bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Self‐commissioning calculation of dynamic models for synchronous machines with magnetic saturation using flux as state variable
Authors: Antonello Riccardo , Peretti Luca , Tinazzi Fabio , Zigliotto Mauro
Published: April 2019

This paper deals with the non‐linear modelling of synchronous machines by using the flux linkage as a state variable. The model is inferred from a conventional set of measurements where the relation between the currents and the flux linkages in the rotating reference frame (also known as dq reference frame) are known by measurements or estimated through finite‐element simulations. In particular, the contribution of this paper is twofold: first, it proposes a method to extract the non‐linear model information which can be easily implemented in electric drives, without the need of offline post‐processing of the data. Second, it mathematically demonstrates that the method converges to the final result in a stable way. An example based on experimental measurements of the current‐to‐flux look‐up tables of an 11‐kW synchronous reluctance machine is shown, proving the feasibility of the proposed method.
An effect-analysis method for species-dependent coral health status in temperature and ammonia: a case study of Acropora sp., Turbinaria sp., and Porites sp.
Authors: Bussapakorn U , Petchporn C , Sompop R
Published: April 2019

This research aimed to study the effects of temperature and ammonia on the health status of Acropora sp., Turbinaria sp., and Porites sp. by using acute toxicity testing (50% Lethal Concentration: LC50). The acute effects were monitored at temperatures of 30°C and 33°C at 24 and 48 hrs. The concentrations of ammonia varied at 0 0.05 0.07 and 0.1 mgN/L, respectively. The active polyp percentages of Acropora sp. was analyzed with comparison to the health status percentages. According to the findings at 30°C (24 and 48 hrs) and 33°C (24 hrs), the LC50 could not be investigated because the mortality percentages was not below 50%. On the other hand, at 33°C (48 hrs), the LC50 could be evaluated because the mortality percentages exceeded 50%. Therefore, the LC50 at 48 hrs of Acropora sp., Turbinaria sp., and Porites sp. were equal to 0.043, 0.075 and 0.054 mgN/L, respectively.
Phytoremediation of Phosphorous and Ammonia with Eichhornia crassipes and Azolla pinnata in Waste Waters from Estero de San Miguel Mendiola Manila Philippines
Authors: Acero L
Published: April 2019

Wastewater treatment and removal of pollutants by phytoremediation, remain a major concern of the 21th century. This study is focused on the phytoremediation study in Philippine setting, specifically in one of the tributaries of Pasig river-the Estero de San Miguel. It determined the pH, Ammonia and Phosphorous before, 7th and 14th day of phytoremediation with the use of A. pinnata and E. crassipes. Twelve improvised water ponds/troughs, 3 ponds per treatment were used for 14 days. T- control (only wastewater), T1 for A. pinnata + wastewater, T2 for E. crassipes + wastewater and T3 for A. pinnata E. crassipes + wastewater. Potential hydrogen, Ammonia-N mg/L, phosphorous mg/L were analyzed before, on the 7th and 14th day of the study. Data gathered was analyzed using ANOVA and Fisher Least Significant Difference test as post hoc test. Result revealed that T1 (A. pinnata) lowered the pH and ammonia-N (mg/L) of wastewaters from Estero de San Miguel. T3 (combination of A. pinnata + E. crassipes) has significantly lowered the Phosphorous level of the wastewaters. Thus both aquatic macrophytes can be used as phytoremediation agents in the said Estero.
Combined Effect of Fly-Ash and Ferrochrome Ash as Partial Replacement of Cement on Mechanical Properties of Concrete
Authors: Mohanty Tribikram , Majhi Sauna , Saha Purnachandra , Das Bitanjaya
Published: April 2019

Due to rapid industrialization extensive quantity of waste materials like fly ash, silica fume, rice ash husk, and ferrochrome ash etc. are generated. Ferrochrome ash is generated from Ferro-alloy industry and fly-ash is produced in thermal power plants are alternative materials which have the potential of being utilized in concrete as a mineral admixture. The present investigation considers the combined influence on strength of concrete using various percentage fly ash and ferrochrome ash as partial replacement of cement. Experiments are carried out to get mechanical properties of ordinary Portland cement by replacement of fly ash by 10%, 20%, 30 % and 3% by ferrochrome ash. Mechanical properties are measured by determining compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength. It can be inferred from the study that a small amount of ferrochrome ash mixed with 30 % fly-ash gives higher compressive strength as compared to fly ash alone. Addition of ferrochrome ash also increases the split tensile strength of concrete. Since ferrochrome ash and fly-ash are both industrial waste, utilization of these waste materials reduced the burden of dumping and greenhouse gas and thereby produce sustainable concrete.
Sustainability of Biogas Based Projects: Technical and Economic Analysis
Authors: Annibaldi Valeria , Cucchiella Federica , Gastaldi Massimo , Rotilio Marianna , Stornelli Vincenzo
Published: April 2019

