bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Relationship between CSR Communication on Social Media, Purchase Intention, and E-WOM in the Banking Sector of an Emerging Economy
Authors: Cheng Guping , Cherian Jacob , Sial Muhammad Safdar , Mentel Grzegorz , Wan Peng , Álvarez-Otero Susana , Saleem Usama
Published: March 2021

Modern businesses in the present digital age are facing different challenges for survival and growth due to the stiff competitive environment that prevails almost in every sector. Technology, especially digital technology, has changed the way of doing business around the globe. Marketers need to develop new strategies by incorporating the element of digital technology to overrun their competitors, as conventional competitive strategies will not produce extraordinaryresults. The rise of social media, in this regard, is a game-changer in the context of marketing as it provides a strategic touchpoint to the marketers to involve the customers with a brand. Prior research has largely ignored the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of a brand and positive customer experiences. Hence the present study aims to test the relationship of customer-related CSR activities on social media on behavioral consequences of customers, such as their purchase likelihood and electronic word of mouth (E-WOM). The data were collected from the banking customers of a developing economy and were analyzed through structural equation modeling in AMOS software. The results revealed that customer-related CSR activitieson social mediainfluence customer behavioral outcomes like E-WOM and purchase intentions. The result also revealed that brand attitude mediates the relationship between customer-related CSR, E-WOM, and purchase intentions. The findings of the present study can help policymakers to understand the importance of CSRpractices from the perspective of marketing, which is largely ignored by contemporary CSR researchers.
Fe(III) Ions-Assisted Aniline Polymerization Strategy to Nitrogen-Doped Carbon-Supported Bimetallic CoFeP Nanospheres as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts toward Overall Water Splitting
Authors: Zhao Changhao , Wei Fen , Lv Haolin , Zhao Dengke , Wang Nan , Li Ligui , Li Nanwen , Wang Xiufang
Published: March 2021

It remains an urgent demand and challenging task to design and fabricate efficient, stable, and inexpensive catalysts toward sustainable electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen production. Herein, we explored the use of Fe(III) ion-assisted aniline polymerization strategy to embed bimetallic CoFeP nanospheres into the nitrogen-doped porous carbon framework (referred CoFeP-NC). The as-prepared CoFeP-NC possesses excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance with the small overpotential (η10) of 81 mV and 173 mV generated at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in acidic and alkaline media, respectively. Additionally, it can also efficiently catalyze water oxidation (OER), which shows an ideal overpotential (η10) of 283 mV in alkaline electrolyte (pH = 14). The remarkable catalytic property of CoFeP-NC mainly stems from the strong synergetic effects of CoFeP nanospheres and carbon network. On the one hand, the interaction between the two can make better contact between the electrolyte and the catalyst, thereby providing a large number of available active sites. On the other hand, it can also form a network to offer better durability and electrical conductivity (8.64 × 10−1 S cm−1). This work demonstrates an efficient method to fabricate non-noble electrocatalyst towards overall water splitting, with great application prospect.
Quantifying the Comprehensive Characteristics of Inclusion-Induced Defects Using an Integrated Destructive and Non-Destructive Method
Authors: Juan Rongfei , Wang Min , Lian Junhe , Gu Chao , Li Lanxin , Bao Yanping
Published: March 2021

Driven by the continuous improvement of the mechanical properties, especially the fatigue property of the high-strength steels, it is particularly important to characterize the type, size, and distribution of inclusions and the critical inclusions in the steel matrix, as they are decisive for the fatigue life performance. This paper presents an integrated approach for the comprehensive characterization of the inclusions in metals by combining the advantages of destructive methods based on metallography and non-destructive testing methods using ultrasonic detection technology. The position and size of inclusions were obtained by scanning ultrasonic microscope, and the composition and micro-image of inclusions were further analyzed by scanning electron microscope. According to the results obtained by the proposed approach, the distribution laws of oxide inclusions and sulfide inclusions in the samples were statistically analyzed, and then the maximum distribution analysis method was used to predict the maximum inclusions. We compare the predicted size value with the value obtained by the characterization method to establish a certain corresponding relationship. The results show that large defects in metals can be accurately characterized by the proposed method, and the size of inclusions predicted by extreme value analysis is close to that of the scanning electron microscope. The integrated destructive and non-destructive method can reveal the in situ information of inclusions and give the possible relationship between inclusions and process and material properties.
Enzymes for Leather Processing: Effect on Pickling and Chroming
Authors: Biškauskaitė Renata , Valeikienė Violeta , Valeika Virgilijus
Published: March 2021

