bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A systematic review on task scheduling in Fog computing: Taxonomy, tools, challenges, and future directions
Authors: Kaur Navjeet , Kumar Ashok , Kumar Rajesh 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe biggest challenge of task scheduling in Fog computing is to satisfy users' dynamic requirements in real‐time with Fog nodes' limited resource capacities. Fog nodes' heterogeneity and an obligation to complete tasks by the deadline while minimizing cost and energy consumption makes the scheduling process more challenging. This article facilitates a deeper understanding of the research issues through a detailed taxonomy and distinguishes significant challenges in existing work. Furthermore, the paper investigates existing solutions for various challenges, presents a meta‐analysis on quality of service parameters and tools used to implement Fog task scheduling algorithms. This systematic review will help potential researchers easily identify specific research problems and future directions to enhance scheduling efficiency.
A 0.3–5 GHz, low‐power, area‐efficient, high dynamic range variable gain low‐noise amplifier based on tunable active floating inductor technique
Authors: Soleymani Farzaneh , Amiri Parviz , Maghami Mohammad Hossein 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAn area‐efficient low‐noise amplifier with extensive voltage gain variation in the frequency range of 0.3 to 5 GHz is proposed. The designed amplifier comprises of two stages of inverter cells, where by utilizing a resistance shunt feedback, the first stage makes the appropriate voltage gain and input impedance matching, and the second stage increases the bandwidth of the circuit utilizing an active floating inductor. Self‐forward‐body‐bias structure is employed in the presented work for reducing power consumption and improving the overall circuit performance. High voltage gain, low power consumption, wide frequency range of operation, lack of physical inductor, and consequently small occupied active area are among the most important features of the proposed circuit. The presented amplifier has been designed and simulated in standard 90‐nm and 0.18‐μm technologies with 0.9‐ and 1.2‐V supply voltages, respectively, in which important specifications are reported for 90‐nm complementary metal–oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process in details. Power consumption of the designed amplifier is 8.8 mW in 90‐nm technology with a flat variable voltage gain of −22 to 21.2 dB. The circuit consumes silicon area of 122 × 112 μm2, and in the high‐gain mode, the simulated S11 parameter is less than −10 dB, noise figure is almost 3.2 dB, and the IIP3 is equal to −4 dBm.
Exposure interval to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) collected in Southwest China induced pulmonary damage through the Janus tyrosine protein kinase‐2/signal transducer and activator of transcription‐3 signaling pathway both in vivo and in vitro
Authors: Yue Wuyang , Chen Xuxi , He Sifu , Li Na , Zhang Lishi , Chen Jinyao 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPM2.5 is a well‐known air pollutant threatening public health. Studies confirmed that exposure to the particles could impair pulmonary function, cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and increase the incidence of lung cancer. The characteristic of PM2.5 varies across regions. The toxic function of PM2.5 in southwest China remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate lung injury and its mechanisms induced by PM2.5 collected in Chengdu. Rats were administered with PM2.5 by intratracheal instillation for 4 weeks. Biochemical, cell count, and inflammation‐related parameters were measured. Lung tissues were obtained for hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome staining. The expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Janus tyrosine protein kinase‐2 (JAK‐2), and signal transducer and activator of transcription‐3 (STAT‐3) were detected by immunohistochemistry assays. Meanwhile, A549 cells were treated with the PM2.5. The cell cycle, and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry. mRNA and protein expressions of JAK‐2, STAT‐3, p‐STAT‐3, and VEGFA were detected using qPCR and Western blot analysis respectively. Results of in vivo study showed that PM2.5 induced lung pathological injury, aggravated the accumulation of inflammatory cells, and increased the serum levels of inflammatory factors. In vitro experiments showed that PM2.5 disrupted the cell growth cycle and increased cell apoptosis through the activation of the JAK‐2/STAT‐3 signaling pathway. Taken together, this study provided convincing experimental evidence that PM2.5 collected in southwest China could induce pulmonary injury as manifested by inflammatory response and lung fibrosis, possibly through the modulation of the JAK‐2/STAT‐3 signaling pathway.
