bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pulmonary Artery Pulsatility Index and Hemolysis during Impella-Incorporated Mechanical Circulatory Support
Authors: Nakamura Makiko , Imamura Teruhiko , Hida Yuki , Kinugawa Koichiro
Published: February 2022

Background: Impella is a percutaneous transcatheter left ventricular assist device. Device-related hemolysis is a serious complication that is sometimes encountered depending on the device position, device speed, and support duration. However, the impact of hemodynamics on the occurrence of hemolysis remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to clarify the relationships between hemodynamics, especially right ventricular function, and the occurrence of hemolysis during Impella-incorporated mechanical circulatory support. Methods: Consecutive patients who received Impella (2.5, CP, and 5.0) support at our institute between March 2018 and July 2021 were retrospectively included. The relationships between the pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi) immediately after Impella insertion and the occurrence of hemolysis were investigated. Results: Forty-two patients (median 71 years old, 60% men) were included. Hemolysis occurred in 20 patients (48%). A cutoff of PAPi to predict hemolysis was calculated as 1.3, with 80.0% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity. Lower PAPi (<1.3) significantly correlated with the occurrence of hemolysis with an odds ratio of 11.65 (95% confidence interval 1.58–85.98, p = 0.017), adjusted for other potential confounders. Survival discharge was significantly lower in patients with lower PAPi (<1.3) (50% vs. 86%, p = 0.019). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that patients with right ventricular impairment indicated by lower PAPi following the initiation of Impella-incorporated mechanical circulatory support have a higher risk of hemolysis.
Choroidal Thickness and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma—A Narrative Review
Authors: Verticchio Vercellin Alice , Harris Alon , Stoner Ari M. , Oddone Francesco , Mendoza Kristen Ann , Siesky Brent
Published: February 2022

The choroid provides the majority of blood flow to the ocular tissues and structures that facilitate the processes of retinal metabolism responsible for vision. Specifically, the choriocapillaris provides a structural network of small blood vessels that supplies the retinal ganglion cells and deep ocular tissues. Similar to retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, choroidal thickness (CT) has been suggested to represent a quantifiable health biomarker for choroidal tissues. Glaucoma is a disease with vascular contributions in its onset and progression. Despite its importance in maintaining ocular structure and vascular functionality, clinical assessments of choroidal tissues have been historically challenged by the inaccessibility of CT biomarker targets. The development of optical coherence tomography angiography and enhanced depth imaging created a framework for assessing CT and investigating its relationship to glaucomatous optic neuropathy onset and progression. Pilot studies on CT in glaucoma are conflicting—with those both in support of, and against, its clinical utility. Complicating the data are highly customized analysis methods, small sample sizes, heterogeneous patient groups, and a lack of properly designed controlled studies with CT as a primary outcome. Herein, we review the available data on CT and critically discuss its potential relevance and limitations in glaucoma disease management.
Better Control of Body Temperature Is Not Associated with Improved Hemodynamic and Respiratory Parameters in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with Sepsis
Authors: Markota Andrej , Skok Kristijan , Kalamar Žiga , Fluher Jure , Gorenjak Mario
Published: February 2022

The need for temperature modulation (mostly cooling) in critically ill patients is based on the expected benefits associated with decreased metabolic demands. However, evidence-based guidelines for temperature management in a majority of critically ill patients with fever are still lacking. The aim of our retrospective single-site observational study was to determine the differences in ICU treatment between patients in whom their temperature remained within the target temperature range for ≥25% of time (inTT group) and patients in whom their temperature was outside the target temperature range for <24% of time (outTT group). We enrolled 76 patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure associated with sepsis. We observed no significant differences in survival, mechanical ventilation settings and duration, vasopressor support, renal replacement therapy and other parameters of treatment. Patients in the inTT group were significantly more frequently cooled with the esophageal cooling device, received a significantly lower cumulative dose of acetaminophen and significantly more frequently developed a presence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. In our study, achieving a better temperature control was not associated with any improvement in treatment parameters during ICU stay. A lower prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens in patients with higher body temperatures opens a question of a pro-pyrexia approach with an aim to achieve better patient outcomes.
Profoundly Disturbed Lipoproteins in Cirrhotic Patients: Role of Lipoprotein-Z, a Hepatotoxic LDL-like Lipoprotein
Authors: van den Berg Eline H. , Flores-Guerrero Jose L. , Gruppen Eke G. , Garcia Erwin , Connelly Margery A. , de Meijer Vincent E. , Bakker Stephan J. L. , Blokzijl Hans , Dullaart Robin P. F.
Published: February 2022

