bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gravity gradient bias in the EPF experiment
Authors: Tóth Gyula
Published: February 2020

The Eötvös  Pekár and Fekete (EPF) equivalence test was aimed to check composition dependence of the gravitational force. It was designed to be free from any bias related to the possibly time-varying ambient gravity field. Interestingly in 1986 Fischbach and his colleagues found a systematic composition dependency in the EPF data. This discovery induced an intense debate, and even though the effect was unreproducible, the cause behind is still unknown. Now we found, however, that time-varying gravity gradients may have biased the results in spite of the experimenters’ protocol to avoid it. Moreover, even in a constant, but inhomogeneous gravity field the gravitational force was necessarily different on the EPF samples that had different shapes. These issues are serious: we demonstrate that time-varying ambient gravity alone can fully reproduce the EPF results. Hence, we propose a remeasurement with a careful control of gravity gradient bias. We also discuss other more precise equivalence tests in connection with the above bias.
Rhythmic Network Modulation to Thalamocortical Couplings in Epilepsy
Authors: Qin Yun , Zhang Nan , Chen Yan , Zuo Xiaojun , Jiang Sisi , Zhao Xiaole , Dong Li , Li Jianfu , Zhang Tao , Yao Dezhong , Luo Cheng
Published: February 2020

Thalamus interacts with cortical areas, generating oscillations characterized by their rhythm and levels of synchrony. However, little is known of what function the rhythmic dynamic may serve in thalamocortical couplings. This work introduced a general approach to investigate the modulatory contribution of rhythmic scalp network to the thalamo-frontal couplings in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). Here, time-varying rhythmic network was constructed using the adapted directed transfer function between EEG electrodes, and then was applied as a modulator in fMRI-based thalamocortical functional couplings. Furthermore, the relationship between corticocortical connectivity and rhythm-dependent thalamocortical coupling was examined. The results revealed thalamocortical couplings modulated by EEG scalp network have frequency-dependent characteristics. Increased thalamus- sensorimotor network (SMN) and thalamus-default mode network (DMN) couplings in JME were strongly modulated by alpha band. These thalamus–SMN couplings demonstrated enhanced association with SMN-related corticocortical connectivity. In addition, altered theta-dependent and beta-dependent thalamus-frontoparietal network (FPN) couplings were found in FLE. The reduced theta-dependent thalamus–FPN couplings were associated with the decreased FPN-related corticocortical connectivity. This study proposed interactive links between the rhythmic modulation and thalamocortical coupling. The crucial role of SMN and FPN in subcortical-cortical circuit may have implications for intervention in generalized and focal epilepsy.
Fusing Self-Organized Neural Network and Keypoint Clustering for Localized Real-Time Background Subtraction
Authors: Avola Danilo , Bernardi Marco , Cinque Luigi , Massaroni Cristiano , Foresti Gian Luca
Published: February 2020

Moving object detection in video streams plays a key role in many computer vision applications. In particular, separation between background and foreground items represents a main prerequisite to carry out more complex tasks, such as object classification, vehicle tracking, and person re-identification. Despite the progress made in recent years, a main challenge of moving object detection still regards the management of dynamic aspects, including bootstrapping and illumination changes. In addition, the recent widespread of Pan–Tilt–Zoom (PTZ) cameras has made the management of these aspects even more complex in terms of performance due to their mixed movements (i.e. pan, tilt, and zoom). In this paper, a combined keypoint clustering and neural background subtraction method, based on Self-Organized Neural Network (SONN), for real-time moving object detection in video sequences acquired by PTZ cameras is proposed. Initially, the method performs a spatio-temporal tracking of the sets of moving keypoints to recognize the foreground areas and to establish the background. Then, it adopts a neural background subtraction, localized in these areas, to accomplish a foreground detection able to manage bootstrapping and gradual illumination changes. Experimental results on three well-known public datasets, and comparisons with different key works of the current literature, show the efficiency of the proposed method in terms of modeling and background subtraction.
POVERTY REDUCTION IN CHINA AND INDIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Authors: ZHANG TONGJIN , ZHANG YUAN , WAN GUANGHUA , WU HAITAO
Published: February 2020

This paper attempts to explain why China performed better than India in reducing poverty. As two of the most populous countries in the world, China and India have both experienced fast economic growth and high inequality in the past four decades. Conversely, China adopted a more export-oriented development strategy, resulting in faster industrialization or urbanization and deeper globalization, than India. Consequently, to conduct the comparative study, we first decompose poverty changes into a growth and an inequality components, assessing the relative importance of growth versus distributional changes on poverty in China and India. Then, Chinese data are used to estimate the impacts of industrialization, urbanization and globalization on poverty reduction in rural China. The major conclusion of this comparative study is that developing countries must prioritize employment generation in secondary and tertiary industries through industrialization and globalization in order to absorb surplus agricultural labor, helping reduce poverty in the rural areas.
EVOLUTIONARY NETWORK OF BUSINESS MODEL STUDIES AND APPLICATIONS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
Authors: HO MEI HSIU-CHING
Published: February 2020

Business models are crucial for explaining firm performance. In practice, managers apply business models to increase firm’s advantage. Particularly, innovative business models solve many economic and social problems in emerging economies. To show the knowledge development in the field, we explored the knowledge network and identified the role of business models in emerging economies.

