bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Missing “lnc” between Genetics and Cardiac Disease
Authors: Azodi Maral , Kamps Rick , Heymans Stephane , Robinson Emma Louise
Published: January 2020

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the biggest threats to public health worldwide. Identifying key genetic contributors to CVD enables clinicians to assess the most effective treatment course and prognosis, as well as potentially inform family members. This often involves either whole exome sequencing (WES) or targeted panel analysis of known pathogenic genes. In the future, tailored or personalized therapeutic strategies may be implemented, such as gene therapy. With the recent revolution in deep sequencing technologies, we know that up to 90% of the human genome is transcribed, despite only 2% of the 6 billion DNA bases coding for proteins. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) “genes” make up an important and significant fraction of this “dark matter” of the genome. We highlight how, despite lncRNA genes exceeding that of classical protein-coding genes by number, the “non-coding” human genome is neglected when looking for genetic components of disease. WES platforms and pathogenic gene panels still do not cover even characterized lncRNA genes that are functionally involved in the pathophysiology of CVD. We suggest that the importance of lncRNAs in disease causation and progression be taken as seriously as that of pathogenic protein variants and mutations, and that this is maybe a new area of attention for clinical geneticists.
Antibiotic Treatment Does Not Ameliorate the Metabolic Changes in Rats Presenting Dysbiosis After Consuming a High Fructose Diet
Authors: Bier Ariel , Khasbab Rawan , Haberman Yael , Braun Tzipi , Hadar Rotem , Sosnovski Katya , Amir Amnon , Leibowitz Avshalom , Grossman Ehud
Published: January 2020

High fructose consumption is one of the hallmarks of Western diets and has been found to induce MeS symptoms in parallel to gut microbial dysbiosis. However, the causality between those two is still elusive. Here, we studied whether a significant modification of gut microbial composition by antibiotics can influence the fructose-induced metabolic changes. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into four groups including controls, controls + antibiotics, high fructose diet (HFrD, 60% fructose), HFrD + antibiotics (n = 7–8 in each group) for a period of 8-weeks. The high fructose diet increased blood pressure (BP), triglyceride (TG), fatty liver and the expression of hepatic genes related to lipogenesis, and fructose transport and metabolism. In addition, fructose changed the microbial composition and increased acetic and butyric acids in fecal samples but not in the blood. Antibiotic treatment significantly reduced microbial diversity and modified the microbial composition in the samples. However, minimal or no effect was seen in the metabolic phenotypes. In conclusion, high fructose consumption (60%) induced metabolic changes and dysbiosis in rats. However, antibiotic treatment did not reverse the metabolic phenotype. Therefore, the metabolic changes are probably independent of a specific microbiome profile.
Relationship Between the Gastrointestinal Side Effects of an Anti-Hypertensive Medication and Changes in the Serum Lipid Metabolome
Authors: Ahn Yoomin , Nam Myung Hee , Kim Eungbin
Published: January 2020

An earlier study using a rat model system indicated that the active ingredients contained in the anti-hypertensive medication amlodipine (AMD) appeared to induce various bowel problems, including constipation and inflammation. A probiotic blend was found to alleviate intestinal complications caused by the medicine. To gain more extensive insight into the beneficial effects of the probiotic blend, we investigated the changes in metabolite levels using a non-targeted metabolic approach with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-fligh (UPLC-q/TOF) mass spectrometry. Analysis of lipid metabolites revealed that rats that received AMD had a different metabolome profile compared with control rats and rats that received AMD plus the probiotic blend. In the AMD-administered group, serum levels of phosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, triglycerides with large numbers of double bonds, cholesterols, sterol derivatives, and cholesterol esters (all p < 0.05) were increased compared with those of the control group and the group that received AMD plus the probiotic blend. The AMD-administered group also exhibited significantly decreased levels of triglycerides with small numbers of double bonds (all p < 0.05). These results support our hypothesis that AMD-induced compositional changes in the gut microbiota are a causal factor in inflammation.
Relationship of Wine Consumption with Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Reale Marcella , Costantini Erica , Jagarlapoodi Srinivas , Khan Haroon , Belwal Tarun , Cichelli Angelo
Published: January 2020

