bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Particularities of Older Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Heart Failure with Mid-Range Ejection Fraction
Authors: Ardelean Carmen Loredana , Pescariu Sorin , Lighezan Daniel Florin , Pleava Roxana , Ursoniu Sorin , Nadasan Valentin , Mihaicuta Stefan
Published: August 2019

Background and objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and heart failure (HF) are increasing in prevalence with a greater impact on the health system. The aim of this study was to assess the particularities of patients with OSAS and HF, focusing on the new class of HF with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF, EF = 40%–49%), and comparing it with reduced EF (HFrEF, EF < 40%) and preserved EF (HFpEF, EF ≥ 50%). Materials and Methods: A total of 143 patients with OSAS and HF were evaluated in three sleep labs of “Victor Babes” Hospital and Cardiovascular Institute, Timisoara, Western Romania. We collected socio-demographic data, anthropometric sleep-related measurements, symptoms through sleep questionnaires and comorbidity-related data. We performed blood tests, cardio-respiratory polygraphy and echocardiographic measurements. Patients were divided into three groups depending on ejection fraction. Results: Patients with HFmrEF were older (p = 0.0358), with higher values of the highest systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (p = 0.0016), higher serum creatinine (p = 0.0013), a lower glomerular filtration rate (p = 0.0003), higher glycemic levels (p = 0.008) and a larger left atrial diameter (p = 0.0002). Regarding comorbidities, data were presented as percentage, HFrEF vs. HFmrEF vs. HFpEF. Higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (52.9 vs. 72.7 vs. 40.2, p = 0.006), chronic kidney disease (17.6 vs. 57.6 vs. 21.5, p < 0.001), tricuspid insufficiency (76.5 vs. 84.8 vs.59.1, p = 0.018) and aortic insufficiency (35.3 vs.42.4 vs. 20.4, p = 0.038) were observed in patients with HFmrEF, whereas chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) (52.9 vs. 24.2 vs.18.3, p = 0.009), coronary artery disease(CAD) (82.4 vs. 6.7 vs. 49.5, p = 0.026), myocardial infarction (35.3 vs. 24.2 vs. 5.4, p < 0.001) and impaired parietal heart kinetics (70.6 vs. 68.8 vs. 15.2, p < 0.001) were more prevalent in patients with HFrEF. Conclusions: Patients with OSAS and HF with mid-range EF may represent a new group with increased risk of developing life-long chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, tricuspid and aortic insufficiency. COPD, myocardial infarction, impaired parietal kinetics and CAD are most prevalent comorbidities in HFrEF patients but they are closer in prevalence to HFmrEF than HFpEF.
A Visualization Tool for Cryo-EM Protein Validation with an Unsupervised Machine Learning Model in Chimera Platform
Authors: Chen Lin , Baker Brandon , Santos Eduardo , Sheep Michell , Daftarian Darius
Published: August 2019

Background: Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become a major technique for protein structure determination. However, due to the low quality of cryo-EM density maps, many protein structures derived from cryo-EM contain outliers introduced during the modeling process. The current protein model validation system lacks identification features for cryo-EM proteins making it not enough to identify outliers in cryo-EM proteins. Methods: This study introduces an efficient unsupervised outlier detection model for validating protein models built from cryo-EM technique. The current model uses a high-resolution X-ray dataset (<1.5 Å) as the reference dataset. The distal block distance, side-chain length, phi, psi, and first chi angle of the residues in the reference dataset are collected and saved as a database of the histogram-based outlier score (HBOS). The HBOS value of the residues in target cryo-EM proteins can be read from this HBOS database. Results: Protein residues with a HBOS value greater than ten are labeled as outliers by default. Four datasets containing proteins derived from cryo-EM density maps were tested with this probabilistic anomaly detection model. Conclusions: According to the proposed model, a visualization assistant tool was designed for Chimera, a protein visualization platform.
Biodegradable Implantation Material: Mechanical Properties and Surface Corrosion Mechanism of Mg-1Ca-0.5Zr Alloy
Authors: Chen Yen-Ting , Hung Fei-Yi , Syu Jie-Cheng
Published: August 2019

Mg alloy is suitable for biomedical implants as the mechanical properties of Mg are close to those of human bone. Ca is a major element in bone and Zr has a great grain refinement effect. Hence, we developed Mg-1Ca-0.5Zr alloy (XK105) as a biodegradable biomaterial and investigated its mechanical properties and surface corrosion mechanism. The results showed that heat treatment made the secondary phase homogeneous. Tensile tests showed that the heat treatment increased ductility, and that the tensile stress results in the extrusion direction showed better ductility than that in the transverse direction because of the fiber texture and extrusion characteristics. Electrochemistry test results showed that XK105 after heat treatment had a lower corrosion rate than that before heat treatment and that of pure Mg. XK105 after heat treatment formed a calcium phosphate layer after immersion in simulated body fluid; this layer protects Mg from corrosion. Surface roughening treatment increased corrosion because pits on the surface promoted pitting corrosion. This study developed Mg-1Ca-0.5Zr alloy as a biomedical implant material. The results can be used as a reference for the biomedical material industry.
Recoveries of Ru(III) and Co(II) by Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange from Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Scrap through a HCl Leaching Solution
Authors: Ahn Hyeong Hun , Lee Man Seung
Published: August 2019

