bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bubbly Water as a Natural Metamaterial of Negative Bulk-Modulus
Authors: Luan Pi-Gang
Published: September 2019

In this study, an oscillator model of bubble-in-water is proposed to analyze the effective modulus of low-concentration bubbly water. We show that in a wide range of wave frequency the bubbly water acquires a negative effective modulus, while the effective density of the medium is still positive. These two properties imply the existence of a wide acoustic gap in which the propagation of acoustic waves in this medium is prohibited. The dispersion relation for the acoustic modes in this medium follows Lorentz type dispersion, which is of the same form as that of the phonon-polariton in an ionic crystal. Numerical results of the gap edge frequencies and the dispersion relation in the long-wavelength regime based on this effective theory are consistent with the sonic band results calculated with the plane-wave expansion method (PWEM). Our theory provides a simple mechanism for explaining the long-wavelength behavior of the bubbly water medium. Therefore, phenomena such as the high attenuation rate of sound or acoustic Anderson localization in bubbly water can be understood more intuitively. The effects of damping are also briefly discussed. This effective modulus theory may be generalized and applied to other bubble-in-soft-medium type sonic systems.
Plasma Disappearance Rate of Indocyanine Green for Determination of Liver Function in Three Different Models of Shock
Authors: Mathes Alexander , Plata Christopher , Rensing Hauke , Kreuer Sascha , Fink Tobias , Raddatz Alexander
Published: September 2019

The measurement of the liver function via the plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (PDRICG) is a sensitive bed-side tool in critical care. Yet, recent evidence has questioned the value of this method for hyperdynamic conditions. To evaluate this technique in different hemodynamic settings, we analyzed the PDRICG and corresponding pharmacokinetic models after endotoxemia or hemorrhagic shock in rats. Male anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats underwent hemorrhage (mean arterial pressure 35 ± 5 mmHg, 90 min) and 2 h of reperfusion, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced moderate or severe (1.0 vs. 10 mg/kg) endotoxemia for 6 h (each n = 6). Afterwards, PDRICG was measured, and pharmacokinetic models were analyzed using nonlinear mixed effects modeling (NONMEM®). Hemorrhagic shock resulted in a significant decrease of PDRICG, compared with sham controls, and a corresponding attenuation of the calculated ICG clearance in 1- and 2-compartment models, with the same log-likelihood. The induction of severe, but not moderate endotoxemia, led to a significant reduction of PDRICG. The calculated ICG blood clearance was reduced in 1-compartment models for both septic conditions. 2-compartment models performed with a significantly better log likelihood, and the calculated clearance of ICG did not correspond well with PDRICG in both LPS groups. 3-compartment models did not improve the log likelihood in any experiment. These results demonstrate that PDRICG correlates well with ICG clearance in 1- and 2-compartment models after hemorrhage. In endotoxemia, best described by a 2-compartment model, PDRICG may not truly reflect the ICG clearance.
Non-Linear Dynamics Analysis of Protein Sequences. Application to CYP450
Authors: Cadet Xavier F. , Dehak Reda , Chin Sang Peter , Bessafi Miloud
Published: September 2019

The nature of changes involved in crossed-sequence scale and inner-sequence scale is very challenging in protein biology. This study is a new attempt to assess with a phenomenological approach the non-stationary and nonlinear fluctuation of changes encountered in protein sequence. We have computed fluctuations from an encoded amino acid index dataset using cumulative sum technique and extracted the departure from the linear trend found in each protein sequence. For inner-sequence analysis, we found that the fluctuations of changes statistically follow a −5/3 Kolmogorov power and behave like an incremental Brownian process. The pattern of the changes in the inner sequence seems to be monofractal in essence and to be bounded between Hurst exponent [1/3,1/2] range, which respectively corresponds to the Kolmogorov and Brownian monofractal process. In addition, the changes in the inner sequence exhibit moderate complexity and chaos, which seems to be coherent with the monofractal and stochastic process highlighted previously in the study. The crossed-sequence changes analysis was achieved using an external parameter, which is the activity available for each protein sequence, and some results obtained for the inner sequence, specifically the drift and Kolmogorov complexity spectrum. We found a significant linear relationship between activity changes and drift changes, and also between activity and Kolmogorov complexity. An analysis of the mean square displacement of trajectories in the bivariate space (drift, activity) and (Kolmogorov complexity spectrum, activity) seems to present a superdiffusive law with a 1.6 power law value.
Process Drama in Civic Education: Balancing Student Input and Learning Outcomes in a Playful Format
Authors: Hallgren Eva , Österlind Eva
Published: September 2019

