bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gut Microbiota in Colorectal Cancer: Associations, Mechanisms, and Clinical Approaches
Authors: Pleguezuelos-Manzano Cayetano , Puschhof Jens , Clevers Hans
Published: December 2021

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with the presence of particular gut microbes, as observed in many metagenomic studies to date. However, in most cases, it remains difficult to disentangle their active contribution to CRC from just a bystander role. This review focuses on the mechanisms described to date by which the CRC-associated microbiota could contribute to CRC. Bacteria like pks+ Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium nucleatum, or enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis have been shown to induce mutagenesis, alter host epithelial signaling pathways, or reshape the tumor immune landscape in several experimental systems. The mechanistic roles of other bacteria, as well as newly identified fungi and viruses that are enriched in CRC, are only starting to be elucidated. Additionally, novel systems like organoids and organs-on-a-chip are emerging as powerful tools to study the direct effect of gut microbiota on healthy or tumor intestinal epithelium. Thus, the expanding knowledge of tumor-microbiota interactions holds promise for improved diagnosis and treatment of CRC.
Podcasts of Note - Winter 2021
Authors: Suroviec Alice H.
Published: December 2021

Podcasts of Note suggested for you by Alice Suroviec
2021 Edward G. Weston Fellowship - Summary Report: Layered Sodium Manganese Oxide as a Versatile Battery Cathode for Insertion of Monovalent Ions (Li+, Na+, and K+) in Non-aqueous Electrolytes
Authors: Sada Krishnakanth
Published: December 2021

The transition from fossil fuels to carbon-free forms of renewable energy has become a spotlight with the revolutionary emergence of efficient electrochemical energy storage systems. It enables us to realize electric mobility empowered by Li-ion battery technology. Nevertheless, for the past three decades, the development of battery technology has been very sluggish, and it warrants new strategies to meet the growing demand for high energy density. In this spirit, we are working to develop versatile battery cathodes, which can be used for electrochemical and electrocatalytic applications.
2021 Joseph W. Richards Fellowship – Summary Report: Toward On-Chip Electronic Monitoring of Bacterial Conjugation
Authors: Butler Derrick
Published: December 2021

Intercellular conjugation is a primary communication method by which bacteria transfer genetic material from one cell to another. Because conjugation mediates the transfer of genetic material, it enables the spread of antibiotic resistance and other virulence factors within a population. Current techniques for its study have low throughput and require extensive sample preparation, making real-time monitoring of conjugation dynamics challenging.To address these shortcomings, we are exploring two-dimensional (2D) materials as a strain-sensitive platform for on-chip, electronic monitoring of conjugation events.
Clustering analysis of movement kinematics in reinforcement learning
Authors: Sidarta Ananda , Komar John , Ostry David J.
Published: December 2021

The choice of exploration versus exploitation is a fundamental problem in learning new motor skills through reinforcement. In this study, we employed a data-driven approach to characterize movements on a trial-by-trial basis with an unsupervised clustering algorithm. Using this technique, we found that changes in task demands and, in particular, in the required accuracy of movements, influenced the ratio of exploration to exploitation. This analysis framework provides an attractive tool to investigate mechanisms of explorative and exploitative behavior while studying motor learning.
Profiling Parkinson’s disease cognitive phenotypes via resting-state magnetoencephalography
Authors: Simon Olivier B. , Rojas Donald C. , Ghosh Debashis , Yang Xinyi , Rogers Sarah E. , Martin Christine S. , Holden Samantha K. , Kluger Benzi M. , Buard Isabelle
Published: December 2021

Can we better stage cognitive decline in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD)? Here, we provide evidence that mild cognitive impairment, rather than being simply a milder form of dementia, may be a qualitatively distinct phase in its development. We suggest that the most dramatic neurophysiological changes may occur during the time the PD brain transitions from normal cognition to MCI, then compensatory changes further occur as the brain “switches” to a dementia state.
Cortical mu rhythms during action and passive music listening
Authors: Ross Jessica M. , Comstock Daniel C. , Iversen John R. , Makeig Scott , Balasubramaniam Ramesh
Published: December 2021

We are the first to report music-related mu enhancement in the absence of overt movements and the first to source-resolve mu activity during music listening. We suggest that music-related mu modulation reflects overt motor inhibition during passive music listening. This work is relevant for the development of theories relating to the involvement of covert motor system activity for predictive beat perception.
Decoupling countermands nonselective response inhibition during selective stopping
Authors: Wadsley Corey G. , Cirillo John , Nieuwenhuys Arne , Byblow Winston D.
Published: December 2021