The addition of ruthenium to tungsten carbide-cobalt hard metals improves their mechanical properties. Since ruthenium is a platinum group metal, the recovery of ruthenium together with cobalt from the scrap of hard metals is of great importance. In order to develop a recovery process of ruthenium and cobalt, separation experiments were performed from the synthetic HCl leaching solution of the scrap of hard metals. In this work, solvent extraction and ion exchange were employed to investigate the separation behavior of the two metal ions as a function of HCl concentration. Ru(III) was selectively extracted over Co(II) by Aliquat 336 (trioctyl methylammonium chloride) and Alamine 300 (tri-n-octyl amine) when HCl concentration was lower than 5 M. The highest separation factor between Ru(III) and Co(II) was obtained at 3 M HCl. The loaded Ru(III) was stripped from Aliquat 336 by dilute HCl solution. Only Ru(III) was loaded into the anion exchange resins employed in this work in the HCl concentration range from 1 to 9 M. The highest loading percentage of Ru(III) was obtained from 3 M HCl solution. The loading of Ru(III) into anion exchange resins followed Freundlich isotherm and the loading capacity of the resins were determined. The loaded Ru(III) was eluted by the mixture of HCl and thiourea. Compared to solvent extraction, ion exchange was found to be more efficient to separate Ru(III) and Co(II) from the HCl solution in terms of separation factor and the ease of operation.
Research on Four-Point Air Bending Process and Contour Detection Method for JCO Forming Process of LSAW Pipes
Authors: Zhang Zhiyuan , Wang Haoran , Yu Gaochao , Zhao Jun
Published: August 2019

Aiming at the forming efficiency and roundness of the longitudinal submerged arc welded (LSAW) pipes in JCO (J-shape to C-shape to O-shape) forming process, this paper proposes a four-point air bending process. Compared with the traditional three-point air bending process, The new process can provide a more uniform bending moment, does not need to crimp the edges of steel sheet, shorten the residual straight segment length, and lengthen the forming length in single pass. The mechanical model is established to analyze the static equilibrium conditions and elastic–plastic deformation. The process is simulated by using the software package ABAQUS, to find the maximum punch spacing, and further determine the formulation principles of other process parameters. In addition, a contour detection method for the LSAW pipes in forming process is proposed based on machine vision (planar-array CCD camera produced by Gray Point Corporation, Vancouver, Canada). This method can not only quickly detect the contour of each pass, but also splice the detected contours together to obtain the overall contour with the given splicing algorithm. According to the measured contour, the bending angle, radius, and roundness can be calculated, to correct the punch reduction in the next pass and improve the forming accuracy of the pipes. Finally, an experimental system is designed to verify the proposed four-point bending JCO forming process and contour detection method. The result shows that the error between the contour detection method and CMM (coordinate measuring machine) is less than 0.5% for the overall contour, the two experimental pipes require 13 and 15 passes respectively, the roundness of pipes are less than 1.1%, which is much better than that of traditional three-point bending JCO forming process.
Effect of Grain Size and Density of Abrasive on Surface Roughness, Material Removal Rate and Acoustic Emission Signal in Rough Honing Processes
Authors: Buj-Corral Irene , Álvarez-Flórez Jesús , Domínguez-Fernández Alejandro
Published: August 2019

Honing processes provide a special cross-hatch pattern to the internal surface of cylinders that favors oil flow. However, along honing operation the abrasive grains wear out and lose their ability to cut material. The honing chips mixed with oil fill the pores of the abrasives and they start cutting in an incorrect way, leading to clogging. In the present paper, honing experiments were carried out according to a 32 factorial design, with different grain size and density of abrasive grains. Roughness, material removal rate, and tool wear were determined. Acoustic emissions were also measured and the chirplet concept was applied in order to detect differences between correct and incorrect cutting operations. As a general trend roughness and material removal rate increase with grain size and with density of abrasive. However, when clogging occurs roughness and material removal rate decrease, because the abrasive grains tend to deform the material instead of cutting it. When the honing process is working appropriately, the chirplet diagram of the harmonic part of the signal shows constant marks. On the contrary, when it does not work properly, marks disappear with time and their frequencies decrease. The results of the present paper will allow monitoring the honing process in order to change the abrasives when they are not working properly.
Geology, Fluid Inclusions and Stable Isotopes of the Xialiugou Polymetallic Deposit in North Qilian, Northwest China: Constraints on its Metallogenesis
Authors: Shao Yongjun , Tan Huajie , Peng Guangxiong , Zhang Jiandong , Chen Jianzhou , Chen Qiaomei , Zhang Yu
Published: August 2019

