bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Remote platelet function testing using P-selectin expression in patients with recent cerebral ischaemia on clopidogrel
Authors: Appleton Jason Philip , Richardson Carla , Dovlatova Natalia , May Jane , Sprigg Nikola , Heptinstall Stan , Bath Philip M
Published: September 2020

Background

Antiplatelet agents reduce recurrence after cerebral ischaemia but are not effective in all patients, in part because of treatment resistance. The primary aim was to assess the proportion of patients who are insensitive to clopidogrel. The secondary aim was to assess the association between insensitivity to clopidogrel and recurrent cerebrovascular events.

Methods

Following written informed consent, independent patients with a recent non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack, and taking clopidogrel, were enrolled. Platelet function was assessed with remote measurement of surface expression of P-selectin (CD62P) using commercial kits sensitive to aspirin or clopidogrel. Participants’ general practitioners provided details on recurrent vascular events at least 90 days later. Data are mean (SD) and median [IQR]. Resistance was defined as: aspirin median fluorescence (MF) >500 units, clopidogrel MF >860 units. Non-parametric descriptors and tests were used.

Results

63 patients were recruited: mean age 64 (13.7) years, women 47%. At baseline, 59 (95%) patients were taking clopidogrel alone with 3 (5%) on combined clopidogrel and aspirin. Assessment of platelet surface P-selectin revealed: aspirin test 528 [317, 834], >500 54.8%; clopidogrel test 429 [303, 656], >860 11.3%. No participants on aspirin and clopidogrel showed aspirin resistance. Thirteen (20.6%) patients had a recurrent cerebrovascular event; those with an ischaemic stroke had a non-significantly higher baseline P-selectin using the clopidogrel test as compared with those with no recurrence: 626 [380, 801] versus 406 [265, 609], p=0.08.

Conclusions

Remote measurement of platelet function assessed using the platelet surface expression of P-selectin is feasible. 11% of patients taking clopidogrel showed resistance. No significant associations were noted between clopidogrel resistance and recurrent ischaemic events.
Analyse morphologique et taxonomique du complexeQuercus faginea(Fagaceae) en Algérie
Authors: Aissi Abdeldjalil , Beghami Yassine , Lepais Olivier , Véla Errol
Published: September 2020

La systématique de Quercus faginea Lam. (s.l.) (Fagaceae) reste encore indéfinie, d’autant plus qu’elle s’hybride avec d’autres espèces et qu’elle est polymorphe. Quatre sous-espèces ont été identifiées et présentement reconnues en péninsule Ibérique et au Maroc, or, les données disponibles ne permettent pas de trancher entre les taxons présents en Algérie. Pour remédier au manque de données nécessaires, une analyse morphologique et taxonomique de treize populations du complexe dans le pays a été effectuée. Dans chacune, 20 feuilles et 20 bourgeons sur 10 arbres matures ont été prélevés pour une description détaillée de 23 traits morphologiques. L’ACM (analyse des correspondances multiples) et la CAH (classification ascendante hiérarchique) ont été utilisées pour analyser les données et identifier des groupes homogènes. Une variabilité significative intra et inter-populationnelle est remarquable, avec une taille de feuilles qui tend à diminuer en allant de l’est vers l’ouest et du nord au sud du pays. Cette variabilité ne permet pas, à elle seule, de différentier entre les populations étudiées, en revanche, les traits liés à la forme du limbe et aux types du « tomentum » sur la feuille s’avèrent plus utiles. Cette étude confirme que le complexe Q. faginea Lam. est représenté en Algérie par deux espèces : Quercus canariensis Willd. et Q. faginea Lam., elle-même représentée par deux taxons, subsp. faginea et subsp. broteroi.
Nectary and elaiophore work together in flowers of Xylopia aromatica (Annonaceae): structure indicates a role in pollination
Authors: Paiva Elder Antônio Sousa , Galastri Natália Arias , Oliveira Denise Maria Trombert
Published: September 2020

Secretory structures that produce floral rewards have rarely been reported for Annonaceae. We identified a glandular region in Xylopia aromatica (Lam.) Mart., which consisted of a nectary and an elaiophore. This study aimed to describe the structure and secretory process of these glandular structures, which are highly correlated with the reproductive biology of this species. Anatomical and ultrastructural studies were performed prior to and during anthesis, focusing on the channel and pollination chamber. The floral nectary is placed in the roof of the chamber. It has a secretory epidermis and subglandular parenchyma and is immediately contiguous with the elaiophore, a portion that delimits the pollination channel and produces lipids. The release of nectar begins in the pistillate phase, while the elaiophore starts secreting prior to anthesis, both of which finishing during the staminate phase. Lipids form a sticky layer covering the channel surface, which provides access to the chamber. The cell machinery of the epidermis for both nectary and elaiophore is highly correlated with the exudates, despite their highly similar structure. Nectar attracts pollinators to the pollination chamber, whereas lipids seem to act in pollen adhesion to the body of pollinators. Both of exudates appear to act in complementary ways during pollination.
Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) nest protection reduces depredation and increases success, but annual variation influences its effectiveness
Authors: Bougie T.A. , Byer N.W. , Lapin C.N. , Peery M. Zachariah , Woodford J.E. , Pauli J.N.
Published: September 2020

