bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Healthcare needs among unaccompanied minor refugees: a study protocol of a qualitative study explaining access and utilisation across place and gender
Authors: Ulrich Hanna-Sophie , Kohler Emma , Fach Eva-Maria , Spallek Jacob , Richter Matthias , Mlinarić Martin
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Several studies have identified that unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs) are allegedly ‘vulnerable’ and belong to a high-risk group in terms of psychological distress and post-traumatic stress disorder due to their preflight, periflight and postflight experiences. Psychosocial care (PSC) is of high importance for UMRs, but little is known about barriers to access and utilisation of PSC across place and gender. The aims of this gender-sensitive qualitative study will be to build on the existing body of literature and to provide qualitative evidence on the contexts and mechanisms of PSC for male and female UMRs in Germany by comparing two German regions.

Methods and analysis

Following the study preparing realist review, a qualitative study will be undertaken in Berlin and Central German cities. Approximately 24 experts from the field of PSC and 12 lay UMRs will participate in face-to-face, semistructured interviews. Data will be transcribed and analysed based on the grounded theory research paradigm.

Ethics and dissemination

Only participants who have been informed in both German and their native tongue and who have signed a declaration of consent will be included in the study. The study will comply rigorously with German data protection standards. Approval from the Ethical Review Committee at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany has been obtained and granted. The results of the study will be presented at several conferences and will be published in high-quality, peer-reviewed international journals. The results will display a differentiated picture of the PSC of UMRs in Germany. Such knowledge is a precondition for a ‘science of change’ that translates explanations into practical recommendations on how to improve healthcare policies.

Trial registration number

DRKS00018080.
Quality improvement in forensic mental health: the East London forensic violence reduction collaborative
Authors: O'Sullivan Owen P , Chang Nynn Hui , Njovana Day , Baker Philip , Shah Amar
Published: September 2020

Ward-based violence is the most significant cause of reported safety incidents at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). It impacts on patient and staff safety, well-being, clinical care and the broader hospital community in various direct and indirect ways. The contributing factors are varied and complex. Several factors differentiate the forensic setting, which has been identified as a particularly stressful work environment. Staff must constantly balance addressing therapeutic needs with robust risk management in a complex patient cohort. ELFT identified reducing inpatient physical violence on mental health wards as a major quality improvement (QI) priority. The aim was to use a QI methodology to reduce incidents of inpatient violence and aggression across two secure hospital sites by at least 30% between July 2016 and March 2018. Collaborative learning was central to this project. It sought to foster a culture of openness within the organisation around violence and to support service users and staff to work together to understand and address it. A QI methodology was applied in medium and low secure inpatient settings. A change bundle was tested for effectiveness, which included: safety huddles, safety crosses and weekly community safety discussions. Operational definitions for non-physical violence, physical violence and sexual harassment were developed and used. Reductions of 8% and 16.6% in rates of physical and non-physical violent incidents, respectively, were achieved and sustained. Compared with baseline, this equated to one less incident of physical and 17 less of non-physical violence per week averaged across seven wards. Three wards achieved at least a 30% reduction in incidents of physical violence per week. Five wards achieved at least a 30% reduction in incidents of non-physical violence per week. This collaborative brought significant improvements and a cultural shift towards openness around inpatient violence.
LAG-3: from molecular functions to clinical applications
Authors: Maruhashi Takumi , Sugiura Daisuke , Okazaki Il-mi , Okazaki Taku
Published: September 2020

To prevent the destruction of tissues owing to excessive and/or inappropriate immune responses, immune cells are under strict check by various regulatory mechanisms at multiple points. Inhibitory coreceptors, including programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4), serve as critical checkpoints in restricting immune responses against self-tissues and tumor cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors that block PD-1 and CTLA-4 pathways significantly improved the outcomes of patients with diverse cancer types and have revolutionized cancer treatment. However, response rates to such therapies are rather limited, and immune-related adverse events are also observed in a substantial patient population, leading to the urgent need for novel therapeutics with higher efficacy and lower toxicity. In addition to PD-1 and CTLA-4, a variety of stimulatory and inhibitory coreceptors are involved in the regulation of T cell activation. Such coreceptors are listed as potential drug targets, and the competition to develop novel immunotherapies targeting these coreceptors has been very fierce. Among such coreceptors, lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) is expected as the foremost target next to PD-1 in the development of cancer therapy, and multiple clinical trials testing the efficacy of LAG-3-targeted therapy are underway. LAG-3 is a type I transmembrane protein with structural similarities to CD4. Accumulating evidence indicates that LAG-3 is an inhibitory coreceptor and plays pivotal roles in autoimmunity, tumor immunity, and anti-infection immunity. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of LAG-3, ranging from its discovery to clinical application.
Identification of dual positive CD19+/CD3+ T cells in a leukapheresis product undergoing CAR transduction: a case report
Authors: Schultz Liora , Patel Shabnum , Davis Kara Lynn , Ramakrishna Sneha , Sahaf Bita , Bhatia Neehar , Baggott Christina , Erickson Courtney , Majzner Robbie G , Oak Jean , Bertaina Alice , Mackall Crystal , Feldman Steven
Published: September 2020

Background

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are therapeutics for relapsed acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) that are increasingly being used in tandem. We identified a non-physiologic CD19+/CD3+ T-cell population in the leukapheresis product of a patient undergoing CAR T-cell manufacturing who previously received a haploidentical HSCT, followed by infusion of a genetically engineered T-cell addback product. We confirm and report the origin of these CD19+/CD3+ T cells that have not previously been described in context of CAR T-cell manufacturing. We additionally interrogate the fate of these CD19-expressing cells as they undergo transduction to express CD19-specific CARs.

