bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hormopriming to Mitigate Abiotic Stress Effects: A Case Study of N9-Substituted Cytokinin Derivatives With a Fluorinated Carbohydrate Moiety
Authors: Bryksová Magdaléna , Hybenová Andrea , Hernándiz Alba E. , Novák Ondřej , Pěnčík Aleš , Spíchal Lukáš , De Diego Nuria , Doležal Karel
Published: December 2020

Drought and salinity reduce seed germination, seedling emergence, and early seedling establishment, affect plant metabolism, and hence, reduce crop yield. Development of technologies that can increase plant tolerance of these challenging growth conditions is a major current interest among plant scientists and breeders. Seed priming has become established as one of the practical approaches that can alleviate the negative impact of many environmental stresses and improve the germination and overall performance of crops. Hormopriming using different plant growth regulators has been widely demonstrated as effective, but information about using cytokinins (CKs) as priming agents is limited to only a few studies using kinetin or 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). Moreover, the mode of action of these compounds in improving seed and plant fitness through priming has not yet been studied. For many years, BAP has been one of the CKs most commonly applied exogenously to plants to delay senescence and reduce the impact of stress. However, rapid endogenous N9-glucosylation of BAP can result in negative effects. This can be suppressed by hydroxylation of the benzyl ring or by appropriate N9 purine substitution. Replacement of the 2′ or 3′ hydroxyl groups of a nucleoside with a fluorine atom has shown promising results in drug research and biochemistry as a means of enhancing biological activity and increasing chemical or metabolic stability. Here, we show that the application of this chemical modification in four new N9-substituted CK derivatives with a fluorinated carbohydrate moiety improved the antisenescence properties of CKs. Besides, detailed phenotypical analysis of the growth and development of Arabidopsis plants primed with the new CK analogs over a broad concentration range and under various environmental conditions revealed that they improve growth regulation and antistress activity. Seed priming with, for example, 6-(3-hydroxybenzylamino)-2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-9-(β)-D-arabinofuranosylpurine promoted plant growth under control conditions and alleviated the negative effects of the salt and osmotic stress. The mode of action of this hormopriming and its effect on plant metabolism were further analyzed through quantification of the endogenous levels of phytohormones such as CKs, auxins and abscisic acid, and the results are discussed.
Comparative Transcriptome, Metabolome, and Ionome Analysis of Two Contrasting Common Bean Genotypes in Saline Conditions
Authors: Niron Harun , Barlas Nazire , Salih Bekir , Türet Müge
Published: December 2020

Soil salinity is a major abiotic stress factor that limits agricultural productivity worldwide, and this problem is expected to grow in the future. Common bean is an important protein source in developing countries however highly susceptible to salt stress. To understand the underlying mechanism of salt stress responses, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and ion content analysis were performed on both salt-tolerant and susceptible common bean genotypes in saline conditions. Transcriptomics has demonstrated increased photosynthesis in saline conditions for tolerant genotype while the susceptible genotype acted in contrast. Transcriptome also displayed active carbon and amino-acid metabolism for the tolerant genotype. Analysis of metabolites with GC-MS demonstrated the boosted carbohydrate metabolism in the tolerant genotype with increased sugar content as well as better amino-acid metabolism. Accumulation of lysine, valine, and isoleucine in the roots of the susceptible genotype suggested a halted stress response. According to ion content comparison, the tolerant genotype managed to block accumulation of Na+ in the leaves while accumulating significantly less Na+ in the roots compared to susceptible genotype. K+ levels increased in the leaves of both genotype and the roots of the susceptible one but dropped in the roots of the tolerant genotype. Additionally, Zn+2 and Mn+2 levels were dropped in the tolerant roots, while Mo+2 levels were significantly higher in all tissues in both control and saline conditions for tolerant genotype. The results of the presented study have demonstrated the differences in contrasting genotypes and thus provide valuable information on the pivotal molecular mechanisms underlying salt tolerance.
Insights Into Plant Surgery: An Overview of the Multiple Grafting Techniques for Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Bartusch Kai , Melnyk Charles W.
Published: December 2020

Plant grafting, the ancient practice of cutting and joining different plants, is gaining popularity as an elegant way to generate chimeras that combine desirable traits. Grafting was originally developed in woody species, but the technique has evolved over the past century to now encompass a large number of herbaceous species. The use of plant grafting in science is accelerating in part due to the innovative techniques developed for the model plantArabidopsis thaliana. Here, we review these developments and discuss the advantages and limitations associated with grafting variousArabidopsistissues at diverse developmental stages.
Regulation of Brassinosteroid Signaling and Salt Resistance by SERK2 and Potential Utilization for Crop Improvement in Rice
Authors: Dong Nana , Yin Wenchao , Liu Dapu , Zhang Xiaoxing , Yu Zhikun , Huang Wei , Liu Jihong , Yang Yanzhao , Meng Wenjing , Niu Mei , Tong Hongning
Published: December 2020

