bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mining Waste and Its Sustainable Management: Advances in Worldwide Research
Authors: Aznar-Sánchez José A. , García-Gómez José J. , Velasco-Muñoz Juan F. , Carretero-Gómez Anselmo
Published: July 2018

Growing social awareness of the need to adequately treat mining waste in order to protect the environment has led to an increase in the research in this field. The aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of the research focused on mining waste and its sustainable management on a worldwide scale from 1988 to 2017. A systematic review and a bibliometric analysis of 3577 articles were completed. The results show that research into mining waste has increased, with studies focusing on waste management accounting for almost 40% of the total. The most productive journals in this field were Applied Geochemistry and Science of the Total Environment. The five most productive countries were the United States, Canada, Spain, Australia, and China. Works on the sustainable management of mining waste were in the minority, but it is an area of research that has considerable potential given the growing social awareness of the environmental repercussions of mining activities and the demands for increasingly sustainable practices. The findings of this study could prove useful for studies into mine waste, as they depict a global view of this line of research.
High-Resolution Analysis of Critical Minerals and Elements in Fe–Mn Crusts from the Canary Island Seamount Province (Atlantic Ocean)
Authors: Marino Egidio , González Francisco , Lunar Rosario , Reyes Jesús , Medialdea Teresa , Castillo-Carrión Mercedes , Bellido Eva , Somoza Luis
Published: July 2018

Two Fe–Mn crusts among 35 samples, from six seamounts in the Canary Island Seamount Province, were selected as representatives of the endpoint members of two distinct types of genetic processes, i.e., mixed diagenetic/hydrogenetic and purely hydrogenetic. High-resolution analyses pursued the main aim of distinguishing the critical elements and their association with mineral phases and genetic processes forming a long-lived Fe–Mn crust. The Fe–Mn crust collected on the Tropic Seamount is composed of dense laminations of Fe-vernadite (>90%) and goethite group minerals, reflecting the predominance of the hydrogenetic process during their formation. Based on high-resolution age calculation, this purely hydrogenetic crust yielded an age of 99 Ma. The Fe–Mn crust collected on the Paps Seamount shows a typical botryoidal surface yielding an age of 30 Ma. electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) spot analyses show two main types of manganese oxides, indicating their origin: (i) hydrogenetic Fe-vernadite, the main Mn oxide, and (ii) laminations of interlayered buserite and asbolane. Additionally, the occurrence of calcite, authigenic carbonate fluor-apatite (CFA) and palygorskite suggests early diagenesis and pervasive phosphatization events. Sequential leaching analysis indicated that Co, Ni, Cu, Ba and Ce are linked to Mn minerals. Therefore, Mn-oxides are enriched in Ni and Cu by diagenetic processes or in Co and Ce by hydrogenetic processes. On the other hand, Fe-oxides concentrate V, Zn, As and Pb. Moreover, the evidence of HREE enrichment related to Fe-hydroxides is confirmed in the mixed hydrogenetic/diagenetic crust.
A Photophysical Deactivation Channel of Laser-Excited TATB Based on Semiclassical Dynamics Simulation and TD-DFT Calculation
Authors: Zhang Wenying , Sang Jian , Cheng Jie , Ge Siyu , Yuan Shuai , Lo Glenn V. , Dou Yusheng
Published: July 2018

A deactivation channel for laser-excited 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) was studied by semiclassical dynamics. Results indicate that the excited state resulting from an electronic transition from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to the lowest unoccupied molecular mrbital (LUMO) is deactivated via pyramidalization of the activated N atom in a nitro group, with a lifetime of 2.4 ps. An approximately 0.5-electron transfer from the aromatic ring to the activated nitro group led to a significant increase of the C–NO2 bond length, which suggests that C–NO2 bond breaking could be a trigger for an explosive reaction. The time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) method was used to calculate the energies of the ground and S1 excited states for each configuration in the simulated trajectory. The S1←S0 energy gap at the instance of non-adiabatic decay was found to be 0.096 eV, suggesting that the decay geometry is close to the conical intersection.
Combining New Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (RTIs) with AZT Results in Strong Synergism against Multi-RTI-Resistant HIV-1 Strains
Authors: Yu Fei , Li Wen , Wang Lili , Dai Yu , Lu Xin , Wang Qian , Xie Lan , Jiang Shibo
Published: July 2018

Reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs), including nucleoside RTIs (NRTIs) and non-nucleoside RTIs (NNRTIs), are critical antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Emergence of multi-RTI resistance calls for the development of more potent therapeutics or regimens against RTI-resistant strains. Here, we demonstrated that combining azidothymidine (AZT) with a new NNRTIs under development, diarylpyridine (DAPA)-2e, diarylanilin (DAAN)-14h, or DAAN-15h, resulted in strong synergism against infection by divergent HIV-1 strains, including those resistant to NRTIs and NNRTIs, suggesting the potential for developing these novel NNRTIs as salvage therapy for HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients.
Bergamottin Suppresses Metastasis of Lung Cancer Cells through Abrogation of Diverse Oncogenic Signaling Cascades and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
Authors: Ko Jeong-Hyeon , Nam Dongwoo , Um Jae-Young , Jung Sang , Sethi Gautam , Ahn Kwang
Published: July 2018

