bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Successful Resection of Retrobulbar Carcinosarcoma without Recurrence: A Case Report
Authors: Huang Chun-Hao , Lee Lung-Chi , Gao Hong-Wei , Chen Yi-Hao , Chien Ke-Hung
Published: February 2022

Carcinosarcomas are biphasic tumors comprising carcinoma and sarcoma components that occur in many tissues but are rarely found in the orbit. A 70-year-old male presented to the ophthalmic clinic with progressive proptosis, having decreased vision in the left eye for 8 months. On examination, severe exophthalmos and lagophthalmos with limited extraocular movement were noted. Orbital computed tomography scans revealed a large, well-defined, heterogeneously enhanced mass in the left retrobulbar orbital cavity. The tumor was completely resected, and the pathological examination revealed a carcinosarcoma. The prognosis was excellent without local recurrence at 48 months postoperatively. Thus, when considering treatment for effective management of such tumors, tumor resection followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy is highly recommended.
TiO2–Based Nanofibrous Membranes for Environmental Protection
Authors: Covaliu-Mierlă Cristina Ileana , Matei Ecaterina , Stoian Oana , Covaliu Leon , Constandache Alexandra-Corina , Iovu Horia , Paraschiv Gigel
Published: February 2022

Electrospinning is a unique technique that can be used to synthesize polymer and metal oxide nanofibers. In materials science, a very active field is represented by research on electrospun nanofibers. Fibrous membranes present fascinating features, such as a large surface area to volume ratio, excellent mechanical behavior, and a large surface area, which have many applications. Numerous techniques are available for the nanofiber’s synthesis, but electrospinning is presented as a simple process that allows one to obtain porous membranes containing smooth non-woven nanofibers. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the most widely used catalyst in photocatalytic degradation processes, it has advantages such as good photocatalytic activity, excellent chemical stability, low cost and non-toxicity. Thus, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used in the synthesis of nanofibrous membranes that benefit experimental research by easy recyclability, excellent photocatalytic activity, high specific surface areas, and exhibiting stable hierarchical nanostructures. This article presents the synthesis of fiber membranes through the processes of electrospinning, coaxial electrospinning, electrospinning and electrospraying or electrospinning and precipitation. In addition to the synthesis of membranes, the recent progress of researchers emphasizing the efficiency of nanofiber photocatalytic membranes in removing pollutants from wastewater is also presented.
Assessment of Graphical Methods for Determination of the Limiting Current Density in Complex Electrodialysis-Feed Solutions
Authors: Knežević Katarina , Reif Daniela , Harasek Michael , Krampe Jörg , Kreuzinger Norbert
Published: February 2022

Electrodialysis (ED) is a promising technology suitable for nutrient recovery from a wide variety of liquid waste streams. For optimal operating conditions, the limiting current density (LCD) has to be determined separately for each treated feed and ED equipment. LCD is most frequently assessed in the NaCl solutions. In this paper, five graphical methods available in literature were reviewed for LCD determination in a series of five feed solutions with different levels of complexity in ion and matrix composition. Wastewater from microbial fermentation was included among the feed solutions, containing charged and uncharged particles. The experiments, running in the batch ED with an online conductivity, temperature, and pH monitoring, were conducted to obtain data for the comparison of various LCD determination methods. The results revealed complements and divergences between the applied LCD methods with increasing feed concentrations and composition complexity. The Cowan and Brown method had the most consistent results for all of the feed solutions. Online conductivity monitoring was linearly correlated with the decreasing ion concentration in the feed solution and corresponding LCD. Therefore, the results obtained in this study can be applied as a base for the automatized dynamic control of the operating current density–voltage in the batch ED. Conductivity alone should not be used for the ED control since LCD depends on the ion exchange membranes, feed flow, temperature and concentration, ionic species, their concentration ratios, and uncharged particles of the feed solution.
Deep Learning Approaches to Image Texture Analysis in Material Processing
Authors: Liu Xiu , Aldrich Chris
Published: February 2022

Texture analysis is key to better understanding of the relationships between the microstructures of the materials and their properties, as well as the use of models in process systems using raw signals or images as input. Recently, new methods based on transfer learning with deep neural networks have become established as highly competitive approaches to classical texture analysis. In this study, three traditional approaches, based on the use of grey level co-occurrence matrices, local binary patterns and textons are compared with five transfer learning approaches, based on the use of AlexNet, VGG19, ResNet50, GoogLeNet and MobileNetV2. This is done based on two simulated and one real-world case study. In the simulated case studies, material microstructures were simulated with Voronoi graphic representations and in the real-world case study, the appearance of ultrahigh carbon steel is cast as a textural pattern recognition pattern. The ability of random forest models, as well as the convolutional neural networks themselves, to discriminate between different textures with the image features as input was used as the basis for comparison. The texton algorithm performed better than the LBP and GLCM algorithms and similar to the deep learning approaches when these were used directly, without any retraining. Partial or full retraining of the convolutional neural networks yielded considerably better results, with GoogLeNet and MobileNetV2 yielding the best results.
Effect of Intercritical Annealing Parameters and Starting Microstructure on the Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of a Medium-Mn Third Generation Advanced High Strength Steel
Authors: Bhadhon Kazi M. H. , Wang Xiang , McNally Elizabeth A. , McDermid Joseph R.
Published: February 2022