The complex roles of the steroid hormone brassinosteroids (BRs) in many different yield- and stress-related traits make it difficult to utilize the hormones for crop improvement. Here, we show that SERK2 as a BR signaling component is a potentially useful candidate for BR manipulation in rice. We generated multiple mutant alleles of SERK2 by CRISPR/Cas9 editing and show that knockout of SERK2 results in a compact structure accompanied with increased grain size. SERK2 is localized on plasma membrane and can interact with OsBRI1, the BR receptor, suggesting its conserved role as co-receptor in BR signaling. Consistently, the mutant has impaired BR sensitivity compared to wild type. Notably, the mutant is highly sensitive to salt stress as evaluated by plant survival rate as well as transcriptome analysis, whereas has slightly increased sensitivity to ABA, the stress hormone. By contrast, overexpression of SERK2 significantly enhances grain size and salt stress resistance, importantly, without affecting plant architecture. Furthermore, while salt suppresses SERK2 transcription, the protein is greatly induced by salt stress. Taken together, we propose that the adverse condition induces SERK2 accumulation to enhance early BR signaling on plasma membrane in favor of the anti-stress response. Our results illustrate the great potentials of specific BR components such as SERK2 for crop improvement by utilizing flexible strategies.
The Missing Link Between Memory and Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Balkenius Christian , Tjøstheim Trond A. , Johansson Birger , Wallin Annika , Gärdenfors Peter
Published: December 2020

Reinforcement learning systems usually assume that a value function is defined over all states (or state-action pairs) that can immediately give the value of a particular state or action. These values are used by a selection mechanism to decide which action to take. In contrast, when humans and animals make decisions, they collect evidence for different alternatives over time and take action only when sufficient evidence has been accumulated. We have previously developed a model of memory processing that includes semantic, episodic and working memory in a comprehensive architecture. Here, we describe how this memory mechanism can support decision making when the alternatives cannot be evaluated based on immediate sensory information alone. Instead we first imagine, and then evaluate a possible future that will result from choosing one of the alternatives. Here we present an extended model that can be used as a model for decision making that depends on accumulating evidence over time, whether that information comes from the sequential attention to different sensory properties or from internal simulation of the consequences of making a particular choice. We show how the new model explains both simple immediate choices, choices that depend on multiple sensory factors and complicated selections between alternatives that require forward looking simulations based on episodic and semantic memory structures. In this framework, vicarious trial and error is explained as an internal simulation that accumulates evidence for a particular choice. We argue that a system like this forms the “missing link” between more traditional ideas of semantic and episodic memory, and the associative nature of reinforcement learning.
Gesture Influences Resolution of Ambiguous Statements of Neutral and Moral Preferences
Authors: Hinnell Jennifer , Parrill Fey
Published: December 2020

When faced with an ambiguous pronoun, comprehenders use both multimodal cues (e.g., gestures) and linguistic cues to identify the antecedent. While research has shown that gestures facilitate language comprehension, improve reference tracking, and influence the interpretation of ambiguous pronouns, literature on reference resolution suggests that a wide set of linguistic constraints influences the successful resolution of ambiguous pronouns and that linguistic cues are more powerful than some multimodal cues. To address the outstanding question of the importance of gesture as a cue in reference resolution relative to cues in the speech signal, we have previously investigated the comprehension of contrastive gestures that indexed abstract referents – in this case expressions of personal preference – and found that such gestures did facilitate the resolution of ambiguous statements of preference. In this study, we extend this work to investigate whether the effect of gesture on resolution is diminished when the gesture indexes a statement that is less likely to be interpreted as the correct referent. Participants watched videos in which a speaker contrasted two ideas that were either neutral (e.g., whether to take the train to a ballgame or drive) or moral (e.g., human cloning is (un)acceptable). A gesture to the left or right side co-occurred with speech expressing each position. In gesture-disambiguating trials, an ambiguous phrase (e.g., I agree with that, where that is ambiguous) was accompanied by a gesture to one side or the other. In gesture non-disambiguating trials, no third gesture occurred with the ambiguous phrase. Participants were more likely to choose the idea accompanied by gesture as the stimulus speaker’s preference. We found no effect of scenario type. Regardless of whether the linguistic cue expressed a view that was morally charged or neutral, observers used gesture to understand the speaker’s opinion. This finding contributes to our understanding of the strength and range of cues, both linguistic and multimodal, that listeners use to resolve ambiguous references.
Stress Reduction Techniques for Health Care Providers Dealing With Severe Coronavirus Infections (SARS, MERS, and COVID-19): A Rapid Review
Authors: Callus Edward , Bassola Barbara , Fiolo Valentina , Bertoldo Enrico G. , Pagliuca Silvana , Lusignani Maura
Published: December 2020

Objective

A rapid review was conducted to identify the most effective stress reduction techniques for health care providers dealing with patients infected with severe coronavirus (SARS, MERS, and COVID-19).