The purpose is to investigate process drama for teaching civics, mainly democracy and migration. Process drama implies students and teacher to take on roles, to explore a subject content collectively. The study is based on a secondary school educational initiative where a drama pedagogue was invited to address civics through process drama. Four civic lessons were video recorded and analyzed through an activity theory framework. From this perspective, process drama can be understood as two activities with different motives/objects, the educational and the fictional, where the fictional activity should have a playful format. The results show that the dialogical approach used by the drama pedagogue created a democratic opportunity and also established the playful format. The students’ engagement was notably high. However, it was obvious there were no challenging or probing questions being asked by the drama pedagogue or the civics teacher, neither in nor out of role. As a consequence, the full learning potential of process drama in civics education could not be achieved. We suggest a co-teaching approach between civic teachers and drama pedagogues, to overcome challenges in using process drama in civic education for learning objectives to be attained.
Internet of Things Applications as Energy Internet in Smart Grids and Smart Environments
Authors: Kabalci Yasin , Kabalci Ersan , Padmanaban Sanjeevikumar , Holm-Nielsen Jens Bo , Blaabjerg Frede
Published: September 2019

Energy Internet (EI) has been recently introduced as a new concept, which aims to evolve smart grids by integrating several energy forms into an extremely flexible and effective grid. In this paper, we have comprehensively analyzed Internet of Things (IoT) applications enabled for smart grids and smart environments, such as smart cities, smart homes, smart metering, and energy management infrastructures to investigate the development of the EI based IoT applications. These applications are promising key areas of the EI concept, since the IoT is considered one of the most important driving factors of the EI. Moreover, we discussed the challenges, open issues, and future research opportunities for the EI concept based on IoT applications and addressed some important research areas.
Deep Learning-Based Short-Term Load Forecasting for Supporting Demand Response Program in Hybrid Energy System
Authors: Pramono Sholeh Hadi , Rohmatillah Mahdin , Maulana Eka , Hasanah Rini Nur , Hario Fakhriy
Published: September 2019

A novel method for short-term load forecasting (STLF) is proposed in this paper. The method utilizes both long and short data sequences which are fed to a wavenet based model that employs dilated causal residual convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) layer respectively to hourly forecast future load demand. This model is aimed to support the demand response program in hybrid energy systems, especially systems using renewable and fossil sources. In order to prove the generality of our model, two different datasets are used which are the ENTSO-E (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) dataset and ISO-NE (Independent System Operator New England) dataset. Moreover, two different ways of model testing are conducted. The first is testing with the dataset having identical distribution with validation data, while the second is testing with data having unknown distribution. The result shows that our proposed model outperforms other deep learning-based model in terms of root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). In detail, our model achieves RMSE, MAE, and MAPE equal to 203.23, 142.23, and 2.02 for the ENTSO-E testing dataset 1 and 292.07, 196.95 and 3.1 for ENTSO-E dataset 2. Meanwhile, in the ISO-NE dataset, the RMSE, MAE, and MAPE equal to 85.12, 58.96, and 0.4 for ISO-NE testing dataset 1 and 85.31, 62.23, and 0.46 for ISO-NE dataset 2.
Experimental Investigation of Diluents Components on Performance and Emissions of a High Compression Ratio Methanol SI Engine
Authors: Zhou You , Hong Wei , Yang Ye , Li Xiaoping , Xie Fangxi , Su Yan
Published: September 2019

Increasing compression ratio and using lean burn are two effective techniques for improving engine performance. Methanol has a wide range of sources and is a kind of suitable fuel for a high-compression ratio spark-ignition lean burn engine. Lean burn mainly has a dilution effect, thermal effect and chemical effect. To clarify the influences of different effects and provide guidance for improving composition of dilution gases and applications of this technology, this paper chose Ar, N2 and CO2 as diluents. A spark-ignition methanol engine modified from a diesel engine with a compression ratio of 17.5 was used for the experiments. The results obtained by using methanol spark ignition combustion indicated that at engine speed of 1400 rpm and 25% load, NOx dropped by up to 77.5%, 100% and 100% by Ar, CO2 and N2. Gases with higher specific heat ratio and lower heat capacity represented by Ar exhibited the least adverse effect on combustion and showed a downward break-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) trend. Gas with high specific heat capacity represented by CO2 can decrease NOx and total hydro carbons (THC) emissions at the same time, but the BSFC of CO2 showed the worst trend, followed by N2. Gas affecting the combustion process like CO2 had chemical effect.
A Study on Neutral-Point Potential in Three-Level NPC Converters
Authors: Zhang Maosong , Cui Ying , Wang Qunjing , Tao Jun , Wang Xiuqin , Zhao Hongsheng , Li Guoli
Published: September 2019

This paper proposes an accurate mathematical model of three-level neutral-point-clamped (NPC) converters that can accurately represent the midpoint potential drift of the DC link with parameter perturbation. The mathematical relationships between the fluctuation in neutral-point voltage, the parametric perturbation, and the capacitance error are obtained as mathematical expressions in this model. The expressions can be used to quantitatively analyze the reason for the neutral-point voltage imbalance and balancing effect based on a zero-sequence voltage injection. The injected zero-sequence voltage, which can be used to balance the DC-side voltages with the combined action of active current, can be easily obtained from the proposed model. A balancing control under four-quadrant operation modes is proposed by considering the active current to verify the effectiveness of this model. Both the simulation and experiment results validate the excellent performance of the proposed model compared to the conventional model.
Terrestrial Ecosystem Impacts of Sulfide Mining: Scope of Issues for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota, USA
Authors: Frelich Lee E.
Published: September 2019

