bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Framework for Handling Rare Word Problems in Neural Machine Translation System Using Multi-Word Expressions
Authors: Garg Kamal Deep , Shekhar Shashi , Kumar Ajit , Goyal Vishal , Sharma Bhisham , Chengoden Rajeswari , Srivastava Gautam
Published: November 2022

Machine Translation (MT) systems are now being improved with the use of an ongoing methodology known as Neural Machine Translation (NMT). Natural language processing (NLP) researchers have shown that NMT systems are unable to deal with out-of-vocabulary (OOV) words and multi-word expressions (MWEs) in the text. OOV terms are those that are not currently included in the vocabulary that is used by the NMT system. MWEs are phrases that consist of a minimum of two terms but are treated as a single unit. MWEs have great importance in NLP, linguistic theory, and MT systems. In this article, OOV words and MWEs are handled for the Punjabi to English NMT system. A parallel corpus for Punjabi to English containing MWEs was developed and used to train the different models of NMT. Punjabi is a low-resource language as it lacks the availability of a large parallel corpus for building various NLP tools, and this is an attempt to improve the accuracy of Punjabi in the English NMT system by using named entities and MWEs in the corpus. The developed NMT models were assessed using human evaluation through adequacy, fluency and overall rating as well as automated assessment tools such as the bilingual evaluation study (BLEU) and translation error rate (TER) score. Results show that using word embedding (WE) and MWEs corpus increased the accuracy of translation for the Punjabi to English language pair. The best BLEU score obtained was 15.45 for the small test set, 43.32 for the medium test set, and 34.5 for the large test set, respectively. The best TER rate score obtained was 57.34% for the small test set, 37.29% for the medium test set, and 53.79% for the large test set, repectively.
Study on the Efficiency of Temperature/Strain Measurement for Ultra-Long-Distance Optical Fiber Composite Overhead Power Transmission Lines
Authors: Lu Lidong , Su Xingchen , Zhang Chenglong , Gao Qinghao , Bu Xiande
Published: November 2022

The coherent optical time domain reflectometer (COTDR) is a very important instrument for distributed temperature/strain measurement along the sensing fiber with a large dynamic range and high accuracy. The length of the sensing fiber and the temperature/strain measurement range limit the system performance, especially the measurement efficiency. So, a COTDR system is constructed, and the characteristics of the obtained coherent Rayleigh noise (CRN) are analyzed. Then, in consideration of the temperature/strain measurement range, accuracy, and time efficiency, the temperature/strain demodulation algorithm in noise conditions is studied. With different noise coefficients, the array length with 11, 21, 31, 51, and 101 independent frequency sweeping points are adopted to calculate the cross-correlation coefficients along a standard reference array with 301 independent frequency sweeping points. The results demonstrate that the array length has little influence on the signal processing time, but it can decide the measurement accuracy. To balance the system measurement efficiency and accuracy, it is inferred that, for a sensing fiber with a length of 100 km or more, the optimal independent frequency sweeping points are 101 and the trace average number is 1000.
Pipe Spatter Detection and Grinding Robot
Authors: Hong Sungho , Lee Jaeyoul , Shin Dongho , Hahm Jehun , Baek Jonghwan , Suh Jinho
Published: November 2022

This paper proposes a robotic system that automatically identifies and removes spatters generated while removing the back-bead left after the electric resistance welding of the outer and inner surfaces during pipe production. Traditionally, to remove internal spatters on the front and rear of small pipes with diameters of 18–25 cm and lengths of up to 12 m, first, the spatter locations (direction and length) are determined using a camera that is inserted into the pipe, and then a manual grinder is introduced up to the point where spatters were detected. To optimize this process, the proposed robotic system automatically detects spatters by analyzing the images from a front camera and removes them, using a grinder module, based on the spatter location and the circumferential coordinates provided by the detection step. The proposed robot can save work time by reducing the required manual work from two points (the front and back of the pipe) to a single point. Image recognition enables the detection of spatters with sizes between 0.1 and 10 cm with 94% accuracy. The internal average roughness, Ra, of the pipe was confirmed to be 1 µm or less after the spatters were finally removed.
Construction and Application of Detection Model for Leucine and Tyrosine Content in Golden Tartary Buckwheat Based on Near Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Zhu Liwei , Damaris Rebecca Njeri , Lv Yong , Du Qianxi , Shi Taoxiong , Deng Jiao , Chen Qingfu
Published: November 2022

To meet the demand of the breeding and processing industry of Golden Tartary buckwheat, quantitative identification models were established to test the content of leucine (Leu) and tyrosine (Tyr) in Golden Tartary buckwheat leaves by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) with quantitative partial least squares (PLS). Leu’s modeling results were as follows: first derivative (11) pretreatment, the wavenumber range of 4000–9000 cm−1 was appropriate for modeling (calibration sets: validation set = 6:1), the mean coefficient of determination (R2), standard error of calibration (SEC), and relative standard deviation (RSD) for the calibration set were 0.9229, 0.45, and 3.45%, respectively; for the validation set, the mean R2, SEC, and RSD were 0.9502, 0.47, and 3.65%, respectively. Tyr modeling results were as follows: first derivative (11) pretreatment, the wavenumber range of 4000–10,000 cm−1 was suitable for modeling (calibration sets: validation set = 4:1), the R2, SEC, and RSD for the calibration set was 0.9016, 0.15, and 5.72%, respectively; for the validation set, the mean R2, SEC, and RSD were 0.9012, 0.15, and 5.53%, respectively. It was proved that the Leu and Tyr content of Golden Tartary buckwheat could be quantified using the model structured by near infrared spectroscopy combined with the partial least squares method.
Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite (HAp)-Zirconia Nanocomposite Powder and Evaluation of Its Biocompatibility: An In Vitro Study
Authors: Sivaperumal Vignesh Raj , Mani Rajkumar , Polisetti Veerababu , Aruchamy Kanakaraj , Oh Taehwan
Published: November 2022

