bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diversity of Flora as Affected by Time Consequences of Revegetation Age in Post Coal Mine Area at PT Berau Coal Tbk, East Kalimantan Indonesia
Authors: Salim M A , Budi SW , Setyaningsih L , Iskandar  , Kirmi H
Published: July 2020

This study aims to examine the diversity of flora in various age classes of revegetation of post-mining coal. This research was conducted at PT. Berau Coal, Binungan block, East Kalimantan. Sampling plots were applied on revegetation land of post-mining coal aged 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 years, and natural forest as a control. Flora observations were carried out on sample plots of size 25m x 40m for sapling, poles and trees, while sub-plots 1m x 1m for seedlings and understorey. In natural forests observations were made on sample plots measuring 20m x 20m for trees with sub plot 2m x 2m for uderstorey and seedlings, 5m x 5m for saplings, 10m x 10m for poles. The analysis results show that the highest individual density per ha is found in natural forests (seedlings, saplings and poles). The highest of flora index of diversity, richness and evenness were found in natural forests. The flora from revegetation of eight-year has been able to approach to natural forests conditions. The species of plants that predominate in some revegetation age classes are Rhynchospora corymbose (understorey), Senna siamea (seedling, sapling, pole and tree). Acacia mangium and Macarangan hypleoca grow naturally in some revegetation age.
Techno-economic and Supply Chain Analysis of Nano Tea Made from Mangosteen Peel as Functional Food
Authors: Isnasari Y , Nasution S Y , Ratnasari D
Published: July 2020

This study aims is to examine the availability of raw material to produce the Mangosteen Peel Nano Tea and to validate the economic value of it on a business scale. In Indonesia, Mangosteen is mostly produced in the West Java Province. As for the process of utilizing mangosteen peel into nano tea, it requires at least seven processes in production. We used five methods to find the economic value, namely Payback Period (PP), Average Rate Return (ARR), Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Profitability Index (PI). The results of this study are PP was one year and 11 months; ARR was 137%; NPV was IDR 3,079,664,331; IRR was 38.35% which is greater than the rate of return; and PI worth 1.36. These results show that the utilisation of mangosteen peel can be a profitable business.
Anatomical characterization of wood decay patterns in Hevea brasiliensis and Pinus merkusii caused by white-rot fungi: Polyporus arcularius and Pycnoporus sanguineus
Authors: Diandari A F , Djarwanto  , Dewi L M , Iriawati
Published: July 2020

Biological pulping is an environmentally friendly process for making pulp and paper whereby the wood raw material is pre-treated with selective delignifying white-rot fungi. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the decay patterns of white-rot fungiPolyporus arculariusandPycnoporus sanguineus, as well as its ability to decayHevea brasiliensis(as hardwood) andPinus merkusii(as softwood) by observing the anatomical characteristics. Fungal attack testing on wood was carried out by the Kolle-flask method with a variation of 6, 9, and 12 weeks incubation time. The structure of wood cells was analyzed using wood incision method, followed by a combination of safranin-picro aniline blue and safranin-astra blue, and maceration method. The results showed thatH. brasiliensiswood has a higher percentage of weight loss thanP. merkusiiwood. Wood attacked byP. sanguineusshowed a higher weight loss compared to theP. arcularius. The decay pattern ofP. sanguineusinfected wood was concluded as selective delignification inP. merkusiiand simultaneous delignification inH. brasiliensiswhile those infected withP. arculariusboth performed simultaneous delignification. In the early stages of decay, selective delignification is characterized by the formation of intercellular space due to degradation of lignin in the middle lamella, while simultaneous delignification is characterized by cell wall thinning. The anatomical structure ofH. brasiliensisattacked by the white-rot fungi showed differences withP.merkusii, whereby the ray cells ofP.merkusiiwood was more degraded than inH. brasiliensis.
Clustering Pollutants Concentration from Sumatra Peat Fire using Fuzzy C-Means Algorithm
Authors: Rahmat Hanif , Sukaesih Sitanggang Imas
Published: July 2020

Indonesia has large peatland areas which can significantly impact both regional and global environments. The forest and land fire in 2015 produced high level of air pollutants concentration in Sumatra, especially in South Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi provinces. This study aims to cluster pollutants concentration from peat fires in Sumatra during July until November 2015 using fuzzy c-means algorithm. The dataset used in this study is concentration of pollutants including CH4, CO, CO2, NH3 and PM2.5. Based on the experimental result, pollutants concentration data are grouped into 8 clusters. The result of this study indicates that the highest pollutants concentration is found in the cluster which has only one member with concentration 14,500 µg/m3 of CH4, 145,980 µg/m3 of CO, 1,183,831 µg/m3 of CO2, 13,800 µg/m3 of NH3 and 6,290 µg/m3 of PM2.5. Another cluster containing high concentration has 6 objects representing haze locations with the average concentration 8,265 µg/m3 of CH4, 83,427 µg/m3 of CO, 676,558 µg/m3 of CO2, 7,913 µg/m3 of NH3, and 3,597 µg/m3 of PM2.5. The largest cluster with 590,816 haze locations contains the lowest concentration of pollutants. Although its average concentration levels are low, yet the maximum concentration are still in moderate or high enough levels. In general, high concentration of pollutants was distributed mostly in South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau.
Is agro-ecotourism approach a potential to support climate change mitigation?
Authors: Suryandari R T , Wicaksono R L , Agustina A
Published: July 2020