Large-scale metal mining operations are planned or underway in many locations across the boreal forest biome in North America, Europe, and Asia. Although many published analyses of mining impacts on water quality in boreal landscapes are available, there is little guidance regarding terrestrial impacts. Scoping of potential impacts of Cu-Ni exploration and mining in sulfide ores are presented for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), Minnesota USA, an area of mostly boreal forest on thin soils and granitic bedrock. Although the primary footprint of the proposed mines would be outside the BWCAW, displacement and fragmentation of forest ecosystems would cause spatial propagation of effects into a secondary footprint within the wilderness. Potential negative impacts include disruption of population dynamics for wildlife species with migration routes, or metapopulations of plant species that span the wilderness boundary, and establishment of invasive species outside the wilderness that could invade the wilderness. Due to linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, acid mine drainage can impact lowland forests, which are highly dependent on chemistry of water flowing through them. The expected extremes in precipitation and temperature due to warming climate can also interact with mining impacts to reduce the resilience of forests to disturbance caused by mining.
A Simple and Efficient Method to Fabricate Superhydrophobic Wood with Enhanced Mechanical Durability
Authors: Han Xiaoshuai , Wang Zhenxing , Zhang Qinqin , Pu Junwen
Published: September 2019

The poor durability and complex production process are two tough challenges for the practical application of superhydrophobic wood. In this work, high-mechanical-resistance superhydrophobic wood was fabricated by a one-step hydrothermal vacuum dipping method using SiO2 nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) in combination with vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES). The as-prepared superhydrophobic surfaces exhibited water contact angles (CAs) greater than 152° and water sliding angles (SAs) less than 3°. It also exhibited robust stability and durability in harsh conditions, including finger wiping, water brushing, intense sandpaper abrasion, and severe ultrasonic cleaning. The superhydrophobic surface was created by the random distribution of oligomer-wrapped SiO2 NP spheres having different sizes. Further testing showed that the SiO2 NPs were firmly fixed on the wood substrate via chemical bonding, which contributed to the high wear resistance. The modification method developed in this work provides a simple and efficient route to fabricate large-scale, mechanically stable, and durable superhydrophobic surfaces for advanced engineering materials.
Managing Mixed Stands: Reassessing a Forgotten Stand Type in the Southeastern United States
Authors: Willis John L. , Gordon Jason S. , Tanger Shaun , Blazier Michael A. , Self Andrew B. , Brodbeck Arnold
Published: September 2019

Forestry in the Southeastern United States has long focused on converting natural stands into pine plantations or managing exclusively for hardwoods. Little consideration has been given to managing stands containing pine and hardwood mixtures, as these stands were considered inferior in terms of productivity and/or quality. Recent declines in small-diameter softwood markets and logging workforce have, however, begun to stress the traditional pine production model in some locations, raising interest in management alternatives. Here, we provide biological, economic, and sociocultural rationale for pine-hardwood mixtures as an alternative strategy for landowners with multiple management objectives. To support this idea, an illustration compares a mixed-species plantation to pine and hardwood monocultures under a variety of simulated scenarios to demonstrate growth potential and economic and biological resilience. Moreover, to identify scenarios where managing pine-hardwood mixtures would be most appropriate, and to help conceptualize landowner interest in mixed stands, we present a guide combining biological, economic, and sociocultural factors that we anticipate influencing the adoption of mixed-stand management. The aim of this conceptual paper is not to suggest that mixed-species stand management should become the dominant management paradigm; rather, we seek to encourage researchers and land managers to consider it as part of the broader silvicultural toolbox.
RFID Based Embedded System for Sustainable Food Management in an IoT Network Paradigm
Authors: Parada Raúl , Palazón Alfonso , Monzo Carlos , Melià-Seguí Joan
Published: September 2019

A third of the food produced in the world ends up in the rubbish, enough to put an end to world hunger. On the other hand, society is increasingly concerned to bring healthy eating habits. A RFID (radio frequency identification) food management system is designed to palliate the previously described issues in an Internet of Things (IoT) network paradigm. It consists of RFID readers placed on a user’s kitchen furniture, which automatically reads food information. There is no need for direct sight between reader and tag, as it occurs through the barcode technology. As a complement, a multi-platform web application is developed, allowing its users to check the date of food expiration and other detailed information. The application notifies the user when a product is about to expire. It also offers recipes that might be prepared with available foods, thus preventing them from being wasted. The recipes are accompanied by their nutritional information, so that the user can exhaustively monitor what he/she eats. This embedded system may provide economic benefits to the manufacturer, since it allows supermarkets to pay for displaying their products advertised through the application. After system deployment, design conclusions are shown, and future improvement points are indicated.
Frequency Domain Electromagnetic Method (FDEM) as a Tool to Study Contamination at the Sub-Soil Layer
Authors: Goldshleger Naftaly , Shamir Omer , Basson Uri , Zaady Eli
Published: September 2019

