bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing for cardiovascular risk assessment in patients undergoing gastric and oesophageal cancer surgery: results from a prospective interventional cohort study
Authors: Ozova Maryam , Chomakhidze Petr , Poltavskaya Maria , Vychuzhanin Dmitry , Kopylov Philippe , Saner Hugo , Andreev Denis
Published: July 2022

Background

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) has shown to be useful for preoperative risk stratification in various types of intra-abdominal and thoracic surgery. However, data about the predictive value of CPET for cardiovascular outcome after gastric or oesophageal cancer surgery are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of CPET parameters for the prediction of cardiovascular complications in patients with this type of surgery.

Methods

This is a prospective single-centre interventional cohort study including 200 consecutive patients who underwent elective surgery for oesophageal and/or gastric cancer. Symptom-limited CPET was performed preoperatively to evaluate the potential of various test-derived parameters including anaerobic threshold (AT) to predict cardiovascular complications within 30 days after surgery.

Results

200 patients (mean age 68±14.2 years) met inclusion and exclusion criteria: oesophageal surgery 54 pts, gastric surgery 132 pts and combined oesophageal/gastric surgery 14 pts. 41/200 pts (20.5%) experienced cardiovascular complications during and within 30 days after surgery including 4 non-fatal myocardial infarctions (2%), 1 stroke (0.5%); 6 dead from cardiovascular causes (3%) and less serious complications in 30 patients (15%) including angina attacks and antiarrhythmic therapy for ventricular arrhythmias or for atrial fibrillation/flutter. Results from preoperative CPET indicate that an AT level below 11 mL/kg/min was highly predictive for any cardiovascular complication (p=0.02, OR 6.33, 95% CI 1.78 to 22.47). An AT level <9.5 had the best predictive accuracy for major perioperative cardiac complications (sensitivity 93%, specificity 68%, positive predicative value 75%, negative predicative value 98.8%).

Conclusion

CPET is a useful perioperative risk assessment tool for patients undergoing surgery for oesophageal and gastric cancer, which carries a particularly high risk for cardiovascular complications. An AT <9.5 mL/kg/min turned out to be the most reliable predictor for major cardiovascular complications.
Maternal and infant outcomes in pregnancies of women with axial spondyloarthritis compared with matched controls: results from nationwide health insurance data
Authors: Redeker Imke , Strangfeld Anja , Callhoff Johanna , Marschall Ursula , Zink Angela , Baraliakos Xenofon
Published: July 2022

Objectives

To investigate pregnancy outcomes in women with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) under different pharmacological treatments in comparison with matched controls.

Methods

Using health insurance data from 2006 to 2019, pregnancy outcomes of women with axSpA were compared with those of age-matched and calendar year-matched controls without axSpA. Women with axSpA were further stratified by treatment prior to delivery and pregnancy outcomes compared. Adjusted ORs (aORs) with 95% CIs were calculated using generalised estimating equation analyses.

Results

A total of 1021 pregnancy outcomes in patients with axSpA were identified (928 deliveries, 80 abortions, 13 ectopic pregnancies) and compared with 10 210 pregnancy outcomes in controls (9488 deliveries, 615 abortions, 147 ectopic pregnancies). Compared with controls, women with axSpA showed higher odds of elective caesarean section (aOR 1.52; 1.25 to 1.85).

Among women with axSpA, the risk of preterm birth was higher under non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) treatment (aOR 2.22; 1.09 to 4.52) than without any anti-inflammatory treatment. The risks of preterm birth (aOR 4.01; 1.93 to 8.34) and small-for-gestational-age (aOR 3.22; 1.34 to 7.73) were increased under NSAIDs treatment in combination with conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), steroids or analgesics. Non-significant increased risks of small-for-gestational-age (aOR 1.68; 0.43 to 6.57) and preterm birth (aOR 1.56; 0.51 to 4.83) were found under biological DMARDs.

Conclusions

Women with axSpA have significantly increased odds of caesarean section compared with matched controls. Risks of preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age vary by type of anti-inflammatory treatment.
The exclusive vision of rare K and B decays and of the quark mixing in the standard model
Authors: Buras Andrzej J. , Venturini Elena
Published: July 2022

