bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Challenges and Prospects of Community Based Eco-Tourism in Maichew Cluster, a Case of Ofla Woreda
Authors: Gebremariam Kassaye Zewdie
Published: April 2019

The main objective of this study was to assess the challenges and prospects of community-based ecotourism in the Maichew cluster, a case of Ofla woreda. Community based eco-tourism has become rapidly the most fundamental in-strument to meet sustainable tourism and livelihood option demand across the world at large and Developing Countries in particular. In order to achieve the objective of the study, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative (using case study, focus group discussion, in depth interview and on spot observation) and quantitative (mainly using household survey and visitor survey questionnaires) methods. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 3 CBET sites and 90 sample households respectively. The quantitative data was analyzed using fre-quency, percentage and mean when appropriate while qualitative data was used to triangulate and substantiate the study. The research investigated the challenges for developing CBET in the study area. On the other hand, the study also identified several potentials of CBET in the study area. In addition, the issues for empowering community based eco-tourism in terms of economical, social, political any psychological empowerment was identified. The result of the study reveals that several challenges for empowering community based tourism in the study area, Low level of knowledge, interest and perception of local community towards CBET; the resource ownership questions like land; capacity problems of the MCs and local level government office staff; lack of legal registration of CTEs; conflicting policies and legislations; communities’ expectation for immediate financial benefits; quality and standard of products and services; lack of cooperation among stakeholders; emerging challenges on marketing and booking; etc. However, several opportunities like strategic location of the sites, change of local attitude toward CBET, hospitality of local community, the potential tourism resources of the area, successful efforts on marketing and promotion, etc. are identified as a positive factor for CBETE. The issues of CE process is in its infant stage despite local communities showed high interest levels to involve in identifying problems, management, decision-making, problem solving, equitable benefit sharing and tourism operation. Thus, economical, social, political and psychological empowerments of community are not well practiced. To conclude, even if community empowerment can play central role to achieve sustainable tourism development and livelihood option, the process is very limited and in its infant stage in terms of economical, social, political and psychological empowerments.
Oral Cancer Awareness among Auxiliary Personnel of Dental College in Bhopal City, India
Authors: Santha Binu , S Vrinda , Jain Manish , Tiwari Vidhatri
Published: April 2019

Background: Oral cancer prevalence is high globally. Dental auxiliary staff who work aside the dentist is the first to come in contact with service seeker. Hence awareness regarding oral cancer in consequences is an essential modality in these personnel’s. Methodology: This study was conducted to evaluate the awareness among dental auxiliary staff about oral cancer of two dental colleges of Bhopal city. Sampling frame included the dental auxiliary staff from the two dental colleges. A structured questionnaire was used for collection of data. The collected data were coded, and a statistical analysis was carried out by using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS 20). Result: In this study, it was observed 52% females were aware of examining patients mouth during admission. 50% Females advice to examined tissues of cheek, tongue and palate while assessing oral cancer. 52.1% females opinion of risk factor for oral cancer would be tobacco chewing, tobacco smoking, having alcohol and spicy food. Conclusion: The study conducted among dental auxiliary staff to assess the awareness regarding oral cancer which will help in early diagnosis of disease and prevent any further complication.
Vasoconstrictor for Local Anesthetics
Authors: Ouchi Kentaro
Published: April 2019

Dental local anesthetics contain vasoconstrictors, such as adrenaline and felypressin, to enhance the anesthetic effects and reduce bleeding in the surgical field.
Adrenaline has been used for long periods of time as an additive to local anesthetics. With a typical dose range of 10 - 12.5 μg /mL, adrenaline is believed to prolong duration by its vasoconstrictive properties that prevent systemic reabsorption of local anesthetics. Several reports have warned against the use of dental local anesthetics containing adrenaline in patients with cardiovascular diseases
Six-Minute Walk Test in Pediatric Cardiac Patients
Authors: Sayed Elyan Mohammed , Amry Ahmed Salah El-din , Farghaly Hekma Saad
Published: April 2019

Background

The 6MWT (6MWT) is a self-paced walking test generally used to assess the functional capacity in people with chronic conditions the main outcome is the distance that a person can walk in 6 minutes. The 6 MWT is originally developed to measure the submaximal level of functional capacity in adult patients with moderate to severe heart or lung diseases and has been extensively used in other patient populations. Because the test reflects an exercise level close to that of daily life activities, it is easy to administer, is well tolerated by patients, and is increasingly being used as a functional outcome measure for people with chronic conditions, including pediatric populations.

Patients and methods

Our study is a cross sectional study to discuss the effect of cardiac diseases on the functional capacity of pediatric patients suffering from cardiac diseases compared with control group via 6MWT. The study included pediatric patients admitted to pediatric cardiology unit at Assiut University children hospital from age of 5 to 18 years at duration of one year from 1/8/2016 to 31/7/2017.

The Patients
One hundred cases (100) cases (52 males and 48 females) were suffering from cardiac diseases (42 suffering from CHD, 38 suffering from RHD and remaining 20 cases suffering from cardiomyopathy).

The Control
Hundred healthy children (50 males and 50 females). From primary, preparatory and secondary schools from the same age category of the patients.