Biomethane is a renewable gas produced by the transformation of organic matter. It can lead to emissions reduction and it contributes to increasing methane production. Incentive policies favour its development and for this reason, the objective of this paper is to investigate the economic performance of biomethane plants and their process monitoring by electronic systems. Mathematical modeling is here presented to study the financial feasibility of biomethane plants in function of the size (100 m3/h, 250 m3/h, 500 m3/h, 1000 m3/h), the feedstock used (organic fraction of municipal solid waste and a mixture of 30% maize and 70% manure residues on a weight basic) and the destination for final use (fed into the grid, destined for cogeneration or sold as vehicle fuel). From an economic point of view the plant performance is studied by economic tools as Net Present Value and Discounted Payback Time and the uncertainty analysis is implemented using Monte Carlo method. Moreover, from a technical point of view, process monitoring is analyzed to understand what happens in a biomethane plant and help to maintain a stable process. The results show that the profitability of biomethane plants is verified in several scenarios presenting losses only if subsidies were removed.
Surgery First : détermination des objectifs squelettiques à partir des analyses structurales. Comparaison des analyses de Delaire et de Sassouni
Authors: Bardet Isabelle , Goudot Patrick , Kerbrat Jean-Baptiste , Mauchamp Olivier
Published: April 2019

Introduction :Cet article présente une étude des analyses squelettiques structurales de Delaire et de Sassouni, indépendantes des compensations dentaires, comme prescripteurs des déplacements squelettiques en chirurgie orthognathique particulièrement dans les chirurgies de première intention (Surgery First) développées par Sugawara.Méthode :Les analyses céphalométriques ont été réalisées sur vingt cas chirurgicaux : les déplacements squelettiques induits ont été comparés pour quantifier les différences d’indications en fonction du type facial. Les morpho-simulations faciales obtenues avec le logiciel Dolphin 11.95 Premium à partir des photographies et scans préchirurgicaux ont été présentées à deux jurys (professionnel et non professionnel) pour valider l’outil Dolphin, puis comparer les analyses entre elles et à la chirurgie réalisée. Cette étude sur dix cas opérés dans le même cabinet a fait l’objet d’une étude statistique (laboratoire de statistique-CNRS).Résultats :L’analyse de Sassouni suggère beaucoup plus de déplacement vers l’avant du maxillaire (ENA +5,45*) et plus de modifications verticales (Me 1,595*). Les différences entre les deux analyses sont peu influencées par le type facial. La prédiction Dolphin jugée assez fiable (3,7/6) a permis de comparer l’effet esthétique des prescriptions des analyses avec la chirurgie réalisée. Le test de Student apparié n’est pas significatif (taille de l’échantillon), mais l’analyse par cotation montre une différence plus significative (chirurgie DO (17,4), Sassouni (16,6) et Delaire (14)).Conclusions :Les analyses de Delaire et Sassouni ne donnent pas les mêmes indications chirurgicales : plus d’avancée maxillaire et de modifications verticales pour Sassouni. L’outil Dolphin permet une prédiction raisonnable des effets d’une chirurgie. L’analyse de Sassouni donne des objectifs céphalométriques jugés plus esthétiques que ceux de Delaire (16,6/14 soit +2,6), mais l’analyse esthétique et fonctionnelle reste essentielle.
Larvicidal activity of Ocimum campechianum, Ocotea quixos and Piper aduncum essential oils against Aedes aegypti
Authors: Scalvenzi Laura , Radice Matteo , Toma Luciano , Severini Francesco , Boccolini Daniela , Bella Antonino , Guerrini Alessandra , Tacchini Massimo , Sacchetti Gianni , Chiurato Matteo , Romi Roberto , Di Luca Marco
Published: April 2019

Aedes aegypti, the main arbovirus vector of the Yellow fever, Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika viruses, is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world. Preventive control efforts have been implemented worldwide aimed at reducing its impact on human health. The recent reduction of chemicals available for vector control due to their negative impact on the environment and human health and the increase in mosquito resistance to insecticides have driven the research community to identify and evaluate sustainable alternatives to synthetic insecticides. In this study, the potential larvicidal effect of essential oils extracted from Ocimum campechianum, Ocotea quixos and Piper aduncum were tested in vitro. GC and GC–MS analyses showed that the main compounds were eugenol (18%), 1,8-cineole (39%) and dillapiole (48%), respectively. Susceptibility to essential oils was measured according to the WHO protocol. After 24 h, the mean percentage mortality ranged from 2.7 to 100% for P. aduncum, from 2.2 to 100% for O. campechianum, and from 2.9 to 100% for O. quixos. The highest potential was displayed by P. aduncum, followed by O. campechianum and O. quixos, with LC50 values of 25.7, 69.3 and 75.5 ppm, respectively. The rapid and effective larvicidal activity of these three oils led us to consider these results to be promising, also considering the possibility of local cultivation of these plants in tropical and subtropical areas and the simple technology for their large-scale preparation and production. Further studies are needed to evaluate the individual components and their activity as larvicides.
Die stufenweise Versorgung von sehr kleinen Frühgeborenen in Deutschland und international
Authors: Kreuzhof Julia , Maier Rolf , Döbler Klaus
Published: April 2019

Hintergrund Die Versorgung von Neugeborenen ist in Deutschland in der „Qualitätssicherungs-Richtlinie Früh- und Reifgeborene (QFR-RL)“ des Gemeinsamen Bundesausschusses geregelt. Die Zuordnung zu den vier Versorgungsstufen (Level) mit Level 1 als höchster Stufe erfolgt in Abhängigkeit von Schwangerschaftsrisiken, maternalen und fetalen Erkrankungen, Geburtsgewicht und Gestationsalter. Die deutschen Vorgaben zur Frühgeborenenversorgung werden mit internationalen Regularien verglichen und Gründe für international verwendete Geburtsgewichts- und Gestationsaltersgrenzen analysiert.

Methodik Leitlinien und gesetzliche Vorgaben wurden mittels Handsuche auf den Webseiten von Fachgesellschaften und Gesundheitsministerien in Europa, Nordamerika und Australien recherchiert.

