bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Correlation of DEPDC5 rs1012068 and rs5998152 Polymorphisms with Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhu Shaoliang , Tang Zhenyong , Zou Mengjie , Tan Tingting , Tang Yi , Chen Yuanyuan , Liang Bin , Xie Dongyi , Yang Yongyu , Xie Shaowei , Xie Guangyuan , Dong Xiaofeng , Liu Tianqi , Tang Yuntian , Yang Jianrong
Published: January 2023

Background. Emerging evidence has shown that two common genetic polymorphisms within the pleckstrin domain-containing protein 5 (DEPDC5), rs1012068 and rs5998152, may be associated with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially in those individuals chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) or the hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, these findings have not been consistently replicated in the literature due to limited sample sizes or different etiologies of HCC. Thus, the present systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to resolve this inconsistency. Methods. The databases PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Scopus were searched up to December 12, 2022. Data from relevant studies were pooled, and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results. A total of 11 case-control studies encompassing 2,609 cases and 8,171 controls on rs1012068 and three encompassing 411 cases and 1,448 controls on rs5998152 were included. Results indicated that the DEPDC5 rs1012068 polymorphism did not significantly increase HCC risk in the total population (allelic model (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.04–1.67,

P

 = 0.02); the recessive model (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.96–2.10,

P

 = 0.08); the dominant model (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.09–1.87,

P

 = 0.01); the homozygous model (OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.01–2.57,

P

 = 0.05); the heterozygous model (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.09–1.79,

P

 = 0.009)). Subgroup analyses based on ethnicity and etiology revealed that the rs1012068 polymorphism, under all five genetic models, was associated with increased HCC risk in Asians or in individuals with chronic HBV infection but not in individuals with chronic HCV infection. A significant association was also observed between rs5998152 and HCV-related HCC risk in Asians chronically infected with HCV under allelic, dominant, and heterozygous models. Conclusion. Our study suggests that the DEPDC5 rs1012068 polymorphism increases HCC risk, especially in Asians with chronic HBV infection, while the rs5998152 polymorphism increases HCC risk in Asians with chronic HCV infection.
The Impact of Digital Finance on the Commercial Circulation Industry Based on IoT and Big Data
Authors: Cao Lei , Liu Guangwei , Xu Yao
Published: January 2023

Digital finance represented by the Internet of Things (IoT) has strong penetration and integration. The real economy has always been an important cornerstone of social and economic development. As a bridge between producers and consumers, the commercial circulation industry also plays an irreplaceable role in the healthy development of social economy. Therefore, this study is based on the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), the integration maturity is divided into four categories, and the results are qualitatively analyzed. The research results show that under the Internet of Things mode, the integration development maturity level and the integration development maturity are concentrated at a lower stage (defined level).
Effect and Mechanism of Dragon’s Blood on Wound Healing of Patients with Stress Hand Injury
Authors: Sun Shulin , Wang Peng , Yue Kaifeng , Yi Qipeng , Xie Xinjun , Xie Xianmin
Published: January 2023

This study aimed to explore the effect and mechanism of Dragon’s Blood on wound healing in patients with a pressure hand injury. A total of 120 patients with pressure hand injury treated in our hospital were randomly divided into two groups. Sixty patients in the control group were dressed with sterile gauze, and 60 patients in the observation group were smeared with blood exhaustion. The clinical effects and serological indexes of the two groups were compared, and the mechanism of wound healing was analyzed. The results showed that the treatment effective rate of the control group was 80% and that of the observation group was 93.33%. The treatment effective rate of the observation group was dramatically higher (P < 0.05). The number of patients with good granulation tissue in the observation group was 53, which was dramatically greater than that in the control group. The number of patients with a small amount of wound exudation was 51, which was dramatically greater than that in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP‐3), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and transforming growth factor B1 (TGF‐B1) in the observation group increased more dramatically (P < 0.05). The level of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 (TIMP‐1) decreased to 617.23 ng/L in the observation group, and the degree of reduction was more obvious (P < 0.05). Notably, Dragon’s Blood promoted wound healing at the injury site by increasing the levels of MMP‐3, VEGF, and TGF‐B1and decreasing TIMP‐1. The area of wound reduction in the observation group was 0.27 cm2, and the reduction was more obvious (P < 0.05). The healing time of pressure hand injury in the observation group was 15.27 days, which was dramatically shorter (P < 0.05). In summary, Dragon’s Blood had a good effect on the healing of the injured site in patients with pressure hand injury, which is worthy of promotion.
Perspectives of Primary Teachers, Students, and Parents on Homework
Authors: Syla Lirika Bërdynaj
Published: January 2023

