bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Free open access to liberate and unleash neglected science
Authors: Ling King Hwa , Abdul-Aziz Noraishah Mydin , Nordin Norshariza
Published: April 2018

Open access has become a choice for scientific publication. In many countries, open access publication has been made compulsory for publicly funded studies. Since 2013, government-funded research paper in United States must be made freely available within 12 months of publication. Such policy will ensure maximum accessibility and circulation of published articles. While the scientific community is benefited at large due to free access and distribution of published materials, open access publication is never free due to the various costs involved in the production, permanent archival and digitalisation of scholarly articles.
Reviewing Gold(III) complexes as effective biological operators
Authors: Patanjali Pooja , Kumar Ramesh , Sourabh  , Kumar Amit , Chaudhary Pratibha , Singh Rajeev
Published: April 2018

Cancer treatment using platinum has vastly been associated with numerous side effects and resistance generation. As a result, current medicinal chemistry is now emphasized on the development of novel metal based drugs bearing diverse pharmacological profile. There has been an increasing interest in the drafting of Au(III) complexes as new metal based drugs. Au(III) complexes have been observed to be especially steady under different physicochemical situations. Dithiocarbamato-Au(III) complexes show antiproliferative property against specific human tumor cells because of their inhibiting effect towards the tumor cell augmentation. The review focuses on the results obtained in the field of anticancer and antimicrobial efficacy of Au(III) complexes. The represented Au(III) complexes as anticancer agents have been classified as (a) complexes containing Au-N bonds, (b) complexes containing Au-S bonds and (c) complexes containing Au-O bonds. Au(III) complexes as antimicrobial agents have been subdivided as (a) antibacterial and antifungal (b) antimalarial and (c) antitrypanosomial Au(III) complexes. The results obtained from the analysis of anticancer and antimicrobial Au(III) complexes could possibly lead to the design and development of novel potent Au(III) complexes exhibiting enhanced activities.
Novel tetracationic template and application in construction metal thiocyanate polymers
Authors: Lu Yan-Qi , Lu Ya-Bin , Wang Fu-Rong , Huang Wen-Ming , Niu Yun-Yin
Published: April 2018

Three hybrids named {(tepb)[Ag4Br8]}(1), {(tepb)[Cu2(SCN)6]}(2) and {(tepb)[Ag4Br6(SCN)2]}n(3) [tepb4+ = 1, 2, 4, 5-tetrapyradyl benzene] were encountered by cation-templated self-assembly with metal thiocyanates in solution. Crystal data analysis revealed that these compounds were composed of discrete organic cations and inorganic anions by electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions. 1 is a tetranuclear oligomer, 2 is a dimer and 3 possesses a 2D polyrotaxane layer structure. All compounds were further characterized with elemental analysis, IR spectra and thermal analysis.
Selective separation of thorium from rare earth elements liquor during the alkaline processing of Egyptian monazite concentrate
Authors: Shahr El-Din A.M. , Borai E.H. , Abd El-Ghany M.S.
Published: April 2018

Monazite ore processing is a complicated matrix which is mainly attributed to the presence of high phosphate (25% of P2O5) and sulfate concentration, hence, complicate the extraction and separation of REEs and other elements. Therefore, this work developed technical systematic studies for monazite processing using alkali solution, resulting in the removal and recovery of phosphate as a valuable product. Moreover, solvent extraction technique was used for selective separation of Th(IV) followed by the chemical precipitation of REEs. According to the obtained results, it could be stated that the early washing step is more efficient for removal of 92.8% of P2O5 hence; the separation of REEs from the matrix becomes more achievable. The subsequent extraction process of thorium (Th) revealed that secondary amine could be selectively and efficiently used for separation of Th and Fe with 100 and 98% efficiency respectively from U and REEs. In the residual aqueous solution, REEs were quantitatively precipitated as REEs-oxalate then separated from U.
Total Correction of Tetralogy of Fallot: Effect of Transannular Patch on Early Outcome
Authors: Khan Md Azizul Islam , Hasan Kazi Abul , Salam ABM Abdus , Azad Quazi Abul , Siddiqua Sadia Sajmin , Islam Md Zahidul , Khan Saira , Bari Md Sajedul
Published: April 2018

Background: It is arguable whether presence of transannular patch is itself a risk factor for adverse outcome at total correction(repair) of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).This study intended to compare early outcome of intact pulmonary valve annulus with transannular patching at repair of TOF.Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted from July 2015 to January 2017.40 patients were enrolled in 2 groups- A & B.In group A,14 patients with intact pulmonary valve annulus& in group B, 26 patients with transannular patch. The diameter of pulmonary valve annulus was measured with Hegar dilator and Z value of the measured diameter were calculated from an established published nomogram. Transannular patch was placed if Z value of annular diameter < -3 or post repair operative room right ventricle/left ventricle pressure ratio (P RV/LV)> 0.7.Patients were monitored in the intensive care unit(ICU) and followed up for 3 months following discharge from hospital.Results: Patients of group B were younger and smaller body surface area. There were no significant difference of preoperative variables in terms of peripheral arterial oxygen saturation(SpO2%), haematocrit (%),NYHA functional class, right ventricular hypertrophy, and level & severity of right ventricular out flow tract obstruction. Early out come in terms of duration of ventilation time, inotrope support & ICU stay; post operative morbidity & mortality were more in group B than group A patients. Pulmonary regurgitation & right ventricular dysfunction following transannular patch at repair of TOF plays important role for adverse outcome.Conclusion: Transannular patch is associated with higher morbidity and mortality in total correction of Tetralogy of Fallot.Cardiovasc. j. 2018; 10(2): 194-200
Multifunctional Metasurfaces Based on the “Merging” Concept and Anisotropic Single-Structure Meta-Atoms
Authors: Tang Shiwei , Cai Tong , Xu He-Xiu , He Qiong , Sun Shulin , Zhou Lei
Published: April 2018