Habitat loss is the leading cause of species extinctions and is especially detrimental to habitat specialists. Freshwater turtles require specific habitat types at different points in their life cycle; notably, the loss of nesting habitat has led to increased nest depredation and adult mortality. In response, conservationists have implemented nest protection and habitat restoration programs to recover declining populations. Although assumed to increase nest survival, effectiveness of these methods has not been rigorously quantified. We located Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta (Le Conte, 1830)) nests in Wisconsin (USA) and conducted two analyses — logistic regression and logistic exposure — to investigate the influence of management actions and environmental factors on nest survival. The depredation rate decreased by 47% for protected nests and declined as nests aged; the success rate increased by 28% for protected nests and increased for nests in areas with fewer roads. We found high annual variation in success, and although weather variables were not predictive, likely due to their coarse scale, we posit that this inter-annual variation was driven by variation in weather conditions. Our results suggest that nest protection is effective at increasing nest survival, but future efforts should span multiple years to account for the effects of annual variation in environmental conditions.
Novel sum rules for the three-point sector of QCD
Authors: Aguilar A. C. , Ferreira M. N. , Papavassiliou J.
Published: September 2020

For special kinematic configurations involving a single momentum scale, certain standard relations, originating from the Slavnov-Taylor identities of the theory, may be interpreted as ordinary differential equations for the “kinetic term” of the gluon propagator. The exact solutions of these equations exhibit poles at the origin, which are incompatible with the physical answer, known to diverge only logarithmically; their elimination hinges on the validity of two integral conditions that we denominate “asymmetric” and “symmetric” sum rules, depending on the kinematics employed in their derivation. The corresponding integrands contain components of the three-gluon vertex and the ghost-gluon kernel, whose dynamics are constrained when the sum rules are imposed. For the numerical treatment we single out the asymmetric sum rule, given that its support stems predominantly from low and intermediate energy regimes of the defining integral, which are physically more interesting. Adopting a combined approach based on Schwinger–Dyson equations and lattice simulations, we demonstrate how the sum rule clearly favors the suppression of an effective form factor entering in the definition of its kernel. The results of the present work offer an additional vantage point into the rich and complex structure of the three-point sector of QCD.
Object condensation: one-stage grid-free multi-object reconstruction in physics detectors, graph, and image data
Authors: Kieseler Jan
Published: September 2020

High-energy physics detectors, images, and point clouds share many similarities in terms of object detection. However, while detecting an unknown number of objects in an image is well established in computer vision, even machine learning assisted object reconstruction algorithms in particle physics almost exclusively predict properties on an object-by-object basis. Traditional approaches from computer vision either impose implicit constraints on the object size or density and are not well suited for sparse detector data or rely on objects being dense and solid. The object condensation method proposed here is independent of assumptions on object size, sorting or object density, and further generalises to non-image-like data structures, such as graphs and point clouds, which are more suitable to represent detector signals. The pixels or vertices themselves serve as representations of the entire object, and a combination of learnable local clustering in a latent space and confidence assignment allows one to collect condensates of the predicted object properties with a simple algorithm. As proof of concept, the object condensation method is applied to a simple object classification problem in images and used to reconstruct multiple particles from detector signals. The latter results are also compared to a classic particle flow approach.
A privacy protection solution based on NLPCA for blockchain supply chain financial system
Authors: Wu Hongyu , Su Nianle , Ma Chunguang , Liao Pengda , Li Dawei
Published: September 2020

Many supply chain finance problems can be fundamentally solved by using blockchain. The current technical challenge of applying blockchain in supply chain finance is the lack of systematic privacy protection architecture. Based on the architecture of Julongchain, through the nonlinear principal component analysis in private data feature extraction, this paper proposed a new type of privacy protection architecture based on specific supply chain financial system. This privacy protection solution split privacy data by decision machine, then mixed data using mixed mechanism, finally determined the characteristic weight of privacy data by applying the decentralized decision institution.
A call to action to evaluate renal functional reserve in patients with COVID-19
Authors: Cantaluppi Vincenzo , Guglielmetti Gabriele , Dellepiane Sergio , Marengo Marita , Mehta Ravindra L. , Ronco Claudio
Published: September 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented challenge to world health systems, substantially increasing hospitalization and mortality rates in all affected countries. Being primarily a respiratory disease, COVID-19 is mainly associated with pneumonia or minor upper respiratory tract symptoms; however, different organs can sustain considerable (if not terminal) damage because of coronavirus. Acute kidney injury is the most common complication of COVID-19-related pneumonia, and more than 20% of patients requiring ventilatory support develop renal failure. Additionally, chronic kidney disease is a major risk factor for COVID-19 severity and mortality. All these data demonstrate the relevance of renal function assessment in patients with COVID-19 and the need of early kidney-directed diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. However, the sole assessment of renal function could be not entirely indicative of kidney tissue status. In this viewpoint, we discuss the clinical significance and potential relevance of renal functional reserve evaluation in patients with COVID-19.
Increased prefrontal oxygenation prior to and at the onset of over-ground locomotion in humans
Authors: Matsukawa Kanji , Asahara Ryota , Ishii Kei , Kunishi Mayo , Yamashita Yurino , Hashiguchi Yoshiki , Liang Nan , Smith Scott A.
Published: September 2020

