bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vape shop and consumer activity during COVID-19 non-essential business closures in the USA
Authors: Berg Carla J , Callanan Rachel , Johnson Trent O , Schliecher Nina C , Sussman Steve , Wagener Theodore L , Meaney Mark , Henriksen Lisa
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Vaping and vape shops pose risk for COVID-19 and its transmission.

Objectives

We examined vape shop non-compliance with state-ordered business closures during COVID-19, changes in their marketing and experiences among consumers.

Methods

As part of a longitudinal study of vape retail in six metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs; Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Diego and Seattle), we conducted: (1) legal research to determine whether statewide COVID-19 orders required vape shops to close; (2) phone-based and web-based surveillance to assess vape shop activity in March–June 2020 during shelter-in-place periods; and (3) a concurrent online survey of e-cigarette users about their experiences with vape retail.

Results

Non-essential business closure varied in timing/duration across states and applied to vape shops in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma (for a brief period) and Washington (Georgia’s orders were ambiguous). Surveillance analysis focused on the five MSAs in these states. Of 156 vape shops, 53.2% were open as usual, 11.5% permanently closed and 3.8% temporarily closed; 31.4% offered pick-up/delivery services. Among survey respondents (n=354, Mage=23.9±4.6; 46.9% male, 71.8% white, 13.0% Hispanic), 27.4% worried their vape shop would close/go out of business during COVID-19; 7.3% said their vape shop did so. Few noticed increases in vape product delivery options (7.3%), discounts/price promotions (9.9%) and/or prices (9.3%). While 20.3% stockpiled vape products, 20.3% tried to reduce use and 15.8% tried to quit.

Conclusions

Many vape shops were non-compliant with state COVID-19 orders. E-cigarette users were as likely to stockpile vape products as to attempt to reduce or quit using e-cigarettes.
‘The RCVS should not change the standard of proof in disciplinary cases’
Authors: Nevin Gillian
Published: October 2020

Gillian Nevin argues that vets would be unfairly disadvantaged if the RCVS changes to a civil standard of proof in disciplinary cases.
We must take a One Health approach to improve pandemic infection control
Authors: Benfield Camilla TO , Heymann David , Clark Judy MacArthur , Trees AJ , Sethia Babulal
Published: October 2020

The Covid‐19 pandemic must serve as a wake‐up call to work more collaboratively between medical and veterinary practitioners, biologists and environmentalists say Camilla Benfield, David Heymann, Judy MacArthur Clark, AJ Trees and Babulal Sethia
Sleep timing, sleep consistency, and health in adults: a systematic review
Authors: Chaput Jean-Philippe , Dutil Caroline , Featherstone Ryan , Ross Robert , Giangregorio Lora , Saunders Travis J. , Janssen Ian , Poitras Veronica J. , Kho Michelle E. , Ross-White Amanda , Zankar Sarah , Carrier Julie
Published: October 2020

The objective of this systematic review was to examine the associations between sleep timing (e.g., bedtime/wake-up time, midpoint of sleep), sleep consistency/regularity (e.g., intra-individual variability in sleep duration, social jetlag, catch-up sleep), and health outcomes in adults aged 18 years and older. Four electronic databases were searched in December 2018 for articles published in the previous 10 years. Fourteen health outcomes were examined. A total of 41 articles, including 92 340 unique participants from 14 countries, met inclusion criteria. Sleep was assessed objectively in 37% of studies and subjectively in 63% of studies. Findings suggest that later sleep timing and greater sleep variability were generally associated with adverse health outcomes. However, because most studies reported linear associations, it was not possible to identify thresholds for “late sleep timing” or “large sleep variability”. In addition, social jetlag was associated with adverse health outcomes, while weekend catch-up sleep was associated with better health outcomes. The quality of evidence ranged from “very low” to “moderate” across study designs and health outcomes using GRADE. In conclusion, the available evidence supports that earlier sleep timing and regularity in sleep patterns with consistent bedtimes and wake-up times are favourably associated with health. (PROSPERO registration no.: CRD42019119534.)

Novelty This is the first systematic review to examine the influence of sleep timing and sleep consistency on health outcomes. Later sleep timing and greater variability in sleep are both associated with adverse health outcomes in adults. Regularity in sleep patterns with consistent bedtimes and wake-up times should be encouraged.
Neutrino oscillation in the q-metric
Authors: Boshkayev Kuantay , Luongo Orlando , Muccino Marco
Published: October 2020

We investigate neutrino oscillation in the field of an axially symmetric space-time, employing the so-called q-metric, in the context of general relativity. Following the standard approach, we compute the phase shift invoking the weak and strong field limits and small deformation. To do so, we consider neutron stars, white dwarfs and supernovae as strong gravitational regimes whereas the solar system as weak field regime. We argue that the inclusion of the quadrupole parameter leads to the modification of the well-known results coming from the spherical solution due to the Schwarschild space-time. Hence, we show that in the solar system regime, considering the Earth and Sun, there is a weak probability to detect deviations from the flat case, differently from the case of neutron stars and white dwarfs in which this probability is larger. Thus, we heuristically discuss some implications on constraining the free parameters of the phase shift by means of astrophysical neutrinos. A few consequences in cosmology and possible applications for future space experiments are also discussed throughout the text.
General high-order breather, lump, and semi-rational solutions to the (2+1)-dimensional generalized Bogoyavlensky–Konopelchenko equation
Authors: Zhou Xin-Mei , Tian Shou-Fu , Zhang Ling-Di , Zhang Tian-Tian
Published: October 2020

