bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimating subglottal pressure and vocal fold adduction from the produced voice in a single-subject study (L)
Authors: Zhang Zhaoyan
Published: February 2022

We previously reported a simulation-based neural network for estimating vocal fold properties and subglottal pressure from the produced voice. This study aims to validate this neural network in a single–human subject study. The results showed reasonable accuracy of the neural network in estimating the subglottal pressure in this particular human subject. The neural network was also able to qualitatively differentiate soft and loud speech conditions regarding differences in the subglottal pressure and degree of vocal fold adduction. This simulation-based neural network has potential applications in identifying unhealthy vocal behavior and monitoring progress of voice therapy or vocal training.
Wireless, battery-free push-pull microsystem for membrane-free neurochemical sampling in freely moving animals
Authors: Wu Guangfu , Heck Ian , Zhang Nannan , Phaup Glenn , Zhang Xincheng , Wu Yixin , Stalla David E. , Weng Zhengyan , Sun He , Li Huijie , Zhang Zhe , Ding Shinghua , Li De-Pei , Zhang Yi
Published: February 2022

Extensive studies in both animals and humans have demonstrated that high molecular weight neurochemicals, such as neuropeptides and other polypeptide neurochemicals, play critical roles in various neurological disorders. Despite many attempts, existing methods are constrained by detecting neuropeptide release in small animal models during behavior tasks, which leaves the molecular mechanisms underlying many neurological and psychological disorders unresolved. Here, we report a wireless, programmable push-pull microsystem for membrane-free neurochemical sampling with cellular spatial resolution in freely moving animals. In vitro studies demonstrate the sampling of various neurochemicals with high recovery (>80%). Open-field tests reveal that the device implantation does not affect the natural behavior of mice. The probe successfully captures the pharmacologically evoked release of neuropeptide Y in freely moving mice. This wireless push-pull microsystem creates opportunities for neuroscientists to understand where, when, and how the release of neuropeptides modulates diverse behavioral outputs of the brain.
Mechanism of signal sequence handover from NAC to SRP on ribosomes during ER-protein targeting
Authors: Jomaa Ahmad , Gamerdinger Martin , Hsieh Hao-Hsuan , Wallisch Annalena , Chandrasekaran Viswanathan , Ulusoy Zeynel , Scaiola Alain , Hegde Ramanujan S. , Shan Shu-ou , Ban Nenad , Deuerling Elke
Published: February 2022

The nascent polypeptide–associated complex (NAC) interacts with newly synthesized proteins at the ribosomal tunnel exit and competes with the signal recognition particle (SRP) to prevent mistargeting of cytosolic and mitochondrial polypeptides to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). How NAC antagonizes SRP and how this is overcome by ER targeting signals are unknown. Here, we found that NAC uses two domains with opposing effects to control SRP access. The core globular domain prevented SRP from binding to signal-less ribosomes, whereas a flexibly attached domain transiently captured SRP to permit scanning of nascent chains. The emergence of an ER-targeting signal destabilized NAC’s globular domain and facilitated SRP access to the nascent chain. These findings elucidate how NAC hands over the signal sequence to SRP and imparts specificity of protein localization.
Supplemental Material: Impact-crater ages and micrometeorite paleofluxes compared: Evidence for the importance of ordinary chondrites in the flux of meteorites and asteroids to Earth over the past 500 million years
Authors: Schmitz Birger , al. et
Published: February 2022

Supplemental text and Tables S1 and S2.
Vancomycin-associated acute kidney injury epidemiology in children: a systematic review
Authors: Williams Chloe , Hankinson Charlotte , McWilliam Stephen J , Oni Louise
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Vancomycin is a recognised cause of drug-induced acute kidney injury (AKI).

Objective

The aim of this systematic review was to summarise the incidence of, and the risk factors for, vancomycin-associated AKI (v-AKI) in children.

Design

A systematic search was performed in November 2020 on the search engines PubMed, Web of Science and Medline, using predefined search terms. The inclusion criteria were primary paediatric studies, intervention with vancomycin and studies that included AKI as an outcome. Study quality was assessed using the relevant Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. The data are reported using descriptive statistics.

Results

890 studies were identified and screened with 25 studies suitable for inclusion. A cohort of 12 730 patients with v-AKI were included and the incidence of v-AKI in children was found to be 11.8% (1.6%–27.2%). The median age of the cohort was 2.5 years (range 0–23) and 57% were male patients. Risk factors that increased the likelihood of v-AKI were concomitant use of nephrotoxic medications, increased trough concentrations and, to a lesser extent, increased dose, longer duration of treatment, impaired renal function and if the patient required paediatric intensive care.

