bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Bimodal Model to Estimate Dynamic Metropolitan Population by Mobile Phone Data
Authors: Feng Jie , Li Yong , Xu Fengli , Jin Depeng
Published: October 2018

Accurate, real-time and fine-spatial population distribution is crucial for urban planning, government management, and advertisement promotion. Limited by technics and tools, we rely on the census to obtain this information in the past, which is coarse and costly. The popularity of mobile phones gives us a new opportunity to investigate population estimation. However, real-time and accurate population estimation is still a challenging problem because of the coarse localization and complicated user behaviors. With the help of the passively collected human mobility and locations from the mobile networks including call detail records and mobility management signals, we develop a bimodal model beyond the prior work to better estimate real-time population distribution at metropolitan scales. We discuss how the estimation interval, space granularity, and data type will influence the estimation accuracy, and find the data collected from the mobility management signals with the 30 min estimation interval performs better which reduces the population estimation error by 30% in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). These results show us the great potential of using bimodal model and mobile phone data to estimate real-time population distribution.
NO-Donor Nitrosyl Iron Complex with 2-Aminophenolyl Ligand Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits NF-κB Function in HeLa Cells
Authors: Stupina Tatiana , Balakina Anastasia , Kondrat’eva Tatiana , Kozub Galina , Sanina Natalia , Terent’ev Alexei
Published: October 2018

NO donating iron nitrosyl complex with 2-aminothiophenyl ligand (2-AmPh complex) was studied for its ability to cause cell death and affect nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling. The complex inhibited viability of HeLa cells and induced cell death that was accompanied by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and characteristic for apoptosis phosphatidylserine externalization. At IC50, 2-AmPh caused decrease in nuclear content of NF-κB p65 polypeptide and mRNA expression of NF-κB target genes encoding interleukin-8 and anti-apoptotic protein BIRC3. mRNA levels of interleukin-6 and anti-apoptotic protein BIRC2 encoding genes were not affected. Our data demonstrate that NO donating iron nitrosyl complex 2-AmPh can inhibit tumor cell viability and induce apoptosis that is preceded by impairment of NF-κB function and suppression of a subset of NF-κB target genes.
Consumption-Based Accounting and the Trade-Carbon Emissions Nexus in Asia: A Heterogeneous, Common Factor Panel Analysis
Authors: Liddle Brantley
Published: October 2018

This paper considers a recently developed consumption-based carbon emissions database from which emissions calculations are made based on the domestic use of fossil fuels plus the embodied emissions from imports minus exports, to test directly for the importance of trade in national emissions. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) alone is responsible for over half the global outflows of carbon via trade. The econometric estimations—which focused on a panel of 20 Asian countries—determined that: (i) trade flows were significant for consumption-based emissions but not for territory-based emissions; and (ii) exports and imports offset each other in that exports lower consumption-based emissions, whereas imports increase them. Hence, all countries should have both an interest and a responsibility to help lower the carbon intensity of energy in countries that are particularly important for global carbon transfers—the PRC and India.
Earth-Sheltered House: A Case Study of Dobraca Village House near Kragujevac, Serbia
Authors: Milanović Aleksandar Rudnik , Kurtović Folić Nadja , Folić Radomir
Published: October 2018

This paper presents the case study of the authors’ design of the earth-sheltered house in Village Dobraca near Kragujevac, Serbia, in the context of development and some thermal properties of the underground housing. The historical insight, in brief, provides a better understanding of the reasons for their modern use as energy efficient and sustainable structures. It shows that underground houses even today are more thermally efficient than above ground houses since, besides earth, there is no need for new additional thermal layers. The article also includes a review of the representative physical forms of the underground housing through different periods, with the result of measurement of their main properties. The study of the underground housing structures provides an insight of the relation between the location and typology of underground homes in a contest of climate zones. These structures have an almost constant temperature, which provides the primary “comfort” condition in which the man is determined to live in. The results on property-based monitoring data showed that the earth-sheltered house could provide the thermal comfort that is close to the ideal human needs temperature. Today, the new materials and especially the solar, geothermal, and wind accessories, enables the maximum sustainability of these specific building structures and provides them with an even better energy efficiency.
The Relationship between POC Export Efficiency and Primary Production: Opposite on the Shelf and Basin of the Northern South China Sea
Authors: Li Teng , Bai Yan , He Xianqiang , Chen Xiaoyan , Chen Chen-Tung Arthur , Tao Bangyi , Pan Delu , Zhang Xuan
Published: October 2018

