bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Theoretical Model with the Effect of Cracks in the Local Spalling of Full Ceramic Ball Bearings
Authors: Shi Huaitao , Liu Zimeng , Bai Xiaotian , Li Yupeng , Wu Yuhou
Published: October 2019

For full ceramic ball bearings, cracks occur frequently in the spalling on the rings, which leads to impacts on the bearing dynamic characteristics. In this paper, the spalling is set on the outer ring, and the dynamic model considering the effect of crack is proposed. The crack is considered to be related to the strain energy, and the effect on the stiffness of the outer ring is also analyzed. Results show that the appearance of cracks leads to the reduction of the full ceramic bearing stiffness, and the vibration amplitude of bearing increases. The effect of a crack depends on its size, and the vibration of the bearing with cracks of different widths and depths vary greatly. This study provides theoretical basis for the calculation of full ceramic bearing and is of great significance for the state monitoring and fault diagnosis.
Intact-Cell MALDI-ToF Mass Spectrometry for the Authentication of Drug-Adapted Cancer Cell Lines
Authors: Povey Jane F. , Saintas Emily , Aderemi Adewale V. , Rothweiler Florian , Zehner Richard , Dirks Wilhelm G. , Cinatl Jindrich , Racher Andrew J. , Wass Mark N. , Smales C. Mark , Michaelis Martin
Published: October 2019

The use of cell lines in research can be affected by cell line misidentification. Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis is an effective method, and the gold standard, for the identification of the genetic origin of a cell line, but methods that allow the discrimination between cell lines of the same genetic origin are lacking. Here, we use intact cell MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry analysis, routinely used for the identification of bacteria in clinical diagnostic procedures, for the authentication of a set of cell lines consisting of three parental neuroblastoma cell lines (IMR-5, IMR-32 and UKF-NB-3) and eleven drug-adapted sublines. Principal component analysis (PCA) of intact-cell MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry data revealed clear differences between most, but not all, of the investigated cell lines. Mass spectrometry whole-cell fingerprints enabled the separation of IMR-32 and its clonal subline IMR-5. Sublines that had been adapted to closely related drugs, for example, the cisplatin- and oxaliplatin-resistant UKF-NB-3 sublines and the vincristine- and vinblastine-adapted IMR-5 sublines, also displayed clearly distinctive patterns. In conclusion, intact whole-cell MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry has the potential to be further developed into an authentication method for mammalian cells of a common genetic origin.
Interactive Removal of Microphone Object in Facial Images
Authors: Khan Muhammad Kamran Javed , Ud Din Nizam , Bae Seho , Yi Juneho
Published: October 2019

Removing a specific object from an image and replacing the hole left behind with visually plausible backgrounds is a very intriguing task. While recent deep learning based object removal methods have shown promising results on this task for some structured scenes, none of them have addressed the problem of object removal in facial images. The objective of this work is to remove microphone object in facial images and fill hole with correct facial semantics and fine details. To make our solution practically useful, we present an interactive method called MRGAN, where the user roughly provides the microphone region. For filling the hole, we employ a Generative Adversarial Network based image-to-image translation approach. We break the problem into two stages: inpainter and refiner. The inpainter estimates coarse prediction by roughly filling in the microphone region followed by the refiner which produces fine details under the microphone region. We unite perceptual loss, reconstruction loss and adversarial loss as joint loss function for generating a realistic face and similar structure to the ground truth. Because facial image pairs with or without microphone do not exist, we have trained our method on a synthetically generated microphone dataset from CelebA face images and evaluated on real world microphone images. Our extensive evaluation shows that MRGAN performs better than state-of-the-art image manipulation methods on real microphone images although we only train our method using the synthetic dataset created. Additionally, we provide ablation studies for the integrated loss function and for different network arrangements.
A Novel Passive Method for Regulating Both Air Temperature and Relative Humidity of the Microenvironment in Museum Display Cases
Authors: Yu Meng , Zhang Xuejun , Zhao Yang , Zhang Xiaobin
Published: October 2019

Display cases are widely utilized in museums to build an appropriate microenvironment for artifacts. In this study, a novel passive method is utilized to regulate both the temperature and relative humidity simultaneously of the microenvironment in museum display cases by proposing the concept of composite temperature and humidity control materials (CTHCM), which can be fabricated by combining both phase change material (PCM) and silica gel. The PCM is helpful to reduce the range of air temperature changes caused by melting or solidification processes, while the silica gel is helpful to reduce the range of relative humidity changes caused by adsorption or desorption processes. In this study, a coupled heat and mass transfer model is established to analyze the temperature-regulating and humidity-regulating performance of CTHCM using the software COMSOL Multiphysics. The influences of thermodynamic parameters of materials on temperature-regulating and humidity-regulating performance are also analyzed numerically. Results show that CTHCM is able to regulate the air temperature and relative humidity of the microenvironment in museum display cases effectively. It performs well in temperature-regulating as the phase change latent heat increases, and performs well in humidity-regulating as the water vapor permeability or moisture diffusivity increases.
Comparison of the Structural Properties and Nutritional Fraction of Corn Starch Treated with Thermophilic GH13 and GH57 α-Glucan Branching Enzymes
Authors: Park Inmyoung , Park Minjeong , Yoon Naeun , Cha Jaeho
Published: October 2019

