bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Complete Genome Sequences of
Microbacterium
Bacteriophages Danno, Otwor, and Scumberland, Isolated in Clarksville, Tennessee
Authors: Markov Sergei A. , Church James C. , Lee Leong , Bell Cole M. , Binkley Sarah D. , Bouma Kevin M. , Hutson Kaitlin M. , Markov Gregory S. , Mason Elizabeth C. , Rueff Gabrielle B. , Sennuga Taiwo O. , Simpson Montana H. , Zimmer Robin J. , Villalpando Diana G.
Published: March 2021

This paper reports the genome sequences of bacteriophages isolated from soil samples using
Microbacterium foliorum
. Phages Danno and Otwor (cluster EE) have genomes of 17,452 bp and 17,454 bp, respectively, and 25 predicted genes. The phage Scumberland (cluster EC) has a genome of 53,276 bp with 92 predicted genes.
LuxR Solos from Environmental Fluorescent Pseudomonads
Authors: Bez Cristina , Covaceuszach Sonia , Bertani Iris , Choudhary Kumari Sonal , Venturi Vittorio
Published: March 2021

Cell-cell communication in bacteria is being extensively studied in simple settings and uses chemical signals and cognate regulators/receptors. Many Gram-negative proteobacteria use acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) synthesized by LuxI family proteins and cognate LuxR-type receptors to regulate their quorum sensing (QS) target loci.
Low-δ18O A-type granites in SW China: Evidence for the interaction between the subducted Paleotethyan slab and the Emeishan mantle plume
Authors: Xu Jian , Xia Xiao-Ping , Wang Qiang , Spencer Christopher J. , He Bin , Lai Chun-Kit
Published: March 2021

The mechanisms and processes by which subducted slab interacted with mantle plume remain controversial, as direct observation of such interaction is difficult to impossible. Compositional heterogeneity of large igneous provinces (LIPs) additionally makes plume-slab interaction hard to detect. Oxygen isotopes are sensitive enough to trace the source of magmas. Here we provide evidence for plume-slab interaction mainly based on in situ zircon Hf-O isotope analyses, as well as whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope analyses, on the Late Permian and Early Triassic A-type granites on the margin of the Emeishan LIP in SW China. These granites show typical A-type geochemical characters, such as high total alkali (7.93–9.68 wt%) and field strength element (HFSE, e.g., Zr and Nb) contents, and high FeOT/(FeOT+MgO) (0.87–0.98) and Ga/Al (3.67–5.06) values. The Late Permian (ca. 259 Ma) and Early Triassic (ca. 248 Ma) granites show high Nb/Th (>3.0) and low Y/Nb (<1.2) and Yb/Ta (<2.0) ratios similar to the oceanic island basalts and have near-zero εNd(t) (−0.83 to −0.13 and −0.15 to +0.16, respectively) and depleted εHf(t) (+2.71 to +3.39 and +2.62 to +3.55, respectively). In situ zircon O-Hf analyses yielded anomalously low δ18O (0.2–2.0‰ and 3.2–4.8‰, respectively) and positive εHf(t) (1.6–7.0 and 3.9–8.8, respectively), suggesting varying proportions of hydrothermally altered oceanic crust in their source region. Our results imply that significant amounts of altered Paleotethyan oceanic crust have been subducted in the upper mantle beneath the western South China Block. The nearby rising Emeishan mantle plume may have rapidly entrained and incorporated these oceanic crustal materials to the shallow mantle so that their low-δ18O isotope feature was preserved. Subsequent decompression-related partial melting of this hybrid source formed parental rocks of the low-δ18O A-type granites. Our findings also suggest that LIPs could obtain their compositional (especially oxygen isotope) diversity through the interaction between the subducting slab and rising mantle plume.
Supplemental Material: Did accretion of the Caribbean oceanic plateau drive rapid crustal thickening in the northern Andes?
Authors: George Sarah , al. et
Published: March 2021

Item S1 (the U-Pb procedure, age εHf diagrams with samples binned by tectonic domain, map of geochronologic ages in Ecuador, and weighted mean U-Pb dates on igneous samples), Item S2 (coordinates of samples and data generated in this study), and Item S3 (compiled datasets [εHf , εNd, arc location]).
Can parents believe websites’ information about methylphenidate’s side effects?
Authors: Arsac England Tom , Tuthill David
Published: March 2021

Background

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioural disorders, affecting around 5% of the global population. Methylphenidate is recommended as the first-line drug treatment for ADHD for children over the age of 5 in the UK. It can have many side effects and it is important that families are well informed. Other than their healthcare professionals and friends, the major information source for families is the internet.

Aims

To evaluate the validity of online information regarding the adverse effects of methylphenidate.

Methods

Side-effects of methylphenidate hydrochloride listed in the British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) were taken as the ‘gold standard’ and compared with online websites for accuracy. The first 10 websites found on each of nine different search engines were used as comparators.

Results

From the 90 hits, 10 top hits found in each of 9 search engines, 25 unique websites were identified. A quarter (six sites; 24%) documented only side-effects that all appeared in the BNFC. Three quarters (19 websites; 76%) had at least one side-effect that did not appear in the BNFC; with six websites documenting more than five side-effects not found in the BNFC.

