bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adsorption of phospholipids at oil/water interfaces during emulsification is controlled by stress relaxation and diffusion
Authors: Hildebrandt Ellen , Nirschl Hermann , Kok Robbert Jan , Leneweit Gero
Published: April 2018

Stress-relaxation is stronger at interfaces covered by phospholipids with unsaturated fatty acids compared to those with saturated fatty acids.
Magnetically driven omnidirectional artificial microswimmers
Authors: Vilfan Mojca , Osterman Natan , Vilfan Andrej
Published: April 2018

We created two new types of magnetic microswimmers that can move through circular microchannels without changing the driving field sequence.
Rheological characterization of dynamic remodeling of the pericellular region by human mesenchymal stem cell-secreted enzymes in well-defined synthetic hydrogel scaffolds
Authors: Daviran Maryam , Longwill Sarah M. , Casella Jonah F. , Schultz Kelly M.
Published: April 2018

We characterize dynamic pericellular re-engineering by human mesenchymal stem cell secreted enzymes in well-defined hydrogels using multiple particle tracking microrheology.
Lexical and Grammatical Factors in Sentence Production in Semantic Dementia: Insights From Greek
Authors: Koukoulioti Vasiliki , Stavrakaki Stavroula , Konstantinopoulou Eleni , Ioannidis Panagiotis
Published: April 2018

Purpose

Language production in semantic dementia (SD) is characterized by a lexical–semantic deficit and largely preserved argument structure and inflection production. This study investigates (a) the effect of argument structure on verb retrieval and (b) the interrelation between inflection marking and verb retrieval in SD.

Method

Seven individuals with SD and 7 healthy controls performed 2 sentence elicitation tasks. In Experiment 1, participants described the action taking place in a video. In Experiment 2, they watched the same videos preceded by a phrase prompting the production of past tense. Three verb classes were tested: (a) unergative (e.g.,
to walk
), (b) unaccusative (e.g.,
to fall
), and (c) transitive with 1 object (e.g.,
to read a book
).

Results

There was not any quantitative difference among the verb classes in Experiment 1, but error analysis hinted at difficulties related with argument structure complexity. The findings of Experiment 2 suggest no general effect of inflection on verb retrieval; nevertheless, inflection marking impeded the retrieval of verbs with complex argument structure. Large individual variation was established.

Conclusions

Argument structure complexity may challenge speakers with SD. Verb retrieval and inflection marking seem to interrelate at the expense of the former. Inflection production may be affected at severe stages of the disease.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6030779
Hybrid opto‐electronic oscillator for single‐sideband microwave photonics
Authors: Thorette A. , Romanelli M. , Bouhier S. , Van Dijk F. , Vallet M. , Alouini M.
Published: April 2018

A single‐sideband opto‐RF oscillator based on a monolithic InGaAsP chip containing two distributed feedback (DFB) lasers is demonstrated. The heterodyne signal is stabilised by a hybrid method, combining optical and electronic feedback. It leads to a locking of the beating frequency onto a filtered version of itself. The table‐top setup provides a phase noise level down to −75 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset from a 10 GHz carrier. Potential phase noise improvement and integration scheme in a single component are discussed.
Reduced‐order fractional integral observer for synchronisation and anti‐synchronisation of fractional‐order chaotic systems
Authors: Meléndez‐Vázquez Fidel , Martínez‐Guerra Rafael
Published: April 2018

In this study, the problems of synchronisation and anti‐synchronisation are solved for commensurate and incommensurate fractional chaotic systems. A reduced‐order fractional integral observer is proposed for fractional systems satisfying a fractional algebraic observability condition, which is shown to be Mittag–Leffler stable. This observer is used as a slave system, whose states are synchronised with the states of the chaotic system, which acts as a master. The observer uses a reduced set of measurable signals from the master system, solving the anti‐synchronisation problem as a straightforward extension of the synchronisation one. Numerical simulations on the fractional Lorenz and Rössler systems assess the performance of the proposed methodology.
Impedance control of non‐linear multi‐DOF teleoperation systems with time delay: absolute stability
Authors: Sharifi Mojtaba , Salarieh Hassan , Behzadipour Saeed , Tavakoli Mahdi
Published: April 2018

A non‐linear robust adaptive bilateral impedance controller is proposed to provide the absolute stability of multi‐DOF teleoperation systems with communication delays, in addition to the force and position tracking performance. The proposed controller realises two desired (or reference) impedance models for the master and slave robots using a new non‐linear robust version of the model reference adaptive control scheme. Using the absolute stability criterion, the robustness condition of the teleoperation system against communication delays is obtained, resulting in suitable adjustments of parameter values in the desired impedance models. In addition, using the Lyapunov stability theorem, the tracking performance of the master and slave robots and the robustness of the proposed controller against parametric and bounded unstructured modelling (non‐parametric) uncertainties were proven. The performance of the proposed non‐linear bilateral controller is investigated by performing some experiments on non‐linear multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) telerobots with and without communication delays.
Joint optimisation convex‐negative matrix factorisation for multi‐modal image collection summarisation based on images and tags
Authors: Zhang Wenkai , Fu Kun , Sun Xian , Zhang Yuhang , Sun Hao , Wang Hongqi
Published: April 2018

