bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Porous stones in permeability measurement: drawbacks and solution
Authors: Bayoumi Aya , Mhenni Ahmed , Chekired Mohamed , Karray Mourad
Published: May 2022

Porous stones are commonly used in geotechnical laboratory testing to provide solid support at the two ends of the tested specimen. Although porous stones can have several advantages, they can induce a hydraulic impedance that might alter the flowrate results. Numerous suggestions and recommendations were issued to avoid some of the problems encountered when using porous stones, such as clogging and stones' low permeability coefficient ( Kp). However, it is proven in this technical note that the existence of a soil–porous stones interaction prevents the elimination of porous stones' influence, leading to unreliable permeability results. A practical solution based on manufacturing unique porous stones (MS) is suggested in an attempt to eliminate such an influence. The porous stones' influence is highlighted by running excess pore pressure dissipation tests under triaxial conditions with calibrated beads. The results show a soil–porous stones interaction and a flowrate increase up to 700% due to MS. This interaction is addressed through permeability measurements of three soil types in a flexible-wall permeameter using standard porous stones (SS) and the newly manufactured stones (MS). At least one order of magnitude of difference in the soil permeability measurement and a decrease in the dissipation test time are observed with MS. This technical note also validates the limitation of the superposition approach for correcting the soil's permeability ( Ksoil). It is shown that porous stones can induce a signature directly related to the soil type and applied pressure.
Impact of a thermal medium on newly observed $$Z_{cs}(3985)$$ resonance and its b-partner
Authors: Süngü J. Y. , Türkan A. , Sundu H. , Veli Veliev E.
Published: May 2022

Motivated by the very recent discovery of the strange hidden-charm exotic state $$Z_{cs}(3985)$$

Z

cs

(
3985
)

by the BESIII Collaboration, we study the possible interpretation of this exotic state the both at $$T=0$$

T
=
0

and $$ T\ne 0 $$

T
≠
0

. We analytically compute the mass and meson-current coupling constant of this resonance with spin-parity $$ J^{P} = 1^+$$

J
P

=

1
+

at finite temperature approximation up to the sixth order of the thermal operator dimension including non-perturbative contributions. Extracting thermal mass and meson-current coupling constant sum rules, the modifications on properties of the $$Z_{cs}(3985)$$

Z

cs

(
3985
)

state in hot medium are determined. As a by-product, the hadronic parameters of the bottom partner of $$Z_{cs}(3985)$$

Z

cs

(
3985
)

is estimated as well. The search for temperature effects on the hadronic parameters of the hidden-charm meson $$Z_{cs}(3985)$$

Z

cs

(
3985
)

and the bottom partner enable us to understand the phase transitions, chiral symmetry breaking, and the properties of hot-dense matter in QCD. Moreover, the full width of the resonance $$Z_{cs}(3985)$$

Z

cs

(
3985
)

is calculated as $$(12.0\pm 0.8)~{\mathrm {MeV}}$$

(
12.0
±
0.8
)

MeV

using the strong decay in the tetraquark picture. Results for width and mass are in reasonable agreement with existing experimental data and results of other theoretical works. The information obtained about the parameters of the considered states is useful for experimental investigations of exotic mesons.
Effect of plasma surface modification on mineral fibers/thermoplastic composites
Authors: Ha Jong-Rok , Kim Jae Yang , Kim Yun Hae , Seong Dong Gi
Published: May 2022

At present, research is actively being conducted into composite materials using natural fibers and thermoplastic resins that can serve as eco-friendly materials. However, the weak interfacial bonding shape between natural fibers and thermoplastic resins leads to low mechanical properties in the natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite. This study examined the usage of basalt fibers (BFs) and polypropylene (PP) to address this issue. Plasma surface modification (PSM) was performed on the surface of the BF to improve the interfacial bonding force between the fiber and the thermoplastic resin. Studies on monomer selection (HMDSO), plasma generation conditions (3 kV), and surface modification time (20–150 s) were conducted to determine the optimal conditions for PSM. FT-IR analysis was performed to confirm the surface modification and the fracture surface was observed after the mechanical properties were measured. The experimental results confirmed the effect of PSM on the BF resulting in about 10% improvement on the related mechanical properties.
Lump and interaction solutions for a (2 + 1)-dimensional combined pKP-BKP equation in fluids
Authors: Ma Hongcai , Yue Shupan , Deng Aiping
Published: May 2022

In this paper, a number of exact solutions of (2 + 1)-dimensional combined pKP-BKP equation are given. By taking into account the Hirota bilinear method and making use of quadratic function, a number of lump solutions are obtained. Combining quadratic function with exponential function, the interaction phenomenon between lump and soliton, and the lump-soliton solutions are obtained. When the trigonometric function is combined with the exponential function, the breather wave solutions are obtained. Finally, by picking appropriate parameter values, the dynamic properties of these exact solutions are presented by three-dimensional, density and contour plots.
Quantitative observability for the Schrödinger and Heisenberg equations: An optimal transport approach
Authors: Golse François , Paul Thierry
Published: May 2022

