bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The challenge of diagnosis and treatment of neurosyphilis in China: results from a nationwide survey
Authors: Du Fang-Zhi , Wang Qian-Qiu , Zheng Zhi-Ju , Zhang Xu , Liang Guo-Jun , Chen Xiang-Sheng , Zhang Rui-Li
Published: September 2021

Background The uncertainty of how neurosyphilis is diagnosed and treated in clinical settings led us to investigate whether this serious manifestation of syphilis infection is properly managed in China. Methods: This national cross-sectional study of the diagnosis and treatment of neurosyphilis included 1392 clinicians at 398 hospitals located in 116 cities in China. Results: Of 398 hospitals, 244 (61.3%) failed to perform diagnostic laboratory tests and 181 (45.5%) failed to provide recommended treatment for neurosyphilis. Of 1392 clinicians, 536 (38.5%) had previously diagnosed patients with neurosyphilis, but 419 (78.2%) of the latter provided diagnoses that did not meet the criteria set by national guidelines. Of the 485 clinicians who had previously treated patients with neurosyphilis, 280 (57.7%) failed to follow national guidelines for treatment. Analysis indicated that clinicians working in North China (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 4.24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.65–10.88), tertiary hospitals (aOR, 3.23; 95% CI, 1.63–6.41), and hospitals specialising in sexually transmitted infections (aOR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.24–4.99) were more likely to follow national guidelines for neurosyphilis treatment. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge in disease management poses a great obstacle to prevent the serious consequences of neurosyphilis in Chinese patients. More effective measures are urgently needed to improve this suboptimal situation.
GOLPH3 and GOLPH3L are broad-spectrum COPI adaptors for sorting into intra-Golgi transport vesicles
Authors: Welch Lawrence G. , Peak-Chew Sew-Yeu , Begum Farida , Stevens Tim J. , Munro Sean
Published: September 2021

The fidelity of Golgi glycosylation is, in part, ensured by compartmentalization of enzymes within the stack. The COPI adaptor GOLPH3 has been shown to interact with the cytoplasmic tails of a subset of Golgi enzymes and direct their retention. However, other mechanisms of retention, and other roles for GOLPH3, have been proposed, and a comprehensive characterization of the clientele of GOLPH3 and its paralogue GOLPH3L is lacking. GOLPH3’s role is of particular interest as it is frequently amplified in several solid tumor types. Here, we apply two orthogonal proteomic methods to identify GOLPH3+3L clients and find that they act in diverse glycosylation pathways or have other roles in the Golgi. Binding studies, bioinformatics, and a Golgi retention assay show that GOLPH3+3L bind the cytoplasmic tails of their clients through membrane-proximal positively charged residues. Furthermore, deletion of GOLPH3+3L causes multiple defects in glycosylation. Thus, GOLPH3+3L are major COPI adaptors that impinge on most, if not all, of the glycosylation pathways of the Golgi.
Arkadia-SKI/SnoN signaling differentially regulates TGF-β–induced iTreg and Th17 cell differentiation
Authors: Xu Hao , Wu Lin , Nguyen Henry H. , Mesa Kailin R. , Raghavan Varsha , Episkopou Vasso , Littman Dan R.
Published: September 2021

TGF-β signaling is fundamental for both Th17 and regulatory T (Treg) cell differentiation. However, these cells differ in requirements for downstream signaling components, such as SMAD effectors. To further characterize mechanisms that distinguish TGF-β signaling requirements for Th17 and Treg cell differentiation, we investigated the role of Arkadia (RNF111), an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates TGF-β signaling during development. Inactivation of Arkadia in CD4+ T cells resulted in impaired Treg cell differentiation in vitro and loss of RORγt+FOXP3+ iTreg cells in the intestinal lamina propria, which increased susceptibility to microbiota-induced mucosal inflammation. In contrast, Arkadia was dispensable for Th17 cell responses. Furthermore, genetic ablation of two Arkadia substrates, the transcriptional corepressors SKI and SnoN, rescued Arkadia-deficient iTreg cell differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. These results reveal distinct TGF-β signaling modules governing Th17 and iTreg cell differentiation programs that could be targeted to selectively modulate T cell functions.
Controllable Schottky barriers by ferroelectric switching in graphene/In2Te3 heterostructures
Authors: Jing Tao , Liang Dongmei , Huang Xincheng , Deng Mingsen , Cai Shaohong , Liu Wenjiang
Published: September 2021

Van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructures have attracted significant research attention due to their tunable electronic structures and potential for device applications. In this study, the interfacial properties of graphene/In2Te3 heterostructures are systematically explored by employing first principles calculations. It is revealed that the electronic structures of graphene and In2Te3 monolayer are well preserved upon contact. The transition between the n-type Ohmic and p-type Schottky contacts can be realized for the graphene/In2Te3 heterostructures by switching the polarity of In2Te3. The findings reported in this study are not only vital for basic theoretical research, but also provide a feasible strategy to control the Schottky barriers for vdWs heterostructures.
Thermo-physical Properties of TiO2-SiO2 Hybrid Nanofluids Dispersion with Water/Bio-glycol Mixture
Authors: Zainon S N M , Azmi W H , Hamisa A H
Published: September 2021

