bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimising inclusion and toughening the heat-affected zone of ship plate steel with MgO nanoparticles
Authors: Yuan Hang , Yang Shufeng , Li Jingshe , Guo Hao , Liu Wei , Wang Tiantian
Published: August 2020

The effect of adding MgO nanoparticles to ship plate steel at welding heat-affected zones (HAZs) was experimentally studied. The results showed that the added nanoparticles obviously optimised the inclusions; the average size of the inclusions was significantly reduced, and the distribution was relatively uniform. The toughness of the base metal and HAZ increased by 20–60 J, apart from a slight decrease in the strength of the fine-grained heat-affected zone and a nearly unchanged strength in the coarse-grained heat-affected zone, and approximately ∼2 μm (Mg–Al–Ti)O-containing inclusions induced acicular ferrite effectively, thereby simultaneously enhancing the strength and toughness of the inter-critical heat-affected zone. In conclusion, these performance improvements in both the base metal and HAZ could be attributed to grain refinement and inclusion optimisation.
Inner ear gene delivery
Authors: Valentini Chris , Szeto Betsy , Kysar Jeffrey W. , Lalwani Anil K.
Published: August 2020

Objectives

Current treatments for hearing loss offer some functional improvements in hearing, but do not restore normal hearing. The aim of this review is to highlight recent advances in viral and non-viral vectors for gene therapy and to discuss approaches for overcoming barriers inherent to inner ear delivery of gene products.

Data Sources

The databases used were Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Search terms were [(‘cochlea*’ or ‘inner ear’ or ‘transtympanic’ or ‘intratympanic’ or ‘intracochlear’ or ‘hair cells’ or ‘spiral ganglia’ or ‘Organ of Corti’) and (‘gene therapy’ or ‘gene delivery’)]. The references section of resulting articles was also used to identify relevant studies.

Results

Both viral and non-viral vectors play important roles in advancing gene delivery to the inner ear. The round window membrane is one significant barrier to gene delivery that intratympanic delivery methods attempt to overcome through diffusion and intracochlear delivery methods bypass completely.

Conclusions

Gene therapy for hearing loss is a promising treatment for restoring hearing function by addressing innate defects. Recent technological advances in inner ear drug delivery techniques pose exciting opportunities for progress in gene therapy.
Breakdown of primary frequencies used in pediatric hearing screening with distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs)
Authors: Ismail Omneya , Assal Samir
Published: August 2020

Background

DPOAEs are acoustic energy within the external auditory canal (EAC) arising from the non-linear interaction within the cochlea; of 2 pure tones presented simultaneously; of primary frequencies f1 and f2. DPOAEs are recorded in nearly any normal-hearing subject and in patients with hearing loss up to 50 dBHL while recordings may be deceiving in the presence of severe to profound hearing loss.

Objective

To determine the intensity levels of f1 and f2 at which DPOAEs truly reflect the active metabolic processes within the cochlea.

Setting

University Hospital

Study

Prospective

Methods

One-hundred and forty ears were categorized into three groups; A (n = 50), B (n = 50) and C (n = 40); according to subjects' age (12 to 18, 2 to 12 and <2 years, respectively). A fourth group D was included; which entailed recordings from a dummy cavity simulating a child’s external auditory canal. Each group was further subdivided into two subgroups according to hearing levels; either normal or severe to profound hearing loss. DP-grams were interpreted at 3 points/octave steps for all groups and reviewed as ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’ according to set criteria. Stimulus levels were adjusted such that L1 exceeded L2 by 10 dB. Start levels for L1 and L2 were 80 and 70 dBSPL. Levels were reduced simultanueously in 5 dB steps for the following recordings; to reach 65 and 55 for the last recording.

Results

Using the higher three stimulation levels, all subgroups had ‘Pass’ DP grams. On using the last and lowest recording level, only subgroups of normal hearing ears had ‘Pass’ DP grams; while subgroups of ears with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) demonstrated ‘Failed’ DP grams at all frequencies.

Conclusions

For audiometric screening purposes, DPOAEs show to be rather insensitive to hearing loss at higher stimulation levels and may reveal false positive results.
Nonlinear Maxwell equations and the Poynting theorem
Authors: Bruce S A
Published: August 2020

Considering that classical electrodynamics is essentially a covariant theory, we propose a simple heuristic approach to nonlinear Maxwell equations where certain scalar fields are coupled to the electromagnetic (EM) field. This leads us to introduce a new (nonlinear) version of the Poynting theorem. This model seems to have solutions in which coupled scalar fields and EM waves propagate. This work could provide students with a first introduction to the basics of nonlinear electrodynamics within the framework of a new research problem. The content of this article is suitable for advanced graduate students in theoretical particle physics.
Calculating the distributions of number, mass and luminosity of the stars with the help of MS Excel
Ⓡ
Authors: Hohmann Sascha
Published: August 2020