In this work, we investigate the (2+1)-dimensional generalized Bogoyavlensky–Konopelchenko (gBK) equation. Based on its bilinear form, the [Formula: see text]th-order breather solutions of the gBK equation are successful given by taking appropriate parameters. Furthermore, the [Formula: see text]th-order lump solutions of the gBK equation are obtained via the long-wave limit method. In addition, the semi-rational solutions are generated to reveal the interaction between lump solutions, soliton solutions, and breather solutions.
A Revisit of Metrics for Test Case Prioritization Problems
Authors: Wang Ziyuan , Fang Chunrong , Chen Lin , Zhang Zhiyi
Published: October 2020

For the test case prioritization problems, the average percent of faults detected (APFD) and its variant versions are widely used as metrics to evaluate prioritized test suite’s efficiency of fault detection. By a revisit of metrics for test case prioritization, we observe that APFD is only available for the scenarios where all test suites under evaluation contain the same number of test cases. Such a limitation is often overlooked, and lead to incorrect results when comparing fault detection efficiency of test suites with different sizes. Moreover, APFD cannot precisely illustrate the process of fault detection in the real world. Besides the APFD, most of its variants, including the NAPFD and the APFD[Formula: see text], have similar problems. This paper points out these limitations in detail by analyzing the physical explanation of APFD series metrics formally. In order to eliminate these limitations, we propose a series of improved metrics, including the relative average percent of faults detected (RAPFD) and the relative cost-cognizant weighted average percent of faults detected (RAPFD[Formula: see text]), to evaluate the efficiency of the test suite. Furthermore, for the scenario of parallel testing, a series of metrics including the relative average percent of faults detected in parallel testing ([Formula: see text]-RAPFD) and the relative cost-cognizant weighted average percent of faults detected in parallel testing ([Formula: see text]-RAPFD[Formula: see text]) are proposed too. All the proposed metrics refer to both the speed of fault detection and the constraint of the testing resource. A formal analysis and some examples show that all the proposed metrics provide much more precise illustrations of the fault detection process.
OPTIMAL ANALYSIS OF THE HYDRAULIC AND MIXING PERFORMANCES OF SYMMETRIC T-SHAPED RECTANGULAR MICROCHANNEL MIXER
Authors: ZHAN XUEKUAN , CHEN GUANGSHENG , JING DALEI
Published: October 2020

This paper theoretically and numerically investigates the hydraulic resistance, mixing efficiency, and comprehensive mixing and hydraulic performance characterized by the outlet mixing efficiency to hydraulic resistance ratio of the symmetric T-shaped rectangular microchannel mixer with uniform channel height. The influences of multi-parameters including width ratio of inlet channel and outlet channel, channel height, and two different inlet conditions of inlet velocity and inlet flowrate on the hydraulic and mixing performance of the micromixer are investigated. This work found that the comprehensive performance first increases and then decreases with the increasing channel width ratio of inlet channel and outlet channel, indicating the existence of an optimal channel width ratio to reach the best comprehensive mixing and hydraulic performance. This result is similar to the conclusion of classical Murray’s law and can be considered as an extension of classical Murray’s law in the field of microscale mixing. The effects of the channel height, channel length ratio and different inlet conditions on the optimal width ratio are analyzed.
EFFECT OF FILTERS ON MULTIVARIATE MULTIFRACTAL DETRENDED FLUCTUATION ANALYSIS
Authors: FAN QINGJU , LI DAN , LING GUANG , WANG FANG , LIU SHUANGGUI
Published: October 2020

We investigate how various linear and nonlinear filters affect the scaling properties of long-range power-law multivariate synthetic series quantified by multivariate multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MV-MFDFA). We consider four types of transforms which are often encountered in physical and physiological processes: linear, nonlinear polynomial, logarithmic and power-law filters. The effect of filters is analyzed by numerical simulation of synthetic series generated by ARFIMA process and binomial multifractal model. The representation of auto-correlation properties of synthetic series before and after the transforms is illustrated by 3D Hurst surface, and the difference of effect is quantified by the proposed generalized mean distance. We find that the linear filters do not change the scaling properties of both synthetic series, while the effect of nonlinear polynomial is correlated with the power of the polynomial filter. For logarithmic and exponential filter, the scaling behavior is not affected for some values of the parameters.
COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS OF TIME SERIES BASED ON GENERALIZED FRACTIONAL ORDER DUAL-EMBEDDED DIMENSIONAL MULTIVARIATE MULTISCALE DISPERSION ENTROPY
Authors: WANG YU , SHANG PENGJIAN
Published: October 2020

