bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Error Analysis and Calibration Improvement of the Imaging Section in a Mueller Matrix Microscope
Authors: Yu Jiewei , Cheng Xuemin , Li Maolin
Published: June 2020

Currently, there are various calibration methods available to reduce the errors caused by the polarizing section of a dual-rotating-retarder polarimeter. Although these methods have high measurement accuracy, their robustness must be improved and the influence of the imaging section needs be discussed when they are applied in Mueller matrix microscopes. In this paper, a method of error source analysis and element calibration for the Mueller matrix microscope is proposed by using error transform coefficient matrices to account for the polarizing effect of the imaging section. Using Taylor expansion, an approximate linear relationship is established between the sources of errors and the Mueller matrix elements of the measured sample. From this relationship, error magnification coefficient matrices are calculated to determine the specific parameter errors in both the polarizing and imaging sections. Furthermore, elements in the fourth row or column of the error magnification coefficient matrix are especially important for the imaging section. The measurement and simulation results for an air sample and a quarter-wave plate sample as the standard samples, as well as a Daphnia organism sample with complex internal structure, are investigated and discussed. Furthermore, the comparison results reveal the effect of the imaging section on the birefringence characteristics of the Mueller matrix. With the proposed method, the maximum error can be reduced to be less than 0.01 for all the matrix elements and for the amplitude parameter of birefringence, even when the two system parameters a 2 and a 3 of the rotating mechanical part deviate from the default.
A Novel Mandibular Advancement Device for Treatment of Sleep-Disordered Breathing: Evaluation of Its Biomechanical Effects Using Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Yoon Jonghun , Lee Sang Hwa , Jeong Yuhyeong , Kim Dong-Hyun , Shin Hyun-Il , Lim So Yun
Published: June 2020

Stress or pressure induced by the use of a mandibular advancement device (MAD) to treat sleep-disordered breathing can cause side effects including occlusal changes, pain, and discomfort. In this paper, we describe and use finite element (FE) analysis to evaluate a novel MAD that can reduce the stress and side effects associated with these devices. The MAD includes a protruding part that enables rostral movement of the lower tray, providing a wider upper airway and a supporting shield that helps uniformly distribute the concentrated stress. After assembling the three-dimensional model for the MAD and the upper oral structures, a designated force was applied to evaluate the stress distributions of a conventional MAD and the proposed design. FE analysis showed that the stress applied to the upper front teeth and the gingival area near the upper incisors differed between the newly developed and conventional MAD. Concentrated stress was relieved by inserting such a shield, helping to distribute the stress from the front teeth to the gingival area. Our proposed MAD reduced the concentrated stress on the front teeth by distributing it over the gingival area.
Microgravity, Bone Homeostasis, and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1
Authors: Smith John Kelly
Published: June 2020

Astronauts at are risk of losing 1.0–1.5% of their bone mass for every month they spend in space despite their adherence to high impact exercise training programs and diets high in nutrients, potassium, calcium, and vitamin D, all designed to preserve the skeletal system. This article reviews the basics of bone formation and resorption and details how exposure to microgravity or simulated microgravity affects the structure and function of osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts, and their mesenchymal and hematologic stem cell precursors. It details the critical roles that insulin-like growth factor-1 and its receptor insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (GFR1) play in maintaining bone homeostasis and how exposure of bone cells to microgravity affects the function of these growth factors. Lastly, it discusses the potential of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, syncytin-A, sclerostin inhibitors and recombinant IGF-1 as a bone-saving treatment for astronauts in space and during their colonization of the Moon.
Hyperspectral Superpixel-Wise Glioblastoma Tumor Detection in Histological Samples
Authors: Ortega Samuel , Fabelo Himar , Halicek Martin , Camacho Rafael , Plaza María de la Luz , Callicó Gustavo M. , Fei Baowei
Published: June 2020

The combination of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and digital pathology may yield more accurate diagnosis. In this work, we propose the use of superpixels in HS images for combining regions of pixels that can be classified according to their spectral information to classify glioblastoma (GB) brain tumors in histologic slides. The superpixels are generated by a modified simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) method to accommodate HS images. This work employs a dataset of H&E (Hematoxylin and Eosin) stained histology slides from 13 patients with GB and over 426,000 superpixels. A linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier was performed on independent training, validation, and testing datasets. The results of this investigation show that the proposed method can detect GB brain tumors from non-tumor samples with average sensitivity and specificity of 87% and 81%, respectively. The overall accuracy of this method is 83%. The study demonstrates that hyperspectral digital pathology can be useful for detecting GB brain tumors by exploiting spectral information alone on a superpixel level.
A Simplified Method for Real-Time Prediction of Temperature in Mass Concrete at Early Age
Authors: An Guo , Yang Ning , Li Qingbin , Hu Yu , Yang Huiting
Published: June 2020

