bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electronic Structure and Optical Absorption Spectra of C–Cr Co‐Doped Anatase TiO2 Based on First Principles
Authors: Liu Cheng , Song Yumin , Yu Xiaohua , Liu Jianxiong , Deng Jiushuai
Published: January 2018

The geometrical structure, defect formation energies, electrical and optical properties of C and/or Cr doped anatase TiO2 are calculated by GGA + U method under the framework of density functional theory. The relationship between band structure and light absorption is revealed. The results show that the lattice is obviously distorted after doping, and the stability of C and Cr co‐doping is higher than just Cr doping, second only to Cr doped TiO2. The contribution of C is forming impurity energy levels, and the contribution of Cr is to reduce the band gap in the single doped system. In the co‐doped system, Cr atoms are used as donor impurities and C atoms act as acceptor impurities. The impurity energy is composed of C 2p and Cr 3d orbital hybridization, which reduces the band gap and promotes the separation of the impurity levels. C and Cr co‐doping expands the light absorption of TiO2 to the entire visible region, thereby increasing the absorption coefficient and effectively enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency.
ProcessAtlas: A scalable and extensible platform for business process analytics
Authors: Beheshti Amin , Benatallah Boualem , Motahari‐Nezhad Hamid Reza
Published: January 2018

In today's knowledge‐, service‐, and cloud‐based economy, an overwhelming amount of business‐related data are being generated at a fast rate daily from a wide range of sources. These data increasingly show all the typical properties of big data: wide physical distribution, diversity of formats, nonstandard data models, and independently managed and heterogeneous semantics. In this context, there is a need for new scalable and process‐aware services for querying, exploration, and analysis of process data in the enterprise because (1) process data analysis services should be capable of processing and querying large amount of data effectively and efficiently and, therefore, have to be able to scale well with the infrastructure's scale and (2) the querying services need to enable users to express their data analysis and querying needs using process‐aware abstractions rather than other lower‐level abstractions. In this paper, we introduce ProcessAtlas, ie, an extensible large‐scale process data querying and analysis platform for analyzing process data in the enterprise. The ProcessAtlas platform offers an extensible architecture by adopting a service‐based model so that new analytical services can be plugged into the platform. In ProcessAtlas, we present a domain‐specific model for representing process knowledge, ie, process‐level entities, abstractions, and the relationships among them modeled as graphs. We provide services for discovering, extracting, and analyzing process data. We provide efficient mapping and execution of process‐level queries into graph‐level queries by using scalable process query services to deal with the process data size growth and with the infrastructure's scale. We have implemented ProcessAtlas as a MapReduce‐based prototype and report on experiments performed on both synthetic and real‐world datasets.
A facilitated expert‐based approach to architecting “openable” complex systems
Authors: Szajnfarber Zoe , Vrolijk Ademir
Published: January 2018

Open innovation methods, which broadly include: prize competitions, grand challenges, and collaborative communities, are increasingly being applied to complex systems problems. While external solvers (i.e., the crowd) have historically contributed some important innovations, there appears to be a limit to the kind of systems where open innovation can be successful. We contend that open innovation activities can be more broadly effective if seekers (i.e., problem owners) formulated their system architectures with “openability” in mind. In this paper, we build on existing theory to categorize the kinds of problems that are most amenable to crowd contributions, based on the mechanisms of solving. We call these “openable” problems. We then develop and demonstrate an architecting process that uses a facilitated expert workshop to elicit “openable” subproblems within a given systems‐level problem. It treats the need for some openable subproblems as a constraint on the architecture. While not all systems should be designed with “openability” in mind, many organizations have faced political‐level pressure to better leverage the crowd. In that context, we provide guidance on how to do so effectively. We demonstrate the potential value of our approach through application to the NASA Asteroid Grand Challenge—a highly complex system. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications of this exercise for open innovation and system decomposition in general.
Building models of product development processes: An integrative approach to managing organizational knowledge
Authors: Browning Tyson R.
Published: January 2018

The process for designing and developing complex system products—all of the activities performed and the information and other work products produced—is essential to innovative and competitive enterprises. This process is dynamic, complex, and complicated, and the people who understand it best are in short supply and may not be around for the next project. For a variety of reasons, models of this process are important to systems engineers and managers. A 2006 paper in this journal discussed key concepts in modeling product development (PD) processes. This paper follows by presenting a general approach to building PD process models, integrative process modeling (IPM), which support a wide variety of purposes, such as providing evidence for external certifications, planning projects and programs, and more—but especially serving as a salient repository for crucial organizational information. Although a centralized team of modeling experts leads the overall IPM endeavor, distributed agents define various processes and activities, thereby capturing PD information across very large organizations. The paper discusses management of the model‐building project and subsequent operations, as well as software tool support and model storage. A collection of helpful heuristics guides IPM to help organizations improve the long‐term value provided by PD process modeling.
Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of 2.8 Ga Old Rare Metal Bearing Fertile Granite at Allapatna, Mandya District, Karnataka
Authors: Sarbajna Chanchal , Pandey U. K. , Krishnamurthy P.
Published: January 2018