Main body

We describe the case of a preteen male with multiply relapsed B-ALL who was treated with sequential cellular therapies. He received an αβ T-cell depleted haploidentical HSCT followed by addback of donor-derived T cells genetically modified with a suicide gene for iCaspase9 and truncated CD19 for cell tracking (RivoCel). He relapsed 6 months following HSCT and underwent leukapheresis and CAR T-cell manufacturing. During manufacturing, we identified an aberrant T-cell population dually expressing CD19 and CD3. We hypothesized that these cells were RivoCel cells and confirmed using flow cytometry and PCR that the identified cells were in fact RivoCel cells and were eliminated with iCaspase9 activation. We additionally tracked these cells through CD19-specific CAR transduction and notably did not detect T cells dually positive for CD19 and CD19-directed CARs. The most likely rationale for this is in vitro fratricide of the CD19+ ‘artificial’ T-cell population by the CD19-specific CAR+ T cells in culture.

Conclusions

We report the identification of CD19+/CD3+ cells in an apheresis product undergoing CAR transduction derived from a patient previously treated with a haploidentical transplant followed by RivoCel addback. We aim to bring attention to this cell phenotype that may be recognized with greater frequency as CAR therapy and engineered αβhaplo-HSCT are increasingly coupled. We additionally suggest consideration towards using alternative markers to CD19 as a synthetic identifier for post-transplant addback products, as CD19-expression on effector T cells may complicate subsequent treatment using CD19-directed therapy.
Asymptotic behavior of N-fields Chiral cosmology
Authors: Paliathanasis Andronikos , Leon Genly
Published: September 2020

We perform a detailed analysis for the asymptotic behaviour for the multi-scalar field Chiral cosmological scenario. We present the asymptotic behaviour for the one-field, two-fields and three-fields Chiral models. From these results, and deriving conserved quantities, we present a Theorem for the N-fields model for the Chiral model with N-fields. We find that the maximum number of scalar fields which provide interesting physical results at the background level is two-fields, while for $$N>2$$

N
>
2

the new stationary points are only of mathematical interest since they do not describe new exact solutions different from those recovered for $$N=2$$

N
=
2

.
A Novel Low Power Technique for FinFET Domino OR Logic
Authors: Kajal  , Sharma Vijay Kumar
Published: September 2020

Excessive scaling of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is the main reason of large power dissipation in electronic circuits. Very large-scale integration (VLSI) industry has chosen an alternative option known as fin-shaped field effect transistor (FinFET) technology to mitigate the large power dissipation. FinFET is a multi-gate transistor which dissipates less leakage power as compared to CMOS transistors, but it does not completely resolve the problem of power dissipation. So, leakage reduction approaches are always required to mitigate the impact of power dissipation. In this paper, cascaded leakage control transistors (CLCT) leakage reduction technique is proposed using FinFET transistors. CLCT approach is tested for basic static logic circuits like inverter, 2-input NAND and NOR gates and compared with the existing leakage reduction techniques for leakage power dissipation and delay calculations at 16 and 14 nm technology nodes using Cadence tools. CLCT approach shows the effective reduction of leakage power with minimum delay penalty. As the domino logic gates are widely used in large memories and high-speed processors therefore, CLCT approach is further utilized for footless domino logic (FLDL) and compared with the available methods at 14[Formula: see text]nm technology node. CLCT approach reduces 35.16% power dissipation as compared to the conventional domino OR logic. Temperature and multiple parallel fin variations are estimated for the domino OR logic to check its reliable operation. CLCT approach has high-noise tolerance capability in term of unity noise gain (UNG) for domino OR logic as compared to the other methods.
Mapping Road Safety Features from Streetview Imagery
Authors: Sainju Arpan Man , Jiang Zhe
Published: September 2020

Each year, an average of around 6 million car accidents occur in the United States. Road safety features (e.g., concrete barriers, metal crash barriers, rumble strips) play an important role in preventing or mitigating vehicle crashes. Accurate maps of road safety features is an important component of safety management systems for federal or state transportation agencies, helping traffic engineers identify locations to invest in safety infrastructure. In current practice, mapping road safety features is largely done manually (e.g., observations on the road or visual interpretation of streetview imagery), which is both expensive and time consuming. In this article, we propose a deep learning approach to automatically map road safety features from streetview imagery. Unlike existing convolutional neural networks that classify each image individually, we propose to further add a recurrent neural network (long short-term memory) to capture geographic context of images (spatial autocorrelation effect along linear road network paths). Evaluations on real-world streetview imagery show that our proposed model outperforms several baseline methods.
Physics-guided Energy-efficient Path Selection Using On-board Diagnostics Data
Authors: Li Yan , Kotwal Pratik , Wang Pengyue , Xie Yiqun , Shekhar Shashi , Northrop William
Published: September 2020

