bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AIS data case Study : identifying AIS coverage gaps on the Ohio River in CY2018
Authors: DiJoseph Patricia , Tetreault Brian , Kress Marin
Published: June 2021

This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) describes a method for evaluating the received coverage from Automatic Identification System (AIS) shore sites and the availability of historic vessel position reports along the Ohio River. The network of AIS shoreside sites installed and operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the US Coast Guard (USCG) receive information transmitted from vessels; however, reception of these transmissions is generally line-of-sight between the vessel and the AIS site antenna. Reception may also be affected by factors such as the quality of the transceiver installation aboard the vessel as well as the state of the equipment at the receiving site. Understanding how to define and quantify coverage gaps along the inland river system can inform research utilizing AIS data, provide information on the performance of the AIS network, and provide guidance for efforts to address identified coverage gaps
Summary of the SciTech 2020 Technical Panel on In Situ/In Transit Computational Environments for Visualization and Data Analysis
Authors: Duque Earl , Legensky Steve , Whitlock Brad , Rogers David , Bauer Andrew , Imlay Scott , Thompson David , Tsutsumi Seiji
Published: June 2021

At the AIAA SciTech 2020 conference, the Meshing, Visualization and Computational Environments Technical Committee hosted a special technical panel on In Situ/In Transit Computational Environments for Visualization and Data Analytics. The panel brought together leading experts from industry, software vendors, Department of Energy, Department of Defense and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In situ and in transit methodologies enable Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations to avoid the excessive overhead associated with data I/O at large scales especially as simulations scale to millions of processors. These methods either share the data analysis/visualization pipelines with the memory space of the solver or efficiently off load the workload to alternate processors. Using these methods, simulations can scale and have the promise of enabling the community to satisfy the Knowledge Extraction milestones as envisioned by the CFD Vision 2030 study for "on demand analysis/visualization of a 100 Billion point unsteady CFD simulation". This paper summarizes the presentations providing a discussion point of how the community can achieve the goals set forth in the CFD Vision 2030.
Fake News for the Resistance: The OSS and the Nexus of Psychological Warfare and Resistance Operations in World War II
Authors: de Wit Daniel
Published: June 2021

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), America’s intelligence and special operations organization in World War II, is best known for its efforts to collect intelligence on the Axis powers and to arm and train resistance groups behind enemy lines. However, the OSS also served as America’s primary psychological warfare agency. This article will show how organizational relationships imposed by theater commanders, who often had little understanding of psychological warfare or special operations, could serve to enable or hinder the sort of coordinated subversive campaign that OSS founder General William J. Donovan envisioned. This history offers important lessons for contemporary campaign planners in an environment where psychological warfare is playing an ever-larger role in the conduct of military operations.
Social Antiaccess / Area-Denial (Social A2 / AD)
Authors: Zeman Phil
Published: June 2021

Social antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) describes the threat posed to U.S. and Western security by sociopolitical and socioeconomic means, primarily by China and Russia. is concern focuses on actions by China and Russia designed to fracture American and Western societies through information, disinformation, economic coercion, and creating economic dependencies—in many cases capitalizing on target nation propensities to accomplish strategic ends. rough these ways, China and Russia hope to prevent the will or ability of American or Western states to respond to aggressive acts.
Anthoc Based Trust Behavioural Network (Anthoc-tbn) Assist to Detect Blackhole Attack by Discover Secure Route
Authors: M Rajkumar , J Karthika
Published: June 2021

MANET is a wireless topology mainly used to grouping several mobile nodes as network. This wireless network is highly vulnerable by several security threads. Blackhole attack, a severe thread that voluntarily disrupts the healthy nodes and turn it as malicious node. So, introducing security mechanism can forcefully work together to defeat the black hole attack. In this paper, a new approach of AntHoc based trust behavioural network (AntHoc-TBN) model is introduced. This model effectively discovers the route with trust based packet transmission take place. Here, the forward ant agent performs shortest distance computation to discover the route. So that, Dijikstra algorithm is employed to detect the shortest route of all other nodes from source. Then, trust procedure is applied to find that corresponding node is trustable or not. Based on trust threshold, the respective intermediate node is computed and stored the updated value in extended data routing information (EDRI) table. Once the condition is not satisfied, then updated value in EDRI table tends to be distrust node and the concerned node is eliminated from the routing table. Now, the trusted node becomes an active path after that the packet has to be sent. Likewise, the same process is repeated for backward ant agent to transfer the Ack message from destination to source. To simulate the process, the result reveals that the AntHoc-TBN model improves its efficiency by lowest delay, packet loss and routing overhead. And also, the technique gets highest value of packet delivery ratio. The performance measures of our proposed model achieves better outcome when compared to existing techniques such as AODV, AntNet and AntHoc Net.
Microsurgical Anatomy of Safe Entry Zones on the Ventrolateral Brainstem: A Morphometric Study
Authors: Kocer Ilke Bayzıt , Demiralin Mine Oner , Erturk Mete , Arslan Dilek , Sengul Gulgun
Published: June 2021

