bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of 462 nm Light-Emitting Diode on the Inactivation of Escherichia coli and a Multidrug-Resistant by Tetracycline Photoreaction
Authors: Huang Shiuh-Tsuen , Wu Chun-Yi , Lee Nan‐Yao , Cheng Chien-Wei , Yang Meei-Ju , Hung Yi-An , Wong Tak-Wah , Liang Ji-Yuan
Published: September 2018

The adaptability of bacterial resistance to antibiotics contributes to its high efficiency during evolution. Tetracycline (TC) is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent. Chromatographic analyses and mass spectrometry were used to study the effects of the light illumination of a 462 nm light-emitting diode (LED) on the conformational changes of TC in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7.8). Especially, the inactivation of superoxide anion radicals (O2•−) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), including that of a multidrug-resistant E. coli (MDR E. coli), were investigated during the photolysis of TC. A photolysis product of TC (PPT) was generated in an alkaline solution after the illumination of a blue light. The mass spectra of PPT had characteristic ion signals in m/z 459, 445, and 249.1 Da. The PPT has the molecular formula of C22H22N2O9, and the exact mass is 458.44 g/mol. The inactivation of MDR E. coli is not significant with TC treatment. The drug-resistant ability of MDR E. coli has a less significant effect on PPT, and the changed conformation of TC retained the inactivation ability of MDR E. coli upon blue light photoreaction. With TC, illuminated by a blue light in a pH 7.8 PBS, O2•− was generated from TC photolysis, which enhanced the inactivation of E. coli and MDR E. coli. A 96.6% inactivation rate of MDR E. coli was reached with TC under 2.0 mW/cm2 blue light illumination at 25 ± 3 °C for 120 min, and the effects of the TC-treated photoreaction on MDR E. coli viability repressed the growth of MDR E. coli by 4 to 5 logs. The present study of the blue light photoreaction of TC offers a new approach to the inactivation of MDR E. coli.
U.K. House Prices: Bubbles or Market Efficiency? Evidence from Regional Analysis
Authors: Wu Yi , Lux Nicole
Published: September 2018

This paper studies U.K. regional house prices across nine regions from January 2005 to December 2017 to identify regional versus national effects on house prices and potential house price bubbles. It uses a version of the Gordon dividend discount model, modelling house prices as the present value of imputed rents as a measure of fundamentals. It differentiates between long-term and short-term effect using pooled mean group (PMG) and mean group estimation (MG) to determine variations in regional house prices during different periods relating to the most recent financial crisis. The results confirm that the crisis had differentiating effects in the short term, but there is reversion back to long-run fundamentals. Regional trend analysis shows that the house price growth in the regions has been affected differently in the short run and each region has varying long-run fundamentals. Residential property values in London have shown strongest short-run momentum.
Analyses of Land Cover Change Trajectories Leading to Tropical Forest Loss: Illustrated for the West Kutai and Mahakam Ulu Districts, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: Van der Laan Carina , Budiman Arif , Verstegen Judith A. , Dekker Stefan C. , Effendy Wiwin , Faaij André P. C. , Kusuma Arif Data , Verweij Pita A.
Published: September 2018

In Indonesia, land cover change for agriculture and mining is threatening tropical forests, biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, land cover change is highly dynamic and complex and varies over time and space. In this study, we combined Landsat-based land cover (change) mapping, pixel-to-pixel cross tabulations and expert knowledge to analyze land cover change and forest loss in the West Kutai and Mahakam Ulu districts in East Kalimantan from 1990–2009. We found that about one-third of the study area changed in 1990–2009 and that the different types of land cover changes in the study area increased and involved more diverse and characteristic trajectories in 2000–2009, compared to 1990–2000. Degradation to more open forest types was dominant, and forest was mostly lost due to trajectories that involved deforestation to grasslands and shrubs (~17%), and to a lesser extent due to trajectories from forest to mining and agriculture (11%). Trajectories from forest to small-scale mixed cropland and smallholder rubber occurred more frequently than trajectories to large-scale oil palm or pulpwood plantations; however, the latter increased over time. About 11% of total land cover change involved multiple-step trajectories and thus “intermediate” land cover types. The combined trajectory analysis in this paper thus contributes to a more comprehensive analysis of land cover change and the drivers of forest loss, which is essential to improve future land cover projections and to support spatial planning.
(E)-1-(2′,4′-Dimethyl)-(5-acetylthiazole)-(2,4″-difluorophenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one
Authors: Shaik Afzal , Shaik Mahamuda , Puttagunta Srinivasa
Published: September 2018

Thiazole and chalcone motifs are of research interest to medicinal chemists due to their array of synthetic and biological utility. Hence, in the present study we intended to prepare (E)-1-(2′,4′-dimethyl)-(5-acetylthiazole)-(2,4″-difluorophenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one (3c) containing both these scaffolds. The compound 3c was synthesized by the acid-catalyzed condensation of 2,4-dimethyl-5-acetylthiazole with 2,4-difluorobenzaldehyde. Purification and characterization of the compound were carried out by recrystallization and spectral techniques including UV, IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, Mass spectrometry and X-ray powdered diffractometry. The molecule 3c was successfully synthesized, purified, and characterized.
Comparative Study of Water-Leaching and Acid-Leaching Pretreatment on the Thermal Stability and Reactivity of Biomass Silica for Viability as a Pozzolanic Additive in Cement
Authors: Xu Weiting , Wei Jiangxiong , Chen Jiajian , Zhang Bin , Xu Peng , Ren Jie , Yu Qijun
Published: September 2018

