bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indepth Analysis of Medical Dataset Mining: A Comparitive Analysis on a Diabetes Dataset Before and After Preprocessing
Authors: Nass Latifa , Swift Stephen , Al Dallal Ammar
Published: September 2019

Most of the healthcare organizations and medical research institutions store their patient’s data digitally for future references and for planning their future treatments. This heterogeneous medical dataset is very difficult to analyze due to its complexity and volume of data, in addition to having missing values and noise which makes this mining a tedious task. Efficient classification of medical dataset is a major data mining problem then and now. Diagnosis, prediction of diseases and the precision of results can be improved if relationships and patterns from these complex medical datasets are extracted efficiently. This paper analyses some of the major classification algorithms such as C4.5 ( J48), SMO, Naïve Bayes, KNN Classification algorithms and Random Forest and the performance of these algorithms are compared using WEKA. Performance evaluation of these algorithms is based on Accuracy, Sensitivity and Specificity and Error rate. The medical data set used in this study are Heart-Statlog Medical Data Set which holds medical data related to heart disease and Pima Diabetes Dataset which holds data related to Diabetics. This study contributes in finding the most suitable algorithm for classifying medical data and also reveals the importance of preprocessing in improving the classification performance. Comparative study of various performances of machine learning algorithms is done through graphical representation of the results.
Keywords: Data Mining, Health Care, Classification Algorithms, Accuracy, Sensitivity, Specificity, Error Rate
The Role of Motivation in Enhancing Employees’ Creativity: A Literature Review
Authors: Hashem Maryam , Gallear David , Eldabi Tillal
Published: September 2019

Organizations from different industries worldwide focus their efforts and budgets to enhance employees’ creativity which is widely perceived as a major success ingredient in today’s challenging business environment. Consequently, practitioners and managers establish reward systems to enhance employees’ creativity. However, the literature presents opposing views pertaining to the relationship between rewards and employees creativity, such that some scholars find it important to be intrinsically motivated to be creative whereby others find extrinsic motivation (e.g. rewards) to be important to enhance creativity. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive literature review by presenting prominent theories addressing the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in enhancing employees’ creativity. It then highlights the research questions intended to be investigated and finally presents the context of proposed empirical research.
Keywords: creativity, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, rewards
Plural Leadership During Organisational Transformation Initiatives (Vertical & Horizontal)
Authors: AlGhanem Nawaf , Braganza Ashley , Eldabi Tillal
Published: September 2019

Organizational transformation and change scholars and researchers published many articles linking and studying the effect of vertical (transactional) leadership and horizontal (transformational) leadership on organizations during transformation. As much attention has been given in the last two decades to transformational leadership as being one of the trendiest leadership styles that focuses on the relation between followers and leaders to achieve better performance during organizational transformation, transactional leadership is still of benefit. This paper bridges organizational transformation and leadership literature and show the importance of transformational (horizontal) leadership alongside transactional (vertical) leadership in achieving efficient performance and optimal results during organizational transformation. Methodology: A literature review will be conducted based on literature related to certain key word and through a systematic literature review protocol.
Keywords: organizational transformation, leadership, transactional leadership, transformational leadership
THE INFLUENCE OF LASER SPECKLE-STRUCTURE OF THE RED RANGE ON THE ACCOMMODATIVE FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH ANISOHYPERMETROPIC AMBLYOPIA
Authors: Fabrikantov O. L , Matrosova Y. V , Shutova S. V
Published: September 2019

We evaluated the results of accommodography before and after laser stimulation by the accessory «Rubin». The values of the accommodative response (AR) and the number of «droppings» in the amblyopic eyes exceed these indices in the fellow eyes. AR values of amblyopic and fellow eyes differ significantly before treatment, after treatment the differences of AR are not significant. We revealed the significance of the differences between numbers of «droppings» in histograms of the amblyopic and fellow eyes. Their number decreased significantly in the amblyopic eyes after treatment.
MORPHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE DYNAMICS OF REGENERATION CORNEA IN TREATMENT OF INFECTED INJURIES OF VARYING METHODS
Authors: Yarmamedov D. M , Zatolokina M. A , Lipatov V. A , Medvedeva M. V. , Bezhin A. I
Published: September 2019

An actual problem in modern ophthalmology is the large number of infected traumatic lesions of the cornea. The study was carried out on 90 mature rabbits of the chinchilla breed, of which experimental groups were formed, included 30 animals (60 eyes) in each group. In order to study the structural changes in the eyes, a morphological study was performed in rabbits. According to the results of the study it was found that the use of antibacterial polymer membranes when used after an infected trauma can be achieved by rapid restoration (on day 5) of the morphological parameters of the cornea to normal values. With the use of standard antibiotic regimens, complete restoration of the cornea occurs on day 7.
Modern transformations of medicine space from medical care to a medical service
Authors: Krom I. L , Yerugina M. V , Eremina M. G , Kovalev E. P , Vlasova M. V
Published: September 2019