According to the practice of temperature control in dam concrete, within a few days after a concrete block is poured, the temperature at the core of the concrete rises rapidly. The maximum temperature may still exceed the standard even under a relatively perfect post-cooling system, which is mostly caused by failure to quickly and correctly judge the development of the early-age temperature. This study investigates concrete temperature at an early age via in situ monitoring data collected from Baihetan arch dam and Wudongde arch dam. A simplified algorithm of temperature prediction is formed, which only considers the heat released by cement hydration and the cooling effect of cooling pipes. The influence of a cooling pipe on the measuring point of the thermometer is investigated, and a simple empirical formula to calculate the cooling effect is obtained. An equation for the rate of hydration temperature rise is achieved by combining measured data and the formula used to calculate the cooling effect. Furthermore, through the explorations of the related data, it is determined that the cement hydration ratio of the two dams is quite low during concreting. On the basis of the data collected from the field, the method to predict temperature proposed in this study is tested and proven.
Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics in Chlorine-Dynamics Modeling of In-Situ Chlorination Systems for Cooling Systems
Authors: Yi Jongchan , Lee Jonghun , Fikri Mohd Amiruddin , Sang Byoung-In , Kim Hyunook
Published: June 2020

Chlorination is the preferred method to control biofouling in a power plant cooling system due to its comparative effectiveness and low cost. If a power plant is located in a coastal area, chlorine can be electrochemically generated in-situ using seawater, which is called in-situ electro-chlorination; this approach has several advantages including fewer harmful chlorination byproducts and no need for chlorine storage. Nonetheless, this electrochemical process is still in its infancy in practice. In this study, a parallel first-order kinetics was applied to simulate chlorine decay in a pilot-scale cooling system. Since the decay occurs along the water-intake pipe, the kinetics was incorporated into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, which were subsequently applied to simulate chlorine behavior in the pipe. The experiment and the simulation data indicated that chlorine concentrations along the pipe wall were incremental, even under the condition where a strong turbulent flow was formed. The fact that chlorine remained much more concentrated along the pipe surface than in the middle allowed for the reduction of the overall chlorine demand of the system based on the electro-chlorination. The cooling system, with an in-situ electro-chlorination, consumed only 1/3 of the chlorine dose demanded by the direct injection method. Therefore, it was concluded that in-situ electro-chlorination could serve as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach for biofouling control at power plants on coastal areas.
Structural Correlation Based Method for Image Forgery Classification and Localization
Authors: Pham Nam Thanh , Lee Jong-Weon , Park Chun-Su
Published: June 2020

In the image forgery problems, previous works has been chiefly designed considering only one of two forgery types: copy-move and splicing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to handle both copy-move and splicing image forgery by concurrently classifying the image forgery types and localizing the forged regions. The structural correlations between images are employed in the forgery clustering algorithm to assemble relevant images into clusters. Then, we search for the matching of image regions inside each cluster to classify and localize tampered images. Comprehensive experiments are conducted on three datasets (MICC-600, GRIP, and CASIA 2) to demonstrate the better performance in forgery classification and localization of the proposed method in comparison with state-of-the-art methods. Further, in copy-move localization, the source and target regions are explicitly specified.
Semantic and Syntactic Interoperability for Agricultural Open-Data Platforms in the Context of IoT Using Crop-Specific Trait Ontologies
Authors: Aydin Sahin , Aydin Mehmet Nafiz
Published: June 2020

In recent years, Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based applications have been used in various domains such as health, industry and agriculture. Considerable amounts of data in diverse formats are collected from wireless sensor networks (WSNs) integrated into IoT devices. Semantic interoperability of data gathered from IoT devices is generally being carried out using existing sensor ontologies. However, crop-specific trait ontologies—which include site-specific parameters concerning hazelnut as a particular agricultural product—can be used to make links between domain-specific variables and sensor measurement values as well. This research seeks to address how to use crop-specific trait ontologies for linking site-specific parameters to sensor measurement values. A data-integration approach for semantic and syntactic interoperability is proposed to achieve this objective. An open-data platform is developed and its usability is evaluated to justify the viability of the proposed approach. Furthermore, this research shows how to use web services and APIs to carry out the syntactic interoperability of sensor data in agriculture domain.
In Vitro Assessment of Kurdish Rice Genotypes in Response to PEG-Induced Drought Stress
Authors: Rahim Didar , Kalousek Petr , Tahir Nawroz , Vyhnánek Tomáš , Tarkowski Petr , Trojan Vaclav , Abdulkhaleq Dana , Ameen Ahmad Hama , Havel Ladislav
Published: June 2020

