bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of plaque brachytherapy dose and dose rate on risk for disease-related mortality in 1238 patients with choroidal melanoma
Authors: Filì Maria , Trocme Eric , Herrspiegel Christina , Seregard Stefan , Stålhammar Gustav
Published: May 2020

Background

Episcleral brachytherapy is the most common treatment for medium-sized choroidal melanomas. Although controversial, inadequate brachytherapy dose and dose rates have at least a hypothetical implication on patient survival.

Methods

All patients who received ruthenium-106 or iodine-125 brachytherapy for choroidal melanoma at St. Erik Eye Hospital 1996 to 2016 were included (n=1238). Cox regression hazard ratios for melanoma-related mortality across deciles, quartiles and individual integers of apex radiation doses (Gy) and dose rates (Gy/hour) were calculated, adjusted for tumour size and location.

Results

The average radiation dose at the tumour apex ranged from 73.0 Gy in the first decile to 108.6 Gy in the tenth. Decreasing apex dose by 1 Gy increments or by decile or quartile group was not associated with melanoma-related mortality (p>0.2) The average radiation dose rate at the tumour apex ranged from 0.5 Gy/hour in the first decile to 2.8 Gy/hour in the tenth. Similarly, decreasing apex dose rate by 1 Gy/hour increments or by decile or quartile groups was not associated with melanoma-related mortality (p>0.5).

Conclusion

There are no increased hazards for choroidal melanoma-related mortality after brachytherapy with decreasing doses between 108.6 and 73.0 Gy, or with decreasing dose rates between 2.8 and 0.5 Gy/hour.
Magnitude, characteristics and consequences of topical steroid misuse in rural North India: an observational study among dermatology outpatients
Authors: Thomas Molly , Wong Celestine C , Anderson Pam , Grills Nathan
Published: May 2020

Introduction

Current evidence indicates an alarming increase in topical steroid (TS) misuse in India. Data regarding the magnitude and characteristics of this problem in rural India, where 68% of the population resides, are insufficient. This study analyses the magnitude, causes, characteristics and consequences of TS misuse in rural India. It also examines the association between TS misuse and patients’ perception of skin disease.

Methods

A mixed-method observational study was conducted among the attendees of the dermatology outpatient department in a rural North Indian hospital. Those with a history of TS misuse were analysed for behaviour patterns and outcome.

Results

Out of 723 patients, 213 (29.2%) misused TS. Clobetasol propionate (58.2%) was most commonly misused. Seventy brands of inappropriate fixed drug combination steroid creams were recovered from the patients. Pharmacists and local healers together contributed to 78% of the sources for steroid misuse. Almost 58% of participants perceived their skin conditions to be allergic reactions to food, when in fact 70.1% were tinea, 10% scabies and 9% acne. Eighty per cent of the respondents having tinea had tinea incognito and 97% had extensive lesions. Eighty-five per cent of the participants with scabies had atypical lesions and 80% with acne had steroid rosacea or aggravation of acne. The median expenditure incurred in purchasing these potentially harmful steroid creams was Rs 1000 (US$14.1, equivalent to 3 days’ wages of a labourer).

Conclusion

Steroid misuse is a problem of epidemic proportion in rural India. This practice is changing the profile of many common and infective skin conditions, which portends diagnostic dilemmas and therapeutic challenges for clinicians. Misconceptions about skin disease drive the public to seek ‘quick fixes’ from non-allopathic providers who have unrestricted access to potent steroids. There is an urgent need to tighten regulatory controls over the manufacturing, sale and prescription of irrational TS combinations.
IBD in pregnancy: recent advances, practical management
Authors: Selinger Christian P , Nelson-Piercy Catherine , Fraser Aileen , Hall Veronica , Limdi Jimmy , Smith Lyn , Smith Marie , Nasur Reem , Gunn Melanie , King Andrew , Mohan Aarthi , Mulgabal Khasia , Kent Alexandra , Kok Klaartje Bel , Glanville Tracey
Published: May 2020

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) poses complex issues in pregnancy, but with high-quality care excellent pregnancy outcomes are achievable. In this article, we review the current evidence and recommendations for pregnant women with IBD and aim to provide guidance for clinicians involved in their care. Many women with IBD have poor knowledge about pregnancy-related issues and a substantial minority remains voluntarily childless. Active IBD is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, low for gestation weight and fetal loss. With the exception of methotrexate and tofacitinib the risk of a flare outweighs the risk of IBD medication and maintenance of remission from IBD should be the main of care. Most women with IBD will experience a normal pregnancy and can have a vaginal delivery. Active perianal Crohn’s disease is an absolute and ileal pouch surgery a relative indication for a caesarean section. Breast feeding is beneficial to the infant and the risk from most IBD medications is negligible.
Improved molecular detection of mosaicism in Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome
Authors: Baker Samuel W , Duffy Kelly A , Richards-Yutz Jennifer , Deardorff Matthew A , Kalish Jennifer M , Ganguly Arupa
Published: May 2020

Background

Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) is characterised by overgrowth and tumour predisposition. While multiple epigenetic and genetic mechanisms cause BWS, the majority are caused by methylation defects in imprinting control regions on chromosome 11p15.5. Disease-causing methylation defects are often mosaic within affected individuals. Phenotypic variability among individuals with chromosome 11p15.5 defects and tissue mosaicism led to the definition of the Beckwith-Wiedemann Spectrum (BWSp). Molecular diagnosis of BWSp requires use of multiple sensitive diagnostic techniques to reliably detect low-level aberrations.

