bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A hydrolytically stable cage-based metal–organic framework containing two types of building blocks for the adsorption of iodine and dyes
Authors: Wang Guang-Qing , Huang Jie-Fen , Huang Xiao-Feng , Deng Shu-Qi , Zheng Sheng-Run , Cai Song-Liang , Fan Jun , Zhang Wei-Guang
Published: December 2020

A metal–organic framework (SCNU-Z4) with high chemical stability in water and common organic solvents showed ability for iodine and dye adsorption.
Structural, spectroscopic, and computational evaluations of cation–cation and halogen bonding interactions in heterometallic uranyl hybrid materials
Authors: Carter Korey P. , Kalaj Mark , McNeil Sapphire , Kerridge Andrew , Schofield Mark H. , Ridenour J. August , Cahill Christopher L.
Published: December 2020

A route for systematically accessing the oxo atoms of the linear uranyl (UO22+) cationviacation–cation and halogen bonding interactions is detailed, and interaction strengths are probedviastructural, vibrational, and computational means.
Emerging cellulose-derived materials: a promising platform for the design of flexible wearable sensors toward health and environment monitoring
Authors: Fu Qingjin , Cui Chen , Meng Lei , Hao Sanwei , Dai Rengang , Yang Jun
Published: December 2020

The ongoing surge in demand for high-performance wearable sensors for precisely monitoring vital signs of the human body or the surrounding environment has inspired the relentless pursuit of biocompatible and biodegradable advanced materials.
Transition-metal-free synthesis of 5-amino-1,2,3-triazoles via nucleophilic addition/cyclization of carbodiimides with diazo compounds
Authors: Wang Shilong , Zhang Yuanyuan , Liu Guixin , Xu Hui , Song Lijuan , Chen Jinchun , Li Jiazhu , Zhang Zhen
Published: December 2020

A facile and transition-metal-free synthesis of functionalized 5-amino-1,2,3-triazoles with good functional-group tolerance and regioselectivity via nucleophilic addition/cyclization has been described.
Mechanistic insights into the rhodium–copper cascade catalyzed dual C–H annulation of indoles
Authors: He Xiaoqian , Zhu Lei , Heng Dan , Liu Fenru , Liu Shihan , Zhong Kangbao , Shan Chunhui , Bai Ruopeng , Lan Yu
Published: December 2020

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to provide mechanistic insight into the Rh/Cu co-catalyzed multicomponent annulation of indoles, diazo compounds, and α,β-unsaturated esters.
Phase controlled one-pot synthesis of heterostructured FePt–Fe3O4 nanocubes with excellent biocompatibility
Authors: Eom Yunji , Kang Yumin , Kasturi Satish , Torati Sri Ramulu , Kim CheolGi
Published: December 2020

We demonstrated a simple one-pot synthesis approach for the controlled composition of homogeneous FePt and phase-controlled heterostructured FePt/Fe3O4 nanocubes (NCs) utilizing 1,2-hexadecanediol and 1-octadecene as the reducing agents, respectively.
Research progress of iron-based catalysts for selective oligomerization of ethylene
Authors: Wang Mingzhi , Wu Wei , Wang Xu , Huang Xing , Nai Yongning , Wei Xueying , Mao Guoliang
Published: December 2020

In this paper, the research progress of catalysts for selective oligomerization of ethylene was reviewed in terms of the cocatalysts, ligand structure, oxidation state of the iron metal atom center and immobilization of homogeneous catalysts.
Formulation development, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of chitosan engineered nanoparticles for ocular delivery of insulin
Authors: Rathore Priyanka , Mahor Alok , Jain Surendra , Haque Anzarul , Kesharwani Prashant
Published: December 2020

Insulin-dependent diabetic patients have to count on the administration of painful and discomforting insulin injections.
Noble metal sensitized invasive porous bioelectrodes: advanced medical device for enhanced neuronal activity and chronic alcohol treatment
Authors: Kim Hong Soo , Choi Hansaem , Flores Monica Claire , Razzaq Abdul , Gwak Young Seob , Ahn Danbi , Kim Mi Seon , Gurel Ogan , Lee Bong Hyo , In Su-Il
Published: December 2020

Novel metal sensitized invasive porous bioelectrodes (x-IPB, x = Ag, Au, Pt) have high surface area and enhanced electrochemical properties, resulting in increased neural activity and alcohol detoxification.
Photo induced reaction of myoglobins with energy transferred from excited free tryptophan
Authors: Cao Hong-Yu , Ma Yu-Qi , Gao Ling-Xing , Tang Qian , Zheng Xue-Fang
Published: December 2020

The dual energy superposition of direct light irradiation and indirect energy transferred from the free excited tryptophan promoted the photo induced reaction of myoglobin.
An octanol hinge opens the door to water transport
Authors: Liu Zhu , Clark Aurora E.
Published: December 2020

