bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Economic analysis of the prevalence and clinical and economic burden of medication error in England
Authors: Elliott Rachel Ann , Camacho Elizabeth , Jankovic Dina , Sculpher Mark J , Faria Rita
Published: June 2020

Objectives

To provide national estimates of the number and clinical and economic burden of medication errors in the National Health Service (NHS) in England.

Methods

We used UK-based prevalence of medication errors (in prescribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring) in primary care, secondary care and care home settings, and associated healthcare resource use, to estimate annual number and burden of errors to the NHS. Burden (healthcare resource use and deaths) was estimated from harm associated with avoidable adverse drug events (ADEs).

Results

We estimated that 237 million medication errors occur at some point in the medication process in England annually, 38.4% occurring in primary care; 72% have little/no potential for harm and 66 million are potentially clinically significant. Prescribing in primary care accounts for 34% of all potentially clinically significant errors. Definitely avoidable ADEs are estimated to cost the NHS £98 462 582 per year, consuming 181 626 bed-days, and causing/contributing to 1708 deaths. This comprises primary care ADEs leading to hospital admission (£83.7 million; causing 627 deaths), and secondary care ADEs leading to longer hospital stay (£14.8 million; causing or contributing to 1081 deaths).

Conclusions

Ubiquitous medicines use in health care leads unsurprisingly to high numbers of medication errors, although most are not clinically important. There is significant uncertainty around estimates due to the assumption that avoidable ADEs correspond to medication errors, data quality, and lack of data around longer-term impacts of errors. Data linkage between errors and patient outcomes is essential to progress understanding in this area.
Do we really know how many clinical trials are conducted ethically? Why research ethics committee review practices need to be strengthened and initial steps we could take to strengthen them
Authors: Yarborough Mark
Published: June 2020

Research Ethics Committees (RECs) play a critical gatekeeping role in clinical trials. This role is meant to ensure that only those trials that meet certain ethical thresholds proceed through their gate. Two of these thresholds are that the potential benefits of trials are reasonable in relation to risks and that trials are capable of producing a requisite amount of social value. While one ought not expect perfect execution by RECs of their gatekeeping role, one should expect routine success in it. This article reviews a range of evidence showing that substantial numbers of ethically tainted trials are receiving REC approvals. Many of the trials are early phase trials that evidence shows have benefits that may not be reasonable compared with their risks and many others are later trials that evidence shows may lack sufficient social value. The evidence pertains to such matters as methodologically inadequate preclinical studies incapable of supporting the inferences that REC members must make about the prospects for potential benefit needed to offset the risks in early phase trials and sponsorship bias that can cause improperly designed, conducted, analysed and reported later phase trials. The analysis of the evidence makes clear that REC practices need to be strengthened if they are to adequately fulfil their gatekeeping role. The article also explores options that RECs could use in order to improve their gatekeeping function.
Acute carotid stenting in patients undergoing thrombectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Dufort Gabrielle , Chen Bing Yu , Jacquin Grégory , Keezer Mark , Labrie Marilyn , Rioux Bastien , Stapf Christian , Ziegler Daniela , Poppe Alexandre Y
Published: June 2020

Background

The benefit of acute carotid stenting compared with no acute stenting on clinical outcomes among patients with tandem lesions (TL) undergoing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) remains unknown.

Methods

We conducted a a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing acute carotid stenting versus no stenting among TL patients undergoing EVT with regards to 90 day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), and mortality. Four reviewers screened citations for eligibility and two assessed retained studies for risk of bias and data extraction. A random effects model was used for the synthesis of aggregated data.

Results

21 studies (n=1635 patients) were identified for the systematic review; 19 were cohort studies, 1 was a post-hoc analysis of an EVT trial, and 1 was a pilot randomized controlled trial. 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Acute stenting was associated with a favorable 90 day mRS score: OR 1.43 (95% CI 1.07, 1.91). No significant heterogeneity between studies was found for this outcome (I2=17.0%; χ2=18.07, p=0.26). There were no statistically significant differences for 3 month mortality (OR 0.80 (95% CI 0.50, 1.28)) or sICH (OR 1.41 (95% CI 0.91, 2.19)).

Conclusions

This meta-analysis suggests that among TL patients undergoing EVT, acute carotid stenting is associated with a greater likelihood of favorable outcome at 90 days compared with no stenting.
Aneurysm treatment with WEB in the cumulative population of two prospective, multicenter series: 3-year follow-up
Authors: Pierot Laurent , Szikora Istvan , Barreau Xavier , Holtmannspoetter Markus , Spelle Laurent , Herbreteau Denis , Fiehler Jens , Costalat Vincent , Klisch Joachim , Januel Anne-Christine , Weber Werner , Liebig Thomas , Stockx Luc , Berkefeld Joachim , Moret Jacques , Molyneux Andy , Byrne James
Published: June 2020

Background

WEB treatment is an endovascular approach for wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms that has demonstrated high safety and good efficacy in mid-term follow-up. While evaluating safety in the long term is important to determine if delayed adverse events occur affecting late morbidity and mortality, the most important point to evaluate is the long-term stability of aneurysm occlusion. The current analysis reports the 3-year clinical and anatomical results of WEB treatment in the combined population of two European trials (WEBCAST (WEB Clinical Assessment of Intrasaccular Aneurysm Therapy) and WEBCAST-2).