Results: 34 cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia were included, of whom 8 cases were newly diagnosed on admission while 26 cases were previously diagnosed and came for follow up, 41.2% were males, 58.8% were females.
Is Expanding Heart Always Serious?
Authors: Al Rahimi Jamilah , Mulji Amin , Salehian Omid
Published: April 2019

Left Ventricular Pseudo Aneurysm (LVPA) is a rare complication occurs in population that carries the risk. Clinical presentation of a large LVPA can be variable which make the diagnosis challenging. Given the high risk of death in such cases, high clinical suspicion in addition to the use of proper diagnostic modality may reduce the mortality rate & guide the management decision. Echocardiogram is considered the proper investigation tool to screen, diagnose the presence of LVPA & identify the high-risk feature of rupture. In this review will present catastrophic echocardiographic features in unusual clinical case presentation of a patient with large LV pseudo aneurysm presented with ischemic stroke & background of diabetes & hypertension.
The Quality of Entrepreneurial Activity and Economic Competitiveness in European Union Countries: A Panel Data Approach
Authors: Rusu Valentina Diana , Dornean Adina
Published: April 2019

To increase competitiveness, a country has to outperform its competitors in terms of research and innovation, entrepreneurship, competition, and education. In this paper, we aim to test the relationship between the quality of entrepreneurial activity and the economic competitiveness for the European Union countries by using panel data estimation techniques. Our research considers a sample of 28 EU countries over the period 2011–2017. For the empirical investigation we apply panel data regression models. The results obtained show that business, macroeconomic environment and the quality of entrepreneurship are significant determinants of economic competitiveness of EU countries. Thus, we identify significant positive relations between innovation rate, inflation rate, FDI and economic competitiveness, and significant negative relations between expectations regarding job creation, tax rate, costs and competitiveness. Our study completes the literature by analyzing the relationship between the quality of entrepreneurship and the competitiveness of countries, for an extensive sample formed by all the 28 countries members of the European Union for a period of seven recent years.
Comprehensive Data Reduction for N2O/HDPE Hybrid Rocket Motor Performance Evaluation
Authors: Kamps Landon , Sakurai Kazuhito , Saito Yuji , Nagata Harunori
Published: April 2019

Static firing tests of a hybrid rocket motor using liquid nitrous oxide (N2O) as the oxidizer and high-density polyethylene (HPDE) as the fuel are analyzed using a novel approach to data reduction that allows histories for fuel mass consumption, nozzle throat erosion, characteristic exhaust velocity (c∗) efficiency, and nozzle throat wall temperature to be determined experimentally. This is done by firing a motor under the same conditions six times, varying only the burn time. Results show that fuel mass consumption was nearly perfectly repeatable, whereas the magnitude and timing of nozzle throat erosion was not. Correlations of the fuel regression rate result in oxidizer port mass flux exponents of 0.62 and 0.76. There is a transient time in the c∗ efficiency histories of around 2.5 s, after which c∗ efficiency remains relatively constant, even in the case of excessive nozzle throat erosion. Although nozzle erosion was not repeatable, the erosion onset factors were similar between tests, and greater than values in previous research in which oxygen was used as the oxidizer. Lastly, nozzle erosion rates exceed 0.15 mm/s for chamber pressures of 4 to 5 MPa.
Animals Fed Insect-Based Diets: State-of-the-Art on Digestibility, Performance and Product Quality
Authors: Gasco Laura , Biasato Ilaria , Dabbou Sihem , Schiavone Achille , Gai Francesco
Published: April 2019

In 2018, the industrial compound feed production throughout the world was 1.103 metric billion tons, which was an increase of 3% compared to 2017. In order to meet the needs of the increasing population, a further increment in compound feed production is necessary. Conventional protein sources are no longer suitable to completely satisfy the increment of feed production in a sustainable way. Insects are one of the most promising options, due to their valuable nutritional features. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of research on the use of insect meals and oils in aquatic, avian and other animal species diets, focusing mainly on the effects on digestibility, performance and product quality. In general, insect-derived product digestibility is affected by the insect species, the inclusion levels and by the process. Sometimes, the presence of chitin can lead to a decrease in nutrient digestibility. The same considerations are true for animal performance. As far as product quality is concerned, a dramatic effect of insect products has been recorded for the fatty acid profile, with a decrease in valuable n3 fatty acids. Sensory analyses have reported no or slight differences. Insect-derived products seem to be a good alternative to conventional feed sources and can make an important contribution to the sustainable development of the livestock industry.
Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Mango Peel Liqueurs (Mangifera indica L.) Produced by Different Methods of Maceration
Authors: Coelho Emanuela Monteiro , de Souza Marcelo Eduardo Alves Olinda , Corrêa Luiz Claudio , Viana Arão Cardoso , de Azevêdo Luciana Cavalcanti , dos Santos Lima Marcos
Published: April 2019

