bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Establishment of a Temperature-Sensitive Model of Oncogene-Induced Senescence in Angiosarcoma Cells
Authors: da Costa Adilson , Bonner Michael , Rao Shikha , Gilbert Linda , Sasaki Maiko , Elsey Justin , MacKelfresh Jamie , Arbiser Jack
Published: February 2020

Lesions with driver mutations, including atypical nevi and seborrheic keratoses, are very common in dermatology, and are prone to senescence. The molecular events that prevent senescent lesions from becoming malignant are not well understood. We have developed a model of vascular proliferation using a temperature-sensitive, large T antigen and oncogenic HRas. By elevating the temperature to 39 °C, we can turn off large T antigen and study the molecular events in cells with the Ras driver mutation. To assess the signaling events associated with the switch from a proliferative to a nonproliferative state in the constant presence of a driver oncogene, SVR cells were cultivated for 24 and 48 h and compared with SVR cells at 37 °C. Cells were evaluated by Western Blot (WB) gene chip microarray (GC) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Upon evaluation, a novel phenotype was observed in endothelial cells after switching off the large T antigen. This phenotype was characterized by Notch activation, downregulation of p38 phosphorylation, downregulation of the master immune switch IRF7, and downregulation of hnRNP A0. Switching off proliferative signaling may result in immune privilege and Notch activation, which may account, in part, for the survival of common skin lesions.
Emerging Role of Podocalyxin in the Progression of Mature B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Authors: Tamayo-Orbegozo Estíbaliz , Amo Laura , Díez-García Javier , Amutio Elena , Riñón Marta , Alonso Marta , Arana Paula , Maruri Natalia , Larrucea Susana
Published: February 2020

Mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) constitutes a group of heterogeneous malignant lymphoproliferative diseases ranging from indolent to highly aggressive forms. Although the survival after chemo-immunotherapy treatment of mature B-NHL has increased over the last years, many patients relapse or remain refractory due to drug resistance, presenting an unfavorable prognosis. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify new prognostic markers and therapeutic targets. Podocalyxin (PODXL), a sialomucin overexpressed in a variety of tumor cell types and associated with their aggressiveness, has been implicated in multiple aspects of cancer progression, although its participation in hematological malignancies remains unexplored. New evidence points to a role for PODXL in mature B-NHL cell proliferation, survival, migration, drug resistance, and metabolic reprogramming, as well as enhanced levels of PODXL in mature B-NHL. Here, we review the current knowledge on the contribution of PODXL to tumorigenesis, highlighting and discussing its role in mature B-NHL progression.
Predictors of Postoperative Seizure Outcome in Low Grade Glioma: From Volumetric Analysis to Molecular Stratification
Authors: Ius Tamara , Pauletto Giada , Tomasino Barbara , Maieron Marta , Budai Riccardo , Isola Miriam , Cesselli Daniela , Lettieri Christian , Skrap Miran
Published: February 2020

The importance of the extent of resection (EOR) has been widely demonstrated as the main predictor for survival, nevertheless its effect on tumor related epilepsy is less investigated. A total of 155 patients were enrolled after a first-line surgery for supratentorial Diffuse Low Grade Gliomas (DLGGs). Postoperative seizure outcome was analyzed stratifying the results by tumor volumetric data and molecular markers according to 2016 WHO classification. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were computed to asses EOR, residual tumor volume, and ΔT2T1 MRI index (expressing the tumor growing pattern) corresponding to optimal seizure outcome. A total of 70.97% of patients were seizure-free 18 months after surgery. Better seizure outcome was observed in IDH1/2 mutated and 1p/19q codeleted subgroup. At multivariate analysis, age (p = 0.014), EOR (p = 0.030), ΔT2T1 MRI index (p = 0.016) resulted as independent predictors of postoperative seizure control. Optimal parameters to improve postoperative seizure outcome were EOR ≥ 85%, ΔT2T1 MRI index ≤ 18 cm3, residual tumor volume ≤ 15 cm3. This study confirms the role of EOR and tumor growing pattern on postoperative seizure outcome independently from the molecular class. Higher ΔT2T1 MRI index, representing the infiltrative component of the tumor, is associated with worse seizure outcome and strengthens the evidence of common pathogenic mechanisms underlying tumor growth and postoperative seizure outcome.
RAD52: Viral Friend or Foe?
Authors: Hendrickson Eric A.
Published: February 2020

Mammalian Radiation Sensitive 52 (RAD52) is a gene whose scientific reputation has recently seen a strong resurgence. In the past decade, RAD52, which was thought to be dispensable for most DNA repair and recombination reactions in mammals, has been shown to be important for a bevy of DNA metabolic pathways. One of these processes is termed break-induced replication (BIR), a mechanism that can be used to re-start broken replication forks and to elongate the ends of chromosomes in telomerase-negative cells. Viruses have historically evolved a myriad of mechanisms in which they either conscript cellular factors or, more frequently, inactivate them as a means to enable their own replication and survival. Recent data suggests that Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) may replicate its DNA in a BIR-like fashion and/or utilize RAD52 to facilitate viral transduction and, as such, likely conscripts/requires the host RAD52 protein to promote its perpetuation.
Catalytic Mechanism Comparison Between 1,2-Dichloroethane-Acetylene Exchange Reaction and Acetylene Hydrochlorination Reaction for Vinyl Chloride Production: DFT Calculations and Experiments
Authors: Xu Hao , Man Baochang , Luo Guohua
Published: February 2020

