bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RETRACTED: Two novel Mn (II) and Zn (II) complexes: crystal structures and anti-prostatic cancer activity
Authors: Sheng Liu , Li Qianwei , Wang Haoyu , Feng Li
Published: September 2018

This article has been retracted, and the online PDF has been watermarked “RETRACTION”. The retraction notice is available at http://doi.org/10.3233/MGC-220952 .
Pengaruh Pengetahuan Gizi Ibu Dan Sosial Ekonomi Keluarga Terhadap Status Gizi Balita Umur 6-24 Bulan Di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Tamalanrea Jaya
Authors: Roficha Hertien Novi , Suaib Fatmawaty , Hendrayati Hendrayati
Published: September 2018

Mothers’ nutritional knowledge play an important role in nutritional status of children since mothers have responsibility to provide food for family, particularly for children. Although mothers have good knowledge in nutrition, but if their level of socioeconomic is low, it will affect to nutritional status of children.The aim of this research is to determine effect of mothers’ nutritional knowledge and socioecomic family on nutritional status of children aged 6 to 24 months at Tamalanrea Jaya public health center. The kind of this research is analityc research. Sample consists of 69 children aged 6 to 24 months and their mother are the respondents who are chosen by purposive sampling. The effect of variable is detected by chi-squared test and data is demonstrated by table and narration.Result of this research shows that there are influence of mothers’ nutritional knowledge and parents revenue with nutritional status of children aged 6 to 24 months which are explained by p-value = 0.002 < α = 0.05 and p-value = 0.026 < α = 0.05 respectively. However, level of mothers’ education and mothers’ job did not have influence to nutritional status of children aged 6 to 24 months which are proved by p-value = 0.587 > α = 0.05 and p-value = 0.69 > α = 0.05 respectively.This research is suggestible to mothers to improve their knowledge in nutritional problem by following nutritional counselling or reading nutrition books for increasing insight about nutritional problem
Analisis Faktor Determinan Kejadian Stunting Pada Balita Usia 12 Sampai 60 Bulan
Authors: Hendrayati Hendrayati , Asbar Ramlan
Published: September 2018

Stunting adalah masalah gizi kronis yang disebabkan oleh asupan zat gizi dalam jangka waktu lama, sehingga menyebabkan tidak terpenuhinya kebutuhan zat gizi.  Indonesia menduduki peringkat tertinggi kejadian stunting disbanding Negara Asia Tenggara lainnya. Prevalensi stunting di Indonesia cenderung meningkat. Riset kesehatan Dasar menunjukan prevalensi stanting 35.6%  tahun 2010  dan 37.2% tahun 2013 (Bapenas, 2011; MAC-Indonesia, 2014).Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa  factor determinan pada kejadian stunting anak usia 12 sampai 60 bulan. Metode survey analitik jumlah sampel 155 anak stunting.Hasil penelitian menunjukan factor determinan kejadian stunting pada anak usia 12 sampai 60 bulan adalah asupan energy dan zat gizi makro seperti karbohidrat, protein dan lemak. Sedangkan asupan zat gizi mikro yang mempengaruhi kejadian stunting adalah asupan Vitamin A dan Zink.  Selain asupan praktek pemberian makan seperti konsistensi, frekwensi dan sarapan juga merupakan factor determinan kejadian stunting.            Pengetahuan gizi ibu  tentang ASI eksklusif dan Makanan Pendamping ASI meskipun bukan merupakan determinan kejadian stunting pada anak usia 12 sampai 60 bulan tetapi merupakan factor protektif
Study on Sulfide Distribution in the Operating Oil of Power Transformers and Its Effect on the Oil Quality
Authors: Cong Haoxi , Zhang Minhao , Li Qingmin
Published: September 2018

Corrosive sulfides in transformer oil could react with copper wire to produce cuprous sulfide, causing insulation failure. At present, both the quantitative measurement method and distribution of sulfur components in operating oil are not clear yet. In this paper, the existing types and contents of sulfides in oil samples with different alkyl groups and different voltage levels were investigated. With quantitative testing methods, the distribution of sulfur composition in the operating oil was analyzed. Results showed that the thiophene sulfide in transformer oil existed mainly in the form of benzothiophene with an unsaturation of 6 and dibenzothiophene with an unsaturation of 9. The content of monosulfide sulfide with unsaturation of 3 or 6 was the highest. The disulfide existed basically in the form of Dibenzyl disulfide (DBDS). The influence of sulfides on the oil quality were analyzed on this basis. Results showed that the existence of sulfides would increase the moisture content in oil. The absorbed moisture could cause the decrease of the breakdown voltage and rise of the dielectric loss. The above study could provide some engineering practice for understanding the sulphide distribution in transformer oils and further prevent the sulfur corrosion faults.
Cooperative Crossing Cache Placement in Cache-Enabled Device to Device-Aided Cellular Networks
Authors: Soleimani Somayeh , Tao Xiaofeng
Published: September 2018