Detailed information regarding lipoprotein concentrations and subfractions in cirrhotic patients before and after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is lacking. Lipoprotein-Z (LP-Z) is a recently characterised abnormal, hepatotoxic free cholesterol-rich low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-like lipoprotein. We determined the lipoprotein profiles, including LP-Z, in cirrhotic patients and OLT recipients and assessed the prognostic significance of LP-Z on the OLT waiting list. We performed analyses in cirrhotic transplant candidates and non-cirrhotic OLT recipients. A population-based cohort was used as reference. The setting was a University hospital. Lipoprotein particle concentrations and subfractions were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In the cirrhotic patients (N = 130), most measures of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL), LDL, and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) were much lower compared to the OLT recipients (N = 372) and controls (N = 6027) (p < 0.01). In the OLT recipients, many lipoprotein variables were modestly lower, but HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and TRL and HDL size were greater vs. the control population. LP-Z was measurable in 40 cirrhotic patients and 3 OLT recipients (30.8% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.001). The cirrhotic patients with measurable LP-Z levels had profoundly lower HDL-cholesterol and particle concentrations (p < 0.001), and worse Child Pugh Turcotte classifications and MELD scores. The presence of LP-Z (adjusted for age, sex, and MELD score) predicted worse survival in cirrhotic patients (HR per 1 LnSD increment: 1.11, 95%CI 1.03–1.19, p = 0.003). In conclusion, cirrhotic patients have considerably lower plasma concentrations of all major lipoprotein classes with changes in lipoprotein subfraction distribution. After OLT, these lipoprotein abnormalities are in part reversed. LP-Z is associated with cirrhosis. Its presence may translate in disturbed HDL metabolism and worse survival.
An Initial Field Intelligent Correcting Algorithm for Numerical Forecasting Based on Artificial Neural Networks under the Conditions of Limited Observations: Part I—Focusing on Ocean Temperature
Authors: Mao Kai , Gao Feng , Zhang Shaoqing , Liu Chang
Published: February 2022

For the numerical forecasting of ocean temperature, the effective fusion of observations and the initial field under the conditions of limited observations has always been a significant problem. Traditional data assimilation methods cannot make full use of limited observations to correct the initial field. In order to obtain an optimal initial field with limited observations, this study proposed an intelligent correcting (IC) algorithm based on artificial neural networks (ANNs). The IC algorithm can fully mine the correlation laws between the grid points using historical data, and this process essentially replaces the estimation of background error covariance in traditional data assimilation methods. Experimental results show that the IC algorithm can lead to superior forecasting accuracy, with a lower root mean square error (around 0.7 °C) and higher coefficient of determination (0.9934) relative to the optimal interpolation method. Through the IC algorithm, the largest reduction in mean forecasting error can reach around −0.5 °C and the maximum percentage decline in mean forecasting error can reach 30% compared with the original numerical forecasting results. Therefore, the experiments validate that the IC algorithm can effectively correct the initial field under the conditions of limited observations.
A New Numerical Scheme with B-Spine Wavelet on the Interval for Transverse Vibration Problem of the Tethered Deep-Sea Robot
Authors: Wang Naige , Xiang Xiaoqin
Published: February 2022

This research is focused on the accurate modeling of a tethered deep-sea robot system with variable-length. Since the flexible umbilical cable is influenced by the surface vessel motion, the ocean current and sea states, etc., its transient response will reduce the deep-sea robot’s stability. Thus, dynamic modeling of the elastic umbilical cable is a crucial issue. In this paper, transverse vibration of the tethered deep-sea robot system can be modelled as a one-dimensional distributed parameter system, a class of partial differential equations with nonhomogeneous boundary conditions theoretically. A new numerical scheme with B-spine wavelet on the interval (BSWI) is used to discretize and transform inhomogeneous partial differential equations into a set of ordinary differential equations and to obtain the dynamic response of the tethered deep-sea robot system with different ocean currents. Compared with conventional methods, BSWI finite element with multiresolution analysis principle can approximate the transverse vibration of the flexible umbilical cable better, and handle boundary conditions more easily. Numerical examples of different cases are analyzed in detail by the discussion of an ADAMS model, and simulation results of the ADAMS model also verify that BSWI finite element method has a desirable performance than other methods.
Surface and Underwater Acoustic Source Discrimination Based on Machine Learning Using a Single Hydrophone
Authors: Zhang Wen , Wu Yanqun , Shi Jian , Leng Hongze , Zhao Yun , Guo Jizhou
Published: February 2022

In shallow water, passive sonar usually has great difficulty in discriminating a surface acoustic source from an underwater one. To solve this problem, a supervised machine learning method using only one hydrophone is implemented in this paper. Firstly, simulated training data are generated by a normal mode model KRAKEN with the same environment setup as that in SACLANT 1993 experiment. Secondly, the k-nearest neighbor (kNN) classifiers are trained and evaluated using the scores of precision, recall, F1 and accuracy. Thirdly, the random subspace kNN classifiers are finely trained on three hyperparameters (the number of nearest neighbors, the number of predictors selected at random and the number of learners in the ensemble) to obtain the best model. Fourthly, a deep learning method called ResNet-18 is also applied, and it reaches the best balance between precision and recall, while the accuracies of both simulation and experimental data are all 1.0. Further, data from all 48 hydrophones of the vertical linear array (VLA) are analyzed using the three kinds of machine learning methods (kNN, random subspace kNN and ResNet-18) separately, and the results are compared. It is concluded that the performance of random subspace kNN is the best. Both the simulation and experimental results suggest the feasibility of machine learning as a surface and underwater acoustic source discrimination method even with only a single hydrophone.
Fourth-Order Comprehensive Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Nonlinear Systems (4th-CASAM-N): I. Mathematical Framework
Authors: Cacuci Dan Gabriel
Published: February 2022

