bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Virtual flipped teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Gopalan Chaya , Butts-Wilmsmeyer Carolyn , Moran Vanessa
Published: September 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic forced teaching to be shifted to an online platform. Since the flipped teaching (FT) model has been shown to engage students through active learning strategies and adapt both synchronous and asynchronous components, it was a convenient choice for educators familiar with this instructional method. This study tested the effectiveness of a virtual FT method during the pandemic in a graduate-level physiology course. Besides assessing knowledge gained in the virtual FT format, student surveys were used to measure student perception of their adjustment to the new FT format, their confidence in completing the course successfully, and the usefulness of assessments and assignments in the remote FT. Students reported that they adjusted well to the remote FT method ( P < 0.001), and their confidence in completing the course in this teaching mode successfully improved from the beginning to the end of the semester ( P < 0.05). Students expressed a positive response to the synchronous computerized exams (90.32%) and the formative group (93.51%) and individual (80.65%) assessments. Both collaborative activities (93.55%) and in-class discussions (96.77%) were found to be effective. The course evaluations and the overall semester scores were comparable to the previous semesters of face-to-face FT. Overall, students’ perceptions and performance suggested that they embraced the virtual FT method and the tested teaching method maintained the same strong outcome as before. Thus, this study presents a promising new instructional method in the teaching of future physiology courses.
Investigation of the molecular motor of muscle: from generating life in a test tube to myosin structure over beers
Authors: Rall Jack A.
Published: September 2021

This article traces 60 years of investigation of the molecular motor of skeletal muscle from the 1940s through the 1990s. It started with the discovery that myosin interaction with actin in the presence of ATP caused shortening of threads of actin and myosin. In 1957, structures protruding from myosin filaments were seen for the first time and called “cross bridges.” A combination of techniques led to the proposal in 1969 of the “swinging-tilting cross bridge” model of contraction. In the early 1980s, a major problem arose when it was shown that a probe attached to the cross bridges did not move during contraction. A spectacular breakthrough came when it was discovered that only the cross bridge was required to support movement in an in vitro motility assay. Next it was determined that single myosin molecules caused the movement of actin filaments in 10-nm steps. The atomic structure of the cross bridge was published in 1993, and this discovery supercharged the muscle field. The cross bridge contained a globular head or motor domain that bound actin and ATP. But the most striking feature was the long tail of the cross bridge surrounded by two subunits of the myosin molecule. This structure suggested that the tail might act as a lever arm magnifying head movement. Consistent with this proposal, genetic techniques that lengthened the lever arm resulted in larger myosin steps. Thus the molecular motor of muscle operated not by the tilting of the globular head of myosin but by tilting of the lever arm generating the driving force for contraction.
A method to evaluate dynamic cerebral pressure-flow relationships in the conscious rat
Authors: Fong Debra , Gradon Kelly , Barrett Carolyn J. , Guild Sarah-Jane , Tzeng Yu Chieh , Paton Julian F. R. , McBryde Fiona D.
Published: September 2021

We present a novel technique to overcome the use of vasoactive agents when studying cerebrovascular dynamics in the conscious rat. Our method of vena cava occlusion to reduce BP was associated with decreased iCBF and no change in iCVR. In contrast, comparable BP falls with intravenous SNP increased iCBF and reduced iCVR. Thus, the dynamic cerebral pressure-flow relationship shows a narrower, less level autoregulatory plateau than conventionally thought. We confirm our method allows repeatable assessment of cerebrovascular dynamics in conscious rats.
Masticatory Ability for a Single Implant Mandibular Overdenture Retained by Two Different Attachments: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Abdel AaL Marwa , Naguib Amr , Salah Ahmed , Foda Karim , Sheta Nora , Abdel Nabi Nouran
Published: September 2021

Objective. The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to compare the masticatory ability subjectively between ball and Cendres+Métaux Locator (CM-LOC) attachment for a single implant retained mandibular overdenture throughout a 24-month follow-up period. Materials and Methods. Eighty completely edentulous patients were recruited. All patients received new complete dentures, and masticatory ability was recorded using a questionnaire (baseline record). All patients received a single implant in the midline of the completely edentulous mandible. After 3-month healing period, patients were randomized using sealed envelopes into two groups: ball or CM-LOC attachment. The same masticatory ability questionnaire was used to record masticatory ability for both groups after 2 weeks of pickup and 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up. Comparison between the study groups was done using Mann–Whitney U test for independent samples. Two-sided

P

values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. The mean masticatory scores improved for both attachments, with no statistically significant difference between them throughout the 24-month follow-up. The CM-LOC attachment group showed a greater improvement change in masticatory ability after 6- and 12-month follow-up (−12.47 ± 12.006, −11.46 ± 14.625;