The Xialiugou polymetallic deposit is located in the North Qilian Orogenic Belt, Northwest China, of which the main ore-bearing strata are the Middle Cambrian Heicigou Group. The mineralization is zoned with “black” orebodies (galena–sphalerite), which are stratigraphically above the “yellow” orebodies (pyrite–chalcopyrite–tennantite) at the lower zone, corresponding to the alteration assemblages of quartz–sericite in the ore-proximal zone and chlorite in the ore-distal zone. The Xialiugou mineralization can be divided into three stages: (1) Stage I (pyrite); (2) Stage II (chalcopyrite–tennantite–sphalerite); and (3) Stage III (galena–sphalerite). Fluid inclusions data indicate that the physicochemical conditions that lead to ore formation were the medium–low temperature (157–350 °C) and low salinity (0.17–6.87 wt % NaCleqv), and that the ore-forming temperature tended to decrease with the successive mineralization processes. Taking the H–O isotopic compositions (δDV-SMOW = −51.0‰ to −40.5‰, δ18OH2O = −0.4‰ to 8.6‰) into consideration, the ore-forming fluids were most likely derived from seawater with a small amount of magmatic- and meteoric-fluids input. In addition, the combined S (−3.70‰ to 0.10‰) and Pb isotopic (206Pb/204Pb = 18.357 to 18.422, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.615 to 15.687, 208Pb/204Pb = 38.056 to 38.248) data of pyrite indicate that the ore-bearing volcanic rocks may be an important source of ore-forming materials. Finally, we inferred that the Xialiugou deposit shares similarities with the most important volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits (Baiyinchang ore field) in China and typical “black ore” type VMS deposits worldwide.
Toxicokinetic Study of a Gastroprotective Dose of Capsaicin by HPLC-FLD Method
Authors: Kuzma Mónika , Fodor Krisztina , Almási Attila , Mózsik Gyula , Past Tibor , Perjési Pál
Published: August 2019

Background: A low dose of capsaicin and its natural homologs and analogs (capsaicinoids) have shown to prevent development of gastric mucosal damage of alcohol and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Based on this experimental observation, a drug development program has been initiated to develop per os applicable capsaicin containing drugs to eliminate gastrointestinal damage caused by non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Methods: As a part of this program, a sensitive and selective reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-based method with fluorescence detection has been developed for quantification of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in experimental dog’s plasma. Results: The method was evaluated for a number of validation characteristics (selectivity, repeatability, and intermediate precision, LOD, LOQ, and calibration range). The limit of detection (LOD) was 2 ng/mL and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 10 ng/mL for both capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin. The method was used for analysis of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in the plasma samples obtained after per os administration of low doses (0.1, 0.3, and 0.9 mg/kg bw) of Capsaicin Natural (USP 29) to the experimental animals. Conclusions: The obtained results indicated that the administered capsaicinoids did not reach the general circulation.
Rapid Identification of Rainbow Trout Adulteration in Atlantic Salmon by Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Machine Learning
Authors: Chen Zeling , Wu Ting , Xiang Cheng , Xu Xiaoyan , Tian Xingguo
Published: August 2019

This study intends to evaluate the utilization potential of the combined Raman spectroscopy and machine learning approach to quickly identify the rainbow trout adulteration in Atlantic salmon. The adulterated samples contained various concentrations (0–100% w/w at 10% intervals) of rainbow trout mixed into Atlantic salmon. Spectral preprocessing methods, such as first derivative, second derivative, multiple scattering correction (MSC), and standard normal variate, were employed. Unsupervised algorithms, such as recursive feature elimination, genetic algorithm (GA), and simulated annealing, and supervised K-means clustering (KM) algorithm were used for selecting important spectral bands to reduce the spectral complexity and improve the model stability. Finally, the performances of various machine learning models, including linear regression, nonlinear regression, regression tree, and rule-based models, were verified and compared. The results denoted that the developed GA–KM–Cubist machine learning model achieved satisfactory results based on MSC preprocessing. The determination coefficient (R2) and root mean square error of prediction sets (RMSEP) in the test sets were 0.87 and 10.93, respectively. These results indicate that Raman spectroscopy can be used as an effective Atlantic salmon adulteration identification method; further, the developed model can be used for quantitatively analyzing the rainbow trout adulteration in Atlantic salmon.
Special Issue “Raman Spectroscopy: A Spectroscopic ‘Swiss-Army Knife’”
Authors: Gordon Keith C.
Published: August 2019

This special issue highlights the astonishingly wide range of scientific studies that use Raman spectroscopy to provide insight [...]
Gingers and Their Purified Components as Cancer Chemopreventative Agents
Authors: Lechner John F. , Stoner Gary D.
Published: August 2019

Chemoprevention by ingested substituents is the process through which nutraceuticals and/or their bioactive components antagonize carcinogenesis. Carcinogenesis is the course of action whereby a normal cell is transformed into a neoplastic cell. This latter action involves several steps, starting with initiation and followed by promotion and progression. Driving these stages is continued oxidative stress and inflammation, which in turn, causes a myriad of aberrant gene expressions and mutations within the transforming cell population and abnormal gene expressions by the cells within the surrounding lesion. Chemoprevention of cancer with bioreactive foods or their extracted/purified components occurs primarily via normalizing these inappropriate gene activities. Various foods/agents have been shown to affect different gene expressions. In this review, we discuss how the chemoprevention activities of gingers antagonize cancer development.
High Expression Achievement of Active and Robust Anti-β2 microglobulin Nanobodies via E.coli Hosts Selection
Authors: Li Da , Ji Fangling , Huang Chundong , Jia Lingyun
Published: August 2019