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is productively affected by different environmental factors, including biotic and abiotic stress. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the genetic distinction among Kurdish rice genotypes using the simple sequence repeats (SSRs) molecular markers and to perform in vitro tests to characterize the drought tolerance of six local rice genotypes. The polymorphic information content (PIC) varied from 0.38 to 0.84 with an average of 0.56. The genetic distance ranged from 0.33 to 0.88. Drought stress had a significant impact (p ≤ 0.05) on callus growth parameters. Enzymatic antioxidant systems were predicted and exhibited a significant variation. The findings revealed that proline levels increase in proportion to polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentrations. Kalar and Gwll Swr genotypes showed the worst performances in phenotypic and biochemical traits, while Choman and Shawre exhibited the best phenotypic and biochemical performances. A positive and substantial relationship between callus fresh weight (CFW) and callus dry weight (CDW) was found under stressful and optimized conditions. Callus induction (CI) was positively and significantly associated with the catalase activity (CAT) in all stressed treatments. Based on the results for callus growth and the biochemical parameters under stress conditions, a remarkable genotype distinction, based on the tolerance reaction, was noted as follows: PEG resistant > susceptible, Choman > Shawre > White Bazyan > Red Bazyan > Gwll Swr > Kalar. The CI and CAT characteristics were considered as reliable predictors of drought tolerance in rice genotypes.
Defects Inspection in Wires by Nonlinear Ultrasonic-Guided Wave Generated by Electromagnetic Sensors
Authors: Park Junpil , Lee Jaesun , Min Junki , Cho Younho
Published: June 2020

Steel wires are widely used as raw materials for spring valves in engines. Considering the quality and safety issues of their structure, there is a demand to develop nondestructive inspection approaches to detect initial damages in steel. In this study, nonlinear ultrasonic-guided waves generated by an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) were used to inspect the defects in steel wires. As one of the noncontact testing methods, the use of EMAT has significant advantages to decrease the nonlinearity induced by instruments and transducer contact condition. The principles of design and manufacturing of EMAT are first introduced. The fundamental theory of nonlinear guided waves is also briefly discussed in this investigation. Phase-matched guided wave modes were generated and measured by using EMAT. Variations of acoustic nonlinearity corresponding to existing defects in specimens were obtained. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to check the existence of microdefects in specimen. The results indicate that the use of EMAT can be an effective means to generate and measure nonlinear ultrasonic-guided waves for inspection of microdefects.
Dynamic Model and Graphical User Interface: A Solution for the Distribution Process of Regional Products
Authors: Lagarda-Leyva Ernesto A. , Bueno-Solano Alfredo , Vea-Valdez Harvey P. , Machado Daniel O.
Published: June 2020

Organizations in the agroindustry sector face shorter delivery schedules; therefore, they are seeking ways to conduct more effective and less costly product distribution. Supply chain management efforts have focused on improving the flow of both products and information. Thus, the aim of this case study was to build a graphical user interface to enable decision-making based on quantitative information for a food distribution process. The problem to be solved was associated with the development of a technological solution to reduce and control variations in transportation times, delivery costs and capacities in cold and dry food distribution. An eight-step system for a dynamics methodology was used: (1) distribution process analysis, (2) route description, (3) variable and parameter description, (4) causal loop diagram creation, (5) current model simulation, (6) validation, (7) quantitative scenario construction based on key performance indicators, and (8) graphical user interface development. The main findings of this research were that the graphical user interface and simulation showed information that represented on average 56.49% of the total distribution costs regarding fuel and that maintenance and tire wearing costs had less of an impact on total costs, representing 9.21% and 3.66% of the total costs, respectively. Additionally, the technological solution—created for the supply chain in the distribution process against the background of changes in policies—makes it possible to improve decision-making based on different scenarios supported by a graphical interface according to key performance indicators. This solution could be used by different organizations who aim to reduce logistics and transportation costs. The main implications of this research were the available and organized information and the restructuring of the distribution process.
Energy Performance of a High-Rise Residential Building Using Fibre-Reinforced Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
Authors: Che Muda Zakaria , Shafigh Payam , Binti Mahyuddin Norhayati , Sepasgozar Samad M.E. , Beddu Salmia , Zakaria As’ad
Published: June 2020

The increasing need for eco-friendly green building and creative passive design technology in response to climatic change and global warming issues will continue. However, the need to preserve and sustain the natural environment is also crucial. A building envelope plays a pivotal role in areas where the greatest heat and energy loss often occur. Investment for the passive design aspect of building envelopes is essential to address CO 2 emission. This research aims to explore the suitability of using integral-monolithic structural insulation fibre-reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) without additional insulation as a building envelope material in a high-rise residential building in the different climatic zones of the world. Polypropylene and steel fibres in different dosages were used in a structural grade expanded clay lightweight aggregate concrete. Physical and thermal properties of fibre reinforced structural LWAC, normal weight concrete (NWC) and bricks were measured in the lab. The Autodesk@Revit-GBS simulation program was implemented to simulate the energy consumption of a 29-storey residential building with shear wall structural system using the proposed fibre-reinforced LWAC materials. Results showed that energy savings between 3.2% and 14.8% were incurred in buildings using the fibre-reinforced LWAC across various climatic regions as compared with traditional NWC and sand-cement brick and clay brick walls. In conclusion, fibre-reinforced LWAC in hot-humid tropical and temperate Mediterranean climates meet the certified Green Building Index (GBI) requirements of less than 150 kW∙h∙m−2. However, in extreme climatic conditions of sub-arctic and hot semi-arid desert climates, a thicker wall or additional insulation is required to meet the certified green building requirements. Hence, the energy-saving measure is influenced largely by the use of fibre-reinforced LWAC as a building envelope material rather than because of building orientation.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Routing Problems: A Literature Review
Authors: Thibbotuwawa Amila , Bocewicz Grzegorz , Nielsen Peter , Banaszak Zbigniew
Published: June 2020

