bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physician unionisation in the USA: ethical and empirical considerations and the free-rider problem
Authors: Byju Arjun S , Mayo Kajsa
Published: October 2020

While American physicians have traditionally practised as non-unionised professionals, there has been increasing debate in recent years over whether physicians in training (known also as interns, residents or house staff) are justified in unionising and using collective action. This paper examines specific ethical criteria that would permit union action, including a desire to ameliorate patient care as well as the goal of improving the conditions of working physicians. We posit that traditional rebuttals to physician unionisation often lean on an infinite conception of a doctor’s energies and obligations, one that promotes burnout and serves to advance the financial motives of hospital management and administration. Furthermore, this paper explores the empirical justifications for collective action, which include substantial reductions in medical error. Finally, we address the free-rider problem posed by non-union physicians who might benefit from working improvements garnered through union action. We conclude that in order to maintain a notion of justice as fairness, resident physicians who benefit from union deliberations are impelled to acquire union membership or make a commensurate donation and that the healthcare organisations for which they work ought to share in the responsibility to improve patient care.
On ‘rotating charged AdS solutions in quadratic f(T) gravity’: new rotating solutions
Authors: Azreg-Aïnou Mustapha
Published: October 2020

We show that there are two or more procedures to generalize the known four-dimensional transformation, aiming to generate cylindrically rotating charged exact solutions, to higher dimensional spacetimes . In the one procedure, presented in Eur. Phys. J. C (2019) 79:668, one uses a non-trivial, non-diagonal, Minkowskian metric $$\bar{\eta }_{ij}$$

η

¯

ij

to derive complicated rotating solutions. In the other procedure, discussed in this work, one selects a diagonal Minkowskian metric $${\eta }_{ij}$$

η

ij

to derive much simpler and appealing rotating solutions. We also show that if ($$g_{\mu \nu },\,\eta _{ij}$$

g

μ
ν

,

η

ij

) is a rotating solution then ($$\bar{g}_{\mu \nu },\,\bar{\eta }_{ij}$$

g

¯

μ
ν

,

η

¯

ij

) is a rotating solution too with similar geometrical properties, provided $$\bar{\eta }_{ij}$$

η

¯

ij

and $${\eta }_{ij}$$

η

ij

are related by a symmetric matrix R: $$\bar{\eta }_{ij}={\eta }_{ik}R_{kj}$$

η

¯

ij

=

η

ik

R

kj

.
Novel 4:2 Approximate Compressor Designs for Multimedia and Neural Network Applications
Authors: Edavoor Pranose J. , Raveendran Sithara , Rahulkar Amol D.
Published: October 2020

Low power dissipation in approximate arithmetic circuits has laid the foundation for area-efficient computational units for error resilient applications like image and signal processing. This paper proposes two novel low power high speed architectures for approximate 4:2 compressor that can be employed in multipliers for partial product summation. The two designs presented ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) have Error Distance (ED) of [Formula: see text] and Error Rate (ER) of 25%. The proposed [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are able to achieve reduction in power and delay by (62.50%, 47.67%) and (83.13%, 60.20%), respectively, in comparison with the exact 4:2 compressor. To verify the effectiveness of the design, the proposed architectures are used to implement [Formula: see text] Dadda multiplier. The equal number of errors in positive and negative directions in the proposed designs aid in reducing the Mean Error Distance (MED) and Mean Relative Error Distance (MRED) of the multiplier. Multiplication of images and two-level decomposition of 2D Haar wavelets are implemented using the designed Dadda multiplier. The efficiency of the image processing applications is measured in terms of Mean Structural Similarity (MSSIM) index and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and an average of 0.98 and 35[Formula: see text]dB, respectively, is obtained, which are in the acceptable range. In addition, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based LeNet-1 Handwritten Digit Recognition System (HDRS) is implemented using the proposed compressor-based multipliers. The proposed compressor-based architectures are able to achieve an average accuracy of 96.23%.
A Symmetric Group Control Dynamic Element Matching Method Applied in High Resolution SAR ADCs for Biomedical Applications
Authors: Chen Yushi , Zhuang Yiqi
Published: October 2020

Capacitor mismatch plays an important part in the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) performance of high-resolution successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). This paper presents a symmetric group control dynamic element matching (SGCDEM) method aiming at enhancing SFDR of SAR ADCs applied in biomedical applications. The proposed scheme symmetrically divides the capacitor array into four sub-DACs, using quantization results corresponding to each sub-DAC as rotary control codes to symmetrically control the rotation of the capacitors. In order to improve the energy efficiency and save chip area, the proposed method replaces the pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) with quantization results of ADC as the rotary control code. Moreover, split rotator technology is applied in the proposed scheme to reduce the number of multiplexers (MUX) used in the rotator, which introduces a low logic depth. The proposed architecture has been implemented on a 12-bit SAR ADC model in MATLAB in order to verify its performances. After taking a standard deviation of 1% for the unit capacitance into consideration, this method achieves above 77.3[Formula: see text]dB SFDR, enabling to correct the SFDR by more than 23.6[Formula: see text]dB compared with the structure without DEM.
A Minimum-Voltage Driving Amplifier with Adaptive Three-Stage Open-Loop Gain and Folded Cascade Class-AB Output Current Control
Authors: Li Fanyang , Yang Tao
Published: October 2020