Methods

PubMed, PsychInfo, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched to identify relevant studies. Searches were restricted by date (2000 until present). All empirical quantitative and qualitative studies in which relaxation techniques of various types implemented on health care providers caring for patients during severe coronavirus pandemics and articles that consider the implementation of mental health care services considered to be pertinent, such as commentaries, were included.

Results

Fourteen studies met the selection criteria, most of which were recommendations. Only one study described a digital intervention, and user satisfaction was measured. In the recommendations, both organizational and individual self-care interventions were suggested.

Conclusions

Further research is necessary to establish tailor-made effective stress reduction interventions for this population, during these challenging and particular times.
School Satisfaction in Immigrant and Chilean Students: The Role of Prejudice and Cultural Self-Efficacy
Authors: Mera-Lemp María José , Bilbao Marian , Basabe Nekane
Published: December 2020

Latin-American immigration has transformed Chilean schools into new multicultural scenarios. Studies about intergroup dynamics among students from different cultural backgrounds and their psychological consequences are still limited in south–south migration contexts. Literature has suggested that intergroup relations influence students’ satisfaction with school, and they could be improved by the development of competences to cope with cultural differences. This study aims to verify if cultural self-efficacy and its dimensions mediated the influence of prejudice on satisfaction with school, in a sample composed byN= 690 Chilean and Latin-American immigrant secondary students. Results showed that cultural self-efficacy reduced the effect of prejudice in satisfaction with school, in the cases of both immigrant and Chilean students. The dimensions of cultural self-efficacy in processing information from other cultures and mixing with different others make the difference. Findings’ contributions for the understanding of adolescents’ intergroup relations and psychosocial interventions at school are discussed.
Executive Dysfunction Associated With the Primary Psychopathic Features of Borderline Personality Disorder
Authors: López-Villatoro José M. , Diaz-Marsá Marina , Mellor-Marsá Blanca , De la Vega Irene , Carrasco José L.
Published: December 2020

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the presence of psychopathic features in BPD is related to dysfunction in executive functions and other neuropsychological functions in these patients.

Methods: 82 patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and 54 control subjects were studied through clinical and neuropsychological evaluation protocols and the Levenson Psychopathy Inventory.

Results: BPD patients showed significantly higher scores on both primary (F1) and secondary (F2) global rates of psychopathy, than controls. The results for these patients also showed a statistically significant association between high scores in primary psychopathy and deficits in executive functions. However, no associations were found between the scores of secondary psychopathy and executive dysfunction.

Conclusion: Primary psychopathic features present in patients with BPD are associated with patterns of executive dysfunction. It would therefore be interesting to investigate the role of cognitive rehabilitation in the empathy dysfunctions within these disorders.
Adjunct Therapy With Glycyrrhiza Glabra Rapidly Improves Outcome in Depression—A Pilot Study to Support 11-Beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 2 Inhibition as a New Target
Authors: Murck Harald , Lehr Lisa , Hahn Johannes , Braunisch Matthias C. , Jezova Daniela , Zavorotnyy Maxim
Published: December 2020

Mineralocorticoid-receptor (MR) dysfunction as expressed by low systolic blood pressure and a high salivary aldosterone/cortisol ratio predicts less favorable antidepressant treatment outcome. Inhibition of peripheral 11-beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase type 2 (11betaHSD2) reverses these markers. We therefore tested the hypothesis that the 11betaHSD2 inhibitor glycyrrhizin affects treatment outcome via this mechanism. We administered Glycyrrhiza glabra (GG) extract containing 7–8 % of glycyrrhizin at a dose of 2 × 700 mg daily adjunct to standard antidepressants in hospitalized patients with major depression. These subjects were compared in an open-label fashion with patients, who did not receive GG (treatment as usual, TAU). Assessments were done at baseline and approximately 2 weeks after. Twelve subjects were treated with GG and compared to 55 subjects with TAU. At week 2, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-21) change from baseline as well as the CGI-S change showed a significant time × treatment interaction (p < 0.03), indicating a possible therapeutic benefit of GG. Clinical benefit seems to be more pronounced in subjects with lower systolic blood pressure and significantly correlated with reduced sleep duration in the GG group. Our preliminary data show that treatment with the 11betaHSD2 inhibitor glycyrrhizin may possess a beneficial effect on antidepressant response, which may be specific to a defined depression subtype.
Thinking Through the Box: Evaluating a 3D Game to Engage Penetrative Thinking
Authors: Pathak Aarohi , Chang Jack S. K. , Resch Gabby , Doucette Alison , Yeboah Georgina , Welsh Timothy Nevin , Nitsche Michael , Mazalek Ali
Published: December 2020