Methods

Aneurysm occlusion was evaluated using a 3-grade scale: complete occlusion, neck remnant, and aneurysm remnant.

Results

The safety population comprised 79 patients. The efficacy population comprised 61 aneurysms. Aneurysm locations were middle cerebral artery in 32/61 aneurysms (52.5%), anterior communicating artery in 13/61 (21.3%), basilar artery in 9/61 (14.8%), and internal carotid artery terminus in 7/61 (11.5%). No adverse events related to the device or procedure occurred between 2 and 3 years. At 3 years, complete occlusion was observed in 31/61 (50.8%) aneurysms, neck remnant in 20/61 (32.8%), and aneurysm remnant in 10/61 (16.4%). Between 1 year and 3 years, aneurysm occlusion was improved or stable in 53/61 (86.9%) aneurysms and worsened in 8/61 (13.1%). Worsening was mostly from complete occlusion to neck remnant in 6/61 (9.8%) aneurysms. The retreatment rate at 3 years was 11.4%.

Conclusions

This analysis confirms the high safety profile of WEB. Moreover, evidence demonstrates the great stability of aneurysm occlusion with adequate occlusion (complete occlusion or neck remnant) in 83.6% of aneurysms.

Clinical trial registration

URL:http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. WEBCAST and WEBCAST-2: Unique identifier:NCT01778322.
Charcot in the ICU: functional tetraplegia after surgery
Authors: Scheitler Kristen M , Robin Cynthia R , Wijdicks E F M
Published: June 2020

Functional neurological disorder is a condition in which a patient has physical findings that are not compatible with anatomical boundaries, have no structural substrate and are not representable of an established disease. General anaesthesia and surgery have been previously reported as precipitating factors for functional disorders and mostly involve dissociative (non-epileptic) seizures. We report a patient with no psychiatric history or prior abnormal examination who developed sudden onset functional tetraplegia and sensory disturbances immediately after elective surgery, and who was subsequently discharged home several days later after nearly complete resolution of neurologic deficits. We highlight the features of this syndrome, including its unique postoperative presentation, unusual resolution and absence of any identifiable psycho-dynamic mechanism. We also introduce the tripod sign as a useful clinical tool in identifying functional tetraplegia.
Numerical analysis of the ground-mounted solar PV panel array mounting systems subjected to basic wind for optimum design
Authors: Agarwal Ashish , Irtaza Hassan , Ahmad M. Jamil
Published: June 2020

Comprehensive numerical modeling and investigations have been carried out to analyze the effect of wind loads on various solar array mounting frame structures using ANSYS 18 Workbench (Mechanical). Extensive damages of solar arrays and mounting frames have been reported the world over due to high winds. In this study, six array mounting frame types have been considered, subjected to the basic wind of 55 m/s specified for coastal regions of India. India has six basic wind speed zones ranging from 33 m/s to 55 m/s. Many utility-scale solar farms installed in this region are susceptible to high winds. Solar arrays considered of dimension 6 m × 4 m consisting of 12 photo-voltaic (PV) panels each of size 1 m × 2 m, with panel tilt angle varying from 10° to 50°. Wind load subjected to the PV panels in the solar array considered as normal pressure force over the top and bottom surfaces to simulate forward and backward wind direction. Three different materials with their respective mechanical properties, i.e., structural steel channel for mounting truss members, aluminum casing to encapsulate PV panels, and plexiglass sheet for PV panels, were considered and simulated. Wind pressure forces have been determined, using respective net wind pressure coefficients, induced by respective wind speed and tilt angle. Maximum deformation and maximum stresses were determined by modeling and simulation in ANSYS Workbench and compared the results with various array mounting system arrangements for each case of panel tilt angle subjected to both forward and backward wind incidence.
Enhancing phosphorus release from struvite with biostimulants
Authors: Hernández Jiménez Juan Esteban , Nyiraneza Judith , Fraser Tandra D. , Peach Brown Helen Carolyn , Lopez-Sanchez Idalia Jacqueline , Botero-Botero Liliana Rocio
Published: June 2020

