bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design and Development of Simulation Computer Software for Safety Siding in Regional Expressed Railway
Authors: Wang Xiaochao , Li Shuang , Zhang Zihang , Chen Jiaqian
Published: October 2020

The safety siding is an isolated line used to ensure safety on traffic operating. Too short a safety siding does not guarantee the safe operation of the train, while too long a safety siding will increase the cost and design difficulty of construction. The prior art specification says the length of the safety siding required is not less than 50m. Obviously, there is still uncertainty about the setting length of safety siding on specific line. This paper combines the characteristics of the suburban railway to design and develop a setting simulation system of safety siding. The safety siding calculation model is established by the traction calculation method, which includes different factors such as braking ratio, train speed, line parameters, signal system and application scenarios. Moreover, it designs the structure and function of the simulation system and discusses the key techniques of simulation. Finally, taking the Fuzhou Railway Station as an example to verify the simulation system. The results show that when the different lines and train parameters are configured, the design length of the result is also different. The simulation system could accomplish the design of the safety siding in different scenes. The calculation results are reliable and have engineering application value.
Research and application of dimming control system for highway tunnel lighting on demand
Authors: Yong Pan , Fang Wang , Li Wu Xiao , Qi Zhang
Published: October 2020

Aim at the widely used energy —saving lamp in highway tunnel, in accordance with the relevant requirements in JTG/T D70/2— 01—2014“ Design Details of Highway Tunnel Lighting”, traffic prediction theory and multi-source information fusion method, internet of things technology was applied to tunnel lighting control. Taking a highway tunnel as background, this parper carried out application study on the on-demand lighting technology of highway tunnel, and it built LED tunnel lighting system on demand and developed dimming control system for highway tunnel based on the Internet of things, and it achieved networked and intelligent management of lighting energy saving.
One kind of networking mode ATC system coordinate projected optimization method
Authors: Yan Liu , Xuefei Xiao
Published: October 2020

The traffic management system in civil aviation adopts map projection when processing the target track position, but the distortion caused by the coordinate projection error will affect the processing accuracy of the system. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes an optimization method based on the networking mode, constructs multiple networking centers and processing units to form a target tracking report relationship, implements distributed processing splicing according to the regional target situation, and discusses the coordinates in the system networking mode Principles of the use of the system and coordinate conversion. By updating the calculation, the effect of dealing with large-area projection errors is effectively reduced, which provides ideas for my country to establish a nationwide air traffic management system.
Evaluation Method of Transfer and Connection Capacity of Rail Transit Terminal
Authors: Xue Jiarong
Published: October 2020

This paper puts forward the ideas and methods for evaluating the transfer and connection ability of multi-mode rail transit, including high-speed railway, inter-city railway, regional railway and urban rail transit. In the first place, based on the transfer station, the transfer process of passenger flow is analyzed. After that, there are three ratios taken as calculation indexes which are the ratio of transport capacity to transport capacity, service facilities capacity to transport capacity, waiting time to transfer process time. In the end, a crucial step, the transfer capacity of rail transit terminal is calculated by using the entropy weight and TOPSIS method. In summary, a set of methods and procedures for evaluating the transfer and connection capacity of rail transit terminal are obtained, and an example is given to illustrate the transfer system to the subway system of Chengdu East Passenger Transport station on a certain day.
Research on key problems for a mritime patrol mode integrating patrol with search and rescue
Authors: Minglu Ma , Guobo Wang
Published: October 2020

The present study summarizes major challenges in integration of maritime patrol, search and rescue, and proposes corresponding solutions based on previous studies and relevant practice in China and abroad. The patrol mode that integrates cruise, search and rescue is expected to fulfill patrol missions while improving the ships’ capacity for search and rescue. In other words, cruise, search and rescue are fulfilled at the same time. At present, major challenges in integration of maritime patrol, search and rescue include problems in organizational planning, layout of sites, deployment and training of personnel, quality of rescue-and-rescue equipment, logistical support and soft environment for integration. Based on rescue capacity building in China and advanced search and rescue modes and technologies of other countries, this study puts forward corresponding measures to upgrade organizational planning, realize proper layout of sites for cruise, search and rescue, cultivate personnel, improve performance of equipment, increase the application of information technologies, improve logistical support, and foster an enabling soft environment for integration of cruise, search and rescue.
Selecting the Best Links for Lane-reversal in Wide-area Evacuation Based on the Critical Edge Model of Dynamic Maximum Flow Increase
Authors: Gao Mingxia , Tuo Su
Published: October 2020

Based on the theory of dynamic flow, we study the optimization problem of dynamic reverse lane, that is, the selection of the road section and the optimization of the time period of lane reverse operation. We abstract an evacuation road network as a directed network with variable capacity, and define the critical dynamical edge for increasing the dynamical maximum flow value of such network. We can get alternative links and corresponding time period for lane-reversal operation by searching critical dynamical edges for increasing the dynamical maximum flow value. We present a modified algorithm to find such critical dynamical edges on the basis of the maximal capacity path algorithm for the static maximum flow problem. We also give a numerical example and test the effects through traffic simulation. The results show that evacuation time can be effectively decreased through taking dynamical reversal lane scheme in regional evacuation.
Analysis of the impact of public transport on the city Taking the current situation of public transport in Jinan as an example
Authors: Zhang Zhe , Li Yuanyuan , Xiong Peng , Chu Xiaochang
Published: October 2020

