bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In-Hospital Outcomes and Trends of Tricuspid Valve Surgery in Heart Transplant Patients
Authors: Mohammed Moghniuddin , Rali Aniket S. , Buechler Tyler , Vuddanda Venkat , Arshi Juwairiya , Hosseini Dehkordi Seyed Hamed , Chandler Jonathan , Weidling Robert , Abicht Travis , Haglund Nicholas , Sauer Andrew , Shah Zubair
Published: April 2020

Introduction: Tricuspid valve (TV) regurgitation is the most common valvular pathology after orthotopic heart transplant (OHT). The number of transplants being performed is increasing with patients living longer after heart transplant. Data on TV surgery in OHT recipients is limited. Methods: We sought to analyze the outcomes of patients undergoing TV surgery from a large diverse, multicentric, nationwide cohort using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Results:A total of 42,766 TV repair or replacement (bioprosthetic and mechanical) involving adult patients (age ≥18 years) between 2007 and September 2015 were identified. Of these, 366 were performed in patients with OHT. TV repair was the most common surgery performed in both groups (OHT group and native heart group). Compared to the native group, patients with OHT had a significantly higher incidence of cardiogenic shock (20 vs. 11%, p = 0.024), acute kidney injury (AKI) (59 vs. 30%, p < 0.001), and AKI requiring hemodialysis (13 vs. 4%, p < 0.001). Also, the mean length of stay for the index admission was significantly longer in the OHT group (27 vs. 17 days, p = 0.008). The mortality rate was similar between the two groups (7 vs. 8%, p = 0.753). The number of TV surgeries performed in OHT patients from 2007 to 2014 have remained stable (p = 0.803) compared to those in native heart patients which showed a significantly increasing trend (p = 0.019) during the same time period. Conclusions: TV surgery remains an important treatment modality among the OHT population and carries a similar mortality during index hospitalization as that in native heart patients undergoing TV surgery.
As migrações e suas perspectivas
Authors: Lima Maria Isabel Santos
Published: April 2020

O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar comparativamente as políticas migratórias adotadas pela Argentina e pelo Brasil durante o período pós-ditatorial de ambos os países. Pretende-se comparar as perspectivas que nortearam a criação de tais políticas, as normas migratórias dos dois Estados e as subsequentes mudanças feitas pelos atuais governos. Para isso, foi adotada como metodologia de pesquisa a revisão de documentos oficiais e artigos acadêmicos com a finalidade de entender a realidade desses dois países, suas semelhanças e diferenças. Foi evidenciado que, apesar de possuírem políticas migratórias que buscavam garantir os direitos das pessoas migrantes, prevalece, atualmente, a perspectiva da segurança.
Unidad cultural de Mesoamérica
Authors: Quesada García Octavio
Published: April 2020

Desde 1942 se estableció que la cultura olmeca no sólo era la más antigua de las civilizaciones autóctonas de México, Guatemala, Belice, El Salvador y las regiones occidentales de Honduras, Nicaragua y Costa Rica, sino que habría sido "la cultura madre" de todas las que la sucedieron, dotando de unidad cultural al complejo que hoy llamamos Mesoamérica. Pero esta interpretación oculta una contradicción irresuelta. Se admite universalmente que el numen toral de los olmecas era un ser jaguar, ya que sus imágenes divinas desde un principio se interpretaron como hombres felinizados. Sin embargo es la serpiente quien aparece central en los ámbitos de culto en todas las subsiguientes culturas. Este trabajo hace un recuento de las ideas acerca del sentido de las imágenes olmecas, revisa evidencia reciente que indica la predominancia en ellas de la serpiente, y concluye que la contradicción iconográfica, en la realidad no existe; tanto los olmecas como los pueblos que los sucedieron, representaron en sus imágenes divinas fundamentales, muchos felinos y aves, sí, pero fundamentalmente seres humanos con rostros estilizados por la presencia, naturalista o abstracta, de dos serpientes opuestas.
Educación inclusiva en Latinoamérica
Authors: Dominguez Juan Bello , Bobadilla Mariana Del Rocío Aguiar
Published: April 2020

La educación inclusiva en Latinoamérica y sus modelos de atención a la diversidad establecen tres ejes: inclusión, equidad y calidad, ésta última, orienta el sistema educativo sobre vectores para la inclusión: pertinencia, pertenencia y convivencia. Históricamente, la región registra un sesgo en la educación intercultural con los pueblos indígenas, y en la educación especial hacia las personas con alguna discapacidad, con la incorporación de temáticas derivadas de las desigualdades socioeconómicas que se suman a la administración de las diferencias. En la perspectiva del paradigma intercultural es imperativo el análisis hermenéutico del discurso político, conformar una base conceptual que permita una crítica a los llamados conceptos blandos de los organismos internacionales y explicar la ausencia del sujeto en la narrativa de la política educativa. Esto conlleva a preguntar ¿Por qué visibilizar a los diferentes, sobre el reconocimiento de las diferencias?, ¿Cómo arribar a una educación pertinente para la inclusión en contextos socioculturales diversos? El enfoque intercultural en la educación implica dar cauce a la alteridad, gestionar el ejercicio del derecho a la educación, el reconocimiento de las diferencias y las desigualdades para la inclusión, la convivencia y el diálogo intercultural.
Da genealogia ao sangue:
Authors: Lousa Pilar Lago e
Published: April 2020