In cache-enabled device-to-device (D2D) -aided cellular networks, the technique of caching contents in the cooperative crossing between base stations (BSs) and devices can significantly reduce core traffic and enhance network capacity. In this paper, we propose a scheme that establishes device availability, which indicates whether a cache-enabled device can handle the transmission of the desired content within the required sending time, called the delay, while achieving optimal probabilistic caching. We also investigate the impact of transmission device availability on the effectiveness of a scenario of cooperative crossing cache placement, where content delivery traffic can be offloaded from the local cache, a D2D transmitter’s cache via a D2D link, or else directly from a BS via a cellular link, in order to maximize the offloading probability. Further, we derive the cooperation content offloading strategy while considering successful content transmission by D2D transmitters or BSs to guarantee the delay, even though reducing the delay is not the focus of this study. Finally, the proposed problem is formulated. Owing to the non-convexity of the optimization problem, it can be rewritten as a minimization of the difference between the convex functions; thus, it can be solved by difference of convex (DC) programming using a low-complexity algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed cache placement scheme improves the offloading probability by 13.5% and 23% compared to Most Popular Content (MPC) scheme, in which both BSs and devices cache the most popular content and Coop. BS/D2D caching scheme, in which each BS tier and user tier applies cooperative content caching separately.
Comparative Study with 89Y-foil and 89Y-pressed Targets for the Production of 89Zr †
Authors: Alnahwi Aiman H. , Tremblay Sébastien , Guérin Brigitte
Published: September 2018

Zirconium-89 (89Zr, t1/2 = 3.27 days) owns great potential in nuclear medicine, being extensively used in the labelling of antibodies and nanoparticules. 89Zr can be produced by cyclotron via an 89Y(p,n)89Zr reaction while using an 89Y-foil target. In this study, we investigated for the first time the use of 89Y-pressed target for the preparation of 89Zr-oxalate via a (p,n) reaction. We performed comparative studies with an 89Y-foil target mounted on custom-made target supports. A new automated cassette-based purification module was used to facilitate the purification and the fractionation of 89Zr-oxalate. The effective molar activity (EMA) was calculated for both approaches via titration with deferoxamine (DFO). The radionuclidic purity was determined by gamma-ray spectroscopy and the metal impurities were quantified by ICP-MS on the resulting 89Zr-oxalate solution. The cassette-based purification process leading to fractionation is simple, efficient, and provides very high EMA of 89Zr-oxalate. The total recovered activity was 81 ± 4% for both approaches. The highest EMA was found at 13.3 MeV and 25 μA for 0.25-mm thick 89Y-foil. Similar and optimal production yields were obtained at 15 MeV and 40 μA while using 0.50-mm thick 89Y-foil and pressed targets. Metallic impurities concentration was below the general limit of 10 ppm for heavy metals in the US and Ph.Eur for both 89Y-foil and pressed targets. Overall, these results show that the irradiation of 89Y-pressed targets is a very effective process, offering an alternative method for 89Zr production.
Robust Design of 3D-Printed 6–18 GHz Double-Ridged TEM Horn Antenna
Authors: Lee Sungwoo , Yang Youngoo , Lee Kang-Yoon , Jung Kyung-Young , Hwang Keum
Published: September 2018

A robust design of a 3D-printed 6–18 GHz double-ridged TEM horn antenna is proposed in this paper. The designed TEM horn antenna has two parts: an adaptor and a horn aperture. The adaptor is realized using a double-ridged waveguide to extend the operating bandwidth of the dominant mode (TE10 mode). Meanwhile, the horn aperture section is implemented in an exponentially tapered configuration to match the impedance of the double-ridged waveguide with the intrinsic impedance. The performance of the initially designed antenna shows that the reflection coefficient and gain levels are less than −13 dB and greater than 5.5 dBi within the 6–18 GHz band, respectively. The initial design was well done, but the noise factors that may occur during the manufacturing process were not taken into account. To design an antenna considering these noise factors, the parameters of the initial design are optimized by a novel robust design method also proposed in this paper. The robustness of the antenna optimized by the proposed method is approximately 12.4% higher than that of the initial antenna. The validity of the proposed method was tested by fabricating the antenna. A prototype of the optimized antenna with the proposed robust design method is fabricated using a 3D printer with a stereolithographic apparatus attached, and the surface of the frame is covered by a nano-silver plating. The measured results of the fabricated antenna are in good agreement with the simulation results over the operating band. The measured −10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of the antenna can cover 6–18 GHz. In addition, the measured gain ranges from 4.42 to 10.75 dBi within the 6–18 GHz band.
Semi-Automatic Segmentation of Vertebral Bodies in MR Images of Human Lumbar Spines
Authors: Kim Sewon , Bae Won C. , Masuda Koichi , Chung Christine B. , Hwang Dosik
Published: September 2018

