bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards Real-time Cooperative Deep Inference over the Cloud and Edge End Devices
Authors: Zhang Shigeng , Li Yinggang , Liu Xuan , Guo Song , Wang Weiping , Wang Jianxin , Ding Bo , Wu Di
Published: June 2020

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely used in many intelligent applications such as object recognition and automatic driving due to their superior performance in conducting inference tasks. However, DNN models are usually heavyweight in computation, hindering their utilization on the resource-constraint Internet of Things (IoT) end devices. To this end, cooperative deep inference is proposed, in which a DNN model is adaptively partitioned into two parts and different parts are executed on different devices (cloud or edge end devices) to minimize the total inference latency. One important issue is thus to find the optimal partition of the deep model subject to network dynamics in a real-time manner. In this paper, we formulate the optimal DNN partition as a min-cut problem in a directed acyclic graph (DAG) specially derived from the DNN and propose a novel two-stage approach named quick deep model partition (QDMP) to solve it. QDMP exploits the fact that the optimal partition of a DNN model must be between two adjacent cut vertices in the corresponding DAG. It first identifies the two cut vertices and considers only the subgraph in between when calculating the min-cut. QDMP can find the optimal model partition with response time less than 300ms even for large DNN models containing hundreds of layers (up to 66.3x faster than the state-of-the-art solution), and thus enables real-time cooperative deep inference over the cloud and edge end devices. Moreover, we observe one important fact that is ignored in all previous works: As many deep learning frameworks optimize the execution of DNN models, the execution latency of a series of layers in a DNN does not equal to the summation of each layer's independent execution latency. This results in inaccurate inference latency estimation in existing works. We propose a new execution latency measurement method, with which the inference latency can be accurately estimated in practice. We implement QDMP on real hardware and use a real-world self-driving car video dataset to evaluate its performance. Experimental results show that QDMP outperforms the state-of-the-art solution, reducing inference latency by up to 1.69x and increasing throughput by up to 3.81x.
How Subtle Can It Get?
Authors: Yau Yui-Pan , Lee Lik Hang , Li Zheng , Braud Tristan , Ho Yi-Hsuan , Hui Pan
Published: June 2020

Flying drones have become common objects in our daily lives, serving a multitude of purposes. Many of these purposes involve outdoor scenarios where the user combines drone control with another activity. Traditional interaction methods rely on physical or virtual joysticks that occupy both hands, thus restricting drone usability. In this paper, we investigate one-handed human-to-drone-interaction by leveraging three modalities: force, touch, and IMU. After prototyping three different combinations of these modalities on a smartphone, we evaluate them against the current commercial standard through two user experiments. These experiments help us to find the combination of modalities that strikes a compromise between user performance, perceived task load, wrist rotation, and interaction area size. Accordingly, we select a method that achieves faster task completion times than the two-handed commercial baseline by 16.54% with the merits of subtle user behaviours inside a small-size ring-form device and implements this method within the ring-form device. The last experiment involving 12 participants shows that thanks to its small size and weight, the ring device displays better performance than the same method implemented on a mobile phone. Furthermore, users unanimously found the device useful for controlling a drone in mobile scenarios (AVG = 3.92/5), easy to use (AVG = 3.58/5) and easy to learn (AVG = 3.58/5). Our findings give significant design clues in search of subtle and effective interaction through finger augmentation devices with drone control. The users with our prototypical system and a multi-modal on-finger device can control a drone with subtle wrist rotation (pitch gestures: 43.24° amplitude and roll gestures: 46.35° amplitude) and unnoticeable thumb presses within a miniature-sized area of (1.08 * 0.61 cm2).
V2iFi
Authors: Zheng Tianyue , Chen Zhe , Cai Chao , Luo Jun , Zhang Xu
Published: June 2020

Given the significant amount of time people spend in vehicles, health issues under driving condition have become a major concern. Such issues may vary from fatigue, asthma, stroke, to even heart attack, yet they can be adequately indicated by vital signs and abnormal activities. Therefore, in-vehicle vital sign monitoring can help us predict and hence prevent these issues. Whereas existing sensor-based (including camera) methods could be used to detect these indicators, privacy concern and system complexity both call for a convenient yet effective and robust alternative. This paper aims to develop V2iFi, an intelligent system performing monitoring tasks using a COTS impulse radio mounted on the windshield. V2iFi is capable of reliably detecting driver's vital signs under driving condition and with the presence of passengers, thus allowing for potentially inferring corresponding health issues. Compared with prior work based on Wi-Fi CSI, V2iFi is able to distinguish reflected signals from multiple users, and hence provide finer-grained measurements under more realistic settings. We evaluate V2iFi both in lab environments and during real-life road tests; the results demonstrate that respiratory rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability can all be estimated accurately. Based on these estimation results, we further discuss how machine learning models can be applied on top of V2iFi so as to improve both physiological and psychological wellbeing in driving environments.
MAIL
Authors: Niu Qun , He Tao , Liu Ning , He Suining , Luo Xiaonan , Zhou Fan
Published: June 2020