Ergebnisse Außerhalb Deutschlands ist Level 1 die niedrigste von 2 bis 7 Versorgungsstufen. Ein Geburtsgewicht unter 1250 g oder unter 29+0 SSW bedingt in Deutschland die Behandlung im höchsten Versorgungslevel. International erfolgt die Zuteilung zur höchsten Versorgungsstufe zumeist bei den Gewichtsgrenzen 1250 g oder 1500 g. Häufig wird das Geburtsgewicht mit einem Gestationsalter verknüpft. Nur die American Academy of Pediatrics stützt die Abgrenzung von 1500 g und 32+0 SSW auf eine Meta-Analyse, in der eine signifikant geringere Mortalität nachgewiesen wurde, wenn diese Kinder in hochspezialisierten Kliniken geboren und behandelt wurden. Zwei Regularien nennen als Begründung Expertenmeinung.

Schlussfolgerungen Die Gewichts- und Gestationsaltersgrenzen bei der Frühgeborenenversorgung zeigen international ein inhomogenes Bild. Nur in einem Fall ist für die Festlegung eine wissenschaftliche Begründung ersichtlich.
N-Aminations of Benzylamines and Alicyclic Amines with Nitrosoarenes to Hydrazones and Hydrazides
Authors: Purkait Anisha , Jana Chandan K.
Published: April 2019

Unlike other alkylamines, benzylamines upon reaction with a nitrosoarene undergo oxidation to the corresponding imines. A direct amination of benzylamines, which was difficult to achieve due to its facile oxidation, to the corresponding hydrazones is reported. A wide variety of benzylamines and N-heterocycles were reacted with nitrosoarenes to provide structurally diverse hydrazones and hydrazides, respectively. Moreover, the direct N-amination reaction was applied to the one-pot synthesis of triazoles.
Lithium Chloride Catalyzed Aza-Michael Addition of Pyrazoles to α,β-Unsaturated Imides
Authors: Zhou Hongyan , Xiang Xiancheng , Ma Ben , Wang Ganggang , Zhang Zhixia , Yang Jingya
Published: April 2019

A lithium chloride catalyzed aza-Michael reaction of pyrazoles to α,β-unsaturated imides has been developed. A range of aromatic and aliphatic α,β-unsaturated imides are found to be suitable for the established method, providing the corresponding aza-Michael adducts in up to 93% yields. The inexpensive catalyst, good substrate tolerance, and ease of scale-up make this procedure highly practical.
Concise Stereocontrolled Synthesis of an α-Carbagalactose Segment of RCAI-56, a Candidate Anticancer Agent
Authors: Ushida Naoki , Nagai Nobukazu , Adachi Masaatsu , Nishikawa Toshio
Published: April 2019

RCAI-56 is a synthetic glycolipid exhibiting a potent antitumor activity by stimulation of natural killer T cells. Tetra-O-benzyl-α-carbagalactose, an important synthetic segment of RCAI-56, was stereoselectively synthesized from 1,4-dichloro-2-butene in nine steps, including the key step of organocatalytic asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction between acrolein and 1-benzyloxybutadiene.
Achieving balance of valley occupancy in narrow AlAs quantum wells
Authors: Khisameeva A. R. , Shchepetilnikov A. V. , Muravev V. M. , Gubarev S. I. , Frolov D. D. , Nefyodov Yu. A. , Kukushkin I. V. , Reichl C. , Dietsche W. , Wegscheider W.
Published: April 2019

The terahertz photoconductivity of 100μm and 20μm Hall bars fabricated from narrow AlAs quantum wells (QWs) of different widths is investigated in this paper. The photoresponse is dominated by collective magnetoplasmon excitations within the body of the Hall structure. We observed a radical change of the magnetoplasma spectrum measured precisely for AlAs QWs of widths ranging from 4 nm to 15 nm. We have shown that the observed behavior is a vivid manifestation of valley transition taking place in the two-dimensional electron system. Remarkably, we show that the photoresponse for AlAs QWs with a width of 6 nm features two resonances, indicating simultaneous occupation of strongly anisotropic Xx−y valleys and isotropic Xz valley in the QW plane. Our results pave the way for realizing valley-selective layered heterostructures, with potential applications in valleytronics.
A high magnification UV lens for high temperature optical strain measurements
Authors: Hansen Robert S. , Bird Trevor J. , Voie Ren , Burn Katharine Z. , Berke Ryan B.
Published: April 2019

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measures full-field strains by tracking displacements of a specimen using images taken before and after deformation. At high temperatures, materials emit light in the form of blackbody radiation, which can interfere with DIC images. To screen out that light, DIC has been recently adapted by using ultraviolet (UV) range cameras, lenses, and filters. Before now, UV-DIC had been demonstrated at the centimeter scale using commercially available UV lenses and filters. Commercial high-magnification lenses using visible light have also been used for DIC. However, there is currently no commercially available high-magnification lens that will allow images to be taken (a) in the UV range, (b) at a submillimeter scale, and (c) from a relatively long working distance separating a specimen inside a test chamber and a camera outside the chamber. In this work, a custom UV high-magnification lens is demonstrated to perform high-magnification, high-temperature DIC measurements. To demonstrate the capabilities of this lens, a series of thermo-mechanical tests was run on a stainless-steel ring specimen. Two UV cameras performed simultaneous measurements: one at lower magnification using a commercial UV lens, and one with the custom high-magnification UV lens. At room temperature, the custom lens produces sufficiently bright images to perform DIC, while at high temperature (demonstrated to 900 °C) the images retained sufficient contrast while avoiding oversaturation. The lens can detect submillimeter rigid motion and tensile strains from long working distances and high magnification. These tests show that the custom lens is suitable for use in high-magnification UV-DIC measurements.
Tunable composite waveguide based on piezoelectric phononic crystal
Authors: Hu Ruixia , Wu Jien , Yang Yuzhen , Wang Xiaoyun , Jia Han , Deng Ke , He Zhaojian , Zhao Heping
Published: April 2019