This work presents the fourth-order comprehensive sensitivity analysis methodology for nonlinear systems (abbreviated as “4th-CASAM-N”) for exactly and efficiently computing the first-, second-, third-, and fourth-order functional derivatives (customarily called “sensitivities”) of physical system responses (i.e., “system performance parameters”) to the system’s (or model) parameters. The qualifier “comprehensive” indicates that the 4th-CASAM-N methodology enables the exact and efficient computation not only of response sensitivities with respect to the customary model parameters (including computational input data, correlations, initial and/or boundary conditions) but also with respect to imprecisely known material boundaries, caused by manufacturing tolerances, of the system under consideration. The 4th-CASAM-N methodology presented in this work enables the hitherto very difficult, if not intractable, exact computation of all of the first-, second-, third-, and fourth-order response sensitivities for large-scale systems involving many parameters, as usually encountered in practice. Notably, the implementation of the 4th-CASAM-N requires very little additional effort beyond the construction of the adjoint sensitivity system needed for computing the first-order sensitivities. The application of the principles underlying the 4th-CASAM-N to an illustrative paradigm nonlinear heat conduction model will be presented in an accompanying work.
In Situ Corn Fiber Conversion for Ethanol Improvement by the Addition of a Novel Lignocellulolytic Enzyme Cocktail
Authors: Gao Le , Zhang Dongyuan , Wu Xin
Published: February 2022

Corn mashes have high-viscosity and high-sugar characteristics, which hinders yeast-fermentation efficiency and the ethanol yield increase. The excessive viscosity of corn mash is caused by the unutilized cellulose in corn kernel fiber. A novel lignocellulolytic enzymes cocktail with strong substrate specificity was prepared for high-viscosity, high-sugar corn mash. The in situ conversion of corn mashes with novel lignocellulolytic enzymes at the optimum cellulase dosage of 50 FPU/L resulted in about 12% increased ethanol concentration compared with the reference mash at different batch-fermentation scales. Adding the lignocellulolytic enzymes caused the greatest decrease in viscosity of corn mash and residual sugars by 40.9% and 56.3%, respectively. Simultaneously, the application of lignocellulolytic enzymes increased the value of the dried distiller’s grain with solubles (DDGS) by increasing the protein content by 5.51%. The in situ conversion of cellulose can decrease the fermentation broth viscosity and improve the rheological property, thereby improving the ethanol yield. With the same amount of material, the application of the novel enzymes cocktail can enhance the ethanol yield by more than 12%. A quarter of the ethanol yield increase was due to the further hydrolysis of starch, while three quarters to cellulose. Thus, this technology will increase the net revenue of bioethanol industrialization.
Implementation Risk Factors of Collaborative Housing in Poland: The Case of ‘Nowe Żerniki’ in Wrocław
Authors: Lis Piotr , Rataj Zuzanna , Suszyńska Katarzyna
Published: February 2022

The main aim of this study is to elucidate implementation risk factors of collaborative housing in Poland. The research is based on Rogers’ framework supported by Kim and Mauborgne’s utility map. On this basis, in-depth interviews were carried out with the leader of a housing project called ‘Nowe Żerniki’ in Wrocław, residents of collaborative housing, third sector actors, architects and researchers. An analysis of potential demand for collaborative housing was conducted using focus groups for a selected group of students who will make housing choices in the coming years. In their work, the authors assess the factors inhibiting the rate of diffusion of collaborative housing in Poland, point out the utility constraints and try to formulate the basic conditions for socio-technical transitions in the area of grassroots housing. The results indicate that collaborative housing in Poland requires a friendly and supporting environment, credit institutions with experience in handling innovative housing projects and experienced leaders. The connection to the place and the local capital are crucial factors for all the key actors of the collaborative housing process.
Prevention and Treatment of AKI during Various Disasters
Authors: Sever Mehmet Sukru
Published: February 2022