Nanobodies (VHHs) overcome many of the drawbacks of conventional antibodies, and the related technologies represent state-of-the-art and advanced applications in scientific research, pharmaceuticals, and therapies. In terms of productivity and economic cost, the cytoplasmic expression of VHHs in Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a good process for their recombinant production. The cytoplasmic environment of the host is critical to the affinity and stability of the recombinant VHHs in soluble form, yet the effects have not been studied. For this purpose, recombinant anti-β2 microglobulin VHHs were constructed and expressed in four commercialized E. coli hosts, including BL21 (DE3), Rosetta-gami B (DE3) pLysS, Origami 2 (DE3) and SHuffle T7 Express. The results showed that anti-β2 microglobulin (β2MG) VHHs expressed in different hosts exhibited distinctive differences in the affinity and structural characteristics. The VHHs expressed in Rosetta-gami B (DE3) pLysS possessed not only the greatest affinity of (equilibrium dissociation constant) KD = 4.68 × 10−8 M but also the highest yields compared with the VHHs expressed in BL21 (DE3), Origami 2 (DE3) and SHuffle T7 Express. In addition, the VHHs expressed in Rosetta-gami B (DE3) pLysS were more stable than the VHHs expressed in the rest three hosts. Thus far, we have successfully realized the high expression of the active and robust anti-β2MG VHHs in Rosetta-gami B (DE3) pLysS. The underlying principle of our study is able to guide the expression strategies of nanobodies on the context of industrial large-scale production.
Two New Flavonoids from the Nuts of Areca catechu
Authors: Yuan Mengfei , Ao Yunlin , Yao Nan , Xie Jing , Zhang Dongmei , Zhang Jian , Zhang Xiaoqi , Ye Wencai
Published: August 2019

Two new flavonoids, calquiquelignan M (1), calquiquelignan N (2), along with nine known compounds (3–11), were isolated from the nuts of Areca catechu (Palmae). The new structures, including absolute configurations, were established by a combination of spectroscopic data and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. The known compounds were identified by comparing their spectroscopic data with reported in the literature. The flavonoids compounds (1–8) were evaluated for their cytotoxicity activities against three human cancer cell lines. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited a moderate cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell lines with IC50 values of 49.8 and 53.6 μM, respectively.
Essential Oil Composition of Alluaudia procera and in Vitro Biological Activity on Two Drug-Resistant Models
Authors: Poma Paola , Labbozzetta Manuela , Zito Pietro , Alduina Rosa , Ramarosandratana Aro Vonjy , Bruno Maurizio , Rosselli Sergio , Sajeva Maurizio , Notarbartolo Monica
Published: August 2019

Drug resistance is a major obstacle in antibiotic and antitumor chemotherapy. In response to the necessity to find new therapeutic strategies, plant secondary metabolites including essential oils (EOs) may represent one of the best sources. EOs in plants act as constitutive defenses against biotic and abiotic stress, and they play an important role in the pharmacology for their low toxicity, good pharmacokinetic and multitarget activity. In this context, natural products such as EOs are one of the most important sources of drugs used in pharmaceutical therapeutics. The aim of this paper was to identify the chemical composition of the essential oil of Alluaudia procera leaves, obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and to verify its biological activities on acute myeloid leukemia cancer cell HL60 and its multidrugresistant variant HL60R and the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus exhibiting multi-antibiotic resistance. We speculate that cytotoxic and antibiotic effects observed in the tested resistant models may be due to the coordinate activities of forty compounds detected or to the C16 macrocyclic lactones which are the major ones (30%). Our data confirm the possibility of using EOs as therapeutic strategies in resistant models is due to the heterogeneous composition of the oils themselves.
Supplementation with Synbiotics and/or Branched Chain Amino Acids in Hepatic Encephalopathy: A Pilot Randomised Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study
Authors: Vidot Helen , Cvejic Erin , Finegan Liam J. , Shores E. Arthur , Bowen David G. , Strasser Simone I. , McCaughan Geoffrey W. , Carey Sharon , Allman-Farinelli Margaret , Shackel Nicholas A.
Published: August 2019

