bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International Council for Coaching Excellence Position Statement “Professionalisation of Sport Coaching as a Global Process of Continuous Improvement”
Authors: Lara-Bercial Sergio , Bales John , North Julian , Petrovic Ladislav , Calvo Guillermo
Published: February 2022

The contribution that sport coaches make to society has received growing recognition among policy-makers over the last decade. Sport coaching is no longer only associated with professional and Olympic sport, trophies, and medals, and it is regularly proposed as an activity that contributes to the development of individuals, communities, and societies. Unfortunately, sport coaching has also been associated with negative outcomes, such as institutionalized doping, abuse of athletes, and match fixing. The level of scrutiny and expectations on coaches are higher than ever, and, therefore, more and more countries and sport organizations are examining how coaches are currently recruited, educated, developed, supported, employed, represented, and recognized. In the current landscape, the need to review the existing International Council for Coaching Excellence position statement on “Sport Coaching as a Profession,” written in 2011, is paramount. The 2021 position statement takes into account policy, practice, and research developments over the last decade to propose a way forward for sport coaching over the next 10 years.
The Error-Prone Polymerase DnaE2 Mediates the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance in Persister Mycobacterial Cells
Authors: Salini S. , Bhat Sinchana G. , Naz Saba , Natesh Ramanathan , Kumar R. Ajay , Nandicoori Vinay Kumar , Kurthkoti Krishna
Published: February 2022

Applying antibiotics to susceptible bacterial cultures generates a minor population of persisters that remain susceptible to antibiotics but can endure them for extended periods. Recent reports suggest that antibiotic persisters (APs) of mycobacteria experience oxidative stress and develop resistance upon treatment with lethal doses of ciprofloxacin or rifampicin.
Resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to Hypothiocyanous Acid Generated by Host Peroxidases
Authors: Shearer Heather L. , Kaldor Christopher D. , Hua Harry , Kettle Anthony J. , Parker Heather A. , Hampton Mark B.
Published: February 2022

Streptococcus pneumoniae
is a serious human respiratory pathogen. It generates hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) as part of its normal metabolism, yet it lacks enzymes that remove this oxidant.
Lung directed antibody gene transfer confers protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Du Yue , Miah Kamran M , Habib Omar , Meyer-Berg Helena , Conway Catriona C , Viegas Mariana A , Dean Rebecca , Satyapertiwi Dwiantari , Zhao Jincun , Wang Yanqun , Temperton Nigel J , Gamlen Toby P E , Gill Deborah R , Hyde Stephen C
Published: February 2022

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a worldwide threat and effective antiviral drugs and vaccines are being developed in a joint global effort. However, some elderly and immune-compromised populations are unable to raise an effective immune response against traditional vaccines.

Aims

We hypothesised that passive immunity engineered by the in vivo expression of anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), an approach termed vectored-immunoprophylaxis (VIP), could offer sustained protection against COVID-19 in all populations irrespective of their immune status or age.

Methods

We developed three key reagents to evaluate VIP for SARS-CoV-2: (i) we engineered standard laboratory mice to express human ACE2 via rAAV9 in vivo gene transfer, to allow in vivo assessment of SARS-CoV-2 infection, (ii) to simplify in vivo challenge studies, we generated SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein pseudotyped lentiviral vectors as a simple mimic of authentic SARS-CoV-2 that could be used under standard laboratory containment conditions and (iii) we developed in vivo gene transfer vectors to express anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAbs.

Conclusions

A single intranasal dose of rAAV9 or rSIV.F/HN vectors expressing anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAbs significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 mimic infection in the lower respiratory tract of hACE2-expressing mice. If translated, the VIP approach could potentially offer a highly effective, long-term protection against COVID-19 for highly vulnerable populations; especially immune-deficient/senescent individuals, who fail to respond to conventional SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. The in vivo expression of multiple anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAbs could enhance protection and prevent rapid mutational escape.
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations may be the only clinical criterion present in genetically confirmed hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia
Authors: Anderson Emily , Sharma Lakshya , Alsafi Ali , Shovlin Claire L
Published: February 2022

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) result in preventable complications demanding specialty care. Underlying hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) can be identified by genetic testing, if the diagnosis is considered. Retrospectively reviewing 152 unrelated adults with genetically confirmed HHT due toACVRL1,ENGorSMAD4, we found that only 104/152 (68%) met a clinical diagnosis of HHT with three Curaçao criteria. The genetic diagnostic rate was similar for patients with three (104/137, 76%) or one to two (48/71, 68%; p=0.25) criteria. Of 83 unrelated probands with PAVM(s) and genetically-confirmed HHT, 20/83 (24%) had few, if any, features of HHT. Enhanced clinical suspicion, as well as HHT genetic testing, is recommended if one or more PAVMs are present.
Erratum to: Confined Klein–Gordon oscillator from a (2+1)-dimensional Gürses to a Gürses or a pseudo-Gürses space-time backgrounds: Invariance and isospectrality
Authors: Mustafa Omar
Published: February 2022

