bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shortcomings and Suggestions to the EPC Recommendation List of Measures: In-Depth Interviews in Six Countries
Authors: Gonzalez Caceres Alex
Published: September 2018

Dwellings built between 1945 and 1980 have the largest energy demand in the EU, which by 2009 represented 70% of the final energy use in buildings. A great portion of these dwellings have not been retrofitted and most of them were not built with any energy efficiency measures, since most of the energy regulations were implemented after the oil crisis in the 70s. To face this issue several actions were taken in the EU, among these, the implementation of Energy Performance Certification, which includes a Recommendation List of Measures (RLMs) to retrofit the property. The main objective of this study is to identify the weaknesses of the RLMs and to suggest changes to improve the quality and impact of this feature. The results indicate that to retrofit an existing building, the RLMs lack information for decision-making. The study suggests important barriers to overcome for achieving potential energy reductions in existing residential buildings, highlighting improvements to the recommendation content and its implementation.
Prosumer Communities and Relationships in Smart Grids: A Literature Review, Evolution and Future Directions
Authors: Espe Eunice , Potdar Vidyasagar , Chang Elizabeth
Published: September 2018

Smart grids are robust, self-healing networks that allow bidirectional propagation of energy and information within the utility grid. This introduces a new type of energy user who consumes, produces, stores and shares energy with other grid users. Such a user is called a “prosumer.” Prosumers’ participation in the smart grid is critical for the sustainability and long-term efficiency of the energy sharing process. Thus, prosumer management has attracted increasing attention among researchers in recent years. This paper systematically examines the literature on prosumer community based smart grid by reviewing relevant literature published from 2009 to 2018 in reputed energy and technology journals. We specifically focus on two dimensions namely prosumer community groups and prosumer relationships. Based on the evaluated literature, we present eight propositions and thoroughly describe several future research directions.
The Concept of Landscape Structure, Forest Continuum and Connectivity as a Support in Urban Forest Management and Landscape Planning
Authors: Pirnat Janez , Hladnik David
Published: September 2018

Close-to-nature urban forests and remnants of natural vegetation represent an important opportunity for urban residents to experience daily perception of and access to the natural environment. Despite there being a high percentage of forest cover (59%) and a favorable structure of the prevailing forested landscapes in Slovenia, urban expansion and infrastructure-driven development has severely weakened the connectivity and conservation of urban and suburban forests. The majority of urban settlements lie within walking distance of the surrounding forests (<1 km). However, only close-to-nature forests with relatively low silvicultural inputs offer ecosystem services sufficient to fulfil the supply and demand of the expanding urban population. In order to estimate the conservation of forests in the open space of Slovenian settlements, we used a spatial model of landscape structure and forest connectivity. The model can be enhanced with patterns of corridors and stepping stones of natural vegetation in the landscape matrix to provide support in the decision-making process of landscape planning and the conservation of urban and suburban forests.
Relationships between Tree Vigor Indices and a Tree Classification System Based upon Apparent Stem Defects in Northern Hardwood Stands
Authors: Moreau Edouard , Bédard Steve , Moreau Guillaume , Pothier David
Published: September 2018

Many northern hardwood stands include several low-vigor trees as a result of past management. To restore these degraded stands, partial cuts are applied with partly validated tree classification systems that are based upon apparent stem defects. We sampled 214 sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and 84 yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) trees from six sites covering the northern hardwood forest zone of the Province of Quebec, Canada. We evaluated their vigor with a four-class system, and quantified the growth efficiency index and several indices that were based solely upon radial growth. The growth efficiency index increased non-significantly with increasing tree vigor class. The five-year basal area increment (BAI-1-5) was significantly different between the lowest and highest tree vigor classes. Yet, temporal changes in BAI-1-5 helped classify correctly only 16% of high-vigor trees that became poorly vigorous 8–10 years later. Overall, these results suggest that the tree classification system is weakly related to actual tree vigor and its application likely generates few significant gains in future stand vigor. Modifying and simplifying the tree vigor system must be considered to facilitate the tree marking process that is required to improve the vigor of degraded stands.
Assessing the Progress of REDD+ Projects towards the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Milbank Charlotte , Coomes David , Vira Bhaskar
Published: September 2018