The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of teachers, students, and parents on homework purpose and student feedback in primary school. The qualitative methodology was adopted for this research. This qualitative study used data from 20 teachers, 20 students, and 20 parents of the fifth-grade primary school in four municipalities of Kosovo. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and were analyzed through the thematic analysis method. The research results provided an overview of the reality of the way teachers approached homework. Research showed that there was a lack of a general standard, in almost all schools, related to homework assignments and there was a lack of teachers’ professional development for homework planning. Also, this research showed that the purpose of homework was closely related to how teachers planned and understood the role of homework, as well as how teachers built collaboration with students.
Hair Disorders in Autoimmune Diseases
Authors: Rodríguez-Tamez Giselle , Herz-Ruelas Maira Elizabeth , Gómez-Flores Minerva , Ocampo-Candiani Jorge , Chavez-Alvarez Sonia
Published: January 2023

Alopecia is a common feature in several autoimmune diseases. With a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, it may manifest with a scarring or non-scarring nature, in a diffuse, patchy, or localized pattern. We as dermatologists have the opportunity of assessing patients with hair loss who may have an underlying undiagnosed autoimmune disorder. This review aimed to describe the main clinical, trichoscopic, and histopathological features of hair disorders associated with autoimmune diseases.
Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Is Safe and Effective for Lesions Located at the Anorectal Junction: Analysis from Two Referral European Centers
Authors: Ferreira Mariana Figueiredo , Marques Margarida , Morais Rui , Lemmers Arnaud , Macedo Guilherme , Santos-Antunes João
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a well-established resection technique for colorectal superficial tumors, but its role in the treatment of anorectal junction (ARJ) lesions still remains to be determined. With this study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of ESD for the resection of ARJ lesions, in comparison to more proximal rectal lesions. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data concerning all consecutive rectal ESD procedures performed in two European centers, from 2015 to 2021. Results: A total of two hundred and fifty-two rectal lesions were included. Sixty (24%) were ARJ lesions, and the remaining 192 (76%) were located proximally. Technical success was achieved in 248 procedures (98%), and its rate was similar in both locations (p = 0.246). Most of the lesions presented high-grade dysplasia/Tis adenocarcinoma (54%); 36 (15%) had submucosal adenocarcinoma, including 20 superficial (sm1) and 16 deeply invasive (>SM1) T1 cancers. We found no differences between ARJ and rectal lesions in regard to en bloc resection rate (100% vs. 96%, p = 0.204), R0 resection rate (76% vs. 75%, p = 0.531), curative resection rate (70% vs. 70%, p = 0.920), procedures’ median duration (120 min vs. 90 min, p = 0.072), ESD velocity (14 vs. 12 mm2/min, p = 0.415), histopathology result (p = 0.053), and the need for surgery due to a non-curative ESD (5% vs. 3%, p = 0.739). Also, there was no statistically significant difference that concerns delayed bleeding (7% vs. 8%, p = 0.709), perforation (0% vs. 5%, p = 0.075), or the need for readmission (2% vs. 2%, p = 0.939). Nevertheless, anorectal stenosis (5% vs. 0%, p = 0.003) and anorectal pain (9% vs. 1%, p = 0.002) were significantly more frequent in ARJ lesions. Conclusion: ESD is a safe and efficient resection technique for the treatment of rectal lesions located in the ARJ.
Design of a RoF fronthaul link based on optical generation of mm-waves for 5G C-RANs
Authors: Keti Faris , M. Atroshey Salih , A. Hamadamin Jalil
Published: January 2023

In this paper, a cloud-radio access networks based (C-RANs) radio-over-fiber (RoF) system have been reported with the optical generation of 28 GHz and 57 GHz millimeter-wave using phase modulation and stimulated Brillouin scattering effect in optical fibers. As a result, a cost-effective system with improved performance is achieved by the proposed method. Based on the proposed scheme, a 28 GHz (licensed band) and 57 GHz (Un-licensed band) optical millimeter-waves are generated by simulation only using 14 GHz and 16 GHz radio frequency (RF) respectively. Because the performance of any optical transmission system is limited by the Q factor and the bit error rate (BER) and any input power of the laser into the fiber needs to be less than the Brillouin threshold in order to avoid the sharp degradation of the Q factor. Also, the Brillouin threshold for this study setup is determined which is around 6 dBm in the case of licensed band and 2 dBm in the case of unlicensed band. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme can provide 100 km single-mode fiber for 28 GHz and 25 km for 57 GHz with transmission rates of 10 Gbps for both of them. In addition, a stable millimeter-wave RoF link, high quality carriers, and a reduction in nonlinearity effects are achieved with the proposed scheme.
Edge device for movement pattern classification using neural network algorithms
Authors: Yauri Ricardo , Espino Rafael
Published: January 2023

Portable electronic systems allow the analysis and monitoring of continuous time signals, such as human activity, integrating deep learning techniques with cloud computing, causing network traffic and high energy consumption. In addition, the use of algorithms based on neural networks are a very widespread solution in these applications, but they have a high computational cost, not suitable for edge devices. In this context, solutions are created that bring data analysis closer to the edge of the network, so in this paper models adapted to an edge device for the recognition of human activity are evaluated, considering characteristics such as inference time, memory, and precision. Two categories of models based on deep and convolutional neural networks are developed by implementing them in C language and comparing with the TensorFlow Lite platform. The results show that the implementations with libraries have a better accuracy result of 76% using principal component analysis inputs, obtaining an execution time of 9ms. Therefore, when evaluating the models, we must not only consider their accuracy but also the execution time and memory on the device.
Hybrid deep-spatio textural feature model for medicinal plant disease classification
Authors: Keskar Margesh , D. Maktedar Dhananjay
Published: January 2023