A prototype medium-Mn TRIP steel (0.2 C–6 Mn–1.7 Si–0.4 Al–0.5 Cr (wt %)) with a cold-rolled tempered martensite (CR) and martensitic (M) starting microstructures was subjected to continuous galvanizing line (CGL) compatible heat treatments. It was found that the M starting microstructures achieved greater than 0.30 volume fraction of retained austenite and target 3G properties (UTS × TE ≥ 24,000 MPa%) using an intercritical annealing temperature (IAT) of 675 °C with an IA holding time of 60–360 s, whereas the CR microstructure required an IAT of 710 °C and annealing times of 360 s or greater to achieve comparable fractions of retained austenite and target 3G properties. This was attributed to the rapid austenite reversion kinetics for the M starting microstructures and rapid C partitioning from the C supersaturated martensite, providing chemical and mechanical stability to the retained austenite, thereby allowing for a gradual deformation-induced transformation of retained austenite to martensite—the TRIP effect—and the formation of nano-scale planar faults in the retained austenite (TWIP effect), such that a high work-hardening rate was maintained to elongation of greater than 0.20. Overall, it was concluded that the prototype steel with the M starting microstructure is a promising candidate for CGL processing for 3G AHSS properties.
Microstructure Analysis and Segmented Constitutive Model for Ni-Cr-Co-Based Superalloy during Hot Deformation
Authors: Li Hongyu , Feng Wei , Zhuang Wuhao , Hua Lin
Published: February 2022

In a thermal simulator of Gleeble-3500, isothermal hot compression tests were performed on a Ni-Cr-Co-based superalloy at deformation temperatures ranging from 1323 K to 1423 K and with strain rates of 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 5 s−1. We obtained the true stress–strain curves, and the microstructures of deformed samples were analyzed by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. The segmented constitutive models were developed to predict the flow stress, and the dynamic recrystallization grain size model was established to evaluate the microstructure evolution for a Ni-Cr-Co-based superalloy. It is found that discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) and continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) appear simultaneously in the Ni-Cr-Co-based superalloy during hot deformation, with the latter not being active. Comparison between the experimental and predicted results indicates that the proposed models can describe and interpret the work-hardening and dynamic softening behaviors as well as the evolution characteristic of dynamic recrystallization grain size of the Ni-Cr-Co-based superalloy. In the error analysis of the segmented constitutive models, correlation coefficient (R) is 0.988 and average absolute relative error (AARE) is 6.94%, and for the AGS of DRX, R is 0.974 and AARE is 5.83%, which both have good accuracy.
Rapid Spheroidizing Annealing via Combining Warm Deformation with Divorced Eutectoid Transformation in M50 Steel
Authors: Qian Dongsheng , Chen Bin , Wang Feng , Wu Lingyan
Published: February 2022

In this work, a novel routine to realize the rapid spheroidizing annealing (SA) process has been proposed in M50 steel via combining warm deformation (WD) and divorced eutectoid transformation (DET). In this process, the sample is first subjected to partial austenitizing to realize the partial dissolution of carbides, then slowly cooled to DET temperature for WD. Finally, the sample is slowly cooled to below the eutectoid transformation temperature to complete the SA. The results show that an excellent spheroidized microstructure can be obtained via the rapid SA process within 2 h. The finest spheroidized carbide (0.295 μm), as well as an appropriate hardness (217 HV), is achieved when the WD and DET processes are conducted at 760 °C. This should be attributed to that the WD not only accelerates the DET but also can break the primary carbides, leading to the uniformly distributed and refined carbides. In addition, the proposed WD that realizes rapid SA shows the excellent roundness of spheroidized carbides compared with the traditional cold/hot deformation which needs a long-term SA process. This work provides a highly efficient routine to simultaneously realize the SA and shape forming, which is of great engineering significance for the manufacturing of bearings.
Texture Evolution by Strain-Induced Boundary Migration during Hot Deformation of Fe-3.0 wt.% Si Alloy: Experiment and Modeling
Authors: Shao Guangshuai , Chen Xi , Sha Yuhui , Zhang Fang , He Zhenghua , Zuo Liang
Published: February 2022

