bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Exploratory Study of Emotional Dysregulation Dimensions in Youth With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and/or Bipolar Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Masi Gabriele , Sesso Gianluca , Pfanner Chiara , Valente Elena , Molesti Agnese , Placini Francesca , Boldrini Silvia , Loriaux Nina , Drago Flavia , Montesanto Anna Rita , Pisano Simone , Milone Annarita
Published: April 2021

Emotional dysregulation (ED) is currently the most frequently used term to describe children with an impaired regulation of emotional states. Recent research studies speculate whether ED may be a neurodevelopmental disorder itself, a shared risk factor, or a common key feature of several psychiatric disorders, including, among others, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and bipolar spectrum disorders (BSD). The association between ADHD and ED is one of the main reasons of misconceptions in the definition of boundaries between ADHD and BSD, leading to the frequent misdiagnosis of ADHD as BSD. Since ED is a multidimensional concept, a novel instrument—the Reactivity, Intensity, Polarity and Stability (RIPoSt) scale—was recently developed to assess the different dimensions of ED, which could help in detecting specific ED profiles in clinical youths. Our study included 154 patients, aged 13.8 ± 2.3 years, diagnosed with either ADHD, BSD, or comorbid condition, and a school-based sample of 40 healthy control (HC) adolescents, aged 12.5 ± 1.2 years. The RIPoSt scale and the Child Behavior Checklist were administered to both groups. Our results indicate that affective instability and negative emotionality subscales, as well as negative emotional dysregulation, are higher in BSD, both pure and comorbid with ADHD, while emotional impulsivity is higher in the comorbid condition and similar in the ADHD and BSD alone group; all clinical groups scored higher than HC. Conversely, positive emotionality is similar among clinical groups and within them and HC. Our findings also support the validity of the RIPoSt questionnaire, since the instrument proved to have good-to-excellent internal consistency, and strongly significant positive correlations were found with the CBCL-Dysregulation Profile, which is a commonly used, indirect measure of ED. Hence, the five subscales of the RIPoSt can be reliably used as an effective tool to study the emotional dysregulation in different clinical conditions, to help disentangle the complex relationship between ADHD and juvenile BSD and to provide clinicians with crucial evidence for better diagnostic characterization and therapeutic indications.
Causal Datasheet for Datasets: An Evaluation Guide for Real-World Data Analysis and Data Collection Design Using Bayesian Networks
Authors: Butcher Bradley , Huang Vincent S. , Robinson Christopher , Reffin Jeremy , Sgaier Sema K. , Charles Grace , Quadrianto Novi
Published: April 2021

Developing data-driven solutions that address real-world problems requires understanding of these problems’ causes and how their interaction affects the outcome–often with only observational data. Causal Bayesian Networks (BN) have been proposed as a powerful method for discovering and representing the causal relationships from observational data as a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). BNs could be especially useful for research in global health in Lower and Middle Income Countries, where there is an increasing abundance of observational data that could be harnessed for policy making, program evaluation, and intervention design. However, BNs have not been widely adopted by global health professionals, and in real-world applications, confidence in the results of BNs generally remains inadequate. This is partially due to the inability to validate against some ground truth, as the true DAG is not available. This is especially problematic if a learned DAG conflicts with pre-existing domain doctrine. Here we conceptualize and demonstrate an idea of a “Causal Datasheet” that could approximate and document BN performance expectations for a given dataset, aiming to provide confidence and sample size requirements to practitioners. To generate results for such a Causal Datasheet, a tool was developed which can generate synthetic Bayesian networks and their associated synthetic datasets to mimic real-world datasets. The results given by well-known structure learning algorithms and a novel implementation of the OrderMCMC method using the Quotient Normalized Maximum Likelihood score were recorded. These results were used to populate the Causal Datasheet, and recommendations could be made dependent on whether expected performance met user-defined thresholds. We present our experience in the creation of Causal Datasheets to aid analysis decisions at different stages of the research process. First, one was deployed to help determine the appropriate sample size of a planned study of sexual and reproductive health in Madhya Pradesh, India. Second, a datasheet was created to estimate the performance of an existing maternal health survey we conducted in Uttar Pradesh, India. Third, we validated generated performance estimates and investigated current limitations on the well-known ALARM dataset. Our experience demonstrates the utility of the Causal Datasheet, which can help global health practitioners gain more confidence when applying BNs.
Scaling Scientometrics: Dimensions on Google BigQuery as an Infrastructure for Large-Scale Analysis
Authors: Hook Daniel W. , Porter Simon J.
Published: April 2021

