bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating stratospheric ozone and water vapor changes in CMIP6
models from 1850–2100
Authors: Keeble James , Hassler Birgit , Banerjee Antara , Checa-Garcia Ramiro , Chiodo Gabriel , Davis Sean , Eyring Veronika , Griffiths Paul T. , Morgenstern Olaf , Nowack Peer , Zeng Guang , Zhang Jiankai , Bodeker Greg , Cugnet David , Danabasoglu Gokhan , Deushi Makoto , Horowitz Larry W. , Li Lijuan , Michou Martine , Mills Michael J. , Nabat Pierre , Park Sungsu , Wu Tongwen
Published: February 2020

Abstract. Stratospheric ozone and water vapour are key components of the Earth system, and past and future changes to both have important impacts on global and regional climate. Here we evaluate long-term changes in these species from the pre- industrial (1850) to the end of the 21st century in CMIP6 models under a range of future emissions scenarios. There is good agreement between the CMIP multi-model mean and observations, although there is substantial variation between the individual CMIP6 models. For the CMIP6 multi-model mean, global total column ozone (TCO) has increased from ∼300 DU in 1850 to ∼305 DU in 1960, before rapidly declining in the 1970s and 1980s following the use and emission of halogenated ozone depleting substances (ODSs). TCO is projected to return to 1960s values by the middle of the 21st century under the SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, SSP4-3.4, SSP4-6.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, and under the SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios TCO values are projected to be ∼10 DU higher than the 1960s values by 2100. However, under the SSP1-1.9 and SSP1-1.6 scenarios, TCO is not projected to return to the 1960s values despite reductions in halogenated ODSs due to decreases in tropospheric ozone mixing ratios. This global pattern is similar to regional patterns, except in the tropics where TCO under most scenarios is not projected to return to 1960s values, either through reductions in tropospheric ozone under SSP1-1.9 and SSP1-2.6, or through reductions in lower stratospheric ozone resulting from an acceleration of the Brewer-Dobson Circulation under other SSPs. CMIP6 multi-model mean stratospheric water vapour mixing ratios in the tropical lower stratosphere have increased by ∼0.5 ppmv from the pre-industrial to the present day and are projected to increase further by the end of the 21st century. The largest increases (∼2 ppmv) are simulated under the future scenarios with the highest assumed forcing pathway (e.g. SSP5-8.5). Both TCO and tropical lower stratospheric water vapour show large variability following explosive volcanic eruptions.
Atmospheric mercury in the southern hemisphere – Part 1: Trend and inter-annual variations of atmospheric mercury at Cape Point, South Africa, in 2007–2017, and on Amsterdam Island in 2012–2017
Authors: Slemr Franz , Martin Lynwill , Labuschagne Casper , Mokolo Thumeka , Angot Hélène , Magand Olivier , Dommergue Aurélien , Garat Philippe , Ramonet Michel , Bieser Johannes
Published: February 2020

Abstract. The Minamata Convention on mercury (Hg) entered into force in 2017, committing its 116 parties (as of January 2019) to curb anthropogenic emissions. Monitoring of atmospheric concentrations and trends is an important part of the effectiveness evaluation of the Convention. A few years ago (in 2017) we reported an increasing trend of atmospheric Hg concentrations at the Cape Point Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station in South Africa (34°21' S, 18°29' E) for the 2007–2015 period. With 2 more years of measurements at Cape Point and the 2012–2017 data from Amsterdam Island (37°48' S, 77°34' E) in the remote southern Indian Ocean, a more complex picture emerges: at Cape Point the upward trend for the 2007–2017 period is still significant but none or slightly downward trend was detected for the period 2012–2017 both at Cape Point and Amsterdam Island. The upward trend at Cape Point is thus driven mainly by the 2007–2014 data. Using ancillary data on 222Rn, CO, O3, CO2, and CH4 from Cape Point and Amsterdam Island the possible reasons for the trend and its change are investigated. In a companion paper this analysis is extended for the Cape Point station by calculations of source and sink regions using backward trajectory analysis.
Joint Analysis of Convective Structure from the APR-2 Precipitation Radar and the DAWN Doppler Wind Lidar During the 2017 Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX)
Authors: Turk F. Joseph , Hristova-Veleva Svetla , Durden Stephen L. , Tanelli Simone , Sy Ousmane , Emmitt Dave , Greco Steve , Zhang Sara Q.
Published: February 2020

