bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction of rainfall fields using Microwave Links, Weather Radar, and Rain Gauge: First Results from the China Field Experiments
Authors: He Bensheng , Liu Xichuan , Xue Yang , Gao Taichang , Zhang Peng , Song Kun
Published: November 2019

Inversion of regional rainfall by the attenuation of microwave links has been confirmed a promising method for monitoring large areas of rainfall. To further explore precipitation information from microwave links data, a reconstruct method of rainfall field using microwave links, weather radar and rain gauges is presented in this letter. We utilize mean correction factor method to adjust the rainfall field from radar by microwave links and rain gauges; and validate it by a field experiment using two microwave links, a S-band radar, and 15 rain gauges. The results show that the rainfall field can be improved significantly by joint reconstruction of microwave links, weather radar and rain gauges, and the joint reconstruction in evenly distributed area is better than that in unevenly distributed area. This method supplements an effective approach to reduce the uncertainty of single instrument and improve the rainfall field by using multiple instruments.
Research progress on release of endogenous pollutants and remediation technologies in water sediments
Authors: Lu Fang , Xue Qiuhong
Published: November 2019

The problem of water pollution is becoming more and more serious, and the release of endogenous pollution in water sediments is an important aspect. The paper summarizes the chemical, environmental and hydrodynamic factors of common pollutants in sediments, and the effects of endogenous pollutants release, pollution control and treatment in the sediments, put forward some ideas about the development of research on endogenous pollutants in sediments. It is hoped to promote the in-depth development of prevention and treatment of endogenous pollutants in water sediments.
Analysis of migration and failure regular pattern of overlying strata in different mining heights
Authors: Liu Cong , Cheng Yong , Nie Qi , Shen Xuzhu , Liu Yuxin
Published: November 2019

In this paper, the H-mine is taken as the research background, and the critical layer theory is used to determine the reasonable height of the “three belts” of the overlying strata in different mining heights. This thesis uses FLAC3d numerical simulation to analyze the law of failure in roof movement under different mining height conditions. The research shows that the height of the fracture zone increases abruptly with the increase of the mining height due to the influence of the key layer. Each mutation indicates that a key layer is broken to form the masonry beam structure. In the numerical simulation, the plastic zone of the working face has a “saddle-shaped” distribution with high ends and low middle. With the increase of mining height, the differences between the plastic zone range above the mining boundary and the central plastic zone is reduced. From the bottom to the top, the roof is divided into several regions, that is, tensile failure region, the shear tension failure region, shear failure zones and undamaged areas. With the increase of mining height, the pre-stress concentration factor and the lateral stress concentration coefficient increase linearly, and the lateral stress concentration factor is slightly lower than the pre-stress concentration factor. The peak position increases as the height increases.
A model test study of three-dimensional deformation behavior of retaining structures of rowed piles
Authors: Wang Chenghua , Chen Hui , Li Kai
Published: November 2019

To improve the accuracy of methods for analyzing retaining structures, a model test study was conducted to simulate the process of excavation in sand. The displacements and moments of the rowed piles in corresponding excavation stages were measured and analyzed. The method for analyzing three dimensional behaviour of retaining structures based on additional earth pressure theory showed accuracy better that form the methods based on traditional three-dimensional elastic reaction method based on total earth pressure theories. The applicability and validity of the additional earth pressure theory was discussed and verified.
Study on Dynamic Heat Transfer Process of Waste Gas in Coke Oven Riser Coking Cycle
Authors: Huang Haiqing , Zou Shenghua
Published: November 2019

Waste heat recovery of waste gas in rising tube is a complex heat transfer process, and this paper analyses and studies the heat transfer problem of the coke hoist heat exchanger in 1 coking cycle by theoretical derivation and numerical calculation. Based on the thermal balance equation, the heat transfer differential equation of the gas flow of the rising tube is derived, the mathematical model of heat transfer for waste gas waste heat recovery is established, and the heat transfer and heat transfer coefficient of the coke oven rising tube heat exchanger in 1 coking cycle are obtained. In 1 coking cycle, the heat transfer of waste gas fluctuates in 1 coking cycle, and the heat transfer of waste gas in the rising tube is 19 to 26 kW, with an average heat transfer coefficient of 30 to 36 W/(m2·K). In the late coking, with the decrease of waste gas flow and the decrease of heat transfer, it will cause the temperature of the rising tube wall to change, and the gas flow should be maintained in the late stage of coking to prevent the phenomenon of sudden change of the inner wall temperature; In the actual production can be several coke ovens in parallel production, and the flow and temperature of waste gas timely monitoring, so that the flow of waste gas control at 800m3/h, improve the efficiency of waste gas waste heat recovery.
Process Optimization Experiment of Preparing Light Ceramsite from Qinghai Reshui Coal Gangue
Authors: Wang Bing , Cai Yimin , Li Yonggang , Chen Huiyuan , Si Hongyu , Guo Zupeng , Cui Xiaoqin , Bao Yinglian , Hui Chunnan
Published: November 2019