Luiza Romão é uma poeta contemporânea contundente que desconstrói, por meio de seus versos, discursos hegemônicos arraigados, tensionando questões de gênero, raça e classe, em uma perspectiva feminista interseccional. Inscrita na literatura marginal-periférica, a autora é pioneira no movimento dos slams e abriu portas para que outras escritoras encontrassem seu espaço nas batalhas de poesia oral. Sangria (2017, Selo do Burro), seu segundo livro reconta a história do Brasil pela perspectiva do útero, como num ciclo menstrual. Vinte e oito poemas problematizam o lugar da mulher na sociedade, as estruturas patriarcais, o discurso misógino e racista e fazem da obra uma resposta contundente à situação política e social em que estamos inseridos. Sangria é palavra em estado de lança, corte que revela as fendas e violências. Neste artigo analisaremos o contexto em que Luiza Romão está inserida, a concepção estética do livro, seus poemas e a maneira como a literatura se converte em ferramenta para resgatar vozes silenciadas e revidar práticas opressoras.
Defining Identity through Divine Retribution in Tannaitic Judaism
Authors: Zanella Francesco
Published: April 2020

This essay deals with the notion of divine retribution in Tannaitic literature. It argues that this concept can be used to establish traditions and create identity. After introductory remarks on the different Tannaitic perspectives on divine retribution, the paper focuses on the main features of the Tannaitic idea of divine retribution, exploring the key questions: Why and when does God punish? Why and when does God bestow a reward? Who is supposed to be rewarded, and why? Who will be punished, and why? It then deals with the different uses the Tannaim made of the concept of retribution.
Ehyeh asher Ehyeh and the Tetragrammaton: Between Eternity and Necessary Existence in Saadya, Maimonides, and Abraham Maimonides
Authors: Lobel Diana
Published: April 2020

Saadya Gaon translates Ehyeh asher Ehyeh into Arabic as “the eternal (beginningless) that will not cease to be.” Abraham Maimonides makes a conceptual identification between Saadya’s interpretation of Ehyeh asher Ehyeh as eternity and the assertion of his father that Ehyeh asher Ehyeh signifies Necessary Existence. Moses Maimonides draws an allusive relationship between Ehyeh asher Ehyeh and the Tetragrammaton, perhaps hinting at a connection between the Tetragrammaton and the root hayah he is hesitant to openly spell out. As his son suggests, Maimonides hints that Ehyeh asher Ehyeh offers an explication of the Tetragrammaton.
Interpretative Disputes with Regard to Provisional Measures at the ICJ: Is There a Normative Gap?
Authors: Dimetto Marco
Published: April 2020

Recently, the International Court of Justice dealt with a request to interpret provisional measures previously indicated in the Ukraine v. Russian Federation case. However, the Court never disclosed its official position on the request, but reportedly limited itself to reaffirming the binding nature of its previous Order. The present contribution aims at analyzing from a general point of view whether the ICJ would be ready to settle interpretative disputes that arise with regard to the meaning and scope of provisional measures already indicated. Despite several paths that could be envisaged in theory, only one of them seems to be suitable to reach that goal.
Pelagius’ View of Ideal Christian Women in his Letters
Authors: Yamada Nozomu
Published: April 2020

The Pelagians’ ascetical practices were aiming at neither a kind of elitism nor perfectionism, rather, they simply tried to instruct their women disciples on the physical and spiritual care management in Eastern Christian ascetic manners. Pelagius emphasized the free will of women and their dignity as being in the image of God. This was quite different from the negative evaluations of women’s free will by Jerome, Augustine, and later Western priests, but quite similar to the affirmative perspectives of women’s freedom of will by Eastern Church fathers like John Chrysostom. In this presentation, I would like to focus on the letters to Demetrias from Jerome, Pelagius, and Ps. Prosper; Pelagius’ letters to a widow and a married woman; and Chrysostom’s letter to Olympias. Critically considering the previous research on the letters to Demetrias (by A.S. Jacobs 2000, A. Kurdock 2003 and 2007, and K. Wilkinson 2015), I would like to evaluate the unique perspective that Pelagius offers of the ideal woman as described in the letters to Christian women, from an Eastern theological viewpoint.
Apostles of Revolution? Marxism and Biblical Studies
Authors: Petterson Christina
Published: April 2020

Marxist analysis of the bible is spreading, but clarity about what constitutes Marxist readings and Marxist categories of analysis is lacking. This lack of clarity is compounded by the different strands and factions within Marxist politics, which have subtle resonances in biblical scholarship. These issues are canvassed in the first part of the article. The major focus of the article, however, is the collaboration between biblical studies and liberal ideology, which is examined in two ways. First, by presenting and discussing some of the central Marxist categories of analysis, namely history, ideology and class, and how these categories have been co-opted into biblical studies and in the process lost their radical edge. Second, by discussing the emergence of the discipline of biblical studies during the Enlightenment, and to what extent the containment strategies of biblical studies overlap with those of liberalism and capitalism.
Expression and Significance of microRNA-3686 in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Refractory Epilepsy
Authors: Huang Pan , He Xiao-Ying , Xu Min
Published: April 2020