Knowing accurate indoor locations of pedestrians has great social and commercial values, such as pedestrian heatmapping and targeted advertising. Location estimation with sequential inputs (e.g., geomagnetic sequences) has received much attention lately, mainly because they enhance the localization accuracy with temporal correlations. Nevertheless, it is challenging to realize accurate localization with geomagnetic sequences due to environmental factors, such as non-uniform ferromagnetic disturbances. To address this, we propose MAIL, a multi-scale attention-guided indoor localization network, which turns these challenges into favorable advantages. Our key contributions are as follows. First, instead of extracting a single holistic feature from an input sequence directly, we design a scale-based feature extraction unit that takes variational anomalies at different scales into consideration. Second, we propose an attention generation scheme that identifies attention values for different scales. Rather than setting fixed numbers, MAIL learns them adaptively with the input sequence, thus increasing its adaptability and generality. Third, guided by attention values, we fuse multi-scale features by paying more attention to prominent ones and estimate current location with the fused feature. We evaluate the performance of MAIL in three different trial sites. Evaluation results show that MAIL reduces the mean localization error by more than 36% compared with the state-of-the-art competing schemes.
Modeling Polycrystalline Electrode-electrolyte Interfaces: The Differential Capacitance
Authors: Müller Rüdiger , Fuhrmann Jürgen , Landstorfer Manuel
Published: June 2020

We present and analyze a model for polycrystalline electrode surfaces based on an improved continuum model that takes finite ion size and solvation into account. The numerical simulation of finite size facet patterns allows to study two limiting cases: While for facet size diameter

d

facet

→
0

we get the typical capacitance of a spatially homogeneous but possible amorphous or liquid surface, in the limit

1
[
nm
]
≪

d

facet

, an ensemble of non-interacting single crystal surfaces is approached. Already for moderate size of the facet diameters, the capacitance is remarkably well approximated by the classical approach of adding the single crystal capacities of the contributing facets weighted by their respective surface fraction. As a consequence, the potential of zero charge is not necessarily attained at a local minimum of capacitance, but might be located at a local capacitance maximum instead. Moreover, the results show that surface roughness can be accurately taken into account by multiplication of the ideally flat polycrystalline surface capacitance with a single factor. In particular, we find that the influence of the actual geometry of the facet pattern in negligible and our theory opens the way to a stochastic description of complex real polycrystal surfaces.
Transcriptome changes ofTakifugu obscurusliver after acute exposure to the oxygenated-PAH 9,10-phenanthrenequione
Authors: Jiang Shulun , Yang Jian , Fang Di-an
Published: June 2020

Contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) causes noticeable ecological problems in aquatic ecosystems. 9,10-Phenanthrenequione (9,10-PQ) is an oxidized PAH and is highly toxic to aquatic animals. However, the effects of 9,10-PQ on the molecular metabolism of fish remain largely unknown. In this study, Takifugu obscurus juveniles were acutely exposed to 44.30 µg/L 9,10-PQ for 3 days. The transcriptome profile changes in their livers were compared between the 9,10-PQ treatment group and the control using T. rubripes as the reference genome. The results identified 22,414 genes in our transcriptome. Among them, 767 genes were differentially expressed after exposure to 9,10-PQ, which enriched 16 KEGG pathways. Among them, the glycolysis, phagosome, and FOXO signaling pathways were significantly activated in 9,10-PQ treatment compared with the control. These data indicate that 9,10-PQ increased the glycolysis capacity to produce more energy for resistance and harmed immune function. Moreover, several genes related to tumorigenesis were significantly upregulated in response to 9,10-PQ, displaying the carcinogenic toxicity of 9,10-PQ to T. obscurus. Genes in steroid biosynthesis pathways were downregulated in the 9,10-PQ treatment group, suggesting interference with the endocrine system. Overall, these findings provide information to help evaluate the environmental risks that oxygenated-PAHs present to T. obscurus.
Freeway Traffic Speed Estimation of Mixed Traffic Using Data from Connected and Autonomous Vehicles with a Low Penetration Rate
Authors: He Shanglu , Guo Xiaoyu , Ding Fan , Qi Yong , Chen Tao
Published: June 2020

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) are on the way to the field application. In the beginning stage, there will be a mixed traffic flow, containing the regular human-driven vehicles and CAVs with a low penetration rate. Recently, the discussion about the impact of a small proportion of CAVs in the mixed traffic is controversial. This paper investigated the possibility of applying the limited data from these lowly penetrated CAVs to estimate the average freeway link speeds based on the Kalman filtering (KF) method. First, this paper established a VISSIM-based microsimulation model to mimic the mixed traffic with different CAV penetration rates. The characteristics of this mixed traffic were then discussed based on the simulation data, including the sample size distribution, data-missing rate, speed difference, and fundamental diagram. Accordingly, the traditional KF-based method was introduced and modified to adapt data from CAVs. Finally, the evaluations of the estimation accuracy and the sensitive analysis of the proposed method were conducted. The results revealed the possibility and applicability of link speed estimation using data from a small proportion of CAVs.
Identification of Differentially Expressed lncRNAs in a CpG ODN-Activated Macrophage
Authors: Zheng Ying , Luo Xi , Qin Zailong , Zhou Zhiguang
Published: June 2020

