bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is underground coal mining causing land degradation and significantly damaging ecosystems in semi‐arid areas? A study from an Ecological Capital perspective
Authors: Xiao Wu , Zhang Wenkai , Ye Yanmei , Lv Xuejiao , Yang Wenfu
Published: February 2020

Coal mining often brings negative impacts to land and eco‐environments. How to quantitatively evaluate this impact at a regional scale, and assess its related influences in mining and nonmining areas from an ecological viewpoint is important and a challenge. The Shendong Mining Area (SMA) at the junction region of Shaanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous region in northern China is a typical semi‐arid region. Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to construct an ecosystem service measurement and evaluation index system in a typical high‐intensity coal mining area. Ecological Capital was estimated using remote sensing and statistical data from 2005, 2010 and 2015. The results show that (a) EC distribution has gradually increased from southeast to northwest (with an average annual growth rate of 2.32%); (b) water and soil conservation are the largest among ecosystem service functions, and the EC per unit area for the shrub ecosystem is the highest; and (c) the EC within the SMA grew steadily with an average annual growth rate of 3.09%. We can conclude that under high‐intensity mining, EC has not decreased, and the EC growth rate in some mining areas were even greater than nonmining areas, indicating that underground mining impacts were under tolerable threshold in this region. Through the remote sensing quantitative evaluation model, this article reveals the impact of regional ecological assets under different mining intensity, and provides an important basis for evaluating regional sustainable development and ecological environment management.
Tumor Resection Induces Alterations on Serum Phospholipidome of Liver Cancer Patients
Authors: Martín‐Sierra Carmen , Colombo Simone , Martins Ricardo , Laranjeira Paula , Melo Tânia , Abrantes Ana Margarida , Oliveira Rui Caetano , Tralhão José Guilherme , Botelho Maria Filomena , Furtado Emanuel , Domingues Pedro , Domingues M. Rosario , Paiva Artur
Published: February 2020

Hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma are the most common primary malignant liver tumors. Since the liver plays a key role in lipid metabolism, the study of serum phospholipid (PL) profiles may provide a better understanding of alterations in hepatic lipid metabolism. In this study, we used a high‐resolution HILIC‐LC–MS lipidomic approach to establish the serum phospholipidome profile of patients with liver cancer before (T0) and after tumor resection (T1) and a control group (CT) of healthy individuals. After the analysis of PL profiles, we observed that the phospholipidome of patients with liver cancer was significantly modified after the tumor resection procedure. We observed an upregulation of some phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) species, namely, PtdCho(36:6), PtdCho(42:6), PtdCho(38:5), PtdCho(36:5), PtdCho(38:6) and choline plasmalogens (PlsCho), and/or 1‐O‐alkyl‐2‐acyl‐glycerophosphocholine (PakCho) in patients with liver cancer at T0 compared to the CT group, and a downregulation after tumor resection (T1) when compared to T0. These results show that LC–MS can detect different serum PL profiles in patients with liver cancer, before and after tumor resection, by defining a specific PL fingerprint that was used to determine the effect of tumor and tumor resection on lipid metabolism.
Bacterial community dynamics in spontaneous sourdoughs made from wheat, spelt, and rye wholemeal flour
Authors: Boreczek Jakub , Litwinek Dorota , Żylińska‐Urban Joanna , Izak Dariusz , Buksa Krzysztof , Gawor Jan , Gromadka Robert , Bardowski Jacek Karol , Kowalczyk Magdalena
Published: February 2020

Sourdough fermentation is a traditional process that is used to improve bread quality. A spontaneous sourdough ecosystem consists of a mixture of flour and water that is fermented by endogenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts. The aim of this study was to identify bacterial diversity during backslopping of spontaneous sourdoughs prepared from wheat, spelt, or rye wholemeal flour. Culture‐dependent analyses showed that the number of LAB (109 CFU/ml) was higher by three orders of magnitude than the number of yeasts (106 CFU/ml), irrespective of the flour type. These results were complemented by next‐generation sequencing of the 16S rDNA V3 and V4 variable regions. The dominant phylum in all sourdough samples was Firmicutes, which was represented exclusively by the Lactobacillales order. The two remaining and less abundant phyla were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The culture‐independent approach allowed us to detect changes in microbial ecology during the 72‐hr fermentation period. Weissella sp. was the most abundant genus after 24 hr of fermentation of the rye sourdough, but as the process progressed, its abundance decreased in favor of the Lactobacillus genus similarly as in wheat and spelt sourdoughs. The Lactobacillus genus was dominant in all sourdoughs after 72 hr, which was consistent with our results obtained using culture‐dependent analyses. This work was carried out to determine the microbial biodiversity of sourdoughs that are made from wheat, spelt, and rye wholemeal flour and can be used as a source of strains for specific starter cultures to produce functional bread.
How autophagy can restore proteostasis defects in multiple diseases?
Authors: Joshi Vibhuti , Upadhyay Arun , Prajapati Vijay K. , Mishra Amit
Published: February 2020

