bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantification of von Willebrand factor and ADAMTS-13 after traumatic injury: a pilot study
Authors: MacArthur Taleen A , Goswami Julie , Moon Tasson Laurie , Tischer Alexander , Bailey Kent R , Spears Grant M , Dong Jing-Fei , Auton Matthew , Kozar Rosemary , Park Myung S
Published: April 2021

Background

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is an acute phase reactant synthesized in the megakaryocytes and endothelial cells. VWF forms ultra-large multimers (ULVWF) which are cleaved by the metalloprotease ADAMTS-13, preventing spontaneous VWF–platelet interaction. After trauma, ULVWF is released into circulation as part of the acute phase reaction. We hypothesized that trauma patients would have increased levels of VWF and decreased levels of ADAMTS-13 and that these patients would have accelerated thrombin generation.

Methods

We assessed plasma concentrations of VWF antigen and ADAMTS-13 antigen, the Rapid Enzyme Assays for Autoimmune Diseases (REAADS) activity of VWF, which measure exposure of the platelet-binding A1 domain, and thrombin generation kinetics in 50 samples from 30 trauma patients and an additional 21 samples from volunteers. Samples were analyzed at 0 to 2 hours and at 6 hours from the time of injury. Data are presented as median (IQR) and Kruskal-Wallis test was performed between trauma patients and volunteers at both time points.

Results

REAADS activity was greater in trauma patients than volunteers both at 0 to 2 hours (190.0 (132.0–264.0) vs. 92.0 (71.0–114.0), p<0.002) and at 6 hours (167.5 (108.0–312.5.0) vs. 92.0 (71.0–114.0), p<0.001). ADAMTS-13 antigen levels were also decreased in trauma patients both at 0 to 2 hours (0.84 (0.51–0.94) vs. 1.00 (0.89–1.09), p=0.010) and at 6 hours (0.653 (0.531–0.821) vs. 1.00 (0.89–1.09), p<0.001). Trauma patients had accelerated thrombin generation kinetics, with greater peak height and shorter time to peak than healthy volunteers at both time points.

Discussion

Trauma patients have increased exposure of the VWF A1 domain and decreased levels of ADAMTS-13 compared with healthy volunteers. This suggests that the VWF burst after trauma may exceed the proteolytic capacity of ADAMTS-13, allowing circulating ULVWF multimers to bind platelets, potentially contributing to trauma-induced coagulopathy.

Level of evidence

Prospective case cohort study.
Characteristics of the temporal behavior of quantum Fisher information and entanglement between radiation field and two atoms under atomic motion effect
Authors: Hilal E. , Alkhateeb S. , Khalil E. M. , Abdel-Khalek S. , Alotaibi Hammad , Almowalled Amjaad A.
Published: April 2021

The influence of time dependence on the model which consists of two qubits interacting with a two-mode electromagnetic field of the parametric amplifier type is investigated. The analytical solution of the wave function is obtained. The quantum Fisher information, entanglement and population inversion for a time-dependent system are analyzed. The photon statistics of a single-mode are quantified by the evolution of the Mandel parameter. Our results showed that there exists a positive relationship between the time-dependent parameter and entanglement. In other words, the time-dependent parameter due to the degree of entanglement is increased. Also, the quantum quantifier is strongly affected by the time-dependent coupling parameter in the absence and presence of the detuning parameter. This enables new parameters to control the degree of entanglement and quantum Fisher information, especially in quantum communication.
Well-Being of Entrepreneurs: The Thin Line between Work Engagement and Workaholism
Authors: Rauch Andreas
Published: April 2021

Theoretically, working excessively hard should be related negatively with well-being; however, the empirical literature does not consistently indicate that entrepreneurs are lower in well-being than people working in other jobs. The present article introduces a study of 101 entrepreneurs differentiating between different types of working hard: Workaholism and work engagement. While workaholism implies a work obsession, work engagement implies working hard in a fulfilling and positive way. Results indicate that workaholism is negatively and work engagement is positively related with well-being. Moreover, the negative relationships of workaholism are minimized by detaching from work during off-work hours.
The Effect of Simultaneous Interaction of the Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Leader’s Psychological Traits on the Performance of SMEs
Authors: Gaied Chiraz Ben Salem Ben , Zouaoui Mahmoud
Published: April 2021

This research work investigates the simultaneous interaction of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions of the firm with the leader’s psychological factors for a better explanation of SMEs’ performance. The universal and contingency approach are reductionist and do not allow us to achieve the research objective. So, to study the simultaneous interaction between a great number of variables, we are mobilizing for this purpose the configurational approach and particularly, the perspective of alignment (fit) as “configuration”. Indeed, we are pursuing a quantitative methodological approach and conducting a field survey through a research questionnaire distributed to 100 industrial Tunisian SMEs.