We propose a semi-automatic algorithm for the segmentation of vertebral bodies in magnetic resonance (MR) images of the human lumbar spine. Quantitative analysis of spine MR images often necessitate segmentation of the image into specific regions representing anatomic structures of interest. Existing algorithms for vertebral body segmentation require heavy inputs from the user, which is a disadvantage. For example, the user needs to define individual regions of interest (ROIs) for each vertebral body, and specify parameters for the segmentation algorithm. To overcome these drawbacks, we developed a semi-automatic algorithm that considerably reduces the need for user inputs. First, we simplified the ROI placement procedure by reducing the requirement to only one ROI, which includes a vertebral body; subsequently, a correlation algorithm is used to identify the remaining vertebral bodies and to automatically detect the ROIs. Second, the detected ROIs are adjusted to facilitate the subsequent segmentation process. Third, the segmentation is performed via graph-based and line-based segmentation algorithms. We tested our algorithm on sagittal MR images of the lumbar spine and achieved a 90% dice similarity coefficient, when compared with manual segmentation. Our new semi-automatic method significantly reduces the user’s role while achieving good segmentation accuracy.
Beyond the Literal Meaning of Words in Children with Klinefelter Syndrome: Two Case Studies
Authors: Melogno Sergio , Pinto Maria Antonietta , Orsolini Margherita , Tarani Luigi
Published: September 2018

Literature on children with Klinefelter Syndrome (KS) points to general linguistic difficulties in both comprehension and production among other cognitive functions, and in the majority of cases, these coexist with an intellectual level within the norms. In these conditions, children having language delay generally engage in language therapy and are systematically monitored across ages. In this article, we present the profiles of two children with KS (47, XXY), aged 9.1 (Child S) and 13 (Child D), whose language development was assessed as adequate at age 3, and for this reason, did not receive any language treatment. At the present stage, their IQ, as measured by Wechsler Scales (Child S: 92; Child D: 101), is within the norm, but they both present marked weaknesses in pragmatic skills such as figurative language comprehension. The analysis of these two cases points to the need to go beyond global indexes of verbal abilities, as the same global index may mask a wide diversification of individual profiles. In addition, this study underlines the importance of monitoring the developmental trajectories of children like Child D and Child S, because weaknesses in pragmatic skills that are relevant for both academic achievement and social adaptation could emerge at later stages.
Transcriptome Signatures of Canine Mammary Gland Tumors and Its Comparison to Human Breast Cancers
Authors: Lee Kang-Hoon , Park Hyoung-Min , Son Keun-Hong , Shin Tae-Jin , Cho Je-Yoel
Published: September 2018

Breast cancer (BC)/mammary gland carcinoma (MGC) is the most frequently diagnosed and leading cause of cancer-related mortality in both women and canines. To better understand both canine MGC and human BC-specific genes, we sequenced RNAs obtained from eight pairs of carcinomas and adjacent normal tissues in dogs. By comprehensive transcriptome analysis, 351 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in overall canine MGCs. Based on the DEGs, comparative analysis revealed correlation existing among the three histological subtypes of canine MGC (ductal, simple, and complex) and four molecular subtypes of human BC (HER2+, ER+, ER&HER2+, and TNBC). Eight DEGs shared by all three subtypes of canine MGCs had been previously reported as cancer-associated genes in human studies. Gene ontology and pathway analyses using the identified DEGs revealed that the biological processes of cell proliferation, adhesion, and inflammatory responses are enriched in up-regulated MGC DEGs. In contrast, fatty acid homeostasis and transcription regulation involved in cell fate commitment were down-regulated in MGC DEGs. Moreover, correlations are demonstrated between upstream promoter transcripts and DEGs. Canine MGC- and subtype-enriched gene expression allows us to better understand both human BC and canine MGC, yielding new insight into the development of biomarkers and targets for both diseases.
Modeling the OEC with Two New Biomimetic Models: Preparations, Structural Characterization, and Water Photolysis Studies of a Ba–Mn Box Type Complex and a Mn4N6 Planar-Diamond Cluster
Authors: Rouco Lara , Fernández-García M. Isabel , Pedrido Rosa , Botana Luis M. , Esteban-Gómez David , Platas-Iglesias Carlos , Maneiro Marcelino
Published: September 2018

The oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) is the native enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of water in natural photosynthesis. Two new classes of manganese cluster complexes of formula Ba2Mn2L12(H3L1)2(CH3OH)4 1 and Mn4L26Cl2 2 were prepared (H4L1 = N,N′-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis(2-hydroxybenzamide); L2 = methyl picolinimidate) and characterized by standard techniques including microanalysis, IR spectroscopy, ESI spectrometry, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. X-ray diffraction studies of these complexes revealed (i) a box-type structure for 1 formed by two redox-active manganese(III) ions and two barium(II) ions connected by two bridging bisamido-bisphenoxy ligand molecules; and (ii) a planar-diamond array for Mn4N6 cluster 2 where the picolinimidates act as chelating ligands through the two nitrogen atoms. The ability of 1 and 2 to split water has been studied by means of water photolysis experiments. In these experiments, the oxygen evolution was measured in aqueous media in the presence of p-benzoquinone (acting as the hydrogen acceptor), the reduction of which was followed by UV-spectroscopy. The relevant photolytic activity found for 1 is in contrast to the inactivity of 2 in the photolytic experiments. This different behavior is discussed on the basis of the structure of the biomimetic models and the proposed reaction mechanism for this process supported by DFT calculations.
Immersed Boundary Method Application as a Way to Deal with the Three-Dimensional Sudden Contraction
Authors: Borges Jonatas E. , Lourenço Marcos , Padilla Elie L. M. , Micallef Christopher
Published: September 2018

