bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pineal Gland Morphology in Relation to Age and Season in Three Canidae Species
Authors: Kalinina Svetlana , Ilyukha Viktor , Uzenbaeva Lyudmila
Published: December 2019

Introduction The aim of the present study was to determine the morphological features of the pineal gland in three closely related Canidae species (raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides Gray, 1834; silver fox, Vulpes vulpes L., 1758; and blue fox, Vulpes lagopus L., 1758) of different ages during the breeding (spring) and nonbreeding (winter) periods.

Materials and Methods Histological analysis of the pineal glands of canids was performed.

Results The morphological changes in the pineal gland detected in the current study are either age-associated, including increase in the reticular fibers and vascularization in the studied species, as well as increase in the amount of the protruding septae in the blue fox, or seasonally related, including an increase in the number and size of blood vessels. The present work reported two types of pigments: lipofuscin (primarily in the silver fox) and melanin (primarily in the raccoon dog and in the blue fox). The pineal gland in the blue fox is characterized by the ability to form corpora arenacea.

Conclusions The present study provides the first insight into the morphological changes of the pineal gland in three closely related Canidae species of different ages during the breeding (spring) and nonbreeding (winter) periods, and showed some species-specific features of gland morphology. The aspects concerning the biogenesis of the calcium concretions and the factors influencing the accumulation of pigments need further investigation.
Effects of Morus nigra L. in Bone Healing
Authors: Costa Jeferson Cardoso , Pereira Bárbara Caroliny , Soares Evelise Aline , Gonçalves Nalielle Lohana Serafini , Esteves Alessandra , Rossi Junior Wagner Costa
Published: December 2019

Morus nigra L., popularly known as blackberry, mulberry or blackberry bush, is a plant species widely used by folk medicine. Although there are few scientific studies that denote its therapeutic features, an important highlight of black mulberry is the recurrent use of tea leaves in popular environment for treatment of climacteric because it is considered a source of substances with estrogenic activity, which, if deficient, decreases osteoblastic action. Thus, the objective of the present study was to analyze the effect of the infusion of the leaves of M. nigra L. on bone repair experimental models. Twenty female Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus), ∼ 100 days old, were submitted to fracture with bone loss in the left fibula. After that, they ingested tea leaves of M. nigra L. for 30 days without interruption. The animals suffered euthanasia after the treatment period. The results showed a significant healing of fractures in all animals that ingested the tea, when compared with other groups. In this way, it is possible to suggest that M. nigra L. tea is able to trigger a positive response in bone repair mechanism; however, it is not possible to state at what level this positive interference occurs, since mechanisms of its action have not yet been elucidated, thus requiring more specific studies on the phytotherapeutic effects of this plant.
The Effect of Eliminating Intermediate Severity Drug-Drug Interaction Alerts on Overall Medication Alert Burden and Acceptance Rate
Authors: Knight Amy M. , Maygers Joyce , Foltz Kimberly A. , John Isha S. , Yeh Hsin Chieh , Brotman Daniel J.
Published: December 2019

Objective This study aimed to determine the effects of reducing the number of drug-drug interaction (DDI) alerts in an order entry system.

Methods Retrospective pre–post analysis at an urban medical center of the rates of medication alerts and alert acceptance during a 5-month period before and 5-month period after the threshold for firing DDI alerts was changed from “intermediate” to “severe.” To ensure that we could determine varying response to each alert type, we took an in-depth look at orders generating single alerts.

Results Before the intervention, 241,915 medication orders were placed, of which 25.6% generated one or more medication alerts; 5.3% of the alerts were accepted. During the postintervention period, 245,757 medication orders were placed of which 16.0% generated one or more medication alerts, a 37.5% relative decrease in alert rate (95% confidence interval [CI]: −38.4 to −36.8%), but only a 9.6% absolute decrease (95% CI: −9.4 to −9.9%). 7.4% of orders generating alerts were accepted postintervention, a 39.6% relative increase in acceptance rate (95% CI: 33.2–47.2%), but only a 2.1% absolute increase (95% CI: 1.8–2.4%). When only orders generating a single medication alert were considered, there was a 69.1% relative decrease in the number of orders generating DDI alerts, and an 85.7% relative increase in the acceptance rate (95% CI: 58.6–126.2%), though only a 1.8% absolute increase (95% CI: 1.3–2.3%).