Texture and microstructure evolution during high-temperature plane-strain compression in Fe-3.0 wt.% Si alloy has been investigated by micro-texture analysis and modeling. In this study, hot deformation test is performed on the temperature range of 900 °C~1150 °C with a strain rate scope of 0.01 s−1~5 s−1, and the effect of deformation parameters is investigated by means of electron backscattered diffraction. Nucleation and growth assisted by strain-induced boundary migration result in strong {001}<110> and {001}<210> texture components with low Taylor factors, and the grain size of λ fiber increases significantly by consuming the {111}<110> and {111}<112> texture components with high Taylor factors. The critical Taylor factor above which nucleation by strain-induced boundary migration cannot occur, decreases continuously during hot deformation. With the decreasing critical Taylor factor, the increment rate of low-Taylor-factor orientation depends more sensitively on Taylor factor than the decrement rate of high-Taylor-factor orientation. The boundary separating enhanced and weakened orientations moves towards lower Taylor factor with the deformation proceeding, and medium-Taylor-factor texture components may experience a reversed change from enhancement to weakness. A quantitative model is proposed to describe texture development by incorporating the oriented nucleation probability dependent on a variable critical Taylor factor and the selective growth driven by a variable Taylor factor difference between adjacent grains. The present work can provide an efficient method for optimizing hot deformation texture by means of strain-induced boundary migration.
Human Brain Lipidomics: Pilot Analysis of the Basal Ganglia Sphingolipidome in Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Disease
Authors: Beger Aaron W. , Dudzik Beatrix , Woltjer Randall L. , Wood Paul L.
Published: February 2022

Sphingolipids constitute a complex class of bioactive lipids with diverse structural and functional roles in neural tissue. Lipidomic techniques continue to provide evidence for their association in neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Lewy body disease (LBD). However, prior studies have primarily focused on biological tissues outside of the basal ganglia, despite the known relevancy of this brain region in motor and cognitive dysfunction associated with PD and LBD. Therefore electrospray ionization high resolution mass spectrometry was used to analyze levels of sphingolipid species, including ceramides (Cer), dihydroceramides (DHC), hydoxyceramides (OH-Cer), phytoceramides (Phyto-Cer), phosphoethanolamine ceramides (PE-Cer), sphingomyelins (SM), and sulfatides (Sulf) in the caudate, putamen and globus pallidus of PD (n = 7) and LBD (n = 14) human subjects and were compared to healthy controls (n = 9). The most dramatic alterations were seen in the putamen, with depletion of Cer and elevation of Sulf observed in both groups, with additional depletion of OH-Cer and elevation of DHC identified in LBD subjects. Diverging levels of DHC in the caudate suggest differing roles of this lipid in PD and LBD pathogenesis. These sphingolipid alterations in PD and LBD provide evidence for biochemical involvement of the neuronal cell death that characterize these conditions.
Complex Changes in Membrane Lipids Associated with the Modification of Autophagy in Arabidopsis
Authors: Mugume Yosia , Ding Geng , Dueñas Maria , Liu Meiling , Lee Young-Jin , Nikolau Basil , Bassham Diane
Published: February 2022

Autophagy is a conserved mechanism among eukaryotes that degrades and recycles cytoplasmic components. Autophagy is known to influence the plant metabolome, including lipid content; however, its impact on the plant lipidome is not fully understood, and most studies have analyzed a single or few mutants defective in autophagy. To gain more insight into the effect of autophagy on lipid concentrations and composition, we quantitatively profiled glycerolipids from multiple Arabidopsis thaliana mutants altered in autophagy and compared them with wild-type seedlings under nitrogen replete (+N; normal growth) and nitrogen starvation (−N; autophagy inducing) conditions. Mutants include those in genes of the core autophagy pathway, together with other genes that have been reported to affect autophagy. Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization—Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-MS), we imaged the cellular distribution of specific lipids in situ and demonstrated that autophagy and nitrogen treatment did not affect their spatial distribution within Arabidopsis seedling leaves. We observed changes, both increases and decreases, in the relative amounts of different lipid species in the mutants compared to WT both in +N and −N conditions, although more changes were seen in −N conditions. The relative amounts of polyunsaturated and very long chain lipids were significantly reduced in autophagy-disrupted mutants compared to WT plants. Collectively, our results provide additional evidence that autophagy affects plant lipid content and that autophagy likely affects lipid properties such as chain length and unsaturation.
Body Weight Gain Is Associated with the Disease Stage in Advanced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis with Invasive Ventilation
Authors: Nakayama Yuki , Shimizu Toshio , Matsuda Chiharu , Haraguchi Michiko , Hayashi Kentaro , Bokuda Kota , Nagao Masahiro , Kawata Akihiro , Takahashi Kazushi
Published: February 2022

We investigated the incidence of weight gain and its related factors in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who underwent tracheostomy and invasive ventilation (TIV). Seventy-eight patients with ALS and TIV were enrolled and followed up prospectively. We clarified the clinical profiles of patients with increased weight following TIV and examined chronological variations in their body mass index (BMI), energy intake, and serum albumin levels. Post follow-up, we determined their disease stage according to their communication impairment (stage I to V) and investigated factors associated with BMI increase following TIV. Patients with a post-TIV BMI increase ≥1.86 kg/m2 demonstrated a higher incidence of ophthalmoplegia (76.2%), total quadriplegia (61.9%), severe communication impairment (stage V; 33.3%), and hypoalbuminemia than those with a BMI increase <1.86 kg/m2. Patients with stage V communication impairment exhibited a larger and faster BMI decrease before TIV (mean −4.2 kg/m2 and −2.5 kg/m2/year, respectively); a larger BMI increase (mean +4.6 kg/m2) following TIV, despite lower energy intake; and lower albumin levels post follow-up than those with lower-stage communication impairment. Multilevel linear regression analysis demonstrated an independent association between communication impairment stages (stage V) and a post-TIV BMI increase (p = 0.030). Weight gain and hypoalbuminemia during TIV in patients with ALS were associated with the disease stage and may be attributable to the neurodegenerative processes that are peculiar to ALS.
The Role of Taurine in Skeletal Muscle Functioning and Its Potential as a Supportive Treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Authors: Merckx Caroline , De Paepe Boel
Published: February 2022

