bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Blunt traumatic brachial plexus injuries in a northern rural US setting: increased likelihood in unshielded motor-powered crashes
Authors: Leonard Samantha , Woehrle Theo , Nikizad Hooman , Vearrier Jared , Odean Marilyn , Renier Colleen , Bollins John , Eyer Steven
Published: November 2020

Background

Blunt traumatic brachial plexus injuries (BTBPI) are severe peripheral nerve injuries which present in a small portion of trauma patients but can result in long-term neurological disability and severe chronic pain.

Objective

The goal of this study was to describe the epidemiology of BTBPI in a northern rural setting caused by motor-powered collisions, and to determine the relative risk of these injuries in shielded (cars, trucks, vans, and so on) and unshielded vehicles (snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles).

Methods

This retrospective study describes the epidemiology of BTBPI caused by motor-powered collisions and treated at two level II trauma centers in northeast Minnesota and determines the relative risk of these injuries in shielded (cars, trucks, vans, and so on) and unshielded vehicles (snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles). We hypothesized unshielded motor vehicle crashes in rural areas are at an increased risk of incurring BTBPI.

Results

Out of all injuries resulting from motor-powered collisions in a 20-year period (9951), BTBPIs were found in 63 trauma patients, a prevalence of 0.6%. The rate of BTBPI involving unshielded vehicles (1.0%) was significantly higher than those involving a shielded vehicle (0.4%) and primarily occurred in rural areas (70%).

Conclusions

Unshielded vehicle crashes, particularly snowmobiles, have the highest risk for BTBPI in our rural region. The overall incidence of these injuries appears to be declining.

Level of evidence

Level III.
Obstipation leading to urethral obstruction and uroabdomen in a dog
Authors: Sherer Timothy Dennis , Brabson Tamera
Published: November 2020

An 11‐month‐old entire female bulldog mix was presented for stranguria and pollakiuria of several days duration which had progressed to anorexia and abdominal pain. A diagnosis of uroabdomen was made following triage ultrasound and abdominocentesis. Despite additional diagnostics including contrast urethrogram, intravenous pyelogram, abdominal ultrasound and abdominal exploratory surgery, no inciting cause of the urine retention and uroabdomen was identified. After ruling out other possible causes, obstipation was suspected as the cause of compressive urethral obstruction leading to the uroabdomen. Clinical signs resolved completely after intraoperative deobstipation. Urethral obstruction with resulting uroabdomen is a severe complication of obstipation which has not been previously reported in dogs. Since constipation is a common presenting complaint to veterinarians, urethral obstruction should be considered as a possible sequela, given that patient history for both can be similar.
Asphalt fatigue modeling in constant strain time sweep tests based on dissipated energy approaches
Authors: Seif Mohammadreza , Molayem Mohammad
Published: November 2020

This paper aims to develop asphalt binder fatigue models by time sweep tests under constant strain. By investigating the fatigue life in neat and modified asphalts under linear and nonlinear viscoelastic responses, results were analyzed in terms of strain levels, asphalt type, and additive content. The dissipated energy and dissipated energy ratio concepts were utilized to develop the phenomenological models for estimating fatigue lives of asphalt binders. Results showed that the dissipated energy ratio-based equations give relatively identical fatigue models irrespective of the strain level or asphalt binder type. Moreover, statistical analyses were performed to investigate the contribution of each parameter in the fatigue model prediction. A comparison was made between fatigue life predictions by means of traditional and energy-based methods. Results proved that the fatigue life prediction models based on the concept of dissipated energy ratio follow a similar trend.
ddRAD genotyping reveals hierarchical genetic population structure in anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in the Lower Northwest Passage, Nunavut
Authors: Li Peiwen , van Coeverden de Groot Peter , Clemente-Carvalho Rute B.G. , Lougheed Stephen C.
Published: November 2020

Contemporary intraspecific patterns of genetic variation reflect the historical effects of population subdivision–expansion and forces like drift, gene flow, and selection. We investigated the population structure of anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in the Lower Northwest Passage (LNWP), Nunavut, using 3074 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms markers (SNPs). Overall, the genetic differentiation was weak to moderate among 18 sampling locales (global FST= 0.037). Populations were structured hierarchically, with a deeper genetic division between King William Island (global FST= 0.018) and mainland populations ∼200 km away to the south (global FST= 0.018), and some evidence of genetic subgroups within the former. These findings suggest a role for char migratory behaviour in shaping contemporary genetic population structure, with demographic modelling favouring an isolation with migration over a strict isolation scenario. Twenty-two SNPs were identified as potentially under divergent selection with putative functions including neurotransmission and bone development and growth during late embryogenesis. Our study is the first survey of Arctic char in the LNWP using genomics and provides baseline data for the development of a sustainable fishery within this region.
Comparison of fecal microbiota composition of blue sheep fed Lolium perenne versus Sorghum sudanense
Authors: Wu Haili , Yuan Yaohua , Pan Hongjie
Published: November 2020

