bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wood Properties Characterisation of Thermo-Hydro Mechanical Treated Plantation and Native Tasmanian Timber Species
Authors: Balasso Michelle , Kutnar Andreja , Niemelä Eva Prelovšek , Mikuljan Marica , Nolan Gregory , Kotlarewski Nathan , Hunt Mark , Jacobs Andrew , O’Reilly-Wapstra Julianne
Published: November 2020

Thermo-hydro mechanical (THM) treatments and thermo-treatments are used to improve the properties of wood species and enhance their uses without the application of chemicals. This work investigates and compares the effects of THM treatments on three timber species from Tasmania, Australia; plantation fibre-grown shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens H. Deane and Maiden), plantation saw-log radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) and native-grown saw-log timber of the common name Tasmanian oak (which can be any of E. regnans F. Muell, E. obliqua L’Hér and E. delegatensis L’Hér). Thin lamellae were compressed by means of THM treatment from 8 mm to a target final thickness of 5 mm to investigate the suitability for using THM-treated lamellas in engineered wood products. The springback, mass loss, set-recovery after soaking, dimensional changes, mechanical properties, and Brinell hardness were used to evaluate the effects of the treatment on the properties of the species. The results show a marked increase in density for all three species, with the largest increase presented by E. nitens (+53%) and the smallest by Tasmanian oak (+41%). E. nitens displayed improvements both in stiffness and strength, while stiffness decreased in P. radiata samples and strength in Tasmanian oak samples. E. nitens also displayed the largest improvement in hardness (+94%) with respect to untreated samples. P. radiata presented the largest springback whilst having the least mass loss. E. nitens and Tasmanian oak showed similar dimensional changes, whilst P. radiata timber had the largest thickness swelling and set-recovery due to the high water absorption (99%). This study reported the effects of THM treatments in less-known and commercially important timber species, demonstrating that the wood properties of a fibre-grown timber can be improved through the treatments, potentially increasing the utilisation of E. nitens for structural and higher quality timber applications.
Homogeneous Data Normalization and Deep Learning: A Case Study in Human Activity Classification
Authors: Pires Ivan Miguel , Hussain Faisal , M. Garcia Nuno M. , Lameski Petre , Zdravevski Eftim
Published: November 2020

One class of applications for human activity recognition methods is found in mobile devices for monitoring older adults and people with special needs. Recently, many studies were performed to create intelligent methods for the recognition of human activities. However, the different mobile devices in the market acquire the data from sensors at different frequencies. This paper focuses on implementing four data normalization techniques, i.e., MaxAbsScaler, MinMaxScaler, RobustScaler, and Z-Score. Subsequently, we evaluate the impact of the normalization algorithms with deep neural networks (DNN) for the classification of the human activities. The impact of the data normalization was counterintuitive, resulting in a degradation of performance. Namely, when using the accelerometer data, the accuracy dropped from about 79% to only 53% for the best normalization approach. Similarly, for the gyroscope data, the accuracy without normalization was about 81.5%, whereas with the best normalization, it was only 60%. It can be concluded that data normalization techniques are not helpful in classification problems with homogeneous data.
Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop in Wavy-Walled Tubes: A Parameter-BASED CFD Study
Authors: Nauman Malik Muhammad , Sameer Muhammad , Mehdi Murtuza , Iqbal Asif , Esa Zulfikre
Published: November 2020

Co-relations of friction factor and Nusselt number for plain tubes have been widely developed, but less analysis has been done for tubes with wavy surfaces. This paper uses the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool for the analysis of heat transfer and pressure drop in wavy-walled tubes, which can be utilized as a heating element for fluids. An investigation was done for the effect of Reynolds number (Re) and wavy-walled tube geometry on friction factor and Nusselt number of laminar and turbulent flow inside wavy-walled tubes. The numerical results and experimental comparison indicate that heat transfer and pressure drop for water are significantly affected by wavy-walled tube parameters and flow Reynolds number. These wavy-walled tubes are capable of increasing the heat transfer to or from a fluid by an order of magnitude but at an expense of higher pumping power. This ratio was found to remain at the minimum at a wave factor of 0.83 for 34 < Re < 3500 and maximum at a wave factor of 0.15 for 200 < Re < 17,000. New correlations of friction factor and Nusselt number based on wavy-walled tube parameters are proposed in this paper, which can serve as design equations for predicting the friction factor and heat transfer in wavy-walled tubes under a laminar and turbulent regime with less than 10% error. The quantitative simulation results match the experimental results with less than 15% error. The qualitative comparison with the experiments indicates that the simulations are well capable of accurately predicting the circulation zones within the bulgy part of the tubes.
Methane and Dissolved Organic Matter in the Ground Ice Samples from Central Yamal: Implications to Biogeochemical Cycling and Greenhouse Gas Emission
Authors: Semenov Petr B. , Pismeniuk Anfisa A. , Malyshev Sergei A. , Leibman Marina O. , Streletskaya Irina D. , Shatrova Elizaveta V. , Kizyakov Alexander I. , Vanshtein Boris G.
Published: November 2020