Humans rely on their ability to stop preplanned or ongoing movements. The present study identified neural signatures of response preparation and inhibition from electroencephalography during selective stopping of coupled and decoupled bimanual responses. Stopping was more selective for decoupled compared with coupled responses and supported by lateralization of sensorimotor mu and beta power during response preparation. These findings demonstrate that decoupling may have functional significance for understanding cognitive control in the form of selective stopping.
Research on Crystal Structure and Fungicidal Activity of the Amide Derivatives Based on the Natural Products Sinapic Acid and Mycophenolic Acid
Authors: Chen Zhanfang , Fang Hongbin , Hua Xuewen , Liu Wenrui , Liu Yi , Xue Chenmeng , Wang Bingxiang , Bazhanau Dzmitry , Zhu Xiaohe , Yuan Man , Ru Jing , Chu Pengfei
Published: December 2021

Structural optimization based on natural products is an important and effective way to discover new green pesticides. Here, two series of amide derivatives based on sinapic acid and mycophenolic acid were designed in combination with the fungicidal natural product piperlongumine and synthesized by preparing the carboxylic acid into acyl chloride and then reacting with the corresponding aromatic amines, respectively. The resulting structures were successively characterized by 1H NMR, 13 C NMR, and HRMS. The crystal structures of molecules I-4 and II-5 were analyzed for structure validation. The in vitro inhibitory activity indicated that most of the target products exhibited fungicidal activity equivalent to or even better than fluopyram against Physalospora piricola. The in vivo fungicidal activity demonstrated that the compounds I-5 and II-4 displayed almost the same preventative activity as carbendazim and fluopyram at 200 μg mL−1. The TEM observation revealed that the fungicidal activity of the target molecules against Physalospora piricola may be due to the influence on the mitochondria in the cell structure. These results will provide valuable theoretical guidance for developing the new green fungicides.
[Retracted] Machine Learning of Medical Applications Involving Complicated Proteins and Genetic Measurements
Authors: Bader Alazzam Malik , Mansour Hoda , Hammam Mohamed M. , Alsheikh Said , Bakir Ali , Alghamdi Saeed , AlGhamdi Ahmed S.
Published: December 2021

Motivations. Breast cancer is the second greatest cause of cancer mortality among women, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and one of the most frequent illnesses among all women today. The influence is not confined to industrialized nations but also includes emerging countries since the authors believe that increased urbanization and adoption of Western lifestyles will lead to a rise in illness prevalence. Problem Statement. The breast cancer has become one of the deadliest diseases that women are presently facing. However, the causes of this disease are numerous and cannot be properly established. However, there is a huge difficulty in not accurately recognizing breast cancer in its early stages or prolonging the detection process. Methodology. In this research, machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence that employs a variety of probabilistic, optimization, and statistical approaches to enable computers to learn from past data and find and recognize patterns from large or complicated groups. The advantage is particularly well suited to medical applications, particularly those involving complicated proteins and genetic measurements. Result and Implications. However, when using the PCA method to reduce the features, the detection accuracy dropped to 89.9%. IG‐ANFIS gave us detection accuracy (98.24%) by reducing the number of variables using the “information gain” method. While the ANFIS algorithm had a detection accuracy of 59.9% without utilizing features, J48, which is one of the decision tree approaches, had a detection accuracy of 92.86% without using features extraction methods. When applying PCA techniques to minimize features, the detection accuracy was lowered to the same way (91.1%) as the Naive Bayes detection algorithm (96.4%).
A Virtual Machine Migration Strategy Based on the Relevance of Services against Side-Channel Attacks
Authors: Chen Ji-Ming , Chen Shi , Wang Xiang , Lin Lin , Wang Li
Published: December 2021

With the rapid development of Internet of Things technology, a large amount of user information needs to be uploaded to the cloud server for computing and storage. Side-channel attacks steal the private information of other virtual machines by coresident virtual machines to bring huge security threats to edge computing. Virtual machine migration technology is currently the main way to defend against side-channel attacks. VM migration can effectively prevent attackers from realizing coresident virtual machines, thereby ensuring data security and privacy protection of edge computing based on the Internet of Things. This paper considers the relevance between application services and proposes a VM migration strategy based on service correlation. This strategy defines service relevance factors to quantify the degree of service relevance, build VM migration groups through service relevance factors, and effectively reduce communication overhead between servers during migration, design and implement the VM memory migration based on the post-copy method, effectively reduce the occurrence of page fault interruption, and improve the efficiency of VM migration.
ELK1 Promotes Epithelial‐Mesenchymal Transition and the Progression of Lung Adenocarcinoma by Upregulating B7‐H3
Authors: Yu Ting-ting , Zhang Tao , Su Fei , Li Ying-long , Shan Li , Hou Xiao-ming , Wang Ruo-zheng
Published: December 2021