The catalytic mechanism and activation energies of metal chlorides RuCl3, AuCl3, and BaCl2 for 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE)-acetylene exchange reaction were studied with a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments. Two reported reaction pathways were discussed and acetylene-DCE complex pathway was supported through adsorption energy analysis. The formation of the second vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) was proven to be the rate-determining step, according to energy profile analysis. Activity sequence of BaCl2 > RuCl3 > AuCl3 was predicted and experimentally verified. Furthermore, reversed activity sequences of this reaction and commercialized acetylene hydrochlorination reaction were explained: the adsorption abilities of reactants are important for the former reaction, but chlorine transfer is important for the latter.
Effect of Zirconia on Hydrothermally Synthesized Co3O4/TiO2 Catalyst for NOx Reduction from Engine Emissions
Authors: Habib Ur Rehman Muhammad , Noor Tayyaba , Iqbal Naseem
Published: February 2020

Effect of zirconia on the 6 wt.% Co3O4/TiO2 catalyst for NOx reduction is investigated in this paper. Co3O4/TiO2 catalyst was prepared by using hydrothermal method and then was promoted with zirconia by impregnation to get 8% wt. ZrO2-Co3O4/TiO2 catalyst. Catalysts were characterized by using XRD, SEM, and TGA. Catalysts real time activity was tested by coating them on stainless steel wire meshes, containing them in a mild steel shell and mounting them at the exhaust tailpipe of a 72 cm3 motorcycle engine. Zirconia promoted catalyst showed higher conversion efficiency of NOX than the simple Co3O4/TiO2 catalyst due to small crystalline size, fouling inhibition and thermal stability.
p32-Dependent p38 MAPK Activation by Arginase II Downregulation Contributes to Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Activation in HUVECs
Authors: Koo Bon-Hyeock , Won Moo-Ho , Kim Young-Myeong , Ryoo Sungwoo
Published: February 2020

Arginase II reciprocally regulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) through a p32-dependent Ca2+ control. We investigated the signaling pathway of arginase II-dependent eNOS phosphorylation. Western blot analysis was applied for examining protein activation and [Ca2+]c was analyzed by microscopic and FACS analyses. Nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) productions were measured using specific fluorescent dyes under microscopy. NO signaling pathway was tested by measuring vascular tension. Following arginase II downregulation by chemical inhibition or gene knockout (KO, ArgII−/−), increased eNOS phosphorylation at Ser1177 and decreased phosphorylation at Thr495 was depend on p38 MAPK activation, which induced by CaMKII activation through p32-dependent increase in [Ca2+]c. The protein amount of p32 negatively regulated p38 MAPK activation. p38 MAPK contributed to Akt-induced eNOS phosphorylation at Ser1177 that resulted in accelerated NO production and reduced reactive oxygen species production in aortic endothelia. In vascular tension assay, p38 MAPK inhibitor decreased acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation responses and increased phenylephrine-dependent vasoconstrictive responses. In ApoE−/− mice fed a high cholesterol diet, arginase II inhibition restored p32/CaMKII/p38 MAPK/Akt/eNOS signaling cascade that was attenuated by p38 MAPK inhibition. Here, we demonstrated a novel signaling pathway contributing to understanding of the relationship between arginase II, endothelial dysfunction, and atherogenesis.
Myelin Measurement Using Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Correlation Study Comparing Various Imaging Techniques in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Saccenti Laetitia , Hagiwara Akifumi , Andica Christina , Yokoyama Kazumasa , Fujita Shohei , Kato Shimpei , Maekawa Tomoko , Kamagata Koji , Le Berre Alice , Hori Masaaki , Wada Akihiko , Tateishi Ukihide , Hattori Nobutaka , Aoki Shigeki
Published: February 2020

Evaluation of myelin by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a difficult challenge, but holds promise in demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Although multiple techniques have been developed, no gold standard has been established. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between synthetic MRI myelin volume fraction (SyMRIMVF) and myelin fraction estimated by other techniques, i.e., magnetization transfer saturation (MTsat), T1-weighted images divided by T2-weighted images (T1w/T2w), and radial diffusivity (RD) in patients with MS. We also compared the sensitivities of these techniques for detecting MS-related myelin damage. SyMRIMVF, MTsat, T1w/T2w, and RD were averaged on plaque, periplaque white matter, and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM). Pairwise correlation was calculated using Spearman’s correlation analysis. For all segmented regions, strong correlations were found between SyMRIMVF and T1w/T2w (Rho = 0.89), MTsat (Rho = 0.82), or RD (Rho = −0.75). For each technique, the average estimated myelin differed significantly among regions, but the percentage change of NAWM from both periplaque white matter and plaque were highest in SyMRIMVF. SyMRIMVF might be suitable for myelin evaluation in MS patients, with relevant results as compared to other well-studied techniques. Moreover, it presented better sensitivity for the detection of the difference between plaque or periplaque white matter and NAWM.
The Extracellular Matrix: An Accomplice in Gastric Cancer Development and Progression
Authors: Moreira Ana Margarida , Pereira Joana , Melo Soraia , Fernandes Maria Sofia , Carneiro Patrícia , Seruca Raquel , Figueiredo Joana
Published: February 2020