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is required for ensuring proper muscle functioning. Knockout of the taurine transporter in mice results in low taurine concentrations in the muscle and associates with myofiber necrosis and diminished exercise capacity. Interestingly, regulation of taurine and its transporter is altered in the mdx mouse, a model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to the absence of dystrophin from the muscle membrane, causing destabilization and contraction-induced muscle cell damage. This review explores the physiological role of taurine in skeletal muscle and the consequences of a disturbed balance in DMD. Its potential as a supportive treatment for DMD is also discussed. In addition to genetic correction, that is currently under development as a curative treatment, taurine supplementation has the potential to reduce muscle inflammation and improve muscle strength in patients.
Noise Limitations in Multi-Fringe Readout of Laser Interferometers and Resonators
Authors: Eckhardt Tobias , Gerberding Oliver
Published: February 2022

Laser interferometers that operate over a dynamic range exceeding one wavelength are used as compact displacement sensors for gravitational wave detectors and inertial sensors and in a variety of other high-precision applications. A number of approaches are available to extract the phase from such interferometers by implementing so-called phasemeters, algorithms to provide a linearised phase estimate. While many noise sources have to be considered for any given scheme, they are fundamentally limited by additive noise in the readout, such as electronic readout, digitisation, and shot-noise, which manifest as an effective, white phase noise in the phasemeter output. We calculated and compared the Cramer–Rao lower bound for phasemeters of some state-of-the-art two-beam interferometer schemes and derived their noise limitations for sub-fringe operation and for multi-fringe readout schemes. From this, we derived achievable noise performance levels for one of these interferometer techniques, deep-frequency modulation interferometry. We then applied our analysis to optical resonators and show that frequency scanning techniques can in theory benefit from such resonant enhancement, indicating that the sensitivities can be improved in future sensors.
Determination of the Dielectrophoretic Force Induced by the Photovoltaic Effect on Lithium Niobate
Authors: Meggiolaro Alessio , Cremaschini Sebastian , Ferraro Davide , Zaltron Annamaria , Carneri Mattia , Pierno Matteo , Sada Cinzia , Mistura Giampaolo
Published: February 2022

The actuation of droplets on a surface is extremely relevant for microfluidic applications. In recent years, various methodologies have been used. A promising solution relies on iron-doped lithium niobate crystals that, when illuminated, generate an evanescent electric field in the surrounding space due to the photovoltaic effect. This field can be successfully exploited to control the motion of water droplets. Here, we present an experimental method to determine the attractive force exerted by the evanescent field. It consists of the analysis of the elongation of a pendant droplet and its detachment from the suspending syringe needle, caused by the illumination of an iron-doped lithium niobate crystal. We show that this interaction resembles that obtained by applying a voltage between the needle and a metallic substrate, and a quantitative investigation of these two types of actuation yields similar results. Pendant droplet tensiometry is then demonstrated to offer a simple solution for quickly mapping out the force at different distances from the crystal, generated by the photovoltaic effect and its temporal evolution, providing important quantitative data for the design and characterization of optofluidic devices based on lithium niobate crystals.
Novel Quick Cell Patterning Using Light-Responsive Gas-Generating Polymer and Fluorescence Microscope
Authors: Ueno Hidetaka , Akagi Yoshinori , Yamamura Shohei
Published: February 2022

Conventional cell patterning methods are mainly based on hydrophilic/hydrophobic differences or chemical coating for cell adhesion/non-adhesion with wavering strength as it varies with the substrate surface conditions, including the cell type and the extracellular matrix components (ECMs) coating; thus, the versatility and stability of cell patterning methods must be improved. In this study, we propose a new cell patterning method using a light-responsive gas-generating polymer (LGP) and a conventional fluorescence microscope. Herein, cells and cellular tissues are easily released from the substrate surface by the nitrogen gas bubbles generated from LGP by the excitation light for fluorescence observation without harming the cells. The LGP-implanted chip was fabricated by packing LGP into a polystyrene (PS) microarray chip with a concave pattern. HeLa cells were spread on the LGP-implanted chips coated with three different ECMs (fibronectin, collagen, and poly-D-lysine), and all HeLa cells on the three LGP patterns were released. The pattern error between the LGP pattern and the remaining HeLa cells was 8.81 ± 4.24 μm, less than single-cell size. In addition, the LGP-implanted chip method can be applied to millimeter-scale patterns, with less than 30 s required for cell patterning. Therefore, the proposed method is a simple and rapid cell patterning method with high cell patterning accuracy of less than the cell size error, high scalability, versatility, and stability unaffected by the cell type or the ECM coating.
Hysteresis Characteristics and MPI Compensation of Two-Dimensional Piezoelectric Positioning Stage
Authors: Wang Wanqiang , Zhang Jiaqi , Xu Ming , Chen Guojin
Published: February 2022

