bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modelling Surface Roughness in the Function of Torque When Drilling
Authors: Krivokapić Zdravko , Vučurević Radoslav , Kramar Davorin , Šaković Jovanović Jelena
Published: March 2020

Given the application of a multiple regression and artificial neural networks (ANNs), this paper describes development of models for predicting surface roughness, linking an arithmetic mean deviation of a surface roughness to a torque as an input variable, in the process of drilling enhancement steel EN 42CrMo4, thermally treated to the hardness level of 28 HRC, using cruciform blade twist drills made of high speed steel with hardness level of 64–68 HRC. The model was developed using process parameters (nominal diameters of twist drills, speed, feed, and angle of installation of work pieces) as input variables varied at three levels by Taguchi design of experiment and measured experimental data for a torque and arithmetic mean deviation of a surface roughness for different values of flank wear of twist drills. The comparative analysis of the models results and the experimental data, acquired for the inputs at the moment when a wear span reaches a limit value corresponding to a moment of the drills blunting, demonstrates that the neural network model gives better results than the results obtained in the application of multiple linear and nonlinear regression models.
TonB-Dependent Transporters in Sphingomonads: Unraveling Their Distribution and Function in Environmental Adaptation
Authors: Samantarrai Devyani , Lakshman Sagar Annapoorni , Gudla Ramurthy , Siddavattam Dayananda
Published: March 2020

TonB-dependent transport system plays a critical role in the transport of nutrients across the energy-deprived outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. It contains a specialized outer membrane TonB-dependent transporter (TBDT) and energy generating (ExbB/ExbD) and transducing (TonB) inner membrane multi-protein complex, called TonB complex. Very few TonB complex protein-coding sequences exist in the genomes of Gram-negative bacteria. Interestingly, the TBDT coding alleles are phenomenally high, especially in the genomes of bacteria surviving in complex and stressful environments. Sphingomonads are known to survive in highly polluted environments using rare, recalcitrant, and toxic substances as their sole source of carbon. Naturally, they also contain a huge number of TBDTs in the outer membrane. Out of them, only a few align with the well-characterized TBDTs. The functions of the remaining TBDTs are not known. Predictions made based on genome context and expression pattern suggest their involvement in the transport of xenobiotic compounds across the outer membrane.
Physicochemical Characterization of Natural Wollastonite and Calcite
Authors: Kangal Murat Olgaç , Bulut Gülay , Guven Onur
Published: March 2020

Wollastonite and calcite minerals are significant raw materials and are extensively used due to their unique properties. Wollastonite is used in plastics, paint, ceramics, paper, resins, and in construction as a substitution for asbestos due to its chemical stability, thermal resistivity, needle-like shape, and brightness. Calcite is one of the most used raw materials because of its low hardness, high alkalinity, sorptive properties, white and bright color. Wollastonite and calcite are two minerals found together in nature. The most common method used for separating these two minerals is flotation. In this study, the surface properties of pure mineral samples were investigated. The pH profiles of both minerals were obtained by measuring the surface charge of particles followed by the measurement of the zeta potential in different collector concentrations. The wettability of minerals was examined by measuring their contact angles.
A Study of Shock-Metamorphic Features of Feldspars from the Xiuyan Impact Crater
Authors: Yin Feng , Dai Deqiu
Published: March 2020

Feldspar is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust and is widely distributed in rocks. It is also one of the most common minerals in meteorites. Shock-metamorphic features in feldspar are widely used to calibrate the temperature and pressure of shock events and can also provide clues for searching for impact craters on Earth. In this study, shocked alkali feldspars in the lithic breccia and suevite from Xiuyan Impact Crater were investigated using polarizing optical microscopes, Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobes to better constrain the shock history of this crater. For this study, feldspar grains occurring in gneiss clasts in the impact breccia and four shock stages were identified, e.g., weakly shocked feldspar, moderately shocked feldspar, strongly shocked feldspar, and whole rock melting. According to the shock classification system for alkali feldspar and felsic rocks, we estimated the shock pressure (SP) and post-shock temperature (PST) histories of these gneiss clasts. Weakly shocked feldspars display irregular fractures and undulatory extinction, and their shock stage is F-S2, which indicates that SP and PST are from ~5 to ~14 GPa and ~100 °C, respectively. Moderately shocked feldspars show planar deformation features and are partially transformed into diaplectic glass, which indicates that the F-S5 shock stage of SP and PST is from ~32 to ~45 GPa and 300–900 °C. Strongly shocked feldspars that occur as vesicular glass indicate a shock stage of F-S6, and the SP and PST are 45–60 GPa and 900–1500 °C, respectively. The whole felsic rock melting occurs as mixed melt glass clast and belongs to the F-S7 stage, and SP and PST are >60 GPa and >1500 °C, respectively.
Effect of Mineral Composition on Transverse Relaxation Time Distributions and MR Imaging of Tight Rocks from Offshore Ireland
Authors: Almenningen Stian , Roy Srikumar , Hussain Arif , Seland John Georg , Ersland Geir
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we investigate the effect of magnetic field strength on the transverse relaxation time constant (T2) in six distinct core plugs from four different rock types (three sandstones, one basalt, one volcanic tuff and one siltstone), retrieved from offshore Ireland. The CPMG pulse-sequence was used at two different magnetic field strengths: high-field at 4.70 T and low-field at 0.28 T. Axial images of the core plugs were also acquired with the RAREst sequence at high magnetic field strength. Thin-sections of the core plugs were prepared for optical imaging and SEM analysis, and provided qualitative information on the porosity and quantification of the elemental composition of the rock material. The content of iron varied from 4 wt. % to close to zero in the rock samples. Nevertheless, the effective T2 distributions obtained at low-field were used to successfully predict the porosity of the core plugs. Severe signal attenuations from internal magnetic gradients resulted in an underestimation of the porosity at high-field. No definitive trend was identified on the evolution of discrete relaxation time components between magnetic field strengths. The low-field measurements demonstrate that NMR is a powerful quantitative tool for petrophysical rock analysis as compared to thin-section analysis. The results of this study are of interest to the research community who characterizes natural gas hydrates in tight heterogeneous core plugs, and who typically relies on MR imaging to distinguish between solid hydrates and fluid phases. It further exemplifies the importance of selecting appropriate magnetic field strengths when employing NMR/MRI for porosity calculation in tight rock.
Unravelling the Potential Cytotoxic Effects of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles and Metal(Loid) Mixtures on A549 Human Cell Line
Authors: Rosário Fernanda , Bessa Maria João , Brandão Fátima , Costa Carla , Lopes Cláudia B. , Estrada Ana C. , Tavares Daniela S. , Teixeira João Paulo , Reis Ana Teresa
Published: March 2020