The high-pace rise in the demands of medicinal plants towards pharmaceutical significances as well as the different ayurvedic or herbal remedials have forced agro-industries However, rising plant disease cases have limited the cumulative growth and hence both volumetric production as well as quality of medicine. In this paper a first of its kind evolutionary computing driven ROI-specific hybrid deep-spatio temporal textural feature learning model is developed for medicinal plant disease detection (HDST-MPD). To alleviate any possible class-imbalance problem, HDST-MPD model at first applied firefly heuristic driven fuzzy C-means clustering to retrieve ROI-specific RGB regions. Subsequently, to exploit maximum possible deep spatiotemporal textural features, it applied gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and AlexNet transferable network. Here, the use of multiple GLCM features helped in exploiting textural feature distribution, while AlexNet deep model yielded high-dimensional features. These deep-spatio temporal textural feature (deep-STTF) features were fused together to yield a composite vector, which was trained over random forest ensemble to perform two-class classification to classify each sample medicinal image as normal or diseased. Depth performance assessment confirmed that the proposed model yields accuracy of 98.97%, precision 99.42%, recall 98.89%, F-measure 99.15%, and equal error rate of 1.03%, signifying its robustness towards real-time medicinal plant disease detection and classification.
Survey on attribute and concept reduction methods in formal concept analysis
Authors: Alwersh Mohammed , Kovács László
Published: January 2023

Formal concept analysis (FCA) is now widely recognized as a useful approach for extracting, representing, and analyzing knowledge in various domains. The high computational cost of knowledge processing and the difficulty of visualizing the lattice are two key challenges in practical FCA implementations. Moreover, assessing the finalized built-up lattice may be problematic due to the enormous number of formal concepts and the complexity of their connections. The challenge of constructing concept lattices of adequate size and structure to convey high-importance context features remains a significant FCA aim. In the literature, various strategies for concept lattice reduction have been presented. In this work, we suggest a categorization of reduction methods for concept lattice based on three main categories: context pre-processing, non-essential distinctions elimination, and concept filtration, whereby using FCA-based analysis, the most important methods in the literature are analyzed and compared based on six pillars: the preliminary step of the reduction process, domain expert, changing the original data structure, final concept lattice, quality of reduction, and category of reduction method.
A smart system combining real and predicted data to recommend an optimal electric vehicle charging station
Authors: EL-Fedany Ibrahim , Kiouach Driss , Alaoui Rachid
Published: January 2023

The electric vehicle (EV) is considered an attractive alternative to a conventional vehicle, due to its potential beneficiation in decreasing carbon emission. But the battery range anxiety is a key challenge to its wide adoption and also the EV drivers spend so much time in public charging stations (CS) to charge especially during peak times. In this paper, we propose a charging station selected system (C3S) to control and manage EVs charging plans. Moreover, the C3S system proposed consists of a set of algorithms that are proposed to recommend a suitable CS for EV charging requests. The CS selection is based on minimizing travel time and takes into account in real-time the queuing time at CS, EVs' charging reservations, and the predicted time of EVs' future charging requests. Besides, we proposed three different strategies for predicting the EVs incoming and controlling the uncertainty matter of the dynamic arrival of EV charging requests. As part of the Helsinki City scenario, the evaluation results demonstrate the performance, especially at peak times, of our proposed C3S with regard to the CS recommendation which has the minimum total trip duration.
Estimating social distance in public places for COVID-19 protocol using region CNN
Authors: Raj Arul , Sugumar R.
Published: January 2023

The Coronavirus disease has spread throughout the world and its fear has made people to be more cautious in public places. Since precautionary measures are the only reliable protocol to defend ourselves, social distancing is the only best approach to defend against the pandemic situation. The reproduction number i.e. R0 factor of COVID-19, can be slowed down only through the physical distancing norms. This research proposes a deep learning approach for maintaining the social distance by tracking and detecting the people present indoor and outdoor scenarios. Surveillance video is taken as the input and applied into you only look once (YOLO) V3 algorithm. The persons in the video are identified based on the segmentation algorithm present within the framework and then using Euclidean distance the image is evaluated. The bounding box algorithm helps to segregate the humans based on the minimum distance threshold. The proposed method is evaluated for images with peoples in the market, availing essential commodities and students entry inside a campus. Our proposed region-based convolutional neural network (RCNN) algorithm gives a better accuracy over the traditional models and hence the service can be implemented in general for places where social distancing is mandatory.
Cryptocurrency price forecasting method using long short-term memory with time-varying parameters
Authors: Boongasame Laor , Songram Panida
Published: January 2023