Piezoelectric positioning stage is the core component of precision positioning system and advanced instrument. Its hysteresis characteristics, especially rate-dependent characteristics, are the main factors affecting the positioning or control accuracy. The multi-slope Prandtl–Ishlinskii (MPI) based hysteresis modeling and compensation experiments of two-dimensional piezoelectric positioning stage are discussed. The impact of the driving voltage amplitude and frequency on the hysteresis characteristics of uniaxial piezoelectric actuator in the piezoelectric positioning stage are studied, especially the influence of variable-frequency voltages on the output displacement of a piezoelectric actuator. The MPI compensation control of two-dimensional piezoelectric positioning stage is carried out, and the fitting coefficient R2 is proposed to evaluate the hysteresis compensation accuracy of MPI model. Under the full range driving voltage of 20~120 V, the fitting coefficient reaches more than 99.6%. The experiments of feedforward compensation and feedback compensation are implemented. Having applied the composite triangular-wave signal, the average absolute displacement error of the piezoelectric actuator is 0.1192 μm, as well as the mean square error 0.2949 μm. It demonstrates that the MPI model is effective against hysteresis for two-dimensional piezoelectric positioning stage.
Optical Coupling Efficiency of a Coupler with Double-Combined Collimating Lenses and Thermally Expanded Core Fibers
Authors: He Qi , Zhao Zhengang , Ye Xiaoda , Luo Chuan , Zhang Dacheng , Wang Sifei , Xu Xiaoping
Published: February 2022

Improving the coupling efficiency of two optical signals is a hot issue, where the efficiency of optical coupling has a significant effect on the signal transmission over the fiber link. To this end, the Large-Beam Fiber Coupler (LBFC) with a Double-combined Collimating Lens (DCL) and a single-mode TEC fiber structure are proposed in this study. Based on the propagation principle of Gaussian beams and the coupling requirements, the coupling mechanism of the fiber coupler and the coupling mismatch between the coupler is analytically modeled. The model and the optical path are optimized, then the ray tracing is used to calculate the coupling efficiency of inter-coupler signals for different SMF. The coupling efficiency is evaluated through experiments in terms of coupling efficiency and the radial, axial, and angular mismatches between the couplers. The results showed that with a large Mode Field Diameter (MFD), better coupling efficiency can be obtained, i.e., a large MFD of 28 μm is tested with its maximal efficiency of 95.16%. Moreover, the angular mismatch has the most significant impact on the coupling efficiency, while the axial mismatch has the least. The use of large MFD can alleviate the angular mismatch and thus improve the optical coupling efficiency.
Design and Fabrication of a Magnetic Actuator for Torque and Force Control Estimated by the ANN/SA Algorithm
Authors: Kazemzadeh Heris Pooriya , Khamesee Mir
Published: February 2022

Magnetic manipulation has the potential to recast the medical field both from an operational and drug delivery point of view as it can provide wireless controlled navigation over surgical devices and drug containers inside a human body. The presented system in this research implements a unique eight-coil configuration, where each coil is designed based on the characterization of the working space, generated force on a milliscale robot, and Fabry factor. A cylindrical iron-core coil with inner and outer diameters and length of 20.5, 66, and 124 mm is the optimized coil. Traditionally, FEM results are adopted from simulation and implemented into the motion logic; however, simulated values are associated with errors; 17% in this study. Instead of regularizing FEM results, for the first time, artificial intelligence has been used to approximate the actual values for manipulation purposes. Regression models for Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and a hybrid method called Artificial Neural Network with Simulated Annealing (ANN/SA) have been created. ANN/SA has shown outstanding performance with an average R2, and a root mean square error of 0.9871 and 0.0153, respectively. Implementation of the regression model into the manipulation logic has provided a motion with 13 μm of accuracy.
Spectrum Analysis Enabled Periodic Feature Reconstruction Based Automatic Defect Detection System for Electroluminescence Images of Photovoltaic Modules
Authors: Yu Jiachuan , Yang Yuan , Zhang Hui , Sun Han , Zhang Zhisheng , Xia Zhijie , Zhu Jianxiong , Dai Min , Wen Haiying
Published: February 2022

Electroluminescence (EL) imaging is a widely adopted method in quality assurance of the photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing industry. With the growing demand for high-quality PV products, automatic inspection methods based on machine vision have become an emerging area concern to replace manual inspectors. Therefore, this paper presents an automatic defect-inspection method for multi-cell monocrystalline PV modules with EL images. A processing routine is designed to extract the defect features of the PV module, eliminating the influence of the intrinsic structural features. Spectrum domain analysis is applied to effectively reconstruct an improved PV layout from a defective one by spectrum filtering in a certain direction. The reconstructed image is used to segment the PV module into cells and slices. Based on the segmentation, defect detection is carried out on individual cells or slices to detect cracks, breaks, and speckles. Robust performance has been achieved from experiments on many samples with varying illumination conditions and defect shapes/sizes, which shows the proposed method can efficiently distinguish intrinsic structural features from the defect features, enabling precise and speedy defect detections on multi-cell PV modules.
Lactobacilli Strain Mixture Alleviates Bacterial Vaginosis through Antibacterial and Antagonistic Activity in Gardnerella vaginalis-Infected C57BL/6 Mice
Authors: Choi Soo-Im , Won GaYeong , Kim YongGyeong , Kang Chang-Ho , Kim Gun-Hee
Published: February 2022