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic and highly organized tissue structure, providing support and maintaining normal epithelial architecture. In the last decade, increasing evidence has emerged demonstrating that alterations in ECM composition and assembly strongly affect cellular function and behavior. Even though the detailed mechanisms underlying cell-ECM crosstalk are yet to unravel, it is well established that ECM deregulation accompanies the development of many pathological conditions, such as gastric cancer. Notably, gastric cancer remains a worldwide concern, representing the third most frequent cause of cancer-associated deaths. Despite increased surveillance protocols, patients are usually diagnosed at advanced disease stages, urging the identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers and efficient therapeutic strategies. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview regarding expression patterns of ECM components and cognate receptors described in normal gastric epithelium, pre-malignant lesions, and gastric carcinomas. Important insights are also discussed for the use of ECM-associated molecules as predictive biomarkers of the disease or as potential targets in gastric cancer.
Ensemble of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Automatic Pavement Crack Detection and Measurement
Authors: Fan Zhun , Li Chong , Chen Ying , Mascio Paola Di , Chen Xiaopeng , Zhu Guijie , Loprencipe Giuseppe
Published: February 2020

Automated pavement crack detection and measurement are important road issues. Agencies have to guarantee the improvement of road safety. Conventional crack detection and measurement algorithms can be extremely time-consuming and low efficiency. Therefore, recently, innovative algorithms have received increased attention from researchers. In this paper, we propose an ensemble of convolutional neural networks (without a pooling layer) based on probability fusion for automated pavement crack detection and measurement. Specifically, an ensemble of convolutional neural networks was employed to identify the structure of small cracks with raw images. Secondly, outputs of the individual convolutional neural network model for the ensemble were averaged to produce the final crack probability value of each pixel, which can obtain a predicted probability map. Finally, the predicted morphological features of the cracks were measured by using the skeleton extraction algorithm. To validate the proposed method, some experiments were performed on two public crack databases (CFD and AigleRN) and the results of the different state-of-the-art methods were compared. To evaluate the efficiency of crack detection methods, three parameters were considered: precision (Pr), recall (Re) and F1 score (F1). For the two public databases of pavement images, the proposed method obtained the highest values of the three evaluation parameters: for the CFD database, Pr = 0.9552, Re = 0.9521 and F1 = 0.9533 (which reach values up to 0.5175 higher than the values obtained on the same database with the other methods), for the AigleRN database, Pr = 0.9302, Re = 0.9166 and F1 = 0.9238 (which reach values up to 0.7313 higher than the values obtained on the same database with the other methods). The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the other methods. For crack measurement, the crack length and width can be measure based on different crack types (complex, common, thin, and intersecting cracks.). The results show that the proposed algorithm can be effectively applied for crack measurement.
The Characterization and Application of Two Liquid Crystal Mixtures in the Low THz Region
Authors: Zheng Andong , Chu Xiujun , Wang Pengjun , Wang Peng , Gao Sheng , Yang Jun , Lu Hongbo , Deng Guangsheng , Yin Zhiping
Published: February 2020

In the previous work, two new nematic liquid crystal (NLC) mixtures, E7-2 and S200-2, were produced by adding eight LC monomers to two commercial LCs S200 and E7, respectively. At λ = 589 nm, the birefringence (Δn) characteristics of the two LC nematic mixtures E7-2 (Δn = 0.260) and S200-2 (Δn = 0.298) are greater than those of the commercial LC E7 (Δn = 0.224) and S200 (Δn = 0.266). The properties (TN-I, ε//, Δɛ, K11, and K33) of these four NLCs were measured. A double-layer metal loop arrays modulation structure based on metamaterial (MM) metal–dielectric–metal (MDM) was designed and fabricated for use in the THz frequency range. The results show that the LC mixtures E7-2 and S200-2 have greater modulation depth (MD) and less modulation insertion loss (IL) than E7 and S200 at THz frequencies. The results show that LC mixtures have significant potential for designing active tunable LC-based devices in the THz and visible light range.
Biocompatibility of Biodentine™ ® with Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells: In Vitro Study
Authors: Abuarqoub Duaa , Aslam Nazneen , Jafar Hanan , Abu Harfil Zakariya , Awidi Abdalla
Published: February 2020