Almost a decade since the establishment of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), this study investigates the extent to which REDD+ projects are delivering on the promise of co-benefits and the elusive ‘triple-win’ for climate, biodiversity, and local communities. The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCB) is among several leading REDD+ certification standards that are designed to support the delivery of social and environmental co-benefits, and ‘socially-just’ carbon. This study uses an in-depth content analysis of 25 subnational REDD+ project documents to assess the extent to which REDD+ project objectives align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, and evaluates the reporting of progress towards meeting these objectives. Currently the CCB standards address a relatively small subset of SDG targets. Despite this, we find that REDD+ projects aspire to work on a much broader set of SDG target objectives, thus going beyond what the CCB Standards require for REDD+ validation. However, although reviewed REDD+ projects have these aspirations, very few are actively monitoring impact against the goals. There is a gap between aspiration and reported progress at the goal level, and for each project: on average, only a third of SDGs that are being targeted by REDD+ projects are showing ‘improvement’. The analysis shows which global goals are most frequently targeted, and which are the least. It also allows an analysis of which projects are following through most effectively in terms of monitoring progress towards the SDGs. This assessment provides insights into the priorities of REDD+ project proponents, suggesting that REDD+ has unfulfilled potential to elicit positive change in relation to the SDGs. Our analysis also shows that there is considerable potential for the safeguarding bodies to do more to ensure that real improvements are made, and reported against, aligning REDD+ projects more strongly with global development agendas.
Productivity, Costs, and Selected Environmental Impacts of Remote-Controlled Mini Forestry Crawlers
Authors: Berendt Ferréol , Fortin Mathieu , Suchomel Christian , Schweier Janine
Published: September 2018

An effective way to reduce off-road traffic in forests is to implement greater distances between skid trails. However, this implies that trees beyond the boom reach of the harvester need to be felled motor manually before being winched to the skid trail, for example using a remote-controlled mini forestry crawler (MFC). They are only a few local studies which have evaluated the performance of such MFCs. The use of MFCs for wood extraction operations in mixed soft- and hardwood stands is presented in this study conducted in Southwestern Germany. The aim of this study was to analyze the productivity, costs, and selected environmental impacts of mini forestry crawlers during winching operations through a time study. Using statistical regression, time consumption was analyzed in order to determine significant explanatory variables. Environmental impacts were evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology with Umberto software. The mean net cycle time was 4.82 min and the net productivity rate was 7.77 m3 by productive machine hour (PMH0). Explanatory variables which significantly affected the net cycle time were the winched volume, the number of trees per load, and winching distance. Environmental analysis showed that inputs of fossil energy were mostly due to diesel and lubricant consumption. Raw materials for machine manufacture and maintenance showed the highest impact in human toxicity potential category. The MFCs showed good environmental performances, but the harvesting system should become more productive in order to be more cost effective.
Intensive Production of Carboxylic Acids Using C. butyricum in a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)
Authors: Tajarudin Husnul Azan , Zacharof Myrto-Panagiota , Ratanapongleka Karnika , Williams Paul M. , Lovitt Robert W.
Published: September 2018

This work reports on the use of a bench-scale chemostat (CSTR) in continuous mode and of a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) in fed-batch mode to intensively produce acetic and butyric acids using C. butyricum grown on synthetic media. These studies were then used to perform a cost estimation study of the MBR system to assess the potential economic impact of this proposed methodology, regarding the production of carboxylic acids. The MBR system was found to be highly productive, reaching 37.88 g L−1 h−1 of acetic and 14.44 g L−1 h−1 of volumetric cell productivity, favoring acetic acid production over butyric acid at a ratio of 3 moles to 1. The cost of preparation and production of carboxylic acid using this system was found to be 0.0062 £PS/kg with up to 99% carbon recovery.
Occlusion-Aware Unsupervised Learning of Monocular Depth, Optical Flow and Camera Pose with Geometric Constraints
Authors: Teng Qianru , Chen Yimin , Huang Chen
Published: September 2018

We present an occlusion-aware unsupervised neural network for jointly learning three low-level vision tasks from monocular videos: depth, optical flow, and camera motion. The system consists of three different predicting sub-networks simultaneously coupled by combined loss terms and is capable of computing each task independently on test samples. Geometric constraints extracted from scene geometry which have traditionally been used in bundle adjustment or pose-graph optimization are formed as various self-supervisory signals during our end-to-end learning approach. Different from prior works, our image reconstruction loss also takes account of optical flow. Moreover, we impose novel 3D flow consistency constraints over the predictions of all the three tasks. By explicitly modeling occlusion and taking utilization of both 2D and 3D geometry relationships, abundant geometric constraints are formed over estimated outputs, enabling the system to capture both low-level representations and high-level cues to infer thinner scene structures. Empirical evaluation on the KITTI dataset demonstrates the effectiveness and improvement of our approach: (1) monocular depth estimation outperforms state-of-the-art unsupervised methods and is comparable to stereo supervised ones; (2) optical flow prediction ranks top among prior works and even beats supervised and traditional ones especially in non-occluded regions; (3) pose estimation outperforms established SLAM systems under comparable input settings with a reasonable margin.
Challenges and Techniques for Simulating Line Emission
Authors: Olsen Karen P. , Pallottini Andrea , Wofford Aida , Chatzikos Marios , Revalski Mitchell , Guzmán Francisco , Popping Gergö , Vázquez-Semadeni Enrique , Magdis Georgios E. , Richardson Mark L. A. , Hirschmann Michaela , Gray William J.
Published: September 2018