The present work had the objective of producing liqueurs from mango peels (varieties “Haden” and “Tommy Atkins”) by processes of alcoholic maceration and maceration with pectinase, as well as to evaluate bioactive compounds by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection and fluorescence-detection (RP-HPLC/DAD/FD) and in vitro antioxidant activity (AOX), for by-product potential reuse. Alcoholic maceration in wine ethanol (65% v/v) produced liqueurs with higher phytochemical and AOX content. Maceration with pectinase resulted in liqueurs with higher quercetin-3-O-glucopyranoside content. In relation to mango varieties, Haden liqueurs presented higher bioactive content than Tommy Atkins liqueurs. The liqueurs presented high antioxidant activity. The main bioactive compounds found were flavanols (epicatechin-gallate, epigallocatechin-gallate), flavonols (quercetin-3-O-glucopyranoside and rutin), and phenolic acids (gallic acid, o-coumaric acid, and syringic acid). The present study showed that the production of liqueur enabled the recovering of an important part of the bioactive content of mango peels, suggesting an alternative for the recovery of antioxidant substances from this by-product.
Experimental Study to Determine the Most Preferred Additive for Improving Asphalt Performance Using Polypropylene, Crumb Rubber, and Tafpack Super in Medium and High-Temperature Range
Authors: Xiaoming Huang , Eldouma Ismail Bakheit
Published: April 2019

The overall objectives of this study were to determine the most appropriate additive for improving the physical properties and the medium- and high-temperature performances (mechanical performance) of asphalt binders. Three different types of modified binders were prepared: crumb rubber modifier (CRM), polypropylene (PP), and tafpack super (TPS), which had concentrations of 2%, 3%, 3.5%, and 4% by weight of asphalt binder, for each modifier. Their physical and rheological properties were evaluated by applying various tests such as ductility, rotational viscosity, toughness, and tenacity, as well as the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) test. As a result, the physical properties of the modified bitumen binders were compared, as were the medium- and high-temperature performances (mechanical performance), which had temperatures of 58, 64, 70, 76, 82, and 88 °C, respectively. This was how the most appropriate modifier was determined. The results demonstrated that the asphalt binder properties significantly improved by utilizing CRM followed by PP and TPS modifiers. The increase in the rutting parameter (G*/sin(δ)) after asphalt modification indicated its excellent performance at both medium- and high-temperatures. Lastly, the CRM was determined as the most preferred additive because of its positive effect on the physical properties and enhancement of the medium- and high-temperature performance (mechanical performance).
Interference-Induced Phenomena in High-Order Harmonic Generation from Bulk Solids
Authors: Szaszkó-Bogár Viktor , Földi Péter , Magashegyi István , Varjú Katalin
Published: April 2019

We consider a quantum mechanical model for the high-order harmonic generation in bulk solids. The bandgap is assumed to be considerably larger than the exciting photon energy. Using dipole approximation, the dynamical equations for different initial Bloch states are decoupled in the velocity gauge. Although there is no quantum mechanical interference between the time evolution of different initial states, the complete harmonic radiation results from the interference of fields emitted by all the initial (valence band) states. In particular, the suppression of the even-order harmonics can also be viewed as a consequence of this interference. The number of the observable harmonics (essentially the cutoff) is also determined by interference phenomena.
Mobility, Residual Energy, and Link Quality Aware Multipath Routing in MANETs with Q-learning Algorithm
Authors: Tilwari Valmik , Dimyati Kaharudin , Hindia MHD , Fattouh Anas , Amiri Iraj
Published: April 2019

To facilitate connectivity to the internet, the easiest way to establish communication infrastructure in areas affected by natural disaster and in remote locations with intermittent cellular services and/or lack of Wi-Fi coverage is to deploy an end-to-end connection over Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). However, the potentials of MANETs are yet to be fully realized as existing MANETs routing protocols still suffer some major technical drawback in the areas of mobility, link quality, and battery constraint of mobile nodes between the overlay connections. To address these problems, a routing scheme named Mobility, Residual energy and Link quality Aware Multipath (MRLAM) is proposed for routing in MANETs. The proposed scheme makes routing decisions by determining the optimal route with energy efficient nodes to maintain the stability, reliability, and lifetime of the network over a sustained period of time. The MRLAM scheme uses a Q-Learning algorithm for the selection of optimal intermediate nodes based on the available status of energy level, mobility, and link quality parameters, and then provides positive and negative reward values accordingly. The proposed routing scheme reduces energy cost by 33% and 23%, end to end delay by 15% and 10%, packet loss ratio by 30.76% and 24.59%, and convergence time by 16.49% and 11.34% approximately, compared with other well-known routing schemes such as Multipath Optimized Link State Routing protocol (MP-OLSR) and MP-OLSRv2, respectively. Overall, the acquired results indicate that the proposed MRLAM routing scheme significantly improves the overall performance of the network.
Unsupervised Learning of Total Variability Embedding for Speaker Verification with Random Digit Strings
Authors: Kang Woo Hyun , Kim Nam Soo
Published: April 2019