The present work aims to introduce a novel and eco-friendly method, i.e., a water-leaching pretreatment for extracting highly reactive biomass silica from rice husk (RH), for viability as a pozzolanic additive in cement. For comparison, the traditional acid pretreatment method was also employed throughout the experimental study. The silica from RH was extracted using boiled deionized water and acid solution as leaching agents to remove the alkali metal impurities, and then dried and submitted to pyrolysis treatment. The results indicated that potassium was found to be the major contaminant metal inducing the formation of undesirable black carbon particles and the decrease in crystallization temperature of amorphous RHA silica. The boiling-water-leaching pretreatment and acid-leaching pretreatment on RHs significantly removed the metallic impurities and reduced the crystallization sensitivity of RHA silica to calcination temperature. A highly reactive amorphous silica with purity of 96% was obtained from RH via 1 N hydrochloric acid leaching followed by controlled calcination at 600 °C for 2 h. The acid treatments increased the crystallization temperature of silica to 1200 °C and retained the amorphous state of silica for 2.5 h. In the case of water-leaching pretreatment, leaching duration for 2.5 h could yield an amorphous silica with purity of 94% and render the silica amorphous at 900 °C for 7 h. The RHA silica yielded by water-leaching pretreatment presented a comparable enhancing effect to that of acid leaching on hydration and improved the strength of cement. Furthermore, compared with the acid-leaching method, the water-leaching pretreatment method is more environmentally friendly and easier to operate, and hence more widely available.
Theoretical and Experimental Study on the Effective Piezoelectric Properties of 1-3 Type Cement-Based Piezoelectric Composites
Authors: Zhu Jun , Wang Zhi , Zhu Xingyi , Yang Bo , Fu Chuanqing
Published: September 2018

The double asymptotic homogenization method originated for analyzing physical systems containing two or more length scales was adopted to predict the characteristic of 1-3 type cement-based piezoelectric composites for the first time. The piezoelectric properties of 1-3 type cement-based piezoelectric composites were measured and comparisons between the experimental data and predicted values validate the effectiveness of the present analytical model. Moreover, numerical discussions and experiments show that one should choose proper volume fraction of constituents to achieve the best performance of the 1-3 type cement-based piezoelectric composites.
Enhancing High-Frequency Dielectric Properties of Beta-SiC Filled Nanocomposites from Synergy between Percolation and Polarization
Authors: Peng Cheng , Feng Yefeng , Hu Jianbing
Published: September 2018

Promising comprehensive properties, including high permittivity, low dielectric loss, high breakdown strength, low electrical conductivity, and high thermal conductivity, are very hard to simultaneously obtain in high-frequency applicable polymer nanocomposite dielectrics. Instead of traditional electric percolation, in this work, a novel route based on a synergy between electric percolation and induced polarization has been raised to prepare 0–3 type nanocomposites with an enhanced high permittivity (high-k) property and low loss at high frequency. This work aimed at optimizing that synergy to achieve the favorable properties mentioned above in composite dielectrics used at high frequencies such as 1 MHz and 1 GHz. Conductive beta-SiC nanoparticles with a particle size of ~30 nm were employed as filler and both insulating poly(vinyl alcohol) and polyvinyl chloride were employed as polymer matrices to construct two composite systems. Utilizing polyvinyl chloride rather than poly(vinyl alcohol) realizes higher comprehensive electrical properties in composites, ascribed to optimization of that synergy. The optimization was achieved based on a combination of mild induced polarization and polarization-assisted electric percolation. Therefore, this work might open the way for large-scale production of high-frequency applicable composite dielectrics with competitive comprehensive electrical properties.
Influence of Multi-Holes on Fatigue Behaviors of Cast Magnesium Alloys Based on In-Situ Scanning Electron Microscope Technology
Authors: Wang Xi-Shu , Tan Chang-Hao , Ma Juan , Zhu Xiao-Dong , Wang Qing-Yuan
Published: September 2018

The low cycle fatigue tests on the crack initiation and propagation of cast magnesium alloys with two small holes were carried out by using in-situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation technology. The fatigue crack propagation behaviors and fatigue life, which are affected by two small artificial through holes, including the distances between two holes and their locations, were discussed in detail based on the experimental results and the finite element analysis (FEA). The results indicated that the fatigue multi-cracks occurred chiefly at the edges of two holes and the main crack propagation was along the weak dendrite boundary with the plastic deformation vestiges on the surface of α-Mg phase of cast AM50 and AM60B alloys. The fatigue cracking characteristics of cast AZ91 alloy depended mainly on the brittle properties of β-Mg17Al12 phase, in which the multi-cracks occurred still at the edges of two holes and boundaries of β-Mg17Al12 phase. The fatigue crack initiation position of cast magnesium alloys depends strongly on the radius of curvature of through hole or stress concentration factor at the closed edges of two through holes. In addition, the fatigue multi-cracks were amalgamated for the samples with titled 45° of two small holes of cast Mg-Al alloys when the hole distance is less than 4D (D is the diameter of the small hole).
Measurement and Analysis of Thermal Conductivity of Ti3C2Tx MXene Films
Authors: Chen Lin , Shi Xuguo , Yu Nanjie , Zhang Xing , Du Xiaoze , Lin Jun
Published: September 2018

