bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Ash2l SDI Domain Is Required to Maintain the Stability and Binding of DPY30
Authors: Ma Mengjie , Zhou Jiafeng , Ma Zhihua , Chen Hanxue , Li Liang , Hou Lin , Yin Bin , Qiang Boqin , Shu Pengcheng , Peng Xiaozhong
Published: April 2022

ASH2L and DPY30 are important for the assembly and catalytic activity of the complex associated with SET1 (COMPASS), which catalyzes histone methylation and regulates gene expression. However, the regulations among COMPASS components are not fully understood. Here, we leveraged a mouse model and cell lines to observe the outcome of Ash2l depletion and found a significant decrease in DPY30. Analyzing ASH2L ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data excluded transcriptional and translational regulation of ASH2L to DPY30. The decrease in DPY30 was further attributed to the degradation via the ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal pathway. We also verified that three amino acids in the ASH2L Sdc1 DPY30 interaction (SDI) domain are essential for the recognition and binding of DPY30. Lastly, we unexpectedly observed that overexpression of DPY30 in Ash2l-depleted cells rescued the decrease in Ccnd1 and the abnormal cell cycle, which indicates that DPY30 can participate in other complexes to regulate gene expression. Overall, our results, for the first time, reveal that the existence of DPY30 relies on the binding with ASH2L, with degradation of DPY30 via the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and they further indicate that the function of DPY30 can be independent of ASH2L.
The Treatment with Interleukin 17 Inhibitors and Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases
Authors: Țiburcă Laura , Bembea Marius , Zaha Dana Carmen , Jurca Alexandru Daniel , Vesa Cosmin Mihai , Rațiu Ioana Adela , Jurca Claudia Maria
Published: April 2022

IL-17 inhibitors (IL-17i) are medicines used to treat dermatological and rheumatic diseases They belong to a class of medicines called biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). This class of drugs has had a major impact on the therapy of autoimmune diseases, being much safer and more effective than treatment with small molecules. At the same time, they have highly beneficial effects on skin and joint changes, and their efficacy has been extensively monitored and demonstrated in numerous clinical trials. More and more such drugs are still being discovered today to ensure the best possible treatment of these patients, but more frequently and relatively constantly three agents are used. Two of them (Secukinumab and Ixekizumab) inhibit IL-17A directly, and the third, Brodamulab, inhibits the IL-17A receptor. Although they are extremely effective in the treatment of these diseases, sometimes their administration has been associated with paradoxical effects, i.e., there is an exacerbation of the inflammatory process. Tough, clinical trials of IL-17i have described cases of exacerbation or even onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, after administration of these drugs in patients previously diagnosed with psoriasis (PS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), or ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The pathophysiological mechanism of action is not well understood at present. One explanation would be that this hyperreactive inflammatory process would be triggered by Interferon 1 derived from dendritic plasma cells. Even though there are many reports in the recent literature about the role of IL17i in the onset of IBD, conclusions of studies do not converge. Some of them show an increased incidence of IBD in patients treated with IL17i, while some others affirm their safety of them. In the near future we will surely have more data emerging from ongoing meta-analyses regarding safety of use IL17i in patients who are at risk of developing IBD. Clinical and paraclinical evaluation (inflammatory intestinal markers) are carefully advised before recommending treatment with IL-17i and after initiation of treatment, and prospective surveillance by clinical and biomarkers of patients treated with IL-17i is absolutely essential to capture the onset of IBD.
Post-Coronavirus Disease 2019 Triggers the Appearance of Mixed Polyneuropathy and Brain Fog: A Case Report
Authors: Suárez-Sánchez Donají , Vega-Cabrera Nereida Violeta , Fernández-Moya Monserrat , Mendoza-Navarro Maribel , Bahena-Hernández Ángel , Rojas-Hernández Jesús Fabian , Baños-Peña Librado , López-Méndez Francisco Vladimir , Jaramillo-Morales Osmar Antonio
Published: April 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can directly or indirectly affect the central and peripheral nervous systems, resulting in cognitive impairment, memory problems, and a wide range of neuromuscular involvement, including neuropathies. However, the long-term neurological complications of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are not clear. The aim this study was to analyze a case report the presence of neurological sequelae due to post-Coronavirus disease 19 in a patient without apparent previous neurological symptoms. Clinical case: A 46-year-old patient, with no relevant history for the described condition, who, after severe COVID-19 infection, started a mixed neuropathy and mental fog syndrome as the main sequel. Multiple laboratory and imaging studies were performed during and after his hospital stay, and it was corroborated by an electromyography that it occurred from a neuropathy triggered by COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: This case provides additional evidence that mixed neuropathy and brain fog syndrome are potential complications of post-coronavirus disease 2019 syndrome. The neurological sequelae that manifest after a COVID-19 episode can be rapidly enhanced as a consequence of another alteration in some systems of the organism. However, future studies are necessary to elucidate the incidence of these neurological complications, their pathophysiological mechanisms and their therapeutic options.
The Use of Reactive Programming in the Proposed Model for Cloud Security Controlled by ITSS
Authors: Hyseni Dhuratë , Piraj Nimete , Çiço Betim , Shabani Isak
Published: April 2022

