bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of a job-exposure matrix (JEM) for exposure to smoke particle mass among firefighters of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY)
Authors: Goldfarb David G , Prezant David J , Zeig-Owens Rachel , Schwartz Theresa , Liu Yang , Kavouras Ilias G
Published: January 2023

Objectives

A refined job exposure matrix (JEM) based on incident types and severities and response characteristics was developed for firefighters to estimate quantities of smoke particles emitted during structural and non-structural fire incidents from 2010 to 2021.

Methods

The cohort included a subset of 3237 Fire Department of the City of New York firefighters who responded to at least one incident between 2010 and 2021, prior to retirement. Fire incident data included dates, type, severity (alarm level) and location. Response data included dates worked, firehouse, position titles and shift lengths for each firefighter. The quantity of smoke particle mass generated during structural and non-structural fires adjusted by individual firefighter engagement was computed using the United States Environmental Protection Agency AP-42 emissions framework. Correlations between years of employment, fire responses and career total particle mass concentration by firefighter were examined. Linear regression models were fit and corresponding R2values were calculated.

Results

Firefighters responded to a median of 424.7 (IQR=202.3–620.0) annual incidents/person; 17.6% were fire incidents (median=77.1; IQR=40.4–114.0). Structural fires were the most common type of fire incident (72.5% of annual incidents/person; median=55.9; IQR=29.6–85.5). Incident severity (alarm level) and firefighter engagement (position title) appeared to differentiate between high and low exposure regimes (R2=0.43). Incident severity explained most of the variability of particle exposures (R2=0.90).

Conclusions

Using the JEM, job-related smoke particle concentrations were estimated to vary by incident type, incident severity and firefighter engagement, highlighting the importance of using refined measures, so that future studies can more accurately evaluate associations between firefighting and health outcomes.
Dupuytren’s disease is a work-related disorder: results of a population-based cohort study
Authors: van den Berge Bente A. , Wiberg Akira , Werker Paul M. N. , Broekstra Dieuwke C. , Furniss Dominic
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Dupuytren’s disease (DD) is a fibroproliferative disorder of the hands, characterised by the development of fibrous nodules and cords that may cause disabling contractures of the fingers. The role of manual work exposure in the aetiology of DD is controversial. We investigated whether current occupational exposure to manual work is associated with DD, and if there is a dose–response relationship.

Methods

In this population-based cohort analysis, we used data from the UK Biobank cohort. Our primary outcome was the presence of DD. The exposure of interest was manual work, measured for each participant in two different ways to allow two independent analyses to be undertaken: (1) the current manual work status of the occupation at the time of recruitment, and (2) a cumulative manual work exposure score, calculated based on the occupational history. We performed propensity score matching and applied a logistic regression model.

Results

We included 196 265 participants for the current manual work analysis, and 96 563 participants for the dose–response analysis. Participants whose current occupation usually/always involved manual work were more often affected with DD than participants whose occupation sometimes/never involved manual work (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.49, p<0.001). There was a positive dose–response relationship between cumulative manual work exposure score and DD. Each increment in cumulative work exposure score increased the odds by 17% (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.27, p<0.001).

Conclusions

Manual work exposure is a risk factor for DD, with a clear dose–response relationship. Physicians treating patients should recognise DD as a work-related disorder and inform patients accordingly.
Akt substrate of 160 kDa is essential for the calorie restriction-induced increase in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by skeletal muscle of female rats
Authors: Zheng Amy , Wang Haiyan , Arias Edward B. , Dong Gengfu , Zhao Jiahui , Cartee Gregory D.
Published: January 2023

We evaluated effects of calorie restriction (CR; consuming 65% of ad libitum (AL) intake) for 8 weeks on female wildtype (WT) and Akt substrate of 160 kDa knockout (AS160-KO) rats. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (ISGU) was determined in isolated epitrochlearis muscles incubated with 0, 50, 100, or 500 µU/mL insulin. Phosphorylation of key insulin signaling proteins that control ISGU (Akt and AS160) was assessed by immunoblotting (Akt phosphorylation on Threonine-308, pAktThr308 and Serine-473, pAktSer473; AS160 phosphorylation on Serine-588, pAS160Ser588, and Threonine-642, pAS160Thr642). Abundance of proteins that regulate ISGU (GLUT4 glucose transporter protein and hexokinase II) was also determined by immunoblotting. The major results were as follows: ( i) WT-CR versus WT-AL rats had greater ISGU with 100 and 500 µU/mL insulin; ( ii) CR versus WT-AL rats had greater GLUT4 protein abundance; ( iii) WT-CR versus WT-AL rats had greater pAktThr308 with 500 µU/mL insulin; ( iv) WT-CR versus WT-AL rats did not differ for pAktSer473, pAS160Ser588, or pAS160Thr642 at any insulin concentration; ( v) AS160-KO versus WT rats with each diet had lower ISGU at each insulin concentration, but not lower pAkt on either phosphosite; ( vi) AS160-KO versus WT rats had lower muscle GLUT4 abundance regardless of diet; and ( vii) AS160-KO-CR versus AS160-KO-AL rats did not differ for ISGU, GLUT4 abundance, pAkt on either phosphosite, or pAS160 on either phosphosite. These novel results demonstrated that AS160 expression, but not greater pAS160 on key phosphosites, was essential for the CR-induced increases in muscle ISGU and GLUT4 abundance of female rats.
Predicting geological interfaces using stacking ensemble learning with multi-scale features
Authors: Wang Ze Zhou , Hu Yue , Guo Xiangfeng , He Xiaogang , Kek Hardy Yide , Ku Taeseo , Goh Siang Huat , Leung Chun Fai
Published: January 2023