Abstract. The mechanisms linking convection and cloud dynamical processes is a major factor in much of the uncertainty in both weather and climate prediction. Further constraining the uncertainty in convective cloud processes linking 3-D air motion and cloud structure through models and observations is vital for improvements in weather forecasting, and understanding limits on atmospheric predictability. To date, there have been relatively few airborne observations specifically targeted for sampling convective cloud processes linking 3-D air motion and transport of water vapor near clouds, and the subsequent development (or non-development) of convective precipitation. During the May–June 2017 Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX), NASA DC-8-based airborne observations were collected from the JPL Ku/Ka-band Airborne Precipitation Radar (APR-2) and the 2-um Doppler Aerosol Wind (DAWN) lidar during approximately 100 flight hours. Frequent dropsonde data accompanied the DAWN observations for validation purposes, and to provide complement wind profiles in and near convection. For CPEX, the APR-2 provided vertical air motion and structure of the cloud systems in nearby precipitating regions where DAWN is unable to sense. Conversely, DAWN sampled vertical wind profiles in aerosol-rich regions surrounding the convection, but is unable to sense the wind field structure within cloud. In this manuscript, the complementary nature of these data are presented from the June 10–11 flight dates, including the APR-2 precipitation structure and Doppler wind fields, and adjacent wind profiles from the DAWN and dropsonde data.
A flexible two-stage approach for blending multiple satellite precipitation estimates and rain gauge observations: an experiment in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Ma Yingzhao , Sun Xun , Chen Haonan , Hong Yang , Zhang Yinsheng
Published: February 2020

Abstract. Substantial biases exist in the Satellite Precipitation Estimates (SPE) over complex terrain regions and it has always been a challenge to quantify and correct such biases. The combination of multiple SPE and ground observations would be beneficial to improve the precipitation estimates. In this study, a flexible two-step approach is proposed by firstly reducing the systematic errors of each SPE using rain gauge observations as references, and then merging the improved multi-SPE with a Bayesian weighting model. In the 1st stage, gauge references are assumed as a generalized regression function of SPE and terrain feature. In the 2nd stage, the weights assigned to the involved SPE are calculated according to the associated performance relative to gauge references. This blending method has the ability to exert benefits from multi-SPE in terms of higher performance and mitigate negative impacts from the ones with lower quality. In addition, Bayesian analysis is applied in the two phases by specifying prior distributions on the model parameters, which enables to produce posterior ensembles associated with their predictive uncertainties. The performance of the two-step blending approach is assessed using independent rain gauge observations during the warm season of 2014 in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Results show that the blended multi-SPE are significantly improved compared to the original individuals, especially during heavy rainfall events. This study can also be expanded as a data fusion framework in the development of high-quality precipitation products in high-cold regions characterized by complex terrain.
Freshwater pearl mussels from northern Sweden serve as long-term, high-resolution stream water isotope recorders
Authors: Schöne Bernd R. , Meret Aliona E. , Baier Sven M. , Fiebig Jens , Esper Jan , McDonnell Jeffrey , Pfister Laurent
Published: February 2020

Abstract. The stable isotope composition of lacustrine sediments is routinely used to infer Late Holocene changes in precipitation over Scandinavia and, ultimately, atmospheric circulation dynamics in the North Atlantic realm. However, such archives only provide a low temporal resolution (ca. 15 years), precluding the ability to identify changes on inter-annual and quasi-decadal timescales. Here, we present a new, high-resolution reconstruction using shells of freshwater pearl mussels, Margaritifera margaritifera, from three streams in northern Sweden. We present seasonally to annually resolved, calendar-aligned stable oxygen and carbon isotope data from 10 specimens, covering the time interval from 1819 to 1998. The bivalves studied formed their shells near equilibrium with the oxygen isotope signature of ambient water and, thus, reflect hydrological processes in the catchment as well as changes, albeit damped, in the isotope signature of local atmospheric precipitation. The shell oxygen isotopes were significantly correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation index (up to 56 % explained variability), suggesting that the moisture that winter precipitation formed from originated predominantly in the North Atlantic during NAO+ years but in the Arctic during NAO− years. The isotope signature of winter precipitation was attenuated in the stream water, and this damping effect was eventually recorded by the shells. Shell stable carbon isotope values did not show consistent ontogenetic trends, but rather oscillated around an average that ranged from ca. −12.00 to −13.00 ‰ among the streams studied. Results of this study contribute to an improved understanding of climate dynamics in Scandinavia and the North Atlantic sector and can help to constrain eco-hydrological changes in riverine ecosystems. Moreover, long isotope records of precipitation and streamflow are pivotal to improve our understanding and modeling of hydrological, ecological, biogeochemical and atmospheric processes. Our new approach offers a much higher temporal resolution and superior dating control than data from existing archives.
The sensitivity of atmospheric blocking to changes in upstream latent heating – numerical experiments
Authors: Steinfeld Daniel , Boettcher Maxi , Forbes Richard , Pfahl Stephan
Published: February 2020

