bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A least square matching optimization method of low altitude remote sensing images based on self-adaptive patch
Authors: Yang Nan , Zhang Yaping , Li Jialin
Published: November 2020

This paper presents a novel matching optimization method based on self-adaptive template. The proposed method is designed to be effective for enhancing the accuracy of stereo matching. In order to improve the similarity of the initial matching windows and fully exploit the pixels around the corresponding image points, a self-adaptive patch is introduced instead of a constant patch. Then, an error equation is built to compute the optimal point according to space geometry relationship and epipolar line constraint. At last, a least square adjustment method is used to calculate the coordinate of the corresponding 3D point in the Object Space Coordinate System. Comparison studies and experimental results prove the high accuracy of the proposed algorithm in low-altitude remote sensing image point cloud optimization.
Effect of ice load and freeze-thaw environment on seawall
Authors: Yang Lili , Wang Huan , Zhao Yue , Sui Haichen
Published: November 2020

Some ports in cold regions are affected by ice load and freeze-thaw cycles, and the stability of structures and foundations is affected. In this paper, based on a seawall project, through laboratory tests, the various indexes of foundation soil freezing of sea dike are tested, including frost heaving rate, frost heaving force, thawing compression coefficient of frozen soil, uniaxial compression test, shear test and bending test of frozen soil. By using the parameters obtained from the test results, a three-dimensional numerical model of seawall engineering under ice load and freeze-thaw action is established. The stress and deformation of seawall structure and foundation are simulated, and the safety and stability of seawall are comprehensively analyzed.
Analysis of Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Shandong Province Based on DEA and Malmquist Model
Authors: Yuyu Liu , Jingjing Geng , Linlin Zhang , Xin Jiang , Yongfei Fu , Lin Lin
Published: November 2020

Water resource shortage has become a restricting factor for social and economic development. Improving water use efficiency of agriculture is an important way to alleviate water resource pressure and ensure food security. Based on DEA and Malmquist models, this paper calculated and analyzed the technical efficiency, scale efficiency and pure technical efficiency of agriculture using panel data from 17 cities in Shandong province from 2007 to 2017. Then, panel data of grains, beans, tubers, oils, cotton and vegetables were selected for the analysis of water use efficiency. The results showed that: (1) the water use efficiency of agriculture in Shandong Province increased year by year; (2) there are significant differences in water use efficiency of agriculture among cities; Qingdao, Jinan and Yantai are higher, while Dezhou and Heze are lower. (3) oil and cotton are the crops with the highest water use efficiency in agriculture in Shandong province. Under the premise of ensuring the required crop production, more oil and cotton can be considered to be planted.
Numerical simulation and pollution prediction of karst groundwater in water-conducting faults distribution area
Authors: Chu Jinglong , Liu Nannan , Miao Yu , Lin Xingjie , Tan Haiwei , Liu Fang
Published: November 2020

In order to explain the role of the water-conducting faults in groundwater system, this paper conducts a numerical simulation study of the groundwater system in water-conducting faults distribution area, using FEFLOW software. The influence of the fracture zones is considered as a key point in parameter zoning. The established numerical model of groundwater conforms to the actual hydrogeological conditions. At the same time, cyanide is used as the prediction factor to predict the situation of wastewater leakage into the fracture zones. The results show that the fracture zones are the main runoff channels for pollutant migration and diffusion. The pollutant migration and diffusion in the direction of the fracture zones are faster than that in the main runoff direction of groundwater.
Research on the Combination of Architectural Design and Internal and External Environment Planning Based on Small Building Space
Authors: Li Ming , Liu Qingbo , Li Xiaojing
Published: November 2020

People’s requirements for architectural space and function are getting higher and higher, so they need to strengthen their demands for functional technology and spatial structure in design to meet people’s behavioral needs in architecture. The impact of urban planning on urban space is macroscopic, lasting and decisive, while the impact of architectural design on urban space is local and concrete. As the main structure of a city, whether its design can be in harmony with the urban space of the whole city will directly affect the perception of urban residents. Therefore, designers must consider the internal and external layout when designing the buildings in order to fully meet the requirements and feelings of users. For small buildings, due to their small floor area, in order to meet the needs of people, it is necessary to divide and use the internal space carefully to meet the high-quality requirements of residents for living conditions. In this paper, based on the sociological perspective, starting from the urban internal functional structure, this paper analyzes the architectural design of small building space and the internal and external environment planning.
Case analysis of power quality impact assessment and governance of electrified railway based on ETAP software
Authors: Sun Feng , Zhang Guan-feng , Li Sheng-hui , Cheng Xu-ke , Wu Liang
Published: November 2020