P
=
0.826

), while the ball attachment group showed a slight improvement after the 24-month follow-up (−11.72 ± 12.368, −10.88 ± 11.963;

P
=
0.778

). Conclusion. Single implant retained mandibular overdenture improved masticatory ability subjectively with no significant difference between both attachments used although the ball attachment showed better masticatory ability scores after 24-month follow-up.
The Comparison of Inflammatory Cytokines between Spinal and General Anesthesia following Changes in Ischemic Reperfusion due to Tourniquet during Lower Limb Surgery
Authors: Ganjifard Mahmoud , Kouzegaran Samaneh , Abdi Reza , Naseri Mohsen , Allahyari Elahe , Sabertanha Amir , Zeinali Batool
Published: September 2021

Background and Objective. The injuries caused by reperfusion of blood can lead to significant adverse effects after surgery. This study aimed to compare the effects of spinal and general anesthesia on inflammatory cytokines following changes in ischemic reperfusion due to tourniquet in lower limb surgeries. Methods. In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 34 patients with lower limb surgery admitted at the orthopedic ward of Imam Reza Hospital, Birjand, Iran, were selected by the available sampling method. They were randomly divided into two groups as follows: general anesthesia (n = 17) and spinal anesthesia (n = 17). Venous blood samples were taken from the patients of both groups at baseline (before the use of tourniquet) and 12 and 24 hours after reperfusion. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrotizing factor-α (TNF-α), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and ferritin were measured and recorded. The data were analyzed using independent t-test, chi-square, and repeated measure at the significant level of 0.05. Results. The results showed that hs-CRP and IL-6 significantly increased during the study (p<0.001); however, the mean changes of TNF-α and ferritin were not significant during the study. Moreover, none of the inflammatory cytokines indicated significant differences between these two study groups (p<0.05). Conclusion. According to the results, the use of tourniquet can lead to inflammation, and the inflammation is similar in both groups.
Visualization Methods of 3D Plant Models: A Systematic Mapping Study
Authors: Di Shilin , Cao Lingzhi , Ge Yongqi
Published: September 2021

Three-dimensional plant model visualization (3D-PMV) is based on plant biology and the plant structure construction model for virtual simulation three-dimensional display, reflecting plant structure characteristics and demonstrating the growth process. In this work, we used the method of systematic mapping study (SMS) to screen the relevant literature in order to explore and analyze the methods and goals of virtual plant visualization research and to provide assistance in future literature reviews. To this end, we conducted extensive searches to identify articles related to plant model visualization technology. We searched for papers from July 2010 to November 2020 from four mainstream databases, namely, ACM, IEEE Xplore, EI, and Web of Science, and found more than 2,900 papers on 3D-PMV. Finally, we selected 60 qualified papers. We mainly followed the SMS method to classify papers by answering seven questions, mainly extracting data for analysis on research types, research goals, model construction methods, visual model categories, number of publications, tools, and methods. The results show that solution proposals account for the largest proportion of research types, accounting for 75% of the total number of papers. This shows that the focus is on the improvement of original methods or the proposal of new methods in this field; research goals of research plant phenotypic characteristics account for the total 35%; 28% of the research objectives focus on showing the reflection of plant growth process, indicating that the research objective trends in this research field regard plant phenotypic characteristics and visualization of the growth process; static type model visualization also accounts for 83% of the total, indicating that the related research on visualization in this field is mostly static typing. Therefore, our work not only analyzes the challenges faced by 3D-PVM and the research directions that need more attention in the future but also provides some suggestions for researchers to find suitable research directions in this field. As the future direction of development, researchers need to pay more attention to the study of dynamic visualization methods of plant growth. We believe that for future research, it is indispensable to provide 3D-PMV with research methods, research goals, visualization model types, development, and other tools. This article analyzes the results of the extracted data based on the SMS method and makes an important contribution to the researcher's extensive understanding of the current status of 3D-PMV and the potential future research opportunities in the field.
Research on Flipped Classroom of Big Data Course Based on Graphic Design MOOC
Authors: Wang Yanqi
Published: September 2021