Numerous research have been done to predict cryptocurrency prices since cryptocurrency prices affect global economic and monetary systems. However, investigations using linear connection approaches and technical analysis indicators frequently fall short of providing an explanation for changes in the pattern of BitCoin pricing. This paper is proposed to study time-varying parameters with long short-term memory (LSTM). The study is investigated on a dataset retrieved from Binance from March 2022 to April 2022. The proposed LSTM used a variety of hyperparameter settings, particularly time parameters, to predict the cryptocurrency price (BTC/USDT) on the dataset. Additionally, it is evaluated in terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) in comparison to smooth moving average (SMA), weighted moving average (WMA), and exponential moving averages (EMA). From the investigation, using the previous 3 days for prediction gives the lowest of the MAPE values and the proposed LSTM outperformed the other models. When considering the last three days' value of pricing, the indicated LSTM offers the best accurate prediction, with a MAPE percentage of 0.0927%.
Comparative study and simulation of advanced MPPT control algorithms for a photovoltaic system
Authors: Isknan Ismail , Asbayou Abdellah , Hamid Adaliou Abdel , Ihlal Ahmed , Bouhouch Lahoussine
Published: January 2023

A photovoltaic (PV) system uses solar radiation and converts it into electrical energy. An energy management system consisting of a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller is then necessary. In the present work, for the optimization of the electrical energy delivered by the solar PV panel we will compare four types of controls explained below, namely "MPPT-P&OM", "MPPT-IncM", "MPPT-PI-P&OC" and "MPPT-FOPI-P&OC". Based on these comparisons, for different values of solar irradiance, the four methods seem to perform quite similarly; all four are fast and show small oscillations around the optimal value; nevertheless, the MPPT-IncM method performs slightly better than the others. This is due to the fact that it is slightly faster and has fewer oscillations. The simulation is implemented numerically using the MATLAB/Simulink development tool.
Prediction on field crops yield based on analysis of deep learning model
Authors: Shanmugam Iniyan , Rethnaraj Jebakumar , Rajendran Srinivasan , Manickam Senthilraja
Published: January 2023

Agriculture has a key role in the overall economic development of the country. Climate change, irregular rainfall, changes in the nutrient content of the soil, and other environmental changes are seen as a severe problem in crop yield prediction. Using deep learning (DL) models that incorporate multiple factors can be viewed as an essential strategy for attaining accurate and effective solutions to this issue. The crop yield can be predicted using yield data obtained from a historical source that includes information about the weather, soil nutrient content, soil type, the season in which the crop was grown, and its yield. In order to train the model and achieve high accuracy, a large set of data including multiple factors would be required. This research aims to forecast the yield of a certain crop using long short-term memory (LSTM) time series analysis and the information currently available. The data used to construct the models was obtained from a reputable source and contains correct numbers. Before growing a crop that has been sown on a piece of agricultural land, the yield prediction utilizing advanced methodologies can assist farmers predict the yield of a specific crop.
Web service discovery approach: application in e-healing domain
Authors: Halim Mohamed , Adadi Nouha , Berrada Mohammed , Chenouni Driss
Published: January 2023

The main objective of today's companies is to cope with rapid changes in the environment. For this, they must ensure the integration and interoperability of their applications. To manage and automate the life cycle of these applications, companies are adopting web services technology. The current problem is that the content of these web services cannot be processed automatically. Only humans can interpret its contents. The semantic web is a new vision of the web that promises to overcome this difficulty. The goal of this technology is to automate the retrieval, assembly, and selection of web services. In this post, we are interested in semantic detection of web services. The main problem is automatically discovering web services on request from clients. Against this background, we first describe the principle of the proposed detection mechanism and then present the designed matchmaking algorithm. Finally, we implement our proposed method. To verify our work, we run tests against various user requests and web service panels. As part of a case study, we consider an online hospital problem. This problem is a typical web service discovery scenario to which the concepts of our method are applied.
Virtual reality eye exercises application based on bates method: a preliminary study
Authors: Candra Brata Komang , Muslimah Az-Zahra Hanifah , Hendra Brata Adam , Fanani Lutfi
Published: January 2023

In many situations, ophthalmologists prescribe glasses and contact lenses as a treatment method for Myopia. The other way to cure myopia is by performing Lasik surgery or using advanced tools which takes a large amount of financial effort. Dr. William Horatio Bates proposed a promising method to cure myopia with an eye exercise approach, providing opportunities to enhance the availability of low-cost eye treatment that is not easily achievable with surgery and other expensive approaches. However, many myopia patients are still unaware of this method and have no idea how to use it in their daily lives. The rapid growth of virtual reality (VR) technology has shown that this technology offers an affordable and effective solution to provide better health services. This paper expands the result of an initial experiment aimed to validate the utilization of mobile VR technology to enhance the possibility of the Bates method implementation as a low-cost daily eye exercise tool. A direct diary study with 14 participants was carried out to explicitly investigate the feasibility of the proposed app. The result reveals that the proposed app could assist people with myopia when doing eye exercises and the result is quite promising in reducing the refractive levels with 0.13 diopter on average within 5 weeks period.
An efficient machine learning approach for classification of diabetic retinopathy stages
Authors: Dasari Srilaxmi , Poonguzhali Boo , Rayudu Manjulasri Sri
Published: January 2023