A driving amplifier capable of operating at a minimum voltage is proposed, aiming to subdue the distortion effect caused by large amplitude driving at the hearing aid loudspeaker. Since the linearity of a cascode amplifier usually degrades with the reduced supply voltage, a three-stage cascade amplifier having a parallel cascade second stage, and a folded cascade Class-AB output current control in place are designed. With such an arrangement, the open loop gain should still be maintained at a sufficiently high level even in the presence of increased output amplitude. Also, the minimum supply voltage required can then be reduced to merely [Formula: see text]. Fabricated on a 0.18[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, the proposed amplifier achieves [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]dB total harmonic distortion [Formula: see text] with a loudspeaker load of 100[Formula: see text]ohm while operating from a 1.2[Formula: see text]V supply and being subject to a 1[Formula: see text]kHz sinusoidal input.
The Ultrapower Axiom and the GCH
Authors: Goldberg Gabriel
Published: October 2020

The Ultrapower Axiom is an abstract combinatorial principle inspired by the fine structure of canonical inner models of large cardinal axioms. In this paper, it is established that the Ultrapower Axiom implies that the Generalized Continuum Hypothesis holds above the least supercompact cardinal.
Estimation of Seismic Damage Induced by Near- and Far-Fault Earthquakes Using Modified Equivalent Linearization Method of Mid-Rise RC Buildings
Authors: Chiu Chien-Kuo , Nugroho Lorddy Z. , Liao Wen-I.
Published: October 2020

For the seismic design of a mid-rise reinforced concrete (RC) building considering the damage control, the main purpose of this work is to propose a simplified method that can be used to estimate the damage index or damage state induced by the near-fault and far-fault earthquakes. In addition to the maximum deformation response, the hysteretic energy dissipation induced the earthquakes is also considered in the damage index quantification based on the modified equivalent linearization method (MELM). Based on the damage index model in terms of the maximum deformation response and hysteretic energy dissipation under an earthquake, this work provides a convenient method by which an engineer can determine the damage-controlling minimal ductility requirement to ensure that the damage index remains under a specified value. For a mid-rise RC building structure, an engineer can also apply the simplified formula proposed in this work to obtain the damage-controlling yielding strength for a specified ductility capacity.
Designing hollowed carbon@Si cubic nanobox@reduced graphene oxide nanostructures for lithium-ion battery with high capacity and long cyclic stability
Authors: Zhang Zehao , Li Haibo
Published: October 2020

In this work, we synthesized the hollowed carbon@Si cubic nanobox sandwiched by reduced graphene oxide (HC@Si@rGO) using the template-sacrificial method for lithium-ions batteries’ (LIBs’) anode with high specific capacity and ultra-stable long cyclic performance. During the preparation, the ZIF-8 was initially etched by Si(OH)4 to generate the hollowed ZIF-8 and instantaneously in-situ formation of SiO2 coatings on ZIF-8, resulting in synthesis of ZIF-8@SiO2. Afterwards, the ZIF-8@SiO2 was reduced to HC@Si by the magnesium thermal treatment while the NaCl was employed as a heat-removing agent. Successfully, the rGO was introduced coupling with HC@Si to obtain HC@Si@rGO. As anode for LIBs, it delivers high initial discharge capacity of 3712.9 mAh g[Formula: see text] at the current density of 0.1 A g[Formula: see text]. After 130 cycles, a stable specific capacity of 1311.0 mAh g[Formula: see text] is achieved. The long charge/discharge performance of HC@Si@rGO anode is demonstrated at 0.5 A g[Formula: see text], exhibiting the specific capacity of 595.4 mAh g[Formula: see text] after 500 cycles. Based on the electrochemical analysis, these remarkable performances are attributed to the unique nanostructure of HC@Si@rGO. Essentially, the inner-layered HC acts as a buffer matrix to reinforce the mechanical strength of the entire electrode and restrain the volume change of Si during the charge/discharge. On the other hand, the evenly distributed HC@Si is fixed within the flexible rGO sheets to form the network structure, which not only promises a good conductive connection between HC@Si but also prevents the continuous formation of solid electrolyte interface film.
Study the effects of factors on the structure and phase transition of bulk Ag by molecular dynamics method
Authors: Trong Dung Nguyen , Chinh Cuong Nguyen , Quoc Van Duong , Quoc Tuan Tran
Published: October 2020

