bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ketogenic Diet and microRNAs Linked to Antioxidant Biochemical Homeostasis
Authors: Cannataro Roberto , Caroleo Maria Cristina , Fazio Alessia , La Torre Chiara , Plastina Pierluigi , Gallelli Luca , Lauria Graziantonio , Cione Erika
Published: August 2019

Recently, we demonstrated the capability of the ketogenic diet (KD) to influence the microRNA (miR) expression profile. Here, we report that KD is able to normalize miR expression in obese subjects when compared with lean subjects. By applying two different bioinformatics tools, we found that, amongst the miRs returning to comparable levels in lean subjects, four of them are linked to antioxidant biochemical pathways specifically, and the others are linked to both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory biochemical pathways. Of particular interest is the upregulation of hsa-miR-30a-5p, which correlates with the decrease of catalase expression protein in red blood cells.
Inhibition of LPS-Induced Oxidative Damages and Potential Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Phyllanthus emblica Extract via Down-Regulating NF-κB, COX-2, and iNOS in RAW 264.7 Cells
Authors: Wang Hui Min-David , Fu Ling , Cheng Chia Chi , Gao Rong , Lin Meng Yi , Su Hong Lin , Belinda Nathania Earlene , Nguyen Thi Hiep , Lin Wen-Hung , Lee Po Chun , Hsieh Liang Po
Published: August 2019

Phyllanthus emblica is an edible nutraceutical and functional food in the Asia area with medicinal and nutritive importance. The fruit extract of P. emblica is currently considered to be one of the effective functional foods for flesh maintenance and disease treatments because of its antioxidative and immunomodulatory properties. We examined the antioxidant abilities of the fruit extract powder by carrying out 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, iron reducing power, and metal chelating activity analysis and showed excellent antioxidative results. In 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, the result showed that the samples had no cytotoxic effect on RAW 264.7 cells even at a high concentration of 2 mg/mL. To investigate its immunomodulatory function, our estimation was to treat it with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 cells to present anti-inflammatory capacities. The extract decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production levels in a dose-dependent manner measured by flow cytometry. We also examined various inflammatory mRNAs and proteins, including nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). In quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting assay, all three targets were decreased by the extract, also in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, P. emblica fruit extract powder not only lessened antioxidative stress damages, but also inhibited inflammatory reactions.
RSS-Fingerprint Dimensionality Reduction for Multiple Service Set Identifier-Based Indoor Positioning Systems
Authors: Abed Ahmed , Abdel-Qader Ikhlas
Published: August 2019

Indoor positioning systems (IPS) have been recently adopted by many researchers for their broad applications in various Internet of Things (IoT) fields such as logistics, health, construction industries, and security. Received Signal Strength (RSS)-based fingerprinting approaches have been widely used for positioning inside buildings because they have a distinct advantage of low cost over other indoor positioning techniques. The signal power RSS is a function of the distance between the Mobile System (MS) and Access Point (AP), which varies due to the multipath propagation phenomenon and human body blockage. Furthermore, fingerprinting approaches have several disadvantages such as labor cost, diversity (in signals and environment), and computational cost. Eliminating redundancy by ruling out non-informative APs not only reduces the computation time, but also improves the performance of IPS. In this article, we propose a dimensionality reduction technique in a multiple service set identifier-based indoor positioning system with Multiple Service Set Identifiers (MSSIDs), which means that each AP can be configured to transmit N signals instead of one signal, to serve different kinds of clients simultaneously. Therefore, we investigated various kinds of approaches for the selection of informative APs such as spatial variance, strongest APs, and random selection. These approaches were tested using two clustering techniques including K-means and Fuzzy C-means. Performance evaluation was focused on two elements, the number of informative APs versus the accuracy of the proposed system. To assess the proposed system, real data was acquired from within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) at the Western Michigan University (WMU) building. The results exhibit the superiority of fused Multiple Service Set Identifiers (MSSID) performance over the single SSID. Moreover, the results report that the proposed system achieves a positioning accuracy <0.85 m over 3000 m2, with an accumulative density function (CDF) of 88% with a distance error of 2 m.
A Hybrid Two-Phase Recommendation for Group-Buying E-commerce Applications
Authors: Bai Li , Hu Mi , Ma Yunlong , Liu Min
Published: August 2019

The last two decades have witnessed an explosive growth of e-commerce applications. Existing online recommendation systems for e-commerce applications, particularly group-buying applications, suffer from scalability and data sparsity problems when confronted with exponentially increasing large-scale data. This leads to a poor recommendation effect of traditional collaborative filtering (CF) methods in group-buying applications. In order to address this challenge, this paper proposes a hybrid two-phase recommendation (HTPR) method which consists of offline preparation and online recommendation, combining clustering and collaborative filtering techniques. The user-item category tendency matrix is constructed after clustering items, and then users are clustered to facilitate personalized recommendation where items are generated by collaborative filtering technology. In addition, a parallelized strategy was developed to optimize the recommendation process. Extensive experiments on a real-world dataset were conducted by comparing HTPR with other three recommendation methods: traditional CF, user-clustering based CF, and item-clustering based CF. The experimental results show that the proposed HTPR method is effective and can improve the accuracy of online recommendation systems for group-buying applications.
Contracts, Business Models and Barriers to Investing in Low Temperature District Heating Projects
Authors: Lygnerud Kristina , Wheatcroft Edward , Wynn Henry
Published: August 2019

