bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synthesis, characterization, photoluminescence, and antibacterial activities of silica-graphene oxide composites
Authors: Khaleel Imad H. , Alkhafaji Abdulkareem A. , Miran Hussein A. , Jaf Zainab N. 
Published: September 2021

In this research, a novel thin film Si-GO10 and nanopowders Si-GO30 of silica-graphene oxide (GO) composite were prepared via the sol–gel method and deposited on glass substrates using spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed a relatively strong peak in the graphite layer that corresponds to the (002) plane. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images showed that SiO2 nanoparticles were randomly distributed on the surface of GO plates, and the particle size in these nanopowders was below 50 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis demonstrated that silica nanoparticles on the surface of GO plates exhibited almost spherical and rod-like nanoparticle shape, which in turn confirmed the formation of SiO2–GO nano-hybrids. Photocatalytic investigations revealed that the composite materials exhibit high activity for dye adsorption and decomposition. Si-GO10 thin film did not undergo degradation after 120 min; however, for Si-GO30 nanopowder, the adsorption peak intensity was reduced to 665 nm, indicating a decrease in the dye concentration in the solution. Fourier transform infrared scan (FTIR) analysis demonstrated that carboxylic functional groups are decreased by increasing silica particles. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum in Si-GO10 thin film showed a sharp emission peak at about 665 nm. This spectrum completely disappeared in Si-GO30 nanopowders. Results of the antibacterial properties emphasized that Si-GO30 nanoparticle would prevent Escherichia coli growth after 20 h. The presented methodology allows for the synthesis of GO supported silicon dioxide nanoparticles for promising applications in photocatalytic and antibacterial fields.
Comparative Analysis and Enhancement of CFG-based Hardware-Assisted CFI Schemes
Authors: Tauner Stefan , Telesklav Mario 
Published: September 2021

Subverting the flow of instructions (e.g., by use of code-reuse attacks) still poses a serious threat to the security of today’s systems. Various control flow integrity (CFI) schemes have been proposed as a powerful technique to detect and mitigate such attacks. In recent years, many hardware-assisted implementations of CFI enforcement based on control flow graphs (CFGs) have been presented by academia. Such approaches check whether control flow transfers follow the intended CFG by limiting the valid target addresses. However, these papers all target different platforms and were evaluated with different sets of benchmark applications, which makes quantitative comparisons hardly possible.
For this paper, we have implemented multiple promising CFG-based CFI schemes on a common platform comprising a RISC-V within FPGA. By porting almost 40 benchmark applications to this system we can present a meaningful comparison of the various techniques in terms of run-time performance, hardware utilization, and binary size. In addition, we present an enhanced CFI approach that is inspired by what we consider the best concepts and ideas of previously proposed mechanisms. We have made this approach more practical and feature-complete by tackling some problems largely ignored previously. We show with this fine-grained scheme that CFI can be achieved with even less overheads than previously demonstrated.
REPAIR: Control Flow Protection based on Register Pairing Updates for SW-Implemented HW Fault Tolerance
Authors: Sharif Uzair , Mueller-Gritschneder Daniel , Schlichtmann Ulf 
Published: September 2021

Safety-critical embedded systems may either use specialized hardware or rely on Software-Implemented Hardware Fault Tolerance (SIHFT) to meet soft error resilience requirements. SIHFT has the advantage that it can be used with low-cost, off-the-shelf components such as standard Micro-Controller Units. For this, SIHFT methods apply redundancy in software computation and special checker codes to detect transient errors, so called soft errors, that either corrupt the data flow or the control flow of the software and may lead to Silent Data Corruption (SDC). So far, this is done by applying separate SIHFT methods for the data and control flow protection, which leads to large overheads in computation time.
This work in contrast presents REPAIR, a method that exploits the checks of the SIHFT data flow protection to also detect control flow errors as well, thereby, yielding higher SDC resilience with less computational overhead. For this, the data flow protection methods entail duplicating the computation with subsequent checks placed strategically throughout the program. These checks assure that the two redundant computation paths, which work on two different parts of the register file, yield the same result. By updating the pairing between the registers used in the primary computation path and the registers in the duplicated computation path using the REPAIR method, these checks also fail with high coverage when a control flow error, which leads to an illegal jumps, occurs. Extensive RTL fault injection simulations are carried out to accurately quantify soft error resilience while evaluating Mibench programs along with an embedded case-study running on an OpenRISC processor. Our method performs slightly better on average in terms of soft error resilience compared to the best state-of-the-art method but requiring significantly lower overheads. These results show that REPAIR is a valuable addition to the set of known SIHFT methods.
The Frequency and Associated Factors of Asymmetrical Prominent Veins: A Predictor of Unfavorable Outcomes in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Wang Yue , Xiao Jingjing , Zhao Li , Wang Shaoshi , Wang Mingming , Luo Yu , Liang Huazheng , Jin Lingjing 
Published: September 2021

