bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Autonomic and Perceptual Responses to Induction of a Ketogenic Diet in Free-Living Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Crossover Trial
Authors: Maunder Ed , Dulson Deborah K. , Shaw David M.
Published: April 2021

Purpose: Considerable interindividual heterogeneity has been observed in endurance performance responses following induction of a ketogenic diet (KD). It is plausible that a physiological stress response in the period following the dramatic dietary shift associated with transition to a KD may explain this heterogeneity. Methods: In a randomized, crossover study design, 8 trained male runners completed an incremental exercise test and ran to exhaustion at 70%VO2max before and after a 31-day rigorously controlled habitual diet or KD intervention, and recorded heart rate variability (root mean square of the sum of successive differences in R–R intervals [rMSSD]) upon waking each morning along with the recovery–stress questionnaire for athletes each week. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models. Results: A significant reduction in rMSSD was observed in the KD (−9.77 [4.03] ms, P = .02), along with an increase in day-to-day variability in rMSSD (2.1% [1.0%], P = .03). The reduction in rMSSD in the KD for the subgroup of individuals exhibiting impaired exercise capacity following induction of the KD approached significance (Δ −22 [15] ms, P = .06, N = 4); whereas no effect was observed in those who exhibited unchanged exercise capacity (Δ 5 [18] ms, P = .61, N = 4). No main effects were observed for recovery–stress questionnaire for athletes. Conclusions: Our data suggest those working with endurance athletes transitioning onto a KD may consider using noninvasive, inexpensive resting heart rate variability measures to gain individual-level insights into the likely short-term effects on exercise capacity.
Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of NTM-1632, a Novel Mixture of Three Monoclonal Antibodies against Botulinum Toxin B
Authors: Guptill J. T. , Raja S. M. , Juel V. C. , Walter E. B. , Cohen-Wolkowiez M. , Hill H. , Sendra E. , Hauser B. , Jackson P. , Swamy G. K.
Published: April 2021

Botulism is a rare, life-threatening paralytic disease caused by
Clostridium botulinum
neurotoxin (BoNT). Available treatments, including an equine antitoxin and human immune globulin, are given postexposure and challenging to produce and administer.
COVID-19 Severity Is Associated with Differential Antibody Fc-Mediated Innate Immune Functions
Authors: Adeniji Opeyemi S. , Giron Leila B. , Purwar Mansi , Zilberstein Netanel F. , Kulkarni Abhijeet J. , Shaikh Maliha W. , Balk Robert A. , Moy James N. , Forsyth Christopher B. , Liu Qin , Dweep Harsh , Kossenkov Andrew , Weiner David B. , Keshavarzian Ali , Landay Alan , Abdel-Mohsen Mohamed
Published: April 2021

A state of hyperinflammation and increased complement activation has been associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms that contribute to this phenomenon remain mostly unknown.
Reframing Nutritional Microbiota Studies To Reflect an Inherent Metabolic Flexibility of the Human Gut: a Narrative Review Focusing on High-Fat Diets
Authors: Sholl Jonathan , Mailing Lucy J. , Wood Thomas R.
Published: April 2021

There is a broad consensus in nutritional-microbiota research that high-fat (HF) diets are harmful to human health, at least in part through their modulation of the gut microbiota. However, various studies also support the inherent flexibility of the human gut and our microbiota’s ability to adapt to a variety of food sources, suggesting a more nuanced picture.
Infectious Clones Produce SARS-CoV-2 That Causes Severe Pulmonary Disease in Infected K18-Human ACE2 Mice
Authors: Liu Xiang , Zaid Ali , Freitas Joseph R. , McMillan Nigel A. , Mahalingam Suresh , Taylor Adam
Published: April 2021

To develop COVID-19 countermeasures, powerful research tools are essential. We produced a SARS-COV-2 reverse genetic (RG) infectious clone toolkit that will benefit a variety of investigations.
Phylogenomic Analyses of Nucleotide-Sugar Biosynthetic and Interconverting Enzymes Illuminate Cell Wall Composition in Fungi
Authors: Schwerdt Julian , Qiu Hao , Shirley Neil , Little Alan , Bulone Vincent
Published: April 2021

This study provides new insights into the complex evolutionary history of the fungal cell wall. We analyzed fungal enzymes that convert sugars acquired from the environment into the diverse sugars that make up the fundamental building blocks of the cell wall.
Adding Another Piece to the Puzzle of Why NTM Infections Are Relatively Uncommon despite Their Ubiquitous Nature
Authors: Chan Edward D. , Cota-Gomez Adela , Podell Brendan
Published: April 2021

Since nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are pervasive in the environment and NTM infections are relatively uncommon, underlying hereditary or acquired host susceptibility factors should be sought for in most NTM-infected patients. To facilitate identification of underlying risk factors, it is useful to classify NTM disease into skin-soft tissue infections, isolated NTM lung disease, and extrapulmonary viscera-disseminated disease because the latter two categories have unique sets of underlying host risk factors.
Impact of Immunoglobulin Isotype and Epitope on the Functional Properties ofVibrio choleraeO-Specific Polysaccharide-Specific Monoclonal Antibodies
Authors: Kauffman Robert C. , Adekunle Oluwaseyi , Yu Hanyi , Cho Alice , Nyhoff Lindsay E. , Kelly Meagan , Harris Jason B. , Bhuiyan Taufiqur Rahman , Qadri Firdausi , Calderwood Stephen B. , Charles Richelle C. , Ryan Edward T. , Kong Jun , Wrammert Jens
Published: April 2021