According to the authors, transformations in medicine in modern Russia are characterized by the transition to the market of medical services, which is considered as one of the causes of a relative status inflation, a decline in the prestige of the profession of a doctor. The discrepancy in the activity and status of this professional group is a determinant moment. Modern process of institutionalization of medicine is realizing in the change of the status and the marginalization of social-professional groups of the Institute of Medicine. In the opinion of the authors the process of marginalization of doctors is explained by the «concept of status inconsistency» proposed by G. Lensky.
Bioethics of prudence and axiology of recklessness
Authors: Strelchenko V. I.
Published: September 2019

Reanimation of long-discredited aspirations of hermetic symbolic philosophy, social Darwinism, eugenics, social hygiene, and now also transhumanism in order to solve the problems of social and individual human existence by technical means of biomedical manipulation of scientific expression of a kind of "obsession" with utopian projects of scientific-technocratic ideologies. However, resisting the threats of anthropological catastrophes and environmental crises is not a molecular genetic or biomedical problem. This is the problem of overcoming social antagonisms (class, ethno-cultural, etc.), revealed in the form of contradictions and conflicts, immanent to the present variety of activities of modern capitalism in nature and society.
CAN COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP BE A SOUL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM? : STUDY IN KARANGANYAR DISTRICT
Authors: Nugraheni Jacika Pifi , Sudarmo Sudarmo , Wahyunengseh Rutiana Dwi
Published: September 2019

Tourism development is believed to be able to improve the economy of local communities, even tourism development is one strategy in reducing poverty, especially in rural communities. But in Indonesia rapid tourism development has the potential to isolate the economy of local communities. This occurs because the tourism business is managed on a large scale by the private sector. Various studies support that this weakness occurs because there is no maximum empowerment of local communities in managing it, so that the community loses control of tourism development. This study aims to interrogate how collaborative leadership is carried out to support sustainable tourism development and how collaborative leadership should be carried out as an effort to effectively increase tourism's contribution to the local economy. To analyze this, this study uses four collaborative leadership variables namely embracing, empowering, involving and mobilizing. The method used is literature study and interview. Research locus in Karanganyar Regency. The results of the analysis show that there is no maximum empowerment of local communities in developing sustainable tourism because of there are obstacles in implementing collaboration are from the agenda of screening and integration of political aspects. This research also suggests that in order to achieve sustainable tourism development it is necessary to develop institutions in the embracing process in the collaborative leadership agenda as well as cooperation between regions. Thus, this paper can contribute theoretically in linking between collaborative leadership models and institutional development for effective sustainable tourism development.

Key Word : collaborative;community empowerment; institutional; leadership; tourism
COORDINATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAM, AN ANALYSIS BASED ON INSTRUMENTAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Akbar Gugun Geusan , Kania Ikeu , Ulumudin Aceng , Ramdhani Abdullah
Published: September 2019

Nowadays, the government has launched various programs for the poor people as a part of the poverty alleviation program. The launch of the various programs involved many parties so that coordination became one of the problems in the poverty prevention program policy in Indonesia. This research was aimed to analyse the coordination of poverty prevention program in Garut as one of the poorest districts in West Java Province. The research used qualitative methods. Data were collected through primary data and secondary data collection. Primary data was collected by interviews and focus group discussions. Secondary data was collected by a review of the literature and data sharing from magazines, reports, news media and others. As the analytical tool, it used the coordination perspectives of Cristensen and Laegreid which adduce the theoretical perspectives related with coordination between organizations, namely instrumental and institutional.The results of the study showed that coordination between organizations in the poverty prevention program is still not good and  still has several factors that become obstacles. Suggestions that can be proposed are the need of leadership development that is collegial collectives. Another suggested thing is the need of common arena development that is aimed to be communication instrument, vision equalization, mission and objectives. It is also aimed to make more integrated program planning from each organization so that the coordination inhibiting factors can be eliminated.

Keywords: Poverty Prevention, Coordination Between Organization, Instrumental Perspective, Institutional Perspective
Student Perceptions of the ‘Best’ Feedback Practices: An Evaluation of Student-Led Teaching Award Nominations at a Higher Education Institution.
Authors: Lowe Tom , Shaw Cassie
Published: September 2019