Lolium perenne L. and Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf. are 2 common forages fed to blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur Hodgson, 1833) in captivity. However, the effect of these 2 forages on the gastrointestinal microbiota is largely unknown. We analyzed the diversity of the microbiota in the feces of captive blue sheep fed with L. perenne (group F1) and S. sudanense (group F2) by 16S rRNA sequencing. A total of 20 major phyla and 29 genera fecal bacterial communities were detected in the 2 groups. The F1 and F2 groups shared common microbiota at the phylum level, which mainly consisted of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-010 were the top 4 dominant taxa at the genus level. The percentage of Ruminococcaceae_UCG-010 was significantly higher in the F2 group (∼2.75-fold) than in F1 group. The diversity and abundance of the microbial community in F2 was higher than that in F1. Although both of L. perenne and S. sudanense affect the metabolism of the gastrointestinal microbiota of blue sheep, the S. sudanense improves more aspects of metabolism and biogenesis. In summary, our results demonstrated that L. perenne and S. sudanense affect blue sheep gastrointestinal microbiota in different ways. But S. sudanense efficiently improved the gastrointestinal microbiota of blue sheep.
Occurrence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase and AmpC-producing Escherichia coli in retail meat products from the Maritime Provinces, Canada
Authors: Awosile Babafela , Eisnor Jessica , Saab Matthew E. , Heider Luke , McClure J T.
Published: November 2020

This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance to the extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) in Escherichia coli isolates. The isolates were collected from retail meat products collected in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Our analyses involved the use of both selective and traditional culture methods; we also conducted genotype analyses using multiplex polymerase chain reactions. ESC-resistant (ESC-R) E. coli were detected in 33 of 559 samples (5.9%) using the traditional culture method, compared with 151 of 557 samples (27.1%) using the selective culture method. We recovered more isolates of ESC-R E. coli from poultry compared with beef and pork (P < 0.001). Multidrug resistance, extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), and AmpC phenotypes were more common in chicken-derived isolates than other retail meat products (P < 0.001). From the 98 isolates examined, 76 isolates (77.6%) were positive for either ESBL and AmpC β-lactamases or both. Among the 76 isolates, blaCMY-2 (78.9%), blaCTXM (46.1%), blaTEM (21.1%), and blaSHV (1.3%) genes were detected. Among the blaCTXM-producing isolates, blaCTXM-1, blaCTXM-2, and blaCTXM-9 phylogenetic groups were detected. β-lactamase genes were more commonly detected in chicken-derived isolates compared with other meat types (P < 0.01). This study demonstrates the occurrence of ESBL- and AmpC-resistance genes in retail meat products in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. We found that selective culture significantly improved the recovery of ESC-R E. coli isolates from retail meat samples.
On the recent claim of correlation between radioactive decay rates and space weather
Authors: Pommé S. , Pelczar K.
Published: November 2020

In recent literature, several authors have challenged the validity of the exponential-decay law, based on observed variations in radioactive decay rate measurements beyond statistical accuracy. Tentative explanations have been sought in external interferences influencing the decay process, such as interactions of the nuclei with solar and cosmic neutrinos. Given the important implications of such statements on theoretical and practical level, one would expect that they are backed up with radionuclide metrology of the highest quality. In reality, they share the common traits of using poor metrology and incomplete uncertainty analysis with respect to the stability of the measurement technique. In this paper, new claims of correlations between decay rates and space weather are questioned.
Vibrational density of states of amorphous solids with long-ranged power-law-correlated disorder in elasticity
Authors: Cui Bingyu , Zaccone Alessio
Published: November 2020

A theory of vibrational excitations based on power-law spatial correlations in the elastic constants (or equivalently in the internal stress) is derived, in order to determine the vibrational density of statesD($\omega$ω) of disordered solids. The results provide the first prediction of a boson peak in amorphous materials where spatial correlations in the internal stresses (or elastic constants) are of power-law form, as is often the case in experimental systems, leading to a logarithmic enhancement of (Rayleigh) phonon attenuation. A logarithmic correction of the form$ \sim -\omega^{2}\ln\omega$∼-ω2lnωis predicted to occur in the plot of the reduced excess DOS for frequencies around the boson peak in 3D. Moreover, the theory provides scaling laws of the density of states in the low-frequency region, including a$ \sim\omega^{4}$∼ω4regime in 3D, and provides information about how the boson peak intensity depends on the strength of power-law decay of fluctuations in elastic constants or internal stress. Analytical expressions are also derived for the dynamic structure factor for longitudinal excitations, which include a logarithmic correction factor, and numerical calculations are presented supporting the assumptions used in the theory.