The results of this research reveal a taxonomy of four configurations of industrial Tunisian SMEs significantly different from each other and which have different effects on performance. The configurations are named, the “Leader”, the “Creative”, the “Ambitious” and the “Conservative”.
C∞− regularization of ODEs perturbed by noise
Authors: Harang Fabian Andsem , Perkowski Nicolas
Published: April 2021

We study ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with vector fields given by general Schwartz distributions, and we show that if we perturb such an equation by adding an “infinitely regularizing” path, then it has a unique solution and it induces an infinitely smooth flow of diffeomorphisms. We also introduce a criterion under which the sample paths of a Gaussian process are infinitely regularizing, and we present two processes which satisfy our criterion. The results are based on the path-wise space–time regularity properties of local times, and solutions are constructed using the approach of Catellier–Gubinelli based on nonlinear Young integrals.
ANALYSIS OF RS-FMRI IMAGES CLARIFIES BRAIN ALTERATIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
Authors: QIN DONGXUE , QIAN HAOTIAN , QI SHOULIANG , TENG YUEYANG , WU JIANLIN
Published: April 2021

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) increases the risk of cognitive impairment (CI); however, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are still not well understood. We propose to clarify the altered spontaneous brain activity and functional connectivity implicated in CI of T2DM by analyzing resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data. Totally 22 T2DM patients with cognitive impairment (T2DM-CI) and 31 T2DM patients with normal cognition (T2DM-NC) are included in this study. The whole brain amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) value, regional homogeneity (ReHo) value and functional connectivity (FC) analysis using posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) as a seed region are investigated through comparison between groups of T2DM-CI and T2DM-NC. It is found that, compared with T2DM-NC, T2DM-CI demonstrates the decreased ALFF in the regions of precuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus, middle occipital gyrus and left superior/middle frontal gyrus, but the increased ALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus. In T2DM-CI, ReHo decreases in bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, right precuneus, right inferior frontal gyrus, but increases in the middle frontal gyrus and right superior occipital gyrus. Higher FC between PCC and bilateral inferior parietal lobule and right middle/inferior frontal gyrus, lower FC between PCC and bilateral precuneus and right superior frontal gyrus are observed in T2DM-CI group. Compared with T2DM-NC, patients with T2DM-CI have presented altered ALFF, ReHo and FC in and between important brain regions. The observed alterations are thought to be implicated with cognitive impairment of T2DM as the potential imaging pathophysiological basis.
Linear Optimization in Uncertain Environment: Sensitivity of the Solution to the Belief Degree
Authors: Ghaffari-Hadigheh Alireza
Published: April 2021

Uncertainty theory has been initiated in 2007 by Liu, as an axiomatically developed notion, which considers the uncertainty on data as a belief degree on the domain expert’s opinion. Uncertain linear optimization is devised to model linear programs in an uncertain environment. In this paper, we investigate the relation between uncertain linear optimization and parametric programming. It is denoted that the problem can be converted to parametric linear optimization problem, at which belief degrees play the role of parameters, and parametric linear optimization with its rich literature provides insightful interpretations. In a point of view, a strictly complementary optimal solution of problem is known for the belief degree [Formula: see text], as well as the associated optimal partition. One may be interested in knowing the region of belief degrees (parameters) where this optimal partition remains invariant for all parameter values (belief degrees) in this region. We consider the linear optimization problem with uncertain rim data, i.e., the right-hand side and the objective function data. The known results in the literature are translated to the language of uncertainty theory, and managerial interpretations are provided. The methodology is illustrated via concrete examples.
Pricing Convertible Bond in Uncertain Financial Market
Authors: Zhang Zhiqiang , Wang Zhenfang , Chen Xiaowei
Published: April 2021

This paper is devoted to evaluating the convertible bonds within the framework of uncertainty theory. Under the assumption that the underlying stock price follows an uncertain differential equation driven by Liu process, the price formulas of convertible bonds and the callable convertible bonds are derived by using the method of uncertain calculus. Finally, two numerical examples are discussed.
Investigation of artifacts by mapping SAR in thermoacoustic imaging
Authors: Liang Xiao , Liu Qiang , Sun Zezhou , Qi Weizhi , Gong Yubin , Xi Lei
Published: April 2021

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging (MI-TAI) remains one of the focus of attention among biomedical imaging modalities over the last decade. However, the transmission and distribution of microwave inside bio-tissues are complicated, thus result in severe artifacts. In this study, to reveal the underlying mechanisms of artifacts, we deeply investigate the distribution of specific absorption rate (SAR) inside tissue-mimicking phantoms with varied morphological features using both mathematical simulations and corresponding experiments. Our simulated results, which are confirmed by the associated experimental results, show that the SAR distribution highly depends on the geometries of the imaging targets and the polarizing features of the microwave. In addition, we propose the potential mechanisms including Mie-scattering, Fabry-Perot-feature, small curvature effect to interpret the diffraction effect in different scenarios, which may provide basic guidance to predict and distinguish the artifacts for TAI in both fundamental and clinical studies.
Accelerating Deep Neuroevolution on Distributed FPGAs for Reinforcement Learning Problems
Authors: Asseman Alexis , Antoine Nicolas , Ozcan Ahmet S.
Published: April 2021