Struvite is a phosphorus (P)-rich by-product of wastewater treatment facilities that can be recycled as a P source in agriculture. Because struvite is not water soluble, it is solubilized gradually by organic acids released by soil microorganisms and from growing plant roots when used as fertilizer. To speed up the solubilization process, struvite can be combined with biostimulants such as P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) or earthworm casts (WC). The objective of this greenhouse study was to compare the fertilizer value of struvite, with and without PSB (Bacillus megaterium) or WC, with that of triple superphosphate in two contrasting soils (a low-P soil and a high-P soil). Oat (Avena sativa L.) was grown for 8 wk under a controlled environment, and dry matter yield at harvest, total N and total P uptake, the soil residual Mehlich-3 P, and phosphomonoesterase activity were measured. The high-P soil was unresponsive to P application, but the low-P soil was responsive. In the low-P soil, there was more Mehlich-3-extracted P when struvite was combined with PSB or WC compared with struvite alone, resulting in greater oat dry matter and more total N and more total P uptake. Combining struvite with biostimulants increased total dry matter and total P uptake by an average of 39% and 33%, respectively. We conclude that greater P release from struvite occurs when it is combined with PSB or WC, particularly in low-P soil, but this needs to be confirmed in field-scale studies.
Comparisons of the prediction results of soil properties based on fuzzy c-means clustering and expert knowledge from laboratory Visible – Near-Infrared reflectance spectroscopy data
Authors: Peng Lingyun , Cheng Hao , Wang Liang-Jie , Zhu Dianzhen
Published: June 2020

Soil organic matter and soil particle composition play extremely important roles in soil fertility, environmental protection, and sustainable agricultural development. Visible – near-infrared reflectance (Vis–NIR) spectroscopy is a rapid, effective, and low-cost analytical method to predict soil properties. In this study, laboratory Vis–NIR spectroscopy data were used to compare the differences among partial least squares regression (PLSR), artificial neural network (ANN) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARSplines) based on fuzzy c-means spectral clustering and expert knowledge classification methods for soil prediction. The results showed that (1) the sand content (R2 = 0.69–0.77) had the best prediction, followed by the silt (R2 = 0.56–0.71) and organic matter (R2 = 0.54–0.69) contents, whereas the clay content (R2 = 0.29–0.65) had the poorest prediction, (2) the performance of the models followed the order of PLSR > ANN > MARSplines, and (3) the accuracies of the organic matter and sand contents were higher when applying expert knowledge classification, whereas the prediction of the clay and silt contents was better when applying spectral clustering. However, the overall accuracy of the spectral clustering method was slightly better than that of expert classification. Our findings showed that the spectral cluster-based models produced effective and interpretable prediction results for estimating soil properties. Therefore, this approach should be considered when dealing with large and heterogeneous soil samples.
Soil nitrous oxide emissions most sensitive to fertilization history during a laboratory incubation
Authors: Giweta Mekonnen , Dyck Miles , Malhi Sukhdev S. , Puurveen Dick , Quideau S.A.
Published: June 2020

A 12 wk laboratory incubation examined the effects of application of various nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilizers on soil plant-available nutrient levels and nitrous oxide (N2O) gas emissions with respect to soil fertilization history using soils sampled from the University of Alberta Breton Classical Plots. Fertilization history and added fertilizer treatments showed significant effects on N2O emissions and NO3−-N and SO4−-S recovered on ion-exchange resins over the 12 wk. Mean cumulative N2O emissions ranged from 0.43 to 1.18 kg N2O-N ha−1. The relationship between observed total resin-recovered NO3−-N and N2O emissions was not consistent for soils receiving long-term applications of various combinations of N, phosphorus, potassium, and S fertilizers. The N2O emission from two soils with a history of long-term N fertilizer applications but different S fertilization histories was significantly different even though resin-recovered NO3−-N levels were similar. When grouped according to added fertilizer treatments, mean cumulative N2O emissions showed a strong linear relationship with mean resin-adsorbed NO3−-N production. We hypothesize that the differences in the relationship between NO3−-N production and N2O-N emissions for soils with different long-term fertilization histories may be a result of the interaction of N and S oxidation processes. Further, soil fertilization history may significantly influence soil N2O emissions in response to N fertilizers added within the growing season of observation but isn’t often considered in short-term experiments, and this may be a significant source of uncertainty in the estimation of greenhouse gases inventories from agricultural soils.
Optimal networks for exact controllability
Authors: Liao Yunhua , Maama Mohamed , Aziz-Alaoui M. A.
Published: June 2020

The exact controllability can be mapped to the problem of maximum algebraic multiplicity of all eigenvalues. In this paper, we focus on the exact controllability of deterministic complex networks. First, we explore the eigenvalues of two famous networks, i.e. the comb-of-comb network and the Farey graph. Due to their special structure, we find that the eigenvalues of each network are mutually distinct, showing that these two networks are optimal networks with respect to exact controllability. Second, we study how to optimize the exact controllability of a deterministic network. Based on the spectral graph theory, we find that reducing the order of duplicate sets or co-duplicate sets which are two special vertex subsets can decrease greatly the exact controllability. This result provides an answer to an open problem of Li et al. [X. F. Li, Z. M. Lu and H. Li, Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 26, 1550028 (2015)]. Finally, we discuss the relation between the topological structure and the multiplicity of two special eigenvalues and the computational complexity of our method.
THE ECONOMIC COST OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN CASE. A SYNTHETIC CONTROL ANALYSIS
Authors: HASANCEBI SERHAT
Published: June 2020