Abstract. Recent climatological studies based on trajectory calculations have pointed to an important role of latent heating during cloud formation for the dynamics of anticyclonic circulation anomalies such as atmospheric blocking. However, the causal relationship between latent heating and blocking formation has not yet been fully elucidated. To explicitly study this causal relationship, we perform sensitivity simulations of five selected blocking events with a global weather prediction model in which we artificially eliminate latent heating in clouds upstream of the blocking anticyclones. This elimination has substantial effects on the upper-tropospheric circulation in all case studies, but there is also significant case-to-case variability: some blocking systems do not develop at all without upstream latent heating, while for others the amplitude of the blocking anticyclones is merely reduced. This strong influence of latent heating on the jet stream is due to the injection of air masses with low potential vorticity (PV) into the upper troposphere in strongly ascending warm conveyor belt airstreams, and the interaction of the associated divergent outflow with the upper-level PV structure. The important influence of diabatic heating demonstrated with these experiments suggests that an accurate parameterization of microphysical processes in weather prediction and climate models is crucial for adequately representing blocking dynamics.
Why Is an Inverted Car Identified Much Better Than an Inverted Face?
Authors: Rakover Sam S. , Lurie Arthur
Published: February 2020

The present study shows that the presentation of a pair of the same car in upright and then in inverted orientation (UI-car) or in inverted and upright orientations (IU-car) increases recognition of an inverted car more than recognition of an inverted face given the previous presentation of a UI-face or IU-face. Presentation of a UI-face or IU-face exerts no significant effect on recognition of an inverted face and upright face. The differences between the visual forms of a face and a car and reasons why it is more difficult to unify a UI-face (IU-face) than a UI-car (IU-car) are discussed.
Works by the 20th/21st century composers from Łódź for a guitar – harpsichord duo
Authors: Garlińska Paulina , Bąk Magdalena
Published: February 2020

The combination of the guitar and harpsichord has inspired composers all over the world for years. Łódź is the place where the greatest number of such pieces in Poland has been written by Jerzy Bauer, Bronisław Kazimierz Przybylski, Sławomir Kaczorowski, Stanisław Mroński, Andrzej Cwojdziński, and others. The creative output of the composers listed above for instruments such as the harpsichord, which is mainly associated with early music, and the guitar, which had its rebirth after WWII, is worth discussing. Composers from Łódź have made a great contribution to the development of literature for such an unusual line-up.
Almost all compositions have been written for the Stefańska – Oberbek duo who were active in Cracow in the second half of the 1980s. The present article is mainly based on the materials shared by the guitarist Jan Oberbek and the Elżbieta Chojnacka Center for Contemporary Harpsichord Music. The materials have been discussed in terms of their content, which may be of value for new performers of this music.
In each of these works an instrument player faces different problems and unusual solutions for a given instrument, which gives an artist the freedom of interpretation but at the same time creates a challenge related to analysing the piece and searching for a solution for a problem.
The sound idiom of the guitar and the harpsichord was the inspiration for the aforementioned composers to create the literature valuable both for artists and for audiences. Unfortunately, this repertoire is hardly ever performed.
Composition trends in polish vocal lyric. Musical language features in polish songs after the mid-20th century based on selected examples
Authors: Mikolon Anna
Published: February 2020

The subject for analysis were works for voice and piano by selected Polish composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, e.g. Grażyna Bacewicz, Tadeusz Baird, Henryk Czyż, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Henryk Hubertus Jabłoński, Wojciech Kilar, Zygmunt Krauze, Szymon Laks, Witold Lutosławski, Juliusz Mieczysław Łuciuk, Wojciech Łukaszewski, Paweł Łukaszewski, Maciej Małecki, Paweł Mykietyn, Edward Pałłasz, Konrad Pałubicki, Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Rudziński, Marian Sawa, Kazimierz Serocki, Tadeusz Szeligowski and Romuald Twardowski. An important matter for the author was to determine whether there are common features for this creative genre. She also attempted to find an answer to the question if the trends from the second half of the 20th century were reflected in songs. The scope of analysis covered the repertoire the author knew from her performance practice from the standpoint of a pianist. To the general characteristics of selected songs she added a review of famous trends, techniques and styles of composition, such as impressionism, neoromanticism, expressionism, dodecaphony, serialism, punctualism, minimalism, sonorism, spectralism, neoclassicism, vitalism, postmodernism, aleatoricism, bruitism, microtonality, electronic music, musique concrète, stochastic music, references to previous periods, to folklore and to popular music. She compared musical notation of the analysed works. She also confronted forms of songs with contemporary composition techniques. Interesting was the approach of composers to chamber relations in a duo and the way they made texts musical. Most composers distanced themselves from the avant-garde in works for voice and piano which had a specific poetic text because of the clarity of narration. Matching composers unequivocally to just one trend turned out impossible. Various techniques and phenomena may co-exist in one piece and in the same way one creator may search for different means of expression.
Proinkluzyjne walory kapitału społecznego osób z niepełnosprawnością
Authors: Bąbka Jarosław
Published: February 2020