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the application of enzymes in a wide variety of leather production processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the action of enzymatic pickling on derma’s collagen and the influence of this action on subsequent processes and properties of chromed and finished leather. The application of active in acidic medium proteolytic enzymes in the pickling process led to an additional impact on derma structure: collagen was more strongly affected and the porosity of the pelt dermis was reduced, but the hide became more thermally stable. The enzymatically pickled pelt bonded more chromium and reached higher shrinkage temperature while chroming; dyes penetrated deeper; such leather bonded more fatliquors. On the other hand, the action of enzymes worsened the physical–mechanical properties of the leather, as the experimental leather was weaker than the conventional one. The first was characterised by weaker grain layer and had significantly higher relative elongation. Therefore, as some properties improve and others worsen during such a process, the application of every enzyme should be carefully investigated and optimized to produce a leather with defined properties.
Structure and Properties of ZrON Coatings Synthesized by Cathodic Arc Evaporation
Authors: Kuprin Alexander S. , Gilewicz Adam , Kuznetsova Tatyana A. , Lapitskaya Vasilina A. , Tolmachova Galina N. , Warcholinski Bogdan , Aizikovich Sergei M. , Sadyrin Evgeniy V.
Published: March 2021

The transition metal oxynitrides are a coating material with decorative features due to their adjustable color and good mechanical properties. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of the relative oxygen concentration O2(x) = O2/(N2 + O2) in particular on adhesion, but also on the color, structural and mechanical properties of ZrON coatings synthesized by cathodic arc evaporation on HS6-5-2 steel substrates. The surface morphology, phase and chemical composition and mechanical properties were determined using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, nanoindentation and scratch test. It was found that color of the coatings changed from light yellow for ZrN first to gold and then to graphite for Zr-O phase with increase of oxygen concentration. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the phase separation of ZrN and ZrO2 occurred for about 35 at.% of oxygen in the coating. Increase in oxygen concentration in the coatings led to decrease in crystallite size from about 20 nm for ZrN to about 5 nm for coatings with about 35 at.% of oxygen and about 25 at.% of nitrogen. An increase in hardness from about 26 GPa for ZrN to about 30 GPa for coating with small concentration of oxygen (about 9 at.%) and then decrease to about 15 GPa was observed. Adhesion of Zr-O-N coatings demonstrated strong dependence on oxygen concentration. Critical load for ZrN is about 80 N and decreases with oxygen concentration increase to about 30 N for ZrO2.
Properties of Additively Manufactured Electric Steel Powder Cores with Increased Si Content
Authors: Stornelli Giulia , Faba Antonio , Di Schino Andrea , Folgarait Paolo , Ridolfi Maria Rita , Cardelli Ermanno , Montanari Roberto
Published: March 2021

In this paper, the best laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) printing conditions for FeSi steels with two different Si content (3.0% and 6.5%) are defined. Results show very strict processing window parameters, following a lack of fusion porosity at low specific energy values and keyhole porosity in correspondence with high specific energy values. The obtained microstructure consists of grains with epitaxial growth starting from the grains already solidified in the underling layer. This allows the continuous growth of the columnar grains, directed parallel to the built direction of the component. The magnetic behaviour of FeSi6.5 samples, although the performances found do not still fully reach those of the best commercial electrical steels (used to manufacture magnetic cores of electrical machines and other similar magnetic components), appears to be quite promising. An improvement of the printing process to obtain thin sheets with increased Si content, less than 0.5 mm thick, with accurate geometry and robust structures, can result to an interesting technology for specific application where complex geometries and sophisticated shapes are required, avoiding mechanical machining processes for electrical steel with high silicon content.
A Graphene-Based Stopband FSS with Suppressed Mutual Coupling in Dielectric Resonator Antennas
Authors: Qian Wei , Xia Wei , Zhou Wenqing , Song Rongguo , Zhao Xin , He Daping
Published: March 2021

A novel stopband frequency-selective surface (FSS) made of high-conductivity graphene assemble films (HCGFs) for reducing the mutual coupling between dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) is investigated and presented. The FSS is a “Hamburg” structure consisting of a two-layer HCGF and a one-layer dielectric substrate. A laser-engraving technology is applied to fabricate the FSS. The proposed improved Jerusalem cross FSS, compared with cross FSS and Jerusalem cross FSS, can effectively reduce the size of the unit cell by 88.89%. Moreover, the FSS, composing of 2 × 10-unit cells along the E-plane, is proposed and embedded between two DRAs, which nearly has no effect on the reflection coefficient of the antenna. However, the mutual coupling is reduced by more than 7 dB on average (7.16 dB at 3.4 GHz, 7.42 dB at 3.5 GHz, 7.71 dB at 3.6 GHz) with the FSS. The patterns of the antenna are also measured. Therefore, it is suggested that the proposed FSS is a good candidate to reduce mutual coupling in the multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system for 5G communication.
Soft and Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion
Authors: Bocchetta Patrizia
Published: March 2021

Soft matter is a class of materials with flexibility properties and the ability to easily deform and self-assemble into complex structures [...]
Effect of Cement Types and Superabsorbent Polymers on the Properties of Sustainable Ultra-High-Performance Paste
Authors: Xuan Mei-Yu , Wang Yi-Sheng , Wang Xiao-Yong , Lee Han-Seung , Kwon Seung-Jun
Published: March 2021