Introducing nanoparticles in liquid-based mixtures began to gain attention in various industries. This is supported by previous studies to improve the performance and provide energy saving for the system. Among its uses is in the VCRS and automotive air conditioning (AAC) system. The lubricant used in this system has the potential to have a good effect on the performance. Before testing the nano-lubricant enhancement performance, an automotive air conditioning (AAC) system test rig based on hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) AC system has to be developed; therefore, this paper presented the development process of AAC test rig specific for the HEV. In order to analyze the performance, 11 thermocouples, digital pressure gauges with the data logger, and AC/DC power clamp were assembled and used. After that, the experiment was conducted with five different initial refrigerant charges and three different compressor speeds. This method was applied to both pure POE lubricant and SiO2/POE nano-lubricant. Then, the heat absorbs, compressor work, and coefficient of performance (COP) were evaluated. The highest average COP for SiO2/POE nano-lubricant was achieved at a 40 % duty cycle (2520 RPM) speed with a value of 2.84. The highest enhancement of the COP is 25.1% at 60% duty cycle (3180 RPM) speed with 160 grams of initial refrigerant charged an average enhancement of the COP is 13.16%.
Improved 3D fully convolutional network based on squeeze-excitation method for liver segmentation
Authors: Xia Xiaoling , Hao Nana
Published: September 2021

Due to the variable shape and size of the liver in abdominal CT and the complex surrounding tissues, accurate liver segmentation in CT remains a challenge. In the field of two-dimensional image analysis, the squeeze-excitation (SE) method effectively adjusts the input feature information. Our work is based on SE method to obtain feature information that is more relevant to the liver region through improved feature recalibration methods. This work adds the MSCR block, which can do space and channel feature recalibration, to 3D full convolution network. The 3D space part of the MSCR block re-calibrates the feature of liver voxel space. And in the channel recalibration part, it changes the original spatial compression operation according to the none-local method, so the spatial sampling results contain more global context information. Multiple metrics are used to evaluate the proposed model on the LiTS dataset, and it achieves better segmentation performance than other comparison models such as Attention U-Net. The method is further tested on the 3DIRCADb dataset, which proves its effectiveness and stability. Thus, the model proposed in the paper is effective for improving the performance of liver segmentation.
Behavior anomaly detection based on big data analysis of Internet of Things
Authors: Yang Jinliang , Lan Xuan , Huang Liansheng , Zeng Jigang
Published: September 2021

The technical requirements of behavior anomaly detection are higher and higher. Using the Internet of things technology combined with a variety of big data analysis algorithms, we can achieve accurate behavior anomaly detection by classifying behavior data sets to a large extent. In this paper, PLA - PRF (parallel random forest) algorithm is used to realize the behavior anomaly detection model of Internet of things integrating big data analysis. In behavior detection, the PRF algorithm and DFS algorithm are compared in the case of a different number of decision trees. The results show that, compared with DRF algorithm, PLA-PRF, SPARK MLRF(Spark Machine Learning Random Forests) and PRF algorithm perform better on the four datasets, with kappa values increased by about 3.13%, 2.56% and 1.98% respectively. In contrast, PLA-PRF algorithm has higher accuracy in the case of a small sample size. With the increase of sample size, the accuracy of behavior anomaly detection gradually decreases; because the algorithm is in subspace in the process of construction, some high pheromone features are abandoned, which makes the new spatial information of features insufficient, resulting in the decision tree training process does not learn the inherent laws of abandoned data. Compared with spark MLRF and DRF, PLA-PRF has a faster execution speed in large data sets, and with the increase of data volume, the advantage is more prominent. This is because PLA-PRF uses data reuse strategy "DRS" in the process of parallelization, which reduces the data communication overhead in a distributed environment and improves the parallelization efficiency of the algorithm.
Establishing an electronic invoice management platform based on information system
Authors: Liu Lele , Wang Bingjie , He Xiangjun , Wang Juan , Zheng Yongfeng , Yan Yongbing
Published: September 2021

In order to meet the needs of power supply enterprise marketing business to issue e-invoice, realize the online issuance and control of VAT e-invoice, a unified e-invoice management platform is established. Through the construction of e-invoice service application platform as a data transmission channel, and upgrading the VAT invoice system, the invoice data can be uploaded to the tax bureau system in real time, thus realizing the transformation of power supply enterprises from paper invoice to e-invoice. Electronic invoice is different from the previous paper invoice. It can transmit and save the contents of the invoice through digital media, which reduces the management cost of paper documents, facilitates the users to save and use the invoice, and improves the service level of power supply enterprises. The practice shows that the system runs reliably and achieves good application effect and economic benefit in 27 local power companies.
Practice and research of computer-aided medical translation based on big data
Authors: Guo Zikai , Chen Chen
Published: September 2021