Qinghai has abundant coal resources, but the accumulation of coal gangue poses a certain threat to the fragile ecology of the area. In this paper, coal gangue light ceramsite was prepared by using coal gangue from Qinghai Reshui coal mine as raw material and sodium carbonate as auxiliary material. The optimized process conditions are as follows: the mass ratio coal of gangue and sodium carbonate = 50:1 (10% hydrochloric acid contamination); the drying temperature is 105±2°C; the drying time is 90min; preheating temperature is 450°C; the preheating time is 10 min; the calcination temperature is 950 °C; the roasting time is 15 min. The ceramsite prepared under this condition has a packing density of 423 kg/m3 and a bulk density of 889 kg/m3. The process does not use fly ash, and all the coal gangue raw materials were used without any residue, which can effectively reduce the environmental pressure brought by the accumulation of coal gangue, and has high industrial application value.
Emergency Disposal Measures for Power-off of Non-intrinsically Safe Electrical Equipment during Abnormal Gas Emission in Working Face
Authors: Zhang Jufeng , Xu Tai , Yang Fengfeng , Zheng Chao , Miao Zaiquan , Zhang Jianjiang
Published: November 2019

Abnormal gas emission is a common gas phenomenon in coal mining face of gas mine. In order to prevent gas accidents, on the one hand, gas extraction measures are adopted to reduce or avoid abnormal gas emission; on the other hand, when abnormal gas emission is unavoidable, in order to prevent abnormal gas emission from occurring gas explosion accident by electric spark, non-cost cutting is adopted. Emergency measures such as power supply for quality and safety electrical equipment are taken as the second line of defense. Aiming at the abnormal gas emission phenomenon in East 102 coal face of Weijiadi Coal Mine, in order to avoid the gas explosion accident during the abnormal gas gushing period, the emergency measures for gas abnormal emission were expounded from the aspects of gas electric blockade, power cut and evacuation.
Effects of Detonation Waves Asymmetric Collision
Authors: Fang Tao , Li Xiangyu
Published: November 2019

In this article, Effects of detonation waves asymmetric collision was studied. Through theoretical calculation, the position of detonation waves collision was shown. And it is found by numerical simulation that the pressure of detonation waves interaction decreases wave-likely following the initiation delay time increasing, but still exceed the pressure of the place where there is no interaction of detonation waves. The pressure-enhancing effects of detonation wave interaction can be used to achieve the energy accumulation.
Building edge extraction based on DSM digital surface model and LIDAR point cloud data
Authors: Kong Hui
Published: November 2019

LIDAR (Light Detect And Ranging) is a new measurement system that USES laser beam scanning to Detect targets And measure distances, And can directly And quickly obtain high-precision digital surface models (DSM) of different areas, such as urban areas. This can make up for the defect of image data in the third dimension. The emergence of this technology provides a new way for the rapid extraction of surface models, especially for buildings in urban areas. In this paper, based on the airborne LIDAR point cloud data, the irregular discrete LIDAR point cloud data grid resampling rules, get digital surface model (DSM), and then carried out in accordance with the elevation gray quantitative generated DSM depth image, using edge detection operator to extract buildings, using orthogonal constraint to the adjacent segment Angle adjustment, to obtain the edge information in line with the actual situation of buildings. Finally, the accuracy and precision of segmentation results are analysed.
A Test Device System for Cracking Mud Shale under Hydraulic Fracturing
Authors: Hu Jiangchun , Lu Jiahao , Yang Chenglin , Li Pengfei
Published: November 2019

The exploitation of shale gas has always been a major problem, and the solution to this problem must start with the study of its nature. A kind of simulation device and monitoring method of mud shale cracking was designed and assembled by ourselves. First of all, made with two layers of the general principle and four layers of 60 ° prefabricated crack two groups of similar material sample of the shale, then in turn for each block of multistage hydraulic fracturing test, and the use of strain gauge for strain monitoring. Results show that under the condition of no native prefabricated crack, hydraulic direction tend to toward weak bedding plane direction of crack extension until she reached the weak bedding surface, and then the main cracks along the weak bedding surface directly, at the same time there are prefabricated crack in native and weak stratification plane, in stage and the area between the prefabricated crack priority area map cracking formation, the results for the exploitation of shale gas has important guiding significance.
Study on the Monitoring of Karst Plateau Vegetation with UAV Aerial Photographs and Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Zhang Wen , Wang Zhiwei , Wu Hongzhi , Song Xuelian , Ruan Xirui , Wang Qian , Wen Kejian , Meng Junjiang , Li Fuxiang , Liao Jiaofa
Published: November 2019

Southwest China is considered to be one of the three major karst regions in the world. Fractional vegetation cover (FVC) can be an important factor in delineating the various steps in the karst regional evolutionary process that is expected to results in rocky desertification. Remote sensing using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a new method of investigating, extracting, and monitoring vegetation. In this method, error correction of the results of five other classification methods that involve imaging using visible-light bands (EXcess Green, Normalized Green-Red Difference Index, Normalized Green-Blue Difference Index, Red-Green Ratio Index and Visible-band Difference Vegetation Index)), it was found that the classification accuracy for nonvegetation areas is improved after combining the normalized difference vegetation indices of the remote sensing images.
Discussion on the Construction of Ecological Restoration Model of Shichuan River
Authors: Wang Jing , Gao Shiqian , Peng Biao , Wei Yulu
Published: November 2019

