bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Bubble Size on Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon dioxide to Formic Acid
Authors: Widiatmoko Pramujo , Hendra Saputera Wibawa , Devianto Hary , Nurdin Isdiriayani , Rivana Esperanza , Angkasa Albert
Published: April 2021

A variety of technologies to diminish greenhouse gases CO2 emission have been extensively explored in recent years. One promising technology called electrochemical reduction of CO2 have been developed to convert CO2 into value-added chemicals, such as methanol, ethanol, ethylene, and formic acid. One of important parameter that need to be considered is the size of CO2 bubbles. In general, decreasing bubbles size can increase retention time of carbon dioxide in an electrolyte. In this research, effect of the microbubble size on the effectiveness of electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formic acid was studied. Bubbles with average diameter 0.321 and 0.952 mm were generated through perforated glass apparatus. The FTIR analysis showed peak at 1634 cm−1 which attributed to C=O bonding of formic acid. Smaller bubble size showed relatively more stable and higher electric current during electrolysis, indicating better retention time of carbon dioxide in the electrolyte.
Lipase immobilization onto Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC) for catalyzing lipolysis of triglycerides
Authors: Restiawaty Elvi , Arabica Yatasya Fauzatu , Ellys  , Tresna Umi Culsum Neng , Akhmaloka  , Wibisono Budhi Yogi
Published: April 2021

Over the past decade, the technology of enzyme immobilization has been developed because it is able to produce reusable immobilized enzymes to reduce production costs. This research aims to synthesize cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from sugarcane bagasse. The CNC was then used as a matrix in immobilization of lipase to be applied in triglyceride lipolysis. Lipase was immobilized onto CNC through covalent bonding method at 25°C dan pH 7 with immobilization period variation of 0.5–4.5 hours. The immobilized lipase will be utilized to catalyze lipolysis reaction of triglyceride from palm oil, with lipolysis period 2–10 hours, reaction temperature of 25–60°C, and pH of 6.25–11.25. Lipase was successfully immobilized onto CNC so it can be utilized in lipolysis of palm oil with degree of hydrolysis about 10%. The optimum immobilization time and reaction time of lipolysis was 1.5 hours and 6–8 hours, respectively. Both free lipase and immobilized lipase had the optimum temperature at 40°C. In contrast to the optimum temperature, the optimum pH of the lipolysis reaction using free lipase is different from that of lipolysis using immobilized lipase. The optimum pH of lipolysis using free lipase is pH 7.25, while the optimum pH for reaction using immobilized lipase is shifted to pH 8.25.
Evaluation of Heat Distribution And Aeration On Xylanase Production From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches Using Tray Bioreactor
Authors: Meilany Diah , Kresnowati M T A P , Setiadi Tjandra
Published: April 2021

Indonesia imports ±99% of its industrial enzyme supply, mostly from China, India, Japan, and Europe. Xylanase is one of the most widely used enzymes in industries, mainly pulp and paper, animal feed, and bakery. Previous research has shown that Aspergillus fumigatus ITBCCL170 can produce xylanase enzyme using the Solid State Fermentation (SSF) process in a tray bioreactor using OPEFB. The tray bioreactor model for solid-state fermentation was developed and further used to simulate the effects of aeration and heat distribution on biomass growth and enzyme production. The results showed that solid-state fermentation in a tray bioreactor is indeed far from ideal as the model simulated. Yet, parallel aeration can increase cell and enzyme production, which needed further validation.
Phenolic Compound, Antioxidant and Antibacterial properties of Electrospun PVP Nanofiber loaded with Bassela rubra linn extract and Alginate from Sargassum sp.
Authors: Lutfi Septiani Eka , Putri Prastuti Okky , Machmudah Siti , Winardi Sugeng , Wahyudiono  , Kanda Hideki , Goto Motonobu
Published: April 2021

An alternative wound dressing based on nanofiber mats have been developed recently. The antioxidant and antibacterial activity play an important role in wound healing process. This study aims to combine the properties of Bassela rubra linn extract (BRLE) and Alginate from brown macroalgae into Polivynil Pyrrolidone (PVP) nanofiber using electrospinning method. Firstly, the optimization step was conducted to obtain the best operation voltage and distance. Afterwards, the nanofiber composites of PVP/BRLE/Alginate were injected into electrospinning tool in various Alginate concentrations of 1%, 2%, and 3% (w/w) respectively. The morphology of PVP nanofiber observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) conveys that the closest distance and the highest voltage were the best. Meanwhile, the in vitro analysis through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and antibacterial activity to S. aureus and E. choli bacteria show a quite strong radical scavenging ability around 60% and adequate antibacterial property as good as reference a well-known material consecutively.
Modelling and Simulation of Biobutanol Fermentation by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4
Authors: Restiawaty Elvi , Harimawan Ardiyan , Rizki Novaldio , Irfan Rafi Fauz
Published: April 2021

