bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental study on mechanical properties of reed stalk
Authors: Tian K P , Shen C , Zhang B , Li X W , Huang J C , Chen Q M
Published: October 2019

Reed is a kind of important natural resources. The inherent mechanical properties of reed stalk are the basis for development of its production equipment. As the research on the basic mechanical properties of reed stalk is still in blank both at home and abroad, this paper makes the compression, tensile, and bending experiments respectively on the bottom reed stalk in the harvest time with an electronic universal testing machine, obtains the corresponding stress-strain curves under the compression, tensile, and bending loads, and confirms that the mean compression strength is 2.69 MPa, the mean compression elasticity modulus is 75.52 MPa, the mean tensile strength is 16.45 MPa, the tensile elasticity modulus is 433.19 MPa, the mean bending strength is 2.15 MPa, and the mean fracture deflection is 5.54 mm. The experimental results may provide a reference for the development and parameter optimization of the reed production equipment.
Research on the improvement of the core competitiveness of tea industry in famous tea town: A case study of Huangshan City, Anhui Province
Authors: Jiang N
Published: October 2019

Huangshan City, Anhui Province, is one of the most suitable tea producing areas in China, with a long history of tea making. There are many varieties of tea in Huangshan, such as Maofeng, Taiping Houkui, Qimen black tea and so on. Tea industry is an important economic pillar of Huangshan City. However, statistics in recent years show that there are obvious shortcomings in the quantity and quality of tea production in Huangshan City, and the development in domestic sales and export is slow. In this paper, the diamond model proposed by Professor Michael Porter is used to analyze the competitiveness of tea industry in Huangshan City from six aspects: production factors, demand situation, related and supporting industries, enterprise strategy and structure, as well as inter-industry competition, government and opportunity. It is suggested to try to promote the operation mode of "Leading Enterprises + Production Cooperatives + Farmers + Traditional Channels + Internet +", so as to form a more complete local tea industry chain and help more local tea farmers to increase income and become rich. Furthermore, relying on the rich tourism and cultural resources in the region, this paper tries to explore a unique development path that combines tea garden experience, tea culture and local tourism, highlights local characteristics and advantages, and seeks an optimized model suitable for the development of local tea industry.
Impact of short-term exposure to elevated temperatures on physiology of Thai rice (cv. Riceberry)
Authors: Paethaisong W , Lontom W , Dongsansuk A
Published: October 2019

High temperature is an important limiting factor for the growth and development of rice cultivation worldwide. The current research aimed to investigate the efficiency of PSII system, photosynthetic changes in photosynthetic pigments and membrane stability in Thai seedlings of Thai rice cv. Riceberry after exposure to different temperatures viz., 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55°C for 30 min. The experiment was designed in CRD with four replications. The results showed that the highest Fv/Fm
was realized when seedlings were exposed to 30°C and 35°C and decreased when exposed to 40°C for 30 min. The content of photosynthetic pigments such as total chlorophyll (TC) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) were the highest after short-term exposure to a temperature of 25°C. However, the contents of all photosynthetic pigment such as TC, Chl a, Chl b and carotenoids were the lowest when exposed to 55°C for 30 min. The membrane stability of Riceberry seedlings affected on short-term exposure to temperatures of 50°C and 55°C. Thus, Fv/Fm and Hill reaction were the first mechanisms to be significantly affected by the short-term exposure to a temperature of 40°C followed by membrane stability and contents of photosynthetic pigments which were affected by short-term exposure to temperature of 50°C -55°C and 55°C, respectively.
Egg freshness recognition based on a fuzzy radial-basis-function neural network technology
Authors: Zhao H B , Zhou X H
Published: October 2019

There are often mobile, unconscientious vendors in China who sell stale or even rotten eggs in produce markets, earning money by dishonest means. To prevent the entry of substandard eggs into the market that endanger the health of consumers, we designed an egg freshness recognition system based on a fuzzy radial-basis-function (RBF) neural network. This system acquires the color characteristic parameters red (R), green (G), and blue (B) of the transmitted light of eggs through a computer vision device. The system converts the RGB values into HIS (hue, intensity, and saturation) values, uses the egg transmitted light color characteristic parameter HIS as an input value and employs the Huff value coding as an output. A test sample was used to verify the identification system. Our experimental results show that when using a fuzzy RBF neural network and simple RBF neural network algorithm, the average recognition accuracy of the system is 96.35% and 92.72%, respectively, both of which are higher than the average recognition accuracy of 88.14% when using the back propagation neural network algorithm. The feasibility and superiority of the identification system proposed in this paper were verified; therefore, this system may serve as a reference for future research on egg freshness recognition.
Chemical composition, antioxidant and anticancer activity of the essential oil from myric rubra leaves
Authors: Yin J , Li X , Huang F F , Lu M H , Yang J , Zhu L Y
Published: October 2019