Indonesia is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse emission globally. The trigger of such contributions can be traced to Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF). The problem of deforestation is complex, involving social, economic and political sectors. On the other hand, a holistic approach has not been widely discussed and implemented. This paper attempts to review and aims at providing potential answer on how to manage the forest and its relations with people in order to combat forest destruction caused by people. We believed that managing such relationship is the key to maintain the sustainability of the forest while keeping its roles and sustainability. Literature review was employed to develop a problem framework, and to develop alternatives in bridging the relationships between forest and local community. Collecting relevant literatures using keywords such as “forest and climate change mitigation”, “agroforestry and climate change”, “ecotourism and climate change”, and “agroforestry and ecotourism”, 96 articles were found. Further, through matching the content and the research goals of the articles, 13 articles were selected for further content analysis. We proposed agro-ecotourism as the alternative answer that can be pursued to balance the relationship between forest and people, especially in putting forest as an important partner rather than an exploitable asset. Hence, agro-ecotourism may help to increase the awareness among local community on the critical roles of the forest in the long term to fight against climate changes.
Characteristics of forest and land fires in Baluran National Park, Situbondo Regency, East Java
Authors: Maulana F A , Rushayati S B , Setiawan Y
Published: July 2020

Fire events of Baluran National Park occured periodically in the dry season. The impacts of the fires was a changes in physical, chemical and biological aspects of the ecosystem that can be illustrated as the fire severity. Important information for habitat management, is vegetation and air temperature as biological and physical aspects. This study aims to identify burned areas and classes of fire severity and to explain the character of fires based vegetation’s aspects and air temperature during the fire periods. The character of the fires was described by analysis of normalized burn ratio (NBR), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the calculation of air temperature under conditions prefires, postfires, and the delta’s value. Burned areas in Baluran National Park were identified as 1798.92 ha which classified into fire severity class as low class (1252.71 ha), medium class (543.79 ha), and severe class (2.43 ha). Savanna has a value of dNDVI of 0.2543 which is caused by logging acacia wood for firewood and dNBR of 0.0677 that indicated by burning by the local people for grass growth as livestock’s feed. Changes in the air temperature of the savanna of 8.6 0C. Increasing of air temperature is followed by decreasing of vegetation index (dNDVI an dNBR), but changes in air temperature tend to follow the dNBR’s trend rather than the dNDVI’s trend.
Design of the H∞ regulator for the control of glucose concentration in patients with first type diabetes
Authors: Sherif Sherif , Kralev Jordan , Slavov Tsonyo , Kunchev Veselin
Published: July 2020

Glucose is a basic source of energy for the living organism and is assimilated by tissues with the help of insulin receptors attached to the cell membrane. A lot of research has focused on improvement the quality of regulation of glucose concentration by applying modern methods of control theory. Mathematical descriptions of glucose and insulin metabolism are nonlinear processes with uncertainty in parameters. Therefore article is purposed at creating a corresponding simulation model, which would allow the research different approaches to controlling blood glucose levels in the presence of disturbances due from the acceptance of nutrients, physical activity and parametric uncertainty.
Methods for object recognition and classification for tele-controlled service robots
Authors: Ivanov Angel , Chivarov Nayden
Published: July 2020

The need of personal service robots has been increased in the past several years. The tasks assigned to the robots vary in complexity and degree of freedom. In order to assist senior citizens and people with disabilities with their day to day tasks, a greater degree of freedom is required – more autonomy, ability to fulfil more complex tasks and easier for use human-machine interface. In this paper we show some of the methods that can be implemented in personal service robots for object recognition and classification in order to achieve greater autonomy, hence greater degree of freedom.
ERP systems and data security
Authors: Hrischev Radoslav
Published: July 2020

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integrates all business processes in the organization. Therefore, data security is the main point of security in ERP systems. Most of the biggest ERP developers have already implemented specialized hardware and software security solutions. New ITC technologies – cloud computing, IoT, blockchain are opportunities to make the ERP highly integrated, more intelligent, more flexible, cloud based. The fast growing of the e-business is making ERP systems more open and new decisions are needed to be granted information security. This paper introduces ERP technology regarding the data security point of view. New security solutions for ERP systems are present.
Research and analysis of modern space heating technologies and management for industrial buildings
Authors: Yosifova V , Chikurtev D , Petrov R
Published: July 2020

