bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling the effect of using the innovative materials on the construction organizations economic performance
Authors: Chepachenko N V , Leontiev A A , Uraev G A , Ardzinov V D
Published: December 2019

The article describes a methodical approach to the development of modeling tools to improve the factor analysis quality and assess the innovations using effect on the economic performance of the building contractors. To solve this problem, the innovation process management methodological principles determining the requirements for modeling and the factor models development for the purpose of analyzing and evaluating the impact of innovations, including innovative materials, on the efficiency of construction organizations, were substantiated. The key criterial parameters of the comparative evaluation were identified and structured during the study, characterizing the innovation impact, including the innovative building materials, on the construction organizations performance. This allowed to form an information and analytical database for the factor models development, which allow the system to identify the studied factors influence on the construction organizations final results. At the factor models development, the type of multiplicative models was used. In the developing analytical factor models process, a method for constructing deterministic factor models was implemented using the extension method and following the requirements for developing such models. Taking into account the compliance with these requirements, a complex of multiplicative factor models, in which the profit from the sale of innovative construction products is a productive indicator, has been developed. The developed factor models improve the quality of analysis and innovation causal relationship evaluation with the construction organizations efficiency, realizing the external and internal factors influence complex interrelation potential on the change in profits from the sale of innovative products.
Organizational and technological simulation of the construction organization activity in the complex infrastructure projects implementation
Authors: Zelentsov L B , Mayilyan L D , Shogenov M S
Published: December 2019

The article discusses the construction production organizational and technological improving issues and the qualifications of specialists, which become the key factors in the investment and construction projects (ICP) management. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the studies showed that currently main problem hindering the ICP management innovations introduction is the weak motivation and low qualification of managerial employees and their lack of teamwork skills using modern information technologies and databases.

One of the tools to improve the professional level and improve the project team coherence when managing ICP is a system that is a simulator - a simulator developed on the specialized information technology basis.

In the simulation model use a simulator can be widely used in construction for training and retraining of personnel involved in the ICP management.

The proposed methodology will allow to simulate the various options for the managerial decisions’ preparation and adoption at various stages and time intervals for the ICP implementation.
The determination of the integral biosphere compatibility indicator of urban areas by bioindication’s methods
Authors: Vorobyov S , Bakaeva N , Poturaeva T , Kozlov D
Published: December 2019

In modern conditions, urban development is impossible without concentration of population, industry and transport in a limited area. The environmental pollution reaches such proportions that the positive effect of keeping emission of pollutants at the level of the MPC is leveled by number of pollution sources, their concentration in a limited area and the synergistic effect of the pollutants on human health. There is a need to assess the quality of the urban environment. This is especially important inside city blocks. Residential areas are separated from industrial by sanitary protection zones, but road transport easily penetrates into a residential area and its emissions affect public health. The methods of bioindication is a quick, affordable and cheap way to assess the quality of the environment. Bioindication methods are also a reliable source for determining the integral indicator of the biospheric compatibility of urban areas.
Application of dispersal analysis of dust in the air of working zones in examination of physicochemical properties of ventilation emissions of asbestos-cement enterprises
Authors: Burhanova R A , Tertishnikov I V , Nikolenko M A , Likhonosov A V
Published: December 2019

The authors implemented a dispersion analysis of dust of asbestos cement, selected from the process equipment, aspiration systems of molding shop, general exhaust ventilation and from the air of sanitary protection zone. Were researched aerodynamic performance characteristics of dust. Established the dependence of dust subsidence in relation to the median particle diameter in the logarithmic grid as a random variable. Performed a comparative analysis of the main indicators of technological emissions of dust in the atmospheric air, while using the standard methodology in dispersion of harmful in the atmospheric air, accepted in Russia, and methods for calculating emissions from unorganized sources. Obtained the ratio of dust subsidence for asbestos-cement dust by two methods.
Evaluation of the energy and environmental potential of a wave self-oscillatory wind turbine
Authors: Grishin C C
Published: December 2019

The article describes a new type of wind turbine - wave self-oscillatory wind turbine. The principle of its operation and its inherent advantages are described. An assessment of its energy capabilities and the amount of reduction of harmful emissions into the atmosphere due to its use is given.
Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of cryorolled-AA5052 at various solution treatment temperatures
Authors: Anas N M , Abioye T E , Anasyida A S , Dhindaw B K , Zuhailawati H , Ismail Azzura
Published: December 2019

Initial solution treatment (ST) of aluminium alloys prior cryorolling (CR) enhances the ultrafine grain structure formation hence, improving their mechanical and corrosion properties. However, determining the appropriate ST temperature is crucial to obtain the optimum properties. In this work, ST followed by cryorolling of AA 5052 alloy was performed at varying temperatures; 480 °C, 510 °C and 540 °C. Mechanical and microstructural characterization of the cryorolled samples with and without ST and the base metal were performed using Vickers hardness tester, universal tensile testing machine, FESEM, EBSD and HRTEM. All the ST cryorolled samples showed the finer structure and better mechanical and corrosion performances than those without ST and the base metal. The smallest crystallite size and lattice strain achieved were 24.88 nm and 3.86 × 10−3 respectively at 540 °C. The hardness, yield and tensile strength increased with increasing the ST temperature with the highest values of 85.2 Hv, 254.82 MPa and 303.35 MPa, respectively, at 540 °C. Cryorolled sample solution treated at 540 °C also showed the highest corrosion resistance based on low corrosion current and high corrosion potential. The work gives the appropriate ST temperature at which improved microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of the cryorolled AA5052 can be obtained.
Study of transport, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in Sr2+ substituted praseodymium manganite
Authors: Saw Ajay Kumar , Channagoudra Ganesha , Hunagund Shivakumar , Hadimani Ravi L , Dayal Vijaylakshmi
Published: December 2019