Two thermophilic 1,4-α-glucan branching enzymes (GBEs), CbGBE from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii and PhGBE from Pyrococcus horikoshii, which belong to the glycoside hydrolase family 13 and 57 respectively, were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Two GBEs were identified to have α-1,6 branching activity against various substrates, but substrate specificity was distinct. Starch was modified by two GBEs and their in vitro digestibility and structural properties were investigated. Short-branched A chains with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 6–12 increased with CbGBE-modified starch, increasing the proportion of slow digestible and resistant starch (RS) fractions. PhGBE-modified starch resulted in an increase in the RS fraction only by a slight increase in part of A chains (DP, 6–9). Compared to the proportion of control not treated with GBE, the proportion of α-1,6 linkages in CbGBE- and PhGBE-modified starch increased by 3.1 and 1.6 times. 13C cross polarization/magic angle sample spinning (CP/MAS) NMR and XRD pattern analysis described that GBE-modified starches reconstructed double helices but not the crystalline structure. Taken together, CbGBE and PhGBE showed distinct branching activities, resulting in different α-1,6 branching ratios and chain length distribution, and double helices amount of starch, ultimately affecting starch digestibility. Therefore, these GBEs can be used to produce customized starches with controlled digestion rates.
Conflict without an Apparent Cause
Authors: Mathews Timothy , Bagchi Aniruddha
Published: October 2019

A game-theoretic model of repeated interaction between two potential adversaries is analyzed to illustrate how conflict could possibly arise from rational decision-makers endogenously processing information, without any exogenous changes to the fundamentals of the environment. This occurs as a result of a convergence of beliefs about the true state of the world by the two players. During each period, each adversary must decide to either stage an attack or not. Conflict ensues if either player chooses to initiate an attack. Choosing to not stage an attack in a given period reveals information to the player’s rival. Thus, over time, beliefs about the true state of the world converge. Depending upon the true state of the world, we can ultimately have either of the two adversaries initiating an attack (either with or without regret) after an arbitrarily long period of tranquility. When this happens, it is as if conflict has suddenly arisen without any apparent cause or impetus. Alternatively (again, depending upon the true state of the world), we could possibly have beliefs converge to a point where neither adversary wants to initiate conflict.
Exploring Primary Healthcare Students and Their Mentors’ Awareness of Mentorship and Clinical Governance as Part of a Local Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program: Findings of a Quantitative Survey
Authors: McSherry Robert , Snowden Michael
Published: October 2019

Introduction: Previous research exploring the benefits of mentoring and the place of clinical governance in enhancing care delivery illustrated an unexplored synonymous relationship between mentors and mentees (students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels) and its potential impact on patient safety and quality of care. The significance of the research was in recognizing the importance the role of the mentor can play in raising awareness of patient safety and clinical governance principles and processes in the primary healthcare setting. Aims: Building on this preliminary research, this research aimed to explore primary healthcare workers and their mentor’s awareness of mentorship and clinical governance as part of a local Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. Furthermore, it aimed to establish any relationship between the mentors, the mentee, and their awareness and application of clinical governance in the primary healthcare setting. Methodology: A quantitative research design using a survey was adopted. Data Collection Instrument: The researchers integrated previously validated questionnaires incorporating a Mentor Potential Scale, the Dimensions of Mentoring, and a Clinical Governance Awareness Questionnaire into a new questionnaire. This was called “Mentorship and Clinical Governance Awareness”. Sample: Convenience sample surveys were posted to complete and return to 480 primary healthcare workers undertaking post graduate study. Findings: A total of 112 completed questionnaires were included for the analysis amounting to a 23% response rate. A principle component factor analysis combining part 1— the characteristics of an effective mentor and part 2—the personality characteristics of an effective mentor identified four primary characteristics. These are: (1) “A Facilitatory Adviser”, (2) “Critically Enabling Facilitator”, (3) “A Change Facilitator”, and 4) “An Approachable Facilitator”. These newly identified characterizations according to the primary healthcare workers significantly impacted on their awareness and application of clinical governance in primary healthcare practice. Implications for primary healthcare practice and education: The newly devised questionnaire can be used to gauge the effectiveness of mentors and mentoring and how the characteristics of the role can impact on mentee’s awareness and application of clinical governance. Healthcare manager’s, leaders, and educators should focus their attention on how these newly established characteristics of the mentor can influence clinical governance awareness and application in healthcare the future.
A Raman Spectroscopic and Computational Study of New Aromatic Pyrimidine-Based Halogen Bond Acceptors
Authors: Hardin April E. S. , Ellington Thomas L. , Nguyen Suong T. , Rheingold Arnold L. , Tschumper Gregory S. , Watkins Davita L. , Hammer Nathan I.
Published: October 2019