Understanding the variation of geological interfaces plays a crucial role in the analysis and design of infrastructure systems. Generally, there are two classes of techniques for predicting geological interfaces, for example, interpolation/regression-based techniques and machine-learning-based techniques. In this paper, a Multi-scale Meta-learning Model (M3) methodology is proposed. The new methodology improves the current state-of-the-art techniques by fusing two levels of information: (i) generic characteristics of the sampling locations, for example, coordinates, and (ii) location-specific characteristics, for example, local-scale predictions. The implementation starts from using an array of classic interpolation/regression-based techniques as base learners to provide first-level predictions at a local scale. These predictions are then combined with generic characteristics to train a meta-learner following the stacking ensemble learning framework. In this manner, the location-specific information from the base learners can be simultaneously considered with the generic information in the training process. The variation of rockhead elevation is predicted using the M3 methodology and a comprehensive borehole dataset in Singapore. A detailed comparative study involving several existing methods is also carried out to rigorously validate the M3 methodology. The results show that the M3 methodology achieves 20% improvement in the model performance compared to existing methods, indicating its promising potential in geotechnical site characterization.
Adaptive traffic signal control using deep Q-learning: case study on optimal implementations
Authors: Pan Guangyuan , Muresan Matthew , Fu Liping
Published: January 2023

Deep reinforcement learning has found great successes in addressing many challenging control problems; however, real-world implementations are still scarce if not non-existent. This is primarily due to three main challenges pertaining to the implementation, the stability, the optimal settings, and a lack of knowledge on methods that can be applied to field settings. This research attempts to address these issues with an adaptive simulation-based control framework proposed specifically for the training and evaluation. The control framework has implemented simulation models to conduct an extensive sensitivity analysis on the effects of key design variables, including rewarding schemes, state spaces, and model training parameters. The feasibility of transfer learning as a training strategy is also studied on scenarios with different layouts and different driver behavior models. Complex scenarios are also evaluated and used as test cases, including multiphase ring-and-barrier control and multi-intersection control. The research has contributed a significant amount of evidence on several critical design and implementation-related questions such as input representation, data (technology) requirements, training methods, and model transferability.
A hydrodynamical description of gravitational waves
Authors: Mei Jianwei
Published: January 2023

It is easy to reason that gravity might be the effect of a fluid in disguise, as it will naturally arise in emergent gravity models where gravity is due to the effect of some fundamental particles, with the latter expected to behave collectively like a fluid at the macroscopic scale. We call this the fluid/gravity equivalence. The key difficulty with the fluid/gravity equivalence is to find the correct metric–fluid relation (the relation between the emergent metric and the fluid properties) so that the fluid not only has physically acceptable properties but also obeys the usual hydrodynamic equations, while at the same time the emergent metric also obeys the Einstein equations. Faced with the problem, we have previously made a tentative proposal of the metric–fluid relation, focusing only on obtaining physically acceptable predictions on the fluid properties. In this paper, however, we find that for the general gravitational wave spacetime near the null infinity, the underlying fluid not only has physically acceptable properties, but also satisfies the expected relativistic hydrodynamic equations in the Minkowski background, thus providing a concrete example satisfying both of the major requirements expected for the fluid/gravity equivalence.
MODELING AND SIMULATION OF MAGNETRON-SPUTTERRED NiTi THIN FILM DEPOSITION BY SRIM/TRIM
Authors: BEHERA AJIT , SAXENA KULDEEP , PRAKASH CHANDER , PRAMANIK ALOKESH , HAIDER JULFIKAR , BASAK ANIMESH , SHANKAR S.
Published: January 2023

Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) thin films have gained a lot of attention due to their unique features, such as the shape memory effect. Micro-actuators, micro-valve, micro-fluid pumps, bio-medical applications, and electronic applications have a lot of interest in these smart thin films. Sputter-deposited NiTi thin films have shown the potential to be very useful as a powerful actuator in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) because of their large recovery forces and high recoverable strains. Despite the advancement of improved deposition methods for the NiTi thin films, there are still certain unsolved challenges that impede accurate composition control throughout the deposition process. Many applications, spanning from the aerospace industries to a range of nanotechnologies, require knowledge of the sputtering characteristics of the materials that are subjected to bombardment, ejection, and deposition of ions. In recent decades, atomic scale modeling has been given a high emphasis in ion sputtering research, providing an adequate and precise description of collision cascades in solids using the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) and Transport of Ions in Matter (TRIM). In this paper, SRIM is used to address how the heavy ions interact with the target materials. A variety of ion-solid interaction characteristics, including the sputter yield, have been determined by simulating collision cascades in the solids. On the other hand, TRIM was used to describe the range of ions that enter into the matter and cause damage to the target throughout the process. The simulation was carried out to compare the sputtering yield of Ni and Ti by varying the energy input (from 300[Formula: see text]V to 1300[Formula: see text]V). SRIM simulation was conducted by varying the thickness of the film, the angle of incidence of ions, and the energy involved in the sputtering process. The characterization of the films has been carried out using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) to comprehend the surface and interface morphologies of the films and to validate the simulated results. With an increase in energy input (target voltage), the sputtering yield increased. The sputtering yield of the Ni target was higher than the Ti target indicating that Ni can be removed relatively easier than Ti.
On PN-groups and the norm of minimal subgroups
Authors: Li Baojun , Zhou Yuzhu , Gong Lü
Published: January 2023

A finite group is called a [Formula: see text]-group if all its minimal subgroups are normal. In this paper, [Formula: see text]-groups were characterized by investigating on the generalized norm of minimal subgroups.
Strategic Environmental Assessment for Low-Carbon Development: A Review and Research Agenda
Authors: Rweyendela Amani George , Pauline Noah Makula , Lema Godwin Adiel
Published: January 2023

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) can support low-carbon development (LCD). However, no empirical review exists to consolidate the existing evidence base and inform practitioners, policymakers and scholars. This paper reviews prior empirical studies on SEA–LCD integration, identifies research gaps and develops a future research agenda. A narrative literature review was employed. Results reveal that only nine studies have been reported to date. They all demonstrate inconsistent and inadequate treatment of LCD. Most studies lack defined theories, focus on Global North countries, ignore SEA’s strategic characteristics and use SEA reports for data. The review culminates in a future research agenda that should lead to novel and significant contributions to the literature. It also highlights policy implications, focussing on the need for (1) high-level policy commitment to address LCD within SEA, (2) operational guidance and legal and regulatory structures to enable practice and (3) policy incentives for conducting, disseminating and applying research.
Buckling of a Stiff Thin Film Embedded Between Two Compliant Substrates
Authors: Yuan Xuebo , Zhao Peizhi , Wang Youshan
Published: January 2023

Layered structures consisting of stiff thin films and compliant matrixes are widely observed in flexible electronics, geology and composite materials. In this work, through analytic modelling and numerical simulations, we investigate the buckling instability of a stiff thin film embedded between two compliant substrates under uniaxial compression. Considering the shear stresses at the film/substrate interfaces and the finite geometry change of the film, the critical compressive strain, buckling wavelength and amplitude of sinusoidal wrinkles are analytically derived by the energy method. The analytic predictions agree well with the results obtained by finite element analysis. The post-buckling morphology may be sinusoidal or multiple-period, depending on the compressive strain and the modulus ratio of two compliant substrates. Our results aid in understanding the buckling of compliant substrate/film/compliant substrate tri-layer structures.
Rock mechanical properties of immature, organic-rich source rocks and their relationships to rock composition and lithofacies
Authors: Abu-Mahfouz Israa S , Iakusheva Regina , Finkbeiner Thomas , Cartwright Joe , Vahrenkamp Volker
Published: January 2023

Mechanical properties of layered rocks are critical in ensuring wellbore integrity and predicting natural fracture occurrence for successful reservoir development, particularly in unconventional reservoirs for which fractures provide the main pathway for hydrocarbon flow. We examine rock mechanical properties of exceptionally organic-rich, immature source rocks from Jordan, and understand their relationships with rock mineral composition and lithofacies variations. Four depositional microfacies were identified: organic-rich mudstone, organic-rich wackestone, silica-rich packstone and fine-grained organic-rich wackestone. The four types exhibit various mineralogical compositions, dominated by carbonates, biogenic quartz and apatite. Leeb hardness ranges between 288 and 654, with the highest average values occurring in silica-rich packstone and organic-rich mudstone. The highest uniaxial compressive strength (derived from the intrinsic specific energy measured using an Epslog Wombat scratch device), and compressional- and shear-wave velocities were measured in organic-rich mudstones (140 MPa, 3368 m s
−1
and 1702 m s
−1
, respectively). Porosity shows higher average values in organic-rich wackestones and fine-grained organic-rich wackestones (33–35%). Silica-rich packstone and organic-rich mudstone have brittle properties, while organic-rich wackestone and fine-grained organic-rich wackestone are ductile. High silica contents are correlated positively with brittleness. A strong hardness–brittleness correlation suggests that Leeb hardness is a useful proxy for brittleness. Our study allows a better understanding of the relationships between lithofacies, organic content and rock mechanical properties, with implications for fracking design to well completion and hydrocarbon production. Further work involving systematic sampling and a more rigorous study is still required to better understand the spatial distribution of target lithologies and their mechanical properties.
Geoheritage of Cajón del Maipo aspiring geopark: inventory, assessment, and opportunities for local development in the Andes of central Chile
Authors: Vergara-Daskam Camilo , Estay-Daskam Cristóbal
Published: January 2023