Conclusion Eliminating intermediate severity DDI alerts resulted in a statistically significant decrease in alert burden and increase in the rate of medication alert acceptance, but alert acceptance remained low overall.
Aseptic Revision Total Knee Can Be Performed as Part of a Short-Stay Arthroplasty Program: An Analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database
Authors: Gu Alex , Gerhard Eleanor F. , Wei Chapman , Bovonratwet Patawut , Stake Seth , Sculco Peter K. , McLawhorn Alexander S.
Published: December 2019

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is becoming an increasingly common procedure to alleviate knee pain often associated with osteoarthritis. As the number of revision TKAs performed continues to increase, there remains a debate regarding the efficacy of discharging patients earlier than the conventional 3 to 4 days in the postoperative period. A variety of studies have begun to show that interchangably discharge in the primary TKA setting has an economical benefit while causing either a reduction or no difference in patient outcomes. This study aims to determine the effect of rapid discharge at 0- to 2-day postoperative stay compared to the conventional 3- to 4-day postoperative stay on postdischarge complications in patients undergoing revision TKA. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data collected through the American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program Database. All patients who underwent aseptic revision TKA between 2005 and 2016 were identified and stratified into groups based on length of stay: 0 to 2 days versus 3 to 4 days. Patients suffering from predischarge complications were excluded to minimize bias. Single-component versus both-component revisions were analyzed. The incidence of adverse events following discharge was evaluated with univariate and logistic multivariate analyses where appropriate. Patients who underwent single-component revisions and were discharged rapidly were less likely to develop minor complications (p = 0.001; odds ratio [OR]: 0.355; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.188–0.671) and septic complications (p = 0.016; OR: 0.011; 95% CI: 0–0.430) within the 30-day postoperative period. No differences were observed in discharge cohorts among patients undergoing both-component revisions. We found that rapid discharge following aseptic revision TKA is not associated with increased risks for postoperative complications. Rapid discharge may have benefits for healthy patients undergoing single-component revisions. Careful selection of revision TKA patients for rapid discharge may help to lower the increasing costs of the procedure and improve patient outcomes. Further study is required to refine the selection criteria to identify patients eligible for short stay or outpatient revision TKA.
Characteristics and Incidence of Inpatient Ophthalmology Consultations to Screen for Papilledema
Authors: Belin Peter J. , Greaves Giovanni H. , Winokur Jules , Gorski Matthew
Published: December 2019

Objective A frequent reason for ophthalmology consultation is to rule out papilledema. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incidence of consultations to screen for papilledema in an acute inpatient setting and determine the frequency and factors associated with a positive diagnosis of bilateral optic nerve swelling.

Methods A retrospective chart review was performed of consecutive adult and pediatric inpatient ophthalmology consultations at a tertiary hospital system to “rule out papilledema” from September through November 2016. All patients had a detailed neuro-ophthalmology examination including a dilated fundus exam.

Results A total of 36 consults—13 males and 23 females—with a mean age of 19.8 (range: 3–71) years were called to screen for papilledema. The most common service to request the consult was pediatrics (44%), followed by neurosurgery (42%), medicine (8%), and neurology (6%). The most frequent reason for consultation was headache (61%), followed by visual changes (30.5%) and nausea/vomiting (25%). A positive diagnosis of bilateral optic nerve swelling occurred in 14% (5/36) of consults. Of these five consults, four of them were sent into the hospital by an ophthalmologist who noted the bilateral optic nerve swelling and one was noted by an emergency room pediatrician.

Conclusion No new cases of bilateral optic nerve swelling were found in screening consults to “rule out papilledema.” All of the positive diagnoses in our study had been previously identified by another physician and known to the primary team prior to ophthalmology consultation. Screening consultations for optic nerve swelling may not be an effective way to rule out papilledema.
Predicting Outcome in Mechanically Ventilated Pediatric Patients
Authors: Kesici Selman , Kenç Şenay , Yetimakman Ayşe Filiz , Bayrakci Benan
Published: December 2019

To apply and determine whether standardized mortality scores are appropriate to predict the risk of mortality in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients, 150 patients were retrospectively evaluated. Pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) III-24 and pediatric index of mortality (PIM)-2 scores were unable to discriminate survivors and nonsurvivors; the observed mortality rate was lower than expected mortality rates. Oxygenation index (OI) was calculated at 0, 12, 24, and 72 hours of ventilation. OI-12 and OI-72 were found to be higher in nonsurvivors. PRISM III-24 and PIM-2 scores failed to predict mortality risk in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients. OI can be used to predict degree of respiratory failure and mortality risk.
Pediatric Palliative Transport in Critically Ill Children: A Single Center's Experience and Parents' Perspectives
Authors: Menon Anuradha P. , Mok Yee Hui , Loh Lik Eng , Lee Jan Hau
Published: December 2019

The transfer of critically ill children from intensive care units (ICUs) to their homes for palliation is seldom described. We report our 10-year pediatric palliative transport experience and conducted a survey to gain parents' perspectives of their child's transport experience. Over the study period, eight patients were transported from our pediatric ICU to their homes or hospice facilities. There were no intratransport adverse events. Parents who participated in the survey responded positively to the transport experience. The availability of a dedicated critical care transport service allowed for palliative transfers to be performed safely. Facilitating transport to allow withdrawal of life support at home is an acceptable option to families as part of holistic end-of-life care.
Hybrid Management of an Ulnar Artery Pseudoaneurysm Postphlebotomy
Authors: Moriarty Heather K. , Charalabidis Peter , Musicki Korana , Phan Tuan , Joseph Tim , Clements Warren
Published: December 2019

