bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Refractive index of ionic liquids under electric field: Methyl propyl imidazole iodide and several derivatives*
Authors: Zhou Ji , Dong Shi-Kui , He Zhi-Hong , Zhang Yan-Hu
Published: February 2020

Ionic liquids have received wide attention due to their novel optoelectronic structures and devices as an optical means of regulating electricity. However, the quantitative testing and analysis of refractive index of ionic liquids under electric field are rarely carried out. In the present study, an experimental apparatus including a hollow prism is designed to measure the refractive indices of ionic liquids under different electric fields. Five groups of imidazole ionic liquids are experimentally investigated and an inversion is performed to determine the refractive indices under electric fields. The error propagation analysis of the apex angle and the minimum deflection angle are conducted, and the machining accuracy requirements of the hollow prism are determined. The results show that the refractive indices of imidazole ionic liquids change with the light wavelength, following a downward convex parabola. Furthermore, the refractive index decreases with the carbon chain length of ionic liquid at a given wavelength, presenting an order of C3MImI > C4MImI > C5MImI > C3MImBr > C3MImBF4. Notably, the refractive index of imidazole ionic liquid exhibits a nonlinear change with the applied voltage at 546 nm and a monotonical decrease at 1529 nm. Besides, the variation of refractive index at 1529 nm with the applied voltage is larger than that at 546 nm and 1013 nm. Importantly, the variation of refractive index is contrary to that of absorption coefficient under electric field. This study illustrates that the theory of electrode and carrier transport can be used to explain the law of variation of n–k value of ionic liquid under the electric field, and provides the support for the evaluation of physical properties of ionic liquids, the measurement of optical functional parameters and the regulation of electric–optic performances of optical devices.
Analytical expressions of non-relativistic static multipole polarizabilities for hydrogen-like ions*
Authors: Mei Xuesong , Zhou Wanping , Zhong Zhenxiang , Qiao Haoxue
Published: February 2020

Analytical formulas for the static multipole polarizabilities of hydrogen-like ions are derived by using the analytical wave functions and the reduced Green function and by applying a numerical fitting procedure. Our results are then applied to the studies of blackbody radiation shifts to atomic energy levels at different temperatures. Our analytical results can be served as a benchmark for other theoretical methods.
Tunability of Fano resonance in cylindrical core-shell nanorods*
Authors: Wang Ben-Li
Published: February 2020

The optical properties of cylindrical core–shell nanorods (CCSNs) are theoretically investigated in this paper. The results show that Fano resonance can be generated in CCSNs, and the wavelength and the intensity at Fano dip can be tuned respectively by adjusting the field coupling of cavity mode inside and near field on gold surface. The high tuning sensitivity which is about 400 nm per refractive-index unit can be obtained, and an easy-to-realize tunable parameter is also proposed. A two-oscillator model is also introduced to describe the generation of Fano resonance in CCSNs, and the results from this model are in good agreement with theoretical results. The CCSNs investigated in this work may have promising applications in optical devices.
Surface potential-based analytical model for InGaZnO thin-film transistors with independent dual-gates*
Authors: He Yi-Ni , Deng Lian-Wen , Qin Ting , Liao Cong-Wei , Luo Heng , Huang Sheng-Xiang
Published: February 2020

An analytical drain current model on the basis of the surface potential is proposed for indium–gallium zinc oxide (InGaZnO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with an independent dual-gate (IDG) structure. For a unified expression of carriers’ distribution for the sub-threshold region and the conduction region, the concept of equivalent flat-band voltage and the Lambert W function are introduced to solve the Poisson equation, and to derive the potential distribution of the active layer. In addition, the regional integration approach is used to develop a compact analytical current–voltage model. Although only two fitting parameters are required, a good agreement is obtained between the calculated results by the proposed model and the simulation results by TCAD. The proposed current–voltage model is then implemented by using Verilog-A for SPICE simulations of a dual-gate InGaZnO TFT integrated inverter circuit.
Spin-exchange relaxation of naturally abundant Rb in a K–Rb–21Ne self-compensated atomic comagnetometer*
Authors: Lu Yan , Zhai Yueyang , Zhang Yong , Fan Wenfeng , Xing Li , Quan Wei
Published: February 2020

The total effective spin-exchange relaxation of naturally abundant Rb in a K–Rb–21Ne comagnetometer is analyzed, and the results show that the coexistence of 87Rb and 85Rb isotopes in the same volume can lead to a large extra spin-exchange broadening compared to pure 87Rb. This broadening mainly comes from the contribution of the equivalent reduction in the Rb spin-exchange rate. On this basis, an approximate relaxation model is proposed and experimentally demonstrated to be more accurate than that from a previous work. This study also provides a method for determining the properties of alkali-metal vapor cells.
Fundamental band gap and alignment of two-dimensional semiconductors explored by machine learning*
Authors: Zhu Zhen , Dong Baojuan , Guo Huaihong , Yang Teng , Zhang Zhidong
Published: February 2020