Bergamottin (BGM) is a naturally occurring furanocoumarin and is known to inhibit the growth of tumor cells. However, there is no available evidence that BGM has an inhibitory effect on cancer metastasis, specifically on the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in the malignant cells. Here we aimed to evaluate the antimetastatic potential of BGM in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Our results demonstrate that BGM can block EMT, and observed inhibition was accompanied by downregulation of fibronectin, vimentin, N-cadherin, twist and snail expression, and upregulation of occludin and E-cadherin. Interestingly, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced upregulation of fibronectin, vimentin, N-cadherin, twist and snail, and downregulation of occludin and E-cadherin, were abrogated by BGM treatment. Moreover, the treatment of BGM repressed TGF-β-induced cell invasive potential. BGM treatment also inhibited multiple oncogenic cascades such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR. Overall, the results demonstrate the potential antimetastatic activity of BGM against lung cancer cells.
Simultaneous Preparation of Salidroside and p-Tyrosol from Rhodiola crenulata by DIAION HP-20 Macroporous Resin Chromatography Combined with Silica Gel Chromatography
Authors: Sun Liwei , Zhou Ran , Sui Jinling , Liu Yujun
Published: July 2018

The Rhodiola species have a long history of utilization in traditional medicine and have been considered as a source of adaptation to environmental challenges; salidroside and p-tyrosol are the major responsible compounds. Here we propose a novel UPLC-guided two-step method consisting of a DIAION HP-20 adsorption and silica gel column chromatographies, which can simultaneously prepare high purities of salidroside and p-tyrosol with noticeable yields from the rhizome of Rhodiola crenulata. Results demonstrated that DIAION HP-20 could successfully remove all impurities except crenulatin during a gradient elution with 5–20% ethanol, which could achieve an optimal purification of salidroside and p-tyrosol with increasing rates of 29.19% and 33.44%, respectively. Furthermore, chloroform was selected as an ideal solvent for separating p-tyrosol with salidroside, and thus crenulatin was subsequently applied in the silica gel chromatography, and the separation of salidroside with crenulatin could be achieved using silica gel chromatography with a mixture of chloroform and methanol at a volume ratio of 4:1. High purity rates of 94.17% and 97.29% and overall yields of 39.09% and 43.73% for salidroside and p-tyrosol were simultaneously achieved. Our method provides a new way to simultaneously obtain salidroside and p-tyrosol from R. Crenulata, as well as other related plant species.
A3, a Scorpion Venom Derived Peptide Analogue with Potent Antimicrobial and Potential Antibiofilm Activity against Clinical Isolates of Multi-Drug Resistant Gram Positive Bacteria
Authors: Almaaytah Ammar , Farajallah Ahmad , Abualhaijaa Ahmad , Al-Balas Qosay
Published: July 2018

Current research in the field of antimicrobials is focused on developing novel antimicrobial agents to counteract the huge dilemma that the human population is mainly facing in regards to the rise of bacterial resistance and biofilm infections. Host defense peptides (HDPs) are a promising group of molecules for antimicrobial development as they display several attractive features suitable for antimicrobial activity, including their broad spectrum of activity and potency against bacteria. AamAP1 is a novel HDP that belongs to the venom of the North African scorpion Androctonus amoeruxi. In vitro antimicrobial assays revealed that the peptide displays moderate activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, the peptide proved to be highly hemolytic and displayed significantly high toxicity against mammalian cells. In our study, a novel synthetic peptide analogue named A3 was synthetically modified from AamAP1 in order to enhance its activity and toxicity profile. The design strategy depended on modifying the amino acid sequence of AamAP1 in order to alter its net positive charge, percentage helicity and modify other parameters that are involved theoretically in HDPs activity. Accordingly, A3 was evaluated for its in vitro antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity individually and in combination with four different types of conventional antibiotics against clinical isolates of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Gram-positive bacteria. A3 was also evaluated for its cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. A3 managed to selectively inhibit the growth of a wide range of resistant strains of Gram-positive bacteria. Our results also showed that combining A3 with conventional antibiotics caused a synergistic antimicrobial behavior that resulted in decreasing the MIC value for A3 peptide as low as 0.125 µM. At the concentrations needed to inhibit bacterial growth, A3 displayed minimal mammalian cell toxicity. In conclusion, A3 exhibits enhanced activity and selectivity when compared with the parent natural scorpion venom peptide. The combination of A3 with conventional antibiotics could provide researchers in the antimicrobial drug development field with a potential alternative for conventional antibiotics against MDR bacteria.
Spectral Characterization and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Pesticides Based on Terahertz Time-Domain Spectra Analyses and Density Functional Theory (DFT) Calculations
Authors: Qu Fangfang , Lin Lei , He Yong , Nie Pengcheng , Cai Chengyong , Dong Tao , Pan Yi , Tang Yu , Luo Shaoming
Published: July 2018