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10043-3
Image Attribute Migration Based on Decoupling and Adaptive Layer Instance Normalization
Authors: Cai Xingquan , Li Fajian , Chen Keng , Wei Yuechao , Sun Haiyan
Published: February 2022

The issue of image attribute migration is one of the hot research topics in the field of computer vision, which has received extensive research interest. However, current unsupervised image attribute migration models using symmetric generative adversarial network structure do not work well on datasets with large geometric variations, where the results lack diversity and are of low quality. To address these problems, we present an image attribute migration model based on decoupling and adaptive layer instance normalization. First, a codec structure based on a decoupled representation is constructed as the generator, and an adaptive layer instance normalization operation is used in the decoder. Then, the iterations of the model are constrained by various improved loss functions. We conducted controlled experiments and compared the results of our method with other methods using several datasets with large geometric variations. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve high quality and diverse image attribute migration.
Resolution-Selective and Resolution-Adaptive 2 to 8-Bit Flash ADC for High-Speed Application-Independent IC (HS-AIIC)
Authors: Hussain Sarfraz
Published: February 2022

Application-Specific ICs (ASIC) are manufactured in bulk for a long time. In this paper, an approach to High-Speed Application-Independent IC (HS-AIIC) design is discussed. A resolution-selective (RS) and resolution-adaptive (RA) 8-bit Flash ADC are designed for use in various high-speed applications. With the choice of resolution, one can work with the trade-off between speed, power consumption, and resolution for a particular application. The proposed resolution selection algorithm can be implemented for any set of resolutions for a flash ADC design. Further, an adaptive block is added to make the ADC design adaptive in nature so that we do not have to select a particular resolution manually. The proposed design entrusts on saving manufacturing cost and increases the functionality of ADC on a single chip. Proposed resolution adaptive 8-bit flash ADC design dissipates 512[Formula: see text]mW of power with an ENOB of 7.56 bits and SNDR of 46.27[Formula: see text]dB for 1[Formula: see text]GHz sampling clock pulse.
Laser acupuncture for claudication symptoms in peripheral artery disease — Does it work? A randomized trial
Authors: Ahmad Ahmad Mahdi , Abdel-Aziz Hasnaa Ahmed
Published: February 2022

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) receives little attention despite its clinical consequences. Intermittent claudication is the most disturbing symptom of the disease resulting in marked limitations to functional walking performance. Treadmill walking exercise is the first-line non-pharmacological treatment in PAD; however, older patients may be unable to exercise because of the functional disability of the disease itself or deconditioning.

Objective: In an attempt to seek an alternative intervention, this study aimed to assess the effect of laser acupuncture on patient-reported claudication symptoms and walk performance in PAD.

Methods: Thirty male patients with PAD were assigned randomly to a control group ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] years old, [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg/m2) or a study group ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] years old, [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg/m2). Inclusion criteria were mild-to-moderate PAD, Fontaine stage II, unilateral or bilateral claudications, and older men. Exclusion criteria were asymptomatic PAD, resting pain, severe or critical limb ischemia, ischemic ulcers, and patients contraindicated for laser therapy. Both groups received pharmacological treatment, but only the study group received gallium aluminum arsenide (GaAlAs) laser therapy at nine acupuncture points, namely, Liver 2 (LV2), Stomach 41 (ST41), Urinary bladder 40 (UB40), UB60, UB61, Gall bladder 30 (GB30), GB34, GB38, and GB40 for 2 days/week and five consecutive weeks. A pen-type laser device was used at a wavelength of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]nm, with a power output of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mW, a spot size of 0.08[Formula: see text]cm2, and an energy density of 2[Formula: see text]J/cm2, for 60[Formula: see text]s/point. The Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire (ECQ) and the 6-min walk distance (6-MWD) were the endpoints of the study. The McNemar–Bowker Test and Generalized Estimating Equations Ordinal Logistic Regression Model were used for the within- and between-group statistical analyses of the categorical data of ECQ, respectively; and a mixed model MANOVA was used for the within- and between-group analyses of the 6-MWD data.

Results: There was a significant improvement in patients’ response to ECQ only in the study group compared to the baseline ([Formula: see text]) and the controls ([Formula: see text]) after the intervention. The 6-MWD increased significantly in the study group compared to the baseline ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m versus [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m, [Formula: see text]).

