bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Finite Open-world Query Answering with Number Restrictions
Authors: Amarilli Antoine , Benedikt Michael
Published: July 2020

Open-world query answering is the problem of deciding, given a set of facts, conjunction of constraints, and query, whether the facts and constraints imply the query. This amounts to reasoning over all instances that include the facts and satisfy the constraints. We study
finite open-world query answering
(FQA), which assumes that the underlying world is finite and thus only considers the
finite
completions of the instance. The major known decidable cases of FQA derive from the following: the guarded fragment of first-order logic, which can express referential constraints (data in one place points to data in another) but cannot express number restrictions such as functional dependencies; and the guarded fragment with number restrictions but on a signature of arity only two. In this article, we give the first decidability results for FQA that combine both referential constraints and number restrictions for arbitrary signatures: We show that, for unary inclusion dependencies and functional dependencies, the finiteness assumption of FQA can be lifted up to taking the finite implication closure of the dependencies. Our result relies on new techniques to construct finite universal models of such constraints for any bound on the maximal query size.
Design, Analysis, and Implementation of Efficient Framework for Image Annotation
Authors: Srivastava Gargi , Srivastava Rajeev
Published: July 2020

In this article, a general framework of image annotation is proposed by involving salient object detection (SOD), feature extraction, feature selection, and multi-label classification. For SOD, Augmented-Gradient Vector Flow (A-GVF) is proposed, which fuses benefits of GVF and Minimum Directional Contrast. The article also proposes to control the background information to be included for annotation. This article brings about a comprehensive study of all major feature selection methods for a study on four publicly available datasets. The study concludes with the proposition of using Fisher’s method for reducing the dimension of features. Moreover, this article also proposes a set of features that are found to be strong discriminants by most of the methods. This reduced set for image annotation gives 3--4% better accuracy across all the four datasets. This article also proposes an improved multi-label classification algorithm C-MLFE.
Attention-Based Modality-Gated Networks for Image-Text Sentiment Analysis
Authors: Huang Feiran , Wei Kaimin , Weng Jian , Li Zhoujun
Published: July 2020

Sentiment analysis of social multimedia data has attracted extensive research interest and has been applied to many tasks, such as election prediction and products evaluation. Sentiment analysis of one modality (e.g., text or image) has been broadly studied. However, not much attention has been paid to the sentiment analysis of multimodal data. Different modalities usually have information that is complementary. Thus, it is necessary to learn the overall sentiment by combining the visual content with text description. In this article, we propose a novel method—Attention-Based Modality-Gated Networks (AMGN)—to exploit the correlation between the modalities of images and texts and extract the discriminative features for multimodal sentiment analysis. Specifically, a visual-semantic attention model is proposed to learn attended visual features for each word. To effectively combine the sentiment information on the two modalities of image and text, a modality-gated LSTM is proposed to learn the multimodal features by adaptively selecting the modality that presents stronger sentiment information. Then a semantic self-attention model is proposed to automatically focus on the discriminative features for sentiment classification. Extensive experiments have been conducted on both manually annotated and machine weakly labeled datasets. The results demonstrate the superiority of our approach through comparison with state-of-the-art models.
Measuring Task Conflict and Person Conflict in Software Testing
Authors: Zhang Xihui , Stafford Thomas F. , Hu Tao , Dai Hua
Published: July 2020

Task-related conflict and person-related conflict in software testing are inevitable and can impact the effectiveness and efficiency of the software development process. The dimensionality of conflict in software testing is reasonably well understood, although in past research both types of conflict have frequently been modeled as reflective constructs that can obstruct the effectiveness of their use as organizational assessment and training tools. One contribution of this study is an empirical model of conflict sources in software engineering; such sources of conflict threaten to derail efficient software development outcomes in firms. A second contribution of this research is the development of a formative measurement model for purposes of development of assessing task conflict and person conflict in software teams. These validated measures can be utilized as training and development instruments for on-the-job remediation of development team conflict. As is indicated in the organizational behavior and software engineering literature, deploying valid measures of workplace stressors such as conflict can lead to the managerial application of effective strategies and tactics to improve workplace morale and satisfaction, to the great benefit of productivity and retention.
Sketch-guided Deep Portrait Generation
Authors: Ho Trang-Thi , Virtusio John Jethro , Chen Yung-Yao , Hsu Chih-Ming , Hua Kai-Lung
Published: July 2020

Generating a realistic human class image from a sketch is a unique and challenging problem considering that the human body has a complex structure that must be preserved. Additionally, input sketches often lack important details that are crucial in the generation process, hence making the problem more complicated. In this article, we present an effective method for synthesizing realistic images from human sketches. Our framework incorporates human poses corresponding to locations of key semantic components (e.g., arm, eyes, nose), seeing that its a strong prior for generating human class images. Our sketch-image synthesis framework consists of three stages: semantic keypoint extraction, coarse image generation, and image refinement. First, we extract the semantic keypoints using Part Affinity Fields (PAFs) and a convolutional autoencoder. Then, we integrate the sketch with semantic keypoints to generate a coarse image of a human. Finally, in the image refinement stage, the coarse image is enhanced by a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) that adopts an architecture carefully designed to avoid checkerboard artifacts and to generate photo-realistic results. We evaluate our method on 6,300 sketch-image pairs and show that our proposed method generates realistic images and compares favorably against state-of-the-art image synthesis methods.
Improving Multiperson Pose Estimation by Mask-aware Deep Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Wang Xun , Tian Yan , Zhao Xuran , Yang Tao , Gelernter Judith , Wang Jialei , Cheng Guohua , Hu Wei
Published: July 2020