Based on the theories of multivariate multiscale dispersion entropy, we propose an improved new model — dual-embedded dimensional multivariate multiscale dispersion entropy (mvMDE), and generalize the new model to fractional order (GmvMDE). The mvMDE and GmvMDE simultaneously consider the cross-correlation between multiple channels, and they provide a dynamic complexity measure for measuring the multivariable data observed in one system. We introduce dual embedded dimensions to construct subsequences, which makes the model more flexible and applicable to a variety of application scenarios. Through empirical analysis of simulated data and stock market data, this paper verifies that both mvMDE and GmvMDE can effectively measure and distinguish the sequence complexity, and GmvMDE can better capture the small evolution of sequences, with higher stability and accuracy. On the basis of mvMDE research, we also propose the multiscale system dispersion entropy (MSDE) and its fractional order form (GMSDE). Using the vector-to-vector distance quantization method, the relationship between individuals in the system can be better extracted, and the systemic complexity of financial portfolio can be measured from the time dimension and the space dimension simultaneously. The empirical analysis based on the data of major industries in Chinese stock market shows that MSDE and GMSDE can accurately capture the structural information in the system and effectively distinguish the complexity of financial portfolios.
Wolff type potential estimates for stationary Stokes systems with Dini-BMO coefficients
Authors: Ma Lingwei , Zhang Zhenqiu
Published: October 2020

The pointwise gradient estimate for weak solution pairs to the stationary Stokes system with Dini-[Formula: see text] coefficients is established via the Havin–Maz’ya–Wolff type nonlinear potential of the nonhomogeneous term. In addition, we present a pointwise bound for the weak solutions under no extra regularity assumption on the coefficients.
Residually finite dimensional algebras and polynomial almost identities
Authors: Larsen Michael , Shalev Aner
Published: October 2020

Let [Formula: see text] be a residually finite dimensional algebra (not necessarily associative) over a field [Formula: see text]. Suppose first that [Formula: see text] is algebraically closed. We show that if [Formula: see text] satisfies a homogeneous almost identity [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text] has an ideal of finite codimension satisfying the identity [Formula: see text]. Using well known results of Zelmanov, we conclude that, if a residually finite dimensional Lie algebra [Formula: see text] over [Formula: see text] is almost [Formula: see text]-Engel, then [Formula: see text] has a nilpotent (respectively, locally nilpotent) ideal of finite codimension if char [Formula: see text] (respectively, char [Formula: see text]).

Next, suppose that [Formula: see text] is finite (so [Formula: see text] is residually finite). We prove that, if [Formula: see text] satisfies a homogeneous probabilistic identity [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text] is a coset identity of [Formula: see text]. Moreover, if [Formula: see text] is multilinear, then [Formula: see text] is an identity of some finite index ideal of [Formula: see text].

Along the way we show that if [Formula: see text] has degree [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] is a finite [Formula: see text]-algebra such that the probability that [Formula: see text] (where [Formula: see text] are randomly chosen) is at least [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text] is an identity of [Formula: see text]. This solves a ring-theoretic analogue of a (still open) group-theoretic problem posed by Dixon,
Prediction of Mechanical Properties of Seamless Steel Tubes Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Correa Ramon Santos , Sampaio Patricia Teixeira , Braga Rafael Utsch , Lambertucci Victor Alberto , Almeida Gustavo Matheus , Braga Antonio Padua
Published: October 2020

A bottleneck of laboratory analysis in process industries including steelmaking plants is the low sampling rate. Inference models using only variables measured online have then been used to made such information available in advance. This study develops predictive models for key mechanical properties of seamless steel tubes, by strength, ultimate tensile strength and hardness. A plant in Brazil was used as the case study. The sample sizes of some steel tube families given namely, yield a particular property are discrepant and sometimes very small. To overcome this sample imbalance and lack of representativeness, committees of predictive neural network models based on bagging predictors, a type of ensemble method, were adopted. As a result, all steel families for all properties have been satisfactorily described showing the correlations between targets and model estimates close to 99%. These results were compared to multiple linear regression, support vector machine and a simpler neural network. Such information available in advance favors corrective actions before complete tube production mitigating rework costs in general.
Capacitive Behavior of Sodium Ion Pre-Intercalation Manganese Dioxide Supported on Titanium Nitride Substrate
Authors: Xie Yibing
Published: October 2020

