bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unveiling the Properties of Thai Stingless Bee Propolis via Diminishing Cell Wall-Associated Cryptococcal Melanin and Enhancing the Fungicidal Activity of Macrophages
Authors: Mamoon Ketsaya , Thammasit Patcharin , Iadnut Anupon , Kitidee Kuntida , Anukool Usanee , Tragoolpua Yingmanee , Tragoolpua Khajornsak
Published: July 2020

Cryptococcus neoformans, a life-threatening human yeast pathogen, has the ability to produce melanin, which is one of the common virulence factors contributing to cryptococcal pathogenesis. This virulence factor is closely associated with the cryptococcal cell wall, specifically chitin and chitosan polysaccharides, a complex structure that is essential for maintaining cellular structure and integrity. In this study, we aim to investigate the effects of two stingless bee (SLB) propolis from Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetrigona melanoleuca against cell wall-associated melanin in C. neoformans, and its immune response in RAW 264.7 macrophage. The ethanolic extract of SLB propolis (EEP) has strongly exhibited anti-cryptococcal activity. Moreover, EEP from both sources reduced chitin/chitosan and melanin production against C. neoformans in a dose-dependent manner. Likewise, the mRNA expression level of CDA1, IPC1-PKC1 and LAC1 genes involved in the cryptococcal melanization pathway was significantly decreased at 2 mg/mL in EEP treatment. Additionally, pretreatment with EEP prior to yeast infection dramatically reduced intracellular replication of C. neoformans in RAW 264.7 macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. This study might be a new insight to use a natural powerful source, not only acting to target cell wall-associated molecules, but also being capable to explore a novel strategy by which dysregulation of these molecules leads to promote immunomodulatory activity.
Graphene–Chitosan Hybrid Dental Implants with Enhanced Antibacterial and Cell-Proliferation Properties
Authors: Park Sunho , Kim Hyeran , Choi Kyoung Soon , Ji Min-Kyung , Kim Sujin , Gwon Yonghyun , Park Chan , Kim Jangho , Lim Hyun-Pil
Published: July 2020

Dental implants are widely used tooth replacement tools owing to their good oral rehabilitation and reconstruction capacities. Since dental implants are designed as a replacement for natural teeth, multi-functional abilities are desired to achieve successful implant treatment with improved osseointegration through promotion of mammalian cell activity and prevention of bacterial cell activity. In this study, we developed a graphene–chitosan hybrid dental implant (GC hybrid implant) using various concentrations of graphene, which demonstrated the different surface properties including increased wettability and roughness. Importantly, the GC hybrid implant under the optimal condition (i.e., 1% GC hybrid implant) could significantly promote osteoblast proliferation while reducing biofilm formation and bacterial activity. Our study demonstrates the potential of using this GC hybrid implant as a new type of dental implant, which can offer an effective design for the fabrication of advanced dental implants.
Deep Learning for Optic Disc Segmentation and Glaucoma Diagnosis on Retinal Images
Authors: Sreng Syna , Maneerat Noppadol , Hamamoto Kazuhiko , Win Khin Yadanar
Published: July 2020

Glaucoma is a major global cause of blindness. As the symptoms of glaucoma appear, when the disease reaches an advanced stage, proper screening of glaucoma in the early stages is challenging. Therefore, regular glaucoma screening is essential and recommended. However, eye screening is currently subjective, time-consuming and labor-intensive and there are insufficient eye specialists available. We present an automatic two-stage glaucoma screening system to reduce the workload of ophthalmologists. The system first segmented the optic disc region using a DeepLabv3+ architecture but substituted the encoder module with multiple deep convolutional neural networks. For the classification stage, we used pretrained deep convolutional neural networks for three proposals (1) transfer learning and (2) learning the feature descriptors using support vector machine and (3) building ensemble of methods in (1) and (2). We evaluated our methods on five available datasets containing 2787 retinal images and found that the best option for optic disc segmentation is a combination of DeepLabv3+ and MobileNet. For glaucoma classification, an ensemble of methods performed better than the conventional methods for RIM-ONE, ORIGA, DRISHTI-GS1 and ACRIMA datasets with the accuracy of 97.37%, 90.00%, 86.84% and 99.53% and Area Under Curve (AUC) of 100%, 92.06%, 91.67% and 99.98%, respectively, and performed comparably with CUHKMED, the top team in REFUGE challenge, using REFUGE dataset with an accuracy of 95.59% and AUC of 95.10%.
Auricular Osseointegrated Implant Treatment: Basic Technique and Application of Computer Technology
Authors: Kawana Hiromasa , Usuda Shin , Asoda Seiji , Kaneko Tsuyoshi , Ogawa Kaoru , Itamiya Tomoki , Fuchigami Kei , Nagata Koudai , Kitami Ryoji , Kimoto Katsuhiko , Truppe Michael
Published: July 2020