Conclusions

The incidence of v-AKI in children is significant and methods to reduce this risk should be considered. Further prospective interventional studies to understand the mechanisms of nephrotoxicity from vancomycin are needed and targeting risk factors may make vancomycin administration safer.
Fallopian tube tumour presenting as supraclavicular lymph node metastasis
Authors: Moleiro Maria Lúcia , Veloso Helena , Brás Rafael Duarte , Gouveia Alfredo
Published: February 2022

A 72-year-old woman noted a lump in her left supraclavicular fossa with no other symptoms or other signs on physical exam. A cervical biopsy indicated metastatic carcinoma. On the diagnostic workup: thoracic–abdominal–pelvic CT revealed augmented lymph nodes (LNs) in the retroperitoneum; Positron Emission Tomography–CT showed uptake in the LNs described and in two small areas in the pelvis; blood tests showed elevated CA125 and CA72.4. Another biopsy, considering a para-aortic LN, proved to be metastasis of a high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). Gynaecological exam and pelvic imaging were innocent. Diagnostic laparoscopy, including hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy, was performed and anatomopathological examination confirmed a HGSC in the fallopian tube (FT), in a tiny focus of 1.5 mm. The patient continued treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy. Literature review indicates that supraclavicular LN as first manifestation of FT carcinoma is not usual, and widespread lymphadenopathies with no macroscopic pelvic disease at diagnosis are even rarer.
Proxy responses regarding quality of life of patients with terminal lung cancer: preliminary results from a prospective observational study
Authors: Takura Tomoyuki , Koike Tomoko , Matsuo Yoko , Sekimoto Asuko , Mutou Masami
Published: February 2022

Objective

This prospective study used the EQ-5D utility and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores to analyse the potential usefulness of proxy responses in quality of life assessments of Japanese patients with terminal lung cancer sufficiently healthy to communicate and reply by themselves. We did not investigate the potential usefulness of using proxy responses for patients who could not respond by themselves.

Design

A prospective observational study.

Setting

Single centre.

Participants

The EQ-5D and VAS responses were gathered from 30 in-hospital patients with lung cancer for a total of three observation points. At nearly the same time, two nurses responded by providing proxy responses.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

EQ-5D and VAS responses.

Results

There were no significant differences between the patients’ and nurses’ responses for EQ-5D utility and VAS scores. For the five dimensions of the EQ-5D, significant differences were found between the patients’ and nurses’ responses for usual activities (patients’ response 1.64±0.07, nurses’ response 1.41±0.05, p=0.03) and anxiety/depression (patients’ response: 1.40±0.05, nurses’ response: 1.19±0.03, p=0.02). There was a significant weak positive correlation between patients’ and nurses’ responses regarding changes in responses from the first to the third observation point (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient ρ=0.228; p<0.01).

Conclusion

The results suggest that proxy responses are useful because there were no significant differences between the patients’ and nurses’ responses for EQ-5D utility and VAS scores at the three observation points. These findings should, however, be verified in future large-scale trials.
Clinical efficacy and safety outcomes of bempedoic acid for LDL-C lowering therapy in patients at high cardiovascular risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lin Yingfeng , Parco Claudio , Karathanos Athanasios , Krieger Torben , Schulze Volker , Chernyak Nadja , Icks Andrea , Kelm Malte , Brockmeyer Maximilian , Wolff Georg
Published: February 2022

Objectives

Bempedoic acid (BA) is a novel oral low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering drug. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess efficacy and safety for clinical outcomes in high cardiovascular (CV) risk patients.

Data sources

MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, Clinical Trial Results and the American College of Cardiology web site were searched.

Study selection

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of BA versus placebo in high CV risk patients reporting clinical outcomes were included.

Main outcomes and measures

Primary efficacy outcomes were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), all-cause mortality, CV mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI). Safety outcomes included new onset or worsening of diabetes mellitus (DM), muscular disorders, gout and worsening of renal function.

Results

Six RCTs with a total of 3956 patients and follow-ups of four to 52 weeks were identified. Heterogeneity mainly derived from differing follow-up duration and baseline CV risk. No difference in MACE (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.61 to 1.15), all-cause mortality (OR 2.37; CI 0.80 to 6.99) and CV mortality (OR 1.66; CI 0.45 to 6.04) for BA versus placebo was observed. BA showed beneficial trends for non-fatal MI (OR 0.57; CI 0.32 to 1.00) and was associated with a lower risk of new-onset or worsening of DM (OR 0.68; CI 0.49 to 0.94), but higher risk of gout (OR 3.29; CI 1.28 to 8.46) and a trend for muscular disorders (OR 2.60; CI 1.15 to 5.91) and worsening of renal function (OR 4.24; CI 0.98 to 18.39).

Conclusion

BA in high CV risk patients showed no significant effects on major CV outcomes in short-term follow-up. Unfavourable effects on muscular disorders, renal function and gout sound a note of caution. Hence, further studies with longer term follow-up in carefully selected populations are needed to clarify the risk/benefit ratio of this novel therapy.
Side effects of COVID-19 vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol of randomised trials
Authors: Medeiros Kleyton Santos , Costa Ana Paula Ferreira , Sarmento Ayane Cristine Alves , Freitas Cijara Leonice , Gonçalves Ana Katherine
Published: February 2022

Introduction

SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for a large number of global COVID-19 cases. Strategies such as social isolation, personal hygiene and frequent hand washing have been implemented; however, a protective vaccine is required to achieve sufficient herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection to ultimately control the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet the urgent need for a vaccine, a reduction in the development schedule has been proposed from 10–15 years to 1–2 years. For this reason, this systematic review and meta-analysis protocol aims to compare the side effects, safety and toxicity of COVID-19 vaccines available globally, including their combinations.