A potential material for dental restorations and bone replacements is calcium phosphate (CaP)-based ceramic material. Nevertheless, its limited ability to withstand thermal processing and weak mechanical strength prevents it from being used in hard tissue engineering. Hydroxyapatite has been extensively used as a CaP-based biomaterial in prosthetic applications. On the other hand, zirconia is an inorganic material that combines outstanding mechanical capabilities with bioinert characteristics. In the present investigation, we demonstrated the reinforcement of zirconia in biomimetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) using a specially designed stir-type hydrothermal reactor to improve the biocompatibility and mechanical stability of bare hydroxyapatite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed distinct peak shifts around 31° and 60°, which confirmed the formation of a nanocrystalline HAp-Zirconia composite without any intermediate phases. The size of the synthesized nanocomposite was found to be 30 nm using TEM. Further, the d-spacing value calculated from high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images corresponded to the distinct planes of the HAp (211) and zirconia (311) phases, respectively, in the composite powder. The in vitro cytotoxicity study revealed excellent biocompatibility with MG-63 human osteoblasts. Hence, the zirconia reinforced hydroxyapatite (HZ1) prepared in the present work could be utilized as a successful approach in a variety of hard tissue engineering applications.
Multiband Frequency Tuneable Antennas for Selection Combining Strategy in White Space Applications
Authors: Trinh Le-Huy , Ferrero Fabien
Published: November 2022

This article presents a reconfigurable antenna using digitally tuneable capacitors (DTCs). Mounted on a 120 × 200 mm2 ground plane, the radiating element has very compact dimensions of 0.06λg × 0.016λg × 0.0016λg (with λg being the wavelength at 585 MHz). The proposed structure could be operated in the white-space frequency band from 470 to 700 MHz. The antenna system is composed of two radiated elements that are placed at the corner of the board. The active components were soldered onto the antennas and controlled by an embedded microcontroller via the I2C interface. Antenna impedances were simulated and evaluated by measurement with an impedance-matching bandwidth of 39.32% (470–700 MHz) for an S11 less than −6 dB. Furthermore, the numerical results show a realized maximal gain ranging from −2.2 dBi at 470 MHz to 1.87 dBi at 700 MHz. Lastly, the diversity gains based on the radiation pattern of two resonators were calculated. The results show envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) values lower than 0.5 for the different configurations.
Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles Processed Twice Using 8M Urea Exhibit Superior Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity to Commercial Chemically Synthesized Counterparts
Authors: Ravine Terrence , Yuan Qunying , Howell Makenna
Published: November 2022

Biogenic silver nanoparticles (b-AgNPs) were produced extracellularly using a cell lysate of genetically modified Escherichia coli and subdivided into three groups. Each group received a different treatment to determine which one best removed residual cell lysate material. The first group was treated twice using only water (water ×2), the second using 8M urea once (8M urea ×1), and the third using 8M urea twice (8M urea ×2). Subsequently, each group was assessed for its ability to inhibit the growth of six bacterial and two fungal pathogens. Testing was accomplished using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. Commercially produced c-AgNPs were included for comparison. In all cases, the b-AgNPs (8M urea ×2) demonstrated the greatest inhibition of microbe growth. Conversely, the commercial AgNPs failed to show any growth inhibition at 10 µg/mL the highest concentration tested. The greater antibacterial activity of the b-AgNPs (8M urea ×2) over both b-AgNPs (8M urea ×1) and b-AgNPs (water ×2) is thought to be due to a larger degree of biofunctionalization (coating) occurring during the two sequential 8M urea treatments.
Urban Wind Field Mapping Technique for Municipal Environmental Planning: A Case Study of Cheongju-Si, Korea
Authors: Shin Youngkyu , Park Sangnam , Yun Hyerngdu , Yu Myungsuk
Published: November 2022

The integrated management of land and environmental plans (EPs) has been a key direction of sustainable policy in Korea. Although local EPs should be established based on spatial data, much of the pertinent environmental information has not been mapped. Accordingly, we develop a wind field mapping technique for establishing local EPs. This method was developed via a numerical weather prediction model (Weather Research and Forecast—WRF), and a diagnostic meteorological model (California Meteorological model—CALMET), based on weather observation data, as well as terrain and land cover data. The developed method was applied to a case study in Cheongju-si, Korea, for verifying its effectiveness. The created wind field maps of Cheongju-si provided an intuitive visual representation of the spatial distribution of seasonal and daytime/nighttime wind patterns. Such data helped understand the directionality and patterns of winds blowing into a city, or identify stagnant areas of wind circulation. Overlaying the wind field map with maps of air pollutant emissions revealed that pollutants from industrial areas could flow along the prevailing winds into residential areas downtown. These maps also implied that open spaces, such as parks and grasslands, were recommendable for stagnant areas, instead of creating industrial complexes or residential areas.
Probing Atomic ‘Quantum Grating’ by Collisions with Charged Particles
Authors: Najjari Bennaceur , Zhang Shaofeng , Ma Xinwen , Voitkiv Alexander B.
Published: November 2022