The most common predictions for rareKandBdecay branching ratios in the Standard Model in the literature are based on the CKM elements$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|and$$|V_{ub}|$$|Vub|resulting from global fits, that are in the ballpark of their inclusive and exclusive determinations, respectively. In the present paper we follow another route, which to our knowledge has not been explored for$$\Delta M_{s,d}$$ΔMs,dand rareKandBdecays by anybody to date. We assume, in contrast to the prevailinginclusiveexpectations for$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|, that the future true values of$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|and$$|V_{ub}|$$|Vub|will be both fromexclusivedeterminations; in practice we use the most recent averages from FLAG. With the precisely known$$|V_{us}|$$|Vus|the resulting rare decay branching ratios,$$\varepsilon _K$$εK,$$\Delta M_d$$ΔMd,$$\Delta M_s$$ΔMsand$$S_{\psi K_S}$$SψKSdepend then only on the angles$$\beta $$βand$$\gamma $$γin the unitarity triangle that moreover are correlated through the CKM unitarity. An unusual pattern of SM predictions results from this study with some existing tensions being dwarfed and new tensions being born. In particular using HPQCD$$B^0_{s,d}-{{\bar{B}}}^0_{s,d}$$Bs,d0-B¯s,d0hadronic matrix elements a$$3.1\sigma $$3.1σtension in$$\Delta M_s$$ΔMsindependently of$$\gamma $$γis found. For$$60^\circ \le \gamma \le 75^\circ $$60∘≤γ≤75∘the tension in$$\Delta M_d$$ΔMdbetween$$4.0\sigma $$4.0σand$$1.1\sigma $$1.1σis found and in the case of$$\varepsilon _K$$εKbetween$$5.2\sigma $$5.2σand$$2.1\sigma $$2.1σ. Moreover, the room for new physics in$$K^+\rightarrow \pi ^+\nu {\bar{\nu }}$$K+→π+νν¯,$$K_L\rightarrow \pi ^0\nu {\bar{\nu }}$$KL→π0νν¯and$$B\rightarrow K(K^*)\nu {\bar{\nu }}$$B→K(K∗)νν¯decays is significantly increased. We compare the results in this EXCLUSIVE scenario with the HYBRID one in which$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|in the former scenario is replaced by the most recent inclusive$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|and present the dependence of all observables considered by us in both scenarios as functions of$$\gamma $$γ. As a byproduct we compare the determination of$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|from$$\Delta M_s$$ΔMs,$$\Delta M_d$$ΔMd,$$\varepsilon _K$$εKand$$S_{\psi K_S}$$SψKSusing$$B^0_{s,d}-{{\bar{B}}}^0_{s,d}$$Bs,d0-B¯s,d0hadronic matrix elements from LQCD with$$2+1+1$$2+1+1flavours,$$2+1$$2+1flavours and their average. Only for the$$2+1+1$$2+1+1case values for$$\beta $$βand$$\gamma $$γexist for which the same value of$$|V_{cb}|$$|Vcb|is found:$$|V_{cb}|=42.6(4)\times 10^{-3}$$|Vcb|=42.6(4)×10-3,$$\gamma =64.6(16)^\circ $$γ=64.6(16)∘and$$\beta =22.2(7)^\circ $$β=22.2(7)∘. This in turn implies a$$2.7\sigma $$2.7σanomaly in$$B_s\rightarrow \mu ^+\mu ^-$$Bs→μ+μ-.
Referring Expression Comprehension Via Enhanced Cross-modal Graph Attention Networks
Authors: Wang Jia , Ke Jingcheng , Shuai Hong-Han , Li Yung-Hui , Cheng Wen-Huang
Published: July 2022

Referring expression comprehension aims to localize a specific object in an image according to a given language description. It is still challenging to comprehend and mitigate the gap between various types of information in the visual and textual domains. Generally, it needs to extract the salient features from a given expression and match the features of expression to an image. One challenge in referring expression comprehension is the number of region proposals generated by object detection methods is far more than the number of entities in the corresponding language description. Remarkably, the candidate regions without described by the expression will bring a severe impact on referring expression comprehension. To tackle this problem, we first propose a novel Enhanced Cross-modal Graph Attention Networks (ECMGANs) that boosts the matching between the expression and the entity position of an image. Then, an effective strategy named Graph Node Erase (GNE) is proposed to assist ECMGANs in eliminating the effect of irrelevant objects on the target object. Experiments on three public referring expression comprehension datasets show unambiguously that our ECMGANs framework achieves better performance than other state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, GNE is able to obtain higher accuracies of visual-expression matching effectively.
Rheology and Thixotropy of Cement Pastes Containing Polyacrylamide
Authors: Su Zhenhua , Li Chunxiao , Jiang Guilin , Li Jiajie , Lu Hao , Guo Fenghui
Published: July 2022

In this article, the rheological and thixotropic properties of fresh cement pastes (fcps) with nonionic polyacrylamide (PAM) are investigated through the coaxial rotary method. The B-HB model is resorted to fit the shear stress versus shear rate diagram, from which the slurry plastic viscosity is particularly discussed. The results show that with the development of PAM, the plastic viscosity increases first, then decreases, and then increases again, exhibiting the “up-down-up” trend, which is consistent with the fcps fluidity. The adsorption, lubrication, and entanglement mechanisms of PAM are successfully used to interpret this phenomenon. Combined with the suspension density, the relationship among plastic viscosity, flowability, and density is successfully established follower via a multivariate linear regression method. The Durbin-Watson coefficient, variance inflation factor,

μ

significance,

ρ

significance, and

R

2

are 2.122, 1.024, 0.014, 0.004, and 0.776, respectively, demonstrating the feasibility of fitting formula. Besides that, the PAM containing slurry which exhibits the explicit thixotropy is also found according to the appeared hysteresis curve during one shearing cycle. With the increase of PAM dosage, the thixotropic indexes including Th1 and Th2 decreased, until the PAM exceeded 0.5%-0.6% dosage, both of them yielded negative values. The phenomenon that the fcps final shear stress exceeds its initial value occurs.
Vaspin Alleviates Sepsis-Induced Cardiac Injury and Cardiac Inflammation by Inhibiting Kallikrein 7 in Mice
Authors: Yin Na , Pan Fuze , Qiu Lingyue , Yang Zicong , Xiong Rixin , Shi Lei , Shi Ying , Wu Ning , Wu Kui , Li Qingkuan , Wen Daojun , Huang Qili , Zhang Yuyan , Mi Yuhong , Ji Qingwei
Published: July 2022