Two new aromatic pyrimidine-based derivatives designed specifically for halogen bond directed self-assembly are investigated through a combination of high-resolution Raman spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and computational quantum chemistry. The vibrational frequencies of these new molecular building blocks, pyrimidine capped with furan (PrmF) and thiophene (PrmT), are compared to those previously assigned for pyrimidine (Prm). The modifications affect only a select few of the normal modes of Prm, most noticeably its signature ring breathing mode, ν1. Structural analyses afforded by X-ray crystallography, and computed interaction energies from density functional theory computations indicate that, although weak hydrogen bonding (C–H···O or C–H···N interactions) is present in these pyrimidine-based solid-state co-crystals, halogen bonding and π-stacking interactions play more dominant roles in driving their molecular-assembly.
3D Bioprinted Human Cortical Neural Constructs Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Authors: Salaris Federico , Colosi Cristina , Brighi Carlo , Soloperto Alessandro , de Turris Valeria , Benedetti Maria Cristina , Ghirga Silvia , Rosito Maria , Di Angelantonio Silvia , Rosa Alessandro
Published: October 2019

Bioprinting techniques use bioinks made of biocompatible non-living materials and cells to build 3D constructs in a controlled manner and with micrometric resolution. 3D bioprinted structures representative of several human tissues have been recently produced using cells derived by differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Human iPSCs can be differentiated in a wide range of neurons and glia, providing an ideal tool for modeling the human nervous system. Here we report a neural construct generated by 3D bioprinting of cortical neurons and glial precursors derived from human iPSCs. We show that the extrusion-based printing process does not impair cell viability in the short and long term. Bioprinted cells can be further differentiated within the construct and properly express neuronal and astrocytic markers. Functional analysis of 3D bioprinted cells highlights an early stage of maturation and the establishment of early network activity behaviors. This work lays the basis for generating more complex and faithful 3D models of the human nervous systems by bioprinting neural cells derived from iPSCs.
Time Trends in the Incidence of Long-Term Mortality in T2DM Patients Who Have Undergone a Lower Extremity Amputation. Results of a Descriptive and Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: López-de-Andrés Ana , Jiménez-García Rodrigo , Esteban-Vasallo Maria D. , Hernández-Barrera Valentin , Aragon-Sánchez Javier , Jiménez-Trujillo Isabel , de Miguel-Diez Javier , Palomar-Gallego Maria A. , Romero-Maroto Martin , Perez-Farinos Napoleón
Published: October 2019

(1) Background: The aims of this study were to examine the incidence of lower extremity amputations (LEAs) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to compare the mortality risk of diabetic individuals who underwent LEA with age and sex-matched diabetic individuals without LEA. (2) Methods: We performed a descriptive observational study to assess the trend in the incidence of LEA and a retrospective cohort study to evaluate whether undergoing LEA is a risk factor for long-term mortality among T2DM patients. Data were obtained from the Hospital Discharge Database for the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain (2006–2015). (3) Results: The incidence rates of major below-knee and above-knee amputations decreased significantly from 24.9 to 17.1 and from 63.9 to 48.2 per 100000 T2DM individuals from 2006 to 2015, respectively. However, the incidence of minor LEAs increased over time. Mortality was significantly higher among T2DM patients who underwent LEA compared with those who did not undergo this procedure (HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.65–1.87). Male sex, older age, and comorbidity were independently associated with higher mortality after LEA. (4) Conclusions: Undergoing a LEA is a significant risk factor for long term mortality among T2DM patients, and those who underwent a major above-knee LEAs have the highest risk.
New Computerized Method in Measuring the Sagittal Bowing of Femur from Plain Radiograph—A Validation Study
Authors: Liaw Chen-Kun , Chen Yen-Po , Wu Tai-Yin , Fuh Chiou-Shann , Chang Ruey-Feng
Published: October 2019