Approximately 1.2 EJ of energy are potentially available for recovery each year from urban heat sources in the EU. This corresponds to more than 10 percent of the EU’s total energy demand for heat and hot water. There are, however, a number of challenges to be met before urban waste heat recovery can be performed on a wide scale. This paper focuses on the non-technical issues related to urban waste heat recovery and is written on the basis of opinions gathered from stakeholders in the field. Three non-technical issues are focused upon. First, a number of important barriers to wide scale urban waste recovery are identified, and where applicable, recommendations are made regarding how to overcome these barriers. Second, important issues and challenges regarding contract design are identified and discussed. Key elements of heat supply contracts between the district heating company and the owner of the waste heat are described. Finally, the impact on business models of properties specific to urban waste heat recovery are discussed. Data were collected from two separate sources, both related to the ReUseHeat Horizon 2020 project, which addresses the application of urban waste heat recovery in existing district heating networks. First, a number of interviews with stakeholders were carried out. Second, information was collected from demonstrator sites involved in the ReUseHeat project. It was concluded that, for urban waste heat recovery to be taken up on a wide scale, there is still a large amount of work to do to overcome these major issues. This paper is novel in that key non-technical issues of urban waste heat recovery are discussed from the perspective of a large sample of actual stakeholders and practitioners in the field.
AUV Adaptive Sampling Methods: A Review
Authors: Hwang Jimin , Bose Neil , Fan Shuangshuang
Published: August 2019

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are unmanned marine robots that have been used for a broad range of oceanographic missions. They are programmed to perform at various levels of autonomy, including autonomous behaviours and intelligent behaviours. Adaptive sampling is one class of intelligent behaviour that allows the vehicle to autonomously make decisions during a mission in response to environment changes and vehicle state changes. Having a closed-loop control architecture, an AUV can perceive the environment, interpret the data and take follow-up measures. Thus, the mission plan can be modified, sampling criteria can be adjusted, and target features can be traced. This paper presents an overview of existing adaptive sampling techniques. Included are adaptive mission uses and underlying methods for perception, interpretation and reaction to underwater phenomena in AUV operations. The potential for future research in adaptive missions is discussed.
AR Displays: Next-Generation Technologies to Solve the Vergence–Accommodation Conflict
Authors: Zabels Roberts , Osmanis Krišs , Narels Mārtiņš , Gertners Uģis , Ozols Ainārs , Rūtenbergs Kārlis , Osmanis Ilmārs
Published: August 2019

Augmenting reality (AR) holds many benefits in how people perceive information and use it in their workflow or leisure activities. A cohesive AR experience has many components; nevertheless, the key is display technologies. The current industry standard for the core solution is still conventional stereoscopy, which has proven to be inadequate for near-work due to the caused vergence–accommodation conflict and the inability to precisely overlay the 3D content on the real world. To overcome this, next-generation technologies have been proposed. While the holographic method holds the highest potential of being the ultimate solution, its current level of maturity is not sufficient to yield a practical product. Consequently, the next solution for near-work-capable AR displays will be of another type. LightSpace Technologies have developed a static multifocal display architecture based on stacked liquid crystal-based optical diffuser elements and a synchronized high-refresh rate image projector. A stream of 2D image depth planes comprising a 3D scene is projected onto respective physically-separated diffuser elements, causing the viewer to perceive a scene as continuous and having all relevant physical as well as psychological depth cues. A system with six image depth planes yielding 6 cpd resolution and 72° horizontal field-of-view has been demonstrated to provide perceptually continuous accommodation over 3.2 Diopter range. A further optimization by using a conventional image combiner resulted in the compact and practical design of the AR display.
Design and Validation of a Self-Driven Joint Model for Articulated Arm Coordinate Measuring Machines
Authors: Hu Yi , Huang Wei , Hu Peng-Hao , Liu Wen-Wen , Ye Bing
Published: August 2019

Articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (AACMMs) have been developed and applied in industrial measurement fields for more than 30 years. Manual operation is typically required during measurement, which introduces uncertain influences, such as fluctuation of measurement force, speed, and acceleration, and leads to poor reliability and reproducibility. In this paper, a novel self-driven joint model is proposed to realize automatic measurement for AACMMs. A self-driven joint is designed by combining the joint of an AACMM with a robotic arm to realize automatic rotation. A self-driven AACMM is designed using three rolling joints and three pitching joints with assigned parameters. A virtual prototype of the self-driven AACMM is established using the Adams software to simulate the driving moment of each joint. The simulation results demonstrate that the designed mechanical structure and selected devices can meet the preset requirements. Additionally, based on the proposed model, a single physical joint is developed and assembled for performance testing. Experimental results demonstrate that the model can achieve a repeatability of 1.39″ (k = 2) when the rotational velocity is less than 1.53 rad/s. Therefore, the proposed design is suitable for use in AACMMs.
Improved Distributed Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (MVDR) Beamforming Method Based on a Local Average Consensus Algorithm for Bird Audio Enhancement in Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks
Authors: Xie Jiangjian , Li Xingguang , Xing Zhaoliang , Zhang Bowen , Bao Weidong , Zhang Junguo
Published: August 2019