The construction of what students constitute to be “good” feedback often plagues the minds of academics, who seem to continuously search for the holy grail of what it is exactly students want from their feedback in Higher Education. This aspect of the student experience in assessment and feedback continues to elude institutions by the nationally lower average scores in the United Kingdom annual National Student Survey questions on timely/prompt feedback (NSS, 2017, Gartland et al 2016) which makes this a topical area for exploration and discussion. To investigate student perceptions of feedback in an alternative method, this article examines the qualitative data from three years of Student-Led Teaching Awards (STLA) nominations for the category “Best Lecturer for Constructive and Efficient Feedback” at the University of Winchester. From this study, new revelations in regards to the student perception of the ‘best’ lecturer(s) feedback practice have come to light including terminology, language and emphasis on email turnaround, rather than the actual format of the feedback itself (handwritten, e-submission etc.). In order to tease out the repetitive emerging themes for what students are perceiving to be “good” feedback, this paper will outline the findings of this study, including the methodology and nomination process of the SLTAs at Winchester.
Conexão de Manchas Verdes Urbanas em São Paulo [SP]. Estudo de caso
Authors: Suassuna Sarah Bezerra , Franco Maria de Assunção Ribeiro
Published: September 2019

Este artigo discorre sobre a caracterização eco social de manchas verdes urbanas e como ela pode influenciar em decisões voltadas para o Planejamento Urbano Ambiental e na implantação de elementos de infraestrutura verde. Como estudo de caso, foram selecionadas duas manchas verdes localizadas na região Centro - Oeste do município de São Paulo: o Parque Alfredo Volpi e o Parque do Povo.  A metodologia utilizada para tal caracterização baseou-se, principalmente, no conceito de Mosaico Territorial e o modelo mancha - corredor - matriz de Richard Forman (1995), no conceito de Infraestrutura Verde e o sistema de hubs, links, e sites elaborados por Benedict e McMahon (2006) e nas informações concedidas pelo setor administrativo de ambos os parques.
FluoroTome 1: An Apparatus for Tomographic Imaging of Radio-Fluorogenic (RFG) Gels
Authors: Warman John M. , de Haas Matthijs P. , Luthjens Leonard H. , Yao Tiantian , Navarro-Campos Julia , Yuksel Sölen , Aarts Jan , Thiele Simon , Houter Jacco , in het Zandt Wilco
Published: September 2019

Radio-fluorogenic (RFG) gels become permanently fluorescent when exposed to high-energy radiation with the intensity of the emission proportional to the local dose of radiation absorbed. An apparatus is described, FluoroTome 1, that is capable of taking a series of tomographic images (thin slices) of the fluorescence of such an irradiated RFG gel on-site and within minutes of radiation exposure. These images can then be compiled to construct a 3D movie of the dose distribution within the gel. The historical development via a laboratory-bench prototype to a readily transportable, user-friendly apparatus is described. Instrumental details and performance tests are presented.
Evaluation of the Analytical Conditions for the Determination of Chlorogenic Acid in Coffee Silverskin
Authors: Beltrán-Medina Elisa A. , Guatemala-Morales Guadalupe M. , Corona-González Rosa I. , Padilla-Camberos Eduardo , Mondragón-Cortez Pedro M. , Ruiz-Palomino Priscilla , Arriola-Guevara Enrique
Published: September 2019

Chlorogenic acid or 5-Caffeoylquinic acid is a polyphenolic component present in coffee and its by-products. Chlorogenic acid has been shown to exert biological properties, particularly in relation to glucose and lipid metabolism, including antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities, among others. Due to its importance, it is necessary to evaluate the reliability of the analytical method for its determination in complex matrices such as food. In this work, different methods of chlorogenic acid extraction in coffee Silverskin were studied, as well as its quantification by HPLC. The results showed that the method of extraction with a mixture of methanol:water (3:1 v/v) in an ultrasonic bath, favored the recovery of chlorogenic acid with a recovery of 77.44%. The instrument detection limit for chlorogenic acid was 3.311 µg/mL and the quantification limit was 11.037 µg/mL. For coffee Silverskin, the concentration obtained of chlorogenic acid by the three extraction methods evaluated was in the range of 57 to 224 mg/kg of coffee silverskin (dry basis).
Image Encryption Algorithm Based on a Hyperchaotic System and Fractional Fourier Transform
Authors: Liu Yang ,   College of Information and Electronic Engineering, Hunan City University Yiyang, Hunan 413000, China
Published: September 2019

An image encryption scheme that combines a hyperchaotic system with standard weighted fractional Fourier transform theory is proposed. Simulation results showed that grayscale distribution of the encrypted image was balanced, correlation coefficients of adjacent pixels were highly irrelevant, and the encrypted image was highly sensitive to the secret key, offering good robustness against attacks and a larger key space.
Discrete Adaptive Control with Multiple-Step-Guess Estimation for Brushless DC Motor
Authors: Shao Guirong , Zhu Minling , Ma Hongbin , Zhang Xinghong ,   Beijing Institute of Technology 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China,   Department of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Yuncheng University No.1155 Fudan West Street, Yanhu District, Shanxi 044000, China,   Beijing Information Science and Technology University No.35 Beisihuan Middle Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China,   Henan Institute of Technology No.699 Pingyuan Road, Xinxiang 453003, China
Published: September 2019