Metasurfaces offer great opportunities to control electromagnetic (EM) waves, attracting intensive attention in science and engineering communities. Recently, many efforts were devoted to multifunctional metasurfaces integrating different functionalities into single flat devices. In this article, we present a concise review on the development of multifunctional metasurfaces, focusing on the design strategies proposed and functional devices realized. We first briefly review the early efforts on designing such systems, which simply combine multiple meta-structures with distinct functionalities to form multifunctional devices. To overcome the low-efficiency and functionality cross-talking issues, a new strategy was proposed, in which the meta-atoms are carefully designed single structures exhibiting polarization-controlled transmission/reflection amplitude/phase responses. Based on this new scheme, various types of multifunctional devices were realized in different frequency domains, which exhibit diversified functionalities (e.g., focusing, deflection, surface wave conversion, multi-beam emissions, etc.), for both pure-reflection and pure-transmission geometries or even in the full EM space. We conclude this review by presenting our perspectives on this fast-developing new sub-field, hoping to stimulate new research outputs that are useful in future applications.
A Reliable Scheme for Synchronizing Multimedia Data Streams under Multicasting Environment
Authors: Jadoon Rab Nawaz , Zhou WuYang , Haq Faizan ul Haq , Shafi Jawad , Khan Iftikhar Ahmed , Jadoon Waqas
Published: April 2018

An emerging requirement in multimedia applications over the Internet is the provisioning of synchronized play out of multimedia streams on all the ultimate receivers. Most multimedia applications use real-time transport protocol/real-time control protocol (RTP/RTCP) to transport multimedia data over the internet. Internet Protocol (IP) network incurs a loss and/or delay of media packets resulting in distortions at receivers that can be perceived by the user. These distortions need to be removed before data is presented to the end user. To handle such issues inter-stream and intra-stream synchronization algorithms were developed by the researcher using RTP/RTCP protocols. These schemes could not work under multicasting environment properly. In this paper, we have presented an algorithm based on RTP/RTCP protocol that achieved synchronized playout of multimedia data under multicasting environment. The proposed scheme offers a modification in RTCP and usage of the Network Time Protocol (NTP) as a source of the common clock to achieve synchronized playout of multimedia data on multiple devices at the same time. We have implemented and tested our algorithm in Ericson Research Corporate Unit, Lulea, Sweden. Implementation results show that the proposed algorithm delivered accurately synchronized playout of multimedia data under all the possible scenarios defined in the experimental setup.
Development of Piezoelectric Harvesters with Integrated Trimming Devices
Authors: Doria Alberto , Medè Cristian , Fanti Giulio , Desideri Daniele , Maschio Alvise , Moro Federico
Published: April 2018

Piezoelectric cantilever harvesters have a large power output at their natural frequency, but in some applications the frequency of ambient vibrations is different from the harvester’s frequency and/or ambient vibrations are periodic with some harmonic components. To cope with these operating conditions harvesters with integrated trimming devices (ITDs) are proposed. Some prototypes are developed with the aid of an analytical model and tested with an impulsive method. Results show that a small trimming device can lower the main resonance frequency of a piezoelectric harvester of the same extent as a larger tip mass and, moreover, it generates at high frequency a second resonance peak. A multi-physics numerical finite element (FE) model is developed for predicting the generated power and for performing a stress-strain analysis of harvesters with ITDs. The numerical model is validated on the basis of the experimental results. Several configurations of ITDs are conceived and studied. Numerical results show that the harvesters with ITDs are able to generate relevant power at two frequencies, owing to the particular shape of the modes of vibration. The stress in the harvesters with ITDs is smaller than the stress in the harvester with a tip mass trimmed to the same frequency.
A Novel Tempogram Generating Algorithm Based on Matching Pursuit
Authors: Gui Wenming , Sun Yao , Tao Yuting , Li Yanping , Meng Lun , Zhang Jinglan
Published: April 2018