The purpose of this case report is to describe the occurrence and management of an ulnar artery pseudoaneurysm post phlebotomy. A 36-year-old worker with progressively painful nondominant forearm swelling was referred at 4 weeks postphlebotomy. Serial imaging showed an expanding proximal ulnar pseudoaneurysm. This was managed with a covered stent in the ulnar artery and coiling of the interosseous artery. The hematoma was evacuated, and the neurovascular bundle was protected with muscle coverage. At follow-up, the stent was patent, and there was no distal ischemia. Pseudoaneurysms post phlebotomy are rare. We demonstrate successful treatment of an ulnar artery pseudoaneurysm with stent graft and coiling of the interosseous branch.
Large data decay of Yang–Mills–Higgs fields on Minkowski and de Sitter spacetimes
Authors: Taujanskas Grigalius
Published: December 2019

In this article, we extend Eardley and Moncrief’s L∞ estimates [Commun. Math. Phys. 83(2), 193–212 (1982)] for the conformally invariant Yang–Mills–Higgs equations to the Einstein cylinder. Our method is to first work on Minkowski space and localize their estimates and then carry them to the Einstein cylinder by a conformal transformation. By patching local estimates together, we deduce global L∞ estimates on the cylinder and extend Choquet-Bruhat and Christodoulou’s [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. 14(4), 481–506 (1981)] small data well-posedness result to large data. Finally, by employing an inverse conformal transformation, we deduce exponential decay rates for Yang–Mills–Higgs fields on de Sitter space and inverse polynomial decay rates on Minkowski space.
Measurements of internal optical loss inside an operating laser diode
Authors: Veselov D. A. , Bobretsova Yu. K. , Leshko A. Y. , Shamakhov V. V. , Slipchenko S. O. , Pikhtin N. A.
Published: December 2019

An experimental technique for measuring internal optical loss in high-power edge-emitting semiconductor lasers is demonstrated. The technique is based on coupling a probe beam into the waveguide of a pulse-pumped laser diode. It allows measuring free-carrier absorption (FCA) in a laser heterostructure at different temperatures and at pump current levels up to 30 kA/cm2. Measurement results are presented for two laser heterostructure designs, which vary in the waveguide doping level and material. For both heterostructures, the pump current increase induces a significant rise in FCA and a corresponding increase in internal optical loss, from 0.4–0.7 cm−1 at the threshold current to 2–2.5 cm−1 at 15 kA/cm2. At higher temperatures, the dependence is even stronger and the internal optical loss rises to 6 cm−1 (65 °C, 27 kA/cm2). The gradient of the FCA current dependence is lower for the laser heterostructure with a doped GaAs waveguide, while the heterostructure with an undoped AlGaAs waveguide displays a larger increase in FCA but better internal quantum efficiency at high currents. These results show that the proposed experimental method has significant potential.
Comments on the continuing widespread and unnecessary use of a defective emission equation in field emission related literature
Authors: Forbes Richard G.
Published: December 2019

Field electron emission (FE) has relevance in many technological contexts. However, many technological papers use a physically defective elementary FE equation for local emission current density (LECD). This equation takes the tunneling barrier as exactly triangular, as in the original FE theory 90 years ago. More than 60 years ago, it was shown that the Schottky-Nordheim (SN) barrier, which includes an image-potential-energy term (that models exchange-and-correlation effects), is better physics. For a metal-like emitter with a work function of 4.5 eV, the SN-barrier-related Murphy-Good FE equation predicts LECD values that are higher than the elementary equation values by a large factor, often between 250 and 500. By failing to mention/apply this 60-year-old established science or to inform readers of the large errors associated with the elementary equation, many papers (aided by inadequate reviewing) spread a new kind of “pathological science” and create a modern research-integrity problem. The present paper aims to enhance author and reviewer awareness by summarizing relevant aspects of the FE theory, by explicitly identifying the misjudgment in the original 1928 Fowler-Nordheim paper, by explicitly calculating the size of the resulting error, and by showing in detail why most FE theoreticians regard the 1950s modifications as better physics. Suggestions are made, about nomenclature and about citation practice, which may help diminish misunderstandings. It is emphasized that the correction recommended here is one of several needed to improve the presentation of theory in the FE literature and is only a first step toward higher-quality emission theory and improved methodology for current-voltage data interpretation.
Performance enhancement of p-GaAs0.51Sb0.49/In0.53Ga0.47As hetero-junction vertical tunneling field-effect transistors with abrupt source impurity profile
Authors: Gotow Takahiro , Mitsuhara Manabu , Hoshi Takuya , Sugiyama Hiroki , Takenaka Mitsuru , Takagi Shinichi
Published: December 2019