The present study investigated the anti-bacterial vaginitis (BV) effects of a mixture of five lactobacilli strains (LM5), containing equal amounts of Ligilactobacillus salivarius MG242, Limosilactobacillus fermentum MG901, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MG989, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei MG4272, and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus MG4288), in HeLa cells and Gardnerella vaginalis (GV)-infected BV mice. All strains produced lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide, and were resistant to nonoxynol-9. LM5 significantly inhibited GV growth by 80%, exhibited good adhesion to HeLa cells, and significantly inhibited GV adhesion to these cells. In GV-infected mice, LM5 administered orally at 5 × 109 CFU/mouse significantly inhibited GV proliferation in the vaginal tract and significantly reduced myeloperoxidase activity, pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) levels, and nitric oxide levels in vaginal tissue lysates. Histopathological analysis of vaginal tissues revealed that LM5 markedly suppressed the exfoliation of vaginal epithelial cells. Overall, these results suggest that LM5 might alleviate BV by direct antibacterial and antagonistic activity in vaginal tissues of GV-infected mice.
Current Production Capability of Drug-Resistant Pathogen Enables Its Rapid Label-Free Detection Applicable to Wastewater-Based Epidemiology
Authors: Miran Waheed , Long Xizi , Huang Wenyuan , Okamoto Akihiro
Published: February 2022

A rapid and label-free method for the detection of drug-resistant pathogens is in high demand for wastewater-based epidemiology. As recently shown, the extent of electrical current production (Ic) is a useful indicator of a pathogen’s metabolic activity. Therefore, if drug-resistant bacteria have extracellular electron transport (EET) capability, a simple electric sensor may be able to detect not only the growth as a conventional plating technique but also metabolic activity specific for drug-resistant bacteria in the presence of antibiotics. Here, one of the multidrug-resistant pathogens in wastewater, Klebsiella pneumoniae, was shown to generate Ic, and the extent of Ic was unaffected by the microbial growth inhibitor, kanamycin, while the current was markedly decreased in environmental EET bacteria Shewanella oneidensis. Kanamycin differentiated Ic in K. pneumonia and S. oneidensis within 3 h. Furthermore, the detection of K. pneumoniae was successful in the presence of S. oneidensis in the electrochemical cell. These results clarify the advantage of detecting drug-resistant bacteria using whole-cell electrochemistry as a simple and rapid method to detect on-site drug-resistant pathogens in wastewater, compared with conventional colony counting, which takes a few days.
Kinetic Analysis of Recovering Zinc from Electric Arc Furnace Dust by Vacuum Carbothermic Reduction at 20 Pa
Authors: Ma Shaobo , Zhang Zhaohui , Xing Xiangdong , Xu Shuxiang , Li Xintao
Published: February 2022

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) presents a contamination hazard due to its heavy metal leachability. The traditional disposal methods of landfill or stacking not only pose a threat to the environment but also waste metal resources. This paper adopted vacuum carbothermic reduction to dispose of EAFD and the zinc metal could be obtained as a product. The reduction ratios of the EAFD were carried out under various reaction temperatures and times at 20 Pa. Furthermore, the kinetics of the reduction process was also studied. The reduction ratio of the reaction process can be facilitated through increasing the temperature or lengthening the time and can reach up to 99.6% under the condition of 1373 K with 60 min. The zinc ferrite and zinc oxide were reduced first and then iron oxide reduction occurred. The reduction process could be divided into three stages: Stage 1 involved the direct reduction of zinc ferrite and zinc oxide, and the control step was the phase boundary reaction with the apparent activation energy of 48.54 kJ/mol; Stage 2 involved the reduction of zinc oxide and iron oxide, and the control step was also the phase boundary reaction with the apparent activation energy of 56.27 kJ/mol; Stage 3 involved the escape of gas phase products and the control step was diffusion with the apparent activation energy of 105.3 kJ/mol.
Study of Reagent Scheme, Entrainment and Their Relationship in Chalcopyrite Flotation in the Presence of Bentonite and Kaolinite
Authors: Gu Guohua , Zhou Jianghui , Du Shiya , Liao Su , Wang Yanhong
Published: February 2022