This paper reports petrography, geochemistry and Rb-Sr age data on the rare metal bearing Neoarchean fertile (Nb-Ta) granite at Allapatna and elucidates its petrogenesis and role in Nb-Ta-Li-Be mineralization. The Allapatna granite (AG) intrudes the Tonalitic-Trondhjemitic - Granodioritic (TTG) Peninsular Gneiss and analysed SiO2 (72.3-75.6 wt%), K2O (4.0-5.7wt%), Na2O (3.0-4.4wt%), CaO (0.7-1wt%), MgO (0.13-0.25wt%) and K2O/Na2O (>1) indicating evolved nature. The presence of muscovite, biotite and garnet in the mode, peraluminous nature and high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio (0.7284±0.0083) attest to their S-type characteristics. Varying Nb/Ta ratio and high Li with moderate abundance of Cs further indicate affinity to Li-Cs-Ta (LCT) type granite-pegmatite system. The AG showing whole rock Rb-Sr isochron age of 2803± 68 Ma, is the oldest reported fertile granite in India parental to rare metal pegmatites hosting Nb-Ta, Be, and Li resources. Partial melting of a mixed source consisting of both basement TTG rocks and metapelites has generated such type of granitic magma. Fractionation of such granitic magma possibly has given rise to the rare metal (Ta-Nb-Li-Be) bearing pegmatites intruding the nearby schist belt.
Practical and Effective Approaches to Dealing With Clustered Data
Authors: Esarey Justin , Menger Andrew
Published: January 2018

Cluster-robust standard errors (as implemented by the eponymous cluster option in Stata) can produce misleading inferences when the number of clusters G is small, even if the model is consistent and there are many observations in each cluster. Nevertheless, political scientists commonly employ this method in data sets with few clusters. The contributions of this paper are: (a) developing new and easy-to-use Stata and R packages that implement alternative uncertainty measures robust to small G, and (b) explaining and providing evidence for the advantages of these alternatives, especially cluster-adjusted t-statistics based on Ibragimov and Müller. To illustrate these advantages, we reanalyze recent work where results are based on cluster-robust standard errors.
Differential effect of disease-associated ST8SIA2 haplotype on cerebral white matter diffusion properties in schizophrenia and healthy controls
Authors: Fullerton Janice M. , Klauser Paul , Lenroot Rhoshel K. , Shaw Alex D. , Overs Bronwyn , Heath Anna , Cairns Murray J. , Atkins Joshua , Scott Rodney ,   The Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank, Schofield Peter R. , Weickert Cyndi Shannon , Pantelis Christos , Fornito Alex , Whitford Thomas J. , Weickert Thomas W. , Zalesky Andrew
Published: January 2018

Brain white matter abnormalities are evident in individuals with schizophrenia, and also their first-degree relatives, suggesting that some alterations may relate to underlying genetic risk. The ST8 alpha-N-acetyl-neuraminide alpha-2,8-sialyltransferase 2 (ST8SIA2)gene, which encodes the alpha-2,8-sialyltransferase 8B enzyme that aids neuronal migration and synaptic plasticity, was previously implicated as a schizophrenia susceptibility gene. This study examined the extent to which specific haplotypes inST8SIA2influence white matter microstructure using diffusion-weighted imaging of individuals with schizophrenia (n = 281) and healthy controls (n = 172), recruited across five Australian sites. Interactions between diagnostic status and the number of haplotype copies (0 or ≥1) were tested across all white matter voxels with cluster-based statistics. Fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right parietal lobe was found to show a significant interaction between diagnosis andST8SIA2protective haplotype (p < 0.05, family-wise error rate (FWER) cluster-corrected). The protective haplotype was associated with increased FA in controls, but this effect was reversed in people with schizophrenia. White matter fiber tracking revealed that the region-of-interest was traversed by portions of the superior longitudinal fasciculus, corona radiata, and posterior limb of internal capsule. Post hoc analysis revealed that reduced FA in this regional juncture correlated with reduced IQ in people with schizophrenia. TheST8SIA2risk haplotype copy number did not show any differential effects on white matter. This study provides a link between a common disease-associated haplotype and specific changes in white matter microstructure, which may relate to resilience or risk for mental illness, providing further compelling evidence for involvement ofST8SIA2in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Polo-like kinase 4 mediates epithelial–mesenchymal transition in neuroblastoma via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway
Authors: Tian Xiangdong , Zhou Dejun , Chen Lu , Tian Yao , Zhong Benfu , Cao Yanna , Dong Qiuping , Zhou Meng , Yan Jie , Wang Yalei , Qiu Yanli , Zhang Lianmin , Li Zhongyuan , Wang Huijuan , Wang Daowei , Ying Guoguang , Zhao Qiang
Published: January 2018

