bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paralogous HOX13 Genes in Human Cancers
Authors: Botti Gerardo , Cillo Clemente , De Cecio Rossella , Malzone Maria Gabriella , Cantile Monica
Published: May 2019

Hox genes (HOX in humans), an evolutionary preserved gene family, are key determinants of embryonic development and cell memory gene program. Hox genes are organized in four clusters on four chromosomal loci aligned in 13 paralogous groups based on sequence homology (Hox gene network). During development Hox genes are transcribed, according to the rule of “spatio-temporal collinearity”, with early regulators of anterior body regions located at the 3’ end of each Hox cluster and the later regulators of posterior body regions placed at the distal 5’ end. The onset of 3’ Hox gene activation is determined by Wingless-type MMTV integration site family (Wnt) signaling, whereas 5’ Hox activation is due to paralogous group 13 genes, which act as posterior-inhibitors of more anterior Hox proteins (posterior prevalence). Deregulation of HOX genes is associated with developmental abnormalities and different human diseases. Paralogous HOX13 genes (HOX A13, HOX B13, HOX C13 and HOX D13) also play a relevant role in tumor development and progression. In this review, we will discuss the role of paralogous HOX13 genes regarding their regulatory mechanisms during carcinogenesis and tumor progression and their use as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Dichloroacetate Affects Mitochondrial Function and Stemness-Associated Properties in Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines
Authors: Tataranni Tiziana , Agriesti Francesca , Pacelli Consiglia , Ruggieri Vitalba , Laurenzana Ilaria , Mazzoccoli Carmela , Della Sala Gerardo , Panebianco Concetta , Pazienza Valerio , Capitanio Nazzareno , Piccoli Claudia
Published: May 2019

Targeting metabolism represents a possible successful approach to treat cancer. Dichloroacetate (DCA) is a drug known to divert metabolism from anaerobic glycolysis to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation by stimulation of PDH. In this study, we investigated the response of two pancreatic cancer cell lines to DCA, in two-dimensional and three-dimension cell cultures, as well as in a mouse model. PANC-1 and BXPC-3 treated with DCA showed a marked decrease in cell proliferation and migration which did not correlate with enhanced apoptosis indicating a cytostatic rather than a cytotoxic effect. Despite PDH activation, DCA treatment resulted in reduced mitochondrial oxygen consumption without affecting glycolysis. Moreover, DCA caused enhancement of ROS production, mtDNA, and of the mitophagy-marker LC3B-II in both cell lines but reduced mitochondrial fusion markers only in BXPC-3. Notably, DCA downregulated the expression of the cancer stem cells markers CD24/CD44/EPCAM only in PANC-1 but inhibited spheroid formation/viability in both cell lines. In a xenograft pancreatic cancer mouse-model DCA treatment resulted in retarding cancer progression. Collectively, our results clearly indicate that the efficacy of DCA in inhibiting cancer growth mechanistically depends on the cell phenotype and on multiple off-target pathways. In this context, the novelty that DCA might affect the cancer stem cell compartment is therapeutically relevant.
Morphologically Controlled Synthesis of Cs2SnCl6 Perovskite Crystals and Their Photoluminescence Activity
Authors: Zhang Hongdan , Zhu Ludan , Cheng Jun , Chen Long , Liu Chuanqi , Yuan Shuanglong
Published: May 2019

The Cs2SnX6 perovskites have attracted much attention due to excellent optoelectronic properties and high stability. In the present work, we have focused on the morphology control and photoluminescence characteristics of the Cs2SnCl6 perovskite crystals. The synthesis process of the Cs2SnCl6 crystals includes two stages composed of the formation of initial crystals and the growth of Cs2SnCl6; the later originated from the oxidization of CsSnCl3. This process has been confirmed by Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-rays diffraction (XRD). By controlling the concentration of the initial reactants and hydrochloric acid in the solution to change the supersaturation of the solution, different crystal morphologies, such as truncated octahedron, octahedron, hexapod, quasi-sphere, have been obtained. In relatively a low supersaturation solution, the amount of growth units dominates the crystal growth process to obtain the hexapod and self-assembly crystals. In contrast, in relatively high supersaturation solution, nucleation predominates to yield small size truncated octahedrons and near-spherical Cs2SnCl6 crystals. The synthesized Cs2SnCl6 crystals have shown a wide emission band peaking at 450 nm with full width at half maximum (FWHM) 63 nm due to the defects introduced by Sn2+. The photoluminescence intensities of crystals synthesized at various conditions exhibited considerable difference, which was about 60 times between the highest and the lowest.
Bacterial Effect on the Crystallization of Mineral Phases in a Solution Simulating Human Urine
Authors: Izatulina Alina R. , Nikolaev Anton M. , Kuz’mina Mariya A. , Frank-Kamenetskaya Olga V. , Malyshev Vladimir V.
Published: May 2019

