bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voluntary Reduction of Social Interaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan: Related Factors and Association with Perceived Social Support
Authors: Chou Wei-Po , Wang Peng-Wei , Chen Shiou-Lan , Chang Yu-Ping , Wu Chia-Fen , Lu Wei-Hsin , Yen Cheng-Fang
Published: November 2020

This study aimed to determine the proportion of individuals who voluntarily reduced interaction with their family members, friends, and colleagues or classmates to avoid coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and the associations of reduced social interaction with perceived social support during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Moreover, the related factors of voluntary reduction of social interaction were examined. We recruited participants via a Facebook advertisement. We determined the reduced social interaction, perceived social support, cognitive and affective constructs of health belief and demographic characteristics among 1954 respondents (1305 women and 649 men; mean age: 37.9 years with standard deviation 10.8 years). In total, 38.1% of respondents voluntarily reduced their social interaction with friends to avoid COVID-19 infection, 36.1% voluntarily reduced their interaction with colleagues or classmates, and 11.1% voluntarily reduced interaction with family members. Respondents who voluntarily reduced interaction with other people reported lower perceived social support than those who did not voluntarily reduce interaction. Respondents who were older and had a higher level of worry regarding contracting COVID-19 were more likely to voluntarily reduce interaction with family members, friends, and colleagues or classmates to avoid COVID-19 infection than respondents who were younger and had a lower level of worry regarding contracting COVID-19, respectively. The present study revealed that despite strict social distancing measures not being implemented in Taiwan, more than one-third of respondents voluntarily reduced their interaction with friends and colleagues or classmates. The general public should be encouraged to maintain social contacts through appropriately distanced in-person visits and telecommunication.
Influence of the Amount of Instability on the Leg Muscle Activity During a Loaded Free Barbell Half-Squat
Authors: Buscà Bernat , Aguilera-Castells Joan , Arboix-Alió Jordi , Miró Adrià , Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe Azahara , Peña Javier
Published: November 2020

This study aimed to understand the acute responses on the muscular activity of primary movers during the execution of a half-squat under different unstable devices. Fourteen male and female high-standard track and field athletes were voluntarily recruited. A repeated measures design was used to establish the differences between muscle activity of the primary movers, the body centre of mass acceleration and the OMNI-Perceived Exertion Scale for Resistance Exercise (OMNI-Res) in a half-squat under four different stability conditions (floor, foam, BOSU-up and BOSU-down). A significant correlation was found between the highest performance limb muscle activity and body centre of mass acceleration for half-squat floor (r = 0.446, p = 0.003), foam (r = 0.322, p = 0.038), BOSU-up (r = 0.500, p = 0.001), and BOSU-down (r = 0.495, p = 0.001) exercises. For the exercise condition, the half-squat BOSU-up and BOSU-down significantly increased the muscle activity compared to half-squat floor (vastus medialis: p = 0.020, d = 0.56; vastus lateralis: p = 0.006, d = 0.75; biceps femoris: p = 0.000–0.006, d = 1.23–1.00) and half-squat foam (vastus medialis: p = 0.005–0.006, d = 0.60–1.00; vastus lateralis: p = 0.014, d = 0.67; biceps femoris: p = 0.002, d = 1.00) activities. This study contributes to improving the understanding of instability training, providing data about the acute muscular responses that an athlete experiences under varied stability conditions. The perturbation offered by the two BOSU conditions was revealed as the most demanding for the sample of athletes, followed by foam and floor executions.
Orinoco: Retrieving a River Delta Network with the Fast Marching Method and Python
Authors: Marshak Charlie , Simard Marc , Denbina Michael , Nilsson Johan , Van der Stocken Tom
Published: November 2020

We present Orinoco, an open-source Python toolkit that applies the fast-marching method to derive a river delta channel network from a water mask and ocean delineation. We are able to estimate flow direction, along-channel distance, channel width, and network-related metrics for deltaic analyses including the steady-state fluxes. To demonstrate the capabilities of the toolkit, we apply our software to the Wax Lake and Atchafalaya River Deltas using water masks derived from Open Street Map (OSM) and Google Maps. We validate our width estimates using the Global River Width from Landsat (GRWL) database over the Mackenzie Delta as well as in situ width measurements from the National Water Information System (NWIS) in the southeastern United States. We also compare the stream flow direction estimates using products from RivGraph, a related Python package with similar functionality. With the exciting opportunities afforded with forthcoming surface water and topography (SWOT) data, we envision Orinoco as a tool to support the characterization of the complex structure of river deltas worldwide and to make such analyses easily accessible within a Python remote sensing workflow. To support that end, all the data, analyses, and figures in this paper can be found within Jupyter notebooks at Orinoco’s GitHub repository.
Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Reveals Interaction of Some Microdomain-Associated Lipids with Cellular Focal Adhesion Sites
Authors: Kleusch Christian , Monzel Cornelia , Sridhar Krishna Chander , Hoffmann Bernd , Csiszár Agnes , Merkel Rudolf
Published: November 2020