The immersed boundary method has attracted considerable interest in the last few years. The method is a computational cheap alternative to represent the boundaries of a geometrically complex body, while using a cartesian mesh, by adding a force term in the momentum equation. The advantage of this is that bodies of any arbitrary shape can be added without grid restructuring, a procedure which is often time-consuming. Furthermore, multiple bodies may be simulated, and relative motion of those bodies may be accomplished at reasonable computational cost. The numerical platform in development has a parallel distributed-memory implementation to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. The Finite Volume Method is used in the spatial discretization where the diffusive terms are approximated by the central difference method. The temporal discretization is accomplished using the Adams-Bashforth method. Both temporal and spatial discretizations are second-order accurate. The Velocity-pressure coupling is done using the fractional-step method of two steps. The present work applies the immersed boundary method to simulate a Newtonian laminar flow through a three-dimensional sudden contraction. Results are compared to published literature. Flow patterns upstream and downstream of the contraction region are analysed at various Reynolds number in the range 44 ≤ R e D ≤ 993 for the large tube and 87 ≤ R e D ≤ 1956 for the small tube, considerating a contraction ratio of β = 1.97 . Comparison between numerical and experimental velocity profiles has shown good agreement.
Constructal Optimization for Cooling a Non-Uniform Heat Generating Radial-Pattern Disc by Conduction
Authors: You Jiang , Feng Huijun , Chen Lingen , Xie Zhihui
Published: September 2018

A heat conduction model in a radial-pattern disc by considering non-uniform heat generation (NUHG) is established in this paper. A series of high conductivity channels (HCCs) are attached on the rim of the disc and extended to its center. Constructal optimizations of the discs with constant and variable cross-sectional HCCs are carried out, respectively, and their maximum temperature differences (MTDs) are minimized based on analytical method and finite element method. Besides, the influences of the NUHG coefficient, HCC number and width coefficient on the optimal results are studied. The results indicate that the deviation of the optimal constructs obtained from the analytical method and finite element method are comparatively slight. When the NUHG coefficient is equal to 10, the minimum MTD of the disc with 25 constant cross-sectional HCCs is specifically reduced by 48.8% compared to that with 10 HCCs. As a result, the heat conduction performance (HCP) of the disc can be efficiently improved by properly increasing the number of HCCs. The minimum MTD of the disc with variable cross-sectional HCC is decreased by 15.0% when the width coefficient is changed from 1 to 4. Therefore, the geometry of variable cross-sectional HCC can be applied in the constructal design of the disc to a better heat transfer performance. The constructal results obtained by investigating the non-uniform heat generating case in this paper can contribute to the design of practical electronic device to a better heat transfer performance.
Modelling, Parameter Identification, and Experimental Validation of a Lead Acid Battery Bank Using Evolutionary Algorithms
Authors: Ariza Chacón H. Eduardo , Banguero Edison , Correcher Antonio , Pérez-Navarro Ángel , Morant Francisco
Published: September 2018

Accurate and efficient battery modeling is essential to maximize the performance of isolated energy systems and to extend battery lifetime. This paper proposes a battery model that represents the charging and discharging process of a lead-acid battery bank. This model is validated over real measures taken from a battery bank installed in a research center placed at “El Chocó”, Colombia. In order to fit the model, three optimization algorithms (particle swarm optimization, cuckoo search, and particle swarm optimization + perturbation) are implemented and compared, the last one being a new proposal. This research shows that the identified model is able to estimate real battery features, such as state of charge (SOC) and charging/discharging voltage. The comparison between simulations and real measures shows that the model is able to absorb reading problems, signal delays, and scaling errors. The approach we present can be implemented in other types of batteries, especially those used in stand-alone systems.
Selection of Calibration Windows for Day-Ahead Electricity Price Forecasting
Authors: Marcjasz Grzegorz , Serafin Tomasz , Weron Rafał
Published: September 2018

We conduct an extensive empirical study on the selection of calibration windows for day-ahead electricity price forecasting, which involves six year-long datasets from three major power markets and four autoregressive expert models fitted either to raw or transformed prices. Since the variability of prediction errors across windows of different lengths and across datasets can be substantial, selecting ex-ante one window is risky. Instead, we argue that averaging forecasts across different calibration windows is a robust alternative and introduce a new, well-performing weighting scheme for averaging these forecasts.
Economic Optimal Implementation of Virtual Power Plants in the German Power Market
Authors: Candra Dodiek Ika , Hartmann Kilian , Nelles Michael
Published: September 2018

The burden of excess energy from the high renewable energy sources (RES) share creates a significant reduction of residual load for the future, resulting in reduced market prices. The higher the share of stochastic RES, the more often the price will be 0 €/MWh. The power market needs new methods to solve these problems. The development of virtual power plants (VPPs) is aimed at solving techno-economic problems with an increasing share of RES in the power market. This study analyses a possible implementation of stochastic and deterministic RES in a VPP to generate secured power, which can be implemented in the European Power Exchange (EPEX)/European Energy Exchange (EEX) power market using existing market products. In this study, the optimal economic VPP configuration for an RES-based power plant is investigated and implemented into standard power market products. The results show that the optimal economic VPP configuration for different market products varies, depending on the energy availability and the marginal costs of the VPP components. The size of the VPP components is positively correlated to the components’ share of the energy generated. It was also found that projecting or implementing VPPs in Germany at current market prices (EPEX/EEX prices) is not yet economically feasible for a small share of market products. However, the secured power can be marketed on the SPOT and in the futures market with higher and more stable prices compared with the status quo.
CO2 Footprint of the Seeds of Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) as a Biodiesel Feedstock Source
Authors: Wagner Moritz , Lippe Melvin , Lewandowski Iris , Salzer Mirko , Cadisch Georg
Published: September 2018

