bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter: Recent Developments
Authors: Carr Bernard , Kühnel Florian
Published: August 2020

Although the dark matter is usually assumed to be made up of some form of elementary particle, primordial black holes (PBHs) could also provide some of it. However, various constraints restrict the possible mass windows to 1016–1017 g, 1020–1024 g, and 10–103 M⊙. The last possibility is contentious but of special interest in view of the recent detection of black hole mergers by LIGO/Virgo. PBHs might have important consequences and resolve various cosmological conundra even if they account for only a small fraction of the dark matter density. In particular, those larger than 103 M⊙ could generate cosmological structures through the seed or Poisson effect, thereby alleviating some problems associated with the standard cold dark matter scenario, and sufficiently large PBHs might provide seeds for the supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei. More exotically, the Planck-mass relics of PBH evaporations or stupendously large black holes bigger than 1012 M⊙ could provide an interesting dark component.
Use of DREADD Technology to Identify Novel Targets for Antidiabetic Drugs
Authors: Wang Lei , Zhu Lu , Meister Jaroslawna , Bone Derek B.J. , Pydi Sai P. , Rossi Mario , Wess Jürgen
Published: August 2020

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) form a superfamily of plasma membrane receptors that couple to four major families of heterotrimeric G proteins, Gs, Gi, Gq, and G12. GPCRs represent excellent targets for drug therapy. Since the individual GPCRs are expressed by many different cell types, the in vivo metabolic roles of a specific GPCR expressed by a distinct cell type are not well understood. The development of designer GPCRs known as DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by a designer drug) that selectively couple to distinct classes of heterotrimeric G proteins has greatly facilitated studies in this area. This review focuses on the use of DREADD technology to explore the physiological and pathophysiological roles of distinct GPCR/G protein cascades in several metabolically important cell types. The novel insights gained from these studies should stimulate the development of GPCR-based treatments for major metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Associations between NLRC4 Gene Polymorphisms and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Authors: Liu Xuerong , Bai Xiaogang , Zhao Jing , Gao Chaoqun , Du Peng , Zhang Jin-an , Li Sheli
Published: August 2020

Background. Many studies have shown that NLRC4 inflammasome polymorphisms are associated with a variety of autoimmune diseases, but the associations between NLRC4 polymorphisms and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) are unclear. Our research was aimed at identifying the correlations between NLRC4 polymorphisms and AITDs. Methods. Hi‐SNP high‐throughput genotyping technology was used for detecting four single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of NLRC4 in 1005 AITDs patients (including 629 Graves’ disease and 376 Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) and 781 healthy controls. Results. Compared with healthy controls, the allele frequencies and genotype distribution of rs385076 were statistically related to AITDs (P = 0.016 and P = 0.048, respectively) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (P = 0.022 and P = 0.046, respectively). Before adjusting for age and gender, rs385076 and AITDs had a significant association in three models of allele model, dominant model, and homozygous model. After adjusting for age and gender, in the above three models, there is still a clear relationship between them. Before adjusting for age and gender, there were prominent discrepancy between rs385076 and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in the allele model (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.67‐0.97; P = 0.021) and the dominant model (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.57‐0.94; P = 0.014), after adjusting for age and gender, rs385076 and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis were significantly related to allele model, dominant model, and homozygous model. However, rs455060, rs212704, and rs675712 were not related to AITDs in our study. Conclusion. NLRC4 rs385076 was found to have a significant association with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis for the first time. It laid a foundation for the disclosure of the pathogenesis of AITDs, and provided a possible treatment prospect for HT.
Existence Theorems for Fractional Semilinear Integrodifferential Equations with Noninstantaneous Impulses and Delay
Authors: Zhu Bo , Zhu Minhui
Published: August 2020

In this paper, we consider a class of fractional semilinear integrodifferential equations with noninstantaneous impulses and delay. By the semigroup theory and fixed point theorems, we establish various theorems for the existence of mild solutions for the problem. An example involving partial differential equations with noninstantaneous impulses is given to show the application of our main results.
Association of c.56C > G (rs3135506) Apolipoprotein A5 Gene Polymorphism with Coronary Artery Disease in Moroccan Subjects: A Case-Control Study and an Updated Meta-Analysis
Authors: Morjane Imane , Charoute Hicham , Ouatou Sanaa , Elkhattabi Lamiae , Benrahma Houda , Saile Rachid , Rouba Hassan , Barakat Abdelhamid
Published: August 2020