As the traction load of electrified railway belongs to high-power nonlinear single-phase load, it will bring power quality problems such as harmonics and three-phase unbalance to the power system after being connected to the power grid, which is not conducive to the safety and economic operation of the public power grid. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of the electrified railway operation under different conditions on the power quality of the system substation. In this paper, combined with an electrified railway transformation project of the power grid, an ETAP-based simulation model for electrified railway access to the power grid is established, which can quickly assess the power quality impact of the system-side substation caused by the traction load, and provide corresponding treatment measures for the electrified railway connection system program. At the same time, it can provide a basis for the electrified railway connection system scheme and equipment configuration.
Research on the current status and transformation strategy of digitalization at the State Grid Jibei Electric Power Company
Authors: Yue Hao , Li Wei , Yue Yunli , Pang Ya , Yang Jingang , Zhao Yunhao
Published: November 2020

Developing the digital economy and promoting the digital transformation of enterprises has been an important direction for the development of enterprises in various countries. This article systematically analyzes the information organization, communication network, digital platform, business application system, information security and information operation and maintenance status of the company in Jibei Electric Power Company. Based on the analysis of the development environment and advantages and disadvantages of digital transformation in Jibei Electric Power Company, the development strategy of establishing unified digital development committee, improving the digitalization ability of power transmission and distribution business, improving the digitalization capability of internal operation and building the toB terminal service platform of integrated energy services are put forward.
Contact angle hysteresis of Newtonian fluid
Authors: Wang Zhiqing
Published: November 2020

Contact angle hysteresis of Newtonian fluid is a fundamental and complicated phenomenon related to wetting and dewetting. This article reviews typical research progress of contact angle hysteresis and proposes some critical directions deserved to be investigated. The traditional measuring methods are not accurate to measure the contact angle, and the conventional definition is not suitable for the Wenzel, Cassie, or the intersection of the two states. The surface roughness and droplet size are important factors affecting the hysteresis. Effective roughness scale for hysteresis could be at nanoscale. The difference between microscopic and macroscopic contact angle leads to different hysteresis at microscopic scale, which is valuable for nanodevice.
Unified solutions on axial bearing capacity of round-ended concrete-filled steel tube short columns with binding bars
Authors: Ge Qingyun , Yang Fulian
Published: November 2020

Based on the unified strength theory, according to the characteristics of axial bearing capacity of round-ended concrete-filled steel tubular stub short columns with binding bars, the cross shaped section was divided into a rectangular section which has bars and two round-ended sections which have no bars. Considering intermediate principal stress, the ration of width to thickness of pipe to the bearing capacity of steel tube was in consideration too, the paper analyzed force mechanism. In the end, the mathematical formulation of bearing capacity for the round-ended concrete filled steel tube stub column with binding bars was obtained. The formula calculation values were in good agreement with the value of the relevant literature. Theoretical formulas are expected to be helpful for engineering applications.
Molecular dynamics simulation of the microscopic interaction in Cu/water nanofluid
Authors: Zhang Liang , Tian Linchao , Zhang Anlong , Qu Pingping , Jing Yuyan , Chen Hemin
Published: November 2020

With the gradual increase in internal combustion engine load, the heat in the cooling oil cavity has been insufficient to remove too much heat in a timely manner. The excellent thermal conductivity of nanofluids can be used to consider solving such problems. In this paper, the molecular dynamics simulation of the microscopic effect of the particles in the Cu/water nanofluid on the base fluid is carried out by the equilibrium molecular dynamics method. By analyzing the density distribution of various atoms in the nanofluid and the radial distribution function between the base fluid atoms, Cu-H and Cu-O atom pairs, it is found that the main reason for the influence of the nanoparticles on the base fluid is in the area near the Cu particles. The base fluid atoms have an effect, which changes the arrangement of these atoms, and the O atoms around the nanoparticles are closer to the surface of the Cu particles, and the H atoms are slightly away from the surface of the particles.
Robustness evaluation of probability density function based features on state-of-health estimation used in electric vehicles
Authors: Dong Honglei , Fan Jie , Zou Yuan , Xiao Lingyun , Deng Bo , Ou Yang , Yang Yong , Guan Jing
Published: November 2020

Robust and accurate state-of-health (SOH) estimation is significant for safe and reliable operation of electric vehicles (EVs). In this paper, the robustness analysis of a specific IC analysis method based on probability density function is investigated in depth. Four aging features frequently used by existing researches to estimate SOH are extracted from IC curve. The influence of temperature and current rate on these four aging features as battery ages is analyzed in detail. These aging features’ sensitiveness to data length and their appearance frequency in real-world charging events are also included in deciding which one is best for SOH estimation. Finally, one aging feature that has greatest potential to be used on EVs for SOH estimation is selected out.
Improved RetinaNet model for the application of small target detection in the aerial images
Authors: Tian Hong , Zheng Yufu , Jin Zhaozhao
Published: November 2020