Tempogram is one of the most useful representations for tempo, which has many applications, such as music tempo estimation, music structure analysis, music classification, and beat tracking. This paper presents a novel tempogram generating algorithm, which is based on matching pursuit. First, a tempo dictionary is designed in the light of the characteristics of tempo and note onset, then matching pursuit based on the tempo dictionary is executed on the resampled novelty curve, and finally the tempogram is created by assembling the coefficients of matching pursuit. The tempogram created by this algorithm has better resolution, stronger sparsity, and flexibility than those of the traditional algorithms. We demonstrate the properties of the algorithm through experiments and provide an application example for tempo estimation.
Gaseous Nitric Acid Activated Graphite Felts as Hierarchical Metal-Free Catalyst for Selective Oxidation of H2S
Authors: Xu Zhenxin , Duong-Viet Cuong , Ba Housseinou , Li Bing , Truong-Huu Tri , Nguyen-Dinh Lam , Pham-Huu Cuong
Published: April 2018

In this study, we reported on the influence of gaseous HNO3 treatment on the formation of defects decorated with oxygenated functional groups on commercial graphite felts (GFs). The gaseous acid treatment also leads to a remarkable increase of the specific as well as effective surface area through the formation of a highly porous graphite structure from dense graphite filamentous. The as-synthesized catalyst was further used as a metal-free catalyst in the selective oxidation of H2S in industrial waste effluents. According to the results, the defects decorated with oxygenated groups were highly active for performing selective oxidation of H2S into elemental sulfur. The desulfurization activity was relatively high and extremely stable as a function of time on stream which indicated the high efficiency of these oxidized un-doped GFs as metal-free catalysts for the selective oxidation process. The high catalytic performance was attributed to both the presence of structural defects on the filamentous carbon wall, which acting as a dissociative adsorption center for the oxygen, and the oxygenated functional groups, which could play the role of active sites for the selective oxidation process.
Porous Organic Polymers-Supported Metallocene Catalysts for Ethylene/1-Hexene Copolymerization
Authors: Wang Xiong , Han Xiaoyu , Ren Feng , Xu Renwei , Bai Yongxiao
Published: April 2018

Porous organic polymers (POPs) have received much attention in adsorption, separation, and catalysis. In this paper, porous organic polymers with different pore structure were used as metallocene catalyst supports, and ethylene/1-hexene copolymerizations were conducted using the POPs-supported metallocene catalyst. The pore structure of the prepared POPs and the supported metallocene catalyst were characterized by nitrogen sorption porosimetry and non-local density functional theory simulation, and the molecular chain structure of the produced ethylene/1-hexene copolymers were investigated through gel permeation chromatography (GPC), IR analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF). The results show that the loading amount of active sites varied with different pore structures of the POP supports, and the active species scattered in different pore sizes had a moderate impact on the molecular chain growth and the molecular weight distribution. The IR, DSC, and TREF analysis revealedthat different branching degree, double bond content, and chemical composition distributions were detected from the molecular chain structure of the ethylene/α-olefin copolymers from different POPs and silica-supported metallocene catalysts, despite their similar IR, DSC, and TREF curves due to the same active species. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that porous ethylene/α-olefin copolymers with varied surface morphology were obtained from the POPs-supported metallocene catalysts with different pore structure.
Study of Mesoscale Cloud System Oscillations Capable of Producing Convective Gravity Waves
Authors: Kolios Stavros
Published: April 2018

Mesoscale Convective cloud Systems (MCSs) are frequent in the greater area of the Mediterranean basin throughout the year. During their lifecycle, they can oscillate and produce vertically propagated, atmospheric gravity waves. This study is an effort to detect MCSs with oscillating behavior around the Mediterranean, capable of producing convectively driven gravity waves (CGWs). Furthermore, typical MCS characteristics were calculated to identify the dynamics and the profile of the convective areas which can generate CGWs. Areal changes of the convective cloud tops in 15-min time-steps during the whole lifecycle of the MCSs were calculated to define the MCS oscillations. It was concluded that the MCSs that develop during nighttime as well as in the cold season of the year seem to contribute significantly to CGW production. Topography and specific sea areas like the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea play a catalytic role in triggering MCSs, which seem to contribute to CGW generation.
Levels for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Using Procedural Content Generations
Authors: Brown Joseph Alexander , Lutfullin Bulat , Oreshin Pavel , Pyatkin Ilya
Published: April 2018

Procedural Content Generation is the automatic process for generating game content in order to allow for a decrease in developer resources while adding to the replayability of a digital game. It has been found to be highly effective as a method when utilized in rougelike games, of which Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number shares a number of factors. Search based procedural content, in this case, a genetic algorithm, allows for the creation of levels which meet with a number of designer set requirements. The generator proposed provides for an automatic creation of game content for a commercially available game: the level design, object placement, and enemy placement.
Pore Evolution of Oil Shale during Sub-Critical Water Extraction
Authors: Sun Youhong , He Li , Kang Shijie , Guo Wei , Li Qiang , Deng Sunhua
Published: April 2018