The acoustic artificial structures with tunable parameters have attracted much research interest in these days. In this paper, we present a tunable composite waveguide based on the piezoelectric phononic crystal shunted by an inductor circuit. A pass band based on local resonance will emerge in the complete band gap through modulating the shunted inductor circuit. This local-resonant pass band can be used to realize a waveguide. Both the work frequency and the shape of this waveguide can be tuned simultaneously by modulating the inductance and the space distribution of the external inductor circuit. For the excellent tunable ability, the proposed tunable composite waveguide could be useful in elastic wave sensors and frequency filters.
High-throughput production of uniformly sized liquid metal microdroplets using submerged electrodispersion
Authors: Zhang Yuxin , Tang Shi-Yang , Zhao Qianbin , Yun Guolin , Yuan Dan , Li Weihua
Published: April 2019

Microdroplets of gallium-based liquid metal alloys have enabled various applications in the fields of biomedicine, electronics, and chemistry. However, due to the high surface tension of liquid metal, high-throughput production of uniformly sized liquid metal microdroplets is challenging using conventional acoustic or microfluidic methods. Here, adapting the submerged electrodispersion technique that has conventionally been used for generating water-based microdroplets, we develop a simple and straightforward platform for the high-throughput production of near-monodisperse (coefficient of variation less than 5%) liquid metal microdroplets in oil without using microfluidic devices. We demonstrate the capabilities of this method for producing liquid metal microdroplets (diameters ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers) and introduce a spinning disk to induce a flow of oil phase for preventing the coalescence of the microdroplets. The simplicity and remarkable abilities demonstrated for this method may pave the path for the development of future innovative applications based on liquid metal microdroplets.
Motion characteristics and non-ideal dynamics of a stereoscopic symmetrical quadruple hair gyroscope (SSQHG)
Authors: Guo Xin , Yang Bo , Li Cheng
Published: April 2019

In this paper, the motion characteristics and non-ideal dynamics of a stereoscopic symmetrical quadruple hair gyroscope (SSQHG) are explored. The device description and operating principle of SSQHG are briefly interpreted. Based on a simplified mass-spring-damping model, the motion characteristics of SSQHG under different excitation methods (anti-phase drive, in-phase drive and single mass drive) are deduced, and the angular velocity mechanical sensitivity of SSQHG is subsequently calculated. The effects of electrostatic force error, mass error and stiffness error on structural dynamics are analyzed in detail. Finite element method (FEM) simulations are implemented to verify the correctness of proposed dynamic model. The simulation results show a highly consistency with theoretical analysis. Finally, the frequency response and angular velocity sensitivity experiments are performed on two fabricated prototypes. The experimental results confirm that the inevitably non-ideal errors of prototypes lead to distinct performance difference. The kinematic analysis methodology of SSQHG presented in this paper is suitable for other quadruple mass gyroscopes (QMG).
Atom-density representations for machine learning
Authors: Willatt Michael J. , Musil Félix , Ceriotti Michele
Published: April 2019

The applications of machine learning techniques to chemistry and materials science become more numerous by the day. The main challenge is to devise representations of atomic systems that are at the same time complete and concise, so as to reduce the number of reference calculations that are needed to predict the properties of different types of materials reliably. This has led to a proliferation of alternative ways to convert an atomic structure into an input for a machine-learning model. We introduce an abstract definition of chemical environments that is based on a smoothed atomic density, using a bra-ket notation to emphasize basis set independence and to highlight the connections with some popular choices of representations for describing atomic systems. The correlations between the spatial distribution of atoms and their chemical identities are computed as inner products between these feature kets, which can be given an explicit representation in terms of the expansion of the atom density on orthogonal basis functions, that is equivalent to the smooth overlap of atomic positions power spectrum, but also in real space, corresponding to n-body correlations of the atom density. This formalism lays the foundations for a more systematic tuning of the behavior of the representations, by introducing operators that represent the correlations between structure, composition, and the target properties. It provides a unifying picture of recent developments in the field and indicates a way forward toward more effective and computationally affordable machine-learning schemes for molecules and materials.
Sheath formation in collisional, low pressure, and magnetized plasma
Authors: Moulick R. , Adhikari S. , Goswami K. S.
Published: April 2019

Formation of a plasma sheath is studied in collisional and magnetized low pressure plasma. The magnetic field has a tilted configuration. The model provides plasma profiles for a wide range of magnetic field strengths and tilting angles. It is shown that the sheath entry velocity in the magnetized case should be chosen for all three components of ion velocity rather than a single component (which is directed along the sheath). It is found in the collisionless case that the net magnitude of the ion velocity gains the characteristic ion speed (Bohm speed). This, in turn, is found to retain the monotonic variation of the ion density. Ionization is considered with constant ionizing frequency. Comments are made on the sheath thickness and the retention of the Debye sheath at a low angle, for low pressure magnetized plasma.
Amorphous/crystalline Fe55Ni20Cu5P10Si5B5 composite produced by two-component melt–spinning
Authors: Ziewiec Krzysztof , Wojciechowska Mirosława , Prusik Krystian , Ferenc Jarosław , Mucha Dariusz , Ziewiec Aneta
Published: April 2019