Biobutanol exhibits high octane number, non-hygroscopic, non-corrosive and can be mixed with gasoline without engine modification. Furthermore, the use of biobutanol as a fuel can reduce the negative impact of environmental due to the use of fossil-based fuel. Therefore, research on the development of biobutanol is still very much needed, including research on modelling and simulation of biobutanol production by fermentation. With modelling and simulation, we can predict various biobutanol production behaviour. This paper deals with the modelling and simulation of the production of biobutanol from glucose in batch bioreactor using Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4. C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 exhibits a good growth ability on simple or complex sugars, such as glucose, sucrose, or starch. This study concerned with the kinetics models of biobutanol production as developed by Shinto based on the C. acetobutylicum metabolic pathway which consists of the glycolysis, acidogenesis and solventogenesis pathways with several simplification of reactions. In this study, modelling was carried out by adapting the rate parameter value of k13
indicating the rate constant of cell death. The adapted models were applied to determine the effect of the initial concentration of glucose and organic acids on the production of butanol and compared to the experimental data from previous research. Model simulations were performed by using MATLAB® software. The butanol yield was affected by the initial glucose concentration. The highest butanol yield of 77% was obtained at a glucose concentration of 22 g/L. The simulation results exhibit that the biobutanol yield decreases when the glucose concentration is higher than 22 g/L. These results are consistent with previous experimental data. The simulation results also show the effect of the concentration of acetic acid in the fermentation medium and can be optimized. From the simulation results, the presence of 7.5 g/L acetic acid can increase the biobutanol production by 20%. However, previous experimental data showed that a concentration of 2.5 g/L acetic acid was preferred. The simulation results also show the effect of the addition of butyric acid and lactic acid on the production of biobutanol.
Novel Approach of Biodiesel Production Waste Utilization to Support Circular Economy in Biodiesel Industry
Authors: Choirun Az Zahra Aghietyas , Arina Rusyda Ilya , Hizbiyati Andini , Giovani Felix , Zahara Nabila , Jiwandaru Bramantha , Gunawan David , Andre Halim Giovani , Pratiwi Meiti , Nur Istyami Astri , Verani Rouly Sihombing Atmy , Harimawan Ardiyan , Sasongko Dwiwahju , Rizkiana Jenny
Published: April 2021

Current development of industry nowadays is more towards sustainability and greener production that minimize the production of waste, for example the production of biodiesel energy from Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO). However, biodiesel production is still could not eliminate the hazardous waste that is glycerin pitch. Glycerin pitch is a waste found in the glycerin purification unit which is a unit used to produce the high-grade glycerin, a side product of biodiesel production. Up until now, the existing glycerin pitch is still not well managed and remains as a hazardous waste. Glycerin pitch contains a sodium salt that can be recovered to produce biodiesel transesterification catalyst, sodium methoxide. Applying a concept of circular economy, a catalyst recovery building block is attached to integrated biodiesel process with glycerol purification. The process consists of three units, solid-liquid extraction to separate inorganic salt contains in the pitch, Chlor-Alkali process to convert inorganic sodium salt to sodium hydroxide, and catalyst making reactor to produce a sodium methoxide. Using a simulation process, the amount of catalyst recovered in the process is 43.78%.
Preliminary Evaluation of Halal Protein Hydrolysate Production in Indonesia
Authors: Tri Ari Penia Kresnowati Made , Rahayu Affandi Cantika , Pratiwi Cindi
Published: April 2021

Protein hydrolysate is widely used in industry, for example as a substrate for microbial fermentation. With respect to the halal certification of the final fermentation products, the halal status of all media components, including protein hydrolysate, needs to be clarified as well. Indonesia has abundant protein-rich natural resources as well as protein-rich industrial byproducts that have not been utilized optimally. Industrial production of halal protein hydrolysate has been overlooked. This research explored the potential of using protein-rich industrial/agricultural by-products, such as cassava leaves, soybean waste (tofu and soy sauce dregs), cow waste (bones and cow skin), fish waste (fish bones and skin), chicken waste (chicken feet and skin), cheese whey, and corn steep liquor, to be processed using halal and green processes to produce halal protein hydrolysate. The best combination of raw material and protease was obtained by simulating the breaking of the peptide bond of the raw material by a protease to determine the effectiveness of the protein hydrolysis process of each combination. Further simulations were carried out using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, to consider the availability/accessibility of raw materials, the protein content of the raw materials, the cleavage of peptide bonds by the enzyme, the price of the enzymes, and the ease of processing which included pre-treatment of raw materials.
Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Palm Oil Industry
Authors: Ahmadi  , Mahidin  , Faisal M , Hamdani  , Siregar K , Erdiwansyah  , Masturah R , Nasrullah
Published: April 2021

