bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mini-sternotomy versus conventional sternotomy for aortic valve replacement: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Hancock Helen C , Maier Rebecca H , Kasim Adetayo , Mason James , Murphy Gavin , Goodwin Andrew , Owens W Andrew , Akowuah Enoch
Published: January 2021

Objective

To compare clinical and health economic outcomes after manubrium-limited mini-sternotomy (intervention) and conventional median sternotomy (usual care).

Design

A single-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Single centre UK National Health Service tertiary hospital.

Participants

Adult patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery.

Interventions

Intervention was manubrium-limited mini-sternotomy performed using a 5–7 cm midline incision. Usual care was median sternotomy performed using a midline incision from the sternal notch to the xiphisternum.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who received a red cell transfusion postoperatively and within 7 days of index surgery. Secondary outcomes included proportion of patients receiving a non-red cell blood component transfusion and number of units transfused within 7 days and during index hospital stay, quality of life and cost-effectiveness analyses.

Results

270 patients were randomised, received surgery and contributed to the intention to treat analysis. No difference between mini and conventional sternotomy in red-cell transfusion within 7 days was found; 23/135 patients in each arm received a transfusion, OR 1.0 (95% CI 0.5 to 2.0) and risk difference 0.0 (95% CI −0.1 to 0.1). Mini-sternotomy reduced chest drain losses (mean 181.6 mL (SD 138.7) vs conventional, mean 306·9 mL (SD 348.6)); this did not reduce red-cell transfusions. Mean valve size and postoperative valve function were comparable between mini-sternotomy and conventional groups; 23 mm vs 24 mm and 6/134 moderate or severe aortic regurgitation vs 3/130, respectively. Mini-sternotomy resulted in longer bypass (82.7 min (SD 23.5) vs 59.6 min (SD 15.1)) and cross-clamp times (64.1 min (SD 17.1) vs 46·3 min (SD 10.7)). Conventional sternotomy was more cost-effective with only a 5.8% probability of mini-sternotomy being cost-effective at a willingness to pay of £20 000/QALY (Quality Adjusted Life Years).

Conclusions

AVR via mini-sternotomy did not reduce red blood cell transfusion within 7 days following surgery when compared with conventional sternotomy.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN29567910; Results.
More than just contraception: the impact of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system on public health over 30 years
Authors: Gemzell-Danielsson Kristina , Kubba Ali , Caetano Cecilia , Faustmann Thomas , Lukkari-Lax Eeva , Heikinheimo Oskari
Published: January 2021

Universal access to sexual and reproductive health services is essential to facilitate the empowerment of women and achievement of gender equality. Increasing access to modern methods of contraception can reduce the incidence of unplanned pregnancy and decrease maternal mortality. Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) offer high contraceptive efficacy as well as cost-efficacy, providing benefits for both women and healthcare systems. The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) first became available in 1990 with the introduction of Mirena (LNG-IUS 20), a highly effective contraceptive which can reduce menstrual blood loss and provide other therapeutic benefits. The impact of the LNG-IUS on society has been wide ranging, including decreasing the need for abortion, reducing the number of surgical sterilisation procedures performed, as well as reducing the number of hysterectomies carried out for issues such as heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mirena can provide a treatment option for women with gynaecological issues such as HMB without organic pathology, minimising exposure to the hospital environment and reducing waiting times for surgical appointments. Looking to the future, research and development in the field of the LNG-IUS continues to expand our understanding of these contraceptives in clinical practice and offers the potential to further expand the choices available to women, allowing them to select the option that best meets their needs.
Commercial applications of quantum computing
Authors: Bova Francesco , Goldfarb Avi , Melko Roger G.
Published: January 2021

Despite the scientific and engineering challenges facing the development of quantum computers, considerable progress is being made toward applying the technology to commercial applications. In this article, we discuss the solutions that some companies are already building using quantum hardware. Framing these as examples of combinatorics problems, we illustrate their application in four industry verticals: cybersecurity, materials and pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, and advanced manufacturing. While quantum computers are not yet available at the scale needed to solve all of these combinatorics problems, we identify three types of near-term opportunities resulting from advances in quantum computing: quantum-safe encryption, material and drug discovery, and quantum-inspired algorithms.
Classification of generalized Yamabe solitons in Euclidean spaces
Authors: Fujii Shunya , Maeta Shun
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we consider generalized Yamabe solitons which include many notions, such as Yamabe solitons, almost Yamabe solitons, [Formula: see text]-almost Yamabe solitons, gradient [Formula: see text]-Yamabe solitons and conformal gradient solitons. We completely classify the generalized Yamabe solitons on hypersurfaces in Euclidean spaces arisen from the position vector field.
Ruthenium-based half Heusler alloys RuTiX (X = Si, Ge, Sn): An FP-LAPW-based analytical study of structural, electronic, elastic, mechanical and transport properties
Authors: Abraham Jisha Annie , Dey Aditya , Kumari Meena
Published: January 2021