This work presents unique microstructure and thermal properties of the Fe55Ni20Cu5P10Si5B5 alloy produced by novel modification of the melt-spinning method, where two precursor alloys are simultaneously ejected i.e. Fe40Ni40P10Si5B5 and Fe70Cu10P10Si5B5, forming a composite ribbon. The investigation of melting the precursors by differential scanning calorimetry confirms the liquid miscibility of the Fe70Cu10P10Si5B5 alloy. The two-component melt-spun composite obtained from the two alloys is compared to the alloys produced from a homogeneous liquid. The electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry show different microstructure of the composite in comparison with the traditionally melt-spun alloys and our results reveal that the composite alloy inherits the thermal properties of the precursors.

This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on The Crystallographic Aspects of Metallic Alloys.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: The role of multinational oil corporations (MNOCs) in Nigeria: more exploitation equals less development of oil-rich Niger Delta region
Authors: Oluwaniyi Oluwatoyin O.
Published: April 2019

We, the Editors and Publisher of Review of African Political Economy, have retracted the following article:

Oluwaniyi, Oluwatoyin O. 2018. “The Role of Multinational Oil Corporations (MNOCs) in Nigeria: More Exploitation Equals Less Development of Oil-rich Niger Delta Region.” Review of African Political Economy 45 (158): 558-573. doi:10.1080/03056244.2018.1546687.

The above-named Review of African Political Economy article has been retracted and should not be cited. Following publication of the above article in print and online, it has been determined that the paper has been previously published elsewhere.

The Editors together with the publishers of the journal, Taylor & Francis, note that we received, peer-reviewed, accepted, and published the article on the basis of warranties made by the author regarding its originality and provenance.

We have been informed in our decision-making by our publishing ethics and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on retractions.

The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.
Overview of the recent experimental research on the J-TEXT tokamak
Authors: Liang Y. , Wang N.C. , Ding Y.H. , Chen Z.Y. , Chen Z.P. , Yang Z.J. , Hu Q.M. , Cheng Z.F. , Wang L. , Jiang Z.H. , Rao B. , Huang Z. , Li Y. , Yan W. , Li D. , Liu H. , Zeng L. , Huang Y. , Huang D.W. , Lin Z.F. , Zheng W. , Hu F.R. , Zhao K.J. , Jiang M. , Shi Y.J. , Zhou H. , Peng S.T. , Guo W.X. , Gao L. , Wang Z.J. , Zhang M. , Yu K.X. , Hu X.W. , Yu Q. , Zhuang G. , Gentle K.W. , Pan Y.
Published: April 2019

Recent J-TEXT research has highlighted the significance of the role that non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations, so called three-dimensional (3D) magnetic perturbation (MP) fields, play in a fundamentally 2D concept, i.e. tokamaks. This paper presents the J-TEXT results achieved over the last two years, especially on the impacts of 3D MP fields on magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, plasma disruptions and plasma turbulence transport.

On J-TEXT, the resonant MP (RMP) system, capable of providing either a static or a high frequency (up to 8 kHz) rotating RMP field, has been upgraded by adding a new set of 12 in-vessel saddle coils. The shattered pellet injection system was built in J-TEXT in the spring of 2018. The new capabilities advance J-TEXT to be at the forefront of international magnetic fusion facilities, allowing flexible study of 3D effects and disruption mitigation in a tokamak.

The fast rotating RMP field has been successfully applied for avoidance of mode locking and the prevention of plasma disruption. A new control strategy, which applies pulsed RMP to the tearing mode only during the accelerating phase region, was proved by nonlinear numerical modelling to be efficient in accelerating mode rotation and even completely suppresses the mode. Remarkably, the rotating tearing mode was completely suppressed by the electrode biasing. The impacts of 3D magnetic topology on the turbulence has been investigated on J-TEXT. It is found that the fluctuations of electron density, electron temperature and plasma potential can be significantly modulated by the island structure, and a larger fluctuation level appears at the X-point of islands. The suppression of runaway electrons during disruptions is essential to the operation of ITER, and it has been reached by utilizing the 3D magnetic perturbations on J-TEXT. This may provide an alternative mechanism of runaway suppression for large-scale tokamaks and ITER.
Changing supersites: assessing the impact of the southern UK EMEP supersite relocation on measured atmospheric composition
Authors: Walker H L , Heal M R , Braban C F , Ritchie S , Conolly C , Sanocka A , Dragosits U , Twigg M M
Published: April 2019