Cells adhere to the extracellular matrix at distinct anchoring points, mostly focal adhesions. These are rich in immobile transmembrane- and cytoskeletal-associated proteins, some of which are known to interact with lipids of the plasma membrane. To investigate their effect on lipid mobility and molecular interactions, fluorescently labeled lipids were incorporated into the plasma membranes of primary myofibroblasts using fusogenic liposomes. With fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, we tested mobilities of labeled microdomain-associated lipids such as sphingomyelin (SM), ganglioside (GM1), and cholesterol as well as of a microdomain-excluded phospholipid (PC) and a lipid-like molecule (DiIC18(7)) in focal adhesions (FAs) and in neighboring non-adherent membrane areas. We found significantly slower diffusion of SM and GM1 inside FAs but no effect on cholesterol, PC, and DiIC18(7). These data were compared to the molecular behavior in Lo/Ld-phase separated giant unilamellar vesicles, which served as a model system for microdomain containing lipid membranes. In contrast to the model system, lipid mobility changes in FAs were molecularly selective, and no particle enrichment occurred. Our findings suggest that lipid behavior in FAs cannot be described by Lo/Ld-phase separation. The observed slow-down of some molecules in FAs is potentially due to transient binding between lipids and some molecular constituent(s).
Genotype-Based Gene Expression in Colon Tissue—Prediction Accuracy and Relationship with the Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients
Authors: Deutelmoser Heike , Lorenzo Bermejo Justo , Benner Axel , Weigl Korbinian , Park Hanla A. , Haffa Mariam , Herpel Esther , Schneider Martin , Ulrich Cornelia M. , Hoffmeister Michael , Chang-Claude Jenny , Brenner Hermann , Scherer Dominique
Published: November 2020

Colorectal cancer (CRC) survival has environmental and inherited components. The expression of specific genes can be inferred based on individual genotypes—so called expression quantitative trait loci. In this study, we used the PrediXcan method to predict gene expression in normal colon tissue using individual genotype data from 91 CRC patients and examined the correlation ρ between predicted and measured gene expression levels. Out of 5434 predicted genes, 58% showed a negative ρ value and only 16% presented a ρ higher than 0.10. We subsequently investigated the association between genotype-based gene expression in colon tissue for genes with ρ > 0.10 and survival of 4436 CRC patients. We identified an inverse association between the predicted expression of ARID3B and CRC-specific survival for patients with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (HR (hazard ratio) = 0.66 for an expression higher vs. lower than the median, p = 0.005). This association was validated using genotype and clinical data from the UK Biobank (HR = 0.74, p = 0.04). In addition to the identification of ARID3B expression in normal colon tissue as a candidate prognostic biomarker for obese CRC patients, our study illustrates the challenges of genotype-based prediction of gene expression, and the advantage of reassessing the prediction accuracy in a subset of the study population using measured gene expression data.
Prediction of Protein–ligand Interaction Based on Sequence Similarity and Ligand Structural Features
Authors: Karasev Dmitry , Sobolev Boris , Lagunin Alexey , Filimonov Dmitry , Poroikov Vladimir
Published: November 2020

Computationally predicting the interaction of proteins and ligands presents three main directions: the search of new target proteins for ligands, the search of new ligands for targets, and predicting the interaction of new proteins and new ligands. We proposed an approach providing the fuzzy classification of protein sequences based on the ligand structural features to analyze the latter most complicated case. We tested our approach on five protein groups, which represented promised targets for drug-like ligands and differed in functional peculiarities. The training sets were built with the original procedure overcoming the data ambiguity. Our study showed the effective prediction of new targets for ligands with an average accuracy of 0.96. The prediction of new ligands for targets displayed the average accuracy 0.95; accuracy estimates were close to our previous results, comparable in accuracy to those of other methods or exceeded them. Using the fuzzy coefficients reflecting the target-to-ligand specificity, we provided predicting interactions for new proteins and new ligands; the obtained accuracy values from 0.89 to 0.99 were acceptable for such a sophisticated task. The protein kinase family case demonstrated the ability to account for subtle features of proteins and ligands required for the specificity of protein–ligand interaction.
18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Tracks the Heterogeneous Brain Susceptibility to the Hyperglycemia-Related Redox Stress
Authors: Miceli Alberto , Cossu Vanessa , Marini Cecilia , Castellani Patrizia , Raffa Stefano , Donegani Maria Isabella , Bruno Silvia , Ravera Silvia , Emionite Laura , Orengo Anna Maria , Grillo Federica , Nobili Flavio , Morbelli Silvia , Uccelli Antonio , Sambuceti Gianmario , Bauckneht Matteo
Published: November 2020