Methods and analysis

We will select randomised controlled trial-type studies that evaluate the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, LILACS, SCOPUS, ClinicalTrials.gov, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), medRxiv.org, biorxiv.org, preprints.org and the Cochrane Library will be searched for eligible studies until December 2021. Three reviewers will independently screen and select studies, assess methodological quality and extract data. A meta-analysis will be performed, if possible, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations summary of findings will be presented.

Ethics and dissemination

This study will review published data, and thus it is unnecessary to obtain ethical approval. The findings of this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021231101.
Need for support among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study at an academic hospital in the Netherlands
Authors: Kranenburg Leonieke W , de Veer Mathijs R , Oude Hengel Karen M , Kouwenhoven-Pasmooij Tessa A , de Pagter Anne PJ , Hoogendijk Witte JG , Busschbach Jan JV , van Mol Margo MC
Published: February 2022

Objectives

The aim of the current study is to gain insight into the factors that benefit vitality and resilience of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, to develop and direct specific support strategies.

Design, setting and participants

This study applies a qualitative design, consisting of six focus groups and five interviews among 38 frontline healthcare workers in a large Dutch academic hospital. Included were professionals of the intensive care unit, COVID-19 departments, infection prevention units and facility management services. The study was conducted in October and November 2020, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data analysis

Thematic analysis was applied to focus group and interview data to gain insight into the factors that contribute to maintaining vitality and resilience, and to assess specific support needs.

Results

Data analysis of the focus groups and individual interviews resulted in a thematic map of the factors that contribute to maintaining resilience and vitality. The map stretches over two axes: one ranging from a healthy basis to adequate professional functioning and the other from individual to organisation, resulting in four quadrants: recharge and recover (healthy basis, individual), safety and connectedness at work (healthy basis, organisational), collaboration (professional functioning, organisational) and professional identity (professional functioning, individual).

Conclusion

Areas for organisational support strategies to increase vitality and resilience among healthcare professionals are: consistent communication, realistic job performance expectations, monitor and improve mental resilience, showing appreciation and act upon practical support requests.
Caregivers of patients with cancer: perceived stress, quality of life and immune function
Authors: Kim Yoonjoo , Chung Misook L , Lee Hyangkyu
Published: February 2022

Objectives

To examine the mediating effect of quality of life (QoL) on the relationship between perceived stress and immune function in Korean family caregivers of patients with cancer.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 89 family caregivers of patients with cancer completed perceived stress and QoL questionnaires. Immune function was assessed using two proinflammatory biomarkers, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Multiple parallel mediator regression was conducted using four mediators (burden, lifestyle disruption, positive adaptation and financial concern) representing the subscales of QoL related to caregiving.

Results

Psychological (indirect effect (ab)=−0.52, 95% CI −1.25 to −0.01) and physical (ab=−0.44, 95% CI −1.07 to −0.05) stress had a significant indirect effect on IL-6 levels attributed to lifestyle disruption associated with caregiving. Psychological (ab=−0.97, 95% CI −2.37 to −0.11) and physical (ab=−1.10, 95% CI −2.87 to −0.08) stress also had a significant indirect effect on TNF-α as a result of financial concerns owing to caregiving. Other indirect effects of psychological/physical stress on inflammation were not significant.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that the effects of perceived psychological and physical stress on IL-6 and TNF-α levels were mediated by the caregiver’s QoL, especially lifestyle disruption and financial concerns. Stress management and improvement of caregivers’ QoL related to lifestyle disruption and financial issues should be considered to reduce the negative effects of caregiving on immune function.
Non-fatal injury data: characteristics to consider for surveillance and research
Authors: Carmichael Andrea E. , Ballesteros Michael F. , Qualters Judith R. , Mack Karin A.
Published: February 2022

Background

All data systems used for non-fatal injury surveillance and research have strengths and limitations that influence their utility in understanding non-fatal injury burden. The objective of this paper was to compare characteristics of major data systems that capture non-fatal injuries in the USA.

Methods

By applying specific inclusion criteria (eg, non-fatal and non-occupational) to well-referenced injury data systems, we created a list of commonly used non-fatal injury data systems for this study. Data system characteristics were compiled for 2018: institutional support, years of data available, access, format, sample, sampling method, injury definition/coding, geographical representation, demographic variables, timeliness (lag) and further considerations for analysis.