Modeling emission lines from the millimeter to the UV and producing synthetic spectra is crucial for a good understanding of observations, yet it is an art filled with hazards. This is the proceedings of “Walking the Line”, a 3-day conference held in 2018 that brought together scientists working on different aspects of emission line simulations, in order to share knowledge and discuss the methodology. Emission lines across the spectrum from the millimeter to the UV were discussed, with most of the focus on the interstellar medium, but also some topics on the circumgalactic medium. The most important quality of a useful model is a good synergy with observations and experiments. Challenges in simulating line emission are identified, some of which are already being worked upon, and others that must be addressed in the future for models to agree with observations. Recent advances in several areas aiming at achieving that synergy are summarized here, from micro-physical to galactic and circum-galactic scale.
Legitimacy and the Transfer of Children: Adoption, Belonging, and Online Genealogy
Authors: Patton-Imani Sandra
Published: September 2018

A great deal of both scholarly and public attention has been paid to questions of nature versus nurture in understanding identity and family construction in adoptees, yet much less attention has been given to the ways that power shapes the social reproduction of families through adoption. In this feminist interdisciplinary self-reflexive ethnographic research, I enter the world of online genealogy sites to critically explore the social practice of constructing a family tree as an adoptee. I explore genealogy as a culturally and historically specific representation of patriarchal heteronormative whiteness. I argue that adoptees’ liminal locations between socially understood categories of nature and nurture embedded in online family heritage websites make evident the ways that genealogical templates and stories reproduce mainstream family ideology through the erasure of “illegitimacy”. I consider what I found in my adoptive family history, critically exploring my “legitimate” relationship to my family in relation to the “illegitimate” (and unrecognized) relationship between my family and an enslaved child transferred as property between family members in 1813. This research makes visible power inequalities governing family reproduction at macro levels by exploring the contradictions and slippages regarding family “legitimacy” in micro level online genealogical constructions of adoptees’ family trees.
Maintaining Genome Integrity during Seed Development in Phaseolus vulgaris L.: Evidence from a Transcriptomic Profiling Study
Authors: Parreira José Ricardo , Balestrazzi Alma , Fevereiro Pedro , Araújo Susana de Sousa
Published: September 2018

The maintenance of genome integrity is crucial in seeds, due to the constant challenge of several endogenous and exogenous factors. The knowledge concerning DNA damage response and chromatin remodeling during seed development is still scarce, especially in Phaseolus vulgaris L. A transcriptomic profiling of the expression of genes related to DNA damage response/chromatin remodeling mechanisms was performed in P. vulgaris seeds at four distinct developmental stages, spanning from late embryogenesis to seed desiccation. Of the 14,001 expressed genes identified using massive analysis of cDNA ends, 301 belong to the DNA MapMan category. In late embryogenesis, a high expression of genes related to DNA damage sensing and repair suggests there is a tight control of DNA integrity. At the end of filling and the onset of seed dehydration, the upregulation of genes implicated in sensing of DNA double-strand breaks suggests that genome integrity is challenged. The expression of chromatin remodelers seems to imply a concomitant action of chromatin remodeling with DNA repair machinery, maintaining genome stability. The expression of genes related to nucleotide excision repair and chromatin structure is evidenced during the desiccation stage. An overview of the genes involved in DNA damage response and chromatin remodeling during P. vulgaris seed development is presented, providing insights into the mechanisms used by developing seeds to cope with DNA damage.
Recession and Ice Surface Elevation Changes of Baranowski Glacier and Its Impact on Proglacial Relief (King George Island, West Antarctica)
Authors: Sziło Joanna , Bialik Robert Józef
Published: September 2018

Glacial forefields areas are dynamic landscapes, and due to the glacier frontal position changes, they are sensitive to climatic fluctuations. The results of the analysis of aerial photos, satellite imagery, archival maps, and terrestrial laser scanning surveys are presented. These investigations reveal that the ice surface decreased during the period 1989–2001, when almost the entire current forefield was already uncovered. Moreover, it is shown that, since 1969, there has been a relationship between the changes in air temperature and the changes of the annual front position rate of Baranowski Glacier. Specifically, the results demonstrate that during the cooling observed for the Antarctic Peninsula Regions since 2000, there is a deceleration of the recession rate and ice surface elevation changes of Baranowski Glacier. It is also shown that the fluctuation of the areal extent of the glacier as well as ice surface elevation changes are closely associated with proglacial relief. Moreover, it is shown that the difference in the retreat of the northern and southern tongue of the glacier can be explained by the presence of relatively warm water in the shallow bay, which can enhance the melting process of the northern part. In addition, existence of long flutes and crevasse fill ridges on the analyzed forefield of Baranowski Glacier suggest that the former episodes of its surge, which could happen at least in the northern part of the forefield and middle part of the southern forefield of the glacier.
Recognizing the Delians Displaced after 167/6 BCE
Authors: Gettel Eliza
Published: September 2018

