bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting the Quality of Meat: Myth or Reality?
Authors: Berri Cécile , Picard Brigitte , Lebret Bénédicte , Andueza Donato , Lefèvre Florence , Le Bihan-Duval Elisabeth , Beauclercq Stéphane , Chartrin Pascal , Vautier Antoine , Legrand Isabelle , Hocquette Jean-François
Published: September 2019

This review is aimed at providing an overview of recent advances made in the field of meat quality prediction, particularly in Europe. The different methods used in research labs or by the production sectors for the development of equations and tools based on different types of biological (genomic or phenotypic) or physical (spectroscopy) markers are discussed. Through the various examples, it appears that although biological markers have been identified, quality parameters go through a complex determinism process. This makes the development of generic molecular tests even more difficult. However, in recent years, progress in the development of predictive tools has benefited from technological breakthroughs in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Concerning spectroscopy, the most significant progress was achieved using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict the composition and nutritional value of meats. However, predicting the functional properties of meats using this method—mainly, the sensorial quality—is more difficult. Finally, the example of the MSA (Meat Standards Australia) phenotypic model, which predicts the eating quality of beef based on a combination of upstream and downstream data, is described. Its benefit for the beef industry has been extensively demonstrated in Australia, and its generic performance has already been proven in several countries.
Cross-Kingdom Analysis of Diversity, Evolutionary History, and Site Selection within the Eukaryotic Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Superfamily
Authors: Michelet Claire , Danchin Etienne G. J. , Jaouannet Maelle , Bernhagen Jürgen , Panstruga Ralph , Kogel Karl-Heinz , Keller Harald , Coustau Christine
Published: September 2019

Macrophage migration inhibitory factors (MIF) are multifunctional proteins regulating major processes in mammals, including activation of innate immune responses. MIF proteins also play a role in innate immunity of invertebrate organisms or serve as virulence factors in parasitic organisms, raising the question of their evolutionary history. We performed a broad survey of MIF presence or absence and evolutionary relationships across 803 species of plants, fungi, protists, and animals, and explored a potential relation with the taxonomic status, the ecology, and the lifestyle of individual species. We show that MIF evolutionary history in eukaryotes is complex, involving probable ancestral duplications, multiple gene losses and recent clade-specific re-duplications. Intriguingly, MIFs seem to be essential and highly conserved with many sites under purifying selection in some kingdoms (e.g., plants), while in other kingdoms they appear more dispensable (e.g., in fungi) or present in several diverged variants (e.g., insects, nematodes), suggesting potential neofunctionalizations within the protein superfamily.
A New Kid on the Block? Carbonic Anhydrases as Possible New Targets in Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Provensi Gustavo , Carta Fabrizio , Nocentini Alessio , Supuran Claudiu T. , Casamenti Fiorella , Passani M. Beatrice , Fossati Silvia
Published: September 2019

The increase in the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), is a consequence of the world′s population aging but unfortunately, existing treatments are only effective at delaying some of the symptoms and for a limited time. Despite huge efforts by both academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies, no disease-modifying drugs have been brought to the market in the last decades. Recently, several studies shed light on Carbonic Anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1) as possible new targets for AD treatment. In the present review we summarized preclinical and clinical findings regarding the role of CAs and their inhibitors/activators on cognition, aging and neurodegeneration and we discuss future challenges and opportunities in the field.
Antitumor Activity of a Novel Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor AIU2001 Due to Abrogation of the DNA Damage Repair in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells
Authors: Ryu Hwani , Choi Hyun-Kyung , Kim Hyo , Kim Ah-Young , Song Jie-Young , Hwang Sang-Gu , Kim Jae-Sung , Kim Da-Un , Kim Eun-Ho , Kim Joon , Ahn Jiyeon
Published: September 2019

Class III receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitors targeting mainly FLT3 or c-KIT have not been well studied in lung cancer. To identify a small molecule potentially targeting class III RTK, we synthesized novel small molecule compounds and identified 5-(4-bromophenyl)-N-(naphthalen-1-yl) oxazol-2-amine (AIU2001) as a novel class III RKT inhibitor. In an in vitro kinase profiling assay, AIU2001 inhibited the activities of FLT3, mutated FLT3, FLT4, and c-KIT of class III RTK, and the proliferation of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. AIU2001 induced DNA damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, AIU2001 suppressed the DNA damage repair genes, resulting in the ‘BRCAness’/‘DNA-PKness’ phenotype. The mRNA expression level of STAT5 was downregulated by AIU2001 treatment and knockdown of STAT5 inhibited the DNA repair genes. Our results show that compared to either drug alone, the combination of AIU2001 with a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib or irradiation showed synergistic efficacy in H1299 and A549 cells. Hence, our findings demonstrate that AIU2001 is a candidate therapeutic agent for NSCLC and combination therapies with AIU2001 and a PARP inhibitor or radiotherapy may be used to increase the therapeutic efficacy of AIU2001 due to inhibition of DNA damage repair.
Editorial of Special Issue “Protective and Detrimental Role of Heme Oxygenase-1”
Authors: Sorrenti Valeria
Published: September 2019