Cellular evolution develops several conserved mechanisms by which cells can tolerate various difficult conditions and overall maintain homeostasis. Autophagy is a well‐developed and evolutionarily conserved mechanism of catabolism, which endorses the degradation of foreign and endogenous materials via autolysosome. To decrease the burden of the ubiquitin‐proteasome system (UPS), autophagy also promotes the selective degradation of proteins in a tightly regulated way to improve the physiological balance of cellular proteostasis that may get perturbed due to the accumulation of misfolded proteins. However, the diverse as well as selective clearance of unwanted materials and regulations of several cellular mechanisms via autophagy is still a critical mystery. Also, the failure of autophagy causes an increase in the accumulation of harmful protein aggregates that may lead to neurodegeneration. Therefore, it is necessary to address this multifactorial threat for in‐depth research and develop more effective therapeutic strategies against lethal autophagy alterations. In this paper, we discuss the most relevant and recent reports on autophagy modulations and their impact on neurodegeneration and other complex disorders. We have summarized various pharmacological findings linked with the induction and suppression of autophagy mechanism and their promising preclinical and clinical applications to provide therapeutic solutions against neurodegeneration. The conclusion, key questions, and future prospectives sections summarize fundamental challenges and their possible feasible solutions linked with autophagy mechanism to potentially design an impactful therapeutic niche to treat neurodegenerative diseases and imperfect aging.
A fractional sideways problem in a one‐dimensional finite‐slab with deterministic and random interior perturbed data
Authors: Duc Trong Dang , Hong Nhung Nguyen Thi , Dang Minh Nguyen , Nhu Lan Nguyen
Published: February 2020

In a lot of engineering applications, one has to recover the temperature of a heat body having a surface that cannot be measured directly. This raises an inverse problem of determining the temperature on the surface of a body using interior measurements, which is called the sideways problem. Many papers investigated the problem (with or without fractional derivatives) by using the Cauchy data
measured at one interior point
or using an interior data
and the assumption
. However, the flux
is not easy to measure, and the temperature assumption at infinity is inappropriate for a bounded body. Hence, in the present paper, we consider a fractional sideways problem, in which the interior measurements at two interior point, namely,
and
, are given by continuous data with deterministic noises and by discrete data contaminated with random noises. We show that the problem is severely ill‐posed and further construct an a posteriori optimal truncation regularization method for the deterministic data, and we also construct a nonparametric regularization for the discrete random data. Numerical examples show that the proposed method works well.
Lactose, Maltose, and Sucrose in Health and Disease
Authors: Qi Xin , Tester Richard F
Published: February 2020

Scope

This review represents a focus on the structure and properties of the common nutritional disaccharides (lactose, maltose, and sucrose) in health and disease. The aim is to provide a comprehensive reference source related to the role of disaccharides in human nutrition.

Methods and results

Key reference sources are searched, including Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and Wiley Online, and key reference works are selected to support the factual basis of the text where interpretations and relevance of the works are discussed in the review. There are key nutritional health benefits of receiving dietary energy in the form of sugars, but equally life‐threatening issues exist associated with constant/excess consumption. These issues are discussed together with genetic disorders, which impact upon health associated with consumption of the disaccharides (e.g., specific disaccharide intolerance due to deficiency of relevant digestive enzymes).

Conclusions

As the three common dietary disaccharides (lactose, maltose, and sucrose) are consumed on a very regular basis in the human diet, it is critical to understand insofar as possible their role in health and disease. This review provides an insight into the structure and properties of these molecules in health and disease.
The capability of detecting small vessels beyond the conventional MRI sensitivity using iron‐based contrast agent enhanced susceptibility weighted imaging
Authors: Wang Haoyu , Jiang Quan , Shen Yimin , Zhang Li , Haacke E. Mark , Ge Yulin , Qi Shouliang , Hu Jiani
Published: February 2020

Imaging brain microvasculature is important in cerebrovascular diseases. However, there is still a lack of non‐invasive, non‐radiation, and whole‐body imaging techniques to investigate them. The aim of this study is to develop an ultra‐small superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) enhanced susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) method for imaging micro‐vasculature in both animal (~10 μm in rat) and human brain. We hypothesized that the USPIO‐SWI technique could improve the detection sensitivity of the diameter of small subpixel vessels 10‐fold compared with conventional MRI methods.

Computer simulations were first performed with a double‐cylinder digital model to investigate the theoretical basis for this hypothesis. The theoretical results were verified using in vitro phantom studies and in vivo rat MRI studies (n = 6) with corresponding ex vivo histological examinations. Additionally, in vivo human studies (n = 3) were carried out to demonstrate the translational power of the USPIO‐SWI method.

By directly comparing the small vessel diameters of an in vivo rat using USPIO‐SWI with the small vessel diameters of the corresponding histological slide using laser scanning confocal microscopy, 13.3‐fold and 19.9‐fold increases in SWI apparent diameter were obtained with 5.6 mg Fe/kg and 16.8 mg Fe/kg ferumoxytol, respectively. The USPIO‐SWI method exhibited its excellent ability to detect small vessels down to about 10 μm diameter in rat brain. The in vivo human study unveiled hidden arterioles and venules and demonstrated its potential in clinical practice. Theoretical modeling simulations and in vitro phantom studies also confirmed a more than 10‐fold increase in the USPIO‐SWI apparent diameter compared with the actual small vessel diameter size.