Recently, the increasing demand for voice-based authentication systems has encouraged researchers to investigate methods for verifying users with short randomized pass-phrases with constrained vocabulary. The conventional i-vector framework, which has been proven to be a state-of-the-art utterance-level feature extraction technique for speaker verification, is not considered to be an optimal method for this task since it is known to suffer from severe performance degradation when dealing with short-duration speech utterances. More recent approaches that implement deep-learning techniques for embedding the speaker variability in a non-linear fashion have shown impressive performance in various speaker verification tasks. However, since most of these techniques are trained in a supervised manner, which requires speaker labels for the training data, it is difficult to use them when a scarce amount of labeled data is available for training. In this paper, we propose a novel technique for extracting an i-vector-like feature based on the variational autoencoder (VAE), which is trained in an unsupervised manner to obtain a latent variable representing the variability within a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) distribution. The proposed framework is compared with the conventional i-vector method using the TIDIGITS dataset. Experimental results showed that the proposed method could cope with the performance deterioration caused by the short duration. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed approach improved significantly when applied in conjunction with the conventional i-vector framework.
Intracellular Peptides in Cell Biology and Pharmacology
Authors: de Araujo Christiane B. , Heimann Andrea S. , Remer Ricardo A. , Russo Lilian C. , Colquhoun Alison , Forti Fábio L. , Ferro Emer S.
Published: April 2019

Intracellular peptides are produced by proteasomes following degradation of nuclear, cytosolic, and mitochondrial proteins, and can be further processed by additional peptidases generating a larger pool of peptides within cells. Thousands of intracellular peptides have been sequenced in plants, yeast, zebrafish, rodents, and in human cells and tissues. Relative levels of intracellular peptides undergo changes in human diseases and also when cells are stimulated, corroborating their biological function. However, only a few intracellular peptides have been pharmacologically characterized and their biological significance and mechanism of action remains elusive. Here, some historical and general aspects on intracellular peptides’ biology and pharmacology are presented. Hemopressin and Pep19 are examples of intracellular peptides pharmacologically characterized as inverse agonists to cannabinoid type 1 G-protein coupled receptors (CB1R), and hemopressin fragment NFKF is shown herein to attenuate the symptoms of pilocarpine-induced epileptic seizures. Intracellular peptides EL28 (derived from proteasome 26S protease regulatory subunit 4; Rpt2), PepH (derived from Histone H2B type 1-H), and Pep5 (derived from G1/S-specific cyclin D2) are examples of peptides that function intracellularly. Intracellular peptides are suggested as biological functional molecules, and are also promising prototypes for new drug development.
Regulation of the Expression of DAPK1 by SUMO Pathway
Authors: Wang Qingshui , Zhang Xiuli , Chen Ling , Weng Shuyun , Xia Yun , Ye Yan , Li Ke , Liao Ziqiang , Chen Pengchen , Alsamman Khaldoon , Meng Chen , Stevens Craig , Hupp Ted , Lin Yao
Published: April 2019

Death Associated Protein Kinase 1 (DAPK1) is an important signaling kinase mediating the biological effect of multiple natural biomolecules such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, curcumin, etc. DAPK1 is degraded through both ubiquitin-proteasomal and lysosomal degradation pathways. To investigate the crosstalk between these two DAPK1 degradation pathways, we carried out a screen using a set of ubiquitin E2 siRNAs at the presence of Tuberous Sclerous 2 (TSC2) and identified that the small ubiquitin-like molecule (SUMO) pathway is able to regulate the protein levels of DAPK1. Inhibition of the SUMO pathway enhanced DAPK1 protein levels and the minimum domain of DAPK1 protein required for this regulation is the kinase domain, suggesting that the SUMO pathway regulates DAPK1 protein levels independent of TSC2. Suppression of the SUMO pathway did not enhance DAPK1 protein stability. In addition, mutation of the potential SUMO conjugation sites on DAPK1 kinase domain did not alter its protein stability or response to SUMO pathway inhibition. These data suggested that the SUMO pathway does not regulate DAPK1 protein degradation. The exact molecular mechanism underlying this regulation is yet to be discovered.
The PTEN–PI3K Axis in Cancer
Authors: Papa Antonella , Pandolfi Pier Paolo
Published: April 2019

The PI3K–AKT–mTOR signal transduction pathway regulates a variety of biological processes including cell growth, cell cycle progression and proliferation, cellular metabolism, and cytoskeleton reorganization. Fine-tuning of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway signaling output is essential for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and uncontrolled activation of this cascade leads to a number of human pathologies including cancer. Inactivation of the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on Chromosome 10 (PTEN) and/or activating mutations in the proto-typical lipid kinase PI3K have emerged as some of the most frequent events associated with human cancer and as a result the PI3K pathway has become a highly sought-after target for cancer therapies. In this review we summarize the essential role of the PTEN–PI3K axis in controlling cellular behaviors by modulating activation of key proto-oncogenic molecular nodes and functional targets. Further, we highlight important functional redundancies and peculiarities of these two critical enzymes that over the last few decades have become a central part of the cancer research field and have instructed hundreds of pre-clinical and clinical trials to better cancer treatments.
How to Understand Behavioral Patterns in Big Data: The Case of Human Collective Memory
Authors: Frank Steven A.
Published: April 2019