Biodentine™ is a tricalcium silicate-based cement material that has a great impact on different biological processes of dental stem cells, compared to other biomaterials. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the optimum biocompatible concentration of Biodentine™ with stem cells derived from periodontal ligament (hPDLSCs) by determining cell proliferation, cytotoxicity, migration, adhesion and mineralization potential. hPDLSCs were treated with Biodentine™ extract at different concentrations; 20, 2, 0.2 and 0.02 mg/mL. Cells cultured without Biodentine™ were used as a blank control. The proliferation potential of hPDLSCs was evaluated by MTT viability analysis for 6 days. Cytotoxicity assay was performed after 3 days by using AnnexinV/7AAD. Migration potential was investigated by wound healing and transwell migration assays at both cellular and molecular levels. The expression levels of chemokines CXCR4, MCP-1 and adhesion molecules FGF-2, FN, VCAM and ICAM-1 were measured by qPCR. The communication potentials of these cells were determined by adhesion assay. In addition, mineralization potential was evaluated by measuring the expression levels of osteogenic markers; ALP, OCN, OPN and Collagen type1 by qPCR. Our results showed significant increase in the proliferation of hPDLSCs at low concentrations of Biodentine™ (2, 0.2 and 0.02 mg/mL) while higher concentration (20 mg/mL) exhibited cytotoxic effect on the cells. Moreover, 2 mg/mL Biodentine™ showed a significant increase in the migration, adhesion and mineralization potentials of the derived cells among all concentrations and when compared to the blank control. Our findings suggest that 2 mg/mL of Biodentine™ is the most biocompatible concentration with hPDLSCs, showing a high stimulatory effect on the biological processes.
Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process-Based Mobile Robot Path Planning
Authors: Kim Changwon , Kim Yeesock , Yi Hak
Published: February 2020

This study presents a new path planning method based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) for a mobile robot to be effectively operated through a multi-objective decision making problem. Unlike typical AHP, the proposed FAHP has a difference in using triangulation fuzzy number based extent analysis to derive weight vectors among the considerations. FAHP framework for finding the optimal position in this study is defined with the highest level (goal), middle level (objectives), and the lowest level (alternatives). It analytically selects an optimal position as a sub-goal among points on the sensing boundary of the mobile robot considering the three objectives: the travel distance to the target, robot’s rotation, and safety against collision between obstacles. Alternative solutions are evaluated by quantifying the relative importance for the objectives. Comparative results obtained from the artificial potential field, AHP, and FAHP simulations show that FAHP is much preferable for mobile robot’s path planning than typical AHP.
A Parallel Connected Component Labeling Architecture for Heterogeneous Systems-on-Chip
Authors: Perri Stefania , Spagnolo Fanny , Corsonello Pasquale
Published: February 2020

Connected component labeling is one of the most important processes for image analysis, image understanding, pattern recognition, and computer vision. It performs inherently sequential operations to scan a binary input image and to assign a unique label to all pixels of each object. This paper presents a novel hardware-oriented labeling approach able to process input pixels in parallel, thus speeding up the labeling task with respect to state-of-the-art competitors. For purposes of comparison with existing designs, several hardware implementations are characterized for different image sizes and realization platforms. The obtained results demonstrate that frame rates and resource efficiency significantly higher than existing counterparts are achieved. The proposed hardware architecture is purposely designed to comply with the fourth generation of the advanced extensible interface (AXI4) protocol and to store intermediate and final outputs within an off-chip memory. Therefore, it can be directly integrated as a custom accelerator in virtually any modern heterogeneous embedded system-on-chip (SoC). As an example, when integrated within the Xilinx Zynq-7000 X C7Z020 SoC, the novel design processes more than 1.9 pixels per clock cycle, thus furnishing more than 30 2k × 2k labeled frames per second by using 3688 Look-Up Tables (LUTs), 1415 Flip Flops (FFs), and 10 kb of on-chip memory.
Harnessing the Adversarial Perturbation to Enhance Security in the Autoencoder-Based Communication System
Authors: Deng Zhixiang , Sang Qian
Published: February 2020

Given the vulnerability of deep neural network to adversarial attacks, the application of deep learning in the wireless physical layer arouses comprehensive security concerns. In this paper, we consider an autoencoder-based communication system with a full-duplex (FD) legitimate receiver and an external eavesdropper. It is assumed that the system is trained from end-to-end based on the concepts of autoencoder. The FD legitimate receiver transmits a well-designed adversary perturbation signal to jam the eavesdropper while receiving information simultaneously. To defend the self-perturbation from the loop-back channel, the legitimate receiver is re-trained with the adversarial training method. The simulation results show that with the scheme proposed in this paper, the block-error-rate (BLER) of the legitimate receiver almost remains unaffected while the BLER of the eavesdropper is increased by orders of magnitude. This ensures reliable and secure transmission between the transmitter and the legitimate receiver.
An Improved Retrieval Method for Multi-Transaction Mode Consortium Blockchain
Authors: Tu Jing , Zhang Jiarui , Chen Shengbing , Weise Thomas , Zou Le
Published: February 2020