Crude palm oil production Indonesia especially in Aceh every year continues to increase because the consumption of its derivative products such as cosmetics, food and fuel increases. The increasing demand for CPO has caused palm oil companies expanding their plantations. Based on data from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2018, the total area of Indonesian palm oil reaches 14.3 million hectares. The focus of this paper aims to evaluate the cradle to gate impact produced at land preparation, the nursery stage and the process of producing palm oil. Life cycle assessment is used to evaluate the impact of product for its entire life cycle. This research was conducted with simulation using SimaPro 9.0 software and impact 2002+ method. The results of the data processing with the simulation showed that fertilization stage was the stage with the largest impact with persentage 83% of the category, namely human health, ecosystem quality, climate change and resources 0.0000567 DALY, 9.44 PDF.m2.year, 148 kg CO2 eq and 1650 main MJ, respectively. Meanwhile, the processing of palm oil into CPO the largest environmental impact was in the category of non-renewable energy and global warming of 90 MJ and 9.6 kg CO2 eq.
Circular Economy on Non-Biodegradable Waste Management with MASARO Technology
Authors: Abidin A Z , Yemensia E V , Wijaya K W , Rahardjo A P
Published: April 2021

The study was based on indonesia and global waste managament issue especially on non-biodegradable waste handling and the circular economy of the method to solve the problem. Non-biodegradable waste is a problem in the world and its management especially for non-recycled waste does not reflect the circular economy principle and not environmentally friendly. This needs a new method that can process this type of waste through an environmentally friendly recovery process. Zero Waste Management/Manajemen Sampah Zero (MASARO) technology presents a solution to this problem by processing non-recycled non-biodegradable waste through a plastic refinery unit in Non-Biodegradable Waste Management Installation/Instalasi Pengolahan Sampah Anorganik (IPSA). The application of the circular economy principle has been carried out in this MASARO plastic refinery where All non-biodegradable waste is processed into other useful products, such as: fuel, planting media, wood preservatives and organic pesticides. There is no non-biodegradable waste ended up in Temporary Waste Site (TPS) and Final Landfill (TPA). Therefore, MASARO plastic refinery is an environmentally friendly solotion for non-biodegradable waste and suitable for sustainable development.
Non-Solvent Selection for Cellulose Acetate/Polyethylene Glycol/Polyethylene Glycol-grafting-Graphene Oxide Membranes
Authors: Ramadhani A , Nyamiati R D , Berin I , Murtadho N A , Rahmawati Y , Nurkhamidah S
Published: April 2021

Fabrication process of membrane is key factor for producing reverse osmosis membrane with a good performance for desalination process. One of the methods to fabricate membrane is phase inversion where casted membrane was immersed in the non-solvent. Non-solvent is important parameter to determine that phase inversion is success or not in resulting the morphology of the membrane. As known that morphology of the membrane contributes to the performance of the membrane. In this study, several non-solvents have been used to fabricate CA/PEG/PEG-g-GO membrane. Non-solvent used in this study were water, isopropanol, methanol, isopropanol-water and methanol-water. The morphology of the membrane was analyzed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of non-solvent/solvent/polymer CA/PEG systems are studied and correlated with membrane morphology. Membrane performance was determined by salt rejection, permeate flux, and permeability. The experiment results show that the best non-solvent is water followed by isopropanol, isopropanol-water, methanol, and methanol-water. CA/PEG/PEG-g-GO membrane with water as non-solvent has a salt rejection (% R) of 75%, permeate flux (F) of 1,985 L/m2.h, permeability of 0.0005 L/m2.h.kPa and the morphology is sponge-like with the pore size diameter in average is 0.471 µm.
Effect of Additive on Microstructure, Hydrophilicity and Ultrafiltration Performance of Polyethylene Terephthalate Membranes
Authors: Kusumocahyo Samuel P. , Ambani Syarifa K. , Marceline Shelly , Michelle Franzesca
Published: April 2021

Ultrafiltration is a pressure-driven separation process through a porous membrane that can separate particles or macromolecules from a solution. Ultrafiltration is mostly applied for water treatment processes in various industries such as pharmaceutical, chemical, food and beverage industries. Commercial ultrafiltration membranes are mostly fabricated from polymer materials such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone and cellulose acetate. These polymers are expensive, and for the time being they are not produced in Indonesia. In this work, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle waste was used as the polymer material to prepare ultrafiltration membranes. PET is commonly used as a packaging material for foods and beverages due to its low price and excellent mechanical properties. The PET membranes were prepared via a phase-inversion technique using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the additive. It was observed that the addition of PEG improved the flexibility and the hydrophilicity of the membranes. The water contact angle decreased to 61.5° by the addition of PEG. The microstructures of the membranes could be controlled by the molecular weight of the PEG. The result of the ultrafiltration experiment showed that the membrane with a high porosity, a large pore size and a high hydrophilicity exhibited a high water permeate flux. In the ultrafiltration experiment using a model feed solution of an aqueous solution containing Bovine Serum Albumin with a molecular weight of 66,000 Da, the membranes showed high rejection values of up to 90% with water permeate fluxes of 14.7 - 23.0 kg/(m2h).
Progress, Challenges, and Prospects of Forward Osmosis (FO) and Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) as An Alternative solution for Water and Energy Crisis
Authors: Lugito Graecia , Ariono Danu , Rizqy Trihutama Putra Mochamad , Nabilla Zafra Zoealya
Published: April 2021