Medical translation significantly influences medical teaching and medical communication, so high-quality medical translation plays an important role in promoting medical development and innovation. Based on the big data era background, this paper studies the practical effects of computer-assisted translation in medical translation. This article first introduces the relevant computer-assisted translation tools in the era of big data, then introduces the innovations and shortcomings of machine translation in the field of translation, and then explains the characteristics of medical translation. In addition, it also analyzes the application of computer-assisted translation in medical translation. Finally, the medical translation effects of machine translation, traditional translation, and computer-aided translation are compared through experiments. The results show that the accuracy rate of machine translation is 67.5%, the accuracy conventional translation rate is 95.4%, and the accuracy rate of computer-aided translation is 87.3%.
Optimal modeling analysis and intelligent calculation of a class of stochastic signal systems
Authors: Xiao Xiaonan
Published: September 2021

Information flow optimization is very important for decision-making problems in various fields. Using an innovative method of information decision-making optimization, this paper makes a thorough study and analysis of the optimization modeling and intelligent calculation of a kind of stochastic signal system in science and technology by using the big data analysis method. Thus, it provides an ideal decision-making analysis method for effectively realizing the information optimization and processing of such problems.
Construction and verification of the emerging engineering talents evaluation model based on fuzzy mathematics theory
Authors: Zhang Ze , Li Chunjiang , Ma Xiaojun , Liu Desheng
Published: September 2021

In view of the present situation of cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship ability of engineering talents in local colleges and universities, it is necessary to perfect the evaluation mechanism of emerging engineering talents cultivation, and design the evaluation standard system of supporting the conditions of innovation and entrepreneurship education for college students. Based on the evaluation standard, the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) theory is used to establish the mathematical model and evaluation model of the evaluation system of college students' innovation and entrepreneurship education condition support under the emerging engineering background. The results show that the established model has universality, accuracy and practicability, and provides technical support for the evaluation of emerging engineering talents, so as to form a closed loop of quality engineering, constantly improve the quality of emerging engineering talents cultivation, and provide talent support for national and regional innovation-driven development.
Modelling rock mass behaviour during direct shear stress test using damage plasticity model
Authors: Radovanović S , Rakić D
Published: September 2021

Extended abstract

One of the most important in situ experiments for determining rock mass fracture is a direct shear test. During this test, rock mass is loaded in two phases: in the first phase, a direct normal pressure is applied and consolidation is performed, and in the second phase, a shearing stress is applied, which leads to fracture in rock mass. After fracture is reached (peak shear strength), stress decreases and shear deformation increases [1].

In this paper a simulation of rock mass behavior during direct shear test using damage plasticity model [2,3,4] is presented. For this analysis, a three-dimensional FEM model of direct shear test with dimensions 130x80x60 m was formed. In the first phase of the FEM test normal stress corresponding to measured pressure during in situ test was applied, and in the second phase of the FEM test shear displacement corresponding to recorded displacement during in situ test was applied. In the first phase normal displacements are recorded based on calculations from the FEM model, and in the second phase shear stresses are recorded.

The damage plasticity model [2,3,4] is defined by the following parameters: E
0-Modulus of elasticity, v
0 - Poisson’s ratio, fc
- uniaxial compressive strength, ft
- uniaxial tensile strength, ac
- pressure curve parameter, Dc
- degradation value for maximum compressive stress, at
- tensile curve parameter, Dt
- degradation value for tensile stress, Gc
- fracture energy for uniaxial pressure, Gt
- fracture energy for uniaxial tension, αp
- dilatancy parameter, α - constant defining uniaxial and biaxial compressive yield stress ratio, γ - parameter for triaxial compression, lch
- characteristic size of elements, s0
- stiffness recovery parameter, Dcr
- critical degradation value.

Numerical simulation of direct shear test (consolidation phase and shear phase) was performed for the estimated parameters of damage plasticity model. For each step of normal stress loading, corresponding value of normal displacement was calculated, and for each step of shear displacement, corresponding value of shear stress was calculated.