With the rapid development of the Internet, traditional teaching models can no longer meet the needs of talent training in colleges and universities, and reform is imperative. With the advent of the era of big data, the emergence of a large number of rich and diverse teaching resources, MOOC (Massive Online Open Course), microclasses, flipped classrooms, and other teaching models on the Internet has provided reform thinking and directions for teaching reform. This model divides the entire teaching design into two major modules: SPOC (Small Private Online Course) platform teaching activity design and flipped classroom teaching activity design, and applies this model to the actual teaching of open education, designing detailed teaching activity plans, in a real teaching situation. This study uses questionnaire surveys and interview surveys to investigate the basic personal situation of course learners, learning expectations, course participation, learning experience, and learning effects. It is planned to use the questionnaire star platform to issue and return questionnaires and use EXCEL and SPSS software to analyze the data and perform analysis and processing, combined with in‐depth interviews with learners and professors for comprehensive analysis, so as to obtain the most true views of students and teachers on this model. In this process, we collect a variety of data from the SPOC platform and the flipped classroom platform, including feedback from students studying on the SPOC platform before class, observation of students’ learning attitudes in flipped classrooms to display of students’ results after class, and academic performance, summarize experience based on the analysis results, and optimize the teaching design plan. In classification algorithms, support vector machines (SVM) are widely used due to their advantages such as less overfitting and inconspicuous dimensionality of feature vectors. The traditional SVM algorithm is not suitable for processing large‐scale data sets due to factors such as high time complexity and long training time. In order to solve these shortcomings, parallelizing the SVM algorithm to process large‐scale data sets is an effective solution. On the basis of comparison, a SPOC‐based flipped classroom teaching design model was constructed, and empirical application was carried out in the Open University, in order to promote the sustainable development of open education.
Roll Angle Estimation Algorithm of Geomagnetic/Gyro Combination Based on an Interacting Multiple‐Model Kalman Filter
Authors: Su Jian-li , Wang Hua
Published: September 2021

The knowledge of the geomagnetic and gyro information that can be used for projectile roll angle is decisive to apply trajectory correction and control law. In order to improve the measurement accuracy of projectile roll angle, an interacting multiple‐model Kalman filter (IMMKF) algorithm using gyro angular rate information to geomagnetic sensor information is proposed. Firstly, the data acquisition module of the geomagnetic sensor and the gyroscope sensor is designed, and the test data of the sensors are obtained through the semiphysical experiments. Furthermore, according to the measurement accuracy of each sensor, the algorithm performs the IMMKF process on the geomagnetic/gyro information to get the roll angle. It can be proven by experiments and calculation results that the error of the roll angle obtained after processing by the IMMKF algorithm is close to 2°, which is better than the 5° calculated by adopting the Kalman filter directly with geomagnetic information.
Performance of the DBS Satellite Receiver under the Impact of Rainfall and Terrestrial Interference
Authors: Shamsan Zaid Ahmed , Al-Saman Ahmed
Published: September 2021

This article presents a new study on the feasibility of operating a direct broadcasting satellite (DBS) system under the effect of both precipitation and interference from a fixed service (FS) at K‐band in a semiarid region. The carrier‐to‐noise plus interference ratio (CNIR) as a protection criterion has been adopted to make sure that the receiver of the DBS system operates with an acceptable performance under rainfall and interference from FS. Various measured data for rainfall in different areas have been utilized to investigate different rain rate exceedance percentages. Results have been shown that areas with high rain rates have a small CNIR at the DBS receiver and require large protection distances compared to low‐rain rate areas and vice versa. Some mitigation techniques have been suggested to alleviate the effect of rain and terrestrial interference on the DBS receiver performance.
Efficacy of Enhanced Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells as an Adjuvant Immunotherapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma: Preclinical and Clinical Studies
Authors: Yang Yang , Wang Run-Qing , Zhong Yi-Ming , Meng Ming-Yao , Zhao Yi-Yi , Yang Li-Rong , Li Lin , Hou Zong-Liu
Published: September 2021

Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have been proved to be an effective method of tumor immunotherapy in numerous preclinical and clinical studies. In our previous study, a new method was developed to prime and propagate CIK cells by the combination of IL-2 and IL-15, and this kind of CIK cells had enhanced antitumor effect on lung cancer. For renal cell carcinoma (RCC), immunotherapy plays an important role because of the poor efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this study, we further evaluated the antitumor effects of these enhanced CIK cells against RCC. Enhanced CIK cells were generated by IL-2 combined with IL-15 and identified by flow cytometry. HEK-293 and ACHN cell lines were used to verify the efficiency of CIK cells in vitro, and then the ACHN tumor xenograft model was also employed for in vivo study. In addition, the secreted cytokines including IFN-γ, granzyme B, TNF-α, and perforin, as well as the local microstructure were also studied. Subsequently, 20 patients with RCC were enrolled into our study, and 11 patients were randomly divided into the autologous CIK treatment group for clinical research. The results showed that enhanced CIK cells exert better antitumor effects in RCC in vitro (

p
<
0.01

in HEK-293 and

p
<
0.05

in ACHN）and in vivo (

p
<
0.05

). Patients benefit overall survival from enhanced CIK therapy in our clinical study. Our present preclinical and clinical studies for the first time elucidated that these enhanced CIK cells would be used as an effective adjuvant therapy in the treatment of RCC.
Chemical Analysis and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential oils from Artemisia negrei L. against Drug-Resistant Microbes
Authors: Chebbac Khalid , Moussaoui Abdelfattah EL , Bourhia Mohammed , Salamatullah Ahmad Mohammad , Alzahrani Abdulhakeem , Guemmouh Raja
Published: September 2021