Background. Vaspin is an important adipokine that is involved in cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed at investigating whether vaspin participates in sepsis-induced cardiac injury and explored the possible mechanism. Methods. First, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used to establish a mouse model of sepsis, and cardiac vaspin expression was examined. In addition, after pretreatment with vaspin or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), wild-type (WT) mice underwent CLP to establish a septic model and received sham as a control. Finally, WT mice and kallikrein 7 (KLK7-/-) mice were underwent CLP with or without vaspin pretreatment. Results. Mice that underwent CLP and were administered LPS exhibited increased vaspin expression in both the heart and serum compared with sham- or saline-treated mice. In CLP mice, pretreatment with vaspin reduced mortality and alleviated the expression of cardiac injury markers and cardiac dysfunction. In addition, vaspin reduced the cardiac levels of CD45+ cells and CD68+ cells, alleviated the cardiac inflammatory response, and reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. The protective effects of vaspin on CLP mice were masked by the deletion of KLK7, which was demonstrated to be a downstream signal of vaspin. Conclusions. Vaspin alleviates cardiac inflammation and plays a protective role in sepsis-induced cardiac injury by reducing KLK7 expression.
Investigation of the Effectiveness of Traditional Breathing Therapy on Pulmonary Function in College Students with Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Pei Yunxiang , Fan Yongzhao , Kong Xiaoyang , Sun Huan , Zhou Jun , Wu Hao
Published: July 2022

Background. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a problem that involves many body systems, but its impact on the respiratory system deserves special attention. While there are many studies investigating the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to treat lung function in patients with sleep apnea, the lack of studies in the literature on the effects of traditional breathing therapy on lung function in patients with OSA prompted us to conduct such a study. Objective. The present randomized trial aims to assess the effect of traditional breathing therapy on daytime sleepiness and pulmonary function in college students with OSA. Methods. Forty college students (male) with OSA were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (CG) and the traditional breathing therapy group (TG). Daytime sleepiness symptoms in OSA are measured primarily by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Pulmonary function measurements included FVC, FEV1, PEE, and MEF50%. The changes in morning blood pressure (BP), including diastolic BP and systolic BP, were also recorded. Data were recorded before and after the experiment. Results. A decrease in ESS at 12 weeks after intervention had statistical significance compared with values recorded before intervention (P < 0.05). A decrease in systolic and diastolic BP at 12 weeks after intervention had statistical significance compared with values recorded before intervention (P < 0.05). Comparisons made in terms of pulmonary functions demonstrated a statistically significant increase in 12‐week postintervention values of FVC, FEV1, PEF, and MEF50% (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Our study shows the positive effects of traditional breathing therapy on pulmonary function parameters. This suggests that traditional breathing therapy treatment in OSA patients is as effective as CPAP on pulmonary function, while there is an improvement in daytime sleepiness and a modest decline in the mean daytime systolic and diastolic BP.
Numerical Approximation of Compressible Two-Phase Six-Equation Model Using
CE
/
SE
and RKDG Schemes
Authors: Rabbani Omar , Zia Saqib , Ahmed Munshoor , Rehman Asad , Khan Ilyas , Andualem Mulugeta
Published: July 2022

In this article, two-phase compressible six equation flow model is numerically investigated. The six-equation model consists of velocity, pressure equations, and also relaxation terms. An extra seventh equation is included describing the total energy of the mixture to ensure the correct treatment of the sharp discontinuities. The model is hyperbolic and poses numerous difficulties for numerical schemes. An efficient and well-balanced scheme can handle the numerical difficulties related to this model. The second order space-time CE/SE scheme is extended to solve the model. This scheme offers an effective numerical method for several continuum mechanics problems. The suggested scheme suppresses the numerical oscillations and dissipation effects. Several numerical test cases have been carried out to reveal the efficiency and performance of the proposed approach. The results are compared with the exact solution and also with Runge-Kutta Discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) and central (NT) schemes.
Optimization of Lateral Collision Risk of Aircraft Based on the Skid-Slip Event Model
Authors: Liu Hao , Zhu Daiwu , Xie Xiaofan , Chen Jiuhao , Liu Xiaokang
Published: July 2022

With the development of aircraft flow under the existing airspace capacity now, the shortage of airspace resources and flight delays have become significantly severe. Therefore, building a safe and efficient mathematical model from quantitative analysis and improving the scientificity of route planning and management are essential propositions for future research on new navigation systems. Based on the traditional event collision risk assessment model, the collision module is upgraded to an ellipsoid according to the performance of aircraft, integrating the boundary curvature optimization characteristics of the TSRRT (task-space rapidly-exploring random trees) algorithm. An aircraft event lateral conflict resolution model based on the TSRRT algorithm is proposed. Taking the A320 aircraft and 737-800 aircraft as experimental subjects, the corresponding collision coefficients are imported into software tools for the simulation and the Kalman filtering is combined to verify the smoothness of the front and rear boundary curvatures. The result proves that the event side collision risk of aircraft based on TSRRT is 15% of the traditional event model and the smooth curvature error is reduced by 80% due to the improvement. Therefore, the improved event model is practical and valuable, providing a theoretical basis for future track-based operations.
Stratification Failure Mechanism of Coal Pillar Floor Strata with Different Strength in Short Distance Coal Seams
Authors: He Fulian , Kang Qingtao , Yin Shuaifeng , Liu Yuli , Wang Zhishuai , Gao Linsheng
Published: July 2022

