bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RAPD analysis of Sclerotium rolfsii isolates causing collar rot of eggplant and tomato
Authors: Parvin N , Bilkiss M , Nahar J , Siddiqua MK , Meah MB
Published: August 2016

Eight isolates of Sclerotium rolfsii from four strategically geographical sites of Bangladesh were characterized and their cultural properties like average linear mycelial growth, colony colour, colony consistency, growth pattern and sclerotia formation were studied. Isolates varied in mycelial growth and other growth characteristics and were grouped into three. The highest linear growth was displayed by S8. DNA concentration of eight isolates varied from 1150-7200 ng/?l. DNA fingerprinting by RAPD prompted the grouping of isolates. Selected 3 primers generated 20 bands with size ranging from 100-1500 bp. Out of the 20 bands, 9 bands (45%) were polymorphic and 11 bands (55%) were monomorphic among the eight isolates of Sclerotium rolfsii. The co-efficient of gene differentiation (Gst) was 1.000 reflecting the existence of high level of genetic variations among the 8 isolates. The lowest genetic distance and highest inter isolate similarity was found in S1 and S2 which would be homogeneous. The highest genetic distance and lowest inter isolate similarity found in S3, S7 and S3, S8 pair which would be most divergent isolates. The cluster analysis also revealed that S3, S7 and S8 belong to different clusters. All five varieties of eggplant and tomatoes were graded as susceptible when inoculated with eight isolates. Plant mortality 93.33% was recorded in S4, S6 and in S8. Considering the isolate factor the most virulent isolate would be S8 whereas the less virulent isolate would be S2 and S7. Host plant of S8 was tomato collected from Thakurgaon. S2 and S7 were collected from BAU farm and Dinajpur and host plants were lentil and tomato respectively. It is evident that Sclerotium rolfsii from Thakurgaon on host tomato is more virulent.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 6 (1): 47-57, June, 2016
Erratum: Lai, R.Y.K.; Harrington, C.R.; Wischik, C.M. Absence of a Role for Phosphorylation in the Tau Pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease. Biomolecules 2016, 6, 19
Authors: Lai Robert , Harrington Charles , Wischik Claude
Published: August 2016

The authors wish to correct their afﬁliations in this paper [1] as follows:[...]
Standardization of Data for Clinical Use and Research in Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Biering-Sørensen Fin , Noonan Vanessa
Published: August 2016

Increased survival after spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide has enhanced the need for quality data that can be compared and shared between centers, countries, as well as across research studies, to better understand how best to prevent and treat SCI. Such data should be standardized and be able to be uniformly collected at any SCI center or within any SCI study. Standardization will make it possible to collect information from larger SCI populations for multi-center research studies. With this aim, the international SCI community has obtained consensus regarding the best available data and measures for use in SCI clinical practice and research. Reporting of SCI data is likewise standardized. Data elements are continuously updated and developed using an open and transparent process. There are ongoing internal, as well as external review processes, where all interested parties are encouraged to participate. The purpose of this review paper is to provide an overview of the initiatives to standardize data including the International Spinal Cord Society’s International SCI Data Sets and the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Common Data Elements Project within SCI and discuss future opportunities.
Voice Activity Detection Using Fuzzy Entropy and Support Vector Machine
Authors: Johny Elton R. , Vasuki P. , Mohanalin J.
Published: August 2016

This paper proposes support vector machine (SVM) based voice activity detection using FuzzyEn to improve detection performance under noisy conditions. The proposed voice activity detection (VAD) uses fuzzy entropy (FuzzyEn) as a feature extracted from noise-reduced speech signals to train an SVM model for speech/non-speech classification. The proposed VAD method was tested by conducting various experiments by adding real background noises of different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) ranging from −10 dB to 10 dB to actual speech signals collected from the TIMIT database. The analysis proves that FuzzyEn feature shows better results in discriminating noise and corrupted noisy speech. The efficacy of the SVM classifier was validated using 10-fold cross validation. Furthermore, the results obtained by the proposed method was compared with those of previous standardized VAD algorithms as well as recently developed methods. Performance comparison suggests that the proposed method is proven to be more efficient in detecting speech under various noisy environments with an accuracy of 93.29%, and the FuzzyEn feature detects speech efficiently even at low SNR levels.
Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production from the Recovery of Stranded Driftwood Residues
Authors: Cavalaglio Gianluca , Gelosia Mattia , D’Antonio Silvia , Nicolini Andrea , Pisello Anna , Barbanera Marco , Cotana Franco
Published: August 2016