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) the prime cause of blindness, develops when glucose levels rise, causing retinal damage. DR can be prevented if the illness is detected early. As a result, early grading, categorization, and diagnosis of DR can help diabetic patients avoid visual loss. Several system methods assist in the classification of DR using high-performance criteria. This work proposes an efficient system-based DR classification. The purpose of efficient machine learning dabetic retinopatyy grading classification (EML-DRGC) design is to recognize DR impulsively with highest accuracy. The proposed technique employs preprocessing methods such as employing the Gaussian filtering approach for removing noise present in retinal fundus images. The segmentation process is followed using K-means segmentation algorithm which is used for segmenting the region of interest (ROI) from background. Moreover, Feature extraction process is done by using gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) in which features are extracted bycapturing the image's visual content and features from acceerated segment test (FAST) design is used as extractor of features. Finally, multi support vector machine is utilized as classifier for detecting severity levels of DR. Performance metrics such as accuracy of 98.38% and specificity of 98.34% are obtained which are superior to existing designs.
OSPEN: an open source platform for emulating neuromorphic hardware
Authors: Ghani Arfan , Dowrick Thomas , McDaid Liam J.
Published: January 2023

This paper demonstrates a framework that entails a bottom-up approach to accelerate research, development, and verification of neuro-inspired sensing devices for real-life applications. Previous work in neuromorphic engineering mostly considered application-specific designs which is a strong limitation for researchers to develop novel applications and emulate the true behaviour of neuro-inspired systems. Hence to enable the fully parallel brain-like computations, this paper proposes a methodology where a spiking neuron model was emulated in software and electronic circuits were then implemented and characterized. The proposed approach offers a unique perspective whereby experimental measurements taken from a fabricated device allowing empirical models to be developed. This technique acts as a bridge between the theoretical and practical aspects of neuro-inspired devices. It is shown through software simulations and empirical modelling that the proposed technique is capable of replicating neural dynamics and post-synaptic potentials. Retrospectively, the proposed framework offers a first step towards open-source neuro-inspired hardware for a range of applications such as healthcare, applied machine learning and the internet of things (IoT).
A systematic literature review on hardware implementation of image processing
Authors: Azhari Zul Imran , Setumin Samsul , Rosli Anis Diyana , Abu Bakar Siti Juliana
Published: January 2023

Image processing has become under the spotlight recently and leads to a significant shift in various fields such as biomedical, satellite images, and graphical applications. Nevertheless, the poor quality of an image is one of the noticeable limitations of image processing as it restricts efficient data extraction to be conducted. Conventionally, the image was processed via software applications such as MATLAB. In spite of the software's ability to cater to the data extraction of low-quality image issues, it still suffers from the time-consuming issue. As the ability to obtain a rapid outcome is a favorable feature of efficient image processing, the use of hardware in image processing is deemed to keep the addressed issue at bay. Thus, the image enhancement techniques using hardware have gradually rising interest among researchers with numerous approaches such as field programmable gate array (FPGA). In this study, 25 different research papers published from 2016 to 2021 are studied and analyzed to focus on the performance of FPGA as hardware implementation in image processing techniques.
Homeostatic, Non-Canonical Role of Macrophage Elastase in Vascular Integrity
Authors: Salarian Mani , Ghim Mean , Toczek Jakub , Han Jinah , Weiss Dar , Spronck Bart , Ramachandra Abhay B. , Jung Jae-Joon , Kukreja Gunjan , Zhang Jiasheng , Lakheram Deaneira , Kim Sung-Kwon , Humphrey Jay D. , Sadeghi Mehran M.
Published: January 2023

Background:

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-12 is highly expressed in abdominal aortic aneurysms and its elastolytic function has been implicated in the pathogenesis. This concept is challenged, however, by conflicting data. Here, we sought to revisit the role of MMP-12 in abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Methods:

Apoe
-/-
and
Mmp12
-/-
/
Apoe
-/-
mice were infused with Ang II (angiotensin). Expression of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) markers and complement component 3 (C3) levels were evaluated by immunostaining in aortas of surviving animals. Plasma complement components were analyzed by immunoassay. The effects of a complement inhibitor, IgG-FH
1-5
(factor H-immunoglobulin G), and macrophage-specific MMP-12 deficiency on adverse aortic remodeling and death from rupture in Ang II–infused mice were determined.