Crude rubber seed oil (CRSO) is a promising but currently underutilized biodiesel feedstock alternative, extracted by pressing the seeds of the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). Rubber trees are cultivated across more than 11.4 million hectares worldwide, mainly in Southeast Asia. Despite their suitability as a biodiesel feedstock source, rubber seeds are currently treated as waste in the monocultural plantation system. To date, no assessments have been performed to examine the potential impact of rubber seed-based biodiesel production on GHG emissions. This study analyses the global warming potential of rubber seed methyl ester (RSME) production in Southeast Asia. The functional unit used is 1 MJ of biodiesel. A sensitivity analysis assesses the influence of key parameters (e.g., rubber seed yield) on the GHG mitigation potential. A scenario analysis evaluates the effect of using RSME by-products for energy generation. In comparison to fossil diesel, RSME has a carbon mitigation potential of 67 g CO2.eq. MJ−1, based on allocation by mass. On the condition of compliance with international sustainability standards that call for deforestation-free value chains, the generation of RSME biodiesel on rubber tree plantations in Southeast Asia would have a total mitigation potential of around 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 eq. per year.
Health Consciousness and Its Effect on Perceived Knowledge, and Belief in the Purchase Intent of Liquid Milk: Consumer Insights from an Emerging Market
Authors: Hoque Mohammed Ziaul , Alam Md. Nurul , Nahid Kulsuma Akter
Published: September 2018

This study is based on the influence of consumers’ health consciousness (HC), perceived knowledge (PK) and beliefs affecting the attitude and purchase intent (PI) of the consumers. The outcome of this study is obtained through an exclusive survey conducted on a randomly selected sample of 712 households who purchase liquid milk (LM) in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh. A structured questionnaire is used to interview these participants to obtain data which are analysed employing descriptive statistics, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling. The results of the analyses corroborate that consumers’ health consciousness has a positive impact on perceived knowledge, belief, and attitude, but not on purchase intent. In addition, belief affects both the attitude and PI positively. Although consumers’ perceived knowledge is too low to constitute their attitude towards LM, it has a positive, significant impact on the PI. The results also reveal that more than a third of the respondents consume LM several times per month, followed by more than a quarter of the sampled respondents who consume LM several times per week, and these consumption patterns have a positive and significant influence on the PI. Moreover, the monthly income of the family, age, and labelling preference are significantly correlated with PI.
Epigenetic Control of Pancreatic Regeneration in Diabetes
Authors: Balaji Shruti , Napolitano Tiziana , Silvano Serena , Friano Marika Elsa , Garrido-Utrilla Anna , Atlija Josipa , Collombat Patrick
Published: September 2018

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are conditions that are associated with the loss of insulin-producing β-cells within the pancreas. An active research therefore aims at regenerating these β-cells with the hope that they could restore euglycemia. The approaches classically used consist in mimicking embryonic development, making use of diverse cell sources or converting pre-existing pancreatic cells. Despite impressive progresses and promising successes, it appears that we still need to gain further insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying β-cell development. This becomes even more obvious with the emergence of a relatively new field of research, epigenetics. The current review therefore focuses on the latest advances in this field in the context of β-cell (neo-)genesis research.
Genome-Wide Identification of PIFs in Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) and Their Transcriptional Analysis under Lighting/Shading Conditions
Authors: Zhang Kekun , Zheng Ting , Zhu Xudong , Jiu Songtao , Liu Zhongjie , Guan Le , Jia Haifeng , Fang Jinggui
Published: September 2018

Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs), as the basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors, are the primary signaling partners for phytochromes (PHY) that play a key role in PHY-mediated light signal transduction. At present, there are few studies on PIFs in fruit trees. In order to clarify the status of PIFs in grapevines, we identified members of the grape PIFs family and conducted phylogenetic and expression analysis. We identified PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF7 in PIFs families of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), which were distributed on four different chromosomes with similar gene structures. Except for the closer relationship with PIF1 of citrus, PIFs of grape were distant from the other fruit species such as apple, pear, peach, and strawberry. The VvPIFs (except VvPIF4) were located in the syntenic block with those from Arabidopsis thaliana, Solanum lycopersicum, or Citrus sinensis. In addition to PIF1, all PIFs in grapevines have conserved active PHYB binding (APB) sequences. VvPIF1 has a conserved PIF1-specific active PHYA binding (APA) sequence, while amino acid mutations occurred in the specific APA sequence in VvPIF3. Interestingly, two specific motifs were found in the PIF4 amino acid sequence. The photoreceptor-related elements in the VvPIFs promoter region were the most abundant. PIF1, LONG HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) and PIF3, PIF4, GIBBERELLIC ACID INSENSITIVE 1 (GAI1) may interact with each other and participate together in light signal transduction. The relative expression levels of the VvPIFs showed diverse patterns in the various organs at different developmental stages, of which PIF4 was most highly expressed. Prior to maturation, the expression of PIF4 and PIF7 in the skin of the different cultivars increased, while the expression of all PIFs in the flesh decreased. The transcription level of PIFs in grape leaves was sensitive to changes in lighting and shading. Shading treatment was beneficial for enhancing the transcription level of VvPIFs, but the effect on VvPIF3 and VvPIF4 was time-controlled. We concluded that PIFs in grapevines are both conservative and species-specific. The identification and analysis of grape PIFs could provide a theoretical foundation for the further construction of grape light regulation networks.
Antibody Light Chains Dictate the Specificity of Contact Hypersensitivity Effector Cell Suppression Mediated by Exosomes
Authors: Nazimek Katarzyna , Askenase Philip W. , Bryniarski Krzysztof
Published: September 2018

