bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metagenomic Analysis of Serum Microbe-Derived Extracellular Vesicles and Diagnostic Models to Differentiate Ovarian Cancer and Benign Ovarian Tumor
Authors: Kim Se Ik , Kang Nayeon , Leem Sangseob , Yang Jinho , Jo HyunA , Lee Maria , Kim Hee Seung , Dhanasekaran Danny N. , Kim Yoon-Keun , Park Taesung , Song Yong Sang
Published: May 2020

We aimed to develop a diagnostic model identifying ovarian cancer (OC) from benign ovarian tumors using metagenomic data from serum microbe-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). We obtained serum samples from 166 patients with pathologically confirmed OC and 76 patients with benign ovarian tumors. For model construction and validation, samples were randomly divided into training and test sets in the ratio 2:1. Isolation of microbial EVs from serum samples of the patients and 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing were carried out. Metagenomic and clinicopathologic data-based OC diagnostic models were constructed in the training set and then validated in the test set. There were significant differences in the metagenomic profiles between the OC and benign ovarian tumor groups; specifically, genus Acinetobacter was significantly more abundant in the OC group. More importantly, Acinetobacter was the only common genus identified by seven different statistical analysis methods. Among the various metagenomic and clinicopathologic data-based OC diagnostic models, the model consisting of age, serum CA-125 levels, and relative abundance of Acinetobacter showed the best diagnostic performance with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.898 and 0.846 in the training and test sets, respectively. Thus, our findings establish a metagenomic analysis of serum microbe-derived EVs as a potential tool for the diagnosis of OC.
PLZF-RARα, NPM1-RARα, and Other Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Variants: The PETHEMA Registry Experience and Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Sobas Marta , Talarn-Forcadell Maria Carme , Martínez-Cuadrón David , Escoda Lourdes , García-Pérez María J. , Mariz Jose , Mela-Osorio María J. , Fernández Isolda , Alonso-Domínguez Juan M. , Cornago-Navascués Javier , Rodríguez-Macias Gabriela , Amutio María E. , Rodríguez-Medina Carlos , Esteve Jordi , Sokół Agnieszka , Murciano-Carrillo Thais , Calasanz María J. , Barrios Manuel , Barragán Eva , Sanz Miguel A. , Montesinos Pau
Published: May 2020

It has been suggested that 1–2% of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients present variant rearrangements of retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) fusion gene, with the promyelocytic leukaemia zinc finger (PLZF)/RARα being the most frequent. Resistance to all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been suggested in PLZF/RARα and other variant APLs. Herein, we analyze the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of variant APLs reported to the multinational PETHEMA (Programa para el Tratamiento de Hemopatias Malignas) registry, and we perform a systematic review in order to shed light on strategies to improve management of these extremely rare diseases. Of 2895 patients with genetically confirmed APL in the PETHEMA registry, 11 had variant APL (0.4%) (9 PLZF-RARα and 2 NPM1-RARα), 9 were men, with median age of 44.6 years (3 months to 76 years), median leucocytes (WBC) 16.8 × 109/L, and frequent coagulopathy. Eight patients were treated with ATRA plus chemotherapy-based regimens, and 3 with chemotherapy-based. As compared to previous reports, complete remission and survival was slightly better in our cohort, with 73% complete remission (CR) and 73% survival despite a high relapse rate (43%). After analyzing our series and performing a comprehensive and critical review of the literature, strong recommendations on appropriate management of variant APL are not possible due to the low number and heterogeneity of patients reported so far.
Microstructure and Interface Characteristics of 17-4PH/YSZ Components after Co-Sintering and Hydrothermal Corrosion
Authors: Günther Anne , Moritz Tassilo , Mühle Uwe
Published: May 2020

Combining stainless steel with zirconia components by powder technological shaping routes for manufacturing of multifunctional parts is an advantageous and promising one-step method making expensive and time-consuming additional joining steps redundant. However, several requirements for co-shaping and co-sintering of the very different compound partners have to be met. The microstructural and chemical constitution of the interface between both materials plays an important role for the mechanical properties, durability and corrosion resistance of the manufactured parts. In the present study, different shaping techniques for co-shaping of stainless steel and zirconia are introduced. The microstructure and the interphase properties of metal/ceramic hybrid parts have been investigated for samples made by tape casting, subsequent lamination and co-sintering. Nevertheless, the results of this study are valid for components made by other hybrid shaping processes as well. The interfaces were characterized by TEM, FESEM, EDX, and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the hydrothermal stability of the material compound was investigated.
A New Generalized Definition of Fractional Derivative with Non-Singular Kernel
Authors: Hattaf Khalid
Published: May 2020

