bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The challenge of designing accelerated indoor tests to predict the outdoor lifetime of perovskite solar cells
Authors: Köbler Hans , Khenkin Mark V. , Roy Rajarshi , Phung Nga , Emery Quiterie , Remec Marko , Schlatmann Rutger , Ulbrich Carolin , Abate Antonio
Published: August 2021

Over the past decade, perovskite solar cells have travelled an amazing way towards high efficiency. However, a major roadblock remaining is the operational stability, while achieving technological maturity and proving real-world stability is crucial to gain trust among investors. In that sense, it is of high interest to be able to predict the operational lifetime, which needs to be in the range of years or decades, within an experimentally reasonable timeframe. Yet, peculiarities of perovskite solar cells’ ageing behaviour lead to severe difficulties in translating the results of indoor tests to their outdoor counterpart. In particular, transient processes cause diverse results among different ageing tests.Here, for the first time, we show a complete set of constant illumination indoor testing, cycled illumination indoor testing and real-world outdoor testing on equal in-house devices. Exemplarily, we compare two different types of perovskite solar cells, in which only the hole-transport layer is varied. Despite this small change, the devices show distinctly different transient behaviour. In either case, the commonly used constant illumination experiments fail to predict the outdoor behaviour of the cell. Yet, we observe a good correlation between the cycled illumination test and the outdoor behaviour of one of the two solar cells, while this is not the case for the other system. This result highlights the urge for further research on how to perform meaningful accelerated indoor tests to predict the outdoor lifetime of perovskite solar cells.
Coverage, Equity and Predictors of Hepatitis B Birth Vaccination in Myanmar from 2011-2016: Results from a National Survey
Authors: Anderson August C , Richards Adam , Delucchi Kevin , Khalili Mandana
Published: August 2021

Background: Hepatitis B virus birth dose (HepB-BD) vaccination is recommended to reduce mother to infant transmission. We evaluated the HepB-BD status of women who gave birth between 2011 and 2016 (N = 3,583) using the 2015-2016 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey. Methods: Frequency distributions of HepB-BD vaccination across maternal and health system factors, concentration indices, and logistic regression models were used to estimate coverage, equity, and factors associated with vaccination. Results: The majority of participants were younger than 30 years of age, lived in rural areas, and were multiparous. Almost all received antenatal care (ANC), but only 43% received recommended ANC services, and 60% gave birth at home. The overall HepB-BD coverage rate was 26%. Vaccination coverage was higher in urban areas and was inequitably concentrated among children of more educated and wealthier women. HepB-BD coverage was also positively associated with receipt of ANC at non-governmental facilities, and delivery at a facility, skilled provider at birth and Cesarean delivery. After adjusting for sociodemographic and health system factors, receipt of the HepB-BD was positively associated with weekly media exposure, receipt of recommended ANC, and Cesarean delivery, and inversely associated with home delivery. Conclusions: Both socioeconomic and health systems factors influenced suboptimal and inequitable vaccination coverage. Improved access to quality ANC and delivery services may increase HepB-BD coverage although targeted approaches to reach home births are likely required to achieve national goals.
Research of Ear Endoscopic Type I Tympanoplasty——Single-institution Experiences in China
Authors: Ji Di , Yang Jun Jie , Zhu Xian Bai , Zhou Xue Qin , Liang Xiao Jun , Deng An Chun
Published: August 2021

Purpose: To assess outcomes of one-handed ear endoscopic Type I Tympanoplasty and summarize the experience. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 34 cases (23 females and 11 males) of one-handed ear Endoscopic Type I Tympanoplasty. Result: The mean values of air conduction threshold before and after surgery were 48.22+18.36dB HL and 34.34+19.83dB HL, respectively. The mean values of the air-bone gap before and after surgery were 23.60+12.18 dB HL and 11.05+6.62 dB HL, respectively. The results showed statistically significant differences in hearing improvement(P<0.05). Among 34 ears, 30 ears had effective hearing improvement. No vertigo, intracranial infection, suppuration, and any other postoperative complications occurred. Although 1 ear occurred tympanic membrane perforation again, all ears achieved dry. Conclusion: Ear endoscopic Type I Tympanoplasty with fewer complications and shorter surgery time were suitable for the chronic suppurative otitis media. Healing of the tympanic membrane and recovery of hearing level was ensured. However, the experience is still insufficient in China, so a large number of clinical workers need to exchange experience to promote the development of ear minimally invasive surgery.
A Clinical Decision Support System for Diabetes Patients with Deep Learning: Experience of a Taiwan Medical Center
Authors: Chien Ting-Ying , Ting Hsien-Wei , Chen Chih-Fang , Yang Cheng-Zen , Chen Chong-Yi
Published: August 2021