Permafrost thawing leads to mobilization of the vast carbon pool into modern biogeochemical cycling through the enhanced release of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and production of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4). In this work, we focus on the study of methane and DOM distribution and genesis in the ground ice samples of thermodenudational exposure in the Central Yamal (Russian Arctic). We propose that the liberation of the ice-trapped CH4 and generation of CO2 by DOM mineralization are the earliest factors of atmospheric greenhouse gases emission as a result of permafrost thawing. The observed enormously “light ” isotope signatures of methane (δ13C < −80‰, δD < −390‰) found in the tabular ground ice units significantly divergent in morphology and localization within the exposuremay be related to subzero (cryogenic) carbonate reduction a as significant factor of the local methane enrichment. DOM is mainly formed (>88%) by biochemically refractory humic acids. Distribution of the labile protein-like DOM reflects the specific features of carbon and nitrogen cycles in the tabular ground ice and ice wedge samples. Tabular ground ice units are shown to be a significant source of methane and high quality organic matter as well as dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). Ice wedges express a high variation in DOM composition and lability.
Are the Self-esteem, Self-efficacy, and Interpersonal Interaction of Junior College Students Related to the Solitude Capacity?
Authors: Yang Shang-Yu , Fu Shih-Hau , Wang Po-Yu , Lin Ying-Lien , Lin Pin-Hsuan
Published: November 2020

Background: Studies on the solitude capacity of university students have been extremely limited and failed to clearly illustrate the correlation of solitude capacity with internal psychological variables and the favorability of interpersonal relationships. The aim of this study was to explore the correlation of college students’ solitude capacity with scores for self-esteem, self-efficacy, and interpersonal relationships. Method: A cross-sectional study was adopted for this study. Data were collected from a university in southern Taiwan using a structured questionnaire, the content of which included demographic data and scores from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), the Interpersonal Relationship Scale (IRS), and the Solitude Capacity Scale (SCS). Results: The final sample comprised 562 participants (mean age = 17.51 ± 1.27 years). Adjustment of the demographic variables yielded a significantly positive correlation in the total RSE and SCS (p < 0.01) scores and that in the total GSE and SCS (p < 0.01) scores. Moreover, the relationship with family (IRS subscale) and total SCS score (p < 0.05) exhibited a significant positive correlation. Conclusion: The findings of this study reveal that solitude capacity is significantly correlated with self-esteem, self-efficacy, and the favorability of family relationships.
Non-Performing Loans for Italian Companies: When Time Matters. An Empirical Research on Estimating Probability to Default and Loss Given Default
Authors: Orlando Giuseppe , Pelosi Roberta
Published: November 2020

Within bank activities, which is normally defined as the joint exercise of savings collection and credit supply, risk-taking is natural, as in many human activities. Among risks related to credit intermediation, credit risk assumes particular importance. It is most simply defined as the potential that a bank borrower or counterparty fails to fulfil correctly at maturity the pecuniary obligations assumed as principal and interest. Whenever this happens, a loan is non-performing. Among the main risk components, the Probability of Default (PD) and the Loss Given Default (LGD) have been the subject of greater interest for research. In this paper, logit model is used to predict both components. Financial ratios are used to estimate the PD. Time of recovery and presence of collateral are used as covariates of the LGD. Here, we confirm that the main driver of economic losses is the bureaucratically encumbered recovery system and the related legal environment. The long time required by Italian bureaucratic procedures, simply put, seems to lower dramatically the chance of recovery from defaulting counterparties.
A Comprehensive Approach for Calculating Banking Sector Risks
Authors: Salleo Carmelo , Grassi Alberto , Kyriakopoulos Constantinos
Published: November 2020

We propose a comprehensive approach for the analysis of real economy and government sector risk transmission to the banking system and apply it in ten Euro-Area countries from 2005 to 2017. A flexible methodology is developed to model banks’ assets according to the risk-adjusted balance sheet of the counterparts. The use of distance to distress as a popular risk metric shows that Contingent Claims Analysis underestimates banks risk in stable periods and overstates it during crisis. Furthermore, the approach succeeds in detecting spillovers from households, non-financial corporations and sovereign sectors: for the countries examined the main source of instability comes from the Non-Financial Corporation sector and its increased assets volatility.
Whitefly Endosymbionts: Biology, Evolution, and Plant Virus Interactions
Authors: Andreason Sharon A. , Shelby Emily A. , Moss Jeanette B. , Moore Patricia J. , Moore Allen J. , Simmons Alvin M.
Published: November 2020

Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are sap-feeding global agricultural pests. These piercing-sucking insects have coevolved with intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria that help to supplement their nutrient-poor plant sap diets with essential amino acids and carotenoids. These obligate, primary endosymbionts have been incorporated into specialized organs called bacteriomes where they sometimes coexist with facultative, secondary endosymbionts. All whitefly species harbor the primary endosymbiont Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum and have a variable number of secondary endosymbionts. The secondary endosymbiont complement harbored by the cryptic whitefly species Bemisia tabaci is particularly complex with various assemblages of seven different genera identified to date. In this review, we discuss whitefly associated primary and secondary endosymbionts. We focus on those associated with the notorious B. tabaci species complex with emphasis on their biological characteristics and diversity. We also discuss their interactions with phytopathogenic begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae), which are transmitted exclusively by B. tabaci in a persistent-circulative manner. Unraveling the complex interactions of these endosymbionts with their insect hosts and plant viruses could lead to advancements in whitefly and whitefly transmitted virus management.
Molecular and Biological Characterization of Spodoptera frugiperda Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus Field Isolate and Genotypes from China
Authors: Lei Chengfeng , Yang Jian , Wang Jia , Hu Jia , Sun Xiulian
Published: November 2020

