bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Further Reflections: Surrogate Decisionmaking When Significant Mental Capacities are Retained
Authors: HAWKINS JENNIFER
Published: December 2020

Mackenzie Graham has made an important contribution to the literature on decisionmaking for patients with disorders of consciousness. He argues, and I agree, that decisions for unresponsive patients who are known to retain some degree of covert awareness ought to focus on current interests, since such patients likely retain the kinds of mental capacities that in ordinary life command our current respect and attention. If he is right, then it is not appropriate to make decisions for such patients by appealing to the values they had in the past, either the values expressed in an advance directive or the values recalled by a surrogate. There are two things I wish to add to the discussion. My first point is somewhat critical, for although I agree with his general conclusion about how, ideally, such decisions should be approached, I remain skeptical about whether his conclusion offers decisionmakers real practical help. The problem with these cases is that the evidence we have about the nature of the patient’s current interests is minimal or nonexistent. However—and this is important—Graham’s conclusion will be extremely relevant if in the future, our ability to communicate with such patients improves, as I hope it will. This leads to my second point. Graham’s conclusion illustrates a more general problem with our standard framework for decisionmaking for previously competent patients, a problem that has not been adequately recognized. So, in what follows, I explain the problem I see and offer some brief thoughts about solutions.
Choroidal metastases: case report and review
Authors: Duque Victor , de la Pinta Carolina , Corral Ciriaco , Vallejo Carmen , Martin Margarita , Hernanz Raul , Mezherane Elsa Margarita , Pelari Lira , Hernandez Antonio , Valero Mireia , Sancho Sonsoles
Published: December 2020

Introduction:

Choroidal metastases are the most frequent intraocular secondary tumours, with a prevalence of 2–7% according to the literature. Our aim was to review a clinical case of choroidal metastasis.

We present a case of a 63-year-old male patient diagnosed in 2018 with lung adenocarcinoma cT4N0M1. The patient had three metastases in the brain, which were successfully treated with radiosurgery (RS). The patient was treated with chemotherapy with pemetrexed–cisplatin schedule. Five months after diagnosis, the patient presented with decreased vision in the right eye. After ophthalmologic evaluation, he was diagnosed with a right choroidal metastasis, which was treated with external beam radiotherapy with 20 Gy in five fractions, resulting in improved visual acuity and a complete clinical and radiological response.

The patient took part in a clinical trial that continued with systemic chemotherapy. Twenty-two months after radiotherapy to the eye, the patient has good visual acuity without any side effects.

Conclusions:

Choroidal metastasis treated with radiotherapy achieves good local control, with limited side effects, allowing an improvement in visual acuity and consequently, an improvement in the patient´s quality of life.
Assessment of Groundwater Sustainability and Identifying Factors Inducing Groundwater Depletion in India
Authors: Nair Akhilesh S. , Indu J.
Published: December 2020

The alarming decline in groundwater (GW) storage threatens the sustainable development of the water‐energy‐food linkages of a country. India has experienced severe dry spells during the years 2002, 2004, 2009, and 2012. However, the relative contribution of factors affecting GW depletion (such as variability in precipitation rate and groundwater extraction) still remains unknown. Here, we first evaluate the current GW condition by implementing reliability, resilience, and vulnerability analysis on the 5,988 monitoring well observations spanning over a period of two decades. Our study further improves the existing studies by isolating the quantity of GW depletion due to precipitation and nonprecipitation (GW extraction) factors using a multivariate regression model. Our study indicates that the nonprecipitation factor is most responsible for GW depletion in North India at a rate of 3.5 cm per year.
Potential Link Between 2020 Mentone, West Texas M5 Earthquake and Nearby Wastewater Injection: Implications for Aquifer Mechanical Properties
Authors: Tung Sui , Zhai Guang , Shirzaei Manoochehr
Published: December 2020

The M5 Mentone earthquake that occurred on March 26, 2020, was the largest event recorded over the last 2 decades in West Texas within the Delaware Basin, a U.S. major petroleum‐producing area. Also, numerous hydrofracturing and wastewater disposal wells are spread across this region. Within a 30 km distance to mainshock, eight class‐II injection wells for industrial wastewater disposal target the deep porous Ellenburger aquifer at an average rate of 1.36 × 106 barrel (BBL) per month during 2012–2020. Poroelastic models of fluid diffusion show these nearby injectors collectively imparted up to 80.5 kPa of Coulomb stress at the mainshock location, capable of triggering this M5 event. Assuming the Mentone event occurs when pore‐pressure increase is maximum, the time delay between peak injection and the M5 occurrence corresponds with an optimal permeability of 6.76 × 10‐14 m2 for the Ellenburger aquifer layer, in agreement with independent estimates.
Is Mesospheric Quasi Biennial Oscillation Ephemeral?
Authors: Kumar Karanam Kishore
Published: December 2020

