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Long-term monitoring of resting tremor is key to assess the status of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD), which is of vital importance for reasonable medication. The detection and quantification of resting tremor in reported works rely heavily on specified movements and are not appropriate for long-term monitoring in real-life condition. The purpose of this study is to develop a detection model for long-term monitoring of resting tremor and explore an effective indicator for tremor quantification. This study included long-term acceleration data from PD patients and proposed a resting tremor detection model based on machine learning classifiers and Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). Four machine learning classifiers, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and Support Vector Machine (SVM), were compared. Furthermore, an indicator called tremor timing ratio (TTR) was defined and calculated for tremor quantification. The detection model with RF classifier achieved the highest overall accuracy of 94.81%. The sample entropy of the acceleration signal was proved most influential in the classification by exploring the feature importance. Through the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney U test, the TTR had a strong correlation with the subscore of resting tremor in Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Such two-step evaluation process for resting tremor can detect the tremor effectively and is expected to be applied in long-term monitoring of PD patients in daily life to realize a more comprehensive assessment of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the supply chain perspective to study the choice of selling model for manufacturers and e-tailers. To accomplish our objective, we consider three selling models, including reselling, agency selling, and mixed selling. By comparing and analyzing the equilibrium outcomes of the three selling models, we obtain some beneficial results. These results show that manufacturers and e-tailers cannot manage to make a profit at the same time whether they choose the reselling model or agency selling model. Our results also show that the mixed selling model may improve supply chain performance, as long as the cross-price elasticity is not low. Especially when the cross-price elasticity is comparatively high, a manufacturer and an e-tailer in vertical competition can achieve a profit-Pareto-improving situation, regardless of the market share of the e-tailer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental risks have a significant impact on the sustainability of subway station construction projects. This paper proposes an environmental risk assessment model based on the intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IFAHP) and set pair analysis (SPA) to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty in the assessment. An index system for environmental risk assessment is established based on a literature review and the rough set method. Subsequently, the IFAHP is used to calculate the indicator weights to describe the certainty, uncertainty, and hesitation degree of expert decisions in the weighting calculation by means of affiliation, nonaffiliation, and hesitation. Finally, SPA, which can deal with the randomness, uncertainty, and ambiguity of the indicators, is used to assess environmental risk. A case study of two typical stations (Lushan Avenue Station and Huilong Road West Station) of Metro Line 11 in Chengdu, China, is conducted. The case study results are consistent with field surveys. The evaluation results of the proposed model are more objective and reasonable than those of the traditional analytic hierarchy process, the entropy weight method, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, grey correlation analysis, and technique for order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS). The research results prove the scientific validity and superiority of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), an effective ingredient of the Chinese herb Carthamus tinctorius L, attenuated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. This study is to investigate the effect of HSYA on the proliferation and inflammatory level of human fetal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 cells) induced by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods. MRC-5 cells were treated with different concentrations of TNF-α, HSYA, or/and etanercept (ENCP, TNF-α receptor (TNFR1) antagonist, 500 ng/mL) before cell proliferation was detected. The laser confocal microscope was used to observe the role of HSYA in binding of TNF-α and its receptor. Co-immunoprecipitation was used to detect the binding of TNFR1 and TAK1-TAB2 complex. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR and western blot were used to detect the expressions of inflammation-related cytokines and proteins related with the NF-κB pathway. Luciferase reporter gene assay and chromatin coprecipitation method were used to detect the interaction between AP-1 and TGF-β1 promoter. Results. TNF-α (5 ng/mL) was used to induce inflammation and proliferation in MRC-5 cells. HSYA can partially suppress the stimulation of TNF-α on proliferation and inflammatory response of MRC-5 cells. HSYA could compete with TNF-α to bind with TNFR1 and hamper the binding of TNFR1 to TAK1-TAB2 complex. In addition, HSYA could also inhibit the activation of the NF-κB signal pathway and suppress the binding of TGF-β1 promoter with AP-1. Conclusion. Evidence in this study suggested that HSYA affects TNF-α-induced proliferation and inflammatory response of MRC-5 cells through the NF-κB/AP-1 signaling pathway, which may provide theoretical basis for HSYA treatment in pulmonary fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide application of cloud computing technology makes supply chain partner share information effectively and increase corporate profits. However, in cloud computing environment, the evaluation process of supply chain partner selection is dynamic and fuzzy, and its evaluation index is uncertain. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a new method combed with rough number, best-worst multicriteria decision-making method (BWM), and compromise ranking method (VIKOR). Firstly, Rough number is used to integrate data from different evaluation matrix. Secondly, rough number improves a new method, BWM, to get RBWM criteria weight methods. Thirdly, the rough numbers are introduced into VIKOR and combined with RBWM to evaluate and sort the supply chain partners. Finally, an example is given to demonstrate the rationality and feasibility of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban public transportation hubs are the key nodes of the public transportation system. The location of such hubs is a combinatorial problem. Many factors can affect the decision-making of location, including both quantitative and qualitative factors; however, most current research focuses solely on either the quantitative or the qualitative factors. Little has been done to combine these two approaches. To fulfill this gap in the research, this paper proposes a novel approach to the public transportation hub location problem, which takes both quantitative and qualitative factors into account. In this paper, an improved multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method based on TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and deviation is proposed to convert the qualitative factors of each hub into quantitative evaluation values. A location model with stochastic passenger flows is then established based on the above evaluation values. Finally, stochastic programming theory is applied to solve the model and to determine the location result. A numerical study shows that this approach is applicable and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the rapid development of the lithium-ion battery industry, the massive upstream consumption of mineral raw materials has led to great crises and challenges in balancing global supply and demand. A diversity of trading partners can effectively alleviate the pressure of supply and demand for raw materials; so, it is particularly important for trading countries to find suitable trading partners. This study takes nine important minerals contained in the main element raw materials of lithium-ion batteries as the research object, and the international trade data range from 2011 to 2020. The study combines complex networks and motifs and links prediction methods to predict the potential international trade relations of the nine minerals based on the actual network topology. We summarize three trade link rules as follows. (1) The predicted links have a timeliness requirement, and they generally turn into actual trade links within 3 years. (2) When looking for trading partners, trading countries tend to establish long-term and stable trade relations. (3) The existing trade relations will promote the establishment of predicted trade relations. In addition, we find that successfully predicted links will promote the formation of important motifs in the network. This study can provide a theoretical basis for trading countries to find suitable trading partners and can strengthen the safety of trading countries in the trade of the main element minerals for lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green supply chain management (GSCM) is an enterprise's effort to protect the environment and a key way to achieve sustainable environmental development. On the contrary, globalization brings more risks to the supply chain. Resilience has become a critical definition in supply chain management to help enterprises review the disruption and return to normal state. Therefore, choosing a resilient-green supplier to build a supply chain environment with flexibility and greenness under interruption becomes necessary for research works. However, the existing studies tended to focus on only one of the factors with resilience and greenness, and no comprehensive criteria system and performance value is expressed by a crisp number. Therefore, this paper proposes a hybrid method which integrates the Best-Worst method (BWM), Weighted Aggregated Sum-Product Assessment (WASPAS), and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to solve the critical problems. Firstly, BWM is used to weigh the criteria; secondly, intuitionistic fuzzy numbers are introduced into the ranking stage. Then, the integrated WASPAS and TOPSIS are used to rank the alternatives to select the optimal resilient-green supplier. Finally, an illustrative example proves the feasibility of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilient suppliers can reduce supply chain risk, effectively avoid supply chain disruption, and bring profits to enterprises. However, there is no united measuring index system to evaluate the resilient supplier under supply chain environment, and the assessment language sets are usually crisp values. Therefore, in order to fill the research gap, this paper proposes a hybrid method, which combines triangular fuzzy number, the best-worst method (BWM), and the modular TOPSIS in random environments for group decision-making (GMo-RTOPSIS) to solve the above problem. Firstly, the weight of decision-maker is calculated by using fuzzy BWM which can deal with triangular fuzzy numbers. Secondly, triangular fuzzy number is introduced into GMo-RTOPSIS, and combined with fuzzy BWM, alternatives are sorted to select the best resilient supply chain partner. Finally, the feasibility and universality of this method are proved by illustrative examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delivery time of order has become an important fact for customers to evaluate logistics services. Due to the diverse and large quantities of orders in the background of electronic commerce, how to improve the flexibility of distribution hub and reduce the waiting time of customers becomes one of the most challenging questions for logistics companies. With this in mind, this paper proposes a new method of flexibility assessment in distribution hub by introducing cost weighted time (CWT). The advantages of supply hub operation mode in delivery flexibility are verified by the approach: the mode has pooling effects and uniform distribution characteristics; these traits can reduce overlapping delivery time to improve the flexibility in the case of two suppliers. Numerical examples show that the supply hub operation mode is more flexible than decentralized distribution operation mode in multidelivery cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate patients' preference and the attitude towards physician attire in an internal medicine clinic in China. Methods. This study was conducted from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 in a tertiary care hospital in China. We surveyed 126 patients in the hospital with 6 sets of pictures of commonly worn physician attires in the hospital setting with a two-part questionnaire. The first part listed respondent demographics to collect basic information. The second part of the questionnaire was administered to adult patients who received care in the internal medicine clinics (outpatients). Survey forms collected