Humans are typically exposed to environmental contaminants’ mixtures that result in different toxicity than exposure to the individual counterparts. Yet, the toxicology of chemical mixtures has been overlooked. This work aims at assessing and comparing viability and cell cycle of A549 cells after exposure to single and binary mixtures of: titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NP) 0.75–75 mg/L; cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NP) 0.75–10 μg/L; arsenic (As) 0.75–2.5 mg/L; and mercury (Hg) 5–100 mg/L. Viability was assessed through water-soluble tetrazolium (WST-1) and thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) (24 h exposure) and clonogenic (seven-day exposure) assays. Cell cycle alterations were explored by flow cytometry. Viability was affected in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Prolonged exposure caused inhibition of cell proliferation even at low concentrations. Cell-cycle progression was affected by TiO2NP 75 mg/L, and As 0.75 and 2.5 μg/L, increasing the cell proportion at G0/G1 phase. Combined exposure of TiO2NP or CeO2NP mitigated As adverse effects, increasing the cell surviving factor, but cell cycle alterations were still observed. Only CeO2NP co-exposure reduced Hg toxicity, translated in a decrease of cells in Sub-G1. Toxicity was diminished for both NPs co-exposure compared to its toxicity alone, but a marked toxicity for the highest concentrations was observed for longer exposures. These findings prove that joint toxicity of contaminants must not be disregarded.
A Highly Sensitive SERS and RRS Coupled Di-Mode Method for CO Detection Using Nanogolds as Catalysts and Bifunctional Probes
Authors: Yao Dongmei , Wen Guiqing , Gong Lingbo , Li Chongning , Liang Aihui , Jiang Zhiliang
Published: March 2020

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a commonly poisonous gas. It is important to detect CO in daily life. Herein, a new and sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) coupled di-mode method was developed for CO, based on gold nano-enzyme catalysis and gold nanoprobes. CO can react with HAuCl4 to generate gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in pH 5.2 HAc-NaAc buffer. The generated AuNPs exhibited SERS activity at 1620 cm−1 in the presence of Vitoria blue B (VBB) molecular probes, and an RRS peak at 290 nm. Based on the AuNP bifunctional probes, the increased SERS and RRS intensities respond linearly with the concentration of CO in the range of 100–1500 ng/mL and 30–5230 ng/mL, respectively. To improve the sensitivity, the produced AuNPs were used as nano-enzyme catalysts for the new indicator reaction of HAuCl4-ethanol (En) to amplify the signal. The sensitive SERS method was coupled with the accurate RRS method to develop a sensitive and accurate SERS/RRS di-mode method for determination of 3.0–413 ng/mL CO, based on the AuNP-HAuCl4-En nanocatalytic reaction and its product of AuNPs as SERS and RRS bifunctional probes.
Kidney-Detrimental Factors and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Preterm Newborns: The Role of Nutrition
Authors: Monzani Alice , Crespi Ilaria , Genoni Giulia , Edefonti Alberto , Montini Giovanni , Bellomo Giorgio , Ferrero Federica , Bellone Simonetta , Prodam Flavia
Published: March 2020

