bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on Prediction Model of Rock and Soil Layer Information Based on Adjacent Boreholes
Authors: Li Xiang , Su Dingli , Zhong Jiagao , Zhu Yi , Hu Hesong , Xie Xiaorong , Zhao Yinghao
Published: August 2022

Aiming at the problem that the drilling core cannot be drilled and core is unable to be drilled to find the stratum due to the construction measures or large equipment occupation in the survey site, based on the thickness information of the adjacent hole position of the borehole to be measured, the BP neural network model for stratum prediction was constructed, and the training data sampling method and comprehensive analysis results were put forward, which were based on the training data sampling method and comprehensive analysis results in the front, back, left, right and circle positions of the borehole, combined with the actual investigation Engineering. The influence of soil layer training data collected by different methods on the accuracy of soil layer thickness prediction was analyzed. The results showed that: (1) By comparing the prediction results of 10 groups of actual engineering holes to be measured, it was revealed that the prediction accuracy of soil thickness had great correlation with the orientation selection. (2) In azimuth prediction, each group collects 21 adjacent boreholes as training data samples by continuous cycle of three longitudinal and seven horizontal directions. The prediction results of neural network were stable. (3) A selection strategy was proposed to analyze the preliminary prediction results of neural network. Based on the circular prediction results, the data with the difference within ±0.2m in azimuth prediction were compared and screened. The comprehensive prediction value obtained by test was very close to the true value, and the data error is within 9%, and the prediction effect was good. The research results provide a way of thinking for the prediction of small sample soil sequence, and can provide reference for geotechnical engineering investigation and design application.
Deep Learning Based Cancer Survival Analysis Algorithm
Authors: Li Mingchang , Deng Shenyang , Chen Zhihong , Gu Wanrong , Xie Xianfen , Zhang Ziye
Published: August 2022

Histopathological image examination is the gold-standard tool of cancer diagnosis. However, it is subjective to only rely on doctor qualitative analysis of pathological image. What’s more, it is easy to miss pathological information. The texture of pathological images is complex and highly heterogeneous, so it is difficult to extract the deep features of histopathological images. In this paper, a deep learning-based cancer survival analysis algorithm is proposed to process the histopathological image data, which can effectively extract the histopathological image features and improve the accuracy of the model. The average C-Index of the proposed method is 0.7233, which is improved by 28.0% and 19.9% compared with two state-of-the-art methods.
An Evolutionary Model for Earthquake Prediction Considering Time-Series Evolution and Feature Extraction and Its Application
Authors: Du Depeng , Cui Zhendong
Published: August 2022

Seismic activity presents characteristics such as relatively concentrated distribution, high destructiveness, huge secondary hazards, complex change patterns, and unpredictable future activity conditions. It is of great theoretical significance and application and promotion value to research magnitude prediction for earthquake-prone areas. This study attempts to develop an earthquake prediction model based on seismic data from 1970 to 2021 and to predict earthquakes of magnitude (4.5-6). Firstly, the data are statistically analyzed using data statistics to analyze trends, identify patterns and characteristics of change, and make decisions conducive to development. Secondly, feature extraction and selection are carried out by convolutional neural networks to select the optimal features. The CNN_BiLSTM model was constructed and compared with other prediction models (long and short-term memory neural network, back propagation neural network, and support vector regression) to obtain prediction results for sensitivity, specificity, true prediction values, false prediction values, and accuracy values were compared and analyzed. The earthquake magnitude predictions for Japan and surrounding areas using the above techniques show essential and encouraging results, thus taking an essential step towards an eventual robust prediction mechanism.
Power Transmission Line Broken Strand Repair Robot and Visual Control Method
Authors: Hu Ran , Xu Yuxiang , Jia Yin , Wu Jiong , Deng Aopan , Song Tinghan , Chen Xi
Published: August 2022

This paper proposes a design of machine vision based broken strand repair robot on power transmission line. Through the analysis of the task and process of repairing the broken strands, the design scheme of the broken strand repair robot mechanical structure based on the clamp block repair method is proposed. Aiming at the disadvantages of traditional visual detection methods under the influence of complex object background and strong light, a visual inspection method based on deep learning is proposed to identify the conductor, vibration damper and broken strand, and automatically locate the bifurcation point of the broken strand. Using visual measurement and control technology, control the operation manipulator to straighten, reset, reinforce and repair the forked aluminum wire. Developed a robot experimental prototype, the experimental results verify the feasibility of the robot structure design and the effectiveness of the visual control algorithm.
Analysis of Runoff Coefficient Prediction Based on LM-BP Neural Network
Authors: Wang Shaobo , Yuan Wanhua , Zhou Jiawei
Published: August 2022