This paper builds upon a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment, and aims to recover stranded driftwood residues (SDRs), in order to transform a potential pollution and safety issue into valuable bio-resources. In particular, one of the experiments consisted of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic residues. The SDRs were gathered from the Italian coast (Abruzzo Region, Italy) after an intense storm. The biomass recalcitrance, due to its lignocellulosic structure, was reduced by a steam explosion (SE) pretreatment process. Four different pretreatment severity factors (R0) were tested (LogR0 3.65, 4.05, 4.24 and 4.64) in order to evaluate the pretreated material’s accessibility to enzymatic attack and the holocellulose (cellulose plus hemicellulose) recovery. A first enzymatic hydrolysis was performed on the pretreated materials by employing a solid/liquid (S/L) ratio of 1% (w/w) and an enzyme dosage of 30% (w enzyme/w cellulose), in order to estimate the maximum enzymatically accessible cellulose content. Since the primary goal of pretreatment and hydrolysis is to convert as much cellulose as possible into monomeric glucose and recover all the holocellulose, the two pretreated materials showing these features were selected for bioethanol production process. The pretreated materials underwent a semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSSF). The SSSF process was performed into two lab-scale bioreactors (5 L) with an S/L ratio of 15% and an enzyme dosage of 15% for five days. The efficiency of the whole bioethanol production process was assessed as ethanol overall yields (g ethanol/100 g raw material). The best overall yield was achieved by sample BS04 (8.98 g ethanol/100 g raw material).
Theoretical Framework of Organizational Intelligence: A Managerial Approach to Promote Renewable Energy in Rural Economies
Authors: Istudor Nicolae , Ursacescu Minodora , Sendroiu Cleopatra , Radu Ioan
Published: August 2016

The companies involved in the energy sector must reinvent themselves to be innovative and adaptable to contemporary environmental changes. The promotion of renewable energy in rural communities is a great challenge for these companies. They should focus on improving the environment scanning actions and the knowledge management (KM) system and enhancing the collective intelligence to avoid the loss of information, to foster innovation, and to maintain a competitive advantage. To achieve these goals, energy companies require appropriate management tools and practices. The purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical framework of organizational intelligence (OI) supported by a cross-perspective analysis of various aspects: economic intelligence (EI) and KM practices, entropy processes, and organizational enablers. A pilot investigation for testing the framework in the case of Transelectrica S.A. has been elaborated. The findings reveal that the elements of the OI framework are embedded in Transelectrica’s system and they need to be further developed. As an intelligent company acting in the Romanian energy market, Transelectrica has a higher potential to promote projects in the renewable energy sector. The main conclusion highlights that OI is a multidimensional construct that provides the organization the ability to deal with environmental challenges in a “new economy”.
The Impact of Human Activities on Microbial Quality of Rivers in the Vhembe District, South Africa
Authors: Traoré Afsatou , Mulaudzi Khodani , Chari Gamuchirai , Foord Stefan , Mudau Lutendo , Barnard Tobias , Potgieter Natasha
Published: August 2016

Background: Water quality testing is dictated by microbial agents found at the time of sampling in reference to their acceptable risk levels. Human activities might contaminate valuable water resources and add to the microbial load present in water bodies. Therefore, the effects of human activities on the microbial quality of rivers collected from twelve catchments in the Vhembe District in South Africa were investigated, with samples analyzed for total coliform (TC) and Eschericha coli (E. coli) contents. Methods: Physical parameters and various human activities were recorded for each sampling site. The Quanti-Tray® method was adopted for the assessment of TC and E. coli contents in the rivers over a two-year period. A multiplex polymerase chain (PCR) method was used to characterize the strains of E. coli found. Results: The microbial quality of the rivers was poor with both TC and E. coli contents found to be over acceptable limits set by the South African Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). No significant difference (p > 0.05) was detected between TC and E. coli risks in dry and wet seasons. All six pathogenic E. coli strains were identified and Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), atypical Enteropathogenic E. coli (a-EPEC) and Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) were the most prevalent E. coli strains detected (respectively, 87%, 86% and 83%). Conclusions: The study indicated that contamination in the majority of sampling sites, due to human activities such as car wash, animal grazing and farming, poses health risks to communities using the rivers for various domestic chores. It is therefore recommended that more education by the respective departments is done to avert pollution of rivers and prevent health risks to the communities in the Vhembe District.
Simulation-Based Prediction of Equivalent Continuous Noises during Construction Processes
Authors: Zhang Hong , Pei Yun
Published: August 2016

Quantitative prediction of construction noise is crucial to evaluate construction plans to help make decisions to address noise levels. Considering limitations of existing methods for measuring or predicting the construction noise and particularly the equivalent continuous noise level over a period of time, this paper presents a discrete-event simulation method for predicting the construction noise in terms of equivalent continuous level. The noise-calculating models regarding synchronization, propagation and equivalent continuous level are presented. The simulation framework for modeling the noise-affected factors and calculating the equivalent continuous noise by incorporating the noise-calculating models into simulation strategy is proposed. An application study is presented to demonstrate and justify the proposed simulation method in predicting the equivalent continuous noise during construction. The study contributes to provision of a simulation methodology to quantitatively predict the equivalent continuous noise of construction by considering the relevant uncertainties, dynamics and interactions.
Immunosuppressive Effect of Litsea cubeba L. Essential Oil on Dendritic Cell and Contact Hypersensitivity Responses
Authors: Chen Hsin-Chun , Chang Wen-Te , Hseu You-Cheng , Chen Hsing-Yu , Chuang Cheng , Lin Chi-Chen , Lee Meng-Shiou , Lin Ming-Kuem
Published: August 2016

