bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of Validity and Reliability of Garmin Activity Trackers
Authors: Evenson Kelly R. , Spade Camden L.
Published: March 2020

Purpose: A systematic review to summarize the validity and reliability of steps, distance, energy expenditure, speed, elevation, heart rate, and sleep assessed by Garmin activity trackers. Methods: Searches included studies published through December 31, 2018. Correlation coefficients (CC) were assessed as low (<0.60), moderate (0.60 to <0.75), good (0.75 to <0.90), or excellent (≥0.90). Mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) were assessed as acceptable at <5% in controlled conditions and <10% for free-living conditions. Results: Overall, 32 studies of adults documented validity. Four of these studies also documented reliability. The sample size ranged from 1–95 for validity and 4–31 for reliability testing. Step inter- and intra-reliability was good-to-excellent and speed intra-reliability was excellent. No other features were explored for reliability. Step validity, across 16 studies, generally indicated good-to-excellent CC and acceptable MAPE. Distance validity, tested in three studies, generally indicated poor CC and MAPE that exceeded acceptable limits, with both over and underestimation. Energy expenditure validity, across 12 studies, generally indicated wide variability in CC and MAPE that exceeded acceptable limits. Heart rate validity in five studies had low-to-excellent CC and all MAPE exceeded acceptable limits. Speed, elevation, and sleep validity were assessed in only one or two studies each; for sleep, the criterion relied on self-report rather than polysomnography. Conclusion: This systematic review of Garmin activity trackers among adults indicated higher validity of steps; few studies on speed, elevation, and sleep; and lower validity for distance, energy expenditure, and heart rate. Intra- and inter-device feature reliability needs further testing.
Validation of a Clinically Feasible Activity Monitor Which Measures Body Postures and Movements in Adults With Lower-Limb Amputation Who Wear a Prosthesis
Authors: van Rooij Willemijn M.J. , van den Berg-Emons H.J.G. , Horemans Herwin L.D. , Fanchamps Malou H.J. , de Laat Fred A. , Bussmann Johannes B.J.
Published: March 2020

Purpose: A simple single-unit activity monitor (Activ8), which is based on a tri-axial accelerometer, measures specific body postures and movements, and has potential for research and clinical practice to monitor and optimize physical behavior of people with chronic conditions. However, the validity of the Activ8 in people with lower-limb amputation is unknown. Studying validity in this specific group is needed because they often have postures and movements that differ from the normal population, and which might affect validity. Therefore our study aimed to validate the Activ8 to measure body postures and movements in people with a lower-limb amputation. Methods: Thirty people with a unilateral lower-limb amputation and who are able to walk with a prosthesis completed two activity protocols in a simulated home setting: one with basic activities (only one posture or movement) and one with functional activities from daily living. Outcomes of the Activ8 (used in thigh-fixed position and pocket position) were compared to outcomes of video observation (the reference method). Primary analyses focused on the agreement in duration of merged measures of physical activity (walking, running, cycling, standing) and sedentary behavior (lying/sitting) with the Activ8 used in thigh-fixed position. Additional analyses included the detection of specific types of physical activity, the effects of amputation level and cause, and the validity of the Activ8 in pocket position. Results: Overall percentage time differences between Activ8 (thigh-fixed position) and video observation for merged measures of physical activity and sedentary behavior outcomes were −2.7% and 2.3%, respectively. These percentages were −1.6% and 1.3% for the basic protocol, and −3.9% and 3.6% for the functional protocol, respectively. For specific postures and movements, differences were larger (ranging from −12.6% to 7.1%). Conclusion: The Activ8 activity monitor has acceptable validity to measure physical activity and sedentary behavior in people with a unilateral lower-limb amputation.
Reported and Device-Based Physical Activity By Race/Ethnic Groups in Young-Old Women
Authors: Stewart Andrea , Sternfeld Barbara , Lange-Maia Brittney S. , Ylitalo Kelly R. , Colvin Alicia , Karvonen-Gutierrez Carrie A. , Dugan Sheila A. , Green Robin R. , Pettee Gabriel Kelley
Published: March 2020

Purpose: To examine racial/ethnic differences in participant-reported and device-based estimates of sedentary and physical activity behaviors and correlations between measurement methods in midlife and young-old women. Methods: Data are from 1,257 Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation participants, aged 60–72 who agreed to participate in an accelerometer protocol and had valid wear time (46% White, 26% Black, 12% Chinese, 10% Japanese, 6% Hispanic). Measures from the Kaiser Physical Activity Scale (KPAS) and ActiGraph wGT3X-BT were summarized overall and by race/ethnic groups. Partial Spearman rank order correlation coefficients between the KPAS and accelerometer were computed overall and by race/ethnic groups. Fisher’s z transformation-derived confidence intervals were calculated to evaluate differences in observed correlations in the various race/ethnic groups, compared to White women. Results: Participants spent an average of 7.5 ± 2.1 h·d−1 in sedentary behaviors, 4.5 ± 1.1 h·d−1 and 2.3 ± 0.8 h·d−1 in low or high light intensity physical activity, respectively, and 56 ± 35 min·d−1 in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Time spent in each category differed by race/ethnic group. Overall, correlation coefficients comparing the KPAS domain-specific and total physical activity scores with accelerometry were low to moderate (range: 0.062–0.462), and few statistically significant differences in correlations were noted for race/ethnic groups, compared to White women. Conclusions: Study findings complement prior studies describing sedentary and physical activity behaviors using multi-methods in a diverse population of older women, and provide additional evidence on the convergent validity of the KPAS by race/ethnic groups.
Academic Achievement and Physical Activity: The Ideal Relationship to Promote a Healthier Lifestyle in Adolescents
Authors: Estrada-Tenorio Sergio , Julián José A. , Aibar Alberto , Martín-Albo José , Zaragoza Javier
Published: March 2020