Purpose. Coronary artery diseases (CAD) are clinical cardiovascular events associated with dyslipidemia in common. The interaction between environmental and genetic factors can be responsible for CAD. The present paper aimed to examine the association between c.56C > G (rs3135506) APOA5 gene polymorphism and CAD in Moroccan individuals and to perform an association update meta-analysis. Materials and Methods. The c.56C > G variant was genotyped in 122 patients with CAD and 134 unrelated controls. Genetic association analysis and comparison of biochemical parameters were performed using R statistical language. In addition, a comprehensive meta-analysis including eleven published studies in addition to our case-control study results was conducted using Review Manager 5.3. Publication bias was examined by Egger’s test and funnel plot. Results. The case-control study data showed that the c.56C > G polymorphism was associated with CAD susceptibility under codominant (P-value = 0.001), recessive (P-value <0.001) and log-additive (P-value = 0.008) inheritance models. In addition, this polymorphism was significantly associated with increased levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressures, triglycerides, glycemia, and total cholesterol. Furthermore, meta-analysis showed a significant association between the c.56C > G gene polymorphism and increased risk of CAD under recessive (OR = 3.39[1.77–6.50], P value <0.001) and homozygote codominant (OR = 3.96[2.44–6.45], P value <0.001) models. Conclusion. Our case-control study revealed a significant association between c.56C > G polymorphism and CAD in the Moroccan population. In addition, meta-analysis data supported the implication of this polymorphism in CAD susceptibility.
Performance Enhancement of Spaceborne Cooler Passive Launch and On-Orbit Vibration Isolation System
Authors: Park Yeon-Hyeok , Jo Mun-Shin , Lee Eung-Shik , Oh Hyun-Ung
Published: August 2020

A spaceborne cryogenic cooler induces undesirable microvibration disturbances during its on-orbit operation, which is one of the main sources that degrades the image quality of submeter-level high-resolution observation satellites. Several types of vibration isolation systems based on passive approaches have been developed for reducing the microvibration of the cooler. A coil-spring-type passive vibration isolation system developed in a previous study has shown excellent performance in both launch vibration and on-orbit microvibration isolation. To improve the capability of the conventional cooler isolator, including the position sensitivity and launch vibration reduction, we propose a new version of a dual coil-spring-type passive vibration isolator system. The effectiveness of the newly proposed design was validated through a microjitter measurement test, position sensitivity test, and qualification-level launch vibration test of the isolator.
Structural Stability for a Coupled System of Wave Plate Type
Authors: Shi Jincheng , Wang Ze , Chen Yuanlong
Published: August 2020

This paper focuses on the spatial properties of a coupled system of wave plate type in a two-dimensional pipe. Using the technique of differential inequality and the method of energy estimation, the effect of the coefficient λ is established.
Identification of Tumorigenic and Prognostic Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Based on microRNA Expression Profiles
Authors: Shi Yuntao , Zhuang Yingying , Zhang Jialing , Chen Mengxue , Wu Shangnong
Published: August 2020

Objective. Although noncoding RNAs, especially the microRNAs, have been found to play key roles in CRC development in intestinal tissue, the specific mechanism of these microRNAs has not been fully understood. Methods. GEO and TCGA database were used to explore the microRNA expression profiles of normal mucosa, adenoma, and carcinoma. And the differential expression genes were selected. Computationally, we built the SVM model and multivariable Cox regression model to evaluate the performance of tumorigenic microRNAs in discriminating the adenomas from normal tissues and risk prediction. Results. In this study, we identified 20 miRNA biomarkers dysregulated in the colon adenomas. The functional enrichment analysis showed that MAPK activity and MAPK cascade were highly enriched by these tumorigenic microRNAs. We also investigated the target genes of the tumorigenic microRNAs. Eleven genes, including PIGF, TPI1, KLF4, RARS, PCBP2, EIF5A, HK2, RAVER2, HMGN1, MAPK6, and NDUFA2, were identified to be frequently targeted by the tumorigenic microRNAs. The high AUC value and distinct overall survival rates between the two risk groups suggested that these tumorigenic microRNAs had the potential of diagnostic and prognostic value in CRC. Conclusions. The present study revealed possible mechanisms and pathways that may contribute to tumorigenesis of CRC, which could not only be used as CRC early detection biomarkers, but also be useful for tumorigenesis mechanism studies.
Characteristics of Direct Shear and Particle Breakage of Pebble Gravel Materials
Authors: Hong Chenjie , Huang Man , Zhang Danyu , Shou Pingshan , Zhu Zhiyong
Published: August 2020

Particle size is an important factor affecting the Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical (THM) coupling behavior of graveled rock mass, especially for the shear mechanical properties. In this study, three groups of the particle size range and nine particle grading samples are designed for a large-scale direct shear test. The relationships between shear stress and shear displacement, shear strength, stress ratio, shear strength parameters, and particle breakage of pebble gravel are analyzed. The influence of particle size range and grade on the strength and particle breakage of gravel material is discussed. Results show evident particle breakage in the process of direct shear, and the degree of fragmentation is controlled by the normal load and the particle size distribution of the sample. The shear strength of the sample is no longer applicable to Mohr-Coulomb strength theory because of particle breakage that is more in line with the power function relationship. Shear strength of pebble gravel material has scale effect, and a corresponding relationship model between friction coefficient f of material and characteristic particle size of the sample is proposed.
Theoretical and Experimental Study of the Effects of Impact Drilling Parameters on the Properties of Surrounding Rock Damage
Authors: Liu Zhi , Wu Wanrong , Hao Qianhua , Sun Peng , Ding Yuangen
Published: August 2020