Litsea cubeba L., also named as Makauy, is a traditional herb and has been used as cooking condiment or tea brewing to treat diseases for aborigines. The present study was undertaken to explore the chemical compositions of the fruit essential oil of L. cubeba (LCEO) and the immunomodulatory effect of LCEO on dendritic cells and mice. The LCEO was analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with direct injection (DI/GC) or headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME/GC). In total, 56 components were identified, of which 48 were detected by DI/GC and 49 were detected by HS-SPME/GC. The principal compounds were citral (neral and geranial). An immunosuppressive activity of LCEO was investigated with bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) which have a critical role to trigger the adaptive immunity. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of LCEO on immune response was elucidated by performing the contact hypersensitivity (CHS) responses in mice. Our results clearly showed that LCEO decreases the production of TNF-α and cytokine IL-12 in a dose-dependent manner in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated DCs. CHS response and the infiltrative T cells were inhibited in the tested ears of the mice co-treated with LCEO. We demonstrate, for the first time, that the LCEO mainly containing citral exhibits an immunosuppressive effect on DCs and mice, indicating that LCEO can potentially be applied in the treatment of CHS, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune diseases.
Exogenous Nitric Oxide Suppresses in Vivo X-ray-Induced Targeted and Non-Targeted Effects in Zebrafish Embryos
Authors: Kong E.Y. , Yeung W.K. , Chan T.K.Y. , Cheng S.H. , Yu K.N.
Published: August 2016

The present paper studied the X-ray-induced targeted effect in irradiated zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio), as well as a non-targeted effect in bystander naïve embryos partnered with irradiated embryos, and examined the influence of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on these targeted and non-targeted effects. The exogenous NO was generated using an NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP). The targeted and non-targeted effects, as well as the toxicity of the SNAP, were assessed using the number of apoptotic events in the zebrafish embryos at 24 h post fertilization (hpf) revealed through acridine orange (AO) staining. SNAP with concentrations of 20 and 100 µM were first confirmed to have no significant toxicity on zebrafish embryos. The targeted effect was mitigated in zebrafish embryos if they were pretreated with 100 µM SNAP prior to irradiation with an X-ray dose of 75 mGy but was not alleviated in zebrafish embryos if they were pretreated with 20 µM SNAP. On the other hand, the non-targeted effect was eliminated in the bystander naïve zebrafish embryos if they were pretreated with 20 or 100 µM SNAP prior to partnering with zebrafish embryos having been subjected to irradiation with an X-ray dose of 75 mGy. These findings revealed the importance of NO in the protection against damages induced by ionizing radiations or by radiation-induced bystander signals, and could have important impacts on development of advanced cancer treatment strategies.
Telocytes and Their Extracellular Vesicles—Evidence and Hypotheses
Authors: Cretoiu Dragos , Xu Jiahong , Xiao Junjie , Cretoiu Sanda
Published: August 2016

Entering the new millennium, nobody believed that there was the possibility of discovering a new cellular type. Nevertheless, telocytes (TCs) were described as a novel kind of interstitial cell. Ubiquitously distributed in the extracellular matrix of any tissue, TCs are regarded as cells with telopodes involved in intercellular communication by direct homo- and heterocellular junctions or by extracellular vesicle (EVs) release. Their discovery has aroused the interest of many research groups worldwide, and many researchers regard them as potentially regenerative cells. Given the experience of our laboratory, where these cells were first described, we review the evidence supporting the fact that TCs release EVs, and discuss alternative hypotheses about their future implications.
Spectrophotometric Determination of Phenolic Antioxidants in the Presence of Thiols and Proteins
Authors: Avan Aslı , Demirci Çekiç Sema , Uzunboy Seda , Apak Reşat
Published: August 2016

Development of easy, practical, and low-cost spectrophotometric methods is required for the selective determination of phenolic antioxidants in the presence of other similar substances. As electron transfer (ET)-based total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assays generally measure the reducing ability of antioxidant compounds, thiols and phenols cannot be differentiated since they are both responsive to the probe reagent. In this study, three of the most common TAC determination methods, namely cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt/trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (ABTS/TEAC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), were tested for the assay of phenolics in the presence of selected thiol and protein compounds. Although the FRAP method is almost non-responsive to thiol compounds individually, surprising overoxidations with large positive deviations from additivity were observed when using this method for (phenols + thiols) mixtures. Among the tested TAC methods, CUPRAC gave the most additive results for all studied (phenol + thiol) and (phenol + protein) mixtures with minimal relative error. As ABTS/TEAC and FRAP methods gave small and large deviations, respectively, from additivity of absorbances arising from these components in mixtures, mercury(II) compounds were added to stabilize the thiol components in the form of Hg(II)-thiol complexes so as to enable selective spectrophotometric determination of phenolic components. This error compensation was most efficient for the FRAP method in testing (thiols + phenols) mixtures.
Stochastic-Based Spin-Programmable Gate Array with Emerging MTJ Device Technology
Authors: Bai Yu , Lin Mingjie
Published: August 2016