Conclusion: The GaAlAs laser acupuncture applied at selected acupoints may be a promising intervention complementary to drug therapy that could help relieve claudication symptoms and improve physical functional performance in older men with PAD (Fontaine stage II). Trials were conducted under the Trial Registration No. PACTR201912698539774.
Glossifungites
suites and tubular tempestites in Devonian shallow-marine deposits from Paraná Basin
Authors: Sedorko Daniel , Netto Renata G. , Villegas-Martín Jorge , Dasgupta Sudipta , Tognoli Francisco M. W. , Plantz Josiane , Carelli Thiago , Borghi Leonardo
Published: February 2022

The
Glossifungites
ichnofacies can be a signature of allogenic processes that demark omission, exhumation and ravinement, or indicate autogenic processes impacting several depositional scenarios such as incised valleys, submarine gullies and canyons, erosive shorefaces, tidal channels and dewatered muddy substrates. Comparatively, autogenic surfaces demarked by the
Glossifungites
ichnofacies have been less studied than allogenic surfaces. In this study case, we interpret the examples from the transitional offshore to offshore deposits of the Devonian Ponta Grossa Formation (Paraná Basin, southern Brazil) as tubular tempestites. They are commonly associated with the initial phase of the transgressive systems tract when the shallow-marine environment becomes starved of sediment supply. Those occurrences are mostly characterized by
Thalassinoides
and less frequently by
Palaeophycus
,
Skolithos
and
Rhizocorallium
, with sharp to irregular walls, passive filling and descending from an erosive surface. In offshore deposits, the erosive surface can be obliterated, making the
Glossifungites
suite the unique evidence of storm processes (e.g. tubular tempestites). The results also highlight some differences between autogenic and allogenic
Glossifungites
from the Ponta Grossa Formation and demonstrate that the few levels with allogenic
Glossifungites
suites represent coplanar surfaces coupling sequence boundaries and transgressive surfaces developed in the early stages of transgressive systems tracts.
Interaction-aware Drug Package Recommendation via Policy Gradient
Authors: Zheng Zhi , Wang Chao , Xu Tong , Shen Dazhong , Qin Penggang , Zhao Xiangyu , Huai Baoxing , Wu Xian , Chen Enhong
Published: February 2022

Recent years have witnessed the rapid accumulation of massive electronic medical records, which highly support intelligent medical services such as drug recommendation. However, although there are multiple interaction types between drugs, e.g., synergism and antagonism, which can influence the effect of a drug package significantly, prior arts generally neglect the interaction between drugs or consider only a single type of interaction. Moreover, most existing studies generally formulate the problem of package recommendation as getting a personalized scoring function for users, despite the limits of discriminative models to achieve satisfactory performance in practical applications. To this end, in this article, we propose a novel end-to-end Drug Package Generation (DPG) framework, which develops a new generative model for drug package recommendation that considers the interaction effects between drugs that are affected by patient conditions. Specifically, we propose to formulate the drug package generation as a sequence generation process. Along this line, we first initialize the drug interaction graph based on medical records and domain knowledge. Then, we design a novel message-passing neural network to capture the drug interaction, as well as a drug package generator based on a recurrent neural network. In detail, a mask layer is utilized to capture the impact of patient condition, and the deep reinforcement learning technique is leveraged to reduce the dependence on the drug order. Finally, extensive experiments on a real-world dataset from a first-rate hospital demonstrate the effectiveness of our DPG framework compared with several competitive baseline methods.
PathTracer: Understanding Response Time of Signal Processing Applications on Heterogeneous MPSoCs
Authors: Rubattu Claudio , Palumbo Francesca , Bhattacharyya Shuvra S. , Pelcat Maxime
Published: February 2022

In embedded and cyber-physical systems, the design of a desired functionality under constraints increasingly requires parallel execution of a set of tasks on a heterogeneous architecture. The nature of such parallel systems complicates the process of understanding and predicting performance in terms of response time. Indeed, response time depends on many factors related to both the functionality and the target architecture. State-of-the-art strategies derive response time by examining the operations required by each task for both processing and accessing shared resources. This procedure is often followed by the addition or elimination of potential interference due to task concurrency. However, such approaches require an advanced knowledge of the software and hardware details, rarely available in practice.

This work presents an alternative “top-down” strategy, called PathTracer, aimed at understanding software response time and extending the cases in which it can be analyzed and estimated. PathTracer leverages on dataflow-based application representation and response time estimation of signal processing applications mapped on heterogeneous Multiprocessor Systems-on-a-Chip (MPSoCs). Experimental results demonstrate that PathTracer provides (i) information on the nature of the application (work-dominated, span-dominated, or balanced parallel), and (ii) response time modeling which can reach high accuracy when performed post-execution, leading to prediction errors with average and standard deviation under 5% and 3% respectively.
Corrosion Performance of 201 low-Nickel Stainless Steel Anchor in Cl–Contaminated Underground Water with Various Concentrations of SO42−and HCO3−
Authors: Feng Xingguo , Yan Qixiang , Zhu Chao , Chen Zheng , Lu Xiangyu , Lu Sheng
Published: February 2022

Corrosion behavior of 201 low-nickel stainless steel was studied in Cl−-contaminated underground water with various concentrations of HCO3−and SO42−at different pHs to investigate the durability of stainless-steel anchors. The charge-transfer resistance increased, whereas the carrier densities and corrosion current density decreased with an increase in concentration of HCO3−and SO42−, and solution pH. A parameter that was termed the composite corrosiveness index (CCI) was proposed to assess the corrosivity of underground waters to stainless steels. TheCCIexhibited a monotonic relationship with charge-transfer resistance, carrier density, and corrosion current density, and it was more suitable for stainless steels compared with previous corrosiveness indexes in underground waters.
Corrosion Behavior of Mg(OH)2/Mg–Al Layered Double Hydroxides/AlO(OH) Composite Film Prepared by Steam Coating on Mg Alloy AZCa612
Authors: Nakamura Kae , Nagashima Yuma , Muto Hiraku , Nakano Ryo , Ishizaki Takahiro
Published: February 2022

