bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Black oesophagus, upside-down stomach and cameron lesions: cascade effects of a large hiatal hernia
Authors: Deliwala Smit Sunil , Hussain Murtaza S , Ponnapalli Anoosha , Bachuwa Ghassan , Gurvits Grigoriy E
Published: November 2021

Acute oesophageal necrosis, black oesophagus (BE) or Gurvits syndrome (GS) is a rare form of severe oesophagitis appearing as a striking circumferential discolouration of distal mucosa with various proximal extensions abruptly terminating at the gastro-oesophageal junction. It is most commonly associated with acute exacerbations of medical comorbidities, while associations with altered gut anatomy are rare. We present a unique constellation of BE, Cameron ulcers (CU), and gastric volvulus from a large paraesophageal hiatal hernia. Our patient recently recovered from COVID-19 and was malnourished and frail, while the expanding paraesophageal hiatal hernia turned into an acute organoaxial gastric volvulus with accompanying outlet obstruction. In low-flow post-COVID coagulopathic states, compensatory mechanisms may lack against gastric stunning and sudden massive reflux on the oesophagus. We additionally performed a systematic review and discovered additional cases with coexistent volvulus and paraesophageal hernia, although there are no previous reports of BE with CU, which makes this study the first.
Association between severity of COVID-19 symptoms and habitual food intake in adult outpatients
Authors: Salazar-Robles Elihud , Kalantar-Zadeh Kourosh , Badillo Humberto , Calderón-Juárez Martín , García-Bárcenas Cesar Alberto , Ledesma-Pérez Pedro Daniel , Lerma Abel , Lerma Claudia
Published: November 2021

Objective

To evaluate the association between habitual frequency of food intake of certain food groups during the COVID-19 pandemic and manifestations of COVID-19 symptoms in adult outpatients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Design

We included 236 patients who attended an outpatient clinic for suspected COVID-19 evaluation. Severity of symptoms, habitual food intake frequency, demographics and Bristol chart scores were obtained before diagnostic confirmation with real-time reverse transcriptase PCR using nasopharyngeal swab.

Results

The results of the COVID-19 diagnostic tests were positive for 103 patients (44%) and negative for 133 patients (56%). In the SARS-CoV-2-positive group, symptom severity scores had significant negative correlations with habitual intake frequency of specific food groups. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex and occupation confirmed that SARS-CoV-2-positive patients showed a significant negative association between having higher symptom severity and the habitual intake frequency of ‘legumes’ and ‘grains, bread and cereals’.

Conclusions

Increase in habitual frequency of intake of ‘legumes’, and ‘grains, bread and cereals’ food groups decreased overall symptom severity in patients with COVID-19. This study provides a framework for designing a protective diet during the COVID-19 pandemic and also establishes a hypothesis of using a diet-based intervention in the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which may be explored in future studies.
Effect of refrigeration on the collagen and texture characteristics of yak meat
Authors: Li Shengsheng , Zhang Yawei , Liu Shujie
Published: November 2021

To investigate the effect of refrigeration on the collagen and texture characteristics of yak meat, the changes in collagen content, solubility, shear force, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness of yak meat at 4 ± 1 °C were measured. The results showed that the contents and solubility of collagen in yak meat significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The myofibrillar fragmentation index of yak meat significantly increased (P < 0.05). The shear force, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness of yak meat significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis and histological structure analysis confirmed that myofibrillar fragmentation and collagen characteristics significantly affected the formation of yak meat texture during refrigeration. After 5 d of refrigerated storage, yak meat has a higher quality. The results provide a theoretical basis and data to support the deep processing and quality control of yak meat.
Effect of dietary folic acid and energy density on immune response, gut morphology, and oxidative status in blood and breast muscle of broiler chickens
Authors: Akinyemi Fisayo T. , Adewole Deborah I.
Published: November 2021

Folic acid (FA) plays essential roles in many metabolic functions and has been reported to have antioxidant effects. Therefore, dietary supplementation with high levels of FA may improve gut health and prevent potential oxidative stress caused by feeding a high energy density diet to broiler chickens. Broiler chickens were assigned into eight treatments, consisting of either a normal energy (NE) or high energy (HE) density diet, and four FA levels (2.2, 5, 10, and 15 ppm). Data were analyzed by SAS 16 GLM procedure. Birds-fed HE diets had increased (P < 0.05) plasma concentrations of calcium and albumin but reduced (P < 0.005) weights of ceca and bursa compared with those fed NE diets. Dietary supplementation with 10 ppm FA significantly increased (P < 0.05) birds’ heart weight and bile acid concentration. Folic acid and energy density interactions were significant for jejunal villus height (VH; P = 0.0226), villus width (VW; P < 0.0001), and crypt depth (CD; P = 0.0332). Among the NE group, birds fed 5–15 ppm FA had reduced (P < .0001) VW, while in the HE groups, 15 ppm FA supplementation resulted in an increased jejunal VH (P = 0.0317) compared with other treatments. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with increased levels of FA in HE diets could be beneficial for the intestinal health of broiler chickens.
The timing of spring warming shapes reproductive effort in a warm-water fish: the role of mismatches between hepatic and gonadal processes
Authors: Fernandes Timothy J. , Shuter Brian J. , Ihssen Peter E. , McMeans Bailey C.
Published: November 2021