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem worldwide. It involves dysfunction of blood sugar regulation resulting from insulin resistance, inadequate insulin secretion, or excessive glucagon secretion.Methods: This study collated 971,401 drug usage records of 51,009 DM patients. These data included patient identification code, age, gender, outpatient visit dates, visit codes, medication features (including items, doses, and frequencies of drugs), HbA1c results, and time of testing. We applied a random forest (RF) model for feature selection and implemented a regression model with a bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) deep learning architecture. Finally, we used the root mean square error (RMSE) as the evaluation index for the prediction model.Results: After data cleaning, the data included 8,729 male and 9,115 female cases. Metformin was suggested to be the most important feature by the RF model, followed by glimepiride, acarbose, pioglitazone, glibenclamide, gliclazide, repaglinide, nateglinide, sitagliptin, and vildagliptin. The model performed better when using the past two seasons in the training data than with additional seasons. Further, the Bi-LSTM model performed better than the support vector machine (SVM) model.Conclusion: This study found that the Bi-LSTM model is a well processing architecture in a clinical decision support system (CDSS), which assists physicians in decision-making, and increasing the number of seasons had a negative impact on the model performance. In addition, this study showed that the most important drug was metformin, which is recommended as the first-line oral hypoglycemic agent (OHA) in DM patients.
Junctionless FETs On Silicon-On-Insulator With Buried Metal Fin For Multi Threshold Operation
Authors: Singh Dipak Kumar , Nagar Bal Chand , Akram M.W.
Published: August 2021

In this paper, an n-channel junctionless FET (JLFET) based on SOI with a buried metal fin (BMF) is presented. We show that the BMF of suitable workfunction of the proposed device BMF-SOI-JLFET can control the channel electrostatic field by employing Schottky junction effectively. The enhanced association of potential between BMF and the channel combined with gate electric field makes it worthy for multi-threshold and dynamic threshold (DT) operation. Additionally, the biasing of BMF projects the broad range of threshold voltage (VTH­) regulation with a high value of body factor (γ). The proposed device demonstrates γ enhancement compared to fin body (FB)-JLFET and conventional SOI-JL FET under identical conditions due to constant potential coupling. The DT mode of operation shows a 73% improvement in ON-state current in addition to reduced subthreshold swing contrast to BMF-SOI-JLFET without DT. This paper imparts a viable option for low power applications with multi-threshold operation and high switching speed applications with DT operation.
Altered Circulating GDF-15 Level Predicts Sex Hormone Imbalance in Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Peng Rui , Li Di , Li Yan
Published: August 2021

Background: It has been hypothesized that higher growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) level and lower testosterone/ estradiol (T/E) ratio are associated with major depressive disorder (MDD), yet the underlying effect of serum GDF15 on hinting the T/E ratio imbalance are not fully understood. We observed the correlations between serum T/E ratio and circulating GDF15 in depressed cohort. Methods: The sample consisted of participants (aged 18~65 years) from the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University with MDD (n=412) defined according to a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), and healthy controls (n=137). Serum levels of testosterone, estradiol, and depression risk indicators (thyroid hormone, lipids, hs-CRP, Tenascin-C [TNC], GDF15, KLF4, Gas6, and sgp130) were measured. The associations among loge-transformed T/E ratio and these indicators were analyzed using univariate correlation analysis, category analyses, and linear regression adjusting for standard risk factors. Results: Of the sample, 36.89% had lower T/E ratio (<10:1) and 10.20% had higher T/E ratio (>20:1). After multivariable adjustment, T/E ratios were negatively associated with GDF15 (-0.095 [95% CI -0.170~-0.023] standard deviation [SD] change per SD increase in lg[T/E], P=0.015) and inversely related to TNC (-0.085 [95% CI -0.167~0.003] standard deviation [SD] change per SD increase in lg[T/E], P=0.048). Serum T/E ratio was negatively associated with GDF15 level in both FT3, TSH and HDL strata, whereas this association was not observed in TNC. In T/E ratio strata analyses, there is a significant and negative correlation among T/E ratio and GDF15 in depressive patients with sex hormone imbalance, yet this relationship was not investigated in patients with sex hormone balance. Conclusion: In our community-based observation, circulating GDF-15 level was greatly and inversely associated with serum T/E ratio, indicating that higher GDF-15 alerts sex hormone imbalance in patients with MDD.Trial registration: All subjects did not provide written informed consent due to the using the remaining specimens.
Geochemical Characterization of Nyamyumba Hot Spring, Northwest Rwanda
Authors: Hategekimana Francois , Mugerwa Theophile , Nsengiyumva Cedrick , Rwabuhungu Digne , Kabatesi Juliet Confiance
Published: August 2021

Hot spring is a hot water that is naturally occurring on the surface from the underground and typically heated by subterranean volcanic activity and local underground geothermal gradient. There are four main hot springs in Rwanda such as: Kalisimbi, Bugarama, Kinigi and Nyamyumba former name Gisenyi hot springs. This research focused on the geochemical analysis of Nyamyumba hot springs located near the fresh water of Lake Kivu. Nyamyumba hot springs are located in the western branch of the East African Rift System and they are located near Virunga volcanic complex, explaining the rising and heating of water. The concentrations of Sulfate, Iron, Ammonia, Alkalinity, Silica, Phosphate, Salinity, Alkalinity, and Conductivity using standard procedures were measured. The results showed that hot spring water has higher concentrations of chemicals compared to Lake Kivu water and the geochemistry of these hot springs maybe associated with rock dissolution by hot water. The measured parameters were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) standards for recreational waters and it has been identified that Nyamyumba hot spring are safe to use in therapeutic activities (Swimming).
Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Marker-Trait Associations Using Selected Early Maize Inbreds Derived From Local Landraces of Eastern Himalayan Regions
Authors: Devi E. Lamalakshmi , Ngangkham Umakanta , Singh Akoijam Ratankumar , S Bhuvaneswari , Sarika Konsam , Meetei Chongtham Chinglen , Singh Thokchom Nepolian , Chongtham Sunil Kumar , Devi Ch Premabati , Singh Irengbam Meghachandra , Avasthe Ravikant
Published: August 2021

