bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Effect of Fault on the Stability of Underground Workings of Coal Mine through DEM and Statistical Analysis
Authors: Das Arka Jyoti , Mandal Prabhat Kumar , Sahu Satya Prakash , Kushwaha Angad , Bhattacharjee Rana , Tewari Subhashish
Published: December 2018

The rock mass around an excavation is generally traversed by different geological discontinuities such as faults, folds, slips, joints, etc. Fault is one of the major geological discontinuities which creates lot of difficulties during underground winning of coal. Entire stress regime and ground conditions in the formation are altered in and around the faults. Faults also impose detrimental effects by introducing impurities, including clay and various forms of mineral matter into the coal seams; opening of pathways for the influx of water and gas into the underground workings; displacing the coal seams upward/downwards making the coal seams difficult or sometimes impractical to mine. Appropriate evaluation of the effect of the fault on the stability of the underground workings is a requisite for safe design of the underground mining structures. In this paper, a study has been carried out to assess the effect of the fault on the stability of underground coal mines by numerical simulation with distinct element method (DEM). On the calibrated DEM model, parametric study has been performed by varying the selected parameters, the dip and the friction angles of the fault. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that both the factors have statistically significant effect on the strength of the coal pillar. Similarly, the displacement of the immediate roof and the height of the disturbed strata are evaluated by the DEM modelling and statistical analysis when the fault passes through the middle of the gallery. The results of ANOVA for both cases indicate that the both factors have significant effect on the displacement of the immediate roof and the height of the disturbed strata. It is obtained from the study that the low angle fault causes high instability in the immediate roof. The paper has been supplemented with the field observations where instability in underground roadways of a coal mine in India is caused by the fault. It was observed in VK-7 incline mine of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, India that there was sudden failure of immediate roof of a roadway where a low angle fault crosses the middle of the roadway. The findings of the paper help to understand the behaviour of the coal pillar and the surrounding rock mass in the presence of the fault. The study would also help to take appropriate decisions about the unstable regions of the working safeguarding safety in underground coal mines.
Assessment of Groundwater Quality of the Central Gangetic Plain Area of India Using Geospatial and WQI Techniques
Authors: Verma Dharmendra Kumar , Bhunia Gouri Sankar , Shit Pravat Kumar , Tiwari Ashwani Kumar
Published: December 2018

Suitability of water quality for the drinking and irrigation purposes is indispensable for the endurance of life and sustainability of the ecosystem. The present study is aimed to evaluate the groundwater quality for suitability of drinking and irrigation purposes in the central Gangetic plain area (Bhagarpur district, Bihar), India using the geo-spatial and waterqaulity index (WQI) techniques. Groundwater samples were collected randomly from 45 locations in the pre-monsoon (April -May) and post-monsoon (October-November) season respectively during the period between 2015 and 2016. The different major water quality parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total hardness, Calcium (Ca++), Magnesium (Mg++), Sodium(Na+), Potassium (K+), Chloride (Cl−), Carbonate (CO3−), Bicarbonate (HCO3−), and Fluoride (F−) were analyzed using standards methods. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were estimated for suitability of irrigation uses. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated to measure the degree of relation between groundwater variables. The spatial variation maps of these groundwater quality parameters were generated through Inverse distance weightage (IDW) interpolation technique in Arc-GIS software. The pH value of 4.4% of the groundwater samples was found exceeding the acceptable limit established by the WHO (2011)/BIS (2012). Cl− values ranges between 3.24 to 28.74 mg/l−1 in the pre-monsoon season and from 2.50 to 64.98 mg/l−1 in post-monsoon season. Magnesium are cross the limits (<50 mg/l−1) of WHO/BIS in both the pre- and post-monsoon seasons. The F− concentration is higher in both the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. The water quality index (WQI) indicates 4.44% of the pre-monsoon samples are good for drinking purposes, whereas the value increases to 31.11% during the post-monsoon in the study area. The higher value of RSC was portrayed in the entire Naugachhia block and the eastern part of the Goradih block for both the season. The higher concentration of sodicity problem is portrayed in the entire Goradih block, north-east of Gopalpur block, and south-west of Naugachhia block for both the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. These results will be help planners, decision makers, local peoples, and Government to take necessary measures.
Geochemical Characterization and Controlling Factors of Chemical Composition of Spring Water in a Part of Eastern Himalaya
Authors: Vishwakarma Chandrashekhar Azad , Sen Ratan , Singh Neha , Singh Priyadarshini , Rena Vikas , Rina Kumari , Mukherjee Saumitra
Published: December 2018

This paper focuses on the suitability of spring water for drinking and irrigation purposes in a part of eastern Himalaya, south Sikkim. There are many anthropogenic and geogenic factors contributing as a source of major cations and anions in the spring water. The spring water chemistry show a variation in EC, pH, TDS, Temperature, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Pb, Mn, Cu, HCO3−, Cl−, PO43−, NO3−, F− and SO42−. Mainly two types of water quality indexing has been used, one for suitability of spring water for drinking purposes and the other for irrigation purposes. For drinking purposes, Piper diagram used for determination of water type, water quality index (WQI) for quality monitoring and saturation index for mineral dissolution in water. % Na, RSC (Residual Sodium Carbon) and SAR (sodium absorption ratio) have been used for irrigation suitability. Piper diagram shows that CaHCO3 type of water was dominant in the study area. The WQI depicted excellent category and SAR, percent sodium and RSC (Residual Sodium Carbon) depict excellent, good and permissible category for irrigation purposes. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the major influencing factor responsible for the variability in the parameters analysed of spring water.
Development of Oil and Gas Resources of Russia’s Arctic zone
Authors: Barbakov Oleg M. , Belonozhko Marina L. , Silin Anatoly N. , Gyurdzhinyan Alexander S.
Published: December 2018