Conclusions

Methylphenidate’s frequent use makes it important that the general public are provided with accurate, reliable and easily accessible information. Most websites have dependable quality information on side effects, but several seem to list excessive side-effects.
The 100 most cited papers on retinal detachment: a bibliographic perspective
Authors: Grzybowski Andrzej , Shtayer Chen , Schwartz Stephen G , Moisseiev Elad
Published: March 2021

The 100 most cited papers on retinal detachment (RD) were analysed using a bibliographic study. The bibliographic databases of the ISI Web of Knowledge were searched, limited to research articles published between 1965 and 2020 in peer-reviewed journals. The papers were ranked in order of number of citations since publication. Ninety of the 100 most cited papers on RD were published in 12 ophthalmology journals, with 74 of them published in American Journal of Ophthalmology (n=31), Ophthalmology (n=23), Archives of Ophthalmology (n=10) and Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (n=10); the remaining 10 papers were published in 8 journals from other fields of medical research. All papers in the top 100 were published in English. The 100 most cited papers on RD originated from 12 different countries, with the majority (72 papers) originating from the USA. The 100 identified papers represent a mix of clinical trials and animal/laboratory studies. This bibliographic study provides a unique perspective and insight into some of the most influential contributions in RD understanding and management over the last 55 years.
Prevalence and risk factors for chalazion in an older veteran population
Authors: Patel Sneh , Tohme Natalia , Gorrin Emmanuel , Kumar Naresh , Goldhagen Brian , Galor Anat
Published: March 2021

Background

Chalazia are common inflammatory eyelid lesions, but their epidemiology remains understudied. This retrospective case–control study examined the prevalence, risk factors and geographic distribution of chalazia in a large veteran population.

Methods

Data on all individuals seen at a Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic between October 2010 and October 2015 were extracted from the VA health database. Subjects were grouped based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code for chalazion. Univariable logistic regression modelling was used to identify clinical and demographic factors associated with chalazion presence, followed by multivariable modelling to examine which factors predicted risk concomitantly. All cases were mapped across the continental US using geographic information systems modelling to examine how prevalence rates varied geographically.

Results

Overall, 208 720 of 3 453 944 (6.04%) subjects were diagnosed with chalazion during the study period. Prevalence was highest in coastal regions. The mean age of the population was 69.32±13.9 years and most patients were male (93.47%), white (77.13%) and non-Hispanic (93.72%). Factors associated with chalazion risk included smoking (OR=1.12, p<0.0005), conditions of the tear film (blepharitis (OR=4.84, p<0.0005), conjunctivitis (OR=2.78, p<0.0005), dry eye (OR=3.0, p<0.0005)), conditions affecting periocular skin (eyelid dermatitis (OR=2.95, p<0.0005), rosacea (OR=2.50, p<0.0005)), allergic conditions (history of allergies (OR=1.56, p<0.0005)) and systemic disorders (gastritis (OR=1.54, p<0.0005), irritable bowel syndrome (OR=1.45, p<0.0005), depression (OR=1.35, p<0.0005), anxiety (OR=1.31, p<0.0005)). These factors remained associated with chalazion risk when examined concomitantly.

Conclusion

Periocular skin, eyelid margin and tear film abnormalities were most strongly associated with risk for chalazion. The impact of environmental conditions on risk for chalazion represents an area in need of further study.
Novel multidisciplinary hub-and-spoke tertiary service for the management of severe acute pancreatitis
Authors: Nayar Manu K , Bekkali Noor L H , Bourne David , Young Sophie , Leeds John S , Oppong Kofi W , Logue Jennifer L , Sen Gourab , French Jeremy J , Scott John , Cressey David , Pandanaboyana Sanjay , Charnley Richard M
Published: March 2021

Objective

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is associated with high mortality (15%–30%). Current guidelines recommend these patients are best managed in a multidisciplinary team setting. This study reports experience in the management of SAP within the UK’s first reported hub-and-spoke pancreatitis network.

Design

All patients with SAP referred to the remote care pancreatitis network between 2015 and 2017 were prospectively entered onto a database by a dedicated pancreatitis specialist nurse. Baseline characteristics, aetiology, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, interventions, complications, mortality and follow-up were analysed.

Results

285 patients admitted with SAP to secondary care hospitals during the study period were discussed with the dedicated pancreatitis specialist nurse and referred to the regional service. 83/285 patients (29%; 37 male) were transferred to the specialist centre mainly for drainage of infected pancreatic fluid collections (PFC) in 95% (n=79) of patients. Among the patients transferred; 29 (35%) patients developed multiorgan failure with an inpatient mortality of 14% (n=12/83). The median follow-up was 18.2 months (IQR=11.25–35.51). Multivariate analysis showed that transferred patients had statistically significant longer overall hospital stay (p<0.001) but less ICU stay (p<0.012).