The porous structure of oil shale plays a vital role in heat transfer and mass transport. In this study, the pore evolution of oil shale samples during sub-critical water extraction was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), N2 adsorption/desorption, and low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The following results were obtained: (1) With increased extraction time and extraction temperature, the yield of bitumen increased, pores in spent samples obviously developed and extended to the inner of the shale matrix, and their pore size gradually increased from the nano to micron size; (2) Pore volume and surface area of mesopores increased with increasing yield, indicating that the extraction of organic matter improves the development of organic matter pores distributed in mesopores; (3) The formation of secondary organic matter pores primarily contributes to the increment of pore volume in oil shale samples. The diameter of kerogen may range from 100 to 1600 nm; (4) Fractures probably propagated parallel to the bedding direction, and their evolution led to an initial increase in the total pore volume followed by a decrease. This is likely because fractures will be strongly compacted by pressure due to the weakening of inner support after more organic matter is extracted.
Neighboring Tree Effects and Soil Nutrient Associations with Surviving Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) in an Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) Infested Floodplain Forest
Authors: Kappler Rachel , Knight Kathleen , Koch Jennifer , Root Karen
Published: April 2018

Few ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) have survived the initial devastation that emerald ash borer beetle (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis) has caused in natural populations. We studied green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) trees in a floodplain population after >90% of ash had died from EAB infestation. We examined the relationship among the canopy health classes of surviving ash trees and their nearest neighboring trees (within 6 m) and available soil nutrients. A subset of focal ash trees was randomly selected within health classes ranging from healthy to recently deceased. Focal trees with the healthiest canopy class had significantly fewer ash neighbors compared to declining health classes. Other species of tree neighbors did not have a significant impact on surviving ash tree canopy health. Nutrients in soils immediately surrounding focal trees were compared among health classes. Samples from treeless areas were also used for comparison. There was a significantly greater amount of sulfur (ppm) and phosphorus (mg/kg) in ash tree soil compared to treeless area soil. The relationships between these soil nutrient differences may be from nutrient effects on trees, tree effects on nutrients, or microsite variation in flooded areas. Our data do not directly assess whether these ash trees with healthier canopies have increased resistance to EAB but do indicate that at neighborhood scales in EAB aftermath forests, the surviving ash trees have healthier canopies when separated at least 6 m from other ash trees. This research highlights scale-dependent neighborhood composition drivers of tree susceptibility to pests and suggests that drivers during initial infestation differ from drivers in aftermath forests.
How to Analyze Models of Nonlinear Public Goods
Authors: Archetti Marco
Published: April 2018

Public goods games often assume that the effect of the public good is a linear function of the number of contributions. In many cases, however, especially in biology, public goods have nonlinear effects, and nonlinear games are known to have dynamics and equilibria that can differ dramatically from linear games. Here I explain how to analyze nonlinear public goods games using the properties of Bernstein polynomials, and how to approximate the equilibria. I use mainly examples from the evolutionary game theory of cancer, but the approach can be used for a wide range of nonlinear public goods games.
Comparison of SCS and Green-Ampt Distributed Models for Flood Modelling in a Small Cultivated Catchment in Senegal
Authors: Bouvier Christophe , Bouchenaki Lamia , Tramblay Yves
Published: April 2018

The vulnerability to floods in Africa has increased over the last decades, together with a modification of land cover as urbanized areas are increasing, agricultural practices are changing, and deforestation is increasing. Rainfall-runoff models that properly represent land use change and hydrologic response should be useful for the development of water management and mitigation plans. Although some studies have applied rainfall-runoff models in West Africa for flood modelling, there is still a need to develop such models, while many data are available and have not still been used for modelling improvement. The Ndiba catchment (16.2 km2), which is located in an agricultural area in south Senegal, is such catchment, where a lot of hydro-climatic data has been collected between 1983 and 1992. Twenty-eight flood events have been extracted and modelled by two event-based rainfall-runoff models that are based on the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) or the Green-Ampt (GA) models for runoff, both coupled with the distributed Lag and Route (LR) for routing. Both models were able to reproduce the flood events after calibration, but they had to account for that the infiltration processes are highly dependent on the tillage of the soils and the growing of the crops during the rainy season, which made the initialization of the event-based models difficult. The most influent parameters for both models (the maximal water storage capacity for SCS, the hydraulic conductivity at saturation for Green-Ampt) were mostly related to the development stage of the vegetation, described by a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) anomaly. The SCS model performed finally better than the Green-Ampt model, because Green-Ampt was very sensitive to the variability of the hydraulic conductivity at saturation. The variability of the parameters of the models highlights the complexity of this kind of cultivated catchment, with highly non stationary conditions. The models could be improved by a better knowledge of the tillage practices, and a better integration of these practices in the parameters predictors.
Association between Four-Level Categorisation of Indoor Exposure and Perceived Indoor Air Quality
Authors: Tähtinen Katja , Lappalainen Sanna , Karvala Kirsi , Remes Jouko , Salonen Heidi
Published: April 2018