The Special Issue, “Protective and Detrimental Role of Heme Oxygenase-1”, of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, includes original research papers and reviews, some of which were aimed to understanding the dual role (protective and detrimental) of HO-1 and the signaling pathway involved [...]
Subcellular Localization Signals of bHLH-PAS Proteins: Their Significance, Current State of Knowledge and Future Perspectives
Authors: Greb-Markiewicz Beata , Kolonko Marta
Published: September 2019

The bHLH-PAS (basic helix-loop-helix/ Period-ARNT-Single minded) proteins are a family of transcriptional regulators commonly occurring in living organisms. bHLH-PAS members act as intracellular and extracellular “signals” sensors, initiating response to endo- and exogenous signals, including toxins, redox potential, and light. The activity of these proteins as transcription factors depends on nucleocytoplasmic shuttling: the signal received in the cytoplasm has to be transduced, via translocation, to the nucleus. It leads to the activation of transcription of particular genes and determines the cell response to different stimuli. In this review, we aim to present the current state of knowledge concerning signals that affect shuttling of bHLH-PAS transcription factors. We summarize experimentally verified and published nuclear localization signals/nuclear export signals (NLSs/NESs) in the context of performed in silico predictions. We have used most of the available NLS/NES predictors. Importantly, all our results confirm the existence of a complex system responsible for protein localization regulation that involves many localization signals, which activity has to be precisely controlled. We conclude that the current stage of knowledge in this area is still not complete and for most of bHLH-PAS proteins an experimental verification of the activity of further NLS/NES is needed.
Overview and Empirical Analysis of ISP Parameter Tuning for Visual Perception in Autonomous Driving
Authors: Yahiaoui Lucie , Horgan Jonathan , Deegan Brian , Yogamani Senthil , Hughes Ciarán , Denny Patrick
Published: September 2019

Image quality is a well understood concept for human viewing applications, particularly in the multimedia space, but increasingly in an automotive context as well. The rise in prominence of autonomous driving and computer vision brings to the fore research in the area of the impact of image quality in camera perception for tasks such as recognition, localization and reconstruction. While the definition of “image quality” for computer vision may be ill-defined, what is clear is that the configuration of the image signal processing pipeline is the key factor in controlling the image quality for computer vision. This paper is partly review and partly positional with demonstration of several preliminary results promising for future research. As such, we give an overview of what is an
Special Issue: Fungal–Bacterial Interactions—Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives
Authors: Fidel Paul L. , Noverr Mairi C.
Published: September 2019

We would like to thank all the contributors to the Special Issue on Fungal–Bacterial Interactions—Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives [...]
A Low-Frequency MEMS Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System Based on Frequency Up-Conversion Mechanism
Authors: Huang Manjuan , Hou Cheng , Li Yunfei , Liu Huicong , Wang Fengxia , Chen Tao , Yang Zhan , Tang Gang , Sun Lining
Published: September 2019

This paper proposes an impact-based micro piezoelectric energy harvesting system (PEHS) working with the frequency up-conversion mechanism. The PEHS consists of a high-frequency straight piezoelectric cantilever (SPC), a low-frequency S-shaped stainless-steel cantilever (SSC), and supporting frames. During the vibration, the frequency up-conversion behavior is realized through the impact between the bottom low-frequency cantilever and the top high-frequency cantilever. The SPC used in the system is fabricated using a new micro electromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication process for a piezoelectric thick film on silicon substrate. The output performances of the single SPC and the PEHS under different excitation accelerations are tested. In the experiment, the normalized power density of the PEHS is 0.216 μW·g−1·Hz−1·cm−3 at 0.3 g acceleration, which is 34 times higher than that of the SPC at the same acceleration level of 0.3 g. The PEHS can improve the output power under the low frequency and low acceleration scenario.
Reducing the Nano-Scale Aggregation of Perylene Diimide Based Acceptor by Conjugating a Bridge with a Large Volume
Authors: Chen Jun-Yi , Xia Xu-Dong , Zhang Jicheng
Published: September 2019

A novel perylene diimide (PDI) based acceptor P-PDI was synthesized by attaching a phenyl bridge to two octyloxy side chains. With two large volume side chains, the planarity of P-PDI was significantly reduced, leading to weak nano-aggregation of the PDI groups between the different acceptor molecules. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments also revealed that P-PDI was amorphous, and demonstrating the aggregation of P-PDI was successfully suppressed. When blended with PTB7-Th to fabricate a polymer solar cell, a power conversation efficiency (PCE) of 2.21% was achieved, demonstrating that a conjugated bridge with a big volume side chain could significantly reduce the nano-scale aggregation of PDI based acceptor materials, which provides a new strategy to synthesize high efficiency acceptors based on PDI.
Thermal Layout Analysis and Design of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells on PCB Based on Novel Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Yuan Zhenyu , Chuai Wenhui , Guo Zhongming , Tu Zhaoyin , Kong Fanbo
Published: September 2019

