bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring the effects of the new ECOWAS and WAEMU tobacco excise tax directives
Authors: Tesche Jean , Van Walbeek Corne
Published: September 2020

Background

In December 2017, the 15-member ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the 8-member WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union, a subset of ECOWAS) passed new Tobacco Tax Directives. Both Directives increased the minimum ad valorem excise tax rate to 50%. In addition the ECOWAS Directive introduced a minimum specific tax (US$ 0.02/stick), but the WAEMU Directive did not. This paper examines the likely effects of these new Directives on cigarette prices, sales volumes and revenues.

Method

Tax simulation models using comparable data were constructed for each of the 15 countries to estimate the effects of the ECOWAS and WAEMU Directives.

Results

If the 15 ECOWAS members implement the ECOWAS Directive it would substantially increase the retail price of cigarettes (unweighted average 51%, range: 12% to 108%), decrease sales volumes (22%, range: −8% to −39%) and increase tax revenue (373%, range: 10% to 1243%). The impact of the WAEMU Directive on WAEMU countries’ cigarette prices (unweighted average +2%), sales volumes (−1%) and revenue (+17%) is likely to be minimal.

Conclusions

The 2017 ECOWAS Directive, which adds a specific excise tax per pack, along with an increase in the ad valorem tax, substantially improves its members’ cigarette tax structure. The specific tax overcomes the weakness of the ad valorem excise tax, since it does not depend on import or ex-factory values, which comprise only a small part of the retail price in ECOWAS countries. We recommend that WAEMU countries adopt the ECOWAS Directive, rather than the WAEMU Directive.
Constraints on $$\sigma _8$$ and degeneracies from linear Nash-Greene perturbations in subhorizon scale
Authors: Capistrano Abraão J. S.
Published: September 2020

Using a joint statistical analysis, we test a four-dimensional FLRW model embedded in a five-dimensional bulk based on the Nash-Greene embedding theorem. Performing a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) modelling, we combine observational data sets as those of the recent growth data, the best-fit Planck2018/$$\varLambda $$
Λ
CDM parameters on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) measurements, the Pantheon Supernovae type Ia and the Hubble parameter data. From linear Nash-Greene fluctuations of the metric, we show the related perturbed equations in longitudinal Newtonian gauge to obtain the evolution of growth matter. A mild alleviation may be obtained from the degeneracies on the model parameter analyzing the $$\sigma $$
σ
tension between the growth amplitude factor and the matter content in the plane $$(\sigma _8$$

(

σ
8

-$$\varOmega _m)$$

Ω
m

)

on the observations from CMB and Large Scale Structure (LSS) probes. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) is also applied and we find a relative statistical consistence of the present model with both $$\varLambda $$
Λ
CDM and wCDM models lower than 1$$\%$$
%
of percentage difference at early times on the evolution of the Hubble function H(z). We also apply the Om(z) diagnosis to distinguish the present model from $$\varLambda $$
Λ
CDM and wCDM models.
PERFORMANCE OF ACCESSORY GENE REGULATOR IN VIRULENCE EXPRESSION AND BIOFILM FORMATION OF METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS PSEUDINTERMEDIUS
Authors: Jung Chiau-Jing , Huang Ya-Chih , Chia Jean-San , Hsu Chih-Chieh , Chou Chin-Cheng
Published: September 2020

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius-induced soft tissue infection is a typical biofilm-related infectious disease. Recently, the occurrence of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) infections in humans has increased. In this study, the virulence of different accessory gene regulator (agr) types of MRSP and MRSP[Formula: see text]induced skin infection were investigated through in vitro studies and the murine pyoderma model, respectively. Forty-seven canine clinical MRSP isolates were collected from northern Taiwan and classified into four agr types, namely, type I (52%), type II (2%), type III (35%), and type IV (10%). The majority of the MRSP isolates belonged to either strong (49%) or moderate (42.5%) biofilm producers. The skin damages induced by type III 77, type III 79, and type IV n10 isolates were larger than those induced by type I 58 and type II n3 isolates, but not by a significant degree. The effects of cell adhesion, cell invasion and cell cytotoxicity tests for agr type III 77, type III 79, and type IV n10 isolates were stronger than those caused by other types of MRSP isolates. However, the biofilm formation ability of these MRSP isolates did not show association with their virulence differences for causing murine skin abscesses. The agr type III 77, type III 79, and type IV n10 isolates of MRSP from the clinical samples revealed increased bacterial virulence for causing pyoderma, which is worthy of further genomic studies.
Incorporating Verb Semantic Information in Visual Question Answering Through Multitask Learning Paradigm
Authors: Alizadeh Mehrdad , Di Eugenio Barbara
Published: September 2020