Accurate estimation of particulate organic carbon (POC) export efficiency in the euphotic layer is essential to understand the efficiency of the ocean’s biological carbon pump, but field measurements are difficult to conduct and data are sparse. In this study, we investigated the relationship between POC sinking export efficiency and ocean net primary production (NPP) in the euphotic layer of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), with the help of high spatiotemporal coverage satellite-derived NPP. Annual mean POC export efficiency in euphotic zone is 34% for the shelf areas and 24% for the basin of the NSCS in the context of satellite-derived 16-day-composited NPP. Similar to what is generally observed in the global ocean, the POC export efficiency on the shelf areas appears to be strengthened with the increase of NPP. However, in the basin areas, the opposite relationship is observed. That is, the POC export efficiency significantly decreases with the increase of NPP. Seasonal decoupling between NPP and POC export, phytoplankton size structure, grazing by zooplankton, and dissolved organic carbon export might account for the observed negative relationship between the POC export efficiency and NPP in the euphotic layer of basin region. System comparison between shelf and basin would be helpful to promote understanding of the regulation mechanism of POC export in the tropical marginal seas.
Facilitating Business Collaborations for Industrial Symbiosis: The Pilot Experience of the Sustainable Industrial Network Program in Colombia
Authors: Park Jooyoung , Duque-Hernández Juanita , Díaz-Posada Nohora
Published: October 2018

Industrial symbiosis refers to a collaborative strategy of exchanging physical resources and sharing services among industrial actors, which enhances the resource efficiency and reduces the environmental impacts of industrial operations within the network. Although it can contribute to sustainable development in emerging economies, few studies have examined the dynamics of industrial symbiosis in such regions. We initiated a capacity-building pilot program for industrial symbiosis in Colombia and formulated 20 industrial symbiosis projects with 36 companies. Based on our experience over the first year, we conducted an exploratory case study of the mechanisms that facilitate the development of industrial symbiosis. Specifically, we analyzed the nature of this facilitation and how its activities influence the key determining factors of industrial symbiosis in technical, economic, organizational, social, and institutional categories. Our facilitation approach focused on identifying opportunities and building capacity for industrial symbiosis innovation by influencing mainly the organizational and social factors. The facilitation approach requires further adjustments and experimentation to expand industrial symbiosis and to ensure the eventual implementation of these projects. This study contributes to the understanding of management perspectives of industrial symbiosis development in the context of an emerging economy.
Playing for a Sustainable Future: The Case of We Energy Game as an Educational Practice
Authors: Ouariachi Tania , Elving Wim J. L. , Pierie Frank
Published: October 2018

Energy transition is key to achieving a sustainable future. However, in this transition, an often neglected pillar is raising awareness and educating individuals on the benefits, complexities, and urgency of renewable energy supply and energy efficiency. This paper exemplifies an educational practice to create awareness on sustainable energy transition by playing a “serious” game, the We Energy Game. Concretely, this qualitative study aims to analyze communicational and educational aspects of the game by making use of a validated framework for serious games analysis, and to expose the opinion of players after maintaining group discussions. The analysis reveals a detailed insight of narrative elements, messages, and gameplay mechanisms, but also educative aspects to be considered by teachers if they are interested in putting the game into practice in their classes. The group discussion reveals that the game has been more successful in achieving cognitive (understanding/knowledge) and affective (emotion/interest and concern) engagement than in motivating attitudinal or behavioral engagement.
Online and Offline Representations of Biocultural Diversity: A Political Ecology Perspective on Nature-Based Tourism and Indigenous Communities in the Brazilian Pantanal
Authors: Arts Koen , Rabelo Maiara Thaisa Oliveira , De Figueiredo Daniela Maimoni , Maffey Georgina , Ioris Antonio Augusto Rossotto , Girard Pierre
Published: October 2018

The concept of biocultural diversity is confronted with contemporary changes that impact on local communities, such as globalization and digital transformations. Engaging the conceptual flexibility of ‘biocultural diversity’, we studied nature-based tourism at the intersection of indigenous communities and the digital realm. We employed a political ecology perspective to examine online and offline representations of biocultural diversity in the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the biggest wetlands in the world, and home to groups of peoples known as the Pantaneiros. Data from interviews with 48 stakeholders in the tourist sector were structured along three ‘myths’—the Uncivilised, Unrestrained, and Unchanged—for which we have also constructed counter narratives. Each myth denoted the primacy of biodiversity, and ignored broader dimensions of the Pantanal as a bioculturally diverse landscape. The relationships of the Pantaneiros with their environment were found to be intricate and had clear repercussions for tourism, but ironically, reference to the Pantaneiro culture in nature-based tourism was superficial. Moreover, thriving on the myths, this form of tourism perpetuates skewed power structures and social inequalities. Lower-class Pantaneiros likely suffer most from this. We recommend stakeholder engagement with a biocultural design that facilitates the integration of other-than-biodiversity values, and that thereby promotes sustainability of the entire social-ecological system.
Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal
Authors: Morais Tiago G. , Teixeira Ricardo F. M. , Rodrigues Nuno R. , Domingos Tiago
Published: October 2018