As a new energy technology, the fuel cell has developed rapidly, and its performance has been continuously improved. Fuel cell stacks composed of multiple single cells are gradually being used in portable electronic products. Since the performance of fuel cells cannot be optimal at room temperature, it is critical to research cell temperature characteristics and heat distributions in applications. In this paper, the effects of temperature and charge transfer coefficient and the relationship between exchange current density and output voltage were analyzed by the mathematical model of direct methanol fuel cells. Moreover, to optimize the thermal layout of the fuel cell stack in the printed circuit board (PCB) substrate, the idea of a fuel cell as a device was proposed innovatively, and the corresponding thermal optimization strategy was analyzed. A novel particle swarm optimization algorithm was used to detect the optimal layout of fuel cells of different specifications on the same substrate. The three-dimensional thermal simulation model was used to obtain the temperature data and verify the optimization results.
Optimizing a Whole-Genome Sequencing Data Processing Pipeline for Precision Surveillance of Health Care-Associated Infections
Authors: Huang Weihua , Wang Guiqing , Yin Changhong , Chen Donald , Dhand Abhay , Chanza Melissa , Dimitrova Nevenka , Fallon John T.
Published: September 2019

The surveillance of health care-associated infection (HAI) is an essential element of the infection control program. While whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has widely been adopted for genomic surveillance, its data processing remains to be improved. Here, we propose a three-level data processing pipeline for the precision genomic surveillance of microorganisms without prior knowledge: species identification, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), and sub-MLST clustering. The former two are closely connected to what have widely been used in current clinical microbiology laboratories, whereas the latter one provides significantly improved resolution and accuracy in genomic surveillance. Comparing to a broadly used reference-dependent alignment/mapping method and an annotation-dependent pan-/core-genome analysis, we implemented our reference- and annotation-independent, k-mer-based, simplified workflow to a collection of Acinetobacter and Enterococcus clinical isolates for tests. By taking both single nucleotide variants and genomic structural changes into account, the optimized k-mer-based pipeline demonstrated a global view of bacterial population structure in a rapid manner and discriminated the relatedness between bacterial isolates in more detail and precision. The newly developed WGS data processing pipeline would facilitate WGS application to the precision genomic surveillance of HAI. In addition, the results from such a WGS-based analysis would be useful for the precision laboratory diagnosis of infectious microorganisms.
Experimental Simulation of the Self-Trapping Mechanism for CO2 Sequestration into Marine Sediments
Authors: Kim Hak-Sung , Cho Gye-Chun
Published: September 2019

CO2 hydrates are ice-like solid lattice compounds composed of hydrogen-bonded cages of water molecules that encapsulate guest CO2 molecules. The formation of CO2 hydrates in unconsolidated sediments significantly decreases their permeability and increases their stiffness. CO2 hydrate-bearing sediments can, therefore, act as cap-rocks and prevent CO2 leakage from a CO2-stored layer. In this study, we conducted an experimental simulation of CO2 geological storage into marine unconsolidated sediments. CO2 hydrates formed during the CO2 liquid injection process and prevented any upward flow of CO2. Temperature, pressure, P-wave velocity, and electrical resistance were measured during the experiment, and their measurement results verified the occurrence of the self-trapping effect induced by CO2 hydrate formation. Several analyses using the experimental results revealed that CO2 hydrate bearing-sediments have a considerable sealing capacity. Minimum breakthrough pressure and maximum absolute permeability are estimated to be 0.71 MPa and 5.55 × 10−4 darcys, respectively.
A New Triterpenoid Glucoside from a Novel Acidic Glycosylation of Ganoderic Acid A via Recombinant Glycosyltransferase of Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Chang Te-Sheng , Chiang Chien-Min , Kao Yu-Han , Wu Jiumn-Yih , Wu Yu-Wei , Wang Tzi-Yuan
Published: September 2019

Ganoderic acid A (GAA) is a bioactive triterpenoid isolated from the medicinal fungus Ganoderma lucidum. Our previous study showed that the Bacillus subtilis ATCC (American type culture collection) 6633 strain could biotransform GAA into compound (1), GAA-15-O-β-glucoside, and compound (2). Even though we identified two glycosyltransferases (GT) to catalyze the synthesis of GAA-15-O-β-glucoside, the chemical structure of compound (2) and its corresponding enzyme remain elusive. In the present study, we identified BsGT110, a GT from the same B. subtilis strain, for the biotransformation of GAA into compound (2) through acidic glycosylation. BsGT110 showed an optimal glycosylation activity toward GAA at pH 6 but lost most of its activity at pH 8. Through a scaled-up production, compound (2) was successfully isolated using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and identified to be a new triterpenoid glucoside (GAA-26-O-β-glucoside) by mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results of kinetic experiments showed that the turnover number (kcat) of BsGT110 toward GAA at pH 6 (kcat = 11.2 min−1) was 3-fold higher than that at pH 7 (kcat = 3.8 min−1), indicating that the glycosylation activity of BsGT110 toward GAA was more active at acidic pH 6. In short, we determined that BsGT110 is a unique GT that plays a role in the glycosylation of triterpenoid at the C-26 position under acidic conditions, but loses most of this activity under alkaline ones, suggesting that acidic solutions may enhance the catalytic activity of this and similar types of GTs toward triterpenoids.
Simultaneous Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction for Flavonoids and Antioxidant Activity of Angelica keiskei Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
Authors: Zhang Lei , Jiang Yuhuan , Pang Xuening , Hua Puyue , Gao Xiang , Li Qun , Li Zichao
Published: September 2019