Reactive programming is a popular paradigm that has been used as a new solution in our proposed model for security in the cloud. In this context, we have been able to reduce the execution time compared to our previous work for the model proposed in cloud security, where the control of security depending on the ITSS (IT security specialist) of a certain organization based on selecting options. Some of the difficulties we encountered in our previous work while using traditional programming were the coordination of parallel processes and the modification of real-time data. This study provides results for two methods of programming based on the solutions of the proposed model for cloud security, with the first method of traditional programming and the use of reactive programming as the most suitable solution in our case. While taking the measurements in this paper, we used the same algorithms, and we present comparative results between the first and second methods of programming. The results in the paper are presented in tables and graphs, which show that reactive programming in the proposed model for cloud security offers better results compared to traditional programming.
A Transfer-Learning-Based Novel Convolution Neural Network for Melanoma Classification
Authors: Qureshi Mohammad Naved , Umar Mohammad Sarosh , Shahab Sana
Published: April 2022

Skin cancer is one of the most common human malignancies, which is generally diagnosed by screening and dermoscopic analysis followed by histopathological assessment and biopsy. Deep-learning-based methods have been proposed for skin lesion classification in the last few years. The major drawback of all methods is that they require a considerable amount of training data, which poses a challenge for classifying medical images as limited datasets are available. The problem can be tackled through transfer learning, in which a model pre-trained on a huge dataset is utilized and fine-tuned as per the problem domain. This paper proposes a new Convolution neural network architecture to classify skin lesions into two classes: benign and malignant. The Google Xception model is used as a base model on top of which new layers are added and then fine-tuned. The model is optimized using various optimizers to achieve the maximum possible performance gain for the classifier output. The results on ISIC archive data for the model achieved the highest training accuracy of 99.78% using Adam and LazyAdam optimizers, validation and test accuracy of 97.94% and 96.8% using RMSProp, and on the HAM10000 dataset utilizing the RMSProp optimizer, the model achieved the highest training and prediction accuracy of 98.81% and 91.54% respectively, when compared to other models.
Biodiversity of the Genus Trichoderma in the Rhizosphere of Coffee (Coffea arabica) Plants in Ethiopia and Their Potential Use in Biocontrol of Coffee Wilt Disease
Authors: Mulatu Afrasa , Megersa Negussie , Abena Tariku , Kanagarajan Selvaraju , Liu Qinsong , Tenkegna Tesfaye Alemu , Vetukuri Ramesh R.
Published: April 2022

The present study investigated the distribution status and biodiversity of Trichoderma species surveyed from coffee rhizosphere soil samples from Ethiopia and their potential for biocontrol of coffee wilt disease (CWD) caused by Fusarium xylarioides. Trichoderma isolates were identified based on molecular approaches and morphological characteristics followed by biodiversity analysis using different biodiversity indices. The antagonistic potential of Trichoderma isolates was evaluated against F. xylarioides using the dual confrontation technique and agar diffusion bioassays. A relatively high diversity of species was observed, including 16 taxa and 11 undescribed isolates. Trichoderma asperellum, T. asperelloides and T. longibrachiatum were classified as abundant species, with dominance (Y) values of 0.062, 0.056 and 0.034, respectively. Trichoderma asperellum was the most abundant species (comprising 39.6% of all isolates) in all investigated coffee ecosystems. Shannon’s biodiversity index (H), the evenness (E), Simpson’s biodiversity index (D) and the abundance index (J) were calculated for each coffee ecosystem, revealing that species diversity and evenness were highest in the Jimma zone (H = 1.97, E = 0.76, D = 0.91, J = 2.73). The average diversity values for Trichoderma species originating from the coffee ecosystem were H = 1.77, D = 0.7, E = 0.75 and J = 2.4. In vitro confrontation experiments revealed that T. asperellum AU131 and T. longibrachiatum AU158 reduced the mycelial growth of F. xylarioides by over 80%. The potential use of these Trichoderma species for disease management of F. xylarioides and to reduce its impact on coffee cultivation is discussed in relation to Ethiopia’s ongoing coffee wilt disease crisis.
Computational Analysis of Interleaving PN-Sequences with Different Polynomials
Authors: Cardell Sara D. , Requena Verónica , Fúster-Sabater Amparo
Published: April 2022

Binary PN-sequences generated by LFSRs exhibit good statistical properties; however, due to their intrinsic linearity, they are not suitable for cryptographic applications. In order to break such a linearity, several approaches can be implemented. For example, one can interleave several PN-sequences to increase the linear complexity. In this work, we present a deep randomness study of the resultant sequences of interleaving binary PN-sequences coming from different characteristic polynomials with the same degree. We analyze the period and the linear complexity, as well as many other important cryptographic properties of such sequences.
Weakly Bound Dimer of a Diaryloxygermylene Derived from a tBuPh2Si-Substituted 2,2′-Methylenediphenol
Authors: Yamazaki Ryo , Kuriki Ryunosuke , Sugihara Asuka , Ishii Youichi , Kuwabara Takuya
Published: April 2022