In January 2016 the United Kingdom’s southern European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) level-2 air pollution monitoring ‘supersite’ was relocated from Harwell, Oxfordshire to Chilbolton Observatory, Hampshire. As no co-location study was undertaken, this work retrospectively investigates whether the supersite relocation has led to discontinuities in the time series of concentrations of commonly studied gaseous pollutants (NOx, NH3, SO2 and O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Two years of measurements pre- and post-relocation (2014–15 and 2016–17 respectively) were analysed in conjunction with meteorological variables and local emission data. The deweather package was applied to the concatenated time series to minimise the influence of meteorology. Similar average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and O3 were observed, but there were substantial differences in that of NOx and NH3 (increase by factors of ∼1.6 and ∼3, respectively). The considerably higher NH3 concentrations at Chilbolton are attributed to the close proximity of mixed farmland, in particular to a strong south-westerly source contributing to ∼50% of the annual average. NOx and PM concentrations in easterly winds arriving at Chilbolton are ∼2.7 and ∼1.5 times larger than at Harwell, from sources including the M3 motorway and Greater London. Westerly concentrations of NOx remain similar, therefore despite a higher frequency of westerly wind, annual mean concentrations are larger. Lower concentrations of PM arriving from the west result in similar annual averages. The secondary inorganic and black carbon components of PM were broadly similar between the sites. The differences in average NOx and NH3 at Chilbolton must be taken into account when considering long-term regional trends based on the southern UK supersite data.
Automorphisms of Two-Generator Free Groups and Spaces of Isometric Actions on the Hyperbolic Plane
Authors: Goldman William , McShane Greg , Stantchev George , Tan Ser Peow
Published: April 2019

The automorphisms of a two-generator free group

F

2

\mathsf {F}_2

acting on the space of orientation-preserving isometric actions of

F

2

\mathsf {F}_2

on hyperbolic 3-space defines a dynamical system. Those actions which preserve a hyperbolic plane but not an orientation on that plane is an invariant subsystem, which reduces to an action of a group

Γ
\Gamma

on

R

3

\mathbb {R}^3

by polynomial automorphisms preserving the cubic polynomial
\[

κ
Φ

(
x
,
y
,
z
)
:=
−

x
2

−

y
2

+

z
2

+
x
y
z
−
2

\kappa _\Phi (x,y,z) := -x^2 -y^2 + z^2 + x y z -2

\]
and an area form on the level surfaces

κ
Φ

−
1

(
k
)

\kappa _\Phi ^{-1}(k)

.

The Fricke space of marked hyperbolic structures on the 2-holed projective plane with funnels or cusps identifies with the subset

F

(

C

0
,
2

)
⊂

R

3

\mathfrak {F}(C_{0,2})\subset \mathbb {R}^3

defined by
\[

z
≤
−
2
,

x
y
+
z
≥
2.

z\le -2, \quad xy + z \ge 2.

\]
The generalized Fricke space of marked hyperbolic structures on the 1-holed Klein bottle with a funnel, a cusp, or a conical singularity identifies with the subset

F

′

(

C

1
,
1

)
⊂

R

3

\mathfrak {F}’(C_{1,1})\subset \mathbb {R}^3

defined by
\[

z
>
2
,

x
y
z
≥

x
2

+

y
2

.

z>2, \quad x y z \ge x^2 + y^2.

\]
We show that

Γ
\Gamma

acts properly on the subsets

Γ
⋅

F

(

C

0
,
2

)

\Gamma \cdot \mathfrak {F}(C_{0,2})

and

Γ
⋅

F

′

(

C

1
,
1

)

\Gamma \cdot \mathfrak {F}’(C_{1,1})

. Furthermore for each

k
>
2

k>2

, the action of

Γ
\Gamma

is ergodic on the complement of

Γ
⋅

F

(

C

0
,
2

)

\Gamma \cdot \mathfrak {F}(C_{0,2})

in

κ
Φ

−
1

(
k
)

\kappa _\Phi ^{-1}(k)

for

k
>
−
14

k > -14

. In particular, the action is ergodic on all of

κ
Φ

−
1

(
k
)

\kappa _\Phi ^{-1}(k)

for

−
14
≤
k
>
2

-14\le k > 2

.

For

k
>
2

k>2

, the orbit

Γ
⋅

F

(

C

1
,
1

)

\Gamma \cdot \mathfrak {F}(C_{1,1})

is open and dense in

κ
Φ

−
1

(
k
)

\kappa _\Phi ^{-1}(k)

. We conjecture its complement has measure zero.
Uniform large deviation principles for Banach space valued stochastic evolution equations
Authors: Salins Michael , Budhiraja Amarjit , Dupuis Paul
Published: April 2019

We prove a large deviation principle (LDP) for a general class of Banach space valued stochastic differential equations (SDEs) that is uniform with respect to initial conditions in bounded subsets of the Banach space. A key step in the proof is showing that a uniform LDP over compact sets is implied by a uniform over compact sets Laplace principle. Because bounded subsets of infinite-dimensional Banach spaces are in general not relatively compact in the norm topology, we embed the Banach space into its double dual and utilize the weak-

⋆
\star

compactness of closed bounded sets in the double dual space. We prove that a modified version of our SDE satisfies a uniform Laplace principle over weak-

⋆
\star

compact sets and consequently a uniform over bounded sets LDP. We then transfer this result back to the original equation using a contraction principle. The main motivation for this uniform LDP is to generalize results of Freidlin and Wentzell concerning the behavior of finite-dimensional SDEs. Here we apply the uniform LDP to study the asymptotics of exit times from bounded sets of Banach space valued small noise SDE, including reaction diffusion equations with multiplicative noise and two-dimensional stochastic Navier–Stokes equations with multiplicative noise.
Role of KASH domain lengths in the regulation of LINC complexes
Authors: Jahed Zeinab , Hao Hongyan , Thakkar Vyom , Vu Uyen T. , Valdez Venecia A. , Rathish Akshay , Tolentino Chris , Kim Samuel C. J. , Fadavi Darya , Starr Daniel A. , Mofrad Mohammad R. K.
Published: April 2019