Immunity to the severe diarrheal disease cholera is largely mediated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-specific antibodies. However, the properties and protective mechanism of functionally relevant antibodies have not been well defined.
Quantifying the Evolutionary Constraints and Potential of Hepatitis C Virus NS5A Protein
Authors: Dai Lei , Du Yushen , Qi Hangfei , Huber Christian D. , Chen Dongdong , Zhang Tian-Hao , Wu Nicholas C. , Wang Ergang , Lloyd-Smith James O. , Sun Ren
Published: April 2021

Many viruses adapt rapidly to novel selection pressures, such as antiviral drugs. Understanding how pathogens evolve under drug selection is critical for the success of antiviral therapy against human pathogens.
Indoor Dust as a Matrix for Surveillance of COVID-19
Authors: Renninger Nicole , Nastasi Nicholas , Bope Ashleigh , Cochran Samuel J. , Haines Sarah R. , Balasubrahmaniam Neeraja , Stuart Katelyn , Bivins Aaron , Bibby Kyle , Hull Natalie M. , Dannemiller Karen C.
Published: April 2021

Environmental surveillance to assess pathogen presence within a community is proving to be a critical tool to protect public health, and it is especially relevant during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, environmental surveillance tools also allow for the detection of asymptomatic disease carriers and for routine monitoring of a large number of people as has been shown for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring.
Postcricoid haemangioma with laryngomalacia in infancy
Authors: Khamalrudin Noraimi , Goh Bee See
Published: April 2021

Infantile haemangioma represents a congenital vascular anomaly commonly observed in the head and neck region. Such an occurrence over the postcricoid region, however, is rather unusual. Herein, the authors report a case of a synchronous postcricoid haemangioma in a 7-week-old newborn diagnosed with severe laryngomalacia. In addition to the floppy redundant arytenoid mucosa, flexible laryngoscopy revealed a lobulated bluish mass at the postcricoid. The lesion was hyperintense on T1-weighted sequence and was enhanced with contrast, supporting the diagnosis of a haemangioma. She underwent surgical excision of the haemangioma with intralesional steroid injection. Surveillance at 6-month postoperation did not show disease recurrence.
Familial bilateral nodular oncocytic hyperplasia of the parotid gland in mother and son
Authors: Zhu Yinan , Cresswell Manuela , Charnock Jonathan Miles , Reece Philip
Published: April 2021

This case series reports familial cases of nodular oncocytic hyperplasia (NOH) diagnosed in a mother and her son, 15 years apart. A 39-year-old man presented in 2003 with a lump below his left ear. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed showed multifocal parotid nodules and a diagnosis of NOH was histopathologically confirmed following left total parotidectomy. Two years later, he represented with similar symptoms on the right side. NOH was diagnosed following excision of his right parotid gland. In 2018, his 73-year-old mother presented with left ear pain and a lump below her left ear. An MRI scan showed multiple lesions within both parotid glands and bilateral NOH was once again diagnosed following a left superficial parotidectomy and right total parotidectomy. We believe that this is the first reported case of bilateral familial NOH.
Simultaneous kissing stents in acute left main total occlusion complicated with cardiogenic shock
Authors: Alsagaff Mochamad Yusuf , Hidayat Dwi Fachrul Octafian , Daida Hiroyuki
Published: April 2021

We present a case of acute left main bifurcation lesion presenting as very high-risk non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome. Consequently, an immediate invasive strategy for this complex anatomical lesion in an unstable patient requires an emergent bailout strategy to restore the haemodynamic condition.

Our case shows the simultaneous kissing stents technique in a patient with a true left main bifurcation lesion (Medina 1-1-1) as a strategy to overcome the compromised haemodynamics. This protocol would be an alternative life-saving strategy in an acute setting.
Severe metabolic ketoacidosis as a primary manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in non-diabetic pregnancy
Authors: van Amesfoort Jojanneke Epke , Werter Dominique E , Painter Rebecca C , Hermans Frederik J R
Published: April 2021

We present a case of a metabolic acidosis in a term-pregnant woman with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Our patient presented with dyspnoea, tachypnoea, thoracic pain and a 2-day history of vomiting, initially attributed to COVID-19 pneumonia. Differential diagnosis was expanded when arterial blood gas showed a high anion gap metabolic non-lactate acidosis without hypoxaemia. Most likely, the hypermetabolic state of pregnancy, in combination with maternal starvation and increased metabolic demand due to infection, had resulted in metabolic ketoacidosis. Despite supportive treatment and rapid induction of labour, maternal deterioration and fetal distress during labour necessitated an emergency caesarean section. The patient delivered a healthy neonate. Postpartum, after initial improvement in metabolic acidosis, viral and bacterial pneumonia with subsequent significant respiratory compromise were successfully managed with oxygen supplementation and corticosteroids. This case illustrates how the metabolic demands of pregnancy can result in an uncommon presentation of COVID-19.
Therapeutic drug monitoring guides the management of patients with chronic non-infectious uveitis treated with adalimumab: a retrospective study
Authors: Sejournet Lucas , Kerever Sebastien , Mathis Thibaud , Kodjikian Laurent , Jamilloux Yvan , Seve Pascal
Published: April 2021

Aim

To assess the relevance of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of adalimumab (ADA) treatment for the control of intraocular inflammation and treatment adjustment in chronic non-infectious uveitis (CNIU).