Novel diaryloxygermylenes have been prepared by the reaction of Lappert’s germylene, Ge[N(SiMe3)2]2, with 2,2′-methylenediphenols bearing different substituents. The bulkiness of the substituents on the ortho positions of the phenolic oxygen (6 and 6′ positions) affects the structure of the products both in the solid-state and in solution. When the ortho substituents are SitBuPh2, the diaryloxygemylene crystalizes as a weakly bound dimer with intermolecular Ge…O distances of ca. 3.0 Å and exists as a monomer in solution. In contrast, the germylene with SiMePh2 groups as the ortho substituents form a tightly bound dimer featuring a Ge2O2 rhombus with cis-oriented terminal aryloxy groups in the crystalline state, which is confirmed to be maintained in solution through the VT (variable-temperature)-1H NMR studies. To the best of our knowledge, the former dimeric structure is unprecedented in the family of dioxytetrylenes.
Macroscopic and Petrographic Analyses of the Mortars from the Roman villa of Noheda (Villar de Domingo García, Cuenca)
Authors: Valero Tévar Miguel Ángel , Moreno Paredes Xoan , Guerra García Pablo , Arroyo Rey Xabier , Valverde Gascueña Nelia
Published: April 2022

The Roman villa of Noheda, located in the municipality of Villar de Domingo García (Cuenca), is one of the most important archaeological sites in Spain and one of the most important museum complexes in Europe. In recent years, several archaeological investigations have been developed (archaeometry of building materials, natural resources, ways and roads). Furthermore, various restoration and consolidation works have been carried out on structures, walls and floors. The archaeological management team requested a characterisation of the mortars found in the coatings of the walls and floors of the complex to identify differences in its production. After checking the rooms, the state of conservation of the elements and the significance of the materials used, several mortar samples were analysed by means of macroscopic techniques before applying a petrographic analysis. The results showed an interesting variety in the distribution of aggregates, a complex microstratigraphy and a range of grain sizes in the mortars from different rooms. Magnesium, silica and aluminium from limestone were found. Crushed and powdered limestone was used as an aggregate with irregular distribution. Calcite nodules were observed as evidence that the mortar had been poorly mixed in preparation.
Kirkendall Effect in Twin-Roll Cast AA 3003 Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Bajer Jan , Zaunschirm Stefan , Plank Bernhard , Šlapáková Michaela , Bajtošová Lucia , Cieslar Miroslav , Kastner Johann
Published: April 2022

The formation of an inhomogeneous structure with central segregation occurs in commercial twin-roll cast AA 3003 aluminum alloy. The segregations form as manganese, iron, and silicon-rich channels spread in the rolling direction. Diffusion of silicon occurs during annealing at 450 °C, and the formation and growth of voids due to the Kirkendall effect occur. The evolution of pores studied by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed tomography shows that pores are formed near original pure silicon clusters. Their coalescence and the formation of large voids in the central zone of the strip occur at longer annealing times.
Experimental and Hirshfeld Surface Investigations for Unexpected Aminophenazone Cocrystal Formation under Thiourea Reaction Conditions via Possible Enamine Assisted Rearrangement
Authors: Khurshid Asma , Saeed Aamer , Hökelek Tuncer , Taslim Umama , Irfan Madiha , Khan Saba Urooge , Iqbal Aneela , El-Seedi Hesham R.
Published: April 2022

Considering the astounding biomedicine properties of pharmaceutically active drug, 4-aminophenazone, also known as 4-aminoantipyrine, the work reported in this manuscript details the formation of novel cocrystals of rearranged 4-aminophenazone and 4-nitro-N-(4-nitrobenzoyl) benzamide in 1:1 stoichiometry under employed conditions for thiourea synthesis by exploiting the use of its active amino component. However, detailed analysis via various characterization techniques such as FT-IR, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and single crystal XRD, for this unforeseen, but useful cocrystalline synthetic adduct (4 and 5) prompted us to delve into its mechanistic pathway under provided reaction conditions. The coformer 4-nitro-N-(4-nitrobenzoyl) benzamide originates via nucleophilic addition reaction following tetrahedral mechanism between para-nitro substituted benzoyl amide and its acid halide (1). While the enamine nucleophilic addition reaction by 4-aminophenazone on 4-nitrosubstituted aroyl isothiocyanates under reflux temperature suggests the emergence of rearranged counterpart of cocrystal named N-(1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonothioyl)-4-nitrobenzamide. Crystallographic studies reveal triclinic system P-1 space group for cocrystal (4 and 5) and depicts two different crystallographically independent molecules with prominent C–H···O and N–H···O hydrogen bonding effective for structure stabilization. Hirshfeld surface analysis also displays hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions as dominant interactions in crystal packing. Further insight into the cocrystal synthetic methodologies supported the occurrence of solution-based evaporation/cocrystallization methodology in our case during purification step, promoting the synthesis of this first-ever reported novel cocrystal of 4-aminophenazone with promising future application in medicinal industry.
Hydrogen Bonds in Precursor Solution: The Origin of the Anomalous J–V Curves in Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Zhang Lin , Yao Lin , Chu Yanfang , Zhao Lei , Zhao Hongmei , Sun Yuchen , Li Jing , He Junjie
Published: April 2022