Currently, wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASN) are commonly used for wild bird monitoring. To better realize the automatic identification of birds during monitoring, the enhancement of bird audio is essential in nature. Currently, distributed beamformer is the most suitable method for bird audio enhancement of WASN. However, there are still several disadvantages of this method, such as large noise residue and slow convergence rate. To overcome these shortcomings, an improved distributed minimum variance distortionless response (IDMVDR) beamforming method for bird audio enhancement in WASN is proposed in this paper. In this method, the average metropolis weight local average consensus algorithm is first introduced to increase the consensus convergence rate, then a continuous spectrum update algorithm is proposed to estimate the noise power spectral density (PSD) to improve the noise reduction performance. Lastly, an MVDR beamformer is introduced to enhance the bird audio. Four different network topologies of the WASNs were considered, and the bird audio enhancement was performed on these WASNs to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with two classical methods, the results show that the Segmental signal to noise ratio (SegSNR), mean square error (MSE), and perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) obtained by the proposed method are better and the consensus rate is faster, which means that the proposed method performs better in audio quality and convergence rate, and therefore it is suitable for WASN with dynamic topology.
Why Use a Fuzzy Partition in F-Transform?
Authors: Kreinovich Vladik , Kosheleva Olga , Sriboonchitta Songsak
Published: August 2019

In many application problems, F-transform algorithms are very efficient. In F-transform techniques, we replace the original signal or image with a finite number of weighted averages. The use of a weighted average can be naturally explained, e.g., by the fact that this is what we get anyway when we measure the signal. However, most successful applications of F-transform have an additional not-so-easy-to-explain feature: the fuzzy partition requirement that the sum of all the related weighting functions is a constant. In this paper, we show that this seemingly difficult-to-explain requirement can also be naturally explained in signal-measurement terms: namely, this requirement can be derived from the natural desire to have all the signal values at different moments of time estimated with the same accuracy. This explanation is the main contribution of this paper.
Hypoxylonol F Isolated from Annulohypoxylon annulatum Improves Insulin Secretion by Regulating Pancreatic β-cell Metabolism
Authors: Lee Dahae , Hwang Buyng Su , Choi Pilju , Kim Taejung , Kim Youngseok , Song Bong Geun , Yamabe Noriko , Hwang Gwi Seo , Kang Ki Sung , Ham Jungyeob
Published: August 2019

Insulin plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and is hence used to treat hyperglycemia, the main characteristic of diabetes mellitus. Annulohypoxylon annulatum is an inedible ball-shaped wood-rotting fungus, and hypoxylon F is one of the major compounds of A. annulatum. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of hypoxylonol F isolated from A. annulatum on insulin secretion in INS-1 pancreatic β-cells and demonstrate the molecular mechanisms involved. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) values were evaluated using a rat insulin ELISA kit. Moreover, the expression of proteins related to pancreatic β-cell metabolism and insulin secretion was evaluated using Western blotting. Hypoxylonol F isolated from A. annulatum was found to significantly enhance glucose-stimulated insulin secretion without inducing cytotoxicity. Additionally, hypoxylonol F enhanced insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2) levels and activated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway. Interestingly, it also modulated the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX-1). Our findings showed that A. annulatum and its bioactive compounds are capable of improving insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells. This suggests that A. annulatum can be used as a therapeutic agent to treat diabetes.
Differential Expression of DNA Repair Genes in Prognostically-Favorable versus Unfavorable Uveal Melanoma
Authors: Dogrusöz Mehmet , Ruschel Trasel Andrea , Cao Jinfeng , Ҫolak Selҫuk , van Pelt Sake I. , Kroes Wilma G. M. , Teunisse Amina F. A. S. , Alsafadi Samar , van Duinen Sjoerd G. , Luyten Gregorius P. M. , van der Velden Pieter A. , Amaro Adriana , Pfeffer Ulrich , Jochemsen Aart G. , Jager Martine J.
Published: August 2019

