bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Undergraduate Students Attitudes toward Biotechnology Crop
Authors: Soliha Hani Evita , Mustapit
Published: January 2020

Crop biotechnology is not yet entirely accepted by all of the countries, even though biotechnology can give a lot of benefits in production. This research aims to explain undergraduate students attitudes toward crop biotechnology and to analyse factors affecting their attitudes toward crop biotechnology. This research is carried out at the University of Jember campus with a disproportionate random sampling of 80 respondents consisting of 40 students from the Faculty of Agriculture and 40 students from other faculties. The data analysis technique is logistic regression. The result of this research showed that most of the undergraduate students (61,25%) are agree toward biotechnology crops. While factors that affected their attitudes toward biotechnology crops are information, sex, and knowledge.
Read-out Electronics and Signal Processing in
GERDA and Future Prospects
Authors: D’Andrea Valerio
Published: January 2020

The GERDA experiment searches for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge. The experiment is using 36 kg of high-purity germanium detectors, simultaneously as source and detector, deployed into ultra-pure cryogenic liquid argon. GERDA is one the leading experiment in the field, reporting the highest sensitivity on the half-life of 0νββ decay with 1.1·1026 yr, the lowest background index with 6·10−4 cts/(keV·kg·yr) and an excellent energy resolution of 0.12% (FWHM).

The search for the 0νββ decay of the isotope 76Ge will be continued in the next years by the LEGEND-200 experiment, that aims to reach a sensitivity up to 1027 yr using 200 kg of enriched HPGe detectors. The preparation of this experiment already started.

The basic concepts of the GERDA read-out electronics, obeying both the severe requirements of ultra high radio-purity and cryogenic operation, are summarized. For LEGEND-200 a new electronics design, including a separation of the preamplifier in two stages, has been already designed and realized: results from tests are presented.

Additionally, we will introduce the digital signal processing adopted for the energy reconstruction in GERDA and a new implementation of an optimum digital filter by means of the DPLMS method. This method are discussed and the first application to GERDA data are presented.
Method for Prototyping and Testing the Information Minimalism Concept of Nuclear Power Plants
Authors: Jang Gwi-sook , Park Gee-yong
Published: January 2020

he information structure and visualization design in nuclear power plant is based on careful analysis and understanding of the work domain of the operator. Piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) based layouts tend to require more display space. Overuse of mimic layouts can result in visual clutter. P&ID based layouts of controls are usually less easily operated configurations than those provided by other array conventions. Thus, a display method is emerging to minimize P&ID based display. The information minimalism concept is a monitoring and controller display method for each operation mode based on log analyses of operator actions. This method provides the monitoring information and control means necessary for the operator, according to operation mode, to perform a specific operation. This method can reduce the time spent searching for information and the transition between display pages. The aim of this paper was to verify the feasibility of implementing new concepts by establishing an information minimalism prototype. The validity of the function, performance, and operational test methods were verified by testing one such information minimalism prototype.

In this paper, we describe prototyping and testing methods for the information minimalism concept for NPPs. In the future, this concept is to be added to the concept of operator support with the existing display configuration and navigation, and thereby extend its application range while actually utilizing it.
Test Results of an Innovative and Modular Sensor Design for Fission Chamber Studies
Authors: de Izarra G. , Geslot B. , Bréaud S. , Pepino A. , Villard J-F. , Filliatre P.
Published: January 2020

Since many years, the Instrumentation, Sensors and Dosimetry laboratory at CEA Cadarache has been working to propose innovative and robust design of fission chambers. In this framework, few simulation tools like Chester or PyFc were developed to make detector prototyping and optimisation possible. Up to now, the code experimental validations are scarce mainly because of the lack of flexibility of regular fission chambers. In order to set up an experimental database for code validation, an innovative modular twin fission chamber, the CFTM, was designed. It allows to set with precision the inter-electrode gap, the filling gas pressure as well as the fissile deposit used. This detector was irradiated in Minerve zero power reactor in order to gather results for code validation. Thanks to a calibration procedure, a bank of experimental results is available for simulation validation.
Perspective liquid scintillators for spectrometry of neutron and gamma radiation
Authors: Mahmoud Kawa Haji , Prenosil Vaclav , Matej Zdenek , Kucera Frantisek , Mravec Filip , Kostal Michal , Cvachovec Frantisek , Valis David
Published: January 2020

This paper presents some results of the development of two new scintillation detectors usable for the detection and spectrometry of neutron and photon components of the mixed field. It is a series of liquid organic scintillators containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Elements of individual scintillator designs are arranged in various chemical bonds defining physical and chemical properties of the scintillators. These scintillators have advantageous useful properties. They are non-hygroscopic, not poisonous and are not sensitive to contact with the outside atmosphere and can be stored in conventional laboratory containers.
Calorimetric Non-Destructive Assay of Large Volume and Heterogeneous Radioactive Waste Drums
Authors: Kubinski W. R. , Carasco C. , Kikola D. , Mathonat C. , Ricard D. , Tefelski D. , Tietze-Jaensch H.
Published: January 2020

The EU-CHANCE project aims at the issue of the characterization of conditioned radioactive waste (CRW) and one objective of CHANCE is to focus on: Calorimetry as a comprising non-destructive technique to reduce uncertainties on the inventory of radwaste containing shielded and hidden material difficult to be measured by other means.