A new class of 2D materials named “MXene” has recently received significant research interest as they have demonstrated great potential for the applications in batteries, supercapacitors, and electronic devices. However, the research on their thermal properties is still very limited. In this work, Ti3C2Tx films were prepared by the vacuum-assisted filtration of delaminated nano-flake Ti3C2Tx MXenes. The thermal and electrical conductivity of the Ti3C2Tx films were measured by the state-of-the-art T-type method. The results showed that the effective thermal conductivity of the films increased from 1.26 W·m−1·K−1 at 80 K to 2.84 W·m−1·K−1 at 290 K, while the electrical conductivity remained at 12,800 Ω−1·m−1 for the same temperature range. Thermal resistance model was applied to evaluate the inherent thermal conductivity of the Ti3C2Tx flakes, which was estimated to be in the range of tens to hundreds W·m−1·K−1.
Targeting the Bacterial Protective Armour; Challenges and Novel Strategies in the Treatment of Microbial Biofilm
Authors: Kamaruzzaman Nor Fadhilah , Tan Li Peng , Mat Yazid Khairun Anisa , Saeed Shamsaldeen Ibrahim , Hamdan Ruhil Hayati , Choong Siew Shean , Wong Weng Kin , Chivu Alexandru , Gibson Amanda Jane
Published: September 2018

Infectious disease caused by pathogenic bacteria continues to be the primary challenge to humanity. Antimicrobial resistance and microbial biofilm formation in part, lead to treatment failures. The formation of biofilms by nosocomial pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) on medical devices and on the surfaces of infected sites bring additional hurdles to existing therapies. In this review, we discuss the challenges encountered by conventional treatment strategies in the clinic. We also provide updates on current on-going research related to the development of novel anti-biofilm technologies. We intend for this review to provide understanding to readers on the current problem in health-care settings and propose new ideas for new intervention strategies to reduce the burden related to microbial infections.
Crystalline/Amorphous Blend Identification from Cobalt Adsorption by Layered Double Hydroxides
Authors: Chi Lin , Wang Zheng , Sun Yuan , Lu Shuang , Yao Yan
Published: September 2018

In this study, the adsorption behavior of CaAl-Cl layered double hydroxide (CaAl-Cl-LDH) with a controlled pH value (pH = 6) on Co(II) ions ([Co] = 8 mM) is investigated. The comprehensively accepted mechanism of cobalt adsorption on LDH is considered to be co-precipitation, and the final adsorbed products are normally crystalline Co-LDH. One unanticipated finding is that crystalline/amorphous blends are found in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of Co-adsorbed LDH. To shed light on the adsorption products and the mechanisms in the adsorption process of Co(II) in an aqueous solution by CaAl-Cl-LDH, a series of testing methods including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) are applied to clarify the interaction between cobalt and CaAl-Cl-LDH. According to the comprehensive analysis, the formation of the crystalline/amorphous blends corresponds to two adsorption mechanisms. The crystalline phases are identified as Co6Al2CO3(OH)16·4H2O, which is attributed to the co-precipitation process occurring in the interaction between Co(II) and CaAl-Cl-LDH. The formation of the amorphous phases is due to surface complexation on amorphous Al(OH)3 hydrolyzed from CaAl-Cl-LDH.
Effects of Heat-Treatment Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steel by MgO Nanoparticle Additions
Authors: Zhou Yutao , Yang Shufeng , Li Jingshe , Liu Wei , Dong Anping
Published: September 2018

The characteristics and formation mechanisms of intragranular acicular ferrite (IAF) in steel with MgO nanoparticle additions were systematically investigated for different isothermal heat-treatment temperatures, and its influence on mechanical properties was also clarified. The results indicate that the inclusions were finely dispersed and refined after adding MgO nanoparticles. In addition, with decreasing heat-treatment temperature, the microstructure changed from grain boundary ferrite (GBF) and polygonal ferrite (PF) to intragranular acicular ferrite. Moreover, the steel with MgO additions had excellent mechanical properties in the temperature range of 973 to 823 K and an average Charpy absorbed energies value of around 174 J at 873 K due to the significant refinement of the microstructure and nucleation of intragranular acicular ferrite.
Biomedical Porous Shape Memory Alloys for Hard-Tissue Replacement Materials
Authors: Yuan Bin , Zhu Min , Chung Chi Yuen
Published: September 2018