The Myric rubra leaves essential oil (MEO) was extracted by steam distillation and its major component was analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrum (GC-MS). The result showed that 20 kinds of essential oils were identified. with humulene (26.03%), caryophyllene (19.74%), ledene oxide-(II) (16.37%) and γ-himachalene (7.7%) being the major constituents. The antioxidant activity of MEO were analyzed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazylassay (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay respectively, Analogues of vitamin E (Trolox) was positive control. The results showed that the IC50 of DPPH radical scavenging is 0.0576 mg/mL and the ORAC value of fluorescence spectrometry is 1.32mmol TE/g. The anticancer effect of obtained MEO was tested in A549 lung cancer cells by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. MEO IC50 value of 163 μg/mL was obtained with significantly inhibited cell proliferation in concentration-dependant manner. MEO could be useful for pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industry, because of its strong antioxidant and anticancer activity.
Electrical conductivity of polyazomethine/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites
Authors: Kostromin S V , Podshivalov A , Asandulesa M , Bronnikov S
Published: October 2019

We produced nanocomposites comprised of polyazomethine and reduced graphene oxide by solution mixing. The nanofiller concentration ranged from 0.25 to 1.5 wt.%. Both neat polymer and nanocomposites samples were investigated using broadband dielectric spectrometry under the same conditions. The electrical conductivity σ of the samples was examined as a complex value being a combination of two parameters: dc conductivity (σdc
) and ac conductivity (σac
). The temperature dependences of σac
were found to follow the Arrhenius equation, whereas the frequency dependences of σac
were shown to obey a power law. We proposed that the correlated barrier hopping could explain behaviour of σac
of the nanocomposites under study.
Mechanical properties and freeze-thaw durability of recycled aggregate pervious concrete
Authors: Liu H B , Li W J , Yu H , Luo G B , Wei H B
Published: October 2019

Recycled aggregate (RA) was obtained from waste cement concrete brick with the method of crushing and sieving. In order to research the effect of RA content on the properties of pervious concrete, RA was added to replace natural aggregate with equivalent quality method at different levels (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). The natural aggregate pervious concrete and RA pervious concrete were prepared in the lab. The porosity, permeability, compressive strength, flexural strength and freeze-thaw (F-T) durability of RA pervious concrete were tested. The results indicated that the compressive strength and flexural strength of RA pervious concrete decreased with the increase of RA content. The rapid decreases for compressive strength and flexural strength occurred when the RA content was 25%-75% and 0%-25%, respectively. The porosity and permeability decreased slowly with the increasing RA content. F-T durability of RA pervious concrete was poorer than the natural aggregate pervious concrete. The incorporation levels had negative effect on the F-T durability, but the compressive strength loss of all groups after 25 F-T cycles met the requirement of the national standard. Although the mechanical properties and F-T durability of RA pervious concrete are not satisfied, it can still be used for sidewalks, parks and other light traffic roads.
Improvement of tribological properties of Al alloy with CNTs and Nb nanopowder for industrial application
Authors: Ujah C O , Popoola A P , Popoola O M
Published: October 2019

Unreinforced Al alloy lacks adequate tribological property required in service. To improve on this property, it must be reinforced with materials having good wear properties. Hence, Al was reinforced with CNTs and Nb and consolidated with spark plasma sintering (SPS). The wear experiment was conducted on a ball-on-disc Tribometer where loads of 10 N, 20 N and 30 N were systematically applied. The coefficients of friction (COF) of the sintered samples were subsequently obtained. The samples were weighed before and after each run to determine their weight losses which were used to compute their wear volumes. The experiment was designed and analyzed with Taguchi and ANOVA. Results showed that Al-8CNTs-8Nb composite had the best wear characteristics. Its COF got improved by 79% which shows that it is suitable for industrial applications.
Computational screening of functional monomers for bitertanol sensing using molecularly imprinted polymer
Authors: Cayabyab C A L , Pajarito B B
Published: October 2019

Pesticide residue monitoring in agricultural products is required by governments and organizations to minimize its toxic effects of pesticides in humans. Bitertanol is a fungicide used in various crops to control plant diseases but also poses harmful consequences in human health when misused. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are artificial materials that can be used to selectively isolate and recover this substance from contaminated crops. In this work, we determined the best monomer to imprint bitertanol by evaluating the interaction between different functional monomers and bitertanol in the pre-polymer complex. Density functional theory used to optimize the structure of the complex and evaluate the interaction. The computational results showed that hydroquinone produces the most stable complex at 1:3 template-monomer ratio. The hydroxyl functionalities of hydroquinone can effectively form hydrogen bonds with the triazole ring and the hydroxyl group of bitertanol. Furthermore, parameters such as Mulliken atomic charges, bond lengths, and frontier molecular orbitals were also evaluated to confirm the formation of stable hydrogen bonds. This study can be used as a theoretical foundation for the preparation of MIPs for bitertanol using.
Exploiting nanobodies and Affimers for superresolution imaging in light microscopy
Authors: Carrington Glenn , Tomlinson Darren , Peckham Michelle
Published: October 2019