Astrophysical topics can be treated with the methods of different areas of physics, mathematics and other natural sciences. The integration of these topics into such areas could improve students’ motivation and strengthen the connections between different fields of the mentioned sciences. In this article, an example of the connection between the physics of the stars and that of their statistical distributions is given. The usage of Microsoft Excel simplifies the mathematical requirements and gives the possibility of seeing the changes of distribution with the growing age of the regarded population of stars. The changes are a direct consequence to the limited lifetime of the stars and the limited age of the considered population of stars.
Infrared visualization of lumped and non-lumped thermal transient processes in an introductory laboratory
Authors: Oss Stefano
Published: August 2020

The time dependence of the temperature distribution in cooling/heating bodies is studied with a simple, direct visual measurement of infrared radiation. The adoption of a smartphone thermal camera allows one to verify some essential features of theoretical models which describe the temperature field in a cylindrical symmetric configuration for both lumped (concentrated) and non-lumped (distributed) behaviors. Theoretical results and experimental temperature fields acquired via infrared thermal analysis of cooling solid cylinders compare well. The approach can be adopted to support an introductory route to the study of these classes of processes at very low cost and with a fast and simple laboratory procedure. This scheme is appropriate for undergraduate engineering and physics students.
Experimental demonstration of 3D printed terahertz polarization-insensitive flat devices based on low-index meta-gratings
Authors: Li Xiangjun , Liu Zihao , Yan Dexian , Li Jining , Li Jiusheng , Qiu Guohua , Hou Xiaomei , Cheng Gang
Published: August 2020

Dielectric meta-gratings have achieved tremendous success in realizing high-efficiency wavefront control in terahertz range. Here, several efficient, polarization-insensitive, low-cost devices are investigated numerically and experimentally. First, an anomalous deflector based on a low-index polymer acrylonitrile butadiene styrene meta-grating is designed and measured around 0.1 THz. By breaking the distance limitation between the fixed bars and bending the terahertz beam into the T−1 diffraction order through the optimization of quadrumer unit cell, the efficiencies for 37° deflection under normal excitation reach 67.1% (56.4%) with the S-(P-) polarized terahertz wave, which are in good agreement with the simulated 71.8% (63.7%). Next, with regard to the concept of bending light by the proposed meta-grating array, a method for designing a terahertz flat lens is proposed and experimentally demonstrated with long focal length and polarization insensitivity. The proposed flat lens can achieve the measured numerical aperture of 0.604 (collection angle of 37.2°.) and focusing efficiency of 50.3% with normal incident of linear polarized terahertz wave at 0.1 THz. Also, a focal spot with the focusing distance of 65.9 mm is achieved. These designs can be manufactured by 3D printing at low cost, and provide promising applications in imaging, communication, information processing and materials science.
Metrological analysis of the three-dimensional reconstruction based on close-range photogrammetry and the fusion of long-wave infrared and visible-light images
Authors: de Oliveira Bernardo C F , Marcellino Guilherme C , da Rosa Pablo A , Pinto Tiago L F C
Published: August 2020

This work proposes evaluating statistically the metrological performance of three-dimensional reconstructions built with fused long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) and visible-light (VL) images. The image fusion procedure was essentially based on two-dimensional wavelet transform and two pixel-level fusion rules: the maximum intensity level, presented in a previous work of the authors, and a new fusion rule, which replaces the VL information with the LWIR information in the region of the measured object on the images. The reconstructions of a translucent cube were performed with a point triangulation-based procedure and its dimension measurements were employed as evaluation criteria. The results show that the fused images have more contrast but also more artifacts. The fusion procedures generated denser reconstructions with at least 34.83% more points. Considering the metrological result, reconstructions with only visible-light images resulted in maximal 89.31% less measurement bias but at least 47.25% more uncertainty than the fusion ones. The new fusion rule provided the best results, with more points in the dense cloud and lower uncertainty. The work is important to provide a metrologically viable alternative for three-dimensional reconstruction of objects in situations of low contrast or poor texture information in the visible spectrum, and in which no target can be applied to the inspected part.
BN cluster-doped graphdiyne as visible-light assisted metal-free catalysts for conversion CO2 to hydrocarbon fuels
Authors: Feng Zhen , Tang Yanan , Chen Weiguang , Li Yi , Li Renyi , Ma Yaqiang , Dai Xianqi
Published: August 2020

Carbon dioxide electrochemical reduction reaction (CO2RR) under ambient conditions provides an intriguing picture for conversion of CO2 to useful fuels and chemicals. Here by means of density functional theory (DFT) computations, the formation configuration and CO2RR catalytic activity of boron nitrogen cluster-doped graphdiyne (BN-doped GDY) were systematically investigated. The band structure and optical adsorption spectra reveal that BN-doped GDY exhibits semiconductor with the band gap of 0.902 eV and shows photothermal effect under visible and even infrared light irradiation. The BN-doped GDY could act as a hot spot to enhance CO2RR. The adsorption configurations of various reaction intermediates indicate that boron atoms are active sites, which can be further confirmed by charge analysis. Based on thermodynamic analysis, the reaction pathways and onset potentials were studied as compared with Cu(111) surface. For the production of CO, the onset potential for BN-doped GDY (−1.06 V) is higher than that for Cu(111) surface. While for the reduction of CO2 to HCOOH, CH4, CH3OH, and C2H4 on BN-doped GDY, the onset potentials are lower than that on Cu(111) surface, which are −0.57 V, −0.62 V, −0.57 V, and −0.82 V, respectively. Moreover, the onset potential of competitive hydrogen evolution reaction on BN-doped GDY is high to −0.82 V, which shows us a good selectivity towards to CO2RR rather than HER. Our results may pave a new avenue for the conversion of CO2 into high-value fuels and chemicals.
Synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching of physics during the
COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Guo Siming
Published: August 2020