This work provides the experimental and theoretical fundamentals for detecting the molecular fingerprints of six kinds of pesticides by using terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The spectra of absorption coefficient and refractive index of the pesticides, chlorpyrifos, fipronil, carbofuran, dimethoate, methomyl, and thidiazuron are obtained in frequencies of 0.1–3.5 THz. To accurately describe the THz spectral characteristics of pesticides, the wavelet threshold de-noising (WTD) method with db 5 wavelet fucntion, 5-layer decomposition, and soft-threshold de-noising was used to eliminate the spectral noise. The spectral baseline correction (SBC) method based on asymmetric least squares smoothing was used to remove the baseline drift. Spectral results show that chlorpyrifo had three characteristic absorption peaks at 1.47, 1.93, and 2.73 THz. Fipronil showed three peaks at 0.76, 1.23, and 2.31 THz. Carbofuran showed two peaks at 2.72 and 3.06 THz. Dimethoate showed three peaks at 1.05, 1.89, and 2.92 THz. Methomyl showed five peaks at 1.01, 1.65, 1.91, 2.72, and 3.20 THz. Thidiazuron showed four peaks at 0.99, 1.57, 2.17, and 2.66 THz. The density functional theory (DFT) of B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) was applied to simulate the molecular dynamics for peak analyzing of the pesticides based on isolated molecules. The theoretical spectra are in good agreement with the experimental spectra processed by WTD + SBC, which implies the validity of WTD + SBC spectral processing methods and the accuracy of DFT spectral peak analysis. These results support that the combination of THz-TDS and DFT is an effective tool for pesticide fingerprint analysis and the molecular dynamics simulations.
Molecular Modeling for Structural Insights Concerning the Activation Mechanisms of F1174L and R1275Q Mutations on Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase
Authors: Jiang Cheng-Han , Huang Chong-Xian , Chen Ya-Jyun , Chuang Yu-Chung , Huang Bo-Yen , Yang Chia-Ning
Published: July 2018

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase involved in various cancers. In its basal state, the structure of ALK is in an autoinhibitory form stabilized by its A-loop, which runs from the N-lobe to the C-lobe of the kinase. Specifically, the A-loop adopts an inhibitory pose with its proximal A-loop helix (αAL-helix) to anchor the αC-helix orientation in an inactive form in the N-lobe; the distal portion of the A-loop is packed against the C-lobe to block the peptide substrate from binding. Upon phosphorylation of the first A-loop tyrosine (Y1278), the αAL-helix unfolds; the distal A-loop detaches from the C-lobe and reveals the P+1 pocket that accommodates the residues immediately after their phosphorylation, and ALK is activated accordingly. Recently, two neuroblastoma mutants, F1174L and R1275Q, have been determined to cause ALK activation without phosphorylation on Y1278. Notably, F1174 is located on the C-terminus of the αC-helix and away from the A-loop, whereas R1275 sits on the αAL-helix. In this molecular modeling study, we investigated the structural impacts of F1174L and R1275Q that lead to the gain-of-function event. Wild-type ALK and ALK with phosphorylated Y1278 were also modeled for comparison. Our modeling suggests that the replacement of F1174 with a smaller residue, namely leucine, moves the αC-helix and αAL-helix into closer contact and further distorts the distal portion of the A-loop. In wild-type ALK, R1275 assumes the dual role of maintaining the αAL-helix–αC-helix interaction in an inactive form and securing αAL-helix conformation through the D1276–R1275 interaction. Accordingly, mutating R1275 to a glutamine reorients the αC-helix to an active form and deforms the entire A-loop. In both F1174L and R1275Q mutants, the A-loop rearranges itself to expose the P+1 pocket, and kinase activity resumes.
Immunomodulatory Action of Substituted 1,3,4-Thiadiazines on the Course of Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Sarapultsev Alexey P. , Vassiliev Pavel M. , Sarapultsev Petr A. , Chupakhin Oleg N. , Ianalieva Laura R. , Sidorova Larisa P.
Published: July 2018

This review focuses on the biological action of the compounds from the group of substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazines on stress response and myocardial infarction. The aim of this review is to propose the possible mechanisms of action of 1,3,4-thiadiazines and offer prospectives in the development of new derivatives as therapeutic agents. It is known, that compounds that have biological effects similar to those used as antidepressants can down-regulate the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, up-regulate the release of anti-inflammatory ones and affect cell recruitment, which allows them to be considered immunomodulators as well. The results of pharmacological evaluation, in silico studies, and in vivo experiments of several compounds from the group of substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazines with antidepressant properties are presented. It is proposed that the cardioprotective effects of substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazines might be explained by the peculiarities of their multi-target action: the ability of the compounds to interact with various types of receptors and transporters of dopaminergic, serotonergic and acetylcholinergic systems and to block the kinase signal pathway PI3K-AKT. The described effects of substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazines suggest that it is necessary to search for a new agents for limiting the peripheral inflammatory/ischemic damage through the entral mechanisms of stress reaction and modifying pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling pathways in the brain.
Glycoside Mimics from Glycosylamines: Recent Progress
Authors: Nicolas Cyril , Martin Olivier
Published: July 2018

Glycosylamines are valuable sugar derivatives that have attracted much attention as synthetic intermediates en route to iminosugar-C-glycosyl compounds. Iminosugars are among the most important glycomimetics reported to date due to their powerful activities as inhibitors of a wide variety of glycosidases and glycosyltransferases, as well as for their use as pharmacological chaperones. As they provide ready access to these important glycoside mimics, we have reviewed the most significant glycosylamine-based methodologies developed to date, with a special emphasis on the literature reported after 2006. The groups of substrates covered include N-alkyl- and N-benzyl-glycosylamines, N-glycosylhydroxylamines, N-(alkoxycarbonyl)-, and N-tert-butanesulfinyl-glycosylamines.
The Effect of Polymer Microstructure on Encapsulation Efficiency and Release Kinetics of Citropin 1.1 from the Poly(ε-caprolactone) Microparticles
Authors: Piotrowska Urszula , Oledzka Ewa , Kamysz Wojciech , Białek Sławomir , Sobczak Marcin
Published: July 2018