Given a spatial graph, an origin and a destination, and on-board diagnostics (OBD) data, the energy-efficient path selection problem aims to find the path with the least expected energy consumption (EEC). Two main objectives of smart cities are sustainability and prosperity, both of which benefit from reducing the energy consumption of transportation. The challenges of the problem include the dependence of EEC on the physical parameters of vehicles, the autocorrelation of the EEC on segments of paths, the high computational cost of EEC estimation, and potential negative EEC. However, the current cost estimation models for the path selection problem do not consider vehicles’ physical parameters. Moreover, the current path selection algorithms follow the “path + edge” pattern when exploring candidate paths, resulting in redundant computation. Our preliminary work introduced a physics-guided energy consumption model and proposed a maximal-frequented-path-graph shortest-path algorithm using the model. In this work, we propose an informed algorithm using an admissible heuristic and propose an algorithm to handle negative EEC. We analyze the proposed algorithms theoretically and evaluate the proposed algorithms via experiments with real-world and synthetic data. We also conduct two case studies using real-world data and a road test to validate the proposed method.
Data-driven Bus Crowding Prediction Models Using Context-specific Features
Authors: Arabghalizi Tahereh , Labrinidis Alexandros
Published: September 2020

Public transit is one of the first things that come to mind when someone talks about “smart cities.” As a result, many technologies, applications, and infrastructure have already been deployed to bring the promise of the smart city to public transportation. Most of these have focused on answering the question, “When will my bus arrive?”; little has been done to answer the question, “How full will my next bus be?” which also dramatically affects commuters’ quality of life. In this article, we consider the bus fullness problem. In particular, we propose two different formulations of the problem, develop multiple predictive models, and evaluate their accuracy using data from the Pittsburgh region. Our predictive models consistently outperform the baselines (by up to 8 times).
Review—Microbial Electrosynthesis: A Way Towards The Production of Electro-Commodities Through Carbon Sequestration with Microbes as Biocatalysts
Authors: Das Sovik , Diels Ludo , Pant Deepak , Patil Sunil A. , Ghangrekar M. M.
Published: September 2020

There has been a considerable increment in the atmospheric CO2 concentration, which has majorly contributed to the problem of global warming. This issue can be extenuated by effectively developing microbial electrosynthesis (MES) for the sequestration of CO2 with the concurrent production of biochemical and biofuels. Though the MES technology is in its infancy, it has exhibited enormous potential for sustainable mitigation of CO2 and bioelectrosynthesis of multi-carbon organic compounds. The problem of storage of excess renewable electrical energy by conventional means can also be alleviated by employing MES, which stores it in the form of C–C bonds of chemicals. This review focuses on the various aspects of MES and recent developments made in this field to overcome its bottlenecks, such as the lower yield of organic compounds, separation of products of higher chain organic compounds, etc. In particular, the microbial catalysts and cathode materials employed in MES have also been emphasized. Keeping in mind the potential of this innovative technology, researchers should focus on improving the yield of MES by developing novel low-cost cathode materials and discovering efficient and robust micro-organisms, which would be a significant step forward towards the further advancement of this technology.
A Two-Dimensional Heterogeneous Model of Lithium-Ion Battery and Application on Designing Electrode with Non-Uniform Porosity
Authors: Fang Ruqing , Ge Hao , Wang Ziheng , Li Zhe , Zhang Jianbo
Published: September 2020

In this work, a two-dimensional heterogeneous model of lithium-ion battery electrode is developed. The electrode is reconstructed using a non-volume-averaging approach, generating a heterogeneous structure in which solid and liquid phase are characterized separately with respective real spatial occupation and boundaries between them. The heterogeneous model is parameterized using voltage and temperature curves at multiple C-rates. Mass and charge transport in the generated electrodes, coupled with interfacial reactions, are numerically solved. Three cases with different porosity profiles are compared. Without changing the amount of active materials and its particle size distribution, an improvement of rate performance up to 50% is achieved in the case with larger electrode porosity near the electrode-separator interface. Using the heterogeneous model as the benchmark, the precision of the pseudo-two-dimension model of lithium-ion battery electrode, which has been widely adopted in literatures and commercial computational softwares, can be improved by proper parameterization, including using the volume-averaged rather than number-averaged diameter as the negative electrode particle size; using the generated electrode structure, rather than the Bruggeman relationship, to calculate the tortuosity of porous electrodes; and using the size of primary particle, rather than that of the agglomerate, as the particle size at the positive electrode.
Nickel Based Metal Organic Framework/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composite as Electrode Material for the Voltammetric Detection of Caffeine
Authors: M. V. Varsha , Nageswaran Gomathi
Published: September 2020