Methods

Retrospective study of CNIU patients treated with ADA and for whom at least one dosage of serum ADA level and an antibodies against ADA (AAA) serology were performed, between June 2003 and July 2019.

Results

A total of 44 ADA-treated patients benefited from a TDM. A total of 48/79 (61%) TDM were performed in responders, 11/79 (14%) in primary non-responders, and 20/79 (25%) in secondary non-responders. Responders had significantly higher ADA levels than non-responders (p=0.0004). AAA were detectable in six patients, they were primary non-responders (n=2), secondary non-responders (n=3) or responders (n=1). In the five non-responders and immunised patients, ADA was switched (to golimumab or methotrexate). Among non-responders, TDM led to an increased frequency of injections 12/31 (38%), increased dose 1/31 (3%) and switch of treatment 10/31 (32%) (one missing data). No modification of biotherapy was performed 7/31 (22%) and only local or oral corticotherapy was adjusted. In 24/31 cases of therapeutic adjustment in non-responders, an improvement was observed in 87% of cases. Among responders for whom the ADA level was above the efficacy threshold, the frequency of injections was decreased for 15/31 (48.4%) cases and no relapse was observed in 12/15 (80%) cases.

Conclusion

TDM of ADA treatment proved relevant to provide CNIU patients with a personalised and optimised treatment course (in terms of frequency and type of drug).
Data sharing to improve concordance in variant interpretation across laboratories: results from the Canadian Open Genetics Repository
Authors: Mighton Chloe , Smith Amanda C , Mayers Justin , Tomaszewski Robert , Taylor Sherryl , Hume Stacey , Agatep Ron , Spriggs Elizabeth , Feilotter Harriet E , Semenuk Laura , Wong Henry , Lazo de la Vega Lorena , Marshall Christian R , Axford Michelle M , Silver Talia , Charames George S , Di Gioacchino Vanessa , Watkins Nicholas , Foulkes William D , Clavier Marcos , Hamel Nancy , Chong George , Lamont Ryan E , Parboosingh Jillian , Karsan Aly , Bosdet Ian , Young Sean S , Tucker Tracy , Akbari Mohammad Reza , Speevak Marsha D , Vaags Andrea K , Lebo Matthew S , Lerner-Ellis Jordan
Published: April 2021

Background

This study aimed to identify and resolve discordant variant interpretations across clinical molecular genetic laboratories through the Canadian Open Genetics Repository (COGR), an online collaborative effort for variant sharing and interpretation.

Methods

Laboratories uploaded variant data to the Franklin Genoox platform. Reports were issued to each laboratory, summarising variants where conflicting classifications with another laboratory were noted. Laboratories could then reassess variants to resolve discordances. Discordance was calculated using a five-tier model (pathogenic (P), likely pathogenic (LP), variant of uncertain significance (VUS), likely benign (LB), benign (B)), a three-tier model (LP/P are positive, VUS are inconclusive, LB/B are negative) and a two-tier model (LP/P are clinically actionable, VUS/LB/B are not). We compared the COGR classifications to automated classifications generated by Franklin.

Results

Twelve laboratories submitted classifications for 44 510 unique variants. 2419 variants (5.4%) were classified by two or more laboratories. From baseline to after reassessment, the number of discordant variants decreased from 833 (34.4% of variants reported by two or more laboratories) to 723 (29.9%) based on the five-tier model, 403 (16.7%) to 279 (11.5%) based on the three-tier model and 77 (3.2%) to 37 (1.5%) based on the two-tier model. Compared with the COGR classification, the automated Franklin classifications had 94.5% sensitivity and 96.6% specificity for identifying actionable (P or LP) variants.

Conclusions

The COGR provides a standardised mechanism for laboratories to identify discordant variant interpretations and reduce discordance in genetic test result delivery. Such quality assurance programmes are important as genetic testing is implemented more widely in clinical care.
Quantification of sample disturbance for soft, lightly overconsolidated, sensitive clay samples
Authors: Berre Toralv , Lunne Tom , L’Heureux Jean-Sebastien
Published: April 2021

When using initial deformation from oedometer tests to quantify sample disturbance, a correction for false deformation is sometimes needed. A method to determine this false deformation is presented.
Dendroclimatic analysis of central Appalachian red spruce in West Virginia
Authors: Yetter Eric , Chhin Sophan , Brown John P.
Published: April 2021