A macrophage is an important component of innate immunity which can be activated by infection. A series of inflammatory cytokines are produced and released to eliminate pathogens. CpG DNA is an immune stimulator recognized by TLR9, subsequently inducing inflammatory responses in macrophages. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a novel class of noncoding RNA, whose length is more than 200 nt, but without protein-coding capacity. lncRNAs are involved in many physiological and pathological processes, including inflammatory responses. In our study, a lncRNA microarray assay was performed to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs in RAW264.7 cells at different time points following CpG ODN stimulation. The results revealed that expression levels of 734 lncRNAs and 734 mRNAs were altered at all time points. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) biological pathway analyses were performed to predict the functions of dysregulated genes. Coexpression networks of lncRNA-mRNA were constructed based on the correlation analysis between differentially expressed lncRNAs and 10 selected upregulated mRNAs, which have been reported to be involved in CpG DNA-induced inflammatory responses. In addition, we selected 8 dysregulated lncRNAs for further validation by quantitative real-time PCR. The present study provided a systematic perspective on the potential functions of lncRNAs in CpG ODN-induced macrophage activation.
Collaborative Sleep Electroencephalogram Data Analysis Based on Improved Empirical Mode Decomposition and Clustering Algorithm
Authors: Zheng Xiangwei , Yin Xiaochun , Shao Xuexiao , Li Yalin , Yu Xiaomei
Published: June 2020

Sleep-related diseases seriously affect the life quality of patients. Sleep stage classification (or sleep staging), which studies the human sleep process and classifies the sleep stages, is an important reference to the diagnosis and study of sleep disorders. Many scholars have conducted a series of sleep staging studies, but the correlation between different sleep stages and the accuracy of classification still needs to be improved. Therefore, this paper proposes an automatic sleep stage classification based on EEG. By constructing an improved empirical mode decomposition and K-means experimental model, the concept of “frequency-domain correlation coefficient” is defined. In the process of feature extraction, the feature vector with the best correlation in the time-frequency domain is selected. Extraction and classification of EEG features are realized based on the K-means clustering algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the classification accuracy is significantly improved, and our proposed algorithm has a positive impact on sleep staging compared with other algorithms.
Therapeutic Effect of Tetrapanax papyriferus and Hederagenin on Chronic Neuropathic Pain of Chronic Constriction Injury of Sciatic Nerve Rats Based on KEGG Pathway Prediction and Experimental Verification
Authors: Zhang Di , Sun Jianxin , Yang Bing , Ma Shengsuo , Zhang Chunlan , Zhao Guoping
Published: June 2020

Background. Hederagenin is one of the main components of Tetrapanax papyriferus, and Tetrapanax papyriferus is one of the ingredients of Danggui Sini decoction. To explore whether Tetrapanax papyriferus and hederagenin can alleviate mechanical pain, thermal hyperalgesia, and cold pain at the same time, we comprehensively investigated the effects of two drugs on the levels of p38 MAPK phosphorylation, TRP proteins, and IL1β, IL6, and TNF‐α in serum. Methods. Firstly, we obtained pain‐related targets and performed KEGG pathway enrichment on these targets. Then, 42 SD rats were separated randomly into six groups: sham operation group, CCI group, pregabalin group, mecobalamin group, Tetrapanax papyriferus group, and hederagenin group. All drugs were given orally. Rats in the sham operation group and CCI group were gavaged with saline. Rats in the pregabalin group were given pregabalin, while rats in the mecobalamin group were given mecobalamin. Rats in the Tetrapanax papyriferus group were given Tetrapanax papyriferus, while rats in the hederagenin group were given hederagenin. Besides, we conducted behavioral tests including acetone test, hot plate experiment, and von Frey filaments, and then dorsal root ganglion neurons were taken out on the 21st day after operation. Then, western blot, ELISA, and hematoxylin‐eosin staining were conducted. Results. Rats in the CCI group were more sensitive to hyperalgesia and allodynia to mechanical and thermal stimuli, as well as cold pain. All four drugs could relieve these pains. Pregabalin, mecobalamin, and Tetrapanax papyriferus can reduce the levels of IL1β, IL6, and TNF‐α in serum compared to those of the CCI group. The expression of TRPM8, TRPA1, TRPV1, TRPV4, and phosphorylated p38 MAPK in DRG increased evidently on the 21st day after the operation in the CCI group. All four drugs could reduce the expressions of TRPM8, TRPA1, TRPV1, TRPV4, and phosphorylated p38 MAPK in dorsal root ganglion compared to those of the CCI group. Conclusion. Tetrapanax papyriferus and hederagenin relieved sciatica by reducing inflammation levels, inhibiting p38 MAPK phosphorylation, and decreasing the levels of dorsal root ganglion proteins.
Mechanical Response of Gasketed Bell‐and‐Spigot Joint of Concrete Pipeline under Multifield Coupling
Authors: He Hang , Fang Hongyuan , Du Xueming , Li Bin
Published: June 2020