Temperate zone winters are experiencing greater rates of warming relative to other seasons and latitudinal regions globally. Spring-spawning fishes native to northern environments rely on both increasing temperature and lengthening photoperiod to cue reproduction and may thus be particularly sensitive to rapid warming earlier in the year while day lengths remain short. We investigated the reproductive response of pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) to spring warming commencing at a range of day lengths (9–15 hours), corresponding to various calendar days (10 January – 22 May). In both the laboratory and field, both male and female fish that experienced early warming while day lengths were <11 hours (1) failed to initiate reproductive preparation in the liver before gonad development began and (2) had reduced reproductive allocation. Analysis of published data on temperate fishes suggested that liver development prior to gonad development is widespread across warm-, cool-, and cold-water thermal guilds, though the precise phenology of liver relative to gonad development appears to vary widely among species. Together, our results point toward dampened reproductive preparation as a novel mechanism mediating reduced reproductive output in both warm- and cool-water fish following earlier spring warming.
Krešimir Krnjević (1927–2021) and GABAergic inhibition: a lifetime dedication
Authors: Ben-Ari Yehezkel , Cherubini Enrico , Avoli Massimo
Published: November 2021

After over seven decades of neuroscience research, it is now well established that γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. In this paper dedicated to Krešimir Krnjević (1927–2021), a pioneer and leader in neuroscience, we briefly highlight the fundamental contributions he made in identifying GABA as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and our personal interactions with him. Of note, between 1972 and 1978 Dr. Krnjević was a highly reputed Chief Editor of the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology.
Accretion onto a quintessence contaminated rotating black hole: violating the lower limit for eta over s
Authors: Biswas Ritabrata , Biswas Promila , Roy Parthajit
Published: November 2021

Viscous accretion flow around a rotating supermassive black hole sitting in a quintessence tub is studied in this article. To introduce such a dark energy contaminated black hole’s gravitational force, a new pseudo-Newtonian potential is used. This pseudo-Newtonian force can be calculated if we know the distance from the black hole’s center, spin of the black hole and equation of state of the quintessence inside which the black hole is considered to lie. This force helps us to avoid complicated nonlinearity of general relativistic field equations. Transonic, viscous, continuous and Keplerian flow is assumed to take place. Fluid speed, sonic speed profile and specific angular momentum to Keplerian angular momentum ratio are found out for different values of spin parameter and quintessence parameter. Density variation is built and tallied with observations. Shear viscosity to entropy density ratio is constructed for our model and a comparison with theoretical lower limit is done.
The Polymatrix Gap Conjecture
Authors: Naumov Pavel , Simonelli Italo
Published: November 2021

This paper proposes a novel way to compare classes of strategic games based on their sets of pure Nash equilibria. This approach is then used to relate the classes of zero-sum games, polymatrix, and k-polymatrix games. This paper concludes with a conjecture that k-polymatrix games form an increasing chain of classes.
On weakly σ-semipermutable subgroups of finite groups
Authors: Amjid Venus , Hussain Muhammad Tanveer , Wu Zhenfeng
Published: November 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be some partition of the set of all primes [Formula: see text], G be a finite group and [Formula: see text]. A set [Formula: see text] of subgroups of [Formula: see text] is said to be a complete Hall [Formula: see text]-set of G if every non-identity member of [Formula: see text] is a Hall [Formula: see text]-subgroup of G for some i and [Formula: see text] contains exactly one Hall [Formula: see text]-subgroup of G for every [Formula: see text]. Let [Formula: see text] be a complete Hall [Formula: see text]-set of G. A subgroup A of G is said to be [Formula: see text]-semipermutable with respect to [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text] for all [Formula: see text] and all [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text]; [Formula: see text]-semipermutable in G if A is [Formula: see text]-semipermutable in G with respect to some complete Hall [Formula: see text]-set of G. We say that a subgroup H of G is weakly [Formula: see text]-semipermutable in G if there exists a [Formula: see text]-permutable subgroup [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] such that HT is [Formula: see text]-permutable in G and [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the subgroup of H generated by all those subgroups of H which are [Formula: see text]-semipermutable in G. In this paper, we study the structure of G under the condition that some subgroups of G are weakly [Formula: see text]-semipermutable in G.
Laser-Induced Plasma Atomic and Ionic Emission During Target Ablation
Authors: Abdalameer Nisreen Kh. , Mazhir Sabah N.
Published: November 2021

