bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
USING A TAM-TOE MODEL TO EXPLORE FACTORS OF BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM) ADOPTION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Authors: Qin Xuan , Shi Ye , Lyu Kuncan , Mo Yiyi
Published: March 2020

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been adopted as the main technology in the construction industry in many developed countries due to its notable advantages. However, its applications in developing countries are limited. This paper aims to investigate factors which impact on BIM adoption in the construction industry. Twelve external variables were identified by an integrated TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) and TOE (Technology Organization Environment) framework and a systematic review of past studies. A survey was conducted in development, construction, design and consulting companies to investigate the impacts of these 12 external variables on BIM adoption. Using the interval Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method, retrieved 120 completed questionnaires were analysed. The “Requirements from national policies” was found to be the most significant driving variable of BIM adoption by investigated companies. A further simulation analysis revealed that the “Intention to Use” BIM varied significantly with the change of “Requirements from national policies”, “Standardization of BIM”, and “Popularity of BIM in the industry”. The results lead to the conclusion that government incentives play critical roles in BIM adoption in China. Policy makers could put more efforts into motivation strategies, standardization measures, and BIM culture cultivation to promote BIM applications in the construction industry.
MODEL OF EMISSION OF EXHAUST COMPOUNDS OF JET AIRCRAFT IN CRUISE PHASE ENABLING TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION
Authors: Pawlak Małgorzata , Majka Andrzej , Kuzniar Michal , Pawluczy Jowita
Published: March 2020

Nowadays, air transport is the most modern and the most dynamically developing branch of transport.
This intensive development of air transport causes the continuous increase in emissions of pollutants, mainly greenhouse gases,
leading to the deepening of the greenhouse effect, which in turn leads to irreversible global climate change. In order
to optimize air communication and make it even more economical and environmentally friendly, such activities as e.g. SESAR project
are undertaken. One of the parts of this project is the research on minimizing fuel consumption and emissions of pollutants
in jet engine exhausts. The paper presents a developed model of emission and main pollutants (NOx, CO, HC and CO2) in the exhausts
of jet engines of a passenger aircraft during a cruise phase. Applying simple optimization tools, such as e.g. the Dijkstra’s
algorithm, this model was verified by the optimization of a trajectory of a jet aircraft in a cruise phase on an exemplary route
in terms of minimizing emission of selected harmful compounds in jet engines exhausts. To meet the aim of the research, it was
necessary to develop a computer program that determines a two-dimensional grid graph, assigns its appropriate weights to its edges
and passing along these edges, determines the optimal trajectory of a given flight between two indicated start and end vertices.
The developed research methodology is universal and can be applied for any jet passenger aircraft.
The Origin of Binary Black Hole Mergers
Authors: Piran Zoe , Piran Tsvi
Published: March 2020

Recently Venumadhav et al. proposed a new pipeline to analyze LIGO–Virgo Collaboration’s O1–O2 data, and discovered eight new binary black hole (BBH) mergers, including one with a high effective spin,

. This discovery helps to clarify the origin of the observed BBHs and the dynamical capture versus field binaries debate. Using a tide-wind model that characterizes the late phases of binary evolution and captures the essence of field binary spin evolution, we show that the observed

distribution favors this model over capture. However, given the current limited sample size, capture scenarios (isotropic models) cannot be ruled out. Observations of roughly 100 merges will enable us to distinguish between the different formation scenarios. However, if as expected, both formation channels operate, it may be difficult to resolve their exact fraction.
EUCLIA. II. On the Puzzling Large UV to X-Ray Lags in Seyfert Galaxies
Authors: Cai Zhen-Yi , Wang Jun-Xian , Sun Mouyuan
Published: March 2020

Recent intense X-ray and UV monitoring campaigns with Swift have detected clear UV lags behind X-ray in several local active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The UV to X-ray lags are often larger (by a factor of up to ∼20) than expected if the UV variation is simply due to the X-ray reprocessing. We previously developed a model in which the UV/optical variations are attributed to disk turbulences, and the effect of large-scale turbulence is considered. Our model, which overcomes many severe challenges to the reprocessing scheme, can explain the observed variations in NGC 5548, particularly the correlations and lags among the UV/optical bands. In this work, assuming the corona heating is associated with turbulences in the inner accretion disk, we extend our study to model the correlations and lags between the X-ray and UV/optical bands. We find that our model, without the need of light echoing, can well reproduce the observed UV to X-ray lags and the optical to UV lags simultaneously in four local Seyfert galaxies, including NGC 4151, NGC 4395, NGC 4593, and NGC 5548. In our scenario, relatively larger UV to X-ray lag is expected for AGN with smaller innermost disk radius and thus more compact corona. Interestingly, for these Seyfert galaxies studied in this work, sources with relatively larger UV to X-ray lags do have broader Fe Kα lines, indicative of relativistic broadening due to more compact corona and smaller innermost disk radius. If confirmed with more X-ray and UV monitoring campaigns, this interesting discovery would provide a new probe to the inner disk/corona.
Additions to the genus Chroogomphus (Boletales, Gomphidiaceae) from Pakistan
Authors: Kiran Munazza , Sattar Ammara , Zamir Khushbakht , Haelewaters Danny , Nasir Khalid Abdul
Published: March 2020