The effect of bacteria that present in the human urine (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus) was studied under the conditions of biomimetic synthesis. It was shown that the addition of bacteria significantly affects both the phase composition of the synthesized material and the position of crystallization boundaries of the resulting phosphate phases, which can shift toward more acidic (struvite, apatite) or toward more alkaline (brushite) conditions. Under conditions of oxalate mineralization, bacteria accelerate the nucleation of calcium oxalates by almost two times and also increase the amount of oxalate precipitates along with phosphates and stabilize the calcium oxalate dihydrate (weddellite). The multidirectional changes in the pH values of the solutions, which are the result of the interaction of all system components and the crystallization process, were analyzed. The obtained results are the scientific basis for understanding the mechanisms of bacterial involvement in stone formation within the human body and the creation of biotechnological methods that inhibit this process.
Theoretical Model and Experimental Investigations on Solution-Mediated Polymorphic Transformation of Theophylline: From Polymorph I to Polymorph II
Authors: Zhu Manli , Wang Yongli , Li Fei , Bao Ying , Huang Xin , Shi Huanhuan , Hao Hongxun
Published: May 2019

In this work, theophylline was selected as the model compound to study and simulate the solution-mediated polymorphic transformation. The polymorph I and polymorph II of theophylline were prepared and fully characterized. Raman and UV spectra methods were carried out to observe the phase transformation of theophylline from polymorph I to polymorph II at different temperatures. The theoretical models, including dissolution model, nucleation model, and growth model, were established to describe and simulate the transformation processes. By combination of experiments and simulations, the controlling steps of the transformation processes were discussed. The effects of temperature and/or solvent on the transformation processes were evaluated. This work can shed light on the polymorphic transformation processes.
A Magnetic-Dependent Vibration Energy Harvester Based on the Tunable Point Defect in 2D Magneto-Elastic Phononic Crystals
Authors: Deng Tian , Zhang Shunzu , Gao Yuanwen
Published: May 2019

In this work, an innovative vibration energy harvester is designed by using the point defect effect of two-dimensional (2D) magneto-elastic phononic crystals (PCs) and the piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric material. A point defect is formed by removing the central Tenfenol-D rod to confine and enhance vibration energy into a spot, after which the vibration energy is electromechanically converted into electrical energy by attaching a piezoelectric patch into the area of the point defect. Numerical analysis of the point defect can be carried out by the finite element method in combination with the supercell technique. A 3D Zheng-Liu (Z-L) model which accurately describes the magneto-mechanical coupling constitutive behavior of magnetostrictive material is adopted to obtain variable band structures by applied magnetic field and pre-stress along the z direction. The piezoelectric material is utilized to predict the output voltage and power based on the capacity to convert vibration energy into electrical energy. For the proposed tunable vibration energy harvesting system, numerical results illuminate that band gaps (BGs) and defect bands of the in-plane mixed wave modes (XY modes) can be adjusted to a great extent by applied magnetic field and pre-stress, and thus a much larger range of vibration frequency and more broad-distributed energy can be obtained. The defect bands in the anti-plane wave mode (Z mode), however, have a slight change with applied magnetic field, which leads to a certain frequency range of energy harvesting. These results can provide guidance for the intelligent control of vibration insulation and the active design of continuous power supply for low power devices in engineering.
PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer: The Route to “Ithaca”
Authors: Boussios Stergios , Karathanasi Afroditi , Cooke Deirdre , Neille Cherie , Sadauskaite Agne , Moschetta Michele , Zakynthinakis-Kyriakou Nikolaos , Pavlidis Nicholas
Published: May 2019

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are a novel class of therapeutic agents that target tumors with deficiencies in the homologous recombination DNA repair pathway. Genomic instability characterizes high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), with one half of all tumors displaying defects in the important DNA repair pathway of homologous recombination. Early studies have shown significant efficacy for PARP inhibitors in patients with germline breast related cancer antigens 1 and 2 (BRCA1/2) mutations. It has also become evident that BRCA wild-type patients with other defects in the homologous recombination repair pathway benefit from this treatment. Companion homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) scores are being developed to guide the selection of patients that are most likely to benefit from PARP inhibition. The choice of which PARP inhibitor is mainly based upon the number of prior therapies and the presence of a BRCA mutation or HRD. The identification of patients most likely to benefit from PARP inhibitor therapy in view of HRD and other biomarker assessments is still challenging. The aim of this review is to describe the current evidence for PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer, their mechanism of action, and the outstanding issues, including the rate of long-term toxicities and the evolution of resistance.
Variational Characterizations of Local Entropy and Heat Regularization in Deep Learning
Authors: García Trillos Nicolas , Kaplan Zachary , Sanz-Alonso Daniel
Published: May 2019

The aim of this paper is to provide new theoretical and computational understanding on two loss regularizations employed in deep learning, known as local entropy and heat regularization. For both regularized losses, we introduce variational characterizations that naturally suggest a two-step scheme for their optimization, based on the iterative shift of a probability density and the calculation of a best Gaussian approximation in Kullback–Leibler divergence. Disregarding approximation error in these two steps, the variational characterizations allow us to show a simple monotonicity result for training error along optimization iterates. The two-step optimization schemes for local entropy and heat regularized loss differ only over which argument of the Kullback–Leibler divergence is used to find the best Gaussian approximation. Local entropy corresponds to minimizing over the second argument, and the solution is given by moment matching. This allows replacing traditional backpropagation calculation of gradients by sampling algorithms, opening an avenue for gradient-free, parallelizable training of neural networks. However, our presentation also acknowledges the potential increase in computational cost of naive optimization of regularized costs, thus giving a less optimistic view than existing works of the gains facilitated by loss regularization.
Relevance and Values of Gandhi’s and Bacha Khan’s Moral Education in Negotiating/Addressing Situated Disparities of South Asia
Authors: Dutta Uttaran , Ali Syed Rashid , Ahmad Nizar
Published: May 2019