This paper investigates the spectroscopy of plasma that resulted from the bombardment of ZnSe by using the optical emission spectroscopic (OES) technique. The plasma can be generated by the reaction between an Nd:YAG laser, with a wavelength of 1064[Formula: see text]nm with a repeat rate of 6[Formula: see text]Hz (as well as 9[Formula: see text]ns pulse duration), and a solid target, where the density of the electron (ne), the temperature of the electron ([Formula: see text]), the frequency of the plasma ([Formula: see text]) and the Debye length ([Formula: see text]) as plasma parameters, in addition to the particles’ number of Debye ([Formula: see text]) and plasma parameter ([Formula: see text]) have been calculated by picking up the spectrum of plasma at different energies (100, 200, 300, 400, 500) mj using Selenium (Se), Zinc (Zn) and the mixture (ZnSe) at ([Formula: see text]). It is found that the electron temperatures of Zn and Se ranged between (0.257–0.267)[Formula: see text]eV and (1.036–1.055) eV, respectively, while that of ZnSe ranged between (1.15–1.28)[Formula: see text]eV. This indicates that the electron temperature of ZnSe is higher than the temperatures of each Zn and Se.
On approximation by random Lüroth expansions
Authors: Kalle Charlene , Maggioni Marta
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we employ a random dynamical systems approach to study generalized Lüroth series expansions of numbers in the unit interval. We prove that for each [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] Lebesgue almost all numbers in [Formula: see text] have uncountably many universal generalized Lüroth series expansions with digits less than or equal to [Formula: see text], so expansions in which each possible block of digits occurs. In particular this means that Lebesgue almost all [Formula: see text] have uncountably many universal generalized Lüroth series expansions using finitely many digits only. For [Formula: see text] we show that typically the speed of convergence to an irrational number [Formula: see text] of the corresponding sequence of Lüroth approximants is equal to that of the standard Lüroth approximants. For other rational values of [Formula: see text] we use stationary measures to study the typical speed of convergence of the approximants and the digit frequencies.
Smart Director: An Event-Driven Directing System for Live Broadcasting
Authors: Pan Yingwei , Chen Yue , Bao Qian , Zhang Ning , Yao Ting , Liu Jingen , Mei Tao
Published: November 2021

Live video broadcasting normally requires a multitude of skills and expertise with domain knowledge to enable multi-camera productions. As the number of cameras keeps increasing, directing a live sports broadcast has now become more complicated and challenging than ever before. The broadcast directors need to be much more concentrated, responsive, and knowledgeable, during the production. To relieve the directors from their intensive efforts, we develop an innovative automated sports broadcast directing system, called Smart Director, which aims at mimicking the typical human-in-the-loop broadcasting process to automatically create near-professional broadcasting programs in real-time by using a set of advanced multi-view video analysis algorithms. Inspired by the so-called “three-event” construction of sports broadcast [
14
], we build our system with an event-driven pipeline consisting of three consecutive novel components: (1) the
Multi-View Event Localization
to detect events by modeling multi-view correlations, (2) the
Multi-View Highlight Detection
to rank camera views by the visual importance for view selection, and (3) the
Auto-Broadcasting Scheduler
to control the production of broadcasting videos. To our best knowledge, our system is the first end-to-end automated directing system for multi-camera sports broadcasting, completely driven by the semantic understanding of sports events. It is also the first system to solve the novel problem of multi-view joint event detection by cross-view relation modeling. We conduct both objective and subjective evaluations on a real-world multi-camera soccer dataset, which demonstrate the quality of our auto-generated videos is comparable to that of the human-directed videos. Thanks to its faster response, our system is able to capture more fast-passing and short-duration events which are usually missed by human directors.
Fine-Grained Visual Textual Alignment for Cross-Modal Retrieval Using Transformer Encoders
Authors: Messina Nicola , Amato Giuseppe , Esuli Andrea , Falchi Fabrizio , Gennaro Claudio , Marchand-Maillet Stéphane
Published: November 2021

Despite the evolution of deep-learning-based visual-textual processing systems, precise multi-modal matching remains a challenging task. In this work, we tackle the task of cross-modal retrieval through image-sentence matching based on word-region alignments, using supervision only at the global image-sentence level. Specifically, we present a novel approach called
Transformer Encoder Reasoning and Alignment Network
(TERAN). TERAN enforces a fine-grained match between the underlying components of images and sentences (i.e., image regions and words, respectively) to preserve the informative richness of both modalities. TERAN obtains state-of-the-art results on the image retrieval task on both MS-COCO and Flickr30k datasets. Moreover, on MS-COCO, it also outperforms current approaches on the sentence retrieval task.

Focusing on scalable cross-modal information retrieval, TERAN is designed to keep the visual and textual data pipelines well separated. Cross-attention links invalidate any chance to separately extract visual and textual features needed for the online search and the offline indexing steps in large-scale retrieval systems. In this respect, TERAN merges the information from the two domains only during the final alignment phase, immediately before the loss computation. We argue that the fine-grained alignments produced by TERAN pave the way toward the research for effective and efficient methods for large-scale cross-modal information retrieval. We compare the effectiveness of our approach against relevant state-of-the-art methods. On the MS-COCO 1K test set, we obtain an improvement of 5.7% and 3.5% respectively on the image and the sentence retrieval tasks on the Recall@1 metric. The code used for the experiments is publicly available on GitHub at
https://github.com/mesnico/TERAN
.
Proving the Availability of Ni–Fe Anode for Electro-Reduction of Solid V2O3 in Molten Fluoride Salts
Authors: Kong Yapeng , Xiao Yu , Liang Xuemin , Chen Yuran , Wang Liqiang
Published: November 2021