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) routing is transitioning from an emerging topic to a growing research area as the 3D flexible utilization of airspace, promogulated by UAVs, is a potential game changer in solving the urban air mobility challenge by allowing to reshape transportation and logistics in the future. This has revealed a need to classify different types of research and examine the general characteristics of the research area. This research aims to assist in identifying the main topics and emerging research streams and provides a published overview of the current state and contributions to the area of the UAV routing problem (UAVRP) and a general categorization of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) followed by a UAVRP classification with a graphical taxonomy based on the analysis of UAVRP current status. To achieve this, an analysis of the existing research contributions promulgated in this domain is conducted. This analysis is used to identify the current state of UAVRP and the gaps related to the UAVs’ flight dynamics and weather conditions, which significantly influence the fuel consumption of the UAV when modeling the UAVRP.
Diagnostic Performance of Serological Assays in the Detection of SARS-CoV-2: A Review
Authors: Carinci Francesco , Moreo Giulia , Limongelli Luisa , Testori Tiziano , Lauritano Dorina
Published: June 2020

Introduction: The gold-standard method for diagnosis of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) foresees the examination of respiratory tract swabs by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). Another group of diagnostic tests, developed to overcome the limitations of RT-PCR, includes the serological assays, which have the purpose of detecting the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection (IgM and IgG titers). The aim of this review was to establish the diagnostic capability of the existing serological tests in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and Methods: Electronic research was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Cochrane Library, and only 10 articles, testing 10 different types of serological assays, met the inclusion criteria and were consequently submitted to quality assessment and data extraction. Quantitative data about the sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive value and IgM/IgG titer provided by each antibody test were reported in our review. Results: Almost all the serological tests used in the included items were recorded to ensure high sensitivity and specificity, identifying the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with certain COVID-19 diagnosis (confirmed by RT-PCR) and in participants with suspected infection (SARS-CoV-2 clinical diagnosis and/or RT-PCR negative subjects). Conclusions: Serological tests may represent reliable diagnostic tools in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and they could be implemented complementary to real-time RT-PCR.
Emerging Trends in Research on Food Compounds and Women’s Fertility: A Systematic Review
Authors: Bykowska-Derda Aleksandra , Kolay Ezgi , Kaluzna Malgorzata , Czlapka-Matyasik Magdalena
Published: June 2020

Pro-healthy behaviours, including the diet, are significant factors in maintaining women’s fertility health. However, to improve the patient’s nutrition management, it is important to seek food-derived bioactive compounds to support fertility treatment. This review analysed recent studies of food compounds related to fertility, using databases including PubMed, Web of Science and Science Direct as well as PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews) to ensure complete and transparent reporting of systematic reviews. This review lists foods associated with a higher birth rate, using original papers from the last five years (2015). The analysis included the impact of food compounds such as caffeine, fatty acids, folates and vitamin D, as well as the intake of fish, whole grains, dairy and soya. In addition, dietary patterns and total diet composition supporting women’s fertility were also analysed. The results will encourage further research on the relationship between food components and fertility.
Gradually Applying Weakly Supervised and Active Learning for Mass Detection in Breast Ultrasound Images
Authors: Yun JooYeol , Oh JungWoo , Yun IlDong
Published: June 2020

We propose a method for effectively utilizing weakly annotated image data in an object detection tasks of breast ultrasound images. Given the problem setting where a small, strongly annotated dataset and a large, weakly annotated dataset with no bounding box information are available, training an object detection model becomes a non-trivial problem. We suggest a controlled weight for handling the effect of weakly annotated images in a two stage object detection model. We also present a subsequent active learning scheme for safely assigning weakly annotated images a strong annotation using the trained model. Experimental results showed a 24% point increase in correct localization (CorLoc) measure, which is the ratio of correctly localized and classified images, by assigning the properly controlled weight. Performing active learning after a model is trained showed an additional increase in CorLoc. We tested the proposed method on the Stanford Dog datasets to assure that it can be applied to general cases, where strong annotations are insufficient to obtain resembling results. The presented method showed that higher performance is achievable with lesser annotation effort.
Large Variations in N2O Fluxes from Bioenergy Crops According to Management Practices and Crop Type
Authors: Ferchaud Fabien , Peyrard Céline , Léonard Joël , Gréhan Eric , Mary Bruno
Published: June 2020