We establish a quantitative observation inequality for the Schrödinger and the Heisenberg equations on [Formula: see text], uniform in the Planck constant [Formula: see text]. The proof is based on the pseudometric introduced in F. Golse and T. Paul, The Schrödinger equation in the mean-field and semiclassical regime, Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 223 (2017) 57–94. This inequality involves only effective constants which are computed explicitly in their dependence in [Formula: see text] and all parameters involved.
Feasibility Analysis of the Application of Virtual Reality Technology in College English Culture Teaching
Authors: Jing Yan , Mingfang Zhou , Yafang Chen
Published: May 2022

Although the traditional English teaching mode has changed qualitatively, it still has not broken through the two-dimensional limitation, which limits the students’ creative thinking to a certain extent. The application of virtual reality technology in teaching is a qualitative leap in the development of educational informatisation. Based on the data collected from questionnaires and in-depth interviews, this paper studies the feasibility of applying virtual reality immersion teaching in primary and secondary school English teaching. On this basis, this paper attempts to combine virtual reality technology with immersion teaching, and make use of its diversity, flexibility, interactivity and other characteristics to prospect the realisation of virtual reality in English learning, and strive to explore a virtual reality immersion English teaching mode suitable for primary and secondary school children, so as to make up for the shortcomings of traditional language education and optimise the learning effect, It provides a feasible reference for the application of virtual reality technology in English teaching in the future.
The Directional Knowledge Sharing Paradigm: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of the Interaction between Organisational Culture and Intra-Organisational Knowledge Sharing
Authors: Baker Ali M.
Published: May 2022

A partially mixed-methods case study in a Fortune 50 technology company was conducted to delineate the interaction between organisational culture (OC) types (competitive, bureaucratic and clan) and intra-organisational knowledge sharing (KS). This study provided empirical evidence that show differences in KS horizontally (peer-to-peer) and vertically (between direct-report and manager) within an organisation. By focussing on “socialization” adopted from the organisational knowledge creation theory, the iceberg theory and the competing values framework, we addressed an unexamined area within the body of knowledge. Survey data of 82 employees and interview data of 23 employees were analysed. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to analyse the quantitative survey data. The qualitative interview data were analysed through content analysis. A triangulation design was then followed to merge the data through an equivalent status ([Formula: see text]) interpretation to derive meta-inferences. MANCOVA displayed a statistically significant interaction between OC and KS via socialisation. The triangulated results showed that OC types distinctly impacted KS via socialisation with differences between seeking, contributing and the direction of knowledge flow (vertical and horizontal). The empirical evidence shows that organisations must consider the direction of knowledge flow (vertical or horizontal) when enforcing cultural values to drive KS via socialisation. Similarly, researchers should not ignore the directional knowledge sharing paradigm, nor the organisational knowledge creation theory, when examining intra-organisational KS.
A Lemmatizer for Low-resource Languages: WSD and Its Role in the Assamese Language
Authors: Gogoi Arjun , Baruah Nomi
Published: May 2022

The morphological variations of highly inflected languages that appear in a text impede the progress of computer processing and root word determination tasks while extracting an abstract. As a remedy to this difficulty, a lemmatization algorithm is developed, and its effectiveness is evaluated for Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD). Having observed its usefulness, lemmatizer is considered for developing Natural Language Processing tools for languages rich in morphological variations. Among various Indian highly inflected languages, Assamese, spoken by over 14 million people in the North-Eastern region of India, is also one of them. In this present work, after a detailed study on the possible transformations through which surface words are created from lemmas, we have designed an Assamese lemmatizer in such a manner that suitable reverse transformations can be employed on a surface word to derive the co-relative (similar) lemma back. And it has been observed that the lemmatizer is competent to deal with inflectional and derivational morphology in Assamese, and the same was evaluated on various Assamese articles extracted from the Assamese Corpus consisting of 50,000 surface words (excluding proper nouns), and the result that it yielded with 82% accuracy was quite encouraging and satisfying, as Assamese is a low-level language and no research work has been done in the Assamese language regarding the lemmatization of words. Considering the result obtained, the lemmatizer is then evaluated for Assamese WSD. For this purpose, 10 highly polysemous Assamese words are taken into account for sense disambiguation. We have also regarded varied WSD systems and observed that such systems enhance the effectiveness of all the WSD systems, which is statistically significant.
Blackmarket-Driven Collusion on Online Media: A Survey
Authors: Dutta Hridoy Sankar , Chakraborty Tanmoy
Published: May 2022