The article dwells on the problems associated with the development of oil and gas Arctic region of Russia. It also suggests possibilities of their solution based on sociological studies conducted by the authors of representative samples in 2005, 2010 and 2015. Stressing the role and significance of sociological research in the general problem of the circumpolar regions by scientific study, the authors show the need for a sociological diagnosis in the context of different social groups. By doing so, characteristics of social problems inherent to the arctic region and requirements for scientific support of possible technologies is identified.
Changes in Sexual Function and Positions in Women with Severe Obesity After Bariatric Surgery
Authors: Oliveira Claudia Fernandes de Almeida , dos Santos Paulo Oliveira , de Oliveira Reinaldo Ataide , Leite-Filho Hosannah , de Almeida Oliveira Alice Fernandes , Bagano Gabriela Oliveira , Lima Junior Erivan Barbosa , Miranda Eduardo P. , de Bessa Junior Jose , Barroso Ubirajara
Published: December 2018

Introduction

Severe obesity is most effectively treated with bariatric surgery. The resulting weight loss is expected to improve a variety of obesity-related conditions, including sexual dysfunction.

Aim

To analyze changes in the sexual function of women with obesity following bariatric surgery.

Methods

A prospective study was conducted between April 2015 and April 2016 involving 62 women with obesity who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to evaluate sexual function. Sexual dysfunction was defined as an FSFI score below 26.55. Patients’ clinical and demographic data were recorded. Sexual frequency of 12 different sexual positions was also evaluated.

Main Outcome Measure

Sexual dysfunction prevalence and the frequency of sexual positions before and 6 months after surgery.

Results

The prevalence of sexual dysfunction decreased from 62% before surgery to 19% 6 months after the procedure. There was a 19.2% improvement in the mean overall FSFI score (P < .01). 6 months after surgery, the mean overall FSFI score had improved in all patients, with a statistically significant change being found in all 6 domains of the questionnaire (P < .05). There was an increase in the frequency of 3 of 12 sexual positions evaluated.

Conclusion

Sexual function in women with obesity effectively improves after bariatric surgery. Favorable changes following weight loss included a significant reduction in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and an increase in the frequency of different sexual positions during intercourse.
Potential Association of Weight-Based Gentamicin with Increased Acute Kidney Injury in Urologic Prosthetic Surgery
Authors: Moore R. H. , Anele U. A. , Krzastek S. C. , Klausner A. P. , Roseman J. T.
Published: December 2018

Background

Despite the known nephrotoxicity of gentamicin, in 2008 the American Urological Association recommended a weight-based gentamicin dose of 5 mg/kg for antimicrobial prophylaxis during urologic prosthetic surgery.

Aim

To identify and characterize rates of acute kidney injury (AKI) in urologic prosthetic surgery, both before and after the implementation of weight-based gentamicin dosing.

Methods

We performed a single-institution retrospective study of patients receiving perioperative gentamicin during implant, revision, salvage, or explant of inflatable penile prostheses, malleable penile prostheses, or artificial urinary sphincters between the years 2000 and 2017. Patients were stratified into 2 groups, based on administration of either weight-based gentamicin (5 mg/kg or 2–3 mg/kg in cases of poor renal function) or standard-dose gentamicin (80 mg). Patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes were identified. Patients with available preoperative and postoperative (≤7 days) serum creatinine values were included. AKI was defined by Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Comparative analyses were performed between groups.

Main Outcome Measure

Our primary outcome was incidence of AKI, with secondary outcomes including device infection rate and length of stay.

Results

Of the 415 urologic prosthetic surgeries performed during the study period, 124 met inclusion criteria with paired preoperative and postoperative serum creatinine values. 57 received weight-based gentamicin (median dose 5.06 mg/kg, interquartile range [IQR] 3.96–5.94) and 67 received standard-dose gentamicin (median dose 1.07 mg/kg, IQR 1.04–1.06), P < .001. There were no significant differences in preoperative renal function or comorbidities between groups; however, the weight-based group was older (median age 64.0 years, IQR 60.0–68.5) compared with the standard-dose group (median age 61.0 years, IQR 55.0–66.0), P = .01, and comprised fewer explant cases (1.8%, 1 of 57) than the standard-dose group (13.4%, 9 of 67), P = .02. The AKI rate was significantly higher in the weight-based group (15.8%, 9 of 57) compared with the standard-dose group (3.0%, 2 o67), P = .02. Device infection rate was similar between groups (5.3%, 3/56 vs 5.2%, 3 of 58), P = 1.00.

Clinical Implications

Our data suggest weight-based perioperative gentamicin prophylaxis may be associated with an increased AKI risk, without noticeably improving infection rates.

Strength & Limitations

Strengths of our study include the Veterans Affairs population analyzed, as well as rigorous inclusion criteria that allowed for a sensitive assessment of postoperative renal function. Limitations include the retrospective design and small sample size.