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors isoelectronic to phosphorene have been drawing much attention recently due to their promising applications for next-generation (opt)electronics. This family of 2D materials contains more than 400 members, including (a) elemental group-V materials, (b) binary III–VII and IV–VI compounds, (c) ternary III–VI–VII and IV–V–VII compounds, making materials design with targeted functionality unprecedentedly rich and extremely challenging. To shed light on rational functionality design with this family of materials, we systemically explore their fundamental band gaps and alignments using hybrid density functional theory (DFT) in combination with machine learning. First, calculations are performed using both the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof exchange–correlation functional within the general-gradient-density approximation (GGA-PBE) and Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof hybrid functional (HSE) as a reference. We find this family of materials share similar crystalline structures, but possess largely distributed band-gap values ranging approximately from 0 eV to 8 eV. Then, we apply machine learning methods, including linear regression (LR), random forest regression (RFR), and support vector machine regression (SVR), to build models for the prediction of electronic properties. Among these models, SVR is found to have the best performance, yielding the root mean square error (RMSE) less than 0.15 eV for the predicted band gaps, valence-band maximums (VBMs), and conduction-band minimums (CBMs) when both PBE results and elemental information are used as features. Thus, we demonstrate that the machine learning models are universally suitable for screening 2D isoelectronic systems with targeted functionality, and especially valuable for the design of alloys and heterogeneous systems.
Nonlinear continuous bi-inductance electrical line with dissipative elements: Dynamics of the low frequency modulated waves
Authors: Ngounou S M , Pelap F B
Published: February 2020

The dynamics of modulated waves in a nonlinear bi-inductance transmission line with dissipative elements are examined. We show the existence of two frequency modes and carry out intensive investigations on the low frequency mode. Thanks to the multiple scales method, the behavior of these waves is investigated and the dissipative effects are analyzed. It appears that the dissipation coefficient increases with the carrier wave frequency. In the continuous approximation, we derive that the propagation of these waves is governed by the complex Ginzburg–Landau equation instead of the Korteweg–de-Vries equation as previously established. Asymptotic studies of the dynamics of plane waves in the line reveal the existence of three additional regions in the dispersion curve where the modulational phenomenon is observed. In the low frequency mode, we demonstrate that the network allows the propagation of dark and bright solitons. Numerical findings are in perfect agreement with the analytical predictions.
Hybrid-PIC/PIC simulations on ion extraction by electric field in laser-induced plasma
Authors: Lu Xiao-Yong , Yuan Cheng , Zhang Xiao-Zhang , Zhang Zhi-Zhong
Published: February 2020

The processes of electric ion extraction from plasma induced by pulse lasers are simulated by particle-in-cell (PIC) method and hybrid-PIC method. A new calculation scheme named preprocessing hybrid-PIC is presented because neither of the two methods above is omnipotent, especially under the circumstance of high initial plasma density. The new scheme provides credible results with less computational consumption than PIC method in both one- and two-dimensional simulations, except for Π-type electrode configuration. The simulation results show that the M-type performs best in all electrode configurations in both high-density and low-density plasma conditions.
Coherent 420 nm laser beam generated by four-wave mixing in Rb vapor with a single continuous-wave laser*
Authors: Liu Hao , Yuan Jin-Peng , Wang Li-Rong , Xiao Lian-Tuan , Jia Suo-Tang
Published: February 2020

We demonstrate the generation of the coherent 420 nm laser via parametric four-wave mixing process in Rb vapor. A single 778 nm laser with circular polarization is directly injected into a high-density atomic vapor, which drives the atoms from the 5S1/2 state to the 5D5/2 state with monochromatic two-photon transition. The frequency up-conversion laser is generated by the parametric four-wave mixing process under the phase matching condition. This coherent laser is firstly certified by the knife-edge method and a narrow range grating spectrometer. Then the generated laser power is investigated in terms of the power and frequency of the incoming beam as well as the density of the atoms. Finally, a 420 nm coherent laser with power of 19 μW and beam quality of

M
x
2

=
1.32

,

M
y
2

=
1.37

is obtained with optimal experimental parameters. This novel laser shows potential prospects in the measurement of material properties, information storage, and underwater optical communication.
On the use of averaged indicators to assess lakes’ thermal response to changes in climatic conditions
Authors: Toffolon Marco , Piccolroaz Sebastiano , Calamita Elisa
Published: February 2020

Studies on the impact of climate change in lakes have mainly focused on the average response of lake surface temperature during three summer months (July, August, September, usually termed JAS). Focusing on the Laurentian Great Lakes, we challenge this common assumption by showing that the thermal behaviour is diversified in time both among different lakes and within a single one. Deep regions experience a stronger warming concentrated in early summer, mainly due to anticipated stratification, while shallow parts respond more uniformly throughout the year. To perform such analysis, we use the difference between the five warmest and coldest years in a series of 20 years as a proxy of possible effects of climate alterations, and compare the warming of lake surface temperature with that of air temperature. In this way, based on past observations obtained from satellite images, we show how the warming is heterogeneously distributed in time and in space, and that the quantification of lakes’ thermal response to climate change is chiefly influenced by the time window used in the analysis. Should we be more careful when considering averaged indicators of lake thermal response to climate change?
Global effect of urban sprawl, industrialization, trade and economic development on carbon dioxide emissions
Authors: Sarkodie Samuel Asumadu , Owusu Phebe Asantewaa , Leirvik Thomas
Published: February 2020