Graphical abstract
Electrotactile Feedback-Based Muscle Fatigue Alleviation for Hand Manipulation
Authors: Li Kairu , Zhou Yu , Zhou Dalin , Zeng Jia , Fang Yinfeng , Yang Junyou , Liu Honghai
Published: November 2020

Tactile feedback is beneficial to improve the hand prosthesis performance, alleviate phantom pain, reduce muscle fatigue, etc. During the manipulation process, muscle fatigue not only causes discomfort to prosthesis users but also disturbs the surface electromyographic (sEMG)-based motion recognition, which significantly deteriorates the prosthesis functional performance. Efforts have been made to explore appropriate signal processing algorithms which could be less influenced by muscle fatigue. However, few studies concern how to alleviate muscle fatigue directly. Thus, this study proposes a novel method to avoid excessive muscle fatigue based on electrotactile feedback. A potable electrotactile stimulator is developed with adjustable parameters, multiple channels and wireless communication. It is implemented in a virtual hand grasping platform driven by sEMG signals to investigate the impact of tactile feedback on muscle fatigue. Experimental results show a higher success rate of grasping with electrotactile feedback than that with no feedback. Moreover, compared with grasp in the no feedback condition, there is an observable decrease of sEMG intensity when grasping a heavy object with electrotactile feedback, despite a comparable performance on the light and medium objects in both feedback conditions. It indicates that tactile feedback helps to alleviate muscle fatigue caused by excessive muscle contraction, especially when large strength is needed.
A New Nonlinear Control Design Strategy for Fixed Wing Aircrafts Piloting
Authors: Hamissi A. , Busawon K. , Dala L. , Bouzid Y. , Zaouche M. , Hamerlain M.
Published: November 2020

This paper proposes a novel nonlinear feedback control strategy for velocity and attitude control of fixed wing aircrafts. The key feature of the control design strategy is the introduction of a virtual control input in order to deal with the underactuation property of such vehicles and to indirectly control the orientation of the aircraft. As such, the proposed strategy consists of three control loops each realizing a specific task. Simulations are carried out by using the jetstream-3102 aircraft in a real-time virtual Simulation Platform for the development of Aircraft Control Systems (SP-ACS). The proposed approach of control is model-based for which we have introduces an identification part before test and validation. We use the Total Least Squares Estimation (TLSE) technique to identify the aerodynamic parameters, which are unknown, variable and classified. Each aerodynamic coefficient is defined as the mean of its numerical values. All other variations are considered as modeling uncertainties that will be compensated by the robustness of the piloting law. Simulation results on Jetstream-3102 aircraft show very good performance in terms of convergence towards the desired reference trajectories and in terms of robustness with respect to modeling uncertainties.
ACM/IEEE joint conference on digital libraries 2020 in Wuhan virtually
Authors: He Daqing , Wu Dan , Huang Ruhua , Marchionini Gary , Hansen Preben , Cunningham Sally Jo
Published: November 2020

The ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL) is a major international forum focusing on digital libraries and associated technical, practical, and social issues. JCDL 2020 was hosted jointly by School of Information Management at Wuhan University and School of Public Administration at Northwest University on August 1 - 5, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei, China. The General Chairs were Professors Dan Wu, Ruhua Huang and Gary Marchionini, and the Program Chairs were Professors Daqing He, Preben Hansen, and Sally Jo Cunningham. This newsletter article briefly describes the conference organization, the community participation, and most importantly the adaption to virtual conference under COVID-19 pandemic.
Hate speech in online social media
Authors: Das Mithun , Mathew Binny , Saha Punyajoy , Goyal Pawan , Mukherjee Animesh
Published: November 2020

Social media platforms like Twitter, Gab, Facebook are available in the market to billions
1
of users. These platforms allow users to share their ideas and opinions instantly almost with no cost. These have already been utilized by bad actors in the society to cause damage. Scenarios like the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, anti-Muslim mob violence in Sri Lanka, and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting can be linked to these platforms. Recently, hate speech is considered to be one of the major issues poisoning the online social media environment. To keep these platforms healthy there is a need to understand how these hateful content spread, how hateful users behave and finally, what could be an effective way to mitigate hate speech. In this article, we look at the recent advances and issues surrounding hate speech in online social media. We take three different perspectives -
analysis & spread, detection
, and
mitigation.
Increased Expression of LYNX1 in Ovarian Serous Cystadenocarcinoma Predicts Poor Prognosis
Authors: Liu Hui , Wang Ao , Ma Yushan
Published: November 2020

Few studies have reported the function of LYNX1 in ovarian cancer. We retrieved LYNX1 gene expression data and clinical information of 376 patients with ovarian cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project website. Wilcoxon signed‐rank test and logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between clinical pathologic features and LYNX1 expression. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to draw survival curves of patients, and Cox regression was used to calculate the relationship between LYNX1 expression and survival rate or the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed, and the correlation between LYNX1 expression and cancer immune infiltrates was investigated via single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). High LYNX1 expression in ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OVs) was associated with tumor residual disease (RD). In Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, patients with OVs who also displayed high LYNX1 expression had decreased overall survival (OS) and disease‐specific survival (DSS) than those with low LYNX1 expression. Univariate analysis also supported that patients with high LYNX1 expression had lower OS than those with low LYNX1 expression. LYNX1 expression has the potential to be a prognostic molecular marker of poor survival in OVs.
Modeling the Dependence of Barometric Pressure with Altitude Using Caputo and Caputo–Fabrizio Fractional Derivatives
Authors: Awadalla Muath , Yannick Yves Yameni Noupoue , Asbeh Kinda Abu
Published: November 2020