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common malignant tumor in infancy and most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the survival rate of patients with low-risk and intermediate-risk NB can reach up to 90%. In contrast, for high-risk NBs, the long-term survival rate is still <40% because of heterogeneity of this tumor. The pathogenesis of NB is still not explicit, therefore it is of great significance to explore the mechanism of NB tumorigenesis and discover new therapeutic targets for NB. Polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4), one of the polo-like kinase family members, is an important regulator of centriole replication. The aberrant expression of PLK4 was found in several cancers and a recent study has unraveled a novel function of PLK4 as a mediator of invasion and metastasis in Hela and U2OS cells. However, the function of PLK4 in NB development and progression remains to be elucidated. The study showed the expression level of PLK4 in NB tissues was remarkably upregulated and high expression of PLK4 was negatively correlated with clinical features and survival, which suggested that PLK4 could be a potential tumor-promoting factor of NB. Functional studies indicated downregulation of PLK4 suppressed migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis in NB cells. Further experiments showed that downregulation of PLK4 in NB cells inhibited EMT through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Animal experiments demonstrated that the downregulation of PLK4 in SK-N-BE(2) cells dramatically suppressed tumorigenesis and metastasis. PLK4 may be a promising therapeutic target for NB.
Characterization of bone only metastasis patients with respect to tumor subtypes
Authors: Parkes Amanda , Clifton Katherine , Al-Awadhi Aydah , Oke Oluchi , Warneke Carla L. , Litton Jennifer K. , Hortobagyi Gabriel N.
Published: January 2018

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients with bone only metastasis (BOM) are a unique population with limited characterization. We identified patients followed at MD Anderson Cancer Center from 01/01/1997 to 12/31/2015 for at least 6 months with a BOM diagnosis as first site of metastasis. Tumor subtype (TS) was assessed by initial breast biopsy immunohistochemistry using hormonal receptor (HR) and HER2 status, with four subtypes identified: HR+/HER2−, HR+/HER2+, HR−/HER2−, HR−/HER2+. HR+ was defined as estrogen receptor or progesterone receptor ≥1%. We identified 1445 patients with BOM, 1048 with TS data available. Among these patients, the majority were HR+/HER2− (78%). Median time from breast cancer diagnosis to first bone metastasis was 2.3 years (95% CI 2.1, 2.5) and varied significantly by TS, with longer time to distant disease in HR+/HER2− patients relative to all other TS (p < .0001). Median overall survival (OS) from breast cancer diagnosis was 8.7 years (95% CI 8.0, 9.7) and varied significantly by TS with poorer OS for HR−/HER2− and HR-/HER2+ patients relative to HR+/HER2− TS (p < .0001). The 442 patients with de novo BOM disease, defined as bone metastasis diagnosis within 4 months of breast cancer diagnosis, had significantly shorter OS (p < .0001). Overall, several higher risk BOM subsets were identified in this analysis, most notably HR−/HER2+ and HR−/HER2− TS and de novo BOM patients.
Enhanced Skin Permeation of Anti-wrinkle Peptides via Molecular Modification
Authors: Lim Seng Han , Sun Yuanyuan , Thiruvallur Madanagopal Thulasi , Rosa Vinicius , Kang Lifeng
Published: January 2018

Wrinkles can have a negative effect on quality of life and Botox is one of the most effective and common treatments. Argireline (Arg0), a mimetic of Botox, has been found to be safer than Botox and effective in reducing wrinkles, with efficacies up to 48% upon 4 weeks of twice daily treatment. However, the skin permeation of Arg0 is poor, due to its large molecular weight and hydrophilicity. Arg0 exists in zwitterionic form and this charged state hindered its skin permeation. Chemical modification of the peptide structure to reduce the formation of zwitterions may result in increased skin permeability. We investigated a total of 4 peptide analogues (Arg0, Arg1, Arg2, Arg3), in terms of skin permeation and wrinkle reduction. The 4 peptides were dissolved in various propylene glycol and water co-solvents. Enhanced human skin permeation was demonstrated by both Arg2 and Arg3 in vitro. On the other hand, the abilities of the 4 analogues to reduce wrinkle formation were also compared using primary human dental pulp stem cells derived neurons. By measuring the inhibition of glutamate release from the neurons in vitro, it was shown that Arg3 was the most effective, followed by Arg1, Arg0 and Arg2.
Immunization with Transgenic Rodent Malaria Parasites Expressing Pfs25 Induces Potent Transmission-Blocking Activity
Authors: Sala K. A. , Angrisano F. , Da D. F. , Taylor I. J. , Churcher T. S. , Blagborough A. M.
Published: January 2018

An anti-malarial transmission blocking vaccine (TBV) would be an important tool for disease control or elimination, though current candidates have failed to induce high efficacy in clinical studies. The ookinete surface protein P25 is a primary target for TBV development, but heterologous expression of P25 with appropriate conformation is problematic and a pre-requisite for achieving functional titers. A potential alternative to recombinant/sub-unit vaccine is immunization with a non-pathogenic, whole-parasite vaccine. This study examines the ability of a purified transgenic rodent-malaria parasite (PbPfs25DR3), expressing Plasmodium falciparum P25 in native conformation on the P. berghei ookinete surface, to act as a TBV. Vaccination with purified PbPfs25DR3 ookinetes produces a potent anti-Pfs25 response and high transmission-blocking efficacy in the laboratory, findings that are then translated to experimentation on natural field isolates of P. falciparum from infected individuals in Burkina Faso. Efficacy is demonstrated in the lab and the field (up to 93.3%/97.1% reductions in transmission intensity respectively), with both a homologous strategy with one and two boosts, and as part of a prime-boost regime, providing support for the future development of a whole-parasite TBV.
Molecular Mechanism of Resveratrol’s Lipid Membrane Protection
Authors: Fei Qinqin , Kent David , Botello-Smith Wesley M. , Nur Fariah , Nur Saadia , Alsamarah Abdelaziz , Chatterjee Payal , Lambros Maria , Luo Yun
Published: January 2018