Cajón del Maipo is a mountainous territory located in the Andes Cordillera of central Chile (
c.
5000 km
2
), 48 km away from Santiago, and is a highly visited tourist destination. It reaches a maximum altitude of 6570 m, and its geology is controlled by the subduction regime between the Nazca and the South American plates. In its rocks, the Andean Tectonic Cycle is recorded, and its geodiversity includes active stratovolcanoes, thermal springs, tectonic structures, glacial and fluvial morphologies, landslides, marine fossils and abandoned mines. The area hosts an important and strained water system, with more than 800 glaciers that supply the city of Santiago with drinking water. This work shows the inventory of geoheritage of Cajon del Maipo, which includes 40 geosites. They were selected and assessed using a quantitative approach in the three main types of use (scientific, educational and touristic), and in their degradation risk. The results are displayed with an innovative synthetic map. Combining statistical quantitative and qualitative analysis, management priorities and opportunities for local development were identified. This inventory must be the framework for developing a geoconservation strategy, and the basis for the application of Cajon del Maipo as a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Examining User Heterogeneity in Digital Experiments
Authors: Somanchi Sriram , Abbasi Ahmed , Kelley Ken , Dobolyi David , Yuan Ted Tao
Published: January 2023

Digital experiments are routinely used to test the value of a treatment relative to a status quo control setting — for instance, a new search relevance algorithm for a website or a new results layout for a mobile app. As digital experiments have become increasingly pervasive in organizations and a wide variety of research areas, their growth has prompted a new set of challenges for experimentation platforms. One challenge is that experiments often focus on the average treatment effect (ATE) without explicitly considering differences across major sub-groups — heterogeneous treatment effect (HTE). This is especially problematic because ATEs have decreased in many organizations as the more obvious benefits have already been realized. However, questions abound regarding the pervasiveness of user HTEs and how best to detect them. We propose a framework for detecting and analyzing user HTEs in digital experiments. Our framework combines an array of user characteristics with double machine learning. Analysis of 27 real-world experiments spanning 1.76 billion sessions and simulated data demonstrates the effectiveness of our detection method relative to existing techniques. We also find that transaction, demographic, engagement, satisfaction, and lifecycle characteristics exhibit statistically significant HTEs in 10% to 20% of our real-world experiments, underscoring the importance of considering user heterogeneity when analyzing experiment results, otherwise personalized features and experiences cannot happen, thus reducing effectiveness. In terms of the number of experiments and user sessions, we are not aware of any study that has examined user HTEs at this scale. Our findings have important implications for information retrieval, user modeling, platforms, and digital experience contexts, in which online experiments are often used to evaluate the effectiveness of design artifacts.
BiLSTM-based Federated Learning Computation Offloading and Resource Allocation Algorithm in MEC
Authors: Zhang Xiangjun , Wu Weiguo , Wang Jinyu , Liu Song
Published: January 2023

Mobile edge computing (MEC) driven by 5G cellular systems has recently emerged as a promising paradigm, enabling mobile devices (MDs) with limited computing resources to offload various computation-intensive tasks (such as autopilot, online game) to edge servers to enhance the data processing capabilities of MDs. However, the uncertainty of wireless channel state and data volume of offloading tasks, as well as the data security privacy of offloading tasks, bring serious challenges to computation offloading in MEC. In this article, we consider a time-varying MEC scenario and formalize the delay and energy consumption during the computation offloading process as a joint optimization problem. Then the optimization problem is decomposed into two sub-problems: intelligent task prediction and resource allocation. Different from traditional methods, we improve the federated learning (FL) algorithm and propose a thoughtful cloud-edge-client FL task prediction mechanism based on Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory. Each participating MD trains the model locally without uploading data to the server, and periodically aggregates the model in the edge and in the cloud. The algorithm both eliminates the need to solve complex optimization problems and ensures user privacy security. Finally, experimental results show that our proposed algorithm significantly outperforms other benchmark algorithms in energy efficiency.
Tolerance Analysis of Cyber-Manufacturing Systems to Cascading Failures
Authors: Fu Xiuwen , Pace Pasquale , Aloi Gianluca , Guerrieri Antonio , Li Wenfeng , Fortino Giancarlo
Published: January 2023