This work is dedicated to the study of the relationship between altitude and barometric atmospheric pressure. There is a consistent literature on this relationship, out of which an ordinary differential equation with initial value problems is often used for modeling. Here, we proposed a new modeling technique of the relationship using Caputo and Caputo–Fabrizio fractional differential equations. First, the proposed model is proven well-defined through existence and uniqueness of its solution. Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivative is the main tool used throughout the proof. Then, follow experimental study using real world dataset. The experiment has revealed that the Caputo fractional derivative is the most appropriate tool for fitting the model, since it has produced the smallest error rate of 1.74% corresponding to the fractional order of derivative

α

 = 1.005. Caputo–Fabrizio was the second best since it yielded an error rate value of 1.97% for a fractional order of derivative

α

 = 1.042, and finally the classical method produced an error rate of 4.36%.
Multianalysis Characterization of Mineralogical Properties of Copper‐Lead‐Zinc Mixed Ores and Implications for Comprehensive Recovery
Authors: Zhang Qian , Wen Shuming , Feng Qicheng , Zhang Song , Nie Wenlin
Published: November 2020

Copper‐lead‐zinc mixed ore in Tibet, China, is a complex and refractory polymetallic ore resource; thus, ascertaining its mineralogical properties is very important for comprehensive recovery of valuable elements. In this work, the mineralogical properties of this copper‐lead‐zinc mixed ore have been characterized in detail following a multidisciplinary approach, including chemical, phase, x‐ray diffraction (XRD), electron microprobe, and mineral liberation analyses. The results show that the raw ore contained 0.53% Cu, 1.29% Pb, and 0.54% Zn; the oxidation rates of copper, lead, and zinc were 40.21%, 79.31%, and 84.83%, respectively. The Au and Ag contents in the raw ore were 0.28 g/t and 23.6 g/t, which can be comprehensively utilized along with the recovery of copper, lead, and zinc. The gangue mainly contained SiO2, CaO, and Al2O3. Copper in the raw ore mainly existed in bornite, duftite, chalcopyrite, and chrysocolla; lead mainly existed in cerussite, duftite, and galena; zinc mainly existed in willemite, hemimorphite, and sphalerite. The complexity in the embedding and wrapping relationships, fine‐grained dissemination, high oxidation, and considerable differences in the floatability of various minerals result in difficulties in recovering the target minerals using a single method. Based on the systematic mineralogical properties obtained, an integrated technology of “bulk flotation‐oxidation roasting‐hydrometallurgy” has been proposed to enrich and separate copper, lead, and zinc in the ore, providing new ideas for the comprehensive and efficient utilization of polymetallic mineral resources in Tibet.
African Trypanosomiasis Dynamics: Modelling the Effects of Treatment, Education, and Vector Trapping
Authors: Liana Yustina A. , Shaban Nyimvua , Mlay Goodluck , Phibert Anitha
Published: November 2020

African trypanosomiasis is a vector-borne disease that is mainly transmitted by infected tsetse flies. A deterministic model of tsetse fly vector, human, and cattle hosts is formulated and analyzed to gain insights into the disease dynamics. The roles of public health education, treatment, and tsetse fly traps are studied. The effective reproduction number, a threshold used to determine whether the disease persists or dies out in the population, is determined. The sensitivity analysis of the model parameters is performed to determine their relationship with the effective reproduction number. The results show that the tsetse fly biting rate is the most sensitive parameter to the effective reproduction number. Furthermore, the model’s numerical simulation shows that a combination of all three interventions has the most significant impact on the control of African trypanosomiasis. Thus, we recommend that these control measures be put concurrently in endemic areas for effective control of the disease transmission.
Recovery of Prenatal Baicalein Exposure Perturbed Reproduction by Postnatal Exposure of Testosterone in Male Mice
Authors: Vaadala Sridevi , Ponneri Naveen , Karanam Venkata Shashank , Sainath Sri Bhashyam , Reddy Pamanji Sreenivasuala , Pamuru Ramachandra Reddy , Mohammed Arifullah
Published: November 2020

Baicalein (BC), a flavonoid, which lacks the qualities of reproductive health and shows adverse effects, is tested in this study. Inseminated mice were injected with 30, 60, and 90 mg BC/Kg body weight on gestation days 11, 13, 15, and 17. The F1 BC-exposed males of each dosage were divided into six groups. First three groups (n = 6 from each BC dosage) were used for assessment of reproductive performance, the others (n = 4 from each BC dosage) were administered with testosterone 4.16 mg/kg body weight on postnatal days 21, 31, and 41. The reproductive health of adult F1 males at the age of 55 and 60 was tested. Prenatal BC exposure showed reduced fertility after cohabitation with control females. The BC exposure significantly reduced the body weight, tissue indices, and sperm parameters (motility, count, viability, and daily sperm count) and altered the sperm membrane in a hypoosmotic swelling test. A downward trend was observed in testicular steroidogenic marker enzymes (3β- and 17β-steroid dehydrogenases) and serum testosterone, whereas increase in serum titers of FSH and LH along with altered the testicular histology. Conversely, testosterone (4.16 mg/kg body weight) partially recovered reduced male reproductive health by BC. BC impaired male reproductive health due to low levels of testosterone is reverted by external testosterone is evidenced in this study.
Interleukin-18 Is a Prognostic Marker and Plays a Tumor Suppressive Role in Colon Cancer
Authors: Feng Xiaodong , Zhang Zhijun , Sun Peng , Song Guanghui , Wang Lu , Sun Zhenqing , Yuan Ning , Wang Qing , Lun Limin
Published: November 2020