We conducted dendroclimatic analyses and constructed future growth projections for red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) throughout the central Appalachians in the state of West Virginia. This study involved field sampling of 18 sites across red spruce’s range in six regions throughout the Monongahela National Forest that were selected based on pairwise combinations of three latitudinal groups (north, central, and south) with two aspects (north and south). Each combination of latitudinal group and aspect was referred to as a landscape cluster. Growth was negatively impacted by high summer temperature stress but responded favorably to high fall temperatures. The results also suggested that red spruce was likely impacted by the degree of winter harshness in all landscape clusters. In the northern latitudinal landscape clusters, red spruce responded favorably to warm spring temperatures by allowing an early start to the growing season. Growth projections under a future climate change scenario show that future expected increases in mean and maximum monthly temperatures will have negative effects on future spruce growth. The forecasting results suggested that red spruce in northern latitudes on south aspects or central latitudes on north aspects are the landscape clusters that will likely be the most resilient to future climate change. Dendroclimatic results and future growth projections can assist with identifying locations that are most suitable for future red spruce restoration activities.
DFT study of low-energy electron interaction with pyridine, pyrazine and their halo derivatives
Authors: Tańska Natalia
Published: April 2021

In this work, the density functional theory with B3LYP hybrid functional was employed to calculate quantities useful for estimating the behavior of pyridine, pyrazine and their derivatives monosubstituted with Cl or Br atom, when exposed to low-energy electron impact. Vertical electron affinities obtained in several Pople basis sets and in aug-cc-pVTZ basis set are reported. Although some of the investigated molecules do not form stable anions, the results are in a satisfactory agreement with the available, albeit sparse experimental data, if the diffuse functions are included in calculations. It was found that the 6-31+G* basis is sufficient and its further enlargement does not significantly change the results. At this level of theory, potential energy curves, supported by enthalpies of dissociation to the neutral and anion fragment, were also determined for the description of the dissociative electron attachment. According to B3LYP, the potential energy curves of the halogen bond are almost repulsive in halopyridines, whereas halopyrazine anions require small activation energy for dissociation. Vertical electron affinities, enthalpies and equilibrium C-X distances (X=H, Cl, Br) were also calculated using Møller-Plesset second-order perturbation theory.

Graphic Abstract
Extensions of bundles of C*-algebras
Authors: Steeger Jeremy , Feintzeig Benjamin
Published: April 2021

Bundles of C*-algebras can be used to represent limits of physical theories whose algebraic structure depends on the value of a parameter. The primary example is the [Formula: see text] limit of the C*-algebras of physical quantities in quantum theories, represented in the framework of strict deformation quantization. In this paper, we understand such limiting procedures in terms of the extension of a bundle of C*-algebras to some limiting value of a parameter. We prove existence and uniqueness results for such extensions. Moreover, we show that such extensions are functorial for the C*-product, dynamical automorphisms, and the Lie bracket (in the [Formula: see text] case) on the fiber C*-algebras.
The IDS and asymptotic of the largest eigenvalue of random Schrödinger operators with decaying random potential
Authors: Dolai Dhriti Ranjan
Published: April 2021

In this work, we obtain the integrated density of states for the Schrödinger operators with decaying random potentials acting on [Formula: see text]. We also study the asymptotic of the largest and smallest eigenvalues of its finite volume approximation.
The Hartle–Hawking–Israel state on spacetimes with stationary bifurcate Killing horizons
Authors: Gérard Christian
Published: April 2021

We consider a free massive quantized Klein–Gordon field in a spacetime [Formula: see text] containing a stationary bifurcate Killing horizon, i.e. a bifurcate Killing horizon whose Killing vector field is globally time-like in the right wedge [Formula: see text] associated to the horizon.

We prove the existence of the Hartle–Hawking–Israel (HHI) vacuum state, which is a pure state on the whole spacetime whose restriction to [Formula: see text] is a thermal state [Formula: see text] for the time-like Killing field at Hawking temperature [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the surface gravity of the horizon.

We show that the HHI state is a Hadamard state and is the unique Hadamard state which is equal to the double [Formula: see text]-KMS state in the double wedge [Formula: see text]. We construct the HHI state by Wick rotation in Killing time coordinates, using the notion of the Calderón projector for elliptic boundary value problems.
When and How Should Cross-Border Platforms Manage Blockchain Technology in the Presence of Purchasing Agents?
Authors: Shi Xiutian , Yao Shuning , Ma Yizhong
Published: April 2021

Copycat issues and unreliable purchasing agents have challenged cross-border consumption and hurt the brands and online platforms significantly. We explicate a setting in which a platform orders from a brand, then sells and competes with the purchasing agents in an overseas market. Worried about the copycat issues, consumers undertake risk when purchasing from both platforms and agents. The blockchain adoption may help release this uncertainty by purchasing from a platform. We show the values and impacts of this new technology on the platform, brand and consumers. It is interesting to observe that the platform does not always have incentive to adopt blockchain, even if it is costless. In the presence of blockchain, we show that the revenue sharing, two-part tariff and profit sharing contracts can achieve supply chain coordination, but the cost sharing contract fails to do so. In the extended models, we discuss what will happen when the brand decides domestic retail price and the platform links optional information nodes to blockchain.
Characterization and Modeling of the Polysilicon Emitter Contact for Circuit Simulation
Authors: Jamasb Shahriar
Published: April 2021