The traditional method of blockchain retrieval is to search the “Block File” in sequence from the “tail” to the “head” of the blockchain, which always takes a lot of time. How to reduce the retrieval time has been a hot issue in blockchain research. This paper proposes a fast retrieval method for the Multi-Transaction Mode Consortium Blockchain (MTMCB). Firstly, we create a “User Set” and “Block Name Set” cached in Redis. Then, according to the transaction participants and “Block Name Set”, we can get the relevant “Block Name List”, and quickly obtain the corresponding block files. On this basis, in order to meet the needs of rapid retrieval in large-scale systems, an improved retrieval algorithm based on a B+-tree data structure is proposed. Firstly, the block file information is put into different ordered sets according to the transaction participants, and the B+-tree index is established to quickly get the information of relevant block files by participants. Experimental results show that the improved method of Redis cache retrieval in this paper can greatly increase the efficiency of blockchain retrieval, and can settle some crucial problem in the blockchain application and popularization.
Usefulness of Acoustic Sounds from 3D Printers in an Eavesdropping Process and Reconstruction of Printed Shapes
Authors: Kubiak Ireneusz , Przybysz Artur , Stańczak Andrzej
Published: February 2020

Information protection is an essential safety issue in many human activity fields. The development of computerisation (informatisation) brings new challenges in the area of non-invasive information processing in information technology (IT) systems. The known fact is that VGA, DVI/HDMI interfaces, for example, or formatter systems of laser printers that process video signals are sources of effective disclosing electromagnetic emission. Emission safety of the more and more common three-dimensional (3D) printers is less known. The selected 3D printer with the ME3DP (Material Extrusion 3D Printing) technology was tested to analyse the existing risk. Simple objects were printed during its operation to identify the stepping motor operation that are emission sources in the secondary channels. The analysis carried out focused on finding the correlation between the registered emissions and the printer head (printhead) movements when printing an object. It was shown that the analysis of the registered sensitive signal runtimes and their spectrograms allows us to recreate the printed object shape. The studies focused on measuring the acoustic signals that came from the stepping motors. The analysis of the possibilities of identifying the shapes of printed objects was based on the visual method. The article presents the study results and their analyses.
An Automatic Design Framework for Real-Time Power System Simulators Supporting Smart Grid Applications
Authors: Mylonas Eleftherios , Tzanis Nikolaos , Birbas Michael , Birbas Alexios
Published: February 2020

Smart grid technology is the next step to the evolution of classical power grids, providing robustness, reliability, and security throughout the network, enabling real-time management and control. To achieve these goals, distributed computing (microgrid concept) and intelligent control algorithms, tailored to the nature and needs of the network under study, are necessary. To deal with the vast diversity of power grids, being able to capture the dynamics of any given network, and create tools for network analysis, apparatus testing, and power grid management, an automatic design framework for real-time power system simulators is needed. In this article, a prototype of this approach is presented, employing Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platforms due to their reconfigurability that enables low-power, low-latency, and high-performance designs, as a first attempt towards an open source platform, compatible with the majority of hardware design suites. It comprises two major parts: (i) a user-oriented section, built in Matlab/Simulink; and (ii) a hardware-oriented section, written in Matlab and Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC)-Hardware Description Language (VHDL) code. To verify its functionality, two test power networks were given in a schematic format, analyzed through Matlab code and turned into dedicated hardware simulators with the aid of the VHDL template. Then, simulation results from Simulink and the prototype were compared for error estimation. The results show the prototype’s successful implementation with minimal resources utilization, high performance and low latency in the order of nanoseconds in Xilinx 6- and 7-series FPGAs, therefore proving its modularity and efficient use in many different scenarios, meeting low-latency/real-time requirements while enabling further smart grid research.
Two-Stage 3D Codebook Design and Fast Beam Search Algorithm for Millimeter-Wave Massive MIMO Systems
Authors: Peng Zhangyou , Li Wen
Published: February 2020

For 3D beam access in massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems, this paper proposes a feasible two-stage 3D codebook design and corresponding fast beam training algorithm. The complete codebook consists of a primary codebook and an auxiliary codebook—the primary codebook produces a basic directional beam using a smaller number of phase shifts to maintain lower hardware complexity. The small auxiliary codebook creates finer beams centered on each main beam. In addition, a beam search scheme for two-level codebook design is proposed. The main beam search is performed using a modified binary search algorithm based on the signal-to-noise ratio threshold; with the refined auxiliary codebook, the auxiliary beam search is completed using a basic binary search. The simulation results verify the performance advantages of our proposed codebook in terms of beamforming gain and beam access accuracy in MIMO systems. In addition, the comparison of beam training complexity shows that our specially designed two-stage beam search scheme has significant advantages over other existing solutions.
Efficient Approach for Electrical Design and Analysis of High-Speed Interconnect in Integrated Circuit Packages
Authors: Kim Myunghoi , Kong Sunkyu
Published: February 2020

In recent integrated circuit (IC) packages, the structure of the interconnect is highly complex, and the effect of high-frequency parasitics is significant. These factors increase the number and level of design variables and extend the analysis frequency range to tens of gigahertz. As a result of the high dimensions of the design space, it is difficult to reduce the design gap between the current design approach and the physical limits of the practical IC-package interconnect. In this paper, we present an efficient approach for designing and analyzing the electrical characteristics of the high-speed interconnect in IC packages. The proposed approach is developed using a hybrid method involving the design of experiments, the domain decomposition method, and the finite-element method. We present a procedure to identify critical design variables for the IC-package interconnect, and we derive a method to recombine the impedance parameters of a segmented interconnect. The proposed hybrid method is verified by comparing its characteristic impedance (Zo) with the Zo value from a full-wave simulation of a complete interconnect. We demonstrate that the proposed hybrid method significantly reduces the design space of the IC-package interconnect so that we can efficiently and rapidly obtain the optimized solution, thereby improving the system performance.
EMI Susceptibility of the Output Pin in CMOS Amplifiers
Authors: Richelli Anna , Colalongo Luigi , Kovacs-Vajna Zsolt
Published: February 2020