This study compares synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching in an
introductory calculus-based physics class. Like many schools, our institution
transitioned to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. We held optional
synchronous online sessions during the original class time, and approximately
half of our students were regular attendees. In the study, we look at how
students’ grades changed after the transition. While students who attended
the synchronous sessions saw an average test grade drop of 3.5%, students who
did not attend saw a drop of 14.5%. The students who attended also saw a larger
gain the standard Force Concept Inventory pre/post assessment: 56% versus 43%.
We also created a survey to gauge the students’ perceptions of the course
difficulty and workload. The survey showed that students who did not attend the
synchronous sessions found the course more difficult and felt they spent more
time on the class than those who attended. These findings lead to our
recommendation that future online offerings should require mandatory synchronous
participation.
The effects of plasma density-gradient on laser-driven transmitted emission
Authors: Jiang Yan , Chen Zi-Yu , Cao Lihua , Liu Zhanjun , Zheng Chunyang , He Xiantu
Published: August 2020

High-order harmonic generation provides an opportunity for generating intense extreme ultraviolet attosecond pulses, which is useful to explore the property of materials. Transmitted radiation emitted by an ultrathin target illuminated by intense lasers is a promising way to generate such pulses. We show that the preplasma density gradient has an important influence on the transmitted radiation. An optimal scale length exists to support ultrathin nanobunches to generate coherent synchrotron emission and thus enormously enhance the radiation. Particle in cell simulations suggest that the optimal scale length depends on the laser intensity.
High-current laser-driven beams of relativistic electrons for high energy density research
Authors: Rosmej O N , Gyrdymov M , Günther M M , Andreev N E , Tavana P , Neumayer P , Zähter S , Zahn N , Popov V S , Borisenko N G , Kantsyrev A , Skobliakov A , Panyushkin V , Bogdanov A , Consoli F , Shen X F , Pukhov A
Published: August 2020

We report on enhanced laser driven electron beam generation in the multi MeV energy range that promises a tremendous increase of the diagnostic potential of high energy sub-PW and PW-class laser systems. In the experiment, an intense sub-picosecond laser pulse of ∼1019 Wcm−2 intensity propagates through a plasma of near critical electron density (NCD) and drives the direct laser acceleration (DLA) of plasma electrons. Low-density polymer foams were used for the production of hydrodynamically stable long-scale NCD-plasmas. Measurements show that relativistic electrons generated in the DLA-process propagate within a half angle of

1

2 ± 1° to the laser axis. Inside this divergence cone, an effective electron temperature of 10–13 MeV and a maximum of the electron energy of 100 MeV were reached. The high laser energy conversion efficiency into electrons with energies above 2 MeV achieved 23% with a total charge approaching 1 μC. For application purposes, we used the nuclear activation method to characterize the MeV bremsstrahlung spectrum produced in the interaction of the high-current relativistic electrons with high-Z samples and measured top yields of gamma-driven nuclear reactions. The optimization of the high-Z target geometry predicts an ultra-high MeV photon number of ∼1012 per shot at moderate relativistic laser intensity of 1019 Wcm−2. A good agreement between the experimental data and the results of the 3D-PIC and GEANT4-simulations was demonstrated.
Non-enzymatic lactate detection by an extended-gate type organic field effect transistor
Authors: Didier Pierre , Minami Tsuyoshi
Published: August 2020

A non-enzymatic chemical sensor for lactate (LA) detection based on an extended-gate type organic field-effect transistor (OFET) is reported. The proposed device is composed of an extended-gate electrode modified by an artificial receptor phenylboronic acid derivative as the detection part and the OFET as the drive part. The mechanism of LA detection relies on the changes in transfer characteristics of the OFET upon dynamic covalent bonding with LA. After evaluating the ability of the device to detect LA, it was applied to the selectivity study. This report proved the possibility of using the OFET-based sensor device for non-enzymatic LA detection.
Phases of translation-invariant systems out of equilibrium: iterative Green’s function techniques and renormalization group approaches
Authors: Klöckner C , Kennes D M , Karrasch C
Published: August 2020