The dairy sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Pasture-based dairy production is sometimes credited as environmentally friendlier but is less studied than more intensive production systems. Here we characterize and calculate the carbon footprint (CF), using life cycle assessment, of the “Vacas Felizes” pasture-based milk production system, in the Azores archipelago. Impacts were determined for multiple functional units: mass, energy and nutritional content, farm, area and animal. We performed multivariate analysis to assess the contribution of production parameters to the CF. Finally, we performed a literature review to compare these results with other production systems. Results show that emissions from enteric fermentation, concentrated feed production and (organic and mineral) fertilizer application are the three main sources of impact. Milk yield is a key production feature for the determination of emissions. The average CF is 0.83 kg CO2/kg raw milk. At each milk yield level, the farms are approximately homogeneous. Compared with other studies, “Vacas Felizes” milk has a lower CF than 80 (out of 84) published CFs and on average it is approximately 32% lower.
Analysis of Worker Category Social Impacts in Different Types of Concrete Plant Operations: A Case Study in South Korea
Authors: Roh Seungjun , Tae Sungho , Kim Rakhyun , Martínez Daniela
Published: October 2018

As sustainable development has emerged as a priority on the international agenda, increasing emphasis has been placed on “Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA),” wherein environmental, economic, and social performance are comprehensively integrated. This study, as part of an LCSA approach, uses Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) to analyze the worker category social impact for concrete plants in South Korea. For the analysis, three types of concrete plant with different operating systems were selected and evaluated: Direct operation, operated by dedicated concrete manufacturers, and operated by cement suppliers. Eleven major social topics, which were mentioned in the international standards and international institutes, were selected as the subjects of evaluation; the social impacts were evaluated by applying the evaluative criteria for social topics presented in the Handbook for Product Social Life Cycle Assessment of PRé Sustainability. We determined that the highest social impact was found in concrete plants operated by cement suppliers (0.77), followed by plants operated by dedicated concrete manufacturers (0.50), and finally by plants with direct operations (0.09). These results can be applied by concrete plants to improve worker category areas in which they are lacking and by future researchers to evaluate the sustainable development of a variety of industries.
Relating Noncommutative SO(2,3)★ Gravity to the Lorentz-Violating Standard-Model Extension
Authors: Bailey Quentin G. , Lane Charles D.
Published: October 2018

We consider a model of noncommutative gravity that is based on a spacetime with broken local SO(2,3) ★ symmetry. We show that the torsion-free version of this model is contained within the framework of the Lorentz-violating Standard-Model Extension (SME). We analyze in detail the relation between the torsion-free, quadratic limits of the broken SO(2,3) ★ model and the Standard-Model Extension. As part of the analysis, we construct the relevant geometric quantities to quadratic order in the metric perturbation around a flat background.
Practical, Provably Secure, and Black-Box Traceable CP-ABE for Cryptographic Cloud Storage
Authors: Qiao Huidong , Ba Haihe , Zhou Huaizhe , Wang Zhiying , Ren Jiangchun , Hu Ying
Published: October 2018

Cryptographic cloud storage (CCS) is a secure architecture built in the upper layer of a public cloud infrastructure. In the CCS system, a user can define and manage the access control of the data by himself without the help of cloud storage service provider. The ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE) is considered as the critical technology to implement such access control. However, there still exists a large security obstacle to the implementation of CP-ABE in CCS. That is, how to identify the malicious cloud user who illegally shares his private keys with others or applies his keys to construct a decryption device/black-box, and provides the decryption service. Although several CP-ABE schemes with black-box traceability have been proposed to address the problem, most of them are not practical in CCS systems, due to the absence of scalability and expensive computation cost, especially the cost of tracing. Thus, we present a new black-box traceable CP-ABE scheme that is scalable and high efficient. To achieve a much better performance, our work is designed on the prime order bilinear groups that results in a great improvement in the efficiency of group operations, and the cost of tracing is reduced greatly to O ( N ) or O ( 1 ) , where N is the number of users of a system. Furthermore, our scheme is proved secure in a selective standard model. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first such practical and provably secure CP-ABE scheme for CCS, which is black-box traceable.
A Multi-Granularity 2-Tuple QFD Method and Application to Emergency Routes Evaluation
Authors: Mei Yanlan , Liang Yingying , Tu Yan
Published: October 2018

Quality function deployment (QFD) is an effective approach to satisfy the customer requirements (CRs). Furthermore, accurately prioritizing the engineering characteristics (ECs) as the core of QFD is considered as a group decision making (GDM) problem. In order to availably deal with various preferences and the vague information of different experts on a QFD team, multi-granularity 2-tuple linguistic representation is applied to elucidate the relationship and correlation between CRs and ECs without loss of information. In addition, the importance of CRs is determined using the best worst method (BWM), which is more applicable and has good consistency. Furthermore, we propose considering the relationship matrix and correlation matrix method to prioritize ECs. Finally, an example about evaluating emergency routes of metro station is proposed to illustrate the validity of the proposed methodology.
A Two-Stage Big Data Analytics Framework with Real World Applications Using Spark Machine Learning and Long Short-Term Memory Network
Authors: Khan Muhammad Ashfaq , Karim Md. Rezaul , Kim Yangwoo
Published: October 2018