Using a self-designed hydraulic impact drilling test-bed and rock core drill, six groups of cylindrical granite specimens (93 mm dia. × 200 mm) containing central axial holes formed either by impact or nonimpact drilling methods were tested in uniaxial compression to failure on an Instron 1346 universal testing machine to investigate their mechanics and damage properties. The longitudinal acoustic wave velocities were measured before testing. The rock specimens were grouped according to the method of drilling the central hole (impact load exerted by different impact power and different frequencies for an approximately identical impact power, or nonimpact drilling). In this study, a statistical constitutive damage model based on Weibull distribution was used to calculate the degree of rock damage after drilling center holes. The experimental curves were measured to analyze the damage evolution process and the radius of rock damage. These indicate that rock damage increased with the increase of impact power and decreased with increasing impact frequency at constant impact power. This was also verified by the measured longitudinal wave velocity in all rock specimens. These results have significance for guiding the design of composite rock drilling tools that are dedicated to improving rock-breaking efficiency.
Vibration Response of the Planetary Gears with a Float Sun Gear and Influences of the Dynamic Parameters
Authors: Liu Yinghui , Zhen Dong , Zhang Huibo , Zhang Hao , Shi Zhanqun , Gu Fengshou
Published: August 2020

Planetary gearboxes are widely used in mechanical transmission systems due to their large transmission ratio and high transmission efficiency. In a planetary gearbox, the sun gear is usually set to float to balance the sharing of loads among planet gears. However, this floating set will result in the variation of pressure angle, overlap ratio, and meshing phase in the meshing progress and when gear faults occur, the variation will be enlarged. In the previous studies, these parameters were reduced to constant. To study the influence of the dynamic parameters on the vibration response of planetary gearboxes under different operating conditions, a new lumped-parameter model containing the time-varying pressure angle (TVPA), time-varying overlap ratio (TVOR), and time-varying meshing phase (TVMP) is established. Based on this model, the vibration response mechanism of the sun gear is analyzed. Moreover, the comparison with the previous model is made and the rule of phase modulation caused by these dynamic parameters is revealed. By comparing the dynamic responses under different loads and rotation speeds, the phase modulation is studied in detail. Finally, the sun gear fault is introduced, and the phase modulation is analyzed in different fault degrees. This study can provide theoretical reference for the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of planetary gearbox based on vibration analysis.
Suppression of Dynamical Network Biomarker Signals at the Predisease State (Mibyou) before Metabolic Syndrome in Mice by a Traditional Japanese Medicine (Kampo Formula) Bofutsushosan
Authors: Koizumi Keiichi , Oku Makito , Hayashi Shusaku , Inujima Akiko , Shibahara Naotoshi , Chen Luonan , Igarashi Yoshiko , Tobe Kazuyuki , Saito Shigeru , Kadowaki Makoto , Aihara Kazuyuki
Published: August 2020

Due to the increasing incidence of metabolic syndrome, the development of new therapeutic strategies is urgently required. One promising approach is to focus on the predisease state (so‐called Mibyou in traditional Japanese medicine) before metabolic syndrome as a preemptive medical target. We recently succeeded in detecting a predisease state before metabolic syndrome using a mathematical theory called the dynamical network biomarker (DNB) theory. The detected predisease state was characterized by 147 DNB genes among a total of 24,217 genes in TSOD (Tsumura‐Suzuki Obese Diabetes) mice, a well‐accepted model of metabolic syndrome, at 5 weeks of age. The timing of the predisease state was much earlier than the onset of metabolic syndrome in TSOD mice reported to be at approximately 8–12 weeks of age. In the present study, we investigated whether the predisease state in TSOD mice can be inhibited by the oral administration of a Kampo formula, bofutsushosan (BTS), which is usually used to treat obese patients with metabolic syndrome in Japan, from 3 to 7 weeks of age. We found the comprehensive suppression of the early warning signals of the DNB genes by BTS at 5 weeks of age and later. Specifically, the standard deviations of 134 genes among the 147 DNB genes decreased at 5 weeks of age as compared to the nontreatment control group, and 80 of them showed more than 50% reduction. In addition, at 7 weeks of age, the body weight and blood glucose level were significantly lower in the BTS‐treated group than in the nontreatment control group. The results of our study suggest a novel mechanism of BTS; it suppressed fluctuations of the DNB genes at the predisease state before metabolic syndrome and thus prevented the subsequent transition to metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the preventive and preemptive effects of a Kampo formula on Mibyou before metabolic syndrome for the first time based on scientific evaluation.
Ticagrelor Conditioning Effects Are Not Additive to Cardioprotection Induced by Direct NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibition: Role of RISK, NLRP3, and Redox Cascades
Authors: Penna Claudia , Aragno Manuela , Cento Alessia Sofia , Femminò Saveria , Russo Isabella , Bello Federica Dal , Chiazza Fausto , Collotta Debora , Alves Gustavo Ferreira , Bertinaria Massimo , Zicola Elisa , Mercurio Valentina , Medana Claudio , Collino Massimo , Pagliaro Pasquale
Published: August 2020