This study focuses on the effects of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) and belite-rich Portland cement (BPC) on the compressive strength, autogenous shrinkage (AS), and micro- and macroscopic performance of sustainable, ultra-high-performance paste (SUHPP). Several experimental studies were conducted, including compressive strength, AS, isothermal calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), attenuated total reflectance (ATR)–Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultra-sonic pulse velocity (UPV), and electrical resistivity. The following conclusions can be made based on the experimental results: (1) a small amount of SAP has a strength promotion effect during the first 3 days, while BPC can significantly improve the strength over the following 28 days. (2) SAP slows down the internal relative humidity reduction and effectively reduces the development of AS. BPC specimens show a lower AS than other specimens. The AS shows a linear relationship with the internal relative humidity. (3) Specimens with SAP possess higher cumulative hydration heat than control specimens. The slow hydration rate in the BPC effectively reduces the exothermic heat. (4) With the increase in SAP, the calcium hydroxide (CH) and combined water content increases, and SAP thus improves the effect on cement hydration. The contents of CH and combined water in BPC specimens are lower than those in the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) specimen. (5) All samples display rapid hydration of the cement in the first 3 days, with a high rate of UPV development. Strength is an exponential function of UPVs. (6) The electrical resistivity is reduced due to the increase in porosity caused by the release of water from SAP. From 3 to 28 days, BPC specimens show a greater increment in electrical resistivity than other specimens.
Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Hybrid Flocculants Based on Potato Starch Copolymers with Hollow Carbon Spheres
Authors: Schmidt Beata , Kowalczyk Krzysztof , Zielinska Beata
Published: March 2021

Novel carbon nanofiller-based starch-g-polyacrylamide hybrid flocculation materials (St-PAM-CS) were in situ prepared using potato starch (St), acrylamide (AM), and hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (CSs; diameters of 300–400 nm). Structures of different St-PAM-CS systems were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), laser scanning microscopy (LSM), and particle size analysis. The flocculation tests were evaluated by removing high turbidity kaolin suspension—initial absorbance 1.84. The effect of the St to AM molar ratio, doses, and content of CSs in hybrids on flocculation efficiency were examined. Satisfactory flocculation efficiency was obtained for all hybrids with 1 wt.% of the CS component. The highest reduction of the kaolin suspension absorbance (to 0.06) was observed for a 3 mL dose of the starch hybrid with the highest AM content. Additionally, St-PAM-CS showed a reduction in the sludge volume in time. The hybrids reached better flocculation efficiency in relation to the reference systems without CSs. The proposed flocculation mechanism (considering bridging, patching, and formation of hydrogen bonds) has been confirmed by the recorded results.
The Effect of Adhesive Layer Thickness on Joint Static Strength
Authors: Rośkowicz Marek , Godzimirski Jan , Komorek Andrzej , Jasztal Michał
Published: March 2021

One of the most relevant geometrical factors defining an adhesive joint is the thickness of the adhesive layer. The influence of the adhesive layer thickness on the joint strength has not been precisely understood so far. This article presents simplified analytical formulas for adhesive joint strength and adhesive joint coefficient for different joint loading, assuming, inter alia: linear-elastic strain of adhesive layer, elastic strain of adherends and only one kind of stress in adhesive. On the basis of the presented adhesive joint coefficient, the butt joint was selected for the tests of the influence of adhesive thickness on the adhesive failure stress. The tests showed clearly that with an increase in the thickness of the tested adhesive layers (up to about 0.17 mm), the value of their failure stress decreased quasi linearly. Furthermore, some adhesive joints (inter alia subjected to shearing) may display the optimum value of the thickness of the adhesive layer in terms of the strength of the joint. Thus, the aim of this work was to explain the phenomenon of optimal adhesive layer thickness in some types of adhesive joints. The verifying test was conducted with use of single simple lap joints. Finally, with the use of the FE method, the authors were able to obtain stresses in the adhesive layers of lap joints for loads that destroyed that joints in the experiment, and the FEM-calculated failure stresses for lap joints were compared with the adhesive failure stresses determined experimentally using the butt specimens. Numerical calculations were conducted with the use of the continuum mechanics approach (stress-based), and the non-linear behavior of the adhesive and plastic strain of the adherends was taken into account.
A Method of Fast Segmentation for Banana Stalk Exploited Lightweight Multi-Feature Fusion Deep Neural Network
Authors: Chen Tianci , Zhang Rihong , Zhu Lixue , Zhang Shiang , Li Xiaomin
Published: March 2021

In an orchard environment with a complex background and changing light conditions, the banana stalk, fruit, branches, and leaves are very similar in color. The fast and accurate detection and segmentation of a banana stalk are crucial to realize the automatic picking using a banana picking robot. In this paper, a banana stalk segmentation method based on a lightweight multi-feature fusion deep neural network (MFN) is proposed. The proposed network is mainly composed of encoding and decoding networks, in which the sandglass bottleneck design is adopted to alleviate the information a loss in high dimension. In the decoding network, a different sized dilated convolution kernel is used for convolution operation to make the extracted banana stalk features denser. The proposed network is verified by experiments. In the experiments, the detection precision, segmentation accuracy, number of parameters, operation efficiency, and average execution time are used as evaluation metrics, and the proposed network is compared with Resnet_Segnet, Mobilenet_Segnet, and a few other networks. The experimental results show that compared to other networks, the number of network parameters of the proposed network is significantly reduced, the running frame rate is improved, and the average execution time is shortened.
Modeling and Semi-Analytic Stability Analysis for Dynamics of AC Machines
Authors: El-Borhamy Mohamed , Rashad Essam Eddin M. , Sobhy Ismail , El-Sayed M. Kamel
Published: March 2021