To examine the primary topics in business model studies, we reviewed the academic literature and applied main path analysis (MPA) to explain the development in this field since 2000. The valid sample of this study comprised 665 papers, and citation information was used in the MPA. We further investigated the role of business models in emerging economies through keyword analysis and case analysis.

The results for the main path indicate that the development of business model studies proceeded in three stages. In general, the literature in business model studies has transitioned from discussing internal and external value to framing business model structures. Specifically, in the latest stage, sustainability in a business model was conceptualized, and studies focused on how a business model can function as a structured model for explaining how various businesses operate. Moreover, studies on emerging economies have noted the importance of sustainable business models and model adaptations for firms in developing countries.
On gravitational radiation of microsystems
Authors: Fil’chenkov M. L. , Laptev Yu. P.
Published: February 2020

Intensities of the gravitational radiation from a coalescence of miniholes and quadrupole transitions of hydrogen-like atoms are calculated. The total energies of the background gravitational radiation from the coalescence of miniholes and the graviatom quadrupole transitions prove to be comparable with that from the coalescence of two stellar mass black holes.
Shadow from a rotating black hole in an extended gravity
Authors: Prokopov Vjacheslav , Alexeyev Stanislav
Published: February 2020

We focus on the consequences of that the Event Horizon Telescope obtained images of the black hole shadow in the center of the M87 galaxy. We show that to test extended theories of gravity the improving of the resolution by 3 orders is necessary. In addition it is demonstrated that the rotation distorts the shape of the shadow and corrections from the extended gravity may affect on this distortion.
Comparison and Optimization of Various Coated Ceramic Insulator Artificial Coastal Thermal Power Plant Pollution
Authors: Mariprasath T. , Asokan S. , Ravindaran M.
Published: February 2020

In power system, the post-insulator is a critical apparatus which carries the conductor and also provides isolation between the conductors as well as ground. Besides, it offers mechanical support. However, extreme weather and pollution cause post-insulator flashover, which results in interruption of power supply and revenue loss. Therefore, post-insulator’s pollution flashover study is necessary. The pollution flashover voltage (FOV) is directly related to dominating metrological circumstance and how this pollution severity on the surface of insulator. Mostly, anti-pollution flashover coating is deliberated to be one of the most effective means to prevent and reduce pollution flashover. This paper investigates and compares the application of Epoxy Resin and Room Temperature Vulcanize (RTV) Silicone Rubber for enhancing the performance of ceramic outdoor (near coastal thermal plant area) insulator to defeat the effect of environmental pollution. At first, a real-time pollution performance has been carried out in controlled laboratory setup. It shows that the withstand ability of post-insulator has been 25% with Silicone Rubber coating. Subsequently, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been used to predict the FOV of post-insulator under wet and dry condition. It shows that critical FOV has enriched with anti-reflection coating rate. After that, post-insulator has been modeled by COMSOL multiphysics software, which is used for estimating field distribution on post-insulator. From the modeling, we found that anti-reflection coated post-insulator surface has low electrical stress than that of others.
Automation Software for Semiconductor Research Laboratories: Electrical Parameter Calculation Program (SeCLaS-PC)
Authors: Akkaya A. , Ayyıldız E.
Published: February 2020

We prepared a simple program for basic electrical measurements and parameter extraction from these measurements of metal–semiconductor (MS) contacts. In this paper, we introduce a basic electrical parameter calculation software (SeCLaS-PC) for semiconductor laboratories from the temperature-dependent/independent current–voltage ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]), capacitance– voltage ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]) and capacitance–frequency ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]) measurement results. SeCLaS-PC program was developed using Keysight VEE Pro (Visual Engineering Environment) software and the program has a user-friendly graphical interface. More than 50 device parameters can be easily obtained, using different methods, from the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text], temperature-dependent [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] and temperature-dependent [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] measurement results for one device, with our SeCLaS-PC program.
Non-Maxwellian kinetic equations modeling the dynamics of wealth distribution
Authors: Furioli Giulia , Pulvirenti Ada , Terraneo Elide , Toscani Giuseppe
Published: February 2020

We introduce a class of new one-dimensional linear Fokker–Planck-type equations describing the dynamics of the distribution of wealth in a multi-agent society. The equations are obtained, via a standard limiting procedure, by introducing an economically relevant variant to the kinetic model introduced in 2005 by Cordier, Pareschi and Toscani according to previous studies by Bouchaud and Mézard. The steady state of wealth predicted by these new Fokker–Planck equations remains unchanged with respect to the steady state of the original Fokker–Planck equation. However, unlike the original equation, it is proven by a new logarithmic Sobolev inequality with weight and classical entropy methods that the solution converges exponentially fast to equilibrium.
Optimal approximation of internal controls for a wave-type problem with fractional Laplacian using finite-difference method
Authors: Lissy Pierre , Rovenţa Ionel
Published: February 2020