Research on single-person pose estimation based on deep neural networks has recently witnessed progress in both accuracy and execution efficiency. However, multiperson pose estimation is still a challenging topic, partially because the object regions are selected greedily from proposals via class-agnostic nonmaximum suppression (NMS), and the misalignment in the redundant detection yields inaccurate human poses. Therefore, we consider how to obtain the optimal input in human pose estimation under conditions in which intermediate label information is not available. As supervised learning–based alignment does not generalize well to unseen samples in the human pose space, in this article, we present a mask-aware deep reinforcement learning approach to modify the detection result. We use mask information to remove the adverse effects from the cluttered background and to select the optimal action according to the revised reward function. We also propose a new regularization term to punish joints that are outside of the silhouette region in the human pose estimation stage. We evaluate our approach on the MPII Multiperson dataset and the MS-COCO Keypoints Challenge. The results show that our approach yields competing inference results when it is compared to the other state-of-the-art approaches.
3D Facial Similarity Measurement and Its Application in Facial Organization
Authors: Lv Chenlei , Wu Zhongke , Wang Xingce , Zhou Mingquan
Published: July 2020

We propose a novel framework for 3D facial similarity measurement and its application in facial organization. The construction of the framework is based on Kendall shape space theory. Kendall shape space is a quotient space that is constructed by shape features. In Kendall shape space, the shape features can be measured and is robust to similarity transformations. In our framework, a 3D face is represented by the facial feature landmarks model (FFLM), which can be regarded as the facial shape features. We utilize the geodesic in Kendall shape space to represent the FFLM similarity measurement, which can be regarded as the 3D facial similarity measurement. The FFLM similarity measurement is robust to facial expressions, head poses, and partial facial data. In our experiments, we compute the distance between different FFLMs in two public facial databases: FRGC2.0 and BosphorusDB. On average, we achieve a rank-one facial recognition rate of 98%. Based on the similarity results, we propose a method to construct the facial organization. The facial organization is a hierarchical structure that is achieved from the facial clustering by FFLM similarity measurement. Based on the facial organization, the performance of face searching in a large facial database can be improved obviously (about 400% improvement in experiments).
Kernel Attention Network for Single Image Super-Resolution
Authors: Zhang Dongyang , Shao Jie , Shen Heng Tao
Published: July 2020

Recently, attention mechanisms have shown a developing tendency toward convolutional neural network (CNN), and some representative attention mechanisms, i.e., channel attention (CA) and spatial attention (SA) have been fully applied to single image super-resolution (SISR) tasks. However, the existing architectures directly apply these attention mechanisms to SISR without much consideration of the nature characteristic, resulting in less strong representational power. In this article, we propose a novel kernel attention module (KAM) for SISR, which enables the network to adjust its receptive field size corresponding to various scales of input by dynamically selecting the appropriate kernel. Based on this, we stack multiple kernel attention modules with group and residual connection to constitute a novel architecture for SISR, which enables our network to learn more distinguishing representations through filtering the information under different receptive fields. Thus, our network is more sensitive to multi-scale features, which enables our single network to deal with multi-scale SR task by predefining the upscaling modules. Besides, other attention mechanisms in super-resolution are also investigated and illustrated in detail in this article. Thanks to the kernel attention mechanism, the extensive benchmark evaluation shows that our method outperforms the other state-of-the-art methods.
Following Passive DNS Traces to Detect Stealthy Malicious Domains Via Graph Inference
Authors: Nabeel Mohamed , Khalil Issa M. , Guan Bei , Yu Ting
Published: July 2020

Malicious domains, including phishing websites, spam servers, and command and control servers, are the reason for many of the cyber attacks nowadays. Thus, detecting them in a timely manner is important to not only identify cyber attacks but also take preventive measures. There has been a plethora of techniques proposed to detect malicious domains by analyzing Domain Name System (DNS) traffic data. Traditionally, DNS acts as an Internet miscreant’s best friend, but we observe that the subtle traces in DNS logs left by such miscreants can be used against them to detect malicious domains. Our approach is to build a set of domain graphs by connecting “related” domains together and injecting known malicious and benign domains into these graphs so that we can make inferences about the other domains in the domain graphs. A key challenge in building these graphs is how to accurately identify related domains so that incorrect associations are minimized and the number of domains connected from the dataset is maximized. Based on our observations, we first train two classifiers and then devise a set of association rules that assist in linking domains together. We perform an in-depth empirical analysis of the graphs built using these association rules on passive DNS data and show that our techniques can detect many more malicious domains than the state-of-the-art.
Short Bowel Syndrome: A Paradigm for Intestinal Adaptation to Nutrition?
Authors: Le Beyec Johanne , Billiauws Lore , Bado André , Joly Francisca , Le Gall Maude
Published: July 2020