It is feasible to use SWI blooming effects induced by USPIO to detect small vessels (down to 10 μm in diameter for rat brain), well beyond the spatial resolution limit of conventional MRI methods. The USPIO‐SWI method demonstrates higher potential in cerebrovascular disease investigations.
Rapid acquisition diffusion MR spectroscopy of metabolites in human brain
Authors: Hanstock Chris , Beaulieu Christian
Published: February 2020

Few studies have focused on metabolite diffusion in the human brain using 1H‐MRS due to significant technical challenges. Moreover, such studies have required lengthy acquisition times and are therefore impractical to implement clinically. By first characterizing and then minimizing the effects of linear and oscillating eddy currents, which arise from the diffusion gradients, and by implementing phase‐cycle and slice‐order strategies, as well as introducing a new phase‐alignment methodology, we report a method that allows data acquisition requiring 20 seconds per spectrum. This remained feasible, even for b‐values >8000 s/mm2, with a rapid acquisition diffusion MRS methodology. It has allowed the nonlinear characterization of signal intensity with multiple b‐values, and has improved the measurement of rotationally invariant diffusion parameters via six‐direction, six b‐value diffusion tensor spectroscopy (DTS) in 12 minutes at 4.7 T. The shorter DTS acquisition will enable its application to white matter regions not aligned with the gradients and permit clinical studies in a feasible time.
Create monthly newsletter to engage graduate students
Authors: Pavlik Amelia
Published: February 2020

Lab, class, sleep, repeat. This phrase probably describes a daily routine for many of your graduate students. That's one of the reasons the University of Miami Graduate School created a newsletter to reach its target audience.
Vice president wants to be trendsetter for challenged private colleges
Authors: Enos Gary
Published: February 2020

An early penchant for thinking strategically and eyeing the big picture attracted George Wolf to the profession of enrollment management. Now in his seventh year as Vice President for Enrollment Management at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan, Wolf said the broad view serves him well as the private Catholic school addresses the challenges of a shrinking applicant pool and more aggressive price competition from state universities.
An approach to the optimization of mechanical properties of polypropylene/nitrile butadiene rubber/halloysite nanotube/polypropylene‐g‐maleic anhydride nanocomposites using response surface methodology
Authors: Bakhtiari Amir , Ashenai Ghasemi Faramarz , Naderi Ghasem , Nakhaei Mohammad Reza
Published: February 2020

In this article, response surface methodology (RSM) has been applied to simultaneously optimize the tensile and impact strength of polypropylene (PP)/nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)/halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)/maleic anhydride (MA)‐grafted‐PP nanocomposites. Three levels of material parameters, including NBR (10, 20, and 30 wt%), HNTs (1, 3, and 5 wt%), and PP‐g‐MA (3, 9, and 15 wt%) as compatibilizers were used to design the experiments according to Box‐Behnken design. In order to investigate the morphology of nanocomposite samples, a scanning electron microscope was used. The model predicted that both the tensile strength and impact strength of nanocomposite were peaked between middle and high levels of HNTs content. There was also a peak for NBR loading in the main effect plot of impact strength. Two‐way interactions of all parameters were significantly affecting both responses. Based on RSM models using the desirability function, the optimum values of input parameters leading to optimized tensile strength and impact strength were predicted to be 17.87, 4.35, and 15 wt% for NBR, HNT, and PP‐g‐MA, respectively. Confirmation experiments were in good agreement with the predicted values.
Post‐column in‐source derivatisation in LC‐MS: a tool for natural products characterisation and metabolomics
Authors: Cirigliano Adriana M. , Cabrera Gabriela M.
Published: February 2020

Introduction

An efficient characterisation of metabolites is a crucial task in many aspects of basic research, such as the de‐replication of crude extracts in natural products chemistry or the tentative identification of compounds in untargeted metabolomics.

Objective

The goal of this work is the evaluation of the reaction with phenylhydrazine for the derivatisation post‐column in situ of carbonyl‐containing compounds in liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS).

Materials and methods

LC‐MS was performed using electrospray, Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionisation (APCI) or Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization (APPI) as ionisation techniques. The post‐column addition of phenylhydrazine was done through a syringe pump via a T‐junction before entrance to the ion source.

Results

A variety of natural products having carbonyl groups, such as cycloartanes, steroids, cardenolides and other terpenoids, were analysed by this method. In the case of compounds with non‐hindered aldehyde or keto groups, the main signals of the mass spectra were those corresponding to the phenylhydrazones. However, the spectra of compounds with hindered carbonyl groups displayed mainly those signals corresponding to the product of the nucleophilic addition adduct of phenylhydrazine to the carbonyl, which is the first step of the derivatisation process. Finally, those compounds with conjugated ketones did not react with phenylhydrazine. This methodology was applied in the analysis of crude natural extracts.