Concrete pipe may suffer joint failure under the coupling effect of internal fluid and overlying load, which may lead to pipe leakage. Based on Abaqus and Fluent finite element software, a three‐dimensional refined model of drainage pipeline with gasketed bell‐and‐spigot joints and flow field model inside the pipeline was established. Fully considering the compression of the gasket during pipeline assembly and pipe‐soil interaction, the fluid‐structure coupling numerical simulation was carried out by using the MpCCI (Mesh‐based parallel Code Coupling Interface) platform, and the mechanical response of the concrete pipe joint under the multifield loads coupling effects of burial condition, traffic load, and internal fluid was studied. The accuracy of the coupling model was verified through the full‐scale tests that have been carried out. The influences of various factors on the circumferential stress and vertical deformation of the joint were mainly studied. The result reveals that the influence of different working conditions on the circumferential stress of the pipe joint is mainly concentrated on the crown and the invert of the joint, the areas vulnerable to tensile damage. The change of flow field leads to a slight difference in the vertical deformation of the joint, while variation in gasket hardness and cushion compactness has a certain influence on the vertical deformation of the joint. The change of buried depth has a negative correlation to the vertical deformation of the joint, and the change of load position has a significant nonlinear effect. The result provides a theoretical basis for further research on the mechanical mechanism of the pipeline joints during operation.
Dynamic Reliability Management for FPGA-Based Systems
Authors: Anwer Jahanzeb , Meisner Sebastian , Platzner Marco
Published: June 2020

Radiation tolerance in FPGAs is an important field of research particularly for reliable computation in electronics used in aerospace and satellite missions. The motivation behind this research is the degradation of reliability in FPGA hardware due to single-event effects caused by radiation particles. Redundancy is a commonly used technique to enhance the fault-tolerance capability of radiation-sensitive applications. However, redundancy comes with an overhead in terms of excessive area consumption, latency, and power dissipation. Moreover, the redundant circuit implementations vary in structure and resource usage with the redundancy insertion algorithms as well as number of used redundant stages. The radiation environment varies during the operation time span of the mission depending on the orbit and space weather conditions. Therefore, the overheads due to redundancy should also be optimized at run-time with respect to the current radiation level. In this paper, we propose a technique called Dynamic Reliability Management (DRM) that utilizes the radiation data, interprets it, selects a suitable redundancy level, and performs the run-time reconfiguration, thus varying the reliability levels of the target computation modules. DRM is composed of two parts. The design-time tool flow of DRM generates a library of various redundant implementations of the circuit with different magnitudes of performance factors. The run-time tool flow, while utilizing the radiation/error-rate data, selects a required redundancy level and reconfigures the computation module with the corresponding redundant implementation. Both parts of DRM have been verified by experimentation on various benchmarks. The most significant finding we have from this experimentation is that the performance can be scaled multiple times by using partial reconfiguration feature of DRM, e.g., 7.7 and 3.7 times better performance results obtained for our data sorter and matrix multiplier case studies compared with static reliability management techniques. Therefore, DRM allows for maintaining a suitable trade-off between computation reliability and performance overhead during run-time of an application.
The Effect of Foot Massage on Pain of the Intensive Care Patients: A Parallel Randomized Single‐Blind Controlled Trial
Authors: Momeni Masoumeh , Arab Mansoor , Dehghan Mahlagha , Ahmadinejad Mehdi
Published: June 2020

Background and Purpose. Pain is a common stressor in intensive care units (ICUs) with detrimental consequences in case of no treatment. The current study aimed to compare the effect of foot massage by a nurse or the patient’s family on pain of the ICU patients. Materials and Methods. This randomized, parallel, single‐blind controlled trial study was performed on 75 ICU patients. Patients were allocated into three groups (massage by a nurse, massage by the patient’s family, and control group) by the minimization method. Swedish massage was provided for the patients in experimental groups (each foot for 5 minutes) once a day for six days. The pain was examined in all three groups before, immediately, and one week after the intervention. Results. The mean scores of pain in the groups of foot massage by the patient’s family and by a nurse showed a significant reduction at the end of the study (from 4.48 to 3.36 and 4.76 to 2.96, respectively). The control group had significantly more pain after the intervention than the family‐based massage group and the nurse‐based massage group (P < 0.05). Although significant difference was found in the mean scores of pain between the massage provided by a nurse and that provided by the patient’s family immediately after the intervention (P < 0.05), it was not significant one week after the intervention (P > 0.05). Conclusion. Using foot massage, by both nurses and family members can reduce the pain of ICU patients. This intervention may improve the nursing care quality with the least cost and complications.
Suppression of LPS-Induced Inflammation by Chalcone Flavokawain A through Activation of Nrf2/ARE-Mediated Antioxidant Genes and Inhibition of ROS/NFκB Signaling Pathways in Primary Splenocytes
Authors: Yang Hsin-Ling , Yang Ting-Yu , Gowrisankar Yugandhar Vudhya , Liao Chun-Huei , Liao Jiunn-Wang , Huang Pei-Jane , Hseu You-Cheng
Published: June 2020

