bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Water mass balance to assess the demand for water and wastewater generated by trading groups in industrial zones
Authors: Pham Tuan Thanh , Mai Dung Thanh , Nguyen Khai Manh , Nguyen Linh Thuy , Nguyen Dung Nhu , Pham Thuy Thi
Published: September 2018

The development of Industrial Zones in Vietnam will put pressure on water resources at local as well as national scale, due to the large amounts of water consumed and discharged to environment. This study, via water mass balance, provides analyses and assessments on water demand and wastewater generated in each trading groups (industrial sectors) of the Long Thanh Industrial Zone and the Nhon Trach III Industrial Zone phase 2, Dong Nai – the province with the most industrial zones in Vietnam. According to the water mass balance calculation results, the water demand of industrial sectors depends on their manufacturing characteristics. Of which, Textile and Garment are the sectors with the highest demand, as well as highest water loss rate and highest amount of wateswater dischared. Meanwhile, Electronic and Construction Materials cosume the least amount of water. Machinery sector has the lowest amount of water loss. The wastewater/supply water ratio of the Long Thanh Industrial Zone is always 1,1 (for Textile) to 1,5 (for Machinery) times higher than the Nhon Trach III Industrial Zone phase 2, while the wastewater/supply water ratio of the Nhon Trach III Industrial Zone phase 2 is always less than 80%.
The Triassic suture between Indochina and Sibumasu blocks - the first discovery of a backarc basin within Vietnam teritory
Authors: Nguyen Tuan Anh , Nguyen Cong The
Published: September 2018

A backarc basin represented by a mafic/ultramafic magmatic ophiolitic sequence has been discovered first time within Vietnam territory. Backarc basin/forearc basin and other features of a convergent tectonic system are being considered as a location of the two geological blocks that almagamated together and preferred as a geological suture. The middle Triassic suture resulted from the welding of the Indochina and Sibumasu blocks has been studied in details and traced from northen Thailand as Nan-Attaradit suture southward to Cambodia as Sra Kaeo suture. After a gap comparable to the territory of Vietnam it reappears in the northern Malaysia and being recognized as Bentong-Raub suture. With this new discovery of a back arc basin of this suture system located within Vietnam, the complete geographical location of the suture between the Indochina and Sibumasu block has been clearly verified and would be valuable information for geological studies in the area.
Diversity of Crops and Land Use Pattern in Barisal Region
Authors: Ibrahim M , Zaman MAU , Mostafizur ABM , Shahidullah SM
Published: September 2018

Development workers, researchers and extensionists always need a comprehensive understanding and a reliable database on existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity of a particular area for the planning of future research and development. With this view, a survey-work was implemented over all the upazilas of Barisal region during 2016. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used as tool to document the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity of the area. In the current investigation, 103 cropping patterns were identified. The highest number of cropping patterns 40 was found in Burhanuddin upazila of Bhola district and the lowest eight was in Betagi and Taltali of Barguna. The most dominant cropping pattern single T. Aman occupied 13.40% of net cropped area (NCA) of the region with its distribution over 33 upazilas out of 42. The second largest area, 10.44% of NCA, was covered by Boro−Fallow− T. Aman, which was spread out over 32 upazilas. The lowest crop diversity index (CDI) was recorded 0.221 in Agailjhara of Barisal district followed by 0.598 in Bhandaria of Pirojpur. The highest value of CDI was observed 0.972 in Charfasson followed by 0.968 in Tazumuddin of Bhola. The range of cropping intensity values was observed 107-249%. The maximum value was for Bhola sadar and minimum for Agailjhara of Barisal. The overall CDI of Barisal region was calculated 0.968 and the grand mean for cropping intensity at regional level was 204%.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 57-72
Crop Diversity and Cropping Patterns of Comilla Region
Authors: Saha A , Nasim M , Rashid M Harunur , Shahidullah SM
Published: September 2018

Comilla region is highly diverse in respect to topography, agro-ecology, land-use pattern and cropping systems. Planning of agricultural development largely depends on the reliable and comprehensive statistics of the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity of a particular area, which will provide guideline to our policy makers, researchers, extensionists and development workers. The study was conducted over all 33 upazilas of Comilla region during 2016 using pre-tested semistructured questionnaire with a view to document the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity. From the present study it was observed that 73.56% of net cropped area (NCA) is covered by exclusive rice cropping systems whereas deep water rice cropping system occupied 16.09% of the regional NCA. The most dominant cropping pattern single Boro alone occupied 26.18% of NCA with its distribution over 30 out of 33 upazilas. The second largest area, 19.93% of NCA, was covered by Boro−Fallow−T. Aman cropping pattern, which was spread over 25 upazilas. One hundred and forty-six cropping patterns were identified in the whole region under this investigation. The highest, 36 cropping patterns were identified in Debidwar upazila of Comilla district and the lowest, seven were in Akhura and Ashuganj of B.Baria and Comilla Adarsha upazila. The lowest crop diversity index (CDI) was reported 0.481 in Comilla Adrasha upazila followed by 0.637 in Hajiganj of Chandpur. The highest value of CDI was observed 0.964 in Haimchar of Chandpur followed by 0.956 in Muradnagar of Comilla. The range of cropping intensity (CI) value was recorded 126-292%. The maximum value was for Barura of Comilla and minimum for Hajiganj of Chandpur district. The grand mean of CDI values for Comilla region was calculated 0.935 and the average cropping intensity at regional level was 192%.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 91-107
Diversity of Cropping Systems in Chittagong Region
Authors: Shahidullah SM , Nasim M , Quais MK , Saha A
Published: September 2018