The effects of source impurity concentrations and profiles on the electrical characteristics of Be- and C-doped p+-GaAs0.51Sb0.49/In0.53Ga0.47As vertical tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) are experimentally studied. The ON current (ION) and subthreshold swing (SS) of the GaAsSb/InGaAs TFETs, measured at 50 K to suppress the generation-recombination leakage current, are found to be improved by using C instead of Be as the source impurity. A minimum SS of ∼20 mV/dec at VD = 50 mV and an ION of 1.7 × 10–6 A/μm at VD = 500 mV and VG = 1.5 V are obtained at 50 K for C-doped p+-GaAsSb/InGaAs TFETs with the source acceptor concentrations of 4 × 1019 and 7 × 1019 cm−3. The temperature dependence of the ID–VG characteristics suggests almost no difference in the crystal quality of the GaAsSb/InGaAs heterointerfaces between the source impurity species of Be and C. On the other hand, the results of secondary ion mass spectroscopy analyses show that the C profiles near the source-channel interfaces are steeper than the Be ones. Thus, the improved ION and SS of TFETs with the C-doped source region are mainly attributed to the improved abruptness of the p-type dopant profiles near the source-channel interfaces.
A DFT study of energetic and structural properties of a full turn of A-form DNA under relaxed and stretching conditions
Authors: Liu Yue , Ren Xinguo , He Lixin
Published: December 2019

We carried out a first-principles quantum-mechanical study of a set of full-turn A-form DNA oligonucleotides using density functional approximations. The structural features of the fully relaxed model DNA molecules and more importantly, the energetic and structural changes of these molecules under stretching conditions are examined in detail. Special attention is paid to the dependence of the structural properties on the stacking sequences of the constituent DNA base pairs. It appears that DNA oligonucleotides are extremely flexible, and structural properties such as the diameter and the widths of the minor and major grooves change regularly as a function of the stretching rate (stretching length in percentage). Additionally, we found that the length of the hydrogen bonds in the DNA base pairs varies with the DNA stacking sequence. This work indicates that rich information and insights can be gained from first principles studies of model DNA molecules of only O(102−103) atoms.
Avalanches during recrystallization in radiation-damaged pyrochlore and allanite: Statistical similarity to phase transitions in functional materials
Authors: Beirau Tobias , Shelyug Anna , Navrotsky Alexandra , Pöllmann Herbert , Salje Ekhard K. H.
Published: December 2019

Differential scanning calorimetry has been employed to analyze the jerky behavior of exothermic, structural reorganization processes of the highly disordered radiation-damaged uranium or thorium containing minerals pyrochlore and allanite. The thermal signals occur as thermal spikes forming crackling noise spectra. The energy of the thermal spikes follows power-law behavior with an exponent ε ∼ 1.61–1.65, which is in good agreement with force integrated energy distributions predicted by mean field theory. The recrystallization is hence statistically identical to the collapse of martensites under external pressure and the switching of ferroelectric materials.
Fungal aerobiota are not affected by time nor environment over a 13-y time series at the Mauna Loa Observatory
Authors: Tipton Laura , Zahn Geoffrey , Datlof Erin , Kivlin Stephanie N. , Sheridan Patrick , Amend Anthony S. , Hynson Nicole A.
Published: December 2019

Fungi are ubiquitous and often abundant components of virtually all ecosystems on Earth, serving a diversity of functions. While there is clear evidence that fungal-mediated processes can influence environmental conditions, and in turn select for specific fungi, it is less clear how fungi respond to environmental fluxes over relatively long time frames. Here we set out to examine changes in airborne fungi collected over the course of 13 y, which is the longest sampling time to date. Air filter samples were collected from the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) on Hawaii Island, and analyzed using Illumina amplicon sequencing. As a study site, MLO is unique because of its geographic isolation and high elevation, making it an ideal place to capture global trends in climate and aerobiota. We found that the fungal aerobiota sampled at MLO had high species turnover, but compositional similarity did not decrease as a function of time between samples. We attribute these patterns to neutral processes such as idiosyncratic dispersal timing and trajectories. Furthermore, the composition of fungi at any given point was not significantly influenced by any local or global environmental variables we examined. This, and our additional finding of a core set of persistent fungi during our entire sampling period, indicates some degree of stability among fungi in the face of natural environmental fluctuations and human-associated global change. We conclude that the movement of fungi through the atmosphere is a relatively stochastic process.
Protective effect of hyperoside on heart failure rats via attenuating myocardial apoptosis and inducing autophagy
Authors: Guo Xiao , Zhang Yongtao , Lu Changhong , Qu Fengxia , Jiang Xianyan
Published: December 2019

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most severe heart conditions, which lacks effective therapies. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more efficient drugs for HF. In this study, we investigated the cardioprotective effects of hyperoside against the pathological progression of HF. Thoracic aortic constriction (TAC) was performed to induce HF in rats. Hyperoside treatment improved cardiac function, decreased cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area and heart weight to body weight (HW/BW) ratio in HF rats. Moreover, hyperoside administration repressed apoptosis as evidenced by changing apoptosis-related protein levels, and promoted autophagy in TAC rats and angiotensin II (AngII)-induced H9C2 cells. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) attenuated the beneficial effect of hyperoside against apoptosis in H9C2 cells. In summary, these data confirm that hyperoside effectively alleviates HF via suppressing apoptosis and inducing autophagy, which provides evidence that hyperoside may serve as a promising natural drug for treating HF.
Swift heavy ion tracks in alkali tantalate crystals: a combined experimental and computational study
Authors: Han Xinqing , Liu Yong , Huang Qing , Crespillo Miguel L , Liu Peng , Wang Xuelin
Published: December 2019