In previous studies, we found that B7 homolog 3 (B7‐H3) was highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and promoted epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) of LUAD cells. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear. This study is aimed at evaluating the role of Ets‐like protein 1 (ELK1) as a transcriptional regulator of B7‐H3 for mediating the development and progression of LUAD in vitro and in vivo. We confirmed that ELK1 is highly expressed in LUAD and is associated with poor patient prognosis. ELK1 was found to promote proliferation, invasion, migration, and EMT of LUAD cells through in vivo and in vitro experiments. In terms of mechanism, ELK1 binds to the B7‐H3 promoter region and induces the upregulation of B7‐H3 in LUAD. Our data suggest that ELK1 plays an important role in the development of LUAD and could be used as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for LUAD.
PTHR1 Genetic Polymorphisms Are Associated with Osteoporosis among Postmenopausal Arab Women
Authors: Abdi Saba , Almiman Abeer Abdulaziz , Ansari Mohammed Ghouse Ahmed , Alnaami Abdullah M. , Mohammed Abdul Khader , Aljohani Naji J. , Alenad Amal , Alghamdi Amani , Alokail Majed S. , Al-Daghri Nasser M.
Published: December 2021

The parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTHR1) plays a crucial role in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism. However, its genetic role in regulating bone turnover markers (BTMs) in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) remains unclear. Herein, we explored parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTHR gene variant susceptibility to osteoporosis and their association with various circulating BTM and inflammatory markers in postmenopausal women of Arab ethnicity. In total, 600 postmenopausal Arab women (300‐PMO and 300‐control) were genotyped for selected SNPs in PTH (rs1459015, rs307253, rs6054, rs307247, rs10500783 and rs10500784), PTHR1 (rs6442037, rs1138518, and rs724449 SNPs) and PTHR2 (rs9288393, rs10497900, and rs897083). Anthropometrics, BTMs, and inflammatory markers were measured. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at the lumbar spine L1–L4 and the femoral neck using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA). PTHR1 rs1138518 genotype C/T was found to be a significant risk factor for PMO (OR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.0‐2.1, P = 0.03). The genotypes C/T and T/T of PTHR1 rs1138518 were associated with 25‐hydroxy‐vitamin D (25(OH)D) regulation. In the PMO group, carriers of the C/T genotype had significantly lower 25(OH)D levels than carriers of the same genotypes in the control group (59.9 (36.7‐92.4) nmol/l and 66.4 (43.5‐87.8) nmol/l, respectively; P = 0.048]. Our study concludes that the PTHR1 rs1138518 genotype could be a potential risk factor for osteoporosis and 25(OH)D regulation in Arab women with PMO.
Addison’s Disease Presenting as Acute Renal Failure and Hyperkalemic Paralysis: A Rare Presentation
Authors: Jana Kundan , Janga Kalyana , Greenberg Sheldon , Gulati Amit
Published: December 2021

Hyperkalemic paralysis in the setting of acute renal failure can lead to a missed or delayed diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency as the raised potassium can be attributed to the renal failure. Acute kidney injury as the presenting manifestation in an adrenal crisis due to Addison’s disease has been rarely reported in the literature. Here, we present the case of a young 37-year-old male who came with hyperkalemic paralysis and acute renal failure needing emergent hemodialysis. He had no past medical history and no medication history. His hyponatremia, hypotension, and hyperkalemia pointed to a picture of adrenal insufficiency confirmed by undetectable serum cortisol, elevated ACTH, renin, and low aldosterone levels and imaging. Replacement steroid therapy was given, and the patient made a steady recovery. He was advised on the importance of compliance to treatment at discharge to prevent another crisis event. Acute renal failure with hyperkalemia as a presenting manifestation of Addison’s disease can be very misleading. It is especially important to be vigilant of adrenal insufficiency in such patients as the hyperkalemia is resistant to standard therapy of insulin dextrose and can precipitate fatal arrhythmia if treatment is delayed.
An Automatic Detection by Classification of Cracked Pixels or Noncracked Pixels in Road Surface
Authors: Taifi Khaddouj , Taifi Naima , Azougaghe Es-said , Safi Said
Published: December 2021

Automatic detection and monitoring of the condition of cracks in the road surface are essential elements to ensure road safety and quality of service. A crack detection method based on wavelet transforms (2D-DWT) and Jerman enhancement filter is used. This paper presents different contributions corresponding to the three phases of the proposed system. The first phase presents the contrast enhancement technique to improve the quality of roads surface image. The second phase proposes an effective detection algorithm using discrete wavelet (2D-DWT) with “db8” and two-level sub-band decomposition. Finally, in the third phase, the Jerman enhancement filter is usually used with different parameters of the control response uniformity “

τ

” to enhance for cracks detection. The experimental results in this article provide very powerful results and the comparisons with five existing methods show the effectiveness of the proposed technique to validate the recognition of surface cracks.
Analysis of KRAS Mutation Status Prediction Model for Colorectal Cancer Based on Medical Imaging
Authors: Ren Zhen , Che Jin , Wu Xiao Wei , Xia Jun
Published: December 2021