Porous shape memory alloys (SMAs), including NiTi and Ni-free Ti-based alloys, are unusual materials for hard-tissue replacements because of their unique superelasticity (SE), good biocompatibility, and low elastic modulus. However, the Ni ion releasing for porous NiTi SMAs in physiological conditions and relatively low SE for porous Ni-free SMAs have delayed their clinic applications as implantable materials. The present article reviews recent research progresses on porous NiTi and Ni-free SMAs for hard-tissue replacements, focusing on two specific topics: (i) synthesis of porous SMAs with optimal porous structure, microstructure, mechanical, and biological properties; and, (ii) surface modifications that are designed to create bio-inert or bio-active surfaces with low Ni releasing and high biocompatibility for porous NiTi SMAs. With the advances of preparation technique, the porous SMAs can be tailored to satisfied porous structure with porosity ranging from 30% to 85% and different pore sizes. In addition, they can exhibit an elastic modulus of 0.4–15 GPa and SE of more than 2.5%, as well as good cell and tissue biocompatibility. As a result, porous SMAs had already been used in maxillofacial repairing, teeth root replacement, and cervical and lumbar vertebral implantation. Based on current research progresses, possible future directions are discussed for “property-pore structure” relationship and surface modification investigations, which could lead to optimized porous biomedical SMAs. We believe that porous SMAs with optimal porous structure and a bioactive surface layer are the most competitive candidate for short-term and long-term hard-tissue replacement materials.
Morphometric Analysis of One-Component Polyurethane Foams Applicable in the Building Sector via X-ray Computed Microtomography
Authors: Blazejczyk Aurelia
Published: September 2018

A detailed morphometric analysis of one-component polyurethane (PU) expanding foams, with densities of 26 and 28 kg/m3 (‘SUMMER’ and ‘WINTER’ product versions), was conducted to evaluate the topology of the foam cells and to discover processing-to-structure relationships. The microstructural analysis of the heterogeneously distributed pores revealed tight relationships between the foam morphology and the cell topology, depending on the growth rate and local environmental conditions, governed by the properties of the blowing gas used. The most significant morphometric output included the following: open/closed porosity and (heterogeneous) pore distribution, relative density and (homogeneous) strut distribution, and total solid matrix surface and closed pore surface area—at the macroscopic level of the foam. While, at the microscopic level of the cells, the results embraced the following: the size of every detected strut and pore, identified two-dimensional (2D) shapes of the cell faces, and proposed three-dimensional (3D) topologies modelling the PU foam cells. The foam microstructure could be then related with macroscopic features, significant in building applications. Our protocol outlines the common procedures that are currently used for the sample preparation, X-ray scanning, 3D image reconstruction and dataset analysis in the frame of the X-ray computed microtomography (µ-CT) testing of the one-component PU foams, followed by a statistical (multiple Gaussian) analysis and conceptual considerations of the results in comparison with thematic literature.
Influence of Modified Fucoidan and Related Sulfated Oligosaccharides on Hematopoiesis in Cyclophosphamide-Induced Mice
Authors: Anisimova Natalia Yu. , Ustyuzhanina Nadezhda E. , Bilan Maria I. , Donenko Fedor V. , Ushakova Natalia A. , Usov Anatolii I. , Kiselevskiy Mikhail V. , Nifantiev Nikolay E.
Published: September 2018

Immunosuppression derived after cytostatics application in cancer chemotherapy is considered as an adverse side effect that leads to deterioration of quality of life and risk of infectious diseases. A linear sulfated (1→3)-α-l-fucan M-Fuc prepared by chemical modification of a fucoidan isolated from the brown seaweed Chordaria flagelliformis, along with two structurally related synthetic sulfated oligosaccharides, were studied as stimulators of hematopoiesis on a model of cyclophosphamide immunosuppression in mice. Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (r G-CSF), which is currently applied in medicine to treat low blood neutrophils, was used as a reference. Polysaccharide M-Fuc and sulfated difucoside DS did not demonstrate significant effect, while sulfated octasaccharide OS showed higher activity than r G-CSF, causing pronounced neutropoiesis stimulation. In addition, production of erythrocytes and platelets was enhanced after the octasaccharide administration. The assessment of populations of cells in blood and bone marrow of mice revealed the difference in mechanisms of action of OS and r G-CSF.
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Astaxanthin, Lutein, and Fatty Acids from Haematococcus pluvialis Microalgae
Authors: Sanzo Giuseppe Di , Mehariya Sanjeet , Martino Maria , Larocca Vincenzo , Casella Patrizia , Chianese Simeone , Musmarra Dino , Balducchi Roberto , Molino Antonio
Published: September 2018

Haematococcus pluvialis microalgae in the red phase can produce significant amounts of astaxanthin, lutein, and fatty acids (FAs), which are valuable antioxidants in nutraceutics and cosmetics. Extraction of astaxanthin, lutein, and FAs from disrupted biomass of the H. pluvialis red phase using carbon dioxide (CO2) in supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) conditions was investigated using a bench-scale reactor in a semi-batch configuration. In particular, the effect of extraction time (20, 40, 60, 80, and 120 min), CO2 flow rate (3.62 and 14.48 g/min) temperature (50, 65, and 80 °C), and pressure (100, 400, and 550 bar.) was explored. The results show the maximum recovery of astaxanthin and lutein achieved were 98.6% and 52.3%, respectively, at 50 °C and 550 bars, while the maximum recovery of FAs attained was 93.2% at 65 °C and 550 bars.
A Novel Approach to Droplet’s 3D Shape Recovery Based on Mask R-CNN and Improved Lambert–Phong Model
Authors: Lu Shizhou , Ren Chenliang , Zhang Jiexin , Zhai Qiang , Liu Wei
Published: September 2018