Conclusion

The results show that in situ derivatisation of carbonyl compounds in the ionisation source was achieved, yielding the typical derivatives of carbonyl compounds with phenylhydrazine.
In Situ Microfibril Structure in Incompatible Isotactic Polypropylene/Polylactic Acid Blends Controlled By Viscosity Ratio
Authors: Su Juan‐Juan , Cui Chao‐Fan , Lin Yi , Yu Qi‐Hao , Wu Zhong‐Xiao , Han Jian , Wang Ke , Fu Qiang
Published: February 2020

In situ microfibril structure can significantly improve the mechanical properties of incompatible blends. In this work, the in situ microfibrils were constructed in isotactic polypropylene/polylactic acid (iPP/PLA) blends by direct injection molding process, and the effect of viscosity ratio on the morphology was systematically analyzed. The results of scanning electron microscope and rheology show that the viscosity ratio plays a decisive role in the formation of in situ microfibrils. When the viscosity ratio of PLA/iPP is near 1, deformation and microfibrillation of PLA particles can be conducted due to the larger and more uniform distributed PLA domains as well as stronger viscous drag forces. However, irregular cylinders are observed when the viscosity ratio is far lower than 1. The poor deformation ability of PLA particles should be attributed to the much smaller size and weaker viscous drag forces. The well‐defined PLA microfibrils are conducive to avoid damage at the interface, and play a significant role in the enhancement of tensile strength and modulus. This work can simplify the traditional preparation process, construct in situ microfibrils directly by using conventional melt processing techniques and provide a new ideal for the high performance of incompatible polymer blends. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60:832–840, 2020. © 2020 Society of Plastics Engineers
Children's collective embodiment—Mobility practices and materialities in mobile preschools
Authors: Ekman Ladru Danielle , Gustafson Katarina
Published: February 2020

This article looks at young children's mobility practices in public spaces within the context of a mobile preschool practice (i.e., a preschool in a bus), with a specific focus on how materialities matter in children's mobilities. Using ethnographic data from a mobile preschool, we argue that the mobile preschool group's mobility should be understood in terms of collective embodiment and the mobile preschool should be viewed as a movingcollective bodyin public space through which children can negotiate their own mobility practices and exercise agency. We show how this collective body is constituted through an assemblage and collaboration of children's and teachers' bodies and material objects. Collective embodiment not only enables and supports children's mobilities in public space but also helps young children to appropriate and claim their democratic right to public space through the visible copresence of bodies and things.
A Novel Ratiometric Electrochemical Biosensor Based on a Split Aptamer for the Detection of Dopamine with Logic Gate Operations
Authors: Guo Ting , Wu Changtong , Offenhäusser Andreas , Mayer Dirk
Published: February 2020

A novel dual‐signal ratiometric electrochemical biosensor based on a split aptamer is developed. A common shortcoming of amperometric aptamer sensors is unspecific signaling due to ssDNA conformational flexibility. Herein, a ratiometric detection using two competitive redox‐labeled aptamer strands is proposed. The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) is chosen as a model target due to its importance for signal processing in the central nervous system. A DA aptamer is split into two parts, S1 and S2, where strand S1 is tethered to the electrode, whereas the second strand is labeled with methylene blue (MB) and acts as a redox reporter. Another ssDNA strand (CS1) tagged with anthraquinone (AQ) is introduced, which is complementary to strand S1 and reports on surface‐tethered strands that remain in its virgin state. In the presence of DA, CS1 is released from the surface due to the formation of S1–S2–DA complexes, resulting in decreasing AQ and increasing MB Faraday currents. Furthermore, logic gate operations can be performed to either improve signal reliability or enlarge the detection range. This proof‐of‐concept study demonstrates that the splitting of a full aptamer into two parts together with the use of complementary ratiomeric tests can improve the reliability of the sensor response.
Status and Prospects of AlN Templates on Sapphire for Ultraviolet Light‐Emitting Diodes
Authors: Hagedorn Sylvia , Walde Sebastian , Knauer Arne , Susilo Norman , Pacak Daniel , Cancellara Leonardo , Netzel Carsten , Mogilatenko Anna , Hartmann Carsten , Wernicke Tim , Kneissl Michael , Weyers Markus
Published: February 2020

Herein, the scope is to provide an overview on the current status of AlN/sapphire templates for ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet C (UVC) light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) with focus on the work done previously. Furthermore, approaches to improve the properties of such AlN/sapphire templates by the combination of high‐temperature annealing (HTA) and patterned AlN/sapphire interfaces are discussed. While the beneficial effect of HTA is demonstrated for UVC LEDs, the growth of relaxed AlGaN buffer layers on HTA AlN is a challenge. To achieve relaxed AlGaN with a low dislocation density, the applicability of HTA for AlGaN is investigated.
Dispersal drives changes in fish community abundance in intermittent stream networks
Authors: Hedden Skyler C. , Gido Keith B.
Published: February 2020