Visual Question Answering (VQA) concerns providing answers to Natural Language questions about images. Several deep neural network approaches have been proposed to model the task in an end-to-end fashion. Whereas the task is grounded in visual processing, if the question focuses on events described by verbs, the language understanding component becomes crucial. Our hypothesis is that models should be aware of verb semantics, as expressed via semantic role labels, argument types, and/or frame elements. Unfortunately, no VQA dataset exists that includes verb semantic information. Our first contribution is a new VQA dataset (imSituVQA) that we built by taking advantage of the imSitu annotations. The imSitu dataset consists of images manually labeled with semantic frame elements, mostly taken from FrameNet. Second, we propose a multi-task CNN-LSTM VQA model that learns to classify the answers as well as the semantic frame elements. Our experiments show that semantic frame element classification helps the VQA system avoid inconsistent responses and improves performance. Third, we employ an automatic semantic role labeler and annotate a subset of the VQA dataset (VQAsub). This way, the proposed multi-task CNN-LSTM VQA model can be trained with the VQAsub as well. The results show a slight improvement over the single-task CNN-LSTM model.
Factor rank preservers of matrices over additively-idempotent multiplicatively-cancellative semirings
Authors: Maity Sushobhan , Bhuniya A. K.
Published: September 2020

Here, we characterize the linear operators that preserve factor rank of matrices over additively-idempotent multiplicatively-cancellative semirings. The main results in this paper generalize the corresponding results on the two element Boolean algebra [L. B. Beasley and N. J. Pullman, Boolean-rank-preserving opeartors and Boolean-rank-1 spaces, Linear Algebra Appl. 59 (1984) 55–77] and on the max algebra [R. B. Bapat, S. Pati and S.-Z. Song, Rank preservers of matrices over max algebra, Linear Multilinear Algebra 48(2) (2000) 149–164]; and hold on max-plus algebra and some other tropical semirings.
An End-to-End Model Based on Multiple Neural Networks with Data Augmentation for Keyword Spotting
Authors: Chai Shuzhou , Zhang Wei-Qiang , Lv Changsheng , Yang Zhenye
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we propose a network for small footprint keyword spotting. It includes four parts, data augmentation, Time-Delay Neural Network (TDNN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), and attention mechanism. Data augmentation is Google SpecAugment with time warping and frequency mask and time mask to the spectrum on clean data set and noisy data set. TDNN and CNN model the spectrogram features from the time and space dimensions. RNN-type networks include RNN, Long Short-Term Memory network (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory network (BiLSTM), and Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (BiGRU). The RNN extracts hidden layer features and transforms them into high-level representations. The attention mechanism is selected to generate different weights and multiplied by the high-level representation generated by the RNN to obtain a fixed-length vector. Finally, we use a linear transformation and softmax function to generate scores. We also explored the size of attention mechanism, two attention mechanisms, rectified linear unit and hidden layer of RNN. Our model has achieved a true positive rate of 99.81% at a 5% false positive rate.
Geochemistry and geodynamic constraint of volcanic and plutonic magmatism within the Banfora Belt (Burkina-Faso, West-Africa): contribution to mineral exploration
Authors: Ilboudo Hermann , Sawadogo Sâga , Zongo Gounwendmanaghre Hubert , Naba Seta , Wenmenga Urbain , Lompo Martin
Published: September 2020

Predominant volcano-plutonic (mafic–felsic) activity is expressed in the eastern Banfora Belt. The geochemical signature shows different geodynamic settings: (1) mafic rocks are tholeiitic, subalkaline and show high-Mg tendency, whereas pyroxenolite (MgO
c.
15.4 wt%) has komatiite affinity; (2) felsic volcanic rocks are subalkaline; and (3) granitoids surrounding the Banfora Belt are alkaline to calc-alkaline, high K, peraluminous to metaluminous. The geochemistry of mafic volcanic rocks shows an unusual evolution from Mid Oceanic Ridge Basalt to Arc-related. The Western Granite and Eastern Granites were emplaced by fractional crystallization and partial melting, respectively, but sourced from igneous protolith (I-type magma) in a volcanic arc setting. The Sodingue granite was emplaced by fractional crystallization from A-type magma in a ‘within-plate setting’. Two-mica S-type granites located at the central portion of the belt relate to syn-collisional fractional crystallization. The paper highlights the complexity of the magma process through a diversity of sources, geochemical patterns and tectonic settings. An emphasis on the komatiite affinity of mafic magma is a challenge for related commodities, such as copper and gold resources.
Secure Hash Algorithms and the Corresponding FPGA Optimization Techniques
Authors: Al-Odat Zeyad A. , Ali Mazhar , Abbas Assad , Khan Samee U.
Published: September 2020

Cryptographic hash functions are widely used primitives with a purpose to ensure the integrity of data. Hash functions are also utilized in conjunction with digital signatures to provide authentication and non-repudiation services. The SHA has been developed over time by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for security, optimal performance, and robustness. The best-known hash standards are SHA-1, SHA-2, and SHA-3. Security is the most notable criterion for evaluating the hash functions. However, the hardware performance of an algorithm serves as a tiebreaker among the contestants when all other parameters (security, software performance, and flexibility) have equal strength. Field Programmable Gateway Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable hardware that supports a variety of design options, making it the best choice for implementing the hash standards. In this survey, particular attention is devoted to the FPGA optimization techniques for the three hash standards. The study covers several types of optimization techniques and their contributions to the performance of FPGAs. Moreover, the article highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each of the optimization methods and their influence on performance. We are optimistic that the study will be a useful resource encompassing the efforts carried out on the SHAs and FPGA optimization techniques in a consolidated form.
Vehicle Trajectory Similarity
Authors: Sousa Roniel S. De , Boukerche Azzedine , Loureiro Antonio A. F.
Published: September 2020