Resveratrol, a natural compound found in red wine and various vegetables, has drawn increasing interest due to its reported benefit in cardiovascular protection, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer therapy. The mechanism by which resveratrol exerts such pleiotropic effects remains unclear. It remains as one of the most discussed polyphenol compounds in the debating "French Paradox". In this study, using molecular dynamics simulations of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayer with resveratrol, we generated a free energy map of resveratrol’s location and orientation of inside the lipid bilayer. We found that resveratrol increases the surface area per lipid and decreases membrane thickness, which is the opposite effect of the well-studied cholesterol on liquid phase DPPC. Most importantly, based on the simulation observation that resveratrol has a high probability of forming hydrogen bonds with sn-1 and sn-2 ester groups, we discovered a new mechanism using experimental approach, in which resveratrol protects both sn-1 and sn-2 ester bonds of DPPC and distearoyl phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) from phospholipase A1 (PLA1) and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) cleavage. Our study elucidates the new molecular mechanism of potential health benefits of resveratrol and possibly other similar polyphenols and provides a new paradigm for drug design based on resveratrol and its analogs.
Luminance gradient at object borders communicates object location to the human oculomotor system
Authors: Kilpeläinen Markku , Georgeson Mark A.
Published: January 2018

The locations of objects in our environment constitute arguably the most important piece of information our visual system must convey to facilitate successful visually guided behaviour. However, the relevant objects are usually not point-like and do not have one unique location attribute. Relatively little is known about how the visual system represents the location of such large objects as visual processing is, both on neural and perceptual level, highly edge dominated. In this study, human observers made saccades to the centres of luminance defined squares (width 4 deg), which appeared at random locations (8 deg eccentricity). The phase structure of the square was manipulated such that the points of maximum luminance gradient at the square’s edges shifted from trial to trial. The average saccade endpoints of all subjects followed those shifts in remarkable quantitative agreement. Further experiments showed that the shifts were caused by the edge manipulations, not by changes in luminance structure near the centre of the square or outside the square. We conclude that the human visual system programs saccades to large luminance defined square objects based on edge locations derived from the points of maximum luminance gradients at the square’s edges.
Biologically active constituents of the secretome of human W8B2+ cardiac stem cells
Authors: Nie Shuai , Wang Xin , Sivakumaran Priyadharshini , Chong Mark M. W. , Liu Xin , Karnezis Tara , Bandara Nadeeka , Takov Kaloyan , Nowell Cameron J. , Wilcox Stephen , Shambrook Mitch , Hill Andrew F. , Harris Nicole C. , Newcomb Andrew E. , Strappe Padraig , Shayan Ramin , Hernández Damián , Clarke Jordan , Hanssen Eric , Davidson Sean M. , Dusting Gregory J. , Pébay Alice , Ho Joshua W. K. , Williamson Nicholas , Lim Shiang Y.
Published: January 2018

The benefits of adult stem cells for repair of the heart have been attributed to the repertoire of salutary paracrine activities they appear to exert. We previously isolated human W8B2+cardiac stem cells (CSCs) and found they powerfully influence cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells to collectively promote cardiac repair and regeneration. Here, the complexity of the W8B2+CSC secretomes was characterised and examined in more detail. Using ion exchange chromatography to separate soluble proteins based on their net surface charge, the secreted factors responsible for the pro-survival activity of W8B2+CSCs were found within the low and medium cation fractions. In addition to the soluble proteins, extracellular vesicles generated from W8B2+CSCs not only exhibited pro-survival and pro-angiogenic activities, but also promoted proliferation of neonatal cardiomyocytes. These extracellular vesicles contain a cargo of proteins, mRNA and primary microRNA precursors that are enriched in exosomes and are capable of modulating collectively many of the cellular pathways involved in protein metabolism, cell growth, as well as cellular responses to stress and organisation of the extracellular matrix. Thus the W8B2+CSC secretome contains a multitude of bioactive paracrine factors we have now characterised, that might well be harnessed for therapeutic application for cardiac repair and regeneration.
Nanoparticle Properties Modulate Their Attachment and Effect on Carrier Red Blood Cells
Authors: Pan Daniel C. , Myerson Jacob W. , Brenner Jacob S. , Patel Priyal N. , Anselmo Aaron C. , Mitragotri Samir , Muzykantov Vladimir
Published: January 2018