Simple patterns often arise from complex systems. For example, human perception of similarity decays exponentially with perceptual distance. The ranking of word usage versus the frequency at which the words are used has a log-log slope of minus one. Recent advances in big data provide an opportunity to characterize the commonly observed patterns of behavior. Those observed regularities set the challenge of understanding the mechanistic processes that generate common behaviors. This article illustrates the problem with the recent big data analysis of collective memory. Collective memory follows a simple biexponential pattern of decay over time. An initial rapid decay is followed by a slower, longer lasting decay. Candia et al. successfully fit a two stage model of mechanistic process to that pattern. Although that fit is useful, this article emphasizes the need, in big data analyses, to consider a broad set of alternative causal explanations. In this case, the method of signal frequency analysis yields several simple alternative models that generate exactly the same observed pattern of collective memory decay. This article concludes that the full potential of big data analyses in the behavioral sciences will require better methods for developing alternative, empirically testable causal models.
The Effects of Annealing Temperature on the Structural Properties of ZrB2 Films Deposited via Pulsed DC Magnetron Sputtering
Authors: Chen Wei-Chun , Lee Chao-Te , Su James , Chen Hung-Pin
Published: April 2019

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) thin films were deposited on a Si(100) substrate using pulsed direct current (dc) magnetron sputtering and then annealed in high vacuum. In addition, we discussed the effects of the vacuum annealing temperature in the range of 750 to 870 °C with flowing N2 on the physical properties of ZrB2 films. The structural properties of ZrB2 films were investigated with X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD patterns indicated that the ZrB2 films annealed at various temperatures exhibited a highly preferred orientation along the [0001] direction and that the residual stress could be relaxed by increasing the annealing temperature at 870 °C in a vacuum. The surface morphology was smooth, and the surface roughness slightly decreased with increasing annealing temperature. Cross-sectional TEM images of the ZrB2/Si(100) film annealed at 870 °C reveals the films were highly oriented in the direction of the c-axis of the Si substrate and the film structure was nearly stoichiometric in composition. The XPS results show the film surfaces slightly contain oxygen, which corresponds to the binding energy of Zr–O. Therefore, the obtained ZrB2 film seems to be quite suitable as a buffer layer for III-nitride growth.
The Effects of an Interlayer Debond on the Flexural Behavior of Three-Layer Beams
Authors: Monetto Ilaria
Published: April 2019

Debonds at the interfaces between layers of multilayered systems make the degree of the composite action reduce. As a consequence, the global stiffness of such composites decreases. In order to investigate this reduction, even simplified analytical models are preferable to numerical analyses. This paper analyzes the flexural response of a three-point bending three-layer beam having a debonded portion at the upper interface to investigate the effects of the interlayer debond on the flexural stiffness of the three-layer beam and to examine the feasibility of detecting the presence of possible manufacturing or in-service flaws. A more general model proposed and validated previously by the author was specialized to solve the equilibrium problem considered. A parametric analysis was then performed on varying the model parameters and evaluating the maximum deflection to compare with that for perfectly bonded layers as a measure of the reduction of the flexural stiffness due to the presence of the debond. The numerical results obtained show that the flexural behavior of the sandwich beam under consideration is affected strongly by the length of the debond but only moderately by its position along the interface unless the outer faces are quite stiffer than the core.
Role of Evolutionary Selection Acting on Vaccine Antigens in the Re-Emergence of Bordetella Pertussis
Authors: Etskovitz Haley , Anastasio Nicole , Green Evangeline , May Meghan
Published: April 2019

Pertussis (“whooping cough”) is a re-emerging disease with increasing incidence among fully vaccinated individuals. We explored the genetic diversity of five Bordetella pertussis proteins used to generate the subunit vaccine across ancestral and newly emergent strains using immunoinformatics and evolutionary selection measurements. The five subunits of pertussis toxin (Ptx1–Ptx5) were highly conserved with regard to sequence, predicted structure, predicted antigenicity, and were under purifying selection. In contrast, the adhesin proteins pertactin (Prn) and filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) were under statistically significant (p < 0.01) diversifying selection. Most heavily diversified sites of each protein fell within antigenic epitopes, and the functional adhesin motifs were conserved. Protein secondary structure was conserved despite sequence diversity for FHA but was changeable in Prn. These findings suggest that subunit vaccine-derived immunity does not impact Ptx1–Ptx5 but may apply evolutionary pressure to Prn and FHA to undergo diversifying selection. These findings offer further insight into the emergence of vaccine-resistant strains of B. pertussis.
WSMS: Wearable Stress Monitoring System Based on IoT Multi-Sensor Platform for Living Sheep Transportation
Authors: Cui Yan , Zhang Mengjie , Li Jun , Luo Hailing , Zhang Xiaoshuan , Fu Zetian
Published: April 2019

Farming herdsmen, sheep dealers, and veterinarians are increasingly interested in continuously monitoring sheep basic physiological characteristics (such as the heart rate and skin temperature) outside the laboratory environment, with the aim of identifying the physiological links between stress, uncomfortable, excitement, and other pathological states. This paper proposes a non-invasive Wearable Stress Monitoring System (WSMS) with PhotoPlethysmoGram (PPG), Infrared Temperature Measurement (ITM), and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) that aimed to remotely and continuously monitor the stress signs of sheep during transportation. The purpose of this study was implemented by following the multi-dimensional sensing platform to identify more pressure information. The designed WSMS showed sufficient robustness in recording and transmitting sensing data of physiology and environment during transport. The non-contact and non-destructive monitoring method that was proposed in this paper was helpful in minimizing the effects of sheep stress load.
Wireless Mesh Networking: An IoT-Oriented Perspective Survey on Relevant Technologies
Authors: Cilfone Antonio , Davoli Luca , Belli Laura , Ferrari Gianluigi
Published: April 2019