Spatial skills allow us to mentally imagine and manipulate objects and their spatial relations. These skills are crucial in both every day and expert tasks. The present paper reports on an evaluation of a 3D game developed to train a specific spatial skill known as penetrative thinking—the ability to imagine cross-sections of 3D objects from their surface features. In the game, users change the location and orientation of a virtual plane to make cuts through 3D objects in a series of spatial puzzles. Users operate an interface to position the virtual plane until a “slice” at the location of the plane matches a target cross-section of a virtual object. Multiple spatial puzzles with different properties are completed throughout the game. In one version of the game, users completed the puzzles in an immersive virtual environment and operated a tangible interface to move the virtual plane. A secondary version of the game required users to view the puzzles in a virtual environment displayed on a computer screen, and to position the slicing plane with a keyboard and mouse. Participants (n= 45) completed a measure of penetrative thinking (Santa Barbara Solids Test) before and after completing one of three interventions: the game with the tangible interface (n= 15), the game with the keyboard interface (n= 15), or a series of (control) questions (n= 15). Although there were no significant pre-/post-intervention changes in penetrative thinking in any of the groups, participants' performance in the game correlated with scores on a standardized test of penetrative thinking. These results provide evidence that the game and the standardized test accessed similar spatial skills and, as a consequence, indicate that the 3D game has the potential to be a valid approach for training penetrative thinking skills.
Reviving Traditional Food Knowledge Through Food Festivals. The Case of the Pink Asparagus Festival in Mezzago, Italy
Authors: Fontefrancesco Michele F. , Zocchi Dauro M.
Published: December 2020

The article investigates the link between food festivals and traditional food knowledge and explores the role played by tourist events in disseminating local agricultural and gastronomic knowledge. This article presents the ethnographic case of the Pink Asparagus Festival in Mezzago in Italy, analyzing how the festival supported the continuation of crop production and its associated traditional knowledge in the village. In the face of a decline of asparagus production, the article highlights the role of the festival in fostering a revival of local food knowledge, which is also able to embrace modernization, at the same time maintaining a strong sense of the past and Mezzago's legacy. Thus, the article suggests that festivals are not just events aimed at commodifying local knowledge, but can be important tools to refresh and maintain local expertise, which is vital and pressing in the context of modern society, and strengthen and expand the relationship between members of the community, thus converting the festival into an endeavor to foster sociocultural sustainability.
Optimizing Recovery of Hybrid Embryos from Interspecific Citrus Crosses of Polyembryonic Rough Lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.)
Authors: Singh Jagveer , Dhaliwal Harvinder Singh , Thakur Anirudh , Sidhu Gurupkar Singh , Chhuneja Parveen , Gmitter Frederick G.
Published: December 2020

The prevalence of rough lemon rootstock in India is presently threatened by the spread of Phytophthora root rot. Developing an alternative Phytophthora-resistant rootstock that also withstands other abiotic constraints is a priority for a sustainable citrus industry in India. Complementary progenitors can be found in citrus germplasm to combine the desired traits, particularly between Citrus and Poncirus, a closely related genus. The production of hybrids accumulating the desired dominant traits, irrespective of the heterozygosity level of the parents, is an effective way to develop new candidate rootstocks. Rough lemon was hybridized with Swingle citrumelo, X-639 citrandarin, and GouTou Cheng. A reliable method was developed for greater recovery of hybrid seedlings from these crosses on the basis of morphology and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The greatest proportion of hybrid seedlings resulted from embryo rescue at 95 days after pollination (DAP) (48.5% in rough lemon × X-639 citrandarin and 56.7% in rough lemon × Swingle citrumelo) on the basis of multifoliate leaves. The proportion of hybrid seedlings decreased with increase in embryo development stage after 95 DAP until the last stage of observation (125 DAP). Significantly higher proportion of multifoliate seedlings was recovered by in vitro culture compared with in vivo germination from the mature seeds (26.9% vs. 5.2%, respectively). Swingle and X-639 citrandarin are not homozygous for the multifoliate allele from Poncirus, and GouTou Cheng lacks the multifoliate allele; thus, unifoliate hybrids were selected from all crosses on the basis of SSR marker genotypes.
Acoustic Reconstruction of Eszterháza Opera House Following New Archival Research
Authors: Tronchin Lamberto , Merli Francesca , Dolci Marco
Published: December 2020

The Eszterháza Opera House was a theatre built by the will of the Hungarian Prince Nikolaus Esterházy in the second half of the 18th century that had to compete in greatness and grandeur against Austrian Empire. The composer that inextricably linked his name to this theatre was Haydn that served the prince and composed pieces for him for many years. The Opera House disappeared from the palace complex maps around 1865 and was destroyed permanently during the Second World War. This study aims to reconstruct the original shape and materials of the theatre, thanks to the documents founded by researchers in the library of the Esterházy family at Forchtenstein, the Hungarian National Library, and analyze its acoustic behavior. With the 3D model of the theatre, acoustic simulations were performed using the architectural acoustic software Ramsete to understand its acoustical characteristics and if the architecture of the Eszterháza Opera House could favor the Prince’s listening. The obtained results show that the union between the large volume of the theatre and the reflective materials makes the Opera House a reverberant space. The acoustic parameters are considered acoustically favorable both for the music and for the speech transmission too. Moreover, the results confirm that the geometry and the shape of the Eszterháza Opera House favored the Prince’s view and listening, amplifying onstage voices and focusing the sound into his box.
A Comparison between FTIR Spectra from HUKE and SH-SY5Y Cell Lines Grown on Different Substrates
Authors: Perna Giuseppe , Capozzi Vito , Lasalvia Maria
Published: December 2020