The study was conducted over all 42 upazilas of Chittagong region during 2016 using pre-tested semistructured questionnaire with a view to document the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity in the region. The most dominant cropping pattern Boro−Fallow−T. Aman occupied about 23% of net cropped area (NCA) of the region with its distribution over 38 upazilas out 42. The second largest area, 19% of NCA, was covered by single T. Aman, which was spread out over 32 upazilas. A total of 93 cropping patterns were identified in the whole region under the present investigation. The highest number of cropping patterns was 28 in Naokhali sadar and the lowest was 4 in Begumganj of the same district. The lowest crop diversity index (CDI) was observed 0.135 in Chatkhil followed by 0.269 in Begumganj. The highest value of CDI was observed in Banshkhali, Chittagong and Noakhali sadar (around 0.95). The range of cropping intensity values was recorded 103−283%. The maximum value was for Kamalnagar upazila of Lakshmipur district and minimum for Chatkhil upazila of Noakhali district. As a whole the CDI of Chittagong region was 0.952 and the average cropping intensity at the regional level was 191%.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 109-122
Cropping Pattern, Intensity and Diversity in Dhaka Region
Authors: Parvin N , Khatun A , Quais MK , Nasim M
Published: September 2018

Sustainable crop production in Bangladesh through improvement of cropping intensity and crop diversity in rice based cropping system is regarded as increasingly important in national issues. Planning of agricultural development largely depends on the authentic, reliable and comprehensive statistics of the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity of a particular area, which will provide guideline to our policy makers, researchers, extensionists and development workers. The study was conducted over all 46 upazilas of Dhaka agricultural region in 2015 using pretested semi-structured questionnaire with a view to document the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity in the region. From the present study, it was observed that about 48.27% net cropped area (NCA) is covered by exclusive rice cropping systems whereas deep water rice occupied about 16.57% of the regional NCA. The most dominant cropping pattern Boro−Fallow−T. Aman alone occupied about 22.59% of net cropped area (NCA) with its distribution over 32 upazilas out of 46. The second largest area was covered by single Boro cropping pattern, which was spread over 44 upazilas. Total number of cropping patterns was observed 164. The highest number of cropping pattern was identified 35 in Tangail sadar and Dhamrai upazila of Dhaka district and the lowest was seven in Bandar of Narayanganj and Palash of Narsingdi district. The lowest crop diversity index (CDI) was reported as 0.70 in Dhamrai followed by 0.72 in Monohardi of Narsingdi. The highest value of CDI was observed as 0.97 in Tangail sadar followed by 0.95 in Dhamrai of Dhaka and Bhuanpur of Tangail. The range of cropping intensity value was recorded 124-239%. The maximum CDI was observed in Saturia upazila of Manikganj district and minimum in Sreenagar upazila of Munsiganj district. The CDI value for Dhaka region was calculated 0.94 and the average cropping intensity at regional level was 191%.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 123-141
Crops and Cropping Sequences in Chittagong Hill Tracts
Authors: Quais MK , Rashid M Harunur , Shahidullah SM , Nasim M
Published: September 2018

This study was conducted in all 25 upazilas of Chittagong Hill Tracts during 2016 using a pre-designed and pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire for documenting the existing cropping pattern, crop diversity and cropping intensity. Boro-Fallow-T. Aman was the most dominant cropping pattern in Chittagong Hill Tracts (15.06%) existed in all upazilas except Ruma of Bandarban. Single T. Aman cropping pattern ranked the second position (13.67%) distributed in 21 upazilas. Shifting or zhum cultivation was the third cropping pattern in the region (9.24%) distributed to 20 upazilas. Only Rabi vegetables was recorded as the fourth cropping pattern (4.90%) covered 17 upazilas. Vegetables- Fallow-T. Aman cropping pattern ranked fifth (4.23%) in the region and was reported in 22 upazilas. About 30% area was covered by the annual crops mainly with fruits like banana, pineapple and papaya and, spices like ginger and turmeric. The highest number of cropping patterns was recorded in Lama (30) of Bandarban followed by Dighinala (28) of Khagrachhari. The lowest was reported in Ruma (8) of Bandarban. The overall crop diversity index (CDI) for the region was 0.96. The highest CDI was in Rowangchhari (0.99) of Bandarban followed by Lama (0.96) of Bandarban and the lowest in Belaichhari (0.82) of Rangamati. The single, double and triple cropped area in the region was 33.3%, 32.1% and 3.1% of the net cropped area. The average cropping intensity (CI) of the Chittagong Hill Tracts was 139%, the lowest in Ruma (100%) of Bandarban and the highest in Manikchhari and Panchhari (164%) of Khagrachhari.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 173-184
Cropping Systems and Land Use Pattern in Rajshahi Region
Authors: Rashid M Harun Ar , Islam ABMJ , Shirazy BJ , Shahidullah SM
Published: September 2018