North- Eastern parts of India fall under Eastern Himalayan region and it is a diversity hotspot of many crops including maize. Evaluation of genetic diversity is required to tape the potentiality of genetic resources in any crop improvement programmes. In the present study, genetic diversity at fifty two microsatellite markers were conducted in 30 early maize inbreds developed from local landraces of NE India. Genetic diversity analysis revealed a total of 189 alleles with a mean of 3.63 alleles/ locus. The allele size ranged from 50 bp (phi 036) to 295 bp (p 101049) which revealed a high level of genetic diversity among the loci. The PIC among the 30 genotypes ranged from 0.17 (umc 1622) to 0.76 (umc 1153) with an average value of 0.49. The value of Expected Heterozygosity (HExp) ranged from 0.19 to 0.80 with an average of 0.57, whereas the Observed Heterozygosity (HObs) ranged from 0 to 0.89 with a mean of 0.14.The genetic dissimilarity between the genotype pairs ranged from 0.40 to 0.64 with a mean value of 0.57. Cluster analysis grouped the 30 inbreds into distinct three sub-clusters. Similarly, population structure and principal coordinate analysis) analysis also classified the 30 inbred lines into three-subpopulations. AMOVA revealed that 6% of total variance is due to differences among populations, while 94% of total molecular variance is accounted by within populations. Marker-trait associations showed a total of twelve SSR markers significantly associated with seven agronomic traits. From the present finding, these results show that the thirty maize inbreds have high genetic diversity which would be useful for choosing promising parents and for making cross combination based on genetic distance and clustering for genetic improvement programmes of maize.
Long-Term Oncologic Safety of Immediate Reconstructive Surgery in Patients with Invasive Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Matched-Cohort Study
Authors: Song Yanni , Sun Shanshan , Li Dalin , Han Jiguang , Niu Ming , Luo Sai , Xu Haiqian , Huang Rui , Zhang Sihang , Wu Yang , Wu Qiqi , Xiong Jing , Hao Lijun
Published: August 2021

Objective Immediate reconstruction (IR) is a safe and effective surgical treatment for patients with breast cancer. We aimed to assess the prognosis, aesthetic outcomes, and patient satisfaction of IR compared with breast conservation surgery (BCS) and total mastectomy (TM).Methods In this retrospective matched-cohort study, we established two cohorts according to the tumor (T) size of breast cancer. In the T≤3cm group, cases (IR) and controls (BCS or TM) were matched for age, pathological tumor size and pathologic nodal status in a 1:1:1 ratio. In the T>3cm group, cases (IR) and controls (TM) were matched with the same factors and ratio. The primary outcome was the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary outcome was patient satisfaction and quality of life.Results Between May, 2005 and December, 2014, total 12,678 breast cancer patients were assessed, of which 587 were included (T≤3 cm group: 155 IR vs 155 BCS vs 155 TM; T>3cm group: 61 IR vs 61 TM). In the T≤3 cm cohort, patients underwent IR had no difference compared with those underwent BCS or TM regarding the 5-year DFS (P=0.539); however, an improved aesthetic satisfaction, psychosocial and sexual well-being were achieved in the IR group (P＜0.001). In the T>3 cm cohort, IR group had a worse median 5-year DFS (P=0.044), especially for Her2+ or triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) subtypes compared with TM group. Conclusions IR improves aesthetic satisfaction, psychosocial and sexual well-being for breast cancer patients with T≤3 cm. However, Her2+ or TNBC predict a worse 5-year DFS in the T>3 cm group.
Supporting Heart Transplantation Aftercare through Mobile Access to Medical Records: Feasibility and Usability of the App “Phellow”
Authors: Müller Julia , Weinert Lina , Svensson Laura , Rivinius Rasmus , Kreusser Michael M. , Heinze Oliver
Published: August 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Research Capacity for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and Their Risk Factors in Nepal: Findings of a Needs Assessment Study
Authors: Oli Natalia , Pradhan Pranil MS , Sagtani Reshu A , Shrestha Archana , Jaacks Lindsay M. , Karmacharya Biraj , Danaei Goodarz , Vaidya Abhinav
Published: August 2021