In 167/6 BCE, the Roman senate granted a request from Athens to control the island of Delos. Subsequently, the Delians inhabiting the island were mandated to leave and an Athenian community was installed. Polybius, who records these events, tells us that the Delians left and resettled in Achaea in the Peloponnese. Scholars have tended to focus on Rome’s motivations for siding with the Athenians rather than on what happened to the Delians. Furthermore, translations have tended to use the broad terminology of ‘migration’ to describe the Delians’ movement. Comparatively, this contribution suggests that modern categories connected to ‘displacement’ can help us recover aspects of the Delians’ experience. Particularly, a shift to the vocabulary of ‘displacement’ highlights the creative agency of the Delians in holding the Athenians accountable for their expulsion and in seeking recognition from Rome of their integration into the Achaean state. The application of these modern categories necessitates reflection on differences in the political, institutional landscapes that have shaped the experience of displacement in the ancient Hellenistic and modern contexts, as well as on variations in experience amongst the Delians. Ultimately, recognizing what these individuals experienced within the evolving third-party arbitration system of the ancient world leads us to think about the indirect violence of expanding political institutions in ‘globalising’ worlds, both ancient and modern.
Floodplain Terrain Analysis for Coarse Resolution 2D Flood Modeling
Authors: Peña Francisco , Nardi Fernando
Published: September 2018

Hydraulic modeling is a fundamental tool for managing and mitigating flood risk. Developing low resolution hydraulic models, providing consistent inundation simulations with shorter running time, as compared to high-resolution modeling, has a variety of potential applications. Rapid coarse resolution flood models can support emergency management operations as well as the coupling of hydrodynamic modeling with climate, landscape and environmental models running at the continental scale. This work sought to investigate the uncertainties of input parameters and bidimensional (2D) flood wave routing simulation results when simplifying the terrain mesh size. A procedure for fluvial channel bathymetry interpolation and floodplain terrain data resampling was investigated for developing upscaled 2D inundation models. The proposed terrain processing methodology was tested on the Tiber River basin evaluating coarse (150 m) to very coarse (up to 700 m) flood hazard modeling results. The use of synthetic rectangular cross sections, replacing surveyed fluvial channel sections, was also tested with the goal of evaluating the potential use of geomorphic laws providing channel depth, top width and flow area when surveyed data are not available. Findings from this research demonstrate that fluvial bathymetry simplification and DTM resampling is feasible when the terrain data resampling and fluvial cross section interpolation are constrained to provide consistent representation of floodplain morphology, river thalweg profile and channel flow area. Results show the performances of low-resolution inundation simulations running in seconds while maintaining a consistent representation of inundation extents and depths.
Personal Involvement Moderates Message Framing Effects on Food Safety Education among Medical University Students in Chongqing, China
Authors: Bai Li , Cai Zhengjie , Lv Yalan , Wu Tingting , Sharma Manoj , Shi Zumin , Hou Xiaorong , Zhao Yong
Published: September 2018

Objective: This study explored whether the efficacy of food safety education interventions can be increased by message framing among medical university students, and demonstrated the role of personal involvement within the message recipient in moderating framed effects. Methods: A cross-sectional study of food safety message framing was conducted among medical university students (randomly selected 1353 participants). An online self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information. Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Ordered multivariate logistic regression were utilised in the data analyses. Results: The present study showed significant differences in acceptance between the gain- and loss-framed groups (p < 0.001). Participants with higher personal involvement had higher acceptance than those with low personal involvement in gain- and loss-framed message models (p < 0.001). The acceptance of participants who were concerned about their health condition was higher than those who were neutral regarding their health condition (p < 0.001) and participants who suffered a food safety incident had higher acceptance than those who did not (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study portrayed the selection preference of message framing on food safety education among medical university students in southwest China. Participants exposed to loss-framed messages had higher message acceptance than those exposed to gain-framed messages. Personal involvement may affect the food safety message framing. Public health advocates and professionals can use framed messages as a strategy to enhance intervention efficacy in the process of food safety education.
All-Cause and Cancer Mortality Trends in Macheng, China (1984–2013): An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis
Authors: Li Chunhui , Hu Songbo , Yu Chuanhua
Published: September 2018

The aim was to study the variation trends of all-cause and cancer mortality during 1984–2013 in Macheng City, China. The mortality data were collected from Macheng City disease surveillance points system and Hubei Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The model life table system was used to adjust mortality rates due to an under-reporting problem. An age-period-cohort model and intrinsic estimator algorithm were used to estimate the age effect, period effect, and cohort effect of all-cause mortality and cancer mortality for males and females. Age effect of all-cause mortality for both sexes increased with age, while the age effect of cancer mortality for both sexes reached a peak at the age group of 55–59 years old and then decreased. The relative risks (RRs) of all-cause mortality for males and females declined with the period and decreased by 51.13% and 63.27% during the whole study period, respectively. Furthermore, the period effect of cancer mortality in both sexes decreased at first and then increased. The cohort effect of all-cause and cancer mortality for both sexes born after 1904 presented the pattern of “rise first and then fall,” and decreased by 82.18% and 90.77% from cohort 1904–1908 to 1989–1993, respectively; especially, the risk of all-cause and cancer mortality for both sexes born before 1949 was much higher than that for those born after 1949.
Targeted Versus Nontargeted Communication About Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems in Three Smoker Groups
Authors: Yang Bo , Liu Jiaying , Popova Lucy
Published: September 2018