In this article, a semi-analytical technique is proposed to predict stable sustained periodic responses of AC electrical machines. Based on such desired outputs, the proper selections of machine variables are captured, such as the perturbation parameter arisen from the relative movement between the stationary and rotating parts. Compared to the experimental results, the derived analytical results are relatively well-fitted with the studied practical cases.
Real-Time Wind Field Estimation and Pitot Tube Calibration Using an Extended Kalman Filter
Authors: Zhang Qian , Xu Yifan , Wang Xueyun , Yu Zelong , Deng Tianyi
Published: March 2021

The airspeed is an important feedback signal for flight control, and its measurement accuracy is related to the safety of aircraft, especially for hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the transition phase. However, offline calibration of the pitot tube cannot fully simulate the situation in real cases, and this is why online calibration after installation is necessary. In addition, the environmental wind field creates a high risk for the conversion flight of a hybrid UAV, thus real-time wind field measurement of the flight field has great significance for the flight path planning of the conversion process. In this article, an innovative method for online calibration of pitot tube and wind field estimation is proposed. After establishing the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for estimation, an analysis method is proposed to analyze the observability of EKF under different flight strategies. Then, the hovering flight is selected as the experimental flight trajectory. The laboratory computer simulation and flight experiment results validate the theory and prove that the proposed method could re-calibrate the scale factor of the pitot tube and estimate the wind field.
Multidimensional Fair Fuzzy Equilibrium Evaluation of Housing Expropriation Compensation from the Perspective of Behavioral Preference: A Case Study from China
Authors: Cao Zhaoyu , Zhao Xu , Zou Yucheng , Hong Kairong , Zhang Yanwei
Published: March 2021

With the rapid development of urbanization, substantial land areas and houses are expropriated, which can cause huge numbers of disputes related to expropriation compensation. The root of the disputes is that the associated subjects are affected by various behavioral preferences and make different cognitive fairness judgments based on the same compensation price. However, the existing expropriation compensation strategies based on the market value under the assumption of “the economic man” hypothesis cannot meet the fairness preference demands of the expropriated. Therefore, finding a compensation price that satisfies subjects’ multidimensional fairness preferences, including profit-seeking, loss aversion, and interactive fairness preferences, is necessary. Only in this way can the subjects reach an agreement regarding fair compensation and resolve their disputes. Because of the fuzziness of subjects’ expected revenues, this paper innovatively introduces trigonometric intuitional fuzzy numbers to construct one-dimensional and multidimensional fair fuzzy equilibrium evaluation models. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is adopted to convert a multidimensional problem into a multiattribute group decision problem, which simplifies the problem of finding multidimensional equilibrium when considering the multidimensional fairness preferences of the two subjects. Real case data are introduced to verify the validity of this method. The research results show that upward revision of the multidimensional fairness preferences based on the market value assists in achieving a fair compensation agreement. Consideration of the influence of the subjects’ multidimensional fairness preferences on the fairness equilibrium is conducive to resolving the disputes, and provides a reference for the settlement of expropriation compensation disputes in developing countries.
Improving Spectral Efficiency in the SCMA Uplink Channel
Authors: Vidal-Beltrán Sergio , López-Bonilla José Luis
Published: March 2021

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) identified the technical requirements that the fifth generation of mobile communications networks (5G) had to meet; within these parameters are the following: an improved data rate and a greater number of users connected simultaneously. 5G uses non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) to increase the number of simultaneously connected users, and by encoding data it is possible to increase the spectral efficiency (SE). In this work, eight codewords are used to transmit three bits simultaneously using Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA), and through singular value decomposition (SVD) the Euclidean distance between constellation points is optimized. On the other hand, applications of machine intelligence and machine intelligence in 5G and beyond communication systems are still developing; in this sense, in this work we propose to use machine learning for detecting and decoding the SCMA codewords using neural networks. This paper focuses on the Use Case of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), where higher data rates are required, with a large number of users connected and low mobility. The simulation results show that it is possible to transmit three bits simultaneously with a low bit error rate (BER) using SVD-SCMA in the uplink channel. Our simulation results were compared against recent methods that use spatial modulation (SM) and antenna arrays in order to increase spectral efficiency. In adverse Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), our proposal performs better than SM, and antenna arrays are not needed for transmission or reception.
GASVeM: A New Machine Learning Methodology for Multi-SNP Analysis of GWAS Data Based on Genetic Algorithms and Support Vector Machines
Authors: Díez Díaz Fidel , Sánchez Lasheras Fernando , Moreno Víctor , Moratalla-Navarro Ferran , Molina de la Torre Antonio José , Martín Sánchez Vicente
Published: March 2021