An full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW)-based analytical study of structural, electronic, mechanical and thermoelectric properties has been done for the Ruthenium-based half heusler RuTiX (X = Si, Ge and Sn) compounds. An efficient method to develop Half Heusler (HH) alloys is by examining their stability of structure in various phases, by plotting electronic band structures, computing elastic constants and also by studying the presence of magnetic moments. In this study, we have used DFT-based calculations to scrutinise the paramagnetic/ferromagnetic (FM) as well as metallic/semiconducting behavior of these HH compounds. The predicted phase stability using the energy versus volume curves reveals that they are stable in Type C phase. RuTiSi and RuTiGe are found to be stable in the paramagnetic phase whereas RuTiSn is stable in the FM phase with a finite value of magnetic moment. The electronic band structures and density of states (DOS) plots predict that the studied compounds belong to [Formula: see text]-type degenerate semiconductors as the Fermi Level lies within the valence band. Due to the existence of finite DOS at the Fermi level, they show an enhanced metallic behavior. A small value indirect gap is found between valence band maximum (VBM) and conduction band minimum (CBM) in all these studied RuTiX HH alloys depicting their semiconducting nature. The elastic constants of cubic phase are computed for the first time and they obey the mechanical stability criteria. The positive value of [Formula: see text] and value of [Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text] ratio of these HH compounds exhibit their ductile nature. The thermoelectric properties of these compounds are investigated, and a comparatively higher figure of merit reveals their scope of application in thermoelectric devices.
Computing the surface electronic states on the (100), (110) and (111) surfaces of FCC monatomic crystals
Authors: Bourahla Boualem , Belayadi Adel
Published: January 2021

In this study, we carry out a simulation of the surface band structures for face-centered cubic (fcc) leads that end up in (100), (110) and (111) surfaces. The surface Hamiltonian matrix is constructed from tight-binding approach and the secular equations of the surface eigenvalue problem. The solution of the problem is performed by integrating the Landauer–Büttiker formalism (LBF) in the phase field matching approach (PFMA). The LBF provides the quantum scattering properties and the PFMA connects the bulk modes to those of the surface based on the quantum scattering coefficients. The combination of these methods allows calculating the electronic bands in the three directions mentioned above. We report the results of ordered slabs for Ag, described as [Formula: see text]-like orbital and Ni given as [Formula: see text]-type orbitals. To show the impact of expanding the crystal wavefunction, we reveal the calculation of the localized states for Rh, Cu, Pt given as [Formula: see text]-type orbitals as first calculation then [Formula: see text]-coupling orbitals as second calculation. The results of the nonordered slabs are applied to Pd and Ir. Cutting the crystals affects the internal energy of the surface atoms, which will be subject to a relaxation effect until equilibrium is achieved.
A Nearest Neighbor Algorithm for Imbalanced Classification
Authors: Viola Rémi , Emonet Rémi , Habrard Amaury , Metzler Guillaume , Riou Sébastien , Sebban Marc
Published: January 2021

Due to the inability of the accuracy-driven methods to address the challenging problem of learning from imbalanced data, several alternative measures have been proposed in the literature, like the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC), the Average Precision (AP), the F-measure, the G-Mean, etc. However, these latter measures are neither smooth, convex nor separable, making their direct optimization hard in practice. In this paper, we tackle the challenging problem of imbalanced learning from a nearest-neighbor (NN) classification perspective, where the minority examples typically belong to the class of interest. Based on simple geometrical ideas, we introduce an algorithm that rescales the distance between a query sample and any positive training example. This leads to a modification of the Voronoi regions and thus of the decision boundaries of the NN classifier. We provide a theoretical justification about this scaling scheme which inherently aims at reducing the False Negative rate while controlling the number of False Positives. We further formally establish a link between the proposed method and cost-sensitive learning. An extensive experimental study is conducted on many public imbalanced datasets showing that our method is very effective with respect to popular Nearest-Neighbor algorithms, comparable to state-of-the-art sampling methods and even yields the best performance when combined with them.
SYNTHESIS OF ORGANIC–INORGANIC HYBRID COATINGS FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALUMINUM SUBSTRATES
Authors: LEI BING , MENG GUOZHE , LIU WEI
Published: January 2021

A silica-based organic–inorganic hybrid coating has been developed for corrosion protection of aluminum substrates by dip-coating technique. The hybrid sols were prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of trimethoxy(7-octen-1-yl)silane (TMOS) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in the presence of acetic acid. Structural characterization of the hybrid coatings was performed using powder X-ray diffraction analysis (PXRD). The morphology of the coating has been studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) tests have been performed, and the results showed that the silane coatings had high corrosion resistance. The heat treatment of the coatings at various temperatures have been investigated, and the results show that 130∘C is an optimized temperature. The results expose that the hybrid coating enhanced the corrosion protection of aluminum in aqueous 3.5% NaCl solution.
Forking and dividing in fields with several orderings and valuations
Authors: Johnson Will
Published: January 2021