Reinforcement learning, augmented by the representational power of deep neural networks, has shown promising results on high-dimensional problems, such as game playing and robotic control. However, the sequential nature of these problems poses a fundamental challenge for computational efficiency. Recently, alternative approaches such as evolutionary strategies and deep neuroevolution demonstrated competitive results with faster training time on distributed CPU cores. Here we report record training times (running at about 1 million frames per second) for Atari 2600 games using deep neuroevolution implemented on distributed FPGAs. Combined hardware implementation of the game console, image preprocessing and the neural network in an optimized pipeline, multiplied with the system level parallelism enabled the acceleration. These results are the first application demonstration on the IBM Neural Computer, which is a custom designed system that consists of 432 Xilinx FPGAs interconnected in a 3D mesh network topology. In addition to high performance, experiments also showed improvement in accuracy for all games compared to the CPU implementation of the same algorithm.
Structural Influence of the Anode Materials towards Efficient Zn Deposition/Dissolution in Aqueous Zn-Iodide Flow Batteries
Authors: Chakraborty Monalisa , Murcia-López Sebastián , Morante Joan Ramón , Andreu Teresa
Published: April 2021

Zinc-iodide flow battery (ZIFB) is one of the best potential candidates for future grid-scale energy storage, due to its eye-catching features of benign, high energy density and non-corrosive nature. However major investigations have not done yet on the negative electrode of this battery where the Zn deposition/dissolution mechanism takes place, which may have an impact on the battery performance. Herein, we have reported a comparative study of different carbon-based anodes which are conventional graphite felt, carbon paper and graphite foil. Single-cell charge/discharge performances among these three different anodes depicts that the cell with planar, hydrophilic graphite foil anode is showing the best energy efficiency and the lowest cell resistance among the carbonaceous electrodes. Zinc dissolution process during discharge process seems to be the bottleneck for having a stable cell, which was corroborated by the use of a Zn foil anode that shows excellent efficiencies along the successive cycles.
Thermo-Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Modeling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Stress and Failure Evolution during Duty Cycle
Authors: Wu Yuhua , Xu Xinhai , Yan Zilin , Zhong Zheng
Published: April 2021

A comprehensive three-dimensional model for an assembled button solid oxide fuel cell is developed by coupling thermal-electrochemical and mechanical models. Different mechanical effects including residual strain, thermal strain, accelerated and normal creep, mechanical properties change of anode, as well as chemical expansion are considered. The mechanical response of the button cell subjected to an idealized duty cycle from the as-fabricated state, heating-up stage, reduction stage, to three operation periods of 800 °C, 700 °C, and 600 °C is numerically simulated. Simulations are based on and validated by the experimental polarization curves and residual stress curve. Results show that the sealant is susceptible to fracture at the as-fabricated state, while the cathode is likely to fail during heating-up stage. The accelerated creep effect during reduction significantly eliminates the tensile stress in the anode nevertheless leads to higher stress in the cathode and electrolyte. It indicates that the assumption of zero-stress temperature at the reduction point could cause an underestimation of stress in the cathode and electrolyte in the case of a constrained cell. The chemical expansion effect in the cathode is more prominent at higher operating temperatures. A minimum failure probability of the cell is found at 700 °C with consideration of chemical expansion.
Deletion of renal Nedd4-2 abolishes the effect of high sodium intake (HS) on Kir4.1, ENaC, and NCC and causes hypokalemia during high HS
Authors: Zhang Dan-Dan , Duan Xin-Peng , Xiao Yu , Wu Peng , Gao Zhong-Xiuzi , Wang Wen-Hui , Lin Dao-Hong
Published: April 2021

The present study suggests that Nedd4-2 is involved in mediating the inhibitory effect of high salt (HS) diet on Kir4.1/kir5.1 in the distal convoluted tubule, NaCl cotransporter function, and epithelial Na+ channel activity and that Nedd4-2 plays an essential role in maintaining K+ homeostasis in response to a long-term HS diet. This suggests the possibility that HS intake could lead to hypokalemia in subjects lacking proper Nedd4-2 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in aldosterone-sensitive distal nephron.
Comprehensive Risk Evaluation in the Long-Term Operation of Urban Subway Based on Multiple Indices
Authors: Zou Baoping , Sun Di , Mu Jundong , Xu Zhipeng
Published: April 2021

The reasonable risk evaluation in the long-term operation of urban subway systems is of importance to the public safety and maintenance work of the subway. At present, the risk assessment always depends on a specified single factor which might result in a biased risk result. In order to take more influential factors into account, the multiple indices system is developed for the total risk evaluation in this work. The proposed multiple indices system is established on the basis of the logical structure of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). It is based on the 7 selected factors in which the value of each factor is defined by its risk level and the corresponding weight is determined by the AHP calculation. The result obtained from the case study showed that the total risk levelgot from the proposed method is more reasonable than the traditional single index-based methods.
Boosting Breast Cancer Detection Using Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Alanazi Saad Awadh , Kamruzzaman M. M. , Islam Sarker Md Nazirul , Alruwaili Madallah , Alhwaiti Yousef , Alshammari Nasser , Siddiqi Muhammad Hameed
Published: April 2021