Objectives. The present study is aimed at investigating the frequency and associated factors of asymmetrical prominent veins (APV) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods. Consecutive patients with AIS admitted to the Comprehensive Stroke Center of Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital between January 2013 and December 2017 were enrolled. MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI), and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) was performed within 12 hours of symptom onset. The volume of asymmetrical prominent veins (APV) was evaluated using the Signal Processing In nuclear magnetic resonance software (SPIN, Detroit, Michigan, USA). Multivariate analysis was used to assess relationships between APV findings and medical history, clinical variables as well as cardio-metabolic indices. Results. Seventy-six patients met the inclusion criteria. The frequency of

APV
≥
10

mL

was 46.05% (35/76). Multivariate analyses showed that proximal artery stenosis or occlusion (≥50%) (

P
<
0.001

,

adjusted

odds

ratio

OR

=
660.0

,

95
%
CI
=
57.28

-7604.88) and history of atrial fibrillation (

P
<
0.001

,

adjusted

OR
=
10.48

,

95
%
CI
=
1.78

-61.68) were independent factors associated with high APV (≥10 mL). Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the frequency of

APV
≥
10

mL

is high in patients with AIS within 12 hours of symptom onset. History of atrial fibrillation and severe proximal artery stenosis or occlusion are strong predictors of high APV as calculated by SPIN on the SWI map.
Model Predictive Control of Two-Area Load Frequency Control Based Imperialist Competitive Algorithm
Authors: Elsisi M. , Aboelela M. A. S. , Soliman M. , Mansour W. 
Published: September 2021

Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) has recently been explored to develop a novel algorithm for distributed optimization and control. This paper proposes a Model Predictive Control (MPC) of Load Frequency Control (LFC) based ICA to enhance the damping of oscillations in a two-area power system. A two-area non-reheat thermal system is considered to be equipped with Model Predictive Control (MPC). ICA is utilized to search for optimal controller parameters by minimizing a time-domain based objective function. The performance of the proposed controller has been evaluated with the performance of the conventional PI controller, and PI controller tuned by ICA in order to demonstrate the superior efficiency of the proposed MPC tuned by ICA. Simulation results emphasis on the better performance of the optimized MPC based on ICA in compare to optimized PI controller based on ICA and conventional one over wide range of operating conditions, and system parameters variations.
Radar Target Characteristics Extraction using Polarization Scattering Matrix
Authors: Lakshmi L Vijaya , Lakshmi A Jaya , Kumar M N V S S , Kumar P Sirish 
Published: September 2021

<p>Now a day’s characterization of targets using radar is very important in Air Traffic Control, Defense, and Stealth etc. In order to know the characteristics of the target it is very essential to know the polarization properties of that particular target which depends upon scattering nature of the target. The polarization properties are important for radar target besides amplitude, phase and frequency. The polarization may be potentially used to improve target detection, anti-interference, and radar target recognition. Polarization properties of a target can be obtained using polarization scattering matrix (PSM). In this paper the polarization matrix of various geometrical shapes are derived. For radar target recognition (RTR), a method using properties of the polarization scattering matrix (PPSM) is presented in this paper. A dipole has been considered to calculate the polarization matrix and polarization properties. The properties of the polarization scattering matrix: the determinant, Trace of Power Scattering Matrix, Depolation, Eigen polarization angle and Module of Polarization Ellipticity are analyzed. These properties are analyzed for different orientation angles of the targets.</p>
Outcomes in Patients With Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Concomitant Aortic Stenosis Undergoing Surgical Myectomy and Aortic Valve Replacement
Authors: Desai Milind Y. , Alashi Alaa , Popovic Zoran B. , Wierup Per , Griffin Brian P. , Thamilarasan Maran , Johnston Douglas , Svensson Lars G. , Lever Harry M. , Smedira Nicholas G. 
Published: September 2021