Cloud computing has the capacity to transform many parts of the research ecosystem, from particular research areas to overall strategic decision making and policy. Scientometrics sits at the boundary between research and the decision-making, policy-making, and evaluation processes that underpin research. One of the biggest challenges in research policy and strategy is having access to data in a way that allows for analysis that can respond in an iterative way to inform decisions. Many decisions are based on “global” measures such as benchmark metrics that are hard to source and hence are often nonspecific or outdated. The use of cloud technologies may be promising in addressing this area of providing data for research strategy and policy decisions. A novel visualisation technique is introduced and used as a means to explore the potential for scaling scientometrics by democratising both access to data and compute capacity using the cloud.
Safety Assessment of Rehabilitation Robots: A Review Identifying Safety Skills and Current Knowledge Gaps
Authors: Bessler Jule , Prange-Lasonder Gerdienke B. , Schaake Leendert , Saenz José F. , Bidard Catherine , Fassi Irene , Valori Marcello , Lassen Aske Bach , Buurke Jaap H.
Published: April 2021

The assessment of rehabilitation robot safety is a vital aspect of the development process, which is often experienced as difficult. There are gaps in best practices and knowledge to ensure safe usage of rehabilitation robots. Currently, safety is commonly assessed by monitoring adverse events occurrence. The aim of this article is to explore how safety of rehabilitation robots can be assessed early in the development phase, before they are used with patients. We are suggesting a uniform approach for safety validation of robots closely interacting with humans, based on safety skills and validation protocols. Safety skills are an abstract representation of the ability of a robot to reduce a specific risk or deal with a specific hazard. They can be implemented in various ways, depending on the application requirements, which enables the use of a single safety skill across a wide range of applications and domains. Safety validation protocols have been developed that correspond to these skills and consider domain-specific conditions. This gives robot users and developers concise testing procedures to prove the mechanical safety of their robotic system, even when the applications are in domains with a lack of standards and best practices such as the healthcare domain. Based on knowledge about adverse events occurring in rehabilitation robot use, we identified multi-directional excessive forces on the soft tissue level and musculoskeletal level as most relevant hazards for rehabilitation robots and related them to four safety skills, providing a concrete starting point for safety assessment of rehabilitation robots. We further identified a number of gaps which need to be addressed in the future to pave the way for more comprehensive guidelines for rehabilitation robot safety assessments. Predominantly, besides new developments of safety by design features, there is a strong need for reliable measurement methods as well as acceptable limit values for human-robot interaction forces both on skin and joint level.
Sand Dams as a Potential Solution to Rural Water Security in Drylands: Existing Research and Future Opportunities
Authors: Ritchie Hannah , Eisma Jessica A. , Parker Alison
Published: April 2021

Sand dams, a rainwater harvesting technique, are small dams constructed across ephemeral streams. During the rainy season, water is stored in the sand that accumulates behind the dam. Sand dams provide communities in drylands with water during the dry season via scoop holes, pools, and shallow wells. Whilst many studies portray sand dams as a positive solution to the growing threat of dryland water insecurity, others highlight their challenges, including poor water quality, evaporation and leakage from some dams, and the contested failure rate and ability of dams to provide water year-round. This article reviews the peer-reviewed and gray literature on sand dams discovered through Scopus and Google Scholar searches, reference lists, and personal contacts. Findings from the collected literature were reviewed and categorized into sand dam hydrology, health and well-being impacts, economic cost and benefits, and water quality topics. In most numerical simulations, sand dams supply water to the local community throughout much of the dry season and exhibit a long-term positive impact on groundwater. Accounts of water storage and loss based on field measurements, conversely, often show that most water is lost due to evapotranspiration and seepage from the sand reservoir rather than community use. Furthermore, the positive impact on local groundwater storage, while variable, is likely seasonal. Sand dams are relatively affordable to build; construction estimates range from 6,000 to 8,500 EUR. However, existing literature suggests that sand dams are likely not a cost-efficient means of supplying water. Nevertheless, successful sand dams can significantly increase water availability and use, whilst reducing traveling time for water collection, subsequently providing a host of secondary benefits from improved hygiene, economic opportunity, and education. Positive impacts, however, are not equally shared and depend on variables, such as abstraction method, catchment, and household location. Furthermore, their water quality is variable, with high microbiological levels detected especially in scoop holes. Whilst sand dams can increase water security and resilience, they may not be an inclusive solution for all. More research is needed to assess the long-term sustainability of sand dams while accounting for the uncertainty of a changing climate.
Does Plant Biodiversity Influence Nutrient Cycles?
Authors: Koller-France Eva , Wilcke Wolfgang , Oelmann Yvonne
Published: April 2021