We consider a finite-difference semi-discrete scheme for the approximation of internal controls of a one-dimensional evolution problem of hyperbolic type involving the spectral fractional Laplacian. The continuous problem is controllable in arbitrary small time. However, the high frequency numerical spurious oscillations lead to a loss of the uniform (with respect to the mesh size) controllability property of the semi-discrete model in the natural setting. For all initial data in the natural energy space, if we filter the high frequencies of these initial data in an optimal way, we restore the uniform controllability property in arbitrary small time. The proof is mainly based on a (non-classic) moment method.
Variational formulae and estimates of O’Hara’s knot energies
Authors: Kawakami Shoya , Nagasawa Takeyuki
Published: February 2020

O’Hara’s energies, introduced by Jun O’Hara, were proposed to answer the question what the canonical shape in a given knot type is, and were configured so that the less the energy value of a knot is, the “better” its shape is. The existence and regularity of minimizers has been well studied. In this paper, we calculate the first and second variational formulae of the [Formula: see text]-O’Hara energies and show absolute integrability, uniform boundedness, and continuity properties. Although several authors have already considered the variational formulae of the [Formula: see text]-O’Hara energies, their techniques do not seem to be applicable to the case [Formula: see text]. We obtain the variational formulae in a novel manner by extracting a certain function from the energy density. All of the [Formula: see text]-energies are made from this function, and by analyzing it, we obtain not only the variational formulae but also the estimates in several function spaces.
Entropy-Based Two-Dimensional Software Reliability Growth Modeling for Open-Source Software Incorporating Change-Point
Authors: Kapur P. K. , Panwar Saurabh , Kumar Vivek , Singh Ompal
Published: February 2020

This study provides an analytical model to predict the fixing pattern of issues in the open-source software (OSS) packages to assist developers in software development and maintenance. Moreover, the continuous evolution of software due to bugs removal, new features addition or existing features modification results in the source code complexity. The proposed model quantifies the complexity in the source code using the Shannon entropy measure. In addition, the issues fixing growth behavior is viewed as a function of continuation time of the software in the field environment and amount of uncertainty or complexity present in the source code. Therefore, a two-dimensional function called Cobb–Douglas production function is applied to model the intensity function of the issues fixing rate. Furthermore, the rate of fixing the different issue types is considered variable that may alter after certain time points. Thus, this study incorporates the concept of multiple change-points to predict and assess the fixing behavior of issues in the software system. The performance of the proposed model is validated by fitting the proposed model to the actual issues data of three open-source projects. Findings of the data analysis exhibit excellent prediction and estimation capability of the model.
Using Ensembles for Class-Imbalance Problem to Predict Maintainability of Open Source Software
Authors: Malhotra Ruchika , Lata Kusum
Published: February 2020

To facilitate software maintenance and save the maintenance cost, numerous machine learning (ML) techniques have been studied to predict the maintainability of software modules or classes. An abundant amount of effort has been put by the research community to develop software maintainability prediction (SMP) models by relating software metrics to the maintainability of modules or classes. When software classes demanding the high maintainability effort (HME) are less as compared to the low maintainability effort (LME) classes, the situation leads to imbalanced datasets for training the SMP models. The imbalanced class distribution in SMP datasets could be a dilemma for various ML techniques because, in the case of an imbalanced dataset, minority class instances are either misclassified by the ML techniques or get discarded as noise. The recent development in predictive modeling has ascertained that ensemble techniques can boost the performance of ML techniques by collating their predictions. Ensembles themselves do not solve the class-imbalance problem much. However, aggregation of ensemble techniques with the certain techniques to handle class-imbalance problem (e.g., data resampling) has led to several proposals in research. This paper evaluates the performance of ensembles for the class-imbalance in the domain of SMP. The ensembles for class-imbalance problem (ECIP) are the modification of ensembles which pre-process the imbalanced data using data resampling before the learning process. This study experimentally compares the performance of several ECIP using performance metrics Balance and g-Mean over eight Apache software datasets. The results of the study advocate that for imbalanced datasets, ECIP improves the performance of SMP models as compared to classic ensembles.
Stable Production Networks
Authors: Sarkhel Manish , Krishnamurthy Nagarajan
Published: February 2020

One of the key features which promote growth of industrial clusters is collaboration among firms within such clusters. Collaboration among firms leads to the formation of networks. Stability of these networks is vital to the sustainability of the particular firms. In this paper, we model a supply chain network where a set of downstream firms (players) source inputs from upstream firms (players) who manufacture goods, add value to the products and resell them. The upstream firms produce identical goods and compete on quantities to sell these goods to the downstream firms. The upstream firms procure goods from the downstream firms and sell them. Additionally, upstream firms network among themselves so as to reduce their costs. We model this setting as a two-stage [Formula: see text]-player strategic network formation game. Firms decide their links before competing on quantities in the second stage of the game. Using the defined model, we derive equilibrium quantities and profits as a function of the network structure and number of firms. Following which we analyze the conditions under which different stable network emerge. Our analysis brings forth several interesting insights such as higher connections among downstream players lead to increased profits for upstream manufacturers. From the network stability perspective, we obtain the conditions under which regular, star, etc. network structures are pairwise and bilaterally stable. Furthermore, we also find the conditions under which core–periphery network structures emerge and are stable.
Nonlinear Vibration of Temperature-Dependent FG-CNTRC Laminated Beams with Negative Poisson’s Ratio
Authors: Yang Jian , Huang Xu-Hao , Shen Hui-Shen
Published: February 2020

