bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chapter 7.3 Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann
Authors: Gambino Salvatore , Armienti Pietro , Cannata Andrea , Del Carlo Paola , Giudice Gaetano , Giuffrida Giovanni , Liuzzo Marco , Pompilio Massimo
Published: March 2021

Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann are quiescent, although potentially explosive, alkaline volcanoes located 100 km apart in Northern Victoria Land quite close to three stations (Mario Zucchelli Station, Gondwana and Jang Bogo). The earliest investigations on Mount Melbourne started at the end of the 1960s; Mount Rittmann was discovered during the 1988–89 Italian campaign and knowledge of it is more limited due to the extensive ice cover. The first geophysical observations at Mount Melbourne were set up in 1988 by the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA), which has recently funded new volcanological, geochemical and geophysical investigations on both volcanoes. Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann are active, and are characterized by fumaroles that are fed by volcanic fluid; their seismicity shows typical volcano signals, such as long-period events and tremor. Slow deformative phases have been recognized in the Mount Melbourne summit area. Future implementation of monitoring systems would help to improve our knowledge and enable near-real-time data to be acquired in order to track the evolution of these volcanoes. This would prove extremely useful in volcanic risk mitigation, considering that both Mount Melbourne and Mount Rittmann are potentially capable of producing major explosive activity with a possible risk to large and distant communities.
Chapter 5.4b Marie Byrd Land and Ellsworth Land: petrology
Authors: Panter K. S. , Wilch T. I. , Smellie J. L. , Kyle P. R. , McIntosh W. C.
Published: March 2021

In Marie Byrd Land and Ellsworth Land 19 large polygenetic volcanoes and numerous smaller centres are exposed above the West Antarctic Ice Sheet along the northern flank of the West Antarctic Rift System. The Cenozoic (36.7 Ma to active) volcanism of the Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Group (MBLVG) encompasses the full spectrum of alkaline series compositions ranging from basalt to intermediate (e.g. mugearite, benmoreite) to phonolite, peralkaline trachyte, rhyolite and rare pantellerite. Differentiation from basalt is described by progressive fractional crystallization; however, to produce silica-oversaturated compositions two mechanisms are proposed: (1) polybaric fractionation with early-stage removal of amphibole at high pressures; and (2) assimilation–fractional crystallization to explain elevated
87
Sr/
86
Sr
i
ratios. Most basalts are silica-undersaturated and enriched in incompatible trace elements (e.g. La/Yb
N
>10), indicating small degrees of partial melting of a garnet-bearing mantle. Mildly silica-undersaturated and rare silica-saturated basalts, including tholeiites, are less enriched (La/Yb
N
<10), a result of higher degrees of melting. Trace elements and isotopes (Sr, Nd, Pb) reveal a regional gradient explained by mixing between two mantle components, subduction-modified lithosphere and HIMU-like plume (
206
Pb/
204
Pb >20) materials. Geophysical studies indicate a deep thermal anomaly beneath central Marie Byrd Land, suggesting a plume influence on volcanism and tectonism.
A Survey of Offensive Language Detection for the Arabic Language
Authors: Husain Fatemah , Uzuner Ozlem
Published: March 2021

The use of offensive language in user-generated content is a serious problem that needs to be addressed with the latest technology. The field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) can support the automatic detection of offensive language. In this survey, we review previous NLP studies that cover Arabic offensive language detection. This survey investigates the state-of-the-art in offensive language detection for the Arabic language, providing a structured overview of previous approaches, including core techniques, tools, resources, methods, and main features used. This work also discusses the limitations and gaps of the previous studies. Findings from this survey emphasize the importance of investing further effort in detecting Arabic offensive language, including the development of benchmark resources and the invention of novel preprocessing and feature extraction techniques.
Toward an Objective Measure of Developers’ Cognitive Activities
Authors: Sharafi Zohreh , Huang Yu , Leach Kevin , Weimer Westley
Published: March 2021

Understanding how developers carry out different computer science activities with objective measures can help to improve productivity and guide the use and development of supporting tools in software engineering. In this article, we present two controlled experiments involving 112 students to explore multiple computing activities (code comprehension, code review, and data structure manipulations) using three different objective measures including neuroimaging (functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)) and eye tracking. By examining code review and prose review using fMRI, we find that the neural representations of programming languages vs. natural languages are distinct. We can classify which task a participant is undertaking based solely on brain activity, and those task distinctions are modulated by expertise. We leverage insights from the psychological notion of spatial ability to decode the neural representations of several fundamental data structures and their manipulations using fMRI, fNIRS, and eye tracking. We examine list, array, tree, and mental rotation tasks and find that data structure and spatial operations use the same focal regions of the brain but to different degrees: they are related but distinct neural tasks. We demonstrate best practices and describe the implication and tradeoffs between fMRI, fNIRS, eye tracking, and self-reporting for software engineering research.
Adaptive Performance Modeling of Data-intensive Workloads for Resource Provisioning in Virtualized Environment
Authors: Makrani Hosein Mohamamdi , Sayadi Hossein , Nazari Najmeh , Dinakarrao Sai Mnoj Pudukotai , Sasan Avesta , Mohsenin Tinoosh , Rafatirad Setareh , Homayoun Houman
Published: March 2021

