bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Economic burden of cancers in Taiwan: a direct and indirect cost estimate for 2007–2017
Authors: Huang Shao-Yi , Chen Ho-Min , Liao Kai-Hsin , Ko Bor-Sheng , Hsiao Fei-Yuan
Published: October 2020

Objective

Cancers result in significant economic burdens on patients, health sectors and society. Reliable burden estimates will help guide resource allocation. This study aimed to perform a nationwide cost analysis of the direct and indirect costs of the top ten most costly cancers, and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), as a comparison, in Taiwan.

Setting

A population-based cohort study.

Participants

In total, 545 221 patients with newly diagnosed cancer (lung cancer, female breast cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, oral cancer, leukaemia, prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer) and 170 879 patients with ACS between 2007 and 2014 were identified.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Direct medical costs were calculated from claims recorded in the National Health Insurance Research Database . Indirect costs, comprising morbidity-associated and mortality-associated productivity losses, were estimated from public life expectancy, average wage and employment data. The costs incurred in the 3 years after diagnosis were assessed. As a comparison, the cost of ACS was also estimated using the same study frame. A cost driver analysis was conducted to identify factors impacting cancer costs.

Results

The cancers with the highest mean direct medical costs and total costs were leukaemia (US$28 464) and oesophageal cancer (US$81 775), respectively. Indirect costs accounted for over 50% of the total economic burden of most cancers, except for prostate cancer and female breast cancer. The costs of ACS were lower than those of most cancers. From the cost driver analysis, older age at diagnosis significantly (p<0.05) decreased the total cost of cancer; in contrast, male, tumour metastasis, comorbidities and treatment in medical centres increased the costs.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the comprehensive economic burden of the top 10 most costly cancers in Taiwan. These results are valuable for optimising healthcare resource allocation.
Is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? A cross-sectional study of the impact of English public health grant on mortality and morbidity
Authors: Martin Stephen , Lomas James , Claxton Karl
Published: October 2020

Objectives

The UK government is proposing to cease cutting the local authority public health grant by reallocating part of the treatment budget to preventative activity. This study examines whether this proposal is evidenced based and, in particular, whether these resources are best reallocated to prevention, or whether this expenditure would generate more health gains if used for treatment.

Methods

Instrumental variable regression methods are applied to English local authority data on mortality, healthcare and public health expenditure to estimate the responsiveness of mortality to variations in healthcare and public health expenditure in 2013/14. Using a well-established method, these mortality results are converted to a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) basis, and this facilitates the estimation of the cost per QALY for both National Health Service (NHS) healthcare and local public health expenditure.

Results

Saving lives and improving the quality of life requires resources. Our estimates suggest that each additional QALY costs about £3800 from the local public health budget, and that each additional QALY from the NHS budget costs about £13 500. These estimates can be used to calculate the number of QALYs generated by a budget boost. If we err on the side of caution and use the most conservative estimates that we have, then an additional £1 billion spent on public health will generate 206 398 QALYs (95% CI 36 591 to 3 76 205 QALYs), and an additional £1 billion spent on healthcare will generate 67 060 QALYs (95% CI 21 487 to 112 633 QALYs).

Conclusions

Additional public health expenditure is very productive of health and is more productive than additional NHS expenditure. However, both types of expenditure are more productive of health than the norms used by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (£20 000–£30 000 per QALY) to judge whether new therapeutic technologies are suitable for adoption by the NHS.
Can children swallow tablets? Outcome data from a feasibility study to assess the acceptability of different-sized placebo tablets in children (creating acceptable tablets (CAT))
Authors: Bracken Louise , McDonough Emma , Ashleigh Samantha , Wilson Fiona , Shakeshaft Joanne , Ohia Udeme , Mistry Punam , Jones Huw , Kanji Nazim , Liu Fang , Peak Matthew
Published: October 2020

Objective

Feasibility study to investigate the acceptability of different-sized placebo tablets in children aged 4–12 years.

Design and setting

Clinical Research Facilities, inpatient wards and outpatient clinics within a Regional Paediatric Hospital and/or District General Hospital. Healthy children and National Health Service (NHS) patients were asked to swallow three placebo tablets: 6 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm, smallest to largest. The researcher observed children’s facial expressions and behaviours on swallowing and measured the volume of water consumed. Participants completed a questionnaire about the overall acceptability; including swallowability, taste and volume of water consumed. For analysis, participants were stratified by age: 4–8 years and 9–12 years.

Results

The feasibility study led to an estimated recruitment rate of 0.8% for NHS inpatients and 211 healthy children over a 1-year period. In total, 55 participants were recruited, 30 to the younger group, of which 77% had never taken a tablet before. 84% of the 25 older children had previously taken a tablet. All participants attempted to swallow the smallest sized tablet. The children aged 4–8 years found the larger tablets easier to swallow, however the older children found little difference between the tablet sizes. The younger children required more water to swallow each tablet size compared with the older children where an increasing volume of water was consumed as tablet size increased. Taste was rated highly for both age groups. The 8 mm tablets were deemed the most acceptable tablet size by all participants.