Increasing trends in fragmentation and dewatering of streams warrants research on how populations and communities respond to varying water levels and barriers to movement. Although these responses are complicated by many spatial and temporal processes, long‐term datasets might help reveal complex patterns and processes driving variability in species abundances. The objective of this study was to develop a predictive framework for fish community and population responses to varying levels of water availability across six sites in two intermittent stream networks sampled >10 years. We predicted that fishes would emigrate into intermittent reaches during wet conditions; thus, overall abundances within perennial source locations will decline. Accordingly, when intermittent reaches dry, fishes will contract to wetted habitats resulting in high abundance. Observed fish community abundances were highly variable within and among study sites, but four of six sites matched our predictions. A tagging study confirmed these results and demonstrated a substantial proportion of individuals moved away from perennial reaches and into newly wetted intermittent reaches. However, site and species‐specific relationships were variable and likely depended on the habitat, metacommunity dynamics, and life history strategies. Findings suggest that species dispersal dynamics, in addition to recruitment and mortality, should be carefully considered when interpreting species responses to varying water levels, particularly in intermittent stream networks where access to habitat can change drastically with water availability.
Seed‐Assisted Growth of Cast‐Mono Silicon for Photovoltaic Application: Challenges and Strategies
Authors: Wang Peng , Cui Can , Yang Deren , Yu Xuegong
Published: February 2020

Silicon has dominated the photovoltaic material market for a few decades. In contrast to perfectly crystallized Czochralski (CZ) silicon, casting multi‐crystalline silicon attracts much more attention due to its low cost and high throughput, which meets the increasing demands of the rapidly developing photovoltaic industry. However, the unavoidable appearance of crystallographic defects seriously limits the performance improvement of solar cells. In this Review, a general overview of the recent efforts in high‐quality casting silicon crystal techniques is provided, including the dendritic cast method, high‐performance multi‐crystalline silicon, and cast‐mono silicon. Then, special attention is focused on the seed‐assisted growth of cast‐mono silicon, which shares some of the most favorable features of high solar cell efficiency offered by well‐established CZ silicon and cost‐effectiveness of cast multi‐crystalline silicon. Nevertheless, this innovative growth technique facing a few challenges once impeded its mass scale production. The main issues concerning nucleation and growth control, extended defects as well as impurity contamination are addressed, which pave the way for this high‐potential technology in applications for high‐efficiency and low‐cost solar cells.
Partial migration technique for GPGPU tasks to Prevent GPU Memory Starvation in RPC‐based GPU Virtualization
Authors: Kang JiHun , Lim JongBeom , Yu HeonChang
Published: February 2020

Graphics processing unit (GPU) virtualization technology enables a single GPU to be shared among multiple virtual machines (VMs), thereby allowing multiple VMs to perform GPU operations simultaneously with a single GPU. Because GPUs exhibit lower resource scalability than central processing units (CPUs), memory, and storage, many VMs encounter resource shortages while running GPU operations concurrently, implying that the VM performing the GPU operation must wait to use the GPU. In this paper, we propose a partial migration technique for general‐purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) tasks to prevent the GPU resource shortage in a remote procedure call‐based GPU virtualization environment. The proposed method allows a GPGPU task to be migrated to another physical server's GPU based on the available resources of the target's GPU device, thereby reducing the wait time of the VM to use the GPU. With this approach, we prevent resource shortages and minimize performance degradation for GPGPU operations running on multiple VMs. Our proposed method can prevent GPU memory shortage, improve GPGPU task performance by up to 14%, and improve GPU computational performance by up to 82%. In addition, experiments show that the migration of GPGPU tasks minimizes the impact on other VMs.
Association of Branched Dextrin from Nägeli Amylodextrin in Water for Screening of Additives Affecting Starch Gel Properties
Authors: Matsuki Junko , Wada Masahisa , Sasaki Tomoko , Yoza Koichi , Maeda Hideo , Tokuyasu Ken
Published: February 2020

A novel model system for characterization of double helix in starch is developed using branched dextrin (BD) purified from Nägeli amylodextrin by repeated precipitation in 10% ethanol. The solution of one‐time precipitated BD (BD1, 3% in water) starts to develop turbidity in 8 h of incubation at 4 °C. Volume particle size distribution during the association of four‐time precipitated BD sample (BD4) is analyzed using dynamic light scattering. The mean diameter of the particles jumps from 3.8 to 170 nm between 2 and 2.5 h of incubation, suggesting a prerequisite lag time for maturation of intermolecular association of BD4. Flakes of BD4 in water exhibit a B‐type crystal by X‐ray diffraction analysis. A screening system of additives affecting turbidity development of BD1 in water is applied for 82 compounds, and sodium tetraborate (borax) significantly retards the development. Borax affects the rate of turbidity development and maximum turbidity at the plateau stage in a concentration‐dependent manner. Borax is also added to rice starch gel, which reduces the increase of hardness of the gel during retrogradation. This novel assay system with BD can be used for screening and evaluation of additives affecting starch gelation and retrogradation.
Development and analysis of highly workable high‐strength heavyweight concrete using magnetite aggregates
Authors: Aslani Farhad , Lesslie David M. , Hamidi Fatemeh
Published: February 2020