The brushless DC motor (BLDCM) speed control system has various kinds of uncertainties, such as reference speed mutation, noise and parameters change, etc. However, proportional integral (PI) control method used widely cannot handle the uncertainties in the control system well. A novel discrete adaptive control with Multiple-Step-Guess (MSG) estimation for BLDCM speed control system is proposed in this contribution. MSG estimation is firstly developed and applied in BLDCM speed control system, which estimate the BLDCM model parameters online with only five steps history information sampled from the input signal and output signal. The tracking adaptive control law is designed to ensure the speed can track reference speed rapidly and accurately. Compared with PI control and recursive least square adaptive control (RLSAC), extensive simulations verify that the BLDCM speed response under MSG adaptive control (MSGAC) has better dynamic and steady state performance in the case of reference speed mutation and BLDCM parameters change. Simulation results illustrate that the novel proposed method is effective and robust for uncertainties of BLDCM speed control system.
Asymmetric MF-DCCA Method Based on Fluctuation Conduction and its Application in Air Pollution in Hangzhou
Authors: Xiang Chaohui ,   School of Statistics and Mathematics, Zhejiang Gongshang University No. 18, Xuezheng Street, Xiasha University Town, Hangzhou 310018, China, Hao Xiaozhen , Wang Wenhui , Chen Zhenlong
Published: September 2019

The study of the relationship between the concentration of PM2.5 and the local air quality index (AQI) is significant for the improvement of urban air quality. This study not only considered multifractal cross-correlation but also the fluctuation conduction mechanism. An asymmetric multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) method based on fluctuation conduction is introduced here to empirically explore the causality and conduction time between air quality factors and PM2.5 concentration. The empirical results indicate the existence of a bidirectional fluctuation conduction effect between PM2.5 and PM10, SO2, and NO2 in Hangzhou, China, with a conduction time of 30 hours; this effect is non-existent between PM2.5 and O3. In addition, there is a unidirectional fractal fluctuation conduction between PM2.5 and CO with a conduction time of 21 hours.
Combination of Improved OGY and Guiding Orbit Method for Chaos Control
Authors: Yi Lingzhi , Liu Yue , Yu Wenxin ,   Hunan Province Engineering Research Center for Multi-Energy Collaborative Control Technology Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China,   Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Wind Power Equipment and Energy Conversion Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China,   College of Information Engineering, Xiangtan University Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China,   College of Electrical and Information Engineering, Hunan University Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
Published: September 2019

Chaotic systems have gathered much attention. When the OGY method is applied to control a chaotic system, chaos can be contained and target signals can be traced with satisfactory accuracy. However, the traditional control method have a low convergence speed, which may hamper the performance of the whole system. To solve this problem, the cuckoo search algorithm is used to guide the orbits of chaotic systems. Moreover, the OGY method is improved so that a chaotic system can be stabilized for different target points. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through several typical chaotic systems. The simulation results indicate that the modified method has a faster convergence speed and yields better performance than the traditional OGY control method.
Study on Collaborative Filtering Recommendation Model Fusing User Reviews
Authors: Wang Heyong ,   Department of E-Commerce, School of Economics and Commerce, South China University of Technology B10 South China University of Technology, Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China, Hong Ming , Lan Jinjiong
Published: September 2019

The traditional collaborative filtering model suffers from high-dimensional sparse user rating information and ignores user preference information contained in user reviews. To address the problem, this paper proposes a new collaborative filtering model UL_SAM (UBCF_LDA_SIMILAR_ADD_MEAN) which integrates topic model with user-based collaborative filtering model. UL_SAM extracts user preference information from user reviews through topic model and then fuses user preference information with user rating information by similarity fusion method to create fusion information. UL_SAM creates collaborative filtering recommendations according to fusion information. It is the advantage of UL_SAM on improving recommendation effectiveness that UL_SAM enriches information for collaborative recommendation by integrating user preference with user rating information. Experimental results of two public datasets demonstrate significant improvement on recommendation effectiveness in our model.
Emotion Recognition Based on Multi-Composition Deep Forest and Transferred Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Liu Xiaobo , Yin Xu , Wang Min , Cai Yaoming , Qi Guang ,   School of Automation, China University of Geosciences 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China,   Hubei Key Laboratory of Advanced Control and Intelligent Automation for Complex Systems 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China,   School of Computer Science, China University of Geosciences 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
Published: September 2019