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a rare disease that results from extensive resection of the intestine. When the remaining absorption surface of the intestine cannot absorb enough macronutrients, micronutrients, and water, SBS results in intestinal failure (IF). Patients with SBS who suffer from IF require parenteral nutrition for survival, but long-term parenteral nutrition may lead to complications such as catheter sepsis and metabolic diseases. Spontaneous intestinal adaptation occurs weeks to months after resection, resulting in hyperplasia of the remnant gut, modification of gut hormone levels, dysbiosis, and hyperphagia. Oral nutrition and presence of the colon are two major positive drivers for this adaptation. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying spontaneous intestinal adaptation, particularly in response to modifications of luminal content, including nutrients. In the future, dietary manipulations could be used to treat SBS.
Timed Electrodeposition of PEDOT:Nafion onto Carbon Fiber-Microelectrodes Enhances Dopamine Detection in Zebrafish Retina
Authors: Cho Whirang , Liu Favian , Hendrix Aaron , McCray Brazil , Asrat Thomas , Connaughton Victoria , Zestos Alexander G.
Published: July 2020

Carbon fiber-microelectrodes (CFMEs) are one of the standards for the detection of neurotransmitters such as dopamine (DA). In this study, we demonstrate that CFMEs electrodeposited with poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) in the presence of Nafion exhibit enhanced sensitivity for DA detection. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the smooth outer surface morphologies of polymer coatings, which filled in the ridges and grooves of the bare unmodified carbon electrode and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed PEDOT:Nafion incorporation. PEDOT:Nafion coated CMFEs exhibited a statistically enhanced two-fold increase in DA sensitivity compared to unmodified microelectrodes, with stability and integrity of the coated microelectrodes maintained for at least 4 h. A scan rate test revealed a linear relationship with peak DA oxidative current (5 μM), indicating adsorption control of DA to the surface of the PEDOT:Nafion electrode. As proof of principle, PEDOT:Nafion coated electrodes were used to detect potassium chloride (KCl)-induced DA release in zebrafish (Danio rerio) retinal tissue ex vivo, thus illustrating their applicability as biosensors.
The influence of size and abiotic factors on cutaneous water loss
Authors: Howard Jeremy M. , Griffis Hannah-Beth , Westendorf Rachel , Williams Jason B.
Published: July 2020

The greatest physiological threat to terrestrial life is dehydration; however, examining the factors that influence water balance in a teaching setting can be problematic. The proposed exercise examines cutaneous water loss using gelatin frogs. The use of models provides a unique approach to learning about water loss without the need of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approval or specialized equipment to measure dehydration from relatively small invertebrates. The first described hands-on experiment examines gelatin frogs of different sizes to understand how surface area-to-volume ratio impacts water loss. The second experiment exposes gelatin models to various conditions, such as convective air currents (wind) or extreme temperature, to understand how abiotic factors influence the vapor pressure deficit between the animal and environment and thus water loss. These easily adaptable activities use everyday household items and can be scaled accordingly to classes of different sizes and academic levels. Thus these flexible exercises can be approached through facilitated, guided, or open inquiry, as students formulate hypotheses, design the experiments, create graphs, and interpret the data through answering questions or a write up.
Associations of gastric volumes, ingestive behavior, calorie and volume intake, and fullness in obesity
Authors: Vijayvargiya Priya , Chedid Victor , Wang Xiao Jing , Atieh Jessica , Maselli Daniel , Burton Duane D. , Clark Matthew M. , Acosta Andres , Camilleri Michael
Published: July 2020

Buffet meal intake was inversely related to the ability to resist the urge to overeat. Factors associated with ingestive behavior significantly correlated with satiety and gastric accommodation. Gastric capacity during fasting is associated with calorie intake to the point of comfortable fullness; factors associated with ingestive behavior are associated with satiety and gastric accommodation.
Upregulated proteoglycan-related signaling pathways in fluid flow shear stress-treated podocytes
Authors: Srivastava Tarak , Joshi Trupti , Jiang Yuexu , Heruth Daniel P. , Rezaiekhaligh Mohamed H. , Novak Jan , Staggs Vincent S. , Alon Uri S. , Garola Robert E. , El-Meanawy Ashraf , McCarthy Ellen T. , Zhou Jianping , Boinpelly Varun C. , Sharma Ram , Savin Virginia J. , Sharma Mukut
Published: July 2020