Results:

Unexpectedly, death from aortic rupture was significantly higher in
Mmp12
-/-
/
Apoe
-/-
mice. This associated with more neutrophils, citrullinated histone H3 and neutrophil elastase, markers of NETs, and C3 levels in

Mmp12
-/-

aortas. These findings were recapitulated in additional models of abdominal aortic aneurysm. MMP-12 deficiency also led to more pronounced elastic laminae degradation and reduced collagen integrity. Higher plasma C5a in
Mmp12
-/-
mice pointed to complement overactivation. Treatment with IgG-FH
1-5
decreased aortic wall NETosis and reduced adverse aortic remodeling and death from rupture in Ang II–infused
Mmp12
-/-
mice. Finally, macrophage-specific MMP-12 deficiency recapitulated the effects of global MMP-12 deficiency on complement deposition and NETosis, as well as adverse aortic remodeling and death from rupture in Ang II–infused mice.

Conclusions:

An MMP-12 deficiency/complement activation/NETosis pathway compromises aortic integrity, which predisposes to adverse vascular remodeling and abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture. Considering these new findings, the role of macrophage MMP-12 in vascular homeostasis demands re-evaluation of MMP-12 function in diverse settings.
Crossref as a bibliographic discovery tool in the arts and humanities
Authors: Borrego Ángel , Ardanuy Jordi , Arguimbau Llorenç
Published: January 2023

Crossref is an official digital object identifier registration agency launched in 2000 as a joint effort between publishers to allow persistent cross-publisher citation linking in online academic journals. Our study explores the coverage of Crossref for tracking literature in the arts and humanities, which usually has a national or regional focus and targets domestic audiences. An analysis of the coverage of ERIH PLUS journals shows that Crossref indexes more sources than Scopus and includes additional journals from Eastern and Southern Europe and the Global South. Crossref limitations arise when analyzing the amount of metadata deposited by publishers. Just two-thirds of the journals deposit abstracts and ORCIDs and around a third deposit affiliations. The level of metadata completion for individual articles is lower, with major differences depending on the language of the document. Just half of the journals actually deposit references. As a result, Scopus retrieves more citations than Crossref, except for publications in German and French. Crossref represents a promising bibliographic discovery tool in the arts and humanities but is in need of improvement regarding the level of metadata completion.
Assessing the Capacity of Transformer to Abstract Syntactic Representations: A Contrastive Analysis Based on Long-distance Agreement
Authors: Li Bingzhi , Wisniewski Guillaume , Crabbé Benoît
Published: January 2023

Many studies have shown that transformers are able to predict subject-verb agreement, demonstrating their ability to uncover an abstract representation of the sentence in an unsupervised way. Recently, Li et al. (2021) found that transformers were also able to predict the object-past participle agreement in French, the modeling of which in formal grammar is fundamentally different from that of subject-verb agreement and relies on a movement and an anaphora resolution.

To better understand transformers’ internal working, we propose to contrast how they handle these two kinds of agreement. Using probing and counterfactual analysis methods, our experiments on French agreements show that (i) the agreement task suffers from several confounders that partially question the conclusions drawn so far and (ii) transformers handle subject-verb and object-past participle agreements in a way that is consistent with their modeling in theoretical linguistics.
A Study of a Thermally-Vigorous Rayleigh-Bénard Convection in a Hybrid Nanofluid Using Non-Classical Boundary Condition
Authors: Firdose Heena , Siddheshwar P. G. , Idris Ruwaidiah
Published: January 2023

A linear stability analysis of a thermally-vigorous Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a mono and a hybrid nanofluid is carried out using the single-phase model. We make use of non-classical boundary condition on velocity (rough boundary condition) and temperature (third-type boundary
condition) instead of a specific boundary condition (free-free isothermal, rigid-rigid isothermal, etc.) which is traditionally considered. The thermophysical properties are calculated using phenomenological laws and mixture theory. A unique and novel combination of a single-term Galerkin
technique and the Maclaurin series expansion is used to solve the boundary-eigen-value problem obtained in the problem. The critical value of the wave number and the Rayleigh number that are calculated using the procedure are quite accurate up to 5 and 3 decimal places respectively. A comparative
study on the instability in two types of nanofluids is carried out so as to infer which type of nanofluid suits best for thermally vigorous systems. This paper aims to provide a theoretical basis to ease the selection process pertaining to the making of a choice from different types of nanofluids.
To validate the study sixteen limiting cases have been obtained. To visualize the flow behavior physically, streamlines have been plotted.
Casson Nanofluid Instability with Viscosity and Conductivity Variation Using Brinkman Model
Authors: Devi Mamta , Gupta Urvashi , Sharma Jyoti
Published: January 2023