The wave function of an atom, which passed through a diffraction grating, is characterized by a regular space structure. Correspondingly, the interaction of another particle with this atom can be viewed as scattering on an ‘atomic quantum grating’ made of just a single atom. Probing this ‘grating’ by collisions with a charged projectile reveals few-body interference phenomena caused by the coherent contributions of its ‘slits’ to the transition amplitude (the superposition principle) and quantum entanglement of the particles involved. In particular, the spectra of electrons emitted from the atom in collisions with swift ions exhibit a pronounced interference pattern whose shape can be extremely sensitive to the collision velocity.
Channel Aperture Characteristics of Carbonate Apatite Honeycomb Scaffolds Affect Ingrowths of Bone and Fibrous Tissues in Vertical Bone Augmentation
Authors: Hayashi Koichiro , Kishida Ryo , Tsuchiya Akira , Ishikawa Kunio
Published: November 2022

Synthetic scaffolds with the ability to prevent fibrous tissue penetration and promote bone augmentation may realize guided bone regeneration without the use of a barrier membrane for dental implantation. Here, we fabricated two types of honeycomb scaffolds of carbonate apatite, a bone mineral analog, whose channel apertures were square (HC-S) and rectangular (HC-R). The side lengths of the HC-Ss and HC-Rs were 265.8 ± 8.9; 817.7 ± 2.4 and 267.1 ± 5.2 μm, respectively. We placed cylindrical HC-Ss and HC-Rs on the rabbit calvaria. At 4 weeks post-implantation, the HC-Ss prevented fibrous tissue penetration from the top face via the channels, which allowed the new bone to reach the top of the scaffold from the bottom face or the calvarium. In contrast, in the HC-Rs, fibrous tissues filled the channels in the top region. At 12 weeks post-implantation, the HC-Ss were partially replaced with new bone. In the top region of the HC-Rs, although new bone had formed, fibrous tissue remained. According to the findings here and in our previous study, the longer side length rather than the shorter side length of a rectangular scaffold channel aperture is the dominant factor that affects fibrous tissue penetration and new bone augmentation. Furthermore, even though channel aperture areas are similar, bone and fibrous tissue ingrowths are different when the aperture shapes are different.
Virus-like Particles (VLPs) as Important Tools for Flavivirus Vaccine Development
Authors: Castilho Leda R. , Mattos Nathalia R. , Abreu Wallace S. , Gutarra Melissa L. E.
Published: November 2022

Flaviviruses, such as dengue, zika, yellow fever, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis virus, are RNA viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family (genus Flavivirus). They represent an important global health concern, since most areas of the world are endemic for at least one of these viruses. Although vaccines for five flaviviruses currently exist, there is a need for new vaccines to protect from established, emerging, and reemerging flaviviruses. Yellow fever vaccine shortages experienced in the last decade, combined with the risk of YFV spread to Asia and the restrictions of vaccine administration to certain population segments, show that even when a highly efficacious vaccine is available, new and improved vaccines might be needed. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are multiprotein structures that mimic the virus, but do not contain its genetic material. As such, VLPs have an excellent track record of strong immunogenicity and high safety, dating back to the introduction of the first recombinant hepatitis B vaccine in the 1980s. Flavivirus-like particles (FVLPs) have been extensively studied, especially for DENV, JEV, and ZIKV, and could give rise to next-generation recombinant subunit flavivirus vaccines based on VLPs incorporating molecular features intended to ensure high efficacy and minimize the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) upon infection with other flaviviruses.
Plant-Soil Mediated Effects of Long-Term Warming on Soil Nematodes of Alpine Meadows on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Liu Yanfang , Wang Wenying , Liu Pan , Zhou Huakun , Chen Zhe , Suonan Ji
Published: November 2022