The target detection algorithm for accurately locating the location of objects in the image and their categories is widely used in intelligent traffic, forest fire prevention, electric power patrol and other fields. Existing target detection algorithms detect objects in head-up images, and their accuracy is not high when used in aerial image detection. To solve this problem, a small target detection algorithm based on improved RetinaNet model is proposed. First, replace the ResNet101 deep residual network in the original network with ResNet152, Independent of image features, The model is accelerated by merging ScaleNet network structure; Besides, in order to increase the feeling of the small target detection, to upgrade the existing FPN network output, increase the P2 feature layer, improved the range makes the network overall receptive field and the robustness of small target detection. Through the experimental result shows that compared with the original RetinaNet algorithm, The performance index of the improved algorithm is obviously improved. the average detection accuracy of the improved algorithm for small target detection is quite high 6.21%, it has a good detection effect in many scenarios.
Design and Research of Pre-grouting technology for 1000m scale blind shaft
Authors: He Wen , Xiang Junxing
Published: November 2020

Based on the characteristics of high water pressure and large quantity water-inrush in water-rich dolomite formation around the 1000m level blind shaft of a mine in Yunnan province, pre-grouting was proposed to control water for safe and rapid tunneling. Three large chambers were set up as drilling platforms underground, and the pulping station was established on the surface, the red clay cement slurry was transported to underground grouting station through slurry pipeline. 496m long grouting section was designed and segmented downward manner was adopted. After pre-grouting, the water inflow in the pre-grouting section of the shaft is 7.86m3/h, which met the requirements of the national standard and the contracted maximum water inflow 10m3/h, excellent water control effect was obtained. scientific and reasonable pre-grouting design achieved safe and rapid tunneling of the 1000m level blind shaft.
Study on Combustibility of Key Components of LiFePO4/C Battery with prelithiation technology
Authors: Hui Dong , Gao Fei , Yang Kai , Yang Longfei , Zhao Fenggang , Cheng Xiaoyan , Wang Shuping , Fan Minghao
Published: November 2020

Prelithiation technology has greatly improved the service life of LiFePO4/C battery, but its influence on the combustibility of the battery is still unclear. In this paper, the combustibility of the key components (positive electrode, negative electrode and separator) of LiFePO4/C battery with prelithiation technology and conventional LiFePO4/C battery are compared, and the differences in combustion parameters(effective combustion heat, total heat release, heat release rate) and smoke parameters(total smoke production, CO yield, CO2 yield, and specific extinction area) between the two types of batteries are analyzed. The results show that the combustibility of the two types of batteries is basically similar, and there is no significant difference. With the decrease of the capacity retention rate, the combustibility and smoke generation of the battery show a downward trend.
Design of digital charger based on AVR microcontroller
Authors: Qu Weidong , Yu Lijie
Published: November 2020

Most of the rechargeable batteries in the equipment can only use a dedicated charger, and it is impossible to determine the charging parameters and the remaining charging time. In order to solve this problem, we design a digital charger, single-chip microcomputer control as the core, to real time control of rechargeable batteries, can real time collection and rechargeable battery voltage, current, the rest of the parameters such as charging time, can also by serial port and PC communication, and through the display device according to the necessary information to users.
Pulsed Jet Characteristics of Circulation Control Airfoil
Authors: Lei Yuchang , Zhang Yanhua , Zhang Dengcheng , Su Guangxu
Published: November 2020

Compared with the steady jet, the mass flow consumed by the pulsed jet is lower, which is of great significance for solving the jet source in the circulation control technology. In order to further study the effects of different parameters on energy consumption and aerodynamic coefficient pulse in pulsed jet, based on the Reynolds average N-S equation, the aerodynamic characteristic calculation and flow field analysis of the circulation control airfoil under the action of pulsed jet are carried out, and the aerodynamic benefit is evaluated with the combination of energy consumption and aerodynamic coefficient fluctuation. The results show that: Pulsed jet is more suitable for use at high angle of attack. By using the combination of pulsed jet and steady jet, good results can be obtained in three aspects: time-averaged lift coefficient, lift coefficient fluctuation and energy consumption. The research results can be used as a reference for guiding the use of pulsed jet in circulation control technology.
Selective determination of potassium ions by SPR based molecularly imprinted sensor
Authors: Wang Shiqi , Yu Jieying , Nawaz Tehseen , Wei Tianxin
Published: November 2020

Novel potassium ions imprint polymer sensor were successfully prepared by applying a facile combination of a reversible addition chain transfer mechanism (RAFT) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). UV photopolymerization in synergy with 2-methyl-2-[(dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl)sulfanyl]propanoic acid (DDMAT) as a chain transfer reagent was employed for film synthesis on an SPR sensor chip for the detection of potassium ions using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a cross linker. The modified surface of the sensor was characterized by contact angle measurements, frontier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of potassium ion imprint polymer film showed a high adsorption capacity and excellent selectivity in comparison to other analogues and non-imprinted polymer (NIP) film. Through 5 adsorption–desorption cycles, the high recoverability of MIP film was confirmed. Consequently, within the concentration range of 10−15-10−5 mol/L, the coupling angle change of SPR versus the negative logarithm of concentration showed excellent linearity: R2 = 0.98. Based on a linear equation, MIPs showed excellent values for the limit of detection(1.6×10−16M). Furthermore, it was also used to detect potassium ions in real sample, and in the tap water it showed high recovery and low detection limit. Hence, potassium ions imprint polymer film in combination with an SPR sensor chip demonstrated potential applications for rapid and highly effective sensing even in tap water.
Experimental study on infiltration of unsaturated soil and solution of permeability coefficient
Authors: Bai Yuting , Tang Keming
Published: November 2020