We consider existentially closed fields with several orderings, valuations, and [Formula: see text]-valuations. We show that these structures are NTP2 of finite burden, but usually have the independence property. Moreover, forking agrees with dividing, and forking can be characterized in terms of forking in ACVF, RCF, and [Formula: see text]CF.
Communication—Deconvoluting the Conductivity Enhancement due to Nanoparticle Fillers in PVdF-Based Polymer Electrolytes for Li-Metal Batteries
Authors: Deivanayagam Ramasubramonian , Shahbazian-Yassar Reza
Published: January 2021

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) possess significant advantages over inorganic solid electrolytes in terms of performance and flexibility, but suffer from low conductivities. To improve their conductivities, ceramic nanoparticle fillers are typically used as additives. However, the conductivity enhancement could arise from both Li+ ions and surface-adsorbed moisture/protonic groups on the nanoparticles. Here, to deconvolute these effects, we report the synthesis and performances of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF)-based SPEs using a model filler, TiO2, in as-received and annealed conditions. We find that there could be moderate contribution from non-Li+ species, and emphasize the need to anneal the additives prior to their incorporation.
Communication—Impact Behaviors of Pouch and Prismatic Battery Modules
Authors: Deng Jie , Smith Ian , Bae Chulheung , Rairigh Phil , Miller Theodore , Surampudi Bapiraju
Published: January 2021

The responses of pouch and prismatic battery modules when they are impacted by two types of indenters from three different directions are investigated experimentally. The test results show that the failure mechanism, peak force and penetration that leads to short-circuit in modules strongly depend on the impact direction, indenter shape, cell form factor and module design. It sheds lights on the abuse tolerance of batteries in different scenarios and demonstrates that the cell type, orientation and module structure should be considered simultaneously in order to improve the battery safety in electrical vehicles.
Oxidized phosphatidylcholines trigger ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes during ischemia-reperfusion injury
Authors: Stamenkovic Aleksandra , O’Hara Kimberley A. , Nelson David C. , Maddaford Thane G. , Edel Andrea L. , Maddaford Graham , Dibrov Elena , Aghanoori MohamadReza , Kirshenbaum Lorrie A. , Fernyhough Paul , Aliani Michel , Pierce Grant N. , Ravandi Amir
Published: January 2021

Oxidized phosphatidylcholines (OxPC) generated during reperfusion injury are potent inducers of cardiomyocyte death. Our studies have shown that OxPCs exert this effect through a ferroptotic process that can be attenuated. A better understanding of the OxPC cell death pathway can prove a novel strategy for prevention of cell death during myocardial reperfusion injury.
Collapse Potential of Loess under Unloading Effect
Authors: Jin Xin , Wang Tie-Hang , Zhao Zai-Kun , Zhang Liang , Hao Yan-Zhou
Published: January 2021

Collapsible loess is generally characterized by a sudden and substantial decrease in volume that occurs when is applied under constant stress. To evaluate the loess collapse potential, the self‐weight collapse and collapse coefficients have been defined by the code for building construction in collapsible loess regions. However, the method in the code does not account for the vertical stress variation. The loess collapse process commonly occurs with stress variation in practice. This paper documents a low‐cost, quantitative evaluation scheme using regression analysis to evaluate the loess collapse potential by varying the unloading levels. The results show that the factors that prominently account for loess collapse deformation are the initial pressure, unloading ratio, and collapse completed‐ratio. At a constant collapse‐completed ratio, the remnant collapse coefficient significantly decreases with the decreasing unloading ratio; at a constant unloading ratio, the remnant collapse coefficient increases with a decreasing collapse‐completed ratio. Decreasing unloading and collapse‐completed ratios decreased the loess collapse potential with an initial pressure that exceeds the threshold value. Finally, an unloading collapse deformation calculation of loess was prepared to analyze practical project problems of loess based on the unloading collapse test.
On Distance in Some Finite Planes and Graphs Arising from Those Planes
Authors: Dogan I. , Akpinar A.
Published: January 2021

In this paper, affine and projective graphs are obtained from affine and projective planes of order

p

r

by accepting a line as a path. Some properties of these affine and projective graphs are investigated. Moreover, a definition of distance is given in the affine and projective planes of order

p

r

and, with the help of this distance definition, the point or points having the most advantageous (central) position in the corresponding graphs are determined, with some examples being given. In addition, the concepts of a circle, ellipse, hyperbola, and parabola, which are well known for the Euclidean plane, are carried over to these finite planes. Finally, the roles of finite affine and projective Klingenberg planes in all the results obtained are considered and their equivalences in graph applications are discussed.
A Note on the Górnicki-Proinov Type Contraction
Authors: Karapınar Erdal , De La Sen Manuel , Fulga Andreea
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we propose a notion of the Górnicki-Proinov type contraction. Then, we prove the uniqueness and existence of the fixed point for such mappings in the framework of the complete metric spaces. Some illustrative examples are also expressed to strengthen the observed results.
Nonlocal Fractional Hybrid Boundary Value Problems Involving Mixed Fractional Derivatives and Integrals via a Generalization of Darbo’s Theorem
Authors: Samadi Ayub , Ntouyas Sotiris K. , Tariboon Jessada
Published: January 2021