Field N2O emissions are a key point in the evaluation of the greenhouse gas benefits of bioenergy crops. The aim of this study was to investigate N2O fluxes from perennial (miscanthus and switchgrass), semi-perennial (fescue and alfalfa) and annual (sorghum and triticale) bioenergy crops and to analyze the effect of the management of perennials (nitrogen fertilization and/or harvest date). Daily N2O emissions were measured quasi-continuously during at least two years in a long-term experiment, using automated chambers, with 2–5 treatments monitored simultaneously. Cumulative N2O emissions from perennials were strongly affected by management practices: fertilized miscanthus harvested early and unfertilized miscanthus harvested late had systematically much lower emissions than fertilized miscanthus harvested late (50, 160 and 1470 g N2O-N ha−1 year−1, respectively). Fertilized perennials often had similar or higher cumulative emissions than semi-perennial or annual crops. Fluxes from perennial and semi-perennial crops were characterized by long periods with low emissions interspersed with short periods with high emissions. Temperature, water-filled pore space and soil nitrates affected daily emissions but their influence varied between crop types. This study shows the complex interaction between crop type, crop management and climate, which results in large variations in N2O fluxes for a given site.
Spatial–Temporal Variation of Cropping Patterns in Relation to Climate Change in Neolithic China
Authors: Li Ruo , Lv Feiya , Yang Liu , Liu Fengwen , Liu Ruiliang , Dong Guanghui
Published: June 2020

The Neolithic period witnessed the start and spread of agriculture across Eurasia, as well as the beginning of important climate changes which would take place over millennia. Nevertheless, it remains rather unclear in what ways local societies chose to respond to these considerable changes in both the shorter and longer term. Crops such as rice and millet were domesticated in the Yangtze River and the Yellow River valleys in China during the early Holocene. Paleoclimate studies suggest that the pattern of precipitation in these two areas was distinctly different. This paper reviews updated archaeobotanical evidence from Neolithic sites in China. Comparing these results to the regional high-resolution paleoclimate records enables us to better understand the development of rice and millet and its relation to climate change. This comparison shows that rice was mainly cultivated in the Yangtze River valley and its southern margin, whereas millet cultivation occurred in the northern area of China during 9000–7000 BP. Both millet and rice-based agriculture became intensified and expanded during 7000–5000 BP. In the following period of 5000–4000 BP, rice agriculture continued to expand within the Yangtze River valley and millet cultivation moved gradually westwards. Meanwhile, mixed agriculture based on both millet and rice developed along the boundary between north and south. From 9000–7000 BP, China maintained hunting activities. Subsequently, from 7000–6000 BP, changes in vegetation and landscape triggered by climate change played an essential role in the development of agriculture. Precipitation became an important factor in forming the distinct regional patterns of Chinese agriculture in 6000–4000 BP.
The Climatology of Significant Tornadoes in the Czech Republic
Authors: Brázdil Rudolf , Chromá Kateřina , Púčik Tomáš , Černoch Zbyněk , Dobrovolný Petr , Dolák Lukáš , Kotyza Oldřich , Řezníčková Ladislava , Taszarek Mateusz
Published: June 2020

In the Czech Republic, tornadoes may reach an intensity of F2 and F3 on the Fujita scale, causing “considerable” to “severe” damage. Documentary evidence is sufficient to allow the creation of a chronology of such events, from the earliest recorded occurrence in 1119 CE (Common Era) to 2019, including a total of 108 proven or probable significant tornadoes on 90 separate days. Since only 11 significant tornadoes were documented before 1800, this basic analysis centers around the 1811–2019 period, during which 97 tornadoes were recorded. Their frequency of occurrence was at its highest in the 1921–1930, 1931–1940, and 2001–2010 decades. In terms of annual variations, they took place most frequently in July, June, and August (in order of frequency), while daily variation favored the afternoon and early evening hours. Conservative estimates of human casualties mention 8 fatalities and over 95 people injured. The most frequent types of damage were related to buildings, individual trees, and forests. Tornadoes of F2–F3 intensity were particularly associated with synoptic types characterized by airflow from the western quadrant together with troughs of low pressure extending or advancing over central Europe. Based on parameters calculated from the ERA-5 re-analysis for the period of 1979–2018, most of these tornadoes occurred over a wide range of Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) values and moderate-to-strong vertical wind shear. The discussion herein also addresses uncertainties in tornado selection from documentary data, the broader context of Czech significant tornadoes, and the environmental conditions surrounding their origins.
A Review on Temperature-Dependent Electrochemical Properties, Aging, and Performance of Lithium-Ion Cells
Authors: Alipour Mohammad , Ziebert Carlos , Conte Fiorentino Valerio , Kizilel Riza
Published: June 2020