The study is to investigate the expression and significance of microRNA-3686 in peripheral blood of refractory epilepsy patients (RE). 83 patients with untreated epilepsy were selected as the experimental group. During the treatment, According to diagnostic criteria for refractory epilepsy,
15 patients were diagnosed with refractory epilepsy (RE group) and 68 cases in no refractory epilepsy group (NRE group). 50 patients in the normal group were selected as the control group. The results showed that the expression of microRNA-3686 in the peripheral blood of the experimental group
was lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of P-gp and MRP1 in peripheral blood of patients in RE group were higher than those in NRE group (P < 0.05). microRNA-3686 was negatively correlated with P-gp (r= – 0.799, P < 0.05),
and had no correlation with MRP1 (r= 0.279, P= 0.314); ROC curve showed microRNA-3686 prediction RE of the area under the curve of epilepsy AUC was 0.733, 95% CI (0.603–0.863), (P < 0 05). In Conclusion the microRNA-3686 is low in peripheral blood of patients
with refractory epilepsy and may be involved in the resistance of epilepsy by regulating P-gp, but not MRP1.
The Relationship Between Bacteria and Breast Cancer: Focusing on the Common Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Na-Er A. , Liu Yunhong , Gan Yanjun
Published: April 2020

Background: The risk of post-operative infection still accounts for a high proportion among the patients. The peptidoglycan on Staphylococcus aureus promotes cellular invasiveness and adhesiveness of tumor cells by pathways activation, including NF-kB, STAT3 and Smad3.
Methods: This study included 132 patients age ranging from 45–55 that have been diagnosed with IIA phase breast cancer based on the TNM classification system in one hospital located in the relatively high-income area. These patients have been scheduled the operations and are distributed
into two groups: one group will be given certain dosage of antibiotics on presumed Staphylococcus aureus infections, and another group will not be given any unnecessary antibiotics before surgery. Results: We found that 6 patients present surgical site infection related Staphylococcus
aureus, with 1 patient in the antibiotics group and the other 5 patients are in the non-antibiotics group. Within the one-year period after surgery, 4 patients presented with metastasis to adjacent lymph nodes, 3 patients are in the non-antibiotics group and another one in the antibiotics
group. Conclusion: Early intervention could be an accessible method to decrease the incidence of surgical site infection, which has been illustrated in this study. We consider to take preventive dosage of antibiotics before surgery, which could improve the prognosis of breast cancer
and their quality of life in a larger extent.
microRNA-138-5p Participates in Psoriasis Progress Through Regulating the Growth of Keratinocytes and Inflammatory Responses by Targeting Sirtuin 1
Authors: Chen Shuyue , Zhou Mengyun , Zha Weifeng , Shan Yunyun
Published: April 2020

Accumulating evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the pathophysiology of psoriasis. The present study aimed to identify the effect and mechanism of miR-138-5p in psoriasis. In the present study, we observed that miR-138-5p expressed higher levels in psoriasis tissues
compared to the control. Results from biological software and dual-luciferase reporter assay illustrated that miR-138-5p directly targeted sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Moreover, we observed that SIRT1 was down-regulated in psoriasis tissues. Therefore, we supposed that miR-138-5p and SIRT1 might regulate
the progress of psoriasis. Additionally, the functions of miR-138-5p and SIRT1 on cell viability, cell apoptosis, inflammatory cytokines expression as well as signaling pathways were evaluated. The findings demonstrated that down-regulation of miR-138-5p significantly suppressed cell viability
and promoted cell apoptosis accompanied with the decreased expression of Bcl-2 and increased expression of Bax. However, these effects were reversed by SIRT1-siRNA. It was also revealed that the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IFN-γ,
and IL-22 were suppressed by miR-138-5p down-regulation in HaCaT cells, while the effects were overturned by SIRT1-siRNA co-transfection. Eventually, we found that miR-138-5p inhibitor suppressed the expression of p-p65 in NF-kB pathway at protein level, and the result was reversed by SIRT1-siRNA
in a similar way. In general, our results elucidated that miR-138-5p played a crucial part in psoriasis progress through regulating the growth of keratinocytes and inflammatory responses by targeting SIRT1. Therefore, miR-138-5p might be considered as a novel target for the therapeutic strategies
in psoriasis.
Inhibition of PLOD3 Suppresses Proliferation, Invasion and Migration of Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Su Shiqiong , Ni Qing , Hou Jing
Published: April 2020

Procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 3 (PLOD3) has been reported to be involved in various human cancers. However, the function of PLOD3 in breast cancer (BC) has not been addressed. This research attempted to probe the effects and molecular mechanisms of PLOD3 in BC. The
expression of PLOD3 was examined by Western blotting and RT-qPCR in several BC cell lines and nontumorigenic breast MCF-10A cells. Then, PLOD3 was silenced by transfecting with small interfering RNA (siRNA). Cell proliferation was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and cell cycle was evaluated
by flow cytometry assay after transfection. Subsequently, wound healing assay and Transwell assay were exploited for detecting the abilities of cell invasion and migration, respectively. In addition, the expression of proliferation- and migration-related genes were examined by Western blotting.
The results revealed that the expression of PLOD3 was upregulated in BC cell lines compared with MCF-10A cells. PLOD3 silencing suppressed the proliferative ability of BC cells, enhanced the ratio of cells in the G1 and G2 phases and reduced those in the S phase. Moreover, the expression of
Ki67 and cyclinD1 were significantly downregulated, accompanied by an upregulation in p27 expression after transfection with PLOD3 siRNA. Furthermore, inhibition of PLOD3 restrained invasion and migration of BC cells coupled with a reduced expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and
MMP9. The explorations unveiled that PLOD3 silencing restrained proliferation, invasion and migration of BC cells, which provides theoretical basis and treatment strategies for the treatment of BC.
Effect of LncRNA DGCR5 on Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells of Osteoporosis Rats Through Regulation of ERK/P38 Signaling Pathway
Authors: Tong Xu , Zheng Renjian , Shu Linjing
Published: April 2020