All living things, like humans, animals, plants, and even microbes, need to take up the same nutrient elements to live, most importantly nitrogen and phosphorus. Understanding the cycling of these elements through the ecosystem is one key to understanding why ecosystems work the way they do. One of the questions we are asking is if the diversity of organisms, like plants or insects, is related to these nutrient cycles. When plant communities are made up of many different plant species, they seem to make better use of the available soil nutrients than plant communities made up of fewer species. This may be because of something called complementarity, which means different plant species access the available nutrients in different ways, for example from different soil depths. In this article, we will describe the connections between plant biodiversity and soil nutrient cycling and discuss the implications for the functioning of the whole ecosystem.
Aerosol Transmission of Coronavirus and Influenza Virus of Animal Origin
Authors: Lv Jing , Gao Jing , Wu Bo , Yao Meiling , Yang Yudong , Chai Tongjie , Li Ning
Published: April 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused great harm to global public health, resulting in a large number of infections among the population. However, the epidemiology of coronavirus has not been fully understood, especially the mechanism of aerosol transmission. Many respiratory viruses can spread via contact and droplet transmission, but increasing epidemiological data have shown that viral aerosol is an essential transmission route of coronavirus and influenza virus due to its ability to spread rapidly and high infectiousness. Aerosols have the characteristics of small particle size, long-time suspension and long-distance transmission, and easy access to the deep respiratory tract, leading to a high infection risk and posing a great threat to public health. In this review, the characteristics of viral aerosol generation, transmission, and infection as well as the current advances in the aerosol transmission of zoonotic coronavirus and influenza virus are summarized. The aim of the review is to strengthen the understanding of viral aerosol transmission and provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of these diseases.
A Comparison of Perceptions of Estonian and Latvian Hunters With Regard to the Control of African Swine Fever
Authors: Urner Nico , Sauter-Louis Carola , Staubach Christoph , Conraths Franz Josef , Schulz Katja
Published: April 2021

Since the first detected African swine fever (ASF) cases in Lithuanian wild boar in 2014, the virus has occurred in many other member states of the European Union (EU), most recently in Belgium in 2018 and in Germany in 2020. Passive surveillance and various control measures are implemented as part of the strategy to stop disease spread in the wild boar population. Within this framework, hunters perform important activities, such as the removal of carcasses, fencing or hunting. Therefore, the successful implementation of these measures largely depends on their acceptability by hunters. Methods of participatory epidemiology can be used to determine the acceptance of control measures. The use of participatory methods allows the involvement of key stakeholders in the design, the implementation and the analysis of control and surveillance activities. In the present study, two studies that had been conducted using participatory epidemiology with hunters in Estonia and Latvia were compared on the topics recruitment, participants, facilitators, focus group discussion (FGDs) and their contents. The aim was to evaluate similarities and differences in the two studies and to identify a broader spectrum of possibilities to increase the willingness of hunters supporting the fight against ASF. Evaluating all conducted FGDs in both countries showed primarily similarities in the perceptions and opinions of the hunters in Estonia and Latvia. One notable difference was that passive surveillance in Latvia was perceived mostly as topic of duty and ethics rather than an issue driven by incentives. Participatory methods have proven to be an effective tool in the evaluation of the acceptance of established ASF control systems. The results of this study point out further chances for improving the cooperation with hunters in the future. Nevertheless, the importance of gathering and analyzing the opinions of hunters in all ASF affected countries individually is highlighted.
Fault Diagnosis and Reconfigurable Control for Commercial Aircraft with Multiple Faults and Actuator Saturation
Authors: Liu Yishi , Hong Sheng , Zio Enrico , Liu Jianwei
Published: April 2021

Active fault-tolerant control systems perform fault diagnosis and reconfigurable control. There is a bidirectional uncertainty between them, and an integrated scheme is proposed here to account for that. The system considers both actuator and sensor faults, as well as the external disturbance. The diagnostic module is designed using an unknown input observer, and the controller is constructed on the basis of an adaptive method. The integrated strategy is presented, and the stability of the overall system is analyzed. Moreover, different kinds of anti-windup techniques are utilized to modify the original controllers, because of the different controller structures. A simulation of the integrated anti-windup fault-tolerant control method is demonstrated using a numerical model of Boeing 747. The results show that it can guarantee the stability of the post-fault aircraft and increase the control performance for the overall faulty system.
A Text-Driven Aircraft Fault Diagnosis Model Based on a Word2vec and Priori-Knowledge Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Xu Zhenzhong , Chen Bang , Zhou Shenghan , Chang Wenbing , Ji Xinpeng , Wei Chaofan , Hou Wenkui
Published: April 2021

In the process of aircraft maintenance and support, a large amount of fault description text data is recorded. However, most of the existing fault diagnosis models are based on structured data, which means they are not suitable for unstructured data such as text. Therefore, a text-driven aircraft fault diagnosis model is proposed in this paper based on Word to Vector (Word2vec) and prior-knowledge Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The fault text first enters Word2vec to perform text feature extraction, and the extracted text feature vectors are then input into the proposed prior-knowledge CNN to train the fault classifier. The prior-knowledge CNN introduces expert fault knowledge through Cloud Similarity Measurement (CSM) to improve the performance of the fault classifier. Validation experiments on five-year maintenance log data of a civil aircraft were carried out to successfully verify the effectiveness of the proposed model.
Selecting Antagonistic Yeast for Postharvest Biocontrol of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in Papaya Fruit and Possible Mechanisms Involved
Authors: Hassan Hamizah , Mohamed Mahmud Tengku Muda , Yusoff Siti Fairuz , Hata Erneeza Mohd , Tajidin Nor Elliza
Published: April 2021