The availability of casting Ni–Fe alloy as inert anode for direct electro-reduction of V2O3 in molten Na3AlF6-K3AlF6-AlF3 was investigated. The electrochemical oxidation behavior of anode as well as microstructural evolutions of formed oxide scale were systematically studied. The electrochemical characterization and reaction mechanism of the cathode oxide were also investigated to evaluate the influence of alloy anode on cathodic reduction process. The in situ formed three-layered oxide scale is compact and coherent, which is composed of an outermost Fe2O3 + FeAl2O4 skin layer, a Fe2O3 middle layer and a FeAl2O4 inner layer. The skin layer has a continuous, smooth structure and shows electrochemical activity. The Fe2O3 layer with a compact structure prevents inward diffusion of electrolyte and outward migration of metal cations. The innermost FeAl2O4 layer shows a loose structure and functions as a buffer layer to improve the peeling resistance of oxide scale. With the continuous extension of polarization time, the inner FeAl2O4 layer is slowly oxidized and becomes thinner, simultaneously, the dense Fe2O3 layer becomes thicker. Ultimately, metal vanadium product with fine rod-like particles can be obtained and the oxygen content in the metal vanadium is below 0.3 mass% within electrolyzing time of 2 h. The corresponding current efficiency is around 63%.
Identification of Mutator-Derived lncRNA Signatures of Genomic Instability for Promoting the Clinical Outcome in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Tang Xiaolong , Miao Yandong , Wang Jiangtao , Cai Teng , Yang Lixia , Mi Denghai
Published: November 2021

Background. Accumulating evidence proves that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) plays a crucial role in maintaining genomic instability. However, it is significantly absent from exploring genomic instability-associated lncRNAs and discovering their clinical significance. Objective. To identify crucial mutator-derived lncRNAs and construct a predictive model for prognosis and genomic instability in hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods. First, we constructed a mutator hypothesis-derived calculative framework through uniting the lncRNA expression level and somatic mutation number to screen for genomic instability-associated lncRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma. We then selected mutator-derived lncRNA from the genome instability-associated lncRNA by univariate Cox analysis and Lasso regression analysis. Next, we created a prognosis model with the mutator-derived lncRNA signature. Furthermore, we verified the vital role of the model in the prognosis and genomic instability of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Finally, we examined the potential relationship between the model and the mutation status of TP53. Results. In this study, we screened 88 genome instability-associated lncRNAs and built a prognosis model with four mutator-derived lncRNAs. Moreover, the model was an independent predictor of prognosis and an accurate indicator of genomic instability in hepatocellular carcinoma. Finally, the model could catch the TP53 mutation status, and the model was a more effective indicator than the mutation status of TP53 for hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Conclusion. This research adopted a reliable method to analyze the role of lncRNA in genomic instability. Besides, the prognostic model with four mutator-derived lncRNAs is an excellent new indicator of prognosis and genomic instability in hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, this finding may help clinicians develop therapeutic systems.
Experimental Study on the Transition between Static and Kinetic Frictions of Steel/Shale Pairs
Authors: Lian Qin , Yang Chunxu , Cao Jifei
Published: November 2021

The transition between static and kinetic frictions of steel/shale pairs has been studied. It was found that the coefficient of friction decreased exponentially from static to dynamic friction coefficient with increasing sliding displacement. The difference between static and dynamic friction coefficients and the critical distance Dc under the dry friction condition is much larger than that under the lubricated condition. The transition from static to dynamic friction coefficient is greatly affected by the normal load, quiescent time, and sliding velocity, especially the lubricating condition. Maintaining continuous lubrication of the contact area by the lubricant is crucial to reduce or eliminate the stick‐slip motion. The results provide an insight into the transition from static to dynamic friction of steel/shale pairs.
Maximize Expected Profits by Dynamic After‐Sales Service Investment Strategy Based on Word‐of‐Mouth Marketing in Social Network Shopping
Authors: Yu Ying , Liu Jiaomin , Ren Jiadong , Wang Qian , Xiao Cuiyi
Published: November 2021