BackgroundDespite a high burden, there is limited training available in non-communicable disease research in Nepal. In order to understand research capacity gap in non-communicable diseases in the country, we conducted a needs assessment. We aimed to assess existing research training capacity in academic health institutions of Nepal for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, identify gaps in research training in these institutions, and explore the feasibility of developing research training program in Nepal targeting non-communicable diseases and their risk factors. MethodsWe did qualitative and quantitative research and reviewed academic institution curricula review and scientific literature. We conducted 14 Focus Group Discussions with bachelor and Masters level students of public health and community medicine; 25 In-depth Interviews with department heads and faculties, and government stakeholders. We surveyed medical and public health students on their research knowledge and skills development. Further, we reviewed university curricula of bachelors in medicine and public health Masters in community medicine and public health. We also reviewed non-communicable disease related scientific articles authored by Nepali researchers. ResultsWe found that the research methodology component was addressed differently across academic programs. One-third (33.7%) of students expressed lack of skills for analysis and interpretation of data. They felt that there is a wide scope and career-interest in non-communicable diseases research in Nepal. However, specific objectives in the curriculum and practical aspects regarding non-communicable diseases were lacking. Most of the non-communicable diseases research in Nepal are prevalence studies. Most of the studies did not have any financial support. Lack of funding, conflicting priorities with curative services, and inadequate training for advanced research tools were reported as major barriers. Likewise, availability of trained human resources and international funding for non-communicable diseases research were perceived facilitators.ConclusionsNepal must strengthen the whole spectrum of research capacity: epidemiological skills, research management, and fund generation. University curricula should match up with the disease burden and must emphasize on applied practical research projects. Generation of a critical mass of non-communicable disease researchers must go together with improved funding from the government, non-governmental organizations, and external funding organizations.
Genotyping USDA Rice Mini-Core Collection With Functional Markers for Important Agronomic Traits
Authors: Li Kehu , Ge Yongyi , Wang Lily Yan
Published: August 2021

The USDA rice mini-core collection was established to capture the diversity of an entire collection of over 18,700 accessions of global origins for efficient germplasm evaluation and exploration. Previous studies have investigated its genetic diversity and population structure using genome-wide SSR markers. Many important agronomic traits that are fundamental to rice breeding programs, however, remain to be explored. Functional markers can be developed based on polymorphic sites within genes affecting phenotypic variation in, e.g., starch physicochemical properties, nutritional qualities and biotic resistance. These markers can be used for genotyping and hence differentiating phenotypes among rice accessions. In this study, we employed 12 pairs of functional markers (SNP and Indel) to genotype all 217 accessions constituting the USDA rice mini-core. These markers are highly associated with starch physicochemical properties (intron 1 G/C SNP, 23bp duplication in exon 2, exon 6 C/A SNP, exon 10 C/T SNP of Waxy gene, GC/TT SNPs of SSIIa gene, G/C SNP of SBE3 gene), glutelin content (3.5 kb deletion in Lgc1 gene), grain length (C/A SNP in GS3 gene), brown planthopper resistance (InDel in Bph 14 gene) and rice blast resistance (InDel in Pi54 and Pit gene). Using these functional markers, all the 217 accessions of the mini-core are characterized for aforementioned agronomic traits associated alleles/genes. The results of this study will help breeders select parental materials with desirable allele/gene combinations and phenotypes among mini-core accessions for rice breeding programs.
Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination in Ethiopia: Evidence Synthesis to Inform Stigma Reduction Interventions
Authors: Girma Eshetu , Ketema Bezawit , Mulatu Tesfahun , Kohrt Brandon A , Wahid Syed Shabab , Heim Eva , Gronholm Petra C , Hanlon Charlotte , Thornicroft Graham
Published: August 2021

Background

People with mental illnesses are at an increased risk of experiencing human rights violations, stigma and discrimination. Even though mental health stigma and discrimination are universal, there appears to be a higher burden in low- and middle-income countries. Anti-stigma interventions need to be grounded in local evidence. The aim of this paper was to synthesize evidence on mental health stigma and discrimination in Ethiopia to inform the development of anti-stigma interventions.
Methods

This evidence synthesis was conducted as a part of formative work for the International Study of Discrimination and Stigma Outcomes (INDIGO) Partnership research program. Electronic searches were conducted using PubMed for scientific articles, and Google Search and Google Scholar were used for grey literature. Records fulfilling eligibility criteria were selected for the evidence synthesis. The findings were synthesized using a framework designed to capture features of mental health stigma to inform cultural adaptation of anti-stigma interventions.
Results

A total of 37 records (2 grey literature and 35 scientific articles) were included in the evidence synthesis. Some of these records were described more than once depending on themes of the synthesis. The records were synthesized under the themes of explanatory models of stigma (3 records on labels and 4 records on symptoms and causes), perceived and experienced forms of stigma (7 records on public stigma, 6 records on structural stigma, 2 records on courtesy stigma and 4 records on self-stigma), impact of stigma on help-seeking (6 records) and interventions to reduce stigma (12 records). Only two intervention studies assessed stigma reduction— one study showed reduced discrimination due to improved access to effective mental health care, whereas the other study did not find evidence on reduction of discrimination following a community-based rehabilitation intervention in combination with facility-based care.
Conclusion

There is widespread stigma and discrimination in Ethiopia which has contributed to under-utilization of available mental health services in the country. This should be addressed with contextually designed and effective stigma reduction interventions that engage stakeholders (service users, service providers, community representatives and service developers and policy makers) so that the United Nations universal health coverage goal for mental health can be achieved in Ethiopia.
Construction and External Validation of a Nomogram for Predicting Survival of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Patients Without Lymph Node and Distant Metastasis
Authors: Jiang Chuang , Teng Fei , Tang Yunyou , Zhang Ziqi , Chen Yimin , Chen Zheyu
Published: August 2021

