bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Two Distinct Subpopulations of Klebsiella pneumoniae ST16 Co-Occurring in a Single Patient
Authors: Zhang Biying , Hu Renjing , Liang Qinghua , Liang Shuang , Li Qin , Bai Jiawei , Ding Manlin , Zhang Feiyang , Zhou Yingshun
Published: April 2022

As a leading health care-acquired infection pathogen,
Klebsiella pneumoniae
is threatening a large number of inpatients due to its diverse antibiotic resistance and virulence factors. Heretofore, with a growing number of reports about the coexistence of several carbapenemases in carbapenem-resistant
K. pneumoniae
(CRKP), epidemiologic surveillance has been strengthened.
Doege-Potter syndrome: a systematic review of the literature and case presentation of a rare pelvic malignant solitary fibrous tumour
Authors: Kiely Neill Paul , Sinha Rinkita , Tang Katrina , Wan King Man
Published: April 2022

Solitary fibrous tumours (SFTs) are a rare mesenchymal neoplasm with an incidence of 2.8 per 100 000 of which only 1% occur in the female genital tract. Doege-Potter syndrome is a paraneoplastic phenomenon associated with approximately 5%–10% of SFTs and is characterised by non-islet cell hypoglycaemia due to tumour production of low molecular weight insulin-like growth factor-II. We present the fourth confirmed case of female pelvic SFT with Doege-Potter syndrome and a literature review.
Decays of the heavy top and new insights on $$\epsilon _K$$ in a one-VLQ minimal solution to the CKM unitarity problem
Authors: Botella Francisco J. , Branco G. C. , Rebelo M. N. , Silva-Marcos J. I. , Bastos José Filipe
Published: April 2022

We propose a minimal extension of the Standard Model where an up-type vector-like quark, denoted T, is introduced and provides a simple solution to the CKM unitarity problem. We adopt the Botella-Chau parametrization in order to extract the $$4\times 3$$

4
×
3

quark mixing matrix which contains the three angles of the $$3\times 3$$

3
×
3

CKM matrix plus three new angles denoted $$\theta _{14}$$

θ
14

, $$\theta _{24}$$

θ
24

, $$\theta _{34}$$

θ
34

. It is assumed that the mixing of T with standard quarks is dominated by $$\theta _{14}$$

θ
14

. Imposing a recently derived, and much more restrictive, upper-bound on the New Physics contributions to $$\epsilon _{K}$$

ϵ
K

, we find, in the limit of exact $$\theta _{14}$$

θ
14

dominance where the other extra angles vanish, that $$\epsilon _{K}^{\text {NP}}$$

ϵ

K

NP

is too large. However, if one relaxes the exact $$\theta _{14}$$

θ
14

dominance limit, there exists a parameter region, where one may obtain $$\epsilon _{K}^{\text {NP}}$$

ϵ

K

NP

in agreement with experiment while maintaining the novel pattern of T decays with the heavy quark decaying predominantly to the light quarks d and u. We also find a reduction in the decay rate of $$K_L\rightarrow \pi ^0 \nu {\overline{\nu }}$$

K
L

→

π
0

ν

ν
¯

.
Charged anisotropic generalized double polytropes
Authors: Azam M. , Sajjad Waseem , Mardan S. A.
Published: April 2022

The aim of this paper is to discuss the theory of relativistic charged double polytropes with generalized polytropic equation of state. A general framework is presented to develop the Lane-Embden equations for spherically symmetric charged configuration. The stability of developed polytropes is investigated by means of Tolman mass. We will also examine the structure of these polytropes under various constraints.
Properties of minimal charts and their applications VIII: Charts of type (7)
Authors: Nagase Teruo , Shima Akiko
Published: April 2022

Charts are oriented labeled graphs in a disk. Any simple surface braid (2-dimensional braid) can be described by using a chart. Also, a chart represents an oriented closed surface embedded in 4-space. In this paper, we investigate embedded surfaces in 4-space by using charts. Let [Formula: see text] be a chart, and we denote by [Formula: see text] the union of all the edges of label [Formula: see text]. A chart [Formula: see text] is of type [Formula: see text] if there exists a label [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is the number of white vertices in [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we prove that there is no minimal chart of type [Formula: see text].
RICE EXTRACT-ASSISTED GREEN SYNTHESIS OF Au NANOPARTICLES: CATALYTIC AND SERS ACTIVITIES
Authors: SINGH MANISH KUMAR , VERMA ALKADEVI , BASU JOYSURYA , SINHA INDRAJIT , CHETTRI PRAJWAL , TRIPATHI AJAY , TIWARI ARCHANA , MANDAL R. K.
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we investigate the impact of rice-starch stabilization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on their catalytic and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) activities. A typical green synthesis protocol was used to prepare AuNPs with rice-starch functioning as the reductant and the stabilizer. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the starch-stabilized AuNPs is pH-sensitive and got red-shifted with the medium’s pH. The average size of the AuNPs formed decreased with the amount of rice-starch up to a certain level. TEM result shows that the polymeric behavior of starch extract may help synthesize the Au nanorod morphologies. AuNPs stabilized by different amounts of rice-starch were applied as the catalysts for the model [Formula: see text]-nitrophenol reduction reaction. For all AuNP catalysts used, the reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The catalyst turnover frequencies increased up to a certain level of starch functionalization. Further increase in starch led to a fall in the activity of AuNPs catalyst. The evidence on rate kinetics, induction times, activation energies, and turnover frequencies is combined to explain this phenomenon in terms of starch content. The SERS response of these AuNPs as substrates has also been investigated for methylene blue as the target molecules. AuNP substrates with an excess amount of starch weaken the SERS response and it can be ascribed to decreased light scattering efficiency of NPs as well as reduced interactions of methylene blue molecules with the NP surface.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MYOFASCIAL RELEASE VERSUS KINESIOTAPING IN LATERAL EPICONDYLITIS
Authors: Khanna Archana , Sharma Rita , Sam Sini
Published: April 2022