This paper describes the stochastic-based Spin-Programmable Gate Array (SPGA), an innovative architecture attempting to exploit the stochastic switching behavior newly found in emerging spintronic devices for reconfigurable computing. While many recently studies have investigated using Spin Transfer Torque Memory (STTM) devices to replace configuration memory in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), our study, for the first time, attempts to use the quantum-induced stochastic property exhibited by spintronic devices directly for reconfiguration and logic computation. Specifically, the SPGA was designed from scratch for high performance, routability, and ease-of-use. It supports variable-granularity multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) logic blocks and variable-length bypassing interconnects with a symmetrical structure. Due to its unconventional architectural features, the SPGA requires several major modifications to be made in the standard VPR placement/routing CAD flow, which include a new technology mapping algorithm based on computing (k, l)-cut, a new placement algorithm, and a modified delay-based routing procedure.Previous studies have shown that, simply replacing reconfiguration memory bits with spintronic devices, the conventional 2D island-style FPGA architecture can achieve approximately 5 times area savings, 2 times speedup and 1.6 times power savings. Our mixed-mode simulation results have shown that, with FPGA architecture innovations, on average, a SPGA can further achieve more than 10 times improvement in logic density, about 5 times improvement in average net delay, and about 5 times improvement in the critical-path delay for the largest 12 MCNC benchmark circuits over an island-style baseline FPGA with spintronic configuration bits.
Protection Orders for Battered Women in Israel
Authors: Yassour-Borochowitz Dalit
Published: August 2016

The aim of the present study is to describe and re-consider the findings obtained from analysis of 260 protection orders that were granted in cases of violence by men against their partners. The Prevention of Domestic Violence Law was enacted in Israel in 1991. The data collection for the study took place 10 years later, after the 1996 amendment was enacted. In this article I revisit the data, the only empirical data on protection orders in Israel, and examine both the process of obtaining protection orders and several attendant issues that are relevant to the procedure, such as the remedies the law offers and the use (or lack of it) judges make of them. The study compares the first ex parte hearings and the second hearings, and the discussion and summary sections provide an insight into the problems emerging from the description of the situation in Israel in light of the current knowledge existing in the world today.
Lux In Arcana: Decoding the Right to Be Forgotten in Digital Archives
Authors: Sanchez Abril Patricia , Pizarro Moreno Eugenio
Published: August 2016

On 13 May 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that search engines such as Google had a duty to respect EU citizens’ right to be forgotten. That is, the search engines—deemed “controllers” of information under the Directive—were obligated in some circumstances to remove or de-list links from search results that pertain to information that infringes on an individual’s rights under the Directive. In the fall of 2015, the Spanish Supreme Court found itself obligated to determine the application of the digital right to be forgotten in a different context: This time in a digital newspaper archive. However, since the right to be forgotten is purely judicially-created and not yet memorialized in a regulation (other than through judicial interpretations of the European Directive 1995/46/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 24 October on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data), it is therefore appropriate to analyze Spain’s recent Supreme Court ruling as an indicator of the future of the right. What does this decision mean for the future of the right to be forgotten?
Improvement of the Mechanical Properties of 1022 Carbon Steel Coil by Using the Taguchi Method to Optimize Spheroidized Annealing Conditions
Authors: Yang Chih-Cheng , Liu Chang-Lun
Published: August 2016

Cold forging is often applied in the fastener industry. Wires in coil form are used as semi-finished products for the production of billets. This process usually requires preliminarily drawing wire coil in order to reduce the diameter of products. The wire usually has to be annealed to improve its cold formability. The quality of spheroidizing annealed wire affects the forming quality of screws. In the fastener industry, most companies use a subcritical process for spheroidized annealing. Various parameters affect the spheroidized annealing quality of steel wire, such as the spheroidized annealing temperature, prolonged heating time, furnace cooling time and flow rate of nitrogen (protective atmosphere). The effects of the spheroidized annealing parameters affect the quality characteristics of steel wire, such as the tensile strength and hardness. A series of experimental tests on AISI 1022 low carbon steel wire are carried out and the Taguchi method is used to obtain optimum spheroidized annealing conditions to improve the mechanical properties of steel wires for cold forming. The results show that the spheroidized annealing temperature and prolonged heating time have the greatest effect on the mechanical properties of steel wires. A comparison between the results obtained using the optimum spheroidizing conditions and the measures using the original settings shows the new spheroidizing parameter settings effectively improve the performance measures over their value at the original settings. The results presented in this paper could be used as a reference for wire manufacturers.
Achillea schurii Flowers: Chemical, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Investigations
Authors: Benedec Daniela , Hanganu Daniela , Oniga Ilioara , Filip Lorena , Bischin Cristina , Silaghi-Dumitrescu Radu , Tiperciuc Brînduşa , Vlase Laurian
Published: August 2016