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to construct and external validate a nomogram for predicting overall survival(OS) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients classified as N0M0 according to the 7th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system.Methods:812 ICC patients without distant and lymph node metastasis between 2011 to 2015 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, then randomly assigned to the training cohort(n=648) or internal validation cohort(n=164), external validation cohort consisted of 136 ICC patients with N0M0 stage treated in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from 2013 to 2015. The precision of the nomogram was validated internally using SEER validation cohort and externally using the patients’ data of West China Hospital. Results :The nomogram was established to predict 1-year, 3-year and 5-year OS and the calibration curve showed nomogram prediction performance was in good agreement with the actual results. The C‑index of the nomogram was 0.750(95% CI:0.731-0.769) in the training cohort, and the internal and external validated C-indexes were 0.803(95% CI:0.783-0.823) and 0.681(95% CI:0.524-0.838), respectively. In the training, internal and external validation cohort, the 1-year, 3‑year and 5‑year AUCs were (0.772,0.809,0.798),(0.896,0.868,0.896) and (0.673,0.786,0.886), respectively.Conclusions This nomogram has an excellent predictive effect on the 1- ,3-, 5-year OS of ICC patients with stage N0M0 and guide the optimal treatment for these type of patients.
Integrated Framework of Rural Landscape Research: Based on the Global Perspective
Authors: Xie Hualin , Zhu Zhenhong , He Yafen , Zeng Xiaoji , Wen Yuyang
Published: August 2021

Context In recent years, the important value of rural landscape has been highlighted in tourism, cultural heritage, ecology and other fields, rural landscape research (RLR) has been paid more and more attention by researchers, with the deepening of research, RLR has the characteristics of diversity and complexity.Objectives To understand the development trend of RLR in the past 20 years, the distribution of research power, research hotspots and frontal research, to comb through the relevant results of RLR, to analyze the progress of RLR, and finally to integrate the main contents of RLR in a framework.Methods 735 related literatures were selected from the WoS Core Collection Database, and the papers on RLR from 1992 to 2020 were quantitatively data mined and qualitatively summarized by using Bibliometrics and VOSviwer software for mapping and analysis.Results (1) The number of papers on RLR increased from 1992 to 2020, during which it gradually became a hotspot research field that attracted increasing global attention. (2) From the research strength, Europe has a great influence in RLR, and has issued a series of conventions and protection policies, making its rural landscape become a model of modern rural development. There is little international cooperation and exchange in RLR, which is not conducive to the development of disciplines. Landscape & Urban Planning journals fit the theme of RLR. (3) The five hotspots of RLR are: rural cultural landscape and rural development; rural tourism landscape, the matching of landscape value and landscape perception; urban-rural interaction, land use change and landscape pattern conflict; change of ecosystem service value; rural landscape planning, protection and management.Conclusions RLR has developed from a study based on geography and ecology to a comprehensive research direction combining multidisciplinary and multi-methods of social and economic development, culture and other elements. At present, RLR covers the ecological landscape, production landscape, tourism landscape and cultural landscape of rural landscape system, changes from static pattern of rural landscape to dynamic evolution process, urban-rural interaction, ecosystem service and multifunctional landscape trade-off, and changes from single dimension to multi-dimensional in research paradigm, and combines “3S” technology and various landscape ecological model software. From the perspective of multidisciplinary research, from the perspective of rural landscape system, the correlation and mechanism between rural landscape multifunctionality, and dynamic monitoring and trend simulation, help to clarify the rural landscape multi-functional trade-off ideas and paths to guide the sustainable development of rural areas.
The value of the accessory pathway potential in ablation within coronary sinus
Authors: Sun Xiaolin , Xu Pei , Xia Tian , Bao Zhengyu
Published: August 2021

Background
In accessory pathway-related supraventricular tachycardia ablation, coronary sinus (CS) ablation has received more and more attention, but there are no accurate criteria for catheter selection.
Objectives
We intended to develop a new method for the reasonable selection of electrode for coronary sinus ablation via assessing the relationship between the accessory pathway (AP) potential and time of successful ablation.
Methods
Among the patients who had detected the bypass potential during radiofre-quency ablation between 1/1/2015 and 12/31/2019, 30 patients underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) in CS. The relationship between AP potential and time of successful ablation was analyzed.
Results
In CS ablation, the median baseline amplitude of the AP potentials in patients with successful Temperature control catheter (TCC) ablation was higher than that in patients with Irrigated-tip catheter (ITC) following TCC ablation failure (p = 0.02). The optimal cutoff value of the amplitude of the AP potential to guide the selection of a catheter for ablation was 1.07 mV, and the sensitivity and specificity were 80% and 90%, respectively.
Conclusions
The AP potential is helpful for the electrode selection in CS ablation.
Distributed fixed-time cooperative control of an islanded microgrid under event-triggered mechanism
Authors: Xu Deming , Li Ze , Cui Guozeng , Hao Wanjun , Hu Fuyuan
Published: August 2021