Image collection summarisation aims to represent a large‐scale multi‐modal collection with a small subset of images and tags, helping navigate a large image dataset. Most extant methods leverage the contributions of text‐to‐visual summaries, ignoring the visual contribution to the textual topic. When the tags are weakly labelled, the textual topic cannot accurately reflect the visual summary. To solve this, the authors propose a novel model, joint optimisation of convex non‐negative matrix factorisation, which incorporates images and tags in a beneficial way. The objective function contains visual and textual error functions, sharing the same indicator matrix, connecting different modal relations. Then, they propose an iterative algorithm to optimise the proposed model. Finally, they explore the effects of different visual feature representations (e.g. bag‐of‐words and deep learning) on multi‐modal collection summary. Our proposed method is then compared with state‐of‐the‐art algorithms using two multi‐modal datasets (i.e. MIRFlickr and NUS‐WIDE‐SCENE). Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed approach.
Back‐EMF‐based sensorless control system of hybrid SRM for high‐speed operation
Authors: Tang Ying , He Yingjie , Wang Fengxiang , Lee Dong‐Hee , Ahn Jin‐Woo , Kennel Ralph
Published: April 2018

Based on the back electromotive force (back‐EMF) detection, a novel rotor position estimation strategy with adjustable turn on/off angle is proposed for the high‐speed hybrid switched reluctance motor (SRM). The minimum back‐EMF position is captured in every electrical cycle for rotor position estimation. The current comparator is employed to send out a turn‐off signal for phase winding when the maximum inductance position is detected in the first electrical cycle. By providing sufficient current rise time to the phase winding, the proposed sensorless control system enables the motor to run in high‐speed application. Besides the straightforward estimation principle, the proposed strategy has the implemental feasibility by eliminating extensive calculations and complicated look‐up tables. The experimental results of a prototype are demonstrated to verify the proposed sensorless control system.
Earthing grid designs for heterogeneous soil structures in hilly regions using current simulation method
Authors: Mondal Debojyoti , Dey Sumanta , Pradhan Arpan Kumar , Das Santanu
Published: April 2018

This study proposes a model for the analysis of earthing grid designs in multilayer soils with finite heterogeneities (in horizontal and vertical directions) based on the current simulation method (CSM). Case studies on some proposed IEEE grid design examples show significant accuracy levels when compared with the results obtained by the IEEE experimental and infinite series methods. A practical design problem which consists of a horizontal variation of resistivity in the top layer has been solved by the above CSM. Studies show that results provided by the CSM algorithm can be optimised further by increasing the number of current sources. The main objective of this study is to show that this computer‐based simulation process can be a substitute to the experimental and other methods leading to less investment of man power and time for the design and analysis of earthing grids.
Study on the method of colour image noise reduction based on optimal channel‐processing
Authors: Wang Yutan , Dai Yingpeng , Liu Xiangnan , Liu Bohan , Guo Xiaoyun
Published: April 2018

The methods of the image noise reduction based on optimal channel‐processing to enhance image quality are studied. According to different noise with the different ratio in colour components, different noise reduction technologies are used for noise reduction. Then the optimal algorithm is automatically selected as the ultimate way of noise reduction in each channel. For the purpose of optimal noise reduction effect, this study presents a method of combining the quadratic optimisation with the variable window processing. The quadratic optimisation provides a good environment for noise reduction by decreasing complexity of mixed noise and the variable window processing calibrates the image smoothing result. Compared with mean filtering, median filtering and adaptive filtering, the image quality processed by the proposed algorithm is generally improved by >2 dB.
Efficient approach for the automatic detection of haemorrhages in colour retinal images
Authors: Bhoopalan Ramasubramanian , Sundaramoorthy Selvaperumal
Published: April 2018

Advances in the eye care telemedicine system aid the diabetic patients in remote areas to stop the unwanted visit to ophthalmologist, reduces overall cost, time and money. Diabetic retinopathy, which is the primary cause of sight loss, has the most common symptoms like microaneurysms, haemorrhages, cotton‐wool spots, exudates and drusen. In this work, an efficient approach for the automatic detection of haemorrhages in colour retinal images is proposed and validated. The colour retinal images captured from the diabetic patients are enhanced by an effective pre‐processor. A bag of features based on intensity, colour and texture are extracted. Finally, the features are classified with the help of partial least square classifier. The classifier performance is validated on two publicly available databanks. The developed method obtains an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.98 with an average execution time of 6 s. This application outperforms the existing approaches with high robustness and efficiency.
Automated class identification of modes of travel in shared spaces: a case study from India
Authors: Zaki Mohamed H. , Sayed Tarek
Published: April 2018