Every day we experience unprecedented data growth from numerous sources, which contribute to big data in terms of volume, velocity, and variability. These datasets again impose great challenges to analytics framework and computational resources, making the overall analysis difficult for extracting meaningful information in a timely manner. Thus, to harness these kinds of challenges, developing an efficient big data analytics framework is an important research topic. Consequently, to address these challenges by exploiting non-linear relationships from very large and high-dimensional datasets, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms are being used in analytics frameworks. Apache Spark has been in use as the fastest big data processing arsenal, which helps to solve iterative ML tasks, using distributed ML library called Spark MLlib. Considering real-world research problems, DL architectures such as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is an effective approach to overcoming practical issues such as reduced accuracy, long-term sequence dependency, and vanishing and exploding gradient in conventional deep architectures. In this paper, we propose an efficient analytics framework, which is technically a progressive machine learning technique merged with Spark-based linear models, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and LSTM, using a two-stage cascade structure in order to enhance the predictive accuracy. Our proposed architecture enables us to organize big data analytics in a scalable and efficient way. To show the effectiveness of our framework, we applied the cascading structure to two different real-life datasets to solve a multiclass and a binary classification problem, respectively. Experimental results show that our analytical framework outperforms state-of-the-art approaches with a high-level of classification accuracy.
Two-Degree-Of-Freedom Dynamic Model-Based Terminal Sliding Mode Control with Observer for Dual-Driving Feed Stage
Authors: Fan Wei , Lu Hong , Zhang Xinbao , Zhang Yongquan , Zeng Rong , Liu Qi
Published: October 2018

The position synchronous control of multi-axis gantry-type feed stage is crucial in precision machine tools. Industrial position control which aims to widen the bandwidth and improve disturbance rejection of single axis is not enough to achieve precise synchronization in a dual-driving feed stage. The characteristics diversity, transmission-mechanism deformation, and mechanical coupling effect between dual axes will degrade the control accuracy. Hence, the novel two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) dynamic model-based terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) with disturbance and state observer is proposed in this paper for the synchronous control of a 2-DOF dual-driving feed stage. The 2-DOF dynamic model, based on Lagrange equation, is established along with the parameters identification method. The predictive natural frequencies and vibration modes frequencies by the proposed dynamic model are compared by a modal experiment. Then, the 2-DOF dynamic model-based TSMC is provided to satisfy the tracking and synchronization control. In order to reduce the chattering and to increase the robustness against the mechanical coupling, the disturbance and state observer is designed. Moreover, Lyapunov stability criterion is used to analyze the stability of the proposed control scheme. Finally, an industrial application of 2-DOF dual-driving feed stage is utilized to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. The proposed 2-DOF dynamic model-based TSMC with observer has been effectively demonstrated to improve synchronous performance and tracking accuracy.
A Semi-Supervised Model for Top-N Recommendation
Authors: Chen Shulong , Peng Yuxing
Published: October 2018

Top-N recommendation is an important recommendation technique that delivers a ranked top-N item list to each user. Data sparsity is a great challenge for top-N recommendation. In order to tackle this problem, in this paper, we propose a semi-supervised model called Semi-BPR (Semi-Supervised Bayesian Personalized Ranking). Our approach is based on the assumption that, for a given model, users always prefer items ranked higher in the generated recommendation list. Therefore, we select a certain number of items ranked higher in the recommendation list to construct an intermediate set and optimize the metric Area Under the Curve (AUC). In addition, we treat the intermediate set as a teaching set and design a semi-supervised self-training model. We conduct a series of experiments on three popular datasets to compare the proposed approach with several state-of-the-art baselines. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach significantly outperforms the other methods for all evaluation metrics, especially for sparse datasets.
Urea Memory: Transient Cell Exposure to Urea Causes Persistent Mitochondrial ROS Production and Endothelial Dysfunction
Authors: D’Apolito Maria , Colia Anna Laura , Manca Enrica , Pettoello-Mantovani Massimo , Sacco Michele , Maffione Angela Bruna , Brownlee Michael , Giardino Ida
Published: October 2018

Urea at post-dialysis levels induces increased ROS in a number of cell types. The aim of this study was to determine whether urea-induced production of ROS remains elevated after urea is no longer present, and, if it does, to characterize its origin and effects. Human arterial endothelial cells were incubated with 20 mM urea for two days, and then cells were incubated for an additional two days in medium alone. Maximal ROS levels induced by initial urea continued at the same level despite urea being absent. These effects were prevented by either MnSOD expression or by Nox1/4 inhibition with GKT13781. Sustained urea-induced ROS caused a persistent reduction in mtDNA copy number and electron transport chain transcripts, a reduction in transcription of mitochondrial fusion proteins, an increase in mitochondrial fission proteins, and persistent expression of endothelial inflammatory markers. The SOD-catalase mimetic MnTBAP reversed each of these. These results suggest that persistent increases in ROS after cells are no long exposed to urea may play a major role in continued kidney damage and functional decline despite reduction of urea levels after dialysis.
Trends in Tuberculosis Incidence in the Australian-Born in Victoria: Opportunities and Challenges to Elimination
Authors: Xie Ouli , Tay Ee Laine , Denholm Justin
Published: October 2018