Background: School environment provides several intervention opportunities for physical activity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between objectively assessed moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and academic achievement in adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 301 students aged between 13 and 15 years (46.51% boys), enrolled at 7 secondary schools in the city of Huesca (Spain). Participants wore accelerometers during a 7-day period, and their academic achievement was calculated from the average marks of all subjects. Structural equation modeling and quadratic regression analysis were performed to test both linear and nonlinear explanatory models. One-way analysis of variance was also performed to explore the effect of gender and the percentage of compliance with MVPA recommendations. Results: MVPA on weekdays and higher levels of body mass index were negatively associated with academic achievement. According to the curvilinear relationship, those students whose MVPA levels were closer to the daily recommendation were more likely to obtain higher academic achievement. However, a significant association was only shown in the case of boys. Conclusions: Adolescents who satisfy the international recommendations tend to obtain better academic achievement. Therefore, MVPA for adolescents should be prescribed within some beneficial time margins (50–70 min/d).
Infrared Thermography Protocol on Reducing the Incidence of Soccer Injuries
Authors: Gómez-Carmona Pedro , Fernández-Cuevas Ismael , Sillero-Quintana Manuel , Arnaiz-Lastras Javier , Navandar Archit
Published: March 2020

Context: Infrared thermography has been used to detect skeletal muscle overload and fatigue in athletes, but its use in injury prevention in professional soccer has not been studied to date. Objectives: To establish a novel injury prevention program based on infrared thermography and to determine its influence on the injury incidence in professional soccer players in the preseason. Design: A cross-sectional, prospective study design was used to compare a conventional injury prevention program (CPP) applied over the first preseason and an infrared thermography injury prevention program (IRTPP) carried out in the following preseason. Setting: Soccer training ground. Participants: Twenty-four players belonging to a first division soccer team from Spain. Main Outcome Measures: Injury incidences of each player were recorded according to the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (version 10.0) convention to determine the injury classification, location, and type. Results: The incidence of injuries decreased from 15 injuries in the CPP preseason (0.63 [0.77] injuries per player) to 6 injuries in the second preseason when the IRTPP was applied (0.25 [0.53] injuries per player). The days of absence due to injuries also decreased from the CPP preseason (156 d, 10.4 [11.0] d per injury) to the IRTPP preseason (14 d, 2.3 [2.8] d per injury). The injury severity also decreased from the first preseason to the second preseason, and fewer musculoskeletal injuries in the thigh, hip, and groin were reported. Conclusions: The implementation of an IRTPP can reduce the presence of injuries by identifying players potentially at risk and as a result, reducing the injury severity and days lost as a consequence.
Are Functional Movement Screen Tests Performed at the Right Time, if It Is an Injury Risk Predictor?
Authors: Kocak Umut Ziya , Unver Bayram
Published: March 2020

Context: Sports injuries are more common when players are fatigued and occur more frequently at the end of matches; therefore, determining the right time for employing an injury screening test is important. Objective: To determine the role of timing (prematch vs postmatch fatigue) on the functional movement screen (FMS) scores, a frequently used injury risk screening method. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Field. Participants: Twenty-four women soccer players from a professional team were included. Main Outcome Measures: The players were evaluated with a visual analog scale for perceived fatigue and with the FMS. Assessments were conducted before and after a 60-minute match. Results: The subtest scores for deep squat, hurdle line, in-line lunge, trunk stability push-up, and the total FMS scores showed a significant decrease following the match (P < .05). Compared with prematch, the number of players who could achieve the highest score of 3/3 postmatch was lower for all subtests except right shoulder mobility. Conclusions: Our results suggest a negative relationship between perceived fatigue level and performance on the deep squat, hurdle line, in-line lunge, and trunk stability push-up subtest scores and in the total FMS score. Therefore, the authors suggest that screening tests such as the FMS should be employed following a match when players present with fatigue.
Blind Leading the Sighted
Authors: Abdolrahmani Ali , Storer Kevin M. , Roy Antony Rishin Mukkath , Kuber Ravi , Branham Stacy M.
Published: March 2020