The magnetotransport, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in the polycrystalline Pr1−xSrxMnO3 (0.20 ≤ x ≤ 0.40) have been studied. The X-ray diffraction peaks for the composition x = 0.20, 0.33 and 0.40 have been indexed with orthorhombic structure having Pnma space group, whereas x = 0.25 composition has been indexed to R-3c space group having rhombohedral symmetry. The substitution of Sr2+ at Pr3+site shows an increase in metal-insulator transition temperature (TMI) and ferromagnetic ordering temperature (Tc). The composition, x = 0.25 shows the higher isothermal magnetic entropy change,

Δ

S

m

 = 2.84 J kg−1K−1 with RCP = 116.33 J kg−1 at ∆H = 3 Tesla. The high RCP value (=151.16 J kg−1) with

Δ

S

m

 = 2.41 J kg−1 K−1 at ∆H = 3 Tesla for the composition, x = 0.40, implies that

δ

T

f
w
h
m

plays a significant role.
Enhancement of mechanical property and absorption capability of hydrophobically associated polyacrylamide hydrogels by adding cellulose nanofiber
Authors: Zhang Yiyin , Zhao Xueyang , Yang Weixing , Jiang Weijiao , Chen Feng , Fu Qiang
Published: December 2019

Hydrophobically associated (HA) hydrogels have attracted great concerns with their admirable properties, such as self-healing and shape memory. However, a few works have been devoted to apply HA hydrogels in practice, especially in wastewater treatment. This may be because of the non-ionic monomer composition and the poor mechanical properties after swelling. In this work, in order to improve the mechanical properties and absorption behavior of HA polyacrylamide (HPAM) hydrogel, hydrophobically associated polyacrylamide/cellulose nanofiber (HPAMF) composite hydrogels were prepared. It was found that by incorporating CNF (2 wt%), the tensile strength (≈0.276 MPa) was largely increased by 632% compared to HPAM hydrogels. The maximum Cu ion adsorption capacity of the HPAMF hydrogel (containing 2 wt% CNF) was 2.33 mmol g−1, about 86% over the HPAM hydrogel. The HPAMF hydrogels with self-healing, excellent mechanical and adsorption properties can be promisingly served as reliable absorbents, consequently satisfying the needs of practical application of heavy metal treatment.
Catalytic study of efficient nanocomposites {Ni0.5 Zn0.5−x Cex -oxides electrodes} for natural gas-fed fuel cells
Authors: Tayyab Zuhra , Rehman Saif Ur , Shakir Imran , Khan M Ajmal , Mushtaq Naveed , Alvi Farah , Rauf Sajid , Khan Aqsa , Fatima Mahin , Raza Rizwan
Published: December 2019

Highly catalytic active anode materials are one of the scorching zones in recent solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In order to develop high performance SOFCs compatible anode materials are extremely required. In this work, Ni0.5Zn0.5−xCex-oxides (NZC-oxide) nanocomposite anode material is synthesized by employing facile, low cost wet chemical technique. The phase structure before and after CH4 environment is studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. However, no significant structural phase change is observed in Ni0.5Zn0.3Ce0.2-oxides after CH4 treatment. Additional characterizations are investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dc electrical conductivities are measure by four probe method. The ideal and suitable Ni0.5 Zn0.3Ce0.2-oxides among all nanocomposites using as anode in fuel cell devices, show maximum power density of 500 mWcm−2 with open circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.0 V at 600 °C. By empowering enhanced catalytic assets of Ni0.5 Zn0.3Ce0.2-oxides nanocomposite anode may be useful for fuel cell applications.
Study of corrosion mechanism of cast iron in molten aluminum
Authors: Wang Qiyu , yang Hui , Li Xiaohong , Zhang Guodong
Published: December 2019

The corrosion mechanism of three aluminum ingot mold materials used by Chinese aluminum electrolytic enterprises in molten aluminum was studied: The three materials are pearlite cast iron(PCI) contains vermicular graphite, lamellar graphite, and spherical graphite respectively. After 800 °C molten aluminum corrosion for 4 h, the intermetallic compound (IMC) layers of Fe2Al5 and FeAl3 is formed at the interface. It was found that the volume of spherical graphite in IMC was reduced to 20%, and lamellar graphite aggregated in the IMC layer. The average thickness of the Fe2Al5 layer in PCI1, PCI2 and PCI3 is about 180 μm, 100 μm and 101 μm, respectively. The weight loss rate of PCI1 is 2.57 (mg cm−2)min−1, PCI2 is 2.20 (mg cm−2)min−1, and PCI3 is 2.24(mg cm−2)min−1. There are dispersed Cr and Mo carbides in the IMC layer. Si-rich ribbon-shaped region was found at the interface between cast iron and IMC. The needle-like precipitates (Al4C3) were observed only at the only at the boundary between cast iron and IMC in PCI1.
Optical graphene quantum dots gas sensors: experimental study
Authors: Raeyani D , Shojaei S , Ahmadi-Kandjani S
Published: December 2019