In practical cyber-manufacturing systems (CMS), the node component is the forwarder of information and the provider of services. This dual role makes the whole system have the typical physical-services interaction characteristic, making CMS more vulnerable to cascading failures than general manufacturing systems. In this work, in order to reasonably characterize the cascading process of CMS, we first develop an interdependent network model for CMS from a physical-service networking perspective. On this basis, a realistic cascading failure model for CMS is designed with full consideration of the routing-oriented load distribution characteristics of the physical network and selective load distribution characteristics of the service network. Through extensive experiments, the soundness of the proposed model has been verified and some meaningful findings have been obtained: (1) attacks on the physical network are more likely to trigger cascading failures and may cause more damage; (2) interdependency failures are the main cause of performance degradation in the service network during cascading failures; and (3) isolation failures are the main cause of performance degradation in the physical network during cascading failures. The obtained results can certainly help users to design a more reliable CMS against cascading failures.
State of Practical Applicability of Regression Testing Research: A Live Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Greca Renan , Miranda Breno , Bertolino Antonia
Published: January 2023

Context:
Software regression testing refers to rerunning test cases after the system under test is modified, ascertaining that the changes have not (re-)introduced failures. Not all researchers’ approaches consider applicability and scalability concerns, and not many have produced an impact in practice.
Objective:
One goal is to investigate industrial relevance and applicability of proposed approaches. Another is providing a live review, open to continuous updates by the community.
Method:
A systematic review of regression testing studies that are clearly motivated by or validated against industrial relevance and applicability is conducted. It is complemented by follow-up surveys with authors of the selected papers and 23 practitioners.
Results:
A set of 79 primary studies published between 2016–2022 is collected and classified according to approaches and metrics. Aspects relative to their relevance and impact are discussed, also based on their authors’ feedback. All the data are made available from the live repository that accompanies the study.
Conclusions:
While widely motivated by industrial relevance and applicability, not many approaches are evaluated in industrial or large-scale open-source systems, and even fewer approaches have been adopted in practice. Some challenges hindering the implementation of relevant approaches are synthesized, also based on the practitioners’ feedback.
Design, implementation, and evaluation of Students as Partners interactive feedback model
Authors: Setterington Nicole A. , McLean Sarah , Woods Anita
Published: January 2023

Course feedback surveys at the end of term infrequently result in beneficial change. However, student feedback should be considered to develop meaningful learning. In response to this problem, we report on a novel Students as Partners innovation to address instructional issues in real time with a virtual bulletin board application embedded in the learning management system. Students and instructors valued the system’s ability to close the feedback loop and provide transparent, actionable change.
Prone position decreases acute lung inflammation measured by [11C](R)-PK11195 positron emission tomography in experimental acute respiratory distress syndrome
Authors: Dhelft François , Lancelot Sophie , Mouton William , Le Bars Didier , Costes Nicolas , Roux Emmanuel , Orkisz Maciej , Benzerdjeb Nazim , Richard Jean-Christophe , Bitker Laurent
Published: January 2023

Prone position decreases acute lung macrophage inflammation quantified in vivo with [11C](R)-PK11195 positron emission tomography in an experimental acute respiratory distress syndrome. Regional macrophage inflammation is maximal in the most anterior and posterior lung section of supine animals, in relation with increased regional tidal strain and hyperinflation, and reduced regional lung compliance.
A Single-Layer Circularly Polarized Reflectarray Antenna with High Aperture Efficiency for Microwave Power Transmission
Authors: Zhang Huaiqing , Wang Yuxin , Wang Jiapeng , Xiao Hui , Chen Xing , Wang Xin
Published: January 2023

In this article, a single-layer circularly polarized reflectarray antenna (RA) with a linearly polarized feed is proposed for microwave power transmission. The unit cell of the reflectarray is composed of a rectangular patch surrounded by four groups of E-shaped structures, which feature a very low level of cross-polarization. Simulation results demonstrate that the phase of its reflection coefficient can be tuned continuously in a range of 500° by adjusting the lengths of the E-shaped structures. In response to a normally incident plane wave, the phase values of the reflection coefficient associated with two orthogonal linear polarization directions of the reflected wave can be tuned independently, which makes it possible to convert a linearly polarized incident wave to a circularly polarized beam. A reflectarray with 15 × 15 unit cells is fabricated and tested. The measurement results demonstrate a 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of more than 2 GHz around the center frequency of 5.8 GHz. The measured gain value of the fabricated reflectarray is 25.4 dBi, corresponding to an aperture efficiency of 52.5%.
Authentication and Key Agreement Algorithm for Handover of Next-Generation High-Speed Railway
Authors: Chen Yong , Liu Wen , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2023

In order to solve the problems that the handover key in the handover authentication protocol of 5 G-R wireless communication system under the next-generation high-speed railway does not have forward security and authentication efficiency is low, a novel 5 G-R handover authentication and key agreement algorithm is proposed. First, the authentication information is used to replace the identity information in the handover request message, which overcomes the shortcomings of the clear text transmission of the identity information. Second, a handover key update strategy based on lattice theory is designed. The dynamic update and forward and backward security of the handover key are realized by using the feature function and the auxiliary module function on the lattice. Third, the message authentication code is added to realize mutual authentication between communication parties, which can effectively prevent replay, the man in the middle, and other malicious attacks. Finally, the strand space formalization method is used for security verification. The results show that the proposed method not only has higher security and efficiency than other comparison methods but also can meet the high-security requirements of the next-generation 5 G-R handover authentication.
Drinking Water Sources along the Banks of Buriganga River of Bangladesh are Polluted and Possess Serious Health Risks: A Comprehensive In Vivo Analysis
Authors: Ghosh Banna , Rahman Muhammed Mahfuzur , Saha Tanoy , Hossain Md. Jamal , Alam Safaet , Al-Aman D. A. Anwar , Kayser Md. Shahidulla , Islam Md. Shariful , Islam Md. Kamrul , Singh Amit , Ahmed Tufael
Published: January 2023