Focusing on the contemporary conflicts and social political complexities of South Asia (specifically, India and Pakistan), this paper explores the roles and relevance of Gandhi’s and Bacha Khan’s moral education in negotiating/addressing the situated disparities. Drawing from the words and wisdom of Gandhi and Bacha Khan, this paper examines identity issues particularly in the context of (i) gender (disparities and struggles of women (and girls) in the society); (ii) age (situation and contributions of youths and elderly people in bringing about changes); (iii) class (including occupational and caste-based complexities and their negotiations); (iv) ethnicity (struggles of indigenous populations in overcoming situated adversities); (v) religion (tensions and acts of negotiating religious orthodoxies towards creating more secular society); and (vi) regional identities (roles of regional identities in fostering local development). Grounded in their philosophies and pedagogies, the paper discusses the contributions of the two visionaries and their epistemologies/ideologies in studying and/or addressing the issues of contemporary world. This scholarship seems particularly important today when dominant sociopolitical and religious institutions and their agendas often do not value (if not oppose) such moral education, which potentially affects the lives of South Asian populations at large.
Radiation Assessment of a 15.6ps Single-Shot Time-to-Digital Converter in Terms of TID
Authors: Van Bockel Bjorn , Prinzie Jeffrey , Leroux Paul
Published: May 2019

This article presents a radiation tolerant single-shot time-to-digital converter (TDC) with a resolution of 15.6 ps, fabricated in a 65 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The TDC is based on a multipath pseudo differential ring oscillator with reduced phase delay, without the need for calibration or interpolation. The ring oscillator is placed inside a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) to compensate for Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) variations- and variations due to ionizing radiation. Measurements to evaluate the performance of the TDC in terms of the total ionizing dose (TID) were done. Two different samples were irradiated up to a dose of 2.2 MGy SiO 2 while still maintaining a resolution of 15.6 ps. The TDC has a differential non-linearity (DNL) and integral non-linearity (INL) of 0.22 LSB rms and 0.34 LSB rms respectively.
Indoor Localization Method Based on Regional Division with IFCM
Authors: Li Junhuai , Gao Xixi , Hu Zhiyong , Wang Huaijun , Cao Ting , Yu Lei
Published: May 2019

With the development of wireless technology, indoor localization has gained wide attention. The fingerprint localization method is proposed in this paper, which is divided into two phases: offline training and online positioning. In offline training phase, the Improved Fuzzy C-means (IFCM) algorithm is proposed for regional division. The Between-Within Proportion (BWP) index is selected to divide fingerprint database, which can ensure the result of regional division consistent with the building plane structure. Moreover, the Agglomerative Nesting (AGNES) algorithm is applied to accomplish Access Point (AP) optimization. In the online positioning phase, sub-region selection is performed by nearest neighbor algorithm, then the Weighted K-nearest Neighbor (WKNN) algorithm based on Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) is utilized to locate the target point. After the evaluation on the effect of regional division and AP optimization of location precision and time, the experiments show that the average positioning error is 2.53 m and the average computation time of the localization algorithm based on PCC reduced by 94.13%.
Wind Resource Assessment of the Southernmost Region of Thailand Using Atmospheric and Computational Fluid Dynamics Wind Flow Modeling
Authors: Waewsak Jompob , Chancham Chana , Chiwamongkhonkarn Somphol , Gagnon Yves
Published: May 2019

This paper presents the wind resource assessment of the southernmost region of Thailand using atmospheric and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) wind flow modeling. The predicted wind data by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric modeling, assimilated to a virtual met mast, along with high-resolution topographic and roughness digital data, are then used as the main input for the CFD microscale wind flow modeling and high resolution wind resource mapping at elevations of 80 m, 100 m, 120 m, and 140 m agl. Numerical results are validated using measured wind data. Results show that the potential area where the wind speeds at 120 m agl are above 8.0 m/s is 86 km2, corresponding to a technical power potential in the order of 300 MW. The installation of wind power plants in the areas with the best wind resource could generate 690 GWh/year of electricity, thus avoiding greenhouse gas emissions of 1.2 million tonnes CO2eq/year to the atmosphere. On the other hand, developing power plants with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Class IV wind turbines in areas of lower wind resource, but with easier access, could generate nearly 3000 GWh/yr of energy, with a CO2eq emissions avoidance of 5 million tonnes CO2eq on a yearly basis.
Suppressing Conducted DM EMI in an Active Power Filter via Periodic Carrier Frequency Modulation
Authors: Yu Shengbao , Chen Nan , Gao Lihui , Zhou Haigen , Huang Yong
Published: May 2019