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a new invading pest in China. The baculovirus Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) is a pathogenic agent of the fall armyworm and a potential agent for its control in integrated pest management strategies. In this work, we analyze the molecular and biological characteristics of an SfMNPV isolate collected from maize in China (SfMNPV-Hub). Two genotypes were further isolated from SfMNPV-Hub by an in vivo cloning method. The PstI profile of one genotype (SfHub-A) was similar to genotype A of the SfMNPV Colombian isolate, and the other (SfHub-E) was similar to genotype E of the Colombian isolate. The bioactivity of SfHub-A against second-instar S. frugiperda larvae was not significantly different from that of SfMNPV-Hub, whereas SfHub-E was 2.7–5.5 fold less potent than SfMNPV-Hub. The speed of kill of SfHub-E was quicker than SfMNPV-Hub, while SfHub-A acted slower than SfMNPV-Hub. Occlusion body (OB) production of SfHub-A in an S. frugiperda cadaver was significantly higher than that of SfMNPV-Hub, while SfHub-E yielded far fewer occlusion bodies (OBs) in the host larvae. These results provide basic information for developing a virus-based pesticide against the invading pest S. frugiperda.
Relationship of Forced Social Distancing and Home Confinement Derived from the COVID-19 Pandemic with the Occupational Balance of the Spanish Population
Authors: González-Bernal Jerónimo J. , Santamaría-Peláez Mirian , González-Santos Josefa , Rodríguez-Fernández Paula , León del Barco Benito , Soto-Cámara Raúl
Published: November 2020

Abrupt interruption in the performance of everyday occupations as a consequence of forced social distancing and home confinement, coupled with a lack of regulatory capacities and skills, can trigger harmful effects on people’s health and well-being. This study aimed to determine the factors related to the occupational balance in the Spanish population during home confinement as a consequence of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 3261 subjects completed an online survey, which was disseminated through the mainstream social media platforms in Spain and included the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ), sociodemographic variables, and factors related to COVID-19 infection. The mean age of the participants (81.69% women) was 40.53 years (SD ± 14.05). Sociodemographic variables were related to a greater occupational balance, and the multivariate analysis showed that age (β = 0.071; p = 0.001), the perception of having received enough information (β = 0.071; p ≤ 0.001), not telecommuting (β = −0.047; p = 0.022), and not being infected by COVID-19 (β = 0.055; p = 0.007) contributed to a better occupational balance. There were profiles of people less likely to suffer disturbances in occupational balance during home confinement, but more studies are needed to help understand and analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s occupational and mental health.
Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis: Endoscopic and Surgical Resection for Ampullary Lesions
Authors: Heise Christian , Abou Ali Einas , Hasenclever Dirk , Auriemma Francesco , Gulla Aiste , Regner Sara , Gaujoux Sébastien , Hollenbach Marcus
Published: November 2020

Ampullary lesions (ALs) can be treated by endoscopic (EA) or surgical ampullectomy (SA) or pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). However, EA carries significant risk of incomplete resection while surgical interventions can lead to substantial morbidity. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis for R0, adverse-events (AEs) and recurrence between EA, SA and PD. Electronic databases were searched from 1990 to 2018. Outcomes were calculated as pooled means using fixed and random-effects models and the Freeman-Tukey-Double-Arcsine-Proportion-model. We identified 59 independent studies. The pooled R0 rate was 76.6% (71.8–81.4%, I2 = 91.38%) for EA, 96.4% (93.6–99.2%, I2 = 37.8%) for SA and 98.9% (98.0–99.7%, I2 = 0%) for PD. AEs were 24.7% (19.8–29.6%, I2 = 86.4%), 28.3% (19.0–37.7%, I2 = 76.8%) and 44.7% (37.9–51.4%, I2 = 0%), respectively. Recurrences were registered in 13.0% (10.2–15.6%, I2 = 91.3%), 9.4% (4.8–14%, I2 = 57.3%) and 14.2% (9.5–18.9%, I2 = 0%). Differences between proportions were significant in R0 for EA compared to SA (p = 0.007) and PD (p = 0.022). AEs were statistically different only between EA and PD (p = 0.049) and recurrence showed no significance for EA/SA or EA/PD. Our data indicate an increased rate of complete resection in surgical interventions accompanied with a higher risk of complications. However, studies showed various sources of bias, limited quality of data and a significant heterogeneity, particularly in EA studies.
Blockchain Technology: Emerging Applications and Use Cases for Secure and Trustworthy Smart Systems
Authors: B. Rawat Danda , Chaudhary Vijay , Doku Ronald
Published: November 2020