The increasing availability of vehicular trajectory data is at the core of smart mobility solutions. Such data offer us unprecedented information for the development of trajectory data mining-based applications. An essential task of trajectory analysis is the employment of efficient and accurate methods to compare trajectories. This work presents a systematic survey of vehicular trajectory similarity measures and provides a panorama of the research field. First, we show an overview of vehicle trajectory data, including the models and some preprocessing techniques. Then, we give a comprehensive review of methods to compare trajectories and their intrinsic properties. We classify the methods according to the trajectory representation and features such as metricity, computational complexity, and robustness to noise and local time shift. Last, we discuss the applications of vehicular trajectory similarity measures and some open research problems.
The Tip of the Iceberg
Authors: Alexopoulos Nikolaos , Habib Sheikh Mahbub , Schulz Steffen , Mühlhäuser Max
Published: September 2020

In this article, we investigate a fundamental question regarding software security:
Is the security of SW releases increasing over time?
We approach this question with a detailed analysis of the large body of open-source software packaged in the popular Debian GNU/Linux distribution. Contrary to common intuition, we find no clear evidence that the vulnerability rate of widely used software decreases over time: Even in popular and “stable” releases, the fixing of bugs does not seem to reduce the rate of newly identified vulnerabilities. The intuitive conclusion is worrisome: Commonly employed development and validation procedures do not seem to scale with the increase of features and complexity—they are only chopping pieces off the top of an iceberg of vulnerabilities.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation into the problem that studies a complete distribution of software, spanning multiple versions. Although we can not give a definitive answer, we show that several popular beliefs also cannot be confirmed given our dataset. We publish our
Debian Vulnerability Analysis Framework (DVAF)
, an automated dataset creation and analysis process, to enable reproduction and further analysis of our results. Overall, we hope our contributions provide important insights into the vulnerability discovery process and help in identifying effective techniques for vulnerability analysis and prevention.
Recommender Systems Leveraging Multimedia Content
Authors: Deldjoo Yashar , Schedl Markus , Cremonesi Paolo , Pasi Gabriella
Published: September 2020

Recommender systems have become a popular and effective means to manage the ever-increasing amount of multimedia content available today and to help users discover interesting new items. Today’s recommender systems suggest items of various media types, including audio, text, visual (images), and videos. In fact, scientific research related to the analysis of multimedia content has made possible effective content-based recommender systems capable of suggesting items based on an analysis of the features extracted from the item itself. The aim of this survey is to present a thorough review of the state-of-the-art of recommender systems that leverage multimedia content, by classifying the reviewed papers with respect to their media type, the techniques employed to extract and represent their content features, and the recommendation algorithm. Moreover, for each media type, we discuss various domains in which multimedia content plays a key role in human decision-making and is therefore considered in the recommendation process. Examples of the identified domains include fashion, tourism, food, media streaming, and e-commerce.
A Survey on Trust Evaluation Based on Machine Learning
Authors: Wang Jingwen , Jing Xuyang , Yan Zheng , Fu Yulong , Pedrycz Witold , Yang Laurence T.
Published: September 2020

Trust evaluation is the process of quantifying trust with attributes that influence trust. It faces a number of severe issues such as lack of essential evaluation data, demand of big data process, request of simple trust relationship expression, and expectation of automation. In order to overcome these problems and intelligently and automatically evaluate trust, machine learning has been applied into trust evaluation. Researchers have proposed many methods to use machine learning for trust evaluation. However, the literature still lacks a comprehensive literature review on this topic. In this article, we perform a thorough survey on trust evaluation based on machine learning. First, we cover essential prerequisites of trust evaluation and machine learning. Then, we justify a number of requirements that a sound trust evaluation method should satisfy, and propose them as evaluation criteria to assess the performance of trust evaluation methods. Furthermore, we systematically organize existing methods according to application scenarios and provide a comprehensive literature review on trust evaluation from the perspective of machine learning’s function in trust evaluation and evaluation granularity. Finally, according to the completed review and evaluation, we explore some open research problems and suggest the directions that are worth our research effort in the future.
Big Data Systems
Authors: Davoudian Ali , Liu Mengchi
Published: September 2020

Big Data Systems (BDSs) are an emerging class of scalable software technologies whereby massive amounts of heterogeneous data are gathered from multiple sources, managed, analyzed (in batch, stream or hybrid fashion), and served to end-users and external applications. Such systems pose specific challenges in all phases of software development lifecycle and might become very complex by evolving data, technologies, and target value over time. Consequently, many organizations and enterprises have found it difficult to adopt BDSs. In this article, we provide insight into three major activities of software engineering in the context of BDSs as well as the choices made to tackle them regarding state-of-the-art research and industry efforts. These activities include the engineering of requirements, designing and constructing software to meet the specified requirements, and software/data quality assurance. We also disclose some open challenges of developing effective BDSs, which need attention from both researchers and practitioners.
Computational Sustainability
Authors: Chatterjee Deya , Rao Shrisha
Published: September 2020