With only three published reports, the genus Chroogomphus (Boletales, Gomphidiaceae) is poorly studied in Pakistan. During recent sampling events in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province, Pakistan, several collections of Chroogomphus were made, representing undescribed taxa. Based on morphological and molecular data, two new species are described: Chroogomphus pakistanicus and C. pruinosus. We present a description and illustrations for both taxa. A molecular phylogenetic reconstruction, based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1–5.8S–ITS2) barcode region, shows that C. pakistanicus and C. pruinosus are placed in two different subgenera of Chroogomphus (subg. Chroogomphus and subg. Siccigomphus, respectively).
Biological activity of mesenchymal stem cells secretome as a basis for cell-free therapeutic approach
Authors: Pokrovskaya Liubov A. , Zubareva Ekaterina V. , Nadezhdin Sergey V. , Lysenko Anna S. , Litovkina Tatyana L.
Published: March 2020

Mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells (MSCs) are self-renewing, cultured adult stem cells which secrete a complex set of multiple soluble biologically active molecules such as chemokines, and cytokines, cell adhesion molecules, lipid medi­ators, interleukins (IL), growth factors (GFs), hormones, micro RNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), messenger RNAs (mRNAs), exosomes, as well as microvesicles, the secretome. MSCs of various origin, including adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs), human uterine cervical stem cells (hUCESCs), may be good candidates for obtaining secretome-derived products. Different population of MSCs can secret different factors which could have anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-fibrotic activities, a neuroprotective effect, could improve bone, muscle, liver regeneration and wound healing. Therefore, the paracrine activity of condi­tioned medium obtained when cultivating MSCs, due to a plethora of bioactive factors, was assumed to have the most prominent cell-free therapeutic impact and can serve as a better option in the field of regenerative medicine in future.
Mathematical modelling of a microRNA-regulated gene network in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Haque Mainul ,   Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2UP, UK, King John R. , Preston Simon , Loose Matthew , de Pomerai David ,   Institute of Genetics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK,   SRBC Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Published: March 2020

MicroRNAs are known to regulate gene expression either by repressing translation or by directing sequence-specific degradation of target mRNAs, and are therefore considered to be key regulators of gene expression. A gene-regulatory pathway involving heterochronic genes controls the temporal pattern of Caenorhabditis elegans postembryonic cell lineages. Based on experimental data, we propose and analyze a mathematical model of a gene-regulatory module in this nematode involving two heterochronic genes, lin-14 and lin-28, which are both regulated by lin-4, encoding a microRNA. The conditions under which the model experiences bifurcations are investigated. We determine the parameter regimes for which the system exhibits monostability and bistability, the latter associated with a biological switch. We observe in particular that bistability occurs without co-operativity, in keeping with knowledge about the regulatory behaviour of lin-14 and lin-28. The analytical results are confirmed by numerical simulations that illustrate how the microRNA lin-4 plays a crucial role in determining of the qualitative dynamics of the model.
Competencies Required of Engineering Students Conducting International Projects
Authors: Sankar Chetan S.
Published: March 2020

Given the importance of students working in international environments, this study identifies the important competencies that engineering students need so that they could work effectively. The list of competencies was identified using a realist synthesis methodology. The context of the research was thirty-seven U.S. students who worked on twenty-two international projects with companies and research centers in India. The outcome was development of multi-media case studies based on the projects. The students spent a semester preparing for the project, eight weeks working on the project, and a semester developing the case studies. Each project was evaluated and students interviewed to identify the competencies that were utilized by the students. Analysis of these evaluations showed that successful projects trained the students to be competent in the technology domain of the project and encouraged them to communicate well with their counterparts.
Mathematical Model of Melting of Solid Sulfur Particles when Loaded into a Melting Bath
Authors: Iakovlev Pavel V. , Lebedev Vladimir A.
Published: March 2020

The study solved the problem of determining the technological mode of operation of the device for loading solid lumpy and granulated sulfur into a melting bath with molten liquid sulfur. For this it is necessary to solve two main problems: to determine the method of loading solid sulfur into the melt, to calculate the main design and technological parameters to ensure the required performance of the smelting bath. As a result of experimental studies, the mode of operation of the loading device was obtained, during which the partial melting of the surface of sulfur particles in the surface layer of the melt occurred. This led to the adhesion of particles to each other, the formation of conglomerates having a size that is much larger compared with that of particles of the initial particle size distribution. As a result of this phenomenon, the melting rate and the melting bath were significantly reduced, filled with a solid phase. As a result of the study, a model was developed and the problem of calculating the limiting modes of the loading device operation was solved for preventing solid particles from sticking together.
Laser Modification: Increasing the Wear Resistance of Friction Surfaces
Authors: Shastin V.I. , Kargapol’tsev S.K.
Published: March 2020