This paper presents a classification approach for road‐user modes of travel. The classification does not assume well organized, and lane disciplined traffic. Instead, it relies on specific characteristics intrinsic for each road‐user to predict the corresponding class. The classification relies on extracting the geometric and movement characteristics of road‐users. As such, it is possible to classify road‐users in shared space facilities and sites with high level of non‐compliance. The classification is a multi‐step procedure. First, movement features are used to discriminate between motorized and non‐motorized road‐users. Then, complementary features based on road‐user geometry are added to differentiate between vehicles, rickshaws, powered two‐wheelers, and buses. Experiments are performed on a video data set from a shared facility in New Delhi, India. A performance analysis demonstrated the robustness of the proposed classification method with a correct classification rate of up to 90 percent. By considering the movement attributes, the approach is tolerant to considerable variations in road‐user physical details which often arises from choices of camera positions and partial occlusions. The research is part of the long‐term goal to develop an automated video‐based road safety and data collection system for developing countries.
Efficient caching strategy in content‐centric networking for vehicular ad‐hoc network applications
Authors: Van Dong Doan , Ai Qingsong , Liu Quan , Huynh De‐Thu
Published: April 2018

Recently, content‐centric networking (CCN) has been proposed as a promising solution for content distribution in vehicular ad‐hoc networks (VANETs) owing to its named‐data routing and in‐network caching characteristics. In this network, the caching strategies are performed in the intermediate nodes, and even in the vehicular storage space. However, the typically existing caching strategies have indicated the low stored contents efficiency due to the peculiarities of VANET environment, like cache redundancy, high mobility, rapidly changing topology, and limited vehicular storage space. In this study, the authors proposed an efficient caching strategy in vehicle‐to‐vehicle scenario through CCN, which considers the requirements of different types of applications, the crucial features of data, and the peculiarities of the vehicular network (e.g. content popularity, cache occupancy, the stability link of the vehicles, and user's preference). Each vehicle makes its caching decision independently to improve the cache space and efficient use of the stored contents corresponding to the requirements of different application types. Simulation results validate that the proposed strategy outperforms other caching strategies in terms of reducing data retrieval delay, increasing cache hit ratio, and improving the cache performance on the vehicles.
Data‐driven approach for identifying spatiotemporally recurrent bottlenecks
Authors: Song Tai‐Jin , Williams Billy M. , Rouphail Nagui M.
Published: April 2018

Identification of recurrent bottlenecks is an effective way to hone an appropriate investment in current facilities to relieve congestion. Furthermore, it would enable the ranking or prioritisation of bottlenecks since bottleneck removal and its associated impact alleviation are hampered by limited sources. It is imperative that transportation jurisdiction understand and identify the basis for ranking bottlenecks by exploring: how often they are active; how long it takes the congestion to disappear; and how many miles of road are affected. Previous bottleneck identification schemes have focused on identifying congestion with little attention to distinguishing the recurrent level at the same ‘bottleneck’ location. In contrast to traditional schemes, a data‐driven approach for identifying recurrent bottlenecks is introduced, using probe vehicle speed reports. The historical spatiotemporal characteristics of bottlenecks are investigated through a comprehensive analysis of 2253 miles of all state‐wide interstates in North Carolina. Using the characteristics determined the recurrent bottleneck locations with a historical time span of bottleneck activation are revealed and tested. The findings of the proposed identification schemes generate critical information in order to quantify and diagnose a bottleneck and its associated impact area.
Framework for dynamic hand gesture recognition using Grassmann manifold for intelligent vehicles
Authors: Verma Bindu , Choudhary Ayesha
Published: April 2018

In this study, the authors propose a novel and robust approach to control auxiliary tasks in vehicles using hand gestures. First, they create a three‐dimensional video volume by appending one frame to other that captures the motion history of frames. Then, they extract features using histogram of oriented gradients on each video volume. These features are represented in the form of subspaces on Grassmann manifold. To improve the recognition accuracy, they map the data from one manifold to another manifold with the help of a Grassmann kernel. Grassmann graph embedding discriminant analysis framework is used to classify the gestures. They perform experiments on two datasets: LISA and Cambridge Hand Gesture in three different testing methods such as 1/3‐subject, 2/3‐subject and cross‐subject. Experimental results show that their proposed model outperforms and is comparable with the state‐of‐the‐art methods.
Lateral distance detection model based on convolutional neural network
Authors: Zhang Xiang , Yang Wei , Tang Xiaolin , Wang Yun
Published: April 2018

To evaluate the performance of the advanced driver assistant systems, such as lane departure warning systems (LDWs) and lane keeping assist systems (LKAs), a deep learning model is proposed to estimate the lateral distance between the vehicle and lane boundaries. The training of a deep learning model requires a large number of label images, but the generation of label images is time consuming and boring. Therefore, an improved image quilting algorithm based on a convolutional neural network is proposed. A lot of lane and asphalt pavement images can be synthesised using fewer images of a real road scene. Moreover, an algorithm that aims to automatically generate label images using lane and asphalt pavement images to satisfy the distribution of real scenes is proposed. Experimental results showed that the generated label images can be used to train a deep learning model, and the lateral distance can be estimated with a sub‐centimetre precision, which can provide an effective benchmark for the road test of LDWs, LKAs and other driving assistant systems.
Harmonic suppression using optimised hexagonal defected ground structure by genetic algorithm
Authors: de Sena Francisco das Chagas Barbosa , da Silva José Patrocínio
Published: April 2018