Angelica keiskei Koidzumi (A. keiskei), as a Japanese edible herbal plant, enjoys a variety of biological activities due to the presence of numerous active compounds, especially flavonoids. This study aims for the optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for flavonoids in A. keiskei and their antioxidant activity by using the response surface methodology (RSM). Single-factor experiments and a four-factor three-level Box–Behnken design (BBD) were performed to explore the effects of the following parameters on flavonoid extraction and antioxidant activity evaluation: ultrasonic temperature (X1), ultrasonic time (X2), ethanol concentration (X3) and liquid–solid ratio (X4). The optimum conditions of the combination of total flavonoid content (TFC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity (DPPH-RSC) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were as follows: X1 = 80 °C, X2 = 4 min, X3 = 78%, X4 = 35 mL/g, respectively. The experimental results provide a theoretical basis for the extensive utilization of A. keiskei and flavonoids extraction from A. keiskei as a potential source of antioxidants.
Enantioselective 5-exo-Fluorocyclization of Ene-Oximes
Authors: Rouno Taiki , Niwa Tomoki , Nishibashi Kousuke , Yamamoto Nobuharu , Egami Hiromichi , Hamashima Yoshitaka
Published: September 2019

The enantioselective 5-exo-fluorocyclization of ene-oxime compounds was demonstrated under phase-transfer catalysis. Although deprotonative fluorinations competed, the chemical yields and the ee values of the desired isoxazoline products were generally moderate to good. The absolute stereochemistry of the major isomer was determined to be S by comparison with the literature after transformation of the product to the corresponding iodinated isoxazoline.
A Complete Study of Farrerol Metabolites Produced In Vivo and In Vitro
Authors: Yin Jintuo , Ma Yinling , Liang Caijuan , Wang Hairong , Sun Yupeng , Zhang Lantong , Jia Qingzhong
Published: September 2019

Although farrerol, a characteristically bioactive constituent of Rhododendron dauricum L., exhibits extensive biological and pharmacological activities (e.g., anti-oxidant, anti-immunogenic, and anti-angiogenic) as well as a high drug development potential, its metabolism remains underexplored. Herein, we employed ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with multiple data post-processing techniques to rapidly identify farrerol metabolites produced in vivo (in rat blood, bile, urine and feces) and in vitro (in rat liver microsomes). As a result, 42 in vivo metabolites and 15 in vitro metabolites were detected, and farrerol shown to mainly undergo oxidation, reduction, (de)methylation, glucose conjugation, glucuronide conjugation, sulfate conjugation, N-acetylation and N-acetylcysteine conjugation. Thus, this work elaborates the metabolic pathways of farrerol and reveals the potential pharmacodynamics forms of farrerol.
Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of SPION-Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrids for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Authors: Llenas Marina , Sandoval Stefania , Costa Pedro M. , Oró-Solé Judith , Lope-Piedrafita Silvia , Ballesteros Belén , Al-Jamal Khuloud T. , Tobias Gerard
Published: September 2019

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful tool for disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) show good performance as transverse relaxation (T2) contrast agents, thus facilitating the interpretation of the acquired images. Attachment of SPION onto nanocarriers prevents their agglomeration, improving the circulation time and efficiency. Graphene derivatives, such as graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO), are appealing nanocarriers since they have both high surface area and functional moieties that make them ideal substrates for the attachment of nanoparticles. We have employed a fast, simple and environmentally friendly microwave-assisted approach for the synthesis of SPION-RGO hybrids. Different iron precursor/GO ratios were used leading to SPION, with a median diameter of 7.1 nm, homogeneously distributed along the RGO surface. Good relaxivity (r2*) values were obtained in MRI studies and no significant toxicity was detected within in vitro tests following GL261 glioma and J774 macrophage-like cells for 24 h with SPION-RGO, demonstrating the applicability of the hybrids as T2-weighted MRI contrast agents.
Lidar Prediction of Small Mammal Diversity in Wisconsin, USA
Authors: Schooler Sarah L. , Zald Harold S. J.
Published: September 2019