Heavyweight concrete (HWC) is produced by replacing natural aggregates in a concrete mix design with heavyweight aggregates of a higher specific gravity. HWC is mainly used for the prevention of leakage from radioactive containing structures and is hence primarily used in the medical and nuclear energy industries where this property is of particular benefit and importance. Also, high‐strength concrete (HSC) has been increasingly employed in both civil structures, such as high rise buildings and bridges and defense applications. This study makes attempt to develop and evaluate different concrete mixes, which are considered as high‐strength, heavyweight and highly workable in nature. Such mixes use magnetite as the primary aggregate. The three‐mentioned properties of these concrete types have been thoroughly investigated individually; however, there is a limited numbers of literature on the analysis of mix designs dealing with the three‐mentioned properties simultaneously, in which the water/cement ratio variation, and/or variation of the magnetite content have been assessed. In this study, nine highly workable high‐strength HWC mixes have been developed and fresh and hardened properties are discussed. The overall result indicates that the developed mixes satisfied the required high‐strength, heavyweight and highly workable criteria, as well as, compressive strength would increase by increasing the heavyweight aggregate content.
Modeling and Control of Modular Multilevel AC/AC Converter in Y Configuration for Fractional Frequency Transmission System
Authors: Meng Yongqing , Yu Jianyang , Shang Shuonan , Liu Bo , Gao Xin
Published: February 2020

The modular multilevel AC/AC converter topology in Y configuration, which is called Y‐MMC, suitable for fractional frequency transmission system is proposed in this paper. Y‐MMC can directly connect two three‐phase AC systems of different frequencies and voltage amplitudes with only six equivalent branches, and it has satisfying performance in power quality and characteristics. Y‐MMC enjoys a simple and symmetrical structure with no circulating current problem. The detailed topology and operating principle of Y‐MMC are addressed in this paper. The frequency‐decoupled mathematical model of the Y‐MMC system is deduced. Corresponding control scheme is thoroughly designed, including the inner loop current control, the outer loop control, the individual‐balancing control, and frequency leakage suppression control. The paper also lays emphasis on the optimization of reactive power distribution between the main branches and the assistant branches of Y‐MMC. The validity of the Y‐MMC topology and the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme are verified by the simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Appraisal and calibration of the actuator line model for the prediction of turbulent separated wakes
Authors: Rocchio Benedetto , Ciri Umberto , Salvetti Maria Vittoria , Leonardi Stefano
Published: February 2020

The aim of this study is to further investigate the accuracy and the reliability of the actuator line model (ALM) predictions for turbulent separated wakes. Large eddy simulations (LES) of the flow around a NACA0009 airfoil are performed mimicking the geometry with the immersed boundary method. Results are validated against experiments and used to assess the accuracy of the ALM predictions for the same airfoil, with different values of the spreading parameter and of the reference velocity and for two values of the angle of attack. It is found that the ALM setup recently derived from linearized inviscid analysis leads to accurate results for the lower angle of attack, while at the higher one for which a significant separation of the boundary layer occurs, the ALM requires a different set of model parameters. This calls for a systematic investigation of the sensitivity to the ALM parameters for separated flows, which is carried out herein through a stochastic approach allowing continuous response surfaces to be obtained in the parameter space. The ALM parameters are calibrated against the results obtained with the immersed boundaries. With the calibrated model parameters, the ALM gives good predictions of the velocity and turbulent kinetic energy in the far wake. Finally, the proposed model parameters are used to predict the flow past a different geometry, a flat plate, at high angle of attack. The accuracy of the prediction of the far wake is again good, showing the robustness of the identified setup.
Straightforward Preparation of a Solid‐state Luminescent Cu11 Polymetallic Assembly via Adaptive Coordination‐driven Supramolecular Chemistry
Authors: Evariste Sloane , El Sayed Moussa Mehdi , Wong Hok‐Lai , Calvez Guillaume , Yam Vivian Wing‐Wah , Lescop Christophe
Published: February 2020

The tridentate dpmp ligand was reacted with CuI salt and cyano ligand affording selectively and unexpectedly the polymetallic Cu11 complex 2 along one‐step reaction. The formation of this derivative 2 can be explained by self‐assembling processes controlled by adaptive coordination‐driven supramolecular chemistry. The solid‐state photophysical behavior of 2 was studied suggesting TADF properties.
Distribution of P1(D1) wart disease resistance in potato germplasm and GWAS identification of haplotype-specific SNP markers
Authors: Prodhomme Charlotte , Vos Peter G. , Paulo Maria João , Tammes Jasper E. , Visser Richard G. F. , Vossen Jack H. , van Eck Herman J.
Published: February 2020

Key message

A Genome-Wide Association Study using 330 commercial potato varieties identified haplotype specific SNP markers associated with pathotype 1(D1) wart disease resistance.

Synchytrium endobioticumis a soilborne obligate biotrophic fungus responsible for wart disease. Growing resistant varieties is the most effective way to manage the disease. This paper addresses the challenge to apply molecular markers in potato breeding. Although markers linked toSen1were published before, the identification of haplotype-specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms may result in marker assays with high diagnostic value. To identify hs-SNP markers, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a panel of 330 potato varieties representative of the commercial potato gene pool. SNP markers significantly associated with pathotype 1 resistance were identified on chromosome11, at the position of the previously identifiedSen1locus. Haplotype specificity of the SNP markers was examined through the analysis of false positives and false negatives and validated in two independent full-sib populations. This paper illustrates why it is not always feasible to design markers without false positives and false negatives for marker-assisted selection. In the case ofSen1, founders could not be traced because of a lack of identity by descent and because of the decay of linkage disequilibrium betweenSen1and flanking SNP markers.Sen1appeared to be the main source of pathotype 1 resistance in potato varieties, but it does not explain all the resistance observed. Recombination and introgression breeding may have introduced new, albeit rare haplotypes involved in pathotype 1 resistance. The GWAS approach, in such case, is instrumental to identify SNPs with the best possible diagnostic value for marker-assisted breeding.
Metabolic alterations in immune cells associate with progression to type 1 diabetes
Authors: Sen Partho , Dickens Alex M. , López-Bascón María Asunción , Lindeman Tuomas , Kemppainen Esko , Lamichhane Santosh , Rönkkö Tuukka , Ilonen Jorma , Toppari Jorma , Veijola Riitta , Hyöty Heikki , Hyötyläinen Tuulia , Knip Mikael , Orešič Matej
Published: February 2020