Herein, a sensing platform was constructed by the integration of nickel based metal organic framework (MOF) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by sonication assisted preparation. The morphology and structural features of the composite were confirmed using scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy respectively. The synergistic effect which arise from the combination of porous nature of MOF and higher electrical conductivity of RGO makes the composite a promising electrode material for electrochemical sensing. The prepared composite was employed for the highly sensitive electrochemical detection of caffeine. The electrochemical characteristics of the modified electrodes and the electrochemical performance of the sensor were evaluated. The electrocatalytic oxidation of caffeine on Ni-MOF/RGO was confirmed as diffusion controlled, irreversible and two electron transfer process. The proposed sensor exhibited a wide linear concentration range of 0.1–250 μM with two linear segments and limit of detection 0.04 μM and 5.29 μM respectively. Further, the electrochemical sensor shows higher selectivity, satisfactory stability and repeatability for caffeine sensing. This work highlights the formation of a composite via direct assembly of Ni-MOF and RGO by a simple sonication method and its application as sensing material for caffeine by utilizing the high sorption potential of MOF.
Computational and Numerical Solutions for 2+1-Dimensional Integrable Schwarz–Korteweg–de Vries Equation with Miura Transform
Authors: Attia Raghda A. M. , Alfalqi S. H. , Alzaidi J. F. , Khater Mostafa M. A. , Lu Dianchen
Published: September 2020

This paper investigates the analytical, semianalytical, and numerical solutions of the 2+1–dimensional integrable Schwarz–Korteweg–de Vries (SKdV) equation. The extended simplest equation method, the sech-tanh method, the Adomian decomposition method, and cubic spline scheme are employed to obtain distinct formulas of solitary waves that are employed to calculate the initial and boundary conditions. Consequently, the numerical solutions of this model can be investigated. Moreover, their stability properties are also analyzed. The solutions obtained by means of these techniques are compared to unravel relations between them and their characteristics illustrated under the suitable choice of the parameter values.
Genotypic Profiling of Bacillus cereus Recovered from Some Retail Foods in Ogun State, Nigeria, and Their Phylogenetic Relationship
Authors: Adesetan Titilayo O. , Efuntoye Moses O. , Babalola Olubukola O.
Published: September 2020

Identifying Bacillus cereus with conventional methods is neither specific nor rapid because of the close relatedness of the B. cereus group, hence the need for molecular methods. Genotypic profiling of B. cereus isolates from food was obtained by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) using OPR13 primer. A dendrogram was drawn with the Numerical Taxonomy System of Statistic (NTSYS) software. Thirty of the isolates were subjected to molecular identification by 16S rDNA sequencing. The thirty sequences were deposited in GenBank for accession number. Phylogenetic relationship of the 16S rDNA sequence obtained was carried out with the Multiple Alignment using Fast Fourier Transform (MAFFT) software version 7.0. The evolutionary tree was drawn using the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA 6) software. The dendrogram generated for the RAPD profile showed that all the strains are closely related, with a similarity coefficient of 70%. The isolates were confirmed with 16S rDNA sequencing as B. cereus. The thirty sequences deposited in GenBank were given accession numbers: KX574760–KX574769, KX610811–KX610820, MT757957-MT757963, and MT772282-MT772284. By comparing the phylogenetic relationship, eleven of the strains did not cluster with the reference strains from the GenBank but form distinct clades, which means they are likely to be of different ancestors. Conventional methods rarely differentiate bacteria of the same species into clade, neither can it describe their ancestral lineage. Therefore, it is important to employ molecular methods in identifying bacteria to give detailed information about them.
Action Mechanism of Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) Used to Treat Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Women
Authors: Yusni Yusni , Meutia Firdalena
Published: September 2020

Objective. Rosella is a safe medicinal herb used by people in Indonesia. They believe that rosella is effective in controlling metabolic syndrome, working with antihypertension, antidiabetic, antidyslipidemia and antiobesity effects. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of rosella in controlling metabolic syndrome through the secretion of blood nitric oxide (NO) and the cortisol pathway. Methods. This study was a quasiexperimental, pretest‐posttest with control group design. The total subjects were 18 people, women, and the elderly. Subjects were selected randomly into 2 groups: control group (n = 8) and treatment group (n = 8). The treatment was rosella tea, a dose of 2 grams, duration 2 times a day, given in the morning (08.00–8.30 a.m.) and evening (06.30–7.00 p.m.) after meals for 21 days. Examination of NO and cortisol levels was carried out using the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results. There was a significant decrease in bodyweight (BW) (p = 0.021), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p = 0.049), glucose preprandial (FPG) (p = 0.014), total cholesterol (CT) (p = 0.001), triglycerides (TGs) (p = 0.014), high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) (p = 0.001), and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) (p = 0.010) after consuming rosella. NO levels were significantly increased (p = 0.012), whereas cortisol levels decreased significantly (p = 0.008) after therapy with rosella tea in elderly women. Conclusion. Rosella has shown evidence to control and lower blood pressure, blood glucose, lipid profile, and cortisol in the elderly with metabolic syndrome. Rosella is a traditional medicine that has the potential to be developed as a therapy for metabolic syndrome patients.
The 100 Top-Cited Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analyses on Diabetic Research
Authors: Yang Yi , Ma Yao , Chen Lingmin , Liu Yuqi , Zhang Yonggang
Published: September 2020