This paper took Shichuan River in Fuping County of Shaanxi Province as the research object, discussed the targeted ecological restoration model that integrated water quantity, water quality, landform and biological community. The restoration model has made a positive contribution to accelerating the development of the southern new district of Fuping County, coordinating the harmonious development of urban and rural areas, and provided scientific and technological support for similar renovation projects in other river basins.
Study on the Change Characteristics of Soil Salinity in Heavy Salinized Area of Xinjiang
Authors: Hua Dongwen , Li Juan , Li Jinbin
Published: November 2019

In view of the problems of soil salinity, barren and other obstacles in the process of reclamation and utilization of heavy salinized land in Xinjiang, the heavy salinization area was selected as the research object, and the spatial variability of different salinity ions and its correlation were studied by using geostatistics and ground-penetrating radar technology. The results showed that the largest anion content in the soil of each layer of the study area was Cl-, followed by CO3
2-, the largest cationic content is Na+, followed by Ca2+, Cl- and Na+ The variation law is basically the same, and the salt ion content of the whole section has - the variability of intensity; the soil salinity in the study area showed "micro S" in the vertical direction. The characteristics of the table polymerization is not obvious, mainly related to artificial tillage; through spatial interpolation analysis, it is found that the salinity of soil in the study area has obvious characteristics of banded spatial distribution, the salinity of soil gradually increases from the southwest to the northwest, and the type of salinization is mainly chloride type. Detected by radar, in the study area deep in the 30cm, there is a dense salt plate layer in the soil, and the correlation analysis shows that the salt plate material is mainly CaCO3. This study provides a theoretical basis and reference for the zoning, improvement, management and rational utilization of salt in the heavy salinized region of Xinjiang.
Load Effect and Sensitivity Analysis of Tunnels in Landslide Area Method
Authors: Zhang Jiansheng , Zhang Fengting , Wang Yiting
Published: November 2019

In this paper, the mechanical model of tunnel in landslide area is established, the boundary and load conditions are determined, the internal force distribution of tunnel under landslide load is analyzed, and the influence of the scope of landslide area, load characteristics and stiffness of support structure on the internal force of tunnel structure is analyzed by using finite element software, and the sensitivity of each influencing factor is divided. Analysis. It is proposed that the support of tunnel in landslide area should be combined with increasing the thickness of secondary lining and the length of bolt, and verified by finite element method. By comparing the internal force of reinforced lining with that of unreinforced lining, it is concluded that the new support method is feasible.
Research Progress and Experimental Discussion on Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand Mechanical Properties
Authors: Li Jinbin , Wei Yulu , Li Juan
Published: November 2019

This paper mainly introduces the mechanical properties of feldspathic sandstone and compound soil of feldspathic sandstone and sand, analyzed the research status at home and abroad as well as the future development direction. It also discusses how to carry out relevant research in the future, including test plan design, test piece preparation, and experimental principles, etc. All are introduced in depth.
Study on the Improvement Effect of Desulfurization Gypsum in Saline-alkali Land
Authors: Pang Zhe , Wang Qilong
Published: November 2019

As the waste of coal-fired power plant, desulphurization gypsum is mainly composed of CaSO3 and CaSO4, which can replace Na+ in saline-alkali soil to improve saline-alkali soil. In order to study the effect of different dosage of desulfurization gypsum on the improvement of saline-alkali land, field experiments were carried out in Duiziliang Town, Dingbian County, northern Shaanxi Province, using drought-tolerant and Saline-Alkali-Tolerant local crop Mint as the test crop. The results showed that the application of desulfurization gypsum could reduce the harm of salt and alkali in soil to the germination, emergence and growth of millet seeds. Compared with the application of desulfurization gypsum, the soil pH value of plough layer (0-30cm) decreased by 4.2%-9.0%, and the total water soluble salt decreased by 6.6%∼33.0%. In addition, the application of desulfurization can promote the growth of mint in saline-alkali soil. Compared with the application of desulfurization gypsum, the dry biomass of the above-ground part of mint increased by 28.9%∼48.9%, the plant height increased by 24∼30 cm, and the yield per mu increased by 36.91∼65.28 kg. The results showed that the application of 20 t hm-2 desulphurization gypsum could improve the physical and chemical properties of saline-alkali soil in northern Shaanxi and obtain higher yield for moderate and severe saline-alkali land. It was suggested that the application of desulphurization gypsum should be popularized in saline-alkali land in northern Shaanxi.
Alteration Hydrothermal Stage Division and its Application in Geological Prospecting Using CASI-SASI Airborne Hyperspectral Data: Taken the Baixianishan Area in Liuyuan Town of Gansu Province as an Example
Authors: Sun Yu , Zhao Yingjun , Qin Kai , Tian Feng , Pei Chengkai
Published: November 2019