In human-machine interaction, facial emotion recognition plays an important role in recognizing the psychological state of humans. In this study, we propose a novel emotion recognition framework based on using a knowledge transfer approach to capture features and employ an improved deep forest model to determine the final emotion types. The structure of a very deep convolutional network is learned from ImageNet and is utilized to extract face and emotion features from other data sets, solving the problem of insufficiently labeled samples. Then, these features are input into a classifier called multi-composition deep forest, which consists of 16 types of forests for facial emotion recognition, to enhance the diversity of the framework. The proposed method does not need require to train a network with a complex structure, and the decision tree-based classifier can achieve accurate results with very few parameters, making it easier to implement, train, and apply in practice. Moreover, the classifier can adaptively decide its model complexity without iteratively updating parameters. The experimental results for two emotion recognition problems demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over several well-known methods in facial emotion recognition.
Evaluation Method for Complex Electromagnetic Environment
Authors: Li Yan , He Yigang , Yin Baiqiang ,   School of Information and Electrical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology Taoyuan Road, Xiangtan, Hunan 411201, China,   School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Hefei University of Technology No.193 Tunxi Road, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China
Published: September 2019

To perform a complexity evaluation for an electromagnetic environment (EME), a new method based on the S-transform is proposed, which can simultaneously count the time occupancy, frequency occupancy, and energy occupancy in the time–frequency domain. The frequency coincidence, modulation similarity, and background noise intensity are selected as important evaluation indices, and their physical interpretations are analyzed and calculated. The Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) method is adopted to evaluate the environmental complexity. The proposed method (S-ELM) requires less training time and has a fast convergence rate. The simulation and experimental results confirm that the proposed method is accurate and efficient.
A Secure Virtual Machine Allocation Strategy Against Co-Resident Attacks
Authors: Jia Hefei , Liu Xu , Di Xiaoqiang , Qi Hui , Cai Binbin , Li Jinqing , Yang Huamin , Zhao Jianping ,   School of Computer Science and Technology, Changchun University of Science and Technology No.7186 Satellite Road, Changchun, Jilin 130022, China,   Information Center, Changchun University of Science and Technology No.7089 Satellite Road, Changchun, Jilin 130022, China,   Jilin Province Key Laboratory of Network and Information Security Changchun, Jilin 130022, China
Published: September 2019

In the area of network development, especially cloud computing, security has been a long-standing issue. In order to better utilize physical resources, cloud service providers usually allocate different tenants on the same physical machine, i.e., physical resources such as CPU, memory, and network devices are shared among multiple tenants on the same host. Virtual machine (VM) co-resident attack, a serious threat in this sharing methodology, includes malicious tenants who tend to steal private data. Currently, most solutions focus on how to eliminate known specific side channels, but they have little effect on unknown side channels. Compared to eliminating side channels, developing a VM allocation strategy is an effective countermeasure against VM co-resident attack as it reduces the probability of VM co-residency, but research on this topic is still in its infancy. In this study, firstly, a novel, efficient, and secure VM allocation strategy named Against VM Co-resident attack based on Multi-objective Optimization Best Fit Decreasing (AC-MOBFD) is proposed, which simultaneously optimizes load balancing, energy consumption, and host resource utilization during VM placement. Subsequently, security of the proposed allocation strategy is measured using two metrics – VM attack efficiency and VM attack coverage. Extensive experiments on simulated and real cloud platforms, CloudSim and OpenStack, respectively, demonstrate that using our strategy, the attack efficiency of VM co-residency is reduced by 37.3% and VM coverage rate is reduced by 24.4% when compared to existing strategies. Finally, we compare the number of co-resident hosts with that of hosts in a real cloud platform. Experimental results show that the deviation is below 9.4%, which validates the feasibility and effectiveness of the presented strategy.
Joint Graph Regularization in a Homogeneous Subspace for Cross-Media Retrieval
Authors: Qi Yudan ,   Department of Computer Science, Shandong Normal University No.1 University Road, Changqing District, Jinan, Shandong 250358, China, Zhang Huaxiang
Published: September 2019

The heterogeneity of multimodal data is the main challenge in cross-media retrieval; many methods have already been developed to address the problem. At present, subspace learning is one of the mainstream approaches for cross-media retrieval; its aim is to learn a latent shared subspace so that similarities within cross-modal data can be measured in this subspace. However, most existing subspace learning algorithms only focus on supervised information, using labeled data for training to obtain one pair of mapping matrices. In this paper, we propose joint graph regularization based on semi-supervised learning cross-media retrieval (JGRHS), which makes full use of labeled and unlabeled data. We jointly considered correlation analysis and semantic information when learning projection matrices to maintain the closeness of pairwise data and semantic consistency; graph regularization is used to make learned transformation consistent with similarity constraints in both modalities. In addition, the retrieval results on three datasets indicate that the proposed method achieves good efficiency in theoretical research and practical applications.
Efficient Corpus Creation Method for NLU Using Interview with Probing Questions
Authors: Shima Kazuaki , Homma Takeshi , Motohashi Masataka , Ikeshita Rintaro , Kokubo Hiroaki , Obuchi Yasunari , She Jinhua ,   Clarion Co., Ltd. 7-2 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama, Saitama 330-0081, Japan,   Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd. 1-280 Higashi-koigakubo, Kokubunji, Tokyo 185-8601, Japan,   Tokyo University of Technology 1404-1 Katakura, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0982, Japan,   Corresponding Author
Published: September 2019