Despite their pharmacological relevance, the mechanism of transport across water/octanol phase boundaries has remained unexplored. Octanol molecular assemblies are demonstrated to reversibly bind water and swing like the hinge of a door.
Determination and perturbation of the electronic potentials of solid catalysts for innovative catalysis
Authors: Qi Xingyu , Shinagawa Tatsuya , Kishimoto Fuminao , Takanabe Kazuhiro
Published: December 2020

Concerns about energy and the environment are motivating a reexamination of catalytic processes, aiming to achieve more efficient and improved catalysis compatible with sustainability.
Purely organic light-harvesting phosphorescence energy transfer by β-cyclodextrin pseudorotaxane for mitochondria targeted imaging
Authors: Shen Fang-Fang , Chen Yong , Dai Xianyin , Zhang Hao-Yang , Zhang Bing , Liu Yaohua , Liu Yu
Published: December 2020

A new type of purely organic light-harvesting PET supramolecular assembly is constructed with efficient energy transfer and ultrahigh antenna effect. Moreover, the assembly could be used for mitochondria targeted imaging in A549 cancer cells.
Nickel-catalyzed C–O/N–H, C–S/N–H, and C–CN/N–H annulation of aromatic amides with alkynes: C–O, C–S, and C–CN activation
Authors: Iyori Yasuaki , Ueno Rina , Morishige Aoi , Chatani Naoto
Published: December 2020

The Ni-catalyzed reaction ofortho-phenoxy-substituted aromatic amides with alkynes in the presence of LiOtBu as a base results in C–O/N–H annulation with the formation of 1(2H)-isoquinolinones.
Cooperative assembly of H-bonded rosettes inside a porphyrin nanoring
Authors: Motloch Petr , Bols Pernille S. , Anderson Harry L. , Hunter Christopher A.
Published: December 2020

Mixing barbiturates and pyrimidines equipped with pyridine ligands to leads to self-assembly of a hexadentate rosette ligand, which is complementary to a hexameric zinc porphyrin macrocycle.
Does polysaccharide glycogen behave as a promoter of amyloid fibril formation at physiologically relevant concentrations?
Authors: Holubová Monika , Lobaz Volodymyr , Loukotová Lenka , Rabyk Mariia , Hromádková Jiřina , Trhlíková Olga , Pechrová Zdislava , Groborz Ondřej , Štěpánek Petr , Hrubý Martin
Published: December 2020

We investigated the influence of glycogen (GG), phytoglycogen (PG), mannan (MAN) and cinnamoyl-modified GG (GG-CIN) on amyloid fibril formation.
Intelligent reflecting surface‐assisted single‐input single‐output Golden codeword‐based modulation schemes
Authors: Pillay Narushan , Xu HongJun
Published: December 2020

In this paper, two intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)‐assisted single‐input single‐output Golden codeword‐based modulation schemes for next‐generation networks are investigated. In Scheme 1, one pair of Golden codeword super‐symbols are transmitted over two consecutive time slots with the assistance of an IRS to maximise the received signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) in each slot. Scheme 2 applies component‐interleaving to the pair of Golden codeword super‐symbols and transmits the modified super‐symbols over four consecutive time slots with the assistance of an IRS to maximise the received SNR in each slot. A significant improvement in error performance is demonstrated over their counterparts, for both conventional/non‐access point (AP) or AP‐based IRSs. Scheme 2 exhibits superior error performance over Scheme 1, especially for small and medium IRSs. The theoretical average bit error probabilities for the proposed schemes are formulated and validated by simulation results. Low‐complexity detectors for the schemes under study are provided and the computational complexity imposed by these detectors are analysed and found to be extremely low.
Finite‐time adaptive neural dynamic surface control for non‐linear systems with unknown dead zone
Authors: Chen Lian , Wang Qing
Published: December 2020

This paper proposes a new adaptive neural network finite‐time dynamic surface control scheme for inaccurate non‐linear systems subjected to unknown dead zones. The ‘explosion of differentiation’ is eliminated by the first‐order filter in backstepping design. The parameter normalization scheme updates the coefficients of activation functions in the radial basis function neural networks. The dead zone inverse method estimates the dead zone parameters. It is proved that the proposed controller achieves the faster tracking performance and the boundedness of all signals in finite time. The contribution of this paper is that the presented controller not only has the advantages of transient performance and program execution time in comparison with traditional backstepping methods, but also its computational cost is lower than command filtered methods. Simulation experiment results are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Segmentation of natural images based on super pixel and graph merging
Authors: Mukherjee Aritra , Sarkar Soumik , Saha Sanjoy K.
Published: December 2020

The task of natural image segmentation is one of the most researched topics of computer vision. There are mainly two principal approaches for the task, the statistical approach and the supervised approach. The proposed methodology segments natural images combining a set of statistical algorithms. First, the image is preprocessed to enhance the edges. Weighted average of the denoised image and its derivatives is the preprocessed output. Thereafter, an energy based super pixelation is applied to over segment the image. Finally, a connectivity graph is built where nodes correspond to super pixels and edges connect the adjacent super pixels. The adjacent super pixels are merged based on the confidence value defined in terms of their textural and colour similarity. Proposed methodology has been applied on the images of BSDS500 dataset. Performance of the proposed work has been compared with that of other works based on detected edge maps. Few works generate ultrametric contour maps (UCM). To compare the performance with those works, UCM is also generated by the proposed methodology. To do so images at multiple scales are considered. It is observed that the output of segmentation is better in case of the proposed methodology. Proposed methodology is much faster than others. Thus, makes it suitable for real time application in robot vision.
Exponential to ZIP and ZIP to exponential load model conversion: Methods and error
Authors: Leinakse Madis , Kilter Jako
Published: December 2020