Background. Artemisia negrei L. (A. negrei) is a medicinal and aromatic plant belonging to the family Asteraceae that is more widespread in the folded Middle Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Materials and Methods. This study was run to investigate the phytochemical composition and antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities of Artemisia negrei L. essential oil. This oil was extracted from the fresh plant material by using the Clevenger apparatus. The phytochemical composition was characterized by GC-MS. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using different methods including DPPH, β-carotene bleaching, and total antioxidant capacity. The antibacterial activity was tested vs. multidrug-resistant bacteria including both Gram-negative and Gram-positive using inhibition zones in agar media and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) bioassays. The antifungal activity was conducted on Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Fusarium oxysporum using a solid medium assay. Results. The chromatographic characterization of essential oils of A. negrei revealed the presence of 34 compounds constituting 99.91% of the total essential oil. The latter was found to have promising antioxidant activity by all bioassays used such as DPPH, β-carotene bleaching, and total antioxidant capacity. The results obtained showed that our plant oils had potent antibacterial activity towards Gram-negative (E. coli 57, E. coli 97, K. pneumonia, and P. aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (S. aureus), so that the maximum inhibition zones and MIC values were around 18–37 mm and 3.25 to 12.5 mg/mL, respectively. The oil also showed antifungal activity towards Candida albicans, Fusarium oxysporum, and Aspergillus Niger except for flavus species. Conclusion. The findings obtained in the work showed that A. negrei can serve as a valuable source of natural compounds that can be used as a new weapon to fight radical damage and resistant microbes.
[Retracted] Application of CNN Algorithm Based on Chaotic Recursive Diagonal Model in Medical Image Processing
Authors: Ye Fangfang , Xu Sen , Wang Ting , Wang Zhangquan , Ren Tiaojuan
Published: September 2021

With the gradual improvement of people’s living standards, the production and drinking of all kinds of food is increasing. People’s disease rate has increased compared with before, which leads to the increasing number of medical image processing. Traditional technology cannot meet most of the needs of medicine. At present, convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm using chaotic recursive diagonal model has great advantages in medical image processing and has become an indispensable part of most hospitals. This paper briefly introduces the use of medical science and technology in recent years. The hybrid algorithm of CNN in chaotic recursive diagonal model is mainly used for technical research, and the application of this technology in medical image processing is analysed. The CNN algorithm is optimized by using chaotic recursive diagonal model. The results show that the chaotic recursive diagonal model can improve the structure of traditional neural network and improve the efficiency and accuracy of the original CNN algorithm. Then, the application research and comparison of medical image processing are performed according to CNN algorithm and optimized CNN algorithm. The experimental results show that the CNN algorithm optimized by chaotic recursive diagonal model can help medical image automatic processing and patient condition analysis.
Impact of Precipitation and Flow Rate Changes on the Water Quality of a Coastal River
Authors: Pourfallah Koushali Hassan , Mastouri Reza , Khaledian Mohammad Reza
Published: September 2021

This paper aims to investigate the effects of natural variables, including precipitation and flow rate, on the quality of the Zarjoub River in Guilan province, Iran. The new hydrological insight in this study is a lack of national research focused on the dual effects of rainfall and flow rate on river water quality in coastal areas along the Anzali Wetland. To investigate the effect of precipitation and flow rate on river water quality, nine water quality variables were monitored during the 10‐year period. In this article, (a) the existence of trends and the best fitted models of water quality parameters and the discharge and precipitation were analysed using statistical techniques and (b) the relationships between concentration of constituents with the discharge and precipitation on the up‐stream and middle station were also examined. Box plots, for explaining the distribution of a data collection, were used. The results showed the existence of trend of water quality parameters with river flow and rainfall. As presented in Section 3, with increasing precipitation and flow rate, concentration of all constituents, except pH and SO₄2, decreased. On the contrary, the maximum amount of water quality elements was observed in low precipitations; therefore, the maximum concentration occurred in less than 15 mm precipitation. Simple regression was used to evaluate the discharge concentration and precipitation concentration. According to the correlation coefficient (r), the relationship between concentration and precipitation is weaker than (0.238) discharge concentration (0.699). The results further showed climate change and river water quality to be related.
Clinical Findings of Melanoma-Associated Retinopathy with anti-TRPM1 Antibody
Authors: Shinohara Yoichiro , Mukai Ryo , Ueno Shinji , Akiyama Hideo
Published: September 2021