Methods

Multimodal BWS diagnostic testing was performed on samples from 1057 individuals. Testing included use of a sensitive qRT-PCR-based quantitation method enabling identification of low-level mosaic disease, identification of CNVs within 11p15.5 via array comparative genomic hybridisation or qRT-PCR, and Sanger sequencing of CDKN1C.

Results

A molecular diagnosis was confirmed for 27.4% of individuals tested, of whom 43.4% had mosaic disease. The presence of a single cardinal feature was associated with a molecular diagnosis of BWSp in 20% of cases. Additionally, significant differences in the prevalence of mosaic disease among BWS molecular subtypes were identified. Finally, the diagnostic yield obtained by testing solid tissue samples from individuals with negative blood testing results shows improved molecular diagnosis.

Conclusion

This study highlights the prevalence of mosaic disease among individuals with BWSp and the increases in diagnostic yield obtained via testing both blood and solid tissue samples from affected individuals. Additionally, the results establish the presence of a molecular diagnosis in individuals with very subtle features of BWSp.
Self-injurious behaviour in movement disorders: systematic review
Authors: Fischer Jan-Frederik , Mainka Tina , Worbe Yulia , Pringsheim Tamara , Bhatia Kailash , Ganos Christos
Published: May 2020

Self-injurious behaviours (SIBs) are defined as deliberate, repetitive and persistent behaviours that are directed towards the body and lead to physical injury and are not associated with sexual arousal and without suicidal intent. In movement disorders, SIBs are typically associated with tic disorders, most commonly Tourette syndrome, and neurometabolic conditions, such as classic Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. However, beyond these well-known aetiologies, a range of other movement disorder syndromes may also present with SIBs, even though this clinical association remains less well-known. Given the scarcity of comprehensive works on this topic, here we performed a systematic review of the literature to delineate the spectrum of movement disorder aetiologies associated with SIBs. We report distinct aetiologies, which are clustered in five different categorical domains, namely, neurodevelopmental, neurometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as disorders with characteristic structural brain changes and heterogeneous aetiologies (eg, autoimmune and drug-induced). We also provide insights in the pathophysiology of SIBs in these patients and discuss neurobiological key risk factors, which may facilitate their manifestation. Finally, we provide a list of treatments, including practical measures, such as protective devices, as well as behavioural interventions and pharmacological and neurosurgical therapies.
Spatial variability of soil carbon and water storage across loess deposit catenas in China’s Loess Plateau region
Authors: Wang Yi , Mao Na , Wang Jiao , Huang Laiming , Jia Xiaoxu , Shao Ming’an
Published: May 2020

The impact of hillslope vegetation restoration on the distribution and variability of carbon and water storage was studied across two catenary sequences of soils in the Liudaogou watershed of China’s Loess Plateau. Soil organic carbon storage (SOCS) under different land uses in the two catenas decreased significantly in the upper soil layers (<50 cm) but was relatively stable in the deeper soil layers (>50 cm). However, soil inorganic carbon storage (SICS) in the two catenas fluctuated (two maxima) with increasing soil depth. There was no significant difference of SOCS within the 200 cm soil profile between forestlands (FO) and grasslands (GR) at the catenary scale (p > 0.05). However, SICS in the 0–200 cm soil profile differed markedly between FO and GR (p < 0.05) in both catenas due to different degrees of root-facilitated CaCO3 redistribution. Based on the coefficient of variance (CV), soil water storage (SWS) was divided into three layers: active layer (0–100 cm, CV = 20%–30%), subactive layer (100–200 cm, CV = 10%–20%), and stable layer (200–500 cm, CV < 10%). The SWS in the 0–500 cm soil profile was slightly higher in GR than in FO on the two slopes because of the higher water consumption under tree plantation than native grasses. SOCS, SICS, and SWS can be predicted by multiple regression equations using different soil properties. The study demonstrated that SOCS, SICS, and SWS respond differently to vegetation restoration at the catenary scale, which must be taken into account for improving ecosystem model predictions of soil carbon and water fluxes in sloping lands.
Characterizing mass–volume–density–porosity relationships in a sandy loam soil amended with compost
Authors: Reynolds W.D. , Nurse R.E. , Phillips L.A. , Drury C.F. , Yang X.M. , Page E.R.
Published: May 2020