We present a room temperature Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) based optical gas sensor for carbon dioxide gas detection. GQDs were prepared by a hydrothermal method and deposited on a quartz substrate using a drop-casting technique. The size of synthesized GQDs is in the range of 10 to 20 nm. GQDs films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The gas sensing measurements were studied using optical absorbance changes of GQDs film upon exposure to different concentrations of CO2 gas. The as-prepared gas sensor showed a significant sensitivity with a partially reversible response to CO2 gas, indicating its great potential to pave a way toward a novel CO2 gas sensor.
Surface functionalization of porous chitosan microsphere with silver nanoparticle and carbon dot
Authors: Ghosh Dastidar Debabrata , Saha Sourabh , Dutta Gourango , Abat Swati , Guha Nilayan , Ghosh Dipanjan
Published: December 2019

Porous microspheres have enormous specific surface area due to the presence of micropores. This makes them suitable for all applications that involves surface adsorption e.g. chromatographic separation of biomolecules, catalytic reactions and drug delivery. The surface property may further be tuned up by functionalization of microsphere surface with different nanoparticles like silver nanoparticle and carbon dot (CD). In this study porous chitosan microsphere (PCM) was synthesized by ‘phase inversion of emulsion’ technique. Silver nanoparticle (AgNP) was synthesized, insitu during the process of surface modification, using silver nitrate solution. CD was synthesized by solvothermal method using urea and EDTA. PCM, AgNP and CD were of ∼9 μm, ∼27 nm and ∼14 nm diameter, respectively. From FTIR study it was confirmed that the amino group of chitosan backbone was responsible for reduction of Ag+ ion to Ag° species which were clustered as AgNP and attached to the surface of PCM. The same amino group of chitosan molecule was also responsible for conjugation of CD to the microparticle surface. The optimized AgNP functionalized PCM had 5.36 × 1011 AgNP per mg dried mass. The release of AgNP was triggered at pH ≤ 4.5. The CD functionalized PCM had 56.82 ± 2.8 % conjugation efficiency and 7.83 ± 1.7 % quantum yield with respect to quinine sulphate.
Effect of solvent on the energy storage property of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene)
Authors: Chen Fujia , Zhao Yuetao , Zhou Yujiu , Xu Jianhua , Yang Yajie , Yang Wenyao
Published: December 2019

The application prospects of dielectric materials such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based polymers in the field of energy storage have stimulated extensive research. In this study, the energy storage characteristics of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) films crystallized from several solvents with different vapor pressure were investigated. The charge-discharge efficiency of the P (VDF-HFP) film crystallized from N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) demonstrates an efficiency of 85% under an electric field of 1000 kV cm−1, which is 1.42 times of the film crystallized from dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Meanwhile, the insulation resistivity of the film crystallized from DMF is also higher than other films, and the energy storage characteristics are optimal in this study. This work provides guidance for the preparation of PVDF-based polymer films using the solution method.
Microstructure, corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of a non-isothermal ageing treated cast Al–4.5Cu–3.5Zn–0.5Mg alloy
Authors: Wang Haisheng , Jiang Bo , Yi Danqing , Wang Bin , Liu Huiqun , Wu Chunping , Shen Fanghua
Published: December 2019

Al–Cu, being a high-strength aluminium alloy, is used to prepared castings which are widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries as lightweight parts. However, corrosion is an issue. The Al–Cu alloys show improved properties when other elements are added to them. One such alloy is Al–4.5Cu–3.5Zn–0.5Mg. In order to improve the corrosion resistance and strength of this Al–4.5Cu–3.5Zn–0.5Mg cast alloy, a novel non-isothermal ageing (NIA) treatment was developed that comprised a heating stage up to 250 °C, followed by a cooling stage down to room temperature at the rate of 60 °C·h−1. Specimens were removed throughout the process and immediately quenched for morphological, mechanical, and electrochemical testing. The hardness continuously increased up to 124 HV with ageing time. The alloy exhibited optimal properties after ageing for ~340 min (with the aging temperature reaching 130 °C during the cooling stage of the NIA treatment), with a tensile strength and maximum corrosion depth of 395 MPa and 165 μm, respectively. Fine precipitates discontinuously appeared at the grain boundaries during the cooling stage. Some new fine Ω phases were precipitated in the grains, thereby narrowing the precipitation-free zone. Thus, high strength and good corrosion resistance of the alloy can be obtained via the NIA treatment. Notably, NIA treatments are less time-consuming than isothermal ageing treatments, thereby expanding the applications of high-strength cast aluminium alloys in the manufacturing industry.
A facile hydrothermal synthesis and properties of TiO2 nanosheet array films
Authors: Lai Liuyuan , Lei E , Hu Chaoyang , Zhao Dan , Zhao Wei , Guo Zhengang , Huang Dedong
Published: December 2019