Antibody light chains (LCs), formerly considered a waste product of immunoglobulin synthesis, are currently recognized as important players in the activation of the immune response. However, very little is known about the possible immune regulatory functions of LCs. Recently, we reported that hapten-specific LCs coat miRNA-150-carrying exosomes produced by CD8+ suppressor T cells downregulating the contact hypersensitivity (CHS) reaction in an antigen-specific manner, in mice tolerized by intravenous administration of a high dose of hapten-coupled syngeneic erythrocytes. Thus, the current studies aimed at investigating the role of hapten-specific LCs in antigen-specific, exosome-mediated suppression of CHS effector cells. Suppressor T cell-derived exosomes from tolerized B-cell-deficient µMT−/−, NKT-cell-deficient Jα18−/−, and immunoglobulin-deficient JH−/− mice were nonsuppressive, unless supplemented with LCs of specificity strictly respective to the hapten used for sensitization and CHS elicitation in mice. Thus, these observations demonstrate that B1-cell-derived LCs, coating exosomes in vivo and in vitro, actually ensure the specificity of CHS suppression. Our research findings substantially expand current understanding of the newly discovered, suppressor T cell-dependent tolerance mechanism by uncovering the function of antigen-specific LCs in exosome-mediated, cell–cell communication. This express great translational potential in designing nanocarriers for specific targeting of desired cells.
TREM-1; Is It a Pivotal Target for Cardiovascular Diseases?
Authors: Kouassi Kouassi T. , Gunasekar Palanikumar , Agrawal Devendra K. , Jadhav Gopal P.
Published: September 2018

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are as menacing as ever and still continue to kill adults worldwide, notwithstanding tremendous efforts to decrease their consequent mortality and morbidity. Lately, a growing body of research indicated that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and complications of CVDs. A receptor of the immunoglobulin superfamily, triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) was shown to induce and amplify the inflammation in both acute and chronic disease’ pathogenesis and progression, which hence makes it one of the most important complication factors of CVDs. Thus, studies endeavored to investigate the role played by TREM-1 in CVDs with respect to their etiologies, complications, and possible therapeutics. We examined here, for the first time, the most relevant studies regarding TREM-1 involvement in CVDs. We critically analyzed and summarized our findings and made some suggestions for furtherance of the investigations with the aim to utilize TREM-1 and its pathways for diagnostic, management, and prognosis of CVDs. Overall, TREM-1 was found to be involved in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and atherosclerosis. Although most therapeutic approaches are yet to be elucidated, our present research outcome displays a promising future to utilizing the TREM-1 pathway as a potential target for understanding and managing CVDs.
Aligning Predictor-Criterion Bandwidths: Specific Abilities as Predictors of Specific Performance
Authors: Wee Serena
Published: September 2018

The purpose of the current study is to compare the extent to which general and specific abilities predict academic performances that are also varied in breadth (i.e., general performance and specific performance). The general and specific constructs were assumed to vary only in breadth, not order, and two data analytic approaches (i.e., structural equation modeling [SEM] and relative weights analysis) consistent with this theoretical assumption were compared. Conclusions regarding the relative importance of general and specific abilities differed based on data analytic approaches. The SEM approach identified general ability as the strongest and only significant predictor of general academic performance, with neither general nor specific abilities predicting any of the specific subject grade residuals. The relative weights analysis identified verbal reasoning as contributing more than general ability, or other specific abilities, to the explained variance in general academic performance. Verbal reasoning also contributed to most of the explained variance in each of the specific subject grades. These results do not provide support for the utility of predictor-criterion alignment, but they do provide evidence that both general and specific abilities can serve as useful predictors of performance.
Bilingual Processing of Comparative Structures in Spanish
Authors: Villegas Álvaro
Published: September 2018