People with disabilities form a group which is threatened by social exclusion. Social sciences are becoming more and more concerned about social capital issues in terms of creating programmes for social inclusion of various marginalised groups. The paper discusses selected concepts of social capital according to James Coleman, Nan Lin, Francis Fukuyama and Robert D. Putnam. The author of the paper has made a comparative analysis of the results of various authors’ research on the social capital of the non-disabled (fully-fit) and the disabled in terms of: (1) social networks, (2) social trust, (3) compliance with social rules, social exchange and cooperation, (4) communication skills and (5) feeling of physical and mental health. The paper presents argumentation on a macrosystem, mesocosm and microsystem level justifying the need to use social capital as a theoretical support for creating social inclusion network in relation to the disabled. The issue is to leave a charity and paternal model applied in the activities for persons with disabilities and to follow the model of inclusion and participation. The discussion is supplemented by a description of challenges that special education is facing in terms of further research work on social capital.
Edukacja przygodowa z perspektywy krajów o bogatej tradycji outdoor & adventure education
Authors: Koszałka-Silska Agnieszka
Published: February 2020

The aim of this paper is to present the key terminology in the field of adventure education, its essence and development direction on the example of countries with rich tradition of education in this field. The author presents selected proposals of outdoor and adventure education definitions, as well as similarities and differences between erlebnispaedagogik and adventure education. The paper exposes the essence of adventure education and the direction of evolution on the example of Germany, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand.
Linguistic images of modern parenthood on parenting websites
Authors: Wileczek Anna
Published: February 2020

Contemporary socio-cultural transformations of family life can be observed in the area of non-specialist parental discourse in terms of both modern parenthood and the celebration of childhood. The new quality in the experience and creation of parenthood is noticeable especially in the communication performed with the help of Web 2.0 tools (which are currently among the most important platforms for the exchange of particularly valued “unscientific” – experience, because it is based on empirical knowledge). Internet messages (entries, posts, comments) create an involved parenting and glorify a small child as a subject of parental efforts in the context of post-hierarchical relationships, but they also serve to profile communities gathered around a superior idea or topic (e.g. eco-mum, modern mother, fitmum, dad in the city, dad at work, etc.). They also endorse the principle of the aestheticisation of everyday life, the messages are filled with linguistic humour and expose a non-standard way of thinking, matching perfectly the main trends of postmodern communication.
Selekcja na progu szkoły ponadgimnazjalnej: merytokracja czy statusowy determinizm?
Authors: Smulczyk Marek , Dolata Roman , Pokropek Artur
Published: February 2020

The article presents the results of analyses of the impact of the socioeconomic status (SES) of the student’s family on the selection processes at the threshold of upper secondary school. It was checked whether SES affects these processes only through the results of the lower secondary school examination or there is a direct impact of this factor. The data used came from the nationwide survey of upper secondary school students, which was a Polish extension of OECD’s PISA study. The results of path modeling prove that there is a direct impact of status factors on the selection processes and its strength is similar to the SES effect mediated by the results of the lower secondary school (gimnazjum) examination.
New floristic records for the provinces of Albacete, Almería and Granada (Spain)
Authors: Pedro Sánchez-Gómez , José Luis Cánovas , Juan Francisco Jiménez , Antonio Catalán , José Antonio López-Donate
Published: February 2020

Se presenta un listado de 14 especies de flora, novedosas para las provincias de Albacete, Almería y Granada (España). Se incluyen datos sobre la corología y ecología de todas las especies, además de otros comentarios relativos a la conservación o de carácter taxonómico.

14 new or interesting records for the flora of Albacete, Almeria and Granada are listed in this paper. For each species, chorological, taxonomic and ecology data are included. Furthermore, data belonging to their Conservation status are added, in order to take into account them in further revisions of Catalogues of threatened
flora.
¿Qué és la televisión interactiva?
Authors: Melenchón Maldonado Javier
Published: February 2020

La historia de la televisión interactiva se inicia hace algunos años si bien es en el momento actual en el que se está produciendo el despegue hacia la plena popularización. Nociones como la TDT, la IPTV, la web-TV o la televisión móvil se asocian inevitablemente con estándares que como el MPEG-2 o el MPEG-4 posibilitan su difusión. Un recorrido detallado por dichos conceptos es el objetivo de este artículo.
Repression of viral gene expression and replication by the unfolded protein response effector XBP1u
Authors: Hinte Florian , van Anken Eelco , Tirosh Boaz , Brune Wolfram
Published: February 2020

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a cellular homeostatic circuit regulating protein synthesis and processing in the ER by three ER-to-nucleus signaling pathways. One pathway is triggered by the inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), which splices the X-box binding protein 1 (Xbp1) mRNA, thereby enabling expression of XBP1s. Another UPR pathway activates the activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6). Here we show that murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), a prototypic β-herpesvirus, harnesses the UPR to regulate its own life cycle. MCMV activates the IRE1-XBP1 pathway early post infection to relieve repression by XBP1u, the product of the unspliced Xbp1 mRNA. XBP1u inhibits viral gene expression and replication by blocking the activation of the viral major immediate-early promoter by XBP1s and ATF6. These findings reveal a redundant function of XBP1s and ATF6 as activators of the viral life cycle, and an unexpected role of XBP1u as a potent repressor of both XBP1s and ATF6-mediated activation.
Translational initiation in E. coli occurs at the correct sites genome-wide in the absence of mRNA-rRNA base-pairing
Authors: Saito Kazuki , Green Rachel , Buskirk Allen R
Published: February 2020