Active power filters (APF) aim at solving the harmonic problem originated by the nonlinear load in power systems. However, the high dv/dt and di/dt outputs from power electronic devices in a voltage source converter on APF introduced unwanted conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) when compensating for the low-frequency harmonic components. Hence, this paper develops a spectrum analysis approach to investigate and quantify the source differential-mode (DM) voltage of a single-phase shunt APF to suppress the DM EMI via periodic carrier frequency modulation (PCFM). In this scheme, the analytical expressions of source DM voltage in the APF using the PCFM scheme are obtained with a double Fourier series. In addition, the influence of PCFM parameters on the source DM voltage spectrum is predicted based on the analytical expression. As a result, the PCFM parameters, which have the best suppression effect on the DM EMI are obtained. The experiment results proved the validity of the sawtooth PCFM APF with the maximum frequency deviation equal to 800 Hz in alleviating the APF DM EMI.
Application of Sulfated Tin (IV) Oxide Solid Superacid Catalyst to Partial Coupling Reaction of α-Pinene to Produce Less Viscous High-Density Fuel
Authors: Cho Seong-Min , Hong Chang-Young , Park Se-Yeong , Lee Da-Song , Choi June-Ho , Koo Bonwook , Choi In-Gyu
Published: May 2019

Brønsted acid-catalyzed reactions of α-pinene have been studied because of their ability to produce various types of fragrance molecules. Beyond this application, dimeric hydrocarbon products produced from coupling reactions of α-pinene have been suggested as renewable high-density fuel molecules. In this context, this paper presents the application of a sulfated tin(IV) oxide catalyst for the partial coupling reaction of α-pinene from turpentine. Brønsted acid sites inherent in this solid superacid catalyst calcined at 550 °C successfully catalyzed the reaction, giving the largest yield of dimeric products (49.6%) at 120 °C over a reaction time of 4 h. Given that the low-temperature viscosity of the mentioned dimeric products is too high for their use as a fuel in transportation engines, lowering the viscosity is an important avenue of study. Therefore, our partial coupling reaction of α-pinene provides a possible solution as a considerable amount of the isomers of α-pinene still remained after the reaction, which reduces the low-temperature viscosity. On the basis of a comparison of the reaction products, a plausible mechanism for the reaction involving coinstantaneous isomerization and coupling reaction of α-pinene was elucidated.
Will South Korean Residential Consumers Accept the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme? A Stated Preference Approach
Authors: Lim Seul-Ye , Yoo Seung-Hoon
Published: May 2019

In South Korea, renewable energy policy is mainly focused on electricity and tends to neglect renewable heat (RH). However, for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the heating sector must sharply switch from its use of conventional fuels to renewable sources. The South Korean Government is considering an RH incentive (RHI) program with financial and policy support schemes and is thus demanding information about residential consumers’ acceptance of the RHI program to expand the use of RH. Therefore, this study looked into residential consumers’ acceptance of the introduction of the RHI program by applying contingent valuation (CV). For this purpose, a CV survey of 600 interviewees was conducted using a dichotomous choice question format that asked a respondent if she/he is willing to pay a given amount. Furthermore, among the various dichotomous choice question formats, the one-and-one-half-bounded format, which is considered desirable in terms of efficiency as well as consistency, was applied. One point to note in analyzing the CV responses was that not a few interviewees had zero willingness to pay (WTP). Thus, a spike model was employed to deal with the dichotomous choice CV data with a number of zero observations. The results revealed that the household mean WTP amounted to KRW 5753 (USD 5.35) per year. If we look at this value from a national perspective, it is worth KRW 113.63 billion (USD 105.61 million) per year. This value corresponds to the economic value or benefits that the introduction of an RHI program provides to the South Korean people each year and needs to be compared to the costs that the introduction of RHI will incur.
Current Status Investigation and Predicting Carbon Dioxide Emission in Latin American Countries by Connectionist Models
Authors: Ahmadi Mohammad Hossein , Dehghani Madvar Mohammad , Sadeghzadeh Milad , Rezaei Mohammad Hossein , Herrera Manuel , Shamshirband Shahaboddin
Published: May 2019

Currently, one of the biggest concerns of human beings is greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide emissions in developed and under-developed countries. In this study, connectionist models including LSSVM (Least Square Support Vector Machine) and evolutionary methods are employed for predicting the amount of CO 2 emission in six Latin American countries, i.e., Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Uruguay. The studied region is modelled based on the available input data in terms of million tons including oil (million tons), gas (million tons oil equivalent), coal (million tons oil equivalent), R e w (million tons oil equivalent) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of billion U.S. dollars. Moreover, the available patents in the field of climate change mitigation in six Latin American countries, namely Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Uruguay, have been reviewed and analysed. The results show that except Venezuela, all other mentioned countries have invested in renewable energy R&D activities. Brazil and Argentina have the highest share of renewable energies, which account for 60% and 72%, respectively.
Energy Recovery from Sewage Sludge: The Case Study of Croatia
Authors: Đurđević Dinko , Blecich Paolo , Jurić Željko
Published: May 2019