Perovskite Solar Cells are a promising solar energy harvesting technology due to their low cost and high-power conversion efficiency. A high-quality perovskite layer is fundamental for a highly efficient perovskite Solar Cell. Utilizing a gas quenching process (GQP) can eliminate the need for toxic, flammable, and expensive anti-solvents in the preparation of perovskite layers. It is a promising candidate technology for large scale preparation of perovskite layers, as it can be easily integrated in a production line by coupling up-scalable techniques. The GQP removes the need for polar solvents in the precursor solution layer by using nitrogen flow, rather than extracting them with non-polar solvents. The crystallization dynamics in this process can be significantly different. In this study, we found that the quality of perovskite crystal from GQP is much more sensitive to Lewis base molecules (LBMs) in the precursor solution than it is in anti-solvents technology. Thus, the processing parameters of the LBMs in anti-solvents technology cannot be directly transferred to the GQP. An XRD and 1H NMR study explains the origin of the S-shaped J–V curves and how these LBMs hinder the reaction between PbI2 and monovelent cations.
Aurophilic Interactions in Cationic Three-Coordinate Gold(I) Bipyridyl/Isocyanide Complex
Authors: Grudova Mariya V. , Novikov Alexander S. , Kubasov Alexey S. , Khrustalev Victor N. , Kirichuk Anatoly A. , Nenajdenko Valentine G. , Tskhovrebov Alexander G.
Published: April 2022

Gold(I) isocyanide complexes featuring Au···Au interactions attract considerable attention because of their tunable photophysical properties. Although the synthetic exploration of isocyanide gold(I) complexes seems reasonable, their structural diversity is mainly limited to linear gold(I) derivatives. The synthesis and structural characterization of cationic three-coordinate gold(I) mixed 2,2′-bipyridyl/isocyanide complex are presented here for the first time. Cationic gold species form supramolecular dimers in the solid state via attractive Au···Au interactions. The nature and energies of aurophilic contacts, which are responsible for dimerization in the solid state, were studied by DFT calculations together with QTAIM, ELF, RDG, and NCI techniques and Hirshfeld surface analysis. The estimated energy of the aurophilic interactions was 6.3 kcal/mol.
Hot-Pressed Two-Dimensional Amorphous Metals and Their Electronic Properties
Authors: Liu Jieying , Tang Jian , Zhao Jiaojiao , Zhao Yanchong , Shen Cheng , Liao Mengzhou , Wang Shuopei , Tian Jinpeng , Chu Yanbang , Li Jiawei , Wei Zheng , Long Gen , Yang Wei , Yang Rong , Li Na , Shi Dongxia , Zhang Guangyu
Published: April 2022

As an emerging research field, two-dimensional (2D) metals have been the subject of increasing research efforts in recent years due to their potential applications. However, unlike typical 2D layered materials, such as graphene, which can be exfoliated from their bulk parent compounds, it is hardly possible to produce 2D metals through exfoliation techniques due to the absence of Van der Waals gaps. Indeed, the lack of effective material preparation methods severely limits the development of this research field. Here, we report a PDMS-assisted hot-pressing method in glovebox to obtain ultraflat nanometer-thick 2D metals/metal oxide amorphous films of various low-melting-point metals and alloys, e.g., gallium (Ga), indium (In), tin (Sn), and Ga0.87Ag0.13 alloy. The valence states extracted from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicate that the ratios of oxidation to metal in our 2D films vary among metals. The temperature-dependent electronic measurements show that the transport behavior of 2D metal/metal oxide films conform with the 2D Mott’s variable range hopping (VRH) model. Our experiments provide a feasible and effective approach to obtain various 2D metals.
Editorial on the Special Topic “Polymer Crystallization”
Authors: Xu Jun , Reiter Günter , Alamo Rufina G.
Published: April 2022

Two thirds of polymer materials are crystalline [...]
The Destiny of Living Animals Imported into Chinese Zoos
Authors: Huang Baoxiang , Tian Xiuhua , Maheshwari Aishwarya , Niraj Shekhar Kumar , Roberts Nathan James , Jiang Guangshun
Published: April 2022

Ex situ conservation is one of the major ways to strengthen biodiversity conservation. In China, ex situ conservation institutions mainly include zoos, aquariums, and breeding centers. In 1996, China began to import living animals duty-free for conservation purposes. Here, we built a dataset of nearly 300 vertebrate species (mammals, birds, fish and reptiles) imported into China over this past 20 years by interviewing all 123 institutions importing animals duty-free during 1996–2015. We then analyzed the annual variation of the species composition and individual numbers of these imported species, and quantified the relative population growth rate of each imported species for the first time. We found that the number of living animals imported into China decreased significantly year by year. The number of imported bird species and reptile individuals decreased the most, but the population growth rate was increasing for about half of the imported threatened species. We recommend that conservation institutions should enhance communication and promote cooperative breeding among them. Scientific research and sustainability assessments of threatened species should also be enhanced, which will allocate trade licenses and quotas more effectively. We hope that the data presented in this paper will contribute to the development of conservation policies, leading to stronger management of these imported species in China.
Pathological Appearance of Focal Liver Reactions after Radiotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Okada Masahiro , Numata Kazushi , Nihonmatsu Hiromi , Tomita Kengo , Takeda Atsuya , Tago Kenichiro , Hyodo Tomoko , Eriguchi Takahisa , Nakano Masayuki
Published: April 2022