Background: Kidney function in preterm newborns may be impaired by many factors. Methods: 71 newborns with gestational age (GA) < 32 weeks were enrolled. Serum creatinine (sCr), cystatin C (CysC), beta-trace protein (BTP) and urea were measured at T0 (3rd day of life) and T36 (GA 36 weeks), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated according to different formulas at T36. Pre-natal and post-natal kidney injury risk scores were calculated. Results: Newborns with GA ≤ 28 weeks had higher sCr at T0, and lower sCr, BTP and higher urea levels at T36 (p = 0.007, p = 0.005 and p = 0.029, respectively). eGFR values were not different according to GA when calculated by the formulas using only CysC, but were higher in subjects with GA ≤ 28 weeks according to the other formulas. The post-natal score was positively correlated with eGFR according to sCr-based formulas, but the correlations did not persist when adjusted for urea levels and GA. Conclusions: CysC-based eGFR values are not influenced by GA. Post-natal score shows a direct correlation with eGFR according to sCr-based formulas, not persisting after adjustment for GA and urea levels, implying the importance of the nutritional status, since more premature subjects receive a more aggressive nutritional regimen, testified by higher urea levels.
Efficacy of a Novel ACE-Inhibitory Peptide from Sargassum maclurei in Hypertension and Reduction of Intracellular Endothelin-1
Authors: Zheng Yajun , Zhang Yufeng , San Sang
Published: March 2020

Sargassum maclurei is a potential protein resource because of its high protein content and relatively balanced amino acid composition. To promote its usage in food, medical, or other industries, S. maclurei protein was hydrolyzed by pepsin and papain to obtain bioactive peptides. The S. maclurei protein hydrolysates (SMPHs) were purified using gel chromatography and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), and 12 major fractions were obtained. The fraction D11 with the highest angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition (61.59%, at 1 mg/mL) was subjected to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, and about 17 peptides were identified, of which the RWDISQPY (1063.5 Da) was chosen to be synthesized based on in silico analysis. The RWDISQPY demonstrated high ACE inhibition ability (IC50: 72.24 μM) with competitive inhibition mode, and could effectively (p < 0.05) lower the systolic blood pressure and diastolic pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats at the concentration of 150 mg/kg body weight. The results of the molecular docking simulation demonstrated that RWDISQPY could bind with the active sites S1 and S2 of ACE via short hydrogen bonds. Moreover, RWDISQPY showed acceptable endothelin-1 suppressing capacity (26.21% at 1.5 mg/mL). These results indicate that S. maclurei could be developed into functional foods such as antihypertensive products.
The Impact of Serum Zinc Levels on Abdominal Fat Mass in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Fukasawa Hirotaka , Niwa Hiroki , Ishibuchi Kento , Kaneko Mai , Iwakura Takamasa , Yasuda Hideo , Furuya Ryuichi
Published: March 2020

Background: Zinc deficiency is highly prevalent and is caused by inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption and removal by treatment in hemodialysis patients. This study investigated the relationship between serum zinc levels and nutritional status in hemodialysis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study examining 87 hemodialysis patients was performed. The serum concentrations of zinc were studied to evaluate their association with nutritional status, which was assessed by measuring abdominal muscle and fat areas with computed tomography. Results: Serum zinc levels were significantly and positively correlated with subcutaneous and visceral fat areas (r = 0.299, p < 0.01, and r = 0.298, p < 0.01, respectively), but not abdominal muscle areas. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that serum zinc levels were a significant independent predictor of visceral fat areas (p < 0.01), but not subcutaneous fat areas (p = 0.631). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that serum zinc levels could play a crucial role in determining abdominal fat mass in hemodialysis patients.
JNK/p66Shc/ITCH Signaling Pathway Mediates Angiotensin II-induced Ferritin Degradation and Labile Iron Pool Increase
Authors: Borkowska Andżelika , Popowska Urszula , Spodnik Jan , Herman-Antosiewicz Anna , Woźniak Michał , Antosiewicz Jędrzej
Published: March 2020

Angiotensin II (Ang II) induces deleterious changes in cellular iron metabolism and increases the generation of reactive oxygen species. This leads to an impairment of neuronal and vascular function. However, the mechanism underpinning Ang II-induced changes in iron metabolism is not known. We hypothesized that Ang II-induced ferritin degradation and an increase in the labile iron pool are mediated by the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/p66Shc/ITCH signaling pathway. We show that Ang II treatment induced ferritin degradation in an endothelial cell lines derived from the bovine stem pulmonary artery (CPAE), human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and HT22 neuronal cells. Ferritin degradation was accompanied by an increase in the labile iron pool, as determined by changes in calcein fluorescence. The JNK inhibitor SP600125 abolished Ang II-induced ferritin degradation. Furthermore, the effect of Ang II on ferritin levels was completely abolished in cells transfected with vectors encoding catalytically inactive variants of JNK1 or JNK2. CPAE cells expressing inactive ITCHor p66Shc (substrates of JNK kinases) were completely resistant to Ang II-induced ferritin degradation. These observations suggest that Ang II-induced ferritin degradation and, hence, elevation of the levels of highly reactive iron, are mediated by the JNK/p66Shc/ITCH signaling pathway.
The Course Of IGF-1 Levels and Nutrient Intake in Extremely and Very Preterm Infants During Hospitalisation
Authors: Yumani Dana F.J. , Calor Alexandra K. , van Weissenbruch Mirjam. M.
Published: March 2020