The time evolution of mesospheric quasi biennial oscillation (MQBO) in the 82–98 km altitude region using long‐term meteor radar observations over low and equatorial latitudes and TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) observations is discussed for the first time. The wavelet spectra of monthly mean zonal winds over Serpog (6.4°S, 106.7°E; 1993–1998), Koto Tabang (0.2°S, 100.3°E; 2003–2012) and Thumba (8.5°N, 76.9°E; 2006–2015) show the transient nature of the MQBO amplitudes, thus, questioning its perpetuity in the mesosphere‐lower thermosphere (MLT). The time period of the MQBO as well as its amplitude show variability with time. The latitude‐height structures of the MQBO at four time periods (24, 26, 28, and 30 months) are constructed using TIDI measurements, which show diverse latitudinal structure. The significance of the present study lies in bringing out the time evolution of the MQBO and addressing a few outstanding issues on its ephemerality and discrepancies in its amplitudes.
Statistical Distribution of Bifurcation of Earth's Inner Energetic Electron Belt at Tens of keV
Authors: Hua Man , Ni Binbin , Li Wen , Ma Qianli , Gu Xudong , Fu Song , Cao Xing , Guo Yingjie , Liu Yangxizi
Published: December 2020

We present a survey of the bifurcation of the Earth's energetic electron belt (tens of keV) using 6‐year measurements from Van Allen Probes. The inner energetic electron belt usually presents one‐peak radial structure with high flux intensity at L < ∼2.5, which however can be bifurcated to exhibit a double‐peak radial structure. By automatically identifying the events of bifurcation based on Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment data, we find that the bifurcation is mostly observed at ∼30–100 keV with a local flux minimum at L = ∼2.0 to ∼2.3 under relatively quiet geomagnetic conditions, typically after a significant flux enhancement due to radial diffusion or injections to L < ∼2.5. The bifurcation typically lasts for a few days during quiet periods until interrupted by injections or radial diffusion. The L‐shell, energy, and seasonal dependences of the occurrence of bifurcated inner electron belt support the important role of electron scattering by very low‐frequency transmitter waves in the bifurcation formation.
River Response to Anthropogenic Modification: Channel Steepening and Gravel Front Fading in an Incising River
Authors: Ylla Arbós C. , Blom A. , Viparelli E. , Reneerkens M. , Frings R. M. , Schielen R. M. J.
Published: December 2020

While most of the world's large rivers are heavily engineered, channel response to engineering measures on decadal to century and several 100 km scales is scarcely documented. We investigate the response of the Lower Rhine River (Germany‐Netherlands) to engineering measures, in terms of channel slope and bed surface grain size. Field data show domain‐wide incision, primarily associated with extensive channel narrowing. Remarkably, the channel slope has increased in the upstream end, which is uncommon under degradational conditions. We attribute the observed response to two competing mechanisms: bedrock at the upstream boundary increases the channel slope over the upstream part of the alluvial reach to compensate for the reduction of net annual sediment mobility, and extensive channel narrowing reduces the equilibrium slope. Another striking feature is the advance and flattening of the gravel‐sand transition, suggesting its gradual fading due to an increasingly reduced slope difference between the gravel and sand reaches.
Prompt Emergence and Disappearance of EMIC Waves Driven by the Sequentially Enhanced Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure
Authors: Xue Zuxiang , Yuan Zhigang , Yu Xiongdong
Published: December 2020

Van Allen Probes (VAPs) and multiple ground‐based stations simultaneously observed prompt emergences and disappearances of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves driven by the sequentially enhanced solar wind dynamic pressures in the dayside inner magnetosphere on November 6, 2015. The measured hot protons (>60 keV) display enhancements of perpendicular temperature during compressions, which provides sufficient temperature anisotropies for the EMIC wave generation so that the calculated linear growth rate also agrees well with the observed wave spectrum. There are bidirectionally propagating EMIC waves observed by VAPs at off‐equator regions (MLAT from ∼ 13° to ∼ 18°), which indicates local wave excitation under the compressions’ impact. The quick responses of waves and particle distributions to the compressions and decompressions at multiple points in the dayside suggest that the external pressure pulses can be a direct driver for the inner magnetospheric wave evolution and energetic particle dynamics.
Evolution of Pitch Angle Distributions of Relativistic Electrons During Geomagnetic Storms: Van Allen Probes Observations
Authors: Greeley Ashley D. , Kanekal Shrikanth G. , Sibeck David G. , Schiller Quintin , Baker Daniel N.
Published: December 2020