The aim of this study was to develop and test a tool for assessing urgency of indoor air quality (IAQ) measures. The condition of the 27 buildings were investigated and results were categorized. Statistical test studied the differences between the categories and the employees’ complaints about their work environment. To study the employees’ experiences of the work premises, a validated indoor air (IA) questionnaire was used. This study reveals a multifaceted problem: many factors affecting IAQ may also affect perceived IAQ, making it difficult to separate the impurity sources and ventilation system deficiencies affecting to employee experiences. An examination of the relationship between the categories and perceived IAQ revealed an association between the mould odour perceived by employees and mould detected by the researcher. A weak link was also found between the assessed categories and environmental complaints. However, we cannot make far-reaching conclusions regarding the assessed probability of abnormal IA exposure in the building on the basis of employee experiences. According to the results, categorising tool can partly support the assessment of the urgency for repairs when several factors that affect IAQ are taken into account.
A Wireless Sensor Network Framework for Real-Time Monitoring of Height and Volume Variations on Sandy Beaches and Dunes
Authors: Pozzebon Alessandro , Andreadis Alessandro , Bertoni Duccio , Bove Carmine
Published: April 2018

In this paper, the authors describe the realization and testing of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) framework aiming at measuring, remotely and in real time, the level variations of the sand layer of sandy beaches or dunes. The proposed framework is based on an innovative low cost sensing structure, able to measure the level variations with a 5-cm degree of precision and to locally transfer the acquired data through the ZigBee protocol. The described sensor is integrated in a wider ZigBee wireless sensor network architecture composed of an array of sensors that, arranged according to a grid layout, can acquire the same data at different points, allowing the definition of a dynamic map of the area under study. The WSN is connected to a local Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) gateway that is in charge of data processing and transmission to a cloud infrastructure through a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) connection. Data are then stored in a MySQL database and made available any time and anywhere through the Internet. The proposed architecture has been tested in a laboratory, to analyze data acquisition, processing timing and power consumption and then in situ to prove the effectiveness of the system. The described infrastructure is expected to be integrated in a wider IoT architecture including different typologies of sensors, in order to create a multi-purpose tool for the study of coastal erosive processes.
Ubiquitin System
Authors: Nakamura Nobuhiro
Published: April 2018

Ever since the discovery of ubiquitin in 1975[...]
Advances in Tribology of Lubricin and Lubricin-Like Synthetic Polymer Nanostructures
Authors: Bayer Ilker
Published: April 2018

Articular cartilage surrounds the ends of diarthrodial joints (most common movable joints) and during motion, it experiences a wide range of loading conditions while remaining under exceedingly low-friction and wear-free conditions. This remarkable tribological performance stems from complex interactions between the synovial fluid and articular cartilage. In fact, lubricin and hyaluronic acid (HA) that are part of the synovial fluid are now known to be the key contributors to effective joint lubrication and wear protection. Studies involving animal models and artificial systems suggest that lubricin and HA molecules may work in tandem to produce a highly synergistic effect for lubrication. However, latest observations suggest that lubricin has significant potential for protecting the articular joints, probably more than HA. Recently, lurbicin-related friction regulation in soft eye tissues, where much lower forces are involved compared to knee joints for instance, has been shown to be related to dry eye disease and contact lens discomfort. As such, lubricin’s role in natural friction regulation is very complex. Moreover, partially unresolved water-lubricin interactions are essential for lubrication and load carrying function in the joints. The chemical structure of lubricin has inspired several chemists to synthesize new copolymers and polymer brushes that function just like lubricin in order to design new synthetic or bio-based lubricants with ultra-low-friction coefficients. Hence, lubricin has emerged as a key natural molecule for bioinspired tribology. The aim of this review is to present the latest advances in understanding of lubricin’s function in joint lubrication and in soft tissue friction (i.e., human eye) and document what has been achieved so far in transforming this biomedical knowledge into new polymer design for advanced engineering tribology. It is hoped that this review will catalyze research and development efforts in obtaining very stable and high load-bearing polymer-based ultra-low-friction surfaces via biomimicry.
Facile Synthesis of Nitrogen and Oxygen Co-Doped Clews of Carbon Nanobelts for Supercapacitors with Excellent Rate Performance
Authors: Yu Liang , Zeng Shaozhong , Zeng Xierong , Li Xiaohua , Wu Hongliang , Yao Yuechao , Tu Wenxuan , Zou Jizhao
Published: April 2018

Facile synthesis of carbon materials with high heteroatom content, large specific surface area (SSA) and hierarchical porous structure is critical for energy storage applications. In this study, nitrogen and oxygen co-doped clews of carbon nanobelts (NCNBs) with hierarchical porous structures are successfully prepared by a carbonization and subsequent activation by using ladder polymer of hydroquinone and formaldehyde (LPHF) as the precursor and ammonia as the activating agent. The hierarchical porous structures and ultra-high SSA (up to 2994 m2 g−1) can effectively facilitate the exchange and transportation of electrons and ions. Moreover, suitable heteroatom content is believed to modify the wettability of the carbon material. The as-prepared activated NCNBs-60 (the NCNBs activated by ammonia at 950 °C for 60 min) possess a high capacitance of 282 F g−1 at the current density of 0.25 A g−1, NCNBs-45 (the NCNBs are activated by ammonia at 950 °C for 45 min) and show an excellent capacity retention of 50.2% when the current density increase from 0.25 to 150 A g−1. Moreover, the NCNBs-45 electrode exhibits superior electrochemical stability with 96.2% capacity retention after 10,000 cycles at 5.0 A g−1. The newly prepared NCNBs thus show great potential in the field of energy storage.
Characterization of the Micro-Arc Coatings Containing β-Tricalcium Phosphate Particles on Mg-0.8Ca Alloy
Authors: Sedelnikova Mariya , Komarova Ekaterina , Sharkeev Yurii , Tolkacheva Tatiana , Sheikin Vladimir , Egorkin Vladimir , Mashtalyar Dmitry , Kazakbaeva Aigerim , Schmidt Juergen
Published: April 2018