Croatia produced 21,366 tonnes of dry matter (DM) sewage sludge (SS) in 2016, a quantity expected to surpass 100,000 tonnes DM by 2024. Annual production rates for future wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Croatia are estimated at 5.8–7.3 Nm3/people equivalent (PE) for biogas and 20–25 kgDM/PE of sewage sludge. Biogas can be converted into 12–16 kWhel/PE of electricity and 19–24 kWhth/PE of heat, which is sufficient for 30–40% of electrical and 80–100% of thermal autonomy. The WWTP autonomy can be increased using energy recovery from sewage sludge incineration by 60% for electricity and 100% of thermal energy (10–13 kWhel/PE and 30–38 kWhth/PE). However, energy for sewage sludge drying exceeds energy recovery, unless solar drying is performed. The annual solar drying potential is estimated between 450–750 kgDM/m2 of solar drying surface. The lower heating value of dried sewage sludge is 2–3 kWh/kgDM and this energy can be used for assisting sludge drying or for energy generation and supply to WWTPs. Sewage sludge can be considered a renewable energy source and its incineration generates substantially lower greenhouse gases emissions than energy generation from fossil fuels. For the same amount of energy, sewage sludge emits 58% fewer emissions than natural gas and 80% less than hard coal and fuel oil. Moreover, this paper analysed the feasibility of sludge disposal practices by analysing three scenarios (landfilling, co-incineration, and mono-incineration). The analysis revealed that the most cost-effective sewage sludge disposal method is landfilling for 60% and co-incineration for 40% of the observed WWTPs in Croatia. The lowest CO2 emissions are obtained with landfilling and mono-incineration in 53% and 38% of the cases, respectively.
Commutation Torque Ripple Suppression Strategy of Brushless DC Motor Considering Back Electromotive Force Variation
Authors: Li Xinmin , Jiang Guokai , Chen Wei , Shi Tingna , Zhang Guozheng , Geng Qiang
Published: May 2019

This paper presents a commutation torque ripple suppression strategy for brushless DC motor (BLDCM) in the high-speed region, which considers the back electromotive force (back-EMF) variation during the commutation process. In the paper, the influence of actual back-EMF variation on the torque and outgoing phase current during the commutation process is analyzed. A modified smooth torque mechanism is then reconstructed considering the back-EMF variation, based on which a novel torque ripple suppression strategy is further designed. Compared with the traditional strategy which controls the chopping duty cycle relatively smoothly in the commutation process, the proposed strategy dynamically regulates the chopping duty cycle, which makes it show a gradual decrease. This strategy can suppress the commutation torque ripple even in a long commutation process, and broaden the speed range of the commutation torque ripple reduction. Under the experimental conditions of this paper, the proposed strategy can effectively reduce the commutation torque ripple in the high-speed region, and avoid the outgoing phase current cannot be reduced to zero. The experimental results verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis and the feasibility of the proposed strategy.
Combining a Quantum Cascade Laser Spectrometer with an Automated Closed-Chamber System for δ13C Measurements of Forest Soil, Tree Stem and Tree Root CO2 Fluxes
Authors: Brændholt Andreas , Ibrom Andreas , Ambus Per , Larsen Klaus Steenberg , Pilegaard Kim
Published: May 2019

Recent advances in laser spectroscopy have allowed for real-time measurements of the 13C/12C isotopic ratio in CO2, thereby providing new ways to investigate carbon cycling in natural ecosystems. In this study, we combined an Aerodyne quantum cascade laser spectrometer for CO2 isotopes with a LI-COR LI-8100A/8150 automated chamber system to measure the δ13C of CO2 during automated closed-chamber measurements. The isotopic composition of the CO2 flux was determined for each chamber measurement by applying the Keeling plot method. We found that the δ13C measured by the laser spectrometer was influenced by water vapour and CO2 concentration of the sample air and we developed a method to correct for these effects to yield accurate measurements of δ13C. Overall, correcting for the CO2 concentration increased the δ13C determined from the Keeling plots by 3.4‰ compared to 2.1‰ for the water vapour correction. We used the combined system to measure δ13C of the CO2 fluxes automatically every two hours from intact soil, trenched soil, tree stems and coarse roots during a two-month campaign in a Danish beech forest. The mean δ13C was −29.8 ± 0.32‰ for the intact soil plots, which was similar to the mean δ13C of −29.8 ± 1.2‰ for the trenched soil plots. The lowest δ13C was found for the root plots with a mean of −32.6 ± 0.78‰. The mean δ13C of the stems was −30.2 ± 0.74‰, similar to the mean δ13C of the soil plots. In conclusion, the study showed the potential of using a quantum cascade laser spectrometer to measure δ13C of CO2 during automated closed-chamber measurements, thereby allowing for measurements of isotopic ecosystem CO2 fluxes at a high temporal resolution. It also highlighted the importance of proper correction for cross-sensitivity with water vapour and CO2 concentration of the sample air to get accurate measurements of δ13C.
Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora gonapodyides Differently Colonize and Contribute to the Decomposition of Green and Senesced Umbellularia californica Leaves in a Simulated Stream Environment
Authors: Aram Kamyar , Rizzo David M.
Published: May 2019