A MCNP6-based numerical study comprising the particle flux out of a 200L mock-up drum in a Large Volume Calorimeter (LVC) currently manufactured by KEP Nuclear (France) will be presented and discussed. For the analyses, the particle flux and energy deposition in each layer of the calorimeter were determined. The results yield that a significant fraction of the radiation would leave the system and not contribute to the measurable heat deposition. The expected energy deposition is obtained and cumulated for each layer over the whole energy range revealing the fraction of particles actually escaping the LVC calorimeter. While this escape fraction needs and can be determined, the LVC is a very suitable apparatus for the anticipated experiments on large and heterogeneous waste drums that possibly contain deeply buried beta-emitters (e.g. Sr/Y-90) or shielded alpha-sources hidden inside the drum with a significant level of gamma and neutron radiation background radiation. The high-energy part of this gamma and neutron flux may even reach the reference chamber of the calorimeter and deposit some energy there, compromising the calibration and may cause a double-bias.
On Line Measurement of Organic Iodine During a Severe Nuclear Accident
Authors: Chebbi M. , Doizi D. , Manceron L. , Perrin A. , Vander Auwera J. , Kwabia Tchana F.
Published: January 2020

A severe nuclear accident may induce a dramatic dissemination of radioactive species into the environment. In that respect, improving the nuclear safety remains an important challenge to improve the society acceptability towards this energy. A solution may consist on implementing robust and reliable measurement systems operating near the Containment Venting Systems (CVS). These devices should be able to provide real time monitoring of the emitted fission products (FPs) in the course of a hypothetical accidental sequence. In the present study, a peculiar attention was devoted to iodine species (namely CH3I) measurement by complementary techniques (photoacoustic spectroscopy and gas chromatography). The most important results will be described here.
Enabling Data Intensive Science on Supercomputers for High Energy Physics R&D Projects in HL-LHC Era
Authors: Klimentov Alexei , Benjamin Douglas , Di Girolamo Alessandro , De Kaushik , Elmsheuser Johannes , Filipcic Andrej , Kiryanov Andrey , Oleynik Danila , Wells Jack C. , Zarochentsev Andrey , Zhao Xin
Published: January 2020

The ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider uses theWorldwide LHC Computing Grid, the WLCG, for its distributed computing infrastructure. Through the workload management system PanDA and the distributed data management system Rucio, ATLAS provides seamless access to hundreds of WLCG grid and cloud based resources that are distributed worldwide, to thousands of physicists. PanDA annually processes more than an exabyte of data using an average of 350,000 distributed batch slots, to enable hundreds of new scientific results from ATLAS. However, the resources available to the experiment have been insufficient to meet ATLAS simulation needs over the past few years as the volume of data from the LHC has grown. The problem will
be even more severe for the next LHC phases. High Luminosity LHC will be a multiexabyte challenge where the envisaged Storage and Compute needs are a factor 10 to 100 above the expected technology evolution. The High Energy Physics (HEP) community needs to evolve current computing and data organization models in order to introduce changes in the way it uses and manages the infrastructure, focused on optimizations to bring performance and efficiency not forgetting simplification of operations. In this paper we highlight recent R&D projects in HEP related to data lake prototype, federated data storage and data carousel.
Two-Species Reaction-Diffusion System: the Effect of Long-Range Spreading
Authors: Birnšteinová Šarlota , Hnatič Michal , Lučivjanský Tomáš
Published: January 2020

We study fluctuation effects in the two-species reaction-diffusion systemA+B→ Ø andA+A→ (Ø,A). In contrast to the usually assumed ordinary short-range diffusion spreading of the reactants we consider anomalous diffusion due to microscopic long-range hops. In order to describe the latter, we employ the Lévy stochastic ensemble. The probability distribution for the Lévy flights decays inddimensions with the distanceraccording to a power-lawr−d−σ. For anomalous diffusion (including Lévy flights) the critical dimensiondc=σdepends on the control parameterσ, 0<σ ≤ 2. The model is studied in terms of the field theoretic approach based on the Feynman diagrammatic technique and perturbative renormalization group method. We demonstrate the ideas behind theBparticle density calculation.
One-step Stochastization Methods for Open Systems
Authors: Korolkova Anna , Kulyabov Dmitry
Published: January 2020

In this paper, two approaches (combinatorial and operatorial) to the stochastization of the one-step processes are discussed for the closed and open version of the Lotka–Volterra model, respectively.
Global Thermodynamic Properties of Complex Spin Systems Calculated from Density of States and Indirectly by Thermodynamic Integration Method
Authors: Semjan Marek , Žukovič Milan
Published: January 2020

Evaluation of global thermodynamic properties such as the entropy or the free energy of complex systems featuring a high degree of frustration or disorder is often desirable. Nevertheless, they cannot be measured directly in standard Monte Carlo simulation. Therefore, they are either evaluated indirectly from the directly measured quantities, for example by the thermodynamic integration method (TIM), or by applying more sophisticated simulation methods, such as the Wang-Landau (WL) algorithm, which can directly sample density of states. In the present investigation we compare the performance of the WL and TIM methods for the calculation of the entropy of an Ising antiferromagnetic system on a Kagome lattice – a typical example of a complex spin system with high geometrical frustration resulting in a non-zero residual entropy the value of which is exactly known. It is found that the easier to implement TIM can yield results of comparable accuracy with that of the more involved WL method.
Heavy Fragments Identification Using Energy Loss Method in the STS Detector of the CBM Experiment
Authors: Derenovskaya Olga , Ivanov Victor , Vassiliev Iorii , Russov Yurii
Published: January 2020