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to compare the clinical efficacy of myofascial release (MFR) and kinesiotaping (KT) on pain intensity, grip strength and functional limitation in lateral epicondylitis (LE). Methods: 60 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to two groups: MYF and KIN. In MYF group ([Formula: see text]), the subjects were treated with MFR technique and conventional physiotherapy whereas in KIN group ([Formula: see text]), subjects received KT and conventional physiotherapy. The intervention was given 4 days/week for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), handgrip strength and patient rated tennis elbow evaluation (PRTEE) score. These measures were recorded pre- and post-intervention after 4 weeks. Results: Paired and unpaired [Formula: see text]-test was used for statistical analysis. Both the groups showed statistically significant improvement in the outcomes measures but MYF group had better improvement in functional limitation (PRTEE) ([Formula: see text])) and NPRS ([Formula: see text]) as compared to KIN group. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that MFR is more effective in decreasing pain, functional disability and improving grip strength in LE as compared to KT.
The Influence of Aerodynamic Loads on Carbody Low-Frequency Hunting of High-Speed Trains
Authors: Wang Jiacheng , Ling Liang , Ding Xin , Wang Kaiyun , Zhai Wanming
Published: April 2022

Low-frequency hunting problems of high-speed railway vehicles frequently occur due to the complex operating environment and degradation of wheel–rail contact conditions, which significantly affect the running safety and ride comfort of high-speed trains (HSTs). This paper presents a numerical investigation of the influence of aerodynamic loads on the carbody low-frequency hunting behaviors of HST. Considering the effect of aerodynamic loads, a multi-body system dynamics model for a HST train is formulated and applied to reproduce the carbody low-frequency hunting behavior. The influence of aerodynamic loads and wheel–rail contact conditions on the nonlinear stability of HST is analyzed. The range of aerodynamic coefficients of different aerodynamic loads which can stimulate the low-frequency hunting behavior of HST is proposed. The results show that the aerodynamic loads have a prominent effect on the nonlinear stability of HSTs. The low-frequency hunting motion of the HST tail car can be motivated by the lift airflow generated during service operation with a high traveling speed. The running stability of HSTs is more easily influenced by the aerodynamic loads when wheels are reprofiled.
Defining identities for mono and binary Zinbiel algebras
Authors: Ismailov Nurlan , Mashurov Farukh , Smadyarov Nurken
Published: April 2022

An algebra is said to be a mono Zinbiel algebra if each of its one-generated subalgebra is a Zinbiel algebra. An algebra is said to be a binary Zinbiel algebra if each of its two-generated subalgebra is a Zinbiel algebra. We give an independent set of defining identities for mono and binary Zinbiel algebras.
Strongly monolithic characters of finite groups
Authors: Erkoç Temha , Bozkurt Güngör Sultan , Miray Özkan Jülide
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we introduce a new definition called “strongly monolithic characters” and give some results on relationships between the structure of a finite group and its strongly monolithic characters.
Study of the Interaction Between Reduced Graphene Oxide and NO2Gas Molecules via Density Functional Theory (DFT)
Authors: Abdulradha Shaima K. , Hussein Mohammed T. , Abdulsattar Mudar Ahmed
Published: April 2022

Electronic properties such as density of state, energy gap, HOMO (the highest occupied molecular orbital) level, LUMO (the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) level and density of bonds, as well as spectroscopic properties like infrared (IR), Raman scattering, force constant, and reduced masses for coronene C24, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) C24O5and interaction between C24O5and NO2gas molecules were investigated. Density functional theory (DFT) with the exchange hybrid function B3LYP with 6-311G** basis sets through the Gaussian 09 W software program was used to do these calculations. Gaussian view 05 was employed as a supplementary software to investigate the geometrical structure of C24, C24O5and the interaction of C24O5with NO2gas molecule. It shows the energy gap of coronene C243.5 eV because the effect of quantum confinement and the Coulomb interaction geometry greatly influence the quasi-particle band gap and C24Oxwhere x = 1–7 was from 0.89 eV to 1.6862 eV a function of number of oxygen atoms and compared with the experiment value of graphene oxide which was between 1 eV and 2.2 eV. The spectroscopic properties were compared with the experiment value of graphene, graphene oxide and NO2longitudinal optical (LO) modes of 1 585, 1 582 and 1 600 cm−1, respectively. The transition state of the interaction of rGO with nitrogen dioxide and Gibbs energy, enthalpy, activation entropy and reaction at various temperatures between 25°C and 100°C were calculated. The activation energy of C24O5with nitrogen dioxide decreases with increasing temperature.
Research on Pricing and Coordination of Dual-Channel Green Supply Chain
Authors: Li Yongfei , Zhang Jin , He Guiying , Wei Songbo , Zhang Yu , Rehman Abdul
Published: April 2022