Conclusion

Weight-based gentamicin dosing may warrant closer perioperative monitoring of renal function, and merits larger investigations to further elucidate risks and benefits.
Delayed Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Ameliorates Impaired Penile Hemodynamics in Rats Subjected to Pelvic Neurovascular Injury
Authors: Wang H. S. , Ruan Y. , Banie L. , Cui K. , Kang N. , Peng D. , Liu T. , Wang T. , Wang B. , Wang G. , Shindel A. W. , Lin G. , Lue T. F.
Published: December 2018

Background

Erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by pelvic neurovascular injury (PNVI) is often refractory to treatment. In many cases, erectogenic therapy is administered in a delayed fashion.

Aim

To evaluate penile hemodynamic effects and histologic changes associated with delayed low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (Li-ESWT) after PNVI ED in a rat model. We visualized images using immunofluorescence and 3-dimensional imaging of solvent-cleared organs (3DISCO), a novel imaging technique.

Methods

A total of 32 Sprague-Dawley male rats aged 12 weeks were divided equally into 4 groups: sham surgery as normal controls (NC), PNVI controls (PC), PNVI with very-low-energy Li-ESWT (PVL), and PNVI with low-energy Li-ESWT (PL). Bilateral cavernous nerve crush and internal pudendal bundle ligation were performed in the 3 PNVI groups. Li-ESWT was administered twice a week for 4 weeks in the PL and PVL groups starting at 4 weeks after PNVI.

Outcomes

Intracavernous pressure (ICP) studies (normalized to mean arterial pressure [MAP]) were conducted in all subject animals. After testing, tissue was harvested for immunofluorescence staining and 3DISCO analysis.

Results

Mean ICP/MAP was lower in PC animals compared with NC animals (0.37 ± 0.03 vs 0.91 ± 0.03, respectively; P = .001). The ICP/MAP ratio was significantly higher in PVL and PL animals (0.66 ± 0.07 and 0.82 ± 0.05, respectively) compared with PC animals (P = .002 and .001, respectively). Detailed microstructures and trajectories of nerves and vessels were identified with immunofluorescence and 3DISCO. The PC group had lower density of nerves, axons, neuronal nitric oxide synthase–positive nerves, and Schwann cells in the dorsal penis. Animals in the PL group had significantly higher expression of all of these markers compared with PC animals.

Clinical Implications

Li-EWST may have utility in the management of severe ED related to PNVI from severe pelvic injury or radical pelvic surgeries, even when administered in a delayed fashion.

Strength & Limitations

This study of a severe ED phenotype involved treatment administered in a delayed fashion, which is more consistent with how therapy likely would be delivered in a real-world clinical context. Moreover, because the treatment commenced at 4 weeks after injury, when nerve and tissue atrophy have already occurred, the results imply that Li-ESWT can be used for regenerative therapy. Additional studies on dose optimization and treatment interval are needed to inform the design of human clinical trials.

Conclusion

Li-ESWT ameliorates the negative functional and histologic effects of severe pelvic neurovascular injury in a rat model system. 3DISCO provides high-resolution images of neuroanatomy and neural regeneration.
Opioid use and the presence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among elderly Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with chronic pain conditions
Authors: Shen Chan , Zhao Xiaohui , Dwibedi Nilanjana , Wiener R. Constance , Findley Patricia A. , Sambamoorthi Usha
Published: December 2018

Introduction

There is scant literature on the use of opioids among community‐dwelling elderly with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).

Methods

We adopted a retrospective, cross‐sectional study design using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data from 2006 to 2013. The study sample included elderly community‐dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with chronic pain conditions and had Medicare fee‐for‐service plans for the entire year. We conducted bivariate χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between opioid use and ADRD status.

Results

The study sample included 19,347 Medicare beneficiaries; 7.7% of them had ADRD. We found no statistically significant difference in opioid use by ADRD status in the unadjusted analysis; however, controlling for various factors, those with ADRD had lower odds of opioid use (adjusted odds ratio = 0.81, 95% confidence interval = 0.71, 0.93) than those without ADRD.

Discussion

This population‐based study suggests that elderly Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD and chronic pain conditions may have undertreatment of pain.
Sacred Revenge in Oceania
Authors: Stewart Pamela J. , Strathern Andrew
Published: December 2018

Revenge is an important motivation in human affairs relating to conflict and violence, and it is a notable feature in many societies within Oceania, where revenge is traditionally a sacred duty to the dead whose spirits demand it. Revenge instantiates a norm of reciprocity in the cosmos, ensuring a balance between violent and peaceful sequences of ritual action. Revenge further remains an important hidden factor in processes of violence beyond Oceania, revealing deep human propensities for retaliatory acts and the tendency to elevate these into principles of legitimacy. Sacred revenge may also be transcended through practices of wealth exchange.
How Not to Do Things with International Law
Authors: Peters Anne
Published: December 2018

In his recent book, Ian Hurd argues that international law is pervasive and foundational in international affairs and that the international rule of law is hegemonic over states. While the book is provocative and compelling, it fails to convince on two core points. First, Hurd does not offer a real alternative to international relations realism. Indeed, the book could unwittingly reinforce the realist stance that international law is simply power politics in disguise. Second, the book offers a problematic conception of international rule of law. What Hurd describes is at best a rule by law, or perhaps more appropriately qualified as a travesty of the rule of law.
Tolerance of lamb and mouse oocytes to cryoprotectants during vitrification
Authors: Sudiman Jaqueline , Lee Alice , Ong Kheng Ling , Yuan Wu Zi , Jansen Sarah , Temple-Smith Peter , Pangestu Mulyoto , Catt Sally
Published: December 2018