This study retrospectively included some patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed by histopathology, to explore the feasibility of CT medical image texture analysis in predicting KRAS gene mutations in patients with colorectal cancer. Before any surgical procedure, all patients received an enhanced CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis, as well as genetic testing. To define patient groups, divide all patients into test and validation sets based on the order of patient enrollment. A radiologist took a look at the plain axial CT image of the tumor, as well as the portal vein CT image, at the corresponding level. The physician points the computer’s cursor to the relevant area in the image, and TexRAD software programs together texture parameters based on various spatial scale factors, also known as total mean, total variance, statistical entropy, overall total average, mean total, positive mean, skewness value, kurtosis value, and general skewness. Using the same method again two weeks later, the observer and another physician measured the image of each patient again to see if the method was consistent between observers. With regard to clinical information, the KRAS gene mutation group and the wild group of participants in the test set and validation set each had values for the texture parameter. In a study of patients with colorectal cancer, the results demonstrated that CT texture parameters were correlated with the presence of the KRAS gene mutation. The best CT prediction model includes the values of the medium texture image’s slope and the other CT fine texture image’s value of entropy, the medium texture image’s slope and kurtosis, and the medium texture image’s mean and the other CT fine texture image’s value of entropy. Regardless of the training set or the validation set, patients with and without KRAS gene mutations did not differ significantly in clinical characteristics. This method can be used to identify mutations in the KRAS gene in patients with colorectal cancer, making it practical to implement CT medical image texture analysis technology for that purpose.
[Retracted] Vision Sensor‐Based Real‐Time Fire Detection in Resource‐Constrained IoT Environments
Authors: Yar Hikmat , Hussain Tanveer , Khan Zulfiqar Ahmad , Koundal Deepika , Lee Mi Young , Baik Sung Wook
Published: December 2021

Fire detection and management is very important to prevent social, ecological, and economic damages. However, achieving real‐time fire detection with higher accuracy in an IoT environment is a challenging task due to limited storage, transmission, and computation resources. To overcome these challenges, early fire detection and automatic response are very significant. Therefore, we develop a novel framework based on a lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN), requiring less training time, and it is applicable over resource‐constrained devices. The internal architecture of the proposed model is inspired by the block‐wise VGG16 architecture with a significantly reduced number of parameters, input size, inference time, and comparatively higher accuracy for early fire detection. In the proposed model, small‐size uniform convolutional filters are employed that are specifically designed to capture fine details of input fire images with a sequentially increasing number of channels to aid effective feature extraction. The proposed model is evaluated on two datasets such as a benchmark Foggia’s dataset and our newly created small‐scaled fire detection dataset with extremely challenging real‐world images containing a high‐level of diversity. Experimental results conducted on both datasets reveal the better performance of the proposed model compared to state‐of‐the‐art in terms of accuracy, false‐positive rate, model size, and running time, which indicates its robustness and feasible installation in real‐world scenarios.
Towards Understanding the Usability Attributes of AI-Enabled eHealth Mobile Applications
Authors: Alzahrani Adel Saeed , Gay Valerie , Alturki Ryan , AlGhamdi Mohammad J
Published: December 2021

Mobile application (app) use is increasingly becoming an essential part of our daily lives. Due to their significant usefulness, people rely on them to perform multiple tasks seamlessly in almost all aspects of everyday life. Similarly, there has been immense progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, especially deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and robotics. These technologies are now actively being implemented in smartphone apps and healthcare, providing multiple healthcare services. However, several factors affect the usefulness of mobile healthcare apps, and usability is an important one. There are various healthcare apps developed for each specific task, and the success of these apps depends on their performance. This study presents a systematic review of the existing apps and discusses their usability attributes. It highlights the usability models, outlines, and guidelines proposed in previous research for designing apps with improved usability characteristics. Thirty-nine research articles were reviewed and examined to identify the usability attributes, framework, and app design conducted. The results showed that satisfaction, efficiency, and learnability are the most important usability attributes to consider when designing eHealth mobile apps. Surprisingly, other significant attributes for healthcare apps, such as privacy and security, were not among the most indicated attributes in the studies.
Spatial Property of Optical Wave Propagation through Anisotropic Atmospheric Turbulence
Authors: Guan Bing , Yu Haiyang , Song Wei , Choi Jaeho
Published: December 2021

For the free‐space optical (FSO) communication system, the spatial coherence of a laser beam is influenced obviously as it propagates through the atmosphere. This loss of spatial coherence limits the degree to which the laser beam is collimated or focused, resulting in a significant decrease in the power level of optical communication and radar systems. In this work, the analytic expressions of wave structure function for plane and spherical wave propagation through anisotropic non‐Kolmogorov turbulence in a horizontal path are derived. Moreover, the new expressions for spatial coherence radius are obtained considering different scales of atmospheric turbulence. Using the newly obtained expressions for the spatial coherent radius, the effects of the inner scales and the outer scales of the turbulence, the power law exponent, and the anisotropic factor are analyzed. The analytical simulation results show that the wave structure functions are greatly influenced by the power law exponent α, the anisotropic factor ζ, the turbulence strength , and the turbulence scales. Moreover, the spatial coherence radiuses are also significantly affected by the anisotropic factor ζ and the turbulence strength , while they are gently influenced by the power law exponent α and the inner scales of the optical waves.
Collaborative Vehicle Routing Problem in the Urban Ring Logistics Network under the COVID-19 Epidemic
Authors: Zheng Wenjia , Wang Zhongyu , Sun Liucheng
Published: December 2021