Although compost is widely used as an organic soil amendment or conditioner, little is known of how it affects the characteristics or interactions among soil constituents. To address this, mixture theory was used to describe the mass–volume–density–porosity attributes and interactions among bulk soil, the mineral constituent, and the organic matter constituent of a sandy loam soil in a no-till corn field that had received one-time additions of yard waste compost at rates of 0 (control), 64, 154, and 380 dry t ha−1. Bulk density (BD, 0–10 cm depth) decreased consistently and near-linearly with increasing soil organic matter (SOM) mass fraction (FOM) for all six growing seasons (2012–2017) after compost addition. Fitting mixture theory expressions to BD vs. FOMdata and to soil particle density vs. FOMdata for 2013–2017 yielded constant mineral and SOM self-packing densities of DM = 1.673 Mg m−3and DO = 0.335 Mg m−3, respectively, and constant mineral and SOM particle densities of ρM = 2.760 Mg m−3and ρO = 1.409 Mg m−3, respectively. On a self-packing basis, soil mineral and SOM domain porosities were constants at nM = 0.39 and nO = 0.76, respectively. On a bulk soil volume basis, soil mineral and SOM porosities and volume ratios were linear functions of FOM. The porosity and volume characteristics of the SOM domain differed substantially from those of bulk soil and the mineral domain, and may therefore control the agri-environmental performance of soil, given that organic matter influences soil functioning more than mineral matter.
Physics opportunities with the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array: AGATA
Authors:   the AGATA Collaboration, Korten W. , Atac A. , Beaumel D. , Bednarczyk P. , Bentley M. A. , Benzoni G. , Boston A. , Bracco A. , Cederkäll J. , Cederwall B. , Ciemała M. , Clément E. , Crespi F. C. L. , Curien D. , de Angelis G. , Didierjean F. , Doherty D. T. , Dombradi Zs. , Duchêne G. , Dudek J. , Fernandez-Dominguez B. , Fornal B. , Gadea A. , Gaffney L. P. , Gerl J. , Gladnishki K. , Goasduff A. , Górska M. , Greenlees P. T. , Hess H. , Jenkins D. G. , John P. R. , Jungclaus A. , Kmiecik M. , Korichi A. , Labiche M. , Leoni S. , Ljungvall J. , Lopez-Martens A. , Maj A. , Mengoni D. , Million B. , Nannini A. , Napoli D. , Nolan P. J. , Nyberg J. , Obertelli A. , Pakarinen J. , Pietralla N. , Podolyák Zs. , Quintana B. , Raabe R. , Rainovski G. , Recchia F. , Reiter P. , Rudolph D. , Simpson J. , Theisen Ch. , Tonev D. , Tumino A. , Valiente-Dobón J. J. , Wieland O. , Wimmer K. , Zielińska M.
Published: May 2020

New physics opportunities are opening up by the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array, AGATA, as it evolves to the full 4$$\pi $$
π
instrument. AGATA is a high-resolution $$\gamma $$
γ
-ray spectrometer, solely built from highly segmented high-purity Ge detectors, capable of measuring $$\gamma $$
γ
rays from a few tens of keV to beyond 10 MeV, with unprecedented efficiency, excellent position resolution for individual $$\gamma $$
γ
-ray interactions, and very high count-rate capability. As a travelling detector AGATA will be employed at all major current and near-future European research facilities delivering stable and radioactive ion beams.
Scalar field and deflection of light under the effects of topologically charged Ellis–Bronnikov-type wormhole spacetime
Authors: Aounallah H. , Soares A. R. , Vitória R. L. L.
Published: May 2020

We have analyzed the effects of a simple wormhole, known as the Ellis–Bronnikov-type wormhole, on a scalar field, where, analytically, we determine solutions of bound states and show that the relativistic energy profile of this scalar field is drastically influenced by the topology of space-time characterized by the presence of a global monopole. Before this analysis, we investigated the effects of this background on the deflection of light, which is influenced by the parameters associated with the wormhole throat and the topological defect.
Extended dark matter EFT
Authors: Alanne Tommi , Goertz Florian
Published: May 2020

Conventional approaches to describe dark matter phenomenology at collider and (in)direct detection experiments in the form of dark matter effective field theory or simplified models suffer in general from drawbacks regarding validity at high energies and/or generality, limiting their applicability. In order to avoid these shortcomings, we propose a hybrid framework in the form of an effective theory, including, however, both the dark matter states and a mediator connecting the former to the Standard Model fields. Since the mediation can be realized through rather light new dynamical fields allowing for non-negligible collider signals in missing energy searches, the framework remains valid for the phenomenologically interesting parameter region, while retaining correlations dictated by gauge symmetry. Moreover, a richer new-physics sector can be consistently included via higher-dimensional operators. Interestingly, for fermionic and scalar dark matter with a (pseudo-)scalar mediator, the leading effects originate from dimension-five operators, allowing to capture them with a rather small set of new couplings. We finally examine the correlations between constraints from reproducing the correct relic density, direct-detection experiments, and mono-jet and Higgs + missing energy signatures at the LHC and point out new cancellation patterns in direct-detection, emerging non-trivially in the effective theory.
Non-singular solution for anisotropic model by gravitational decoupling in the framework of complete geometric deformation (CGD)
Authors: Maurya S. K. , Singh Ksh. Newton , Dayanandan B.
Published: May 2020