An epithesis using osseointegrated implants as an anchorage has been proven and established as an effective means for maxillofacial rehabilitation. In this paper, we describe the basic techniques of auricular epithesis and the applications of computer technology to its execution, ranging from diagnosis to surgery, and superstructure fabrication to maintenance. The key steps of this treatment are conducting Computed Tomography (CT ) diagnosis before the operation to avoid implant penetration through the skull during the operation, embedding two implants into the section that represents the antihelix, and if possible, preserving or forming the tragus so that the edge of the epithesis is not close to the temporomandibular joint region to ensure mandibular movements are not restricted. We also discuss the applications of navigation surgery, which we are currently investigating, as well as the future prospect of augmented reality and mixed reality surgeries.
Video Error-Resilience Research Based on Error-Resilient Screen Content
Authors: Liu Zhe , Chen He , Sun Songlin
Published: July 2020

In order to make video transmission more stable, various error-resilient mechanisms are proposed on video coding in the literature. However, the redundancy mechanism behind classical redundant coding algorithms is relatively simple and is not suitable for the network environment and video content in the context of screen content sequence with multiple abrupt frames and still frames. Motivated by this, a frame-level coding selection mechanism is proposed in this paper for the error-resilience transmission of screen content, where additional code stream or redundant information is considered to improve error-resilient performance with redundant coding and acceptable video quality is obtained in the case of frame transmission error. In addition, selective allocation redundancy is conducted to take the importance of the video frame ROI (region of interest) area into account in the co-encoding process. As a result, the redundancy insertion efficiency and the reliability are improved in return. The corresponding experiments validate the effectiveness of the schemes proposed in this paper.
Tryptophan and Membrane Mobility as Conditioners and Brokers of Gut–Brain Axis in Depression
Authors: Cocchi Massimo , Traina Giovanna
Published: July 2020

The aim of this brief narrative commentary is to discuss some aspects involved in depression. It is increasingly evident that the phenomenon of mood disorders, despite its unequivocal genetic origin, slips into a multifactorial set of biochemical and molecular events that involve the whole organism. A vast literature has provided evidence that recognizes changes in serotonergic neurotransmission in the pathophysiology of depression. In addition, an increased arachidonic acid/omega-3 fatty acid ratio, which confers to mammalian cell membranes their fluidity, is associated with the depressive state. The combination of the excessive expression of kinurenine and the increased fluidity of the membrane has never been considered in the meaning of a simultaneous effect in the determinism of the depressive condition. Furthermore, various evidence supports the relationship between intestinal microbiota and depression and confirms alterations in the microbiota in depressive pathology.
Development of a Low-Cost and High-Efficiency Culture Medium for Bacteriocin Lac-B23 Production by Lactobacillus plantarum J23
Authors: Zhang Jianming , Bu Yushan , Zhang Chengcheng , Yi Huaxi , Liu Daqun , Jiao Jingkai
Published: July 2020

At present, De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth is the medium of choice for promoting bacteriocin production. However, this medium is expensive and not applicable for large-scale production. Therefore, a low-cost and high-efficiency culture medium for bacteriocin Lac-B23 production by Lactobacillus plantarum J23 was developed. First, the effects of the composition of MRS broth on bacteriocin Lac-B23 production and bacterial growth were researched by a one variable at a time approach. Then, a Plackett-Burman design was used to screen significant components for production. Finally, the steepest ascent and central composite designs were used to obtain an optimum medium. The final composition of the modified MRS was much simpler than MRS broth, and the modified MRS contained only glucose, yeast extract, dipotassium phosphate, manganese sulfate monohydrate, Tween 80 and sodium acetate anhydrous. The highest bacteriocin Lac-B23 production reached 2560 activity units (AU)/mL in the modified MRS, which is nine times higher than that in MRS broth (280 AU/mL). Meanwhile, the cost per liter of the modified MRS (8.56 Ren Min Bi (RMB)/L) is 34.70% the cost of MRS broth (13.11 RMB/L), and the cost per arbitrary units of bacteriocin Lac-B23 in the modified MRS is approximately fourteen times more convenient (3.34 RMB/106 AU) than in the MRS broth (46.82 RMB/106 AU).
Biobanks—A Platform for Scientific and Biomedical Research
Authors: Malsagova Kristina , Kopylov Artur , Stepanov Alexander , Butkova Tatyana , Sinitsyna Alexandra , Izotov Alexander , Kaysheva Anna
Published: July 2020

The development of biomedical science requires the creation of biological material collections that allow for the search and discovery of biomarkers for pathological conditions, the identification of new therapeutic targets, and the validation of these findings in samples from patients and healthy people. Over the past decades, the importance and need for biobanks have increased considerably. Large national and international biorepositories have replaced small collections of biological samples. The aim of this work is to provide a basic understanding of biobanks and an overview of how biobanks have become essential structures in modern biomedical research.
Site-Of-Care Viscoelastic Assay in Major Trauma Improves Outcomes and Is Cost Neutral Compared with Standard Coagulation Tests
Authors: Cochrane Catriona , Chinna Shalini , Um Ju Young , Dias Joao D. , Hartmann Jan , Bradley Jim , Brooks Adam
Published: July 2020