Attempts have been made in this paper to overview the existing cropping patterns, crops diversity and cropping intensity in Rajshahi region. The study was conducted in all the upazilas of four districts of Rajshahi region during 2014-15 using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires. The most predominating crop in this area was rice where exclusive rice based patterns occupied 40.48% of NCA. Boro-Fallow-T. Aman was the dominant cropping pattern, occupied 22.83% of NCA in 27 upazilas out of 32. The second dominant cropping pattern in Rajshahi region was Boro-Fallow-Fallow. It occupied 7.23% of NCA of the region and existed in 28 upazilas. Wheat-Fallow-T. Aman was the 3rd dominant pattern and practiced in 4.34% of the NCA in 14 upazilas. The data also revealed that the wheat based patterns stands for 14.7% of NCA. Mustard-Boro-T. Aman was the 4th dominant cropping pattern. A total of 172 cropping patterns were recognized in this region and the maximum (36) numbers of cropping patterns were identified in Paba upazila nearly followed by Durgapur (35) and Chapainawabganj upazila (34) while the lower numbers of cropping patterns were identified in Charghat (11) followed by Bagha (12) upazila of Rajshahi district. The range of cropping intensity values was recorded 171−253%. The maximum value was for Badalgachhi of Naogaon district and minimum for Bagha of Rajshahi district. The overall CDI of Rajshahi region was calculated 0.970 and the average cropping intensity at regional level was 218%.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 237-254
Shading effects of intercropping roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) genotypes on plant development, assimilate partitioning and leaf nutrient content
Authors: Mataa M , Makungu B , Siziya I
Published: September 2018

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of shade on plant development, macronutrient and secondary metabolites in roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa). Three roselle accessions (ZM 5729, ZM 5738 and ZM ZM5748) acquired from the Zambia National Plant Genetic Resource Centre were used and shade was imposed by intercropping roselle with maize (Zea mays). A Split plot design with shade as main plot and genotype as split- plot was used. Nutritional and development parameters were monitored. At 14 weeks shaded plants had about a three-fold decrease in branches numbers compared to unshaded ones. Plant height was higher in unshaded treatments (120 cm) compared to shaded (83 cm). Plant height of ZM 5738 was significantly higher than the other two accessions. Shading reduced dry matter accumulation by almost 75 % across genotypes with about 20 g per plant in shaded treatments and 73 g in unshaded treatments. Nutrient reductions were highest in fat (60.6 %), fibre (48.4 %), protein (37.8 %), and lowest in ash (27.3 %). In terms of strength of partitioning the pattern was: branches ˃ leaves ˃ roots ˃ squares ˃ flowers. The carbohydrate content increased with shading (10.6 %). Vitamin C content was higher in unshaded treatments in comparison with shaded conditions. ZM 5738 had the highest content followed by ZM 5748 and ZM 5729 had the least content. Oxalates which are an anti- nutrition factor increased with shade. The findings showed that there is significant variation among genotypes and in future selections can be made to choose the most productive genotypes.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 8 (1): 7-13, June, 2018
Role of Naked Eye Single Tube Red Cell Osmotic Fragility Test (NESTROFT) in Detecting Beta-Thalassemia Trait
Authors: Ferdousi Asma , Ahmad Mainuddin , Sharma Jhulan Das , Samad Rasheda , Ullah AKM Zafar
Published: September 2018

Thalassemia is one of the commonest inherited diseases in Bangladesh. The birth of a thalassemic child places considerable strain, not only on the affected child and its family but also on the community and the nation at large. To reduce the burden of the society and to reduce the disease incidence by providing genetic counseling, detection of carrier is important. The present study evaluates the role of ‘Naked Eye Single Tube Red Cell Osmotic Fragility Test’ (NESTROFT) in detecting ß-thalassemia trait. The current study is a cross sectional study done during the period of September 2008 to August 2009. The study subjects were sibs, parents and relatives of thalassemia patients of age more than 1 year attending Pediatric department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Sample size was 50. Here subjects with lowered osmotic fragility test were detected and later on Hb- electrophoresis was done. All the data were recorded and analyzed by SPSS programme. The Sensitivity, Specificity and predictive value of positive and negative tests were computed and they were 92.6%, 80%, 92.6% and 80% respectively. False positive cases were found. The present study found NESTROFT to be both sensitive and reasonably specific and of high negative predictive value. However, multicenter study with large sample is needed to recommend NESTROFT as a single screening test for detection of ß-thalassemia trait.J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2018; 36(4): 145-152
Res Religiosae and the Roman Roots of the Crime of Violation of Sepulchres
Authors: Brown Jonathan
Published: September 2018