Conclusion

This hub-and-spoke model facilitates the management of the majority of patients with SAP in secondary care setting. 29% warranted transfer to our tertiary centre, predominantly for endoscopic drainage of PFCs. An evidence-based approach with a low threshold for transfer to tertiary care centre can result in lower mortality for SAP and fewer days in ICU.
Innovations in medical education in Vietnam
Authors: Duong David B , Phan Tom , Trung Nguyen Quang , Le Bao Ngoc , Do Hoa Mai , Nguyen Hoang Minh , Tang Sang Hung , Pham Van-Anh , Le Bao Khac , Le Linh Cu , Siddiqui Zarrin , Cosimi Lisa A , Pollack Todd
Published: March 2021

Medical education reforms are a crucial component to ensuring healthcare systems can meet current and future population needs. In 2010, aLancetcommission called for ‘a new century of transformative health professional education’, with a particular focus on the needs of low-income and-middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Vietnam. This requires policymakers and educational leaders to find and apply novel and innovative approaches to the design and delivery of medical education. This review describes the current state of physician training in Vietnam and how innovations in medical education curriculum, pedagogy and technology are helping to transform medical education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It also examines enabling factors, including novel partnerships and new education policies which catalysed and sustained these innovations. Our review focused on the experience of five public universities of medicine and pharmacy currently undergoing medical education reform, along with a newly established private university. Research in the area of medical education innovation is needed. Future work should look at the outcomes of these innovations on medical education and the quality of medical graduates. Nonetheless, this review aims to inspire future innovations in medical education in Vietnam and in other LMICs.
Study protocol of the global Effisayil 1 Phase II, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of spesolimab in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis presenting with an acute flare
Authors: Choon Siew Eng , Lebwohl Mark G , Marrakchi Slaheddine , Burden A David , Tsai Tsen-Fang , Morita Akimichi , Navarini Alexander A , Zheng Min , Xu Jinhua , Turki Hamida , Rajeswari Sushmita , Deng Hongjie , Tetzlaff Kay , Thoma Christian , Bachelez Hervé
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare, potentially life-threatening disease characterised by recurrent flares of widespread neutrophilic aseptic skin pustular eruption. Despite the availability of approved biologics for GPP in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, associated evidence is largely based on uncontrolled studies in which acute flares were not directly assessed. Therefore, there is a high unmet need to investigate new rapid-acting effective treatments that resolve symptoms associated with acute GPP flares. A prior Phase I proof-of-concept study showed rapid improvements in skin and pustule clearance with a single intravenous dose of spesolimab, a novel anti-interleukin-36 receptor antibody, in patients presenting with an acute GPP flare. Here, we present the design and rationale of Effisayil 1, a global, Phase II, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of spesolimab in patients presenting with an acute GPP flare.

Methods and analysis

At least 51 patients with an acute GPP flare will be randomised 2:1 to receive a single 900 mg intravenous dose of spesolimab or placebo and followed for up to 28 weeks. The primary endpoint is a Generalized Pustular Psoriasis Physician Global Assessment (GPPGA) pustulation subscore of 0 (pustule clearance) at Week 1. The key secondary endpoint is a GPPGA score of 0 or 1 (clear or almost clear) at Week 1. Safety will be assessed over the study duration by the occurrence of treatment-emergent adverse events. Blood and skin biopsies will be collected to assess biomarkers. Superiority of spesolimab over placebo in the proportion of patients achieving the primary and key secondary endpoints will be evaluated.

Ethics and dissemination

The study complies with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, the International Council for Harmonisation’s Good Clinical Practice and local regulations. Ethics committee approvals have been obtained for each centre from all participating countries and are listed in online supplementary file 1. Primary results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Trial registration details

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier:NCT03782792; Pre-results.
Multicentre prospective observational study exploring the predictive value of functional echocardiographic indices for early identification of preterm neonates at risk of developing chronic pulmonary hypertension secondary to chronic neonatal lung disease
Authors: Thomas Laura , Baczynski Michelle , Deshpande Poorva , Kharrat Ashraf , Joye Sébastien , Zhu Faith , Ibarra-Rios Daniel , Shah Prakesh S , Mertens Luc , Jankov Robert P , Ye Xiang Y , Neary Elaine , Ting Joseph , Castaldo Michael , Levy Philip , Smith Aisling , El-Khuffash Afif F , Giesinger Regan E , McNamara Patrick J , Weisz Dany E , Jain Amish
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Although chronic pulmonary hypertension (cPH) secondary to chronic neonatal lung disease is associated with increased mortality and respiratory and neurodevelopmental morbidities, late diagnosis (typically ≥36 weeks postmenstrual age, PMA) and the use of qualitative echocardiographic diagnostic criterion (flat interventricular septum in systole) remain significant limitations in clinical care. Our objective in this study is to evaluate the utility of relevant quantitative echocardiographic indices to identify cPH in preterm neonates, early in postnatal course and to develop a diagnostic test based on the best combination of markers.

Methods and analysis

In this ongoing international prospective multicentre observational diagnostic accuracy study, we aim to recruit 350 neonates born <27 weeks PMA and/or birth weight <1000 g and perform echocardiograms in the third week of age and at 32 weeks PMA (early diagnostic assessments, EDA) in addition to the standard diagnostic assessment (SDA) for cPH at 36 weeks PMA. Predefined echocardiographic markers under investigation will be measured at each EDA and examined to create a scoring system to identify neonates who subsequently meet the primary outcome of cPH/death at SDA. Diagnostic test characteristics will be defined for each EDA. Pulmonary artery acceleration time and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion are the primary markers of interest.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval has been received by the Mount Sinai Hospital Research Ethics Board (REB) (#16-0111-E), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre REB (#228-2016), NHS Health Research Authority (IRAS 266498), University of Iowa Human Subjects Office/Institutional Review Board (201903736), Rotunda Hospital Research and Ethics Committee (REC-2019-008), and UBC Children’s and Women’s REB (H19-02738), and is under review at Boston Children’s Hospital Institutional Review Board. Study results will be disseminated to participating families in lay format, presented to the scientific community at paediatric and critical care conferences and published in relevant peer-reviewed journals.