Runoff coefficients are affected by many factors, and their complex nonlinear relationships make it difficult to calculate accurate runoff coefficients using experimental physical models. In this paper, we improved the traditional BP neural network model based on the Levenberg-Marquardt method and established an S-type/S-type mathematical model of the relationship between runoff coefficients and influencing factors to predict each surface runoff coefficient under different rainfall conditions and different subsurface conditions, and compared it with other methods. The results calculated after the actual case simulation showed that the error of LM-BP neural network simulation was within the range of 0.03~0.09, the error was smaller, the calculation results were more accurate, and the prediction of runoff coefficient had the advantages of strong generalization ability and high prediction accuracy, which was a great improvement to the traditional rainfall-runoff coefficient best-fit relational fitting relationship method. Besides, in order to reduce the problem of sample overtraining, the more detailed the hydrological information, the better.
Research on Modeling Method of Massive Launch Vehicle Time Series Data
Authors: Li Pengcheng , Chen Haidong , Li Shipeng , Lian Yanze , Qi Junqing
Published: August 2022

Massive time series data is produced with the newly proposed long-term test, with high data sampling frequency, usually 40Hz, and the sampling lasts for a long time, often more than one year. Therefore, it brings the storage problem of massive launch vehicle time series data. In view of the shortcomings that the traditional storage method based on files may be difficult to meet the storage requirements of high concurrent writing, high compression rate and high query speed, the data modeling method is studied in this paper. For storage method based on files, relational database storage and time series database, the data model is constructed, and the configuration parameters are optimized, and the optimal storage method is selected by the performance simulation carried out. The simulation results show that under the massive time series data scenario, the storage method based on time series database has twice the writing speed of the others; It has the highest storage compression rate, up to 80%, far exceeding the uncompressed storage method based on files and the relational database storage method with data expansion; It has the fastest time-related query speed, more than 100,000 records/s, 3 times that of relational database and 10 times that of files. Among them, the storage method based on time series database has the best performance, and meets the storage requirements of massive time series data in the future for launch vehicles.
Stability of Stochastic Delayed Differential Equations with Exogenous Disturbances via Event-Triggered Scheme
Authors: Zhang Zhongyu , Liu Linna , Fang Jianyin
Published: August 2022

This paper discusses the input-to-state practically stabilization (ISpS) issue for stochastic delayed differential equations (SDDEs) with exogenous disturbances. To reduce the transmission frequency of the feedback control signal, the proposed SDDSs are stabilized by an event-triggered strategy. The concept of the input-to-state practically stabilization is used to describe the dynamic performance of control target in the event-triggered schemes and exogenous disturbances. Making use of stochastic control theory, we demonstrate that the considered SDDEs is ISpS via an event-triggered feedback controller represented by linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Moreover, lower bound of interaction time of control task is obtained to avoid the Zeno behavior. Compared with the large number of results for discrete-time stochastic systems, event-triggered control of continuous-time stochastic systems only yields a few results.
Comprehensive energy efficiency study of different climate -adapted BIPV roof forms in single-family houses for five climate zones of China based on PV energy substitution rates (PVESR)
Authors: Shi Shaohang , Song Yehao , Chu Yingnan , He Yi
Published: August 2022

As a type of energy production construction, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) roofs are contributing for achieving NZEB goals. Considering building sites’ climate attributes with possible size of PV systems can help to reduce the initial investment and energy consumption of building operation and maintenance. This paper investigates the energy production and energy consumption patterns of single-family houses, which is designed to evaluate the comprehensive energy efficiency of BIPV roofs to meet energy demands by photovoltaic energy substitution ratio (PVESR) calculations. Five typical cities were selected, corresponding to the five climate zones in China; eight forms of BIPV roofs were developed according to single-family houses’ common scale and spatial characteristics. The results show that (1) The PVESR varies significantly between different climate zones and different forms of BIPV roofs, so pre-survey of BIPV roof application sites and comparison of roof forms are relevant in preliminary architecture design. The climate zones where energy balance can be achieved are hot-summer & warm-winter zones, hot-summer & cold-winter zones and moderate zones, and the average PVESR based on the eight roof prototypes are 0.987, 1.136 and 2.272 respectively; the corresponding PVESR for cold zones and severe cold zones are 0.807 and 0.475. (2) The peak and trough values of capacity and energy use are not exactly matching in the five climate zones, especially in severe cold zones, cold zones and hot-summer & cold-winter zones’ winter. (3) The high heating demand in winter is the main reason for the failure to balance BIPV production and energy consumption in severe cold zones and cold zones. The comprehensive energy efficiency evaluation method of BIPV roofs proposed in this paper can provide data support and application guidance for form design and size determination of BIPV roofs in five climate zones in China.
Could technological improvements make microalgal biodiesel more economically feasible?
Authors: Szulczyk Kenneth R. , Cheema Muhammad A. , Ziaei Sayyed Mahdi
Published: August 2022