This paper proposes a new definition of fractional derivative with non-singular kernel in the sense of Caputo which generalizes various forms existing in the literature. Furthermore, the version in the sense of Riemann–Liouville is defined. Moreover, fundamental properties of the new generalized fractional derivatives in the sense of Caputo and Riemann–Liouville are rigorously studied. Finally, an application in epidemiology as well as in virology is presented.
Responses of Germination to Light and to Far-Red Radiation—Can they be Predicted from Diaspores Size?
Authors: Silva Dias Luís , Ganhão Elsa , Soveral Dias Alexandra
Published: May 2020

This paper presents an update of a dataset of seed volumes previously released online and combines it with published data of the photoblastic response of germination of fruits or seeds (light or dark conditions), and of the effects of enhanced far-red radiation on germination. Some evidence was found to support that germination in larger diaspores might be indifferent to light or dark conditions. Similarly, germination in smaller diaspores might be inhibited by far-red radiation. However, the length, width, thickness, volume, shape, type of diaspore, or relative amplitude of volume is essentially useless to predict photoblastic responses or the effects of far-red radiation on germination of diaspores.
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Dentistry–A Comprehensive Review of Literature
Authors: Barabari Poyan , Moharamzadeh Keyvan
Published: May 2020

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has become a real challenge for healthcare providers around the world and has significantly affected the dental professionals in practices, universities and research institutions. The aim of this article was to review the available literature on the relevant aspects of dentistry in relation to COVID-19 and to discuss potential impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on clinical dentistry, dental education and research. Although the coronavirus pandemic has caused many difficulties for provision of clinical dentistry, there would be an opportunity for the dental educators to modernize their teaching approaches using novel digital concepts in teaching of clinical skills and by enhancement of online communication and learning platforms. This pandemic has also highlighted some of the major gaps in dental research and the need for new relevant knowledge to manage the current crisis and minimize the impact of such outbreaks on dentistry in the future. In conclusion, COVID-19 has had many immediate complications for dentistry of which some may have further long-term impacts on clinical practice, dental education and dental research.
On the Potential of Time Delay Neural Networks to Detect Indirect Coupling between Time Series
Authors: Rossi Riccardo , Murari Andrea , Gaudio Pasquale
Published: May 2020

Determining the coupling between systems remains a topic of active research in the field of complex science. Identifying the proper causal influences in time series can already be very challenging in the trivariate case, particularly when the interactions are non-linear. In this paper, the coupling between three Lorenz systems is investigated with the help of specifically designed artificial neural networks, called time delay neural networks (TDNNs). TDNNs can learn from their previous inputs and are therefore well suited to extract the causal relationship between time series. The performances of the TDNNs tested have always been very positive, showing an excellent capability to identify the correct causal relationships in absence of significant noise. The first tests on the time localization of the mutual influences and the effects of Gaussian noise have also provided very encouraging results. Even if further assessments are necessary, the networks of the proposed architecture have the potential to be a good complement to the other techniques available in the market for the investigation of mutual influences between time series.
Teacher Training for ‘Augmented Reading’: The Living Book Approach and Initial Results
Authors: Meletiou-Mavrotheris Maria , Carrilho Ana Rita , Charalambous Constadina , Mavrou Katerina , Christou Christiana
Published: May 2020

Living Book—Augmenting Reading for Life, a three-year EU-funded Erasmus + project (September 2016–August 2019), exploited the affordances of augmented reality (AR) and other emerging technologies in order to address the underachievement of European youth in reading skills. The program developed an innovative approach that empowers teachers from upper primary and lower secondary schools (ages 9–15) to ‘augment’ students’ reading experiences through combining offline activities promoting reading literacy with online experiences of books’ ‘virtual augmentation’ and with social dynamics. Various professional learning activities were designed within the project, aimed at strengthening European teachers’ profile and competences in effectively integrating the Living Book approach into their classroom activities, and in dealing with diversified groups of learners, particularly pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Teachers also received training in how to involve parents, and particularly those from disadvantaged and/or migrant backgrounds, in proreading activities to back the overall Living Book strategy at home. The current article provides an overview of the main phases of the Living Book project implementation, and of the program’s key activities and outputs. It also outlines the content and structure of the ‘Augmented Teacher’ and ‘Augmented Parent-Trainer’ training courses developed within the project. Finally, it reports on the main insights gained from the pilot testing of the courses and the follow-up classroom experimentation that took place in the project partner countries.
Assessment of Project Manager’s Competence in the Context of Individual Competence Baseline
Authors: Sołtysik Mariusz , Zakrzewska Małgorzata , Sagan Adam , Jarosz Szymon
Published: May 2020

This study’s aim is to determine the consistency of student opinions regarding the importance of individual skills in three areas—people, practice, and perspective—with expert assessment. The study group consisted of five-year students accredited by IPMA Poland. The team of experts was comprised of recruiters, project management lecturers, assessors, and information technology (IT) industry project managers. Our research shows divergences in the approach to key competence that a project manager should have. This is understandable, given the specifics of the comparison. However, the analysis that has been conducted and presented will allow the curricula to be revised. The subsequent evaluation of curricula should address the changes in the labor market. Education should provide key competences, especially as modern project management requires a full spectrum of competences and approaches. Besides experience, project management is the most frequently pursued competence that is required in terms of staff recruitment criteria. The research resulting figures may be useful for recruiters, certification institutions, and universities.
Improved RSSI-Based Data Augmentation Technique for Fingerprint Indoor Localisation
Authors: Sinha Rashmi Sharan , Hwang Seung-Hoon
Published: May 2020