Background: Mismatch of intramedullary nails with the bowing of femur is a frequent clinical finding. Previous studies showed inconsistent results. Methods: We present an algorithm of region growing territory method to get the radii of the anterior bowing of femur. We also tested it on ten radiographs. Plain radiographs of the lateral view of femur from five men and five women taken between January and August 2014 in Taipei Hospital were chosen randomly. The curvature of femur outline and medullary canal were measured for three times each. Radii of curvature of whole femur, proximal, middle and distal parts were calculated and analyzed. Results: The coefficient of variation of the 240 measurements ranged from 0.007 to 0.295 and averaged 0.088. The average radii of curvature of the whole, proximal, middle, and distal femur were 1318 mm, 752 mm, 1379 mm, and 599 mm, respectively. At the distal part of the femur, the radius of curvature of the femur outline (452 mm) was smaller than the medullary canal (746 mm) (p < 0.05). Women’s femur was straighter than men’s when we compared the whole length (1435 mm vs. 1201 mm, p < 0.05). The radii we calculated were smaller than the current intramedullary nails. Conclusion: The results showed that the inter-observer and intra-observer differences are acceptable, support the impression that different bowing conditions existed for Asians as compared to Caucasians, and also indicate the mismatch of current instruments to the curvature of femur.
Early Diagnosis and Classification of Cerebral Palsy: An Historical Perspective and Barriers to an Early Diagnosis
Authors: te Velde Anna , Morgan Catherine , Novak Iona , Tantsis Esther , Badawi Nadia
Published: October 2019

Since the 1800s, there have been calls in the literature for the early diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP). However, diagnosis still often occurs late, from 12 to 24 months in high income countries and as late as 5 years in low resource settings. This is after the optimal timeframe for applying interventions which could harness neuroplastic potential in the developing brain. Multiple barriers exist which affect clinicians’ confidence in diagnosing CP early. These range from the lack of definitive biomarkers to a lack of curative treatments for CP. Further barriers to diagnosis are proposed including; (a) difficulty finding a congruent fit with the definition of CP in an infant, where expected activity limitations might not yet be apparent; and (b) differences in the presentation of motor type and topography classifications between infants and children. These barriers may affect a clinicians’ confidence using “pattern recognition” in the differential diagnosis process. One of the central tenets of this paper is that diagnosis and classification are different, involving different instruments, and are more accurately conducted separately in infants, whereas they are fundamentally interconnected in older children and inform therapeutic decisions. Furthermore, we need to be careful not to delay early diagnosis because of the low reliability of early classification, but instead uncouple these two processes. Ongoing implementation of best practice for early detection requires creative solutions which might include universal screening for CP. Implementation and accompanying knowledge translation studies are underway to decrease the average age of diagnosis in CP.
Electropolishing of Laser Powder Bed-Fused IN625 Components in an Ionic Electrolyte
Authors: Mohammadian Neda , Turenne Sylvain , Brailovski Vladimir
Published: October 2019

This work presents the first practical application of ionic electrolytes for electropolishing of nickel-based superalloys. It contains the results of an experiment-driven optimization of the applied potential and electrolyte temperature during electropolishing of laser powder bed-fused IN625 components containing surfaces oriented to the building platform under angles varying from 0 to 135°. For comparative purposes, the roughness profilometry and confocal microscopy techniques were used to characterize the surface finish topographies and the material removal rates of IN625 components subjected to electropolishing in ionic and acidic (reference) electrolytes. After 4 h of electropolishing in both electrolytes, a roughness of Ra ≤ 6.3 µm (ISO N9 grade number of roughness) was obtained for all the build orientations. To elaborate, both electrolytes manifested identical roughness evolutions with time on the 45° (75% Ra reduction) and 90°-oriented (65% Ra reduction) surfaces. Although the roughness reduction on the 135°-oriented surface in the ionic electrolyte was 17% less than in the acidic electrolyte, the former provided a more uniform roughness profile on the 0°-oriented surface (30% Ra reduction) and 44% higher current efficiency than the acidic electrolyte. This work proves that ionic electrolytes constitute a greener alternative to industrial acidic mixtures for electropolishing of three-dimensional (3D)-printed parts from nickel-based superalloys.
Understanding the Vulnerabilities in Digital Components of an Integrated Bridge System (IBS)
Authors: Awan Malik Shahzad Kaleem , Al Ghamdi Mohammed A.
Published: October 2019

The adoption of the global positioning system (GPS) within the marine industry has revolutionized the marine operations by condensing the navigation of a vessel into an integrated bridge system (IBS). An IBS acts as the main command and control of a vessel as it interconnects various digital devices used for navigation in open seas and is also connected to other on-board systems of a vessel e.g., navigation and control, propulsion and machinery management system, cargo management system and safety management system, core infra structure systems, administrative and crew welfare systems, etc. Additionally, it also provides a gateway to the Internet, thus, leaving not only an IBS vulnerable but also all the on-board systems vulnerable to cyber-attacks. We, in this study, have collected historical evidences about various vulnerable digital components in an IBS to better understand the security and privacy challenges associated with the vulnerable IBS components. Our study is the first of its kind that involves collection and review of 59 historical accidents reported in literature and has highlighted various vulnerability patterns, their causes and consequences, with geographical as well as temporal relationships for different vulnerable IBS components. The vulnerabilities of IBS components were reportedly exploited using various cyber-attack techniques e.g., jamming, spoofing, hijacking, etc. This review paper also forms a baseline for future work on vulnerabilities of IBS and maritime cyber security.
Using the Immunophenotype to Predict Response to Biologic Drugs in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Mulhearn Ben , Barton Anne , Viatte Sebastien
Published: October 2019