The economic feasibility and technological improvement to produce biodiesel from microalga, Chlorella vulgaris is investigated. The biodiesel would help Malaysia replace diesel with renewable and sustainable energy in the transportation sector. Accordingly, the Malaysian Agriculture and Plantation Greenhouse Gas Model is modified and extended to incorporate algal farms. The model forecasts Malaysia’s market prices and quantities of major agricultural commodities between 2024 and 2064. The state of the art is a commercial algal biodiesel industry is incorporated into a price endogenous model of Malaysia’s agriculture, and algal farms can experience technological improvement. The simulation results indicate that algal biodiesel is not economically feasible. The biodiesel price must be RM2.80 per litre or higher for the algal farms to produce biodiesel. The biodiesel price could be lowered to RM0.60 per litre if the algal farms experience a one-percent annual boost in either algal harvest yield or productivity gain. The results indicate that harvest yield improvements boost biodiesel production more than productivity improvements. The feasibility depends on algal farms to process the leftover slurry and supply the domestic animal feed markets. At last, the biodiesel offsets CO2 transportation sector emissions while the alga recycles the CO2 from fossil fuel electric power plants, which help Malaysia sequester high levels of CO2.
Benefit analysis of 15 MW biomass direct-fired power cogeneration project
Authors: Xuan-He Su , Wei Lu
Published: August 2022

Biomass direct-fired power generation technology has many advantages in realizing large-scale harmless utilization of biomass resources. It is an effective way to achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Taking the 15MW direct-fired biomass power generation project of typical unit configuration as an example, this paper constructs a CHP system with biomass as fuel to replace the traditional coal-fired boiler for power generation, analyzes its economic, environmental and energy-saving benefits. As shown by results, compared with the conventional coal-fired power plant, the system cannot only save more than 700000 tons of coal, but also reduce more than 1610.41 tons of carbon dioxide emission, more than 26.41 tons of sulfur dioxide emission and more than 3000 tons of smoke and dust every year. The adoption of a new boiler and straw thermal power technology can competently deal with the three major problems of energy use, environmental protection and farmer’s income increment, which is of great significance to realize the effective cycle of “resource product renewable resource” economy.
Performance study of savonius style wind turbines in a solar chimney power plant under guided flow environment
Authors: Apparavoo Pavitri , Roy Sukanta , San Yam Ke
Published: August 2022

With the uprise in global population and rapid industrialisation in developing nations, increasing energy demand to compensate for societal and industrial needs is inevitable. However, popular energy resources such as gas, petroleum, and coal, on which the global energy mix is heavily reliant, induce environmental pollution and global warming. Thus, clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, are increasingly sought to mitigate these adverse environmental effects and identify alternative sustainable and renewable energy technologies. The existing literature suggests minimal research has been conducted on the turbine component of the solar chimney power plant (SCPP). The present research proposes the study of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), namely the Savonius-style wind turbine (SSWT), for power augmentation in the SCPP under the influence of guide vanes and shields that are installed in the solar collector area. A two-dimensional numerical analysis is performed using the ANSYS Fluent software. The SSWT and SCPP models used in the simulations were validated using numerical and experimental results from previous literature data. The angle of the guide vanes was varied while the dimensions of the SCPP model and the energy extractor considered were kept constant. The optimum turbine performance was identified based on the flow analysis and the power output of the rotary component from different guide vane configurations. The present study shows an overall improvement in the turbine’s performance coefficient and power output under the influence of the guide vane and shield in the SCPP. The turbine with the guide vane and shield at an angle of 45° enhanced the performance by 22.22% and power output by 22.25% compared to the turbine without the guide vane and shield.
Influence of pressure in RO filtration of crude biodiesel
Authors: Ramanan C J , Garg S , Bora B J , Buradi A , Roy S , Sharma P , Alom N
Published: August 2022

Considering the virtue of the environment, the usage of biofuel blended fossil fuels for transportation has speeded across the globe. The quality of biodiesel plays an important role in the efficiency of a diesel engine. The biodiesel by transesterification method produces crude biodiesel. The crude biodiesel contains impurities like glycerol, alcohol, catalyst, and water molecules that are suspended in the Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) molecule. These impurities in the crude biodiesel affect the performance of the engine with improper spray pattern, corrosion, nozzle blockage, affecting autoignition temperature and increase the NOx emission in exhaust gas. The shelf life of the stored biodiesel also gets affected by these left-over impurities. In order to overcome and refine it, a novel filtration of crude biodiesel using reverse osmosis membrane has been discussed. ANSYS Finite Element Analysis has been carried out for this investigation. Pressure in an increasing sequence of 100 kPa to 1500 kPa has been varied for the analysis of this multiphase flow through porous medium. The changes in velocity, pressure, density, and viscosity have been observed through the obtained contours. The results include the variation of velocity, density, and viscosity with reference to pressure. The study also indicated that the minimum pressure required for the filtration is 500 kPa. Further, the increase in viscosity and density after the filtration zone, represents the increase in the volume fraction of the impurities.
An optimal study of serpentine channel with various configurations based on response surface analysis
Authors: Zou Yanhui , Wei Lichuan , Lu Zhao , Qin Siyu , Cao Feng
Published: August 2022