The emitter contact in bipolar transistors with polysilicon emitters has been characterized based on an improved open-collector (OC) method, which allows extraction of the nonlinear I-V characteristics of the resistance presented by the poly-/monocrystalline emitter interface. The nonlinear characteristics of the interfacial polysilicon-emitter resistance at low currents are modeled using an approximate rectangular-barrier tunnel junction model to extract an upperbound estimate for the thickness of the oxide layer at the poly-/monocrystalline contact. Having verified that the extracted data based on the improved OC method are consistent with the first-principles rectangular tunnel junction model, a data-driven model accounting for the bias-dependence of the emitter series resistance is presented, which employs a voltage-controlled resistor (VCR) to enable the efficient simulation of the effect of the interfacial nonlinearity as well as the substrate bias. SPICE simulations indicate that the VCR-based model for the emitter resistance accurately predicts the measured I-V characteristics obtained using the improved OC method. The utility of a subcircuit-based model explaining the experimentally observable effect of the substrate bias on the behavior of the emitter resistance is also evaluated for circuit simulation.
An EGA Approach-Based Fractional Order PID Controller for Synchronous Buck Converters
Authors: Thangaraj A. , Xavier S. Arockia Edwin , Ramasamy Pandian
Published: April 2021

In this paper, an enhanced genetic algorithm (EGA) technique-based fractional order PID controller (FOPID) for simultaneous control of synchronous buck converters is proposed. The novelty of EGA method is that enhancement process is done by the Rat swarm algorithm (RSA). The computational scheme of RSA is used to enhance the performance of traditional genetic algorithm (GA) and a modified version of GA, which is used for optimal tuning of FOPID controller. In the proposed methodology, the FOPID controller gain is adjusted to achieve the preferred response that is demonstrated by EGA technique. The objective of the proposed technique is “the smooth DC output voltage is attained under damped response”. The proposed control method is executed and simulated in MATLAB platform and the performance is analyzed with the existing methods. Statistical analysis of mean, median and standard deviation for the proposed and existing methods is also analyzed. The proposed FOPID controller produces regulated output DC voltage having 34% lesser overshoots and two times faster settling time when compared to the existing dynamic evolution controller for Synchronous Buck Converters (SBCs). The designed optimal FOPID controlled SBC is also implemented in hardware using Atmega16A processor for different loading conditions for better applications.
SoC-Level Safety-Oriented Design Process in Electronic System Level Development Environment
Authors: Lu Kuen-Long , Chen Yung-Yuan
Published: April 2021

We propose a safety-oriented design process for IP-based safety-critical system-on-chip (SoC). The proposed safety process can facilitate the measurement of the robustness based on the safety-related metrics and scales of failure-induced risks in a system that can be employed to locate the critical components for protection to effectively diminish the influence of failures on the system. The risk reduction phase is activated to enhance the robustness of critical components identified by vulnerability analysis if the measured robustness is insufficient. An SoC-level safety design platform was built on the SystemC Synopsys Platform Architect MCO to demonstrate the core idea of the safety process. The safety-oriented design process for an ARM-embedded SoC modeled at the TLM level was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of our safety approach.
High Performance Kernel Architecture for Convolutional Neural Network Acceleration
Authors: Hazarika Anakhi , Poddar Soumyajit , Rahaman Hafizur
Published: April 2021

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have emerged as a prominent choice in artificial intelligence tasks. Recent advancements in CNN designs have greatly improved the performance and energy-efficiency of several computation-intensive applications. However, in real-time applications, greater accuracy of CNN is attained at the expense of very high computational cost and complexity. Further, the implementation of real-time CNN on embedded platforms is highly challenging due to resource and power constraints. This paper addresses the aforesaid computational complexity and presents an accelerator architecture accompanied by a novel kernel design to improve overall CNN performance. The proposed kernel design introduces a computing mechanism that reduces the data movement cost in terms of computational cycle count (latency) by parallelizing the convolution processing elements. This architecture takes advantage of the overlap of spatially adjacent data. The performance of the proposed architecture is also analyzed for multiple hyper-parameter configurations. The proposed accelerator achieves an average of [Formula: see text] improvement in reduction of execution time than the conventional computing architecture. To analyze the proposed architecture’s performance, we validate the architecture with AlexNet and VGG-16 CNN models. The proposed accelerator architecture achieves an average of [Formula: see text] throughput improvement over state-of-the-art accelerators.
Secure Data Set Operation Protocols for Outsourced Cloud Data to Protect User Privacy in Smart City
Authors: Zhao Kai Yang , Wang Xu An , Liu Jiasen , Qiao Yi , Zhou Yang
Published: April 2021