This study investigated the corrosion behavior of the corrosion-resistant films steam coated on AZCa612 magnesium alloy. The film samples were corroded by immersing them in 5 wt% NaCl aqueous solution for a predetermined time. The corroded films were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, glancing angle X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization measurements, hydrogen generation measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The amount of Mg–Al–CO3 layered double hydroxides (LDHs) in the film slightly decreased from the beginning of immersion to 120 h after immersion and gradually increased thereafter. Mg–Al–Cl LDHs were formed after 6 h of immersion and rapidly grew as the immersion progressed. In addition, even with the gradual decrease in the corrosion resistance of the film, there was no major damage observed on the substrates. These results indicate that the corrosion protection mechanism varied with the immersion time. The corrosion-resistant property under a short immersion time could be attributed to the high corrosion resistance of Mg(OH)2 and AlO(OH), whereas it is attributed to the coverage provided by the Mg–Al–Cl and Mg–Al–CO3 LDHs under a longer immersion duration.
Analysis of Dynamic System of Exercise Load Condition Monitoring Based on Characteristic Parameters
Authors: Ren Yunlan , Wu Shang
Published: February 2022

According to the algorithm of time difference and threshold value, this paper selects the more valuable data for motion state recognition and selects the characteristics, respectively selects the data of the combined acceleration and the combined angular velocity, and uses the data of the pitch angle and the roll angle more novelly. In the aspect of data preprocessing, the sliding segmentation window method is used for feature processing, and the time domain and frequency domain features of the data are extracted. A total of 108 dimensional features are extracted. In order to improve the calculation performance, PCA technology is used for data dimensionality reduction. In this paper, we collected data on changes in physiological parameters of 24 experimenters before and after exercise, collected 14 self-evaluated severely fatigued volunteers and self-evaluated severely stressed volunteers’ resting heart rate and blood pressure data as unhealthy data samples, and collected physiological data of 14 healthy experimenters as unhealthy data samples. For healthy samples, three sets of experiments were set up to analyze the changes of exercise heart rate, exercise blood pressure and exercise body temperature, and the effectiveness of fusion of physiological data to improve the performance of exercise recognition and the analysis of the health status of physiological parameters that introduce exercise interference. The experimental results show that during exercise, monitoring changes in systolic blood pressure is more meaningful than monitoring changes in diastolic blood pressure; it verifies the effectiveness of improving the performance of exercise recognition by fusion of physiological parameters. The addition of physiological data can effectively improve the recognition rate of exercise. The recognition rate has been increased from 93.7% to 96.3%; the effectiveness and applicability of the algorithm in this paper are analyzed through design experiments, and the results show that the recognition accuracy of the algorithm in this paper is above 87%. This result has a good classification recognition rate for a small sample.
Sustainability of One WASH Facilities in the Rural Settings of North Shoa Zone, Amhara Region, North East Ethiopia, 2020
Authors: Tessama Aemiro Muluken , Getachew Yohannes
Published: February 2022

Background. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is considered as one term and recognizes that the three are closely related. The Government of Ethiopia launched the programme to improve the way water, and sanitation is provided to the people improving the WASH financing effectively, decreasing school children drop-out rates and improving the health status. The main aim of this study is to assess factors related to the sustainability of one WASH facilities in the rural settings of North Shoa zone, North East Ethipia. Methods. Institutional- and community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Taking the total number of woredas in the zone, 20 of them were rural project woredas during the first phase of the program and clustered in 6 subzones, and 6 woredas had been selected randomly by the lottery method from each subzones. A total of 768 households were randomly selected based on the proportional size of the number of households in each woreda. A structured questionnaire was used for this study. The data were collected via interview. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors with

P
<
0.05

and confidence interval of 95% considering statistically significant. Result. Among a total of 768 HHs intended to be involved, 689 were involved with 90% response rate. The communities WASH facilities were assessed to be unsustainable by more than half of the respondents (372 (54 percent)) HHs replies. Distance from current water source, community participation during water construction, practice of CLTSH in the village, declaration of open defecation free (ODF) in the village, and existence of health institution near the village were found positively associated with sustainability of one WASH facilities. Conclusion. The sustainability of WASH facilities was revealed to be relatively low. Considering distance from water source, community participation, practice of CLTSH in the village, village declared ODF, and existence of health institution are mandatory to all stake holders participating in WASH activities before, during, and after the implementation of the project.
Precision Poverty Alleviation Methods in the Agricultural Field Based upon Wireless Communication Networks and Blockchain
Authors: Xu Dazhi , Gao Yan , Xiao Xiaoyong
Published: February 2022