During the unsaturated infiltration, water content, infiltration rate, infiltration amount and other physical quantities are all related to the water supply approaches and intensities. In order to study the change of water migration and the permeability coefficient in vertical infiltration of one-dimensional soil column with different infiltration conditions, this paper designs an experimental device for a one-dimensional soil column infiltration model. Three sets of infiltration tests with different intensities were carried out in two ways: artificial rainfall infiltration and ponding infiltration. The results show that the infiltration under the conditions of rainfall infiltration and ponding infiltration presents a similar trend. The infiltration of ponding in the initial stage of infiltration has greater fluctuations than the infiltration of rainfall, but after the latter stabilizes, the infiltration capacity of ponding infiltration and rainfall infiltration tends to be the same. Finally, on the basis of the theory of soil water energy state and the law of conservation of energy, a new method for solving the permeability coefficient of unsaturated soil under free infiltration is obtained.
Effect of pre-adsorbed water in zeolites with different pore structures on acetone adsorption performance
Authors: Lu Shuangchun , Liu Qingling , Han Rui
Published: November 2020

Zeolites with uniform pore structures are potential adsorbents for the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) adsorption. The pore structures of zeolites and the pre-adsorbed water contained in the adsorbents all affected VOCs adsorption performance. In this work, we investigated the acetone adsorption performance of four zeolites with different pore structures and studied the effect of pre-adsorbed water vapor on the adsorption performance of acetone. The results showed that the acetone adsorption performance was affected by the specific surface area, pore size and pore volume of zeolite. The pre-adsorbed water had a negative influence on acetone adsorption capacities, which formed competitive adsorption between water vapor and acetone molecular. In addition, we measured and analyzed the difference between the ideal specific surface area and the actual specific surface area, which will provide a reference for actual industrial applications in the future.
Effects of Applied Biogas Slurry Continuously for several years on Soil Chemical Characteristics
Authors: Chang-ai Zhang , Sun Renhua , Ying Mengfei , Ding Shaohua , Shengdao Shan
Published: November 2020

The objective of this study was to predict the potential influence of applying biogas slurry (BS) continuously for several years on soil chemical characteristics. Five kinds of Farmland which have been irrigated using BS respectively for 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 years were chosen as the research objects, and soil characteristics and cabbage growth in the different farmlands were analyzed, so can to provide practical basis for scientific application of BS. The results of the experiment indicated that soil pH value enhanced, soil exchangeable H+ and exchangeable Al3+ descend by applied BS, the acid-alkali balance of soil could been easier keep stable if BS been used for more years; the contents of reductive material(RM), activity reductive material(ARM), and ratio of ARM are all increased with the age added by applied BS, so the redox balance of soil have been broken because of applied BS; Soil water-soluble K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO4
2-, HCO3
−, Cl− were been affected obviously by applied BS, the contents of water-soluble K+, Na+, Cl−, SO4
2- are all increased, and the contents of soil water-soluble Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3
− are all decreased with the age added by applied BS.
Flow patterns in a steady lid-driven rectangular cavity with an embedded circular cylinder
Authors: Zhu Jianxun , Holmedal Lars Erik , Wang Hong , Myrhaug Dag
Published: November 2020

A detailed investigation of the flow in a steady lid-driven cavity of depth to width ratio 1:2 containing a circular cylinder is provided. Three different Reynolds numbers (based on the lid velocity and cavity depth) of 100, 500 and 1000 as well as four different cylinder radii to cavity depth ratios (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) located at three different positions along the horizontal centerline of the cavity, are considered. It appears that these flows can be classified into seven different flow patterns. These flow patterns are given for different cylinder radii and positions as well as Reynolds numbers. There is a tendency that for a given cylinder radius, there are more transitions between different flow patterns for a small radius than for a large radius while for a given Reynolds number, the number of transitions is larger for high Reynolds numbers than for low Reynolds numbers. Overall, a larger number of flow patterns tend to emerge as the Reynolds number increases for small radii. The largest variety of flow patterns occur for the left-sided cylinder due to the interaction with the large anti-clockwise circulation flow formed at the bottom left corner.
Comparative study of U- and U4-split-ring resonator-based metasurfaces for sensing in near- and mid-infrared region
Authors: Suo Fei , Tong Jinchao , Tobing Landobasa Y M , Fan Weijun , Xu Zhengji , Zhang Dao Hua
Published: November 2020