Surgery of the brainstem is challenging due to the complexity of the area with cranial nerve nuclei, reticular formation and ascending and descending fibers. Safe entry zones are required to reach the intrinsic lesions of the brainstem. The aim of this study was to provide detailed measurements for anatomical landmark zones of the ventrolateral surface of the human brainstem related to previously described safe entry zones. In this study, 53 complete and 34 midsagittal brainstems were measured using a stainless caliper with an accuracy of 0.01 mm. The distance between the pontomesencephalic and bulbopontine sulci was measured as 26.94 mm. Basilar sulcus-lateral side of pons (origin of the fibers of the trigeminal nerve) distance was 17.23 mm, transverse length of the pyramid 5.42 mm and vertical length of the pyramid 21.36 mm. Lateral mesencephalic sulcus was 12.73 mm, distance of the lateral mesencephalic sulcus to the oculomotor nerve 13.85 mm and distance of trigeminal nerve to the upper tip of pyramid 17.58 mm. The transverse length for the inferior olive at midpoint and vertical length were measured as 5.21 mm and 14.77 mm, consequently. The thickness of the superior colliculus was 4.36 mm, the inferior colliculus 5.06 mm; length of the tectum was 14.5 mm and interpeduncular fossa 11.26 mm. Profound anatomical knowledge and careful analysis of preoperative imaging are mandatory before surgery of the brainstem lesions. The results presented in this study will serve neurosurgeons operating in the brainstem region.
Hemispheric Dominance for Task Dependent Frontal Lobe Function & Its Relationship to Language Lateralization and Handedness
Authors: Habelhah Barshen , Mahdavi Kennedy D , Zielinksi Margaret A , Becerra Sergio B , Bystritsky Alexander , Mamoun Michael , Kuhn Taylor P. , Jordan Sheldon E.
Published: June 2021

The present study investigates a potential method to optimize effective functional localization strategies for both language regions and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) while in a scanner. This functional task combines elements of creative problem solving, executive decision making based on an internal rule set, and working memory. Retrospective analysis was performed on a total of 58 unique participants (40% female, Mage = 42.84 years, SDage = 16.51). Of these participants, 47 were classified as right-handed, 7 were classified as left-handed, and 4 were classified as “mixed-handed” or ambidextrous according to the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. The imaging data was judged by two blinded investigators to assess language and dlPFC dominance while using the motor cortex activitation to confirm that participants engaged in the task. We show that 25% of right handed individuals seem to have a dominant dlPFC localized to the right hemisphere rather than the assumed left, and more than a quarter of left handers were dominant in their left hemisphere. Given the clinical relevance of dlPFC dominance, this task appears to be an evidence-based technique for determining appropriate dlPFC target for the purposes of neuromodulation (e.g. TMS).
Simulating Grazing Effects on Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Semi-arid Rangelands (Southern Iran)
Authors: afzali sayed fakhreddin , AZAD Bijan , FRANCAVIGLIA Rosa
Published: June 2021

Grazing is one of the main causes of rangeland degradation worldwide, due to the effects of overgrazing on vegetation cover and biodiversity. But few data are available on the effect of grazing intensity on the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil labile organic carbon (SLOC). So far, very few studies have addressed the modeling of SOC dynamics under different grazing intensities, and SLOC dynamics has not been modeled yet. In this study, we used the CENTURY model to select the most effective grazing management in terms of carbon sequestration (SOC and SLOC stocks) in semi-arid rangelands of Southern Iran. The effect of four different scenarios of grazing intensity was simulated: no grazing, light grazing (LG), moderate grazing (MG), and heavy grazing (HG). The results of long-term model simulations (2015–2100), indicated that SOC stocks will change by 2.7, 1.7, -23.4, and − 24.6% in the scenarios of exclusion, LG, MG, and HG respectively compared to 2014. With increasing grazing intensities, SLOC stocks in LG, MG, and HG scenarios significantly decreased compared to the no grazing scenario by 26.1, 59.6, and 70%, respectively. Thus, this study suggests recommending light grazing management for semi-arid rangelands of Iran and also SLOC as a suitable index for studying the effect of grazing on soil carbon.
Evaluating the Wavefront Aberration Properties of Senofilcon A Photochromic Contact Lenses
Authors: Recep Ömer Faruk , Kocabaş Dilara Özkoyuncu , Kızıltoprak Hasan , Özülken Kemal
Published: June 2021

Purpose To assess the wavefront aberrations of photochromic senofilcon A contact lenses in both activated and inactivated states.Methods In this cross-sectional study, 20 subjects who had previously used soft contact lenses were enrolled. Corneal topography and aberrometry measurements were performed on each subject during one session with Sirius Scheimpflug-Placido topography (Sirius, Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici, Italy). Following the first measurement of an eye without a contact lens, the measurements were performed with the photochromic contact lens in the inactivated and activated states, respectively. The corneal topographic [flattest keratometry (K1), steepest keratometry (K2), the axis of the steep meridian (Axis)] and aberrometric [root-mean-square (RMS) of aberrations; optical path difference (OPD), higher-order (HOA), astigmatism, coma, spherical aberration, and residual aberration] measurements were evaluated.Results The average contact lens sphere power was -2.33 ± 1.07 D. The mean refractive errors were 0.07 ± 0.18 D for sphere and -0.26 ± 0.15 D for cylinder when wearing contact lenses. The mean RMS values of all corneal aberrations showed no statistically significant difference in both activated and inactivated states (p > 0.05). In bivariate correlation analyses, all the aberration parameters showed no significant correlation with keratometric and contact lens associated variables (sphere power and refractive errors of eyes with contact lenses) in both states (p > 0.05). Conclusions The photochromic contact lenses did not increase the corneal aberrations in both inactivated and activated states. This property may help to provide a more comfortable vision in the real-world. Even so, this conclusion needs to be verified.
Ring Shaped Cataract and Urinary Metabolites Among 2,4,6-trinitrotoulene Exposed Population of Pakistan
Authors: Sarwat Sidra , Akhtar Ambreen , Dayan Syeda Fizza Abdud , Shaheen Najma , Durrani Humna Shahid , Usman Tariq , Afghani Tayyab
Published: June 2021