The failure of strata with different strength under coal pillar in close distance coal seams has its particularity. Theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and similar test were used to obtain the failure mechanism of the soft and hard stratification of floor strata under the boundary of wide coal pillar and make out the influence of the strata failure on roadway layout. It shows that the failure of the soft and hard stratification is not synchronous and with different failure forms. The deformation and plastic failure of the soft strata occurs at first; then the fracture of the main bearing hard stratum occurs. Based on the main bearing stratum unbalanced forces acted by upper and lower strata, the initial fracture position and broken blocks span were calculated by bending fracture mechanics model of ultimate span beam. The coal pillar side of the roadway under coal pillar forms “column-beam-column” superimposed structure. The roadway layout under coal pillar and under coal pillar boundary with close distance has large influence on the plastic extension of the “column-beam-column” superimposed structure and the broken of main bearing stratum. The influence of roadway arrangement in floor strata outside coal pillar is smaller than those under coal pillar. It is difficult to control the deformation of roadway surrounding rock if the roadway locates beneath the broken blocks of the main bearing stratum.
Polygonatum Polysaccharide Regulates Macrophage Polarization and Improves LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury through TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB Pathway
Authors: Zhou Weizheng , Hong Jiang , Liu Tao , Li Mengxing , Jin Hai , Wang Xiaowei
Published: July 2022

Objective. To investigate the effects of polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharides (PSPs) on the polarization of macrophages to M1 and M2 phenotypes and their potential mechanism. Methods. PSPs samples were prepared through water extraction and alcohol precipitation assay. The properties of PSPs were identified and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, FT-IR, and NMR assay. Then, the effects of PSPs on mouse macrophage RAW264.7 viability were measured by CCK-8 assay. The cells were randomly divided into the control group, PSPs group, LPS group, and LPS + PSPs group. M1 phenotype polarization of RAW264.7 cells was induced by LPS treatment. The effects of various treatments on expression of M2 phenotype CD206, activation of TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB signal pathway, and translocation of NF-κB into the nucleus were determined by ELISA, western blot, and immunofluorescence assay, respectively. TLR4 inhibitor, TAK-242, and MAPK inhibitor, BIRB 796, were used to verify the effects of PSPs on the TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB pathway. The mice model of acute lung injury (ALI) was established and randomly divided into control group, PSPs group, LPS group, and LPS + PSPs group. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue were collected to measure protein, inflammatory cells, neutrophil and macrophage cells number, and the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in BALF. Flow cytometry and western blot assay measured the phenotypic changes of macrophages and the activation of the TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Results. The concentrations of PSPs lower than 100 μg/mL showed no toxicity to RAW264.7 cells. PSPs treatment could significantly reverse the reduction of CD206 protein expression (

P
<
0.05

) and the increase of the expression of inflammatory factor TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 (all

P
<
0.05

), TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway activation (all

P
<
0.05

), and NF-κB translocation into the nucleus induced by LPS. The effect of inhibitors TAK-242 and BIRB 796 was consistent with that of PSPs. In the mice model of ALI, PSPs treatment could reduce the total protein levels of BALF and the number of inflammatory cells level, reverse the number changes of neutrophils and macrophages, and downregulate the proinflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α caused by LPS (all

P
<
0.05

). In addition, PSPs treatment could also significantly reverse the increase in the number of iNOS expressing macrophages in alveolar lavage fluid induced by LPS (

P
<
0.05

). In contrast, CD206-expressed cells decreased (

P
<
0.05

). PSPs could also reverse LPS-induced TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB signal pathway protein activation (all

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. PSPs could suppress TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB activation induced by LPS, inhibit M1 phenotypic polarization of macrophages, and promote M2 phenotypic polarization, thus playing an anti-inflammatory role.
Effect of Confining Pressure on Mechanical and Energy Conversion Properties of Gas-Containing Coal under Loads
Authors: Zhang Zhizhen , Niu Yixin , Shang Xiaoji , Zhou Rui , Liu Xingguang , Gao Feng
Published: July 2022