Australia is a low tuberculosis incidence country. In the setting of increasing migration, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology and trends of tuberculosis in the Australian-born population in the state of Victoria between 1992 and 2017. We performed a retrospective descriptive analysis of demographic, clinical and outcome data extracted from a centralized notifiable disease database. The mean incidence of tuberculosis was 1.19 cases per 100,000 population per year with a small but significant reduction of 0.98% per year. The median age of cases decreased from 67.5 years in 1994 to 17 years in 2017. Among 0–14 year-olds, there was an increase from 0.13 cases per 100,000 population in 1996 to 2.15 per 100,000 population in 2017. Data for risk factors were available from 2002 onwards. The most common risk factor in the 0–14 year age group was a household contact with tuberculosis (85.1%), followed by having a parent from a high tuberculosis incidence country (70.2%). We found the rate of tuberculosis in the Australian-born population in Victoria is low. However, there has been an increase in incidence in children, particularly among those with links to countries with high tuberculosis incidence. This could threaten progress towards tuberculosis elimination in Australia.
Cosmological Bounce and Some Other Solutions in Exponential Gravity
Authors: Bari Pritha , Bhattacharya Kaushik , Chakraborty Saikat
Published: October 2018

In this work, we present some cosmologically relevant solutions using the spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) spacetime in metric f ( R ) gravity where the form of the gravitational Lagrangian is given by 1 α e α R . In the low curvature limit this theory reduces to ordinary Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian together with a cosmological constant term. Precisely because of this cosmological constant term this theory of gravity is able to support nonsingular bouncing solutions in both matter and vacuum background. Since for this theory of gravity f ′ and f ″ is always positive, this is free of both ghost instability and tachyonic instability. Moreover, because of the existence of the cosmological constant term, this gravity theory also admits a de-Sitter solution. Lastly we hint towards the possibility of a new type of cosmological solution that is possible only in higher derivative theories of gravity like this one.
Roles of orf60a and orf61 in Development of Bacteriophages λ and Φ24B
Authors: Dydecka Aleksandra , Nejman-Faleńczyk Bożena , Bloch Sylwia , Topka Gracja , Necel Agnieszka , Donaldson Logan W. , Węgrzyn Grzegorz , Węgrzyn Alicja
Published: October 2018

The exo-xis region of lambdoid bacteriophage genomes contains several established and potential genes that are evolutionarily conserved, but not essential for phage propagation under laboratory conditions. Nevertheless, deletion or overexpression of either the whole exo-xis region and important regulatory elements can significantly influence the regulation of phage development. This report defines specific roles for orf60a and orf61 in bacteriophage λ and Φ24B, a specific Shiga toxin-converting phage with clinical relevance. We observed that mutant phages bearing deletions of orf60a and orf61 impaired two central aspects of phage development: the lysis-versus-lysogenization decision and prophage induction. These effects were more pronounced for phage Φ24B than for λ. Surprisingly, adsorption of phage Φ24B on Escherichia coli host cells was less efficient in the absence of either orf60a or orf61. We conclude that these open reading frames (ORFs) play important, but not essential, roles in the regulation of lambdoid phage development. Although phages can propagate without these ORFs in nutrient media, we suggest that they may be involved in the regulatory network, ensuring optimization of phage development under various environmental conditions.
First Isolation and Characterization of a Group C Banna Virus (BAV) from Anopheles sinensis Mosquitoes in Hubei, China
Authors: Xia Han , Liu Hong , Zhao Lu , Atoni Evans , Wang Yujuan , Yuan Zhiming
Published: October 2018

Banna virus (BAV) is considered to be an emerging human pathogen that is transmitted by blood-sucking insects. BAV was isolated from various species of mosquitoes, midges, and livestock. It is widely distributed geographically, since it was identified in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Previously reported evolution studies of BAV indicated that BAV can be divided into two groups, including isolates from China and Vietnam clustered in group A, and Indonesian isolates in group B. In this study, we report the isolation of a new strain of BAV named HB14-71-01 from Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes from Hubei, China. An in vitro comparison study of the HB14-71-01 isolate and the group A BAV revealed differences based on observed cytopathic effect, plaque size, and viral growth rates. Additionally, the phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Hubei isolate belongs to a novel genotype of BAV and emerged nearly 105 years ago (95% highest posterior density (HPD): 35–434), unlike the two previously reported genotypes A and B. Our findings extend the knowledge about the genomic diversity and potential vectors/hosts of BAVs and will improve understanding of the relationships between genetic variation and pathogenicity.
Characterization of Critical Functions of Long Non-Coding RNAs and mRNAs in Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells and Mouse Skeletal Muscle Infected by Enterovirus 71 Using RNA-Seq
Authors: Li Ying , Zhang Chao , Qin Luwei , Li Dong , Zhou Guangyuan , Dang Dejian , Chen Shuaiyin , Sun Tiantian , Zhang Rongguang , Wu Weidong , Xi Yuanlin , Jin Yuefei , Duan Guangcai
Published: October 2018