Blockchain, also known as a distributed ledger technology, stores different transactions/operations in a chain of blocks in a distributed manner without needing a trusted third-party. Blockchain is proven to be immutable, which helps with integrity and accountability, and, to some extent, confidentiality through a pair of public and private keys. Blockchain has been in the spotlight after successful boom of the Bitcoin. There have been efforts to leverage salient features of Blockchain for different applications and use cases. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of applications and use cases of Blockchain technology for making smart systems secure and trustworthy. Specifically, readers of this paper can have thorough understanding of applications and use cases of Blockchain technology.
Virtual Quality Gates in Manufacturing Systems: Framework, Implementation and Potential
Authors: Filz Marc-André , Gellrich Sebastian , Turetskyy Artem , Wessel Jacob , Herrmann Christoph , Thiede Sebastian
Published: November 2020

Manufacturing companies are exposed to increased complexity and competition. To stay competitive, companies need to minimize the total cost of quality while ensuring high transparency about process–product relationships within the manufacturing system. In this context, the development of technologies such as advanced analytics and cyber physical production systems offer a promising approach. This paper discusses and defines essential elements of virtual quality gates in the context of manufacturing systems. To support the planning and implementation of virtual quality gates, a morphological box is developed which can be used to identify and derive an individual approach for a virtual quality gate based on the specific characteristics and requirements of the respective manufacturing system. Moreover, the framework is exemplified by three case studies from various industries and resulting potential are discussed.
A Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Isogenic Model of Huntington’s Disease Based on Neuronal Cells Has Several Relevant Phenotypic Abnormalities
Authors: Malankhanova Tuyana , Suldina Lyubov , Grigor’eva Elena , Medvedev Sergey , Minina Julia , Morozova Ksenia , Kiseleva Elena , Zakian Suren , Malakhova Anastasia
Published: November 2020

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG triplet expansion in the first exon of the HTT gene. Here we report the introduction of an HD mutation into the genome of healthy human embryonic fibroblasts through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination. We verified the specificity of the created HTT-editing system and confirmed the absence of undesirable genomic modifications at off-target sites. We showed that both mutant and control isogenic induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived by reprogramming of the fibroblast clones can be differentiated into striatal medium spiny neurons. We next demonstrated phenotypic abnormalities in the mutant iPSC-derived neural cells, including impaired neural rosette formation and increased sensitivity to growth factor withdrawal. Moreover, using electron microscopic analysis, we detected a series of ultrastructural defects in the mutant neurons, which did not contain huntingtin aggregates, suggesting that these defects appear early in HD development. Thus, our study describes creation of a new isogenic iPSC-based cell system that models HD and recapitulates HD-specific disturbances in the mutant cells, including some ultrastructural features implemented for the first time.
Hybrid PET–MRI Imaging in Paediatric and TYA Brain Tumours: Clinical Applications and Challenges
Authors: Shankar Ananth , Bomanji Jamshed , Hyare Harpreet
Published: November 2020

(1) Background: Standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains the gold standard for brain tumour imaging in paediatric and teenage and young adult (TYA) patients. Combining positron emission tomography (PET) with MRI offers an opportunity to improve diagnostic accuracy. (2) Method: Our single-centre experience of 18F-fluorocholine (FCho) and 18fluoro-L-phenylalanine (FDOPA) PET–MRI in paediatric/TYA neuro-oncology patients is presented. (3) Results: Hybrid PET–MRI shows promise in the evaluation of gliomas and germ cell tumours in (i) assessing early treatment response and (ii) discriminating tumour from treatment-related changes. (4) Conclusions: Combined PET–MRI shows promise for improved diagnostic and therapeutic assessment in paediatric and TYA brain tumours.
Non-Volatile Regulation of Magnetism via Electric Fields in Polycrystal FeSi/(011) PMN-0.32PT Heterostructures
Authors: Guo Xiaobin , Su Fengchao , Lu Xiaoling , Tang Xingui , Tang Zhenhua , Li Wenhua , Jiang Yanping , Liu Qiuxiang , Zuo Yalu , Xi Li
Published: November 2020

The choice and configuration of the ferroelectric (FE) substrate and the ferromagnetic (FM) layer in FM/FE heterostructures play an important role in magnetism modification with regard to amplitude and efficiency. In this study, we fabricated FeSi films on low crystalline (011) [Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]0.7-[PbTiO3]0.3 (PMN-0.32PT) using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. In the annealed FeSi/(011) PMN-0.32PT heterostructures, the FeSi film presented with a (011) preferred orientated polycrystalline structure and low magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Both loop-like and butterfly-like magnetism modifications were observed by applying bipolar electric fields, and the weak and abnormal electrically mediated magnetism behaviors were significantly different from the prominent magnetic anisotropy transition in FeSi/(011) PMN-0.3PT. The comparative analyses suggest that the resulting high-quality single-crystalline PMN-xPT and FM films with low coercivity are of great significance for exploring giant, reversible, and non-volatile magnetism regulation.
Improving the Mechanical Properties of a β-type Ti-Nb-Zr-Fe-O Alloy
Authors: Cojocaru Vasile Danut , Nocivin Anna , Trisca-Rusu Corneliu , Dan Alexandru , Irimescu Raluca , Raducanu Doina , Galbinasu Bogdan Mihai
Published: November 2020