This is a consolidated look at computational techniques for sustainability, and their limits and possibilities. Sustainability is already well established as a concern and a topic of study and practice, given the alarming increase of environmental degradation, pollution, and other adverse effects of industrialization and urbanization. Computational sustainability, which focuses on the use of effective computational models and computational approaches to help achieve the goal of sustainability, has attracted interest from computer science researchers worldwide. We review recent work on computational techniques applied to a range of domains related to sustainability, from bio-surveillance to poverty mapping, from renewable energy production forecasting to crop disease monitoring, and from agent-based modeling to stochastic network design. In sustainable computing, we discuss some directions that have recently been explored. Finally, we analyze research directions that could be explored in the future to achieve the goal of long-term environmental sustainability.
A Study on the Use of Checksums for Integrity Verification of Web Downloads
Authors: Meylan Alexandre , Cherubini Mauro , Chapuis Bertil , Humbert Mathias , Bilogrevic Igor , Huguenin Kévin
Published: September 2020

App stores provide access to millions of different programs that users can download on their computers. Developers can also make their programs available for download on their websites and host the program files either directly on their website or on third-party platforms, such as mirrors. In the latter case, as users download the software without any vetting from the developers, they should take the necessary precautions to ensure that it is authentic. One way to accomplish this is to check that the published file’s integrity verification code—the checksum—matches that (if provided) of the downloaded file. To date, however, there is little evidence to suggest that such a process is effective. Even worse, very few usability studies about it exist.

In this article, we provide the first comprehensive study that assesses the usability and effectiveness of the manual checksum verification process. First, by means of an
in-situ
experiment with 40 participants and eye-tracking technology, we show that the process is cumbersome and error-prone. Second, after a 4-month-long in-the-wild experiment with 134 participants, we demonstrate how our proposed solution—a Chrome extension that verifies checksums automatically—significantly reduces human errors, improves coverage, and has only limited impact on usability. It also confirms that, sadly, only a tiny minority of websites that link to executable files in our sample provide checksums (0.01%), which is a strong call to action for web standards bodies, service providers, and content creators to increase the use of file integrity verification on their properties.
Exploiting Behavioral Side Channels in Observation Resilient Cognitive Authentication Schemes
Authors: Zhao Benjamin Zi Hao , Asghar Hassan Jameel , Kaafar Mohamed Ali , Trevisan Francesca , Yuan Haiyue
Published: September 2020

Observation Resilient Authentication Schemes (ORAS) are a class of shared secret challenge–response identification schemes where a user mentally computes the response via a cognitive function to authenticate herself such that eavesdroppers cannot readily extract the secret. Security evaluation of ORAS generally involves quantifying information leaked via observed challenge–response pairs. However, little work has evaluated information leaked via human behavior while interacting with these schemes. A common way to achieve observation resilience is by including a modulus operation in the cognitive function. This minimizes the information leaked about the secret due to the many-to-one map from the set of possible secrets to a given response. In this work, we show that user behavior can be used as a side channel to obtain the secret in such ORAS. Specifically, the user’s eye-movement patterns and associated timing information can deduce whether a modulus operation was performed (a fundamental design element) to leak information about the secret. We further show that the secret can still be retrieved if the deduction is erroneous, a more likely case in practice. We treat the vulnerability analytically and propose a generic attack algorithm that iteratively obtains the secret despite the “faulty” modulus information. We demonstrate the attack on five ORAS and show that the secret can be retrieved with considerably less challenge–response pairs than non-side-channel attacks (e.g., algebraic/statistical attacks). In particular, our attack is applicable on Mod10, a one-time-pad-based scheme, for which no non-side-channel attack exists. We field test our attack with a small-scale eye-tracking user study.
Exosomes in disease and regeneration: biological functions, diagnostics, and beneficial effects
Authors: Lin Yun , Anderson Johnathon D. , Rahnama Lily M. A. , Gu Shenwen V. , Knowlton Anne A.
Published: September 2020

Exosomes are a subtype of extracellular vesicles. They range from 30 to 150 nm in diameter and originate from intraluminal vesicles. Exosomes were first identified as the mechanism for releasing unnecessary molecules from reticulocytes as they matured to red blood cells. Since then, exosomes have been shown to be secreted by a broad spectrum of cells and play an important role in the cardiovascular system. Different stimuli are associated with increased exosome release and result in different exosome content. The release of harmful DNA and other molecules via exosomes has been proposed as a mechanism to maintain cellular homeostasis. Because exosomes contain parent cell-specific proteins on the membrane and in the cargo that is delivered to recipient cells, exosomes are potential diagnostic biomarkers of various types of diseases, including cardiovascular disease. As exosomes are readily taken up by other cells, stem cell-derived exosomes have been recognized as a potential cell-free regenerative therapy to repair not only the injured heart but other tissues as well. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the biological functions of exosomes in heart disease and tissue regeneration. Therefore, state-of-the-art methods for exosome isolation and characterization, as well as approaches to assess exosome functional properties, are reviewed. Investigation of exosomes provides a new approach to the study of disease and biological processes. Exosomes provide a potential “liquid biopsy,” as they are present in most, if not all, biological fluids that are released by a wide range of cell types.
Conceptualizing conduction as a pliant electrical response: impact of gap junctions and ion channels
Authors: Hald Bjørn Olav , Welsh Donald G.
Published: September 2020