Poverty in the agricultural sector has always existed and needs to be urgently solved. How to achieve precise poverty alleviation and poverty alleviation in the agricultural sector has become a top priority now. In this regard, this study combines blockchain technology and wireless network technology to build a blockchain platform. The platform is responsible for assisting the development of agricultural poverty alleviation projects, integrating project data into a public area according to the characteristics of the blockchain. The data cannot be tampered with during storage and transmission, ensuring the authenticity of the data. As the core of blockchain technology, the algorithm of the consensus mechanism plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty in agriculture, using the RBFT consensus mechanism to achieve “precise identification” of the poor. The pilot has shown that the RBFT algorithm will achieve a throughput of 2,980 strokes/second. In addition, the time from node failure to recovery is diminished by 60% compared to the time consumed by the PBFT algorithm. It can be clearly seen that the blockchain platform using the RBFT algorithm is more robust.
Suspected Primary Spontaneous Asymptomatic Pneumothorax in a Cat
Authors: Sliman Michael , Rudinsky Adam J. , Lumbrezer Sarah , Winston Jenessa A. , Parker Valerie J. , Lorbach Sarah , Howard James
Published: February 2022

Spontaneous pneumothorax (SPT) is a documented emergency of the respiratory tract condition classified as either primary or secondary based on the presence of underlying pulmonary conditions. All reported SPT in the feline literature are evaluated for respiratory clinical signs. Primary SPT without underlying pathology or without clinical signs is not reported in cats. This case report describes a 10-year-old domestic longhair cat that was referred for evaluation of chronic lethargy with severe azotemia and placement of a subcutaneous ureteral bypass (SUB) system. Prior to presentation, the cat was diagnosed with renal insufficiency and treated medically with no resolution. Clinical examination under sedation revealed right-sided renomegaly. Thoracic radiographs revealed gas in the caudodorsal pleural space and concurrent pulmonary atelectasis. No respiratory clinical signs were present. Thoracic CT showed two pulmonary bullae, one located in the right caudal lung lobe and one in the cranial segment of the left cranial lung lobe. Abdominal ultrasound showed a right-sided ureteral obstruction. Medical management was elected for the spontaneous pneumothorax. A SUB was placed to address the ureteral obstruction; no complications were noted during recovery. The cat was free of clinical signs of respiratory disease after a follow-up time of nine months. This is the first reported case of a cat diagnosed with a nonclinical suspected primary spontaneous pneumothorax with no concurrent predisposing pulmonary pathology.
A Decision Method for Benefit Distribution Mechanism of Shared End Distribution on Shapley Value
Authors: Zhang Hao , Hou Yuan , He Feng-Feng
Published: February 2022

Online shopping has led to the rapid development of e-commerce, and at the same time, the pressure of offline distribution has increased abruptly. Therefore, a current development trend is to share end-to-end distribution against the background of the Internet. The main research content of this paper is the benefit distribution mechanism of shared end distribution. Based on an analysis of the current situation of interest distribution, this paper proposes factors that affect interest distribution from the perspectives of individuals and groups. The suitable income distribution mode of enterprise alliances is chosen from two dimensions—cooperation mode and coordination mechanism. Based on extant theory, this paper proposes a benefit distribution scheme-selection mechanism based on the modified Shapley value method and takes the terminal distribution in the Haidian District of Beijing as an example. The revised income distribution results better reflect the income-generating abilities of different enterprises within a cooperative organization and assign different benefit proportions to this cooperative organization based on different income-generating capacities to provide development incentives and, at the same time, better achieve income distribution.
Biodegradable Polymers for Microencapsulation Systems
Authors: Parente Joana Filipa , Sousa Vânia Isabel , Marques Juliana Filipa , Forte Marta Adriana , Tavares Carlos José
Published: February 2022

Environmentally friendly alternatives have become sought after upon the development of scientific research and industrial processes. Recent trends suggest biodegradable polymers as the most promising solution for synthetic microcapsule systems. Safety, efficiency, biocompatibility, and biodegradability are some of the properties that biodegradable systems in microencapsulation can provide for a broad spectrum of applications. The controlled release of encapsulated active agents is a research field that, over the years, has been constantly innovating due to the promising applications in the areas of pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile industry, among others. This article presents an overview of different polymers with potential for microcapsule synthesis, namely, biodegradable polymers. First, natural polymers are discussed, which are divided into two categories: polysaccharide-based polymers (cellulose, starch, chitosan, and alginate) and protein polymers (gelatin). Second, synthetic polymers are described, where biodegradable polymers such as polyesters, polyamides, among others appear as examples. For each polymer, this review presents its origin, relevant properties, applications, and examples found in the literature regarding its use in biodegradable microencapsulation systems.
Bright High-Harmonic Generation through Coherent Synchrotron Emission
Based on the Polarization Gating Scheme
Authors: Zhou Chuliang , Tian Ye , Zeng Yushan , Zeng Zhinan , Li Ruxin , Ramakrishna Bhuvanesh
Published: February 2022