The influence of complex thermo-mechanical processing (TMP) on the mechanical properties of a Ti-Nb-Zr-Fe-O bio-alloy was investigated in this study. The proposed TMP program involves a schema featuring a series of severe plastic deformation (SPD) and solution treatment (STs). The purpose of this study was to find the proper parameter combination for the applied TMP and thus enhance the mechanical strength and diminish the Young’s modulus. The proposed chemical composition of the studied β-type Ti-alloy was conceived from already-appreciated Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr alloys with high β-stability by replacing the expensive Ta with more accessible Fe and O. These chemical additions are expected to better enhance β-stability and thus avoid the generation of ω, α’, and α” during complex TMP, as well as allow for the processing of a single bcc β-phase with significant grain diminution, increased mechanical strength, and a low elasticity value/Young’s modulus. The proposed TMP program considers two research directions of TMP experiments. For comparisons using structural and mechanical perspectives, the two categories of the experimental samples were analyzed using SEM microscopy and a series of tensile tests. The comparison also included some already published results for similar alloys. The analysis revealed the advantages and disadvantages for all compared categories, with the conclusions highlighting that the studied alloys are suitable for expanding the database of possible β-Ti bio-alloys that could be used depending on the specific requirements of different biomedical implant applications.
Phenomenological Constitutive Models for Hot Deformation Behavior of Ti6Al4V Alloy Manufactured by Directed Energy Deposition Laser
Authors: Niu Yong , Sun Zhonggang , Wang Yaoqi , Niu Jiawei
Published: November 2020

This work focuses on the hot deformation behavior and constitutive models of Ti6Al4V alloy manufactured by directed energy deposition laser (DEDL). The hot compression tests of DEDL Ti6Al4V alloy at deformation temperature of 700–950 °C and strain rate range of 0.001–1 s−1 were carried out. Three phenomenological models including modified Johnson–Cook model, modified Fields–Backofen model, and strain-compensated Arrhenius model were introduced to predict the flow stresses during uniaxial compression. The predictability of the three models is evaluated according to correlation coefficient, average absolute relative error, and average root mean square error. Traditional linear regression method (TLRM) and nonlinear regression analysis (NRA) were used to solve the constants of modified Johnson–Cook model and strain-compensated Arrhenius model, NRA was used to solve the constants of modified Fields–Backofen model. Compared with the TLRM, the NRA improves the accuracy of modified Johnson-Cook model, while has limited effect on that of strain-compensated Arrhenius model. The accuracy of modified Fields–Backofen model and strain-compensated Arrhenius model is higher than that of modified Johnson–Cook model.
Electrophile Modulation of Inflammation: A Two-Hit Approach
Authors: O’Brien James , Wendell Stacy G.
Published: November 2020

Electrophilic small molecules have gained significant attention over the last decade in the field of covalent drug discovery. Long recognized as mediators of the inflammatory process, recent evidence suggests that electrophiles may modulate the immune response through the regulation of metabolic networks. These molecules function as pleiotropic signaling mediators capable of reversibly reacting with nucleophilic biomolecules, most notably at reactive cysteines. More specifically, electrophiles target critical cysteines in redox regulatory proteins to activate protective pathways such as the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Nrf2-Keap1) antioxidant signaling pathway while also inhibiting Nuclear Factor κB (NF-κB). During inflammatory states, reactive species broadly alter cell signaling through the oxidation of lipids, amino acids, and nucleic acids, effectively propagating the inflammatory sequence. Subsequent changes in metabolic signaling inform immune cell maturation and effector function. Therapeutic strategies targeting inflammatory pathologies leverage electrophilic drug compounds, in part, because of their documented effect on the redox balance of the cell. With mounting evidence demonstrating the link between redox signaling and metabolism, electrophiles represent ideal therapeutic candidates for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. Through their pleiotropic signaling activity, electrophiles may be used strategically to both directly and indirectly target immune cell metabolism.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Lateral-Flow Immunoassay
Authors: Khlebtsov Boris , Khlebtsov Nikolai
Published: November 2020

Lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) have been developed and used in a wide range of applications, in point-of-care disease diagnoses, environmental safety, and food control. However, in its classical version, it has low sensitivity and can only perform semiquantitative detection, based on colorimetric signals. Over the past decade, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags have been developed in order to decrease the detection limit and enable the quantitative analysis of analytes. Of note, these tags needed new readout systems and signal processing algorithms, while the LFIA design remained unchanged. This review highlights SERS strategies of signal enhancement for LFIAs. The types of labels used, the possible gain in sensitivity from their use, methods of reading and processing the signal, and the prospects for use are discussed.
Mechanochemical Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite from Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O, CaO, Ca(OH)2, and P2O5 Mixtures
Authors: Dinda Sneha , Bhagavatam Ajay , Alrehaili Husam , Dinda Guru Prasad
Published: November 2020