Global warming is one of the most pressing environmental issues today. Our study aimed to investigate how warming affected plant and soil nematode communities in alpine meadows on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau over the past seven years. An artificial warming experiment with different gradients was conducted from 2011 to 2018, including temperature increases of 0 °C (CK), 0.53 °C (A), 1.15 °C (B), 2.07 °C (C), and 2.17 °C (D), respectively. Cyperaceae plants were shown to be eliminated by increasing temperature, and plant community composition tended to cluster differently under different warming gradients. The number of nematodes decreased with the increase in soil depth, and the majority of them were observed in the topsoil layer. The individual densities of soil nematodes were 197 ind.·100 g−1 dry soil at 10–20 cm and 188 ind.·100 g−1 dry soil at 20–30 cm in the A treatment, which was significantly higher than the CK (53 and 67 ind.·100 g−1 dry soil) (p < 0.05). The lowest relative abundance of bacterivore nematodes (Ba) was 31.31% in treatment A and reached the highest of 47.14% under the warming gradient of D (p < 0.05). The abundance of plant parasitic nematodes (Pp) was significantly reduced to 26.03% by excessive warming (2.17 °C increase) in comparison to CK (41.65%). The soil nematode community had the highest diversity with a 0.53 °C increase in soil temperature; 1.15 °C warming gradients were lower, and nematode communities tended to be simplified (p < 0.05). All nematode channel ratio (NCR) values were above 0.5, indicating that warming did not change the decomposition pathway of soil organic matter dominated by the bacterial channels. The Wasilewska Index (WI) in the D treatment increased significantly compared to other treatments (p < 0.05), indicating that the mineralized pathway of the food web was primarily involved with Ba and fungivores nematodes (Fu), which is conducive to the growth of micro-biophagous nematodes. The plant parasite index (PPI) decreased significantly in the D treatment compared with other treatments (p < 0.05), indicating that a high warming gradient caused a reduction in the maturity of Pp nematodes. The maturity index (MI) increased in the D treatment compared with A, B, and C treatments, indicating that overheating affected the nematode community in the later stage of succession and caused the soil to be less disturbed. A partial least squares path model (PLSPM) showed that warming indirectly affects Fu and Pp diversity by directly impacting the plant community as well as indirectly affecting Ba by directly affecting soil properties. In conclusion, plant diversity and community composition profoundly affect the soil nematode communities, thus reflecting the dynamic processes and evolution of soil ecosystems.
A Missense Variant in COMT Associated with Hearing Loss among Young Adults: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
Authors: Li Chuan-Ming , Chen Le , Chen Guanjie , Zhang Jianhua , Hoffman Howard J.
Published: November 2022

Hearing loss is a major public problem with a heritability of up to 70%. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) encodes an enzyme that is highly expressed in sensory hair cells of the inner ear. The association between COMT and hearing loss has not been reported previously in nationally representative population-based studies. A regression linear model was used to estimate associations between the allele/genotype of COMT and self-reported hearing loss based on 13,403 individuals from Wave IV of the Add Health study, a nationally representative sample of multiethnic U.S. young adults. The inverse variance-weighted effect magnitude was estimated using a genetic meta-analysis model. The “A” allele frequency of rs6480 (a missense variant in COMT) was 0.44. The prevalence of hearing loss was 7.9% for individuals with the “A” allele and 6.5% for those with the “G” allele. The “A” allele was significantly associated with increased hearing loss (p = 0.01). The prevalence of hearing loss was 6.0%, 7.2%, and 8.7% for individuals with GG, AG, and AA genotypes, respectively, which was consistent with a genetic additive model. The genotypic association model showed that rs4680 was significantly associated with increased hearing loss (p = 0.006). A missense variant of rs4680 in COMT was significantly associated with increased hearing loss among young adults in a multi-racial/ethnic U.S. population-based cohort.
Merits of hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes for In Vitro Research and Testing Drug Toxicity
Authors: Wang Ping-Hsien , Fang Yi-Hsien , Liu Yen-Wen , Yeh Min-Long
Published: November 2022

The progress of medical technology and scientific advances in the field of anticancer treatment have increased the survival probabilities and duration of life of patients. However, cancer-therapy-induced cardiac dysfunction remains a clinically salient problem. Effective anticancer therapies may eventually induce cardiomyopathy. To date, several studies have focused on the mechanisms underlying cancer-treatment-related cardiotoxicity. Cardiomyocyte cell lines with no contractile physiological characteristics cannot adequately model “true” human cardiomyocytes. However, applying “true” human cardiomyocytes for research is fraught with many obstacles (e.g., invasiveness of the procedure), and there is a proliferative limitation for rodent primary cultures. Human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-differentiated cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), which can be produced efficiently, are viable candidates for mimicking human cardiomyocytes in vitro. We successfully performed cardiac differentiation of human iPSCs to obtain hiPSC-CMs. These hiPSC-CMs can be used to investigate the pathophysiological basis and molecular mechanism of cancer-treatment-related cardiotoxicity and to develop novel strategies to prevent and rescue such cardiotoxicity. We propose that hiPSC-CMs can be used as an in vitro drug screening platform to study targeted cancer-therapy-related cardiotoxicity.
Odontogenic Chronic Rhinosinusitis: Structured Histopathology Evidence in Different Patho-Physiological Mechanisms
Authors: Brescia Giuseppe , Alessandrini Lara , Bacci Christian , Bissolotti Guido , Fedrigo Marny , Contro Giacomo , Frasconi Samuele , Boccuto Maria Grazia , Calcavecchia Arianna , Frigo Anna Chiara , Barion Umberto , Fusetti Stefano , Angelini Annalisa , Marioni Gino
Published: November 2022