In recent years, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) micro-spectroscopy has shown promising potential in medical diagnostics at the cellular level. In fact, FTIR spectra can provide information related to DNA, protein, and lipid content and how such a content changes when a pathological state arises. Most of these information is included in the so-called fingerprint region (1000–1800 cm−1), consisting of several spectral peaks related to vibrational modes occurring inside cellular components. Unfortunately, the slides commonly used in cytology (as the glass microscopy slides and coverslips) are opaque to IR radiation in the fingerprint region, whereas they are transparent for wavenumber values larger than 2000 cm−1, where few and broad spectral absorption bands, mainly due to lipids and proteins, are present. Nonetheless, here we show that FTIR spectra performed in the high wavenumber range 2750–3000 cm−1 can be used to discriminate two different types of cells, one from a normal cell line (Human Keratinocyte, HUKE) and the other from a cancer one (SH-SY5Y). The spectra are discriminated by means of their Principal Component Analysis, according to the PC1 component, and by means of ratiometric analysis, according to the ratio of the intensity of the peak at 2956 cm−1 and that of the peak at 2924 cm−1. The PC1 score values of the HUKE are statistically different from the PC1 score values of SH-SY5Y, whereas the intensity ratio results larger for SH-SY5Y than for HUKE cells. Such results occur for different substrates over which the cells have been grown, including the thick glass slides used for cytological analysis. This result is a further step toward the application of FTIR microspectroscopy in the cytological routine diagnosis.
Comparative Research on Mechanical Properties and Void Distribution of Cement Stabilized Macadam Based on Static Pressure and Vibration Compaction
Authors: Wang Fuyu , Pang Weichen , Fang Yuan , Jiang Yingjun , Han Leilei , Li Yanling
Published: December 2020

Cement stabilized macadam semi-rigid base materials are widely used in road construction in China. However, a traditional static molding method and heavy compaction method cannot guide the design and engineering application of cement stabilized macadam mixture because it often appears that the compaction degree exceeds 100% in the practical engineering. In view of this, this paper carried out the research of an indoor vibration compaction method of cement stabilized macadam mixture, and compared the mechanical properties and void distribution characteristics of two kinds of compositions of mixtures under the vibration compaction method as well as static pressure molding and heavy compaction method and on-site sample after 7 days curing period, which was combined with the physical engineering project of Yu-Song Expressway in Jilin Province, China. The research results show that the maximum dry density of mixture under vibration compaction is larger and the best moisture content is smaller, which has a heavy incomparable advantage on the simulation of on-site compaction. And the compressive strength and splitting strength indexes of vibration compacted specimens are close to those of an on-site sample, which are all larger than static pressure specimen. Moreover, the void distribution characteristics of vibration compacted specimens is much closer to those of the on-site sample and more universal, while static pressure specimens lack in uniformity. In addition, different results caused by the two gradation are compared. All of the above research results can verify that the vibration compaction method has more reliability and accuracy to simulate the actual properties of base material. This study provides a reference for the application of vibration compaction method in road engineering design.
Solar Cell Cracks and Finger Failure Detection Using Statistical Parameters of Electroluminescence Images and Machine Learning
Authors: Parikh Harsh Rajesh , Buratti Yoann , Spataru Sergiu , Villebro Frederik , Reis Benatto Gisele Alves Dos , Poulsen Peter B. , Wendlandt Stefan , Kerekes Tamas , Sera Dezso , Hameiri Ziv
Published: December 2020

A wide range of defects, failures, and degradation can develop at different stages in the lifetime of photovoltaic modules. To accurately assess their effect on the module performance, these failures need to be quantified. Electroluminescence (EL) imaging is a powerful diagnostic method, providing high spatial resolution images of solar cells and modules. EL images allow the identification and quantification of different types of failures, including those in high recombination regions, as well as series resistance-related problems. In this study, almost 46,000 EL cell images are extracted from photovoltaic modules with different defects. We present a method that extracts statistical parameters from the histogram of these images and utilizes them as a feature descriptor. Machine learning algorithms are then trained using this descriptor to classify the detected defects into three categories: (i) cracks (Mode B and C), (ii) micro-cracks (Mode A) and finger failures, and (iii) no failures. By comparing the developed methods with the commonly used one, this study demonstrates that the pre-processing of images into a feature vector of statistical parameters provides a higher classification accuracy than would be obtained by raw images alone. The proposed method can autonomously detect cracks and finger failures, enabling outdoor EL inspection using a drone-mounted system for quick assessments of photovoltaic fields.
Low-Profile Spidron Fractal Dipole Antenna with a Ferrite-Loaded Artificial Magnetic Conductor for Manpack Applications
Authors: Kwon Oh Heon , Hwang Keum Cheol
Published: December 2020