The article deals with topical issues of studying the physical, mechanical and tribological parameters of the surface layer of machine parts subjected to laser processing. Various options for modifying mating surfaces are evaluated and analyzed. The data of microstructural analysis and indicators of wear resistance are presented. A theoretical model of the wear of heat-strengthened surfaces is proposed, explaining the mechanism for increasing their wear resistance as a result of homogenization of the microstructure of a special surface layer with increased bearing capacity. It is experimentally confirmed that the greatest wear resistance is observed in friction units during mutual modification of mating surfaces.
Peculiarities of Chromium Coating in Low-Concentrated Electrolytes when Repairing Details
Authors: Polischuk S.D. , Stekolnikov Yu.A. , Churilov D.G. , Byshov N.V. , Borychev S.N. , Uspenskiy I.A. , Arapov I.S.
Published: March 2020

The physical-mechanical properties of chromium coatings from low-concentrated electrolytes with additions of organic substances were studied when comparing with similar ones from standard sulphate electrolyte. It has been established that the properties of chromium coatings from low concentrated electrolytes are superior to those of standard sulphate electrolyte. An additional advantage of low-concentrated electrolytes is less carry-over of chromium anhydrate through ventilation and wash water, which reduces the cost of cleaning them when they are discharged. However, under operating conditions, more frequent adjustment of the composition of such electrolytes is required. The electrolyte is distinguished by a good scattering over the surface of parts and covering power when restored to size on a thickness of 250-300 μm of hydraulic cylinders of agricultural and mining equipment, having a length of up to 4 m and a diameter of up to 0.5 m, an increased current output of up to 24-36 % and up to 3-4 times higher corrosion resistance, micro hardness of up to 1,300 kg / mm2, determined by the conditions of deposition relative to the standard sulfate electrolyte of chromium plating. Chromium coatings from a low-concentration electrolyte with organic additives passed the recommended tests for adhesion, tearing, wear and micro hardness according to GOST methods. Their use at the enterprises of technical service for repair of agricultural parts promises economic advantages in the field of practical application (higher deposition rate and less application time), as well as lower costs for environmental protection.
Application of Duplex Technology for Modification of Friction Pair Surfaces
Authors: Vasilkov D.V. , Aleksandrov A.S. , Golikova V.V. , Tarikov I.Ya.
Published: March 2020

The set of studies on modified superficial layer friction pair parts made of X155CrVMo12-1steel was discussed. The said layer is produced according to the duplex process of nitriding and oxidation and is investigated using methods of metallography, X-ray diffraction analysis and micro-hardness measurement based on the oblique and transverse polished sections of the studied surfaces. The results produced proved the duplex process efficiency.
Application of the Method of X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis to Determine the Composition of Glassy and Crystalline Alloys of the Systems AsxS1-x and AsxSe1-x
Authors: Egorova Alena Yu. , Lomakina Elena S.
Published: March 2020

The article presents an X-ray fluorescence analysis of chalcogenide glassy semiconductors. The standard method is applied to determine the concentration of arsenic, selenium, and sulfur in alloys. This technique, the quantitative composition of the glasses is defined with an accuracy of ± 0.0002.
GRASP55 Is Dispensable for Normal Hematopoiesis but Necessary for Myc-Dependent Leukemic Growth
Authors: Bailly Anne-Laure , Grenier Julien M. P. , Cartier-Michaud Amandine , Bardin Florence , Balzano Marielle , Goubard Armelle , Lissitzky Jean-Claude , De Grandis Maria , Mancini Stéphane J. C. , Serge Arnauld , Aurrand-Lions Michel
Published: March 2020

Grasp55 is a ubiquitous Golgi stacking protein involved in autophagy, protein trafficking, and glucose deprivation sensing. The function of Grasp55 in protein trafficking has been attributed to its PDZ-mediated interaction with the C-terminal PDZ-binding motifs of protein cargos. We have recently shown that such an interaction occurs between Grasp55 and the adhesion molecule Jam-C, which plays a central role in stemness maintenance of hematopoietic and spermatogenic cells. Accordingly, we have found that Grasp55-deficient mice suffer from spermatogenesis defects similar to Jam-C knockout mice. However, whether Grasp55 is involved in the maintenance of immunohematopoietic homeostasis through regulation of protein transport and Jam-C expression remains unknown. In this study, we show that Grasp55 deficiency does not affect hematopoietic stem cell differentiation, engraftment, or mobilization, which are known to depend on expression of Grasp55-dependent protein cargos. In contrast, using an Myc-dependent leukemic model addicted to autophagy, we show that knockdown of Grasp55 in leukemic cells reduces spleen and bone marrow tumor burden upon i.v. leukemic engraftment. This is not due to reduced homing of Grasp55-deficient cells to these organs but to increased spontaneous apoptosis of Grasp55-deficient leukemic cells correlated with increased sensitivity of the cells to glucose deprivation. These results show that Grasp55 plays a role in Myc-transformed hematopoietic cells but not in normal hematopoietic cells in vivo.
Cutting Edge: Characterization of Human Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells at Different Infection Sites in Patients with Tuberculosis
Authors: Yang Qianting , Zhang Mingxia , Chen Qi , Chen Weixin , Wei Cailin , Qiao Kun , Ye Taosheng , Deng Guofang , Li Jin , Zhu Jialou , Cai Yi , Chen Xinchun , Ma Li
Published: March 2020

Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRMs) have a key role in mediating the host defense against tuberculosis (TB) in mice, but their human counterparts have not been well characterized. In this article, we recruited patients with TB and determined TRM frequency, trafficking, activation marker expression, and cytokine production by flow or mass cytometry at different infection sites, including peripheral blood, pleural fluid, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lung. We found a high frequency of TRMs at all infection sites apart from the peripheral blood. These TRMs exhibited a memory phenotype, were highly activated (based on CD38 and HLA-DR expression), and expressed high levels of trafficking (CCR5 and CXCR6) and exhaustion (PD-1) markers. When stimulated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, TRMs secreted cytokines, including IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2, and exhibited a multifunctional phenotype. TRMs limited intracellular M. tuberculosis replication in macrophages. These data inform our current understanding of immunosurveillance at different infection sites in patients with TB.
Thrombin regulates the ability of Schwann cells to support neuritogenesis and to maintain the integrity of the nodes of Ranvier
Authors: Pompili Elena , Ciraci Viviana , Leone Stefano , De Franchis Valerio , Familiari Pietro , Matassa Roberto , Familiari Giuseppe , Tata Ada Maria , Fumagalli Lorenzo , Fabrizi Cinzia
Published: March 2020

Schwann cells (SC) are characterized by a remarkable plasticity that enables them to promptly respond to nerve injury promoting axonal regeneration. In peripheral nerves after damage SC convert to a repair-promoting phenotype activating a sequence of supportive functions that drive myelin clearance, prevent neuronal death, and help axon growth and guidance. Regeneration of peripheral nerves after damage correlates inversely with thrombin levels. Thrombin is not only the key regulator of the coagulation cascade but also a protease with hormone-like activities that affects various cells of the central and peripheral nervous system mainly through the protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1). Aim of the present study was to investigate if and how thrombin could affect the axon supportive functions of SC. In particular, our results show that the activation of PAR1 in rat SC cultures with low levels of thrombin or PAR1 agonist peptides induces the release of molecules, which favor neuronal survival and neurite elongation. Conversely, the stimulation of SC with high levels of thrombin or PAR1 agonist peptides drives an opposite effect inducing SC to release factors that inhibit the extension of neurites. Moreover, high levels of thrombin administered to sciatic nerve ex vivo explants induce a dramatic change in SC morphology causing disappearance of the Cajal bands, enlargement of the Schmidt-Lanterman incisures and calcium-mediated demyelination of the paranodes. Our results indicate thrombin as a novel modulator of SC plasticity potentially able to favor or inhibit SC pro-regenerative properties according to its level at the site of lesion.
Anti-aging and anti-tumor effect of FPP® supplementation
Authors: Logozzi Mariantonia , Di Raimo Rossella , Mizzoni Davide , Fais Stefano
Published: March 2020

The beneficial effect of FPP® as antioxidant is known. Here we summarize recent data supporting future implementation of FPP® in tumor treatment and in controlling aging at the molecular level. We first showed that oral FPP® is able to control tumor growth and with inducing a potent and systemic anti-oxidant reaction (i.e. reduced ROS and increased GSH and SOD-1). Then we showed that FPP® is able to markedly increase the body anti-oxidant reaction together with increasing both telomerase activity in the blood and the telomeres length in bone marrow and ovary of treated mice as compared to the untreated mice.
Factors contributing to drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment outcome in five countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region
Authors: Auer Christian , Mazitov Rais , Makhmudov Alisher , Pirmahmadzoda Bobojon , Skrahina Alena , Dobre Andrei , Sécula Florence , Bosch-Capblanch Xavier , Van den Boom Martin , Migliori Giovanni Battista , Mdivani Nino , Yassin Mohammed A.
Published: March 2020