This study analyses the effects caused by a new hexagonal defect ground‐plane (DGS) structure when it is applied to a rectangular microstrip antenna and studies its effectiveness to suppress higher‐order modes. To improve the rejection characteristics of the analysed DGS, a genetic algorithm was used to optimise its parameters. Controlling higher‐order modes of the fundamental operating frequency was successfully demonstrated, and the experimental results showed that optimising the hexagonal DGS could enhance the S11 parameter of the fundamental mode while simultaneously suppressing or further attenuating higher‐order modes. Such results are particularly important once DGS is applied for self‐immunity of antennas against harmonic radiations by avoiding the use of a filter circuit.
3D printed utility dielectric core manufacturing process for antenna prototyping
Authors: Brister John A. , Edwards Robert M.
Published: April 2018

A prototyping method for dielectrically loaded antennas is presented. Dielectric loading has been used with horn antennas, feeds, and lenses. Dielectrics have also been used for coating antennas submerged in water and biological matter and have led to improvements in bandwidth and efficiency as well as antenna miniaturisation. The authors present a new technique to produce variable dielectrics with permittivity from 6 to 28 using two commonly available powders, titanium dioxide (used in foods) and magnesium silicate (used in talcum powder). An example spherical helical ball antenna is used to demonstrate the process. In this antenna, the mixed powders were encased in a 3D printed shell that achieved a reduction in diameter of the spherical antenna by a factor of 1.85. The technique aids rapid prototyping and optimisation using search algorithms.
Unequally‐excited linear totally random antenna arrays for multi‐beam patterns
Authors: Buonanno Giovanni , Solimene Raffaele
Published: April 2018

Linear random antenna arrays are usually studied in conjunction with uniform excitations with, at most, a linear phase shift in order to steer the main beam. This offers some advantages in terms of the feeding network but puts limitations on the array factor that can be obtained. The authors introduce unequally excited random arrays whose excitation currents are obtained by suitable transformations of the random variables related to the element positions. Besides, the first‐ and second‐order statistic characterisation, the uniform norm (i.e. the supremum) of difference between the mean (the desired one) and the actual array factors is estimated. In particular, while in the general case, this is achieved only via a Monte Carlo study, for the case of symmetric arrays (where the elements are randomly deployed symmetrically with respect to the array aperture centre) that norm is analytically estimated using the up‐crossing theory for random processes. It is shown that the proposed unequally excited random arrays, unlike some other previous approaches, allow shaping the mean radiation pattern. However, the procedure in general yields reduced achievable performance. Therefore, the theoretical findings are checked through some numerical examples only for the important class of multi‐beam array factors.
Power harmonic and interharmonic detection method in renewable power based on Nuttall double‐window all‐phase FFT algorithm
Authors: Su Taixin , Yang Mingfa , Jin Tao , Flesch Rodolfo César Costa
Published: April 2018

Harmonics and interharmonics adversely affect power grids. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm is one of the most commonly used methods for harmonic analysis. However, in practical applications, the accuracy of harmonic analysis can be seriously affected by fence effect and spectral leakage, which are undesired characteristics inherent to discrete Fourier transforms. Moreover, when non‐synchronous sampling is carried out, the phase measurement is not accurate enough, and there is a large error in the identification of interharmonics. In order to improve the measurement precision, the method of all‐phase spectrum analysis is used, since it has the characteristics of phase invariance and good spectral leakage suppression. A novel method based on improved Nuttall double‐window all‐phase FFT is proposed by improving the window function and the spectrum correction method for achieving higher precision. Through simulation and experimental verification, the proposed algorithm has proven to perform better than the traditional algorithms both for the detection of harmonics and interharmonics. In addition, the computation burden is not considerably increased when compared to such algorithms, which allows the on‐line use of the proposed algorithm.
Shifting air‐conditioner load in residential buildings: benefits for low‐carbon integrated power grids
Authors: Ali Syed Muhammad Hassan , Lenzen Manfred , Huang Jing
Published: April 2018

This study presents a simulation of low‐carbon electricity supply for Australia, contributing new knowledge by demonstrating the benefits of load shifting in residential buildings for downsizing renewable electricity grids comprising wind, hydro, biomass, and solar resources. The load‐shifting potential for the whole of Australia is estimated, based on air‐conditioner load data and an insulation model for residential buildings. Load shifting is applied to enable transferring residential air‐conditioner load from peak to off‐peak periods, assuming that air‐conditioners can be turned‐on a few hours ahead of need, during periods where demand is low and renewable resource availability is high, and turned‐off during periods of high demand and low resource availability. Thus, load shifting can effectively reduce installed capacity requirements in renewable electricity grids. For 1 h load shifting of residential air‐conditioners, Australian electricity demand can be met at the current reliability standards by 130 GW installed capacity, at cost around 12.5 ¢/kWh, and a capacity factor of 32%. The installed capacity can be further reduced by increasing the number of hours that loads can be shifted. The findings suggest that the application of load shifting in residential buildings can play a significant role for power networks with high renewable energy penetration.
Parameter state estimation for bistatic sonar systems
Authors: Broetje Martina , Broetje Lars , Ehlers Frank
Published: April 2018