In this paper, a Spidron fractal dipole antenna with a ferrite-loaded artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) is presented. By applying ferrite composed of nickel–zinc with a high permeability value, a compact AMC that operates in the broadband frequency range within the high-frequency/very-high-frequency/ultra-high-frequency (HF/VHF/UHF) bands was designed. A Spidron fractal-shaped dipole antenna with a quasi-self-complementary structure was designed and combined with a miniaturized ferrite-loaded AMC. This allowed the designed AMC-integrated dipole antenna to operate in a wide frequency band, covering the HF/VHF/UHF bands, with low-profile characteristics. A prototype of the proposed Spidron fractal dipole antenna with the AMC was manufactured and measured and found to meet low VSWR (voltage standing wave radios) specifications of <3.5 within the 20–500 MHz bandwidth range. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement. The size of the Spidron fractal dipole antenna with the AMC is 0.03×0.026×0.001λ3 relative to the wavelength of the lowest operating frequency. The received power of the Spidron fractal dipole antenna with the AMC was also measured when it was applied to relatively small applications, such as a manpack in this case.
Integrated Control and Protection Architecture for Islanded PV-Battery DC Microgrids: Design, Analysis and Experimental Verification
Authors: Abdali Ali , Mazlumi Kazem , Guerrero Josep M.
Published: December 2020

Direct current (dc) microgrids have gained significant interest in research due to dc generation/storage technologies—such as photovoltaics (PV) and batteries—increasing performance and reducing in cost. However, proper protection and control systems are critical in order to make dc microgrids feasible. This paper aims to propose a novel integrated control and protection scheme by using the state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) method for PV-battery based islanded dc microgrids. The dc microgrid under study consists of photovoltaic (PV) generation, a battery energy storage system (BESS), a capacitor bank and a dc load. The aims of this study are fast fault detection and voltage control of the dc load bus. To do so, the SDRE observer-controller—a nonlinear mathematical model—is employed to model the operation of the dc microgrid. Simulation results show that the proposed SDRE method is effective for fault detection and robust against external disturbances, resulting in it being capable of controlling the dc load bus voltage during disturbances. Finally, the dc microgrid and its proposed protection scheme are implemented in an experimental testbed prototype to verify the fault detection algorithm feasibility. The experimental results indicate that the SDRE scheme can effectively detect faults in a few milliseconds.
Home Rehabilitation Based on Gamification and Serious Games for Young People: A Systematic Mapping Study
Authors: Gmez-Portes Cristian , Lacave Carmen , Molina Ana I. , Vallejo David
Published: December 2020

Physical rehabilitation of people who suffer from some motor disability involves an intensive treatment to reduce pain and improve quality of life. Research studies have proven the benefits of technologies based on home-rehabilitation, which complement regular therapy in hospitals. Although there is a significant number of studies that face this challenge when dealing with adults, it has not been explored with young people. In this research article, we focus on this population, since the repetition of physical exercises decreases the youth’s motivation, which entails a high risk of dropping out of therapy. That is why we present a systematic mapping study of the techniques, devices, and methods used to address home rehabilitation for children and teenagers. The conclusions indicate that it is essential to use gamification techniques to adopt a plug-and-play metaphor, based on natural interaction mechanisms and on the use of non-intrusive devices, and to customize the rehabilitation process for each individual along with a methodology. We also present the improvements applied to an existing gamification-based software prototype for home rehabilitation. In this system, physical exercises can be customized, laying the foundations to promote precision rehabilitation within the context of young people.
Meteorological Factors Controlling 7Be Activity Concentrations in the Atmospheric Surface Layer in Northern Spain
Authors: Alegría Natalia , Hernández-Ceballos Miguel Ángel , Herranz Margarita , Idoeta Raquel , Legarda Fernando
Published: December 2020

This work presents the analysis of weekly 7Be activity concentrations in the air measured in Bilbao (northern Spain) by collecting aerosols in filters over a ten years period (2009–2018). 7Be level is in the 0.35–7.3 mBq/m3 range, with a mean of 3.20 ± 1.12 mBq/m3. The trend, cycle, seasonal and monthly variability are evaluated using time series analysis techniques. The results indicate the impact of sunspots (24th solar cycle) on interannual 7Be activity concentrations, and a significant seasonal and monthly variation, with maximum concentrations occurring in spring-summer and minimum in the winter. The correlation of different 7Be ranges with local meteorological parameters, such as precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and pressure, is also addressed, with precipitation having the greatest impact on 7Be activity values. The analysis of synoptic airflows, by calculating the back-trajectory clusters, and local winds at surface level reveals the important influence of the arrival of slow northwest Atlantic flows and the development of breezes on reaching high 7Be activity concentrations in this area.
A Traffic Analysis on Serverless Computing Based on the Example of a File Upload Stream on AWS Lambda
Authors: Muller Lisa , Chrysoulas Christos , Pitropakis Nikolaos , Barclay Peter J.
Published: December 2020