Oxidative stress is an important contributing factor for inflammation. Piper methysticum, also known as Kava-kava, is a shrub whose root extract has been consumed as a drink by the pacific islanders for a long time. Flavokawain A (FKA) is a novel chalcone derived from the kava plant that is known to have medicinal properties. This study was aimed at demonstrating the antioxidant molecular mechanisms mediated by FKA on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced inflammation in BALB/c mouse-derived primary splenocytes. In vitro data show that the nontoxic concentrations of FKA (2-30 μM) significantly suppressed the proinflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) release but induced the secretion of interleukin-10 (IL-10), an anti-inflammatory cytokine. It was also shown that FKA pretreatment significantly downregulated the LPS-induced ROS production and blocked the activation of the NFκB (p65) pathway leading to the significant suppression of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-1β protein expressions. Notably, FKA favored the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 leading to the downstream expression of antioxidant proteins HO-1, NQO-1, and γ-GCLC via the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway signifying the FKA’s potent antioxidant mechanism in these cells. Supporting the in vitro data, the ex vivo data obtained from primary splenocytes derived from the FKA-preadministered BALB/c mice (orally) show that FKA significantly suppressed the proinflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) secretion in control-, LPS-, or Concanavalin A- (Con A-) stimulated cells. A significant decrease in the ratios of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6/IL-10; TNF-α/IL-10) showed that FKA possesses strong anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, BALB/c mice induced with experimental pancreatitis using cholecystokinin- (CCK-) 8 showed decreased serum lipase levels due to FKA pretreatment. We conclude that with its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, chalcone flavokawain A could be a novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of inflammation-associated diseases.
The Pricing Strategy of Dual Recycling Channels for Power Batteries of New Energy Vehicles under Government Subsidies
Authors: Zhu Xiaodong , Li Wei
Published: June 2020

The vigorous development of the new energy automobile industry has highlighted the issue of efficient recycling of power batteries. Using a Stackelberg game, the pricing mechanism of dual-channel power battery recycling models under different government subsidies is investigated. Consequently, sensitivity analysis and comparison analysis are conducted, providing the pricing decision and the optimal profit of closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) systems. Finally, the effects of recycling efforts, power battery greenness levels, service levels, and consumer green recycling awareness on prices of power batteries and profits are determined through numerical simulations, and the optimal prices under different strategies are compared. The results indicate that recycling prices of each party in the manufacturer subsidy model are relatively high, and consumers’ green awareness and the green levels of power batteries are directly proportional to the recycling prices offered by recycling parties. Automobile 4S stores and recycling networks should pay attention to the balance between the increase in the cost and the quantity of government subsidies for their recycling efforts. For recycling enterprises, maintaining an appropriate service level can maximize their profits and positively motivate the development of them.
Exact Traveling Wave Solutions and Bifurcation of a Generalized (3+1)-Dimensional Time-Fractional Camassa-Holm-Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Equation
Authors: Liu Zhigang , Zhang Kelei , Li Mengyuan
Published: June 2020

In this paper, we study the (3+1)-dimensional time-fractional Camassa-Holm-Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation with a conformable fractional derivative. By the fractional complex transform and the bifurcation method for dynamical systems, we investigate the dynamical behavior and bifurcation of solutions of the traveling wave system and seek all possible exact traveling wave solutions of the equation. Furthermore, the phase portraits of the dynamical system and the remarkable features of the solutions are demonstrated via interesting figures.
Experimental Study on Flexural Properties of Side‐Pressure Laminated Bamboo Beams
Authors: Lei Jing , Chen Bowang , Yuan Ping
Published: June 2020

In this paper, two factors of width‐to‐height ratio and span‐to‐height ratio are considered and 10 side‐pressure laminated bamboo beams are prepared and tested for flexural capacity to study the flexural performance when they are used as structural members. The failure mode, load‐displacement curves, and the change rule of cross‐section strain with height are obtained through the test. The results demonstrate that the side‐pressure laminated bamboo beams have experienced elastic deformation stage, elastic‐plastic deformation stage, and failure stage; the midspan deflection of beams with considerable span‐to‐height ratio is too large to be applied to the ultimate load, and these specimens are regarded at the ultimate limit state; stiffness or deflection should be considered as the control index in the engineering application of the side‐pressure laminated bamboo beams; the bearing capacity increases proportionately with the beam width; the average strain of the section basically conforms to the plane section assumption. The experiment proposes a method for calculating the flexural capacity of the side‐pressure laminated bamboo beams with nonlinear deformation, and also, the comparison between the test value and the calculated value shows that they agree well.
Analysis of the Elastic‐Plastic Theoretical Model of the Pull‐Out Interface between Geosynthetics and Tailings
Authors: Du Changbo , Yi Fu
Published: June 2020