The characterization of the microstructure, morphology, topography, composition, and physical and chemical properties of the coatings containing β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) particles deposited by the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) method on biodegradable Mg-0.8Ca alloy has been performed. The electrolyte for the MAO process included the following components: Na2HPO4·12H2O, NaOH, NaF, and β-Ca3(PO4)2 (β-TCP). The coating morphology, microstructure, and compositions have been studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). With increasing of the MAO voltage from 350 to 500 V, the coating thickness and surface average roughness of the coatings increased linearly from 6 to 150 µm and from 2 to 8 µm, respectively. The coating deposited at 350 V had more homogeneous porous morphology with numerous pores similar by sizes (2–3 µm) than the coatings formed at 450–500 V. The β-TCP isometric particles were included in the coating surface. The XRD recognized the amorphous-crystalline structure in the coatings with incorporation of the following phases: β-TCP, α-TCP, MgO (periclase) and hydroxyapatite (HA). The corrosion experiments showed that the biodegradation rate of the Mg-0.8Ca alloy coated by calcium phosphates is almost 10 times less than that of uncoated alloy.
Prediction of Protein-Protein Interactions from Amino Acid Sequences Based on Continuous and Discrete Wavelet Transform Features
Authors: Wang Tao , Li Liping , Huang Yu-An , Zhang Hui , Ma Yahong , Zhou Xing
Published: April 2018

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play important roles in various aspects of the structural and functional organization of cells; thus, detecting PPIs is one of the most important issues in current molecular biology. Although much effort has been devoted to using high-throughput techniques to identify protein-protein interactions, the experimental methods are both time-consuming and costly. In addition, they yield high rates of false positive and false negative results. In addition, most of the proposed computational methods are limited in information about protein homology or the interaction marks of the protein partners. In this paper, we report a computational method only using the information from protein sequences. The main improvements come from novel protein sequence representation by combing the continuous and discrete wavelet transforms and from adopting weighted sparse representation-based classifier (WSRC). The proposed method was used to predict PPIs from three different datasets: yeast, human and H. pylori. In addition, we employed the prediction model trained on the PPIs dataset of yeast to predict the PPIs of six datasets of other species. To further evaluate the performance of the prediction model, we compared WSRC with the state-of-the-art support vector machine classifier. When predicting PPIs of yeast, humans and H. pylori dataset, we obtained high average prediction accuracies of 97.38%, 98.92% and 93.93% respectively. In the cross-species experiments, most of the prediction accuracies are over 94%. These promising results show that the proposed method is indeed capable of obtaining higher performance in PPIs detection.
Nanotechnology for Cancer Therapy Based on Chemotherapy
Authors: Zhao Chen-Yang , Cheng Rui , Yang Zhe , Tian Zhong-Min
Published: April 2018

Chemotherapy has been widely applied in clinics. However, the therapeutic potential of chemotherapy against cancer is seriously dissatisfactory due to the nonspecific drug distribution, multidrug resistance (MDR) and the heterogeneity of cancer. Therefore, combinational therapy based on chemotherapy mediated by nanotechnology, has been the trend in clinical research at present, which can result in a remarkably increased therapeutic efficiency with few side effects to normal tissues. Moreover, to achieve the accurate pre-diagnosis and real-time monitoring for tumor, the research of nano-theranostics, which integrates diagnosis with treatment process, is a promising field in cancer treatment. In this review, the recent studies on combinational therapy based on chemotherapy will be systematically discussed. Furthermore, as a current trend in cancer treatment, advance in theranostic nanoparticles based on chemotherapy will be exemplified briefly. Finally, the present challenges and improvement tips will be presented in combination therapy and nano-theranostics.
Metabolomic Profiling of the White, Violet, and Red Flowers of Rhododendron schlippenbachii Maxim.
Authors: Park Chang Ha , Yeo Hyeon Ji , Kim Nam Su , Park Ye Eun , Park Soo-Yun , Kim Jae Kwang , Park Sang Un
Published: April 2018

Rhododendron schlippenbachii Maxim. is a garden plant that is also used for natural medicines as a consequence of the biological activities of its diverse metabolites. We accordingly profiled two anthocyanins and 40 primary and secondary metabolites in the three different colored flowers. The major anthocyanins found in the flowers were cyanidins. The red flowers exhibited the highest accumulation of anthocyanins (1.02 ± 0.02 mg/g dry weight). Principal component analysis was applied to the GC‒TOFMS data. The levels of key tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates in red flowers, such as succinic acid, fumaric acid, and malic acid, were found to be highly significantly different (p < 0.0001) from those in the flowers of other colors. In this study, we aimed to determine metabolite interactions and phenotypic variation among white, violet, and red flowers of R. schlippenbachii by using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC‒TOFMS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Study of Photochemical Cytosine to Uracil Transition via Ultrafast Photo-Cross-Linking Using Vinylcarbazole Derivatives in Duplex DNA
Authors: Sethi Siddhant , Nakamura Shigetaka , Fujimoto Kenzo
Published: April 2018