This paper discusses how word‐of‐mouth marketing affects the profits of product sales in social network‐based shopping under good after‐sales service. First, a new word‐of‐mouth communication model based on silent evaluation, positive evaluation, and negative evaluation is proposed. Second, we use the way of increasing after‐sales service to achieve high praise and thereby maximize the expected profits. Thus, the proportion control problem of after‐sales service investment is modeled as an optimal control problem. Third, the existence of optimal control is proved, and an optimal control strategy for dynamic proportion of after‐sales service investment is proposed. Fourth, through data simulation of different real‐world networks, it is verified that the expected profits under the dynamic after‐sales service strategy is higher than that under any uniform control strategy. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed to explore how different parameters affect the expected profits.
Adaptive Localizing Region‐Based Level Set for Segmentation of Maxillary Sinus Based on Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Qi Xianglong , Zhong Jie , Cui Shengjia
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we propose a novel method, an adaptive localizing region‐based level set using convolutional neural network, for improving performance of maxillary sinus segmentation. The healthy sinus without lesion inside is easy for conventional algorithms. However, in practice, most of the cases are filled with lesions of great heterogeneity which lead to lower accuracy. Therefore, we provide a strategy to avoid active contour from being trapped into a nontarget area. First, features of lesion and maxillary sinus are studied using a convolutional neural network (CNN) with two convolutional and three fully connected layers in architecture. In addition, outputs of CNN are devised to evaluate possibilities of zero level set location close to lesion or not. Finally, the method estimates stable points on the contour by an interactive process. If it locates in the lesion, the point needs to be paid a certain speed compensation based on the value of possibility via CNN, assisting itself to escape from the local minima. If not, the point preserves current status till convergence. Capabilities of our method have been demonstrated on a dataset of 200 CT images with possible lesions. To illustrate the strength of our method, we evaluated it against state‐of‐the‐art methods, FLS and CRF‐FCN. For all cases, our method, as assessed by Dice similarity coefficients, performed significantly better compared with currently available methods and obtained a significant Dice improvement, 0.25 than FLS and 0.12 than CRF‐FCN, respectively, on an average.
Adaptive Current Protection Technology for Distribution Network with Distributed Power Sources Based on Local Information
Authors: Cui Shijie , Zeng Peng , Wang Zhongfeng , Zuo Yue
Published: November 2021

Because the distributed power supply is connected to the distribution network, its structure has also changed the original traditional method. The original single power supply method was originally used. The network provided is a radial network and it is connected to the distributed power supply. Later, it became a structure with small- and medium-sized power supplies inside, and its network power supply became dual or multiple power supplies. Such a structural change affected the coordination of power distribution protection devices, which would impose current on the distribution network. Protection has a negative impact. This paper aims to study the adaptive current protection technology of distribution network with distributed power based on local information. On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of distributed power, the classification of distributed power, and the operation mode of distributed power, according to the access of IIDG, as well as different influences of relay protection of distribution network, an improved protection scheme with adaptive current quick-break protection as the main protection is proposed, so that different fault characteristics of the distribution network have different setting values, and then simulation experiments are carried out on this scheme. The experimental results show that the setting value of three-phase short-circuit fault proposed in this paper can well protect the protection range, which is larger than the traditional protection setting and self-adaptive setting.
Supramolecular Assembly and Reversible Transition and of Chitosan Fluorescent Micelles by Noncovalent Modulation
Authors: Liu An , Song Hong , Jia Puyou , Lin Ying , Song Qingping , Gao Jiangang
Published: November 2021

Chitosan-based intelligent artificial systems have been of increasing interest for their biocompatibility, multifunctionality, biological activity, and low cost. Herein, we report the fabrication of supramolecular nanoparticles based on water-soluble chitosan (WCS) and 1,1

′

,1

″

,1

″
′

-(ethene-1,1,2,2-tetrayl)tetrakis(benzene-4,1-diyl) tetrakis(azanediyl)tetraacetic acid (TPE-(N-COOH)4), which is capable of reversible transition between polyion complexes (PICs) and hydrogen bonding complexes (HBCs) with tunable aggregation-induced emission driven by pH value. The PIC micelles could be formed via electrostatic interaction between ammonium cations and carboxylate anions under mild alkaline conditions. The formation of the micelles dramatically blocks the nonradiative pathway and enhances the fluorescence of TPE moieties, and the maximum fluorescence intensity was achieved near the isoelectric point due to the restriction of intramolecular motion. In addition, the fluorescence intensity and size of the PIC micelles exhibited a temperature response in the range from 20 to 80°C. Upon adjusting the solution pH to 2, the PIC micelles were reconstructed into hydrogen-bonding complexes while the hydrogen bonding interaction between the protonated carboxyl groups of TPE-(N-COOH)4 and chitosan. Moreover, the size of the micelles underwent a remarkable decrease, whereas the fluorescence emission was further enhanced by ~6.25-fold. The pH actuated micellar transition from PIC to HBC with tunable fluorescence performance is fully reversible. This study provides novel multifunctional materials that are of great importance for their potential application in the fields of optoelectronic devices and chemical and biomedical sensors.
Determinants of Intercity Air‐Passenger Flows in the “Belt and Road” Region
Authors: Zhang Lu , Zhao Yannan , Dessein Bart , De Maeyer Philippe
Published: November 2021

Air‐passenger flow, denoting intercity connections, has been a focal point of studies pertaining to urban networks. While most existing studies include only the geoeconomic characteristics of nodes as explanatory variables, this analysis developed a gravity model by incorporating further factors (e.g., cultural disparity and institutional disparity) that might influence air‐passenger flows in the “Belt and Road” region. The primary findings are as follows: (1) The cultural and institutional disparities correlate negatively with the air‐passenger flows in this region; (2) air‐passenger flows are positively related to border, population and economy size, and economic disparity; (3) flows tend to first increase and then subsequently decrease as geographical distance increases; (4) the impact of the factors on the flows varies by subregion. This study could serve as a reference for those interested in gaining a greater insight into air‐passenger flows and could also help improve regional strategies for air‐transportation development.
Investigating the Effect of Nonrigid Connectors on the Success of Tooth-and-Implant-Supported Fixed Partial Prostheses in Maxillary Anterior Region: A Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
Authors: Mosharraf Ramin , Molaei Paria , Fathi Amirhossein , Isler Sabire
Published: November 2021