Background
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and aortic stenosis can cause obstruction to the flow of blood out of the left ventricular outflow tract into the aorta, with obstructive HCM resulting in dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and moderate or severe aortic stenosis causing fixed obstruction caused by calcific degeneration. We sought to report the characteristics and longer‐term outcomes of patients with severe obstructive HCM who also had concomitant moderate or severe aortic stenosis requiring surgical myectomy and aortic valve replacement.

Methods and Results

We studied 191 consecutive patients (age 67±6 years, 52% men) who underwent myectomy and aortic valve (AV) replacement (90% bioprosthesis) at our center between June 2002 and June 2018. Clinical and echo data including left ventricular outflow tract gradient and indexed AV area were recorded. The primary outcome was death. Prevalence of hypertension (63%) and hyperlipidemia (75%) were high, with a Society of Thoracic Surgeons score of 5±4, and 70% of participants had no HCM‐related sudden death risk factors. Basal septal thickness and indexed AV area were 1.9±0.4 cm and 0.72±0.2 cm
2
/m
2
, respectively, while 100% of patients had dynamic left ventricular outflow tract gradient >50 mm Hg. At 6.5±4 years, 52 (27%) patients died (1.5% in‐hospital deaths). One‐, 2‐, and 5‐year survival in the current study sample was 94%, 91%, and 83%, respectively, similar to an age‐sex–matched general US population. On multivariate Cox survival analysis, age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.65; 95% CI, 1.24–2.18), chronic kidney disease (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.21–2.32), and right ventricular systolic pressure on preoperative echocardiography (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.05–1.57) were associated with longer‐term mortality, but traditional HCM risk factors did not.

Conclusions
In symptomatic patients with severely obstructive HCM and moderate or severe aortic stenosis undergoing a combined surgical myectomy and AV replacement at our center, the observed postoperative mortality was significantly lower than the expected mortality, and the longer‐term survival was similar to a normal age‐sex–matched US population.
Angioscopic Evaluation of Atrial Septal Defect Closure Device Neo‐Endothelialization
Authors: Tanabe Yasuhiro , Suzuki Tomomi , Kuwata Shingo , Izumo Masaki , Kawaguchi Hiromasa , Ogoda Shun , Kotoku Nozomi , Sato Yukio , Nishikawa Haruka , Kaihara Toshiki , Koga Masashi , Mitarai Takanobu , Okuyama Kazuaki , Kamijima Ryo , Ishibashi Yuki , Yoneyama Kihei , Higuma Takumi , Harada Tomoo , Akashi Yoshihiro J. 
Published: September 2021

Background
Current guidelines recommend at least 6 months of antithrombotic therapy and antibiotic prophylaxis after septal‐occluding device deployment in transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect. It has been estimated that it takes ≈6 months for complete neo‐endothelialization; however, neo‐endothelialization has not previously been assessed in vivo in humans.

Methods and Results
The neointimal coverage of septal occluder devices was evaluated 6 months after implantation in 15 patients by angioscopy from the right atrium. Each occluder surface was divided into 9 areas; the levels of endothelialization in each area were semiquantitatively assessed by 4‐point grades. Device neo‐endothelialization was sufficient in two thirds of patients, but insufficient in one third. In the comparison between patients with sufficiently endothelialized devices of average grade score ≥2 (good endothelialization group, n=10) and those with poorly endothelialized devices of average grade score <2 (poor endothelialization group, n=5), those in the poor endothelialization group had larger devices deployed (27.0 mm [25.0–31.5 mm] versus 17.0 mm [15.6–22.5 mm], respectively) and progressive right heart dilatation. The endothelialization was poorer around the central areas. Moreover, the prevalence of thrombus formation on the devices was higher in the poorly endothelialized areas than in the sufficiently endothelialized areas (Grade 0, 94.1%; Grade 1, 63.2%; Grade 2, 0%; Grade 3, 1.6%).