Antibodies have long been the main approach used for localizing proteins of interest by light microscopy. In the past 5 yr or so, and with the advent of superresolution microscopy, the diversity of tools for imaging has rapidly expanded. One main area of expansion has been in the area of nanobodies, small single-chain antibodies from camelids or sharks. The other has been the use of artificial scaffold proteins, including Affimers. The small size of nanobodies and Affimers compared with the traditional antibody provides several advantages for superresolution imaging.
A League to Preserve Empires: Understanding the Mandates System and Avenues for Further Scholarly Inquiry
Authors: Wempe Sean Andrew
Published: October 2019

A century after the victorious Allied powers distributed their spoils of victory in 1919, the world still lives with the geopolitical consequences of the mandates system established by the League of Nations. The Covenant article authorizing the new imperial dispensation came cloaked in the old civilizationist discourse, entrusting sovereignty over “peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world” to the “advanced nations” of Belgium, England, France, Japan, and South Africa. In this series of “reflections” on the mandates, ten scholars of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the international order consider the consequences of the new geopolitical order birthed by World War I. How did the reshuffling of imperial power in the immediate postwar period configure long-term struggles over minority rights, decolonization, and the shape of nation-states when the colonial era finally came to a close? How did the alleged beneficiaries—more often the victims—of this “sacred trust” grasp their own fates in a world that simultaneously promised and denied them the possibility of self-determination? From Palestine, to Namibia, to Kurdistan, and beyond, the legacies of the mandatory moment remain pressing questions today.
Whorf in the Wild: Naturalistic Evidence from Human Interaction
Authors: Athanasopoulos Panos , Bylund Emanuel
Published: October 2019

The past few decades have seen a full resurgence of the question of whether speakers of different languages think differently, also known as the Whorfian question. A characteristic of this neo-Whorfian enterprise is that the knowledge it has generated stems from psycholinguistic laboratory methods. As a consequence, our knowledge about how Whorfian effects play out in naturally occurring behaviour (i.e. ‘in the wild’) is severely limited. This study argues that the time is ripe to redeem this evidentiary bias, and advocates a multidisciplinary approach towards the Whorfian question, in which insights from laboratory settings are combined with naturalistic data in order to yield a rounded picture of the influence of language on thought. To showcase the potential of such an approach, the study uses laboratory-generated knowledge on the influence of grammatical categories on cognition to interpret two examples of naturalistic human interaction and action in the domains of spatial navigation and scientific practice.
SpliceLauncher: a tool for detection, annotation and relative quantification of alternative junctions from RNAseq data
Authors: Leman Raphaël , Harter Valentin , Atkinson Alexandre , Davy Grégoire , Rousselin Antoine , Muller Etienne , Castéra Laurent , Lemoine Fréderic , de la Grange Pierre , Guillaud-Bataille Marine , Vaur Dominique , Krieger Sophie
Published: October 2019

Alternative splicing is an important biological process widely analyzed in molecular diagnostic settings. Indeed, a variant can be pathogenic by splicing alteration and a suspected pathogenic variant (e.g. truncating variant) can be rescued by splicing. In this context, detecting and quantifying alternative splicing is challenging. We developed SpliceLauncher, a fast and easy to use open source tool that aims at detecting, annotating and quantifying alternative splice junctions at high resolution.

Availability and implementation

SpliceLauncher is available at https://github.com/raphaelleman/SpliceLauncher.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Visual and olfactory floral cues related to ambophilous pollination systems in Poaceae
Authors: Schulze-Albuquerque Isadora , Costa Ana Carolina Galindo Da , Milet-Pinheiro Paulo , Navarro Daniela Maria Do Amaral Ferraz , Thomas William Wayt , Machado Isabel Cristina
Published: October 2019

Usually considered anemophilous, grasses (Poaceae) have been the subject of few studies that recorded insects visiting their flowers. Such visitors, with wind, could act as pollen vectors in a possible ambophilous system. Since colour and scent are floral cues attracting pollinating insects, we aimed to provide the first insights into how these cues could be involved in the attraction of pollinators by grasses. Chloris barbata, Paspalum maritimum (with two morphotypes), P. millegrana and Urochloa plantaginea were studied. We determined the role of each pollen vector (wind and insect) and we registered the frequency of floral visitors. Also, we characterized the colour reflectance of glumes, anthers and stigmas and we determined the colour space in the bee colour hexagon and the chemical composition of floral scents. The floral structures of each species reflect colour differently and are perceived differently by pollinators. Furthermore, the volatile organic compounds detected are similar to those found in entomophilous species. In two of the grass species, we registered eight species of visitors, including bees, wasps and flies. Overall, wind was the most important vector for reproductive success. Insects, however, may induce wind pollination by creating pollen clouds when they visit inflorescences.
Comparative Immunogenicity of Several Enhanced Influenza Vaccine Options for Older Adults: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Authors: Cowling Benjamin J , Perera Ranawaka A P M , Valkenburg Sophie A , Leung Nancy H L , Iuliano A Danielle , Tam Yat Hung , Wong Jennifer H F , Fang Vicky J , Li Athena P Y , So Hau Chi , Ip Dennis K M , Azziz-Baumgartner Eduardo , Fry Alicia M , Levine Min Z , Gangappa Shivaprakash , Sambhara Suryaprakash , Barr Ian G , Skowronski Danuta M , Peiris J S Malik , Thompson Mark G
Published: October 2019