In recent years, environmental pollution and resource waste have become the focus of heated discussion around the world. In order to realize green and sustainable development, the development of green supply chain (GSC) has attracted the attention of many scholars. The research object of this paper is the dual-channel green supply chain (DGSC) composed of online channels and offline channels. The supplier is the leader of the entire DGSC, and it needs to optimize the wholesale price of the product and the level of green investment to maximize its own benefit. In addition, the supplier also needs to establish contracts with network sales platform (NSP) and store sales platform (SSP) to increase the benefit of NSP and SSP, and ultimately increase the benefit level of the entire DGSC. Among them, we constructed a centralized decision (CD) model and a decentralized decision (DD) model, and obtained the optimal pricing, optimal greenness and optimal benefit of the supplier, NSP and SSP under the two models. We found that the benefits of SC members under the DD model are generally lower than those of the CC model. Therefore, we built contracts between the supplier, NSP and SSP to coordinate. Finally, we substituted specific parameters to verify the model. The following conclusions are drawn: (i) When consumers prefer online sales channels, it will positively affect the online sales price, online sales volume and greenness level of DGSC. At the same time, it negatively affects offline sales price and sales volume. (ii) The benefit of DGSC and the benefit of NSP, SSP, and the supplier show a phenomenon of decline first and then increase with respect to consumers’ preference for online sales channels. (iii) Under the coordination contract, the subsidy factor positively affects the benefits of the supplier and online and offline wholesale prices, and negatively affects the benefits of online platforms and physical stores.
Symmetry reductions, bifurcation and exact solutions for a nonlinear evolution equation
Authors: Niu Zhenjie , Wang Zenggui
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we investigate a nonlinear evolution equation which is derived from plane curve by Lie symmetry analysis and theory of planar dynamical system. The one-dimensional optimal system of the equation is given and all bifurcations of the system in different parametric regions are given from which we can guarantee the existence of traveling wave solutions including solitary wave solutions, periodic wave solutions and many uncountable infinite traveling wave solutions. Besides, we provide exact expressions of traveling wave solutions under different parametric conditions.
A 3D Distance Measure for Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and its Application in Pattern Recognition and Decision-Making Problems
Authors: Patel Anjali , Kumar Naveen , Mahanta Juthika
Published: April 2022

The distance measure as an information measure helps in processing incomplete and confusing data to arrive at a conclusion by assessing the degree of difference between pairs of variables. Reviewing distance measures for Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets (IFSs), we have pointed out several drawbacks of the existing measures. To overcome these, this paper presents a new distance measure between IFSs based on the probabilistic divergence measure. Several mathematical properties of the proposed metric are established and validated via numerical examples. This proposed definition is further used to devise several similarity measures. Applicability and consistency of the introduced measures have been corroborated by various examples. In addition to that, rationality of the proposed metric is established by applying it to pattern recognition applications, Multi-Attribute-Decision-Making (MADM) problems and medical & pathological diagnoses. Analysis of the results establishes that the suggested measure overcomes shortcomings associated with existing measures and thereby authenticates the superiority of the proposed measure.
Analyzing motorcycle low-frequency noise
Authors: Lu Yazhong , Chen Lingguang , Wu Sean F. , Hu Jingyan , Li Huijun
Published: April 2022

This paper presents analyses of the 3D acoustic fields generated by motorcycles at very low frequencies ([Formula: see text] Hz) at the idle speed and during sudden acceleration. Diagnosis and analyses of sound sources at low frequencies have always been a significant challenge because the directivity of low-frequency sound is very poor. To date, there are no research papers and/or reports that have demonstrated low-frequency sources localization and radiation patterns of any kind at high spatial resolution in 3D space. This study shows that by using sound viewer technologies, which include the passive sonic detection and ranging (SODAR), the Helmholtz equation least squares (HELS) method, advanced signal processing, denoising, etc., the locations of sound sources and visualization of the sound fields can be determined with high spatial resolution, even at frequencies below 150 Hz. In particular, the HELS method allows for reconstructing all the acoustic quantities, including the acoustic pressure, time-averaged acoustic intensity, time-averaged acoustic power on the source surfaces and in 3D space. The hardware needed consists of a 3D array with six free-field precision microphones with pre-amplifiers, a miniature wide-angle camera, an eight-channel digital signal processor and a laptop computer.
Engineering geomorphology of HS2: management of geohazards
Authors: Moore Roger , Fish Paul , Trinder Sarah , Czarnomski Claire , Dabson Oliver , Fitzgerald Ross
Published: April 2022

Development of robust ground models is essential to ensure that geohazards are mitigated during design and a scheme is safely built and operated. To support this aim for HS2, an engineering geomorphological assessment (EGA) was undertaken for the Phase One and Phase 2a route between London and Crewe.