This paper presents several methods for performing two types of static load model conversion: exponential to ZIP & ZIP to exponential model conversion. In general, these conversions are inaccurate due to non‐equivalence of exponential and ZIP (second‐order polynomial) models. A numerical analysis is conducted using generated datasets of load models to analyse the error and to compare the accuracy of the presented methods. The results of the analysis indicate that the optimal selection of conversion method depends on a number of factors, including normalisation of load models, ZIP model type (accurate or constrained) and expected use of the converted model. In addition, a case study is conducted to analyse the impact of conversion error on load flow results. The results of the case study indicate that a significant difference in load flow results can occur when the load models are converted. Recommendations for conversion method selection are given in the discussion section of the paper.
Deep reinforcement learning‐based optimal data‐driven control of battery energy storage for power system frequency support
Authors: Yan Ziming , Xu Yan , Wang Yu , Feng Xue
Published: December 2020

A battery energy storage system (BESS) is an effective solution to mitigate real‐time power imbalance by participating in power system frequency control. However, battery aging resulted from intensive charge–discharge cycles will inevitably lead to lifetime degradation, which eventually incurs high‐operating costs. This study proposes a deep reinforcement learning‐based data‐driven approach for optimal control of BESS for frequency support considering the battery lifetime degradation. A cost model considering battery cycle aging cost, unscheduled interchange price, and generation cost is proposed to estimate the total operational cost of BESS for power system frequency support, and an actor–critic model is designed for optimising the BESS controller performance. The effectiveness of the proposed optimal BESS control method is verified in a three‐area power system.
An efficient semantic segmentation method based on transfer learning from object detection
Authors: Yang Wei , Zhang Jianlin , Chen Zhongbi , Xu Zhiyong
Published: December 2020

Nowadays, numerous semantic segmentation techniques were used to complex scenes such as urban streets. However, speed issues are not considered in most of these methods, and real‐time methods do not mainly include enough accuracy. In this paper, an efficient semantic segmentation method is proposed, using the feature extractor of a real‐time object detection model, Darknet53, as the backbone of DeepLabv3+. By the high accuracy of DeepLabv3+ structure and great efficiency of Darknet53, a mean intersection was obtained over union of 76.3% in Cityscapes test set, and fast inference speed simultaneously (0.178 s per frame on one GTX 1080Ti GPU). A huge imbalance of objects was noticed on Cityscapes dataset. To solve this problem, a Focal Loss like loss function was proposed to concentrate more on the hard difficult pixels. Moreover, an atrous convolution block was proposed to extract more high‐level features. Based on the experimental results, it is proved that these changes contribute to a better result on the Cityscapes test set (77.8% mean Intersection over Union) and faster inference speed (0.171 s per frame). Authors' model achieves state‐of‐art results on Cityscapes test set (79.1% mean Intersection over Union) after fine‐tuning on Cityscapes coarsely annotated dataset.
Interest point detection from multi‐beam light detection and ranging point cloud using unsupervised convolutional neural network
Authors: Yin Deyu , Zhang Qian , Liu Jingbin , Liang Xinlian , Wang Yunsheng , Chen Shoubin , Maanpää Jyri , Hyyppä Juha , Chen Ruizhi
Published: December 2020

Interest point detection plays an important role in many computer vision applications. This work is motivated by the light detection and ranging odometry task in autonomous driving. Existing methods are not capable of detecting enough interest points in unstructured scenarios where there are little constructions or trees around, and correspondingly light detection and ranging odometry will fail to continuous localisation. An interest point detector is proposed for detecting interest points from multi‐beam light detection and ranging point cloud using unsupervised convolutional neural network. The point cloud is projected into a two‐dimensional structured data according to the scanning geometry. Then the convolutional neural network filters trained in an unsupervised manner are used to generate a local feature map with the two‐dimensional structured data as input. Finally, interest points are obtained by extracting the grids that have significant differences with their neighbour grids. Based on an odometry benchmark, the experiments show that the proposed interest point detector can capture more local details, which contributes to more than 16% error decrease in point cloud registration in highway scenes.
A feature‐optimized Faster regional convolutional neural network for complex background objects detection
Authors: Wang Kun , Liu Maozhen
Published: December 2020