The paper observes different modern space heating technologies suitable for industrial buildings. Their main working principles and applications are researched related to their energy efficiency. The problems about heating of large scale spaces in industry are observed. A compartment analysis between the technologies is carried out with their advantages and disadvantages.
Proactive compensation of electric power imbalance in day-ahead market
Authors: Angelov Alexander , Shakev Nikola , Ganev Georgi
Published: July 2020

The precise planning of production and demand schedules is essential for the stability of the energy system. For this purpose, various economic incentives have been developed and implemented that encourage accurate adherence to the pre-registered schedules. In order to respond to the strictly following of the schedules a proactive compensation of electric power imbalance in day-ahead market is suggested. An original methodology for parameter estimation of the Imbalance Compensation System is proposed and experimental results are reported.
Study of four-spring electromagnetic harvesters
Authors: Georgiev N P , Raychev R P
Published: July 2020

The article considers electromagnetic harvesters, consisting of a metal plate, fixed on four springs at their lower end, and having 2 or 4 magnets. A coil is located above the magnets. Modeling by ANSYS has been done, and the horizontal deviation of the mechanical system has been obtained. With the help of FEMM, the magnetic field of the electromagnetic harvesters has been modeled and their electromotive force has been determined. Experimental studies have been performed to verify the modeling. The influence of the construction parameters on the output electric features of the studied harvesters has been considered.
LoRaWAN applications - “Leonardo tasting LoRaWINE”
Authors: Maksimova R , Kolev K
Published: July 2020

This paper presents main and specific points of application of LoRaWAN IoT technology as a new idea for the realization of projects in various smart technological systems. In the course of implementing such a task, information technologies like - LoRaWAN, TTN and Python with the kind assistance of a framework for building a real-time wine monitoring web application were used. An example dashboard for monitoring of Food Technology processes was developed and provided using a specially assembled end node with appropriate sensors for the subject’s needs. A block diagram of an Internet of Things (IoT) network including The Things Network is presented. A diagram of the end node is synthesized. A flowchart diagram of the dashboard’s code is suggested. Different program structures for LoRaWAN applications are built in contrast of ready integrations.
Clearance speed study for intergreen time determination
Authors: Saliev D N
Published: July 2020

Intergreen is the period between ends of a green period of one phase and the beginning of a green period of the next phase at signalized intersections. Its determination requires data which are in relation of geometrical parameters of junctions and that of dynamic parameters of the entering in and passing through the crossroads vehicles. One of them is clearance speed of a last passing vehicle of a phase which is necessary to calculate its clearance time. The present study aims to determine values of clearance speed for straight ahead and turning vehicles and find a relations between them and curves radii, slope of the road etc. The study use field data bring at three traffic lights junctions in Sofia city. The obtained results and the conclusions reached would be used in intergreen time determination for phasing design optimization at these junction and the other one in the same condition includes clearance distance and curves radii of turning flows.
Black box/white box hybrid method for virtual prototyping validation of multiphysics simulations and testing
Authors: Todorov G D , Kamberov K H
Published: July 2020

A hybrid method has been developed to predict the level of confidence in the results of multiphysical behavioural simulations of the object by virtue of virtual prototyping (VP) together with physical PP testing based on the stage of the virtual prototyping process and feedback from physical parameters tests. The method is based on a three approaches to assessing the reliability of the results of virtual prototypes - initial - for verification of boundary conditions, intermediate - to improve the accuracy of the results obtained and final -to validate the obtained results. A new method has been developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Virtual Prototyping called “WHITE BOX / BLACK BOX” for the study of complex objects by applying VP as a “white box” and VP as a “black box” in iterative connectivity to achieve fine calibration of VP. The novelty of the method lies in the iterative connectivity of the VP and the PP, and in particular the calibration of the VP by feedback from PP data via a micro-cycle. The “WHITE BOX / BLACK BOX” method and the three approaches to verifying and validating VP have been demonstrated in three successfully completed projects with international industrial partners used as demonstration test cases.
Martensitic transformations in Fe-Mn alloy with low stacking fault energy
Authors: Parshorov S , Valkov S , Petrov P
Published: July 2020

Object of investigation is highly alloyed binary Fe-Mn alloys which in austenitic state are characterized with different stacking fault energy (SFE). Experimental results using the internal friction and X-Ray methods are obtained for the martensitic non isothermal transformation upon cooling and heating. It was determined that mainly the structural characteristics of the alloys define the type of the possible transformation mechanisms and the products of the martensitic reaction. The role of the SFE for the mechanisms of formation and growth of the martensite phase and the relation between the micro-structural parameters of the solid solution and the mechanism of non isothermal martensitic transformations is shown. On the basis of the existing models of dynamic relaxation associated with phase transformations, here are pivotal conclusions about the characteristics of the non-diffusion mechanism of transformation into a low SFE.
Sorption characteristics of Bulgarian Einkorn flakes
Authors: Bogoeva A L , Durakova A G , Toshkov N G
Published: July 2020