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are observational studies of a large set of genetic variants in an individual’s sample in order to find if any of these variants are linked to a particular trait. In the last two decades, GWAS have contributed to several new discoveries in the field of genetics. This research presents a novel methodology to which GWAS can be applied to. It is mainly based on two machine learning methodologies, genetic algorithms and support vector machines. The database employed for the study consisted of information about 370,750 single-nucleotide polymorphisms belonging to 1076 cases of colorectal cancer and 973 controls. Ten pathways with different degrees of relationship with the trait under study were tested. The results obtained showed how the proposed methodology is able to detect relevant pathways for a certain trait: in this case, colorectal cancer.
Inhibition of Intestinal Lipid Absorption by Cyanobacterial Strains in Zebrafish Larvae
Authors: Bellver Marta , Costa Susana Lemos da , Sanchez Begoña Astrain , Vasconcelos Vitor , Urbatzka Ralph
Published: March 2021

Obesity is a complex metabolic disease, which is increasing worldwide. The reduction of dietary lipid intake is considered an interesting pathway to reduce fat absorption and to affect the chronic energy imbalance. In this study, zebrafish larvae were used to analyze effects of cyanobacteria on intestinal lipid absorption in vivo. In total, 263 fractions of a cyanobacterial library were screened for PED6 activity, a fluorescent reporter of intestinal lipases, and 11 fractions reduced PED6 activity > 30%. Toxicity was not observed for those fractions, considering mortality, malformations or digestive physiology (protease inhibition). Intestinal long-chain fatty acid uptake (C16) was reduced, but not short-chain fatty acid uptake (C5). Alteration of lipid classes by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) or lipid processing by fluorescent HPTLC was analyzed, and 2 fractions significantly reduced the whole-body triglyceride level. Bioactivity-guided feature-based molecular networking of LC-MS/MS data identified 14 significant bioactive mass peaks (p < 0.01, correlation > 0.95), which consisted of 3 known putative and 11 unknown compounds. All putatively identified compounds were known to be involved in lipid metabolism and obesity. Summarizing, some cyanobacterial strains repressed intestinal lipid absorption without any signs of toxicity and could be developed in the future as nutraceuticals to combat obesity.
Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps: Age and Disease Severity Differences in the Levels of Inflammatory Markers
Authors: Vaitkus Justinas , Vitkauskienė Astra , Simuntis Regimantas , Vaitkus Žygimantas , Šiupšinskienė Nora , Vaitkus Saulius
Published: March 2021

Background and objectives: The aim of our study was to analyze the concentrations of inflammatory markers in the nasal tissue of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNPs) and controls of different age groups, as well as to find associations between age, inflammation development, and NPs. Materials and methods: Patients were divided into two groups—patients with CRSwNPs and control subjects who had nasal surgery for another reason beside CRS. Our analysis was performed across three different age groups (18–30 years, 31–50 years, and 51 years and more). Tissue biopsies from the sinus cavity for all study participants were taken and frozen at −80 °C, until use. The concentrations of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, IL-13, IL-21, and IL-22, were quantified using a magnetic bead-based multiplex assay. Results: In the group aged 18–30 years, the levels of inflammatory markers IL-1, IL-2, IL-5, and IL-22 were significantly higher in patients with CRSwNPs than the control subjects. Among patients aged 31–50 years, significantly higher concentrations of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-22 were recorded in patients with CRSwNPs, as compared to the control subjects. In the oldest group (aged 51 years and more), patients with CRSwNPs had significantly higher concentrations of IL-2, IL-4, and IL-22, as compared to the control group. In the CRSwNP group, only the concentration of IL-21 was significantly higher among patients aged 31–50 years, as compared with those aged 51 years and older (p = 0.013). Conclusions: IL-2 and IL-22 levels were significantly higher in patients with CRSwNP than the control, across all age groups. Only the concentration of IL-21 was higher among patients with CRSwNP in the middle age group, as compared to the oldest group. IL-2, IL-4, and IL-22 levels correlated with the severity of CRSwNPs. Elevated concentrations of IL-2, IL-4, and IL-22 were determined in patients’ groups with higher sinonasal outcome test (SNOT-22) scores, pointing to more severe clinical symptoms.
Nanofiltration Process for Enhanced Treatment of RO Brine Discharge
Authors: Ali Mohamed E.A.
Published: March 2021