Blue energy is found fascinating to be implemented in Indonesia, the largest archipelago country of which 70% territory is covered with water. The utilization of osmotic-driven membranes in addressing water and energy scarcity has received much attention. Forward osmosis (FO) and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) are two osmotic driven membrane processes that utilize draw solution with higher osmotic pressure than the feed solution to drive the water flux. These processes are less energy-intensive compared to other pressure-driven membranes. However, the applications of each of these processes are still limited due to three main challenges, which are the production of high-performance membrane materials for high water flux and selectivity, the selection of draw solutions, and the need for post-treatment to recover the draw solution. In this study, recent developments in FO and PRO membrane processes are reviewed, then the potentials of the utilization of osmotic-driven membrane in addressing the water and energy crisis are discussed and evaluated. The review is based on asymmetric polyamide (PA) membranes with strong porous support performing in FO and PRO processes. Draw solution plays a significant role in attaining good performance in osmotic-driven membrane processes. Integrated FO/PRO/RO hybrid processes have been proposed and evaluated in terms of their energy consumption and carbon footprint. The results indicate positive prospects of these hybrid processes pushing forward the research on continuous and self-sustaining osmotic-driven water and energy productions.
Hybrid MPI and OpenMP parallel implementation of large-scale linear-response time-dependent density functional theory with plane-wave basis set
Authors: Wan Lingyun , Liu Xiaofeng , Liu Jie , Qin Xinming , Hu Wei , Yang Jinlong
Published: April 2021

High performance computing is a powerful tool to accelerate the Kohn–Sham density functional theory calculations on modern heterogeneous supercomputers. Here, we describe a massively parallel implementation of large-scale linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT) to calculate the excitation energies and wave functions of solids with plane-wave basis set. We adopt a two-level parallelization strategy that combines the message passing interface with open multi-processing parallel programming to deal with the matrix operations and data communications of constructing and diagonalizing the LR-TDDFT Hamiltonian matrix. Numerical results illustrate that the LR-TDDFT calculations can scale up to 24 576 processing cores on modern heterogeneous supercomputers to study the excited state properties of bulky silicon systems containing thousands of atoms (4,096 atoms). We demonstrate that the LR-TDDFT calculations can be used to investigate the photoinduced charge separation of water molecule adsorption on rutile TiO2(110) surface from an excitonic perspective.
Absorptive laser threshold magnetometry: combining visible diamond Raman lasers and nitrogen-vacancy centres
Authors: Raman Nair Sarath , Rogers Lachlan J , Spence David J , Mildren Richard P , Jelezko Fedor , Greentree Andrew D , Volz Thomas , Jeske Jan
Published: April 2021

We propose a high-sensitivity magnetometry scheme based on a diamond Raman laser with visible pump absorption by an ensemble of coherently microwave driven negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centres (NV−) in the same diamond crystal. The NV− centres’ absorption and emission are spin-dependent. We show how the varying absorption of the NV− centres changes the Raman laser output. A shift in the diamond Raman laser threshold and output occurs with the external magnetic field and microwave driving. We develop a theoretical framework with steady-state solutions to describe the effects of coherently driven NV− centres including the charge state switching between NV− and its neutral charge state NV0 in a diamond Raman laser. We discuss that such a laser working at the threshold can be employed for magnetic field sensing. In contrast to previous studies on NV− magnetometry with visible laser absorption, the laser threshold magnetometry method is expected to have low technical noise, due to low background light in the measurement signal. For magnetic-field sensing, we project a shot-noise limited DC sensitivity of a few pT

/

H
z

in a well-calibrated cavity with realistic parameters. This sensor employs the broad visible absorption of NV− centres and unlike previous laser threshold magnetometry proposals it does not rely on active NV− centre lasing or an infrared laser medium at the specific wavelength of the NV− centre’s infrared absorption line.
2020 in 20/20 hindsight
Authors: Chernoff Jonathan
Published: April 2021

For biologic scientists, as for the society in general, the year 2020 was one that few will soon forget. However, in the realm of science, it is possible that it won’t be remembered purely, or even mainly, for the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many discoveries related to its causative agent. Even as non-SARS-related research was brought to a near standstill for much of the year, we may in time come to recognize that revolutionary work in other areas of biology was emerging unnoticed under the shadow of the virus.
Evidence forGRNconnecting multiple neurodegenerative diseases
Authors: Nalls Mike A , Blauwendraat Cornelis , Sargent Lana , Vitale Dan , Leonard Hampton , Iwaki Hirotaka , Song Yeajin , Bandres-Ciga Sara , Menden Kevin , Faghri Faraz , Heutink Peter , Cookson Mark R , Singleton Andrew B
Published: April 2021