We report a detailed comparative investigation of resonance behaviors and sensing capability of gold U-shape spilt-ring resonator (U-SRR) and fourfold rotated SRR (U4-SRR) metasurfaces in near- and middle-infrared (IR) range. All the resonant modes of the U4-SRR metasurfaces occur at longer wavelengths compared to the U-SRR metasurfaces with the same U size. Stronger field intensities are observed in all the three resonance modes of the U4-SRR metasurfaces and the intensity in the fundamental magnetic (m
0) mode is almost three times of that of U-SRR metasurface under unpolarized incidence. All the three peak resonance wavelengths shift to longer wavelengths and the sensitivity increases with the increase of U size. A sensitivity of 642 nm RIU−1 is obtained in the U4-SRR metasurface for unpolarized incidence. This provides an excellent candidate for high performance sensing in the near- and mid-IR regions without polarization concern.
Combined effect of carbon nanotubes distribution and orientation on functionally graded nanocomposite beams using finite element analysis
Authors: El-Ashmawy A M , Xu Yuanming
Published: November 2020

Structural tailoring can provide a promising performance for Functionally Graded (FG) components in engineering. Moreover, utilizing advanced Carbon Nanotube (CNT) as embedded reinforcement in nanocomposite structures, excellent mechanical properties can be tailored and designed to meet requirements. This research addressed the issue of a particular effect for CNT orientation and gradation distribution on static and free vibration analysis of Functionally Graded CNT-Reinforced Composite (FG-CNTRC) beams. First, an efficient finite beam element capable of controlling both parameters was derived based on the Timoshenko beam theory. Single-Walled CNT (SWCNT) was used as primary reinforcement and graded through-thickness. Then, an extensive parametric study was done for model convergence, static, and dynamic analysis. The proposed model offers unique shape function depends on material properties and cross-section geometry, high-accuracy, and expanded to cover both orientations and grading exponents. This expansion allows passive-control of the beam stiffness and strength without any increment in structural weight. Wherein constituent materials quantities and volume fractions were not changed. Finally, obtained findings concerned about orientation angle and power-law exponent, which showed that they significantly affect the structural response, and therefore offer a practical approach of structure tailoring for applied loads, required response, and specific weight limitations.
Virtual screening of nitrogen-, phosphorous- and halide-containing materials as p-type transparent conductors
Authors: Wiebeler Hendrik , Raghupathy Ramya Kormath Madam , Mirhosseini Hossein , D Kühne Thomas
Published: November 2020

In this work, a high-throughput screening of binary and ternary pnictide- and halide-based compounds is performed to identify promising p-type transparent conductors. Our investigation profits from the emergence of open-access databases based on ab-initio results. The band gap, stability, hole effective mass, and p-type dopability are employed for the materials screening and the validity of these descriptors is discussed. Among the final candidates, BaSiN2 is the most promising compound.
Transient effects in the decay of a normally hyperbolic invariant manifold
Authors: Jung C
Published: November 2020

This article presents a new version of transient behaviour occurring around the remnants of normally hyperbolic invariant manifolds (NHIMs) when they are already in the process of decay. If in such a situation a chaotic region of the NHIM is in the process of decay, then typical trajectories starting in this chaotic region remain in this region for a finite time only and will leave the neighbourhood of the NHIM in the long run in tangential direction. Therefore this chaotic region has a transient existence only as remainder of the NHIM. Numerical examples of this phenomenon are presented for a three degrees of freedom (3-dof) model for the motion of a test particle in the gravitational field of a rotating barred galaxy.
Prediction of Dermal Exposure to Chemical Substances Using a Fluorescence Method within the SysDEA Project
Authors: Franken Remy , Turkenburg Jaap , Kasiotis Konstantinos M , Shandilya Neeraj , Baan Jan , Tsakirakis Angelos N , Chartzala Ilianna , Anastasiadou Pelagia , Machera Kyriaki , Rother Dag , Roitzsch Michael , Poppek Ulrich , Meyer Jessica , Schlüter Urs , Gerritsen-Ebben Rianda M , Spaan Suzanne
Published: November 2020