Inhibition of either P2Y12 receptor or the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain- (NOD-) like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome provides cardioprotective effects. Here, we investigate whether direct NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition exerts additive effects on myocardial protection induced by the P2Y12 receptor antagonist Ticagrelor. Ticagrelor (150 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats for three consecutive days. Then, isolated hearts underwent an ischemia/reperfusion (30 min ischemia/60 min reperfusion; IR) protocol. The selective NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor INF (50 μM) was infused before the IR protocol to the hearts from untreated animals or pretreated with Ticagrelor. In parallel experiments, the hearts isolated from untreated animals were perfused with Ticagrelor (3.70 μM) before ischemia and subjected to IR. The hearts of animals pretreated with Ticagrelor showed a significantly reduced infarct size (IS, 49±3% of area at risk, AAR) when compared to control IR group (69±2% of AAR). Similarly, ex vivo administration of INF before the IR injury resulted in significant IS reduction (38±3% of AAR). Myocardial IR induced the NLRP3 inflammasome complex formation, which was attenuated by either INF pretreatment ex vivo, or by repeated oral treatment with Ticagrelor. The beneficial effects induced by either treatment were associated with the protective Reperfusion Injury Salvage Kinase (RISK) pathway activation and redox defence upregulation. In contrast, no protective effects nor NLRP3/RISK modulation were recorded when Ticagrelor was administered before ischemia in isolated heart, indicating that Ticagrelor direct target is not in the myocardium. Our results confirm that Ticagrelor conditioning effects are likely mediated through platelets, but are not additives to the ones achieved by directly inhibiting NLRP3.
Predicting Cancer Evolution Using Cell State Dynamics
Authors: Kuijjer Marieke L.
Published: August 2020

One of the biggest challenges in cancer is predicting its initiation and course of progression. In this issue of Cancer Research, Rockne and colleagues use state transition theory to predict how peripheral mononuclear blood cells in mice transition from a healthy state to acute myeloid leukemia. They found that critical transcriptomic perturbations could predict initiation and progression of the disease. This is an important step toward accurately predicting cancer evolution, which may eventually facilitate early diagnosis of cancer and disease recurrence, and which could potentially inform on timing of therapeutic interventions.

See related article by Rockne et al., 3157
RNF8 Promotes Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Lung Cancer Cells via Stabilization of Slug
Authors: Kuang Jingyu , Min Lu , Liu Chuanyang , Chen Si , Gao Changsong , Ma Jiaxin , Wu Xiaomin , Li Wenying , Wu Lei , Zhu Lingyun
Published: August 2020

RNF8 (ring finger protein 8), a RING finger E3 ligase best characterized for its role in DNA repair and sperm formation via ubiquitination, has been found to promote tumor metastasis in breast cancer recently. However, whether RNF8 also plays a role in other types of cancer, especially in lung cancer, remains unknown. We show here that RNF8 expression levels are markedly increased in human lung cancer tissues and negatively correlated with the survival time of patients. Overexpression of RNF8 promotes the EMT process and migration ability of lung cancer cells, while knockdown of RNF8 demonstrates the opposite effects. In addition, overexpression of RNF8 activates the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, knockdown of RNF8 by siRNA inhibits this activation, and pharmacologic inhibition of PI3K/Akt in RNF8-overexpressing cells also reduces the expression of EMT markers and the ability of migration. Furthermore, RNF8 is found to directly interact with Slug and promoted the K63-Ub of Slug, and knockdown of Slug disrupts RNF8-dependent EMT in A549 cells, whereas overexpression of Slug rescues RNF8-dependent MET in H1299 cells, and depletion of RNF8 expression by shRNA inhibits metastasis of lung cancer cells in vivo. Taken together, these results indicate that RNF8 is a key regulator of EMT process in lung cancer and suggest that inhibition of RNF8 could be a useful strategy for lung cancer treatment.

Implications:

This study provides a new mechanistic insight into the novel role of RNF8 and identifies RNF8 as a potential new therapeutic target for the treatment of lung cancer.
Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Axis Is Required for TFEB-Mediated Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition
Authors: Li Shuxuan , Liu Fenglin , Xu Ling , Li Can , Yang Xu , Guo Bao , Gu Jianxin , Wang Lan
Published: August 2020

Gastric cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer-related death, and tumor metastasis is the main risk factor for poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Transcription factor EB (TFEB) is a MiT family member and has been found to drive tumorigenesis in a number of tissues, whereas few studies were focused on investigating its prometastasis role and mechanism in gastric cancer. Here, we found TFEB was upregulated in gastric cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal gastric epithelial tissues. IHC analysis from gastric cancer tissue microarray revealed that TFEB in gastric cancer was correlated with depth of tumor invasion, lymph node or distant metastasis, tumor tumor–node–metastasis stage, and overall survival. Gastric cancer cells with TFEB overexpression presented an increased cell migration or invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, gene correlation analysis and gene set enrichment analysis enriched Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway members in TFEB high-expression group, and the TOP/FOPflash assay verified the effect of TFEB on β-catenin transcription activity. Besides, we found that TFEB could trigger the aggregation of β-catenin in nucleus and activate its transcription, as well as facilitate the expression of Wnt/β-catenin target genes and EMT-related markers, which could be reversed by the Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor XAV-939. Collectively, TFEB enhances gastric cancer metastatic potential by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and may become a promising therapeutic target for gastric cancer metastasis.