Online media platforms have enabled users to connect with individuals and organizations, and share their thoughts. Other than connectivity, these platforms also serve multiple purposes, such as education, promotion, updates, and awareness. Increasing, the reputation of individuals in online media (akasocial reputation) is thus essential these days, particularly for business owners and event managers who are looking to improve their publicity and sales. The natural way of gaining social reputation is a tedious task, which leads to the creation of unfair ways to boost the reputation of individuals artificially. Several online blackmarket services have developed a thriving ecosystem with lucrative offers to attract content promoters for publicizing their content online. These services are operated in such a way that most of their inorganic activities are going unnoticed by the media authorities, and the customers of the blackmarket services are less likely to be spotted. We refer to such unfair ways of bolstering social reputation in online media ascollusion. This survey is the first attempt to provide readers a comprehensive outline of the latest studies dealing with the identification and analysis of blackmarket-driven collusion in online media. We present a broad overview of the problem, definitions of the related problems and concepts, the taxonomy of the proposed approaches, and a description of the publicly available datasets and online tools, and we discuss the outstanding issues. We believe that collusive entity detection is a newly emerging topic in anomaly detection and cyber-security research in general, and the current survey will provide readers with an easy-to-access and comprehensive list of methods, tools, and resources proposed so far for detecting and analyzing collusive entities on online media.
Meta-Information Fusion of Hierarchical Semantics Dependency and Graph Structure for Structured Text Classification
Authors: Wang Shaokang , Pan Li , Wu Yu
Published: May 2022

Structured text with plentiful hierarchical structure information is an important part in real-world complex texts. Structured text classification is attracting more attention in natural language processing due to the increasing complexity of application scenarios. Most existing methods treat structured text from a local hierarchy perspective, focusing on the semantics dependency and the graph structure of the structured text independently. However, structured text has global hierarchical structures with sophisticated dependency when compared to unstructured text. According to the variety of structured texts, it is not appropriate to use the existing methods directly. The function of distinction information within semantics dependency and graph structure for structured text, referred to as meta-information, should be stated more precisely. In this article, we propose HGMETA, a novel meta-information embedding frame network for structured text classification, to obtain the fusion embedding of hierarchical semantics dependency and graph structure in a structured text, and to distill the meta-information from fusion characteristics. To integrate the global hierarchical features with fused structured text information, we design a hierarchical LDA module and a structured text embedding module. Specially, we employ a multi-hop message passing mechanism to explicitly incorporate complex dependency into a meta-graph. The meta-information is constructed from meta-graph via neighborhood-based propagation to distill redundant information. Furthermore, using an attention-based network, we investigate the complementarity of semantics dependency and graph structure based on global hierarchical characteristics and meta-information. Finally, the fusion embedding and the meta-information can be straightforwardly incorporated for structured text classification. Experiments conducted on three real-world datasets show the effectiveness of meta-information and demonstrate the superiority of our method.
2D Carbon Nitride-Based Electrochemical Aptasensor for Label-Free and Highly-Sensitive Detection of Okadaic Acid in Shellfish
Authors: Chen Yating , Chen Wei , Tian Yulan , Zhu Ping , Kong Shu , Du Liping , Wu Chunsheng
Published: May 2022

Okadaic acid (OA) is a marine toxin accumulated in bivalves causing severe diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, which has become a huge threaten to human health, food safety, and environmental protection. Therefore, it is highly essential to develop cost-effective and convenient approaches for OA detection. Recent advances in the electrochemical transducer and nanomaterials may provide novel approaches to address this issue. Herein, a label-free electrochemical impedance aptasensor was developed for the sensitive detection of OA in shellfish. Two-dimensional nanomaterials (carbon nitride) conjugated with aptamers were employed as the sensitive element for OA detection, which have been well characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The obtained aptasensor exhibited a good performance for the OA detection with a wide linearity ranging from 1 × 10−14 mol l−1 to 1 × 10−8 mol l−1. The limit of detection was down to 1 × 10−14 mol l−1. Besides, this aptasensor had a good selectivity towards OA in the presence of other toxins, such as dinophysistoxins (DTX), pectenotoxins (PTX), and yessotoxin (YTX). Meanwhile, it also showed a good reproducibility and stability. The real mussel samples results showed a good recovery rate. The simple and cost-effective sensing strategy to marine toxins could be applied in the fields of seafood safety and water quality control.
Electrodialysis of Lithium Sulphate Solution: Model Development and Validation
Authors: Asadi Anahita , Kang Bolin , Harandi Hesam Bazargan , Jung Joey Chung-Yen , Shen Zuguo , Sui Pang-Chieh
Published: May 2022

A comprehensive mathematical model is proposed to study the transport phenomena in an Electrodialysis (ED) process employed to recover lithium hydroxide and sulfuric acid from the lithium sulphate solution derived from a recycling process of spent lithium-ion battery material. The model is developed based on the conservation equations of mass and ions, and considers electrolyte solutions consisting of mono- and multivalence ions. The concentration polarization at ion exchanged membranes (IEMs) and their adjacent diffusion boundary layers as a function of the applied current, inlet concentrations and flow rate are computed. Experimental data from a three-compartment ED cell are used for validation. A parametric study is performed to evaluate the impact of parameters on transmembrane fluxes of ion and water. It is revealed that increasing current leads to the enhancement of the transmembrane water and concentration polarization across IEMs. Feeding solutions consisting of smaller ions result in lower water transfer through IEMs. Raising the lithium concentration at the dilute channel increases the LiOH concentration due to reduced transmembrane water transfer. Using the uncertainty propagation method, it is found that current and counter-ion radius are the most influential parameters affecting the outlet concentration of concentrate channel and transmembrane water transfer.
Structure, Surface Nature, Thermal Stability, and Biomass Gasification Process of NiO/SiO2 and NiO‐Pr2O3/SiO2 Nanocomposites Obtained through Facile Deposition Precipitation Method
Authors: Shanmuganandam Kannaiyan , Thanikaikarasan Sethuramachandran , Ahamad Tansir , Ali Sajid , Sundramurthy Venkatesa Prabhu
Published: May 2022