The sodium ion pre-intercalation manganese dioxide (Na[Formula: see text]MnO[Formula: see text] is supported on titanium nitride (TiN) substrate to form electroactive Na[Formula: see text]MnO2/TiN electrode through an electrodeposition process in Mn(CH3COOH)2/Na2SO4 precursors with high Mn/Na ratio. MnO2 has a tiled leaf-like structure with a wrinkling morphology. Na[Formula: see text]MnO2 has a cross-linking nanorod structure with a nanoporous morphology, which is beneficial for electrolyte ion diffusion. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation results indicate that Na[Formula: see text]MnO2 reveals the enhanced density of states (DOS) and the lowered band gap than MnO2, which is consistent with higher cyclic voltammetry current response due to superior electroactivity of Na[Formula: see text]MnO2. The Faradaic process involves Na[Formula: see text] adsorption/desorption on the surface of MnO2 by contributing to electrochemical capacitance and Na[Formula: see text] intercalation/deintercalation on the deep interlayer of pre-intercalation Na[Formula: see text]MnO2 by contributing to pseudocapacitance. Concerning the electrolyte ion size effect, both MnO2/TiN and Na[Formula: see text]MnO2/TiN electrodes have higher capacitive performance in Li2SO4 electrolyte than that in Na2SO4 and K2SO4 electrolyte due to more feasible Li[Formula: see text] diffusion. When MnO2 is converted into Na[Formula: see text]MnO2, the capacitance at 2.5 mA cm[Formula: see text] increases from 351.3 mF cm[Formula: see text] to 405.6 mF cm[Formula: see text] in Na2SO4 electrolyte and from 376.3 mF cm[Formula: see text] to 465.1 mF cm[Formula: see text] in Li2SO4 electrolyte. The conductive TiN substrate leads to high rate capacity retention ratio of 50.7% for MnO2/TiN and 49.5% for Na[Formula: see text]MnO2/TiN when current density increases from 0.5 mA cm[Formula: see text] to 5 mA cm[Formula: see text]. So, Na[Formula: see text]MnO2/TiN with sodium ion pre-intercalation exhibits the improved capacitive performance in Li2SO4 electrolyte to act well as the promising supercapacitor electrode.
Electrochemical Synthesis of Nickel–Copper Alloy Nanocomposite to Fabricate an Electrochemical Sensor for Uric Acid
Authors: Zheng Chunmei , Pei Fubin , Feng Shasha , Wu Yi , Ding Yong , Lei Wu
Published: October 2020

In this work, a sensor for quantitative detection of uric acid (UA) is successfully prepared by electrodepositing Nickel–Copper (Ni–Cu) alloy nanoparticles on poly (3,4-ethyldioxythiophene) modified nitrogen-containing grapheme (Ni–Cu/PEDOT/NGE). The anchoring of PEDOT and Cu–Ni alloy nanoparticles on NGE not only prevents the agglomeration of NGE, but also improves the catalytic activity of the composites. Ni–Cu/PEDOT/NGE shows high electrochemical performance to UA and the oxidation of UA on its interface was an action with two protons and two electrons. Under the optimized condition, the response current of the sensor is linear with UA concentration within the range of 0.1–10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M and 10–50[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M. A low detection limit of 0.059[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M at S/[Formula: see text] is obtained. Additionally, the fabricated electrochemical sensor with good sensitivity and selectivity to UA may be promising for practical clinical testing.
Canard explosion, homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits in singularly perturbed generalist predator–prey systems
Authors: Atabaigi Ali
Published: October 2020

This paper studies the dynamics of the generalist predator–prey systems modeled in [E. Alexandra, F. Lutscher and G. Seo, Bistability and limit cycles in generalist predator–prey dynamics, Ecol. Complex. 14 (2013) 48–55]. When prey reproduces much faster than predator, by combining the normal form theory of slow-fast systems, the geometric singular perturbation theory and the results near non-hyperbolic points developed by Krupa and Szmolyan [Relaxation oscillation and canard explosion, J. Differential Equations 174(2) (2001) 312–368; Extending geometric singular perturbation theory to nonhyperbolic points—fold and canard points in two dimensions, SIAM J. Math. Anal. 33(2) (2001) 286–314], we provide a detailed mathematical analysis to show the existence of homoclinic orbits, heteroclinic orbits and canard limit cycles and relaxation oscillations bifurcating from the singular homoclinic cycles. Moreover, on global stability of the unique positive equilibrium, we provide some new results. Numerical simulations are also carried out to support the theoretical results.
Total pitchfork domination and its inverse in graphs
Authors: Abdlhusein Mohammed A. , Al-Harere Manal N.
Published: October 2020

New two domination types are introduced in this paper. Let [Formula: see text] be a finite, simple, and undirected graph without isolated vertex. A dominating subset [Formula: see text] is a total pitchfork dominating set if [Formula: see text] for every [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] has no isolated vertex. [Formula: see text] is an inverse total pitchfork dominating set if [Formula: see text] is a total pitchfork dominating set of [Formula: see text]. The cardinality of a minimum (inverse) total pitchfork dominating set is the (inverse) total pitchfork domination number ([Formula: see text]) [Formula: see text]. Some properties and bounds are studied associated with maximum degree, minimum degree, order, and size of the graph. These modified domination parameters are applied on some standard and complement graphs.
Inferring Lower Runtime Bounds for Integer Programs
Authors: Frohn Florian , Naaf Matthias , Brockschmidt Marc , Giesl Jürgen
Published: October 2020

We present a technique to infer
lower
bounds on the worst-case runtime complexity of integer programs, where in contrast to earlier work, our approach is not restricted to tail-recursion. Our technique constructs symbolic representations of program executions using a framework for iterative, under-approximating program simplification. The core of this simplification is a method for (under-approximating) program acceleration based on recurrence solving and a variation of ranking functions. Afterwards, we deduce
asymptotic
lower bounds from the resulting simplified programs using a special-purpose calculus and an SMT encoding. We implemented our technique in our tool LoAT and show that it infers non-trivial lower bounds for a large class of examples.
Exploring Design Principles for Sharing of Personal Informatics Data on Ephemeral Social Media
Authors: Epstein Daniel A. , Ji Siyun , Beltran Danny , D'Haenens Griffin , Li Zhaomin , Zhou Tan
Published: October 2020