In cognitively normal patients, mild hyperglycemia selectively decreases 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the posterior brain, reproducing Alzheimer disease pattern, hampering the diagnostic accuracy of this widely used tool. This phenomenon might involve either a heterogeneous response of glucose metabolism or a different sensitivity to hyperglycemia-related redox stress. Indeed, previous studies reported a close link between FDG uptake and activation of a specific pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), triggered by hexose-6P-dehydrogenase (H6PD) and contributing to fuel NADPH-dependent antioxidant responses in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). To clarify this issue, dynamic positron emission tomography was performed in 40 BALB/c mice four weeks after administration of saline (n = 17) or 150 mg/kg streptozotocin (n = 23, STZ). Imaging data were compared with biochemical and histological indexes of glucose metabolism and redox balance. Cortical FDG uptake was homogeneous in controls, while it was selectively decreased in the posterior brain of STZ mice. This difference was independent of the activity of enzymes regulating glycolysis and cytosolic PPP, while it was paralleled by a decreased H6PD catalytic function and enhanced indexes of oxidative damage. Thus, the relative decrease in FDG uptake of the posterior brain reflects a lower activation of ER-PPP in response to hyperglycemia-related redox stress in these areas.
In Vitro/Ex Vivo Models for the Study of Ischemia Reperfusion Injury during Kidney Perfusion
Authors: Giraud Sebastien , Thuillier Raphaël , Cau Jérome , Hauet Thierry
Published: November 2020

Oxidative stress is a key element of ischemia–reperfusion injury, occurring during kidney preservation and transplantation. Current options for kidney graft preservation prior to transplantation are static cold storage (CS) and hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP), the latter demonstrating clear improvement of preservation quality, particularly for marginal donors, such as extended criteria donors (ECDs) and donation after circulatory death (DCDs). Nevertheless, complications still exist, fostering the need to improve kidney preservation. This review highlights the most promising avenues of in kidney perfusion improvement on two critical aspects: ex vivo and in vitro evaluation.
Delicate Role of PD-L1/PD-1 Axis in Blood Vessel Inflammatory Diseases: Current Insight and Future Significance
Authors: Veluswamy Priya , Wacker Max , Scherner Maximilian , Wippermann Jens
Published: November 2020

Immune checkpoint molecules are the antigen-independent generator of secondary signals that aid in maintaining the homeostasis of the immune system. The programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)/PD-1 axis is one among the most extensively studied immune-inhibitory checkpoint molecules, which delivers a negative signal for T cell activation by binding to the PD-1 receptor. The general attributes of PD-L1’s immune-suppressive qualities and novel mechanisms on the barrier functions of vascular endothelium to regulate blood vessel-related inflammatory diseases are concisely reviewed. Though targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis has received immense recognition—the Nobel Prize in clinical oncology was awarded in the year 2018 for this discovery—the use of therapeutic modulating strategies for the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway in chronic inflammatory blood vessel diseases is still limited to experimental models. However, studies using clinical specimens that support the role of PD-1 and PD-L1 in patients with underlying atherosclerosis are also detailed. Of note, delicate balances in the expression levels of PD-L1 that are needed to preserve T cell immunity and to curtail acute as well as chronic infections in underlying blood vessel diseases are discussed. A significant link exists between altered lipid and glucose metabolism in different cells and the expression of PD-1/PD-L1 molecules, and its possible implications on vascular inflammation are justified. This review summarizes the most recent insights concerning the role of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis in vascular inflammation and, in addition, provides an overview exploring the novel therapeutic approaches and challenges of manipulating these immune checkpoint proteins, PD-1 and PD-L1, for suppressing blood vessel inflammation.
The Importance of Cytokinins during Reproductive Development in Arabidopsis and Beyond
Authors: Terceros Giada Callizaya , Resentini Francesca , Cucinotta Mara , Manrique Silvia , Colombo Lucia , Mendes Marta A.
Published: November 2020

Fertilization and seed formation are fundamental events in the life cycle of flowering plants. The seed is a functional unit whose main purpose is to propagate the plant. The first step in seed development is the formation of male and female gametophytes and subsequent steps culminate in successful fertilization. The detailed study of this process is highly relevant because it directly impacts human needs, such as protecting biodiversity and ensuring sustainable agriculture to feed the increasing world population. Cytokinins comprise a class of phytohormones that play many important roles during plant growth and development and in recent years, the role of this class of phytohormones during reproduction has become clear. Here, we review the role of cytokinins during ovule, pollen and seed formation at the genetic and molecular levels. The expansion of knowledge concerning the molecular mechanisms that control plant reproduction is extremely important to optimise seed production.
In Vivo Imaging with Genetically Encoded Redox Biosensors
Authors: Kostyuk Alexander I. , Panova Anastasiya S. , Kokova Aleksandra D. , Kotova Daria A. , Maltsev Dmitry I. , Podgorny Oleg V. , Belousov Vsevolod V. , Bilan Dmitry S.
Published: November 2020

Redox reactions are of high fundamental and practical interest since they are involved in both normal physiology and the pathogenesis of various diseases. However, this area of research has always been a relatively problematic field in the context of analytical approaches, mostly because of the unstable nature of the compounds that are measured. Genetically encoded sensors allow for the registration of highly reactive molecules in real-time mode and, therefore, they began a new era in redox biology. Their strongest points manifest most brightly in in vivo experiments and pave the way for the non-invasive investigation of biochemical pathways that proceed in organisms from different systematic groups. In the first part of the review, we briefly describe the redox sensors that were used in vivo as well as summarize the model systems to which they were applied. Next, we thoroughly discuss the biological results obtained in these studies in regard to animals, plants, as well as unicellular eukaryotes and prokaryotes. We hope that this work reflects the amazing power of this technology and can serve as a useful guide for biologists and chemists who work in the field of redox processes.
Single-Cell Analysis of Different Stages of Oral Cancer Carcinogenesis in a Mouse Model
Authors: Huang Ling-Yu , Hsieh Yi-Ping , Wang Yen-Yun , Hwang Daw-Yang , Jiang Shih Sheng , Huang Wen-Tsung , Chiang Wei-Fan , Liu Ko-Jiunn , Huang Tze-Ta
Published: November 2020