Recently, composites of metal matrix attracted many researchers in mechanical, biomedical, chemical, and electrical fields due to its structure, thermal, and some interesting chemical properties. Nanocomposites of NiO/SiO2 and NiO‐Pr2O3/SiO2 considered much interest due its wide range of applications in medical, engineering, physics, chemistry, and material science. In the present work, synthesizing of NiO/SiO2 and NiO‐Pr2O3/SiO2 nanocomposites was carried out using simple and low‐cost deposition precipitation technique. Structural features represent that the prepared samples found to be nanocrystalline nature. Surface morphology showed that there is formation of particle with spherical in shape. Transmission electron microscopy supported that the structure of composite with size is in the range of nanometer. The Brauner‐Elmer‐Teller method showed the surface area of the synthesized nanoparticles. The pore volume present in the nanoparticle was determined by Barrett–Joyner–Halenda method. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the thermal stability of the synthesized nanocomposite is up to 1000°C. The hydrogen enrichment in the producer gas was evident by the tar cracking activity of the synthesized NiO/SiO2 and NiO‐Pr2O3/SiO2 nanocomposites.
Evaluation and Early Warning Simulation of Personnel Unsafe Behavior in Mines Prone to Coal-Rock Dynamic Disasters
Authors: Yin Jueli , Chen Huiying , Liu Zhen , Shi Linchao , Yu Kai , Kong Biao
Published: May 2022

At present, aging mines are faced with development bottlenecks such as lack of national policy support, serious problems left over from history, and difficulties in enterprise transformation and development, which seriously restrict the safe production and sustainable development of aging mines. In order to deeply analyze the influencing factors of group unsafe behavior in aging mines, the evolution law of unsafe behavior is qualitatively simulated and quantitatively analyzed to realize the safety evaluation of group unsafe behavior in aging mines. Based on this analysis of the emergence mechanism and influencing factors of unsafe behavior in aging mines, the evaluation index of unsafe behavior in the aging mine population was established. These include six criterion layers and 30 index layers; the mutation level value of the target layer is 0.9405. Group dynamic effect and safety management factors are the two important factors restricting their development and safety. The unsafe behavior of the aging mine groups was evaluated based on game theory and system dynamics—dynamic game simulation on the influence of unsafe behavior in aging coal mines. A qualitative simulation analysis was also performed using the QSIM algorithm. The evolution law of the safety psychology and behavior of aging mine workers are analyzed. This paper shows the importance of the unsafe behavior of aging mines, which helps the safety production and clarifies the safety psychology and the behavior evolution law. This paper puts forward new methods and theories on the safety psychology and behavior evolution law of the safety behavior and provides a reference for the sustainable development of aging mines.
Fuzzy Reliability Calculation Method of Highway Alignment
Authors: Zhu Fu , Chen Ya , Zhao Shizhong
Published: May 2022

Considering the randomness and fuzziness of highway route design parameters, based on the reliability theory and triangular fuzzy numbers, the fuzzy variables are transformed into random variables. Three new fuzzy reliability calculation methods of highway alignment are derived, namely, the equivalent density function method, the information entropy method, and the general density function method. The proposed calculation methods are applied to the reliability analysis of highway horizontal curve design. The results show that if the fuzzy variables are symmetric fuzzy numbers, the equivalent mean values obtained by the three methods are equal. If the fuzzy variables are asymmetric fuzzy numbers, the equivalent mean values and equivalent standard deviations of the three methods are different. Compared with the traditional reliability calculation method, the values obtained by the proposed method have a large reliability index, small failure probability, and high calculation accuracy. Compared with the other two methods, the general density function method has the fastest convergence and higher accuracy. The general density function method is then applied to the calculation of highway circular curve radius, under the condition of a superelevation failure rate of 5%, to generate the recommended values of the safety and reliability index.
Ultrasound Radiomics-Guided Iliac Fascia Block on Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Patients Undergoing Hip Surgery
Authors: Zha Jun , Ni Jinping , Chen Shuo , Feng Haijun , Che Tuanjie , Qiao Shigang
Published: May 2022