The current paper presents the possibility of heavy fragments identification using energy loss method and
ωnk criterion in the STS detector of the CBM experiment.
Wissen, was fehlt – Versorgungsforschung zur Demenz
Authors: Kolominsky-Rabas Peter
Published: January 2020

„Ich habe mich sozusagen selbst verloren“ 1. Mit diesen Worten beschrieb Auguste Deter den eigenen Krankheitszustand, der Alois Alzheimer im Jahre 1907 dazu veranlasste, die nach ihm benannte Krankheit erstmals zu beschreiben und zu veröffentlichen 2. 112 Jahre später gibt es immer noch keine kausale Therapie für die nach ihm benannte Erkrankung.
Wirksamkeit von Biofeedback bei primärem Kopfschmerz
– Eine randomisierte, kontrollierte Studie
Authors: Kolbe Lisa , Eberhardt Tanya , Leinberger Beate , Hinterberger Thilo
Published: January 2020

Hintergrund Für die Behandlung primärer Kopfschmerzen mit
Biofeedback liegen einige Empfehlungen vor. Dennoch werden die Kosten meist von
den Kassen nicht oder nicht vollständig getragen und die Versorgung
dadurch erschwert. In dieser randomisierten kontrollierten Studie wurde die
Effektivität einer ambulanten Biofeedback-Therapie bei primärem
Kopfschmerz deutschlandweit evaluiert.

Methoden Die Teilnehmer wurden aufgeteilt in eine sofortige
Behandlungsgruppe (n=41) und eine Wartekontrollgruppe (n=29).
Die Behandlung erfolgte in 8–11 Sitzungen bei Migräne als
Vasokonstriktions-/Vasodilatationstraining, bei Kopfschmerz vom
Spannungstyp als Elektromyografietraining. Die Diagnose richtete sich nach den
Kriterien der International Headache Society. Erhoben wurden
Kopfschmerzcharakteristika (Häufigkeit, Dauer, Intensität) in
Form eines Kopfschmerztagebuchs jeweils vor, während und nach der
Behandlung und die kopfschmerzspezifische Beeinträchtigung mittels
Pain-Disability-Index vor und nach der Behandlung. Die Wartegruppe machte
zusätzlich etwa 3 Monate davor sowie nochmals vor Beginn der Behandlung
Angaben zu den Fragebögen. Die Messung der kopfschmerzspezifischen
Selbstwirksamkeit (Fragebogen zu Kopfschmerzmanagement und Selbstwirksamkeit)
erfolgte zu jeder zweiten Sitzung. Für die erhobenen Parameter wurden
die Effektstärken f2 bzw. r nach im Vergleich zu vor der
Behandlung und für behandelte Gruppe zu nicht-behandelter Gruppe
berechnet.

Ergebnisse Die Kopfschmerzcharakteristika sanken im Untersuchungszeitraum
signifikant linear mit mittleren bis starken Effekten (Häufigkeit
f2=0,302, p<0,001, Dauer
f2=0,186, p<0,001, durchschnittlicher Schmerz
f2=0,502, p<0,001, maximaler Schmerz
f2=0,546, p<0,001). Durch Biofeedback stieg die
Selbstwirksamkeit signifikant (p<0,001, r=0,782), auch
gegenüber der Wartezeit (p<0,001, r=0,604). Zudem
zeigten sich eine signifikante Verbesserung der Bewältigung und eine
signifikante Reduktion der psychischen Beeinträchtigung sowie der
Beeinträchtigung im Alltag.

Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung Insgesamt zeigten sich zu bereits
vorliegenden Studien vergleichbare Effekte. Biofeedback erwies sich demnach
unter Bedingungen der ambulanten Versorgung als effektiv gegen Migräne
und Kopfschmerz vom Spannungstyp. Eine bessere Einbindung in die
Versorgungspraxis scheint dadurch gerechtfertigt.
Evidenzbasierung in der Rehabilitation – Studiendesigns und
konzeptuelle Grundlagen der empirischen Analyse der Wirksamkeit von
Rehabilitationsmaßnahmen
Authors: Wirtz Markus Antonius , Schulz Anja
Published: January 2020

Rehabilitation erfolgt evidenzbasiert, wenn Behandlungsmaßnahmen
angewendet werden, für die nachgewiesen wurde, dass diese die
Outcomes der Rehabilitanden – in der Regel den Gesundheitszustand
oder die Teilhabe der Rehabilitanden – wirksam verbessern.
Eindeutige Aussagen über die Wirksamkeit einer Maßnahme
werden nur durch Randomisiert Kontrollierte Studien (RCTs)
gewährleistet. Bei Anwendung alternativer Studienformate
(z. B. Fall-Kontrollstudien, Kohortenstudien, Beobachtungsstudien)
kann nicht ausgeschlossen werden, dass der Zusammenhang der Teilnahme an der
Maßnahme und der Verbesserung des Gesundheitszustands oder der
Fähigkeit zur beruflichen oder gesellschaftlichen Teilhabe durch
konfundierende Variablen verzerrt abgebildet wird (Einschränkungen
der internen Validität). Es wurden vielfältige Varianten von
RCTs entwickelt (z. B. clusterrandomisierte Studien, faktorielle
Designs, pragmatische Studien), um RCTs an Erfordernisse der praktischen
Anwendung anzupassen. Um evidenzbasiert entscheiden und handeln zu
können, sollte zudem gewährleistet werden, dass neue
Behandlungsmaßnahmen und -empfehlungen auf einer soliden Theorie-
und Wissengrundlage entwickelt wurden und in der Versorgungspraxis
angemessen umgesetzt werden. Dies ist insbesondere erforderlich, weil
Maßnahmen orientiert an den Bedarfen individueller Rehabilitanden
und den Spezifika der Rehaeinrichtung ausgewählt und ggf. angepasst
werden müssen. Deswegen sind für ein umfassendes
Verständnis von Evidenz – zusätzlich zum
Wirksamkeitsnachweis mittels RCTs – empirische Studien zur Schaffung
solider konzeptueller und theoretischer Grundlagen (Interventionsdesign) und
zur Anwendung der Maßnahmen in der rehabilitativen Versorgungspraxis
(Implementierungsforschung) erforderlich.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Die Beziehung zwischen sozialer Mediennutzung, subjektiver Gesundheit und Risikoverhalten im Kindes- und Jugendalter
Authors: Richter Matthias , Heilmann Kristina , Moor Irene
Published: January 2020