Voice-activated personal assistants (VAPAs) are becoming smaller, cheaper, and more accurate, such that they are now prevalent in homes (e.g., Amazon Echo, Sonos One) and on mobile devices (e.g., Google Assistant, Apple Siri) around the world. VAPAs offer considerable potential to individuals who are blind, offering efficiencies over gesture-based input on touchscreen devices. However, research is just beginning to reveal the ways in which these technologies are used by people who are blind. In the first of two studies, we interviewed 14 blind adults with experience of home and/or mobile-based VAPAs, surfacing myriad accessibility, usability, and privacy issues for this community. A second study analyzing podcast content from 28 episodes relating to blind interactions with VAPAs was then undertaken to validate and extend findings from the first study. In addition to verifying prior findings, we learned that blind users wanted to leverage VAPAs for more productivity-oriented tasks and increased efficiency over other interaction modalities. We conclude that (1) VAPAs need to support a greater variety of AI personas, each specializing in a specific type of task; (2) VAPAs need to maintain continuity of voice interaction for both usability and accessibility; and (3) blind VAPA users, and especially blind technology podcasters, are expert voice interface users who should be incorporated into design processes from the beginning. We argue that when the blind lead the sighted through voice interface design, both blind and sighted users can benefit.
Accessibility Information Needs in the Enterprise
Authors: Snider Sharon , Scott II Willie L. , Trewin Shari
Published: March 2020

We describe the questions asked about accessibility, both through information searches and direct queries, within a large multinational corporation over a period of two years, finding an emphasis on topics covering enterprise requirements for testing, recording, and reporting compliance. Our analysis finds that up to 66% of these questions may be answerable by an accessibility ontology, but only 26% of the terms in the questions are concepts found in existing available accessibility ontologies. To fill this gap, we introduce the Enterprise Accessibility Conformance Ontology, which extends previous ontologies to include the relevant concepts. We demonstrate the use of the ontology to provide a unifying model of the accessibility domain that contributed to a 22% performance improvement for a question-answering accessibility conformance chatbot.
Invested or Indebted
Authors: Li Hongfei , Shankar Ramesh , Stallaert Jan
Published: March 2020

Online communities that curate knowledge critically depend on high-quality contributions from anonymous expert users. Understanding users’ motivation to contribute knowledge helps practitioners design such websites for optimal user contribution and user benefits. Researchers have studied reciprocity as a motivation for users to share knowledge online. In this study, we focus on two different types of reciprocity as drivers of online contribution:
ex-post
and
ex-ante
reciprocity.
Ex-post
reciprocity refers to users who received help from others in the past and pay back by helping others at present. Using a quasi-experiment performed via the instrumental variable method as the identification strategy, we test whether users who received more answers last week answer more questions in the current week on StackOverflow.com. We find a significant positive relationship between
ex-post
reciprocity and knowledge contribution, and such a reciprocal motivation diminishes with time.
Ex-ante
reciprocity refers to people helping others in expectation of future help from others. Using data from StackOverflow.com, we take advantage of a natural experiment with a difference-in-differences analysis and find evidence supporting the existence of
ex-ante
reciprocity. This study offers a new taxonomy for reciprocity and new insights on how reciprocity drives online knowledge sharing.
Image Retrieval for Complex Queries Using Knowledge Embedding
Authors: Chaudhary Chandramani , Goyal Poonam , Goyal Navneet , Chen Yi-Ping Phoebe
Published: March 2020

With the increase in popularity of image-based applications, users are retrieving images using more sophisticated and complex queries. We present three types of complex queries, namely, long, ambiguous, and abstract. Each type of query has its own characteristics/complexities and thus leads to imprecise and incomplete image retrieval. Existing methods for image retrieval are unable to deal with the high complexity of such queries. Search engines need to integrate their image retrieval process with knowledge to obtain rich semantics for effective retrieval. We propose a framework, Image Retrieval using Knowledge Embedding (ImReKE), for embedding knowledge with images and queries, allowing retrieval approaches to understand the context of queries and images in a better way. ImReKE (IR_Approach, Knowledge_Base) takes two inputs, namely, an image retrieval approach and a knowledge base. It selects quality concepts (concepts that possess properties such as
rarity, newness
, etc.) from the knowledge base to provide rich semantic representations for queries and images to be leveraged by the image retrieval approach. For the first time, an effective knowledge base that exploits both the visual and textual information of concepts has been developed. Our extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed framework improves image retrieval significantly for all types of complex queries. The improvement is remarkable in the case of abstract queries, which have not yet been dealt with explicitly in the existing literature. We also compare the quality of our knowledge base with the existing text-based knowledge bases, such as ConceptNet, ImageNet, and the like.
Outline Extraction with Question-Specific Memory Cells
Authors: Yang Jingxuan , Cui Haotian , Li Si , Gao Sheng , Guo Jun , Lu Zhengdong
Published: March 2020