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α is a key mediator of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, and its discovery led to the development of highly successful anti-TNF therapy. Subsequently, other biologic drugs targeting immune pathways, namely interleukin-6 blockade, B cell depletion, and T cell co-stimulation blockade, have been developed. Not all patients respond to a biologic drug, leading to a knowledge gap between biologic therapies available and the confident prediction of response. So far, genetic studies have failed to uncover clinically informative biomarkers to predict response. Given that the targets of biologics are immune pathways, immunological study has become all the more pertinent. Furthermore, advances in single-cell technology have enabled the characterization of many leucocyte subsets. Studying the blood immunophenotype may therefore, define biomarker profiles relevant to each individual patient’s disease and treatment outcome. This review summarises our current understanding of how immune biomarkers might be able to predict treatment response to biologic drugs.
Scalable Edge Computing Deployment for Reliable Service Provisioning in Vehicular Networks
Authors: Tonini Federico , Khorsandi Bahare M. , Amato Elisabetta , Raffaelli Carla
Published: October 2019

The global connected cars market is growing rapidly. Novel services will be offered to vehicles, many of them requiring low-latency and high-reliability networking solutions. The Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) paradigm, thanks to the centralization and virtualization of baseband functions, offers numerous advantages in terms of costs and mobile radio performance. C-RAN can be deployed in conjunction with a Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) infrastructure, bringing services close to vehicles supporting time-critical applications. However, a massive deployment of computational resources at the edge may be costly, especially when reliability requirements demand deployment of redundant resources. In this context, cost optimization based on integer linear programming may result in being too complex when the number of involved nodes is more than a few tens. This paper proposes a scalable approach for C-RAN and MEC computational resource deployment with protection against single-edge node failure. A two-step hybrid model is proposed to alleviate the computational complexity of the integer programming model when edge computing resources are located in physical nodes. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid strategy in finding optimal or near-optimal solutions with different network sizes and with affordable computational effort.
Memristive Characteristic of an Amorphous Ga-Sn-O Thin-Film Device with Double Layers of Different Oxygen Density
Authors: Kurasaki Ayata , Tanaka Ryo , Sugisaki Sumio , Matsuda Tokiyoshi , Koretomo Daichi , Magari Yusaku , Furuta Mamoru , Kimura Mutsumi
Published: October 2019

We have found a memristive characteristic of an amorphous Ga-Sn-O (α-GTO) thin-film device with double layers of different oxygen density. The double layers are deposited using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, whose gas for the lower layer contains less oxygen, whereas that for the upper layer contains more oxygen, and it is assumed that the former contains more oxygen vacancies, whereas the latter contains fewer vacancies. The characteristic is explained by drift of oxygen and is stable without forming operation because additional structures such as filament are unnecessary. The fabrication is easy because the double layers are successively deposited simply by changing the oxygen ratio in the chamber.
A Soft Sensor for Estimation of In-Flow Rate in a Flow Process Using Pole Placement and Kalman Filter Methods
Authors: Navada Bhagya R. , Venkata Santhosh K. , Rao Swetha
Published: October 2019

This article reports the design of a soft sensor for estimation of in-flow to the control valve in a flow process. The objective of the proposed work is to design and compare the performance of pole placement and Kalman filter-based observers. The observer is designed to estimate the in-flow from the measured out-flow. A mathematical model is derived for the considered physical plant using the system identification technique. An observer is designed using Pole Placement and Kalman Filter methods from the derived plant model. The obtained observer is implemented on a real-life setup for estimation of the in-flow rate. Results obtained from the designed observers are then analyzed to select the better observer. Comparison of performance based on results from Kalman Filter and Pole Placement method of observers shows that the former is more accurate, whereas the computation time is smaller in the latter. Results achieved from the designed soft sensor are verified using an electromagnetic flowmeter, and the results have a root-mean-square percentage error of 0.79%.
Natural Test for Random Numbers Generator Based on Exponential Distribution
Authors: Tanackov Ilija , Sinani Feta , Stanković Miomir , Bogdanović Vuk , Stević Željko , Vidić Mladen , Mihaljev-Martinov Jelena
Published: October 2019

We will prove that when uniformly distributed random numbers are sorted by value, their successive differences are a exponentially distributed random variable Ex(λ). For a set of n random numbers, the parameters of mathematical expectation and standard deviation is λ = n−1. The theorem was verified on four series of 200 sets of 101 random numbers each. The first series was obtained on the basis of decimals of the constant e = 2.718281…, the second on the decimals of the constant π = 3.141592…, the third on a Pseudo Random Number generated from Excel function RAND, and the fourth series of True Random Number generated from atmospheric noise. The obtained results confirm the application of the derived theorem in practice.
Effects of Al2O3 Addition on the Microstructure and Properties of CoCr Alloys
Authors: Hong Qin , Bai Peikang , Wang Jianhong
Published: October 2019