The processing of data-intensive workloads is a challenging and time-consuming task that often requires massive infrastructure to ensure fast data analysis. The cloud platform is the most popular and powerful scale-out infrastructure to perform big data analytics and eliminate the need to maintain expensive and high-end computing resources at the user side. The performance and the cost of such infrastructure depend on the overall server configuration, such as processor, memory, network, and storage configurations. In addition to the cost of owning or maintaining the hardware, the heterogeneity in the server configuration further expands the selection space, leading to non-convergence. The challenge is further exacerbated by the dependency of the application’s performance on the underlying hardware. Despite an increasing interest in resource provisioning, few works have been done to develop accurate and practical models to proactively predict the performance of data-intensive applications corresponding to the server configuration and provision a cost-optimal configuration online.

In this work, through a comprehensive real-system empirical analysis of performance, we address these challenges by introducing ProMLB: a proactive machine-learning-based methodology for resource provisioning. We first characterize diverse types of data-intensive workloads across different types of server architectures. The characterization aids in accurately capture applications’ behavior and train a model for prediction of their performance.

Then, ProMLB builds a set of cross-platform performance models for each application. Based on the developed predictive model, ProMLB uses an optimization technique to distinguish close-to-optimal configuration to minimize the product of execution time and cost. Compared to the oracle scheduler, ProMLB achieves 91% accuracy in terms of application-resource matching. On average, ProMLB improves the performance and resource utilization by 42.6% and 41.1%, respectively, compared to baseline scheduler. Moreover, ProMLB improves the performance per cost by 2.5× on average.
Causal Mechanism Transfer Network for Time Series Domain Adaptation in Mechanical Systems
Authors: Li Zijian , Cai Ruichu , Ng Hong Wei , Winslett Marianne , Fu Tom Z. J. , Xu Boyan , Yang Xiaoyan , Zhang Zhenjie
Published: March 2021

Data-driven models are becoming essential parts in modern mechanical systems, commonly used to capture the behavior of various equipment and varying environmental characteristics. Despite the advantages of these data-driven models on excellent adaptivity to high dynamics and aging equipment, they are usually hungry for massive labels, mostly contributed by human engineers at a high cost. Fortunately, domain adaptation enhances the model generalization by utilizing the labeled source data and the unlabeled target data. However, the mainstream domain adaptation methods cannot achieve ideal performance on time series data, since they assume that the conditional distributions are equal. This assumption works well in the static data but is inapplicable for the time series data. Even the first-order Markov dependence assumption requires the dependence between any two consecutive time steps. In this article, we assume that the causal mechanism is invariant and present our Causal Mechanism Transfer Network (CMTN) for time series domain adaptation. By capturing causal mechanisms of time series data, CMTN allows the data-driven models to exploit existing data and labels from similar systems, such that the resulting model on a new system is highly reliable even with limited data. We report our empirical results and lessons learned from two real-world case studies, on chiller plant energy optimization and boiler fault detection, which outperform the existing state-of-the-art method.
A Comparative Overview of the Intracellular Guardians of Plants and Animals: NLRs in Innate Immunity and Beyond
Authors: Duxbury Zane , Wu Chih-hang , Ding Pingtao
Published: March 2021

Nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) play important roles in the innate immune systems of both plants and animals. Recent breakthroughs in NLR biochemistry and biophysics have revolutionized our understanding of how NLR proteins function in plant immunity. In this review, we summarize the latest findings in plant NLR biology and draw direct comparisons to NLRs of animals. We discuss different mechanisms by which NLRs recognize their ligands in plants and animals. The discovery of plant NLR resistosomes that assemble in a comparable way to animal inflammasomes reinforces the striking similarities between the formation of plant and animal NLR complexes. Furthermore, we discuss the mechanisms by which plant NLRs mediate immune responses and draw comparisons to similar mechanisms identified in animals. Finally, we summarize the current knowledge of the complex genetic architecture formed by NLRs in plants and animals and the roles of NLRs beyond pathogen detection.
Simulation of Fabrication and Degradation of All-Solid-State Batteries with Ductile Particles
Authors: So Magnus , Inoue Gen , Hirate Ryusei , Nunoshita Keita , Ishikawa Shota , Tsuge Yoshifumi
Published: March 2021