We found using wireless near-infrared spectroscopy that prefrontal oxygenation increased before the onset of arbitrary over-ground walking, whereas the preexercise increase was absent when walking was suddenly started by cue. The difference in prefrontal oxygenation between start modes (considered related to central command) preceded heart rate response variances and demonstrated a positive relationship with the difference in heart rate. The central command-related prefrontal activity may contribute to cardiac adjustment, synchronized with the beginning of over-ground walking.
Sulforhodamine B and exogenous surfactant effects on alveolar surface tension under acute respiratory distress syndrome conditions
Authors: Nguyen Tam L. , Perlman Carrie E.
Published: September 2020

In the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), lowering surface tension, T, should reduce ventilation injury, yet exogenous surfactant has not reduced mortality. We show with direct T determination in isolated lungs that substances suggested to elevate T in ARDS indeed raise T, and exogenous surfactant reduces T. Further, we extend our previous finding that sulforhodamine B (SRB) reduces T below normal in healthy lungs and show that SRB, too, reduces T under ARDS conditions.
Fault Diagnosis of Belt Conveyor Based on Support Vector Machine and Grey Wolf Optimization
Authors: Li Xiangong , Li Yu , Zhang Yuzhi , Liu Feng , Fang Yu
Published: September 2020

Belt conveyor is widely used for material transportation over both short and long distances nowadays while the failure of a single component may cause fateful consequences. Accordingly, the use of machine learning in timely fault diagnosis is an efficient way to ensure the safe operation of belt conveyors. The support vector machine is a powerful supervised machine learning algorithm for classification in fault diagnosis. Before the classification, the principal component analysis is used for data reduction according to the varieties of features. To optimize the parameters of the support vector machine, this paper presents a grey wolf optimizer approach. The diagnostic model is applied to an underground mine belt conveyor transportation system fault diagnosis on the basis of monitoring data collected by sensors of mine internet of things. The results show that the recognition accuracy of the fault is up to 97.22% according to the mine site dataset. It is proved that the combined classification model has a better performance in fault intelligent diagnosis.
Bioinformatics Analysis of Genes and Mechanisms in Postherpetic Neuralgia
Authors: Qiu Yong , Hao Meng-Lei , Cheng Xu-Tao , Hua Zhen
Published: September 2020

Objective. Elderly patients are prone to postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which may cause anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders and reduce quality of life. As a result, the life quality of patients was seriously reduced. However, the pathogenesis of PHN has not been fully elucidated, and current treatments remain inadequate. Therefore, it is important to explore the molecular mechanism of PHN.Methods. We analyzed the GSE64345 dataset, which includes gene expression from the ipsilateral dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of PHN model rats. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and analyzed by Gene Ontology. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. The miRNA associated with neuropathic pain and inflammation was found in miRNet. Hub genes were identified and analyzed in Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). miRNA-mRNA networks associated with PHN were constructed.Results. A total of 116 genes were up-regulated in the DRG of PHN rats, and 135 genes were down-regulated. Functional analysis revealed that variations were predominantly enriched for genes involved in neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, the Jak-STAT signaling pathway, and calcium channel activity. Eleven and thirty-one miRNAs associated with neuropathic pain and inflammation, respectively, were found. Eight hub genes (S1PR1, OPRM1, PDYN, CXCL3, S1PR5, TBX5, TNNI3, MYL7, PTGDR2, and FBXW2) associated with PHN were identified.Conclusions. Bioinformatics analysis is a useful tool to explore the mechanism and pathogenesis of PHN. The identified hub genes may participate in the onset and development of PHN and serve as therapeutic targets.
Effects of Altered Levels of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Mediators on Locations of In-Stent Reocclusions in Elderly Patients
Authors: Li Xia , Guo Dianxuan , Chen Ying , Hu Youdong , Zhang Fenglin
Published: September 2020