In this work, a new existence result is established for a nonlocal hybrid boundary value problem which contains one left Caputo and one right Riemann–Liouville fractional derivatives and integrals. The main result is proved by applying a new generalization of Darbo’s theorem associated with measures of noncompactness. Finally, an example to justify the theoretical result is also presented.
Knowledge and Understanding of Personal Protective Equipment Use among Laborer Population of the Nepalese Workforce
Authors: Gurung Pratikshya , Dahal Maginsh , Baral Kushalata , Pathak Ankit , Khanal Sudip
Published: January 2021

The constructing laborers are mainly unskilled, untrained, migrant, socially backward, and uneducated with low bargaining power. Thus, we assessed the knowledge and prevalence on occupational safety and health (OSH) of laborers working at private constructing sites. A descriptive cross-sectional study of 229 laborers working at private constructing sites selected by 30 cluster sampling methods from the Lalitpur metropolitan city and Mahalaxmi municipality was conducted using a structured questionnaire and observation checklist. EpiData and SPSS were used for data analysis. Most of the laborers (62%) had inadequate knowledge on OSH. The level of knowledge was significantly associated with sex, education, and family type at 95% CI (

p

value < 0.05). The prevalence of occupational accidents within a year was 19.7% and was significantly associated with the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at 95% CI (

p

value < 0.05). About one-fifth of the participants had occupational accidents within a year because of the inadequate knowledge of OSH.
Research and Development of Civil Engineering Intelligent Structure System
Authors: Xie Junkai , Gao Bo , Cheng Huamin
Published: January 2021

With the rapid development of global civil engineering construction, the intelligent structural system of civil engineering has evolved into one of the current global frontier disciplines. The research on the intelligent structural system of civil engineering and the current development situation are analyzed, and the main problems are combined. Giving reasonable suggestions is of great significance to the country′s vigorous development of civil engineering intelligent structure system. This paper designs a new type of three‐dimensional fiber grating sensor, including the design of the matrix model and the design of fiber grating strain gauges. This new sensor can effectively measure three‐dimensional space, greatly expanding the application range of fiber grating sensors. In this paper, the design lighting area of each light pipe is taken as a unit. Each unit is set with 4 measuring points at the center and the edge. Each measuring point reads 3 illuminance value parameters and records the average value. Based on the results and comprehensive consideration of the short board situation, the research conclusions and recommendations are put forward. The foundation wall with aerated concrete blocks as the wall material can meet the requirements of 50% energy saving for exterior wall buildings with external decoration and internal insulation mortar. Compared with the benchmark wall of 50% energy saving of external wall buildings, the heat transfer coefficient is reduced by 50.1%, and the actual energy‐saving effect of the wall can reach 75%. Meet the requirements of 65% for the energy‐saving effect of exterior wall buildings. This paper considers economic parameters, such as the investment cost of building insulation materials, energy‐saving income, and investment recovery period, and establishes a calculation model for analyzing the economics of insulation materials. Based on the heat transfer model of the composite wall and the fuel energy combustion equation, greenhouse gas is an established calculation model for CO2 and SO2 emissions. Studies have shown that when considering the room temperature insulation performance of insulation materials, the time required for the side of the concrete slab with glass fiber felt and aerogel insulation materials is about 2022 and 3363 s, respectively, indicating the fire resistance of aerogel insulation materials significantly better than fiberglass.
Modelling of User Behaviour for Static Rebalancing of Bike Sharing System: Transfer of Demand from Bike-Shortage Stations to Neighbouring Stations
Authors: Costa Affonso Roberta , Couffin Florent , Leclaire Patrice
Published: January 2021

Bike sharing systems are becoming more and more common around the world. One of the main difficulties is to ensure the availability of bicycles in order to satisfy users. To achieve this objective, managers of these systems set up rebalancing vehicles that displace bicycles to stations that are likely to be in a situation of bike shortage. In order to determine which stations must be supplied on a priority basis and the number of bicycles to be supplied (named in this paper as rebalancing plan), the aim is generally to reduce the lost demand for each station, i.e., the gap between the demand for bicycles and the number of bicycles at a station. On the one hand, this paper proposes an algorithm that evaluates the lost demand in a more realistic way, by describing the behaviour of users faced with a bike-shortage station. It takes into account the possibility that a proportion of users who cannot find bicycles will move to a neighbouring station that is not empty. This proportion depends on the distance between stations and corresponds to the number of users willing to walk a given distance to a neighbouring station. On the other hand, this algorithm provides the value of the objective function to be minimized to a static rebalancing plan algorithm based on a Random Search metaheuristic. The quantities of bicycles to be picked up and dropped off at each station are calculated in a static rebalancing context. The calculation of lost demand based on this algorithm, which simulates user behaviour, was compared with that one obtained by the classical method on a real numerical example obtained from the open data of Parisian Vélibʼ (more than 1200 stations). In addition, the efficiency of the rebalancing algorithm coupled with the user behaviour simulation algorithm was evaluated on this numerical example and allowed to obtain very good results compared to the rebalancing performed by the system operator.
No‐Reference Stereoscopic Image Quality Assessment Based on Binocular Statistical Features and Machine Learning
Authors: Xu Peng , Guo Man , Chen Lei , Hu Weifeng , Chen Qingshan , Li Yujun
Published: January 2021