Background. The river Buriganga, one of the major dumping zones of industrial wastes in Bangladesh, is responsible for contaminating the drinking water sources along its length. This study aimed to assess the water quality from these sources by monitoring the changes in hematological, biochemical, and histological parameters caused in healthy rats due to their consumption. Methods. Using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an anticoagulant agent, hematological and biochemical analyses of Sprague–Dawley rat models were executed in this study. Following blood sampling, the rats were sacrificed, and the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and spleen were separated to carry out the histological analysis. Later, to perform the statistical analysis, SPSS, V.25.0 was utilized. Results. A significant rise (

p
<
0.02

) in body weight was recorded due to increased protein synthesis, inflammations; increased lymphocyte, white blood cell (WBC), and neutrophil count but hemoglobin (20.0 ± 1.39 g/dL vs. 15.25 ± 0.36 g/dL; p) and red blood cell (RBC) count ((6.24 ± 0.45) × 106/µL vs. (5.47 ± 0.34) × 106/µL)) decreased due to infections and hematopoietic stem cell poisoning by pathogens in water samples. Elevated (

p
<
0.01

) serum urea, creatinine, alanine, and aspartate aminotransferase levels indicated kidney malfunction and hepatic tissue necrosis. Histological analysis revealed gross lesions, internal hemorrhages in the brain; inflammations, granulomas, migrating macrophages in the spleen; fibrosis (resulting in hypo-perfusion), and collagen formation in cardiac muscles. Conclusions. The findings in this study provide comprehensive evidence, based on in vivo analysis, that the water bodies around the Buriganga river are likely to be contaminated with toxic chemicals and microbial entities making them unfit for human consumption.
Network Pharmacological Analysis and Animal Experimental Study on Osteoporosis Treatment with GuBen‐ZengGu Granules
Authors: Wang Kai , Fan Kai , Wen Hao-Nan , Hai Yun-Xiang , Gong Yan-Long , Song Zhi-Jing , Dong Wan-Tao , Jiang Yi-Wei , Song Min
Published: January 2023

Aim. We explored the molecular pathway and material basis of GuBen‐ZengGu granules (GBZGG) in treating osteoporosis using network pharmacology and animal experiments. Methods. The effective active components and potential targets of GBZGG were obtained from the TCMSP database and BATMAN‐TCM database. Disease‐related genes were obtained from GeneCard, NCBI, and DisGeNET. Next, a protein interaction network was established using the STRING database, and core genes were screened using the MCODE module. Cytoscape 3.8.0 was used to construct the network of component‐disease‐pathway‐target, and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed using the clusterProfiler R package to predict the mechanism of GBZGG in treating osteoporosis. An osteoporosis rat model was established by ovarian excision (OVX), and the partial results of network pharmacology were experimentally verified. Results. Pharmacodynamic results showed that GBZGG increased bone mineral density (BMD) and significantly improved the indexes of femur microstructure in model rats. The network pharmacology results showed that quercetin, luteolin, stigmasterol, angelicin, kaempferol, bakuchiol, bakuchiol, 7‐O‐methylisomucronulatum, isorhamnetin, formononetin, and beta‐sitosterol are the major components of GBZGG, with MAPK1, AKT1, JUN, HSP90AA1, RELA, MAPK14, ESR1, RXRA, FOS, MAPK8, NCOA1, MYC, and IL‐6 as its core targets for treating osteoporosis. Biological effects could be exerted by regulating the signaling pathways of fluid shear stress and the signaling pathways of atherosclerosis, advanced glycation end products (AGE‐RAGE) of diabetic complications, prostate cancer, interleukin (IL‐17), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), hepatitis B, mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK), etc. The results of animal experiments showed that GBZGG could reduce the serum levels of IL‐6 and TNF‐α, increase the expression of bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (BMP‐2) and runt‐related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) protein, and inhibit the activity of extracellular‐regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2) and phosphorylation ERK1/2 (p‐ERK1/2) protein. Conclusion. GBZGG reduces the expression of ERK1/2 and p‐ERK1/2 proteins and mRNAs through the inhibitory effects on IL‐6 and TNF‐α and negatively regulates the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. The osteoporosis model showed that it effectively improved the loss of bone mass and destruction of bone microstructure in rats and maintained a positive balance for bone metabolism.
Novel Algorithm for Improving Tracking Accuracy of Open-Loop Mobile Sun-Tracking System via Different Timing Control Scheme
Authors: Lai An-Chow , Ho Ming-Cheng , Chong Kok-Keong , Tan Ming-Hui , Lim Boon-Han , Kurniawan Tonni Agustiono
Published: January 2023