Major hemorrhage is often associated with trauma-induced coagulopathy. Targeted blood product replacement could achieve faster hemostasis and reduce mortality. This study aimed to investigate whether thromboelastography (TEG®) goal-directed transfusion improved blood utilization, reduced mortality, and was cost effective. Data were prospectively collected in a U.K. level 1 trauma center, in patients with major hemorrhage one year pre- and post-implementation of TEG® 6s Hemostasis Analyzers. Mortality, units of blood products transfused, and costs were compared between groups. Patient demographics in pre-TEG (n = 126) and post-TEG (n = 175) groups were similar. Mortality was significantly lower in the post-TEG group at 24 h (13% vs. 5%; p = 0.006) and at 30 days (25% vs. 11%; p = 0.002), with no difference in the number or ratio of blood products transfused. Cost of blood products transfused was comparable, with the exception of platelets (average £38 higher post-TEG). Blood product wastage was significantly lower in the post-TEG group (1.8 ± 2.1 vs. 1.1 ± 2.0; p = 0.002). No statistically significant difference in cost was observed between the two groups (£753 ± 651 pre-TEG; £830 ± 847 post-TEG; p = 0.41). These results demonstrate TEG 6s-driven resuscitation algorithms are associated with reduced mortality, reduced blood product wastage, and are cost neutral compared to standard coagulation tests.
Do Liquidity Proxies Based on Daily Prices and Quotes Really Measure Liquidity?
Authors: Będowska-Sójka Barbara , Echaust Krzysztof
Published: July 2020

This paper examines whether liquidity proxies based on different daily prices and quotes approximate latent liquidity. We compare percent-cost daily liquidity proxies with liquidity benchmarks as well as with realized variance estimates. Both benchmarks and volatility measures are obtained from high-frequency data. Our results show that liquidity proxies based on high-low-open-close prices are more correlated and display higher mutual information with volatility estimates than with liquidity benchmarks. The only percent-cost proxy that indicates higher dependency with liquidity benchmarks than with volatility estimates is the Closing Quoted Spread based on the last bid and ask quotes within a day. We consider different sampling frequencies for calculating realized variance and liquidity benchmarks, and find that our results are robust to it.
On the Capacity Regions of Degraded Relay Broadcast Channels with and without Feedback
Authors: Hu Bingbing , Wang Ke , Ma Yingying , Wu Youlong
Published: July 2020

The four-node relay broadcast channel (RBC) is considered, in which a transmitter communicates with two receivers with the assistance of a relay node. We first investigate three types of physically degraded RBCs (PDRBCs) based on different degradation orders among the relay and the receivers’ observed signals. For the discrete memoryless (DM) case, only the capacity region of the second type of PDRBC is already known, while for the Gaussian case, only the capacity region of the first type of PDRBC is already known. In this paper, we step forward and make the following progress: (1) for the first type of DM-PDRBC, a new outer bound is established, which has the same rate expression as an existing inner bound, with only a slight difference on the input distributions; (2) for the second type of Gaussian PDRBC, the capacity region is established; (3) for the third type of PDRBC, the capacity regions are established both for DM and Gaussian cases. Besides, we also consider the RBC with relay feedback where the relay node can send the feedback signal to the transmitter. A new coding scheme based on a hybrid relay strategy and a layered Marton’s coding is proposed. It is shown that our scheme can strictly enlarge Behboodi and Piantanida’s rate region, which is tight for the second type of DM-PDRBC. Moreover, we show that capacity regions of the second and third types of PDRBCs are exactly the same as that without feedback, which means feedback cannot enlarge capacity regions for these types of RBCs.
On Robustness of Multi-Modal Fusion—Robotics Perspective
Authors: Bednarek Michal , Kicki Piotr , Walas Krzysztof
Published: July 2020

The efficient multi-modal fusion of data streams from different sensors is a crucial ability that a robotic perception system should exhibit to ensure robustness against disturbances. However, as the volume and dimensionality of sensory-feedback increase it might be difficult to manually design a multimodal-data fusion system that can handle heterogeneous data. Nowadays, multi-modal machine learning is an emerging field with research focused mainly on analyzing vision and audio information. Although, from the robotics perspective, haptic sensations experienced from interaction with an environment are essential to successfully execute useful tasks. In our work, we compared four learning-based multi-modal fusion methods on three publicly available datasets containing haptic signals, images, and robots’ poses. During tests, we considered three tasks involving such data, namely grasp outcome classification, texture recognition, and—most challenging—multi-label classification of haptic adjectives based on haptic and visual data. Conducted experiments were focused not only on the verification of the performance of each method but mainly on their robustness against data degradation. We focused on this aspect of multi-modal fusion, as it was rarely considered in the research papers, and such degradation of sensory feedback might occur during robot interaction with its environment. Additionally, we verified the usefulness of data augmentation to increase the robustness of the aforementioned data fusion methods.
Multichannel Biphasic Muscle Stimulation System for Post Stroke Rehabilitation
Authors: Ward Tyler , Grabham Neil , Freeman Chris , Wei Yang , Hughes Ann-Marie , Power Conor , Tudor John , Yang Kai
Published: July 2020