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the main pathogen of severe hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recognized as pivotal factors during the pathogenesis of viral infection. However, the critical functions of lncRNAs in EV71–host interactions have not been characterized. Here, for the first time, we performed global transcriptome analysis of lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in EV71-infected human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cells and skeletal muscle of mice using second-generation sequencing. In our study, a total of 3801 novel lncRNAs were identified. In addition, 23 lncRNAs and 372 mRNAs exhibited remarkable differences in expression levels between infected and uninfected RD cells, while 104 lncRNAs and 2647 mRNAs were differentially expressed in infected skeletal muscle from neonatal mice. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis included target gene prediction, lncRNA‑mRNA co-expression network construction, as well as gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis mainly focused on differentially-expressed genes (DEGs). Our results suggest that lncRNAs may participate in EV71 infection-induced pathogenesis through regulating immune responses, protein binding, cellular component biogenesis and metabolism. The present study provides novel insights into the functions of lncRNAs and the possible pathogenic mechanism following EV71 infection.
Monitoring Seasonal Pasture Quality Degradation in the Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem: Proximal versus Remote Sensing
Authors: Serrano João , Shahidian Shakib , Marques da Silva José
Published: October 2018

Montado is an agro-forestry system occupying a large surface in countries of the Mediterranean region. In this system, the natural dryland pasture is the principal source for animal feed in extensive grazing. The climatic seasonality associated with the inter-annual irregularity of precipitation greatly influences the development of pasture and its vegetative cycle. The end of spring is a critical period in terms of animal feed due to the notable reduction in the nutritive value of the plants. The objective of this work was to evaluate, through the correlation between pasture quality indexes (Pasture Quality Degradation Index, PQDI and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI), two technological approaches for monitoring the evolution of the quality of a biodiverse pasture in the period of greatest vegetative development (between February and June). The technological approaches consisted of (i) proximal sensing (PS), with the use of an active optical sensor; and (ii) remote sensing (RS), using images captured by a Sentinel-2 satellite. The results of this study show strong and significant correlations between PQDI and NDVI (obtained by PS or RS). These two techniques (PS or RS) can, therefore, be used in a complementary way to identify and anticipate the food supplementation needs for animals and support farmers in decision making.
Understanding Morphodynamic Changes of a Tidal River Confluence through Field Measurements and Numerical Modeling
Authors: Xie Qiancheng , Yang James , Lundström Staffan , Dai Wenhong
Published: October 2018

A confluence is a natural component in river and channel networks. This study deals, through field and numerical studies, with alluvial behaviors of a confluence affected by both river run-off and strong tides. Field measurements were conducted along the rivers including the confluence. Field data show that the changes in flow velocity and sediment concentration are not always in phase with each other. The concentration shows a general trend of decrease from the river mouth to the confluence. For a given location, the tides affect both the sediment concentration and transport. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of suspended load was set up to illustrate the combined effects of run-off and tidal flows. Modeled cases included the flood and ebb tides in a wet season. Typical features examined included tidal flow fields, bed shear stress, and scour evolution in the confluence. The confluence migration pattern of scour is dependent on the interaction between the river currents and tidal flows. The flood tides are attributable to the suspended load deposition in the confluence, while the ebb tides in combination with run-offs lead to erosion. The flood tides play a dominant role in the morphodynamic changes of the confluence.
FDOM Conversion in Karst Watersheds Expressed by Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Authors: Liu Wen , Zhang Liankai , Liu Pengyu , Qin Xiaoqun , Shan Xiaojing , Yao Xin
Published: October 2018

A karst system, formed by the dissolution of carbonate rocks, is usually susceptible to contamination. Little is known about the composition of natural dissolved organic matter (DOM) in groundwater systems, especially in karstic groundwater. To reveal the characteristics of DOM in a karst aquifer, the Yufuhe River Basin, a typical karst watershed in northern China, was selected. DOM fluorescence (FDOM) was measured with the excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) spectroscopy technique. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was used to analyze the karst hydrogeological factors that affect FDOM biogeochemical behavior. Three fluorescent components, i.e., tyrosine-like, tryptophan-like, and ultraviolet fulvic acid were found. Their fluorescence properties were closely related to human activity and subterranean hydrology. Fluorescence properties suggested that FDOM in the Yufuhe River karst aquifer was predominant from anthropogenic activity. In addition, due to the effect of karstic heterogeneous hydrological conditions, FDOM showed obvious differentiation in the recharge, flow path, and discharge systems. The FDOM fluorescence intensity (FI) was weak in surface water and groundwater at the upper reaches (recharge area). In the middle of the flow path area, the percentage of tyrosine-like and tryptophan-like substances degraded and fulvic acid rose gradually. However, after infiltrating into the lower reaches (discharge area) of the deep karst aquifer system, the fulvic acid matter was consumed and protein-like matter accumulated.
Regulatory Challenges for the Use of Reclaimed Water in Mexico: A Case Study in Baja California
Authors: Gilabert-Alarcón Christian , Salgado-Méndez Saúl O. , Daesslé Luis Walter , Mendoza-Espinosa Leopoldo G. , Villada-Canela Mariana
Published: October 2018