Ultrasonographic predictors in chronic kidney disease: A hospital based case control study
Authors: Gupta Preeti , Chatterjee Samar , Debnath Jyotindu , Nayan Neelabh , Gupta Shiv D. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundPrevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is increasing globally with the concomitant upsurge in diabetes mellitus and hypertension. We explored the research question whether Ultrasonographic (US) renal parameters are potential predictors of CKD?Materials and methodsA case control study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital that included 50 confirmed cases of CKD and 100 nondiseased controls. Renal length, renal parenchymal thickness, and renal cortical thickness were measured in both cases and controls by ultrasound examination. Corticomedullary differentiation and renal cortical echogenicity were also assessed.ResultsUS parameters of renal length, renal parenchymal thickness, and renal cortical thickness were found to be significantly and strongly associated with the presence of CKD. The strongest association was observed with renal cortical echogenicity (OR 27.33, 95% CI 8.82–84.63). The association of reduced renal cortical thickness (OR 6.14, 95% CI 1.59–23.62), and renal length (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.13–8.26) were independent and significant predictors of presence of CKD.ConclusionsSpecific US parameters of renal cortical echogenicity, cortical thickness, and length of kidney have a strong potential for independently establishing the diagnosis and evaluation of progression of CKD.
Benzimidazole tethered thioureas as a new entry to elastase inhibition and free radical scavenging: Synthesis, molecular docking, and enzyme inhibitory kinetics
Authors: Ujan Rabail , Channar Pervaiz Ali , Saeed Aamer , Abbas Qamar , Rafique Hummera , Ashraf Saba , Rind Mahboob Ali , Hassan Abbas , Ul‐Hamid Anwar , Hassan Mubashar , Raza Hussain , Seo Sung‐Yum 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe porcine pancreatic elastase inhibition and free‐radical scavenging play a crucial role in age progression. All the series of 10 newly synthesized benzimidazole thioureas (4a‐j) were assessed for elastase inhibition and radical scavenging activity to identify the suitable anti‐aging ingredient for cosmetics products. The compounds 4e, 4f, 4g, and 4h showed inhibition better than the standard, while compound 4f showed the most significant elastase inhibition with the IC50 value of 1.318 ± 0.025 μM compared with oleanic acid IC50 13.451 ± 0.014 used ±1.989 and 41.563 ± 0.824, respectively, as standard. Molecular docking studies were performed and the compound 4f showed binding energy of 7.2 kcal/mol. Kinetics studies revealed inhibition of the pancreatic elastase in a competitive manner. The relative binding energy and structure activity relationship (SAR) identified compound 4f as an effective inhibitor of porcine pancreatic elastase. Compounds 4e and 4i showed remarkable free‐radical scavenging activity with SC50 values of 26.421.
Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease is More Severe in Obese Patients: A Prospective Multicenter Study
Authors: Lechien Jerome R. , Bobin François , Muls Vinciane , Saussez Sven , Hans Stéphane 
Published: June 2021

Objectives/HypothesisTo investigate whether there is an impact of obesity and overweight on the clinical findings and therapeutic responses of patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).Study DesignProspective uncontrolled.MethodsPatients with LPR‐related symptoms and positive LPR diagnosis at the hypopharyngeal‐esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance pH‐monitoring (HEMII‐pH) were recruited from December 2017 to December 2020. Patients were treated with a combination of diet, proton pump inhibitors, and alginate for 3 to 6 months. The following outcomes were studied according to the weight of patients: HEMII‐pH, gastrointestinal endoscopy features, symptoms, findings, and therapeutic response.ResultsA total of 262 patients completed the study, accounting for 134, 85, and 43 patients with normal weight (body mass index [BMI] <25), overweight (BMI = 25–29.99), and obesity (BMI >30). Obese patients reported significant higher prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), acid LPR, and a more severe LPR disease regarding the number of pharyngeal reflux events, reflux symptom score (RSS), and reflux sign assessment (RSA). RSS and RSA scores significantly improved from baseline to 3‐month posttreatment irrespective of the patient weight group. Symptoms and signs continued to improve from 3 to 6‐month posttreatment only in patients with a normal weight.ConclusionObesity is associated with a more severe LPR disease and a higher proportion of GERD and acid LPR. Obese LPR patients may require more frequently PPI‐therapy regarding the higher prevalence of GERD.Level of Evidence3 Laryngoscope, 131:E2742–E2748, 2021
Computationally efficient processing of in situ underwater digital holograms