Entrainment has been considered as an important factor affecting clayey ore flotation. In this study, the effect of reagent dosage on chalcopyrite flotation in the presence of bentonite and kaolinite was investigated through entrainment. It was found that increasing the collector and frother dosage had little influence on copper recovery in the presence of bentonite, but decreased the copper grade substantially, owing to the increase in entrainment. With regard to kaolinite, increasing the reagent dosage increased the copper grade prominently, due to the decrease in entrainment. The substantial variation was related to the different interactions between the reagent and different clay minerals. The smaller surface area and hydration property of bentonite made most of the reagent remain in the solution, facilitating high entrainment, while kaolinite, with its larger surface area, adsorbed most of the reagent, which decreased the entrainment. The results of this study suggest a guideline of controlling reagent scheme in clayey ore flotation, based on the specific structure and properties of different clay minerals.
Microplastic Extraction from the Sediment Using Potassium Formate Water Solution (H2O/KCOOH)
Authors: Jarosz Kinga , Natkański Piotr , Michalik Marek
Published: February 2022

Microplastics (MPs) are considered an important stratigraphic indicator, or ‘technofossils’, of the Anthropocene. Research on MP abundance in the environment has gained much attention but the lack of a standardized procedure has hindered the comparability of the results. The development of an effective and efficient method of MP extraction from the matrix is crucial for the proper identification and quantifying analysis of MPs in environmental samples. The procedures of density separation used currently have various limitations: high cost of reagents, limited solution density range, hazardous reagents, or a combination of the above. In this research, a procedure based on density separation with the use of potassium formate water solution (H2O/KCOOH) in controlled conditions was performed. Experimental sediment mixtures, spiked with polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polyurethane (PUR) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles were prepared and an extraction procedure was tested in the context of a weight-based quantitative analysis of MPs. This article discusses the effectiveness and safety of the method. It additionally provides new information on the interactions between MP particles and the mineral matter of the sediment. Results were acquired with the use of instrumental methods, namely thermogravimetry (TG), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron microscopy and Energy Dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS), as well as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis.
Antibiotic Removal from the Aquatic Environment with Activated Carbon Produced from Pumpkin Seeds
Authors: Alacabey İhsan
Published: February 2022

Antibiotics are among the most critical environmental pollutant drug groups. Adsorption is one of the methods used to eliminate these pollutants. In this study, activated carbon was produced from pumpkin seed shells and subsequently modified with KOH. The adsorbent obtained through this procedure was used to remove ciprofloxacin from aqueous systems. Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), elemental, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Zeta analyses were used to characterize the adsorbent. The surface area, in particular, was found to be a very remarkable value of 2730 m2/g. The conditions of the adsorption experiments were optimized based on interaction time, adsorbent amount, pH and temperature. Over 99% success was achieved in removal operations carried out under the most optimal conditions, with an absorption capacity of 884.9 mg·g−1. In addition, the Langmuir isotherm was determined to be the most suitable model for the adsorption interaction.
Dos(e)Age: Role of Dose and Age in the Long-Term Effect of Cannabinoids on Cognition
Authors: Zamberletti Erica , Rubino Tiziana
Published: February 2022

Cannabis is still the most widely used illicit drug around the world. While its use has always been prevalent among adolescents, recent evidence suggests that its consumption is also increasing among other population groups, such as pregnant women and aged people. Given the known impact of cannabis on brain development and behavior, it is important to dissect the possible long-term impact of its use across different age groups, especially on measures of cognitive performance. Animal models of cannabinoid exposure have represented a fundamental tool to characterize the long-lasting consequences of cannabinoids on cognitive performance and helped to identify possible factors that could modulate cannabinoids effects in the long term, such as the age of exposure and doses administered. This scoping review was systematically conducted using PubMed and includes papers published from 2015 to December 2021 that examined the effects of cannabinoids, either natural or synthetic, on cognitive performance in animal models where exposure occurred in the prenatal period, during adolescence, or in older animals. Overall, available data clearly point to a crucial role of age in determining the long-term effect of cannabinoid on cognition, highlighting possible detrimental consequences during brain development (prenatal and adolescent exposure) and beneficial outcomes in old age. In contrast, despite the recent advances in the field, it appears difficult to clearly establish a possible role of dosage in the effects of cannabinoids on cognition, especially when the adolescent period is taken into account.
Tocopheryl Phosphate Inhibits Rheumatoid Arthritis-Related Gene Expression In Vitro and Ameliorates Arthritic Symptoms in Mice
Authors: Hama Susumu , Kirimura Naoko , Obara Aki , Takatsu Hirokatsu , Kogure Kentaro
Published: February 2022

Anti-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) effects of α-tocopherol (α-T) have been shown in human patients in a double-blind trial. However, the effects of α-T and its derivatives on fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) during the pathogenesis of RA remain unclear. In the present study, we compared the expression levels of genes related to RA progression in FLS treated with α-T, succinic ester of α-T (TS), and phosphate ester of α-T (TP), as determined via RT-PCR. The mRNA levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, and MMP-13 were reduced by treatment with TP without cytotoxicity, while α-T and TS did not show such effects. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injection of TP ameliorated the edema of the foot and joint and improved the arthritis score in laminarin-induced RA model mice. Therefore, TP exerted anti-RA effects through by inhibiting RA-related gene expression.
Threefold Fermions, Weyl Points, and Superconductivity in the Mirror Symmetry Lacking Semiconductor TlCd2Te4
Authors: Huang Angus , Chen Chin-Hsuan , Jeng Horng-Tay
Published: February 2022