Expression of DNA repair genes was studied in uveal melanoma (UM) in order to identify genes that may play a role in metastases formation. We searched for genes that are differentially expressed between tumors with a favorable and unfavorable prognosis. Gene-expression profiling was performed on 64 primary UM from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands. The expression of 121 genes encoding proteins involved in DNA repair pathways was analyzed: a total of 44 genes differed between disomy 3 and monosomy 3 tumors. Results were validated in a cohort from Genoa and Paris and the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Expression of the PRKDC, WDR48, XPC, and BAP1 genes was significantly associated with clinical outcome after validation. PRKDC was highly expressed in metastasizing UM (p < 0.001), whereas WDR48, XPC, and BAP1 were lowly expressed (p < 0.001, p = 0.006, p = 0.003, respectively). Low expression of WDR48 and XPC was related to a large tumor diameter (p = 0.01 and p = 0.004, respectively), and a mixed/epithelioid cell type (p = 0.007 and p = 0.03, respectively). We conclude that the expression of WDR48, XPC, and BAP1 is significantly lower in UM with an unfavorable prognosis, while these tumors have a significantly higher expression of PRKDC. Pharmacological inhibition of DNA-PKcs resulted in decreased survival of UM cells. PRKDC may be involved in proliferation, invasion and metastasis of UM cells. Unraveling the role of DNA repair genes may enhance our understanding of UM biology and result in the identification of new therapeutic targets.
Salt-Templated Platinum-Copper Porous Macrobeams for Ethanol Oxidation
Authors: Burpo F. John , Nagelli Enoch A. , Losch Anchor R. , Bui Jack K. , Forcherio Gregory T. , Baker David R. , McClure Joshua P. , Bartolucci Stephen F. , Chu Deryn D.
Published: August 2019

Platinum nanomaterials provide an excellent catalytic activity for diverse applications and given its high cost, platinum alloys and bi-metallic nanomaterials with transition metals are appealing for low cost and catalytic specificity. Here the synthesis of hierarchically porous Pt–Cu macrobeams and macrotubes templated from Magnus’s salt derivative needles is demonstrated. The metal composition was controlled through the combination of [PtCl4]2− with [Pt(NH3)4]2+ and [Cu(NH3)4]2+ ions in different ratios to form salt needle templates. Polycrystalline Pt–Cu porous macrotubes and macrobeams 10’ s–100’ s μm long with square cross-sections were formed through chemical reduction with dimethylamine borane (DMAB) and NaBH4, respectively. Specific capacitance as high as 20.7 F/g was demonstrated with cyclic voltammetry. For macrotubes and macrobeams synthesized from Pt2−:Pt2+:Cu2+ salt ratios of 1:1:0, 2:1:1, 3:1:2, and 1:0:1, DMAB reduced 3:1:2 macrotubes demonstrated the highest ethanol oxidation peak currents of 12.0 A/g at 0.5 mV/s and is attributed to the combination of a highly porous structure and platinum enriched surface. Salt templates with electrochemical reduction are suggested as a rapid, scalable, and tunable platform to achieve a wide range of 3-dimensional porous metal, alloy, and multi-metallic nanomaterials for catalysis, sensor, and energy storage applications.
Catalytic Methods in Flow Chemistry
Authors: Len Christophe , Luisi Renzo
Published: August 2019

Continuous flow chemistry is radically changing the way of performing chemical synthesis, and several chemical and pharmaceutical companies are now investing in this enabling technology [...]
Osteopontin as a Link between Inflammation and Cancer: The Thorax in the Spotlight
Authors: Lamort Anne-Sophie , Giopanou Ioanna , Psallidas Ioannis , Stathopoulos Georgios T.
Published: August 2019

The glycoprotein osteopontin (OPN) possesses multiple functions in health and disease. To this end, osteopontin has beneficial roles in wound healing, bone homeostasis, and extracellular matrix (ECM) function. On the contrary, osteopontin can be deleterious for the human body during disease. Indeed, osteopontin is a cardinal mediator of tumor-associated inflammation and facilitates metastasis. The purpose of this review is to highlight the importance of osteopontin in malignant processes, focusing on lung and pleural tumors as examples.
Long Non-Coding RNAs Target Pathogenetically Relevant Genes and Pathways in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Dolcino Marzia , Tinazzi Elisa , Puccetti Antonio , Lunardi Claudio
Published: August 2019

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease driven by genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are a key component of the epigenetic mechanisms and are known to be involved in the development of autoimmune diseases. In this work we aimed to identify significantly differentially expressed LncRNAs (DE-LncRNAs) that are functionally connected to modulated genes strictly associated with RA. In total, 542,500 transcripts have been profiled in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from four patients with early onset RA prior any treatment and four healthy donors using Clariom D arrays. Results were confirmed by real-time PCR in 20 patients and 20 controls. Six DE-LncRNAs target experimentally validated miRNAs able to regulate differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in RA; among them, only FTX, HNRNPU-AS1 and RP11-498C9.15 targeted a large number of DEGs. Most importantly, RP11-498C9.15 targeted the largest number of signalling pathways that were found to be enriched by the global amount of RA-DEGs and that have already been associated with RA and RA–synoviocytes. Moreover, RP11-498C9.15 targeted the most highly connected genes in the RA interactome, thus suggesting its involvement in crucial gene regulation. These results indicate that, by modulating both microRNAs and gene expression, RP11-498C9.15 may play a pivotal role in RA pathogenesis.
Cartilage and Bone Destruction in Arthritis: Pathogenesis and Treatment Strategy: A Literature Review
Authors: Tateiwa Daisuke , Yoshikawa Hideki , Kaito Takashi
Published: August 2019