Conducted vasomotor responses depend on initiation and spread of electrical phenomena along arterial walls and their translation into contractile responses. Using computational approaches, we show how subtle but widespread regulation of gap junctions and ion channels can modulate the range and amplitude of electrical spread. Ion channels are regulated by endocrine and mechanical signals and may differ regionally in networks. Subregional electrical changes are not spatially confined but may affect electrical conduction in neighboring regions.
COPD is deleterious for pericytes: implications during training-induced angiogenesis in skeletal muscle
Authors: Blervaque Léo , Pomiès Pascal , Rossi Elisa , Catteau Matthias , Blandinières Adeline , Passerieux Emilie , Blaquière Marine , Ayoub Bronia , Molinari Nicolas , Mercier Jacques , Perez-Martin Antonia , Marchi Nicola , Smadja David M. , Hayot Maurice , Gouzi Fares
Published: September 2020

This work confirms the previously reported impairment in the functional response to exercise training of patients with COPD compared with SHS. Moreover, it shows for the first time that pericyte coverage of the skeletal capillaries is drastically reduced in patients with COPD compared with SHS during training-induced angiogenesis. Finally, it provides experimental evidence that circulating factors are involved in the impaired pericyte coverage of patients with COPD.
Transforming growth factor-β1 promotes fibrosis but attenuates calcification of valvular tissue applied as a three-dimensional calcific aortic valve disease model
Authors: Jenke Alexander , Kistner Julia , Saradar Sarah , Chekhoeva Agunda , Yazdanyar Mariam , Bergmann Ann Kathrin , Rötepohl Melanie Vera , Lichtenberg Artur , Akhyari Payam
Published: September 2020

Employing aortic valve leaflets as a tissue-based three-dimensional disease model, our study investigates the role of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 in calcific aortic valve disease pathogenesis. We find that, by activating Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3, TGF-β1 intensifies expressional and proliferative activation along with myofibroblastic differentiation of valvular interstitial cells, thus triggering dominant fibrosis. Simultaneously, by inhibiting activation of Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 1/5/8 and canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling, TGF-β1 attenuates apoptosis and osteoblastic differentiation of valvular interstitial cells, thus blocking valvular tissue calcification. These findings question a general phase-independent calcific aortic valve disease-promoting role of TGF-β1.
Salt-sensitive hypertension in chronic kidney disease: distal tubular mechanisms
Authors: Bovée Dominique M. , Cuevas Catharina A. , Zietse Robert , Danser A. H. Jan , Mirabito Colafella Katrina M. , Hoorn Ewout J.
Published: September 2020

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes salt-sensitive hypertension that is often resistant to treatment and contributes to the progression of kidney injury and cardiovascular disease. A better understanding of the mechanisms contributing to salt-sensitive hypertension in CKD is essential to improve these outcomes. This review critically explores these mechanisms by focusing on how CKD affects distal nephron Na+reabsorption. CKD causes glomerulotubular imbalance with reduced proximal Na+reabsorption and increased distal Na+delivery and reabsorption. Aldosterone secretion further contributes to distal Na+reabsorption in CKD and is not only mediated by renin and K+but also by metabolic acidosis, endothelin-1, and vasopressin. CKD also activates the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system, generating intratubular angiotensin II to promote distal Na+reabsorption. High dietary Na+intake in CKD contributes to Na+retention by aldosterone-independent activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor mediated through Rac1. High dietary Na+also produces an inflammatory response mediated by T helper 17 cells and cytokines increasing distal Na+transport. CKD is often accompanied by proteinuria, which contains plasmin capable of activating the epithelial Na+channel. Thus, CKD causes both local and systemic changes that together promote distal nephron Na+reabsorption and salt-sensitive hypertension. Future studies should address remaining knowledge gaps, including the relative contribution of each mechanism, the influence of sex, differences between stages and etiologies of CKD, and the clinical relevance of experimentally identified mechanisms. Several pathways offer opportunities for intervention, including with dietary Na+reduction, distal diuretics, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and K+or H+binders.
Cell dormancy plasticity: quiescence deepens into senescence through a dimmer switch
Authors: Fujimaki Kotaro , Yao Guang
Published: September 2020

Both being dormant cellular states, quiescence and senescence are traditionally considered distinct. Quiescence is reversible to proliferation upon growth signals, whereas senescence is irreversible in physiological conditions. Recent findings, however, suggest that quiescence deepening with a decreased proliferative tendency, but not capability, is a common transition path toward senescence in many cell and tissue types. This transition is associated with the continuously increased activation threshold of an RB-E2F-CDK gene network switch.
Examining Individual‐ and Community‐Level Factors Affecting Skilled Delivery Care among Women Who Received Adequate Antenatal Care in Ethiopia: Using Multilevel Analysis
Authors: Chaka Eshetu E.
Published: September 2020