Background

Enhanced influenza vaccines may improve protection for older adults, but comparative immunogenicity data are limited. Our objective was to examine immune responses to enhanced influenza vaccines, compared to standard-dose vaccines, in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods

Community-dwelling older adults aged 65–82 years in Hong Kong were randomly allocated (October 2017–January 2018) to receive 2017–2018 Northern hemisphere formulations of a standard-dose quadrivalent vaccine, MF59-adjuvanted trivalent vaccine, high-dose trivalent vaccine, or recombinant-hemagglutinin (rHA) quadrivalent vaccine. Sera collected from 200 recipients of each vaccine before and at 30-days postvaccination were assessed for antibodies to egg-propagated vaccine strains by hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and to cell-propagated A/Hong Kong/4801/2014(H3N2) virus by microneutralization (MN). Influenza-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were assessed in 20 participants per group.

Results

Mean fold rises (MFR) in HAI titers to egg-propagated A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) and the MFR in MN to cell-propagated A(H3N2) were statistically significantly higher in the enhanced vaccine groups, compared to the standard-dose vaccine. The MFR in MN to cell-propagated A(H3N2) was highest among rHA recipients (4.7), followed by high-dose (3.4) and MF59-adjuvanted (2.9) recipients, compared to standard-dose recipients (2.3). Similarly, the ratio of postvaccination MN titers among rHA recipients to cell-propagated A(H3N2) recipients was 2.57-fold higher than the standard-dose vaccine, which was statistically higher than the high-dose (1.33-fold) and MF59-adjuvanted (1.43-fold) recipient ratios. Enhanced vaccines also resulted in the boosting of T-cell responses.

Conclusions

In this head-to-head comparison, older adults receiving enhanced vaccines showed improved humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, compared to standard-dose vaccine recipients.

Clinical Trials Registration

NCT03330132.
Practical Attribute-Based Conjunctive Keyword Search Scheme
Authors: Chen Yang , Li Wenmin , Gao Fei , Liang Kaitai , Zhang Hua , Wen Qiaoyan
Published: October 2019

To date cloud computing may provide considerable storage and computational power for cloud-based applications to support cryptographic operations. Due to this benefit, attribute-based keyword search (ABKS) is able to be implemented in cloud context in order to protect the search privacy of data owner/user. ABKS is a cryptographic primitive that can provide secure search services for users but also realize fine-grained access control over data. However, there have been two potential problems that prevent the scalability of ABKS applications. First of all, most of the existing ABKS schemes suffer from the outside keyword guessing attack (KGA). Second, match privacy should be considered while supporting multi-keyword search. In this paper, we design an efficient method to combine the keyword search process in ABKS with inner product encryption and deploy several proposed techniques to ensure the flexibility of retrieval mode, the security and efficiency of our scheme. We later put forward an attribute-based conjunctive keyword search scheme against outside KGA to solve the aforementioned problems. We provide security notions for two types of adversaries and our construction is proved secure against chosen keyword attack and outside KGA. Finally, all-side simulation with real-world data set is implemented for the proposed scheme, and the results of the simulation show that our scheme achieves stronger security without yielding significant cost of storage and computation.
Improvements in esophageal and gastric cancer care in Sweden-population-based results 2007–2016 from a national quality register
Authors: Jeremiasen M , Linder G , Hedberg J , Lundell L , Björ O , Lindblad M , Johansson J
Published: October 2019

The Swedish National Register for Esophageal and Gastric cancer was launched in 2006 and contains data with adequate national coverage and of high internal validity on patients diagnosed with these tumors. The aim of this study was to describe the evolution of esophageal and gastric cancer care as reflected in a population-based clinical registry. The study population was 12,242 patients (6,926 with esophageal and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancers and 5,316 with gastric cancers) diagnosed between 2007 and 2016. Treatment strategies, short- and long-term mortality, gender aspects, and centralization were investigated. Neoadjuvant oncological treatment became increasingly prevalent during the study period. Resection rates for both esophageal/GEJ and gastric cancers decreased from 29.4% to 26.0% (P = 0.022) and from 38.8% to 33.3% (P = 0.002), respectively. A marked reduction in the number of hospitals performing esophageal and gastric cancer surgery was noted. In gastric cancer patients, an improvement in 30-day mortality from 4.2% to 1.6% (P = 0.005) was evident. Overall 5-year survival after esophageal resection was 38.9%, being higher among women compared to men (47.5 vs. 36.6%; P < 0.001), whereas no gender difference was seen in gastric cancer. During the recent decade, the analyses based on the Swedish National Register for Esophageal and Gastric cancer database demonstrated significant improvements in several important quality indicators of care for patients with esophagogastric cancers. The Swedish National Register for Esophageal and Gastric cancer offers an instrument not only for the control and endorsement of quality of care but also a unique tool for population-based clinical research.
Routine use of feeding jejunostomy in oesophageal cancer resections: results of a survey in England
Authors: Tham J C , Dovell G , Berrisford R G , Humphreys M L , Wheatley T J , Sanders G , Ariyarathenam A V
Published: October 2019