Hintergrund Die aktuell heranwachsende Generation verbringt mehr Zeit mit der Nutzung sozialer Medien als jede andere Altersgruppe. Über die gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen einer häufigen Nutzung sozialer Medien durch Heranwachsende ist bislang nur wenig bekannt. Ziel der Studie ist es, die Assoziation zwischen sozialer Mediennutzung, der Gesundheit und dem Risikoverhalten an einer großen repräsentativen Stichprobe für Deutschland zu untersuchen.

Methode Die Daten stammen aus dem deutschen Teilsurvey der internationalen WHO-Studie „Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC)“ aus dem Jahr 2013/14. Die Auswertung basiert auf Daten von 5.094 Schulkindern im Alter von durchschnittlich 11, 13 und 15 Jahren. Die soziale Mediennutzung wurde über einen Index aus 5 Items erhoben. Als Gesundheitsoutcomes werden Indikatoren des Gesundheitszustandes und des Risikoverhaltens betrachtet. Die Analysen wurden mithilfe von Kreuztabellen und log-binominaler Regressionsmodelle getrennt für Mädchen und Jungen berechnet.

Ergebnisse Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine häufige Nutzung sozialer Medien bei Mädchen mit einer schlechteren subjektiven Gesundheit (OR=1,58, 95%-KI=1,17–2,15) sowie multiplen psychosomatischen Beschwerden (OR=1,56, 95%-KI = 1,22–1,98) assoziiert war. Bei Jungen traf dies für psychosomatische Beschwerden (OR=1,36, 95%-KI=1,03–1,80) und die Schulzufriedenheit (OR=1,39, 95%-KI=1,06–1,83) zu. Bezüglich des Risikoverhaltens zeigte sich unabhängig vom Geschlecht ein stärkerer Zusammenhang zwischen der häufigen Nutzung sozialer Medien und regelmäßigem Tabak- und Alkoholkonsum, alkoholbedingten Rauscherfahrungen sowie dem Mobben (Bullying-Täter) von Mitschülern. Die Ergebnisse blieben unter Kontrolle des Alters, Schultyps und Migrationshintergrunds bestehen.

Schlussfolgerungen Es konnte ein deutlicher Zusammenhang zwischen sozialer Mediennutzung und verschiedenen Indikatoren der Gesundheit und des Risikoverhaltens im Kindes- und Jugendalter festgestellt werden. Die Ergebnisse geben erste Hinweise auf mögliche gesundheitsabträgliche Effekte einer häufigen Nutzung sozialer Medien, die im Rahmen längsschnittlicher Studien bestätigt werden müssen.
Single-Stage Clipping of Seven Intracranial Aneurysms in the Anterior Circulation via Unilateral Pterional Approach: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Xu Kan , Hou Kun , Xu Baofeng , Guo Yunbao , Yu Jinlu
Published: January 2020

The occurrence of multiple intracranial aneurysms (MIAs) is not rare, with a reported incidence of 15 to 35%. However, patients harboring seven or more intracranial aneurysms are so uncommon that only sporadic cases have ever been reported. We present a rare case with seven intracranial aneurysms (two anterior communicating artery aneurysms, two right middle cerebral artery aneurysms, two left ophthalmic artery aneurysms, and one right ophthalmic artery aneurysm) in the anterior circulation that were simultaneously clipped via the extended right pterional approach. The surgery was uneventful. The patient experienced a rapid postoperative recovery with no neurologic deficits. To our knowledge, this is the first case of seven bilateral intracranial aneurysms that were surgically clipped via unilateral craniotomy. This case showed that in properly selected patients with anterior circulation MIAs, even as many as seven, one-stage clipping can be achieved. Successful clipping of the contralateral ophthalmic aneurysms was the key step in the operation.
Clinical Outcomes Based on Preoperative Kambin's Triangular Working Zone Measurements on 3D CT/MR Fusion Imaging to Determine Optimal Approaches to Transforaminal Endoscopic Lumbar Diskectomy
Authors: Hirayama Jiro , Hashimoto Masayuki , Sakamoto Takuya
Published: January 2020

Background Transforaminal endoscopic lumbar diskectomy (TELD) is a widely used minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat herniated disks. Postoperative dysesthesia (POD) is a significant complication that affects patient satisfaction. Several anatomical and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies of the intervertebral foramina showed that TELD should be avoided in patients with small Kambin's triangular working zones. Recently, some reports indicated the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography/magnetic resonance (CT/MR) fusion images. To date, no articles have been published in the English literature regarding the use of 3D CT/MR fusion images before TELD to evaluate Kambin's triangular working zone. Our objective was to examine clinical outcomes when preoperative Kambin's triangular working zone measurements from 3D CT/MR fusion images were used to determine the approach to TELD.