Brine discharge of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants represents a challenge for both inland and coastal desalination plants. Zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) can be accomplished by using additional stages of RO, which can recycle that brine water, but the key challenge is the high concentration of divalent salts. These divalent salts (especially calcium and magnesium salts) forms a scaling layer on the RO membrane surfaces and hence shorten the life-time of the membranes. In this study, the nanofiltration (NF) procedure was used to remove divalent ions from the brine discharge to minimize the load on additional stages of RO membranes. One of the most critical considerations influencing the selection of an effective NF is the water type, which is expected here by calculation of some hydrochemical parameters (major ions, hypothetical soluble salts (electrolyte), and saturation indices). NF experiments were undertaken on a lab-scale using a low-pressure hand-made system of 4–7 bar. Synthetic single salts solutions and two real brine water discharge (brackish (BWRO) and seawater (SWRO) desalination plants) were used as a feed solution for NF system. The chemical characteristics of the RO-feed, RO-brine, NF-permeate, and NF-reject in were investigated. Electrolyte concentrations and saturation indices were determined based on the concentration of the major ions and the NETPATH software package, respectively. Calculations reveal that the brine concentrate samples contained mostly MgSO4 and MgCl2 soluble salts. The results show that 79–89% of the total dissolved salts (TDS) and 96–98% of the total hardness (TH) were retained using the NF process. The salt rejection of the NF membrane follows the order of CaSO4, Na2SO4, MgSO4, MgCl2, and NaCl with a percent of 97.4, 97.3, 95.2, 93.4, and 79%, respectively.
Antifouling and Flux Enhancement of Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Grafting Poly (3-Sulfopropyl Methacrylate) Brushes
Authors: Mushtaq Reema , Abbas Muhammad , Mushtaq Shehla , Ahmad Nasir , Khan Niaz , Khan Asad , Hong Wu , Sadiq Rehan , Jiang Zhongyi
Published: March 2021

A commercial thin film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis membrane was grafted with 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium (SPMK) to produce PA-g-SPMK by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The grafting of PA was done at varied concentrations of SPMK, and its effect on the surface composition and morphology was studied by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), optical profilometry, and contact angle analysis. The grafting of hydrophilic ionically charged PSPMK polymer brushes having acrylate and sulfonate groups resulted in enhanced hydrophilicity rendering a reduction of contact angle from 58° of pristine membrane sample labeled as MH0 to 10° for a modified membrane sample labeled as MH3. Due to the increased hydrophilicity, the flux rate rises from 57.1 L m−2 h−1 to 71.2 L m−2 h−1, and 99% resistance against microbial adhesion (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) was obtained for MH3 after modification
Lung Metabolomics Profiling of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in Fetal Rats
Authors: Romero-Lopez Maria del Mar , Oria Marc , Watanabe-Chailland Miki , Varela Maria Florencia , Romick-Rosendale Lindsey , Peiro Jose L.
Published: March 2021

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is characterized by the herniation of abdominal contents into the thoracic cavity during the fetal period. This competition for fetal thoracic space results in lung hypoplasia and vascular maldevelopment that can generate severe pulmonary hypertension (PH). The detailed mechanisms of CDH pathogenesis are yet to be understood. Acknowledgment of the lung metabolism during the in-utero CDH development can help to discern the CDH pathophysiology changes. Timed-pregnant dams received nitrofen or vehicle (olive oil) on E9.5 day of gestation. All fetal lungs exposed to nitrofen or vehicle control were harvested at day E21.5 by C-section and processed for metabolomics analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The three groups analyzed were nitrofen-CDH (NCDH), nitrofen-control (NC), and vehicle control (VC). A total of 64 metabolites were quantified and subjected to statistical analysis. The multivariate analysis identified forty-four metabolites that were statistically different between the three groups. The highest Variable importance in projection (VIP) score (>2) metabolites were lactate, glutamate, and adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP). Fetal CDH lungs have changes related to oxidative stress, nucleotide synthesis, amino acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and glucose metabolism. This work provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind the CDH pathophysiology and can explore potential novel treatment targets for CDH patients.
Duhem Model-Based Hysteresis Identification in Piezo-Actuated Nano-Stage Using Modified Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Ahmed Khubab , Yan Peng , Li Su
Published: March 2021

This paper presents modeling and parameter identification of the Duhem model to describe the hysteresis in the Piezoelectric actuated nano-stage. First, the parameter identification problem of the Duhem model is modeled into an optimization problem. A modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) technique, which escapes the problem of local optima in a traditional PSO algorithm, is proposed to identify the parameters of the Duhem model. In particular, a randomness operator is introduced in the optimization process which acts separately on each dimension of the search space, thus improving convergence and model identification properties of PSO. The effectiveness of the proposed MPSO method was demonstrated using different benchmark functions. The proposed MPSO-based identification scheme was used to identify the Duhem model parameters; then, the results were validated using experimental data. The results show that the proposed MPSO method is more effective in optimizing the complex benchmark functions as well as the real-world model identification problems compared to conventional PSO and genetic algorithm (GA).
Capacitance Effects of a Hydrophobic-Coated Ion Gel Dielectric on AC Electrowetting
Authors: Lee Taewoo , Park Sung-Yong
Published: March 2021