Outline extraction has been widely applied in online consultation to help experts quickly understand individual cases. Given a specific case described as unstructured plain text, outline extraction aims to make a summary for this case by answering a set of questions, which in fact is a new type of machine reading comprehension task. Inspired by a recently popular memory network, we propose a novel question-specific memory cell network (QSMCN) to extract information related to multiple questions on-the-fly as it reads texts. QSMCN constructs a specific memory cell for each question, which is sequentially expanded in recurrent neural network style. Each cell contains three specific vectors to first identify whether current input is related to corresponding question and then update question-specific case representation. We add a penalization term in the loss function to make extracted knowledge more reasonable and interpretable. To support this study, we construct a new outline extraction corpus, InjuryCase,
1
which is composed of 3,995 real Chinese occupational injury cases. Experimental results show that our method makes a significant improvement. We further apply the proposed framework on two multi-aspect extraction tasks and find that the proposed model also remarkably outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods of the aspect extraction task.
Load-balancing Sparse Matrix Vector Product Kernels on GPUs
Authors: Anzt Hartwig , Cojean Terry , Yen-Chen Chen , Dongarra Jack , Flegar Goran , Nayak Pratik , Tomov Stanimire , Tsai Yuhsiang M. , Wang Weichung
Published: March 2020

Efficient processing of Irregular Matrices on Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD)-type architectures is a persistent challenge. Resolving it requires innovations in the development of data formats, computational techniques, and implementations that strike a balance between thread divergence, which is inherent for Irregular Matrices, and padding, which alleviates the performance-detrimental thread divergence but introduces artificial overheads. To this end, in this article, we address the challenge of designing high performance sparse matrix-vector product (S
p
MV) kernels designed for Nvidia Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). We present a compressed sparse row (CSR) format suitable for unbalanced matrices. We also provide a load-balancing kernel for the coordinate (COO) matrix format and extend it to a hybrid algorithm that stores part of the matrix in SIMD-friendly Ellpack format (ELL) format. The ratio between the ELL- and the COO-part is determined using a theoretical analysis of the nonzeros-per-row distribution. For the over 2,800 test matrices available in the Suite Sparse matrix collection, we compare the performance against S
p
MV kernels provided by NVIDIA’s cuSPARSE library and a heavily-tuned sliced ELL (SELL-P) kernel that prevents unnecessary padding by considering the irregular matrices as a combination of matrix blocks stored in ELL format.
Research on the Disaster‐Inducing Mechanism of Coal‐Gas Outburst
Authors: Nie Fengxiang , Wang Honglei , Qiu Liming
Published: March 2020

In China, coal‐gas outburst is seriously affecting safety of the coal mine. To improve the safety status of underground coal mining, this work investigated the evolution process and occurrence mechanism of coal‐gas outburst under the coupling action of stress and gas. Results show that increasing either gas pressure or in‐situ stress can make coal destroy and destabilize, and the contribution of gas pressure to coal failure is twice that of in‐situ stress. In ultradeep coal mining, coal‐gas outburst may occur even under the condition of low gas pressure due to large in‐situ stress. Moreover, the larger the mining depth is, the lower the gas index is required for disaster occurrence. The results have certain guiding significance for coal energy mining and the control of coal‐gas outburst in deep coal mining.
Turing Instability and Amplitude Equation of Reaction-Diffusion System with Multivariable
Authors: Zheng Qianqian , Shen Jianwei
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we investigate pattern dynamics with multivariable by using the method of matrix analysis and obtain a condition under which the system loses stability and Turing bifurcation occurs. In addition, we also derive the amplitude equation with multivariable. This is an effective tool to investigate multivariate pattern dynamics. The example and simulation used in this paper validate our theoretical results. The method presented is a novel approach to the investigation of specific real systems based on the model developed in this paper.
HMMPred: Accurate Prediction of DNA-Binding Proteins Based on HMM Profiles and XGBoost Feature Selection
Authors: Sang Xiuzhi , Xiao Wanyue , Zheng Huiwen , Yang Yang , Liu Taigang
Published: March 2020

Prediction of DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) has become a popular research topic in protein science due to its crucial role in all aspects of biological activities. Even though considerable efforts have been devoted to developing powerful computational methods to solve this problem, it is still a challenging task in the field of bioinformatics. A hidden Markov model (HMM) profile has been proved to provide important clues for improving the prediction performance of DBPs. In this paper, we propose a method, called HMMPred, which extracts the features of amino acid composition and auto- and cross-covariance transformation from the HMM profiles, to help train a machine learning model for identification of DBPs. Then, a feature selection technique is performed based on the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm. Finally, the selected optimal features are fed into a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to predict DBPs. The experimental results tested on two benchmark datasets show that the proposed method is superior to most of the existing methods and could serve as an alternative tool to identify DBPs.
An Analysis of Complaints in Two Large Tertiary University Teaching Hospital ENT Departments: A Two-Year Retrospective Review
Authors: Bujoreanu Iulia , Hariri Ahmad , Acharya Vikas , Taghi Ali
Published: March 2020