Vegetation structure is a crucial component of habitat selection for many taxa, and airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology is increasingly used to measure forest structure. Many studies have examined the relationship between LiDAR-derived structural characteristics and wildlife, but few have examined those characteristics in relation to small mammals, specifically, small mammal diversity. The aim of this study was to determine if LiDAR could predict small mammal diversity in a temperate-mixed forest community in Northern Wisconsin, USA, and which LiDAR-derived structural variables best predict small mammal diversity. We calculated grid metrics from LiDAR point cloud data for 17 plots in three differently managed sites and related the metrics to small mammal diversity calculated from five months of small mammal trapping data. We created linear models, then used model selection and multi-model inference as well as model fit metrics to determine if LiDAR-derived structural variables could predict small mammal diversity. We found that small mammal diversity could be predicted by LiDAR-derived variables including structural diversity, cover, and canopy complexity as well as site (as a proxy for management). Structural diversity and canopy complexity were positively related with small mammal diversity, while cover was negatively related to small mammal diversity. Although this study was conducted in a single habitat type during a single season, it demonstrates that LiDAR can be used to predict small mammal diversity in this location and possibly can be expanded to predict small mammal diversity across larger spatial scales.
Boosting Depth-Based Face Recognition from a Quality Perspective
Authors: Hu Zhenguo , Gui Penghui , Feng Ziqing , Zhao Qijun , Fu Keren , Liu Feng , Liu Zhengxi
Published: September 2019

Face recognition using depth data has attracted increasing attention from both academia and industry in the past five years. Previous works show a huge performance gap between high-quality and low-quality depth data. Due to the lack of databases and reasonable evaluations on data quality, very few researchers have focused on boosting depth-based face recognition by enhancing data quality or feature representation. In the paper, we carefully collect a new database including high-quality 3D shapes, low-quality depth images and the corresponding color images of the faces of 902 subjects, which have long been missing in the area. With the database, we make a standard evaluation protocol and propose three strategies to train low-quality depth-based face recognition models with the help of high-quality depth data. Our training strategies could serve as baselines for future research, and their feasibility of boosting low-quality depth-based face recognition is validated by extensive experiments.
General Identifiability Condition for Network Topology Monitoring with Network Tomography
Authors: Pan Shengli , Zhang Zongwang , Zhang Zhiyong , Zeng Deze , Xu Rui , Rao Zhihong
Published: September 2019

Accurate knowledge of network topology is vital for network monitoring and management. Network tomography can probe the underlying topologies of the intervening networks solely by sending and receiving packets between end hosts: the performance correlations of the end-to-end paths between each pair of end hosts can be mapped to the lengths of their shared paths, which could be further used to identify the interior nodes and links. However, such performance correlations are usually heavily affected by the time-varying cross-traffic, making it hard to keep the estimated lengths consistent during different measurement periods, i.e., once inconsistent measurements are collected, a biased inference of the network topology then will be yielded. In this paper, we prove conditions under which it is sufficient to identify the network topology accurately against the time-varying cross-traffic. Our insight is that even though the estimated length of the shared path between two paths might be “zoomed in or out” by the cross-traffic, the network topology can still be recovered faithfully as long as we obtain the relative lengths of the shared paths between any three paths accurately.
Comparison of Laser Pulse Duration for the Spatially Resolved Measurement of Coating Thickness with Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
Authors: Basler Carl , Brandenburg Albrecht , Michalik Katarzyna , Mory David
Published: September 2019

In this study, a method is presented to measure precisely the thickness of coated components based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The thickness is determined by repetitively ablating the coating with ultrashort laser pulses, monitoring the spectrum of the generated plasma and calculating the coating thickness from the specific plasma signal in comparison to a reference measurement. We compare different pulse durations of the laser (290 fs, 10 ps, 6 ns) to extend the material analysis capabilities of LIBS to a real thickness measurement tool. The method is designed for production processes with known coating materials. Here, we show this for a nickel coating and a tungsten carbide coating on a copper sample with thicknesses from 5–30 µm.
Effect of Closed-Loop Vibration Stimulation on Heart Rhythm during Naps
Authors: Choi Sang Ho , Yoon Heenam , Jin Hyung Won , Kwon Hyun Bin , Oh Seong Min , Lee Yu Jin , Park Kwang Suk
Published: September 2019

Sleep plays a primary function for health and sustains physical and cognitive performance. Although various stimulation systems for enhancing sleep have been developed, they are difficult to use on a long-term basis. This paper proposes a novel stimulation system and confirms its feasibility for sleep. Specifically, in this study, a closed-loop vibration stimulation system that detects the heart rate (HR) and applies −n% stimulus beats per minute (BPM) computed on the basis of the previous 5 min of HR data was developed. Ten subjects participated in the evaluation experiment, in which they took a nap for approximately 90 min. The experiment comprised one baseline and three stimulation conditions. HR variability analysis showed that the normalized low frequency (LF) and LF/high frequency (HF) parameters significantly decreased compared to the baseline condition, while the normalized HF parameter significantly increased under the −3% stimulation condition. In addition, the HR density around the stimulus BPM significantly increased under the −3% stimulation condition. The results confirm that the proposed stimulation system could influence heart rhythm and stabilize the autonomic nervous system. This study thus provides a new stimulation approach to enhance the quality of sleep and has the potential for enhancing health levels through sleep manipulation.
Anti-Wiretap Spectrum-Sharing for Cooperative Cognitive Radio Communication Systems
Authors: Si Peiyuan , Lu Weidang , Gu Kecai , Liu Xin , Li Bo , Peng Hong , Gong Yi
Published: September 2019