Shine-Dalgarno (SD) motifs are thought to play an important role in translational initiation in bacteria. Paradoxically, ribosome profiling studies in E. coli show no correlation between the strength of an mRNA’s SD motif and how efficiently it is translated. Performing profiling on ribosomes with altered anti-Shine-Dalgarno sequences, we reveal a genome-wide correlation between SD strength and ribosome occupancy that was previously masked by other contributing factors. Using the antibiotic retapamulin to trap initiation complexes at start codons, we find that the mutant ribosomes select start sites correctly, arguing that start sites are hard-wired for initiation through the action of other mRNA features. We show that A-rich sequences upstream of start codons promote initiation. Taken together, our genome-wide study reveals that SD motifs are not necessary for ribosomes to determine where initiation occurs, though they do affect how efficiently initiation occurs.
Building blocks for commodity augmented reality-based molecular visualization and modeling in web browsers
Authors: Abriata Luciano A.
Published: February 2020

For years, immersive interfaces using virtual and augmented reality (AR) for molecular visualization and modeling have promised a revolution in the way how we teach, learn, communicate and work in chemistry, structural biology and related areas. However, most tools available today for immersive modeling require specialized hardware and software, and are costly and cumbersome to set up. These limitations prevent wide use of immersive technologies in education and research centers in a standardized form, which in turn prevents large-scale testing of the actual effects of such technologies on learning and thinking processes. Here, I discuss building blocks for creating marker-based AR applications that run as web pages on regular computers, and explore how they can be exploited to develop web content for handling virtual molecular systems in commodity AR with no more than a webcam- and internet-enabled computer. Examples span from displaying molecules, electron microscopy maps and molecular orbitals with minimal amounts of HTML code, to incorporation of molecular mechanics, real-time estimation of experimental observables and other interactive resources using JavaScript. These web apps provide virtual alternatives to physical, plastic-made molecular modeling kits, where the computer augments the experience with information about spatial interactions, reactivity, energetics, etc. The ideas and prototypes introduced here should serve as starting points for building active content that everybody can utilize online at minimal cost, providing novel interactive pedagogic material in such an open way that it could enable mass-testing of the effect of immersive technologies on chemistry education.
Comparison of the performance of ITS1 and ITS2 as barcodes in amplicon-based sequencing of bioaerosols
Authors: Mbareche Hamza , Veillette Marc , Bilodeau Guillaume , Duchaine Caroline
Published: February 2020

This paper presents the performance of two eukaryotic genomic ribosomal regions, ITS1 and ITS2, in describing fungal diversity in aerosol samples using amplicon-based High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS). Composting sites, biomethanization facilities, and dairy farms, all affected by the presence of fungi, were visited to collect air samples. The amplicon-based HTS approach is a target enrichment method that relies on the amplification of a specific target using particular primers before sequencing. Thus, the results are highly dependent on the quality of amplification. For this reason, the authors of this paper used a shotgun metagenomic approach to compare its outcome with the amplicon-based method. Indeed, shotgun metagenomic does not rely on any amplification prior to sequencing, because all genes are sequenced without a specific target. In addition, culture methods were added to the analyses in biomethanization and dairy farms samples to validate their contribution to fungal diversity of aerosols. The results obtained are unequivocal towards ITS1 outperformance to ITS2 in terms of richness, and taxonomic coverage. The differential abundance analysis did demonstrate that some taxa were exclusively detected only by ITS2, and vice-versa for ITS1. However, the shotgun metagenomic approach showed a taxonomic profile more resembling to ITS1 than ITS2. Based on these results, neither of the barcodes evaluated is perfect in terms of distinguishing all species. Using both barcodes offers a broader view of the fungal aerosol population. However, with the actual knowledge, the authors strongly recommend using ITS1 as a universal fungal barcode for quick general analyses of diversity and when limited financial resources are available, primarily due its ability to capture taxonomic profiles similar to those obtained using the shotgun metagenomic. The culture comparison with amplicon-based sequencing showed the complementarity of both approaches in describing the most abundant taxa.
Increased absorption in autonomous sensory meridian response
Authors: Janik McErlean Agnieszka B. , Osborne-Ford Eleanor J.
Published: February 2020

Background

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a cross-sensory phenomenon characterised by a static-like sensation which typically originates on the scalp and spreads throughout the body leading to a state of deep relaxation. It can be triggered by visual and auditory stimuli in real life, incidentally by various media and via intentionally created ASMR videos. Previously ASMR has been linked to a specific personality profile and this study aimed to further elucidate individual differences associated with this phenomenon.