Plant pathogenic as well as saprotrophic Phytophthora species are now known to inhabit forest streams and other surface waters. How they survive and function in aquatic ecosystems, however, remains largely uninvestigated. Phytophthora ramorum, an invasive pathogen in California forests, regularly occurs in forest streams, where it can colonize green leaves shed in the stream but is quickly and largely succeeded by saprotrophically competent clade 6 Phytophthora species, such as Phytophthora gonapodyides. We investigated, using controlled environment experiments, whether leaf litter quality, based on senescence, affects how P. ramorum and P. gonapodyides compete in leaf colonization and to what extent each species can contribute to leaf decomposition. We found that both Phytophthora species effectively colonized and persisted on green or yellow (senescing) bay leaves, but only P. gonapodyides could also colonize and persist on brown (fully senesced and dried) leaves. Both Phytophthora species similarly accelerated the decomposition of green leaves and yellow leaves compared with non-inoculated controls, but colonization of brown leaves by P. gonapodyides did not affect their decomposition rate.
Shifting States, Altered Fates: Divergent Fuel Moisture Responses after High Frequency Wildfire in an Obligate Seeder Eucalypt Forest
Authors: Burton Jamie , Cawson Jane , Noske Philip , Sheridan Gary
Published: May 2019

High frequency wildfires can shift the structure and composition of obligate seeder forests and initiate replacement with alternative vegetation states. In some forests, the alternative stable state is drier and more easily burned by subsequent fires, driving a positive feedback that promotes further wildfire and perpetuates alternative stable states. Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans (F.Muell.)) forests are highly valued for their biodiversity, water, timber and carbon. Fires are a natural part of the lifecycle of these forests, but too frequent fires can eliminate Mountain Ash and trigger a transition to lower stature, non-eucalypt forests which are dominated by understorey species. This study sought to better understand the fuel moisture dynamics of alternative stable states resulting from high frequency wildfires. A vegetation mosaic in the Central Highlands, Victoria created a unique opportunity to measure fuel moisture in adjacent forest stands that differed in overstorey species composition and time since fire. Specifically, we measured fuel moisture and microclimate at two eucalypt sites (9 and 79 years old) and three non-eucalypt sites (two 9 year old and one 79 year old). Fuel availability, defined here as the number of days surface fuels were below 16% and dry enough to ignite and sustain fire, was calculated to estimate flammability. Fuel availability differed between sites, particularly as a function of time since fire, with recently burnt sites available to burn more often (4–17 versus 0–3 days). There were differences in fuel availability between non-eucalypt sites of the same age, suggesting that high frequency fire does not always lead to the same vegetation condition or outcome for fuel availability. This indicates there is potential for both positive and negative flammability feedbacks following state transition depending on the composition of the non-eucalypt state. This is the first study to provide empirical insight into the fuel moisture dynamics of alternative stable states in Mountain Ash forests.
Caputo Fractional Differential Equations with Non-Instantaneous Random Erlang Distributed Impulses
Authors: Hristova Snezhana , Ivanova Krasimira
Published: May 2019

The p-moment exponential stability of non-instantaneous impulsive Caputo fractional differential equations is studied. The impulses occur at random moments and their action continues on finite time intervals with initially given lengths. The time between two consecutive moments of impulses is the Erlang distributed random variable. The study is based on Lyapunov functions. The fractional Dini derivatives are applied.
On Some Generalized Fractional Integral Inequalities for p-Convex Functions
Authors: Salaş Seren , Erdaş Yeter , Toplu Tekin , Set Erhan
Published: May 2019

In this paper, firstly we have established a new generalization of Hermite–Hadamard inequality via p-convex function and fractional integral operators which generalize the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral operators introduced by Raina, Lun and Agarwal. Secondly, we proved a new identity involving this generalized fractional integral operators. Then, by using this identity, a new generalization of Hermite–Hadamard type inequalities for fractional integral are obtained.
Ontogenetic and Pathogenetic Views on Somatic Chromosomal Mosaicism
Authors: Iourov Ivan Y. , Vorsanova Svetlana G. , Yurov Yuri B. , Kutsev Sergei I.
Published: May 2019

Intercellular karyotypic variability has been a focus of genetic research for more than 50 years. It has been repeatedly shown that chromosome heterogeneity manifesting as chromosomal mosaicism is associated with a variety of human diseases. Due to the ability of changing dynamically throughout the ontogeny, chromosomal mosaicism may mediate genome/chromosome instability and intercellular diversity in health and disease in a bottleneck fashion. However, the ubiquity of negligibly small populations of cells with abnormal karyotypes results in difficulties of the interpretation and detection, which may be nonetheless solved by post-genomic cytogenomic technologies. In the post-genomic era, it has become possible to uncover molecular and cellular pathways to genome/chromosome instability (chromosomal mosaicism or heterogeneity) using advanced whole-genome scanning technologies and bioinformatic tools. Furthermore, the opportunities to determine the effect of chromosomal abnormalities on the cellular phenotype seem to be useful for uncovering the intrinsic consequences of chromosomal mosaicism. Accordingly, a post-genomic review of chromosomal mosaicism in the ontogenetic and pathogenetic contexts appears to be required. Here, we review chromosomal mosaicism in its widest sense and discuss further directions of cyto(post)genomic research dedicated to chromosomal heterogeneity.
Back to the Salt Mines: Genome and Transcriptome Comparisons of the Halophilic Fungus Aspergillus salisburgensis and Its Halotolerant Relative Aspergillus sclerotialis
Authors: Tafer Hakim , Poyntner Caroline , Lopandic Ksenija , Sterflinger Katja , Piñar Guadalupe
Published: May 2019