Significant progress has been made towards mitigating climate change and its impacts across countries. However, the transboundary effect of CO2emissions means that excluding the actions and inactions of certain countries and territories that escalate emissions is alarming. On this note, we examined the heterogeneous contribution of immediate and underlying drivers of emissions across 206 countries and territories for the period spanning 1960–2018. We deployed a dynamic panel estimation technique that accounts for cross-sectional dependence, heterogeneous parameters across countries, and dynamic correlated effects—a constraint for socio-economic, consumption- and pollution-based models. A global accounting of economic policy and debt, population structure, density and urbanization, and environmental-related aggregate indicators in a carbon emission function is presented. The empirical results demonstrate that the overarching effect of the instantaneous increase in economic development, population dynamics and energy utilization stimulate global emissions at national, urban and household levels across countries and territories. Industrialization and trade were found to escalate global pollution levels due to the impact of carbonized and energy-intensive economic structure in many developing and developed economies. Urbanization, urban income growth, and urban energy consumption are intertwined, hence, the institution of urban-related policy interventions is likely to negate the trio-impact on environmental sustainability. The triple effect (exploitation of natural resources, production and consumption) of economic development spurs environmental pollution, thus, calls for structural change from a carbonized to a decarbonized economy. The complex interaction highlights diversification of the energy mix by the inclusion of clean and renewable energy sources, fossil fuel-switching, and modern technologies like carbon capture and storage to improve energy efficiency and decline emission intensities.
Entanglement entropies of inhomogeneous Luttinger liquids
Authors: Bastianello Alvise , Dubail Jérôme , Stéphan Jean-Marie
Published: February 2020

We develop a general framework to compute the scaling of entanglement entropy in inhomogeneous one-dimensional quantum systems belonging to the Luttinger liquid universality class. While much insight has been gained in homogeneous systems by making use of conformal field theory techniques, our focus is on systems for which the Luttinger parameter K depends on position, and conformal invariance is broken. An important point of our analysis is that contributions stemming from the UV cutoff have to be treated very carefully, since they now depend on position. We show that such terms can be removed either by considering regularized entropies specifically designed to do so, or by tabulating numerically the cutoff, and reconstructing its contribution to the entropy through the local density approximation. We check our method numerically in the spin-1/2 XXZ spin chain in a spatially varying magnetic field, and find excellent agreement.
Research of the organization and instruments of management of credit bank risk
Authors: Alekseeva N , Kornilova L , Tolstova M , Vasilieva O
Published: February 2020

In the conditions of the unstable economic environment, the complex system of credit risk management of the Bank becomes particularly relevant, the effectiveness of which determines the minimization of Bank losses from lending activities and the formation of reserves, reasonable differentiation of borrowers. This paper presents the author’s opinion on the composition and content of the stages of risk management in a bank on credit risk; studied the practice of implementing systematic methods and methods of risk management in relation to the credit risk of the bank; summarized multilevel system of indicators of credit risk assessment, which determines the multilateral accounting of its manifestations and the quality of subsequent regulation.
Internal reporting as an element of admission of a management decision
Authors: Mizikovsky E , Zubenko E , Zubrenkova O , Igoshina Y , Ivanov E A , Khristolubova V V
Published: February 2020

Now the question of the organization of production accounting and reporting, development of forms of the intraeconomic reporting by the agricultural and industrial enterprises acquires special relevance. The topic under discussion requires an integrated approach to consideration, since the presentation of production reports on the activities of agricultural and industrial enterprises affects the effectiveness of management decisions. The main attention is paid to the development of general theoretical and methodological approaches to internal reporting formation of generalization varying degrees, based on specifics of production activities and accounting system of brewing enterprises. The objective and practical need of a correct, streamlined system of internal reporting, in accordance with modern theory and practice requirements, apparent inadequacy of development of methodological issues for the formation of this reporting, necessary for internal management, certainly indicate the relevance and practical significance of the study, and also determined the paper purpose and tasks. The main goal of this article is to develop theoretical and practical issues of the brewing enterprises internal reporting formation. To achieve this goal, the authors solved the following tasks: conditions, principles and the procedure for constructing internal reporting were determined; revealed the specifics of brewing enterprises organizational structure, procedure for certain types of internal reporting formation is proposed.
Technology to improve milk productivity of female camels of the Arvana breed and Kazakh bactrian
Authors: Baimukanov D A , Semenov V G , Alibaev N N , Baimukanov A B , Karymsakov T N , Ermakhanov M N , Iskhan K ZH
Published: February 2020