Learning a deep structure representation for complex information networks is a vital research area, and assessing the quality of stereoscopic images or videos is challenging due to complex 3D quality factors. In this paper, we explore how to extract effective features to enhance the prediction accuracy of perceptual quality assessment. Inspired by the structure representation of the human visual system and the machine learning technique, we propose a no‐reference quality assessment scheme for stereoscopic images. More specifically, the statistical features of the gradient magnitude and Laplacian of Gaussian responses are extracted to form binocular quality‐predictive features. After feature extraction, these features of distorted stereoscopic image and its human perceptual score are used to construct a statistical regression model with the machine learning technique. Experimental results on the benchmark databases show that the proposed model generates image quality prediction well correlated with the human visual perception and delivers highly competitive performance with the typical and representative methods. The proposed scheme can be further applied to the real‐world applications on video broadcasting and 3D multimedia industry.
Animal Experiment of a Novel Neurointerventional Surgical Robotic System with Master-Slave Mode
Authors: Liu Keyun , Jiang Yuhua , Li Youxiang
Published: January 2021

In order to inspect and improve the system performance of the neuro-interventional surgical robot and its effectiveness and safety in clinical applications, we conducted ten animal experiments using this robotic system. Cerebral angiography was performed on ten experimental animals, and various mechanical performance indicators, operating time, X-ray radiation dosage to the experimental animals and the experimenter, and arterial damage in the experimental animals were recorded when the robotic system completed cerebral angiography. The results show that the robotic system can successfully complete the cerebral angiography surgery, and the mechanical performance is up to standard. The operating time is almost the same as the physician’s operating time. And the mean X-ray radiation dosage received by the experimental animals and experimenter was 0.893 Gy and 0.0859 mSv, respectively. There were no complications associated with damage to the vascular endothelium. The robotic system can basically complete the relevant assessment indicators, and its system performance, effectiveness, and safety in clinical applications meet the standards, basically meeting the requirements of clinical applications of neurointerventional surgery.
Effects of Basketball and Baduanjin Exercise Interventions on Problematic Smartphone Use and Mental Health among College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Xiao Tao , Jiao Can , Yao Jie , Yang Lin , Zhang Yanjie , Liu Shijie , Grabovac Igor , Yu Qian , Kong Zhaowei , Yu Jane Jie , Zhang Jieting
Published: January 2021

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become a prevalent issue worldwide. Previous studies suggest that physical exercising may effectively reduce smartphone users’ addiction levels. Comparisons and further evaluations on the long-term effects of different types of exercise-based interventions on treating PSU remain to be investigated. Objective. We investigated if group-based basketball and Baduanjin exercise (a type of Qigong) would reduce PSU and improve the mental health of college students and whether such effects would be sustained. A twelve-week experiment was conducted, where 96 eligible Chinese college students with PSU were randomly assigned to two intervention arms (i.e., basketball and Baduanjin exercises) and a control arm. Outcome measures, including PSU (measured by the Mobile Phone Addiction Index in Chinese (MPAI)) and mental health indices for anxiety (measured by Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SRAS)), loneliness (measured by the short-form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS)), inadequacy (measured by the revised Janis and Field’s Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (FIS)), and stress (measured by the Chinese version of Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS)) were collected at the baseline, the end of week 12, and the two-month follow-up. A Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) model for longitudinal data was utilized in analyses. Results. Both exercise interventions demonstrated significant effects on decreasing PSU (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
<
0.01

), feelings of anxiety (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
=
0.04

), loneliness (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
<
0.01

), inadequacy (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
<
0.01

), and perceived stress (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
=
0.04

), at the end of interventions. At two months after interventions, both exercise interventions demonstrated significant effects on decreasing PSU (basketball:

p
<
0.05

; Baduanjin:

p
<
0.05

), feelings of anxiety (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
=
0.03

), loneliness (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
<
0.01

), and inadequacy (basketball:

p
<
0.01

; Baduanjin:

p
=
0.01

), but not for feeling of stress. Furthermore, group-based basketball demonstrated larger improvements for all these significant results on reducing PSU and meanwhile improving their related mental health parameters among college students.
Eosinophile Granulomatose mit Polyangiitis (eGPA) in der Niere: Glomerulonephritis und interstitielle Nephritis
Authors: von Vietinghoff Sibylle
Published: January 2021