The ultrafiltrate flow over the major processes and cell body generates fluid flow shear stress (FFSS) on podocytes. Hyperfiltration-associated increase in FFSS can lead to podocyte injury and detachment. Previously, we showed that FFSS-induced upregulation of the cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2)-PGE2-prostaglandin E receptor 2 (EP2) axis in podocytes activates Akt-glycogen synthase kinase-3β-β-catenin and MAPK/ERK signaling in response to FFSS. Integrative MultiOmics Pathway Resolution (IMPRes) is a new bioinformatic tool that enables simultaneous time-series analysis of more than two groups to identify pathways and molecular connections. In the present study, we used previously characterized COX2 [prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 ( Ptgs2)], EP2 ( Ptger2), and β1-catenin ( Ctnnb1) as “seed genes” from an array data set of four groups analyzed over a time course. The 3 seed genes shared 7 pathways and 50 genes of 14 pathways and 89 genes identified by IMPRes. A composite of signaling pathways highlighted the temporal molecular connections during mechanotransduction signaling in FFSS-treated podocytes. We investigated the “proteoglycans in cancer” and “galactose metabolism” pathways predicted by IMPRes. A custom-designed PCR array validated 60.7% of the genes predicted by IMPRes analysis, including genes for the above-named pathways. Further validation using Western blot analysis showed increased expression of phosho-Erbb2, phospho-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), CD44, and hexokinase II (Hk2); decreased total Erbb2, galactose mutarotase (Galm), and β-1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 (B4galt1); and unchanged total mTOR and AKT3. These findings corroborate our previously reported results. This study demonstrates the potential of the IMPRes method to identify novel pathways. Identifying the “proteoglycans in cancer” and “galactose metabolism” pathways has generated a lead to study the significance of FFSS-induced glycocalyx remodeling and possible detachment of podocytes from the glomerular matrix.
Gene expression profiling of proximal and distal renal tubules in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) acclimated to fresh water and seawater
Authors: Madsen Steffen S. , Bollinger Rebecca J. , Brauckhoff Melanie , Engelund Morten Buch
Published: July 2020

Euryhaline teleost kidneys undergo a major functional switch from being filtratory in freshwater (FW) to being predominantly secretory in seawater (SW) conditions. The transition involves both vascular and tubular effects. There is consensus that the glomerular filtration rate is greatly reduced upon exposure to hyperosmotic conditions. Yet, regulation at the tubular level has only been examined sporadically in a few different species. This study aimed to obtain a broader understanding of transcriptional regulation in proximal versus distal tubular segments during osmotic transitions. Proximal and distal tubule cells were dissected separately by laser capture microdissection, RNA was extracted, and relative mRNA expression levels of >30 targets involved in solute and water transport were quantified by quantitative PCR in relation to segment type in fish acclimated to FW or SW. The gene categories were aquaporins, solute transporters, fxyd proteins, and tight junction proteins. aqp8bb1, aqp10b1, nhe3, sglt1, slc41a1, cnnm3, fxyd12a, cldn3b, cldn10b, cldn15a, and cldn12 were expressed at a higher level in proximal compared with distal tubules. aqp1aa, aqp1ab, nka-a1a, nka-a1b, nkcc1a, nkcc2, ncc, clc-k, slc26a6C, sglt2, fxyd2, cldn3a, and occln were expressed at a higher level in distal compared with proximal tubules. Expression of aqp1aa, aqp3a1, aqp10b1, ncc, nhe3, cftr, sglt1, slc41a1, fxyd12a, cldn3a, cldn3b, cldn3c, cldn10b, cldn10e, cldn28a, and cldn30c was higher in SW- than in FW-acclimated salmon, whereas the opposite was the case for aqp1ab, slc26a6C, and fxyd2. The data show distinct segmental distribution of transport genes and a significant regulation of tubular transcripts when kidney function is modulated during salinity transitions.
Dynamic Complexity in a Prey-Predator Model with State-Dependent Impulsive Control Strategy
Authors: Dai Chuanjun
Published: July 2020

In this paper, an ecological model described by a couple of state-dependent impulsive equations is studied analytically and numerically. The theoretical analysis suggests that there exists a semitrivial periodic solution under some conditions and it is globally orbitally asymptotically stable. Furthermore, using the successor function, we study the existence, uniqueness, and stability of order-1 periodic solution, and the boundedness of solution is also presented. The relationship between order-k successor function and order-k periodic solution is discussed as well, thereby giving the existence condition of an order-3 periodic solution. In addition, a series of numerical simulations are carried out, which not only support the theoretical results but also show the complex dynamics in the model further, for example, the coexistence of multiple periodic solutions, chaos, and period-doubling bifurcation.
Bending Analysis of Circular Thin Plates Resting on Elastic Foundations Using Two Modified Vlasov Models
Authors: Yue Feng , Wang Fusheng , Jia Senqing , Wu Ziyan , Wang Zhen
Published: July 2020