Measurements in commercial devices demonstrate a considerable susceptibility of the operational amplifiers to the electromagnetic interferences coupled to their output pin. This paper investigates some basic architectures starting from single stage amplifiers up to a whole operational amplifier. The result is a correlation between the different amplifier configurations, the output impedance and the susceptibility to the interferences. The simulations are perfomed by using the standard CMOS UMC 180nm technology and by running the netlist of the schematics extracted from the layout.
Multiobjective Optimization for the Greener Synthesis of Chloromethyl Ethylene Carbonate by CO2 and Epichlorohydrin via Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Olaniyan Bisi , Saha Basudeb
Published: February 2020

In this paper, a statistical analysis with response surface methodology (RSM) has been used to investigate and optimize process variables for the greener synthesis of chloromethyl ethylene carbonate (CMEC) by carbon dioxide (CO2) and epichlorohydrin (ECH). Using the design expert software, a quadratic model was developed to study the interactions effect between four independent variables and the reaction responses. The adequacy of the model was validated by correlation between the experimental and predicted values of the responses using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. The proposed Box-Behnken design (BBD) method suggested 29 runs for data acquisition and modelling the response surface. The optimum reaction conditions of 353 K, 11 bar CO2 pressure, and 12 h using fresh 12% (w/w) Zr/ZIF-8 catalyst loading produced 93% conversion of ECH and 68% yield of CMEC. It was concluded that the predicted and experimental values are in excellent agreement with ±1.55% and ±1.54% relative errors from experimental results for both the conversion of ECH and CMEC yield, respectively. Therefore, statistical modelling using RSM can be used as a reliable prediction technique for system optimization for greener synthesis of chloromethyl ethylene carbonate via CO2 utilization.
Coordinated Control of Aichi Microgrid for Efficient Power Management Using Novel Set Point Weighting Iterative Learning Controller
Authors: Sendraya Perumal Angalaeswari , Kamaraj Jamuna
Published: February 2020

A novel Set Point Weighting Iterative Learning Controller (SPW-ILC) has been proposed for voltage stabilization at AC/DC bus, coordinated control among the distributed sources in the modeled hybrid microgrid (HMG) and synchronization of HMG with utility grid. The Aichi Micro grid test system located at Aichi Institute of Technology, Japan has been considered for the simulation studies and modeled in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The Aichi microgrid can be operated in autonomous mode as AC system and DC system. When it is working as DC system, the dc bus voltage is maintained stable by incorporating dedicated fuzzy logic controllers (FLC) for DC-DC converters due to the variable distributed sources. Meanwhile, the bidirectional converter also called as Interlinking Converter (IC) located between ac bus and dc bus controlled by proposed SPW-ILC converts the DC voltage into AC voltage and meets AC loads. In AC system of autonomous mode, the inverters are controlled by proposed controller to meet the ac demands. The grid connected mode of Aichi microgrid system is performed by properly controlling the IC to meet ac and dc loads. The proposed SPW-ILC reduces the voltage deviation and maintains the power balance under variable source and load conditions. The results have been compared with the conventional proportional integral (PI) controller and FLC to validate the performance of the controller. The results show that the proposed SPW-ILC has efficiently control the voltage and maintain the power balance.
A Data-Driven Method with Feature Enhancement and Adaptive Optimization for Lithium-Ion Battery Remaining Useful Life Prediction
Authors: Peng Jun , Zheng Zhiyong , Zhang Xiaoyong , Deng Kunyuan , Gao Kai , Li Heng , Chen Bin , Yang Yingze , Huang Zhiwu
Published: February 2020

Data-driven methods are widely applied to predict the remaining useful life (RUL) of lithium-ion batteries, but they generally suffer from two limitations: (i) the potentials of features are not fully exploited, and (ii) the parameters of the prediction model are difficult to determine. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a new data-driven method using feature enhancement and adaptive optimization. First, the features of battery aging are extracted online. Then, the feature enhancement technologies, including the box-cox transformation and the time window processing, are used to fully exploit the potential of features. The box-cox transformation can improve the correlation between the features and the aging status of the battery, and the time window processing can effectively exploit the time information hidden in the historical features sequence. Based on this, gradient boosting decision trees are used to establish the RUL prediction model, and the particle swarm optimization is used to adaptively optimize the model parameters. This method was applied on actual lithium-ion battery degradation data, and the experimental results show that the proposed model is superior to traditional prediction methods in terms of accuracy.
A Hybrid PV-Battery System for ON-Grid and OFF-Grid Applications—Controller-In-Loop Simulation Validation
Authors: Subramaniam Umashankar , Vavilapalli Sridhar , Padmanaban Sanjeevikumar , Blaabjerg Frede , Holm-Nielsen Jens Bo , Almakhles Dhafer
Published: February 2020