A facile hydrothermal procedure was adopted to prepare TiO2 nanosheet array film on Ti foil, with NaCl as a morphology control agent. SEM, EDS, XPS and XRD showed that the TiO2 nanosheets with uniform morphology were vertically grown on the surface of Ti foil, and the nanosheets were interlaced with each other. When the hydrothermal reaction was controlled at 140 °C for 6 h, TiO2 nanosheet array film with superhydrophilicity (water contact angle of 3°) was obtained. In addition, excellent flexibility of Ti foil with TiO2 nanosheet array films could be a promising material for flexible application.
Structure of the Mordell-Weil group over the ℤ_{𝕡}-extensions
Authors: Lee Jaehoon
Published: December 2019

We study the

Λ
\Lambda

-module structure of the Mordell-Weil, Selmer, and Tate-Shafarevich groups of an abelian variety over

Z

p

\mathbb {Z}_p

-extensions.
Plasma membrane tension regulates eisosome structure and function
Authors: Appadurai Daniel , Gay Lincoln , Moharir Akshay , Lang Michael J. , Duncan Mara C. , Schmidt Oliver , Teis David , Vu Thien N. , Silva Malan , Jorgensen Erik M. , Babst Markus
Published: December 2019

Eisosomes are furrows of the yeast plasma membrane that are involved in the regulation of nutrient transporters and membrane stress pathways. Environmental changes affect plasma membrane tension and fluidity, which change both the eisosome structure and the localization of nutrient transporters and regulatory proteins to the eisosome.
Sec16 function in ER export and autophagy is independent of its phosphorylation inSaccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Yorimitsu Tomohiro , Sato Ken
Published: December 2019

COPII components undergo phosphorylation to drive ER export and autophagy. Here we found that the nonphosphorylatable Sec16 mutant exhibits no defect in ER export and autophagy. Our findings indicate that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sec16 phosphorylation is not essential for its function.
Regional imaging genetic enrichment analysis
Authors: Yao Xiaohui , Cong Shan , Yan Jingwen , Risacher Shannon L , Saykin Andrew J , Moore Jason H , Shen Li ,   UK Brain Expression Consortium,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: December 2019

Motivation

Brain imaging genetics aims to reveal genetic effects on brain phenotypes, where most studies examine phenotypes defined on anatomical or functional regions of interest (ROIs) given their biologically meaningful interpretation and modest dimensionality compared with voxelwise approaches. Typical ROI-level measures used in these studies are summary statistics from voxelwise measures in the region, without making full use of individual voxel signals.

Results

In this article, we propose a flexible and powerful framework for mining regional imaging genetic associations via voxelwise enrichment analysis, which embraces the collective effect of weak voxel-level signals and integrates brain anatomical annotation information. Our proposed method achieves three goals at the same time: (i) increase the statistical power by substantially reducing the burden of multiple comparison correction; (ii) employ brain annotation information to enable biologically meaningful interpretation and (iii) make full use of fine-grained voxelwise signals. We demonstrate our method on an imaging genetic analysis using data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, where we assess the collective regional genetic effects of voxelwise FDG-positron emission tomography measures between 116 ROIs and 565 373 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Compared with traditional ROI-wise and voxelwise approaches, our method identified 2946 novel imaging genetic associations in addition to 33 ones overlapping with the two benchmark methods. In particular, two newly reported variants were further supported by transcriptome evidences from region-specific expression analysis. This demonstrates the promise of the proposed method as a flexible and powerful framework for exploring imaging genetic effects on the brain.

Availability and implementation

The R code and sample data are freely available at https://github.com/lshen/RIGEA.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Terminating Exploration Of A Grid By An Optimal Number Of Asynchronous Oblivious Robots
Authors: Devismes Stéphane , Lamani Anissa , Petit Franck , Raymond Pascal , Tixeuil Sébastien
Published: December 2019

We consider swarms of asynchronous oblivious robots evolving into an anonymous grid-shaped network. In this context, we investigate optimal (w.r.t. the number of robots) deterministic solutions for the terminating exploration problem. We first show lower bounds in the semi-synchronous model. Precisely, we show that at least three robots are required to explore any grid of at least three nodes, even in the probabilistic case. Then, we show that at least four (resp. five) robots are necessary to deterministically explore a $\bf(2,2)$-Grid (resp. a $\bf(3,3)$-Grid). We then propose deterministic algorithms in the asynchronous model. This latter being strictly weakest than the semi-synchronous model, all the aforementioned bounds still hold in that context. Our algorithms actually exhibit the optimal number of robots that is necessary to explore a given grid. Overall, our results show that except in two particular cases, three robots are necessary and sufficient to deterministically explore a grid of at least three nodes and then terminate. The optimal number of robots for the two remaining cases is four for the $\bf(2,2)$-Grid and five for the $\bf(3,3)$-Grid, respectively.
Measuring health system resilience in a highly fragile nation during protracted conflict: South Sudan 2011–15
Authors: Odhiambo Jackline , Jeffery Caroline , Lako Richard , Devkota Baburam , Valadez Joseph J
Published: December 2019