The formation of latent tracks with different damage morphologies in alkali tantalate crystals (KTaO3 and LiTaO3) under the action of the extreme electronic energy loss induced by 358 MeV 58Ni19+ irradiation was studied by experimental characterizations of the lattice damage and numerical calculations using the inelastic thermal spike model. Prism coupling measurements were used to analyze of the refractive index profiles of irradiated regions. This approach is effective and very accurate for determination of the in-depth damage profile and its correlation with the energy loss curves. The calculated spatio-temporal evolution of the energy deposition densities and lattice temperatures theoretically demonstrate the experimentally observed latent tracks in Ni19+-irradiated crystals. Based on the observed damage morphologies of individual and overlapped spherical defects, and discontinuous and continuous tracks, the corresponding threshold values of the electronic energy loss for track damage in alkali tantalate crystals were assessed. For irradiating ions with an energy of 6.17 MeV amu–1, a threshold of ~12.0 keV nm−1 for the production of spherical defects in KTaO3 crystals is indicated, and the threshold for LiTaO3 crystals is less than 12.0 keV nm−1. For irradiating ions with an energy of 2.15 MeV amu–1, owing to the ion-velocity dependence effect, an electronic energy loss of ~13.8 keV nm−1 leads to overlapped spherical defects and discontinuous tracks in KTaO3 and continuous tracks in LiTaO3. Compared with LiTaO3, a relatively higher damage tolerance and critical threshold for track formation in KTaO3 crystals are proven. The determined lattice temperature threshold for continuous track production is 3410 K for KTaO3 and slightly less than 3250 K for LiTaO3, demonstrating that, compared with the melting point, a much higher lattice temperature in the region surrounding the ion path needs to be achieved to produce stable track damage due to the non-negligible effect of melting damage caused by annealing during the cooling process.
Room-temperature compression and equation of state of body-centered cubic zirconium
Authors: Pigott Jeffrey S , Velisavljevic Nenad , Moss Eric K , Popov Dmitry , Park Changyong , Van Orman James A , Draganic Nikola , Vohra Yogesh K , Sturtevant Blake T
Published: December 2019

Zirconium (Zr) has properties conducive to nuclear applications and exhibits complex behavior at high pressure with respect to the effects of impurities, deviatoric stress, kinetics, and grain growth which makes it scientifically interesting. Here, we present experimental results on the 300 K equation of state of ultra-high purity Zr obtained using the diamond-anvil cell coupled with synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction and electrical resistance measurements. Based on quasi-hydrostatic room-temperature compression in helium to pressure P  =  69.4(2) GPa, we constrain the bulk modulus and its pressure derivative of body-centered cubic (bcc) β-Zr to be K  =  224(2) GPa and K′  =  2.6(1) at P  =  37.0(1) GPa. A Monte Carlo approach was developed to accurately quantify the uncertainties in K and K′. In the Monte Carlo simulations, both the unit-cell volume and pressure vary according to their experimental uncertainty. Our high-pressure studies do not indicate additional isostructural volume collapse in the bcc phase of Zr in the 56–58 GPa pressure range.
Axisymmetric spheroidal squirmers and self-diffusiophoretic particles
Authors: Pöhnl R , Popescu M N , Uspal W E
Published: December 2019

We study, by means of an exact analytical solution, the motion of a spheroidal, axisymmetric squirmer in an unbounded fluid, as well as the low Reynolds number hydrodynamic flow associated to it. In contrast to the case of a spherical squirmer—for which, e.g. the velocity of the squirmer and the magnitude of the stresslet associated with the flow induced by the squirmer are respectively determined by the amplitudes of the first two slip (‘squirming’) modes—for the spheroidal squirmer each squirming mode either contributes to the velocity, or contributes to the stresslet. The results are straightforwardly extended to the self-phoresis of axisymmetric, spheroidal, chemically active particles in the case when the phoretic slip approximation holds.
Maskless and contactless patterned silicon deposition using a localized PECVD process
Authors: Leal Ronan , Bruneau Bastien , Bulkin Pavel , Novikova Tatiana , Silva François , Habka Nada , Johnson Erik V
Published: December 2019

We present a novel technique to perform contactless and mask-free patterned plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition and etching. When a powered electrode with narrow slits is placed very close to the substrate, plasma is selectively ignited within the slits due to the hollow cathode effect, and so deposition or etching occurs only within an area smaller than the size of the slit. This technique is demonstrated through the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon using a gas mixture of hydrogen, argon and silane. Slits as small as 1 mm generate a plasma, and for this width, the lines deposited are about 750 μm wide, homogenous over their length (60 mm), and are deposited at a rate of 50 nm min−1. The phenomenon is studied using 2D Particle In Cell (PIC) modelling with a simplified argon chemistry. The electron localization observed in the PIC modelling provides an explanation of why the deposition is narrower than the slit.
Efficiency of R&D spending at the US Universities.
Authors: Bogomolova Arina , Balk Igor , Semenov Evgeniy , Ivashchenko Natalya , Temkin Anatoly
Published: December 2019