Laminated beams made of nanocomposite materials have been used in many industrial sectors. This paper reports a study on the vibration behavior of laminated beams when experiencing the large amplitude vibration. The beams are made of perfectly bonded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (CNTRC) layers. The novel constructions of CNTRC laminated beams with out-of-plane maximum negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) are proposed. The volume fraction of CNT may change across the beam thickness which results in a piece-wise pattern. The material properties of the CNTRC layers are temperature-dependent and can be estimated by the extended rule of mixture model. The beams are considered to rest on a two-parameter elastic foundation and under differential thermal environmental conditions. The higher order shear deformation beam theory is applied to derive the motion equations of the nonlinear vibration of FG-CNTRC laminated beams. These equations include the influencing factors such as the geometrical nonlinearity in the von Kármán sense, the thermal effects and the beam–foundation interaction. The nonlinear vibration solutions can be obtained by employing a two-step perturbation approach. The nonlinear vibration characteristics of FG-CNTRC laminated beams under different sets of loading conditions and thermal environmental conditions are discussed in detail through a series of parametric studies. Numerical results show that the NPR has a significant effect on the large amplitude vibration characteristics of CNTRC laminated beams.
Fractional-Order Anisotropic Diffusion for Defogging of RGB Images
Authors: Nandal Savita , Kumar Sanjeev
Published: February 2020

This paper proposes a novel and efficient algorithm for defogging of color (RGB) images. The fog in a scene is mostly due to the attenuation and airlight map, which decrease the quality of the image of the scene. To enhance such images from the visual point of view, a fractional-order anisotropic diffusion algorithm with [Formula: see text]-Laplace norm is proposed for removing the fog effect. In particular, a coupling term is added in order to model the inter-channel correlations. The weights used in the coupling term stop the transmission of diffusion with in the edges, thus balances the inter-channel data in the diffusion procedure. Experimental results validate the better performance of the proposed algorithm over some of the existing anisotropic diffusion-based methods. The proposed method is independent of the measure of fog in the images, thus images with different amount of fog can be enhanced.
An Effective Image-Adaptive Hybrid Watermarking Scheme with Transform Coefficients
Authors: Yadav Navneet , Goel Navdeep
Published: February 2020

Robust and invisible watermarking provides a feasible solution to prove the ownership of the genuine content owner. Different watermarking algorithms have been presented by the researchers in the past but no algorithm could be termed as perfect. Proposed work puts forward a novel image-adaptive method of embedding a binary watermark in the image in a transparent manner. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT), singular value decomposition (SVD) and discrete cosine transform (DCT) are used together in the proposed hybrid watermarking scheme. Image-adaptive nature of the scheme is reflected in the usage of only high entropy [Formula: see text] blocks for the watermark embedding. Binary watermark is embedded in the DCT coefficients using a flexible strength derived from the means of the DCT coefficients. This flexible strength factor (SF) has different value for the DCT coefficients originated from different [Formula: see text] blocks. Any desired level of visual quality could be obtained by varying the adjusting parameter of the flexible SF. Side information generated in the watermark embedding is used in the detection of watermark. The presented watermarking technique shows better robustness in comparison to the three contemporary watermarking techniques.
A Robust DWT-Based Compressed Domain Video Watermarking Technique
Authors: Sakib Mohammad Nazmus , Gupta Shuvashis Das , Biswas Satyendra N.
Published: February 2020

To achieve robustness and imperceptibility, an adaptive compressed domain blind video watermarking method based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is proposed in this research. In this technique, multiple binary images derived from a single watermark image are first embedded in a video sequence. The spatial spread spectrum watermark is directly incorporated in the compressed bit streams by modifying the four sets of discrete wavelet coefficients. Comprehensive simulation experiments demonstrate that the developed approach is efficient and also robust against spatial attacks such as scaling and frame averaging, noise attacks such as Gaussian and salt pepper noise, and temporal attacks like frame dropping and shifting. Moreover, the proposed approach can also withstand against rotation attacks of arbitrary angle.
Categorial properties of compressed zero-divisor graphs of finite commutative rings
Authors: Đurić Alen , Jevđenić Sara , Stopar Nik
Published: February 2020

By modifying the existing definition of a compressed zero-divisor graph [Formula: see text], we define a compressed zero-divisor graph [Formula: see text] of a finite commutative unital ring [Formula: see text], where the compression is performed by means of the associatedness relation (a refinement of the relation used in the definition of [Formula: see text]). We prove that this is the best possible compression which induces a functor [Formula: see text], and that this functor preserves categorial products (in both directions). We use the structure of [Formula: see text] to characterize important classes of finite commutative unital rings, such as local rings and principal ideal rings.
Algebraic varieties with simple singularities related to some reflection groups
Authors: Escudero Juan García
Published: February 2020