Objective. The objective of this study was to analyze the 100 top-cited systematic reviews/meta-analyses on diabetic research. Methods. The Science Citation Index Expanded database was searched to identify top-cited studies on diabetic research up to March 4th, 2020. Studies were analyzed using the following characteristics: citation number, publication year, country and institution of origin, authorship, topics, and journals. Results. The 100 top-cited diabetic systematic reviews/meta-analyses were published in 43 different journals, with Diabetes Care having the highest numbers (n=17), followed by The Journal of the American Medical Association (n=14) and Lancet (n=9). The majority of studies are published in the 2000s. The number of citations ranged from 2197 to 301. The highest number of contributions was from the USA, followed by England and Australia. The leading institution was Harvard University. The hot topic was a risk factor (n=33), followed by comorbidity (n=27). Conclusions. The 100 top-cited systematic reviews/meta-analyses on diabetic research identify impactful authors, journals, institutes, and countries. It will also provide the most important references to evidence-based medicine in diabetes and serve as a guide to the features of a citable paper in this field.
The Potential Role of Gut Microbiota in the Prevention and Treatment of Lipid Metabolism Disorders
Authors: He Yan-Jun , You Chong-Ge
Published: September 2020

Due to changes in lifestyle, diet structure, and aging worldwide, the incidence of metabolic syndromes such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity is increasing. Metabolic syndrome is considered to be closely related to cardiovascular disease and severely affects human health. In recent years, researchers have revealed that the gut microbiota, through its own or interacting metabolites, has a positive role in regulating metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the gut microbiota has been a new “organ” for the treatment of metabolic syndrome. The role has not been clarified, and more research is necessary to prove the specific role of specific strains. Probiotics are also believed to regulate metabolic syndromes by regulating the gut microbiota and are expected to become a new preparation for treating metabolic syndromes. This review focuses on the regulation of lipid metabolism disorders by the gut microbiota through the effects of bile acids (BA), short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile salt hydrolase (BSH), and genes such as ABCG5 and ABCG8, FXR, NPC1L, and LDL-R.
Single-Point Adaptive Control Method for Urban Mixed Traffic Flow
Authors: Liu Xuelian , Yuan Huazhi , Hu Jie , Jiao Xinlong
Published: September 2020

In urban traffic, motor vehicles, nonmotor vehicles, pedestrians, and other traffic are mixed, which seriously affects the urban traffic efficiency. At the intersections of urban roads especially, the priority setting of various travel modes is crucial to improve the urban traffic efficiency. In the urban hybrid traffic system, the architecture and algorithm flowchart of the single-point adaptive control system for urban hybrid traffic flow are presented. The control effect of this method is verified by VISSIM software. The simulation results show that the traffic efficiency of the priority objects at the intersection is increased by 6.03%, and the overall traffic efficiency is also significantly improved. This method has a certain practical value.
Urgent Airway Management and Postoperative Complications in a Patient with Trichorhinophalangeal Syndrome
Authors: Esmaeilzadeh Sarvie , D’Souza Ryan S. , Stewart Thomas M. , Sexton Matthew A.
Published: September 2020

Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome (TRPS) is a genetic disorder that may pose anesthetic challenges. We present a case of airway management for urgent surgery in a 56-year-old female with TRPS and difficult airway (macroglossia, narrow glottic opening, and hypoplastic epiglottis). Intubation was successful with video laryngoscopy using a size 2.5 pediatric blade and size 5.0 endotracheal tube. During emergence, she experienced bronchospasm and persistent urosepsis, necessitating intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Her pulmonary reserve was hindered by a Morgagni hernia causing lung compression. Our case demonstrates challenges in TRPS including challenging airway, decreased pulmonary reserve, and joint laxity introducing potential for spinal cord injury.
Fault Diagnosis of Planetary Gearbox Based on Motor Current Signal Analysis
Authors: Jiang Ziyuan , Han Qinkai , Xu Xueping
Published: September 2020

Planetary gearbox is one of the most widely used core parts in heavy machinery. Once it breaks down, it can lead to serious accidents and economic loss. Induction motor current signal analysis (MCSA) is a noninvasive method that uses current to detect faults. Currently, most MCSA-based fault diagnosis studies focus on the parallel shaft gearbox. However, there is a paucity of studies on the planetary gearbox. The effect of various signal processing methods on motor current and the performance of different machine learning models are rarely compared. Therefore, fault diagnosis of planetary gearbox based MCSA is conducted in this study. First, the effects of various faults on motor currents are studied. Specifically, the characteristic frequencies of a fault in sun/planet/ring gears and supporting bearings of the planetary gearbox are derived. Then, a signal preprocessing method, namely, singular spectrum analysis (SSA), is proposed to remove the supply frequency component in the current signal. Subsequently, four classical machine learning models, including the support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and AdaBoost, are used for fault classifications based on the features extracted via principal component analysis (PCA). The convolutional neural network (CNN), which can automatically extract features, is also adopted. The dynamic experiment of the planetary gearbox with seven types of faults, including tooth chipping in sun/planet/ring gears, inner race spall in planet bearing, inner/outer races, and ball spalls in input support bearing, is conducted. Raw current signal in the time domain, reconstructed signal by SSA, and the current spectra in the frequency domain are used as the inputs of various models. The classification results show that the PCA-SVM is the best model for learned data while CNN is the best model for unlearned data on average. Furthermore, SSA mainly increases the accuracy of CNN in the time domain and exhibits a positive effect on unlearned data in the time domain. The classification accuracy increases significantly after transforming the time domain current data to the frequency domain.
Enhancement of the Piezoelectric Cantilever Beam Performance via Vortex-Induced Vibration to Harvest Ocean Wave Energy
Authors: Du Xiaozhen , Zhao Yan , Liu Guilin , Zhang Mi , Wang Yu , Yu Hong
Published: September 2020