An increased odontogenic chronic rhinosinusitis (oCRS) occurrence rate has quite recently been reported, likely due to an intensification of conservative dental surgery and implantology. The main aim of the study was to report for the first time the structured histopathological characteristics of the surgical specimens of oCRS. Possible associations between histopathological features and oCRS patho-physiological mechanisms were also evaluated. Structured histopathology features were investigated in the sinonasal mucosa tissue of 42 consecutive oCRS patients. Mean tissue eosinophil counts were significantly different between oCRS with radicular cysts, dental implants, or other dental diseases (p = 0.0118): mean tissue eosinophil count was higher in oCRS with dental implants. Sub-epithelial edema score and squamous metaplasia presence were significantly different when comparing the above-mentioned sub-cohorts of oCRS (p = 0.0099 and p = 0.0258). In particular, squamous metaplasia was more present in oCRS cases with radicular cysts than in those with a dental implant (p = 0.0423). Fibrosis presence was significantly different comparing the three sub-cohorts of oCRS (p = 0.0408), too. This preliminary evidence supports the hypothesis that: (i) structural histopathology can become a useful tool for clinic-pathological practice in diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic terms in CRS; (ii) that oCRS, as CRS in general, is a histo-pathologically heterogeneous disease; (iii) oCRS resulting from dental implants disorders can frequently be characterized as a CRS with a rich tissue eosinophilic component.
Progress in Probe-Based Sensing Techniques for In Vivo Diagnosis
Authors: Zhou Cheng , Lin Zecai , Huang Shaoping , Li Bing , Gao Anzhu
Published: November 2022

Advancements in robotic surgery help to improve the endoluminal diagnosis and treatment with minimally invasive or non-invasive intervention in a precise and safe manner. Miniaturized probe-based sensors can be used to obtain information about endoluminal anatomy, and they can be integrated with medical robots to augment the convenience of robotic operations. The tremendous benefit of having this physiological information during the intervention has led to the development of a variety of in vivo sensing technologies over the past decades. In this paper, we review the probe-based sensing techniques for the in vivo physical and biochemical sensing in China in recent years, especially on in vivo force sensing, temperature sensing, optical coherence tomography/photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging, chemical sensing, and biomarker sensing.
A Flexible Optoelectronic Device for Continuous Cerebral Blood Flow Monitoring
Authors: Ji Huawei , Xu Ze , Wang Mingyu , Zou Hong , Chen Ying , Ai Jun
Published: November 2022

Human cerebral oxygenation and hemodynamics can be estimated by cerebral oxygenation parameters. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can be used to measure the hemoglobin concentration index of brain tissue noninvasively and in real time. However, limited by cumbersome equipment, high price and uncomfortable wear, conventional fNIRS monitoring systems still cannot achieve continuous and long-term monitoring. In this work, a flexible and wearable long-term monitoring system is developed featured with cost efficiency, simple preparation and light weight (only 1.6 g), which consists of a pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a photodetector (PD). Triangular serpentine interconnectors are introduced to connect the functional elements, enabling the device to be stretched in multiple directions. The device can continuously work for 7 h and be subjected to 2000 cycles of bending loading, with less than 3% change in voltage value, 1.89% and 1.9% change in LED luminous power and 0.9% change in voltage value. Furthermore, the hand-gripping and breath-holding experiments show that the system can accurately measure the changes in hemoglobin concentration in accordance with the commercial device. The flexible fNIRS system presented here not only provides a simple preparation process but also offers new ideas for daily cerebral state monitoring and prolonged clinical monitoring.
Quantifying Deformation and Migration Properties of U87 Glioma Cells Using Dielectrophoretic Forces
Authors: Elitas Meltem , Islam Monsur , Korvink Jan G. , Sengul Esra , Sharbati Pouya , Ozogul Beyzanur , Kaymaz Sumeyra Vural
Published: November 2022

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumors. To design effective treatment strategies, we need to better understand the behavior of glioma cells while maintaining their genetic and phenotypic stability. Here, we investigated the deformation and migration profile of U87 Glioma cells under the influence of dielectrophoretic forces. We fabricated a gold microelectrode array within a microfluidic channel and applied sinusoidal wave AC potential at 3 Vpp, ranging from 30 kHz to 10 MHz frequencies, to generate DEP forces. We followed the dielectrophoretic movement and deformation changes of 100 glioma cells at each frequency. We observed that the mean dielectrophoretic displacements of glioma cells were significantly different at varying frequencies with the maximum and minimum traveling distances of 13.22 µm and 1.37 µm, respectively. The dielectrophoretic deformation indexes of U87 glioma cells altered between 0.027–0.040. It was 0.036 in the absence of dielectrophoretic forces. This approach presents a rapid, robust, and sensitive characterization method for quantifying membrane deformation of glioma cells to determine the state of the cells or efficacy of administrated drugs.
Entrepreneurial Curiosity, Innovativeness of the Entrepreneur, and Company Growth
Authors: Peljko Žiga , Auer Antončič Jasna
Published: November 2022

Researchers have studied entrepreneurial curiosity and innovativeness as determinants of entrepreneurial behavior but have not linked them with company growth in a model. The intention of this enquiry was to examine the associations between the entrepreneur’s psychological constructs of entrepreneurial curiosity and innovativeness and business growth, as examined by the conceptualization and analysis of hypotheses. For this research, data were obtained via a survey questionnaire. The sample consisted of 851 entrepreneurs of companies in three European countries. Each company had 250 workers or fewer. This study contributes to the entrepreneurship knowledge base by presenting empirical testimony on the associations between entrepreneurial curiosity, entrepreneurial innovativeness, and firm growth, as well as presenting advanced cross-nationally analogous measurement instruments of entrepreneurial curiosity and innovativeness. The entrepreneur’s curiosity is important for their innovativeness, and this innovativeness is essential for business growth.
Influence of Global Slenderness and Sliding Pallets on Seismic Design of Steel Storage Racks: A Sensitivity Analysis
Authors: Nuñez Eduardo , Mata Ramón , Castro Jorge , Maureira Nelson , Guerrero Néstor , Roco Ángel
Published: November 2022