The secondary cooperative control problem of an islanded microgrid through event-triggered mechanism is investigated in this paper. A distributed fixedtime secondary cooperative control strategy is proposed to obtain frequency and voltage magnitude secondary restoration, and also a proportional active power sharing under an undirected topology. We consider a centralized event-triggered mechanism to alleviate the communication burden and reduce the frequency of controllers update. Through this mechanism, the distributed fixed-time control protocols using frequency, voltage magnitude and active power sampling measurement values of distributed generations (DGs) only when the predefined event-triggered condition is satisfied. Compared with the conventional distributed asymptotic control protocols under period-triggered communication, the secondary control objectives of an islanded microgrid are achieved within a fixed settling time by applying the presented distributed fixed-time control approach, and the upper bound of settling time is unrelated to any initial states. Meanwhile, the presented centralized event-triggered communication method exhibits excellent performance in alleviating communication burden and promoting control efficiency. The theoretical proof is given by adopting Lyapunov method. The simulation studies are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
The Trend of the Distribution of Ectopic Pregnancy Sites and the Clinical Characteristics of Cesarean Scar Pregnancy
Authors: Tang Panpan , Li Xiaomao , Li Wenwei , Li Yunhui , Zhang Yu , Yang Yuebo
Published: August 2021

Objective: To investigate the distribution and its variation trend of the ectopic site and the clinical characteristics of cesarean scar pregnancy, to provide clues for further clinical practice. Methods: 3915 patients are brought into our study. To calculate the distribution of the implantation of ectopic pregnancy. Then analyze with trend χ2 test and calculate the quantity of each type of ectopic pregnancy during the year 2012-2015 and the year 2016-2019 to analyze the variation trend. Results: 1. The proportion of each site of ectopic pregnancy is as following: tubal pregnancy (84.70%), ovarian pregnancy (1.56%), cesarean scar pregnancy (8.63%), abdominal pregnancy (0.61%), cornual pregnancy (2.68%), cervical pregnancy (0.49%), heterotopic pregnancy (0.43%). 2. Through trend χ2 test, the ratio of cesarean scar pregnancy to ectopic pregnancy showed an increasing trend(P=0.005). From the year 2012-2015 to the year 2016-2019, the ratio of cesarean scar pregnancy to ectopic pregnancy increased from 5.74% to 11.81%(P<0.001). 3.72.78%(246/338) cesarean scar pregnancy patients had cesarean delivery once, 25.15%(85/338) had cesarean delivery twice, and 2.07%(7/338) had cesarean delivery three times. 80.18%(271/338) had aborted before. The most common clinical manifestations are amenorrhea (98.52%), abdominal pain (25.74%) and vaginal bleeding (67.76%), the most common sign is hysterauxesis (46.75%). Conclusion: As the increasing of the ratio of cesarean scar pregnancy to ectopic pregnancy, the cesarean delivery rate should be decreased to decrease the morbidity of cesarean scar pregnancy.
Senna Tablet Increases Radiation Dose Excreted at Discharge Time in Patients Who Underwent Iodine Therapy
Authors: Gheisari Farshid , Atefi Mohammad , Mehdizadeh Alireza , Mohammadi Ahmad , Shabani Zahra , Shahabinezhad Ali , Amiri-Ardekani Ehsan
Published: August 2021

Introduction: Thyroid cancer is a malignancy accounting for less than 1% of human malignancies. This study aim was to investigate the effect of Senna tablets (C-Lax®) in increasing the dose of radiation excreted in patients who underwent iodine therapy in the iodine treatment center of Namazi Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences at discharge time.Methods: In this study, 180 female patients aged 30-50 years old with BMI ranges from 22 to 26 and no history of gastrointestinal diseases, especially gastrointestinal ulcers, constipation, and known intestinal diseases, were included in our study into 6 groups of 30 patients. The first three groups received 100, 150, and 200 mCi radiation respectively, and did not receive C-lax tablets. The second three groups received 100, 150, and 200 mCi radiation respectively, and additionally, received 2 C-lax tablets of Dineh Iran Pvt. Ltd. Results: In all 3 doses studied, more than 50% of reduction in radiation dose at discharge was seen. There is a statistically significant difference between the different doses of iodine intake in each of the two groups. Results show that there is a statistically significant difference between groups with consumption and without consumption of C-Lax tablets in all three doses paired groupsDiscussion and Conclusion: The radiation dose of patients at discharge time has an important effect on both patients and their families' health and thereby it should be taken into consideration. C-lax tablets can significantly reduce the radiation dose of patients at their discharge. This can result in better compliance of patients and decreased expenses for the health system and patients
Large-Scale Quantitatively Detecting and Analyzing of ceRNAs reveal NOTCH3 mRNA, miR-369-3p and rno-Rmdn2_0006 Together Regulate the Hepatocytes in G0 Phase and in G1 Phase During the Initiation Stage of Rat Liver Regeneration
Authors: Zang Xiayan , Wang Zihui , Li Yafei , Gao Han , Guo Jianlin , Jin Wei , Chang Cuifang , Lin Juntang , Zhu Kuicheng , Xu Cunshuan
Published: August 2021