We present a study analyzing relativistic and ultra relativistic electron energization and the evolution of pitch angle distributions using data from the Van Allen Probes. We study the connection between energization and isotropization to determine if there is a coherence across storms and across energies. Pitch angle distributions are fit with a J0sinnθ function, and the variable “n” is characterized as the pitch angle index and tracked over time. Our results show that consistently across all storms with ultra relativistic electron energization, electron distributions are most anisotropic within around a day of Dstmin and become more isotropic in the following week. Also, each consecutively higher energy channel is associated with higher anisotropy after storm main phase. Changes in the pitch angle index are reflected in each energy channel; when 1.8 MeV electron pitch angle distributions increase (or decrease) in pitch angle index, so do the other energy channels. We show that the peak anisotropies differ between coronal mass ejection (CME)‐ and corotating interaction region (CIR)‐driven storms and measure the relaxation rate as the anisotropy falls after the storm. The isotropization rate in pitch angle index for CME‐driven storms is −0.15 ± 0.02 day−1 at 1.8 MeV, −0.30 ± 0.01 day−1 at 3.4 MeV, and −0.39 ± 0.02 day−1 at 5.2 MeV. For CIR‐driven storms, the isotropization rates are −0.10 ± 0.01 day−1 for 1.8 MeV, −0.13 ± 0.02 day−1 for 3.4 MeV, and −0.11 ± 0.02 day−1 for 5.2 MeV. This study shows that there is a global coherence across energies and that storm type may play a role in the evolution of electron pitch angle distributions.
Validation of ICON‐MIGHTI Thermospheric Wind Observations: 1. Nighttime Red‐Line Ground‐Based Fabry‐Perot Interferometers
Authors: Makela Jonathan J. , Baughman Matthew , Navarro Luis A. , Harding Brian J. , Englert Christoph. R. , Harlander John M. , Marr Kenneth D. , Benkhaldoun Zouhair , Kaab Mohamed , Immel Thomas J.
Published: December 2020

Observations of the nighttime thermospheric wind from two ground‐based Fabry‐Perot Interferometers are compared to the level 2.1 and 2.2 data products from the Michelson Interferometer Global High‐resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) onboard National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ionospheric Connection Explorer to assess and validate the methodology used to generate measurements of neutral thermospheric winds observed by MIGHTI. We find generally good agreement between observations approximately coincident in space and time with mean differences less than 11 m/s in magnitude and standard deviations of about 20–35 m/s. These results indicate that the independent calculations of the zero‐wind reference used by the different instruments do not contain strong systematic or physical biases, even though the observations were acquired during solar minimum conditions when the measured airglow intensity is weak. We argue that the slight differences in the estimated wind quantities between the two instrument types can be attributed to gradients in the airglow and thermospheric wind fields and the differing viewing geometries used by the instruments.
Excellent age hardenability with the controllable microstructure of AXW100 magnesium sheet alloy
Authors: Jo Sumi , Whitmore Lawrence , Woo Sangkyu , Aramburu Ainhoa Urrutia , Letzig Dietmar , Yi Sangbong
Published: December 2020

Age-hardenability and corresponding improvement of the mechanical properties of Mg–1Al–0.7Ca and Mg–1Al–0.7Ca–0.7Y alloy sheets are addressed with respect to the microstructure and texture evolution during thermomechanical treatments. A fine grain structure and weak texture with the basal pole split into the sheet transverse direction are retained in the Mg–1Al–0.7Ca–0.7Y sheet even after the homogenization at 500 °C, due to the grain boundary pinning by Y-containing precipitates possessing a high thermal stability. Contrarily, the Mg–1Al–0.7Ca sheet shows a coarse microstructure and basal-type texture after the homogenization. The peak-aged condition is attained after the aging at 250 °C for 1800 s of both homogenized sheets, while the Y-containing sheet shows a higher hardness than the Mg–1Al–0.7Ca sheet. TEM analysis and thermodynamic calculation show the formation of metastable precipitates composed of Al, Ca, Y and Mg in the Mg–1Al–0.7Ca–0.7Y sheet at the homogenized and peak-aged conditions. A significant increase in the yield strength is obtained in the peak-aged condition from 162 MPa after the homogenization to 244 MPa, which arises from the increased size and number density of the precipitates. The high age-hardenability of the Mg–1Al–0.7Ca–0.7Y sheet attributes to the superior mechanical properties with an improved ductility promoted by the weak texture.
Grafted human induced pluripotent stem cells improve the outcome of spinal cord injury: modulation of the lesion microenvironment
Authors: Bellák Tamás , Fekécs Zoltán , Török Dénes , Táncos Zsuzsanna , Nemes Csilla , Tézsla Zsófia , Gál László , Polgári Suchitra , Kobolák Julianna , Dinnyés András , Nógrádi Antal , Pajer Krisztián
Published: December 2020

Spinal cord injury results in irreversible tissue damage followed by a very limited recovery of function. In this study we investigated whether transplantation of undifferentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into the injured rat spinal cord is able to induce morphological and functional improvement. hiPSCs were grafted intraspinally or intravenously one week after a thoracic (T11) spinal cord contusion injury performed in Fischer 344 rats. Grafted animals showed significantly better functional recovery than the control rats which received only contusion injury. Morphologically, the contusion cavity was significantly smaller, and the amount of spared tissue was significantly greater in grafted animals than in controls. Retrograde tracing studies showed a statistically significant increase in the number of FB-labeled neurons in different segments of the spinal cord, the brainstem and the sensorimotor cortex. The extent of functional improvement was inversely related to the amount of chondroitin-sulphate around the cavity and the astrocytic and microglial reactions in the injured segment. The grafts produced GDNF, IL-10 and MIP1-alpha for at least one week. These data suggest that grafted undifferentiated hiPSCs are able to induce morphological and functional recovery after spinal cord contusion injury.
Observations on early fungal infections with relevance for replant disease in fine roots of the rose rootstock Rosa corymbifera 'Laxa'
Authors: Grunewaldt-Stöcker G. , Popp C. , Baumann A. , Fricke S. , Menssen M. , Winkelmann T. , Maiss E.
Published: December 2020