We studied five pathological specimens from five patients at 1.5, 3.0, 4.0, 13.5, and 14.0 months after radiotherapy for HCC. Four needle biopsies were obtained to investigate liver parenchyma of focal liver reaction (FLR) around treated HCC, when patients had newly developed HCC or local recurrence appeared in the liver. Liver resection was performed in one case where insufficient radiotherapy effect for HCC was suspected. In all patients, FLR was recognized as a hypervascular area around the HCC on enhanced CT and enhanced Gd-EOB-DTPA (EOB-MRI). Liver specimens were analyzed to assess the pathological characteristics of FLR. FLR was recognized as prolonged liver enhancement in enhanced CT and EOB-MRI. From pathological understanding, sinusoidal dilatation with degeneration and desquamation was caused by direct endothelial cell injury following radiotherapy. Hepatocytes and endothelium fell off, and so the portal tract came close, and hepatic arteries increase simultaneously, resulting in FLR around HCC after radiotherapy. In conclusion, the prolapse of hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelium induced neovascularization of hepatic arteries due to the repair mechanisms; in addition, these prolapse may shorten the distance between each portal region and the hepatic arteries flowing through the portal region become more prominent in FLR.
Lectins as Biomarkers of IC/BPS Disease: A Comparative Study of Glycosylation Patterns in Human Pathologic Urothelium and IC/BPS Experimental Models
Authors: Peskar Dominika , Kuret Tadeja , Jeruc Jera , Erman Andreja
Published: April 2022

Pathophysiology of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) remains poorly understood, as well as its effective diagnosis and therapy. Studying changes in tissue glycosylation patterns under pathological conditions is a promising way of discovering novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The glycobiology of IC/BPS is largely understudied, therefore we compared glycosylation patterns of normal human urothelium with the urothelium of IC/BPS patients using a selection of 10 plant-based lectins with different monosaccharide preferences. We also compared lectin binding to human urothelium with the two most cited experimental models of IC/BPS, specifically, TNFα-treated human urothelial cell line RT4 and cyclophosphamide-induced chronic cystitis in C57BL6/J mice. Furthermore, binding of four of the selected lectins (ConA, DSL, Jacalin and WGA) was evaluated qualitatively by means of fluorescence microscopy, and quantitatively by fluorescence intensity (F.I.) measurements. Our results reveal a significant reduction in F.I. of Jacalin, as well as a prominent change in the WGA labeling pattern in the urothelium of IC/BPS patients, suggesting their potential use as promising additional biomarkers for histopathological diagnosis of IC/BPS. We have also shown that urothelial glycosylation patterns between selected experimental models and patients with IC/BPS are similar enough to offer an adequate platform for preclinical study of IC/BPS glycobiology.
A Swollen Inferior Gemellus Muscle with Hematoma Mimics Sciatica—A Case Report
Authors: Siow Co Yih , Chen Kuan-Lin
Published: April 2022

Extra-spinal causes of sciatic pain are normally underdiagnosed, as they are extremely uncommon. Although pyriformis syndrome is recognized as one of the main causes of sciatic pain, other pelvic muscles that could cause sciatic pain are often overlooked. The present article describes a swollen inferior gemellus muscle with hematoma initially diagnosed with ultrasonography and later confirmed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Ultrasound revealed a swollen muscle with hematoma between the ischial tuberosity and the medial surface of the greater trochanter of the femur. MRI scan showed edematous change with an increased enhancement of the right inferior gemellus muscle. Ultrasound could be used to diagnose inferior gemellus pathology, but the muscle is easy to miss. Therefore, MRI could be preferred for conditions that impact deep or large areas in confirming inferior gemellus pathology.
A Time-Efficient Method to Avoid Collisions for Collision Cones: An Implementation for UAVs Navigating in Dynamic Environments
Authors: Gnanasekera Manaram , Katupitiya Jay
Published: April 2022

This paper presents a methodology that can be used to avoid collisions of aerial drones. Even though there are many collision avoidance methods available in literature, collision cone is a proven method that can be used to predict a collision beforehand. In this research, we propose an algorithm to avoid a collision in a time-efficient manner for collision cone based aerial collision avoidance approaches. Furthermore, the paper has considered all possible scenarios including heading change, speed change and combined heading and speed change, to avoid a collision. The heading-based method was mathematically proven to be the most time-efficient method out of the three. The proposed heading-based method was compared with other work presented in the literature and validated with both simulations and experiments. A Matrice 600 Pro hexacopter is used for the collision avoidance experiments.
Improved Deep Convolutional Neural Networks via Boosting for Predicting the Quality of In Vitro Bovine Embryos
Authors: Turki Turki , Wei Zhi
Published: April 2022