Temperature heavily affects the behavior of any energy storage chemistries. In particular, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) play a significant role in almost all storage application fields, including Electric Vehicles (EVs). Therefore, a full comprehension of the influence of the temperature on the key cell components and their governing equations is mandatory for the effective integration of LIBs into the application. If the battery is exposed to extreme thermal environments or the desired temperature cannot be maintained, the rates of chemical reactions and/or the mobility of the active species may change drastically. The alteration of properties of LIBs with temperature may create at best a performance problem and at worst a safety problem. Despite the presence of many reports on LIBs in the literature, their industrial realization has still been difficult, as the technologies developed in different labs have not been standardized yet. Thus, the field requires a systematic analysis of the effect of temperature on the critical properties of LIBs. In this paper, we report a comprehensive review of the effect of temperature on the properties of LIBs such as performance, cycle life, and safety. In addition, we focus on the alterations in resistances, energy losses, physicochemical properties, and aging mechanism when the temperature of LIBs are not under control.
Ability of Adult Dermacentor reticulatus Ticks to Overwinter in the Temperate Climate Zone
Authors: Zając Zbigniew , Bartosik Katarzyna , Kulisz Joanna , Woźniak Aneta
Published: June 2020

Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, one of the most important vectors and reservoirs of tick-borne diseases in Europe, are widespread in the temperate climate zone and in some localities in the subtropical climate zone of the western Palaearctic region. These ticks occur in a large area characterised by a varied climate type, vegetation, and availability of potential hosts. Hence, they exhibit high ecological plasticity and adaptability to periodically adverse conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of D. reticulatus adults to overwinter in the natural habitat. Specimens marked with a permanent oil marker on the festoons were placed in their natural habitats for the winter. Concurrently, tick survival in laboratory conditions at a temperature of 5 °C and 18 °C was assessed as a control. The groups were compared with each other by determination of the weight of fat bodies. In the field conditions, 67.9% females and 60.0% males survived the winter. There was no significant difference in the survival of ticks in the laboratory. A significantly lower fat body weight was found in the group of ticks overwintering in the field conditions and exhibiting questing activity between spring and late autumn during the following year. On the population scale, adult D. reticulatus ticks are able to survive the winter in temperate climate conditions at a level ensuring a further increase in their population size. In adverse weather conditions, ticks enter diapause, thus maximally reducing the utilisation of the content of their fat bodies. This facilitates long-term survival in the environment.
A Mechanism by which Ergosterol Inhibits the Promotion of Bladder Carcinogenesis in Rats
Authors: Ikarashi Nobutomo , Hoshino Motohiro , Ono Tetsuya , Toda Takahiro , Yazawa Yasuharu , Sugiyama Kiyoshi
Published: June 2020

We previously showed that ergosterol has an inhibitory effect on bladder carcinogenesis. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which ergosterol inhibits bladder carcinogenesis using a rat model of N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine-induced bladder cancer. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression level of the cell cycle-related gene cyclin D1 and inflammation-related gene cyclooxygenase-2 in bladder epithelial cells was significantly increased in the carcinogenesis group compared with the control group. In contrast, in ergosterol-treated rats, these increases were significantly suppressed. Ergosterol did not affect the plasma testosterone concentration or the binding of dihydrotestosterone to androgen receptor (AR). The mRNA expression levels of 5α-reductase type 2 and AR were higher in the carcinogenesis group than in the control group but were significantly decreased by ergosterol administration. These results suggest that ergosterol inhibits bladder carcinogenesis by modulating various aspects of the cell cycle, inflammation-related signaling, and androgen signaling. Future clinical application of the preventive effect of ergosterol on bladder carcinogenesis is expected.
Identification of Differentially Methylated CpG Sites in Fibroblasts from Keloid Scars
Authors: Alghamdi Mansour A. , Wallace Hilary J. , Melton Phillip E. , Moses Eric K. , Stevenson Andrew , Al-Eitan Laith N. , Rea Suzanne , Duke Janine M. , Danielsen Patricia L. , Prêle Cecilia M. , Wood Fiona M. , Fear Mark W.
Published: June 2020