Results

Eighteen data systems ultimately fit the inclusion criteria. Most data systems were supported by a federal institution, produced national estimates and were available starting in 1999 or earlier. Data source and injury case coding varied between the data systems. Redesigns of sampling frameworks and the use of International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification/International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification coding for some data systems can make longitudinal analyses complicated for injury surveillance and research. Few data systems could produce state-level estimates.

Conclusion

Thoughtful consideration of strengths and limitations should be exercised when selecting a data system to answer injury-related research questions. Comparisons between estimates of various data systems should be interpreted with caution, given fundamental system differences in purpose and population capture. This research provides the scientific community with an updated starting point to assist in matching the data system to surveillance and research questions and can improve the efficiency and quality of injury analyses.
Exosome as a target for cancer treatment
Authors: Nafar Samira , Nouri Negar , Alipour Maedeh , Fallahi Jafar , Zare Fateme , Tabei Seyed Mohammad Bagher
Published: February 2022

Exosomes are small vesicles covered by a lipid bilayer, ranging in size from 50 nm to 90 nm, secreted by different cell types in the body under normal and pathological conditions. They are surrounded by cell-segregated membrane complexes and play a role in the pathological and physiological environments of target cells by transfer of different molecules such as microRNA (miRNA). Exosomes have been detected in many body fluids, such as in the amniotic fluid, urine, breast milk, blood, saliva, ascites, semen, and bile. They include proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids such as DNA, RNA, and miRNA, which have many functions in target cells under pathological and physiological conditions. They participate in pathological processes such as tumor growth and survival, autoimmunity, neurodegenerative disorders, infectious diseases, inflammation conditions, and others. Biomarkers in exosomes isolated from body fluids have allowed for a more precise and consistent diagnostic method than previous approaches. Exosomes can be used in a variety of intracellular functions, and with advances in molecular techniques they can be used in the treatment and diagnosis of many diseases, including cancer. These vesicles play a significant role in various stages of cancer. Tumor-derived exosomes have an important role in tumor growth, survival, and metastasis. In contrast, the use of stem cells in cancer treatment is a relatively new scientific area. We hope to address targeted use of miRNA-carrying exosomes in cancer therapy in this review paper.
Aesthetics for everyday quality: one way to enrich healthcare improvement debates
Authors: Cribb Alan , Pullin Graham
Published: February 2022

In this paper we seek to illuminate the importance of aesthetics for healthcare quality and encourage more explicit discussion of aesthetics in healthcare improvement scholarship and practice. We hope to contribute to and help develop the hinterland between arts-based initiatives in healthcare and the ‘normal business’ of healthcare quality improvement. Our broad contention is: (1) That aesthetic considerations should be seen as of universal relevance across quality debates (2) That they never be assumed to have a marginal or even secondary status; and (3) That taking aesthetic considerations seriously calls for explicit discussion of associated uncertainties and dilemmas and a readiness to welcome aesthetics expertise into improvement debates.
Passive smoking in childhood and adulthood and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women: results from the French E3N cohort study
Authors: Nguyen Yann , Salliot Carine , Gelot Amandine , Mariette Xavier , Boutron-Ruault Marie-Christine , Seror Raphaele
Published: February 2022

Objective

The association between passive smoking exposure in childhood or in adulthood, and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been incompletely investigated. We aimed to assess the relationship between exposure to passive smoking and the risk of incident RA in a French prospective cohort of healthy women.

Methods

The E3N Study (Etude Epidémiologique auprès des femmes de la Mutuelle générale de l’Education Nationale) is a French prospective cohort of women included in 1990. Exposures to passive smoking were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. RA cases were self-reported and subsequently validated. Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age and for potential confounders were used to estimate HRs and 95% CIs for incident RA.

Results

Among 79 806 women, 698 incident cases of RA were identified; 10 810 (13.5%) women were exposed to passive smoking in childhood, and 42 807 (53.6%) in adulthood. Median age at inclusion was 47.8 years. Passive smoking in childhood and in adulthood was associated with RA risk in all models (HRs (95% CIs) 1.24 (1.01 to 1.51) and 1.19 (1.02 to 1.40), respectively). The absolute risk of RA among never smokers with exposure to passive smoking in childhood and/or adulthood (47.6/100 000 person-years) was close to the risk of ever smokers with no passive smoking exposure (47.2/100 000 person-years), while it was highest in ever smokers also exposed to passive smoking (53.7/100 000 person-years).

Conclusion

Exposure to passive smoking in childhood and/or adulthood increases the risk of RA by the same order than active smoking. Such exposure should be suppressed, especially in individuals at risk of RA.
Respiratory and allergic outcomes among 5-year-old children exposed to pesticides
Authors: Islam Jessica Y , Hoppin Jane , Mora Ana M , Soto-Martinez Manuel E , Gamboa Leonel Córdoba , Castañeda Jorge Ernesto Peñaloza , Reich Brian , Lindh Christian , van Wendel de Joode Berna
Published: February 2022

Background

Little is known about the effects of pesticides on children’s respiratory and allergic outcomes. We evaluated associations of prenatal and current pesticide exposures with respiratory and allergic outcomes in children from the Infants’ Environmental Health Study in Costa Rica.