Oral carcinogenesis involves the progression of the normal mucosa into potentially malignant disorders and finally into cancer. Tumors are heterogeneous, with different clusters of cells expressing different genes and exhibiting different behaviors. 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO) and arecoline were used to induce oral cancer in mice, and the main factors for gene expression influencing carcinogenesis were identified through single-cell RNA sequencing analysis. Male C57BL/6J mice were divided into two groups: a control group (receiving normal drinking water) and treatment group (receiving drinking water containing 4-NQO (200 mg/L) and arecoline (500 mg/L)) to induce the malignant development of oral cancer. Mice were sacrificed at 8, 16, 20, and 29 weeks. Except for mice sacrificed at 8 weeks, all mice were treated for 16 weeks and then either sacrificed or given normal drinking water for the remaining weeks. Tongue lesions were excised, and all cells obtained from mice in the 29- and 16-week treatment groups were clustered into 17 groups by using the Louvain algorithm. Cells in subtypes 7 (stem cells) and 9 (keratinocytes) were analyzed through gene set enrichment analysis. Results indicated that their genes were associated with the MYC_targets_v1 pathway, and this finding was confirmed by the presence of cisplatin-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. These cell subtype biomarkers can be applied for the detection of patients with precancerous lesions, the identification of high-risk populations, and as a treatment target.
State-of-the-Art Technologies for Understanding Brassinosteroid Signaling Networks
Authors: Wang Haijiao , Song Song , Cheng Huaqiang , Tan Yan-Wen
Published: November 2020

Brassinosteroids, the steroid hormones of plants, control physiological and developmental processes through its signaling pathway. The major brassinosteroid signaling network components, from the receptor to transcription factors, have been identified in the past two decades. The development of biotechnologies has driven the identification of novel brassinosteroid signaling components, even revealing several crosstalks between brassinosteroid and other plant signaling pathways. Herein, we would like to summarize the identification and improvement of several representative brassinosteroid signaling components through the development of new technologies, including brassinosteroid-insensitive 1 (BRI1), BRI1-associated kinase 1 (BAK1), BR-insensitive 2 (BIN2), BRI1 kinase inhibitor 1 (BKI1), BRI1-suppressor 1 (BSU1), BR signaling kinases (BSKs), BRI1 ethyl methanesulfonate suppressor 1 (BES1), and brassinazole resistant 1 (BZR1). Furthermore, improvement of BR signaling knowledge, such as the function of BKI1, BES1 and its homologous through clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), the regulation of BIN2 through single-molecule methods, and the new in vivo interactors of BIN2 identified by proximity labeling are described. Among these technologies, recent advanced methods proximity labeling and single-molecule methods will be reviewed in detail to provide insights to brassinosteroid and other phytohormone signaling pathway studies.
Ethanol Intoxication Alleviates the Inflammatory Response of Remote Organs to Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Xu Baolin , Chandrasekar Akila , olde Heuvel Florian , Powerski Maciej , Nowak Aleksander , Noack Laurens , Omari Jazan , Huber-Lang Markus , Roselli Francesco , Relja Borna
Published: November 2020

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may cause damage to distant organs. Acute ethanol intoxication (EI) induces complex local and systemic anti-inflammatory effects and influences the early outcomes of traumatized patients. Here, we evaluated its effects on the BI-induced expression of local inflammatory mediators in the trauma-remote organs the lungs and liver. Male mice were exposed to ethanol as a single oral dose (5g·kg–1, 32%) before inducing a moderate blunt TBI. Sham groups underwent the same procedures without TBI. Ether 3 or 6h after the TBI, the lung and liver were collected. The gene expression of HMGB1, IL-6, MMP9, IL-1β, and TNF as well as the homogenate protein levels of receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-10 were analyzed. Liver samples were immunohistologically stained for HMGB1. EI decreased the gene expressions of the proinflammatory markers HMGB1, IL-6, and MMP9 in the liver upon TBI. In line with the reduced gene expression, the TBI-induced protein expression of IL-6 in liver tissue homogenates was significantly reduced by EI at 3h after TBI. While the histological HMGB1 expression was enhanced by TBI, the RAGE protein expression in the liver tissue homogenates was diminished after TBI. EI reduced the histological HMGB1 expression and enhanced the hepatic RAGE protein expression at 6h post TBI. With regard to the lungs, EI significantly reduced the gene expressions of HMGB1, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF upon TBI, without significantly affecting the protein expression levels of inflammatory markers (RAGE, IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-10). At the early stage of TBI-induced inflammation, the gene expression of inflammatory mediators in both the lungs and liver is susceptible to ethanol-induced remote effects. Taken together, EI may alleviate the TBI-induced pro-inflammatory response in the trauma-distant organs, the lungs and liver, via the HMGB1-RAGE axis.
Flakka: New Dangerous Synthetic Cathinone on the Drug Scene
Authors: Patocka Jiri , Zhao Bingshu , Wu Wenda , Klimova Blanka , Valis Martin , Nepovimova Eugenie , Kuca Kamil
Published: November 2020