This paper reports the progress of the mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) starting from six different powder mixtures containing Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O, CaO, Ca(OH)2, and P2O5. The reaction kinetics of HA phase formation during high-energy ball milling was systematically investigated. The mechanochemical reaction rate of the Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O–Ca(OH)2 powder mixture found to be very fast as the HA phase started to form at around 2 min and finished after 30 min of ball milling. All six powder mixtures were transformed entirely into HA, with the crystallite size between 18.5 and 20.2 nm after 1 h and between 22.5 and 23.9 nm after 2 h of milling. Moreover, the lattice strain was found to be 0.8 ± 0.05% in the 1 h milled powder and 0.6 ± 0.05% in all six powders milled for 2 h. This observation, i.e., coarsening of the HA crystal and gradual decrease of the lattice strain with the increase of milling time, is opposite to the results reported by other researchers. The gradual increase in crystallite size and decrease in lattice strain result from dynamic recovery and recrystallization because of an increase in the local temperature of the powder particles trapped between the balls and ball and reactor wall during the high-energy collision.
PNA-Based Graphene Oxide/Porous Silicon Hybrid Biosensor: Towards a Label-Free Optical Assay for Brugada Syndrome
Authors: Moretta Rosalba , Terracciano Monica , Borbone Nicola , Oliviero Giorgia , Schiattarella Chiara , Piccialli Gennaro , Falanga Andrea Patrizia , Marzano Maria , Dardano Principia , De Stefano Luca , Rea Ilaria
Published: November 2020

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a synthetic DNA mimic that outperforms the properties of traditional oligonucleotides (ONs). On account of its outstanding features, such as remarkable binding affinity towards complementary DNA or RNA as well as high thermal and chemical stability, PNA has been proposed as a valuable alternative to the ON probe in gene-sensor design. In this study, a hybrid transducer made-up of graphene oxide (GO) nano-sheets covalently grafted onto a porous silicon (PSi) matrix has been investigated for the early detection of a genetic cardiac disorder, the Brugada syndrome (BS). A functionalization strategy towards the realization of a potential PNA-based device is described. A PNA, able to detect the SCN5A gene associated with the BS, has been properly synthesized and used as a bioprobe for the realization of a proof-of-concept label-free optical PNA-biosensor. PSi reflectance and GO photoluminescence signals were simultaneously exploited for the monitoring of the device functionalization and response.
Relative Contribution of Gestational Weight Gain, Gestational Diabetes, and Maternal Obesity to Neonatal Fat Mass
Authors: Mitanchez Delphine , Jacqueminet Sophie , Lebbah Said , Dommergues Marc , Hajage David , Ciangura Cécile
Published: November 2020

Maternal nutritional and metabolic status influence fetal growth. This study investigated the contribution of gestational weight gain (GWG), gestational diabetes (GDM), and maternal obesity to birthweight and newborn body fat. It is a secondary analysis of a prospective study including 204 women with a pregestational body mass index (BMI) of 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 and 219 women with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. GDM was screened in the second and third trimester and was treated by dietary intervention, and insulin if required. Maternal obesity had the greatest effect on skinfolds (+1.4 mm) and cord leptin (+3.5 ng/mL), but no effect on birthweight. GWG was associated with increased birthweight and skinfolds thickness, independently from GDM and maternal obesity. There was an interaction between third trimester weight gain and GDM on birthweight and cord leptin, but not with maternal obesity. On average, +1 kg in third trimester was associated with +13 g in birthweight and with +0.64 ng/mL in cord leptin, and a further 32 g and 0.89 ng/mL increase in diabetic mothers, respectively. Maternal obesity is the main contributor to neonatal body fat. There is an independent association between third trimester weight gain, birthweight, and neonatal body fat, enhanced by GDM despite intensive treatment.
Addendum: Ng, S.W. et al. Cellular Metabolic Profiling of CrFK Cells Infected with Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus Using Phenotype Microarrays. Pathogens 2020, 9, 412
Authors: Ng Shing Wei , Selvarajah Gayathri Thevi , Cheah Yoke Kqueen , Kamal Farina Mustaffa , Omar Abdul Rahman
Published: November 2020

The authors wish to add another citation to the published paper [...]
Development of Lidocaine-Loaded Dissolving Microneedle for Rapid and Efficient Local Anesthesia
Authors: Yang Huisuk , Kang Geonwoo , Jang Mingyu , Um Daniel Junmin , Shin Jiwoo , Kim Hyeonjun , Hong Jintae , Jung Hyunji , Ahn Hyemyoung , Gong Seongdae , Lee Chisong , Jung Ui-Won , Jung Hyungil
Published: November 2020

Lidocaine is a local anesthetic agent used in the form of injection and topical cream. However, these formulation types have limitations of being either painful or slow-acting, thereby hindering effective and complete clinical performance of lidocaine. Dissolving microneedles (DMNs) are used to overcome these limitations owing to their fast onset time and minimally invasive administration methods. Using hyaluronic acid and lidocaine to produce the drug solution, a lidocaine HCl encapsulated DMN (Li-DMN) was fabricated by centrifugal lithography. The drug delivery rate and local anesthetic quality of Li-DMNs were evaluated using the pig cadaver insertion test and Von Frey behavior test. Results showed that Li-DMNs could deliver sufficient lidocaine for anesthesia that is required to be utilized for clinical level. Results from the von Frey test showed that the anesthetic effect of Li-DMNs was observed within 10 min after administration, thus confirming fast onset time. A toxicity test for appropriate clinical application standard was conducted with a microbial limit test and an animal skin irritation test, showing absence of skin irritation and irritation-related microorganisms. Overall, Li-DMN is a possible alternative drug delivery method for local anesthesia, meeting the requirements for clinical conditions and overcoming the drawbacks of other conventional lidocaine administration methods.
Extended Access to Hormonal Contraception in Pharmacies: A Survey among Swiss Pharmacists
Authors: Yous Tamara , Allemann Samuel , Lutters Monika
Published: November 2020