Attachment of nanoparticles (NPs) to the surface of carrier red blood cells (RBCs) profoundly alters their interactions with the host organism, decelerating NP clearance from the bloodstream while enabling NP transfer from the RBC surface to the vascular cells. These changes in pharmacokinetics of NPs imposed by carrier RBCs are favorable for many drug delivery purposes. On the other hand, understanding effects of NPs on the carrier RBCs is vital for successful translation of this novel drug delivery paradigm. Here, using two types of distinct nanoparticles (polystyrene (PSNP) and lysozyme-dextran nanogels (LDNG)) we assessed potential adverse and sensitizing effects of surface adsorption of NPs on mouse and human RBCs. At similar NP loadings (approx. 50 particles per RBC), adsorption of PSNPs, but not LDNGs, induces RBCs agglutination and sensitizes RBCs to damage by osmotic, mechanical and oxidative stress. PSNPs, but not LDNGs, increase RBC stiffening and surface exposure of phosphatidylserine, both known to accelerate RBC clearancein vivo. Therefore, NP properties and loading amounts have a profound impact on RBCs. Furthermore, LDNGs appear conducive to nanoparticle drug delivery using carrier RBCs.
Re-initiation of bottom water formation in the East Sea (Japan Sea) in a warming world
Authors: Yoon Seung-Tae , Chang Kyung-Il , Nam SungHyun , Rho TaeKeun , Kang Dong-Jin , Lee Tongsup , Park Kyung-Ae , Lobanov Vyacheslav , Kaplunenko Dmitry , Tishchenko Pavel , Kim Kyung-Ryul
Published: January 2018

The East Sea (Japan Sea), a small marginal sea in the northwestern Pacific, is ventilated deeply down to the bottom and sensitive to changing surface conditions. Addressing the response of this marginal sea to the hydrological cycle and atmospheric forcing would be helpful for better understanding present and future environmental changes in oceans at the global and regional scales. Here, we present an analysis of observations revealing a slowdown of the long-term deepening in water boundaries associated with changes of water formation rate. Our results indicate that bottom (central) water formation has been enhanced (reduced) with more (less) oxygen supply to the bottom (central) layer since the 2000s. This paper presents a new projection that allows a three-layered deep structure, which retains bottom water, at least until 2040, contrasting previous results. This projection considers recent increase of slope convections mainly due to the salt supply via air-sea freshwater exchange and sea ice formation and decrease of open-ocean convections evidenced by reduced mixed layer depth in the northern East Sea, resulting in more bottom water and less central water formations. Such vigorous changes in water formation and ventilation provide certain implications on future climate changes.
Evolution of 2D tin oxides on the surface of molten tin
Authors: Atkin P. , Orrell-Trigg R. , Zavabeti A. , Mahmood N. , Field M. R. , Daeneke T. , Cole I. S. , Kalantar-zadeh K.
Published: January 2018

The exfoliation of two dimensional (2D) oxides, established on the surface of specific liquid metals, has recently been introduced.
Boundary-induced nucleation control: a theoretical perspective
Authors: Buller Oleg , Wang Hong , Wang Wenchong , Chi Lifeng , Heuer Andreas
Published: January 2018

The pre-patterning of a substrate to create energetically more attractive or repulsive regions allows one to generate a variety of structures in physical vapor deposition experiments.
Selectfluor-mediated regioselective nucleophilic functionalization of N-heterocycles under metal- and base-free conditions
Authors: Xie Long-Yong , Qu Jie , Peng Sha , Liu Kai-Jian , Wang Zheng , Ding Man-Hua , Wang Yi , Cao Zhong , He Wei-Min
Published: January 2018

A facile, practical and environmentally attractive protocol for the direct diversification of N-heterocycles under ambient, metal- and base-free conditions was developed.
Oxygen vacancy induced superior visible-light-driven photodegradation pollutant performance in BiOCl microflowers
Authors: Cao Feng , Wang Yunan , Wang Jianmin , Lv Xin , Liu Dongyan , Ren Jun , Zhou Jun , Deng Ruiping , Li Song , Qin Gaowu
Published: January 2018

Well-defined 3D BiOCl hierarchical microflowers with oxygen vacancy have been fabricated by a simple polyalcohol solvothermal method; the light adsorption can be extended across the whole visible region.
Influence of fluorobenzene mass transfer on the qualities of poly-α-methylstyrene shells
Authors: Qiang Chen , Sufen Chen , Meifang Liu , Dawei Pan , Bo Li , Zhanwen Zhang , Xiaobo Qi
Published: January 2018

Polymer shells prepared by the microencapsulation technique with perfect sphericity and defect-free surface finish are demanded in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments.
The first colorimetric receptor for the B4O72− anion based on nitro substituted phenanthroimidazole ferrocene derivatives
Authors: Wu Pei , Wang Guo , Zhou Lu , Lu Jing , Wang Jianchun
Published: January 2018

Four phenanthroimidazole ferrocene derivatives (2a–2d) were synthesized. Recognition of 12 anions by 2a–2d was investigated by UV-Vis absorption analysis, showing that 2b and 2d sensed B4O72− selectively with an obvious color change observed.
Impact of pH and temperature on the electrochemical and semiconducting properties of zinc in alkaline buffer media
Authors: El-Taib Heakal F. , Abd-Ellatif W. R. , Tantawy N. S. , Taha A. A.
Published: January 2018

The electrochemical and semiconductive properties of spontaneously formed passive films on pure Zn in alkaline buffer solutions.
Eugenol triggers CD11b+Gr1+myeloid-derived suppressor cell apoptosisviaendogenous apoptosis pathway
Authors: Ding Ying , Yang Zecheng , Zhang Wensheng , Xu Yuwei , Wang Yuanyuan , Hu Minghua , Ma Fangli , Long Hanan , Tao Ning , Qin Zhihai
Published: January 2018