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) osteogenic differentiation plays an important role in Osteoporosis (OP). LncRNA DGCR5 participates in OP development. However, LncRNA DGCR5's effect on BMSCs in osteoporosis rats and related mechanisms have not been elucidated. SD rats were
divided into control group and OP group. Rat BMSCs were cultured and transfected with LncRNA DGCR5 siRNA followed by analysis of LncRNA DGCR5 expression by Real time PCR, cell proliferation by MTT assay, Caspase 3 activity, of ERK/P38 signaling pathway protein expression by Western blot, ALP
activity, and the osteogenic genes Runx2 and OC expression by Real time PCR. LncRNA DGCR51 expression was increased in BMSCs of OP rats. Compared with control group, cell proliferation was significantly inhibited, Caspase 3 activity was increased, p-ERK1/2 and p-P38 were downregulated, ALP
activity, Runx2 and OC expression was decreased (P < 0.05). DGCR51 siRNA transfection into OP rat BMSCs significantly reduced DGCR51 expression, promoted cell proliferation, decreased Caspase 3 activity, increased p-ERK1/2 and p-P38 expression, increased ALP activity, Runx2 and OC
expression compared to OP group (P < 0.05). LncRNA DGCR51 expression is increased in OP rat BMSCs. Down-regulation of LncRNA DGCR51 promoted the activation of ERK/P38 signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting the apoptosis of BMSCs and promoting proliferation and osteogenic differentiation
of BMSC in OP rats.
A Systematic Review of the Tensile Strength of Surgical Sutures
Authors: AlSarhan Mohammed A.
Published: April 2020

Suturing the wound provides temporary mechanical support enabling natural tissue healing. Understanding the inherent material properties of the suture materials facilitates clinical adjustments in the rate of degradation to ensure proper wound healing. This review aimed to summarize
the analysis of the factors that contribute to the tensile strength of surgical sutures and the implications of these factors in wound healing. Our initial search criteria used keywords Tensile or Strength or suture material and returned 494 potentially related articles, these were narrowed
to just seven key articles pertaining to the analysis of the primary outcome variable which are reviewed in detail here. The physical properties of these materials are substantially affected by the biological conditions of the model system during the period of analysis. Nevertheless, under
in vivo conditions decisions on suture materials should take comorbidities like dietary habits, smoking, oral hygiene maintenance into account as they can all have a significant impact on the prevailing physiological conditions at the wound site.
Current Advances in Intestinal Organoids: Methods and Scaffolds
Authors: Gu Shutong , Chen Li , Zhang Shichang
Published: April 2020

Intestinal organoids are three-dimensional (3D) cultures with a long history of being studied in vivo. They constitute a model that has been widely applied to many aspects of bioengineering and regenerative medicine. Recently, increasing demand has created an urgent need for
more efficient approaches to organoid culture. Here, we present an overview of some vital factors that may affect organoid formation and maturation and explain some currently available advanced methods using pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and scaffolding to produce intestinal organoids that
best resemble the organ of origin. These methods are compared with traditional two-dimensional (2D) culturing methods. In addition, we note some remaining challenges and explore other potential factors that may help improve 3D culture technology in the future.
New Boundary Constraint Loss to Facilitate Glands Segmentation
Authors: Lu Weijia , Yao Jianhua , Han Xiao , Shen Haocheng
Published: April 2020

Histological assessment of glandular formation plays a crucial role in cancer grading, and automated glandular structures segmentation is the first step. To achieve an accurate boundary representation to separate packed glands, an extra branch is normally introduced to predict binary
boundary mask in deep network. In this paper, we only use simple single stream networks, facilitated by our proposed boundary constraint loss, to locate the gland boundary and separate clustered glands, making our model efficient in terms of memory usage. To achieve this, we define a new boundary
potential map from ground truth region mask. During training, edge representation is calculated from predicted region segmentation, from which a new regularization term is generated to force edge align well with the boundary potential. In addition, we also present a new differentiable version
of argmax function to allow the model to be trained in an end-to-end manner. In evaluation, we employed three base model structures (suggestive annotation, U-net and FCN-32s) and two public dataset (GlaS15 and CRAG). Extensive experiments consistently demonstrated that it improves the boundaries
segmentation performance over its counterparts (3% in object F1-score and 2% in object Dice).
Automatic Diagnosis for Glaucoma Fusing Multi-Feature and Multi-Classifier
Authors: Xu Xiaomei , Lai Xiaobo , Liu Yanli
Published: April 2020