Automated diagnosis for the quality of bovine in vitro-derived embryos based on imaging data is an important research problem in developmental biology. By predicting the quality of embryos correctly, embryologists can (1) avoid the time-consuming and tedious work of subjective visual examination to assess the quality of embryos; (2) automatically perform real-time evaluation of embryos, which accelerates the examination process; and (3) possibly avoid the economic, social, and medical implications caused by poor-quality embryos. While generated embryo images provide an opportunity for analyzing such images, there is a lack of consistent noninvasive methods utilizing deep learning to assess the quality of embryos. Hence, designing high-performance deep learning algorithms is crucial for data analysts who work with embryologists. A key goal of this study is to provide advanced deep learning tools to embryologists, who would, in turn, use them as prediction calculators to evaluate the quality of embryos. The proposed deep learning approaches utilize a modified convolutional neural network, with or without boosting techniques, to improve the prediction performance. Experimental results on image data pertaining to in vitro bovine embryos show that our proposed deep learning approaches perform better than existing baseline approaches in terms of prediction performance and statistical significance.
Posteroanterior Chest X-ray Image Classification with a Multilayer 1D Convolutional Neural Network-Based Classifier for Cardiomegaly Level Screening
Authors: Lin Chia-Hung , Zhang Feng-Zhou , Wu Jian-Xing , Pai Ning-Sheng , Chen Pi-Yun , Pai Ching-Chou , Kan Chung-Dann
Published: April 2022

Palpitations, chest tightness, and shortness of breath are early indications of cardiomegaly, which is an asymptomatic disease. Their causes and treatment strategies are different due to differing indications. Hence, early screening of cardiomegaly levels can be used to make a strategy for administering drugs and surgical treatments. In this study, we will establish a multilayer one-dimensional (1D) convolutional neural network (CNN)-based classifier for automatic cardiomegaly level screening based on chest X-ray (CXR) image classification in frontal posteroanterior view. Using two-round 1D convolutional processes in the convolutional pooling layer, two-dimensional (2D) feature maps can be converted into feature signals, which can enhance their characteristics for identifying normal condition and cardiomegaly levels. In the classification layer, a classifier based on gray relational analysis, which has a straightforward mathematical operation, is used to screen the cardiomegaly levels. Based on the collected datasets from the National Institutes of Health CXR image database, the proposed multilayer 1D CNN-based classifier with K-fold cross-validation has promising results for the intended medical purpose, with precision of 97.80%, recall of 98.20%, accuracy of 98.00%, and F1 score of 0.9799.
FPGA Implementation for the Sigmoid with Piecewise Linear Fitting Method Based on Curvature Analysis
Authors: Li Zerun , Zhang Yang , Sui Bingcai , Xing Zuocheng , Wang Qinglin
Published: April 2022

The sigmoid activation function is popular in neural networks, but its complexity limits the hardware implementation and speed. In this paper, we use curvature values to divide the sigmoid function into different segments and employ the least squares method to solve the expressions of the piecewise linear fitting function in each segment. We then adopt an optimization method with maximum absolute errors and average absolute errors to select an appropriate function expression with a specified number of segments. Finally, we implement the sigmoid function on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) development platform and apply parallel operations of arithmetic (multiplying and adding) and range selection at the same time. The FPGA implementation results show that the clock frequency of our design is up to 208.3 MHz, while the end-to-end latency is just 9.6 ns. Our piecewise linear fitting method based on curvature analysis (PWLC) achieves recognition accuracy on the MNIST dataset of 97.51% with a deep neural network (DNN) and 98.65% with a convolutional neural network (CNN). Experimental results demonstrate that our FPGA design of sigmoid function can obtain the lowest latency, reduce absolute errors, and achieve high recognition accuracies, while the hardware cost is acceptable in practical applications.
Evaluating Cu Printed Interconnects “Sinterconnects” versus Wire Bonds for Switching Converters
Authors: Hasan Md. Nazmul , Polom Timothy , Holzmann Dominik , Malagó Perla , Binder Alfred , Roshanghias Ali
Published: April 2022

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of the printed copper (Cu) paste interconnects for applications in power semiconductor modules and switching converters. Copper sinter paste interconnects denoted as “Sinterconnects” have been recently introduced as an alternative to wire-bonding technology for power electronic device packaging. However, the electrical domain properties of these novel interconnects have not yet been investigated in detail. To address this research opportunity, this paper evaluates the performance of two different types of Sinterconnects applied to multi-chip, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power modules. First, parasitic or stray inductances of these Sinterconnected systems are calculated analytically and by using three-dimensional finite element (FE) analysis. In addition to that, resistivity (ρ) of those has been analysed and compared with conventional wire bond technology. Finally, the performances of the Sinterconnects in power device assemblies are experimentally investigated. Two Sinterconnect structures (i.e., printed Cu paste and Cu clip attach) as well as a state-of-the-art wire-bonded IGBT module, have been integrated into a switching DC-DC converter and benchmarked. Experimental measurements show how converters with Sinterconnects enable efficient power conversion.
A Blockchain-Based Authentication Solution for 6G Communication Security in Tactile Networks
Authors: Shahzad Khurram , Aseeri Ahmad O. , Shah Munam Ali
Published: April 2022