To study the effect and underlying molecular mechanism of eugenol on CD11b+Gr1+myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).
Simultaneous improvements in self-cleaning and light-trapping abilities of polymer substrates for flexible organic solar cells
Authors: Jeong Eunwook , Zhao Guoquing , Song Myungkwan , Yu Seung Min , Rha Jongjoo , Shin Jongmoon , Cho Young-Rae , Yun Jungheum
Published: January 2018

A strong contaminant-repelling and light-scattering silica nanoparticle array is fabricated on a polymer substrate for efficient flexible organic solar cells.
In situ synthesis of polymer grafted ZIFs and application in mixed matrix membrane for CO2 separation
Authors: Gao Yongqiang , Qiao Zhihua , Zhao Song , Wang Zhi , Wang Jixiao
Published: January 2018

PEI-g-ZIF-8 presents appropriate porous structure, amino functionalized surface and improved interfacial compatibility with the polymer matrix to endow the MMMs with excellent gas separation performance.
Polarization canting in ferroelectric diisopropylammonium-halide molecular crystals: a computational first principles study
Authors: Louis Lydie , Pitike Krishna Chaitanya , Ghosh Ayana , Poddar Shashi , Ducharme Stephen , Nakhmanson Serge M.
Published: January 2018

Molecular dipole moments in diisopropylammonium-halide crystals are arranged in an antipolar fashion, with bulk polarization arising from their slight canting away from this arrangement.
Preparation of high-quality graphene using triggered microwave reduction under an air atmosphere
Authors: Jiang Wen-Shuai , Yang Chao , Chen Guo-Xing , Yan Xiao-Qing , Chen Shao-Nan , Su Bao-Wang , Liu Zhi-Bo , Tian Jian-Guo
Published: January 2018

High-quality intrinsic graphene can be prepared by a simple triggered microwave reduction method under air conditions, which provides a simple and low-cost route for large-scale production of high-quality graphene.
Construction of tunable peptide nucleic acid junctions
Authors: Duan Tanghui , He Liu , Tokura Yu , Liu Xin , Wu Yuzhou , Shi Zhengshuang
Published: January 2018

We report here the construction of 3-way and 4-way peptide nucleic acid (PNA) junctions as basic structural units for PNA nanostructuring.
The Effects of Intensive Speech Treatment on Conversational Intelligibility in Spanish Speakers With Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Moya-Galé Gemma , Goudarzi Alireza , Bayés Àngels , McAuliffe Megan , Bulté Bram , Levy Erika S.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of intensive speech treatment on the conversational intelligibility of Castilian Spanish speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD), as well as on the speakers' self-perceptions of disability.

Method

Fifteen speakers with a medical diagnosis of PD participated in this study. Speech recordings were completed twice before treatment, immediately posttreatment, and at a 1-month follow-up session. Conversational intelligibility was assessed in 2 ways—transcription accuracy scores and intelligibility ratings on a 9-point Likert scale. The Voice Handicap Index (Núñez-Batalla et al., 2007) was administered as a measure of self-perceived disability.

Results

Group data revealed that transcription accuracy and median ease-of-understanding ratings increased significantly immediately posttreatment, with gains maintained at the 1-month follow-up. The functional subscale of the Voice Handicap Index decreased significantly posttreatment, suggesting a decrease in perceived communication disability after speech treatment.

Conclusion

These findings support the implementation of intensive voice treatment to improve conversational intelligibility in Spanish speakers with PD with dysarthria as well as to improve the speakers' perception of their daily communicative capabilities. Clinical and theoretical considerations are discussed.
Mid‐level deep Food Part mining for food image recognition
Authors: Zheng Jiannan , Zou Liang , Wang Z. Jane
Published: January 2018

There has been a growing interest in food image recognition for a wide range of applications. Among existing methods, mid‐level image part‐based approaches show promising performances due to their suitability for modelling deformable food parts (FPs). However, the achievable accuracy is limited by the FP representations based on low‐level features. Benefiting from the capacity to learn powerful features with labelled data, deep learning approaches achieved state‐of‐the‐art performances in several food image recognition problems. Both mid‐level‐based approaches and deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) approaches clearly have their respective advantages, but perhaps most importantly these two approaches can be considered complementary. As such, the authors propose a novel framework to better utilise DCNN features for food images by jointly exploring the advantages of both the mid‐level‐based approaches and the DCNN approaches. Furthermore, they tackle the challenge of training a DCNN model with the unlabelled mid‐level parts data. They accomplish this by designing a clustering‐based FP label mining scheme to generate part‐level labels from unlabelled data. They test on three benchmark food image datasets, and the numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves competitive performance when compared with existing food image recognition approaches.
Optimal operation of aggregated electric vehicle charging stations coupled with energy storage
Authors: Sarker Mushfiqur R. , Pandžić Hrvoje , Sun Kaiwen , Ortega‐Vazquez Miguel A.
Published: January 2018