Background: This study used an audience segmentation and message targeting approach to identify three distinct smoker groups—Older Freedom Smokers (OFS), Reluctant Smokers (RS), and Young Enthusiasts (YE)—and examined whether an electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) message targeting each smoker group (targeted message) was associated with more health-enhancing outcomes than messages targeting other groups (nontargeted messages). Methods: An online experiment was conducted among 580 adult smokers with 180 OFS, 200 RS, and 200 YE. Each smoker group viewed a targeted message and two nontargeted messages in a random order. Following the presentation of each message, participants reported their perceived message effectiveness, message reactions, ENDS- and cigarette-related beliefs, and behavioral intentions. Results: The targeted vs. nontargeted messages mostly did not produce more health-enhancing outcomes on perceptions of absolute and comparative risks of ENDS and cigarettes, response efficacy of ENDS, and self-efficacy as well as intentions to quit smoking. Conclusions: Our targeted messages did not appear to be a better choice over nontargeted messages to communicate about ENDS to smokers. Given the increasing call to accurately inform the public of the risk differences among various tobacco products, future studies should continue to explore whether targeted messages could be employed to communicate about the comparative risks of ENDS.
Meeting Patients’ Right to the Correct Diagnosis: Ongoing International Initiatives on Undiagnosed Rare Diseases and Ethical and Social Issues
Authors: Gainotti Sabina , Mascalzoni Deborah , Bros-Facer Virginie , Petrini Carlo , Floridia Giovanna , Roos Marco , Salvatore Marco , Taruscio Domenica
Published: September 2018

The time required to reach a correct diagnosis is a key concern for rare disease (RD) patients. Diagnostic delay can be intolerably long, often described as an “odyssey” and, for some, a diagnosis may remain frustratingly elusive. The International Rare Disease Research Consortium proposed, as ultimate goal for 2017–2027, to enable all people with a suspected RD to be diagnosed within one year of presentation, if the disorder is known. Subsequently, unsolved cases would enter a globally coordinated diagnostic and research pipeline. In-depth analysis of the genotype through next generation sequencing, together with a standardized in-depth phenotype description and sophisticated high-throughput approaches, have been applied as diagnostic tools to increase the chance of a timely and accurate diagnosis. The success of this approach is evident in the Orphanet database. From 2010 to March 2017 over 600 new RDs and roughly 3600 linked genes have been described and identified. However, combination of -omics and phenotype data, as well as international sharing of this information, has raised ethical concerns. Values to be assessed include not only patient autonomy but also family implications, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, solidarity and reciprocity, which must be respected and promoted and, at the same time, balanced among each other. In this work we suggest that, to maximize patients’ involvement in the search for a diagnosis and identification of new causative genes, undiagnosed patients should have the possibility to: (1) actively participate in the description of their phenotype; (2) choose the level of visibility of their profile in matchmaking databases; (3) express their preferences regarding return of new findings, in particular which level of Variant of Unknown Significance (VUS) significance should be considered relevant to them. The quality of the relationship between individual patients and physicians, and between the patient community and the scientific community, is critically important for optimizing the use of available data and enabling international collaboration in order to provide a diagnosis, and the attached support, to unsolved cases. The contribution of patients to collecting and coding data comprehensively is critical for efficient use of data downstream of data collection.
Cognitive Load Changes during Music Listening and its Implication in Earcon Design in Public Environments: An fNIRS Study
Authors: Jeong Eunju , Ryu Hokyoung , Jo Geonsang , Kim Jaehyeok
Published: September 2018

A key for earcon design in public environments is to incorporate an individual’s perceived level of cognitive load for better communication. This study aimed to examine the cognitive load changes required to perform a melodic contour identification task (CIT). While healthy college students (N = 16) were presented with five CITs, behavioral (reaction time and accuracy) and cerebral hemodynamic responses were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Our behavioral findings showed a gradual increase in cognitive load from CIT1 to CIT3 followed by an abrupt increase between CIT4 (i.e., listening to two concurrent melodic contours in an alternating manner and identifying the direction of the target contour, p < 0.001) and CIT5 (i.e., listening to two concurrent melodic contours in a divided manner and identifying the directions of both contours, p < 0.001). Cerebral hemodynamic responses showed a congruent trend with behavioral findings. Specific to the frontopolar area (Brodmann’s area 10), oxygenated hemoglobin increased significantly between CIT4 and CIT5 (p < 0.05) while the level of deoxygenated hemoglobin decreased. Altogether, the findings indicate that the cognitive threshold for young adults (CIT5) and appropriate tuning of the relationship between timbre and pitch contour can lower the perceived cognitive load and, thus, can be an effective design strategy for earcon in a public environment.
Algal Bloom Prediction Using Extreme Learning Machine Models at Artificial Weirs in the Nakdong River, Korea
Authors: Yi Hye-Suk , Park Sangyoung , An Kwang-Guk , Kwak Keun-Chang
Published: September 2018