Arthritis is inflammation of the joints accompanied by osteochondral destruction. It can take many forms, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. These diseases share one commonality—osteochondral destruction based on inflammation. The background includes a close interaction between osseous tissues and immune cells through various inflammatory cytokines. However, the tissues and cytokines that play major roles are different in each disease, and as a result, the mechanism of osteochondral destruction also differs. In recent years, there have been many findings regarding not only extracellular signaling pathways but also intracellular signaling pathways. In particular, we anticipate that the intracellular signals of osteoclasts, which play a central role in bone destruction, will become novel therapeutic targets. In this review, we have summarized the pathology of arthritis and the latest findings on the mechanism of osteochondral destruction, as well as present and future therapeutic strategies for these targets.
Selection of Optimum Separation Sequence for Multicomponent Distillation
Authors: Tsirlin Anatoly , Sukin Ivan , Balunov Alexander
Published: August 2019

This paper considers the process of multicomponent distillation. It is shown that energy consumption (per mole of mixture being separated) depends monotonously on efficiency if the capacity is constant and separation is reversible. Authors suggest the technique for selection of distillation sequence for which the total energy consumption in the cascade of columns reaches its minimum. This sequence is determined by values of thermal coefficients. Coefficients themselves depend on temperatures in the reboiler and condenser. This paper offers the algorithm for the calculation of these coefficients.
S-Layer Protein Coated Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Breitwieser Andreas , Siedlaczek Philipp , Lichtenegger Helga , Sleytr Uwe B. , Pum Dietmar
Published: August 2019

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have already been considered for medical applications due to their small diameter and ability to penetrate cells and tissues. However, since CNTs are chemically inert and non-dispersible in water, they have to be chemically functionalized or coated with biomolecules to carry payloads or interact with the environment. Proteins, although often only randomly bound to the CNT surface, are preferred because they provide a better biocompatibility and present functional groups for binding additional molecules. A new approach to functionalize CNTs with a closed and precisely ordered protein layer is offered by bacterial surface layer (S-layer) proteins, which have already attracted much attention in the functionalization of surfaces. We could demonstrate that bacterial S-layer proteins (SbpA of Lysinibacillus sphaericus CCM 2177 and the recombinant fusion protein rSbpA31-1068GG comprising the S-layer protein and two copies of the IgG binding region of Protein G) can be used to disperse and functionalize oxidized multi walled CNTs. Following a simple protocol, a complete surface coverage with a long-range crystalline S-layer lattice can be obtained. When rSbpA31-1068GG was used for coating, the introduced functionality could be confirmed by binding gold labeled antibodies via the IgG binding domain of the fusion protein. Since a great variety of functional S-layer fusion proteins has already been described, our new technology has the potential for a broad spectrum of functionalized CNTs.
Crystal Structure of Chaperonin GroEL from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae
Authors: Tran Huyen-Thi , Lee Jongha , Park Hyunjae , Kim Jeong-Gu , Kim Seunghwan , Ahn Yeh-Jin , Kang Lin-Woo
Published: August 2019

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a plant pathogen that causes bacterial blight of rice, with outbreaks occurring in most rice-growing countries. Thus far, there is no effective pesticide against bacterial blight. Chaperones in bacterial pathogens are important for the stabilization and delivery of effectors into host cells to cause disease. In bacteria, GroEL/GroES complex mediates protein folding and protects proteins against misfolding and aggregation caused by environmental stress. We determined the crystal structure of GroEL from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (XoGroEL) at 3.2 Å resolution, which showed the open form of two conserved homoheptameric rings stacked back-to-back. In the open form structure, the apical domain of XoGroEL had a higher B factor than the intermediate and equatorial domains, indicating that the apical domain had a flexible conformation before the binding of substrate unfolded protein and ATP. The XoGroEL structure will be helpful in understanding the function and catalytic mechanism of bacterial chaperonin GroELs.
Stepwise Evolution of AgCl Microcrystals from Octahedron into Hexapod with Mace Pods and their Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity
Authors: Lu Yuxiang , Qin Yazhou , Yu Dongdong , Zhou Jianguang
Published: August 2019

In this work, we have synthesized hexapods AgCl crystals with mace pods for the first time. Diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DDA)-controlled stepwise evolution of AgCl crystals from octahedron to hexapods with mace pods are achieved by one-pot method. The intermediates have been captured which show the basic process of crystal growth. In this process, octahedra AgCl crystals firstly grow along the <100> direction and then change to grow in the <110> direction. At the same time, the size of AgCl grow from 2 μm to 20 μm. Due to the poor absorption of visible light by AgCl, sodium borohydride(NaBH4) is used to reduce AgCl hexapods with mace pods crystals. By changing the mole ratio(R) of NaBH4 to AgCl, the new structure was reduced to obtain a series of Ag@AgCl microstructures. Visible light catalysis effects of the Ag@AgCl microstructures on degradation of methyl orange (MO) were investigated. The Ag@AgCl microstructures with R = 0.02 have a high photocatalytic performance, which completely degrades MO in 40 minutes.
Dynamic Stress Measurement with Sensor Data Compensation
Authors: Gu Jingjing , Dong Zhiteng , Zhang Cai , Du Xiaojiang , Guizani Mohsen
Published: August 2019