Authors: Cotter Emma , Fischell Erin , Lavery Andone 
Published: June 2021

AbstractUnderwater digital in‐line holography can provide high‐resolution, in situ imagery of marine particles and offers many advantages over alternative measurement approaches. However, processing of holograms requires computationally expensive reconstruction and processing, and computational cost increases with the size of the imaging volume. In this work, a processing pipeline is developed to extract targets from holograms where target distribution is relatively sparse without reconstruction of the full hologram. This is motivated by the desire to efficiently extract quantitative estimates of plankton abundance from a data set (>300,000 holograms) collected in the Northwest Atlantic using a large‐volume holographic camera. First, holograms with detectable targets are selected using a transfer learning approach. This was critical as a subset of the holograms were impacted by optical turbulence, which obscured target detection. Then, target diffraction patterns are detected in the hologram. Finally, targets are reconstructed and focused using only a small region of the hologram around the detected diffraction pattern. A search algorithm is employed to select distances for reconstruction, reducing the number of reconstructions required for 1 mm focus precision from 1000 to 31. When compared with full reconstruction techniques, this method detects 99% of particles larger than 0.1 mm2, a size class which includes most copepods and larger particles of marine snow, and 85% of those targets are sufficiently focused for classification. This approach requires 1% of the processing time required to compute full reconstructions, making processing of long time‐series, large imaging volume holographic data sets feasible.
Photonic Bound States in the Continuum in Si Structures with the Self‐Assembled Ge Nanoislands
Authors: Dyakov Sergey A. , Stepikhova Margarita V. , Bogdanov Andrey A. , Novikov Alexey V. , Yurasov Dmitry V. , Shaleev Mikhail V. , Krasilnik Zakhary F. , Tikhodeev Sergei G. , Gippius Nikolay A. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractGermanium self‐assembled nanoislands and quantum dots are very prospective for CMOS‐compatible optoelectronic integrated circuits but their photoluminescence (PL) intensity is still insufficient for many practical applications. Here, it is demonstrated experimentally that the PL of Ge nanoislands in silicon photonic crystal slabs (PCS) with hexagonal lattice can be dramatically enhanced due to the involvement in the emission process of the bounds states in the continuum. These high‐Q photonic resonances allow to achieve PL resonant peaks with the quality factor as high as 2200 and with the peak PL enhancement factor of more than two orders of magnitude. The corresponding integrated PL enhancement is demonstrated to be more than one order of magnitude. This effect is studied theoretically by the Fourier modal method in the scattering matrix form. The symmetry of the quasi‐normal guided modes in the PCS is described in terms of group theory. This work paves the way toward a new class of optoelectronic components compatible with silicon technology.
Development of a Strong, Recyclable Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Elastomer with Autonomic Self‐Healing Capabilities and Fluorescence Response Properties at Room Temperature
Authors: Liang Shuai , Huang Yawen , Yuan Yuan , Wang Yalan , Yang Bin , Zhao Xiuli , Liu Lili 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWith the recent emphasis on environmental protection measures, there are increasingly strong demands for environment‐friendly multifunctional materials, so research regarding high‐performance, recyclable, functional materials with self‐healing abilities is of great interest. However, the comprehensive mechanical properties of most available self‐healing materials are insufficient; to date, most developed materials are either tough but brittle or flexible but weak. This report describes the application of a crosslinking strategy based on multiple dynamic bonds for the development of an autonomically self‐healing, multifunctional, boroxine‐containing poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer (PDMS‐BN). This approach takes advantage of well‐designed intermolecular and intramolecular nitrogen‐coordinated boroxines by using a synergetic dynamic mechanism. The elastomers exhibit enhanced comprehensive mechanical properties (with maximum strength up to 1.72 MPa, elongation at break up to 307%, Young's modulus up to 11.18 ± 0.52 MPa, and toughness up to 4.92 MJ m−3) and highly autonomic self‐healing capabilities, with ≈96% efficiency at room temperature for 48 h. Moreover, the PDMS‐BN elastomer can be recycled multiple times via crushing/molding or disassembling/casting processes, without losing their original mechanical robustness. The as‐prepared elastomers also demonstrate good adhesive properties and a unique fluorescence‐quenching response in the presence of Fe3+ ions.