Background: Worldwide the availability to Hormonal Contraceptives (HC) varies from over the counter (OTC) to prescription-only access. In various countries pharmacists are allowed to prescribe HC, although conditions may be different. In Switzerland, HC require a prescription from a physician, although Swiss law allows pharmacists to dispense prescription-only medications in justified exceptional cases without a valid physician’s prescription. This study aimed to identify current dispensing practices for HC in Swiss pharmacies, pharmacists’ knowledge about HC, and their opinion and interest about expanding access to HC. Methods: Web-based survey among Swiss pharmacists. Results: This survey was completed by 397 registered pharmacists and 331 (83%) were included for analysis. The survey showed that 21% of respondents regularly dispense HC without prescription and that a high number of participants are either very interested (57%, n = 189) or rather interested (33%, n = 110) in extended pharmacy access to HC. The majority did not or rather not support physician’s prescription-only status (77%, n = 256) or OTC availability (94%, n = 310). Furthermore, surveyed pharmacists are willing to train for contraception services (90%, n = 299). According to participants, resistance of physicians is the most relevant barrier to this service (88%, n = 292). Conclusion: Surveyed pharmacists are interested in extended access to HC.
Soteriology of Suffering: Evangelical Christians in Russia and the Trauma of Political Repression
Authors: Mitrofanova Anastasia , Riazanova Svetlana , Benda Richard
Published: November 2020

This article, based on 60 in-depth interviews with the descendants of survivors of political repression, aims at finding out how making sense of a collective traumatogenic experience differs in the case of Evangelical (Baptist and Pentecostal) communities compared with the rest of the cohort. The authors conclude that, in the case of people without religious affiliation, an intergenerational memory transmission mechanism is absent; descendants up to the fifth generation envision the suffering of their ancestors as accidental and meaningless for the present and future. As a result, most descendants refuse to participate in the process of trauma creation. Alternatively, in the final master narrative of the Pentecostals and Baptists, the persecution was an inevitable result of faith. Evangelical descendants construct cultural trauma around a providential event needed to ensure individual salvation and to prevent secularization of the church; for them suffering remains meaningful for the present and future. This allows for the transformation of the stigma that was spoiling their collective identity into a badge of honor, into stigmata, revealing that these believers follow the way of Christ.
Jewish and Hebrew Books in Marsh’s Library: Materiality and Intercultural Engagement in Early Modern Ireland
Authors: Anderson Bradford A. , McElligott Jason
Published: November 2020

Marsh’s Library in Dublin, Ireland, is an immaculately preserved library from the early eighteenth century. Founded by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, the library has an extensive collection of Jewish and Hebrew books which includes Hebrew Bibles, Talmudic texts, rabbinic writings, and Yiddish books that date back to the early modern period. This study explores a cross section of the Jewish and Hebrew books in Marsh’s collection, with particular focus on issues of materiality—that is, how these books as material artefacts can inform our understanding of early modern history, religion, and intercultural engagement. We suggest that these books, a majority of which come from Marsh’s personal collection, are a valuable resource for reflection on (1) Christian engagement with Jewish culture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, (2) the production, use, and travel of Jewish books in early modern Europe, and (3) snapshots of Jewish life in early modern Ireland and beyond.
Application of the DIC Technique to Remote Control of the Hydraulic Load System
Authors: Jasiński Radosław , Stebel Krzysztof , Domin Jarosław
Published: November 2020

Displacements or deformations of materials or structures are measured with linear variable differential transducers (LVDT), fibre optic sensors, laser sensors, and confocal sensor systems, while strains are measured with electro-resistant tensometers or wire strain gauges. Measurements significantly limited to a point or a small area are the obvious disadvantage of these measurements. Such disadvantages are eliminated by performing measurements with optical techniques, such as digital image correlation (DIC) or electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). Many devices applied to optical measurements only record test results and do not cooperate with the system that exerts and controls load. This paper describes the procedure for preparing a test stand involving the Digital Image Correlation system ARAMIS 6M for remote-controlled loading. The existing hydraulic power pack (ZWICK-ROELL) was adapted by installing the modern NI cRIO-9022 controller operating under its own software developed within the LABVIEW system. The application of the DIC techniques to directly control load on the real structure is the unquestionable innovation of the described solution. This led to the elimination of errors caused by the test stand susceptibility and more precise relations between load and displacements/strains which have not been possible using the previous solutions. This project is a synergistic and successful combination of civil engineering, computer science, automatic control engineering and electrical engineering that provides a new solution class. The prepared stand was tested using two two-span, statically non-determinable reinforced concrete beams loaded under different conditions (force or displacement). The method of load application was demonstrated to affect the redistribution of bending moments. The conducted tests confirmed the suitability of the applied technique for the remote controlling and recording of test results. Regardless of the load control method (with force or displacement), convergent results were obtained for the redistribution of bending moments. Force-controlled rotation of the beam section over the support was over 50% greater than rotation of the second beam controlled with an increase in the displacement.
Semantic Segmentation of Airborne LiDAR Data in Maya Archaeology
Authors: Bundzel Marek , Jaščur Miroslav , Kováč Milan , Lieskovský Tibor , Sinčák Peter , Tkáčik Tomáš
Published: November 2020