It is proved that milk yield in winter is characterized by a decrease in the absolute indicator of the average daily milk yield with a simultaneous increase in the mass fraction of fat in milk in camels, regardless of the breed and the zone of their breeding. On average, the milk yield in December - February for camels of Arvan breed was from 4.8 kg to 6.4 kg, with a mass fraction of fat in milk of 4.6 - 4.7%. In winter, the milk yield of the Kazakh Bactrian camels in comparison with the peers of the Arvana breed of the “bestorrangyla” plant type is 2.5 times lower. The female camels of the Kazakh Bactrian in the first and second months of the winter period did not experience a sharp decrease in milk yield and on average December 2.5 - 3.0 kg and January 2.3 - 2.8 kg. At the end of the winter period - in February it drops sharply and reaches the level of 1.6-2.1 kg. At the same time, the fat content of milk in the winter period is in the redistribution of 5.9 – 6.2%.
Evaluation of the reproductive qualities of geese of Linda breed
Authors: Toboev G M , Kazantseva M A , Semenov V G , Zaytcev V V
Published: February 2020

This paper presents the results of a study of the paternal and maternal geese reproductive qualities, depending on their age. It has been established that in geese, regardless of their age, at the beginning of the biological cycle of egg-laying, the growth of all reproductive qualities occurs. In the middle of the productive period, stabilization occurs, and by the end of the productive period, there is a decrease in reproductive performance. The mating line gosling rate was higher than the paternal line throughout the egg-laying cycle and on average per season it was 47.87% for the maternal line and 46.1% for the paternal line.
Charting the Development of Spirituality in Social Work in the Second Decade of the 21st Century: A Critical Commentary
Authors: Crisp Beth R
Published: February 2020

This article provides a critical commentary on the place of spirituality in social work scholarship in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Compared with previous decades, the applications of spirituality within social work have expanded, and understandings of what spirituality entails have become more nuanced. In part, this reflects an intention and methodology which enabled scholarship from beyond the Anglosphere to be included in this commentary, including the perspectives of indigenous peoples. Three key issues were identified in the literature: a lack of consensus as to how spirituality is understood, including whether it can be measured; the broadening scope for spirituality in social work practice, including growing recognition that spirituality has a role beyond direct practice in social policy and advocacy work; and the impact on social workers or holistic practice models which acknowledge the spirituality of service users and consequences of this for social work education. Although there are many positives to have emerged from this growing acceptance of a legitimate place for spirituality in social work, social workers need to take care to ensure that the ways they incorporate spirituality into their practice is not harmful to service users.
Winners and losers of the global beer market: European competition in the view of product life-cycle
Authors: Hána David , Materna Kryštof , Hasman Jiří
Published: February 2020

The European brewing industry has experienced considerable development related to the changes of beer production volume. These trends are generalised by Vernon’s concept of product life-cycle that is already anchored in the economic geography. The differences of its growth, maturity and decline stages are important to study transnational corporations’ (TNC) strategies within the combination of different stages of all European markets. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to verify how the TNCs’ behaviour in individual countries depends on the stages of their beer markets. In the beer life-cycle perspective, Europe can be divided into several regions with a similar stage of development. Expected behaviour of brewing TNCs in the dependence of the countries’ stage in the beer life-cycle have been proved in the large extent. Some interesting differences were, however, also found. The paper finally pointed on the rising beer life-cycle of microbreweries, which could replace the life-cycle of traditional breweries.
Clinical evaluation of an immunoinhibition procedure for creatine kinase-MB.
Authors: Obzansky D , Lott J A
Published: February 2020

We have clinically evaluated the Dade "Cardiozyme" immunoinhibition procedure for determination of creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MG) in 71 patients who were suspected of having had an acute myocardial infarction. Electrophoresis for CK-MB was also carried out. On the basis of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for myocardial infarction, we found the Dade procedure for CK-MB to be somewhat inferior to electrophoresis. In 11 patients for whom the time of infarction was known, we observed normal CK-MB results for two of them by both immunoinhibition and electrophoresis during the first 24 h, but subsequently could detect abnormal CK-MB results by both methods. Thus in some patients such data are not helpful for making a diagnosis in the first 24 h. The Dade procedure is easy to perform, but lacks sensitivity in the region of low CK-MB activity, requires a very stable spectrophotometer, is imprecise, and produces negative numerical results in patients without myocardial infarction.
Recent advances in measurement of amylase activity--a comparative study.
Authors: Kaufman R A , Tietz N W
Published: February 2020

We evaluated four kinetic amylase procedures with respect to kinetics, analytical range, blank rates, reagent stability, reagent impurities, interfering substances, and intrinsic sensitivities. Each of the methods is shown to have its own unique advantages and disadvantages. A preliminary discussion of some alternative methods, in which glycosidic p-nitrophenyl alpha-oligosaccharides are substrates, is included.
DNA nucleotidylexotransferase of normal persons and leukemic patients.
Authors: Yasmineh W G , Smith B M , Bloomfield C D
Published: February 2020