Glaucoma is a chronic and irreversible eye disease leading to blindness, and early detection is particularly important for its diagnosis and treatment. To improve the performance of automatic glaucoma diagnosis, a method based on multi-feature and multi-classifier is proposed. Firstly,
an average histogram is obtained for each channel and ophthalmic condition, and 6 features are extracted from the average histogram with the average count of pixels and their maximum intensity value. Secondly, the optimal features combination is screened for each classifier with 10-fold cross-validation.
Finally, the three optimal classifiers and their optimal features combination are fused with the principle of democratic voting. With the 10-fold cross-validation algorithm, the fusion model was evaluated on Local and HRF dataset, that achieved accuracy of 91.8% and 93.3%, sensitivity of 86.9%
and 86.7%, specificity of 96.7% and 100%, AUC of 0.953 and 0.978, time cost of 1.0 s and 3.9 s per image, respectively. Simulation results show that the proposed method is of high accuracy and generality. It can effectively classify the retinal fundus images and provide technical support for
the clinical diagnosis of retinal diseases.
A New Meta Heuristic Based Segmentation for MRI Image
Authors: Meera R. , Anandan P. , Nandhagopal N.
Published: April 2020

An automated brain tumor segmentation and detection have huge importance in the diagnostics of medical field as it renders information about functional structures in addition to the probable abnormal tissue required for surgical planning. However, it is still a problem due to low contrast
and poorly-specified boundaries and accuracy issue. Hence, Refined Migrating Birds Optimization (RMBO) algorithm is introduced for automatic tumor segmentation that gets over the disadvantage of classical metaheuristic segmentation techniques. The RMBO helps in improving both migration and
position update steps which includes three phases. First phase starts from Preprocessing, film artifacts and unnecessary areas (skull) of MRI images are eliminated with the help of enhanced tracking algorithm. Next and second phase being the procedure of eliminating the noises employing Anisotropic
Filtering and contrast enhancement is carried out with the help of histogram equalization. Finally segmentation is performed employing RMBO. The novel algorithm operates on the image pixels information along with regions/neighborhood map to generate a contextual area where the merging is possible.
With the RMBO algorithm, MRI of brain images are segmented and the results are analyzed through the comparison of the existing techniques viz., Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic algorithms.
Magnetic Resonance Signal Characteristics and Experimental Study: Mn(II)-Pectin as an Oral Dual Contrast Agent
Authors: Xu Kaiyuan , Xiao Dandan
Published: April 2020

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using Mn(II)-Pectin as an oral abdominal magnetic resonance contrast agent. The Mn(II)-Pectin solution was prepared and diluted to 11 different concentrations and used for magnetic resonance imaging plain scans. The plain scans were
performed with an Mn(II)-Pectin solution (1.594 mmol/L) of the same concentration but at different pH (1–7) values or the same pH (pH = 5.4). The contrast agent may be diluted for further animal studies. The scanned sequences were SET1WI, FRFSE T2WI, PDWI, and Flair T2WI. The signal
intensity was measured, and the region of interest was selected as 20 mm2. When the Mn(II)-Pectin concentration ranged from 0.1328 mmol/L to 0.3985 mmol/L, the imaging signal of T1WI was strong and stable (undiluted). When the same manganese ion concentration was used, the Mn(II)-Pectin
solution shortened the T1, and the T2 relaxation time was stronger than that for pectin and manganese chloride (MnCl2). The changes in signal intensity were similar at different pH values. With T2WI, the signal intensity did not change with the pH. At the same pH (i.e., pH = 5.4),
the signal intensity of Mn(II)-Pectin was significantly higher than for MnCl2 on T1WI, the signal intensity of MnCl2 and Mn(II)-Pectin was almost zero on T2WI, and the signal intensity of pectin was significantly higher than that of MnCl2 and Mn(II)-Pectin
on PDWI. The Mn(II)-Pectin solution showed short T1 and T2 signal intensities. Its imaging characteristics were similar to those of the MnCl2 solution. The Mn(II)-Pectin solution is not an ordinary indirect blend but is at least a chemical bond change.
T1 Mapping for Noninvasively Detecting Diffuse Fibrosis in Severe Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Xie Jiajun , Jian Xuhua , Lu Qiyang , Meng Jinxiu , Juan Yu-Hsiang , Ou Qiong , Yu Zhuliang , Yang Xiangtai , Liu Hui
Published: April 2020

Purpose: To evaluate myocardial diffuse fibrosis in severe aortic stenosis (SAS) with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1 mapping technique. Methods: Twenty-seven SAS patients and 15 controls were enrolled and performed cardiac MRI. Left ventricular (LV) structure,
function and T1-derived parameters were measured to compare between SAS group and the controls. Correlation between T1-derived parameters and the extent of histologic fibrosis was performed in 15 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement surgery and myocardial biopsy. Results:
The SAS group had LV remodeling with ventricular dilatation, hypertrophy, and contractile dysfunction. The native T1 (1336.2±62.5 ms vs. 1277.6±40.7 ms, p = 0.002) and extracellular volume fraction (ECV%) (26.7±2.2% vs. 24.9±2.2%, p = 0.018) were elevated
in the SAS in comparison to the controls. Only ECV and λ correlated with the extent of fibrosis as measured by histology. Conclusion: Cardiac MRI with T1 mapping provides a noninvasive approach to evaluate LV myocardial diffuse fibrosis in SAS.
A Novel Sparse Representation and Softmax Method for Human Activity Identification in Healthcare Systems
Authors: Yuan Youwei , Tao Wenpeng , Zhang Jintao , Zheng Meilian , Yao Yao , Li Wanqing
Published: April 2020