Replant disease is a worldwide phenomenon affecting various woody plant genera and species, especially within the Rosaceae. Compared to decades of intensive studies regarding replant disease of apple (ARD), the replant disease of roses (RRD) has hardly been investigated. The etiology of RRD is also still unclear and a remedy desperately needed. In greenhouse pot trials with seedlings of the RRD-sensitive rootstockRosa corymbifera‘Laxa’ cultured in replant disease affected soils from two different locations, early RRD symptom development was studied in fine roots. In microscopic analyses we found similarities to ARD symptoms with regards to structural damages, impairment in the root hair status, and necroses and blackening in the cortex tissue. Examinations of both whole mounts and thin sections of fine root segments revealed frequent conspicuous fungal infections in association with the cellular disorders. Particularly striking were fungal intracellular structures with pathogenic characteristics that are described for the first time. Isolated fungi from these tissue areas were identified by means of ITS primers, and many of them were members of the Nectriaceae. In a next step, 35 of these isolates were subjected to a multi-locus sequence analysis and the results revealed that several genera and species were involved in the development of RRD within a single rose plant. Inoculations with selected single isolates (Rugonectria rugulosaandIlyonectria robusta) in a Perlite assay confirmed their pathogenic relationship to early necrotic host plant reactions, and symptoms were similar to those exhibited in ARD.
Cell fate clusters in ICM organoids arise from cell fate heredity and division: a modelling approach
Authors: Liebisch Tim , Drusko Armin , Mathew Biena , Stelzer Ernst H. K. , Fischer Sabine C. , Matthäus Franziska
Published: December 2020

During the mammalian preimplantation phase, cells undergo two subsequent cell fate decisions. During the first decision, the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass are formed. Subsequently, the inner cell mass segregates into the epiblast and the primitive endoderm. Inner cell mass organoids represent an experimental model system, mimicking the second cell fate decision. It has been shown that cells of the same fate tend to cluster stronger than expected for random cell fate decisions. Three major processes are hypothesised to contribute to the cell fate arrangements: (1) chemical signalling; (2) cell sorting; and (3) cell proliferation. In order to quantify the influence of cell proliferation on the observed cell lineage type clustering, we developed an agent-based model accounting for mechanical cell–cell interaction, i.e. adhesion and repulsion, cell division, stochastic cell fate decision and cell fate heredity. The model supports the hypothesis that initial cell fate acquisition is a stochastically driven process, taking place in the early development of inner cell mass organoids. Further, we show that the observed neighbourhood structures can emerge solely due to cell fate heredity during cell division.
A turn-on fluorescent probe based onN-(rhodamine-B)-thiolactam-2-n-butane with ionic liquids for selective and sensitive detection of mustard gas stimulant
Authors: Li Daxue , Xi Hailing , Han Shitong , Zhao Sanping
Published: December 2020

SRB-NB/ILs was able to detect 2-CEES in liquid and gaseous form with excellent selectivity and sensitivity. Thus, we envisage that the probe could be applied for rapid and reliable detection of SM in various emergency scenarios.
Efficient bioconversion of high-concentration d-fructose into d-mannose by a novel N-acyl-d-glucosamine 2-epimerase from Thermobifida halotolerans
Authors: Jin Peng , Wang Yuanyuan , Liang Zhengang , Yuan Miao , Li Hua , Du Qizhen
Published: December 2020

A novel N-acyl-d-glucosamine 2-epimerase ThMI exhibits high mannose isomerase activity with a maximum bioconversion ratio of 35.8% in 500 g L−1d-fructose. Whole-cell biocatalyst produced 157 g L−1d-mannose from 500 g L−1d-fructose in 60 min.
Study of the structural and optoelectronic properties of dye solar cells based on phosphonic acid anchoring by DFT functionals
Authors: Fadili Driss , Bouzzine Si Mohamed , Hamidi Mohamed
Published: December 2020

The choice of the functional and an adequate basis set for reproducing the experimental data of T4-BTDA phosphonic acid-based dye is made by using six functionals and four atomic basis sets.
Highly efficient atomically dispersed Co–N active sites in porous carbon for high-performance capacitive desalination of brackish water
Authors: Huo Silu , Ni Wei , Zhao Yufei , Song Xue , Zhao Yubo , Li Kexun , Wang Hao , Zhang Mingtao
Published: December 2020

Carbon materials with external defects (heteroatoms) have been widely studied to promote their performance in capacitive deionization (CDI), but the salt adsorption capacity and rate capability are far from meeting the rapid demand for clean water.
High performance dynamic covalent crosslinked polyacylsemicarbazide composites with self-healing and recycling capabilities
Authors: Wang Shuo , Fu Daihua , Wang Xiaorong , Pu Wuli , Martone Alfonso , Lu Xili , Lavorgna Marino , Wang Zhanhua , Amendola Eugenio , Xia Hesheng
Published: December 2020