In this era, the ultimate vision is to transform current technologies into intelligent global environments to facilitate everyday transactions. The emerging Industry 4.0 has introduced promising potential technologies that have expedited the transition of Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of Everything (IoE), utilizing the advances in artificial intelligence. Such a transition implies that sensitive data can be effortlessly accessed via the open network used by various domains such as military, business, transportation, medical, and education, leading to potential security concerns. Although a blockchain, along with the above fields, already employs a fast network such as 5G, the explosive growth in the development and implementation of various Industry 4.0-related domains requires significantly faster networking speeds and a secure mechanism for data transfer. This exhibits the need for 6G to meet the requirements of real-time applications, as shown in the graphical representation of the abstract. The bulk of this work was performed on a blockchain, but some methodology was needed that fulfilled security at different levels, such as the process level, data level, and infrastructure level. Our contribution in this work was twofold: first, at the process level, a novel smart contract mechanism was described; and second, at the data level, a digital signature methodology was employed that allowed anonymization to authenticate and secure the blockchain without encryption.
Adaptive Cruise Predictive Control Based on Variable Compass Operator Pigeon-Inspired Optimization
Authors: Li Zhaobo , Deng Yimin , Sun Shuanglei
Published: April 2022

A vehicle adaptive cruise system can control the speed and the safe distance between vehicles rapidly and effectively, which is an integral part of an intelligent driver assistance system. Adaptive cruise predictive control algorithms based on variable compass operator pigeon-inspired optimization (PIO) and PSO are proposed to improve the time response characteristics of multi-objective adaptive cruise system predictive control. Firstly, a longitudinal kinematic model of an adaptive cruise system was established and linearly discretized. Secondly, the multi-objective optimal cost function and parameter constraints were designed by integrating factors such as distance error, relative speed, acceleration and impact, and a mathematical model of the adaptive cruise predictive control optimization problem was constructed. Finally, PIO and PSO were used to solve the optimal control law for MPC and simulated by Matlab. The results show that the adaptive cruise system can reach a steady state quickly with the control laws of PIO or PSO. However, due to the global optimization and fast convergence characteristic, variable compass operator PIO has better time response characteristics.
Research on Modulation Signal Recognition Based on CLDNN Network
Authors: Zou Binghang , Zeng Xiaodong , Wang Faquan
Published: April 2022

Modulated signal recognition and classification occupies an important position in electronic information warfare, intelligent wireless communication, and fast modulation and demodulation. To address the shortcomings of existing recognition methods, such as high manual involvement, few recognition types, and a low recognition rate under a low signal-to-noise ratio, we propose an attention mechanism short-link convolution long short-term memory deep neural networks (ASCLDNN) recognition model. The network is optimized for modulated signal recognition and incorporates an attention mechanism to achieve higher accuracy by adding weights to important signals. The experimental results show that ASCLDNN can recognize 11 signal modulations with high accuracy at a low signal-to-noise ratio and no confusion for specific signals.
Convolutional Neural Network-Based Radar Antenna Scanning Period Recognition
Authors: Wang Bin , Wang Shunan , Zeng Dan , Wang Min
Published: April 2022

The antenna scanning period (ASP) of radar is a crucial parameter in electronic warfare (EW) which is used in many applications, such as radar work pattern recognition and emitter recognition. For antennas of radars and EW systems, which perform scanning circularly, the method based on threshold measurement is invalid. To overcome this shortcoming, this study proposes a method using the convolutional neural network (CNN) to recognize the ASP of radar under the condition that antennas of the radar and EW system both scan circularly. A system model is constructed, and factors affecting the received signal power are analyzed. A CNN model for rapid and accurate ASP radar classification is developed. A large number of received signal time–power images of three separate ASPs are used for the training and testing of the developed model under different experimental conditions. Numerical experiment results and performance comparison demonstrate high classification accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method in the condition that antennas of radar and EW system are circular scan, where the average recognition accuracy for radar ASP is at least 90% when the signal to-noise ratio (SNR) is not less than 30 dB, which is significantly higher than the recognition accuracy of NAC and AFT methods based on adaptive threshold detection.
Weak Grid-Induced Stability Problems and Solutions of Distributed Static Compensators with Voltage Droop Support
Authors: Feng Fan , Fang Jingyang
Published: April 2022

Distributed static compensators (DSTATCOMs) are grid-connected power electronic equipment dedicated to compensating reactive power as well as improving voltage regulation in distribution networks. They eclipse conventional compensation approaches, such as capacitor banks, in terms of flexibility and effectiveness. Despite their identified advantages, STATCOMs with voltage droop are subject to weak grid-induced stability problems, as first revealed by this paper. Specifically, the voltage droop controller that couples the amplitude of point of common coupling (PCC) voltages to the reactive current reference creates a local control loop. Such a loop greatly deteriorates system stability in weak grids, which feature large and variable grid impedances. To address such stability problems, we propose a novel virtual resistance control scheme, which improves system stability through mitigation of local control loop gains in the low-frequency band. Experimental results obtained from a DSTATCOM prototype clearly demonstrate the correctness of stability analysis and the effectiveness of stability improvement.
Phenology Is Associated with Genetic and Stem Morphotype Variation in European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Stands
Authors: Kembrytė Rūta , Danusevičius Darius , Baliuckas Virgilijus , Buchovska Jurata
Published: April 2022