Trail registration number

NCT04402645.
Mortality in adolescent trauma: a comparison of children’s, mixed and adult major trauma centres
Authors: Evans Jordan , Murch Hannah , Begley Roisin , Roland Damian , Lyttle Mark D , Bouamra Omar , Mullen Stephen
Published: March 2021

Objective

We aimed to compare adolescent mortality rates between different types of major trauma centre (MTC or level 1; adult, children’s and mixed).

Methods

Data were obtained from TARN (Trauma Audit Research Network) from English sites over a 6-year period (2012–2018), with adolescence defined as 10–24.99 years. Results are presented using descriptive statistics. Patient characteristics were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s post-hoc analysis for pairwise comparison and χ2test for categorical variables.

Results

21 033 cases met inclusion criteria. Trauma-related 30-day crude mortality rates by MTC type were 2.5% (children’s), 4.4% (mixed) and 4.9% (adult). Logistic regression accounting for injury severity, mechanism of injury, physiological parameters and ‘hospital ID’, resulted in adjusted odds of mortality of 2.41 (95% CI 1.31 to 4.43; p=0.005) and 1.85 (95% CI 1.03 to 3.35; p=0.041) in adult and mixed MTCs, respectively when compared with children’s MTCs. In three subgroup analyses the same trend was noted. In adolescents aged 14–17.99 years old, those managed in a children’s MTC had the lowest mortality rate at 2.5%, compared with 4.9% in adult MTCs and 4.4% in mixed MTCs (no statistical difference between children’s and mixed). In cases of major trauma (Injury Severity Score >15) the adjusted odds of mortality were also greater in the mixed and adult MTC groups when compared with the children’s MTC. Median length of stay (LoS) and intensive care unit LoS were comparable for all MTC types. Patients managed in children’s MTCs were less likely to have a CT scan (46.2% vs 62.8% mixed vs 64% adult).

Conclusions

Children’s MTC have lower crude and adjusted 30-day mortality rates for adolescent trauma. Further research is required in this field to identify the factors that may have influenced these findings.
Cytokeratin 18 cell death assays as biomarkers for quantification of apoptosis and necrosis in COVID-19: a prospective, observational study
Authors: Henry Brandon Michael , Cheruiyot Isaac , Benoit Stefanie W , Sanchis-Gomar Fabian , Lippi Giuseppe , Benoit Justin
Published: March 2021

Background

The mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 triggers cell damage and necrosis are yet to be fully elucidated. We sought to quantify epithelial cell death in patients with COVID-19, with an estimation of relative contributions of apoptosis and necrosis.

Methods

Blood samples were collected prospectively from adult patients presenting to the emergency department. Circulating levels of caspase-cleaved (apoptosis) and total cytokeratin 18 (CK-18) (total cell death) were determined using M30 and M65 enzyme assays, respectively. Intact CK-18 (necrosis) was estimated by subtracting M30 levels from M65.

Results

A total of 52 COVID-19 patients and 27 matched sick controls (with respiratory symptoms not due to COVID-19) were enrolled. Compared with sick controls, COVID-19 patients had higher levels of M65 (p = 0.046, total cell death) and M30 (p = 0.0079, apoptosis). Hospitalised COVID-19 patients had higher levels of M65 (p= 0.014) and intact CK-18 (p= 0.004, necrosis) than discharged patients. Intensive care unit (ICU)-admitted COVID-19 patients had higher levels of M65 (p= 0.004), M30 (p= 0.004) and intact CK-18 (p= 0.033) than hospitalised non-ICU admitted patients. In multivariable logistic regression, elevated levels of M65, M30 and intact CK-18 were associated with increased odds of ICU admission (OR=22.05, p=0.014, OR=19.71, p=0.012 and OR=14.12, p=0.016, respectively).

Conclusion

Necrosis appears to be the main driver of hospitalisation, whereas apoptosis and necrosis appear to drive ICU admission. Elevated levels CK-18 levels are independent predictors of severe disease, and could be useful for risk stratification of COVID-19 patients and in assessment of therapeutic efficacy in early-phase COVID-19 clinical trials.
Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO): a new attractive target to decrease cardiovascular risk
Authors: Swanepoel Ione , Roberts April , Brauns Chelsea , Chaliha Devahuti R , Papa Veronica , Palmer Raymond D , Vaccarezza Mauro
Published: March 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the greatest disease burdens and takes the lives of many each year. There are many risk factors both modifiable and non-modifiable which contribute to the onset and progression of the disease. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in recent years has been found to have a correlation with CVD onset. Those with increased levels of the metabolite have a markedly increased risk of future development of cardiometabolic disorders.

This literature review aimed to critique past studies undertaken to find a consensus of the significance of the interrelationship between TMAO and cardiovascular risk. A definite link between TMAO levels and a CVD outcome was found. The majority of the literature stated the relationship with evidence; however, there is still some uncertainty as to why and how the correlation occurs. Further study needs to be done to further dissect and understand the relationship between TMAO and CVD risk.
High levels of undiagnosed rectal STIs suggest that screening remains inadequate among Black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
Authors: Watson Ryan J , Collibee Charlene , Maksut Jessica L , Earnshaw Valerie A , Rucinski Katherine , Eaton Lisa
Published: March 2021

Objective

To better understand rectal STI screening practices for Black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (BGBMSM).