Aiming at the demand for extracting the three-dimensional shapes of droplets in microelectronic packaging, life science, and some related fields, as well as the problems of complex calculation and slow running speed of conventional shape from shading (SFS) illumination reflection models, this paper proposes a Lambert–Phong hybrid model algorithm to recover the 3D shapes of micro-droplets based on the mask regions with convolutional neural network features (R-CNN) method to extract the highlight region of the droplet surface. This method fully integrates the advantages of the Lambertian model’s fast running speed and the Phong model’s high accuracy for reconstruction of the highlight region. First, the Mask R-CNN network is used to realize the segmentation of the highlight region of the droplet and obtain its coordinate information. Then, different reflection models are constructed for the different reflection regions of the droplet, and the Taylor expansion and Newton iteration method are used for the reflection model to get the final height of all positions. Finally, a three-dimensional reconstruction experimental platform is built to analyze the accuracy and speed of the algorithm on the synthesized hemisphere image and the actual droplet image. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm based on mask R-CNN had better precision and shorter running time. Hence, this paper provides a new approach for real-time measurement of 3D droplet shape in the dispensing state.
A Plantar Pressure Sensing System with Balancing Sensitivity Based on Tailored MWCNTs/PDMS Composites
Authors: Zhang Xuefeng , Chai Running , Wang Haitao , Ye Xiangdong
Published: September 2018

This paper presents a flexible plantar pressure sensor with a simple structure and easy accessibility, suitable for everyday use. In this study, the design, fabrication, and characteristics of both the composite and the sensor were involved. By using the solution method, the piezoresistive composite was fabricated by uniform dispersion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The proposed sensor consists of eight sensing elements with a laminated structure. The upper layer is a sensing layer made of the piezoresistive composite, and the lower layer is a flexible printed circuit-board working as electrodes. A particular design of sensing elements was carried out by using different doping concentrations according to arrangement positions under the feet to obtain balancing sensitivity. A signal processing system to convert the variable resistance signal into voltages by the current-to-voltage method was designed. Experimental results prove that the designed sensor shows a repeatable response with a sensitivity of 11.5 mV/kPa within the range of 265 kPa. Also, an actual application verifies that the designed plantar pressure sensor can measure the pressure under the foot and can be used for gait detection and disease diagnosis purposes.
Geology, Apatite Geochronology, and Geochemistry of the Ernest Henry Inter-lens: Implications for a Re-Examined Deposit Model
Authors: Cave Bradley W. , Lilly Richard , Glorie Stijn , Gillespie Jack
Published: September 2018

The Ernest Henry Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold deposit is the largest known Cu-Au deposit in the Eastern Succession of the Proterozoic Mount Isa Inlier, NW Queensland. Cu-Au mineralization is hosted in a K-feldspar altered breccia, bounded by two major pre-mineralization shear zones. Previous research suggests that Cu-Au mineralization and the ore-bearing breccia formed simultaneously through an eruption style explosive/implosive event, facilitated by the mixing of fluids at ~1530 Ma. However, the preservation of a highly deformed, weakly mineralized, pre-mineralization feature (termed the Inter-lens) within the orebody indicates that this model must be re-examined. The paragenesis of the Inter-lens is broadly consistent with previous studies on the deposit, and consists of albitization; an apatite-calcite-quartz-garnet assemblage; biotite-magnetite ± garnet alteration; K-feldspar ± hornblende alteration; Cu-Au mineralization and post-mineralization alteration and veining. Apatite from the paragenetically early apatite-calcite-quartz-garnet assemblage produce U–Pb ages of 1584 ± 22 Ma and 1587 ± 22 Ma, suggesting that the formation of apatite, and the maximum age of the Inter-lens is synchronous with D2 deformation of the Isan Orogeny and regional peak-metamorphic conditions. Apatite rare earth element-depletion trends display: (1) a depletion in rare earth elements evenly, corresponding with an enrichment in arsenic and (2) a selective light rare earth element depletion. Exposure to an acidic NaCl and/or CaCl2-rich sedimentary-derived fluid is responsible for the selective light rare earth element-depletion trend, while the exposure to a neutral to alkaline S, Na-, and/or Ca-rich magmatic fluid resulted in the depletion of rare earth elements in apatite evenly, while producing an enrichment in arsenic. We suggest the deposit experienced at least two hydrothermal events, with the first event related to peak-metamorphism (~1585 Ma) and a subsequent event related to the emplacement of the nearby (~1530 Ma) Williams–Naraku Batholiths. Brecciation resulted from competency contrasts between ductile metasedimentary rocks of the Inter-lens and surrounding shear zones against the brittle metavolcanic rocks that comprise the ore-bearing breccia, providing permeable pathways for the subsequent ore-bearing fluids.
Optimization of Antioxidant and Skin-Whitening Compounds Extraction Condition from Tenebrio molitor Larvae (Mealworm)
Authors: Kim Julie J. , Kim Kyoung Seob , Yu Byung Jo
Published: September 2018