Introduction. We report the clinical features and clinical course of melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR), in which autoantibodies against the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 1 (TRPM1) were detected. Case Presentation. A 74-year-old man was referred to our hospital for treatment of bilateral vision loss. The best-corrected visual acuity was 20/100 in the right eye and 20/200 in the left eye. His electroretinogram (ERG) showed a reduced b-wave and a normal dark-adapted a-wave in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed loss of the interdigitation zone in both eyes. We strongly suspected MAR based on the markedly reduced b-wave in the ERG and a history of intranasal melanoma. The diagnosis was confirmed after autoantibodies against TRPM1 were detected in his blood serum. Fifteen months later, his ERG remained unchanged, and OCT showed bilateral cystic changes in the internal nuclear layer. The visual acuity in both eyes also remained unchanged. Conclusions. Anti-TRPM1 autoantibodies were detected in a patient diagnosed with MAR who had negative flash ERG and retinal microstructural abnormalities, and the impairment did not recover during the follow-up period. Identification of anti-TRPM1 antibodies was helpful in confirming the diagnosis of MAR.
Global Residue Harmonic Balance Method for a System of Strongly Nonlinear Oscillator
Authors: Chen Huaxiong , Liu Wei
Published: September 2021

In this paper, the global residue harmonic balance method is applied to obtain the approximate periodic solution and frequency for a well-known system of strongly nonlinear oscillator in engineering. This method can improve accuracy by considering all the residual errors in deriving each order approximation. With this procedure, the expressions of the higher-order approximate solution and corresponding frequency for the considered system can be determined easily. The comparison of the obtained results with previously existing and corresponding exact solutions shows the high accuracy and efficiency of the method.
Study on Numerical Simulation of Fire Danger Area Division in Mine Roadway
Authors: Wen Hu , Liu Yin , Guo Jun , Zhang Ze , Liu Mingyang , Cai Guobin
Published: September 2021

High-temperature poisonous smoke produced by coal mine roadway fire seriously affects miners' lives and safety. Studying the development law of high-temperature smoke in the process of mine roadway fire and then exploring the danger of roadway are of great significance to personnel safety and post-disaster rescue. In order to study this problem, the CFD numerical simulation method is used to establish a fire calculation model based on ANSYS Fluent software in the development stage of mine fire. The high-temperature flue gas flow in the roadway during the development stage of mine fire is simulated, and the variation law of temperature field and gas concentration field with time and space position under different levels of roadway in the development stage of fire is revealed. The variation rules of environmental parameters, such as temperature, CO, and CO2, are obtained by numerical calculation. Based on these, the danger zones of smoke spread in fire development stage are divided by the critical values of high-temperature smoke and toxicity evaluation index, and the mathematical fitting analysis of the evolution of the dangerous area with time is carried out. The research results have certain theoretical guiding significance for reducing underground environmental pollution and ensuring the personal safety of workers and rescuers.
Economic Design of EWMA Control Charts with Variable Sampling Intervals for Monitoring the Mean and Standard Deviation under Preventive Maintenance and Taguchi’s Loss Functions
Authors: Xue Li , He Zhen
Published: September 2021

The control chart and the maintenance management need to control process quality and reduce out-of-control cost. They are two key tools in the production process; however, they have usually been analyzed separately in the literature. Moreover, the existing studies integrating these two concepts suffer from three significant drawbacks as follows: (1) using control charts with fixed parameters to monitor the process, so that the small and middle shifts are detected slowly; (2) monitoring the mean and standard deviation separately, whereas, in real condition, the mean and standard deviation should be monitored simultaneously; (3) quality loss function is not usually used to design economic model, which leads to a large social quality loss in the monitoring process of control chart. To eliminate these weaknesses, the economic design of the exponential weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart with variable sampling intervals (VSI) for monitoring the mean and standard deviation under preventive maintenance and Taguchi’s loss functions is proposed. The optimal values of the parameters are determined to minimize the loss-per-item in an average cycle process. In addition, a genetic algorithm is used in a numerical example to search for the optimal values of the parameters. According to the sensitivity analysis, the effect of the model parameters on the solution of the economic model is obtained. Finally, the comparison study shows that the VSI EWMA control charts designed by the joint economic model are expected to reduce loss.
Strategies to Improve the Quality and Freshness of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Neurological Diseases
Authors: Lee Da Yeon , Lee Sung Eun , Kwon Do Hyeon , Nithiyanandam Saraswathy , Lee Mi Ha , Hwang Ji Su , Basith Shaherin , Ahn Jung Hwan , Shin Tae Hwan , Lee Gwang
Published: September 2021