Findings

Although 15% of BGBMSM lab tested positive for a rectal STI, the majority of these (94%) were asymptomatic. Though all participants reported their status as HIV negative/unknown, 31 of 331 (9.4%) tested positive on HIV rapid tests. Neither condomless anal intercourse nor the number of male sex partners was associated with rectal STI or HIV diagnosis, although rectal STI diagnosis was positively related to testing HIV positive.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that substantial numbers of BGBMSM have asymptomatic STIs but are not tested—an outcome that is likely a strong driver of onward HIV acquisition. Therefore, we must address the asymptomatic STI epidemic among GBMSM in order to reduce HIV transmission, as well as temper STI transmission, among this key population.
Anisotropic compact stars via embedding approach in general relativity: new physical insights of stellar configurations
Authors: Errehymy Abdelghani , Khedif Youssef , Daoud Mohammed
Published: March 2021

The main focus of this paper is to explore the possibility of providing a new family of exact solutions for suitable anisotropic spherically symmetric systems in the realm of general relativity involving the embedding spherically symmetric static metric into the five-dimensional pseudo-Euclidean space. In this regard, we ansatz a new metric potential $$\lambda (r)$$

λ
(
r
)

, and we obtained the other metric potential $$\nu (r)$$

ν
(
r
)

by mains of embedding class one approach. The unknown constants are determined by the matching of interior space-time with the Schwarzschild exterior space-time. The physical acceptability of the generating celestial model for anisotropic compact stars is approved via acting several physical tests of the main salient features viz., energy density, radial and tangential pressures, anisotropy effect, dynamical equilibrium, energy conditions, and dynamical stability, which are well-compared with experimental statistics of four different compact stars: PSR J1416-2230, PSR J1903+327, 4U 1820-30 and Cen X-3. Conclusively, all the compact stars under observations are realistic, stable, and are free from any physical or geometrical singularities. We find that the embedding class one solution for anisotropic compact stars is viable and stable, plus, it provides circumstantial evidence in favor of super-massive pulsars.
Vagus Nerve Electroneurogram-Based Detection of Acute Pentylenetetrazol Induced Seizures in Rats
Authors: Stumpp Lars , Smets Hugo , Vespa Simone , Cury Joaquin , Doguet Pascal , Delbeke Jean , Nonclercq Antoine , El Tahry Riem
Published: March 2021

On-demand stimulation improves the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in refractory epilepsy. The vagus nerve is the main peripheral parasympathetic connection and seizures are known to exhibit autonomic symptoms. Therefore, we hypothesized that seizure detection is possible through vagus nerve electroneurogram (VENG) recording. We developed a metric able to measure abrupt changes in amplitude and frequency of spontaneous vagus nerve action potentials. A classifier was trained using a “leave-one-out” method on a set of 6 seizures and 3 control recordings to utilize the VENG spike feature-based metric for seizure detection. We were able to detect pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced acute seizures in 6/6 animals during different stages of the seizure with no false detection. The classifier detected the seizure during an early stage in 3/6 animals and at the onset of tonic clonic stage of the seizure in 3/6 animals. EMG and motion artefacts often accompany epileptic activity. We showed the “epileptic” neural signal to be independent from EMG and motion artefacts. We confirmed the existence of seizure related signals in the VENG recording and proved their applicability for seizure detection. This detection might be a promising tool to improve efficacy of VNS treatment by developing new responsive stimulation systems.
Implementation of high-precision inertial reference for Taiji-1 satellite and its ground evaluation based on torsion pendulum system
Authors: Li Hua-Dong , Wang Zhi ,   On behalf of The Taiji Scientific Collaboration
Published: March 2021

As the key measurement load of Taiji-1 satellite, inertial sensor detects the acceleration disturbance of test mass (TM) under nonconservative force in line with the basic principle of capacitive sensing, while keeping the TM in equilibrium position through electrostatic drive. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the mission, it is necessary to test and evaluate the performance of inertial sensor on the ground. In this paper, a torsion pendulum system is designed to eliminate the influence of the Earth’s gravity so as to meet the requirements of ground test. The experimental results show that the inertial sensor in closed-loop control mode can stably keep the TM at equilibrium position. At the same time, the ground detection of acceleration resolution of inertial sensor is greatly affected by ground vibration noise. If the inertial sensor operates normally in space, its acceleration resolution can reach[Formula: see text], thus meeting the requirement of Taiji-1.
The instability of the waves driven by a charged dust beam in the ionosphere
Authors: Liu Bo , Han Juan-Fang , Xu Bin , Li Hui , Zhang Heng , Duan Wen-Shan
Published: March 2021

By using the PIC simulation method and theoretical investigation from both the magnetohydrodynamic equations and the Vlasov equation of the dusty plasma produced by the relative streaming of the dust fluid and the background ionospheric plasma, we investigate the instability of the waves excited by this kind of the dust beam in the ionosphere. It is found that the waves are stable in both the electron and ion vibration time scales, while they are unstable in the dust grain vibration time scale. It is inferred that the wave is the high hybrid wave in the electron vibration time scale. The dispersion relations of the perturbed waves in both the electron vibration and ion vibration time scales are obtained. As the time increases until it arrives at the dust grain vibration time scale, the instability appears for the perturbed wave. Such instabilities may drive plasma irregularities that could affect radar backscatter from the clouds, when the wave satisfies the Bragg condition for backscatter. By using the dispersion relation of waves in both electron vibration and ion vibration time scales, we can infer what kind of radar backscatter can be possibly affected by the instability of the perturbed waves.
Harmonically confined Bose–Einstein condensation on the surface of a cylinder
Authors: Ou Meng-Jun , Hou Ji-Xuan
Published: March 2021