Dermal exposure is an important exposure route for occupational exposure and risk assessment. A fluorescence method has been developed to quantify occupational dermal exposure based on a visualization technique, using Tinopal SWN as a fluorescent tracer. The method was developed within the framework of a large experimental study, the SysDEA project. In SysDEA, dermal exposure was measured with different methods for 10 simulated exposure situations by sampling powder and liquid formulations containing Tinopal SWN on coveralls and patches and subsequently chemically analysing them. For the fluorescence method, photographs of exposed volunteers who performed the experiments were taken inside a room which consisted of an optimized arrangement of several UV irradiating tube light brackets, reflective and non-reflective backgrounds for maximum light diffusion and a camera. Image processing analysis software processed these photographs to obtain corresponding light intensity in terms of summed pixel values. To be able to estimate the amount of Tinopal SWN, 25% of the measured data from the SysDEA experiments were used to calibrate by correlating the summed pixel values from the photographs to actual measured exposure values using a second order regression model. For spraying both high and low viscosity liquids, showing uniformly distributed exposure patterns, strong Pearson correlation coefficients (R > 0.77) were observed. In contrast, the correlations were either inconsistently poor (R = −0.17 to 0.28 for pouring, rolling high viscosity liquid, manually handling objects immersed in low viscosity liquid and handling objects contaminated with powder), moderate (R = 0.73 for dumping of powder), or strong (R = 0.83 and 0.77 for rolling low viscosity liquid and manually handling objects immersed in high viscosity liquid). A model for spraying was developed and calibrated using 25% of the available experimental data for spraying and validated using the remaining 75%. Under given experimental conditions, the fluorescence method shows promising results and can be used for the quantification of dermal exposure for different body parts (excluding hands) for spraying-like scenarios that have a more uniform exposure pattern, but more research is needed for exposure scenarios with less uniform exposure patterns. For the estimation of exposure levels, the surface loading limit should be lower than 1.5░µg/cm2 (a lower limit could not be quantified based on experiments conducted in this study) on a large surface, like a coverall, which should be ideally perpendicular to the camera.
A system-level analysis of patient disease trajectories based on clinical, phenotypic and molecular similarities
Authors: Giannoula Alexia , Centeno Emilio , Mayer Miguel-Angel , Sanz Ferran , Furlong Laura I
Published: November 2020

Motivation

Incorporating the temporal dimension into multimorbidity studies has shown to be crucial for achieving a better understanding of the disease associations. Furthermore, due to the multifactorial nature of human disease, exploring disease associations from different perspectives can provide a holistic view to support the study of their aetiology.

Results

In this work, a temporal systems-medicine approach is proposed for identifying time-dependent multimorbidity patterns from patient disease trajectories, by integrating data from electronic health records with genetic and phenotypic information. Specifically, the disease trajectories are clustered using an unsupervised algorithm based on dynamic time warping and three disease similarity metrics: clinical, genetic and phenotypic. An evaluation method is also presented for quantitatively assessing, in the different disease spaces, both the cluster homogeneity and the respective similarities between the associated diseases within individual trajectories. The latter can facilitate exploring the origin(s) in the identified disease patterns. The proposed integrative methodology can be applied to any longitudinal cohort and disease of interest. In this article, prostate cancer is selected as a use case of medical interest to demonstrate, for the first time, the identification of temporal disease multimorbidities in different disease spaces.

Availability and implementation

https://gitlab.com/agiannoula/diseasetrajectories.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Belatacept-based immunosuppressive regimen in HIV-positive kidney transplant recipients
Authors: El Sakhawi Karim , Melica Giovanna , Scemla Anne , Bertrand Dominique , Garrouste Cyril , Malvezzi Paolo , Rémy Philippe , Moktefi Anissa , Ingels Alexandre , Champy Cécile , Lelièvre Jean-Daniel , Kheav David , Morel Antoine , Mokrani David , Attias Philippe , Grimbert Philippe , Matignon Marie
Published: November 2020

Background

Kidney allograft survival in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients is lower than that in the general population. Belatacept increases long-term patient and allograft survival rates when compared with calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs). Its use in HIV-positive recipients remains poorly documented.

Methods

We retrospectively report a French cohort of HIV-positive kidney allograft recipients who were switched from CNI to belatacept, between June 2012 and December 2018. Patient and allograft survival rates, HIV immunovirological and clinical outcomes, acute rejection, opportunistic infections (OIs) and HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) were analysed at 3 and 12 months, and at the end of follow-up (last clinical visit attended after transplantation). Results were compared with HIV-positive recipients group treated with CNI.

Results

Twelve patients were switched to belatacept 10 (2–25) months after transplantation. One year after belatacept therapy, patient and allograft survival rates scored 92% for both, two (17%) HIV virological rebounds occurred due to antiretroviral therapy non-compliance, and CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell counts remained stable over time. Serious adverse events included two (17%) acute steroid-resistant T-cell-mediated rejections and three (25%) OIs. Kidney allograft function significantly increased over the 12 post-switch months (P = 0.009), and DSAs remained stable at 12 months after treatment. The control group showed similar results in terms of patient and kidney allograft survival rates, DSA characteristics and proteinuria