Background: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) plays an important role in the complex association between nutrition, growth, and maturation in extremely and very preterm infants. Nevertheless, in this population, research on associations between IGF-1 and nutrition is limited. Therefore this study aimed to evaluate the possible associations between the course of IGF-1 levels and nutrient intake between preterm birth and 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). Methods: 87 infants born between 24 and 32 weeks gestational age were followed up to 36 weeks PMA. Actual daily macronutrient intake was calculated, and growth was assessed weekly. IGF-1 was sampled from umbilical cord blood at birth and every other week thereafter. Results: There was an inverse relationship between the amount of parenteral nutrition in the second week of life and IGF-1. Total protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake, as well as total energy intake, primarily showed a positive association with IGF-1 levels, particularly between 30 and 33 weeks PMA. Gestational age, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and weight were significant confounders in the association between nutrient intake and IGF-1 levels. Conclusion: Parenteral nutrition was found to be a negative predictor of IGF-1 levels, and there could potentially be a time frame in which macronutrient intake is unable to impact IGF-1 levels. Future research should aim to narrow down this time frame and to gain more insight into factors enhancing or decreasing the response of IGF-1 to nutrition, e.g., age and inflammatory state, to align nutritional interventions accordingly.
Unique Triterpenoid of Jujube Root Protects Cisplatin-induced Damage in Kidney Epithelial LLC-PK1 Cells via Autophagy Regulation
Authors: Lee Dahae , Kang Kyo Bin , Kim Hyun Woo , Park Jung Sik , Hwang Gwi Seo , Kang Ki Sung , Choi Sungyoul , Yamabe Noriko , Kim Ki Hyun
Published: March 2020

Chronic exposure to cisplatin is associated with irreversible kidney impairment. In this present study, we explored the protective effects of 3-dehydroxyceanothetric acid 2-methyl ester (3DC2ME) isolated from roots of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba, Rhamnaceae) against cisplatin-induced damage in vitro. In kidney epithelial LLC-PK1 cells, western blotting and staining with specific autophagy epifluorescent dye CytoID were used to determine the molecular pathways involving autophagy. Treatment with 3DC2ME reduced the increased Cyto-ID-stained autophagic vesicles and reversed the protein expressions of 5’ AMP-activated protein kinase subunit β-1 (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-dependent signaling pathway in cisplatin-induced cell death. Additionally, treatment with autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and with or without 3DC2ME attenuated the cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Although further research is necessary to substantiate the effects, we evaluated the potential mechanism of action of 3DC2ME as an adjuvant for cancer patients.
Methionine Restriction and Cancer Biology
Authors: Wanders Desiree , Hobson Katherine , Ji Xiangming
Published: March 2020

The essential amino acid, methionine, is important for cancer cell growth and metabolism. A growing body of evidence indicates that methionine restriction inhibits cancer cell growth and may enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. This review summarizes the efficacy and mechanism of action of methionine restriction on hallmarks of cancer in vitro and in vivo. The review highlights the role of glutathione formation, polyamine synthesis, and methyl group donation as mediators of the effects of methionine restriction on cancer biology. The translational potential of the use of methionine restriction as a personalized nutritional approach for the treatment of patients with cancer is also discussed.
A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Medium-Term Effects of Oat Fibers on Human Health: The Beta-Glucan Effects on Lipid Profile, Glycemia and inTestinal Health (BELT) Study
Authors: Cicero Arrigo F.G. , Fogacci Federica , Veronesi Maddalena , Strocchi Enrico , Grandi Elisa , Rizzoli Elisabetta , Poli Andrea , Marangoni Franca , Borghi Claudio
Published: March 2020

The Beta-glucan Effects on Lipid profile, glycemia and inTestinal health (BELT) Study investigated the effect of 3 g/day oat beta-glucans on plasma lipids, fasting glucose and self-perceived intestinal well-being. The Study was an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over randomized clinical trial, enrolling a sample of 83 Italian free-living subjects, adherent to Mediterranean diet, with a moderate hypercholesterolemia and a low cardiovascular risk profile. Beta-glucans reduced mean LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) levels from baseline by 12.2% (95%CI: −15.4 to −3.8) after 4 weeks of supplementation and by 15.1% (95%CI: −17.8 to −5.9) after 8 weeks of supplementation (p < 0.01 for both comparison and versus placebo). Between baseline and 4 weeks Total Cholesterol (TC) levels showed an average reduction of 6.5% (95%CI: −10.9 to −1.9) in the beta-glucan sequence; while non-HDL-C plasma concentrations decreased by 11.8% (95%CI: −14.6 to −4.5). Moreover, after 8 weeks of beta-glucan supplementation TC was reduced by 8.9% (95%CI: −12.6 to −2.3) and non-HDL-C levels by 12.1% (95%CI: −15.6 to −5.3). Decreses in TC and non HDL-C were significant also versus placebo (respectively p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 to both follow-up visits). Fasting plasma glucose and self-perceived intestinal well-being were not affected by both beta-glucan and placebo supplementation.
Three-Locus Sequence Identification and Differential Tebuconazole Sensitivity Suggest Novel Fusarium equiseti Haplotype from Trinidad
Authors: Villafana Ria T. , Rampersad Sephra N.
Published: March 2020

The Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC) consists of 33 phylogenetic species according to multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR). A multi-locus dataset consisting of nucleotide sequences of the translation elongation factor (EF-1α), calmodulin (CAM), partial RNA polymerase largest subunit (RPB1), and partial RNA polymerase second largest subunit (RPB2), was generated to distinguish among phylogenetic species within the FIESC isolates infecting bell pepper in Trinidad. Three phylogenetic species belonged to the Incarnatum clade (FIESC-15, FIESC-16, and FIESC-26), and one species belonged to the Equiseti clade (FIESC-14). Specific MLST types were sensitive to 10 µg/mL of tebuconazole fungicide as a discriminatory dose. The EC50 values were significantly different among the four MLST groups, which were separated into two homogeneous groups: FIESC-26a and FIESC-14a, demonstrating the “sensitive” azole phenotype and FIESC-15a and FIESC-16a as the “less sensitive” azole phenotype. CYP51C sequences of the Trinidad isolates, although under positive selection, were without any signatures of recombination, were highly conserved, and were not correlated with these azole phenotypes. CYP51C sequences were unable to resolve the FIESC isolates as phylogenetic inference indicated polytomic branching for these sequences. This data is important to different research communities, including those studying Fusarium phytopathology, mycotoxins, and public health impacts.
JP2 Genotype of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in Caucasian Patients: A Presentation of Two Cases
Authors: Stähli Alexandra , Sculean Anton , Eick Sigrun
Published: March 2020

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a key pathogen that has been associated with periodontal disease. Its most important virulence factor is a leukotoxin capable of inactivating immune cells. The JP2 genotype of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans shows enhanced leukotoxic activity and is mostly present in individuals of North and West African origin with severe periodontitis. In this paper, two cases of Caucasians diagnosed with the JP2 genotype are presented. A 50-year-old female patient had three approximal sites with ≥ 6 mm clinical attachment loss (CAL) and eight sites with probing depth (PD) ≥ 5 mm. Microbiological diagnostics revealed A. actinomycetemcomitans JP2 genotype, but not Porphyromonas gingivalis. This JP2 genotype was highly leukotoxic to monocytic cells. The second case was a 55-year-old female patient with CAL of > 5 mm at all molars and PD of up to 12 mm. A. actinomycetemcomitans JP2 was identified, but not P. gingivalis. Her husband originated from North-Africa. In him, no A. actinomycetemcomitans was detected, but their 17-year-old daughter was diagnosed with periodontitis and was found to be positive for the JP2 genotype. Both patients were successfully treated with adjunctive antibiotics and the JP2 genotype was eliminated. In summary, here, the microbiological diagnosis was key for the treatment with adjunctive antibiotics.
Specific Substitutions in Region V2 of gp120 env confer SHIV Neutralisation Resistance
Authors: Pisil Yalcin , Yazici Zafer , Shida Hisatoshi , Matsushita Shuzo , Miura Tomoyuki
Published: March 2020

A tier 2 SHIV-MK38 strain was obtained after two in vivo passages of tier 1 SHIV-MK1. SHIV-MK38#818, cloned from the MK38 strain, was neutralisation-resistant, like the parental MK38 strain, to SHIV-infected monkey plasma (MP), HIV-1-infected human pooled plasma (HPP), and KD247 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (anti-V3 gp120 env). We investigated the mechanisms underlying the resistance of #818, specifically the amino acid substitutions that confer resistance to MK1. We introduced amino acid substitutions in the MK1 envelope by in vitro mutagenesis and then compared the neutralisation resistance to MP, HPP, and KD247 mAb with #818 in a neutralisation assay using TZM-bl cells. We selected 11 substitutions in the V1, V2, C2, V4, C4, and V5 regions based on the alignment of env of MK1 and #818. The neutralisation resistance of the mutant MK1s with 7 of 11 substitutions in the V1, C2, C4, and V5 regions did not change significantly. These substitutions did not alter any negative charges or N-glycans. The substitutions N169D and K187E, which added negative charges, and S190N in the V2 region of gp120 and A389T in V4, which created sites for N-glycan, conferred high neutralisation resistance. The combinations N169D+K187E, N169D+S190N, and N169D+A389T resulted in MK1 neutralisation resistance close to that of #818. The combinations without 169D were neutralisation-sensitive. Therefore, N169D is the most important substitution for neutralisation resistance. This study demonstrated that although the V3 region sequences of #818 and MK1 are the same, V3 binding antibodies cannot neutralise #818 pseudovirus. Instead, mutations in the V2 and V4 regions inhibit the neutralisation of anti-V3 antibodies. We hypothesised that 169D and 190N altered the MK1 Env conformation so that the V3 region is buried. Therefore, the V2 region may block KD247 from binding to the tip of the V3 region.
Phylogenetic Analysis of Belgian Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Supports Cross Species Virus Transmission and Identifies New Subtype B5 Strains
Authors: Michiels Rodolphe , Adjadj Nadjah Radia , De Regge Nick
Published: March 2020