Nutrition and post-operative feeding in oesophageal cancer resections for enhanced recovery remain a controversial subject. Feeding jejunostomy tubes (FJT) have been used post-operatively to address the subject but evidence to support its routine use is contentious. There is currently no data on FJT use in England for oesophageal cancer resections. Knowledge regarding current FJT usage, and rationale for its use may provide a snapshot of the trend and current standing on FJT use by resectional units in England. A standardised survey was sent electronically to all oesophageal resectional units in the United Kingdom (UK) between October 2016 and January 2018. In summary, the questionnaire probes into current FJT use, rationale for its usage, consideration of cessation of its use, and rationale of cessation of its use for units not using FJT. The resectional units were identified using the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA) progress report 2016 and 1 selected resectional unit from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, respectively. Performance data of those units were collected from the 2017 NOGCA report. Out of 40 units that were eligible, 32 (80.0%) centres responded. The responses show a heterogeneity of FJT use across the resectional centres. Most centres (56.3%) still place FJT routinely with 2 of 18 (11.1%) were considering stopping its routine use. FJT was considered a mandatory adjunct to chemotherapy in 3 (9.4%) centres. FJT was not routinely used in 9 (28.1%) of centres with 5 of 9 (55.6%) reported previous complications and 4 of 9 (44.4%) cited using other forms of nutrition supplementation as factors for discontinuing FJT use. There were 5 (15.6%) centres with divided practice among its consultants. Of those 2 of 5 (40.0%) were considering stopping FJT use, and hence, a total of 4 of 23 (17.4%) of units are now considering stopping routine FJT use. In conclusion, the wider practice of FJT use in the UK remains heterogenous. More research regarding the optimal post-operative feeding regimen needs to be undertaken.
Do all roads lead to Rome? Treatment of malposition pacemaker lead in the left ventricle
Authors: Schmiady Martin Oliver , Hofmann Michael , Maisano Francesco , Morjan Mohammed
Published: October 2019

Malpositioning of a pacemaker lead in the left ventricle is a rare device-related complication, which can lead to serious complications. Herein, we describe the case of a malpositioned lead, which entered the left ventricle via a direct transcutaneous puncture of the left common carotid artery.
Interannual dynamics of zooplankton in the Kola Section of the Barents Sea during the recent warming period
Authors: Prokopchuk Irina P , Trofimov Alexander G
Published: October 2019

Our research focused on the analysis of interannual variability of zooplankton in the Kola Section (the Barents Sea) in the period of current warming in the Arctic basing on previously unpublished data. The zooplankton community was investigated based on the analysis of 240 plankton samples, collected in late May–early June 2009–2017. A total of 74 zooplankton taxa of nine phyla were identified in the plankton samples, but copepods were the most diverse and numerous taxonomic group. The biodiversity index varied considerably from year to year, but a stable tendency for the index to increase since the beginning of the period studied was observed. Copepods dominated in terms of abundance and biomass, comprising on average 73–96% of the total zooplankton abundance and 81–96% of the total zooplankton biomass. Calanus finmarchicus was the main zooplankton species utterly dominated by abundance and biomass (on average 92 and 97% respectively). Considerable differences in zooplankton abundance and biomass at different stations of the section were observed. Although the investigations were carried out during a warming period, interannual differences in zooplankton abundance and biomass were observed. Zooplankton biomasses were higher in the years with higher temperatures and stronger water inflow.
Uncertain sovereignty: Ceylon as a Dominion 1948–1972
Authors: Abeyratne Rehan
Published: October 2019

This article, a contribution to a symposium on dominion constitutionalism, looks at sovereignty in Ceylon’s Dominion period (1948–1972). While the Ceylon Constitution has been the subject of in-depth historical and sociopolitical study, it has received less attention from legal scholars. This article hopes to fill that gap. It analyzes Ceylon Supreme Court and Privy Council judgments from this era on both rights-based and structural questions of constitutional law. In each area, sovereignty-related concerns influenced the judicial approach and case outcomes. On fundamental rights, both the Supreme Court and the Privy Council adopted a cautious approach, declining to invalidate legislation that had discriminatory effects on minority communities. This reluctance to entrench fundamental rights resulted, at least in part, from judges’ undue deference to the Ceylon Parliament, which was wrongly looked upon like its all-powerful British progenitor. On constitutional structure, the Ceylon Supreme Court deferred to Parliament even when legislation encroached into the judicial realm. The Privy Council, though, was not so passive. It upheld a separate, inviolable judicial power that Parliament could not legislate away. But by asserting itself as a check on legislative power, the Council—as a foreign judicial body intervening in Ceylonese affairs—stoked concerns that Ceylon was less than fully sovereign, which ultimately ended Dominion status.
Usefulness of routine use of bilateral axillary artery perfusion in total arch replacement
Authors: Nishimura Yoshiharu , Honda Kentaro , Yuzaki Mitsuru , Kaneko Masahiro , Fujimoto Takahiro , Agematsu Kouta , Nagashima Mitsugi
Published: October 2019

OBJECTIVES

To avoid cerebral infarction for aortic arch aneurysm and malperfusion for acute aortic dissection, the site of cannulation during total arch replacement remains important. Recently, we have used bilateral axillary artery perfusion in total arch replacement and in acute aortic dissection. Herein, we report the surgical outcomes.