Traditional sheep and cattle grazing in natural semiarid Mediterranean, Asian and African regions is based on night corrals, where animal secretions accumulate. Lack of management and disregard for the long-term effects of using the same sites for corrals on underground soil characters may negatively affect soil values. This locally increases the content of organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and others that are stockpiled in the corrals. As these activities are long-lasting, they affect the soil parameters, leading to nutrient leakage and contamination of the upper and sub-soil surface. This alarming situation demands a technique to reveal and estimate sub-soil contamination in corrals by using the frequency domain electromagnetic method (FDEM) for measuring soil salinity. The aim of this study is to correlate electrical conductivity measurement with the FDEM to study the influence of sheep corrals on the changes within the sub-soils of corrals in the semiarid region of the northern Negev desert. The results show that a correlation was found between the laboratory soil analysis and the electromagnetic analysis in all sites. Plugot forest site results found to be anomalous indicated sub-surface conductivity resulting from the presence of the corral, with a higher conductivity value of about 230 mS/m, while no differences were found between the soil layers outside the active corral and the corral edge. High values were found in the center of the active corral: 960 mS/m by the laboratory analysis and 200 mS/m by the FDEM. The values obtained in the abandoned corral in the laboratory were about 10 times lower than those obtained from the active corral and six times lower that those found with the FDEM. At the Beit Nir site, high values were found in the center of the active corral: 300 mS/m by the laboratory analysis and 130 mS/m by the FDEM. With different sources of manure, cattle and sheep have shown similar patterns of electrical conductivity (EC) obtained in the sub-soil layers between active and abandoned corrals: high in the center and low at the edge and outside the corral and decreased with depth.
Racialized Structural Vulnerability: Neighborhood Racial Composition, Concentrated Disadvantage, and Fine Particulate Matter in California
Authors: Liévanos Raoul S.
Published: September 2019

This study contributes to previous research by advancing a “racialized structural vulnerability” framework and presenting a new empirical analysis of the relationship between neighborhood Asian, Black, and Latinx composition; extrinsic and intrinsic vulnerability; and PM2.5 exposures in California with secondary data from 2004–2014. Principal component analyses revealed that tract Latinx composition was highly correlated with extrinsic vulnerability (economic disadvantage and limited English-speaking ability), and that tract Black composition was highly correlated with intrinsic vulnerability (elevated prevalence of asthma-related emergency department visits and low birth weight). Spatial lag regression models tested hypotheses regarding the association between Asian, Black, and Latinx population vulnerability factors and the 2009–2011 annual average PM2.5 percentile rankings, net of emissions and spatial covariates. Results indicated that the percent Latinx population, followed by the regional clustering of PM2.5, and the percent of non-Latinx Black and non-Latinx Asian population were the strongest positive multivariable correlates of PM2.5 percentile rankings, net of other factors. Additional analyses suggested that despite shifting demographic and spatial correlates of 2012–2014 PM2.5 exposures, the tracts’ Black and Latinx composition and location in the San Joaquin Valley remain important vulnerability factors with implications for future research and policy.
Co-Exposure to SiO2 Nanoparticles and Arsenic Induced Augmentation of Oxidative Stress and Mitochondria-Dependent Apoptosis in Human Cells
Authors: Ahamed Maqusood , Akhtar Mohd Javed , Alhadlaq Hisham A.
Published: September 2019

Widespread application of silica nanoparticles (nSiO2) and ubiquitous metalloid arsenic (As) may increase their chances of co-exposure to human beings in daily life. Nonetheless, studies on combined effects of nSiO2 and As in human cells are lacking. We investigated the co-exposure effects of nSiO2 and As in human liver (HepG2) and human fibroblast (HT1080) cells. Results showed that nSiO2 did not cause cytotoxicity. However, exposure of As caused oxidative stress and apoptosis in both types of cells. Interesting results were that co-exposure of a non-cytotoxic concentration of nSiO2 significantly augmented the As induced toxicity in both cells. Intracellular level of As was higher in the co-exposure group (nSiO2 + As) than the As group alone, suggesting that nSiO2 facilitates the cellular uptake of As. Co-exposure of nSiO2 and As potentiated oxidative stress indicated by pro-oxidants generation (reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation) and antioxidants depletion (glutathione level, and glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities). In addition, co-exposure of nSiO2 and As also potentiated mitochondria-mediated apoptosis suggested by increased expression of p53, bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9 genes (pro-apoptotic) and decreased expression of bcl-2 gene (anti-apoptotic) along with depleted mitochondrial membrane potential. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing that co-exposure of nSiO2 and As induced augmentation of oxidative stress and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in HepG2 and HT1080 cells. Hence, careful attention is required for human health assessment following combined exposure to nSiO2 and As.
Bone Diseases in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease
Authors: Jeong Hae , Kim Dong
Published: September 2019