People often do not receive the engagement or responses they desire when they share on broad social media platforms. Sharers are hesitant to share trivial accomplishments, and the emphasis on data often results posts that audiences find repetitive or unengaging. Ephemeral social media's focus on self-authored content and sharing trivial accomplishments has the potential to ameliorate these challenges. We explore design principles for incorporating personal informatics data like steps, heart rate, or duration in data-driven stickers as a first step towards integrating these data into ephemeral social media. We examine the effect of a sticker's presentation style, domain, domain-relevance, and background through three surveys with 506 total participants. We uncover the importance of domain-relevant backgrounds and stickers, identify the situational value of stickers styled as analogies, embellished, and badges, and demonstrate that data-driven stickers can make ephemeral content more informative and entertaining, discussing implications for platforms and tools.
Informational Friction as a Lens for Studying Algorithmic Aspects of Privacy
Authors: Skeba Patrick , Baumer Eric P. S.
Published: October 2020

This paper addresses challenges in conceptualizing privacy posed by algorithmic systems that can infer sensitive information from seemingly innocuous data. This type of privacy is of imminent concern due to the rapid adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence systems in virtually every industry. In this paper, we suggest informational friction, a concept from Floridi's ethics of information, as a valuable conceptual lens for studying algorithmic aspects of privacy. Informational friction describes the amount of work required for one agent to access or alter the information of another. By focusing on amount of work, rather than the type of information or manner in which it is collected, informational friction can help to explain why automated analyses should raise privacy concerns independently of, and in addition to, those associated with data collection. As a demonstration, this paper analyze law enforcement use of facial recognition, andFacebook's targeted advertising model using informational friction and demonstrate risks inherent to these systems which are not completely identified in another popular framework, Nissenbaum's Contextual Integrity.The paper concludes with a discussion of broader implications, both for privacy research and for privacy regulation.
Mediating Community-AI Interaction through Situated Explanation
Authors: Kou Yubo , Gui Xinning
Published: October 2020

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become prevalent in our everyday technologies and impacts both individuals and communities. The explainable AI (XAI) scholarship has explored the philosophical nature of explanation and technical explanations, which are usually driven by experts in lab settings and can be challenging for laypersons to understand. In addition, existing XAI research tends to focus on the individual level. Little is known about how people understand and explain AI-led decisions in the community context. Drawing from XAI and activity theory, a foundational HCI theory, we theorize how explanation is situated in a community's shared values, norms, knowledge, and practices, and how situated explanation mediates community-AI interaction. We then present a case study of AI-led moderation, where community members collectively develop explanations of AI-led decisions, most of which are automated punishments. Lastly, we discuss the implications of this framework at the intersection of CSCW, HCI, and XAI.
Party Politics, Values and the Design of Social Media Services
Authors: Grön Kirsikka , Nelimarkka Matti
Published: October 2020

There have been several attempts to support political engagement through novel social media services. While the political nature of any technologies is widely acknowledged in human-computer interaction, such considerations have been less studied when designing for political engagement in social media services. We used speculative design probes to gauge how political elites perceive alternative social media interfaces designed to increase media diversity and decrease political polarisation. We show how elites? reactions to design probes could be rooted into party ideologies. Based on these, we discuss directions how social media services could be designed. Our underlying contribution is wider. We show how studying elites can provide insights about politics embedded into proposed novel social media services for political engagement. Second, we demonstrate what elites? perspective provide fruitful way to expand and rethink concepts that have been used to study ordinary people before. Finally, we discuss potential challenges of replacing economic interests with political interest in social media service design and provide a richer account on the discussion about social media regulation. Therefore, we pave the way to more research to critically study elites within social computing scholarship and highlight the importance of understanding political motivations which can guide the development of social media.
Supporting Women in Online Dating with a Messaging Interface that Improves their Face-to-Face Meeting Decisions
Authors: Zytko Douglas , Regalado Victor , Furlo Nicholas , Grandhi Sukeshini A. , Jones Quentin
Published: October 2020

This paper presents a study of a messaging interface prototype for online dating intended to improve women's face-to-face meeting decisions, and therefore the capacity to manage the gendered risks involved with such meetings. The interface prompts users with discussion topics that are potentially more valuable for user evaluation than the impression management-motivated topics often chosen by men. These topics come in the form of first-date scenarios that messaging partners either agree or disagree on. Through a mixed-methods study utilizing speed dating events, daters used the interface to interact before meeting face-to-face. Results indicate that women's face-to-face meeting decisions improve when the interface prompts them to discuss scenarios involving agreement of opinion. Men's decisions are worsened by the same interface variant, potentially due to the displayed agreement being misinterpreted as a signal of compatibility. The study ultimately stresses that designs intended for women, and at-risk groups more broadly, must also be assessed with other user demographics-namely those that pose a risk-to identify unforeseen implications.
Are You One of Us?
Authors: Chua Phoebe K. , Mazmanian Melissa
Published: October 2020