Patients and Methods We included 31 patients who underwent TELD. We rotated the 3D CT/MR fusion images from the posteroanterior view on the approach side to the angle at which Kambin's triangular working zone appeared the largest. This was used to determine the intraoperative insertion angle for the working cannula. When the perpendicular line extending from the exiting nerve at the intervertebral disk level to the upper margin of the superior articular process (exiting nerve-superior articular process distance [ESD]) was less than or equal to 7 mm, an approach that combined foraminoplasty with an outside-in technique (F + outside-in) was used. We compared ESD and clinical outcomes, such as POD, between the approaches.

Results Surgical plans were based on ESD values from 22 patients. ESD was 7 mm in 21 patients, all of whom underwent F + outside-in. The inside-out approach was used in eight of nine patients who did not have ESD measurements. Of these, five patients had retrospective ESD measurements of 7 mm. The mean ESD was 6.3 ± 1.0 mm when inside-out was used and 4.4 ± 1.6 mm when F + outside-in was used, a significant difference. Significant improvements were observed in the visual analog scale scores for low back pain, lower limb pain, and lower limb paresthesia. There were no incidences of POD or intraoperative complications.

Conclusion Based on preoperative Kambin's triangular working zone measurements from 3D CT/MR fusion images, F + outside-in should be selected when the working zone is smaller than the cannula diameter. This method successfully avoided POD in our study. Preoperative Kambin's triangular working zone measurements from 3D CT/MR fusion imaging can enhance patient safety during TELD.
Observation of inward transport flux accompanied with the long-lived mode during the L-H transition in the HL-2A tokamak
Authors: Wu J. , Lan T. , Zhuang G. , Xu M. , Yu C. X. , Wu J. R. , Nie L. , Chen W. , Yu L. M. , Cheng J. , Yan L. W. , Duan X. R. , Deng T. J. , Xu H. Q. , Zhang S. , Zhu J. F. , Yu Y. , Sun X. , Mao W. Z. , Liu A. D. , Xie J. L. , Li H. , Ding W. X. , Liu W. D.
Published: January 2020

The inward transport flux accompanied by the long-lived mode (LLM) has been observed by the edge Langmuir probe array during the L-H transition in the HL-2A tokamak. The cross phase between the poloidal electric field fluctuation and the electron density fluctuation in the LLM frequency changed greatly during the L-H transition, which led to the radial transport flux in the LLM frequency to change its transport direction in a given radial region near the pedestal barrier. By using the long distance correlation method, the phase shift of poloidal electric field fluctuation proved to be the key reason, which led to the cross-phase term to change in the LLM frequency. Furthermore, the shear effect has a mode-selecting characteristic on the LLM and turbulence because the direction of turbulent transport still remains radially outward during the H-mode. In addition, when the inward conducted heat flux accompanied by LLM occurs, the poloidal electric field fluctuation and electron temperature fluctuation both have a positive gradient in the LLM frequency; this may indicate that the positive gradient of radial velocity and electron temperature in the LLM frequency play an important role during the entire transport direction change process.
Research suggests a new class of ferroelectric materials
Authors: Mandel Savannah
Published: January 2020

Using phase-boundary engineering, researchers synthesize transitional ferroelectrics, which have high, temperature-independent piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients.
Cancer patients’ use of and attitudes towards medicinal cannabis
Authors: Drosdowsky Allison , Blaschke Sarah , Koproski Trista , Fullerton Sonia , Thackerar Arti , Ellen Steve , Phipps-Nelson Jo , de Neef Corry
Published: January 2020

Objectives Access to medicinal cannabis is a timely and important issue in cancer care. Recent legislative changes in Australia have increased access to medicinal cannabis, but the views of people with cancer on this topic are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of the use of and attitudes towards medicinal cannabis among people with cancer. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed using an anonymous, 15-item study-specific paper-based survey. The survey was administered over a 2-week period in August 2017 in the waiting rooms of a specialist cancer hospital. Results In all, 339 patients completed the survey (mean (± s.d.) age 59 ± 15 years; 52% male). Fourteen respondents (4%) were currently using cannabis medicinally. Only one of these respondents had a prescription for their cannabis product. Most respondents would consider using a medicinal cannabis product if recommended by their doctor (n = 271; 80%). Conclusion This study is the first of its kind to survey the use of and attitudes towards medicinal cannabis in a broad sample of Australian people with cancer. Few respondents were currently using cannabis for medicinal purposes, but an overwhelming majority were in favour of increasing access and would consider using a prescribed product. What is known about the topic? Cannabis may have a wide variety of medicinal uses, particularly in the cancer setting. Currently, people with cancer in Victoria have limited access to medicinal cannabis despite recent legislative changes. What does this paper add? In a general sample of people with cancer, few were using cannabis for medicinal purposes, but most were in favour of widening access and would consider using a product their doctor prescribed. What are the implications for practitioners? Despite supporting access, patients indicated that the recommendations of doctors and increasing the evidence base are necessary requirements to their use of medicinal cannabis.
Social tipping dynamics for stabilizing Earth’s climate by 2050
Authors: Otto Ilona M. , Donges Jonathan F. , Cremades Roger , Bhowmik Avit , Hewitt Richard J. , Lucht Wolfgang , Rockström Johan , Allerberger Franziska , McCaffrey Mark , Doe Sylvanus S. P. , Lenferna Alex , Morán Nerea , van Vuuren Detlef P. , Schellnhuber Hans Joachim
Published: January 2020