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) powder can be added to typical cobalt-chromium (CoCr) alloy powders. In the present study, we successfully prepared alloyed samples of various powder ratios by laser cladding and analyzed their microstructure and carbide structural characteristics, including the microhardness, biological properties, morphology (using scanning electron microscopy), and crystal structure (using X-ray powder diffraction). The elemental distribution was also determined by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that an Al2O3 addition caused the alloy microstructure to change from slender columnar crystals to columnar grains that were similar in shape to equiaxed grains. In addition, Al2O3 agglomeration zones appeared, and carbide structures were altered. The mechanism of the observed performance changes was also analyzed.
Compensating Circuit to Reduce the Impact of Wire Resistance in a Memristor Crossbar-Based Perceptron Neural Network
Authors: Truong Son Ngoc
Published: October 2019

Wire resistance in metal wire is one of the factors that degrade the performance of memristor crossbar circuits. In this paper, an analysis of the impact of wire resistance in a memristor crossbar is performed and a compensating circuit is proposed to reduce the impact of wire resistance in a memristor crossbar-based perceptron neural network. The goal of the analysis is to figure out how wire resistance influences the output voltage of a memristor crossbar. It emerges that the wire resistance on horizontal lines causes the neuron’s output voltage to vary more than the wire resistance on vertical lines. More interesting, the voltage variation caused by wire resistance on horizontal lines increases proportionally to the length of metal wire. The first column has small voltage variation whereas the last column has large voltage variation. In addition, two adjacent columns have almost the same amount of voltage variation. Under these observations, a memristor crossbar-based perceptron neural network with compensating circuit is proposed. The neuron’s outputs of two columns are put into a subtractor circuit to eliminate the voltage variation caused by the wire resistance. The proposed memristor crossbar-based perceptron neural network is trained to recognize the 26 characters. The proposed memristor crossbar shows better recognition rate compared to the previous work when wire resistance is taken into account. The proposed memristor crossbar circuit can maintain the recognition rate as high as 100% when wire resistance is as high as 2.5 Ω. By contrast, the recognition rate of the memristor crossbar without the compensating circuit decreases by 1%, 5%, and 19% when wire resistance is set to be 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 Ω, respectively.
The Metallochaperone Encoding Gene hypA Is Widely Distributed among Pathogenic Aeromonas spp. and Its Expression Is Increased under Acidic pH and within Macrophages
Authors: Fernández-Bravo Ana , López-Fernández Loida , Figueras Maria José
Published: October 2019

Metallochaperones are essential proteins that insert metal ions or metal cofactors into specific enzymes, that after maturation will become metalloenzymes. One of the most studied metallochaperones is the nickel-binding protein HypA, involved in the maturation of nickel-dependent hydrogenases and ureases. HypA was previously described in the human pathogens Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori and was considered a key virulence factor in the latter. However, nothing is known about this metallochaperone in the species of the emerging pathogen genus Aeromonas. These bacteria are native inhabitants of aquatic environments, often associated with cases of diarrhea and wound infections. In this study, we performed an in silico study of the hypA gene on 36 Aeromonas species genomes, which showed the presence of the gene in 69.4% (25/36) of the Aeromonas genomes. The similarity of Aeromonas HypA proteins with the H. pylori orthologous protein ranged from 21−23%, while with that of E. coli it was 41−45%. However, despite this low percentage, Aeromonas HypA displays the conserved characteristic metal-binding domains found in the other pathogens. The transcriptional analysis enabled the determination of hypA expression levels under acidic and alkaline conditions and after macrophage phagocytosis. The transcriptional regulation of hypA was found to be pH-dependent, showing upregulation at acidic pH. A higher upregulation occurred after macrophage infection. This is the first study that provided evidence that the HypA metallochaperone in Aeromonas might play a role in acid tolerance and in the defense against macrophages.
Low Prevalence of Folic Acid Supplementation during Pregnancy: A Multicenter Study in Vietnam
Authors: Ha Anh Vo Van , Zhao Yun , Binns Colin W. , Pham Ngoc Minh , Nguyen Cong Luat , Nguyen Phung Thi Hoang , Chu Tan Khac , Lee Andy H.
Published: October 2019

Periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation is recommended to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), but little information is known about its use in Vietnam. It is important that FA supplements start to be taken when planning a pregnancy and continued through the first trimester to prevent NTDs, as the neural tube closes in the first month of pregnancy. However, FA supplementation in Vietnam is usually recommended to commence from the first antenatal visit, which is usually at 16 weeks, and very few women take FA before their first visit. This multicenter study aimed to determine the prevalence of FA supplement use and associated maternal characteristics in Vietnam. FA supplementation was assessed in 2030 singleton pregnant women between 2015 and 2016. In total, 654 (32.2%) women reported taking either supplements containing FA alone or multivitamins containing FA, and 505 (24.9%) reported correctly taking supplements containing FA alone. Women who were aged 30 years or over, had low education levels, had formal employment, and whose current pregnancy was first or unplanned were less likely to supplement with FA. Education programs are needed to encourage FA supplementation when contemplating pregnancy.
Supplementation with Saccharomyces boulardii Increases the Maximal Oxygen Consumption and Maximal Aerobic Speed Attained by Rats Subjected to an Incremental-Speed Exercise
Authors: Soares Anne Danieli Nascimento , Wanner Samuel Penna , Morais Elissa Stefane Silva , Hudson Alexandre Sérvulo Ribeiro , Martins Flaviano Santos , Cardoso Valbert Nascimento
Published: October 2019

Benefits to the host metabolism resulting from Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) supplementation have been described; however, no study has investigated the effects of this supplementation on aerobic metabolism and performance during physical exercise. Thus, in the present study, we addressed the effects of Sb supplementation on the rate of oxygen consumption (VO2), mechanical efficiency (external work divided by VO2), and aerobic performance of rats subjected to fatiguing, incremental-speed exercise. Twenty-six male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: (1) non-supplemented, in which rats received 0.1 mL of a saline solution, and (2) Sb-supplemented, in which rats received 0.1 mL of a suspension containing 8.0 log10 colony-forming units. The rats received the treatments by gavage for 10 consecutive days; they were then subjected to fatiguing treadmill running. Sb supplementation did not change the VO2 values or mechanical efficiency during submaximal exercise intensities. In contrast, at fatigue, VO2MAX was increased by 12.7% in supplemented rats compared with controls (p = 0.01). Moreover, Sb improved aerobic performance, as evidenced by a 12.4% increase in maximal running speed attained by the supplemented rats (p < 0.05). We conclude that Sb supplementation for 10 days increases VO2MAX and aerobic performance in rats.
Renal Reabsorption of Folates: Pharmacological and Toxicological Snapshots
Authors: Samodelov Sophia L , Gai Zhibo , Kullak-Ublick Gerd A , Visentin Michele
Published: October 2019

Folates are water-soluble B9 vitamins that serve as one-carbon donors in the de novo synthesis of thymidylate and purines, and in the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Due to their key roles in nucleic acid synthesis and in DNA methylation, inhibiting the folate pathway is still one of the most efficient approaches for the treatment of several tumors. Methotrexate and pemetrexed are the most prescribed antifolates and are mainly used in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, osteosarcoma, and lung cancers. Normal levels of folates in the blood are maintained not only by proper dietary intake and intestinal absorption, but also by an efficient renal reabsorption that seems to be primarily mediated by the glycosylphosphatidylinositol- (GPI) anchored protein folate receptor α (FRα), which is highly expressed at the brush-border membrane of proximal tubule cells. Folate deficiency due to malnutrition, impaired intestinal absorption or increased urinary elimination is associated with severe hematological and neurological deficits. This review describes the role of the kidneys in folate homeostasis, the molecular basis of folate handling by the kidneys, and the use of high dose folic acid as a model of acute kidney injury. Finally, we provide an overview on the development of folate-based compounds and their possible therapeutic potential and toxicological ramifications.
Evaluation of Switchgrass Genotypes for Cold-Tolerant Seed Germination from Native Populations in the Northeast USA
Authors: Mayton Hilary , Amirkhani Masoume , Loos Michael , Crawford Jamie , Crawford Ryan , Hansen Julie , Viands Donald , Salon Paul , Taylor Alan
Published: October 2019

The focus of this research was to evaluate genotypes for cold-tolerant germination from wild switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) populations collected in the Northeast USA. Switchgrass nurseries were established in 2008 and 2009 with seed collected from native stands of switchgrass in the Northeast USA between 1991 and 2008. Switchgrass seed harvested from individual genotypes was evaluated for cold-tolerant germination in a series of laboratory experiments. Germination assays of seed of 13 switchgrass genotypes harvested in the fall of 2016 are the primary focus of this reported research. The selected genotypes were evaluated for cold-tolerant seed germination in three experiments, during the spring of 2017, fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, (with and without stratification) using a 10/15 °C regime with a 12 h photoperiod. Germination tests showed that several genotypes had significantly higher percentage germination as well as faster germination rates expressed as T50 (number of days required to reach 50% maximum germination) when compared to Cave-in-Rock, a moderately sensitive cold-tolerant commercial cultivar established in the original switchgrass nursery as a control. A final germination test was conducted to compare seed from the original population (no selection cycle 0), with one of the top performing cold-tolerant germination genotypes, and a commercial cultivar, ‘Espresso’, developed for low seed dormancy and low temperature germination. In this test, the selected genotype had significantly higher percentage germination in the stratified treatment and was not significantly different than Espresso in the non-stratified test. These data indicate successful selection for cold-tolerant germination in switchgrass genotypes from native germplasm collected in the Northeast USA.
Multi-Channel Weather Radar Echo Extrapolation with Convolutional Recurrent Neural Networks
Authors: Tran Quang-Khai , Song Sa-kwang
Published: October 2019