The division of the hydrothermal period based on alteration minerals extracted from airborne hyperspectral data has been rarely researched. This work processed CASI-SASI airborne hyperspectral data, and optimized reference spectra from image endmembers based on the expert knowledge in the Baixianishan area. The mixed tuned matched filtering method was utilized to map alteration minerals, and the distribution of limonite, short-wavelength sericite, middle-wavelength sericite and long-wavelength sericite was obtained. Distribution patterns of limonite and three sericite subclasses were analyzed, and three hydrothermal stages were divided. It is considered that the second hydrothermal activity is closely related to the gold deposit. It is proposed that prospecting factors of the Baixianishan gold deposit are NEE-trending fault structure, the vein-like distribution of limonite and short-wavelength sericite. Based on the discuss above, a favorable prospecting section is found in the south of the Xiaobaishan area. It is indicated that the CASI-SASI airborne hyperspectral data can quickly and accurately provide more effective remote sensing criteria at the regional scale for both basic geological survey and mineral resources exploration, which has a wide application prospect in the geological field.
Water Circulation of Geothermal System in Kaifeng Depression
Authors: Duan Zhongfeng , Zhao Jiangtao , Li Fulai , Kong Yanlong
Published: November 2019

Kaifeng is rich in geothermal resources. It is important to clarify its genetic model for its further sustainable utilization. In this paper, the geothermal geological conditions of Kaifeng Depression are analyzed, the circulation of geothermal water in Kaifeng area are discussed by using hydrochemical and isotopic data, and the conceptual model of geothermal system is preliminarily established.
Numerical Simulation Study on the Movement Characteristics of Dust Flow in Mine Working Face
Authors: Lu Guangli , Hu Hao , Xing Feibiao
Published: November 2019

Based on the computational fluid dynamics and mine ventilation theory, the geometrical model of the fully mechanized excavation face under the conditions of long-short and short-pump ventilation system was established with the comprehensive mining face of the 905 transportation lane in Shanxi Coal Group. The FLUENT software is used to simulate the distribution characteristics and variation of the wind flow field and dust field in the three-dimensional space of the fully mechanized excavation working face at different air supply speeds, and the simulation results are verified by field test. According to the numerical simulation study and the on-site measurement results, the optimal position of the dust migration law of the fully mechanized excavation face under the long-short and short-drain ventilation mode is determined, and the rationalization suggestions for the mine dust control are put forward.
Research on Investment and Daily Production Limit of Largescale Fracturing Productivity Project of New Vertical Well
Authors: Sun Zhijie
Published: November 2019

Large-scale fracturing technology is a new type of fracturing technology developed in recent years along with the fracturing theory research of natural fractured reservoirs. The application of large-scale fracturing in vertical wells has achieved good production results. However, due to the short application time of new technology in oilfields and the low regularity of development indexes, there is no economic evaluation method for shaping. This paper evaluates the development effect of large-scale fracturing in Daqing Oilfield, clarifies the variation law of its development index, and establishes the index prediction method in the evaluation period. Through sorting out the various depreciation calculation methods used in economic evaluation, the appropriate modified production method is selected as the method of calculating depreciation. Based on the relevant data and results of economic evaluation of oilfield development, the economic evaluation method of large-scale fracturing technology productivity project has been formed, and the calculation program has been compiled. The program is used to calculate the investment boundaries of large-scale fracturing blocks with different single well daily production under the condition of multiple oil prices, draw the maps of single well investment and single well daily production boundaries under different oil prices in large-scale fracturing blocks, and analyze the sensitivity of investment boundaries. The research results will be applied in proven reserves submission, unused reserves evaluation and oilfield development planning. Using this method for reference, the boundary maps of conventional water flooding development and large-scale volume fracturing can be drawn, and the research results can be applied to a greater extent.
Influence of temperature and load on creep characteristics of soft rock similar materials
Authors: Li Jianguang , Sun Gengyu , Zou Huisong , Zhou Ziyi , Fan Xiyan
Published: November 2019

The soft rock specimens were prepared by using similar materials. The uniaxial creep experiments were carried out on the soft rock specimens under different temperatures and loads. The influence of temperature and load on the creep of similar soft rock and the empirical equation were obtained. The results show that the stressstrain curve is basically linear at normal temperature. As the temperature increases, the stress-strain curve continually shifts upward. As the temperature increases and the creep time increases, the average creep modulus of similar materials in soft rock decreases. As the axial pressure increases, the creep strain deformation increases continuously, and the larger the axial pressure, the more significant the creep strain changes. Through the analysis of the creep curve law, the empirical equations of three types of creep curves are given.
DNA Readout Viewer (DRV): visualization of specificity determining patterns of protein-binding DNA segments
Authors: Adam Krisztian , Gyorgypal Zoltan , Hegedus Zoltan
Published: November 2019

The sequence specific recognition of DNA by regulatory proteins typically occurs by establishing hydrogen bonds and non-bonded contacts between chemical sub-structures of nucleotides and amino acids forming the compatible interacting surfaces. The recognition process is also influenced by the physicochemical and conformational character of the target oligonucleotide motif. Although the role of these mechanisms in DNA-protein interactions is well-established, bioinformatical methods rarely address them directly, instead binding specificity is mostly assessed at nucleotide level. DNA Readout Viewer (DRV) aims to provide a novel DNA representation, facilitating in-depth view into these mechanisms by the concurrent visualization of functional groups and a diverse collection of DNA descriptors. By applying its intuitive representation concept for various DNA recognition related visualization tasks, DRV can contribute to unravelling the binding specificity factors of DNA-protein interactions.