The development of public transport will have an important impact on the survival and development of the city. The deterioration of the traffic situation will lead to urban problems, such as energy waste, environmental pollution, urban development lag. In some areas, the priority development strategy of public transport has been adopted and adhered to for a long time. Not only can the rapid economic development, land and energy resources be effectively utilized, but the ecological environment is also protected from damage, and the strategic decision of sustainable development is implemented.[1]This paper takes the most representative bus in urban public transport as an example for analysis. Taking the current situation of public transport in Jinan as the breakthrough point, this paper discusses the impact of public transport on the development of Jinan, and discusses the direction of improvement. At the same time, this paper puts forward some views on how to develop urban public transport in Jinan and how to realize the direction of building a central city in the Yellow River Basin.
Assessment of Service Agility in Power Distribution Company
Authors: Anil M , Suresh M.
Published: October 2020

Power Distribution Company (DISCOM)s are basically engaged in providing electricity to power the various customer needs of the people in its area of operation. The availability of quality power free from voltage sags, voltage swells, dips etc. without any interruption contributes to customer delight in the sector. Unfortunately, the network constraints brought in by overhead, bare conductors to convey power from generating stations to transmission Sub-stations and from there to the end consumers is a serious cause for outages to customers and create dissatisfaction among them. This paper attempts to develop assessment framework of service agility for a case DISCOM in India using multi-grade fuzzy approach. The service agility attributes are identified and classified using Importance Performance analysis (IPA). This assessment framework may helps managers of DISCOM for understanding their current service agility level and focus on the weaker attributes to enhance their service performance. This assessment framework can help DISCOM’s managers to understand their current level of service agility and focus to improve their service performance.
Synthesis and characterization of natural fiber reinforced laminated thermoplastic composite
Authors: Vijayabhaskar S , Rajmohan T , Kennedy E Isaac , Krishna T Jayanth
Published: October 2020

As increase in the use of eco-friendly, natural fibers are used for the reinforcement of polymer composites which has the light weight and low-cost polymer composites with better mechanical properties which offers exceptional properties over glass fiber. In this work, Basalt fiber reinforced Polypropylene (PP) laminated composite was manufactured by the compression moulding process. The variations of impact, flexural and compression strength and modules of the composite according to the number of basalt fiber layers were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) conducted on the surface of the composite reveal the superior interfacial linkage between the basalt fiber and PP matrix. Hence, this offers a comprehensive discussion on synthesis and characterization of basalt fiber with polypropylene reinforced laminated thermoplastic composite.
Preparation and analysis of the thermal properties of non-toxic eco-friendly vegetable based oils
Authors: Sathishkumar S D , Rajmohan T
Published: October 2020

Cutting fluids play an important role in increasing the efficiency of the production system. Vegetable based cutting fluids produce less harmful effects to the environment thereby leading to the cleaner production system. In the present study, vegetable oils such as Neem and Karanja oils are blended in three different proportions which are used to improve the thermal performance of the vegetable based cutting fluids. Density, viscosity, flash point and fire point are the quality parameters used to analyze the thermal properties of vegetable oils were also studied. Triple Necked Round Bottom flask setup is used for mixing the two vegetable oils in different proportions. The experimental results reveal that the combination of 25% Neem and 75% Karanja proves to be the efficient vegetable oil for sustainable production in the modern industries.
Application of Evolutionary Algorithms to Predict Mechanical Properties on Natural Fibers – A Review
Authors: Prasanth Kumar R , Rajmohan T , Vijayan D
Published: October 2020

Natural fibers are an abundant source in nature, having an inherent property in which include biodegradable, decomposable and cost efficient. Moreover, they exhibit extensive mechanical properties such as tensile modulus, flexural modulus than synthetic fibers when reinforcing polymer resins. However, adding inappropriate levels of quantity of resins misleads on obtaining desired mechanical properties. Several approaches have been utilized in the past decades to get desired mechanical properties on the natural fibers, in which applying evolutionary algorithms are the most recent and familiar in the composite research community. Therefore, in this study an application of evolutionary algorithms on natural fibers are presented. This objective of the review is to provide detailed information of the natural fibers along with its recent algorithmic approaches. Moreover, the effect of various treatments and its changes in mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of matrix.
Analysis of Power Consumption in the drilling of Nano SiC reinforced Aluminium matrix composites
Authors: Kalyan Chakravarthy V. V. , Rajmohan T.
Published: October 2020