New psychoactive substances are being used as drugs and appear to be quite popular nowadays. Thanks to their specific properties, these drugs create inimitable experiences for intoxicated people. Synthetic cathinones are the most common compounds in these new drugs. Among them, α-pyrrolidopentadione (α-PVP), or “Flakka” (street name), is one of the most famous cathinone-designed drugs. Similar to other synthetic cathinone drugs, α-PVP can effectively inhibit norepinephrine and dopamine transmitters. The adverse reactions of α-PVP mainly include mania, tachycardia, and hallucinations. An increasing number of people are being admitted to emergency wards due to the consequences of their use. This work mainly summarizes the history, synthesis, pharmacology, toxicology, structure–activity relationship, metabolism, clinical process and health risks, poisoning and death, forensic toxicology, and legal status of α-PVP. We hope this review will help bring more attention to the exploration of this substance in order to raise awareness of its negative impacts on humans.
Inhibitor of Hyaluronic Acid Synthesis 4-Methylumbelliferone as an Anti-Inflammatory Modulator of LPS-Mediated Astrocyte Responses
Authors: Chistyakov Dmitry V. , Nikolskaya Arina I. , Goriainov Sergei V. , Astakhova Alina A. , Sergeeva Marina G.
Published: November 2020

Astrocytes are glial cells that play an important role in neuroinflammation. Astrocytes respond to many pro-inflammatory stimuli, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an agonist of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Regulatory specificities of inflammatory signaling pathways are still largely unknown due to the ectodermal origin of astrocytes. Recently, we have shown that hyaluronic acid (HA) may form part of astrocyte inflammatory responses. Therefore, we tested 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU), a specific inhibitor of HA synthesis, as a possible regulator of LPS-mediated responses. Rat primary astrocytes were treated with LPS with and without 4-MU and gene expression levels of inflammatory (interleukins 1β, (IL-1β), 6, (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha TNFα,) and resolution interleukin 10 (IL-10) markers were evaluated via real-time PCR and western blot. The release of cytokines and HA was determined by ELISA. Oxylipin profiles were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis. Our data show that 4-MU (i) has anti-inflammatory effects in the course of TLR4 activation, decreasing the cytokines level TNFα, IL-6 and IL-1β and increasing IL-10, (ii) downregulates prostaglandin synthesis but not via cyclooxygenases COX-1 and COX-2 pathways, (iii) modulates HA synthesis and decreases LPS-induced HA synthase mRNA expression (HAS-1, HAS-2) but does not have an influence on HAS-3, HYAL1 and HYAL2 mRNAs; (iv) the effects of 4-MU are predominantly revealed via JNK but not p38, ERK mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) or nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) pathways. For the first time, it is shown that 4-MU possesses the useful potential to regulate an inflammatory astrocyte response.
Are Heat Shock Proteins an Important Link between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer Disease?
Authors: Rowles Joanne Elizabeth , Keane Kevin Noel , Gomes Heck Thiago , Cruzat Vinicius , Verdile Giuseppe , Newsholme Philip
Published: November 2020

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are growing in prevalence worldwide. The development of T2D increases the risk of AD disease, while AD patients can show glucose imbalance due to an increased insulin resistance. T2D and AD share similar pathological features and underlying mechanisms, including the deposition of amyloidogenic peptides in pancreatic islets (i.e., islet amyloid polypeptide; IAPP) and brain (β-Amyloid; Aβ). Both IAPP and Aβ can undergo misfolding and aggregation and accumulate in the extracellular space of their respective tissues of origin. As a main response to protein misfolding, there is evidence of the role of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in moderating T2D and AD. HSPs play a pivotal role in cell homeostasis by providing cytoprotection during acute and chronic metabolic stresses. In T2D and AD, intracellular HSP (iHSP) levels are reduced, potentially due to the ability of the cell to export HSPs to the extracellular space (eHSP). The increase in eHSPs can contribute to oxidative damage and is associated with various pro-inflammatory pathways in T2D and AD. Here, we review the role of HSP in moderating T2D and AD, as well as propose that these chaperone proteins are an important link in the relationship between T2D and AD.
Fumigation Activity against Phosphine-Resistant Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Using Carbonyl Sulfide
Authors: Lee Han Kyung , Jeong Geunho , Kim Hyun Kyung , Kim Bong-Su , Yang Jeong-Oh , Koo Hyun-Na , Kim Gil-Hah
Published: November 2020