Osteoporosis is a frequently observed complication in patients with chronic liver disease, particularly liver cirrhosis and cholestatic liver diseases. In addition, osteoporosis is critical in patients receiving a liver transplant. Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated bone diseases in patients with more frequently observed chronic liver disease, such as chronic viral hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic liver disease. Osteoporosis is a disease caused by an imbalance in the activities of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Over the last few decades, many advances have improved our knowledge of the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Importantly, activated immune cells affect the progression of osteoporosis, and chronic inflammation may exert an additional effect on the existing pathophysiology of osteoporosis. The microbiota of the intestinal tract may also affect the progression of bone loss in patients with chronic liver disease. Recently, studies regarding the effects of chronic inflammation on dysbiosis in bone diseases have been conducted. However, mechanisms underlying osteoporosis in patients with chronic liver disease are complex and precise mechanisms remain unknown. The following special considerations in patients with chronic liver disease are reviewed: bone diseases in patients who underwent a liver transplant, the association between chronic hepatitis B virus infection treatment and bone diseases, the association between sarcopenia and bone diseases in patients with chronic liver disease, and the association between chronic liver disease and avascular necrosis of the hip. Few guidelines are currently available for the management of low bone mineral density or bone diseases in patients with chronic liver disease. Due to increased life expectancy and therapeutic advances in chronic liver disease, the importance of managing osteoporosis and other bone diseases in patients with chronic liver disease is expected to increase. Consequently, specific guidelines need to be established in the near future.
Diagnosis of Carnitine Deficiency in Extremely Preterm Neonates Related to Parenteral Nutrition: Two Step Newborn Screening Approach
Authors: Ramaswamy Mamatha , Anthony Skrinska Victor , Fayez Mitri Rola , Abdoh Ghassan
Published: September 2019

Currently, there is no evidence in the literature to support the routine supplementation of all parenterally fed premature infants with l-carnitine. In our study, we found that about 8.56% of extremely preterm neonates are diagnosed with carnitine deficiency secondary to malnutrition, either due to reduced stores at birth or related to total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Our two step approach of performing newborn screening (NBS) again at 32 weeks gestational age (GA) equivalent helps to diagnose 81.4% more preterm babies with carnitine deficiency—who would otherwise be missed—and supplement them with l-carnitine for optimal growth. We performed a retrospective cohort study to diagnose carnitine deficiency related to malnutrition in two groups: those presenting at birth and those presenting later in life. We found that there was a statistically significant difference in the median GA and birth weight (BW) between the two groups, but there was no difference in the free carnitine levels.
Misalignment Detection for Web-Scraped Corpora: A Supervised Regression Approach
Authors: Defauw Arne , Szoc Sara , Bardadym Anna , Brabers Joris , Everaert Frederic , Mijic Roko , Scholte Kim , Vanallemeersch Tom , Van Winckel Koen , Van den Bogaert Joachim
Published: September 2019

To build state-of-the-art Neural Machine Translation (NMT) systems, high-quality parallel sentences are needed. Typically, large amounts of data are scraped from multilingual web sites and aligned into datasets for training. Many tools exist for automatic alignment of such datasets. However, the quality of the resulting aligned corpus can be disappointing. In this paper, we present a tool for automatic misalignment detection (MAD). We treated the task of determining whether a pair of aligned sentences constitutes a genuine translation as a supervised regression problem. We trained our algorithm on a manually labeled dataset in the FR–NL language pair. Our algorithm used shallow features and features obtained after an initial translation step. We showed that both the Levenshtein distance between the target and the translated source, as well as the cosine distance between sentence embeddings of the source and the target were the two most important features for the task of misalignment detection. Using gold standards for alignment, we demonstrated that our model can increase the quality of alignments in a corpus substantially, reaching a precision close to 100%. Finally, we used our tool to investigate the effect of misalignments on NMT performance.
Non-Entomopathogenic Roles of Entomopathogenic Fungi in Promoting Plant Health and Growth
Authors: Dara Surendra K.
Published: September 2019

Multiple genera of hypocrealean fungi infect and kill a wide variety of arthropod pests. Several formulations based on these soilborne fungi are commercially available as biopesticides for controlling urban, garden, greenhouse, and agricultural pests. These fungi are an important part of integrated pest management strategies to maintain pest control efficacy, reduce the risk of chemical insecticide resistance, and offer environmentally sustainable pest suppression. While the entomopathogenic or pest management role of these fungi is well documented, several studies in the past decade or two have provided insights into their relationship with plants, soil, and plant pathogens, and their additional roles in promoting plant growth and health. This review highlights these endophytic, mycorrhiza-like, and disease-antagonizing roles of entomopathogenic fungi.
A Prospective Assessment of the Diagnostic Value of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound, Dynamic Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Patients with Small Liver Tumors
Authors: Hsiao Chih-Yang , Chen Po-Da , Huang Kai-Wen
Published: September 2019