This study aims to evaluate the phenolic profile, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Achillea schurii Sch.-Bip., an endemic species from Romania that has not been investigated yet. The chromatographic profile of the phenolic components was obtained using the HPLC-MS method, while the total polyphenol, flavonoid, caffeic acid derivative contents were quantified using spectrophotometric methods. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using different methods: DPPH radical scavenging, hemoglobin ascorbate peroxidase activity inhibition (HAPX), inhibition of lipid peroxidation catalyzed by cytochrome c, and direct detection of plant-derived free radicals using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The antimicrobial test was performed using the disk diffusion assay. The phenolic profile has revealed high amounts of isoquercitrin, rutin, luteolin, and apigenin. The A. schurii extract exhibited a good antioxidant capacity, and high phenolic contents (76.93 mg/g polyphenols, 18.61 mg/g flavonoids and 41.48 mg/g caffeic acid derivatives, respectively). The antimicrobial tests reveal a remarkable inhibitory activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhimurium. Considering the above, A. schurii may be deemed to offer good perspectives for pharmaceutical and industrial applications.
Preparation of Two New Diasteromeric Chiral Stationary Phases Based on (+)-(18-Crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic Acid and (R)- or (S)-1-(1-Naphthyl)ethylamine and Chiral Tethering Group Effect on the Chiral Recognition
Authors: Agneeswari Rajalingam , Sung Ji , Jo Eun , Jeon Hee , Tamilavan Vellaiappillai , Hyun Myung
Published: August 2016

Two new diastereomeric chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid as a chiral tethering group and a Π-basic chiral unit such as (R)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine (CSP 1) or (S)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine (CSP 2) were prepared. The two CSPs were applied to the enantiomeric separation of N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-1-phenylalkylamines and N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-α-amino acid derivatives using 20% isopropyl alcohol in hexane as a normal mobile phase. To elucidate the effect of the two chiral units on the chiral recognition, the chiral recognition abilities of the two CSPs were compared with each other and with that of a CSP (CSP 3) based on (R)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine. From the chromatographic chiral recognition results, (R)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine and (+)−(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid constituting CSP 1 were concluded to show a cooperative (“matched”) effect on the chiral recognition while (S)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine and (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid constituting CSP 2 were concluded to show an uncooperative (“mismatched”) effect on the chiral recognition. From these results, it was concluded that (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid can be successfully used as a chiral tethering group for the preparation of new CSPs.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-Based UDP-Galf Analogues as Inhibitors of the Mycobacterial Galactofuranosyltransferase GlfT2
Authors: Lowary Todd , Li Jing
Published: August 2016

UDP-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf) is the donor substrate for both bifunctional galactofuranosyltransferases, GlfT1 and GlfT2, which are involved in the biosynthesis of mycobacterial galactan. In this paper, a group of UDP-Galf mimics were synthesized via reductive amination of a bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-based amine by reacting with aromatic, linear, or uridine-containing aldehydes. These compounds were evaluated against GlfT2 using a coupled spectrophotometric assay, and were shown to be weak inhibitors of the enzyme.
Determination of the Absolute Configurations of Chiral Drugs Using Chiroptical Spectroscopy
Authors: Polavarapu Prasad
Published: August 2016

Chiroptical spectroscopy has emerged as a promising tool for the determination of absolute configurations and predominant conformations of chiral molecules in academic laboratories. This promise has led to the adaption of chiroptical spectroscopic methods as valuable tools in chiral drug discovery research programs of the pharmaceutical industry. Most major pharmaceutical companies have invested in in-house chiroptical spectroscopy applications and reported successful outcomes. In the context of continuously increasing applications of chiroptical spectroscopy for chiral molecular structure determination, a review of recent developments and applications for chiral drugs is presented in this manuscript.
Spices for Prevention and Treatment of Cancers
Authors: Zheng Jie , Zhou Yue , Li Ya , Xu Dong-Ping , Li Sha , Li Hua-Bin
Published: August 2016

Spices have been widely used as food flavorings and folk medicines for thousands of years. Numerous studies have documented the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of spices, which might be related to prevention and treatment of several cancers, including lung, liver, breast, stomach, colorectum, cervix, and prostate cancers. Several spices are potential sources for prevention and treatment of cancers, such as Curcuma longa (tumeric), Nigella sativa (black cumin), Zingiber officinale (ginger), Allium sativum (garlic), Crocus sativus (saffron), Piper nigrum (black pepper) and Capsicum annum (chili pepper), which contained several important bioactive compounds, such as curcumin, thymoquinone, piperine and capsaicin. The main mechanisms of action include inducing apoptosis, inhibiting proliferation, migration and invasion of tumors, and sensitizing tumors to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This review summarized recent studies on some spices for prevention and treatment of cancers, and special attention was paid to bioactive components and mechanisms of action.
Marshall McLuhan: The Possibility of Re-Reading His Notion of Medium
Authors: Roncallo-Dow Sergio , Scolari Carlos
Published: August 2016