Availability and implementation

DRV is freely available at https://drv.brc.hu.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Spatial blind source separation
Authors: Bachoc François , Genton Marc G , Nordhausen Klaus , Ruiz-Gazen Anne , Virta Joni
Published: November 2019

Recently a blind source separation model was suggested for spatial data, along with an estimator based on the simultaneous diagonalization of two scatter matrices. The asymptotic properties of this estimator are derived here, and a new estimator based on the joint diagonalization of more than two scatter matrices is proposed. The asymptotic properties and merits of the novel estimator are verified in simulation studies. A real-data example illustrates application of the method.
Minimal Relationship between Local Gyrification and General Cognitive Ability in Humans
Authors: Mathias Samuel R , Knowles Emma E M , Mollon Josephine , Rodrigue Amanda , Koenis Marinka M C , Alexander-Bloch Aaron F , Winkler Anderson M , Olvera Rene L , Duggirala Ravi , Göring Harald H H , Curran Joanne E , Fox Peter T , Almasy Laura , Blangero John , Glahn David C
Published: November 2019

Previous studies suggest that gyrification is associated with superior cognitive abilities in humans, but the strength of this relationship remains unclear. Here, in two samples of related individuals (total N = 2882), we calculated an index of local gyrification (LGI) at thousands of cortical surface points using structural brain images and an index of general cognitive ability (g) using performance on cognitive tests. Replicating previous studies, we found that phenotypic and genetic LGI–g correlations were positive and statistically significant in many cortical regions. However, all LGI–g correlations in both samples were extremely weak, regardless of whether they were significant or nonsignificant. For example, the median phenotypic LGI–g correlation was 0.05 in one sample and 0.10 in the other. These correlations were even weaker after adjusting for confounding neuroanatomical variables (intracranial volume and local cortical surface area). Furthermore, when all LGIs were considered together, at least 89% of the phenotypic variance of g remained unaccounted for. We conclude that the association between LGI and g is too weak to have profound implications for our understanding of the neurobiology of intelligence. This study highlights potential issues when focusing heavily on statistical significance rather than effect sizes in large-scale observational neuroimaging studies.
A Provably Secure Certificateless Proxy Signature Scheme Against Malicious-But-Passive KGC Attacks
Authors: Yang Wenjie , Weng Jian , Huang Xinyi , Yang Anjia
Published: November 2019

In certificateless proxy signature (CLPS), the key generation center is responsible for initializing the system parameters and can obtain the opportunity to adaptively set some trapdoors in them when wanting to launch some attacks. Until now, how to withstand the malicious-but-passive key generation center (MKGC) attacks in CLPS is still an interesting problem. In this paper, we focus on the challenging issue and introduce a CLPS scheme provably secure in the standard model. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to demonstrate its security under MKGC attacks by adopting the technology of embedding the classic difficulty problems into the target entity public key rather than the system parameters during the security proof process.
Brain weight predicts yawn duration across domesticated dog breeds
Authors: Gallup Andrew C , Moscatello Lea , Massen Jorg J M
Published: November 2019

Previous research shows that yawning enhances intracranial circulation and regulates brain temperature. Consistent with these functional outcomes, yawn duration correlates positively with interspecies variation in brain weight across mammals, with robust relationships documented at both the taxonomic rank of class and the more restricted scale of family (e.g., Felidae). This study provides the first investigation into whether differences in brain weight within a single species, domesticated dogs Canis lupus familiaris, can predict intraspecific variation in yawn duration. Measures of yawn duration were obtained from public videos available online and then paired with previously published brain and body weight data of different dog breeds. The final sample consisted of 272 yawns from 198 dogs across 23 breeds. Consistent with recent studies, we find robust correlations between yawn duration and brain weight across breeds. Moreover, these correlations remain significant after controlling for differences in body weight across breeds. These findings replicate and extend upon past work in this area and provide further support that yawns evolved to serve an important and large-scale neurophysiologic function.
Ablation strategies for different types of atrial fibrillation in Europe: results of the ESC-EORP EHRA Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Long-Term registry
Authors: Schmidt Boris , Brugada Josep , Arbelo Elena , Laroche Cécile , Bayramova Sevda , Bertini Matteo , Letsas Konstantinos P , Pison Laurent , Romanov Alexander , Scherr Daniel , Tilz Roland Richard , Maggioni Aldo , Adragao Pedro , Lund Juha , Haman Ludek , Oliveira Marino Martins , Dagres Nikolaos ,   the AFA LT Investigators Group
Published: November 2019

Aims

The ESC EORP EHRA Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Ablation Long-Term registry was designed to assess management and outcomes of AF catheter ablation procedures in Europe. To investigate the current ablation approaches and their outcomes for patients with paroxymal AF (PAF) and non-PAF in Europe.