In 1978, a revolution in Iran succeeded in toppling Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After the Shah was forced to leave the country, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, one of the leaders of the revolution, returned from his exile in France to become the Supreme Leader of Iran. In this paper, we investigate the economic cost of the revolution using the synthetic control method. According to our estimates, we conclude that after the emergence of the revolution, the annual real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Iran declined by about 20.15% on average relative to its synthetic counterpart without the revolution in the period 1978–1980. If Iran had not faced such a revolution, the accumulated per capita GDP would have been $6,479 higher, which amounts to an average annual loss of about $2,159 over that period.
Bidirectional quantum-controlled teleportation using six-qubit cluster state without remote joint operation
Authors: Yuan Hao , Pan Guo-Zhu
Published: June 2020

Utilizing a six-qubit cluster state as quantum channel, a bidirectional controlled quantum teleportation (BCQT) scheme was put forward by Yan in [Int. J. Theor. Phys. 52, 3870 (2013)]. However, in order to accomplish the task, two agents must cooperate to perform a quantum controlled phase gate operation on their two qubits. In view of the present technique, such kind of remote joint operation is difficult to be realized. In this paper, based on the same cluster state, we propose a different BCQT scheme to avoid the remote joint operation. Besides, an unnecessary waste of classical messages in Yan’s scheme is point out.
Nonrelativistic particles in the presence of a Cariñena–Perelomov–Rañada–Santander oscillator and a disclination
Authors: Zare Soroush , Hassanabadi Hassan , de Montigny Marc
Published: June 2020

We examine an elastic medium with a disclination and consider the topological effects in the presence of a nonpolynomial quantum exactly solvable nonlinear oscillator potential related to the isotonic oscillator, and to which we refer as the Cariñena–Perelomov–Rañada–Santander (CPRS) potential. We obtain the wave functions, which are related to the confluent Heun functions, as well as the energy eigenvalues by solving exactly the corresponding radial Schrödinger equation.
Protein structure prediction based on BN-GRU method
Authors: Yang Lina , Wei Pu , Zhong Cheng , Li Xichun , Tang Yuan Yan
Published: June 2020

The spatial structure of the protein reflects the biological function and activity mechanism. Predicting the secondary structure of a protein is the basis content for predicting its spatial structure. Traditional methods based on statistics and sequential patterns do not achieve higher accuracy. In this paper, the application of BN-GRU neural network in protein structure prediction is discussed. The main idea is to construct a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) neural network. The GRU neural network can learn long-term dependencies. It can handle long sequences better than traditional methods. Based on this, BN is combined with GRU to construct a new network. Position Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM) is used to associate with other features to build a completely new feature set. It can be proved that the application of BN on GRU can improve the accuracy of the results. The idea in this paper can also be applied to the analysis of similarity of other sequences.
DO DIRECTORS’ ATTRIBUTES INFLUENCE INNOVATION? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM FRANCE
Authors: ATTIA MERIAM , YOUSFI OUIDAD , LOUKIL NADIA , OMRI ABDELWAHED
Published: June 2020

The main aim of the current paper is to analyse how the directors’ characteristics could influence innovation. We study specifically the effect of demographic attributes, such as age, gender, nationality, educational degree and academic background on innovation. Innovation is measured by (1) the firm’s ability to engender innovation in things such as new or improved product/process and the number of patents and (2) innovation expenditures, like, for example, R&D spending on innovative projects and the number of scientists and experts per R&D teams. This study is conducted on the firms listed on SBF120 index between 2002 and 2013. The SBF120 index consists of the 120 largest capitalisations listed on the French Stock Exchange market (SBF: Société des Bourses Françaises). It provides the following results. First, the presence of women on the board positively influences product innovations while the presence of independent directors fosters the number of patents and process innovations. Secondly, highly educated directors can better understand complex decisions and absorb new ideas and technologies, which increase innovative products. Regarding the academic degree, we highlight that business educated directors seem to marginalise innovation investments as they are more likely to focus on activities with short-term financial returns. Then, directors of different ethnic, cultural backgrounds and different nationalities seem to stimulate a firm to improve or develop new products. Moreover, older directors are less risk-tolerant than younger ones: they invest less in risky R&D investments. By looking at the impact of various types of directors’ characteristics on innovation, and by taking into account various types of innovation; this paper brings practical insights to board structures issues. This paper contributes to the debate on the urgent need to increase the firms’ capacity to appoint on board individuals displaying diverse types of knowledge, abilities, skills and networking that could drive more innovations.
Triples of singular moduli with rational product
Authors: Fowler Guy
Published: June 2020

We show that all triples [Formula: see text] of singular moduli satisfying [Formula: see text] are “trivial”. That is, either [Formula: see text]; some [Formula: see text] and the remaining [Formula: see text] are distinct, of degree [Formula: see text], and conjugate over [Formula: see text]; or [Formula: see text] are pairwise distinct, of degree [Formula: see text], and conjugate over [Formula: see text]. This theorem is best possible and is the natural three-dimensional analogue of a result of Bilu, Luca and Pizarro-Madariaga in two dimensions. It establishes an explicit version of the André–Oort conjecture for the family of subvarieties [Formula: see text] defined by an equation [Formula: see text].
On the automaticity of sequences defined by the Thue–Morse and period-doubling Stieltjes continued fractions
Authors: Hu Yining , Wei-Han Guoniu
Published: June 2020