The Internet of Things (IoT), being a “network of networks”, promises to allow billions of humans and machines to interact with each other. Owing to this rapid growth, the deployment of IoT-oriented networks based on mesh topologies is very attractive, thanks to their scalability and reliability (in the presence of failures). In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of the following relevant wireless technologies: IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15.4-oriented, and Sub-GHz-based LoRa. Our goal is to highlight how various communication technologies may be suitable for mesh networking, either providing a native support or being adapted subsequently. Hence, we discuss how these wireless technologies, being either standard or proprietary, can adapt to IoT scenarios (e.g., smart cities and smart agriculture) in which the heterogeneity of the involved devices is a key feature. Finally, we provide reference use cases involving all the analyzed mesh-oriented technologies.
Identification and Characterization of Salt-Responsive MicroRNAs in Vicia faba by High-Throughput Sequencing
Authors: Alzahrani Saud M. , Alaraidh Ibrahim A. , Khan Muhammad A. , Migdadi Hussein M. , Alghamdi Salem S. , Alsahli Abdluaziz A.
Published: April 2019

Salt stress has detrimental effects on plant growth and development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs that are involved in post-transcriptional gene expression regulation. In this study, small RNA sequencing was employed to identify the salt stress-responsive miRNAs of the salt-sensitive Hassawi-3 and the salt-tolerant ILB4347 genotypes of faba bean, growing under salt stress. A total of 527 miRNAs in Hassawi-3 plants, and 693 miRNAs in ILB4347 plants, were found to be differentially expressed. Additionally, 284 upregulated and 243 downregulated miRNAs in Hassawi-3, and 298 upregulated and 395 downregulated miRNAs in ILB4347 plants growing in control and stress conditions were recorded. Target prediction and annotation revealed that these miRNAs regulate specific salt-responsive genes, which primarily included genes encoding transcription factors and laccases, superoxide dismutase, plantacyanin, and F-box proteins. The salt-responsive miRNAs and their targets were functionally enriched by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, which showed that the miRNAs were involved in salt stress-related biological pathways, including the ABC transporter pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, and the phosphatidylinositol signaling system, among others, suggesting that the miRNAs play an important role in the salt stress tolerance of the ILB4347 genotype. These results offer a novel understanding of the regulatory role of miRNAs in the salt response of the salt-tolerant ILB4347 and the salt-sensitive Hassawi-3 faba bean genotypes.
Developing an Optimal Spatial Predictive Model for Seabed Sand Content Using Machine Learning, Geostatistics, and Their Hybrid Methods
Authors: Li Jin , Siwabessy Justy , Huang Zhi , Nichol Scott
Published: April 2019

Seabed sediment predictions at regional and national scales in Australia are mainly based on bathymetry-related variables due to the lack of backscatter-derived data. In this study, we applied random forests (RFs), hybrid methods of RF and geostatistics, and generalized boosted regression modelling (GBM), to seabed sand content point data and acoustic multibeam data and their derived variables, to develop an accurate model to predict seabed sand content at a local scale. We also addressed relevant issues with variable selection. It was found that: (1) backscatter-related variables are more important than bathymetry-related variables for sand predictive modelling; (2) the inclusion of highly correlated predictors can improve predictive accuracy; (3) the rank orders of averaged variable importance (AVI) and accuracy contribution change with input predictors for RF and are not necessarily matched; (4) a knowledge-informed AVI method (KIAVI2) is recommended for RF; (5) the hybrid methods and their averaging can significantly improve predictive accuracy and are recommended; (6) relationships between sand and predictors are non-linear; and (7) variable selection methods for GBM need further study. Accuracy-improved predictions of sand content are generated at high resolution, which provide important baseline information for environmental management and conservation.
Distribution and Dietary Predictors of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites among Pregnant Women in Shanghai, China
Authors: He Xin , Zang Jiajie , Liao Ping , Zheng Yang , Lu Ye , Zhu Zhenni , Shi Yan , Wang Wenjing
Published: April 2019

The exposure of pregnant women to phthalates is a major concern due to their adverse effect on developmental outcomes. Diet is an important pathway for exposure to phthalate compounds. Nevertheless, studies on dietary exposure of pregnant women to phthalates in China are limited. We aimed to assess the distribution and dietary predictors of phthalate exposure among pregnant women in China. We measured the levels of 10 urinary phthalate metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry in 210 pregnant women as part of the 2015 China National Chronic Disease and Nutrition Survey in Shanghai. We assessed the urinary specific gravity-adjusted phthalate metabolite levels along with potential demographic and dietary predictors. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between each potential demographic variable and dietary predictor and urinary phthalate metabolites. Seven urinary phthalate metabolites were detected in >95% of pregnant women. The geometric mean (GM) of urinary phthalate biomarker values were highest for monobutyl phthalate (GM: 25.29 ng/mL) and monoisobutyl phthalate (GM:11.18 ng/mL). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that a lower educational level was associated with elevated urinary phthalate metabolite levels. Edible seaweed consumption had a positive correlation with urinary monoethyl phthalate and monoisobutyl phthalate levels, and the total molar sum of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites. These findings offer important data on the dietary exposure to phthalates in pregnant Chinese women and suggest interventions to improve food safety.
Longitudinal Associations between Life Satisfaction and Cannabis Use Initiation, Cessation, and Disorder Symptom Severity in a Cohort of Young Swiss Men
Authors: Deligianni Marianthi Lousiana , Studer Joseph , Daeppen Jean-Bernard , Gmel Gerhard , Bertholet Nicolas
Published: April 2019