This paper studies the effect of atoms number [Formula: see text] of bulk Ag: [Formula: see text] atoms (Ag[Formula: see text]), 4000 atoms (Ag[Formula: see text]), 5324 atoms (Ag[Formula: see text], 6912 atoms (Ag[Formula: see text] at temperature [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K, 400[Formula: see text]K, 500[Formula: see text]K, 600[Formula: see text]K, 700[Formula: see text]K, 800[Formula: see text]K, 900[Formula: see text]K, 1000[Formula: see text]K on bulk Ag[Formula: see text] and annealing time [Formula: see text] = 200 ps on the structure and phase transition of Ag bulk by Molecular Dynamics (MD) method with Sutton–Chen (SC) pair interaction potential, periodic boundary conditions. The structural results are analyzed through the Radial Distribution Function (RDF), the total energy of the system ([Formula: see text], the size [Formula: see text], the phase transition (determined by the relationship between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]), and combined with the Common Neighbors Analysis (CNA) method. The obtained results show that the first peak’s position ([Formula: see text] of the RDF has negligible change value, [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]Å, which is completely consistent with the experimental results. For bulk Ag, there are always four types of structure: FCC, HCP, BCC, Amor and glass transition temperature [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K. When decreasing the temperature, bulk Ag changes from liquid state to crystalline state, when increasing the annealing time at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K, bulk Ag changes from amorphous phase to crystalline phase state, leading to the increase of FCC, HCP, BCC structures and the decrease of Amor structure. The obtained results will be used as guide for future experiments.
Buried discoveries of early female petroleum geologists
Authors: Gries Robbie Rice
Published: October 2020

For over 100 years, female geologists have enjoyed careers in petroleum geology. They have been successful in finding oil and gas as employees, as managers, entrepreneurs, and as innovators in oil-finding technology. In the years closely succeeding their impactful work, their contributions were ignored, forgotten or transferred to male colleagues.
Noninvasive Brain–Machine Interfaces for Robotic Devices
Authors: Tonin Luca , Millán José del R.
Published: October 2020

The last decade has seen a flowering of applications driven by brain–machine interfaces (BMIs), particularly brain-actuated robotic devices designed to restore the independence of people suffering from severe motor disabilities. This review provides an overview of the state of the art of noninvasive BMI-driven devices based on 86 studies published in the last 15 years, with an emphasis on the interactions among the user, the BMI system, and the robot. We found that BMIs are used mostly to drive devices for navigation (e.g., telepresence mobile robots), with BMI paradigms based mainly on exogenous stimulation, and the majority of brain-actuated robots adopt a discrete control strategy. Most critically, in only a few works have disabled people evaluated a brain-actuated robot. The review highlights the most urgent challenges in the field, from the integration between BMI and robotics to the need for a user-centered design to boost the translational impact of BMIs.
Where Is This Story Going? A Critical Analysis of the Emerging Field of Narrative Criminology
Authors: Maruna Shadd , Liem Marieke
Published: October 2020

Over the past decade, a growing body of literature has emerged under the umbrella of narrative criminology. We trace the origins of this field to narrative scholarship in the social sciences more broadly and review the recent history of criminological engagement in this field. We then review contemporary developments, paying particular attention to research around desistance and victimology. Our review highlights the most important critiques and challenges for narrative criminology and suggests fruitful directions in moving forward. We conclude by making a case for the consolidation and integration of narrative criminology, in hopes that this movement becomes more than an isolated clique.
(Invited) Study of the Impact of Vibrational Excitations and Plasma-Generated Radicals on Catalytic Conversion Processes
Authors: Engelmann Yannick , Neyts Erik , Schneider William , Bogaerts Annemie
Published: October 2020

We developed microkinetic models to investigate the plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis and non-oxidative coupling of methane on transition metal catalysts. These models aim at gaining insight in the reaction mechanisms of plasma-activated species at the catalytic surface. We focus on the effects of vibrational excitations as well as plasma-generated radicals, on the total rate of conversion, the product selectivity and the catalyst coverage.

Based on the results of DFT calculations, we built scaling relations for the catalytic conversion of N2 and H2 towards NH3 and CH4 coupling towards C2-hydrocarbons on transition metal catalysts. These scaling relations allow the generation of ‘volcano’ plots that show the logarithm of the turnover frequencies as function of a catalyst descriptor (in our case the binding energy of N for ammonia and CH3 for methane). We compare the volcano plots for thermal catalysis with vibrationally-enhanced catalysis and radical-enhanced catalysis in order to investigate how the plasma can most efficiently aid in the catalytic conversion. Careful analysis of reaction flow diagrams shows which pathways are dominant in each of the regimes. We show that Eley-Rideal (ER) mechanisms can become very important in plasmas with high densities of radical species as opposed to thermal conditions where ER is usually considered negligible compared to Langmuir Hinschelwood. We determined on which catalysts ER mechanisms are most important and how they impact the turnover frequency.

Ultimately, we make suggestions for the optimal catalysts and reaction conditions for the ammonia synthesis and the conversion of methane to ethane, ethylene and acetylene.
Development and Evaluation of Solvent‐Based Cold Patching Asphalt Mixture Based on Multiscale
Authors: Huang Shuolei , Ren Junda , Li Mingguang , Li Zhuolin , Zhou Shuiwen
Published: October 2020