Imidazole‐Mediated Dual Location Disassembly of Acid‐Degradable Intracellular Drug Delivery Block Copolymer Nanoassemblies
Authors: Jazani Arman Moini , Shetty Chaitra , Movasat Hourieh , Bawa Kamaljeet Kaur , Oh Jung Kwon 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAcid‐degradable (or acid‐cleavable) polymeric nanoassemblies have witnessed significant progress in anti‐cancer drug delivery. However, conventional nanoassemblies designed with acid‐cleavable linkages at a single location have several challenges, such as, sluggish degradation, undesired aggregation of degraded products, and difficulty in controlled and on‐demand drug release. Herein, a strategy that enables the synthesis of acid‐cleavable nanoassemblies labeled with acetaldehyde acetal groups in both hydrophobic cores and at core/corona interfaces, exhibiting synergistic response to acidic pH at dual locations and thus inducing rapid drug release is reported. The systematic analyses suggest that the acid‐catalyzed degradation and disassembly are further enhanced by decreasing copolymer concentration (i.e., increasing proton/acetal mole ratio). Moreover, incorporation of acid‐ionizable imidazole pendants in the hydrophobic cores improve the encapsulation of doxorubicin, the anticancer drug, through π‐π interactions and enhance the acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis of acetal linkages situated in the dual locations. Furthermore, the presence of the imidazole pendants induce the occurrence of core‐crosslinking that compensates the kinetics of acetal hydrolysis and drug release. These results, combined with in vitro cell toxicity and cellular uptake, suggest the versatility of the dual location acid‐degradation strategy in the design and development of effective intracellular drug delivery nanocarriers.
Topic allocation method on edge servers for latency‐sensitive notification service
Authors: Tanaka Tomoya , Kamada Tomio , Ohta Chikara 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe importance of real‐time notification has been growing for social services and Intelligent Transporting System (ITS). As an advanced version of Pub/Sub systems, publish‐process‐subscribe systems, where published messages are spooled and processed on edge servers, have been proposed to achieve data‐driven intelligent notifications. In this paper, we present a system that allows a topic to be managed on multiple edge servers so that messages are processed near the publishers, even when publishers spread over a wide area. Duplicating messages on geographically distributed servers could enable immediate notification to neighboring subscribers. However, the duplicated message spool may cause exhaustion of resources. We prepare a formal model of our publish‐process‐subscribe system and formulate the topic allocation as an optimization problem under the resource constraints of edge servers. As the optimization problem is NP‐hard, we propose heuristics leveraging the locality and the pub/sub relationships observed between clients to use the edge server resources efficiently. Our performance evaluation shows that our method reduces the delay to deliver notifications and the effectiveness of the strategy exploiting the relationships between clients.
Relationship between free fatty acids, body mass index and depressive symptoms in patients with chronic heart failure
Authors: Yang Hua , Li Yan , Su Xing , Li Chao 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAimTo explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms among patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and analyse the relationship between free fatty acids (FFAs), body mass index (BMI) and depressive symptoms among patients with CHF.DesignA cross‐sectional study.MethodsQuestionnaires were distributed to 200 patients with CHF in the department of Cardiology at a tertiary first‐class hospital in Shandong province. A total of 195 hospitalized patients completed the survey. Data collected from February 2017–November 2017 were analysed by using Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression. The depressive status of the patients was assessed by the Zung Self‐rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the relationships between FFA, BMI and depressive symptoms were analysed using SPSS 20.0.ResultsThe results showed that 71.28% CHF patients have depressive symptoms. The serum FFA level was significantly higher in CHF patients with depressive symptoms than those without depressive symptoms (p = .003), and FFA level was significantly positively correlated with the SDS score (r = .242, p = .001). The differences in SDS scores were statistically significant between two different BMI groups (p < .01), and BMI was negatively correlated with the SDS score (r = −.139, p = .040). Regression analysis showed that high FFAs (β = 0.184, p = .009) and low BMI (β = −0.116, p = .049) were risk factors for depressive symptoms in CHF patients. Gender, age, FFA and BMI were associated with depressive symptoms, accounting for 7.1% of the variance in depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe prevalence of depressive symptoms in CHF patients is very high, and high FFAs and low BMI are risk factors for depressive symptoms. Targeted interventions to strengthen nutritional support in CHF patients may be benefit to improve depression‐related outcomes.