Continued fraction expansions of automatic numbers have been extensively studied during the last few decades. The research interests are, on one hand, in the degree or automaticity of the partial quotients following the seminal paper of Baum and Sweet in 1976, and on the other hand, in calculating the Hankel determinants and irrationality exponents, as one can find in the works of Allouche–Peyrière–Wen–Wen, Bugeaud, and the first author. This paper is motivated by the converse problem: to study Stieltjes continued fractions whose coefficients form an automatic sequence. We consider two such continued fractions defined by the Thue–Morse and period-doubling sequences, respectively, and prove that they are congruent to algebraic series in [Formula: see text] modulo [Formula: see text]. Consequently, the sequences of the coefficients of the power series expansions of the two continued fractions modulo [Formula: see text] are [Formula: see text]-automatic.
Explicit Kummer theory for the rational numbers
Authors: Perucca Antonella , Sgobba Pietro , Tronto Sebastiano
Published: June 2020

Let [Formula: see text] be a finitely generated multiplicative subgroup of [Formula: see text] having rank [Formula: see text]. The ratio between [Formula: see text] and the Kummer degree [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] divides [Formula: see text], is bounded independently of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We prove that there exist integers [Formula: see text] such that the above ratio depends only on [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. Our results are very explicit and they yield an algorithm that provides formulas for all the above Kummer degrees (the formulas involve a finite case distinction).
Global dynamics of a model of hepatitis B virus infection in a sub-Saharan African rural area
Authors: Kouenkam Jean Pierre II , Mbang Joseph , Emvudu Yves
Published: June 2020

We formulate and systematically study a deterministic compartmental model of Hepatitis B. This model has some important and novel features compared with the well-known basic model in the literature. Specifically, it takes into account the differential susceptibility that follows the vaccine formulation employing three-doses schedule. It points up the HbeAg status of carriers, their levels of viral replication, the fact that treatment being not curative is recommended only to a small proportion of chronic carriers, and finally the fact that only inactive carriers are able to recover from disease. The model has simple dynamical behavior which has a globally asymptotically stable disease-free equilibrium when the basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] and an endemic equilibrium when [Formula: see text]. By the use of Lyapunov functions, when it exists, we prove the global asymptotic stability of the endemic equilibrium under some conditions. Using data from Tokombere, a rural area in Cameroon, numerical simulations are performed. These numerical simulations first confirm analytical results, second they suggest that a policy based on treatment could not significantly impact the course of the infection. Third, they show as it is well known that vaccination is a very effective measure to control the infection. Furthermore, they show that neonatal vaccination influences more the course of infection than mass vaccination strategy. Nevertheless, they picture how much loss between consecutive doses of vaccine could be harmful. Finally, it is suggested that for a Sub-saharan African rural area, two-thirds of expected incidence of Hepatitis B virus infection and one third of expected prevalence of chronic carriers could be averted by 2030 if the birth dose vaccination becomes systematic and if mass vaccination rate increases to up 10%.
Research on electromagnetic visualization method
Authors: Yang Fan , Dong Zhenghong
Published: June 2020

It is significantly important to have the knowledge of electromagnet situation of battlefield, because it contains a lot of useful information to understand the situation of the whole battlefield. Electromagnet situation visualization would be very useful to help people to understand the situation, and handle battlefield situation, such as the size and quality of the electromagnetic radiation source, target objects, and operational purposes by the two parties engaged in combat scale. This paper proposes two electromagnet situation visualization methods, one is an isoline tracking algorithm based on floating rectangle and the other is an isoline filling algorithm based on linear interpolation, which also solves the problem of low accuracy and low efficiency. This paper also implements and displays the visualization results using different ways of demonstration modules, which show that the visualization results are more intuitive.
Rock magnetic study on the Yetti–Eglab Intrusions, Sahara: contribution to the West African Craton geology
Authors: Aïfa Tahar , Merabet Nacer-Eddine
Published: June 2020

New palaeopoles have been calculated for the West African Craton (WAC) using palaeomagnetic data obtained on 178 cores of the Yetti–Eglab intrusions and stromatolite-bearing formation. One, two or three components of magnetization on 172 (14 sites) and 37 (6 sites) oriented specimens or cores were isolated mainly on doleritic dykes. High and low unblocking temperature components were evidenced in the dykes but also at four sites of the well-dated Hank stromatolite-bearing formation (875–890 Ma). Rock magnetic analyses show stable remanent magnetizations mainly carried by magnetite (or titanomagnetite) but may also reveal the presence of hematite, pyrrhotite and goethite. Regarding the recently constructed apparent polar wander path of the WAC until 500 Ma, these newly computed remanent components seem to be mainly older, some of which could be remagnetizations at different periods. However, according to geological dating and literature, the Yetti and Eglab terranes belonging to the WAC were amalgamated around 1.9 Ga and involved in the formation of the Columbia Supercontinent. The palaeopole computed for the stromatolite-bearing formation corresponds with the location of Rodinia Supercontinent at its early stages of amalgamation. The geodynamic evolution of the WAC with respect to both supercontinents suggests that the Eglab and Yetti could be separated by oceanic crust before 1.9 Ga. A volcanic arc developed during the subduction of this ocean followed by crustal thickening that generated an intrusive suite (Aftout granites) when it was at low northern latitudes. Baltica and Rio de la Plata cratons were close to the WAC after 1.7 Ga, following a nearly similar path between 1.7 and 0.9 Ga. In Africa, the collapse of the Birimian orogen was probably contemporaneous with the fragmentation of Columbia. At 0.9 Ga, Baltica was probably not attached to the WAC since the latter was not affected by the later Grenvillian orogen.
Fake News Early Detection
Authors: Zhou Xinyi , Jain Atishay , Phoha Vir V. , Zafarani Reza
Published: June 2020