Aims:Generally, key events of the liver regeneration initiation (LRI) are how the hepatocytes in G0 phase change to G1 phase. We use the data from large-scale quantitatively detecting and analyzing (LQDA) to reveal ceRNAs together regulate the hepatocytes in G0 phase or in G1 phase during LRI.Main methods:The hepatocytes of the rat liver right lobe were isolated at 0 hour, 6 hour and 24 hour after partial hepatectomy (PH), their ceRNA expression abundance was measured by LQDA, and the correlation of their expression, interaction and role were revealed by ceRNA comprehensive analysis. Key findings:It was found that expression of NOTCH3 mRNA is up-regulated at 0 h, but miR-369-3p and rno-Rmdn2_0006 of hepatocytes not change significantly at that, meanwhile, the G0 phase-related gene CDKN1c promoted by NOTCH3 up-regulation, and the G1 phase-related gene PSEN2 inhibited by NOTCH3 down-regulation at that. On the contrary, NOTCH3 mRNA and rno-Rmdn2_0006 were up-regulated at 6 h, but miR-136-3p was down-regulated at that, the G1 phase-related genes CHUK, DDX24, HES1, NET1 and STAT3 promoted by NOTCH3 up-regulated, and the G0 phase-related gene CDKN1a inhibited by NOTCH3 down-regulated at that. These results suggested that the ceRNAs and the NOTCH3-regulated G0 phase- and G1 phase-related genes show a correlation in expression, interaction and role, they together regulate the hepatocytes in G0 phase at 0 h and in G1 phase at 6 h. Significance:These discovers are helpful to understand the mechanism which ceRNA together regulate the hepatocytes in G0 phase or G1 phase.
Spatial Distribution Pattern of Longhorn Beetle Assemblages (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Mongolian Oak (Quercus Mongolica) Forests in Changbai Mountain, Jilin Province, China
Authors: Liu Shengdong , Meng Xin , Li Yan , Meng Qingfan , Zhao Hongri , Jin Yinghua
Published: August 2021

Background: Mongolian oak forest is a deciduous secondary forest with a large distribution area in the Changbai Mountain area. The majority of longhorn beetle species feed on forest resources, The number of some species is also large, which has a potential risk for forest health, and have even caused serious damage to forests. Clarifying the distribution pattern of longhorn beetles in Mongolian oak forests is of great scientific value for the monitoring and control of some pest populations. Methods: 2018 and 2020, flying interception traps were used to continuously collect longhorn samples from the canopy and bottom of the ridge, southern slope, and northern slope of the oak forest in Changbai Mountain, and the effects of topographic conditions on the spatial distribution pattern of longhorn beetles were analyzed. Results: A total of 4090 individuals, 56 species, and 6 subfamilies of longhorn beetles were collected in two years. The number of species and individuals of Cerambycinae and Lamiinae were the highest, and the number of Massicus raddei (Blessig), Moechotypa diphysis (Pascoe), Mesosa myopsmyops (Dalman), and Prionus insularis Motschulsky was relatively abundant. Topographic conditions did not affect the vertical distribution of richness and abundance of longhorn beetles in the forest, but topographic conditions and vertical height independently affected the composition and quantity of the beetle assemblages. The community composition of longhorn beetles in the forest bottom and canopy was significantly different, and the richness and abundance were higher in the canopy under good light conditions. Cerambycinae and Lamiinae preferred to be active in the canopy, Prioninae preferred to be active in the forest bottom, and Lepturinae did not show any difference in the bottom and the canopy. Conclusions: The composition of the longhorn beetle community on the ridge was significantly different from that on the southern slope and the northern slope, and the richness and abundance on the ridge and the southern slope were higher than those on the northern slope. Different species had different preferences for topographical conditions and vertical height, which indicated the adaptability of longhorn beetles in the forest.
Crosswind Effects on Interaction Performance of High-speed Railway Pantograph-catenary System: A Case Study in Chengdu-Chongqing Passenger Special Railway
Authors: Song Yang , Duan Fuchuan , Gao Shibin , Wu Fanping , Liu Zhigang , Lu Xiaobing
Published: August 2021

As a common disturbance to the railway pantograph-catenary system, the crosswind may deteriorate the current collection quality and threat operational safety. The main topic of this paper is to study the effect of crosswind on the interaction performance of pantograph-catenary considering the aerodynamic forces acting on both the pantograph and catenary. The pantograph-catenary system of the Chengdu-Chongqing passenger special railway is adopted as the analysis object. The absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) is employed to build the catenary model, of which the numerical accuracy is validated via the comparison with the field measurement data collected from an inspection vehicle operating at 378 km/h. A special spatial grid is defined for the pantograph-catenary system to generate the stochastic wind field based on the empirical spectrum. According to the quasi-steady theory, the wind load acting on the catenary is derived. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is employed to calculate the lift and drag forces acting on each component of the pantograph, which are used to derive the equivalent aerodynamic force that can be applied in the lumped-mass model. The simulation results indicate that the pantograph-catenary system of Chengdu-Chongqing passenger special railway has an acceptable performance with a crosswind speed of 20 m/s. But when the crosswind increases up to 30 m/s, some contact force statistics exceed the safety threshold with a turbulence intensity of more than 17%. Through the analysis of the operational safety, it is found that the contact wire always works within the safety range of the pantograph head with a crosswind speed of 30 m/s. But some safety issues can be seen from the maximum uplift of the pantograph head with a turbulence intensity of more than 21%.
A Spectrum of Preferential Flow Alters Solute Mobility in the Critical Zone
Authors: Radolinski Jesse , Le Hanh , Hilaire Sheldon S. , Xia Kang , Scott Durelle , Stewart Ryan D.
Published: August 2021