Conclusion

Tablets are potentially an acceptable formulation for children aged 4–12 years. Most children aged 4–8 years who attempted to swallow tablets successfully did so. Recruitment of NHS inpatients to medicine acceptability studies is challenging, however, recruitment of children of staff proved an effective strategy. Valuable lessons have been learnt from this feasibility study which will inform the design of a larger definitive trial.
Compliance to secondary prevention strategies for coronary artery disease: a hospital-based cross-sectional survey from Ernakulam, South India
Authors: Sudevan Remya , Vasudevan Damodaran , Raj Manu , Thachathodiyl Rajesh , Vijayakumar Maniyal , Abdullakutty Jabir , Thomas Paul , George Vijo , Kabali Conrad
Published: October 2020

Objectives

The primary objective of the study was to report the compliance to secondary prevention strategies for coronary artery disease (CAD), such as smoking cessation, weight management, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol control, blood pressure control, glycaemic control, physical activity and cardiovascular drug therapy from a resource-limited setting.

Design

Analytical cross-sectional survey with data collection using questionnaire administered by study personnel.

Setting

Institutional—two tertiary care hospitals and two cardiology clinics.

Participants

Patients in the age group of 30–80 years with documented CAD with a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 6 years of follow-up after diagnosis.

Main outcome measures

The main outcome measures were the prevalence of individual compliance to secondary prevention strategies for CAD such as smoking cessation, weight management, LDL cholesterol control, blood pressure control, glycaemic control, physical activity and cardiovascular drug therapy. The secondary outcomes were the association of secondary prevention strategies with age, sex, domicile, socioeconomic status, insurance and type of treatment.

Results

We recruited a total of 1206 patients among whom 879 (72.9%) were males. The median age of patients was 62 (14) years. The compliance to smoking cessation was 93.86% (95% CI 91.66% to 96.06%), ideal body mass index was 63.76% (95% CI 61.05% to 66.47%), blood pressure control was 65.11% (95% CI 62.42% to 67.80%), LDL compliance was 36.50% (95% CI 33.18% to 39.82%), diabetes control was 51.23% (95% CI 46.10% to 56.36%) and adequate physical activity was 39.22% (95% CI 36.46% to 41.98%)respectively. Reported compliance for cardiovascular drugs therapy was 96% for antiplatelets, 89.4% for statins, 68.2% for beta blockers, 37.7% for renin angiotensin aldosterone system blockers, 81.28% for oral hypoglycaemic agents and 22% for insulin therapy.

Conclusion

Compliance to secondary prevention strategies for CAD in resource limited settings are moderate. This needs further improvement for better outcomes related to CAD in future.
MAGNETO cardiography parameters to predict future Sudden Cardiac Death (MAGNETO-SCD) or ventricular events from implantable cardioverter defibrillators: study protocol, design and rationale
Authors: Lachlan Thomas , He Hejie , Sharma Kavi , Khan Jamal , Rajappan Kim , Morley-Davies Adrian , Patwala Ashish , Randeva Harpal , Osman Faizel
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Predicting sudden cardiac death (SCD) is challenging as current risk predictors have significant limitations. Evaluating magnetocardiogram (MCG) parameters could be of great value and we plan to assess the capability of a new mobile unshielded MCG device in predicting SCD and ventricular arrhythmias (VA) in patients undergoing implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation.

Methods and analysis

A prospective multicentre (University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) National Health Service (NHS) Trust/University Hospital North Midlands NHS Trust, UK) observational study evaluating the VitalScan MCG (Creavo Medical Technologies, UK) to predict future VA risk; 270 patients meeting criteria for primary or secondary prevention ICDs (ischaemic or non-ischaemic aetiology) are being recruited. The first patient was recruited September 2019 and the study will be completed at final participant follow-up. The primary endpoint is appropriate ICD therapy for VA, secondary endpoint is SCD. Previous trials using MCG identified late QRS signals/QRS fragmentation as potential indicators of SCD in small samples using large shielded expensive MCG devices that were difficult to use clinically. It is hoped the MAGNETO-SCD trial will show this new MCG device can provide real world risk stratification for SCD/VA risk. The trial has recruited 25 patients (13 with secondary prevention indication) from a single site (UHCW) with recruitment starting at the second site in March 2020.

Ethics and dissemination

Research Ethics Committee, Yorkshire and Humber Sheffield Research Ethics Committee UK (Ref: 19/YH/0143) and Health Research Authority (IRAS reference 254466, EDGE ID: 123146) approval received on 17/07/2019. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approval received 11/07/2019. Results will be disseminated via a peer-reviewed publication and presentation at international conferences.