We presented a non-singular solution of Einstein’s field equations using gravitational decoupling by means of complete geometric deformation (CGD) in the anisotropic domain for compact star models. In this approach both the gravitational potentials are deformed as $$ \nu =\xi +\beta \,h(r)$$ν=ξ+βh(r) and $$ e^{-\lambda }=\mu +\beta \,f(r)$$e-λ=μ+βf(r), where $$\beta $$β is a coupling constant. Then we solve more complex field equations under above transformations by using a particular form of deformation function h(r) for two different cases namely the mimic constraint for the pressure $$\{p(r)=\theta ^1_1\}$${p(r)=θ11} and the mimic constraint for the density $$\{\rho (r)=\theta _0^0\}$${ρ(r)=θ00} (Ovalle in Phys Lett B 788:213, 2019). The compact star models have been constructed by taking $$M_0/R=0.2$$M0/R=0.2 for two different non-zero values of $$\beta $$β. Moreover, the boundary conditions are also performed for the said complete geometric deformation in the presence of anisotropic matter distribution. We also find pressure, density, anisotropy and causality conditions that are physically acceptable throughout the model. The $$M-R$$M-R curve is also presented to support our model for describing a realistic compact object such as neutron stars.
The Casimir effect for the scalar and Elko fields in a Lifshitz-like field theory
Authors: Maluf R. V. , Dantas D. M. , Almeida C. A. S.
Published: May 2020

In this work, we obtain the Casimir energy for the real scalar field and the Elko neutral spinor field in a field theory at a Lifshitz fixed point (LP). We analyze the massless and the massive case for both fields using dimensional regularization. We obtain the Casimir energy in terms of the dimensional parameter and the LP parameter. Particularizing our result, we can recover the usual results without LP parameter in (3 + 1) dimensions presented in the literature. Moreover, we compute the effects of the LP parameter in the thermal corrections for the massless scalar field.
The Linear and Asymptotically Superlinear Convergence Rates of the Augmented Lagrangian Method with a Practical Relative Error Criterion
Authors: Zhao Xin-Yuan , Chen Liang
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we conduct a convergence rate analysis of the augmented Lagrangian method with a practical relative error criterion designed in Eckstein and Silva [Mathematical Programming, 141, 319–348 (2013)] for convex nonlinear programming problems. We show that under a mild local error bound condition, this method admits locally a Q-linear rate of convergence. More importantly, we show that the modulus of the convergence rate is inversely proportional to the penalty parameter. That is, an asymptotically superlinear convergence is obtained if the penalty parameter used in the algorithm is increasing to infinity, or an arbitrarily Q-linear rate of convergence can be guaranteed if the penalty parameter is fixed but it is sufficiently large. Besides, as a byproduct, the convergence, as well as the convergence rate, of the distance from the primal sequence to the solution set of the problem is obtained.
Suciu’s ribbon 2-knots with isomorphic group
Authors: Kanenobu Taizo , Sumi Toshio
Published: May 2020

Suciu constructed infinitely many ribbon 2-knots in [Formula: see text] whose knot groups are isomorphic to the trefoil knot group. They are distinguished by the second homotopy groups. We classify these knots by using [Formula: see text]-representations of the fundamental groups of the 2-fold branched covering spaces.
Strong gravitational lensing of a 4-dimensional Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet black hole in homogeneous plasma
Authors: Jin Xing-Hua , Gao Yuan-Xing , Liu Dao-Jun
Published: May 2020

We investigate the strong gravitational lensing of spherically symmetric black holes in the novel Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet (EGB) gravity surrounded by unmagnetized plasma medium. The deflection angle in the strong deflection limit in EGB spacetime with homogeneous plasma is derived. We find that both the coupling constant [Formula: see text] in the novel EGB gravity and the presence of plasma can affect the radius of photon sphere, strong field limit coefficient and other lensing observables significantly, while plasma has little effect on the angular image separation and the relative magnifications as [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively.
A comparative study of α-decay and spontaneous fission for Z = 120 superheavy isotopes
Authors: Seyyedi S. A.
Published: May 2020

In this study, we have investigated the [Formula: see text]-decay chains of even–even superheavy nuclei [Formula: see text] in the range of [Formula: see text]. The Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov model is used to calculate the binding energy of these superheavy nuclei. We have included the so-called SkP skyrme function as an effective force and the quadruple deformations. The semi-empirical formulas are used in the reproducing [Formula: see text]-decay and spontaneous fission half-lives of these superheavy nuclei. By studying the decay chains of the Z = 120 isotopes and comparing them with the half-lives of spontaneous fission, it is predicted that the elements [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text],[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are more stable than the neighboring isotopes in their parent [Formula: see text]-decay chain. The corresponding neutron and proton numbers represent magical behavior that is in agreement with the numbers predicted before. In this range, the predicted nuclei are found to have large enough half-lives to synthesize them in a laboratory.
ANTI-WEAR PERFORMANCE OF POLISHED MICROCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FILMS SLIDING AGAINST Si3N4 UNDER WATER LUBRICATION
Authors: CUI YU-XIAO , HE YUANPING , JI CHUNHUI , LIN BIN , ZHANG DAWEI
Published: May 2020