This article focuses on the efficiency of using university R&D funding. As a parameter of efficiency, we took the so-called “article cost” - the amount of money received for research in the previous year to get 1 article in the current year. It turned out that the average cost of an article at an American university is $101 thousand over the past 8 years. After analyzing a set of universities, it became obvious that the article cost is stable for each university over time, respectively, there are some non-random parameters that affect this value. We have also identified several parameters that, logically, can influence the university performance indicator. They are coefficient of specialization, number of students, number of staff and student per staff ratio, number of articles and others. We also examined several other parameters and made a statistical review of a typical U.S. university with a large research budget. At the end of the article, there is a least squares model that, using these parameters, explains more than half of the differentiation of the efficiency parameter.
Clustering of Translation via Topic Modeling
Authors: Krasnov Fedor , Lebedev Vladimir
Published: December 2019

In the present study, the authors investigated structural differences between scientific articles arising from their translation from Russian to English. In the course of the research, a modal topic modelling technique was used. Each document in the assembled collection was presented in two versions: English and Russian. As a result of constructing the topic model, the bimodal matrices Φ and Θ were obtained. An analysis of the Φ matrix showed that the topics could be distinguished according to the degree of correspondence between Russian and English terms when considering words in decreasing order of probability. For 90% of the topics, the English words fully corresponded to the Russian words used. Analysis of the Θ matrix showed that for 99% of the documents a topic exists having a value greater than 0.95. Thus, the majority of documents are monotopical. Moreover, this majority does not depend on the language of the document. Although the de facto language of scientific articles nowadays is English, a considerable number of scientific works are initially published in scientists’ respective native languages and only subsequently translated into English in a more complete and in-depth form. Thus, it is possible to speak about the existence of a bilingual corpus of such documents.
The translation algorithm from pre-reform spelling into modern spelling, taking into account the morphology of words
Authors: Kozhemyakina O Yu , Tagirova E P
Published: December 2019

The paper presents the translation algorithm from pre-reform spelling into modern one. The regularities in the errors made by pymorphy analyzer were used in the adaptation of it to the work with pre-reform spelling. On the basis of the dependencies between pre-reform and modern spelling for words, united by morphological characteristics, the exact algorithm, for processing the documents related to the late 19th – early 20th century, is proposed.
Semiotic analysis of narrative legal texts using asymmetric document divergency
Authors: Krylov Vladimir , Krylov Sergei , Zhigalov Grigory
Published: December 2019

In the paper the case is studied then semiotic signs can be represented as language constructs in the same language as the text for the interpretation. The goal is to obtain estimates of the depth of interpretability with the respect to each of the signs by finding the projections of the narrative on these language constructs. That is, we find the probability of the presence of each of the signs. By use the embedding of linguistic constructions into a multidimensional numerical vector space and the grid layout, which is the image of the system of signs. At the stage of the inference, our model computes the nodes of the grid, which are the most adequate to the input text by the method of new proposed asymmetric similarity. The constructed model was studied using Russian criminal, civil and labour legislation. We suggest using the models called the constellation as for the grid of normative acts and the narrative together with the corresponding divergence. In this paper, exanimated the pre-trained models known in NLP as doc2vec and Fast Text. The evaluation of the quality of models was carried out using open databases of court decisions.
Arctic greening associated with lengthening growing seasons in Northern Alaska
Authors: Arndt Kyle A , Santos Maria J , Ustin Susan , Davidson Scott J , Stow Doug , Oechel Walter C , Tran Thao T P , Graybill Brian , Zona Donatella
Published: December 2019

Many studies have reported that the Arctic is greening; however, we lack an understanding of the detailed patterns and processes that are leading to this observed greening. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to quantify greening, which has had largely positive trends over the last few decades using low spatial resolution satellite imagery such as AVHRR or MODIS over the pan-Arctic region. However, substantial fine scale spatial heterogeneity in the Arctic makes this large-scale investigation hard to interpret in terms of vegetation and other environmental changes. Here we focus on one area of the northern Alaskan Arctic using high spatial resolution (4 m) multispectral satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe™ to analyze the greening trend near Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow) over 14 years from 2002 to 2016. We found that tundra vegetation has been greening (τ = 0.65, p = 0.01, NDVI increase of 0.01 yr−1) despite no overall change in vegetation community composition. The greening is most closely correlated to the number of thawing degree days (R
2 = 0.77, F = 21.5, p < 0.001) which increased in a similar linear trend over the 14 year study period (1.79 ± 0.50 days per year, p < 0.01, τ = −0.56). This suggests that in this Arctic ecosystem, greening is occurring due to a lengthening growing season that appears to stimulate plant productivity without any significant change in vegetation communities. We found that vegetation communities in wetter locations greened about twice as fast as those found in drier conditions supporting the hypothesis that these communities respond more strongly to warming. We suggest that in Arctic environments, vegetation productivity may continue to rise, particularly in wet areas.
Optimal strategies for ecosystem services provision in Amazonian production forests
Authors: Piponiot Camille , Rutishauser Ervan , Derroire Géraldine , Putz Francis E , Sist Plinio , West Thales A P , Descroix Laurent , Guedes Marcelino Carneiro , Coronado Eurídice N Honorio , Kanashiro Milton , Mazzei Lucas , d’Oliveira Marcus Vinicio Neves , Peña-Claros Marielos , Rodney Ken , Ruschel Ademir R , Souza Cintia Rodrigues de , Vidal Edson , Wortel Verginia , Hérault Bruno
Published: December 2019