Imbalances of proatherogenic inflammatory and antiatherogenic inflammatory mediators were involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This study sought to investigate the effects of proatherogenic inflammatory and antiatherogenic inflammatory mediators on the proximal, middle, and distal coronary artery reocclusions in elderly patients after coronary stent implantations. We measured the expression levels of proatherogenic inflammatory/antiatherogenic inflammatory cytokines. This included interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-17 (IL-17), interleukin-13 (IL-13), and interleukin-37 (IL-37) in the elderly patients with the proximal, middle, and distal coronary artery reocclusions after coronary stent implantations. Levels of IL-1 β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and hs-CRP were remarkably increased (P<0.001), and levels of IL-10, IL-17, IL-13, and IL-37 were remarkably lowered (P<0.001) in the elderly patients with the proximal, middle, and distal coronary artery reocclusions. Imbalances of proatherogenic inflammatory and antiatherogenic inflammatory mediators may be involved in the formation and progression of proximal, middle, and distal coronary artery reocclusions in elderly patients after coronary stent implantations.
Progressive Collapse of RC Box Girder Bridges due to Seismic Actions
Authors: Mohamed Heba A. , Husain M. M. , Aboraya Ayman M.
Published: September 2020

Most of the recent studies focus on the progressive collapse of ordinary structures due to gravity and blast loads. A few focus on studying progressive collapse due to seismic actions, especially of bridge structures. The past major earthquakes have shown that it is possible to develop improved earthquake‐resistant design techniques for new bridges if the process of damage from initial failure to ultimate collapse and its effects on structural failure mechanisms could be analyzed and monitored. This paper presents a simulation and analysis of bridge progressive collapse behavior during seismic actions using the Applied Element Method (AEM) which can take into account the separation of structural components resulted from fracture failure and falling debris contact or impact forces. Simple, continuous, and monolithic bridges’ superstructures were numerically analyzed under the influence of the severe ground motions not considering the live loads. The parameters studied were the superstructure redundancy and the effect of severe ground motion such as Kobe, Chi‐Chi, and Northridge ground motions on different bridge structural systems. The effect of reducing the reinforcement ratio on the collapse behavior of RC box girders and the variation of columns height were also studied. The results showed that monolithic bridge models with reduced reinforcement to the minimum reinforcement according to ECP 203/2018 showed a collapse behavior under the effect of severe seismic ground motions. However, changing the bridge structural system from monolithic to continuous or simple on bearing bridge models could prevent the bridge models from collapse.
Optimal Order Error Estimates of a Modified Nonconforming Rotated Q1 IFEM for Interface Problems
Authors: Yin Pei , Yue Hongyun , Guan Hongbo
Published: September 2020

This paper presents a new numerical method and analysis for solving second-order elliptic interface problems. The method uses a modified nonconforming rotated Q1 immersed finite element (IFE) space to discretize the state equation required in the variational discretization approach. Optimal order error estimates are derived in L2-norm and broken energy norm. Numerical examples are provided to confirm the theoretical results.
Malignant Pleural Effusion: Diagnosis and Management
Authors: Ferreiro Lucía , Suárez-Antelo Juan , Álvarez-Dobaño José Manuel , Toubes María E. , Riveiro Vanessa , Valdés Luis
Published: September 2020

Symptomatic malignant pleural effusion is a common clinical problem. This condition is associated with very high mortality, with life expectancy ranging from 3 to 12 months. Studies are contributing evidence on an increasing number of therapeutic options (therapeutic thoracentesis, thoracoscopic pleurodesis or thoracic drainage, indwelling pleural catheter, surgery, or a combination of these therapies). Despite the availability of therapies, the management of malignant pleural effusion is challenging and is mainly focused on the relief of symptoms. The therapy to be administered needs to be designed on a case-by-case basis considering patient’s preferences, life expectancy, tumour type, presence of a trapped lung, resources available, and experience of the treating team. At present, the management of malignant pleural effusion has evolved towards less invasive approaches based on ambulatory care. This approach spares the patient the discomfort caused by more invasive interventions and reduces the economic burden of the disease. A review was performed of the diagnosis and the different approaches to the management of malignant pleural effusion, with special emphasis on their indications, usefulness, cost-effectiveness, and complications. Further research is needed to shed light on the current matters of controversy and help establish a standardized, more effective management of this clinical problem.
A Generalized Chart-Based Decision-Making Tool for Optimal Preventive Maintenance Time under Perfect Renewal Process Modeling
Authors: Gunckel Pablo Viveros , Kristjanpoller Fredy , Peñaloza René Tapia
Published: September 2020

The most commonly used probabilistic model in reliability studies is the Perfect Renewal Process (PRP), which is characterized by the condition or type of maintenance represented: once the maintenance activities are executed, the equipment is restored to its original condition, leaving it “as good as new.” It is widely used since it represents an optimistic state when an item is replaced, assuming a perfect operational condition of the item after the maintenance. Some models have been developed for determining optimum preventive maintenance (PM) based on different criteria, and almost all aimed at PRP reliability modeling. The contribution of this paper is to analyze a model for determining the optimal preventive maintenance policy for a long time run under PRP and developing a general and chart-based tool for the problem, making it easier to solve the day-to-day practice and operation of equipment. As a result, a generalized chart was developed to support maintenance decisions through the elaboration of an original isometric table and complemented with a step-by-step methodology to determine the optimum time in which the preventive maintenance activities must be implemented. In most cases, these types of maintenance activities will consider a replacement activity.
Combined Pharmacotherapy with Alendronate and Desferoxamine Regulate the Bone Resorption and Bone Regeneration for Preventing Glucocorticoids‐Induced Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head
Authors: Sheng Hongfeng , Lao Yangjun , Zhang Shuliang , Ding Weiguo , Lu Di , Xu Bin
Published: September 2020