In order to prepare a kind of high‐performance asphalt pavement pit repair material and extend the service life of the road, this paper starts from the microscopic view of the raw materials, uses infrared spectrum, four component analysis method, lying drop method, column wick technology principle, etc. to select the raw materials and determine the initial amount of the cold patching asphalt mixture, and optimizes the formula through the orthogonal test design and adhesion, cohesion, initial stage strength, later strength, residual stability, and other performance indexes, and determines the final formula of cold patching asphalt mixture as follows: the design porosity is 15 ± 0.5%, compatibilizer is 2.5%, linear SBS modifier is 5%, tackifier is 4%, antistripping agent is 3.5%, and the dosage of diluent D should be determined according to the ambient temperature. The results show that the performance of the self‐made cold patching asphalt mixture is good verified by adhesion grade, strength, high temperature stability, water stability, and other road performance.
Epileptic Seizure Provoked by Bone Metastasis of Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia and Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Folyovich András , Majoros Angéla , Jarecsny Tamás , Pánczél Gitta , Pápai Zsuzsanna , Rudas Gábor , Kozák Lajos , Barna Gábor , Béres-Molnár Katalin A. , Vadasdi Károly , Liszkay Gabriella , Horváth Eszter , Toldi Gergely
Published: October 2020

Background. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare primary neuroendocrine cutaneous tumor, rarely metastasizing to the brain. Chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL) is a disease predisposing to MCC. According to previous reports, headache and focal neurological deficits suggest disease progression to the brain. We present a patient with MCC whose seizure was not elicited by a cerebral metastasis, but by bone metastases compressing the brain. Case Presentation. A 62-year-old female patient had a history of CLL. A lesion with the appearance of an atheroma was removed from the right upper arm. Histology confirmed the diagnosis of MCC. She was admitted to the neurology department with her first GM seizure. The cranial MRI/MRA showed bone metastases in the right parietal and both frontal areas, compressing the brain. Flow cytometry of CSF did not reveal metastasis of MCC. Conclusions. The case history of the patient was unique even among the rare cases of MCC with neurological involvement. The seizure was not elicited by a cerebral metastasis, but by bone metastases compressing the brain. In addition to patient history, clinical presentation and radiological findings enabled a suspected diagnosis of skull metastasis of MCC compressing the brain, causing symptomatic epileptic seizures.
An Automatic Mass Screening System for Cervical Cancer Detection Based on Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: -Rehman Aziz-ur , Ali Nabeel , Taj Imtiaz.A. , Sajid Muhammad , Karimov Khasan S.
Published: October 2020

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer and is also a leading cause of mortality among women across the world. Various types of screening tests are used for its diagnosis, but the most popular one is the Papanicolaou smear test, in which cell cytology is carried out. It is a reliable tool for early identification of cervical cancer, but there is always a chance of misdiagnosis because of possible errors in human observations. In this paper, an auto-assisted cervical cancer screening system is proposed that uses a convolutional neural network trained on Cervical Cells database. The training of the network is accomplished through transfer learning, whereby initializing weights are obtained from the training on ImageNet dataset. After fine-tuning the network on the Cervical Cells database, the feature vector is extracted from the last fully connected layer of convolutional neural network. For final classification/screening of the cell samples, three different classifiers are proposed including Softmax regression (SR), Support vector machine (SVM), and GentleBoost ensemble of decision trees (GEDT). The performance of the proposed screening system is evaluated for two different testing protocols, namely, 2-class problem and 7-class problem, on the Herlev database. Classification accuracies of SR, SVM, and GEDT for the 2-class problem are found to be 98.8%, 99.5%, and 99.6%, respectively, while for the 7-class problem, they are 97.21%, 98.12%, and 98.85%, respectively. These results show that the proposed system provides better performance than its previous counterparts under various testing conditions.
Epidemiological Patterns of Skin Disease in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Almohideb Mohammad
Published: October 2020

Background. Large epidemiological studies on patterns of skin diseases in Saudi Arabia are scarce. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to gather available epidemiologic data describing the pattern of skin diseases in different geographical areas in Saudi Arabia. Methods. A comprehensive literature search of articles was conducted in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science through October 2019. We included all published cross-sectional studies that provided data on relevant incidence or prevalence of skin disease in Saudi Arabia. The risk of bias within the included cross-sectional studies was assessed using the Hoy tool for the prevalence studies. All statistical analysis was performed using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis software. Results. The present meta-analysis included 14 studies that reported the frequency of the skin disease patterns in different regions in Saudi Arabia with a total sample size of 30436 patients with an overall low risk of bias. The diseases of skin appendages and dermatitis were the most commonly reported skin diseases in Saudi Arabia (24.8% (95% CI, 24.3–25.3) and 24% (95% CI, 23.6%–24.6%), respectively). Skin infection represented about 18.5% (95% CI, 18.1%–19%), while the papulosquamous disorders represented 5.3% (95% CI, 5%–5.6%) of the skin diseases in Saudi Arabia. Skin cancers were pooled from only two studies. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were the most common malignant neoplasm in Saudi Arabia (51.4% and 22.5% of the malignant neoplasm, respectively), while malignant melanoma represents only 3.8% of the malignant skin cancer. Conclusion. Adnexal disorders and dermatitis are the most common skin disease in Saudi Arabia, followed by skin infection and pigmentary disorders. While skin cancer is more frequent than other countries, awareness campaigns should be initiated to increase knowledge about the harmful effect of long-term sun exposure.
Acute on Chronic Heart Failure Secondary to Left Ventricular Noncompaction
Authors: Capin Ivana , Capone Christine A. , Taylor Matthew D.
Published: October 2020

Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a rare cardiomyopathy characterized by hypertrabeculations and intertrabecular recesses most often seen in the left ventricle (LV). The patient may be asymptomatic or present with heart failure, arrhythmia, and sudden death. We discuss a previously healthy 7-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) multiple times over a three-week period. His complaints evolved over the course of his illness, initially presenting with fatigue and suicidal ideation, followed by diffuse abdominal pain. Prior to his ICU admission, he had been discharged from the ED twice, due to well appearance and reassuring lab findings. He returned to the ED a final time with severe venous congestion and cardiogenic shock with acute hepatic injury. Echocardiogram revealed LV apical hypertrabeculation with a severe dilated cardiomyopathy and biventricular failure along with a large thrombus in the left ventricular cavity. Congestive heart failure and anticoagulation therapy was initiated, and the patient went on to biventricular assist device (BiVAD) placement and cardiac transplant. Although LVNC is rare, pediatric heart failure does present to the general pediatrician and has high morbidity and mortality. The presenting symptoms can be obscure and pose a challenge to pediatricians. This case report and review will assist in familiarizing the general pediatrician with pediatric heart failure presentation, treatment, and course.
Efficacy of Levofloxacin Loaded Nonionic Surfactant Vesicles (Niosomes) in a Model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infected Sprague Dawley Rats
Authors: Jankie Satish , Johnson Jenelle , Adebayo Amusa Sarafadeen , Pillai Gopal Krishna , Pinto Pereira Lexley Maureen
Published: October 2020

This study examined the effectiveness of niosomes loaded with levofloxacin in treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa (American Type Culture Collection—ATCC 27853) infections in Sprague Dawley rats since these infections are becoming more common and resistant to treatment. Levofloxacin entrapped in niosomes was prepared using the thin-film hydration method and was assessed for in vitro release and stability. Three groups of six (6) animals were infected with a lethal dose of Pseudomonas aeruginosa via the intraperitoneal (Ip) route. At six (6) hours postinfection, the animals were treated with either drug-free niosomes (control), free levofloxacin (conventional), or levofloxacin trapped in niosomes (Ip) at a dose of 7.5 mg/kg/once daily. Blood was collected via tail snips on days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 for complete blood counts and viable bacterial counts (CFU/μl). At day 10, the animals were sacrificed, and the kidney, liver, and spleen were harvested for bacterial counts. The niosomes showed a sustained drug release profile and were most stable at 4°C. All animals in the control group succumbed to the infection; one animal from the conventional group died, and all niosome treated animals survived at day 10. The mean lymphocyte count (×109) was lower for the niosome (7.258 ± 1.773) versus conventional group (17.684 ± 10.008) (

p
<
0.03

) at day ten (10). Neutrophil counts (×109) were lower for the niosome (2.563 ± 1.609) versus conventional (6.2 ± 6.548) (

p
<
0.02

) groups. Though CFUs in the bloodstream were comparable for both treatment groups, the niosome treated group showed a significant reduction of CFUs in the liver, kidney, and spleen versus the conventional group (1.33 ± 2.074) vs (5.8 ± 3.74) (

p
<
0.043

), (1.5 ± 2.35) vs (9.6 ± 8.65) (

p
<
0.038

) and (3.8 4.71) vs (25.6 14.66) (

p
<
0.007

), respectively. These findings indicate that niosome is promising as a drug delivery system in treating systemic infections, but further work using niosomes with surface modification is recommended.
Study on the Mechanical Relationship among the Backfilling Mining Support, Roof Rock Beam, and Gangue Filling Body in Comprehensive Mechanized Filling Mining Process
Authors: Huang Zhimin , Zhang Lei , Ma Zhanguo
Published: October 2020

Based on the theory of elastic foundation beam, the mechanical model of the backfilling mining support‐roof rock beam‐gangue filling body under the condition of comprehensive mechanized filling mining is established. The foundation coefficient of each part is determined, and the subsidence of each part of roof rock beam is calculated. It is found that the initial filling height is the decisive factor to control the subsidence and migration stability of each part of the roof rock beam. Properly increasing the pushing force of backfilling‐coal mining hydraulic support on the filling body can also effectively control the roof subsidence. The comprehensive mechanized filling mining process was studied by similar simulation experiments, it is found that the influence law of initial filling height on roof rock beam subsidence is the same as that of theoretical analysis, and the experimental measurement values and fitting function relationships are consistent with the theoretical calculation results.
Ensemble Learning with Multiclassifiers on Pediatric Hand Radiograph Segmentation for Bone Age Assessment
Authors: Liu Rui , Jia Yuanyuan , He Xiangqian , Li Zhe , Cai Jinhua , Li Hao , Yang Xiao
Published: October 2020