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides causes anthracnose disease in papaya fruit resulting in tremendous economic loss due to its latent infection. This study aimed to evaluate the biocontrol activity of antagonistic yeasts against C. gloeosporioides in papaya and determine the possible mechanism involved. One hundred and ten yeast strains were isolated from different parts of the papaya plant. Among them, only five strains, namely F001, F006, L003, FL013 and LP010, showed more than 55% radial growth inhibition of C. gloeosporioides. These five potent yeast strains were further evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The results indicated that strain F001 had the strongest biocontrol activity based on spore germination and fungal growth inhibition. In vivo, the strain F001 caused 66.7% and 25% reductions in disease incidence and severity, respectively. Based on molecular identification, the strain F001 was confirmed as Trichosporon asahii. Despite there was no significant induction of defense enzyme activities found on the treated fruits, SEM observation showed direct attachment of T. asahii with the fungal hyphae and interfere in their establishment to the fruit surface. Based on these findings, the antagonistic yeast T. asahii strain F001 may be used as a potential natural biological control agent against anthracnose disease in papaya fruit.
The First National Survey of Cadmium in Cacao Farm Soil in Colombia
Authors: Bravo Daniel , Leon-Moreno Clara , Martínez Carlos Alberto , Varón-Ramírez Viviana Marcela , Araujo-Carrillo Gustavo Alfonso , Vargas Ruy , Quiroga-Mateus Ruth , Zamora Annie , Rodríguez Edwin Antonio Gutiérrez
Published: April 2021

This study represents the first nationwide survey regarding the distribution of Cd content in cacao-growing soils in Colombia. The soil Cd distribution was analyzed using a cold/hotspots model. Moreover, both descriptive and predictive analytical tools were used to assess the key factors regulating the Cd concentration, considering Cd content and eight soil variables in the cacao systems. A critical discussion was performed in four main cacao-growing districts. Our results suggest that the performance of a model using all the variables will always be superior to the one using Zn alone. The analyzed variables featured an appropriate predictive performance, nonetheless, that performance has to be improved to develop a prediction method that might be used nationwide. Results from the fitted graphical models showed that the largest associations (as measured by the partial correlation coefficients) were those between Cd and Zn. Ca had the second-largest partial correlation with Cd and its predictive performance ranked second. Interestingly, it was found that there was a high variability in the factors correlated with Cd in cacao growing soils at a national level. Therefore, this study constitutes a baseline for the forthcoming studies in the country and should be reinforced with an analysis of cadmium content in cacao beans.
Phenotypic Characterization of Arabidopsis Ascorbate and Glutathione Deficient Mutants under Abiotic Stresses
Authors: Hoang Minh Thi Thanh , Doan Mai Thi Anh , Nguyen Thuong , Tra Dong-Phuong , Chu Thanh Nguyen , Dang Thi Phuong Thao , Quach Phuong Ngo Diem
Published: April 2021

Ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) are considered important factors to protect plants against abiotic stress. To investigate whether altered endogenous GSH and AsA affect seed germination, plant performance and the abiotic stress tolerance, GSH deficient mutant cad2-1 and AsA-deficient mutants (vtc2-4 and vtc5-2) were phenotypically characterized for their seed germination, shoot growth, photosynthetic activity and root architecture under abiotic stresses. The cad2-1, vtc2-4 and vtc5-2 mutants showed a decrease in osmotic and salt stress tolerance, in sensitivity to ABA during seed germination, and in plant performance under severe abiotic stresses. GSH deficiency in the cad2-1 plants affected plant growth and root development in plants exposed to strong drought, oxidative and heavy metal stress conditions. Plants with lower GSH did not show an increased sensitivity to strong salt stress (100 mM NaCl). In contrast, the mutants with lower AsA enhanced salt stress tolerance in the long-term exposures to strong salt stress since they showed larger leaf areas, longer primary roots and more lateral root numbers. Limitations on AsA or GSH synthesis had no effect on photosynthesis in plants exposed to long-term strong salt or drought stresses, whereas they effected on photosynthesis of mutants exposed to CdCl2. Taken together, the current study suggests that AsA and GSH are important for seed germination, root architecture, shoot growth and plant performance in response to different abiotic stresses, and their functions are dependent on the stress-inducing agents and the stress levels.
Economic Sustainability and Riskiness of Cover Crop Adoption for Organic Production of Corn and Soybean in Northern Italy
Authors: Severini Simone , Castellari Maurizia , Cavalli Daniele , Pecetti Luciano
Published: April 2021