Human activity identification has been attracting extensive research attention due to its prominent applications in healthcare systems such as healthcare monitoring and rehabilitation process. Traditional methods are greatly dependent on hand-crafted feature extraction, hampering their
generalization performance. In this research, a novel sparse representation and softmax (SRS) method is presented for human activity identification to reduce the computation complexity of the task and improve the accuracy of classification. The multi-class classifier based on the softmax function
is firstly introduced to improve sensor data classification performance. Sparse representation technology is then applied in our work to extract human activity features from sensor data. The output of the classifier model, taking raw sensor data after transforming into a high-dimensional feature
space as input, provides a normalization of the probability distribution of activity categories, thereby ensuring accuracy and efficiency under diverse human activities. Experiments on a collection of raw sensor data from wireless sensor networks demonstrate the identification accuracy of
our approach compared with nearest neighbor, naive Bayesian classifier, and support vector machine methods. The F1-score of the proposed method is respectively 14.1%, 19.6%, and 6.8% higher than the approaches mentioned above, indicating the effectiveness of SRS.
Identification of Critical Core Genes of Sarcoma Based on Centrality Analysis of Networks Nodes
Authors: Wang Shudong , Wang Jixiao , Wang Xinzeng , Zhang Yuanyuan , Yi Tao
Published: April 2020

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are powerful tools for identifying pathogenic genes of complex diseases and revealing genetic structure of diseases. However, due to gene-to-gene interactions, only a part of the hereditary factors can be revealed. The meta-analysis based on GWAS
can integrate gene expression data at multiple levels and reveal the complex relationship between genes. Therefore, we used meta-analysis to integrate GWAS data of sarcoma to establish complex networks and discuss their significant genes. Firstly, we established gene interaction networks based
on the data of different subtypes of sarcoma to analyze the node centralities of genes. Secondly, we calculated the significant score of each gene according to the Staged Significant Gene Network Algorithm (SSGNA). Then, we obtained the critical gene set HYC of
sarcoma by ranking the scores, and then combined Gene Ontology enrichment analysis and protein network analysis to further screen it. Finally, the critical core gene set Hcore containing 47 genes was obtained and validated by GEPIA analysis. Our method has certain generalization
performance to the study of complex diseases with prior knowledge and it is a useful supplement to genome-wide association studies.
Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Segmentation Using Possibilistic Clustering Algorithm Combined with Context Constraints
Authors: Cheng Zixuan , Liu Li
Published: April 2020

Because the FCM method is simple and effective, a series of research results based on this method are widely used in medical image segmentation. Compared with the traditional FCM, the probability clustering (PCM) algorithm cancels the constraint on the normalization of each sample membership
degree in the iterative process, and the clustering effect of the method is improved within a certain range. However, the above two methods only use the gray value of the image pixels in the iterative process, ignoring the context constraint relationship between the high-dimensional image
pixels. The two are easily affected by image noise during the segmentation process, resulting in poor robustness, which will affect the segmentation accuracy in practical applications. In order to alleviate this problem, this paper introduces the context constraint information of image based
on PCM, and proposes a PCM algorithm that combines context constraints (CCPCM) and successfully applies it to human brain MR image segmentation to further improve the noise immunity of the new algorithm. Expand the applicability of new algorithms in the medical field. Through simulation results
on medical images, it is found that compared with the previous classical clustering methods, such as FCM, PCM, etc., the CCPCM has better anti-interference to different noises, and the segmentation boundary is clearer. At the same time, CCPCM algorithm introduces the spatial neighbor information
adaptive weighting mechanism in the clustering process, which can adaptively adjust the constraint weight of spatial information and optimize the clustering process, thus improving the segmentation efficiency.
Ultrasound Imaging of the Vastus Intermedius and Vastus Medialis Oblique Thickness for Assessment of Early Torque Development During Knee Extension
Authors: Yang Jaeho , An Yong Woo , Chang Eunwook
Published: April 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between knee extension torque (rate of torque development and peak torque) and quadriceps muscle thickness in healthy males and females. Thirty-six recreationally active and healthy individuals participated in the study. Portable
ultrasound was used to image the dominant side of each quadriceps muscle (rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus medialis oblique). After muscle thickness measurement, participants performed knee extension maximal voluntary isometric contraction. Rate
of torque development was calculated from 0 to 50 (RTD50) and 0 to 200 (RTD200) milliseconds after onset of torque generation and peak torque was defined as maximum torque during maximal voluntary isometric contraction trials. A higher RTD50 value was found to be associated with greater vastus
intermedius and vastus medialis oblique thicknesses, and a higher RTD200 with the thickness of all quadriceps muscles (p < 0.05). Finally, vastus medialis and vastus medialis oblique thicknesses were associated with a higher peak torque (p < 0.05). According to these results,
the findings suggest to coaches that vastus intermedius and vastus medialis oblique thicknesses are critical to torque development during the early phase of knee extension contraction (RTD50), which is essential for executing athletic tasks and preventing injuries.
The Value of Data Mining Technology in the Diagnosis of Bone Metastases from Prostate Cancer Based on Nuclear Medicine Image
Authors: Wu Lingmei , Wei Yan , Wang Qingyun , Ji Shuanmeng
Published: April 2020