demographic data (age, gender, patient age, education, marital status, and employment status), asked questions regarding 6 specific attires (scrubs, scrubs and white coat, casual, casual and white coat, business suit, and formal and white coat), and behavioral items (professional, responsible, reliable, knowledgeable, succession rate, and medical safety), finally, to assess the preference of attire on overall perception. Results. Scrubs and white coat scored the highest through 6 domains about physicians' attire (professional, reliable, responsible, knowledgeable, medical safety, and succession rate, p < 0.05 for all comparisons). A casual suit without a white coat was the least preferred across the surveyed attributes. There was a significant preference gap between wearing a white coat and not wearing a white coat (p < 0.001). Physician attire to white coat was considered as more professional, reliable, responsible, knowledgeable, having greater medical safety, and a higher success rate than attires without white coat. Conclusion. Patients felt that the physician wearing a white coat was better than other attires. Scrubs and white coat was the most popular attire. Hospital or related authorities may promote the standardized wearing of white coats, leading in a greater patient-physician relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in blood-contacting implantable and interventional medical devices; however, their biocompatibility is still facing great challenges. In the present study, in order to improve the biocompatibility and antibacterial activities of titanium, TiO2 nanotubes were firstly in situ prepared on the titanium surface by anodization, followed by the introduction of polyacrylic acid (PAA) and gentamicin (GS) on the nanotube surface by layer-by-layer assembly, and finally, zinc ions were loaded on the surface to further improve the bioactivities. The nanotubes displayed excellent hydrophilicity and special nanotube-like structure, which can selectively promote the albumin adsorption, enhance the blood compatibility, and promote the growth of endothelial cells to some degree. After the introduction of PAA and GS, although the superhydrophilicity cannot be achieved, the results of platelet adhesion, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) activity, hemolysis rate, and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) showed that the blood compatibility was improved, and the blood compatibility was further enhanced after zinc ion loading. On the other hand, the modified surface showed good cytocompatibility to endothelial cells. The introduction of PAA and zinc ions not only promoted the adhesion and proliferation of endothelial cells but also upregulated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and nitric oxide (NO). The slow and continuous release of GS and Zn2+ over 14 days can significantly improve the antibacterial properties. Therefore, the present study provides an effective method for the surface modification of titanium-based blood-contacting materials to simultaneously endow with good blood compatibility, endothelial growth behaviors, and antibacterial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bullwhip effect (BWE) and stochastic demand coexist in supply chain operation management, which leads to a lower performance. In recent years, with the development of blockchain, cloud computing, big data, and other digital technologies (DTs), many enterprises hope to use them to weaken the BWE and improve profits. This paper focuses on improving the application level of DTs in the supply chain through coordination for enhancing the performance. We consider a supply chain with one-supplier-one-retailer and coordinate it with the cost-sharing contract and revenue-cost-sharing contract (the improved contract). We find out that the retailer and supplier did not always have the willingness to use DTs to alleviate the BWE. Even if they have the intention to use DTs, their ideal application level is not the same. After coordination, both the application level of DTs and the performance of the supply chain are improved, and we find that the improved contract has a better coordination effect. Finally, we validate our model by numerical simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To find the effect of coal chemical structure on biogas production, Lignite B was collected and extracted with nitrogen methylpyrrolidone (NMP), acetone and 0.60 mol/L NaOH. Simultaneously, methanogenic bacteria were enriched, and gas production experiments involving solvent extraction from residual coal and secondary gas production experiments involving coal were performed. The characteristics of biogas production, microcrystalline structure and coal chemical structure were analyzed. The results showed that the biogas production capacity of residual coal extracted by different solvents differed. The biogas production capacity of residual coal extracted by 0.60 mol/L NaOH was severely inhibited. The biogas production capacity of residual coal extracted by NMP and acetone was enhanced compared with that of raw coal. In contrast, primary residual coal still exhibits potential for methane production, but the methane production efficiency was reduced. Changes in the microcrystalline structure and functional groups of residual coal showed that solvent extraction increases the spacing and stacking height of the aromatic lamellae of coal, reduces the hydroxyl, methyl, methylene and aromatic hydrocarbon levels in coal, loosens the macromolecular network structure of coal, and enhances the connectivity of pores and fissures, thus allowing methane‐producing bacteria to enter the coal mass and create favorable conditions for gas production through interactions between the two. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed that the secondary gas production increased the C content on the coal surface, decreased the O content and the O/C ratio, thus promoting the consumption of oxygen‐containing functional groups on the coal surface to further produce gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the literature review on medical education and university performance evaluations and from the perspective of individual advantage identification, an evaluation method of medical universities' performance in a hierarchical context was proposed. This study designs a method system, including individual learning benchmarking from the individual perspective, group learning benchmarking from the democratic perspective, and benchmarking of single and overall indicators. From the perspective of the most favorable to medical universities, this study applies the designed research methods to the performance evaluation of medical universities and takes 15 medical universities in China as samples to conduct an empirical research. The following conclusions were found. First, the method helps form various development modes of medical universities in the individual advantage characteristic context. Second, the method not only shows objectivity but also provides a basis for how medical universities find individual and integral benchmarking. Finally, the method demonstrates the democracy feature, which provides a basis for how relevant departments allocate resources and formulate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the intensification of market competition, the choice of partners in the private sector plays a vital role in the success or failure of the government’s public sector in the bidding process. Based on FRS (factor risk scoring system), SAW (simple additive weighted), and the integrated subjective or objective fuzzy group decision-making methods, the private sector partner selection is carried out under the PPP (public-private partnership) model in this paper. First of all, a decision committee is established to select attributes and identify potential partners. Secondly, we determine the important decision of the consistency of the manufacturer, introduce linguistic variables, calculate and collect the fuzzy weighted personal attributes, evaluate the importance of the attributes, and get the comprehensive fuzzy evaluation. Thirdly, we establish fuzzy value matrix based on fuzzy evaluation and get the total fuzzy vector by multiplying respective weighted vectors and fuzzy evaluation matrix, then calculate the defuzzification value of each total score, and choose the alternative with the maximum score. Finally, an example is given to demonstrate the rationality of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent geographic expansion of wild boars and the even more recent development of numerous domestic pigs have spurred exploration on pig domestic origins. The porcine KIT gene has been showed to affect pleiotropic effects, blood parameters, and coat colour phenotypes, especially the white colour phenotype formation in European commercial breeds. Here, we described the use of SNPs to identify different selection patterns on the porcine KIT gene and the phylogenetic relationships of the inferred haplotypes. The phylogenetic tree revealed four clades in European and Asian wild and domestic pigs: two major clades with European and Asian origins and one minor clade with Iberian origins as well as the other minor clade in Asia, consistent with the major introgression of domestic Asian pigs in Europe around 18th -19th century. The domestication history of pigs, which occurred in the domestication centers (Europe and Asia), has also been demonstrated by mtDNA analysis. Furthermore, both Asian and European domestic pigs evolved under purifying selection. This study indicated that domestic pigs in Europe and Asia have different lineage origins but the porcine KIT gene was undergoing a purifying selection during their evolutional histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the development of the rural e-commerce, the importance of rural logistics has been widely recognized. The selection of rural logistics center is a crucial part in products circulation, because an unreasonable location of rural logistics can cause a circulation problem and product waste. In this paper, we propose a rural logistics center location model based on the theory of intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS. First, we integrate the information according to experts’ score based on the evaluation index system. Second, we use the entropy weight method to determine the weight of each evaluation index. Third, we rank the results by using the intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS method. Finally, an illustrative example will be used to prove the validity and feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being a new research area, logistics finance solves the contradiction between banks and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) about financing; it is beneficial to financial market and logistics market development too. As a service innovation, it unites the interests of bank, 3PL (third-party logistics) providers, and SMEs and integrates material, finance, and information. Logistics finance has been developed in recent years in China, but the research is not enough on 3PL enterprises. On the background of that, the paper makes a research in the field of logistics finance with different pricing methods, based on the perspective of third-party logistics enterprises. This paper proposes a pricing model of inventory financing that can maximize the cash flow of 3PL enterprise, when the default rate of the small- and medium-sized enterprise is affected by the pledge price. And then this paper studies the model of inventory financing that can maximize the cash flow of enterprise under the condition of the existence of cash discount rate. The core factors affecting the loan-to-value ratio were established through analysis of mathematical model. We also consider the loan-to-value ratio of cash discount rate in the model. Results show that in the pledge of the known function and cash discount the price change can be calculated to meet enterprise cash flow lending rates and get biggest loan-to-value ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recycling of waste products can sharply save manufacturing cost and improve the economic efficiency and corporate-reputation. It also has a great effect on the environment and resources protection. In the management of the closed-loop supply chain, the recycling of waste products and decision-making on pricing often directly affect the supply and demand of products and the operation efficiency of supply chain. Therefore, first we take waste glass bottles as an example and establish a mathematical model to solve the profit of manufacturers and retailers solely. Then, we analyzed whole supply chain profit under a dual-channel recycling condition which is directly recycled by consumers or by retailers. Finally, we concluded that no matter what product’s price, quality, profit, or operational efficiency of supply chain is, the overall recycling is better than the single node recycling model. Based on the analysis, we developed a new model to coordinate the profit of manufacturers and retailers in the supply chain with revenue-sharing contract. A numerical study shows that this approach is applicable and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]