Background: Safety protocols are usually neglected among most of the TNT exposed population, therefore, rendering the community prone to various occupational hazards. The current study highlights ring shaped cataract and urinary metabolites of TNT among TNT exposed population (n=26) against a control group (n=20).Methods: An observational case-control study was carried out in two groups: 300 subjects exposed to TNT in Dir and Bajour Agency, Pakistan and a control group from the base hospital. We determined the presence of ring shaped cataract and urine metabolites of TNT using slit lamp biomicroscope and gas chromatography mass spectrometric analysis respectively.Results: Results substantiate a high level of urine metabolites for exposed subjects compared to the control group (p<0.001). Age had no significant effect on (p>0.05) on presence of ring shaped cataract and the level of urinary metabolites of TNT, while duration of exposure showed significant effect (p<0.001). Females showed high incidence of ring shaped cataract and urinary metabolites of TNT than men ( p<0.001). The mean age of the exposed subjects was 51±14.38 (Mean+SD) years. The mean year of exposure was 49±5 (Mean+SD) years,Conclusion: This study showed TNT as a risk factor for the presence of ring-shaped cataract among TNT exposed group in Pakistan. It is important to screen exposed community for the presence of ring-shaped cataract, and pre-clinical identification of TNT adducts to prevent systemic complications.
Retrospective Analysis of Firecracker Injuries and Review of Literature at a Tertiary Eye Care Hospital in South India
Authors: Kaur Kirandeep , Gurnani Bharat , Gupta Isha , Kannusamy Veena , Narayana Shivananda
Published: June 2021

Purpose: To analyze demographics, risk factors, clinical features, functional, anatomical outcomes, and prevalence of blindness in firecracker injury patients presenting to a major tertiary eye care centre.Methodology: A retrospective analysis of firecracker injury patients who presented to our tertiary eye care hospital was performed from April 2018 to March 2019. A total of 114 patients with a minimum follow-up of 3 months were included. The parameters recorded were demographics, mode of injury, type of cracker, baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and on last follow up, detailed anterior and posterior segment evaluation, seidel's test, intraocular pressure, gonioscopy, complications, treatment, functional and anatomical outcomes. Investigations in the form of B Scan, X-ray, or CT scan were undertaken whenever indicated. Results: A total of 132 eyes of 114 patients were analysed. The mean (SD) age of patients was 18.96 +/- 15.4 years (range 3-71 years). Seventy-four (64.91%) patients were less than or equal to 18 years of age. The male-to-female ratio was 4:1. The ratio of right: left eye involvement was 1:1. Eighteen patients (15.79%) had bilateral involvement. A total of 125 eyes had closed globe injury, 7 eyes had open globe injury and 17 patients needed hospital admission for management. The mean (SD) baseline BCVA was 0.54(+/- 0.75). The mean (SD) final BCVA improved to 0.23(+/- 0.62) till the last follow-up. The final outcome was good in most patients, except 5 eyes (3.78%) which resulted in near/total blindness. Conclusion: Firecracker injuries are a major cause of irreversible blindness, and these are more common in the younger age group (64.91%). Prompt diagnosis with meticulous management can prevent devastating sequelae.
Mechanical Behavior of Reinforced Silty Sand: Focus on Application of Nano-Silica or Kaolin Coated Ceramic Fibers as a Reinforcement Material
Authors: Eshaghzadeh Mehdi , Bayat Meysam , Ajalloeian Rassoul , Hejazi Sayyed Mahdi
Published: June 2021

Many studies have been done on the stabilization of weak soil using conventional chemical stabilizers such as lime, cement as well as modern materials such as nanoparticles; however, very few studies have examined the effect of coated fibers on the strength of stabilized soil. This paper presents the results of a series of direct shear tests on soil specimens treated with ceramic fiber, nanosilica, and kaolin. The effects of ceramic fibers, fiber length, nanosilica, and kaolin on the mechanical characteristics and shear strength of silty sand was investigated. The results show that the addition of fiber to silty sand resulted in a significant increase in the strength of the soil specimens. The dilative behavior of the soil specimen decreased with the addition of ceramic fibers. The cohesion of the fiber-reinforced specimens increased when the fiber surface was coated with nanosilica or kaolin particles. The friction angle of the coated fiber-reinforced specimens decreased with the addition of nanosilica particles; however, the friction angle of the coated fiber-reinforced specimens was practically independent of the kaolin content.
Solving a New Bi-Objective Multi-Echelon Supply Chain Problem with a Jackson Open-Network Issue Under Uncertainty
Authors: Azadbakhsh Sepideh , Ghodratnama Ali , Tavakkoli-Moghaddam Reza
Published: June 2021