In this research, the influence of global slenderness and sliding pallets factor on the seismic design of steel storage racks are assessed. Variations in span length, the height of storage levels, live load, and percentage of live load considered in the seismic mass are studied for different levels of seismic zone and soil type. The models were designed according to the Chilean Code NCh2369. Subsequently, a global sensitivity analysis was developed to analyze the influence of each studied parameter in the seismic design response in terms of fundamental period, drift, and base shear from a response spectral analysis approach. A total of 12000 simulations were performed. Two-hundred additional models were performed to evaluate the variation of seismic mass in the structural response. Results indicate a significant influence of live loads and seismic mass on steel racks designed for soft soils and unbrace conditions. The stiffness also modifies the performance of the racks, mainly in models using braces in the down-aisle direction and cross-aisle direction. In these cases, the seismic mass factor does not have a strong influence on structural response in comparison to the global slenderness.
Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Passive Phase Change Material Walls on the Building Demand Response for Smart Grid Applications
Authors: You Zhiqiang , Sun Yongjun , Mo Shanjun , Zou Wenke , Zhang Xu , Gao Dian-ce
Published: November 2022

Central air-conditioning systems play a significant role in the demand response (DR) strategies of buildings due to their high energy consumption and flexible energy use. Previous simulation-based studies have shown that the use of phase change materials (PCM) in building envelopes can substantially increase cold storage capacity, which is a key measure for improving the DR performance of buildings. In this study, we experimentally investigated the effect of passive PCM walls on DR performance and conducted quantitative experiments on factors affecting the precooling performance of PCM walls. During DR events, compared to Ordinary walls without a precooling and DR stage, passive PCM walls reduced room cooling loads by 75.05%, electricity consumption by 49.57%, and peak electricity consumption by 31.06%. Additionally, in the precooling period, the impact of the room precooling temperature on passive PCM precooling performance was experimentally studied. When the room precooling temperature was reduced gradually from 21.14 °C to 18.24 °C, the precooling period could be significantly shortened by between 14.58 and 40.43%, and the room cooling load firstly increased and then decreased, during which the cooling load reduction was up to 13.87%.
Exploring Tourists’ Multilevel Spatial Cognition of Historical Town Based on Multi-Source Data—A Case Study of Feng Jing Ancient Town in Shanghai
Authors: Wang Ling , Ding Jiahui , Chen Mingze , Sun Yuan , Tang Xueyun , Ge Mengting
Published: November 2022

Conducting research on the spatial cognition of tourists in historical towns helps to balance cultural heritage protection and tourism development. However, the current tourist cognition research is not comprehensive enough in terms of data sources, time dimension, and spatial objects. This research takes Fengjing Ancient Town in Shanghai as an example, and through multi-source data analysis explores how tourists’ perception and cognition of the attractions changes, discusses the impacts of characteristic of spatial system and elements on perception, and then establishes a spatial cognition analysis framework involving time dimension, cognitive depth, and spatial type. On-site aerial photos, Sina Weibo check-in data, tourist memory maps, and photos from tourism websites were used to classify tourists’ spatial cognition through content analysis, theme classification, and GIS spatial analysis. This research finds that tourists have formed three cognitive levels in the travel process, from “initial spatial consciousness” to “place memory” then to “imagery perception”. Meanwhile, space is the most important object of tourists’ cognition, and it is also the carrier of other intangible cultures. In terms of spatial cognition and ancient town tourism, this research finds the tourists’ spatial cognition of Fengjing Ancient Town is related to the main river and main tourist routes that represent the image characteristics of the ancient town. This research shows that clear boundaries of tourism space, richer folk activities, and more sequential tourism routes could help tourists form a more systematic spatial cognition. Based on the findings, this research also establishes an analysis and application framework of tourists’ multilevel spatial cognition to provide optimization suggestions for development of tourism.
Seismic Performance Analysis of RC Frames with ECC Short Columns Based on the IDA Method
Authors: Wu Chang , Su Yanli , Jin Chenhua , Pan Zuanfeng , Meng Shaoping
Published: November 2022

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is a high-performance composite material with greater shear deformation and shear strength than normal concrete, which has been proposed for use as a shear component in structures. This study modeled three frames, a pure reinforced concrete (RC) frame, an RC frame with concrete short columns and an RC frame with ECC short columns, using the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method to evaluate the contribution of ECC to the structural performance. A modified IMK model was applied to model the entire history of the mechanical behaviors of the short columns. The IDA curves, interfloor displacement angle distribution and limit state of the vertex displacement of the frames were analyzed to investigate the seismic responses of the frames. The model analysis results showed that an RC frame with short columns would form a weak layer on the floor where the short columns were located, which greatly weakened the seismic performance of the structure. ECC was certified to be effective in improving the shear formation of the short columns in the frames. The frame with ECC short columns improved the seismic performance of the structure to a certain extent relative to the frame with RC short columns. The deformation capacity of the frame with ECC short columns was close to that of the pure RC frame at the collapse level.
Recent Development in Non-Metal-Doped Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysts for Different Dyes Degradation and the Study of Their Strategic Factors: A Review
Authors: Akhter Parveen , Arshad Abdullah , Saleem Aimon , Hussain Murid
Published: November 2022