Techniques based on terminated cover crops are proposed in organic agriculture instead of traditional inter-row tillage for weed control in subsequent grain crops. We estimated the profitability and evaluated the riskiness of novel techniques compared to the traditional one. Two-year yield data from three on-farm trials for corn and one for soybean in northern Italy were combined with cost and revenue data to calculate and compare gross margin distributions of different techniques in each crop. The relative ranking of techniques and the associated riskiness was assessed by these distributions using the stochastic dominance principles. Corn yield response on cover crop-based treatments was very variable, making the adoption of cover crops overall less sustainable from an economic point of view than the traditional tillage-based technique. Further research in this sense was nonetheless warranted by observed exceptions. Hairy vetch cover crop tended to higher profitability and lower riskiness than crimson clover for subsequent corn cropping. Specific analyses suggested nil or slightly negative nitrogen fertilizer effects of legume residues on corn. Results indicated that profitability could be maintained with cover crops in soybean compared to the traditional practice. In particular, triticale tended to provide better economic performances than inter-row tillage.
The Addition of Nature Identical Flavorings Accelerated the Virucidal Effect of Pure Benzoic Acid against African Swine Fever Viral Contamination of Complete Feed
Authors: Zhai Hengxiao , Ji Chihai , Walsh Maria Carol , Bergstrom Jon , Potot Sebastien , Wang Heng
Published: April 2021

African swine fever virus is one of the most highly contagious and lethal viruses for the global swine industry. Strengthening biosecurity is the only effective measure for preventing the spread of this viral disease. The virus can be transmitted through contaminated feedstuffs and, therefore, research has been conducted to explore corresponding mitigating measures. The purpose of the current study was to test a combination of pure benzoic acid and a blend of nature identical flavorings for their ability to reduce African swine fever viral survival in feed. This virus was inoculated to feed with or without the supplementation of the test compounds, and the viral presence and load were measured by a hemadsorption test and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The main finding was that the combination of pure benzoic acid and nature identical flavorings could expedite the reduction in both viral load and survival in a swine feed. Therefore, this solution could be adopted as a preventive measure for mitigating the risk of contaminated feed by African swine fever virus.
Isothiazolinones as Novel Candidate Insecticides for the Control of Hemipteran Insects
Authors: He Wenze , Pan Lilong , Han Wenhao , Wang Xiaowei
Published: April 2021

Hemipteran insects, such as whiteflies, aphids and planthoppers, resemble one of the most important pest groups threating food security. While many insecticides have been used to control these pests, many issues such as insecticide resistance have been found, highlighting the urgent need to develop novel insecticides. Here, we first observed that a commercial tetramycin solution was highly effective in killing whitefly. The major bioactive constituents were identified to be isothiazolinones, a group of biocides. We then tested the toxicity of several isothiazolinones to five hemipteran insects. The results show that Kathon, a widely used biocide against microorganisms, and its two constituents, chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT) and methylisothiazolinone (MIT), can cause considerable levels of mortality to whiteflies and aphids when applied at concentrations close to, or lower than, the upper limit of these chemicals permitted in cosmetic products. The results also indicate that two other isothiazolinones, benzisothiazolinone (BIT) and octylisothiazolinone (OIT) can cause considerable levels of mortality to whitefly and aphids but are less toxic than Kathon. Further, we show that Kathon marginally affects whitefly endosymbionts, suggesting its insecticidal activity is independent of its biocidal activity. These results suggest that some isothiazolinones are promising candidates for the development of a new class of insecticides for the control of hemipteran pests.
Non-Symmetrical Collapse of an Empty Cylindrical Cavity Studied with Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
Authors: Albano Andrea , Alexiadis Alessio
Published: April 2021

The non-symmetrical collapse of an empty cylindrical cavity is modeled using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. The presence of a nearby surface produces an anisotropic pressure field generating a high-velocity jet that hits the surface. The collapse follows a different dynamic based on the initial distance between the center of the cavity and the surface. When the distance is greater than the cavity radius (detached cavity) the surface is hit by traveling shock waves. When the distance is less than the cavity radius (attached cavity) the surface is directly hit by the jet and later by other shock waves generated in the last stages of the of the collapse. The results show that the surface is hit by a stronger shock when distance between the center of the cavity and the surface is zero while showing more complex double peaks behavior for other distances.
Deep Learning Based Airway Segmentation Using Key Point Prediction
Authors: Park Jinyoung , Hwang JaeJoon , Ryu Jihye , Nam Inhye , Kim Sol-A , Cho Bong-Hae , Shin Sang-Hun , Lee Jae-Yeol
Published: April 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the airway volume measurement by a Regression Neural Network-based deep-learning model. A set of manually outlined airway data was set to build the algorithm for fully automatic segmentation of a deep learning process. Manual landmarks of the airway were determined by one examiner using a mid-sagittal plane of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 315 patients. Clinical dataset-based training with data augmentation was conducted. Based on the annotated landmarks, the airway passage was measured and segmented. The accuracy of our model was confirmed by measuring the following between the examiner and the program: (1) a difference in volume of nasopharynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx, and (2) the Euclidean distance. For the agreement analysis, 61 samples were extracted and compared. The correlation test showed a range of good to excellent reliability. A difference between volumes were analyzed using regression analysis. The slope of the two measurements was close to 1 and showed a linear regression correlation (r2 = 0.975, slope = 1.02, p < 0.001). These results indicate that fully automatic segmentation of the airway is possible by training via deep learning of artificial intelligence. Additionally, a high correlation between manual data and deep learning data was estimated.
Deformation Law and Control Limit of CRTSIII Slab Track under Subgrade Frost Heave
Authors: Cai Xiaopei , Zhang Qian , Zhang Yanrong , Wang Qihao , Luo Bicheng , Yang Guotao , Lau Albert
Published: April 2021