Introduction. Maternal mortality continues to be a major public health and development challenge in Africa even after the permissible commitment of the international community. Although the use of skilled delivery care is the key intervention and is effective to lower maternal mortality rates, it is still at a lower proportion. The study is aimed at investigating the individual‐ and community level factors affecting the use of skilled delivery care among those women who had received adequate antenatal care. Materials and Methods. Data were extracted from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey on women aged 15‐49 years and gave birth within five years prior to the survey (N = 957). Multilevel logistic regression model with two levels were fitted to assess the influence of the individual‐ and community‐level factors on the use of skilled delivery care. Results. Women who were exposed to media were more likely to use skilled delivery care (OR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.20‐2.74). Having six or more birth order (OR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.16‐0.69) and residing in rural areas (OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.21‐0.79) were associated with less likelihood use of skilled delivery care. Attaining primary and secondary educational level, being older women, being from the richest household, and having a urine test during antenatal visits were significantly associated with the use of skilled delivery care. The value of intraclass correlation coefficient supported a significant community‐level effect on the likelihood of using skilled delivery care. Conclusions. Factors operating both at the individual level and community level were found significantly associated with the use of skilled delivery care in Ethiopia. A considerable variation at community level accounts for the difference in the use of skilled delivery level.
Survival after Aluminum Phosphide Poisoning in Pregnancy
Authors: Lahlou Adnane , Sidayne Mohammed , Benlamkaddem Saïd , Berdaï Mohamed Adnane , Harandou Mustapha , Papadopoulos Vasileios
Published: September 2020

Intoxication and drug overdose as suicidal attempt are rare in pregnancy. We report here the case of aluminum phosphide poisoning in a pregnant lady through oral and intravaginal administration which was managed with aggressive supportive measures without resorting to extracorporeal life support.
Dynamical Analysis for the Hybrid Network Model of Delayed Predator-Prey Gompertz Systems with Impulsive Diffusion between Two Patches
Authors: Xiang Li , Zhang Yurong , Zhang Dan , Yang Zhichun , Huang Lingzhi , Wang Jinliang
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we consider a hybrid network model of delayed predator-prey Gompertz systems with impulsive diffusion between two patches, in which the patches represent nodes of the network such that the prey population interacts locally in each patch and diffusion occurs along the edges connecting the nodes. Using the discrete dynamical system determined by the stroboscopic map which has a globally stable positive fixed point, we obtain the global attractive condition of predator-extinction periodic solution for the network system. Furthermore, by employing the theory of delay functional and impulsive differential equation, we obtain sufficient condition with time delay for the permanence of the network.
Susceptibility of Mature Staphylococcus Biofilms to Chinese Herbal Decoction Sanhuang Jiedu: An In Vitro Study
Authors: Zhang Shaoe , Wang Xiao , Shi Xiaotao , Tan Honglue
Published: September 2020

Background. External socking and washing with the Chinese herbal Sanhuang Jiedu decoction (SHJD) can effectively control local limb infections with bone and implant exposure. However, the antibiofilm activities of this decoction in vitro have not yet been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects and characteristics of SHJD on the mature biofilms of multidrug‐resistant staphylococci on a titanium surface. Methods. Biofilm‐forming methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 35984 and S. aureus ATCC 43330, and non‐biofilm‐forming S. epidermidis ATCC 12228 were selected as the experimental strains. The mature biofilms were prepared on titanium surfaces. The five experimental groups were based on dilution concentrations (DC) of SHJD: the control group (biofilm incubated with 0.85% NaCl solution), the SHJD (DC:1/8) group (initial SHJD solution was diluted 1/8), the SHJD (DC:1/4) group, the SHJD (DC:1/2) group, and the SHJD (DC:1/1) group (initial SHJD solution). The effects of SHJD on the mature biofilms were observed with the bacterial spread plate method, crystal violet (CV) staining, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results. After culture in tryptic soy broth for 72 h, ATCC 43300 and ATCC 35984 produced mature biofilms and ATCC 12228 did not. The optical density value of ATCC 12228 was 0.11 ± 0.02, significantly lower than that of ATCC 35984 (0.42 ± 0.05) or ATCC 43300 (0.41 ± 0.03) (P < 0.05). The mature biofilms of ATCC 43300 and ATCC 35984 clearly disintegrated when incubated for 12–24 h with SHJD (DC:1/1) or SHJD (DC:1/2), showing only scattered bacterial adhesion. In the SHJD (DC:1/4) group, although many residual bacterial colonies still clustered together, presenting a biofilm structure, it was very looser than that in the SHJD (DC:1/8) group in which the biofilm was similar to that in the control group. For ATCC 12228, only colony adhesion was observed, and the number of colonies decreased as the concentration of SHJD or the culture period increased. The quantitative results for the bacterial spread plate and CV staining showed significant differences between the SHJD groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion. SHJD has antibiofilm activity against multidrug‐resistant Staphylococcus strains. It weakens or disrupts already‐formed mature biofilms on titanium surfaces in a concentration‐ and incubation time‐dependent manner.
Numerical Investigation on the Dynamic Characteristics of an Adjustable Power Turbine Used in Environmental Control System
Authors: Lu Qihang , Zhang Qi , Zhang Dalin , Lv Zhihan
Published: September 2020