Phosphine resistance is occurring among stored-grain pests worldwide. This study investigated the fumigation activity of phosphine (PH3) and carbonyl sulfide (COS) against domestic strain (d-strain) Tribolium castaneum, resistance strain (r-strain) T. castaneum and Oryzaephilus surinamensis. All developmental stages of the pests were exposed to two fumigants (PH3 and COS), and the fumigation activity according to the dose and exposure time was evaluated in a 12-L desiccator and 0.5 m3 fumigation chamber. The rice sorption rate and quality following exposure to thetwofumigants were evaluated. The mortality was 2.9% in r-strain T. castaneum, 49.5% in d-strain T. castaneum and 99.2% in O. surinamensis when 2 mg/L PH3 was used in a 12-L desiccator for 4 h. However, all pest developmental stages showed 100% mortality after 24 h of exposure in the 0.5 m3 fumigation chamber, except for the r-strain T. castaneum. A mortalityof 100% was observed in all of the r-strain T. castaneum developmental stages at an exposure time of 192 h. For COS applied at 40.23 mg/L and 50 g/m3 in the 12-L desiccator and the 0.5 m3 fumigation chamber, respectively, 100% mortality was observed across all developmental stages regardless of species and strain. The sorption of COS was 10% higher than that of PH3, but there was no significant difference in rice quality compared to that in the control. Therefore, this study suggests that COS can be used for controlling T. castaneum resistant to PH3.
Obesity and Pancreatic Cancer: A Matched-Pair Survival Analysis
Authors: Téoule Patrick , Rasbach Erik , Oweira Hani , Otto Mirko , Rahbari Nuh N. , Reissfelder Christoph , Rückert Felix , Birgin Emrullah
Published: November 2020

Background: Morbid obesity is a risk factor for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the impact of obesity on postoperative outcomes and overall survival in patients with PDAC remains a controversial topic. Methods: Patients who underwent pancreatic surgery for PDAC between 1997 and 2018 were included in this study. Matched pairs (1:1) were generated according to age, gender and American Society of Anesthesiologists status. Obesity was defined according to the WHO definition as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. The primary endpoint was the difference in overall survival between patients with and without obesity. Results: Out of 553 patients, a total of 76 fully matched pairs were generated. Obese patients had a mean BMI-level of 33 compared to 25 kg/m2 in patients without obesity (p = 0.001). The frequency of arterial hypertension (p = 0.002), intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.039), and perineural invasion (p = 0.033) were also higher in obese patients. Clinically relevant postoperative complications (p = 0.163) and overall survival rates (p = 0.885) were comparable in both study groups. Grade II and III obesity resulted in an impaired overall survival, although this was not statistically significant. Subgroup survival analyses revealed no significant differences for completion of adjuvant chemotherapy and curative-intent surgery. Conclusions: Obesity did not affect overall survival and postoperative complications in these patients with PDAC. Therefore, pancreatic surgery should not be withheld from obese patients.
Image Processor and RISC MCU Embedded Single Chip Fingerprint Sensor
Authors: Jung Seungmin
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we propose a single chip fingerprint sensor with the algorithm processor and 16-bit MCU. The algorithm processor is a logic circuit that implements the GABOR filter and the THINNING step, which occupies 80% of the fingerprint image processing time. The rest of the algorithm is processed by embedded 16-bit MCU with small circuit volume, so all steps of the algorithm can be processed on the single chip without an external CPU. The capacitive sensing circuit was designed by applying the parasitic-insensitive integrator with the variable clock generator. The function was verified by Cadence Spectre for a 1-pixel sensor scheme and RTL and post simulation for digital blocks synthesized by Synopsys Design Compiler in 180n 2-poly 6-metal CMOS (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) process. The layout is done by automatic P&R for the full chip in a 96 × 96 pixel array. The chip area is 5010 μm × 5710 μm (28.61 mm2) and the gate count is 2,866,700. The result is compared with a conventional one. The proposed scheme can reduce the processing time by 57%.
Dolphin Welfare Assessment under Professional Care: ‘Willingness to Participate’, an Indicator Significantly Associated with Six Potential ‘Alerting Factors’
Authors: Delfour Fabienne , Monreal-Pawlowsky Tania , Vaicekauskaite Ruta , Pilenga Cristina , Garcia-Parraga Daniel , Rödel Heiko G. , García Caro Nuria , Perlado Campos Enrique , Mercera Birgitta
Published: November 2020

In dolphinaria, dolphins and their trainers build relationships and bonds due to the nature, closeness and repeatability of their interactions, hence training sessions are deemed appropriate to evaluate dolphin welfare. Qualitative Behavioural Assessments (QBAs) have been used to study human–animal relationships and are included in several animal welfare assessments. We introduce here the first QBA aiming to analyse dolphin–trainer interactions during training sessions in terms of dolphin welfare. Our results show that “Willingness to Participate” (WtP) was significantly associated to six other parameters: high-speed approach, high level of excitement, high number of positive responses to trainers’ signals, rare refusal to perform certain behaviours, rare spontaneous departure behaviours and fast approach once the trainer entered into the pool. Therefore, we suggest using WtP and those “alerting factors” when assessing dolphin–trainer interactions under professional care. The evaluation should also consider the time of day, the dolphin’s age, trainer experience level, the nature of the training sessions and to a lesser extent the sex of the dolphins, as contributing and modulating factors. The factor eye contact has been used in various HARs studies and has been proven to be a valid indicator in welfare research works, hence potentially deserving further research. These results demonstrate the pertinence and feasibility of this approach, the ease of use of this methodology by professionals in zoo/aquarium settings and the appropriateness of the obtained results within the holistic frame of animal welfare.
Between Abundance and Constraints: The Natural Resource Equation of Asia’s Diverging, Higher-Income City Models
Authors: Rode Philipp , Gomes Alexandra , Adeel Muhammad , Sajjad Fizzah , Koch Andreas , Murshed Syed Monjur
Published: November 2020