Objective. This study was designed to assess the effect of nonrigid connectors (NRCs) and their location in the success of tooth-and-implant-supported fixed prostheses in the maxillary anterior region by finite element analysis (FEA). Materials and Methods. Three 3D FEA models were designed, presuming maxillary lateral incisor and canine to be extracted. Implant (replacing canine), abutment, bone (spongious and cortical), central incisor (containing dentin, root cement, gutta-percha, and casting post and core), periodontal ligament, and three three-unit cemented PFM prostheses (a rigid one and two nonrigid) were modeled. The NRC was once in the tooth side and once in the implant side. The prostheses were loaded twice: 250N to the incisal edges (0° to the long axis) and 200 N to the cingula (45° to the long axis). The von-Mises stress and vertical displacement were analyzed. Results. Under both vertical and oblique loadings, the rigid model presented the highest stress. Under vertical loading, the NRC caused a significant decrease in the applied stress to the prosthesis, bone, implant, and tooth. Locating the NRC in the tooth side decreased the applied stress to the prosthesis and NRC. Under oblique loading, prosthesis and implant tolerated less stress in the presence of an NRC. Placing the NRC in the tooth side resulted in the least stress in all of the components except for porcelain and patrix. Vertical displacement of the tooth apex was approximately equal in all models. Conclusion. Using an NRC on the tooth side is the most efficient method in reducing the applied stress to prosthesis, implant, tooth, and bone. The amount of intrusion is not dependent on using an NRC or not.
An Alarming Mimicry of Intra-Abdominal Infections: Acute Appendiceal Diverticulitis
Authors: Kim Youseung , Kesar Varun , Grider Douglas , Chitnavis Maithili V.
Published: November 2021

A 65-year-old woman presented with three days of colicky abdominal pain. Abdominal imaging illustrated small bowel enteritis, ascites in both paracolic gutters, and incidental hepatic steatosis. Although ascites fluid demonstrated high neutrophil count consistent with peritonitis and the patient received adequate antibiotics, she clinically deteriorated. Subsequent exploratory laparotomy revealed necrotic appendix and multiple intra-abdominal abscesses. Histopathology showed acute suppurative appendicitis with multiple other intact small diverticula, indicating likely perforation of inflamed appendiceal diverticula with subsequent abscess formation and abdominal peritonitis. This case highlights the importance of ascites fluid analysis and continued clinical correlation, especially in cases of rare entities with atypical presentations.
Dose Prediction Models Based on Geometric and Plan Optimization Parameter for Adjuvant Radiotherapy Planning Design in Cervical Cancer Radiotherapy
Authors: Tang Hui , Chen Yazheng , Jiang Jialiang , Li Kemin , Zeng Jing , Hu Zhenyao , Yin Rutie
Published: November 2021

The prediction of an additional space for the dose sparing of organs at risk (OAR) in radiotherapy is still difficult. In this pursuit, the present study was envisaged to find out the factors affecting the bladder and rectum dosimetry of cervical cancer. Additionally, the relationship between the dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters and the geometry and plan dose-volume optimization parameters of the bladder/rectum was established to develop the dose prediction models and guide the planning design for lower OARs dose coverage directly. Thirty volume modulated radiation therapy (VMAT) plans from cervical cancer patients were randomly chosen to build the dose prediction models. The target dose coverage was evaluated. Dose prediction models were established by univariate and multiple linear regression among the dosimetric parameters of the bladder/rectum, the geometry parameters (planning target volume (PTV), volume of bladder/rectum, overlap volume of bladder/rectum (OV), and overlapped volume as a percentage of bladder/rectum volume (OP)), and corresponding plan dose-volume optimization parameters of the nonoverlapping structures (the structure of bladder/rectum outside the PTV (NOS)). Finally, the accuracy of the prediction models was evaluated by tracking d = (predicted dose-actual dose)/actual in additional ten VMAT plans. V30, V35, and V40 of the bladder and rectum were found to be multiple linearly correlated with the relevant OP and corresponding dose-volume optimization parameters of NOS (regression R2 > 0.99,

P
<
0.001

). The variations of these models were less than 0.5% for bladder and rectum. Percentage of bladder and rectum within the PTV and the dose-volume optimization parameters of NOS could be used to predict the dose quantitatively. The parameters of NOS as a limited condition could be used in the plan optimization instead of limiting the dose and volume of the entire OAR traditionally, which made the plan optimization more unified and convenient and strengthened the plan quality and consistency.
The Durability of High‐Strength Concrete Containing Waste Tire Steel Fiber and Coal Fly Ash
Authors: Ali Babar , Yilmaz Erol , Tahir Ahmad Raza , Gamaoun Fehmi , El Ouni Mohamed Hechmi , Murtaza Rizvi Syed Muhammad
Published: November 2021