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) are a group of highly divergent viruses responsible for global and fatal infections in sheep and goats. Since the current phylogenetic classification of these viruses was proposed in 2004, it nowadays consists out of 5 genotypes and 28 subtypes. In support of our national SRLV control program, we performed the genetic characterization of SRLV strains circulating in the Belgian sheep and goat population. Fourteen sheep and 9 goat strains were sequenced in the gag-pol and pol regions using the method described by Shah. Most SRLV strains from sheep and goats belonged to prototype A1 and B1 subtypes, respectively. We, however, also found indications for cross-species transmission of SRLV strains between sheep and goats and vice versa, and identified a new subtype designated as B5. An in-depth analysis of the current SRLV phylogeny revealed that many subtypes have been defined over the years based on limited sequence information. To keep phylogeny as a useful tool, we advocate to apply more rigorous sequencing standards to ensure the correct classification of current and new emerging strains. The genetic characterization of Belgian SRLV strains will help in the development of appropriate diagnostic tools to assist the national control program.
Synthesis of Imidazole-Based Medicinal Molecules Utilizing the van Leusen Imidazole Synthesis
Authors: Zheng Xunan , Ma Zhengning , Zhang Dawei
Published: March 2020

Imidazole and its derivatives are one of the most vital and universal heterocycles in medicinal chemistry. Owing to their special structural features, these compounds exhibit a widespread spectrum of significant pharmacological or biological activities, and are widely researched and applied by pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery. The van Leusen reaction based on tosylmethylisocyanides (TosMICs) is one of the most appropriate strategies to synthetize imidazole-based medicinal molecules, which has been increasingly developed on account of its advantages. In this review, we summarize the recent developments of the chemical synthesis and bioactivity of imidazole-containing medicinal small molecules, utilizing the van Leusen imidazole synthesis from 1977.
Being Someplace Else: The Theological Virtues in the Anime of Makoto Shinkai
Authors: Tan Matthew John Paul
Published: March 2020

This work explores the ways in which the anime of Makoto Shinkai cinematically portrays the theological virtues of faith, hope and love. The article will explore each virtue individually, with specific reference to the work of Josef Pieper and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. In addition, it will juxtapose their explorations of these virtues with samples of Shinkai’s corpus of films. It will assert that the consistency of Shinkai’s work reveals several important parallels with the theological virtues. Faith is the encounter between one and another that reveals one’s nature. Hope is revealed by the distance between one and another, and is realised in traversing that distance to achieve an ecstatic reunion. Love, as the erotic attraction between one and another, is the driver that also sustains the journey and closes the distance. In spite of the similarities, important differences between the cinematic and theological will be highlighted.
Interlacing Orchard Canopy Separation and Assessment using UAV Images
Authors: Cheng Zhenzhen , Qi Lijun , Cheng Yifan , Wu Yalei , Zhang Hao
Published: March 2020

To minimize pesticide dosage and its adverse environmental impact, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) spraying requires precise individual canopy information. Branches from neighboring trees may overlap, preventing image-based artificial intelligence analysis from correctly identifying individual trees. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a segmentation and evaluation method for mingled fruit tree canopies with irregular shapes. To extract the individual trees from mingled canopies, the study fitted the projection curve distribution of the interlacing tree with Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and solved the matter of segmentation by estimating the GMM parameters. For the intermingling degree assessment, the Gaussian parameters were used to quantify the characteristics of the mingled fruit trees and then as the input for Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model training. The proposed method was tested on the aerial images of cherry and apple trees. Results of the experiments show that the proposed method can not only accurately identify individual trees, but also estimate the intermingledness of the interlacing canopies. The root mean squares (R) of the over-segmentation rate (Ro) and under-segmentation rate (Ru) for individual trees counting were less than 10%. Moreover, the Intersection over Union (IoU), used to evaluate the integrity of a single canopy area, was greater than 88%. An 84.3% Accuracy (ACC) with a standard deviation of 1.2% was achieved by the assessment model. This method will supply more accurate data of individual canopy for spray volume assessments or other precision-based applications in orchards.
Simulated Data to Estimate Real Sensor Events—A Poisson-Regression-Based Modelling
Authors: Ortíz-Barrios Miguel Angel , Cleland Ian , Nugent Chris , Pancardo Pablo , Järpe Eric , Synnott Jonathan
Published: March 2020

Automatic detection and recognition of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) are crucial for providing effective care to frail older adults living alone. A step forward in addressing this challenge is the deployment of smart home sensors capturing the intrinsic nature of ADLs performed by these people. As the real-life scenario is characterized by a comprehensive range of ADLs and smart home layouts, deviations are expected in the number of sensor events per activity (SEPA), a variable often used for training activity recognition models. Such models, however, rely on the availability of suitable and representative data collection and is habitually expensive and resource-intensive. Simulation tools are an alternative for tackling these barriers; nonetheless, an ongoing challenge is their ability to generate synthetic data representing the real SEPA. Hence, this paper proposes the use of Poisson regression modelling for transforming simulated data in a better approximation of real SEPA. First, synthetic and real data were compared to verify the equivalence hypothesis. Then, several Poisson regression models were formulated for estimating real SEPA using simulated data. The outcomes revealed that real SEPA can be better approximated ( R pred 2 = 92.72 % ) if synthetic data is post-processed through Poisson regression incorporating dummy variables.
Mapping and Damage Assessment of “Royal” Burial Mounds in the Siberian Valley of the Kings
Authors: Caspari Gino
Published: March 2020