Methods

To this effect ASMR-Experiencers and age and gender matched controls were compared on measures of flow, absorption and mindfulness.

Results

This revealed that ASMR was associated with elevated absorption but no group differences were found with respect to the other constructs, suggesting that the ability to get deeply immersed with the current experience accompanied by loss of reflective awareness may be an important factor contributing to the experience of ASMR.
Lipidaemic and Hepatic Status of Type 2 Diabetic Rats Treated with the Polyherbal Capsule Glucoblock
Authors: Briggs O. N. , Elechi-Amadi K. N. , Ezeiruaku F. C. , Teme R. E.
Published: February 2020

The scourge of diabetes has led to an increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine. The lack of regulation and control leads to the indiscriminate use of these herbals, with potential risk to patients.

Aim: This study evaluates the lipidaemic and hepatic status of type 2 diabetic rats treated with the polyherbal capsule glucoblock.

Methodology: A total of 35 male Wistar albino rats weighing between 120-220 g were used for this study. The rats were placed on high fat diet and diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of freshly prepared streptozotocin (STZ) (45 mg/kg body wt). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was determined using the glucose oxidase method. Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG) and High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined using enzymatic methods. Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated using the Friedewald’s equation. Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) were determined using Reitman-Frankel method, while alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was determined using the colorimetric phenolphthalein method. Liver sections were stained using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining technique, and phytochemical analysis was also done on the herbal capsule.

Results: The results show no significant differences in TC levels in all groups compared to the negative control. TG level was significantly higher in the diabetic control group when compared to the negative control. TG level in the singular treatment groups were significantly lower, but the combination group (glibenclamide + glucoblock) showed no significant difference compared to the diabetic control. The negative control had significantly higher HDL-C compared to the diabetic control and treatment groups. There were no significant differences in HDL-C levels in all the treatment groups, when compared to the diabetic control. The negative control had significantly lower LDL-C compared to the diabetic control and treatment groups. There were no significant differences in LDL-C levels in all the treatment groups, when compared to the diabetic control. ALT, AST and ALP levels were significantly higher in the diabetic control, but was significantly reduced to normal levels by the treatments. Liver sections of the negative control showed normal histoarchitecture. The diabetic control showed inflammation and fatty deposition. The treatment groups showed a nearly normal histoarchitecture, with fatty deposits.

Conclusion: High fat diet in combination with a sub-diabetic dose of streptozotocin produced significant diabetes in the Wistar rats with dyslipidaemia and elevated liver enzyme levels. The anti-diabetic treatments, glibenclamide and glucoblock did not correct the dyslipidaema caused by diabetes. However, the treatments had equipotent hepatoprotective effect and restored liver enzyme levels to normal as well as improving liver histology.
A Comprehensive Study for Specialized Silicon-on-Insulator Wafers
Authors: Bacquian Bryan Christian S. , Gomez Frederick Ray I.
Published: February 2020

The relentless advancement and trends on thinner packages have become the focus in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The requirement of thinner packages also demands a thinner vertical structure of the semiconductor electronic design. As a major contributor on the vertical structure of the electronic package, die or wafer is also essential to go thinner. As the wafer becomes thinner, various problems may occur during transport and even the backgrinding process itself.

Wafer warpage is one of the main concerns during the wafer backgrinding process. Insufficient vacuum may cause non-planar wafer in contact with the chuck table that may result to poor grinding and broken wafer. Wafer backgrinding stress and backgrinding tape tension also contribute to the effect on wafer warpage. Challenges exist in processing different silicon wafer technology, particularly the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. Evaluating the effect of backgrinding tape selection and vacuum efficiency to eliminate such warpage is presented in this paper.
Supervisory Control of Nondeterministic Discrete‐Event Systems
Authors: Takai Shigemasa
Published: February 2020

In this article, we consider a supervisory control problem for nondeterministic discrete‐event systems. In the conventional supervisory control problem for the deterministic plant with the deterministic specification, equivalence of the generated or marked language of the supervised plant and the specification language is required. When both the plant and the specification are nondeterministic, a notion of equivalence stronger than language equivalence is required. Bisimulation equivalence is stronger than language equivalence and it has been widely used for verification and control of dynamical systems. A bisimilarity control problem requires us to synthesize a possibly nondeterministic supervisor such that the supervised plant and the specification are bisimilar. We present a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a supervisor that solves the bisimilarity control problem and how to synthesize such a supervisor if it exists. Furthermore, we show that a nondeterministic supervisor is more powerful than a deterministic one for the bisimilarity control problem.
Evolving Intelligent Systems
Authors: Baruah Rashmi Dutta , Angelov Plamen P. , Baruah Diganta
Published: February 2020