Violation of sepulchres is a common law crime in Scotland. This crime ensures that interred human corpses are not subject to the ordinary laws of property, but are instead protected under this distinct heading of law. While it now appears settled that a corpse can be stolen prior to interment, it remains unclear if a corpse which was once buried, but has since been lawfully removed from its grave, remains incapable of being stolen, or if it becomes susceptible to theft again when exhumed. This article suggests that the latter occurs in Scots law since a res religiosa – an object not subject to the ordinary rules of property – is created when the body is placed in its grave. This suggestion draws on the connection between the contemporary crime of violation of sepulchres and its Roman ancestor, the crimen violati sepulcri. The article suggests that though the overtly religious overtones of the term ‘res religiosa’ appears to be at odds with an increasingly secularised society, the law surrounding res religiosae functionally explains the absence of ‘property’ in buried bodies, thus providing a logical basis for the proposition that an unburied body may be stolen, but a buried body may not be.
(The promise of) Monstrous Kinship? Queer Reproduction and the Somatechnics of Sexual and Racial Difference
Authors: Dahl Ulrika
Published: September 2018

This article considers the figure of the monster and monstrosity as a phenomenon as an entangled effect of kinship and reproduction, and thus as conveying specific understandings of gender, sexuality and race. While non-heterosexual reproduction and family-making has long been viewed as monstrous, increasing LGBTQ rights and recognition has instead insisted on its normality. Engaging with feminist and queer monster theory, and building on ethnographic research in Stockholm, Sweden, this article considers the monstrous remains within contemporary queer kinship. In particular, it proposes that when choice and intent rather than biological ‘facts’ constitute the foundation of (queer) family, sexual and racial difference does not cease to exist, but rather, re-emerges as monstrous attachments and embodiments. To sketch a larger argument about the potential limits of ideas about social construction, the article hones in on two examples. First, it shows that gestation and childbirth, as monstrous embodiments, can pose problems for families that insist on parental equality through the perceived sameness of shared intent. Secondly it proposes that in the context of Sweden, reproduction through donor-insemination is built on a cultural idea of white sperm as both neutral and desirable. These examples, the article suggest, point to some remaining irreconcilable dimensions embedded in the fantasy of queer kinship that, like monsters, haunt its queer normative forms. In closing, it argues for a reconsideration of hopeful monstrosities by considering both queer reproduction and the sexual and racial differences with which it inevitably engages can instead be understood as somatechnical, as kinship technologies that are inevitably entangled in the biopolitics of (queer) nation-making and its natrualised whiteness.
Are Markets Truly Efficient? Experiments Using Deep Learning Algorithms for Market Movement Prediction
Authors: Das Sanjiv R. , Mokashi Karthik , Culkin Robbie
Published: September 2018

We examine the use of deep learning (neural networks) to predict the movement of the S&P 500 Index using past returns of all the stocks in the index. Our analysis finds that the future direction of the S&P 500 index can be weakly predicted by the prior movements of the underlying stocks in the index, but not strongly enough to reject market efficiency. Decomposition of the prediction error indicates that most of the lack of predictability comes from randomness and only a little from nonstationarity. We believe this is the first test of S&P 500 market efficiency that uses a very large information set, and it extends the domain of weak-form market efficiency tests.
Natural Products from Actinobacteria Associated with Fungus-Growing Termites
Authors: Benndorf René , Guo Huijuan , Sommerwerk Elisabeth , Weigel Christiane , Garcia-Altares Maria , Martin Karin , Hu Haofu , Küfner Michelle , De Beer Z. Wilhelm , Poulsen Michael , Beemelmanns Christine
Published: September 2018

The chemical analysis of insect-associated Actinobacteria has attracted the interest of natural product chemists in the past years as bacterial-produced metabolites are sought to be crucial for sustaining and protecting the insect host. The objective of our study was to evaluate the phylogeny and bioprospecting of Actinobacteria associated with fungus-growing termites. We characterized 97 Actinobacteria from the gut, exoskeleton, and fungus garden (comb) of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes natalensis and used two different bioassays to assess their general antimicrobial activity. We selected two strains for chemical analysis and investigated the culture broth of the axenic strains and fungus-actinobacterium co-cultures. From these studies, we identified the previously-reported PKS-derived barceloneic acid A and the PKS-derived rubterolones. Analysis of culture broth yielded a new dichlorinated diketopiperazine derivative and two new tetracyclic lanthipeptides, named rubrominins A and B. The discussed natural products highlight that insect-associated Actinobacteria are highly prolific natural product producers yielding important chemical scaffolds urgently needed for future drug development programs.
Event-Driven Sensor Deployment in an Underwater Environment Using a Distributed Hybrid Fish Swarm Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Wang Hui , Li Youming , Chang Tingcheng , Chang Shengming , Fan Yexian
Published: September 2018