Preferential flow reduces water residence times and allows rapid transport of pollutants such as organic contaminants. Conventional understanding of solute transport implies that preferential flow reduces the influence of soil matrix-solute interactions; however, this assumption lacks robust validation in the field. To better understand how physicochemical properties affect solute transport across a range of preferential flow conditions, we applied deuterium-labeled rainfall to field plots containing manure spiked with eight common antibiotics with a range of affinity for the soil. We then quantified preferential flow and solute transport using 48 soil pore water samplers spread along a hillslope. Based on >700 measurements, our data showed that solute transport to lysimeters was similar – regardless of antibiotic affinity for soil – when preferential flow represented less than 15% of the total water flow. When preferential flow exceeded 15%, however, concentrations were higher for compounds with relatively low affinity for soil. These results suggest that bypassing water flow can select for compounds that are more easily released from the soil matrix, thus providing fundamental insight into how flow heterogeneity affects pollutant mobility in soils. Moreover, because these data do not fully align with existing solute transport theory, they may be useful for building improved process-based transport models.
Sleep Disorders, Mental Health, and Dry Eye Disease: A Population-Based Study in South Korea
Authors: An Youngju , Kim Hyojin
Published: August 2021

Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface that causes severe discomfort, mild ocular irritation, fatigue, pain, visual disturbance, and a foreign body sensation. Stress, depression, and sleep disorders are considered risk factors for DED. Our aim was to investigate the association between mental health, sleep disorders, and DED in Korean adults. This population-based, cross-sectional study examined ophthalmologic data of 16,471 Koreans aged ≥20 years from the 2010–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). DED was based on a medical diagnosis by a doctor, and data on mental health and sleep disorders were obtained using questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between mental health, sleep disorders, and DED, and we also adjusted for possible covariates. Short sleep duration (≤5 h/night), stress perception (yes), and depressive symptoms (yes) were significantly associated with the risk of DED even after correcting for demographic factors, lifestyle factors, and medical factors. Combined short sleep duration, stress, and depression were most strongly associated with DED, and thus ophthalmologists must be aware of the possibility of a higher prevalence of sleep disorders, stress, and depression in patients with DED.
A New Circulating Accumulation Emission Model for Assessing Dust Emission From Open Pit Mine
Authors: Wanjun TANG , Fengming LI
Published: August 2021

In order to reduce the inaccuracy of using the monitoring data outside the pit to evaluate the unorganized emission dust source of open pit mine, the circulating accumulation emission model is established. Based on the model, the monitoring data in the pit can be converted into the dust emission from the pit. Main conclusions include: (1) the circulating accumulation emission model is suitable for the dust diffusion process in open pit mine. The model contains three part, which correspond to dust emission, retention and diffusion in open pit mine. (2) The initial value of the dust in the pit before the team operation has little influence on the final stable value. (3) The dust background value of surrounding environment monitored outside the pit can not be directly used. When the dust enters the pit, it will accumulate under the action of eddy current. To eliminate the effect of background value, the monitoring data should be subtracted by the accumulated value. (4) The dust emission from the pit can be calculated in a certain monitoring period based on the circulating accumulation emission model. Hence the dust emission assessment of open pit can be completed more efficiently based on this model.
Research on Shimmy Characteristics and Control Strategy of Double-Axle Steering Mechanism with Multiple Limit Cycles Considering Vehicle-Road Coupling
Authors: Zhang Yuhang , Wei Daogao , Jiang Tong , Zhang Bingzhan , Wang Wei
Published: August 2021

The vehicle and the road are a coupled system, the road surface characteristics have a great influence on the vehicle's handling stability and driving safety. So in this study, A 9-DOF mathematical model of dual-axle steering mechanism considering the vehicle-road coupling is established. Taking one multi-axle vehicle with dual-axle steering mechanism for example, the numerical calculation method is used to reproduce the multiple limit-cycles shimmy, and the effects of the road adhesion coefficient on the multiple limit-cycles shimmy characteristics is analyzed. The results show that the maximum swing angles of first and second axle and the speed ranges of multiple limit-cycles shimmy occurring decrease with the road adhesion coefficient decreasing, and as the road adhesion coefficient decreases, the speed range of multiple limit-cycles occurring tend to shrink to the middle speed range(40-50km/h) which is multi-axle vehicles often travelling. In addition, we also found that the multiple limit-cycles shimmy characteristic of the dual-axle steering mechanism is more sensitive to the change of the road adhesion coefficient of second axle than the change of the road adhesion coefficient of first axle. This finding can provide theoretical guidance for suppressing multiple limit-cycles shimmy of multi-axle vehicle with dual-axle steering mechanism. Finally, we propose a control strategy for the multiple limit cycle shimmy phenomenon, which reduces the amplitude of the shimmy and the interval of multiple limit cycles.