Charging stations are the basic infrastructure for accommodating the energy needs of electric vehicles (EVs). Companies are expected to invest in these charging stations by installing them at locations with a dense concentration of vehicles, such as parking places, commercial centres, and workplaces. In order for investors in EV charging stations to maximise their profits and mitigate the impact on the power grid, these stations would benefit from coupling with an energy storage system (ESS). ESS would be used to arbitrage energy and to balance out the time‐variant and uncertain EV energy demand. This study proposes a framework to optimise the offering/bidding strategy of an ensemble of charging stations coupled with ESS in the day‐ahead electricity market. The proposed framework accounts for degradation of the ESS, robust scheduling against price uncertainty, as well as stochastic energy demand from EVs. The results show the viability of the proposed framework in providing cost savings to an ensemble of EV charging stations.
High step‐up cascade synchronous boost DC–DC converter with zero‐voltage switching
Authors: Lee Sin‐Woo , Do Hyun‐Lark
Published: January 2018

A high step‐up cascade synchronous boost DC–DC converter with zero‐voltage switching (ZVS) is proposed. The proposed converter is based on the conventional cascade boost converter with a single switch. In the first stage, a boost cell is modified to improve the voltage gain by utilising a coupled inductor. Additionally, turn ratio can be used to adjust voltage gain. In the second stage, a synchronous rectifier is adopted instead of the output diode to improve power efficiency. Moreover, ZVS is achieved using an auxiliary circuit, which consists of a coupled inductor and a small inductor. Therefore, total power efficiency is improved and high voltage gain can be obtained from a low turn ratio. The theoretical analysis and performance are proven from the experiment results using a prototype of the proposed converter with an output of 200 V–200 W.
Progress in IGBT development
Authors: Niedernostheide Franz‐Josef , Schulze Hans‐Joachim , Laska Thomas , Philippou Alexander
Published: January 2018

Recent progress in insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) development is reviewed. Highlighted issues range from technological aspects such as special processes suitable for thin‐wafer‐processing, through the advanced cell and vertical concepts to approaches for improved IGBT ruggedness. Latest advancements regarding thermal management in both modules and discrete chips are also addressed.
Bidding method for wind generation company in nodal power market
Authors: Liu Yangyang , Chen Tianen , Wang Jianxue , Li Yan , Li Yunhao , Liu Ruifeng
Published: January 2018

In recent years, the increasing integration of wind power has become a critical issue in power system. Owing to the randomness and intermittency of wind generation, it is a big challenge to incorporate wind power into power market operation fairly. To address this challenge, a novel method is presented for wind generation companies to bid in a nodal power market. Wind power output is comprised of two parts, i.e. reliable energy part and uncertain energy part. In the nodal power market, reliable energy bids in single price mode. On the other hand, uncertain energy bids in two‐part price mode, which contains adjustment price and energy price. According to the above remarkable features, the authors’ research develops the mathematical model for wind power bidding and design the corresponding market clearing mechanism. Also, the impact of their method on wind power accommodation and social benefit is deeply analysed. Numerical results indicate that the proposed method enables the fair competition among renewable energy generation company in the electricity market; thus, could enhance the integration of wind power while alleviating on providing a subsidy.
Multi‐rate electromagnetic transient simulation of large‐scale power system based on multi‐core
Authors: Peng Zhan , Shu‐jun Yao , Hai‐lin Zhang , Shuo Zhang
Published: January 2018

The traditional electromagnetic transient simulation has a short‐step size and a large computation, which results in small‐scale simulation. Multi‐rate simulation method and parallel computing are combined to carry out multi‐rate simulation on the basis of parallel processing of power network, which can further improve the computational efficiency and expand the simulation scale. At the same time, a multi‐rate simulation method of rotational frequency reduction is proposed. In which short step is used for the parts that want detailed simulation, for the AC network part, large step is adopted to the simulation and the frequency is reduced by the rotation of the signal for each phase. The wide application of multi‐core central processing unit (CPU) computer is a great change that is being carried out. This paper develops the multi‐thread programming based on open multi‐processing (MP), makes full use of the convenience of multi‐core CPU computer and simulates the method proposed.
Optimal strategy of reactive in distribution network based on GA enhanced Trust‐Tech technology
Authors: Kuihua Wu , Jian Wang , Bo Yang , Liang Feng , Xiaolei Zhang , Lu Chen
Published: January 2018

Genetic‐simulated annealing algorithm (GA)‐enhanced combined with Trust‐Tech algorithm is proposed for the optimal capacitor configuration of distribution network to achieve reactive optimisation. The mathematical model is built, in which the total costs such as purchasing cost, installation cost, and power loss charge are minimised. The algorithm contains two stages, in the first stage, the global search ability algorithm GA is applied to identify the space with high quality solution and trust‐tech is used to find the multiple local optimal solutions in the second stage. The numerical study shows that the GA enhanced Trust‐Tech algorithm has the deterministic property and can obtain better solution than the results from GA.
Coordinated charging strategy of plug‐in electric vehicles for maximising the distributed energy based on time and location
Authors: Wang Zhi‐Hui , Fan Shi‐Xiong , Liu Bao‐Zhu , Liu Xing‐Wei , Wei Ze‐Chen
Published: January 2018