In this paper, the environmental control system of aircraft driven by a power turbine is further analyzed. Through the numerical simulation of the change of the bleed state under different flight conditions and the change of the flow field under different nozzle opening, the simulation results are verified by the experimental results, and the specific change rules of the power turbine output torque, power, and bleed flow are obtained. It is analyzed quantitatively that adjusting the adjustable nozzle ring can keep the output power stable, widen the flight envelope, and improve the stability of the environmental control system.
Chemical Components and Hepatoprotective Mechanism of Xwak Granule in Mice Treated with Acute Alcohol
Authors: Chen Li , Liu Liu , Abdulla Rahima , Tursun Xirali , Xin Xuelei , Aisa Haji Akber
Published: September 2020

Objective. To evaluate the hepatoprotective mechanism of Xwak granule (Xwak) in treatment of mice with alcoholic liver injury via activating ERK/NF‐κB and Nrf/HO‐1 signaling pathways. Methods. The chemical composition of Xwak was tested by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC‐MS). Herein, 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay and 2,2‐azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical tests were performed in vitro. The hepatoprotective effect of Xwak was assessed at different concentrations (1.5, 3, and 6 g/kg) in a mouse model of alcoholic liver injury. Results. Totally, 48 compounds, including 16 flavonoids, 8 tannins, 9 chlorogenic acids, and 15 other compounds, were identified from Xwak. Xwak showed to have a satisfactory antioxidant activity in vitro. In a group of Xwak‐treated mice, the serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were decreased compared with a group of the mouse model of alcoholic liver injury. In addition, the levels of antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐PX), total superoxide dismutase (T‐SOD), and catalase (CAT), were noticeably increased and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) were markedly reduced in the liver of mice. The state of oxidative stress in the mouse model of alcoholic liver injury was improved after treatment with Xwak. The improvement of inflammation‐mediated disruption may conducive to the Xwak activity in the control of liver injury. The signals of p‐ERK1/2, p‐NF‐κB, COX‐2, iNOS, CYP2E1, Nrf, and HO‐1 were significantly induced in the liver of mice after treatment with Xwak. Conclusions. The abovementioned findings indicated that the hepatoprotective mechanism of Xwak could be achieved by activating ERK/NF‐κB and Nrf/HO‐1 signaling pathways to alleviate oxidative stress and inflammatory.
A Comparative Study of 2 Different Segmentation Methods of ADC Histogram for Differentiation Genetic Subtypes in Lower‐Grade Diffuse Gliomas
Authors: Liu Dan , Gao Shuai-Xiang , Liao Hong-Fan , Xu Jing-Mei , Wen Ming
Published: September 2020

Background. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram parameters for differentiating the genetic subtypes in lower‐grade diffuse gliomas and explore which segmentation method (ROI‐1, the entire tumor ROI; ROI2, the tumor ROI excluding cystic and necrotic portions) performs better. Materials and Methods. We retrospectively evaluated 56 lower‐grade diffuse gliomas and divided them into three categories: IDH‐wild group (IDHwt, 16cases); IDH mutant with the intact 1p or 19q group (IDHmut/1p19q+, 18cases); and IDH mutant with the 1p/19q codeleted group (IDHmut/1p19q−, 22cases). Histogram parameters of ADC maps calculated with the two different ROI methods: ADCmean, min, max, mode, P5, P10, P25, P75, P90, P95, kurtosis, skewness, entropy, StDev, and inhomogenity were compared between these categories using the independent t test or Mann–Whitney U test. For statistically significant results, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed, and the optimal cutoff value was determined by maximizing Youden’s index. Area under the curve (AUC) results were compared using the method of Delong et al. Results. The inhomogenity from the two different ROI methods for distinguishing IDHwt gliomas from IDHmut gliomas both showed the biggest AUC (0.788, 0.930), the optimal cutoff value was 0.229 (sensitivity, 81.3%; specificity, 75.0%) for the ROI‐1 and 0.186 (sensitivity, 93.8%; specificity, 82.5%) for the ROI‐2, and the AUC of the inhomogenity from the ROI‐2 was significantly larger than that from another segmentation, but no significant differences were identified between the AUCs of other same parameters from the two different ROI methods. For the differentiaiton of IDHmut/1p19q− tumors and IDHmut/1p19q+ tumors, with the ROI‐1, the ADCmode showed the biggest AUC (AUC: 0.784; sensitivity, 61.1%; specificity, 90.9%), with the ROI‐2, and the skewness performed best (AUC, 0.821; sensitivity, 81.8%; specificity, 77.8%), but no significant differences were identified between the AUCs of the same parameters from the two different ROI methods. Conclusion. ADC values analyzed by the histogram method could help to classify the genetic subtypes in lower‐grade diffuse gliomas, no matter which ROI method was used. Extracting cystic and necrotic portions from the entire tumor lesions is preferable for evaluating the difference of the intratumoral heterogeneity and classifying IDH‐wild tumors, but not significantly beneficial to predicting the 1p19q genotype in the lower‐grade gliomas.
Adrenal (Pro)renin Receptor Expression and Serum Soluble (Pro)renin Receptor Concentration in Primary Aldosteronism
Authors: Watanabe Daisuke , Morimoto Satoshi , Morishima Noriko , Kato Yoichiro , Nagashima Yoji , Shibata Noriyuki , Ichihara Atsuhiro , Malendowicz Ludwik K.
Published: September 2020