Self-healing and recycling of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are of great significance towards pursuing a sustainable and circular economy, but remain a huge challenge due to the infusible and insoluble properties of thermoset polymers.
Kinetics of the CO2 reduction reaction in aprotic Li–CO2 batteries: a model study
Authors: Zhao Zhiwei , Wang Erkang , Wang Jiawei , Liu Chuntai , Peng Zhangquan
Published: December 2020

In this study, we propose a critical kinetics descriptor, i.e., the adsorption energy of the LiCO2 intermediate on the cathode surface, to reveal the interplay and competition between the solution- and the surface-mediated pathways toward better Li–CO2 batteries.
The construction of a wide-spectrum-responsive and high-activity photocatalyst, Bi25CoO40, via the creation of large external dipoles
Authors: Pan Chengsi , Wang Zhenlin , Lou Yang , Zhang Ying , Dong Yuming , Zhu Yongfa
Published: December 2020

A new sillenite photocatalyst, Bi25CoO40, with a large external dipole moment is designed and shows a nearly full visible-light spectrum response (up to 750 nm) and higher activity compared to well-studied photocatalysts, such as Bi2WO6 and g-C3N4.
Reshaping the tumor microenvironment for increasing the distribution of glucose oxidase in tumor and inhibiting metastasis
Authors: Geng Shizhen , Lou Rui , Yin Qianwen , Li Shengnan , Yang Ruhe , Zhou Jie
Published: December 2020

The poor penetration of solid tumors hinders the development of hunger therapy represented by glucose oxidase (GOx).
Hydrogel-assisted delivery of lipophilic molecules into aqueous medium for transdermal medication based on environment-specific, regioselective adsorption of graphene oxides
Authors: Cheng Chongling , Bai Wei , Zhu Tonghe , Zang Wei , Chen Sihao , Sun Jingzhi , Wang Dayang
Published: December 2020

Graphene oxide (GO)-laden agarose composite hydrogels (GOACHs) were utilized to deliver lipophilic molecules from organic to aqueous media without alteration of the lipophilic nature of the molecules and the hydrophilic nature of the GOACHs.
Effect of H2S pre-annealing treatment on interfacial and electrical properties of HfO2/Si1−xGex (x = 0–0.3)
Authors: Lee Woohui , Lee Changmin , Kim Jinyong , Lee Jehoon , Eom Deokjoon , Park Jae Chan , Park Tae Joo , Kim Hyoungsub
Published: December 2020

To understand the effect of H2S pre-annealing treatment on a Si1−xGex alloy film, the interfacial and electrical characteristics of atomic-layer-deposited HfO2/Si1−xGex were studied while varying the Ge concentration (x value) from 0 to 0.3.
The electronic pseudo band gap states and electronic transport of the full-Heusler compound Fe2VAl
Authors: Hinterleitner B. , Garmroudi F. , Reumann N. , Mori T. , Bauer E. , Podloucky R.
Published: December 2020

For Fe2VAl the temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficient S(T) and electrical resistivity ρ(T) were calculated within the framework of density functional theory (DFT).
Online identification of aerodynamics with fast time‐varying features using Kalman filter
Authors: Zhang Wanxin , Zhu Jihong
Published: December 2020

This paper investigates the online identification method of the unsteady aerodynamics in the post‐stall manoeuvres. The main unsteady features are hysteresis and fast time varying due to the complex flow structure at large angles of attack. When limited test data are available, the data‐driven model cannot be identified accurately, especially in dealing with the fast time‐varying features, so online identification is required. A constant acceleration model‐based Kalman filter is constructed by taking into account the unsteady item in the aerodynamic model. Unlike the previous work which only uses the information of second‐order moments of errors, the proposed method uses the maximum correntropy criterion. Simulation studies according to the wind tunnel test data show that the proposed method can effectively track the fast time‐varying features and estimate the aerodynamic coefficients with high accuracy.
Degradation assessment of in‐service aerial bundled cables in coastal areas leading to prognosis using infrared thermography
Authors: Hassan Moez ul , Khan Tariq Mairaj , Abbas Sumayya , Shahid Muhammad Atayyab , Tariq Syed Talha , Amir Faisal
Published: December 2020

Of late, cross‐linked polyethylene insulated aerial bundled cables have replaced conventional copper conductors being resistant to electricity pilferage, offer lower maintenance costs and reduced power losses. However, in coastal areas, aerial bundled cables experience frequent insulation breakdown causing sudden cable failures leading to unexpected power shutdowns. Condition monitoring, employing sophisticated diagnostic techniques, has thus become a major requirement of the energy sector. The reported research work utilizes infrared thermography as one such candidate NDT technique. A novel framework is proposed to investigate the progressive shift in the statistical parameters of the temperature distribution in aerial bundled cables’ insulation, as it degrades over time. The cumulative distribution function of pixel intensity data from a healthy/ operational aerial bundled cable is first compared with a reported failed aerial bundled cable. A prominent difference in 0.9 cumulative distribution function values is observed in the temperature distributions. Therefore, 0.9 cumulative distribution function values are used for degradation quantification with respect to ageing. Degradation rates are then computed using periodically acquired thermographic data from operational aerial bundled cables, installed at two different locations in a coastal region, each subjected to different marine climate. The proposed technique proved effective in degradation rate assessment of insulation of operational aerial bundled cables. Consequently, the results achieved can also be utilized for remaining useful life prediction of these cables.
Multi‐style Chinese art painting generation of flowers
Authors: Fu Feifei , Lv Jiancheng , Tang Chenwei , Li Mao
Published: December 2020