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Remote sensing for site investigations on Earth and other planets collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/remote-sensing-for-site-investigations-on-earth-and-other-planets
Explorations in cyber-physical systems education
Authors: Seshia Sanjit A.
Published: April 2022

Explorations in CPS education and related research projects over the past two decades unveil where CPS learning is headed.
Crowd Flow Prediction for Irregular Regions with Semantic Graph Attention Network
Authors: Li Fuxian , Feng Jie , Yan Huan , Jin Depeng , Li Yong
Published: April 2022

It is essential to predict crowd flow precisely in a city, which is practically partitioned into irregular regions based on road networks and functionality. However, prior works mainly focus on grid-based crowd flow prediction, where a city is divided into many regular grids. Although Convolutional Neural Netwok (CNN) is powerful to capture spatial dependence from grid-based Euclidean data, it fails to tackle non-Euclidean data, which reflect the correlations among irregular regions. Besides, prior works fail to jointly capture the hierarchical spatio-temporal dependence from both regular and irregular regions. Finally, the correlations among regions are time-varying and functionality-related. However, the combination of dynamic and semantic attributes of regions are ignored by related works. To address the above challenges, in this article, we propose a novel model to tackle the flow prediction task for irregular regions. First, we employ CNN and Graph Neural Network (GNN) to capture micro and macro spatial dependence among grid-based regions and irregular regions, respectively. Further, we think highly of the dynamic inter-region correlations and propose a location-aware and time-aware graph attention mechanism named Semantic Graph Attention Network (Semantic-GAT), based on dynamic node attribute embedding and multi-view graph reconstruction. Extensive experimental results based on two real-life datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms 10 baselines by reducing the prediction error around 8%.
Artificial intelligence and mental health
Authors: Kirkpatrick Keith
Published: April 2022

How AI can be used to improve diagnosis of mental health conditions.
Toward justice in computer science through community, criticality, and citizenship
Authors: Yadav Aman , Heath Marie , Hu Anne Drew
Published: April 2022

Proposing a justice-centered CS education.
Approximating Decision Diagrams for Quantum Circuit Simulation
Authors: Hillmich Stefan , Zulehner Alwin , Kueng Richard , Markov Igor L. , Wille Robert
Published: April 2022

Quantum computers promise to solve important problems faster than conventional computers ever could. Underneath is a fundamentally different computational primitive that introduces new challenges for the development of software tools that aid designers of corresponding quantum algorithms. The different computational primitives render classical simulation of quantum circuits particularly challenging. While the logic simulation of conventional circuits is comparatively simple with linear complexity with respect to the number of gates, quantum circuit simulation has to deal with the exponential memory requirements to represent quantum states on non-quantum hardware with respect to the number of qubits.
Decision Diagrams
 (DDs) address this challenge through exploitation of redundancies in matrices and vectors to provide significantly more compact representations in many cases. Moreover, the probabilistic nature of quantum computations enables another angle to tackle the complexity: Quantum algorithms are resistant to some degree against small inaccuracies in the quantum state as these only lead to small changes in the outcome probabilities. We propose to exploit this resistance against (small) errors to gain even more compact decision diagrams. In this work, we investigate the potential of approximation in quantum circuit simulation in detail. To this end, we first present four dedicated schemes that exploit the error resistance and efficiently approximate quantum states represented by decision diagrams. Subsequently, we propose two simulation strategies that utilize those approximations schemes in order to improve the efficiency of DD-based quantum circuit simulation, while, at the same time, allowing the user to control the resulting degradation in accuracy. We empirically show that the proposed approximation schemes reduce the size of decision diagrams substantially and also analytically prove the effect of multiple approximations on the attained accuracy. Eventually, this enables speed-ups of the resulting approximate quantum circuit simulation of up to several orders of magnitudes—again, while controlling the fidelity of the result.
An Accelerator for Sparse Convolutional Neural Networks Leveraging Systolic General Matrix-matrix Multiplication
Authors: Soltaniyeh Mohammadreza , Martin Richard P. , Nagarakatte Santosh
Published: April 2022

This article proposes a novel hardware accelerator for the inference task with sparse convolutional neural networks (CNNs) by building a hardware unit to perform Image to Column (
Im2Col
) transformation of the input feature map coupled with a systolic-array-based general matrix-matrix multiplication (GEMM) unit. Our design carefully overlaps the
Im2Col
transformation with the GEMM computation to maximize parallelism. We propose a novel design for the
Im2Col
unit that uses a set of distributed local memories connected by a ring network, which improves energy efficiency and latency by streaming the input feature map only once. The systolic-array-based GEMM unit in the accelerator can be dynamically configured as multiple GEMM units with square-shaped systolic arrays or as a single GEMM unit with a tall systolic array. This dynamic reconfigurability enables effective pipelining of
Im2Col
and GEMM operations and attains high processing element utilization for a wide range of CNNs. Further, our accelerator is sparsity aware, improving performance and energy efficiency by effectively mapping the sparse feature maps and weights to the processing elements, skipping ineffectual operations and unnecessary data movements involving zeros. Our prototype, SPOTS, is on average 2.16