Introduction: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is common in patients with cirrhosis and is characterised by reduced hepatic ammonia clearance. This is accompanied by alterations in gut bacteria that may be ameliorated with synbiotics (pro- and prebiotics). Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are thought to have a role in the detoxification of ammonia. We investigated the effects of the administration of synbiotics and/or BCAAs in treating HE. Methods: Participants with overt HE were randomised in a blinded placebo-controlled study to receive synbiotics, BCAAs, or a combination of BCAAs and Synbiotics. Relevant biochemical and nutritional data and depression and anxiety scores (DASS-21) were collected at entry, 4 weeks, and on completion, at 8 weeks. The Trail Making Test (TMT) and Inhibitory Control Test (ICT) were used to assess cognitive function in patients withHE. Results were analysed using linear mixed effects regression analyses. Results: Sixty-one participants were enrolled and 49 who returned for at least 1 follow-up review were included in the intention to treat analysis. The mean age was 55.8 ± 6.1 years and 86% were males. Despite evidence of a placebo effect, there was significant improvement in TMT B and ICT weighted lures in participants who received combined synbiotics/BCAAs treatment compared to placebo at study completion (p ≤ 0.05). Cognitive improvement occurred without a significant change in ammonia levels. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting that combined synbiotics and BCAAs improve HE, and that may be beneficial in the management of HE. A larger study is needed to confirm these results.
Energy Intake Requirements in Pregnancy
Authors: Most Jasper , Dervis Sheila , Haman Francois , Adamo Kristi B , Redman Leanne M
Published: August 2019

Energy intake requirements in pregnancy match the demands of resting metabolism, physical activity, and tissue growth. Energy balance in pregnancy is, therefore, defined as energy intake equal to energy expenditure plus energy storage. A detailed understanding of these components and their changes throughout gestation can inform energy intake recommendations for minimizing the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. Energy expenditure is the sum of resting and physical activity-related expenditure. Resting metabolic rate increases during pregnancy as a result of increased body mass, pregnancy-associated physiological changes, i.e., cardiac output, and the growing fetus. Physical activity is extremely variable between women and may change over the course of pregnancy. The requirement for energy storage depends on maternal pregravid body size. For optimal pregnancy outcomes, women with low body weight require more fat mass accumulation than women with obesity, who do not require to accumulate fat mass at all. Given the high energy density of fat mass, these differences affect energy intake requirements for a healthy pregnancy greatly. In contrast, the energy stored in fetal and placental tissues is comparable between all women and have small impact on energy requirements. Different prediction equations have been developed to quantify energy intake requirements and we provide a brief review of the strengths and weaknesses and discuss their application for healthy management of weight gain in pregnant women.
Assessing the Intergenerational Linkage between Short Maternal Stature and Under-Five Stunting and Wasting in Bangladesh
Authors: Khatun Wajiha , Rasheed Sabrina , Alam Ashraful , Huda Tanvir M. , Dibley Michael J.
Published: August 2019

Short maternal stature is identified as a strong predictor of offspring undernutrition in low and middle-income countries. However, there is limited information to confirm an intergenerational link between maternal and under-five undernutrition in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the association between short maternal stature and offspring stunting and wasting in Bangladesh. For analysis, this study pooled the data from four rounds of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS) 2004, 2007, 2011, and 2014 that included about 28,123 singleton children aged 0–59 months born to mothers aged 15–49 years. Data on sociodemographic factors, birth history, and anthropometry were analyzed using STATA 14.2 to perform a multivariable model using ‘Modified Poisson Regression’ with step-wise backward elimination procedures. In an adjusted model, every 1 cm increase in maternal height significantly reduced the risk of stunting (relative risks (RR) = 0.960; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.957, 0.962) and wasting (RR = 0.986; 95% CI: 0.980, 0.992). The children of the short statured mothers (<145 cm) had about two times greater risk of stunting and three times the risk of severe stunting, 1.28 times the risk of wasting, and 1.43 times the risk of severe wasting (RR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.83) than the tall mothers (≥155 cm). These findings confirmed a robust intergenerational linkage between short maternal stature and offspring stunting and wasting in Bangladesh.
Unexplained Variance in Hydration Study
Authors: Muñoz Colleen X. , Wininger Michael
Published: August 2019

With the collection of water-intake data, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is becoming an increasingly popular resource for large-scale inquiry into human hydration. However, are we leveraging this resource properly? We sought to identify the opportunities and limitations inherent in hydration-related inquiry within a commonly studied database of hydration and nutrition. We also sought to critically review models published from this dataset. We reproduced two models published from the NHANES dataset, assessing the goodness of fit through conventional means (proportion of variance, R2). We also assessed model sensitivity to parameter configuration. Models published from the NHANES dataset typically yielded a very low goodness of fit R2 < 0.15. A reconfiguration of variables did not substantially improve model fit, and the goodness of fit of models published from the NHANES dataset may be low. Database-driven inquiry into human hydration requires the complete reporting of model diagnostics in order to fully contextualize findings. There are several emergent opportunities to potentially increase the proportion of explained variance in the NHANES dataset, including novel biomarkers, capturing situational variables (meteorology, for example), and consensus practices for adjustment of co-variates.
Matrix Metalloproteinase in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Aortic Dissection
Authors: Maguire Eithne M. , Pearce Stuart W. A. , Xiao Rui , Oo Aung Y. , Xiao Qingzhong
Published: August 2019