In recent years, convolutional neural networks are playing an increasingly important role in the field of object detection. However, the complex background of the detected image, the limited receptive field by the fixed geometry of the convolution kernel when building the model, and the positioning and pooling deviation from the region of interest are still important factors that affect the detection accuracy. In this paper, an improved algorithm is proposed for target detection based on Faster regional convolutional neural network. In the bounding box positioning phase, an improved interpolation algorithm‐Newton's parabolic interpolation is proposed instead of bilinear interpolation, after ROI size normalized by extending a parallel branch of tensor to weaken the negative impact of complex background on prospects in the phase of feature extraction using neural network recently popular attention CBAM mechanism model and the deformable convolution. Without bells and whistles, a series of experiments show that our method has higher target detection accuracy on the datasets PASCAL VOC2007, VOC2012, COCO 2014 and DIOR. Hence, the method is effective for actual target recognition tasks in complex background environments. The authors hope that the method will contribute to future research. Code has been made available at: https://github.com/liumaozhen‐lmz/Faster_R‐CNN_Attention.git.
Vehicle detection in aerial images based on lightweight deep convolutional network
Authors: Shen Jiaquan , Liu Ningzhong , Sun Han
Published: December 2020

Vehicle detection in aerial images is an interesting and challenging task. Traditional methods are based on sliding‐window search and handcrafted features, which limits the representation power and has heavy computational costs. Recent research have shown that deep‐learning algorithms are widely used in the field of object detection. However, the deep‐learning algorithms still face many difficulties and challenges in the object detection under the aerial scene. Meanwhile, the high computational cost of detection algorithms lead to low‐detection efficiency. In this study, we build a fast and accurate lightweight detection framework for vehicle detection in aerial scenes. The proposed detection method improves the expressive ability of detection network and significantly reduces the amount of calculations in the model. Meanwhile, setting suitable anchor boxes according to the size of the object vehicles have been introduced in our model, which also effectively improves the performance of the detection. In addition, we have published a new aerial vehicle image dataset and verified the effectiveness of our method. In the Munich dataset and our dataset, our method achieves 85.8% and 91.2% of the mean average precision (mAP), and its detection time is 1.78 and 0.048 s on Nvidia Titan XP. Our results show that the proposed framework achieves significant improvement over several alternatives and state‐of‐the‐art schemes with higher accuracy and less detection time.
Electrical properties evaluation of double‐layer nano‐filled oil‐paper composites
Authors: Abd‐Elhady Amr M. , Abdul‐Aleem Ahmed A. , Izzularab Mohamed A.
Published: December 2020

Oil‐paper composite is the main insulation system in oil‐filled transformers. In recent years, the use of nanotechnology to improve the electrical and thermal properties of transformer oil has become a field of research interest. In this paper, the electrical properties such as breakdown strength, volume resistivity, and dielectric response of nano‐filled oil‐paper insulation are evaluated. The evaluation is carried out on a double‐layer of oil‐paper composites insulation. The double‐layer samples are prepared considering different nano‐filler types. The studied nano‐filler types are Pb3O4, Al2O3, and SiO2 with average particle size 25 nm of each. For each nano‐filler type, oil‐paper samples with different concentrations (0.04, 0.06, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 g/L) are prepared. The effect of nano‐filler types on the breakdown strength, volume resistivity, and dielectric response of oil‐paper composites are highly evaluated. The results show that the filler types as well as filler permittivity affects the breakdown strength, volume resistivity, and dielectric response of oil‐paper composites insulation. Also, the results show that nano‐filler with high permittivity gives higher improvement in breakdown strength of Oil‐paper composite compared nano‐filler with low permittivity. Finally, the interpretation of all obtained results considering breakdown strength, volume resistivity, and dielectric response is highly reported.
Determination of transformer board creep parameters under high‐mechanical and thermal stresses
Authors: Arabul Ahmet Yigit , Kumru Celal Fadil , Keskin Arabul Fatma
Published: December 2020

During operation of a transformer, all components inside the transformer begin to age and lose their performances due to various stresses. Among these components, transformer boards (TB) used between windings have an important role in terms of equipment reliability for being used for both insulation and cooling purposes. TBs are exposed to all sorts of specified stresses during operation and their physical structure deteriorates by creeping over time. This deterioration leads to a decrease in the gap between winding turns, and insulation failures occur due to insufficient cooling. In order to prevent these types of failures, it is quite important to specify creep characteristics of TBs before the production particularly for high‐mechanical and thermal stresses. In this study, creep parameters (secondary creep rate, time to breakdown) of TB samples used in a typical power transformer under various loading and temperature are determined experimentally. In addition, gradient values are calculated for fitted lines and results obtained evaluated in terms of transformer operating conditions. Creep data obtained under high temperature (90, 100 and 110°C) and loading (30, 35 and 40 kg) makes an important contribution to literature and will help transformer manufacturers in design and production stages.
Evidence for chromium hydride in the atmosphere of hot Jupiter WASP-31b
Authors: Braam Marrick , van der Tak Floris F. S. , Chubb Katy L. , Min Michiel
Published: December 2020

Context.The characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres has shown a wide diversity of compositions. Hot Jupiters have the appropriate temperatures to host metallic compounds, which should be detectable through transmission spectroscopy.

Aims.We aim to detect exotic species in the transmission spectra of hot Jupiters, specifically WASP-31b, by testing a variety of chemical species to explain the spectrum.