The shift towards microservisation which can be observed in recent developments of the cloud landscape for applications has led towards the emergence of the Function as a Service (FaaS) concept, also called Serverless. This term describes the event-driven, reactive programming paradigm of functional components in container instances, which are scaled, deployed, executed and billed by the cloud provider on demand. However, increasing reports of issues of Serverless services have shown significant obscurity regarding its reliability. In particular, developers and especially system administrators struggle with latency compliance. In this paper, following a systematic literature review, the performance indicators influencing traffic and the effective delivery of the provider’s underlying infrastructure are determined by carrying out empirical measurements based on the example of a File Upload Stream on Amazon’s Web Service Cloud. This popular example was used as an experimental baseline in this study, based on different incoming request rates. Different parameters were used to monitor and evaluate changes through the function’s logs. It has been found that the so-called Cold-Start, meaning the time to provide a new instance, can increase the Round-Trip-Time by 15%, on average. Cold-Start happens after an instance has not been called for around 15 min, or after around 2 h have passed, which marks the end of the instance’s lifetime. The research shows how the numbers have changed in comparison to earlier related work, as Serverless is a fast-growing field of development. Furthermore, emphasis is given towards future research to improve the technology, algorithms, and support for developers.
A CRISPR/Cas12a Based Universal Lateral Flow Biosensor for the Sensitive and Specific Detection of African Swine-Fever Viruses in Whole Blood
Authors: Wu Jinghua , Mukama Omar , Wu Wei , Li Zhiyuan , Habimana Jean De Dieu , Zhang Yinghui , Zeng Rong , Nie Chengrong , Zeng Lingwen
Published: December 2020

Cross-border pathogens such as the African swine fever virus (ASFV) still pose a socio-economic threat. Cheaper, faster, and accurate diagnostics are imperative for healthcare and food safety applications. Currently, the discovery of the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) has paved the way for the diagnostics based on Cas13 and Cas12/14 that exhibit collateral cleavage of target and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) reporter. The reporter is fluorescently labeled to report the presence of a target. These methods are powerful; however, fluorescence-based approaches require expensive apparatuses, complicate results readout, and exhibit high-fluorescence background. Here, we present a new CRISPR–Cas-based approach that combines polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, Cas12a, and a probe-based lateral flow biosensor (LFB) for the simultaneous detection of seven types of ASFV. In the presence of ASFVs, the LFB responded to reporter trans-cleavage by naked eyes and achieved a sensitivity of 2.5 × 10−15 M within 2 h, and unambiguously identified ASFV from swine blood. This system uses less time for PCR pre-amplification and requires cheaper devices; thus, it can be applied to virus monitoring and food samples detection.
Pharmacological Inhibition of O-GlcNAc Transferase Promotes mTOR-Dependent Autophagy in Rat Cortical Neurons
Authors: Rahman Md. Ataur , Cho Yoonjeong , Hwang Hongik , Rhim Hyewhon
Published: December 2020

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is a ubiquitous enzyme that regulates the addition of β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to serine and threonine residues of target proteins. Autophagy is a cellular process of self-digestion, in which cytoplasmic resources, such as aggregate proteins, toxic compounds, damaged organelles, mitochondria, and lipid molecules, are degraded and recycled. Here, we examined how three different OGT inhibitors, alloxan, BXZ2, and OSMI-1, modulate O-GlcNAcylation in rat cortical neurons, and their autophagic effects were determined by immunoblot and immunofluorescence assays. We found that the treatment of cortical neurons with an OGT inhibitor decreased O-GlcNAcylation levels and increased LC3-II expression. Interestingly, the pre-treatment with rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, further increased the expression levels of LC3-II induced by OGT inhibition, implicating the involvement of mTOR signaling in O-GlcNAcylation-dependent autophagy. In contrast, OGT inhibitor-mediated autophagy was significantly attenuated by 3-methyladenine (3-MA), a blocker of autophagosome formation. However, when pre-treated with chloroquine (CQ), a lysosomotropic agent and a late-stage autophagy inhibitor, OGT inhibitors significantly increased LC3-II levels along with LC3 puncta formation, indicating the stimulation of autophagic flux. Lastly, we found that OGT inhibitors significantly decreased the levels of the autophagy substrate p62/SQSTM1 while increasing the expression of lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1). Together, our study reveals that the modulation of O-GlcNAcylation by OGT inhibition regulates mTOR-dependent autophagy in rat cortical neurons.
Impact of Virtual Reality in Arterial Anatomy Detection and Surgical Planning in Patients with Unruptured Anterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms
Authors: Zawy Alsofy Samer , Sakellaropoulou Ioanna , Nakamura Makoto , Ewelt Christian , Salma Asem , Lewitz Marc , Welzel Saravia Heinz , Sarkis Hraq Mourad , Fortmann Thomas , Stroop Ralf
Published: December 2020