In order to find out the influence of subgrade frost heave on the deformation of track structure and track irregularity of high-speed railways, a nonlinear damage finite element model for China Railway Track System III (CRTSIII) slab track subgrade was established based on the constitutive theory of concrete plastic damage. The analysis of track structure deformation under different subgrade frost heave conditions was focused on, and amplitude the limit of subgrade frost heave was put forward according to the characteristics of interlayer seams. This work is expected to provide guidance for design and construction. Subgrade frost heave was found to cause cosine-type irregularities of rails and the interlayer seams in the track structure, and the displacement in lower foundation mapping to rail surfaces increased. When frost heave occured in the middle part of the track slab, it caused the greatest amount of track irregularity, resulting in a longer and higher seam. Along with the increase in frost heave amplitude, the length of the seam increased linearly whilst its height increased nonlinearly. When the frost heave amplitude reached 35 mm, cracks appeared along the transverse direction of the upper concrete surface on the base plate due to plastic damage; consequently, the base plate started to bend, which reduced interlayer seams. Based on the critical value of track structures’ interlayer seams under different frost heave conditions, four control limits of subgrade frost heave at different levels of frost heave amplitude/wavelength were obtained.
Future Climate Change Impacts on European Viticulture: A Review on Recent Scientific Advances
Authors: Droulia Fotoula , Charalampopoulos Ioannis
Published: April 2021

Climate change is a continuous spatiotemporal reality, possibly endangering the viability of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) in the future. Europe emerges as an especially responsive area where the grapevine is largely recognised as one of the most important crops, playing a key environmental and socio-economic role. The mounting evidence on significant impacts of climate change on viticulture urges the scientific community in investigating the potential evolution of these impacts in the upcoming decades. In this review work, a first attempt for the compilation of selected scientific research on this subject, during a relatively recent time frame (2010–2020), is implemented. For this purpose, a thorough investigation through multiple search queries was conducted and further screened by focusing exclusively on the predicted productivity parameters (phenology timing, product quality and yield) and cultivation area alteration. Main findings on the potential impacts of future climate change are described as changes in grapevine phenological timing, alterations in grape and wine composition, heterogeneous effects on grapevine yield, the expansion into areas that were previously unsuitable for grapevine cultivation and significant geographical displacements in traditional growing areas. These compiled findings may facilitate and delineate the implementation of effective adaptation and mitigation strategies, ultimately potentiating the future sustainability of European viticulture.
EndoBarrier™ Implantation Rapidly Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Obese Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Obermayer Anna , Tripolt Norbert J. , Aziz Faisal , Högenauer Christoph , Aberer Felix , Schreiber Florian , Eherer Andreas , Sourij Caren , Stadlbauer Vanessa , Svehlikova Eva , Brunner Martina , Goswami Nandu , Kojzar Harald , Pferschy Peter N. , Pieber Thomas R. , Sourij Harald
Published: April 2021

The EndoBarrier™ medical device is a duodenal-jejunal bypass liner designed to mimic the effects of gastric bypass surgery to induce weight loss and glycaemic improvement. In this study, 10 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a mean body mass index (BMI) of 43.3 ± 5.0 (kg/m2) and a mean glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 60.6 ± 8.6 mmol/mol were examined at baseline (before implantation of EndoBarrier™), 4 weeks after implantation, at 36 weeks (right before explantation) and 24 weeks after the removal of the device to explore the short and long-term effects on glucose metabolism. Besides a significant reduction in body weight and fat mass, EndoBarrier™ treatment significantly improved insulin sensitivity during Botnia clamp investigations after four weeks of implantation. The beneficial effects decreased over time but remained significant 24 weeks after removal of the device.
Harmonization of Biobank Education for Biobank Technicians: Identification of Learning Objectives
Authors: Hartung Mara Lena , Baber Ronny , Herpel Esther , Specht Cornelia , Brucker Daniel Peer , Schoneberg Anne , Winter Theresa , Nussbeck Sara Yasemin
Published: April 2021