In the study of pediatric automatic bone age assessment (BAA) in clinical practice, the extraction of the object area in hand radiographs is an important part, which directly affects the prediction accuracy of the BAA. But no perfect segmentation solution has been found yet. This work is to develop an automatic hand radiograph segmentation method with high precision and efficiency. We considered the hand segmentation task as a classification problem. The optimal segmentation threshold for each image was regarded as the prediction target. We utilized the normalized histogram, mean value, and variance of each image as input features to train the classification model, based on ensemble learning with multiple classifiers. 600 left-hand radiographs with the bone age ranging from 1 to 18 years old were included in the dataset. Compared with traditional segmentation methods and the state-of-the-art U-Net network, the proposed method performed better with a higher precision and less computational load, achieving an average PSNR of 52.43 dB, SSIM of 0.97, DSC of 0.97, and JSI of 0.91, which is more suitable in clinical application. Furthermore, the experimental results also verified that hand radiograph segmentation could bring an average improvement for BAA performance of at least 13%.
Chemotherapy-Induced Upregulation of Small Extracellular Vesicle-Associated PTX3 Accelerates Breast Cancer Metastasis
Authors: Wills Carson A. , Liu Xiaoming , Chen Longgui , Zhao Yuanjun , Dower Christopher M. , Sundstrom Jeffrey , Wang Hong-Gang
Published: October 2020

Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a standard component of breast cancer treatment, recent evidence suggests that chemotherapeutic drugs can promote metastasis through poorly defined mechanisms. Here we utilize xenograft mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer to explore the importance of chemotherapy-induced tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEV) in metastasis. Doxorubicin (DXR) enhanced tumor cell sEV secretion to accelerate pulmonary metastasis by priming the premetastatic niche. Proteomic analysis and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing identified the inflammatory glycoprotein PTX3 enriched in DXR-elicited sEV as a critical regulator of chemotherapy-induced metastasis. Both genetic inhibition of sEV secretion from primary tumors and pharmacologic inhibition of sEV uptake in secondary organs suppressed metastasis following chemotherapy. Taken together, this research uncovers a mechanism of chemotherapy-mediated metastasis by which drug-induced upregulation of sEV secretion and PTX3 protein cargo primes the premetastatic niche and suggests that inhibition of either sEV uptake in secondary organs or secretion from primary tumor cells may be promising therapeutic strategies to suppress metastasis.

Significance:

These findings show that chemotherapy-induced small extracellular vesicles accelerate breast cancer metastasis, and targeted inhibition of tumor-derived vesicles may be a promising therapeutic strategy to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy treatment.
Endocytosis-Mediated Replenishment of Amino Acids Favors Cancer Cell Proliferation and Survival in Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Xiao Yi , Rabien Anja , Buschow René , Amtislavskiy Vyacheslav , Busch Jonas , Kilic Ergin , Villegas Sonia L. , Timmermann Bernd , Schütte Moritz , Mielke Thorsten , Yaspo Marie-Laure , Jung Klaus , Meierhofer David
Published: October 2020

Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC) accounts for approximately 5% of all renal cancers and around 30% of chRCC cases have mutations in TP53. chRCC is poorly supported by microvessels and has markably lower glucose uptake than clear cell RCC and papillary RCC. Currently, the metabolic status and mechanisms by which this tumor adapts to nutrient-poor microenvironments remain to be investigated. In this study, we performed proteome and metabolome profiling of chRCC tumors and adjacent kidney tissues and identified major metabolic alterations in chRCC tumors, including the classical Warburg effect, the downregulation of gluconeogenesis and amino acid metabolism, and the upregulation of protein degradation and endocytosis. chRCC cells depended on extracellular macromolecules as an amino acid source by activating endocytosis to sustain cell proliferation and survival. Inhibition of the phospholipase C gamma 2 (PLCG2)/inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)/Ca2+/protein kinase C (PKC) pathway significantly impaired the activation of endocytosis for amino acid uptakes into chRCC cells. In chRCC, whole-exome sequencing revealed that TP53 mutations were not related to expression of PLCG2 and activation of endocytosis. Our study provides novel perspectives on metabolic rewiring in chRCC and identifies the PLCG2/IP3/Ca2+/PKC axis as a potential therapeutic target in patients with chRCC.

Significance:

This study reveals macropinocytosis as an important process utilized by chRCC to gain extracellular nutrients in a p53-independent manner.
Ostranenie: to give back the sensation of life
Authors: Berlina Alexandra
Published: October 2020

The present article studies Shklovsky’s idea of emotional and cognitive renewal of the habitual – ostranenie – alongside cognate concepts in psychology and cognitive studies. It redefines ostranenie not as a device (as commonly accepted in literary studies), but as a cognitive/psychological effect, and suggests the term “extratextual ostranenie” to refer to the feeling one has when the usual becomes seemingly strange – and at the same time more rather than less emotionally relevant.  As for literary ostranenie, even when it is created though characters who feel alienated or depersonalized, the readers’ experience is exactly the opposite experience – emotional reconnection to the world.
The Purpose of the Balustrade in the Herodian Temple
Authors: Orian Matan
Published: October 2020