The liquid-cooled battery thermal management system (BTMS) using cold plates is widely adopted to control the operating temperature of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. The thermal performance of the cold plate is influenced by the configuration of the channels. To improve the temperature uniformity of batteries and reduce the power consumption of BTMS, the heat transfer and flow resistance of serpentine cold plates with various configurations were numerically investigated and optimized in this study. Two serpentine cold plates with different configurations of flow path (FP) are also studied. Channel width (W
c), fin thickness (T
f) and channel height (H
c) were selected as key design parameters while maximum temperature difference (ΔT
max) and pressure drop (ΔP) were chosen as objective functions. The response surface methodology (RSM) is applied to study the effects of the three design parameters and obtain the regression equations of ΔT
max and ΔP. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is then adopted to optimize the structural parameters. It can be concluded that the cold plate with 4 FP and 6 straight channels (SC) in each FP (4FP-6SC) possesses better performance compared with 8FP-3SC under the same structure design. The channel width has a significant influence on the maximum temperature difference, while a larger channel height reduces the pressure drop greatly. The optimized results show that the pressure drop is decreased by 89.14% based on NSGA-II optimization while the maximum temperature difference is maintained within the proper rage, which indicate that the performance of the serpentine cold plate is effectively improved. The proposed methods and results can provide guidance for the structural design of the serpentine cold plate.
Application of synergic evidence-based design and sustainable technology strategies in off-grid residential NZEBs in the severe cold zone of China: A case study of The Steppe Ark
Authors: Shi Shaohang , Yu Lening , Liu Chao-Hung , Wang Yiqiao , Zhu Ning
Published: August 2022

Based on synergic evidence-based design principles, building practices can achieve sustainable benefits throughout the life cycle. Taking example of an off-grid residential nearly zero energy building (NZEB) in China’s severe cold zone, the application and sustainability assessment of sustainable technologies can be comprehensively achieved through a closed-loop process: preliminary research, technology development & evaluation, on-site construction and feedback & optimisation. The Steppe Ark is one of such a residential building that takes synergic evidence-based design strategies, proposing and validating three types of technology strategies: integrated design of space based on function and performance, high performance passive technology and efficient active technology. The results show that: (1) the NZEB-oriented building envelope improves the thermal stability of the building, with indoor temperatures decreasing by only 0.07°C per hour when no equipment in operation; (2) the variable multifunctional façade and daylight reflectors have good lighting and insulation energy efficiency, with a combined energy saving rate of 22.1%; (3) Flat gravity heat pipes and thermal storage materials (bricks and PCM) have good performance in terms of heat storage and release. The average indoor daytime temperature can be increased by 3.80°C; the daily temperature difference can be reduced by 52.85% compared to the control group; (4) Stirling motors generate electricity while utilizing the waste heat for the building’s floor heating system; (5) the 5.5kWp BIPV system can generate 6.65MWh of electricity per year. This study proposes a pathway for assessing the suitability of building technology through synergic evidence-based design principles. The analysis shows that three types of technology strategies in off-grid residential NZEBs in the severe cold zone of China can achieve good environmental and economically sustainable benefits.
Investigation of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort of a College Building in Hyderabad, India
Authors: Sugumar Pradeepkumar , Krishnan Thulasirajan , Abhinav B L V V D S S , Bhavana P , Sri Kavya B , Yeshwanth V , Murali Krishna K
Published: August 2022

The aim of this present study is to investigate the indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort (TC) of the class and faculty rooms at a college in Hyderabad, India. The concentrations of air pollution at class and faculty rooms available across four floors were determined with the help of indoor air quality monitoring equipment. The measurements were conducted continuously in the indoor and outdoor environment for 07 months with the variation in two different seasons such as monsoon and winter. The collected data were analyzed and compared with the Indian green building code (IGBC). Different parameters such as temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon mono-oxide (CO), oxygen (O2), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), and particulate matter (PM 2.5 & 10) were analyzed.

The mean concentrations of PM 2.5 in all four floors were slightly above the IGBC standards in monsoon seasons and higher in winter seasons. Indoor PM 10 was higher as per IGBC in the winter season as compared with that in monsoon season. TVOC, CO, and CO2 showed significantly higher in class and faculty rooms of all the four floors in both seasons. The predicted mean vote (PMV) index shows a significantly cold when compared with the thermal sensation scale which can accelerate the respiratory tract infectious diseases. Each floor shows different concentration levels of all the above-mentioned IAQ parameters.

A questionnaire was developed, and a survey was conducted to analyze the comfort indices and responsible conditions for dissatisfactory factors. The results obtained from the daily monitoring parameters were compared with the survey questionnaire. The inferences were developed based on the PM 2.5 & 10 and CO2 concentration levels. Based on the obtained inferences and as per the IGBC standards specific suggestions were given to alter the building physiology.
Exploring the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from the current municipal solid waste system of Kazakhstan: case study of Nur-Sultan city
Authors: Temireyeva A , Zhunussova K , Aidabulov M , Shah D , Sarbassov Y
Published: August 2022