In today’s world, changes in the economic and industrial sectors are taking place more quickly than in the past. Based on today’s competitive market, considering the needs and desires of the customer is very important. Thus, designing the supply chain network to minimize the costs and improve the system efficiency, the service facility, and attention to the timely service delivery to the customer should be considered. Also, deployment costs to determine the number and position of facilities are regarded as another strategic issue. Therefore, to become closer to the real-world application, by considering the Jackson network model (queuing theory), the present study aims to design a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network to reduce the waiting time in the queue. Two objectives, namely minimizing the cost and waiting time incurred in queues formed in producers and distributors, are investigated. Queuing mathematical expressions are used both in dealing with objectives and constraints. To develop a model, which is close to real by considering uncertainty, the parameters, including demand rate and shipping cost of products, were considered as a trapezoidal fuzzy number. Also, we crisp this fuzzy uncertainty using both Jimenez and chance-constrained programming approaches. Due to the suggested model’s complexity and nonlinearity, we linearized the mathematical model as much as possible, then two meta-heuristic algorithms, namely multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) and non-dominated sorted genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), are used to solve the model. First, the structural parameters of these algorithms are tuned by the Taguchi method. Then, numerous numerical test problems ranging from small to large scales are used to compare these algorithms considering Pareto front measuring indexes and various hypothesis tests.
Plasma Proteomics of COVID-19 Associated Cardiovascular Complications: Implications for Pathophysiology and Therapeutics
Authors: Roh Jason , Kitchen Robert , Guseh J Sawalla , McNeill Jenna , Aid Malika , Martinot Amanda , Yu Andy , Platt Colin , Rhee James , Weber Brittany , Trager Lena , Hastings Margaret , Ducat Sarah , Xia Peng , Castro Claire , Atlason Bjarni , Churchill Timothy , Carli Marcelo Di , Ellinor Patrick , Barouch Dan , Ho Jennifer , Rosenzweig Anthony
Published: June 2021

Cardiovascular complications are common in COVID-19 and strongly associated with disease severity and mortality. However, the mechanisms driving cardiac injury and failure in COVID-19 are largely unknown. We performed plasma proteomics on 80 COVID-19 patients and controls, grouped according to disease severity and cardiac involvement. Findings were validated in 305 independent COVID-19 patients and investigated in an animal model. Here we show that senescence-associated secretory proteins, markers of biological aging, strongly associate with disease severity and cardiac involvement even in age-matched cohorts. FSTL3, an indicator of Activin/TGFβ signaling, was the most significantly upregulated protein associated with the heart failure biomarker, NTproBNP (β = 0.4;padj=4.6x10− 7), while ADAMTS13, a vWF-cleaving protease whose loss-of-function causes microvascular thrombosis, was the most downregulated protein associated with myocardial injury (β=-0.4;padj=8x10− 7). Mendelian randomization supported a causal role for ADAMTS13 in myocardial injury. These data provide important new insights into the pathophysiology of COVID-19 cardiovascular complications with therapeutic implications.
Familial Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis and Adenitis (PFAPA) Syndrome; is it a Separate Disease?
Authors: Veres Tamar , Amarilyo Gil , Ahmad Sabreen Abu , Rumi Maryam Abu , Brik Riva , Hezkelo Nofar , Ohana Orly , Levinsky Yoel , Chodick Gabriel , Aviel Yonatan Butbul
Published: June 2021

Introduction: PFAPA is the most common periodic fever syndrome in the pediatric population yet pathogenesis is unknown. PFAPA was believed to be sporadic but family clustering has been widely observed.Objective: To identify demographic and clinical differences between patients with PFAPA and a positive family history (FH+) compared to those with PFAPA with no family history (FH-).Methods: In a database comprising demographic and clinical data of 273 pediatric PFAPA patients treated at two tertiary centers in Israel, 31 (14.3%) of patients were PFAPA FH+. Data from patients with FH+ for PFAPA was compared to data from those with FH- of the disorder. Furthermore, family members (FMs) of those with FH+ were contacted via telephone for more demography and clinical details. Results: FH+ group had more headaches (32% vs.2%; p= 0.016), myalgia (56% vs. 19%; p= 0.001), higher carrier frequency of M694V mutation (54% vs. 25%; p=0.053), greater family history of FMF (30% vs. 15%; p=0.096) and better outcomes with colchicine (82% vs. 52%; p=0.096) compared to those with FH-. FMs displayed almost identical characteristics to the FH+ group except for greater arthralgia during flares (64% vs. 23%; p=0.008) and compared to the FH- group, more oral aphthae (68% vs. 43%; p=0.002), myalgia/arthralgia (64% vs. 19%/16%; p<0.0001), and higher rates of FH of FMF (45% vs.15%; p=0.003). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that FH+ likely experience a different subset of disease with higher frequency of family history of FMF, arthralgia, myalgia and better response to colchicine compared to FH-. Colchicine prophylaxis for PFAPA should be considered in FH+.
Short-Term Adaptation Strategy Improved Xylitol Production by Candida Guilliermondii on Sugarcane Bagasse Hemicellulosic Hydrolysate
Authors: Bianchini Italo de Andrade , Sene Luciane , Cunha Mário Antônio Alves da , Felipe Maria das Graças de Almeida
Published: June 2021