Methods.We conduct a re-analysis of publicly available transmission data of WASP-31b using the Bayesian retrieval framework TAUREXII. We retrieve various combinations of the opacities of 25 atomic and molecular species to determine the minimum set that is needed to fit the observed spectrum.

Results.We report evidence for the spectroscopic signatures of chromium hydride (CrH), H2O, and K in WASP-31b. Compared to a flat model without any signatures, a CrH-only model is preferred with a statistical significance of ~3.9σ. A model consisting of both CrH and H2O is found with ~2.6 and ~3σconfidence over a CrH-only model and an H2O-only model, respectively. Furthermore, weak evidence for the addition of K is found at ~2.2σover the H2O+CrH model, although the fidelity of the data point associated with this signature was questioned in earlier studies. Finally, the inclusion of collision-induced absorption and a Rayleigh scattering slope (indicating the presence of aerosols) is found with ~3.5σconfidence over the flat model. This analysis presents the first evidence for signatures of CrH in a hot Jupiter atmosphere. At a retrieved temperature of 1481−355+264K, the atmosphere of WASP-31b is hot enough to host gaseous Cr-bearing species, and the retrieved abundances agree well with predictions from thermal equilibrium chemistry. Furthermore, the retrieved abundance of CrH agrees with the abundance in an L-type brown dwarf atmosphere. However, additional retrievals using VLT FORS2 data lead to a non-detection of CrH. Future observations withJames WebbSpace Telescope have the potential to confirm the detection and/or discover other CrH features.
Measurement of erosion state and refractory lining thickness of blast furnace hearth by using three-dimensional laser scanning method
Authors: Zhang Lei , Zhang Jianliang , Jiao Kexin , Jia Guoli , Gong Jian , Yang Xiaoting , Zhao Manxiang , Duan Weibin
Published: December 2020

The three-dimensional (3D) model of erosion state of blast furnace (BF) hearth was obtained by using 3D laser scanning method. The thickness of refractory lining can be measured anywhere and the erosion curves were extracted both in the circumferential and height directions to analyze the erosion characteristics. The results show that the most eroded positions located below 20# tuyere with an elevation of 7700 mm and below 24#–25# tuyere with an elevation of 8100 mm, the residual thickness here is only 295 mm. In the circumferential directions, the serious eroded areas located between every two tapholes while the taphole areas were protected well by the bonding material. In the height directions, the severe erosion areas located between the elevation of 7600 mm to 8200 mm. According to the calculation, the minimum depth to ensure the deadman floats in the hearth is 2581 mm, corresponding to the elevation of 7619 mm. It can be considered that during the blast furnace production process, the deadman has been sinking to the bottom of BF hearth and the erosion areas gradually formed at the root of deadman.
On generalized approximate convex functions and variational inequalities
Authors: Joshi Bhuwan Chandra
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we consider a vector optimization problem involving locally Lipschitz generalized approximately convex functions and provide several concepts of approximate efficient solutions. We formulate approximate vector variational inequalities of Minty and Stampacchia type under the framework of Clarke subdifferentials and use these inequalities as a tool to characterize an approximate efficient solution of the vector optimization problem.
SARS-CoV-2-assoziiertes Hyperinflammations-Syndrom bei Kindern und Jugendlichen
Authors: Thomas Oommen Prasad
Published: December 2020

Das multisystemische inflammatorische Syndrom bei Kindern (MIS-C) in Assoziation zu SARS-CoV-2 ist ein potenziell lebensbedrohliches Krankheitsbild, das Ähnlichkeiten zum Kawasaki-Syndrom aufweist. Insbesondere die eingesetzten therapeutischen Strategien wie intravenöse Immunglobuline, Steroide oder Zytokin-blockierende Therapien wie IL-6- oder IL-1-Blockade sind der Behandlung des Kawasaki-Syndroms entlehnt. Andererseits scheint die betroffene Patientengruppe sich im Hinblick auf Alter und ethnischen Hintergrund von Kindern mit Kawasaki-Syndrom zu unterscheiden. Auch die vom inflammatorischen Gewebeschaden betroffenen Organe unterscheiden sich und umfassen bei MIS-C neben schweren kardialen Beteiligungen, vor allem gastrointestinale Organe, hämatologische, mukokutane Beteiligungen sowie das respiratorische System.
Conflicts and the spread of plagues in pre-industrial Europe
Authors: Kaniewski David , Marriner Nick
Published: December 2020

One of the most devastating environmental consequences of war is the disruption of peacetime human–microbe relationships, leading to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Indirectly, conflicts also have severe health consequences due to population displacements, with a heightened risk of disease transmission. While previous research suggests that conflicts may have accentuated historical epidemics, this relationship has never been quantified. Here, we use annually resolved data to probe the link between climate, human behavior (i.e. conflicts), and the spread of plague epidemics in pre-industrial Europe (AD 1347–1840). We find that AD 1450–1670 was a particularly violent period of Europe’s history, characterized by a mean twofold increase in conflicts. This period was concurrent with steep upsurges in plague outbreaks. Cooler climate conditions during the Little Ice Age further weakened afflicted groups, making European populations less resistant to pathogens, through malnutrition and deteriorating living/sanitary conditions. Our analysis demonstrates that warfare provided a backdrop for significant microbial opportunity in pre-industrial Europe.
Reduction Chemistry of Natural Pyrethrins and Preliminary Insecticidal Activity of Reduced Pyrethrins
Authors: Markham Todd E. , Kotze Andrew C. , Duggan Peter J. , Johnston Martin R.
Published: December 2020