Semiconductor titanium dioxide in its basic form or doped with metals and non-metals is being extensively used in wastewater treatment by photocatalysis due to its versatile nature. Other numerous characteristics including being environmentally friendly, non-pernicious, economical, multi-phase, highly hydrophilic, versatile physio-chemical features, chemical stability, suitable band gap, and corrosion-resistance, along with its low price make TiO2 the best candidate in the field of photocatalysis. Commercially, semiconductor and synthesized photocatalysts—which have been investigated for the last few decades owing to their wide band gap—and the doping of titania with p-block elements (non-metals) such as oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, boron, carbon, phosphorus, and iodine enhances their photocatalytic efficiency under visible-light irradiation. This is because non-metals have a strong oxidizing ability. The key focus of this review is to discuss the various factors affecting the photocatalytic activity of non-metal-doped titania by decreasing its band gap. The working parameters discussed are the effect of pH, dyes concentration, photocatalyst’s size and structure, pollutants concentration and types, the surface area of photocatalysts, the effect of light intensity and irradiation time, catalyst loading, the effect of temperature, and doping impact, etc. The mechanism of the photocatalytic action of several non-metallic dopants of titanium dioxide and composites is a promising approach for the exploration of photocatalysis activity. The various selected synthesis methods for non-metallic-doped TiO2 have been reviewed in this study. Similarly, the effect of various conditions on the doping mode has been summarized in relation to several sorts of modified TiO2.
The Potential Role of Cytotoxic Immune Effectors in Induction, Progression and Pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Authors: Kaur Kawaljit , Chen Po-Chun , Ko Meng-Wei , Mei Ao , Chovatiya Nishant , Huerta-Yepez Sara , Ni Weiming , Mackay Sean , Zhou Jing , Maharaj Dipanarine , Malarkannan Subramaniam , Jewett Anahid
Published: November 2022

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an auto-immune neurodegenerative disorder affecting the motor-neuron system. The causes of ALS are heterogeneous, and are only partially understood. We studied different aspects of immune pathogenesis in ALS and found several basic mechanisms which are potentially involved in the disease. Our findings demonstrated that ALS patients’ peripheral blood contains higher proportions of NK and B cells in comparison to healthy individuals. Significantly increased IFN-γ secretion by anti-CD3/28 mAbs-treated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were observed in ALS patients, suggesting that hyper-responsiveness of T cell compartment could be a potential mechanism for ALS progression. In addition, elevated granzyme B and perforin secretion at a single cell level, and increased cytotoxicity and secretion of IFN-γ by patients’ NK cells under specific treatment conditions were also observed. Increased IFN-γ secretion by ALS patients’ CD8+ T cells in the absence of IFN-γ receptor expression, and increased CD8+ T cell effector/memory phenotype as well as increased granzyme B at the single cell level points to the CD8+ T cells as potential cells in targeting motor neurons. Along with the hyper-responsiveness of cytotoxic immune cells, significantly higher levels of inflammatory cytokines including IFN-γ was observed in peripheral blood-derived serum of ALS patients. Supernatants obtained from ALS patients’ CD8+ T cells induced augmented cell death and differentiation of the epithelial cells. Weekly N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) infusion in patients decreased the levels of many inflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood of ALS patient except IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-17a and GMCSF which remained elevated. Findings of this study indicated that CD8+ T cells and NK cells are likely culprits in targeting motor neurons and therefore, strategies should be designed to decrease their function, and eliminate the aggressive nature of these cells. Analysis of genetic mutations in ALS patient in comparison to identical twin revealed a number of differences and similarities which may be important in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Effect of Phytochrome Deficiency on Photosynthesis, Light-Related Genes Expression and Flavonoid Accumulation in Solanum lycopersicum under Red and Blue Light
Authors: Pashkovskiy Pavel , Vereshchagin Mikhail , Kreslavski Vladimir , Ivanov Yury , Kumachova Tamara , Ryabchenko Andrey , Voronkov Alexander , Kosobryukhov Anatoliy , Kuznetsov Vladimir , Allakhverdiev Suleyman I.
Published: November 2022

The effect of red (RL, 660 nm) and blue (BL, 450 nm) light on phy mutant tomato plants was studied. The rates of photosynthesis (Pn) and transpiration, the efficiency of the primary photochemical processes of photosynthesis, the contents of flavonoids and phenolic compounds, the low-molecular-weight antioxidant capacity (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC)) of leaf extracts, and the expression of light-dependent genes were evaluated. Under RL, BL, and white fluorescent light (WFL), the Pn values decreased in the order: WT > phyb2 > phyaphyb2 > phyaphyb1phyb2, except for the Pn in phyb2 on BL. Phyb2 also had a larger number of stomata under BL and, as a result, it reached maximum transpiration. The noticeable accumulation of flavonoids and phenolic compounds was observed only in the phyb2 and phyaphyb2 mutants upon irradiation with BL, which agrees with the increased TEAC in the leaf extracts. We suggest that the increased antioxidant activity under PHYB2 deficiency and the maintenance of high photosynthesis under BL are based on an increase in the expression of the early signaling transcription factors genes BBX, HY5. The largest decrease in the content of flavonoids and TEAC was manifested with a deficiency in PHYB1, which is probably the key to maintaining the antioxidant status in BL plants.
The Ion Channel Gene KCNAB2 Is Associated with Poor Prognosis and Loss of Immune Infiltration in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Lyu Yin , Wang Qiao , Liang Jingtian , Zhang Li , Zhang Hao
Published: November 2022