In open and complex underwater environments, targets to be monitored are highly dynamic and exhibit great uncertainty. To optimize monitoring target coverage, the development of a method for adjusting sensor positions based on environments and targets is of crucial importance. In this paper, we propose a distributed hybrid fish swarm optimization algorithm (DHFSOA) based on the influence of water flow and the operation of an artificial fish swarm system to improve the coverage efficacy of the event set and to avoid blind movements of sensor nodes. First, by simulating the behavior of foraging fish, sensor nodes autonomously tend to cover events, with congestion control being used to match node distribution density to event distribution density. Second, the construction of an information pool is used to achieve information-sharing between nodes within the network connection range, to increase the nodes’ field of vision, and to enhance their global search abilities. Finally, we conduct extensive simulation experiments to evaluate network performance in different deployment environments. The results show that the proposed DHFSOA performs well in terms of coverage efficacy, energy efficiency, and convergence rate of the event set.
3D Printed Antibacterial Prostheses
Authors: Zuniga Jorge M.
Published: September 2018

The purpose of the current investigation was two-fold: (i) to describe the development of 3D printed prostheses using antibacterial filaments and (ii) to verify the antibacterial properties of the 3D printed prostheses. Three-dimensional printed finger prostheses were manufactured using PLACTIVETM antibacterial 3D printing filaments. Two adults with left index finger amputations at the proximal phalanx were fitted with a customized 3D printed finger prosthesis manufactured with an antibacterial filament. The manual gross dexterity was assessed during the Box and Block Test. Patient satisfaction was assessed using the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0). Bacterial analysis of the 3D printed prostheses was performed by two independent laboratories against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (ISO 22196). Two customized 3D printed partial finger prostheses were manufactured using a 3D printed antibacterial filament. The bacterial analysis showed that PLACTIVETM with 1% antibacterial nanoparticles additives was up to 99.99% effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The manual gross dexterity assessed was improved after using the 3D printed partial finger prosthesis. The research subjects indicated that they were “quite satisfied” to “very satisfied” with the 3D printed partial finger prosthesis. The present investigation showed that the antibacterial 3D printed filament can be used for the development of functional and effective antibacterial finger prostheses.
Optical Transmitters without Driver Amplifiers—Optimal Operation Conditions
Authors: Josten Arne , Baeuerle Benedikt , Bonjour Romain , Heni Wolfgang , Leuthold Juerg
Published: September 2018

An important challenge in optical communications is the generation of highest-quality waveforms with a Mach–Zehnder modulator with a limited electrical swing (Vpp). For this, we discuss, under limited Vpp, the influence of the waveform design on the root-mean-square amplitude, and thus, the optical signal quality. We discuss the influence of the pulse shape, clipping, and digital pre-distortion on the signal quality after the electrical-to-optical conversion. Our simulations and experiments, e.g., suggest that pre-distortion comes at the expense of electrical swing of the eye-opening and results in a lower optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). Conversely, digital post-distortion provides operation with larger eye-openings, and therefore, provides an SNR increase of at least 0.5 dB. Furthermore, we find that increasing the roll-off factor increases the electrical swing of the eye-opening. However, there is negligible benefit of increasing the roll-off factor of square-root-raised-cosine pulse shaped signals beyond 0.4. The findings are of interest for single-channel intensity modulation and direct detection (IM/DD) links, as well as optical coherent communication links.
Revealing Household Characteristics from Electricity Meter Data with Grade Analysis and Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Gajowniczek Krzysztof , Ząbkowski Tomasz , Sodenkamp Mariya
Published: September 2018

In this article, the Grade Correspondence Analysis (GCA) with posterior clustering and visualization is introduced and applied to extract important features to reveal households’ characteristics based on electricity usage data. The main goal of the analysis is to automatically extract, in a non-intrusive way, number of socio-economic household properties including family type, age of inhabitants, employment type, house type, and number of bedrooms. The knowledge of specific properties enables energy utilities to develop targeted energy conservation tariffs and to assure balanced operation management. In particular, classification of the households based on the electricity usage delivers value added information to allow accurate demand planning with the goal to enhance the overall efficiency of the network. The approach was evaluated by analyzing smart meter data collected from 4182 households in Ireland over a period of 1.5 years. The analysis outcome shows that revealing characteristics from smart meter data is feasible, and the proposed machine learning methods were yielding for an accuracy of approx. 90% and Area Under Receiver Operating Curve (AUC) of 0.82.
Fine-Grain Segmentation of the Intervertebral Discs from MR Spine Images Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks: BSU-Net
Authors: Kim Sewon , Bae Won , Masuda Koichi , Chung Christine , Hwang Dosik
Published: September 2018