This article presents an investigation into the problem of 3D radar echo extrapolation in precipitation nowcasting, using recent AI advances, together with a viewpoint from Computer Vision. While Deep Learning methods, especially convolutional recurrent neural networks, have been developed to perform extrapolation, most works use 2D radar images rather than 3D images. In addition, the very few ones which try 3D data do not show a clear picture of results. Through this study, we found a potential problem in the convolution-based prediction of 3D data, which is similar to the cross-talk effect in multi-channel radar processing but has not been documented well in the literature, and discovered the root cause. The problem was that, when we generated different channels using one receptive field, some information in a channel, especially observation errors, might affect other channels unexpectedly. We found that, when using the early-stopping technique to avoid over-fitting, the receptive field did not learn enough to cancel unnecessary information. If we increased the number of training iterations, this effect could be reduced but that might worsen the over-fitting situation. We therefore proposed a new output generation block which generates each channel separately and showed the improvement. Moreover, we also found that common image augmentation techniques in Computer Vision can be helpful for radar echo extrapolation, improving testing mean squared error of employed models at least 20% in our experiments.
Mono-Component Feature Extraction for Condition Assessment in Civil Structures Using Empirical Wavelet Transform
Authors: Xia Yun-Xia , Zhou Yun-Lai
Published: October 2019

This paper proposes a methodology to process and interpret the complex signals acquired from the health monitoring of civil structures via scale-space empirical wavelet transform (EWT). The FREEVIB method, a widely used instantaneous modal parameters identification method, determines the structural characteristics from the individual components separated by EWT first. The scale-space EWT turns the detecting of the frequency boundaries into the scale-space representation of the Fourier spectrum. As well, to find meaningful modes becomes a clustering problem on the length of minima scale-space curves. The Otsu’s algorithm is employed to determine the threshold for the clustering analysis. To retain the time-varying features, the EWT-extracted mono-components are analyzed by the FREEVIB method to obtain the instantaneous modal parameters and the linearity characteristics of the structures. Both simulated and real SHM signals from civil structures are used to validate the effectiveness of the present method. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology is capable of separating the signal components, even those closely spaced ones in frequency domain, with high accuracy, and extracting the structural features reliably.
IoMT Platform for Pervasive Healthcare Data Aggregation, Processing, and Sharing Based on OneM2M and OpenEHR
Authors: S. Rubí Jesús N. , L. Gondim Paulo R.
Published: October 2019

Pervasive healthcare services have undergone a great evolution in recent years. The technological development of communication networks, including the Internet, sensor networks, and M2M (Machine-to-Machine) have given rise to new architectures, applications, and standards related to addressing almost all current e-health challenges. Among the standards, the importance of OpenEHR has been recognized, since it enables the separation of medical semantics from data representation of electronic health records. However, it does not meet the requirements related to interoperability of e-health devices in M2M networks, or in the Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios. Moreover, the lack of interoperability hampers the application of new data-processing techniques, such as data mining and online analytical processing, due to the heterogeneity of the data and the sources. This article proposes an Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) platform for pervasive healthcare that ensures interoperability, quality of the detection process, and scalability in an M2M-based architecture, and provides functionalities for the processing of high volumes of data, knowledge extraction, and common healthcare services. The platform uses the semantics described in OpenEHR for both data quality evaluation and standardization of healthcare data stored by the association of IoMT devices and observations defined in OpenEHR. Moreover, it enables the application of big data techniques and online analytic processing (OLAP) through Hadoop Map/Reduce and content-sharing through fast healthcare interoperability resource (FHIR) application programming interfaces (APIs).
Structural Monitoring and Safety Assessment during Translocation of Mahavira Hall of Jade Buddha Temple
Authors: Zhang Rui , Xue Songtao , Xie Liyu , Zhang Fengliang , Lu Wensheng
Published: October 2019

The Mahavira Hall of the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, China is a century-old traditional timber structure with a post-and-lintel construction. To improve the temple’s architectural layout and enhance the lintel structural integrity, the Mahavira Hall was moved 30.66 m and then elevated 1.05 m in September 2017. To assist in the structural translocation and uplift, the authors designed a monitoring system to continuously measure the relative displacement and inclination of the overall structure, individual components, and inside statues to ensure the integrity of the hall and its contents. This article presents and summarizes the priority issues and principles of monitoring the ancient Chinese timber structure. The time series of monitored data are decimated in order to minimize the fluctuation of data. The structural integrity of the Mahavira Hall was evaluated based on the inclination angle of its vital members. Finally, combined with the limit value regulated by code and the predicted early warning threshold values, which are based on extreme value theory, the effect of the translocation on the structural performance was obtained using fuzzy logic.