Based on the obtained results, it is shown that damage plasticity model can successfully simulate a complex stress state during direct shear test in rock mass. Over the entire range of applied shear displacements, shear stress increases until there is a fracture in the material (peak shear strength), and afterwards stress drop is recorded (residual shear strength).
Photogrammetry based characterization of hydro-mechanical properties of a rock fracture
Authors: Torkan M , Uotinen L , Nieminen V , Rinne M
Published: September 2021

Hydro-mechanical properties of a single fracture are governed by several parameters such as contact area, roughness, tortuosity, aperture, channeling, matedness, sample sizes, normal stress, flow regime, and flow boundary conditions. In this study, photogrammetry with numerical modeling and laboratory measurements were used to investigate the influences of roughness, normal stress, aperture, water pressure, and different flow boundary conditions on fluid flow in an artificial granite fracture. A Finnish Kuru grey granite block was mechanically split, and a 250 mm × 250 mm × 100 mm slab pair sample with a tensile crack in the middle was extracted. A photogrammetry-based method was used to reconstruct a 3D model of the fracture geometry. The resulting model was numerically simulated with COMSOL using the Navier-Stokes equations. Fluid flow experiments were computed with the Forchheimer equation. Comparison between the numerical modeling results and the analytical solution confirms that the 3D roughness geometry has a crucial role in defining the transmissivity, especially for nonlinear flow. On the other hand, normal stress increases fracture closure and increases contact areas, decreasing the hydraulic aperture and changing the flow paths. The presented method can be used in the contactless estimation of fluid flow properties of rock joints.
Applications of Information Theory in Rock Engineering
Authors: Yang B , Elmo D , Stead D
Published: September 2021

Rock engineering relies heavily on empirical systems to identify significant parameters influencing rock mass behaviour. The empirical and inductive nature of rock engineering design is such that it is not possible to eliminate uncertainty. One way of managing uncertainty during the design process is by collecting good quality data in a standardized and objective manner. However, difficulties arise when defining and determining what constitutes good quality data. We believe that information theory and the concept of Shannon’s entropy could be effectively used to better audit rock engineering data. This paper builds on established concepts by expanding and refining the application of information theory to rock mass classification systems, specifically the rock mass rating and the Q-system. One of the objectives is to provide and showcase a method whereby information auditing is used to flag uncertain (or poor quality) data. In the future it is not difficult to envision data collection processes that include improved core logging and data processing where imaging technologies are coupled with machine learning processing capability. Such an approach requires more quantitative and objective rock mass descriptions; in this context it easy to appreciate the role that information theory might have in the future in rock engineering.
Rock mass performance monitoring with topology preserving quantised vector spaces
Authors: Millar D L , Harrison J P
Published: September 2021

This work explains the development of a so-called rock mass system performance map, that provides a backdrop to assist in performance interpretation. The rock mass system performance maps presented in this paper are 2D graphical devices prepared using Sammon mappings, Learning Vector Quantisation, Self-Organising Topological Maps and combinations of these mathematical techniques. Using supervised or unsupervised learning methods, these algorithms project and partition high-dimensional vector spaces, of a dimension equal to the number of environmental and rock mass condition parameters considered, into 2D categories of rock mass condition. In providing 2D renderings, the techniques aim to preserve properties of the characterising vector space such as adjacency of states and topology. The condition of a rock mass can be ‘plotted’ on that map by identifying its k-nearest neighbours and interpreted relative to stability metric categories. Should the defining vector space include rock mass properties or environmental parameters that are repeatedly measured, or possibly continuously monitored, then the rock mass condition marker traces out a performance trajectory across the performance map. An example of rock mass performance map synthesis and use is presented.
3D modelling study on landslide risk of rocky blocks, applied experience on rocky outcroppings along hillsides than can affect Generalitat Catalana roadways
Authors: Paniagua Serrano I , Álvarez Álvarez E , Martín-Caro Álamo J A
Published: September 2021

Studying accidents caused by landslides since 2015 by DGIM (GENCAT) has brought to our attention the importance of the landslides that happen on hillsides, outside of cutting slopes of the public domain areas, that affect road safety. Other than the vulnerability of the trace caused by these events, we need to be aware of the following: the scale of the processes (rocky outcropping that occupies large areas on natural slopes), the location of the outcropping outside the railway line, the conditioning access factors due to orography, the budget and time limitations when studying these events have forced the application of 3D modelling from drone images in order to support the traditional methods of data collection through surveys and the rock mass classification through the installation of geomechanical stations in the field. The experience gained from applying these processes has allowed us to establish a study system that is being currently applied to the network. The main qualities of the method, the critical analysis of the previous facts and the future lines of work that this team is facing, are the scope of this article.
Teaching rock mechanics using Virtual Reality: laboratory practices and field trips during the confinement of the Coronavirus COVID-19 in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Spain
Authors: García-Vela M T , Borja-Bernal C P , Jordá-Bordehore L , Medinaceli-Torrez R , Loaiza S , Falquez D A
Published: September 2021