We propose a new deep learning network capable of successfully segmenting intervertebral discs and their complex boundaries from magnetic resonance (MR) spine images. The existing U-network (U-net) is known to perform well in various segmentation tasks in medical images; however, its performance with respect to details of segmentation such as boundaries is limited by the structural limitations of a max-pooling layer that plays a key role in feature extraction process in the U-net. We designed a modified convolutional and pooling layer scheme and applied a cascaded learning method to overcome these structural limitations of the max-pooling layer of a conventional U-net. The proposed network achieved 3% higher Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) than conventional U-net for intervertebral disc segmentation (89.44% vs. 86.44%, respectively; p < 0.001). For intervertebral disc boundary segmentation, the proposed network achieved 10.46% higher DSC than conventional U-net (54.62% vs. 44.16%, respectively; p < 0.001).
Influence of Preheating Temperature on Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) Welding–Brazing of Aluminium Alloy/Galvanized Steel
Authors: Qin Youqiong , He Xi , Jiang Wenxiang
Published: September 2018

Bead-on-plate cold metal transfer (CMT) brazing and overlap CMT welding–brazing of 7075 aluminium alloy and galvanized steel at different preheating temperatures were studied. The results indicated that AlSi5 filler wire had good wettability to galvanized steel. The preheating treatment can promote the spreadability of liquid AlSi5. For the overlap CMT welding–brazed joint, the microstructure of the joint was divided into four zones, namely, the interfacial layer, weld metal zone, zinc-rich zone, and heat affected zone (HAZ). The load force of the joints without preheating and 100 °C preheating temperature was 8580 N and 9730 N, respectively. Both of the joints were fractured in the fusion line with a ductile fracture. Further increasing the preheating temperature to 200 °C would decrease the load force of the joint, which fractured in the interfacial layer with a brittle fracture.
Kinetic Analysis of Stabilizing C-Phycocyanin in the Spirulina platensis Extracts from Ultrasonic Process Associated with Effects of Light and Temperature
Authors: Choi Woon Yong , Lee Hyeon Yong
Published: September 2018

A kinetic model was developed to reflect the stability of C-Phycocyanin (C-PC) from ultrasonic extraction process under different storage conditions. The decrease of C-PC contents was most accelerated at a high temperature of 40 °C along with light illumination, resulting in ca. 60% drop of an initial concentration for two months of storage. However, ca. 93% of the initial contents remained at 4 °C without light, which would be a most favorable condition for long-term storage. It was first shown that the decrease of the residual concentrations followed second-order kinetics under light illumination. However, without light, the decrease of the C-PC contents showed first order reaction kinetics, which implies initial C-PC concentrations are important. On the contrary, initial storage temperature seemed to be more influential under light illumination. It was also first revealed that the rate of degrading the C-PC was faster with light than without light even at the same temperature, having 0.0108 (1/h) and 0.0138 (1/h) of rate constants of first order (no light) and second order kinetics (with light) at 40 °C, respectively. Moreover, the cleavage of C-PC was also found to follow the Arrhenius relationship. Therefore, this work could provide desirable storage conditions of C-PC from non-thermal ultrasonic process for long-term storage.
Automatic Spot Identification Method for High Throughput Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging Analysis
Authors: Wang Zhiyou , Huang Xiaoqing , Cheng Zhiqiang
Published: September 2018

An automatic spot identification method is developed for high throughput surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) analysis. As a combination of video accessing, image enhancement, image processing and parallel processing techniques, the method can identify the spots in SPRi images of the microarray from SPRi video data. In demonstrations of the method, SPRi video data of different protein microarrays were processed by the method. Results show that our method can locate spots in the microarray accurately regardless of the microarray pattern, spot-background contrast, light nonuniformity and spotting defects, but also can provide address information of the spots.
The Role of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) and Its Targeted Inhibition in Hematological Malignancies
Authors: Arora Loukik , Kumar Alan , Arfuso Frank , Chng Wee , Sethi Gautam
Published: September 2018

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a member of the STAT protein family, can be phosphorylated by receptor-associated Janus kinases (JAKs) in response to stimulation by cytokines and growth factors. It forms homo- or heterodimers that can translocate to the cell nucleus where they act as transcription activators. Constitutive activation of STAT3 has been found to be associated with initiation and progression of various cancers. It can exert proliferative as well as anti-apoptotic effects. This review focuses on the role of STAT3 in pathogenesis i.e., proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis of hematological malignancies viz. leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and briefly highlights the potential therapeutic approaches developed against STAT3 activation pathway.
Synthesis of Stable Hierarchical MIL-101(Cr) with Enhanced Catalytic Activity in the Oxidation of Indene
Authors: Zhao Tian , Dong Ming , Yang Ling , Liu Yuejun
Published: September 2018

Nowadays, the controllable synthesis of stable hierarchical metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is very important for practical applications, especially in catalysis. Herein, a well-known chromium–benzenedicarboxylate metal–organic framework, MIL-101(Cr), with a stable hierarchical structure, was produced by using phenylphosphonic acid (PPOA) as a modulator via the hydrothermal method. The presence of phenylphosphonic acid could create structural defects and generate larger mesopores. The synthesized hierarchical MIL-101(Cr) possesses relatively good porosity, and the larger mesopores had widths of 4–10 nm. The hierarchical MIL-101(Cr) showed significant improvement for catalytic activity in the oxidation of indene. Further, the presence of a hierarchical structure could largely enhance large dye molecule uptake properties by impregnating.
Wetting Fraction in a Tubular Reactor with Solid Foam Packing and Gas/Liquid Co-Current Downflow
Authors: Mohammed Iman , Hampel Uwe
Published: September 2018