Applying parachutes-deployed Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) in monitoring the high-altitude space is a promising solution for its effectiveness and cost. However, both the high deviation of data and the rapid change of various environment factors (air pressure, temperature, wind speed, etc.) pose a great challenge. To this end, we solve this challenge with data compensation in dynamic stress measurements of parachutes during the working stage. Specifically, we construct a data compensation model to correct the deviation based on neural network by taking into account a variety of environmental parameters, and name it as Data Compensation based on Back Propagation Neural Network (DC-BPNN). Then, for improving the speed and accuracy of training the DC-BPNN, we propose a novel Adaptive Artificial Bee Colony (AABC) algorithm. We also address its stability of solution by deriving a stability bound. Finally, to verify the real performance, we conduct a set of real implemented experiments of airdropped WSN.
Ensemble Bagged Tree Based Classification for Reducing Non-Technical Losses in Multan Electric Power Company of Pakistan
Authors: Saeed Muhammad Salman , Mustafa Mohd Wazir , Sheikh Usman Ullah , Jumani Touqeer Ahmed , Mirjat Nayyar Hussain
Published: August 2019

Non-technical losses (NTLs) have been a major concern for power distribution companies (PDCs). Billions of dollars are lost each year due to fraud in billing, metering, and illegal consumer activities. Various studies have explored different methodologies for efficiently identifying fraudster consumers. This study proposes a new approach for NTL detection in PDCs by using the ensemble bagged tree (EBT) algorithm. The bagged tree is an ensemble of many decision trees which considerably improves the classification performance of many individual decision trees by combining their predictions to reach a final decision. This approach relies on consumer energy usage data to identify any abnormality in consumption which could be associated with NTL behavior. The key motive of the current study is to provide assistance to the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) in Punjab, Pakistan for its campaign against energy stealers. The model developed in this study generates the list of suspicious consumers with irregularities in consumption data to be further examined on-site. The accuracy of the EBT algorithm for NTL detection is found to be 93.1%, which is considerably higher compared to conventional techniques such as support vector machine (SVM), k-th nearest neighbor (KNN), decision trees (DT), and random forest (RF) algorithm.
Recent Consequences of Climate Change Have Affected Tree Growth in Distinct Nothofagus macrocarpa (DC.) FM Vaz & Rodr Age Classes in Central Chile
Authors: Venegas-González Alejandro , Roig Fidel A. , Peña-Rojas Karen , Hadad Martín A. , Aguilera-Betti Isabella , Muñoz Ariel A.
Published: August 2019

Forests play an important role in water and carbon cycles in semiarid regions such as the Mediterranean ecosystems. Previous research in the Chilean Mediterranean forests revealed a break point in 1980 in regional tree-ring chronologies linked to climate change. However, it is still unclear which populations and age classes are more affected by recent increases in drought conditions. In this study, we investigated the influence of recent variations in precipitation, temperature, and CO2 concentrations on tree growth of various populations and age classes of Nothofagus macrocarpa trees in Central Chile. We sampled 10 populations from five sites of N. macrocarpa through its whole geographic distribution in both Coastal and Andes ranges. We used standard dendrochronological methods to (i) group populations using principal component analysis, (ii) separate age classes (young, mature, and old trees), (iii) evaluate linear growth trends based on the basal area increment (BAI), and (iv) analyze the link between BAI and atmospheric changes using linear mixed-effects models. Results showed that young trees are more sensitive to climate variability. Regarding population grouping, we observed that all population clusters were sensitive to winter-spring precipitation, but only the Andes and Coastal populations were negatively correlated with temperature. The results of CO2 fertilization analyses were controversial and unclear. Since young trees from all population clusters reacted positively in the phase with an increase of atmospheric CO2 between 1980 and 2014, this behavior was not translated into growth for the last 15 years (2000–2014). However, it should be noted that the young trees of the highest elevation populations did not have a negative growth trend, so it seems that CO2 counteracted the negative effect of recent regional climate change (increase in temperature and precipitation decrease) in these population trees. Further studies are needed to assess the effects of climate variability over other ecological and physiological processes.
The Study of Historical Indoor Microclimate (HIM) to Contribute towards Heritage Buildings Preservation
Authors: Fabbri Kristian , Pretelli Marco , Bonora Anna
Published: August 2019

Knowledge of building techniques, materials and their decay is nowadays quite vast, as well as on the solutions and methodologies of a restoration project, which depends on the goal of the restoration itself. Even the choices on the new usage of historic buildings are often well considered. In the last few years, we have conducted some monitoring campaigns to obtain data related to four distinct buildings, differing in construction times, typology, location, current and historical uses. What has been discovered is that these buildings appear to be able to guarantee historical microclimates surprisingly overlapping to the parameters nowadays considered appropriate to conserve them and the historical patrimony they contain. In this article we show some explanatory results of four case studies from our research. The monitoring control, moreover, allowed us to develop the analysis further, from survey to virtual simulation. In this way it was possible to verify the effects of minimal variations in the architectural characteristics, such as opening or closing a window, covering an open yard, or else removing a cover, reducing the source of light etc. All of these managerial and architectural interventions have a significant effect on the indoor environment of buildings and can improve the conservation status of architecture, sometimes to such an extent that more costly and invasive restorations become unnecessary.
Endothelial Dysfunction: Is There a Hyperglycemia-Induced Imbalance of NOX and NOS?
Authors: Meza Cesar A. , La Favor Justin D. , Kim Do-Houn , Hickner Robert C.
Published: August 2019