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most threatening neurodegenerative disease, is characterized by the loss of memory and language function, an unbalanced perception of space, and other cognitive and physical manifestations. The pathology of AD is characterized by neuronal loss and the extensive distribution of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). The role of environment and the diet in AD is being actively studied, and nutrition is one of the main factors playing a prominent role in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. In this context, the relationship between dementia and wine use/abuse has received increased research interest, with varying and often conflicting results. Scope and Approach: With this review, we aimed to critically summarize the main relevant studies to clarify the relationship between wine drinking and AD, as well as how frequency and/or amount of drinking may influence the effects. Key Findings and Conclusions: Overall, based on the interpretation of various studies, no definitive results highlight if light to moderate alcohol drinking is detrimental to cognition and dementia, or if alcohol intake could reduce risk of developing AD.
Modeling Possible Outcomes of Updated Daily Values on Nutrient Intakes of the United States Adult Population
Authors: Newman Jill , McBurney Michael , Hunt Kelly , Malek Angela , Marriott Bernadette
Published: January 2020

The United States (US) Food and Drug Administration has updated the Daily Values (DVs) for the Nutrition Facts Label on packaged foods. We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2012 data with the International Life Sciences Institute, North America Fortification Database, which identifies intrinsic, mandatory enriched, and fortified sources of nutrients in foods and beverages, to model the new DVs’ potential impact on adult (≥19 years of age) intake. We assumed that manufacturers will adjust voluntary fortification to maintain percent DV claims. We assessed the percent of the US population whose usual intake (UI) was < the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), and ≥ the Upper Limit (UL) based on the current DVs, and modeled estimated UI and %<EAR with the new DVs (Updated DV) for 12 micronutrients. Modeling for vitamins B12, A, B6, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and zinc predicts fewer voluntarily fortified foods and reduced adult UI. Assuming manufacturers add more vitamins C and D and calcium to foods, the Updated DV predicts the adult UI will increase for these nutrients. Our modeling predicts a 15% reduction in overall adult vitamin A intake, a recognized “shortfall nutrient” and that even with the increased DV for vitamin D, 70% of US adults are predicted to have an intake <EAR.
Sarcopenia and Heart Failure
Authors: Curcio Francesco , Testa Gianluca , Liguori Ilaria , Papillo Martina , Flocco Veronica , Panicara Veronica , Galizia Gianluigi , Della-Morte David , Gargiulo Gaetano , Cacciatore Francesco , Bonaduce Domenico , Landi Francesco , Abete Pasquale
Published: January 2020

Modifications of lean mass are a frequent critical determinant in the pathophysiology and progression of heart failure (HF). Sarcopenia may be considered one of the most important causes of low physical performance and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness in older patients with HF. Sarcopenia is frequently misdiagnosed as cachexia. However, muscle wasting in HF has different pathogenetic features in sarcopenic and cachectic conditions. HF may induce sarcopenia through common pathogenetic pathways such as hormonal changes, malnutrition, and physical inactivity; mechanisms that influence each other. In the opposite way, sarcopenia may favor HF development by different mechanisms, including pathological ergoreflex. Paradoxically, sarcopenia is not associated with a sarcopenic cardiac muscle, but the cardiac muscle shows a hypertrophy which seems to be “not-functional.” First-line agents for the treatment of HF, physical activity and nutritional interventions, may offer a therapeutic advantage in sarcopenic patients irrespective of HF. Thus, sarcopenia is highly prevalent in patients with HF, contributing to its poor prognosis, and both conditions could benefit from common treatment strategies based on pharmacological, physical activity, and nutritional approaches.
A Mixture of Phenolic Metabolites of Quercetin Can Decrease Elevated Blood Pressure of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Even in Low Doses
Authors: Najmanová Iveta , Pourová Jana , Mladěnka Přemysl
Published: January 2020