As wireless communication technology keeps progressing, people’s requirements for wireless communication quality are getting higher and higher. Wireless communication brings convenience, but also causes some problems. On the one hand, the traditional static and fixed spectrum allocation strategy leads to high wastefulness of spectrum resources. The direction of improving the utility of spectrum resources by combining the advantages of cooperative communication and cognitive radio has attracted the attention of many scholars. On the other hand, security of communication is becoming an important issue because of the broadcasting nature and openness of wireless communication. Physical-layer security has been brought into focus due to the possibility of improving the security in wireless communication. In this paper, we propose an anti-wiretap spectrum-sharing scheme for cooperative cognitive radio communication systems which can secure the information transmission for the two transmission phases of the cooperative communication. We maximized the secondary system transmission rate by jointly optimizing power and bandwidth while ensuring the primary system achieves its secrecy transmission rate. Useful insights of the proposed anti-wiretap spectrum-sharing scheme are given in the simulation results. Moreover, several system parameters are shown to have a big impact for the simulation results.
Sustainable Public Procurement: The Impact of Ability, Motivation, and Opportunity on the Implementation of Different Types of Sustainable Public Procurement
Authors: Grandia Jolien , Voncken Dylan
Published: September 2019

Public organisations develop sustainable public procurement (SPP) policies to compel suppliers to contribute to societal goals. Studies show that the ability, motivation, and opportunity that procurers have to procure in a sustainable manner affect the uptake of SPP. Most studies into SPP examine these factors only in the context of one type of SPP (e.g., green procurement). The goal of this paper is therefore to examine the relationship between ability, motivation, and opportunity and six types of SPP: (1) green public procurement, (2) social return on investment, (3) circular economy, (4) bio-based public procurement, (5) innovation-oriented public procurement and (6) international social criteria. An online survey was administered amongst procurers working in Dutch public organisations. The research shows that ability, motivation, and opportunity affect Green Public Procurement (GPP). Opportunity did affect green public procurement, innovation-oriented public procurement and circular economy, but not the other types of SPP. We were unable to identify an antecedent of more social types of SPP in this research. This research shows that findings based on GPP cannot be directly generalized to other types of SPP, and that there is a need for research into the antecedents of social types of SPP.
Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility by Consumers: Use of Organic Material and Long Working Hours of Employees
Authors: Nakano Makiko
Published: September 2019

Many previous studies on consumer choice have examined consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for attributes related to environmental issues. In Japan, long working hours have caused many problems, including death through overwork. However, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no previous studies examining WTP for the attribute related to long working hours in Japan. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether consumers prefer products without involving employees’ working long hours and to demonstrate the difference in WTP between the attribute of environmental issues (the product is made from organically grown raw cotton) and the attribute of long working hours in order to reveal Japanese consumers’ preference. The research methodology is a choice experiment using a questionnaire survey in Japan. The results indicate that the use of organically grown raw cotton can increase the WTP by JPY (Japanese yen) 121 on average. When an overworked employee who works more than 80 h of overtime per month is present, the WTP decreases by JPY 230 on average. The contribution of this study is to reveal WTP and show that consumers are interested in employees’ working hours in addition to the environmental issue. Preference heterogeneity is also examined.
Toward Policies to Manage the Impacts of Autonomous Vehicles on the City: A Visioning Exercise
Authors: Staricco Luca , Rappazzo Valentina , Scudellari Jacopo , Vitale Brovarone Elisabetta
Published: September 2019

There is great uncertainty about the transition from human to autonomous driving vehicles (AVs), as well as about the extent and direction of their potential impacts on the urban built environment. Planners are aware of the importance of leading this transition but are hesitant about how to proceed, and public administrations generally show a passive attitude. One of the reasons is the difficulty of defining long-term visions and identifying transition paths to achieve the desired future. The literature on AVs is growing rapidly but most of the visions proposed so far do not consider in detail how circulation and parking of AVs will (or could) be differently regulated in cities. In this study, three visions for the Italian city of Turin are proposed. The aim of these visions is to highlight how different forms of regulation of AV circulation and parking can impact on the sustainability and livability of the city. A focus group and a set of interviews with experts and stakeholders were used to validate the three visions and assess their advisability and sustainability. This visioning exercise is the first step in the development of a backcasting process.
Grazing Affects the Ecological Stoichiometry of the Plant–Soil–Microbe System on the Hulunber Steppe, China
Authors: Cao Juan , Yan Ruirui , Chen Xiaoyong , Wang Xu , Yu Qiang , Zhang Yunlong , Ning Chen , Hou Lulu , Zhang Yongjuan , Xin Xiaoping
Published: September 2019