Nanoceramic particles reinforced Metal Matrix Composites (MMNC) have gained immense attention from both the scientific and industrial community. The employment of these advanced class materials in the industries has given many advantages. These Nanocomposites are very difficult to machine, and the number of holes is to be drilled on their surface for many applications as drilling is considered as one of the significant applications in the industry. The researchers and industrial experts are striving very hard to attain green manufacturing techniques in drilling, which creates less impact on the environment and consume lower power. The main aim of current research is to analyse the power consumption in the drilling of Nano silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced Aluminium (Al) matrix composite under various machining conditions, cutting speeds, feed rates. For this purpose, a series of experiments have been planned using Taguchi’s L18 orthogonal array. The drilling tests were performed using a vertical machining centre (VMC) which is controlled by computer numeric control (CNC) employing carbide drills of 10mm dia with cutting point angles of 90°, 118° and 135°. The machining operation is performed under Dry cutting and Cryogenic cutting condition. On successful completion of the experiments, the surface morphology is studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM).
Effect of engine oil dilution by waste ayurvedic oil biodiesel on tribological behavior of liner-ring tribo pair material
Authors: Balakumar R. , Sriram G. , Arumugam S.
Published: October 2020

The fastest exhaustion of petroleum-based fossil fuels and its ever-ending environmental issues which scares the researchers to search for the alternate source for commercial diesel fuel. In this way, the biodiesel as an alternate fuel plays an important role in a diesel engine. There are many vegetables were used as a biodiesel feedstock, the utilization of waste feedstock as a biodiesel resource will be the prime importance in the reduction of waste management followed by its dumping processes in the earth surface. The present experimental investigation is used to examine the utilization of waste ayurvedic oil (WAO) biodiesel blends diluted in the synthetic oil and its tribological study using pin on disc tribometer under standard test conditions. The ultrasound irradiation assisted transesterification process method is employed in the conversion of waste ayurvedic oil in to WAO methyl ester (WAOME). Then the WAOME was added with diesel fuel to form the biodiesel blends and named as B10, B15 and B20. In addition to this, the blends were contaminated with synthetic lubrication oil (SAE20W40) to study the dilution effects of the biodiesel. The real-time cylinder liner-ring tribopair materials were used for the investigation. The experimental results reveal that, the tribological behavior i.e., lower co-efficient of friction and wear was observed with WAO20 biodiesel blend than other biodiesel blends and diesel fuel.
A tunable metamaterial-based linear-to-circular polarization converter regulated solid state plasma in S-band
Authors: Zeng Li , Zhang Hai-Feng , Zhang Dan
Published: October 2020

As the most widely used band in wireless communication systems, S-band is often used in many military and civil fields. In this paper, with the aid of the reconfigurability realized by the solid state plasma (SSP), a tunable metamaterial-based polarization converter is proposed and theoretically investigated. Through the premeditated excitation of the SSP resonators in the specific region, the linear-to-circular polarization conversions with two different operating states can be realized and switched to each other. The numerical results show that the polarization converter can obtain circularly polarized waves in two separate bands (2.15–2.63 GHz and 3.18–3.71 GHz) when our design is in State I, and the dual operating bands expands and merges into a consecutive ultra-wideband range (2.04–3.67 GHz) when our design is switched to State II. The total tunable working range of the presented polarization converter can essentially cover the whole S-band and the phenomenon of the isolation and fusion of the operating band possesses great potential application value in the fields of radar radomes, polarization separation, electromagnetic shielding, and so on.
Convolutional neural network-based automatic detection of follicle cells in ovarian tissue using optical coherence tomography
Authors: Saito Kasumi , Motani Yuki , Takae Seido , Suzuki Nao , Tsukada Kosuke
Published: October 2020

To preserve the fertility of young female cancer patients, ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation have been investigated as next-generation reproductive medical technologies. Non-invasive visualization of follicles in ovarian tissue and cryopreservation of higher density tissue is essential for effective transplantation. We proposed the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) that can noninvasively visualize the internal structure of the ovarian tissue. However, a method for quantifying cell density has not yet been established because of the lack of available techniques to visualize follicles noninvasively. We proposed the use of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to extract small features from medical images as an image analysis method to automatically detect follicles from the obtained OCT images. First, we collected a total of 13 ovarian tissues from four-day-old mice and acquired OCT images using a full-field-type OCT. Then, the acquired images were analyzed using three detection methods: filter processing, filter processing combined with the CNN, and only CNN. Finally, to verify the detection accuracy of each method, the detection rate and precision were calculated by taking the doctor’s detection as the correct result. The results showed that the detection method only using CNN achieved a detection rate of 0.81 and precision of 0.67; this indicated that follicles could be effectively detected using our proposed method. Furthermore, it is quantitatively evident that the density of follicles from the surface layer to the deep region differs depending on the tissue. In the future, these results could be used to detect follicles in tissues of different maturation stages and quantify follicles three-dimensionally, further accelerating next-generation reproductive medicine.
Screening for expired medications in automated dispensing cabinets
Authors: Nanni Alexis N , Rana Trusha S , Schenkat Daniel H
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Results of a study to quantify rates of identification of expired medications in automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) are reported.