Confining pressure is closely related to the deformation and failure characteristics of gas-containing coal and is one of the key factors for gas outburst-rockburst coupled dynamic disaster. Firstly, this paper briefly summarized the triaxial compression test results of gas-containing coal under different confining pressures, including deformation and stiffness and failure and strength. Then, based on the second developed MatDEM gas-solid coupling program, the macro- and microdeformation and failure process of coal samples under different confining pressures and constant gas pressure were simulated, and the distribution of particle stress, pore stress, and crack, as well as energy conversion characteristics, was obtained. Finally, the influence mechanism of confining pressure on deformation and failure of gas-containing coal was discussed, and the occurrence conditions of coal and gas outburst, rockburst, and their coupled dynamic disasters were distinguished. The results show that the peak strength and residual strength after failure of gas-containing coal both increase approximately linearly with the increase of confining pressure, while the elastic modulus does not change much or increases continuously, which is closely related to the number of microdefects in the coal sample. The strengthening effect of confining pressure on rock stiffness and strength mainly comes from external support and compaction. The total number of cracks decreases with the increase of confining pressure, while the number of shear cracks increases, and the inclination angle between the formed macroscopic main crack and the horizontal plane gradually decreases. The maximum cumulative elastic energy and residual elastic energy both increase with the increase of confining pressure, which leads to the increase of the impact tendency index of coal samples.
Curcumin Attenuates Ferroptosis-Induced Myocardial Injury in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy through the Nrf2 Pathway
Authors: Wei Zhang , Shaohuan Qian , Pinfang Kang , Chao Shi
Published: July 2022

Diabetes causes lipid peroxide to accumulate within cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, lipid peroxide buildup is a risk factor for ferroptosis. This study is aimed at examining whether curcumin can ameliorate ferroptosis in the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson sections were used to examine the morphology, arrangement, and degree of fibrosis of the myocardium of diabetic rabbit models. The expression levels of nuclear Nrf2, Gpx4, Cox1, and Acsl4 in diabetic animal and cell models were quantitatively analyzed using immunofluorescence and western blotting. Nrf2-overexpression lentivirus vectors were transfected into cardiomyocytes, and the protective effects of curcumin and Nrf2 on cardiomyocytes under high glucose stimulation were assessed using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling and reactive oxygen species probes. Diabetes was found to disorder myocardial cell arrangement and significantly increase the degree of myocardial fibrosis and collagen expression in myocardial cells. Curcumin treatment can increase nuclear transfer of Nrf2 and the expression of Gpx4 and HO-1, reduce glucose induced myocardial cell damage, and reverse myocardial cell damage caused by the ferroptosis inducer erastin. This study confirmed that curcumin can promote the nuclear translocation of Nrf2, increase the expression of oxidative scavenging factors, such as HO-1, reduce excessive Gpx4 loss, and inhibit glucose-induced ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes. This highlights a potentially new therapeutic route for investigation for the treatment diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Prediction of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus under Cascade and Ensemble Learning Algorithm
Authors: Zhang Jie , Wang Fang
Published: July 2022

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the risk factors for fetal dysplasia and maternal pregnancy difficulties. Therefore, the prediction of the risk of GDM in advance has become a big demand for millions of families. Therefore, machine learning technology is adopted to study GDM prediction. Firstly, the data is preprocessed, and the mean value is used for outlier processing. After preprocessing of the data, the IV value method is used to screen the features. Of the 83 features in the original sample data, 40 important features are screened out through feature engineering. On this basis, Logistics regression model, Lasso-Logistics, Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Extreme Gradient Boosting (Xgboost), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (Lightgbm), and Gradient Boosting Categorical Features (Catboost) are established, and multiple learners are integrated. Finally, the constructed model is tested on data sets. The accuracy of the proposed model is 80.3%, the accuracy is 74.6%, the recall rate is 79.3%, and the running time is only 2.53 seconds. This means that the proposed model is superior to the previous models in terms of accuracy, precision, recall rate, and F1 value, and the time consumption is also in line with the actual engineering requirements. The proposed scheme provides some ideas for the research of machine learning technology in disease prediction.
Risk Factors of Urinary Tract Infection in Pediatric Patients with Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction after Primary Unilateral Pyeloplasty
Authors: Wang Hongyang , Hao Chunsheng , Bai Dongsheng
Published: July 2022

Objective. Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) represents to a leading cause of fetal hydronephrosis, which is associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) and urinary stone disease. This study is aimed at investigating risk factors of UTI in pediatric patients with UPJO after primary unilateral pyeloplasty. Methods. The records of a consecutive series of patients undergoing primary pyeloplasty at a single institution between June 2015 and November 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic and clinical characteristics, including age, gender, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), neutrophil ratio, lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, renal pelvis anteroposterior diameter (APD), renal cortex thickness, caliectasis, open or laparoscopic pyeloplasty, and internal drainage or external drainage, were collected and analyzed. The incidence of postoperative UTI and its risk factors was analyzed. Results. A total of 504 patients were enrolled in the study, and they were classified into the UTI group (

n
=
188

) and non-UTI group (

n
=
361

). Univariate analysis of the incidence of UTI revealed that age, gender, weight, height, BMI, surgical modality, Cr level, BUN level, neutrophil ratio, lymphocyte ratio and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, renal cortex thickness, and postoperative drainage modality were associated with UTI incidence after pyeloplasty in pediatric patients with UPJO. Multivariate analysis revealed that male gender, <19 months,

weight
<
11.5

(kg),

height
<
83

(cm),

BMI
<
17.09

,

BUN
>
4.08

(mmol/L), and internal drainage were risk factors of postoperative UTI in pediatric patients with UPJO. Conclusion. Our study demonstrated that male gender, <19 months,

weight
<
11.5

(kg),

height
<
83

(cm),

BMI
<
17.09

,

BUN
>
4.08

(mmol/L), and internal drainage were risk factors of UTI in pediatric patients with UPJO after primary unilateral pyeloplasty, which may provide reference for prophylactic antibiotics for those patients with risk factors.
Changing Effects of Minimally Invasive Surgical Intervention on ALT, AST, and UA in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome
Authors: Yu Liang-Cai , Zhao Xin , Liu Li-Jun , Li Xiao-Ying , Zhou Jin , Zeng Ping , Zhang Xiao-Qing
Published: July 2022