After describing the origins of media ecology and the role of Marshall McLuhan in that theoretical constitution process, this article addresses McLuhan’s perspective on technology and media. In this context, the article warns that the impossibility of reading McLuhan stems from segregating technique and culture. This is impossible because there is a need to think about the extension of his idea of medium. The article proposes a conversation between McLuhan’s contributions and the works of thinkers like Don Ihde and Martin Heidegger, and ends with a final discussion on the meaning of concept of medium.
Well-Defined Polypropylene/Polypropylene-Grafted Silica Nanocomposites: Roles of Number and Molecular Weight of Grafted Chains on Mechanistic Reinforcement
Authors: Toyonaga Masahito , Chammingkwan Patchanee , Terano Minoru , Taniike Toshiaki
Published: August 2016

Grafting terminally functionalized polypropylene (PP) to nanofillers provides well-defined PP-based nanocomposites plausibly featured with a physical cross-linkage structure. In this paper, a series of PP-grafted silica nanoparticles (PP-g-SiO2) were synthesized by varying the number of grafted chains per silica particle, and influences of the number and the molecular weight of grafted chains were studied on physical properties of PP/PP-g-SiO2 nanocomposites. We found that only 20–30 chain/particle was sufficient to exploit benefits of the PP grafting for the nanoparticle dispersion, the nucleation, and the Young’s modulus. Meanwhile, the yield strength was sensitive to both of the number and the molecular weight of grafted PP: Grafting longer chains at a higher density led to greater reinforcement.
Conformational Properties of Active Semiflexible Polymers
Authors: Eisenstecken Thomas , Gompper Gerhard , Winkler Roland
Published: August 2016

The conformational properties of flexible and semiflexible polymers exposed to active noise are studied theoretically. The noise may originate from the interaction of the polymer with surrounding active (Brownian) particles or from the inherent motion of the polymer itself, which may be composed of active Brownian particles. In the latter case, the respective monomers are independently propelled in directions changing diffusively. For the description of the polymer, we adopt the continuous Gaussian semiflexible polymer model. Specifically, the finite polymer extensibility is taken into account, which turns out to be essential for the polymer conformations. Our analytical calculations predict a strong dependence of the relaxation times on the activity. In particular, semiflexible polymers exhibit a crossover from a bending elasticity-dominated dynamics to the flexible polymer dynamics with increasing activity. This leads to a significant activity-induced polymer shrinkage over a large range of self-propulsion velocities. For large activities, the polymers swell and their extension becomes comparable to the contour length. The scaling properties of the mean square end-to-end distance with respect to the polymer length and monomer activity are discussed.
A Novel Optimization Technique to Improve Gas Recognition by Electronic Noses Based on the Enhanced Krill Herd Algorithm
Authors: Wang Li , Jia Pengfei , Huang Tailai , Duan Shukai , Yan Jia , Wang Lidan
Published: August 2016

An electronic nose (E-nose) is an intelligent system that we will use in this paper to distinguish three indoor pollutant gases (benzene (C6H6), toluene (C7H8), formaldehyde (CH2O)) and carbon monoxide (CO). The algorithm is a key part of an E-nose system mainly composed of data processing and pattern recognition. In this paper, we employ support vector machine (SVM) to distinguish indoor pollutant gases and two of its parameters need to be optimized, so in order to improve the performance of SVM, in other words, to get a higher gas recognition rate, an effective enhanced krill herd algorithm (EKH) based on a novel decision weighting factor computing method is proposed to optimize the two SVM parameters. Krill herd (KH) is an effective method in practice, however, on occasion, it cannot avoid the influence of some local best solutions so it cannot always find the global optimization value. In addition its search ability relies fully on randomness, so it cannot always converge rapidly. To address these issues we propose an enhanced KH (EKH) to improve the global searching and convergence speed performance of KH. To obtain a more accurate model of the krill behavior, an updated crossover operator is added to the approach. We can guarantee the krill group are diversiform at the early stage of iterations, and have a good performance in local searching ability at the later stage of iterations. The recognition results of EKH are compared with those of other optimization algorithms (including KH, chaotic KH (CKH), quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA)), and we can find that EKH is better than the other considered methods. The research results verify that EKH not only significantly improves the performance of our E-nose system, but also provides a good beginning and theoretical basis for further study about other improved krill algorithms’ applications in all E-nose application areas.
High Accuracy Passive Magnetic Field-Based Localization for Feedback Control Using Principal Component Analysis
Authors: Foong Shaohui , Sun Zhenglong
Published: August 2016