In Mexico, water planning is based on the National Water Law, the core of which is Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The municipality provides wastewater treatment and reuse, and an integrated approach is mandatory for these processes. However, a traditional (non-integrated) management regime has prevailed in water legislation, resulting in pollution and the inefficient use of water. The objectives of this research were to analyze the Mexican legal framework and international guidelines in the use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation and environmental discharges, and to evaluate challenges facing reclaimed water in the Maneadero Valley, Baja California, as a case study. Results show that wastewater reuse was implemented in the absence of integrative planning and assessment of the potential impacts on the environment and public health. In addition, gaps between decisions linked to the legal attributes of the relevant institutions were identified. Defined roles across the three levels of authority, transparent and congruent funding, coherent water-quality requirements and the strengthening of stakeholder participation are needed to adopt integrated water resource management for reclaimed water use. The alignment of common goals on public health, environmental protection and agricultural development between authorities and the different sectors is crucial to bridge these challenges.
Computational Determination of Air Valves Capacity Using CFD Techniques
Authors: García-Todolí Salvador , Iglesias-Rey Pedro L. , Mora-Meliá Daniel , Martínez-Solano F. Javier , Fuertes-Miquel Vicente S.
Published: October 2018

The analysis of transient flow is necessary to design adequate protection systems that support the oscillations of pressure produced in the operation of motor elements and regulation. Air valves are generally used in pressurized water pipes to manage the air inside them. Under certain circumstances, they can be used as an indirect control mechanism of the hydraulic transient. Unfortunately, one of the major limitations is the reliability of information provided by manufacturers and vendors, which is why experimental trials are usually used to characterize such devices. The realization of these tests is not simple since they require an enormous volume of previously stored air to be used in such experiments. Additionally, the costs are expensive. Consequently, it is necessary to develop models that represent the behaviour of these devices. Although computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques cannot completely replace measurements, the amount of experimentation and the overall cost can be reduced significantly. This work approaches the characterization of air valves using CFD techniques, including some experimental tests to calibrate and validate the results. A mesh convergence analysis was made. The results show how the CFD models are an efficient alternative to represent the behavior of air valves during the entry and exit of air to the system, implying a better knowledge of the system to improve it.
Observed Trends of Climate and River Discharge in Mongolia’s Selenga Sub-Basin of the Lake Baikal Basin
Authors: Dorjsuren Batsuren , Yan Denghua , Wang Hao , Chonokhuu Sonomdagva , Enkhbold Altanbold , Yiran Xu , Girma Abel , Gedefaw Mohammed , Abiyu Asaminew
Published: October 2018

Mongolia’s Selenga sub-basin of the Lake Baikal basin is spatially extensive, with pronounced environmental gradients driven primarily by precipitation and air temperature on broad scales. Therefore, it is an ideal region to examine the dynamics of the climate and the hydrological system. This study investigated the annual precipitation, air temperature, and river discharge variability at five selected stations of the sub-basin by using Mann-Kendall (MK), Innovative trend analysis method (ITAM), and Sen’s slope estimator test. The result showed that the trend of annual precipitation was slightly increasing in Ulaanbaatar (Z = 0.71), Erdenet (Z = 0.13), and Tsetserleg (Z = 0.26) stations. Whereas Murun (Z = 2.45) and Sukhbaatar (Z = 1.06) stations showed a significant increasing trend. And also, the trend of annual air temperature in Ulaanbaatar (Z = 5.88), Erdenet (Z = 3.87), Tsetserleg (Z = 4.38), Murun (Z = 4.77), and Sukhbaatar (Z = 2.85) was sharply increased. The average air temperature has significantly increased by 1.4 °C in the past 38 years. This is very high in the semi-arid zone of central Asia. The river discharge showed a significantly decreasing trend during the study period years. It has been apparent since 1995. The findings of this paper could help researchers to understand the annual variability of precipitation, air temperature, and river discharge over the study region and, therefore, become a foundation for further studies.
Transition metal-free oxidative and deoxygenative C–H/C–Li cross-couplings of 2H-imidazole 1-oxides with carboranyl lithium as an efficient synthetic approach to azaheterocyclic carboranes
Authors: Smyshliaeva Lidia A , Varaksin Mikhail V , Slepukhin Pavel A , Chupakhin Oleg N , Charushin Valery N
Published: October 2018

The direct C–H functionalization methodology has first been applied to perform transition metal-free C–H/C–Li cross-couplings of 2H-imidazole 1-oxides with carboranyllithium. This atom- and step-economical approach, based on one-pot reactions of nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen (SNH) in non-aromatic azaheterocycles, affords novel imidazolyl-modified carboranes of two types (N-oxides and their deoxygenative analogues), which are particularly of interest in the design of advanced materials.
On the MV–Inclination Relationship for Nova-like Variables
Authors: Howell Steve B. , Mason Elena
Published: October 2018