The (pro)renin receptor [(P)RR] is a multifunctioning protein playing roles in various pathological conditions. A soluble form of (P)RR [s(P)RR] has been considered a biomarker for (P)RR expression in tissues. Expression of (P)RR has been described in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA), but the roles of (P)RR have yet to be fully determined. This study investigated the significance of (P)RR and serum s(P)RR concentrations in patients with APA. We evaluated associations between (P)RR expression and expression of CYP11B2, an aldosterone synthase, and aldosterone production by the adrenal glands and assessed the relationships between serum s(P)RR concentration and background factors. (P)RR colocalized with CYP11B2 and expression levels of (P)RR were positively associated with those of CYP11B2 in APA tissues. (P)RR immunoreactivity in these tissues correlated positively with plasma aldosterone concentrations (PAC) and urinary aldosterone excretion. Also, in APA, (P)RR mRNA abundance was positively correlated with β-catenin mRNA abundance. Significant positive correlations were identified between serum s(P)RR concentration and plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and serum creatinine levels, but not with PAC (in either peripheral vein or adrenal vein) or adrenal (P)RR expression level. This study showed that (P)RR expression level correlates with CYP11B2 expression in APA tissues and PAC and urinary aldosterone excretion, suggesting that (P)RR expression may contribute to aldosterone synthesis via CYP11B2 activation in APAs, although serum s(P)RR concentration failed to show any significant relationship with adrenal (P)RR expression. Adrenal (P)RR activity might offer a therapeutic target in the treatment of PA, although this issue needs to be investigated in future studies.
Relationship of Thrombospondin 1 to von Willebrand Factor and ADAMTS-13 in Sickle Cell Disease Patients of Arab Ethnicity
Authors: Al-Awadhi Anwar , Adekile Adekunle , Marouf Rajaa
Published: September 2020

Background: Thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) is a multifunctional glycoprotein secreted by platelets. In sickle cell disease (SCD), TSP-1 promotes red cell adhesion to the endothelium by binding to von Willebrand factor (vWF) and inhibiting its degradation by the protease ADAMTS-13. We investigated a possible correlation between TSP-1, vWF and ADAMTS-13 in adult and pediatric SCD patients. Methods: Using commercially available ELISA kits, TSP-1, vWF and ADAMTS-13 levels were measured in 59 SCD patients (20 children and 39 adults) and compared with 59 age- and sex-matched controls. Associations between TSP-1 and parameters of interest were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: Although TSP-1 levels were higher in adult and pediatric SCD patients than in controls, the increase was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). We found a significant positive correlation between TSP-1 and platelet count in both adult (r = 0.402, p = 0.01) and pediatric (r = 0.589, p = 0.01) patients, which is expected due to increased platelet activation in SCD. There was a positive correlation between TSP-1 and vWF in normal adults (r = 0.305, p = 0.049) and children (r = 0.633, p = 0.005) but not in patients (p > 0.05). A significant negative correlation between TSP-1 and ADAMTS-13 activity (r = –0.41, p = 0.01) was found in adult patients. Also, a significant negative correlation between TSP-1 and ADAMTS-13/vWF antigen ratio in both normal controls (r = –0.595, p = 0.009) and patients (r = –0.493, p = 0.032) is reported for the pediatric group. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the inhibitory effects of TSP-1 on ADAMTS-13 activity in adult SCD patients. The negative correlation reported between TSP-1 and ADAMTS-13/vWF antigen ratio in pediatric subjects suggests a possible protective mechanism in younger individuals, although this is not related to the presence of SCD. This work emphasizes the impact of age on interpreting results related to the regulation of vWF expression and interaction with TSP-1 and ADAMTS-13 in SCD.
Metastases from Occult Breast Cancer: A Case Report of Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Syndrome
Authors: Barbieri Erika , Anghelone Chiara Annunziata Pasqualina , Gentile Damiano , La Raja Carlotta , Bottini Alberto , Tinterri Corrado
Published: September 2020

Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) syndrome occurs when metastases from an unknown primary site spread to multiple organs. Occult breast cancer (OBC) is defined as a clinically recognizable metastatic carcinoma from an undetectable primary breast tumor. It accounts for 0.3–1% of all breast cancers, often presenting with lymph node, bone, and skin metastases. Clinical and radiological examinations represent the first steps in the diagnostic algorithm for CUP syndrome from OBC. However, histological and immunohistochemical analyses, multidisciplinary team evaluation, and a multidisciplinary therapy are essential in the diagnosis and treatment of CUP syndrome from OBC. We report the case of a 52-year-old woman who underwent the removal of a parietal skin lesion. The histological and immunohistochemical analyses suggested a breast cancer origin. Clinical assessment and laboratory and radiological examinations did not locate the primary tumor. Hormone therapy was offered to the patient; however, she refused it. After 28 months, the patient reported a right cervical lump, and a total-body positron emission tomography showed dissemination of the disease to the lymph nodes and bone. A CUP syndrome from OBC was diagnosed. A multimodality approach with radiotherapy and hormone and biological therapy was started. At present, 5 years from the first presentation, the patient is asymptomatic despite the disseminated disease.