In this paper, a novel magnetic field-based sensing system employing statistically optimized concurrent multiple sensor outputs for precise field-position association and localization is presented. This method capitalizes on the independence between simultaneous spatial field measurements at multiple locations to induce unique correspondences between field and position. This single-source-multi-sensor configuration is able to achieve accurate and precise localization and tracking of translational motion without contact over large travel distances for feedback control. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used as a pseudo-linear filter to optimally reduce the dimensions of the multi-sensor output space for computationally efficient field-position mapping with artificial neural networks (ANNs). Numerical simulations are employed to investigate the effects of geometric parameters and Gaussian noise corruption on PCA assisted ANN mapping performance. Using a 9-sensor network, the sensing accuracy and closed-loop tracking performance of the proposed optimal field-based sensing system is experimentally evaluated on a linear actuator with a significantly more expensive optical encoder as a comparison.
Enhanced Positioning Algorithm of ARPS for Improving Accuracy and Expanding Service Coverage
Authors: Lee Kyuman , Baek Hoki , Lim Jaesung
Published: August 2016

The airborne relay-based positioning system (ARPS), which employs the relaying of navigation signals, was proposed as an alternative positioning system. However, the ARPS has limitations, such as relatively large vertical error and service restrictions, because firstly, the user position is estimated based on airborne relays that are located in one direction, and secondly, the positioning is processed using only relayed navigation signals. In this paper, we propose an enhanced positioning algorithm to improve the performance of the ARPS. The main idea of the enhanced algorithm is the adaptable use of either virtual or direct measurements of reference stations in the calculation process based on the structural features of the ARPS. Unlike the existing two-step algorithm for airborne relay and user positioning, the enhanced algorithm is divided into two cases based on whether the required number of navigation signals for user positioning is met. In the first case, where the number of signals is greater than four, the user first estimates the positions of the airborne relays and its own initial position. Then, the user position is re-estimated by integrating a virtual measurement of a reference station that is calculated using the initial estimated user position and known reference positions. To prevent performance degradation, the re-estimation is performed after determining its requirement through comparing the expected position errors. If the navigation signals are insufficient, such as when the user is outside of airborne relay coverage, the user position is estimated by additionally using direct signal measurements of the reference stations in place of absent relayed signals. The simulation results demonstrate that a higher accuracy level can be achieved because the user position is estimated based on the measurements of airborne relays and a ground station. Furthermore, the service coverage is expanded by using direct measurements of reference stations for user positioning.
A Simplified Model for Modular Green Roof Hydrologic Analyses and Design
Authors: Li Yanling , Babcock Roger
Published: August 2016

Green roofs can mitigate urban rooftop stormwater runoff. However, the lack of accurate, physically-based performance assessment and design models has hindered their wide application. Most hydrologic or hydraulic models have no direct connection to the physical properties of green roof components such as media type/depth, drainage depth, etc. In an effort to assist design engineers, a simplified yet effective physically-based model was developed and calibrated with pilot data in order to provide green roof hydrologic performance curves to guide design. Precipitations with depths ranging from 0 to 40 cm and durations 30 to 1440 min were simulated for 21 green roof designs to determine the effects of common physical design parameters. Results revealed that effective capacity and transient capacity are the controlling factors for runoff volume reduction for single precipitation events. Including a water storage feature in the design increased cumulative long-term runoff reduction by an average of 23.5%, whereas increasing growth media depth yielded an average 5.3% improvement. Peak reduction and peak delay are governed by media depth and drainage opening size. Study results indicate that LEED criteria should be modified to require specific designer-controlled parameters of storage and media depth for the design storm to ensure desired performance.
Development of a rapid lateral flow immunoassay test for detection of exosomes previously enriched from cell culture medium and body fluids
Authors: Oliveira‐Rodríguez Myriam , López‐Cobo Sheila , Reyburn Hugh T. , Costa‐García Agustín , López‐Martín Soraya , Yáñez‐Mó María , Cernuda‐Morollón Eva , Paschen Annette , Valés‐Gómez Mar , Blanco‐López Maria Carmen
Published: August 2016

Exosomes are cell‐secreted nanovesicles (40–200 nm) that represent a rich source of novel biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of certain diseases. Despite the increasingly recognized relevance of these vesicles as biomarkers, their detection has been limited due in part to current technical challenges in the rapid isolation and analysis of exosomes. The complexity of the development of analytical platforms relies on the heterogeneous composition of the exosome membrane. One of the most attractive tests is the inmunochromatographic strips, which allow rapid detection by unskilled operators. We have successfully developed a novel lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for the detection of exosomes based on the use of tetraspanins as targets. We have applied this platform for the detection of exosomes purified from different sources: cell culture supernatants, human plasma and urine. As proof of concept, we explored the analytical potential of this LFIA platform to accurately quantify exosomes purified from a human metastatic melanoma cell line. The one‐step assay can be completed in 15 min, with a limit of detection of 8.54×105 exosomes/µL when a blend of anti‐CD9 and anti‐CD81 were selected as capture antibodies and anti‐CD63 labelled with gold nanoparticles as detection antibody. Based on our results, this platform could be well suited to be used as a rapid exosome quantification tool, with promising diagnostic applications, bearing in mind that the detection of exosomes from different sources may require adaptation of the analytical settings to their specific composition.
AN AO-ASSISTED VARIABILITY STUDY OF FOUR GLOBULAR CLUSTERS*
Authors: Salinas R. , Ramos R. Contreras , Strader J. , Hakala P. , Catelan M. , Peacock M. B. , Simunovic M.
Published: August 2016