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) affects 4–5% of men over 65, and Aortic Dissection (AD) is a life-threatening aortic pathology associated with high morbidity and mortality. Initiators of AAA and AD include smoking and arterial hypertension, whilst key pathophysiological features of AAA and AD include chronic inflammation, hypoxia, and large modifications to the extra cellular matrix (ECM). As it stands, only surgical methods are available for preventing aortic rupture in patients, which often presents difficulties for recovery. No pharmacological treatment is available, as such researchers are attempting to understand the cellular and molecular pathophysiology of AAA and AD. Upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs), particularly MMP-2 and MMP-9, has been identified as a key event occurring during aneurysmal growth. As such, several animal models of AAA and AD have been used to investigate the therapeutic potential of suppressing MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity as well as modulating the activity of other MMPs, and TIMPs involved in the pathology. Whilst several studies have offered promising results, targeted delivery of MMP inhibition still needs to be developed in order to avoid surgery in high risk patients.
Structural Characterization and Analysis of High-Strength Laminated Composites from Recycled Newspaper and HDPE
Authors: Zheng Binwei , Hu Chuanshuang , Guan Litao , Gu Jin , Guo Huizhang , Zhang Weiwei
Published: August 2019

Recycled newspaper (NP) shows excellent potential as a reinforcement for polymer composites. Herein, high-strength laminated composites were prepared by using NP laminas as reinforcement and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) films as matrix. Physical and mechanical properties of the laminated composites were measured. It was found that the flexural strength of the composites had a good linear relationship to its density, with R2 = 0.9853. The flexural and tensile strength of the composites at the maximum density (1.40 g/cm3) reached up to 95.6 ± 2.4 MPa and 99.4 ± 0.8 MPa, respectively. SEM results showed that NP layer inside the composite became compact at the hot pressing time of 40 min, because the melted HDPE permeated into the NP layers to bond the NP fibers. Quantitative description of the composite porosity was conducted according to the density of the composite. The 24-h water absorption of the composite was highly related to its porosity, with R2 = 0.8994. This study reveals that density of laminated composites is an important parameter, which could be used to forecast the mechanical strength, and its derived value, porosity of the composites, could be used to predict the water absorption behavior of the composite.
Structural Evolution Mechanism of Crystalline Polymers in the Isothermal Melt-Crystallization Process: A Proposition Based on Simultaneous WAXD/SAXS/FTIR Measurements
Authors: Tashiro Kohji , Yamamoto Hiroko
Published: August 2019

Time-resolved simultaneous measurements of wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) (and FTIR spectra) were performed for various kinds of crystalline polymers in isothermal melt-crystallization processes, from which the common features of the structural evolution process as well as the different behaviors intrinsic to the individual polymer species were extracted. The polymers targeted here were polyethylene, isotactic polypropylene, polyoxymethylene, aliphatic nylon, vinylidene fluoride copolymer, trans-polyisoprene, and poly(alkylene terephthalate). A universal concept of the microscopically viewed structural evolution process in isothermal crystallization may be described as follows: (i) the small domains composed of locally regular but more or less disordered helical chain segments are created in the melt (this important information was obtained by the IR spectral data analysis); (ii) these domains grow larger as the length and number of more regular helical segments increase with time; (iii) the correlation among the domains becomes stronger and they approach each other; and (iv) they merge into the stacked lamellar structure consisting of the regularly arranged crystalline lattices. The inner structure of the domains is different depending on the polymer species, as known from the IR spectral data.
Mechanical Recyclability of Polypropylene Composites Produced by Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Spoerk Martin , Arbeiter Florian , Raguž Ivan , Holzer Clemens , Gonzalez-Gutierrez Joamin
Published: August 2019

Due to a lack of long-term experience with burgeoning material extrusion-based additive manufacturing technology, also known as fused filament fabrication (FFF), considerable amounts of expensive material will continue to be wasted until a defect-free 3D-printed component can be finalized. In order to lead this advanced manufacturing technique toward cleaner production and to save costs, this study addresses the ability to remanufacture a wide range of commercially available filaments. Most of them either tend to degrade by chain scission or crosslinking. Only polypropylene (PP)-based filaments appear to be particularly thermally stable and therefore suitable for multiple remanufacturing sequences. As the extrusion step exerts the largest influence on the material in terms of temperature and shear load, this study focused on the morphological, rheological, thermal, processing, tensile, and impact properties of a promising PP composite in the course of multiple consecutive extrusions as well as the impact of additional heat stabilizers. Even after 15 consecutive filament extrusions, the stabilized additively manufactured PP composite revealed an unaltered morphology and therefore the same tensile and impact strength as the initial material. As the viscosity of the material of the 15th extrusion was nearly identical to that of the 1st extrusion sequence, the processability both in terms of extrusion and FFF was outstanding, despite the tremendous amount of shear and thermal stress that was undergone. The present work provides key insights into one possible step toward more sustainable production through FFF.
Feasibility Study of SBR-Modified Cementitious Mixtures for Use as 3D Additive Construction Materials
Authors: Kim Kwan Kyu , Yeon Jaeheum , Lee Hee Jun , Yeon Kyu-Seok
Published: August 2019