Conclusions
Neo‐endothelialization on the closure devices varied 6 months after implantation. Notably, poor endothelialization and thrombus attachment were observed around the central areas and on the larger devices.
Acute Decompensated Heart Failure and the Kidney: Physiological, Histological and Transcriptomic Responses to Development and Recovery
Authors: Rademaker Miriam T. , Pilbrow Anna P. , Ellmers Leigh J. , Palmer Suetonia C. , Davidson Trent , Mbikou Prisca , Scott Nicola J. A. , Permina Elizabeth , Charles Christopher J. , Endre Zoltán H. , Richards A. Mark 
Published: September 2021

BACKGROUND
Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is associated with deterioration in renal function—an important risk factor for poor outcomes. Whether ADHF results in permanent kidney damage/dysfunction is unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We investigated for the first time the renal responses to the development of, and recovery from, ADHF using an ovine model. ADHF development induced pronounced hemodynamic changes, neurohormonal activation, and decline in renal function, including decreased urine, sodium and urea excretion, and creatinine clearance. Following ADHF recovery (25 days), creatinine clearance reductions persisted. Kidney biopsies taken during ADHF and following recovery showed widespread mesangial cell prominence, early mild acute tubular injury, and medullary/interstitial fibrosis. Renal transcriptomes identified altered expression of 270 genes following ADHF development and 631 genes following recovery. A total of 47 genes remained altered post‐recovery. Pathway analysis suggested gene expression changes, driven by a network of inflammatory cytokines centered on IL‐1β (interleukin 1β), lead to repression of reno‐protective eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase) signaling during ADHF development, and following recovery, activation of glomerulosclerosis and reno‐protective pathways and repression of proinflammatory/fibrotic pathways. A total of 31 dysregulated genes encoding proteins detectable in urine, serum, and plasma identified potential candidate markers for kidney repair (including
CNGA3
[cyclic nucleotide gated channel subunit alpha 3] and
OIT3
[oncoprotein induced transcript 3]) or long‐term renal impairment in ADHF (including
ACTG2
[actin gamma 2, smooth muscle] and
ANGPTL4
[angiopoietin like 4]).

CONCLUSIONS
In an ovine model, we provide the first direct evidence that an episode of ADHF leads to an immediate decline in kidney function that failed to fully resolve after ≈4 weeks and is associated with persistent functional/structural kidney injury. We identified molecular pathways underlying kidney injury and repair in ADHF and highlighted 31 novel candidate biomarkers for acute kidney injury in this setting.
Risk of Worsening Renal Function Following Repeated Exposures to Contrast Media During Percutaneous Coronary Interventions
Authors: Sudarsky Doron , Naami Robert , Shehadeh Faheem , Elias Adi , Kerner Arthur , Aronson Doron 
Published: September 2021

Background
Multiple contrast media exposures are common, but their cumulative effect on renal function is unknown. We aimed to investigate the renal consequences of repeated exposures to contrast media with coronary interventions.

Methods and Results

We studied 2942 patients who underwent between 1 and 9 procedures. The primary end point was a persistent creatinine increase of ≥50% above baseline at ≥90 days after the last procedure. The effect of cumulative contrast media dose was assessed using Cox models, with cumulative exposure as a time‐dependent variable, and propensity score matching. The primary end point occurred in 190 patients (6.5%), with 6.1%, 6.8%, and 6.2% of patients with 1, 2 or 3, and ≥4 procedures, respectively (
P
=0.75). In the multivariable Cox model, baseline renal function, diabetes, anemia, acute coronary syndrome, and heart failure were independent predictors of the primary end point (all
P
≤0.01), whereas cumulative contrast dose was not (hazard ratio [HR], 1.29 [95% CI, 0.89–1.88] for the fourth contrast quartile [>509 mL] versus first contrast quartile [<233 mL]). Propensity score matching yielded 384 patient pairs with similar characteristics and either 1 or 2 to 9 contrast exposures (median cumulative dose, 160 and 480 mL, respectively). Despite large differences in the cumulative contrast exposure, there were similar rates of the primary end points (7.3% versus 6.3%, respectively; HR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.44–1.32]).