Methods

A pre-post analysis was conducted to determine the effect of various types of ADC audits on rates of finding expired medications in ADCs. For the experimental phase of the study, 4 ADCs at the main campus of an academic medical center were randomly assigned to receive one of 4 interventions: (1) monthly audits of all ADC pockets, (2) monthly audits of matrix (open pocket) drawers only, (3) monthly audits of unassigned pockets only, and (4) no additional intervention.

Results

At baseline, rates of finding expired medication doses in the 4 ADCs ranged from 0.4% to 0.7%. During the 3-month experimental period, rates of finding expired medication doses ranged from 0.1% to 0.3%. During a final audit 1 month later, the ADC targeted for monthly audits of all pockets was found to contain no expired doses, with an overall improvement in expired-dose rates for all audited ADCs observed over the course of the 4-month study. The average time to perform a full audit for an ADC with about 340 pockets was 1 hour, or 15 seconds per pocket. The average time to perform matrix drawer–only audits averaged around 45 minutes, or 11 seconds per pocket. The average time to perform audits of unassigned matrix drawers averaged 30 minutes, or 10 seconds per pocket.

Conclusion

Auditing of all ADC pockets on a monthly basis appears to be an effective method of reducing the rate of identification of expired medications in ADC pockets.
Latent Structure of a Brief Clinical Battery of Neuropsychological Tests Administered In-Home Via Telephone
Authors: Matchanova Anastasia , Babicz Michelle A , Medina Luis D , Rahman Samina , Johnson Briana , Thompson Jennifer L , Beltran-Najera Ilex , Brooks Jasmin , Sullivan Kelli L , Walker Rheeda L , Podell Kenneth , Woods Steven Paul
Published: October 2020

Objective

To examine the factor structure and sociodemographic correlates of a battery of clinical neuropsychological tests administered in-home and via telephone.

Method

Participants included 280 healthy adults who completed a 35–40 min battery consisting of seven auditory-verbal neuropsychological tests (i.e., 10 variables) that included digit span, list learning and memory, prospective memory, verbal fluency, and oral trail making.

Results

After removing oral trail making part A, a three-factor model comprised of executive functions, memory and attention demonstrated the best fit to the data. Nevertheless, the shared variance between the nine remaining neuropsychological variables was also adequately explained by a single-factor model and a two-factor model comprised of executive functions and memory. Factor scores were variably associated with education, race/ethnicity, and IQ, but not with sex or age.

Conclusions

Findings provide preliminary support for the feasibility and factor structure and sociodemographic correlates of a brief telephone-based screening neuropsychological battery comprised mostly of commonly administered clinical measures. Future studies are needed to determine the test–retest reliability, sensitivity, and ecological relevance of this battery, as well as equivalency to in-person assessment.
RNA inter-nucleotide 3D closeness prediction by deep residual neural networks
Authors: Sun Saisai , Wang Wenkai , Peng Zhenling , Yang Jianyi
Published: October 2020

Motivation

Recent years have witnessed that the inter-residue contact/distance in proteins could be accurately predicted by deep neural networks, which significantly improve the accuracy of predicted protein structure models. In contrast, fewer studies have been done for the prediction of RNA inter-nucleotide 3D closeness.

Results

We proposed a new algorithm named RNAcontact for the prediction of RNA inter-nucleotide 3D closeness. RNAcontact was built based on the deep residual neural networks. The covariance information from multiple sequence alignments and the predicted secondary structure were used as the input features of the networks. Experiments show that RNAcontact achieves the respective precisions of 0.8 and 0.6 for the top L/10 and L (where L is the length of an RNA) predictions on an independent test set, significantly higher than other evolutionary coupling methods. Analysis shows that about 1/3 of the correctly predicted 3D closenesses are not base pairings of secondary structure, which are critical to the determination of RNA structure. In addition, we demonstrated that the predicted 3D closeness could be used as distance restraints to guide RNA structure folding by the 3dRNA package. More accurate models could be built by using the predicted 3D closeness than the models without using 3D closeness.

Availability and implementation

The webserver and a standalone package are available at: http://yanglab.nankai.edu.cn/RNAcontact/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
read_haps: using read haplotypes to detect same species contamination in DNA sequences
Authors: Eggertsson Hannes P , Halldorsson Bjarni V
Published: October 2020

Motivation

Data analysis is requisite on reliable data. In genetics this includes verifying that the sample is not contaminated with another, a problem ubiquitous in biology.

Results

In human, and other diploid species, DNA contamination from the same species can be found by the presence of three haplotypes between polymorphic SNPs. read_haps is a tool that detects sample contamination from short read whole genome sequencing data.