Trial registration numbers

ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT04352816) and EU Clinical Trials Registry (EudraCT2019-002994-78).
Role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the promotion and immunotherapy of colitis-associated cancer
Authors: Wang Yungang , Ding Yanxia , Deng Yijun , Zheng Yu , Wang Shengjun
Published: October 2020

Colitis-associated cancer (CAC) is a specific type of colorectal cancer that develops from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells that are essential for the pathological processes of inflammation and cancer. Accumulating evidence indicates that MDSCs play different but vital roles during IBD and CAC development and impede CAC immunotherapy. New insights into the regulatory network of MDSCs in the CAC pathogenesis are opening new avenues for developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of CAC treatment. In this review, we explore the role of MDSCs in chronic inflammation, dysplasia and CAC and summarize the potential CAC therapeutic strategies based on MDSC blockade.
Mechanics and thermodynamics of a new minimal model of the atmosphere
Authors: Vissio Gabriele , Lucarini Valerio
Published: October 2020

The understanding of the fundamental properties of the climate system has long benefitted from the use of simple numerical models able to parsimoniously represent the essential ingredients of its processes. Here, we introduce a new model for the atmosphere that is constructed by supplementing the now-classic Lorenz ’96 one-dimensional lattice model with temperature-like variables. The model features an energy cycle that allows for energy to be converted between the kinetic form and the potential form and for introducing a notion of efficiency. The model’s evolution is controlled by two contributions—a quasi-symplectic and a gradient one, which resemble (yet not conforming to) a metriplectic structure. After investigating the linear stability of the symmetric fixed point, we perform a systematic parametric investigation that allows us to define regions in the parameters space where at steady-state stationary, quasi-periodic, and chaotic motions are realised, and study how the terms responsible for defining the energy budget of the system depend on the external forcing injecting energy in the kinetic and in the potential energy reservoirs. Finally, we find preliminary evidence that the model features extensive chaos. We also introduce a more complex version of the model that is able to accommodate for multiscale dynamics and that features an energy cycle that more closely mimics the one of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Modeling of false information on microblog with block matching and fuzzy neural network
Authors: Yangyong Guo , Juan Wei
Published: October 2020

The detection method of microblog false information has been constructed based on block matching and fuzzy neural network to improve the detection accuracy of microblog false information effectively. With this method, we can calculate the rank distance and sample entropy of microblog data according to the evaluation word rank vector of microblog false information, carry out the block matching of false information in fuzzy data set and input the characteristic quantity of microblog false information extracted into the fuzzy neural network classifier for data classification and recognition. So that it has achieved the optimized detection of false information and improved the judgment ability of false information. Finally, the key factors that affect the algorithm are deeply studied through simulation experiments according to the real data of Sina microblog, and the performance state between the proposed algorithm and Fuzzy C-means and Spectral Analysis algorithms is compared and analyzed correspondingly. The results show that the algorithm has good adaptability.
Prototype-Based Discriminative Feature Representation for Class-incremental Cross-modal Retrieval
Authors: Zhu Shaoquan , Feng Yong , Zhou Mingliang , Qiang Baohua , Fang Bin , Wei Ran
Published: October 2020

Cross-modal retrieval aims to retrieve the related items from various modalities with respect to a query from any type. The key challenge of cross-modal retrieval is to learn more discriminative representations between different category, as well as expand to an unseen class retrieval in the open world retrieval task. To tackle the above problem, in this paper, we propose a prototype learning-based discriminative feature learning (PLDFL) to learn more discriminative representations in a common space. First, we utilize a prototype learning algorithm to cluster these samples labeled with the same semantic class, by jointly taking into consideration the intra-class compactness and inter-class sparsity without discriminative treatments. Second, we use the weight-sharing strategy to model the correlations of cross-modal samples to narrow down the modality gap. Finally, we apply the prototype to achieve class-incremental learning to prove the robustness of our proposed approach. According to our experimental results, significant retrieval performance in terms of mAP can be achieved on average compared to several state-of-the-art approaches.
Angle deficit and nonlocal gravitoelectromagnetism around a slowly spinning cosmic string
Authors: Boos Jens
Published: October 2020

Cosmic strings, as remnants of the symmetry breaking phase in the Early universe, may be susceptible to nonlocal physics. Here, we show that the presence of a Poincaré-invariant nonlocality—parametrized by a factor [Formula: see text]—regularizes the gravitational field and thereby changes the properties of spacetime: it is now simply connected and the angle deficit around the cosmic string becomes a function of the radial distance. Similar changes occur for the nonlocal gravitomagnetic field of a rotating cosmic string, and we translate these mathematical facts into the language of nonlocal gravitoelectromagnetism and thereby provide a physical interpretation. We hope that these insights might provide a helpful perspective in the search for traces of nonlocal physics in our universe.
Quasilocal conservation laws in cosmology: A first look
Authors: Oltean Marius , Moghaddam Hossein Bazrafshan , Epp Richard J.
Published: October 2020