Airborne LiDAR produced large amounts of data for archaeological research over the past decade. Labeling this type of archaeological data is a tedious process. We used a data set from Pacunam LiDAR Initiative survey of lowland Maya region in Guatemala. The data set contains ancient Maya structures that were manually labeled, and ground verified to a large extent. We have built and compared two deep learning-based models, U-Net and Mask R-CNN, for semantic segmentation. The segmentation models were used in two tasks: identification of areas of ancient construction activity, and identification of the remnants of ancient Maya buildings. The U-Net based model performed better in both tasks and was capable of correctly identifying 60–66% of all objects, and 74–81% of medium sized objects. The quality of the resulting prediction was evaluated using a variety of quantifiers. Furthermore, we discuss the problems of re-purposing the archaeological style labeling for production of valid machine learning training sets. Ultimately, we outline the value of these models for archaeological research and present the road map to produce a useful decision support system for recognition of ancient objects in LiDAR data.
Temporal Changes in Air Quality According to Land-Use Using Real Time Big Data from Smart Sensors in Korea
Authors: Jo Sung Su , Lee Sang Ho , Leem Yountaik
Published: November 2020

This study analyzed the changes in particulate matter concentrations according to land-use over time and the spatial characteristics of the distribution of particulate matter concentrations using big data of particulate matter in Daejeon, Korea, measured by Private Air Quality Monitoring Smart Sensors (PAQMSSs). Land-uses were classified into residential, commercial, industrial, and green groups according to the primary land-use around the 650-m sensor radius. Data on particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 µm (PM10) and <2.5 µm (PM2.5) were captured by PAQMSSs from September‒October (i.e., fall) in 2019. Differences and variation characteristics of particulate matter concentrations between time periods and land-uses were analyzed and spatial mobility characteristics of the particulate matter concentrations over time were analyzed. The results indicate that the particulate matter concentrations in Daejeon decreased in the order of industrial, housing, commercial and green groups overall; however, the concentrations of the commercial group were higher than those of the residential group during 21:00–23:00, which reflected the vital nighttime lifestyle in the commercial group in Korea. Second, the green group showed the lowest particulate matter concentration and the industrial group showed the highest concentration. Third, the highest particulate matter concentrations were in urban areas where commercial and business functions were centered and in the vicinity of industrial complexes. Finally, over time, the PM10 concentrations were clearly high at noon and low at night, whereas the PM2.5 concentrations were similar at certain areas.
Spatio-Temporal Scale Coded Bag-of-Words
Authors: Govender Divina , Tapamo Jules-Raymond
Published: November 2020

The Bag-of-Words (BoW) framework has been widely used in action recognition tasks due to its compact and efficient feature representation. Various modifications have been made to this framework to increase its classification power. This often results in an increased complexity and reduced efficiency. Inspired by the success of image-based scale coded BoW representations, we propose a spatio-temporal scale coded BoW (SC-BoW) for video-based recognition. This involves encoding extracted multi-scale information into BoW representations by partitioning spatio-temporal features into sub-groups based on the spatial scale from which they were extracted. We evaluate SC-BoW in two experimental setups. We first present a general pipeline to perform real-time action recognition with SC-BoW. Secondly, we apply SC-BoW onto the popular Dense Trajectory feature set. Results showed SC-BoW representations to successfully improve performance by 2–7% with low added computational cost. Notably, SC-BoW on Dense Trajectories outperformed more complex deep learning approaches. Thus, scale coding is a low-cost and low-level encoding scheme that increases classification power of the standard BoW without compromising efficiency.
A New Method of Secure Authentication Based on Electromagnetic Signatures of Chipless RFID Tags and Machine Learning Approaches
Authors: Nastasiu Dragoș , Scripcaru Răzvan , Digulescu Angela , Ioana Cornel , De Amorim Raymundo , Barbot Nicolas , Siragusa Romain , Perret Etienne , Popescu Florin
Published: November 2020

In this study, we present the implementation of a neural network model capable of classifying radio frequency identification (RFID) tags based on their electromagnetic (EM) signature for authentication applications. One important application of the chipless RFID addresses the counterfeiting threat for manufacturers. The goal is to design and implement chipless RFID tags that possess a unique and unclonable fingerprint to authenticate objects. As EM characteristics are employed, these fingerprints cannot be easily spoofed. A set of 18 tags operating in V band (65–72 GHz) was designed and measured. V band is more sensitive to dimensional variations compared to other applications at lower frequencies, thus it is suitable to highlight the differences between the EM signatures. Machine learning (ML) approaches are used to characterize and classify the 18 EM responses in order to validate the authentication method. The proposed supervised method reached a maximum recognition rate of 100%, surpassing in terms of accuracy most of RFID fingerprinting related work. To determine the best network configuration, we used a random search algorithm. Further tuning was conducted by comparing the results of different learning algorithms in terms of accuracy and loss.