METHODS

Seventy-eight patients with aortic arch aneurysm and 45 patients with acute aortic dissection were enrolled in this study. During surgery, translocation of the total arch was performed on 67 patients using a ‘frozen elephant trunk technique’.

RESULTS

In patients with aortic arch aneurysm, there was no postoperative cerebral infarction. New postoperative cerebral infarction was observed in only one patient who underwent acute aortic dissection. Two patients who had aortic arch aneurysm and 2 patients who had acute aortic dissection died at the hospital. Complications related to bilateral axillary perfusion were not observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The routine use of bilateral axillary artery perfusion in total arch replacement for aortic arch aneurysm to avoid cerebral infarction has the potential to be a useful procedure. It can facilitate the frozen elephant trunk procedure in acute aortic dissection.
Gevrey Expansions of Hypergeometric Integrals II
Authors: Castro-Jiménez Francisco-Jesús , Fernández-Fernández María-Cruz , Granger Michel
Published: October 2019

We study integral representations of the Gevrey series solutions of irregular hypergeometric systems under certain assumptions. We prove that, for such systems, any Gevrey series solution, along a coordinate hyperplane of its singular support, is the asymptotic expansion of a holomorphic solution given by a carefully chosen integral representation.
Wind Power with Energy Storage Arbitrage in Day-ahead Market by a Stochastic MILP Approach
Authors: GOMES I L R , MELICIO R , MENDES V M F , POUSINHO H M I
Published: October 2019

This paper is about a support information management system for a wind power (WP) producer having an energy storage system (ESS) and participating in a day-ahead electricity market. Energy storage can play not only a leading role in mitigation of the effect of uncertainty faced by a WP producer, but also allow for conversion of wind energy into electric energy to be stored and then released at favourable hours. This storage provides capability for arbitrage, allowing an increase on profit of a WP producer, but must be supported by a convenient problem formulation. The formulation proposed for the support information management system is based on an approach of stochasticity written as a mixed integer linear programming problem. WP and market prices are considered as stochastic processes represented by a set of scenarios. The charging/discharging of the ESS are considered dependent on scenarios of market prices and on scenarios of WP. The effectiveness of the proposed formulation is tested by comparison of case studies using data from the Iberian Electricity Market. The comparison is in favour of the proposed consideration of stochasticity.
Laparoscopic repair of a right-sided paraduodenal hernia
Authors: Walkner Stephanie , Nebiker Christian A
Published: October 2019

With an incidence of less than 1%, paraduodenal hernias are very rare but account for ~0.2–5.8% of mechanical small bowel obstruction and carry a mortality rate of 20–50%. Right-sided paraduodenal hernias are three times less frequent than left-sided paraduodenal hernias. We report the case of a 37-year-old man who suffered from colicky abdominal pain accompanied by vomiting. The computed tomography scan showed a mechanical ileus, caused by a presumed paraduodenal hernia, and we chose an elective laparoscopic surgical approach. The patient recovered quickly and was discharged on the second postoperative day. Paraduodenal hernias are a diagnostic challenge as they are typically characterized by long-term non-specific abdominal symptoms and are only detected in the event of acute intestinal obstruction. Until now, laparoscopic therapy has only been described in eight case reports and we review this rare condition and the surgical options.
A rare case of multi-focal non-contiguous necrotizing soft tissue infections and literature review
Authors: Xu Yaying Eileen , Gounder Vinay
Published: October 2019

Necrotising soft tissue infection (NSTI) is a rare yet life-threatening surgical emergency, characterized by rapidly spreading infection below the epidermis to the soft tissue layers of the dermis, subcutaneous layers, fascia and sometimes muscle. Multi-focal NSTIs have been rarely described in the literature, with reported cases predominantly involving immunocompromised patients. We report a case of an immunocompromised 70-year-old woman who initially presented with concern of a perforated colonic malignancy requiring exploratory laparotomy and within 24 hours while on inotropes, developed rapidly progressing necrotizing fasciitis (NF) of the left thigh with renal failure secondary to sepsis. Despite aggressive debridement, a progress computed tomography later showed multi-focal non-contiguous necrotising myositis of the whole left lower limb and right gluteal regions. Early diagnosis of multi-focal NF especially in immunocompromised patients, repeat assessment, aggressive surgical debridement and prompt antibiotics usage are the key to treatment.
Expression of galactinol synthase from Ammopiptanthus nanus in tomato improves tolerance to cold stress
Authors: Liu YuDong , Zhang Li , Meng SiDa , Liu YuFeng , Zhao XiaOmeng , Pang ChunPeng , Zhang HuiDong , Xu Tao , He Yi , Qi MingFang , Li Tianlai
Published: October 2019