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of applying polymeric cementitious materials to three-dimensional additive construction (3DAC). Specifically, styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) latex was employed as an admixture to produce SBR-modified cementitious mixtures, and their fresh properties were experimentally investigated to determine the feasibility of their use in the 3DAC process. The SBR/cement ratio was controlled based on four main materials (i.e., cement, sand, silica fume, and fly ash) in order to determine the optimal fresh properties. The test results revealed that the SBR-modified cementitious mixtures showed excellent flowability, extrudability, buildability, and open time, all of which are required for 3DAC materials. The optimal flow of the SBR-modified cementitious mixtures was 70% ± 1%, which is appropriate for 3DAC applications. According to the experiment results, the SBR-modified cementitious mixtures were sufficiently competitive to serve as a new class of materials for 3D additive construction.
Furnishing Piety: Beds in High Medieval Jewish Domestic Devotion
Authors: Kohn Albert
Published: August 2019

In recent years, pre-modern beds have generated extensive scholarly interest. Their social, religious, and economic importance has been rightfully highlighted in the study of domestic piety. Yet, concern has primarily focused on beds in late medieval English homes. This essay uses Hebrew texts from thirteenth-century Southern Germany, primarily Sefer Hasidim, to further this analysis of the role of the bed in shaping medieval domestic devotion. Jewish notions about the social, moral, and sexual significance of the bed reflect those identified in late medieval Christian culture. These ideas inspired numerous rituals practiced in Jewish homes. Yet, the bed and the remnants of sex assumed to be found in it also frustrated Jewish attempts to perform domestic devotion. These findings highlight the complicated nature of the home and how medieval people had to navigate both its opportunities and challenges in order to foster a rich culture of domestic devotion.
Toward Science-Based and Knowledge-Based Targets for Global Sustainable Resource Use
Authors: Bringezu Stefan
Published: August 2019

The article discusses key aspects to be considered for the orientation of sustainable resource policies. Resource management at the local scale needs to be supplemented by governmental action in order to adjust production and consumption toward acceptable levels of global resource use. What is acceptable is being informed by scientific findings on environmental degradation and relevant cause–effect relationships. However, the desired state of the environment, the tolerable level of uncertainties about environmental impacts, risks of societal conflicts, and ethical considerations all involve normative considerations. Policy decisions for sustainable global resource use must be taken on the basis of imperfect information. A wider systems perspective, longer time horizon, and broader involvement of available knowledge could provide a sufficiently valid basis to derive directionally safe targets. Possible proxy targets for global biotic and abiotic resource use, considering land, biodiversity, and water issues, are presented on a per-person basis for 2050 for further discussion and research. These values could be used to assess the resource footprints of countries with regard to sustainability, providing orientation for governments and industry.
Dust Properties and Radiative Impacts at a Suburban Site during 2004–2017 in the North China Plain
Authors: Zhang Jinqiang , Xia Xiangao , Zong Xuemei , Fan Xuehua , Chen Hongbin , Li Jun
Published: August 2019

Aerosols and their radiative effects are of primary interest in climate research because of their vital influence on climate change. Dust aerosols are an important aerosol type in the North China Plain (NCP), mainly as a result of long-range transport, showing substantial spatiotemporal variations. By using measurements from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) between September 2004 and May 2017, and the space-borne Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) aerosol products, we investigated the properties of dust aerosols and their radiative effects at Xianghe (XH)—a suburban site in the NCP. Dust events occurred most frequently during spring (a total of 105 days) relative to the other three seasons (a total of 41 days) during the periods concerned. The dust aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 675 nm was at a maximum in spring (0.60 ± 0.44), followed (in decreasing order) by those in autumn (0.58 ± 0.39), summer (0.54 ± 0.15), and winter (0.53 ± 0.23). Cooling effects of dust aerosol radiative forcing (RF) at the bottom and top of the atmosphere tended to be strongest in spring (−96.72 ± 45.69 and −41.87 ± 19.66 Wm−2) compared to that in summer (−57.08 ± 18.54 and −25.54 ± 4.45 Wm−2), autumn (−72.01 ± 27.27 and −32.54 ± 15.18 Wm−2), and winter (−79.57 ± 32.96 and −37.05 ± 17.06 Wm−2). The back-trajectory analysis indicated that dust air mass at 500 m that arrived at XH generally originated from the Gobi and other deserts of northern China and Mongolia (59.8%), and followed by northwest China and Kazakhstan (37.2%); few dust cases came from northeast China (3.0%). A single-peaked structure with the maximum occurring at ~2 km was illustrated by all dust events and those sorted by their sources in three directions. Three typical dust events were specifically discussed to better reveal how long-range transport impacted the dust properties and radiative effects over the NCP. The results presented here are expected to improve our understanding of the physical properties of dust aerosols over the NCP and their major transport path and significant impacts on the regional solar radiation budget.
Artificial Intelligence Assisted Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Control and the Unmet Demand for Sensors: Part 2. Prior Information Notice (PIN) Sensor Design and Simulation Results
Authors: Cheng Chin-Chi , Lee Dasheng
Published: August 2019