Health systems resilience (HSR) is defined as the ability of a health system to continue providing normal services in response to a crisis, making it a critical concept for analysis of health systems in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS). However, no consensus for this definition exists and even less about how to measure HSR. We examine three current HSR definitions (maintaining function, improving function and achieving health system targets) using real-time data from South Sudan to develop a data-driven understanding of resilience. We used 14 maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) coverage indicators from household surveys in South Sudan collected at independence (2011) and following 2 years of protracted conflict (2015), to construct a resilience index (RI) for 9 of the former 10 states and nationally. We also assessed health system stress using conflict-related indicators and developed a stress index. We cross tabulated the two indices to assess the relationship of resilience and stress. For maintaining function for 80% of MNCH indicators, seven state health systems were resilient, compared with improving function for 50% of the indicators (two states were resilient). Achieving the health system national target of 50% coverage in half of the MNCH indicators displayed no resilience. MNCH coverage levels were low, with state averages ranging between 15% and 44%. Central Equatoria State displayed high resilience and high system stress. Lakes and Northern Bahr el Ghazal displayed high resilience and low stress. Jonglei and Upper Nile States had low resilience and high stress. This study is the first to investigate HSR definitions using a resilience metric and to simultaneously measure health system stress in FCAS. Improving function is the HSR definition detecting the greatest variation in the RI. HSR and health system stress are not consistently negatively associated. HSR is highly complex warranting more in-depth analyses in FCAS.
Longitudinal metabolomic analysis of plasma enables modeling disease progression in Duchenne muscular dystrophy mouse models
Authors: Tsonaka Roula , Signorelli Mirko , Sabir Ekrem , Seyer Alexandre , Hettne Kristina , Aartsma-Rus Annemieke , Spitali Pietro
Published: December 2019

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a severe pediatric neuromuscular disorder caused by the lack of dystrophin. Identification of biomarkers is needed to support and accelerate drug development. Alterations of metabolites levels in muscle and plasma have been reported in pre-clinical and clinical cross-sectional comparisons. We present here a 7-month longitudinal study comparing plasma metabolomic data in wild-type and mdx mice. A mass spectrometry approach was used to study metabolites in up to five time points per mouse at 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 weeks of age, providing an unprecedented in depth view of disease trajectories. A total of 106 metabolites were studied. We report a signature of 31 metabolites able to discriminate between healthy and disease at various stages of the disease, covering the acute phase of muscle degeneration and regeneration up to the deteriorating phase. We show how metabolites related to energy production and chachexia (e.g. glutamine) are affected in mdx mice plasma over time. We further show how the signature is connected to molecular targets of nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical compounds currently in development as well as to the nitric oxide synthase pathway (e.g. arginine and citrulline). Finally, we evaluate the signature in a second longitudinal study in three independent mouse models carrying 0, 1 or 2 functional copies of the dystrophin paralog utrophin. In conclusion, we report an in-depth metabolomic signature covering previously identified associations and new associations, which enables drug developers to peripherally assess the effect of drugs on the metabolic status of dystrophic mice.
Power calculations for cluster randomized trials (CRTs) with right-truncated Poisson-distributed outcomes: a motivating example from a malaria vector control trial
Authors: Mwandigha Lazaro M , Fraser Keith J , Racine-Poon Amy , Mouksassi Mohamad-Samer , Ghani Azra C
Published: December 2019

Background

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) are increasingly used to study the efficacy of interventions targeted at the population level. Formulae exist to calculate sample sizes for CRTs, but they assume that the domain of the outcomes being considered covers the full range of values of the considered distribution. This assumption is frequently incorrect in epidemiological trials in which counts of infection episodes are right-truncated due to practical constraints on the number of times a person can be tested.

Methods

Motivated by a malaria vector control trial with right-truncated Poisson-distributed outcomes, we investigated the effect of right-truncation on power using Monte Carlo simulations.

Results

The results demonstrate that the adverse impact of right-truncation is directly proportional to the magnitude of the event rate, λ, with calculations of power being overestimated in instances where right-truncation was not accounted for. The severity of the adverse impact of right-truncation on power was more pronounced when the number of clusters was ≤30 but decreased the further the right-truncation point was from zero.

Conclusions

Potential right-truncation should always be accounted for in the calculation of sample size requirements at the study design stage.
Fast–slow vector fields of reaction–diffusion systems
Authors: Bykov V , Cherkinsky Y , Gol’dshtein V , Krapivnik N , Maas U
Published: December 2019

A geometrically invariant concept of fast–slow vector fields perturbed by transport terms describing molecular diffusion is proposed in this paper. It is an extension of our concept of singularly perturbed vector fields for ODEs to reaction–diffusion systems with chemical reactions having wide range of characteristic time scales, while transport processes remain comparatively slow. Under this assumption we developed a decomposition into a fast and slow subsystems. It is assumed that the transport terms for the fast subsystem can be neglected to the leading order. For the slow subsystem we modify a concept of singularly perturbed profiles proposed in our previous works. The results are used to justify and to modify an algorithm of reaction–diffusion manifolds (REDIMs). The modified REDIM method is applied to the Michaelis–Menten model to illustrate the suggested approach.
Human gain-of-function STAT1 mutation disturbs IL-17 immunity in mice
Authors: Tamaura Moe , Satoh-Takayama Naoko , Tsumura Miyuki , Sasaki Takaharu , Goda Satoshi , Kageyama Tomoko , Hayakawa Seiichi , Kimura Shunsuke , Asano Takaki , Nakayama Manabu , Koseki Haruhiko , Ohara Osamu , Okada Satoshi , Ohno Hiroshi , Kobayashi Masao
Published: December 2019

Gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the gene for signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) account for approximately one-half of patients with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) disease. Patients with GOF-STAT1 mutations display a broad variety of infectious and autoimmune manifestations in addition to CMC, and those with severe infections and/or autoimmunity have a poor prognosis. The establishment of safe and effective treatments based on a precise understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this disorder is required to improve patient care. To tackle this problem, we introduced the human R274Q GOF mutation into mice [GOF-Stat1 knock-in (GOF-Stat1R274Q)]. To investigate the immune responses, we focused on the small intestine (SI), which contains abundant Th17 cells. Stat1R274Q/R274Q mice showed excess phosphorylation of STAT1 in CD4+ T cells upon IFN-γ stimulation, consistent with the human phenotype in patients with the R274Q mutation. We identified two subpopulations of CD4+ T cells, those with ‘normal’ or ‘high’ level of basal STAT1 protein in Stat1R274Q/R274Q mice. Upon IFN-γ stimulation, the ‘normal’ level CD4+ T cells were more efficiently phosphorylated than those from WT mice, whereas the ‘high’ level CD4+ T cells were not, suggesting that the level of STAT1 protein does not directly correlate with the level of pSTAT1 in the SI. Inoculation of Stat1R274Q/R274Q mice with Candida albicans elicited decreased IL-17-producing CD4+RORγt+ cells. Stat1R274Q/R274Q mice also excreted larger amounts of C. albicans DNA in their feces than control mice. Under these conditions, there was up-regulation of T-bet in CD4+ T cells. GOF-Stat1R274Q mice thus should be a valuable model for functional analysis of this disorder.
Effects of Abdominal Rotation on Jump Performance in the AntGigantiops destructor(Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Authors: Ye Dajia , Gibson Joshua C , Suarez Andrew V
Published: December 2019

Synopsis

Jumping is an important form of locomotion, and animals employ a variety of mechanisms to increase jump performance. While jumping is common in insects generally, the ability to jump is rare among ants. An exception is the Neotropical ant Gigantiops destructor (Fabricius 1804) which is well known for jumping to capture prey or escape threats. Notably, this ant begins a jump by rotating its abdomen forward as it takes off from the ground. We tested the hypotheses that abdominal rotation is used to either provide thrust during takeoff or to stabilize rotational momentum during the initial airborne phase of the jump. We used high speed videography to characterize jumping performance of G. destructor workers jumping between two platforms. We then anesthetized the ants and used glue to prevent their abdomens from rotating during subsequent jumps, again characterizing jump performance after restraining the abdomen in this manner. Our results support the hypothesis that abdominal rotation provides additional thrust as the maximum distance, maximum height, and takeoff velocity of jumps were reduced by restricting the movement of the abdomen compared with the jumps of unmanipulated and control treatment ants. In contrast, the rotational stability of the ants while airborne did not appear to be affected. Changes in leg movements of restrained ants while airborne suggest that stability may be retained by using the legs to compensate for changes in the distribution of mass during jumps. This hypothesis warrants investigation in future studies on the jump kinematics of ants or other insects.
Prevalence of doravirine-associated resistance mutations in HIV-1-infected antiretroviral-experienced patients from two large databases in France and Italy
Authors: Soulie Cathia , Santoro Maria Mercedes , Storto Alexandre , Abdi Basma , Charpentier Charlotte , Armenia Daniele , Jary Aude , Forbici Federica , Bertoli Ada , Gennari William , Andreoni Massimo , Mussini Cristina , Antinori Andrea , Perno Carlo Federico , Calvez Vincent , Ceccherini-Silberstein Francesca , Descamps Diane , Marcelin Anne-Genevieve
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Doravirine, a novel NNRTI, selects for specific mutations in vitro, including mutations at reverse transcriptase (RT) positions 106, 108, 188, 227, 230 and 234. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of doravirine-associated resistance mutations in HIV-1-infected antiretroviral-experienced patients.

Methods

Doravirine-associated resistance mutations identified in vitro or in vivo were studied in a set of 9199 HIV-1 RT sequences from HIV-1 antiretroviral-experienced patients, including 381 NNRTI-failing patients in France and Italy between 2012 and 2017. The following mutations were considered as resistance mutations: V106A/M, V108I, Y188L, G190S, F227C/L/V, M230I/L, L234I, P236L, K103N + Y181C, K103N + P225H and K103N + L100I.

Results

The frequencies of doravirine-associated resistance mutations (total dataset versus NNRTI-failing patients) were: V106A/M, 0.8% versus 2.6%; V108I, 3.3% versus 9.2%; Y188L, 1.2% versus 2.6%; G190S, 0.3% versus 2.1%; F227C/L/V, 0.5% versus 1.8%; M230I/L, 2.8% versus 0%; L234I, 0.1% versus 0.5%; K103N + Y181C, 3.9% versus 3.9%; K103N + P225H, 2.9% versus 4.7%; and K103N + L100I, 1.7% versus 3.9%, with a significantly higher proportion of these mutations in the NNRTI-failing group (P < 0.05), except for M230I/L and K103N + Y181C. The overall prevalence of sequences with at least one doravirine-associated resistance mutation was 12.2% and 34.9% in the total dataset and NNRTI-failing patients (P < 0.001), respectively. In comparison, the prevalence of the common NNRTI mutations V90I, K101E/P, K103N/S, E138A/G/K/Q/R/S, Y181C/I/V and G190A/E/S/Q were higher (8.9%, 7.9%, 28.6%, 12.6%, 14.2% and 8.9%, respectively).