Skin-whitening ingredients are a very important part of the development of functional cosmetics and a wide variety of raw materials are used. Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in the animal melanogenic pathway that is the rate-limiting step for the production of melanin. Several synthetic and naturally occurring tyrosinase inhibitors have been studied for skin-whitening. The development of natural agents is becoming more important due to the disadvantages of synthetics such as high cytotoxicity, insufficient penetration power, and low activity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the total phenol content (TPC), antioxidant, and tyrosinase inhibition activity of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larvae) extract, and the subsequent optimization of the extraction condition using statistically-based optimization. The major extraction variables extraction temperature, time, and ethanol concentration were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The results showed that optimum extraction temperature of 88.1 °C, extraction time of 43.7 min, and ethanol concentration of 72.0 v/v%, provided the predicted maximum levels of total phenolic compounds (TPC) of 5.41 mg GAE/g dry weight (DW) and tyrosinase inhibition activity (TIA) of 82.4%. From the validation experiment, 5.61 ± 0.2 mg GAE/g dry weight (DW), tyrosinase inhibition of 79.6 ± 3.3%, and radical scavenging activity of 91.8 ± 5.1 μg/mL were found and showed to be very similar to the predicted values. These results suggest that mealworm has great potential as a source of bioactive compounds which could be used as cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical agents.
Surface-Limited Electrodeposition of Continuous Platinum Networks on Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite
Authors: Farina Filippo , Ercolano Giorgio , Cavaliere Sara , Jones Deborah J. , Rozière Jacques
Published: September 2018

Continuous thin platinum nanoplatelet networks and thin films were obtained on the flat surface of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by high overpotential electrodeposition. By increasing the deposition time, the morphology of the Pt deposits can be progressively tuned from isolated nanoplatelets, interconnected nanostructures, and thin large flat islands. The deposition is surface-limited and the thickness of the deposits, equivalent to 5 to 12 Pt monolayers, is not time dependent. The presence of Pt (111) facets is confirmed by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and evidence for the early formation of a platinum monolayer is provided by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-rays Spectroscopy (STEM-EDX) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The electroactivity towards the oxygen reduction reaction of the 2D deposits is also assessed, demonstrating their great potential in energy conversion devices where ultra-low loading of Pt via extended surfaces is a reliable strategy.
Aerobic Physical Activity and a Low Glycemic Diet Reduce the AA/EPA Ratio in Red Blood Cell Membranes of Patients with NAFLD
Authors: Tutino Valeria , De Nunzio Valentina , Caruso Maria Gabriella , Bonfiglio Caterina , Franco Isabella , Mirizzi Antonella , De Leonardis Giampiero , Cozzolongo Raffaele , Giannuzzi Vito , Giannelli Gianluigi , Notarnicola Maria , Osella Alberto R.
Published: September 2018

Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs), through the eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid (AA), are able to modulate the inflammatory processes, whereas omega-3 PUFAs, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), exert anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. An unbalanced AA/EPA ratio in favor of AA leads to the development of different metabolic disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of different diets, alone and in combination with two physical activity programs, on the AA/EPA ratio value in erythrocyte membranes of patients with NAFLD. One hundred forty-two subjects with NAFLD were enrolled in the study and randomized into six treatment groups. AA/EPA ratio was significantly reduced after 90 days of treatment with only a program of aerobic activity. However, it appears that the combination of physical activity and a Low Glycemic Index Mediterranean Diet (LGIMD) was more efficacious in reducing AA/EPA levels, at 45 days of treatment, even if this effect was not maintained over time. The combined effect of diet and physical activity reduced the AA/EPA ratio value improving the score of steatosis. Dietary intake of omega-3 PUFAs, in association with a healthy lifestyle, may be used in the prevention protocols for many chronic diseases, including NAFLD.
Mechanism of Yellowing: Carbonyl Formation during Hygrothermal Aging in a Common Amine Epoxy
Authors: Krauklis Andrey E. , Echtermeyer Andreas T.
Published: September 2018

Epoxies are often exposed to water due to rain and humid air environments. Epoxy yellows during its service time under these conditions, even when protected from UV radiation. The material’s color is not regained upon redrying, indicating irreversible aging mechanisms. Understanding what causes a discoloration is of importance for applications where the visual aspect of the material is significant. In this work, irreversible aging mechanisms and the cause of yellowing were identified. Experiments were performed using a combination of FT-NIR, ATR-FT-IR, EDX, HR-ICP-MS, pH measurements, optical microscopy, SEM, and DMTA. Such extensive material characterization and structured logic of investigation, provided the necessary evidence to investigate the long-term changes. No chain scission (hydrolysis or oxidation-induced) was present in the studied common DGEBA/HDDGE/IPDA/POPA epoxy, whilst it was found that thermo-oxidation and leaching occurred. Thermo-oxidation involved evolution of carbonyl groups in the polymeric carbon–carbon backbone, via nucleophilic radical attack and minor crosslinking of the HDDGE segments. Four probable reactive sites were identified, and respective reactions were proposed. Compounds involved in leaching were identified to be epichlorohydrin and inorganic impurities but were found to be unrelated to yellowing. Carbonyl formation in the epoxy backbone due to thermo-oxidation was the cause for the yellowing of the material.
“The Public Role of Religion” Editorial Notes
Authors: Cipriani Roberto , Lopes Orivaldo
Published: September 2018