Background. This study aims at exploring the effect of obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) on the liver and kidney function indexes of patients and analyze the changes in these indexes after minimally invasive surgery. Method. Patients with OSAHS (n = 51) who were diagnosed via polysomnography (PSG) and received minimally invasive surgery in the sleep disorders diagnosis and treatment center of the West China Fourth Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2017 to January 2019 were selected as test subjects and placed in the OSAHS group. At the same time, 79 healthy people with no snoring or breathing difficulties were selected from the medical examination center of the hospital as the control group (tested as normal by PSG). These two groups were used to compare the differences in the related indexes of serum liver and kidney function and evaluate the changes in sleep monitoring and related liver and kidney function indexes in patients with OSAHS after minimally invasive surgery. Results. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and uric acid (UA) levels were higher in the OSAHS group (48.98 ± 36.34, 28.88 ± 14.80, and 422.30 ± 98.65, respectively) than in the control group (21.91 ± 11.61, 22.18 ± 6.19, and 330.49 ± 64.45 and t = 6.514, 3.549, and 6.373, respectively;

p
<
0.05

). Of the patients with OSAHS, 17 were followed up for one year. After minimally invasive surgery, ALT decreased from 44.29 ± 20.61 to 26.47 ± 9.91 (t = 4.395), AST decreased from 27.71 ± 8.32 to 21.82 ± 4.81 (t = 3.673), and UA decreased from 397.35 ± 92.14 umol/L to 362.94 ± 106.76 umol/L (t = 2.580), and these differences were statistically significant (

p
<
0.05

).The changes in ALT (r = −0.635) and AST (r = −0.504) were related to the difference in the lowest blood oxygen saturation (

p
<
0.05

), and the change in UA was related to the difference in the apnea–hypopnea index (r = −0.532,

p
<
0.05

). Conclusion. There are some abnormalities in liver- and kidney-function-related indexes in patients with OSAHS, and minimally invasive surgery can help to improve liver and kidney function in these patients.
Relationship between Preoperative Hemoglobin and Hospital Stays in Patients Receiving Prime Total Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Cai Xiao , Li Peipei , Wang Xue , Hu Jing , Wen Lian , Duan Yajing , Mu Zhenzhen , Zhi Hong
Published: July 2022

Previous evidence has shown that preoperative hemoglobin is related to poor prognosis after primary total knee arthroplasty. Reviewing cohort research was conducted at the third-level academic medical center in Singapore and involved 2,676 patients. Population statistics, complications, preoperative hemoglobin (Hb) levels, length of hospital stay (LOS), and readmission information of thirty days were obtained. Anemia was defined based on the World Health Organization (WHO). LOS extension was with the definition as no less than six days with >1/75 LOS corresponding to the data. According to the study requirements, we finally collected 2273 patients. We plotted the relationship between hemoglobin levels and length of stay. We analyzed 2273 patients, with 140 cases of Hb ≤ 11.0 g/dL, 831 cases of Hb 11.0–12.9 g/dL, and the other 1320 cases of Hb ≥ 13.0 g/dL. The mean age of patients with prolonged LOS (68.4 ± 8.2 years) was higher than that of patients with familiar LOS (65.9 ± 8.0 years). In addition, patients with extended LOS had higher ASA-PS values, a history of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), diabetes mellitus (DM), and ischemic heart disease (IHD) (

P
<
0.001

), repeated surgery within 30 days, HB, and operative time (min) (

P
<
0.01

). Variables independently related to increased risk of extended LOS included general anesthesia (GA) (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.4,

P
=
0.005

,

P
=
0.005

), CVA (aOR 3.0,

P
<
0.001

), DM (aOR 1.4,

P
=
0.032

), and HB < 11 g/dL. Variables increased LOS included HB ≥ 13 g/dL (aOR 0.4,

P
<
0.001

) and Hb 11.0–12.9 g/dL (aOR 0.5,

P
=
0.001

). Hb was 14 g/dL, and LOS decreased by at least 0.24 days for each 1 g increase in preoperative Hb before the inflection point (95%CI 0.12 to 0.36,

P
=
0.0001

). Anemia is familiar in patients receiving elective total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Singapore. Thus, this study describes that the preoperative hemoglobin was associated with length of stay. We found that on the left where HB was 14, length of stay decreased with increased hemoglobin values. We recommend preoperative correction of anemia to determine the diagnosis.
IOT-Oriented Visual Target Tracking and Supply Chain Art Product Design
Authors: Song Hua
Published: July 2022