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) have been studied for their application to manage various neurological diseases, owing to their anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, paracrine, and antiapoptotic ability, as well as their homing capacity to specific regions of brain injury. Among mesenchymal stem cells, such as BM-MSCs, adipose-derived MSCs, and umbilical cord MSCs, BM-MSCs have many merits as cell therapeutic agents based on their widespread availability and relatively easy attainability and in vitro handling. For stem cell-based therapy with BM-MSCs, it is essential to perform ex vivo expansion as low numbers of MSCs are obtained in bone marrow aspirates. Depending on timing, before hBM-MSC transplantation into patients, after detaching them from the culture dish, cell viability, deformability, cell size, and membrane fluidity are decreased, whereas reactive oxygen species generation, lipid peroxidation, and cytosolic vacuoles are increased. Thus, the quality and freshness of hBM-MSCs decrease over time after detachment from the culture dish. Especially, for neurological disease cell therapy, the deformability of BM-MSCs is particularly important in the brain for the development of microvessels. As studies on the traditional characteristics of hBM-MSCs before transplantation into the brain are very limited, omics and machine learning approaches are needed to evaluate cell conditions with indepth and comprehensive analyses. Here, we provide an overview of hBM-MSCs, the application of these cells to various neurological diseases, and improvements in their quality and freshness based on integrated omics after detachment from the culture dish for successful cell therapy.
Orbital Lymphoma Masquerading as Orbital Cellulitis
Authors: Chaurasiya B. D. , Agrawal Ganesh , Chaudhary Santosh , Shah Sangeeta , Pradhan Anju , Lavaju Poonam
Published: September 2021

Background. Orbital lymphomas are primarily non-Hodgkin type and can originate from the eyelids, extraocular muscles, soft tissue orbital adnexa, conjunctiva, or lacrimal glands. Orbital malignancies often represent a diagnostic dilemma for clinicians given their varying and atypical presentations. Objective. To report a case of orbital lymphoma mimicking orbital cellulitis. Case. A 66-year-old male patient presented with sudden onset of painful proptosis with visual impairment in the left eye for 15 days. On ocular examination, best-corrected visual acuity was 6/12 in the right eye and 2/60 in the left eye, abaxial proptosis with hypertropia, swollen and erythematous eyelids, restricted extraocular movement in all cardinal position of gaze, conjunctival congestion with chemosis and tortuous vessels, sluggish pupillary reaction, and chorioretinal folds in the inferior quadrants. The case was diagnosed as left eye orbital cellulitis, and the patient was treated with broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and oral steroids. No clinically discernible response was noted despite 7 days of antibiotics and steroids. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) orbit showed features suggestive of orbital lymphoma involving the ipsilateral maxillary and ethmoid sinuses. ENT consultation with diagnostic nasal endoscopy and biopsy was done. Histopathological reports showed features of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Conclusion. Orbital malignancies masquerading as orbital cellulitis can pose a diagnostic dilemma. A multidisciplinary approach involving ENT consultation, radiological investigation, and pathological sampling can help achieve a timely diagnosis and appropriate management.
The Spatial Patterns of Service Facilities Based on Internet Big Data: A Case Study on Chengdu
Authors: Li Hao , Duan Jianshu , Wu Yidan , Gao Sizhuo , Li Ting
Published: September 2021

In the context of the mid-late development of China’s urbanization, promoting sustainable urban development and giving full play to urban potential have become a social focus, which is of enormous practical significance for the study of urban spatial pattern. Based on such Internet data as a map’s Point of Interest (POI), this paper studies the spatial distribution pattern and clustering characteristics of POIs of four categories of service facilities in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, including catering, shopping, transportation, scientific, educational, and cultural services, by means of spatial data mining technologies such as dimensional autocorrelation analysis and DBSCAN clustering. Global spatial autocorrelation is used to study the correlation between an index of a certain element and itself (univariate) or another index of an adjacent element (bivariate); partial spatial autocorrelation is used to identify characteristics of spatial clustering or spatial anomaly distribution of geographical elements. DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) is able to detect clusters of any shape without prior knowledge. The final step is to carry out quantitative analysis and reveal the distribution characteristics and coupling effects of spatial patterns. According to the results, (1) the spatial distribution of POIs of all service facilities is significantly polarized, as they are concentrated in the old city, and the trend of suburbanization is indistinctive, showing three characteristics, namely, central driving, traffic accessibility, and dependence on population activity; (2) the spatial distribution of POIs of the four categories of service facilities is featured by the pattern of “one center, multiple clusters,” where “one center” mainly covers the area within the first ring road and partial region between the first ring road and the third ring road, while “multiple clusters” are mainly distributed in the well-developed areas in the second circle of Chengdu, such as Wenjiang District and Shuangliu District; and (3) there is a significant correlation between any two categories of POIs. Highly mixed multifunctional areas are mainly distributed in the urban center, while service industry is less aggregated in urban fringe areas, and most of them are single-functional or dual-functional regions.
Exploring the Detection Accuracy of Concrete Cracks Using Various CNN Models
Authors: Mohammed Mohammed Ameen , Han Zheng , Li Yange
Published: September 2021