Using a sample of Nova-like stars from the Ritter & Kolb catalog, we examine the relationship between their Gaia-determined absolute magnitude and the inclination of the binary system. Webbink et al. derived a relationship between these two variables that provides a good fit and allows differentiation between

(and possibly M
WD) as a function of inclination. We show that the spread in M

V
, at a given i, is dominated by the mass-transfer rate with only a small dependence on the white dwarf mass. The validated relation shows that present-day theoretical population studies of cataclysmic variables, as well as model fits to observational data, yield mass-transfer rates and white dwarf masses consistent with the Gaia-derived M

V
for the nova-like stars.
A Bayesian Framework for Exoplanet Direct Detection and Non-detection
Authors: Ruffio Jean-Baptiste , Mawet Dimitri , Czekala Ian , Macintosh Bruce , De Rosa Robert J. , Ruane Garreth , Bottom Michael , Pueyo Laurent , Wang Jason J. , Hirsch Lea , Zhu Zhaohuan , Nielsen Eric L.
Published: October 2018

Rigorously quantifying the information in high-contrast imaging data is important for informing follow-up strategies to confirm the substellar nature of a point source, constraining theoretical models of planet–disk interactions, and deriving planet occurrence rates. However, within the exoplanet direct imaging community, non-detections have almost exclusively been defined using a frequentist detection threshold (i.e., contrast curve) and associated completeness. This can lead to conceptual inconsistencies when included in a Bayesian framework. A Bayesian upper limit is such that the true value of a parameter lies below this limit with a certain probability. The associated probability is the integral of the posterior distribution with the upper limit as the upper bound. In summary, a frequentist upper limit is a statement about the detectability of planets while a Bayesian upper limit is a statement about the probability of a parameter to lie in an interval given the data. The latter is therefore better suited for rejecting hypotheses or theoretical models based on their predictions. In this work we emphasize that Bayesian statistics and upper limits are more easily interpreted and typically more constraining than the frequentist approach. We illustrate the use of Bayesian analysis in two different cases: (1) with a known planet location where we also propose to use model comparison to constrain the astrophysical nature of the point source and (2) gap-carving planets in TW Hya. To finish, we also mention the problem of combining radial velocity and direct imaging observations.
Dynamical Constraints on the HR 8799 Planets with GPI
Authors: Wang Jason J. , Graham James R. , Dawson Rebekah , Fabrycky Daniel , De Rosa Robert J. , Pueyo Laurent , Konopacky Quinn , Macintosh Bruce , Marois Christian , Chiang Eugene , Ammons S. Mark , Arriaga Pauline , Bailey Vanessa P. , Barman Travis , Bulger Joanna , Chilcote Jeffrey , Cotten Tara , Doyon Rene , Duchêne Gaspard , Esposito Thomas M. , Fitzgerald Michael P. , Follette Katherine B. , Gerard Benjamin L. , Goodsell Stephen J. , Greenbaum Alexandra Z. , Hibon Pascale , Hung Li-Wei , Ingraham Patrick , Kalas Paul , Larkin James E. , Maire Jérôme , Marchis Franck , Marley Mark S. , Metchev Stanimir , Millar-Blanchaer Maxwell A. , Nielsen Eric L. , Oppenheimer Rebecca , Palmer David , Patience Jennifer , Perrin Marshall , Poyneer Lisa , Rajan Abhijith , Rameau Julien , Rantakyrö Fredrik T. , Ruffio Jean-Baptiste , Savransky Dmitry , Schneider Adam C. , Sivaramakrishnan Anand , Song Inseok , Soummer Remi , Thomas Sandrine , Wallace J. Kent , Ward-Duong Kimberly , Wiktorowicz Sloane , Wolff Schuyler
Published: October 2018

The HR 8799 system uniquely harbors four young super-Jupiters whose orbits can provide insights into the system’s dynamical history and constrain the masses of the planets themselves. Using the Gemini Planet Imager, we obtained down to one milliarcsecond precision on the astrometry of these planets. We assessed four-planet orbit models with different levels of constraints and found that assuming the planets are near 1:2:4:8 period commensurabilities, or are coplanar, does not worsen the fit. We added the prior that the planets must have been stable for the age of the system (40 Myr) by running orbit configurations from our posteriors through N-body simulations and varying the masses of the planets. We found that only assuming the planets are both coplanar and near 1:2:4:8 period commensurabilities produces dynamically stable orbits in large quantities. Our posterior of stable coplanar orbits tightly constrains the planets’ orbits, and we discuss implications for the outermost planet b shaping the debris disk. A four-planet resonance lock is not necessary for stability up to now. However, planet pairs d and e, and c and d, are each likely locked in two-body resonances for stability if their component masses are above 6 M
Jup and 7 M
Jup, respectively. Combining the dynamical and luminosity constraints on the masses using hot-start evolutionary models and a system age of 42 ± 5 Myr, we found the mass of planet b to be 5.8 ± 0.5 M
Jup, and the masses of planets c, d, and e to be

each.