We describe a relatively simple and rapid assay for DNA nucleotidylexotransferase (EC 2.7.7.31) activity in normal lymphocytes and leukemic cells from blood and (or) bone marrow of patients with various types of leukemia. We followed the method of Beutler and Kuhl (Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 70: 733, 1978) but separated the product of the reaction by precipitation on filter-paper disks instead of by centrifugation. Normal lymphocytes had a mean activity of 13.5 (SD = 9.21; range 3 to 35) pU/10(8) cells. Leukemic cells from the peripheral blood of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia had a mean activity slightly greater than normal (48 pU/10(8) cells); those from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia had a mean activity of 863 pU/10(8) cells, or 62-fold the normal mean. Similarly, cells from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in acute phase had a normal activity when the cell proliferation was myelogenous, but much higher activities when the cell proliferation was lymphoblastic. Cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia had normal activity. In leukemic patients, approximately similar results were obtained with cells isolated from bone marrow.
Birds in fragmented Amazonian rainforest: Lessons from 40 years at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project
Authors: Stouffer Philip C
Published: February 2020

For decades, ecologists have studied fundamental questions of how Amazonian biodiversity is maintained, and whether that diversity can persist following deforestation. The long history of avian research at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, near Manaus, Brazil, has helped advance this understanding in the context of a broader research program focused on rainforest fragments embedded in a dynamic matrix. By sampling birds beginning before fragments were isolated, in the late 1970s, and continuing the protocol to the present, our work has revealed community dynamics driven not just by area and isolation, but also by larger landscape patterns, particularly second growth recovery over decadal scales. Fragments permanently lose some bird species, but their communities need not follow a trajectory toward catastrophic change. Our challenge now is to determine under what conditions remnant patches and developing second growth can support not just the rich diversity of Amazonian rainforest species but also their population processes and emergent community properties.
Proximity to oil wells in North Dakota does not impact nest success of ducks but lowers nest densities
Authors: Skaggs Cassandra G , Ringelman Kevin M , Loesch Charles R , Szymanski Michael L , Rohwer Frank C , Kemink Kaylan M
Published: February 2020

Over the past decade, the United States has seen a rapid increase in oil and gas extraction from areas where resources were previously thought to be unrecoverable, particularly the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota. The Bakken overlaps with the Prairie Pothole Region, the most critical habitat in North America for breeding ducks, where oil and gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing has the potential to impact more than a million duck pairs in the United States alone. Here, we evaluated the effect of oil and gas development on nesting ducks in 2015–2017 across 5 counties in North Dakota. Using data from ~4,000 nests we found that nest survival was higher at sites composed of a higher percentage of grassland, and for nests found closer to major roads. We found no effect of any metric of oil and gas extraction activity on duck nest survival. Using survival-corrected estimates of nest density, we found higher densities of nests closer to roads, but lower nest densities at sites surrounded by more wells. Our top-ranked model indicated that nest density was predicted to decline by 14% relative to sites with no development, given the average number of wells (3.15 wells) within 1,500 m of a site. However, within a nesting field, we found no evidence that ducks were avoiding petroleum-related infrastructure at smaller spatial scales. Our results indicate mixed effects of oil and gas development on nesting waterfowl, and highlight both the resiliency of dabbing ducks to environmental change and the need for additional research on other aspects of duck breeding biology.
Fecal MicroRNAs Show Promise as Noninvasive Crohn’s Disease Biomarkers
Authors: Wohnhaas Christian T , Schmid Ramona , Rolser Marcel , Kaaru Eric , Langgartner Dominik , Rieber Kathrin , Strobel Benjamin , Eisele Claudia , Wiech Franziska , Jakob Ines , Gantner Florian , Herichova Ivona , Vinisko Richard , Böcher Wulf O , Visvanathan Sudha , Shen Fei , Panzenbeck Mark , Raymond Ernest , Reber Stefan O , Delić Denis , Baum Patrick
Published: February 2020

Background

Short non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in various cellular processes during disease progression of Crohn’s disease (CD) and remarkably stable in feces, which make them attractive biomarker candidates for reflecting intestinal inflammatory processes. Here we investigated the potential of fecal miRNAs as noninvasive and translational CD biomarkers.

Methods

MiRNAs were screened in feces of 52 patients with CD and 15 healthy controls using RNA sequencing and the results were confirmed by PCR. The relationship between fecal miRNA levels and the clinical CD activity index (CDAI) or CD endoscopic index of severity (CDEIS) was explored, respectively. Additionally, fecal miRNAs were investigated in dextran sodium sulfate, adoptive T-cell transfer, and Helicobacter typhlonius/stress-induced murine colitis models using the NanoString platform.

Results

Nine miRNAs (miR-15a-5p, miR-16-5p, miR-128-3p, miR-142-5p, miR-24-3p, miR-27a-3p, miR-223-3p, miR-223-5p, and miR-3074-5p) were significantly (adj. P < 0.05, >3-fold) increased whereas 8 miRNAs (miR-10a-5p, miR-10b-5p, miR-141-3p, miR-192-5p, miR-200a-3p, miR-375, miR-378a-3p, and let-7g-5p) were significantly decreased in CD. MiR-192-5p, miR-375, and miR-141-3p correlated (P < 0.05) with both CDAI and CDEIS whereas miR-15a-5p correlated only with CDEIS. Deregulated expression of miR-223-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-15a-5p, miR-24-3p, and miR-200a-3p was also observed in murine models. The identified altered fecal miRNA levels reflect pathophysiological mechanisms in CD, such as Th1 and Th17 inflammation, autophagy, and fibrotic processes.