The current scientific research is focused on the Einkorn flakes of Bulgarian origin. The aim is to determine their moisture adsorption and desorption isotherms. The flakes are obtained of milling Einkorn grains with a reconstructed mill roll. The applied pressure was between 200 and 280 tons. The experimental database of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) are determined at three different temperatures – 10°C, 25°C and 40°C through the standard static gravimetric method in the compulsory presence of water activity within the range from 0.1 to 0.9. The obtained adsorption and desorption isotherms have anS-shape profile i.e. they are from the IIndclass typical of the majority of food products. The results confirm a regularity that the sorption capacity decreases with increasing of the temperature in the presence of constant water activity which is valid for the both processes. The mathematical three-parametric modified models of Chung–Pfost, Oswin, Halsey and Henderson are evaluated for the description of the obtained sorption data. The monolayer moisture content (MMC) of Einkorn flakes is calculated through the linearization of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation. The values varied from 3.26% to 4.92%.
Impact of atmospheric corrosion on the mechanical properties of B235 steel rods
Authors: Tsonev Veselin , Nikolov Nikolay , Penkov Kamen
Published: July 2020

It is well known that atmospheric corrosion greatly affects the stress-strain properties of reinforcing steel. To be able to assess and forecast the remaining service life of constructions which have been subjected to atmospheric corrosion, it is necessary to have good knowledge of this effect. Research is often complicated to do due to the lack of accurate information on the initial dimensions of the steel parts and the properties of the material of which those parts are made. In this paper an attempt is made to overcome this obstacle. Reinforcing steel rods are tested. Those rods have been subjected to natural atmospheric conditions in a temperate climate zone for 25 years, in vertical orientation. To determine the initial stress-percentage extension curve of those rods test pieces have been made by machining on a lathe – to remove the corrosion layer and to set a standard diameter. The chemical composition and the density of the material are determined by appropriate experiments. The yield strength, the ultimate strength, the percentage elongation after fracture are determined by standard tensile testing. To determine the final stress-percentage extension curve, tensile tests are carried out with the corroded rods without any treatment. A comparison of both curves and analysis of the atmospheric corrosion effect on the stress-strain behavior is made.
Business communities - a factor of industry and bioeconomy development
Authors: Mihova T B , Alexieva V N
Published: July 2020

The population of Europe and the world is constantly growing, and so is its need for more food. This leads to rapid depletion of natural resources, and environmental impacts and related climate change challenges are increasing.It is therefore essential to move to a new way of economic growth that is compatible with the protection of the environment and the sustainable use of scarce natural resources, while guaranteeing a much higher standard of living reducing poverty. The bioeconomy strategy and its action plan become the basis for a more innovative, efficient and competitive society that combines food security, sustainable use of renewable industrial resources and environmental protection.In recent years, the role of business associations has increased significantly, in connection with the rapidly changing business environment of ever-increasing corporate competition.The authors aim to reveal the goals of these business communities and the means to achieve them.The report outlines the specific results of the team’s own study of the competitive advantages of industrial enterprises created by business associations.
Application of Management Innovations in the Bulgarian Wine Industry
Authors: Pastarmadzhieva D , Angelova M
Published: July 2020

The innovations are of crucial importance for the contemporary business development. Management innovation is one of the groups of innovations that can be applied and according to the scholars it has the potential to enhance the competitiveness of the enterprise. As the wine industry is a key sector of the Bulgarian economy, it is essential for the wine producers to select a relevant type of innovations for their enterprise. Thus, the aim of the current study is to identify if the Bulgarian wine producers are ready to implement management innovations and if this decision is associated to some factors. The object of the study is Bulgarian SMEs wine producers. The focus is their activity, regarding the management innovations. The results are obtained through an online survey, conducted from December 2019 to January 2020. The results show that the priorities of Bulgarian wine producers are the management innovations, related to processes and resources, the employees and the knowledge.
Evaluating spectral overlap with the degree of quenching in UCP luminescence energy transfer systems
Authors: Burgess Letitia , Wilson Hannah , Jones Alex R , Hay Sam , Natrajan Louise S
Published: July 2020

The use of organic based fluorophores has been firmly established as a key tool in the biological sciences, with many biological-sensing methods taking advantage of Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between different fluorescent organic based dyes following one photon excitation. Nevertheless, the employment of UV-visible absorbing dyes as fluorescent tags and markers typically suffer from several drawbacks including relatively high energy of excitation wavelength, photobleaching and competitive autofluorescence, which often limits their effectiveness and longevity both in vitro and in vivo. As an alternative, lanthanide doped upconverting phosphors (UCP) have emerged as a new class of materials for use in optical imaging and RET sensing; they exhibit high photo- and chemical stability and utilise near infrared excitation. Approaches to sensing a given analyte target employing upconverting phosphors can be achieved by engineering the UCP to operate analogously to fluorescent dyes via Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (LRET) and such systems are now becoming central to optically sensing low concentrations of biologically important species and performing distance measurements. Similarly to FRET, the LRET process is distance dependent and requires spectral overlap between the absorption of the acceptor luminophore and the emission of the donor moiety, yet essential measures of the relationship between spectral overlap and the degree of quenching have not yet been established. To address this, we have investigated the Stern-Volmer relationship for a set of six commonly functionalised organic dyes and seven biomolecules that contain key chromophoric co-factors with Gd2SO4:Yb:Er (PTIR545) and Gd2SO4:Yb:Tm (PTIR475) UCPs under low power nIR excitation, and found that for the organic dyes a linear relationship between spectral overlap and degree of quenching is observed. However, this linear relationship is observed to break down for all the biomolecules investigated.
A two-piece property for free boundary minimal surfaces in the ball
Authors: Lima Vanderson , Menezes Ana
Published: July 2020