The linker of the nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex is formed by the conserved interactions between Sad-1 and UNC-84 (SUN) and Klarsicht, ANC-1, SYNE homology (KASH) domain proteins, providing a physical coupling between the nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton that mediates the transfer of physical forces across the nuclear envelope. The LINC complex can perform distinct cellular functions by pairing various KASH domain proteins with the same SUN domain protein. For example, in Caenorhabditis elegans, SUN protein UNC-84 binds to two KASH proteins UNC-83 and ANC-1 to mediate nuclear migration and anchorage, respectively. In addition to distinct cytoplasmic domains, the luminal KASH domain also varies among KASH domain proteins of distinct functions. In this study, we combined in vivo C. elegans genetics and in silico molecular dynamics simulations to understand the relation between the length and amino acid composition of the luminal KASH domain, and the function of the SUN–KASH complex. We show that longer KASH domains can withstand and transfer higher forces and interact with the membrane through a conserved membrane proximal EEDY domain that is unique to longer KASH domains. In agreement with our models, our in vivo results show that swapping the KASH domains of ANC-1 and UNC-83, or shortening the KASH domain of ANC-1, both result in a nuclear anchorage defect in C. elegans.
Transcription factors–DNA interactions in rice: identification and verification
Authors: Shen Zijie , Lin Yuan , Zou Quan
Published: April 2019

The completion of the rice genome sequence paved the way for rice functional genomics research. Additionally, the functional characterization of transcription factors is currently a popular and crucial objective among researchers. Transcription factors are one of the groups of proteins that bind to either enhancer or promoter regions of genes to regulate expression. On the basis of several typical examples of transcription factor analyses, we herein summarize selected research strategies and methods and introduce their advantages and disadvantages. This review may provide some theoretical and technical guidelines for future investigations of transcription factors, which may be helpful to develop new rice varieties with ideal traits.
RNA-mediated translation regulation in viral genomes: computational advances in the recognition of sequences and structures
Authors: Gupta Asmita , Bansal Manju
Published: April 2019

RNA structures are widely distributed across all life forms. The global conformation of these structures is defined by a variety of constituent structural units such as helices, hairpin loops, kissing-loop motifs and pseudoknots, which often behave in a modular way. Their ubiquitous distribution is associated with a variety of functions in biological processes. The location of these structures in the genomes of RNA viruses is often coordinated with specific processes in the viral life cycle, where the presence of the structure acts as a checkpoint for deciding the eventual fate of the process. These structures have been found to adopt complex conformations and exert their effects by interacting with ribosomes, multiple host translation factors and small RNA molecules like miRNA. A number of such RNA structures have also been shown to regulate translation in viruses at the level of initiation, elongation or termination. The role of various computational studies in the preliminary identification of such sequences and/or structures and subsequent functional analysis has not been fully appreciated. This review aims to summarize the processes in which viral RNA structures have been found to play an active role in translational regulation, their global conformational features and the bioinformatics/computational tools available for the identification and prediction of these structures.
Financialisation and tendencies towards stagnation: the role of macroeconomic regime changes in the course of and after the financial and economic crisis 2007–09
Authors: Hein Eckhard
Published: April 2019

This paper argues that the re-emergence of stagnation tendencies in modern capitalism can be related to financialisation and its macroeconomic failures leading to the recent crises, and in particular to the macroeconomic responses towards the crisis and the respective regime shifts in mature capitalist economies. The focus of the paper is on the latter, and it examines the regime changes for six mature capitalist economies, the two liberal Anglo-Saxon economies of the USA and the UK, a representative country from the Nordic welfare states, Sweden, the three important Eurozone countries France, Germany and Spain, as well as the core Eurozone (EA-12) as a whole. The concept of macroeconomic regimes under the conditions of financialisation is recapitulated, applied to the period before the crisis, and finally the regime changes during and after the crisis are examined. It is shown that a dominant tendency towards export-led mercantilism, in particular in the Eurozone and its main member countries, imposes an aggregation problem on the global economy and thus contributes to stagnation and rising global macroeconomic risks. Finally, short- and long-run alternative policies to deal with these problems are suggested.
Morphological Accuracy in the Speech of Bimodal Bilingual Children with CIs
Authors: Goodwin Corina , Lillo-Martin Diane
Published: April 2019

Sign language use in the (re)habilitation of children with cochlear implants (CIs) remains a controversial issue. Concerns that signing impedes spoken language development are based on research comparing children exposed to spoken and signed language (bilinguals) to children exposed only to speech (monolinguals), although abundant research demonstrates that bilinguals and monolinguals differ in language development. We control for bilingualism effects by comparing bimodal bilingual (signing-speaking) children with CIs (BB-CI) to those with typical hearing (BB-TH). Each child had at least one Deaf parent and was exposed to ASL from birth. The BB-THs were exposed to English from birth by hearing family members, while the BB-CIs began English exposure after cochlear implantation around 22-months-of-age. Elicited speech samples were analyzed for accuracy of English grammatical morpheme production. Although there was a trend toward lower overall accuracy in the BB-CIs, this seemed driven by increased omission of the plural -s, suggesting an exaggerated role of perceptual salience in this group. Errors of commission were rare in both groups. Because both groups were bimodal bilinguals, trends toward group differences were likely caused by delayed exposure to spoken language or hearing through a CI, rather than sign language exposure.
Hypoalbuminaemia and Postoperative Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: the NSQIP Surgical Cohort
Authors: Nguyen Geoffrey C , Du Lillian , Chong Rachel Y , Jackson Timothy D
Published: April 2019

Background

The inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD], including Crohn’s disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC], frequently lead to bowel surgery. Hypoalbuminaemia has been shown to be a prognostic factor for outcomes following surgery for other indications, and we sought to determine its role in predicting IBD-related postoperative outcomes.