Recently, deep-learning-based indoor localisation systems have attracted attention owing to their higher performance compared with traditional indoor localization systems. However, to achieve satisfactory performance, the former systems require large amounts of data to train deep learning models. Since obtaining the data is usually a tedious task, this requirement deters the use of deep learning approaches. To address this problem, we propose an improved data augmentation technique based on received signal strength indication (RSSI) values for fingerprint indoor positioning systems. The technique is implemented using available RSSI values at one reference point, and unlike existing techniques, it mimics the constantly varying RSSI signals. With this technique, the proposed method achieves a test accuracy of 95.26% in the laboratory simulation and 94.59% in a real-time environment, and the average location error is as low as 1.45 and 1.60 m, respectively. The method exhibits higher performance compared with an existing augmentation method. In particular, the data augmentation technique can be applied irrespective of the positioning algorithm used.
Network Management and Monitoring Solutions for Vehicular Networks: A Survey
Authors: Dias João , Rodrigues Joel , Soares Vasco , Caldeira João , Korotaev Valery , Proença Mario
Published: May 2020

Vehicular networks are emerging as a promising technology that enables reliable and low-cost solutions for intelligent transport systems (ITSs), mainly due to their enormous potential to be considered for multiple purposes and scenarios. These networks are characterized by unique and challenging features such as packet fragmentation, low node density, short contact duration, and network disruption. These features may result in the absence of a path between the source and destination nodes, which is one of the most challenging issues faced by this type of network. To overcome some of these problems, it is necessary to provide vehicular networks with sophisticated tools or methodologies to implement monitoring and management operations. However, designing efficient solutions for this type of network is not an easy task due to its particular characteristics. This paper elaborates on a comprehensive survey focusing on promising proposals to deal with monitoring and management functionalities in vehicular networks. This work aims not only to present the state of the art on monitoring and management solutions but also to analyze their benefits and drawbacks, identify open issues, and provide guidelines for further contributions.
A Learning Frequency-Aware Feature Siamese Network for Real-Time Visual Tracking
Authors: Yang Yuxiang , Xing Weiwei , Zhang Shunli , Yu Qi , Guo Xiaoyu , Guo Min
Published: May 2020

Visual object tracking by Siamese networks has achieved favorable performance in accuracy and speed. However, the features used in Siamese networks have spatially redundant information, which increases computation and limits the discriminative ability of Siamese networks. Addressing this issue, we present a novel frequency-aware feature (FAF) method for robust visual object tracking in complex scenes. Unlike previous works, which select features from different channels or layers, the proposed method factorizes the feature map into multi-frequency and reduces the low-frequency information that is spatially redundant. By reducing the low-frequency map’s resolution, the computation is saved and the receptive field of the layer is also increased to obtain more discriminative information. To further improve the performance of the FAF, we design an innovative data-independent augmentation for object tracking to improve the discriminative ability of tracker, which enhanced linear representation among training samples by convex combinations of the images and tags. Finally, a joint judgment strategy is proposed to adjust the bounding box result that combines intersection-over-union (IoU) and classification scores to improve tracking accuracy. Extensive experiments on 5 challenging benchmarks demonstrate that our FAF method performs favorably against SOTA tracking methods while running around 45 frames per second.
Learning Ratio Mask with Cascaded Deep Neural Networks for Echo Cancellation in Laser Monitoring Signals
Authors: Lang Haitao , Yang Jie
Published: May 2020

Laser monitoring has received more and more attention in many application fields thanks to its essential advantages. The analysis shows that the target speech in the laser monitoring signals is often interfered by the echoes, resulting in a decline in speech intelligibility and quality, which in turn affects the identification of useful information. The cancellation of echoes in laser monitoring signals is not a trivial task. In this article, we formulate it as a simple but effective additive echo noise model and propose a cascade deep neural networks (C-DNNs) as the mapping function from the acoustic feature of noisy speech to the ratio mask of clean signal. To validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method, we investigated the effect of echo intensity, echo delay, and training target on the performance. We also compared the proposed C-DNNs to some traditional and newly emerging DNN-based supervised learning methods. Extensive experiments demonstrated the proposed method can greatly improve the speech intelligibility and speech quality of the echo-cancelled signals and outperform the comparison methods.
Energy Efficiency in Transportation along with the Belt and Road Countries
Authors: Akbar Usman , Popp József , Khan Hameed , Khan Muhammad Asif , Oláh Judit
Published: May 2020