We prove that every plane passing through the origin divides an embedded compact free boundary minimal surface of the euclidean

3
3

-ball in exactly two connected surfaces. We also show that if a region in the ball has mean convex boundary and contains a nullhomologous diameter, then this region is a closed halfball. Moreover, we prove the regularity at the corners of currents minimizing a partially free boundary problem by following ideas by Grüter and Simon. Our first result gives evidence to a conjecture by Fraser and Li.
Use of Electronic Cigarettes to Aid Long-Term Smoking Cessation in the United States: Prospective Evidence From the PATH Cohort Study
Authors: Chen Ruifeng , Pierce John P , Leas Eric C , White Martha M , Kealey Sheila , Strong David R , Trinidad Dennis R , Benmarhnia Tarik , Messer Karen
Published: July 2020

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are the preferred smoking-cessation aid in the United States; however, there is little evidence regarding long-term effectiveness among those who use them. We used the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study to compare long-term abstinence between matched US smokers who tried to quit with and without use of e-cigarettes as a cessation aid. We identified a nationally representative cohort of 2,535 adult US smokers in 2014–2015 (baseline assessment), who, in 2015–2016 (exposure assessment), reported a past-year attempt to quit and the cessation aids used, and reported smoking status in 2016–2017 (outcome assessment; self-reported ≥12 months continuous abstinence). We used propensity-score methods to match each e-cigarette user with similar nonusers. Among US smokers who used e-cigarettes to help quit, 12.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 9.1%, 16.7%) successfully attained long-term abstinence. However, there was no difference compared with matched non–e-cigarette users (cigarette abstinence difference: 2%; 95% CI: −3%, 7%). Furthermore, fewer e-cigarette users were abstinent from nicotine products in the long term (nicotine abstinence difference: −4%; 95% CI: −7%, −1%); approximately two-thirds of e-cigarette users who successfully quit smoking continued to use e-cigarettes. These results suggest e-cigarettes may not be an effective cessation aid for adult smokers and, instead, may contribute to continuing nicotine dependence.
A Clinical Prediction Model of Medication Adherence in Hypertensive Patients in a Chinese Community Hospital in Beijing
Authors: Gao Wenjuan , Liu Hong , Ge Caiying , Liu Xinying , Jia Hongyan , Wu Hao , Peng Xiaoxia
Published: July 2020

BACKGROUND

Hypertension remains a global health problem. Since, there is a significant positive correlation between antihypertensive medication adherence and blood pressure control, it is therefore of great importance to elucidate the determinants of adherence to antihypertensive medications among hypertensive patients.

METHODS

Hereby, we retrospectively analyzed the medical records of a hypertensive cohort recruited from a community hospital in Beijing, China, to investigate the factors affecting adherence to antihypertensive medications using decision trees. In addition, all data were assigned into a training set (75%) and testing set (25%) by the random number seed method to build and validate a compliance predictive model. We identified that how many times patients became nonadherent to antihypertensive medications in the year before the first prescription, types of antihypertensive drugs used in the year before the first prescription, body weight, smoking history, total number of hospital visits in the past year, total number of days of medication use in the year before enrollment, age, total number of outpatient follow-ups in the year after the first prescription, and concurrent diabetes greatly affected the compliance to antihypertensive medications.

RESULTS

The compliance predictive model we built showed a 0.78 sensitivity and 0.69 specificity for the prediction of the compliance to antihypertensive medications, with an area under the representative operating characteristics curve of 0.810.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data provide new insights into the improvements of the compliance to antihypertensive medications, which is beneficial for the management of hypertension, and the compliance predictive model may be used in community-based hypertension management.
Jurisdiction and admissibility: a case study
Authors: Obamuroh Tolu O
Published: July 2020

Arbitrators cannot decide cases if they do not have jurisdiction. For this reason, a challenge to jurisdiction may prompt judicial intervention. Most national courts, however, limit their intervention to question of jurisdiction and do not interfere in the arbitral process if the objection is merely one of admissibility. The distinction between jurisdiction and admissibility is a valuable tool for differentiating when judicial intervention is appropriate and when it is not. The problem is that some national courts generally conflate the concept of jurisdiction, which may properly be the basis for such intervention, with admissibility issues, which should be referred to the tribunal to decide. As a case study, this article focuses on the conflation by Nigerian courts leading to an overly expansive allocation of authority to courts to make initial rulings, which in turn is abused by parties and undermines the efficiency of arbitration in Nigeria.