Galactinol may act as a sugar signal that affects the ethylene signaling pathway and enhances cold tolerance in germinating seeds and young seedlings of tomato.
In silico study of the role of cell growth factors in photosynthesis using a virtual leaf tissue generator coupled to a microscale photosynthesis gas exchange model
Authors: Retta Moges A , Abera Metadel K , Berghuijs Herman Nc , Verboven Pieter , Struik Paul C , Nicolaï Bart M
Published: October 2019

Computational tools that allow in silico analysis of the role of cell growth and division on photosynthesis are scarce. We present a freely available tool that combines a virtual leaf tissue generator and a two-dimensional microscale model of gas transport during C3 photosynthesis. A total of 270 mesophyll geometries were generated with varying degrees of growth anisotropy, growth extent, and extent of schizogenous airspace formation in the palisade mesophyll. The anatomical properties of the virtual leaf tissue and microscopic cross-sections of actual leaf tissue of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) were statistically compared. Model equations for transport of CO2 in the liquid phase of the leaf tissue were discretized over the geometries. The virtual leaf tissue generator produced a leaf anatomy of tomato that was statistically similar to real tomato leaf tissue. The response of photosynthesis to intercellular CO2 predicted by a model that used the virtual leaf tissue geometry compared well with measured values. The results indicate that the light-saturated rate of photosynthesis was influenced by interactive effects of extent and directionality of cell growth and degree of airspace formation through the exposed surface of mesophyll per leaf area. The tool could be used further in investigations of improving photosynthesis and gas exchange in relation to cell growth and leaf anatomy.
Submergence stress-induced hypocotyl elongation through ethylene signaling-mediated regulation of cortical microtubules in Arabidopsis
Authors: Wang Xiaohong , Ma Qianqian , Wang Ran , Wang Pan , Liu Yimin , Mao Tonglin
Published: October 2019

In Arabidopsis, submergence induces underwater hypocotyl elongation through ethylene signaling, with activation of transcription factor PIF3 and cortical microtubule reorganization mediated by microtubule-destabilizing protein 60.
The small GTPase Rab5a and its guanine nucleotide exchange factors are involved in post-Golgi trafficking of storage proteins in developing soybean cotyledon
Authors: Wei Zhongyan , Pan Tian , Zhao Yuyang , Su Bohong , Ren Yulong , Qiu Lijuan
Published: October 2019

Storage protein is the most abundant nutritional component in soybean seed. Morphology-based evidence has verified that storage proteins are initially synthesized on the endoplasmic reticulum, and then follow the Golgi-mediated pathway to the protein storage vacuole. However, the molecular mechanisms of storage protein trafficking in soybean remain unknown. Here, we clone the soybean homologs of Rab5 and its guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) VPS9. GEF activity combined with yeast two-hybrid assays demonstrated that GmVPS9a2 might specifically act as the GEF of the canonical Rab5, while GmVPS9b functions as a common activator for all Rab5s. Subcellular localization experiments showed that GmRab5a was dually localized to the trans-Golgi network and pre-vacuolar compartments in developing soybean cotyledon cells. Expression of a dominant negative variant of Rab5a, or RNAi of either Rab5a or GmVPS9s, significantly disrupted trafficking of mRFP–CT10, a cargo marker for storage protein sorting, to protein storage vacuoles in maturing soybean cotyledons. Together, our results systematically revealed the important role of GmRab5a and its GEFs in storage protein trafficking, and verified the transient expression system as an efficient approach for elucidating storage protein trafficking mechanisms in seed.
Redox homeostasis in the growth zone of the rice leaf plays a key role in cold tolerance
Authors: Gázquez Ayelén , Abdelgawad Hamada , Baggerman Geert , Van Raemdonck Geert , Asard Han , Maiale Santiago Javier , Rodríguez Andrés Alberto , Beemster Gerrit T S
Published: October 2019

We analysed the cellular and molecular changes in the leaf growth zone of tolerant and sensitive rice varieties in response to suboptimal temperatures. Cold reduced the final leaf length by 35% and 51% in tolerant and sensitive varieties, respectively. Tolerant lines exhibited a smaller reduction of the leaf elongation rate and greater compensation by an increased duration of leaf growth. Kinematic analysis showed that cold reduced cell production in the meristem and the expansion rate in the elongation zone, but the latter was compensated for by a doubling of the duration of cell expansion. We performed iTRAQ proteome analysis on proliferating and expanding parts of the leaf growth zone. We identified 559 and 542 proteins, of which 163 and 210 were differentially expressed between zones, and 96 and 68 between treatments, in the tolerant and sensitive lines, respectively. The categories protein biosynthesis and redox homeostasis were significantly overrepresented in the up-regulated proteins. We therefore measured redox metabolites and enzyme activities in the leaf growth zone, demonstrating that tolerance of rice lines to suboptimal temperatures correlates with the ability to up-regulate enzymatic antioxidants in the meristem and non-enzymatic antioxidants in the elongation zone.
Chromatin dynamics during interphase and cell division: similarities and differences between model and crop plants
Authors: Pecinka Ales , Chevalier Christian , Colas Isabelle , Kalantidis Kriton , Varotto Serena , Krugman Tamar , Michailidis Christos , Vallés María-Pilar , Muñoz Aitor , Pradillo Mónica
Published: October 2019