Introduction. Complaints relating to patient care are known to correlate with surgical complication rates and malpractice lawsuits. In a continually evolving health service and on-going financial pressures, identifying current complaint themes could drive future improvements in healthcare delivery. Objective. The aim of this paper is to review and analyse complaints received by the ENT department of two large teaching hospitals in London in order to determine current trends and mitigate future challenges. Method. All complaints registered with the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) from the ENT Department at our institution were collected between June 2016 and August 2018. Demographic information was collated and complaints were analysed and interpreted as per a standardised coding taxonomy. Results. A total of 242 complaints were collected. Most (91.7%) were logged by patients themselves with a mean age of 48.3 (range 3–98 years). The majority were directed at the administrative team (52%) followed by management (23.5%) and then clinicians (16.9%). Administrative issues were the most common (50.1%) followed by clinical (25.1%) and relationship/communication (24.7%). The bulk of complaints focused on delays in access to services and treatment in the form of cancellations and long appointment waiting times (37%). Conclusion. There has been a significant shift in complaints themes from clinical issues to administrative issues. This may reflect increasing financial and staffing pressures in the NHS. Complaints analysis is key in quality improvement and a cross-specialty integrated filing system in concordance with the recently proposed taxonomy would ease future collection and analysis of data.
Multicentre Harmonisation of a Six-Colour Flow Cytometry Panel for Naïve/Memory T Cell Immunomonitoring
Authors: Macchia Iole , La Sorsa Valentina , Ruspantini Irene , Sanchez Massimo , Tirelli Valentina , Carollo Maria , Fedele Giorgio , Leone Pasqualina , Schiavoni Giovanna , Buccione Carla , Rizza Paola , Nisticò Paola , Palermo Belinda , Morrone Stefania , Stabile Helena , Rughetti Aurelia , Nuti Marianna , Zizzari Ilaria Grazia , Fionda Cinzia , Maggio Roberta , Capuano Cristina , Quintarelli Concetta , Sinibaldi Matilde , Agrati Chiara , Casetti Rita , Rozo Gonzalez Andrea , Iacobone Floriana , Gismondi Angela , Belardelli Filippo , Biffoni Mauro , Urbani Francesca
Published: March 2020

Background. Personalised medicine in oncology needs standardised immunological assays. Flow cytometry (FCM) methods represent an essential tool for immunomonitoring, and their harmonisation is crucial to obtain comparable data in multicentre clinical trials. The objective of this study was to design a harmonisation workflow able to address the most effective issues contributing to intra- and interoperator variabilities in a multicentre project. Methods. The Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS) managed a multiparametric flow cytometric panel harmonisation among thirteen operators belonging to five clinical and research centres of Lazio region (Italy). The panel was based on a backbone mixture of dried antibodies (anti-CD3, anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-CD45RA, and anti-CCR7) to detect naïve/memory T cells, recognised as potential prognostic/predictive immunological biomarkers in cancer immunotherapies. The coordinating centre distributed frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and fresh whole blood (WB) samples from healthy donors, reagents, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to participants who performed experiments by their own equipment, in order to mimic a real-life scenario. Operators returned raw and locally analysed data to ISS for central analysis and statistical elaboration. Results. Harmonised and reproducible results were obtained by sharing experimental set-up and procedures along with centralising data analysis, leading to a reduction of cross-centre variability for naïve/memory subset frequencies particularly in the whole blood setting. Conclusion. Our experimental and analytical working process proved to be suitable for the harmonisation of FCM assays in a multicentre setting, where high-quality data are required to evaluate potential immunological markers, which may contribute to select better therapeutic options.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Dental and Nondental Tissue Regeneration: A Review of an Unexploited Potential
Authors: Radwan Israa Ahmed , Rady Dina , Abbass Marwa M. S. , El Moshy Sara , AbuBakr Nermeen , Dörfer Christof E. , Fawzy El-Sayed Karim M.
Published: March 2020

Cell-based therapies currently represent the state of art for tissue regenerative treatment approaches for various diseases and disorders. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), reprogrammed from adult somatic cells, using vectors carrying definite transcription factors, have manifested a breakthrough in regenerative medicine, relying on their pluripotent nature and ease of generation in large amounts from various dental and nondental tissues. In addition to their potential applications in regenerative medicine and dentistry, iPSCs can also be used in disease modeling and drug testing for personalized medicine. The current review discusses various techniques for the production of iPSC-derived osteogenic and odontogenic progenitors, the therapeutic applications of iPSCs, and their regenerative potential in vivo and in vitro. Through the present review, we aim to explore the potential applications of iPSCs in dental and nondental tissue regeneration and to highlight different protocols used for the generation of different tissues and cell lines from iPSCs.
A Logical Framework of the Evidence Function Approximation Associated with Relevance Vector Machine
Authors: Zou Dawei , Tong Liang , Wang Jicheng , Fan Shoufang , Ji Jinxing
Published: March 2020

Relevance vector machine (RVM) is a Bayesian sparse kernel method for regression in statistical learning theory, which can avoid principal limitations of the support vector machine (SVM) and result in faster performance on test data while maintaining comparable generalization error. In this paper, we develop a logic framework of the evidence function approximation associated with RVM based on Taylor expansion instead of traditional technology called “completing the square.” While constructing the term of completing the square, we have to find the term of completing the square by making use of some skill, which in practice increases the difficulty in dealing with the evidence function approximation associated with RVM. The logical framework in this paper based on Taylor expansion shows some advantages compared with the conventional method of completing the square, which is easier to be enforced due to the clear logical framework and avoids the difficulty in looking for the term of completing the square intentionally. From symmetry of covariance in a multivariate Gaussian distribution and algebraic knowledge, we derive approximation and maximization of the evidence function associated with RVM, which is consistent with the previous result using the novel logical framework. Finally, we derive the EM algorithm for RVM, which is also consistent with the previous result except that we use the precision matrix as the covariance.
Study on the Drug Targets and Molecular Mechanisms of Rhizoma Curcumae in the Treatment of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Zhai Sijia , Huang Qiao , Liao Xingwei , Yin Shihua
Published: March 2020