Availabilityand implementation

github.com/DecodeGenetics/read_haps.
Lipid metabolism is altered in maternal, placental, and fetal tissues of ewes with small for gestational age fetuses†
Authors: Steinhauser Chelsie B , Askelson Katharine , Lambo Colleen A , Hobbs Kenneth C , Bazer Fuller W , Satterfield M Carey
Published: October 2020

Nutrient restriction (NR) has the potential to negatively impact birthweight, an indicator of neonatal survival and lifelong health. Those fetuses are termed as small for gestational age (SGA). Interestingly, there is a spectral phenotype of fetal growth rates in response to NR associated with changes in placental development, nutrient and waste transport, and lipid metabolism. A sheep model with a maternal diet, starting at Day 35, of 100% National Research Council (NRC) nutrient requirements (n = 8) or 50% NRC (n = 28) was used to assess alterations in fetuses designated NR SGA (n = 7) or NR NonSGA (n = 7) based on fetal weight at Day 135 of pregnancy. Allantoic fluid concentrations of triglycerides were greater in NR SGA fetuses than 100% NRC and NR NonSGA fetuses at Day 70 (P < 0.05). There was a negative correlation between allantoic fluid concentrations of triglycerides (R2 = 0.207) and bile acids (R2 = 0.179) on Day 70 and fetal weight at Day 135 for NR ewes (P < 0.05). Bile acids were more abundant in maternal and fetal blood for NR SGA compared to 100% NRC and NR NonSGA ewes (P < 0.05). Maternal blood concentrations of NEFAs increased in late pregnancy in NR NonSGA compared to NR SGA ewes (P < 0.05). Protein expression of fatty acid transporter SLC27A6 localized to placentomal maternal and fetal epithelia and decreased in Day 70 NR SGA compared to 100% NRC and NR NonSGA placentomes (P < 0.05). These results identify novel factors associated with an ability of placentae and fetuses in NR NonSGA ewes to adapt to, and overcome, nutritional hardship during pregnancy.
Population genetic structure and species delimitation in theCryptanthus zonatuscomplex (Bromeliaceae)
Authors: Ferreira Débora Maria Cavalcanti , Palma-Silva Clarisse , Néri Jordana , Medeiros Maria Cláudias Melo Pacheco de , Pinangé Diego Sotero , Benko-Iseppon Ana Maria , Louzada Rafael Batista
Published: October 2020

Morphological variations of individuals and populations of plants have hampered taxonomists from understanding whether such variations are intra- or interspecific. In this research, we study Cryptanthus burle-marxii and C. zonatus, the morphological variations of which overlap, making it difficult to identify them. Both taxa are restricted to the north of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and are included in the C. zonatus species complex. We applied different methods such as morphological comparison, population genetics using ten nuclear microsatellite markers and ecological niche modelling to study population genetic structure and species delimitation of this species complex. Our analysis revealed that the two genetic clusters were formed possibly because of the presence of a historical geographical barrier in a region called ‘depressão do Abiaí’. The two genetic clusters were concordant with the northern and southern distribution of the complex but incongruent with a morphological variation or current taxonomic delimitation. Thus, we synonymize C. burle-marxii with C. zonatus and re-evaluate its conservation status as endangered.
Floral micromorphology, histochemistry, ultrastructure and chemical composition of floral secretions in three NeotropicalMaxillariellaspecies (Orchidaceae)
Authors: Lipińska Monika M , Wiśniewska Natalia , Gołębiowski Marek , Narajczyk Magdalena , Kowalkowska Agnieszka K
Published: October 2020

Floral morphological adaptations and composition of secretions aim to ensure reproductive success. Maxillariella is part of the largest subtribe of Orchidaceae, and Maxillariella spp. are important components of the orchid flora of the Neotropics. The aim of this paper was to provide a detailed study of the reproductive biology of three morphologically and geographically distinct species: M. sanguinea, M. variabilis and M. vulcanica. For many years, species in this group were considered rewardless, but several studies have revealed that lips of some species may secrete resins. However, most published research has mainly focused on investigating either micromorphology (SEM, TEM, histochemistry) or fragrance composition (GC–MS). In this study, we make the first attempt to investigate Maxillariella flowers in a more comparative manner by combining both aspects. In all investigated species we reported the presence of resins with lipids, sugars and/or proteins, suggesting a potential role as a food reward. Scant quantities of residues indicate that they are produced periodically in small quantities. Chemical analysis revealed significant differences between species, however, the presence of some compounds was constant. Cycloartenal and cycloartenol (main ingredients of resin and wax-like material in some Maxillariinae) were not been found.
Poor Self-Reported Sleep is Related to Regional Cortical Thinning in Aging but not Memory Decline—Results From the Lifebrain Consortium
Authors: Fjell Anders M , Sørensen Øystein , Amlien Inge K , Bartrés-Faz David , Brandmaier Andreas M , Buchmann Nikolaus , Demuth Ilja , Drevon Christian A , Düzel Sandra , Ebmeier Klaus P , Ghisletta Paolo , Idland Ane-Victoria , Kietzmann Tim C , Kievit Rogier A , Kühn Simone , Lindenberger Ulman , Magnussen Fredrik , Macià Didac , Mowinckel Athanasia M , Nyberg Lars , Sexton Claire E , Solé-Padullés Cristina , Pudas Sara , Roe James M , Sederevicius Donatas , Suri Sana , Vidal-Piñeiro Didac , Wagner Gerd , Watne Leiv Otto , Westerhausen René , Zsoldos Enikő , Walhovd Kristine B
Published: October 2020