Reduced‐intensity conditioning–based hematopoietic cell transplantation for dyskeratosis congenita: Single‐center experience and literature review
Authors: Bhoopalan Senthil Velan , Wlodarski Marcin , Reiss Ulrike , Triplett Brandon , Sharma Akshay 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundBone marrow failure in dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) is progressive, and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only curative treatment. However, outcomes after HCT are suboptimal because of mucosal, vascular, pulmonary, and hepatic fragility, which can be exacerbated by chemotherapy conditioning and graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD). These toxicities can be mitigated by reducing the intensity of the conditioning regimen.ProceduresWe performed a retrospective analysis on pediatric patients with DKC who underwent HCT at our institution between 2008 and 2019.ResultsWe identified nine patients (median age, 5.7 years) who underwent HCT with a fludarabine‐based reduced‐intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of tacrolimus plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (n  =  8), tacrolimus/pentostatin (n  =  1), or cyclosporine/MMF (n  =  1). The median time to neutrophil engraftment was 19 days (range, 13‐26 days), and the median time to platelet engraftment was 18 days (range, 17‐43 days). Lung function, as measured by spirometry in six patients, remained stable during post‐HCT observation. Six patients (67%) remain alive, with a median follow‐up of 73.5 months.ConclusionBecause of toxicity after myeloablative conditioning, RIC is becoming standard for HCT in DKC. These results suggest that RIC regimen is feasible and safe for patients with DKC and does not accelerate pulmonary damage in the short‐to‐medium term after HCT.
Differential dynamic microscopy for the characterization of polymer systems
Authors: Cerbino Roberto , Giavazzi Fabio , Helgeson Matthew E. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis review summarizes recent progress in investigating polymer systems by using Differential dynamic microscopy (DDM), a rapidly emerging approach that transforms a commercial microscope by combining real‐space information with the powerful capabilities of conventional light scattering analysis. DDM analysis of a single microscope movie gives access to the sample dynamics in a wide range of scattering wave‐vectors, enabling contemporary polymer science experiments that would be difficult or impossible with standard light scattering techniques. Examples of application include the characterization of polymer solutions and networks, of polymer based colloidal systems, of biopolymers, and of cellular motility in polymeric fluids. Further applications of DDM to a variety of polymer systems are suggested to be just behind the corner and it is thus likely that DDM will become a tool of choice of the modern experimental polymer scientists.
Enteral lorlatinib after alectinib as a treatment option in anaplastic lymphoma kinase‐positive non‐small cell lung cancer with triple problems: carcinomatous meningitis, poor performance status, and dysphagia—a case report
Authors: Sasaki Kota , Yokota Yusuke , Isojima Toshihito , Fujii Mayumi , Hasui Kengo , Chen Yu , Saito Kensuke , Takahata Takenori , Kindaichi Seiko , Sato Atsushi 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAlectinib treatment is effective in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement‐positive non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; hereafter ALK‐positive NSCLC) who exhibit central nervous system (CNS) relapse and poor performance status (PS). Lorlatinib treatment is effective upon failure of other ALK inhibitor‐based treatments. However, much remains unknown about the efficacy of lorlatinib in patients with ALK‐positive NSCLC, who have triple problems, carcinomatous meningitis, poor PS, and dysphagia, after alectinib treatment. Here, we report the remarkable response of a 73‐year‐old patient with ALK‐positive NSCLC showing carcinomatous meningitis due to CNS metastases, poor PS, and dysphagia to lorlatinib. Lorlatinib administration through a nasogastric tube alleviated complications related to consciousness within three days, and the patient survived for 16 months after CNS relapse. Lorlatinib could be a treatment option for patients with ALK‐positive NSCLC showing carcinomatous meningitis, poor PS, and dysphagia upon failure of other ALK inhibitor‐based treatments.