Significance

Achieving a rapid global decarbonization to stabilize the climate critically depends on activating contagious and fast-spreading processes of social and technological change within the next few years. Drawing on expert elicitation, an expert workshop, and a review of literature, which provides a comprehensive analysis on this topic, we propose concrete interventions to induce positive social tipping dynamics and a rapid global transformation to carbon-neutral societies. These social tipping interventions comprise removing fossil-fuel subsidies and incentivizing decentralized energy generation, building carbon-neutral cities, divesting from assets linked to fossil fuels, revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels, strengthening climate education and engagement, and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information.
Imaging breast cancer using hyperpolarized carbon-13 MRI
Authors: Gallagher Ferdia A. , Woitek Ramona , McLean Mary A. , Gill Andrew B. , Manzano Garcia Raquel , Provenzano Elena , Riemer Frank , Kaggie Joshua , Chhabra Anita , Ursprung Stephan , Grist James T. , Daniels Charlie J. , Zaccagna Fulvio , Laurent Marie-Christine , Locke Matthew , Hilborne Sarah , Frary Amy , Torheim Turid , Boursnell Chris , Schiller Amy , Patterson Ilse , Slough Rhys , Carmo Bruno , Kane Justine , Biggs Heather , Harrison Emma , Deen Surrin S. , Patterson Andrew , Lanz Titus , Kingsbury Zoya , Ross Mark , Basu Bristi , Baird Richard , Lomas David J. , Sala Evis , Wason James , Rueda Oscar M. , Chin Suet-Feung , Wilkinson Ian B. , Graves Martin J. , Abraham Jean E. , Gilbert Fiona J. , Caldas Carlos , Brindle Kevin M.
Published: January 2020

Our purpose is to investigate the feasibility of imaging tumor metabolism in breast cancer patients using
13
C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of hyperpolarized
13
C label exchange between injected [1-
13
C]pyruvate and the endogenous tumor lactate pool. Treatment-naïve breast cancer patients were recruited: four triple-negative grade 3 cancers; two invasive ductal carcinomas that were estrogen and progesterone receptor-positive (ER/PR+) and HER2/neu-negative (HER2−), one grade 2 and one grade 3; and one grade 2 ER/PR+ HER2− invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). Dynamic
13
C MRSI was performed following injection of hyperpolarized [1-
13
C]pyruvate. Expression of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), which catalyzes
13
C label exchange between pyruvate and lactate, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF1α), and the monocarboxylate transporters MCT1 and MCT4 were quantified using immunohistochemistry and RNA sequencing. We have demonstrated the feasibility and safety of hyperpolarized
13
C MRI in early breast cancer. Both intertumoral and intratumoral heterogeneity of the hyperpolarized pyruvate and lactate signals were observed. The lactate-to-pyruvate signal ratio (LAC/PYR) ranged from 0.021 to 0.473 across the tumor subtypes (mean ± SD: 0.145 ± 0.164), and a lactate signal was observed in all of the grade 3 tumors. The LAC/PYR was significantly correlated with tumor volume (
R
= 0.903,
P
= 0.005) and MCT 1 (
R
= 0.85,
P
= 0.032) and HIF1α expression (
R
= 0.83,
P
= 0.043). Imaging of hyperpolarized [1-
13
C]pyruvate metabolism in breast cancer is feasible and demonstrated significant intertumoral and intratumoral metabolic heterogeneity, where lactate labeling correlated with MCT1 expression and hypoxia.
Kinetic coupling of the respiratory chain with ATP synthase, but not proton gradients, drives ATP production in cristae membranes
Authors: Toth Alexandra , Meyrat Axel , Stoldt Stefan , Santiago Ricardo , Wenzel Dirk , Jakobs Stefan , von Ballmoos Christoph , Ott Martin
Published: January 2020

Mitochondria have a characteristic ultrastructure with invaginations of the inner membrane called cristae that contain the protein complexes of the oxidative phosphorylation system. How this particular morphology of the respiratory membrane impacts energy conversion is currently unknown. One proposed role of cristae formation is to facilitate the establishment of local proton gradients to fuel ATP synthesis. Here, we determined the local pH values at defined sublocations within mitochondria of respiring yeast cells by fusing a pH-sensitive GFP to proteins residing in different mitochondrial subcompartments. Only a small proton gradient was detected over the inner membrane in wild type or cristae-lacking cells. Conversely, the obtained pH values did barely permit ATP synthesis in a reconstituted system containing purified yeast F
1
F
0
ATP synthase, although, thermodynamically, a sufficiently high driving force was applied. At higher driving forces, where robust ATP synthesis was observed, a
P
-side pH value of 6 increased the ATP synthesis rate 3-fold compared to pH 7. In contrast, when ATP synthase was coreconstituted with an active proton-translocating cytochrome oxidase, ATP synthesis readily occurred at the measured, physiological pH values. Our study thus reveals that the morphology of the inner membrane does not influence the subcompartmental pH values and is not necessary for robust oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. Instead, it is likely that the dense packing of the oxidative phosphorylation complexes in the cristae membranes assists kinetic coupling between proton pumping and ATP synthesis.
The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) as a “Georgian” responsibility
Authors: Brisku Adrian
Published: January 2020