Background. Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a challenge for surgeons and is still without effective treatment method. This study is aimed at evaluating the combined pharmacotherapy with alendronate and desferoxamine for preventing glucocorticoid‐induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (GIOFH) and evaluating the efficacy of the combined medicine in regulating the bone resorption and bone regeneration. Materials and Methods. Thirty‐six rats were randomly assigned to three groups: group A received alendronate and desferoxamine (n = 12), group B received alendronate only (n = 12), and group C acted as the control group received placebo (n = 12). All rats induced the GIOFH using methylprednisolone combined with lipopolysaccharide. Eight weeks later, all rats were killed and their tissues were subjected to radiographic and histological analyses. Results. According to the results, alendronate administration improved the trabecular thickness and separation in micro‐CT analysis but had no significant evidence in increasing the bone area and decreasing the ratio of osteocyte lacunae in histological analysis when compared with the control group. Meanwhile, the alendronate group had more OCs, but less OCN and VEGF levels along with decreased p‐AKT, HIF‐1α, RANKL, and NFATc1 expressions than the control group. For comparison, alendronate combined with DFO further improved the bone volume, trabecular number, trabecular separation, and trabecular thickness with lower ratio of osteocyte lacunae and OC number, higher expression of OCN and VEGF and upregulated signal factors of HIF‐1α and β‐catenin, and decreased RANKL and NFATc1. Conclusion. Combined pharmacotherapy with alendronate and desferoxamine provide significant effects in regulating the bone resorption and bone regeneration for preventing GIOFN.
Resistance Training Safety during and after the SARS‐Cov‐2 Outbreak: Practical Recommendations
Authors: Gentil Paulo , de Lira Claudio Andre Barbosa , Souza Daniel , Jimenez Alfonso , Mayo Xian , de Fátima Pinho Lins Gryschek Anna Luiza , Pereira Erica Gomes , Alcaraz Pedro , Bianco Antonino , Paoli Antonio , Papeschi Julio , Carnevali Junior Luiz Carlos
Published: September 2020

In December of 2019, there was an outbreak of a severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2 or COVID‐19) in China. The virus rapidly spread into the whole world causing an unprecedented pandemic and forcing governments to impose a global quarantine, entering an extreme unknown situation. The organizational consequences of quarantine/isolation are absence of organized training and competition, lack of communication among athletes and coaches, inability to move freely, lack of adequate sunlight exposure, and inappropriate training conditions. The reduction of mobility imposed to contain the advance of the SARS‐Cov‐2 pandemic can negatively affect the physical condition and health of individuals leading to muscle atrophy, progressive loss of muscle strength, and reductions in neuromuscular and mechanical capacities. Resistance training (RT) might be an effective tool to counteract these adverse consequences. RT is considered an essential part of an exercise program due to its numerous health and athletic benefits. However, in the face of the SARS‐Cov‐2 outbreak, many people might be concerned with safety issues regarding its practice, especially in indoor exercise facilities, such as gyms and fitness centers. These concerns might be associated with RT impact in the immune system, respiratory changes, and contamination due to equipment sharing and agglomeration. In this current opinion article, we provide insights to address these issues to facilitate the return of RT practices under the new logistical and health challenges. We understand that RT can be adapted to allow its performance with measures adopted to control coronavirus outbreak such that the benefits would largely overcome the potential risks. The article provides some practical information to help on its implementation.
Adaptive Multilevel Collaborative Passenger Flow Control in Peak Hours for a Subway Line
Authors: Xue Hongjiao , Jia Limin , Guo Jianyuan
Published: September 2020

Due to contradiction of large-scale passenger demand and limited transportation capacity, the passengers who cannot be transported away in time accumulate and congest in stations. To ensure travel safety, improve travel efficiency, and ameliorate waiting environments for passengers, this paper proposes an adaptive multilevel collaborative passenger flow control strategy integrating the control of station entrance and station hall. An integer linear programming model is constructed, which aims at minimizing the total passenger waiting time and taking the safe capacity of each key area of all stations as the necessary constraints. The model is applied in two scenarios with different scales of passenger demand in the morning peak of the Batong line. The results show that the proposed model can adaptively activate the appropriate control level, limit the amount of accumulated passengers in each key area of the station within its safe capacity, and shorten the total passenger waiting time.
Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant, Antiperoxidative, and Antihemolytic Properties Investigation of Three Apiaceae Species Grown in the Southeast of Morocco
Authors: Derouich Mgal , Bouhlali Eimad Dine Tariq , Bammou Mohamed , Hmidani Abdelbasset , Sellam Khalid , Alem Chakib
Published: September 2020