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequent, and shows wide variation with regards to the spectrum, etio-pathogenesis and management strategies after natural (e.g., earthquakes) and man-made disasters (e.g., wars). The most important pathogenetic mechanisms in AKI during earthquakes are crush injury-related hypovolemia and myoglobinuria. Therefore, the most effective preventive measures are early and energetic fluid resuscitation (especially isotonic saline due to medical and logistic advantages) and also avoiding nephrotoxic medications. When preventive measures fail and intrarenal AKI develops, dialysis is lifesaving, with a preference towards intermittent hemodialysis due to medical and logistic advantages during disasters. During wars, the most important man-made disaster, prerenal, intrarenal and postrenal AKI may develop both at the battlefield and also in the field- or tertiary care-hospital setting. Overall, pathogenesis and management strategies of AKI in war victims are similar with those of AKI in general and in natural disasters. Logistic planning after disasters is vital for providing the most effective treatment. If patients cannot be coped with locally, either help should be asked from, or, alternatively, patients should be referred to, other regions or countries. Importantly, nephrology units in and around disaster-prone areas should be prepared for disasters for a sudden influx of AKI victims after disasters.
Knowledge Management Practices and Ecological Restoration of the Tropical Dry Forest in Colombia
Authors: Torres-Romero Francisco , Acosta-Prado Julio César
Published: February 2022

Ecological restoration is considered a nature-based solution to reduce ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and combat climate change. In this sense, the objective of this study was to identify the knowledge management practices that are present in an ecological restoration process in the tropical dry forest. The empirical study was developed using a mixed approach over an area of 11,079 ha in Huila, Colombia. At first, the qualitative study was supported by a documentary review and participant observation between 2018 and 2020. On the other hand, the quantitative study was carried out through the application of the Delphi method with the participation of 64 experts. Twenty-two knowledge management practices were identified with orientation towards human factors, organization, information technologies, strategy, and intellectual protection. These findings show that all the knowledge management practices identified have an impact on the six components of the ecological restoration process (planning, diagnosis, implementation, monitoring, participation, and consolidation). Likewise, these practices contribute to the generation, transformation, and mobilization of local and scientific knowledge in the components of the ecological restoration process of the tropical dry forest.
EGF-Coupled Gold Nanoparticles Increase the Expression of CNPase and the Myelin-Associated Proteins MAG, MOG, and MBP in the Septal Nucleus Demyelinated by Cuprizone
Authors: Lira-Diaz Eduardo , Monroy-Rodriguez Jesus , Gonzalez-Pedroza Maria G. , Morales-Luckie Raul A. , Castro-Sánchez Luis , Gonzalez-Perez Oscar
Published: February 2022

Current pharmacological therapies against demyelinating diseases are not quite satisfactory to promote remyelination. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) can expand the population of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) that may help with the remyelination process, but its delivery into the injured tissue is still a biomedical challenge. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) may be a useful tool for drug delivery into the brain. To evaluate remyelination in the septal nucleus, we administered intracerebral GNPs coupled with EGF (EGF–GNPs). C57BL6/J mice were demyelinated with 0.4% cuprizone (CPZ) and divided into several groups: Sham, Ctrl, GNPs, EGF, and EGF–GNPs. We evaluated the remyelination process at two time-points: 2 weeks and 3 weeks post-injection (WPI) of each treatment. We used the rotarod for evaluating motor coordination. Then, we did a Western blot analysis myelin-associated proteins: CNPase, MAG, MOG, and MBP. EGF–GNPs increase the expression of CNPase, MAG, and MOG at 2 WPI. At 3 WPI, we found that the EGF–GNPs treatment improves motor coordination and increases MAG, MOG, and MBP. EGF–GNPs enhance the expression of myelin-associated proteins and improve the motor coordination in mice. Thus, EGF-associated GNPs may be a promising pharmacological vehicle for delivering long-lasting drugs into the brain.
Denoising and Feature Extraction for Space Infrared Dim Target Recognition Utilizing Optimal VMD and Dual-Band Thermometry
Authors: Zhang Hao , Rao Peng , Chen Xin , Xia Hui , Zhang Shenghao
Published: February 2022

Space target feature extraction and space infrared target recognition are important components of space situational awareness (SSA). However, owing to far imaging distance between the space target and infrared detector, the infrared signal of the target received by the detector is dim and easily contaminated by noise. To effectively improve the accuracy of feature extraction and recognition, it is essential to suppress the noise of the infrared signal. Hence, a novel denoising and extracting feature method combinating optimal variational mode decomposition (VMD) and dual-band thermometry (DBT) is proposed. It takes the mean weighted fuzzy-distribution entropy (FuzzDistEn) of the band-limited intrinsic mode functions (BLIMFs) as the optimization index of dragonfly algorithm (DA) to obtain the optimal parameters (K, α) of VMD. Then the VMD is utilized to decompose the noisy signal to obtain a series of BLIMFs and the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is proposed to determine the effective modes to reconstructe the denoising signal. Finally, based on the denoising signal, the feature of temperature and emissivity-area product are calculated using the DBT. The simulation and experiment results show that the proposed method has better noise reduction performance compared with the other denoising methods, and the accuracy of feature extraction is improved at different noise equivalent irradiance. This provides more accurate feature of temerpature and emissivity-area product for space infrared dim target recognition.
Text-MCL: Autonomous Mobile Robot Localization in Similar Environment Using Text-Level Semantic Information
Authors: Ge Gengyu , Zhang Yi , Wang Wei , Jiang Qin , Hu Lihe , Wang Yang
Published: February 2022