Cationic antimicrobial peptides represent a promising therapeutic option against multidrug-resistant bacteria for the treatment of local infections. However, due to their low stability and potential toxicity, there are limited possibilities for their application in clinical practice. In this study, different poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) microparticles (MPs) loaded with citropin 1.1 (CIT) were investigated in order to demonstrate the effect of the polymer microstructure on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and kinetics of the peptide release from the newly developed devices. The characteristics of the new systems in terms of surface morphology, particle size, EE and zeta potential analysis, as well as the haemolytic activities of the peptide were investigated. The in vitro release kinetics of CIT from the MPs was also investigated. CIT loading was favoured by a high content of negative charged linear polymer chains in the PCL structure. The presence of non-charged, amorphous macrocycle domains results in faster degradation of the PCL matrix. Depending on the crystallinity of the PCL, the peptide release exhibited a near-zero-order or near-first-order profile with no “burst release”. The results indicated that CIT-loaded PCL MPs could potentially be a promising drug delivery system (DDS) for the treatment of local infections.
Graphene Oxide/ZnS:Mn Nanocomposite Functionalized with Folic Acid as a Nontoxic and Effective Theranostic Platform for Breast Cancer Treatment
Authors: Diaz-Diestra Daysi , Thapa Bibek , Badillo-Diaz Dayra , Beltran-Huarac Juan , Morell Gerardo , Weiner Brad R.
Published: July 2018

Nanoparticle-based cancer theranostic agents generally suffer of poor dispersability in biological media, re-agglomeration over time, and toxicity concerns. To address these challenges, we developed a nanocomposite consisting of chemically-reduced graphene oxide combined with manganese-doped zinc sulfide quantum dots and functionalized with folic acid (FA-rGO/ZnS:Mn). We studied the dispersion stability, Doxorubicin (DOX) loading and release efficiency, target specificity, internalization, and biocompatibility of FA-rGO/ZnS:Mn against folate-rich breast cancer cells, and compared to its uncoated counterpart (rGO/ZnS:Mn). The results indicate that DOX is adsorbed on the graphene surface via π–π stacking and hydrophobic interaction, with enhanced loading (~35%) and entrapment (~60%) efficiency that are associated to the chelation of DOX and surface Zn2+ ions. DOX release is favored under acidic conditions reaching a release of up to 95% after 70 h. Membrane integrity of the cells assessed by Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release indicate that the surface passivation caused by folic acid (FA) functionalization decreases the strong hydrophobic interaction between the cell membrane wall and the edges/corners of graphene flakes. Chemotherapeutic effect assays reveal that the cancer cell viability was reduced up to ~50% at 3 µg/mL of DOX-FA-rGO/ZnS:Mn exposure, which is more pronounced than those obtained for free DOX at the same doses. Moreover, DOX-rGO/ZnS:Mn did not show any signs of toxicity. An opposite trend was observed for cells that do not overexpress the folate receptors, indicating that FA functionalization endows rGO/ZnS:Mn with an effective ability to discriminate positive folate receptor cancerous cells, enhancing its drug loading/release efficiency as a compact drug delivery system (DDS). This study paves the way for the potential use of functionalized rGO/ZnS:Mn nanocomposite as a platform for targeted cancer treatment.
Broadband Perfect Absorber Based on TiN-Nanocone Metasurface
Authors: Huo Dewang , Zhang Jingwen , Wang Yingce , Wang Chao , Su Hang , Zhao Hua
Published: July 2018

Based on an integrated array of refractory titanium nitride (TiN), a metasurface perfect absorber (MPA) in the visible-to-near infrared (NIR) band is reported. The systematic and detailed simulation study of the absorption of the MPA is performed with the finite-different time-domain (FDTD) method. Tailoring the structure, the MPA realizes as high an average as 99.6% broadband absorption, ranging from 400 nm to 1500 nm. The broadband perfect absorption can be attributed to localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR), excited by the continuous diameter evolution from the apex to the base of the nanocone, and the gap plasmons excited among the nanocones, as well as in the spacer layer at longer wavelengths. Particularly, the coupling of the resonances is essentially behind the broadening of the absorption spectrum. We also evaluated the electric field intensity and polarization-dependence of the nanocone MPA to offer further physical insight into light trapping capability. The MPA shows about 90% average absorption even at an oblique incidence up to 50°, which improves the acceptance capability of light-harvesting system applications. This unique design with the TiN nanocone array/aluminium oxide (Al2O3)/TiN structure shows potential in imminent applications in light trapping and thermophotovoltaics.
Vibration Analysis of Vacancy Defected Graphene Sheets by Monte Carlo Based Finite Element Method
Authors: Chu Liu , Shi Jiajia , Souza de Cursi Eduardo
Published: July 2018