Conclusions

Our translational study assessed global fecal miRNA changes of patients with CD and relevant preclinical models. These fecal miRNAs show promise as translational and clinically useful noninvasive biomarkers for mechanistic investigation of intestinal pathophysiology, including monitoring of disease progression.
NipahVR: a resource of multi-targeted putative therapeutics and epitopes for the Nipah virus
Authors: Gupta Amit Kumar , Kumar Archit , Rajput Akanksha , Kaur Karambir , Dar Showkat Ahmed , Thakur Anamika , Megha Kirti , Kumar Manoj
Published: February 2020

Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging and priority pathogen from the Paramyxoviridae family with a high fatality rate. It causes various diseases such as respiratory ailments and encephalitis and poses a great threat to humans and livestock. Despite various efforts, there is no approved antiviral treatment available. Therefore, to expedite and assist the research, we have developed an integrative resource NipahVR (http://bioinfo.imtech.res.in/manojk/nipahvr/) for the multi-targeted putative therapeutics and epitopes for NiV. It is structured into different sections, i.e. genomes, codon usage, phylogenomics, molecular diagnostic primers, therapeutics (siRNAs, sgRNAs, miRNAs) and vaccine epitopes (B-cell, CTL, MHC-I and -II binders). Most decisively, potentially efficient therapeutic regimens targeting different NiV proteins and genes were anticipated and projected. We hope this computational resource would be helpful in developing combating strategies against this deadly pathogen.

Database URL: http://bioinfo.imtech.res.in/manojk/nipahvr/
Outcome of thoracoscopic repair of type-C esophageal atresia: a single-center experience from North Africa
Authors: Elbarbary Mohamed M , Shalaby Aly , Elseoudi Mohamed , Seleim Hamed M , Ragab Moutaz , Fares Ahmed E , Khairy Dalia , Wishahy Ahmed M K , Alkonaiesy Ramy M , Eltagy Gamal , Bahaaeldin Khaled
Published: February 2020

Thoracoscopic repair of esophageal atresia is gaining popularity worldwide attributable to availability and advances in minimally invasive instruments. In this report, we presented our experience with thoracoscopic esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) repair in our tertiary care institute. A prospective study on short-gap type-C EA/TEF was conducted at Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital between April 2016 and 2018. Excluded were cases with birth weight < 1500 gm, inability to stabilize physiologic parameters, or major cardiac anomalies. The technique was standardized in all cases and was carried out by operating team concerned with minimally invasive surgery at our facility. Primary outcome evaluated was successful primary anastomosis. Secondary outcomes included operative time, conversion rate, anastomotic leakage, recurrent fistula, postoperative stricture, and time till discharge. Over the inclusion period of this study, 136 cases of EA/TEF were admitted at our surgical NICU. Thoracoscopic repair was attempted in 76 cases. In total, 30 cases were pure atresia/long gap type-C atresia and were excluded from the study. Remaining 46 cases met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. Mean age at operation was 8.7 days (range 2–32), and mean weight was 2.6 Kg (range 1.8–3.6). Apart from five cases (10.8%) converted to thoracotomy, the mean operative time was 108.3 minutes (range 80–122 minute). A tension-free primary anastomosis was possible in all thoracoscopically managed cases (n = 41) cases. Survival rate was 85.4% (n = 35). Anastomotic leakage occurred in seven patients (17%). Conservative management was successful in two cases, while esophagostomy and gastrostomy were judged necessary in the other for five. Anastomotic stricture developed in five cases (16.6%) of the 30 surviving patients who kept their native esophagus. Despite the fact that good mid-term presented results may be due to patient selection bias, thoracoscopic approach proved to be feasible for management of short-gap EA/TEF. Authors of this report believe that thoracoscopy should gain wider acceptance and pediatric surgeons should strive to adopt this procedure.
Magnetometric resistivity tomography using chaos polynomial expansion
Authors: Vu M T , Jardani A , Revil A , Jessop M
Published: February 2020

We present an inversion algorithm to reconstruct the spatial distribution of the electrical conductivity from the analysis of magnetometric resistivity (MMR) data acquired at the ground surface. We first review the theoretical background of MMR connecting the generation of a magnetic field in response to the injection of a low-frequency current source and sink in the ground given a known distribution of electrical conductivity in the subsurface of the Earth. The forward modelling is based on sequentially solving the Poisson equation for the electrical potential distribution and the magnetostatic (Biot and Savart) equation for the magnetic field. Then, we introduce a Gauss–Newton inversion algorithm in which the logarithm of the electrical conductivity field is parametrized by using the chaos polynomial expansion in order to reduce the number of model parameters. To illustrate how the method works, the algorithm is successfully applied on four synthetic models with 3-D heterogeneous distribution of the electrical conductivity. Finally, we apply our algorithm to a field case study in which seepage was known to be occurring along an embankment of a headrace channel to a power station.
Belonging home: capabilities, belonging and mental health recovery in low resourced settings
Authors: Cappo David , Mutamba Brian , Verity Fiona
Published: February 2020