With the rapid development of information technology, internet of things, cloud computing, digital networks and 5G have become an indispensable part of our life. Due to the development of these cutting-edge digital technologies, smart cities now have become a reality. During the development of smart cities, many different sensing devices of the cities would generate lots of data. To smoothly use the massive data, the paradigm of cloud computing will be deployed by smart cities, these data will be efficiently stored and processed by the cloud servers. However, the security of data in smart cities should be guaranteed, especially for the privacy protection of data. Aiming at securely managing cloud data in smart cities, this paper proposes a set of secure cloud data computing protocols for set operations based on the Paillier encryption system. For the rational numbers which are very common in smart cities, we design a coding technology to realize the secure homomorphic computation of them. We also verify the security and correctness of our protocols through rigorous mathematical proof, and demonstrate the efficiency of our solutions by performance analysis.
SCREENING EFFECTS AT ORGANIC–2D MATERIAL HETEROINTERFACES
Authors: ZHENG YU JIE , ARRAMEL
Published: April 2021

Organic molecule–two-dimensional material (OM–2D material) heterostructures are relatively an emergent class of hybrid-based electronic devices and yet have gained enormous interests. These systems hold promise towards application in the realization of electronic, optoelectronic and energy conversion devices, due to their tunable thickness, rich raw materials, flexibility, and also their capability to merge the high light absorption efficiency of organic molecules and the high carrier mobility of 2D materials. Dielectric screening effects have a large influence on electronic structure and optical properties at the OM–2D material interface due to the low intrinsic dielectric polarizability of both organic molecules and 2D materials. Here, we will review current knowledge about the dielectric screening behaviors in 2D materials and the screening effect at the OM–2D material heterointerfaces, including the physical origin of the dielectric screening effect across such interfaces, how to investigate it, and the influence of the screening effect on OM–2D material interfaces. Engineering of the dielectric screening effects in OM–2D material systems is also discussed. We conclude the review by illustrating a brief introduction of other important factors, e.g. defects, charge transfer, and hybridization, that will contribute to the screening effect and these features should be considered for the future scientific and device development of OM–2D material heterostructures.
Cost Sharing in a Condo Under Law’s Umbrella
Authors: Crettez Bertrand , Deloche Régis
Published: April 2021

How to share the cost of an improvement in a condo? In France, as in most European civil law countries, the law does not provide any precise method for answering this question. This vagueness of the law calls for further investigation. Focusing on how to distribute costs that are collectively incurred by a group of players, cooperative game theory is a priori an appropriate framework for dealing with this topic. In this theory, the Shapley value is a widely used cost-sharing method. We analyze the interest of using this concept to solve our problem by considering the case of a three-storey condo. We show that taking into account the legal requirement that any decision concerning improvements be made by a majority of the votes affects the characteristic function of the game. We then identify a pitfall of the Shapley value: it almost never receives an affirmative vote from the co-owner association.
Pseudo-Sylvester domains and skew Laurent polynomials over firs
Authors: Henneke Fabian , López-Álvarez Diego
Published: April 2021

Building on recent work of Jaikin-Zapirain, we provide a homological criterion for a ring to be a pseudo-Sylvester domain, that is, to admit a division ring of fractions over which all stably full matrices become invertible. We use the criterion to study skew Laurent polynomial rings over free ideal rings (firs).

As an application of our methods, we prove that crossed products of division rings with free-by-{infinite cyclic} and surface groups are pseudo-Sylvester domains unconditionally and Sylvester domains if and only if they admit stably free cancellation. This relies on the recent proof of the Farrell–Jones conjecture for normally poly-free groups and extends previous results of Linnell–Lück and Jaikin-Zapirain on universal localizations and universal fields of fractions of such crossed products.
Green’s relation ℋ on the monoid of square matrices over a specific local ring
Authors: Nan Wangyu , Yang Jiang
Published: April 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be a commutative local ring whose maximal ideal is generated by a nilpotent element, and Mat[Formula: see text] be the multiplicative monoid of the square matrices of order [Formula: see text] over [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we provide the construction of Green’s [Formula: see text]-equivalence classes in the multiplicative monoid Mat[Formula: see text]. Then, we enumerate these classes in the special cases [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text].
ROBUST SURFACE-MATCHING REGISTRATION BASED ON THE STRUCTURE INFORMATION FOR IMAGE-GUIDED NEUROSURGERY SYSTEM
Authors: CHEN XINRONG , YANG FUMING , ZHANG ZIQUN , BAI BAODAN , GUO LEI
Published: April 2021

Image-to-patient space registration is to make the accurate alignment between the actual operating space and the image space. Although the image-to-patient space registration using paired-point is used in some image-guided neurosurgery systems, the current paired-point registration method has some drawbacks and usually cannot achieve the best registration result. Therefore, surface-matching registration is proposed to solve this problem. This paper proposes a surface-matching method that accomplishes image-to-patient space registration automatically. We represent the surface point clouds by the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), which can smoothly approximate the probability density distribution of an arbitrary point set. We also use mutual information as the similarity measure between the point clouds and take into account the structure information of the points. To analyze the registration error, we introduce a method for the estimation of Target Registration Error (TRE) by generating simulated data. In the experiments, we used the point sets of the cranium surface and the model of the human head determined by a CT and laser scanner. The TRE was less than 2[Formula: see text]mm, and the TRE had better accuracy in the front and the posterior region. Compared to the Iterative Closest Point algorithm, the surface registration based on GMM and the structure information of the points proved superior in registration robustness and accurate implementation of image-to-patient registration.
Wavelet-based super resolution of downsampling-based compressed video
Authors: Aydin Vildan Atalay , Foroosh Hassan
Published: April 2021