Implications:

Overexpressed TFEB predicts a higher rate of metastasis and worse survival in patients with gastric cancer. Mechanistically, TFEB activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling to fuel migratory and invasive activities of gastric cancer cells, as well as EMT.
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Small T Antigen Activates Noncanonical NF-κB Signaling to Promote Tumorigenesis
Authors: Zhao Jiawei , Jia Yuemeng , Shen Shunli , Kim Jiwoong , Wang Xun , Lee Eunice , Brownell Isaac , Cho-Vega Jeong Hee , Lewis Cheryl , Homsi Jade , Sharma Rohit R. , Wang Richard C.
Published: August 2020

Multiple human polyomaviruses (HPyV) can infect the skin, but only Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) has been implicated in the development of a cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). While expression of HPyV6, HPyV7, and MCPyV small T antigens (sT), all induced a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), MCPyV sT uniquely activated noncanonical NF-κB (ncNF-κB), instead of canonical NF-κB signaling, to evade p53-mediated cellular senescence. Through its large T stabilization domain, MCPyV sT activated ncNF-κB signaling both by inducing H3K4 trimethylation-mediated increases of NFKB2 and RELB transcription and also by promoting NFKB2 stabilization and activation through FBXW7 inhibition. Noncanonical NF-κB signaling was required for SASP cytokine secretion, which promoted the proliferation of MCPyV sT–expressing cells through autocrine signaling. Virus-positive MCC cell lines and tumors showed ncNF-κB pathway activation and SASP gene expression, and the inhibition of ncNF-κB signaling prevented VP-MCC cell growth in vitro and in xenografts. We identify MCPyV sT–induced ncNF-κB signaling as an essential tumorigenic pathway in MCC.

Implications:

This work is the first to identify the activation of ncNF-κB signaling by any polyomavirus and its critical role in MCC tumorigenesis.
Design and implementation of HDL remote controller for smart home system
Authors: H. Hamzah I. , Z. Suhaimi M. S. , A. Malik A. , A. Rahim A. F.
Published: August 2020

This work presents a design and development of a remote controller application using an Altera DE2-115 board. A remote controller lighting provides smart technologies make it viable to monitor, control and support users in which can enhance the quality life and promote independent living. Nowadays, to turn on the electrical devices, a user will go to the located switch. It is difficult and required more time to switch on the devices instead of staying at certain location while controlling the switching mode of the devices. Implementing this system, users do not need to have numerous switches in their home to turn on the lights as they can do this digitally from a switchless control located in one place or using a remote controller. The Altera board is built with eighteen slide switches which act as inputs and at the same time it will display the outputs on seven segments, LEDs and LCD display character. As a conclusion, the remote controller lighting system provides convenience and energy efficiency in order to allow the users to control the lighting system using smart devices. 
An evaluation of the accelerometer output as a motion artifact signal during photoplethysmograph signal processing control
Authors: Abbas Hasan Muhideen , Naif Thiyab Munther , S. Keream Settar , H, Salaman Uzba , W. Abid Kaleid
Published: August 2020

Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors are widely used in medical applications due to their attractive properties such as non-invasiveness, inexpensive, and easy setup. However, they are still inefficient in non-stationary states of important measurements related to cardiovascular assessment.  Adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) has existed as a kind of technique to address this issue. Unfortunately, the traditional 3-Axis Accelerometer (ACC) in ANC implementation has failed to provide the real motion artifact (MA) as the main factor for efficient adaptive filtering. In this work, the performance of ACC will be investigated and compared with a new twin photodiodes PPG probe design (TPs-PPD) that has been proven in previous work. The TPs-PPD contained an added covered photodiode (CPD) customized to obtain the MA instead of classic use of ACC. During different motions, PPG data were recorded and processed at the same time by the same two units of adaptive filters using ACC and CPD as noise references. The results indicated a clear failure of the ACC compared to the CPD in determining important features of PPG signal, in addition to the accuracy of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and mean square error (MSE). The CPD was better than ACC as it reduced the MSE by 14 times while the SNR was multiplied 10 times. Without any doubt, it has been proven with evidence that the ACC is not suitable for the processing of human health-related signals while PPG can be used for such purposes.
Classification of seizure and seizure free EEG signals using optimal mother wavelet and relative power
Authors: Salankar Nilima , B. Nemade Sangita , P. Gaikwad Varsha
Published: August 2020