Previous studies have focused on the access of content words to investigate the cognitive strategies used in bilingual processing (e.g., Fernández 2003), but less is known about functional words. In this study, I assess (i) whether three groups of bilingual speakers of Spanish (native, heritage, and second language (L2) speakers) access the lexically-encoded information of the quantifier más ‘more’ to activate a comparative structure interpretation, and (ii) what processing strategies are used to resolve a temporary semantic ambiguity that surfaces upon accessing that interpretation. Using a self-paced reading task, three groups of Spanish speakers living in the United States read comparative sentences, which allowed for two possible continuations at the subordinate clause: a subject continuation (e.g., El cantante obtiene más premios que el pianista en el festival ‘The singer gets more awards than the pianist at the festival’) or an object continuation (e.g., El cantante obtiene más premios que críticas en el festival ‘The singer gets more awards than criticism at the festival’). Results revealed longer reading times for the subject comparison compared to the object comparison structures, and no significant differences between the three groups, suggesting that participants in all groups followed similar processing strategies and preferences in the reading of comparative structures.
Effects of Static Heat and Dynamic Current on Al/Zn∙Cu/Sn Solder/Ag Interfaces of Sn Photovoltaic Al-Ribbon Modules
Authors: Chen Kuan-Jen , Hung Fei-Yi , Lui Truan-Sheng , Lin Wen-Yu
Published: September 2018

This present study applied Cu∙Zn/Al ribbon in place of a traditional Cu ribbon to a photovoltaic (PV) ribbon. A hot-dipped and an electroplated Sn PV ribbon reflowed onto an Ag electrode on a Si solar cell and estimated the feasibility of the tested module (Ag/Solder/Cu∙Zn/Al). After bias-aging, a bias-induced thermal diffusion and an electromigration promoted the growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) (Cu6Sn5, Ag3Sn). To simulate a photo-generated current in the series connection of solar cells, an electron with Ag-direction (electron flows from Ag to Al) and Al-direction (electron flows from Al to Ag) was passed through the Al/Zn∙Cu/Solder/Ag structure to clarify the growth mechanism of IMCs. An increase in resistance of the Ag-direction-biased module was higher than that of the Al-direction biased one due to the intense growth of Cu6Sn5 and Ag3Sn IMCs. The coated solder of the electroplated PV ribbon was less than that of the hot-dipped one, and thus decreased the growth reaction of IMCs and the cost of PV ribbon.
Tribological Performance of Microhole-Textured Carbide Tool Filled with CaF2
Authors: Song Wenlong , Wang Shoujun , Lu Yang , Xia Zixiang
Published: September 2018

To enhance the friction and wear performance of cemented carbide, textured microholes were machined on micro Electron Discharge Machining (EDM) on the tool rake face, and Calcium Fluoride (CaF2) powders were burnished into the microholes. The friction and wear characteristics of the microhole-textured tool filled with CaF2 were investigated using sliding friction tests and dry cutting tests. Results exhibited that the working temperature could affect the tribological performance of the microhole-textured tool filled with CaF2 due to the temperature-sensitive nature of CaF2. There is no obvious lubrication effect for the textured tool filled with CaF2 at room temperature, while it was shown to be more effective in improving tribological property at a cutting speed of higher than 100 m/min with a corresponding to cutting temperature of 450 °C. The possible mechanisms for the microhole-textured tool filled with CaF2 were discussed and established.
Micro-Tensile Behavior of Mg-Al-Zn Alloy Processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP)
Authors: Máthis Kristián , Köver Michal , Stráská Jitka , Trojanová Zuzanka , Džugan Ján , Halmešová Kristýna
Published: September 2018

Commercially available AZ31 magnesium alloy was four times extruded in an equal rectangular channel using three different routes (A, B, and C). Micro tensile deformation tests were performed at room temperature with the aim to reveal any plastic anisotropy developed during the extrusion. Samples for micro tensile experiments were cut from extruded billets in different orientations with respect to the pressing direction. Information about the microstructure of samples was obtained using the electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. Deformation characteristics (yield stress, ultimate tensile stress and uniform elongation) exhibited significant anisotropy as a consequence of different orientations between the stress direction and texture and thus different deformation mechanisms.
Effect of Magnetized Water on the Mechanical and Durability Properties of Concrete Block Pavers
Authors: Ghorbani Saeid , Gholizadeh Mostafa , De Brito Jorge
Published: September 2018

In this research, the effect of magnetized water on the mechanical and durability behavior of concrete block pavers was investigated. For this purpose, a total of five mixes were prepared with water that passed through a permanent magnetic field 10, 20, 40, and 80 times at a constant speed of 2.25 m/s. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, resistance to sulfuric acid attack, water absorption tests, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses were conducted. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength test results showed a significant positive effect of using magnetized water. The remaining tests also revealed that using magnetized water increases the resistance of concrete block pavers to sulfuric acid attack and decreases their water absorption.
Resolving Decompositions for Polynomial Modules
Authors: Albert Mario , Seiler Werner M.
Published: September 2018

We introduce the novel concept of a resolving decomposition of a polynomial module as a combinatorial structure that allows for the effective construction of free resolutions. It provides a unifying framework for recent results of the authors for different types of bases.
Self-Cleaning Nanocomposite Membranes with Phosphorene-Based Pore Fillers for Water Treatment
Authors: Eke Joyner , Elder Katherine , Escobar Isabel C.
Published: September 2018