Localization is one of the most important issues in mobile robotics, especially when an autonomous mobile robot performs a navigation task. The current and popular occupancy grid map, based on 2D LiDar simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), is suitable and easy for path planning, and the adaptive Monte Carlo localization (AMCL) method can realize localization in most of the rooms in indoor environments. However, the conventional method fails to locate the robot when there are similar and repeated geometric structures, like long corridors. To solve this problem, we present Text-MCL, a new method for robot localization based on text information and laser scan data. A coarse-to-fine localization paradigm is used for localization: firstly, we find the coarse place for global localization by finding text-level semantic information, and then get the fine local localization using the Monte Carlo localization (MCL) method based on laser data. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our approach improves the global localization speed and success rate to 96.2% with few particles. In addition, the mobile robot using our proposed approach can recover from robot kidnapping after a short movement, while conventional MCL methods converge to the wrong position.
Multi-Objective Optimal Torque Control with Simultaneous Motion and Force Tracking for Hydraulic Quadruped Robots
Authors: Shi Yapeng , He Xiaolong , Zou Wenpeng , Yu Bin , Yuan Lipeng , Li Mantian , Pan Gang , Ba Kaixian
Published: February 2022

Model-based force control for motion and force tracking faces significant challenges on real quadruped platforms due to the apparent model inaccuracies. In this paper, we present a multi-objective optimal torque control for hydraulic quadruped robots under significant model errors, such as non-modelable hydraulic components, linearization, disturbances, etc. More specifically, the centroidal dynamics are first modeled to project the dynamics of the floating-based whole-body behaviors to the centroidal frame. Model error compensation mechanisms are subsequently developed to track the reference motion of the CoM, torso, and foot-end trajectories, which are mapped into the joint space. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimal torque control scheme is formulated using quadratic programming (QP) to coordinate follow the reference motion and ground reaction forces simultaneously while satisfying all constraints. Finally, we present a series of simulations as well as experiments on a real hydraulic quadruped platform, EHbot. The results demonstrate that the proposed torque control scheme is robust to large model inaccuracies and improves the performance of the overall system.
JMA: Nature-Inspired Java Macaque Algorithm for Optimization Problem
Authors: Karunanidy Dinesh , Ramalingam Subramanian , Dumka Ankur , Singh Rajesh , Rashid Mamoon , Gehlot Anita , Alshamrani Sultan S. , AlGhamdi Ahmed Saeed
Published: February 2022

In recent years, optimization problems have been intriguing in the field of computation and engineering due to various conflicting objectives. The complexity of the optimization problem also dramatically increases with respect to a complex search space. Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms (NIOAs) are becoming dominant algorithms because of their flexibility and simplicity in solving the different kinds of optimization problems. Hence, the NIOAs may be struck with local optima due to an imbalance in selection strategy, and which is difficult when stabilizing exploration and exploitation in the search space. To tackle this problem, we propose a novel Java macaque algorithm that mimics the natural behavior of the Java macaque monkeys. The Java macaque algorithm uses a promising social hierarchy-based selection process and also achieves well-balanced exploration and exploitation by using multiple search agents with a multi-group population, male replacement, and learning processes. Then, the proposed algorithm extensively experimented with the benchmark function, including unimodal, multimodal, and fixed-dimension multimodal functions for the continuous optimization problem, and the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) was utilized for the discrete optimization problem. The experimental outcome depicts the efficiency of the proposed Java macaque algorithm over the existing dominant optimization algorithms.
Optimal Control Problems for Set-Valued Quasivariational Inequalities with Applications
Authors: Chang Shih-Sen , Salahuddin  , Wang Lin , Tang Jinfang , Zhao Liangcai
Published: February 2022

In this paper we investigate the optimal control problem for set-valued quasivariational inequality with unilateral constraints. Under suitable conditions, we prove that the solution to the current optimal control problem converges to a solution to old control problems. By way of application, we utilize our results presented in the paper to study the optimal control associated with boundary value problems which is described by frictional contact problems and a stationary heat transfer problem with unilateral constraints.
The Structure of the Block Code Generated by a BL-Algebra
Authors: Bordbar Hashem
Published: February 2022

Inspired by the concept of BL-algebra as an important part of the ordered algebra, in this paper we investigate the binary block code generated by an arbitrary BL-algebra and study related properties. For this goal, we initiate the study of the BL-function on a nonempty set P based on BL-algebra L, and by using that, l-functions and l-subsets are introduced for the arbitrary element l of a BL-algebra. In addition, by the mean of the l-functions and l-subsets, an equivalence relation on the BL-algebra L is introduced, and using that, the structure of the code generated by an arbitrary BL-algebra is considered. Some related properties (such as the length and the linearity) of the generated code and examples are provided. Moreover, as the main result, we define a new order on the generated code C based on the BL-algebra L, and show that the structures of the BL-algebra with its order and the correspondence generated code with the defined order are the same.
Minimum Aberration Split-Plot Designs Focusing on the Whole Plot Factors
Authors: Hu Minyang , Zhao Shengli
Published: February 2022