Downsampling performed prior to encoding in video compression discards the high-frequency information of the original video frames. This necessitates super resolution (SR) to recover the lost information after decoding. In this paper, we propose a framework for the downsampling-based video compression problem along with a method for wavelet-based SR. We develop a framework by integrating the downsampling and transform steps of the conventional models. We then use the proposed SR method implemented directly on the wavelet sub-bands at the decoder side. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method in comparison with the conventional techniques employed for resolution enhancement of decoded videos.
Identification of genes associated with cancer prognosis in glioma: In silico data analyses of Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)
Authors: Lv Junjie , Ren Fubin , Lv Zhengyu , Chang Zhiqiang , Li Wan , He Yuehan , Chen Lina
Published: April 2021

Glioma is one particular type of brain malignancy which is highly complex and usually has a poor prognosis. Despite the limited diagnostic level of glioma, the survival time of affected patients broadly varies. Here, we conducted a detailed analysis, regarding the differences in patient survival time, to discover potential survival-related genes in glioma as well as their putative regulatory mechanisms. To contextualize the acquisition of these potential prognosis markers in large populations, particularly in China, we combined CGGA and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases to properly identify genes that are significantly related to survival. Our workflow combined a series of analytical approaches, including differential analysis, survival time, co-expression, clinical correlation analysis, ROC curve evaluation and prediction ability. Our results indicate that the four particular genes - PLAT, IGFBP2, BCAT1, SERPINH1 could be used as independent prognostic marker genes. These genes have also shown good prognostic ability in distinct populations, reiterating the robustness and value of these prognostic markers.
Impacts of reference selection on the assembly of suspicious coronavirus genome
Authors: Liu Yuan , Yan Changhui
Published: April 2021

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has had a significant impact on the whole world. In a theory of the origin of SARS-CoV-2, pangolins are considered as a potential intermediate host. To assemble the genome of suspicious coronavirus (CoV) found in pangolins, SARS-CoV-2 was used as a reference in most of the previous studies, implicitly assuming the pangolin CoV and SARS-CoV-2 are the closest neighbors in evolution. However, this assumption may not be true. We investigated how the choice of reference genome affected the resulting CoV genome assembly. We explored various representative CoVs as the reference genome, and found significant differences in the resulting assemblies. The assembly obtained using RaTG13 as a reference showed better statistics in total length, N50, and pairwise distance reconstruction (PDR) scores than the assembly guided by SARS-CoV-2, indicating that RaTG13 may be a better reference. Therefore, RaTG13 should also be considered as a reference for assembling suspicious CoV found in pangolins and other potential intermediate hosts.
Polythionine Coated on Au/Co3O4 Enhances the Performance for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Authors: Zhong Xiaolin , Huang Jianzhi , Wang Min , Wang Lishi
Published: April 2021

Developing a general, green and effective strategy to improve the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst is urgently needed but challenging. Herein, we report a novel conducting polymer/metal/metal oxide composite as HER catalyst prepared by a two-step strategy, in which the Au/Co3O4 is synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal method, subsequently, cyclic voltammetry is employed to electropolymerize polythionine on the Au/Co3O4. It is demonstrated that the HER electrocatalytic activity of Au/Co3O4 is effectively improved by the coating polythionine layer. The optimal polythionine/Au/Co3O4 displays an excellent electrocatalytic ability towards HER with an overpotential of 168[Formula: see text]mV at [Formula: see text] and low Tafel slope of 79[Formula: see text]mV[Formula: see text]dec[Formula: see text] in 0.5[Formula: see text]M H2SO4, which is greatly superior to those of the Au/Co3O4 (an overpotential of 300[Formula: see text]mV at [Formula: see text] and tafel slope of [Formula: see text]. Interestingly, the HER performance of N-doped reduced graphene (N-rGO) can also be significantly boosted by the coating polythionine layers, indicating the multifunctionality of polythionine in the enhancement of HER performance of nano electrocatalysts.
Analysing and predicting COVID-19 AI tracking using artificial intelligence
Authors: Alodat Iyas
Published: April 2021

In this paper, we will discuss prediction methods to restrict the spread of the disease by tracking contact individuals via mobile application to individuals infected with the COVID-19 virus. We will track individuals using bluetooth technology and then we will save information in the central database when they are in touch. Monitoring cases and avoiding the infected person help with social distance. We also propose that sensors used by people to obtain blood oxygen saturation level and their body temperature will be used besides bluetooth monitoring. The estimation of the frequency of the disease is based on the data entered by the patient and also on the data gathered from the users who entered the program on the state of the disease. In this study, we will also propose the best way to restrict the spread of COVID-19 by using methods of artificial intelligence to predict the disease in Jordan using Tensorflow.
Chaos detection in SIR model with modified Beddington–De Angelis type incidence rate and saturated treatment
Authors: Jain Shikha , Kumar Sachin
Published: April 2021