Mouse and lamb oocytes were vitrified with, or exposed to, different cryoprotectants and evaluated for their effects on their survival and developmental competence afterin vitrofertilization (IVF) and activation treatments. Control oocytes remained untreated, whilst the remainder were exposed to three different combinations of vitrification solutions [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) + ethylene glycol (EG), EG only, or propanediol (PROH) + EG] and either vitrified or left unfrozen (exposed groups). Oocytes in the control and vitrified groups underwent IVF and developmental competence was assessed to the blastocyst stage. In lambs, survival rate in vitrified oocytes was significantly lower than for oocytes in the exposed groups (P<0.05). Blastocyst development was low in vitrified oocytes compared with controls (<6% vs 38.9%,P<0.01). Parthenogenetic activation was more prevalent in vitrified lamb oocytes compared with controls (P<0.05). No evidence of zona pellucida hardening or cortical granule exocytosis could account for reduced fertilization rates in vitrified lamb oocytes. Mouse oocytes demonstrated a completely different response to lamb oocytes, with survival and parthenogenetic activation rates unaffected by the vitrification process. Treatment of mouse oocytes with DMSO + EG yielded significantly higher survival and cleavage rates than treatment with PROH + EG (87.8% and 51.7% vs 32.7% and 16.7% respectively,P<0.01), however cleavage rate for vitrified oocytes remained lower than for the controls (51.7% vs 91.7%,P<0.01) as did mean blastocyst cell number (33 ± 3.1 vs 42 ± 1.5,P<0.05). From this study, it is clear that lamb and mouse show different tolerances to cryoprotectants commonly used in vitrification procedures, and careful selection and testing of species-compatible cryoprotectants is required when vitrifying oocytes to optimize survival and embryo development.
Victorian Feminist Criticism: Recovery Work and the Care Community
Authors: Schaffer Talia
Published: December 2018

It is fitting that this article emerged from a conference in which the orderly progression of speakers was continually modified by exchanges within the conference space, for these two ways of organizing information form the subject of this article. When we aim to recover Victorian women writers, we often imagine a particular case in a timeline, selecting and extracting in a tacit model of linear orderliness. This is particularly significant in what we might call “recovery feminism,” the practice of salvaging texts that have been lost to history. Recovery feminism has dominated Victorianist feminist criticism since its development in the late 1970s, and I practiced it enthusiastically in my first book,The Forgotten Female Aesthetes. In this article, I want to acknowledge what recovery feminism has given us, but I also want to delineate the profound and often unarticulated ways it continues to structure our work, often with unintended consequences. In order to explore alternative forms of feminism, I assess theories of influence and intertextuality, and I use Charlotte M. Yonge'sThe Heir of Redclyffe(1853) as an example that both thematizes this issue and acts as a case study of forms of feminist criticism. A viable feminist criticism, I contend, ought to be able to address a novel likeHeir, andHeiritself may be able to provide a model for how to do that. Such a model of feminist practice might actually resemble the simultaneous, atemporal, interactive model of the conference day. In the digital era, we occupy an alternative chronology, in which we envision ourselves not as strenuously excavating the last disintegrating relics of the past, but rather as choosing among multiple simultaneous virtual texts, severed from markers of time or space. What might be a feminist critical practice for the way we work now?
Introduction
Authors: Schaffer Talia
Published: December 2018

In May 2017, the annual City University of New York (CUNY) Victorian Conference addressed the history of Victorian feminist criticism. Our conference coincided with the fortieth anniversary of A Literature of Their Own and the thirtieth anniversary of Desire and Domestic Fiction, affording us a chance to think about the legacy of these groundbreaking texts. Elaine Showalter, Martha Vicinus, and Nancy Armstrong spoke about their struggles to establish and maintain Victorian feminist work in the twentieth century, often against outright hostility. We also heard about issues in twenty-first-century Victorian feminist practice: Alison Booth spoke about digital-humanities codification of Victorian women's lives, Jill Ehnenn discussed queer revisions, and Maia McAleavey explored new theories of relationality, while I gave a response to Armstrong's talk. Meanwhile, Carolyn Oulton's discussion of the ongoing struggle to canonize Victorian women writers spoke to the continuous work required to make Victorian women's writing familiar to the field. It was an emotional day, for we all recognized that this might be one of the last times that the founding generation could be together to share these stories.
Reading Counterfactually
Authors: Ben-Yishai Ayelet
Published: December 2018

In thinking about Catherine Gallagher's Telling It Like It Wasn't, let us first consider three almost random, and definitely unrelated, examples:
“Is This Real?”
Authors: Lynch Deidre
Published: December 2018

One salutary effect of encountering the often bizarre materials—Leibniz's possible worlds theory, war-games played in Prussian military academies, books about the presidency of Jefferson Davis—that Catherine Gallagher has assembled in Telling It Like It Wasn't is that one obtains a better purchase on the deep weirdness that also informs normal realist novels. That weirdness is central to the realist tradition's historical fictions especially, by virtue of the peculiar manner in which they compound together fictional invention and referentiality and call on readers to traverse the ontological chasms between the two.
The Weak Protagonism of Nations
Authors: Saint-Amour Paul K.
Published: December 2018