Quercetin is proven to decrease arterial blood pressure when given orally. Its bioavailability is, however, low and, therefore, its metabolites could rather be responsible for this effect. In particular, the colonic metabolites of quercetin, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DHPA), 4-methylcatechol (4MC), and 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid (3HPPA), have been previously shown to decrease the blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Interestingly, the mechanisms of action of these three metabolites are different. The aim of this study is hence to investigate if these metabolites can potentiate each other and thus decrease blood pressure in reduced doses. Three double-combinations of previously mentioned metabolites were administered to SHR as infusions to mimic a real biological situation. All combinations significantly decreased the blood pressure in SHR but there were important differences. The effect of DHPA and 4MC was mild and very short. A combination of DHPA with 3HPPA caused more pronounced effects, which were also rather short-lived. The last combination of 3HPPA and 4MC caused a long-lasting effect. In conclusion, certain combinations of quercetin metabolites have a more pronounced antihypertensive effect than single metabolites.
Policaptil Gel Retard Intake Reduces Postprandial Triglycerides, Ghrelin and Appetite in Obese Children: A Clinical Trial
Authors: Fornari Elena , Morandi Anita , Piona Claudia , Tommasi Mara , Corradi Massimiliano , Maffeis Claudio
Published: January 2020

The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that the intake of Policaptil Gel Retard® (PGR) is able to affect appetite, metabolic and hormonal postprandial profile in obese children. 46 obese children were randomly assigned to treatment with PGR or placebo, in a double blind clinical trial. Two PGR tablets or placebo were given in fasting condition, before the ingestion of a mixed meal (15 kcal/kg lean body mass). Blood samples were taken at baseline and for 4 h, for measuring blood lipids, glucose, insulin, ghrelin, and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Appetite was quantified using a visual analog scale. Children assuming PGR had a significantly lower increase of postprandial triglycerides (area under the curve (AUC): 3021 (2879) vs. 5038 (3738) mg × 240 min/Dl) and appetite (−234 (274) vs. 36 (329)) than children assuming placebo. The AUC of ghrelin was significantly lower after PGR ingestion, than after placebo (−8179 (8073) vs. −2800 (7579) pg × 240 min/mL). Blood glucose, insulin, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and GLP-1 profiles were not significantly different in the two groups. In conclusion, a single intake of two tablets of PGR was associated with a significant reduction of appetite, ghrelin, and triglycerides in the postprandial period in obese children. Further investigation will assess if a chronic intake of PGR may affect body weight and glucose metabolism.
Comment on: “The Utility of Thirst as a Measure of Hydration Status Following Exercise-Induced Dehydration”
Authors: Goulet Eric D.B.
Published: January 2020

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Non-Responsive Coeliac Disease: A Comprehensive Review from the NHS England National Centre for Refractory Coeliac Disease
Authors: Penny Hugo A. , Baggus Elisabeth M. R. , Rej Anupam , Snowden John A. , Sanders David S.
Published: January 2020

Coeliac disease is a common small intestinal enteropathy which manifests following ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. Since gluten was identified as the driving factor in coeliac disease, the gluten-free diet (GFD) has remained the mainstay of treatment. While most individuals will display improvement in symptoms and signs of coeliac disease following institution of the GFD, up to 30% will continue to experience symptoms and/or have persisting intestinal inflammation. These individuals can be classified as having non-responsive coeliac disease (NRCD), which may be associated with dietary indiscretion, slow healing, refractory coeliac disease, and/or an alternative condition. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the causes of NRCD in adults, highlight a systematic approach to investigate these patients, and appraise the latest management aspects of this subset of coeliac disease.
Orthorexic Tendency and Eating Disorders Symptoms in Polish Students: Examining Differences in Eating Behaviors
Authors: Plichta Marta , Jezewska-Zychowicz Marzena
Published: January 2020