China’s huge investment in the “belt and road initiative” (BRI) may have helped improve the economic level of participating countries, but it may also be accompanied by a substantial increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The BRI corridors aim to bring regional stability and prosperity. In such efforts, energy efficiency due to increased transport has been overlooked in the recent literature. This paper employed a data envelopment analysis of the slack-based measurement (SBM) for bad output to assess the transport energy efficiency of 19 countries under the BRI economic corridors. By using the most cited transport-related input variables, such as vehicles, labor, motor oil, jet fuel, and natural gas, this study first analyzes the transport energy efficiency by first assuming the output variables individually and then takes two years as a pre- and post-BRI case by considering the aggregated output model. The results show an increase in economic activity but a decline in transport energy efficiency in terms of consumption and emissions.
A Thermodynamic Analysis of an Air-Cooled Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Operated in Different Climate Regions
Authors: Berning Torsten , Knudsen Kær Søren
Published: May 2020

A fundamental thermodynamic analysis of an air-cooled fuel cell, where the reactant air stream is also the coolant stream, is presented. The adiabatic cell temperature of such a fuel cell is calculated in a similar way as the adiabatic flame temperature in a combustion process. Diagrams that show the dependency of the cathode outlet temperature, the stoichiometric flow ratio and the operating cell voltage are developed. These diagrams can help fuel cell manufacturers to identify a suitable blower and a suitable operating regime for their fuel cell stacks. It is found that for standard conditions, reasonable cell temperatures are obtained for cathode stoichiometric flow ratios of ξ = 50 and higher, which is in very good agreement with manufacturer’s recommendations. Under very cold ambient conditions, the suggested stoichiometric flow ratio is only in the range of ξ = 20 in order to obtain a useful fuel cell operating temperature. The outside relative humidity only plays a role at ambient temperatures above 40 °C, and the predicted stoichiometric flow ratios should be above ξ = 70 in this region. From a thermodynamic perspective, it is suggested that the adiabatic outlet temperature is a suitable definition of the fuel cell operating temperature.
Policy Implications for the Clean Energy Transition: The Case of the Boston Area
Authors: Tani Almona , Morone Piergiuseppe
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we investigate the transition to clean energy technologies in the Boston area, as perceived through the lens of strategic niche management. The main goal of the study was to assess the role of policy in fostering/hindering the development of the clean energy niche and the complete deployment of clean energy technologies in this area. Using argumentative discourse analysis, our research showed that the clean energy niche in the Boston area is generally perceived as strong and dynamic. However, the public de-legitimizing narrative identified gaps at the policy level that include, among others, the limited engagement of the local and federal government in breaking through well-established practices and regulatory frameworks, funding, and infrastructure. These gaps are likely to delay the market uptake of clean energies in this area.
Effect of the DC-Link Capacitor Size on the Wireless Inductive-Coupled Opportunity-Charging of a Drone Battery
Authors: Carloni Andrea , Baronti Federico , Di Rienzo Roberto , Roncella Roberto , Saletti Roberto
Published: May 2020

Wireless inductive-coupled power transfer and opportunity battery charging are very appealing techniques in drone applications. Weight and size are very critical constraints in drones, so the battery and the on-board electronics must be as light and small as possible. The on-board components involved in the resonant inductive-coupled wireless power transfer usually consist of the secondary coil, the compensation capacitor, the bridge rectifier, the LC-filter and the battery. This paper suggests a sizing of the LC-filter capacitor that improves the charging power of the battery. In addition, further on-board space and size is saved by using the stray inductance of the battery as filtering inductor. LTSpice simulations and experimental tests carried out on the prototype of a wireless power transfer circuit shows the dependency of the power delivered to the battery on the filter capacitor size. Finally, it is found that the power transfer to the battery is maximized by choosing the capacitor value that sets the LC-filter resonant frequency close to the double of the excitation frequency of the wireless charging. The drawback is a large current and voltage ripple in the battery.
Renewable Energy Utilization Analysis of Highly and Newly Industrialized Countries Using an Undesirable Output Model
Authors: Wang Chia-Nan , Tibo Hector , Duong Duy Hung
Published: May 2020