With the proposal and development of Generative Adversarial Networks, the great achievements in the field of image generation are made. Meanwhile, many works related to the generation of painting art have also been derived. However, due to the difficulty of data collection and the fundamental challenge from freehand expressions, the generation of traditional Chinese painting is still far from being perfect. This paper specialises in Chinese art painting generation of flowers, which is important and classic, by deep learning method. First, an unpaired flowers paintings data set containing three classic Chinese painting style: line drawing, meticulous, and ink is constructed. Then, based on the collected dataset, a Flower‐Generative Adversarial Network framework to generate multi‐style Chinese art painting of flowers is proposed. The Flower‐Generative Adversarial Network, consisting of attention‐guided generators and discriminators, transfers the style among line drawing, meticulous, and ink by an adversarial training way. Moreover, in order to solve the problem of artefact and blur in image generation by existing methods, a new loss function called Multi‐Scale Structural Similarity to force the structure preservation is introduced. Extensive experiments show that the proposed Flower‐Generative Adversarial Network framework can produce better and multi‐style Chinese art painting of flowers than existing methods.
Noise robust intuitionistic fuzzy c‐means clustering algorithm incorporating local information
Authors: Yang Zhenzhen , Xu Pengfei , Yang Yongpeng , Kang Bin
Published: December 2020

The human brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) is always contaminated by noise and has uncertainty on the boundary between different tissues. These characteristics bring challenges to the human brain image segmentation. To handle these limitations, many variants of standard fuzzy c‐means (FCM) algorithm have been proposed. Some methods attempt to incorporate the local spatial information in the standard FCM algorithm. However, they can't solve the problem of data uncertainty very well. And some other methods can handle the problem of data uncertainty, but they are sensitive to noise since it doesn't incorporate any local spatial information. In this paper, we propose a noise robust intuitionistic fuzzy c‐means (NR‐IFCM) algorithm, which can handle noise and uncertainty problems simultaneously. In order to process the human brain MRI with noise better, we introduce a noise robust intuitionistic fuzzy set (NR‐IFS) which is noise robust in this NR‐IFCM algorithm. Meanwhile, in order to handle the data uncertainty, we also introduce a new intuitionistic fuzzy factor to this NR‐IFCM algorithm which combine the local gray‐level and the spatial information together. A large number of experimental results on human brain MRI validate the effectiveness and the superiority of our proposed NR‐IFCM algorithm.
Identification of plant disease images via a squeeze‐and‐excitation MobileNet model and twice transfer learning
Authors: Chen Junde , Zhang Defu , Suzauddola Md , Nanehkaran Yaser Ahangari , Sun Yuandong
Published: December 2020

Crop diseases have a devastating effect on agricultural production, and serious diseases can lead to harvest failure entirely. Recent developments in deep learning have greatly improved the accuracy of image identification. In this study, we investigated the transfer learning of deep convolutional neural networks and modified the network structure to improve the learning capability of plant lesion characteristics. The MobileNet with squeeze‐and‐excitation (SE) block was selected in our approach. Integrating the merits of both, the pre‐trained MobileNet and SE block were fused to form a new network, which we termed the SE‐MobileNet, and was used to identify the plant diseases. In particular, the transfer learning was performed twice to obtain the optimum model. The first phase trained the model for the extended layers while the bottom convolution layers were frozen with the pre‐trained weights on ImageNet; by loading the model trained in the first phase, the second phase retrained the model using the target dataset. The proposed procedure provides a significant increase in efficiency relative to other state‐of‐the‐art methods. It reaches an average accuracy of 99.78% in the public dataset with clear backdrops. Even under multiple classes and heterogeneous background conditions, the average accuracy realises 99.33% for identifying the rice disease types. The experimental findings show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed procedure.
High‐speed target tracking algorithm for the pulse‐sequence‐based image sensor
Authors: Xu Jiangtao , Wang Xiangfeng , Gao Zhiyuan , Nie Kaiming
Published: December 2020

This paper proposed a high‐speed target tracking algorithm based on the pulse‐sequence‐based image sensor. The algorithm separates the target from the background through the statistical distribution of the pulses in a single frame of data. In order to achieve more accurate target tracking, the phenomenon of image lag in the process of capturing the high‐speed moving target is studied. The positioning deviation is compensated by estimating the image lag length of the moving target. The algorithm is implemented with pipeline processing on field‐programmable gate array (FPGA). The positioning accuracy of the algorithm is verified with input data from a pulse‐sequence image sensor model. The verification results show that the maximum position deviation of the target at different speeds is 0.94 pixels. In the experiment of tracking a 40 m/s moving ball, this algorithm can provide real‐time position information within 44 ns.
Vehicle license plate recognition for fog‐haze environments
Authors: Jin Xianli , Tang Ruocong , Liu Linfeng , Wu Jiagao
Published: December 2020