Objective: Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a systemic small-vessel vasculitis characterized by asthma, hypereosinophilia and ANCA positivity in 40% of patients. Renal involvement is rare and poorly described, leading to this renal biopsy-proven based study in a large EGPA cohort. Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicentre study including patients fulfilling the 1990 ACR criteria and/or the 2012 revised Chapel Hill Consensus Conference criteria for EGPA and/or the modified criteria of the MIRRA trial, with biopsy-proven nephropathy. Results: Sixty-three patients [27 women, median age 60 years (18–83)] were included. Renal disease was present at vasculitis diagnosis in 54 patients (86%). ANCA were positive in 53 cases (84%) with anti-MPO specificity in 44 (83%). All patients had late-onset asthma. Peripheral neuropathy was present in 29 cases (46%), alveolar haemorrhage in 10 (16%). The most common renal presentation was acute renal failure (75%). Renal biopsy revealed pauci-immune necrotizing GN in 49 cases (78%). Membranous nephropathy (10%) and membranoproliferative GN (3%) were mostly observed in ANCA-negative patients. Pure acute interstitial nephritis was found in six cases (10%); important interstitial inflammation was observed in 28 (44%). All patients received steroids with adjunctive immunosuppression in 54 cases (86%). After a median follow-up of 51 months (1–296), 58 patients (92%) were alive, nine (14%) were on chronic dialysis and two (3%) had undergone kidney transplantation. Conclusion: Necrotizing pauci-immune GN is the most common renal presentation in ANCA-positive EGPA. ANCA-negative patients had frequent atypical renal presentation with other glomerulopathies such as membranous nephropathy. An important eosinophilic interstitial infiltration was observed in almost 50% of cases.
The Green and Blue Trame, matriz da renovação do planejamento metropolitano no Brasil: reflexões a partir da experiência de Belo Horizonte
Authors: Costa Heloisa Soares de Moura , Monte-Mór Roberto Luís de Melo , Costa Geraldo Magela
Published: January 2021

No Brasil o planejamento, que priorizou o controle do solo, hoje tenta incorporar a natureza. Este texto discute a experiência, real e virtual, de planejamento metropolitano em Belo Horizonte, focada na participação de sujeitos-cidadãos ativos em novas relações entre natureza e cidade-região. A reestruturação metropolitana proposta se inspira na trama verde e azul francesa, ampliada pela totalidade lefebvriana dos espaços percebido, concebido e vivido. Políticas priorizando espaços de vida, valores de uso e bens comuns, incentivam práticas existentes e potenciais, no Estado e na sociedade.
A agricultura urbana na Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), dividida entre desejo dos moradores da cidade e ação pública
Authors: Robert Amélie , Yengué Jean Louis , Augis Fanny , Motelica-Heino Mikael , Hien Edmond , Sanou Alain
Published: January 2021

Na França e mais amplamente na Europa, como em Portugal, assistímos hoje a um verdadeiro boom da agricultura urbana: os moradores estão em demanda desse tipo de natureza alimentícia e o interesse das autoridades públicas está crescendo. Deste modo, podemos falar de congruência entre a natureza vivida e a natureza ativa, entre as representações, os desejos do povo da cidade e as ações e estratégias dos decisores públicos. Mas será que encontramos o mesmo em todos os lugares? Neste caso, a agricultura urbana sempre possui uma imagem positiva? Existe uma concordância de pontos de vista? Não existe ao contrário, possíveis divergências, lacunas entre os moradores da cidade e os tomadores de decisão? Nossa pesquisa, conduzida como parte de um projeto financiado pela Rede Nacional de MSH, se concentrou em Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Nós temos realizado observações in situ, entrevistas com agricultores e tomadores de decisão, complementados com uma análise de documentos de planejamento. Na capital de Burkina Faso, a agricultura urbana conheceu um forte aumento em sua área de superfície: essa natureza « alimentícia » é popular entre os moradores da cidade. No entanto, não é uma das escolhas oficialmente considerada no planejamento urbano. Estas pesquisas revelam divergências de pontos de vista entre agricultores e decisores públicos, o que nos apresentamos nesta contribuição.
O processo de cocriação de valor nas experiências de consumo colaborativo em turismo
Authors: Aquino Lucas Pereira Tomaz de , Barbosa Maria de Lourdes de Azevedo , Barbosa José William de Queiroz
Published: January 2021

Este estudo buscou melhor compreender como ocorre a construção da cocriação de valor durante as experiências de turistas usuários das plataformas de consumo colaborativo, tendo como objeto de estudo o aplicativo de caronas BlaBlaCar. Para dar suporte teórico à pesquisa, foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico sobre as experiências de consumo, a co-criação de valor e o consumo colaborativo. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, a natureza qualitativa da pesquisa foi adotada, optando-se pela estratégia do estudo de caso. Para a coleta dos dados foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com usuários da mencionada plataforma, bem como foi elaborado um roteiro para observação do conteúdo do site como forma de realizar um contraponto entre os dados. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram reconhecer a tendência a adoção de novos tipos de serviços colaborativos, bem como a mudança do comportamento dos consumidores. Obteve-se também uma melhor compreensão de como as experiências são desenvolvidas, identificando como ocorre a participação entre ofertantes e demandantes de serviços nesses novos formatos possibilitados por rede de computadores.
Syntactic Ergativity as a Constraint on Crossing Dependencies: The Perspective from Mayan
Authors: Tollan Rebecca , Clemens Lauren
Published: January 2021