Methods and results

Data from index ablations were collected in 27 European countries at 104 centres in a prospective fashion. Pre-procedural, procedural, and 1-year follow-up data were captured on a web-based electronic case record form. Data on the ablation procedure were available for 3446 patients. Of these, 2513 patients and 933 patients underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) or PVI plus (PVIplus) additional ablation, respectively. The ablation strategy was limited to PVI in 81% and 56% of patients in the PAF and non-PAF group, respectively (P < 0.001). In the non-PAF group, left atrial linear ablation and ablation of complex fragmented atrial electrograms were more commonly performed. Arrhythmias recurrence after PVI was 29% and 39% in the PAF and non-PAF group, respectively (P < 0.001) and 42% after PVIplus in both groups. Atrial fibrillation related hospital admissions were more common in the PVIplus group (20% vs. 14%). A very low procedural complication rate was observed. No relevant differences were observed with regard to repeat ablation (PVI 9% and PVIplus 11%).

Conclusion

In patients with PAF and non-PAF, the ablation strategies of PVI and PVIplus led to similar arrhythmia-free survival rates after 1 year. A considerable hospital readmission rate was noted.
The Combination of Patient Profiling and Preclinical Studies in a Mouse Model Based on NOD/Scid IL2Rγ null Mice Reconstituted With Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells From Patients With Ulcerative Colitis May Lead to Stratification of Patients for Treatment With Adalimumab
Authors: Jodeleit Henrika , Caesar Janina , Villarroel Aguilera Christina , Sterz Sebastian , Holdt Lesca , Beigel Florian , Stallhofer Johannes , Breiteneicher Simone , Bartnik Eckart , Siebeck Matthias , Gropp Roswitha
Published: November 2019

Background

To date, responsiveness to tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients is not predictable. This is partially due to a lack of understanding of the underlying inflammatory processes. The aim of this study was to identify immunological subgroups of patients with UC and to test responsiveness to adalimumab in these subgroups in the mouse model of ulcerative colitis (UC), which is based on NOD/scid IL-2Rγ null (NSG) mice reconstituted with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs; NSG-UC).

Methods

The immunological profiles of 40 UC patients and 16 non-UC donors were determined by flow cytometric analysis of PBMCs in a snapshot and longitudinal study and analyzed by principal component, orthogonal partial least square discrimination (oPLS-DA), and hierarchical clustering analysis. NSG mice were reconstituted 5 times at consecutive time points with PBMCs from a single donor and were analyzed for frequencies of human leukocytes and histological phenotype. The response to adalimumab of 2 identified subgroups was tested in the NSG-UC model. We used the clinical, colon, and histological score, serum levels of glutamic and aspartic acid, and IL-6 and IL-1ß. Response was analyzed by oPLS-DA.

Results

Analysis revealed a distinction between UC and non-UC donors. Hierarchical clustering identified 2 major subgroups in UC patients. Group I was characterized by TH17 and M1 monocytes, group II by TH2/TH1, and switched B cells. These subgroups reflect the dynamics of inflammation as patients. NSG-UC mice achieved an immunological phenotype reflecting the patient’s immunological phenotype. oPLS-DA revealed that NSG-UC mice reconstituted with PBMCs from group II responded better to adalimumab.

Conclusions

The combination of profiling and testing of therapeutics in the NSG-UC model may lead to individualized and phase-dependent therapies.
Incorporating environmental forcing in developing ecosystem-based fisheries management strategies
Authors: Guo Chuanbo , Fu Caihong , Olsen Norm , Xu Yi , Grüss Arnaud , Liu Huizhu , Verley Philippe , Shin Yunne-Jai
Published: November 2019

This study incorporated two pathways of environmental forcing (i.e. “larval mortality forcing” and “somatic growth forcing”) into an end-to-end ecosystem model (Object-oriented Simulator of Marine ecOSystEms, OSMOSE) developed for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) off western Canada, in order to evaluate alternative fisheries management strategies under environmental changes. With a suite of ecosystem-level indicators, the present study first compared the ecosystem effects of different pathways of environmental forcing scenarios; and then evaluated the alternative fisheries management strategies which encompassed a series of fishing mortality rates relative to FMSY (the fishing mortality rate that produces maximum sustainable yield) and a set of precautionary harvest control rules (HCRs). The main objectives of this study were to (i) explore the ecosystem effects of different environmental forcing scenarios; (ii) identify the impacts of different fishing mortality rates on marine ecosystem structure and function; and (iii) evaluate the ecosystem-level performance of various levels of precautionary HCRs. Results indicated that different pathways of environmental forcing had different ecosystem effects and incorporating appropriate HCRs in the fisheries management process could help maintain ecosystem health and sustainable fisheries. This study provides important information on future fisheries management options within similar marine ecosystems that are facing global changes.
On a Class of Kato Manifolds
Authors: Istrati Nicolina , Otiman Alexandra , Pontecorvo Massimiliano
Published: November 2019