This paper investigates how natural resource conditions impact the physical development of cities and how, once built, the urban spatial structure leads to different patterns of resource use. The point of departure for this research is the common “resource urbanisms” assumption that cities are directly affected by the availability and costs of natural resources, and that in turn, different urbanisms result in substantial differences in resource use and consequent impact on the environment. Considering extreme and divergent, higher-income urban models of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Singapore, the paper focusses on two resources, land and energy, and the case of building cooling and transport energy demand. The research uses a mixed methods approach which includes qualitative methods such as expert interviews, analysis of planning documents and historic planning decisions, alongside quantitative methods such as remote sensing, GIS and data analysis and energy modelling. The paper suggests that land availability is a major driver of urban form while energy prices may play a secondary role. It also finds that urban form-induced energy efficiencies for transport and cooling energy diverge in the four cities by a factor of five and two, respectively.
Recursive Effects to Study Feature-Based Capabilities in Supply Chain Management
Authors: De Giovanni Pietro
Published: November 2020

This paper explores the benefits that firms obtain when investing in feature-based capabilities. We investigate the external pressures when deciding their feature-based strategy. In addition, we analyze the consumers’ customization options and the needs for facilitators to mitigate the negative effects of excessive features. We assess the influence of feature-based capabilities on performance and search for an economically feasible loop that feature-based capabilities might entail. This latter is carried out by investigating the recursive effects in structural equation modeling. Our findings reveal that feature-based capabilities entail an economically feasible loop through competitors and supply chain partners but not also through facilitators and operational performance.
Nickel Cobaltite Functionalized Silver Doped Carbon Xerogels as Efficient Electrode Materials for High Performance Symmetric Supercapacitor
Authors: A. Wasfey Madlin , Abdelwahab Abdalla , Carrasco-Marín Francisco , Pérez-Cadenas Agustín F. , H Abdullah H. , S. Yahia I. , Farghali Ahmed Ali
Published: November 2020

Introducing new inexpensive materials for supercapacitors application with high energy density and stability, is the current research challenge. In this work, Silver doped carbon xerogels have been synthesized via a simple sol-gel method. The silver doped carbon xerogels are further surface functionalized with different loadings of nickel cobaltite (1 wt.%, 5 wt.%, and 10 wt.%) using a facile impregnation process. The morphology and textural properties of the obtained composites are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen physisorption analysis. The silver doped carbon xerogels display a higher surface area and larger mesopore volume compared to the un-doped carbon xerogels and hierarchically porous structure is obtained for all materials. The hybrid composites have been utilized as electrode materials for symmetric supercapacitors in 6 M KOH electrolyte. Among all the hybrid composites, silver doped carbon xerogel functionalized with 1 wt.% nickel cobaltite (NiCo1/Ag-CX) shows the best supercapacitor performance: high specific capacitance (368 F g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), low equivalent series resistance (1.9 Ω), high rate capability (99% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles at 1 A g−1), and high energy and power densities (50 Wh/Kg, 200 W/Kg at 0.1 A g−1). It is found that the specific capacitance does not only depend on surface area, but also on others factors such as particle size, uniform particle distribution, micro-mesoporous structure, which contribute to abundant active sites and fast charge, and ion transfer rates between the electrolyte and the active sites.
Influence of Cooking Oil on the Mitigation of Autogenous Shrinkage of Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete
Authors: Huang Jinguang , Yan Jiachuan , Liu Kaihua , Wei Bin , Zou Chaoying
Published: November 2020

This paper reports an investigation into the autogenous shrinkage, mechanical, and durability performances of alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) with emulsified cooking oil (ECO). Properties of AASC including flowability, setting time, compressive strength, autogenous shrinkage, and carbonation depth are tested to clarify the effects of the ECO. Commercially available expansion agent (EA) and shrinkage reducing agent (SRA) are also applied on AASC to compare with ECO. Experimental results show that the utilization of ECO could significantly decrease the autogenous shrinkage of alkali-activated slag concrete owing to the reduction of surface tension and the denser internal structure. It also shows that cooking oil after emulsification could have better performances than that of plain cooking oil when applied on AASC. Setting time and carbonation resistance ability are also improved with the utilization of ECO. The application of ECO is considered a cheap and easy way to overcome the limitation of AASC.
Laser Microtextured Surfaces for Friction Reduction: Does the Pattern Matter?
Authors: Putignano Carmine , Parente Giuliano , Profito Francisco Josè , Gaudiuso Caterina , Ancona Antonio , Carbone Giuseppe
Published: November 2020