As a part of an abnormal healing process of dermal injuries and irritation, keloid scars arise on the skin as benign fibroproliferative tumors. Although the etiology of keloid scarring remains unsettled, considerable recent evidence suggested that keloidogenesis may be driven by epigenetic changes, particularly, DNA methylation. Therefore, genome-wide scanning of methylated cytosine-phosphoguanine (CpG) sites in extracted DNA from 12 keloid scar fibroblasts (KF) and 12 control skin fibroblasts (CF) (six normal skin fibroblasts and six normotrophic fibroblasts) was conducted using the Illumina Human Methylation 450K BeadChip in two replicates for each sample. Comparing KF and CF used a Linear Models for Microarray Data (Limma) model revealed 100,000 differentially methylated (DM) CpG sites, 20,695 of which were found to be hypomethylated and 79,305 were hypermethylated. The top DM CpG sites were associated with TNKS2, FAM45B, LOC723972, GAS7, RHBDD2 and CAMKK1. Subsequently, the most functionally enriched genes with the top 100 DM CpG sites were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with SH2 domain binding, regulation of transcription, DNA-templated, nucleus, positive regulation of protein targeting to mitochondrion, nucleoplasm, Swr1 complex, histone exchange, and cellular response to organic substance. In addition, NLK, CAMKK1, LPAR2, CASP1, and NHS showed to be the most common regulators in the signaling network analysis. Taken together, these findings shed light on the methylation status of keloids that could be implicated in the underlying mechanism of keloid scars formation and remission.
Evaluating the Impact of Age, Acoustic Exposure, and Electrical Stimulation on Binaural Sensitivity in Adult Bilateral Cochlear Implant Patients
Authors: Thakkar Tanvi , Anderson Sean R. , Kan Alan , Litovsky Ruth Y.
Published: June 2020

Deafness in both ears is highly disruptive to communication in everyday listening situations. Many individuals with profound deafness receive bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) to gain access to spatial cues used in localization and speech understanding in noise. However, the benefit of bilateral CIs, in particular sensitivity to interaural time and level differences (ITD and ILDs), varies among patients. We measured binaural sensitivity in 46 adult bilateral CI patients to explore the relationship between binaural sensitivity and three classes of patient-related factors: age, acoustic exposure, and electric hearing experience. Results show that ILD sensitivity increased with shorter years of acoustic exposure, younger age at testing, or an interaction between these factors, moderated by the duration of bilateral hearing impairment. ITD sensitivity was impacted by a moderating effect between years of bilateral hearing impairment and CI experience. When age at onset of deafness was treated as two categories (<18 vs. >18 years of age), there was no clear effect for ILD sensitivity, but some differences were observed for ITD sensitivity. Our findings imply that maximal binaural sensitivity is obtained by listeners with a shorter bilateral hearing impairment, a longer duration of CI experience, and potentially a younger age at testing. 198/200.
Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) Applied to Photocatalytic Organic Transformations
Authors: López-Magano Alberto , Jiménez-Almarza Alicia , Alemán Jose , Mas-Ballesté Rubén
Published: June 2020

Among the different alternatives for catalysis using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) or covalent organic frameworks (COFs), photocatalysis has remarkably evolved during the last decade. Photocatalytic reticular materials allowed recyclability and easy separation of catalyst from the product, also reaching the activity and selectivity commonly observed for molecular systems. Recently, photocatalytic MOFs and COFs have been applied to synthetic applications in order to obtain organic molecules of different complexity. However, although a good number of works have been devoted to this issue, an updated comprehensive revision on this field is still needed. The aim of this review was to fill this gap covering the following three general aspects: (1) common strategies on the design of reticular photocatalytic materials, (2) a comprehensive discussion of the photocatalytic organic reactions achieved by the use of COFs and MOFs, and (3) some critical considerations highlighting directions that should be considered in order to make advances in the study of photocatalytic COFs and MOFs.
A Chemometric Survey about the Ability of Voltammetry to Discriminate Pharmaceutical Products from the Evolution of Signals as a Function of pH
Authors: Marín Javier , Serrano Núria , Ariño Cristina , Díaz-Cruz José Manuel
Published: June 2020

Many pharmaceutical products are electroactive and, therefore, can be determined by voltammetry. However, most of these substances produce signals in the same region of oxidative potentials, which makes it difficult to identify them. In this work, chemometric tools are applied to extract characteristic information not only from the peak potential of differential pulse voltammograms (DPV), but also from their evolution as a function of pH. The chemometric approach is based on principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and support vector machine discriminant analysis (SVM-DA) yielding promising results for the future discrimination of pharmaceutical products in water samples.
Impact of Point-of-Care Decision Support Tool on Laboratory Screening for Comorbidities in Children with Obesity
Authors: Kaufman Tara K. , Gentile Natalie , Kumar Seema , Halle Marian , Lynch Brian A. , Cristiani Valeria , Fischer Karen , Chaudhry Rajeev
Published: June 2020

Background: Childhood obesity is associated with dyslipidemia, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes. Expert guidelines recommend screening for these conditions in children with obesity. Aims and objectives: The objective of the study was to compare rates of laboratory screening for dyslipidemia, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes in children with obesity prior to and following implementation of a point-of-care decision support tool. Methods: We performed a retrospective record review of children with body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile for age and gender (age 7–18 years) undergoing well-child/sports examination visits. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to adjust for patient and provider confounders. Results: There was no increase in the rates of screening following implementation of the point-of-care decision support tool. Tests were more likely to be recommended in children with severe obesity and in females. Conclusions: The implementation of a point-of-care decision support tool was not associated with improvement in screening rates for dyslipidemia, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes for children with obesity. Further strategies are needed to improve rates of screening for obesity-related comorbid conditions in children with obesity.
Canopy Urban Heat Island and Its Association with Climate Conditions in Dubai, UAE
Authors: Mohammed Afifa , Pignatta Gloria , Topriska Evangelia , Santamouris Mattheos
Published: June 2020