This paper presents an efficient method to build a corpus to train natural language understanding (NLU) modules. Conventional corpus creation methods involve a common cycle: a subject is given a specific situation where the subject operates a device by voice, and then the subject speaks one utterance to execute the task. In these methods, many subjects are required in order to build a large-scale corpus, which causes a problem of increasing lead time and financial cost. To solve this problem, we propose to incorporate a “probing question” into the cycle. Specifically, after a subject speaks one utterance, the subject is asked to think of alternative utterances to execute the same task. In this way, we obtain many utterances from a small number of subjects. An evaluation of the proposed method applied to interview-based corpus creation shows that the proposed method reduces the number of subjects by 41% while maintaining morphological diversity in a corpus and morphological coverage for user utterances spoken to commercial devices. It also shows that the proposed method reduces the total time for interviewing subjects by 36% compared with the conventional method. We conclude that the proposed method can be used to build a useful corpus while reducing lead time and financial cost.
The Contested Whiteness of Arab Identity in the United States: Implications for Health Disparities Research
Authors: Abboud Sarah , Chebli Perla , Rabelais Em
Published: September 2019

In response to the Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities’ (NIMHD) new health disparities research framework, we call on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to acknowledge Arabs in the United States as a health disparity population. Arab classification as White leads to their cultural invisibility and perpetuates a cycle of undocumented health disparities.

We provide examples of how this contested identity reinforces challenges associated with identifying this population and contributes to enactments of structural violence and undocumented health disparities. Decades of research with Arabs in the United States provides consistent evidence that their health does not fit the health profile of White Americans and that Arabs do not benefit from Whiteness and White privilege associated with their White racial categorization. On the contrary, Arabs in the United States experience discrimination and health disparities that require urgent attention; this can be achieved only by identifying the population with a racial category other than White.

We conclude with recommendations to NIH and NIMHD to revise their definition of health disparity populations to include Arabs in the United States.
Preterm Birth in China Between 2015 and 2016
Authors: Chen Chang , Zhang Jin Wen , Xia Hong Wei , Zhang Hui Xin , Betran Ana Pilar , Zhang Lin , Hua Xiao Lin , Feng Li Ping , Chen Dan , Sun Kang , Guo Chun Ming , Qi Hong Bo , Duan Tao , Zhang Jun
Published: September 2019

Objectives. To describe the incidence, risk factors, and potential causes of preterm birth (PTB) in China between 2015 and 2016.

Methods. The China Labor and Delivery Survey was a population-based multicenter study conducted from 2015 to 2016. We assigned each birth a weight based on the sampling frame. We calculated the incidence of PTB and the multivariable logistic regression, and we used 2-step cluster analysis to examine the relationships between PTB and maternal, fetal, and placental conditions.

Results. The weighted nationwide incidence of PTB was 7.3% of all births and 6.7% of live births at 24 or more weeks of gestation. Of the PTBs, 70.5% were born after 34 weeks and 42.7% were iatrogenic. Nearly two thirds of all preterm births were attributable to maternal, fetal, or placental conditions, and one third had unknown etiology.

Conclusions. This study provided information on the incidence of PTB in China and identified several factors associated with PTB. The high frequency of iatrogenic PTB calls for a careful assessment and prudent management of such pregnancies, as PTB has short- and long-term health consequences.
Firearm and Nonfirearm Violence After Operation Peacemaker Fellowship in Richmond, California, 1996–2016
Authors: Matthay Ellicott C. , Farkas Kriszta , Rudolph Kara E. , Zimmerman Scott , Barragan Melissa , Goin Dana E. , Ahern Jennifer
Published: September 2019

Objectives. To evaluate whether the Operation Peacemaker Fellowship, an innovative firearm violence-prevention program implemented in Richmond, California, was associated with reductions in firearm and nonfirearm violence.

Methods. We compiled city- and jurisdiction-level quarterly counts of violent firearm and nonfirearm incidents from statewide records of deaths from and hospital visits for homicide and assault (2005–2016) and from nationwide crime records of homicides and aggravated assaults (1996–2015). We applied a generalization of the synthetic control method to compare observed patterns in firearm and nonfirearm violence after implementation of the program (June 2010) to those predicted in the absence of the program, using a weighted combination of comparison cities or jurisdictions.

Results. The program was associated with reductions in firearm violence (annually, 55% fewer deaths and hospital visits, 43% fewer crimes) but also unexpected increases in nonfirearm violence (annually, 16% more deaths and hospital visits, 3% more crimes). These associations were unlikely to be attributable to chance for all outcomes except nonfirearm homicides and assaults in crime data.