Renewable and sustainable energies exhibit promising performance while serving as the power supply of a wireless sensor especially located in marine waters. Various microgenerators have been developed to harvest wave energy. However, the conversion ability from a dynamic oscillating source of wave is crucial to enhance their effectiveness in practical applications. In this paper, a new piezoelectric converter system is proposed to harvest the kinetic energy from ocean waves. The vortex-induced effect in an air channel enhances the vibration performance, improving the energy harvesting efficiency. The system comprises an oscillating water column (OWC) air chamber, a bluff body, and a piezoelectric piece for electromechanical transduction. The fluid–solid–electric coupling finite element method was used to investigate the relation between the output voltage and geometrical parameters, including the size and position of the piezoelectric cantilever beam, which is based on the user-defined function of the ANSYS. It is found that the bluff body in the outlet channel above the air chamber induced high-frequency vortex shedding vibration. The regular wave rushed into the air chamber with a frequency of 0.285 Hz and extruded the air across the bluff body in the outlet channel. This incurred the fluctuation of the air pressure and excited the piezoelectric cantilever beam vibration with a high frequency of 233 Hz in the wake region. Furthermore, a continuous electrical output with a peak voltage of 6.11 V is generated, which has potential applications for the wireless sensors on the marine buoy.
Artificial Intelligence for Securing IoT Services in Edge Computing: A Survey
Authors: Xu Zhanyang , Liu Wentao , Huang Jingwang , Yang Chenyi , Lu Jiawei , Tan Haozhe
Published: September 2020

With the explosive growth of data generated by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the traditional cloud computing model by transferring all data to the cloud for processing has gradually failed to meet the real-time requirement of IoT services due to high network latency. Edge computing (EC) as a new computing paradigm shifts the data processing from the cloud to the edge nodes (ENs), greatly improving the Quality of Service (QoS) for those IoT applications with low-latency requirements. However, compared to other endpoint devices such as smartphones or computers, distributed ENs are more vulnerable to attacks for restricted computing resources and storage. In the context that security and privacy preservation have become urgent issues for EC, great progress in artificial intelligence (AI) opens many possible windows to address the security challenges. The powerful learning ability of AI enables the system to identify malicious attacks more accurately and efficiently. Meanwhile, to a certain extent, transferring model parameters instead of raw data avoids privacy leakage. In this paper, a comprehensive survey of the contribution of AI to the IoT security in EC is presented. First, the research status and some basic definitions are introduced. Next, the IoT service framework with EC is discussed. The survey of privacy preservation and blockchain for edge-enabled IoT services with AI is then presented. In the end, the open issues and challenges on the application of AI in IoT services based on EC are discussed.
Jejunal Intussusception in Adolescent Crohn’s Disease: An Extremely Rare Complication
Authors: Pandit Narendra , Gautam Sujan , Yadav Tek Narayan , Mandal Lawa Kumar , Deo Kunal Bikram
Published: September 2020

Proximal small bowel intussusception occurring in an adolescent Crohn’s disease patient is an extremely rare entity. It is usually primary without a lead point and quite often a transient phenomenon. We report such transient and intermittent jejunal intussusception in a 16-year-old male, developing immediately in a postoperative period after a stoma reversal for jejunal stricture perforation peritonitis.
Counting Periodic Points in Parallel Graph Dynamical Systems
Authors: Aledo Juan A. , Barzanouni Ali , Malekbala Ghazaleh , Sharifan Leila , Valverde Jose C.
Published: September 2020

Let F:0,1n⟶0,1n be a parallel dynamical system over an undirected graph with a Boolean maxterm or minterm function as a global evolution operator. It is well known that every periodic point has at most two periods. Actually, periodic points of different periods cannot coexist, and a fixed point theorem is also known. In addition, an upper bound for the number of periodic points of F has been given. In this paper, we complete the study, solving the minimum number of periodic points’ problem for this kind of dynamical systems which has been usually considered from the point of view of complexity. In order to do this, we use methods based on the notions of minimal dominating sets and maximal independent sets in graphs, respectively. More specifically, we find a lower bound for the number of fixed points and a lower bound for the number of 2-periodic points of F. In addition, we provide a formula that allows us to calculate the exact number of fixed points. Furthermore, we provide some conditions under which these lower bounds are attained, thus generalizing the fixed-point theorem and the 2-period theorem for these systems.
Syk Inhibitor Attenuates Polymicrobial Sepsis in FcgRIIb-Deficient Lupus Mouse Model, the Impact of Lupus Characteristics in Sepsis
Authors: Issara-Amphorn Jiraphorn , Chancharoenthana Wiwat , Visitchanakun Peerapat , Leelahavanichkul Asada
Published: September 2020