This article provides an overview of Evolving Intelligent Systems. It discusses the architecture and design of evolving frameworks that are based on computational intelligence, namely, evolving fuzzy systems, evolving neural networks, and evolving neuro‐fuzzy systems. The article further describes evolving approaches in the context of unsupervised and supervised learning. It highlights several successful applications of evolving systems. The reader would also be introduced to the novel concept of collaborative evolving intelligent systems through this article. Finally, the article is concluded with future research directions.
Fats and Oils in Bakery Products
Authors: Żbikowska Anna , Kowalska Małgorzata , Stauffer Clyde E.
Published: February 2020

Fats and oils are important bakery ingredients. In bakery foods, shortenings impart tenderness, give a moister mouthfeel, contribute structure, lubricate, incorporate air, and transfer heat. In addition to modifying the mouthfeel or texture, they often add taste of their own and tend to round off harsh notes in some of the spicy taste. Moreover, fats and oils often aid in manipulation of doughs, provide for aeration and resultant leavening of the final product, modify gluten (particularly in development of yeast‐raised doughs), act as emulsifiers for holding of liquids (shortenings). In the case of layered doughs, they provide for development of flakiness in products (Danish and puffed pastry products).

Properties of a fat that determine its ability to carry out these functions are the ratio of solid to liquid phase, the plasticity of a solid shortening, and the oxidative stability of the solid fat or oil. The oil fraction of a plastic shortening or oil in baked products gives a tender bite, moist mouthfeel, and lubricity. In turn, the solid fraction of a plastic shortening or solid fat contributes to the structure of the dough and the final baked product and entraps air bubbles during mixing of recipe ingredients.
HIV
and the Nervous System
Authors: Mina Yair , Smith Bryan R , Nath Avindra
Published: February 2020

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the pre‐antiretroviral drug era was known to cause a variety of neurological syndromes, including HIV‐associated dementia, myelopathy, peripheral neuropathy, opportunistic infections of the nervous system and primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. The era of efficient combined antiretroviral treatment has led to a shift in the nature of these syndromes, yet HIV infection is still a major cause of neurological disease, typically causing a more chronic effect, as is the case in mild cognitive impairment attributed to the virus. The mechanisms underlying this chronic effect are related to the CNS being a viral reservoir, as HIV does not directly infect neurons but does reside in different cells of the nervous system such as macrophages, microglia and astrocytes, implicating neuronal injury using neurotoxic viral factors and initiating processes of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. In addition, the antiretroviral treatment itself is responsible for some aspects of neurological morbidity, mainly peripheral neuropathy and possible CNS manifestations of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after treatment is initiated.

Key Concepts

HIV‐1 invades the nervous system during early infection, frequently infecting perivascular macrophages, microglia and astrocytes.

The central nervous system is a potential reservoir for HIV‐1, challenging eradication and leading to chronic neurological complications despite antiretroviral treatment.

Neurotoxic viral factors, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration are the main mechanisms underlying neuropathogenesis of HIV‐1.

The main neurotoxic viral proteins are gp120, transactivator of transcription (Tat), Vpr and Nef.

CNS‐infiltrating monocytes are the primary blood‐derived contributors to neuroinflammation in HIV infection, leading to gliosis and astrocytosis and the release of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF‐α, IL‐1β and interferons.

Neurodegeneration has been shown to be mediated by DNA damage and mitochondrial abnormalities but also by other processes including protein aggregates, cellular senescence and epigenetic alterations.

The major neurological syndrome seen in cases of treated HIV infection is mild neurocognitive impairment.

In untreated patients, opportunistic infections, HIV‐myelopathy and primary CNS lymphoma and are the main causes of neurological disease.

Antiretroviral treatment can also lead to a neurological sequela, whether due to direct neurological side effects of drugs or due to the indirect consequences of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS).
Algal Carbon Dioxide Concentrating Mechanisms
Authors: Mukherjee Bratati , Moroney James V
Published: February 2020

Photosynthetic microorganisms like cyanobacteria and most eukaryotic algae acclimate to a limited availability of carbon dioxide (CO
2
) in their environment by inducing a process called the carbon dioxide concentrating mechanism. This process uses an active inorganic carbon (C
i
; CO
2
and/or HCO
3
−
) uptake system that leads to the internal accumulation of C
i
to levels significantly higher than extracellular levels. Carbonic anhydrase activity converts much of the accumulated hydrogen carbonate to CO
2
, concentrating this substrate around Rubisco and thereby optimising photosynthetic efficiency even under low CO
2
conditions. The efficiency of the process is further improved by the sequestration of Rubisco into specialised structures like the cyanobacterial carboxysome or the pyrenoid in eukaryotic algae. The carbon dioxide concentrating mechanism enhances carbon dioxide fixation and growth in algae. With the increasing demands for sustainable energy sources, algae with efficient carbon dioxide concentrating mechanisms are attractive models for biotechnological and transgenic applications for biofuel and biomass production.