Gene therapies, including genome editing, RNAi, anti-sense technology and chemical DNA editing are becoming major methods for the treatment of genetic disorders. Techniques like CRISPR-Cas9, zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) and transcription activator-like effector-based nuclease (TALEN) are a few such enzymatic techniques. Most enzymatic genome editing techniques have their disadvantages. Thus, non-enzymatic and non-invasive technologies for nucleic acid editing has been reported in this study which might possess some advantages over the older methods of DNA manipulation. 3-cyanovinyl carbazole (CNVK) based nucleic acid editing takes advantage of photo-cross-linking between a target pyrimidine and the CNVK to afford deamination of cytosine and convert it to uracil. This method previously required the use of high temperatures but, in this study, it has been optimized to take place at physiological conditions. Different counter bases (inosine, guanine and cytosine) complementary to the target cytosine were used, along with derivatives of CNVK (NH2VK and OHVK) to afford the deamination at physiological conditions.
Development of Colorectal-Targeted Dietary Supplement Tablets Containing Natural Purple Rice Bran Oil as a Colorectal Chemopreventive
Authors: Sirithunyalug Busaban , Saenjum Chalermpong , Charumanee Suporn , Sivamaruthi Bhagavathi Sundaram , Chaiyasut Chaiyavat , Sirithunyalug Jakkapan , Tipduangta Pratchaya
Published: April 2018

Colorectal cancer occurs due to various factors. The important risks are dietary lifestyle and inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It has been found that the inhibitory enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the colorectal region can potentially reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. The present study investigated rice bran oil from natural purple rice bran, which exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. This study aimed to evaluate the bioactive compound content of natural purple rice bran oil (NPRBO) derived from native Thai purple rice and the anti-inflammatory activity of NPRBO in colorectal cancer cells, and to develop a colorectal delivery platform in the form of film-coated tablets. NPRBO from the rice bran of five different Thai purple rice cultivars, namely Khao’ Gam Leum-Phua (KGLP), Khao’ Gam Boung (KGB), Khao’ Gam Thor (KGT), Khao’ Gam Pah E-Kaw (KGPEK), and Khao’ Niaw Dam (KND), were extracted using the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction technique. The amount of γ-oryzanol (ORY), tocotrienols, and tocopherols present in NPRBOs and the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of NPRBO were investigated. The highest anti-inflammatory NPRBO was transformed into a dry and free-flowing powder by liquisolid techniques. Then, it was compressed into core tablets and coated with Eudragit®L100 and Eudragit® NE30D. The in vitro release study of the film-coated NPRBO tablets was performed in three-phase simulated gastrointestinal media. The cultivar KGLP was superior to the other samples in terms of the ORY, tocotrienol and tocopherol contents and anti-inflammatory activity. Aerosil® was the most suitable absorbent for transforming NPRBO into a free-flowing powder and was used to prepare the NPRBO core tablets. The in vitro KGLP-NPRBO film-coated tablet release profile showed that no ORY was released at gastric pH while 85% of ORY was released at pH 7.4 after 6 h; this would be expected to occur in the colorectal area. Therefore, this study demonstrates the potential of KGLP-NPRBO to prevent colorectal cancer via a specific colorectal dietary supplement delivery system.
Microstructure Development and Its Influence on the Properties of Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene/Polystyrene Blends
Authors: Banerjee Ritima , Ray Suprakas Sinha , Ghosh Anup K.
Published: April 2018

The present work is a novel attempt to understand the microstructure of styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS)/polystyrene (PS) blends not only through morphological studies, but also thermal, mechanical and rheological characterizations. SEBS/PS blends containing 10, 30 and 50 wt % PS were processed in a micro-compounder and characterized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies, with selective staining of the PS phase, revealed the presence of PS as nanometer-sized domains, as well as phase-separated micrometer-sized aggregates. Blends with 30 and 50 wt % PS exhibited a fibrillar microstructure, obeying Hirsch’s model of short fiber composites. A remarkable increase in glass transition temperature indicated a strong interaction of the fibrils with SEBS. All blends showed two modes of relaxation corresponding to the two phases. A single mode of relaxation of the PS phase has been attributed to combined effects of the partial miscibility of the added PS, along with the interaction of the fibrils with SEBS. The long relaxation time of the elastomeric phase indicated the tendency of these materials to undergo time-dependent shrinkage in secondary processing operations. An increase in PS content resulted in the lowering of the shear viscosity and energy requirement for mixing, indicating the ease of processing.
Facile and Eco-Friendly Fabrication of Colored and Bioactive Silk Materials Using Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Two Flavonoids
Authors: Zhou Yuyang , Tang Ren-Cheng
Published: April 2018