The topological phase transition and exotic quasiparticles in materials have attracted much attention because of their potential in spintronics and mimic of elementary particles. Especially, great research interest has been paid to search for the Weyl fermions in solid-state physics. By using first-principles calculations, we predict that the multinary semiconductor alloy TlCd2Te4 exhibits threefold fermions and nodal-line fermions, which are protected by the S4 improper rotational symmetry. Moreover, owing to the lack of inversion and mirror symmetries, the threefold fermions split into Weyl fermions when the spin-orbit coupling is included. The chiral charge of Weyl points and the Z2 time-reversal topological invariant are investigated. The topological surface states, spin texture, and electron-phonon coupling analysis are presented. Our study demonstrates TlCd2Te4 as a good platform to understand topological phase transitions as well as possible coexistance of topological Weyl semimetal and superconductivity in one single material.
Amino-Functionalized Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes as Efficient Basic Catalysts for the Formation of γ-Lactams: Synthesis of N-1-Heptenyl-2-pyrrolidinone
Authors: Barrios-Bermúdez Niurka , Cerpa-Naranjo Arisbel , Rojas-Cervantes María Luisa
Published: February 2022

In this work, we prepared a series of N-functionalized carbon nanotubes by means of a process of acylation-amidation of commercial multiwall carbon nanotubes that were previously pre-oxidized with nitric acid. Three different amines, butylamine, N,N-dimethyl ethylenediamine, and ethylenediamine, were used in the process. The characterization of samples by several techniques probed the incorporation of nitrogen atoms to the carbon nanotubes, especially in the case of ethylenediamine. The solids were tested as catalysts in the synthesis of N-1-heptenyl-2-pyrrolidinone, included in the group of a γ-lactams, compounds that show important biological properties. The most active catalyst was that prepared with butylamine, which exhibited the highest SBET and Vpore values and contained an amount of nitrogen that was intermediate between that of the other two catalysts. A yield of 60% to N-1-heptenyl-2-pyrrolidinone was achieved after 3 h at 120 °C under free-solvent conditions. This catalyst could be used in four consecutive cycles without significant activity loss.
Nanocomposites of Rigid Polyurethane Foam and Graphene Nanoplates Obtained by Exfoliation of Natural Graphite in Polymeric 4,4′-Diphenylmethane Diisocyanate
Authors: Shin Se-Ra , Lee Dai-Soo
Published: February 2022

The influence of graphene nanoplates (GNPs) obtained by the ecofriendly exfoliation of natural graphite has been addressed on the mechanical and thermal insulating properties of rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs). Few-layer GNPs with few defects were prepared in polymeric 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (pMDI) under ultrasonication to obtain a GNP/pMDI dispersion. GNP/pMDI dispersions with different GNP concentrations were used to prepare RPUF nanocomposites via in situ polymerization. An important finding is that the GNP/pMDI dispersion exhibits lyotropic liquid crystalline behavior. It was found that the unique orientation of GNPs above the concentration of 0.1 wt% in the dispersion affected the mechanical and thermal insulation properties of the RPUF nanocomposites. GNP/RPUF nanocomposites with GNP concentrations at 0.2 wt% or more showed better thermal insulating properties than neat RPUF. The lyotropic liquid crystalline ordering of GNPs provides stable nucleation for bubble formation during foaming and prevents bubble coalescence. This decreases the average cell size and increases the closed cell content, producing GNP/RPUF nanocomposites with low thermal conductivity. Furthermore, GNPs incorporated into RPUF act as a barrier to radiant heat transfer through the cells, which effectively reduces the thermal conductivity of the resulting nanocomposites. It is expected that the nanocomposite of RPUF investigated in this study can be applied practically to improve the performance of thermal insulation foams.
Novel Tools to Measure Single Molecules Colocalization in Fluorescence Nanoscopy by Image Cross Correlation Spectroscopy
Authors: Pelicci Simone , Furia Laura , Scanarini Mirco , Pelicci Pier Giuseppe , Lanzanò Luca , Faretta Mario
Published: February 2022

Super Resolution Microscopy revolutionized the approach to the study of molecular interactions by providing new quantitative tools to describe the scale below 100 nanometers. Single Molecule Localization Microscopy (SMLM) reaches a spatial resolution less than 50 nm with a precision in calculating molecule coordinates between 10 and 20 nanometers. However new procedures are required to analyze data from the list of molecular coordinates created by SMLM. We propose new tools based on Image Cross Correlation Spectroscopy (ICCS) to quantify the colocalization of fluorescent signals at single molecule level. These analysis procedures have been inserted into an experimental pipeline to optimize the produced results. We show that Fluorescent NanoDiamonds targeted to an intracellular compartment can be employed (i) to correct spatial drift to maximize the localization precision and (ii) to register confocal and SMLM images in correlative multiresolution, multimodal imaging. We validated the ICCS based approach on defined biological control samples and showed its ability to quantitatively map area of interactions inside the cell. The produced results show that the ICCS analysis is an efficient tool to measure relative spatial distribution of different molecular species at the nanoscale.