The influence of soil heterogeneity is studied on the bending of circular thin plates using two modified Vlasov foundation models. The model parameters are determined reasonably using an iterative technique. According to the principle of minimum potential energy and considering transversely isotropic soils and Gibson soils, the governing differential equations and boundary conditions for circular thin plates on two modified Vlasov foundations are derived using a variational approach, respectively. The determination of attenuation parameters is a difficult problem, which has hindered the further application of the Vlasov foundation model. The equation that must be satisfied by the attenuation parameter is determined, and an iterative method is used to solve the problem. A comparative analysis is conducted between two modified Vlasov models and the traditional Vlasov model. The results show that the governing equations and boundary conditions for circular thin plates resting on two modified foundations are consistent with those for a circular thin plate on traditional two-parameter foundation after degradation. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed solutions are demonstrated by comparing the obtained results with those reported in the literature. The heterogeneity of soils, including the transversely isotropic soils and Gibson soils, has a certain effect on characteristic parameters of the foundation models as well as the deformations and internal forces of circular thin plates. The present study could be employed as a reference for future engineering designs.
Paroxysmal Laryngospasm: A Rare Condition That Respiratory Physicians Must Distinguish from Other Diseases with a Chief Complaint of Dyspnea
Authors: Bai Yu , Jing Xi-Rui , Xia Yun , Tao Xiao-Nan
Published: July 2020

Background. In recent years, we have observed respiratory difficulty manifested as paroxysmal laryngospasm in a few outpatients, most of whom were first encountered in a respiratory clinic. We therefore explored how to identify and address paroxysmal laryngospasm from the perspective of respiratory physicians. Methods. The symptoms, characteristics, auxiliary examination results, treatment, and prognosis of 12 patients with paroxysmal laryngospasm treated in our hospital from June 2017 to October 2019 were analyzed. Results. Five males (42%) and 7 females (58%) were among the 12 Han patients sampled. The average age of the patients was 49.25 ± 13.02 years. The disease course ranged from 14 days to 8 years and was characterized by sudden dyspnea, an inability to inhale and exhale, a sense of asphyxia, and voice loss during an attack. Eight patients with gastroesophageal reflux were cured after antacid treatment. One case of upper respiratory tract infection (URI) was completely relieved after symptomatic treatment. One patient with left vocal cord paralysis experienced complete relief after specialist treatment by an otorhinolaryngologist. Episodes in 1 patient were significantly reduced after lifestyle improvement. One patient experienced spontaneous relief after rejecting treatment. Conclusions. Paroxysmal laryngospasm is a rare laryngeal disease that generally occurs secondary to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and antireflux therapy is frequently effective for its treatment. A respiratory physician should master and identify the symptoms and differentiate this condition from hysterical stridor, reflux-related laryngospasm, and asthma. Timely referral to otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, and other specialists for standardized examination and regular treatment should be provided when necessary.
Ginsenoside Rh1 Alleviates HK‐2 Apoptosis by Inhibiting ROS and the JNK/p53 Pathways
Authors: Yang Qi , Qian Lin , Zhang Song
Published: July 2020

Background. Cisplatin is widely used in the treatment of malignant patients; however, its adverse nephrotoxic effects limit its clinical use. Ginsenoside Rh1 is a main component of ginseng and has many pharmaceutical effects, including immunomodulatory effects. Objective. The objective of this research is to assess the effects of ginsenoside Rh1 on a cisplatin‐induced HK‐2 injury model and to study its potential effect mechanisms. Methods. HK‐2 cell vitality was assessed via Cell Counting Kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay. Carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester/propidium iodide (CFSF/PI) staining was used to detect the apoptosis of HK‐2 cells. ROS expression was detected by DCFDA. The expressions of JNK, p53, caspase‐3, Bax, and NGAL were detected by western blot. Results. Ginsenoside Rh1 was found to increase the vitality of HK‐2 cells and inhibit ROS production and the apoptosis of HK‐2 cells in a cisplatin‐induced injury model. Ginsenoside Rh1 was found to inhibit the expression of JNK, p53, caspase‐3, Bax, and NGAL in a cisplatin‐induced injury model. Conclusion. Ginsenoside Rh1 alleviated HK‐2 apoptosis in a cisplatin‐induced injury model by inhibiting ROS production and the JNK/p53 pathway. Ginsenoside Rh1 may be a promising drug for the alleviation of cisplatin‐induced nephrotoxicity in malignant patients.
Comparison of Weibull Estimation Methods for Diverse Winds
Authors: Bingöl Ferhat
Published: July 2020

Wind farm siting relies on in situ measurements and statistical analysis of the wind distribution. The current statistical methods include distribution functions. The one that is known to provide the best fit to the nature of the wind is the Weibull distribution function. It is relatively straightforward to parameterize wind resources with the Weibull function if the distribution fits what the function represents but the estimation process gets complicated if the distribution of the wind is diverse in terms of speed and direction. In this study, data from a 101 m meteorological mast were used to test several estimation methods. The available data display seasonal variations, with low wind speeds in different seasons and effects of a moderately complex surrounding. The results show that the maximum likelihood method is much more successful than industry standard WAsP method when the diverse winds with high percentile of low wind speed occur.
Energy Response Analysis of Continuous Beam Bridges with Friction Pendulum Bearing by Multihazard Source Excitations
Authors: Li Bing , Wang Bin , Wang Shaohua , Wu Xiao
Published: July 2020