We simulated cold press fabrication and intercalation damage in a sulfide All-Solid-State Battery (ASSB) electrode using the Discrete Element Method. We developed a new cohesive hybrid-particulate model that both can simulate particle consolidation during fabrication and material failure during intercalation expansion. In this way, the effect of the fabrication conditions on the mechanical degradation of the electrode can be simulated. The high pressure in the cold press fabrication cause plastic deformation and build-up of cohesive contacts between the particles, consisting of Si active material (AM) and sulfide solid electrolyte (SE), resulting in densification of the electrode. During charging, when AM expands during lithiation, the AM-SE contact area increases but the effective SE conductivity decreases. When the expansion is small, the contact area and conductivity may recover to their original value. However, large expansion may cause plastic deformation and cracking that cause permanent reduction of both contact area and SE conductivity. This type of mechanical degradation was significantly less for electrodes fabricated at higher pressures. This model can become a valuable tool to improve the durability and performance of future ASSBs.
Electrocatalyst of Co Metal Atom Dispersed on N and S Co-Doped Tremelliform Carbon with Excellent Properties for Oxygen Reduction Reactions
Authors: Li Linke , Chen Yi , Xie Shengnan , Fan Jinchen , Li Qiaoxia , Min Yulin , Xu Qunjie , Sun Shigang
Published: March 2021

The introduction of sulfur is beneficial to regulate the electronic structure of M-Nx active site, thus improving oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) catalytic activity. Herein, we adopted a hydrogel method to synthesize ORR catalyst of Co metal atom dispersed on N and S co-doped tremelliform carbon (Co/NSTFC). The as-synthesized catalyst was characterized by TEM, XRD and BET, and results demonstrated that cobalt atoms are highly dispersed on porous N and S co-doped tremelliform carbon, and the specific surface area is as high as 1613 m2 g−1. And XPS analysis confirms the formation Co-Nx coordination bond, while the sulfur atom is successfully doped on the carbon support. The XPS analysis of N 1s and Co 2p prove that the introduction of sulfur atoms can improve the efficiency of electron transferring to graphite nitrogen, and to the vicinity of Co-Nx, thus increasing d-band center of Co metal atoms, consequently improving the oxygen reduction activity. The Co/NSTFC catalyst exhibits high-efficient ORR activity with half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.882 V in 0.1 M KOH. Furthermore, the measured number of electron transfer is close to 4, and a low yield of hydrogen peroxide and superior stability were confirmed with the Co/NSTFC catalyst. This study provides new insights into the design and synthesis of high the performant ORR catalysts and promoting the development of energy conversion.
Electrochemical Charge and Discharge Performance of Perovskite-Type Oxide La1−x
Na
x
FeO3 (x = 0–0.8) in Alkaline Solution
Authors: Ren Kailiang , Duan Zeang , Li Yuan , Zhang Lu , Han Shumin
Published: March 2021

LaFeO3 as a new negative electrode material for nickel-hydrogen batteries used as energy storage has the advantages of high capacity, advanced temperature resistance, and low cost. However, its conductivity and dynamic performance are poor, seriously hindering its applications. In light of increasing concentration of oxygen vacancies and improving conductivity after replacing A-site elements of the material, here we synthesize low-priced Na doping LaFeO3 oxides, La1−x
Na
x
FeO3 (x = 0–0.8), as the negative electrode by a solid-state reaction method. Studies show that doping Na can reduce particle aggregation, thus helping to increase the surface area of LaFeO3. Therefore, its discharge capacity remarkably increases to 356.7 mAh g–1 (x = 0.6) from 178.8 mAh g–1 (x = 0) at 60 °C, which also maintains 73.4% after 100 cycles for La0.4Na0.6FeO3, elevated by 55.1% compared to LaFeO3. In addition, the high rate discharge ability of an La0.4Na0.6FeO3 electrode at a discharge current density of 1500 mA g–1 reaches 30.7% in contrast to 11.2% for undoped LaFeO3. As such, the La0.4Na0.6FeO3 material with superior cycling capacity is proven to be a more promising electrochemical hydrogen storage electrode compared to LaFeO3, which greatly increases the practical application value of the material.
Hierarchical Porous Carbon with Nano-MgO as Efficient Sulfur Species Micro-Reactors for Lithium-Sulfur Battery
Authors: Zhao Xiangyang , Wang Jiayu , Sun Xiaogang , Wei Kunrui , Wang Weikun , Wang Anbang , Huang Yaqin , Guan Yuepeng
Published: March 2021

The rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery has been considered as one of the most ideal energy storage systems on account of its high energy density and low cost. However, the inevitable shuttle effect of polysulfides (LiPSs) seriously restrains its commercial application. Here, nano-MgO with crab shell-based hierarchical porous carbon composites (nano-MgO@CSHPC) have been successfully prepared and employed as effective sulfur species micro-reactors for the Li-S battery. The hierarchical micro/mesoporous structure of CSHPC can provide enough area to physically restrict the LiPSs migration and accommodate the volume expansion. Besides, the nano-MgO formed in the carbon pore can chemically anchor the LiPSs and minimize LiPSs dissolution. Moreover, the nitrogen in the CSHPC can availably enhance LiPSs restriction and improve the conductivity of carbon network. Our work reveals that the rational design of sulfur species micro-reactor simultaneously achieves LiPSs immobilization and conversion, which is helpful to promote the practical application of Li-S battery.
From the Editor: To Innovate Education
Authors: Rajeshwar Krishnan
Published: March 2021