Breast cancer forms in breast cells and is considered as a very common type of cancer in women. Breast cancer is also a very life-threatening disease of women after lung cancer. A convolutional neural network (CNN) method is proposed in this study to boost the automatic identification of breast cancer by analyzing hostile ductal carcinoma tissue zones in whole-slide images (WSIs). The paper investigates the proposed system that uses various convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures to automatically detect breast cancer, comparing the results with those from machine learning (ML) algorithms. All architectures were guided by a big dataset of about 275,000, 50 × 50-pixel RGB image patches. Validation tests were done for quantitative results using the performance measures for every methodology. The proposed system is found to be successful, achieving results with 87% accuracy, which could reduce human mistakes in the diagnosis process. Moreover, our proposed system achieves accuracy higher than the 78% accuracy of machine learning (ML) algorithms. The proposed system therefore improves accuracy by 9% above results from machine learning (ML) algorithms.
Performance of Ultrasound in the Clinical Evaluation of Gout and Hyperuricemia
Authors: Cao Ling , Zhao Tianyi , Xie Chunmei , Zheng Shucong , Wan Weiguo , Zou Hejian , Zhu Xiaoxia
Published: April 2021

Objective. To evaluate monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition and related lesions in the joints of patients with gout and hyperuricemia (HUA) using ultrasound. To explore the association between ultrasound findings and clinical features in gout and HUA. Methods. A total of 202 patients with gout and 43 asymptomatic patients with HUA were included. The clinical data and ultrasonic assessment results were collected and statistically analyzed. Results. Deposition of MSU crystals was found in 25.58% (11/43) of patients with asymptomatic HUA and 76.24% (154/202) of patients with gout. Of the 1,082 joints from patients with gout examined, 33.09% (358/1082) displayed MSU crystal deposition. In the joints with MSU crystal deposition, 77.37% (277/358) had a history of attacks. Among the joints of gouty arthritis, double contour sign (DCS), hyperechoic aggregate (HAG), and tophi were found in 32.65% (159/487), 7.80% (38/487), and 24.64% (120/487) of the joints, respectively. DCS and tophi, but not HAG, increasingly appeared with the extension of gout duration. In patients with more than 15 years of gout history, DCS, Tophi, and HAG were found in 48.18%, 40.00%, and 6.36% of US assessed joints, respectively. In patients with gout, synovial lesion and bone erosion were found in 17.74% (192/1082) and 7.58% (82/1082) of joints, respectively. The synovial lesion was related to HAG, while bone erosion was related to tophi and DCS. Nephrolithiasis was detected in 20.30% (41/202) of patients with gout and 4.65% (2/43) of HUA patients, indicating that nephrolithiasis occurred in more patients with gout than in patients with HUA. Conclusion. HAG is an early performance of MSU crystal deposition in joints of gout and HUA. Both DCS and tophi are risk factors for bone erosion. Early urate-lowering therapy (ULT) should be considered in patients with gout, DCS, or tophi.
Characteristics of the Coal Fines Produced from Low-Rank Coal Reservoirs and Their Wettability and Settleability in the Binchang Area, South Ordos Basin, China
Authors: Chen Yue , Ma Zhuoyuan , Ma Dongmin , Zhang Zhicang , Li Weibo , Yang Fu , Ji Yusong , Peng Tao
Published: April 2021

By using proximate analysis, X-ray diffraction mineral analysis, scanning electron microscope, contact angle measurement, and settlement simulation experiment, the coal fines produced from the coalbed methane wells of Binchang area were used to study the characteristics including particle size distribution, composition, morphology, wettability, and settleability. The results show that the particle size of coal fines produced from coalbed methane wells are mainly >20 mesh, ranging of 1-400 μm, and the particle size distribution curve is mainly dominated by the main-secondary bimodal type, with the main peak of 30-300 μm. The particle size from large to small is drill cutting coal fines, flowback coal fines, bailing coal fines, and pipeline filter coal fines. In terms of ash content, coal fines are higher than coal seam, and drilling cuttings are higher than bailing coal fines, while the fixed carbon content of the former is lower than that of the latter. The minerals of coal fines are mainly kaolinite, illite, quartz, and other 6 minerals, and the mineral types of drilling coal fines are the most abundant, while the bailing coal fines only contain illite and quartz. The roundness of coal fine particles ranges from excellent to poor in the order of bailing coal fines, pipeline filter coal fines, flowback coal fines, and drilling cuttings. However, the sorting of drilling cuttings is excellent, and the particle edges are straight, neat, and smooth, while the sorting of bailing coal fines is poor, and the particle edges are curved, uneven, and rough. The contact angles of coal fines are 40.25°-69.5°, indicating hydrophilous. The wettability of bailing coal fines is better than that of drilling cuttings. The particle size has a negative correlation with the wettability effect. The more obvious the modification effect of positive wetting agent is, the worse the modification effect of negative wetting agent is. The modification of surfactant has nothing to do with the particle size of the coal fines, but is closely related to organic components and minerals. The larger the coal particle size, the higher the settling rate, and the higher the ash content and the lower the fixed carbon content, the faster the settling rate. With the dividing point 150 mesh, the settling rate of large particles is mainly affected by particle size, while that of small particles is affected by the composition.
System Dynamic Simulation of Online Customers for Cruise Travel: Based on the Customer Life Cycle Perspective
Authors: Jian Hou , Yuantao Jiang
Published: April 2021