As we move forward, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, particularly in developing countries, contribute notably to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, the MSW sector plays a key role in planning strategies for developing countries such as Kazakhstan to decrease GHG emissions. With respect to the Paris Agreement, Kazakhstan has set the target of reducing GHG emissions to 15-25% by 2030 compared to the level of 1991, which will undoubtedly require certain measures in the field of MSW management. Several recent articles have been published on the waste management sector of Kazakhstan; however, none have explicitly focused on the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and possible pathways towards sustainable management. Thus, this paper describes the existing MSW system in Nur Sultan city as representative for the rest of the country. The quantitative evaluation of GHG emissions from the existing MSW system in the capital is carried out based on the IPCC methodology using the SWM-GHG calculator developed by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU). An assessment and cost analysis of a set of several suitable MSW management scenarios, such as scenario 1: existing case (15% recycling rate and 85% disposal), scenario 2: 30% recyclable materials, and 70% sanitary landfill with gas collection; scenario 3: 30% recyclable materials and 70% biological stabilization and landfill without gas collection; scenario 4: 30% recyclable materials, 20% composting and 50% waste to be sent to the WtE plant (incineration). The level of GHG emissions decreases with the introduction of more integrated waste management methods, but requires more financial investments. Therefore, Scenario 3 is the most efficient to implement in terms of the combination of cost of €19.4 million/year and magnitude of GHG emissions of 48 kt of CO2 eq/year. The outcomes of this work will help to extrapolate the model to other large cities in Kazakhstan
Development of biochar from floral waste for the removal of heavy metal (copper) from the synthetic wastewater
Authors: Racha Udayteja , Sukhavasi Purna Chand , Anuroop P , Chaitanya Rapelli
Published: August 2022

Nowadays, Heavy metals are the prime concern due to their adverse effects on the environment and human beings. It is discharged from various industries such as mining, metal finishing, electroplating, glass, textiles, ceramics, and storage batteries. Copper is the metal used in many electronic devices and involved in other production processes. On the other hand, the amount of floral waste generated from temples and festivals/celebrations are increasing day by day, its impact on the solid waste management process is huge and it creates a fouling smell when it is disposed of improperly. Therefore, the present aim of the project is to utilize the waste flowers for the development of biochar where it is used in the removal of heavy metal i.e., copper from synthetic wastewater. The other advantage of floral biochar is the increase in soil organic matter (SOM) which can influence the soil microclimate, microbial community structure, biomass turnover, and mineralization of nutrients.

The preparation, physicochemical properties, and adsorption mechanisms of floral waste biochar in removing copper metal from synthetic wastewater have been discussed in this study. Biochar was prepared by involving intense carbonation and activated by the acid-alkaline medium. The synthetic heavy metal (copper) wastewater was prepared in the laboratory. 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% of biochar was used in this study. The maximum removal efficiency and sorption capacity was 91.69% and 0.087 mmol/g respectively.

This study demonstrated that adsorbent materials have a stronger heavy-metal adsorption capacity. It can be concluded from this study that adsorption is a very efficient technique for the removal or recovery of heavy metals from the environment. This biochar can be a better alternative for commercially activated carbon based on its production cost, efficiently remove metal ions.
SFGAE: a

s

elf-

f

eature-based

g

raph

a

uto

e

ncoder model for miRNA–disease associations prediction
Authors: Ma Mingyuan , Na Sen , Zhang Xiaolu , Chen Congzhou , Xu Jin
Published: August 2022

Increasing evidence has suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are important biomarkers of various diseases. Numerous graph neural network (GNN) models have been proposed for predicting miRNA–disease associations. However, the existing GNN-based methods have over-smoothing issue—the learned feature embeddings of miRNA nodes and disease nodes are indistinguishable when stacking multiple GNN layers. This issue makes the performance of the methods sensitive to the number of layers, and significantly hurts the performance when more layers are employed. In this study, we resolve this issue by a novel self-feature-based graph autoencoder model, shortened as SFGAE. The key novelty of SFGAE is to construct miRNA-self embeddings and disease-self embeddings, and let them be independent of graph interactions between two types of nodes. The novel self-feature embeddings enrich the information of typical aggregated feature embeddings, which aggregate the information from direct neighbors and hence heavily rely on graph interactions. SFGAE adopts a graph encoder with attention mechanism to concatenate aggregated feature embeddings and self-feature embeddings, and adopts a bilinear decoder to predict links. Our experiments show that SFGAE achieves state-of-the-art performance. In particular, SFGAE improves the average AUC upon recent GAEMDA [1] on the benchmark datasets HMDD v2.0 and HMDD v3.2, and consistently performs better when less (e.g. 10%) training samples are used. Furthermore, SFGAE effectively overcomes the over-smoothing issue and performs stably well on deeper models (e.g. eight layers). Finally, we carry out case studies on three human diseases, colon neoplasms, esophageal neoplasms and kidney neoplasms, and perform a survival analysis using kidney neoplasm as an example. The results suggest that SFGAE is a reliable tool for predicting potential miRNA–disease associations.
CovidGraph: a graph to fight COVID-19
Authors: Gütebier Lea , Bleimehl Tim , Henkel Ron , Munro Jamie , Müller Sebastian , Morgner Axel , Laenge Jakob , Pachauer Anke , Erdl Alexander , Weimar Jens , Walther Langendorf Kirsten , Vialard Vincent , Liebig Thorsten , Preusse Martin , Waltemath Dagmar , Jarasch Alexander
Published: August 2022

Reliable and integrated data are prerequisites for effective research on the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The CovidGraph project integrates and connects heterogeneous COVID-19 data in a knowledge graph, referred to as ‘CovidGraph’. It provides easy access to multiple data sources through a single point of entry and enables flexible data exploration.