Phosphorene is a two-dimensional material exfoliated from bulk phosphorus and it possesses a band gap. Specifically, relevant to the field of membrane science, the band gap of phosphorene provides it with potential photocatalytic properties, which could be explored in making reactive membranes that can self-clean. The goal of this study was to develop an innovative and robust membrane that is able to control and reverse fouling with minimal changes in membrane performance. To this end, for the first time, membranes have been embedded with phosphorene. Membrane modification was verified by the presence of phosphorus on membranes, along with changes in surface charge, average pore size, and hydrophobicity. After modification, phosphorene-modified membranes were used to filter methylene blue (MB) under intermittent ultraviolet light irradiation. Phosphorene-modified and unmodified membranes displayed similar rejection of MB; however, after reverse-flow filtration was performed to mimic pure water cleaning, the average recovered flux of phosphorene-modified membranes was four times higher than that of unmodified membranes. Furthermore, coverage of MB on phosphorene membranes after reverse-flow filtration was four times lower than that of unmodified membranes, which supports the hypothesis that phosphorene membranes operated under intermittent ultraviolet irradiation can become self-cleaning.
Possible Mechanisms of Green Tea and Its Constituents against Cancer
Authors: Shirakami Yohei , Shimizu Masahito
Published: September 2018

A number of epidemiological, clinical, and experimental researches have indicated that administration of green tea appears to have anti-cancer activity. According to findings of laboratory cell culture studies, a diverse mechanism has been observed underlying the effects of green tea catechins against cancer. These mechanisms include anti-oxidant activity, cell cycle regulation, receptor tyrosine kinase pathway inhibition, immune system modulation, and epigenetic modification control. This review discusses the results of these studies to provide more insight into the effects of green tea administration on cancers observed to date in this research field.
Structural Diversity of Six Coordination Polymers Based on the Designed X-Shaped Ligand 1,1,1,1-Tetrakis[(3-pyridiniourea)methyl]methane
Authors: Zhang Qi-Long , Yu Qing , Xie Hai-Fang , Tu Bo , Xu Hong , Huang Ya-Li , Yang Xiao-Sheng
Published: September 2018

In this study, six coordination polymers (CPs), {[Ag2(L)(CF3SO3)]·CF3SO3·2H2O·DMF}n (1), {[Ag(L)]·SbF6·4DMF·H2O}n (2), {[Zn(L)0.5(I)2]·3.75H2O}n (3), {[Cd2(L)(I)4(H2O)(DMF)]·4H2O·3DMF}n (4), {[Hg2(L)(I)4]·H2O·4DMF}n (5) and {[Hg2(L)(Cl)4]·2H2O·3DMF}n (6), were obtained based on the designed X-shaped urea-based ligand. X-ray single crystal diffraction analysis revealed that complex 1 displayed a 3D (3,4)-connected {6·82}{64·82}-tcj net. Complex 2 featured a 2D 4-connected {43·63} sheet. Complexes 3 and 5 exhibited a 1D polymeric loop chain. Complex 4 displayed a 1D polymeric fishbone chain. Complex 6 showed a 2D 4-connected {44·62}-sql sheet. Structural comparison revealed that not only the metal ions, but also the anions played crucial roles in the control of final structures.
2-Phenylacetamide Isolated from the Seeds of Lepidium apetalum and Its Estrogen-Like Effects In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Zeng Mengnan , Li Meng , Li Miao , Zhang Beibei , Li Benke , Zhang Li , Feng Weisheng , Zheng Xiaoke
Published: September 2018

The aim of this study was to investigate the estrogen-like effects of 2-phenylacetamide (PA), which is the main compound isolated from the seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd (LA). Results showed that LA and PA could promote the proliferation of MCF-7 cells. The mouse uterine weight test showed that, LA and PA could increase the uterus index of immature female mice, and the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and estrogen (E2). LA could increase the expression of ERα and ERβ, while PA could increase the expression of ERα, ERβ and GPR30 in the uterus and MCF-7 cells. In addition, co-incubation of the estrogen receptor blocker with LA or PA abolished the inductive effect of the proliferation. PA has estrogenic activities and was the material basis of LA that played the estrogenic effect. LA and PA might be used for the treatment of perimenopause syndrome in a novel application.
Strain-Induced Quantum Spin Hall Effect in Two-Dimensional Methyl-Functionalized Silicene SiCH3
Authors: Ren Ceng-Ceng , Ji Wei-Xiao , Zhang Shu-Feng , Zhang Chang-Wen , Li Ping , Wang Pei-Ji
Published: September 2018

Quantum Spin Hall (QSH) has potential applications in low energy consuming spintronic devices and has become a researching hotspot recently. It benefits from insulators feature edge states, topologically protected from backscattering by time-reversal symmetry. The properties of methyl functionalized silicene (SiCH3) have been investigated using first-principles calculations, which show QSH effect under reasonable strain. The origin of the topological characteristic of SiCH3, is mainly associated with the s-pxy orbitals band inversion at Γ point, whilst the band gap appears under the effect of spin-orbital coupling (SOC). The QSH phase of SiCH3 is confirmed by the topological invariant Z2 = 1, as well as helical edge states. The SiCH3 supported by hexagonal boron nitride (BN) film makes it possible to observe its non-trivial topological phase experimentally, due to the weak interlayer interaction. The results of this work provide a new potential candidate for two-dimensional honeycomb lattice spintronic devices in spintronics.