Aim: This prospective study assessed the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using long Kupffer phase enhancement for adults with liver tumor size of less than 3 cm. Performance comparisons were also conducted with dynamic computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Background: CEUS has emerged as a reliable image modality, since the development of second-generation contrast medium with long Kupffer phase enhancement. Nonetheless, dynamic CT and MRI are currently the standard imaging tools for the diagnosis of liver cancers, and the diagnostic value of CEUS for liver cancer has yet to be universally accepted. Methods: Sixty-six adult patients suspected of having liver tumors smaller than 3 cm underwent CEUS, dynamic CT, and MRI examinations independently. Subsequent tumor biopsies were used to verify the diagnostic performance of the three imaging modalities. Results: The diagnostic odds ratio (DOR, 95% CI) for hepatocellular carcinoma were as follows: CEUS (52.8, 11.4–243), MRI (29.29, 7.36–116), and CT (19.43, 5.44–69.4); for metastasis: CEUS (200, 19.1–2095), MRI (24, 5.05–114), and CT (32, 6.56–156); and all liver malignancy: CEUS (260, 12.7–5310), MRI (2.57, 0.55–12.1), and CT (5.22, 1.25–21.8). CEUS achieved the best differentiation performance. Conclusions: CEUS outperformed dynamic CT and MRI in terms of diagnostic performance when dealing with small liver tumors (<3 cm).
Distal Femoral Shortening Osteotomy for Severe Knee Flexion Contracture and Crouch Gait in Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Park Hoon , Park Byoung Kyu , Park Kun-Bo , Abdel-Baki Sharkawy Wagih , Rhee Isaac , Kim Chan Woo , Kim Hyun Woo
Published: September 2019

Although there have been advancements of surgical techniques to correct gait abnormalities seen in patients with cerebral palsy, the crouch gait remains one of the most difficult problems to treat. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine our results of distal femoral shortening osteotomy (DFSO) and patellar tendon advancement (PTA), performed in patients with crouch gait associated with severe knee flexion contracture. A total of 33 patients with a mean fixed knee contracture of 38° were included in the study. The mean age at the time of surgery was 12.2 years and the mean follow-up was 26.9 months. The measurements of clinical, radiological, and gait parameters were performed before and after surgery. The mean degrees of knee flexion contracture, Koshino index of patella height, and Gait Deviation Index were found to be significantly improved at the time of final follow-up. The maximum knee extension during the stance phase improved by an average of 25°, and the range of knee motion during gait increased postoperatively. On the other hand, the mean anterior pelvic tilt increased by 9.9°. Also, the maximum knee flexion during the swing phase decreased and the timing of peak knee flexion was observed to be delayed. We conclude that combined procedure of DFSO and PTA is an effective and safe surgical method for treating severe knee flexion contracture and crouch gait. However, the surgeons should be aware of the development of increased anterior pelvic tilt and stiff knee gait after the index operation.
Pregabalin Failed to Prevent Dry Eye Symptoms after Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) in a Randomized Pilot Study
Authors: Galor Anat , Patel Sneh , Small Leslie R. , Rodriguez Adriana , Venincasa Michael J. , Valido Stephen E. , Feuer William , Levitt Roy C. , Sarantopoulos Constantine D. , Felix Elizabeth R.
Published: September 2019

Purpose: Perioperative pregabalin administration has been found to reduce the risk of persistent pain after a variety of surgical procedures. However, this approach has not been tested in relation to eye surgery. As such, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether perioperative pregabalin can reduce the presence of dry eye (DE) symptoms, including eye pain, six months after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Methods: Prospective, masked, randomized single-center pilot study. Patients were treated with either pregabalin (oral solution of pregabalin 150 mg twice daily, first dose prior to surgery, continued for a total of 28 doses over 14 days) or placebo solution. The primary outcome was dry eye symptoms as measured by the Dry Eye Questionnaire 5 (DEQ-5). Secondary outcome measures included pain-related eye symptoms. Results: In total, 43 individuals were enrolled in the study and randomized to pregabalin (n = 21) or placebo (n = 22). Of those, 42 individuals completed the final visit after six months of follow-up. Some differences were noted between the two groups at baseline, including a higher frequency of females in the pregabalin group. At 6-months, there were no significant differences in the percentage of patients with DE symptoms (DEQ5 ≥ 6, 57% vs. 33%, p = 0.14), DE symptom severity (DEQ5, 6.6 ± 5.0 vs. 4.5 ± 4.2, p = 0.14), ocular pain intensity (numerical rating scale, 1.10 ± 1.48 vs. 0.38 ± 0.97, p = 0.08), or neuropathic pain complaints (Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory-Eye, 2.81 ± 4.07 vs. 3.14 ± 5.85, p = 0.83) between the pregabalin and control groups. Ocular signs were likewise similar between the groups, and of note, did not correlate with DE symptoms. The strongest predictor of DE symptoms six months post-surgery was the presence of DE symptoms prior to surgery. Conclusions: Perioperative pregabalin did not reduce the frequency or severity of DE symptoms at a six month follow-up after LASIK in this small pilot study.
Prognostic Significance of Abdominal-to-Gluteofemoral Adipose Tissue Distribution in Patients with Breast Cancer
Authors: Lee Jeong Won , Kim Sung Yong , Lee Hyun Ju , Han Sun Wook , Lee Jong Eun , Lee Sang Mi
Published: September 2019