For a long time, Apiaceae species have been widely employed in the southeast of Morocco for culinary and folk healing purposes. In the current study, we investigated three Apiaceae herbs known as coriander (Coriandrum sativum), celery (Apium graveolens), and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) for their antioxidant, antiperoxidative, and antihemolytic properties. The HPLC-DAD has been used to classify and measure phenolic compounds. The major phenolic compounds studied were p-coumaric, chlorogenic, caffeic acids, luteolin, and quercetin. The polyphenol level was also estimated via Folin–Ciocalteu’s method, aluminium chloride, and acidified vanillin. Parsley showed the highest polyphenol level and, thus, showed potential antioxidant activities demonstrated by DPPH, ABTS scavenging tests, and reducing power (FRAP), as well as TBARS assays. Very strong correlations were depicted among phenol levels and antioxidant assays (R2 ≥ 0.910) and among antihemolytic activity and flavonoids (R2 ≥ 0.927), indicating the implication of phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids, in the antiradical properties. These finding may prove the traditional use of these Apiaceae species in the management of numerous disorders cited within the Moroccan pharmacopoeia.
Research and Application of Critical Failure Paths Identification Method for Dam Risk Analysis
Authors: He Kun , Pei Liang , Lu Xiang , Chen Jiankang , Wu Zhenyu
Published: September 2020

Dam is an important part of the national infrastructure, and its safety has been widely concerned. Risk identification of dams plays a significant role in risk assessment and control. Finding out some critical failure paths through adopting timely measures can help reduce the risk occurrence probability effectively. This paper develops an identification method based on the credibility and the interval analytic hierarchy process (IAHP) methods, namely, consistency and difference-based interval analytic hierarchy process (CDB-IAHP) method, to identify the critical failure paths of dams exactly considering the dynamic cognition degree of decision-makers. Based on the fault tree analysis (FTA) method, the framework and analysis for critical failure paths identification of a gravity dam and an Earth-rockfill dam are conducted and made. The results show that the critical failure paths obtained by the proposed method are in line with the statistical data, and the importance of disaster causing factors has some difference with the traditional method. Additionally, some engineering and nonengineering measures are suggested to reduce the impact of potential failure paths. The applications demonstrate that the proposed method shows good applicability for risk analysis and critical failure path mining of dams.
Punicalagin Exerts Protective Effects against Ankylosing Spondylitis by Regulating NF‐κB‐TH17/JAK2/STAT3 Signaling and Oxidative Stress
Authors: Feng Xinzhe , Yang Qinyuan , Wang Chen , Tong Wenwen , Xu Weidong
Published: September 2020

Background. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by sacroiliitis and spinal rigidity of the axial joints. The role of oxidative stress and increased proinflammatory cytokines is well documented in AS pathogenesis. Punicalagin (2,3‐hexahydroxydiphenoyl‐gallagyl‐D‐glucose), an ellagitannin widely present in pomegranates, is found to exhibit potent anti‐inflammatory, antiproliferative, and antioxidative effects. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of punicalagin in a rodent model of AS. Methods. BALB/c mice induced spondylitis were sacrificed 24 h after the last injection of proteoglycan extract. Histological scoring was done to assess the degree of the disease. The expression of JAK2/STAT3 proteins and proteins of the nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) pathway was determined by immunoblotting. Serum levels of inflammatory mediators—TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐17A, and IL‐23—were assessed. Levels of lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were quantified. Antioxidant status as a measure of activities of antioxidant enzymes—catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)—was determined. Results. Punicalagin effectively improved antioxidant status and decreased lipid peroxidation, ROS production, and serum levels of inflammatory mediators. NF‐κB pathway and JAK2/STAT3 signaling were significantly (p < 0.05) downregulated. Punicalagin effectively regulated the production of cytokines by the Th17 cells and the IL‐17A/IL‐23 axis. Conclusion. The observations suggest that punicalagin exerts a protective role in AS via reducing oxidative stress and regulating NF‐κB/TH17/JAK2/STAT3 signal. Punicalagin thus could be explored further as a potent candidate compound in the treatment of AS.
Lightweight Crypto Stack for TPMS Using Lesamnta-LW
Authors: Watanabe Yuhei , Yamamoto Hideki , Yoshida Hirotaka
Published: September 2020