The rapid expansion of distributed generations (DGs) in the distributed network creates a new challenge that it is hard to make use of DG output efficiently. This study investigates the coordinated charging strategy of plug‐in electric vehicles to optimise the distributed energy accommodation capacity. Based on the demand‐side management, the time interval of peak‐valley charging demand is found. In order to determine the suitable transferred charging load to the valley period, the optimal function of transferred charging load is established. Furthermore, the load allocation function is established which can guide users to charging at appropriate location. The method is applied to the IEEE 33‐node distributed network to verify that transferring charging load to valley period and the load allocation scheme are both important to enhance the consumption of distributed energy.
Comparison of centralised and distributed energy storage configuration for AC/DC hybrid microgrid
Authors: Yongqiang Zhu , Tianjing Wang
Published: January 2018

Based on the analysis of cost, benefit and reliability of energy storage system, the capacity allocation in AC/DC hybrid microgrid is compared. The cost of energy storage system and the possible benefits are analysed in detail. Through the calculation of islanding operation time of power supply system with distributed generators and energy storage, and combined with the Monte Carlo simulation, the reliability parameters are calculated. Based on the comparative analysis, applicable scenarios of centralised storage and distributed storage are obtained.
Load frequency control in multiple microgrids based on model predictive control with communication delay
Authors: Wang Xin , Zhao Qiang , He Bo , Wang Yang , Yang Jun , Pan Xueli
Published: January 2018

The time delay caused by the communication network will influence the load frequency control (LFC) of the power system including multiple microgrids. A multi‐area power system consisting of multiple standard microgrids connected with tie lines is built in this study. Then the LFC equivalent model is constructed based on the proposed system considering the time delay. After that, a coordinated controller based on the model predictive algorithm is designed to deal with the load disturbances and the fluctuation of the wind power with communication delays in the LFC model. Case studies based on a multiple delays LFC system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed load frequency controller comparing with the conventional proportional integral load frequency controller.
Modified elephant herding optimisation for economic generation co‐ordination of DERs and BESS in grid connected micro‐grid
Authors: Parashar Sonam , Swarnkar Anil , Niazi Khaleequr Rehman , Gupta Nikhil
Published: January 2018

This study addresses the problem of generation co‐ordination of distributed energy resources and battery energy storage system (BESS) in a grid connected micro‐grid to minimise the total operating cost of the micro‐grid. A combination of dispatchable and non‐dispatchable generators and BESS in a micro‐grid is taken into consideration. A new individual coding is proposed. Also a modification is suggested in basic elephant herding optimisation (EHO). The proposed modified EHO (MEHO) and EHO are applied to solve the optimisation problem and results of MEHO are found to be better than existing swarm‐based techniques.
Analysis of starting element for transmission line to wind farm integration
Authors: Luo Juan , Song Guobing , Gao Shuping , Wang Chenqing
Published: January 2018

To improve the reliability of microcomputer‐based protection, the starting element is commonly applied in the exiting protection device and its starting is a premise for the protection action. Therefore, it is crucial for protection that the starting element must be more sensitive, rapidly and reliable. However, owning to the great differences of fault characteristics between the wind power source and the conventional one, it is a necessity to study whether the starting element in conventional AC power system can be adapted to the wind power. First, the principles and criterion of starting element applied in conventional AC power system are investigated. Then, combined with the fault characteristics of wind sources, the adaptabilities of the starting elements are analysed. Last, the results of the theoretical analysis are verified by the data form simulation. Based on these analyses and results, some conclusions can be drawn: there are more risks to refuse action for the main starting criterion based on fault component of current on the wind power side, especially for permanent magnet synchronous direct‐driven generator; the zero‐sequence network of wind power system is not affected by the wind sources, so the auxiliary starting element based on zero‐sequence current has no adaptability problem, but it can only discriminate the grounding faults. Thus, it needs to modify or study the main starting criterion to improve the performance of starting element on the wind source.
Research on variable pitch control strategy of wind turbine for tower vibration reduction
Authors: Qiao Yanhui , Han Shuang , Deng Ying , Liu Yongqian , Dong Jian , Pan Lei , Li Runxiang , Zhao Bin
Published: January 2018

With the increase of wind turbine power, the vibration problem of tower has become much prominent. Tower vibration is one of the key problems that must be solved. Aimed at the problem of tower vibration caused by turbulent wind, based on analysing the causes of tower vibration, the optimisation control strategy is proposed by increasing tiny pitch angle in the pitch control system, which is equivalent to increasing the aerodynamic damping of tower to reduce the vibration. Taking the 1.577 MW wind turbine as an example to simulate and verify the control strategy, the results show that the control strategy can effectively reduce the fore‐aft vibration and torque of tower with little impact on power.
Research on demand response strategy of the electricity deviation assessment
Authors: Song Sibo , Guo Hongxia , Yang Ping , Xu Zhirong , He Ting , Lu Zhilin
Published: January 2018

With the advancement of the electricity market reform process, the time scale of market transaction reduces, and the requirements of power systems have become more stringent. First, the rules and trends of deviation electric quantity assessment are expounded, and the demand response strategies are analysed, which include the autonomous power plant power allocation decision scheme, flexible load response analysis and energy storage regulation strategy to reduce punishment caused by the load forecasting error and to enhance the stability of the power system. An improved differential particle swarm optimisation algorithm is used to solve the demand‐side response strategy. The simulation results show that the demand response strategies of the autonomous power plant and flexible load with energy storage response can meet the demand of deviation electric quantity assessment, reduce the cost of power users, improve the real‐time balance of the power system and promote the stable development of the spot market.