Based on the principle of conservation of energy, analytical modelling of the energy response of continuous beam bridges with friction pendulum bearing (FPB) was carried out for foundation-induced vibrations. A three-dimensional finite element analysis of a multispan continuous concrete girder bridge with FPB was established using the nonlinear time-history method to verify the accuracy of analytical modelling. The influence of the friction coefficient and isolation period of the FPB on the energy response of isolated bridge was then investigated under multihazard source excitations (e.g., El Centro and Taft waves) with different dominant periods and durations. The variations of structural response energy, sliding displacement, energy dissipation ratio, and acceleration of the isolated bridges are plotted. The results of analytical modelling and finite element simulation show good agreement. In addition, there exist particular values of the friction coefficient and isolation period of FPB, for which the structural response energy of the isolated bridges attains the minimum value. The optimal parameters of FPB are greatly influenced by seismic waves, and the friction coefficient of FPB should be increased with the increase of seismic fortification intensity. In addition, the energy dissipation capacity of FPB used in isolated bridge is excellent.
An Uncertain Alternating Renewal Insurance Risk Model
Authors: Zhai Jia , Zheng Haitao , Bai Manying , Jiang Yunyun
Published: July 2020

The claim process in an insurance risk model with uncertainty is traditionally described by an uncertain renewal reward process. However, the claim process actually includes two processes, which are called the report process and the payment process, respectively. An alternative way is to describe the claim process by an uncertain alternating renewal reward process. Therefore, this paper proposes an insurance risk model under uncertain measure in which the claim process is supposed to be an alternating renewal reward process and the premium process is regarded as a renewal reward process. Then, the paper also gives the inverse uncertainty distribution of the insurance risk process. The expression of ruin index and the uncertainty distribution of the ruin time are derived which both have explicit expressions based on given uncertainty distributions. Finally, several examples are provided to illustrate the modeling ideas.
Associations of Serological Biomarkers of sICAM-1, IL-1β, MIF, and su-PAR with 3-Month Mortality in Acute Exacerbation of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Authors: Li Xuran , Zhou Ying , Zou Ruyi , Chen Haoran , Liu Xiaoqin , Qiu Xiaohua , Xiao Yonglong , Cai Hourong , Dai Jinghong
Published: July 2020

Objective. To investigate prognostic values of serum biomarkers of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), macrophage migration inhibitor factor (MIF), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (su-PAR) in patients with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF). Methods. From August 2017 to November 2019, 122 consecutive IPF patients treated in our center were classified as stable IPF and AE-IPF based on the newly published international guidelines. Serum levels of four biomarkers at admission were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The primary endpoint was 3-month mortality. The log-rank test and logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the effects of these biomarkers for survival in patients with AE-IPF. Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic values of serological biomarkers and clinical data. Results. Eighty-one patients were diagnosed with stable IPF, and 41 AE-IPF patients were enrolled in the study. Serum levels of sICAM-1 (p<0.001), IL-1β (p<0.001), MIF (p<0.001), and su-PAR (p<0.001) in patients with IPF were significantly increased compared to those in healthy controls. All the four biomarkers were elevated in patients with AE-IPF compared to those with stable IPF. The 3-month mortality in AE-IPF was 56.1% (23/41). Increased levels of MIF (p=0.01) and IL-1β (>5 pg/mL, p=0.033) were independent risk factors for 3-month mortality in patients with AE-IPF. Conclusions. We showed the higher serum levels of IL-1β, and MIF had prognostic values for 3-month mortality in AE-IPF. This study provided a clue to promote our understanding in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Iterative Approximations for a Class of Generalized Nonexpansive Operators in Banach Spaces
Authors: Abdeljawad Thabet , Ullah Kifayat , Ahmad Junaid , Mlaiki Nabil
Published: July 2020

In this article, we prove some weak and strong convergence theorems for mappings satisfying condition (E) using the AK iterative scheme in the setting of Banach spaces. We offer a new example of mapping with condition (E) in support of our main result. Our results extend and improve many well-known corresponding results of the current literature.
Robotic Arm-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Setting of Combined Extra-articular Deformities of the Femur and Tibia
Authors: Cook-Richardson Sharma , Desai Rasesh
Published: July 2020

In this case, we will describe a 68-year-old man with combined femoral and tibial bone deformities who underwent robotic arm-assisted total knee arthroplasty (RATKA) to treat his severe osteoarthritis in the setting of extra-articular deformities that altered the native anatomical axis and the kinematics of the deformed extra-articular bony structures which chronically generated a neomechanical axis. The combination of severe osteoarthritis with extra-articular deformities made the RATKA method the best surgical treatment option taking into account altered kinematics of the native joint which conventional jig-based total knee arthroplasty would not have prioritized during bony cuts and implant positioning. The patient underwent successful knee arthroplasty with robotic arm-assisted technology with restoration of the mechanical axis.
Extended Dissipative Control for Markovian Jump Time-Delayed Systems with Bounded Disturbances
Authors: Poongodi T. , Saravanakumar T. , Mishra Prem Prakash , Zhu Quanxin
Published: July 2020