Relativistic surface high harmonics, combined with the use of
polarization gating, present a promising route towards intense single
attosecond pulses. However, they impose stringent requirements on ultra-high
laser contrast and are restricted by large intensity losses in real
experiments. Here, we numerically demonstrate that by setting an optimal
time delay in the polarization gating scheme, the intensity of the generated
single attosecond pulses can become approximately 100 times stronger than
that with nonoptimal time delay in the coherent synchrotron emission
process. When a petawatt-class driving laser irradiates a solid target, an
ultra-dense electron nanobunch and a strong space-charge sheath develop, and
the accumulated electrostatic energy is only released in half of the laser
cycle when this electron nanobunch moves backward. This process results in
the emission of intense high harmonics. Our study provides a reliable method
for developing bright attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses.
A Novel Noncooperative Behavior Management Method for Multiattribute Large Group Decision-Making
Authors: Dong Xiaoqin , Yang Ying , Shao Bo , Sun Xianbin
Published: February 2022

In multiattribute large-group decision-making (MALGDM), the ideal state indicates a high degree of consensus for decision-makers. However, it is difficult to reach a consensus because the conflict between various decision attributes and decision-makers increases. To deal with the problem, a novel consensus model was developed to manage the decision-making in large groups based on noncooperative behavior. The improved clustering method was used to take account of the similarities among different decision-makers, while similar decision-makers will be grouped into the same group. Moreover, the consensus threshold was determined from an objective and subjective aspect to judge whether the consensus reaching process continues. The noncooperative behavior and adjustment amount of decision-makers’ opinions were investigated based on the proposed consensus model, and an emergency decision-making problem in flood disaster is applied to manifest the feasibility and distinctive features of the proposed method. The results show the proposed novel consensus model demonstrated strong applicability and reliability to the noncooperative subgroup problem and can be explored to manage multiattribute interactions in LGDM.
[Retracted] An Artificial Intelligent Virtual Reality Interactive Model for Distance Education
Authors: Yin Wenjing
Published: February 2022

Information and communication technologies play an important role in education. This fact was emphasized even more due to the significant upheavals, globally, caused by the pandemic of COVID‐19 and because distance education uses tools of modern technology that prove to be significantly important. Particularly, virtual reality immersion systems, which may include 3D spatial representations, multisensory interaction channels, and real‐time intuitive physical interaction, can extend the learning process by providing learners with stimuli that represent a real advanced training environment. In the present work, based on the most modern technologies of computational intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, wireless communications, and space‐sensitive positioning applications, an Artificial Intelligent Virtual Reality (AI‐VR) interactive model for distance education is presented. This is a case study of escape‐room‐type educational application, wherewith appropriate practices and methodologies promote individual and collective participation, enhance the active role of the learner, personalize the educational experience, and upgrade the process of participation in distance education, strengthening and assisting role of the educator. Specifically, a Newton polynomial is used for max‐polynomials arising from the stereoscopic problem of augmented reality used to indirectly indicate the number of linear regions in order to optimize the problem. The proposed application is related to the training course of agricultural education and methods of modernization of crops, including additional sound, 3D graphics, and short film projection. The history‐space‐objects relationship takes and evolves with various versions such as the parts of the story to be unlocked as the trainee moves from one tool to the next or the story to guide the trainee to explore the space‐time continuum, giving a new dimension to the technological development of agricultural education and the methods of modernization of crops. This finding shows that they learn best when they receive information in a style that incorporates visual, auditory, and kinetic stimuli so that learning improves when learners can examine an idea or concept using a multidimensional approach.
Research on Object Detection of PCB Assembly Scene Based on Effective Receptive Field Anchor Allocation
Authors: Li Jing , Li Weiye , Chen Yingqian , Gu Jinan
Published: February 2022

Vision-based object detection of PCB (printed circuit board) assembly scenes is essential in accelerating the intelligent production of electronic products. In particular, it is necessary to improve the detection accuracy as much as possible to ensure the quality of assembly products. However, the lack of object detection datasets in PCB assembly scenes is the key to restricting intellectual PCB assembly research development. As an excellent representative of the one-stage object detection model, YOLOv3 (you only look once version 3) mainly relies on placing predefined anchors on the three feature pyramid layers and realizes recognition and positioning using regression. However, the number of anchors distributed in each grid cell of different scale feature layers is usually the same. The ERF (effective receptive field) corresponding to the grid cell at different locations varies. The contradiction between the uniform distribution of fixed-size anchors and the ERF size range in different feature layers will reduce the effectiveness of object detection. Few people use ERF as a standard for assigning anchors to improve detection accuracy. To address this issue, firstly, we constructed a PCB assembly scene object detection dataset, which includes 21 classes of detection objects in three scenes before assembly, during assembly, and after assembly. Secondly, we performed a refined ERF analysis on each grid of the three output layers of YOLOv3, determined the ERF range of each layer, and proposed an anchor allocation rule based on the ERF. Finally, for the small and difficult-to-detect TH (through-holes), we increased the context information and designed improved-ASPP (Atrous spatial pyramid pooling) and channel attention joint module. Through a series of experiments on the object detection dataset of the PCB assembly scene, we found that under the framework of YOLOv3, anchor allocation based on ERF can increase mAP (mean average precision) from 79.32% to 89.86%. At the same time, our proposed method is superior to Faster R-CNN (region convolution neural network), SSD (single shot multibox detector), and YOLOv4 (you only look once version 4) in the balance of high detection accuracy and low computational complexity.
ECT-Resistant Bipolar Depression Treated with a Single Course of Triple Chronotherapy
Authors: Webb Jadon
Published: February 2022