Quasilocal definitions of stress-energy–momentum—that is, in the form of boundary densities (in lieu of local volume densities) — have proven generally very useful in formulating and applying conservation laws in general relativity. In this Essay, we take a basic look into applying these to cosmology, specifically using the Brown–York quasilocal stress-energy–momentum tensor for matter and gravity combined. We compute this tensor and present some simple results for a flat FLRW spacetime with a perfect fluid matter source. We emphasize the importance of the vacuum energy, which is almost universally underappreciated (and usually “subtracted”), and discuss the quasilocal interpretation of the cosmological constant.
Assessing Process Attribute Visualization and Interaction Approaches Based on a Controlled Experiment
Authors: Gall Manuel , Rinderle-Ma Stefanie
Published: October 2020

Ensuring the smooth and efficient execution of business processes requires a continuous process quality assessment and optimization. Process optimization exploits process attributes and their values, e.g. cost or duration of a process task, in order to derive, for example, control flow adaptations. The complexity of the analysis can range from a few to a plethora of attributes, e.g. machining times and sensor parameters in the manufacturing domain. Hence, it is crucial to support single and multiple users (e.g. process analysts) in visually exploring process attributes and their values. Specifically, comparing and assessing different visualization and interaction approaches with respect to their efficiency is required in order to offer the most suitable approach to users for a specific analysis task. However, such assessments are currently missing. To close this gap, this paper assesses three visualization and interaction approaches, i.e. 2D, 3D, and 3D with virtual reality (VR) support, based on a controlled experiment. We choose the process modeling standard Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) as 2D approach. 3DViz is introduced as 3D approach with focus on attribute representation, and additionally augmented with VR. A statistically significant difference between the approaches can be observed with respect to their efficiency.
Frobenius W-algebras and traces of Frobenius Heisenberg categories
Authors: Reeks Michael , Savage Alistair
Published: October 2020

To each symmetric graded Frobenius superalgebra we associate a W-algebra. We then define a linear isomorphism between the trace of the Frobenius Heisenberg category and a central reduction of this W-algebra. We conjecture that this is an isomorphism of graded superalgebras.
Video-Sharing Apps Business Models: TikTok Case Study
Authors: Mhalla Majdouline , Yun Jiang , Nasiri Alireza
Published: October 2020

As the number of mobile and Internet users increases around the world, the consumption of video content continues to grow exponentially among people, as well as businesses. However, for these platforms to offer their services at a low to no cost, they have to experiment with different business models, looking for profitability and economic balance without charging their users. In this paper, we will describe and discuss the business model of a video sharing platform that became a worldwide phenomenon only three years after its launch, from raising billions of dollars from notorious investors — e.g. SoftBank Group, Tiger Global Management — to generating exorbitant revenues, this video application was very innovative and versatile at making money and generating revenues. The main goal of this study is to understand how video sharing platforms monetize their business, especially if most of its services are free for its users. The paper highlights all the steps of a business model, using the “TikTok” application as the case study of a successful model. We found that video-sharing applications need to incorporate new ways of monetizing their businesses that they are very versatile, they do not rely solely on advertising and that they are experimenting with various models, e.g. paid subscriptions and in-app purchases.
Gradient Enhanced Localized Radial Basis Collocation Method for Inverse Analysis of Cauchy Problems
Authors: Yang Judy P. , Chen Yuan-Chia
Published: October 2020

This work proposes a gradient enhanced localized radial basis collocation method (GL-RBCM) for solving boundary value problems. In particular, the attention is paid to the solution of inverse Cauchy problems. It is known that the approximation by radial basis functions often leads to ill-conditioned systems due to the global nature. To this end, the reproducing kernel shape function and gradient reproducing kernel shape function are proposed to localize the radial basis function while the gradient approximation is aimed at reducing the computational intensity of carrying out the second derivatives of reproducing kernel shape function. In the proposed weighted collocation method, the weights on Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions are determined for both direct problems and inverse problems. From stability analysis, it is shown that the GL-RBCM can maintain high accuracy of approximating the first derivatives even under irregular perturbation added to boundary conditions. By comparing with the localized RBCM, the CPU saving of the GL-RBCM is manifested. The efficacy of the proposed method is therefore demonstrated.
A Network Evolution Model for Recovery of the Mullins Effect in Filled Rubbers
Authors: Chu Hao , Lin Ji , Lei Dong , Qian Jin , Xiao Rui
Published: October 2020

The stress-softening phenomenon, named as the Mullins effect, can widely occur in filled rubbers after cyclic loading and unloading conditions. The reloading curve is typically below the initial loading curve unless the applied strain exceeds the previously applied maximum strain. Experimental observations have also shown that the Mullins effect can be recovered by annealing the pre-deformed filled rubbers at a high temperature while the recovery level strongly depends on the annealing time and temperature. In this work, we develop a theoretical model to describe the recovery of the Mullins effect by incorporating the dynamic scission and recovery of polymer chains into the eight-chain model. Experiments have also been performed on two types of filled rubbers to validate the theory. The results show that the model is able to capture the main features of the experimental observations including the Mullins effect of virgin specimens and the recovery of the Mullins effect of pre-deformed specimens subjected to different annealed conditions.
Local index theory for operators associated with Lie groupoid actions
Authors: Perrot Denis
Published: October 2020