Genetic information in the cell nucleus controls organismal development and responses to the environment, and finally ensures its own transmission to the next generations. To achieve so many different tasks, the genetic information is associated with structural and regulatory proteins, which orchestrate nuclear functions in time and space. Furthermore, plant life strategies require chromatin plasticity to allow a rapid adaptation to abiotic and biotic stresses. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the organization of plant chromatin and dynamics of chromosomes during interphase and mitotic and meiotic cell divisions for model and crop plants differing as to genome size, ploidy, and amount of genomic resources available. The existing data indicate that chromatin changes accompany most (if not all) cellular processes and that there are both shared and unique themes in the chromatin structure and global chromosome dynamics among species. Ongoing efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in chromatin organization and remodeling have, together with the latest genome editing tools, potential to unlock crop genomes for innovative breeding strategies and improvements of various traits.
A perspective on crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthesis evolution of orchids on different continents: Dendrobium as a case study
Authors: Li Ming-He , Liu Ding-Kun , Zhang Guo-Qiang , Deng Hua , Tu Xiong-De , Wang Yan , Lan Si-Ren , Liu Zhong-Jian
Published: October 2019

Members of the Orchidaceae, one of the largest families of flowering plants, evolved the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis strategy. It is thought that CAM triggers adaptive radiation into new niche spaces, yet very little is known about its origin and diversification on different continents. Here, we assess the prevalence of CAM in Dendrobium, which is one of the largest genera of flowering plants and found in a wide range of environments, from the high altitudes of the Himalayas to relatively arid habitats in Australia. Based on phylogenetic time trees, we estimated that CAM, as determined by δ 13C values less negative than –20.0‰, evolved independently at least eight times in Dendrobium. The oldest lineage appeared in the Asian clade during the middle Miocene, indicating the origin of CAM was associated with a pronounced climatic cooling that followed a period of aridity. Divergence of the four CAM lineages in the Asian clade appeared to be earlier than divergence of those in the Australasian clade. However, CAM species in the Asian clade are much less diverse (25.6%) than those in the Australasian clade (57.9%). These findings shed new light on CAM evolutionary history and the aridity levels of the paleoclimate on different continents.
From diffuse extragalactic and galactic gamma-rays to limits on extra dimensions
Authors: Cassé Michel , Mansoulié Bruno , Silk Joseph
Published: October 2019

We derive the maximum fraction of energy emitted in the form of massive (Kaluza–Klein) gravitons by core collapse supernovae, and the corresponding minimal extra-dimensional Planck mass M* in the ADD gravity framework at TeV scales. Our constraints arise (a) from the extragalactic gamma-ray background observed by Fermi-LAT after astrophysical sources have been removed and (b) via the residual galactic emission left after astrophysical and potentially dark matter emission have been removed. We focus on a number of extra dimensions 3 and 4, since M* is then in the TeV range, where astrophysical and collider constraints compete. Lower limits on M* are derived in the case (a) of 8.0 and 1.1 TeV for n = 3 and n = 4, respectively, and in the case (b) of 16 and 1.9 TeV. These limits are especially robust and insensitive to the various uncertainties involved.
Hyperkalemia and blood pressure regulation
Authors: Mutig Kerim , Bachmann Sebastian
Published: October 2019

Hypertension is common in the general population. Management of hypertensive patients at risk of hyperkalemia is challenging due to potential life-threatening complications such as cardiac arrest. Chronic hyperkalemia is often associated with impaired renal ability to excrete excessive potassium ions (K+). This may refer to chronic kidney disease or certain pharmacological interventions, including broadly used renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system and calcineurin inhibitors. Understanding the intrinsic mechanisms permitting kidney adaptations to hyperkalemia is critical for choosing therapeutic strategies. Valuable insights were obtained from the analysis of familial hyperkalemic hypertension (FHHt) syndrome, which became a classic model for coincidence of high blood pressure and hyperkalemia. FHHt can be caused by mutations in several genes, all of them resulting in excessive activity of with-no-lysine kinases (WNKs) in the distal nephron of the kidney. WNKs have been increasingly recognized as key signalling enzymes in the regulation of renal sodium ions (Na+) and K+ handling, enabling adaptive responses to systemic shifts of potassium homoeostasis consequent to variations in dietary potassium intake or disease. The WNK signalling pathway recruits a complex protein network mediating catalytic and non-catalytic effects of distinct WNK isoforms on relevant Na+- or K+-transporting proteins. In this review article, we summarize recent progress in understanding WNK signalling. An update of available models for renal adaptation to hyperkalemic conditions is presented. Consequences for blood pressure regulation are discussed. Pharmacological targeting of WNKs or their substrates offers promising options to manage hypertension while preventing hyperkalemia.