The use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) cooperating in a network for anti‐submarine warfare surveillance operations is of topical interest. Each AUV has to localise and track targets (submarines) robustly and precisely. This can be realised by a bistatic sonar configuration. The precise knowledge of the bistatic system parameters is mandatory for target tracking. These are in particular the positions of the acoustic sources, transmission times, and the position and heading of the AUV sonar sensor. However, these parameters often are not precisely known, e.g. for non‐cooperative acoustic sources or due to navigation uncertainties of the AUV. Therefore, the authors consider the inverse problem, i.e. they estimate the bistatic system parameters by exploiting sonar echoes from known stationary ‘targets’ like wrecks or small islands. Their implementation of the estimation method is based on the multihypothesis tracking technique. Results are discussed for two applications: The first one is estimation of the parameters of a non‐cooperative source. The second application focuses on the estimation of the receiver parameters; in particular they show that their approach can be used to increase robustness of AUV navigation. Their algorithms are tested with simulated and real data recorded by the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation.
Optimal sliding mode control of drug delivery in cancerous tumour chemotherapy considering the obesity effects
Authors: Khalili Pariya , Vatankhah Ramin , Taghvaei Sajjad
Published: April 2018

Different control strategies have been proposed for drug delivery in chemotherapy during recent years. These control algorithms are designed based on dynamic models of various orders. The order of the model depends on the number of effects considered in the model. In a recent model, the effect of obesity on the tumour progression and optimal control strategy in chemotherapy have been investigated in a fifth‐order state‐space model. However, the optimal controller is open loop and not robust to the common uncertainties of such biological system. Here, the sliding surface is obtained by the optimal trajectory and by considering uncertainties of some parameters, the robust‐sliding control law is formulated in a way to slid on the optimal surface. Then, a sliding mode controller is designed to determine the drug dose rate such that the system follows the optimal desired trajectory. The stability of the control system is proved and the simulation results indicate that three states track the trajectory and the remaining two states satisfy the constraints.
Temporal correlation model‐based transmission power control in wireless body area network
Authors: Archasantisuk Sukhumarn , Aoyagi Takahiro , Kim Minseok , Takada Jun‐Ichi
Published: April 2018

Researchers have encountered many challenges in developing communication system in wireless body area networks (WBANs). These challenges include the dynamic characteristics of WBAN channels, limited energy resources, and strict requirements, such as high reliability and low latency. To achieve highly reliable and energy‐efficient communication in the WBAN, temporal correlation model‐based transmission power control (TCM‐TPC) is proposed. In this method, the channel condition is firstly determined based on a long‐term mean channel gain and the last known channel gain using a temporal correlation model. The channel is estimated as a conditional distribution of channel gains. After that, the transmit output power is selected from the estimated channel to satisfy a pre‐defined outage probability. Performance of the proposed TCM‐TPC method was evaluated on a network simulator for a walking scenario. The evaluation results showed that the TCM‐TPC had up to 1.48% of packet loss, while other TPC methods had up to 6.86% of packet loss. Furthermore, for a high data rate application, the TCM‐TPC showed the lowest energy consumption for all sensor nodes.
Effect of calcination temperature on the structure and photocatalytic performance of BiVO4 prepared via an improved solution combustion method
Authors: Qi Yuanxin , Wang Min , Zhang Yu , Zhu Tong
Published: April 2018

The bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photocatalysts were synthesised via an improved solution combustion method. The effects of different calcine temperatures on microstructure and photocatalytic properties of BiVO4 were studied. The samples were characterised by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray phototelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, ultraviolet–visible and photoluminescence analyses. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the sample was evaluated by photocatalytic decomposition of rhodamine B (rhB). The results showed that all samples were monoclinic structures with high purity. Moreover, the calcination temperature had significant effects on both morphology and photocatalytic properties of BiVO4. The sample obtained at 500°C had the narrowest bandgap energy and presented the best photocatalytic activity for the rhB photodegradation rate reached up to 86.67% after 50 min under visible‐light irradiation.
Friction performance and optimisation of diamond‐like texture on hydraulic cylinder surface
Authors: Chen Xiaolan , Zeng Liangcai , Zheng Feilong
Published: April 2018