The Valley of the Kings in Tuva Republic, southern Siberia, is arguably one of the most important archaeological landscapes in the eastern Eurasian steppes. Nonetheless, little information exists about the spatial characteristics and preservation conditions of this burial ground consisting of large “royal” mounds. We map the large monuments of the Uyuk Valley’s northern river terrace and assess their state of preservation based on high-resolution optical satellite data. The burial site consists of several hundred mounds, over 150 of them with diameters of more than 25 m, the largest monuments are bigger than 100 m in diameter. This makes the Valley of the Kings in Tuva Republic one of the largest Early Iron Age burial sites in the Eurasian steppes. Unfortunately, around 92% of the large monuments are in bad condition, mostly due to looting.
Sketch-Based Subspace Clustering of Hyperspectral Images
Authors: Huang Shaoguang , Zhang Hongyan , Du Qian , Pižurica Aleksandra
Published: March 2020

Sparse subspace clustering (SSC) techniques provide the state-of-the-art in clustering of hyperspectral images (HSIs). However, their computational complexity hinders their applicability to large-scale HSIs. In this paper, we propose a large-scale SSC-based method, which can effectively process large HSIs while also achieving improved clustering accuracy compared to the current SSC methods. We build our approach based on an emerging concept of sketched subspace clustering, which was to our knowledge not explored at all in hyperspectral imaging yet. Moreover, there are only scarce results on any large-scale SSC approaches for HSI. We show that a direct application of sketched SSC does not provide a satisfactory performance on HSIs but it does provide an excellent basis for an effective and elegant method that we build by extending this approach with a spatial prior and deriving the corresponding solver. In particular, a random matrix constructed by the Johnson-Lindenstrauss transform is first used to sketch the self-representation dictionary as a compact dictionary, which significantly reduces the number of sparse coefficients to be solved, thereby reducing the overall complexity. In order to alleviate the effect of noise and within-class spectral variations of HSIs, we employ a total variation constraint on the coefficient matrix, which accounts for the spatial dependencies among the neighbouring pixels. We derive an efficient solver for the resulting optimization problem, and we theoretically prove its convergence property under mild conditions. The experimental results on real HSIs show a notable improvement in comparison with the traditional SSC-based methods and the state-of-the-art methods for clustering of large-scale images.
Combining Spectral Unmixing and 3D/2D Dense Networks with Early-Exiting Strategy for Hyperspectral Image Classification
Authors: Fang Bei , Bai Yunpeng , Li Ying
Published: March 2020

Recently, Hyperspectral Image (HSI) classification methods based on deep learning models have shown encouraging performance. However, the limited numbers of training samples, as well as the mixed pixels due to low spatial resolution, have become major obstacles for HSI classification. To tackle these problems, we propose a resource-efficient HSI classification framework which introduces adaptive spectral unmixing into a 3D/2D dense network with early-exiting strategy. More specifically, on one hand, our framework uses a cascade of intermediate classifiers throughout the 3D/2D dense network that is trained end-to-end. The proposed 3D/2D dense network that integrates 3D convolutions with 2D convolutions is more capable of handling spectral-spatial features, while containing fewer parameters compared with the conventional 3D convolutions, and further boosts the network performance with limited training samples. On another hand, considering the existence of mixed pixels in HSI data, the pixels in HSI classification are divided into hard samples and easy samples. With the early-exiting strategy in these intermediate classifiers, the average accuracy can be improved by reducing the amount of computation cost for easy samples, thus focusing on classifying hard samples. Furthermore, for hard samples, an adaptive spectral unmixing method is proposed as a complementary source of information for classification, which brings considerable benefits to the final performance. Experimental results on four HSI benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve better performance than state-of-the-art deep learning-based methods and other traditional HSI classification methods.
Assessment of Mitigation Strategies for Tropospheric Phase Contributions to InSAR Time-Series Datasets over Two Nicaraguan Volcanoes
Authors: Stephens Kirsten J. , Wauthier Christelle , Bussard Rebecca C. , Higgins Machel , LaFemina Peter C.
Published: March 2020

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) studies of ground displacement are often plagued by tropospheric artifacts, which are phase delays resulting from spatiotemporal variations in the refractivity of air within the troposphere. In this study, we focus on COSMO-SkyMed (X-band) InSAR products obtained over two different types of volcanoes in Nicaragua: the Telica stratovolcano and the Masaya caldera. We examine the applicability of an empirical linear correction method and three Global Weather Models (GWMs) with different spatial and temporal resolutions for removing the tropospheric phase component. We linearly invert the tropospheric-corrected interferograms using the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) time-series technique to produce time-series of ground displacement. Statistical assessments were performed on the corrected interferograms to examine the significance of the applied corrections on the individual interferograms and time-series results. We find that the applicability of the correction methods is highly case-dependent and that in general, the temporal resolution of GWMs influences their ability to capture turbulent tropospheric phase delays. At the two target volcanoes, our study shows that none of the GWMs are able to accurately capture the tropospheric phase delays. Our study provides a guide for researchers using InSAR data in tropical regions who wish to use tropospheric model corrections to carefully assess the applicability of the different types of tropospheric correction methods.
Hygroscopicity of Different Types of Aerosol Particles: Case Studies Using Multi-Instrument Data in Megacity Beijing, China
Authors: Wu Tong , Li Zhanqing , Chen Jun , Wang Yuying , Wu Hao , Jin Xiao’ai , Liang Chen , Li Shangze , Wang Wei , Cribb Maureen
Published: March 2020

