. Our experiment shows that T
3 is feasible to be deployed in practice while providing strong privacy and security guarantees to Bitcoin SPV clients.
Relationships between exchange rate regime, real exchange rate volatility and currency structure of government bonds in emerging markets
Authors: Dudzich Viktar
Published: May 2020

Public foreign currency borrowing is a common problem of emerging markets. Scholars named it the original sin of foreign debt. It has a proven negative influence on economic growth and development, undermining financial stability, and increasing the probability of monetary crises. The roots of the original sin often lay in emerging markets’ institutional underdevelopment, with low-quality monetary policy, inappropriate exchange rate regime choice, and exchange rate mismanagement being stated among the most important causes. This paper evaluates the influence of the exchange rate policy on the emission of foreign currency sovereign bonds in emerging markets. The relationship is estimated using panel data and GMM approach, with exchange rate regime type (both de jure and de facto) and real exchange rate volatility serving as explanatory variables. The findings reveal that fixed exchange rate regime and high real exchange rate volatility is promoting the foreign currency borrowing. Thus countries that want to reduce the burden of the original sin should lean towards a more flexible exchange rate policy while maintaining their real exchange rate stable.
Determinants of private investments in Turkey: Examining the role of democracy
Authors: Akçay Selçuk , Karasoy Alper
Published: May 2020

This study investigates the determinants of private sector investments in Turkey with a focus on democracy. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and two different democracy indices along with the other determinants of private investment, we estimated a private investment function for the 1975-2014 period. Our main finding is that democracy has a profound positive impact on private investment. Moreover, the results show that: (i) public investment is a substitute to private investment; (ii) macroeconomic instability dissuades private investment; (iii) real interest is a serious impediment to private investment; (iv) financial development and GDP growth rate stimulate private investment.
Barrett’s Esophagus in Romania: what do we know?
Authors: Piloiu Claudia , Dumitrascu Dan L.
Published: May 2020

Background and aims. The incidence of Barrett’s Esophagus (BE) is increasing worldwide, thus diagnosis is becoming a major key of interest in preventing esophageal adenocarcinoma. Because the status of BE in Romania is unclear, we performed a narrative review to comprehensively evaluate all published articles on BE from Romania.

Methods. We conducted a systematic literature search of PubMed data base and of all Romanian medical journals. The abstracts and the titles of the identified studies were reviewed to exclude the studies that did not answer the search question. In addition we performed a manual search to identify articles on this topic published earlier in local journals or not indexed on internet.

Results. A total of 17 articles were found. 8 studies and 9 reviews were identified, with a total of 8,829 participants enrolled. The results showed that the median age ranges between 54–59 years, with a predominance for male sex, the main risk factors, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, obesity, smoking, hiatal hernia, are also present in Romania and infection with H. pylori has a protective effect. The diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus in Romania is established in agreement with international guidelines.

Conclusions. There are not many publications on BE in Romania. However the data in this country are similar to those reported in other countries. The management is carried out according to standard guidelines. Diagnosing BE relies on endoscopic techniques and classification systems. Risk factors such as gastroesophageal reflux, hiatal hernia, obesity and Helicobacter pylori are considered in Romanian articles. More studies are welcome on this matter in our country.
Stress cardiomyopathy misinterpreted as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a patient with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a case report
Authors: Enache Iulian , Radu Răzvan Alexandru , Terecoasă Elena Oana , Dorobăţ Bogdan , Tiu Cristina
Published: May 2020

Cardiac abnormalities are frequently reported in acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients. However, frank ST-elevation and myocardial dysfunction mimicking acute coronary syndrome is a rare occurrence. Systemic and local catecholamine release mediate myocardial injury and may explain raised troponin levels, concordant regional wall motion abnormalities and systolic dysfunction. These findings can pose a significant problem in the acute setting where “time-is-muscle” paradigm can rush clinicians towards a “rule-in” diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.