The demands for high‐strength concrete (HSC) have been increasing rapidly in the construction industry due to the requirements of thin and durable structural elements. HSC is highly brittle. Therefore, to augment its ductility behavior, expensive fibers are used. These negative drawbacks of HSC can be controlled by incorporating waste materials into its manufacturing instead of conventional ones. Therefore, this study assessed the performance of HSC produced with different quantities of waste tire steel fiber (WSF) and fly ash (FA). WSF was used at two doses, namely, 0.5% and 1%, by volume in HSC, with low‐to‐medium volumes of FA, that is, 10%–35%. The studied durability parameters included rapid chloride permeability (RCP) and chloride penetration depth (CPD) by immersion method (28 and 120 days) and acid attack resistance (AAR) (28 and 120 days). Various basic mechanical properties of HSC were also analyzed, such as compressive strength (fCM), modulus of elasticity (ECM), splitting‐tensile strength (fCTM), and modulus of rupture (fCRM). The results revealed that the damaging effect of WSF on the RCP resistance of HSC is probably due to the high conductivity of steel fibers. However, test results of CPD showed that WSF produced insignificant changes in chloride permeability of HSC. Furthermore, when made with FA, WSF‐reinforced HSC yielded very low chloride permeability. Both WSF and FA contributed to the improvement in the AAR of HSC. WSF was highly useful to tensile properties while it showed minor effects on compressive properties (fCM and ECM). Optimum ductility and durability can be achieved with HSC incorporating 1% WSF and 10%–15% FA.
Research on Pricing Decision of Direct Sales Green Supply Chain Based on Consumers’ Valuation
Authors: Ye Yong-Gang , Liu Xiao-Feng
Published: November 2021

Consumer’s valuation of merchandise is an important factor affecting consumer buying behavior. When the consumer’s valuation exceeds the price of product, the consumer generally makes a decision to purchase the product; conversely, when the consumer’s estimate is lower than the price of product, the consumer will usually refuse to buy the product. From the perspective of consumer product valuation, this study assumed that the consumer’s product valuation obeys a uniform distribution, and a novel consumer demand function was proposed. On this basis, we studied enterprises’ pricing decisions in the supply chain of green agricultural products and obtained the equilibrium prices and optimal profits of the enterprises in several different scenarios, including Vertical Nash game model (VNM), firm A Stackelberg game model (FASM), firm B Stackelberg game model (FBSM), and cooperative game model (CM). In addition, the influence of parameters, such as green level, green preference payment coefficient, and green cost on the optimal profit, was discussed based on game theory and numerical simulation analysis. It was found that equilibrium prices always existed in several different scenarios, and when consumer’s green preference payment coefficient was large enough, the optimal profit of firm B was greater than the optimal profit of firm A. Furthermore, in CM, the sum of optimal profit of firm A and optimal profit of firm B is maximum for four scenarios. Finally, in the three competitive scenarios, green level, green preference payment coefficient, and green cost, have a positive or negative effect on the optimal profits of firm A or firm B. The research conclusions of this study provided theoretical support for the decision-making of enterprises and related management departments.
[Retracted] Tourism Resource Evaluation and Countermeasures Based on Network Communication and TOPSIS Algorithm
Authors: Xie Weiguang , Ma Yunchi
Published: November 2021

Tourism resources are the basis of tourism activities. Affected by traditional values and the reusable characteristics of tourism resources, tourism resources have been regarded as worthless for a long time. In recent years, people have begun to establish correct values of tourism resources. However, due to the particularity of tourism resources, the issue of their value evaluation has been controversial. Value evaluation is value recognition or evaluative recognition. In order to develop a cost‐effective method to obtain tourism resource evaluation and countermeasures, this paper has done a research on tourism resource evaluation and countermeasures based on network communication and the TOPSIS algorithm. For this reason, we selected a tourist attraction to conduct survey experiments. During the experiment, network communication was used to realize the exchange and sharing of their information between different people through specific media. At the same time, the TOPSIS method is used in the selection of the plan, based on the calculation results of the combined weighted TOPSIS, and the SPSS is used for the principal component factor. The suggestion and the exact conditions of the local tourism resources are combined to establish a model of the tourism resource evaluation system in this place. The experimental results show that the relative importance of viewing value is prominent in the evaluation of tourism resource value. Its weight reaches 0.509, and its popularity weight is 0.257. The evaluation and countermeasures of tourism resources based on network communication and TOPSIS algorithm are effective.
Inherent Stability of Multibody Systems with Variable‐Stiffness Springs via Absolute Stability Theory
Authors: Hua Tianyang , Hu Yinlong
Published: November 2021