The quality of biospecimens stored in a biobank depends tremendously on the technical personnel responsible for processing, storage, and release of biospecimens. Adequate training of these biobank employees would allow harmonization of correct sample handling and thus ensure a high and comparable quality of samples across biobank locations. However, in Germany there are no specific training opportunities for technical biobank staff. To understand the educational needs of the technical personnel a web-based survey was sent to all national biobanks via established e-mail registers. In total, 79 biobank employees completed the survey, including 43 technicians. The majority of the participating technical personnel stated that they had worked in a biobank for less than three years and had never participated in an advanced training. Three-quarters of the technicians indicated that they were not able to understand English content instantly. Based on these results and the results of a workshop with 16 biobank technicians, 41 learning objectives were formulated. These learning objectives can be used as a basis for advanced training programs for technical personnel in biobanks. Setting up courses based on the identified learning objectives for this group of biobank staff could contribute to harmonization and sustainability of biospecimen quality.
PR-1-Like Protein as a Potential Target for the Identification of Fusarium oxysporum: An In Silico Approach
Authors: Bakare Olalekan Olanrewaju , Gokul Arun , Keyster Marshall
Published: April 2021

Fusarium oxysporum remains one of the leading causes of economic losses and poor crop yields; its detection is strained due to its presentation in various morphological and physiological forms. This research work sought to identify novel biomarkers for the detection of Fusarium oxysporum using in silico approaches. Experimentally validated anti-Fusarium oxysporum antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were used to construct a profile against Fusarium oxysporum. The performance and physicochemical parameters of these peptides were predicted. The gene for the Fusarium oxysporum receptor protein PR-1-like Protein, Fpr1, was identified and translated. The resulting protein model from the translation was then validated. The anti-Fusarium oxysporum AMPs and Fusarium oxysporum receptor protein 3-D structures were characterized, and their docking interaction analyses were carried out. The HMMER in silico tool identified novel anti-Fusarium oxysporum antimicrobial peptides with good performance in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. These AMPs also displayed good physicochemical properties and bound with greater affinity to Fusarium oxysporum protein receptor PR-1-like Protein. The tendency of these AMPs to precisely detect Fusarium oxysporum PR-1-like Protein, Fpr1, would justify their use for the identification of the fungus. This study would enhance and facilitate the identification of Fusarium oxysporum to reduce problems associated with poor crop yield, economic losses, and decreased nutritional values of plants to keep up with the growing population.
Disentangling Post-Fire Logging and High-Severity Fire Effects for Spotted Owls
Authors: Hanson Chad T. , Lee Derek E. , Bond Monica L.
Published: April 2021

The Spotted Owl is a rare and declining raptor inhabiting low/middle-elevation forests of the Pacific Northwest, California, and the Southwest in the USA. It is well established that Spotted Owls select dense, mature, or old forests for nesting and roosting. High-severity fire transforms such forests into a unique forest type known as “snag forest habitat”, which the owls select for foraging. This habitat is disproportionately targeted by post-fire logging projects. Numerous recent articles have explored the influence of high-severity fire and post-fire logging on this species. Studies have shown that post-fire logging significantly reduces Spotted Owl occupancy, but efforts have generally not been made to disentangle the effects of such logging from the influence of high-severity fire alone on Spotted Owls. We conducted an assessment of published, peer-reviewed articles reporting adverse impacts of high-severity fire on Spotted Owls, exploring the extent to which there may have been confounding factors, such as post-fire logging. We found that articles reporting adverse impacts of high-severity fire on Spotted Owls were pervasively confounded by post-fire logging, and in some cases by a methodological bias. Our results indicate a need to approach analyses of high-severity fire and Spotted Owls differently in future research.
Crisis and Transition: Forms of Collective Housing in Brussels
Authors: Porotto Alessandro , Ledent Gérald
Published: April 2021

Focusing on the Brussels urban environment, this paper investigates spatial mutations produced by key critical transitions to accommodate new social and living conditions for collective purposes. Using CAD re-drawings, a systematic comparison of residential schemes identifies the evolutionary mechanism that connects manifold changes in the city and domestic spaces. This analysis defines a genealogical framework to observe how specific residential archetypes have shaped Brussels’ sociocultural identity and distinguishes contemporary housing initiatives dealing with current and future challenges. While during the 19th century, interwar, and postwar periods, spatial features evolved from individual, single-family houses to residential schemes bearing collective, egalitarian dwellings, contemporary initiatives are relevant for their experimental solutions, translating into housing design new collective ways of living. This trajectory demonstrates that collective housing provides new insights for designing future types of urban housing. Brussels contemporary housing can shed light on the fact that current crises generated by urban issues, such as demographic growth, migratory and gentrification dynamics, affordability and the COVID-19 pandemic, are accelerating the transition towards the 21st-century city. Eventually, the Belgian capital now has the opportunity to combine two crucial questions, such as typological innovation and sustainability, to successfully approach the coming transition period from social and environmental perspectives.
Tyrosine Kinase c-MET as Therapeutic Target for Radiosensitization of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas
Authors: Lüttich Lina , Besso María José , Heiden Stephan , Koi Lydia , Baumann Michael , Krause Mechthild , Dubrovska Anna , Linge Annett , Kurth Ina , Peitzsch Claudia
Published: April 2021