We present biphasic stimulator electronics developed for a wearable functional electrical stimulation system. The reported stimulator electronics consist of a twenty four channel biphasic stimulator. The stimulator circuitry is physically smaller per channel and offers a greater degree of control over stimulation parameters than existing functional electrical stimulator systems. The design achieves this by using, off the shelf multichannel high voltage switch integrated circuits combined with discrete current limiting and dc blocking circuitry for the frontend, and field programmable gate array based logic to manage pulse timing. The system has been tested on both healthy adults and those with reduced upper limb function following a stroke. Initial testing on healthy users has shown the stimulator can reliably generate specific target gestures such as palm opening or pointing with an average accuracy of better than 4 degrees across all gestures. Tests on stroke survivors produced some movement but this was limited by the mechanical movement available in those users’ hands.
Dynamic Analysis of the Natural and Mechanical Ventilation of a Solar Greenhouse by Coupling Controlled Mechanical Ventilation (CMV) with an Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHX)
Authors: Bonuso Sara , Panico Simone , Baglivo Cristina , Mazzeo Domenico , Matera Nicoletta , Congedo Paolo Maria , Oliveti Giuseppe
Published: July 2020

Greenhouse crops represent a significant productive sector of the agricultural system; one of the main problems to be addressed is indoor air conditioning to ensure thermal well-being of crops. This study focuses on the ventilation analysis of solar greenhouse with symmetrical flat pitched roof and single span located in a warm temperate climate. This work proposes the dynamic analysis of the greenhouse modeled in TRNsys, simultaneously considering different thermal phenomena three-dimensional (3D) shortwave and longwave radiative exchange, airflow exchanges, presence of lamps with their exact 3D position, ground and plant evapotranspiration, and convective heat transfer coefficients. Several air conditioning systems were analyzed, automatic window opening, controlled mechanical ventilation systems (CMV) and horizontal Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHX) coupled with CMV, for different air volume changes per hour. In summer, the exploitation of the ground allows having excellent results with the EAHX system, reducing the temperature peaks of up to 5 °C compared to the use of CMV. In winter, it is interesting to note that, although the EAHX is not the solution that raises the temperature the most during the day, its use allows flattening the thermal wave more. In fact, the trend is almost constant during the day, raising the temperature during the first and last hours of the day.
Non-Invasive Behavioral Reference Group Categorization Considering Temporal Granularity and Aggregation Level of Energy Use Data
Authors: Song Kwonsik , Anderson Kyle , Lee SangHyun , Raimi Kaitlin T. , Hart P. Sol
Published: July 2020

Within residences, normative messaging interventions have been gaining interest as a cost-effective way to promote energy-saving behaviors. Behavioral reference groups are one important factor in determining the effectiveness of normative messages. More personally relevant and meaningful groups are likely to promote behavior change. Using readily available energy-use profiles in a non-invasive manner permits the creation of highly personalized reference groups. Unfortunately, how data granularity (e.g., minute and hour) and aggregation (e.g., one week and one month) affect the performance of energy profile-based reference group categorization is not well understood. This research evaluates reference group categorization performance across different levels of data granularity and aggregation. We conduct a clustering analysis using one-year of energy use data from 2248 households in Holland, Michigan USA. The clustering analysis reveals that using six-hour intervals results in more personalized energy profile-based reference groups compared to using more granular data (e.g., 15 min). This also minimizes computational burdens. Further, aggregating energy-use data over all days of twelve weeks increases the group similarity compared to less aggregated data (e.g., weekdays of twelve weeks). The proposed categorization framework enables interveners to create personalized and scalable normative feedback messages.
Vulnerability Assessment for Power Transmission Lines under Typhoon Weather Based on a Cascading Failure State Transition Diagram
Authors: Guo Jun , Feng Tao , Cai Zelin , Lian Xianglong , Tang Wenhu
Published: July 2020

The analysis of the fault propagation path of transmission lines and the method of identification of vulnerable lines during typhoon weather conditions is of great significance. In this context, this paper introduces the failure probability model of transmission lines under such conditions by considering both wind speed and the load of the lines. The Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) and the DC model based on OPA are applied to simulate the failure of transmission lines. The cascading failure state transition diagram (CFSTD) is proposed based on the failure chains and the criticality ranking of nodes in CFSTD by the average weight coefficient (AWC) for identifying vulnerable lines of the power grid under such conditions. A new weight in CFSTD is proposed to describe the vulnerability of each line and a new resilience index is used to assess the impacts of a typhoon on the system. The proposed method is demonstrated by using the modified IEEE 118-bus test system. Results show that the method proposed in this paper can simulate the fault propagation path, and identify the critical components of power grid under a typhoon.
Cancer in the Time of Coronavirus: A Call for Crisis Oncology Standards of Care
Authors: Kelkar Amar H. , Cogle Christopher R.
Published: July 2020