We introduce a method to evaluate the steady-state non-equilibrium Keldysh–Schwinger Green’s functions for infinite systems subject to both an electric field and a coupling to reservoirs. The method we present exploits a physical quasi-translation invariance, where a shift by one unit cell leaves the physics invariant if all electronic energies are simultaneously shifted by the magnitude of the electric field. Our framework is straightaway applicable to diagrammatic many-body methods. We discuss two flagship applications, mean-field theories as well as a sophisticated second-order functional renormalization group approach. The latter allows us to push the renormalization-group characterization of phase transitions for lattice fermions into the out-of-equilibrium realm. We exemplify this by studying a model of spinless fermions, which in equilibrium exhibits a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless phase transition.
A review of experimental advances in twisted graphene moiré superlattice*
Authors: Chu Yanbang , Liu Le , Yuan Yalong , Shen Cheng , Yang Rong , Shi Dongxia , Yang Wei , Zhang Guangyu
Published: August 2020

Twisted moiré superlattice receives tremendous interests since the discovery of correlated insulating states and superconductivity in magic angle twist bilayer graphene (MA-TBG) [Nature
556 80 (2018), Nature
556 43 (2018)], even gives arise to a new field “twistronics” [Science
361 690 (2018)]. It is a new platform hosting strong electron correlations, providing an alternative for understanding unconventional superconductivity. In this article, we provide a review of recent experimental advances in the twisted moiré superlattice, from MA-TBG to twisted double bilayer graphene and other two-dimensional materials based moiré superlattice, covering correlated insulating states, superconductivity, magnetism, et al.
Propagation dynamics of relativistic electromagnetic solitary wave as well as modulational instability in plasmas*
Authors: Tang Rong-An , Liu Tiao-Fang , Hong Xue-Ren , Gao Ji-Ming , Cheng Rui-Jin , Zheng You-Lian , Xue Ju-Kui
Published: August 2020

By one-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, the propagation and stability of relativistic electromagnetic (EM) solitary waves as well as modulational instability of plane EM waves are studied in uniform cold electron-ion plasmas. The investigation not only confirms the solitary wave motion characteristics and modulational instability theory, but more importantly, gives the following findings. For a simulation with the plasma density 1023 m−3 and the dimensionless vector potential amplitude 0.18, it is found that the EM solitary wave can stably propagate when the carrier wave frequency is smaller than 3.83 times of the plasma frequency. While for the carrier wave frequency larger than that, it can excite a very weak Langmuir oscillation, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the transverse electron momentum and may in turn modulate the EM solitary wave and cause the modulational instability, so that the solitary wave begins to deform after a long enough distance propagation. The stable propagation distance before an obvious observation of instability increases (decreases) with the increase of the carrier wave frequency (vector potential amplitude). The study on the plane EM wave shows that a modulational instability may occur and its wavenumber is approximately equal to the modulational wavenumber by Langmuir oscillation and is independent of the carrier wave frequency and the vector potential amplitude. This reveals the role of the Langmuir oscillation excitation in the inducement of modulational instability and also proves the modulational instability of EM solitary wave.
Dynamic stall control over an airfoil by NS-DBD actuation*
Authors: Yang He-Sen , Zhao Guang-Yin , Liang Hua , Wei Biao
Published: August 2020

The wind tunnel test was conducted with an NACA 0012 airfoil to explore the flow control effects on airfoil dynamic stall by NS-DBD plasma actuation. Firstly, light and deep dynamic stall states were set, based on the static stall characteristics of airfoil at a Reynolds number of 5.8 × 105. Then, the flow control effect of NS-DBD on dynamic stall was studied and the influence law of three typical reduced frequencies (k = 0.05, k = 0.05, and k = 0.15) was examined at various dimensionless actuation frequencies (F
+ = 1, F
+ = 2, and F
+ = 3). For both light and deep dynamic stall states, NS-DBD had almost no effect on upstroke. However, the lift coefficients on downstroke were increased significantly and the flow control effect at F
+ = 1 is the best. The flow control effect of the light stall state is more obvious than that of deep stall state under the same actuation conditions. For the same stall state, with the reduced frequency increasing, the control effect became worse. Based on the in being principles of flow separation control by NS-DBD, the mechanism of dynamic stall control was discussed and the influence of reduced frequency on the dynamic flow control was analyzed. Different from the static airfoil flow separation control, the separated angle of leading-edge shear layer for the airfoil in dynamic stall state is larger and flow control with dynamic oscillation is more difficult. The separated angle is closely related to the effective angle of attack, so the effect of dynamic stall control is greatly dependent on the history of angles of attack.
Pseudo complementary measurement for traditional single-pixel cameras*
Authors: Dong Qian , Yao Xu-Ri , Liu Xin , Liu Bing , Zhai Guang-Jie
Published: August 2020