The word “education” never fails to strike a chord, particularly with those of us having school or college-going children. But education ought to be a concern for everyone, regardless of whether he/she is a parent, professional, or professor.
From the President: Multiple Realities
Authors: Allendorf Mark
Published: March 2021

Returning home to the literally hundreds of unanswered e-mails in my inbox immediately brought home reality and the consequences of my one-week absence attending the ECS meeting in Cancun. Although the week was a very hectic one, the break from the constant churning of daily life was a welcome one.
Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Bruce Wiseman R , Subramoney Shekhar
Published: March 2021

The discovery more than two decades ago of the allotrope of carbon referred to as buckminsterfullerene (more commonly called fullerene or C60) was a seminal event in the genesis of nanotechnology. This key discovery showed how intense energy sources may be used to vaporize ordinary carbon and convert it into nanomaterials such as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes.
Hierarchical Assembly of Porphyrins and Fullerenes for Solar Cells
Authors: Hasobe Taku , Fukuzumi Shunichi , Kamat Prashant V.
Published: March 2021

The rapid consumption of fossil fuels has created unacceptable environmental problems such as greenhouse effects, which may lead to disastrous climate consequences. Thus, renewable and clean energy such as that obtained by using solar cells is required to maintain the quality of human life as well as the environment.
Bringing Fuel Cells to the Classroom (The University of Washington’s Fuel Cell Curriculum)
Authors: Stuve Eric M.
Published: March 2021

In the high tech boom of the mid-1990s fuel cells began to attract widespread attention, expanding from a relatively small group of academics and industrial technologists to include an array of industrial firms, large and small, and venture capitalists.
Electrodeposition: A Technology for the Future
Authors: Schwarzacher Walther
Published: March 2021

Electrochemical deposition, or electrodeposition for short, has been around for a very long time now; so why should serious scientists and technologists still get excited by it?
Active Learning of Electrochemical Engineering Principles Using a Solar Panel/Water Electrolyzer/Fuel Cell System
Authors: Fenton Suzanne S. , Ramani Vijay , Fenton James M.
Published: March 2021

As resources of fossil fuels are rapidly consumed at a rate that far exceeds new discoveries, it is evident that a transition to a renewable and sustainable energy economy is essential for continued progress.
Electrodeposition and Microelectronics
Authors: Deligianni H.
Published: March 2021

Magnetic data storage has typically followed advances in modern computers and has seen explosive growth, with an increase of several orders of magnitude in the areal density in the last 50 or so years.
Electrochemistry for K-12 (The Potato Clock and Beyond)
Authors: Abraham Ann , Palencsar Attila , Scherson Daniel
Published: March 2021

Hybrid vehicles, fuel cells, and, particularly, market demands for longer lasting batteries to power portable communication and entertainment devices, have propelled electrochemistry to the forefront of news media and advertisement. Despite this welcoming awakening, an understanding of the fundamental principles that govern this highly multidisciplinary field by the public at large appears to be lacking.
Reconstruction Using Free Vascularized Fibular Grafts after Wide Resection of Humerus Chondrosarcoma in a Patient with Cleidocranial Dysplasia
Authors: Shimizu Junya , Iba Kousuke , Emori Makoto , Sasaki Mikito , Yamashita Toshihiko
Published: March 2021

Cleidocranial dysplasia is characterized by hypoplasia of the clavicles, unerupted teeth, narrow pelvis, short stature, and craniofacial malformations. A cause of this skeletal dysplasia is heterozygous mutations of the runt-related transcription factor 2 gene (Runx2), a master regulator for bone and cartilage development. Chondrosarcoma is a primary malignant bone tumor that is usually treated by wide resection surgery. This report shows a case of a 25-year-old female patient with cleidocranial dysplasia who was affected with chondrosarcoma of the left humerus. We performed wide resection of the tumor and reconstruction of the large bone defect of the humerus using free vascularized fibular grafts. The patient preserved the hand function and activity of daily life as the same level as preoperative condition more than five years after the surgery.
Chinese Herbal Medicine for Weight Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Randomised Controlled Trials
Authors: Wong Ann Rann , Yang Angela Wei Hong , Li Kangxiao , Gill Harsharn , Li Mingdi , Lenon George Binh
Published: March 2021

Objective. This review investigated the effects and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) formulas on weight management. Methods. Eighteen databases in English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese were searched from their inceptions to September 2019. The treatment groups included CHM formulations, and the control included placebo, Western medication (WM), and lifestyle intervention (LI), with or without cointerventions (WM and/or LI). Quality of studies was assessed using Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias assessment tool. Body weight and body mass index (BMI) were analysed in RevMan v5.4.1 and expressed as mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI), while adverse events were expressed as risk ratio with 95% CI. Results. Thirty-nine RCTs were eligible for qualitative analysis, 34 of which were included in the meta-analyses. The majority of studies had a high or unclear risk of selection, performance, and detection bias. Twenty-five CHM studies involving cointerventions revealed that CHM had significant adjunct effects on body weight and BMI at the end of treatment compared to control. No serious adverse events were reported in the CHM groups. Conclusion. CHM indicates a promising adjunct to facilitate WM or lifestyle change for weight management. However, methodological barriers such as lack of allocation concealment and double-blinding may have led to challenges in data synthesis. More rigorously designed RCTs involving cointerventions are warranted.
Research on the Balanced Relationship between Online Consumer Behavior and E-Commerce Service Quality Based on 5G Network
Authors: Si Yuna
Published: March 2021