We revisit Brunella’s proof of the fact that Kato surfaces admit locally conformally Kähler metrics, and we show that it holds for a large class of higher-dimensional complex manifolds containing a global spherical shell. On the other hand, we construct manifolds containing a global spherical shell that admit no locally conformally Kähler metric. We consider a specific class of these manifolds, which can be seen as a higher-dimensional analogue of Inoue–Hirzebruch surfaces, and study several of their analytical properties. In particular, we give new examples, in any complex dimension $n \geq 3$, of compact non-exact locally conformally Kähler manifolds with algebraic dimension $n-2$, algebraic reduction bimeromorphic to $\mathbb{C}\mathbb{P}^{n-2}$, and admitting nontrivial holomorphic vector fields.
Heterogeneous Effects of Development Aid on Violent Unrest in Postwar Countries: Village-Level Evidence from Nepal
Authors: De Juan Alexander
Published: November 2019

Many countries experience massive aid surges when civil wars end. However, operational contexts tend to remain particularly sensitive due to a combination of persisting local-level cleavages and low-quality state institutions. Consequently, aid provision risks inciting distributional conflicts and violent unrest—most notably when resources are injected into areas of high social heterogeneity or particularly weak state administration. I investigate this argument in the case of postwar Nepal. I combine geo-coded aid data with village-level information on various forms of violent unrest, as well as on social demographics and institutional quality. The panel analyses indicate positive short-term effects of aid on social unrest. More fine-grained estimations reveal that this effect is driven by a short-term escalation of violence against nonstate actors—in particular in ethnically fractionalized villages under the administration of weakly performing local-level state institutions. Descriptive cross-country analyses indicate that aid may have similar violence-inducing effects in other postwar contexts.
Antimicrobial activity of honey in periodontal disease: a systematic review
Authors: Hbibi Abdelhadi , Sikkou Khadija , Khedid Khadija , El Hamzaoui Sakina , Bouziane Amal , Benazza Driss
Published: November 2019

Background

Honey has shown positive antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory actions in several dermatological studies; however, it is unclear if it could be effective in the treatment of periodontal disease.

Objectives

To answer the question: Does honey have antimicrobial activity against periodontopathogens?

Methods

Six electronic databases were screened from initiation to 31 January 2019 for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and controlled in vitro studies exploring the antimicrobial effect of honey against periodontopathogens. Honey’s botanical origin, periopathogens that showed microbial susceptibility to honey, MICs, microbial growth conditions, control product and clinical follow-up were the main investigated outcomes. The risk of bias (RoB) of included RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration RoB tool. The RoB of in vitro studies was evaluated based on the Sarkis-Onofre judgement model adapted to the context of honey.

Results

A total of 1448 publications were found as search results in the screened databases. Sixteen eligible papers were included based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Retained studies included 5 RCTs and 11 in vitro controlled trials. Manuka and multifloral honeys were the most studied varieties. The tested honeys showed a significant antimicrobial action, with different MICs, against eight periopathogens. Four of the five RCTs showed a high RoB, while 4 of the 11 retained in vitro studies showed a medium RoB.

Conclusions

Honey showed a significant antimicrobial activity against all targeted periopathogens. Additional experiments are required to explore the entire antimicrobial spectrum of honey towards all pathogens involved in periodontal disease.
Differentiating between the effects of heat stress and lipopolysaccharide on the porcine ovarian heat shock protein response1
Authors: Seibert Jacob T , Adur Malavika K , Schultz Ronald B , Thomas Porsha Q , Kiefer Zoe E , Keating Aileen F , Baumgard Lance H , Ross Jason W
Published: November 2019