There are significant barriers to the development of a ‘balanced model’ of mental health in low-income countries. These include gaps in the evidence base on effective responses to severe mental health issues and what works in the transition from hospital to home, and a low public investment in primary and community care. These limitations were the drivers for the formation of the non-government organization, YouBelong Uganda (YBU), which works to contribute to the implementation of a community-based model of mental health care in Uganda. This paper overviews an intervention protocol developed by YBU, which is a combined model of parallel engagement with the national mental hospital in Kampala, Uganda, movement of ‘ready for discharge’ patients back to their families and communities, and community development. The YBU programme is theoretically underpinned by a capabilities approach together with practical application of a concept of ‘belonging’. It is an experiment in implementation with hopes that it may be a positive step towards the development of an effective model in Uganda, which may be applicable in other countries. Finally, we discuss the value in joining ideas from social work, sociology, philosophy, public health and psychiatry into a community mental health ‘belonging framework’.
Power and diplomacy in the post-liberal cyberspace
Authors: Barrinha André , Renard Thomas
Published: February 2020

It is becoming widely accepted that we have transitioned, or are now transitioning, from an international liberal order to a different reality. Whether that reality is different solely in terms of power dynamics, or also in terms of values and institutions, is up for discussion. The growing body of literature on ‘post-liberalism’ is used as an entry-point for this article, which aims to explore how the post-liberal transition applies to cyberspace. We explore how power dynamics are evolving in cyberspace, as well as how established norms, values and institutions are contested. The article then looks at the emergence of cyber diplomacy as a consequence and response to the post-liberal transition. As it will be argued, if cyberspace was a creation of the liberal order, cyber-diplomacy is a post-liberal world practice. What role it plays in shaping a new order or building bridges between different political visions, and what it means for the future of cyberspace, will constitute key points of discussion.
Attitudes towards Anglicisms in Contemporary Standard Slovak
Authors: Panocová Renáta
Published: February 2020

The extensive spread of anglicisms in the last decades is a tendency that can be observed in a number of languages, including Slovak. This situation immediately raises concerns about the possible effects on national languages. In Slovakia, the attitudes to borrowings from English find their place between two poles of a continuum. On one hand, there are Slovak users (not only linguists) who are strongly against borrowings and especially anglicisms. Some even consider them a serious threat to Slovak as a national language which is part of Slovak identity. On the other hand, some users are keen to use English words in their Slovak. Then many Slovak speakers are confused as to what is acceptable and seek help from an official authority. The authority is represented by Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Štúra Slovenskej akadémie vied (Ľudovít Štúr Institute of Linguistics of the Slovak Academy of Science). The Institute has set up a Linguistic Advice Service to answer questions about correct use. There is a database of the questions and answers which can be searched by key words or browsed in alphabetical order. The analysis focuses on the queries concerning anglicisms. The results of the analysis show how different attitudes to anglicisms in Slovak correlate with the lexicographic treatment of the words.
A lattice Boltzmann simulation of oblique impact of a single rain droplet on super-hydrophobic surface with randomly distributed rough structures
Authors: Shusheng Zhang , Hao Lu , Li-Zhi Zhang , Saffa Riffat , Zafer Ure , Huaguan Zhang
Published: February 2020

In this paper, oblique impact of a single rain droplet on super-hydrophobic surface with randomly distributed rough structures was investigated by lattice Boltzmann method. The effects of the impact angle of the droplet as well as the skewness and kurtosis of rough surface on the bouncing ability of the droplet were in this paper. It was found that the oblique impact can effectively reduce the contact time in the process of droplet bouncing off, because the energy consumption caused by the pinning effect is reduced. Moreover, the contact time most possibly reaches the shortest when the impact angle is 45°. Decreasing the skewness and keeping the kurtosis around 4.0 can enhance the bouncing ability during the droplet oblique impact on randomly distributed rough surfaces. The results are useful for the design of building structures.
L2-Cohomology, Derivations, and Quantum Markov Semi-Groups onq-Gaussian Algebras
Authors: Caspers Martijn , Isono Yusuke , Wasilewski Mateusz
Published: February 2020

We study (quasi-)cohomological properties through an analysis of quantum Markov semi-groups. We construct higher order Hochschild cocycles using gradient forms associated with a quantum Markov semi-group. By using Schatten-${\mathcal{S}}_p$ estimates we analyze when these cocycles take values in the coarse bimodule. For the 1-cocycles (the derivations) we show that under natural conditions we obtain the Akemann–Ostrand property. We apply this to $q$-Gaussian algebras $\Gamma _q(H_{{\mathbb{R}}})$. As a result $q$-Gaussians satisfy AO$^+$ for $\vert q \vert \leqslant \dim (H_{{\mathbb{R}}})^{-1/2}$. This includes a new range of $q$ in low dimensions compared to Shlyakhtenko [ 34].
Adapting and evaluating a deep learning language model for clinical why-question answering
Authors: Wen Andrew , Elwazir Mohamed Y , Moon Sungrim , Fan Jungwei
Published: February 2020

Objectives

To adapt and evaluate a deep learning language model for answering why-questions based on patient-specific clinical text.