Methods

We included patients who underwent IBD-related major abdominal surgery in the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program [ACS-NSQIP] between 2005 and 2012. We assessed the impact of indicators of protein-energy malnutrition [PEM] including hypoalbuminaemia, weight loss, and body mass index on postoperative outcomes.

Results

We identified 10 913 IBD patients [6082 Crohn’s disease and 4831 ulcerative colitis] who underwent bowel surgery. The prevalence of modest and severe hypoalbuminaemia was 17% and 24%, respectively; 30-day mortality was higher in Crohn’s patients with modest and severe hypoalbuminaemia compared with those with normal albumin levels preoperatively [0.7% vs 0.2%, p <0.05; 2.4% vs 0.2%, p <0.01]. The same was true for patients with UC with modest and severe hypoalbuminaemia [0.9% vs 0.1%, p <0.01; 5.6% vs 0.1%, p <0.01]. Overall infectious complications were more common in the presence of severe hypoalbuminaemia for CD [20% vs 13%, p <0.01]. and UC [28% vs 15%, p <0.01] patients. Last, there were higher rates of extra-intestinal, non-septic complications in both CD and UC patients with hypoalbuminaemia compared with those with normal albumin levels.

Conclusions

This study suggests that moderate-severe hypoalbuminaemia is associated with worse IBD-related postoperative outcomes and may have a role in preoperative risk stratification.
Limitations of transcriptome-based prediction of pathogenicity genes in the plant pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans
Authors: Urquhart Andrew S , Idnurm Alexander
Published: April 2019

Identification of pathogenicity determinants in Leptosphaeria maculans, a major cause of disease of oilseed crops, has been a focus of research for many years. A wealth of gene expression information from RNA sequencing promises to illuminate the mechanisms by which the fungus is able to cause blackleg disease. However, to date, no studies have tested the hypothesis that high gene transcript levels during infection correlate with importance to disease progression. In this study, we use CRISPR-Cas9 to disrupt 11 genes that are highly expressed during the early stages of disease and show that none of these genes are crucial for fungal pathogenicity on Brassica napus. This finding suggests that in order to understand the pathogenicity of this fungus more sophisticated techniques than simple expression analysis will need to be employed.
Racial Segregation Across U.S. Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review of Measurement and Outcomes
Authors: Mack Deborah S , Jesdale Bill M , Ulbricht Christine M , Forrester Sarah N , Michener Pryce S , Lapane Kate L
Published: April 2019

Background and Objectives

Nursing homes remain subjected to institutional racial segregation in the United States. However, a standardized approach to measure segregation in nursing homes does not appear to be established. A systematic review was conducted to identify all formal measurement approaches to evaluate racial segregation among nursing home facilities, and to then identify the association between segregation and quality of care in this context.

Research Design and Methods

PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched (January 2018) for publications relating to nursing home segregation. Following the PRISMA guidelines, studies were included that formally measured racial segregation of nursing homes residents across facilities with regional-level data.

Results

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Formal segregation measures included the Dissimilarity Index, Disparities Quality Index, Modified Thiel’s Entropy Index, Gini coefficient, and adapted models. The most common data sources were the Minimum Data Set (MDS; resident-level), the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting data (CASPER; facility-level), and the Area Resource File/ U.S. Census Data (regional-level). Most studies showed evidence of racial segregation among U.S. nursing home facilities and documented a negative impact of segregation on racial minorities and facility-level quality outcomes.

Discussion and Implications

The measurement of racial segregation among nursing homes is heterogeneous. While there are limitations to each methodology, this review can be used as a reference when trying to determine the best approach to measure racial segregation in future studies. Moreover, racial segregation among nursing homes remains a problem and should be further evaluated.
Pathogenic effects of agrin V1727F mutation are isoform specific and decrease its expression and affinity for HSPGs and LRP4
Authors: Rudell John B , Maselli Ricardo A , Yarov-Yarovoy Vladimir , Ferns Michael J
Published: April 2019

Agrin is a large extracellular matrix protein whose isoforms differ in their tissue distribution and function. Motoneuron-derived y+z+ agrin regulates the formation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), while y−z− agrin is widely expressed and has diverse functions. Previously we identified a missense mutation (V1727F) in the second laminin globular (LG2) domain of agrin that causes severe congenital myasthenic syndrome. Here, we define pathogenic effects of the agrin V1727F mutation that account for the profound dysfunction of the NMJ. First, by expressing agrin variants in heterologous cells, we show that the V1727F mutation reduces the secretion of y+z+ agrin compared to wild type, whereas it has no effect on the secretion of y−z− agrin. Second, we find that the V1727F mutation significantly impairs binding of y+z+ agrin to both heparin and the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) coreceptor. Third, molecular modeling of the LG2 domain suggests that the V1727F mutation primarily disrupts the y splice insert, and consistent with this we find that it partially occludes the contribution of the y splice insert to agrin binding to heparin and LRP4. Together, these findings identify several pathogenic effects of the V1727F mutation that reduce its expression and ability to bind heparan sulfate proteoglycan and LRP4 coreceptors involved in the muscle-specific kinase signaling pathway. These defects primarily impair the function of neural y+z+ agrin and combine to cause a severe CMS phenotype, whereas y−z− agrin function in other tissues appears preserved.