To better understand how we can broaden participation in computing, this exploratory study examines the interview process for elite internships at established technology companies. Through conducting 36 interviews with evaluators at technology companies, we find that in addition to technical competence, evaluators often assess internship applicants based on explicit and implicit signals of industrial fit, organizational fit, and individual fit. These evaluative criteria are reminiscent of prior literature linking biases in hiring to social class background. By reflecting on how our findings relate to previous studies, we suggest that evaluators? assessments of fit are potentially linked to social class background, and this might be an invisible factor contributing to hiring biases at technology companies. Given that hiring only culturally similar employees can have negative individual, organizational, and societal consequences, we propose strategies for evaluators to broaden their evaluation perspectives and to enact inclusive interviewing practices. We conclude with a call for further research on the role of social class background in the hiring process.
Circadian variation in renal blood flow and kidney function in healthy volunteers monitored with noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Eckerbom Per , Hansell Peter , Cox Eleanor , Buchanan Charlotte , Weis Jan , Palm Fredrik , Francis Susan , Liss Per
Published: October 2020

Circadian regulation of kidney function is involved in maintaining whole body homeostasis, and dysfunctional circadian rhythm can potentially be involved in disease development. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides reliable and reproducible repetitive estimates of kidney function noninvasively without the risk of adverse events associated with contrast agents and ionizing radiation. The purpose of this study was to estimate circadian variations in kidney function in healthy human subjects with MRI and to relate the findings to urinary excretions of electrolytes and markers of kidney function. Phase-contrast imaging, arterial spin labeling, and blood oxygen level-dependent transverse relaxation rate (R2*) mapping were used to assess total renal blood flow and regional perfusion as well as intrarenal oxygenation in eight female and eight male healthy volunteers every fourth hour during a 24-h period. Parallel with MRI scans, standard urinary and plasma parameters were quantified. Significant circadian variations of total renal blood flow were found over 24 h, with increasing flow from noon to midnight and decreasing flow during the night. In contrast, no circadian variation in intrarenal oxygenation was detected. Urinary excretions of electrolytes, osmotically active particles, creatinine, and urea all displayed circadian variations, peaking during the afternoon and evening hours. In conclusion, total renal blood flow and kidney function, as estimated from excretion of electrolytes and waste products, display profound circadian variations, whereas intrarenal oxygenation displays significantly less circadian variation.
Impact of hypoxia-ischemia and dopamine treatment on dopamine receptor binding density in the preterm fetal sheep brain
Authors: Wong F. Y. , Gogos A. , Hale N. , Ingelse S. A. , Brew N. , Shepherd K. L. , van den Buuse M. , Walker D. W.
Published: October 2020

This is the first study on the effects of hypoxia-ischemia and dopamine treatment on the dopaminergic pathway in the preterm brain. In the striatum of fetal sheep (equivalent to ∼26–28 wk of human gestation), we demonstrate that hypoxia-ischemia leads to cell death, reduces D1 and D2 receptors, and reduces dopamine transporter. Intravenous dopamine infusion at clinical dosage used in preterm human infants does not alter the striatal cell death, D1 and D2 receptor density levels, and DAT protein expressions after hypoxia-ischemia in the preterm brain.
Rotor Temperature Safety Prediction Method of PMSM for Electric Vehicle on Real-Time Energy Equivalence
Authors: Zhou Anjian , Du Changhong , Peng Zhiyuan , Peng Qianlei , Qin Datong
Published: October 2020

The load capacity of the permanent magnet synchronous motor is limited by the rotor temperature, and the excessive temperature of the rotor will bring potential thermal safety problems of the system. Therefore, the accurate prediction of the rotor temperature of the permanent magnet synchronous motor for the electric vehicle is crucial to improve the motor performance and system operation safety. This paper studied the heating mechanism and the energy flow path of the motor and built the heat energy conversion model of the stator and rotor. The real-time algorithm to predict the rotor temperature was constructed based on the dissipative energy conservation of the stator of the motor rotor temperature. And the prediction method of the initial rotor temperature is fitted using the experimental results when the system is powered on. Finally, the test platform was set up to validate the rotor temperature accuracy. The results show that the motor rotor temperature estimation error under the dynamic operating condition is within ±5. The research provides a solution to improve the performance and thermal safety of the permanent magnet synchronous motor for electric vehicles.
Solution of Integral Differential Equations by New Double Integral Transform (Laplace–Sumudu Transform)
Authors: Ahmed Shams A. , Elzaki Tarig M. , Hassan Abdelgabar Adam
Published: October 2020

The primary purpose of this research is to demonstrate an efficient replacement double transform named the Laplace–Sumudu transform (DLST) to unravel integral differential equations. The theorems handling fashionable properties of the Laplace–Sumudu transform are proved; the convolution theorem with an evidence is mentioned; then, via the usage of these outcomes, the solution of integral differential equations is built.
Cardioprotective Natural Compound Pinocembrin Attenuates Acute Ischemic Myocardial Injury via Enhancing Glycolysis
Authors: Zheng Yanjun , Wan Guoqing , Yang Bo , Gu Xuefeng , Lin Jingrong
Published: October 2020