Conclusions. The Operation Peacemaker Fellowship may have been effective in reducing firearm violence in Richmond but may have increased nonfirearm violence.
Diagnostic value of HSP90α and Related Markers in Lung Cancer
Authors: Yuan Zhimin , Hong Songlin , Li Lin , He Lin , Xiao Peng , Tang Ting , Shi Changbei , Mu Yudong , Sun Chen , Shang Yuchen , Wang Qing , Yuan Bin
Published: September 2019

Aim: To prove the expression of heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α) in lung cancer and the clinical value of HSP90α and related markers in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
Methods: The concentrations of HSP90α and related markers were detected in the blood of 560 lung cancer patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for analyzing the statistical differences of HSP90α in patients' age, gender, pathological types, tumour staging and metastasis status, as well as the differences and evaluate the value of HSP90α and related markers in lung cancer diagnosis.
Results: The results showed no statistical difference in HSP90α among age and gender groups (P>0.05); In the group by lung cancer type, statistical differences were found in the HSP90α level between the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) group and the squamous carcinoma (SLC) group (P<0.05); In the group by staging, the HSP90α level of high staging was significantly higher than that low staging, and the HSP90α level at Ⅰ/Ⅱ/Ⅲ/Ⅳ shows statistical differences among the groups (P<0.05); The test result of HSP90α was higher in the metastatic group than in the non-metastatic group significantly, and the significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). The r value of the HSP90α and related markers in the diagnosis of lung cancer: NSE>CEA>ProGRP>CF211 (P<0.05). Although HSP90α and related markers didn’t fit the satisfactory conformance, in terms of the positive rate of diagnosis, it were statistically differences in the diagnostic positive rate between HSP90α and each marker (P<0.01). Reducing HSP90α clinical references in lung cancer combined diagnosis can effectively improve the positive rate of the combined diagnosis.
Conclusion: HSP90α has significant value on early screening and diagnosis of lung cancer. The combined application of HSP90α and related markers can improve the positive rate of early diagnosis of lung cancer effectively.
Mild water stress-induced priming enhance tolerance to Rosellinia necatrix in susceptible avocado rootstocks
Authors: Martínez-Ferri Elsa , Moreno-Ortega Guillermo , Berg Noelani van den , Prieto Clara Pliego
Published: September 2019

Background: White root rot (WRR) disease caused by Rosellinia necatrix is one of the most important threats affecting avocado orchards in temperate regions. The eradication of WRR is a difficult task and environmentally friendly control methods are needed to lessen its impact. Priming plants with a stressor (biotic or abiotic) can be a strategy to enhance plant defense/tolerance against future stress episodes but, despite the known underlying common mechanisms, few studies use abiotic-priming for improving tolerance to forthcoming biotic-stress and vice versa (‘ cross-factor priming’ ). To assess whether cross-factor priming can be a potential method for enhancing avocado tolerance to WRR disease, ‘Dusa’ avocado rootstocks, susceptible to R. necatrix , were subjected to two levels of water stress (mild-WS and severe-WS) and, after drought-recovery, inoculated with R. necatrix . Physiological response and expression of plant defense related genes after drought-priming as well as the disease progression were evaluated.
Results: Water-stressed avocado plants showed lower water potential and stomatal limitations of photosynthesis compared to control plants. In addition, NPQ and q N values increased, indicating the activation of energy dissipating mechanisms closely related to the relief of oxidative stress. This response was proportional to the severity of the water stress and was accompanied by the deregulation of pathogen defense-related genes in the roots. After re-watering, leaf photosynthesis and plant water status recovered rapidly in both treatments, but roots of mild-WS primed plants showed a higher number of overexpressed genes related with plant defense than severe-WS primed plants. Disease progression after inoculating primed plants with R. necatrix was significantly delayed in mild-WS primed plants.
Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that mild-WS can induce a primed state in the WRR susceptible avocado rootstock ‘Dusa’ and reveal that ‘ cross-factor priming’ with water stress (abiotic stressor) is effective for increasing avocado tolerance against R. necatrix (biotic stressor), underpinning that plant responses against biotic and abiotic stress rely on common mechanisms. Potential applications of these results may involve an enhancement of WRR tolerance of current avocado groves and optimization of water use via low frequency deficit irrigation strategies.
Red blood cell distribution width and platelet counts are independent prognostic factors and improve the predictive ability of IPI score in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients
Authors: Li Manman , Xia Hailong , Zheng Huimin , Li Yafeng , Liu Jun , Hu Linhui , Li Jingrong , Ding Yangyang , Pu Lianfang , Gui Qianle , Zheng Yijie , Zhai Zhimin , xiong shudao
Published: September 2019