Visual target tracking technology has always been one of the hotspots in the field of computer vision. After analyzing the above two problems and introducing real-time tracking, this article makes corresponding improvements to the visual target tracking structure of the Internet of Things. Based on this point, this article finally brings together related theories such as the Internet of Things and supply chain, starting from practical problems, inspecting the current situation of the supply chain of Chinese art product design companies, and proposing the necessity of establishing a systemic risk indicator system to use in the product supply chain; this article uses the HHM method to identify the risk factors of the artwork in the Internet of Things environment and promotes a multiangle risk analysis tailored to its own characteristics in the product supply chain. According to controllable risks and uncontrollable risks, combined with the structural level of the Internet of Things system, risks are divided into detection risk layer, network layer (information layer), application layer risk, and other risks. This article combines the above-mentioned visual target tracking technology with the relationship between the Internet of Things supply chains, uses the G1 method and the entropy weight method to determine the risk indicators for the subject and purpose of the risk weight, and classifies the risk indicators to propose risk control measures.
Swarm Intelligence Algorithms for Portfolio Optimization Problems: Overview and Recent Advances
Authors: Chen Yinnan , Zhao Xinchao , Yuan Jianmei
Published: July 2022

Due to the volatility and uncertainty of the financial market, investors often use the form of portfolio to actively manage their assets. Portfolio optimization (PO) is becoming more and more important for investors. However, PO is frequently a kind of NP-hard problem in the field of modern financial optimization, which has gradually attracted the attention and interest of researchers. Some efficient mathematical models were built to describe the return and risk of portfolio. A lot of precise and approximate fast algorithms are used to solve the established PO models. The fundamental purpose is to maximize the return and to minimize the risk of portfolio under certain constraints. In recent years, researchers not only limit the goal of PO to the balance between risk and return, but also pay attention to liquidity, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) controversy level, Sortino ratio, and other indicators. The number of PO targets and constraints is further extended. In the past two decades, swarm intelligence (SI) algorithms have been widely introduced to solve PO problems. SI algorithm is mainly inspired from the daily phenomena in nature or self-organization, self-adaptation, and self-learning of biological population. The existing research results show that SI algorithm has the characteristics of high efficiency and can obtain satisfactory solutions in solving PO problems. The recent advances on the classic portfolio optimization concepts, models, and the usual SI-based solving algorithms are presented. Finally, future potential research directions are presented.
COVID-19 Classification from Chest X-Ray Images: A Framework of Deep Explainable Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Khan Muhammad Attique , Azhar Marium , Ibrar Kainat , Alqahtani Abdullah , Alsubai Shtwai , Binbusayyis Adel , Kim Ye Jin , Chang Byoungchol
Published: July 2022

COVID-19 detection and classification using chest X-ray images is a current hot research topic based on the important application known as medical image analysis. To halt the spread of COVID-19, it is critical to identify the infection as soon as possible. Due to time constraints and the expertise of radiologists, manually diagnosing this infection from chest X-ray images is a difficult and time-consuming process. Artificial intelligence techniques have had a significant impact on medical image analysis and have also introduced several techniques for COVID-19 diagnosis. Deep learning and explainable AI have shown significant popularity among AL techniques for COVID-19 detection and classification. In this work, we propose a deep learning and explainable AI technique for the diagnosis and classification of COVID-19 using chest X-ray images. Initially, a hybrid contrast enhancement technique is proposed and applied to the original images that are later utilized for the training of two modified deep learning models. The deep transfer learning concept is selected for the training of pretrained modified models that are later employed for feature extraction. Features of both deep models are fused using improved canonical correlation analysis that is further optimized using a hybrid algorithm named Whale-Elephant Herding. Through this algorithm, the best features are selected and classified using an extreme learning machine (ELM). Moreover, the modified deep models are utilized for Grad-CAM visualization. The experimental process was conducted on three publicly available datasets and achieved accuracies of 99.1, 98.2, and 96.7%, respectively. Moreover, the ablation study was performed and showed that the proposed accuracy is better than the other methods.
How Arabidopsis Receptor-Like Kinase 7 (RLK7) Manifests: Delineating Its Structure and Function
Authors: Chowdhury Ramen , Mubassir M. H. M.
Published: July 2022

Like animals, plants customarily utilize cell surface-localized receptors to keep track of environmental stimuli, specifically by plasma membrane-associated receptor-like kinases (RLKs). In comparison to other organisms, plants own a variety of RLKs, which insinuates that ligand-receptor-facilitated molecular mechanisms regulate an array of processes during plant development. Here, we take up Arabidopsis receptor-like kinase 7 (RLK7), which shares the archetypal structure of transmembrane receptor kinases accompanied by a receptor-like ectodomain comprising of leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) along with a functional intracellular kinase domain. Interestingly, this distinctive receptor-like kinase not only orchestrates crucial steps during plant development, including the regulation of seed longevity, dormancy, and seed germination speed, but also plays a role in oxidative stress tolerance, salt stress tolerance, and pattern-triggered immunity. This review deciphers the sequence and structure and evaluates existing knowledge of the function and expression pattern of RLK7.
Using the WSPR Mode for Antenna Performance Evaluation and Propagation Assessment on the 160-m Band
Authors: Vanhamel Jurgen , Machiels Walter , Lamy Hervé
Published: July 2022