In this work, the result of reachable set bounding and extended dissipative control synthesis of the Markovian jump time-delayed system is studied subject to stochastic actuator failures and partially known transition probabilities. Specifically, a novel actuator fault model is designed, in which the actuator fault matrix satisfies a certain probabilistic condition. Under the construction of an appropriate Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF), as well as reciprocal convex approach, Jensen’s integral inequality, and reachable set lemma, delay-dependent sufficient criteria are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) for finding an ellipsoid to bound the reachable sets of the Markovian jump time-delayed system with bounded disturbances. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.
Mechanisms of Herbal Nephroprotection in diabetes mellitus
Authors: Dragoș Dorin , Manea Maria Mirabela , Timofte Delia , Ionescu Dorin
Published: July 2020

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a leading cause of kidney morbidity. Despite the multilayered complexity of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of DN, the conventional treatment is limited to just a few drug classes fraught with the risk of adverse events, including the progression of renal dysfunction. Phytoceuticals offer a promising alternative as they act on the many-sidedness of DN pathophysiology, multitargeting its intricacies. This paper offers a review of the mechanisms underlying the protective action of these phytoagents, including boosting the antioxidant capabilities, suppression of inflammation, averting the proliferative and sclerosing/fibrosing events. The pathogenesis of DN is viewed as a continuum going from the original offense, high glucose, through the noxious products it generates (advanced glycation end-products, products of oxidative and nitrosative stress) and the signaling chains consequently brought into action, to the harmful mediators of inflammation, sclerosis, and proliferation that eventually lead to DN, despite the countervailing attempts of the protective mechanisms. Special attention was given to the various pathways involved, pointing out the ability of the phytoagents to hinder the deleterious ones (especially those leading to, driven by, or associated with TGF-β activation, SREBP, Smad, MAPK, PKC, NF-κB, NLRP3 inflammasome, and caspase), to promote the protective ones (PPAR-α, PPAR-γ, EP4/Gs/AC/cAMP, Nrf2, AMPK, and SIRT1), and to favorably modulate those with potentially dual effect (PI3K/Akt). Many phytomedicines have emerged as potentially useful out of in vitro and in vivo studies, but the scarcity of human trials seriously undermines their usage in the current clinical practice—an issue that stringently needs to be addressed.
On the Integrability of the SIR Epidemic Model with Vital Dynamics
Authors: Chen Ding
Published: July 2020

In this paper, we study the SIR epidemic model with vital dynamicsṠ=−βSI+μN−S,İ=βSI−γ+μI,Ṙ=γI−μR, from the point of view of integrability. In the case of the death/birth rateμ=0, the SIR model is integrable, and we provide its general solutions by implicit functions, two Lax formulations and infinitely many Hamilton-Poisson realizations. In the case ofμ≠0, we prove that the SIR model has no polynomial or proper rational first integrals by studying the invariant algebraic surfaces. Moreover, although the SIR model withμ≠0is not integrable and we cannot get its exact solution, based on the existence of an invariant algebraic surface, we give the global dynamics of the SIR model withμ≠0.
Circulating Platelet-Derived Microparticles Associated with Postdischarge Major Adverse Cardiac Events in ST-Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Hartopo Anggoro Budi , Mayasari Dyah Samti , Puspitawati Ira , Mumpuni Hasanah
Published: July 2020

Introduction. Platelet-derived microparticles (PDMPs) measurement adds prognostic implication for ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI). The long-term implication of PDMPs in STEMI needs to be corroborated. Methods. The research design was a cohort study. Subjects were STEMI patients and were enrolled consecutively. The PDMPs were defined as microparticles bearing CD41(+) and CD62P(+) markers detected with flow cytometry. The PDMPs were measured on hospital admission and 30 days after discharge. The outcomes were major adverse cardiac events (MACE), i.e., a composite of cardiac death, heart failure, cardiogenic shock, reinfarction, and resuscitated ventricular arrhythmia, occurring from hospitalization until 1 year after discharge. Results. We enrolled 101 subjects with STEMI. During hospitalization, 17 subjects (16.8%) developed MACE. The PDMPs were not different between subjects with MACE and those without (median (IQR): 3305.0/μL (2370.0–14690.5/μL) vs. 4452.0/μL (2024.3–14396.8/μL), p=0.874). Forty-five subjects had increased PDMPs in 30 days after discharge as compared with on-admission measurement. Subjects with increased PDMPs had significantly higher 30-day MACE as compared to subjects with decreased PDMPs 17 (37.8%) vs. 6 (16.7%, p=0.036). There was a trend toward higher MACE in subjects with increased PDMPs as compared to those with decreased PDMPs in 90 days after discharge (48.9% vs. 30.6%, p=0.095) and 1 year after discharge (48.9% vs. 36.1%, p=0.249). Conclusion. The PDMPs level was increased from the day of admission to 30 days after discharge in patients with STEMI. The persistent increase in the PDMPs level in 30 days after the STEMI event was associated with the 30-day postdischarge MACE and trended toward increased MACE during the 90-day and 1-year follow-up.
Awake Craniotomy in a Child: Assessment of Eligibility with a Simulated Theatre Experience
Authors: Labuschagne Jason , Lee Clover-Ann , Mutyaba Denis , Mbanje Tatenda , Sibanda Cynthia
Published: July 2020