The natural extract pyrethrum is an insecticidal oil derived from Tanacetum cinerariifolium that is commonly used in domestic and agricultural pesticides. The major constituents of the extract are the Pyrethrins, six esters that provide pyrethrum with its insecticidal properties. These Pyrethrins readily degrade through several environmental means and as such, there can be significant Pyrethrin losses during processing and long-term storage of pyrethrum-based insecticides. This work attempts to alleviate the effect of these degradative processes through the pursuit of stabilised Pyrethrins by chemically removing oxidatively sensitive functionality. Several reduced Pyrethrin analogues were produced and a method to convert the more sensitive Pyrethrins present in the pyrethrum concentrate into their respective more stable jasmolin counterparts, as a mixture with the over-reduced tetrahydropyrethrins, was developed. All other reduction processes abolished insecticidal activity against Lucilia cuprina larvae, whereas some isomerised analogues showed comparable potency with the individual natural pyrethrin esters. This work has revealed new insights into the structure–activity relationships in this unique class of insecticide.
Seasonal climate summary southern hemisphere (winter 2015): Mild winter over most of Australia as El Nino strengthens
Authors: Chandler Elise
Published: December 2020

The climate is summarised for the austral winter season of 2015 with emphasis on the tropical Pacific region as well as rainfall and temperature over Australia. In the tropical Pacific, winter was dominated by a developing El Niño event; by June the Southern Oscillation Index had already exceeded El Niño thresholds for the second month running and sea surface temperatures had also passed key threshold levels as the tropical Pacific Ocean warmed rapidly. Several compo-site indices of El Niño such as the 5VAR and Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) continued to rise as the winter months progressed, indicating an atmosphere and ocean that was building towards a strong event, with index values by August being comparable to the previously strong El Niño events of 1982–83 and 1997–98.August saw the start of the strongest positive Indian Ocean Dipole event since 2006 while the Southern Annular Mode was consistently positive throughout winter. Australian rainfall was lower than average during winter, most notably over the southern regions, with daytime temperatures above normal in northern and western parts of Australia. Night-time temperatures were overall warmer than normal with the main exception being Tasmania, parts of the southeast and Northern Territory.
The body center stage
Authors: Montesi Vanessa
Published: December 2020

This article examines Marie Chouinard’s choreography Jérôme Bosch: Le Jardin des délices (2016) as an
intermedial translation of Bosch’s homonymous painting. Taking the concepts of distribution of the sensible and esthetic regime developed by
Rancière (2004) as groundwork, I consider how dance and translation participate in the
political by challenging traditional hierarchal author–translator relationships, by introducing new corporealities and discourses in the
realm of the visible and by exploiting the slippage of meaning that can be produced in the reiteration of discourse and citationality that
characterize these two disciplines. I conclude by arguing that in engaging with these three lines of thought, Jérôme Bosch: Le
Jardin des délices offers a model of translation as an embodied and situated practice that combines the esthetic and the
political by bringing a dialogue between equally participating subjects to bear upon a specific context.
Mössbauer and differential thermal analysis studies of iron alkali lead-phosphate glasses
Authors: El-Denglawey A , Saddeek Yasser B , El-Bahnasawy H H , Aly K , Dahshan A , Amer T Z , Showahy A A , Shaaban Kh S
Published: December 2020

This work reports on the effect of the increment of Fe2O3 in a network of phosphate glasses involving Al2O3, Na2O and PbO by DTA and Mössbauer techniques. The analysis of Mössbauer suggests oxidation of Fe2+ ions in the distorted bipyramidal to Fe3+ in the same site. This procedure creates non-bridging oxygens joined with Fe2+
octa that weakens the phosphate network whenever the Fe2O3 content increases. The thermal parameters of the phosphate network will be affected by this weakness. Thus, both the glass transition temperature (T

gl
) and the crystallization peak temperature (T

cp
) on the one hand and the activation energies for glass transition E

gl
and for crystallization (E

gl
and E

cp
) on the other hand will decrease as a function of Fe2O3. This decrease will be discussed following Lasocka’s relationships that present a good correlation between T

gl
and T

cp
. Furthermore, the glass transition temperature (T

gl
) was correlated with the glass fragility (m) and with the elastic parameters of the phosphate network such as the bulk (K) and shearing (G) moduli.
Evaluation of biocompatibility and osseointegration of Nb–xTi–Zr alloys for use as dental implant materials
Authors: Ou Pinghua , Hao Cong , Liu Jue , Yang Hailin , He Rengui , Zhang Taomei , Wang Yali , Ruan Jianming
Published: December 2020