With the continuous development of information construction in the medical industry, a large amount of data related to bone metastasis of prostate cancer can be found in the medical database. It includes a large number of inspection indicators, medical images, and background information
such as gender, age, height, weight, and previous medical history. The content is very rich and detailed. The nuclear medicine image processing technology and data mining technology are organically combined to study the feature extraction and loading method of nuclear medicine image data,
and the classification method of medical image data, thereby assisting doctors in decision-making diagnosis process and improving accuracy. These have important theoretical significance and broad application prospects. Therefore, based on the nuclear medicine imaging data, this study utilized
data mining technology to analyse the nuclear medical imaging data of prostate cancer bone metastasis, and finds and summarizes the imaging features and developmental rules of prostate cancer bone metastasis. So, a BP neural network diagnosis matrix for prostate cancer bone metastasis was
constructed. This is valuable and meaningful for the diagnosis, treatment and even medical research of bone metastasis of prostate cancer.
Influence of Preparation Methodology on the Photocatalytic Activity of Nitrogen Doped Titanate and TiO2 Nanotubes
Authors: Souza Juliana S. , Alves Wendel A.
Published: April 2020

Titanate and TiO2 nanotubes (TiNTs and TiO2NTs) are known as good photocatalysts under UV light irradiation, due to their high band gap energy. The nitrogen-doping process is one of the most studied methods to make these materials sensitive to visible light. However,
most of these studies are focused on how calcination temperature affects the crystalline structure and, consequently, the photocatalytic efficiency, and few are investigated about the choice of the doping method. Here we report the synthesis of nitrogen-doped TiNTs and TiO2NTs (NTiNTs
and NTiO2NT) through two different methods, and the comparison of the obtained materials properties. The photocatalytic efficiency was evaluated under visible light and correlated to the nature of nitrogen doping, which is a consequence of the doping method chosen. We found that
the NTiNT’s lamellar structure and its more negative zeta potential shall facilitate its interaction with the dye to be degraded. Moreover, the adsorbed nitrogen plays an important role over the degradation process.
Effect of Powder Characteristics on Slip Casting Fabrication of Dental Zirconia Implants
Authors: Kim Woo Chang , Lee Jong Kook
Published: April 2020

Dense zirconia compacts were fabricated by slip casting and sintering of nanoscale zirconia powders, and the effect of the powder characteristics (crystallite size, specific surface area, yttria content, and agglomeration) on the slurry and sintered properties was investigated. Three
types of commercial 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals powders were used as the starting powders after the powder characteristic analysis. A zirconia slurry for slip casting was prepared by mixing zirconia powder (solid loading of 60, 65, and 70 wt.%), distilled water,
and a dispersant of Darvan C. The green compacts obtained from slip casting were cold isostatic pressed to enhance the close packing and densified by sintering at 1450 °C for 2 h. Highly dense zirconia compacts with a relative density of 99.5% and grain size of 350 nm were obtained based
on the powder type and solid loading in the slurry. The microstructure and mechanical hardness of the sintered specimen after slip casting were dependent on the yttria content in the 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal powder and the solid loading within the slurry.
Investigation on Electrochemical Cathodic Protection for Cavitation-Erosion Reduction of Anodized Al Alloy
Authors: Yang Ye-Jin , Lee Jung-Hyung , Park Il-Cho , Kim Seong-Jong
Published: April 2020

This study investigated the damage prevention potential range of anodized 5083-H321 aluminum alloy under a cavitation-erosion environment in seawater. Various applied potential conditions were determined through the cathodic polarization experiment. Then cavitation-erosion experiments
were conducted with the applied potentials and the current density, weight loss, and surface damage depth were analyzed. The results presented excellent cavitation-erosion resistance in the concentration polarization section (−1.0~−0.8 V).
Effect of Incorporating Zirconia Powder into a Primer on the Resin Bond Strength to Zirconia Ceramic
Authors: Lee Eunkyung , Lee Yangho , Kim Young Kyung , Park Chan Ho , Kwon Tae-Yub
Published: April 2020

The adhesion property of zirconia powder-incorporated primers was investigated in vitro with the aim of enhancing the resin bond strength to zirconia ceramic. A commercial zirconia primer was modified through the addition of 0 (control), 5, 10, 25, and 50 wt% of a zirconia powder
(codes: ZP0, ZP5, ZP10, ZP25, and ZP50, respectively). Prior to primer modification, the powder was characterized via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry. The surfaces of dental zirconia ceramic discs were air-abraded and treated
with one of the five primers. One resin composite cylinder (diameter: 2.38 mm) was bonded on one specimen surface (n = 12/group). The bonded specimens were all stored for 24 h in distilled water at 37 °C and subjected to 5000 thermal cycles prior to shear bond strength (SBS) testing.
The DSC and FTIR analyses confirmed that the zirconia powder contained an organic binder. The SBS test results showed that the groups could be arranged as follows, ZP25 > ZP10 > ZP5 > ZP0, i.e., in descending order of the mean value. The lowest SBS value was obtained for the ZP50
group. The results suggest that the incorporation of a zirconia powder into a primer represents a promising modification method for improving the resin bond strength to zirconia ceramic.
Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Composite Membrane Coated with Perfluorinated Sulfuric Acid for Microbial Fuel Cell Application
Authors: Jung Ho-Young , Roh Sung-Hee
Published: April 2020