In the fight against climate change, the utilization of renewable energy resources is being encouraged in every country all over the world to lessen the emissions of greenhouse gases. However, not all countries are able to efficiently utilize these resources, and instead of providing solutions, the inefficient use of renewable energy may lead to even more damage to the environment. Data from eight countries belonging to the highly industrialized countries (HIC) group and nine from newly industrialized countries (NIC) group were used to evaluate the energy utilization of these groups. Factors such as total renewable energy capacity, the labor force, and total energy consumption were considered to be the input factors, while, CO2 emission and gross domestic product are the output factors. These factors were used to calculate efficiency scores of every country from 2013 to 2018 using the undesirable output model of Data envelopment analysis (DEA). The grey prediction model was also used to measure the forecasted values of the input and output factors for the year 2019 to 2022, and measure again the future efficiency scores of the HICs and NICs. The combination of grey prediction and DEA undesirable output model made this paper unusual and the most appropriate method in dealing with data that contains both desired and undesired outputs. The results show that the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the United States continuously top the efficiency ranking among the HIC group, with a perfect 1.0 efficiency score from 2013 to 2022. Russia demonstrates the lowest score of 0.1801 and is expected to perform the same low-efficiency score in the future. Within the NIC group, Indonesia can be highlighted for performing with perfect efficiency starting from the year 2015 and even through 2022. Other NICs are performing at a very low-efficiency, with scores ranging from 0.2278 to 0.2734 on average, with Turkey displaying the lowest rank. This study recommends some useful strategies to improve the utilization of renewable energy resources such as improvements in the political and legal structure surrounding their use and regulation, tax incentives or exemptions to private power producers to encourage shifting away from conventional energy production, partnerships with non-governmental and international organizations that can provide assistance in managing renewable energies, strengthening of the energy sector’s research and development activities and long-term strategic plans for the development in renewable energy with considerations to the social, environmental, and economic impact on each country.
Laser Cutting Characteristics on Uncompressed Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Lee Dongkyoung , Suk Jungdon
Published: May 2020

Lithium-ion batteries are actively used for many applications due to many advantages. Although electrodes are important during laser cutting, most laser cutting studies use commercially available electrodes. Thus, effects of electrodes characteristics on laser cutting have not been effectively studied. Since the electrodes’ characteristics can be manipulated in the laboratory, this study uses an uncompressed anode on laser cutting for the first time. Using the lab-made anode, this study identifies laser cutting characteristics of the uncompressed anode. First, the absorption coefficients of graphite and copper in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared range are measured. The measured absorptivity of the graphite and copper at the wavelength of 1070 nm is 88.25% and 1.92%, respectively. In addition, cutting phenomena can be categorized in five regions: excessive cutting, proper cutting, defective cutting, excessive ablation, and proper ablation. The five regions are composed of a combination of multi-physical phenomena, such as ablation of graphite, melting of copper, evaporation of copper, and explosive boiling of copper. In addition, the top width varies in the order of 10 μm and 1 μm when applying high and low volume energy, respectively. The logarithmic relationship between the melting width and the volume laser energy was found.
Anti-Reflective Coating Materials: A Holistic Review from PV Perspective
Authors: Shanmugam Natarajan , Pugazhendhi Rishi , Madurai Elavarasan Rajvikram , Kasiviswanathan Pitchandi , Das Narottam
Published: May 2020

The solar photovoltaic (PV) cell is a prominent energy harvesting device that reduces the strain in the conventional energy generation approach and endorses the prospectiveness of renewable energy. Thus, the exploration in this ever-green field is worth the effort. From the power conversion efficiency standpoint of view, PVs are consistently improving, and when analyzing the potential areas that can be advanced, more and more exciting challenges are encountered. One such crucial challenge is to increase the photon availability for PV conversion. This challenge is solved using two ways. First, by suppressing the reflection at the interface of the solar cell, and the other way is to enhance the optical pathlength inside the cell for adequate absorption of the photons. Our review addresses this challenge by emphasizing the various strategies that aid in trapping the light in the solar cells. These strategies include the usage of antireflection coatings (ARCs) and light-trapping structures. The primary focus of this study is to review the ARCs from a PV application perspective based on various materials, and it highlights the development of ARCs from more than the past three decades covering the structure, fabrication techniques, optical performance, features, and research potential of ARCs reported. More importantly, various ARCs researched with different classes of PV cells, and their impact on its efficiency is given a special attention. To enhance the optical pathlength, and thus the absorption in solar PV devices, an insight about the advanced light-trapping techniques that deals with the concept of plasmonics, spectral modification, and other prevailing innovative light-trapping structures approaching the Yablonovitch limit is discussed. An extensive collection of information is presented as tables under each core review section. Further, we take a step forward to brief the effects of ageing on ARCs and their influence on the device performance. Finally, we summarize the review of ARCs on the basis of structures, materials, optical performance, multifunctionality, stability, and cost-effectiveness along with a master table comparing the selected high-performance ARCs with perfect AR coatings. Also, from the discussed significant challenges faced by ARCs and future outlook; this work directs the researchers to identify the area of expertise where further research analysis is needed in near future.
Aerodynamic Performance Analysis of a Building-Integrated Savonius Turbine
Authors: Mao Zhaoyong , Yang Guangyong , Zhang Tianqi , Tian Wenlong
Published: May 2020

The building-integrated wind turbine is a new technology for the utilization of wind energy in cities. Previous studies mainly focused on the wind turbines mounted on the roofs of buildings. This paper discusses the performance of Savonius wind turbines which are mounted on the edges of a high-rise building. A transient CFD method is used to investigate the performance of the turbine and the interaction flows between the turbine and the building. The influence of three main parameters, including the turbine gap, wind angle, and adjacent turbines, are considered. The variations of the turbine torque and power under different operating conditions are evaluated and explained in depth. It is found that the edge-mounted Savonius turbine has a higher coefficient of power than that operating in uniform flows; the average Cp of the turbine under 360-degree wind angles is 92.5% higher than the turbine operating in uniform flows. It is also found that the flow around the building has a great impact on turbine performance, especially when the turbine is located downwind of the building.
A Model Predictive Control Strategy for Distribution Grids: Voltage and Frequency Regulation for Islanded Mode Operation
Authors: Ferro Giulio , Robba Michela , Sacile Roberto
Published: May 2020