Aiming at the strain‐hardening and strain‐softening phenomena between geosynthetics and tailings during pull‐out tests, bilinear and trilinear shear stress‐displacement softening models were proposed. The pull‐out process of the hardening reinforcement was divided into the elastic stage, elastic‐hardening transition stage, and pure hardening stage. The pull‐out process of the softened reinforcement was divided into the elastic stage, elastic‐softening transition stage, pure softening stage, softening‐residual transition stage, and pure residual stage. The expressions of the interface tension, shear stress, and displacement at the different stages under a pull‐out load were derived through the interface basic control equation. At the same time, the evolution law of the interface shear stress at different pull‐out stages was analysed, and the predicted results of the two elastic‐plastic models were compared with the experimental results. The results show that the predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental data, which verifies the validity of the proposed two elastic‐plastic models for the progressive failure analysis of reinforcement at the pull‐out interface. During the process of pull‐out, the transition stage is not obvious. When the reinforcement is in the elastic stage, the nonlinearity and maximum value of the interface shear stress increase with an increase in the elastic shear stiffness, while the tensile stiffness shows the opposite trend. When the reinforcement is in the hardening or softening stage, the larger the hardening (softening) shear stiffness is, the larger the change range of shear stress is and the more obvious the hardening (softening) characteristics of the reinforcement are. The results comprehensively reflect the progressive failure of reinforcement‐tailing interfaces with different strain types and provide theoretical support for the study of the interface characteristics of geosynthetic‐reinforced tailings.
Steady-State Steering Characteristics of Mathematical Model for Semitrailer Based on Variations in Camber Parameters
Authors: Wei Yi , He Shuilong , Xu Enyong , Zhang Genge , Tang Rongjiang , Wang Wei , Li Chao
Published: June 2020

To master the basic characteristics of steady-state cornering for a semitrailer, this paper summarises the current modelling methods for handling and stability and discusses their limitations. The classical linear mathematical model for a two-degree-of-freedom (DOF) handling and stability system is used to develop a new model. Analysis methods are proposed to introduce the influence of the camber angle and body roll into the model parameters. Thus, a mathematical model for the lateral stability of semitrailer with five DOFs is established. At the same time, a modified formula to calculate the stability factor of the semitrailer is developed with a MATLAB model to solve the dynamic state equation. The mathematical model, which considers the body roll and the changes in the camber angle caused by roll, compares the turning radius ratio and yaw rate as the evaluation index with the classical linear mathematical model of a two-DOF system. The vehicle parameters for three different types of semi-tractor trailers are used to calculate and compare two mathematical models for handling and stability using real vehicle test data. The results show that the new modelling and analysis method proposed in this paper has a high calculation accuracy and fast calculation speed, is clear and concise, and is consistent with the real vehicle test data. In addition, the accuracy of the new mathematical model for handling and stability and the improved stability factor are verified.
Assessing the Efficacy of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics in Controlling Bacterial Contamination in the In Vitro Micropropagation of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc)
Authors: Tewelde Selam , Patharajan Subban , Teka Zenebe , Sbhatu Desta Berhe
Published: June 2020

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) (Zingiberaceae) is a livelihood and commercial crop in Ethiopia. But, the availability of clean and healthy planting materials has become a problem due to wilt disease, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum Biovar 3 Race 4. This problem obliged growers to seek for tens of millions of vigorous and disease-free planting materials very quickly via in vitro micropropagation of shoot tip explants. For this purpose, protocols of sterilizing shoot tip explants and controlling bacterial contamination of one Ethiopian ginger cultivar called Deribo were tested. Hence, this article reports the finding of a study that aimed at testing the (a) effectiveness of three sterilization agents, namely, 0.25% w/v RBK (composed of ridomile, bayleton, and kocide at 1 : 1 : 1 ratio), 0.50% v/v NaOCl, and 70% v/v ethanol at three different treatment times in combination with 0.25% HgCl2; (b) efficacy of four broad-spectrum antibiotics and their combinations in controlling bacterial contaminants of ginger shoot tip explants and in vitro micropropagation media; and (c) effects of the antibiotics on the shooting performances of the explants of the cultivar. A 0.50% v/v NaOCl at exposure time of 20 min followed by 0.25% HgCl2 has resulted in 80% contamination-free and 70% live explants after three weeks of incubation. Likewise, cefotaxime at 50, 100, and 200 mg/L and cefotaxime plus streptomycin at 25, 50, and 100 mg/L yielded 87 to 93% contamination-free microshoots after three weeks of culturing. The number of explants killed by the antibiotics increased with increasing the concentration of the antibiotics. Cefotaxime at 50 mg/L and cefotaxime plus streptomycin at 25 mg/L yielded significantly highest mean microshoots per explant (7.10 ± 0.36 and 7.51 ± 0.27, respectively) and mean shoot length (4.2 ± 0.26 and 3.56 ± 0.17 cm, respectively). Some of the microshoots showed some yellowing. But, they turned green and grew normal after subcultured into fresh, antibiotics-free culture media. These findings are important foundations towards developing more optimized protocols of sterilizing explants and controlling bacterial contaminants for large-scale in vitro micropropagation of the Deribo ginger cultivar.
Histopathological Findings of Failed Free Vascularized Fibular Grafting for Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head after Long‐Term Follow‐Up
Authors: Lim Thou , Tang Qian , Wang Qiyang , Zhu Zhenzhong , Wei Xiaojuan , Feng Yong , Zhang Changqing
Published: June 2020