Cruise tourism is an emerging tourism industry. Under the current online consumer market, expanding the number of online customers is an important consideration for the sound development of cruise tourism, starting from the reality of cruise travel, integrating life cycle theory, demand theory, and network consumption behavior theory, defining the evolution model of customer life cycle, using system dynamics for simulation analysis to discover the dynamic changes in the number of cruise travel online customers in different life periods. The analysis of the simulation results found that at different stages of the life cycle evolution of cruise travel network customers, travel demand is comprehensively affected by various factors such as basic needs, novelty, offline experience, Internet word‐of‐mouth, and information quality. The number of potential customers first accelerates and then declines. The trend is flat, the number of waiting customers is normally distributed over time, and the number of existing customers and lost customers tends to stabilize after an accelerated increase. The simulation results with word‐of‐mouth factor as the test function show that the model has good robustness and sensitivity. The number of waiting customers is sensitive to changes in word‐of‐mouth impact factors, and the number of existing customers has not increased significantly. Finally, summarize the development strategies of cruise tourism from the perspective of life cycle: increase the promotion of cruise tourism network and expand the range of potential customers, highlight the characteristic orientation of cruise tourism differentiation, induce waiting for customers to pay online, improve the quality of cruise tourism experience and maintain existing customer loyalty, and optimize the quality of travel information on the online platform to attract lost customers to turn back.
Driving Safety Analysis Using Grid‐Based Water‐Filled Rut Depth Distribution
Authors: Yan Jiao , Zhang Hongwei , Hui Bing
Published: April 2021

The water accumulated in the rutted road sections poses a threat to the safety of vehicles. Water‐filled ruts will cause partial or complete loss of the friction between tires and the road surface, leading to driving safety hazards such as hydroplaning and sliding. At present, the maximum water depth of left and right ruts is mostly adopted to analyze the safety of water‐filled ruts, ignoring the uneven change of ruts in the driving direction and the cross‐section direction, which cannot fully reflect the actual impact of asymmetric or uneven longitudinal ruts on the vehicle. In order to explore the impact of water‐filled ruts on driving safety, a three‐dimensional (3D) tire‐road finite element model is established in this paper to calculate the adhesion coefficient between the tire and the road surface. Moreover, a model of the 3D water‐filled rut‐adhesion coefficient vehicle is established and simulated by the dynamics software CarSim. In addition, the influence of the water depth difference between the left and right ruts on the driving safety is quantitatively analyzed, and a safety prediction model for the water‐filled rut is established. The results of the case study show that (1) the length of dangerous road sections based on vehicle skidding is longer than that based on hydroplaning, and the length of dangerous road sections based on hydroplaning is underestimated by 9.4%–100%; (2) as the vehicle speed drops from 120 km/h to 80 km/h, the length of dangerous road sections obtained based on vehicle sliding analysis is reduced by 93.8%. Therefore, in order to ensure driving safety, the speed limit is controlled within 80 km/h to ensure that the vehicle will not skid. The proposed method provides a good foundation for the vehicles to actively respond to the situation of the water‐filled road section.
Application of Data Mining in the Analysis of Martial Arts Athlete Competition Skills and Tactics
Authors: Tao Lingrong
Published: April 2021

In martial arts, data mining technologies are used to describe and analyze the moves of athletes and changes in the process and sequences. Martial arts is a process in which athletes use all kinds of strengths and actions to make offensive and defensive changes according to the tactics of opponents. One such martial arts is Wushu arts as it has a long history in reference to Chinese martial arts. During the Wushu competition, Wushu athletes show their adaptability and technical level in complex, random, and nonlinear competitive abilities, organized and systematic skills, tactics, and position movement. Using data mining techniques, in-depth mining a particular type of martial arts competition technology and tactics behind statistical data, and using the data to find the law of change to solve some problems, for martial arts athletes in daily training to develop technology and tactics and improve competition results, is the practical significance of data mining in martial arts athletes competition. This research explored the relationship between goal-oriented and mental intensity and their effect on competitive success outcomes.
On a Sum Involving the Sum-of-Divisors Function
Authors: Zhao Feng , Wu Jie
Published: April 2021