\( \times \)

, 1.74

\( \times \)

, and 1.63

\( \times \)

faster than Gemmini, Eyeriss, and Sparse-PE, which are prior hardware accelerators for dense and sparse CNNs, respectively. SPOTS is also 78

\( \times \)

and 12

\( \times \)

more energy-efficient when compared to CPU and GPU implementations, respectively.
Perspective—Potential Benefit of Li-Rich Cathode Materials: Reduction of Co and Ni Content Rather than Achievement of Ultra-High Capacities
Authors: Benedek Roy
Published: April 2022

In the conventional cycling protocol for lithium and manganese rich NMC layered oxides (LMRNMC), the upper cutoff voltage V
cut is extended to ∼ 4.8, to achieve capacities of ∼ 250 mAh g−1. With this mode of operation, structural rearrangements result in voltage fade upon cycling. A strategy is proposed to avoid these structural rearrangements based on (a) restricting V
cut to values < ∼4.6 to shut down the bulk instabilities, and (b) application of a (preferably) semi-coherent coating that protects the surface oxygen. The potential benefit of this strategy would be to minimize Co and Ni content, compared to Ni-rich NMC.
Cobalamin-Mediated Electrocatalytic Reduction of Ethyl Chloroacetate in Dimethylformamide
Authors: Gerroll Benjamin H. R. , Lewis Jared C. , Baker Lane A.
Published: April 2022

The catalytic reduction of ethyl chloroacetate (ECA) by hydroxocobalamin (HOCbl) in dimethylformamide was studied electrochemically and spectroelectrochemically to identify initial steps in the reaction between the electrogenerated Co(I) center of cobalamin (cob(I)alamin) and ECA. Cyclic voltammograms of HOCbl in the presence of ECA show a small increase in current related to reduction of Co(II) to Co(I), and a new peak at more negative potentials related to reduction of an ethyl carboxymethyl-Cbl intermediate. The oxidation state of HOCbl during catalysis was monitored by means of spectroelectrochemical controlled-potential bulk electrolysis. Addition of ECA to electrogenerated cob(I)alamin initially generates the Co(II) form (cob(II)alamin) followed by a gradual formation of an ethyl carboxymethyl-Cbl intermediate. Controlled-potential bulk electrolysis was performed to identify products formed from catalytic reduction of ECA by electrogenerated cob(I)alamin and quantify the number of electrons transferred per molecule of ECA. Product distributions and coulometric results, together with the results of voltammograms and spectroelectrochemical controlled–potential bulk electrolysis, were interpreted to propose a reaction mechanism.
Suite of High-Throughput Experiments for Screening Solid Electrolytes for Li Batteries
Authors: Jonderian Antranik , Anderson Ethan , Peng Rui , Xu Pengfei , Jia Shipeng , Cozea Victor , McCalla Eric
Published: April 2022

All-solid lithium batteries are an important technology to achieve safer batteries with potentially longer life. Efforts over the past decade have generated a vast list of candidate solid electrolytes. High-throughput methods have already been useful in this context, but studies have been limited to room temperature ionic conductivities. Although a high ionic conductivity is necessary, this single property is insufficient to ensure function in a solid battery. Herein, a suite of high-throughput methods is introduced where 64 samples are synthesized simultaneously. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time the high-throughput capability of obtaining: (1) ionic conductivities at and above room temperature to extract activation energies, (2) electronic conductivities to evaluate the risk of dendrite growth within the electrolytes, (3) electrochemical stability window, and (4) chemical stability against lithium. Importantly, the stability window is obtained by testing the electrolyte in a composite electrode with conductive carbon, thereby avoiding the overestimations of stability that are rampant in the literature. Each method was validated using two reference materials chosen as they show high contrast for all properties. The results systematically show excellent reproducibility and good agreement with the literature. This suite of techniques provides meaningful properties necessary to evaluate candidate solid electrolytes.
Analytical Modeling of Current and Potential Distribution over Carbon and Low-Consumable Anodes during Aluminum Reduction Process
Authors: Polyakov Andrey A. , Gorlanov Evgeniy S. , Mushihin Evgeniy A.
Published: April 2022