Automatic crack detection with the least amount of workforce has become a crucial task in the inspection and evaluation of the performances of concrete structure in civil engineering. Recently, although many concrete crack detection models based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been developed, the accuracy of the proposed models varies. Up‐to‐date, the issue regarding the convolutional neural network architecture with best performance for detecting concrete cracks is still debated in many previous studies. In this paper, we choose three established open‐source CNN models (Model1, Model2, and Model3) which have been well‐illustrated and verified in previous studies and test them for the purpose of crack detection of concrete structures. The chosen three models are trained using a concrete crack dataset containing 40,000 images those with 227 × 227‐pixel in size. The performance of three different convolutional neural network (CNN) models was then evaluated. The comprehensive comparison result indicates that Model2 which used batch normalization is capable of the best performance amongst the three models as selected for concrete cracks detection, with recording the highest classification accuracy and low loss. In a conclusion, we recommend Model2 for a concrete crack detection task.
Pavement and Noise Reduction Performance of Open‐Graded Asphalt Friction Course Improved by Waste Tire Crumb Rubber
Authors: Wang Ya , Wang Xianguang , Zhang Liwen
Published: September 2021

To further reveal the road performance and noise reduction performance of open‐graded friction course (OGFC), the crumb rubber prepared by adding waste tires were considered, and the performance requirements of the material were put forward. To avoid the influence of rubber particle swelling on aggregate, the special gradation and mix proportion of OGFC mixture were designed, and the particle size of 4.75 mm was proposed as the control size. The test results show that the aggregate forms a good embedded structure. The resilient modulus, deformation performance, and fatigue performance of R‐OGFC asphalt mixture with different crumb rubber contents were studied. According to the test results, the rubber particle content under the best road performance and noise reduction effect was proposed. The results show that, after adding a certain amount of crumb rubber, the performance of asphalt mixture has been greatly improved, especially the dynamic stability has been improved by 84%. Although the resilient modulus has decreased by 10%, the creep performance has decreased by 37%, and the fatigue life has decreased by 31% (2% rubber content), the noise reduction can reach 3.6–8.6 dB, and the noise reduction performance is significant. This shows that the best content of rubber particles is between 1.5% and 2%, and the R‐OGFC mixture modified by rubber has a good application prospect.
Scoping Review on the Impact of Outbreaks on Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Proposed Frameworks for Pre‐, Intra‐, and Postoutbreak Situations
Authors: Azmat Syed Khurram , Ali Moazzam , Siddiqui Fahad Javaid , Tirmizi Syed Farhan Ali , Kiarie James
Published: September 2021

Introduction. Recent experiences from global outbreaks have highlighted the severe disruptions in sexual and reproductive health services that expose women and girls to preventable health risks. Yet, to date, there is no review studying the possible impact of outbreaks on sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Methodology. Studies reporting outbreaks impacting sexual and reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes were identified using MEDLINE, Embase, and ISI‐WoS. Reported impacts were reviewed at systems, community, and legislative levels. Results. The initial run listed 4423 studies; the 37 studies that met all inclusion criteria were mainly from Latin America and Africa. Studies on outbreaks of diseases like Zika and Ebola have documented declines in facility‐based deliveries, contraceptive use, and antenatal and institutional care due to burdened healthcare system. Service usage was also impacted by a lack of trust in the healthcare system and system shocks, including workforce capacity and availability. At the community level, poverty and lack of awareness were critical contributors to poor access to SRH services. Assessing the target population’s knowledge, attitude, beliefs, and behavior and using health literacy principles for communication were fundamental for designing service delivery. Online resources for SRH services were an acceptable medium of information among young adults. In outbreak situations, SRH and pregnancy outcomes were improved by implementing laboratory surveillance, free‐of‐cost contraceptive services, improved screening through professional training, and quality of care. In addition, mobile health clinics were reported to be effective in remote areas. Knowledge Contribution. In outbreaks, the interventions are categorized into preoutbreak, during, and postoutbreak periods. The proposed steps can help to improve and do course correction in emergencies. Though conducted before the COVID‐19 crisis, the authors believe that lessons can be drawn from the paper to understand and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on sexual and reproductive health services.
Reducing Poverty-Related Disparities in Cervical Cancer: The Role of HPV Vaccination
Authors: Spencer Jennifer C. , Brewer Noel T. , Coyne-Beasley Tamera , Trogdon Justin G. , Weinberger Morris , Wheeler Stephanie B.
Published: September 2021

Background:

Near elimination of cervical cancer in the United States is possible in coming decades, yet inequities will delay this achievement for some populations. We sought to explore the effects of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination on disparities in cervical cancer incidence between high- and low-poverty U.S. counties.

Methods:

We calibrated a dynamic simulation model of HPV infection to reflect average counties in the highest and lowest quartile of poverty (percent of population below federal poverty level), incorporating data on HPV prevalence, cervical cancer screening, and HPV vaccination. We projected cervical cancer incidence through 2070, estimated absolute and relative disparities in incident cervical cancer for high- versus low-poverty counties, and compared incidence with the near-elimination target (4 cases/100,000 women annually).