Although tropical forests harbour most of the terrestrial carbon and biological diversity on Earth they continue to be deforested or degraded at high rates. In Amazonia, the largest tropical forest on Earth, a sixth of the remaining natural forests is formally dedicated to timber extraction through selective logging. Reconciling timber extraction with the provision of other ecosystem services (ES) remains a major challenge for forest managers and policy-makers. This study applies a spatial optimisation of logging in Amazonian production forests to analyse potential trade-offs between timber extraction and recovery, carbon storage, and biodiversity conservation. Current logging regulations with unique cutting cycles result in sub-optimal ES-use efficiency. Long-term timber provision would require the adoption of a land-sharing strategy that involves extensive low-intensity logging, although high transport and road-building costs might make this approach economically unattractive. By contrast, retention of carbon and biodiversity would be enhanced by a land-sparing strategy restricting high-intensive logging to designated areas such as the outer fringes of the region. Depending on management goals and societal demands, either choice will substantially influence the future of Amazonian forests. Overall, our results highlight the need for revaluation of current logging regulations and regional cooperation among Amazonian countries to enhance coherent and trans-boundary forest management.
Weather dataset choice introduces uncertainty to estimates of crop yield responses to climate variability and change
Authors: Parkes B , Higginbottom T P , Hufkens K , Ceballos F , Kramer B , Foster T
Published: December 2019

Weather shocks, such as heatwaves, droughts, and excess rainfall, are a major cause of crop yield losses and food insecurity worldwide. Statistical or process-based crop models can be used to quantify how yields will respond to these events and future climate change. However, the accuracy of weather-yield relationships derived from crop models, whether statistical or process-based, is dependent on the quality of the underlying input data used to run these models. In this context, a major challenge in many developing countries is the lack of accessible and reliable meteorological datasets. Gridded weather datasets, derived from combinations ofin situgauges, remote sensing, and climate models, provide a solution to fill this gap, and have been widely used to evaluate climate impacts on agriculture in data-scarce regions worldwide. However, these reference datasets are also known to contain important biases and uncertainties. To date, there has been little research to assess how the choice of reference datasets influences projected sensitivity of crop yields to weather. We compare multiple freely available gridded datasets that provide daily weather data over the Indian sub-continent over the period 1983–2005, and explore their implications for estimates of yield responses to weather variability for key crops grown in the region (wheat and rice). Our results show that individual gridded weather datasets vary in their representation of historic spatial and temporal temperature and precipitation patterns across India. We show that these differences create large uncertainties in estimated crop yield responses and exposure to variability in growing season weather, which in turn, highlights the need for improved consideration of input data uncertainty in statistical studies that explore impacts of climate variability and change on agriculture.
Alkali-aggregate reaction in alkali-activated cement concretes
Authors: Krivenko P , Gelevera O , Kovalchuk O , Bumanis G , Korjakins A
Published: December 2019

The paper discloses the results of a study on structure formation processes in the interfacial transition zone “cement stone − aggregate” of the alkali-activated cement concretes. The results indicate the importance of the content of Al2O3 in the cement and aggregate. Together with components that are able to interact actively with alkalis in the presence of reactive SiO2, the processes taking place during the alkali-aggregate reaction can have weather destructive or constructive effect. The constructive effect is caused by incorporating the corrosion products into alkaline aluminosilicate compounds, thus retarding the internal corrosion of the concrete and providing the higher durability even in case of alkali-activated cements and alkali-susceptible aggregates with relatively high alkali content.
The effect of alkali activation solutions with different water glass/NaOH solution ratios on geopolymer composite materials
Authors: Doğan-Sağlamtimur N , Öznur Öz H , Bilgil A , Vural T , Süzgeç E
Published: December 2019