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is bioelectrochemical system that enables the biochemical activities of bacteria to generate electricity. A composite membrane was prepared from polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber coated with perfluorinated sulfuric acid ionomer (PVDF-PFSA) and evaluated as
a replacement for the commercially available Nafion membrane, which is commonly used in MFC reactors. The power density obtained with the PVDF-PFSA composite membrane was higher than that obtained with the Nafion membrane in MFC reactors. The PVDF-PFSA composite membrane produced a maximum
power density of 548 mW/m2. Hence, the PVDF-PFSA composite reported here is a promising candidate for use as a proton exchange membrane in energy devices and water treatment systems.
Synthesis of Mn-, Ni-Doped LiAlO2 Matrix for Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell
Authors: Cha Yoo Lim , Lee Sang-Jin , Yoon Young Soo
Published: April 2020

The phase stability of electrolyte matrix was improved by metal dopant materials which are Ni and Mn. The Ni-, Mn-doped LiAlO2 and dopant-free LiAlO2 were prepared by the mechanochemical process (MCP). The effects of dopant material, molar ratio and type of precursor
were investigated after heat treatment at 700 and 800 °C. As a results, the Mn-doped LiAlO2 prevents phase transition even at higher operating temperature. Also, the stability was increased when Mn4+ ion was adapted as a precursor source than Mn3+ ion and
the minimum Mn content to maintain the α-phase after heat treatment at 800 °C is found to be LiAl0.75Mn0.25O2. This result suggested that the formation of nano-sized particles confirmed the applicability as a matrix material with excellent
electrolyte impregnation.
Preparation and Structural Observation of Co2MnSi Heusler Alloys by Mechanical Alloying
Authors: Lee Chung-Hyo
Published: April 2020

A Co2MnSi Heusler alloy has been prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) method successfully using a mixture of elemental Co50Mn25Si25 powders. A two-phase mixture of amorphous phase and remaining Mn were obtained after 5 hours of MA without
any evidence for the formation of Co2MnSi alloys. The saturation magnetization of MA powders decreased with MA time due to the magnetic dilution by alloying with nonmagnetic Mn and Si elements to 48 emu/g after 5 hours of MA. On the other hand, a Co2MnSi single phase
was obtained by MA after 3 hours and subsequently heat treated up to 650 °C. X-ray diffraction result showed that the average grain size of Co2MnSi Heusler alloys prepared by MA for 5 hours and heat treatment to be in the range of 85 nm. The saturation magnetization of Co2MnSi
Heusler alloys prepared by MA and heat treatment reached a maximum value of 112 emu/g for 5 hours MA sample. It was also observed that the coercivity of 5 hours MA sample annealed at 650 °C was fairly low value of 27 Oe.
Artificial Neural Network for Combined Steam-Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane
Authors: Jo Sharon , Ma Byung Chol , Kim Young Chul
Published: April 2020

The CH4 conversion, CO2 conversion, and H2/CO ratio were set as dependent variables, as the feed rate, flow rate and reaction temperature as independent variables in the complex reaction of methane. We used the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique
to build a model of the process. The ANN technique was able to predict the reforming process with higher accuracy due to the training capability. The reaction temperature has the greatest effect on the CO2–CH4 reforming reaction. This is because the catalytic reaction
temperature has a direct influence on the thermodynamic value and the reaction rate and the equilibrium state.
Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene to Ethylene Over Nanosized Gold and Palladium Supported Catalysts
Authors: Lee Gyeongmin , Jeong Woon-Jo , Ahn Ho-Geun
Published: April 2020

Ethylene, the main raw material for polyethylene production, is a by-product produced by thermally decomposing naphtha and it contains a small amount of acetylene. The acetylene reacts as a permanent catalyst poison for the ethylene polymerization catalyst. In this study, we wanted
to improve the acetylene conversion and the ethylene selectivity by selective hydrogenation of acetylene for removing acetylene contained in ethylene. Catalyst was prepared by loading nanosized gold (Au) and palladium (Pd) particles on support (Al2O3, TiO2).
Deposition order Au and Pd particles was changed. The activity of the catalyst was investigated using a flow-typed fixed bed reactor under atmospheric pressure. Au and Pd particles deposited on TiO2 were oxidized to Au2O3 and PdO due to strong metal support
interaction (SMSI). It was considered that the Au/Pd/Al2O3 catalyst was more active than the Pd/Au/Al2O3 catalyst due to the formation of the interface between Au particles and Pd particles (or support). But Pd/Au/Al2O3 catalyst
is considered to have poor activity because Pd particles cover part of the interface between Au and the support. Au/Pd/Al2O3 catalyst showed the best catalytic activity, and acetylene conversion and ethylene selectivity were 100% and about 80% at 40 °C, respectively.
Complete Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds Over Spent Vanadium-Based Catalyst
Authors: Jung Sang Chul , Kim Min Ki , Park Young-Kwon , Jung Ho Young , Shim Wang Geun , Kang Ung Il , Kim Sang Chai
Published: April 2020

The catalytic oxidation of benzene and toluene (VOCs) was carried out in order to assess the properties and catalytic activities of spent vanadium-based catalyst and that modified with copper and manganese. The properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized by the Brunauer
Emmett Teller (BET) surface area method as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy-Energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analyses. The experimental results showed that oxalic acid treatment significantly
affected the activity of the spent vanadium-based catalyst, ultimately attributing to the removal of catalyst poison such as sulfur and the even redistribution of catalyst components. Moreover, the addition of copper or manganese to the spent vanadium base catalyst treated with oxalic acid
(SVO) enhanced its catalytic activity.