This paper proposes a mobile sun-tracking (MST) system to track the sun on the moving vehicle. We have developed a novel MST algorithm using general sun-tracking formulas associated with simple-moving average linear regression (SMALR) to smoothen sun-tracking activity. Furthermore, two different timing control schemes to activate sun tracking are investigated: time lapse (TL) mode and azimuth actuation (AA) mode. For experimental validation, a prototype of MST has been constructed on a small truck moving at constant speed of 30 km/h for field measurements. For the result, AA mode has average pointing error of 110 mrad for the open-loop tracking design (13% better than that of TL mode), which is still far below the half acceptance angle of compound parabolic concentrator at 659 mrad. Since there is no feedback sensor to be implemented in this prototype, optical encoders and CCD camera can be employed in the future work to further reduce the pointing error of MST system.
A Novel Nomogram Combined the Aggregate Index of Systemic Inflammation and PIRADS Score to Predict the Risk of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer
Authors: Xie Wenliang , Xu Zifan , Qiu Yifan , Ye Wei , Zhang Zhiyu , Wang Chao , Zang Jin
Published: January 2023

Background. This study is aimed at constructing a nomogram to predict the risk of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) based on the aggregate index of systemic inflammation (AISI) and prostate imaging‐reporting and data system version (PIRADS) score. Methods. Clinical data on patients who had undergone initial prostate biopsy from January 2019 to December 2021 were collected. Patients were randomized in a 7 : 3 ratio to the training cohort and the validation cohort. Potential risk factors for csPCa were identified by univariable and multivariate logistic regression. Nomogram was conducted with these independent risk factors, and calibration curves, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and decision curve analysis (DCA) were employed to assess the nomogram’s ability for prediction. Results. A total of 1219 patients were enrolled in this study. Multivariate logistic regression identified that age, AISI, total prostatic specific‐antigen (tPSA), free to total PSA (f/tPSA), prostate volume (PV), and PIRADS score were potential risk predictors of csPCa, and the nomogram was developed based on these factors. The area under the curve (AUC) of the training cohort and validation cohort was 0.884 (95% CI: 0.862‐0.906) and 0.899 (95% CI: 0.867‐0.931). The calibration curves showed that the apparent curves were closer to the ideal curves. The DCA results revealed that the nomogram model seemed to have clinical application value per DCA. Conclusion. The nomogram model can efficiently predict the risk of csPCa and may assist clinicians in determining if a prostate biopsy is necessary.
Prevalence and Influencing Factors of Food Allergy in Global Context: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Feng Hua , Xiong Xiujuan , Chen Zhuo , Xu Qunying , Zhang Zhongwei , Luo Nan , Wu Yongning
Published: January 2023

Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and influencing factors of food allergy (FA) in different regions and populations. Methods: The studies from January 2011 to December 2021 were searched through PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases. The prevalence of FA was evaluated by calculating the pooled effect estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The odds ratio (OR) value was used to investigate the influencing factors of FA. Heterogeneity analysis among studies was performed using I2 analysis. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the stability of the results, and Begg’s test was used to assess publication bias. Results: A total of 105 published articles, including 3,318,608 participants, were involved in this study. The result indicated that the overall FA prevalence was 4.3% (95% CI: 0.038–0.047). The prevalence of FA was 4.2% in Asia (95% CI: 0.033–0.051), 3.2% in America (95% CI: 0.024–0.041), 4.8% in Europe (95% CI: 0.037–0.060), 1.6% in Africa (95% CI: 0.008–0.026), and 7.5% in Oceania (95% CI: 0.052–0.102). Milk (prevalence: 1.1%, 95% CI: 0.009–0.013) and egg (prevalence: 1.1%, 95% CI: 0.008–0.014) were the most common type of FAs. Male (OR: 1.289, 95% CI: 1.001–1.659), antibiotics exposure during pregnancy (OR: 1.221, 95% CI: 1.162–1.284), breastfeeding (OR: 1.349, 95% CI: 1.011–1.799), asthma (OR: 1.794, 95% CI: 1.443–2.230), eczema (OR: 5.121, 95% CI: 3.575–7.334), family history of atopic disease (OR: 1.893, 95% CI: 1.313–2.730), family history of FAs (OR: 2.096, 95% CI: 1.686–2.594), family history of atopic dermatitis (OR: 1.954, 95% CI: 1.645–2.322), family history of asthma (OR: 1.516, 95% CI: 1.370–1.678), and family history of allergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis (OR: 1.287, 95% CI: 1.191–1.392) increased the risk of FA. Conclusion: There were geographical differences in the prevalence of FA. Identification and nursing of FA high-risk populations should be strengthened to improve the quality of life.
Middle Ear Implant Usage Restores Subjective Listening Effort toward Normal in Complex Acoustic Scenes
Authors: Hollfelder Daniela , Prein Lukas , Leichtle Anke , Bruchhage Karl-Ludwig , Jürgens Tim
Published: January 2023