Conclusions

Switch from CNI to belatacept can be considered safe and may increase long-term kidney allograft survival in HIV-positive kidney allograft recipients. These results need to be confirmed in a larger cohort.
Survival with low- and high-flux dialysis
Authors: Sánchez-Álvarez Emilio , Rodríguez-García Minerva , Locatelli Francesco , Zoccali Carmine , Martín-Malo Alejandro , Floege Jürgen , Ketteler Markus , London Gerard , Górriz José L , Rutkowski Boleslaw , Ferreira Anibal , Pavlovic Drasko , Cannata-Andía Jorge B , Fernández-Martín José L ,   the COSMOS group, Motellón José Luis , Turner Matthew , Chaussy Julien , Molemans Bart , Zani Wal , Rosser Dylan , Dehmel Bastian , Fouqueray Bruno , Bradbury Brian , Acquavella John , Hollowell Jennifer , Carter Dave , Holland Phil , Baños Ana , Mattin Caroline , Critchlow Cathy , Kim Joseph , Lewis Charlotte , Panayi Antonia , Hemetsberger Margit , Croft Stephen , Jaeger Philippe , Muehlebach Prisca , Blackburn Jane , Zumsteg Esther , Gurevich Andrey , Rodríguez Silvia , Pérez Angel , Faner Pau , Izco Irantzu , Traseira Susana , Castro Carmen , Moreno Javier , Calle David , Pieraccini Francesca
Published: November 2020

Background

Besides advances in haemodialysis (HD), mortality rates are still high. The effect of the different types of HD membranes on survival is still a controversial issue. The aim of this COSMOS (Current management Of Secondary hyperparathyroidism: a Multicentre Observational Study) analysis was to survey, in HD patients, the relationship between the use of conventional low- or high-flux membranes and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Methods

COSMOS is a multicentre, open-cohort, 3-year prospective study, designed to evaluate mineral and bone disorders in the European HD population. The present analysis included 5138 HD patients from 20 European countries, 3502 randomly selected at baseline (68.2%), plus 1636 new patients with <1 year on HD (31.8%) recruited to replace patients who died, were transplanted, switched to peritoneal dialysis or lost to follow-up by other reasons. Cox-regression analysis with time-dependent variables, propensity score matching and the use of an instrumental variable (facility-level analysis) were used.

Results

After adjustments using three different multivariate models, patients treated with high-flux membranes showed a lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risks {hazard ratio (HR) = 0.76 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61–0.96] and HR = 0.61 (95% CI 0.42–0.87), respectively}, that remained significant after matching by propensity score for all-cause mortality (HR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.52–0.93). However, a facility-level analysis showed no association between the case-mix-adjusted facility percentage of patients dialysed with high-flux membranes and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Conclusions

High-flux dialysis was associated with a lower relative risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. However, dialysis facilities using these dialysis membranes to a greater extent did not show better survival.
Outcome of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome relapse after eculizumab withdrawal
Authors: Duineveld Caroline , Bouwmeester Romy , van der Heijden Joost W , Berger Stefan P , van de Kar Nicole C A J , Wetzels Jack F M ,   the Dutch aHUS Working Group
Published: November 2020

Background

The introduction of eculizumab has significantly improved the outcome of patients with atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS). Because of the risk of relapse after discontinuation, eculizumab was proposed as life-long therapy. However, data on the outcome of relapse are limited. In the Netherlands, patients with aHUS are treated with a restrictive eculizumab regime and are included in a national observational study (CUREiHUS, Dutch Trial Register NTR5988/NL5833).

Methods

For this interim safety analysis, we evaluated the outcome of all adult patients with a suspected relapse, defined as the need to intensify eculizumab after tapering or withdrawal of therapy.

Results

We describe 11 patients who received renewed eculizumab therapy because of suspected relapse. In three patients with aHUS in native kidneys, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) returned to baseline value and remained stable without overt proteinuria after follow-up. Six out of eight transplanted patients responded to eculizumab therapy with improvement in eGFR. After a median follow-up of 24.6 months, a reduction of eGFR ≥25% was observed in three of these transplanted patients, which was attributed to the aHUS relapse in only one patient.

Conclusions

This interim analysis suggests that re-treatment with eculizumab after relapse is safe and feasible. We will continue to use our restrictive treatment strategy.
AHL-priming for enhanced resistance as a tool in sustainable agriculture
Authors: Shrestha Abhishek , Schikora Adam
Published: November 2020

Bacteria communicate with each other through quorum sensing (QS) molecules. N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHL) are one of the most extensively studied groups of QS molecules. The role of AHL molecules is not limited to interactions between bacteria; they also mediate inter-kingdom interaction with eukaryotes. The perception mechanism of AHL is well-known in bacteria and several proteins have been proposed as putative receptors in mammalian cells. However, not much is known about the perception of AHL in plants. Plants generally respond to short-chained AHL with modification in growth, while long-chained AHL induce AHL-priming for enhanced resistance. Since plants may host several AHL-producing bacteria and encounter multiple AHL at once, a coordinated response is required. The effect of the AHL combination showed relatively low impact on growth but enhanced resistance. Microbial consortium of bacterial strains that produce different AHL could therefore be an interesting approach in sustainable agriculture. Here, we review the molecular and genetical basis required for AHL perception. We highlight recent advances in the field of AHL-priming. We also discuss the recent discoveries on the impact of combination(s) of multiple AHL on crop plants and the possible use of this knowledge in sustainable agriculture.
MiR-142-5p promotes retinoblastoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting PTEN
Authors: Zhang Yujie , Zheng Ailing
Published: November 2020