Since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified as a global pandemic, health systems have been severely strained, particularly affecting vulnerable populations such as patients with cancer. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of oncology specialty societies are making recommendations for standards of care. These diverse standards and gaps in standards can lead to inconsistent and heterogeneous care among governments, cancer centers, and even among oncologists within the same practice. These challenges highlight the need for a common nomenclature and crisis guidelines. For times of increased scarcity of resources, the National Academy of Medicine developed Crisis Standards of Care, defined as fairness, duty to care, duty to steward resources, transparency, consistency, proportionality, and accountability. However, we believe there is an urgent need to develop cancer-specific guidelines by convening a panel of experts from multiple specialties. These would be Crisis Oncology Standards of Care (COSCs) that are sensitive to both the individual cancer patient and to the broader health system in times of scarce resources, such as pandemic, natural disaster, or supply chain disruptions.
Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study
Authors: Castilla Diana , Suso-Ribera Carlos , Zaragoza Irene , Garcia-Palacios Azucena , Botella Cristina
Published: July 2020

Background: Research has supported the cost-effectiveness of cognitive training tools enhanced by information and communication technologies (ICT) in several populations, including individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-related cognitive decline. The implementation of ICTs in this population, however, is sometimes challenging to their cognitive and age characteristics. Ultimately, this might compromise the effectiveness of ICT-enhanced therapies in this population. The aim of this study is to test the usability and acceptability of a European project prototype for elderly care, in an attempt to explore the ICT design needs of users with MCI. Methods: Participants were 28 individuals aged 58–95 years and with a diagnosis of MCI. Results: The results showed a low perception of peripheral elements and the need to place main interaction elements in the centre of the screen. The correlation between the general level of autonomy (daily life activities) and the ICT autonomy level was significant and positive. The speed of audio help had a significant impact on performance. Conclusion: The present work contributes to the literature on ICT usability needs of users with MCI. Some usability recommendations for designing interfaces for this type of user are provided in the text.
Work-Related Tuberculosis among Health Workers Employed in a Tertiary Hospital in Northeastern Thailand: A Report of Nine Cases
Authors: Sangphoo Thanthun , Chaiear Naesinee , Chanpho Patimaporn
Published: July 2020

Between October 2016 and September 2018, fifteen health workers were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) at a tertiary hospital in northeastern Thailand. However, the cases could not be diagnosed as occupational TB according to international standards because of hospital limitations. The use of occupational epidemiological information provides a more effective work-related TB diagnosis. This study aims to provide a report of work-related TB using individual case investigation methods. We collected secondary data from the Occupational Health and Safety Office of the hospital in question, including baseline characteristics for the health workers, occupational history, source of TB infection and occupational exposure, and working environmental measurements. We found that nine of the fifteen cases were diagnosable as work-related TB due to two important factors: daily prolonged exposure time to an infected TB patient, and aerosol-generating procedures without adequate respiratory protection. The other six cases were not diagnosable as work-related TB because of inadequate evidence of activities related to the TB infection. The diagnosis of work-related TB thus requires occupational epidemiological information in order to complete the differentiation process.
Effects of Ibuprofen Intake in Muscle Damage, Body Temperature and Muscle Power in Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes
Authors: Fraga Guacira S. , Aidar Felipe J. , Matos Dihogo G. , Marçal Anderson C. , Santos Jymmys L. , Souza Raphael F. , Carneiro André L. , Vasconcelos Alan B. , Da Silva-Grigoletto Marzo E. , van den Tillaar Roland , Cabral Breno T. , Reis Victor M.
Published: July 2020

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of ingesting ibuprofen on post-workout recovery of muscle damage, body temperature and muscle power indicators in Paralympic powerlifting athletes. The study was carried out with eight Paralympic powerlifting athletes (aged 27.0 ± 5.3 years and 79.9 ± 25.5 kg of body mass) competing at the national level, with a minimum training experience of 12 months, who all submitted to two experimental conditions: Ibuprofen (2 × 00 mg) and control. The maximal isometric force of the upper limbs and rate of force development, thermography, and serum biochemical analyzes of creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were measured before, after, 24 h after and 48 h after the intervention. Maximal isometric force only decreased in the placebo condition, which increased back to baseline levels, while no substantial decline in baseline force was seen in the ibuprofen condition, although no effect for exercise condition was detected. After the exercise, the rate of force development decreased significantly for both conditions and did not exceed baseline levels again after 48 h. Muscle temperature decreased significantly at 48-h post-exercise in the placebo condition, when compared with the previous day of measurement; and deltoid muscle temperature at 48-h post-exercise was higher with the ibuprofen condition. Although the results indicate some positive effects of ibuprofen use, they do not enable a clear statement regarding its positive effects on muscle function and muscle damage. Ibuprofen seems to have caused a delay in the anti-inflammatory response following exercise.
The P.E.A.C.E. Pack Program in Italian High Schools: An Intervention for Victims of Bullying
Authors: Guarini Annalisa , Menabò Laura , Menin Damiano , Mameli Consuelo , Skrzypiec Grace , Slee Phillip , Brighi Antonella
Published: July 2020