Salt mines are among the most extreme environments as they combine darkness, low nutrient availability, and hypersaline conditions. Based on comparative genomics and transcriptomics, we describe in this work the adaptive strategies of the true halophilic fungus Aspergillus salisburgensis, found in a salt mine in Austria, and compare this strain to the ex-type halotolerant fungal strain Aspergillus sclerotialis. On a genomic level, A. salisburgensis exhibits a reduced genome size compared to A. sclerotialis, as well as a contraction of genes involved in transport processes. The proteome of A. sclerotialis exhibits an increased proportion of alanine, glycine, and proline compared to the proteome of non-halophilic species. Transcriptome analyses of both strains growing at 5% and 20% NaCl show that A. salisburgensis regulates three-times fewer genes than A. sclerotialis in order to adapt to the higher salt concentration. In A. sclerotialis, the increased osmotic stress impacted processes related to translation, transcription, transport, and energy. In contrast, membrane-related and lignolytic proteins were significantly affected in A. salisburgensis.
Comparison of Bacterial Populations in the Ceca of Swine at Two Different Stages and Their Functional Annotations
Authors: Kumar Himansu , Park Woncheol , Srikanth Krishnamoorthy , Choi Bong-Hwan , Cho Eun-Seok , Lee Kyung-Tai , Kim Jun-Mo , Kim Kwangmin , Park Junhyung , Lim Dajeong , Park Jong-Eun
Published: May 2019

The microbial composition in the cecum of pig influences host health, immunity, nutrient digestion, and feeding requirements significantly. Advancements in metagenome sequencing technologies such as 16S rRNAs have made it possible to explore cecum microbial population. In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of cecum microbiota of crossbred Korean native pigs at two different growth stages (stage L = 10 weeks, and stage LD = 26 weeks) using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Our results revealed remarkable differences in microbial composition, α and β diversity, and differential abundance between the two stages. Phylum composition analysis with respect to SILVA132 database showed Firmicutes to be present at 51.87% and 48.76% in stages L and LD, respectively. Similarly, Bacteroidetes were present at 37.28% and 45.98% in L and LD, respectively. The genera Prevotella, Anaerovibrio, Succinivibrio, Megasphaera were differentially enriched in stage L, whereas Clostridium, Terrisporobacter, Rikenellaceae were enriched in stage LD. Functional annotation of microbiome by level-three KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis revealed that glycine, serine, threonine, valine, leucine, isoleucine arginine, proline, and tryptophan metabolism were differentially enriched in stage L, whereas alanine, aspartate, glutamate, cysteine, methionine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis metabolism were differentially enriched in stage LD. Through machine-learning approaches such as LEfSe (linear discriminant analysis effect size), random forest, and Pearson’s correlation, we found pathways such as amino acid metabolism, transport systems, and genetic regulation of metabolism are commonly enriched in both stages. Our findings suggest that the bacterial compositions in cecum content of pigs are heavily involved in their nutrient digestion process. This study may help to meet the demand of human food and can play significant roles in medicinal application.
Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Active and Non-Active Adults with Intellectual Disability: A Comparative Study
Authors: Oviedo Guillermo R. , Tamulevicius Nauris , Guerra-Balic Myriam
Published: May 2019

This study describes and compares physical activity (PA) levels and sedentary time (ST) of active (AG) and a non-active (NAG) groups of adults with intellectual disability (ID) versus a group of adults without ID. Thirty-seven participants from the AG, 29 from the NAG, and 31 adults without ID participated in this study. Height and weight were obtained to calculate body mass index (BMI). PA levels and ST were assessed with GT3X Actigraph accelerometers for 7 days. Results revealed that the AG engaged in higher values of moderate to vigorous PA compared with the NAG (all p < 0.05), but were similar to adults without ID. Adults without ID performed less ST and more light PA than the ID groups (all p < 0.05). The participants of the AG did not demonstrate less ST than the NAG. It is concerning that adults with ID (AG or NAG) are spending a higher time in ST and less time in light PA than adults without ID. Our results suggest that integrated, well-designed PA programmes into the ID population workdays can lead to increased PA levels. Nevertheless, these interventions and exercise programmes implemented for adults with ID should be tailored to also reduce ST.
What If Your Husband Doesn’t Feel the Pressure? An Exploration of Women’s Involvement in WaSH Decision Making in Nyanchwa, Kenya
Authors: Abu Thelma Zulfawu , Bisung Elijah , Elliott Susan J.
Published: May 2019