This article looks at the historical perspectives and positions of key Georgian political figures – mostly leading Social Democrats such as Noe Zhordania and Akaki Chkhenkeli, as well as National Democrats such as Niko Nikoladze – on the making and unmaking of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) by analyzing their reflections on the most heated political concepts of the first two decades of the twentieth century: nationality, nationalism, the nation-state, federation, economic development, and socialism in the Georgian, Transcaucasian and imperial contexts, given the rapidly shifting geopolitics of the region triggered by the onset of the Great War and aggravated by the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917. The article demonstrates that already having conceptualized the socioeconomic and cultural needs of the nation as developing outside of the framework of the nation-state, Zhordania and Chkhenkeli viewed these instead within a regional federative context under a revolutionarily transformed imperial centre, while assuming that the Social Democrats would hold the commanding political position in Georgia. This prepared them to take responsibility for establishing de facto federative political institutions for Transcaucasia. That responsibility facilitated the making and unmaking of the short-lived, independent TDFR.
The Toxoplasma gondii virulence factor ROP16 acts in cis and trans, and suppresses T cell responses
Authors: Chen Longfei , Christian David A. , Kochanowsky Joshua A. , Phan Anthony T. , Clark Joseph T. , Wang Shuai , Berry Corbett , Oh Jung , Chen Xiaoguang , Roos David S. , Beiting Daniel P. , Koshy Anita A. , Hunter Christopher A.
Published: January 2020

The ability of Toxoplasma gondii to inject the rhoptry kinase ROP16 into host cells results in the activation of the transcription factors STAT3 and STAT6, but it is unclear how these events impact infection. Here, parasites that inject Cre-recombinase with rhoptry proteins were used to distinguish infected macrophages from those only injected with parasite proteins. Transcriptional profiling revealed that injection of rhoptry proteins alone was sufficient to induce an M2 phenotype that is dependent on STAT3 and STAT6, but only infected cells displayed reduced expression of genes associated with antimicrobial activity and protective immunity. In vivo, the absence of STAT3 or STAT6 improved parasite control, while the loss of ROP16 resulted in a marked reduction in parasite numbers and heightened parasite-specific T cell responses. Thus, ROP16 is a virulence factor that can act in cis and trans to promote M2 programs and which limits the magnitude of parasite-specific T cell responses.
Helium metastable species generation in atmospheric pressure RF plasma jets driven by tailored voltage waveforms in mixtures of He and N2
Authors: Korolov I , Leimkühler M , Böke M , Donkó Z , Schulz-von der Gathen V , Bischoff L , Hübner G , Hartmann P , Gans T , Liu Y , Mussenbrock T , Schulze J
Published: January 2020

Spatially resolved tunable diode-laser absorption measurements of the absolute densities of He-I (23S1) metastables in a micro atmospheric pressure plasma jet operated in He/N2 and driven by ‘peaks’- and ‘valleys’-type tailored voltage waveforms are presented. The measurements are performed at different nitrogen admixture concentrations and peak-to-peak voltages with waveforms that consist of up to four consecutive harmonics of the fundamental frequency of 13.56 MHz. Comparisons of the measured metastable densities with those obtained from particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision simulations show a good quantitative agreement. The density of helium metastables is found to be significantly enhanced by increasing the number of consecutive driving harmonics. Their generation can be further optimized by tuning the peak-to-peak voltage amplitude and the concentration of the reactive gas admixture. These findings are understood based on detailed fundamental insights into the spatio-temporal electron dynamics gained from the simulations, which show that voltage waveform tailoring allows to control the electron energy distribution function to optimize the metastable generation. A high degree of correlation between the metastable creation rate and the electron impact excitation rate from the helium ground state into the He-I ((3s)3S1) level is observed for some conditions which may facilitate an estimation of the metastable densities based on phase resolved optical emission spectroscopy measurements of the 706.5 nm He-I line originating from the above level and metastable density values at proper reference conditions.
Plasma propagation in the microwave window breakdown at the air/dielectric interface
Authors: Zhang Jianwei , Luo Wei , Jiang Ming , Wang Hongguang , Li Yongdong , Liu Chunliang
Published: January 2020

The microwave window breakdown due to the plasma formation greatly limits the power handling capability of high-power microwave systems. However, the experimentally-observed fast plasma propagation cannot be explained using previous theory or simulation results. In this paper, the photoionization is considered to investigate the mechanism of microwave window breakdown at the air/dielectric interface by particle-in-cell simulation. The results show that photoelectrons produced by high-speed photons can profoundly promote discharge above the air/dielectric interface. Then a fast plasma formation and propagation occurs. The speed of plasma propagation can reach 1 × 106 m s−1, which agrees well with experiments. As a result, the transmitting power is attenuated more seriously than the case without the photoionization. Furthermore, the effects of size of microwave window, gas pressure, strength of microwave electric field and distribution of microwave electric field on the plasma propagation are investigated. The results show that the total number of electrons is nonlinearly increasing with the size of microwave window when a uniform microwave electric field is applied. The speed of the plasma propagation exponentially increases with the strength of microwave electric field. Therefore, the photoionization is an indispensable process in the microwave window breakdown with high-strength microwave electric field.
Identifying anomalous Floquet edge modes via bulk–edge correspondence*
Authors: Wang Huanyu , Liu Wuming
Published: January 2020