Background: Bullying is a serious public issue, which mainly occurs in school with negative consequences for the students involved as victims. Very few teacher-delivered interventions have shown positive changes in the victims. The present study aimed at implementing the P.E.A.C.E. (Preparation, Education. Action, Coping, Evaluation) pack program, developed in Australia, in Italian high schools. Method: The effectiveness of the program was analyzed through an observational study (pre/post-intervention), involving 551 Italian high school students who completed a questionnaire on bullying victimization, self-efficacy, and bystander behavior. The students were divided into three groups (not involved students, occasional and severe victims) according to their self-reported victimization in the pre-intervention. Results: After the intervention, severe victims (victimized once/week or more often) showed a significant decrease in victimization and higher scores in self-efficacy, while an increase in victimization was observed in the not involved students. As reported by all the groups after the intervention, classmates were perceived more likely to intervene when a bullying episode occurred. By contrast, occasional and severe victims perceived their teachers as less likely to intervene. Conclusions: The P.E.A.C.E. pack is a promising program confirming in Italian schools the effectiveness already shown in other countries. This program is very useful for severe victims, supporting their self-confidence with a decrease in the frequency of aggressive episodes.
Shifts in Female Facial Attractiveness during Pregnancy
Authors: Danel Dariusz P. , Kalinowski Kasper , Nowak-Szczepanska Natalia , Ziomkiewicz-Wichary Anna , Apanasewicz Anna , Borysławski Krzysztof , Kozieł Sławomir , Kornafel Danuta , Fedurek Pawel
Published: July 2020

It has been proposed that women’s physical attractiveness is a cue to temporal changes in fertility. If this is the case, we should observe shifts in attractiveness during pregnancy—a unique physiological state of temporal infertility. The aim of this study was to examine how women’s facial attractiveness changes during the subsequent trimesters of pregnancy and how it compares to that of nonpregnant women. Sixty-six pictures of pregnant women (22 pictures per trimester) and 22 of nonpregnant women (a control group) were used to generate four composite portraits, which were subsequently assessed for facial attractiveness by 117 heterosexual men. The results show considerable differences between facial attractiveness ratings depending on the status and progress of pregnancy. Nonpregnant women were perceived as the most attractive, and the attractiveness scores of pregnant women decreased throughout the course of pregnancy. Our findings show that facial attractiveness can be influenced by pregnancy and that gestation, even at its early stages, affects facial attractiveness. Considerable changes in women’s physiology that occur during pregnancy may be responsible for the observed effects.
Seeding and Growth of β-Amyloid Aggregates upon Interaction with Neuronal Cell Membranes
Authors: Ruiz-Arias Álvaro , Paredes Jose M. , Di Biase Chiara , Cuerva Juan M. , Giron María D. , Salto Rafael , González-Vera Juan A. , Orte Angel
Published: July 2020

In recent years, the prevalence of amyloid neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has significantly increased in developed countries due to increased life expectancy. This amyloid disease is characterized by the presence of accumulations and deposits of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) in neuronal tissue, leading to the formation of oligomers, fibers, and plaques. First, oligomeric intermediates that arise during the aggregation process are currently thought to be primarily responsible for cytotoxicity in cells. This work aims to provide further insights into the mechanisms of cytotoxicity by studying the interaction of Aβ aggregates with Neuro-2a (N2a) neuronal cells and the effects caused by this interaction. For this purpose, we have exploited the advantages of advanced, multidimensional fluorescence microscopy techniques to determine whether different types of Aβ are involved in higher rates of cellular toxicity, and we measured the cellular stress caused by such aggregates by using a fluorogenic intracellular biothiol sensor. Stress provoked by the peptide is evident by N2a cells generating high levels of biothiols as a defense mechanism. In our study, we demonstrate that Aβ aggregates act as seeds for aggregate growth upon interacting with the cellular membrane, which results in cell permeability and damage and induces lysis. In parallel, these damaged cells undergo a significant increase in intracellular biothiol levels.
Dysregulated Cardiac IGF-1 Signaling and Antioxidant Response Are Associated with Radiation Sensitivity
Authors: Aghdam Saeed Y. , Kenchegowda Doreswamy , Sharma Neel K. , Holmes-Hampton Gregory P. , Legesse Betre , Moroni Maria , Ghosh Sanchita P.
Published: July 2020

Acute exposure to ionizing radiation leads to Hematopoietic Acute Radiation Syndrome (H-ARS). To understand the inter-strain cellular and molecular mechanisms of radiation sensitivity, adult males of two strains of minipig, one with higher radiosensitivity, the Gottingen minipig (GMP), and another strain with comparatively lower radiosensitivity, the Sinclair minipig (SMP), were exposed to total body irradiation (TBI). Since Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling is associated with radiation sensitivity and regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis, we investigated the link between dysregulation of cardiac IGF-1 signaling and radiosensitivity. The adult male GMP; n = 48, and SMP; n = 24, were irradiated using gamma photons at 1.7–2.3 Gy doses. The animals that survived to day 45 after irradiation were euthanized and termed the survivors. Those animals that were euthanized prior to day 45 post-irradiation due to severe illness or health deterioration were termed the decedents. Cardiac tissue analysis of unirradiated and irradiated animals showed that inter-strain radiosensitivity and survival outcomes in H-ARS are associated with activation status of the cardiac IGF-1 signaling and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-mediated induction of antioxidant gene expression. Our data link H-ARS with dysregulation of cardiac IGF-1 signaling, and highlight the role of oxidative stress and cardiac antioxidant response in radiation sensitivity.
Topical Delivery of Curcumin by Choline-Calix[4]arene-Based Nanohydrogel Improves Its Therapeutic Effect on a Psoriasis Mouse Model
Authors: Filippone Alessia , Consoli Grazia M. L. , Granata Giuseppe , Casili Giovanna , Lanza Marika , Ardizzone Alessio , Cuzzocrea Salvatore , Esposito Emanuela , Paterniti Irene
Published: July 2020