The study continues the theoretical derivation from Part 1, and the experiment is carried out at a bus station equipped with six water-cooled chillers. Between 2012 and 2017, historical data collected from temperature and humidity sensors, as well as the energy consumption data, were used to build artificial intelligence (AI) assisted heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) control models. The AI control system, in conjunction with a specifically designed prior information notice (PIN) sensor, was used to improve the prediction accuracy. This data collected between 2012 and 2016 was used for AI training and PIN sensor testing. During the hottest week of 2017 in Taiwan, the PIN sensor was used to conduct temperature and humidity data predictions. A model-based predictive control was developed to obtain air conditioning energy consumption data. The comparative results between the predictive and actual data showed that the temperature and humidity prediction accuracies were between 95.5 and 96.6%, respectively. Additionally, energy savings amounting to 39.8% were achieved compared to the theoretical estimates of 44.6%, a difference of less than 5%. These results show that the experimental model supports the theoretical estimations. In the future, a PIN sensor will be installed in a chiller to further verify the energy savings of the AI assisted HVAC control.
Spatio-Temporal Mapping of L-Band Microwave Emission on a Heterogeneous Area with ELBARA III Passive Radiometer
Authors: Gluba Łukasz , Łukowski Mateusz , Szlązak Radosław , Sagan Joanna , Szewczak Kamil , Łoś Helena , Rafalska-Przysucha Anna , Usowicz Bogusław
Published: August 2019

Water resources on Earth become one of the main concerns for society. Therefore, remote sensing methods are still under development in order to improve the picture of the global water cycle. In this context, the microwave bands are the most suitable to study land–water resources. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), satellite mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), is dedicated for studies of the water in soil over land and salinity of oceans. The part of calibration/validation activities in order to improve soil moisture retrieval algorithms over land is done with ground-based passive radiometers. The European Space Agency L-band Microwave Radiometer (ELBARA III) located near the Bubnów wetland in Poland is capable of mapping microwave emissivity at the local scale, due to the azimuthal and vertical movement of the horn antenna. In this paper, we present results of the spatio-temporal mapping of the brightness temperatures on the heterogeneous area of the Bubnów test-site consisting of an area with variable organic matter (OM) content and different type of vegetation. The soil moisture (SM) was retrieved with the L-band microwave emission of the biosphere (L-MEB) model with simplified roughness parametrization (SRP) coupling roughness and optical depth parameters. Estimated soil moisture values were compared with in-situ data from the automatic agrometeorological station. The results show that on the areas with a relatively low OM content (4–6%—cultivated field) there was good agreement between measured and estimated SM values. Further increase in OM content, starting from approximately 6% (meadow wetland), caused an increase in bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and unbiased RMSE (ubRMSE) values and a general drop in correlation coefficient (R). Despite a span of obtained R values, we found that time-averaged estimated SM using the L-MEB SRP approach strongly correlated with OM contents.
Age-Related Differences in Motor-Vehicle Crash Severity in California
Authors: Adebisi Adekunle , Ma Jiaqi , Masaki Jaqueline , Sobanjo John
Published: August 2019

With ongoing changes in the age distribution of drivers in the United States, it is important to obtain insights on how to make the roadways equally safe for drivers across different age groups. In light of this, the objective of this study is to examine various crash characteristics and make recommendations on how to potentially improve roadway safety for all age groups. Using the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) data, this study investigates the factors influencing motor-vehicle crash injury severity for young (aged 16–25), middle-aged (aged 26–64), and older drivers (above 64) in the state of California. A multinomial logit model was used to separately model crashes involving each age group and to evaluate the weight of different predictor variables on driver injury severity. The predictor variables were classified into four—driver, roadway, accident and environmental characteristics. Results suggest that there are close relationships between severity determinants for young and middle-aged drivers. However, older drivers tend to be most cautious among all age groups under all environmental and roadway conditions. Young drivers are more likely to explore their driving skills due to newness to driving. Middle-aged drivers are familiar with driving and tend to demonstrate less cautious behaviors, especially male drivers. Another insight obtained from this study is that older driver behavior is less dynamic compared to other age groups; their driving pattern is usually regular regardless of the surrounding conditions.
New Energy Technologies: Microalgae, Photolysis and Airborne Wind Turbines
Authors: Moriarty Patrick , Honnery Damon
Published: August 2019

Because of the near-term risk of extreme weather events and other adverse consequences from climate change, and, at least in the longer term, global fossil fuel depletion, there is world-wide interest in shifting to noncarbon energy sources, especially renewable energy (RE). Because of possible limitations on conventional renewable energy sources, researchers have looked for ways of overcoming these shortcomings by introducing radically new energy technologies. The largest RE source today is bioenergy, while solar energy and wind energy are regarded as having the largest technical potential. This paper reviews the literature on proposed new technologies for each of these three RE sources: microalgae for bioenergy, photolysis and airborne wind turbines. The main finding is that their proponents have underestimated the difficulties facing their introduction on a very large scale.