The impact of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) signaling might be prominent in lupus because (i) Syk is a shared downstream signaling molecule among circulating immune complex, LPS, and (1→3)-β-D-glucan (BG), and (ii) all of these factors are detectable in the serum of Fc gamma receptor IIb-deficient (FcgRIIb−/−) mice with sepsis. As a proof of concept study, we activated macrophages with BG combined with LPS (BG + LPS). We found that BG + LPS predominantly upregulated Syk expression and proinflammatory cytokines in FcgRIIb−/− macrophages compared with wild-type (WT) macrophages. Syk inhibition downregulated several inflammatory pathways in FcgRIIb−/− macrophages activated with BG + LPS, as determined by RNA sequencing analysis, suggesting the potential anti-inflammatory impact of Syk inhibitors in lupus. Indeed, administration of a Syk inhibitor prior to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis in FcgRIIb−/− mice reduced baseline lupus-induced proinflammatory cytokines and attenuated sepsis severity as evaluated by mortality, organ injury, serum LPS, and post-sepsis serum cytokines. In conclusion, it was easier to induce Syk expression in FcgRIIb−/− macrophages than in WT macrophages. This might be because of the loss of inhibitory signaling, which might be responsible for prominent Syk abundance in the spleens of 40-week-old FcgRIIb−/− mice and the potent effect of Syk inhibitor in lupus mice compared with WT.
Optical Mapping-Validated Machine Learning Improves Atrial Fibrillation Driver Detection by Multi-Electrode Mapping
Authors: Zolotarev Alexander M. , Hansen Brian J. , Ivanova Ekaterina A. , Helfrich Katelynn M. , Li Ning , Janssen Paul M.L. , Mohler Peter J. , Mokadam Nahush A. , Whitson Bryan A. , Fedorov Maxim V. , Hummel John D. , Dylov Dmitry V. , Fedorov Vadim V.
Published: September 2020

Background:

Atrial fibrillation (AF) can be maintained by localized intramural reentrant drivers. However, AF driver detection by clinical surface-only multielectrode mapping (MEM) has relied on subjective interpretation of activation maps. We hypothesized that application of machine learning to electrogram frequency spectra may accurately automate driver detection by MEM and add some objectivity to the interpretation of MEM findings.

Methods:

Temporally and spatially stable single AF drivers were mapped simultaneously in explanted human atria (n=11) by subsurface near-infrared optical mapping (NIOM; 0.3 mm
2
resolution) and 64-electrode MEM (higher density or lower density with 3 and 9 mm
2
resolution, respectively). Unipolar MEM and NIOM recordings were processed by Fourier transform analysis into 28 407 total Fourier spectra. Thirty-five features for machine learning were extracted from each Fourier spectrum.

Results:

Targeted driver ablation and NIOM activation maps efficiently defined the center and periphery of AF driver preferential tracks and provided validated annotations for driver versus nondriver electrodes in MEM arrays. Compared with analysis of single electrogram frequency features, averaging the features from each of the 8 neighboring electrodes, significantly improved classification of AF driver electrograms. The classification metrics increased when less strict annotation, including driver periphery electrodes, were added to driver center annotation. Notably, f1-score for the binary classification of higher-density catheter data set was significantly higher than that of lower-density catheter (0.81±0.02 versus 0.66±0.04,
P
<0.05). The trained algorithm correctly highlighted 86% of driver regions with higher density but only 80% with lower-density MEM arrays (81% for lower-density+higher-density arrays together).

Conclusions:

The machine learning model pretrained on Fourier spectrum features allows efficient classification of electrograms recordings as AF driver or nondriver compared with the NIOM gold-standard. Future application of NIOM-validated machine learning approach may improve the accuracy of AF driver detection for targeted ablation treatment in patients.
Now I'm Digital, Where Is My Ritual?: Exploring Postdigital Performance Objects as Totems for Agency and Ritual
Authors: Spowage Neal
Published: September 2020

The author argues that significant aspects of electronic music performance have been diminished in the rush to incorporate the latest, often discreet (as in intentionally unobtrusive) technologies. He identifies these aspects as agency, ritual and, to a lesser extent, serendipity and mess. Using references to his own work, he suggests that applying an understanding of how actors create totems to present agency and affordance is essential to regain, and possibly acclimate, these tools and practices so they are relevant to live electronic music performance practice in a contemporary technology environment.
Two new species of Aphelandra (Acanthaceae) with a rugose corolla from central Peru

Authors: VILLANUEVA-ESPINOZA ROSA , FERNANDEZ-HILARIO ROBIN , PILLACA-HUACRE LUIS
Published: September 2020