We present experimental studies of alternating current (AC) electrowetting dominantly influenced by several unique characteristics of an ion gel dielectric in its capacitance. At a high-frequency region above 1 kHz, the droplet undergoes the contact angle modification. Due to its high-capacitance characteristic, the ion gel allows the contact angle change as large as Δθ = 26.4°, more than 2-fold improvement, compared to conventional dielectrics when f = 1 kHz. At the frequency range from 1 to 15 kHz, the capacitive response of the gel layer dominates and results in a nominal variation in the angle change as θ ≈ 90.9°. Above 15 kHz, such a capacitive response of the gel layer sharply decreases and leads to the drastic increase in the contact angle. At a low-frequency region below a few hundred Hz, the droplet’s oscillation relying on the AC frequency applied was mainly observed and oscillation performance was maximized at corresponding resonance frequencies. With the high-capacitance feature, the ion gel significantly enlarges the oscillation performance by 73.8% at the 1st resonance mode. The study herein on the ion gel dielectric will help for various AC electrowetting applications with the benefits of mixing enhancement, large contact angle modification, and frequency-independent control.
Hepatitis B Virus Genotype Study in West Africa Reveals an Expanding Clade of Subgenotype A4
Authors: Toyé Rayana Maryse , Cohen Damien , Pujol Flor Helene , Sow-Sall Amina , Lô Gora , Hoshino Kunikazu , Mizokami Masashi , Zoulim Fabien , Lemoine Maud , Touré-Kane Coumba , Chemin Isabelle
Published: March 2021

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) classification comprises up to 10 genotypes with specific geographical distribution worldwide, further subdivided into 40 subgenotypes, which have different impacts on liver disease outcome. Though extensively studied, the classification of subgenotype A sequences remains ambiguous. This study aimed to characterize HBV isolates from West African patients and propose a more advanced classification of subgenotype A. Fourteen HBV full-length genome sequences isolated from patients from The Gambia and Senegal were obtained and phylogenetically analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis of HBV genotype A sequences isolated from Senegalese and Gambian patients exhibited separate clusters from the other known and confirmed subgenotypes A (A1, A2, A6). Most of the sequences (10/14) clustered with an isolate from Cuba, reported as subgenotype A4 (supported by maximal bootstrap value). Four isolates from The Gambia and Senegal clustered separately from all other subgenotypes and samples sequenced in the study. Three of which from The Gambia, designated as an expanding clade of subgenotype A4, exhibited a mean inter-subgenotypic nucleotide divergence over the entire genome sequence higher than 4% in comparison with the other subgenotypes and the other isolates sequenced in the study, except with subgenotype A4 isolates (3.9%), and this was supported by a maximal bootstrap value. The last one from Senegal seemed to be an expanding subgenotype close to the new clade of A4. Amino acid analysis unveiled a novel motif specific to these isolates. This study revealed an expanding evolution of HBV subgenotype A and novel amino acid motifs. It also highlighted the need for a consensus regarding the analysis and classification of HBV sequences.
Integrated Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Multivariate Wavelet Tessellation: A New, Rapid Approach for Lithogeochemical Analysis and Interpretation
Authors: Fontana Fernando F. , Tassios Steven , Stromberg Jessica , Tiddy Caroline , van der Hoek Ben , Uvarova Yulia A.
Published: March 2021

This paper demonstrates a novel approach that uses wavelet tessellation in rapid analysis of raw geochemical data produced by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to produce pseudologs that are representative of stratigraphy. Single-line LIBS spectral data for seven major rock-forming elements (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Si, Na and K) were collected from a synthetic 22-sample rock-block comprising two distinct lithological groups based on mineralogy, chemistry and texture: plutonic rocks and marble. Seven sublithologies are identified within the rock-block from traditional laboratory whole-rock geochemical analysis: marble, Mg-marble, granite, quartz monzonite, foidolite, granodiorite and gabbroic diorite. Two-domain clustering (k = 2) on raw spectral LIBS data combined with wavelet tessellation was applied to generate a simplified lithological stratigraphy of marble and plutonic rocks and generate a pseudolog identical to the rock-block stratigraphy. A pseudolog generated from seven-domain clustering (k = 7) and wavelet tessellation successfully discriminated most sublithologies within the rock-block slabs, especially marble slabs. Small-scale units were identified within the more mineralogically and geochemically complex plutonic slabs. The spatial resolution of the LIBS analysis, with a measurement spacing of ~0.35 mm, allowed for assessment of individual mineral compositions and rock textures, and small-scale units within the plutonic rocks can be correlated to specific coarse-grained minerals or mineralogical associations. The application of the wavelet tessellation method to raw LIBS geochemical data offers the possibility of rapid and objective lithogeochemical analysis and interpretations which can predate further analysis (quantitative) and supplement geological logging.
The Effects of Milling and pH on Co, Ni, Zn and Cu Bioleaching from Polymetallic Sulfide Concentrate
Authors: Mäkinen Jarno , Heikola Tiina , Salo Marja , Kinnunen Päivi
Published: March 2021