This study aimed to evaluate the association between abdominal-to-gluteofemoral adipose tissue (AT) distribution and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in breast cancer patients. Staging F-18 fluorodexoyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images of 336 women with breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed. From CT images, the volume and CT-attenuation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and gluteofemoral AT were measured and the ratio of abdomen-to-gluteofemoral AT volume (AG volume ratio) was calculated. The relationships between adipose tissue parameters and RFS were assessed. Through univariate analysis, abdominal SAT volume, gluteofemoral AT volume, and AG volume ratio were significantly associated with RFS. An increase in abdominal SAT volume and AG volume ratio were associated with an increased risk of recurrence, whereas increased gluteofemoral AT volume was associated with a decreased risk of recurrence. On multivariate analysis, abdominal SAT volume, gluteofemoral AT volume, and AG volume ratio were found to be significant predictors of RFS after adjusting for clinic-histological factors. Irrespective of obesity, patients with a high AG volume ratio showed a higher recurrence rate than those with a low AG volume ratio. Increased abdominal SAT volume and decreased gluteofemoral AT volume were related to poor RFS in breast cancer patients.
Evidence to Support Inclusion of Pharmacogenetic Biomarkers in Randomised Controlled Trials
Authors: Johnson Danielle , Hughes Dyfrig , Pirmohamed Munir , Jorgensen Andrea
Published: September 2019

Pharmacogenetics and biomarkers are becoming normalised as important technologies to improve drug efficacy rates, reduce the incidence of adverse drug reactions, and make informed choices for targeted therapies. However, their wider clinical implementation has been limited by a lack of robust evidence. Suitable evidence is required before a biomarker’s clinical use, and also before its use in a clinical trial. We have undertaken a review of five pharmacogenetic biomarker-guided randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and evaluated the evidence used by these trials to justify biomarker inclusion. We assessed and quantified the evidence cited in published rationale papers, or where these were not available, obtained protocols from trial authors. Very different levels of evidence were provided by the trials. We used these observations to write recommendations for future justifications of biomarker use in RCTs and encourage regulatory authorities to write clear guidelines.
Stress Dependence of Seebeck Coefficient in Iron-Based Amorphous Ribbons
Authors: Nowicki Michał
Published: September 2019

The results of an investigation on tensile stress dependence of mean Seebeck coefficient in Fe-based amorphous ribbons are presented, constituting a new Seebeck-sigma effect. A measurement test stand, capable of the determination of small variations in thermopower in such materials under stress is described. Exemplary results for commercially available, positively magnetostrictive SA1 and 2605CO amorphous ribbons show significant stress dependence with more than 1% of relative change, in contrast to negatively magnetostrictive 6030D alloys with 0.1% change. Non-ferromagnetic alloys are tested for comparison purposes, giving negligible results. Thus, the possibility of a magnetomechanical mechanism of the stress influence is proposed.
Transformation of Oxide Inclusions in Stainless Steel Containing Yttrium during Isothermal Heating at 1473 K
Authors: Zhang Xueliang , Yang Shufeng , Li Jingshe , Wu Jinqiang
Published: September 2019

To provide fundamental information on the control of rare earth inclusions in solid steel, two 18 mass% Cr-8 mass% Ni stainless steels with different yttrium additions were prepared using an electric resistance furnace and the evolution of yttrium-based oxide inclusions during heat treatment of the steels at 1473 K was investigated. In both as-cast steels, homogeneous spherical Al-Y-Si(-Mn-Cr) oxide inclusions were observed; however, the steel with larger yttrium additions also had some heterogeneous oxide inclusions with double phases. After heating, a new oxide phase with higher yttrium content precipitated from the original inclusions and resulted in partitioning to Y-rich and Al-rich parts in both steels. The average size and number density of inclusions slightly increased, and the morphology of inclusions changed from spherical to irregular. The transformation mechanism during isothermal heating was proposed to be the mutual effects of (i) internal transformation of the yttrium-based inclusions owing to crystallization of glassy oxide and (ii) interfacial reaction between inclusions and the steel matrix.
Spectroscopic Technique-Based Comparative Investigation on the Interaction of Theaflavins with Native and Glycated Human Serum Albumin
Authors: Xu Jinhui , Wang Mengyuan , Zheng Yizhe , Tang Lin
Published: September 2019

Theaflavin is a kind of multi-pharmacological and health beneficial black tea factor. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms by which theaflavin interacts with glycosylated and non-glycosylated serum albumins and compares their binding properties. Fluorescence and ultraviolet spectra indicated that theaflavin interacted with native and glycated human serum albumin through a static quenching mechanism and had a higher degree of quenching of human serum albumin. The thermodynamic parameters revealed that the combinations of theaflavin with native and glycated human serum albumin were a spontaneous endothermic reaction, and the hydrophobic force was a major driving force in the interaction process. Zeta potential, particle size, synchronous fluorescence, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism further clarified the effect of theaflavin on the conformation of human serum albumin structure were more pronounced. In addition, site competition experiments and molecular docking technique confirmed that the binding sites of theaflavin on both native and glycated human serum albumin were bound at site II. This study had investigated the effects of glycation on the binding of HSA with polyphenols and the potential nutriology significance of these effects.
Determination of N-Carbamylglutamate in Feeds and Animal Products by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Ma Yonghang , Zeng Zhengcheng , Kong Lingchang , Chen Yuanxin , He Pingli
Published: September 2019