Purpose. Emerging evidence has shown that pinocembrin protects the myocardium from ischemic injury in animals. However, it is unknown whether it has cardioprotection when given at the onset of reperfusion. Also, mechanisms mediating the cardioprotective actions of pinocembrin were largely unknown. Thus, this study is aimed at investigating the effects of pinocembrin postconditioning on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and the underlying mechanisms. Methods. The in vivo mouse model of myocardial I/R injury, ex vivo isolated rat heart with global I/R, and in vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury model for primary cardiomyocytes were used. Results. We found that pinocembrin postconditioning significantly reduced the infarct size and improved cardiac contractile function after acute myocardial I/R. Mechanically, in primary cardiomyocytes, we found that pinocembrin may confer protection in part via direct stimulation of cardiac glycolysis via promoting the expression of the glycolytic enzyme, PFKFB3. Besides, PFKFB3 inhibition abolished pinocembrin-induced glycolysis and protection in cardiomyocytes. More importantly, PFKFB3 knockdown via cardiotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) abrogated cardioprotective effects of pinocembrin. Moreover, we demonstrated that HIF1α is a key transcription factor driving pinocembrin-induced PFKFB3 expression in cardiomyocytes. Conclusions. In conclusion, these results established that the acute cardioprotective benefits of pinocembrin are mediated in part via enhancing PFKFB3-mediated glycolysis via HIF1α, which may provide a new therapeutic target to impede the progression of myocardial I/R injury.
Screening for Anti‐Influenza Actives of Prefractionated Traditional Chinese Medicines
Authors: Kang Qianli , Wang Yanyan , Cui Qinghua , Gong Lili , Yang Yong , Jiang Haiqiang , Rong Lijun , Rong Rong , Du Ruikun
Published: October 2020

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have proven to possess advantages in counteracting virus infections according to clinical practices. It’s therefore of great value to discover novel antivirals from TCMs. In this paper, One hundred medicinal plants which have been included in TCM prescriptions for antiviral treatment were selected and prefractionated into 5 fractions each by sequentially using cyclohexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, n‐butanol, and water. 500 TCM‐simplified extracts were then subjected to a phenotypic screening using a recombinant IAV expressing Gaussia luciferase. Ten TCM fractions were identified to possess antiviral activities against influenza virus. The IC50’s of the hit fractions range from 1.08 to 6.45 μg/mL, while the SIs, from 7.52 to 98.40. Furthermore, all the ten hit fractions inhibited the propagation of progeny influenza virus significantly at 20 μg/mL. The hit TCM fractions deserve further isolation for responsible constituents leading towards anti‐influenza drugs. Moreover, a library consisting of 500 simplified TCM extracts was established, facilitating antiviral screening in quick response to emerging and re‐emerging viruses such as Ebola virus and current SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic.
Preparation of Lignite Dust Suppressant by Compound Surfactants and Effect of Inorganic Salt on Dust Suppressant
Authors: He Jian , Shu Hao , Zhang Lei , Zhang Lei , Jia Yang , Zhao Lu , Wen Xin
Published: October 2020

In order to improve the safety, operability, and cleanability of the dust suppressant, this paper uses the surfactant monomers selected in the previous experiment as the main material formula and adds the inorganic salt as the synergist to prepare the dust suppressant for the PMX. The wetting property of the solution was characterized by the surface tension and contact angle of the pressed coal pieces. The sedimentation experiment was used to screen the compounding system of the surfactant. Finally, the dust suppressant was used to reduce the dust of the PMX in the coal dust simulation system. The results show that (1) the surfactant compounding system can effectively improve the wetting property and the sedimentation time of coal dust. The fast penetration T (0.06%), SDBS (0.15%), and APG (0.20%) are the preferred main ingredients. (2) Adding inorganic salts on the basis of compounding, according to the effect of inorganic salts on the effect of dust suppressant, it is concluded that NaCl (1.00%) is the best synergist. (3) In order to save costs, reduce the amount of surfactant. According to the simulated dust reduction experiment, formula N: anionic surfactant SDBS (0.06%), anionic surfactant fast‐permeability T (0.06%), and inorganic salt NaCl (1.00%) are the best for PMX dust fall.
Thicknesses of Macular Inner Retinal Layers in Children with Anisometropic Amblyopia
Authors: Xia Zheren , Chen Hao , Zheng Suilian
Published: October 2020

Objective. To investigate the thicknesses of macular inner retinal layers in children with anisometropic amblyopia using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT). Methods. Thirty-seven children with anisometropic amblyopia and fifty‐seven children with normal vision were recruited in the study. Both eyes of children with anisometropic amblyopia and the right eyes of normal controls underwent scanning with the Spectralis OCT. The segmentation of retinal layers was performed automatically to measure individual inner retinal layers in the five sectors of the macular. An independent sample t‐test was applied to compare the mean layer thicknesses of anisometropic eyes and fellow eyes with those of control eyes. Results. There was no significant difference in the total macular thickness between amblyopic and control eyes. However, in the peripheral macular area, three of the four quadrants of both the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and the inner plexiform layer (IPL) thicknesses were significantly reduced in amblyopic eyes compared to control eyes. Moreover, two of the four quadrants of the GCL thickness and three of the four quadrants of the IPL thickness in the peripheral macular area were significantly reduced in fellow eyes than in control eyes. Conclusion. The SD‐OCT data revealed differences in the thicknesses of some macular inner retinal layers in both eyes of children with anisometropic amblyopia compared with those with emmetropia, indicating that structural changes might exist in the retina of children with amblyopia.
Some Properties of Bifractional Bessel Processes Driven by Bifractional Brownian Motion
Authors: Sun Xichao , Guo Rui , Li Ming
Published: October 2020