Related to a Coxeter group are certain sets of tangents of the deltoid with evenly distributed orientations forming simplicial line configurations. These configurations are used to construct curves and surfaces with [Formula: see text] singularities. Other surfaces associated with invariants of exceptional complex reflection groups are considered. A new lower bound for the maximal number of [Formula: see text] singularities in a sextic surface is obtained. Several Calabi–Yau threefolds defined as double coverings of the complex projective 3-space branched along nodal octic surfaces and Calabi–Yau quintic threefolds are analyzed. The Hodge numbers of a small resolution of all the nodes of the singular threefolds are obtained.
Quantum enhanced imaging of nonuniform refractive profiles
Authors: Ortolano Giuseppe , Ruo-Berchera Ivano , Predazzi Enrico
Published: February 2020

In this work, quantum metrology techniques are applied to the imaging of objects with a nonuniform refractive spatial profile. A sensible improvement on the classical accuracy is shown to be found when the “Twin Beam (TWB) State” is used. In particular, exploiting the multimode spatial correlation, naturally produced in the Parametric Down Conversion (PDC) process, allows a 2D reconstruction of complex spatial profiles, thus enabling an enhanced imaging. The idea is to use one of the spatially multimode beams to probe the sample and the other as a reference to reduce the noise. A similar model can also be used to describe wave front distortion measurements. The model is meant to be followed by a first experimental demonstration of such enhanced measurement scheme.
Geometry from divergence functions and complex structures
Authors: Ciaglia Florio Maria , Cosmo Fabio Di , Figueroa Armando , Marmo Giuseppe , Schiavone Luca
Published: February 2020

Motivated by the geometrical structures of quantum mechanics, we introduce an almost complex structure [Formula: see text] on the product [Formula: see text] of any parallelizable statistical manifold [Formula: see text]. Then, we use [Formula: see text] to extract a pre-symplectic form and a metric-like tensor on [Formula: see text] from a divergence function. These tensors may be pulled back to [Formula: see text], and we compute them in the case of an N-dimensional symplex with respect to the Kullback–Leibler relative entropy, and in the case of (a suitable unfolding space of) the manifold of faithful density operators with respect to the von Neumann–Umegaki relative entropy.
Alternative Lagrangians obtained by scalar deformations
Authors: Constantinescu Oana A. , Taha Ebtsam H.
Published: February 2020

We study mechanical systems that can be recast into the form of a system of genuine Euler–Lagrange equations. The equations of motions of such systems are initially equivalent to the system of Lagrange equations of some Lagrangian [Formula: see text], including a covariant force field. We find necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a differentiable function [Formula: see text] such that the initial system is equivalent to the system of Euler–Lagrange equations of the deformed Lagrangian [Formula: see text].
The geometry of the trajectories
Authors: Molaei Mohammadreza
Published: February 2020

In this paper, we use of the geometry of a class of the nature flows to define trajectory manifolds. Trajectory connections as a generalization of the Levi-Civita connections are considered. A method for determining the geometry of the flows created by the integral curves of a vector field is presented. The method contains two steps, the first step is finding the connection by the trajectories of a vector field, and the second step is finding a trajectory metric corresponding to the deduced connection. We show that doing the first step is possible, but for some of the vector fields, the second step may not be possible. In the case of existence of a trajectory manifold a new kind of curvature which we called it “trajectory curvature scalar” appears. We calculate trajectory connections for some vector fields and by an example we show that the trajectory curvature scalar for a trajectory manifold may not be equal to the curvature scalar of it. We find trajectory connection for a vector field close to the Schwarzschild black hole.
On asymptotic behavior of Dirichlet inverse
Authors: Baustian Falko , Bobkov Vladimir
Published: February 2020

Let [Formula: see text] be an arithmetic function with [Formula: see text] and let [Formula: see text] be its reciprocal with respect to the Dirichlet convolution. We study the asymptotic behavior of [Formula: see text] with regard to the asymptotic behavior of [Formula: see text] assuming that the latter one grows or decays with at most polynomial or exponential speed. As a by-product, we obtain simple but constructive upper bounds for the number of ordered factorizations of [Formula: see text] into [Formula: see text] factors.
Detection of MicroRNA Based on Three-Dimensional Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor
Authors: Song Ruihong , Tian Meng , Li Yingxian , Liu Jianjian , Liu Guofeng , Xu Shicai , Wang Jihua
Published: February 2020

MicroRNA (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional gene regulators and can be easily detected in plasma, which suggests a promising role as diagnostic markers. In this paper, we reported a nanomaterial of three-dimensional graphene (3D-G) grown on nickel foam by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). As a conductive channel, the 3D-G was made into field-effect transistor (FET) biosensor, showing high-performance in detecting of miRNA. We demonstrated that 3D-G FET biosensor was able to achieve a detection limit as low as 100[Formula: see text]pM and also has a good linear current response to miRNA concentrations in a broad range from 100[Formula: see text]pM to 100[Formula: see text]nM. Overall, the 3D-G FET biosensor was shown as a very promising alternative tool for the detection of miRNAs in biomedical research and early clinical diagnostic studies.
Fabrication of Mixed Polymeric Micelles Based on Stimuli-Responsive Amphiphilic Copolymers for Drug Delivery and Controlled Release
Authors: Liu Jia , Li Juan , Liu Tingting
Published: February 2020