Based on the theory of current and potential distribution for aqueous solution systems and existing analytical models, tertiary current and potential distributions over carbon and non-consumable anodes in cryolite-alumina melt are calculated. By varying different electrolysis parameters and anode surface geometry (rectangular smooth anode and section of anode sinusoidal profile), their functional relationship with current and potential distribution is established. The influence of resulting distribution pattern and the values of local current density and local anode potential on anode process stability together with related probable causes of the increased consumption of carbon and non-consumable anodes are discussed. The main factors influencing on current and potential distribution are anode overpotential and diffusion layer thickness, which represents the electrolyte properties related to electrolyte mixing conditions. Local current density on the edges of a rectangular anode is 2 times higher than in the central part. Current distribution over rough anode surface is uneven—local current density at peaks of surface defects is higher by 40% to 60%. When limiting current density is approached at these preferential spots, the values of standard potentials for perfluorocarbons evolution on carbon anodes and metal fluorides formation on inert anodes are reached. The theoretically established relationship between the anode surface structure and current and potential distribution could be the primary cause for increased anode consumption and passivation with subsequent destabilization of electrolysis in standard and low-melting electrolytes. The possible ways to equalize the current and potential distribution across the anode surface are presented.
Quantitative Analysis of Pb(II) Based on Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry and IIP-Carbon Paste Electrodes
Authors: Rebolledo-Perales Luz E. , Álvarez Romero Giaan A. , Ibarra Israel , Galán-Vidal Carlos Andrés , Flores-Aguilar Juan Francisco , Pérez-Silva I
Published: April 2022

It is well known that Pb(II) is considered a highly toxic metal. The slight difference between toxic and permissible levels in drinking water is a matter of concern; therefore, highly sensitive and selective techniques have been proposed for quantification, such as the electrochemical ones. In this work, an easy, simple, low-cost, and high selective sensor based on carbon paste electrodes (CPE) and ion-imprinted polymers (IIP) is proposed for Pb(II) analysis in real water samples. Recognition cavities, selective to Pb(II), were synthesized based on a cross-linked polymer using vinyl pyridine. A modified CPE was constructed by a mixture of graphite powder, IIP, and paraffin oil. By voltammetry studies, a notable difference was observed in the electrochemical response of the electrodes modified with IIP and those with non-imprinted polymer (NIP), confirming the existence of the recognition cavities in the IIP. The construction and analysis parameters related to the analytical response of Pb(II) (anodic current intensity of stripping voltammetry), were optimized; the selectivity was also studied considering potential interference ions. A linear concentration range from 3.3 mg l−1 to 33 mg l−1 and a limit of detection of 0.99 mg l−1 were achieved. Pb(II) was successfully quantified in real complex samples without previous treatment.
Selective Plasticization of Poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) Block in Nanostructured Polystyrene− PEO− Polystyrene Triblock Copolymer Electrolytes
Authors: Yang Guang , Cao Peng-Fei , Self Ethan C. , Lehmann Michelle , Chen Xi Chelsea , Zhao Sheng , Ge Sirui , Zhu Chenhui , Saito Tomonori , Delnick Frank M. , Nanda Jagjit
Published: April 2022

The plasticization of a polymer electrolyte usually promotes its ionic conductivity but decreases its storage modulus due to the increased polymer chain flexibility. Herein, we show that such a tradeoff between the ionic conductivity and the mechanical robustness of the polymer electrolyte can be alleviated by selective plasticization of the ion-conductive block, such as poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in a polystyrene (PS)− PEO−PS block copolymer (SEO) electrolyte using an ether type plasticizer, tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME). At maximum plasticizer loading, the room temperature ionic conductivity increases by up to 3 orders, whereas the storage modulus, G′ reduces to half, is still on the order of 102 MPa. At above the melting temperature of the PEO block, the dynamic storage modulus, G′ of the plasticized membrane surpasses its dry PS-PEO-PS counterpart. Such a phenomenon results from that, a) TEGDME co-crystallizes with PEO to promote its crystallinity and hence the storage modulus, b) TEGDME swells the amorphous PEO phase to enhance the polymer chain segmental mobility and hence ionic conductivity, and c) the PS phase remains intact from TEGDME to keep the SEO elastic.
SGLT2 inhibition effect on salt-induced hypertension, RAAS, and Na+ transport in Dahl SS rats
Authors: Kravtsova Olha , Bohovyk Ruslan , Levchenko Vladislav , Palygin Oleg , Klemens Christine A. , Rieg Timo , Staruschenko Alexander
Published: April 2022

The present study indicates that Na+-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibition in a nondiabetic model of salt-sensitive hypertension blunts the development and magnitude of salt-induced hypertension. Chronic inhibition of SGLT2 increases glucose and Na+ excretion without secondary effects on the expression and function of other Na+ transporters and channels along the nephron and hormone levels in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. These data provide novel insights into the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors and their potential use in hypertension.
Biofabrication of Silver Nanoparticles and Current Research of Its Environmental Applications
Authors: Remya R. R. , Julius Angeline , Suman T. Y. , Aranganathan L. , Dhas T. Stalin , Mohanavel V. , Karthick Alagar , Muhibbullah M.
Published: April 2022