Previous research using genome-wide association studies has identified variants that may contribute to lifetime risk of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, whether there are common mechanisms that link neurodegenerative diseases is uncertain. Here, we focus on one gene, GRN, encoding progranulin, and the potential mechanistic interplay between genetic risk, gene expression in the brain and inflammation across multiple common neurodegenerative diseases. We utilized genome-wide association studies, expression quantitative trait locus mapping and Bayesian colocalization analyses to evaluate potential causal and mechanistic inferences. We integrate various molecular data types from public resources to infer disease connectivity and shared mechanisms using a data-driven process. Expression quantitative trait locus analyses combined with genome-wide association studies identified significant functional associations between increasing genetic risk in the GRN region and decreased expression of the gene in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Additionally, colocalization analyses show a connection between blood-based inflammatory biomarkers relating to platelets and GRN expression in the frontal cortex. GRN expression mediates neuroinflammation function related to multiple neurodegenerative diseases. This analysis suggests shared mechanisms for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The Angel as Wish Image: Justin Bieber, Popular Culture, and the Politics of Absolution
Authors: O’Connor Clare
Published: April 2021

In the early 21st century, the angel became a recurrent image within the visual economy of pop music stardom. By considering the case of Justin Bieber (whose angel invocations give expression to his struggles with celebrity, faith, and the pathology of Whiteness), the author reveals how biographical factors alone cannot account for the angel’s contemporary resonance. Instead, and drawing upon Walter Benjamin’s concept of wish image, the author argues that this invocational pattern reflects a general desire for a one-to-one correspondence between being and doing—here understood as a manifestation of the ur-historical longing for absolution. Because this desire is ambivalent, the angel has historically been invoked to symbolize wishes as divergent as fascism’s ideal gender relations and radical utopia’s equality. In this way, the angel’s current ubiquity alerts us to the role resonant myths often play in the elaboration of collective desires, while pointing toward their implications for emancipatory strategy.
Aspirin-free antiplatelet regimens after PCI: insights from the GLOBAL LEADERS trial and beyond
Authors: Wang Rutao , Wu Sijing , Gamal Amr , Gao Chao , Hara Hironori , Kawashima Hideyuki , Ono Masafumi , van Geuns Robert-Jan , Vranckx Pascal , Windecker Stephan , Onuma Yoshinobu , Serruys Patrick W , Garg Scot
Published: April 2021

Historically, aspirin has been the primary treatment for the prevention of ischaemic events in patients with coronary artery disease. For patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) standard treatment has been 12 months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and clopidogrel, followed by aspirin monotherapy; however, DAPT is undeniably associated with an increased risk of bleeding. For over a decade novel P2Y12 inhibitors, which have increased specificity, potency, and efficacy have been available, prompting studies which have tested whether these newer agents can be used in aspirin-free antiplatelet regimens to augment clinical benefits in patients post-PCI. Among these studies, the GLOBAL LEADERS trial is the largest by cohort size, and so far has provided a wealth of evidence in a variety of clinical settings and patient groups. This article summarizes the state-of-the-art evidence obtained from the GLOBAL LEADERS and other trials of aspirin-free strategies.
Challenges and Solutions With Agricultural Animal High Containment Waste Disposal
Authors: Henneman John R , Johnson Julie A , Minihan Mark A
Published: April 2021

Waste disposal in Agricultural Animal High Containment Animal Biosafety Level 3Ag and Animal Biosafety Level 4Ag (ABSL-3Ag and ABSL-4Ag) research facilities necessitates significantly more attention to detail in operations than that required in lower-containment-level laboratories. The unique features and requirements of agricultural-related research involve additional equipment and systems to safely transfer decontaminated waste out of the facility. The waste stream coming from ABSL-3Ag and ABSL-4Ag facilities, or high containment agricultural research waste, consists of many forms and differs from most research facility waste in that it is produced from research with livestock or other species loose housed, with the animal room serving as primary containment. This is in contrast to small laboratory animals being housed in primary containment caging. Waste handling equipment in agricultural research facilities may include autoclaves, effluent decontamination systems, incinerators, high-temperature renderers, alkaline tissue digester systems, high-efficiency particulate air filtration of exhaust and supply air, gas decontamination systems, and laundry facilities. This article focuses primarily on the disposal of waste from ABSL-3Ag livestock facilities, including procedures and lessons learned over 10 years of facility operation.
Accuracy of Preoperative Breast MRI Versus Conventional Imaging in Measuring Pathologic Extent of Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
Authors: Hovis Keegan K , Lee Janie M , Hippe Daniel S , Linden Hannah , Flanagan Meghan R , Kilgore Mark R , Yee Janis , Partridge Savannah C , Rahbar Habib
Published: April 2021

Objective

To determine whether invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) extent is more accurately depicted with preoperative MRI (pMRI) than conventional imaging (mammography and/or ultrasound).