The technique of vehicle license plate recognition can recognize and count the vehicles automatically, and thus many applications regarding the vehicles are greatly facilitated. However, the recognitions of vehicle license plates are extremely difficult especially in some fog‐haze environments because the fog and haze blur the boundaries and characters of license plates significantly, which makes the license plates hard to be detected or recognised. To this end, this paper proposes a vehicle License Plate Recognition method for Fog‐Haze environments (LPRFH). In LPRFH, a dark channel prior algorithm based on the local estimation of atmospheric light value is applied to dehaze the blurred images preliminarily. Then, the images are further dehazed, and the license plate regions are detected through a Joint Further‐dehazing and Region‐extracting Model on basis of an object detection convolution neural network. Finally, the image super‐resolution is accomplished with a convolution‐enhanced super‐resolution convolutional neural network, and hence the characters of license plates can be recognised successfully. Extensive experiments have been conducted, and the results indicate that LPRFH can recognise the license plates accurately even in some severe fog‐haze environments.
Segmentation of osteosarcoma in MRI images by K‐means clustering, Chan‐Vese segmentation, and iterative Gaussian filtering
Authors: Nasor Mohamed , Obaid Walid
Published: December 2020

Unlike other types of tumours, automated osteosarcoma segmentation in magnetic resonance images (MRI) is a challenging task due to its different and unique intensity and texture. This paper presents a technique for segmenting osteosarcoma in MRI images using a combination of image processing techniques which include K‐means clustering, Chan‐Vese segmentation, iterative Gaussian filtering, and Canny edge detection. In addition, the proposed technique involves iterative morphological operations and object counting. The technique was tested using 50 MRI scan images that contain osteosarcoma tumours. The proposed technique was able to segment the osteosarcoma regardless of the variations in their intensities, textures and locations. The performance of the technique was measured by calculating the values for precision, recall, specificity, Dice score coefficient, accuracy and the running time (RT) for all tested cases. The proposed technique achieved 95.96% precision, 86.15% recall, 99.51% specificity, 89.84% Dice score coefficient, 98.02% accuracy, and 191.62 s average running time. This technique can assist clinicians in making treatment plans for patients with osteosarcoma.
High‐resolution optical‐to‐SAR image registration using mutual information and SPSA optimisation
Authors: Paul Sourabh , Pati Umesh C.
Published: December 2020

The high‐resolution optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are widely used in many remote sensing application areas such as image fusion and change detection where image registration is a fundamental step. The latest high‐resolution optical and SAR satellites and airborne systems provide geometrically corrected images which do not contain global deformations. Though the images do not have global differences, still, registration differences exist between these optical and SAR images. These registration differences should be minimised through an automatic registration method before using the images for the aforementioned applications. However, an automatic optical‐to‐SAR image registration is a challenging task due to the presence of significant nonlinear intensity differences as well as local geometric distortions between the images. In order to solve these problems, an automatic optical‐to‐SAR image registration method is proposed which can effectively handle the registration differences between the globally corrected high‐resolution images. In the proposed method, initially, a coarse registration is performed by using a discrete simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) optimisation. Then, a smooth continuous SPSA optimisation is utilised for the fine registration of the images. Experiments are performed on six sets of high‐resolution optical‐SAR image pairs and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Characterizing the line emission from molecular clouds
Authors: Tafalla M. , Usero A. , Hacar A.
Published: December 2020

Context. The traditional approach to characterize the structure of molecular clouds is to map their line emission.

Aims. We aim to test and apply a stratified random sampling technique that can characterize the line emission from molecular clouds more efficiently than mapping.

Methods. We sampled the molecular emission from the Perseus cloud using the H2 column density as a proxy. We divided the cloud into ten logarithmically spaced column density bins, and we randomly selected ten positions from each bin. The resulting 100 cloud positions were observed with the IRAM 30 m telescope, covering the 3 mm-wavelength band and parts of the 2 and 1 mm bands.

Results. We focus our analysis on the 11 molecular species (plus isotopologs) detected toward most column density bins. In all cases, the line intensity is tightly correlated with the H2 column density. For the CO isotopologs, the trend is relatively flat, while for high-dipole moment species such as HCN, CS, HCO+, and HNC, the trend is approximately linear. To reproduce this behavior, we developed a cloud model in which the gas density increases with column density, and where most species have abundance profiles characterized by an outer photodissociation edge and an inner freeze-out drop. With this model, we determine that the intensity behavior of the high-dipole moment species arises from a combination of excitation effects and molecular freeze out, with some modulation from optical depth. This quasi-linear dependence with the H2 column density makes the gas at low column densities dominate the cloud-integrated emission. It also makes the emission from most high-dipole moment species proportional to the cloud mass inside the photodissociation edge.