One of the major bottlenecks of the biotechnological production of xylitol by pentose-fermenting yeasts is the presence of toxic compounds in the hemicellulosic hydrolysates, which inhibit the bioconversion of xylose into xylitol. In this work, short-term adaptation was evaluated as a strategy to minimize the toxicity of the sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate to Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037. Yeast adaptation improved xylose assimilation as well as xylitol production. The beneficial effects of adaptation were more pronounced in the hydrolysate with higher concentration of toxic compounds, leading to an increase of 62.5% in the xylitol volumetric productivity in comparison to the use of non-adapted cells. In this condition, it was also verified the reduction of glycerol production (about 102%), a by-product formed as consequence of cellular stress, indicating a greater tolerance of adapted cells to the toxicity of hydrolysates. Short-term adaptation proved to be a promising strategy to improve considerably the microbial tolerance and overcome the toxicity of hydrolysates.
Mild To Severe Traumatic Brain Injury In Children: Altered Cytokines Reflect Severity
Authors: Ryan Emer , Kelly Lynne , Stacey Catherine , Huggard Dean , Duff Eimear , McCollum Danielle , Leonard Ann , Boran Gerard , Doherty Dermot R , Bolger Turlough , Molloy Eleanor J
Published: June 2021

Background: Paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is recognised to have significant longer–term neurocognitive effects. Childhood is a time of high risk for head injury. Functional recovery is variable with a combination of any or all of physical, cognitive and emotional impairment. Immune activation and alteration in cytokine levels are present following TBI which may differ from adults. Methods: Pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines including Interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α and Interferon (IFN)-γ were examined at baseline and following in vitro treatment with endotoxin of whole blood, in the following children: severe TBI (sTBI: initial Glasgow coma scale(GCS) £8), mild TBI (mTBI; GCS 14/15) at 0-4d and at 10-14d post-TBI and compared to healthy age-matched controls Results: The study enrolled 208 children including 110 with TBI cohort (n=104 mild; 6 severe) and controls (n=98). At baseline all children with TBI had increased IL-6. The mTBI group had significantly increased IFN-γ versus controls. In sTBI at baseline, IFN-γ was decreased compared to controls. At baseline IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, and TNF-α were decreased in mTBI compared to controls. This persisted at two weeks post-mTBI. The AUC for detecting mTBI was 0.801 CI (0.73 – 086) using IL6/IL10 ratio. mTBI showed a greater fold change in IL-8 and TNF-α in response to endotoxin stimulation, a response that persisted at two weeks. Children with sTBI did not have a significant IL-6 response to endotoxin but did show an increase in IL-17A. Conclusion: Children with all TBI including mTBI show altered cytokine profiles and altered endotoxin responses. Although cytokines increased in sTBI especially in response to endotoxin, suppressed responses were found in mTBI coupled with persistent immune dysfunction post injury.
Can Moderate Heavy Metal Soil Contaminations Due To Cement Production Influence The Surrounding Soil Bacterial Communities?
Authors: Silva Thiago Augusto Costa , de Paula Marcos , Silva Washington Santos , Lacorte Gustavo Augusto
Published: June 2021

Events of soil contamination by heavy metals are mostly related to human activities that release these metals into the environment as emissions or effluents. Among the industrial activities related to heavy metal pollution, cement production plants are considered one of the most common sources. In this work we applied the HTS molecular approach called 16S rDNA metabarcoding to perform the taxonomic characterization of the prokaryotic communities of the soil surrounding three cement plants as well as two areas outside the influence of the cement plants that represented agricultural production environments free of heavy metal contamination (control areas). We applied the environmental genomics approaches known as “structural community metrics” (α- and β-diversity metrics) and “functional community metrics” (PICRUSt2 approach) to verify whether or not the effects of heavy metal contamination in the study area generated impacts on soil bacterial communities. We found that the impact related to the elevation of heavy metal concentration due to the operation of cement plants in the surrounding soil can be considered smooth according to globally recognized indices such as Igeo. However, we identified that both the taxonomic and functional structures of the communities surrounding cement plants were different from those found in the control areas. We consider that our findings contribute significantly to the general understanding of the effects of heavy metals on the soil ecosystem by showing that light contamination can disturb the dynamics of ecosystem services provided by soil, specifically those associated with microbial metabolism.
Bathophenanthroline as Turn-off Fluorescence Sensors for Selective and Sensitive Tetection of Fe(II)
Authors: Senanayake D. A. K. , Perera P. P. P. , De Costa M. D. P. , R Senthilnithy
Published: June 2021