Methods

Among 5-year-old children (n=303), we measured prenatal and current specific gravity-corrected urinary metabolite concentrations of insecticides (chlorpyrifos, pyrethroids), fungicides (mancozeb, pyrimethanil, thiabendazole) and 2,4-D. We collected information from caregivers on respiratory (ever doctor-diagnosed asthma and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), wheeze and cough during last 12 months) and allergic (nasal allergies, itchy rash, ever eczema) outcomes. We fitted separate multivariable logistic regression models for high (≥75th percentile (P75)) vs low (<P75) metabolite concentrations with respiratory and allergic outcomes. We also ran models including metabolite concentrations as continuous exposure variables.

Results

Children’s respiratory outcomes were common (39% cough, 20% wheeze, 12% asthma, 5% LRTI). High current pyrethroid metabolite concentrations (∑pyrethroids) were associated with wheeze (OR=2.37, 95% CI 1.28 to 4.34), itchy rash (OR=2.74, 95% CI 1.33 to 5.60), doctor-diagnosed asthma and LRTI. High current ethylene thiourea (ETU) (specific metabolite of mancozeb) was somewhat associated with LRTI (OR=2.09, 95% CI 0.68 to 6.02). We obtained similar results when modelling ∑pyrethroids and ETU as continuous variables. We saw inconsistent or null associations for other pesticide exposures and health outcomes.

Conclusions

Current pyrethroid exposure may affect children’s respiratory and allergic health at 5 years of age. Current mancozeb exposure might contribute to LRTI. These findings are important as pyrethroids are broadly used in home environments and agriculture and mancozeb in agriculture.
Centrifuge modeling of the influence of joint stiffness on pipeline response to underneath tunnel excavation
Authors: Shi Jiangwei , Chen Yonghui , Lu Hu , Ma Shaokun , Ng C.W.W.
Published: February 2022

Any tunnel construction inevitably causes differential soil movements, resulting in additional adverse effects on existing pipelines. Although there are many jointed pipelines in practice, previous studies commonly simplified existing pipelines as continuous structures. In this study, centrifuge tests were designed and conducted to investigate the influence of joint stiffness on pipeline response due to tunnel excavation. Along the longitudinal pipeline direction, upward and downward pipe–soil relative movements were identified. Because of relatively flexible joints causing a reduction in the pipeline flexural stiffness, tunneling-induced maximum settlement in the jointed pipeline was much larger than that in the continuous pipeline. Tunnel excavation caused bending moment in the continuous pipeline only, while bending moment and joint rotation occurred simultaneously in the jointed pipeline. As a result of joint rotation, tunneling-induced maximum bending strain in the jointed pipeline was less than 42.4% of that in the continuous pipeline. If a jointed pipeline is assumed as a continuous structure, tunneling-induced pipeline settlement is underestimated, while bending strain is grossly overestimated. All the centrifuge test results were adopted to verify the validity of calculation charts for estimating tunneling-induced maximum bending strain and joint rotation in existing pipelines.
Predictive model for construction labour productivity using hybrid feature selection and principal component analysis
Authors: Ebrahimi Sara , Kazerooni Matin , Sumati Vuppuluri , Fayek Aminah Robinson
Published: February 2022

Construction labour productivity (CLP) is affected by numerous variables made up of subjective and objective factors. Thus, CLP modelling and prediction are a complex task, leading to high computational cost and the risk of overfitting of data. This paper proposes a predictive model for CLP by integrating hybrid feature selection (HFS), as a combination of filter and wrapper methods, with principal component analysis (PCA). This developed HFS-PCA method reduces the dimensionality and complexity of CLP data and obtains better prediction performance by identifying the most predictive factors. Identified factors are utilized as inputs for various classification methods to predict CLP. Finally, prediction errors of the classification methods with and without using the proposed HFS-PCA method are compared, and the most accurate classification method is selected to develop the CLP predictive model. Experimental results show that using HFS-PCA for CLP prediction leads to better performances compared with past studies.
Inconsistency-Tolerant Hierarchical Probabilistic CTL Model Checking: Logical Foundations and Illustrative Examples
Authors: Kamide Norihiro
Published: February 2022

In this study, an inconsistency-tolerant hierarchical probabilistic computation tree logic (IHpCTL) is developed to establish a new extended model-checking paradigm referred to as IHpCTL model checking, which is intended to verify randomized, open, large, and complex concurrent systems. The proposed IHpCTL is constructed based on several previously established extensions of the standard probabilistic temporal logic known as probabilistic computation tree logic (pCTL), which is widely used for probabilistic model checking. IHpCTL is shown to be embeddable into pCTL and is relatively decidable with respect to pCTL. This means that the decidability of pCTL with certain probability measures implies the decidability of IHpCTL. The results indicate that we can effectively reuse the previously proposed pCTL model-checking algorithms for IHpCTL model checking. Moreover, in this study, some new illustrative examples for clinical reasoning verification are addressed based on IHpCTL model checking.
Deep Learning and TextBlob Based Sentiment Analysis for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Using Twitter Data
Authors: Chandrasekaran Ganesh , Hemanth Jude
Published: February 2022