The performance of fixed-bed reactors with structured catalysts depends heavily on the gas–liquid–solid contacting pattern. For a broad range of flow conditions, the liquid phase does not cover the solid surface of the packing homogeneously; this is known as partial wetting. The wetting fraction in solid foams was obtained using a modified electrochemical measurement method with adaption of the limiting-current technique in different pre-wetting scenarios. The external wetting fraction, which is defined as fraction of the external solid-foam area covered by the liquid phase to the total external solid-foam area, is directly linked to the overall rate of reaction through the overall liquid mass transfer rate. The wetting fraction decreased with an increase in foam density, a process which was related to decreasing the strut thickness, increasing foam surface area, and consequently, decreasing the wetted area. Additionally, the results indicate that a better distribution of liquid and an increased wetting fraction occurred when a spray nozzle distributor was applied. A new wetting correlation for solid foams is proposed to estimate the wetting fraction with consideration of foam morphology and flow regime.
A Secure Algorithm for Inversion Modulo 2k
Authors: De la Fe Sadiel , Ferrer Carles
Published: September 2018

Modular inversions are widely employed in public key crypto-systems, and it is known that they imply a bottleneck due to the expensive computation. Recently, a new algorithm for inversions modulo p k was proposed, which may speed up the calculation of a modulus dependent quantity used in the Montgomery multiplication. The original algorithm lacks security countermeasures; thus, a straightforward implementation may expose the input. This is an issue if that input is a secret. In the RSA-CRT signature using Montgomery multiplication, the moduli are secrets (primes p and q). Therefore, the moduli dependent quantities related to p and q must be securely computed. This paper presents a security analysis of the novel method considering that it might be used to compute secrets. We demonstrate that a Side Channel Analysis leads to disclose the data being manipulated. In consequence, a secure variant for inversions modulo 2 k is proposed, through the application of two known countermeasures. In terms of performance, the secure variant is still comparable with the original one.
Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Graphene Nanoplate Diffusion Behavior in Poly-α-Olefin Lubricating Oil
Authors: Wu Lupeng , Song Baoyu , Keer Leon M. , Gu Le
Published: September 2018

Graphene as a type of novel additive significantly enhanced the tribological performance of blended lubricating oil. However, the dispersibility of graphene with long-term stability in lubricating oil is still a challenge. Chemical modification for graphene, rather than using surfactants, provided a better method to improve the dispersibility of graphene in lubricants. In this study, the equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations were carried out to investigate the diffusion behavior of graphene nanoplates in poly-α-olefin (PAO) lubricating oil. The effects of graphene-size, edge-functionalization, temperature, and pressure on the diffusion coefficient were studied. In order to understand the influence of edge-functionalization, three different functional groups were grafted to the edge of graphene nanoplates: COOH, COON(CH3)2, CONH(CH2)8CH3 (termed GO, MG, and AG, respectively). The EMD simulations results demonstrated that the relationships between diffusion coefficient and graphene-size and number of functional groups were linear while the temperature and pressure had a nonlinear influence on the diffusion coefficient. It was found that the larger dimension and more functional groups provided the lower diffusion coefficient. AG with eight CONH(CH2)8CH3 groups exhibited the lowest diffusion coefficient. Furthermore, the experimental results and radial distribution function for graphene-PAO illustrated that the diffusion coefficient reflected the dispersibility of nanoparticles in nanofluids to some degree. To our best knowledge, this study is the first time the diffusion behavior of graphene in PAO lubricating oil was investigated using EMD simulations.
Reply to “Comment on ‘Glass Transition, Crystallization of Glass-Forming Melts, and Entropy”’ by Zanotto and Mauro
Authors: Schmelzer Jürn , Tropin Timur
Published: September 2018

A response is given to a comment of Zanotto and Mauro on our paper published in Entropy 20, 103 (2018). Our arguments presented in this paper are widely ignored by them, and no new considerations are outlined in the comment, which would require a revision of our conclusions. For this reason, we restrict ourselves here to a brief response, supplementing it by some additional arguments in favor of our point of view not included in our above-cited paper.
Change-Point Detection Using the Conditional Entropy of Ordinal Patterns
Authors: Unakafov Anton M. , Keller Karsten
Published: September 2018

This paper is devoted to change-point detection using only the ordinal structure of a time series. A statistic based on the conditional entropy of ordinal patterns characterizing the local up and down in a time series is introduced and investigated. The statistic requires only minimal a priori information on given data and shows good performance in numerical experiments. By the nature of ordinal patterns, the proposed method does not detect pure level changes but changes in the intrinsic pattern structure of a time series and so it could be interesting in combination with other methods.
The Co-existence of Different Synchronization Types in Fractional-order Discrete-time Chaotic Systems with Non–identical Dimensions and Orders
Authors: Bendoukha Samir , Ouannas Adel , Wang Xiong , Khennaoui Amina-Aicha , Pham Viet-Thanh , Grassi Giuseppe , Huynh Van Van
Published: September 2018