To address the problem, this article proposes that Nigerian courts adopt the distinction between jurisdictional and admissibility objections in international arbitration. This distinction, while not perfect, can promote efficacy in arbitration seated in Nigeria. Adopting the distinction between admissibility and jurisdiction will enable Nigerian courts to exercise greater restraint in cases that do not go to the root of courts’ authority and promote outcomes that are more coherent and more consistent with their obligations under the New York Convention and Model Law.
XIV—Two Puzzles in The Early Christian Constitution Of The Self: Reflections on Agency in Foucault’s Interpretation of Cassian
Authors: Han-Pile Béatrice
Published: July 2020

I tease out two early Christian puzzles about agency: (a) agential control: how can agents self-constitute if their primary experience of themselves is not one of control, as in Greek antiquity, but of relative powerlessness? And (b) ethical expertise: how can agents constitute themselves as ethical agents if they cannot trust themselves to recognize, and act in the light of, the good? I argue, first, that Foucault saw the importance of these puzzles and focused on extreme obedience as affording a possible resolution; second, that he failed to resolve the puzzles because of his reliance on an overly voluntarist and reflective understanding of obedience as an exercise of will; and finally, that turning to Cassian’s own thoughts on the relation between extreme obedience and humility as kenosis affords us a way out of the puzzles.
Endometrial Organoids: A New Model for the Research of Endometrial-Related Diseases†
Authors: Gu Zhi-Yue , Jia Shuang-Zheng , Liu Song , Leng Jin-Hua
Published: July 2020

An ideal research model plays a vital role in studying the pathogenesis of a disease. At present, the most widely used endometrial disease models are cell lines and animal models. As a novel studying model, organoids have already been applied for the study of various diseases, such as disorders related to the liver, small intestine, colon, and pancreas, and have been extended to the endometrium. After a long period of exploration by predecessors, endometrial organoids (EOs) technology has gradually matured and maintained genetic and phenotypic stability after long-term expansion. Compared with cell lines and animal models, EOs have high stability and patient specificity. These not only effectively and veritably reflects the pathophysiology of a disease, but also can be used in preclinical drug screening, combined with patient derived xenografts (PDXs). Indeed, there are still many limitations for EOs. For example, the co-culture system of EOs with stromal cells, immune cell, or vascular cells is not mature, and endometrial cancer organoids have a lower success rate, which should be improved in the future. The investigators predict that EOs will play a significant role in the study of endometrium-related diseases.
Fibrinogen alpha chain promotes the migration and invasion of human endometrial stromal cells in endometriosis through focal adhesion kinase/protein kinase B/matrix metallopeptidase 2 pathway†
Authors: Li Hui , Ma Rui-Qiong , Cheng Hong-Yan , Ye Xue , Zhu Hong-Lan , Chang Xiao-Hong
Published: July 2020

Fibrinogen alpha chain (FGA), a cell adhesion molecule, contains two arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid (RGD) cell adhesion sequences. Our previous study demonstrated that FGA, as an up-regulated protein in endometriosis (EM), was closely related to disease severity and involved in the development of EM. However, the biological functions and underlying mechanism of FGA in EM have not been fully understood. To explore the roles of FGA in EM, we analyzed the effects of FGA on the biological behaviors of human primary eutopic endometrial stromal cells (EuESC). The results indicated FGA knockdown suppressed the migration and invasion ability of EuESC, which also altered the distribution of cytoskeletal filamentous and cell morphology. Western blot analysis demonstrated that knockdown of FGA attenuated the migration-related protein levels of vimentin and matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2), but not integrin subunit alpha V (ITGAV) and integrin subunit beta 3 (ITGB3). Meanwhile, integrin-linked transduction pathways were detected. We found FGA knockdown significantly suppressed the expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) level and protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation, without extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) dependent pathways. Treatment with the AKT inhibitor MK2206 or RGD antagonist highly decreased the effects of FGA on the migration and invasion of EuESC. RGD antagonist treatment strongly inhibited FAK- and AKT-dependent pathways, but not ERK pathways. Our data indicated that FGA may enhance the migration and invasion of EuESC through RGD sequences binding integrin and activating the FAK/AKT/MMP-2 signaling pathway. This novel finding suggests that FGA may provide a novel potential approach to the treatment of EM, which provides a new way to understand the pathogenesis of EM.
Beyond Carrot and Stick: The Effect of Conflict Resolution on Crime Control in China
Authors: Su Zheng , Cao Xun
Published: July 2020