I want to begin my remarks by steaming, as a philatelist would a coveted stamp, a single word off the envelope of Catherine Gallagher's Telling It Like It Wasn't. The word occurs in the introduction, where Gallagher is establishing the boundaries of her subject by offering a sample counterfactual-historical premise: “If John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated in 1963 and had lived to be a two-term president, the war in Vietnam would have been over by 1968.” The Kennedy premise, Gallagher goes on to say, “is not attempting to call the assassination into question or to imply that we should look into it more deeply; it is simply asserting that but for the assassination, history would likely have taken a different path. Insisting on this definition of ‘historical counterfactual’ at the outset should not only clarify the topic but also emphasize that the works under discussion are hinged onto the actual historical record, usually at a juncture that is widely recognized to have been both crucial and underdetermined.”
Magnetic Mars Engages Lay Audiences in Science
Authors: Shupla Christine , Hauck Karin , Mason Tom , Jakosky Bruce
Published: December 2018

A NASA team has developed resources to intrigue the public with the discoveries from its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. Here are four tips for communicating that science.
Fall Meeting Recommendations from AGU’s Journal Editors, Part 1
Authors: Lunn Jenny
Published: December 2018

AGU's journal editors give their recommendations for some of the most interesting oral presentations, posters, tutorials, lectures, and special events coming up at this year’s Fall Meeting.
AGU Books Program Continues to Thrive
Authors: Lunn Jenny
Published: December 2018

The past year has been a successful one for AGU’s books program, with a dozen new volumes on a range of topics in the Earth and space sciences and a new Web platform.
Martian Crater Will Be the Landing Site for a Future Rover
Authors: Cartier Kimberly
Published: December 2018

The impact crater is a dry lake bed that contains evidence of ancient water flows and perhaps signs of ancient microbial life.
Self-Guided Tour of the Geology in D. C. Buildings
Authors: Strelich Lily
Published: December 2018

The architecture of the nation’s capital reveals a secret geologic history—take a walking tour to spot the interesting fossils and minerals in the stones used to build the halls of power.
Airborne Observations of Summer Thinning of Multiyear Sea Ice Originating From the Lincoln Sea
Authors: Lange Benjamin A. , Beckers Justin F. , Casey J. Alec , Haas Christian
Published: December 2018

To better understand recent changes of Arctic sea ice thickness and extent, it is important to distinguish between the contributions of winter growth and summer melt to the sea ice mass balance. In this study we present a Lagrangian approach to quantify summer sea ice melt in which multiyear ice (MYI) floes that were surveyed by airborne electromagnetic thickness sounding within Nares Strait during summer were backtracked, using satellite imagery, to a region in close proximity (3–20 km) to spring ice thickness surveys carried out in the Lincoln Sea. Typical modal total MYI thicknesses, including ~0.4‐m snow, ranged between 3.9 and 4.7 m in the Lincoln Sea during April. Ice‐only modal thicknesses were between 2.2 and 3.0 m in Nares Strait during August. Total thinning including snow and ice was 1.3 ± 0.1 m including 0.4 ± 0.09 m of snow melt and 0.9 ± 0.2 m of ice melt. This translates to a seasonal net heat input of 305 ± 69 MJ/m2 (262 ± 60 MJ/m2 for ice only) and seasonal net heat flux of 57 ± 13 W/m2 (45 ± 10 W/m2 for ice only), which is unlikely to be explained by solar radiation fluxes alone. Furthermore, our approach provides an improvement on traditional ice mass balance buoy estimates because it integrates melt over larger spatial scales, where melt can be highly variable due to differential melt experienced between melt ponds, bare ice, hummocks, and ridges.
How Much H2O Is There in the Ocean? The Structure of Water in Sea Water
Authors: Brewer Peter G. , Peltzer Edward T. , Walz Peter M.
Published: December 2018

We report on laboratory and field Raman spectroscopy experiments on the structure of water in sea water and describe this as a function of temperature and pressure. The Raman spectrum of water/seawater is dominated by the water stretching mode band with a frequency shift in the range 2,800–3,800 cm−1. Here the hydrogen bonded (HB) clusters of several water molecules and nonhydrogen bonded (nHB, singlet H2O) forms are revealed with an isoskedastic point, similar to the isosbestic point for pH sensitive dyes. This band can be deconvolved into five Gaussian peaks, each with a specific spectroscopic assignment. We find that within the temperature range of 0–40 °C the vastly greater mass and volume of ocean water (78–85%) is in the HB forms, dominantly as (H2O)5. Without hydrogen bonding there would be no ocean, and nowhere in the bulk ocean does the simple H2O molecule exceed 20% of the total. The fraction of water molecules in the solvation shell around ions in seawater represents a third type of water, bound to an ion but not hydrogen bonded. Approximately 6% of the water molecules present at 35 salinity are in this form, and their concentration is not affected by temperature or pressure. The HB forms are a continuum of species in rapid exchange. The fraction of nHB is driven solely by temperature. We find no evidence that increased pressure changes the population of the free singlet nHB molecule; pressure drives the dominantly (H2O)5 population toward a lower volume, nested, molecular state.
The archaeological ensemble from Campoverde (Agro Pontino, central Italy): new constraints on the Last Interglacial sea level markers
Authors: Marra F. , Petronio C. , Ceruleo P. , Di Stefano G. , Florindo F. , Gatta M. , La Rosa M. , Rolfo M. F. , Salari L.
Published: December 2018