Background. Awake craniotomy is a useful surgical approach to identify and preserve eloquent areas during tumour resection, during surgery for arteriovenous malformation resections and for resective epilepsy surgery. With decreasing age, a child’s ability to cooperate and mange an awake craniotomy becomes increasingly relevant. Preoperative screening is essential to identify the child who can undergo the procedure safely. Case Description. A 11-year-old female patient presented with a tumour in her right motor cortex, presumed to be a dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumour (DNET). We had concerns regarding the feasibility of performing awake surgery in this patient as psychological testing revealed easy distractibility and an inability to follow commands repetitively. We devised a simulated surgical experience to assess her ability to manage such a procedure. During the simulated theatre experience, attempts were made to replicate the actual theatre experience as closely as possible. The patient was dressed in theatre attire and brought into the theatre on a theatre trolley. She was then transferred onto the theatre bed and positioned in the same manner as she would be for the actual surgery. Her head was placed on a horseshoe headrest, and she was made to lie in a semilateral position, as required for the surgery. A blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, nasal cannula with oxygen flow, and calf pumps were applied. She was then draped precisely as she would have been for the procedure. Theatre lighting was set as it would be for the surgical case. The application of the monitoring devices, nasal cannula, and draping was meant not only to prepare her for the procedure but to induce a mild degree of stress such that we could assess the child’s coping skills and ability to undergo the procedure. The child performed well throughout the simulated run, and surgery was thus offered. An asleep-awake-asleep technique was planned and employed for surgical removal of the tumour. Cortical and subcortical mapping was used to identify the eloquent tissue. Throughout the procedure, the child was cooperative and anxiety free. Follow-up MRI revealed gross total removal of the lesion. Conclusion. A simulated theatre experience allowed us to accurately determine that this young patient, despite relative contraindications, was indeed eligible for awake surgery. We will continue to use this technique for all our young patients in assessing their eligibility for these procedures.
A Seismic Hazard Prediction System for Urban Buildings Based on Time-History Analysis
Authors: Zhai Yongmei , Chen Shenglong
Published: July 2020

Seismic hazard prediction is essential for earthquake preparation in urban areas. Prediction methods based on refined the finite element method (FEM) models and time-history analysis require higher calculation, which is hard to apply universally. In this paper, by applying two simplified models and time-history analysis, the authors were able to develop a refined seismic hazard prediction system for urban buildings using MATLAB and OpenSees. The system is modular in design with a unified data interface to transfer data, where only the macro parameters of buildings are required to complete the computation work. Taking the campus of Tongji University as a test area, the system was applied to predict seismic hazard and compare it with the results of the vulnerability method by applying the seismic damage index to verify its reliability. The results show that the system can meet the needs of accuracy, efficiency, and visualization of seismic hazard prediction in urban areas.
Comprehensive Study of Different Expressed Genes and Their Functional Modules in Anesthesia for Off‐Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Authors: Zhou Hui , Min Wang , Zhu Zhihua
Published: July 2020

Purpose. The effect of preoperative anesthesia on coronary artery bypass grafting without extracorporeal circulation is not apparent. We want to investigate the effects and molecular mechanisms of two anesthesia methods on the treatment of coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) under extracorporeal circulation. Patients and Methods. The data of inhaled anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia before coronary artery bypass grafting were downloaded from the GEO database, and the differences were analyzed with the control group. The combination of multiple analytical methods can decipher the mechanism of anesthesia on surgery, including protein interaction network analysis, enrichment analysis, and regulatory subprediction. Results. This study obtained 6699 differential genes under two kinds of anesthesia before OPCABG. By constructing a protein interaction network of differentially expressed genes, we obtained 14 functional module networks. By predicting regulators of functional module genes, we revealed a series of ncRNAs (miR‐129‐5p, miR‐340‐5p, and miR‐410‐3p) and transcription factors (VHL and YBX1). Conclusion. Based on functional module network analysis, we identified the effects of preoperative inhalation anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia on OPCABG, which provides a valuable theoretical reference for subsequent clinical studies.
Polyserositis: An Extremely Rare Life-Threatening Manifestation of Pheochromocytoma
Authors: Heidarpour Maryam , Haghighatpanah Mohammad Ali , Rezvanian Hassan , Yadegarfar Motahare , Mozafari Amir Mohammad , Vakhshoori Mehrbod , Shafie Davood
Published: July 2020

The pericardium is an uncommon site for manifestation of pheochromocytoma. Herein, the case of a 57-year-old man with cardiac tamponade is presented. Pericardiocentesis was performed, and the vital signs were stabilized afterwards. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan illustrated a nonhomogeneous right adrenal mass suspicious of pheochromocytoma, planned for right adrenalectomy. He recovered well after surgery, and his subsequent follow-ups did not reveal any complications.