Let

σ

n

be the sum of all divisors of

n

and let

t

be the integral part of

t

. In this paper, we shall prove that

∑

n
≤
x

σ

x
/
n

=

π

2

/
6

x
 
 
log
 
 
x
+
O

x

log
 
 
x

2
/
3

log

2

 
 
x

4
/
3

for

x
⟶
∞

, and that the error term of this asymptotic formula is

Ω

x

.
Neural Reversible Steganography with Long Short-Term Memory
Authors: Chang Ching-Chun
Published: April 2021

Deep learning has brought about a phenomenal paradigm shift in digital steganography. However, there is as yet no consensus on the use of deep neural networks in reversible steganography, a class of steganographic methods that permits the distortion caused by message embedding to be removed. The underdevelopment of the field of reversible steganography with deep learning can be attributed to the perception that perfect reversal of steganographic distortion seems scarcely achievable, due to the lack of transparency and interpretability of neural networks. Rather than employing neural networks in the coding module of a reversible steganographic scheme, we instead apply them to an analytics module that exploits data redundancy to maximise steganographic capacity. State-of-the-art reversible steganographic schemes for digital images are based primarily on a histogram-shifting method in which the analytics module is often modelled as a pixel intensity predictor. In this paper, we propose to refine the prior estimation from a conventional linear predictor through a neural network model. The refinement can be to some extent viewed as a low-level vision task (e.g., noise reduction and super-resolution imaging). In this way, we explore a leading-edge neuroscience-inspired low-level vision model based on long short-term memory with a brief discussion of its biological plausibility. Experimental results demonstrated a significant boost contributed by the neural network model in terms of prediction accuracy and steganographic rate-distortion performance.
Image Data Security Mechanism Based on the Internet of Things Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Information Management System Research and Design
Authors: Zhang Ping
Published: April 2021

With the development of science and technology, more and more operations are performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. During such operations, a lot of relevant imaging data need to be retained. These imaging data can be used for clinical and scientific research and teaching applications, but imaging data security has also become an increasingly important issue. This article is based on the Internet of Things cardiac catheterization laboratory information management system image data security mechanism system research. First of all, this article adopts the literature method to study the application research of the Internet of Things technology in the medical field, as well as the relevant medical imaging data security technology methods. Then, the medical image data security mechanism was designed, and the image data security model of the cardiac catheterization laboratory information management system based on the Internet of Things was established. Finally, the application of decentralized management of the Internet of Things RFID technology on medical equipment and the security of the application of this technology on medical imaging data are analyzed, and finally a conclusion is drawn. The image data security mechanism established in this article is based on the Internet of Things technology. The security rate of image information data reaches more than 95%, the information data security level reaches level 1, and the average data missing rate is only 4.7%. It is a brand-new breakthrough, hoping to further improve the efficiency of hospital information management and protect the safety of medical information.
Predicting Individual Survival after Curative Esophagectomy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Esophageal
Authors: Zhao Zhiyong , Huang Xiaolong , Gu Ting , Chen Zhu , Gan Limin , Zhu Biao , Wu Ning
Published: April 2021

Background. Esophageal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite the significant progress in the overall treatment of esophageal cancer in recent years, the prognosis for patients who require surgery remains poor. Methods. The present study investigated the clinicopathological features of 503 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy at Huashan Hospital of Fudan University between January 2005 and January 2015. Nomograms that predicted the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) survival rates were established using the Cox proportional hazard regression model. Discrimination and calibration, which were calculated after bootstrapping, were used as a measure of accuracy. Results. Multivariate analyses were used to select five independent prognostic variables and build the nomogram. These variables were pathological T stage, pathological N factor, rate of positive LNs, history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and postoperative sepsis. The nomogram was built to predict the rates for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The concordance index for the nomogram prediction for OS and DFS was 0.720 and 0.707, respectively. Compared to the conventional TNM staging system, the nomogram had better predictive accuracy for survival (OS 0.720 vs. 0.672,

P
<
0.001

; DFS 0.707 vs. 0.667;

P
<
0.001

). Conclusions. The present study incorporated pathological T stage, pathological N factor, rate of positive LNs, history of COPD, and postoperative sepsis into a nomogram to predict the OS and DFS of ESCC patients. This practical system may help clinicians in both decision-making and clinical study design. The assessment of lung function for patients with COPD preoperative, and the control of disease progression are needed. Furthermore, the postoperative infection of patients should be controlled. Further studies may help to extend the validation of this method and improve the model through parameter optimization.
Handgrip Strength and Vitamin D as Predictors of Liver Fibrosis and Malnutrition in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients
Authors: Gabr Sami A. , Alghadir Ahmad H.
Published: April 2021