Virtual Reality (VR) consists of creating spaces similar to reality where the viewer interacts more or less in a digital world. This digital world can be programmed so that geosciences student takes data as if it were a field trip. The VR can save money, logistical problems and avoid accessing unsafe places. Besides, students can access places that would otherwise require a veritable expedition (hydroelectric projects in the Andes, remote highways, dams, tunnels in the Himalayas, among others.). At the beginning of the project in 2019, we designed some virtual rock mechanics classes to complement the face-to-face classes: In recent years, we have seen it increasingly difficult to organize field trips. We have designed virtualscenarios where students can obtain geomechanical data from tunnels, mines and rock slopes. We have used the CoSpaces commercial platform for this purpose. Within this virtual world, we place photographs, pop-up menus, videos of field and laboratory tests and clues for the student to search the data for himself in a quasi-real scenario. With all this data from the virtual scenario (as if they were in the field trip), students interpret in the cabinet and perform complex calculations (Hoek Brown, Barton-Bandis criteria, RMR, Q index, among others). We have generated two types of virtual classes: laboratory practices and field trips. Since mid-March of this year 2020, there is no face-to-face teaching in many world faculties whererock mechanics, rock slope engineering, tunnels, and underground mining subjects need to be taught. Thanks to these Virtual Reality laboratories, we have been able to carry out our teaching successfully. Combining two means: VR and software, have allowed making classes very practical and realistic, and the students have highly valued this initiative. Besides, rock mechanics plays a very important role in the safety of underground works and excavations. The best way to learn methodologiesin risky environments is undoubtedly using simulators. In the same way that pilotsand astronauts practice stress situations in simulators, we consider it useful to use Virtual Reality and simulators to learn how to map rock mechanics and stability in mines and tunnels. It is an advance in security and quality training.
Ground realization and characterization of rock mass through core drilling
Authors: Acharya A , Ahmad R , Singh S , Negi R L , Bansal S P
Published: September 2021

The increasing demand of power day by day in the country put power sector to Himalayas to harness the power potential. Utilization of underground space for infrastructure development is picking up momentum day by day. Every infrastructure project requires significant geological and geotechnical investigation for timely completion of projects. Lots of survey and Investigation is carried out to ascertain the geological and geotechnical feasibility of the hydro projects and for preparation of DPR. Construction of large caverns for power house presents challenges in terms of geotechnical engineering. Due to large size structure needs to ascertain behaviour of subsurface rock mass. The exploratory core drilling and exploratory drifts provide vital subsurface information. The subsurface exploratory drilling data provide immense help to understand subsurface information and reveals the subsurface behaviour of rock mass. The prior knowledge of weak feature can provide opportunity to prepare proactive solutions to mitigate these issues and structure design.

Authors are proposing simplified techniques to be implemented to understand ground realization and spatial reconciliation of weak zones/features with modern approaches in core logging with special core studies of Sunni Dam and Luhri Hydro Electric Projects Stage-II in Higher Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh.
Spatiotemporal Analysis of Environmental Changes Based On Integrated Remote Sensing Indexes in River Basin of Kelantan
Authors: Mohd Ruhaizi S N H , Daliman S
Published: September 2021

Analysis of environmental changes is a key to knowing the state of vulnerability of the environment. However, in recent years, environmental changes are often evaluated based on one factor per research. In this study, several factors will be integrated to get an evaluation of the environment that consider the influences of many natural factors at the same time. In this study, spatiotemporal analysis of environmental changes based on integrated remote sensing indexes in river basin of Kelantan will be conducted to evaluate the environmental condition of the Kelantan river basin. It will also help in evaluating the environmental health of the Kelantan River. The Kelantan River basin is an important source of water to Kelantan’s population, and up to 2014, Kelantan River basin is also housing about 68.5% of the Kelantan population lives within the Kelantan River Basin. This means that any negative changes of the environment of the Kelantan River basin could affect the community severely. Hence, the environmental quality evaluation throughout the time is needed in order for any protection and management enforcement if necessary. The process of environmental evaluation includes the usage of indexes, namely the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), wetness index (WI), albedo, salinization index (SI), and land surface temperature (LST) will be used to calculate the data obtained from Landsat TM and Landsat 8 from the year 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016, and 2020. Data processing, compilation, verification, calculation and analysis will be conducted using ArcGIS 10.3. The result of this study will give the condition status on the environmental that has happened since 2000 until 2020 in Kelantan River Basin. The information gained will be helpful assistant in creating rules and regulation, formulation, protection and management effort to conserve the environment of the river basin. This study will also show that by using remote sensing technology, environmental changes of certain area can be evaluated.
Assessment of health risk on metal accumulation from consumption of Corbicula fluminea
Authors: Idris N S U , Abdul Zali N , Abdul Halim N S
Published: September 2021