Aim. To analyse the target of Rhizoma Curcumae in nasopharyngeal carcinoma by using network pharmacological techniques and to explore the associated molecular mechanism. Methods. The targets of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were retrieved from the GeneCards database. At the same time, the drug therapeutic targets of Rhizoma Curcumae were obtained from the TCMSP and SymMap databases. The data were imported into the STRING database and Cytoscape 3.7.1 to construct a network of “Chinese medicine component‐target‐disease” interactions; then, the intersection was screened as the core Rhizoma Curcumae antinasopharyngeal cancer targets. Through GO target function and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of the core targets, we predicted the biological processes and key signalling pathways involved in the Rhizoma Curcumae treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Results. Twenty‐five core targets of Rhizoma Curcumae in nasopharyngeal carcinoma were mined: TP53, BCL2 ICAM1 RXRA, TLR3 and TLR9, TNF, PTGS2, IL‐6, CTSD, MMP2, MMP9, MMP14, TIMP2, ABCC1, ABCB1, ABCG2, and so on. The results of visual analysis showed that the Rhizoma Curcumae treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma mainly involves leukocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cells, positive regulation of NF‐κB import into the nucleus, regulation of the reactive oxygen species biosynthetic and metabolic process, regulation of the chemokine biosynthetic and metabolic process, various cancer‐related signalling pathways, and a variety of cytokine signal transduction pathways, such as the NF‐κB, TLR, IL‐17, and TNF signalling pathways. Conclusion. The core targets predicted by our research can be used as molecular markers for the treatment and prediction of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The mechanism of Rhizoma Curcumae treatment in NPC may be related to immune regulatory pathways, the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis, as well as the regulation of tumour microenvironment. Combined with the prediction of its associated mechanism of action, the core targets can provide targeted reference value for subsequent drug development related to Curcuma.
Effect of Aqueous Extract and Polyphenol Fraction Derived from Thymus atlanticus Leaves on Acute Hyperlipidemia in the Syrian Golden Hamsters
Authors: Ramchoun Mhamed , Khouya Tarik , Harnafi Hicham , Amrani Souliman , Alem Chakib , Benlyas Mohamed , Kasbi Chadli Fatima , Nazih El-Hassane , Nguyen Patrick , Ouguerram Khadija
Published: March 2020

Thymus atlanticus, an endemic plant of Morocco, is traditionally used as a liniment or a drink to treat various diseases. However, there are few available scientific data regarding its biological effects. In this connection, the present study aimed to investigate the hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of aqueous extract and polyphenol fraction of Thymus atlanticus in Syrian golden hamsters treated with Triton WR‐1339 (triton, 20 mg/100 g body weight). The hamsters orally received the extracts (400 mg/kg), and blood samples were collected after 24 h of treatment to determine plasma lipid, insulin, and fasting blood glucose levels. Plasma malondialdehyde level and plasma total antioxidant (TAS) were also evaluated. The T. atlanticus extracts significantly decreased triglycerides, total cholesterol, VLDL‐C, and LDL‐C and increased HDL‐C when compared with the hyperlipidemic group. Both extracts suppressed the effect of the triton injection on TAS and reduced the level of plasma malondialdehyde. The extracts produced no significant change in the blood glucose level but effectively prevented the mild hyperinsulinemia induced by triton. These findings suggest that T. atlanticus may be a useful alternative treatment for the control of hyperlipidemia and its related diseases.
Housing Risk and Its Influence on House Price: An Expected Utility Approach
Authors: Wang Yehui , Liu Jianxu , Tang Yuxuan , Sriboonchitta Songsak
Published: March 2020

House price is affected by households’ expectation of future house price trend and volatility, where the expected volatility of housing capital return, indicated by variance, is defined as the housing market risk. Theoretically, risk element cannot be directly inserted in the standard housing models because most of the models are built on the underlying assumption of certainty. Extending the life-cycle model to a two-asset expected utility case with uncertainty, we show house price is affected by housing market risk premium, which is a function of households’ risk-aversion coefficient, real housing wealth, and expected housing volatility. Empirical analysis relying on China’s 2001–2018 provincial housing panel data supports the theoretical innovation. Despite the empirical results show that the effect of housing market risk on house price is tiny, simulations suggest that the consideration of risk is quite helpful in analyzing and predicting the long-run house price equilibriums.
β-Endorphin Mediates the Development and Instability of Atherosclerotic Plaques
Authors: Okano Taisuke , Sato Kengo , Shirai Remina , Seki Tomomi , Shibata Koichiro , Yamashita Tomoyuki , Koide Ayaka , Tezuka Hitomi , Mori Yusaku , Hirano Tsutomu , Watanabe Takuya
Published: March 2020