Background. In patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), a negative impact of associated malnutrition on both morbidity and mortality was reported. We aimed to elucidate the efficacy of serum liver fibrosis markers (fibronectin (FN), hydroxyproline (Hyp), and hyaluronic acid (HA)) and their respective indices (HA index, Hyp index, and FN index) and vitamin D status in predicting malnutrition associated with liver fibrosis in CHC patients and to investigate their association with the value of current clinical malnutrition assessment tools subjective global assessment (SGA), handgrip strength (HGS), and muscle mass scores (SGA, BMI, MAMC, and HGS). Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 patients aged 40-60 years with proven viremia, HCV antibodies, HCV-RNA positivity, genotype determinations, and established chronic hepatitis C virus for more than 6 years and 80 control subjects. SGA, HGS, and muscle mass score (MAMC) were estimated in both patients and control subjects. Based on SGA scores, CHC patients were classified into three groups: well nourished (

n
=
12

; SGA-A); mild or moderately malnourished (

n
=
25

; SGA-B); and severely malnourished (

n
=
43

; SGA-C). Liver fibrosis markers, inflammatory indicator α-Fetoprotein (AFP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and PTH were estimated using immunoassay techniques. Results. CHC patients with moderate and severe malnutrition SGA scores showed a significant decline in the levels of vitamin D, increased PTH, and lower values of HGS and muscle mass indices compared to well-nourished patients and control subjects. In addition, malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, and lower values of HGS, MAC, TSF, and MAMC showed significant correlation with liver severity among CHC patients. Liver fibrosis markers Hyp, HA, FN, APRI, HypI, HAI, and FNI as noninvasive biomarkers showed significant correlation with both severity of liver diseases and associated malnutrition, especially in cirrhotic HCV patients (F4) compared to those with significant fibrosis (F2–F3). Conclusion. The results showed that deficiency in vitamin D levels, HGS, SGA, and muscle mass scores (MAC, MAMC, or TSF) could be used as markers of liver pathogenicity in patients with CHC. In addition, the study concluded that noninvasive biomarkers Hyp, HA, FN, APRI, HypI, HAI, and FNI separately or in association with vitamin D status, HGS, SGA, and muscle mass scores (MAC, MAMC, or TSF) were significantly associated with an incidence of malnutrition between ~70.5% and 89.6% of CHC patients with significant fibrosis and cirrhosis.
The Clinical Practice and Best Aerosol Delivery Location in Intubated and Mechanically Ventilated Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Zhang Chuanlin , Mi Jie , Zhang Zeju , Wang Xueqin , Zhu Yunxiao , Luo Xinyi , Gan Ruiying , Chen Xiaoya , Zou Yujun
Published: April 2021

This randomized clinical trial (RCT) is aimed at exploring the best nebulizer position for aerosol delivery within the mechanical ventilation (MV) circuitry. This study enrolled 75 intubated and MV patients with respiratory failure and randomly divided them into three groups. The nebulizer position of patients in group A was between the tracheal tube and Y‐piece. For group B, the nebulizer was placed at the inspiratory limb near the ventilator water cup (80 cm away from the Y‐piece). For group C, the nebulizer was placed between the ventilator inlet and the heated humidifier. An indirect competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure salbutamol drug concentrations in serum and urine. The serum and urine salbutamol concentrations of the three groups were the highest in group B, followed by group C, and the lowest in group A. Serum and urine salbutamol concentrations significantly differed among the three groups (P < 0.05). It was found that the drug was statistically significant between group differences for groups B and A (P = 0.001; P = 0.002, respectively) for both serum and urine salbutamol concentrations. There were no significant differences observed among the other groups. It was found that the drug concentrations were the highest when the nebulizer was placed 80 cm away from the Y‐piece, while the location between the tracheal tube and the Y‐piece with the higher frequency of nebulizer placement was the location with the lowest drug concentration.
Mild Gait Impairment and Its Potential Diagnostic Value in Patients with Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Wu Zhuang , Jiang Xu , Zhong Min , Shen Bo , Zhu Jun , Pan Yang , Dong Jingde , Xu Pingyi , Zhang Wenbin , Yan Jun , Zhang Li
Published: April 2021

Background and Purpose. Patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) have gait impairments, and gait parameters may act as diagnostic biomarkers. We aimed to (1) comprehensively quantify gait impairments in early-stage PD and (2) evaluate the diagnostic value of gait parameters for early-stage PD. Methods. 32 patients with early-stage PD and 30 healthy control subjects (HC) were enrolled. All participants completed the instrumented stand and walk test, and gait data was collected using wearable sensors. Results. We observed increased variability of stride length (SL) (

P
<
0.001

), stance phase time (StPT) (

P
=
0.004

), and swing phase time (SwPT) (

P
=
0.011

) in PD. There were decreased heel strike (HS) (

P
=
0.001

), range of motion of knee (

P
=
0.036

), and hip joints (

P
<
0.001

) in PD. In symmetry analysis, no difference was found in any of the assessed gait parameters between HC and PD. Only total steps (

AUC
=
0.763

,

P
<
0.001

), SL (

AUC
=
0.701

,

P
=
0.007

), SL variability (

AUC
=
0.769

,

P
<
0.001

), StPT variability (

AUC
=
0.712

,

P
=
0.004

), and SwPT variability (

AUC
=
0.688

,

P
=
0.011

) had potential diagnostic value. When these five gait parameters were combined, the predictive power was found to increase, with the highest AUC of 0.802 (