Objective. Elderly patients with hip surgery are prone to postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), leading to health management difficulties. This study is aimed at investigating the effect of ultrasound radiomics-guided iliac fascia block on POCD. Methods. A total of 67 cases of patients who had undergone hip joint surgery were divided into a training set (

n
=
47

) and a validation set (radiomics-guided group,

n
=
20

). The patients were intervened with ultrasound radiomics-guided iliac fascia block, and the maximum relevance minimum redundancy sifts out the image omics features obtained from 2D ultrasound images of patients. Another 20 patients undergone general anesthesia served as control. The incidence of POCD, the total amount of fentanyl, the visual analogue score (VAS) at different time points, and the levels of CRP and NSE in plasma were compared between the two groups. Results. The AUC on the training and validation sets were higher than 0.940. The incidence of POCD in the radiomics-guided and general anesthesia group was 5% and 30%, respectively (

P
=
0.037

). Compared with the general anesthesia group, the dosage of fentanyl in the radiomics-guided was lower, the VAS score at 6 h, 1 d, and 2 d after operation was smaller, and the levels of CRP and NSE were lower (all

P
<
0.05

). Conclusions. For elderly patients with hip surgery, the ultrasound radiomics-guided iliac fascia block can reduce the incidence of POCD and improve the effect of nerve block.
Application of Fermented Brewer’s Spent Grain Extract in Plant-Based Diets Improves Pre- and Post-mortem Oxidative Status of European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Authors: Fernandes H. , Castro C. , Filipe D. , Ferreira P. , Salgado J. M. , Moyano F. , Oliva-Teles A. , Belo I. , Peres H.
Published: May 2022

In a previous study, it was shown that dietary supplementation with a carbohydrases and antioxidant-enriched extract (BSG-extract) produced by solid-state fermentation of brewer’s spent grain (BSG) improved nutrients digestibility, feed, and protein utilization of European seabass juveniles. This work aims to investigate the effect of this BSG-extract on liver and intestine oxidative status and muscle lipid peroxidation (LPO) of European seabass. A plant-based diet (55.4% plant feedstuffs; PF) was used as a control. Four test diets were formulated by supplementing the control diet with the BSG-extract (0.4 or 0.8% diet), added directly to the diet (BSG4 and BSG8 diets), or used to pre-treat the PF mixture of the control diet (PreBSG4 and PreBSG8 diets). European seabass juveniles (IBW

22
±
1

 g) were fed the experimental diets for 66 days until apparent satiety. In fish fed BSG-extract diets, compared to the control diet, intestinal LPO was reduced up to 29-40% (

p
<
0.05

); GPX, GR, and G6PD activities were increased compared to the control (

p
<
0.05

). In the liver, LPO was similar among diets, but except for catalase and G6PD, fish fed BSG-extract diets had higher antioxidant enzyme activities than the control (

p
<
0.05

). Except for the liver SOD activity, hepatic and intestinal antioxidant capacity was not affected by the dietary BSG-extract incorporation mode (

p
>
0.05

). After 72 h of storage at 4°C, muscle LPO was higher than at time 0 h. Compared to the control, BSG-extract reduced muscle LPO levels up to 30% at time 0 h in fish fed diets BSG4, BSG8, and PreBSG8 (

p
<
0.008

). Results indicate that dietary supplementation with BSG-extract increased the antioxidant level of diets, improved the intestine antioxidant capacity, and decreased LPO in European seabass juveniles’ muscle.
The Effect of Short Sleep Duration on the Development of Asthma
Authors: Hu Zhigang , Song Xinyu , Hu Ke
Published: May 2022

Asthma is regarded as a heterogeneous disease with chronic airway inflammation and reversible airway limitation. Asthma itself and recurrent attacks of asthma can decrease sleep duration and increase the prevalence of short sleep duration. Systemic low-grade inflammation and obesity caused by short sleep duration have been known for a long time, which potentially affect the development of asthma. It would be interesting to study the interaction between short sleep duration and asthma. However, there are relatively few studies and no review about the association between short sleep duration and asthma. This article performed a review about the relationships between short sleep duration and asthmatic phenotype, laboratory tests, comorbidity, and clinical outcomes. Pooled studies about short sleep duration and asthma provided following four results: (1) compared with healthy sleep duration, short sleep duration seemingly increased the risk of central obesity in asthmatics; (2) short sleep duration potentially reduced the level of FeNO and increased lung function impairment in patients with asthma; (3) asthmatic comorbidities, mainly obesity and depression, were negatively associated with short sleep duration among asthmatics; (4) short sleep duration potentially increased the risks of asthma-related hospitalization and emergency care. However, almost all studies are based on subjective but not objective sleep duration. In addition, the study on sleep duration and cause-specific mortality in patients with asthma is relatively scant. Considering the effect of short sleep duration on the development of asthma, we recommend that periodic sleep monitoring for asthmatic management is very necessary.
Assessing the Roles of Molecular Markers of Antimalarial Drug Resistance and the Host Pharmacogenetics in Drug-Resistant Malaria
Authors: Hodoameda Peter , Duah-Quashie Nancy Odurowah , Quashie Neils Ben
Published: May 2022