Purpose. The aim of this study was to report the histopathology of failed free vascularized fibular grafting (FVFG) for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) after a mean follow‐up of 11.5 years (ranged from 10.6 to 14.2 years). Methods. Six hips of 5 patients with a history of steroid use, aged 34–67 years, were in stage II of ONFH as classified by the Ficat and Arlet classification at the time of FVFG treatment. Grafting failure led to osteoarthritis of the hip joint during a mean of 11.5 years of follow‐up. Femoral head specimens were first evaluated macroscopically. Bone specimens were sectioned into long strips, divided into necrotic, transitional, and healthy zones, and then prepared for nondecalcified and decalcified histopathological examination using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, Goldner’s trichrome staining, and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. Results. Femoral head articular cartilage surfaces appeared thin, opaque, and partially cartilaginous missing, with gradual collapse detected in weight‐bearing areas. The interface with the fibular graft showed well union, with no obvious gaps between graft and host bone, as observed macroscopically. The necrotic area was filled with fibular graft, cancellous bone, and cartilaginous or soft tissue invasion. Histopathology results revealed well integration between fibular graft and host bone, with thickened trabecular bone. Gaps occurred in transitional and healthy zones. In the necrotic zone, cartilaginous or soft tissue invasion occurred, while thin or missing articular cartilage exposed subchondral bone to hip joint surfaces. By IF counterstaining with CD‐31 and α‐SMA, blood vessel transplanted during fibular grafting could be clearly observed along the graft from healthy to necrotic zones. In the necrotic zone, blood vessels presented obviously and spread into the surrounding area of the graft tip. Conclusion. After FVFG procedure with a mean follow‐up of 11.5 years, fibular grafts retained their integrity as viable, vascularized, cortical bone that fused well with host bone and formed thickened trabecular bone surrounding the surface of the graft. However, the revascularization of FVFG’s blood vessels spreading from the tip of the fibular graft into subchondral area of necrotic lesion did not improve significantly in these failure cases. The local necrotic lesion failed to be repaired as healthy trabecular bone to buttress articular surface and was occupied by soft tissues.
Profiling and Bioinformatics Analysis of Differentially Expressed circRNAs in Spinal Ligament Tissues of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis
Authors: Kou Jianqiang , Liu Guoming , Liu Xiangyun , Li Tianmi , Wei Ying , Sun Yuanliang , Wang Ting , Wang Yingzhen , Zheng Xiujun
Published: June 2020

Recent studies have reported that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a crucial regulatory role in a variety of human diseases. However, the roles of circRNAs in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remain unclear. In this study, we conducted circRNA expression profiling of the spinal ligament tissues of patients with AS by RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) and analyzed the potential functions of differentially expressed circRNA by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses to investigate the potential mechanisms associated with AS. The results showed that a total of 1,172 circRNAs were detected in the spinal ligament tissue samples, of which 123 circRNAs were significantly differentially expressed by a fold change ≥ 1.5 and p value < 0.05. Among these, 57 circRNAs were upregulated, and 66 were downregulated. GO and KEGG analyses demonstrated that the differentially expressed circRNAs were mainly involved in the regulation of biological processes of peptidyl‐serine phosphorylation and human immune system that may be related to AS. In addition, the circRNA/miRNA interaction networks were established to predict the potential roles of differentially expressed circRNAs by bioinformatics analysis. Taken together, these results revealed the expression profiles of circRNAs and the potential functions of the differentially expressed circRNAs in the spinal ligament tissue of patients with AS, which may provide new clues for understanding the mechanisms associated with AS, and proceed to identify novel potential molecular targets for the diagnoses and treatment of AS.
Sustained Immunoparalysis in Endotoxin-Tolerized Monocytic Cells
Authors: Weisheit Christina K. , Klüners Alexandra , Wild Lennart , Casalter Alexandra , Heilmann-Heimbach Stefanie , Sivalingam Sugirthan , Kleiner Jan L. , Ehrentraut Stefan F. , Hoeft Andreas , Frede Stilla , Ehrentraut Heidi
Published: June 2020

Sepsis is associated with a strong inflammatory reaction triggering a complex and prolonged immune response. Septic patients have been shown to develop sustained immunosuppression due to a reduced responsiveness of leukocytes to pathogens. Changes in cellular metabolism of leukocytes have been linked to this phenomenon and contribute to the ongoing immunological derangement. However, the underlying mechanisms of these phenomena are incompletely understood. In cell culture models, we mimicked LPS tolerance conditions to provide evidence that epigenetic modifications account for monocyte metabolic changes which cause immune paralysis in restimulated septic monocytes. In detail, we observed differential methylation of CpG sites related to metabolic activity in human PBMCs 18 h after septic challenge. The examination of changes in immune function and metabolic pathways was performed in LPS-tolerized monocytic THP-1 cells. Passaged THP-1 cells, inheriting initial LPS challenge, presented with dysregulation of cytokine expression and oxygen consumption for up to 7 days after the initial LPS treatment. Proinflammatory cytokine concentrations of TNFα and IL1β were significantly suppressed following a second LPS challenge (p<0.001) on day 7 after first LPS stimulation. However, the analysis of cellular metabolism did not reveal any noteworthy alterations between tolerant and nontolerant THP-1 monocytes. No quantitative differences in ATP and NADH synthesis or participating enzymes of energy metabolism occurred. Our data demonstrate that the function and epigenetic modifications of septic and tolerized monocytes can be examined in vitro with the help of our LPS model. Changes in CpG site methylation and monocyte function point to a correlation between epigenetic modification in metabolic pathways and reduced monocyte function under postseptic conditions.
Genetic and Biological Effects of ICAM-1 E469K Polymorphism in Diabetic Kidney Disease
Authors: Zhang Xiuli , Seman Norhashimah Abu , Falhammar Henrik , Brismar Kerstin , Gu Harvest F.
Published: June 2020