We present a combined geomorphological and biochronological study aimed at providing age constraints to the deposits forming a wide paleo-surface in the coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea, south of Anzio promontory (central Italy). We review the faunal assemblage recovered in Campoverde, evidencing the occurrence of the modern fallow deer subspeciesDama dama dama, which in peninsular Italy is not present before MIS 5e, providing a post-quem terminus of 125 ka for the deposit hosting the fossil remains. The geomorphological reconstruction shows that Campoverde is located within the highest of three paleosurfaces progressively declining towards the present coast, at average elevations of 36, 26 and 15 m a.s.l. The two lowest paleosurfaces match the elevation of the previously recognized marine terraces in this area; we define a new, upper marine terrace corresponding to the 36 m paleosurface, which we name Campoverde complex. Based on the provided evidence of an age as young as MIS 5e for this terrace, we discuss the possibility that previous identification of a tectonically stable MIS 5e coastline ranging 10–8 m a.s.l. in this area should be revised, with significant implications on assessment of the amplitude of sea-level oscillations during the Last Interglacial in the Mediterranean Sea.
Comparative genome analysis of marine purple sulfur bacterium Marichromatium gracile YL28 reveals the diverse nitrogen cycle mechanisms and habitat-specific traits
Authors: Zhu Bitong , Zhang Xiaobo , Zhao Chungui , Chen Shicheng , Yang Suping
Published: December 2018

Mangrove ecosystems are characteristic of the high salinity, limited nutrients and S-richness. Marichromatium gracile YL28 (YL28) isolated from mangrove tolerates the high concentrations of nitrite and sulfur compounds and efficiently eliminates them. However, the molecular mechanisms of nitrite and sulfur compounds utilization and the habitat adaptation remain unclear in YL28. We sequenced YL28 genome and further performed the comparative genome analysis in 36 purple bacteria including purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) and purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB). YL28 has 6 nitrogen cycle pathways (up to 40 genes), and possibly removes nitrite by denitrification, complete assimilation nitrate reduction and fermentative nitrate reduction (DNRA). Comparative genome analysis showed that more nitrogen utilization genes were detected in PNSB than those in PSB. The partial denitrification pathway and complete assimilation nitrate reduction were reported in PSB and DNRA was reported in purple bacteria for the first time. The three sulfur metabolism genes such as oxidation of sulfide, reversed dissimilatory sulfite reduction and sox system allowed to eliminate toxic sulfur compounds in the mangrove ecosystem. Several unique stress response genes facilitate to the tolerance of the high salinity environment. The CRISPR systems and the transposon components in genomic islands (GIs) likely contribute to the genome plasticity in purple bacteria.
Crystal structure and mutation analysis revealed that DREP2 CIDE forms a filament-like structure with features differing from those of DREP4 CIDE
Authors: Ha Hyun Ji , Park Hyun Ho
Published: December 2018

Cell death-inducing DFF45-like effect (CIDE) domain-containing proteins, DFF40, DFF45, CIDE-A, CIDE-B, and FSP27, play important roles in apoptotic DNA fragmentation and lipid homeostasis. The function of DFF40/45 in apoptotic DNA fragmentation is mediated by CIDE domain filament formation. Although our recent structural study of DREP4 CIDE revealed the first filament-like structure of the CIDE domain and its functional importance, the filament structure of DREP2 CIDE is unclear because this structure was not helical in the asymmetric unit. In this study, we present the crystal structure and mutagenesis analysis of the DREP2 CIDE mutant, which confirmed that DREP2 CIDE also forms a filament-like structure with features differing from those of DREP4 CIDE.
Two-frame apparent motion presented with an inter-stimulus interval reverses optokinetic responses in mice
Authors: Miura Kenichiro , Sugita Yuko , Furukawa Takahisa , Kawano Kenji
Published: December 2018

Two successive image frames presented with a blank inter-stimulus interval (ISI) induce reversals of perceived motion in humans. This illusory effect is a manifestation of the temporal properties of image filters embedded in the visual processing pathway. In the present study, ISI experiments were performed to identify the temporal characteristics of vision underlying optokinetic responses (OKRs) in mice. These responses are thought to be mediated by subcortical visual processing. OKRs of C57BL/6 J mice, induced by a 1/4-wavelength shift of a square-wave grating presented with and without an ISI were recorded. When a 1/4-wavelength shift was presented without, or with shorter ISIs (≤106.7 ms), OKRs were induced in the direction of the shift, with progressively decreasing amplitude as the ISI increased. However, when ISIs were 213.3 ms or longer, OKR direction reversed. Similar dependence on ISIs was also obtained using a sinusoidal grating. We subsequently quantitatively estimated temporal filters based on the ISI effects. We found that filters with biphasic impulse response functions could reproduce the ISI and temporal frequency dependence of the mouse OKR. Comparison with human psychophysics and behaviors suggests that mouse vision has more sluggish response dynamics to light signals than that of humans.
An amine functionalized zirconium metal–organic framework as an effective chemiresistive sensor for acidic gases
Authors: DMello Marilyn Esclance , Sundaram Nalini G. , Singh Akash , Singh Abhishek K. , Kalidindi Suresh Babu
Published: December 2018