The stochastic distributed placement of vacancy defects has evident effects on graphene mechanical property, which is a crucial and challenged issue in the field of nanomaterial. Different from the molecular dynamic theory and continuum mechanics theory, the Monte Carlo based finite element method (MC-FEM) was proposed and performed to simulate vibration behavior of vacancy defected graphene. Based on the Monte Carlo simulation, the difficulties in random distributed location of vacancy defects were well overcome. The beam element was chosen to represent the exact atomic lattice of the graphene. The results of MC-FEM have a satisfied agreement with that in the reported references. The natural frequencies in the certain vibration mode were captured to observe the mechanical property of vacancy defected graphene sheets. The discussion about the parameters corresponding with geometry and material property was accomplished by probability theory and mathematical statistics.
Neuroprotective Effects of Soy Isoflavones on Scopolamine-Induced Amnesia in Mice
Authors: Lu Cong , Wang Yan , Wang Donghui , Zhang Lijing , Lv Jingwei , Jiang Ning , Fan Bei , Liu Xinmin , Wang Fengzhong
Published: July 2018

In the recent years, interest in soybean as a neuroprotective nutrient in the management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has increased and soy isoflavones (SI), as kinds of soybean phytochemicals, are thought to be biologically active components that confer this beneficial effect against neurodegenerative diseases. However, the neuroprotective effect of SI is not well understood. Therefore, the present study (30 days) was conducted to investigate the neuroprotective effects of soy isoflavones (SI) on scopolamine (SCOP)-induced memory impairments in Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice (aged 4 weeks) and to elucidate its underlying mechanisms of action. SI (40 mg/kg) administration improved the cognitive performance of SCOP-treated mice in an object location recognition task and the Morris water maze test. SI (40 mg/kg) administration significantly enhanced cholinergic system function and suppressed oxidative stress levels in the hippocampus of SCOP-treated mice. Furthermore, SI (40 mg/kg) treatment markedly upregulated the phosphorylation levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression levels in the hippocampus. Taken together, these results demonstrated that soy isoflavones exerted a significant neuroprotective effect on cognitive dysfunctions induced by scopolamine, suggesting that soy isoflavones could be a good candidate for possible treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
How Healthy Lifestyle Factors at Midlife Relate to Healthy Aging
Authors: Atallah Nathalie , Adjibade Moufidath , Lelong Hélène , Hercberg Serge , Galan Pilar , Assmann Karen E. , Kesse-Guyot Emmanuelle
Published: July 2018

With increasing life expectancies worldwide, it is an important public health issue to identify factors that influence the quality of aging. We aimed to investigate the individual and combined roles of lifestyle factors at midlife for healthy aging (HA). We analyzed data from 2203 participants of the French ”Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants” (SU.VI.MAX) cohort aged 45–60 years at baseline (1994–1995), and assessed the combined impact of lifestyle factors (weight, smoking status, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and diet) on HA (absence of chronic diseases and function-limiting pain, good physical and cognitive functioning, functional independence, no depressive symptoms, and good social and self-perceived health) with a five-component healthy lifestyle index (HLI). Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using a robust-error-variance Poisson regression. Approximately 39% of our sample aged healthily. After adjustment for potential confounders, a one-point increase in HLI was related to an 11% higher probability of HA (95% CI = 6%, 16%; p < 0.001). The proportions of HA attributable to specific factors based on the “population attributable risk” concept were 7.6%, 6.0%, 7.8%, and 16.5% for body mass index (BMI), physical activity, diet quality, and smoking status, respectively. This study highlights the importance of healthy lifestyle habits at midlife for the promotion of good overall health during aging.
Determining the Glycaemic Index of Standard and High-Sugar Rodent Diets in C57BL/6 Mice
Authors: Campbell Grace J. , Belobrajdic Damien P. , Bell-Anderson Kim S.
Published: July 2018

The glycaemic index (GI) is a useful tool to compare the glycaemic responses of foods. Numerous studies report the favorable effects of low GI diets on long term metabolic health compared with high GI diets. However, it has not been possible to link these effects to the GI itself because of other components such as macronutrients and dietary fibre, which are known to affect GI. This study aimed to create and evaluate isocaloric diets differing in GI independent of macronutrient and fibre content. The GIs of eight diets differing in carbohydrate source were evaluated in mice; cooked cornstarch (CC), raw cornstarch (RC), chow, maltodextrin, glucose, sucrose, isomaltulose, and fructose. A glucose control was also tested. The GIs of all eight diets were different from the GI of the glucose control (GI: 100; p < 0.0001). The GIs of the glucose (mean ± SEM: 52 ± 3), maltodextrin (52 ± 6), CC (50 ± 4), RC (50 ± 6), and chow (44 ± 4) diets were similar, while the GIs of the sucrose (31 ± 4), isomaltulose (24 ± 5), and fructose (18 ± 2) diets were lower than all other diets (p < 0.05). This is the first trial to report GI testing in vivo in mice, resulting in three main findings: chow is relatively high GI, the glucose availability of raw and cooked cornstarch is similar, and the GI of different sugar diets occur in the same rank order as in humans.
Impact Strength and Water Uptake Behaviors of Fully Bio-Based PA11-SGW Composites
Authors: Oliver-Ortega Helena , Méndez José Alberto , Espinach Francesc Xavier , Tarrés Quim , Ardanuy Mònica , Mutjé Pere
Published: July 2018