Frictional performances of different textures, including axisymmetric and directional patterns, have been tested in the mixed and the hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. Experimental results, corroborated by numerical simulations, show that the leading parameter is the geometrical pattern void ratio since a large number of dimples offers, at low speed, a trap for debris whereas, at high speed, due to the flow expansion in each micro-hole, fosters a fluid pressure drop, the consequent insurgence of micro-cavitation and, ultimately, the reductions of the shear stresses. Furthermore, in this paper, it is shown that, by means of directional textures, equivalent hydrodynamic wedges can be built up, thus establishing different friction performances depending on the flow direction.
Effect of Single-Ion Anisotropy on Magnetocaloric Properties of Frustrated Spin-s Ising Nanoclusters
Authors: Mohylna Mariia , Žukovič Milan
Published: November 2020

Effects of a single-ion anisotropy on magnetocaloric properties of selected spin-s≥1 antiferromagnetic Ising clusters with frustration-inducing triangular geometry are studied by exact enumeration. It is found that inclusion of the single-ion anisotropy parameter D can result in a much more complex ground-state behavior, which is also reflected in a magnetocaloric effect (MCE) at finite temperatures. For negative D (easy-plane anisotropy) with increasing s, the ground-state magnetization as a function of the external field gradually shows increasing number of plateaus of various heights. Except for the cases of integer s with D<D0≤0, the first magnetization plateau is of non-zero height. This property facilitates an enhanced MCE in the adiabatic demagnetization process in the form of an abrupt decrease in temperature as the magnetic field vanishes to zero. The cooling rate can be considerably enhanced in the systems with larger s and D>0 (easy-axis anisotropy), albeit its dependence on these parameters is strongly dependent on the cluster geometry. From the studied systems more favorable conditions for observing a giant MCE were found in the 2CS cluster, consisting of two corner-sharing tetrahedra, the experimental realization of which could be technologically used for efficient refrigeration to ultra-low temperatures.
Soliton Solutions for a Nonisospectral Semi-Discrete Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Segur Equation
Authors: Zhao Song-Lin
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we study a nonisospectral semi-discrete Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Segur equation. Multisoliton solutions for this equation are given by Hirota’s method. Dynamics of some soliton solutions are analyzed and illustrated by asymptotic analysis. Multisoliton solutions and dynamics to a nonisospectral semi-discrete modified Korteweg-de Vries equation are also discussed.
Extending Fuzzy Cognitive Maps with Tensor-Based Distance Metrics
Authors: Drakopoulos Georgios , Kanavos Andreas , Mylonas Phivos , Pintelas Panagiotis
Published: November 2020

Cognitive maps are high level representations of the key topological attributes of real or abstract spatial environments progressively built by a sequence of noisy observations. Currently such maps play a crucial role in cognitive sciences as it is believed this is how clusters of dedicated neurons at hippocampus construct internal representations. The latter include physical space and, perhaps more interestingly, abstract fields comprising of interconnected notions such as natural languages. In deep learning cognitive graphs are effective tools for simultaneous dimensionality reduction and visualization with applications among others to edge prediction, ontology alignment, and transfer learning. Fuzzy cognitive graphs have been proposed for representing maps with incomplete knowledge or errors caused by noisy or insufficient observations. The primary contribution of this article is the construction of cognitive map for the sixteen Myers-Briggs personality types with a tensor distance metric. The latter combines two categories of natural language attributes extracted from the namesake Kaggle dataset. To the best of our knowledge linguistic attributes are separated in categories. Moreover, a fuzzy variant of this map is also proposed where a certain personality may be assigned to up to two types with equal probability. The two maps were evaluated based on their topological properties, on their clustering quality, and on how well they fared against the dataset ground truth. The results indicate a superior performance of both maps with the fuzzy variant being better. Based on the findings recommendations are given for engineers and practitioners.
Boundary Value Problems for Hilfer Fractional Differential Inclusions with Nonlocal Integral Boundary Conditions
Authors: Wongcharoen Athasit , Ntouyas Sotiris K. , Tariboon Jessada
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we study boundary value problems for differential inclusions, involving Hilfer fractional derivatives and nonlocal integral boundary conditions. New existence results are obtained by using standard fixed point theorems for multivalued analysis. Examples illustrating our results are also presented.
Harmony Search-Based Approach for Multi-Objective Software Architecture Reconstruction
Authors: Prajapati Amarjeet , Geem Zong Woo
Published: November 2020

The success of any software system highly depends on the quality of architectural design. It has been observed that over time, the quality of software architectural design gets degraded. The software system with poor architecture design is difficult to understand and maintain. To improve the architecture of a software system, multiple design goals or objectives (often conflicting) need to be optimized simultaneously. To address such types of multi-objective optimization problems a variety of metaheuristic-oriented computational intelligence algorithms have been proposed. In existing approaches, harmony search (HS) algorithm has been demonstrated as an effective approach for numerous types of complex optimization problems. Despite the successful application of the HS algorithm on different non-software engineering optimization problems, it gained little attention in the direction of architecture reconstruction problem. In this study, we customize the original HS algorithm and propose a multi-objective harmony search algorithm for software architecture reconstruction (MoHS-SAR). To demonstrate the effectiveness of the MoHS-SAR, it has been tested on seven object-oriented software projects and compared with the existing related multi-objective evolutionary algorithms in terms of different software architecture quality metrics and metaheuristic performance criteria. The experimental results show that the MoHS-SAR performs better compared to the other related multi-objective evolutionary algorithms.