This paper presents an approach for the selection of mother wavelet for classification of EEG epilepsy signals .Wavelet transform is very popular for analyzing signals in time and frequency domain. But as there are various wavelet families exist and not a one fits to all, in this study author have experimented with 51 wavelets from six different families Haar(haar), Daubechies(Db), Symlet(Sym), Coiflets(Coif), Biorthogonal(Bior) and Discrete Meyer(Dmey). Optimal mother wavelet is selected on the basis of highest correlation between input signal and reconstructed signal. With Discrete wavelet transform four levels of decomposition have been used to create the five EEG rhythms delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma. Five features kurtosis, skew, mean, standard deviation and relative power have been extracted from each decomposed level by using the optimal mother wavelet. Statistical significance of the extracted features has been computed by Mann Whitney U test with significance level p<0.05 and statistical parameters sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for performance evaluation of the classifier have been computed. Results shown that out of six experimented wavelet families, five families with eight wavelets have qualified the correlation test.  Out of five extracted feature relative power is more statistically significant for all type of classification and all EEG bands .Classifier used is support vector machine and accuracy of classifier lies in the range of 74% to 100 % for 14 classifications between different subsets.
Smart urban farming service model with IoT based open platform
Authors: Suk Oh Am
Published: August 2020

Smart and efficient agricultural production or smart farming using IoT sensors, big-data and cloud service has proven its value for a decade but the effect depends on the agricultural environment of the country or society. In Korea, the population of urban farmers who utilizes small, possibly shared area in farming. Urban farming uses rooftop of the building or even indoor for cropping and many urban farmers may not have sufficient professional farming experiences. However, with information technology like cloud service, many critical farming process can be automated and requires minimal human intervention in monitoring and controlling sensors. In this paper, we propose a smart urban farming model which modifies TTA smart greenhouse standard such that cloud service us integrated with IoT sensors. The hardware design of integrated controller and subsequent software services are specified. This new model can be used to enhance smart urban farming which is one of top 10 agricultural policy of the government.
Experiments on city train vibration anomaly detection Using deep learning approaches
Authors: Kim Taehee , Ro Cheolwoo , Suh Kiho
Published: August 2020

Anomaly detection is widely in demand in the field where automated detection of anomalous conditions in many observation tasks. While conventional data science approaches have shown interesting results, deep learning approaches to anomaly detection problems reveal new perspectives of possibilities especially where massive amount of data need to be handled. We develop anomaly detection applications on city train vibration data using deep learning approaches. We carried out preliminary research on anomaly detection in general and applied our real world data to existing solutions. In this paper, we provide a survey on anomaly detection and analyse our results of experiments using deep learning approaches.
Assisted learning of C programming through automated program repair and feed-back generation
Authors: Mernissi Arifi Sara , Ben Abbou Rachid , Zahi Azeddine
Published: August 2020

Programming courses are among all the current academic curricula for engineering studies. Unfortunately, students often face difficulties already on the basic concepts. Both students and teachers believe that practical sessions and guided learning lead to good outcomes. On the other hand, it is virtually difficult considering the number of students enrolled on programming courses. This paper presents an automated assessment system for programming assignments, based on two different methods: static and dynamic analysis. The presented system aims at providing the student with an ongoing and various feedback delivered according to the category and the recurrence of errors. The system imbeds an automated error repairing feature for the purposes of insuring the assessment process achievement. It operates if the student fails to submit a correct program despite the feed-back provided by the system. In such cases, the system uses a penalty mechanism, customized by the teacher to grade the student’s program. Testing the presented automated system, through assessing real students’ assignments, showed promising results compared to manual assessment.
IOT-Based smart street lighting enhances energy conservation
Authors: Mohd Yusoff Zakiah , Muhammad Zuraida , Mohd Razi Mohd Syafiq Izwan , Razali Noor Fadzilah , Hashim Muhd Hussaini Che
Published: August 2020

The electricity generation cost is escalating every year while the electric energy is indispensable and increasing in demand. The resources for energy generation is also depleting due to the increasing demand of power. Thus, a system that can reduce the energy wastage and the massive expenses is essential. Street light system is one of the systems that can reduce energy consumption. The massive energy consumption from the current street light system is not efficient enough to reduce the wasted energy. By implementing an IOT-based smart street light system, the power consumption of the street light will be optimized. This system will also provide the ability to monitor input voltage for Arduino MEGA 2560 microcontroller and control the street light through IOT. The concept of this smart system is to introduce an intelligent system which can decide to switch on or off the street light according to the movement detection by using an infrared sensor module. The data will be sent to Arduino Mega 2560, which is a microcontroller that will decide to turn on or off the street light. The Wi-Fi module ESP-01 is implemented to enable the microcontroller to connect to Blynk software for monitoring and controlling purpose. The result shows that the smart street light system is expected to reduce energy consumption up to 45.48% on weekdays and 32.22% on weekends from the present street light system which uses timer system. The IOT-based Smart Street Light system also shows the condition of the street light system based on the Blynk interfaces for maintenance purpose.
Optimal short-term hydro-thermal scheduling using multi-function global particle swarm optimization
Authors: Salkuti Surender Reddy
Published: August 2020