Let

B
=

B
t
1

,
…
,

B
t
d

t
≥
0

be a

d

-dimensional bifractional Brownian motion and

R

t

=

B
t
1

2

+
⋯
+

B
t
d

2

be the bifractional Bessel process with the index

2
HK
≥
1

. The Itô formula for the bifractional Brownian motion leads to the equation

R

t

=

∑

i
=
1

d

∫
0
t

B
s
i

/

R

s

d

B
s
i

+
HK

d
−
1

∫
0
t

s

2
HK
−
1

/

R

s

d
s

. In the Brownian motion case

K
=
1

and

H
=

1
/
2

,

X

t

≔

∑

i
=
1

d

∫
0
t

B
s
i

/

R

s

d

B
s
i

,
 
d
≥
1

is a Brownian motion by Lévy’s characterization theorem. In this paper, we prove that process

X

t

is not a bifractional Brownian motion unless

K
=
1

and

H
=

1
/
2

. We also study some other properties and their application of this stochastic process.
Measuring Interest Rate Risk with Embedded Option Using HPL-MC Method in Fuzzy and Stochastic Environment
Authors: Tang Enlin , Du Wei
Published: October 2020

Under the condition of continuous innovation of financial derivatives and marketization of interest rate, interest rates fluctuate more frequently and fiercely, and the measurement of interest rate risk also attracts more attention. Under the premise that the fluctuation of interest rate follows fuzzy stochastic process, based on the option characteristics of financial instruments with embedded option, this paper takes effective duration and effective convexity as tools to measure interest rate risk when embedded options exist, tries to choose CIR extended model as term structure model, and uses the Monte Carlo method for hybrid low deviation sequences (HPL-MC) to analyze the prepayment characteristics of MBS, a representative financial instrument with embedded options, when interest rates fluctuate; on this basis, the effectiveness of effective duration management of interest rate risk is demonstrated with asset liability management cases of commercial banks.
Cooperative Loitering Munition Swarm Online Patrolling Route Planning with Nonlinear Seeker Measurement
Authors: Ling Haifeng , Luo Hongchuan , Bai Linyuan , Zhu Tao , Wang Qing , Yu Lidong
Published: October 2020

With the development of autonomous systems, the operational use of loitering munition is shifting from the following of a preplanned fixed route without communication to smart decision-making and collaborative cooperation with sharing information. In this paper, we study the autonomous decision-making and cooperative control strategy of online patrolling for a swarm of loitering munitions using communication to coordinate their route based on maximizing the information they gathered in the operation region. Taking the non-Gaussian nonlinear property of airborne radar seeker into account, we utilized a particle filter-based method to evaluate or to predict the information quality of each action candidate. We also implemented a coordinate descent scheme to enable a distributed and scalable swarm decision-making. Simulation results show that the proposed method provides a better estimation than baselines without the need for external or centralized decision agent.
Congenital Malaria and Its Associated Factors at Issaka Gazobi Maternity of Niamey in Niger
Authors: Tahirou I. , Zara M. O. , Moustapha M. L. , Kamayé M. , Mahamadou D. , Ibrahim A. , Daou M. , Soumana A. , Ibrahim M. L.
Published: October 2020

Background. Congenital malaria is a serious and common infection in tropical Africa. It has multiple consequences on the newborn and the mother. Objective. The objective of this study is to calculate the prevalence of congenital malaria, describe its clinical signs, and analyze its associated factors. Methodology. It is a cross-sectional and prospective study, conducted at Issaka Gazobi Maternity of Niamey, from June 1 to November 30, 2017. The diagnosis was made by microscopy of a thick and thin blood smear of mother, newborn, and umbilical cord. Results. Two hundred and forty-nine (249) consecutive newborn/mother pairs were included. The prevalence of congenital malaria infection was 26.51% (66/249) with a parasite density of 101 P/μl (SD: 47.3; [80; 320]). The prevalence of congenital malaria disease was 14.06% (35/249) with a parasite density of 108 P/μl (SD: 32.6; [40; 200]. All patients were infected with Plasmodium falciparum. 43% (18/35) of neonates had hyperthermia and did not have a sucking reflex, 8.5% (3/35) were anaemic, 11.42% (4/35) had convulsed, 20% (7/35) had a coma, and 45.71% (16/35) had a low birth weight. No deaths were recorded, and only the nonuse of bed nets was significantly associated with congenital malaria (

p
=
0.04

). Conclusion. In Niger, one out of four newborns is infected with Plasmodium. Infection can progress to congenital malaria disease. The use of mosquito nets and intermittent preventive treatment would reduce the incidence of congenital malaria.