In some experiments, the levels of some factors are difficult to change; then fractional factorial split-plot (FFSP) designs are suitable for selection. In an FFSP design, the factors are divided into two classes—the whole plot (WP) and subplot (SP) factors. In some experiments, the selection of the levels of the WP factors can affect that of the SP factors, which attracts much attention to the WP factors. Paying more attention to the WP factors, a new optimality criterion for selecting such FFSP designs is proposed. The robustness of the proposed method is discussed. The construction method of the optimal designs under the new criterion is studied.
A Proof of a Conjecture on Bipartite Ramsey Numbers B(2,2,3)
Authors: Rowshan Yaser , Gholami Mostafa , Shateyi Stanford
Published: February 2022

The bipartite Ramsey number B(n1,n2,…,nt) is the least positive integer b, such that any coloring of the edges of Kb,b with t colors will result in a monochromatic copy of Kni,ni in the i-th color, for some i, 1≤i≤t. The values B(2,5)=17, B(2,2,2,2)=19 and B(2,2,2)=11 have been computed in several previously published papers. In this paper, we obtain the exact values of the bipartite Ramsey number B(2,2,3). In particular, we prove the conjecture on B(2,2,3) which was proposed in 2015—in fact, we prove that B(2,2,3)=17.
Modeling Uranium Transport in Rough-Walled Fractures with Stress-Dependent Non-Darcy Fluid Flow
Authors: Zhang Tong , Nie Xiaodong , Song Shuaibing , Hao Xianjie , Yang Xin
Published: February 2022

The reactive-transportation of radioactive elements in fractured rock mass is critical to the storage of radioactive elements. To describe the reactive-transportation and distribution morphology of a uranium-containing solution, a stress-dependent reactive transport model was developed, and the simulator of FLAC3D-CFD was employed. The uranium transport experiment subjected to the variation of confining stress of 5–19 MPa and hydraulic pressure of 0.5–3.5 MPa was conducted in fractured rock mass. The results show that the uranium-containing solution transport and distribution is significantly dependent on the evolution of the connected channel in rough-walled fracture, which is significantly influenced by the confining stress and hydraulic pressure. In more detail, the increase of confining stress resulted in the anisotropic of seepage channel in aperture, and corresponding turbulence flow and uranium retention were presented at the fracture aperture of 2–5 μm. As the increase of hydraulic pressure, flow regime evolved from the inertial flow to vortex flow, and the transformation region is 16 MPa confining stress and 1.5 MPa hydraulic pressure. The evolution of loading paths also dominates the flow and solute transport, and high seepage speed and strong solute transport were presented at the k = 1 (ratio of vertical stress loading to horizontal stress unloading), and a laminar flow and weak solute transport were presented at k = 0.
The Second Generalization of the Hausdorff Dimension Theorem for Random Fractals
Authors: Soltanifar Mohsen
Published: February 2022

In this paper, we present a second partial solution for the problem of cardinality calculation of the set of fractals for its subcategory of the random virtual ones. Consistent with the deterministic case, we show that for the given quantities of the Hausdorff dimension and the Lebesgue measure, there are aleph-two virtual random fractals with, almost surely, a Hausdorff dimension of a bivariate function of them and the expected Lebesgue measure equal to the latter one. The associated results for three other fractal dimensions are similar to the case given for the Hausdorff dimension. The problem remains unsolved in the case of non-Euclidean abstract fractal spaces.
Changing the Threshold in a Bivariate Polynomial Based Secret Image Sharing Scheme
Authors: Sun Qindong , Cao Han , Li Shancang , Song Houbing , Liu Yanxiao
Published: February 2022

Secret image sharing (SIS) is an important application of the traditional secret sharing scheme, which has become popular in recent years. In an SIS scheme, a confidential image is encrypted into a group of shadows. Any set of shadows that reaches the threshold can reconstruct the image; otherwise, nothing can be recovered at all. In most existing SIS schemes, the threshold on shadows for image reconstruction is fixed. However, in this work, we consider more complicated cases of SIS, such that the threshold is changeable according to the security environment. In this paper, we construct a (k↔h,n) threshold-changeable SIS (TCSIS) scheme using a bivariate polynomial, which provides h−k+1 possible thresholds, k,k+1,…,h. During image reconstruction, each participant can update their shadow according to the current threshold T based only on their initial shadow. Unlike previous TCSIS schemes, the proposed scheme achieves unconditional security and can overcome the information disclosure problem caused by homomorphism.
Influence of Highly Inflected Word Forms and Acoustic Background on the Robustness of Automatic Speech Recognition for Human–Computer Interaction
Authors: Zgank Andrej
Published: February 2022