It is well known that Bose–Einstein condensation cannot occur in a free two-dimensional (2D) system. Recently, several studies have showed that BEC can occur on the surface of a sphere. We investigate BEC on the surface of cylinder on both sides of which atoms are confined in a one-dimensional (1D) harmonic potential. In this work, only the non-interacting Bose gas is considered. We determine the critical temperature and the condensate fraction in the geometry using the semi-classical approximation. Moreover, the thermodynamic properties of ideal bosons are also studied using the grand canonical partition function.
Non-canonical Chameleon cosmology
Authors: Akbarieh Amin Rezaei , Motavalli Hossein , Nouri Elham
Published: March 2021

One of the most important issues in modern cosmology is understanding the origin of the accelerated expansion of the universe, known as “dark energy”. The scalar–tensor model is one of the most interesting candidates for describing dark energy. In this paper, we investigate the non-canonical scalar model, which is written in the framework of Chameleon models. In this model, the scalar field is coupled to a mass density [Formula: see text] under an arbitrary [Formula: see text] coupling function. We study the cosmological aspect of this model according to its Chameleon state and we conclude that for high densities, the mass of the Chameleon field becomes larger, so its effect will not be seen in high-density areas. We also examine the dynamical behavior of this model for different coupling functions and potentials. According to the dynamic behavior of the model, we can conclude that using this model can explain the accelerated expansion of the universe. Finally, we investigate the tensor perturbations in this model and show that the mass of the gravitational waves obtained in the framework of this model can be in good agreement with the observations.
IN VITRO STUDY, CORROSION, AND THERMAL OXIDATION BEHAVIOR OF WIRE-SHAPED NITISN SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY
Authors: QADER IBRAHIM NAZEM , KOK MEDIHA , CIRAK ZEHRA DENIZ , PEKDEMIR MUSTAFA ERSIN , SAYDAM SINAN , AYDOGDU YILDIRIM
Published: March 2021

The development of NiTi-based shape memory alloys (SMAs) for some medical applications has been limited by releasing Ni element into the organic tissue. In this study, Ni[Formula: see text]Ti[Formula: see text]Sn3-wire (at.%) SMA was produced using the arc-melting technique, and the alloy was subjected to non-isothermal processes. Some characteristics of the alloys, such as oxidation behavior, corrosivity, and in vitro study in simulated body fluid and physiological solution at body temperature, were investigated. The corrosion rate of the as-casted alloy was lower than the equiatomic-NiTi alloy found in the literature. The estimated ICP-MS results showed that the release of alloying constituents into the solutions is in accordance with the standards.
HSCWMA: A New Hybrid SCA-WMA Algorithm for Solving Optimization Problems
Authors: Parizi Morteza Karimzadeh , Keynia Farshid , Bardsiri Amid Khatibi
Published: March 2021

Hybrid metaheuristic algorithms have recently become an interesting topic in solving optimization problems. The woodpecker mating algorithm (WMA) and the sine cosine algorithm (SCA) have been integrated in this paper to propose a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm for solving optimization problems called HSCWMA. Despite the high capacity of the WMA algorithm for exploration, this algorithm needs to augment exploitation especially in initial iterations. Also, the sine and cosine relations used in the SCA provide the good exploitation for this algorithm, but SCA suffers the lack of an efficient process for the implementation of effective exploration. In HSCWMA, the modified mathematical search functions of SCA by Levy flight mechanism is applied to update the female woodpeckers in WMA. Moreover, the local search memory is used for all search elements in the proposed hybrid algorithm. The goal of proposing the HSCWMA is to use exploration capability of WMA and Levy flight, utilize exploitation susceptibility of the SCA and the local search memory, for developing exploration and exploitation qualification, and providing the dynamic balance between these two phases. For efficiency evaluation, the proposed algorithm is tested on 28 mathematical benchmark functions. The HSCWMA algorithm has been compared with a series of the most recent and popular metaheuristic algorithms and it outperforms them for solving nonconvex, inseparable, and highly complex optimization problems. The proposed algorithm is also used as a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) neural network trainer to solve the software development effort estimation (SDEE) problem on three real-world datasets. The simulation results proved the superior and promising performance of the HSCWMA algorithm in the majority of evaluations.
CoB/C3N4 photocatalyst for rapid hydrogen evolution from hydrolysis of sodium borohydride under light irradiation
Authors: Wei Lei , Wang Xiaomeng , Yu Ya-Na , Liu Hongyan , Li Yepei , Zhang Ya-Ni
Published: March 2021