The combination of sleep deprivation, sleep phase advance, and bright light is termed triple chronotherapy (TCT). TCT is a promising treatment for depression, but it is not clear how effective it is for depression resistant to conventional treatments such as medications. Here, we report a case of triple chronotherapy effectively treating depression resistant to both medication and an extended course of bilateral electroconvulsive therapy. Triple chronotherapy may be a useful method to consider in cases of severe, treatment-resistant depression.
Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma with Ocular Then Orbital Metastases
Authors: Tran Tu , Cypen Sanja , Del Valle Estopinal Maria , Tao Jeremiah
Published: February 2022

A 52-year-old Hispanic woman with a history of metastatic thyroid carcinoma presented with left eye degeneration and a choroidal mass without evidence of orbital disease on neuroimaging. She underwent enucleation for a blind, painful eye. Histopathology demonstrated choroidal metastasis of thyroid carcinoma with a well-circumscribed episcleral nodule, consistent with extraocular tumor extension. The interdisciplinary team recommended expectant management. Three months later, she developed periorbital edema and discomfort with poor ocular prosthesis fit. Neuroimaging revealed a mass in the anophthalmic socket that proved to be thyroid carcinoma. The patient subsequently underwent exenteration for pain control and local tumor burden reduction. At 12-month follow-up, there was no evidence of residual orbital disease, and she remains in remission. While the orbit involvement likely represents direct extraocular extension, a discrete orbital metastasis remains a possibility. In either scenario, this is the only known case of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma metastatic to the choroid then orbit.
Unilateral Ptosis in an Older Adult; a Rare Presentation of Primary Extranodal Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Authors: Selene Insija Ilyas , Jose Jemin Aby , Jamil Abdur Rehman , Srivastava Roma , Wang Weichen
Published: February 2022

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a neoplasm arising from B cells characterized by the presence of Reed-Steenberg cells. Primary extranodal presentation is rare and accounts for less than 1% of all HL cases. In addition, the orbit is an uncommon site of extranodal HL, with only 9 cases reported in the literature. We present a case of an 84-year-old male who presented with right eye ptosis. He was diagnosed with stage IIE Orbital HL and treated with combined modalities of radiation and chemotherapy. He continues to be in complete remission after 1 year of therapy. Hodgkin’s disease has an excellent prognosis, and recent data show it is curable in at least 80% of the patients. Extranodal involvement represents systemic dissemination of Hodgkin’s disease in most cases and is usually considered an advanced-stage disease with a poor prognosis. In rare circumstances, extranodal involvement can be the primary manifestation. Unfortunately, there are only a few case reports and case series regarding this topic. We attempt to add another case to the literature emphasizing the prognosis and outcome of primary extranodal HL.
Comparison of the Objective Severity and the Esthetic Perception of Nail Symptoms in Psoriasis
Authors: Szebényi Júlia , Oláh Péter , Gyulai Rolland
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Nail changes are frequent in psoriasis, and the negative impact of nail psoriasis on patients’ quality of life is well known. No data are available however about the association of the objective severity of nail psoriasis and the subjective perception of these symptoms. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between the severity of psoriatic nail changes (as determined by the Nail Psoriasis Severity Index [NAPSI]) and the esthetic assessment of nail psoriasis. Methods: Participants (general population and psoriasis patients) were asked to rate 19 nail images (including psoriatic and healthy nails) on a 0–10 scale, based on how disturbing they considered them esthetically. Objective severity (NAPSI) scores of nails were compared to the subjective evaluation values. Results: Nail symptom severity correlated well with the subjective scores. However, while nails with low (0) and high (6–8) NAPSI values received consistent subjective scores, the esthetic perception of nails with moderate NAPSI scores was rather heterogeneous. The age of the respondents showed robust positive correlation with the subjective assessment of nail symptoms both within the psoriatic and the general population. Discussion: Gender, the presence of psoriasis, or medical education had no significant influence on the esthetic assessment of psoriatic nail changes.
Utilizing Percutaneous Cholecystostomy Tube as a Temporary Minimally Invasive Approach for Acute Cholecystitis during Third Trimester of a High-Risk Pregnancy
Authors: Hojberg Yvonne , Patel Keshav , Shebrain Saad
Published: February 2022