An optimal short-term hydro-thermal scheduling (ST-HTS) problem is solved in this paper using the multi-function global particle swarm optimization (MF-GPSO). A multi-reservoir cascaded hydro-electric system with a non-linear relationship between water discharge rate, power generation and net head is considered in this paper. The ST-HTS problem determines the optimal power generation of hydro and thermal generators which is aimed to minimize total fuel cost of thermal power plants during a determined time period. Effects of valve point loading and prohibited operating zones in the fuel cost function of the thermal power plants is examined. Power balance, reservoir volume, water balance and operation constraints of hydro and thermal plants are considered. The effectiveness and feasibility of MF-GPSO algorithm is examined on a standard test system, and the simulation results are compared with other algorithms presented in the literature. The results show that the MF-GPSO algorithm appears to be the best in terms of convergence speed and optimal cost compared with other techniques reported in the literature.
Economical fabrication of graphite/paper-based humidity sensor
Authors: Elangkovan Shuthish , Zainal Abidin Mastura Shafinaz , Abd Rahman Shaharin Fadzli , Che Soh Mohammad Shafiq , Md Rashid Ahmad Bukhairi
Published: August 2020

Paper is regarded as a promising alternative for low-cost and biodegradable substrate. Paper can be a very good humidity detecting substrate due to its capability to absorb water vapour, thanks to its porous surface. This work explores the feasibility of developing a paper-based humidity sensor using simple and low cost fabrication process. Two type of electrode structures, namely interdigitated and parallel electrode, were formed by using two different pencil grade. The pencil grades used were 2B and 6B. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the fabricated device were measured under different relative humidity and its humidity sensing operation was analyzed. It was observed that the sensor with the 6B and parallel electrode configuration was the most responsive to humidity changes while the 6B interdigitated sensor was the second best. The sensors fabricated with the 6B electrodes are better at sensing humidity changes compared to the sensors fabricated using 2B electrodes.
Design and simulation of rotated hexagonal porous core photonic crystal fibre with improved effective material loss and dispersion properties
Authors: Kabir Yakasai Izaddeen , Emeroylariffion Abas Pg. , Hj Shamsuddin Norazanita , Begum Feroza
Published: August 2020

A thorough modal characterization, centred on the full vectorial finite element method (FEM) has been used to model and numerically investigate a porous core photonic crystal fibre (PC-PCF), which may potentially be integrated into Terahertz (1012 Hz) compact systems. The proposed fibre consists of a rotated hexagonal core surrounded by a conventional hexagonal cladding. It has been shown that effective material loss (EML), core power fraction and dispersion profile are 0.019 cm-1, 51.7% and 0.5 ± 0.04 ps/THz/cm within 1 THz bandwidth, respectively. Based on simulated results and noncomplex design, it is envisaged that the proposed fibre can be realised for industrial THz applications. 
Forecasting for smart energy: an accurate and effificient negative binomial additive model
Authors: Daraghmi Yousef-Awwad , Yaser Daraghmi Eman , Daadoo Motaz , Alsaadi Samer
Published: August 2020

Smart energy requires accurate and effificient short-term electric load forecasting to enable effificient

energy management and active real-time power control. Forecasting accuracy is inflfluenced by the char

acteristics of electrical load particularly overdispersion, nonlinearity, autocorrelation and seasonal patterns.

Although several fundamental forecasting methods have been proposed, accurate and effificient forecasting

methods that can consider all electric load characteristics are still needed. Therefore, we propose a novel

model for short-term electric load forecasting. The model adopts the negative binomial additive models

(NBAM) for handling overdispersion and capturing the nonlinearity of electric load. To address the season

ality, the daily load pattern is classifified into high, moderate, and low seasons, and the autocorrelation of

load is modeled separately in each season. We also consider the effificiency of forecasting since the NBAM

captures the behavior of predictors by smooth functions that are estimated via a scoring algorithm which has

low computational demand. The proposed NBAM is applied to real-world data set from Jericho city, and its

accuracy and effificiency outperform those of the other models used in this context.
Technology in Indian agriculture - a review
Authors: Upendra R S , Umesh I M , Ravi Varma R B , Basavaprasad B
Published: August 2020

Optimization of agricultural practices for enhanced crop yield is considered to be essential phenomena for the countries like India. In order to strengthen the economy and also to meet the food demand for the exponentially growing population, optimizing the agricultural practices has become necessity. In India, weather and geographical conditions are highly variable and were thought to be the major bottleneck of agricultural practices to achieve improved crop yield. Agricultural practices in India are facing many challenges such as change in climatic conditions, different geographical environment, conventional agricultural practices; economic and political scenario. Economic loss due to the lack of information on crop yield productivity is another major concern in the country. These hurdles can be overcome by the implementation of advanced technology in agriculture. Some of the trends observed are smart farming, digital agriculture and Big Data Analytics which provide useful information regarding various crop yields influencing factors and predicting the accurate amounts of crop yield. The exact prediction of crop yield helps formers to develop a suitable cultivation plan, crop health monitoring system, management of crop yield efficiently and also to establish the business strategy in order to decrease economic losses. This also makes the agricultural practices as one of the highly profitable venture. This paper presents insights on the various applications of technology advancements in agriculture such as Digital Agriculture, Smart Farming or Internet of Agriculture Technology (IoAT), Precision Agriculture, Crop Management, Weed and Pest control, Crop protection and Big data analytics.
Performance of double chamber microbial fuel cell: effect of waste water, electrode thickness and distance
Authors: Khamis Aziah , Nordin Nur Diana , Mokhtar Mohamad Hafiszi
Published: August 2020