Conclusions

These results suggest that doravirine resistance in antiretroviral-experienced patients generally and specifically among NNRTI-failing patients is lower than resistance to other NNRTIs currently used, confirming its distinguishing resistance pattern.
Measuring implementation feasibility of clinical decision support alerts for clinical practice recommendations
Authors: Richesson Rachel L , Staes Catherine J , Douthit Brian J , Thoureen Traci , Hatch Daniel J , Kawamoto Kensaku , Del Fiol Guilherme
Published: December 2019

Objective

The study sought to describe key features of clinical concepts and data required to implement clinical practice recommendations as clinical decision support (CDS) tools in electronic health record systems and to identify recommendation features that predict feasibility of implementation.

Materials and Methods

Using semistructured interviews, CDS implementers and clinician subject matter experts from 7 academic medical centers rated the feasibility of implementing 10 American College of Emergency Physicians Choosing Wisely Recommendations as electronic health record–embedded CDS and estimated the need for additional data collection. Ratings were combined with objective features of the guidelines to develop a predictive model for technical implementation feasibility.

Results

A linear mixed model showed that the need for new data collection was predictive of lower implementation feasibility. The number of clinical concepts in each recommendation, need for historical data, and ambiguity of clinical concepts were not predictive of implementation feasibility.

Conclusions

The availability of data and need for additional data collection are essential to assess the feasibility of CDS implementation. Authors of practice recommendations and guidelines can enable organizations to more rapidly assess data availability and feasibility of implementation by including operational definitions for required data.
‘An indefatigable intermediary’
Authors: Rowlands Eliot W
Published: December 2019

O n 4 June 1925, Harold Woodbury Parsons was appointed European Representative to the Cleveland Museum of Art; for the remainder of the decade he distinguished himself in scouting for and acquiring masterworks of European art for the essentially brand new institution. His long-time contacts in Rome, to begin with, led him to a famous Byzantine ivory (formerly in the collection of Count Grigorij Stroganoff). This he bought for the museum in November 1925, winning enthusiastic praise from Paul J. Sachs, a key figure in American museological circles. Similarly, he acquired soon afterwards El Greco’s Holy Family with St Mary Magdalen, despite intense competition. Parsons was ideally placed in the sale of Filippino Lippi’s Holy Family tondo as a sometime agent for the antiquities collector Edward Perry Warren (recently deceased). Parsons’s correspondence and unpublished notices in the Duveen Brothers records document the off-again, on-again dealing for what is now one of the pre-eminent Italian Renaissance paintings in America, acquired in August 1929.
Early-Onset Dementia in War Veterans: Brain Polypathology and Clinicopathologic Complexity
Authors: Iacono Diego , Lee Patricia , Edlow Brian L , Gray Nichelle , Fischl Bruce , Kenney Kimbra , Lew Henry L , Lozanoff Scott , Liacouras Peter , Lichtenberger John , Dams-O’Connor Kristen , Cifu David , Hinds Sidney R , Perl Daniel P
Published: December 2019

The neuropathology associated with cognitive decline in military personnel exposed to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic stress is incompletely understood. Few studies have examined clinicopathologic correlations between phosphorylated-tau neurofibrillary tangles, β-amyloid neuritic plaques, neuroinflammation, or white matter (WM) lesions, and neuropsychiatric disorders in veterans. We describe clinicopathologic findings in 4 military veterans with early-onset dementia (EOD) who had varying histories of blunt- and blast-TBI, cognitive decline, behavioral abnormalities, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, and suicide. We found that pathologic lesions in these military-EOD cases could not be categorized as classic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), chronic traumatic encephalopathy, traumatic axonal injury, or other well-characterized clinicopathologic entities. Rather, we observed a mixture of polypathology with unusual patterns compared with pathologies found in AD or other dementias. Also, ultrahigh resolution ex vivo MRI in 2 of these 4 brains revealed unusual patterns of periventricular WM injury. These findings suggest that military-EOD cases are associated with atypical combinations of brain lesions and distribution rarely seen in nonmilitary populations. Future prospective studies that acquire neuropsychiatric data before and after deployments, as well as genetic and environmental exposure data, are needed to further elucidate clinicopathologic correlations in military-EOD.
Endoscopic endonasal removal of a large fibrous dysplasia of the paranasal sinuses and skull base
Authors: AlMomen Ali A , Molani Fadel M , AlFaleh Moath A , AlMohisin Ahmed K
Published: December 2019

Fibrous dysplasia is a rare condition. We present a case of a 34-years-old man presented with left-sided facial pain, headache and nasal obstruction for a long duration. CT scan of the sinuses showed a mass occupying the left ethmoidal region abutting the orbit and skull base obstructing the left frontal sinus. The patient was treated successfully by image-guided endoscopic endonasal removal of the tumor with no recurrence after 3 years of follow-up. This report aims to show the usefulness of endoscopic endonasal removal of a large fibrous dysplasia of paranasal sinuses and skull base.
βVPE is involved in tapetal degradation and pollen development by activating proprotease maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Cheng Ziyi , Guo Xiaorui , Zhang Jiaxue , Liu Yadi , Wang Bing , Li Hui , Lu Hai
Published: December 2019

Vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) is responsible for the maturation and activation of vacuolar proteins in plants. We found that βVPE was involved in tapetal degradation and pollen development by transforming proproteases into mature protease in Arabidopsis thaliana. βVPE was expressed specifically in the tapetum from stages 5 to 8 of anther development. The βVPE protein first appeared as a proenzyme and was transformed into the mature enzyme before stages 7–8. The recombinant βVPE protein self-cleaved and transformed into a 27 kDa mature protein at pH 5.2. The mature βVPE protein could induce the maturation of CEP1 in vitro. βvpe mutants exhibited delayed vacuolar degradation and decreased pollen fertility. The maturation of CEP1, RD19A, and RD19C was seriously inhibited in βvpe mutants. Our results indicate that βVPE is a crucial processing enzyme that directly participates in the maturation of cysteine proteases before vacuolar degradation, and is indirectly involved in pollen development and tapetal cell degradation.
Thioredoxin targets are regulated in heterocysts of cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 in a light-independent manner
Authors: Mihara Shoko , Sugiura Kazunori , Yoshida Keisuke , Hisabori Toru
Published: December 2019

In the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) plays an important role in producing the power for reducing nitrogenase under light conditions. Our previous study showed that thioredoxin suppresses G6PDH by reducing its activator protein OpcA, implying that G6PDH is inactivated under light conditions because thioredoxins are reduced by the photosynthetic electron transport system in cyanobacteria. To address how Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 maintains G6PDH activity even under light conditions when nitrogen fixation occurs, we investigated the redox regulation system in vegetative cells and specific nitrogen-fixing cells named heterocysts, individually. We found that thioredoxin target proteins were more oxidized in heterocysts than in vegetative cells under light conditions. Alterations in the redox regulation mechanism of heterocysts may affect the redox states of thioredoxin target proteins, including OpcA, so that G6PDH is activated in heterocysts even under light conditions.
Red or white? Color in Chinese folksongs
Authors: Zhang Xiaojin , Liu Haitao
Published: December 2019

Color preference in Chinese folksongs is examined from the perspectives of themes, ethnicity, and geographical environment. The results yield that self-organization property of language system plays the role in color use and color preference varies with theme, ethnicity, and geographical environment. Specifically, the color of white is preferred by twenty-three ethnic minorities and the color of red is much more popular among the Han. Only in love songs, the preference for white and red exhibits an approximate north and south dimension. The study shows that digital approaches related to colors in folklore are an effective and promising tool to explore human’s response to colors.
Towards the development of a grammar checker and its utilization in the teaching of Modern Greek as mother tongue
Authors: Gakis Panagiotis , Kokkinos Theodoros , Tsalidis Christos
Published: December 2019

The goal of the current study is the exploration of the standardization of grammatical errors through templates, a process that ultimately led to the development of a Grammar Checker for Modern Greek, an electronic tool for the automatic recognition and correction of grammatical errors. Moreover, the study investigates the utilization of such a tool in a classroom setting and its contribution to the teaching of mother tongue. The participants of the study were secondary school students and main results showed that errors they made in text production activities could be categorized as errors of mechanics, grammar, and usage through certain templates, which then lead to the development of a Grammar Checker for Modern Greek. Moreover, we also found other errors that could not be analysed and categorized using the theory of taxonomy of errors by Ho, i.e. style: forms—learned forms and semantic. Additionally, the participants highlighted that the specific tool has advantages for the teaching of mother tongue. Implications for the methodology of Grammar Checkers’ development and their use in the teaching of mother tongue, generally, are discussed.
Tomographic measurement of the intergalactic gas pressure through galaxy–tSZ cross-correlations
Authors: Koukoufilippas Nick , Alonso David , Bilicki Maciej , Peacock John A
Published: December 2019

We cross-correlate maps of the thermal Sunyaev–Zeldovich (tSZ) Compton-y parameter published by Planck with the projected distribution of galaxies in a set of low-redshift tomographic bins. We use the nearly full-sky 2MASS Photometric Redshift and WISE × SuperCOSMOS public catalogues, covering the redshift range z ≲ 0.4. Our measurements allow us to place constraints on the redshift dependence of the mass–observable relation for tSZ cluster count analyses in terms of the so-called hydrostatic mass bias parameter $1-b_{\scriptscriptstyle \rm H}$. These results can also be interpreted as measurements of the bias-weighted average gas pressure 〈bPe〉 as a function of redshift, a quantity that can be related to the thermodynamics of gas inside haloes and used to constrain energy injection processes. We measure $1-b_{\scriptscriptstyle \rm H}$ with $\sim \!13{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ precision in six equispaced redshift bins, and find no evidence for a redshift-dependent mass bias parameter, in agreement with previous analyses. Our mean value of $1-b_{\scriptscriptstyle \rm H}= 0.59\pm 0.03$ is also in good agreement with the one estimated by the joint analysis of Planck cluster counts and cosmic microwave background anisotropies. Our measurements of 〈bPe〉, at the level of $\sim \!10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in each bin, are the most stringent constraints on the redshift dependence of this parameter to date, and agree well both with previous measurements and with theoretical expectations from shock-heating models.