Grazing affects nutrient cycling processes in grasslands, but little is known by researchers about effects on the nutrient stoichiometry of plant–soil–microbe systems. In this study, the influence of grazing intensity (0, 0.23, 0.34, 0.46, 0.69, and 0.92 AU ha−1) on carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and their stoichiometric ratios in plants, soil, and microbes was investigated in a Hulunber meadow steppe, Northeastern China. The C:N and C:P ratios of shoots decreased with grazing increased. Leaf N:P ratios <10 suggested that the plant communities under grazing were N-limited. Heavy grazing intensities increased the C:N and C:P ratios of microbial biomass, but grazing intensity had no significant effects on the stoichiometry of soil nutrients. The coupling relationship of C:N ratio in plant–soil–microbial systems was tightly significant compared to C:P ratio and N:P ratio according to the correlation results. The finding suggested grazing exacerbated the competition between plants and microorganisms for N and P nutrition by the stoichiometric changes (%) in each grazing level relative to the no grazing treatment. Therefore, for the sustainability of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, N inputs need to be increased and high grazing intensities reduced in meadow steppe ecosystems, and the grazing load should be controlled within G0.46.
Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Most Efficient Teaching and Learning Methods for Species and Species Identification
Authors: Palmberg Irmeli , Kärkkäinen Sirpa , Jeronen Eila , Yli-Panula Eija , Persson Christel
Published: September 2019

Teachers need knowledge of species and species identification skills for teaching the structure and function of ecosystems, and the principles of biodiversity and its role in sustainability. The aim of this study is to analyze Nordic student teachers’ views on the most efficient methods and strategies to teach and learn species and species identification, and to find some trends about how well their views are reflected in a species identification test. Student teachers in Finland, Norway, and Sweden (N = 426) answered a questionnaire consisting of fixed and open-ended questions, and a species identification test. An analysis of variance, Chi-Square, and t-test were used for quantitative data and an inductive content analysis for qualitative data. Results showed that outdoor teaching and learning methods are more efficient than indoor methods. The majority of student teachers considered outdoor experiential learning with living organisms as the most efficient teaching and learning method. Student teachers who highlighted outdoor experiential learning and outdoor project work as their most efficient methods received significantly better results in the species identification test than the others. Field trips and fieldwork were emphasized as the most important sources in schools and universities, while the Internet was the most important source among media. The student teachers underlined teachers’ expertise in the form of in-depth understanding of subjects and supervising skills for efficient teaching both outdoors and indoors. Therefore, teaching and learning of species and species identification as the practical part of biodiversity and sustainability education is emphasized as an integral part of teacher education programs.
An Improved Method for Obtaining Solar Irradiation Data at Temporal High-Resolution
Authors: Hontoria Leocadio , Rus-Casas Catalina , Aguilar Juan , Hernandez Jesús
Published: September 2019

Solar irradiation that is received on a terrestrial surface at minor scale of an hour does not have many records, since the current solar irradiation databases generally only have data recorded on a daily (most) and hourly (some less) scale. For places where there are no records of solar irradiation, there are a lot of methods that are used to synthetically or artificially generate these data, and again they are usually methods that generate data on a daily or hourly scale. Currently, for all types of applications, especially in the field of photovoltaic solar energy, irradiation data are needed at minor scale of an hour. In this case, there are very few methods to generate such data. For this purpose, a new methodology to generate series of solar irradiation at temporal high-resolution. In this paper, it is presented on a 10-min basis. A comparative study with real data has been done and the conclusion, as it will be explained is that the proposed methodology provides very good results.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Costs with the Alternative Structural System for Slab: A Comparative Analysis of South Korea Cases
Authors: Na Seunguk , Paik Inkwan
Published: September 2019

The construction industry is one of the main contributors to the production of large volumes of greenhouse gases, since it consumes a large quantity of energy and construction materials. The purpose of this research is to assess the environmental impacts and economic efficiency of the voided slab system compared to the ordinary reinforced concrete slab. A life cycle assessment (LCA) and the total cost of construction were calculated to evaluate the performance of both slab systems. Additionally, the total costs of construction for both cases were determined based on the unit price of the building materials. The results of this study indicate that manufacturing building materials contributes most to the total GHG emissions where concrete is responsible for nearly 1/2 of all emissions. Additionally, forms are the second largest contributor of the total GHG emissions and account for nearly 40% and 15% of emissions for the ordinary reinforced concrete slab and the voided slab system, respectively. This study verified that the voided slab system indicated better environmental performance than the ordinary reinforced concrete slab. The total GHG emissions of the ordinary reinforced concrete slab were 256,599 and 13,989 kg·CO2·eq, for concrete and forms, respectively. Additionally, the total GHG emissions of the voided slab system were 224,945 and 12,211 kg·CO2·eq. The reduction of GHG emissions from Case 1 for aboveground floors and Case 2 for underground parking was 12.3% and 12.7% over the ordinary reinforced concrete slab, respectively. The economic efficiency of the ordinary reinforced concrete slab and the voided slab system were assessed by comparison of the total costs of construction. This showed a total cost reduction of 12.3% and 11.2% for the case of applying the voided slab system to the aboveground floors and underground parking, respectively. Thus, replacing the ordinary reinforced concrete slab by the voided slab system in the aboveground floors and the underground would make it possible to decrease not only the emissions of GHG, but also the cost of construction.
The Circular Hill Problem Regarding Arbitrary Disturbing Forces: The Periodic Solutions that are Emerging from the Equilibria
Authors: de Bustos M. Teresa , López Miguel A. , Martínez Raquel
Published: September 2019