In the last few years, one of the most important challenges of power technologies has been the integration of traditional energy production systems and distributed energy resources. Large-scale photovoltaic systems and wind farms may decrease the quality of the electrical grid service, mainly due to voltage and frequency peaks and fluctuations. Besides, new functionalities, such as the operation in islanded mode of some portions of the medium-voltage grid, are more and more required. In this respect, a model predictive control for voltage and frequency regulation in interconnected local distribution systems is presented. In the proposed model, each local system represents a collection of intelligent buildings and microgrids with a large capacity in active and reactive power regulation. The related model formalization includes a linear approximation of the power flow equations, based on stochastic variables related to the electrical load and to the production from renewable sources. A model predictive control problem is formalized, and a closed-loop linear control law has been obtained. In the results section, the proposed approach has been tested on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 5 bus system, considering multiple loads and renewable sources variations on each local system.
Accelerated Thermal Aging of Bio-Based Composite Wood Panels
Authors: Tisserat Brent , Montesdeoca Nicholas , Boddu Veera M.
Published: May 2020

Bio-based adhesives and resins are sought as alternatives to synthetics in order to fabricate all-biobased composite wood panels (CWPs), which provide environmentally friendly building products for indoor use. Very little information exists as to how these bio-based CWPs would perform long-term in non-temperature controlled structures such as warehouses and storage units where extreme temperatures occur depending on the season. In this study, novel all-bio-based CWPs were fabricated using a matrix of 50% distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and 50% soybean flour ProsanteTM (PRO) mixed with wood particles. Bio-based CWPs were subjected to accelerated thermal aging for a 10-year period resembling outdoor temperatures in Peoria, IL USA. Four seasonal periods (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall) were simulated varying from −26–40 °C and 36–76% relative humidity (RH). The bio-based adhesive employed consisted of 50% distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and 50% soybean flour ProsanteTM (PRO). CWPs consisted of 15 or 50% DDGS/PRO with 85% or 50% pine wood. CWPs were evaluated for 5, 7.5, and 10-years for their physical, flexural, dimensional stability, surface roughness, FTIR, TGA, and spectral properties. The changes in the CWP properties were notable during the initial 5 years, and later aged samples showed less change.
Rotational Maneuvers of Copepod Nauplii at Low Reynolds Number
Authors: Niimoto Kacie T. M. , Kuball Kyleigh J. , Block Lauren N. , Lenz Petra H. , Takagi Daisuke
Published: May 2020

Copepods are agile microcrustaceans that are capable of maneuvering freely in water. However, the physical mechanisms driving their rotational motion are not entirely clear in small larvae (nauplii). Here we report high-speed video observations of copepod nauplii performing acrobatic feats with three pairs of appendages. Our results show rotations about three principal axes of the body: yaw, roll, and pitch. The yaw rotation turns the body to one side and results in a circular swimming path. The roll rotation consists of the body spiraling around a nearly linear path, similar to an aileron roll of an airplane. We interpret the yaw and roll rotations to be facilitated by appendage pronation or supination. The pitch rotation consists of flipping on the spot in a maneuver that resembles a backflip somersault. The pitch rotation involved tail bending and was not observed in the earliest stages of nauplii. The maneuvering strategies adopted by plankton may inspire the design of microscopic robots, equipped with suitable controls for reorienting autonomously in three dimensions.
Influence of Different Dehydration Levels on Volatile Profiles, Phenolic Contents and Skin Hardness of Alkaline Pre-Treated Grapes cv Muscat of Alexandria (Vitis vinifera L.)
Authors: Corona Onofrio , Planeta Diego , Bambina Paola , Giacosa Simone , Paissoni Maria Alessandra , Squadrito Margherita , Torchio Fabrizio , Río Segade Susana , Cinquanta Luciano , Gerbi Vincenzo , Rolle Luca
Published: May 2020