A traditional single-pixel camera needs a large number of measurements to reconstruct the object with compressive sensing computation. Compared with the 1/0 matrices in classical measurement, the 1/−1 matrices in the complementary measurement has better property for reconstruction computation and returns better reconstruction results. However, each row of the 1/−1 matrices needs two measurements with the traditional single-pixel camera which results into double measurements compared with the 1/0 matrices. In this paper, we consider the pseudo complementary measurement which only takes the same amount of measurements with the row number of some properly designed 1/0 matrix to compute the total luminous flux of the objective and derives the measurement data of the corresponding 1/−1 matrix in a mathematical way. The numerical simulation and experimental result show that the pseudo complementary measurement is an efficient tool for the traditional single-pixel camera imaging under low measurement rate, which can combine the advantages of the classical and complementary measurements and significantly improve the peak signal-to-noise ratio.
Multi-scale analysis of the water-energy-food nexus in the Gulf region
Authors: Siderius Christian , Conway Declan , Yassine Mohamed , Murken Lisa , Lostis Pierre-Louis , Dalin Carole
Published: August 2020

We quantify the heavily oil-dominated WEF nexus in three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) across spatial scales and over time, using available empirical data at the national level, and explore the exposure to nexus stresses (groundwater depletion) in other countries through virtual water trade. At the domestic scale, WEF trade-offs are fairly limited; while all sectors require considerable amounts of energy, the requirements for water and food production are modest compared to other uses. At the international scale, revenues from oil exports in the GCC allow the region to compensate for low food production and scarce water availability. This dependency is dynamic over time, increasing when oil prices are low and food prices are high. We show how reducing domestic trade-offs can lead to higher exposure internationally, with rice imports originating in regions where groundwater is being depleted. However, Saudi Arabia’s increased wheat imports, after reversing its food self-sufficiency policy, have had limited effects on groundwater depletion elsewhere. Climate change mitigation links the WEF nexus to the global scale. While there is great uncertainty about future international climate policy, our analysis illustrates how implementation of measures to account for the social costs of carbon would reduce the oil and gas revenues available to import food and desalinate water in the GCC.
Communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings: a qualitative systematic review
Authors: Kause Astrid , Bruine de Bruin Wändi , Domingos Samuel , Mittal Neha , Lowe Jason , Fung Fai
Published: August 2020

We undertake a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature to arrive at recommendations for shaping communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings. Climate communications often report on scientific findings that contain different sources of uncertainty. Potential users of these communications are members of the general public, as well as decision makers and climate advisors from government, business and non-governmental institutions worldwide. Many of these users may lack formal training in climate science or related disciplines. We systematically review the English-language peer-reviewed empirical literature from cognitive and behavioral sciences and related fields, which examines how users perceive communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings. We aim to summarize how users’ responses to communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings are associated with characteristics of the decision context, including climate change consequences and types of uncertainty as well as user characteristics, such as climate change beliefs, environmental worldviews, political ideology, numerical skills, and others. We also aimed to identify what general recommendations for communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings can be delineated. We find that studies of communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings substantially varied in how they operationalized uncertainty, as well as how they measured responses. Studies mostly focused on uncertainty stemming from conflicting information, such as diverging model estimates or experts, or from expressions of imprecision such as ranges. Among other things, users’ understanding was improved when climate communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings were presented with explanations about why climate information was uncertain, and when ranges were presented with lower and upper numerical bounds. Users’ understanding also improved if they expressed stronger beliefs about climate change, or had better numerical skills. Based on these findings, we provide emerging recommendations on how to best present communications about uncertainty in scientific climate-related findings; and we identify research gaps.
Conservation laws for optical Bloch equations for the Λ scheme
Authors: Dimitrijević Jelena , Arsenović Dušan , Jelenković Branislav M
Published: August 2020

Results are presented for the conservation laws (CLs) for the optical Bloch equations (OBEs) for the Λ scheme under action of two light fields. The method of multipliers (variational derivative method) is used to obtain CLs which are dependent on the density-matrix elements. Results are classified and discussed by the phenomenological parameters and processes characteristic for OBEs, like the relaxation and decoherence, and the detunings of light fields. CLs for the Liouville von Neumann equation, as a special case of OBEs, without relaxation and decoherence terms, are presented and it is shown that traces, characteristic polynomials and their coefficients, eigen-values and determinants of class of matrices represent CLs. We also presented method, which used CLs obtained by the method of multipliers, to construct another set of CLs, which have the explicit time dependence and are valid for the larger set of parameters, with relaxation due to time of flight and spontaneous emission. Presented results could yield better understanding of the processes in the Λ scheme modeled by the OBEs, and as well have practical applications in various solution methods.
Prediction of impermeability of the concrete structure based on random forest and support vector machine
Authors: Wang Lei , Wu Xianguo , Chen Hongyu , Zeng Tiemei
Published: August 2020

The durability of concrete has a significant impact on the service life. Impermeability is one of the important indicators of concrete durability. It is of great significance to quickly and reasonably predict the impermeability of concrete. This paper combines random forest and support vector machine (RF-SVM) methods. Taking a highway project as the research background, 11 factors were selected as the impact index of concrete impermeability, and the chloride permeability coefficient was used as the evaluation index of concrete impermeability. After random forest index screening, six factors including water-binder ratio, cement dosage, cement strength, fine aggregate, water-reducing agent and coarse aggregate were selected to construct a support vector machine model to predict the impermeability of concrete. The prediction results of the RF-SVM model are compared with the BP neural network model and the support vector machine model without index screening. The results show that the RF-SVM model has higher prediction accuracy and better fitting effect, which provides an effective method for the prediction of concrete impermeability.
The Framework of Urban Energy Map and Case Study
Authors: Wang Linyu , Chen Hao , Guo Lei
Published: August 2020