Automatic speech recognition is essential for establishing natural communication with a human–computer interface. Speech recognition accuracy strongly depends on the complexity of language. Highly inflected word forms are a type of unit present in some languages. The acoustic background presents an additional important degradation factor influencing speech recognition accuracy. While the acoustic background has been studied extensively, the highly inflected word forms and their combined influence still present a major research challenge. Thus, a novel type of analysis is proposed, where a dedicated speech database comprised solely of highly inflected word forms is constructed and used for tests. Dedicated test sets with various acoustic backgrounds were generated and evaluated with the Slovenian UMB BN speech recognition system. The baseline word accuracy of 93.88% and 98.53% was reduced to as low as 23.58% and 15.14% for the various acoustic backgrounds. The analysis shows that the word accuracy degradation depends on and changes with the acoustic background type and level. The highly inflected word forms’ test sets without background decreased word accuracy from 93.3% to only 63.3% in the worst case. The impact of highly inflected word forms on speech recognition accuracy was reduced with the increased levels of acoustic background and was, in these cases, similar to the non-highly inflected test sets. The results indicate that alternative methods in constructing speech databases, particularly for low-resourced Slovenian language, could be beneficial.
Mathematical Modeling of the Financial Impact of Air Crashes on Airlines and Involved Manufacturers
Authors: Alcaide Maria Ángeles , Celani Alberto , Chasan Paula Cervera , De La Poza Elena
Published: February 2022

Despite air transport being the safest way to travel, accidents still happen, which incur massive costs and many consequences for industry and society. The main objective of this research is to determine the financial impact of air crashes by distinguishing between fatal and non-fatal events and their effect on the market stock price of the involved companies of airlines and manufacturers. This study also aims to contribute to the literature about the Event Study Methodology by determining which model of the two most employed in this methodology (Market model or Fama-French model) provides more accurate results. The results reveal that the companies harmed when an air crash occurs include the involved airline, regardless of the causes of the crash if it was a fatal event. However, with non-fatal events, the impact on airlines differs depending on the event’s outcome. In any case, effects are immediate, especially on the same day the event occurred. Nevertheless, manufacturing firms show no negative abnormal returns after an air crash. Finally, the Market model is more accurate in this study. These results are important for investors since they show mistrust in air transport and losses only occur in the airline involved, especially if the accident is fatal. In turn, our results provide reassurance to investors in manufacturing companies in the event of such an occurrence. In any case, this study has shown that both airlines and manufacturers must continue to promote and improve safety.
A Quasi-3D Refined Theory for the Vibration of Functionally Graded Plates Resting on Visco-Winkler-Pasternak Foundations
Authors: Alazwari Mashhour A. , Zenkour Ashraf M.
Published: February 2022

This article establishes the vibrational behavior of functionally graded plates embedded in a viscoelastic medium. The quasi-3D elasticity equations are used for this purpose. The three-parameter Visco-Winkler-Pasternak model is employed to give the interaction between the viscoelastic foundation and the presented plate. Hamilton’s principle is applied to derive the governing dynamic equations. Many validation examples are presented. Additional benchmark results are tabulated for future comparisons. The effects of various parameters like geometrical, material properties, and viscoelastic foundations on the vibrational frequencies of homogeneous and functionally graded plates are investigated. The frequencies increase as all parameters increase except the functionally graded power-law index for which its increase causes a decrease in the frequency value.
Oscillation and Nonoscillatory Criteria of Higher Order Dynamic Equations on Time Scales
Authors: Zhu Ya-Ru , Mao Zhong-Xuan , Tian Jing-Feng , Zhang Ya-Gang , Lin Xin-Ni
Published: February 2022

In this paper, we consider two universal higher order dynamic equations with several delay functions. We will establish two oscillatory criteria of the first equation and a sufficient and necessary condition for the second equation with a nonoscillatory solution by employing fixed point theorem.
The α-Groups under Condorcet Clustering
Authors: Faouzi Tarik , Firinguetti-Limone Luis , Avilez-Bozo José Miguel , Carvajal-Schiaffino Rubén
Published: February 2022

We introduce a new approach to clustering categorical data: Condorcet clustering with a fixed number of groups, denoted α-Condorcet. As k-modes, this approach is essentially based on similarity and dissimilarity measures. The paper is divided into three parts: first, we propose a new Condorcet criterion, with a fixed number of groups (to select cases into clusters). In the second part, we propose a heuristic algorithm to carry out the task. In the third part, we compare α-Condorcet clustering with k-modes clustering. The comparison is made with a quality’s index, accuracy of a measurement, and a within-cluster sum-of-squares index. Our findings are illustrated using real datasets: the feline dataset and the US Census 1990 dataset.
The Evaluation of Bacterial Abundance and Functional Potentials in the Three Major Watersheds, Located in the Hot Spring Zone of the Tatun Volcano Group Basin, Taiwan
Authors: Nagarajan Viji , Tsai Hsin-Chi , Chen Jung-Sheng , Hussain Bashir , Fan Cheng-Wei , Asif Aslia , Hsu Bing-Mu
Published: February 2022