Massive dissemination of fake news and its potential to erode democracy has increased the demand for accurate fake news detection. Recent advancements in this area have proposed novel techniques that aim to detect fake news by exploring how it propagates on social networks. Nevertheless, to detect fake news at an early stage, i.e., when it is published on a news outlet but not yet spread on social media, one cannot rely on news propagation information as it does not exist. Hence, there is a strong need to develop approaches that can detect fake news by focusing on news content. In this article, a theory-driven model is proposed for fake news detection. The method investigates news content at various levels: lexicon-level, syntax-level, semantic-level, and discourse-level. We represent news at each level, relying on well-established theories in social and forensic psychology. Fake news detection is then conducted within a supervised machine learning framework. As an interdisciplinary research, our work explores potential fake news patterns, enhances the interpretability in fake news feature engineering, and studies the relationships among fake news, deception/disinformation, and clickbaits. Experiments conducted on two real-world datasets indicate the proposed method can outperform the state-of-the-art and enable fake news early detection when there is limited content information.
Effective Discovery of Meaningful Outlier Relationships
Authors: Bessa Aline , Freire Juliana , Dasu Tamraparni , Srivastava Divesh
Published: June 2020

We proposePredictable Outliers in Data-trendS (PODS), a method that, given a collection of temporal datasets, derives data-driven explanations for outliers by identifyingmeaningfulrelationships between them. First, we formalize the notion of meaningfulness, which so far has been informally framed in terms of explainability. Next, since outliers are rare and it is difficult to determine whether their relationships are meaningful, we develop a new criterion that does so by checking if these relationships could have been predicted from non-outliers, i.e., whetherwe could see the outlier relationships coming. Finally, searching for meaningful outlier relationships between every pair of datasets in a large data collection is computationally infeasible. To address that, we propose an indexing strategy that prunes irrelevant comparisons across datasets, making the approach scalable. We present the results of an experimental evaluation using real datasets and different baselines, which demonstrates the effectiveness, robustness, and scalability of our approach.
Generalizing from a Few Examples
Authors: Wang Yaqing , Yao Quanming , Kwok James T. , Ni Lionel M.
Published: June 2020

Machine learning has been highly successful in data-intensive applications but is often hampered when the data set is small. Recently, Few-shot Learning (FSL) is proposed to tackle this problem. Using prior knowledge, FSL can rapidly generalize to new tasks containing only a few samples with supervised information. In this article, we conduct a thorough survey to fully understand FSL. Starting from a formal definition of FSL, we distinguish FSL from several relevant machine learning problems. We then point out that the core issue in FSL is that the empirical risk minimizer is unreliable. Based on how prior knowledge can be used to handle this core issue, we categorize FSL methods from three perspectives: (i) data, which uses prior knowledge to augment the supervised experience; (ii) model, which uses prior knowledge to reduce the size of the hypothesis space; and (iii) algorithm, which uses prior knowledge to alter the search for the best hypothesis in the given hypothesis space. With this taxonomy, we review and discuss the pros and cons of each category. Promising directions, in the aspects of the FSL problem setups, techniques, applications, and theories, are also proposed to provide insights for future research.1
S, R, and data science
Authors: Chambers John M.
Published: June 2020

Data science is increasingly important and challenging. It requires computational tools and programming environments that handle big data and difficult computations, while supporting creative, high-quality analysis. The R language and related software play a major role in computing for data science. R is featured in most programs for training in the field. R packages provide tools for a wide range of purposes and users. The description of a new technique, particularly from research in statistics, is frequently accompanied by an R package, greatly increasing the usefulness of the description.

The history of R makes clear its connection to data science. R was consciously designed to replicate in open-source software the contents of the S software. S in turn was written by data analysis researchers at Bell Labs as part of the computing environment for research in data analysis and collaborations to apply that research, rather than as a separate project to create a programming language. The features of S and the design decisions made for it need to be understood in this broader context of supporting effective data analysis (which would now be called data science). These characteristics were all transferred to R and remain central to its effectiveness. Thus, R can be viewed as based historically on a domain-specific language for the domain of data science.
The history of Standard ML
Authors: MacQueen David , Harper Robert , Reppy John
Published: June 2020

The ML family of strict functional languages, which includes F#, OCaml, and Standard ML, evolved from the
Meta Language
of the LCF theorem proving system developed by Robin Milner and his research group at the University of Edinburgh in the 1970s. This paper focuses on the history of Standard ML, which plays a central role in this family of languages, as it was the first to include the complete set of features that we now associate with the name “ML” (i.e., polymorphic type inference, datatypes with pattern matching, modules, exceptions, and mutable state).