This article presents an account of syntactic ergativity based on the grammaticalization of a processing-based preference for nested as compared with crossing dependencies. We propose that ergative subject extraction restrictions arise because such movement would cross the prior Ā-movement path of the absolutive object and create an illicit crossed dependency. Our account predicts that arguments merged between the A-movement tails of the absolutive DP cannot extract, whereas arguments merged above or below them can. In developing an approach to syntactic ergativity grounded in sentence processing, we highlight the need for deeper conversation among formal, typological, and processing-driven syntax.
Unsupervised Discovery, Control, and Disentanglement of Semantic Attributes With Applications to Anomaly Detection
Authors: Paul William , Wang I-Jeng , Alajaji Fady , Burlina Philippe
Published: January 2021

Our work focuses on unsupervised and generative methods that address the following goals: (1) learning unsupervised generative representations that discover latent factors controlling image semantic attributes, (2) studying how this ability to control attributes formally relates to the issue of latent factor disentanglement, clarifying related but dissimilar concepts that had been confounded in the past, and (3) developing anomaly detection methods that leverage representations learned in the first goal. For goal 1, we propose a network architecture that exploits the combination of multiscale generative models with mutual information (MI) maximization. For goal 2, we derive an analytical result, lemma 1 , that brings clarity to two related but distinct concepts: the ability of generative networks to control semantic attributes of images they generate, resulting from MI maximization, and the ability to disentangle latent space representations, obtained via total correlation minimization. More specifically, we demonstrate that maximizing semantic attribute control encourages disentanglement of latent factors. Using lemma 1 and adopting MI in our loss function, we then show empirically that for image generation tasks, the proposed approach exhibits superior performance as measured in the quality and disentanglement of the generated images when compared to other state-of-the-art methods, with quality assessed via the Fréchet inception distance (FID) and disentanglement via mutual information gap. For goal 3, we design several systems for anomaly detection exploiting representations learned in goal 1 and demonstrate their performance benefits when compared to state-of-the-art generative and discriminative algorithms. Our contributions in representation learning have potential applications in addressing other important problems in computer vision, such as bias and privacy in AI.
Mapping Low-Dimensional Dynamics to High-Dimensional Neural Activity: A Derivation of the Ring Model From the Neural Engineering Framework
Authors: Barak Omri , Romani Sandro
Published: January 2021

Empirical estimates of the dimensionality of neural population activity are often much lower than the population size. Similar phenomena are also observed in trained and designed neural network models. These experimental and computational results suggest that mapping low-dimensional dynamics to high-dimensional neural space is a common feature of cortical computation. Despite the ubiquity of this observation, the constraints arising from such mapping are poorly understood. Here we consider a specific example of mapping low-dimensional dynamics to high-dimensional neural activity—the neural engineering framework. We analytically solve the framework for the classic ring model—a neural network encoding a static or dynamic angular variable. Our results provide a complete characterization of the success and failure modes for this model. Based on similarities between this and other frameworks, we speculate that these results could apply to more general scenarios.
Joint Structure and Parameter Optimization of Multiobjective Sparse Neural Network
Authors: Huang Junhao , Sun Weize , Huang Lei
Published: January 2021

This work addresses the problem of network pruning and proposes a novel joint training method based on a multiobjective optimization model. Most of the state-of-the-art pruning methods rely on user experience for selecting the sparsity ratio of the weight matrices or tensors, and thus suffer from severe performance reduction with inappropriate user-defined parameters. Moreover, networks might be inferior due to the inefficient connecting architecture search, especially when it is highly sparse. It is revealed in this work that the network model might maintain sparse characteristic in the early stage of the backpropagation (BP) training process, and evolutionary computation-based algorithms can accurately discover the connecting architecture with satisfying network performance. In particular, we establish a multiobjective sparse model for network pruning and propose an efficient approach that combines BP training and two modified multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs). The BP algorithm converges quickly, and the two MOEAs can search for the optimal sparse structure and refine the weights, respectively. Experiments are also included to prove the benefits of the proposed algorithm. We show that the proposed method can obtain a desired Pareto front (PF), leading to a better pruning result comparing to the state-of-the-art methods, especially when the network structure is highly sparse.
The Sequence of Mediation Efforts in the Conflict between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army
Authors: Aduda Levke
Published: January 2021

What impact have different mediation outcomes had on subsequent mediation onset and success in the conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)? Intrastate conflicts commonly see more than one mediation effort. These efforts can result in different outcomes. Assessing the impact of different mediation outcomes on subsequent mediation efforts in the conflict between the governments of Uganda and the LRA, it becomes apparent that reneged agreements have aggravated subsequent mediation efforts, while mediation ending without an agreement and previous mediation success do not reduce the chances of subsequent mediation onset (and success). This suggests that short-lived agreements are not only likely to lead to renewed conflict, but also make further mediation efforts more difficult.
Personal Meanings Inspired by the Beauty of Paintings
Authors: Oleś Piotr , Chmielnicka-Kuter Elżbieta , Jankowski Tomasz , Francuz Piotr , Augustynowicz Paweł , Łysiak Małgorzata
Published: January 2021