We develop a local index theory for a class of operators associated with non-proper and non-isometric actions of Lie groupoids on smooth submersions. Such actions imply the existence of a short exact sequence of algebras, relating these operators to their non-commutative symbol. We then compute the connecting map induced by this extension on periodic cyclic cohomology. When cyclic cohomology is localized at appropriate isotropic submanifolds of the groupoid in question, we find that the connecting map is expressed in terms of an explicit Wodzicki-type residue formula, which involves the jets of non-commutative symbols at the fixed-point set of the action.
On the geometry of screen conformal submersions of semi-transversal lightlike submanifolds
Authors: Kaushal Rupali , Kumar Rakesh , Nagaich Rakesh Kumar
Published: October 2020

We study screen conformal lightlike submersions of semi-transversal lightlike submanifolds of indefinite Kaehler manifolds, which can be considered as a lightlike version of horizontally conformal submersions. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for a screen conformal lightlike submersion to be harmonic.
Characterizations of graphs with prescribed connected detour numbers
Authors: Ali Ahmed M. , Ali Ali A.
Published: October 2020

Let [Formula: see text] be a [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]- graph, [Formula: see text] the detour diameter of [Formula: see text], and cdn[Formula: see text] is the connected detour number of [Formula: see text]. Santhakumaran and Athisayanathan are characterized by the graphs of [Formula: see text] 4 and cdn[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for a graph [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] 2, of [Formula: see text] 8 to have cdn[Formula: see text]. Moreover, graphs G of [Formula: see text] 6, and [Formula: see text] = 5 and 6, such that cdn[Formula: see text], are characterized in this research.
On Nagata rings with amalgamation properties
Authors: Molkhasi Ali , Shum Kar Ping
Published: October 2020

Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be two commutative rings with unity, let [Formula: see text] be an ideal of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be a ring homomorphism. In this paper, we give a characterization for the amalgamated algebra [Formula: see text] to be a Nagata ring, a strong S-domain, and a catenarian. Also, we investigate the conditions that the ring of Hurwitz series over [Formula: see text] has a complete comaximal factorization.
Nontrivial upper bounds for the least common multiple of an arithmetic progression
Authors: Bousla Sid Ali
Published: October 2020

In this paper, we establish some nontrivial and effective upper bounds for the least common multiple of consecutive terms of a finite arithmetic progression. Precisely, we prove that for any two coprime positive integers [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], with [Formula: see text], we have [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text]. If in addition [Formula: see text] is a prime number and [Formula: see text], then we prove that for any [Formula: see text], we have [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text]. Finally, we apply those inequalities to estimate the arithmetic function [Formula: see text] defined by [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), as well as some values of the generalized Chebyshev function [Formula: see text].
Solve fractional differential equations via a hybrid method between variational iteration method and gray wolf optimization algorithm
Authors: Entesar Ahmed , Qasim Omar Saber
Published: October 2020

In this paper, a hybrid method between Variational Iteration Method (VIM) and gray wolf optimization algorithm (GWO) was proposed to solve the fractional differential equations (FDE), where the optimal parameter value ([Formula: see text] for the VIM was estimated by the GWO. The solutions in the proposed method, GWO-VIM, demonstrated the efficiency and reliability compared to the default method VIM, by calculating the maximum absolute errors (MAE) and mean square error (MSE).
An improved PSO algorithm for solving nonlinear programing problems with constrained conditions
Authors: Chang Wei-Der
Published: October 2020

Engineering optimization problems can be always classified into two main categories including the linear programming (LP) and nonlinear programming (NLP) problems. Each programming problem further involves the unconstrained conditions and constrained conditions for design variables of the optimized system. This paper will focus on the issue about the design problem of NLP with the constrained conditions. The employed method for such NLP problems is a variant of particle swarm optimization (PSO), named improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO). The developed IPSO is to modify the velocity updating formula of the algorithm to enhance the search ability for given optimization problems. In this work, many different kinds of physical engineering optimization problems are examined and solved via the proposed IPSO algorithm. Simulation results compared with various optimization methods reported in the literature will show the effectiveness and feasibility for solving NLP problems with the constrained conditions.
A-Site Substituted BaTiO3: Analysis of Structural, Optical, Ferroelectric and Dielectric Nature
Authors: Soni Madhuri , Saleem M. , Mishra Ashutosh
Published: October 2020