Urban energy map is an energy solution that combines map elements and energy elements, including information of energy exploration and production, processing and transformation, transmission and distribution, consumption and other links, and is an important part of the construction of energy Internet. This paper proposes the overall framework and basic functions of urban energy map, which include three parts: data layer, technology layer and interaction layer. Taking geographic information system (GIS) as the spatial support technology, and based on the industrial enterprise energy data collected by Spatiotemporal database of China energy flow and carbon emission (SDCEC) and other relevant data from Suzhou Smart Energy Management Platform, the energy map of Suzhou New District is drawn and its characteristics are analysed. The research shows that the urban energy map can effectively reflect the spatial concentration, pattern change, and ranking of urban energy consumption.
Does Participation in Low-Carbon Agriculture Influence Farmers’ Willingness to Grow Eco-Agricultural Crops?
Authors: Wu Xian-rong , Zhang Yan
Published: August 2020

Low-carbon agriculture has aroused wide concern around the world. Many countries are exploring how to reduce carbon emissions in agriculture. While farmers play a vital role in agriculture planting and eco-agricultural crops create less carbon emission, so are farmers willing to participate in the cultivation of eco-agricultural crops in the context of low-carbon agriculture? This paper seeks to find whether farmers who participate in low-carbon agriculture are more willing to plant eco-agricultural crops (taking mushrooms for an example) in china. Logistic regression model was applied to find their relationships. The results show that farmers’ participation in low-carbon agriculture has remarkable effects on their willingness to plant mushroom or other eco-agricultural crops, except for farmers’ characteristics and the status of household production operation. According to this research, farmers are more likely to plant mushrooms when they recycle crop straw, agricultural plastic films and other agricultural wastes. And planting mushrooms have a positive effect on family’s agricultural incomes both in low-income and high-income households. Recognition of benefits of low-carbon agriculture is a primary issue. Likewise, changing rural population structure as well as integrating rural resource factors is an effective measure to encourage farmers to plant mushrooms or other eco-agricultural crops. Subsidies and specialized cooperative organization’s guidance should also be taken into consideration, which is good to arouse farmers’ enthusiasm in planting eco-agricultural crops.
A comparison of ZrO2 nanoparticle reinforced Ni–W, Ni–B and Ni–Cu matrix nanocomposites
Authors: Zhang Weiwei , Ji Cuicui , Fu Qiang , Shi Zhongquan
Published: August 2020

In this work, the structure and properties of ZrO2 nanoparticle reinforced Ni–W, Ni–B and Ni–Cu matrix nanocomposite coatings were comparatively studied. Their surface morphology, composition, microstructure, topography, hardness, wear and corrosion resistance were examined by various methods . The nanocomposites exhibit dense, nodular-like morphology with nanocrystalline structure. The results show that the ZrO2 particles have homogeneously dispersed in the nanocomposites. The formation of the protrusion structure was partly attributed to the heterogeneous distribution of the electric field. The presence of ZrO2 nanoparticles could refine the crystallite size of the Ni–W, Ni–B and Ni–Cu alloy matrix to 12.5 ± 1, 10.5 ± 0.5 and 15 ± 0.1 nm, respectively. The corrosion resistance of these nanocomposites can be improved by the incorporation of ZrO2 nanoparticles into the alloy matrix. The R
a of Ni–W/ZrO2, Ni–B/ZrO2 and Ni–Cu/ZrO2 nanocomposites are about 53 ± 3, 69 ± 2, 18 ± 1 nm, respectively, expressing the rougher surface of Ni–B/ZrO2 compared to the others. It indicated that the composition of these alloy matrix have different crystallite size, which could affect the surface roughness of the electrodeposits. The inclusion of ZrO2 particles in Ni-based alloys could enhance its properties. The reinforcement effect of the anti-wear properties of the nanocomposites was proposed. The R
ct value of the Ni–W–ZrO2, Ni–B–ZrO2, Ni–Cu–ZrO2 were 50.93, 105.18, 44.67 kΩ · cm2, respectively, indicating that the Ni–B–ZrO2 nanocomposite coating has the highest corrosion resistance. The R
ct values depends on not only the composition of the coatings, but also the electrodeposition conditions, which influence the crystallize size and compactness of the electrodeposits. The order of the microhardness and anti-wear properties is Ni–W–ZrO2 > Ni–B–ZrO2 > Ni–Cu–ZrO2.
Magnetic based graphene composites with steroidal diamine dimer as potential drug in hyperthermia cancer therapy
Authors: Abskharoun Sally B , Shawakfeh Khaled Q , Albiss Borhan Aldeen A , Alsharaeh Edreese H
Published: August 2020