Introduction: The amount of listening effort needed to understand speech in every-day life is an important outcome measure of the effectiveness of a hearing device. The main goal of this study was to assess subjective listening effort in patients implanted with an active middle ear implant Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) with and without using their speech processor in complex acoustic scenarios. Methods: Ten VSB users were measured using the adaptive categorical listening effort scaling (ACALES) method in four different acoustic scenarios, realized using a multichannel loudspeaker array. The four acoustic scenarios included both spatially simple and complex speech and noise arrangements that realistically simulated challenging every-day listening situations. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were adaptively varied during the measurement. Twelve normal-hearing (NH) listeners performed the same experiment as a control group. Results: Listening effort was significantly reduced in all tested acoustic scenarios when participants used their VSB. When using the VSB, SNRs corresponding to mild-to-moderate listening effort were found not to be statistically different from SNRs found in the NH control group. SNRs corresponding to extreme listening effort of VSB users approached NH values, indicating partial restoration of listening effort. Discussion and Conclusions: Usage of the middle ear implant VSB was found to restore subjective listening effort to normal at high SNRs completely, and at lower SNRs partially. The remaining gap at low SNRs may be due to lower effectiveness of signal processing at high noise levels or due to the microphone location effect.
Structural Correlates of Lifetime Voice-Hearing in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Pilot Study
Authors: Kubera Katharina M. , Schmitgen Mike M. , Hildebrandt Viviane , Neukel Corinne , Otte Marie-Luise , Sicorello Maurizio , Steinmann Sylvia , Herpertz Sabine C. , Wolf Robert Christian
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are transdiagnostic phenomena that can occur in several mental disorders, including borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite the transdiagnostic relevance of these symptoms, very little is known about neural signatures of AVH in BPD. Methods: We used structural magnetic resonance imaging to investigate multiple markers of brain morphology in BPD patients presenting with a lifetime history of AVH (AVH, n = 6) versus BPD patients without AVH (nAVH, n = 10) and healthy controls (HC, n = 12). The Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12) was used for surface-based morphometric analyses that considered cortical thickness (CTh), gyrification (CG), and complexity of cortical folding (CCF). Factorial models were used to explore differences between AVH patients and HC, as well as between the patient groups. Results: Compared to HC, AVH patients showed distinct abnormalities in key regions of the language network, i.e., aberrant CTh and CG in right superior temporal gyrus and abnormal CCF in left inferior frontal gyrus. Further abnormalities were found in right prefrontal cortex (CTh) and left orbitofrontal cortex (CCF). Compared to nAVH patients, individuals with AVH showed abnormal CTh in right prefrontal cortex, along with CCF differences in right transverse temporal, superior parietal, and parahippocampal gyri. CG differences between the patient groups were found in left orbitofrontal cortex. Conclusion: The data suggest a transdiagnostic neural signature of voice-hearing that converges on key regions involved in speech generation and perception, memory and executive control. It is possible that cortical features of distinct evolutionary and genetic origin, i.e., CTh and CG/CCF, differently contribute to AVH vulnerability in BPD.
Higher Serum Magnesium Is a Survival Advantage in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Yu Ling , Zu Yuan , Lu Jian , Li Han , Wang Shixiang
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Elevated serum magnesium is common and associated with survival in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients by observational studies. However, the results of these studies were underpowered and inconclusive. This work was designed to explore the predictive value of serum magnesium on the mortality of patients with MHD. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed mortality rates in 267 patients with MHD. The collected parameters included anthropometrics and laboratory parameters. Serum magnesium included baseline serum magnesium (BS-Mg) and average serum magnesium (AS-Mg). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were applied to identify the predictive value of serum magnesium on patient mortality. Results: During the 64-month follow-up period, 121 (45.3%) all-cause and 75 (28.1%) cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths were recorded. The predictability of death of AS-Mg yielded results similar to those of serum albumin, secondary only to age, and superior to those of the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), BS-Mg, by ROC curves. There were significant differences in all-cause and CVD mortality between the four groups (by quartile). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses revealed that the lowest 25th percentile had the poorest prognosis for both all-cause mortality (p < 0.001) and CVD mortality (p = 0.011). Finally, multivariate Cox proportional hazards models showed that increased age, increased Hs-CRP, decreased serum albumin, and AS-Mg were independent predictors of all-cause and CVD mortality. The hazard ratios of AS-Mg (per 0.01 mmol/L) were 0.925 (95% confidence interval, 0.884–0.968, p = 0.001) for all-cause mortality and 0.976 (95% confidence interval, 0.954–0.999, p = 0.040) for CVD mortality. Conclusion: AS-Mg was a good indicator for assessing all-cause and CVD mortality in patients with MHD in China. Higher serum magnesium had a survival advantage. Further studies with larger sample sizes should be needed to clarify the best reference value for maximizing the beneficial effects of magnesium.