We examined whether sleep quality and quantity are associated with cortical and memory changes in cognitively healthy participants across the adult lifespan. Associations between self-reported sleep parameters (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and longitudinal cortical change were tested using five samples from the Lifebrain consortium (n = 2205, 4363 MRIs, 18–92 years). In additional analyses, we tested coherence with cell-specific gene expression maps from the Allen Human Brain Atlas, and relations to changes in memory performance. “PSQI # 1 Subjective sleep quality” and “PSQI #5 Sleep disturbances” were related to thinning of the right lateral temporal cortex, with lower quality and more disturbances being associated with faster thinning. The association with “PSQI #5 Sleep disturbances” emerged after 60 years, especially in regions with high expression of genes related to oligodendrocytes and S1 pyramidal neurons. None of the sleep scales were related to a longitudinal change in episodic memory function, suggesting that sleep-related cortical changes were independent of cognitive decline. The relationship to cortical brain change suggests that self-reported sleep parameters are relevant in lifespan studies, but small effect sizes indicate that self-reported sleep is not a good biomarker of general cortical degeneration in healthy older adults.
Sodium butyrate protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury partially via the GPR43/ β-arrestin-2/NF-κB network
Authors: Luo Qian-Jiang , Sun Mei-Xing , Guo Yun-Wei , Tan Si-Wei , Wu Xiao-Ying , Abassa Kodjo-Kunale , Lin Li , Liu Hui-Ling , Jiang Jie , Wei Xiu-Qing
Published: October 2020

Background

Butyrate acts as a regulator in multiple inflammatory organ injuries. However, the role of butyrate in acute liver injury has not yet been fully explored. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association between butyrate and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute liver injury and the signaling pathways involved.

Methods

LPS-induced acute liver injury was induced by intraperitoneal injection of LPS (5 mg/kg) in G-protein-coupled receptor 43 (GPR43)-knockout (KO) and wild-type female C57BL/6 mice. Sodium butyrate (500mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 30 min prior to LPS exposure. Liver injury was detected by serum markers, tissue morphology, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Pro-inflammatory-factor levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Cell models were first treated with sodium butyrate (4 μmol/mL), followed by LPS (1 μg/mL) half an hour later in GPR43 small interfering RNA (siRNA)-transfected or control RAW264.7 cells. Cell-inflammation status was evaluated through detecting pro-inflammatory-factor expression by RT-PCR and also through checking toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-κB (TLR4/NF-κB)-element levels including TLR4, TRAF6, IKKβ, IкBα, phospho-IкBα, p65, and phospho-p65 by Western blot. The interaction between GPR43 and β-arrestin-2 was tested by co-immunoprecipitation.

Results

Sodium butyrate reversed the LPS-induced tissue-morphology changes and high levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, myeloperoxidase, TUNEL, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. The ameliorating effect of sodium butyrate was weakened in GPR43-KO mice and GPR43 siRNA RAW264.7 cells, compared with those of GPR43-positive controls. Sodium butyrate downregulated some elements of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway, including phospho-IκBα and phospho-p65, in RAW264.7 cells. Increased interactions between GPR43 and β-arrestin-2, and between β-arrestin-2 and IкBα were observed.

Conclusion

Sodium butyrate significantly attenuated LPS-induced liver injury by reducing the inflammatory response partially via the GPR43/β-arrestin-2/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Composite optimization for robust rank one bilinear sensing
Authors: Charisopoulos Vasileios , Davis Damek , Díaz Mateo , Drusvyatskiy Dmitriy
Published: October 2020

We consider the task of recovering a pair of vectors from a set of rank one bilinear measurements, possibly corrupted by noise. Most notably, the problem of robust blind deconvolution can be modeled in this way. We consider a natural nonsmooth formulation of the rank one bilinear sensing problem and show that its moduli of weak convexity, sharpness and Lipschitz continuity are all dimension independent, under favorable statistical assumptions. This phenomenon persists even when up to half of the measurements are corrupted by noise. Consequently, standard algorithms, such as the subgradient and prox-linear methods, converge at a rapid dimension-independent rate when initialized within a constant relative error of the solution. We complete the paper with a new initialization strategy, complementing the local search algorithms. The initialization procedure is both provably efficient and robust to outlying measurements. Numerical experiments, on both simulated and real data, illustrate the developed theory and methods.
Bacterial Communities Associated With Abnormal Nugent Score in Postmenopausal Versus Premenopausal Women
Authors: Mitchell Caroline M , Srinivasan Sujatha , Ma Nanxun , Reed Susan D , Wu Michael C , Hoffman Noah G , Valint Daniel J , Proll Sean , Fiedler Tina L , Agnew Kathy J , Guthrie Katherine A , Fredricks David N
Published: October 2020

The Nugent score is the reference standard for bacterial vaginosis (BV) diagnosis but has not been validated in postmenopausal women. We compared relative abundances from 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of vaginal microbiota with Nugent score in cohorts of premenopausal (n = 220) and postmenopausal (n = 144) women. In premenopausal women, 33 taxa were significantly correlated with Nugent score, including the classic BV-associated taxa Gardnerella, Atopobium, Sneathia, Megasphaera, and Prevotella. In postmenopausal women, 11 taxa were significantly associated with Nugent score, including Prevotella but no other BV-associated genera. High Nugent scores should not be used to infer BV in postmenopausal women.
Overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in Mali: what are the determinants?
Authors: Seidu Abdul-Aziz , Ahinkorah Bright Opoku , Agbaglo Ebenezer , Nyaaba Albert Apotele
Published: October 2020

Background

Existing evidence suggests that there has been a surge of overweight and obesity in low- and middle-income countries around the world. In this study we investigated the prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among women in Mali.