In this study, we design an intelligent model to predict chlorophyll-a concentration, which is the primary indicator of algal blooms, using extreme learning machine (ELM) models. Modeling algal blooms is important for environmental management and ecological risk assessment. For this purpose, the performance of the designed models was evaluated for four artificial weirs in the Nakdong River, Korea. The Nakdong River has harmful annual algal blooms that can affect health due to exposure to toxins. In contrast to conventional neural network (NN) that use backpropagation (BP) learning methods, ELMs are fast learning, feedforward neural networks that use least square estimates (LSE) for regression. The weights connecting the input layer to the hidden nodes are randomly assigned and are never updated. The dataset used in this study includes air temperature, rainfall, solar radiation, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, N/P ratio, and chlorophyll-a concentration, which were collected on a weekly basis from January 2013 to December 2016. Here, upstream chlorophyll-a concentration data was used in our ELM2 model to improve algal bloom prediction performance. In contrast, the ELM1 model only uses downstream chlorophyll-a concentration data. The experimental results revealed that the ELM2 model showed better performance in comparison to the ELM1 model. Furthermore, the ELM2 model showed good prediction and generalization performance compared to multiple linear regression (LR), conventional neural network with backpropagation (NN-BP), and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS).
Major Stressors among Korean Adolescents According to Gender, Educational Level, Residential Area, and Socioeconomic Status
Authors: Park Subin , Jang Hyesue , Lee Eun-Sun
Published: September 2018

Adolescents are exposed to many stressors which have been associated with poor mental health. Using data from the 2015 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, we identified the major stressors among Korean adolescents based on gender, current educational level, residential area, and socioeconomic status (SES). The major stressors among girls were relationship- and appraisal-related factors, whereas boys more often reported health- and conflict-related factors. High school students more often reported academic performance and family circumstances as major stressors, whereas middle school students tended to report conflict-related factors. Urban adolescents reported academic performance and conflicts with parents as major stressors while rural adolescents reported conflicts with teachers and peer relationship problems. Finally, adolescents of lower SES reported multiple factors, including relational and family problems, as major stressors; contrarily, among those of higher SES, the primary stressor was uniquely related to academic performance. This result is significant in that adolescents’ stress levels, as well as the types of major stressors, vary depending on individual factors. It could also be beneficial for developing and implementing individualized and thus more efficient stress-management strategies.
Selected Socio-Demographic and Occupational Factors of Burnout Syndrome in Nurses Employed in Medical Facilities in Małopolska—Preliminary Results
Authors: Nowacka Anna , Piskorz Anna , Wolfshaut-Wolak Renata , Piątek Jadwiga , Gniadek Agnieszka
Published: September 2018

The study examined the relationship between socio-demographic and occupational factors and the level of occupational burnout using the dimensions of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DEP), and personal accomplishment (PA). It examined 560 nurses working in hospitals and primary healthcare units. We used: Maslach Burnout Inventory and a questionnaire including socio-demographic (sex, age, marital status, education, parental status) and occupational (period of employment, workplace, managerial functions, additional employment) factors. An average respondent was 38.13 (SD = 10.16) and had a BA degree (56.0%). The respondents reported average values of the EE (22.8), a low level of DEP (Me = 6), and a low PA (27.63). Nurses working on the intensive care unit had a chance of a high level of DEP that was 75% lower (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.13–0.50) than nurses working in conservative treatment units. Additional employment increased the risk of a high level of DEP (OR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.70–4.84). The chance of low PA was 64% lower in the case of nurse managers (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.13–0.998) than other nurses. Education, period of employment, additional employment, and managerial position had a significant influence on the level of occupational burnout. An analysis of nurses’ work overload and additional employment can be an interesting research area.
Pleiotropic Effects of Metformin on Cancer
Authors: Schulten Hans-Juergen
Published: September 2018

Metformin (MTF) is a natural compound derived from the legume Galega officinalis. It is the first line antidiabetic drug for type 2 diabetes (T2D) treatment. One of its main antidiabetic effects results from the reduction of hepatic glucose release. First scientific evidence for the anticancer effects of MTF was found in animal research, published in 2001, and some years later a retrospective observational study provided evidence that linked MTF to reduced cancer risk in T2D patients. Its pleiotropic anticancer effects were studied in numerous in vitro and in vivo studies at the molecular and cellular level. Although the majority of these studies demonstrated that MTF is associated with certain anticancer properties, clinical studies and trials provided a mixed view on its beneficial anticancer effects. This review emphasizes the pleiotropic effects of MTF and recent progress made in MTF applications in basic, preclinical, and clinical cancer research.
Study of Lignin-Modified Silica Gel Adsorption after Association with Six Different Organophenylmercuric Compounds in Chloroform
Authors: Chen Shushi , Gao Yu-Xuan
Published: September 2018