In this paper, we construct an SIR epidemic model with a modified Beddington–De Angelis type incidence rate and saturated treatment rate. We modify the incidence rate to incorporate the isolation of infected individuals after detection, and separation of some susceptible individuals from the rest to avoid the infection, without an increase in the number of classes. We find that the system has a unique disease-free equilibrium (DFE) which is locally asymptotically stable when the reproduction number is less than unity. The multiple endemic equilibria may exist irrespective of the basic reproduction number. The existence of bistability is encountered. Supercritical transcritical (forward), as well as subcritical transcritical (backward) bifurcation, may occur at [Formula: see text] where contact rate, [Formula: see text] acts as the bifurcation parameter. Therefore, DFE need not be globally stable. The conditions for the existence of Andronov–Hopf bifurcation are deduced with maximum treatment capacity, [Formula: see text] as the bifurcation parameter. The impacts of isolation of confirmed infected cases and separation of some susceptible from rest are studied numerically as well as the effect of saturation in treatment. The existence of chaotic behavior is deduced by showing the maximum Lyapunov exponent to be positive as well as the sensitivity to initial conditions. The computation of the Kalpan–Yorke dimension to be fractional confirms the existence of fractal-type strange attractor. The positive Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy further strengthens the claim of the existence of chaos.
Restrictive Policy to Curb Capital Flows Volatility
Authors: Zehri Chokri
Published: April 2021

We examine the role of the restrictive policy, through capital controls, in reducing the capital flows volatility. The study highlights the effects of these controls to dampen international financial shocks. Using quarterly data of 28 emerging economies over the period between 1999 and 2019, three empirical approaches are applied, dynamic panel data, ARDL, and local projections models. Four indexes of capital controls have contributed to the finding that a tighter level of capital controls reduces the sensitivity of capital flows to monetary and exchange rate shocks. These findings on the benefits of capital controls are particularly asymmetric according to the differences between controls on inflows and outflows, and the differences between floating and pegged exchange rate regimes.
Magnons Transmission Across Soliton Domain in 2D Triangular Ferromagnetic Waveguides
Authors: Djebala Lila , Bourahla Boualem
Published: April 2021

In this work, we investigate the scattering phenomena at the inhomogeneous boundary of a magnetic interface in two-dimensional (2D)-triangular ferromagnetic waveguide. We especially examine two ferromagnetic interfaces, named heavy and superheavy solitons in 2D-triangular lattices. The system is supported on a nonmagnetic substrate. Therefore, each spin site in the lattice can be considered free from magnetic interactions with its environment. The spin excitations in the modeled system are studied by the field matching theory (FMT). Their magnons transmission/reflection, localized spin states as well as the local density of spin states (LDOS) are calculated and analyzed. They are derived as elements of a Landauer type scattering matrix. The magnonic spectra are calculated specifically for two distinct interfaces, which join the two semi-infinite perfect 2D-triangular waveguides. The inter-atomic magnetic exchange is varied on the interface domain to investigate the consequences of magnetic softening and hardening for the calculated magnetic properties. The numerical results show the interference effects between the incident magnons and the localized spin states on the interface domain, with characteristic magnetic resonances that vary according to each configuration. The numerical results yield an understanding for the relation between the coherent magnon propagation and the interface configuration in the perfect 2D-triangular system.
Noncentral complex Wishart matrices: Moments and correlation of minors
Authors: Tralli Velio , Conti Andrea
Published: April 2021

Complex Wishart matrices are a class of random matrices with numerous emerging applications. In particular, the statistical characterization of such class of random matrices is essential for solving problems in various fields, including statistics, finance, physics and engineering. This paper establishes a new way to solve such problems based on the statistical moments and correlation of the minors. The first two minors’ moments and correlation for noncentral complex Wishart matrices are derived as a function of size and degrees of freedom, as well as of covariance and noncentrality matrices. As a case study, the findings are applied to the statistical characterization of the capacity of wireless multiple-input–multiple-output systems.
A new geological map and review of the Middle Devonian rocks of Westray and Papa Westray, Orkney, Scotland
Authors: Leather David
Published: April 2021

The Middle Devonian lacustrine sediments of Orkney, off the NE Scottish mainland, are composed largely of the Lower and Upper Stromness formations and overlying Rousay Formation. These three formations have been subdivided and defined by vertebrate biostratigraphic biozones with recent division of the Rousay Formation into three further units based on characteristic fish fossils. The division of the Rousay Formation has enabled a map to be constructed of the solid geology of the island of Westray, Orkney, based on fish identification, detailed logging of sedimentary cycles throughout the Rousay succession, parameters of divisional boundaries, and a survey of faults marking sinistral transtensional movement parallel to the Great Glen Fault. Post-Carboniferous shortening and basin inversion led to uplift, folding and reactivation of normal faults as reverse faults, to form a positive strike-slip flower structure in Westray. A suite of Permian igneous dykes intruded across Orkney include three minor offshoots in Westray. The resulting map is the first to make use of biostratigraphic units within the Rousay Flagstone, which are now regarded as Members.