In this report, mixed polymeric micelles (MPMs) system self-assembled from two kinds of cholesterol-grafted amphiphilic block copolymers cholesterol modified poly ([Formula: see text]-amino esters)-grafted disulfide poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether (PAE(-ss-mPEG)-[Formula: see text]-Chol) and poly([Formula: see text]-amino ester)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-cholesterol (PAE-[Formula: see text]-mPEG-Chol) were prepared for drug delivery and controlled release with pH and redox-responsibilities. The self-assembly of two block copolymers was evaluated by measurement of critical micelle concentration (CMC) values using fluorescence spectroscopy. The hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta-potential of MPMs in aqueous were recorded by dynamic light scattering (DLS) at different conditions. Doxorubicin (DOX) was efficiently encapsulated in the micellar core by the hydrophobic interaction. The drug loading content (LC) and encapsulation efficacy (EE) of MPMs with different formulations were evaluated. The DOX was released due to the swelling and disassembly of MPMs induced by low pH and high glutathione (GSH) concentrations. The in vitro results demonstrated that drug release rate and cumulative release were obviously dependent on pH values and reducing agents. The results showed that the MPMs could be the potential anticancer drug delivery carriers with pH/redox-triggered drug release profile.
Effects of Nanoparticles’ Size and Shape on the Thermodynamic Properties of PI/SiO2 Nanocomposites
Authors: Liang Mengfan , Yang An’ni , Zhu Yan , Sun Shuhong
Published: February 2020

In this paper, the effects of SiO2 size (ranging from 5.7[Formula: see text]Å to 7.50[Formula: see text]Å) and shape (spherical, cylindrical and rod) on the interface structure and the thermodynamic performance of polyimide (PI)/SiO2 composites were investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Also, whether the nanofiller with isocyanate propyl triethoxysilane (ICTOS) can highly enhance interaction in PI/SiO2 (bonded PI/SiO[Formula: see text] was investigated by experiment. To enhance the interfacial intensity efficiency, the coupling agent ICTOS was used to modify the surface of the silica nanoparticle. The results showed that the size and shape of SiO2 not only affect the interfacial number of hydrogen bonds and the interfacial area, but also impact on the glass transition temperature of the composites. As the radius of the embedded nanosilica increased, the bonded energy and [Formula: see text] gradually decreased, showing a prominent filler size effect. At the same time, the [Formula: see text] of spherical-type system was significantly greater than the nanosystems of other shapes. This is because as the number of surface atoms and superficial area of the spherical filler are higher than the nanofillers of other shapes, the combination between spherical-type silica and the PI chains is more compact than those between cylindrical and rod-like silica and the PI chains. The contributions of different nanofillers to the filler size dependency of [Formula: see text] of the nanocomposites can be elucidated by comparing the interfacial interaction and net structure between the PI matrix and silica which exhibit prominent filler shape and size dependency. Finally, the results were confirmed by the nonbonded interaction energy and reduced radial distribution function (RRDF), and the highly interaction interface is found to bring about a greater reinforcing effect.
Loosely-Coupled Ultra-wideband-Aided Scale Correction for Monocular Visual Odometry
Authors: Nguyen Thien Hoang , Nguyen Thien-Minh , Cao Muqing , Xie Lihua
Published: February 2020

In this paper, we propose a method to address the problem of scale uncertainty in monocular visual odometry (VO), which includes scale ambiguity and scale drift, using distance measurements from a single ultra-wideband (UWB) anchor. A variant of Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) nonlinear least squares regression method is proposed to rectify unscaled position data from monocular odometry with 1D point-to-point distance measurements. As a loosely-coupled approach, our method is flexible in that each input block can be replaced with one’s preferred choices for monocular odometry/SLAM algorithm and UWB sensor. Furthermore, we do not require the location of the UWB anchor as prior knowledge and will estimate both scale and anchor location simultaneously. However, it is noted that a good initial guess for anchor position can result in more accurate scale estimation. The performance of our method is compared with state-of-the-art on both public datasets and real-life experiments.
Constraints on Poverty Reduction Cooperation Under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism
Authors: Jiacheng Li , Zengtaozi Li
Published: February 2020

Poverty is the biggest problem standing in the way of economic development and political stability in the Mekong River sub-region. Multilateral poverty reduction cooperation in this sub-region has long been focused on stimulating economic growth through increased investment and foreign aid in such areas as environmental protection, health care, education, and vocational training. As a relatively new cooperative platform, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism has played an increasingly prominent role in sub-regional economic development and integration; and a joint task force has been set up to draw up multilateral initiatives and plans better tailored to local conditions and needs. Nonetheless, the LMC must increase its relevance and effectiveness in poverty reduction by complementing and coordinating with other existing sub-regional programs amid intensifying power competition in the broad Indo-Pacific region, while taking into account different national development philosophies as well as rising environmental and resource concerns.
Innovation-led Development: The Logic of China’s Economic Development
Authors: Lei Jiasu , Zhang Qingzhi , Qi Yaoyuan
Published: February 2020