The present work investigates the onset of convective instability of a non-Newtonian Casson nanofluid layer saturating a porous medium. Conductivity and viscosity are taken to be linear functions of nanoparticle volume fraction and Darcy-Brinkman model is used to modify the momentum
equation. It is assumed that all the physical variables undergo a small disturbance on the basic solution and the normal mode technique is used to convert partial differential equations into ODE’s to get the expression of thermal Rayleigh number. Darcy parameter, non-Newtonian fluid
property and conductivity variation parameter are coupled together leading to a significant increase in the stability of the layer. Numerical computations are carried out for various base fluids (water, oil, blood, glycol) under different porous phases (glass wool, limestone, sand) for metallic
and non-metallic nanoparticles (copper, Iron, alumina, silicon oxide) using the software Wolfram Mathematica (version 12.0). The novelty of the work lies in the fact that the conductivity variation pattern for porous media is established as glass wool < limestone < sand and for base
fluids as water < blood < glycol < oil. Maximum conductivity variation is observed for copper-oil nanofluid with sand as porous medium and glass saturated with alumina-water nanofluid shows the minimum variation. Oscillatory mode is found to dominate the instability state for bottom-heavy
fluid layer. Darcy parameter stabilizes the fluid layer while porosity effects are destabilizing. Metals are found to be more stable as compare to non-metals.
Non-Newtonian Electrically Conducting Nano Fluid Heat and Mass Transfer Analysis Over a Vertical Cone with Convective Boundary Condition
Authors: Nazia S. , Seshaiah B. , Sreedevi P. , Sudarsana Reddy P.
Published: January 2023

Electrically conducting, thermally radiative non-Newtonian Nano fluid heat and mass transfer features over a vertical permeable cone with chemical reaction and convective boundary condition is numerically scrutinized in this article. The system of transformed mathematical equations
are numerically solved by utilizing the most efficient Finite element method. Brownian motion, Magnetic field, Lewis number, Biot number, Chemical reaction, Buoyancy ratio, Suction/Injection, Prandtl number, Thermal radiation parameters influence on Nanoparticle volume fraction, temperature
and velocity scatterings is evaluated and the outcomes are plotted through graphs. Furthermore, the non-dimensional rates of concentration and heat transfer values are also premeditated. The temperature of the Nano fluid amplifies with rising values of Brownian motion parameter and this augmentation
is more in non-Newtonian case than the Newtonian case. Addition of Convective boundary condition into the liquid flow intensifies the rates of heat transfer of non-Newtonian nanoliquid.
Formation Mechanism of the ENSO-Independent Summer Western North Pacific Anomalous Anticyclone
Authors: Lu Tong , Zhu Zhiwei , Yang Ying , Ma Jing , Huang Gang
Published: January 2023

The western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) is the key circulation modulating the East Asian summer climate. In this study, the formation mechanism of the summer WNPAC that is independent of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is investigated. Although ENSO has a significant relationship with WNPAC, except for the super El Niño years, the WNPAC index remains almost unchanged after removing ENSO’s impact, suggesting the possibility of other origins of the WNPAC apart from ENSO. An Atlantic-to-Pacific two-step mechanism is proposed for the formation of ENSO-independent summer WNPAC. In boreal spring, diabatic heating induced by the positive sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) over the tropical Atlantic could stimulate a stationary equivalent barotropic Rossby wave train that travels across the Eurasian continent and ends in the tropical North Pacific. At the end of the Rossby wave train, the lower-level anomalous anticyclone advects negative moist enthalpy into the equator, which suppresses the local convection over the tropical North Pacific and equatorial central Pacific, and thus triggers the lower-level equatorial easterly anomaly to its west. During boreal summer, the lower-level easterly anomaly leads to the zonal dipole SSTA pattern with a negative center in the tropical central Pacific and a positive one in the Maritime Continent. Then, this dipole SSTA pattern over the Pacific exerts a relaying effect that further reinforces and westward shifts the dipole convection anomaly pattern, generating the WNPAC as a Gill-type response. This study underpins the independent role of Atlantic oceanic forcing through the extratropical route in the formation of ENSO-independent summer WNPAC.

Significance Statement

By linearly removing ENSO’s impact on summer monthly sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), this study explores the sources of summer western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) apart from ENSO. It is found that the high correlation between WNPAC and ENSO largely depends on the super El Niño events, and the origin of the ENSO-independent WNPAC is rooted in the tropical Atlantic oceanic forcing. The positive tropical Atlantic SSTAs in spring can independently induce atmospheric teleconnection from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific through the extratropical route, which triggers anomalous easterlies over the equatorial Pacific via suppressed local convection caused by the dry air advection over the North Pacific. The equatorial easterlies enhance the dipole anomalous SST and convection pattern over the Maritime Continent and tropical western/central Pacific in summer, which finally stimulates the WNPAC. The result emphasizes the independent role of tropical Atlantic SSTAs in the formation of summer WNPAC, thus providing a new perspective for the seasonal prediction of East Asian summer climate.
Billing the Insured: An Assessment of Out-of-Pocket Payment by Insured Patients in Ghana
Authors: Amporfu Eugenia , Arthur Eric , Novignon Jacob
Published: January 2023

Background:

The Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme was introduced in 2003 to provide financial protection to the population. While the Scheme has made strides in improving access to healthcare there have been a few challenges including out of pocket charges to insured patients with weak client power. The study investigated the catastrophic nature of the out-of-pocket charges, the factors affecting the charges and the client power.