Malaria caused by the Plasmodium parasites is a major public health concern in malaria-endemic regions with P. falciparum causing the most severe form of the disease. The use of antimalarial drugs for the management of the disease proves to be one of the best methods to manage the disease. Unfortunately, P. falciparum has developed resistance to almost all the current in-use antimalarial drugs. Parasite development of resistance is primarily caused by both parasite and host genetic factors. The parasite genetic factors involve undergoing mutation in the drug target sites or increasing the drug target gene copy number to prevent the intended action of the antimalarial drugs. The host pharmacogenetic factors which determine how a particular antimalarial drug is metabolized could result in variations of drug plasma concentration and consequently contribute to variable treatment outcomes and the emergence or propagation of resistant parasites. Since both host and parasite genomes play a role in antimalarial drug action, a key question often asked is, “which of the two strongly drives or controls antimalarial drug resistance?” A major finding in our recent study published in the Malaria Journal indicates that the parasite’s genetic factors rather than the host are likely to energize resistance to an antimalarial drug. However, others have reported contrary findings suggesting that the host genetic factors are the force behind resistance to antimalarial drugs. To bring clarity to these observations, there is the need for deciphering the major driving force behind antimalarial drug resistance through optimized strategies aimed at alleviating the phenomenon. In this direction, literature was systematically reviewed to establish the role and importance of each of the two factors aforementioned in the etiology of drug-resistant malaria. Using Internet search engines such as Pubmed and Google, we looked for terms likely to give the desired information which we herein present. We then went ahead to leverage the obtained information to discuss the globally avid aim of combating antimalarial drug resistance.
[Retracted] Fuzzy Intelligence in Physical Immersion Teaching System Based on Digital Simulation Technology
Authors: Du Aihui
Published: May 2022

In order to improve the effect of physics teaching, this study combines digital simulation technology to construct a physical immersion teaching system to improve the effect of physics teaching in colleges and universities. Moreover, this study transforms abstract physical knowledge into recognizable digital physical images and realizes the idea of multifeature fusion through reasonable feature selection and the use of a classifier algorithm suitable for the subject of this paper. In addition, this study proposes a new algorithm based on the morphological features of geometric images, which combines the transformation detection method of cluster analysis to realize the intelligent processing of images. Finally, this study verifies the effectiveness of the physical immersion teaching system based on fuzzy intelligence and digital simulation technology through experimental research. The results show that the system can effectively improve the effect of physics teaching.
Classifying the Mortality of People with Underlying Health Conditions Affected by COVID-19 Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Mustafa A. Mohammad Rami , Aljabri Malak , Aboulnour Menna , Mirza Samiha , Alshobaiki Ahmad
Published: May 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected populations worldwide and has posed a significant challenge to medical systems. With the constant increase in the number of severe COVID-19 infections, an essential area of research has been directed towards predicting the mortality rate of these patients, in order to make informed medical decisions about the necessary healthcare priorities. Although a large amount of research has attempted to predict the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients, the association between the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients and their underlying health conditions has been given significantly less attention. Meanwhile, patients with underlying conditions often face a worse COVID-19 prognosis. Therefore, the goal of this study was to classify the mortality rate of patients diagnosed with COVID-19, who also suffer from underlying health conditions or comorbidities. To achieve our goal, we applied machine learning (ML) models on a new publicly available dataset, not investigated by any existing literature. The dataset provides detailed information on 582 COVID-19 patients and facilitates a robust forecasting model of the mortality rate. The dataset was analysed using seven ML classifiers, namely, Bagging, J48, logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), naïve Bayes (NB), and threshold selector. A comparative analysis was performed across the seven ML techniques, and their performance was assessed based on evaluation parameters including classification accuracy, true-positive rate, and false-positive rate. The best performance was demonstrated by the Bagging algorithm with an accuracy of 83.55% when using all the dataset features. The findings are intended to assist researchers and physicians in the early identification of at-risk COVID-19 patients and to make the appropriate intensive care decisions.
Design of the NCI Signal for BeiDou System Based on CCSK
Authors: Li Xinyue , Zou Deyue , Zhao Yangzhen , Liu Xingzhong , Chen Qiang
Published: May 2022

Currently, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has been a mature satellite navigation system. However, the transmission rate of the navigation signal is low. A novel Navigation and Communication Integrated (NCI) signal had been proposed in our previous work, its transmission rate was improved compared with the traditional navigation signal. In addition, an optimization algorithm was proposed to avoid cross-correlation interference between the navigation signal and the communication signal. Based on the above theoretical system, this paper gives a specific design for the BDS. The communication signal used in BDS is selected basing on the optimization algorithm, and the original BDS signal is used as the navigation signal. In addition, the error correction coding and interleaving technique in BDS are applied to the NCI signal to further improve the compatibility between the signal and BDS. The simulation results verify the superiority of the optimization algorithm. It illustrates each communication signal selected is suitable for the navigation signal of each satellite in BDS.
Endothelial Cell Loss, Cumulative Dissipated Energy, and Surgically Induced Astigmatism in Sutureless Scleral Tunnel Phaco-Assisted Cataract Extraction in Advanced Cataracts
Authors: Salama Marwa M. , GamalElDin Sherif A. , ElShazly Malak I.
Published: May 2022