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a global challenge and a major contributor of death from anti-microbial resistance. With the main aim to determine factors contributing to treatment outcomes observed among DR-TB patients in the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), a multi-method study was conducted in: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Romania, Tajikistan and Ukraine. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used for data collection and analysis. The quantitative approaches included a desk review of documents related to the DR-TB responses and an analysis of clinical records of DR-TB patients in selected health facilities of the five countries. Qualitative methods included in-depth interviews with national TB programme (NTP) managers, other healthcare providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) workers, as well as interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with DR-TB patients. The desk review of 38 reports identified as the main challenges to address DR-TB financial and/or management issues and adverse events of the medicines. The most common recommendations related to treatment outcome focussed on general programme management, treatment regimen composition, clinical management and social support for the patients. In all the five countries the NTPs still have a vertical structure. Some integration into the primary health care system (PHC) already exists but further involvement of PHC facilities is feasible and recommended. Interviews with stakeholders indicated that alcoholism and homelessness and a lack of appropriate response to these issues remain as major challenges for a sub-set of patients. Civil society groups, NGOs and communities are substantially engaged in providing different services to DR-TB patients, especially in Ukraine, Romania and Tajikistan. Data from clinical records of 212 patients revealed that independent risk factors for unfavourable treatment outcome (death, loss to follow-up, failure) were culture-positivity at two months of treatment, history of treatment with second-line drugs and homelessness. More powerful, less toxic and shorter oral treatment regimens as well as comprehensive patient support are needed to improve treatment outcome of patients with DR-TB.
Aerosol hygroscopicity and its link to chemical composition in the coastal atmosphere of Mace Head: marine and continental air masses
Authors: Xu Wei , Ovadnevaite Jurgita , Fossum Kirsten N. , Lin Chunshui , Huang Ru-Jin , O'Dowd Colin , Ceburnis Darius
Published: March 2020

Abstract. Chemical composition and hygroscopicity closure of marine
aerosol in high time resolution has not been achieved yet due to the
difficulty involved in measuring the refractory sea-salt concentration in near-real time.
In this study, attempts were made to achieve closure for marine aerosol
based on a humidified tandem differential mobility analyser (HTDMA) and a
high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) for
wintertime aerosol at Mace Head, Ireland. The aerosol hygroscopicity was
examined as a growth factor (GF) at 90 % relative humidity (RH). The
corresponding GFs of 35, 50, 75, 110 and 165 nm particles were
1.54±0.26, 1.60±0.29, 1.66±0.31, 1.72±0.29 and 1.78±0.30 (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. Two contrasting air
masses (continental and marine) were selected to study the temporal
variation in hygroscopicity; the results demonstrated a clear diurnal
pattern in continental air masses, whereas no diurnal pattern was found in
marine air masses. In addition, wintertime aerosol was observed to be
largely externally mixed in both of the contrasting air masses. Concurrent high
time resolution PM1 (particulate matter <1 µm) chemical
composition data from combined AMS and MAAP measurements, comprising organic
matter, non-sea-salt sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, sea salt and black carbon
(BC), were used to predict aerosol hygroscopicity with the
Zdanovskii–Stokes–Robinson (ZSR) mixing rule. Overall, good agreement
(an R2 value of 0.824 and a slope of 1.02) was found between the growth
factor of 165 nm particles measured by the HTDMA (GF_HTDMA) and the growth factor derived from the AMS + MAAP bulk
chemical composition (GF_AMS). Over
95 % of the estimated GF values exhibited less than a 10 % deviation for the
whole dataset, and this deviation was mostly attributed to the neglected
mixing state as a result of the bulk PM1 composition.
Testing the near-field Gaussian plume inversion flux quantification technique using unmanned aerial vehicle sampling
Authors: Shah Adil , Pitt Joseph R. , Ricketts Hugo , Leen J. Brian , Williams Paul I. , Kabbabe Khristopher , Gallagher Martin W. , Allen Grant
Published: March 2020

Abstract. Methane emission fluxes from many facility-scale sources
may be poorly quantified, potentially leading to uncertainties in the global
methane budget. Accurate atmospheric measurement-based flux quantification
is urgently required to address this. This paper describes the first test
(using unbiased sampling) of a near-field Gaussian plume inversion (NGI)
technique, suitable for facility-scale flux quantification, using a
controlled release of methane gas. Two unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV)
platforms were used to perform 22 flight surveys downwind of a point-source
methane gas release from a regulated cylinder with a flowmeter. One UAV was
tethered to an instrument on the ground, while the other UAV carried an
on-board prototype instrument (both of which used the same near-infrared
laser technology). Both instruments were calibrated using certified
standards to account for variability in the instrumental gain factor,
assuming fixed temperature and pressure. Furthermore, a water vapour
correction factor, specifically calculated for the instrument, was applied
and is described here in detail. We also provide guidance on potential
systematic uncertainties associated with temperature and pressure, which may
require further characterisation for improved measurement accuracy. The NGI
technique was then used to derive emission fluxes for each UAV flight
survey. We found good agreement of most NGI fluxes with the known controlled
emission flux, within uncertainty, verifying the flux quantification
methodology. The lower and upper NGI flux uncertainty bounds were, on
average, 17 %±10(1σ) % and 227 %±98(1σ) % of the controlled emission flux, respectively. This range of
conservative uncertainty bounds incorporate factors including the
variability in the position of the time-invariant plume and potential for
under-sampling. While these average uncertainties are large compared to
methods such as tracer dispersion, we suggest that UAV sampling can be
highly complementary to a toolkit of flux quantification approaches and may
be a valuable alternative in situations where site access for tracer release
is problematic. We see tracer release combined with UAV sampling as an
effective approach in future flux quantification studies. Successful flux
quantification using the UAV sampling methodology described here
demonstrates its future utility in identifying and quantifying emissions
from methane sources such as oil and gas extraction infrastructure
facilities, livestock agriculture, and landfill sites, where site access may
be difficult.
An Anthology of Kokugaku Scholars: 1690-1868
Authors: Lee Clarence I-Zhuen
Published: March 2020