Conclusions
In patients with multiple exposures to contrast media, worsening of renal function over time is associated with known risk factors for the progression of kidney disease but not with cumulative contrast volume.
UCP3 (Uncoupling Protein 3) Insufficiency Exacerbates Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction During Angiotensin II‐Induced Hypertension
Authors: Chen Xu , Ashraf Sadia , Ashraf Nadia , Harmancey Romain 
Published: September 2021

Background

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, an early stage in the pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, is exacerbated by joint exposure to hypertension and obesity; however, the molecular mechanisms involved remain uncertain. The mitochondrial UCP3 (uncoupling protein 3) is downregulated in the heart with obesity. Here, we used a rat model of UCP3 haploinsufficiency (ucp3
+/‐
) to test the hypothesis that decreased UCP3 promotes left ventricular diastolic dysfunction during hypertension.

Methods and Results

Ucp3
+/‐
rats and ucp3
+/+
littermates fed a high‐salt diet (HS; 2% NaCl) and treated with angiotensin II (190 ng/kg per min for 28 days) experienced a similar rise in blood pressure (158±4 versus 155±7 mm Hg). However, UCP3 insufficiency worsened diastolic dysfunction according to echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular filling pressures (E/e’; 18.8±1.0 versus 14.9±0.6;
P
<0.05) and the isovolumic relaxation time (24.7±0.6 versus 21.3±0.5 ms;
P
<0.05), as well as invasive monitoring of the diastolic time constant (Tau; 15.5±0.8 versus 12.7±0.2 ms;
P
<0.05). Exercise tolerance on a treadmill also decreased for HS/angiotensin II‐treated ucp3
+/‐
rats. Histological and molecular analyses further revealed that UCP3 insufficiency accelerated left ventricular concentric remodeling, detrimental interstitial matrix remodeling, and fetal gene reprogramming during hypertension. Moreover, UCP3 insufficiency increased oxidative stress and led to greater impairment of protein kinase G signaling.

Conclusions
Our findings identified UCP3 insufficiency as a cause for increased incidence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction during hypertension. The results add further support to the use of antioxidants targeting mitochondrial reactive oxygen species as an adjuvant therapy for preventing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in individuals with obesity.
A Numerical Study of Cirrus Bands and Low Static-stability Layers associated with Tropical Cyclone Outflow
Authors: Kawashima Masayuki 
Published: September 2021

AbstractProminent cirrus cloud banding occurred episodically within a northern cirrus canopy of Typhoon Talim (2017) during its recurvature. The generation mechanisms of the cirrus bands and low static-stability layers that support the bands are investigated using a numerical simulation with the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting Model. Inspection of model output reveals that thin layers of near-neutral to weakly unstable static stability are persistently present in the upper and lower parts of the upper-level outflow, and shallow convection aligned along the vertical shear vector is prevalent in these layers. The cirrus banding occurs as the lowered outflow from the weakening storm ascends slantwise over a midlatitude baroclinic zone, and updrafts of the preexisting shallow convection in the upper part of the outflow layer become saturated. It is shown that the strong outflow resulting from violation of gradient-wind balance in the core region, by itself, creates the low static-stability layers. Analyses of potential temperature and static stability budgets show that the low static-stability layers are created mainly by the differential radial advection of radial thermal gradients on the vertical edges of the outflow. The radial thermal gradients occur in response to the outward air parcel acceleration in the core region and deceleration in the outer region, which, by inducing compensating vertical mass transport into and out of the outflow, act to tilt the isentropes within the shear layers. The effects of environmental flow and cloud radiative forcing on the cirrus banding are also addressed.