In order to better explore the consumer psychology activities of consumers and reduce the cost control risks of enterprises, this article aims to explore the relationship between online consumer behavior and e-commerce service quality and hopes to study e-commerce by dividing online consumer groups. This article uses 5G technology to track consumer consumption habits and consumption costs. First, according to the existing literature and qualitative interviews with online consumers, it is determined that the e-commerce service quality evaluation factors are the core service quality-related system reliability, efficiency, guarantee and completion, and the quality of after-sales service. Then, based on the data obtained from the questionnaire, SPSS statistical analysis software was used to analyze the reliability of the sample variables, thereby improving the quality of the sample data. We perform descriptive statistical analysis on these measurement items. Each attribute calculates the importance of each dimension. Through the analysis of experimental cases, it can be seen that the use of 5G technology can well match consumers’ consumption habits and message needs and can evaluate the quality of e-commerce services more accurately and scientifically.
Management of a Rare Case of Geminated and Fused Central Incisors in the Same Maxillary Dental Arch
Authors: Alyahya Anas , Karkoutly Humam , Milly Hussam
Published: March 2021

A 27-year-old man presented with developmental disorders in the maxillary incisors and asymmetric smile. Differential diagnosis between geminated and fused maxillary central incisors was conducted using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The complexities of root canal system was handled using suitable shaping instruments and ultrasonic activation tips. Root apexes were sealed with mineral trioxide aggregate plugs. The anterior maxillary gingiva was surgically recontoured, and CAD/CAM Zirconia crowns were placed after the gingival healing phase. The combination of the 3D radiological examination, the clinical screening, and the use of a diagnostic wax-up presented a successful approach to manage this rare clinical case.
Research on the Credibility of Social Media Information Based on User Perception
Authors: Sun Jiaxi
Published: March 2021

In order to accurately obtain the credibility of social media information, improve the efficiency of credibility evaluation, and enhance the security of social media, this paper proposes a method for evaluating the credibility of social media information based on user perception. Starting from the three dimensions of subject credibility, source credibility, and content credibility, the information credibility evaluation dimensions are analyzed. According to the information credibility evaluation dimension, establish a social media information database and deal with spam in the database. Perform credit evaluation based on the results of various data analyses in the database, and extract meaningful keywords from social media information through feature selection algorithms to form keyword clusters. Finally, based on user perception theory, the credibility evaluation of social media information is realized. The experimental results show that the quantitative results of the method for evaluating the credibility of social media information are close to the actual situation, the evaluation results obtained are more accurate, and the evaluation time is short, which can provide a theoretical basis for supervision and management.
Experimental Investigation on the Correlation between Dynamic Ultrasonic and Mechanical Properties of Sandstone Subjected to Uniaxial Compression
Authors: Sun Yunjiang , Zuo Jianping , Shi Yue , Li Zhengdai , Mi Changning , Wen Jinhao
Published: March 2021

Ultrasonic wave velocity is effective to evaluate anisotropy property and predict rock failure. This paper investigates the correlation between dynamic ultrasonic and mechanical properties of sandstones with different buried depths subjected to uniaxial compression tests. The circumferential anisotropy and axial wave velocity of sandstone are obtained by means of ultrasonic wave velocity measurements. The mechanical properties, including Young’s modulus and uniaxial compressive strength, are positively correlated with the axial P wave velocity. The average angles between the sandstone failure plane and the minimum and maximum wave directions are 35.8° and 63.3°, respectively. The axial P wave velocity almost keeps constant, and the axial S wave velocity has a decreasing trend before the failure of rock specimen. In most rock samples under uniaxial compression, shear failure occurs in the middle and splitting appears near both sides. Additionally, the dynamic Young’s modulus and dynamic Poisson’s ratio during loading are obtained, and the negative values of the Poisson’s ratio occur at the initial compression stage. Distortion and rotation of micro/mesorock structures may be responsible for the negative Poisson’s ratio.
Intelligent Integrated Community Model for Ethnic Minority Areas Using Data Analysis and Machine Learning
Authors: Liu Xiaoxue
Published: March 2021