In the last couple of years, the use of weak signal propagation reporter (WSPR) has grown significantly in the radio amateur community and beyond. This protocol allows to probe potential propagation paths between radio transceivers, operating at a low-power level. The protocol decodes the received signals and translates them into appropriate signal-to-noise ratio levels, which reveal the possible propagation paths between the transmitter and receiver using ionospheric reflections. In this article, specifically the 160-m radio amateur band is addressed. This band used less intensity for WSPR communication, compared to the other radio amateur bands (80 m and 40 m). Additionally, the 160-m band has specific features such as the link between propagation performance and the Earth’s electron gyro-effect. The aim of this article is to address these features experimentally. First, two identical 160-m band WSPR receiver stations are conditioned to compare the performance of different 160-m band antennas. Each setup, separated by a limited distance, generates almost identical SNR reports, allowing the comparison between the two antennas. Second, a more extended experimental investigation of the propagation path performance on the 160-m band reveals information on the radio wave behaviour between the transmitter and receiver. The first experiment allowed the identification of the most optimal antenna, specifically in the 160-m band. The second experiment shows that the SNR values can vary depending on the polarization shift of the received signal. Possibly, this can be linked to the effect of the magnetic field of the Earth via the electron gyro-frequency.
Transcriptome Analysis of the Accumulation of Astaxanthin in Haematococcus pluvialis Treated with White and Blue Lights as well as Salicylic Acid
Authors: Wei Zuoxi , Sun Fengjie , Meng Chunxiao , Xing Wei , Zhu Xiangyu , Wang Chang , Cao Kai , Zhang Chengsong , Zhu Bingkui , Yao Ting , Gao Zhengquan
Published: July 2022

Haematococcus pluvialis is the most commercially valuable microalga for the production of natural astaxanthin, showing enhanced production of astaxanthin with the treatments of high‐intensity light and hormones. The molecular mechanisms regulating the biosynthesis of astaxanthin in H. pluvialis treated with white light, blue light, and blue light with salicylic acid (SA) were investigated based on the transcriptome analysis. Results showed that the combined treatment with both blue light and SA generated the highest production of astaxanthin. A total of 109,443 unigenes were identified to show that the genes involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), and the astaxanthin biosynthesis were significantly upregulated to increase the production of the substrates for the synthesis of astaxanthin, i.e., pyruvate and glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate generated in the TCA cycle and PPP, respectively. Results of transcriptome analysis were further verified by the quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) analysis, showing that the highest content of astaxanthin was obtained with the expression of the bkt gene significantly increased. Our study provided the novel insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating the synthesis of astaxanthin and an innovative strategy combining the exogenous hormone and physical stress to increase the commercial production of astaxanthin by H. pluvialis.
Delineating Molecular Subtypes through Gene Set Variation Analysis Confers Therapeutic and Prognostic Capability in Gastric Cancer
Authors: Zhu Yuzhang , Sun Ting , Zhang Lei , Fei Faming , Bao Yi , Gao Zhenzhen
Published: July 2022

To claim the features of nontumor tissue in gastric cancer patients, especially in those who have undergone gastrectomy, and to identify the molecular subtypes, we collected the immunogenic and hallmark gene sets from gene set enrichment analysis. The activity changes of these gene sets between tumor (375) and nontumor (32) tissues acquired from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA-STAD) were calculated, and the novel molecular subtypes were delineated. Subsequently, prognostic gene sets were determined using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression prognostic method. In addition, functional analysis was conducted. Totally, three subtypes were constructed in the present study, and there were differences in survival among three groups. Functional analysis showed genes from normal gene set were related to cell adhesion, and genes from tumor gene set were associated with focal adhesion, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, and VEGF signaling pathway. Our study created lasting value beyond molecular subtypes and underscored the significance of normal tissues in gastric cancer development, which drawn a novel prognostic model for gastric treatment.
An Integrated Method of Rolling Bearing Fault Diagnosis Based on Convolutional Neural Network Optimized by Sparrow Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Dong Shuyuan
Published: July 2022

Intending to solve the problems including poor self-adaptive ability and generalization ability of the traditional categorizing method under big data, a parameter-optimized Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on Sparrow Search Algorithm (SSA) is proposed in this research. Initially, the raw data regarding a series of bearing vibration signals are processed with Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to attain groups of time-frequency maps. Then, Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) and linear normalization are introduced to make these maps proper for the input of CNN. Next, the preprocessed data sets are utilized as training and testing samples for CNN, and the accuracy rate of the testing is considered as the fitness of SSA, which is used to search for optimal parameter combinations for CNN by SAA. Meanwhile, the construction of the CNN is determined by experience and other previous researches. Finally, an NN-based defect diagnosis model for bearings will be constructed after the SAA has determined the appropriate parameters. The model’s accuracy rate may reach 99.4 percent after repeated testing using samples, which is significantly superior to the classic fault detection approach and the fault diagnostic method based solely on shallow networks. This experimental result demonstrates that the suggested strategy may significantly increase the model’s self-adaptive feature extraction capacity and accuracy rate, implying a higher performance in defect diagnosis in the presence of huge data.