The impact that climate change and urbanization are having on the thermal-energy balance of the built environment is a major environmental concern today. Urban heat island (UHI) is another phenomenon that can raise the temperature in cities. This study aims to examine the UHI magnitude and its association with the main meteorological parameters (i.e., temperature, wind speed, and wind direction) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Five years of hourly weather data (2014–2018) obtained from weather stations located in an urban, suburban, and rural area, were post-processed by means of a clustering technique. Six clusters characterized by different ranges of wind directions were analyzed. The analysis reveals that UHI is affected by the synoptic weather conditions (i.e., sea breeze and hot air coming from the desert) and is larger at night. In the urban area, air temperature and night-time UHI intensity, averaged on the five year period, are 1.3 °C and 3.3 °C higher with respect to the rural area, respectively, and the UHI and air temperature are independent of each other only when the wind comes from the desert. A negative and inverse correlation was found between the UHI and wind speed for all the wind directions, except for the northern wind where no correlation was observed. In the suburban area, the UHI and both temperatures and wind speed ranged between the strong and a weak negative correlation considering all the wind directions, while a strong negative correlation was observed in the rural area. This paper concludes that UHI intensity is strongly associated with local climatic parameters and to the changes in wind direction.
Willingness to Pay for Urban Heat Island Mitigation: A Case Study of Singapore
Authors: Borzino Natalia , Chng Samuel , Mughal Muhammad Omer , Schubert Renate
Published: June 2020

In many countries, urban heat island (UHI) effects come along with urbanization in metropolitan areas. They have relevant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of citizens. Singapore is strongly affected by UHI. In this study, we assess Singaporeans’ willingness to pay (WTP) for UHI mitigation by implementing a contingent valuation analysis. Specifically, we employ a double-bounded dichotomous survey design on a representative sample of 1822 online respondents. We find that Singaporeans are willing to sacrifice on average 0.43% of their annual income to mitigate UHI. The total WTP for mitigation strategies among Singapore citizens and permanent residents is estimated at SGD$783.08 million per year, the equivalent of USD$563.80 per year. Our findings suggest that there is a positive and significant relationship between the size of UHI effects and the citizens’ WTP. People living in the region with the highest intensity of UHI are willing to pay 3.09 times more than those living in the region with the lowest UHI intensity. Furthermore, demographic and socio-economic characteristics are significant determinants of Singaporeans’ WTP. The WTP increases with income and education but decreases with age. Students, men, and people with children are willing to pay more. Additional analyses show that the level of UHI awareness, positive attitudes towards UHI mitigation strategies as well as preferences for outdoor activities are positively correlated with the WTP. Our findings suggest that citizens are aware of the impacts of UHI and support UHI mitigation measures to be financed by their taxes. Policy interventions to promote UHI-related education and disseminating UHI-related information might increase the support of UHI mitigation policies.
Femtosecond Laser-Induced Damage Characterization of Multilayer Dielectric Coatings
Authors: Velpula Praveen Kumar , Kramer Daniel , Rus Bedrich
Published: June 2020

The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of optical components is one of the major constraints in developing high-power ultrafast laser systems. Multi-layer dielectric (MLD) coatings-based optical components are key parts of high-power laser systems because of their high damage resistance. Therefore, understanding and characterizing the laser-induced damage of MLD coatings are of paramount importance for developing ultrahigh-intensity laser systems. In this article, we overview the possible femtosecond laser damage mechanisms through damage morphologies in various MLD optical coatings tested in our facility. To evaluate the major contributions to the coating failure, different LIDT test methods (R-on-1, ISO S-on-1 and Raster Scan) were carried out for a high reflective hybrid Ta2O5/HfO2/SiO2 MLD mirror coating at a pulse duration of 37 fs. Different LIDT test methods were compared due to the fact that each test method exposes the different underlying damage mechanisms. For instance, the ISO S-on-1 test at a higher number of laser pulses can bring out the fatigue effects, whereas the Raster Scan method can reveal the non-uniform defect clusters in the optical coating. The measured LIDT values on the sample surface for the tested coating in three test methods are 1.1 J/cm2 (R-on-1), 0.9 J/cm2 (100k-on-1) and 0.6 J/cm2 (Raster Scan) at an angle of incidence of 45 deg. The presented results reveal that the performance of the tested sample is limited by coating defects rather than fatigue effects. Hence, the Raster Scan method is found to be most accurate for the tested coating in evaluating the damage threshold for practical applications. Importantly, this study demonstrates that the testing of different LIDT test protocols is necessary in femtosecond regime to assess the key mechanisms to the coating failure.