Availability and Implementation

More information on CovidGraph is available from the project website: https://healthecco.org/covidgraph/. Source code and documentation are provided on GitHub: https://github.com/covidgraph.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data is available at Bioinformatics online.
Impact of the Use of Oral Antiviral Agents on the Risk of Hospitalization in Community Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients (COVID-19)
Authors: Yip Terry Cheuk-Fung , Lui Grace Chung-Yan , Lai Mandy Sze-Man , Wong Vincent Wai-Sun , Tse Yee-Kit , Ma Bosco Hon-Ming , Hui Elsie , Leung Maria K W , Chan Henry Lik-Yuen , Hui David Shu-Cheong , Wong Grace Lai-Hung
Published: August 2022

Background

We examined the effectiveness of molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in reducing hospitalization and deaths in a real-world cohort of nonhospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods

This was a territory-wide retrospective cohort study in Hong Kong. Nonhospitalized COVID-19 patients who attended designated outpatient clinics between 16 February and 31 March 2022 were identified. Patients hospitalized on the day of the first clinic appointment or used both oral antivirals were excluded. The primary endpoint was hospitalization. The secondary endpoint was a composite of intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation use, and/or death.

Results

Of 93 883 patients, 83 154 (88.6%), 5808 (6.2%), and 4921 (5.2%) were oral antiviral nonusers, molnupiravir users, and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir users, respectively. Compared with nonusers, oral antiviral users were older and had more comorbidities, lower complete vaccination rate, and more hospitalizations in the previous year. Molnupiravir users were older and had more comorbidities, lower complete vaccination rate, and more hospitalizations in the previous year than nirmatrelvir/ritonavir users. At a median follow-up of 30 days, 1931 (2.1%) patients were hospitalized and 225 (0.2%) patients developed the secondary endpoint. After propensity score weighting, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use (weighted hazard ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65–0.95; P = .011) but not molnupiravir use (weighted hazard ratio 1.17; 95% CI, 0.99–1.39; P = .062) was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization than nonusers. The use of molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was not associated with a lower risk of the secondary endpoint as compared with nonusers.

Conclusion

Use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir but not molnupiravir was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization in real-world nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Update of Perinatal Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Transmission in France: Zero Transmission for 5482 Mothers on Continuous Antiretroviral Therapy From Conception and With Undetectable Viral Load at Delivery
Authors: Sibiude Jeanne , Le Chenadec Jérôme , Mandelbrot Laurent , Hoctin Alexandre , Dollfus Catherine , Faye Albert , Bui Eida , Pannier Emmanuelle , Ghosn Jade , Garrait Valerie , Avettand-Fenoel Véronique , Frange Pierre , Warszawski Josiane , Tubiana Roland
Published: August 2022

Background

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is remarkably effective in preventing perinatal transmission (PT) of HIV-1. We evaluated the PT rate in a population of women with widespread access to ART before conception.

Methods

The analysis included 14 630 women with HIV-1 who delivered from 2000 to 2017 at centers participating in the nationwide prospective multicenter French Perinatal Cohort (ANRS-EPF). PT was analyzed according to time period, timing of ART initiation, maternal plasma viral load (pVL), and gestational age at birth. No infants were breastfed, and all received neonatal prophylaxis.

Results

PT decreased between 3 periods, from 1.1% in 2000–2005 (58/5123) to 0.7% in 2006–2010 (30/4600) and to 0.2% in 2011–2017 (10/4907; P < .001). Restriction of the analysis to the 6316/14 630 (43%) women on ART at conception, PT decreased from 0.42% (6/1434) in 2000–2005 to 0.03% (1/3117) in 2011–2017 (P = .007). Among women treated at conception, if maternal pVL was undetectable near delivery, no PT was observed regardless of the ART combination [95%CI 0-0.07] (0/5482). Among women who started ART during pregnancy and with undetectable pVL near delivery, PT was 0.57% [95%CI 0.37-0.83] (26/4596). Among women treated at conception but with a detectable pVL near delivery, PT was 1.08% [95%CI 0.49-2.04] (9/834). We also qualitatively described 10 cases of transmission that occurred during the 2011–2017 period.