Key Concepts

The carbon dioxide concentrating mechanism helps photosynthetic algae optimise photosynthesis under limiting CO
2
conditions.

Rubisco uses both carbon dioxide and oxygen as substrates.

Rubisco is localised in the carboxysome in cyanobacteria and the pyrenoid in the green alga,
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
.

The charged hydrogen carbonate needs transporters to enter the cell and cross organellar membranes.

Carbonic anhydrase is an efficient enzyme that carries out the reversible interconversion of carbon dioxide and hydrogen carbonate and this reaction proceed at a much faster rate than the uncatalysed reaction.

At higher pH levels, most of the inorganic carbon is in the form of hydrogen carbonate.

Most algae with carbon dioxide concentrating mechanisms can take up both carbon dioxide and hydrogen carbonate.

Carbon dioxide can diffuse out of the cell so algae trap carbon dioxide in the form of the charged hydrogen carbonate anion.

Algae are used for large‐scale biomass production and are currently being explored as sources of biofuel.
Antigens: CarbohydratesII
Authors: Kieber‐Emmons AnnMarie , Monzavi‐Karbassi Behjatolah , Kieber‐Emmons Thomas
Published: February 2020

Glycosylation is critical for a wide range of biological processes across both normal and disease states. Carbohydrate antigens, for example, are polymeric chains of diverse monomeric sugar molecules that play a fundamental role in the pathogenicity and virulence of many organisms. Moreover, these pathogen‐associated glycan structures can also be found in association with other types of cells, including tumours. These types of glycan commonalities have helped generate critical discoveries in terms of glycan structure, allowing for the development of working hypotheses for their functions, in addition to the development of agents that target or mediate their expression levels. Therefore, through discussion of glycans as antigens, new insights of key molecular and cellular interactions between them and immune cells can be discerned, and the implication of these interactions in health and disease is enhanced. Numerous reviews and even this ELS series have described the structure of carbohydrates and glycans in general.

Key Concepts

Glycosylation is the most abundant post‐translational modification of proteins.

Glycans expand the chemical diversity of the genetic code.

Antigens are a collection of epitopes that affects recognition by the immune system.

Antigens and immunogens are very different.

Molecular mimicry of glycans profoundly affects the pathophysiology of infection and neoplasia.

Lectin‐family receptors and antibodies have been used to define carbohydrate antigens.

Clustering of epitopes defines glycan antigens better than nonclustered epitopes.

Carbohydrate antigens can define danger signals to the immune system through pattern recognition receptors.

Clustering associates with different B‐cell populations for processing as immunogens.

MHC and T‐cell receptors see atoms in particular arrays, not as a single molecular species – hence cross‐reactivity with zwitterionic carbohydrate structures.

While carbohydrate‐based vaccines have been developed, as cancer vaccines they are not as effective.

Metabolism is the next frontier to understanding glycan expression patterns.
Sport‐Related Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Ahluwalia Ranbir , Mummareddy Nishit , Bonfield Christopher M , Yengo‐Kahn Aaron M
Published: February 2020

Sport‐related traumatic brain injury (SRTBI) is a disease process with a high incidence, complex pathophysiology and heterogeneous outcomes. SRTBI is generally dichotomised into sport‐related concussion (SRC) and sport‐related structural brain injury (SRSBI). A variety of sporting events can lead to these injuries. The diagnosis of SRC relies on sound clinical judgment, although multiple adjuncts have been investigated. Prompt diagnosis is essential for the management of all SRTBI, and it is critical to differentiate SRC from a potential SRSBI. Depending on the specific SRTBI, a variety of treatment options are available ranging from conservative rehabilitation to, rarely, prompt neurosurgical intervention. Finally, clinical outcomes are inherently linked to the nature of the injury and vary from full recovery to patient death. Given the high incidence, importance of prompt diagnosis and heterogeneous outcomes, SRTBI is an essential topic not only for clinicians and researchers but also for athletes, parents, coaching staff and officials.

Key Concepts

Sport‐related concussion (SRC) has a high incidence and is largely differentiated from other SRTBI by negative neuroimaging.

Sport‐related structural brain injury has positive neuroimaging and is typically diagnosed with a noncontrast computed tomography (CT) scan of the head.

Second‐impact syndrome is exceedingly rare, but the associated high risk of morbidity remains a relevant driving force for SRC management.

Diagnosis of SRC remains clinical with sideline tools as adjuncts including but not limited to SCAT5, King‐Devick, and Sway. Clinical judgment and evaluation supersede all concussion assessment tools.

Recovery from SRC usually occurs within 14–28 days, and no focal neurologic deficit is expected.

Post‐concussive syndrome is commonly defined as the presence of concussive symptomatology for greater than 4 weeks.

The outcome of SRSBI is highly variable and dependent on the nature of the intracranial injury.