Curcumin (CUR) has shown remarkable efficacy in the treatment of skin diseases, but its effective transdermal delivery is still a major challenge and stimulates interest in the design of novel systems for CUR dispersion, preservation, and delivery facilitation to the deeper layers of the skin. The present work aimed to investigate the potential of a nanohydrogel, formed by a micellar choline-calix[4]arene amphiphile (CALIX) and CUR, in the treatment of skin diseases through an imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis model. Psoriasis plaques are associated with aberrant keratinization, abnormal distribution of tight junctions (TJs) proteins, and enhanced expression of inflammatory markers. The nanohydrogel restored the normal distribution of TJs proteins ZO1 and occludin and reduced the expression of TNF-α and inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) compared to the untreated IMQ group. The novelty lies in the calix[4]arene-based nanohydrogel as a potential new soft material for the topical skin delivery of CUR. The nanohydrogel, due to its physicochemical and mechanical properties, enhances the drug water-solubility, preserves CUR from rapid degradation, and eases the local skin administration and penetration.
Bitcoin Price Risk—A Durations Perspective
Authors: Dimpfl Thomas , Odelli Stefania
Published: July 2020

An important aspect of liquidity is price risk, i.e., the risk that a small transaction leads to a large price change. This usually happens in a thin market, when trading opportunities are scarce and the time between subsequent trades is long. We rely on an autoregressive conditional duration model to extract the probability of a substantial price event in a particular time interval and, thus, an intraday risk profile. Our findings show that price risk is highest at times when European and U.S. investors do not trade. In a second step, we relate daily aggregates to characteristics of the Bitcoin blockchain and investigate whether investors account for features like confirmation time or fees when timing their orders.
Performance Enhancement of IEEE 802.15.6 Using Collision Avoidance Technique
Authors: Adnan Muhammad , Sallabi Farag , Shuaib Khaled , Abdul-Hafez Mohammed
Published: July 2020

Research related to Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) has recently gained more attention due to its application in enabling smart healthcare systems. A WBAN consists of several sensing nodes and a dedicated coordinator. The distributed nodes communicate with the coordinator by accessing the physical communication channel in a randomly distributed fashion. Random channel access may cause frame re-transmission of corrupted frames due to frame collisions. As a result of that, there will be degradation in the WBAN throughput, an increase in delay, and a waste of node energy. Nodes within a WBAN can be classified using specific user priorities allowing for prioritized communication to reduce possible frame collisions. To improve the performance and energy efficiency, this work aims to reduce collisions among nodes that belong to the same users’ priority (homogeneous collisions) and collisions among nodes of different users’ priorities (heterogeneous collisions). Homogeneous collisions can be reduced by scaling the minimum Contention Window (CW) among nodes within the same user priority, whereas heterogeneous collisions can be reduced by allowing higher user priority nodes to transmit while lower user priority nodes enter into a backoff state. This paper presents an analytical model and extensive simulations to show the enhanced performance of the proposed collision avoidance mechanism. The results show that the throughput and node energy efficiency is improved by a factor of three and two times, respectively.
The Effects of Icing on Aircraft Longitudinal Aerodynamic Characteristics
Authors: Cao Yihua , Tan Wenyuan , Su Yuan , Xu Zhongda , Zhong Guo
Published: July 2020

To study the effects of ice accretion on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft, a two-part method for predicting longitudinal aerodynamic derivatives of iced aircraft is proposed. For the aircraft with a flight test, a parameter identification system based on maximum likelihood criterion and a longitudinal nonlinear flight dynamics model is established. For the aircraft without a flight test, an engineering prediction method of aerodynamic derivatives based on an individual component CFD calculation and narrow strip theory is established. According to the flight test data of DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft from NASA, the longitudinal aerodynamic parameters of both clean and artificially iced aircraft are obtained. Additionally, the longitudinal aerodynamic derivatives of the iced aircraft are calculated. Then, the correctness of the prediction method is verified by comparing the calculated results with the identification results. The comparison of these results shows that the prediction method is correct and accurate, and it can be used to calculate the effects of icing on the aircraft longitudinal aerodynamic parameters.
CNN Feature-Based Image Copy Detection with Contextual Hash Embedding
Authors: Zhou Zhili , Wang Meimin , Cao Yi , Su Yuecheng
Published: July 2020