NADPH oxidases (NOX) are enzyme complexes that have received much attention as key molecules in the development of vascular dysfunction. NOX have the primary function of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), and are considered the main source of ROS production in endothelial cells. The endothelium is a thin monolayer that lines the inner surface of blood vessels, acting as a secretory organ to maintain homeostasis of blood flow. The enzymatic production of nitric oxide (NO) by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) is critical in mediating endothelial function, and oxidative stress can cause dysregulation of eNOS and endothelial dysfunction. Insulin is a stimulus for increases in blood flow and endothelium-dependent vasodilation. However, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are characterized by poor control of the endothelial cell redox environment, with a shift toward overproduction of ROS by NOX. Studies in models of type 2 diabetes demonstrate that aberrant NOX activation contributes to uncoupling of eNOS and endothelial dysfunction. It is well-established that endothelial dysfunction precedes the onset of cardiovascular disease, therefore NOX are important molecular links between type 2 diabetes and vascular complications. The aim of the current review is to describe the normal, healthy physiological mechanisms involved in endothelial function, and highlight the central role of NOX in mediating endothelial dysfunction when glucose homeostasis is impaired.
Perspectives for Ezrin and Radixin in Astrocytes: Kinases, Functions and Pathology
Authors: Derouiche Amin , Geiger Kathrin D.
Published: August 2019

Astrocytes are increasingly perceived as active partners in physiological brain function and behaviour. The structural correlations of the glia–synaptic interaction are the peripheral astrocyte processes (PAPs), where ezrin and radixin, the two astrocytic members of the ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family of proteins are preferentially localised. While the molecular mechanisms of ERM (in)activation appear universal, at least in mammalian cells, and have been studied in great detail, the actual ezrin and radixin kinases, phosphatases and binding partners appear cell type specific and may be multiplexed within a cell. In astrocytes, ezrin is involved in process motility, which can be stimulated by the neurotransmitter glutamate, through activation of the glial metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) 3 or 5. However, it has remained open how this mGluR stimulus is transduced to ezrin activation. Knowing upstream signals of ezrin activation, ezrin kinase(s), and membrane-bound binding partners of ezrin in astrocytes might open new approaches to the glial role in brain function. Ezrin has also been implicated in invasive behaviour of astrocytomas, and glial activation. Here, we review data pertaining to potential molecular interaction partners of ezrin in astrocytes, with a focus on PKC and GRK2, and in gliomas and other diseases, to stimulate further research on their potential roles in glia-synaptic physiology and pathology.
Population Genetics of Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae) in China Based on nad4 Gene Sequence
Authors: Hong Feng , Gao Lizhi , Han Hong-Liang , Wang Pan , Wang Jia , Wei Dong , Liu Yinghong
Published: August 2019

Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an important citrus pest in Asia with a non-uniform distribution. In some locations, it had been reported to occur but was either eradicated or disappeared itself. To understand species dispersal of B. minax, we collected and analyzed 359 individuals from 18 localities in China. One mitochondrial DNA gene fragment (nad4) was used to investigate the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of B. minax. The populations were divided by phylogenetic analyses and statistical parsimony haplotype networks into three branches: a Central China (CC) branch, a Western China (WC) branch, and a Southern China (SC) branch. A total of 93 variable sites (15.6% of the 595 bp alignment) and 91 unique haplotypes were observed in the 359 individuals scored from the nad4 gene of the 18 B. minax populations. This indicated that B. minax had a high level of genetic diversity. These populations also showed a discrete distribution in both the scatter plots of genetic versus geographical distance for pairwise population comparisons and the median-joining network of haplotypes, which revealed the strong genetic structure of B. minax.
Cue-Elicited Anxiety and Alcohol Craving as Indicators of the Validity of ALCO-VR Software: A Virtual Reality Study
Authors: Ghiţă Alexandra , Hernández-Serrano Olga , Fernández-Ruiz Yolanda , Monras Miquel , Ortega Lluisa , Mondon Silvia , Teixidor Lidia , Gual Antoni , Porras-García Bruno , Ferrer-García Marta , Gutiérrez-Maldonado José
Published: August 2019