This paper explored the problem of collaborative vehicle routing in the urban ring logistics network (Co-VRP-URLN) during the COVID-19 epidemic. According to the characteristics of urban distribution and the restriction of traffic all over China during this period, this study mainly considers a common distribution mode of order exchange through the outer ring of the city and then solves the vehicle routing problem of distribution, which belongs to a special multidepot vehicle routing problem with time windows. According to the definition of the problem, the corresponding mixed-integer programming problem of multicommodity flow is established, and the variable neighborhood search algorithm is designed in detail to solve it. The effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by a standard example, and the benefits of joint distribution are revealed through the improved standard example. At last, the influence of different distribution centers is compared. The results show that this model can significantly improve the distribution efficiency within the city under the restriction of traffic.
Comparison of T2 Weighted, Fat‐Suppressed T2 Weighted, and Three‐Dimensional (3D) Fast Imaging Employing Steady‐State Acquisition (FIESTA‐C) Sequences in the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Evaluation
Authors: Aksoy Secil , Orhan Kaan
Published: December 2021

Aim. Osteonecrosis can affect the mandibular condyle, and bone marrow edema may be a precursor in osteonecrosis development in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. Early detection of bone marrow changes is crucial for occurring osteonecrosis. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of fast spin‐echo T2 weighted (FSE‐T2W), fat‐suppressed T2W (FS‐T2W), and three‐dimensional (3D) fast imaging employing steady‐state acquisition (FIESTA‐C) MR sequences for early detection of bone marrow changes as well as TMJ soft tissue alterations. Methods. A total of 60 joints with TMD were included in this study using a 1.5T MR machine (Signa HDxt, GE, Milwaukee, USA) using a dual surface TMJ coil. Qualitatively, the images were interpreted by two observers for disk configuration, disk position, joint fluid, and bone marrow changes. Quantitatively, signal intensity ratios (SIR) in the TMJ condyle, retrodiscal tissue, disk, and muscle were also measured using all tested sequences. Kappa coefficients were calculated to assess both intra‐ and interobserver agreements for each image set. The SIR of each sequence was compared using a one‐way ANOVA Bonferroni‐Dunn test. Results. Overall intraobserver kappa coefficients ranged between 0.35 and 0.88 for joint fluid and between 0.22 and 0.82 for bone marrow changes diagnosis, suggesting high intraobserver agreement for FS‐T2W and 3D FIESTA‐C sequences than FSE T2W sequence (p < 0.05). 3D FIESTA‐C showed higher agreement values for disk configuration and position detection than other sequences. Conclusions. 3D FIESTA‐C sequences can be used and incorporated into routine MRI protocols for obtaining high‐resolution TMJ MR images due to the short acquisition time and 3D nature of the sequence. Additional studies should be done for dynamic TMJ imaging with this sequence.
Internet of Things (IoT) Technology for the Development of Intelligent Decision Support Education Platform
Authors: Liu Jinhua , Wang Caiping , Xiao Xianchun
Published: December 2021

Improving the intelligence of teaching environment and making the multimedia teaching equipment has become a major concern of the colleges and universities. To this end, the design of Internet of Things (IoT) technology based wisdom of higher education platform is of great interest. Designing the structure of online management platform for college education and realizing the functions of examination result inquiry, online teaching, and attendance management have gained more importance in the educational research. The wisdom classroom is the key structure of the wisdom education platform. A smart classroom architecture based on IoT technology is designed, which connects with traditional network facilities through the IoT gateway. Different layers of the architectures have been designed and implemented. The proposed platform tests results and shows that the intelligent education platform can effectively control classroom utilization and has high throughput, low application latency, and good practicability.
The Comparison of the Kidney Effects of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors and Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Agonist-Administered Concomitant with Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Japanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Kobayashi Kazuo , Toyoda Masao , Hatori Nobuo , Sato Kazuyoshi , Miyakawa Masaaki , Tamura Kouichi , Kanamori Akira
Published: December 2021