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) belongs to the IL-1 family and is an essential proinflammatory and immune regulatory cytokine. The present study was designed to investigate the expression and function of IL-18 in colon cancer. In clinical analyses, mRNA and protein expressions of IL-18 were decreased in tissues of colon cancer patients. This decreased expression of IL-18 was significantly correlated with the tumor size (

P
=
0.001

) and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage (

P
=
0.013

). Patients with IL-18-positive tumors had a better survival rate than patients with IL-18-negative tumors. Moreover, upregulation of IL-18 inhibited colon cancer cell proliferation. Our data suggest that the decreased expression of IL-18 in colon cancer was associated with prognosis and tumor proliferation. IL-18 may be considered a novel tumor suppressor and a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer patients.
A Big Data Mining and Blockchain-Enabled Security Approach for Agricultural Based on Internet of Things
Authors: Zhang Feng , Zhang Yongheng
Published: November 2020

In order to improve the utilization rate of agricultural big data and solve the security issues problem of multisource and heterogeneous agricultural big data, an improved agricultural big data ant colony optimization algorithm (BigDataACO) is proposed to complete the multisource agricultural big data information in the feature layer and decision-making, and the problem of multisource data fusion was solved. The swarm intelligence algorithm is a process of simulating the complex problem of populations in nature through the mutual cooperation between individuals. The algorithm has potential parallelism and strong robustness, and the algorithm does not depend on specific problems. The definition, principle, and implementation method of agricultural big data fusion problem are studied. Then, the insufficiency of big data fusion modeling algorithm is analyzed. Finally, the source and core steps of the ant colony big data fusion algorithm are studied. The experimental results show that the improved BigDataACO algorithm is verified by the measured data. Compared with K-means, D-S evidence theory, and Bayesian algorithm, the uncertainty of data fusion is greatly reduced by the improved algorithm proposed in this paper.
Sensor Ontology Metamatching with Heterogeneity Measures
Authors: Xue Xingsi , Lu Jiawei , Jiang Chengcai , Huang Yikun
Published: November 2020

The heterogeneity problem among different sensor ontologies hinders the interaction of information. Ontology matching is an effective method to address this problem by determining the heterogeneous concept pairs. In the matching process, the similarity measure serves as the kernel technique, which calculates the similarity value of two concepts. Since none of the similarity measures can ensure its effectiveness in any context, usually, several measures are combined together to enhance the result’s confidence. How to find suitable aggregating weights for various similarity measures, i.e., ontology metamatching problem, is an open challenge. This paper proposes a novel ontology metamatching approach to improve the sensor ontology alignment’s quality, which utilizes the heterogeneity features on two ontologies to tune the aggregating weight set. In particular, three ontology heterogeneity measures are firstly proposed to, respectively, evaluate the heterogeneity values in terms of syntax, linguistics, and structure, and then, a semiautomatically learning approach is presented to construct the conversion functions that map any two ontologies’ heterogeneity values to the weights for aggregating the similarity measures. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that heterogeneity features are proposed and used to solve the sensor ontology metamatching problem. The effectiveness of the proposal is verified by comparing with using state-of-the-art ontology matching techniques on Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI)’s testing cases and two pairs of real sensor ontologies.
Compressed Sensing-Based Order Analysis for Blade Tip Timing Signals Measured at Varying Rotational Speed
Authors: Chen Suiyu , Yang Yongmin , Hu Haifeng , Guan Fengjiao , Shen Guoji , Yang Faming
Published: November 2020

Monitoring the vibrations of high-speed rotating blades is significant to the security of turbomachineries. Blade tip timing (BTT) is considered as a promising technique for detecting blade vibrations without contact online. However, extracting blade vibration characteristics accurately from undersampled BTT signals measured at varying rotational speed (VRS) has become a big challenge. The existing two methods for this issue are restricted within the order bandwidth limitation and require prior information and precise sensor installation angles, which is often unpractical. To overcome these difficulties, a compressed sensing-based order analysis (CSOA) method was proposed. Its feasibility comes from the sparsity of BTT vibration signals in the order domain. The mathematical model for the proposed method was built, and the optimizing principles for sensor number and sensor arrangement were given. Simulated and experimental results verified the feasibility and advantages of the proposed method that it could extract order spectrum accurately from BTT vibration signals measured at VRS without the drawbacks in the existing two methods.
Occurrence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Small Ruminants in the Central Part of Myanmar
Authors: Win Shwe Yee , Win Myintzu , Thwin Ei Phyu , Htun Lat Lat , Hmoon Myint Myint , Chel Hla Myet , Thaw Yu Nandi , Soe Nyein Chan , Phyo Thwe Thwe , Thein Su Su , Khaing Yadanar , Than Aye Aye , Bawm Saw
Published: November 2020