Methods

After IRB approval, we retrospectively identified women with pMRIs (February 2005 to January 2014) to evaluate pure ILC excluding those with ipsilateral pMRI BI-RADS 4 or 5 findings or who had neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Agreement between imaging and pathology sizes was summarized using Bland-Altman plots, absolute and percent differences, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Rates of underestimation and overestimation were evaluated and their associations with clinical features were explored.

Results

Among the 56 women included, pMRI demonstrated better agreement with pathology than conventional imaging by mean absolute difference (1.6 mm versus −7.8 mm, P < 0.001), percent difference (10.3% versus −16.4%, P < 0.001), and ICC (0.88 versus 0.61, P = 0.019). Conventional imaging more frequently underestimated ILC span than pMRI using a 5 mm difference threshold (24/56 (43%) versus 10/56 (18%), P < 0.001), a 25% threshold (19/53 (36%) versus 10/53 (19%), P = 0.035), and T category change (17/56 (30%) versus 7/56 (13%), P = 0.006). Imaging–pathology size concordance was greater for MRI-described solitary masses than other lesions for both MRI and conventional imaging (P < 0.05). Variability of conventional imaging was lower for patients ≥ the median age of 62 years than for younger patients (SD: 12 mm versus 22 mm, P = 0.012).

Conclusion

MRI depicts pure ILC more accurately than conventional imaging and may have particular value for younger women.
Threat Assessment and Threat Management
Authors: Meloy J. Reid , Hoffmann Jens , Deisinger Eugene R. D. , Hart Stephen D.
Published: April 2021

This introductory chapter sets forth three foundations for threat assessment and management: the first foundation is the defining of basic concepts, such as threat assessment and threat management; the second foundation outlines the similarities and differences between threat assessment and violence risk assessment; and the third foundation is a detailed overview of research findings, theoretical avenues, measurement instruments, and developments in practice over the past quarter-century. The goals of the chapter are to introduce professional readers to the young scientific field of threat assessment and management and to clarify and guide seasoned professionals toward greater excellence in their work.
Source Interviewing in a Threat Management Context
Authors: Van der Meer Bram B.
Published: April 2021

Threat assessment professionals regularly interact with sources who are deceitful or reluctant to engage in a conversation, especially when asked to provide sensitive information. Besides listening well, which still is the most important information recovery agent, how can interviewers lower resistance and stimulate openness when structuring their questioning? And what does science teach us about verbal, nonverbal, and more personal skills and characteristics of the interviewer who is successful in creating a rich interpersonal dialogue, forging new understandings, and uncovering valuable new information? This chapter aims at answering these questions.
Workplace Targeted Violence
Authors: White Stephen G.
Published: April 2021

The assessment and management of targeted violence risk in workplace contexts is described as a multidisciplinary practice involving assessment professionals and internal threat management teams. Recent trends are noted—the influence of the Internet on perpetrators, the increasing frequency of mass murders in public settings, and how quickly fear of harm can escalate when employees are aware of any threat scenario. Statistics on workplace homicides, assaults, and targeted venues are discussed, as are the various characteristics, motives, and risk factors for perpetrators who choose the pathway to violence. Evidence-based structured assessment tools are identified, designed for or appropriate for use in dynamic workplace contexts, and intended to be combined with but not replace the clinical or professional judgment of practitioners at all levels of competence. Legal issues are highlighted, various intervention options noted, and common process and decision-making issues described, such as information silos and unintended consequences of interventions. An extended case example demonstrates the steps in data gathering, progressive collaborative decision-making, conducting a threat assessment interview, and how a threat assessor develops a case formulation.
Threat Assessment and Management in K-12 Schools
Authors: Cornell Dewey G. , Burnette Anna Grace
Published: April 2021

Threat assessment has become widely used in K-12 schools, but the process must be adapted to recognize developmental differences in student behavior, notably, their frequent use of verbal aggression. Mindful of their overarching mission to help all students be successful in school, educators can use threat assessment to avoid overreacting to youthful misbehavior that does not pose a serious threat of violence, while identifying a small group of students in need of support, counseling, and special education services. The U.S. National Threat Assessment Center identified eight key steps in establishing school-based threat assessment. Our group at the University of Virginia developed a formal threat assessment model that has been rigorously tested in controlled studies, demonstrating that school-based teams can safely resolve almost all student threats with relatively few cases requiring long-term suspension, expulsion, or law enforcement intervention. However, much more research is needed to establish the effectiveness of threat assessment and management strategies in general and to build standards of practice for training and implementation.
Insider Threats
Authors: Caputo Deanna D.
Published: April 2021