In recent years, nanotechnology has received extraordinary attention as the demands of today’s modern lifestyle are actively changing every day. The need for a sustainable environment and process is the prerequisite today for any advancement. Nanoparticles and its application have extended its wings into various fields. Researchers across the globe are constantly exploring the applications of NPs, especially those of metallic NPs. Among the metallic NPs, silver NPs has received special attention owing to their excellent physical and chemical properties. Nanobiotechnology has opened avenues for such a sustainable and environment‐friendly progress. So, in this review, we have summarized the different methods employed in synthesising AgNPs, with special focus on the biological synthesis. This approach is of importance because of its advantages such as use of nontoxic compounds, inexpensive process, and high stability of products obtained in comparison to the other approaches. Several biomolecules of interest such as microbes and plant extracts that are used for synthesis are discussed in detail. The recent advancements in the environmental application of these biologically synthesised NPs include remediation of heavy metals and sensing, as catalysts in toxic dye degradation, remediation of waste water, and also, as a pesticidal agent for crop protection. Although AgNPs have been used in several sectors of research and industries, relevance to the environment is prominent owing to the impact it makes on the humans and all forms of life on earth.
[Retracted] Biomechanical Analysis of Different Internal Fixation Combined with Different Bone Grafting for Unstable Thoracolumbar Fractures in the Elderly
Authors: Shang Qisong , Jiang Yuqing , Sheng Wenhui , Han Pengyuan , Zheng Junru , Wang Xing , Wu Bing
Published: April 2022

This research was developed to accurately evaluate the unstable fractures of thoracolumbar before and after surgery and discuss the treatment timing and methods. Three‐dimensional (3D) finite element method was adopted to construct the T12‐L5 segment model of human body. The efficiency of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) and percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), two commonly used internal fixation procedures, was retrospectively compared. A total of 150 patients with chest fracture who received PKP or PVP surgery in our hospital, and 104 patients with the same symptoms who received conservative treatment were collected and randomly rolled into PVP group (75 cases), PKP group (75 cases), and control group (104 cases). Visual analog scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) of patients were collected before and after surgery and 2, 12, and 24 months after surgery. Then, the anterior and central height of the patient’s cone and the kyphosis angle were calculated by X‐ray. Lumbar minimally invasive fusion system and lumbar pedicle screw rod system were established by computer‐aided design (CAD), and the biomechanical characteristics were analyzed. The results showed that there was no substantial difference in VAS score and ODI score between PKP and PVP (P > 0.05), but they were higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The anterior edge and middle height of vertebra in the two groups were higher than those in control group (P < 0.05), and the increase in PKP group was more substantial (P < 0.05). The kyphosis of the two groups was smaller than that of the control group (P < 0.05), and the decrease of the kyphosis of the PKP group was more substantial (P < 0.05). In summary, the thoracolumbar segment model established by 3D finite element method was an effective model, and it was verified on patients that both PKP and PVP could achieve relatively satisfactory efficacy. The implantation of the new internal fixation system had no obvious effect on the lumbar movement. This work provided a novel idea and method for the treatment of senile thoracolumbar unstable fracture, as well as experimental data of biomechanics for the operation of senile unstable fracture.
Timely Attendance of the First Antenatal Care among Pregnant Women Aged 15–49 Living with HIV in Juba, South Sudan
Authors: Nasira Boi Angelina , Izudi Jonathan , Atim Fiona
Published: April 2022

Timely attendance of the first antenatal care (ANC) is the period in which pregnant women visit ANC less than four months of pregnancy. There is a paucity of data on timely first ANC attendance and its associated factors among pregnant women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Juba. The aim of this study was to investigate timely attendance of the first ANC visit among pregnant women living with HIV. Institutional cross-sectional study was conducted in three public health facilities in Juba by convenience sampling from January 2019 to December 2019. Pearson’s chi-squared test was conducted for bivariate analysis and variables with probability values (

p

values) less than 5% were considered as statistically significant for multivariable analyses using Fisher’s exact test. At the multivariate level, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted. Out of the 192 participants studied, 27 (14.1%) had timely first ANC attendance as recommended and 165 (85.9%) attended first ANC at four months and above. Distances (adjusted risk ratio [aOR], 7.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40–36.68), ANC card (aOR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.17–10.40), waiting time ([aOR], 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01–0.75), and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services (aOR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.03–0.56) were the factors associated with timely first ANC attendance. Health education interventions targeting pregnant women attending ANC at health facilities should focus on increasing knowledge and awareness of the importance of timely first ANC attendance.
Prognostic Role of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma Physiology Score for in-Hospital and 1-year Mortality in Patients with Acute Exacerbations of COPD
Authors: Zeng Zixiong , Liu Qin , Huang Xiaoying , Lu Chunyan , Cheng Juan , Li Yuqun , Hu Guoping , Wei Liping
Published: April 2022