Hyperthermia is a non-invasive process of killing cells through heat, as cells go into apoptosis when heated in the range of 41 °C–47 °C. In this work, the biologically active 4-pregnen-3-one-20β-carboxaldehyde (ketobisnoraldehyde) based steroidal diamine dimer (KPD) was chemically grafted on GO surface (GO-KPD) for the first time through an amidation reaction between amine groups of KPD and activated carboxylic acid sites of GO. Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were dispersed on the prepared nanocomposite surface to produce GO-KPD-Fe3O4 nanocomposite with superparamagnetic property. To study the structural effect of KPD, 1,4 diamonobutane (Putrescine) was also grafted chemically on GO via amidation reaction. Successful functionalization of GO surface was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The morphology of the functionalized GO was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, a cytotoxicity test on Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (CMF-7) human breast cancer cell line was conducted. The data suggest that the prepared nanocomposite (GO-KPD-Fe3O4) has a cytotoxic potential against the MCF-7 cell line, thus it could be investigated as potential drug in hyperthermia cancer therapy.
Improvement of thermal conductivity and mechanical properties for polybenzoxazine composites via incorporation of epoxy resin and segregated structure
Authors: Wang Yi , Wu Wei , Drummer Dietmar , Liu Chao , Tomiak Florian , Schneider Kevin
Published: August 2020

Developing tendency of increasing integration in electronic components filed led to the demand for thermally conductive polymer materials. Forming a segregated structure with thermally conductive fillers in the matrix has been proven to be a promising technique. However, the mechanical properties of the material prepared via this technique are commonly sacrificed because the interaction between fillers and matrix are weak. We present a simple method to improve the mechanical properties while maintaining the segregated structure via the collaboration of epoxy and polybenzoxazine(PBz). The fillers, epoxy resin, and benzoxazine(BOZ) were mixed and then hot pressed under 12 MPa of pressure with a certain heating strategy. The thermal conductivity, density, mechanical properties, morphology, and thermal stability of the composites were investigated. With 25 wt% filler, the value of thermal conductivity coefficient of EP/PBz composites reached 0.811 W mK−1, while that of PBz composites was 0.762 W mK−1. The tensile strength of the matrix improved from 58.3 MPa to 99.7 MPa.
Caterpillar-inspired soft robot that locomotes upside-down by utilizing environmental skeleton
Authors: Morishima Masahiro , Umedachi Takuya , Kawahara Yoshihiro
Published: August 2020

Caterpillars do not process skeleton inside its body; instead, they utilize the environment, e.g., branches, to maintain the posture against gravity. This strategy is also beneficial for soft-bodied robotic artifacts, which allows us to simplify the body and control design. This paper presents a soft-bodied crawling robot able to locomote in an upside-down condition. The critical finding is producing tension in the soft body is necessary for the soft robot to realize environmental skeleton and robust locomotion, which is demonstrated with numerical experiments and the prototype, even when the weight is added. The design way can be useful for the other soft-bodied robots that have difficulties supporting the weight and maintain the posture under gravity, e.g., when climbing upside-down condition. The results shed new light on how to design a mechanical and control system for soft-bodied robots, e.g., electric wire/cable maintenance robot, a tree-climbing robot, and a viaduct monitoring robot.
Histopathology of Human Donor Spleen Utilized as a Desensitization Tool Before Intestinal Transplantation
Authors: Gaitonde Sujata , Hassan Mohamed , Mehta Vikas , Benedetti Enrico , Tzvetanov Ivo , Lichvar Alicia , Pirzada Sarmad , Setty Suman
Published: August 2020

Objectives

To describe the histopathologic and immunophenotypic features of a temporary splenic allograft exposed to massive donor-specific antibody (DSA) insult.

Methods

A human cadaveric donor splenic allograft was temporarily transplanted in a highly sensitized patient with the intention of removing DSA before intestinal transplantation from the same donor. Before splenic transplant, the patient had several preformed cytotoxic DSAs that resulted in positive flow cytometric and complement-dependent cytotoxicity crossmatch. The splenic allograft was removed before intestinal transplantation and evaluated by H&E and immunohistochemical stains.

Results

Explanted donor splenic allograft showed several histopathologic changes: expanded red pulp secondary to congestion and marked neutrophilic and macrophage infiltration in the sinusoids, numerous neutrophilic microabscesses, and focal capillaritis. The C4d and IgG immunohistochemical stains were diffusely positive in the endothelial lining of the capillaries and sinusoidal lining, indicating diffuse IgG deposition and complement activation.

Conclusions

We propose that the noted changes are features of splenic acute antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Additional cases are required to determine all the features of splenic AMR. To our knowledge, this is the first report of histopathologic changes in donor spleen after exposure to DSA for a short duration.
Reintegrating droperidol into emergency medicine practice
Authors: Mattson Alicia , Friend Kimberly , Brown Caitlin S , Cabrera Daniel
Published: August 2020

Purpose

After a long period of low utilization, droperidol has become easier to obtain in the US market. This comprehensive review discusses the safety, indications, clinical efficacy, and dosing of droperidol for use in the emergency department (ED) setting.