The well-known ferroelectric and dielectric materials based on barium titanate (BaTiO3) with the compositional formula Ba[Formula: see text]AEMxTiO3 [[Formula: see text] and AEM (alkaline earth metal) [Formula: see text] Ca and Sr] denoted as BTO, BCTO and BSTO are reported in this work. The solid-state reaction method was used to synthesize these titanates. The as-synthesized samples were characterized for structural elucidation via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), Raman inelastic scattering, energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). In addition to this, the samples were studied for optical bandgap, dielectric constant, dielectric loss, ac conductivity and polarization ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]) studies. The XRD data analysis revealed that all the samples have acquired a tetragonal structure (P4mm) and are single phased. The Rietveld refinement of Ba[Formula: see text]Ca[Formula: see text]TiO3 confirms XRD results. In FTIR spectra, the absorption modes appearing at about 400[Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text] and 500[Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text] are attributes of the vibration of Ti–O bonds and Ba–O bonds, confirming the formation of desired samples. The appearance of the Raman mode of vibration at about 310[Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text] is an indication of the tetragonal phase. FESEM micrographs of Ba[Formula: see text]Ca[Formula: see text]TiO3 reveal grain growth in the range of about 1[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m and its EDAX spectrum confirms the composition of the sample. The optical bandgap was found to be 3.35[Formula: see text]eV, 3.1[Formula: see text]eV and 2.65[Formula: see text]eV for pristine, Ca[Formula: see text]- and Sr[Formula: see text]-doped BaTiO3, respectively. Frequency-dependent dielectric studies infer the samples to be extremely good dielectrics in nature with very low loss values. Polarization against a field at 1000[Formula: see text]V witnesses the samples to exhibit low polarization effects with lossy character. The dielectric and [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] behavior of Ba[Formula: see text]Sr[Formula: see text]TiO3 was found exceptional among all the reported titanates.
Condition-Transforming Variational Autoencoder for Generating Diverse Short Text Conversations
Authors: Ruan Yu-Ping , Ling Zhen-Hua , Zhu Xiaodan
Published: October 2020

In this article, conditional-transforming variational autoencoders (CTVAEs) are proposed for generating diverse short text conversations. In conditional variational autoencoders (CVAEs), the prior distribution of latent variable z follows a multivariate Gaussian distribution with mean and variance modulated by the input conditions. Previous work found that this distribution tended to become condition-independent in practical applications. Thus, this article designs CTVAEs to enhance the influence of conditions in CVAEs. In a CTVAE model, the latent variable z is sampled by performing a non-linear transformation on the combination of the input conditions and the samples from a condition-independent prior distribution N (0, I). In our experiments using a Chinese Sina Weibo dataset, the CTVAE model derives z samples for decoding with better condition-dependency than that of the CVAE model. The earth mover’s distance (EMD) between the distributions of the latent variable z at the training stage, and the testing stage is also reduced by using the CTVAE model. In subjective preference tests, our proposed CTVAE model performs significantly better than CVAE and sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) models on generating diverse, informative, and topic-relevant responses.
Role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and pericytes in cardiac complications of COVID-19 infection
Authors: Robinson Fulton A. , Mihealsick Ryan. P. , Wagener Brant M. , Hanna Peter , Poston Megan D. , Efimov Igor R. , Shivkumar Kalyanam , Hoover Donald B.
Published: October 2020

The prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) quickly reached pandemic proportions, and knowledge about this virus and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has expanded rapidly. This review focuses primarily on mechanisms that contribute to acute cardiac injury and dysfunction, which are common in patients with severe disease. The etiology of cardiac injury is multifactorial, and the extent is likely enhanced by preexisting cardiovascular disease. Disruption of homeostatic mechanisms secondary to pulmonary pathology ranks high on the list, and there is growing evidence that direct infection of cardiac cells can occur. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) plays a central role in COVID-19 and is a necessary receptor for viral entry into human cells. ACE2 normally not only eliminates angiotensin II (Ang II) by converting it to Ang-(1–7) but also elicits a beneficial response profile counteracting that of Ang II. Molecular analyses of single nuclei from human hearts have shown that ACE2 is most highly expressed by pericytes. Given the important roles that pericytes have in the microvasculature, infection of these cells could compromise myocardial supply to meet metabolic demand. Furthermore, ACE2 activity is crucial for opposing adverse effects of locally generated Ang II, so virus-mediated internalization of ACE2 could exacerbate pathology by this mechanism. While the role of cardiac pericytes in acute heart injury by SARS-CoV-2 requires investigation, expression of ACE2 by these cells has broader implications for cardiac pathophysiology.
Comparative Analysis of the Influence of Selected Physical Factors on the Level of Pain in the Course of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
Authors: Kopacz Łukasz , Ciosek Żaneta , Gronwald Helena , Skomro Piotr , Ardan Roman , Lietz-Kijak Danuta
Published: October 2020