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility and osteogenic potential of 50%Nb–xTi–Zr (NTZ, x = 20%, 30%, 40% by weight) alloys as compared with dental commercial pure titanium (cpTi). Cell cytotoxicity assay, fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy were used to measure the in vitro biocompatibility of NTZ. The expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), integrin β1, osteocalcin (OC), Ki67 and collagen-I (Col-I) at the mRNA level was measured by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Osseointegration ability was determined using x-ray evaluation and histological analysis in vivo. Compared with the MG63 cells grown on cpTi on day 3, the viability, adherence and proliferation rates of cells cultured on NTZ alloys were significantly improved (p < 0.05). Furthermore, similar expression levels of Ki67, Col-I, OC and ALP were found in the MG63 cells grown on NTZ alloys and those grown on cpTi. The Cbfα1 level was significantly higher for the 50%Nb–30%Ti–Zr (NTZ3) than for the cpTi group on day 6 (p < 0.01), indicating that NTZ alloys can induce osteogenesis. A considerable amount of new bone formation and osseointegration was observed around NTZ3 implants compared with cpTi implants in vivo. Collectively, NTZ3 showed superior biocompatibility and osteogenic activity; therefore, NTZ3 may be an excellent replacement for dental Ti implants.
World Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering-Architecture-Urban Planning Symposium - WMCAUS 2020
Authors: Yilmaz Isik , Marschalko Marian , Drusa Marian
Published: December 2020

This volume of “IOP Conference Series: Material Science and Engineering” contains the papers presented in the 5th Anniversary of “World Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering-Architecture-Urban Planning Symposium” in Prague (Czech Republic) during 1-5 September 2020. The aim of the WMCAUS 2020 is to provide a forum for discussion of the latest findings and technologies in different fields of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning, to give opportunities for future collaborations. It is a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences in the fields of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning by providing a forum for early career researchers for presentation of their work and discussion of their ideas with experts in different fields of Civil Engineering, Architecture and City and Urban Planning.

However, the planned period of WMCAUS 2020 was 15-19 June 2020, it was postponed to 1-5 September 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and held in Prague (Czech Republic) by appearing in person of the participants, not on-line format.

All the missions of World Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering-Architecture-Urban Planning Symposium – WMCAUS 2020 were completed, and 342 peer reviewed articles were published. We would like to thank all reviewers for their great effort to achieve the high quality of published articles.

We would like to show our deep gratitude to the honored Scientific Committee and Institutional Scientific Partners of WMCAUS. The Scientific Committee and Institutional Scientific Partners of WMCAUS was completed by paying strict attention, and all members were selected from well-known, very much appreciated, productive and representatives of the different countries.

We thank to the sponsors of WMCAUS 2020 (as main sponsors LAMA Energy Group, LAMA Gas and Oil, and to be co-sponsor Prague City Tourism) for their very much appreciated supports during the organization of “World Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering-Architecture-Urban Planning Symposium – WMCAUS 2020”. Of course, we would like to express my sincere gratitude to all participants with more than 500 submissions from more than 50 different countries all over the world for their interests and contributions in the 5th Anniversary WMCAUS 2020. Another thank goes to the team of WMCAUS for their very much appreciated high workload during year.

We hope to see the participants of WMCAUS 2020 once again in 6th WMCAUS 2021 that will be held in Prague (Czech Republic).
Designing Brand Experience in Interior Space
Authors: Onem Meltem , Hasirci Deniz
Published: December 2020

With fast globalization, comes competitive marketing and brands have begun to use experiential design as a marketing strategy. Experiencing spaces creates a signification in people’s lives, and spaces can have a particular role in originating specialized experiences. Therefore, there is a key role for interior designers, because they design experience through space. Understanding how to design a perceived space for the purpose of brand strategy becomes significant at this point. The research aspires to analyze the role of interior space in experiencing corporate identity. Moreover, it explores how interior space is being shaped by firms who are designing the corporate identity with all design elements together, from graphic design for the logo, to the software design for the website, to interior design for the design of the corporate space. Integrating interior space within the development of corporate identity is a new and effective approach in understanding the experience of the corporate identity. Schmitt’s [1] Experiential Marketing model is used to analyze the works of the design companythat uses this approach. The model is adapted to the field of interior design to provide a link with marketing and to eliminate deficiencies between professional life and the existing literature.
A Methodology for Optimal Design and Simulation of Deployable Structures
Authors: Ama Fernando Del , Molina Mariano , Isabel Castilla M. , Pulido Dolores Gomez , Lorenzo Covadonga , Millan Juan Garcia , Sancho Juan C.
Published: December 2020

Deployable structures with bars have been used in different technological fields since the beginning of the 20th century. It was as of 1930 when their use in construction became widespread, especially in roofs with large spans. The research group at San Pablo University in Madrid, along with Keene State College has developed a new type of deployable structure that minimizes the weight and maximizes the span. The structural efficiency is based on the fact that the tensioned elements of the modules are made of cables. In addition to contributing to the overall stiffness and strength of the structure, these cables are designed to guide the folding and unfolding process of the structure. In each module the tension cable is extended until it is connected to the midpoint of the compression bar, thus regulating its position and avoiding the possibility of unforeseen folding while the structure is fully deployed. This article shows a method to optimize the geometry and to test the static behavior of the structure.
Manufacture and Assembly Mechanism of Dougong
Authors: Haiyan Dai , Hong Zhang , Bin Meng
Published: December 2020