In this work, sufficient conditions for computing periodic solutions have been obtained in the circular Hill Problem with regard to arbitrary disturbing forces. This problem will be solved by means of using the averaging theory for dynamical systems as the main mathematical tool that has been applied in this work.
A Review of Blockchain Architecture and Consensus Protocols: Use Cases, Challenges, and Solutions
Authors: Ismail Leila , Materwala Huned
Published: September 2019

Over the last decade, blockchain technology has emerged to provide solutions to the complexity and privacy challenges of using distributed databases. It reduces cost for customers by eliminating intermediaries and builds trust in peer-to-peer communications. Over this time, the concept of blockchain has shifted greatly due to its potential in business growth for enterprises and the rapidly evolving applications in a collaborative smart-city ecosystem, healthcare, and governance. Many platforms, with different architectures and consensus protocols, have been introduced. Consequently, it becomes challenging for an application developer to choose the right platform. Furthermore, blockchain has misaligned with the goals for an efficient green collaborative digital ecosystem. Therefore, it becomes critical to address this gap and to build new frameworks to align blockchain with those goals. In this paper, we discuss the evolution of blockchain architecture and consensus protocols, bringing a retrospective analysis and discussing the rationale of the evolution of the various architectures and protocols, as well as capturing the assumptions conducive to their development and contributions to building collaborative applications. We introduce a classification of those architectures helping developers to choose a suitable platform for applications and providing insights for future research directions in the field to build new frameworks.
Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Antimicrobial α-Helical Peptides Found in Solitary Wasp Venoms and Their Interactions with Model Membranes
Authors: dos Santos Cabrera Marcia Perez , Rangel Marisa , Ruggiero Neto João , Konno Katsuhiro
Published: September 2019

Solitary wasps use their stinging venoms for paralyzing insect or spider prey and feeding them to their larvae. We have surveyed bioactive substances in solitary wasp venoms, and found antimicrobial peptides together with some other bioactive peptides. Eumenine mastoparan-AF (EMP-AF) was the first to be found from the venom of the solitary eumenine wasp Anterhynchium flavomarginatum micado, showing antimicrobial, histamine-releasing, and hemolytic activities, and adopting an α-helical secondary structure under appropriate conditions. Further survey of solitary wasp venom components revealed that eumenine wasp venoms contained such antimicrobial α-helical peptides as the major peptide component. This review summarizes the results obtained from the studies of these peptides in solitary wasp venoms and some analogs from the viewpoint of (1) chemical and biological characterization; (2) physicochemical properties and secondary structure; and (3) channel-like pore-forming properties.
The Impact of Lake Water Quality on the Performance of Mature Artificial Recharge Ponds
Authors: Li Jing , Hägg Kristofer , Persson Kenneth M.
Published: September 2019

Artificial groundwater recharge is commonly used for drinking water supply. The resulting water quality is highly dependent on the raw water quality. In many cases, pretreatment is required. Pretreatment improves the drinking water quality, although how and to what extent it affects the subsequent pond water quality and infiltration process, is still unknown. We evaluated two treatment systems by applying different pretreatment methods for raw water from a eutrophic and temperate lake. An artificial recharge pond was divided into two parts, where one received raw water, only filtered through a microscreen with 500 µm pores (control treatment), while the other part received pretreated lake water using chemical flocculation with polyaluminum chloride (PACl) combined with sand filtration, i.e., continuous contact filtration (contact filter treatment). Water quality factors such as cyanobacterial biomass, microcystin, as well as organic matter and nutrients were measured in both treatment processes. Microcystin condition was screened by an immunoassay and a few selected samples were examined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) which is a chemistry technique that combines the physical separation capabilities of liquid chromatography with the mass analysis capabilities of mass spectrometry. Results showed that cyanobacterial biomass and microcystin after the contact filter treatment were significantly different from the control treatment and also significantly different in the pond water. In addition, with contact filter treatment, total phosphorus (TP) and organic matter removal were significantly improved in the end water, TP was reduced by 96% (<20 µg/L) and the total organic carbon (TOC) was reduced by 66% instead of 55% (TOC content around 2.1 mg/L instead of 3.0 mg/L). This full-scale onsite experiment demonstrated effective pretreatment would benefit a more stable water quality system, with less variance and lower microcystin risk. From a broader drinking water management perspective, the presented method is promising for reducing cyanotoxin risk, as well as TP and TOC, which are all predicted to increase with global warming and extreme weather.