In this work, aiming at enhancing the tribological behavior of chemical vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond and Si3N4 tribo-pair, mechanical polishing is performed on CVD microcrystalline diamond (MCD) films. The tribological performance of as-fabricated polished MCD (MCD-p) films is investigated by ball-on-plate reciprocating friction tests with Si3N4 ceramic balls as the counterparts under water lubrication, where the as-grown MCD films, nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films and Si3N4 ceramic plate are employed as the contrast specimens. Under a normal load of 10 N and at a reciprocating frequency of 30 Hz for 2-mm distance, the as-fabricated MCD, NCD and MCD-p films exhibit similar steady friction coefficients after run-in state, which are 0.036, 0.032 and 0.035, respectively. Nevertheless, the wear rate of Si3N4 counterparts varies. Due to the plowing effect of as-grown MCD and NCD films, severe abrasion of Si3N4 counterparts can be observed after sliding for 20[Formula: see text]min. For the MCD-p specimen, however, the Si3N4 counterpart exhibits 2–3 orders of magnitude lower wear rate than those sliding against the as-grown MCD or NCD specimen. On the other hand, due to the reciprocating motion failing to form fluid film between the contact surfaces, high friction coefficient (0.092) and rather severe abrasion are observed for the self-mated Si3N4 ceramic contact.
Vertical Stress Distributions of a Thin Rectangular Steel Wall Under Compression and in-Plane Bending
Authors: Lv Yang , Lv Jia-Qi , Zhao Zheng
Published: May 2020

A thin rectangular steel wall in a steel shear wall structure always simultaneously sustains the lateral load and the gravity load. The gravity load can affect the shear strength of a steel shear wall. However, this effect is not considered in most of the research and standards, which may lead to potential danger in practice. From the previous study of the authors, the shear strength reduction was not only influenced by the load magnitude but also by the vertical stress distribution. For a simply-supported thick square wall, i.e. width to thickness ratio smaller than 100, the stress distribution can be accurately described in a cosine form. However, for a thin wall under compression and in-plane bending, the cosine distribution will largely overestimate the vertical stress, especially when the walls enter the post-buckling condition. To narrow the knowledge gap, this paper proposed a vertical stress distribution in a three-segment form, i.e. in both edge-segments, a combination of linear and cosine functions from the edge stresses to the minimum stress, while in the middle segment, the stress distribution is constant and equal to the minimum stress. Two strategies, i.e. effective width method and Bedair’s method, are chosen to determine the width of the edge portion. A finite element model (FEM) is developed to evaluate the proposed distribution. The FEM has been verified using the results of our own experiments and tests done by Zaraś et al. The results show that the proposed three-segment stress distribution can well describe the behavior of thin walls of different slendernesses and stress gradients. The cosine distribution obtained from theoretical solution and the effective width model by Bedair are also discussed.
Abel–Jacobi map and curvature of the pulled back metric
Authors: Biswas Indranil
Published: May 2020

Let [Formula: see text] be a compact connected Riemann surface of genus at least two. The Abel–Jacobi map [Formula: see text] is an embedding if [Formula: see text] is less than the gonality of [Formula: see text]. We investigate the curvature of the pull-back, by [Formula: see text], of the flat metric on [Formula: see text]. In particular, we show that when [Formula: see text], the curvature is strictly negative everywhere if [Formula: see text] is not hyperelliptic, and when [Formula: see text] is hyperelliptic, the curvature is nonpositive with vanishing exactly on the points of [Formula: see text] fixed by the hyperelliptic involution.
Longitudinal Flight Modes Natural Frequencies of Glider Type Small UAVs
Authors: El-Salamony M. , Serokhvostov S.
Published: May 2020

Geometry and mass of an aircraft are important factors in flight mechanics and in the calculations of stability and natural frequencies of its flight modes, which are of great importance in controller design process. In this paper, comparison between the formulae of the large aircraft applied on small UAVs scale, XFLR5 as a numerical program and experimental data obtained from flight tests is made to investigate their accuracy. A method to validate natural frequencies for UAVs is presented. It is found that for the phugoid mode, methods of Roskam (exact), Ostoslavsky, and XFLR5 estimate the frequency within range of the experimental results while the methods of Roskam (approximation) and Hull overestimate it and should not be applied in case of small UAVs. Considering the short-period mode, all methods can predict the actual frequency with acceptable accuracy.
Mining Career Paths from Large Resume Databases
Authors: Lappas Theodoros
Published: May 2020

The emergence of online professional platforms, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, has led to unprecedented volumes of rich resume data that have revolutionized the study of careers. One of the most prevalent problems in this space is the extraction of prototype career paths from a workforce. Previous research has consistently relied on a two-step approach to tackle this problem. The first step computes the pairwise distances between all the career sequences in the database. The second step uses the distance matrix to create clusters, with each cluster representing a different prototype path. As we demonstrate in this work, this approach faces two significant challenges when applied on large resume databases. First, the overwhelming diversity of job titles in the modern workforce prevents the accurate evaluation of distance between career sequences. Second, the clustering step of the standard approach leads to highly heterogeneous clusters, due to its inability to handle categorical sequences and sensitivity to outliers. This leads to non-representative centroids and spurious prototype paths that do not accurately represent the actual groups in the workforce. Our work addresses these two challenges and has practical implications for the numerous researchers and practitioners working on the analysis of career data across domains.
ShieldNVM
Authors: Yang Fan , Chen Youmin , Mao Haiyu , Lu Youyou , Shu Jiwu
Published: May 2020

Data encryption and authentication are essential for secure non-volatile memory (NVM). However, the introduced security metadata needs to be atomically written back to NVM along with data, so as to provide crash consistency, which unfortunately incurs high overhead. To support fine-grained data protection and fast recovery for a secure NVM system without compromising the performance, we propose ShieldNVM. It first proposes an epoch-based mechanism to aggressively cache the security metadata in the metadata cache while retaining the consistency of them in NVM. Deferred spreading is also introduced to reduce the calculating overhead for data authentication. Leveraging the ability of data hash message authentication codes, we can always recover the consistent but old security metadata to its newest version. By recording a limited number of dirty addresses of the security metadata, ShieldNVM achieves fast recovering the secure NVM system after crashes. Compared to Osiris, a state-of-the-art secure NVM, ShieldNVM reduces system runtime by 39.1% and hash message authentication code computation overhead by 80.5% on average over NVM workloads. When system crashes happen, ShieldNVM’s recovery time is orders of magnitude faster than Osiris. In addition, ShieldNVM also recovers faster than AGIT, which is the Osiris-based state-of-the-art mechanism addressing the recovery time of the secure NVM system. Once the recovery process fails, instead of dropping all data due to malicious attacks, ShieldNVM is able to detect and locate the area of the tampered data with the help of the tracked addresses.
Complete Classification and Efficient Determination of Arrangements Formed by Two Ellipsoids
Authors: Jia Xiaohong , Tu Changhe , Mourrain Bernard , Wang Wenping
Published: May 2020

Arrangements of geometric objects refer to the spatial partitions formed by the objects, and they serve as an underlining structure of motion design, analysis, and planning in CAD/CAM, robotics, molecular modeling, manufacturing, and computer-assisted radio-surgery. Arrangements are especially useful to collision detection, which is a key task in various applications such as computer animation, virtual reality, computer games, robotics, CAD/CAM, and computational physics.

Ellipsoids are commonly used as bounding volumes in approximating complex geometric objects in collision detection. In this article, we present an in-depth study on the arrangements formed by two ellipsoids. Specifically, we present a classification of these arrangements and propose an efficient algorithm for determining the arrangement formed by any particular pair of ellipsoids. A stratification diagram is also established to show the connections among all the arrangements formed by two ellipsoids. Our results, for the first time, elucidate all possible relative positions between two arbitrary ellipsoids and provide an efficient and robust algorithm for determining the relative position of any two given ellipsoids, therefore providing the necessary foundation for developing practical and trustworthy methods for processing ellipsoids for collision analysis or simulation in various applications.
Enhanced Data Mining Technique to Measure Satisfaction Degree of Social Media Users of Xeljanz Drug
Authors: Abd-Elaziz M. M. , El-Bakry Hazem M. , Elfetouh Ahmed Abou , Elzeiny Amira
Published: May 2020

In the recent times, social media has become important in the field of health care as a major resource of valuable health information. Social media can provide massive amounts of data in real-time through user interaction, and this data can be analysed to reflect the harms and benefits of treatment by using the personal health experiences of users to improve health outcomes. In this study, we propose an enhanced data mining framework for analysing user opinions on Twitter and on a health-care forum. The proposed framework measures the degree of satisfaction of consumers regarding the drug Xeljanz, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The proposed framework is based on seven steps distributed in two phases. The first phase involves aggregating data related to the drug Xeljanz. This data is pre-processed to produce a list of words with a term frequency-inverse document frequency score. The word list is then classified into the following three categories: positive, negative and neutral. The second phase involves modelling social media posts using network analysis, identifying sub-graphs, calculating average opinions and detecting influential users. The results showed 77.3% user satisfaction with Xeljanz. Positive opinions were especially pronounced among users who switched to Xeljanz based on advice from a physician. Negative opinions of Xeljanz typically pertained to the high cost of the drug.
Finding Bugs in File Systems with an Extensible Fuzzing Framework
Authors: Kim Seulbae , Xu Meng , Kashyap Sanidhya , Yoon Jungyeon , Xu Wen , Kim Taesoo
Published: May 2020

File systems are too large to be bug free. Although handwritten test suites have been widely used to stress file systems, they can hardly keep up with the rapid increase in file system size and complexity, leading to new bugs being introduced. These bugs come in various flavors: buffer overflows to complicated semantic bugs. Although bug-specific checkers exist, they generally lack a way to explore file system states thoroughly. More importantly, no turnkey solution exists that unifies the checking effort of various aspects of a file system under one umbrella.