In remote locations such as villages, islands and hilly areas, there is a possibility of frequent power failures, voltage drops or power fluctuations due to grid-side faults. Grid-connected renewable energy systems or micro-grid systems are preferable for such remote locations to meet the local critical load requirements during grid-side failures. In renewable energy systems, solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems are accessible and hybrid PV-battery systems or energy storage systems (ESS) are more capable of providing uninterruptible power to the local critical loads during grid-side faults. This energy storage system also improves the system dynamics during power fluctuations. In present work, a PV-battery hybrid system with DC-side coupling is considered, and a power balancing control (PBC) is proposed to transfer the power to grid/load and the battery. In this system, a solar power conditioning system (PCS) acts as an interface across PV source, battery and the load/central grid. With the proposed PBC technique, the system can operate in following operational modes: (a) PCS can be able to work in grid-connected mode during regular operation; (b) PCS can be able to charge the batteries and (c) PCS can be able to operate in standalone mode during grid side faults and deliver power to the local loads. The proposed controls are explained, and the system response during transient and steady-state conditions is described. With the help of controller-in-loop simulation results, the proposed power balancing controls are validated, for both off-grid and on-grid conditions.
Enzymatic Saccharification of Laminaria japonica by Cellulase for the Production of Reducing Sugars
Authors: Park Eun Young , Park Jung Kyu
Published: February 2020

Enzymatic saccharification of Laminaria japonica seaweed biomass was optimized by four independent factors (enzyme dose, hydrolysis time, pH, and temperature) using response surface methodology (RSM). To confirm the significance of the quadratic model, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, and the F-value of 8.76 showed that the regression model was highly significant (≤0.1%). In the accuracy study, average recoveries were in the range of 97.00% to 98.32%. The optimum experimental conditions were an enzyme dose of 8.2%, a hydrolysis time of 26 h, a pH of 4.1, and a temperature of 43 °C. Temperature was the most important factor in the enzymatic saccharification. A relatively low temperature and short hydrolysis time were shown to improve the yield of reducing sugars.
Geostructural and Geomechanical Study of the Piastrone Quarry (Seravezza, Italy) Supported by Photogrammetry to Assess Failure Mode
Authors: Bonetto Sabrina , Umili Gessica , Ferrero Anna Maria , Carosi Rodolfo , Simonetti Matteo , Biasi Alessandro , Migliazza Maria Rita , Bianchini Stefano
Published: February 2020

The use of non-contact-techniques for rock mass characterization has been growing significantly over the last decade. However, their application to stability assessment of ornamental stone has not yet received much attention from researchers. This study utilizes rock mass data both in terms of slope orientations and degree of fracturing obtained from a point cloud, a set of three-dimensional (3D) points representing a rock mass surface, to (1) investigate the influence of geostructures at different scales and (2) assess quarry stability by determining areas susceptible to different failure types. Multi-resolution point clouds are obtained through several photogrammetric survey techniques to identify important structural elements of the site. By integrating orientation data of discontinuity planes, obtained with a traditional survey, and of traces, outlined on point clouds, several joint sets were identified. Kinematic tests revealed various potential failure modes of the rock slope. Moreover, an analysis of the influence of the discontinuity strength determined by the presence of rock bridges was carried out. The study revealed that the strength of the quarry face is governed by the presence of rock bridges that act to improve the stability condition of the rock fronts.
Hydrostratigraphic Characterisation of Shallow Coastal Aquifers of Eastern Dahomey Basin, S/W Nigeria, Using Integrated Hydrogeophysical Approach; Implication for Saltwater Intrusion
Authors: Aladejana Jamiu A. , Kalin Robert M. , Sentenac Philippe , Hassan Ibrahim
Published: February 2020

This study employed electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in characterising the shallow groundwater aquifers of Eastern Dahomey basin in southwestern Nigeria to assess the possible occurrence and distribution of saltwater within the aquifers. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), induced polarization (IP) and borehole logging were carried in locations with relatively enhanced electrical conductivity (EC) within the coastal zone of the basin through 97 groundwater samples from shallow wells and boreholes; 500 m-length ERT and IP sections were carried out along three traverses A–B, C–D and E–F in directions perpendicular and parallel to the coastline. Three geoelectrical layers were identified along traverse line A–B which comprises cross-sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 located around Ugbonla, Aboto and Igbokoda with layers’ resistivity and chargeability values ranging from (1–1000, 33–200 and 1–1700 Ωm), and (−50–200 Ωm, −30–200 Ωm and −50–120 Ωm, respectively, from the top to the bottom layer. These values indicated unconsolidated sand/lateritic silty clay, underlain by a sandy/silty clay layer with underlying fine-grained sand with disseminated clay lenses. The average thickness of the first two layers was 16 and 53 m while that of the third layer was undetermined. Resistivity and chargeability results from ERT and IP cross-sections along profile C–D exhibited characteristics similar to that of profile A–B with unconsolidated sands which were underlain by intercalation of sandy/silty clay and fine-grained sands with suspected clay lenses saturated with saline water. Profile E–F revealed a geoelectrical layer with low resistivity which ranged from 1–30 Ωm with the corresponding chargeability between −150–400 ms. This indicated a saline water-saturated layer of fine-grained sand and silty clay which is overlaid by the unconsolidated unconfined freshwater aquifer. Correlation of selected ERT results with borehole logs further affirmed the suspected lithology from the sections. Two scenarios of saltwater intrusions into coastal freshwater aquifer were suggested which include the presence of trapped salt-saturated clay lenses within aquifer lithology and seawater incursion induced by over-drafting of groundwater in this basin.Therefore, it identified the need for further investigation which will involve a combination of hydrochemical and isotopes to further understand the paleowater hypothesis.
Computing and Oral Health: Mobile Solution for Collecting, Data Analysis, Managing and Reproducing Epidemiological Research in Population Groups
Authors: Cavalcante Nilton Vale , Oliveira Ary Henrique , Sá Bruno Vinícios Cunha de , Botelho Glenda , Moreira Tiago Ricardo , Costa Glauce Dias da , Cotta Rosangela Minardi Mitre
Published: February 2020