Aims/hypothesis

Previous metabolomics studies suggest that type 1 diabetes is preceded by specific metabolic disturbances. The aim of this study was to investigate whether distinct metabolic patterns occur in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of children who later develop pancreatic beta cell autoimmunity or overt type 1 diabetes.

Methods

In a longitudinal cohort setting, PBMC metabolomic analysis was applied in children who (1) progressed to type 1 diabetes (PT1D, n = 34), (2) seroconverted to ≥1 islet autoantibody without progressing to type 1 diabetes (P1Ab, n = 27) or (3) remained autoantibody negative during follow-up (CTRL, n = 10).

Results

During the first year of life, levels of most lipids and polar metabolites were lower in the PT1D and P1Ab groups compared with the CTRL group. Pathway over-representation analysis suggested alanine, aspartate, glutamate, glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism were over-represented in PT1D. Genome-scale metabolic models of PBMCs during type 1 diabetes progression were developed by using publicly available transcriptomics data and constrained with metabolomics data from our study. Metabolic modelling confirmed altered ceramide pathways, known to play an important role in immune regulation, as specifically associated with type 1 diabetes progression.

Conclusions/interpretation

Our data suggest that systemic dysregulation of lipid metabolism, as observed in plasma, may impact the metabolism and function of immune cells during progression to overt type 1 diabetes.

Data availability

The GEMs for PBMCs have been submitted to BioModels (www.ebi.ac.uk/biomodels/), under accession number MODEL1905270001. The metabolomics datasets and the clinical metadata generated in this study were submitted to MetaboLights (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/), under accession number MTBLS1015.
Implications of Kunita–Itô–Wentzell Formula for k-Forms in Stochastic Fluid Dynamics
Authors: de Léon Aythami Bethencourt , Holm Darryl D. , Luesink Erwin , Takao So
Published: February 2020

We extend the Itô–Wentzell formula for the evolution of a time-dependent stochastic field along a semimartingale to k-form-valued stochastic processes. The result is the Kunita–Itô–Wentzell (KIW) formula for k-forms. We also establish a correspondence between the KIW formula for k-forms derived here and a certain class of stochastic fluid dynamics models which preserve the geometric structure of deterministic ideal fluid dynamics. This geometric structure includes Eulerian and Lagrangian variational principles, Lie–Poisson Hamiltonian formulations and natural analogues of the Kelvin circulation theorem, all derived in the stochastic setting.
The pathology of central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating disease accompanying myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein autoantibody
Authors: Höftberger Romana , Guo Yong , Flanagan Eoin P. , Lopez-Chiriboga A. Sebastian , Endmayr Verena , Hochmeister Sonja , Joldic Damir , Pittock Sean J. , Tillema Jan Mendelt , Gorman Mark , Lassmann Hans , Lucchinetti Claudia F.
Published: February 2020

We sought to define the pathological features of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated disorders (MOGAD) in an archival autopsy/biopsy cohort. We histopathologically analyzed 2 autopsies and 22 brain biopsies from patients with CNS inflammatory demyelinating diseases seropositive for MOG-antibody by live-cell-based-assay with full length MOG in its conformational form. MOGAD autopsies (ages 52 and 67) demonstrate the full spectrum of histopathological features observed within the 22 brain biopsies (median age, 10 years; range, 1–66; 56% female). Clinical, radiologic, and laboratory characteristics and course (78% relapsing) are consistent with MOGAD. MOGAD pathology is dominated by coexistence of both perivenous and confluent white matter demyelination, with an over-representation of intracortical demyelinated lesions compared to typical MS. Radially expanding confluent slowly expanding smoldering lesions in the white matter as seen in MS, are not present. A CD4+ T-cell dominated inflammatory reaction with granulocytic infiltration predominates. Complement deposition is present in all active white matter lesions, but a preferential loss of MOG is not observed. AQP4 is preserved, with absence of dystrophic astrocytes, and variable oligodendrocyte and axonal destruction. MOGAD is pathologically distinguished from AQP4-IgG seropositive NMOSD, but shares some overlapping features with both MS and ADEM, suggesting a transitional pathology. Complement deposition in the absence of selective MOG protein loss suggest humoral mechanisms are involved, however argue against endocytic internalization of the MOG antigen. Parallels with MOG-EAE suggest MOG may be an amplification factor that augments CNS demyelination, possibly via complement mediated destruction of myelin or ADCC phagocytosis.
z-Knotted Triangulations of Surfaces
Authors: Pankov Mark , Tyc Adam
Published: February 2020