In this article, to highlight the potential of applying fuzzing to find any type of file system bugs in a generic way, we propose H
ydra
, an extensible fuzzing framework. H
ydra
provides building blocks for file system fuzzing, including input mutators, feedback engines, test executors, and bug post-processors. As a result, developers only need to focus on building the core logic for finding bugs of their interests. We showcase the effectiveness of H
ydra
with four checkers that hunt crash inconsistency, POSIX violations, logic assertion failures, and memory errors. So far, H
ydra
has discovered 157 new bugs in Linux file systems, including three in verified file systems (FSCQ and Yxv6).
Diabetic Retinopathy and BDNF: A Review on Its Molecular Basis and Clinical Applications
Authors: Afarid Mehrdad , Namvar Ehsan , Sanie-Jahromi Fatemeh
Published: May 2020

Impairment of neuroprotection and vasculopathy are the main reasons for the progression of diabetic retinopathy. In this review, we decided to illustrate the molecular and clinical aspects of diabetic retinal neuro-vasculopathy. We searched the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases with these keywords: “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” and “vascular endothelial growth factor” and/or “diabetic retinopathy.” The most relevant in vitro and clinical trial studies were then extracted for final interpretation. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and the vascular endothelial growth factor have pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. They have neuroprotective effects on the retina. However, there are controversial results on the relation between these two factors. Reviewing available articles, we have concluded that various concentrations of these molecules at different stages of retinopathy may exert different effects. Optimal doses of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the early stages of retinopathy may have a neuroprotective effect. In contrast, higher concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor might induce inflammatory responses. Damage to the retinal cells due to metabolic alterations associated with diabetes and its consequence vasculopathy may also lead to changes in the ocular microenvironment and cytokines. Changes in cytokines result in the modification of neural cell receptors and the overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor. It seems that controlling the optimal levels of neuroprotective molecules in the retinal tissue is the main step to halter diabetic retinopathy.
New Refinements and Improvements of Some Trigonometric Inequalities Based on Padé Approximant
Authors: Zhang Lina , Ma Xuesi
Published: May 2020

A multiple-point Padé approximant method is presented for approximating and bounding some trigonometric functions in this paper. We give new refinements and improvements of some trigonometric inequalities including Jordan’s inequality, Kober’s inequality, and Becker-Stark’s inequality. The analysis results show that our conclusions are better than the previous conclusions.
The Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine Injection on Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome during the Perioperative Period of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Shi Zhaofeng , Zhao Chen , Hu Jiayuan , Dai Qianqian , Guan Manke , Zhong Changming , Tian Guihua , Shang Hongcai
Published: May 2020

Introduction. TCMI with the effect of Liqihuoxue and Yiqihuoxue has been applied as complementary therapies during the perioperative period of PCI for patients with ACS, while the recommended time points and plans of TCMI are still short of the support of evidence‐based medicine. Methods. A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of TCMI on patients with ACS during the perioperative period of PCI. RCTs were searched based on standardized searching rules in seven medical databases from the inception up to August 2019. Two reviewers conducted the study selection, data extraction, and quality analysis independently. Data were analysed with the support of software RevMan and Stata. Results. A total of 68 articles with 6,043 patients were enrolled. The result of meta‐analysis showed that the TCMI combined with western medicine was superior to the western medicine alone on clinical efficiency (before the PCI, before and after the PCI, or overall, P < 0.05), the occurrence of MACE (myocardial infarction and stenocardia: before the PCI, before and after the PCI, or overall, P < 0.05; arrhythmia: before and after the PCI, P < 0.05), and the level of inflammatory factors (hs‐CRP: before the PCI, before and after the PCI, or overall, P < 0.05; IL‐6: after the PCI, P < 0.05). The TCMI with the effect of Liqihuoxue obtained more support compared with Yiqihuoxue based on the result of meta‐analysis. Conclusions. TCMI with the effect of Liqihuoxue or Yiqihuoxue combined with western medicine generally showed the potential advantage on the treatment of ACS during the perioperative period of PCI. However, the optimal time point of intervention and recommended plan based on the effect still needs more clinical evidence. We consider that the research of precise and standardized application of TCMI will be a promising direction for TCM in the future.
Analysis of the Transmissibility Change of 2019‐Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia and Its Potential Factors in China from 2019 to 2020
Authors: Zhao Yu , Wang Ruonan , Li Jiangping , Zhang Yuhong , Yang Huifang , Zhao Yi
Published: May 2020