In this study, the adsorption of lignin-modified silica gel after association with six different organophenylmercuric compounds in chloroform was investigated. Adsorption reached approximately 90% of the maximum value within 15 min. The adsorption capacity, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and interaction simulation results indicated that the adsorption proportion resulted from the strong dipole-dipole interaction between the lignin and analyte molecules, and was considered to be size- and structure-dependent. However, the π-π complexation interaction arising from the acidic aromatic moiety of the analyte, which was significant in an apolar environment, was not the major force responsible for the resulting adsorption. Additives, such as acid or ether, which competed with the analyte for the binding site on the lignin molecule, were not beneficial to the interaction, and thus not beneficial to the adsorption processes.
Knocking Out the Gene RLS1 Induces Hypersensitivity to Oxidative Stress and Premature Leaf Senescence in Rice
Authors: Chen Guang , Wu Chao , He Lei , Qiu Zhennan , Zhang Sen , Zhang Yu , Guo Longbiao , Zeng Dali , Hu Jiang , Ren Deyong , Qian Qian , Zhu Li
Published: September 2018

Improving a plant’s level of tolerance to oxidative stress can frequently also enhance its tolerance to several other abiotic stresses. Here, a screen of a japonica type rice T-DNA insertion mutant library identified a highly oxidative stress-sensitive mutant. The line exhibited premature leaf senescence, starting at the three-leaf stage, and the symptoms were particularly severe from the five-leaf stage onwards. The leaves progressively lost chlorophyll, suffered protein degradation and were compromised with respect to their photosynthetic activity; their leaf mesophyll and bulliform cells became shrunken, and several senescence-associated genes (SAGs), senescence-associated transcription factor genes (SATFs) and autophagy-related genes (ATGs) were progressively up-regulated. The product of the gene inactivated by the mutation, identified via positional cloning, was putatively a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme. The gene was denoted here as RLS1 (reactive oxygen species-sensitive leaf senescence1). The phenotype of plants in which RLS1 was knocked down using RNA interference was comparable to that of the rls1 mutant. A comparative analysis of the knock-out line and the wild type leaves showed that the former accumulated more hydrogen peroxide and more malondialdehyde, expressed a heightened level of superoxide dismutase activity and a decreased level of catalase activity, and exhibited an altered transcriptional profile with respect to several SAGs, SATFs and ATGs, and that these effects were magnified when the plants were exposed to oxidative stress. The product of RLS1 is presumed to be a critical component of the rice oxidative stress response and is involved in ROS (reactive oxygen species)-mediated leaf senescence.
Uptake and Distribution of Fenoxanil-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles in Rice Plants
Authors: Zhu Feng , Liu Xingang , Cao Lidong , Cao Chong , Li Fengmin , Chen Caijun , Xu Chunli , Huang Qiliang , Du Fengpei
Published: September 2018

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) can be used as carriers to deliver pesticides into plants, which is considered to be one method of improving the efficacy of pesticide usage in agricultural production. In the present work, MSNs with an average diameter of 258.1 nm were synthesized and loaded with Fenoxanil. The structure of the nanocarriers was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The loading content of Fenoxanil-loaded MSNs was investigated. After rice plants in a hydroponic system were treated with loaded MSNs, the concentrations of Fenoxanil in different samples were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The results suggested that rice plants can absorb MSNs from water through their roots, and the dosage has almost no effect on the distribution of Fenoxanil in rice plants. The application of pesticide-loaded nanoparticles in a hydroponic system poses a low risk of Fenoxanil accumulation in rice.
The Role of PPARβ/δ in Melanoma Metastasis
Authors: Lim Jonathan Chee Woei , Kwan Yuet Ping , Tan Michelle Siying , Teo Melissa Hui Yen , Chiba Shunsuke , Wahli Walter , Wang Xiaomeng
Published: September 2018

Background: Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR) β/δ, a ligand-activated transcription factor, is involved in diverse biological processes including cell proliferation, cell differentiation, inflammation and energy homeostasis. Besides its well-established roles in metabolic disorders, PPARβ/δ has been linked to carcinogenesis and was reported to inhibit melanoma cell proliferation, anchorage-dependent clonogenicity and ectopic xenograft tumorigenicity. However, PPARβ/δ’s role in tumour progression and metastasis remains controversial. Methods: In the present studies, the consequence of PPARβ/δ inhibition either by global genetic deletion or by a specific PPARβ/δ antagonist, 10h, on malignant transformation of melanoma cells and melanoma metastasis was examined using both in vitro and in vivo models. Results: Our study showed that 10h promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, adhesion, invasion and trans-endothelial migration of mouse melanoma B16/F10 cells. We further demonstrated an increased tumour cell extravasation in the lungs of wild-type mice subjected to 10h treatment and in Pparβ/δ−/− mice in an experimental mouse model of blood-borne pulmonary metastasis by tail vein injection. This observation was further supported by an increased tumour burden in the lungs of Pparβ/δ−/− mice as demonstrated in the same animal model. Conclusion: These results indicated a protective role of PPARβ/δ in melanoma progression and metastasis.
Metformin: An Old Drug with New Applications
Authors: Zhou Joseph , Massey Scott , Story Darren , Li Lixin
Published: September 2018