The receptor tyrosine kinase c-MET activates intracellular signaling and induces cell proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition and migration. Within the present study, we validated the prognostic value of c-MET in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with radio(chemo)therapy using the Cancer Genome Atlas database and found an association of increased MET gene expression and protein phosphorylation with reduced disease-specific and progression-free survival. To investigate the role of c-MET-dependent radioresistance, c-MET-positive cells were purified from established HNSCC cell lines and a reduced radiosensitivity and enhanced sphere-forming potential, compared to the c-MET-depleted cell population, was found in two out of four analyzed cell lines pointing to regulatory heterogeneity. We showed that c-MET is dynamically regulated after irradiation in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, no direct impact of c-MET on DNA damage repair was found. The therapeutic potential of eight c-MET targeting agents in combination with irradiation demonstrated variable response rates in six HNSCC cell lines. Amongst them, crizotinib, foretinib, and Pha665752 exhibited the strongest radiosensitizing effect. Kinase activity profiling showed an association of crizotinib resistance with compensatory PI3K/AKT and MAP kinase signaling. Overall, our results indicate that c-MET is conferring radioresistance in HNSCC through modulation of intracellular kinase signaling and stem-like features.
Platelet Microparticles Protect Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Cells against Daunorubicin-Induced Apoptosis
Authors: Cacic Daniel , Reikvam Håkon , Nordgård Oddmund , Meyer Peter , Hervig Tor
Published: April 2021

The role of platelets in cancer development and progression is increasingly evident, and several platelet–cancer interactions have been discovered, including the uptake of platelet microparticles (PMPs) by cancer cells. PMPs inherit a myriad of proteins and small RNAs from the parental platelets, which in turn can be transferred to cancer cells following internalization. However, the exact effect this may have in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is unknown. In this study, we sought to investigate whether PMPs could transfer their contents to the THP-1 cell line and if this could change the biological behavior of the recipient cells. Using acridine orange stained PMPs, we demonstrated that PMPs were internalized by THP-1 cells, which resulted in increased levels of miR-125a, miR-125b, and miR-199. In addition, co-incubation with PMPs protected THP-1 and primary AML cells against daunorubicin-induced cell death. We also showed that PMPs impaired cell growth, partially inhibited cell cycle progression, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and induced differentiation toward macrophages in THP-1 cells. Our results suggest that this altering of cell phenotype, in combination with decrease in cell activity may offer resistance to daunorubicin-induced apoptosis, as serum starvation also yielded a lower frequency of dead and apoptotic cells when treated with daunorubicin.
Autofluorescence Imaging of Treatment Response in Neuroendocrine Tumor Organoids
Authors: Gillette Amani A. , Babiarz Christopher P. , VanDommelen Ava R. , Pasch Cheri A. , Clipson Linda , Matkowskyj Kristina A. , Deming Dustin A. , Skala Melissa C.
Published: April 2021

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET) account for roughly 60% of all neuroendocrine tumors. Low/intermediate grade human GEP-NETs have relatively low proliferation rates that animal models and cell lines fail to recapitulate. Short-term patient-derived cancer organoids (PDCOs) are a 3D model system that holds great promise for recapitulating well-differentiated human GEP-NETs. However, traditional measurements of drug response (i.e., growth, proliferation) are not effective in GEP-NET PDCOs due to the small volume of tissue and low proliferation rates that are characteristic of the disease. Here, we test a label-free, non-destructive optical metabolic imaging (OMI) method to measure drug response in live GEP-NET PDCOs. OMI captures the fluorescence lifetime and intensity of endogenous metabolic cofactors NAD(P)H and FAD. OMI has previously provided accurate predictions of drug response on a single cell level in other cancer types, but this is the first study to apply OMI to GEP-NETs. OMI tested the response to novel drug combination on GEP-NET PDCOs, specifically ABT263 (navitoclax), a Bcl-2 family inhibitor, and everolimus, a standard GEP-NET treatment that inhibits mTOR. Treatment response to ABT263, everolimus, and the combination were tested in GEP-NET PDCO lines derived from seven patients, using two-photon OMI. OMI measured a response to the combination treatment in 5 PDCO lines, at 72 h post-treatment. In one of the non-responsive PDCO lines, heterogeneous response was identified with two distinct subpopulations of cell metabolism. Overall, this work shows that OMI provides single-cell metabolic measurements of drug response in PDCOs to guide drug development for GEP-NET patients.