For practical application of sodium borohydride (NaBH[Formula: see text] hydrolysis to generate hydrogen, metallic catalysts with low cost but excellent activity are highly desired. However, it remains a big challenge to further improve the activity of non-noble metal catalysts. In this work, photocatalysis technology was successfully introduced to enhance the catalyst activity for NaBH4 hydrolysis. By means of conventional impregnation-reduction method, CoB nanocatalyst was evenly deposited on graphitic carbon nitride surface, resulting in a Schottky-type photocatalyst (CoB/CN). As expected, hydrogen generation rate was greatly boosted owing to light irradiation. According to the results of capture experiments, photoexcited electron from g-C3N4 could enrich the electron density of CoB surface, which leads to the improvement of catalyst activity. Additionally, the light irradiation facilitates the remarkable decrease of apparent activation energy. Compared with some reported noble metal catalysts, the CoB/CN presents higher activity, especially under light irradiation.
Foxe Platform and Basin Tectono-Sedimentary Element, Northeast Canada
Authors: Lavoie Denis , Pinet Nicolas , Zhang Shunxin
Published: March 2021

The Foxe Platform and Basin Tectono-Sedimentary Element (TSE) is an ovoid-shaped, predominantly marine basin located in the Canadian Arctic. The Paleozoic sedimentary succession (Cambrian–Silurian) unconformably overlies the Precambrian basement and reaches a maximum measured thickness of slightly over 500 m in the only exploration well drilled in this basin. The Lower Paleozoic Foxe Platform and Basin TSE is surrounded by Precambrian basement, and by the Paleozoic Arctic Platform to the north and by the Paleozoic–Mesozoic (?) Hudson Bay Strait Platform and Basin to the south. The Paleozoic succession consists of a Cambrian clastic-dominated interval overlain by Ordovician–lower Silurian predominantly shallow-marine carbonate. Other than a single well drilled in the northern part of the basin, no subsurface information is available. Thermally immature Upper Ordovician organic-matter-rich calcareous black shales have been mapped on the onshore extension of the basin to the SE. Potential hydrocarbon reservoirs consist of Cambrian porous coarse-grained clastics, as well as Upper Ordovician dolostones and reefs.
Cenozoic volcanism along Dahongliutan fault in the West Kunlun Mountains, China: implication from distribution of volcanic rocks, volcanic geology, and geochemistry
Authors: Zhao Bo , Wei Feixiang , Yang Wenjian , Xu Jiandong , Cui Xiaoge
Published: March 2021

In the West Kunlun Mountains, four volcanic fields (Kangxiwa, Dahongliutan, Qitaidaban and Quanshuigou) are distributed along the Dahongliutan fault, which is
c.
180 km long. Based on field investigations, chronological measurements and geochemical analysis of some volcanic fields, the results of geological, geochemical and geophysical research in previous studies in the corresponding study areas are summarized. The volcanic activities in these areas were mainly effusive eruptions, explosive eruptions and phreatomagmatic eruptions. In this study, we discovered the Qitaiyanhu volcanic field for the first time and determined that the
14
C age of the lacustrine strata underlying the Qitaiyanhu lava flows is 13.110 ± 0.04 ka BP, indicating that there may still have been volcanic activities in the late Pleistocene and even the Holocene in the Dahongliutan fault area. Base surge deposits, which are the products of the interaction between magma and water, were found in the Kangxiwa volcanic field. The four shoshonitic rock fields of Kangxiwa, Dahongliutan, Qitaidaban and Quanshuigou are likely to be products of different evolution stages from the same magma source area. The magmatic origin of these volcanic fields may be related to the upwelling of the asthenosphere, triggered by the collision between the Indian and Tarim plates.
Geomorphology and geochemistry of the Late Cenozoic volcanoes in the Halaha River–Chaoer River volcanic fields, western Greater Hinggan Mountain Range, NE China
Authors: Zhao Yong-Wei , Zou Haibo , Li Ni
Published: March 2021

The Halaha River–Chaoer River (HC) volcanic field in the Greater Hinggan Mountain Range (NE China) consists of at least 41 monogenetic basaltic volcanoes. Strombolian, violent Strombolian and phreatomagmatic eruptions, as well as the transitional eruptions, generated simple volcanic cones (single vent) and composite volcanic cones (multiple vents). The simple elongated cone is the most abundant geomorphology type. By analysing the elongated crater and coalescent aligned circular crater, cone breaching and depression, and aligned vents, we identified a number of magma-feeding fissures. The majority of these fissures strike NE–ENE. Accordingly, we infer that the regional stress field affected volcanism in the HC field. The lavas in this field are alkali basalts that are enriched in light rare earth elements (La/Yb
N
= 7.9–24.5). Their ocean island basalt-like rare earth element and spider-diagram patterns, high Nb/U ratios and high TiO
2
contents (>2 wt%) indicate that the basalts were derived from the asthenosphere mantle. Both the asthenosphere upwelling and the tectonic forces are the key controlling factors of the volcanism in the HC field.
Tight Localizations of Feedback Sets
Authors: Hecht Michael , Gonciarz Krzysztof , Horvát Szabolcs
Published: March 2021

The classical NP–hard
feedback arc set problem
(FASP) and
feedback vertex set problem
(FVSP) ask for a minimum set of arcs ε ⊆
E
or vertices ν ⊆
V
whose removal
G
∖ ε,
G
∖ ν makes a given multi–digraph
G
=(
V
,
E
) acyclic, respectively. Though both problems are known to be APX–hard, constant ratio approximations or proofs of inapproximability are unknown. We propose a new universal
O
(|
V
||
E
|
4
)–heuristic for the directed FASP. While a ratio of
r
≈ 1.3606 is known to be a lower bound for the APX–hardness, at least by empirical validation we achieve an approximation of
r
≤ 2. Most of the relevant applications, such as
circuit testing
, ask for solving the FASP on large sparse graphs, which can be done efficiently within tight error bounds with our approach.
Passive Health Monitoring Using Large Scale Mobility Data
Authors: Zhang Yunke , Xu Fengli , Li Tong , Kostakos Vassilis , Hui Pan , Li Yong
Published: March 2021