Introduction. Temporomandibular joints (TMJs) play a very significant function in the activity of the locomotor system of the masticatory system. But they are often a source of pain, myopathy, myoarthropathy, and malfunction of their surrounding or internal structures. The treatment of a patient’s discomfort associated with masticatory system dysfunctions strongly depends on their cause. Aim of the Study. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of selected physical factors: LED light therapy with electromagnetic field and cryotherapy for the level of pain, in the treatment of patients suffering from temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Materials and Methods. The study included 60 patients of both genders with diagnosed TMD in a clinical trial. The participants were randomly divided into two groups. Each group consisted of 30 people and was subjected to separate therapies in which LED light therapy with electromagnetic field (MLT) and cryotherapy (CT) were applied. Results. Having assessed the results of the author’s own research in terms of analgesic activity, determined on the VAS scale during the daily routine activity of the mandible and its individual movements, in general, each of the studied groups demonstrated a considerable decrease in the level of the patients’ perception of pain (<0.001). Having compared both the therapeutic methods used, a greater reduction in the level of perceived pain was achieved with MLT (p=0.002). The type of therapy used turned out to be the only significant factor for the magnitude of this reduction. Conclusions. Conclusions based on the results of our own research indicate that the selected methods of treatment demonstrate an analgesic effect in terms of the overall discomfort in the course of TMD, and that they may be an alternative pain relief thereby reducing the patient’s intake of painkillers.
Parallel Machine Production and Transportation Operations’ Scheduling with Tight Time Windows
Authors: Jiang Yang , He Tong , Xiong Jie , Wu Xin , Chen Yao
Published: October 2020

This study addresses a parallel machine production and transportation operations’ scheduling problem with a tight time window associated with the transfer and delivery process. The orders located at the parallel machines need to be delivered to customers by train. Each order must be processed within a limited completion time in order for the product to be matched with the optimal trip to its destination within the delivery period. A mathematical analysis method is used to reveal the impact of tight time windows on the scheduling of production and transportation operations. The order transfer redundancy time and order transfer waiting time are employed to reflect the impact scheduling of production on the transfer process. The order delivery redundancy time and order delivery waiting time are used to describe delivery operations. The goal is to maximize the coordination level of order transfer and delivery, which are reflected in the order transfer time and the order delivery time, respectively. Additionally, a simulated annealing algorithm using the column generation technique was developed to solve this problem. The results show that the use of the system coordination model in this method obviously improves the number of successful transfers and deliveries.
Characterization of the Oxidative Stress in Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion‐Induced Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 3
Authors: Caio-Silva Wellington , da Silva Dias Danielle , Junho Carolina Victoria Cruz , Panico Karine , Neres-Santos Raquel Silva , Pelegrino Milena Trevisan , Pieretti Joana Claudio , Seabra Amedea Barozzi , De Angelis Kátia , Carneiro-Ramos Marcela Sorelli
Published: October 2020

In kidney disease (KD), several factors released into the bloodstream can induce a series of changes in the heart, leading to a wide variety of clinical situations called cardiorenal syndrome (CRS). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the signaling and progression of systemic inflammatory conditions, as observed in KD. The aim of the present study was to characterize the redox balance in renal ischemia/reperfusion‐induced cardiac remodeling. C57BL/6 male mice were subjected to occlusion of the left renal pedicle, unilateral, for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 8 and 15 days, respectively. The following redox balance components were evaluated: catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (FRAP), NADPH oxidase (NOX), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the tissue bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) such as S‐nitrosothiol (RSNO) and nitrite (NO2−). The results indicated a process of renoprotection in both kidneys, indicated by the reduction of cellular damage and some oxidant agents. We also observed an increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, and an increase in NO bioavailability. In the heart, we noticed an increase in the activity of NOX and NOS, together with increased cell damage on day 8, followed by a reduction in protein damage on day 15. The present study concludes that the kidneys and heart undergo distinct processes of damage and repair at the analyzed times, since the heart is a secondary target of ischemic kidney injury. These results are important for a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in CRS.
The Symptoms and Medications of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Hubei Province after COVID-19 Epidemic
Authors: Wang Huan , Tu Lei , Li Ying , Bai Tao , Zou Kaifang , Xiao Fang , Li Jin , Chen Min , Zhang Heng , Li Gangqin , Lu Yueyue , Wang Kai , Jin Shu , Yang Yuanping , Zhu Liangru , Hou Xiaohua
Published: October 2020