Pore surface functionalization of a metal–organic framework (MOF) with an amine moiety has turned an innocent MOF into a chemiresistive sensor for acidic gases.
Enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives via chiral-at-metal rhodium complex catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition
Authors: Qurban Saira , Du Yu , Gong Jun , Lin Shao-Xia , Kang Qiang
Published: December 2018

An asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition of C,N-cyclic azomethine imines with α,β-unsaturated 2-acyl imidazoles catalyzed by a chiral-at-metal rhodium complex has been developed.
Determination of antimony in water samples by hydride generation coupled with atmospheric pressure glow discharge atomic emission spectrometry
Authors: Zhu Zhenli , Yang Chun , Yu Peiwen , Zheng Hongtao , Liu Zhifu , Xing Zhi , Hu Shenghong
Published: December 2018

A low power (∼10 W), miniaturized atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) source was coupled with a hydride generation (HG) system for sensitive determination of antimony in water samples with atomic emission spectrometry (AES).
Reversal and non-reversal ferroelectric polarizations in a Y-type hexaferrite
Authors: Wang Yongqiang , Zhang Shile , Zhu W. K. , Ling Langsheng , Zhang Lei , Qu Zhe , Pi Li , Tong Wei , Tian Mingliang
Published: December 2018

The Cr ion doped Y-type hexaferrite Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe11.4Cr0.6O22 has been found to be a promising magnetoelectric material for the non-zero spontaneous electric polarization. A newly emerging transition at 183 K separates the low-field ferroelectric phase into two regions with reversal and non-reversal polarization respectively.
Unilateral boundary control for a suspension cable system of a helicopter with horizontal motion
Authors: Ren Yong , Chen Mou , Liu Jianye
Published: December 2018

In this study, the anti‐swing control is investigated for a suspension cable system of a helicopter subject to external disturbance. First, a disturbance observer is designed to compensate for the effect of the external disturbance in finite time. Next, based on the proposed disturbance observer and the given desired trajectory, a unilateral boundary control law is proposed to eliminate the vibration by using Lyapunov's direct method. Under the designed control scheme, the ultimately boundedness of closed‐loop is guaranteed. Moreover, the vibration range and trajectory tracking error will converge to a small neighbourhood of zero by selecting suitable parameters. Simulation results verify the rationality and validity of proposed control scheme.
Multi‐stream 3D CNN structure for human action recognition trained by limited data
Authors: Chenarlogh Vahid Ashkani , Razzazi Farbod
Published: December 2018

Here, the authors proposed a solution to improve the training performance in limited training data case for human action recognition. The authors proposed three different convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures for this purpose. At first, the authors generated four different channels of information by optical flows and gradients in the horizontal and vertical directions from each frame to apply to three‐dimensional (3D) CNNs. Then, the authors proposed three architectures, which are single‐stream, two‐stream, and four‐stream 3D CNNs. In the single‐stream model, the authors applied four channels of information from each frame to a single stream. In the two‐stream architecture, the authors applied optical flow‐x and optical flow‐y into one stream and gradient‐x and gradient‐y to another stream. In the four‐stream architecture, the authors applied each one of the information channels to four separate streams. Evaluating the architectures in an action recognition system, the system was assessed on IXMAS, a data set which has been recorded simultaneously by five cameras. The authors showed that the results of four‐stream architecture were better than other architectures, achieving 87.5, 91.66, 91.11, 88.05, and 81.94% recognition rates for cameras 0–4, respectively, using four‐stream structure (88.05% recognition rate in average).
Statistical modelling comparison of wearable UWB signal propagation in antithetical corridor environments
Authors: Catherwood Philip A. , Scanlon William G.
Published: December 2018

We explore the potential of mathematically modelling the ultra‐wideband (3.1–6.3 GHz) off‐body radio channel using the same statistical distribution for corridor environments. Radio channel descriptive parameters of received signal strength, mean excess delay (τmean) and root mean square (RMS) delay spread (τRMS) are presented, modelled and compared for five indoor corridor environments. Statistical distributions for these corridors exhibit strong similarities despite each possessing starkly different geometrical and physical characteristics, and test arrangements. Each of the corridor environments was best modelled by the Rician distribution for the line‐of‐sight (LOS) received power and the Lognormal distribution for the non‐LOS (NLOS) received power. Distribution of tmean was best modelled by the normal distribution for both LOS and NLOS scenarios. The distribution of τRMS was likewise best modelled by the normal distribution for both LOS and NLOS arrangements. For corridors 1 and 2 (considered to exhibit the greatest differences), a finite element study was conducted to substantiate that the results cannot be dismissed as statistical anomalies created by the averaging effect over long journey paths. This work is relevant for the mathematical modelling of UWB off‐body channel sounding in interior corridors and may reduce efforts required to model future indoor corridor variants.
Single‐fed 4G/5G multiband 2.4/5.5/28 GHz antenna
Authors: Yassin Mohammed E. , Mohamed Hesham A. , Abdallah Esmat A.F. , El‐Hennawy Hadia S.
Published: December 2018