Two new species of Aphelandra, A. rugosa and A. apecoi, are described and illustrated from the Huánuco region of Peru. Aphelandra rugosa is related to A. mucronata and A. weberbaueri but differs from both species in having larger dark red calyx, subequal sepals, corolla upper lip with 4 lobes and stamens exceeding the tip of corolla. Aphelandra apecoi is related to A. zamorensis, but differs from the latter in having long-pedunculate spikes, larger calyx, and a corolla with unequal upper lip lobes.
Friedrich Welwitsch and his contributions to the exploration and study of the flora of São Tomé and Príncipe, Gulf of Guinea, with typification of three names described from his collections

Authors: FIGUEIREDO ESTRELA , SMITH GIDEON F.
Published: September 2020

Friedrich Welwitsch (1806–1872) is best known for his botanical work in Angola in south-tropical Africa. However, he also was one of the first plant collectors on the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, Gulf of Guinea, while en route to Angola in 1853, and again seven years later when returning to Lisbon, Portugal. The contributions of Welwitsch to the floristics of these two islands are discussed. Reference is also made to the other mid-19th century botanical collectors who were active in São Tomé and Príncipe. The typification of the names Ehretia scrobiculata, Hernandia beninensis, and Leea tinctoria, which are all based on Welwitsch specimens, is clarified. Two endemics of the Gulf of Guinea islands have names coined by Welwitsch. Their nomenclature is clarified, and the names are here second-step lectotypified. We show that authorship of the name Leea tinctoria should be attributed to Welwitsch, not to ‘Lindley ex Baker’.
A new medium-bodied rupicolous Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Sirumalai massif, Tamil Nadu, India
Authors: KHANDEKAR AKSHAY , THACKERAY TEJAS , PAWAR SWAPNIL , AGARWAL ISHAN
Published: September 2020

We describe a new species of the Hemidactylus acanthopholis clade from Sirumalai, an isolated massif in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu state, India. Hemidactylus sirumalaiensis sp. nov. can be diagnosed from all members of the prashadi group by its medium body size (SVL <95 mm), the number of dorsal tubercles rows at mid-body, the number of enlarged tubercles in paravertebral rows, the number of femoral pores and poreless scales between series of left and right femoral pores on the femoral-precloacal row in males, the number of ventral scales across the belly at mid-body and subtle colour pattern differences. The new species is the fourth member of the acanthopholis clade and 8.5–13.4 % divergent in ND2 sequence data from other members of the clade. We also provide data on additional specimens from a new locality of Hemidactylus kolliensis, previously known only from the male holotype. Hemidactylus sirumalaiensis sp. nov. is the first endemic and only the other vertebrate species described from Sirumalai massif in the last 133 years. Most rupicolous Hemidactylus species from peninsular India outside the Western Ghats are known only from a few localities and are likely to be geographically restricted in distribution, and large areas of suitable habitat remain unsurveyed, suggesting many more allied species remain to be discovered.
Misidentification of Bellator gymnostethus (Gilbert, 1892) as Prionotus ruscarius Gilbert & Starks, 1904 (Scorpaeniformes: Triglidae)
Authors: ROBERTSON D. ROSS , ANGULO ARTURO , BALDWIN CAROLE C. , PITASSY DIANE , DRISKELL AMY , WEIGT LEE , NAVARRO IGNACIO J.F.
Published: September 2020

The checklist by Robertson et al. (2017) of fishes from the tropical eastern Pacific included information on three members of the family Triglidae: Bellator loxias (Jordan, 1897), Prionotus ruscarius and P. stephanophrys Lockington, 1881. Unfortunately, the identification of four specimens as P. ruscarius is incorrect, as they are Bellator gymnostethus. We thank Benjamin Victor for bringing these misidentifications to our notice through his work with mtDNA sequence data from the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD: http://www.boldsystems.org). The photographs of the four specimens on the BOLD website clearly depict a Bellator species rather than a Prionotus. However, the photograph in the 2017 paper (Figure 75, page 78), is correctly identified and labelled as P. ruscarius, and this species was collected on the cruise of the Miguel Oliver discussed in Robertson et al. (2017), see Benavides Moreno et al. (2019). This correction brings the number of triglids collected on that cruise to four species.
Implications of Postpancreatectomy Hypophosphatemia
Authors: Wong Paul , White Michael , Tozzi Federico , Warner Susanne G. , Woo Yanhgee , Singh Gagandeep , Fong Yuman , Melstrom Laleh
Published: September 2020

Background

Electrolyte abnormalities are commonly found after major abdominal surgery for malignancy. We hypothesized that the severity of hypophosphatemia developed in pancreatectomy patients would be associated with the incidence of complications postoperatively.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of an institutional database was conducted for all pancreatic resections (2009-2017). Patient charts were reviewed for demographics, clinicopathologic factors, and perioperative outcomes.

Results

In a cohort of 283 pancreatectomy patients, 107 (37.8%) and 134 (47.3%) developed mild (2.0-2.5 mg/dL) and moderate/severe hypophosphatemia (<2.0 mg/dL), respectively. Nadir serum phosphate levels were shown to occur on postoperative day (POD) 2 for patients without complications and POD3 for patients who had at least 1 complication. Patients who developed severe hypophosphatemia were significantly more likely to suffer fistula-related complications ( P = .0401).

Conclusions

Assessing the severity and timing of postpancreatectomy hypophosphatemia presents an opportunity for early detection of impending fistula-related complications.