Conclusions

In a setting with free access to ART, monthly pVL assessment, infant ART prophylaxis, and in the absence of breastfeeding, suppressive ART initiated before pregnancy and continued throughout pregnancy can reduce PT of HIV to almost zero.
Blood pressure and risk of venous thromboembolism: a cohort analysis of 5.5 million UK adults and Mendelian randomization studies
Authors: Nazarzadeh Milad , Bidel Zeinab , Mohseni Hamid , Canoy Dexter , Pinho-Gomes Ana-Catarina , Hassaine Abdelaali , Dehghan Abbas , Tregouet David-Alexandre , Smith Nicholas L , Rahimi Kazem ,   INVENT Consortium
Published: August 2022

Aims

Evidence for the effect of elevated blood pressure (BP) on the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been conflicting. We sought to assess the association between systolic BP and the risk of VTE.

Methods and results

Three complementary studies comprising an observational cohort analysis, a one-sample and two-sample Mendelian randomization were conducted using data from 5 588 280 patients registered in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) dataset and 432 173 UK Biobank participants with valid genetic data. Summary statistics of International Network on Venous Thrombosis genome-wide association meta-analysis was used for two-sample Mendelian randomization. The primary outcome was the first occurrence of VTE event, identified from hospital discharge reports, death registers, and/or primary care records. In the CPRD cohort, 104 017(1.9%) patients had a first diagnosis of VTE during the 9.6-year follow-up. Each 20 mmHg increase in systolic BP was associated with a 7% lower risk of VTE [hazard ratio: 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.92–0.94)]. Statistically significant interactions were found for sex and body mass index, but not for age and subtype of VTE (pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis). Mendelian randomization studies provided strong evidence for the association between systolic BP and VTE, both in the one-sample [odds ratio (OR): 0.69, (95% CI: 0.57–0.83)] and two-sample analyses [OR: 0.80, 95% CI: (0.70–0.92)].

Conclusion

We found an increased risk of VTE with lower BP, and this association was independently confirmed in two Mendelian randomization analyses. The benefits of BP reduction are likely to outweigh the harms in most patient groups, but in people with predisposing factors for VTE, further BP reduction should be made cautiously.
Attaining sinus rhythm mediates improved outcome with early rhythm control therapy of atrial fibrillation: the EAST-AFNET 4 trial
Authors: Eckardt Lars , Sehner Susanne , Suling Anna , Borof Katrin , Breithardt Guenter , Crijns Harry , Goette Andreas , Wegscheider Karl , Zapf Antonia , Camm John , Metzner Andreas , Kirchhof Paulus
Published: August 2022

Aims

A strategy of systematic, early rhythm control (ERC) improves cardiovascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). It is not known how this outcome-reducing effect is mediated.

Methods and results

Using the Early treatment of Atrial Fibrillation for Stroke prevention Trial (EAST—AFNET 4) data set, potential mediators of the effect of ERC were identified in the total study population at 12-month follow up and further interrogated by use of a four-way decomposition of the treatment effect in an exponential model predicting future primary outcome events. Fourteen potential mediators of ERC were identified at the 12-month visit. Of these, sinus rhythm at 12 months explained 81% of the treatment effect of ERC compared with usual care during the remainder of follow up (4.1 years). In patients not in sinus rhythm at 12 months, ERC did not reduce future cardiovascular outcomes (hazard ratio 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.65–1.67). Inclusion of AF recurrence in the model only explained 31% of the treatment effect, and inclusion of systolic blood pressure at 12 months only 10%. There was no difference in outcomes in patients who underwent AF ablation compared with those who did not undergo AF ablation.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of early rhythm control is mediated by the presence of sinus rhythm at 12 months in the EAST-AFNET 4 trial. Clinicians implementing ERC should aim for rapid and sustained restoration of sinus rhythm in patients with recently diagnosed AF and cardiovascular comorbidities.
Highly malignant disease in childhood-onset arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
Authors: Smedsrud Marit Kristine , Chivulescu Monica , Forså Marianne Inngjerdingen , Castrini Isotta , Aabel Eivind Westrum , Rootwelt-Norberg Christine , Bogsrud Martin Prøven , Edvardsen Thor , Hasselberg Nina Eide , Früh Andreas , Haugaa Kristina Hermann
Published: August 2022

Aims

This study aimed to explore the incidence of severe cardiac events in paediatric arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) patients and ARVC penetrance in paediatric relatives. Furthermore, the phenotype in childhood-onset ARVC was described.

Methods

Consecutive ARVC paediatric patients and genotype positive relatives ≤18 years of age were followed with electrocardiographic, structural, and arrhythmic characteristics according to the 2010 revised Task Force Criteria. Penetrance of ARVC disease was defined as fulfilling definite ARVC criteria and severe cardiac events were defined as cardiac death, heart transplantation (HTx) or severe ventricular arrhythmias. Childhood-onset disease was defined as meeting definite ARVC criteria ≤12 years of age.

Results

Among 62 individuals [age 9.8 (5.0–14.0) years, 11 probands], 20 (32%) fulfilled definite ARVC diagnosis, of which 8 (40%) had childhood-onset disease. The incidence of severe cardiac events was 23% (n = 14) by last follow-up and half of them occurred in patients ≤12 years of age. Among the eight patients with childhood-onset disease, five had biventricular involvement needing HTx and three had severe arrhythmic events. Among the 51 relatives, 6% (n = 3) met definite ARVC criteria at time of genetic diagnosis, increasing to 18% (n = 9) at end of follow-up.