Modern vehicles which have internal sensor networks are one of the examples of a cyberphysical system (CPS). The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is used to monitor the pressure of the tires and to inform the driver of them. This system is mandatory for vehicles in the US and EU. To ensure the security of TPMS, it is important to reduce the cost of the cryptographic mechanisms implemented in resource-constrained devices. To address this problem, previous works have proposed countermeasures employing lightweight block ciphers such as PRESENT, SPECK, or KATAN. However, it is not clear to us that any of these works have addressed the issues of software optimization that considers TPMS packet protection as well as session key updates for architectures consisting of the vehicle TPMS ECU and four low-cost TPMS sensors equipped with the tires. In this paper, we propose the application of ISO/IEC 29192-5 lightweight hash function Lesamnta-LW to address these issues. When we apply cryptographic mechanisms to a practical system, we consider the lightweight crypto stack which contains cryptographic mechanisms, specifications for the implementation, and performance evaluation. Our approach is to apply the known method of converting Lesamnta-LW to multiple independent pseudorandom functions (PRFs) in TPMS. In our case, we generate five PRFs this way and then use one PRF for MAC generation and four for key derivation. We use the internal AES-based block cipher of Lesamnta-LW for encryption. Although we follow the NIST SP 800-108 framework of converting PRFs to key derivation functions, we confirm the significant advantage of Lesamnta-LW-based PRFs over HMAC-SHA-256 by evaluating the performance on AVR 8-bit microcontrollers, on which we consider simulating TPMS sensors. We expect that our method to achieve multiple purposes with a single cryptographic primitive will help us to reduce the total implementation cost required for TPMS security.
A Novel Performance Prediction Model for the Machining Process Based on the Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Neural Network
Authors: Tian Wenwen , Zhao Fei , Sun Zheng , Shang Suiyan , Mei Xuesong , Chen Guangde
Published: September 2020

The prediction model is the most important part of the virtual metrology system. Predicting the performance of the machining process has been widely applied in manufacturing, which can reduce costs and improve efficiency compared with the manual operation. In this paper, a novel performance prediction model for the machining process is proposed based on the interval type-2 fuzzy neural network. The interval type-2 fuzzy logic system with a complete rule base, type-reduction, and defuzzified output is simplified by the BMM method to meet the requirements of the prediction. The proposed prediction model is trained using a gradient-based optimization algorithm. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, it is applied to wire electrical discharge turning process for predicting material removal rate and surface roughness with a published dataset. The results show that the proposed method is an effective scheme in the studied cases.
Safety and Tolerability of Sodium Thiosulfate in Patients with an Acute Coronary Syndrome Undergoing Coronary Angiography: A Dose-Escalation Safety Pilot Study (SAFE-ACS)
Authors: de Koning Marie-Sophie L. Y. , Assa Solmaz , Maagdenberg Carlijn G. , van Veldhuisen Dirk J. , Pasch Andreas , van Goor Harry , Lipsic Erik , van der Harst Pim
Published: September 2020

Background. In animal studies, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been shown to protect the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study evaluates the safety and tolerability of the H2S donor sodium thiosulfate (STS) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Methods. Eighteen patients, undergoing coronary angiography for ACS, received STS intravenously immediately after arrival at the catheterization laboratory according to a “3 + 3 dose-escalation design” with fixed dosing endpoint (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 12.5, and 15 grams). This first dose STS was combined with verapamil and nitroglycerin required for transradial procedures. A second dose STS was administered 6 hours later. Primary endpoint was dose-limiting toxicity, defined as significant hemodynamic instability or death up to 24 hours or before discharge from the coronary care unit. Secondary outcomes included the occurrence of anaphylaxis, nausea, vomiting, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) course.Results. Sixteen patients received two dosages of STS and two patients one dosage. None of the patients reached the primary endpoint, nor experienced a serious adverse event. We observed a clinically well-tolerated decline in SBP 1 hour after administration of the first STS dose and concomitant verapamil/nitroglycerin. SBP for all patients together reduced 16.8 (8.1–25.5) mmHg (P=0.0008). No significant decline in SBP occurred after the second dose. Mild nausea was observed in one patient.Conclusion. This is the first report on sodium thiosulfate administration in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Our data suggest that sodium thiosulfate was well tolerated in this setting. The potential benefit of this intervention has to be examined in larger studies.
Metabolic Profiling by UPLC–Orbitrap–MS/MS of Liver from C57BL/6 Mice with DSS-Induced Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Xin Zhongquan , Zhai Zhenya , Long Hongrong , Zhang Fan , Ni Xiaojun , Deng Jinping , Yi Lunzhao , Deng Baichuan
Published: September 2020