Conclusions. Stratified random sampling is an efficient technique for characterizing the emission from whole molecular clouds. When applied to Perseus, it shows that despite the complex appearance of the cloud, the molecular emission follows a relatively simple pattern. A comparison with available studies of whole clouds suggests that this emission pattern may be common.
Relationship between solar energetic particle intensities and coronal mass ejection kinematics using STEREO/SECCHI field of view
Authors: Ravishankar Anitha , Michalek Grzegorz
Published: December 2020

Solar energetic particles (SEPs) accelerated from shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are one of the major causes of geomagnetic storms on Earth. Therefore, it is necessary to predict the occurrence and intensity of such disturbances. For this purpose we analyzed in detail 38 non-interacting halo and partial halo CMEs, as seen by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph, generating SEPs (in > 10 MeV, > 50 MeV, and > 100 MeV energy channels) during the quadrature configuration of the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) twin spacecrafts with respect to the Earth, which marks the ascending phase of solar cycle 24 (i.e., 2009–2013). The main criteria for this selection period is to obtain height–time measurements of the CMEs without significant projection effects and in a very large field of view. Using the data from STEREO/Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (STEREO/SECCHI) images we determined several kinematic parameters and instantaneous speeds of the CMEs. First, we compare instantaneous CME speed and Mach number versus SEP fluxes for events originating at the western and eastern limb; we observe high correlation for the western events and anticorrelation for the eastern events. Of the two parameters, the Mach number offers higher correlation. Next we investigated instantaneous CME kinematic parameters such as maximum speed, maximum Mach number, and the CME speed and Mach number at SEP peak flux versus SEP peak fluxes. Highly positive correlation is observed for Mach number at SEP peak flux for all events. The obtained instantaneous Mach number parameters from the emperical models was verified with the start and end time of type II radio bursts, which are signatures of CME-driven shock in the interplanetary medium. Furthermore, we conducted estimates of delay in time and distance between CME, SEP, and shock parameters. We observe an increase in the delay in time and distance when SEPs reach peak flux with respect to CME onset as we move from the western to the eastern limb. Western limb events (longitude 60°) have the best connectivity and this decreases as we move towards the eastern limb. This variation is due to the magnetic connectivity from the Sun to the Earth, called the Parker spiral interplanetary magnetic field. Comparative studies of the considered energy channels of the SEPs also throw light on the reacceleration of suprathermal seed ions by CME-driven shocks that are pre-accelerated in the magnetic reconnection.
Molecular remnant of Nova 1670 (CK Vulpeculae)
Authors: Kamiński T. , Steffen W. , Bujarrabal V. , Tylenda R. , Menten K. M. , Hajduk M.
Published: December 2020

CK Vul is the remnant of an energetic eruption known as Nova 1670 that is thought to be caused by a stellar merger. The remnant is composed of (1) a large hourglass nebula of recombining gas (of 71′′ in size), very similar to some classical planetary and pre-planetary nebulae (PPNe), and (2) a much smaller and cooler inner remnant that is prominent in millimeter-wave emission from molecules. We investigate the three-dimensional spatio-kinematic structure of both components. Our analysis of the hourglass structure yields a revised distance to the object of >2.6 kpc, at least 3.7 times greater than previously assumed. At this distance, the stellar remnant has a bolometric luminosity >12 L⊙ and is surrounded by molecular material with a total mass >0.8 M⊙ (the latter value has a large systematic uncertainty). We also analyzed the architecture of the inner molecular nebula using ALMA observations of rotational emission lines obtained at subarcsecond resolution. We find that the distribution of neutral and ionized gas in the lobes can be reproduced by several nested and incomplete shells or jets with different velocity fields and varying orientations. The analysis indicates that the molecular remnant was created in several ejection episodes, possibly involving an interacting binary system. We calculated the linear momentum (≈1040 g cm s−1) and kinetic energy (≈1047 erg) of the CK Vul outflows and find values that are within the limits typical for classical PPNe. Given the similarities of the CK Vul outflows to PPNe, we suggest there may be CK Vul analogs among wrongly classified PPNe with low intrinsic luminosities, especially among PPNe with post-red-giant-branch central stars.
The Variable Expression of a Novel MBD5 Gene Frameshift Mutation in an Italian Family
Authors: Orrico Alfredo , Galli Lucia , Rossi Maja , Cortesi Ambra , Mazzi Marta , Caterino Ettore
Published: December 2020

Haploinsufficiency of the methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 5 (MBD5) gene is reported as a cause of an autosomal dominant type of cognitive disability (MRD1) and autism spectrum disorder through large deletions involving multiple genes or point mutations, ultimately leading to haploinsufficiency in both cases. However, relatively few reports have been published on the phenotypical spectrum resulting from point mutations.

We report here on a novel heterozygous frameshift variant in the MBD5 gene [c.2579del; p.(Lys860Argfs*11)] in a family in which the typical signs associated with pathogenic variants were expressed with different degrees of severity in the clinical presentation of the carrier individuals.

Our findings, adding a novel mutation to the mutational spectrum, further support the relevance of the MBD5 gene as one of the main molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of intellectual disability and contribute to the characterization of the genotype–phenotype correlations.