Violence threat and insider threat assessment rely on successfully identifying, interpreting, and responding to concerning or malicious behaviors before egregious harm is done. Both types of threats benefit from multidisciplinary teams of experts skillfully putting together data points before physical, emotional, financial, reputational, or informational harm occurs. Usually the identified character (e.g., decision-making, interpersonal style, work style), stressors, and concerning behaviors demonstrated do not clearly indicate whether a person will assault coworkers, steal classified/proprietary information, sabotage systems, or proceed normally as a responsible employee. Empirically based risk factors and threat indicators provide opportunities to evaluate potential threats more appropriately earlier in the assessment process. This chapter is an overview of insider threat definitions and programs, what it takes to become an insider threat, and how research psychologists bring rigorous science to insider threat detection, providing a solid understanding of what is known and not known about nonviolent insider threats.
Protective Intelligence
Authors: Tobin Chuck , Palarea Russell E.
Published: April 2021

Protection of leadership is a crucial aspect of any organization’s harm prevention efforts. Recent shifts in global culture, societal expectations, and access to information are transforming the threatscape at a startling speed, resulting in the rapid growth of protective intelligence programs to protect leadership. Protective intelligence uses a holistic, behavior-based threat assessment methodology to identify, investigate, assess, and mitigate potential threats against an organization’s leadership. It expands the focus beyond investigating communicated threats to identifying and investigating concerning behaviors within a behavioral threat assessment framework. This results in an improved capability of identifying and mitigating threats. To achieve this goal, protective intelligence programs require a commitment from the organization’s leadership, an awareness campaign to educate the workforce and encourage their reporting of any suspicious or concerning behavior, and a professional and well-trained team of protective intelligence investigators, analysts, and threat assessors.
The Importance of Bystanders in Threat Assessment and Management
Authors: Borum Randy , Rowe Mary
Published: April 2021

Bystanders—those who observe or come to know about potential wrongdoing—are often the best source of preattack intelligence, including indicators of intent and “warning” behaviors. They are the reason that some planned attacks are foiled before they occur. Numerous studies of targeted violence (e.g., mass shootings and school shootings) have demonstrated that peers and bystanders often have knowledge of an attacker’s intentions, concerning communication, and troubling behavior before the attack occurs. This chapter describes—with empirical support—why threat assessment professionals should consider bystanders; outlines a model for understanding bystander decision-making; reviews common barriers to bystander reporting; and suggests ways to mitigate those barriers, to engage bystanders at an individual level, and to improve reporting. The principal aim of threat assessment is to prevent (primarily) intentional acts of harm. When tragic incidents of planned violence occur, however, it is almost always uncovered “that someone knew something” about the attack before it happened. This happens because, as attack plans unfold, people in several different roles may know, or come to know, something about what is happening before harm occurs. The perpetrators know, and so might others, including targets, family members, friends, coworkers, or even casual observers.
Threat Triage
Authors: Smith Sharon S. , Young Michael D.
Published: April 2021

A significant minority of threateners stalk, approach, or become violent after threatening. Violence risk and threat assessment have traditionally relied on evaluating the threatener’s behavior, disposition, and membership in violent groups. However, the identity of the threatener is often unknown, and the assessor must make an initial evaluation using only the language in the threat. By combining predictive factors and their ratios to one another, our predictive model can assess linguistic characteristics of the threat without any information about the threatener, the target, or the relationship between the two. This model assesses predatory thinking, which has a strong relationship with eventual action. The language in both single threat cases and the first threats in cases with multiple threats can be used to promptly assess the likelihood that a threatener will act, enabling assessors to effectively manage cases and mitigate harm.
Digital Behavioral Criminalistics to Elucidate the Cyber Pathway to Intended Violence
Authors: Malin Cameron H.
Published: April 2021

With the vast advances in computer, mobile, and online technologies, visibility into an offender’s thought processes and decision-making trajectory has been markedly enhanced. Digital behavioral artifacts, or digital evidence “breadcrumbs” of an offender’s behaviors, are now often left in publicly accessible locations on the Internet—such as social media platforms and social messaging applications—and in locations not privy to the public—such as the offender’s devices. Importantly, early seminal literature introduced and described examining an offender’s actions as series of steps along a path of threat escalation, or “pathway.” The totality of these emerging digital behavioral artifacts allows investigators to piece together an offender’s behavioral mosaic at a much more intimate and granular level, warranting a revised pathway—the cyber pathway to intended violence (CPIV)—that captures the thoughts and actions of an offender leading up to an act of deliberative, predatory violence. This chapter introduces the emerging discipline of Digital Behavioral Criminalistics and how this process can meaningfully be used by threat assessors to elucidate an offender’s steps on the CPIV.
The nuclear environment of NGC 2442: a Compton-thick low-luminosity AGN
Authors: da Silva Patrícia , Menezes R B , Díaz Y , López–Navas Elena , Steiner J E
Published: April 2021