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Literature in Japanese (Nihongo bungaku): An Examination of the New Literary Topography by Plurilingual Writers from the 1990s
Authors: Yiu Angela
Published: March 2020

Since the 1990s, a number of plurilingual writers have published works with a heightened consciousness of incorporating different languages in the Japanese text, in the original and/or in translation, resulting in a gradual transformation of the literary topography.  This paper will focus on the works by Hideo Levy (b. 1950), On Yūjū (b. 1980), and Yokoyama Yūta (b. 1981). These writers share a deep knowledge of and concern for the East Asian cultural sphere, especially the literature and culture in various Chinese societies. Using different writing and notational strategies, they resist the traditional method of “blending Japanese and Chinese” (wakan yūgō) and immerse themselves in the creative space in between Japanese and Chinese languages and cultures (including dialects and minority cultures), in search of a new language to document a plurilingual self and the world. Their experimentations in writing contributes to the emergence of literature in Japanese (Nihongo bungaku) as a body of work born of a language of hybridity and deeply engaged with plurilingual notations in its creation, written in Japanese by authors who are not necessarily Japanese nationals. With reference to Theodore Adorno’s theory of the “nonorganic nature” of language, Katō Shūichi’s celebration of the culture of hybridity, and Charles Ferguson’s idea of diglossia, this paper examines the potential and limitations of these writing experiments and the changing literary topography they engendered.
Translation, Colonization, and the Fall of Utopia: The Qing Decline as Explained through Chinese Fiction
Authors: Hedberg William C.
Published: March 2020

This study focuses on Meiji-period Japanese engagement with the late imperial Chinese novel Sequel to ‘The Water Margin’ (Shuihu houzhuan): an early Qing continuation of the classic Water Margin that focuses on the Liangshan outlaws’ colonization of a mythical “Siam” in the wake of the fall of the Northern Song dynasty. Like its parent work, Shuihu houzhuan found an enthusiastic readership beyond the borders of China. The novel was translated into Japanese several times during the Meiji period: most famously, by the poet and scholar Mori Kainan, whose translation was published by the Tokyo-based Kōin shinshisha publishing house between 1893 and 1895. In addition to the fact that Japan itself appears as a setting in the novel, I argue that Meiji-period interest in Shuihu houzhuan was related to its radically new mode of representing the central characters, who were transformed from rebellious bandits in the original Water Margin into civilized colonizers responsible for protecting and transplanting a reified Chinese essence on an international stage. This interest in expansion and colonization took on new significance against the backdrop of the First Sino-Japanese War, which bisected the publication of the translation and was explicitly addressed in both Mori’s commentary to the novel and the publishers’ marketing of the translation itself. In the context of the shifting relationship between Meiji-period Japan and Qing-period China, “Siam” is ultimately divested of its symbolic significance as a refuge from dynastic crisis and reconstituted as an unintentional trope for the complex linguistic, cultural, and political negotiation underlying Mori’s translation.
Poetics of Acculturation: Early Pure Land Buddhism and the Topography of the Periphery in Orikuchi Shinobu’s The Book of the Dead
Authors: Amano Ikuho
Published: March 2020

The article examines Orikuchi Shinobu’s novella, Shisha no sho [The Book of the Dead] (1939), as a discursively constructed amalgamation of multiple cultural and historical sources. Whereas Orikuchi tends to be considered the exponent of cultural nativism, the novella resists a nationalist impulse of extolling the legend of Taima Mandala and Princess Chūjō (Chūjōhime) as a paragon of the Japanese reception of Buddhism. According to the widely-known legend, Princess Chūjō, a member of the politically powerful Fujiwara clan in the Nara period, had woven in a day the mandala out of lotus threads shortly after completing one thousand copies of Shōsanjyōdo Busshōjukyō (the Amida sutra). Further the legend tells that she was welcomed to the Pure Land by Amida Buddha upon her death at the age of twenty nine. In The Book of the Dead her legendary labor opts out of simple appraisal for her devotional response to Buddhism, as though implicitly refuting the Yamato state’s political advocacy of the religion. In turn, Orikuchi’s modernist revisionism reanimates a spectacle of the antiquity, contextualizing the legend in the socio-political periphery of the Taima village. To this end, the novella calls forth a number of historical episodes, topographical images of the locality, and the transculturation of Buddhism in ancient Japan. Concretely, the narrative interweaves the tragedy of Prince Ōtsu who was executed for the treason plotted against the imperial government, a cult of Mount Futakami (today’s Nijōzan in Nara Prefecture), pre-Buddhist practice of worshipping the Sun, and the formation of Nissōkan in Japan’s early Buddhism. Through the dialogic unity of these motifs, Orikuchi deconstructs the legend of Princess Chūjō and the Taima Mandala, transforming it into a visionary narrative devoid of a single cultural and religious root.
Pioglitazone Alters the Proteomes of Normal Bladder Epithelial Cells but Shows No Tumorigenic Effects
Authors: Shahid Muhammad , Kim Minhyung , Yeon Austin , Jin Peng , Kim Woong-Ki , You Sungyong , Kim Jayoung
Published: March 2020