In this study, geopolymer materials were produced from fly ash (FA) supplied from İsken Sugözü Thermal Power Plant located in Adana, Turkey. FA and Rilem Cembureau Standard Sand were used together with the ratio of 0.50. At first, two different alkaline solution/material ratio (FA+standard sand) (L/M) were selected as 0.20 and 0.40 for the design parameters. In the production of geopolymer composite material, sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and sodium hydroxide (12 M NaOH) were used together within the ratio of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 by weight, respectively. A totally of 20 mixes were cured at 70 and 100 oC for 24 hrs, respectively and thereafter kept in room temperature until testing age. Physical characteristics of hardened mortar were determined via the bulk density, water absorption and porosity values at 28 days while the strength of geopolymers was obtained on the results of compressive strength and flexural strength tests conducted at 7, 28 and 90 days. Considering the testing parameters, geopolymer material with the highest compressive strength was found as 76.0 MPa (28-days) on the mixture produced with L/M ratio of 20% by weight; the alkaline solution consisted of a mixture of Na2SiO3 and 12 M NaOH in weight ratio of 2 by curing at 70 oC for 24 hrs. However, test results showed that there was an optimum limit for the alkaline solution ratio, such that exceeding this limit gave the reverse effect for the strength characteristics of the geopolymer material.
A Comparative Study of Mechanical Properties of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Made by Casted and 3D Printing Methods
Authors: Korniejenko K , Łach M , Chou SY , Lin WT , Mikuła J , Mierzwiński D , Cheng A , Hebda M
Published: December 2019

Currently additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly developing industrial sector and a disruptive technology. It is an answer for new challenges such as resources saving and energy effectiveness as well as response for circular economy needs. Unfortunately, the full exploitation of 3D printing technology for ceramic is currently limited due to the in-process and in-service performance of the available materials’ sets, especially in application in construction industry. The main aim of the article is comparison mechanical properties such as compressive and flexural strength between casted and injected samples (simulation for 3D printing process). The same geopolymer mix, plain as well as with flax fibres, based of fly ash class F was casted and cured in the same temperature prior to its mechanical test with ‘printed’ samples.
A Study on the Physicochemical Properties of Different Post-Process Wastes from Thermal Processes
Authors: Łach M , Korniejenko K , Komar N , Mikuła J
Published: December 2019

The main aim of the article is determinate the safety for use the anthropogenic raw materials such as ashes and slags produced in waste incineration plants and possibilities of they using for manufacturing building materials. The article presents the results of research on physicochemical properties of ashes and slags produced in waste incineration plants. The research methods used were: water leaching, radioactivity, dioxins and furans content, oxide and phase composition. The major treatment for investigated waste is a high level of leaching of harmful substances and the content of dioxins and furans. It is necessary to take appropriate measures to develop procedures for safe processing and storage of this type of materials. As shown in the research, ashes from the two investigated waste incinerators do not meet the requirements for leaching levels for hazardous waste landfills. These wastes must undergo processing to reduce to an appropriate level of leaching. Referring to the sum of dioxins in soils in urban areas, which is from 5 to 10 ng / kg, it can be stated that the waste tested contains very high dioxin contents and is hazardous waste. Working with this kind of waste requires special precautions. The ashes from waste incineration plants exceed this limit several dozen times (eg 221 ng I-TEQ / kg). Due to very high values of leaching and dioxin content in the raw materials, even the rinsing process does not guarantee the possibility of obtaining waste that could be stored in hazardous waste landfills. The article suggests the further way of safety processing this kind of materials.
Effect of Curing conditions on the Compressive Strength of Spent Fluid Catalytic Cracking Catalyst (SFCCC)-based Geopolymers
Authors: Ruiz G , Aguilar R , Nakamatsu J , Kim S
Published: December 2019

This research evaluates the effect of the curing conditions on the mechanical properties of geopolymers containing spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst (SFCCC) generated as a waste by the Peruvian oil-refinery industry. For this purpose, two curing conditions were evaluated: i) sample sealing during oven curing to avoid water loss, and ii) the time before curing (pre-curing time or delay time, before heating). The curing temperature was varied from 25°C up to 100°C. The performance of samples was assessed measuring the compressive strengths and the bulk densities. The results reveal that there are optimal curing conditions associated with the higher compressive strength of the SFCCC-based geopolymers. This optimal condition occurred when water loss was reduced by sealing, and samples were allowed to rest before curing (pre-curing). These two conditions assured not only a higher compressive strength but also a denser and more homogeneous product. The results indicate that the higher compressive strengths (up to 34.5 MPa) and bulk densities (up to 1.6 g/cm3) were obtained when the specimens were sealed with plastic bags during the curing process to avoid moisture loss and when they were subjected to a pre-curing period of 24 hours before heating in an oven at 50°C for 1 day followed by curing at room temperature for 6 days.
Interactive learning medium in contemporary engineering education accented for practical training of highly skilled personnel
Authors: Veide Z , Strozheva V
Published: December 2019

The contemporary generation of students reluctantly uses traditional teaching tools such as textbooks, which makes it necessary to create interactive training materials using modern technologies. This article presents the experience of creation of interactive educational materials for graphical engineering disciplines, which is aimed for students of colleges and vocational schools. In the material developing, the didactic experience of technical universities teachers from five countries has been summarized. Elaborators of this course have got joint goals of improvement of quality of education and solving similar problems of fast and efficient presentation of educational material acceptable to the modern generation of students.