Background and Aim. Strong evidence exists supporting the utility of sodium glucose cotransporter inhibitors (SGLT2is) for treating not only cardiovascular events but also renal events. We previously reported that SGLT2is improved the urine albumin-to-creatine ratio (ACR) in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Only 8% of patients were treated with SGLT2is alone, and more than 70% of them additionally received incretin-related agents, such as dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor (DPP4i) and glucagon-like peptide 1 agonist (GLP1Ra). Both agents reduce the plasma glucose level with an incretin effect, but the differences in the renoprotective effects between these agents are poorly understood. Methods. We retrospectively constructed database of 763 Japanese patients with T2DM and CKD who received sSGLT2is for more than 1 year. Among these SGLT2i-treated patients, 338 were receiving concomitant DPP4i (DPP4i group), and 99 were receiving concomitant GLP1Ra (GLP1Ra group). The two groups were compared using the propensity score matching method. Results. In the matched model including 86 cases per group, the decrease in the logarithmic value of the ACR and rate of reduction in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; mL/min/1.73 m2) of the GLP1Ra group showed no significant difference from those in the DPP4i group (−0.12±0.48vs.−0.13±0.45and−2.3±18.5vs.−6.2±13.8, respectively,P=0.10). However, the incidence of a >6.4% decrease in the eGFR was significantly lower in the GLP1Ra group than in the DPP4i group (35% vs. 52%, respectively,P=0.03). The level of hemoglobin A1c (mmol/mol) after SGLT2i treatment was significantly lower in the DPP4i group than in the GLP1Ra group in the matched model (58.3±11.8and62.7±14.8, respectively,P=0.02). Conclusion. Among the SGLT2i-treated patients with T2DM and CKD, concomitant treatment with GLP1Ra has a marked improving effect on the change in the eGFR.
Short-Term Effects of Strengthening Exercises of the Lower Limb Rehabilitation Protocol on Pain, Stiffness, Physical Function, and Body Mass Index among Knee Osteoarthritis Participants Who Were Overweight or Obese: A Clinical Trial
Authors: Rafiq Muhammad Tariq , Hamid Mohamad Shariff A. , Hafiz Eliza
Published: December 2021

Background. Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is defined as a progressive disease of the synovial joints and is characterized by wear and tear of the cartilage and underlying bone. This study aimed to determine the short-term effects of the lower limb rehabilitation protocol (LLRP) on pain, stiffness, physical function, and body mass index (BMI) among knee OA participants who were overweight or obese. Methodology. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial of one-month duration was conducted at Rehmatul-Lil-Alameen Postgraduate Institute, Lahore, Pakistan. Fifty overweight or obese participants with knee OA were randomly divided into two groups by a computer-generated number. Participants in the rehabilitation protocol group (RPG) were provided with leaflets explaining the strengthening exercises of the LLRP and instruction of daily care (IDC), while the participants in the control group (CG) were provided with leaflets explaining the IDC only for a duration of four weeks. The primary outcome measures were the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores for pain, stiffness, and physical function. The secondary outcome measures were BMI, exercise adherence, and patients’ satisfaction assessed by using the numeric rating scale ranging from 0 to 10. The paired-sample t-test was used to analyze the differences within groups from baseline to posttest evaluations. The analysis of variance 2 × 2 factor was used to analyze the differences in BMI, knee pain, stiffness, and physical function between the groups. Results. Participants in the RPG and CG reported a statistically significant reduction in knee pain and stiffness (

p
≤
0.05

) within the group. The reduction in the scores of knee pain was higher in participants in the RPG than that in participants in the CG (

p
=
0.001

). Additionally, participants in the RPG reported greater satisfaction (

p
=
0.001

) and higher self-reported exercise adherence (

p
=
0.010

) and coordinator-reported exercise adherence (

p
=
0.046

) than the participants in the CG. Conclusion. Short-term effects of the LLRP appear to reduce knee pain and stiffness only, but not physical function and BMI.
Temporal Validation of a Predictive Score for Death in Children with Visceral Leishmaniasis
Authors: Foinquinos Juliana , Duarte Maria do Carmo , Figueiroa Jose Natal , Correia Jailson B. , Cavalcanti Nara Vasconcelos
Published: December 2021

Objectives. To perform a temporal validation of a predictive model for death in children with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Methods. A temporal validation of a children-exclusive predictive model of death due to VL (Sampaio et al. 2010 model), using a retrospective cohort, hereby called validation cohort. The validation cohort convenience sample was made of 156 patients less than 15 years old hospitalized between 2008 and 2018 with VL. Patients included in the Sampaio et al. 2010 study are here denominated derivation cohort, which was composed of 546 patients hospitalized in the same hospital setting in the period from 1996 to 2006. The calibration and discriminative capacity of the model to predict death by VL in the validation cohort were then assessed through the procedure of logistic recalibration that readjusted its coefficients. The calibration of the updated model was tested using Hosmer–Lemeshow test and Spiegelhalter test. A ROC curve was built and the value of the area under this curve represented the model’s discrimination. Results. The validation cohort found a lethality of 6.4%. The Sampaio et al. 2010 model demonstrated inadequate calibration in the validation cohort (Spiegelhalter test:

p
=
0.007

). It also presented unsatisfactory discriminative capacity, evaluated by the area under the ROC curve = 0.618. After the coefficient readjustment, the model showed adequate calibration (Spiegelhalter test,

p
=
0.988

) and better discrimination, becoming satisfactory (AUROC = 0.762). The score developed by Sampaio et al. 2010 attributed 1 point to the variables dyspnea, associated infections, and neutrophil count <500/mm3; 2 points to jaundice and mucosal bleeding; and 3 points to platelet count <50,000/mm3. In the recalibrated model, each one of the variables had a scoring of 1 point for each. Conclusion. The temporally validated model, after coefficient readjustment, presented adequate calibration and discrimination to predict death in children hospitalized with VL.
WeChat-Based Interactive Translation Mobile Teaching Model
Authors: Wang Fachang , Wang Qingling , Du Cuifang
Published: December 2021