In 2012, the Chinese government put forward the “Innovation-driven Development Strategy”, which has its theory origin as well as its practice and policy origin. At this stage, based on the reality of China’s economic development and the prominent role of “lead innovation” to economic development, China urgently needs to adjust the idea of “Innovation-driven Development” in the past to “Innovation-led Development” and should focus on encouraging and supporting “lead innovation” in order to achieve the purpose of the “steady growth and improve quality”.
Predicting Evolution Using Regulatory Architecture
Authors: Nghe Philippe , de Vos Marjon G.J. , Kingma Enzo , Kogenaru Manjunatha , Poelwijk Frank J. , Laan Liedewij , Tans Sander J.
Published: February 2020

The limits of evolution have long fascinated biologists. However, the causes of evolutionary constraint have remained elusive due to a poor mechanistic understanding of studied phenotypes. Recently, a range of innovative approaches have leveraged mechanistic information on regulatory networks and cellular biology. These methods combine systems biology models with population and single-cell quantification and with new genetic tools, and they have been applied to a range of complex cellular functions and engineered networks. In this article, we review these developments, which are revealing the mechanistic causes of epistasis at different levels of biological organization—in molecular recognition, within a single regulatory network, and between different networks—providing first indications of predictable features of evolutionary constraint.
Electrochemical Performance and Degradation Analysis of an SOFC Short Stack Following Operation of More than 100,000 Hours
Authors: Fang Qingping , Blum Ludger , Stolten Detlef
Published: February 2020

From August 2007 to January 2019, a two-layer solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) short stack of a planer design with zirconia-based, anode-supported cells (ASC) and ITM interconnectors (with 26% chromium content) was tested with hydrogen and compressed air at a furnace temperature of 700°C for more than 100,000 hours, of which ∼93,000 were in constant current mode, with a current density of 0.5 Acm−2 and with a fuel utilization of 40%. The calculated voltage degradation rate slowly decreased, from ∼8.0 mV/kh (∼1.0%/kh) for the first 40,000 h to ∼1.4 mV/kh (∼0.2%/kh) for the subsequent operation under load, indicating different dominating degradation mechanisms. The average voltage and area-specific resistance (ASR) degradation rates for the complete operating period under electrical load were 0.5%/kh and 2.5%/kh, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was also implemented at the end of the testing period for the purpose of electrochemical characterization and a degradation analysis. The post-mortem analysis of the stack is currently in preparation. In this study, the performance and degradation behavior of the stack and cells are analyzed and discussed on the basis of the electrochemical measurements collected.
Role of gut microbiota in sex- and diet-dependent metabolic disorders that lead to early mortality of androgen receptor-deficient male mice
Authors: Harada Naoki , Hanada Kazuki , Minami Yukari , Kitakaze Tomoya , Ogata Yoshiyuki , Tokumoto Hayato , Sato Takashi , Kato Shigeaki , Inui Hiroshi , Yamaji Ryoichi
Published: February 2020

The gut microbiota is involved in metabolic disorders induced by androgen deficiency after sexual maturation in males (late-onset hypogonadism). However, its role in the energy metabolism of congenital androgen deficiency (e.g., androgen-insensitive syndrome) remains elusive. Here, we examined the link between the gut microbiota and metabolic disease symptoms in androgen receptor knockout (ARKO) mouse by administering high-fat diet (HFD) and/or antibiotics. HFD-fed male, but not standard diet-fed male or HFD-fed female, ARKO mice exhibited increased feed efficiency, obesity with increased visceral adipocyte mass and hypertrophy, hepatic steatosis, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and loss of thigh muscle. In contrast, subcutaneous fat mass accumulated in ARKO mice irrespective of the diet and sex. Notably, all HFD-dependent metabolic disorders observed in ARKO males were abolished after antibiotics administration. The ratios of fecal weight-to-food weight and cecum weight-to-body weight were specifically reduced by ARKO in HFD-fed males. 16S rRNA sequencing of fecal microbiota from HFD-fed male mice revealed differences in microbiota composition between control and ARKO mice. Several genera or species (e.g., Turicibacter and Lactobacillus reuteri, respectively) were enriched in ARKO mice, and antibiotics treatment spoiled the changes. Furthermore, the life span of HFD-fed ARKO males was shorter than that of control mice, indicating that androgen deficiency causes metabolic dysfunctions leading to early death. These findings also suggest that AR signaling plays a role in the prevention of metabolic dysfunctions, presumably by influencing the gut microbiome, and improve our understanding of health consequences in subjects with hypogonadism and androgen insensitivity.
Abnormal Uroguanylin Immunoreactive Cells Density in the Duodenum of Patients with Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Changes following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Authors: Mazzawi Tarek , Eikrem Øystein , Lied Gülen Arslan , Hausken Trygve
Published: February 2020