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) is a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Women and girls suffer the main burden of a lack of access to WaSH because they are primarily responsible for collecting water for their homes. However, they are often excluded from WaSH decision-making and implementation processes. This research sought to explore women’s experiences in participating in WaSH decision-making through a case study in Nyanchwa, Kenya. Twelve (12) key informant interviews were conducted with community leaders and members regarding challenges and possible measures for enhancing women and girls’ participation in WaSH decision-making. From this research, it is evident that economic challenges and cultural factors such as male dominance, greatly inhibit women and girls’ participation in WaSH decision-making and implementation processes. Other factors such as time constraints and low literacy rates also emerged. The paper concludes with a call for collaboration among women’s groups to enhance collective action for improved access to WaSH. This will undoubtedly lead to enhanced community health and wellbeing (Sustainable Development Goal 3, SDG3) through the empowerment of women (Sustainable Development Goal 5, SDG5).
Pride, Love, and Twitter Rants: Combining Machine Learning and Qualitative Techniques to Understand What Our Tweets Reveal about Race in the US
Authors: Nguyen Thu T. , Criss Shaniece , Allen Amani M. , Glymour M. Maria , Phan Lynn , Trevino Ryan , Dasari Shrikha , Nguyen Quynh C.
Published: May 2019

Objective: Describe variation in sentiment of tweets using race-related terms and identify themes characterizing the social climate related to race. Methods: We applied a Stochastic Gradient Descent Classifier to conduct sentiment analysis of 1,249,653 US tweets using race-related terms from 2015–2016. To evaluate accuracy, manual labels were compared against computer labels for a random subset of 6600 tweets. We conducted qualitative content analysis on a random sample of 2100 tweets. Results: Agreement between computer labels and manual labels was 74%. Tweets referencing Middle Eastern groups (12.5%) or Blacks (13.8%) had the lowest positive sentiment compared to tweets referencing Asians (17.7%) and Hispanics (17.5%). Qualitative content analysis revealed most tweets were represented by the categories: negative sentiment (45%), positive sentiment such as pride in culture (25%), and navigating relationships (15%). While all tweets use one or more race-related terms, negative sentiment tweets which were not derogatory or whose central topic was not about race were common. Conclusion: This study harnesses relatively untapped social media data to develop a novel area-level measure of social context (sentiment scores) and highlights some of the challenges in doing this work. New approaches to measuring the social environment may enhance research on social context and health.
Parent’s Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Body Mass, and Chronic Disease Status Is Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Young Adults: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Nolan Paul B. , Carrick-Ranson Graeme , Stinear James W. , Reading Stacey A. , Dalleck Lance C.
Published: May 2019

We sought to determine if there was an intergenerational association between parental weight, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and disease status, with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) in their young adult offspring. Young adults (n = 270, 21 ± 1 years, 53.3% female) were assessed for MetSyn and self-reported parent’s CRF, body mass status, and disease status. MetSyn was present in 11.9% of participants, 27.4% had one or two components, and 58.5% had no components. A significantly higher percentage (93.9%) of young adults with MetSyn identified at least one parent as being overweight or obese, 84.8% reported low parental CRF and 87.9% reported a parent with disease (all p < 0.017). MetSyn in offspring is more likely when parents are perceived to have low CRF, increased body mass, and a diagnosis of disease. Evaluating the offspring of people with low CRF, elevated body mass, or who have a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or diabetes should be considered to promote early identification and treatment of young adults to reduce future premature CVD in these at-risk individuals.
Comprehensive Eutrophication Assessment Based on Fuzzy Matter Element Model and Monte Carlo-Triangular Fuzzy Numbers Approach
Authors: Wang Yumin , Ran Weijian
Published: May 2019

Evaluating the eutrophication level of lakes with a single method alone is challenging since uncertain, fuzzy, and complex processes exist in eutrophication evaluations. The parameters selected for assessing eutrophication include chlorophyII-a, chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and clarity. Firstly, to deal with the uncertainties and fuzziness of data, triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN) were applied to describe the fuzziness of parameters. Secondly, to assess the eutrophication grade of lakes comprehensively, an improved fuzzy matter element (FME) approach was incorporated with TFNs with weights determined by combination of entropy method and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In addition, the Monte Carlo (MC) approach was applied to easily simulate the arithmetic operations of eutrophication evaluation. The hybrid model of TFN, FME, and MC method is termed as the TFN–MC–FME model, which can provide more valuable information for decision makers. The developed model was applied to assess the eutrophication levels of 24 typical lakes in China. The evaluation indicators were expressed by TFNs input into the FME model to evaluate eutrophication grade. The results of MC simulation supplied quantitative information of possible intervals, the corresponding probabilities, as well as the comprehensive eutrophication levels. The eutrophication grades obtained for most lakes were identical to the results of the other three methods, which proved the correctness of the model. The presented methodology can be employed to process the data uncertainties and fuzziness by stochastically simulating their distribution characteristics, and obtain a better understanding of eutrophication levels. Moreover, the proposed model can also describe the trend of eutrophication development in lakes, and provide more valuable information for lake management authorities.