We studied the associations between the stem quality, phenology, and genetic structure by genotyping the phenotypic variation at 15 genomic SSR makers of 208 mature European beech trees in four artificially established stands in Lithuania. The genetic differentiation among the stands was significant (DEST = 0.029**). The stand NOR1 of Carpathian origin significantly differed from the remaining three stands of Bavarian origin at the highest 0.001 significance level. In most of the stands, the early flushing trees were of significantly worse stem quality. Within each of the stands, the Bayesian clustering identified 2 to 3 genetic groups, among which the differentiation was markedly stronger than between the stands (DEST 0.095*** to 0.142***). The genetic groups differed markedly in stem quality and phenology as well as inbreeding levels. We conclude that (a) the genetic structuring in European beech stands strongly depends on non-random mating owing to phenology variation among the relative groups, (b) due to strong relationship among phenology, adaptedness and stem morphotype, this genetic variation is reflected by the stem morphotype.
Increased Diversity of Rhizosphere Bacterial Community Confers Adaptability to Coastal Environment for Sapium sebiferum Trees
Authors: Liu Xiaojing , Du Fengfeng , Chen Shaozhou , Li Naiwei , Cui Jian , Chang Yajun , Sun Linhe , Li Jinfeng , Yao Dongrui
Published: April 2022

Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb. is an economically important tree in eastern Asia, and it exhibits many traits associated with good forestation species in coastal land. However, scarce research has been conducted to elucidate the effects of rhizosphere bacterial diversity on the adaptability and viability of S. sebiferum trees grown in the coastal environment. Field trials were conducted, and rhizosphere soil samples were collected from typical coastal and forestry nursery environments. Rhizosphere bacterial communities were evaluated using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. A total of 43 bacterial phyla were detected in all the coastal and nursery rhizospheric soil samples. Relatively higher rhizosphere community diversity was found in coastal field-grown trees. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, Bacteroidota, Chloroflex, and Gemmatimonadota were dominant bacterial phyla in rhizosphere communities of tallow trees. However, the rare groups in the coastal rhizosphere soils, with a relative abundance lower than 1%, including Latescibacterota, Methylomirabilota, NB1-j, and Nitrospirota, were largely absent in the nursery field-grown tree’s rhizosphere soils. LEfSe analysis identified a total of 43 bacterial groups that were more significantly abundant in the coastal rhizosphere environment than in that of forestry nursery grown trees. Further, our cladogram analysis identified Nitrospirota, Methylomirabilota, NB1-j, and Latescibacterota as biomarkers for the coastal environment at the phylum taxonomic level. These results suggested that the adaptability of S. sebiferum trees in coastal environment might be promoted by rhizosphere microbial interactions. Complex tree–microbe interactions might enhance the resistance of the trees to coastal environment, partially by recruiting certain bacterial microbiome species, which is of high saline-alkali resistance.
Long-Term Maternal Fertilizer Addition Increased Seed Size but Decreased Germination Capacity and Offspring Performance in Taxus baccata L.
Authors: Pers-Kamczyc Emilia , Suszka Jan
Published: April 2022

Plant fitness and species persistence depend on seed quantity and their ability to germinate and produce viable offspring. Although maternal environment can have a great impact on seed quality, few studies are pointing to the transgenerational effect of maternal environment on germination rate and offspring traits. Moreover, global changes connected to nitrogen and phosphorus deposition can also impact plants’ reproductive performance. Here, we collected Taxus baccata L. seeds produced by the same genotype female plants grown in different nutritional regimes. We use them to analyze seed size and the impact of long-term fertilization on germination capacity and offspring traits. Our results show that long-term maternal fertilizer addition increases the ratio of large seeds produced, but at the same time decreases germination capacity compared to control and nonfertilized plants. Moreover, it was demonstrated that maternal environment impacts seed traits and germination rate, and seed mass rather than maternal environment impacts offspring performance. Therefore, the study provides information on how the maternal environment regulates seed traits and germination capacity as well as seedling growth to adapt to increased nitrogen and phosphorus deposition and improves prediction about plants’ response to global environmental changes.
Impact of Thermal Stress on Abrasive Dust from a Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Composite
Authors: Koch Arne , Friederici Lukas , Fiala Petra , Springer Armin , Di Bucchianico Sebastiano , Stintz Michael , Frank Marcus , Rüger Christopher Paul , Streibel Thorsten , Zimmermann Ralf
Published: April 2022

Recently, a novel corrosion-resistant construction material, Carbon Concrete Composite (C3), consisting of coated carbon fibers embedded in a concrete matrix, was introduced. However, thermal exposure during domestic fires may impact the release of organic pollutants and fibers during abrasive processing and/or demolition. Consequently, the objective of this study was to explore the emission characteristics of toxic compounds and harmful fibers during the dry-cutting after exposure to 25–600 °C (3 h, air). These parameters mimic the abrasive machining and dismantling after a domestic fire event. Mass spectrometry and chromatography served as analytical methodologies, and no organic pollutants for exposure temperatures ≥ 400 °C were found. In contrast, significant amounts of pyrolysis products from the organic fiber coating were released at lower temperatures. Studying the morphology of the released fibers by electron microscopy revealed a decrease in fiber diameter for temperatures exceeding 450 °C. At ≥550 °C, harmful fibers, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, occurred (28–41 × 103 WHO fibers/m3 at 550–600 °C). This leads to the conclusion that there is a demand for restraining and protection measures, such as the use of wet cutting processes, suction devices, particle filtering masks and protective clothing, to handle thermally stressed C3.