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected the normal life of people around the world and has forced them to maintain social distance, self-quarantine and closing of many businesses. So, the people wish to share the information regarding the pandemic through social media e.g. Twitter. The key objective of this paper is to identify the sentiment associated with the pandemic by utilizing the tweets regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and by using the python libraries to perform the task. We analyze the sentiment of people when Coronavirus has attained a peak level using the machine, deep learning techniques and TextBlob. We have classified the sentiments into positive and negative classes using the Machine Learning (NB, SVM, Logistic regression) approaches and deep learning-based Bi-LSTM model. The Bi-LSTM approach has achieved better accuracy (0.87) compared to the traditional machine learning models for Twitter sentiment classification. From the overall analysis, we could conclude that people are confident and they express more positivity towards the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an analysis will help the policy and decision-makers to address the needs of the public appropriately.
Finite groups admitting at most two irreducible characters having equal co-degrees
Authors: Ahanjideh Neda
Published: February 2022

For a character [Formula: see text] of a finite group [Formula: see text], the number [Formula: see text] is called the co-degree of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we classify the finite groups in which at most two irreducible characters have equal co-degrees.
Reflexive ideals and reflexively closed subsets in rings
Authors: Kim Sera , Kwak Tai Keun , Lee Chang Ik , Lee Yang , Yun Sang Jo
Published: February 2022

We continue the study of the reflexivity of ideals, introduced by Mason, and extend this notion to the subsets in rings. We first construct the smallest reflexive ideal containing [Formula: see text] from any proper ideal [Formula: see text] of any given ring [Formula: see text]; by which we can construct reflexive ideals but not semiprime in a kind of noncommutative ring. A subset [Formula: see text] of a ring [Formula: see text] is called reflexively closed if [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] implies [Formula: see text], checking that a ring [Formula: see text] is symmetric if and only if the right (left) annihilator of [Formula: see text] is reflexively closed for any [Formula: see text]. We prove that the set of all nilpotent elements in a ring [Formula: see text] is reflexively closed if and only if [Formula: see text] is nil for any nilpotent element [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text]; and that the Köthe’s conjecture holds if and only if the union (sum) of the upper nilradical and any nil right ideal is reflexively closed. We provide another process to show that the set of all nilpotent elements of the polynomial ring over an NI ring need not be reflexively closed.
Free Vibration Analysis and Numerical Simulation of Slightly Curved Pipe Conveying Fluid Based on Timoshenko Beam Theory
Authors: Yuan Jia-Rui , Fan Xin , Shu Song , Ding Hu , Chen Li-Qun
Published: February 2022

The modeling of a slightly curved pipe conveying fluid usually adopts the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. In this paper, a dynamic model of the slightly curved pipe conveying fluid based on the Timoshenko beam theory is established for the first time. The complex mode method is used to obtain the frequencies, the modes, and the first critical velocity of the slightly curved pipe. Two kinds of initial configurations of the pipe with fixed–fixed boundary conditions are studied. Based on the Galerkin truncation method, the natural frequencies of the slightly curved pipe are also obtained with the generalized eigenvalue method. Moreover, the Coriolis force caused by the fluid is equivalent to the damping matrix. Therefore, a novel finite element model of the curved pipe considering fluid influence is developed. The numerical simulation method is extended to calculate the mode and frequency of the slightly curved pipe. Numerical results show that all the three methods have high accuracy when calculating the natural frequencies of the transverse vibration of the slightly curved pipe conveying fluid. However, the developed finite element method does not show the effect of flow velocity when determining the modes. Moreover, the initial bending cannot be ignored when analyzing the vibration characteristics of the slightly curved pipe conveying fluid.
Energy-Efficient LSTM Inference Accelerator for Real-Time Causal Prediction
Authors: Chen Zhe , Blair Hugh T. , Cong Jason
Published: February 2022

Ever-growing edge applications often require short processing latency and high energy efficiency to meet strict timing and power budget. In this work, we propose that the compact long short-term memory (LSTM) model can approximate conventional
acausal
algorithms with reduced latency and improved efficiency for real-time causal prediction, especially for the neural signal processing in closed-loop feedback applications. We design an LSTM inference accelerator by taking advantage of the fine-grained parallelism and pipelined feedforward and recurrent updates. We also propose a bit-sparse quantization method that can reduce the circuit area and power consumption by replacing the multipliers with the bit-shift operators. We explore different combinations of pruning and quantization methods for energy-efficient LSTM inference on datasets collected from the electroencephalogram (EEG) and calcium image processing applications. Evaluation results show that our proposed LSTM inference accelerator can achieve 1.19 GOPS/mW energy efficiency. The LSTM accelerator with 2-sbit/16-bit sparse quantization and 60% sparsity can reduce the circuit area and power consumption by 54.1% and 56.3%, respectively, compared with a 16-bit baseline implementation.
Automatic Mapping of the Best-Suited DNN Pruning Schemes for Real-Time Mobile Acceleration
Authors: Gong Yifan , Yuan Geng , Zhan Zheng , Niu Wei , Li Zhengang , Zhao Pu , Cai Yuxuan , Liu Sijia , Ren Bin , Lin Xue , Tang Xulong , Wang Yanzhi
Published: February 2022