The detailed study of nuclear regions of galaxies is important because it can help understanding the active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback mechanisms, the connections between the nuclei and their host galaxies, and ultimately the galaxy formation processes. We present the analysis of an optical data cube of the central region of the galaxy NGC 2442, obtained with the integral field unit (IFU) of the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS). We also performed a multiwavelength analysis, with Chandra data, XMM–Newton and NuSTAR spectra, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. The analysis revealed that the nuclear emission is consistent with a Low Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Region (LINER) associated with a highly obscured compact hard X-ray source, indicating a Compton-thick AGN. The HST image in the F658N filter (H α) reveals an arched structure corresponding to the walls of the ionization cone of the AGN. The gas kinematic pattern and the high gas velocity dispersion values in the same region of the ionization cone suggest an outflow emission. The stellar archaeology results indicate the presence of only old stellar populations (∼ 10 Gyr), with high metallicity (z = 0.02 and 0.05), and the absence of recent star formation in the central region of NGC 2442, which is possibly a consequence of the AGN feedback, associated with the detected outflow, shutting off star formation. NGC 2442 is a late-type galaxy similar to the Milky Way, and comparisons show that the main difference between them is the presence of a low-luminosity AGN.
Radial differential rotation of solar corona using radio emissions
Authors: Singh Vivek Kumar , Chandra Satish , Thomas Sanish , Sharma Som Kumar , Vats Hari Om
Published: April 2021

The present work is an effort to investigate possible radial variations in the solar coronal rotation by analysing the solar radio emission data at 15 different frequencies (275–1755 MHz) for the period starting from 1994 July to 1999 May. We used a time series of disc-integrated radio flux recorded daily at these frequencies through radio telescopes situated at the Astronomical Observatory of the Jagellonian University in Cracow. The different frequency radiation originates from different heights in the solar corona. Existing models indicate its origin at the height range from nearly ∼12 000 km (for emission at 275 MHz), below up to ∼2400 km (for emission at 1755 MHz). There are some data gaps in the time series used for the study, so we used statistical analysis using the Lomb–Scargle periodogram (LSP). This method has successfully estimated the periodicity present in time series even with such data gaps. The rotation period estimated through LSP shows variation in the rotation period, which is compared with the earlier reported estimate using auto correlation technique. This study indicates some similarity as well as a contradiction with studies reported earlier. The radial and temporal variation in the solar rotation period are presented and discussed for the whole period analysed.
An interview with Mingjie Zhang: phase separation in biological systems
Authors: Zhao Weijie , Poo Mu-ming
Published: April 2021

Mingjie Zhang is a distinguished structural biologist whose research interest is the protein assemblies in cells, particularly those at the synapse, where two neurons meet and transmit nervous impulses from one to the other. In recent years, his group discovered the phenomenon of phase separation in both the pre- and post-synaptic sites of neurons and elucidated its regulation and physiological function. In this interview, NSR Executive Editor-in-Chief Mu-ming Poo talks with Prof. Zhang on the fast-developing research area of biological phase separation, as well as Zhang's new role as the Founding Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen.
Ventriculitis: A Severe Complication of Central Nervous System Infections
Authors: Luque-Paz David , Revest Matthieu , Eugène François , Boukthir Sarrah , Dejoies Loren , Tattevin Pierre , Le Reste Pierre-Jean
Published: April 2021

Background

Ventriculitis, a dreaded complication of brain abscess, meningitis, and various neurosurgical procedures, has attracted limited attention in the medical literature.

Methods

This is a retrospective, single-center study. We screened the medical files of all patients who had a brain imaging report that included the word “ventriculitis” during years 2005–2019. Only patients with clinical, microbiological, and imaging features of ventriculitis were included. Data were collected through a standardized questionnaire.

Results

Ninety-eight patients fulfilled inclusion criteria: 42 women and 56 men, and the median age was 60 years (interquartile range, 48–68). The primary mechanism for ventriculitis was classified as follows: brain abscess (n = 29, 29.6%), meningitis (n = 27, 27.6%), intraventricular catheter-related (n = 17, 17.3%), post-neurosurgery (n = 13, 13.3%), and hematogenous (n = 12, 12.2%). The main neuroimaging features were intraventricular pus (n = 81, 82.7%), ependymal enhancement (n = 70, 71.4%), and intraventricular loculations (n = 15, 15.3%). The main pathogens were streptococci (n = 44, 44.9%), Gram-negative bacilli (n = 27, 27.6%), and staphylococci (n = 15, 15.3%). In-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were 30.6% (n = 30) and 38.8% (n = 38), respectively. Neurological sequelae were reported in 34 of 55 (61.8%) survivors, including cognitive impairment (n = 11), gait disturbances (n = 9), paresis (n = 7), behavior disorder (n = 6), and epilepsy (n = 5). On multivariate analysis, age >65 years, Glasgow Coma Scale score <13 at initial presentation, status epilepticus, hydrocephalus, and positive cerebrospinal fluid culture were associated with 1-year mortality. We built a scoring system to stratify patients with ventriculitis into low risk (12.5%), intermediate risk (36.5%), and high risk (71.4%) of death.

Conclusions

Ventriculitis is a severe complication of brain abscess, meningitis, or neurosurgery, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 30% and neurological sequelae in 60% of survivors.