Standard ML, and the ML family of languages, have had enormous influence on the world of programming language design and theory. ML is the foremost exemplar of a functional programming language with strict evaluation (call-by-value) and static typing. The use of parametric polymorphism in its type system, together with the automatic inference of such types, has influenced a wide variety of modern languages (where polymorphism is often referred to as
generics
). It has popularized the idea of datatypes with associated case analysis by pattern matching. The module system of Standard ML extends the notion of type-level parameterization to large-scale programming with the notion of parametric modules, or
functors
.

Standard ML also set a precedent by being a language whose design included a formal definition with an associated metatheory of mathematical proofs (such as soundness of the type system). A formal definition was one of the explicit goals from the beginning of the project. While some previous languages had rigorous definitions, these definitions were not integral to the design process, and the formal part was limited to the language syntax and possibly dynamic semantics or static semantics, but not both.

The paper covers the early history of ML, the subsequent efforts to define a
standard
ML language, and the development of its major features and its formal definition. We also review the impact that the language had on programming-language research.
A Survey on Ethereum Systems Security
Authors: Chen Huashan , Pendleton Marcus , Njilla Laurent , Xu Shouhuai
Published: June 2020

Blockchain technology is believed by many to be a game changer in many application domains. While the first generation of blockchain technology (i.e., Blockchain 1.0) is almost exclusively used for cryptocurrency, the second generation (i.e., Blockchain 2.0), as represented by Ethereum, is an open and decentralized platform enabling a new paradigm of computing—Decentralized Applications (DApps) running on top of blockchains. The rich applications and semantics of DApps inevitably introduce many security vulnerabilities, which have no counterparts in pure cryptocurrency systems like Bitcoin. Since Ethereum is a new, yet complex, system, it is imperative to have a systematic and comprehensive understanding on its security from a holistic perspective, which was previously unavailable in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, the present survey, which can also be used as a tutorial, fills this void. We systematize three aspects of Ethereum systems security: vulnerabilities, attacks, and defenses. We draw insights into vulnerability root causes, attack consequences, and defense capabilities, which shed light on future research directions.
The Plant Microbiome: From Ecology to Reductionism and Beyond
Authors: Fitzpatrick Connor R. , Salas-González Isai , Conway Jonathan M. , Finkel Omri M. , Gilbert Sarah , Russ Dor , Teixeira Paulo José Pereira Lima , Dangl Jeffery L.
Published: June 2020

Methodological advances over the past two decades have propelled plant microbiome research, allowing the field to comprehensively test ideas proposed over a century ago and generate many new hypotheses. Studying the distribution of microbial taxa and genes across plant habitats has revealed the importance of various ecological and evolutionary forces shaping plant microbiota. In particular, selection imposed by plant habitats strongly shapes the diversity and composition of microbiota and leads to microbial adaptation associated with navigating the plant immune system and utilizing plant-derived resources. Reductionist approaches have demonstrated that the interaction between plant immunity and the plant microbiome is, in fact, bidirectional and that plants, microbiota, and the environment shape a complex chemical dialogue that collectively orchestrates the plantmicrobiome. The next stage in plant microbiome research will require the integration of ecological and reductionist approaches to establish a general understanding of the assembly and function in both natural and managed environments.
Electrodeposition of MoS2 from Dichloromethane
Authors: Thomas Shibin , Smith Danielle E. , Greenacre Victoria K. , Noori Yasir J. , Hector Andrew L. , Groot C. H. (Kees) de , Reid Gillian , Bartlett Philip N.
Published: June 2020

The electrodeposition of MoS2 from dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) using tetrabutylammonium tetrathiomolybdate ([NnBu4]2[MoS4]) as a single source precursor is presented. The electrodeposition of MoS2 from CH2Cl2 requires addition of a proton donor to the electrolyte and trimethylammonium chloride (Me3NHCl) was used for this purpose. Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance (EQCM) experiments have been employed for a detailed study of the electrochemical mechanism and to study the role of the proton donor. EQCM reveals cathodic electrodeposition of MoS2 and anodic deposition of MoS3 as well as an additional corrosion process where the deposited MoS3 strips back into solution. The electrodeposited MoS2 films are amorphous in nature. All the films were found to be homogeneous in composition across the electrode area and to be reproducible between experiments. Annealing of the as-deposited films under a sulfur atmosphere results in crystalline MoS2 as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The deposited films were smooth and planar, as observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), indicating a layer-by-layer growth typical of transition metal dichalogenides.
Adverse Cardiac Remodelling after Acute Myocardial Infarction: Old and New Biomarkers
Authors: Berezin Alexander E. , Berezin Alexander A.
Published: June 2020