Weight pruning is an effective model compression technique to tackle the challenges of achieving real-time deep neural network (DNN) inference on mobile devices. However, prior pruning schemes have limited application scenarios due to accuracy degradation, difficulty in leveraging hardware acceleration, and/or restriction on certain types of DNN layers. In this article, we propose a general, fine-grained structured pruning scheme and corresponding compiler optimizations that are applicable to any type of DNN layer while achieving high accuracy and hardware inference performance. With the flexibility of applying different pruning schemes to different layers enabled by our compiler optimizations, we further probe into the new problem of determining the best-suited pruning scheme considering the different acceleration and accuracy performance of various pruning schemes. Two pruning scheme mapping methods—one -search based and the other is rule based—are proposed to automatically derive the best-suited pruning regularity and block size for each layer of any given DNN. Experimental results demonstrate that our pruning scheme mapping methods, together with the general fine-grained structured pruning scheme, outperform the state-of-the-art DNN optimization framework with up to 2.48

\( \times \)

and 1.73

\( \times \)

DNN inference acceleration on CIFAR-10 and ImageNet datasets without accuracy loss.
Dynamic Quantization Range Control for Analog-in-Memory Neural Networks Acceleration
Authors: Laubeuf Nathan , Doevenspeck Jonas , Papistas Ioannis A. , Caselli Michele , Cosemans Stefan , Vrancx Peter , Bhattacharjee Debjyoti , Mallik Arindam , Debacker Peter , Verkest Diederik , Catthoor Francky , Lauwereins Rudy
Published: February 2022

Analog in Memory Computing (AiMC)
based neural network acceleration is a promising solution to increase the energy efficiency of deep neural networks deployment. However, the quantization requirements of these analog systems are not compatible with state-of-the-art neural network quantization techniques. Indeed, while the quantization of the weights and activations is considered by modern deep neural network quantization techniques, AiMC accelerators also impose the quantization of each
Matrix Vector Multiplication (MVM)
result. In most demonstrated AiMC implementations, the quantization range of MVM results is considered a fixed parameter of the accelerator. This work demonstrates that dynamic control over this quantization range is possible but also desirable for analog neural networks acceleration. An AiMC compatible quantization flow coupled with a hardware aware quantization range driving technique is introduced to fully exploit these dynamic ranges. Using CIFAR-10 and ImageNet as benchmarks, the proposed solution results in networks that are both more accurate and more robust to the inherent vulnerability of analog circuits than fixed quantization range based approaches.
Integration of DevOps Practices on a Noise Monitor System with CircleCI and Terraform
Authors: Romero Esteban Elias , Camacho Carlos David , Montenegro Carlos Enrique , Acosta Óscar Esneider , Crespo Rubén González , Gaona Elvis Eduardo , Martínez Marcelo Herrera
Published: February 2022

Lowering pollution levels is one of the main principles of Sustainable Development goals dictated by the United Nations. Consequently, developments on noise monitoring contribute in great manner to this purpose, since they give the opportunity to governments and institutions to maintain track on the matter. While developing a software product for this purpose, with the growth in terms of functional and non-functional requirements, elements such as infrastructure, source code, and others also scale up. Consequently if there are not good practices to face the new challenges of the software product, then it could become more complex to refactor, maintain, and scale, causing a decrease on delivery rate and the quality of the product. DevOps is an emerging concept but still hazy, which involves a set of practices that helps organizations to speed up delivery time, improve software quality and collaboration between teams. The aim of this article is to document the implementation of some DevOps practices such as IaC, continuous integration and deployment, code quality control, and collaboration on a noise monitor system to increase the product quality and automation of deployment. The final result is a set of automated pipelines that represents the entire integration and deployment cycle of the software integrated with platforms to improve quality and maintainability of the software components.
Computational Model of the Transition from Novice to Expert Interaction Techniques
Authors: Bailly Gilles , Khamassi Mehdi , Girard Benoît
Published: February 2022