Heat stress (HS) negatively affects both human and farm-animal health and undermines efficiency in a variety of economically important agricultural variables, including reproduction. HS impairs the intestinal barrier, allowing for translocation of the resident microflora and endotoxins, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), from the gastrointestinal lumen into systemic circulation. While much is known about the cellular function of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in most tissues, the in vivo ovarian HSP response to stressful stimuli remains ill-defined. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of HS or LPS on ovarian HSP expression in pigs. We hypothesized that ovarian HSPs are responsive to both HS and LPS. Altrenogest (15 mg/d) was administered per os for estrus synchronization (14 d) prior to treatment and three animal paradigms were used: (i) gilts were exposed to cyclical HS (31 ± 1.4 °C) or thermoneutral (TN; 20 ± 0.5 °C) conditions immediately following altrenogest withdrawal for 5 d during follicular development; (ii) gilts were subjected to repeated (4×/d) saline (CON) or LPS (0.1 μg/kg BW) i.v. infusion immediately following altrenogest withdrawal for 5 d; and (iii) gilts were subjected to TN (20 ± 1 °C) or cyclical HS (31 to 35 °C) conditions 2 d post estrus (dpe) until 12 dpe during the luteal phase. While no differences were detected for transcript abundances of the assessed ovarian HSP, the protein abundance of specific HSP was influenced by stressors during the follicular and luteal phases. HS during the follicular phase tended (P < 0.1) to increase ovarian protein abundance of HSP90AA1 and HSPA1A, and increased (P ≤ 0.05) HSF1, HSPD1, and HSPB1 compared with TN controls, while HS decreased HSP90AB1 (P = 0.01). Exposure to LPS increased (P < 0.05) HSP90AA1 and HSPA1A and tended (P < 0.1) to increase HSF1 and HSPB1 compared with CON gilts, while HSP90AB1 and HSPD1 were not affected by LPS. HS during the luteal phase increased (P < 0.05) abundance of HSPB1 in corpora lutea (CL), decreased (P < 0.05) CL HSP90AB1, but did not impact HSF1, HSPD1, HSP90AA1, or HSPA1A abundance. Thus, these data support that HS and LPS similarly regulate expression of specific ovarian HSP, which suggest that HS effects on the ovary are in part mediated by LPS.
Joseph Schumpeter Lecture: Sharing a Government
Authors: Ventura Jaume
Published: November 2019

This paper develops a simple theoretical framework to study a set of regions, each with its own regional government, who share a union or central government. These governments must decide whether to implement or discard a large number of projects that produce local benefits for the region that implements them, and externalities for the rest of the regions. Conflict or disagreement arises since different regions value projects differently. The classic assignment problem consists of deciding who decides these projects, either the union or the regional governments. It is well known that regional governments are insensitive to externalities. The key observation here is that the union government is insensitive to local benefits. Thus, each government maximizes only a piece of the value of projects, and disregards the other one. This observation leads to simple and clear rules for solving the assignment problem.
Interacting Effects of Eyespot Number and Ultraviolet Reflectivity on Predation Risk in Bicyclus anynana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
Authors: Chan Ian Z W , Rafi Fathima Zohara , Monteiro Antónia
Published: November 2019

Small marginal eyespots on lepidopteran wings are conspicuous elements that attract a predator’s attention to deflect attacks away from the body, but the role of ultraviolet (UV) reflectivity at the center of these patterns and variation in eyespot number in altering the function of eyespots remains unclear. Here, we performed a field-based predation experiment with artificial prey items based on the appearance of squinting bush brown butterflies Bicyclus anynana (Butler, 1879). We tested how two visual properties of the wing pattern affect predation risk: i) the number of eyespots on the ventral forewing surface—two or four; and ii) the UV reflectivity of eyespot centers—normal (where the UV reflectivity of the centers contrasts strongly with that of the darker surrounding ring) or blocked (where this contrast is reduced). In total, 807 prey items were deployed at two sites. We found a significant interaction between the number of ventral forewing eyespots and UV reflectivity in the eyespot centers: in items with fewer eyespots, blocking UV resulted in increased predation risk whereas in items with more eyespots, blocking UV resulted in decreased predation risk. If higher predation of paper models can be equated with higher levels of wing margin/eyespot conspicuity, these results demonstrate that UV reflectivity is an important factor in making eyespots more conspicuous to predators and suggest that the fitness of particular butterfly eyespot number variants may depend on the presence or absence of UV in their centers and on the ability of local predator guilds to detect UV.
Efficacy of low-dose chemotherapy with methotrexate and vinblastine for patients with extra-abdominal desmoid-type fibromatosis: a systematic review
Authors: Shimizu Koki , Hamada Shunsuke , Sakai Tomohisa , Koike Hiroshi , Yoshida Masahiro , Nishida Yoshihiro
Published: November 2019

Objective

The treatment modality for desmoid-type fibromatosis has shifted from surgery to conservative treatment. This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose chemotherapy with methotrexate and vinblastine for patients with extra-abdominal desmoid-type fibromatosis.

Methods

We searched the pertinent literature from January 1990 to August 2017. Two reviewers evaluated and screened the literature independently for eligibility and extracted data. We evaluated the quality of body of evidence and made a recommendation according to the Grading of Recommendations Development and Evaluation methodology.

Results

The search yielded 40 studies, 9 of which were included after the first and second screenings. There were three prospective case series but no randomized controlled trials among the nine studies. There was no case–control report (vs. no treatment). According to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria, the mean response rate (complete remission or partial response) was 36% (11–57%). Including stable disease, namely, clinical benefit was consistently as high as 85% (69–100%). Mean adverse event rate of G3 or G4 according to CTCAE was 31%. One study reported improvement of pain (87.5%) because of this chemotherapy.

Conclusion

The efficacy of this chemotherapy was convincing. However, the overall evidence was weak, and this chemotherapy is not covered by insurance in Japan; we only weakly recommend low-dose chemotherapy with methotrexate and vinblastine in patients with extra-abdominal desmoid-type fibromatosis.