Background: This study is part of a larger project aiming to develop a virtual reality (VR) software to be implemented as a clinical tool for patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The study is based on previous research in which we identified factors that elicit craving for alcohol in a sample of AUD patients, and which led to the development of a virtual reality software to be used in cue exposure treatments of alcohol use disorder (ALCO-VR). The main objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of ALCO-VR to elicit cue-induced craving and anxiety responses among social drinkers (SD) and AUD patients. Our secondary objective was to explore which responses (cue-induced craving or anxiety) can best differentiate between AUD patients and the SD group. Method: Twenty-seven individuals (13 AUD patients and 14 SD) participated in this study after giving written informed consent. Their anxiety and alcohol craving levels were measured by different instruments at different stages of the procedure. The VR equipment consisted of Oculus Rift technology, and the software consisted of the ALCO-VR platform. Results: Our data indicate that the ALCO-VR software can elicit responses of anxiety and alcohol craving, especially in the group of AUD patients. The cue-induced anxiety response differentiated AUD patients and the SD group better than the cue-induced craving response. Conclusions: The general interest in applying new technologies to the assessment and treatment of mental health disorders has led to the development of immersive real-life simulations based on the advantages of VR technology. Our study concluded that the ALCO-VR software can elicit anxiety and craving responses and that cue-induced anxiety responses can distinguish between AUD and SD groups better than cue-induced craving. The data on craving and anxiety were assessed consistently by different instruments. In addition, we consider that ALCO-VR is able to ecologically assess cue-induced anxiety and alcohol craving levels during exposure to VR alcohol-related environments.
Effect of Tool Design and Process Parameters on Lap Joints Made by Right Angle Friction Stir Welding (RAFSW)
Authors: Momeni Mahboubeh , Guillot Michel
Published: August 2019

In recent decades, friction stir welding (FSW) has attracted extensive attention of academic and industrial sectors as the most considerable development in metal joining processes. FSW lap joint is an interesting alternative for rivets, fusion welds and bonding particularly in the transportation industry. In this paper, the effect of tool design and process parameters on the generated downward axial force and strength of AA6061-T6 lap joints is studied. The welds are made by a low-cost friction stir welding technique at right angle (RAFSW). The studied tool design parameters are shoulder diameter, shoulder groove depth, pin length, pin angle, pin base diameter and pin lead. Moreover, the effect of tool rotational speed, traverse speed, plunge depth and lap joint configuration is evaluated. The Taguchi method is used to design the experiments and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling is applied to predict the plunging force and the strength of the joints. The results indicate that a quality weld can be obtained at low downward axial forces during welding by proper selection of tool design and process parameters. It is identified that one can achieve a quality lap joint at traverse speeds as high as 1400 mm/min and downward axial forces as low as 3.2 kN by a low-cost RAFSW technique.
The “Cultural Test” as Cultural Expertise: Evolution of a Legal–Anthropological Tool for Judges
Authors: Ruggiu Ilenia
Published: August 2019

This paper analyzes the state of cultural expertise in Italy and then focuses on how it can be improved through a kind of cultural expertise that Italian academics, judges, and lawyers are currently debating: the so-called “cultural test”. This is a legal test for dealing with culture, which originally emerged as judicial tool in Northern American courts: It consists of a set of pre-established questions that a judge has to answer in order to decide whether or not to accept a cultural claim made by a migrant or by a person that belongs to minority communities. Whereas some questions of the cultural test refer to typical legal balancing between rights, other questions incorporate anthropological knowledge within the trial, requiring the judge to analyze the cultural practice at issue, its historical origin, the importance it has within the community, and other information about which the judge would not be sufficiently knowledgeable without resorting to anthropology. In this sense, the “cultural test” is a form of standardized cultural expertise that helps both the judge and the cultural expert in their tasks. The paper reveals both the arguments against and those in favor of the adoption of the “cultural test” and how they are currently unfolding in the Italian debate.
Selective Laser Melting of Duplex Stainless Steel 2205: Effect of Post-Processing Heat Treatment on Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance
Authors: Papula Suvi , Song Mingshi , Pateras Aaron , Chen Xiao-Bo , Brandt Milan , Easton Mark , Yagodzinskyy Yuriy , Virkkunen Iikka , Hänninen Hannu
Published: August 2019

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly growing field of technology. In order to increase the variety of metal alloys applicable for AM, selective laser melting (SLM) of duplex stainless steel 2205 powder and the resulting microstructure, density, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance were investigated. An optimal set of processing parameters for producing high density (>99.9%) material was established. Various post-processing heat treatments were applied on the as-built predominantly ferritic material to achieve the desired dual-phase microstructure. Effects of annealing at temperatures of 950 °C, 1000 °C, 1050 °C, and 1100 °C on microstructure, crystallographic texture, and phase balance were examined. As a result of annealing, 40–46 vol.% of austenite phase was formed. Annealing decreased the high yield and tensile strength values of the as-built material, but significantly increased the ductility. Annealing also decreased the residual stresses in the material. Mechanical properties of the SLM-processed and heat-treated materials outperformed those of conventionally produced alloy counterparts. Using a scanning strategy with 66° rotation between layers decreased the strength of the crystallographic texture. Electrochemical cyclic potentiodynamic polarization testing in 0.6 M NaCl solution at room temperature showed that the heat treatment improved the pitting corrosion resistance of the as-built SLM-processed material.