Results:

We estimated that, on average, low-poverty counties will achieve near-elimination targets 14 years earlier than high-poverty counties (2029 vs. 2043). Absolute disparities by county poverty will decrease, but relative differences are estimated to increase. We estimate 21,604 cumulative excess cervical cancer cases in high-poverty counties over the next 50 years. Increasing HPV vaccine coverage nationally to the Healthy People 2020 goal (80%) would reduce excess cancer cases, but not alter estimated time to reach the near-elimination threshold.

Conclusions:

High-poverty U.S. counties will likely be delayed in achieving near-elimination targets for cervical cancer and as a result will experience thousands of potentially preventable cancers.

Impact:

Alongside vaccination efforts, it is important to address the role of social determinants and health care access in driving persistent inequities by area poverty.
Integrating Genome and Methylome Data to Identify Candidate DNA Methylation Biomarkers for Pancreatic Cancer Risk
Authors: Zhu Jingjing , Yang Yaohua , Kisiel John B. , Mahoney Douglas W. , Michaud Dominique S. , Guo Xingyi , Taylor William R. , Shu Xiao-Ou , Shu Xiang , Liu Duo , Li Bingshan , Tao Ran , Cai Qiuyin , Zheng Wei , Long Jirong , Wu Lang
Published: September 2021

Background:

The role of methylation in pancreatic cancer risk remains unclear. We integrated genome and methylome data to identify CpG sites (CpG) with the genetically predicted methylation to be associated with pancreatic cancer risk. We also studied gene expression to understand the identified associations.

Methods:

Using genetic data and white blood cell methylation data from 1,595 subjects of European descent, we built genetic models to predict DNA methylation levels. After internal and external validation, we applied prediction models with satisfactory performance to the genetic data of 8,280 pancreatic cancer cases and 6,728 controls of European ancestry to investigate the associations of predicted methylation with pancreatic cancer risk. For associated CpGs, we compared their measured levels in pancreatic tumor versus benign tissue.

Results:

We identified 45 CpGs at nine loci showing an association with pancreatic cancer risk, including 15 CpGs showing an association independent from identified risk variants. We observed significant correlations between predicted methylation of 16 of the 45 CpGs and predicted expression of eight adjacent genes, of which six genes showed associations with pancreatic cancer risk. Of the 45 CpGs, we were able to compare measured methylation of 16 in pancreatic tumor versus benign pancreatic tissue. Of them, six showed differentiated methylation.

Conclusions:

We identified methylation biomarker candidates associated with pancreatic cancer using genetic instruments and added additional insights into the role of methylation in regulating gene expression in pancreatic cancer development.

Impact:

A comprehensive study using genetic instruments identifies 45 CpG sites at nine genomic loci for pancreatic cancer risk.
Two Novel Disease-Causing Variants in the PDE6C Gene Underlying Achromatopsia
Authors: Madeira Carolina , Godinho Gonçalo , Grangeia Ana , Falcão Manuel , Silva Renato , Carneiro Ângela , Brandão Elisete , Magalhães Augusto , Falcão-Reis Fernando , Estrela-Silva Sérgio
Published: September 2021

We report the clinical phenotype and genetic findings of two variants in PDE6C underlying achromatopsia (ACHM). Four patients with the variant c.1670G>A in exon 13 of the PDE6C gene were identified. Additionally, one had compound heterozygous genotype, with two variants in the PDE6C gene, a variant of c.2192G>A in exon 18 and c.1670G>A in exon 13. All patients presented the symptomatic triad of decreased visual acuity, severe photophobia, and colour vision disturbances. SD-OCT showed an absence of the ellipsoid zone, creating an optically empty cavity at the fovea in three patients. The patient with the compound heterozygous genotype presented a more severe subfoveal outer retina atrophy. ERG recordings showed extinguished responses under photopic and 30-Hz flicker stimulation, with a normal rod response. We identified two new variants in the PDE6C gene that leads to ACHM.
Reticular Erythematous Mucinosis: Exclusive Involvement of the Axillary Region
Authors: Burlando Martina , Molle Mattia Fabio , Guadagno Antonio , Cozzani Emanuele , Parodi Aurora
Published: September 2021

Reticular erythematous mucinosis is a primary cutaneous mucinosis characterized by the presence of erythematous macules, papules, or plaques coalescing into a reticular pattern that typically involves the midline of the chest or back in middle-aged women. Because of this peculiar location, it is also called midline mucinosis. Although atypical disease localizations have been described in the literature, these have always been accompanied by midline involvement. We report a case of reticular erythematous mucinosis with exclusive involvement of the axillary region.