Purpose. To evaluate sutureless scleral tunnel phaco-assisted cataract extraction in regards to the cumulative dissipated energy (CDE) used, the resulting endothelial cell loss (ECL), and the surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) in advanced cataracts. Methods. A prospective interventional uncontrolled case series was performed. Patients with advanced cataracts according to the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III) had sutureless scleral tunnel phaco-assisted cataract extraction. They were followed up one week, one month, and 3 months postoperatively for SIA and ECL. The used CDE was recorded. Results. The study included 198 eyes: 36 eyes (18.2%) with LOCS III grade nuclear opalescence (NO4) cataracts, 102 eyes (51.5%) with LOCS III grade NO5, and 60 eyes (30.3%) with LOCS III grade NO6. Three months postoperatively, the mean SIA was 0.94 ± 0.71D. The endothelial cell density (ECD) was reduced significantly to 2341.31 ± 471 cells/mm2 (

p
=
0.0001

) with a mean ECL of 5.39%. The mean CDE and ECL% were 0.174 ± 0.46 U/S (2.07%), 0.859 ± 0.42 U/S (5.01%), and 2.306 ± 0.89 U/S (8.01%) in LOCS III grade NO4, NO5, and NO6, respectively. The overall mean CDE was 1.17 ± 0.99 U/S, which was significantly correlated with the ECL (

p
=
0.0001

). Conclusion. Sutureless scleral tunnel phaco-assisted cataract extraction in advanced cataracts enabled reduction in CDE with good preservation of the ECD and acceptable SIA.
Transcatheter Angiographic Embolization of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy-Related Bleeding: A Single-Center Experience
Authors: Xiao Fan , Xun Yang , Hu Weijie , Xia Qidong , Zhang Jiaqiao
Published: May 2022

Background. To evaluate the clinical characteristics and angiographic features of transcatheter angiographic embolization (TAE) in patients with active bleeding after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Methods. Between 2009 and 2018, 45 patients who underwent TAE for hemorrhage control after PCNL were reviewed retrospectively. Patient clinical characteristics and angiographic features of TAE were analyzed. Results. Of the 3148 patients, 45 (1.4%) patients were treated with TAE after PCNL. The interval from the bleeding episode to TAE was 3 days (1,6). Arterial laceration, arteriovenous fistula, and negative angiographic finding were found in 28 (62.2%), 7 (15.6%), and 10 patients (22.2%). Thirty-five patients (92.1%) achieved primary clinical success. The median-corrected hemoglobin decrease from bleeding episode to TAE was 52 g/L (25.25, 71.00). The median-corrected hemoglobin decrease rate from bleeding episode to TAE was 13.11 g/L·d (5.60, 26.12). The hemoglobin decrease from bleeding episode to TAE was lesser in negative angiographic patients (28.50 (10.75,51.25) g/L VS 53.7 (35.0,73.13) g/L) than in positive angiographic patients (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusions. TAE is a safe and effective treatment for post-PCNL bleeding patients. Previous kidney surgery is associated with a higher risk of TAE. Patients with bleeding from multiple negative angiographic findings can be considered for prophylactic embolization.
Multiple Agricultural Production Efficiency in Horro District of Horro Guduru Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia, Using Hierarchical-Based Cluster Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Tesema Tolesa , Gebissa Bacha
Published: May 2022

Multiple agricultural productions were a way of life for Ethiopian farmers. However, it was known for low productivity due to improper resource allocation. Hence, the farm household is under food insecurity and earned a low annual income. To overcome these challenges, the present study used hierarchical-based cluster data envelopment analysis by collecting data from 152 sample households through structured questionnaires. The finding suggested that the farm households in the study area were characterized by the low level of technical efficiency in multiple agricultural productions, implying that most farmers were unable to keep up with the current production frontier and technologies. The study’s key result is that hierarchical-based cluster data envelopment analysis is more efficient than traditional data envelopment analysis. Furthermore, farmers in the study area are technically inefficient. From the determinants of technical efficiency in multiple agriculture, access to credit and the fertility of farmland have a positive impact on technical efficiency, whereas the age of the household and distance from infrastructures have a negative impact. Based on the significant determinants of efficiency, the present work recommends government agencies and agricultural development planners must improve farmers’ knowledge towards soil fertility management practices through the construction of soil bunds, tree planting, grass planting, fencing, and the use of natural fertilizer; expansion of microfinance to rural area; and construction of the road for the market facility in the study area. Additionally, changing farmers’ knowledge towards the uses of integration of manure products from livestock as fertilizer inputs for crop production and residues of crops as livestock consumption were paramount important.
Serum Level of Growth-Associated Protein 43 Is Associated with First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients without Antipsychotic Drugs Treatment
Authors: Xiao Libin , Tang Xiaowei , Hu Xiuxiu , Feng Xiaotang , Gong Ronglan , Wang Fujun , Zhang Xiangrong
Published: May 2022