The intelligent community has become a technological trend with the continuous development of China’s Internet economy and the continuous improvement in community cooperative governance. The comprehensive service system in ethnic areas is also one of the reasons for the intelligent community. It plays an important role in community cooperative governance and comprehensive service system construction in ethnic minority areas. This paper briefly analyzes the important opportunities provided by the “wisdom community” for community cooperative governance and comprehensive service system construction in ethnic minority areas. For this purpose, an integrated model for the construction of a “culture sharing cloud system,” “public cultural service microplatform,” and “interactive end of public cultural service” is proposed. The mode of wisdom community’s public culture is utilized in the proposed integrated model. Our proposed model puts forward some countermeasures to accelerate the construction of infrastructure, innovate the digital service system of public culture, and optimize the internal organizational structure of the government. The existing datasets are analyzed to design the proposed model. Machine learning techniques are utilized to design the proposed intelligent community system. The proposed model overcomes the existing communication bottleneck for the public cultural service in ethnic minority areas and accelerates the realization of community coordination governance and the optimization of the comprehensive service system. It also improves the modernization level of minority areas. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed model is highlighted.
Physical and Mechanical Characteristics of Shallow Expansive Soil due to Freeze‐Thaw Effect with Water Supplement
Authors: Li Yanlong , Wang Zili , Luo Yang
Published: March 2021

Shear strength of shallow expansive soil varies along with the depth under the freeze‐thaw effect. This work investigates shear strength characteristics of shallow expansive soil by simulating the actual freeze boundary conditions of seasonal frozen areas with water supplement. An integrated approach incorporating the freeze‐thaw test and direct shear test was adopted. Firstly, unidirectional freezing tests for expansive soil columns under three different freezing temperature gradients were carried out. Secondly, direct shear tests under low vertical stress were performed on the standard samples, which were prepared by using cutting rings cut the thawed expansive soil columns into nine segments along with the depth. Temperature, water content, and dry density at different depths were also investigated after the freeze‐thaw process. The test results showed that, after the freeze‐thaw process, the shear strength of expansive soil columns showed significant differences along with the depth and highly correlated with water content, specifically the higher water content and the lower shear strength. The minimum shear strength in the expansive soil columns occurred at the soil layer below the frozen and unfrozen zones interface. The expansive soil column’s shear strength changed most under the moderate freezing temperature gradient corresponding to the most considerable shear strength reduction. Moreover, the significant decrease in cohesion was the main reason for the shear strength reduction of expansive soil after the freeze‐thaw process. These results indicate significant depth variability in shear strength of expansive soil under the freeze‐thaw effect.
Electrochemical Sensor Based on Nanodiamonds and Manioc Starch for Detection of Tetracycline
Authors: Fernandes-Junior Wilson Silva , Zaccarin Leticia Fernanda , Oliveira Geiser Gabriel , de Oliveira Paulo Roberto , Kalinke Cristiane , Bonacin Juliano Alves , Prakash Jai , Janegitz Bruno Campos
Published: March 2021

The use of nanostructured materials is already well‐known as a powerful tool in the development of electrochemical sensors. Among several immobilization strategies of nanomaterials in the development of electrochemical sensors, the use of low‐cost and environmentally friendly polymeric materials is highlighted. In this context, a new nanostructured biocomposite electrode is proposed as an electrochemical sensor for the analysis and determination of tetracycline. The composite electrode consists of a modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with a nanodiamond‐based (ND) and manioc starch biofilm (MS), called ND‐MS/GCE. The proposed sensor showed better electrochemical performance in the presence of tetracycline in comparison to the unmodified electrode, which was attributed to the increase in the electroactive surface area due to the presence of nanodiamonds. A linear dynamic range from 5.0 × 10−6 to 1.8 × 10−4 mol L−1 and a limit of detection of 2.0 × 10−6 mol L−1 were obtained for the proposed sensor. ND‐MS/GCE exhibited high repeatability and reproducibility for successive measurements with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.3% and 1.5%, respectively. The proposed electrode was successfully applied for the detection of tetracycline in different kinds of water samples, presenting recoveries ranging from 86 to 112%.
Association between Coalmine Dust and Mortality Risk of Lung Cancer: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Li Linlin , Jiang Min , Li Xuelian , Zhou Baosen
Published: March 2021