Bathophenanthroline (BPhen) is a versatile bidentate ligand for transition metals, also frequently used as a universal colorimetric probe for Fe(II). The effect of pH on the fluorescence intensity of BPhen and quenching constant of Fe(II) were studied at different pH values using working solutions of 50% ethanol buffered with acetate buffer. Fluorescence intensity of a 3.0 μM Bphen solution in 50% ethanol buffered at pH 6.6 with acetate buffer was selectively quenched by Fe(II) at 25 °C. The LOD of 19 nM at 3.3 σ and the linear range of 63 nM – 224 nM with R2 = 0.9919 revealed that this method is more sensitive than the colorimetric method (detection range =1.8 μM - 18 μM). Quenching of the BPhen-Fe(II) complex is temperature-dependent, which may be due to the increased stability of the formed complex with temperature, supporting a static quenching mechanism. Interference from foreign ions on the fluorescence of the BPhen-iron(II) complex was also studied. A tolerance limit exceeding 5% was observed and recorded. The interference from cations, Ni(II), Co(II), and Cu(II), was relatively higher, while the most common anions showed only a little to no interference. In response time analysis, the fluorescence intensity, which remains constant after 10 minutes, reveals that the system approached equilibrium. This method would be quicker and more accurate than a colorimetric method due to the absence of a solvent extraction step.
Projected Impacts of Climate Change on the Physical and Biogeochemical Environment in Southeast Asian Seas
Authors: Kay Susan , Avillanosa Arlene L. , Cheung Victoria V. , Dao Ngoc Hung , Gonzales Benjamin J. , Palla Herminie P. , Praptiwi Radisti A. , Queirós Ana M. , Sailley Sévrine F. , Sumeldan Joel D.C. , Syazwan Wan Mohd , Then Amy Yee-Hui , Wee Hin Boo
Published: June 2021

The seas of Southeast Asia are home to some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems and resources that support the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of people. Climate change will bring temperature changes, acidification and other environmental change, with uncertain consequences for human and natural systems in the region. We present the first regional-scale projections of change in the marine environment up to the end of 21st century. A coupled physical-biogeochemical model with a resolution of 0.1° (approximately 11 km) was used to create projections of future environmental conditions under two greenhouse gas scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. These show a sea that is warming by 1.1–2.9°C through the 21st century, with surface pH falling by up to 0.02 and dissolved oxygen decreasing by 5 to 13 mmol m− 3. Changes for different parts of the region, including four sensitive coastal sites, are presented. The changes reach all parts of the water column and many places are projected to experience conditions well outside the range seen at the start of the century. Altered species distribution and damage to coral reefs resulting from this environmental change would have consequences for biodiversity, for the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and for the food security of coastal communities across the region. Projections of this type are a key tool for communities planning how they will adapt to the challenge of climate change.
Experimental Investigation to Characterize Simple Vs Multi Scaling Analysis of Hydraulic Conductivity at a Mesoscale
Authors: Brunetti Guglielmo Federico Antonio , De Bartolo Samuele , Fallico Carmine , Frega Ferdinando , Velásquez Maria Fernanda Rivera , Severino Gerardo
Published: June 2021

The spatial variability of the hydraulic properties of aquifers can be satisfactory described by means of scaling law(s). The latter enables one, among the others, to relate the small (typically laboraory) scale to the larger (typically formation/regional) ones, therefore leading de facto to an upscaling procedure. In the present study, we are concerned, with the spatial variability of the hydraulic conductivity k into a strongly heterogeneous porous formation. A strategy, allowing one to identify correctly the single/multiple scaling of k, is applied for the first time to a real case of a large caiison where a strongly heterogeneous medium was packed. In particular, we show how to identify the various scaling ranges with special emphasys to the determination of the related cut-off limits. Finally, we illustrate how the heterogeneity enhances with the increasing scale of observation, by identifying the proper law accounting for the transtion from the laboratory to the field scale. Results of the present study are of paroumnt utility for the proper design of pumping tests in formations where the degree of spatial variability of the hydraulic conductivity does not allow regarding them as “weakly heterogeneous”, as well as for the study of dispersion mechanisms in solute transport.
Different Survival Benefit of Osimertinib in Different Sequences: A Real‐World Outcome of Osimertinib Treatment in Pretreated T790M-Positive Advanced NSCLC in Taiwan
Authors: Wang Chin-Chou , Lai Chien-Hao , Chang Huang-Chih , Tseng Chia-Cheng , Huang Kuo-Tung , Lin Meng-Chih
Published: June 2021

Background: To investigate the relationships among the clinical characteristics, different EGFR-TKIs, and osimertinib treatment in different treatment lines.Methods: We retrospectively screened a total of 3807 patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2019 at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Furthermore, 98 patients after re-biopsy or liquid with EGFR T790M mutation who received osimertinib were enrolled for analysis. Results: Among all 98 patients, the median PFS of those who received osimertinib therapy was 10.48 months, and the median OS of those who received osimertinib therapy was 42.21 months. The OS of those who received osimertinib therapy after previous gefitinib, afatinib, or erlotinib therapy was 87.93, 49.00, and 42.00 months, respectively (P=0.006). There was a significant difference in disease control rate between those who received osimertinib treatment after previous chemotherapy (Group A) or immediately following EGFR-TKI therapy (Group B) (93.3% vs. 77.4%, P=0.029). There was also a significant difference in PS between those who received osimertinib as a second-line treatment and those who received it as a third-line treatment (10.83 vs. 17.33 months, P=0.044). In addition, COPD tended to be a poor prognostic factor for PFS and OS.Conclusion: In this retrospective real‐world analysis, it was determined that pretreatment with gefitinib and previous chemotherapy could affect the treatment outcomes of NSCLC patients treated with osimertinib. Furthermore, COPD tended to a poor prognostic factor for PFS and OS in such patients.
The LRA Workbench: An IDE for Efficient REST API Composition through Linked Metadata
Authors: Serrano Diego , Stroulia Eleni
Published: June 2021