In this paper, the inherent stability problem for multibody systems with variable‐stiffness springs (VSSs) is studied. Since multibody systems with VSSs may consume energy during the variation of stiffness, the inherent stability is not always ensured. The motivation of this paper is to present sufficient conditions that ensure the inherent stability of multibody systems with VSSs. The absolute stability theory is adopted, and N‐degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) systems with VSSs are formulated as a Lur’e form. Furthermore, based on the circle criterion, sufficient conditions for the inherent stability of the systems are obtained. In order to verify these conditions, both frequency‐domain and time‐domain numerical simulations are conducted for several typical low‐DOF systems.
Coil Embolization for Coronary Artery Perforation: A Retrospective Analysis of 110 Patients
Authors: Hachinohe Daisuke , Kashima Yoshifumi , Okada Yuito , Kanno Daitaro , Kobayashi Ken , Kaneko Umihiko , Sugie Takuro , Tadano Yutaka , Watanabe Tomohiko , Shitan Hidemasa , Haraguchi Takuya , Morita Yusuke , Matsuna Nobuki , Horita Ryo , Tsujimoto Masanaga , Takeuchi Tsuyoshi , Sato Katsuhiko , Fujita Tsutomu
Published: November 2021

Objective. Coil embolization (CE) for coronary artery perforation (CAP) has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of myocardial damage and impact on cardiac function after CE for CAP. Methods. A total of 110 consecutive patients treated with CE for CAP were retrospectively identified. The degree of myocardial damage and impact on cardiac function were evaluated. Results. Forty-nine (44.5%) cases involved chronic total occlusions. A guidewire was the cause of perforation in 97 (88.2%) patients. The success rate of CE was 98.2%. Almost all patients were prescribed either antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulant medication or both. Patients with perforation types III and IV were found to be prone to creatinine kinase (CK) elevation and epicardial main vessel perforation, thereby causing myocardial damage. No changes were noted in the ejection fraction (EF) in patients with type V distal perforation and collateral channel perforation, while patients with perforation of the epicardial main vessel may show impaired cardiac function afterward. Conclusions. CE is safe and effective for treating CAP, especially when collateral channels and distal vessels are involved. Meanwhile, efforts should be taken to prevent CAP in epicardial main vessels since it may be difficult to treat with CS and cause myocardial damage when bailed out with CE leading to vessel sacrifice. We found that it was not necessary to change the anticoagulant regimen after CE owing to its ability to achieve robust hemostasis.
Design and Research of Intelligent Educational Administration Management System Based on Mobile Edge Computing Internet
Authors: Dai Lizhu , Wang Wenjiao , Zhou Yu
Published: November 2021

Educational administration management is the primary link in the teaching management of colleges and universities. Mobile edge computing can create a carrier-class service environment with high performance, low latency, and high bandwidth and accelerate the rapid download of various contents, services, and applications in the network, which greatly promotes the upgrade of the educational administration system. Using educational administration management system to manage educational administration can promote the teaching work of colleges and universities better. This paper aims to design and develop a set of educational management information systems, using mobile edge computing (MEC) technology to combine the IT service environment and cloud computing technology at the edge of the network to improve the computing and performance of the edge network. Storage capacity reduces network operation and service delivery delay, improves user service quality experience, and helps universities improve the efficiency of educational administration management. This paper first discusses the implementation mode and related technologies of educational administration management system, then discussing the demand analysis of each functional module of the system; in the nonfunctional demand analysis part, the system needs to meet the security and performance. According to the function modules included in the system, using the way of running interface screenshot, implementation code, and flowchart, the paper analyzes the realization process of the function module and also completes the function test of the function module, as well as the performance test of the whole system. The experimental results show that the rule 4 of teaching level evaluation data mining reveals that the support degree of excellent teaching effect is 18% and the confidence degree is 53% in the age of 50–60. Rule 5 shows that the degree of support is 16% and the degree of confidence is 52%. Rule 10 shows that the degree of support for excellent teaching effect is 22% and the confidence level is 71%. The high confidence level of backbone teachers aged 50–60 indicates that the old teachers are more experienced and popular with students, while the young teachers under 30 need to focus on training to help young teachers improve their professional level. From the above data, it can be seen that through the application of mobile edge technology the educational administration system is more efficient in processing and analyzing data in terms of teacher management and teaching level, which once again shows the impact of this network technology on the construction and development of educational administration systems highly feasible.
Digital Technology in Visceral Medicine: An Overview in Outpatient Care in Germany
Authors: Naumann Axel , Tappe Ulrich , Teufel Andreas
Published: November 2021

Background: Digital technology has become an integral part of healthcare and will revolutionize the practice of medicine. Although previously the administrative tasks were captured by digital technologies, now the communication channels with the patients are also being focused. For example, taking medical histories is now made possible by this new technology, information and explanatory forms can be sent digitally, and even face-to-face consultations are increasingly made possible by video consultations. Especially in the COVID pandemic, this form of contactless encounter has become a valuable enrichment of medical care. But also telemedical tasks such as teleconsultation or artificial intelligence in the context of adenoma detection are techniques that are conquering outpatient and inpatient visceral medical care. Summary: This article gives an overview of digital communication and possible uses of digital technologies in medical practices in Germany. Key Message: Medicine is renewing itself through digital techniques. The pace of change is rapid and unstoppable. Today’s medical progress is no longer conceivable without these techniques.