For the ring surface of a hydraulic cylinder, grid and striped textures have been demonstrated in many previous works to easily provide a conductive oil path, which increases the difficulty of generating converging wedges and are harmful to the formation of dynamic pressure lubrication, especially for full lubrication. Moreover, these studies used an orthogonal design method to study the hydrodynamic lubrication effect and friction performance of the surface without considering the comprehensive effect of multiple parameters with simultaneous changes, which may introduce errors into the simulation analysis. In this work, a diamond‐like, non‐conductive texture, which mimics shark skin, is developed and optimised to determine the optimal texture morphology while simultaneously considering the influence of multiple parameters, including the diamond angle, axial length ratio, and area occupancy, to optimise the surface of the friction pair. The results show that under the same working conditions, the lift of the diamond texture is nine times greater than that of the striped texture, while its friction coefficient is only one‐quarter of that of the striped texture, which will greatly improve the friction and responsiveness of the hydraulic cylinder.
Food selection by Plumatella geimermassardi Wood and Okamura, 2004 (Phylactolaemata, Bryozoa)
Authors: Todini Chiara , Elia Antonia Concetta , Selvaggi Roberta , Scoparo Melissa , Taticchi Maria Illuminata
Published: April 2018

Bryozoans are sessile filter feeding organisms able to play an important role in the cycling of organic matter in freshwater ecosystems. However, the quality and quantity of food particles ingested by bryozoans are still not well-known. Therefore, an experimental design was performed in order to investigate the clearance rate (CR), food selection and efficiency of assimilation by the freshwater bryozoan species Plumatella geimermassardi. P. geimermassardi was collected from the Colfiorito Marsh (Umbrian Natural Park, Italy), during summer. A higher grazing rate of suspended and dissolved solids was evidenced in the colonies collected in June, July, than in August. Food selection and assimilation of phytoplankton were determined. The algal species ingested as diet food item and those excreted with the faecal pellets were taxonomically identified. The results provide new information on CR and food selection by P. geimermassardi and enhance knowledge on its biology. Insights on feeding preferences by bryozoan species can provide valid information about their feasible distribution and abundance.
Molecular and serological prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Anaplasma spp. infection in goats from Chongqing Municipality, China
Authors: Zhou Zuoyong , Wu Yutong , Chen Yiwang , Wang Zhiying , Hu Shijun , Zhou Rongqiong , Dong Chunxia , Lin Hongquan , Nie Kui
Published: April 2018

Toxoplasmosis and anaplasmosis are severe zoonotic diseases, the former caused by Toxoplasma gondii and the latter by Anaplasma spp. In the present study, 332 goat blood samples were randomly collected from Chongqing Municipality, China to screen for T. gondii and Anaplasma spp. We used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect DNA, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to test for T. gondii antibodies. The prevalence of T. gondii and Anaplasma spp. was 38% and 35% respectively by PCR, and 42% for T. gondii antibodies by ELISA. The co-infection rate by T. gondii and Anaplasma was 13%, where the two predominant pathogens co-infecting were Anaplasma phagocytophilum + A. bovis (10%), followed by T. gondii + A. phagocytophilum (9.64%). While co-infection by three pathogens varied ranging from 1.81% to 5.72%, less than 1% of goats were found to be positive for four pathogens. This is the first investigation of T. gondii and Anaplasma spp. infection in goats from Chongqing.
What can the annual 10Be solar activity reconstructions tell us about historic space weather?
Authors: Barnard Luke , McCracken Ken G. , Owens Mat J. , Lockwood Mike
Published: April 2018

Context: Cosmogenic isotopes provide useful estimates of past solar magnetic activity, constraining past space climate with reasonable uncertainty. Much less is known about past space weather conditions. Recent advances in the analysis of 10Be by McCracken & Beer (2015, Sol Phys 290: 305–3069) (MB15) suggest that annually resolved 10Be can be significantly affected by solar energetic particle (SEP) fluxes. This poses a problem, and presents an opportunity, as the accurate quantification of past solar magnetic activity requires the SEP effects to be determined and isolated, whilst doing so might provide a valuable record of past SEP fluxes.

Aims: We compare the MB15 reconstruction of the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), with two independent estimates of the HMF derived from sunspot records and geomagnetic variability. We aim to quantify the differences between the HMF reconstructions, and speculate on the origin of these differences. We test whether the differences between the reconstructions appear to depend on known significant space weather events.

Methods: We analyse the distributions of the differences between the HMF reconstructions. We consider how the differences vary as a function of solar cycle phase, and, using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we compare the distributions under the two conditions of whether or not large space weather events were known to have occurred.

Results: We find that the MB15 reconstructions are generally marginally smaller in magnitude than the sunspot and geomagnetic HMF reconstructions. This bias varies as a function of solar cycle phase, and is largest in the declining phase of the solar cycle. We find that MB15's excision of the years with very large ground level enhancement (GLE) improves the agreement of the 10Be HMF estimate with the sunspot and geomagnetic reconstructions. We find no statistical evidence that GLEs, in general, affect the MB15 reconstruction, but this analysis is limited by having too few samples. We do find evidence that the MB15 reconstructions appear statistically different in years with great geomagnetic storms.
HPLC-ESI-MS Characterization of Certain Polyphenolic Compounds of Carica papaya L. Fruit Extracts and Evaluation of Their Potential Against Murine Schistosomiasis mansoni
Authors: Abdel-Lateef Ezzat , Rabia Ibrahim , El-Sayed Mortada , Abdel-Hameed El-Sayed
Published: April 2018