The number of Web APIs for accessing information and services is continuously increasing, and yet, no tools exist to automate the time-consuming and error-prone process of invoking these APIs and composing their responses. The recent emergence of widely-adopted, standardized, Web-API description formats and the development of Linked Data technologies for data integration have motivated our work on the LRA (Linked REST APIs) methodology. LRA relies on RDF service specifications to automate the development process around the usage of Web APIs. This automation represents a great opportunity to systematize and improve the quality of service-oriented application development. However, LRA's reliance on SPARQL as the user-interaction model may hinder its adoption, because it requires developers to learn the intricacies of the unconventional graph data model and its associated datasets.
In this paper we have developed the LRA Workbench (LRAWbench), which takes advantage of the emergent schema of Web-API specifications, in order to simplify the formulation of LRA-compliant SPARQL queries. Our empirical evaluation of the LRAWbench usability demonstrates that our tool significantly improves the performance of developers formulating SPARQL queries for LRA. A subsequent study on the effectiveness of the LRAWbench demonstrated that developers using LRA tend to produce code with considerable better structural complexity, in less time, than developers manually composing APIs.
Controllable Fast and Slow Light in the Hybrid Nanomechanical Resonator System
Authors: Chen Hua-Jun
Published: June 2021

We propose a hybrid nanomechanical resonator (NR) system, where a NR coupled to an embedded quantum dot (QD) driven by two-tone fields is also coupled to another NR via the Coulomb interaction, and investigate the absorption spectra of the probe field under both the condition of resonance and off-resonance. The absorption spectra in resonance presents a means to determine the coupling strength of the two NRs. In the off-resonance, the absorption spectra can exhibit double Fano resonance, and the positions of the double Fano resonances are related to the interaction of the two NRs, the frequencies of the NRs, and the pump detuning. Furthermore, the double Fano resonances are accompanied by the rapid normal phase dispersion, which indicates the slow- and fast-light effect. We can obtain that the group velocity index is tunable by the interaction between the two NRs, the detuning, and the different resonator frequencies, which can reach the conversion from the fast light to slow light.
Correlation Analysis of Carotid Plaque in Young Patients With Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes and Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR)
Authors: Wen Huijun , Yu Hai
Published: June 2021

Background
PLR and NLR had been reported that they may be related to carotid atherosclerotic. The relationship between PLR, NLR and carotid atherosclerotic plaque in young patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes had not been clinically reported.
Objectives
To analyzed the relationship between platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and carotid plaques in young patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
Methods
The patients were divided into intima-media thickening (IMT)group and plaque group. The plaque group was divided into grade I, grade II and grade III groups. The counts of platelets, neutrophils, and lymphocytes were determined.
Results
The diagnostic effect of PLR and NLR was evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) and areas under the curve (AUC). The PLR and NLR values in observation group were higher than control group; two values in plaque group were higher than IMT group. The two values in t grade III plaque group were higher than in grade II. The two values in grade II plaque group were higher than grade I plaque group. The ROC of PLR and NLR were 0.722 and 0.653, the AUC of PLR and NLR were 111.086 and 2.240. PLR yielded a sensitivity of 0.789 and a specificity of 0.612.
Conclusion
NLR yielded a sensitivity of 0.809 and a specificity of 0.511. The PLR and NLR may be related to carotid inflammation in patients and positively correlated with carotid plaque.
Impact of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Duration on the Neurological Outcomes of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Authors: ALBINALI HISSAH , Alumran Arwa , AlRayes Saja
Published: June 2021

Background: Patients experiencing cardiac arrest outside medical facilities are at greater risk of death and might have negative neurological outcomes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration affects neurological outcomes of such patients, which suggests that duration of CPR may be vital to patient outcomes.Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the impact of cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration on neurological outcome of patients who have suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.Methods: Data were collected from emergency cases handled by a secondary hospital in industrial Jubail, Saudi Arabia, between 2015 and 2020. There were 257 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, 236 of which resulted in death.Results: Bivariate analysis showed no significant association between cerebral performance category (CPC) outcomes and duration of CPR, gender and cause of death whereas there is statistically significant between CPC and age. (p = 0.001). However, a good CPC outcome was reported with a (mean) limited duration of 8.1 min of CPR; whereas, poor CPC outcomes were associated with prolonged periods of CPR, 13.2 min (mean). Similarly, youthfulness was associated with good CPC outcomes as revealed by the mean age of 5.8 years, whereas a mean rank of 14.9 years was aligned with a poor CPC outcome.Conclusion: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Duration out-of-hospital cardiac arrest does not significantly influence the patient neurological outcome in the current study hospital. Other variables may have a more significant effect.
Evaluation of Symptom and Side Effect Bother in Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma Patients Treated with Mogamulizumab or Vorinostat
Authors: Hudgens Stacie , Porcu Pierluigi , Quaglino Pietro , Huen Auris , Floden Lysbeth , Dwyer Karen , Duvic Madeleine
Published: June 2021