Purpose: Pioglitazone, an antihyperglycemic drug, is widely used in diabetes mellitus patients with insulin resistance. Although pioglitazone is known to have a potential link to bladder cancer (BC), there have been contradictory results. This present study is designed to understand the regulatory mechanisms that drive the effects of pioglitazone on the bladder epithelial cells.Methods: Labeled liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based proteomics profiling characterized the global proteomes of normal human bladder epithelial cells treated with or without pioglitazone.Results: This approach detected approximately 5,769 proteins in total. Of those 5,769 proteins, 124 were identified as being differentially expressed due to pioglitazone treatment. Further analysis identified 95 upregulated and 29 downregulated proteins (absolute log2 fold change >0.58 and P-value<0.05). The following functional gene enrichment analysis suggested that pioglitazone may be altering a few select biological processes, such as gene/chromatin silencing, by downregulating BMI1 (B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog), a polycomb complex protein. Further cell-based assays showed that cell adhesion molecules, epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers, and major signaling pathways were significantly downregulated by pioglitazone treatment.Conclusions: These experimental results revealed the proteomic and biological alterations that occur in normal bladder cells in response to pioglitazone. These findings provided a landscape how bladder proteome is influenced by pioglitazone, which suggests the potential adverse effects of diabetes drugs and their links to bladder dysfunctions.
Role of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Treating Children With Overactive Bladder From Pooled Analysis of 8 Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Cui Huanqin , Yao Yi , Xu Zhunan , Gao Zhenli , Wu Jitao , Zhou Zhongbao , Cui Yuanshan
Published: March 2020

Purpose: Transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation (TENS), as a non-invasive modality, has been clinically used as an alternative treatment for children with overactive bladder (OAB). We conducted a pooled analysis to explore the effect of TENS on OAB.Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guideline was followed in this study. The MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases, as well as the reference lists of the retrieved studies, were used to find trials relevant for assessing the use of TENS to treat OAB.Results: Of the 246 records identified, 8 publications were analyzed in our study. Our analysis found that TENS resulted in a greater decrease of wet days/wk, daily voiding frequency, daily incontinence episodes, and daily number of voids than was observed in the control group. Furthermore, TENS-treated patients showed similar visual analogue scale (VAS) scores to patients in the control group, demonstrating that the application of TENS did not increase patients’ discomfort and pain. TENS had a relative advantage in the number of partial responses, but no clear differences were found in frequency of no response or a full response compared to the control group. In urodynamic testing, TENS led to obvious improvements in average voided volume and maximum voided volume in children with OAB.Conclusions: TENS had a remarkable effect on the improvement of urodynamic indexes and objective OAB symptoms without a significant increase in VAS scores for children with OAB.
Intersectionality of Migration and Metahumanism, with a Special Focus on Lagrangian Space Settlements
Authors: Rothblatt Martine
Published: March 2020

Lagrangian points in orbit about the Earth and gravitationally stabilized by the Moon have been identified as optimal settlement locations for many millions of migrants from the Earth. The motivation of many extant humans to make this migration can be satisfied via their transition into cybernetic biostasis prior to a medical determination of legal death, subsequent revival from such biostasis as legally alive cyberconscious mindclones in cyberspace, and ultimate reinstantiation of such mindclones into manufactured physical bodies on Lagrangian space settlements. This article analyzes the intersectionality of the metahumanistic status of these human migration efforts.
Beyond Representation: Relationality and Affect in Musical Practices
Authors: Martí Josep
Published: March 2020

The theoretical approaches that have been developed under the umbrella of posthumanism in recent years are highly stimulating for current trends in disciplines focused on music research. The aim of this article is to explore their possible usefulness in specific empirical cases, which have to do with musical practices. My point of departure in the article is to understand music as a sonic flow, created and/or perceived with aesthetic purposes, but which can perform functions that go well beyond these purposes, a sonic flow that affects us. This invites us to go beyond representational thinking and give due weight to affect and sensation. Within the frame of relational ontologies, in which the central idea is that being is relating, the body, as a locus of culture and therefore also of music, gains relevance for musical studies. A fundamental difference between the humanistic and posthumanist views is that while the first understands the human being in an antagonistic relationship with what surrounds him or her, the second regards the human being as embodied in an extended technological world, which among many other things includes music as well. In this manner, we may regard music not as something separated from our bodies but as in a constituent relationship with them. In addition to (and beyond) understanding music and musical practices as texts, which must be deciphered, we can also focus on them according to perspectives that take into account agencies and the body. Nonrepresentational theories can be useful in approaching music as something that is felt and lived.
Shoot!? Describing the Hand-Cranked Camera and Filmmaking Practices from a Posthumanist Perspective
Authors: Saporito Paolo
Published: March 2020