Objectives. The COVID-19 epidemic triggered by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly spreading around the globe. This study is aimed at finding out the suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Hubei province, China. We also investigated symptoms, medications, life quality, and psychological issues of IBD patients under the ongoing pandemic. Methods. We conducted a self-reported questionnaire survey via an online survey platform. SARS-CoV-2 infection-related data was collected from IBD patients. The status quo of medications and symptoms of the subjects were investigated. Life quality, depression, and anxiety were measured by clinical questionnaires and rated on scoring systems. Results. A total of 204 IBD patients from Hubei province were included in this study. No suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection case was found in this study. As a result of city shutdown, two-thirds of the patients (138/204) in our series reported difficulty in accessing medicines and nearly half of them (73/138) had to discontinue medications. Apart from gastrointestinal symptoms, systemic symptoms were common while respiratory symptoms were rare in the cohort. Though their quality of life was not significantly lowered, depression and anxiety were problems that seriously affected them during the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusions. Inaccessibility to medications is a serious problem for IBD patients after city shutdown. Efforts have to be made to address the problems of drug withdrawal and psychological issues that IBD patients suffer from during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Image Super-Resolution Using Lightweight Multiscale Residual Dense Network
Authors: Li Shilin , Zhao Ming , Fang Zhengyun , Zhang Yafei , Li Hongjie
Published: October 2020

The current super-resolution methods cannot fully exploit the global and local information of the original low-resolution image, resulting in loss of some information. In order to solve the problem, we propose a multiscale residual dense network (MRDN) for image super-resolution. This network is constructed based on the residual dense network. It can integrate the multiscale information of the image and avoid losing too much information in the deep level of the network, while extracting more information under different receptive fields. In addition, in order to reduce the redundancy of the network parameters of MRDN, we further develop a lightweight parameter method and deploy it at different scales. This method can not only reduce the redundancy of network parameters but also enhance the nonlinear mapping ability of the network at different scales. Thus, it can better learn and fit the feature information of the original image and recover the satisfactory super-resolution image. Extensive experiments are conducted, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
NFE2L2 Is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Is Correlated with Immune Infiltration in Brain Lower Grade Glioma: A Pan-Cancer Analysis
Authors: Ju Qiang , Li Xinmei , Zhang Heng , Yan Songxia , Li Ying , Zhao Yanjie
Published: October 2020

Nuclear factor, erythroid 2 like 2 (NFE2L2, NRF2) is a transcription factor that regulates various antioxidant enzymes. It plays a vital physiological role in regulating oxidative stress and inflammatory response. However, the roles of NFE2L2 in human cancers are still unclear. Our study is aimed at analyzing the prognostic value of NFE2L2 in pan-cancer and at revealing the relationship between NFE2L2 expression and tumor immunity. The present study revealed that NFE2L2 was abnormally expressed and significantly correlated with mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutation levels and DNA methyltransferase expression in human pan-cancer. In particular, pan-cancer survival analysis indicated that NFE2L2 expression was associated with adverse outcomes—overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI)—in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), brain lower grade glioma (LGG), and pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients. A positive relationship was also found between NFE2L2 expression and immune infiltration, including B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells, especially in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), LGG, liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), and prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD). Additionally, NFE2L2 expression was positively correlated with the immune score and the expression of immune checkpoint markers in LGG. In conclusion, these results indicate that transcription factor NFE2L2 is a potential prognostic biomarker and is correlated with immune infiltration in LGG.
Learning Evolutionary Stages with Hidden Semi-Markov Model for Predicting Social Unrest Events
Authors: Qiao Fengcai , Zhang Xin , Deng Jinsheng
Published: October 2020

Social unrest events are common happenings in modern society which need to be proactively handled. An effective method is to continuously assess the risk of upcoming social unrest events and predict the likelihood of these events. Our previous work built a hidden Markov model- (HMM-) based framework to predict indicators associated with country instability, leaving two shortcomings which can be optimized: omitting event participants’ interaction and implicitly learning the state residence time. Inspired by this, we propose a new prediction framework in this paper, using frequent subgraph patterns and hidden semi-Markov models (HSMMs). The feature called BoEAG (Bag-of-Event-Association-subGraph) is constructed based on frequent subgraph mining and the bag of word model. The new framework leverages the large-scale digital history events captured from GDELT (Global Data on Events, Location, and Tone) to characterize the transitional process of the social unrest events’ evolutionary stages, uncovering the underlying event development mechanics and formulating the social unrest event prediction as a sequence classification problem based on Bayes decision. Experimental results with data from five main countries in Southeast Asia demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method, which outperforms the traditional HMM by 5.3% to 16.8% and the logistic regression by 11.2% to 43.6%.
A Rare and Unexpected Reason for Unilateral Epistaxis: Nasal Septal Schwannoma
Authors: Yenigun Alper , Kulaksiz Yasin , Kiran Tugce Esen , Senturk Erol , Aksoy Fadlullah , Ozturan Orhan
Published: October 2020

Nasal septal schwannoma is a rare tumor. It causes complaints such as nasal congestion, nosebleeds, and headaches. There are many diseases such as nasal polyps, antrochoanal polyp, chronic rhinosinusitis, concha bullosa, inverted papilloma, and retention cyst with schwannoma diagnosis. The diagnosis is made histopathologically, and the treatment is surgery. In this case report, we presented a male patient with septal schwannoma who had nasal obstruction for a year and reviewed the last 20 years of literature on nasal schwannoma.