This paper presents the performance evaluation of a double chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) to obtain the maximum amount of power production. Previous works have shown that the performance of a double chamber MFC varies depending on the design of the MFC and the type of waste water. Therefore, various MFC tests were conducted to obtain the maximum amount of power production by varying the distance of electrodes and thickness of the electrode. The types of water were also varied (i.e., fertilizer water, lake water, and soil water) to highlight the effect of the expected different amount of microbes. The experimental results demonstrated that the thicker anode (0.6 cm) and the shorter distances between electrodes (15 cm) showed higher amount of power production in all the three types of waste water. Furthermore, the fertilizer water generated a higher amount of power compared to the soil and lake water.
Design of very low-voltages and high-performance CMOS gate-driven operational amplifier
Authors: AL-Qaysi Hayder Khaleel , Mohammed Jasim Musaab , Manhal Hameed Siraj
Published: August 2020

This paper presents the description and analysis of the design and HSPICE-based simulation results of very low-voltages (LVs) power supplies and high-performance specifications CMOS gate-driven (GD) operational amplifier (Op-Amp) circuit. The very LVs CMOS GD Op-Amp circuit designed using 90nm CMOS technology parameters and the folded cascode (FC) technique employed in the differential input stage. The HSPICE simulation results demonstrate that the overall gain is 73.1dB, the unity gain bandwidth is 14.9MHz, the phase margin is , the total power dissipation is 0.91mW, the output voltage swing is from 0.95V to 1V, the common-mode rejection ratio is dB, the equivalent input-referred noise voltage is 50.94  at 1MHz, the positive slew rate is 11.37 , the negative slew rate is 11.39 , the settling time is 137 , the positive power-supply rejection ratio is 74.2dB, and the negative power-supply rejection ratio is 80.1dB. The comparisons of simulation results at 1V and 0.814V power supplies’ voltages of the very LVs CMOS GD Op-Amp circuit demonstrate that the circuit functions with perfect performance specifications, and it is suitable for many considerable applications intended for very LVs CMOS Op-Amp circuits.
Implementation of the electronic sector of the satellite camera and image contrast enhancement
Authors: Zarie Majid , Khalilpour Jafar , Sadeghi Almaloo Farhad
Published: August 2020

The purpose of this paper is to design and implement the electronic sector of satellite camera on the basis of systematic calculations as well as presenting the general and detailed block diagram. The main parts of the designed camera consist of four units named “optics, detector, processors, and memory” that can work in one of three modes: real-time, storage and storage-send. Verification of the simulation and practical results are shown completely by receiving images.  According to the conditions of the satellite imaging, in most cases, there is a need to improve the image quality. A very important feature in the satellite images is contrast enhancement. In the following, a powerful contrast enhancement algorithm is proposed based on histogram equalization method called the “entropy-based triple dynamic clipped histogram equalization” (ETDCHE). One of the strengths of this paper is using images with diverse variations in brightness. Such that by producing clear images and by preserving maximum details this overcomes the adverse lighting conditions and leads to natural enhancement of the output images. Also, the performance assessment of the proposed method in terms of the average information content reflects the considerable superiority of the proposed algorithm compared to the previously presented methods based on histogram equalization.
A t-shaped partial ground microstrip patch antenna based UHF sensor for partial discharge detection
Authors: Adriana Azhar Nayli , Mohd Aripin Norazizah , Chin Hock Goh , Ferdous Nayla , Hamidah Saidatul
Published: August 2020

Continuous partial discharge (PD) monitoring and early PD detection is important in making sure the necessary preventative measures can be taken accordingly. This paper proposed a T-shaped partial ground microstrip patch antenna that is able to detect PD signal within the UHF range. The antenna was designed and simulated using CST Microwave Studio. The antenna was then fabricated using FR4 substrate material and tested for reception test. The simulation results and the analysis from the fabricated antenna confirmed that the proposed antenna able to detect PD signal at UHF range (specifically at about 500 MHz) and fulfilled the design requirements in terms of the return loss, VSWR, bandwidth and gain. Reception test had confirmed that the proposed antenna was able to detect PD signals that are located at maximum distance, ranges from 37 cm to 70 cm (depending on the PD signal strength). The proposed antenna also had succesfully detected PD occurances at 300 MHz to 700 MHz. In conclusion, the proposed T-shaped partial ground microstrip patch antenna had been successfully designed and able to detect PD signal emitted in the UHF range.