Indicators of environmental quality encompass a number of environmental aspects such as water, soil and biotic life. As an example, the fundamental human needs is access to clean food sources. Nowadays, metals pollution has become a great concern as it could lead to a bad effect on a human’s health. In this study, heavy metals concentration in Corbicula fluminea is a clam that is frequently consumed by the local people in the state of Kelantan. In this study, metal concentration in Corbicula fluminea were determined and the possible human health effects were evaluated by using the Target Hazard Quotients (THQ. Five heavy metals were determined which are cadmium, arsenic, lead, copper, and zinc. The samples were collected from Tumpat, Kelantan whereby the study area was surrounded by agricultural activities and housing settlement. The sample went through a wet digestion process before being analysed by the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The limit of heavy metals concentrations in aquatic species for consumption has been set for human health by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Accumulation of heavy metals in the species were found to be high for cadmium. Furthermore, in risk and safety assessment, both arsenic and lead had very low level of metal concentration in the species. Based on the result obtained, cadmium exceeded the permissible limit set by the FAO, whereas, the calculated THQ was below one, which indicated means there was a least chance of carcinogenic effects to human’s health.
Checklist on small vertebrates at Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
Authors: Baharudin M S , Shahfiz M A , Munian K , Fauzi N F M , Ahmad Ruzman N H , Azhar M A , Zamberi A Z
Published: September 2021

A survey was conducted in Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, Selangor from 24 to 28 February 2020. The main objective of this survey is to document the small vertebrates information from this area. There were two harps and 10 mist nets deployed to capture the bats, with an addition of 50 collapsible cage traps placed along the transect line of 500 metres for the trapping of non-volant small mammals. The collapsible cage traps were baited with oil palm seed. The observation of avifauna and active searches for herpetofauna were also carried out. A total of eight small mammal species from four families, 19 species of avifauna from 13 families, and eight species of the herpetofauna from five families were documented. There is not much information on small vertebrates at Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve that has been recorded. With this information, it is hoped that a long-term study can be carried out and an effective management plan can be formulated to conserve this forest reserve.
Population Size Determination Using Photographic Estimation for The Conservation of Cave Nectar Bat (Eonycteris spelaea) at Gunung Reng, Kelantan, Malaysia
Authors: Siti Fadzliana M F , Muhammad Aminuddin Baqi H F , Fong P H , Parasuraman B , Nasir W M N W M , Jayaraj V K
Published: September 2021

The cave nectar bat, Eonycteris spelaea, is one of the three fruit bats in mainland Southeast Asia that roost in caves, unlike other fruit bats roosting in the forest. This bat species is an important pollinator for many plant species, including economically important crops including durian, petai and jackfruit. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the population size of cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea) at Gunung Reng, Kelantan, Malaysia, since no information was recorded for conservation purposes. We determined the bat population size using the photographic estimation method at the 13 E. spelaea roosts (5 times per roost) found inside Gunung Reng for 20 days (4-30 August 2019). Our bat population size estimate resulted in about 207 to 344 individuals of E. spelaea (F(4,0) = 5.66, p-value < 0.05). This estimate is a relatively modest population size of bats in an isolated limestone karst surrounded by human-dominated habitats. Though Eonycteris spelaea is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List, it is an important bat species ecologically and economically, contributing to the fruit agriculture economy in Jeli, Kelantan. Future studies should incorporate a combination of bat census techniques with long term planning in mind to completely understand the population dynamics of this paramount bat species.
Knowledge, attitude and practice of environmental sustainability among Sustainable Science students in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
Authors: Abdul-Halim N S , Ruslan N S , Idris N S U , Nawawi S A
Published: September 2021

This study was conducted on the Sustainable Science (SEL) students to reveal their knowledge, attitude, and practice towards the environment sustainability according to year of study. Besides, the relationship between the knowledge, attitude and practice of SEL students towards environment were also examined. The survey was conducted using a quantitative approach involving 128 respondents (n = 128). The data from this study were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman’s Rho testusing SPSS version 20.0 software. Based on the Kruskal-Wallis results, the knowledge, attitude and practice were statistically significant with p value below 0.05 for all cases. The results showed that SEL students including the Alumni have a high level of knowledge while satisfactory level for attitude and practice on the environment. The study also found that there was a correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice of environmental sustainability. However, this correlation was different between year of study. It was found that the Alumni and Year Four has a higher knowledge, attitude and practice of the environment sustainability. Thus, SEL program is important in order to build environmental concern among the students and also to encourage their attitude and practice towards more environmentally friendly behaviour.
Bayesian spatial modeling of poverty risk in Kelantan
Authors: Nawawi S A , Fauzi N M , Nor A N M , Ibrahim N , Jamil R M , Aziz H A , Nawawi R , Ya’acob S H , Halim N S A
Published: September 2021