Recently, there has been an increasing tendency towards the functionalization of silk using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to inhibit bacterial multiplication and disease spread. Considering environmental factors and sustainable development, the preparation of AgNPs using natural extracts is becoming a research hotspot. This study aims at fabricating colored and bioactive silk fabric using AgNPs synthesized by two representative flavonoids (quercetin and rutin). The effects of pH, temperature, and flavonoid concentration on the yield and particle size of AgNPs were studied. The color features and functionalities of the AgNPs-treated silk were also evaluated. The results showed that the AgNPs synthesized by quercetin were generated faster but displayed poorer size uniformity than those prepared by rutin. The as-prepared AgNPs showed good stability. The AgNPs prepared by rutin displayed a more uniform distribution on silk than those synthesized by quercetin. The antibacterial activity of AgNPs-treated silk remained over 90% against E. coli and S. aureus even after 30 washing cycles. The antioxidant activity of the treated silk gradually decreased during washing. The present research proposes a facile and eco-friendly method for the preparation of AgNPs-coated silk material using flavonoids, which can serve as hygiene-related and medical textile materials.
What Would the Goddess Do? Isis, Radical Grandmothers, and Eliza Sharples “All Reform Will Be Found to Be Inefficient that Does Not Embrace the Rights of Woman.”
Authors: Houston Gail Turley
Published: April 2018

Recent research in the Huntington archive provides new information for assessing the importance of Eliza Sharples’s meaning as a radical feminist, critiquing and using Christianity and pagan female Gods to establish her authority and further her feminist cause.
Comparison of the Retrieval of Sea Surface Salinity Using Different Instrument Configurations of MICAP
Authors: Zhang Lanjie , Wang Zhenzhan , Yin Xiaobin
Published: April 2018

The Microwave Imager Combined Active/Passive (MICAP) has been designed to simultaneously retrieve sea surface salinity (SSS), sea surface temperature (SST) and wind speed (WS), and its performance has also been preliminarily analyzed. To determine the influence of the first guess values uncertainties on the retrieved parameters of MICAP, the retrieval accuracies of SSS, SST, and WS are estimated at various noise levels. The results suggest that the errors on the retrieved SSS have not increased dues poorly known initial values of SST and WS, since the MICAP can simultaneously acquire SST information and correct ocean surface roughness. The main objective of this paper is to obtain the simplified instrument configuration of MICAP without loss of the SSS, SST, and WS retrieval accuracies. Comparisons are conducted between three different instrument configurations in retrieval mode, based on the simulation measurements of MICAP. The retrieval results tend to prove that, without the 23.8 GHz channel, the errors on the retrieved SSS, SST, and WS for MICAP could also satisfy the accuracy requirements well globally during only one satellite pass. By contrast, without the 1.26 GHz scatterometer, there are relatively large increases in the SSS, SST, and WS errors at middle/low latitudes.
A Multilayer Surface Temperature, Surface Albedo, and Water Vapor Product of Greenland from MODIS
Authors: Hall Dorothy K. , Cullather Richard I. , DiGirolamo Nicolo E. , Comiso Josefino C. , Medley Brooke C. , Nowicki Sophie M.
Published: April 2018

A multilayer, daily ice surface temperature (IST)–albedo–water vapor product of Greenland, extending from March 2000 through December 2016, has been developed using standard MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data products from the Terra satellite. To meet the needs of the ice sheet modeling community, this new Earth Science Data Record (ESDR) is provided in a polar stereographic projection in NetCDF format, and includes the existing standard MODIS Collection 6.1 IST and derived melt maps, and Collection 6 snow albedo and water vapor maps, along with ancillary data, and is provided at a spatial resolution of ~0.78 km. This ESDR enables relationships between IST, surface melt, albedo, and water vapor to be evaluated easily. We show examples of the components of the ESDR and describe some uses of the ESDR such as for comparison with skin temperature, albedo, and water vapor output from Modern Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2). Additionally, we show validation of the MODIS IST using in situ and aircraft data, and validation of MERRA-2 skin temperature maps using MODIS IST and in situ data. The ESDR has been assigned a DOI and will be available through the National Snow and Ice Data Center by the summer of 2018.
The European Natural Gas Market Reforms Revisited: Differentiating between Regulatory Output and Outcome
Authors: Herweg Nicole , Wurster Stefan , Dümig Kathrin
Published: April 2018

The article addresses the question of how successful the European natural gas reforms of 1998, 2003, and 2009 have been in terms of increasing competition in the sector. We argue that regulatory provisions are policy output variables, which as such do not affect competition directly. However, successful reforms can have an impact on the market structure, which might lead to increased competition and price reductions. Thus, it is pivotal to differentiate between policy output and outcome variables. Therefore, we first conduct a cross-sectional analysis of the regulatory impact on the market structure. Second, we apply error-correction models to test whether changes in the market structure affected the price development. Our findings suggest that the market reforms were successful in terms of liberalizing the sector, whereas the market structure did not affect the natural gas prices. Thus, we see a “successful failure” of the European natural gas market reforms.