Background and Objectives: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) often lead to high mortality. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma physiology score (CAPS) is a simple clinical severity score. The aim of this study was to explore whether CAPS could be an effective predictor for in-hospital and 1-year mortality in AECOPD patients. Methods. We used CAPS to grade all patients and record their clinical characteristics. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off of CAPS that discriminated survivors and non-survivors. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and Cox regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors for in-hospital and 1-year mortality, respectively. Results. 240 patients were enrolled in our study; 18 patients died during hospitalization and 29 patients died during the 1-year follow-up. Compared with in-hospital survivors, those who died were older (80.83 ± 6.06 vs. 76.94 ± 8.30 years old, P = 0.019) and had a higher percentage of congestive heart failure (61.1% vs. 14.4%, P < 0.001), higher CAPS levels (31.11 ± 10.05 vs. 16.49 ± 7.11 points, P < 0.001), and a lower BMI (19.48 ± 3.26 vs. 21.50 ± 3.86, P = 0.032). The area under the ROC curve of CAPS for in-hospital death was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85–0.96) with a sensitivity of 0.889 and a specificity of 0.802 for a cut-off point of 21 points. CAPS ≥21 points was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality after adjustment for relative risk (RR) (RR = 13.28, 95% CI: 1.97–89.53, P = 0.008). Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that a CAPS ≥21 points (HR = 4.07, 95% CI: 1.97–8.44) was a risk factor for 1-year mortality. However, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that CAPS (HR = 2.24, 95% CI: 0.90–5.53) was not associated with 1-year mortality. Conclusion: A CAPS ≥21 points was a strong and independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in AECOPD patients and CAPS had no impact on the 1-year mortality in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD after discharge.
A Deep Neural Network Based on Circular Representation for Target Detection
Authors: Lin Cong , Chen Zhoujian , Huang Yiquan , Jiang Haoyu , Du Wencai , Chen Qiong
Published: April 2022

Convolutional neural network (CNN) model based on deep learning has excellent performance for target detection. However, the detection effect is poor when the object is circular or tubular because most of the existing object detection methods are based on the traditional rectangular box to detect and recognize objects. To solve the problem, we propose the circular representation structure and RepVGG module on the basis of CenterNet and expand the network prediction structure, thus proposing a high-precision and high-efficiency lightweight circular object detection method RebarDet. Specifically, circular tubular type objects will be optimized by replacing the traditional rectangular box with a circular box. Second, we improve the resolution of the network feature map and the upper limit of the number of objects detected in a single detect to achieve the expansion of the network prediction structure, optimized for the dense phenomenon that often occurs in circular tubular objects. Finally, the multibranch topology of RepVGG is introduced to sum the feature information extracted by different convolution modules, which improves the ability of the convolution module to extract information. We conducted extensive experiments on rebar datasets and used AB-Score as a new evaluation method to evaluate RebarDet. The experimental results show that RebarDet can achieve a detection accuracy of up to 0.8114 and a model inference speed of 6.9 fps while maintaining a moderate amount of parameters, which is superior to other mainstream object detection models and verifies the effectiveness of our proposed method. At the same time, RebarDet’s high precision detection of round tubular objects facilitates enterprise intelligent manufacturing processes.
Application of CAD in Landscape Grid Space Design and Drawing
Authors: Qiao Shuang , Liu Yanbin , Lee SuYoung
Published: April 2022

CAD technology has brought great convenience and effect to the design. This paper proposes to update the comparative analysis of the basic classical landscape grid space structure by constructing a landscape grid space design. According to the actual situation of domestic landscape grid space design and drawing, this paper highlights the role of CAD technology in landscape grid space design and drawing and provides an important basis for the subsequent application of CAD software in landscape grid space design.
Rules of Chinese Herbal Intervention of Radiation Pneumonia Based on Network Pharmacology and Data Mining
Authors: Dan Wenchao , Wu Cong , Xue Chunyan , Liu Jinlei , Guo Xinyuan , Lian Yanjie
Published: April 2022

Objective. To explore the mechanism and principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the management of radiation pneumonia. Methods. The targets of radiation pneumonia were obtained by screening the GeneCards, OMIM, TTD, DrugBank, and HERB databases, analyzing ADME parameters. In addition, compounds and Chinese herbs that can act on the targets were screened from the TCMSP database. The core target compounds for TCM were used to construct the target-compound, compound-traditional Chinese medicine, and target-compound-traditional Chinese medicine networks. These networks were further used to select the core targets, compounds, and TCM. The binding strength between the core targets and compounds was determined using AutoDock Vina. The trajectory for the molecular dynamics simulation was completed by Desmond version 2020. Results. A total of 55 active targets in radiation pneumonia were identified. Subsequently, 137 candidate compounds and 469 Chinese herbs were matched. Frequency statistics showed that the Chinese herbs that could interfere with radiation pneumonia were mainly bitter, spicy, and sweet, with both cold and warm properties. Moreover, they mainly belonged to liver and lung channels. The core targets included TNF, IL-6, TGF-β1, and TP53. The most important components were quercetin, resveratrol, and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Moreover, the most significant traditional Chinese herbs were Perilla pueraria, ephedra, Lonicerae japonicae, and sea buckthorn. Furthermore, analysis of 222 sets of receptor-ligand docking results suggested that the compounds had good docking activity to their core targets. By combining the docking binding energy, we determined that the chemical compounds had strong binding energy to the targets. Conclusion. Using network pharmacology, we explored the potential mechanism of TCM in the treatment of radiation pneumonia. The general rules for application of TCM in the treatment of radiation pneumonia were summarized. This study provides baseline information for future research on the development of TCM for the management of radiation pneumonia.
The Prime Filter Theorem for Multilattices
Authors: Awouafack Daquin Cédric , Koguep Njionou Blaise Blériot , Lélé Célestin
Published: April 2022

The aim of this paper is to establish the prime filter theorem for multilattices.