The study intends to probe the functions of miR-142-5p in retinoblastoma (RB) and the relationship between miR-142-5p and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN). In our study, miR-142-5p and PTEN mRNA expression in RB tissue, serum of RB patients and RB cell lines were investigated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The proliferation, migration, invasion and cell apoptosis were measured using MTT assay, BrdU assay, Transwell experiments and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. Binding sites between miR-142-5p and PTEN were predicted by the TargetScan database and were confirmed via qRT-PCR, western blot and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. It was demonstrated that miR-142-5p expression was elevated in RB tissue, serum of RB patients and RB cell lines. MiR-142-5p overexpression remarkably promoted the proliferation, migration, invasion and inhibited the apoptosis of WERI-RB-1 cells while miR-142-5p knockdown induced opposite effects in Y79 cells. MiR-142-5p decreased PTEN expression in both mRNA and protein expression levels, and PTEN was identified as a target gene of miR-142-5p. Cotransfection of PTEN overexpression plasmids reversed the influences of miR-142-5p on RB cells. In conclusion, miR-142-5p enhances proliferation, migration and invasion of RB cell by targeting PTEN.
Pathogenic and protective roles of extracellular vesicles in neurodegenerative diseases
Authors: Takeuchi Toshihide
Published: November 2020

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and polyglutamine diseases are caused by aggregation and abnormal accumulation of the disease-causative proteins in brain and spinal cord. Recent studies have suggested that proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases are secreted and transmitted intercellularly via extracellular vesicles (EVs), which may be involved in propagation of abnormal protein accumulation and progressive degeneration in patient brains. On the other hand, it has been also reported that EVs have neuroprotective roles in these diseases, which potentially contribute to preventing aggregation formation and aberrant accumulation of the disease-associated proteins. In this review, I summarize the current understanding of the roles of EVs in neurodegenerative diseases, especially focussing on the pathogenic and neuroprotective aspects. Elucidation of these two aspects of EVs would provide insight into not only potential therapeutic targets for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases but also development of EV-based biomarkers for disease diagnostics
Pelvic stress fracture in a Dutch U19 cricketer: a case report
Authors: Grewal S , Dunlop G , Kloen P
Published: November 2020

We report a case of a non-traumatic right-sided os ischium fracture and ramus inferior fracture in an 18-year-old cricket athlete of the national Dutch team. Occasionally, apophyseal avulsion fractures of the pelvis occur; however, non-traumatic isolated fractures of the os ischium are rare. This case highlights the treatment and result of an unusual cricket injury.
Biological Aging Measures Based on Blood DNA Methylation and Risk of Cancer: A Prospective Study
Authors: Dugué Pierre-Antoine , Bassett Julie K , Wong Ee Ming , Joo JiHoon E , Li Shuai , Yu Chenglong , Schmidt Daniel F , Makalic Enes , Doo Nicole Wong , Buchanan Daniel D , Hodge Allison M , English Dallas R , Hopper John L , Giles Graham G , Southey Melissa C , Milne Roger L
Published: November 2020

Background

We previously investigated the association between 5 “first-generation” measures of epigenetic aging and cancer risk in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. This study assessed cancer risk associations for 3 recently developed methylation-based biomarkers of aging: PhenoAge, GrimAge, and predicted telomere length.

Methods

We estimated rate ratios (RRs) for the association between these 3 age-adjusted measures and risk of colorectal (N = 813), gastric (N = 165), kidney (N = 139), lung (N = 327), mature B-cell (N = 423), prostate (N = 846), and urothelial (N = 404) cancer using conditional logistic regression models. We also assessed associations by time since blood draw and by cancer subtype, and we investigated potential nonlinearity.

Results

We observed relatively strong associations of age-adjusted PhenoAge with risk of colorectal, kidney, lung, mature B-cell, and urothelial cancers (RR per SD was approximately 1.2-1.3). Similar findings were obtained for age-adjusted GrimAge, but the association with lung cancer risk was much larger (RR per SD = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.44 to 2.30), after adjustment for smoking status, pack-years, starting age, time since quitting, and other cancer risk factors. Most associations appeared linear, larger than for the first-generation measures, and were virtually unchanged after adjustment for a large set of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and anthropometric variables. For cancer overall, the comprehensively adjusted rate ratio per SD was 1.13 (95% CI = 1.07 to 1.19) for PhenoAge and 1.12 (95% CI = 1.05 to 1.20) for GrimAge and appeared larger within 5 years of blood draw (RR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.15 to 1.44 and 1.19, 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.33, respectively).

Conclusions

The methylation-based measures PhenoAge and GrimAge may provide insights into the relationship between biological aging and cancer and be useful to predict cancer risk, particularly for lung cancer.