A zigzag in a map (a 2-cell embedding of a connected graph in a connected closed 2-dimensional surface) is a cyclic sequence of edges satisfying the following conditions: (1) any two consecutive edges lie on the same face and have a common vertex, (2) for any three consecutive edges the first and the third edges are disjoint and the face containing the first and the second edges is distinct from the face which contains the second and the third one. A map is z-knotted if it contains a single zigzag. Such maps are closely related to the Gauss code problem and have nice homological properties. We show that every triangulation of a connected closed 2-dimensional surface admits a z-knotted shredding.
Simultaneous X-ray Video-Fluoroscopy and Pulsed Ultrasound Velocimetry Analyses of the Pharyngeal Phase of Swallowing of Boluses with Different Rheological Properties
Authors: Qazi Waqas M. , Ekberg Olle , Wiklund Johan , Mansoor Rashid , Stading Mats
Published: February 2020

The Ultrasound Velocity Profiling (UVP) technique allows real-time, non-invasive flow mapping of a fluid along a 1D-measuring line. This study explores the possibility of using the UVP technique and X-ray video-fluoroscopy (XVF) to elucidate the deglutition process with the focus on bolus rheology. By positioning the UVP probe so that the pulsed ultrasonic beam passes behind the air-filled trachea, the bolus flow in the pharynx can be measured. Healthy subjects in a clinical study swallowed fluids with different rheological properties: Newtonian (constant shear viscosity and non-elastic); Boger (constant shear viscosity and elastic); and shear thinning (shear rate-dependent shear viscosity and elastic). The results from both the UVP and XVF reveal higher velocities for the shear thinning fluid, followed by the Boger and the Newtonian fluids, demonstrating that the UVP method has equivalent sensitivities for detecting the velocities of fluids with different rheological properties. The velocity of the contraction wave that clears the pharynx was measured in the UVP and found to be independent of bolus rheology. The results show that UVP not only assesses accurately the fluid velocity in a bolus flow, but it can also monitor the structural changes that take place in response to a bolus flow, with the added advantage of being a completely non-invasive technique that does not require the introduction of contrast media.
Redox potential research in the field of balneochemistry: case study on equilibrium approach to bioactive elements in therapeutic waters
Authors: Wątor Katarzyna , Dobrzyński Dariusz , Sugimori Kenji , Kmiecik Ewa
Published: February 2020

In some countries (e.g. Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Russia, Germany), oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) measurements are required to document the quality of groundwater which are planned to be used as therapeutic waters. ORP is still rarely studied and not fully availed in therapeutic water research. Studies of ORP in various types of therapeutic, mineral and thermal waters in sites of Poland integrated with geochemical equilibrium approach were employed to characterize two redox-sensitive and bioactive elements, i.e. iron and sulphur. Studied waters present reducing conditions (EH between − 406 and − 41 mV) at outflow or extraction sites; however, they significantly differ in terms of total dissolved solids, temperature, and iron, sulphur(II) and sulphate concentrations. These result in recognizable differences, e.g. in terms of saturation state with respect to aquifer rock minerals and the dominating forms of occurrence of elements studied disclosed on the stability field diagrams. Considering the methodological determinants, ORP orchestrated with geochemical modelling tools might be successfully applied for studying natural linkages between various groundwater in natural systems, protecting the therapeutic water resource, and identifying the changes of water quality both at exploitation sites (springs, wells) and treatment places.
5-ALA-assistant automated detection of lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer patients
Authors: Matsumoto Tatsuya , Murayama Yasutoshi , Matsuo Hisataka , Okochi Kengo , Koshiishi Naotaka , Harada Yoshinori , Tanaka Hideo , Takamatsu Tetsuro , Otsuji Eigo
Published: February 2020

Background

5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has been utilized for cancer diagnosis as a fluorescence probe. We have reported the feasibility of 5-ALA-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence for detecting lymph node (LN) metastasis in gastrointestinal malignancies. However, a major barrier to the fluorescence diagnosis has been that the evaluation has been highly dependent on the observers. In this study, we examined the validity of a developed device for automated detection without subjectivity.

Methods

Gastric cancer patients who received oral administration of 5-ALA (20 mg/kg) prior to surgery were enrolled. For a total of 323 LNs obtained from 64 patients, the diagnostic results of the device were compared to those of conventional histopathological examination based on hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained slides. The accuracy with the device was compared to that of stereoscopic detection with conventional fluorescence microscopy for 211 LNs from 42 patients. We used two types of image processing that we previously developed to eliminate autofluorescence of background tissues: differential and ratio methods.

Results

For detection of metastasis in 323 LNs, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves with the differential method and ratio method were 0.921 and 0.909, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy with the differential method were 78.0%, 96.8%, and 94.4%; while those with the ratio method were 78.0%, 96.1%, and 93.8%, respectively. In 211 LN analysis, the diagnostic accuracy with the device was comparable to that of stereoscopic examination.

Conclusion

Our device for automated detection of LN metastasis using 5-ALA can be a useful tool for intraoperative diagnosis.