We present the case of a 60-year-old male who arrived at a regional emergency department with loss of consciousness, chest pain and headache. His ECG showed ST-elevation in precordial leads with corresponding region wall motion abnormalities and dynamically elevated troponin levels which supported a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Percutaneous coronary intervention was attempted but found no hemodynamically significant lesions and the patient was managed conservatively with antithrombotic treatment. Further work-up for his headache led to the diagnosis of aneurysmal SAH and subsequent endovascular coiling. The patient was discharged with a good clinical outcome. We discuss the potential catastrophic consequences of interpreting neurologic myocardial stunning as STEMI. Use of potent antithrombotic therapies, like bridging thrombolysis, in this setting can lead to dismal consequences. Clinical history should still be carefully obtained in the acute setting in this era of sensitive biomarkers.
Petrochemistry and petrogenesis of the Precambrian Basement Complex rocks around Akungba-Akoko, southwestern Nigeria
Authors: Ogunyele Abimbola Chris , Oluwajana Oladotun Afolabi , Ehinola Iyanuoluwa Queen , Ameh Blessing Ene , Salaudeen Toheeb Akande
Published: May 2020

Field, mineralogical and petrochemical studies of the Precambrian Basement Complex rocks around Akungba-Akoko were carried out with the aim of determining their petrology, petrochemical characteristics and petrogenesis. The petrology of Akungba-Akoko area comprises migmatite, granite gneiss and biotite gneiss intruded by biotite granite, charnockite and minor felsic and basic rocks. Seventeen representative samples of the granite gneiss, biotite gneiss, biotite granite and charnockite were collected during field geological mapping of the area for petrographic and geochemical analyses. Modal mineralogy revealed that the granite gneiss, biotite gneiss and granite have assemblages of quartz + feldspar + mica + hornblende + opaques and are granitic in composition. The charnockite is characterized by anhydrous mineral assemblage of quartz + feldspar + biotite + hornblende + pyroxene + opaques. Petrochemical data of the rocks revealed that they are moderately to highly enrich in SiO2, sub-alkaline, peraluminous, magnesian to ferroan and calcic and have K/Rb < 283. The geochemical characteristics and discrimination of the rocks indicated that the granite gneiss and biotite gneiss are orthogneisses formed by metamorphism of igneous protoliths of granitic composition and the biotite granite and charnockite are of igneous/magmatic origin. The biotite granite, charnockite and the igneous protoliths of the biotite gneiss are I-type granitoids formed from crustal igneous-sourced melt(s), while the igneous protoliths of the granite gneiss is a S-type granitoid probably derived from shallow crustal or sedimentary-sourced melt(s). Tectonic discrimination of the rocks indicated that they were formed during a phase of magmatic activity related to collision and subduction.
Total antioxidant status as marker of oxidative stress in infants with intrauterine growth restriction
Authors: Scripcariu Șadiye-Ioana , Avasiloaiei Andreea , Socolov Demetra , Mihălceanu Elena , Dimitriu Daniela-Cristina , Moscalu Mihaela , Stamatin Maria
Published: May 2020

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify correlations between total antioxidant status values of mothers and their infants and compare these values in accordance to the presence or absence of intrauterine growth restriction.

Material and methods: This is a prospective, comparative study performed over a period of 3 years on a number of 52 infants and their mothers. Thirty-six of them had intrauterine growth restriction and 16 were appropriate for their gestational age and were used for comparative purposes. General information regarding the mother, infant and pregnancy were recorded. In addition, total antioxidant status was assessed from blood samples, taken right before delivery from mothers and from the cord blood in infants.

Results: We found significant differences between total antioxidant status both between mothers and neonates with IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) versus without IUGR (p=0.018, and p<0.001, respectively). In addition, in both groups, there was a significant direct correlation between maternal and neonatal values of serum total antioxidant status (TAS) (p<0.001).

In conclusion, we can say that TAS values, as an important marker of the oxidative status of patients, are correlated with the presence of IUGR and values recorded from blood samples of the mother may be predictive for the oxidative status of the infant, thus of IUGR.