Although the research results of mobile teaching mode at home and abroad have been involved in all aspects of education and teaching and provided a lot of useful reference for subsequent researchers, the lack of research on WeChat interactive translation teaching mode makes the practical research in this field urgent. As China’s education industry continues to pursue international development, it is necessary to train a large number of international talents who have an international perspective, are familiar with international rules, and can participate in international affairs and international competition. However, to become an international talent, you must first have superior English communication skills and be able to deal with various international situations proficiently. The English education goals at the basic education stage are simply beyond reach and can only be cultivated through professional and systematic college English courses. This shows that college English education is at a crucial position in the future development of education. This study attempts to explore how to apply the interactive teaching mode supported by WeChat network platform in translation teaching and English learning of high school students, so as to improve students’ autonomy in translation practice, promote students’ personalized learning, and improve students’ interest and ability in English learning. Based on the investigation of a senior high school in our city, the school began to implement the interactive translation mobile teaching mode based on WeChat in September 2018. The experiment selected the change of students’ English learning achievements in a certain semester and judged whether the mobile teaching mode was conducive to the improvement of learning performance based on t-test. We also need to collect the needs of teachers and parents for the WeChat based mobile teaching mode and judge whether the mode can be promoted. The experimental results show that this teaching mode has an obvious effect on the improvement of students’ English scores, especially in the eighth grade, whose scores have increased from 72.6 to 75. Through the construction of WeChat based interactive translation mobile teaching mode, parents can fully understand the key points of English learning and make English tutoring more targeted and timely. This teaching mode is worthy of promotion in senior high school English course learning.
Phytochemical Analysis Using UPLC-MS/MS Combined with Network Pharmacology Methods to Explore the Biomarkers for the Quality Control of Lingguizhugan Decoction
Authors: Li Baolin , Fan Shuaishuai , Hu Jingnan , Ma Yongben , Feng Yu , Wang Fengxia , Wang Xinguo , Niu Liying
Published: December 2021

As a classic TCM prescription, LGZG has been widely used in clinical prevention and treatment of heart failure, nonalcoholic fatty liver, and hyperlipidemia. However, there are few studies on chemical components in recent years, and the basis of quality evaluation is not sufficient. This study was to find the active ingredients of the Lingguizhugan decoction using UPLC-MS/MS and network pharmacology. By comparing the retention time and MS dates of the reference and self-building database, the cleavage rules of chemical composition whose mass errors are less than 1 ppm(FL less than 3 ppm) are analyzed. On this basis, a network pharmacology method was used to find biomarkers for quantitative analysis. The results show that 149 compounds were preliminaries identified or inferred, including 63 flavonoids, 30 triterpenes, 22 phenylpropanoids, 13 organic acids, 6 lactones, 5 alkaloids, 4 anthraquinones, and 6 other compounds. According to the network pharmacology results, 20 chemical constituents were selected as the biomarkers, which were determined simultaneously for the first time, including poricoic acid A, poricoic acid B, glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin apioside, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, B, and C, atractylenolide I, II, and III, and coumarin. The methodological results show that the linearity, stability, precision, repeatability, and recovery of the method are satisfactory. Therefore, a comprehensive quality assessment system for LGZG was established on the basis of a systematic study of chemical substances and network pharmacology, which provided an important reference for the foundation of pharmacological action and its mechanics.
Prolonged Use of a Continuous Peripheral Nerve Block Catheter for Analgesia after Pediatric Foot and Ankle Surgery
Authors: MacDonald Jake , Zhang De-An
Published: December 2021

Continuous peripheral nerve blocks (CPNB) have a variety of indications and have been shown to be a safe and effective means of minimizing pain postoperatively. Early studies have indicated duration of catheter use greater than 48 hours as a main contributor to infection risk in CPNBs. Recent studies, though, have suggested that the risk of infection does not increase until 4 days after insertion. In the following case report, we recount our experience in using a continuous popliteal-sciatic peripheral nerve block for postoperative pain control in a pediatric patient following calcaneal and first metatarsal osteotomy. The catheter remained in place for 65 hours postoperatively without signs of local inflammation or infection. The prolonged CPNB use resulted in a significant decrease in postoperative opioid use and pain and increase in patient satisfaction when compared to the same procedure done one year prior on the opposite foot.
Weighted Direct Position Determination via the Dimension Reduction Method for Noncircular Signals
Authors: Shi Xinlei , Zhang Xiaofei
Published: December 2021