Poverty data vary in rural areas, in certain states or regions, and some urban areas. These areal data tends to have spatial autocorrelation. A Bayesian hierarchical model is commonly used to estimates the risks using a combination of available covariate data and a set of spatial random effects. These random effects are commonly modelled by conditional autoregressive (CAR) prior distributions, a type of Markov random field model. Spatial autocorrelation between the random effects, ϕ in CAR models is induced by a n × n neighbourhood matrix, W. However, many studies assumed that the W is fixed when fitting the model. Therefore, this study evaluates the performance of the Poisson-log linear Leroux Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) model with m-nearest neighbourhood weight matrices using a simulation study. This study creates simulated poverty data for 66 districts of Kelantan with different scenarios that related with random effects and covariate. A Poisson log-linear Leroux CAR model with m = 1, 5 and 10 nearest neighbours are applied to the simulated poverty data. The performance of the models is evaluated using bias, Root Mean Square of Error (RMSE) and Deviance Information Criterion (DIC). The results show that the choice of m = 1, 5 and 10 neighbourhood matrices and scenarios do not affect the bias for either the regression parameter β or the risk Rk
and RMSE for the risk Rk
. Nevertheless, there is the dissimilarity of the performance of the models in the RMSE of regression parameter β. The results suggest that the Poisson log-linear Leroux CAR model with the m = 5 nearest neighbours performed overall best for simulated poverty data. It consistently gives good results across different strength of spatial autocorrelation of random effects ϕ and covariate. The model also gives the lowest DIC in all the scenarios, indicating a better fitting model than other models. The findings of this study give guidance in choosing the suitable m-nearest neighbourhood matrices to estimate the poverty risk in Kelantan.
Effect of photocatalyst dosage and air loading in photocatalytic degradation of metamifop
Authors: Nik Yusoff N R , Lim P W , Azmi N A B , Yusoff M , Muhammad M
Published: September 2021

Excessive used of agrochemical product such as metamifop herbicide, besides having high crop yield production, it has resulted in runoff which later affected groundwater and give negative impact on the environment. Photocatalytic degradation is one of the Advanced Oxidation Process where it creates hydroxyl radicals (·OH) in the presence of UV light. Performance of TiO2/Al2O3/carbon nanotube (CNT) (10 mg and 20 mg) which was produced through a hydrothermal process was applied to degrading 5 ppm and 10 ppm of metamifop. The performance of TiO2/Al2O3/CNT to degrade metamifop was evaluated statistically via a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by a post-hoc Turkey’s test. The average performance of photocatalytic degradation gave a significant result at confident level of 0.05 hence the null hypothesis (Ho) was rejected. The best performance was occurred in degrading 5 ppm of metamifop using 20 mg of TiO2/Al2O3/CNT photocatalyst in the presence of air (2L/min) which resulted in 95.26% of percentage degradation. The addition of air assisted the photocatalytic degradation process from 84.54% to 92.44% and 83.62% to 91.47% when 10 mg of photocatalyst was used to degrade 5 ppm and 10 ppm of metamifop, respectively. When 20 mg of TiO2/Al2O3/CNT photocatalyst was applied in degrading 5 ppm and 10 ppm metamifop, the percentage degradation increased from 86.94% to 95.26% and 85.88% to 94.62%, respectively when photocatalytic degradation was conducted in the absence of air to the presence of air. The inferential results show a significant difference in average performance of TiO2/Al2O3/CNT photocatalyst and concentration of metamifop solution. However, there is no interaction effect between dosages of photocatalyst used with consumption of air in degrading metamifop. The study also proved that the produced photocatalyst was performed very well and suitable to be used in degrading metamifop herbicide.
Recovery of Au, Ag and Cu from printed circuit board leachate using activated carbon derived from foxtail fruit
Authors: Nik Yusoff N R , Maizatul N N
Published: September 2021

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are the e-waste generated from the end-of-life electronic equipment such as laptops and mobile phone. PCBs contain various metals including precious metals (gold, silver, copper) and detrimental heavy metals as well (arsenic, mercury) [9]. Recycling of e-waste is potentially to be one of the best mechanisms to overcome the human and environmental health threat hence, the valuable metals can be recovered and could avoid the depletion of our ore resources. In this paper, hydrometallurgical process on PCBs was carrying out to recover the precious metals. The PCBs were immersed into aqua regia leaching solution and later the targeted metals were leached out and extracted using activated carbon through adsorption process. The precious metals were then recovered by desorbing the spent activated carbon using hydrochloric acid (HCl) as desorbing agent. In this study, foxtail palm fruit was used to produce activated carbon for metals recovery process. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the prepared activated carbon derived from foxtail fruit for the recovery of Au, Ag and Cu contain in the PCB leachate. The effect of adsorbent dosage (1, 2, 3, 4, 5g), contact time (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 min) and desorption process of spent activated were investigated. The characterization of the prepared activated carbon was determined using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) whereas the PCBs leachate solution before and after metal recovery process were quantified using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS). The obtained result showed that, the adsorption percentage of Au, Ag and Cu at high adsorbent dosage (5g) with longer contact time (100 min) were 65.51%, 30.30% and 62.51% respectively. However, the attained result for desorption percentage of the metals recovery for Au, Ag and Cu were recorded to be higher at shorter contact time (20 min) as the spent activated carbon could deteriorate at longer contact time with concentrated HCl. The percentage recovery values for 20 minutes desorption process were 99.77% (Au) when 5g of activated carbon was used, whilst 97.41% (Ag) and 98.83% (Cu) were obtained when 2g of activated carbon were applied, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that the adsorption of Au, Ag and Cu were greater when higher dosage of activated carbon and longer contact time were applied. Meanwhile, shorter contact time were needed to recover the metals. Therefore, this study could be one of the finding in safeguarding our environment by minimizing the e-waste pollution as well as practicing metal recycling in community.
Mechanical behavior and corrosion properties of Ti-7Mo-8Nb alloy for biomedical applications
Authors: Saood Modar , Ibrahim Khaled M , El-kashif Emad , Shoeib Madiha , Elshalakany Abobakr , Mohamed Mamdouh S
Published: September 2021