The in vivo antischistosomal activities of Carica papaya L. extracts were evaluated and the characterization of the active secondary metabolites of the defatted methanolic extract was performed using HPLC-ESI-MS. The plant fruit powders were extracted with 85% methanol and fractionated using organic solvents. The in vivo antischistosomal effects of the methanolic extracts and its fractions, as well as the assessment of the relationship between the antischistosomal activity of these plant extracts and oxidative stress, was determined. In addition, the defatted methanolic extract was characterized by HPLC-ESI-MS analysis. The number of worms, ova, and the Oogram pattern displayed typical Schistosoma mansoni pathology 8 weeks after infection in mice. Treatment of the infected group with the defatted methanolic extracts significantly decreased worm burden, immature ova and mature ova, while increasing the percentage of dead ova in vivo. The butanol fraction was the most effective fraction reducing worm burden by 77%, ova count in the intestine by 76% and in the liver by 80%, and significantly decreased immature and mature ova (P<0.001) compared to the infected group. Additionally, the defatted methanolic extracts improved the reduced glutathione and malondialdehyde levels in hepatic tissues in the treated groups compared to the infected group. The HPLC-ESI-MS analysis of the Carica papaya defatted methanolic extract revealed the presence of several polyphenolic compounds. Carica papaya fruit extracts are rich with phenolic acids and flavonoids and show a significant effect against S. mansoni infections which may be used alternative to PZQ as anti-schistosomal drug against schistosomiasis.
Formation of a Novel C11-Acetone Adduct of a Pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) with Loss of Cytotoxicity
Authors: Thurston David , Corcoran David , Picconi Pietro , Chui Connie , Procopiou George , Pysz Ilona , Rahman Khondaker
Published: April 2018

The pyrrolidine-catalysed formation of novel diastereomeric C11-acetone adducts was observed during the chromatographic purification of pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) compounds in the presence of acetone. The mechanism of this reaction was explored and the adducts obtained fully characterised. Talirine, the cytotoxic payload element of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) vadastuximab talirine, was also found to form a bis-adduct under similar conditions. A cellular cytotoxicity evaluation of the modified PBD compounds confirmed their lack of cytotoxicity, consistent with loss of the DNA-interactive N10–C11 imine functionality. As well as the new chemistry reported here, given the number of PBD-based ADCs presently in the clinic, this observation may be important for the larger-scale manufacture of PBD-based products.
Outcomes of Facial Nerve in Lateral and Inferior Mastoid Approaches for Jugular Foramen and Petrous Apex Lesions
Authors: Shah Saurin , Keshri Amit , Patadia Simple , Sahu Rabi , Kumar Raj
Published: April 2018

Objectives To evaluate the facial nerve in inferior and lateral (transmastoid) approaches to the jugular foramen and/or petrous apex.

Design Retrospective study of 11 consecutive patients operated for lesions in the jugular foramen/petrous apex via an inferior or lateral transpetrosal approach.

Setting Tertiary care superspecialty referral center.

Participants Eleven consecutive patients of jugular foramen/petrous apex lesions operated over a period of 18 months.

Main Outcomes Measures Extent of tumor resection, surgical technique used, and recovery of facial nerve function postoperatively.

Conclusion Approach to these lesions needs to be tailored to the extent of disease, possible histology and relation to the facial nerve. Meticulous surgery and adequate postoperative care permit a satisfactory recovery of facial nerve function following rerouting procedures.
Midterm Results after Open versus Arthroscopic Transosseous Repair for Foveal Tears of the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex
Authors: Fujii Kenzo , Fujisawa Takeyoshi , Abe Yukio
Published: April 2018

Purpose Various surgical procedures for foveal tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) have been reported, and the procedures can be grossly divided into open and arthroscopic repair. The surgical results of both procedures were compared.

Materials and Methods Twenty-nine patients underwent repair of a TFCC foveal tear. The 13 men and 16 women were in the age range of 14 to 72 years (average age, 30 years). Five patients had a history of distal radius fractures that healed uneventfully with nonoperative treatment. The mean duration of symptoms before surgery was 7.1 months. The procedure for repair consisted of 8 open repairs and 21 arthroscopic repairs. In both procedures, the TFCC was repaired transosseously to the ulna. The mean follow-up period was 34.4 (range, 24–70) months. The patients' pain, range of motion (ROM), grasping power, ulnar head instability, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH), and Mayo modified wrist score (MMWS) were evaluated. The operating time was also compared.

Results There were no significant differences between the groups in pain, ROM, grasping power, ulnar head instability, and DASH. The MMWS was excellent in 8 patients in the open repair group, with 18 excellent and 3 good in the arthroscopic repair group. The mean operating time was significantly shorter for arthroscopic repair than for open repair.

Conclusion Satisfactory outcomes were achieved for both open and arthroscopic repair techniques in the midterm. If a surgeon becomes familiar with the arthroscopic repair, the arthroscopic technique would be more feasible than the open repair in terms of technical facility and shortening of the operating time.