This work studies the direct position determination (DPD) of noncircular (NC) signals with multiple arrays. Existing DPD algorithms of NC sources ignore the impact of path propagation loss on the performance of the algorithms. In practice, the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of different observation stations are often different and unstable when the NC signal of the same radiation target strikes different observation locations. Besides, NC features of the target signals are applied not only to extend the virtual array manifold but also to bring high-dimensional search. For the sake of addressing the above problems, this study develops a DPD method of NC sources for multiple arrays combing weighted subspace data fusion (SDF) and dimension reduction (RD) search. First, NC features of the target signals are applied to extend the virtual array manifold. Second, we assign a weight to balance the error and obtain higher location accuracy with better robustness. Then, the RD method is used to eliminate the high computational complexity caused by the NC phase search dimension. Finally, the weighted fusion cost function is constructed by using the eigenvalues of the received signal covariance matrixes. It is verified by simulation that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve the location performance, get better robustness, and distinguish more targets compared with two-step location technology and SDF technology. In addition, without losing the estimation performance, the proposed algorithm can significantly reduce the complexity caused by the NC phase search dimension.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence‐Based Optical Remote Sensing and Positioning Technology in Microelectronic Processing Technology
Authors: Yan Chenqi , Tan Mengchao
Published: December 2021

The purpose is to make defect detection in microelectronic processing technology fast, accurate, reliable, and efficient. A new optical remote sensing‐optical beam induced resistance change (ORS‐OBIRCH) target recognition and location defect detection method is proposed based on an artificial intelligence algorithm, optical remote sensing (ORS), and optical beam induced resistance change (OBIRCH) location technology using deep convolutional neural network. This method integrates the characteristics of high resolution and rich details of the image obtained by ORS technology and combines the advantages of photosensitive temperature characteristics in OBIRCH positioning technology. It can be adopted to identify, capture, and locate the defects of microdevices in the process of microelectronic processing. Simulation results show that this method can quickly reduce the detection range and locate defects accurately and efficiently. The experimental results reveal that the ORS‐OBIRCH target recognition defect location detection method can complete the dynamic synchronization of the IC detection system and obtain high‐quality images by changing the laser beam irradiation cycle. Moreover, it can analyze and process the detection results to quickly, accurately, and efficiently locate the defect location. Unlike the traditional detection methods, the success rate of detection has been greatly improved, which is about 95.8%, an increase of nearly 40%; the detection time has been reduced by more than half, from 5.5 days to 1.9 days, and the improvement rate has reached more than 65%. In a word, this method has good practical application value in the field of microelectronic processing.
Immediate Hemodynamic Responses to Transcutaneous Electrical Diaphragmatic Stimulation in Critically Ill Elderly Patients
Authors: Olímpio Júnior Hebert , Camilo Gustavo Bittencourt , Fioritto Aline Priori , Lopes Agnaldo José
Published: December 2021

Background. Critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) may develop diaphragmatic dysfunction, especially when artificial airways are used. Positive effects have been observed when using the transcutaneous electrical diaphragmatic stimulation (TEDS) technique in different clinical conditions. However, no study has evaluated the safety of TEDS in patients admitted to ICUs. This study is aimed at evaluating the influence of TEDS on the hemodynamic and vital parameters of critically ill elderly patients under invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Methods. Forty-seven patients aged >60 years under IMV were evaluated for hemodynamic variables before and after TEDS. The procedure lasted 30 minutes and was performed once. Results. The sample consisted of 33 men and 14 women with a mean age of

69.9
±
7.64

years. The mean systolic blood pressures pre-TEDS and post-TEDS were

126.6
±
23.7

and

122.9
±
25.9

, respectively (

p
=
0.467

). The mean diastolic blood pressures pre-TEDS and post-TEDS were

71.1
±
12.2

and

67.7
±
14.2

, respectively (

p
=
0.223

). No significant differences in the mean arterial pressure or heart rate were found between the pre-TEDS and post-TEDS time points (

p
=
0.335

and

p
=
0.846

, respectively). Conclusion. Our findings suggest that TEDS does not have clinically relevant impacts on hemodynamic or vital parameters in critically ill elderly patients. These findings point to the possible safety of TEDS application in this population.
Prediction of the Collapse of Necrotic Femoral Head by CT and X-Ray Examinations before Hip Replacement Based on Intelligent Medical Big Data
Authors: Shang Yongwei , Xu Jianjie , Zhang Ting , Dong Zhihui , Li Jiebing , Bi Weidong , Xie Zhe
Published: December 2021

It was to explore the effect of the CT and X-ray examinations before the hip replacement to predict the collapse of the necrotic femoral head under the classification of medical big data based on the decision tree algorithm of the difference grey wolf optimization (GWO) and provide a more effective examination basis for the treatment of patients with the osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). From January 2019 to January 2021, a total of 152,000 patients with ONFH and hip replacement in the tertiary hospitals were enrolled in this study. They were randomly divided into two groups, the study sample-X group (X-ray examination results) and based-CT group (CT examination results)—76,000 cases in each group. The actual measurement results of the femoral head form the gold standard to evaluate the effect of the two groups of detection methods. The measurement results of X-ray and CT before hip replacement are highly consistent with the detection results of the physical femoral head specimens, which can effectively predict the collapse of ONFH and carry out accurate staging. It is worthy of clinical promotion.