Background: Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, including mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome, are rare non-Hodgkin lymphomas that can be serious and life-threatening with significant morbidity and impaired quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient-reported outcome individual items on skin symptoms and toxicity bother show significant treatment differences for patients with mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome.Methods: Health-related quality of life was assessed during the MAVORIC clinical trial of mogamulizumab for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas compared to vorinostat using the Skindex-29 (measures emotions, symptoms, and functioning) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – General (FACT-G) (assesses physical, social/family, emotional, and functional well-being). Pruritus was assessed with the ItchyQoL (measures symptoms, functioning, and emotions) and Likert Scale for level of itching. Item analyses used longitudinal generalized estimation equations of the post-baseline, treated period assessments to estimate likelihood of improvement. Forest plots of odds ratios (OR) characterized the likelihood of a 1- and 2-grade categorical improvement on individual items.Results: Patients treated with mogamulizumab were more likely to observe a 1-grade improvement in painful skin (OR = 1.74, CI: 1.180–2.572), irritated skin (OR = 1.34, CI: 0.909–1.978), lack of energy (OR = 2.20, CI: 1.461–3.309), side effect bother (OR = 1.28, CI: 0.810–2.020), and general cancer pain (OR = 1.38, CI: 0.922–2.063). Patients treated with mogamulizumab were more likely to observe a 2-grade improvement in burning or stinging skin (OR = 1.62, CI: 1.013–2.591, P < 0.05) and more likely to observe improvement in painful skin (OR = 1.78, CI: 1.045–3.021, P < 0.05).Conclusions: Single item analyses suggest a mogamulizumab symptom benefit during treatment compared to vorinostat for items on the skin symptoms of Skindex-29 and toxicity bother items of FACT-G.Trial registration: NCT01728805
Neutralization Characteristics HIV-1 CRF01_AE Env Clones from Infections in China
Authors: Zhang Xinyu , Zhou Zehua , Li Xueli , An Yimeng , Jiang Fei , Wang Youchun , Gao Feng , Huang Weijin , Xing Hui , Yu Bin , Zhao Chenyan
Published: June 2021

Owing to the increasing prevalence of HIV-1 CRF_01AE, it is necessary to understand the neutralization properties of CRF_01AE and to develop broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bnmAbs) that can neutralize this virus. The full-length Env gene was cloned from HIV-1 CRF01_AE-infected plasma specimens collected in China and used to establish pseudoviruses. Neutralization phenotypes of the pseudoviruses were characterized with bnmAbs. The neutralizing activities of 11 bnmAbs VRC01, VRC03, IgG1b12 and 3BNC117 (targeting the CD4 binding site); PG9 (targeting the V1V2 region); 2G12 (sugar chain specific), PGT135 and 10-1074 (targeting the V3 region); 2F5, 4E10 and 10E8 (targeting the membrane proximal external region), against 36 pseudoviruses were analyzed, demonstrating varying efficacies. In general, VRC01, 10E8 and 3BNC117 showed strong neutralizing activity, neutralizing more than 75% of the pseudoviruses; followed by PG9 and 4E10, showing moderate neutralizing activity with neutralization of 50%–60% of the pseudoviruses; whereas the efficacies of the remaining bnmAbs were poor, neutralizing less than 15% of pseudoviruses tested. Env variants of CRF_01AE also showed significant differences in resistance to neutralization. CRF_01AE Env variants pose a serious challenge for the development of bnmAbs and vaccines, and these characterized HIV-1 CRF_01AE pseudoviruses could be used for neutralization studies and evaluation of vaccines or anti-HIV-1 products in China.
The First Identification and Some Carcass Characteristics of the 7 Lumbar Vertebrae in Sheep in Turkey
Authors: Gungor Omer Faruk , Unal Necmettin , Ozbeyaz Ceyhan
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this study was to draw attention to the number of the lumbar vertebrae in R1 BBA crosses (Bafra x F1 (Bafra x Akkaraman)) lambs (75% Bafra and 25% Akkaraman), and the effect of 7 lumbar vertebrae on some carcass traits. Even though some studies reported that the number of the lumbar vertebrae might be considerably different dependent on the sheep genotype, this has not been reported for Turkish breeds. While a study on the R1 BBA lambs has been performed, seven lumbar vertebrae have been identified in four of the eighteen lambs. The means of the carcass length (80.800±0.583 and 84.375±1.375 cm) (P= 0.036), leg weight (5.942±0.079 and 6.209±0.052 kg) (P= 0.032), loin weight (1.560±0.096 and 1.849±0.060 kg) (P= 0.048), and loin’s lean weight (0.875±0.059 and 1.058±0.032 kg) (P= 0.040) were statistically different between the groups of lambs (6 and 7 lumbar vertebrae, respectively). In conclusion, the number of lumbar vertebrae has economically affected important parts of the carcass.