Methods

We conducted the study among 5198 women using the 2018 Mali Demographic and Health Survey data. We used binary logistic regression for the analysis and pegged statistical significance at p<0.05.

Results

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 26.9%. The likelihood of overweight and obesity was high among women 40–44 y of age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 5.94 [confidence interval {CI} 4.10 to 8.60]), those who were widowed/divorced/separated (AOR 1.59 [CI 1.04 to 2.43]), those with secondary education (AOR 1.41 [CI 1.13 to 1.75]), richest women (AOR 3.61 [CI 2.63 to 4.95]), those who watched television at least once a week (AOR 1.28 [CI 1.07 to 1.52]) and those who lived in the Kidal region (AOR 10.71 [CI 7.05 to 16.25]). Conversely, the likelihood of overweight and obesity was low among women who belonged to other religions compared with Muslims (AOR 0.63 [CI 0.43 to 0.92]).

Conclusions

This study found a predominance of overweight and obesity among women in Mali. The study showed that age, marital status, education, religion, region of residence, wealth status and frequency of watching television are associated with overweight and obesity among women in Mali. It is therefore critical for public health promotion programs in Mali to sensitize people to the negative effects associated with overweight and obesity. This implies that policies aimed at controlling overweight and obesity in Mali must take these factors into consideration.
Missed Diagnosis of Epilepsy-Associated Scald Burns: Two Cases Initially Diagnosed as Bullous Dermatosis
Authors: Giraud-Kerleroux Laura , Charpentier Chloé , Bernigaud Charlotte , Ortonne Nicolas , Hua Camille , Gaudron Sophie , Nguyen Quang Tuan Rémy , Chosidow Olivier , Wolkenstein Pierre , Ingen-Housz-Oro Saskia
Published: October 2020

Thermal burns can occur during seizure. This diagnosis can be difficult in case of atypical lesions, even more if the epilepsy is unknown and in case of seizures with loss of consciousness and/or an unwitnessed epileptic attack. We report two cases of cutaneous bullous lesions initially misdiagnosed as severe acute cutaneous adverse reactions (generalized bullous fixed drug eruption and Stevens–Johnson syndrome). In the two cases, the clinical aspect, necrotic evolution, and absence of obvious attributable medication allowed to revert to the diagnosis of burns due to boiling water revealing previously unknown epilepsy. For both, surgical management with skin graft was performed, and antiepileptic treatment was introduced. Facing unexplained burns, occult epilepsy should be investigated. Questioning of patient and relatives is crucial.
The Borders of the Occupied Palestinian Territory are Determined by Customary Law
Authors: Pertile Marco
Published: October 2020

In her request pursuant to Article 19(3) of the ICC Statute for a ruling on the territorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Palestine, the Prosecutor of the ICC took the view that the Occupied Palestinian Territory corresponds to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. The article discusses this finding from a twofold perspective. First, it investigates the actual existence of an international consensus on the borders of the Palestinian territory. Subsequently, it addresses the qualification of such consensus in the system of the sources of international law. Putting the elements analysed by the Prosecutor more clearly into relation with the statements expressed by states individually and within regional groupings, the author finds that her position is accurate. The article then shows that the existing consensus on the borders can be qualified as evidence of a procedural customary rule implementing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. In this regard, the ICC may thus exercise its jurisdiction.
Testing for Regime Changes in Portfolios with a Large Number of Assets: A Robust Approach to Factor Heteroskedasticity
Authors: Massacci Daniele
Published: October 2020

abstract

We develop a new test for threshold-type regime changes in the risk exposures in portfolios with a large number of financial assets whose returns exhibit an approximate factor structure. Unlike existing procedures to detect discrete shifts in factor models, our test is robust to regime-specific second moment of the common factors. We rely on an auxiliary threshold regression: we take a weighted cross-sectional average of the cross-sectional units; we estimate the factors from the original model under the null hypothesis of no regime changes; we construct a Lagrange multiplier statistic to test for threshold effect in the auxiliary regression. Numerical results show the good finite sample properties of our procedure. The empirical analysis uncovers the dynamics of portfolio weights and diversification benefits in factor mimicking portfolios across different regimes.
Broad-band radio polarimetry of disc galaxies and AGN with KAT-7
Authors: Legodi L S , Taylor A R , Stil J M
Published: October 2020