Elevated red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and decreased platelet count (PLT) can be clinically relevant to the prognosis in cancer patients . However, their prognostic value in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is needed to be further explored. Healthy donors (n=130) and patients with DLBCL (n=349) were included and evaluated retrospectively in the study. The prognostic influence of clinical and pathological factors including RDW and PLT on OS and PFS were studied by Kaplan-Meier curves . To evaluate the independent prognostic relevance of RDW and PLT, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied. The adjusted IPI model was established based on the results of multivariate analysis, and verified by Harrell's C statistical analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves indicated elevated RDW value and thrombocytopenia are poor factors for OS (P<0.001, P=0.006) and PFS (P=0.003, P<0.001) in DLBCL patients. Multivariate analysis confirmed that elevated RDW value (HR=2.026, 95%CI= 1.263-3.250, P=0.003) and decreased PLT (HR =1.749, 95%CI=1.010-3.028, P=0.046) both were independent prognostic factors. The c-index of IPI and NCCN-IPI was increased when RDW level and PLT were supplemented in our cohort. Our study shows that elevated RDW level and decreased PLT are independent poor prognostic factors in newly diagnosed DLBCL patients. Adding RDW and PLT to the IPI score may improve its predictive ability, and the adjusted IPI may be more powerful in predicting the survival of DLBCL patients in the rituximab era.
Keywords : prognosis, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma ( DLBCL ), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), platelet count (PLT)
Phenotypic and genotypic detection of metallo-β-lactamases in A. baumanii isolates obtained from clinical samples in Shahrekord, southwest Iran
Authors: Khaledi Mansoor , Abadi Milad Shahini Shams , Validi Majid , Zamanzad Behnam , Vafapour Rezvan , Gholipour Abolfazl
Published: September 2019

Objective: Acinetobacter baumanii is a pathogenic bacterium that is the cause of many nosocomial infections. This study aimed to determine metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) produced by the A . baumanii isolated obtained from clinical samples in Shahrekord, southwest Iran .
Results: A total of 100 A . baumanii isolates were isolated from 250 clinical samples between June 2013 and June 2014. Then, the isolates were identified by biochemical tests and MBL screening conducted by the phenotypic tests modified Hodge, EDTA-disk synergy (EDS), combined disk (CD) and AmpC disc after antibiotic sensitivity test, and the bla genes detected by PCR. Eighty-five (85%) isolates were resistant to meropenem and imipenem. Phenotypic tests showed that out of the 100 isolates, 46, 59, 50, 65 and 65 isolates were positive: AmpC disk, CD, EDS, Modified Hodge and Etest MBL, suggesting MBL production, respectively. Gene detection by PCR showed that 23 isolates carried the VIM-1 gene and only three isolates carried the IMP-1 gene. The prevalence of metallo-β-lactamases-containing A . baumanii isolates is increasing, and the coexistence of various carbapenemases is a problem. Continuous monitoring of the infections due to these bacteria should be taken into account in planning for alternative and new therapeutic strategies.
What impact do chronic disease self-management support interventions have on health inequity gaps related to socioeconomic status: A Systematic Review
Authors: Hardman Ruth , Spelten Evelien , Begg Stephen
Published: September 2019

Background: The social gradient in chronic disease (CD) is well-documented, and the ability to effectively self-manage is crucial to reducing morbidity and mortality from CD. This systematic review aimed to assess the moderating effect of socioeconomic status on self-management support (SMS) interventions in relation to participation, retention and post-intervention outcomes. Methods: Six databases were searched for studies of any design published until December 2018. Eligible studies reported on outcomes from SMS interventions for adults with chronic disease living in industrialised countries, where socioeconomic status was recorded and a between-groups comparison on SES was made. Possible outcomes were participation rates, retention rates and clinical or behavioural post-intervention results. Results: Nineteen studies were retrieved, including five studies on participation, five on attrition and nine studies reporting on outcomes following SMS intervention. All participation studies reported reduced engagement in low SES cohorts. Studies assessing retention and post-intervention outcomes had variable results, related to the diversity of interventions. A reduction in health disparity was seen in longer interventions that were individually tailored. Most studies did not provide a theoretical justification for the intervention being investigated, although four studies referred to Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy. Conclusions: The limited research suggests that socioeconomic status does moderate the efficacy of SMS interventions, such that without careful tailoring and direct targeting of barriers to self-management, SMS may exacerbate the social gradient in chronic disease outcomes. Screening for patient disadvantage or workload, rather than simply recording SES, may increase the chances of tailored interventions being directed to those most likely to benefit from them. Future interventions for low SES populations should consider focussing more on treatment burden and patient capacity. Trial registration: PROSPERO registration CRD42019124760 Keywords: Self-management, socioeconomic status, health inequity, patient capacity, chronic disease