The question of what works in crime control has been frequently discussed over the past few decades. However, knowledge about and evidence from China is limited. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of three strategies of crime control—the ‘stick policy’, the ‘carrot policy’ and conflict resolution—in China, using a provincial panel data from 1988 to 2014. The results suggest that (1) the ‘carrot policy’ with social welfare provision helps to prevent crime, while the ‘stick policy’ with increasing judicial expenditure does not have a significant effect; (2) conflict resolution functions as an effective strategy of crime control. The policy implication is that, to prevent crime and maintain social order in a transitional society like China, government might need to shift its policy orientation away from strengthening coercive power to focussing on improving people’s livelihood and facilitating conflict resolution.
‘Moving genes’: how dystonia genes functionally converge on the transcriptome
Authors: Busch Hauke , Klein Christine
Published: July 2020

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Dystonia genes functionally converge in specific neurons and share neurobiology with psychiatric disorders’, by Mencacci et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awaa217).
Fast high-resolution metabolic imaging of acute stroke with 3D magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Authors: Li Yao , Wang Tianyao , Zhang Tianxiao , Lin Zengping , Li Yudu , Guo Rong , Zhao Yibo , Meng Ziyu , Liu Jun , Yu Xin , Liang Zhi-Pei , Nachev Parashkev
Published: July 2020

Impaired oxygen and cellular metabolism is a hallmark of ischaemic injury in acute stroke. Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) has long been recognized as a potentially powerful tool for non-invasive metabolic imaging. Nonetheless, long acquisition time, poor spatial resolution, and narrow coverage have limited its clinical application. Here we investigated the feasibility and potential clinical utility of rapid, high spatial resolution, near whole-brain 3D metabolic imaging based on a novel MRSI technology. In an 8-min scan, we simultaneously obtained 3D maps of N-acetylaspartate and lactate at a nominal spatial resolution of 2.0 × 3.0 × 3.0 mm3 with near whole-brain coverage from a cohort of 18 patients with acute ischaemic stroke. Serial structural and perfusion MRI was used to define detailed spatial maps of tissue-level outcomes against which high-resolution metabolic changes were evaluated. Within hypoperfused tissue, the lactate signal was higher in areas that ultimately infarcted compared with those that recovered (P < 0.0001). Both lactate (P < 0.0001) and N-acetylaspartate (P < 0.001) differed between infarcted and other regions. Within the areas of diffusion-weighted abnormality, lactate was lower where recovery was observed compared with elsewhere (P < 0.001). This feasibility study supports further investigation of fast high-resolution MRSI in acute stroke.
Diagnostic challenges in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy
Authors: Eftimov Filip , Lucke Ilse M , Querol Luis A , Rajabally Yusuf A , Verhamme Camiel
Published: July 2020

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) consists of a spectrum of autoimmune diseases of the peripheral nerves, causing weakness and sensory symptoms. Diagnosis often is challenging, because of the heterogeneous presentation and both mis- and underdiagnosis are common. Nerve conduction study (NCS) abnormalities suggestive of demyelination are mandatory to fulfil the diagnostic criteria. On the one hand, performance and interpretation of NCS can be difficult and none of these demyelinating findings are specific for CIDP. On the other hand, not all patients will be detected despite the relatively high sensitivity of NCS abnormalities. The electrodiagnostic criteria can be supplemented with additional diagnostic tests such as CSF examination, MRI, nerve biopsy, and somatosensory evoked potentials. However, the evidence for each of these additional diagnostic tests is limited. Studies are often small without the use of a clinically relevant control group. None of the findings are specific for CIDP, meaning that the results of the diagnostic tests should be carefully interpreted. In this update we will discuss the pitfalls in diagnosing CIDP and the value of newly introduced diagnostic tests such as nerve ultrasound and testing for autoantibodies, which are not yet part of the guidelines.
Cooperative participation of epigenomic and genomic alterations in the clinicopathological diversity of gastric adenocarcinomas: significance of cell adhesion and epithelial–mesenchymal transition-related signaling pathways
Authors: Yang Menghan , Arai Eri , Takahashi Yoriko , Totsuka Hirohiko , Chiku Suenori , Taniguchi Hirokazu , Katai Hitoshi , Sakamoto Hiromi , Yoshida Teruhiko , Kanai Yae
Published: July 2020