Gastrointestinal parasite infection in small ruminants remains one of the major economic losses caused by reduced productivity. A total of 380 faecal samples were taken from 280 sheeps in Magway and Pwintbyu Townships and 100 goats in Natmauk Township, Myanmar. Faecal flotation and sedimentation methods were carried out to detect the presence of parasitic infections. Faecal egg and oocyst counts were carried out using the McMaster technique. The overall occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants was 98.4% (374/380). The occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in sheep (99.3%) was higher than that in goats (96%). The highest occurrence was found in Eimeria spp. (96%), followed by Trichostrongyle (77.1%), Trichuris spp. (35%), and Moniezia expansa (14%). The mixed infection rate was 84.8% (317/374), while a single infection was 15.2% (57/374). The mean eggs per gram (EPG) and oocysts per gram (OPG) of faeces were ranged from 50 to 600 and 50 to 29,800, respectively. Among the 4 nucleotide sequences isolated, one sequence was 94.10-94.47% similarity with Trichostrongylus colubriformis, reported from Laos, and three sequences showed 96.64-99.46% identity with Haemonchus contortus from Laos, China, India, and Mongolia. As gastrointestinal parasite infection in small ruminants was relatively high in the study area, the development of appropriate treatment and control measures should be provided to reduce production losses.
A New Approach for Estimating Rock Discontinuity Trace Intensity Based on Rectangular Sampling Windows
Authors: Huo Xiaoxue , Wu Qiong , Tang Huiming , Meng Zhen , Wang Di , Liu Yuxin , Li Shiyu
Published: November 2020

Trace intensity is defined as mean total trace length of discontinuities per unit area, which is an important geometric parameter to describe fracture networks. The probability of each trace appearing in the sampling surface is different since discontinuity orientation has a scatter and is probabilistically distributed, so this factor should be taken into account in trace intensity estimation. This paper presents an approach to estimate the two‐dimensional trace intensity by considering unequal appearing probability for discontinuities sampled by rectangular windows. The estimation method requires the number of discontinuities intersecting the window, the appearing probability of discontinuities with both ends observed, one end observed, and both ends censored, and the mean trace length of discontinuities intersecting the window. The new estimator is validated by using discontinuity data from an outcrop in Wenchuan area in China. Similarly, circular windows are used along with Mauldon’s equation to calculate trace intensity using discontinuity trace data of the same outcrop as a contrast. Results indicate that the proposed new method based on rectangular windows shows close accuracy and less variability than that of the method based on circular windows due to the influence of finite sample size and the variability of location of the window and has advantage in application to sampling surfaces longer in one direction than in the other such as tunnel cross sections and curved sampling surfaces such as outcrops that show some curvature.
Numerical Research of Fluid Flow and Solute Transport in Rough Fractures under Different Normal Stress
Authors: Wang Min , Guo Qifeng , Shan Pengfei , Cai Meifeng , Ren Fenhua , Dai Bing
Published: November 2020

The effects of roughness and normal stress on hydraulic properties of fractures are significant during the coupled shear flow test. Knowing the laws of fluid flow and solute transport in fractures is essential to ensure the nature and safety of geological projects. Although many experiments and numerical simulations of coupled shear flow test have been conducted, there is still a lack of research on using the full Navier-Stokes (N-S) equation to solve the real flow characteristics of fluid in three-dimensional rough fractures. The main purpose of this paper is to study the influence of roughness and normal stress on the fluid flow and solute transport through fractures under the constant normal stiffness boundary condition. Based on the corrected successive random addition (SRA) algorithm, fracture surfaces with different roughness expressed by the Hurst coefficient (

H

) were generated. By applying a shear displacement of 5 mm, the sheared fracture models with normal stresses of 1 MPa, 3 MPa, and 5 MPa were obtained, respectively. The hydraulic characteristics of three-dimensional fractures were analyzed by solving the full N-S equation. The particle tracking method was employed to obtain the breakthrough curves based on the calculated flow field. The numerical method was verified with experimental results. It has been found that, for the same normal stress, the smaller the fracture

H

value is (i.e., more tough the fracture is), the larger the mechanical aperture is. The ratio of hydraulic aperture to mechanical aperture (

e

h

/

e

m

) decreases with the increasing of normal stress. The smaller the

H

value, the effect of the normal stress on the ratio

e

h

/

e

m

is more significant. The variation of transmissivity of fractures with the flow rate exhibits similar manner with that of

e

h

/

e

m

. With the normal stress and

H

value increasing, the mean velocity of particles becomes higher and more particles move to the outlet boundary. The dispersive transport behavior becomes obvious when normal stress is larger.
Making Wearable Technology Available for Mental Healthcare through an Online Platform with Stress Detection Algorithms: The Carewear Project
Authors: Debard Glen , De Witte Nele , Sels Romy , Mertens Marc , Van Daele Tom , Bonroy Bert
Published: November 2020