The Tatun Volcanic Group (TVG), located in northern Taiwan, is characterized by acidic hot springs where the outflow of the hot springs may affect the properties of the associated lotic water bodies. We investigated the bacterial diversity and functional profiles of the Peihuang (PHC), HuangGang (HGC), and Nanhuang Creeks (NHC) located in the TVG basin using 16S rRNA gene sequencing coupled with statistical analyses. Water samples were collected from various streams of the creeks for two months of the year. The NHC showed the highest diversity, richness, and a unique number of phyla, which was followed by the HGC. A reduced number of phyla and a lower diversity was noticed in the PHC. The NHC was found to be abundant in the genera Armatimonas, Prosthecobacter, Pirellula, and Bdellovibrio, whereas the HGC was rich in Thiomonas, Acidiphilium, Prevotella, Acidocella, Acidithiobacillus, and Metallibacterium. The PHC was abundant in Thiomonsa, Legionella, Acidocella, and Sulfuriferula. The samples did not show any strong seasonal variations with the bacterial diversity and abundance; however, the relative abundance of each sampling site varied within the sampling months. The iron transport protein- and the sulfur metabolism-related pathways were predicted to be the key functions in all the creeks, whereas the heavy metal-related functions, such as the cobalt/nickel transport protein and the cobalt–zinc–cadmium efflux system were found to be abundant in the HGC and PHC, respectively. The abundance of Bdellovibrio in the NHC, Diplorickettsia in the HGC, and Legionella in the PHC samples indicated a higher anthropogenic impact over the creek water quality. This study provides the data to understand the distinct bacterial community structure, as well as the functional potentials of the three major watersheds, and helps the knowledge of the impact of the physicochemical properties of the TVG hot springs upon the watersheds.
Glycosides of Nadifloxacin—Synthesis and Antibacterial Activities against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Hutchins Mark , Bovill Richard , Stephens Peter , Brazier John , Osborn Helen
Published: February 2022

The increase in the number of bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics poses a serious clinical problem that threatens the health of humans worldwide. Nadifloxacin (1) is a highly potent antibacterial agent with broad-spectrum activity. However, its poor aqueous solubility has limited its use to topical applications. To increase its solubility, it was glycosylated herein to form a range of trans-linked (3a-e) and cis-linked (7a,b) glycosides, each of which was prepared and purified to afford single anomers. The seven glycoside derivatives (3a-e, 7a,b) were examined for potency against eight strains of S. aureus, four of which were methicillin-resistant. Although less potent than free nadifloxacin (1), the α-L-arabinofuransoside (3a) was effective against all strains that were tested (minimum inhibitory concentrations of 1–8 μg/mL compared to 0.1–0.25 μg/mL for nadifloxacin), demonstrating the potential of this glycoside as an antibacterial agent. Estimation of Log P as well as observations made during preparation of these compounds reveal that the solubilities of the glycosides were greatly improved compared with nadifloxacin (1), raising the prospect of its use in oral applications.
Survival and Detection of Bivalve Transmissible Neoplasia from the Soft-Shell Clam Mya arenaria (MarBTN) in Seawater
Authors: Giersch Rachael M. , Hart Samuel F. M. , Reddy Satyatejas G. , Yonemitsu Marisa A. , Orellana Rosales María J. , Korn Madelyn , Geleta Brook M. , Countway Peter D. , Fernández Robledo José A. , Metzger Michael J.
Published: February 2022

Many pathogens can cause cancer, but cancer itself does not normally act as an infectious agent. However, transmissible cancers have been found in a few cases in nature: in Tasmanian devils, dogs, and several bivalve species. The transmissible cancers in dogs and devils are known to spread through direct physical contact, but the exact route of transmission of bivalve transmissible neoplasia (BTN) has not yet been confirmed. It has been hypothesized that cancer cells from bivalves could be released by diseased animals and spread through the water column to infect/engraft into other animals. To test the feasibility of this proposed mechanism of transmission, we tested the ability of BTN cells from the soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria BTN, or MarBTN) to survive in artificial seawater. We found that MarBTN cells are highly sensitive to salinity, with acute toxicity at salinity levels lower than those found in the native marine environment. BTN cells also survive longer at lower temperatures, with 50% of cells surviving greater than 12 days in seawater at 10 °C, and more than 19 days at 4 °C. With one clam donor, living cells were observed for more than eight weeks at 4 °C. We also used qPCR of environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect the presence of MarBTN-specific DNA in the environment. We observed release of MarBTN-specific DNA into the water of laboratory aquaria containing highly MarBTN-diseased clams, and we detected MarBTN-specific DNA in seawater samples collected from MarBTN-endemic areas in Maine, although the copy numbers detected in environmental samples were much lower than those found in aquaria. Overall, these data show that MarBTN cells can survive well in seawater, and they are released into the water by diseased animals. These findings support the hypothesis that BTN is spread from animal-to-animal by free cells through seawater.