In 2001 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a boxed warning in the labeling of droperidol after reports of QT interval prolongation associated with droperidol use. Since that time, it has been difficult to access droperidol in the United States; as a result, many practicing clinicians lack experience in its clinical use. Multiple studies have been conducted to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of droperidol use in ED patients. Results consistently show the safety of droperidol and its clinical efficacy when used as an analgesic, antiemetic, and sedative. Now that droperidol is more widely available for use in the US market, pharmacists and prescribers need to reliably translate safety and efficacy data compiled since 2001 to help ensure appropriate and effective use of the medication.

Conclusion

Droperidol is an effective and safe option for the treatment of acute agitation, migraine, nausea, and pain for patients in the ED setting. Healthcare professionals can adopt droperidol for use in clinical practice, and they should become familiar with how to dose and monitor droperidol for safe and effective use.
Predicting the interaction biomolecule types for lncRNA: an ensemble deep learning approach
Authors: Zhang Yu , Jia Cangzhi , Kwoh Chee Keong
Published: August 2020

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in various physiological and pathological processes via their interactions with biomolecules like DNA, RNA and protein. The existing in silico methods used for predicting the functions of lncRNA mainly rely on calculating the similarity of lncRNA or investigating whether an lncRNA can interact with a specific biomolecule or disease. In this work, we explored the functions of lncRNA from a different perspective: we presented a tool for predicting the interaction biomolecule type for a given lncRNA. For this purpose, we first investigated the main molecular mechanisms of the interactions of lncRNA–RNA, lncRNA–protein and lncRNA–DNA. Then, we developed an ensemble deep learning model: lncIBTP (lncRNA Interaction Biomolecule Type Prediction). This model predicted the interactions between lncRNA and different types of biomolecules. On the 5-fold cross-validation, the lncIBTP achieves average values of 0.7042 in accuracy, 0.7903 and 0.6421 in macro-average area under receiver operating characteristic curve and precision–recall curve, respectively, which illustrates the model effectiveness. Besides, based on the analysis of the collected published data and prediction results, we hypothesized that the characteristics of lncRNAs that interacted with DNA may be different from those that interacted with only RNA.
Mainzelliste SecureEpiLinker (MainSEL): privacy-preserving record linkage using secure multi-party computation
Authors: Stammler Sebastian , Kussel Tobias , Schoppmann Phillipp , Stampe Florian , Tremper Galina , Katzenbeisser Stefan , Hamacher Kay , Lablans Martin
Published: August 2020

Motivation

Record Linkage has versatile applications in real-world data analysis contexts, where several datasets need to be linked on the record level in the absence of any exact identifier connecting related records. An example are medical databases of patients, spread across institutions, that have to be linked on personally identifiable entries like name, date of birth or ZIP code. At the same time, privacy laws may prohibit the exchange of this personally identifiable information (PII) across institutional boundaries, ruling out the outsourcing of the record linkage task to a trusted third party. We propose to employ privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) techniques that prevent, to various degrees, the leakage of PII while still allowing for the linkage of related records.

Results

We develop a framework for fault-tolerant PPRL using secure multi-party computation with the medical record keeping software Mainzelliste as the data source. Our solution does not rely on any trusted third party and all PII is guaranteed to not leak under common cryptographic security assumptions. Benchmarks show the feasibility of our approach in realistic networking settings: linkage of a patient record against a database of 10 000 records can be done in 48 s over a heavily delayed (100 ms) network connection, or 3.9 s with a low-latency connection.

Availability and implementation

The source code of the sMPC node is freely available on Github at https://github.com/medicalinformatics/SecureEpilinker subject to the AGPLv3 license. The source code of the modified Mainzelliste is available at https://github.com/medicalinformatics/MainzellisteSEL.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
SARS2020: an integrated platform for identification of novel coronavirus by a consensus sequence-function model
Authors: Zhang Dachuan , Zhang Tong , Liu Sheng , Sun Dandan , Ding Shaozhen , Cheng Xingxiang , Cai Pengli , Ren Ailin , Han Mengying , Liu Dongliang , Jia Cancan , Gong Linlin , Zhang Rui , Xing Huadong , Tu Weizhong , Chen Junni , Hu Qian-Nan
Published: August 2020

Motivation

The 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak has significantly affected global health and society. Thus, predicting biological function from pathogen sequence is crucial and urgently needed. However, little work has been conducted to identify viruses by the enzymes that they encode, and which are key to pathogen propagation.

Results

We built a comprehensive scientific resource, SARS2020, which integrates coronavirus-related research, genomic sequences and results of anti-viral drug trials. In addition, we built a consensus sequence-catalytic function model from which we identified the novel coronavirus as encoding the same proteinase as the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus. This data-driven sequence-based strategy will enable rapid identification of agents responsible for future epidemics.

Availabilityand implementation

SARS2020 is available at http://design.rxnfinder.org/sars2020/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.