This paper is concerned with the co-existence of different synchronization types for fractional-order discrete-time chaotic systems with different dimensions. In particular, we show that through appropriate nonlinear control, projective synchronization (PS), full state hybrid projective synchronization (FSHPS), and generalized synchronization (GS) can be achieved simultaneously. A second nonlinear control scheme is developed whereby inverse full state hybrid projective synchronization (IFSHPS) and inverse generalized synchronization (IGS) are shown to co-exist. Numerical examples are presented to confirm the findings.
Life Cycle Assessment of a Buoy-Rope-Drum Wave Energy Converter
Authors: Zhai Qiang , Zhu Linsen , Lu Shizhou
Published: September 2018

This study presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a buoy-rope-drum (BRD) wave energy converter (WEC), so as to understand the environmental performance of the BRD WEC by eco-labeling its life cycle stages and processes. The BRD WEC was developed by a research group at Shandong University (Weihai). The WEC consists of three main functional modules including buoy, generator and mooring modules. The designed rated power capacity is 10 kW. The LCA modeling is based on data collected from actual design, prototype manufacturing, installation and onsite sea test. Life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis and life cycle impact analysis (LCIA) were conducted. The analyses show that the most significant environmental impact contributor is identified to be the manufacturing stage of the BRD WEC due to consumption of energy and materials. Potential improvement approaches are proposed in the discussion. The LCI and LCIA assessment results are then benchmarked with results from reported LCA studies of other WECs, tidal energy converters, as well as offshore wind and solar PV systems. This study presents the energy and carbon intensities and paybacks with 387 kJ/kWh, 89 gCO2/kWh, 26 months and 23 months respectively. The results show that the energy and carbon intensities of the BRD WEC are slightly larger than, however comparable, in comparison with the referenced WECs, tidal, offshore wind and solar PV systems. A sensitivity analysis was carried out by varying the capacity factor from 20–50%. The energy and carbon intensities could reach as much as 968 kJ/kWh and 222 gCO2/kWh respectively while the capacity factor decreasing to 20%. Limitations for this study and scope of future work are discussed in the conclusion.
Deploying Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Considering Time Cost and Existing Infrastructure
Authors: Qiao Yuan , Huang Kaisheng , Jeub Johannes , Qian Jianan , Song Yizhou
Published: September 2018

Under the challenge of climate change, fuel-based vehicles have been receiving increasingly harsh criticism. To promote the use of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as an alternative, many researchers have studied the deployment of BEVs. This paper proposes a new method to choose locations for new BEV charging stations considering drivers’ perceived time cost and the existing infrastructure. We construct probability equations to estimate drivers’ demanding time for charging (and waiting to charge), use the Voronoi diagram to separate the study area (i.e., Shanghai) into service areas, and apply an optimization algorithm to deploy the charging stations in the right locations. The results show that (1) the probability of charging at public charging stations is 39.6%, indicating BEV drivers prefer to charge at home; (2) Shanghai’s central area and two airports have the busiest charging stations, but drivers’ time costs are relatively low; and (3) our optimization algorithm successfully located two new charging stations surrounding the central area, matching with our expectations. This study provides a time-efficient way to decide where to build new charging stations to improve the existing infrastructure.
Development of Economizer Control Method with Variable Mixed Air Temperature
Authors: Lee Jin-Hyun , Kim Yong-Shik , Jo Jae-Hun , Cho Hyun , Cho Young-Hum
Published: September 2018

Achieving energy efficiency by improving the operating method of the system used in existing buildings is attracting considerable attention. The Building Design Criteria for Energy Saving was established to induce energy saving design in the domestic construction field, and the introduction of a free-cooling system, such as an economizer system, as an item of the mechanical sector, was evaluated. The economizer is an energy saving method that reduces the building load by introducing outdoor air through damper control according to the indoor and outdoor conditions. The system consists of dry-bulb temperature control and enthalpy control and the mixed air temperature is kept constant in the conventional economizer controls. On the other hand, in dry-bulb temperature control, when the set value of the mixed air temperature is changed according to the load, additional energy savings are expected compared to the conventional control method. Therefore, this paper proposes an economizer control that makes the mixed air temperature variable according to the load in a Constant Air Volume single duct system. For this, a load prediction is needed and an Artificial Neural Network is used for the load prediction. In addition, the relationship between the mixed air temperature and energy were analyzed using the BIN method and TRNSYS 17. Based on the results of previous analysis, a control method which predicting the load using Artificial Neural Network and controlling the mixed air temperature according to the predicted load in the dry-bulb temperature control of a Constant Air Volume single duct system is proposed and the proposed control was applied to the dynamic simulation program and compared with the conventional control. The results show that the temperature of each room was 21–23 °C in summer and 22.5–26 °C in winter when the economizer was controlled using the proposed control method and the energy consumption analysis showed that 19% of the energy was reduced compared to the conventional method when the proposed method was controlled.