The prevalence of heart failure (HF) due to cardiac remodelling after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) does not decrease regardless of implementation of new technologies supporting opening culprit coronary artery and solving of ischemia-relating stenosis with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Numerous studies have examined the diagnostic and prognostic potencies of circulating cardiac biomarkers in acute coronary syndrome/AMI and heart failure after AMI, and even fewer have depicted the utility of biomarkers in AMI patients undergoing primary PCI. Although complete revascularization at early period of acute coronary syndrome/AMI is an established factor for improved short-term and long-term prognosis and lowered risk of cardiovascular (CV) complications, late adverse cardiac remodelling may be a major risk factor for one-year mortality and postponded heart failure manifestation after PCI with subsequent blood flow resolving in culprit coronary artery. The aim of the review was to focus an attention on circulating biomarker as a promising tool to stratify AMI patients at high risk of poor cardiac recovery and developing HF after successful PCI. The main consideration affects biomarkers of inflammation, biomechanical myocardial stress, cardiac injury and necrosis, fibrosis, endothelial dysfunction, and vascular reparation. Clinical utilities and predictive modalities of natriuretic peptides, cardiac troponins, galectin 3, soluble suppressor tumorogenicity-2, high-sensitive C-reactive protein, growth differential factor-15, midregional proadrenomedullin, noncoding RNAs, and other biomarkers for adverse cardiac remodelling are discussed in the review.
Detection of Carbapenem-Resistant Genes in Escherichia coli Isolated from Drinking Water in Khartoum, Sudan
Authors: Mahmoud Neama Esmat , Altayb Hisham N. , Gurashi Reem Majzoub
Published: June 2020

Waterborne Escherichia coli are a major reservoir of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Carbapenem-resistance, especially when mediated by transferable carbapenemase-encoding genes, is spreading worldwide and causing dramatically limiting treatment options. In our country, studies for the detection of carbapenem resistance in drinking water do not exist; therefore, this work was carried out to determine the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant genes “blaKPC, blaIMP, blaNDM, blaSPM, blaVIM, and blaOXA-48” among Escherichia coli isolated from drinking water in Khartoum, Sudan. A total of forty-five E. coli bacteria were isolated from different sources of drinking water. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using imipenem (10 mg/disc), gentamicin (10 mg/disc), ceftriaxone (30 mg/disc), ciprofloxacin (5 mg/disc), chloramphenicol (30 mg/disc), and tetracycline (30 mg/disc). “Sensitive” or “resistant” patterns of E. coli were judged using antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Bacterial genomic DNA was extracted by the boiling method, and then multiplex polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the carbapenemase genes (blaKPC, blaIMP, blaNDM, blaSPM, blaVIM, and blaOXA-48). Multiplex PCR assays confirmed the presence of carbapenemase genes in 28% of all water isolates. OXA-48 gene was the most predominant gene, detected in 15.5% of the isolates. The blaKPC and blaSPM genes were also detected in 4.4% and 8.8% of the isolates, respectively. However, the isolates were negative for blaNDM, blaVIM, and blaIMP genes. The isolates showed a high rate of tetracycline resistance (97.7%), followed by gentamicin (57.7%), ciprofloxacin (46.6%), ceftriaxone (35.5%), and chloramphenicol (31.1%). In conclusion, this study confirmed for the first time the presence of E. coli carried carbapenem-resistant genes in the drinking water of Khartoum state, Sudan. These isolates commonly carried OXA-48 (7/45), followed by SPM (4/45) and KPC (2/45).
Hippocampal Atrophy in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients without Major Neuropsychiatric Manifestations
Authors: Liu Shuang , Cheng Yuqi , Zhao Yueyin , Lai Aiyun , Lv Zhaoping , Xie Zhongqi , Upreti Bibhuti , Wang Xiangyu , Xu Xiufeng , Luo Chunrong , Yu Hongjun , Shan Baoci , Xu Lin , Xu Jian
Published: June 2020

This study was conducted to explore hippocampal structural changes and their possible associations with clinical characteristics, emotional status, and treatment regimens in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without major neuropsychiatric manifestations (non-NPSLE). Eighty-five non-NPSLE patients with normal conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and seventy-seven matched healthy control (HC) subjects were recruited. All participants underwent the standard high-resolution volumetric MRI. The bilateral hippocampal volume (HIPV) and hippocampal density (HIPD) were calculated, respectively, for each participant. We found that the bilateral HIPV and HIPD of the SLE patient group were significantly less than those of the HC group. The bilateral HIPV of female patients were significantly less than those of male patients. The SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) was negatively correlated with the bilateral HIPV and the right HIPD. Urine protein quantity was negatively correlated with the bilateral HIPV and HIPD. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) showed a protective effect on right HIPV. In conclusion, we found that the early hippocampal atrophy could occur before obvious neuropsychiatric manifestations and might be associated with SLE disease activity and organ damages. Early detection and intervention of hippocampal damage might prevent the progression to NPSLE. More studies are needed to fully understand the underlying mechanisms of hippocampal atrophy in SLE.