The malignancy with the greatest global mortality rate is lung cancer. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common subtype. The evidence demonstrated that voltage-gated potassium channel subunit beta-2 (KCNAB2) significantly participated in the initiation of colorectal cancer and its progression. However, the biological function of KCNAB2 in LUAD and its effect on the tumor immune microenvironment are still unknown. In this study, we found that the expression of KCNAB2 in tissues of patients with LUAD was markedly downregulated, and its downregulation was linked to accelerated cancer growth and poor clinical outcomes. In addition, low KCNAB2 expression was correlated with a deficiency in immune infiltration. The mechanism behind this issue might be that KCNAB2 influenced the immunological process such that the directed migration of immune cells was affected. Furthermore, overexpression of KCNAB2 in cell lines promoted the expression of CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CCL18, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL12, which are necessary for the recruitment of immune cells. In conclusion, KCNAB2 may play a key function in immune infiltration and can be exploited as a predictive biomarker for evaluating prognosis and a possible immunotherapeutic target.
The DNA Methylation in Neurological Diseases
Authors: Younesian Samareh , Yousefi Amir-Mohammad , Momeny Majid , Ghaffari Seyed H. , Bashash Davood
Published: November 2022

DNA methylation is critical for the normal development and functioning of the human brain, such as the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells, synaptic plasticity, neuronal reparation, learning, and memory. Despite the physical stability of DNA and methylated DNA compared to other epigenetic modifications, some DNA methylation-based biomarkers have translated into clinical practice. Increasing reports indicate a strong association between DNA methylation profiles and various clinical outcomes in neurological diseases, making DNA methylation profiles valuable as novel clinical markers. In this review, we aim to discuss the latest evidence concerning DNA methylation alterations in the development of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric diseases. We also highlighted the relationship of DNA methylation alterations with the disease progression and outcome in many neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and autism.
Tumor Organoids as a Research Tool: How to Exploit Them
Authors: Booij Tijmen H. , Cattaneo Chiara M. , Hirt Christian K.
Published: November 2022

Organoid models allow for the study of key pathophysiological processes such as cancer biology in vitro. They offer insights into all aspects covering tumor development, progression and response to the treatment of tissue obtained from individual patients. Tumor organoids are therefore not only a better tumor model than classical monolayer cell cultures but can be used as personalized avatars for translational studies. In this review, we discuss recent developments in using organoid models for cancer research and what kinds of advanced models, testing procedures and readouts can be considered.
Aberrant DNA and RNA Methylation Occur in Spinal Cord and Skeletal Muscle of Human SOD1 Mouse Models of ALS and in Human ALS: Targeting DNA Methylation Is Therapeutic
Authors: Martin Lee J. , Adams Danya A. , Niedzwiecki Mark V. , Wong Margaret
Published: November 2022

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease. Skeletal muscles and motor neurons (MNs) degenerate. ALS is a complex disease involving many genes in multiple tissues, the environment, cellular metabolism, and lifestyles. We hypothesized that epigenetic anomalies in DNA and RNA occur in ALS and examined this idea in: (1) mouse models of ALS, (2) human ALS, and (3) mouse ALS with therapeutic targeting of DNA methylation. Human superoxide dismutase-1 (hSOD1) transgenic (tg) mice were used. They expressed nonconditionally wildtype (WT) and the G93A and G37R mutant variants or skeletal muscle-restricted WT and G93A and G37R mutated forms. Age-matched non-tg mice were controls. hSOD1 mutant mice had increased DNA methyltransferase enzyme activity in spinal cord and skeletal muscle and increased 5-methylcytosine (5mC) levels. Genome-wide promoter CpG DNA methylation profiling in skeletal muscle of ALS mice identified hypermethylation notably in cytoskeletal genes. 5mC accumulated in spinal cord MNs and skeletal muscle satellite cells in mice. Significant increases in DNA methyltransferase-1 (DNMT1) and DNA methyltransferase-3A (DNMT3A) levels occurred in spinal cord nuclear and chromatin bound extracts of the different hSOD1 mouse lines. Mutant hSOD1 interacted with DNMT3A in skeletal muscle. 6-methyladenosine (6mA) RNA methylation was markedly increased or decreased in mouse spinal cord depending on hSOD1-G93A model, while fat mass and obesity associated protein was depleted and methyltransferase-like protein 3 was increased in spinal cord and skeletal muscle. Human ALS spinal cord had increased numbers of MNs and interneurons with nuclear 5mC, motor cortex had increased 5mC-positive neurons, while 6mA was severely depleted. Treatment of hSOD1-G93A mice with DNMT inhibitor improved motor function and extended lifespan by 25%. We conclude that DNA and RNA epigenetic anomalies are prominent in mouse and human ALS and are potentially targetable for disease-modifying therapeutics.