Nerve growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43) is closely related to neural development, axon regeneration, and synaptic reconstruction and is one of the important markers of neuronal damage. Therefore, in our study, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to analyze the serum level of GAP43 protein in schizophrenia patients (n = 188), healthy controls (n = 200), and bipolar disorder patients (n = 200). The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) was used to evaluate the mental status of schizophrenia patients, and the Scale of Social Function in Psychosis Inpatients (SSPI) was used to evaluate the social function of schizophrenia patients. According to this study, we found the serum GAP43 level was significantly higher in schizophrenia patients than in bipolar disorder patients, while serum GAP43 levels in bipolar disorder patients were significantly higher than those in control group. When the cut-off value was set as 2.328 ng/mL, the area under the curve (AUC) of serum GAP43 was 0.7795 (95% CI: 0.7431–0.8158) for diagnosis of schizophrenia. The sensitivity and specificity were 92.02% and 65.25%, respectively. However, no correlation between serum GAP43 and the total scores of PANSS scale in schizophrenia patients as well as between serum GAP43 level and SSPI were observed. Therefore, we believe that GAP43 may be a potential diagnostic marker for schizophrenia.
Improved Sparrow Algorithm Based on Game Predatory Mechanism and Suicide Mechanism
Authors: Yang Ping , Yan Shaoqiang , Zhu Donglin , Wang Jiangpeng , Wu Fengxuan , Yan Zhe , Yan Song
Published: May 2022

In order to overcome the defect that sparrow search algorithm converges very fast but is easy to fall into the trap of local optimization, based on the original mechanism of sparrow algorithm, this paper proposes game predatory mechanism and suicide mechanism, which makes sparrow algorithm more in line with its biological characteristics and enhances the ability of the algorithm to get rid of the attraction of local optimization while retaining the advantages of fast convergence speed. By initializing the population with the good point set strategy, the quality of the initial population is guaranteed and the diversity of the population is enhanced. In view of the current situation that the diversity index evaluation does not consider the invalid search caused by individuals beyond the boundary in the search process, an index to measure the invalid search beyond the boundary in the search process is proposed, and the measurement of diversity index is further improved to make it more accurate. The improved algorithm is tested on six basic functions and CEC2017 test function to verify its effectiveness. Finally, the improved algorithm is applied to the three-dimensional path planning of UAV with threat area. The results show that the improved algorithm has stronger optimization performance, has strong competitiveness compared with other algorithms, and can quickly plan the effective and stable path of UAV, which improves an effective method for the application in this field and other fields.
Statins Are Associated with Improved Survival of Patients with Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Yuan Mingjie , Han Shuyi , Jia Yanfei , Feng Jiankai , Liu Duanrui , Su Zhenguo , Liu Xiangdong
Published: May 2022

Statins are associated with gastric cancer (GC) risk. The present study aimed to clarify the efficacy of statins on the overall survival (OS) benefits in patients with GC. Publications were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library as of April 2022. Data from the eligible cohort, case-control studies, and randomized control trials (RCTs) were extracted for the meta-analysis. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to assess the association between statins users and OS in GC patients. Subgroup analysis was performed based on the study design (prospective vs. retrospective). A total of 6 studies encompassing 5693 GC patients were included. Statins added to the standard treatment prolonged the patient’s OS outcome (HR (95% CI): 0.72 (0.53–0.97),

p

 = 0.032; I2 = 88.0%, pheterogeneity < 0.001). A prospective study did not find any statistically significant difference in OS between statins users vs. nonstatin users (HR (95% CI): 0.92 (0.68–1.26),

p

 = 0.614; I2 = 11.7%, pheterogeneity = 0.322), whereas the retrospective studies showed prolonged OS in statins users (HR (95% CI): 0.63 (0.42–0.961),

p

 = 0.032; I2 = 94.6%, pheterogeneity < 0.001). Statin users had significantly improved OS compared to nonstatin users in GC treatment. This long-term survival benefit was only observed in the pooled analysis of retrospective studies but not in prospective studies.
Data-Driven Signal Detection for Underwater Acoustic Filter Bank Multicarrier Communications
Authors: Zhu Yunan , Wang Biao , Xie Fangtong , Wu Chengxi , Chao Peng
Published: May 2022

By contraposing the signal detection for filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) communications with the underwater acoustic (UWA) channel, this paper analyzes the traditional imaginary interference problem and proposes a deep learning-based method. The neural network with feature extraction and automatic learning ability is employed to replace the demodulation modules to recover transmitted signals without explicit channel estimation and equalization. Sufficient data sets are generated according to the measured channel conditions in Qingjiang river, the optimization of network parameters is finished by constraining cost function in offline training, and the signal detection is carried out directly with the well-trained network in online testing. The system performance of various supervised learning models such as multilayer perceptron (MLP), convolutional neural network (CNN), and bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) network is compared under different data sizes, network parameters, and prototype filters. The simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed signal detection is better than that of the classic one, which indicates that deep learning is a promising tool in UWA communication systems.