Motivations for cannabis use may include coping with negative well-being. Life satisfaction, a hallmark of subjective well-being, could play a role in cannabis use among young adults. This study aims to assess whether life satisfaction (SWLS) at age 21 is associated with cannabis initiation and cessation between the ages of 21 and 25, and with cannabis use severity (CUDIT) at age 25. Data were drawn from a cohort of young Swiss males. Associations of life satisfaction with initiation, cessation, and severity were assessed with logistic and zero-truncated negative binomial regressions. Age, family income, education, alcohol, and tobacco use at age 21 were used as adjustment variables. From a sample of 4778 males, 1477 (30.9%) reported cannabis use at age 21, 456 (9.5%) initiated use between age 21 and 25, and 515 (10.8%) ceased by age 25. Mean (SD) SWLS was significantly higher among non-users at age 21: 27.22 (5.35) vs. 26.28 (5.80), p < 0.001. Negative associations between life satisfaction at age 21 and cannabis use initiation (OR = 0.98, p = 0.029) and severity at age 25 (IRR = 0.97, p < 0.001) were no more significant in adjusted analyses (OR = 0.98, p = 0.059 and IRR = 0.99, p = 0.090). Life satisfaction at age 21 was not associated with cannabis cessation (OR = 0.99, p = 0.296). Results suggest that the predictive value of life satisfaction in cannabis use is questionable and may be accounted for by other behaviors, such as tobacco and alcohol use.
Individualized Tour Route Plan Algorithm Based on Tourist Sight Spatial Interest Field
Authors: Zhou Xiao , Zhan Yinhu , Feng Guanghui , Zhang De , Li Shaomei
Published: April 2019

Smart tourism is the new frontier field of the tourism research. To solve current problems of smart tourism and tourism geographic information system (GIS), individualized tour guide route plan algorithm based on tourist sight spatial interest field is set up in the study. Feature interest tourist sight extracting matrix is formed and basic modeling data is obtained from mass tourism data. Tourism groups are determined by age index. Different age group tourists have various interests; thus interest field mapping model is set up based on individual needs and interests. Random selecting algorithm for selecting interest tourist sights by smart machine is designed. The algorithm covers all tourist sights and relative data information to ensure each tourist sight could be selected equally. In the study, selected tourist sights are set as important nodes while iteration intervals and sub-iteration intervals are defined. According to the principle of proximity and completely random, motive iteration clusters and sub-clusters are formed by all tourist sight parent nodes. Tourist sight data information and geospatial information are set as quantitative indexes to calculate motive iteration values and motive iteration decision trees of each cluster are formed, and then all motive iteration values are stored in descending order in a vector. For each cluster, there is an optimal motive iteration tree and a local optimal solution. For all clusters, there is a global optimal solution. Simulation experiments are performed and results data as well as motive iteration trees are analyzed and evaluated. The evaluation results indicate that the algorithm is effective for mass tourism data mining. The final optimal tour routes planned by the smart machine are closely related to tourists’ needs, interests, and habits, which are fully integrated with geospatial services. The algorithm is an effective demonstration of the application on mass tourism data mining.
Systemic Sclerosis Is Linked to Psoriasis and May Impact on Patients’ Survival: A Large Cohort Study
Authors: Watad Abdulla , Bragazzi Nicola Luigi , McGonagle Dennis , Damiani Giovanni , Comaneshter Doron , Cohen Arnon , Amital Howard
Published: April 2019

Although skin manifestations are quite common in systemic sclerosis (SSc), a link between SSc and psoriasis (PsO) has been poorly investigated. We assessed the Clalit medical database in a cohort study to compare the prevalence of PsO between SSc-patients and SSc-free controls. We also evaluated the SSc-related autoantibodies’ role in the co-existence of the two conditions. Survival analysis was performed using both univariate (Kaplan–Meier, log-rank test) and multivariate (Cox proportional-hazards technique) analyses. Our cohort of 2,431 SSc-patients was age- and gender-matched with 12,710 controls (case-control match 1:5.2). There were 150 (1.2%) cases of PsO among controls and 47 (1.9%) among SSc-patients (p = 0.0027). A SSc diagnosis was an independent risk factor for PsO with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.16 (95%CI 1.38–3.39, p = 0.0008). Among SSc-patients, 98.6% with PsO were antinuclear antibodies (ANA)-negative. In terms of survival, the mortality rate in SSc-patients with PsO was lower than SSc without PsO (14.9% vs. 26%, p < 0.0001). At the multivariate-analysis, SSc-patients with PsO compared to SSc-patients without PsO had an OR for death of 0.44 (95%CI 0.19–0.99, p < 0.05). SSc is independently associated with PsO. The cases with concurrent PsO and SSc are almost exclusively ANA-negative and may exhibit a better survival.
Personalized Three-Dimensional Printed Models in Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Sun Zhonghua , Lau Ivan , Wong Yin How , Yeong Chai Hong
Published: April 2019

Patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) printed models have been increasingly used in cardiology and cardiac surgery, in particular, showing great value in the domain of congenital heart disease (CHD). CHD is characterized by complex cardiac anomalies with disease variations between individuals; thus, it is difficult to obtain comprehensive spatial conceptualization of the cardiac structures based on the current imaging visualizations. 3D printed models derived from patient’s cardiac imaging data overcome this limitation by creating personalized 3D heart models, which not only improve spatial visualization, but also assist preoperative planning and simulation of cardiac procedures, serve as a useful tool in medical education and training, and improve doctor–patient communication. This review article provides an overall view of the clinical applications and usefulness of 3D printed models in CHD. Current limitations and future research directions of 3D printed heart models are highlighted.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Hospitalized Renal Transplant Recipients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Nationwide Analysis
Authors: Cheungpasitporn Wisit , Thongprayoon Charat , Ungprasert Patompong , Wijarnpreecha Karn , Kaewput Wisit , Leeaphorn Napat , Bathini Tarun , Chebib Fouad T. , Kröner Paul T.
Published: April 2019

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the hospitalization rates for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) among renal transplant patients with adult polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and its outcomes, when compared to non-ADPKD renal transplant patients. Methods: The 2005–2014 National Inpatient Sample databases were used to identify all hospitalized renal transplant patients. The inpatient prevalence of SAH as a discharge diagnosis between ADPKD and non-ADPKD renal transplant patients was compared. Among SAH patients, the in-hospital mortality, use of aneurysm clipping, hospital length of stay, total hospitalization cost and charges between ADPKD and non-ADPKD patients were compared, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The inpatient prevalence of SAH in ADPKD was 3.8/1000 admissions, compared to 0.9/1000 admissions in non-ADPKD patients (p < 0.01). Of 833 renal transplant patients with a diagnosis of SAH, 30 had ADPKD. Five (17%) ADPKD renal patients with SAH died in hospitals compared to 188 (23.4%) non-ADPKD renal patients (p = 0.70). In adjusted analysis, there was no statistically significant difference in mortality, use of aneurysm clipping, hospital length of stay, or total hospitalization costs and charges between ADPKD and non-ADPKD patients with SAH. Conclusion: Renal transplant patients with ADPKD had a 4-fold higher inpatient prevalence of SAH than those without ADPKD. Further studies are needed to compare the incidence of overall admissions in ADPKD and non-ADPKD patients. When renal transplant patients developed SAH, inpatient mortality rates were high regardless of ADPKD status. The outcomes, as well as resource utilization, were comparable between the two groups.
Incidence and Mortality of Renal Cell Carcinoma after Kidney Transplantation: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Chewcharat Api , Thongprayoon Charat , Bathini Tarun , Aeddula Narothama Reddy , Boonpheng Boonphiphop , Kaewput Wisit , Watthanasuntorn Kanramon , Lertjitbanjong Ploypin , Sharma Konika , Torres-Ortiz Aldo , Leeaphorn Napat , Mao Michael A. , Khoury Nadeen J. , Cheungpasitporn Wisit
Published: April 2019

Background: The incidence and mortality of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after kidney transplantation (KTx) remain unclear. This study’s aims were (1) to investigate the pooled incidence/incidence trends, and (2) to assess the mortality/mortality trends in KTx patients with RCC. Methods: A literature search was conducted using the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases from inception through October 2018. Studies that reported the incidence or mortality of RCC among kidney transplant recipients were included. The pooled incidence and 95% CI were calculated using a random-effect model. The protocol for this meta-analysis is registered with PROSPERO; no. CRD42018108994. Results: A total of 22 observational studies with a total of 320,190 KTx patients were enrolled. Overall, the pooled estimated incidence of RCC after KTx was 0.7% (95% CI: 0.5–0.8%, I2 = 93%). While the pooled estimated incidence of de novo RCC in the native kidney was 0.7% (95% CI: 0.6–0.9%, I2 = 88%), the pooled estimated incidence of RCC in the allograft kidney was 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1–0.4%, I2 = 64%). The pooled estimated mortality rate in KTx recipients with RCC was 15.0% (95% CI: 7.4–28.1%, I2 = 80%) at a mean follow-up time of 42 months after RCC diagnosis. While meta-regression analysis showed a significant negative correlation between year of study and incidence of de novo RCC post-KTx (slopes = −0.05, p = 0.01), there were no significant correlations between the year of study and mortality of patients with RCC (p = 0.50). Egger’s regression asymmetry test was performed and showed no publication bias in all analyses. Conclusions: The overall estimated incidence of RCC after KTX was 0.7%. Although there has been a potential decrease in the incidence of RCC post-KTx, mortality in KTx patients with RCC has not decreased over time.