Composite materials have attracted the attention of some industrial fields due to their lightness and relatively good mechanical properties. One of these properties is impact strength, essential to ensure the processability and application of these materials under impact conditions. In addition, it is known that water absorption has a plasticizing effect in polymers and polymer composites which can change the properties of such materials and limit their use. Moreover, this effect worsens when hydrophilic reinforcement is used. In this work, the impact and water uptake behavior of totally bio-based composites from polyamide 11 (PA11) and lignocellulosic pine fibers mechanically processed as stone groundwood (SGW) were studied. The impact resistance of PA11 and its composites was higher than expected, obtaining better results than those of polyolefin-based materials. The evaluated mechanical properties and the micrographs showed an adequate interface. The water uptake test showed that PA11 and its composites had non-Fickian and Fickian case I behaviours, respectively. It was found that the maximum water absorbance was similar to that of SGW reinforced polypropylene.
Synthesis of Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Containing Chiral Polythiophene Chains and Their Micelle Formation and Chiroptical Properties
Authors: Hirose Daisuke , Nozaki Satoru , Kanoh Shigeyoshi , Maeda Katsuhiro
Published: July 2018

Amphiphilic block copolymers consisting of hydrophobic regioregular head-to-tail (HT) chiral ((S)-poly-1a-b-poly-3) or achiral (poly-1b-b-poly-3) polythiophene chains and a hydrophilic poly(acrylic acid) chain were synthesized. (S)-Poly-1a-b-poly-3 with a chiral polythiophene block formed a micelle in water that exhibited a characteristic induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the π–π* transition region due to the formation of supramolecular π-stacked chiral aggregates of the chiral polythiophene blocks in the core. These aggregates were stable, showing no precipitation for more than 5 days. Micelles consisting of chiral (S)-poly-1a-b-poly-3 and achiral poly-1b-b-poly-3 showed negative nonlinear effects on supramolecular chiral aggregate formation in the core. Chiral polythiophene aggregates formed in (S)-poly-1a-b-poly-3 micelle cores were stabilized by the crosslinking of poly(acrylic acid) blocks with diamines in the shell. The ICD intensity of the (S)-poly-1a-b-poly-3 micelle after shell crosslinking showed almost no change with temperature, while that before shell crosslinking decreased with increasing temperature.
A Facile Approach towards Fluorescent Nanogels with AIE-Active Spacers
Authors: Feng Meiran , Fang Laiping , Guan Fujun , Huang Siying , Cheng Yinwei , Liang Yancui , Zhang Hefeng
Published: July 2018

A facile and efficient approach for design and synthesis of organic fluorescent nanogels has been developed by using a pre-synthesized polymeric precursor. This strategy is achieved by two key steps: (i) precise synthesis of core–shell star-shaped block copolymers with crosslinkable AIEgen-precursor (AIEgen: aggregation induced emission luminogen) as pending groups on the inner blocks; (ii) gelation of the inner blocks by coupling the AIEgen-precursor moieties to generate AIE-active spacers, and thus, fluorescent nanogel. By using this strategy, a series of star-shaped block copolymers with benzophenone groups pending on the inner blocks were synthesized by grafting from a hexafunctional initiator through atom transfer radical copolymerization (ATRP) of 4-benzoylphenyl methacrylate (BPMA) or 2-(4-benzoylphenoxy)ethyl methacrylate (BPOEMA) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and tert-butyldimethylsilyl-protected 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (ProHEMA) followed by a sequential ATRP to grow PMMA or PProHEMA. The pendent benzophenone groups were coupled by McMurry reaction to generate tetraphenylethylene (TPE) groups which served as AIE-active spacers, affording a fluorescent nanogel. The nanogel showed strong emission not only at aggregated state but also in dilute solution due to the strongly restricted inter- and intramolecular movement of TPE moiety in the crosslinked polymeric network. The nanogel has been used as a fluorescent macromolecular additive to fabricate fluorescent film.
Enhanced Performance of Inverted Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells by Using Metal Oxide Electron- and Hole-Selective Layers with Process Temperature ≤150 °C
Authors: You Hailong , Dai Lin , Zhang Qianni , Chen Dazheng , Jiang Qubo , Zhang Chunfu
Published: July 2018

In this work, an efficient inverted organic solar cell (OSC) based on the non-fullerene PBDB-T:IT-M blend system is demonstrated by using an aqueous solution processed ZnO electron-selective layer with the whole process temperature ≤150 °C and a thermally evaporated MoO3 hole-selective layer The ZnO selective layer is deposited by aqueous solution and prepared in a low-temperature process, so that it can be compatible with the roll-to-roll process. The proposed device achieves an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.33% compared with the device based on the high-temperature sol-gel-processed ZnO selective layer, which achieves a PCE of 8.62%. The inverted device also shows good stability, keeping more than 82% of its initial PCE after being stored under ambient air conditions and a humidity of around 40% without any encapsulation for 240 h. The results show the potential for the fabrication of efficient non-fullerene OSCs with low-temperature metal oxide selective layers.
A Preprocessing Method for Hyperspectral Target Detection Based on Tensor Principal Component Analysis
Authors: Chen Zehao , Yang Bin , Wang Bin
Published: July 2018