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a complex disease, in which local inflammatory stress results from both metabolic and hemodynamic derangements. Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) is an acute-phase protein marker of inflammation. In the recent years, clinical observations have reported that increased serum/plasma ICAM-1 levels are positively correlated with albuminuria in the patients with type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Genetic association studies have demonstrated that genetic polymorphisms, including SNP rs5498 (E469K, G/A), in theICAM1gene is associated with DKD. rs5498 is a nonsynonymous SNP and caused by substitution between E (Glu) and K (Lys) for ICAM-1 protein. In this review, we first summarized the genetic effects ofICAM1E469K polymorphism in DKD and then demonstrated the possible changes of ICAM-1 protein crystal structures according to the genotypes of this polymorphism. Finally, we discussed the genetic effects of theICAM1E469K polymorphism and the biological role of increased circulating ICAM-1 protein and its formation changes in DKD.
Assessment of Interrater and Intrarater Reliability of Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) Goniometer
Authors: Wolan-Nieroda Andzelina , Guzik Agnieszka , Mocur Paulina , Drużbicki Mariusz , Maciejczak Andrzej
Published: June 2020

Purpose. The current study was designed to assess interrater and intrarater validity of cervical range of motion measurements performed with a CROM goniometer. Material and Methods. The study involved 95 healthy university students (31 males and 64 females) aged 20‐24 years. Two examiners performed measurements of cervical range of motion using a CROM goniometer. The same subjects were examined again after two weeks, in the same conditions. The results acquired by one rater during the first and the second examination were compared for reproducibility, while the results obtained by the two examiners were compared to assess validity and reliability of the tool. Cronbach’s alpha was applied to determine intrarater reliability, and the values of correlations were used to assess the interrater agreement. Results. Analysis of the results showed both intrarater and interrater agreement in all the measures of cervical range of motion. The highest intrarater and interrater concordance was observed in the measure of extension. Intrarater agreement for Examiner 1 was reflected by Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85, and for Examiner 2 by Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89. As for the interrater agreement in the measure of extension, the value of correlation in both the first and the second measurement amounted to r = 0.89. Conclusions. Measurements performed with the CROM goniometer show interrater and intrarater agreement in assessments of cervical range of motion. The CROM goniometer can be recommended for use in daily clinical practice.
Ultrasound-Guided Selective Nerve Root Block versus Fluoroscopy-Guided Interlaminar Epidural Block versus Fluoroscopy-Guided Transforaminal Epidural Block for the Treatment of Radicular Pain in the Lower Cervical Spine: A Retrospective Comparative Study
Authors: Jang Jin Hyuk , Lee Woo Yong , Kim Jong woo , Cho Kyoung Rai , Nam Sang Hyun , Park YongBum
Published: June 2020

Background. Recently, ultrasound- (US-) guided selective nerve root block (SNRB) has been reported to have similar effects compared to fluoroscopy- (FL-) guided cervical epidural steroid injection (CESI). There is no published study comparing the therapeutic efficacy and safety of interlaminar- (IL-) CESI and transforaminal- (TF-) CESI with US-guided SNRB. Our retrospective study aimed to compare the mid-term effects and advantages of the US-guided SNRB, FL-guided IL-CESI, and TF-CESI for radicular pain in the lower cervical spine through assessment of pain relief and functional improvement. Methods. Patients with radicular pain in the lower cervical spine who received guided SNRB (n = 44) or FL-guided IL (n = 41) or TF-CESI (n = 37) were included in this retrospective study. All procedures were performed using a FL or US. The complication frequencies during the procedures, adverse event, treatment effects, and functional improvement were compared at 1, 3, and 6 months after the last injection. Results. Both the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Verbal Numeric Scale (VNS) scores showed improvements at 1, 3, and 6 months after the last injection in all groups, with no significant differences between groups P<0.05. Furthermore, the treatment success rate at all time points was not significantly different between groups. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the injection method (US- or FL-guided), cause, sex, age, number of injections, and pain duration were not independent predictors of treatment success. Blood was aspirated before injection in 7% (n = 3), 14% (n = 6), and 0% patients in the FL-guided IL, TF, and US-guided groups, respectively. In 2 patients of FL-guided IL and 7 of FL-guided TF group, intravascular contrast spread was noted during injection. Conclusions. Our results suggest that, compared with FL-guided IL and TF-CESI, US-guided SNRB has a low intravascular injection rate; it is unlikely that serious complications will occur. Also, US-guided SNRB requires a shorter administration duration while providing similar pain relief and functional improvements. Therefore, for the treatment of patients with lower cervical radicular pain, US-guided SNRB should be considered as a prior epidural steroid injection.