Floquet engineering appears as a new protocol for designing topological states of matter, and features anomalous edge modes pinned at quasi-energy π/T with vanished topological index. We propose how to predict the anomalous edge modes via the bulk Hamiltonian in frequency space, and use Zak phase to quantitatively index the topological properties. The above methods are clarified by the example of time periodic Kitaev chain with chemical potential of harmonic driving and pulse driving, and topological phase transitions are manifested at different driving frequencies.
Increasing productivity and marketing of bamboo craftsmen
Authors: Paryanto  , Nurhayati I , Indartono S
Published: January 2020

This service program is carried out in the context of lifting regional superior products, namely bamboo crafts from the villages of Brajan, Sendangagung, Minggir, Sleman. The main objectives of the research are improving the quality and quantity of products, increasing the level of comfort of facilities/facilities owned (production space, administration space and showroom), increasing marketing networks of partner small and medium enterprise (SME) products for the national level, and improving the function and role of cooperatives in the partner region. The method used is to formulate and carry out several activities that are solutions to problems faced by partners. The activity consists of two main activities, namely technology assistance in the form of production equipment (appropriate technology), construction of a showroom, website creation and enhancement of partners’ capabilities by providing various training and mentoring. Technology equipment seconded to partners is drilling machines, sandpaper machines and drying ovens. While the training carried out was training in colouring and preserving bamboo products, training on the use of internet media as a marketing medium, administrative and bookkeeping training, and cooperative training. The results achieved were SME Prinx Mas production capacity increased 12.5%, revenue turnover increased 9.5%, assets increased 5.6%, and the addition of a workforce of 1 person in the production department. In addition, SME Pring Gedhe revenue turnover increased by 5% and assets increased by 7.8%.
Airfoil aerodynamics optimization under uncertain operating conditions
Authors: Suprayitno  , Yu J C , Aminnudin  , Wulandari R
Published: January 2020

An aerodynamic robust optimization of a 2D airfoil is presented. Robust optimization aims to find a design which is less sensitive to small changes in uncertain quantities. Aerodynamic performance of airfoil is studied under variation of Mach number and angle of attach as operational uncertainties. The optimal aerodynamic shape of airfoil is computed by maximizing lift and drag coefficient ratio. Airfoil aerodynamic perfomance is evaluated using XFOIL solver. NACA 0012 is adopted as a basic airfoil design and optimized for robustness using Taguchi method. Signal-to-Noise ratio (S/N) of Taguchi method for larger the better is applied as robustness index. Nine of eleven variables of PARSEC airfoil parameters with 3 levels for each factors are selected as design variables and distributed using L27 fractional orthogonal array as the design of experiment. The optimization process does not only increase the average performance of lift-to-drag ratio but also decrease the standard deviation. The optimization strategy significantly improves the aerodynamic performance of the basic NACA 0012 from 21.76 to 36.79 or improves 69% of the robustness index.
Grain growth of powder metallurgy steel after heat treatment
Authors: Aminnudin  , Suryanto H , Suprayitno
Published: January 2020

Steel with very small grain has high strength but still have ductility. When the steel is heated to austenitic temperatures it can make the steel grains grow and reduce the hardness of the steel. To prevent this, it is necessary to know the effect of holding time on steel hardness. The hardness is indicating of grain growth of the steel. In this study, we examined the effect of holding time on hardness of very small grained steel. The heat treatment is carried out at 1100 degrees Celsius using an electric furnace. Micro hardness testing using the micro-Vickers method uses 300 grams of force and an indentation time of 10 minutes. Observation of microstructure is carried out with metallurgical microstructure. The etching solution for microstructure observation was nital solution. Heat treatment of steel powder mettallurgy with holding time of 60 minutes will cause a decrease in hardness from 261 to 207 and grain size growing from 3.2 μm to 6.3 μm.
Optimization of mini plantation tractor chassis by using multi-objective response surface methods
Authors: Choiron M A
Published: January 2020

To meet the requirement of the oil palm plantation industry, mini plantation tractor chassis is developed with increasing of transport capacity from 500 kg to 750 kg. The design goals of optimum design are safe, transport efficiency and lightweight chassis weight. The aim of this study is to determine the effect and optimum conditions of design parameters in the form of profile width, profile height, and profile thickness of mini plantation tractor chassis. The parameter design is set by 3 levels. Chassis modeling is done by using Finite Element Analysis software with 3-dimensional model. The deformation and stress behavior are observed on the chassis due to vertical bending and the torsional loading model. Multi-Objective Response Surface Methodology was applied to obtain the optimum design parameter conditions on the results of stress and deformation observation on the chassis. Based on the RSM optimization results, three optimum chassis design candidates were produced. In the vertical bending loading model, it is found that the profile width has the greatest influence to stress reduction contribution, and the profile height has the greatest influence to deformation reduction contribution. In the torsional loading model, the profile height has the greatest influence to stress reduction contribution, and the profile thickness has the greatest influence to deformation reduction contribution. The optimum design based on consideration in both loading models is profile thickness = 5.5 mm, profile height = 100 mm, and profile width = 55 mm.
The effect of interpretation of technical drawings and workshop facilities on machining practice competencies
Authors: Rofiq Z , Pamungkas G A , Rezani R
Published: January 2020

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of students’ ability to interpretation of technical drawing and workshop facilities on machining practice competencies in vocational high school (VHS) of Muhammadiyah Prambanan. This research is an ex post facto research with the subject being 11th-grade students of Mechanical Engineering consisting of 4 classes with a total sample of 96 respondents. The data collection technique uses a questionnaire (Likert scale four answers), observation, and documentation where the data are analyzed using descriptive analysis techniques and multiple linear regression. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant effect between interpretation of technical drawings and workshop facilities on machining practice competencies in vocational high school.