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the treatment modality of choice for symptomatic cholelithiasis and cholecystitis during pregnancy and is associated with shorter length of stay, shorter operative times, and fewer complications compared to open cholecystectomy. However, in high-risk pregnant patients, LC can be challenging. Percutaneous cholecystostomy tube (PCT) offers a temporary management option during the peripartum period until interval LC is performed. We present a case of a high-risk pregnancy involving a 41-year-old woman at the 34th week of gestation with a dichorionic-diamniotic-twin gestation with signs and symptoms of acute cholecystitis. Given the patient’s high-risk status, a less intensive intervention, PCT, was performed for gallbladder decompression. An interval LC was performed on postpartum day 4 after caesarean section. Current surgical guidelines suggest that laparoscopy can be safely used to treat biliary disease during pregnancy in all trimesters. Although rarely used as a first-line intervention for gallbladder disease, PCT is an important minimally invasive procedure for treatment of cholecystitis in patients who are poor surgical candidates. Our case is unique due to the twin gestation, advanced maternal age, and gestational age.
The Use of Exercise Challenge Testing and Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Diagnosis of Chest Tightness Variant Asthma in Children
Authors: Feng Yong , Zhang Shiyao , Shang Yunxiao , Chen Ning
Published: February 2022

Background: Chest tightness variant asthma (CTVA) in children presents with chest tightness as the sole manifestation. Diagnostic tests are needed given the lack of typical asthma symptoms. The present study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of exercise challenge testing (ECT) and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in pediatric CTVA. Methods: We included 98 children aged 6–13 years with chest tightness as the sole symptom for >4 weeks. All subjects underwent FeNO measurement, spirometry and ECT, and received 4-week budesonide/formoterol treatment. According to treatment responses, children were categorized into CTVA (n = 12) and non-CTVA (n = 86) groups. Differences in clinical characteristics and FeNO, spirometry, and ECT results were compared between the two groups. The FeNO and ECT diagnostic performances were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Children with CTVA exhibited significantly higher Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgG, total IgE, and FeNO values; greater post-ECT forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) fall; and more frequent sensitization to mites and pets than those without CTVA. Further logistic regression revealed that higher FEV1 fall (OR, 1.39; 95% CI: 1.11–1.74; p = 0.004) and higher FeNO values (OR, 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.08; p = 0.014) were risk factors associated with CTVA. FEV1 fall and FeNO had similar areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) (0.79 vs. 0.78; p = 0.924), and their optimal CTVA-prediction cutoff values were 9.9% and 15.0 ppb, respectively. The AUC of FEV1 fall and FeNO combination was higher at 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78–0.93); however, no difference was observed using the single test (p > 0.05). Their combination exhibited a relatively higher sensitivity than that of FEV1 fall alone (0.75 vs. 0.67) and higher positive predictive value than that of FeNO alone (0.60 vs. 0.29). Conclusion: CTVA is a cause of unexplained recurrent chest tightness in children. FeNO ≥15.0 ppb and post-ECT FEV1 fall ≥9.9% are diagnostically valuable for CTVA in children, with their combination potentially contributing to greater diagnostic accuracy.
Successful Treatment of Pancreatic Fistula Following Surgery for Congenital Biliary Dilatation with Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Transduodenal Drainage
Authors: Suzuki Shigemasa , Kubo Norio , Hosoi Nobuhiro , Ooki Takashi , Matsumura Naoki , Aihara Ryusuke , Mogi Akira , Hosouchi Yasuo , Nishida Yasuji , Hatanaka Takeshi , Tanaka Yoshiki , Saeki Hiroshi , Shirabe Ken
Published: February 2022

Despite improvements in surgical techniques and perioperative management, postoperative pancreatic fistula (PF) is often difficult to treat and can be fatal due to various complications without effective drainage. Here, we report a case of PF following surgery for congenital biliary dilatation (CBD) successfully managed by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transduodenal drainage. A 55-year-old woman underwent extrahepatic bile duct resection, including the gallbladder, and biliary tract reconstruction for CBD. On the 10th postoperative day (POD), computed tomography (CT) showed fluid retention observed from the upper edge of the pancreatic head to the surface of the right lobe of the liver. First, percutaneous fine-needle aspiration was performed on the fluid retention in the lateral part of the liver on the 11th POD. The amylase level in the drainage was high (30,156 U/L), and we diagnosed it as PF. Percutaneous drainage was difficult for fluid retention on the cut surface of the pancreas; thus, drainage under EUS guidance was decided. On the 13th POD, EUS was performed, a scan of the duodenal bulb revealed fluid retention with debris inside, and approximately 20-mL fluid was aspirated (amylase: 139,200 U/L). Although the inflammatory response temporarily improved, it recurred, so we decided to perform continuous drainage. On the 21st POD, EUS was performed again; a 19-G needle was used; a 0.025-in angle-type Jagwire was advanced into the fluid retention and expanded using a 7-Fr dilator; and then, a 6-Fr endoscopic nasoabscess drain (ENAD) tube was placed. On the 29th POD, CT showed that the fluid retention on the upper edge of the head of the pancreas had shrunk to a thickness of approximately 20 mm. On the 30th POD, the patient started eating. The ENAD tube was removed on the 38th POD. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 45th POD without any symptoms. EUS-guided transduodenal drainage is an effective treatment option for postoperative PF following surgery for CBD.