Background. Evidence on the carcinogenicity of coalmine dust in occupational settings is still conflicting. Therefore, we conducted this research to evaluate the mortality risk of lung cancer for coalminers exposed to occupational dust when compared to population with no or low dust exposure. Methods. Databases of PubMed and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure as well as reference lists were searched updated to September 18, 2020. The enrolled articles should report lung cancer mortality risk for coalminers exposed to occupational dust. Basic information was extracted such as the author and publication year, area and ethnicity, the type and estimates of outcome, duration of follow‐up, and the study design. The checklists from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale were used for the assessment of quality and bias risk for descriptive studies, cohort studies, and case control studies, respectively. The overall relative risks were calculated while Begg’s and Egger’s tests and sensitivity analysis were performed to explore potential heterogeneity sources. Metaregression and subgroup analyses were also conducted to give more detailed information for the correlation between dust exposure and lung cancer mortality. Results. A total of 19 articles with 22 different studies (descriptive study, case control study, and cohort study) including 8909 observed deaths from 1964 to 2017 were enrolled with a significant heterogeneity (I2 = 95%, P < 0.001). The pooled relative risk of mortality from lung cancer was 1.16 (1.03‐1.30) for coalminers. Results of metaregression analysis indicated that the high heterogeneity among these enrolled studies might be caused by the ethnicity differences (P = 0.011). Subgroup analysis also indicated that the pooled estimate for Asian population in China was 4.94 (3.95‐6.17) with I2 = 39.3% and P = 0.192. All these results suggested that exposure to occupational dust would significantly increase the mortality risk of lung cancer, especially for Asian population in China, which should be measured and controlled more strictly. Discussion. This systematic review and meta‐analysis provides high‐quality evidence that exposure to occupational dust might increase the mortality risk of lung cancer, especially for Asian populations in China. The magnitude of this effect is of major public health importance in view of the ubiquitous existence of coalmining industry in China and even in the world. However, these pooled estimates should be interpreted cautiously because of the high heterogeneity among these publications. Other. This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC1302501).
Systematic Evaluation of the Effect of Rehabilitation of Lower Limb Function in Children with Cerebral Palsy Based on Virtual Reality Technology
Authors: Gao Chao , Wu Yongli , Liu Junting , Zhang Runhan , Zhao Manting
Published: March 2021

As times go by, people’s standard of living is constantly improving, but the medical pressure exerted by children with cerebral palsy is also increasing and the recovery of lower limb function in children with cerebral palsy after treatment has also gets people’s attention. Of course, the relevant medical equipment is constantly improving, especially the appearance of virtual reality technology, which has played an extremely important role in restoring the lower extremities of children with cerebral palsy. In order to study the role that virtual reality technology can play in children with cerebral palsy, this article collects relevant information, builds a case template, and uses comprehensive quantification by investigating patients, examining relevant documents, and interviewing professionals. With qualitative analysis, a damage assessment matrix is created. Experimental results prove that the use of virtual reality technology can improve the treatment efficiency of children with cerebral palsy by more than 30%. In terms of the rehabilitation effect of children’s lower limb function, virtual reality technology is more targeted for the treatment of children with far-reaching effects. It is much higher than traditional treatment methods, and the mobility of the children’s lower limbs is restored by more than 80%. This shows that virtual reality technology can play an important role in the rehabilitation of the lower limbs of children with cerebral palsy.
Size Effect on Recycled Concrete Strength and Its Prediction Model Using Standard Neutrosophic Number
Authors: Peng X. , Yang Q. W. , Qin F. J.
Published: March 2021

In recent years, research on recycled aggregate concrete has become a hot issue in the field of civil engineering. This paper mainly studies the size effects on compressive and tensile strengths of the recycled aggregate concrete. Firstly, four sets of recycled concrete cube specimens with different sizes are produced in the laboratory. Secondly, the experiments on compressive and tensile strengths are carried out to obtain the rules of the strength value with the change of the specimen size. Thirdly, a standard neutrosophic number is proposed and used in modelling the size effect law more reasonably. According to the experimental results, it was found that the compressive and tensile strengths of recycled concrete both have obvious size effects. In general, the strength value decreases gradually with the increase of specimen size. Using the standard neutrosophic number, the proposed new formula on size effect law is more suitable for tackling the indeterminacy in the experimental data. It has been shown that the size effect law based on the standard neutrosophic number is more realistic than the existing size effect law. The results may be useful for the engineering application of the recycled concrete and can be extended to other types of size effect laws in the future.
Contamination and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Pork in Fresh Markets, Nongchok District, Thailand
Authors: Kanungpean Doungjit , Takai Shinji , Kakuda Tsutomu
Published: March 2021

We surveyed Staphylococcus aureus contamination in 110 pork samples from 12 fresh meat markets in Nongchok district, Bangkok, Thailand, and performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing with the disk diffusion method. The prevalence of S. aureus was 28.18%, and 52 strains were isolated. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the disk diffusion method revealed that 80.77% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline and 76.92% to ampicillin. All strains were 100% susceptible to cloxacillin, cefoxitin, gentamicin, and cefazolin. The high percentage of antibiotic resistance to tetracycline and ampicillin was attributed to their use in treating infections in farmed animals and their addition to animal food for disease prevention. Interestingly, the present study revealed the intermediate resistance of S. aureus (13.46% of S. aureus-positive pork samples) to vancomycin which is a common medicine for treating severe infection in humans, suggesting that the trend of resistance might increase and becoming a serious problem of public health for both humans and animals.
A Review on Different Kinds of Artificial Intelligence Solutions in TCM Syndrome Differentiation Application
Authors: Song Yujuan , Zhao Bin , Jia Jun , Wang Xuebing , Xu Sibai , Li Zhenjing , Fang Xu
Published: March 2021