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Extracting Building Boundaries from High Resolution Optical Images and LiDAR Data by Integrating the Convolutional Neural Network and the Active Contour Model
Authors: Sun Ying , Zhang Xinchang , Zhao Xiaoyang , Xin Qinchuan
Published: September 2018

Identifying and extracting building boundaries from remote sensing data has been one of the hot topics in photogrammetry for decades. The active contour model (ACM) is a robust segmentation method that has been widely used in building boundary extraction, but which often results in biased building boundary extraction due to tree and background mixtures. Although the classification methods can improve this efficiently by separating buildings from other objects, there are often ineluctable salt and pepper artifacts. In this paper, we combine the robust classification convolutional neural networks (CNN) and ACM to overcome the current limitations in algorithms for building boundary extraction. We conduct two types of experiments: the first integrates ACM into the CNN construction progress, whereas the second starts building footprint detection with a CNN and then uses ACM for post processing. Three level assessments conducted demonstrate that the proposed methods could efficiently extract building boundaries in five test scenes from two datasets. The achieved mean accuracies in terms of the F1 score for the first type (and the second type) of the experiment are 96.43 ± 3.34% (95.68 ± 3.22%), 88.60 ± 3.99% (89.06 ± 3.96%), and 91.62 ±1.61% (91.47 ± 2.58%) at the scene, object, and pixel levels, respectively. The combined CNN and ACM solutions were shown to be effective at extracting building boundaries from high-resolution optical images and LiDAR data.
Road Extraction from High-Resolution Remote Sensing Imagery Using Deep Learning
Authors: Xu Yongyang , Xie Zhong , Feng Yaxing , Chen Zhanlong
Published: September 2018

The road network plays an important role in the modern traffic system; as development occurs, the road structure changes frequently. Owing to the advancements in the field of high-resolution remote sensing, and the success of semantic segmentation success using deep learning in computer version, extracting the road network from high-resolution remote sensing imagery is becoming increasingly popular, and has become a new tool to update the geospatial database. Considering that the training dataset of the deep convolutional neural network will be clipped to a fixed size, which lead to the roads run through each sample, and that different kinds of road types have different widths, this work provides a segmentation model that was designed based on densely connected convolutional networks (DenseNet) and introduces the local and global attention units. The aim of this work is to propose a novel road extraction method that can efficiently extract the road network from remote sensing imagery with local and global information. A dataset from Google Earth was used to validate the method, and experiments showed that the proposed deep convolutional neural network can extract the road network accurately and effectively. This method also achieves a harmonic mean of precision and recall higher than other machine learning and deep learning methods.
Blood Coagulation Testing Smartphone Platform Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance Dissipation Method
Authors: Yao Jia , Feng Bin , Zhang Zhiqi , Li Chuanyu , Zhang Wei , Guo Zhen , Zhao Heming , Zhou Lianqun
Published: September 2018

Blood coagulation function monitoring is important for people who are receiving anticoagulation treatment and a portable device is needed by these patients for blood coagulation self-testing. In this paper, a novel smartphone based blood coagulation test platform was proposed. It was developed based on parylene-C coated quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) dissipation measuring and analysis. The parylene-C coating constructed a robust and adhesive surface for fibrin capturing. The dissipation factor was obtained by measuring the frequency response of the sensor. All measured data were sent to a smartphone via Bluetooth for dissipation calculation and blood coagulation results computation. Two major coagulation indexes, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) were measured on this platform compared with results by a commercial hemostasis system in a clinical laboratory. The measurement results showed that the adjusted R-square (R2) value for APTT and PT measurements were 0.985 and 0.961 respectively. The QCM dissipation method for blood coagulation measurement was reliable and effective and the platform together with the QCM dissipation method was a promising solution for point of care blood coagulation testing.
Accuracy Evaluation of Dense Matching Techniques for Casting Part Dimensional Verification
Authors: Kortaberria Gorka , Mutilba Unai , Gomez-Acedo Eneko , Tellaeche Alberto , Minguez Rikardo
Published: September 2018

Product optimization for casting and post-casting manufacturing processes is becoming compulsory to compete in the current global manufacturing scenario. Casting design, simulation and verification tools are becoming crucial for eliminating oversized dimensions without affecting the casting component functionality. Thus, material and production costs decrease to maintain the foundry process profitable on the large-scale component supplier market. New measurement methods, such as dense matching techniques, rely on surface texture of casting parts to enable the 3D dense reconstruction of surface points without the need of an active light source as usually applied with 3D scanning optical sensors. This paper presents the accuracy evaluation of dense matching based approaches for casting part verification. It compares the accuracy obtained by dense matching technique with already certified and validated optical measuring methods. This uncertainty evaluation exercise considers both artificial targets and key natural points to quantify the possibilities and scope of each approximation. Obtained results, for both lab and workshop conditions, show that this image data processing procedure is fit for purpose to fulfill the required measurement tolerances for casting part manufacturing processes.
Iterative Blind Deconvolution Algorithm for Deblurring a Single PSP/TSP Image of Rotating Surfaces
Authors: Pandey Anshuman , Gregory James W.
Published: September 2018