β-Endorphin, an endogenous opioid peptide, and itsμ-opioid receptor are expressed in brain, liver, and peripheral tissues.β-Endorphin induces endothelial dysfunction and is related to insulin resistance. We clarified the effects ofβ-endorphin on atherosclerosis. We assessed the effects ofβ-endorphin on the inflammatory response and monocyte adhesion in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), foam cell formation, and the inflammatory phenotype in THP-1 monocyte-derived macrophages, and migration and proliferation of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) in vitro. We also assessed the effects ofβ-endorphin on aortic lesions inApoe−/−mice in vivo. Theμ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) was expressed in THP-1 monocytes, macrophages, HASMCs, HUVECs, and human aortic endothelial cells.β-Endorphin significantly increased THP-1 monocyte adhesion to HUVECs and induced upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin via nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and p38 phosphorylation in HUVECs.β-Endorphin significantly increased HUVEC proliferation and enhanced oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced foam cell formation in macrophages.β-Endorphin also significantly shifted the macrophage phenotype to proinflammatory M1 rather than anti-inflammatory M2 via NF-κB phosphorylation during monocyte-macrophage differentiation and increased migration and apoptosis in association with c-jun-N-terminal kinase, p38, and NF-κB phosphorylation in HASMCs. Chronicβ-endorphin infusion intoApoe−/−mice significantly aggravated the development of aortic atherosclerotic lesions, with an increase in vascular inflammation and the intraplaque macrophage/smooth muscle cell ratio, an index of plaque instability. Our study provides the first evidence thatβ-endorphin contributes to the acceleration of the progression and instability of atheromatous plaques. Thus,μ-opioid receptor antagonists may be useful for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.
Clinical Case Series of Decrease in Shear Wave Elastography Values in Ten Diabetic Dyslipidemia Patients Having NAFLD with Saroglitazar 4 mg: An Indian Experience
Authors: Roy Sayak
Published: March 2020

Background. Diabetes and other metabolic abnormalities including high triglycerides (TGs) are commonly seen comorbid conditions in patients having nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). There is no approved pharmacotherapy for NAFLD, and life-style therapy plays a major role. Saroglitazar, the world’s first approved dual PPAR α/γ agonist, is approved in India for the treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia. The objective of this case series analysis was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of saroglitazar 4 mg once daily in reducing liver stiffness in patients having diabetic dyslipidemia associated NAFLD. Method. In this retrospective case series analysis, we identified 10 patients with diabetic dyslipidemia (type 2 diabetes and triglycerides >200 mg/dL at baseline) and NAFLD who were treated with saroglitazar 4 mg once daily and the follow-up data were available for 9 months after saroglitazar treatment. At baseline, all patients were on stable antidiabetic and statin therapy. Liver stiffness was measured by using 2D shear wave elastography at baseline and at 9-month follow-up. Results. At 9-month follow-up after saroglitazar treatment, significant improvement was observed in shear wave velocity (SWV) and serum transaminases levels. Serum TG level was significantly reduced after 9-month treatment with saroglitazar. No major adverse event was reported. Conclusion. In this case series of 10 patients with diabetic dyslipidemia and NAFLD, saroglitazar improved liver stiffness along with reduction observed in liver enzymes and TG values. Long-term randomized controlled clinical trial is required to further establish the safety and efficacy of saroglitazar in treatment of NAFLD.
Study on Crack Initiation and Propagation of New Corrosion Inhibitor during Stress Corrosion of Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Du Juan , Wei Zi-ming , Yang Xu-dong , Liu Qing-mao , Song Hai-peng , Hu Xue-lan , Li Xiang-yun
Published: March 2020

In this paper, a novel method combining electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and phase shift was used to systematically study the effect of corrosion inhibitor (sodium succinate, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, and new corrosion inhibitor, namely, bis [2-amino-3-(dodecyl dimethyl quaternary ammonium) propyl]-propylamine dichloro) on crack initiation and propagation of aluminum alloy during the slow strain rate tensile process. Using a variety of characterization methods to verify the feasibility of using the new method for in-situ prediction, Kramers–Kronig transformations have been used to validate the experimental data obtained with the EIS measurements. The corrosion inhibition mechanism of these three kinds of inhibitors in the SSRT process was analyzed.
Bivariate Mixture of Inverse Weibull Distribution: Properties and Estimation
Authors: AL-Moisheer A. S. , Alotaibi Refah Mohammed , Alomani Ghadah A. , Rezk H.
Published: March 2020

In this study, we construct a mixture of bivariate inverse Weibull distribution. We assumed that the parameters of two marginals have Bernoulli distributions. Several properties of the proposed model are obtained, such as probability marginal density function, probability marginal cumulative function, the product moment, the moment of the two variables x and y, the joint moment-generating function, and the correlation between x and y. The real dataset has been analyzed. We observed that the mixture bivariate inverse Weibull distribution provides a better fit than the other model.
Secular Trends of the Impact of Overweight and Obesity on Hypertension in Yi People: Yi Migrant Study, 1996–2015
Authors: Zhang Jia , Wan Shaoping , Dong Fen , Pan Li , Yihuo Wuli , Gong Haiying , Yang Fang , Li Zheng , Li Guoju , Wang Xiaoyang , Shan Guangliang
Published: March 2020