As one of the important techniques for protecting the copyrights of digital images, content-based image copy detection has attracted a lot of attention in the past few decades. The traditional content-based copy detection methods usually extract local hand-crafted features and then quantize these features to visual words by the bag-of-visual-words (BOW) model to build an inverted index file for rapid image matching. Recently, deep learning features, such as the features derived from convolutional neural networks (CNN), have been proven to outperform the hand-crafted features in many applications of computer vision. However, it is not feasible to directly apply the existing global CNN features for copy detection, since they are usually sensitive to partial content-discarded attacks, such as copping and occlusion. Thus, we propose a local CNN feature-based image copy detection method with contextual hash embedding. We first extract the local CNN features from images and then quantize them to visual words to construct an index file. Then, as the BOW quantization process decreases the discriminability of these features to some extent, a contextual hash sequence is captured from a relatively large region surrounding each CNN feature and then is embedded into the index file to improve the feature’s discriminability. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a superior performance compared to the related works in the copy detection task.
A Mathematical Model of Epidemics—A Tutorial for Students
Authors: Okabe Yutaka , Shudo Akira
Published: July 2020

This is a tutorial for the mathematical model of the spread of epidemic diseases. Beginning with the basic mathematics, we introduce the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model. Subsequently, we present the numerical and exact analytical solutions of the SIR model. The analytical solution is emphasized. Additionally, we treat the generalization of the SIR model including births and natural deaths.
Comprehensive GCMS and LC-MS/MS Metabolite Profiling of Chlorella vulgaris
Authors: Pantami Hamza Ahmed , Ahamad Bustamam Muhammad Safwan , Lee Soo Yee , Ismail Intan Safinar , Mohd Faudzi Siti Munirah , Nakakuni Masatoshi , Shaari Khozirah
Published: July 2020

The commercial cultivation of microalgae began in the 1960s and Chlorella was one of the first target organisms. The species has long been considered a potential source of renewable energy, an alternative for phytoremediation, and more recently, as a growth and immune stimulant. However, Chlorella vulgaris, which is one of the most studied microalga, has never been comprehensively profiled chemically. In the present study, comprehensive profiling of the Chlorella vulgaris metabolome grown under normal culture conditions was carried out, employing tandem LC-MS/MS to profile the ethanolic extract and GC-MS for fatty acid analysis. The fatty acid profile of C. vulgaris was shown to be rich in omega-6, -7, -9, and -13 fatty acids, with omega-6 being the highest, representing more than sixty percent (>60%) of the total fatty acids. This is a clear indication that this species of Chlorella could serve as a good source of nutrition when incorporated in diets. The profile also showed that the main fatty acid composition was that of C16-C18 (>92%), suggesting that it might be a potential candidate for biodiesel production. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed carotenoid constituents comprising violaxanthin, neoxanthin, lutein, β-carotene, vulgaxanthin I, astaxanthin, and antheraxanthin, along with other pigments such as the chlorophylls. In addition to these, amino acids, vitamins, and simple sugars were also profiled, and through mass spectrometry-based molecular networking, 48 phospholipids were putatively identified.
Concurrent Multiscale Simulations of Rough Lubricated Contact of Aluminum Single Crystal
Authors: Zhang Jie , Su Lihong , Wang Zhongnan
Published: July 2020

In this paper, a concurrent multiscale simulation strategy coupling atomistic and continuum models was proposed to investigate the three-dimensional contact responses of aluminum single crystal under both dry and lubricated conditions. The Hertz contact is performed by using both the multiscale and full molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for validation. From the contact area, kinetic energy and stress continuity aspects, the multiscale model shows good accuracy. It can also save at least five times the computational time compared with the full MD simulations for the same domain size. Furthermore, the results of lubricated contact show that the lubricant molecules could effectively cover the contact surfaces; thereby separating the aluminum surfaces and bearing the support loads. Moreover, the surface topography could be protected by the thin film formed by the lubricant molecules. It has been found that the contact area decreases obviously with increasing the magnitude of load under both dry and lubricated contacts. Besides, a decrease in contact area is also seen when the number of lubricant molecules increases. The present study has confirmed that the dimension of lubricated contacts could be greatly expanded during the simulation using the proposed multiscale method without sacrificing too much computational time and accuracy.
Investigation on Solid-State Phase Transformations in a 2510 Duplex Stainless Steel Grade
Authors: Calliari Irene , Breda Marco , Gennari Claudio , Pezzato Luca , Pellizzari Massimo , Zambon Andrea
Published: July 2020

Duplex and Super Duplex Stainless Steels are very prone to secondary phases formation related to ferrite decomposition at high temperatures. In the present paper the results on secondary phase precipitation in a 2510 Duplex Stainless Steel, heat-treated in the temperature range 850–1050 °C for 3–30 min are presented. The precipitation starts at grain boundaries with a consistent ferrite transformation for very short times. The noses of the Time–Temperature–Precipitation (TTP) curves are at 1000 °C for σ-phase and at 900 °C for χ-phase, respectively. The precipitation sequence involves a partial transformation of χ into σ, as previously evidenced in 2205 and 2507 grades. Furthermore, the experimental data were compared to the results of Thermo-Calc calculations. Understanding and ability to predict phase stability in 2510 duplex stainless steel is a key factor to design optimal welding processes that avoid any secondary phase precipitation in the weld bead as well as in the heat-affected zone.