The image-subtraction technique applied to study variable stars in globular clusters represented a leap in the number of new detections, with the drawback that many of these new light curves could not be transformed to magnitudes due to severe crowding. In this paper, we present observations of four Galactic globular clusters, M 2 (NGC 7089), M 10 (NGC 6254), M 80 (NGC 6093), and NGC 1261, taken with the ground-layer adaptive optics module at the SOAR Telescope, SAM. We show that the higher image quality provided by SAM allows for the calibration of the light curves of the great majority of the variables near the cores of these clusters as well as the detection of new variables, even in clusters where image-subtraction searches were already conducted. We report the discovery of 15 new variables in M 2 (12 RR Lyrae stars and 3 SX Phe stars), 12 new variables in M 10 (11 SX Phe and 1 long-period variable), and 1 new W UMa-type variable in NGC 1261. No new detections are found in M 80, but previous uncertain detections are confirmed and the corresponding light curves are calibrated into magnitudes. Additionally, based on the number of detected variables and new Hubble Space Telescope/UVIS photometry, we revisit a previous suggestion that M 80 may be the globular cluster with the richest population of blue stragglers in our Galaxy.
MEASUREMENTS OF EXTRAGALACTIC BACKGROUND LIGHT FROM THE FAR UV TO THE FAR IR FROM DEEP GROUND- AND SPACE-BASED GALAXY COUNTS
Authors: Driver Simon P. , Andrews Stephen K. , Davies Luke J. , Robotham Aaron S. G. , Wright Angus H. , Windhorst Rogier A. , Cohen Seth , Emig Kim , Jansen Rolf A. , Dunne Loretta
Published: August 2016

We combine wide and deep galaxy number-count data from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly, COSMOS/G10, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Early Release Science, HST UVUDF, and various near-, mid-, and far-IR data sets from ESO, Spitzer, and Herschel. The combined data range from the far UV (0.15 μm) to far-IR (500 μm), and in all cases the contribution to the integrated galaxy light (IGL) of successively fainter galaxies converges. Using a simple spline fit, we derive the IGL and the extrapolated IGL in all bands. We argue that undetected low-surface-brightness galaxies and intracluster/group light are modest, and that our extrapolated-IGL measurements are an accurate representation of the extragalactic background light (EBL). Our data agree with most earlier IGL estimates and with direct measurements in the far IR, but disagree strongly with direct estimates in the optical. Close agreement between our results and recent very high-energy experiments (H.E.S.S. and MAGIC) suggests that there may be an additional foreground affecting the direct estimates. The most likely culprit could be the adopted model of zodiacal light. Finally we use a modified version of the two-component model to integrate the EBL and obtain measurements of the cosmic optical background (COB) and cosmic infrared background of

nW m−2 sr−1 and

nW m−2 sr−1 respectively (48%:52%). Over the next decade, upcoming space missions such as Euclid and the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope will have the capacity to reduce the COB error to <1%, at which point comparisons to the very high-energy data could have the potential to provide a direct detection and measurement of the reionization field.
FAILED GROWTH AT THE BOUNCING BARRIER IN PLANETESIMAL FORMATION
Authors: Kruss Maximilian , Demirci Tunahan , Koester Marc , Kelling Thorben , Wurm Gerhard
Published: August 2016

In laboratory experiments, we studied collisions of ensembles of compact (filling factor = 0.33) millimeter dust aggregates composed of micrometer quartz grains. We used cylindrical aggregates, triangular aggregates, square aggregates, and rectangular aggregates. Ensembles of equal size aggregates as well as ensembles with embedded larger aggregates were studied. The typical collision velocities are 10–20 mm s−1. High spatial and temporal resolution imaging unambiguously shows that individual collisions lead to sticking with a high probability of 20%. This leads to connected clusters of aggregates. The contact areas between two aggregates increase with collision velocity. However, this cluster growth is only temporary, as subsequent collisions of aggregates and clusters eventually lead to the detachment of all aggregates from a cluster. The contacts are very fragile as aggregates cannot be compressed further or fragment under our experimental conditions to enhance the contact stability. Therefore, the evolution of the ensemble always leads back to a distribution of individual aggregates of initial size. This supports and extends earlier experiments showing that a bouncing barrier in planetesimal formation would be robust against shape and size variations.