Metformin is a biguanide drug that has been used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus for more than 60 years. The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetic Study (UKPDS) has shown metformin to improve mortality rates in diabetes patients, and recent studies suggest metformin has additional effects in treating cancer, obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and metabolic syndrome. Metformin has also been shown to alleviate weight gain associated with antipsychotic medication. Metformin has recently been extensively studied and emerging evidence suggests metformin decreases hepatocyte triglyceride accumulation in NAFLD and prevents liver tumorigenesis. Interestingly, studies have also shown metformin reduces visceral fat, suppresses white-adipose-tissue (WAT) extracellular matrix remodeling, and inhibits obesity-induced inflammation. However, clinical evidence for using metformin to treat NAFLD, cancer, metabolic syndrome, or to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma in NAFLD patients is lacking. This review therefore addresses the potential beneficial effects of metformin on NAFLD, its role in protecting against cardiac ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury, atherosclerosis, glucotoxicity, and lipotoxicity induced oxidative and ER stress in pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, as well as its underlying molecular mechanisms of action.
Correlations between Phytohormones and Drought Tolerance in Selected Brassica Crops: Chinese Cabbage, White Cabbage and Kale
Authors: Pavlović Iva , Petřík Ivan , Tarkowská Danuše , Lepeduš Hrvoje , Vujčić Bok Valerija , Radić Brkanac Sandra , Novák Ondřej , Salopek-Sondi Branka
Published: September 2018

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting the productivity of Brassica crops. To understand the role of phytohormones in drought tolerance, we subjected Chinese cabbage (B. rapa ssp. pekinensis), white cabbage (B. oleracea var. capitata), and kale (B. oleracea var. acephala) to drought and examined the stress response on the physiological, biochemical and hormonal levels. The phytohormones abscisic acid (ABA), auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), brassinosteroids (BRs), cytokinins (CKs), jasmonates (JAs), and salicylic acid (SA) were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Based on the physiological and biochemical markers the Chinese cabbage exhibited the lowest tolerance, followed by the white cabbage, while the kale appeared to be the most tolerant to drought. The drought tolerance of the kale correlated with increased levels of SA, ABA, IAA, CKs iP(R) and cZ(R), and typhasterol (TY), a precursor of active BRs. In contrast, the drought sensitivity of the Chinese cabbage correlated with a significant increase in ABA, JAs and the active BRs castasterol (CS) and brassinolide (BL). The moderately tolerant white cabbage, positioned between the kale and Chinese cabbage, showed more similarity in terms of the phytohormone patterns with the kale. We concluded that the drought tolerance in Brassicaceae is mostly determined by the increased endogenous levels of IAA, CKs, ABA and SA and the decreased levels of active BRs.
Oxidative Alteration of Trp-214 and Lys-199 in Human Serum Albumin Increases Binding Affinity with Phenylbutazone: A Combined Experimental and Computational Investigation
Authors: Bertozo Luiza , Tavares Neto Ernesto , Oliveira Leandro , Ximenes Valdecir
Published: September 2018

Human serum albumin (HSA) is a target for reactive oxygen species (ROS), and alterations of its physiological functions caused by oxidation is a current issue. In this work, the amino-acid residues Trp-214 and Lys-199, which are located at site I of HSA, were experimentally and computationally oxidized, and the effect on the binding constant with phenylbutazone was measured. HSA was submitted to two mild oxidizing reagents, taurine monochloramine (Tau-NHCl) and taurine dibromamine (Tau-NBr2). The oxidation of Trp-214 provoked spectroscopic alterations in the protein which were consistent with the formation of N′-formylkynurenine. It was found that the oxidation of HSA by Tau-NBr2, but not by Tau-NHCl, provoked a significant increase in the association constant with phenylbutazone. The alterations of Trp-214 and Lys-199 were modeled and simulated by changing these residues using the putative oxidation products. Based on the Amber score function, the interaction energy was measured, and it showed that, while native HSA presented an interaction energy of −21.3 kJ/mol, HSA with Trp-214 altered to N′-formylkynurenine resulted in an energy of −28.4 kJ/mol, and HSA with Lys-199 altered to its carbonylated form resulted in an energy of −33.9 kJ/mol. In summary, these experimental and theoretical findings show that oxidative alterations of amino-acid residues at site I of HSA affect its binding efficacy.