Anterior-communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms have diverse configurations and anatomical variations. The evaluation and operative treatment of these aneurysms necessitates a perfect surgical strategy based on review of three-dimensional (3D) angioarchitecture using several radiologic imaging methods. We analyzed the influence of 3D virtual reality (VR) reconstructions versus conventional computed tomography angiography (CTA) scans on the identification of vascular anatomy and on surgical planning in patients with unruptured ACoA aneurysms. Medical files were retrospectively analyzed regarding patient- and disease-related data. Preoperative CTA scans were retrospectively reconstructed to 3D-VR images and visualized via VR software to detect the characteristics of unruptured ACoA aneurysms. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the influence of VR on the identification of aneurysm morphology and relevant arterial anatomy and on surgical strategy. Twenty-six patients were included and 520 answer sheets were evaluated. The 3D-VR modality significantly influenced detection of the aneurysm-related vascular structure (p = 0.0001), the recommended head positioning (p = 0.005), and the surgical approach (p = 0.001) in the planning of microsurgical clipping. Thus, reconstruction of conventional preoperative CTA scans into 3D images and the spatial presentation in VR models enabled greater understanding of the anatomy and pathology, provided realistic haptic feedback for aneurysm surgery, and influenced operation planning and strategy.
EEG-Based BCI System to Detect Fingers Movements
Authors: Gannouni Sofien , Belwafi Kais , Aboalsamh Hatim , AlSamhan Ziyad , Alebdi Basel , Almassad Yousef , Alobaedallah Homoud
Published: December 2020

The advancement of assistive technologies toward the restoration of the mobility of paralyzed and/or amputated limbs will go a long way. Herein, we propose a system that adopts the brain-computer interface technology to control prosthetic fingers with the use of brain signals. To predict the movements of each finger, complex electroencephalogram (EEG) signal processing algorithms should be applied to remove the outliers, extract features, and be able to handle separately the five human fingers. The proposed method deals with a multi-class classification problem. Our machine learning strategy to solve this problem is built on an ensemble of one-class classifiers, each of which is dedicated to the prediction of the intention to move a specific finger. Regions of the brain that are sensitive to the movements of the fingers are identified and located. The average accuracy of the proposed EEG signal processing chain reached 81% for five subjects. Unlike the majority of existing prototypes that allow only one single finger to be controlled and only one movement to be performed at a time, the system proposed will enable multiple fingers to perform movements simultaneously. Although the proposed system classifies five tasks, the obtained accuracy is too high compared with a binary classification system. The proposed system contributes to the advancement of a novel prosthetic solution that allows people with severe disabilities to perform daily tasks in an easy manner.
Cognitive Benefits of Activity Engagement among 12,093 Adults Aged over 65 Years
Authors: Zhang Jieting , Zou Liye , Jiao Can , Zhang Minqiang , Wang Lina , Song Wook , Yu Qian , Grabovac Igor , Zhang Yanjie , Willeit Peter , Yang Lin
Published: December 2020

Objective: The present study includes two aims: (1) to understand patterns of activity engagement among older Chinese adults; (2) to further investigate associations between activity engagement and cognitive abilities in this population. Methods: Latent class analysis was applied to answer the aforementioned research questions across different age ranges while controlling for confounding variables (age, health, socioeconomic status (SES), and living alone). Specifically, five latent classes (non-active, working-active, comprehensive-active, physical-active, and less-active) were identified. Furthermore, associations between the classes of activity engagement and cognition were examined separately in three age groups: less than 80 years (young-old group), 80–99.5 years (old-old group) and more than 100 years (oldest-old group) of age. Results: Compared with Non-active older individuals, the other classes with a higher probability of engagement in various activities generally showed higher cognitive abilities (including general cognition, orientation, calculation, recall, and language), but not all patterns of active engagement in daily life were positively associated with better cognitive status across different age ranges. In particular, differences in the individuals’ cognitive abilities across the four active latent classes were especially obvious in the old-old group as follows: the Comprehensive-active class had higher general cognitive and recall abilities than the other three active classes and higher calculation and language abilities than the Working-active class. In addition, significant sex differences were observed in activity patterns, cognition, and their associations in the young-old and old-old groups. Culture-specific programs should be customized to subgroups of different ages and genders by providing different training or activity modules based on their related dimensions of cognitive decline.
Recent Advances in the Application of Metal–Organic Frameworks for Polymerization and Oligomerization Reactions
Authors: Ren Fangyu , Ji Pengfei
Published: December 2020

Polymers have become one of the major types of materials that are essential in our daily life. The controlled synthesis of value-added polymers with unique mechanical and chemical properties have attracted broad research interest. Metal–organic framework (MOF) is a class of porous material with immense structural diversity which offers unique advantages for catalyzing polymerization and oligomerization reactions including the uniformity of the catalytic active site, and the templating effect of the nano-sized channels. We summarized in this review the important recent progress in the field of MOF-catalyzed and MOF-templated polymerizations, to reveal the chemical principle and structural aspects of these systems and hope to inspire the future design of novel polymerization systems with improved activity and specificity.