Within the Herodian temenos in Jerusalem, a warning inscription prohibited non-Jews, under penalty of death, from proceeding any further inward. This was mounted on a low stone balustrade that encircled an area larger than the actual holy ground. As suggested in research, the underlying pentateuchal law for the inscription was הזר הקרב יומת, “the unauthorized encroacher shall be put to death.” The subjection of gentiles to this law, in particular, and its application even when they had not, de facto, trespassed on holy ground remain, however, unexplained. The article suggests that the inscription applied הזר הקרב יומת to a זר, in the sense of “a foreigner,” who merely קרב, “draws near” to sacred ground. A further suggestion is that this reading and implementation of the biblical law reflects a preemptive endeavor to blunt Jewish objection to a major cultic innovation by Herod: granting gentiles access to the Jerusalem temenos.
Abduction and the Scientific Realist Case for Properties
Authors: Tugby Matthew
Published: October 2020

Traditionally, many arguments for realism about properties (universals or tropes) rely on a priori claims. The author argues that if we make use of an abductive principle that is commonly employed by scientific realists, a new argument for property realism can be formulated which is based firmly in scientific practice. The abductive principle says that we should believe in the existence of certain theoretical entities if they figure in the best explanation for what scientists observe. The scientific argument for property realism then says (roughly) that the best explanation for various behavioural patterns that physical scientists observe is that microscopic entities (such as electrons) instantiate stable, causally efficacious properties. After presenting the argument, the author defends it against possible objections. More generally, the article provides a case study for how science and metaphysics can work together to generate ontological claims.
Fixing Meanings in Global Governance?
Authors: Karp David Jason
Published: October 2020

This article uses snapshots, rather than the ongoing flows of diffusion/contestation typically emphasized by constructivists, to explore the exercise of power through normative change. Its case is a high-profile Human Rights Council initiative: the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP s). These UNGP s have successfully presented meanings as fixed while actually stretching those meanings’ boundaries. They reconceptualize what it means to “respect” and “protect” human rights. This is surprising given that the principles were framed as a conservative exercise at clarification, and under-noticed due to the legal rather than conceptual focus of the existing critical literature. To respect human rights, according to the UNGP s, agents need to take costly positive action. Furthermore, protect obligations come before respect. These are significant innovations. On the other hand, two missed opportunities of the UNGP s are their thin harm-based foundation for respect obligations, and their state centrism about who has duties to protect.
Plague, Practice, and Prescriptive Text
Authors: Chechik Moshe Dovid , Morsel-Eisenberg Tamara
Published: October 2020

This article studies the fate of a contradiction between practice and prescriptive text in 16th-century Ashkenaz. The practice was fleeing a plagued city, which contradicted a Talmudic passage requiring self-isolation at home when plague strikes. The emergence of this contradiction as a halakhic problem and its various forms of resolution are analyzed as a case study for the development of halakhic literature in early modern Ashkenaz.

The Talmudic text was not considered a challenge to the accepted practice prior to the early modern period. The conflict between practice and Talmud gradually emerged as a halakhic problem in 15th-century rabbinic sources. These sources mixed legal and non-legal material, leaving the status of this contradiction ambiguous. The 16th century saw a variety of solutions to the problem in different halakhic writings, each with their own dynamics, type of authority, possibilities, and limitations. This variety reflects the crystallization of separate genres of halakhic literature.
Morphological investigation and description of two new Gomphonema Ehrenberg (Bacillariophyta) species from India and Vietnam with biogeographical comments

Authors: PARDHI SAMADHAN , VIGNESHWARAN ANBUKKARASU , KOCIOLEK J. PATRICK , GLUSHCHENKO ANTON , KULIKOVSKIY MAXIM , KARTHICK BALASUBRAMANIAN
Published: October 2020

Two new species of Gomphonema Ehrenberg are described based on light and scanning electron microscopical observations. These are Gomphonema kallarense sp. nov. found in India and G. kezlyae sp. nov. found in India and Vietnam. We also report and document the morphology and variability of G. doonense from Vietnam, a species previously described from India based on a limited number of valves. Both G. doonense and G. kallarense have striae composed of doubly-punctate striae that are without occlusions, while G. kezlyae has striae with single rows of areolae that have external occlusions giving the impression of C-shaped openings. Our investigation shows that India and Vietnam share some species in common, adding additional evidence that the biogeography of freshwater diatoms from the tropics warrants future investigation.
Rhynchosia ngwenyii (Phaseoleae, Fabaceae), a new species of Rhynchosia from South Africa

Authors: AJAO ABDULWAKEEL AYOKUN-NUN , JACA THULISILE PRECIOUS , MOTEETEE ANNAH NTSAMAEENG
Published: October 2020

During the examination of the rich collections of the genus, Rhynchosia housed in some South African herbaria (BNRH, NH, PRE), a new and yet to be described species was discovered. The species is similar to R. pauciflora in its erect habit, linear or oblong leaflets, and solitary flowers. The study is based on the examination of herbarium specimens. Measurements were taken from vegetative and reproductive parts. We describe here R. ngwenyii. The new species differs from R. pauciflora by its broader (24–38 mm), linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate terminal leaflets that are without conspicuous revolute margins, wing petals that lack sculpturing and shorter peduncles, (25)30–42 mm. It is distributed in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga Provinces in South Africa. The preliminary conservation status is evaluated as Endangered. A detailed description, illustration, distribution map, and the information on ecology, as well as phenology are also presented.
Intelligent Diagnosis Method of MRI Brain Image Using Parallel Self-Organizing Feature Maps Neural Network
Authors: Liu Li , Hua Chi , Cheng Zixuan , Ji Yunfeng
Published: October 2020