In this study, a single‐fed printed multiband antenna for 4G/5G wireless communication systems is presented. The proposed multiband antenna consists of Franklin strip monopole antenna to cover 4G, and wireless applications (WLAN and WiMAX), and a rectangular patch antenna that is designed to cover 5G band. Furthermore, a modified compact microstrip resonant cell low‐pass filter is printed between the antenna parts to allow feeding the Franklin antenna at low‐frequency bands while isolating the Franklin antenna from the rectangular patch at the 5G band. The proposed antenna is designed on Rogers 5880 with compact size 45 × 40 × 0.508 mm3. The proposed antenna is utilised to operate at triple band: 2.4, 5.5 and 28 GHz with wide impedance bandwidth (15.8, 23.5 and 11.3%) and the gain reaches (1.95, 3.76 and 7.35 dBi).
Wideband reconfigurable entire Ku‐band metasurface beam‐steerable reflector for satellite communications
Authors: Rotshild David , Abramovich Amir
Published: December 2018

A novel reconfigurable metasurface beam‐steerable reflector for satellite communication which covers the entire Ku‐band, and supports 300 MHz bandwidth, is suggested in this work. The reflector is based on a new type of electromagnetic bandgap. Varactor diodes are used to change each unit cell capacitance of the metasurface reflector allowing phase spatial control of the reflected beam. This approach is known in the literature and is presented in many sub 6 GHz reflector studies and very few in X‐band. For higher frequencies such as Ku‐band, the size of the unit cell should be reduced. Thus, the dimensions of the varactor diode are no longer negligible relative to the metasurface unit cell dimensions, causing significant absorbance and scattering. Elimination of that absorbance and scattering can be achieved if the varactor diode is located on the back side of the suggested reflector, without deviating from the lumped element model approximation, thus enabling low‐cost voltage‐controlled reflector surface for Ku‐band. Manufacturing considerations for the new suggested wide dynamic stirring range Ku‐band reflector are given. Furthermore, the simulation results show wide bandwidth support and good performances for normal and off‐normal incident radiation to the reflector surface.
Circularly polarised printed tilted beam antenna
Authors: Rao Patnam Hanumantha , Praveen Gundeti , Anukumar Chandragiri , Kailash Godawarthy , Verma Yogesh Kumar
Published: December 2018

A cavity‐backed printed crank‐line array antenna is presented as an inverted microstrip line structure for producing high gain circularly polarised (CP) tilted beam. The crank‐line antenna element, in travelling wave condition, is fed with a printed Z‐feed and terminated at the other end with a vertical open‐ended printed stub. Single element exhibits an impedance bandwidth of 20% (3.6–4.4 GHz) for a VSWR<2. A beam tilt of 35° with CP gain around 7.8 dBic is measured for an axial ratio of 2 dB at 4 GHz. A cavity‐backed printed crank‐line array with a tilted beam is formed by connecting two open crank‐line radiation elements. The measured gain of the array is around 10.5 dBic across the operating frequency for an axial ratio <3 dB. A beam tilt of 46° is achieved.
Hybrid converter topologies for dc transmission systems
Authors: Adam Grain Philip , Alsokhiry Fahad , Abdelsalam Ibrahim , Fletcher John , Xu Lie , Al‐Turki Yusuf
Published: December 2018

This study presents types 1 and 2 hybrid converters with reduced power circuit complexity compared with the mixed cell modular multilevel converter (MC‐MMC). The type 1 converter is formed by replacing the director switches of the alternate arm converter by high‐voltage (HV) half‐bridge (HB) cells rated for half of the dc‐link voltage. Also, it resembles special case of MC‐MMC, where the entire HB cells of each arm are lumped into a single HV HB cell, with both capacitors of the half‐ and full‐bridge cells are exposed to fundamental current as in the conventional MMC. The upper and lower arms of the type 2 converter resemble a front‐to‐front connection of two three‐phase hybrid cascaded two‐level converters, where the cell capacitors of the three‐phase two‐level converters that act as director switches do not experience fundamental currents. Therefore, the type 2 converter offers compact design compared with type 1 converter and the MC‐MMC. The technical viabilities of the proposed hybrid converters are assessed using simulations, with both converters modelled in MATLAB–Simulink using electromagnetic transient simulation approach, considering normal and transient conditions. Experimental results obtained from single‐phase type 1 converter confirm the practical viability of the proposed converters.
Enhanced rotor field‐oriented control of multiphase induction machines based on symmetrical components theory
Authors: Liu Zicheng , Zheng Zedong , Wang Qingfeng , Li Yongdong
Published: December 2018

Fault‐tolerant capability greatly promoted the application of multiphase machines on safety‐critical occasions, and fault‐tolerant control strategies are required to suppress the torque ripples. Based on the generalised symmetrical components (SCs) theory, a general expression of the independent SCs is derived during the fault‐tolerant operation of symmetrical multiphase machines in this study, and coefficients of the four basic rotating components in the general expressions are calculated for specific open‐circuit conditions. Then the bidirectional rotating proportional–integral controllers are designed to control all the rotating components in each SC. Considering control loops for all the independent SCs, an enhanced rotor field‐oriented control fault‐tolerant strategy is proposed for symmetrical multiphase induction machines (IMs) with any phase number m. Furthermore, additional rotating current controllers in the first SC control loop are added to reduce the low‐order current harmonics during the fault‐tolerant operation. Experimental evaluations in terms of the transient, dynamic and harmonic performances on both five‐phase and nine‐phase IM drive platforms are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed fault‐tolerant strategy.