bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determining child drowning mortality in the Sundarbans, India: applying the community knowledge approach
Authors: Gupta Medhavi , Bhaumik Soumyadeep , Roy Sujoy , Panda Ranjan Kanti , Peden Margaret , Jagnoor Jagnoor
Published: September 2020

Background

The Sundarbans in India is a rural, forested region where children are exposed to a high risk of drowning due to its waterlogged geography. Current data collection systems capture few drowning deaths in this region.

Methods

A community-based survey was conducted in the Sundarbans to determine the drowning mortality rate for children aged 1 to 4 years and 5 to 9 years. A community knowledge approach was used. Meetings were held with community residents and key informants to identify drowning deaths in the population. Identified deaths were verified by the child’s household through a structured survey, inquiring on the circumstances around the drowning death.

Results

The drowning mortality rate for children aged 1 to 4 years was 243.8 per 100 000 children and for 5 to 9 years was 38.8 per 100 000 children. 58.0% of deaths were among children aged 1 to 2 years. No differences in rates between boys and girls were found. Most children drowned in ponds within 50 metres of their homes. Children were usually unaccompanied with their primary caretaker engaged in household work. A minority of children were treated by formal health providers.

Conclusions

Drowning is a major cause of death among children in the Sundarbans, particularly those aged 1 to 4 years. Interventions keeping children in safe spaces away from water are urgently required. The results illustrate how routine data collection systems grossly underestimate drowning deaths, emphasising the importance of community-based surveys in capturing these deaths in rural low- and middle-income country contexts. The community knowledge approach provides a low-resource, validated methodology for this purpose.
Patient-derived malignant pleural mesothelioma cell cultures: a tool to advance biomarker-driven treatments
Authors: Kanellakis Nikolaos I , Asciak Rachelle , Hamid Megat Abd , Yao Xuan , McCole Mark , McGowan Simon , Seraia Elena , Hatch Stephanie , Hallifax Rob J , Mercer Rachel M , Bedawi Eihab O , Jones Stephanie , Verrill Clare , Dobson Melissa , George Vineeth , Stathopoulos Georgios T , Peng Yanchun , Ebner Daniel , Dong Tao , Rahman Najib M , Psallidas Ioannis
Published: September 2020

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer, associated with poor prognosis. We assessed the feasibility of patient-derived cell cultures to serve as an ex vivo model of MPM. Patient-derived MPM cell cultures (n=16) exhibited stemness features and reflected intratumour and interpatient heterogeneity. A subset of the cells were subjected to high-throughput drug screening and coculture assays with cancer-specific cytotoxic T cells and showed diverse responses. Some of the biphasic MPM cells were capable of processing and presenting the neoantigen SSX-2 endogenously. In conclusion, patient-derived MPM cell cultures are a promising and faithful ex vivo model of MPM.
Nuclear currents in chiral effective field theory
Authors: Krebs Hermann
Published: September 2020

In this article, we review the status of the calculation of nuclear currents within chiral effective field theory. After formal discussion of the unitary transformation technique and its application to nuclear currents we give all available expressions for vector, axial-vector currents. Vector and axial-vector currents are discussed up to order Q with leading-order contribution starting at order $$Q^{-3}$$

Q

-
3

. Pseudoscalar and scalar currents will be discussed up to order $$Q^0$$

Q
0

with leading-order contribution starting at order $$Q^{-4}$$

Q

-
4

. This is a complete set of expressions in next-to-next-to-next-to-leading-order (N$$^3$$

3

LO) analysis for nuclear scalar, pseudoscalar, vector and axial-vector current operators. Differences between vector and axial-vector currents calculated via transfer-matrix inversion and unitary transformation techniques are discussed. The importance of a consistent regularization is an additional point which is emphasized: lack of a consistent regularization of axial-vector current operators is shown to lead to a violation of the chiral symmetry in the chiral limit at order Q. For this reason a hybrid approach at order Q, discussed in various publications, is non-applicable. To respect the chiral symmetry the same regularization procedure needs to be used in the construction of nuclear forces and current operators. Although full expressions of consistently regularized current operators are not yet available, the isoscalar part of the electromagnetic charge operator up to order Q has a very simple form and can be easily regularized in a consistent way. As an application, we review our recent high accuracy calculation of the deuteron charge form factor with a quantified error estimate.
Enhancement of superluminal weak values under Lorentz boost
Authors: Som Abhishek , Das Sourin
Published: September 2020

The local group velocity defined as the weak value of the velocity operator in (1 + 1)-dimensional Klein-Gordon and Dirac theory is studied. As shown by Berry [J. Phys. A  45, 185308 (2012)], when the pre- and post-selected states for evaluating the weak value are chosen at random from an ensemble of available states, it gives rise to a universal probability distribution for the local group velocity which can have both subluminal and superluminal components. In this work, we explore the possibility of enhancement of the superluminal fraction of this total probability distribution by applying a Lorentz boost and show that it can indeed be enhanced both in the case of Klein–Gordon and Dirac theories.
Microwave Irradiation of Graphene Aerogel and Its Use on the Electromagnetic Interference Shielding of BMI Nanocomposites
Authors: Feng Bowen , Li Wei , Xue Fei , Tong Xingyu , Li Jiaying , Lu Shaowei , Wang Baichen , Ma Keming
Published: September 2020

In this work, graphene aerogels (GAs) with three-dimensional interconnected networks were prepared by chemical reduction and self-assembly of graphene oxide sheets. After microwave treatment, obtained microwave reduced graphene aerogels (MRGAs) were used in the preparation of bismaleimide (BMI) composites. The results show that the microwave treatment significantly enhanced the quality of GAs, and the three-dimensional networks in the GAs were well retained. Moreover, the MRGAs were highly efficient in endowing BMI with high electrical conductivity and excellent electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE). The conductivity of MRGA/BMI composites was 42–68% higher than that of GA/BMI composites. When the filler content is 1.6 wt.%, the EMI SE of MRGA/BMI composite was 32.3% higher than that of GA/BMI composite in the X band.
Hydrological system in Quaternary clastic deposits, Mehedinţi County, Romania: isotope composition, chemistry and radiocarbon dating
Authors: Bojar Ana-Voica , Chmiel Stanislaw , Bojar Hans-Peter , Varlam Carmen , Barbu Victor
Published: September 2020

A groundwater geochemistry study was carried out on 24 samples collected from different springs and wells situated in a plateau area at an elevation of 200–300 m in the Mehedinţi County, southwestern Romania. The study was motivated by the fact that springs have represented the only source of potable water in the region, only recently completed by tens of metres-deep well drillings. Spring distributions and geological data reveal the presence of a multilayered system situated in the Lower Quaternary deposits. The mean
δ
18
O and
δ
D values of groundwater, −9.8 and −67.8‰, respectively, reflect the yearly weighted mean of the isotopic composition of precipitation, demonstrating locally derived recharge. The Piper ternary diagrams indicate that the dominant hydrochemical type is HCO
3
−
–Ca
2+
–Mg
2+
with transition towards higher SO
4
2−
and Mg
2+
contents to the deeper aquifer. The anions vary from HCO
3
−
with transition to no dominant type and with Cl
−
contents higher for the shallower aquifer. The sequence of abundance of cations is generally Ca
2+
> Mg
2+
> K
+
> Na
+
and for anions: HCO
3
−
> SO
4
2−
> Cl
−
> NO
3
−
> F
−
. Radiocarbon dating of dissolved inorganic carbon indicates a subrecent recharge of the aquifers. The vertical and lateral variations in groundwater chemistry may vary, and are influenced by lateral lithologic variation of the Quaternary clastic deposits. This is an unpredictable quality factor when taking the decision for the drinking water drill locations.
The Price of Quota-based Diversity in Assignment Problems
Authors: Benabbou Nawal , Chakraborty Mithun , Ho Xuan-Vinh , Sliwinski Jakub , Zick Yair
Published: September 2020

In this article, we introduce and analyze an extension to the matching problem on a weighted bipartite graph (i.e., the assignment problem): Assignment with Type Constraints. Here, the two parts of the graph are each partitioned into subsets, called types and blocks, respectively; we seek a matching with the largest sum of weights under the constraint that there is a pre-specified cap on the number of vertices matched in every type-block pair. Our primary motivation stems from the large-scale public housing program run by the state of Singapore, accounting for over 70% of its residential real estate. To promote ethnic diversity within its housing projects, Singapore imposes ethnicity quotas: The population is divided into ethnicity-based groups and each new housing development into blocks of flats such that each group must not own more than a certain percentage of flats in a block. However, other domains use similar hard capacity constraints to maintain diversity: These include matching prospective students to schools or medical residents to hospitals. Limiting agents’ choices for ensuring diversity in this manner naturally entails some welfare loss. One of our goals is to study the tradeoff between diversity and (utilitarian) social welfare in such settings. We first show that, while the classic assignment program is polynomial-time computable, adding diversity constraints makes the problem computationally intractable; however, we identify a ½-approximation algorithm, as well as reasonable assumptions on the structure of utilities (or weights) that permit poly-time algorithms. Next, we provide two upper bounds on the
price of diversity
—a measure of the loss in welfare incurred by imposing diversity constraints—as functions of natural problem parameters. We conclude the article with simulations based on publicly available data from two diversity-constrained allocation problems—Singapore Public Housing and Chicago School Choice—which shed light on how the constrained maximization as well as lottery-based variants perform in practice.
Lotus
Authors: Lu Yunfeng , Gu Huaxi , Yu Xiaoshan , Chakrabarty Krishnendu
Published: September 2020

Machine learning is at the heart of many services provided by data centers. To improve the performance of machine learning, several parameter (gradient) synchronization methods have been proposed in the literature. These synchronization algorithms have different communication characteristics and accordingly place different demands on the network architecture. However, traditional data-center networks cannot easily meet these demands. Therefore, we analyze the communication profiles associated with several common synchronization algorithms and propose a machine learning--oriented network architecture to match their characteristics. The proposed design, named Lotus, because it looks like a lotus flower, is a hybrid optical/electrical architecture based on arrayed waveguide grating routers (AWGRs). In Lotus, a complete bipartite graph is used within the group to improve bisection bandwidth and scalability. Each pair of groups is connected by an optical link, and AWGRs between adjacent groups enhance path diversity and network reliability. We also present an efficient routing algorithm to make full use of the path diversity of Lotus, which leads to a further increase in network performance. Simulation results show that the network performance of Lotus is better than Dragonfly and 3D-Torus under realistic traffic patterns for different synchronization algorithms.
Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Formation Despite Continuous Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulant Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation Patients Undergoing Electrical Cardioversion or Catheter Ablation: A Comparison of Dabigatran and Rivaroxaban
Authors: Gorczyca Iwona , Chrapek Magdalena , Jelonek Olga , Michalska Anna , Kapłon-Cieślicka Agnieszka , Uziębło-Życzkowska Beata , Budnik Monika , Gawałko Monika , Krzesiński Paweł , Jurek Agnieszka , Scisło Piotr , Kochanowski Janusz , Kiliszek Marek , Gielerak Grzegorz , Filipiak Krzysztof J. , Opolski Grzegorz , Wożakowska-Kapłon Beata
Published: September 2020

Left atrial appendage thrombus (LAAT) may be detected by transesophageal echocardiography (TOE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) despite continuous anticoagulation therapy. We examined the factors predisposing to LAAT in patients treated with the anticoagulants dabigatran and rivaroxaban. We retrospectively evaluated 1,256 AF patients from three centres who underwent TOE before electrical cardioversion (n = 611, 51.4%) or catheter ablation (n = 645, 48.6%) from January 2013 to December 2019 and had been on at least three weeks of continuous dabigatran (n = 603, 48%) or rivaroxaban (n = 653, 52%) therapy. Preprocedural TOE diagnosed LAAT in 51 patients (4.1%), including 30 patients (5%) treated with dabigatran and 21 patients (3.2%) treated with rivaroxaban (p=0.1145). In multivariate logistic regression, predictors of LAAT in patients treated with dabigatran were non-paroxysmal AF (vs. paroxysmal AF) (OR = 6.2, p=0.015), heart failure (OR = 3.22, p=0.003), and a eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (OR = 2.65, p=0.012); the predictors in patients treated with rivaroxaban were non-paroxysmal AF (vs. paroxysmal AF) (OR = 5.73, p=0.0221) and heart failure (OR = 3.19, p=0.116). In ROC analysis of the dabigatran group, the area under the curve (AUC) for the CHA2DS2-VASc-RAF score was significantly higher (0.78) than those for the CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and R2CHADS2 scores (0.67, 0.70, and 0.72, respectively). In the rivaroxaban group, the CHA2DS2-VASc-RAF score also performed significantly better (AUC of 0.77) than the CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and R2CHADS2 scores (AUC of 0.66, 0.64, and 0.67, respectively). The risk of LAAT was the same for patients in both treatment groups. In all patients, non-paroxysmal AF or heart failure, and in patients treated with dabigatran an eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2, were independent predictors of LAAT. The new CHA2DS2-VASc-RAF scale had the highest predictive value for LAAT in the entire study population.
A Dynamic Urban Lake Area Evolution Model Based on Multilevel Grid, Cellular Automata, and Multiagent System
Authors: Zhu Jianfeng , Tian Shenzhen
Published: September 2020

Urban lakes have been threatened by rapid expansion of cities in recent years. Their area changes could be extracted by remote sensing technologies. On this basis, a Dynamic Urban Lake Area Evolution Model (DULAEM) is proposed based on a multiagent system (MAS) and a cellular automata (CA) model. The DULAEM is integrated upon an Urban Lake Multilevel Grid (ULMG), which is composed of the vector model with the raster model. In the DULAEM, the CA layer is mainly used for modelling the interactions between urban lakes and their surrounding land use change through the activity of each cell; the MAS layer represents the actions of three typical human activities: government, real estate developers, and residents. These three agents have different actions in extent, strength, and priority according to their standpoints and functions. The CA layer and the MAS layer are both integrated upon the ULMG. Finally, a case study in Wuhan proves that the DULAEM can control the global relative error under 10%. Therefore, the DULAEM is able to simulate the area change of urban lakes dynamically. It is significant for the policy-making of lake protection and the optimal configuration of land resources in the lakeside.
Jejunal Diverticulosis Probably Leading to Pylephlebitis of the Superior Mesenteric Vein
Authors: Bockmeyer Julia , Taha-Mehlitz Stephanie , Heeren Nickolaus , Ristic Stefan , Metzger Jürg , Gass Jörn-Markus
Published: September 2020

Thrombophlebitis of the portal vein (pylephlebitis) is a rare but serious condition with a high mortality rate of 11-50%. A 56-year-old male patient presented with a two-day history of postprandial, colic-like epigastric pain, nausea, fever, chills, and diarrhea. Clinical workup showed peritonism, leukocytosis, and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a long-segment, partial thrombosis of the superior mesenteric vein as well as gas in the portal venous system. Additionally, extensive jejunal diverticulosis was present. Pylephlebitis mostly results from intestinal infections, e.g., appendicitis or diverticulitis. We assumed that the patient had suffered from a self-limiting episode of jejunal diverticulitis leading to septic thrombosis. Initially, antibiotic therapy and anticoagulation with heparin were administered. The patient deteriorated, and due to increasing abdominal defense, fever, and hypotension, a diagnostic laparoscopy was performed. Bowel ischemia could be ruled out, and after changing antibiotic therapy, the patient’s condition improved. He was discharged without any further complications and without complaints on day 13. An underlying coagulopathy like myeloproliferative neoplasm or antiphospholipid syndrome could be ruled out.
miR‐9, miR‐21, miR‐27b, and miR‐34a Expression in HPV16/58/52‐Infected Cervical Cancer
Authors: Liu Mi , Wang Wei , Chen Haixing , Lu Yi , Yuan Daisha , Deng Yongjiu , Ran Danlu
Published: September 2020

The aim of this study was to observe the expression of miR‐9, miR‐21, miR‐27b, and miR‐34a related with E6/E7 in HPV16‐, HPV52‐, and HPV58‐infected cervical cancer patients and explore their possible role in cervical cancer with HPV infection. The expression levels of 4 miRNAs were detected in cervical exfoliated cells using qRT‐PCR. In the current study, miR‐34a expression was significantly upregulated in HPV‐positive cervical cancer compared with the HPV‐negative healthy population and HPV‐positive CIN, but just the expression of miR‐34a in HPV16 cervical cancer was statistically significant, and the expression of HPV52 and HPV58 was not statistically significant. The expression of miR‐21 increased in HPV‐positive cervical cancer compared with HPV‐positive CIN, but only HPV16‐infected cervical cancer had statistical significance compared with HPV16‐infected CIN. By observing the change trend of each subtype group, we can show that the expression of miR‐9 in HPV16 CIN was opposite to the other subtypes, and it was upregulated, compared with HPV58 CIN, and significantly increased. The level change of miR‐27b in HPV58 cervical cancer and HPV58 CIN was opposite to the other subtypes; unlike the expression of miR‐27b which was upregulated in HPV16 and HPV52 infected, it was downregulated compared with Normal. We also found that the expression of miR‐34a and miR‐9 was contrary to other studies. These findings indicate that the upregulated miR‐21 expression may be a biomarker to distinguish between CC and CIN. miR‐34a in HPV infection, especially in HPV16 infection, might be related to the occurrence and development of cervical cancer. The infection of different subtypes may play different roles in disease by activating different mechanisms; miRNAs play a very complex role in tumorigenesis and development, and there may be multiple targets in which multiple mechanisms play a role.
Wood Recognition and Quality Imaging Inspection Systems
Authors: Kryl Martin , Danys Lukas , Jaros Rene , Martinek Radek , Kodytek Pavel , Bilik Petr
Published: September 2020

Forestry is an undoubtedly crucial part of today’s industry; thus, automation of certain visual tasks could lead to a significant increase in productivity and reduction of labor costs. Eye fatigue or lack of attention during manual visual inspections can lead to falsely categorized wood, thus leading to major loss of earnings. These mistakes could be eliminated using automated vision inspection systems. This article focuses on the comparison of researched methodologies related to wood type classification and wood defect detection/identification; hence, readers with an intention of building a similar vision-based system have summarized review to build upon.
A Bichannel Transformer with Context Encoding for Document-Driven Conversation Generation in Social Media
Authors: Cai Yuanyuan , Zuo Min , Zhang Qingchuan , Xiong Haitao , Li Ke
Published: September 2020

Along with the development of social media on the internet, dialogue systems are becoming more and more intelligent to meet users’ needs for communication, emotion, and social intercourse. Previous studies usually use sequence-to-sequence learning with recurrent neural networks for response generation. However, recurrent-based learning models heavily suffer from the problem of long-distance dependencies in sequences. Moreover, some models neglect crucial information in the dialogue contexts, which leads to uninformative and inflexible responses. To address these issues, we present a bichannel transformer with context encoding (BCTCE) for document-driven conversation. This conversational generator consists of a context encoder, an utterance encoder, and a decoder with attention mechanism. The encoders aim to learn the distributed representation of input texts. The multihop attention mechanism is used in BCTCE to capture the interaction between documents and dialogues. We evaluate the proposed BCTCE by both automatic evaluation and human judgment. The experimental results on the dataset CMU_DoG indicate that the proposed model yields significant improvements over the state-of-the-art baselines on most of the evaluation metrics, and the generated responses of BCTCE are more informative and more relevant to dialogues than baselines.
Antibiotics Disturb Dentin Formation and Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells: The Role of Microbiota in Cellular Turnover of Mouse Incisor
Authors: Su Shenping , Ren Yi , Zhang Yi , Zhao Yuming , Xiao E.
Published: September 2020

Dentin formation was dependent on osteo-/odontogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). It was observed in previous studies that antibiotic treatment in a clinical and animal model resulted in impaired mineralization of dental tissues. We previously reported that microbiota maintained the function of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, while whether microbiota dysbiosis caused by antibiotic treatment contributed to DPSCs dysfunction and impaired dentin formation is still not known. In this study, we aimed to clarify the role of microbiota or its metabolic products on dental mineralization and the function of DPSCs. Mice were treated with antibiotics to disrupt microbiota; then, the growth rate and histological characteristics of incisors as well as the biological characteristics of DPSCs in vitro were compared with specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice. In antibiotic-treated mice (AbT), we found a diminished quantity of microbiota and reduced growth rate of mechanical injured incisor, as well as decreased colony-forming rate and impaired ability of osteo-/odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs, in comparison to SPF mice. Colonization of AbT mice with SPF mice replanted the microbiota by cohousing (conventionalized (ConvD)) and normalized the growth rate of injured incisors and colony-forming and osteo-/odontogenic differentiation ability of DPSCs. Giving short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) by oral gavage after antibiotic treatment also rescued the growth rate of incisors and the differentiation ability of DPSCs and enhanced proliferation ability of DPSCs. Collectively, gut microbiota could make contribution to maintain continuous growth of injured rodent incisor and differentiation capacity of DPSCs; SCFAs might play a crucial role in this process.
P2X3 Receptor in Primary Afferent Neurons Mediates the Relief of Visceral Hypersensitivity by Electroacupuncture in an Irritable Bowel Syndrome Rat Model
Authors: Zhang Fang , Ma Zhe , Weng Zhijun , Zhao Min , Zheng Handan , Wu Luyi , Lu Yuan , Bao Chunhui , Liu Yanan , Liu Huirong , Wu Huangan
Published: September 2020

Background. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been confirmed effectiveness in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and P2X3 receptors in the peripheral and central neurons participate in the acupuncture-mediated relief of the visceral pain in IBS. Objective. To reveal the neurobiological mechanism that P2X3 receptor of colonic primary sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia of the lumbosacral segment is involved in the alleviation of visceral hypersensitivity by EA in an IBS rat model. Methods. The IBS chronic visceral pain rat model was established according to the method of Al-Chaer et al. EA at the bilateral He-Mu points, including ST25 and ST37, was conducted for intervention. The behavioral studies, histopathology of colon, electrophysiology, immunofluorescence histochemistry, and real-time polymerase chain reaction assays were used to observe the role of P2X3 receptor in the colon and related DRG in relieving visceral hypersensitivity by EA. Results. EA significantly reduced the behavior scores of the IBS rats under different levels (20, 40, 60, 80 mmHg) of colorectal distention stimulation and downregulated the expression levels of P2X3 receptor protein and mRNA in colon and related DRG of the IBS rats. EA also regulated the electrical properties of the membranes, including the resting membrane potential, rheobase, and action potential of colon-associated DRG neurons in the IBS rats. Conclusion. EA can regulate the P2X3 receptor protein and mRNA expression levels in the colon and related DRG of IBS rats with visceral pain and then regulate the excitatory properties of DRG neurons.
Clinical Course and Nutritional Management of Propionic and Methylmalonic Acidemias
Authors: Mobarak Amira , Dawoud Heba , Nofal Hanaa , Zoair Amr
Published: September 2020

Propionic and methylmalonic acidemias result in multiple health problems including increased risk for neurological and intellectual disabilities. Knowledge regarding factors that correlate to poor prognosis and long-term outcomes is still limited. In this study, we aim to provide insight concerning clinical course and long-term complications by identifying possible correlating factors to complications. Results. This is a retrospective review of 20 Egyptian patients diagnosed with PA (n = 10) and MMA (n = 10) in the years 2014–2018. PA patients had lower DQ/IQ and were more liable to hypotonia and developmental delay. The DQ/IQ had a strong negative correlation with length of hospital stay, frequency of PICU admissions, time delay until diagnosis, and the mode ammonia level. However, DQ/IQ did not correlate with age of onset of symptoms or the peak ammonia level at presentation. Both the growth percentiles and albumin levels had a positive correlation with natural protein intake and did not correlate with the total protein intake. Additionally, patients on higher amounts of medical formula did not necessarily show an improvement in the frequency of decompensation episodes. Conclusion. Our findings indicate that implementation of NBS, vigilant and proactive management of decompensation episodes, and pursuing normal ammonia levels during monitoring can help patients achieve a better neurological prognosis. Furthermore, patients can have a better outcome on mainly natural protein; medical formula should only be used in cases where patients do not meet 100–120% of their DRI from natural protein.
Numerical Investigation of the Characteristics of the Dynamic Load Allowance in a Concrete-Filled Steel Tube Arch Bridge Subjected to Moving Vehicles
Authors: Gao Qingfei , Ma Qilu , Cui Kemeng , Li Jun , Xu Chuang
Published: September 2020

Dynamic load allowance (DLA) is a key factor for evaluating the structural condition of bridges; however, insufficient research has been performed regarding the characteristics of DLA in concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) arch bridges. To address this issue, based on an actual CFST arch bridge, the DLA characteristics of bridges are investigated numerically in this study. First, aiming at different structural components, such as the arch rib, main girder, and suspenders, the DLA values obtained at various locations of different structural components are compared in detail, and then the changing regulations of the DLA, considering the influence of different vehicle speeds and various extents of pavement roughness, are summarized and analyzed. Additionally, the relationship between the different DLAs obtained by using the different response indices, that is, displacement, bending moment, and axis force of structure, is investigated. Finally, some conclusions that are significantly beneficial for evaluating or detecting the condition of CFST arch bridges are drawn.
A Study on Improving Secure Routing Performance Using Trust Model in MANET
Authors: Yang Hwanseok
Published: September 2020

MANET is utilized in many fields because of its advantage in quickly establishing networks. The network will perform well if mobile nodes trust each other and act cooperatively. However, dynamic topology characteristics and frequent connection failures by the movement of nodes make routing difficult and cause vulnerability to be easily exposed. Therefore, the routing provided in the MANET should have security features that can reduce the damage to various attacks. For this, in this paper, it is proposed for a trust evaluation method of nodes using cluster structure and a secure data transmission technique through key exchange without CA. The proposed technique adopted a hierarchical structure to enhance the efficiency of the reliability evaluation of nodes. The reliability measurement reflects the quality of packets as well as the number of packets and the measured reliability is maintained by the trust management node. The integrity of the data transmission is improved through key exchange without CA between the nodes. In order to increase the efficiency of routing, anomaly nodes are detected by DSN checking of nodes that generate excessive traffic on the path when data is transmitted. The proposed technique in this paper can maintain stably the network performance even in the presence of malicious nodes because it ensures reliability evaluation for nodes and the path setting between nodes and secure data transmission. The superior performance of the proposed trust-based model security routing technique was confirmed through comparative experiments for packet delivery ratio, end-to-end delay time, the number of control packets, network throughput, and average path length.
Favorable Outcome of COVID-19 Pneumonia in a Kidney Transplant Recipient Treated with Tocilizumab
Authors: Guella Adnane , Elfadil Osman , Abdulrazaq Ghisson , Osman Sahla , Khan Mohammed Munir , Ahmed Abdalla , Deyab Feras
Published: September 2020

The presentation of COVID-19 pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients is similar to that of the general population. However, in the former, it may have a worse clinical course. We report a kidney transplant patient affected by COVID-19 pneumonia whose condition worsened 9 days after the initial presentation. As no therapeutic guidelines on the subject are currently available, here we share our approach in the management of the immunosuppressive medications and the antiviral therapy and compare them to the scarce available data. We also expose the use of tocilizumab in our patient with excellent results.
A Review of Different Stimulation Methods for Functional Reconstruction and Comparison of Respiratory Function after Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Chang Jiaqi , Shen Dongkai , Wang Yixuan , Wang Na , Liang Ya
Published: September 2020

Background. Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common severe trauma in clinic, hundreds of thousands of people suffer from which every year in the world. In terms of injury location, cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) has the greatest impact. After cervical spinal cord injury, the lack of innervated muscles is not enough to provide ventilation and other activities to complete the respiratory function. In addition to the decline of respiratory capacity, respiratory complications also have a serious impact on the life of patients. The most commonly used assisted breathing and cough equipment is the ventilator, but in recent years, the functional electrical stimulation method is being used gradually and widely. Methods. About hundred related academic papers are cited for data analysis. They all have the following characteristics: (1) basic conditions of patients were reported, (2) patients had received nerve or muscle stimulation and the basic parameters, and (3) the results were evaluated based on some indicators. Results. The papers mentioned above are classified as four kinds of stimulation methods: muscle electric/magnetic stimulation, spinal dural electric stimulation, intraspinal microstimulation, and infrared light stimulation. This paper describes the stimulation principle and application experiment. Finally, this paper will compare the indexes and effects of typical stimulation methods, as well as the two auxiliary methods: training and operation. Conclusions. Although there is limited evidence for the treatment of respiratory failure by nerve or muscle stimulation after cervical spinal cord injury, the two techniques seem to be safe and effective. At the same time, light stimulation is gradually applied to clinical medicine with its strong advantages and becomes the development trend of nerve stimulation in the future.
Suicide Attempt as the Presenting Symptom in a Patient with COVID-19: A Case Report from the United States
Authors: Telles-Garcia Nelson , Zahrli Tyler , Aggarwal Gaurav , Bansal Sakshi , Richards Leonard , Aggarwal Saurabh
Published: September 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has attained a pandemic status and is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. Social isolation, fear of ostracization, and illness itself and limited access to care can lead to worsening of mental illnesses. We report a case from the United States describing a young male with a suicidal attempt who was subsequently found to have COVID-19 infection. Further research is needed to evaluate potential factors for this unique association.
Energy-Aware Scheduling of Workflow Using a Heuristic Method on Green Cloud
Authors: Peng Zhihao , Barzegar Behnam , Yarahmadi Maryam , Motameni Homayun , Pirouzmand Poria
Published: September 2020

Energy consumption has been one of the main concerns to support the rapid growth of cloud data centers, as it not only increases the cost of electricity to service providers but also plays an important role in increasing greenhouse gas emissions and thus environmental pollution, and has a negative impact on system reliability and availability. As a result, energy consumption and efficiency metrics have become a vital issue for parallel scheduling applications based on tasks performed at cloud data centers. In this paper, we present a time and energy-aware two-phase scheduling algorithm called best heuristic scheduling (BHS) for directed acyclic graph (DAG) scheduling on cloud data center processors. In the first phase, the algorithm allocates resources to tasks by sorting, based on four heuristic methods and a grasshopper algorithm. It then selects the most appropriate method to perform each task, based on the importance factor determined by the end-user or service provider to achieve a solution designed at the right time. In the second phase, BHS minimizes the makespan and energy consumption according to the importance factor determined by the end-user or service provider and taking into account the start time, setup time, end time, and energy profile of virtual machines. Finally, a test dataset is developed to evaluate the proposed BHS algorithm compared to the multiheuristic resource allocation algorithm (MHRA). The results show that the proposed algorithm facilitates 19.71% more energy storage than the MHRA algorithm. Furthermore, the makespan is reduced by 56.12% in heterogeneous environments.
Optimal Location of Multiple Tuned Mass Dampers in Regular and Irregular Tall Steel Buildings Plan
Authors: Khazaei Mohsen , Vahdani Reza , Kheyroddin Ali
Published: September 2020

Tuned mass dampers are one of the most common devices for the passive control of structures subjected to earthquakes. The structure of these dampers consists of three main parameters: mass, damping, and stiffness. Tuned mass dampers reduce the amplitude of the responses affecting on a mode. In most cases, only a single TMD (tuned mass damper) or a few dampers at several points above the building height are installed on the roof of the building, requiring considerable mass and space in some parts of the structure as overhead. It is also more important to predict the elements that will meet the required mass. In this research, the performance of multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs) is investigated in L- and U-shaped regular and irregular tall steel buildings with 10 and 20 floors, under the near- and far-field records. Nonlinear time history analysis is also applied to evaluate the multiple tuned mass dampers effects on the seismic responses of the structures. The SAP2000 API and MATLAB genetic algorithm are used to determine the optimal location of the MTMDs in the roof plans of the buildings. The results show the effects of multiple tuned mass dampers in reducing the seismic response of acceleration, displacement, and base shear up to 50, 40, and 40% in average, respectively. The results of determining the optimum location of MTMDs in the models indicate the importance of the symmetry of the dampers relative to the centre of mass of the building.
Intratumoral Immunotherapy: From Trial Design to Clinical Practice
Authors: Champiat Stéphane , Tselikas Lambros , Farhane Siham , Raoult Thibault , Texier Matthieu , Lanoy Emilie , Massard Christophe , Robert Caroline , Ammari Samy , De Baère Thierry , Marabelle Aurélien
Published: September 2020

Systemic immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade targeted at PD(L)1 and CTLA4 have demonstrated their ability to provide durable tumor responses and long-term overall survival benefits for some patients in several solid tumor types. However, a majority of patients remain resistant to these treatments and a significant proportion of them develop severe autoimmune and inflammatory adverse events. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that intratumoral injections of immunostimulatory products (oncolytics, pattern recognition receptor agonists,…) that are able to trigger type I IFN release and enhance tumor antigen presentation on immune cells could generate a strong antitumor immunity and overcome the resistance to systemic immune checkpoint blockade therapies. The intratumoral immunotherapy strategies that are currently in clinical development offer a unique therapeutic and exploratory setting to better understand the immune contexture across tumor lesions of patients with metastatic cancer. Also these local therapeutic products could turn cold tumors into hot and improve the response rates to cancer immunotherapies while diminishing their systemic exposure and toxicities. Intratumoral immunotherapies could prime or boost the immunity against tumors and therefore radically change the combinatorial therapeutic strategies currently pursued for metastatic and local cancers to improve their long-term survival. We aimed to review and discuss the scientific rationale for intratumoral immunotherapy, the challenges raised by this strategy in terms of drug development within clinical trials and the current state-of-the-art regarding the clinical practice of this innovative approach.
Pediatric PK/PD Phase I Trial of Pexidartinib in Relapsed and Refractory Leukemias and Solid Tumors Including Neurofibromatosis Type I–Related Plexiform Neurofibromas
Authors: Boal Lauren H. , Glod John , Spencer Melissa , Kasai Miki , Derdak Joanne , Dombi Eva , Ahlman Mark , Beury Daniel W. , Merchant Melinda S. , Persenaire Christianne , Liewehr David J. , Steinberg Seth M. , Widemann Brigitte C. , Kaplan Rosandra N.
Published: September 2020

Purpose:

Simultaneously targeting the tumor and tumor microenvironment may hold promise in treating children with refractory solid tumors. Pexidartinib, an oral inhibitor of tyrosine kinases including colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R), KIT, and FLT3, is FDA approved in adults with tenosynovial giant cell tumor. A phase I trial was conducted in pediatric and young adult patients with refractory leukemias or solid tumors including neurofibromatosis type 1–related plexiform neurofibromas.

Patients and Methods:

A rolling six design with dose levels (DL) of 400 mg/m2, 600 mg/m2, and 800 mg/m2 once daily for 28-day cycles (C) was used. Response was assessed at regular intervals. Pharmacokinetics and population pharmacokinetics were analyzed during C1.

Results:

Twelve patients (4 per DL, 9 evaluable) enrolled on the dose-escalation phase and 4 patients enrolled in the expansion cohort: median (lower, upper quartile) age 16 (14, 16.5) years. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. Pharmacokinetics appeared linear over three DLs. Pharmacokinetic modeling and simulation determined a weight-based recommended phase II dose (RP2D). Two patients had stable disease and 1 patient with peritoneal mesothelioma (C49+) had a sustained partial response (67% RECIST reduction). Pharmacodynamic markers included a rise in plasma macrophage CSF (MCSF) levels and a decrease in absolute monocyte count.