Conclusions

In a paediatric ARVC cohort, there was a high incidence of severe cardiac events and half of them occurred in children ≤12 years of age. The ARVC penetrance in genotype positive paediatric relatives was 18%. These findings of a high-malignant phenotype in childhood-onset ARVC indicate a need for ARVC family screening at younger age than currently recommended.
Empagliflozin in acute myocardial infarction: the EMMY trial
Authors: von Lewinski Dirk , Kolesnik Ewald , Tripolt Norbert J , Pferschy Peter N , Benedikt Martin , Wallner Markus , Alber Hannes , Berger Rudolf , Lichtenauer Michael , Saely Christoph H , Moertl Deddo , Auersperg Pia , Reiter Christian , Rieder Thomas , Siller-Matula Jolanta M , Gager Gloria M , Hasun Matthias , Weidinger Franz , Pieber Thomas R , Zechner Peter M , Herrmann Markus , Zirlik Andreas , Holman Rury R , Oulhaj Abderrahim , Sourij Harald
Published: August 2022

Aims

Sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 inhibition reduces the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and for death in patients with symptomatic heart failure. However, trials investigating the effects of this drug class in patients following acute myocardial infarction are lacking.

Methods and results

In this academic, multicentre, double-blind trial, patients (n = 476) with acute myocardial infarction accompanied by a large creatine kinase elevation (>800 IU/L) were randomly assigned to empagliflozin 10 mg or matching placebo once daily within 72 h of percutaneous coronary intervention. The primary outcome was the N-terminal pro-hormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) change over 26 weeks. Secondary outcomes included changes in echocardiographic parameters. Baseline median (interquartile range) NT-proBNP was 1294 (757–2246) pg/mL. NT-proBNP reduction was significantly greater in the empagliflozin group, compared with placebo, being 15% lower [95% confidence interval (CI) −4.4% to −23.6%] after adjusting for baseline NT-proBNP, sex, and diabetes status (P = 0.026). Absolute left-ventricular ejection fraction improvement was significantly greater (1.5%, 95% CI 0.2–2.9%, P = 0.029), mean E/e′ reduction was 6.8% (95% CI 1.3–11.3%, P = 0.015) greater, and left-ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes were lower by 7.5 mL (95% CI 3.4–11.5 mL, P = 0.0003) and 9.7 mL (95% CI 3.7–15.7 mL, P = 0.0015), respectively, in the empagliflozin group, compared with placebo. Seven patients were hospitalized for heart failure (three in the empagliflozin group). Other predefined serious adverse events were rare and did not differ significantly between groups.

Conclusion

In patients with a recent myocardial infarction, empagliflozin was associated with a significantly greater NT-proBNP reduction over 26 weeks, accompanied by a significant improvement in echocardiographic functional and structural parameters.

ClinicalTrials.gov registration

 NCT03087773.
Rate and nature of complications with leadless transcatheter pacemakers compared with transvenous pacemakers: results from an Italian multicentre large population analysis
Authors: Palmisano Pietro , Facchin Domenico , Ziacchi Matteo , Nigro Gerardo , Nicosia Antonino , Bongiorni Maria Grazia , Tomasi Luca , Rossi Andrea , De Filippo Paolo , Sgarito Giuseppe , Verlato Roberto , Di Silvestro Michele , Iacopino Saverio
Published: August 2022

Aims

The safety and efficacy of leadless intracardiac-permanent pacemaker (L-PM) have been demonstrated in multiple clinical trials, but data on comparisons with conventional transvenous-permanent pacemaker (T-PM) collected in a consecutive, prospective fashion are limited. The aim of this analysis was to compare the rate and the nature of device-related complications between patients undergoing L-PM vs. T-PM implantation.

Methods and results

Prospective, multicentre, observational project enrolling consecutive patients who underwent L-PM or T-PM implantation. The rate and nature of device-related complications were analysed and compared between the two groups. Individual 1:1 propensity matching of baseline characteristics was performed. A total of 2669 (n = 665 L-PM) patients were included and followed for a median of 39 months, L-PM patients were on average older and had more co-morbidities. The risk of device-related complications at 12 months was significantly lower in the L-PM group (0.5% vs. 1.9%, P = 0.009). Propensity matching yielded 442 matched pairs. In the matched cohort, L-PM patients trended toward having a lower risk of overall device-related complications (P = 0.129), had a similar risk of early complications (≤30 days) (P = 1.000), and had a significantly lower risk of late complications (>30 days) (P = 0.031). All complications observed in L-PM group were early. Most (75.0%) of complications observed in T-PM group were lead- or pocket-related.

Conclusion

In this analysis, the risk of device-related complications associated with L-PM implantation tended to be lower than that of T-PM. Specifically, the risk of early complications was similar in two types of PMs, while the risk of late complications was significantly lower for L-PM than T-PM.