For many generations, works of art have been a source for experiencing beauty. They add to the wealth of our culture because they convey universal themes and values. In this study, we treat paintings as a stimulus for personal story-telling. The purpose was to explore the affective quality of personal meanings present in autobiographical narratives. Our findings show that subjective ratings of the beauty of figurative paintings are linked with the quality and theme of personal experiences recalled in response to viewing them, but not related to the length of the story. ‘Beautiful’ pictures elicit descriptions of desirable experiences associated with passive contemplation and satisfied self-enhancement motive. ‘Non-beautiful’ pictures call to mind difficult experiences linked with frustration. The experts formulated longer self-narratives inspired by paintings rated beautiful in comparison to laypersons, and laypersons formulated longer self-narratives inspired by paintings rated not beautiful in comparison to experts. The results are discussed in connection to the nature of the aesthetic experience and specificity of personal maenings.
On the nomenclatural type of Sohmaea barbaticaulis (Fabaceae)
Authors: KUMAR ANAND
Published: January 2021

The genus Sohmaea H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi (2018: 159) is characterized by predominantly linear loments with narrowly oblong-elliptic articles and comprises eight species, distributed in India through SE Asia to China and Taiwan (Ohashi & Ohashi 2018, Ohashi et al. 2018). The name Uraria barbata Lace (1915: 397) was described based on several gatherings from Myanmar. The proposed name U. barbata Lace was preoccupied for U. barbata (Linnaeus 1759: 1170) Desvaux (1826: 309) and thus, U. barbata Lace is a later homonym of the U. barbata (Linnaeus) Desvaux. Therefore, Iokawa et al. (2004: 226) proposed a replacement name U. barbaticaulis for U. barbata Lace. Later, Ohashi et al. (2018: 305) transferred the name U. barbaticaulis to Sohmaea barbaticaulis (Iokawa, T.Nemoto, J.Murata & H.Ohashi) H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi based on the phylogenetic study. The species is characterized by stems barbate, leaves dimorphic with 1-foliolate leaves in the upper portion and pinnately 3-foliolate leaves in the lower portion or 1-foliolate leaves throughout, leaflets large ovate, inflorescences axillary or terminal, pseudoracemes, fasciculate, (1 or) 2–4 per axil, flowers in clusters of 3–12 per node, loments plicate, hooked hairy (Iokawa et al. 2004, Ohashi et al. 2018, Tokaew et al. 2020). The species was earlier thought to be endemic to Myanmar until its new record from Thailand in 2020 (Lace 1915, De Haas et al. 1980, Kumar & Sane 2003, Iokawa et al. 2004, Tokaew et al. 2020), but being a rare species it is worthy of in situ monitoring for its conservation (Maxted et al. 2001, Marod & Kutintara 2012, Kawada et al. 2020, Murray et al. 2020, Perrino & Perrino 2020).
Phylogeny and taxonomy of Meeboldia, Sinodielsia and their relatives (Apiaceae: Apioideae) inferred from nrDNA ITS, plastid DNA intron (rpl16 and rps16) sequences and morphological characters

Authors: GOU WEI , GUO XIAN-LIN , ZHOU SONG-DONG , HE XING-JIN
Published: January 2021

Meeboldia H.Wolff, Sinodielsia H.Wolff and their relatives (Apiaceae: Apioideae) are similar in morphology, of which taxonomic treatments were controversial. In this study, the nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence (ITS) and two plastid DNA markers (rps16 and rpl16) were applied to reconstruct phylogenetic trees. The results demonstrated that Meeboldia and Sinodielsia formed a monophyletic group in phylogenetic trees and their highly similar morphological characteristics in taproot, basal leaves, calyx teeth, ribs, and vittae of fruits also confirmed their close relationships. Consequently, the following results were obtained: (1) Sinodielsia should be merged into Meeboldia; (2) Sinodielsia delavayi was confirmed conspecific with Meeboldia yunnanensis and renamed as Meeboldia delavayi (Franch.) W.Gou & X.J.He; (3) Sinodielsia thibetica was away from other Sinodielsia species; (4) Sinodielsia microloba was a member of Meeboldia and renamed as Meeboldia microloba (Kljuykov) W.Gou & X.J.He; (5) The name of Sinodielsia clade was suggested to be replaced by Hymenidium clade. We applied multiple approaches to explore the relationship of morphologically similar taxa, which will facilitate a deep understanding of taxonomy and species diversity of Apiaceae.
Fagopyrum longistylum (Polygonaceae), a new species from Sichuan, China
Authors: ZHANG KAIXUAN , FAN YU , WENG WENFENG , TANG YU , ZHOU MEILIANG
Published: January 2021

A new species of Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae), Fagopyrum longistylum, is described and illustrated from Huili County, Sichuan Province, China on the basis of morphological, caryological, and molecular data. F. longistylum is morphologically similar to F. gracilipes from which it differs in having green stem and short-styled flowers with long anther but it is self-compatible. In addition, F. longistylum is a diploid species with 2n=2x=16 while F. gracilipes is tetraploid with 4n=4x=32. Molecular data based on nucleotide sequence polymorphisms of internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) and the maturase K (matK) gene confirm the separation of the new species.