N-carbamylglutamate (NCG), a synthetic analogue of N-acetylglutamate, is an activator of blood ammonia conversion and endogenous arginine synthesis. Here, we established an accurate quantitative determination of NCG in feeds, animal tissues, and body fluids using the high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The sample pretreatment procedures included extraction with 0.5% of formic acid in water/methanol (80/20, v/v), and purification using an anionic solid phase extraction cartridge. Satisfactory separation of NCG was achieved in 20 min with the application of an Atlantis T3 column, and a confirmative detection of NCG was ensured by multiple reaction monitoring of positive ions. NCG spiked in feeds, tissues, and body fluids were evaluated in regard to linearity, sensitivity, recovery, and repeatability. Recoveries for different sample matrices were in the range of 88.12% to 110.21% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 8.8%. Limits of quantification were within the range of 0.012 to 0.073 mg kg−1 and 0.047 to 0.077 μg mL−1 for solid and liquid samples, respectively. This study will provide a solid foundation for the evaluation of availability and metabolic mechanism of NCG in animals.
Preclinical Study of DNA-Recognized Peptide Compound Pyrrole-Imidazole Polyamide Targeting Human TGF-β1 Promoter for Progressive Renal Diseases in the Common Marmoset
Authors: Otsuki Masari , Fukuda Noboru , Inoue Takashi , Mineshige Takayuki , Otsuki Tomoyasu , Horikoshi Shu , Endo Morito , Abe Masanori
Published: September 2019

Pyrrole-imidazole (PI) polyamides are novel gene silencers that strongly bind the promoter region of target genes in a sequence-specific manner to inhibit gene transcription. We created a PI polyamide targeting human TGF-β1 (hTGF-β1). To develop this PI polyamide targeting hTGF-β1 (Polyamide) as a practical medicine for treating progressive renal diseases, we examined the effects of Polyamide in two common marmoset models of nephropathy. We performed lead optimization of PI polyamides that targeted hTGF-β1 by inhibiting in a dose-dependent manner the expression of TGF-β1 mRNA stimulated by PMA in marmoset fibroblasts. Marmosets were housed and fed with a 0.05% NaCl and magnesium diet and treated with cyclosporine A (CsA; 37.5 mg/kg/day, eight weeks) to establish chronic nephropathy. We treated the marmosets with nephropathy with Polyamide (1 mg/kg/week, four weeks). We also established a unilateral urethral obstruction (UUO) model to examine the effects of Polyamide (1 mg/kg/week, four times) in marmosets. Histologically, the renal medulla from CsA-treated marmosets showed cast formation and interstitial fibrosis in the renal medulla. Immunohistochemistry showed strong staining of Polyamide in the renal medulla from CsA-treated marmosets. Polyamide treatment (1 mg/kg/week, four times) reduced hTGF-β1 staining and urinary protein excretion in CsA-treated marmosets. In UUO kidneys from marmosets, Polyamide reduced the glomerular injury score and tubulointerstitial injury score. Polyamide significantly suppressed hTGF-β1 and snail mRNA expression in UUO kidneys from the marmosets. Polyamide effectively improved CsA- and UUO-associated nephropathy, indicating its potential application in the prevention of renal fibrosis in progressive renal diseases.
Finding High-Quality Metal Ion-Centric Regions Across the Worldwide Protein Data Bank
Authors: Yao Sen , Moseley Hunter N.B.
Published: September 2019

As the number of macromolecular structures in the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) continues to grow rapidly, more attention is being paid to the quality of its data, especially for use in aggregated structural and dynamics analyses. In this study, we systematically analyzed 3.5 Å regions around all metal ions across all PDB entries with supporting electron density maps available from the PDB in Europe. All resulting metal ion-centric regions were evaluated with respect to four quality-control criteria involving electron density resolution, atom occupancy, symmetry atom exclusion, and regional electron density discrepancy. The resulting list of metal binding sites passing all four criteria possess high regional structural quality and should be beneficial to a wide variety of downstream analyses. This study demonstrates an approach for the pan-PDB evaluation of metal binding site structural quality with respect to underlying X-ray crystallographic experimental data represented in the available electron density maps of proteins. For non-crystallographers in particular, we hope to change the focus and discussion of structural quality from a global evaluation to a regional evaluation, since all structural entries in the wwPDB appear to have both regions of high and low structural quality.
Enhanced Light Extraction from Bottom Emission OLEDs by High Refractive Index Nanoparticle Scattering Layer
Authors: Park Chan Young , Choi Byoungdeog
Published: September 2019

High refractive index nanoparticle material was applied as a scattering layer on the inner side of a glass substrate of a bottom emission organic light emitting diode (OLED) device to enhance light extraction and to improve angular color shift. TiO2 and YSZ (Yttria Stabilized Zirconia; Y2O3-ZrO2) were examined as the high refractive index nanoparticles. The nanoparticle material was formed as a scattering layer on a glass substrate by a coating method, which is generally used in the commercial display manufacturing process. Additionally, a planarization layer was coated on the scattering layer with the same method. The implemented nanoparticle material and planarization material endured, without deformation, the subsequent thermal annealing process, which was carried out at temperature ranged to 580 °C. We demonstrated a practical and highly efficient OLED device using the conventional display manufacturing process by implementing the YSZ nanoparticle. We obtained a 38% enhanced luminance of the OLED device and a decreased angular color change compared to a conventional OLED device.