Methodology:

We used primary data collected in 3 administrative regions: Greater Accra, Ashanti and the Northern regions, within the period April and June 2022 to compute catastrophic expenditure of the out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure on household expenditure on food and non-food. In addition, multivariate logistic regressions and a linear regression were run to examine the incidence of the practice and client power.

Results:

The results showed that on average the insured paid out-of-pocket charges with a probability of 66%. The probability was highest (80%) in the Greater Accra, followed by Ashanti region (66.6%) and (52.9%) in the Northern region. The out-of-pocket charges were found to be catastrophic with incidence rate between 48.2% and 26.1% for the 5% and 20% thresholds; the overshoots ranged between 34.1% and 26.9% for the thresholds; the poor were more disadvantaged than the rich. Patients reported the out-of-pocket charges to the NHIA with probability of 1.9%, but the NHIA did not respond to 81% of the reported cases. Knowledge of the benefit list is likely to motivate the insured to report out-of-pocket charges, while cordial relationship between the NHIA staff and the insured deters providers from charging out-of-pocket.

Conclusion:

The out-of-pocket charges occur extensively across health facilities and is impoverishing. A close collaboration between the NHIA and the insured is needed to reduce the incidence and hold providers accountable.
Management of urolithiasis in pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Salehi-Pourmehr Hanieh , Tayebi Sona , DalirAkbari Nooriyeh , Ghabousian Amir , Tahmasbi Fateme , Rahmati Fatemeh , Naseri Amirreza , Hajebrahimi Reyhaneh , Mehdipour Robab , Hemmati-Ghavshough Mahdi , Mostafaei Ali , Hajebrahimi Sakineh
Published: January 2023

Purpose:

Management of nephrolithiasis is unique in pregnancy and requires multidisciplinary care. To identify the effectiveness or safety of temporary drainage or definitive treatment methods to manage urolithiasis in pregnancy.

Methods:

The search strategy aimed to find both published and unpublished studies was conducted in August 2021. Studies published in any language on any date were considered for inclusion.

Results:

Of a total of 3349 publications, 36 studies were included in our qualitative evaluation and 32 studies in the quantitative synthesis. The commonly reported method was stent insertion ( n = 29 studies), pneumatic ( n = 12), laser ( n = 9) lithotripsy, and stone removal using any devices (basket, grasper, or forceps) ( n = 11). In seven studies, the authors reported the outcomes of conservative management, and the results showed that the stone-free rate is 54%, and symptom relief occurred in 62% of women. Seven eligible studies reported that 79.9% of urolithiasis were expulsed through stent insertion, while this rate was 94.6% among percutaneous nephrostomy use in two included studies, 88.5% for pneumatic lithotripsy ( n = 7 studies), and 76.4% for laser lithotripsy ( n = 4 studies), or 95.4% for stone removal method. In addition, adverse events were reported in less than 10% of pregnant women.

Conclusions:

The results showed that stent, pneumatic or laser lithotripsy, and ureteroscopic stone removal were the commonest used methods in the included studies. They can be effective and safe treatment approaches without major maternal or neonatal complications, and could be introduced as an effective and safe therapeutic method for urolithiasis during pregnancy. However, most of the included studies had moderate quality according to critical appraisal checklists. Further prospective studies are needed to reach a conclusion.
Tastin promotes non-small-cell lung cancer progression through the ErbB4, PI3K/AKT, and ERK1/2 pathways
Authors: Yue Andong , Chen Maoxi , Dai Shihui , Zhang Yiyin , Wei Wei , Fan Lulu , Wang Fang , Zhang Fei , Yu Hanqing , Lu Yan , Lei Yu
Published: January 2023

Tastin might be involved in tumorigenesis, but its role in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been adequately explored. This work aimed to examine tastin’s role in NSCLC and to explore the underlying mechanism. The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Gene Expression Database of Normal and Tumor tissues (GENT), and Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were used. Four GEO datasets (GSE81089, GSE40419, GSE74706, and GSE19188) containing gene expression data for NSCLC and normal tissue samples were analyzed for tastin mRNA expression. Tastin expression levels in different tissues were compared using the GENT website. TCGA biolinks were used to download gene expression quantification ( n = 594) and overall survival data ( n = 535). In total, 30 lung adenocarcinoma and 25 lung squamous cell carcinoma cases were enrolled. In addition, four-week-old male BALB/c nude mice ( n = 9/group) were used to establish xenograft mouse models. Furthermore, cultured HEK293T, A549, and NCI-H226 cells assessed. Immunoblot, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, lentiviral transduction, and MTT, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell assays were carried out. Tastin expression levels were markedly increased in NSCLC tumor tissue specimens and correlated with a poorer prognosis. Silencing of tastin inhibited the proliferative and migratory abilities of NSCLC cells. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that tastin interacts with ErbB4. The PI3K/AKT and ERK1/2 downstream pathways were suppressed in tastin-deficient cells. In conclusion, tastin might be involved in NSCLC growth and invasion and is a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC.