bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Internal and External Controlling Teaching Behaviors on Students’ Motivational Outcomes in Physical Education: Is There a Gender Difference?
Authors: Abós Ángel , Burgueño Rafael , García-González Luis , Sevil-Serrano Javier
Published: August 2021

Purpose: Grounded in self-determination theory, this study examined gender latent mean differences in students’ perceptions of externally and internally controlling teaching behaviors, basic psychological need frustration, controlled motivation, amotivation, and oppositional defiance in the physical education context. Moreover, it analyzed the differentiated role that internal and external controlling behaviors play on these self-determination theory-related variables among girls and boys. Method: A sample of 1,118 students (Mage = 14.11 ± 1.50; 50.9% girls) participated in this research. A multigroup structural equation modeling approach was used to respond to the research questions. Results: Analyses revealed that girls reported more maladaptive outcomes in most self-determination theory-related variables than boys. Although externally and internally controlling behaviors of physical education teachers were positively related to maladaptive outcomes, the behaviors correlate differently between boys and girls. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of reducing externally controlling behaviors in boys and internally controlling behaviors in both genders, but particularly in girls.
Hydromechanical behaviour of two unsaturated silts: laboratory data and model predictions
Authors: Bruno Agostino Walter , Gallipoli Domenico , Mendes Joao
Published: August 2021

This paper presents the results from a campaign of unsaturated and saturated isotropic tests performed on two compacted silts of different coarseness, namely a clayey silt and a sandy silt, inside triaxial cells. Some tests involved an increase or a decrease of mean net stress at constant suction or an increase or a decrease of suction at constant mean net stress. Other tests involved an increase of mean net stress at constant water content with measurement of suction. During all tests, the void ratio and degree of saturation were measured to investigate the mechanical and retention behaviour of the soil. The experimental results were then simulated by the bounding surface hydromechanical model of A.W. Bruno and D. Gallipoli (2019. Computers and Geotechnics, 110: 287–295. doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2019.02.025), which was originally formulated to describe the behaviour of clays and clayey silts. Model parameters were calibrated against unsaturated tests including isotropic loading stages at constant water content with measurement of varying suction. Loading at constant water content is relatively fast and allows the simultaneous exploration of large ranges of mean net stress and suction, thus reducing the need of multiple experiments at distinct suction levels. Predicted data match well the observed behaviour of both soils, including the occurrence of progressive yielding and hysteresis, which extends the validation of this hydromechanical model to coarser soils. Specific features of the unsaturated soil behaviour, such as wetting-induced collapse, are also well reproduced.
Filling in the holes: The reproductive biology of the understudied Mahali mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus mahali)
Authors: Hart D.W. , Medger K. , van Jaarsveld B. , Bennett N.C.
Published: August 2021

African mole-rats have provided great insight into mammalian evolution of sociality and reproductive strategy. However, some species have not received attention, and these may provide further insights into these evolutionary questions. The cooperatively breeding Mahali mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus mahali (Roberts, 1913)) is one such species. Body mass, reproductive-tract morphometrics, gonad histology, and plasma reproductive hormone concentrations were studied for breeding and non-breeding males and females over 1 year. This study aimed to discern if this species exhibits a seasonal or aseasonal breeding pattern and whether there is a relaxation of reproductive suppression at any point in the year in non-breeding animals. The pattern of reproductive relaxation during the wetter months is similar to other African mole-rat species. Interestingly, births and pregnant breeding females were recorded throughout the year, thus indicating an aseasonal breeding strategy, despite inhabiting a region that experiences seasonal rainfall. However, there were periods of the year favouring increased reproduction to enable an increased likelihood of offspring survival. This suggests that the Mahali mole-rat may be an opportunistic breeder possibly brought about by the benefits of living in a cooperatively breeding group and potentially moving into more arid environments that were previously unexploited by the genus Cryptomys Gray, 1864.
WHAT DRIVES ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN BRICS COUNTRIES? EVIDENCE FROM ARDL BOUNDS TESTING APPROACH
Authors: BEHERA SMRUTI RANJAN , MISHRA TAPAS , DASH DEVI PRASAD , MALLICK LINGARAJ
Published: August 2021

Rapid urbanization, openness and growth in human development index are some of the leading determinants of energy consumption in developing countries, particularly in BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Thanks to their innate tendency to converge to the growth path of developed nations, BRICS countries are under increasing pressure to limit high energy consumption — triggered by outsourcing from developed nations. This paper attempts to weigh the relative importance of various determinants of energy consumption in BRICS countries between 1980 and 2016, studying in-depth the long-run co-movement pattern of energy consumption with demographic characteristics (depicting demand pressure) and macroeconomic aggregates (depicting cheap production cost). By leveraging on the trade-off between domestic and foreign demand and by employing the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach, we establish differential effects of various predictors: whilst an increase in population growth rate, gross domestic product and capital account openness exert a positive and significant impact on energy consumption in Brazil, China and South Africa, foreign direct investment (FDI) and human development appear to enhance energy consumption in India, China and South Africa. The growth in external demand and the FDI inflows appear to have pushed urbanization, leading to greater energy consumption during the study period. Keeping in mind the sustainability goal, stronger green energy practices and sustainable urbanization patterns are needed to curb excessive energy sources.
On the connection between cosmological parameters and peculiar motion in a G2 massless scalar field spacetime
Authors: Gregoris Daniele
Published: August 2021

The geodesic motion of a massive test particle in a [Formula: see text] massless scalar field universe is investigated. The time evolution of the peculiar velocity is connected to the values of the cosmological parameters, and it is quantified how the spacetime shearing effects affect the deviations from the asymptotic value of comoving matter flow at late epochs. On the other hand, it is shown that the energy scale of the cosmic fluid does not affect the evolution of the peculiar velocity. The existence of a turning point in the motion of the astronomical object is identified. The potential astrophysical relevance of this study in the modeling of cosmic filaments and Large Quasar Groups is briefly discussed.
Global Hölder continuity of solutions to quasilinear equations with Morrey data
Authors: Byun Sun-Sig , Palagachev Dian K. , Shin Pilsoo
Published: August 2021

We deal with general quasilinear divergence-form coercive operators whose prototype is the [Formula: see text]-Laplacean operator. The nonlinear terms are given by Carathéodory functions and satisfy controlled growth structure conditions with data belonging to suitable Morrey spaces. The fairly non-regular boundary of the underlying domain is supposed to satisfy a capacity density condition which allows domains with exterior corkscrew property.

We prove global boundedness and Hölder continuity up to the boundary for the weak solutions of such equations, generalizing this way the classical [Formula: see text]-result of Ladyzhenskaya and Ural’tseva to the settings of the Morrey spaces.
A Hybrid Solution for Band-Gap Analysis of Vertical Vibration for Periodic Beam-Plate Coupled Systems Based on Variation Principle
Authors: Feng Qingsong , Dai Chengxin , Guo Wenjie , Yang Zhou , Lu Jianfei
Published: August 2021

The variation principle widely used in structural dynamics analysis allows us to transform the differential equation of the boundary value problem into a functional with extreme value. In recent years, it has been applied to the band-gap analysis of periodic structures. However, for periodic beam-plate composite structures with periodic and ordinary boundaries, it is relatively difficult for the traditional energy methods, such as the Rayleigh–Ritz method, to construct the displacement functions that satisfy boundary conditions. Hence, a hybrid solution is proposed in this paper to account for various boundary conditions of the periodic beam-plate composite structure. Specifically, the displacement functions constructed by the plane wave series can automatically satisfy the periodic boundary conditions. With the ordinary boundaries modeled by artificial springs, the spectral functions conforming to arbitrary boundary conditions are used to represent the displacement functions. The proposed solution is used to solve the band-gap problems of CRTS-III and CRTS-II slab ballastless tracks in China, and the accuracy of the solution is verified by comparing the calculated results with numerical simulations. In addition, through band-gap formation mechanism analysis, the frequency range of propagating flexural waves in each track component is accurately evaluated, which provides a theoretical basis for refined structural vibration reduction in the future. The solution proposed in this paper is flexible and convenient, which can be extended to a more complex band-gap analysis of periodic structures.
Stochastic Response of Nonlinear Viscoelastic Systems with Time-Delayed Feedback Control Force and Bounded Noise Excitation
Authors: Gu Xudong , Jia Fusen , Deng Zichen , Hu Rongchun
Published: August 2021

In this paper, an approximate analytical procedure is proposed to derive the stochastic response of nonlinear viscoelastic systems with time-delayed feedback control force and bounded noise excitation. The viscoelastic force and the time-delayed control force depend on the past histories of the state variables, which will result in infinite-dimensional problem in theoretical analysis. To resolve these difficulties, the viscoelastic force and the time-delayed control force are approximated by the current state variable based on the quasi-periodic behavior of the systematic response. Then, by using the stochastic averaging method for strongly nonlinear systems subjected to bounded noise excitation, an averaged equation for the equivalent system is derived. The Fokker–Plank–Kolmogorov (FPK) equation of the associated averaged equation is solved to derive the stochastic response of the equivalent system. Finally, two typical nonlinear viscoelastic oscillators are worked out and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed procedure. By utilizing the quasi-periodic behavior and stochastic averaging method of the strongly nonlinear system, the time-delayed control force and the viscoelastic terms can be simplified with equivalent damping force and equivalent restoring force and the resonant response under bounded noise excitation can be obtained analytically. The numerical results showed the accuracy of the proposed method.
A Darwinian Differential Evolution Algorithm for Multilevel Image Thresholding
Authors: Ehsaeyan Ehsan , Zolghadrasli Alireza
Published: August 2021

Image segmentation is a prime operation to understand the content of images. Multilevel thresholding is applied in image segmentation because of its speed and accuracy. In this paper, a novel multilevel thresholding algorithm based on differential evolution (DE) search is introduced. One of the major drawbacks of metaheuristic algorithms is the stagnation phenomenon which leads to falling into local optimums and premature convergence. To overcome this shortcoming, the idea of Darwinian theory is incorporated with DE algorithm to increase the diversity and quality of the individuals without decreasing the convergence speed of DE algorithm. A policy of encouragement and punishment is considered to lead searching agents in the search space and reduce the computational time. The algorithm is implemented based on dividing the population into specified groups and each group tries to find a better location. Ten test images are selected to verify the ability of our algorithm using the famous energy curve method. Kapur entropy and Type 2 fuzzy entropy are employed to evaluate the capability of the introduced algorithm. Nine different metaheuristic algorithms with Darwinian modes are also implemented and compared with our method. Experimental results manifest that the proposed method is a powerful tool for multilevel thresholding and the obtained results outperform the DE algorithm and other methods.
Rigidity and concircular symmetries
Authors: Franco Andrés
Published: August 2021

We present a rigidity result in Lorentzian geometry, related to Bartnik’s conjecture, under the hypothesis of the existence of a concircular vector field with certain properties. We also study the relationship between two different notions of concircular vector fields found in the literature, and give conditions for a generalized Robertson–Walker spacetime to have a timelike concircular vector field.
On some curvature properties of Vaidya–Bonner metric
Authors: Shaikh Absos Ali , Datta Biswa Ranjan , Chakraborty Dhyanesh
Published: August 2021

The Vaidya–Bonner metric is a non-static generalization of Reissner–Nordström metric and this paper deals with the investigation of the curvature restricted geometric properties of such a metric. The scalar curvature vanishes and several pseudosymmetric-type curvature conditions are fulfilled by this metric. Also, it is a [Formula: see text]-quasi-Einstein, [Formula: see text] and generalized Roter type manifold. As a special case, the curvature properties of Reissner–Nordström metric are obtained. It is noted that Vaidya–Bonner metric admits several generalized geometric structures in comparison to Reissner–Nordström metric and Vaidya metric.
Size Effects on Droplet Displacing Process in Micropores by Multiscale Modeling
Authors: Liu Fanli , Wang Moran
Published: August 2021

Transport mechanisms of small droplets on walls in micropores become significant for applications in energy, resource and biomedical engineering, however, a suitable numerical tool remains challenging. Macroscopic approach is ideal both in computing cost and simplicity but its applicability is doubted for nanoscale droplet, yet no clear evaluation on when exactly does it become invalid has been made. This work evaluates the applicability of macroscopic approach for the displacing process of droplet in a micropore and investigates relevant size effects, by comparing the simulation results of multiscale modeling and macroscopic method. Three types of size effects affecting the displacement results are identified: Laplace pressure, low interfacial density, and breakdown of macroscopic description. For the system studied, the Laplace pressure dominates for relatively big droplet, then low density region becomes significant for drop diameter smaller than 18 times molecule diameter, and finally macroscopic description gradually fails for drop diameter smaller than 13 times molecule diameter. We further investigate the influences of system scale and fluid type on these size effects and discuss the relative importance of each size effect under different conditions. Results indicate that traditional macroscopic approach may be invalid even when continuum assumption still holds due to other size effects, and corrections for those effects can be made to extend the applicability of macroscopic method.
Generalized relaxed inertial method with regularization for solving split feasibility problems in real Hilbert spaces
Authors: Mebawondu A. A. , Jolaoso L. O. , Abass H. A. , Narain O. K.
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we propose a new modified relaxed inertial regularization method for finding a common solution of a generalized split feasibility problem, the zeros of sum of maximal monotone operators, and fixed point problem of two nonlinear mappings in real Hilbert spaces. We prove that the proposed method converges strongly to a minimum-norm solution of the aforementioned problems without using the conventional two cases approach. In addition, we apply our convergence results to the classical variational inequality and equilibrium problems, and present some numerical experiments to show the efficiency and applicability of the proposed method in comparison with other existing methods in the literature. The results obtained in this paper extend, generalize and improve several results in this direction.
On normality of a closure space generated from a tree by relation
Authors: Das A. K. , Gupta Ria
Published: August 2021

Binary relation plays a prominent role in the study of mathematics in particular applied mathematics. Recently, some authors generated closure spaces through relation and made a comparative study of topological properties in the space by varying the property on the relation. In this paper, we have studied closure spaces generated from a tree through binary relation and observed that under certain situation the space generated from a tree is normal.
Generalized derivations, quasiderivations and centroids of Bihom-Lie triple system
Authors: Hassine Abdelkader Ben
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we give some properties of the generalized derivation algebra [Formula: see text] of a Bihom-Lie triple system T. In particular, we prove that [Formula: see text], the sum of the quasiderivation algebra and the quasicentroid. We also prove that [Formula: see text] can be embedded as derivations in a larger Bihom-Lie triple system.
Design and Implementation of 3D Film and Television Scene Production Algorithm Based on the Internet of Things
Authors: Kuang Ruiying
Published: August 2021

Film and television itself is a product of culture and innovation, combining digital technology, creative thinking, and artistic design. In the rapid development of 3D film and television, the situation of scene design and production has also become an important role. In a typical environment, the main scene plays the role of film and television and coherent plot. This thesis mainly analyzes the design and implementation of a 3D movie scene production algorithm based on the Internet of Things and also makes 3D movie scenes through the algorithm of Internet of Things technology. This article also analyzes the traditional 3D scene‐making algorithm, which is mainly composed of a plane mapping part, a basic primitive generation part, a collision detection and positioning part, and a terrain generation part. Among them, the plane mapping technology provides the function of using plane mapping to simulate 3D objects. The basic primitive generation part uses the OpenGl function to draw 3D primitives and paste the BMP format image on each surface of the stereo primitives, so that the 3D model can be represented by a plane texture; collision detection is a key part of mechanical physics, which can detect games of the physical edge of the object in the middle; the terrain generation part uses the converted gray height value as the corresponding grid terrain height and uses planar mapping technology to capture the image of the entire terrain, that is, paste and generate a terrain map. The results show that a characteristic of the algorithm of the Internet of Things technology is that the 3D scene is completely mapped. This avoids the trouble of using 3DMAX and other tools to create 3D models and also reduces the difficulty of creating 3D scenes and makes the execution efficient, which is better than directly importing 3D models, runs faster, and runs very smoothly. The Internet of Things is an important development trend in the Internet information age and can be used to produce 3D film and television scenes to reduce development difficulty and cost and has a variety of research and development value and practical value. In the analysis part, this article also introduces the algorithms used in the scene production and passes the tests of 4 different files in 4 different frames and also found that more than 83% of people feel that the use of Internet of Things algorithms in the production of 3D movie scenes has improved production efficiency.
Direct Data-Driven Control for Cascade Control System
Authors: Jianwang Hong , Ramirez-Mendoza Ricardo A. , Xiaojun Tang
Published: August 2021

This paper combines system identification, direct data-driven control, and optimization algorithm to design two controllers for one cascade control system, that is, the inner controller and the outer controller. More specifically, when these two controllers in the cascade control system are parameterized by two unknown parameter vectors, respectively, the problem of controller design is changed to parameter identification. To avoid the modeling process for the unknown plants in the cascade control system, a direct data-driven control scheme is proposed to identify those two parameter vectors through minimizing two optimization problems, which do not need any knowledge of the unknown plants. Furthermore, the detailed first-order gradient algorithm is applied to solve our constructed optimization problems, and its convergence property is also analyzed. To extend the above idea to design a nonlinear controller in the cascade control system, a direct data-driven scheme is proposed to get one optimal nonlinear controller, by using some spectral knowledge. Finally, one simulation example of flight simulation is used to prove the efficiency of our proposed direct data-driven control for the cascade control system.
Pattern of Mandibular Third Molar Impaction in Nonsyndromic 17760 Patients: A Retrospective Study among Saudi Population in Central Region, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Zaman Mahmud Uz , Almutairi Naif Salem , Abdulrahman Alnashwan Mohammed , Albogami Shabab Mohammed , Alkhammash Nawaf Masad , Alam Mohammad Khursheed
Published: August 2021

The objective of this study was to study the incidence of type of impaction of mandibular third molars based on the classifications of Pell and Gregory and Winter, which included angulation of the tooth and level of the occlusal surface of the third molar with respect to the second molar, respectively, in a sample of Saudi population in central region. In this retrospective study, orthopantomograms (OPGs) of 17760 patients were examined, who were reported by the Dental University Hospital (DUH) at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between the years 2016 and 2020. Out of 17760 radiographs, 2187 (12.31%) patients presented with at least one impacted third molar. Out of which, 1337 (7.52%) patients had bilateral impaction and 850 (4.78%) patients had unilateral impaction (p < 0.001). No gender predominance was noted in the impaction status (p > 0.05). In bilateral impaction, 671 were male (50.2%) and 666 were female (49.8%). Among unilateral impaction, 394 (46.4%) were male and 456 (53.6%) were female. Mesioangular angulation was the most common pattern of impaction (65%) followed by vertical angulation in both bilateral and unilateral impactions. Level A impaction was found to be highest in both bilateral and unilateral impactions which are 48.02% and 54.0%, respectively (p < 0.05). Our study highlights mesioangular impaction and level “A” as the most frequently encountered angulation and level of impaction in impacted teeth. This study result provides us useful data regarding the radiographic status of mandibular third molars in the population of Saudi Arabia.
Porous Lactose as a Novel Ingredient Carrier for the Improvement of Quercetin Solubility In Vitro
Authors: Liu Wen , Wang Tong-Tong , Tang Xiao-Luan , Jiang Fei-Ya , Yan Xiao , Deng Jun
Published: August 2021

In this work, quercetin was loaded in the highly-porous lactose via the adsorption of quercetin molecules in ethanol. The method aims to improve the quercetin solubility and the loading capacity of lactose. The method relates to the synthesis of the highly-porous lactose with a particle size of ∼35 μm, a mean pore width of ∼30 nm, a BET surface area of 35.0561 ± 0.4613 m2/g, and a BJH pore volume of ∼0.075346 cc/g. After the quercetin loading in ethanol, BET surface area and BJH pore volume of porous lactose were reduced to 28.8735 ± 0.3526 m2/g and 0.073315 cc/g, respectively. The reduction rate was based on the quercetin loading efficiency of highly-porous lactose. DSC analysis and XRD analysis suggest that the sediments of quercetin in the nanopores of porous lactose are crystalline. FTIR spectroscopy results suggest that there is no significant interaction between quercetin and lactose. The highly-porous lactose had a higher loading efficiency of 20.3% (w/w) compared to the α-lactose (with 5.2% w/w). The release rates of quercetin from the highly-porous lactose tablets were faster compared to the conventional α-lactose carrier.
Evaluation of the Application Effect of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Image Technology Based on Three-Dimensional Image Fusion Algorithm in the Diagnosis of Adenomyosis
Authors: Zhang Yiqun , Xue Lu , Zhang Chunlian , Zhou Jianying
Published: August 2021

In this paper, the effect of ultrasound images based on a 3-dimensional image fusion algorithm in the diagnosis of adenomyosis was evaluated. 88 patients with adenomyosis who were treated in the hospital from February 2019 to May 2020 were selected as the research subjects. They were rolled into localized type (Group A), with 40 cases, and diffuse type (Group B), with 48 cases. At the same time, 45 women of normal childbearing age who underwent physical examination in the outpatient clinic were rolled into the control group (Group C). Three-dimensional ultrasound scans of the uterus were performed on all patients, to observe the enhancement methods and characteristics. Then, the image characteristics of adenomyosis were studied through the time-intensity curve (TIC). Arise time ATs of three groups of patients were not different greatly (

P
>
0.05

). It was found that the enhancement method, enhancement uniformity, and enhancement level of ultrasound scan in Groups A and B were significantly different from Group C (

P
<
0.05

). In contrast with Group C, the rise time (RT) of the ultrasound scan of the two groups was less, the time-to-peak (TTP) was faster, and the image maximum (IMAX) was higher (

P
<
0.05

). What is more, contrast-enhanced ultrasonic (CEUS) detection in patients with adenomyosis showed centrality and nonuniform high enhancement. Besides, less RT, faster TTP, and higher IMAX than the normal population can be the key evidence for the clinical diagnosis of adenomyosis. In conclusion, according to the blood supply characteristics of adenomyosis and other gynecological diseases, the enhancement method and enhancement time of ultrasound images are significantly different. TIC can reflect the hemodynamic difference between the lesion and the normal ones. Therefore, the CEUS based on the three-dimensional image fusion algorithm can be applied to the image diagnosis of adenomyosis.
Experimental Investigation on the Ecofriendly External Wrapping of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer in Concrete Columns
Authors: Vijayan D. S. , Mohan A. , Jebasingh Daniel J. , Gokulnath V. , Saravanan B. , Kumar P. Dinesh
Published: August 2021

An ecofriendly fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) had been used in the last decade to enhance the short concrete column’s strength and deformation capacity. This study involves the wrapping of FRP sheets with a thickness of 3 mm and 5 mm on a short column, and then the compressive strength is determined. The rectangular columns of size 150 mm × 300 mm are used for this study, and cast under the grades of M20 and M40 are wrapped with GFRP sheets at the thickness of 3 mm and 5 mm. These results are clarified at a specific thickness of the FRP‐wrapped columns. It provides a maximum axial compressive strength, and Young’s modulus gets enhanced rigorously when it is to be compared to the normal concrete. This thesis deals with experimental studies of different parameters associated with wrapped glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP). In M20 grade, when the 3 mm wrapped specimen and the 5 mm wrapped specimen are compared, the specimen wrapped with 5 mm increases 5.182% more than the specimen wrapped with 3 mm. In M40 grade, when the 0 mm, 3 mm, and 5 mm wrapped specimens are compared, the specimen wrapped with 5 mm increases 2.47% more than the specimen wrapped with 0 mm. The 5 mm wrapping attains the maximum strength.
Towards Trustworthy IoT: A Blockchain-Edge Computing Hybrid System with Proof-of-Contribution Mechanism
Authors: Dai Huan , Shi Pengzhan , Huang He , Chen Ruyu , Zhao Jun
Published: August 2021

The emerging smart city is driving massive transformations of modern cities, facing the huge influx of sensor data from IoT devices. Edge computing distributes computing tasks to the near-edge end, which greatly enhances the service quality of IoT applications, that is, ultralow latency, large capacity, and high throughput. However, due to the constrained resource of IoT devices, currently, systems with a centralized model are vulnerable to attacks, such as DDoS from IoT botnet and central database failure, which can hardly provide high-confidence services. Recently, blockchain with a high security promise is considered to provide new approaches to enhancing the security of IoT systems. However, blockchain and IoT have obvious incompatibility, and low-capacity IoT devices can hardly be incorporated into blockchain with high computing requirements. In this paper, a blockchain-edge computing hybrid system (BEHS) is presented to make the adaptation of blockchain to edge computing and provide trustworthy IoT management services for a smart city. A novel extensible consensus protocol designed for proof-of-work, named proof-of-contribution (PoC), is proposed to regulate the data upload behaviors of nodes, especially the data upload frequency of IoT device nodes, so as to protect the system from attack about frequency. In order to secure the data privacy and authenticity, a data access control scheme is designed by integrating symmetric encryption with asymmetric encryption algorithm. We implemented a concrete BEHS on Ethereum, realized the function of PoC mechanism via smart contracts, and conducted a case study for smart city. The extensive evaluations and analyses show that the proposed PoC mechanism can effectively detect and automatically manage the behavior of nodes, and the time cost of data access control scheme is within an acceptable range.
Simultaneous Developability of Partner Ruled Surfaces according to Darboux Frame in

E

3
Authors: Ouarab Soukaina
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we introduce original definitions of Partner ruled surfaces according to the Darboux frame of a curve lying on an arbitrary regular surface in

E

3

. It concerns

T
g

Partner ruled surfaces,

T
n

Partner ruled surfaces, and

g
n

Partner ruled surfaces. We aim to study the simultaneous developability conditions of each couple of two Partner ruled surfaces. Finally, we give an illustrative example for our study.
Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Diseases in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in the Middle East: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Naser Abdallah Y , Alwafi Hassan , Alotaibi Basil , Salawati Emad , Samannodi Mohammed , Alsairafi Zahra , Alanazi Abeer F. R. , Dairi Mohammad S.
Published: August 2021

Aims. The prevalence of CKD in patients with diabetes mellitus in the Middle East region is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to understand the pooled prevalence of CKD in patients with diabetes mellitus in the Middle East region. Methods. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for relevant studies up to October 2020. The search strategy was conducted using both keywords and MeSH terms. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that included patients from all age groups and any study design that reported on the prevalence of CKD in patients with diabetes mellitus were included. The pooled estimate for the prevalence of CKD in patients with diabetes was calculated using random-effect models with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. A total of 489 citations were identified, of which only nine studies matched our inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. All of the studies used an observational study design covering a total of 59,395 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The pooled estimate of the prevalence of CKD in patients with diabetes mellitus was 28.96% (95% CI: 19.80–38.11). Conclusions. A high prevalence of CKD in patients with diabetes mellitus in the Middle East region was found. Further epidemiological studies are warranted in this area to have a better estimate of the prevalence of CKD among DM in the Middle East region.
Diffusion-Weighted Imaging-Magnetic Resonance Imaging Information under Class-Structured Deep Convolutional Neural Network Algorithm in the Prognostic Chemotherapy of Osteosarcoma
Authors: Hu Yong , Tang Jie , Zhao Shenghao , Li Ye
Published: August 2021

In order to improve the efficiency of early imaging diagnosis of patients with osteosarcoma and the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on the results of imaging examinations, 48 patients with suspected osteosarcoma were selected as the research objects and their diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images were regularized in this study. Then, a DWI-MRI image discrimination model was established based on the class-structured deep convolutional neural network (CSDCNN) algorithm. The peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), mean square error (MSE), and edge preserve index (EPI) were applied to evaluate the image quality after processing by the CSDCNN algorithm; the accuracy, recall rate, precise rate, and F1 score were employed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of CSDCNN algorithm; the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was adopted to evaluate the therapeutic effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on the CSDCNN algorithm, and SegNet, LeNet, and AlexNet algorithms were introduced for comparison. The results showed that the PSNR, MSE, and EPI values of DWI-MRI images of patients with osteosarcoma were 29.1941, 0.0016, and 0.9688, respectively, after using the CSDCNN algorithm to process the DWI-MRI images. The three indicators were significantly better than other algorithms, and the difference was statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). According to the results of imaging diagnosis of patients with osteosarcoma, there was no significant difference between the assisted diagnosis effect of the CSDCNN algorithm and the pathological examination results (

P
>
0.05

). The results of adjuvant chemotherapy based on the CSDCNN algorithm found that the ADCmean value of the patients after chemotherapy was 1.66 ± 0.17 and the ADCmin value was 1.33 ± 0.15; the two indicators were significantly higher than other algorithms, and the difference was statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). In conclusion, the CSDCNN algorithm had a good effect on DWI-MRI image processing of patients with osteosarcoma, which could improve the diagnostic accuracy of patients with osteosarcoma. Moreover, the diagnosis results based on this algorithm could achieve better neoadjuvant chemotherapy effects and assist clinicians in imaging diagnosis and clinical treatment of patients with osteosarcoma.
Impacts of LOC105371267 Variants on Breast Cancer Susceptibility in Northern Chinese Han Females: A Population-Based Case-Control Study
Authors: Peng Linna , Huang Congmei , Xing Shishi , Li Dandan , He Chunjuan , He Yongjun , Yang Wei , Jin Tianbo , Wang Li
Published: August 2021

Background. LOC105371267, also known as PR-lncRNA1, was reported to be a p53-regulated long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), which played an essential role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer (BC). We aimed to observe the potential association between LOC105371267 polymorphisms and BC risk in Northern Chinese Han females. Methods. Totally, 555 healthy individuals and 561 patients with BC were recruited. Five candidate SNPs (rs6499221, rs3931698, rs8044565, rs3852740, and rs111577197) of LOC105371267 were genotyped with the Agena MassARRAY system. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to evaluate the relationship of LOC105371267 genetic polymorphisms with BC susceptibility. Additionally, stratification analysis based on clinical features and haplotype analysis were also conducted. Finally, multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis was performed to assess the SNP-SNP interaction among LOC105371267 variants, and false-positive report probability (FPRP) analysis was used to validate the result of this study. Results. In this study, rs3931698 was a protective factor of BC in total (GG homozygote: OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.11–0.82,

p
=
0.018

; recessive model: OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.11–0.84,

p
=
0.021

). In stratification analysis based on the average age of 52 years and clinical characteristics (PR status, III-IV TNM stage), rs3931698 was also demonstrated to be associated with BC susceptibility. In addition, rs6499221 and rs3852740 were also associated with BC susceptibility among patients at age <52 years and patients with BC in a positive status. Thus, the haplotype analysis had a negative result for the incidence of BC (

p
>
0.05

), and haplotype consisting of rs8044565 and rs111577197 was nonsignificantly associated with the BC risk. Finally, MDR and FPRP analyses also validated the result of this study. Conclusion. Polymorphisms rs3931698, rs6499221, and rs3852740 of LOC105371267 were found to be associated with the risk of BC in total, and stratification analysis in the Northern Chinese Han females suggested that LOC105371267 variants might be helpful to predict BC progression.
Physicians’ Attitude towards Electronic Medical Record Systems: An Input for Future Implementers
Authors: Kalayou Mulugeta Hayelom , Endehabtu Berhanu Fikadie , Guadie Habtamu Alganeh , Abebaw Zeleke , Dessie Kassahun , Awol Shekur Mohammed , Mengestie Nebyu Demeke , Yeneneh Abraham , Tilahun Binyam
Published: August 2021

Background. Electronic medical record (EMR) systems offer the potential to improve health care quality by allowing physicians real‐time access to patient healthcare information. The endorsement and usage of EMRs by physicians have a significant influence on other user groups in the healthcare system. As a result, the purpose of this study was to examine physicians’ attitudes regarding EMRs and identify the elements that may influence their attitudes. Method. An institutional‐based cross‐sectional study design supplemented with a qualitative study was conducted from March 1 to April 30, 2018, among a total of 403 physicians. A self‐administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The validity of the prediction bounds for the dependent variable and the validity of the confidence intervals and P values for the parameters were measured with a value of less than 0.05 and 95 percent of confidence interval. For the supplementary qualitative study, data were collected using semistructured in‐depth interviews from 11 key informants, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Result. Physicians’ computer literacy (CI: 0.264, 0.713; P: 0001) and computer access at work (CI: 0.141, 0.533, P: 0.001) were shown to be favorable predictors of their attitude towards EMR system adoption. Another conclusion from this study was the inverse relationship between physicians’ prior EMR experience and their attitude about the system (CI: ‐0.517, ‐0.121; P: 0.002). Conclusion. According to the findings of this study, physicians’ attitudes regarding EMR were found moderate in the studied region. There was a favorable relationship between computer ownership, computer literacy, lack of EMR experience, participation in EMR training, and attitude towards EMR. Improving the aforementioned elements is critical to improving physicians’ attitudes regarding EMR.
Channel-Wise Spatiotemporal Aggregation Technology for Face Video Forensics
Authors: Lu Yujiang , Liu Yaju , Fei Jianwei , Xia Zhihua
Published: August 2021

Recent progress in deep learning, in particular the generative models, makes it easier to synthesize sophisticated forged faces in videos, leading to severe threats on social media about personal privacy and reputation. It is therefore highly necessary to develop forensics approaches to distinguish those forged videos from the authentic. Existing works are absorbed in exploring frame-level cues but insufficient in leveraging affluent temporal information. Although some approaches identify forgeries from the perspective of motion inconsistency, there is so far not a promising spatiotemporal feature fusion strategy. Towards this end, we propose the Channel-Wise Spatiotemporal Aggregation (CWSA) module to fuse deep features of continuous video frames without any recurrent units. Our approach starts by cropping the face region with some background remained, which transforms the learning objective from manipulations to the difference between pristine and manipulated pixels. A deep convolutional neural network (CNN) with skip connections that are conducive to the preservation of detection-helpful low-level features is then utilized to extract frame-level features. The CWSA module finally makes the real or fake decision by aggregating deep features of the frame sequence. Evaluation against a list of large facial video manipulation benchmarks has illustrated its effectiveness. On all three datasets, FaceForensics++, Celeb-DF, and DeepFake Detection Challenge Preview, the proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art methods with significant advantages.
Comparison of Surgical Outcomes for Finsterer and the Roux-en-Y Reconstruction after Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Carcinoma
Authors: Ha Pham Hoang , Hoa Nguyen Xuan
Published: August 2021

Objective. There have been surgical procedures to reconstruct the gastrointestinal continuity after distal gastrectomy. This study is aimed at comparing the surgical outcomes of reconstructing gastrointestinal continuity by the method of Finsterer and Roux-en-Y after distal gastrectomy due to cancer. Materials and methods. 86 patients, who underwent distal gastrectomy due to cancer, were divided into 2 groups for reconstructing gastrointestinal continuity from March 2014 to August 2018 at Viet Duc Hospital: group 1 (44 patients) by the Finsterer method and group 2 (42 patients) by the Roux-en-Y method. Results. The concentrations of bilirubin and amylase in gastric liquid after first flatus were 97.6 mmol/l and 20016 mmol/l for group 1 and 0.5 mmol/l and 152 mmol/l for group 2 (

p
=
0.01

), respectively. The rate of reflux with clinical manifestations was 45.7% for group 1 and 9.4% for group 2 (

p
=
0.001

). The average operation time was

155.7
±
25.9

(90-200) minutes for group 1 and

170.3
±
22.3

(120-215) minutes for group 2 (

p
=
0.007

). The number of lymph nodes was

19.1
±
4.8

(13-37) for group 1 and

20.3
±
4.5

(12– 33) for group 2 (

p
=
0.243

). There was 1 case of mesenteric bleeding in group 2 (2.4%). The dumping syndrome occurred in group 1 (20%) and group 2 (9.4%) (

p
=
0.31

). Conclusion. The Finsterer and Roux-en-Y methods proved to be equally effective in their feasibility and safety. However, the Roux-en-Y method was better than the Finsterer method at limiting bile reflux and gastritis.
Challenges of Pediatric Cataract Surgery in a Case of Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis (SHAPU)
Authors: Karki Pratap , Sitaula Ranju Kharel , Khatri Anadi , Joshi Sagun Narayan , Gurung Haramaya , Maharjan Indraman , Sharma Ananda Kumar , Upadhaya Madan Prasad
Published: August 2021

A four-year-old female child diagnosed as a case of severe Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis (SHAPU) underwent lens-sparing core vitrectomy in her left eye with intravitreal antibiotic and steroid. Patient responded well to treatment and intraocular inflammation subsided. However, three months later, she developed vision impairing dense cataract which also made posterior segment assessment difficult. Lens aspiration with primary posterior capsulotomy and anterior vitrectomy with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation was performed. However, four weeks later, the patient developed occlusio pupillae with iris bombe. She did not respond to medical management so synechiolysis with surgical iridectomy was performed after which a normal depth anterior chamber was attained. Synechia and iris bombe were also relieved, and vision was regained.
Deeper Sections: Its Frequency and Diagnostic Utility in Histopathology of Noncutaneous Small Biopsy Specimen in a Tertiary Hospital in Nepal
Authors: Lama Gopal , Upadhyaya Paricha , Karki Smriti , Pradhan Anju
Published: August 2021

Background. Biopsy is an important tool for accurate diagnosis of disease in histopathology which can be examined at multiple levels during microscopic examination. The initial sections may not be representative of the entire biopsy, which leads to frequent request for deeper sections. This study assessed the frequency and diagnostic utility of deeper sections in noncutaneous small biopsy specimens at a tertiary hospital. Material and Methods. All the formalin fixed noncutaneous small biopsy specimens received were processed for grossing followed by tissue processing and embedding. The paraffin-embedded blocks were cut into 3–5 µm sections, fixed in a glass slide, deparaffinised, and then stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain as per the standard protocol. Deeper sections were instructed based on microscopic findings of initial slides. The overall frequency of deeper section, its levels of cutting, tissue survival, and outcome were assessed and interpreted for the final diagnosis. Results. A total of 125 cases (26.9%) from 464 samples received were requested for deeper sections. The most frequent deeper sections were from cervix (72 cases) followed by stomach (18 cases) and endometrium (17 cases). The deeper sections were performed most frequently at 4 levels (17.8%) followed by 5 levels (14.8%) and 6 levels (13.3%). Deeper sections revealed nondiagnostic additional features in 28.2%, while 2.2% showed additional diagnostic features. Likewise, 2.2% had tissue segment loss. The overall mean level showing additional features was 6 levels. Tissue survival increased in 13% cases and 1.5% had decreased survival. The most common reason for requesting deeper section was to enhance sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of disease. Conclusions. Deeper sections often contribute to final diagnosis. Therefore, deeper sections on biopsies that cannot readily be diagnosed on routine levels are recommended regardless of size of the lesion and there should be uniformity in the practice of deeper sections across the globe.