Background. Rising hypertension prevalence, coupled with increasing overweight and obesity rates, has been observed in Yi people. Moreover, the growing blood pressure level among Yi people was mostly attributable to the continuous increase of body mass index (BMI). However, little is known about the trend of association between them. Methods. Consequently, we investigated the impact of overweight/obesity on hypertension over three periods (1996, 2007-2008, 2015) using data from Yi Migrant Study (n = 8749). The Yi Migrant Study incorporated three successive cross-sectional studies which were implemented by the same team with consistent protocols. Results. Compared with period 1 (1996), the influence of overweight/obesity on hypertension risk significantly increased in period 2 (2007-2008) and period 3 (2015); relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was 1.59 (95% CI: 0.12, 3.05) and 1.41 (95% CI: 0.30, 2.78), respectively. Meanwhile, the overweight/obese population in period 3 did not show hypertension risk higher than that in period 2 (RERI = 0.15; 95% CI: −0.76, 1.07). Additionally, we observed a continuously growing trend of hypertension risk among normal weight Yi people. Conclusions. During the past two decades, there was a significant increase in the association between overweight/obesity and hypertension in Yi people, whereas the increasing trend has leveled off in more recent years. These findings suggest that overweight/obesity and hypertension are becoming more epidemic comorbidity over time. Interventions to prevent hypertension should focus not only on the overweight/obese population, but also on those with normal weight.
Analysis of Line Contact Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication with the Particles under Rough Contact Surface
Authors: Chen Keying , Zeng Liangcai , Chen Juan , Ding Xianzhong
Published: March 2020

A numerical solution for line contact elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) occurring on the rough surface of heterogeneous materials with a group of particles is presented in this study. The film thickness disturbance caused by particles and roughness is considered into the solution system, and the film pressure between the contact gap generated by the particles and the surface roughness is obtained through a unified Reynold equation system. The inclusions buried in the matrix are made equivalent to areas with the same material as that of the matrix through Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method and the roughness is characterized by related functions. The results present the effects of different rough topographies combined with the related parameters of the particles on the EHL performance, and the minimum film thickness distribution under different loads, running speeds, and initial viscosities are also investigated. The results show that the roughness morphology and the particles can affect the behavior of the EHL, the traction force on a square rough surface is smaller, and the soft particles have more advantages for improving the EHL performance.
A Comparison of Treatments and Outcomes for Medullary versus Nonmedullary Colon Cancer: A Single Institutional Experience Showing a Worse Prognosis for Stage 3 Disease
Authors: Gupta A. , Protyniak B. , Dove J. , Chu K. , Erchinger T. , Bannon J. , Oxenberg J.
Published: March 2020

Background. Prior studies have shown a better prognosis with medullary colon cancer (MCC) compared to nonmedullary colon carcinomas (NMC); however, data are inconsistent and lacking the evaluation of treatments received. As we did not see similar survival outcomes, we aimed to retrospectively examine survival and receipt of treatment differences between MCC and NMC within the Geisinger Health System. Methods. The Cancer Registry was retrospectively reviewed for MCC and NMC from 2006 to 2017. Demographics and treatments were compared using T-test and chi-squared analyses, also comparing MCC to poorly differentiated (PD) or undifferentiated (UD) NMC. Overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank tests. Results. 33 MCC and 1775 NMC patients were identified and 31 (93.9%) MCC and 1433 (87.0%) NMC underwent resection. MCC were older (p=0.0002), had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (p=0.013) and were more likely right sided (p=0.013). Seven patients (22.6%) with MCC vs. 149 (10.4%) NMC underwent resection of contiguous organs. Overall median survival was significantly worse for MCC as compared to NMC (19.6 vs. 60.5 months, p=0.0002). Only stage 3 patients had a significantly worse median survival when compared to PD/UD NMC (9.6 vs. 47.2 months, p<0.001). Contiguous organ resection and failure to receive chemotherapy were not found as contributing factors to decreased survival. Conclusion. Multiple previous studies showed a better prognosis for MCC compared to PD/UD NMC. We, however, found stage 3 patients had a worse prognosis which may be secondary to higher comorbidities, increased stage, and higher rate of UD.
Complete Regression of Giant Aneurysms in an Infant with Delayed Diagnosis and Refractory Kawasaki Disease via Combination Anticytokine Therapy: Case Report and Review of Similar Cases
Authors: Williams Maegan , Nagaraju Lakshmi , Gorelik Mark
Published: March 2020

Background. Kawasaki disease (KD) is an inflammatory vasculitis and is the most common cause of acquired childhood heart disease in developed countries. Current treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is often ineffective in patients with delayed or refractory disease. We present a case of combination anticytokine therapy in an infant with delayed and refractory KD. Case Presentation. A 3-month-old infant presented with refractory KD with giant aneurysms after a delayed diagnosis of one month. Use of combination anticytokine therapy led to resolution of giant aneurysms over approximately 6 months. Conclusions. Our case is unique in effective use of anticytokine therapy in very delayed disease with giant aneurysms. Additionally, we review other cases for a broader perspective. Prospective study of anticytokine therapy for patients with giant aneurysms may be warranted.