Water uptake by aerosol particles alters its light-scattering characteristics significantly. However, the hygroscopicities of different aerosol particles are not the same due to their different chemical and physical properties. Such differences are explored by making use of extensive measurements concerning aerosol optical and microphysical properties made during a field experiment from December 2018 to March 2019 in Beijing. The aerosol hygroscopic growth was captured by the aerosol optical characteristics obtained from micropulse lidar, aerosol chemical composition, and aerosol particle size distribution information from ground monitoring, together with conventional meteorological measurements. Aerosol hygroscopicity behaves rather distinctly for mineral dust coarse-mode aerosol (Case I) and non-dust fine-mode aerosol (Case II) in terms of the hygroscopic enhancement factor, f β ( R H , λ 532 ) , calculated for the same humidity range. The two types of aerosols were identified by applying the polarization lidar photometer networking method (POLIPHON). The hygroscopicity for non-dust aerosol was much higher than that for dust conditions with the f β ( R H , λ 532 ) being around 1.4 and 3.1, respectively, at the relative humidity of 86% for the two cases identified in this study. To study the effect of dust particles on the hygroscopicity of the overall atmospheric aerosol, the two types of aerosols were identified and separated by applying the polarization lidar photometer networking method in Case I. The hygroscopic enhancement factor of separated non-dust fine-mode particles in Case I had been significantly strengthened, getting closer to that of the total aerosol in Case II. These results were verified by the hygroscopicity parameter, κ (Case I non-dust particles: 0.357 ± 0.024; Case II total: 0.344 ± 0.026), based on the chemical components obtained by an aerosol chemical speciation instrument, both of which showed strong hygroscopicity. It was found that non-dust fine-mode aerosol contributes more during hygroscopic growth and that non-hygroscopic mineral dust aerosol may reduce the total hygroscopicity per unit volume in Beijing.
Attention-Guided Multi-Scale Segmentation Neural Network for Interactive Extraction of Region Objects from High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
Authors: Li Kun , Hu Xiangyun , Jiang Huiwei , Shu Zhen , Zhang Mi
Published: March 2020

Automatic extraction of region objects from high-resolution satellite imagery presents a great challenge, because there may be very large variations of the objects in terms of their size, texture, shape, and contextual complexity in the image. To handle these issues, we present a novel, deep-learning-based approach to interactively extract non-artificial region objects, such as water bodies, woodland, farmland, etc., from high-resolution satellite imagery. First, our algorithm transforms user-provided positive and negative clicks or scribbles into guidance maps, which consist of a relevance map modified from Euclidean distance maps, two geodesic distance maps (for positive and negative, respectively), and a sampling map. Then, feature maps are extracted by applying a VGG convolutional neural network pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset to the image X, and they are then upsampled to the resolution of X. Image X, guidance maps, and feature maps are integrated as the input tensor. We feed the proposed attention-guided, multi-scale segmentation neural network (AGMSSeg-Net) with the input tensor above to obtain the mask that assigns a binary label to each pixel. After a post-processing operation based on a fully connected Conditional Random Field (CRF), we extract the selected object boundary from the segmentation result. Experiments were conducted on two typical datasets with diverse region object types from complex scenes. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and our approach outperforms existing methods for interactive image segmentation.
Spatial Assessment of Health Economic Losses from Exposure to Ambient Pollutants in China
Authors: Wang Kun , Wang Wen , Wang Weijia , Jiang Xiaoqun , Yu Tao , Ciren Pubu
Published: March 2020

Increasing emissions of ambient pollutants have caused considerable air pollution and negative health impact for human in various regions of China over the past decade. The resulting premature mortality and excessive morbidity caused huge human economic losses to the entire society. To identify the differences of health economic losses in various regions of China and help decision-making on targeting pollutants control, spatial assessment of health economic losses due to ambient pollutants in China is indispensable. In this study, to better represent the spatial variability, the satellite-based retrievals of the concentrations of various pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2 and CO) for the time period from 2007 to 2017 in China are used instead of using in-situ data. Population raster data were applied together with exposure-response function to calculate the spatial distribution of health impact and then the health impact is further quantified by using amended human capital (AHC) approach. The results which presented in a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25°, show the signification contribution from the spatial assessment to revealing the spatial distribution and variance of health economic losses in various regions of China. Spatial assessment of overall health economic losses is different from conventional result due to more detail spatial information. This spatial assessment approach also provides an alternative method for losses measurement in other fields.