The present study investigates the microstructural, mechanical and corrosion properties of Ti-7Mo-8Nb alloy manufactured through powder metallurgy. The performance of the developed alloy is benchmarked against cast Ti-6Al-4V. Microstructure examination of Ti-7Mo-8Nb revealed a Widmanstätten structure containing equiaxed β grains along with acicular α phase. In regards to the mechanical properties, Ti-7Mo-8Nb possessed higher compressive yield strength, higher hardness but lower elastic modulus than Ti-6Al-4V. The elastic modulus of Ti-7Mo-8Nb was almost 44.9 GPa, approaching the usually desired value of 30 GPa for cortical bone. Wear test revealed also a lower wear rate for Ti-7Mo-8Nb. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments were carried out for both Ti-7Mo-8Nb and Ti-6Al-4V immersed in Hank’s solution as a simulated body fluid at a temperature of 37 °C. Both experiments revealed higher corrosion resistance for Ti-7Mo-8Nb manifested by lower corrosion and passivation current densities, higher negative phase angle, higher impedance modulus and larger Nyquist semicircle diameter as compared to Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The superior corrosion properties of Ti-7Mo-8Nb are indicative of the development of a more stable passive layer on the surface. The fitting of EIS data into an equivalent circuit suggested the formation of a double oxide layer consisting of an inner compact base passive film along with an external porous layer. The presented combination of high strength, high corrosion resistance along with low elastic modulus puts forward the Ti-7Mo-8Nb alloy as a good candidate for orthopedic biomedical applications.
Electronic transport calculations showing electron-phonon separation in directions transverse to high current
Authors: Patitsas S N
Published: September 2021

An electron-phonon Boltzmann transport equation is formulated which accounts for second order collisions with an electron-phonon vertex and a three-phonon vertex. This approach for electronic transport at second order reveals the existence of two forces perpendicular to the primary direction of electrical current, acting on the electrons and phonons. The force on electrons is equal and opposite to that on the phonons. Solutions for stationary states confirm that charge and thermal energy become separated. The force terms include both conservative and dissipative components, which for the phonons, lead to a modified Guyer-Krumhansl equation. The conservative components exist only when there exist explicit transverse gradients in the dissipated energy, and these terms may be incorporated into a Poisson kinematics. The dissipative force terms can cause threshold induced spontaneous symmetry breaking.
Fast 3D particle reconstruction using a convolutional neural network: application to dusty plasmas
Authors: Himpel Michael , Melzer André
Published: September 2021

We present an algorithm to reconstruct the three-dimensional positions of particles in a dense cloud of particles in a dusty plasma using a convolutional neural network. The approach is found to be very fast and yields a relatively high accuracy. In this paper, we describe and examine the approach regarding the particle number and the reconstruction accuracy using synthetic data and experimental data. To show the applicability of the approach the 3D positions of particles in a dense dust cloud in a dusty plasma under weightlessness are reconstructed from stereoscopic camera images using the prescribed neural network.
Psychological Response to the Diagnosis of Advanced Cancer: A Systematic Review
Authors: Bai Mei
Published: September 2021

Background

Despite major efforts to address psychological distress and quality of life (QOL) in people with cancer, only none to small intervention effect has been observed. There is reason to question whether psychosocial needs of patients have already been met under the usual oncology care.

Purpose

The purpose of this systematic review was to examine changes in depression, anxiety and QOL during the existential plight in advanced cancer.

Methods

A literature search was performed in the PubMed and APA PsycINFO databases from year 1976 up to May 31, 2021. Longitudinal observational or experimental research targeting depression, anxiety or QOL in advanced cancer (stage III or IV), with baseline time since cancer diagnosis within 100 days, follow-up within 16 weeks post-baseline were eligible. Quality rating was based on the GRADE guidelines.

Results

Overall QOL did not reveal clinically relevant changes for the majority of studies as evaluated by effect size and raw score changes (median effect size 0.01, interquartile range −0.10–0.15). Nonetheless, modest to moderate improvement was found for depression (median effect size 0.28, interquartile range 0.03–0.38) and anxiety (median effect size 0.57, interquartile range 0.32–0.79).

Conclusion

Transient distress symptoms and temporarily reduced functioning in the oncology setting may be considered normal, whereas impaired overall QOL needs to be addressed. Developing innovative interventions that enhance QOL for patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer without interfering with patients’ natural adaptation process is imperative.