Advances in medical imaging skills have promoted the influence of medical imaging in neuroscience. Having advanced medical imaging technology is essential for the medical industry. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a central role in medical imaging. It plays a key role in the treatment
of various human diseases. Doctors analyze brain size, shape, and location in brain MR images to assess brain disease and develop a medical plan. The manual division of brain tissue by experts is heavy and subjective. Therefore, the study of automatic segmentation of brain MR images has practical
significance. Because the characteristics of brain MRI images are low contrast and high noise, which seriously affects the accuracy of image segmentation, the current image segmentation methods have some limitations in this application. In this paper, multiple self-organizing feature maps
neural network (SOM-NN) are utilized to construct a parallel self-organizing feature maps neural network (PSOM-NN), which converts the segmentation problem of brain images into the classification problem of PSOMNN. The experiments show that SOM has strong self-learning ability in learning
and training, and the parallel ability of PSOM-NN model greatly reduces the segmentation time, improves the real-time performance of the model, and helps to realize fully automatic or semi-automatic segmentation of the lesion area. PSOM can promote the improvement of segmentation accuracy
and facilitate intelligent diagnosis.
The Evaluation Indicators of X-ray Radiographs for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome
Authors: Bai Jun , Hu Xingzhen , Tan Tao , Hua Teng , Xia Wenping , Jones Crystal , Williams Agnes
Published: October 2020

Objective: To explore the evaluation indicators of X-ray radiographs for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome, and to propose therapeutic plans for FAI syndrome by using X-ray radiographs. Methods: From June 2016 to May 2018, patients who were diagnosed as FAI syndrome
by hip joint anteroposterior radiographs in Second Yinzhou District Hospital were selected as research objects. After screening, the surgical treatment group included 52 cases, totally. Another 30 healthy adults who received X-ray radiography were included as the control group. Each included
patient underwent minimally invasive surgery under hip arthroscopy. The efficacy indicators were evaluated, and the data were statistically analyzed. Results: By analyzing the basic data of the subjects, it was found that there was no significant difference in gender and body mass index
between the healthy people and FAI patients (P > 0.05), but the VAS and Harris scores of 7d, 30d, 90d, and 180d after surgery were significantly higher than those before the operation, and with the prolongation of the treatment time, the scores increased continuously, the difference
had statistical significance (P < 0.05). By analyzing patients' knee joint mobility, it was found that after therapy, the flexion, pronation, abduction, and extension of knee joint at 30d, 90d, and 180d were distinctly increased compared with those before therapy. Also, the difference
had statistical significance (P < 0.05) with the treatment time increasing; the X-ray films of hip joint of the subjects were observed, and it was found that there were healthy people, clamp type FAI, and cam type FAI three typical kinds. There were significant differences in the
angle, eccentricity, depth of acetabulum, coverage rate of acetabulum, and CE angle among cam type patients, clamp type patients, and healthy people (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The research in this study found that when using the X-ray radiographs to determine the FAI syndrome,
the differences between the classification of FAI symptoms and the healthy adults were obvious. In addition, the knee joint gradually recovered significantly in the range of movement (RM) after treatments, thereby providing experimental basis for diagnosing and treating the FAI syndrome in
the later clinical stage.
Application of Ultrasonographic Imaging in Fetal Thyroid Function Measurement of Amniotic Hormone Concentration
Authors: Li Zhongju , Zhou Churong , Zhang Zhilan , Wu Qiao
Published: October 2020

Objective: To investigate the fetal thyroid function using ultrasound imaging combined with amniotic fluid hormone concentration. Method: 380 pregnant women who did pregnancy test in our hospital from August 2015 to August 2017 were selected as the subjects. 260 of them
had normal fetal growth indicators, all of them were singletons, with a gestational time of 18–41 weeks. 120 pregnant women underwent cesarean section, parturition, and amniocentesis. All pregnant women had no thyroid related diseases, hypertension, or autoimmune diseases. 3DUS (Three-dimensional
ultrasound) and 2DUS (two-dimensional ultrasound) were used to measure the size of fetal thyroid gland, and the amniotic hormone content was measured. Result: The repeatability and consistency of the 3DUS-VOCAL (Voual organ computerized analysis) technique were superior to 2DUS in the
measurement of fetal thyroid volume in 20 cases. There were 243 fetal thyroid size-related data collected from 260 fetuses at 18 weeks and 41 weeks of pregnancy. Amniotic fluid FT3, T3 had a certain correlation with gestational age, but amniotic fluid FT4, T4, TSH had no significant correlation
with gestational age. 4 cases of fetal hypothyroidism were screened by ultrasound combined with amniotic fluid hormone measurement. Conclusion: The volume of fetal thyroid measured by 3DUS-VOCAL is better than that of 2DUS. Ultrasound combined with amniotic fluid thyroid associated
hormone detection is helpful to evaluate fetal thyroid function.