Acid bioleaching of a low-grade and polymetallic sulfide concentrate was studied, in order to determine suitable feed material particle size and pH for efficient leaching of valuable metals. The sulfide concentrate consisted of pyrite (50 wt %), pyrrhotite (31 wt %), quartz (10 wt %) and lower amounts of cobalt, nickel, zinc and copper (each <1 wt %). After adaptation of microorganisms in shake flasks, stirred tank tests were conducted at different pH levels and supplementing feed material at different particle sizes (milled to d80 < 150 µm, <50 µm, <28 µm, <19 µm). The operation at pH 1.8 was seen prone to iron precipitation, while this was not observed at a pH between 1.3 and 1.5. Additional milling to decrease particle size from the initial d80 < 150 µm had a major positive effect on cobalt- and nickel-leaching yields, proposing that at least d80 < 28 µm should be targeted. The best leaching yields for the main economic elements, cobalt and nickel, were 98% and 94%, respectively, reached with d80 < 19 µm at pH 1.3. However, it was considered that at pH 1.5, similar results could be obtained. This research sets the basis for continuing the experiments at a continuous pilot scale.
Theoretical Study on Symmetry-Broken Plasmonic Optical Tweezers for Heterogeneous Noble-Metal-Based Nano-Bowtie Antennas
Authors: Du Guangqing , Lu Yu , Lankanath Dayantha , Hou Xun , Chen Feng
Published: March 2021

Plasmonic optical tweezers with a symmetry-tunable potential well were investigated based on a heterogeneous model of nano-bowtie antennas made of different noble substances. The typical noble metals Au and Ag are considered as plasmonic supporters for excitation of hybrid plasmonic modes in bowtie dimers. It is proposed that the plasmonic optical trapping force around a quantum dot exhibits symmetry-broken characteristics and becomes increasingly asymmetrical with increasing applied laser electric field. Here, it is explained by the dominant plasmon hybridization of the heterogeneous Au–Ag dimer, in which the plasmon excitations can be inconsistently modified by tuning the applied laser electric field. In the spectrum regime, the wavelength-dependent plasmonic trapping potential exhibits a two-peak structure for the heterogeneous Au–Ag bowtie dimer compared to a single-peak trapping potential of the Au–Au bowtie dimer. In addition, we comprehensively investigated the influence of structural parameter variables on the plasmonic potential well generated from the heterogeneous noble nano-bowtie antenna with respect to the bowtie edge length, edge/tip rounding, bowtie gap, and nanosphere size. This work could be helpful in improving our understanding of wavelength and laser field tunable asymmetric nano-tweezers for flexible and non-uniform nano-trapping applications of particle-sorting, plasmon coloring, SERS imaging, and quantum dot lighting.
CuO/PMMA Polymer Nanocomposites as Novel Resist Materials for E-Beam Lithography
Authors: Geka Georgia , Papageorgiou George , Chatzichristidi Margarita , Karydas Andreas Germanos , Psycharis Vassilis , Makarona Eleni
Published: March 2021

Polymer nanocomposites have emerged as a new powerful class of materials because of their versatility, adaptability and wide applicability to a variety of fields. In this work, a facile and cost-effective method to develop poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based polymer nanocomposites with copper oxide (CuO) nanofillers is presented. The study concentrates on finding an appropriate methodology to realize CuO/PMMA nanocomposites that could be used as resist materials for e-beam lithography (EBL) with the intention of being integrated into nanodevices. The CuO nanofillers were synthesized via a low-cost chemical synthesis, while several loadings, spin coating conditions and two solvents (acetone and methyl ethyl ketone) were explored and assessed with regards to their effect on producing CuO/PMMA nanocomposites. The nanocomposite films were patterned with EBL and contrast curve data and resolution analysis were used to evaluate their performance and suitability as a resist material. Micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (μ-XRF) complemented with XRF measurements via a handheld instrument (hh-XRF) was additionally employed as an alternative rapid and non-destructive technique in order to investigate the uniform dispersion of the nanofillers within the polymer matrix and to assist in the selection of the optimum preparation conditions. This study revealed that it is possible to produce low-cost CuO/PMMA nanocomposites as a novel resist material without resorting to complicated preparation techniques.
Particle Forming Amorphous Solid Dispersions: A Mechanistic Randomized Pharmacokinetic Study in Humans
Authors: Schittny Andreas , Waldner Samuel , Duthaler Urs , Vorobyev Alexander , Abramovich Rimma , Krähenbühl Stephan , Puchkov Maxim , Huwyler Jörg
Published: March 2021

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) are a promising drug-delivery strategy to overcome poor solubility through formulation. Currently, the understanding of drug absorption mechanisms from ASDs in humans is incomplete. Aiming to gain insights in this matter, we conducted a randomized cross-over design open-label clinical study (NCT03886766) with 16 healthy male volunteers in an ambulatory setting, using micro-dosed efavirenz as a model drug. In three phases, subjects were administered (1) solid ASD of efavirenz 50 mg or (2) dissolved ASD of efavirenz 50 mg or (3) a molecular solution of efavirenz 3 mg (non-ASD) as a control in block-randomized order. Endpoints were the pharmacokinetic profiles (efavirenz plasma concentration vs. time curves) and derived pharmacokinetic parameters thereof (AUC0–t, Cmax, tmax, and ka). Results showed that the dissolved ASD (intervention 2) exhibited properties of a supersaturated solution (compared to aqueous solubility) with rapid and complete absorption of the drug from the drug-rich particles. All interventions showed similar AUC0–t and were well tolerated by subjects. The findings highlight the potential of particle forming ASDs as an advanced drug-delivery system for poorly soluble drugs and provide essential insights into underlying mechanisms of ASD functioning in humans, partially validating current conceptual models.