The present study was conducted to clarify the cooperative significance of epigenomic and genomic abnormalities during gastric carcinogenesis. Using 21 samples of normal control gastric mucosa (C), 109 samples of non-cancerous gastric mucosa (N) and 105 samples of cancerous tissue (T) from 109 patients with primary gastric adenocarcinomas, genome-wide DNA methylation analysis was performed using Infinium assay. Among these samples, 66 paired N and corresponding T samples were subjected to whole-exome and single nucleotide polymorphism array analyses. As had been shown in our previous study, 109 patients were clustered clinicopathologically into least aggressive Cluster A (n = 20), most aggressive Cluster B1 (n = 20) and Cluster B2 (n = 69). Most DNA methylation alterations in each cluster had already occurred even in N samples compared with C samples, and DNA methylation alterations at the precancerous N stage were inherited by the established cancers themselves. Recurrent single nucleotide variants and insertions/deletions resulting in functional disruption of the proteins encoded by the ABCA10, BNC2, CDH1, CTNNB1, SMAD4 and VAV2 genes were specific to Cluster B1, whereas those of the APC, EGFR, ERBB2, ERBB3, MLH1 and MUC6 genes were specific to Cluster A. MetaCore pathway analysis revealed that the epigenomically affected TWIST1 gene and genomically affected CDH1, CTNNB1, MMP9, TLN2, ROCK1 and SMAD4 genes were accumulated in signaling pathways related to cell adhesion, cytoskeleton remodeling and epithelial–mesenchymal transition in Cluster B1. These data indicate that epigenomic alterations at the precancerous stage are important in gastric carcinogenesis and that epigenomic and genomic alterations cooperatively underlie the aggressiveness of gastric adenocarcinomas.
Better Olfactory Performance and Larger Olfactory Bulbs in a Mouse Model of Congenital Blindness
Authors: Touj Sara , Cloutier Samie , Jemâa Amel , Piché Mathieu , Bronchti Gilles , Al Aïn Syrina
Published: July 2020

It is well established that early blindness results in enhancement of the remaining nonvisual sensory modalities accompanied by functional and anatomical brain plasticity. While auditory and tactile functions have been largely investigated, the results regarding olfactory functions remained less explored and less consistent. In the present study, we investigated olfactory function in blind mice using 3 tests: the buried food test, the olfactory threshold test, and the olfactory performance test. The results indicated better performance of blind mice in the buried food test and odor performance test while there was no difference in the olfactory threshold test. Using histological measurements, we also investigated if there was anatomical plasticity in the olfactory bulbs (OB), the most salient site for olfactory processing. The results indicated a larger volume of the OB driven by larger glomerular and granular layers in blind mice compared with sighted mice. Structural plasticity in the OB may underlie the enhanced olfactory performance in blind mice.
Fatal Outcome of Chikungunya Virus Infection in Brazil
Authors: de Lima Shirlene Telmos Silva , de Souza William Marciel , Cavalcante John Washington , da Silva Candido Darlan , Fumagalli Marcilio Jorge , Carrera Jean-Paul , Simões Mello Leda Maria , De Carvalho Araújo Fernanda Montenegro , Cavalcante Ramalho Izabel Letícia , de Almeida Barreto Francisca Kalline , de Melo Braga Deborah Nunes , Simião Adriana Rocha , Miranda da Silva Mayara Jane , Alves Barbosa Oliveira Rhaquel de Morais , Lima Clayton Pereira Silva , de Sousa Lins Camila , Barata Rafael Ribeiro , Pereira Melo Marcelo Nunes , Caldas de Souza Michel Platini , Franco Luciano Monteiro , Fernandes Távora Fábio Rocha , Queiroz Lemos Daniele Rocha , de Alencar Carlos Henrique Morais , de Jesus Ronaldo , de Souza Fonseca Vagner , Dutra Leonardo Hermes , de Abreu André Luiz , Lima Araújo Emerson Luiz , Ribas Freitas André Ricardo , Vianez Júnior João Lídio da Silva Gonçalves , Pybus Oliver G , Figueiredo Luiz Tadeu Moraes , Faria Nuno Rodrigues , Nunes Márcio Roberto Teixeira , Cavalcanti Luciano Pamplona de Góes , Miyajima Fabio
Published: July 2020

Background

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) emerged in the Americas in 2013 and has caused approximately 2.1 million cases and >600 deaths. A retrospective investigation was undertaken to describe clinical, epidemiological, and viral genomic features associated with deaths caused by CHIKV in Ceará state, northeast Brazil.

Methods

Sera, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and tissue samples from 100 fatal cases with suspected arbovirus infection were tested for CHIKV, dengue virus (DENV), and Zika virus (ZIKV). Clinical, epidemiological, and death reports were obtained for patients with confirmed CHIKV infection. Logistic regression analysis was undertaken to identify independent factors associated with risk of death during CHIKV infection. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using whole genomes from a subset of cases.

Results

Sixty-eight fatal cases had CHIKV infection confirmed by reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (52.9%), viral antigen (41.1%), and/or specific immunoglobulin M (63.2%). Co-detection of CHIKV with DENV was found in 22% of fatal cases, ZIKV in 2.9%, and DENV and ZIKV in 1.5%. A total of 39 CHIKV deaths presented with neurological signs and symptoms, and CHIKV-RNA was found in the CSF of 92.3% of these patients. Fatal outcomes were associated with irreversible multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Patients with diabetes appear to die at a higher frequency during the subacute phase. Genetic analysis showed circulation of 2 CHIKV East-Central-South African (ECSA) lineages in Ceará and revealed no unique virus genomic mutation associated with fatal outcome.

Conclusions

The investigation of the largest cross-sectional cohort of CHIKV deaths to date reveals that CHIKV-ECSA strains can cause death in individuals from both risk and nonrisk groups, including young adults.