Traditional target detection (TD) algorithms for hyperspectral imagery (HSI) typically suffer from background interference. To alleviate this problem, we propose a novel preprocessing method based on tensor principal component analysis (TPCA) to separate the background and target apart. With the use of TPCA, HSI is decomposed into a principal component part and a residual part with the spatial-spectral information of the HSI being fully exploited, and TD is performed on the latter. Moreover, an effective distinction in scheme can be made between a HSI tensor’s spatial and spectral domains, which is in line with the physical meanings. Experimental results from both synthetic and real hyperspectral data show that the proposed method outperforms other preprocessing methods in improving the TD accuracies. Further, target detectors that combine the TPCA preprocessing approach with traditional target detection methods can achieve better results than those of state-of-the-art methods aiming at background suppression.
Incorporating Density in Spatiotemporal Land Use/Cover Change Patterns: The Case of Attica, Greece
Authors: Gounaridis Dimitrios , Symeonakis Elias , Chorianopoulos Ioannis , Koukoulas Sotirios
Published: July 2018

This paper looks at the periodic land use/cover (LUC) changes that occurred in Attica, Greece from 1991 to 2016. During this period, land transformations were mostly related to the artificial LUC categories; therefore, the aim was to map LUC with a high thematic resolution aimed at these specific categories, according to their density and continuity. The classification was implemented using the Random Forests (RF) machine learning algorithm and the presented methodological framework involved a high degree of automation. The results revealed that the majority of the expansion of the built-up areas took place at the expense of agricultural land. Moreover, mapping and quantifying the LUC changes revealed three uneven phases of development, which reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of each period. The discontinuous low-density urban fabric started to increase rapidly around 2003, reaching 7% (from 2.5% in 1991), and this trend continued, reaching 12% in 2016. The continuous as well as the discontinuous dense urban fabric, almost doubled throughout the study period. Agricultural areas were dramatically reduced to almost half of what they were in 1991, while forests, scrubs, and other natural areas remained relatively stable, decreasing only by 3% in 25 years.
Weak Echo Detection from Single Photon Lidar Data Using a Rigorous Adaptive Ellipsoid Searching Algorithm
Authors: Wang Xiao , Glennie Craig , Pan Zhigang
Published: July 2018

Single photon lidar (SPL) systems have great potential to be an effective tool for mapping due to their high data collection efficiency. However, the large number of false returns in SPL point clouds represents a huge challenge for the extraction of weak signal targets with low reflectivity or small cross sections. Numerous filtering methods have been proposed that attempt to effectively remove these noise points from the final point cloud model. However, weak signal points have similar characteristics to noise returns, and thus can be incorrectly eliminated as noise points during the filtering process. Herein, a novel voxel-spherical adaptive ellipsoid searching (VSAES) method is proposed, by which weak signal returns can be successfully retained while still removing a majority of the noise points. By employing this voxel-spherical (VS) model, our proposed method can simultaneously process a combined SPL dataset containing multiple flightlines, in which the noise density is unevenly distributed throughout the whole dataset. In addition, an improved adaptive ellipsoid searching (AES) method based on hypothesis testing is able to remove noise points more robustly than the originally described version. The experimental results show that the proposed method retains 89.1% of the weak signal point returns from electric power lines, which is a significant improvement over the performance of either to the original AES method (25.9%) or a histogram filtering based method (13.4%).
Flood Mapping Using Multi-Source Remotely Sensed Data and Logistic Regression in the Heterogeneous Mountainous Regions in North Korea
Authors: Lim Joongbin , Lee Kyoo-seock
Published: July 2018

Flooding is extremely dangerous when a river overflows to inundate an urban area. From 1995 to 2016, North Korea (NK) experienced extensive damage to life and property almost every year due to a levee breach resulting from typhoons and heavy rainfall during the summer monsoon season. Recently, Hoeryeong City (2016) experienced heavy rain during Typhoon Lionrock, and the resulting flood killed and injured many people (68,900) and destroyed numerous buildings and settlements (11,600). The NK state media described it as the most significant national disaster since 1945. Thus, almost all annual repeat occurrences of floods in NK have had a severe impact, which makes it necessary to figure out the extent of floods to restore the damaged environment. However, this is difficult due to inaccessibility. Under such a situation, optical remote sensing (RS) data and radar RS data along with a logistic regression were utilized in this study to develop modeling for flood-damaged area delineation. High-resolution web-based satellite imagery was also interpreted to confirm the results of the study.
A Level Set Method for Infrared Image Segmentation Using Global and Local Information
Authors: Wan Minjie , Gu Guohua , Sun Jianhong , Qian Weixian , Ren Kan , Chen Qian , Maldague Xavier
Published: July 2018

Infrared image segmentation plays a significant role in many burgeoning applications of remote sensing, such as environmental monitoring, traffic surveillance, air navigation and so on. However, the precision is limited due to the blurred edge, low contrast and intensity inhomogeneity caused by infrared imaging. To overcome these challenges, a level set method using global and local information is proposed in this paper. In our method, a hybrid signed pressure function is constructed by fusing a global term and a local term adaptively. The global term is represented by the global average intensity, which effectively accelerates the evolution when the evolving curve is far away from the object. The local term is represented by a multi-feature-based signed driving force, which accurately guides the curve to approach the real boundary when it is near the object. Then, the two terms are integrated via an adaptive weight matrix calculated based on the range value of each pixel. Under the framework of geodesic active contour model, a new level set formula is obtained by substituting the proposed signed pressure function for the edge stopping function. In addition, a Gaussian convolution is applied to regularize the level set function for the purpose of avoiding the computationally expensive re-initialization. By iteration, the object of interest can be segmented when the level set function converges. Both qualitative and quantitative experiments verify that our method outperforms other state-of-the-art level set methods in terms of accuracy and robustness with the initial contour being set randomly.
Application of UAV Remote Sensing for a Population Census of Large Wild Herbivores—Taking the Headwater Region of the Yellow River as an Example
Authors: Guo Xingjian , Shao Quanqin , Li Yuzhe , Wang Yangchun , Wang Dongliang , Liu Jiyuan , Fan Jiangwen , Yang Fan
Published: July 2018