P
<
0.001

). Conclusions. Patients with early-stage PD presented increased variability but still symmetrical gait pattern. Some specific gait parameters can be applied to diagnose early-stage PD which may increase diagnosis accuracy. Our findings are helpful to improve patient’s quality of life.
Graph Evaluation and Review Technique for Emergency Logistics Distribution in Complex Environment
Authors: Lu Lin , Yang Liguo , Luo Xiaochun
Published: April 2021

Emergency logistics is one of the important measures to solve the unconventional sudden disaster. The research on the distribution design of emergency logistics project has an important supporting role for the whole emergency rescue system. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and plan the emergency logistics project scientifically in order to better serve the emergency rescue system. In view of the defect that the current emergency logistics model cannot completely describe the whole emergency logistics process, this paper proposes a new emergency logistics distribution model by using GERT random network. From the perspective of system, this model fully considers the possible situation in the process of emergency material transportation and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures, so as to improve the transportation efficiency of rescue materials in the actual disaster relief activities to speed up disaster relief. Based on the properties of moment generating function and the calculation method of Mason formula, this paper fully considers the success probability, risk probability, delivery time, and other factors of the distribution route and puts forward the transshipment scheme of each logistics site to the disaster sites. After that, the effectiveness of GERT stochastic network in the process of emergency distribution is verified by an example of a logistics distribution route, which provides decision-making basis for relevant departments. Compared with the literature, this paper uses GERT network model to intuitively and clearly express the overall process of emergency material distribution, breaks through the thinking mode of simply choosing the distribution path in the distribution process, combines with the dynamic changes of the distribution environment, and comprehensively considers the timeliness and traffic capacity of emergency material distribution in sudden disasters, so as to provide reference for emergency management in complex and random situations for decision-making reference.
Blood Pressure Control and Associations with Social Support among Hypertensive Outpatients in a Developing Country
Authors: Thuy Luu Quang , Thanh Nguyen Hoang , Trung Le Hong , Tan Pham Huy , Nam Hoang Thi Phuong , Diep Pham Thi , An Tran Thi Ha , Van San Bui , Ngoc Tran Nguyen , Van Toan Ngo
Published: April 2021

Relationships between social support characteristics with blood pressure control and recommended behaviors in Vietnamese hypertensive patients have not been investigated. This study is aimed at examining the role of social support characteristics in hypertension control and behaviors. Patients with hypertension (n = 220) in Hanoi, Vietnam, were recruited into a cross‐sectional study. Both functional and structural characteristics of social support and network were examined. Results showed that increasing total network size was related to 52% higher odds of uncontrolled hypertension (adjusted OR = 1.52, 95%CI = 1.22 − 1.89). Higher network sizes on the provision of information support related to advice, emotional support related to decisions, and practical support related to sickness were associated with lower odds of uncontrolled hypertension. Every additional 1% of the percentage of network members having hypertension decreased 2% the odds of uncontrolled hypertension (adjusted OR = 0.98, 95%CI = 0.96 − 1.00). A 1% additional network members who were living in the same household was associated with a decrease of 0.08 point of behavioral adherence score (coef. = −0.08; 95%CI = −0.12 − 0.03). Meanwhile, a 1% increase of network members who were friends on the provision of practical support related to sickness and jobs was related to an increase of 0.10 point and 0.19 point of behavioral adherence score (coef. = 0.10; 95%CI = 0.04 − 0.17 and coef. = 0.19; 95%CI = 0.06 − 0.32, respectively). The current study suggested that further interventions to improve hypertension management should address the potential effects of social network characteristics.
Signal Propagation Models in Soil Medium for the Study of Wireless Underground Sensor Networks: A Review of Current Trends
Authors: Banaseka Frank Kataka , Katsriku Ferdinand , Abdulai Jamal Deen , Adu-Manu Kofi Sarpong , Engmann Felicia Nana Ama
Published: April 2021

Radio signal propagation modeling plays an important role in the design of wireless communication systems. Various models have been developed, over the past few decades, to predict signal propagation and behavior for wireless communication systems in different operating environments. Recently, there has been an interest in the deployment of wireless sensors in soil. To fully exploit the capabilities of sensor networks deployed in soil requires an understanding of the propagation characteristics within this environment. This paper reviews the cutting‐edge developments of signal propagation in the subterranean environment. The most important modeling techniques for modeling include electromagnetic waves, propagation loss, magnetic induction, and acoustic wave. These are discussed vis‐a‐vis modeling complexity and key parameters of the environment including electric and magnetic properties of soil. An equation to model propagation in the soil is derived from the free space model. Results are presented to show propagation losses and at different frequencies and volumetric water content. The channel capacity and the operating frequency are also analyzed against soil moisture at different soil types and antenna sizes.