Despite the benefits of expert interaction techniques, many users do not learn them and continue to use novice ones. This article aims at better understanding if, when and how users decide to learn and ultimately adopt expert interaction techniques. This dynamic learning process is a complex skill-acquisition and decision-making problem. We first present and compare three generic benchmark models, inspired by the neuroscience literature, to explain and predict the learning process for shortcut adoption. Results show that they do not account for the complexity of users’ behavior. We then introduce a dedicated model, Transition, combining five cognitive mechanisms: implicit and explicit learning, decay, planning and perseveration. Results show that our model outperforms the three benchmark models both in terms of model fitting and model simulation. Finally, a post-analysis shows that each of the five mechanisms contribute to goodness-of-fit, but the role of perseveration is unclear regarding model simulation.
EF-Train: Enable Efficient On-device CNN Training on FPGA through Data Reshaping for Online Adaptation or Personalization
Authors: Tang Yue , Zhang Xinyi , Zhou Peipei , Hu Jingtong
Published: February 2022

Conventionally, DNN models are trained once in the cloud and deployed in edge devices such as cars, robots, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for real-time inference. However, there are many cases that require the models to adapt to new environments, domains, or users. In order to realize such domain adaption or personalization, the models on devices need to be continuously trained on the device. In this work, we design EF-Train, an efficient DNN training accelerator with a unified channel-level parallelism-based convolution kernel that can achieve end-to-end training on resource-limited low-power edge-level FPGAs. It is challenging to implement on-device training on resource-limited FPGAs due to the low efficiency caused by different memory access patterns among forward and backward propagation and weight update. Therefore, we developed a data reshaping approach with intra-tile continuous memory allocation and weight reuse. An analytical model is established to automatically schedule computation and memory resources to achieve high energy efficiency on edge FPGAs. The experimental results show that our design achieves 46.99 GFLOPS and 6.09 GFLOPS/W in terms of throughput and energy efficiency, respectively.
Metaphoraction: Support Gesture-based Interaction Design with Metaphorical Meanings
Authors: Sun Zhida , Wang Sitong , Liu Chengzhong , Ma Xiaojuan
Published: February 2022

Previous user experience research emphasizes meaning in interaction design beyond conventional interactive gestures. However, existing exemplars that successfully reify abstract meanings through interactions are usually case-specific, and it is currently unclear how to systematically create or extend meanings for general gesture-based interactions. We present Metaphoraction, a creativity support tool that formulates design ideas for gesture-based interactions to show metaphorical meanings with four interconnected components:
gesture
,
action
,
object
, and
meaning
. To represent the interaction design ideas with these four components, Metaphoraction links interactive gestures to actions based on the similarity of appearances, movements, and experiences; relates actions to objects by applying the immediate association; bridges objects and meanings by leveraging the metaphor TARGET-SOURCE mappings. We build a dataset containing 588,770 unique design idea candidates through surveying related research and conducting two crowdsourced studies to support meaningful gesture-based interaction design ideation. Five design experts validate that Metaphoraction can effectively support creativity and productivity during the ideation process. The paper concludes by presenting insights into meaningful gesture-based interaction design and discussing potential future uses of the tool.
Implication of Optimizing NPU Dataflows on Neural Architecture Search for Mobile Devices
Authors: Lee Jooyeon , Park Junsang , Lee Seunghyun , Kung Jaeha
Published: February 2022

Recent advances in deep learning have made it possible to implement artificial intelligence in mobile devices. Many studies have put a lot of effort into developing lightweight deep learning models optimized for mobile devices. To overcome the performance limitations of manually designed deep learning models, an automated search algorithm, called
neural architecture search
(
NAS
), has been proposed. However, studies on the effect of hardware architecture of the mobile device on the performance of NAS have been less explored. In this article, we show the importance of optimizing a hardware architecture, namely, NPU dataflow, when searching for a more accurate yet fast deep learning model. To do so, we first implement an optimization framework, named FlowOptimizer, for generating a best possible NPU dataflow for a given deep learning operator. Then, we utilize this framework during the latency-aware NAS to find the model with the highest accuracy satisfying the latency constraint. As a result, we show that the searched model with FlowOptimizer outperforms the performance by 87.1% and 92.3% on average compared to the searched model with NVDLA and Eyeriss, respectively, with better accuracy on a proxy dataset. We also show that the searched model can be transferred to a larger model to classify a more complex image dataset, i.e., ImageNet, achieving 0.2%/5.4% higher Top-1/Top-5 accuracy compared to MobileNetV2-1.0 with 3.6

\( \times \)

lower latency.
Reusability and Transferability of Macro Actions for Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Chang Yi-Hsiang , Chang Kuan-Yu , Kuo Henry , Lee Chun-Yi
Published: February 2022

Conventional reinforcement learning (RL) typically determines an appropriate primitive action at each timestep. However, by using a proper macro action, defined as a sequence of primitive actions, an RL agent is able to bypass intermediate states to a farther state and facilitate its learning procedure. The problem we would like to investigate is what associated beneficial properties that macro actions may possess. In this article, we unveil the properties of
reusability
and
transferability
of macro actions. The first property,
reusability
, means that a macro action derived along with one RL method can be reused by another RL method for training, while the second one,
transferability
, indicates that a macro action can be utilized for training agents in similar environments with different reward settings. In our experiments, we first derive macro actions along with RL methods. We then provide a set of analyses to reveal the properties of
reusability
and
transferability
of the derived macro actions.