Dougong [斗栱] is a bracket between column, beam, and rafter in traditional timber structure building in China. It has several bearing blocks, named dou [斗], and some bracket arms, named gong [栱]. All components are connected by sunmao [榫卯]. It was born from the capital and later developed into a bracket that does not have to be related to the column. During the last 3000 years, its status in traditional architecture has been rising. In the Qing Dynasty, the architectural design work started it as the core. The chief aim of this research is to explore the possibility and key issues of using dougong for the prefabricated buildings. This research documents a folk building project in China from three aspects: the construction organization, the dougong component manufacture and assembly. After that, we study the mechanism and analyze the traditional technology. Finally, the study provides some suggestions for the prefabricated building. The first aspect is the construction organization. The component manufacture team needs more specialized skills than the assembly team. The two teams exchange information through the code on components and simple language. The proportion of dougong manufacture workload on the standard floor is 40%. The second aspect is the dougong component manufacture. A master carpenter, a chief engineer, is in charge of three tasks: architectural design, material requirements planning, and templates making. After that, he directed 4 carpenters to make components accorded with the templates. The dougong components are universal. Besides, carpenters assemble and code the completed gong components in layers in the carpentry yard. Each layer of gong uses 1 English capital letter to code. The other components are unassembled and uncoded. The third aspect is the dougong component assembly. The assembly team’s workers need only simple skills to complete their work. Limited by the low precision of the hand-made method, they need to fine-tune the size of the gong at the joint between the gong and the column. In this project, the lowest component of dougong is gong, so, the workers assemble 5 layers of gongs into the columns from bottom to top first, and then assemble several dous between the gongs. The completed sunmaos at this stage are not tightly fitted, which leaves room for adjustment of the upper components of the dougong. The research we have done indicates that compared with the assembly stage, the manufacturing stage is a concentrated section of the technology and workload. So, the key to modernizing traditional buildings is the modernization of this stage, especially the dougong manufacture. If it is realized, we can save at least 40% hand-made workload of the standard floor. At the same time, the components will achieve higher accuracy, which is beneficial to improve the assembly speed and quality. Also, in the future, BIM can be utilized based on the traditional design method, which is significant to the inheritance and improvement of dougong technology.
Investigating the Presence of National Capitals as Ranked Global Cities
Authors: Ghalib Hebatullah , Elkhorazaty Mohamed Tamer , Serag Yehya
Published: December 2020

Urban competitiveness has become an undeniable reality of our world. Cities around the world create strategies and development plans to enhance their competitiveness and reach worldwide fame and attraction for different segments. This competition has widened to reach different aspects of social, economic, physical and environmental aspects of cities. Along the years different methodologies and criteria were proposed to create a systematic assessment of cities worldwide and rank their competitiveness. The results of such assessments are published in indices; e.g. Global Power City Index, Global Power City Index, etc. Each index has its own set of indicators that cover different aspects of cities; e.g. economy, environment, accessibility. Sample cities from all over the world are graded and ranked accordingly. The cities that achieve top ranking in those global assessment lists are called global cities. This paper aims to investigate if being a national capital can be related to becoming a global city. This is through the study of two global city rankings; Global Power City Index (GPCI) and Global Cities Index (GCI), for three successive years; 2016, 2017, 2018. It is shown that around 50% of ranked cities are national capitals across both ranking system and over the three years covered in this research. European national capitals reach 66% of those featured, followed by Asian capitals with around 33%. The presence of capital cities is also evident in within each indicator of the Global Power City Index (GPCI). In general, evident presence can be linked to national capitals especially those of Europe and Asia.
Bases of Elements of Multi-Criteria Analysis of Quality of Design Decisions
Authors: Kazaryan Ruben
Published: December 2020

Economic and mathematical models are focused on obtaining optimal solutions to particular problems in the field of transport construction (formation of organizational structures, provision of materials for construction, creation of specialized units, development of production standards, development of work schedules, etc.). None of the considered methods can claim universality in substantiating decisions, since the decision-making process itself has a complex hierarchical structure: part of the decisions is made “at the highest level”, the other part of decisions is transferred to the “lower” levels. No governing body is capable of making all decisions. Therefore, economic and mathematical models can also be recommended both in the field of macroeconomics (to the highest level of transport construction management) and in the field of microeconomics (construction organizations, enterprises, production units). In this regard, it is important to correctly assess the “niche” of the construction management system, in which one or another model should have a place. Obviously, most of them can be recommended to organizations and enterprises of the “middle” and “lower” levels in which the technological processes of the construction of transport facilities are implemented, although their application at the highest level is also possible (for example, cluster analysis models, linear programming, network models, etc.).