Epidemiological inquiries study and evaluate the health status of the population. For dental caries, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the DMFT and DMFS indexes, which represent the sum of the decayed, missing and filled teeth, divided by the population studied. Traditionally these surveys are conducted using cellulose paper sheet. This study describes the development and presents the field performance of NutriOdonto, a software created for an Oral Health Survey carried out in 2018 and 2019 involving 2578 students from the municipal schools of Palmas/TO, located in the Brazilian Amazon region. This is a descriptive, applied research on the development of a software for the collecting, analysis, management and reproducibility of oral health epidemiological research. A software applied to the collecting, analysis and formation of the database was developed through the information obtained from the questionnaires applied to the participants of the study and the completion of the electronic oral examination form. Recent Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are intelligently configured to create models and mobile applications (Apps) that can be useful to manage health issues, thus broadening the perspective of service provision in this sector. Some of these mobile devices, tablets and smartphones are being developed to generate information, for collection, recording, storage and analysis of oral health epidemiological research data. NutriOdonto contributed to the rapid collection, recording and storage of information, in the construction of the database and its analysis. Replacing paper forms with electronic forms minimized possible typos, reduced the use of cellulose paper and the financial costs, among other things. This software can contribute to decision making by managers and professionals and to improving the planning and implementation of actions in health promotion and oral disease prevention.
Psychological Symptomatology in Informal Caregivers of Persons with Dementia: Influences on Health-Related Quality of Life
Authors: Madruga Miguel , Gozalo Margarita , Prieto Josué , Adsuar José Carmelo , Gusi Narcis
Published: February 2020

Informal caregivers of persons with dementia often report high levels of anxiety, depression and burden. Nonetheless, other less evaluated psychological symptoms might also influence their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to comprehensively analyse other psychological symptoms and their influence on the health-related quality of life of informal caregivers. Fifty-four informal women caregivers and fifty-six women non-caregivers were recruited to participate in the study. Psychological symptoms were assessed using the Symptom Check-List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire and the HRQoL with the EuroQoL-Five Dimensions and Three Levels (EurQoL-5D-3L) questionnaire. Significant between-group differences were found in the majority of scales in the SCL-90-R questionnaire (p < 0.01) and caregivers also reported a worse HRQoL than non-caregivers (p < 0.05). Several psychological symptoms such as obsession-compulsive (β = 0.47), hostility (β = 0.59), and somatization (β = −0.49) had a significant impact on caregivers’ HRQoL (R2 explained between 0.17 and 0.30 of the variance). Caregivers are at a higher risk of suffering other psychological symptoms and show a moderate–high level of psychiatric morbidity, which therefore explains the poorer HRQoL outcomes. Supporting interventions should be provided to mitigate these psychological symptoms in order to improve their general distress and HRQoL.
High Intensity Interval Training Does Not Have Compensatory Effects on Physical Activity Levels in Older Adults
Authors: Bruseghini Paolo , Tam Enrico , Calabria Elisa , Milanese Chiara , Capelli Carlo , Galvani Christel
Published: February 2020

Background: Exercise has beneficial effects on older adults, but controversy surrounds the purported “compensatory effects” that training may have on total daily physical activity and energy expenditure in the elderly. We wanted to determine whether 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) induced such effects on physical activity and energy expenditure in healthy, active older adult men. Methods: Twenty-four healthy elderly male volunteers were randomized to two groups. The experimental group performed HIIT (7 × 2 min cycling repetitions, 3 d/w); the control group performed continuous moderate-intensity training (20–30 min cycling, 3 d/w). Physical activity and energy expenditure were measured with a multisensor activity monitor SenseWear Armband Mini. Results: During HIIT, significant changes were observed in moderate and vigorous physical activity, average daily metabolic equivalents (METs), physical activity level, and activity energy expenditure (p < 0.05) but not in total energy expenditure. Sleep and sedentary time, and levels of light physical activity remained constant during the training period. Conclusions: The findings suggest that HIIT induced no compensatory effect: HIIT does not adversely affect lifestyle, as it does not reduce daily energy expenditure and/or increase sedentary time.