A dehydration experiment was carried out on Vitis vinifera L. cv Muscat of Alexandria (synonym Zibibbo) following the process for the production of renowned special dessert wines produced on Pantelleria island (Sicily, Italy). Harvested berries were pre-treated in a sodium hydroxide dipping solution (45 g/L, dipped for 185 s, 25 °C) to accelerate the drying process, rinsed, and dehydrated in simulated conditions (relative humidity 30%, 30 °C temperature, air speed 0.9 m/s). Three dehydration levels were achieved, corresponding to “Passolata”, “Bionda”, and “Malaga” stages (35%, 50%, and 65% of weight loss, respectively) of the Pantelleria denomination of origin (DOC). Grape skin mechanical properties, technological parameters, phenolics, and aroma profile varied considerably during dehydration. The most important aroma compounds for their olfactory impact, such as linalool, geraniol, nerol, and citronellol, especially in glycosylated forms, significantly increased in dried grapes compared to fresh ones, even if aroma profile modification occurred. A decrease in break skin force could have induced higher release of flavonoids. The findings showed relevant changes, allowing winemakers to better select the ratio of fresh and dehydrated grapes in the function of the final desired wine.
The First Generation of Japanese Women Psychologists
Authors: Takasuna Miki
Published: May 2020

The purpose of this study was to characterize the first Japanese women psychologists, pre-WWII, as identified by their published work in psychological journals and by their conference presentations at meetings of the Japanese Psychological Association. From my archival survey, I collected data on the education levels, degrees, marital status, and careers of eight women. Three earned PhDs from US universities; five earned BAs from national public universities. All eight psychologists found teaching jobs at colleges. As the centenary of the JPA draws near, this work calls attention for the need to integrate women into the pre-WWII history of psychology when the school system and matriculation prerequisites for women differed from men.
Mul Meyaj Tía U Betá Jump’el Kaj: Working Together to Build a Community in Puuc Archaeology
Authors: Seligson Kenneth E. , Chi Nah Manuel
Published: May 2020

This paper explores specific challenges that archaeologists face when attempting to involve a broader community of local stakeholders in cultural heritage research. We combine our perspectives as a US-based archaeologist and a local community member in a discussion of practical approaches for promoting more equitable research collaborations in the Puuc region of the northern Maya lowlands. The format of the paper includes a blend of dialogue, narrative, and analysis. First, we evaluate the importance of engaging in social interactions outside of the fieldwork setting and examine the limitations to full-coverage community participation. Next, we discuss the structural barriers discouraging greater local interest in cultural heritage research. We assess the potential of linguistic education and digital conservation programs for encouraging broader-scale engagement with knowledge production. Finally, we highlight the importance of employment by archaeological research projects as the critical factor influencing local participation in heritage-related activities. Barring immediate structural changes to the socio-economy of the Yucatán, the most significant way to promote local involvement in cultural heritage projects is for archaeologists and community members to work together to try to secure funding for more sustainable employment opportunities.
Carbon Nanotubes and Short Cytosine-Rich Telomeric DNA Oligomeres as Platforms for Controlled Release of Doxorubicin—A Molecular Dynamics Study
Authors: Wolski Pawel , Nieszporek Krzysztof , Panczyk Tomasz
Published: May 2020

This work deals with molecular dynamics analysis of properties of systems composed of carbon nanotubes and short telomeric DNA strands able to fold into i-motif structures at slightly acidic pH conditions. The studies are focused on possible application of such constructs as pH-controlled drug delivery and release systems. We study two different approaches. The first assumes that folding/unfolding property of these DNA strands might realize a gate closing/opening mechanism with carbon nanotube as a container for drug molecules. The second approach assumes that these DNA strands can modulate the drug intercalating property as a function of pH. As a model drug molecule we used doxorubicin. We found that the first approach is impossible to realize because doxorubicin is not effectively locked in the nanotube interior by DNA oligonuceotides. The second approach is more promising though direct drug release was not observed in unbiased molecular dynamics simulations. However, by applying detailed analysis of pair interaction energies, mobilities and potential of mean force we can show that doxorubicin can be released when the DNA strands fold into i-motifs. Carbon nanotube in that latter case acts mainly as a carrier for active phase which is composed of DNA fragments able to fold into noncanonical tetraplexes (i-motif).
Inflammatory Skin-Derived Cytokines Accelerate Osteoporosis in Mice with Persistent Skin Inflammation
Authors: Mizutani Kento , Isono Kana , Matsushima Yoshiaki , Okada Karin , Umaoka Ai , Iida Shohei , Habe Koji , Hagimori Kohei , Yamazaki Hidetoshi , Yamanaka Keiichi
Published: May 2020

Secondary osteoporosis can also be caused by chronic inflammatory skin disease as well as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease. However, the exact role of osteoporosis in inflammatory skin conditions has not been elucidated. Using a mouse model of dermatitis, we investigated the pathophysiology of osteoporosis in inflammatory skin conditions and the therapeutic impact of osteoporosis medication on inflammatory skin disease. We employed model mice of spontaneous skin inflammation, specifically overexpressing human caspase-1 in the epidermis. Bone density and the expression of various mRNAs in the femur were examined by micro CT and RT-PCR. The effects of minodronate and anti-RANKL antibody on bone structure, histology, and femur blood flow were studied. The mouse model of skin inflammation showed a marked decrease in bone density compared to wild-type littermates with abnormalities in both bone resorption and formation. Minodronate improved bone density by decreasing osteoclasts, but anti-RANKL antibody did not improve. In the dermatitis model, the blood flow in the bone marrow was decreased, and minodronate restored this parameter. A model of persistent dermatitis exhibited marked osteoporosis, but the impact of chronic dermatitis on osteoporosis has not been thoroughly investigated. We should explore the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in skin inflammatory diseases.
Proteasome Inhibitors as a Possible Therapy for SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Longhitano Lucia , Tibullo Daniele , Giallongo Cesarina , Lazzarino Giacomo , Tartaglia Nicola , Galimberti Sara , Li Volti Giovanni , Palumbo Giuseppe Alberto , Liso Arcangelo
Published: May 2020