Liver disorder often occurs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, the changes in IBD-induced liver disorder at the intrinsic molecular level (chiefly metabolites) and therapeutic targets are still poorly characterized. First, a refined and translationally relevant model of DSS chronic colitis in C57BL/6 mice was established, and cecropin A and antibiotics were used as interventions. We found that the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 in the liver tissues of mice were highly increased in the context of DSS treatment but were lowered by cecropin A and antibiotics. Subsequently, an untargeted metabolomics analysis was performed by UPLC–Orbitrap–MS/MS to reveal the metabolic profile and attempt to find the potential therapeutic targets of the liver disorders that occur in IBD. Notably, 133 metabolites were identified by an integrated database. Metabolism network and pathway analyses demonstrated that the metabolic disturbance of the liver in IBD mice was mainly enriched in bile acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and steroid hormone biosynthesis, while those disturbances were regulated or reversed through cecropin A and antibiotic treatment. Furthermore, the top 20 metabolites, such as glutathione, maltose, arachidonic acid, and thiamine, were screened as biomarkers via one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA, p<0.05) coupled with variable importance for project values (VIP >1) of orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), which could be upregulated or downregulated with the cecropin A and antibiotics treatment. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the majority of the biomarkers have a significant correlation with cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10), indicating that those biomarkers may act as potential targets to interact directly or indirectly with cecropin A and antibiotics to affect liver inflammation. Collectively, our results extend the understanding of the molecular alteration of liver disorders occurring in IBD and offer an opportunity for discovering potential therapeutic targets in the IBD process.
Effects of ACEIs and ARBs on the Residual Renal Function in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: A Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Ding Lei , Yang Jingjuan , Li Lizhu , Yang Yi
Published: September 2020

Background. In peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, whether angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) could protect residual renal function is still controversial. To assess the effects of ACEIs and ARBs on the residual renal function and cardiovascular (CV) events in peritoneal dialysis patients, we performed a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Materials and Methods. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, the CNKI database, and the Wanfang database for relevant articles from database inception to November 30, 2019. Randomized controlled trials were included. The primary outcome was the decline in the residual renal function (RRF). Results. Thirteen trials with 625 participants were included in the meta‐analysis. The average residual GFR declined by 1.79 ml/min per 1.73 m2 in the ACEI/ARB group versus 1.44 ml/min per 1.73 m2 in the placebo or active control group at 3 mo. The average residual GFR declined by 2.02 versus 2.06, 2.16 versus 2.72, and ‐0.04 versus 2.74 ml/min per 1.73 m2 in the placebo or active control group at 6 months (mo), 12 mo, and 24 mo, respectively. The decline in residual GFR showed a significant difference between the ACEI/ARB group and the placebo or active control group at 12 mo (MD = −0.64 ml/min per 1.73 m2; 95% CI: ‐0.97~‐0.32; I2 = 44%; P < 0.0001). No significant difference was observed in Kt/V, urinary protein excretion, weekly creatinine clearance, CV events, or serum potassium levels. Conclusions. In the present study, we found that the use of ACEIs and ARBs, especially long‐term treatment, decreased the decline of RRF in patients on PD. ACEIs and ARBs do not cause an additional risk of side effects.
Efficacy of Qishen Yiqi Drop Pill for Chronic Heart Failure: An Updated Meta-Analysis of 85 Studies
Authors: Wang Hao , Li Lixia , Qing Xiaochun , Zhang Shouyan , Li Shulong
Published: September 2020

Background. Despite evidence for beneficial effects of Qishen Yiqi Drop Pill (QSYQ) on congestive heart failure, the majority of studies are based on insufficient sample sizes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of QSYQ using a meta-analysis approach. Methodology/Principal Findings. All relevant studies published before December 31, 2019, were identified by searches of various databases with key search terms. In total, 85 studies involving 8,579 participants were included. The addition of QSYQ to routine Western medicine increased 6-minute walking distance (SMD=2.08, 95% CI: 1.72–2.44, p<0.001), left ventricular ejection fraction (SMD=1.05, 95% CI: 0.87–1.23, p<0.001), and cardiac index (SMD=1.44, 95% CI: 0.92–1.95, p<0.001) and reduced brain natriuretic peptide (SMD=−2.28, 95% CI: -2.81 to -1.76, p<0.001), N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (SMD=−2.49, 95% CI: -3.24 to -1.73, p<0.001), left ventricular end-diastolic dimensions (SMD=−0.92, 95% CI: -1.25 to -0.59, p<0.001), and left ventricular end-systolic dimensions (SMD=−0.55, 95% CI: -0.89 to -0.21, p<0.001). The results were stable in subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses. Conclusions. Our current meta-analysis indicated that QSYQ combined with Western therapy might be effective in CHF patients. Further researches are needed to identify which subgroups of CHF patients will benefit most and what kind of combination medicines work best.
A Novel Search Ranking Method for MOOCs Using Unstructured Course Information
Authors: Yao Weiqiang , Sun Haiquan , Hu Xiaoxuan
Published: September 2020

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a technical trend in the field of education. As the number of available MOOCs continues to grow dramatically, the difficulty for learners to find courses that satisfy their personalized learning goals has also increased. Unstructured texts, such as course descriptions and course skills, contain rich course information and are useful for MOOC platforms in constructing personalized services. This paper proposes a novel search ranking method for MOOCs that integrates unstructured course information. We propose a latent Dirichlet allocation-based model to cluster courses into groups based on course descriptions. Courses in the same cluster are considered to share similar educational contents. We then propose the CourseRank algorithm based on the information of course skills to recommend and rank courses when students search for or click on a specific course. Our experiments on the dataset from Coursera indicate that our method is able to cluster courses effectively and produce satisfactory ranking results for courses in MOOC platforms.