Conclusions:

Pexidartinib in pediatric patients was well tolerated at all DL tested, achieved target inhibition, and resulted in a weight-based RPD2 dose.
Digitalisation and COVID-19: The Perfect Storm
Authors: Horgan Denis , Hackett Joanne , Westphalen C. Benedikt , Kalra Dipak , Richer Etienne , Romao Mario , Andreu Antonio L. , Lal Jonathan A. , Bernini Chiara , Tumiene Birute , Boccia Stefania , Montserrat Antoni
Published: September 2020

“A ship in the harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for,” observed that sage 19th century philosopher William Shedd. In other words, technology of high potential is of little value if the potential is not exploited. As the shape of 2020 is increasingly defined by the coronavirus pandemic, digitalisation is like a ship loaded with technology that has a huge capacity for transforming mankind’s combat against infectious disease. But it is still moored safely in harbour. Instead of sailing bravely into battle, it remains at the dockside, cowering from the storm beyond the breakwaters. Engineers and fitters constantly fine-tune it, and its officers and deckhands perfect their operating procedures, but that promise is unfulfilled, restrained by the hesitancy and indecision of officialdom. Out there, the seas of the pandemic are turbulent and uncharted, and it is impossible to know in advance everything of the other dangers that may lurk beyond those cloudy horizons. However, the more noble course is for orders to be given to complete the preparations, to cast off and set sail, and to join other vessels crewed by valiant healthcare workers and tireless researchers, already deeply engaged in a rescue mission for the whole of the human race. It is the destiny of digitalisation to navigate those oceans alongside other members of that task force, and the hour of destiny has arrived. This article focuses on the potential enablers and recommendation to maximise learnings during the era of COVID-19.
Characteristics of the Filtering Bleb and the Agreement between Glaucoma Specialist and Anterior Segment-Optical Coherence Tomography Assessment
Authors: Zantut Fabio , Gracitelli Carolina Pelegrini Barbosa , Souza Paulo H. , Teixeira Sergio H. , Paranhos Jr. Augusto
Published: September 2020

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of the filtering bleb in failed late trabeculectomy and the agreement between glaucoma specialist assessment and anterior segment-optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) system assessment in terms of the presence of subconjunctival fluid in the filtering bleb. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of glaucoma who were scheduled to undergo trabeculectomy in at least one eye and with uncontrolled intraocular pressure (IOP) were enrolled. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmological examination. The presence of fluid under the filtering bleb was first evaluated by a glaucoma specialist using biomicroscopy evaluation and then using the OCT 1000 AS-OCT Version 3.0.1.8 (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA, USA) system. A Kappa statistical test was used to evaluate the agreement between AS-OCT and the examiner. The correlation between conjunctiva and tenon thickness and clinical parameters was also assessed. Results: Forty eyes of 40 patients were evaluated in this study. The ages ranged from 21 to 86 years, with a mean of 66.55 ± 12.33. The average IOP was 21.20 ± 4.44 mm Hg (range 14–38 mm Hg) in the entire group. The mean thickness of the conjunctiva and tenon was 302.03 ± 406.76 µm (range 251–1,616 µm). There was a significant negative correlation between the mean thickness of the conjunctiva and tenon and IOP (p = 0.045; confidence interval = −0.558, 0.024). Additionally, there was a significant negative correlation between the mean thickness of the conjunctiva and tenon, and the number of medications used at baseline (p = 0.043; confidence interval = −0.538, 0.051). There was significant negative correlation between the horizontal measurement of the bleb and the use of glaucoma medications (p = 0.017; confidence interval = −0.560, 0.004). A total of 26 patients were determined to have fluid by the examiner (glaucoma expert), and the presence of fluid in AS was confirmed in 19 patients by AS-OCT. Of the 14 patients who were determined to have an absence of fluid, this was confirmed by AS-OCT in 7 patients (Kappa = 0.231; agreement of 65.00%). Conclusion: There is fair agreement between glaucoma specialist assessment and AS-OCT assessment in terms of the presence of fluid in trabeculectomy. Our findings highlight the importance of AS-OCT in some patients before deciding upon a new intervention.
A escravidão e a “verdade” do romance: primeiras leituras e usos públicos de A Cabana do Pai Tomás no Brasil (1852-1858)
Authors: Ferretti Danilo José Zioni
Published: September 2020

Neste artigo aborda-se as primeiras leituras brasileiras e os usos públicos do romance abolicionista A Cabana do Pai Tomás [1852], da estadunidense Harriet Beecher Stowe. Considerando-se o anseio do romance realista oitocentista de desvelar o social, apresenta-se os procedimentos formais adotados assim como sua recepção por leitores do Brasil escravista. Para tanto, utiliza-se como fontes principais a imprensa e baseia-se nas reflexões de Michel de Certeau sobre a leitura. Houve três modalidades diferentes de leituras: refratárias, ambíguas e entusiásticas, cada qual correspondeu a um modo próprio dos leitores se posicionarem diante de a intensão realista do romance, nem sempre sendo aceito como uma representação verossímil da escravidão. Indica-se a importância do romance em incentivar um debate público acerca da legitimidade da escravidão, ainda que não tenha incentivado defesas de abolicionismo imediatista.