The COVID-19 global pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2, and represents an urgent medical and social issue. Unfortunately, there is still not a single proven effective drug available, and therefore, current therapeutic guidelines recommend supportive care including oxygen administration and treatment with antibiotics. Recently, patients have been also treated with off-label therapies which comprise antiretrovirals, anti-inflammatory compounds, antiparasitic agents and plasma from convalescent patients, all with controversial results. The ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) is important for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis, and plays a pivotal role in viral replication processes. In this review, we discuss several aspects of the UPS and the effects of its inhibition with particular regard to the life cycle of the coronaviruses (CoVs). In fact, proteasome inhibition by various chemical compounds, such as MG132, epoxomycin and bortezomib, may reduce the virus entry into the eucariotic cell, the synthesis of RNA, and the subsequent protein expression necessary for CoVs. Importantly, since UPS inhibitors reduce the cytokine storm associated with various inflammatory conditions, it is reasonable to assume that they might be repurposed for SARS-CoV-2, thus providing an additional tool to counteract both virus replication as well as its most deleterious consequences triggered by abnormal immunological response.
Cardiac Protective Role of Heat Shock Protein 27 in the Stress Induced by Drugs of Abuse
Authors: Martínez-Laorden Elena , Navarro-Zaragoza Javier , Milanés María Victoria , Laorden María Luisa , Almela Pilar
Published: May 2020

Heat shock proteins (HSP) are induced after different stress situations. Some of these proteins, particularly HSP-27, function as markers to indicate cellular stress or damage and protect the heart during addictive processes. Morphine withdrawal induces an enhancement of sympathetic activity in parallel with an increased HSP-27 expression and phosphorylation, indicating a severe situation of stress. HSP-27 can interact with different intracellular signaling pathways. Propranolol and SL-327 were able to antagonize the activation of hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and the phosphorylation of HSP-27 observed during morphine withdrawal. Therefore, β-adrenergic receptors and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway would be involved in HPA axis activity, and consequently, in HSP-27 activation. Finally, selective blockade of corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF)-1 receptor and the genetic deletion of CRF1 receptors antagonize cardiac adaptive changes. These changes are increased noradrenaline (NA) turnover, HPA axis activation and decreased HSP-27 expression and phosphorylation. This suggests a link between the HPA axis and HSP-27. On the other hand, morphine withdrawal increases µ-calpain expression, which in turn degrades cardiac troponin T (cTnT). This fact, together with a co-localization between cTnT and HSP-27, suggests that this chaperone avoids the degradation of cTnT by µ-calpain, correcting the cardiac contractility abnormalities observed during addictive processes. The aim of our research is to review the possible role of HSP-27 in the cardiac changes observed during morphine withdrawal and to understand the mechanisms implicated in its cardiac protective functions.
Potential Inhibitors for Novel Coronavirus Protease Identified by Virtual Screening of 606 Million Compounds
Authors: Fischer André , Sellner Manuel , Neranjan Santhosh , Smieško Martin , Lill Markus A.
Published: May 2020

The rapid outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China followed by its spread around the world poses a serious global concern for public health. To this date, no specific drugs or vaccines are available to treat SARS-CoV-2 despite its close relation to the SARS-CoV virus that caused a similar epidemic in 2003. Thus, there remains an urgent need for the identification and development of specific antiviral therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. To conquer viral infections, the inhibition of proteases essential for proteolytic processing of viral polyproteins is a conventional therapeutic strategy. In order to find novel inhibitors, we computationally screened a compound library of over 606 million compounds for binding at the recently solved crystal structure of the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2. A screening of such a vast chemical space for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors has not been reported before. After shape screening, two docking protocols were applied followed by the determination of molecular descriptors relevant for pharmacokinetics to narrow down the number of initial hits. Next, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to validate the stability of docked binding modes and comprehensively quantify ligand binding energies. After evaluation of potential off-target binding, we report a list of 12 purchasable compounds, with binding affinity to the target protease that is predicted to be more favorable than that of the cocrystallized peptidomimetic compound. In order to quickly advise ongoing therapeutic intervention for patients, we evaluated approved antiviral drugs and other protease inhibitors to provide a list of nine compounds for drug repurposing. Furthermore, we identified the natural compounds (−)-taxifolin and rhamnetin as potential inhibitors of Mpro. Rhamnetin is already commercially available in pharmacies.