Posthumanist approaches to cinema and film studies have so far focused on the posthuman theoretical potential of film content, rather than on cinematic form and filmmaking practices. This article develops a posthumanist approach to these practices by focusing on a case study: the interaction between the hand-cranked camera and the human operator in the first decades of the twentieth century. Drawing on Karen Barad’s theory of agential realism and Jane Bennett’s definition of vibrant matter, I argue that this interaction constitutes a manifestation of material-discursive processes that decenter the anthropos and enact performative entanglements between human and nonhuman agencies. Early descriptions of the technological affordances of the hand-cranked camera, informed by anthropocentric and humanist perspectives, reduce the material constitution of this instrument to its role in the discursive practices of the cinema industry. This article deconstructs these accounts from a posthumanist perspective and develops situated epistemic and ethical reflections that stem from a material-discursive description of the nonhuman instrument and its interaction with the human operator.
Paradoxical (Post)Humanism: Disembodiment and Becoming-Earth in Her
Authors: Boom Jeroen , Smelik Anneke
Published: March 2020

The visualization of posthumanism in Spike Jonze’s modern science fiction romance Her is fundamentally paradoxical, because the film reinforces traditional humanism in the human character of Theodore while at the same time disturbing it in the posthuman character of Samantha. In an optimistic reading of Samantha, drawing on Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy of radical immanence, this article follows her posthuman character as evolving from being confined by the restrictions of embodied humanism to embracing the potentials of disembodied posthumanism, ultimately merging into a planetary dimension. This postanthropomorphic shift, a process of becoming-earth, is central to a posthumanism that defines subjectivity as based on the inclusion of relations to a myriad of nonhuman others. Samantha learns to accept her posthumanness in all its planetary complexity, while Theodore embraces his humanness in all its frailty. In accordance, the authors argue that Her not only outlines the restrictions of humanness but also points to the limits of cinematic representation itself.
Mapping Magmatic and Hydrothermal Processes from Routine Exploration Geochemical Analyses
Authors: Halley Scott
Published: March 2020

Analytical methods used by commercial assay laboratories have improved enormously in recent years. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry methods now report analyses for half of the periodic table with exceptional detection limits and precision. It is becoming commonplace for mining companies to use such methods routinely for the analysis of drill samples throughout mineral deposits. Improvements in software and computing power now allow rapid interrogation of upward of 100,000 assay samples. Geochemical analyses are quantitative, are independent of observer bias, and can form the basis for robust geologic and mineralogical models of mineral deposits, as well as shed light on scientific questions. In particular, consistently collected, high-quality geochemical analyses can significantly improve and systematize logging of lithological and hydrothermal alteration mineralogic changes within drill core. In addition, abundant, high-quality geochemical data provide insights into magmatic and hydrothermal processes that were previously difficult to recognize and that have obvious applications to mineral exploration and improved genetic models of ore deposits. This paper describes a workflow that mining industry geologists can apply to their multielement analysis data to extract more information about magma compositions and gangue mineralogy.
Effect of short-term conservation temperature, with or without centrifugation, on the survival and motility of Catalonian donkey spermatozoa
Authors: Miró Jordi , Taberner Ester
Published: March 2020

Aim of study: To analyze the effect of three short-term storage temperatures with or without removing seminal plasma on the survival and motility of donkey sperm and the response to refrigeration and centrifugation of the different spermatozoa subpopulations.Area of study: North-eastern Spain (Catalonia).Material and methods: Semen from seven Catalonian jackasses was diluted with a skimmed milk-based (Kenney) extender and different treatments were obtained: FRESH semen, FRESH semen immediately centrifuged to remove the seminal plasma before resuspension in Kenney extender (FRESH+CENTRIFUGATION), FRESH semen stored at 5/15/20ºC for 2 h (STORAGE 5/15/20ºC), and STORAGE 5/15/20ºC semen then centrifuged (STORAGE 5/15/20ºC+CENTRIFUGATION). Survival was examined using eosin-nigrosin stained smears. Motion was assessed by means of a computer-assisted sperm analyzer (CASA).Main results: The spermatozoa of the STORAGE 5ºC and 20ºC showed an overall motility similar to that seen in FRESH samples. However, the STORAGE 15ºC led to an important motility reduction. No differences were seen between the FRESH and STORAGE 5/15/20ºC with respect to progressive motility. However, STORAGE 5/15/20ºC+CENTRIFUGATION all reduced total motility, and STORAGE 15ºC+CENTRIFUGATION led to reduced survival. The sperm motile subpopulations structure of donkey semen was maintained after STORAGE 5/15/20ºC+CENTRIFUGATION, although STORAGE 15ºC+CENTRIFUGATION led to important changes. STORAGE 5/20ºC+CENTRIFUGATION, in contrast, only induced slight changes. STORAGE 20ºC+CENTRIFUGATION was associated with no change in the percentage of sperm cells belonging to each Subpopulation compared to FRESH sperm.Research highlights 2 h of storage at 20ºC followed by centrifugation is suitable for the short-term storage of donkey semen.