We used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to carry out a relatively complete population census of large wild herbivores in Maduo County on the Tibetan Plateau in the spring of 2017. The effective area covered by aerial surveys was 326.6 km2, and 23,784 images were acquired. Interpretation tag libraries for UAV images were created for wild animals, including Kiang (Equus kiang), Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), as well as livestock, including yaks and Tibetan sheep. Large wild herbivores in the survey transect were identified through manual imagery interpretation. Densities ranged from 1.15/km2 for Kiang, 0.61/km2 for Tibetan gazelle, 0.62/km2 for blue sheep, 4.12/km2 for domestic yak, and 7.34/km2 for domestic sheep. A method based on meadows in the cold and warm seasons was used for estimating the densities and numbers of large wild herbivores and livestock, and was verified against records of livestock numbers. Population estimates for Kiang, Tibetan gazelle, blue sheep, domestic yak, and domestic sheep were 17,109, 15,961, 9324, 70,846, and 102,194, respectively. Based on published consumption estimates, the results suggest that domestic stock consume 4.5 times the amount of vegetation of large wild herbivores. Compared with traditional ground survey methods, performance of UAV remote sensing surveys of large wild herbivore populations was fast, economical and reliable, providing an effective future method for surveying wild animals.
Urban Development in West Africa—Monitoring and Intensity Analysis of Slum Growth in Lagos: Linking Pattern and Process
Authors: Badmos Olabisi S. , Rienow Andreas , Callo-Concha Daniel , Greve Klaus , Jürgens Carsten
Published: July 2018

Upgrading all slums in Lagos by 2030 will an ambitious task, given that more than 70% of its residents resides in slums. Furthermore, there is no recent study identifying neither the slums nor their temporal growth/development pattern in Lagos that can backstop any slum management initiative. This study aims to contribute by applying object-based image analysis and intensity analysis to map and link patterns and processes of slum growth in Lagos. RapidEye imagery from 2009 and 2015 were used to create maps for each time point for six land use categories (water, vegetated area, open space, road, slum, and other urban). Intensity analysis was applied to quantify the annual intensity of changes at the category and transition level. An overall accuracy (and kappa coefficient) of 94% (0.9) and 89% (0.86) were achieved for the 2009 and 2015 land use and land cover maps, respectively. This study showed that slums in Lagos have increased spatially during the time interval studied, with a total net gain of 9.18 square kilometers, influenced by the increase in population, mainly due to in-migration to Lagos. However, this study also revealed that slums were actively losing and gaining land area between 2009 and 2015, with an annual gain and loss intensity of 10.08 and 6.41, respectively, compared to the uniform intensity of 3.15. The gain was due to poor maintenance of buildings and encroachment onto available spaces (water and open space), while the loss was attributed to gentrification and demolition processes. A systematic process of transition was observed between slums and other urban (and open space) areas in the interval studied, and this process was mainly influenced by the Lagos state government. This analysis is crucial for designing policy interventions to manage slum growth in Lagos.
Improving the Performance of an SPR Biosensor Using Long-Range Surface Plasmon of Ga-Doped Zinc Oxide
Authors: Ruan Banxian , You Qi , Zhu Jiaqi , Wu Leiming , Guo Jun , Dai Xiaoyu , Xiang Yuanjiang
Published: July 2018

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) have appeared in the past few years as potential plasmonic materials for the development of optical devices in the near infrared regime (NIR). However, the performance of biosensors with TCOs has been limited in sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM). To improve the performance of the biosensors with TCOs, a biosensor based on long-range surface plasmon with Ga-doped zinc oxide (GZO) is proposed. It is shown that a larger FOM with a 2~7 times enhancement compared to the traditional surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) sensor and higher detection accuracy (DA) can be realized in our proposed sensor compared with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor with GZO. Therefore, this sensor can be used to detect biological activity or chemical reactions in the near infrared region.
Smart Optical Catheters for Epidurals
Authors: Carotenuto Benito , Ricciardi Armando , Micco Alberto , Amorizzo Ezio , Mercieri Marco , Cutolo Antonello , Cusano Andrea
Published: July 2018

Placing the needle inside the epidural space for locoregional anesthesia is a challenging procedure, which even today is left to the expertise of the operator. Recently, we have demonstrated that the use of optically sensorized needles significantly improves the effectiveness of this procedure. Here, we propose an optimized configuration, where the optical fiber strain sensor is directly integrated inside the epidural catheter. The new design allows the solving of the biocompatibility issues and increases the versatility of the former configuration. Through an in vivo study carried out on a porcine model, we confirm the reliability of our approach, which also opens the way to catheter monitoring during insertion inside biological spaces.