We report broad-band (1.2–1.9 GHz) radio continuum observations at arcminute resolutions of two nearby disc galaxies, NGC 1808 and NGC 1097, and four active galactic nuclei (AGN)-powered radio sources: PKS B1934−638, PKS B0407−658, J0240−231, and J0538−440. We use rotation measure synthesis to analyse their Faraday complexity. Observations were made with the seven-dish Karoo Array Telescope (KAT-7) radio telescope array, in South Africa. The AGN-powered sources fall into two ‘Faraday’ categories – simple and complex. The most polarized sources, J0538−440 and J0240−231, are found to have complex Faraday spectra that can be time variable (J0538−440 case) and also indicative of complex Faraday emitting and rotating components along the line of sight. PKS B0407−658 shows a simple Faraday spectrum, while PKS B1934−638 is undetected in polarization. The disc galaxies are classified as complex, albeit at low signal-to-noise ratio. This may indicate depolarization due to turbulence of the magnetized plasma in the bar and circumnuclear regions and/or frequency-dependent depolarization at L band.
Identifying solar-like magnetic cycles with Zeeman-Doppler-Imaging
Authors: Lehmann L T , Hussain G A J , Vidotto A A , Jardine M M , Mackay D H
Published: October 2020

We are reaching the point where spectropolarimetric surveys have run for long enough to reveal solar-like magnetic activity cycles. In this paper, we investigate what would be the best strategy to identify solar-like magnetic cycles and ask which large-scale magnetic field parameters best follow a solar-type magnetic cycle and are observable with the Zeeman-Doppler-Imaging (ZDI) technique. We approach these questions using the 3D non-potential flux transport simulations of Yeates & Mackay (2012) modelling the solar vector magnetic field over 15 yr (centred on solar cycle 23). The flux emergence profile was extracted from solar synoptic maps and used as input for a photospheric flux transport model in combination with a non-potential coronal evolution model. We synthesize spectropolarimetric data from the simulated maps and reconstruct them using ZDI. The ZDI observed solar cycle is set into the context of other cool star observations and we present observable trends of the magnetic field topology with time, sunspot number, and S-index. We find that the axisymmetric energy fraction is the best parameter of the ZDI detectable large-scale field to trace solar-like cycles. Neither the surface averaged large-scale field or the total magnetic energy is appropriate. ZDI seems also to be able to recover the increase of the toroidal energy with S-index. We see further that ZDI might unveil hints of the dynamo modes that are operating and of the global properties of the small-scale flux emergence like active latitudes.
Search for globular clusters associated with the Milky Way dwarf galaxies using Gaia DR2
Authors: Huang Kuan-Wei , Koposov Sergey E
Published: October 2020

We report the result of searching for globular clusters (GCs) around 55 Milky Way (MW) satellite dwarf galaxies within the distance of 450 kpc from the Galactic Centre except for the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and the Sagittarius dwarf. For each dwarf, we analyse the stellar distribution of sources in Gaia DR2, selected by magnitude, proper motion, and source morphology. Using the kernel density estimation of stellar number counts, we identify 11 possible GC candidates. Cross-matched with existing imaging data, all 11 objects are known either GCs or galaxies and only Fornax GC 1–6 among them are associated with the targeted dwarf galaxy. Using simulated GCs, we calculate the GC detection limit $M_{\rm V}^{\rm lim}$ that spans the range from $M_{\rm V}^{\rm lim}\sim -7$ for distant dwarfs to $M_{\rm V}^{\rm lim}\sim 0$ for nearby systems. Assuming a Gaussian GC luminosity function, we compute that the completeness of the GC search is above 90 per cent for most dwarf galaxies. We construct the 90 per cent credible intervals/upper limits on the GC specific frequency SN of the MW dwarf galaxies: 12 < SN < 47 for Fornax, SN < 20 for the dwarfs with −12 < MV < −10, SN < 30 for the dwarfs with −10 < MV < −7, and SN < 90 for the dwarfs with MV > −7. Based on SN, we derive the probability of galaxies hosting GCs given their luminosity, finding that the probability of galaxies fainter than MV = −9 to host GCs is lower than 0.1.
Is PSR J0855−4644 responsible for the 1.4 TeV electron spectral bump hinted by DAMPE?
Authors: Bao Yiwei , Chen Yang , Liu Siming
Published: October 2020

DAMPE observation on the cosmic ray electron spectrum hints a narrow excess at ∼1.4 TeV. Although the excess can be ascribed to dark matter particles, pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae are believed to be more natural astrophysical origins: electrons injected from nearby pulsars at their early ages can form a bump-like feature in the spectrum due to radiative energy losses. In this paper, with a survey of nearby pulsars, we filter out four pulsars that may have notable contributions to ∼1.4 TeV cosmic ray electrons. Among them, PSR J0855−4644 has a spin-down luminosity more than 50 times higher than others and presumably dominates the electron fluxes from them. X-ray observations on the inner compact part (which may represent a tunnel for the transport of electrons from the pulsar) of PWN G267.0−01.0 are then used to constrain the spectral index of high-energy electrons injected by the pulsar. We show that high-energy electrons released by PSR J0855−4644 could indeed reproduce the 1.4 TeV spectral feature hinted by the DAMPE with reasonable parameters.