Level of Evidence Level III, therapeutic study.
Was bestimmt die Prognose von Patienten mit Störungen des Schluckvorganges?
Authors: Hey Christiane
Published: April 2018

Bock JM et al. Evaluation of the natural history of patients who aspirate. Laryngoscope 2017; 127: S1–S10

Die klinische Progression der Aspiration bis zu eventuellen pulmonalen Störungen ist nicht vollständig verstanden. Empfehlungen zur Ernährungsumstellung,
Schwere von Penetration und Aspiration gemäß PAS sowie die Ätiologie der Dysphagie beeinflussen möglicherweise die Zeitspanne bis zum Auftreten des ersten
pulmonalen Ereignisses sowie das Gesamtüberleben von Patienten mit VFS-dokumentierter, asymptomatischer Penetration und Aspiration.
The effect of Ga pre-deposition on Si (111) surface for InAs nanowire selective area hetero-epitaxy
Authors: Liu Ziyang , Merckling Clement , Rooyackers Rita , Franquet Alexis , Richard Olivier , Bender Hugo , Vila María , Rubio-Zuazo Juan , Castro Germán R. , Collaert Nadine , Thean Aaron , Vandervorst Wilfried , Heyns Marc
Published: April 2018

Vertical InAs nanowires (NWs) grown on a Si substrate are promising building-blocks for next generation vertical gate-all-around transistor fabrication. We investigate the initial stage of InAs NW selective area epitaxy (SAE) on a patterned Si (111) substrate with a focus on the interfacial structures. The direct epitaxy of InAs NWs on a clean Si (111) surface is found to be challenging. The yield of vertical InAs NWs is low, as the SAE is accompanied by high proportions of empty holes, inclined NWs, and irregular blocks. In contrast, it is improved when the NW contains gallium, and the yield of vertical InxGa1-xAs NWs increased with higher Ga content. Meanwhile, unintentional Ga surface contamination on a patterned Si substrate induces high yield vertical InAs NW SAE, which is attributed to a GaAs-like seeding layer formed at the InAs/Si interface. The role of Ga played in the III-V NW nucleation on Si is further discussed. It stabilizes the B-polarity on a non-polar Si (111) surface and enhances the nucleation. Therefore, gallium incorporation on a Si surface is identified as an important enabler for vertical InAs NW growth. A new method for high yield (>99%) vertical InAs NW SAE on Si using an InGaAs nucleation layer is proposed based on this study.
Electrical transport and capacitance characteristics of metal-insulator-metal structures using hexagonal and cubic boron nitride films as dielectrics
Authors: Teii Kungen , Kawamoto Shinsuke , Fukui Shingo , Matsumoto Seiichiro
Published: April 2018

Metal-insulator-metal capacitor structures using thick hexagonal and cubic boron nitride (hBN and cBN) films as dielectrics are produced by plasma jet-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and their electrical transport and capacitance characteristics are studied in a temperature range of 298 to 473 K. The resistivity of the cBN film is of the order of 107 Ω cm at 298 K, which is lower than that of the hBN film by two orders of magnitude, while it becomes the same order as the hBN film above ∼423 K. The dominant current transport mechanism at high fields (≥1 × 104 V cm−1) is described by the Frenkel-Poole emission and thermionic emission models for the hBN and cBN films, respectively. The capacitance of the hBN film remains stable for a change in alternating-current frequency and temperature, while that of the cBN film has variations of at most 18%. The dissipation factor as a measure of energy loss is satisfactorily low (≤5%) for both films. The origin of leakage current and capacitance variation is attributed to a high defect density in the film and a transition interlayer between the substrate and the film, respectively. This suggests that cBN films with higher crystallinity, stoichiometry, and phase purity are potentially applicable for dielectrics like hBN films.
Relationship between x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopy and the local H-bond environment in water
Authors: Zhovtobriukh Iurii , Besley Nicholas A. , Fransson Thomas , Nilsson Anders , Pettersson Lars G. M.
Published: April 2018

The connection between specific features in the water X-ray absorption spectrum and X-ray emission spectrum (XES) and the local H-bond coordination is studied based on structures obtained from path-integral molecular dynamics simulations using either the opt-PBE-vdW density functional or the MB-pol force field. Computing the XES spectrum using all molecules in a snapshot results in only one peak in the lone-pair (1b1) region, while the experiment shows two peaks separated by 0.8-0.9 eV. Different H-bond configurations were classified based on the local structure index (LSI) and a geometrical H-bond cone criterion. We find that tetrahedrally coordinated molecules characterized by high LSI values and two strong donated and two strong accepted H-bonds contribute to the low energy 1b1 emission peak and to the post-edge region in absorption. Molecules with the asymmetric H-bond environment with one strong accepted H-bond and one strong donated H-bond and low LSI values give rise to the high energy 1b1 peak in the emission spectrum and mainly contribute to the pre-edge and main-edge in the absorption spectrum. The 1b1 peak splitting can be increased to 0.62 eV by imposing constraints on the H-bond length, i.e., for very tetrahedral structures short H-bonds (less than 2.68 Å) and for very asymmetric structures elongated H-bonds (longer than 2.8 Å). Such structures are present, but underrepresented, in the simulations which give more of an average of the two extremes.