Materials and Methods

Bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) models were trained with varying data sources to perform SQuAD 2.0 style why-question answering (why-QA) on clinical notes. The evaluation focused on: (1) comparing the merits from different training data and (2) error analysis.

Results

The best model achieved an accuracy of 0.707 (or 0.760 by partial match). Training toward customization for the clinical language helped increase 6% in accuracy.

Discussion

The error analysis suggested that the model did not really perform deep reasoning and that clinical why-QA might warrant more sophisticated solutions.

Conclusion

The BERT model achieved moderate accuracy in clinical why-QA and should benefit from the rapidly evolving technology. Despite the identified limitations, it could serve as a competent proxy for question-driven clinical information extraction.
Extraction of Sulfamethazine from Feed Samples
Authors: Blanchflower John W , Rice Desmond A
Published: February 2020

The efficiency of a number of published extraction solvents for sulfamethazine in feeds was evaluated. Poor recoveries were obtained with several of the solvents when sulfamethazine was extracted from commerically pelleted feed samples. Recoveries ranged from 48 to 94%. A 75% methanol acetic acid extractant gave the best results
Determination of Dimetridazole and Ipronidazole in Feeds at Cross-Contamination Levels
Authors: Hughes Duane D
Published: February 2020

A rapid method for the determination of dimetridazole and ipronidazole in feeds is described. The compounds are extracted from a borate buffer (pH 8.65) with benzene, partitioned into IN HC1, and then partitioned back into benzene from a basic aqueous phase. The benzene extract is concentrated and injected onto a nonpolar (Apiezon L) gas chromatographic column for determination by 63Ni electroncapture detection. Recoveries from feeds of various composition, spiked at 0.2 ppm with both dimetridazole and ipronidazole, ranged from 70 to 115%; for the same feeds spiked at 1 ppm or more, the recoveries were greater than 80%. Carbadox, furazolidone, levamisole, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, sulfamethazine, sulfaquinoxaline, arsanilic acid, piperazine, penicillin, and commonly added vitamins and minerals do not interfere. A 2-dimensional thin layer chromatographic system is presented as a means of additional identification.
Complete Amino Acid Analysis in Hydrolysates of Foods and Feces by Liquid
Chromatography of Precolumn Phenylisothiocyanate Derivatives
Authors: Sarwar Ghulam , Botting Herbert G , Peace Robert W
Published: February 2020

The amino acid analysis method using precolumn phenylisothiocyanate (PITC) derivatization and liquid chromatography was modified for accurate determination of methionine (as methionine sulfone), cysteine/cystine (as cysteic acid), and all other amino acids, except tryptophan, in hydrolyzed samples of foods and feces. A simple liquid chromatographic method (requiring no derivatization) for the determination of tryptophan in alkaline hydrolysates of foods and feces was also developed. Separation of all amino acids by liquid chromatography was completed in 12 min compared with 60-90 min by ion-exchange chromatography. Variation expressed as coefficients of variation (CV) for the determination of most amino acids in the food and feces samples was not more than 4%, which compared favorably with the reproducibility of ion-exchange methods. Data for amino acids and recoveries of amino acid nitrogen obtained by liquid chromatographic methods were also similar to those obtained by conventional ion-exchange procedures.
Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Ivermectin in Bovine Serum
Authors: Oehler Delbert D , Miller J Allen
Published: February 2020

A rapid, sensitive method is described for the determination of ivermectin concentrations in bovine serum. Ivermectin is extracted by passing a sample through a reverse-phase C18 cartridge. A silicapacked cartridge is used to purify the extract further. Ivermectin is quantitated by liquid chromatography with detection at 245 nm. Recoveries were 95 ± 4% for samples fortified with 20 ppb ivermectin. Concentrations as low as 2 ppb can be detected in 5 g samples.
Fluorometric Method for Determination of 1,2-Unsaturated Aldehydes in Autooxidized Lipids with 2,4-Diaminotoluene
Authors: Hirayama Teruhisa , Miura Shinji , Araki Mariko , Takeo Yoshiko , Watanabe Tetsushi
Published: February 2020

A simple fluorometric method has been developed to determine 1,2-unsaturated aldehydes in autooxidized lipids. 1,2- Unsaturated aldehydes were allowed to react with 2,4-diamlnotoluene in acidic condition and the products, 7-amlno-6- methylqulnoline derivatives, were determined by a fluorometric procedure at 394 nm (excitation wavelength) and 494 nm (emission wavelength). Finally, 1902.9, 1738.8, and 2149.2 μg/g of 1,2-unsaturated aldehydes as 2-propenal were detected in 20-h autooxidized methyl oleate, methyl llnoleate, and methyl llnolenate, which contained 98.5, 223.2, and 355.6 μg/g, respectively, of thlobarblturlc acid reactive substances as malondialdehyde. In a preliminary liquid chromatographic LC determination of 2-propenal In autooxidized lipids, 29, 20, and 57 μg/g, respectively, of 2- propenal were detected In 20-h autooxidized methyl oleate, methyl llnoleate and methyl llnolenate. The 2-propenal can be detected as 7-amlno-6-methylqulnoline by using LC-fluorometrlc procedure at levels of 100 pg.