Over the past years, mobile health (mHealth) applications and specifically wearables have become able and available to collect data of increasing quality of relevance for mental health. Despite the large potential of wearable technology, mental healthcare professionals are currently lacking tools and knowledge to properly implement and make use of this technology in practice. The Carewear project is aimed at developing and evaluating an online platform, allowing healthcare professionals to use data from wearables in their clinical practice. Carewear implements data collection through self-tracking, which is aimed at helping people in their behavioral change process, as a component of a broader intervention or therapy guided by a mental healthcare professional. The Empatica E4 wearables are used to collect accelerometer data, electrodermal activity (EDA), and blood volume pulse (BVP) in real life. This data is uploaded to the Carewear platform where algorithms calculate moments of acute stress, average resting heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV), step count, active periods, and total active minutes. The detected moments of acute stress can be annotated to indicate whether they are associated with a negative feeling of stress. Also, the mood of the day can be elaborated on. The online platform presents this information in a structured way to both the client and their mental healthcare professional. The goal of the current study was a first assessment of the accuracy of the algorithms in real life through comparisons with comprehensive annotated data in a small sample of five healthy participants without known stress-related complaints. Additionally, we assessed the usability of the application through user reports concerning their experiences with the wearable and online platform. While the current study shows that a substantial amount of false positives are detected in a healthy sample and that usability could be improved, the concept of a user-friendly platform to combine physiological data with self-report to inform on stress and mental health is viewed positively in our pilots.
Risk Assessment of Biological Asset Mortgage Loans of China’s New Agricultural Business Entities
Authors: Zhu Shuzhen , Chen Yutao , Wang Wenwen
Published: November 2020

The large-scale proliferation of China’s new type of agricultural entities has given rise to a higher demand for funds. Farmers have insufficient effective collateral, which makes it difficult for them to obtain sufficient loans. Chinese financial institutions have developed a biological asset mortgage loan business to cope with this situation. China has not considered biological mortgages but has been using real estate and asset mortgage models with strong realizability. This innovative financial business has achieved positive results since it was attempted, but it also faces many risks. It is very important to comprehensively and accurately consider the risk factors of biological asset mortgage loans. Based on 1249 production and operation data samples of new agricultural entities in Zhejiang, Henan, and Shandong provinces, this study constructs an XGBoost model for empirical analysis and compares it with logical regression, support vector machine, and random forest algorithms to obtain the optimal model and feature importance value. According to the characteristic importance value, a biological asset mortgage loan risk assessment system with 4 primary indicators and 20 secondary indicators is established, which can effectively identify the biological asset mortgage loan risk of new agricultural entities.
Decontamination and Reuse of N95 Masks: A Narrative Review
Authors: Khan M. A. , Ikram A. , Savul S. , Lalani F. K. , Khan M. A. , Sarfraz M.
Published: November 2020

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented strain on healthcare supplies. Currently there is a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), especially N95 masks. In order to safeguard healthcare personnel in this critical time and to mitigate shortages of N95 respirators, reuse of N95 respirators has to be considered. Methods. Using PubMed and Science Direct, a literature search was conducted to find and synthesize relevant literature on decontamination of N95 respirators for their subsequent reuse. Peer-reviewed publications related to methods of decontamination from January 2007 to April 2020 in the English language are included in this narrative review. Bibliographies of articles for relevant literature were also scrutinized. Findings. A total of 19 studies are included in this narrative review. The appraised methods include ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), moist heat incubation (MHI), ethylene oxide (EtO), hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV), microwave steam bags (MSB), microwave-generated steam (MGS), dry microwave oven irradiation, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma (HPGP), dry heat, liquid hydrogen peroxide, and bleach and alcohol. Conclusion. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, reuse of N95 respirators, although suboptimal, can be considered. Evidence reveals that UVGI, MHI, and HPV are amongst the safest and efficacious methods for decontamination of N95 masks. More research is needed to establish the safety and effectiveness of MGS, MSB, dry heat, EtO, liquid hydrogen peroxide, and HPGP. Alcohol, microwave irradiation, and bleach are not recommended because they damage N95 respirators.
Applying Robust Intelligent Algorithm and Internet of Things to Global Maximum Power Point Tracking of Solar Photovoltaic Systems
Authors: Chang En-Chih
Published: November 2020