In 1979, the first computer program for TCM diagnosis was launched, although this time was about 30 years after artificial intelligence (AI) came into being and began to be widely used. However, an endless stream of artificial intelligence methods was applied in the field of Chinese medicine research, expert system, artificial neural network, data mining, and multivariate analysis; not limited to what was mentioned, this study tried to make a review on application of AI to TCM syndrome differentiation, while summarizing the artificial intelligence application of TCM syndrome differentiation in the current context. It also provides a theoretical background for the upcoming fully automated research on TCM syndrome differentiation and diagnosis robot.
Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi Granule Enhances Colonic Tight Junction Integrity via TLR4/NF-κB/MLCK Signaling Pathway in Ulcerative Colitis Rats
Authors: Kang Xiuhong , Jia Mengdi , Zhao Luqing , Zhang Shengsheng
Published: March 2021

Background. Bu-zhong-yi-qi granule (BZYQ), a sort of Chinese herbal medicine, has exhibited therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the mechanism of BZYQ has not been fully clarified. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of BZYQ on UC rats model and at exploring its potential mechanism. Methods. The UC rats were established by enema of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). The therapeutic effects of BZYQ treatment were evaluated by disease activity index (DAI), colon macroscopic damage index (CMDI) scores, and histological observation. The mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured by quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins, occludin and claudin-1, in the colon was determined by Western blot and immunofluorescence. The expression of toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), p-NF-κB, myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), MLC, and p-MLC levels in colon was determined by Western blot or qPCR. Results. The results showed that BZYQ could attenuate DAI, CMDI, and histological inflammation. TJ proteins expression was decreased in UC rats, but treatment with BZYQ restored the expression of occludin and claudin-1. In addition, BZYQ administration ameliorated UC-associated increase in the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, and the expression of TLR4, NF-κB, p-NF-κB, MLCK, MLC, and p-MLC, while BZYQ administration increased the production of IL-10. Conclusions. The therapeutic effect of BZYQ on UC is at least partially through regulation of the secretion of some inflammatory cytokines and improvement of TJ integrity via TLR4/NF-κB/MLCK pathway.
Joint User Pairing and Power Allocation Scheme Based on Transmission Mode Switching between NOMA-Based Maximum Ratio Transmission and MMSE Beamforming in Downlink MISO Systems
Authors: Zhao Zhixin , Wang Dong , Zhang Hongwei , Sang Haitao
Published: March 2021

This paper investigates the design of the joint user pairing and power allocation scheme with transmission mode switching (TMS) in downlink multiple-input-single-output (MISO) systems. Firstly, the closed-form expressions of the boundary of achievable rate region of two candidate transmission modes, i.e., non-orthogonal multiple access based maximum ratio transmission (NOMA-MRT) and minimum mean square error beamforming (MMSE-BF), are obtained. By obtaining the outer boundary of the union of the achievable rate regions of the two transmission modes, an adaptive switching method is developed to achieve a larger rate region. Secondly, based on the idea that the solution to the problem of weighted sum rate (WSR) optimization must be on the boundary of the achievable rate region, the optimal solutions to the problem of WSR optimization for NOMA-MRT and MMSE-BF are obtained for the two-user case, respectively. Subsequently, by exploiting the aforementioned optimal solutions for two transmission modes and the high efficiency of TMS, a suboptimal user pairing and power allocation algorithm (JUPA) is proposed to further improve the sum rate performance for the multiuser case. Compared with the exhaustive search-based user pairing and power allocation algorithm (ES-PPA), the proposed JUPA can enjoy a much lower computational complexity and only suffers a slight sum rate performance loss, and it outperforms other traditional schemes. Finally, numerical results are provided to validate the analyses and the proposed algorithms.
Refractory Biliary Catheter Leak Corrected by a Hybrid Closed Loop Catheter-Pump System
Authors: Murthy Ravi , Rachakonda Varun , Bassuner Juri
Published: March 2021

The development of inoperable biliary obstruction in patients with liver, biliary, and pancreatic neoplasia is commonplace particularly in the advanced stages of these diseases. Under these circumstances, restoring bile flow to the gut is paramount in reestablishing homeostasis. Hitherto, this has been achieved by utilizing passive, gravity-dependent bilioenteric conduits with the use of perforated plastic catheters or metallic stents inserted either in a percutaneous transhepatic fashion or via endoscopic techniques. A frequent untoward event of biliary decompression utilizing percutaneous transhepatic catheters (PTC) is the development of pain, cholangitis, hyperbilirubinemia, or pericatheter bile leak due to the suboptimal normalization of bile flow. In some instances, the etiology of PTC malfunction can be correctly ascribed to catheter malposition and/or catheter lumen obstruction; however, in the majority, it remains radiographically occult on transcatheter cholangiography—the “gold standard.” Regardless of findings, the management remains fluoroscopic repositioning or exchanges for larger diameter catheters to attempt to seal the pericatheter potential space and prevent bile seepage. Unfortunately, these maneuvers are met with limited and unpredictable levels of success. We present the successful management of an instance of recalcitrant external pericatheter bile leak mitigated by employing a hybrid closed loop biliary catheter-pump system by employing an assortment of FDA approved off-the-shelf medical devices.