Imaging of pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) for pressure measurement on moving surfaces is problematic due to the movement of the object within the finite exposure time of the imager, resulting in the blurring of the blade edges. The blurring problem is particularly challenging when high-sensitivity PSP with a long lifetime is used, where the long luminescence time constant of exponential light decay following a burst of excitation light energy results in blurred images. One method to ameliorate this effect is image deconvolution using a point spread function (PSF) based on an estimation of the luminescent time constant. Prior implementations of image deconvolution for PSP deblurring have relied upon a spatially invariant time constant in order to reduce computational time. However, the use of an assumed value of time constant leads to errors in the point spread function, particularly when strong pressure gradients (which cause strong spatial gradients in the decay time constant) are involved. This work introduces an iterative method of image deconvolution, where a spatially variant PSF is used. The point-by-point PSF values are found in an iterative manner, since the time constant depends on the local pressure value, which can only be found from the reduced PSP data. The scheme estimates a super-resolved spatially varying blur kernel with sub-pixel resolution without filtering the blurred image, and then restores the image using classical iterative regularization tools. A kernel-free forward model has been used to generate test images with known pressure surface maps and a varying amount of noise to evaluate the applicability of this scheme in different experimental conditions. A spinning disk setup with a grazing nitrogen jet for producing strong pressure gradients has also been used to evaluate the scheme on a real-world problem. Results including the convergence history and the effect of a regularization-iteration count are shown, along with a comparison with the previous PSP deblurring method.
HEAR: Approach for Heartbeat Monitoring with Body Movement Compensation by IR-UWB Radar
Authors: Yin Wenfeng , Yang Xiuzhu , Li Lei , Zhang Lin , Kitsuwan Nattapong , Oki Eiji
Published: September 2018

Further applications of impulse radio ultra-wideband radar in mobile health are hindered by the difficulty in extracting such vital signals as heartbeats from moving targets. Although the empirical mode decomposition based method is applied in recovering waveforms of heartbeats and estimating heart rates, the instantaneous heart rate is not achievable. This paper proposes a Heartbeat Estimation And Recovery (HEAR) approach to expand the application to mobile scenarios and extract instantaneous heartbeats. Firstly, the HEAR approach acquires vital signals by mapping maximum echo amplitudes to the fast time delay and compensating large body movements. Secondly, HEAR adopts the variational nonlinear chirp mode decomposition in extracting instantaneous frequencies of heartbeats. Thirdly, HEAR extends the clutter removal method based on the wavelet decomposition with a two-parameter exponential threshold. Compared to heart rates simultaneously collected by electrocardiograms (ECG), HEAR achieves a minimum error rate 4.6% in moving state and 2.25% in resting state. The Bland–Altman analysis verifies the consistency of beat-to-beat intervals in ECG and extracted heartbeat signals with the mean deviation smaller than 0.1 s. It indicates that HEAR is practical in offering clinical diagnoses such as the heart rate variability analysis in mobile monitoring.
Development and Experimental Evaluation of a 3D Vision System for Grinding Robot
Authors: Diao Shipu , Chen Xindu , Luo Jinhong
Published: September 2018

If the grinding robot can automatically position and measure the machining target on the workpiece, it will significantly improve its machining efficiency and intelligence level. However, unfortunately, the current grinding robot cannot do this because of economic and precision reasons. This paper proposes a 3D vision system mounted on the robot’s fourth joint, which is used to detect the machining target of the grinding robot. Also, the hardware architecture and data processing method of the 3D vision system is described in detail. In the data processing process, we first use the voxel grid filter to preprocess the point cloud and obtain the feature descriptor. Then use fast library for approximate nearest neighbors (FLANN) to search out the difference point cloud from the precisely registered point cloud pair and use the point cloud segmentation method proposed in this paper to extract machining path points. Finally, the detection error compensation model is used to accurately calibrate the 3D vision system to transform the machining information into the grinding robot base frame. Experimental results show that the absolute average error of repeated measurements at different locations is 0.154 mm, and the absolute measurement error of the vision system caused by compound error is usually less than 0.25 mm. The proposed 3D vision system could easily integrate into an intelligent grinding system and may be suitable for industrial sites.
Bistatic ISAR Imaging with a V-FM Waveform Based on a Dual-Channel-Coupled 2D-CS Algorithm
Authors: Chen Jiyuan , Pan Xiaoyi , Xu Letao , Wang Wei
Published: September 2018

Due to the sparsity of the space distribution of point scatterers and radar echo data, the theory of Compressed Sensing (CS) has been successfully applied in Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging, which can recover an unknown sparse signal from a limited number of measurements by solving a sparsity-constrained optimization problem. In this paper, since the V style modulation(V-FM) signal can mitigate the ambiguity apparent in range and velocity, the dual-channel, two-dimension, compressed-sensing (2D-CS) algorithm is proposed for Bistatic ISAR (Bi-ISAR) imaging, which directly deals with the 2D signal model for image reconstruction based on solving a nonconvex optimization problem. The coupled 2D super-resolution model of the target’s echoes is firstly established; then, the 2D-SL0 algorithm is applied in each channel with different dictionaries, and the final image is obtained by synthesizing the two channels. Experiments are used to test the robustness of the Bi-ISAR imaging framework with the two-dimensional CS method. The results show that the framework is capable accurately reconstructing the Bi-ISAR image within the conditions of low SNR and low measured data.