The important dare in the solar photovoltaic (PV) system is to investigate the performance under partial shading conditions. A robust intelligent algorithm (RIA) connected with internet of things (IoT) is developed to offer the real-time monitoring of solar PV systems, thus ensuring global maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The RIA comprises a limited-time terminal sliding-mode control (LTTSMC) and a quantum particle swarm optimization- (QPSO-) radial basis function (RBF) neural network. The LTTSMC creates a quick limited-system-state convergence time and allows for singularity avoidance. However, if the system ambiguity is overrated or underrated, the tremble phenomenon or steady-state error probably occurs around the LTTSMC. The QPSO-RBF neural network is integrated into LTTSMC to handle plant parameter variations and external load perturbations, thus reducing tremble and steady-state errors. With the aggregation of the RIA and the IoT, the remote monitoring in the solar PV system yields faster convergence to nonsingular points, and it also introduces neural network method to achieve more accurate ambiguity estimation. Experimental results show the mathematical analysis and performance enhancement of a prototype algorithm-controlled solar PV system based on digital signal processing under transient and steady-state loading conditions. Because the proposed solar PV system has notable advantages over the classical terminal-sliding solar PV system in terms of tracking accuracy and robust adaptation, this paper is worthy of reference to designers of relative robust control and neural network learning algorithm.
Combustion Characteristics and Combustion Kinetics of Dry Distillation Coal and Pine Tar
Authors: Chen Bo , Liu Bo , Shi Zhangming
Published: November 2020

The samples of dry distillation pine tar and coal tar were investigated by TG-DTG-DSC, and the combustion characteristics and combustion kinetics of the samples were studied. The results show that there exist two significant mass loss peak and endothermic peak in the combustion of dry distillation coal tar and pine tar, which, respectively, means the volatile hydrocarbon combustion and heavy hydrocarbon combustion. At the first DTG peak range, the activation energy of dry distillation pine tar and coal tar is about the same at the initial stage (before DTG peak). Activation energy of the dry distillation pine tar increases sharply while that of dry distillation coal tar has little changes on the subsequent stage (after DTG peak). Dry distillated coal tar has better ignition performance, combustible characteristic, combustible stability, and integrated combustion characteristic, but difficult to burnout compared to the dry distillation pine tar.
Peroxymonosulfate Activation on a Hybrid Material of Conjugated PVC and TiO2 Nanotubes for Enhancing Degradation of Rhodamine B under Visible Light
Authors: Ha La Phan Phuong , Huy Tran Hong , Huan Pham Huu , Thu Nguyen Thi Minh , Thi Cao Minh , Van Viet Pham
Published: November 2020

Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is a robust technology for amending the negative effect of pollutants on the environment with a minimum energy use. Herein, we describe a simple approach to producing such a photocatalyst by coupling conjugated polyvinyl chloride (cPVC) with the TiO2 nanotube (TNT) thermolysis method. By activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to make a cPVC/TNT/PMS system using visible light as the source, we obtain a significant enhancement in the photocatalytic performance. We show that PMS use at a concentration of 3 mM can fully degrade rhodamine B (RhB) solution at a remarkably high concentration (200 mg L-1) just in 120 min under visible light. The cPVC/TNT/PMS system also shows excellent stability in recycling tests for at least five times. Further, by confining the active species in photocatalytic reactions, we report a thorough understanding of the extent of involvement from those radicals. Our work presents a robust approach to make a high-performance, visible-light-driven photocatalyst, which can be potentially used in practice.
Role of Farnesoid X Receptor in the Pathogenesis of Respiratory Diseases
Authors: Wu Jin-nan , Chen Jian-rong , Chen Jin-liang
Published: November 2020

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a bile acid receptor encoded by the Nr1h4 gene. FXR plays an important role in maintaining the stability of the internal environment and the integrity of many organs, including the liver and intestines. The expression of FXR in nondigestible tissues other than in the liver and small intestine is known as the expression of “nonclassical” bile acid target organs, such as blood vessels and lungs. In recent years, several studies have shown that FXR is widely involved in the pathogenesis of various respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Moreover, a number of works have confirmed that FXR can regulate the bile acid metabolism in the body and exert its anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects in the airways and lungs. In addition, FXR may be used as a potential therapeutic target for some respiratory diseases. For example, FXR can regulate the tumor microenvironment by regulating the balance of inflammatory and immune responses in the body to promote the occurrence and development of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), thereby being considered a potential target for immunotherapy of NSCLC. In this article, we provide an overview of the internal relationship between FXR and respiratory diseases to track the progress that has been achieved thus far in this direction and suggest potential therapeutic prospects of FXR in respiratory diseases.
The Role of Digital Navigators in Promoting Clinical Care and Technology Integration into Practice
Authors: Wisniewski Hannah , Gorrindo  Tristan , Rauseo-Ricupero Natali , Hilty Don , Torous John
Published: November 2020

As the role of technology expands in healthcare, so does the need to support its implementation and integration into the clinic. The concept of a new team member, the digital navigator, able to assume this role is introduced as a solution. With a digital navigator, any clinic today can take advantage of digital health and smartphone tools to augment and expand existing telehealth and face to face care. The role of a digital navigator is suitable as an entry level healthcare role, additional training for an experienced clinician, and well suited to peer specialists. To facilitate the training of digital navigators, we draw upon our experience in creating the role and across health education to introduce a 10-h curriculum designed to train digital navigators across 5 domains: (1) core smartphone skills, (2) basic technology troubleshooting, (3) app evaluation, (4) clinical terminology and data, and (5) engagement techniques. This paper outlines the curricular content, skills, and modules for this training and features a rich online supplementary Appendix with step by step instructions and resources.