In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of using mobility patterns and demographic data to predict hospital visits. We collect mobility traces from two thousand users for around two months. We extract 16 mobility features from these passively collected mobility traces and train an XGBoost model to predict users' hospital visits. We demonstrate that the designed mobility features can significantly improve prediction accuracy (p < 0.01, AUC = 0.79). We further analyze how these mobility features affect the prediction results and measure their importance by using Shapley additive explanation values. We discover that users with less mobility activity, less visit diversity, and few sports facilities, bountiful entertainment around their visited locations are more likely to visit hospitals. Moreover, we conduct predictions on the populations with different demographic features, which achieves meaningful and insightful results, i.e. maintaining a high mobility activity is crucial for older people's health, while fast food store more substantially affects younger people's health; visit patterns can indicate females' health, while the neighborhood environment is more indicative of males, etc. These results shed light on how to use and understand large scale mobility data in health monitoring and other health-related applications in practice.
Unravelling Spatial Privacy Risks of Mobile Mixed Reality Data
Authors: Guzman Jaybie Agullo de , Seneviratne Aruna , Thilakarathna Kanchana
Published: March 2021

Previously, 3D data---particularly, spatial data---have primarily been utilized in the field of geo-spatial analyses, or robot navigation (e.g. self-automated cars) as 3D representations of geographical or terrain data (usually extracted from lidar). Now, with the increasing user adoption of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (AR/MR/VR; we collectively refer to as MR) technology on user mobile devices, spatial data has become more ubiquitous. However, this ubiquity also opens up a new threat vector for adversaries: aside from the traditional forms of mobile media such as images and video, spatial data poses additional and, potentially, latent risks to users of AR/MR/VR. Thus, in this work, we analyse MR spatial data using various spatial complexity metrics---including a cosine similarity-based, and a Euclidean distance-based metric---as heuristic or empirical measures that can signify the inference risk a captured space has. To demonstrate the risk, we utilise 3D shape recognition and classification algorithms for spatial inference attacks over various 3D spatial data captured using mobile MR platforms: i.e. Microsoft HoloLens, and Android with Google ARCore. Our experimental evaluation and investigation shows that the cosine similarity-based metric is a good spatial complexity measure of captured 3D spatial maps and can be utilised as an indicator of spatial inference risk.
An Interview with Lionel Briand - ACM Fellow 2020
Authors: Pfahl Dietmar
Published: March 2021

Lionel Briand is one of the five ACM Fellows of the 2020 cohort who are also active SIGSOFT members. To celebrate his award, we invited him to a question/answer session.

Lionel is professor of software engineering and has shared appointments between the University of Ottawa and the University of Luxembourg. He holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) and an ERC Advanced grant. Over the last 25 years, Lionel has been an engineer, a researcher, a research institute department head, a research center leader, a university professor, and a consultant in the IT industry. His experience spans six countries and over the years he has run research and innovation projects with or worked for 30+ industry partners and public institutions. He has not only an impressive publication and research record as well as a long list of awards but also has served as editor-in-chef, editorial board member, steering committee member, general chair and program chair of top-level journals and conferences in the software engineering community.
On the future of computer science
Authors: Churchill Elizabeth , Ahmed Nova
Published: March 2021

Gabriele Kotsis, ACM President and full professor in computer science at Johannes Kepler University, shares her personal experiences and suggestions to shape the future of computer science.
The women bricoleurs of technology
Authors: Schultz Deborah
Published: March 2021

Understanding the value of reaching from theory to practice by revisiting the contributions of women before us and our assumptions about how we create valuable impact for the future.
Nature-Inspired Chemical Engineering for Process Intensification
Authors: Coppens Marc-Olivier
Published: March 2021

A nature-inspired solution (NIS) methodology is proposed as a systematic platform for innovation and to inform transformative technology required to address Grand Challenges, including sustainable development. Scalability, efficiency, and resilience are essential to nature, as they are to engineering processes. They are achieved through underpinning fundamental mechanisms, which are grouped as recurring themes in the NIS approach: hierarchical transport networks, force balancing, dynamic self-organization, and ecosystem properties. To leverage these universal mechanisms, and incorporate them effectively into engineering design, adaptations may be needed to accommodate the different contexts of nature and engineering applications. Nature-inspired chemical engineering takes advantage of the NIS methodology for process intensification, as demonstrated here in fluidization, catalysis, fuel cell engineering, and membrane separations, where much higher performance is achieved by rigorously employing concepts optimized in nature. The same approach lends itself to other applications, from biomedical engineering to information technology and architecture.
TechWatch: Lithium Batteries on Mars
Authors: Surampudi Subbarao
Published: March 2021

In the “Spirit” of a successful landing on Mars on January 4, and with this “Opportunity” doubling in the following two weeks, there will be an astounding scientific exploration of Mars in the next few months. This TechWatch takes a look at the power behind these successful twin rovers that come “with batteries included.”