Background. Recently, a large‐scale novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) outbreak swept China. As of Feb. 9, 2020, a total of 40,260 patients have been diagnosed with NCP, and 23,589 patients were suspected to have infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID‐19), which puts forward a great challenge for public health and clinical treatment in China. Until now, we are in the high‐incidence season of NCP. Thus, the analysis of the transmissibility change of NCP and its potential factors may provide a reliable reference for establishing effective prevention and control strategies. Method. By means of the method of calculating the instantaneous basic reproduction number R0t proposed by Cori et al. (2013), we use R0t to describe the transmissibility change of COVID‐19 in China, 2019‐2020. In addition, the Baidu Index (BDI) and Baidu Migration Scale (BMS) were selected to measure the public awareness and the effect of Wuhan lockdown (restricted persons in Wuhan outflow from the epidemic area) strategy, respectively. The Granger causality test (GCT) was carried out to explore the association between public awareness, the effect of the Wuhan lockdown strategy, and the transmissibility of COVID‐19. Results. The estimated averaged basic reproduction number of NCP in China was 3.44 with 95% CI (2.87, 4.0) during Dec. 8, 2019, to Feb. 9, 2020. The instantaneous basic reproduction numbers (R0t) have two waves and reaching peaks on Jan. 8 and Jan. 27, respectively. After reaching a peak on Jan. 27, R0t showed a continuous decline trend. On Feb. 9, R0t has fallen to 1.68 (95% CI: 1.66, 1.7), but it is still larger than 1. We find a significantly negative association between public awareness and the transmissibility change of COVID‐19, with one unit increase in cumulative BDI leading to a decrease of 0.0295% (95% CI: 0.0077, 0.051) R0t. We also find a significantly negative association between the effect of the Wuhan lockdown strategy and the transmissibility change of COVID‐19, and a one unit decrease in BMS may lead to a drop of 2.7% (95% CI: 0.382, 4.97) R0t. Conclusion. The current prevention and control measures have effectively reduced the transmissibility of COVID‐19; however, R0t is still larger than the threshold 1. The results show that the government adopting the Wuhan lockdown strategy plays an important role in restricting the potential infected persons in Wuhan outflow from the epidemic area and avoiding a nationwide spread by quickly controlling the potential infection in Wuhan. Meanwhile, since Jan. 18, 2020, the people successively accessed COVID‐19‐related information via the Internet, which may help to effectively implement the government’s prevention and control strategy and contribute to reducing the transmissibility of NCP. Therefore, ongoing travel restriction and public health awareness remain essential to provide a foundation for controlling the outbreak of COVID‐19.
Machine‐Learning Prediction of Oral Drug‐Induced Liver Injury (DILI) via Multiple Features and Endpoints
Authors: Liu Xiaobin , Zheng Danhua , Zhong Yi , Xia Zhaofan , Luo Heng , Weng Zuquan
Published: May 2020

Drug discovery is a costly process which usually takes more than 10 years and billions of dollars for one successful drug to enter the market. Despite all the safety tests, drugs may still cause adverse reactions and be restricted in use or even withdrawn from the market. Drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) is one of the major adverse drug reactions, and computational models may be used to predict and reduce it. To assess the computational prediction performance of DILI, we curated DILI endpoints from three databases and prepared drug features including chemical descriptors, therapeutic classifications, gene expressions, and binding proteins. We trained machine‐learning models to predict the various DILI endpoints using different drug features. Using the optimal feature sets, the top‐performing models obtained areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) around 0.8 for some DILI endpoints. We found that some features, including therapeutic classifications and proteins, have good prediction performance towards DILI. We also discovered that the severity of DILI endpoints as well as the selection of negative samples may significantly affect the prediction results. Overall, our study provided a comprehensive collection, curation, and prediction of DILI endpoints using various drug features, which may help the drug researchers to better understand and prevent DILI during the drug discovery process.
Mitigating Large Vibrations of Stayed Cables in Wind and Rain Hazards
Authors: Vo-Duy Hung , Nguyen Cung H.
Published: May 2020

This paper presents an experimental investigation of stayed cable vibrations in dry-wind and rain-wind coupling hazards. To mitigate large vibrations of the cable, the use of spiral wires wrapped around the cable is proposed. By testing two cable models in a wind tunnel in dry and rain conditions for different yaw angles and wind speeds, the effectiveness of using the spiral wires to mitigate large vibrations is clarified. Finally, the paper provides a further understanding of the complex mechanism of wind-induced and rain-wind-induced vibrations. It is found that the low-frequency vortex flows in the wake play a significant role in the excitation of large responses of the cable in high wind speeds. The spiral wires dismiss these low-frequency flows and then reduce the large vibrations.
Dynamic Analysis, Circuit Design, and Synchronization of a Novel 6D Memristive Four-Wing Hyperchaotic System with Multiple Coexisting Attractors
Authors: Yu Fei , Liu Li , Shen Hui , Zhang Zinan , Huang Yuanyuan , Shi Changqiong , Cai Shuo , Wu Xianming , Du Sichun , Wan Qiuzhen
Published: May 2020

In this work, a novel 6D four-wing hyperchaotic system with a line equilibrium based on a flux-controlled memristor model is proposed. The novel system is inspired from an existing 5D four-wing hyperchaotic system introduced by Zarei (2015). Fundamental properties of the novel system are discussed, and its complex behaviors are characterized using phase portraits, Lyapunov exponential spectrum, bifurcation diagram, and spectral entropy. When a suitable set of parameters are chosen, the system exhibits a rich repertoire of dynamic behaviors including double-period bifurcation of the quasiperiod, a single two-wing, and four-wing chaotic attractors. Further analysis of the novel system shows that the multiple coexisting attractors can be observed with different system parameter values and initial values. Moreover, the feasibility of the proposed mathematical model is also presented by using Multisim simulations based on an electronic analog of the model. Finally, the active control method is used to design the appropriate controller to realize the synchronization between the proposed 6D memristive hyperchaotic system and the 6D hyperchaotic Yang system with different structures. The Routh–Hurwitz criterion is used to prove the rationality of the controller, and the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed synchronization method are proved by numerical simulations.