Altered densities of enteroendocrine cells play an important role in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Uroguanylin activates guanylate cyclase-C to regulate intestinal electrolyte and water transport. Aim. To quantify uroguanylin immunoreactive cells density in the duodenum of diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) patients compared to controls and to investigate the effect of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on these cell densities. Method. Twelve patients with IBS-D according to Rome III criteria were included. The cause was identified as post infectious (PI, n=6) or idiopathic (n=6). They completed the IBS-symptom questionnaire before and 3 weeks after FMT. Thirty grams of fresh feces donated from healthy relatives were diluted with 60 ml normal saline and instilled via endoscope into the duodenum. Biopsies were taken from the patients’ duodenum before and 3 weeks after FMT. Duodenal biopsies taken from eight healthy controls were also included. The biopsies were immunostained for uroguanylin and quantified using computerized image analysis. Results. Uroguanylin immunoreactive cells were found both in duodenal villi and crypts in both controls and IBS-D patients. The densities of uroguanylin immunoreactive cells were significantly lower in the villi (P<0.0001) and higher in the crypts (P<0.0001) for the patients than the controls. Following FMT, the densities of uroguanylin immunoreactive cells for the total group and idiopathic subgroup decreased significantly in the duodenal crypts (P=0.049 and 0.04, respectively) but not in the villi. No significant changes were shown in the PI-IBS subgroups. The cells density in only the crypts correlated with diarrhea (r=0.97, P=0.001) and bloating (r=–0.91, P=0.01) in the PI-IBS subgroup before FMT and with abdominal pain (r=0.63, P=0.03) in the total group of IBS-D patients after FMT. Conclusion. Altered uroguanylin immunoreactive cells density was found in IBS-D patients compared to controls. Changes in these cells density following FMT correlated with IBS symptoms (diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain).
Leymus chinensis Tolerates Mowing Disturbance by Maintaining Photosynthesis in Saline-Alkali Heterogeneous Habitats
Authors: Lu Nan , Qu Luhao , Liu Jun , Yang Jiyun , Bai Long , Huang Yue , Zhou Yanchun
Published: February 2020

Leymus chinensis is a perennial rhizomatous clonal plant with strong tolerance to mowing, grazing, drought, and salt-alkali. However, with patchy soil environment, how mowing affect the photosynthesis of L. chinensis in heterogeneous patches is largely unknown. In this experiment, we tested the effects of mowing intensity (0, 35%, and 70% removal of aboveground biomass) on plant photosynthesis under different heterogeneous patches with different saline-alkali soil. We found that moderate concentrations of salt-alkali under heterogeneous patches have no significant effect on the photosynthesis of L. chinensis. Moderate mowing can maintain photosynthesis under no heterogeneity soil and moderate salt-alkali patch condition. In addition, heavy mowing and high salt-alkali soil under heterogeneous patches both inhibited net photosynthetic rate (PN) and transpiration rate (E), reduced leaf area, and plant height. L. chinensis responded to extreme soil conditions and strong disturbance by increasing water-use efficiency (WUE), reducing relative water content (RWC), and changing stomatal conductance (Gsw). Therefore, our results imply that moderate grazing or mowing can be used to maintain the productivity and economic benefits of grassland when the soil heterogeneous patches with moderate saline-alkali conditions.
ZNF143 Suppresses Cell Apoptosis and Promotes Proliferation in Gastric Cancer via ROS/p53 Axis
Authors: Zhang Yi , Li Qing , Wei Song , Sun Jing , Zhang Xuan , He Ling , Zhang Lu , Xu Zekuan , Chen Dexuan
Published: February 2020

Aim. This study was aimed at identifying the role of zinc finger protein 143 (ZNF143) in gastric cancer (GC) progression. Methods. The impact of ZNF143 on the proliferation ability and apoptosis of GC cells was detected. The expression of ZNF143 and related targeted genes was determined using Western blot analysis. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level of GC cells was examined using the ROS generation assay. The role of ZNF143 in the proliferation of GC cells in vivo was examined using tumor xenograft assay. Results. The ectopic overexpression of ZNF143 promoted the proliferation of GC cells, while its knockdown reduced the effect in vitro. The downregulation of ZNF143 facilitated cell apoptosis. ZNF143 decreased the ROS level in GC cells, resulting in the reduction of cell apoptosis. Transfection with p53 reversed the antiapoptotic effect of ZNF143, while pifithrin-α, a specific inhibitor of p53, reduced the apoptosis in ZNF143-knockdown GC cells. However, p53 had no influence on the ROS level in GC cells. p53 played a key role in inhibiting ROS generation in GC cells, thereby inhibiting apoptosis. The transplanted tumor weight and volume were higher in the ZNF143-overexpressed group than in the ZNF143-knockdown group in vivo. The expression of ZNF143 in the transplanted tumor correlated positively with the proliferation index of Ki67 and negatively with the expression of p53 and cell apoptosis. Conclusion. ZNF143, as a tumor oncogene, promoted the proliferation of GC cells both in vitro and in vivo, indicating that ZNF143 might function as a novel target for GC therapy.