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) may precede, ensue, or coexist with eating disorders (ED) and also affect eating behaviors. The aim of this study was to explore the dietary patterns (DPs) and other eating habits of people showing ON tendency, ED symptoms, and both ON tendency and ED symptoms, as well as those not showing either. The data for the study were collected from a sample of 1120 Polish college students through a cross-sectional survey in 2017. The questionnaire used in the survey included the ORTO-15, the Eating Disorder Screen for Primary Care (ESP), and the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ-6), and the students were also asked questions about their eating habits and special diets. A factor analysis was conducted to identify the following five DPs: “high-sugar products and refined products,” “meat and meat products,” “alcohol,” “high-fiber products and nuts,” and “dairy products and whole-meal bread.” Univariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to verify the associations between the variables. Students in the “ON and without ED” group were found to exhibit more healthy eating habits than the students in the “ED and without ON” group. The use of a special diet in the past and currently increased the risk of displaying ON tendency and ED symptoms. Students in the “ON and without ED” and “ON and ED” groups were characterized by less frequent consumption of high-sugar and refined products. Students who rarely consumed meat and related products were found to be less likely to display “ON and ED.” In conclusion, different eating habits shown by people with ON tendency and ED symptoms confirmed the difference between ON and ED. However, the simultaneous displaying of ON and ED leads to the overlapping of specificity of eating habits, which can make the diagnosis based only on the eating habits difficult. Thus, there is still a need for further research involving the use of more sensitive tools that can better identify ON tendency and ED symptoms, as well as DPs.
Medication-Focused Patient Counseling Upon Discharge: A Feasibility Study of Effect on Patient Satisfaction
Authors: Lundby Carina , Filipsen Julia , Rasmussen Susanne , Pottegård Anton
Published: January 2020

Objective: To develop and test a simple medication-focused patient counseling intervention at hospital discharge, with the aim of improving patient satisfaction. Methods: The intervention was developed during a workshop and carried out by pharmaconomists. The final intervention comprised preparing information for the discharge counseling, medication reconciliation, discussion with physician, patient counseling at discharge, medication report to primary care physician, and phone follow-up three days after discharge. The intervention was tested against usual care in a gastrointestinal surgical unit in a feasibility study, using the setup of a randomized controlled trial, with patient satisfaction as the primary outcome. Results: A total of 85 patients were invited to participate in the study. Following refusals (n = 11) and exclusions (n = 10), 32 patients were included in each trial arm (median age of 66.5 years; 52% males; median admission length of seven days). Patient satisfaction was high in both groups, with 75% (intervention) and 91% (control) reporting being overall satisfied with the discharge process (p = 0.10). No other differences between the groups were identified. Conclusions: The intervention did not result in improved patient satisfaction. This is likely attributed to the low number of patients included, the high satisfaction at baseline, and the lack of a validated tool to measure patient satisfaction. The developed intervention and study findings can inform future studies.
Comparison of Organosulfur and Amino Acid Composition between Triploid Onion Allium cornutum Clementi ex Visiani, 1842, and Common Onion Allium cepa L., and Evidences for Antiproliferative Activity of Their Extracts
Authors: Fredotović Željana , Soldo Barbara , Šprung Matilda , Marijanović Zvonimir , Jerković Igor , Puizina Jasna
Published: January 2020

Species that belong to the genus Allium have been widely used for human food and traditional medicine. Their beneficial health effects, as well as the specific aroma, are associated with their bioactive chemical compounds, such as sulfur compounds and flavonoids. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (reverse-phase HPLC) were used to identify organosulfur and amino acid content of triploid hybrid onion, Allium cornutum Clement ex Visiani, 1842, and common onion, Allium cepa L. Allium extracts were tested for their antiproliferative activity in three human cancer cell lines (HeLa, HCT116, and U2OS). DNA fragmentation and DAPI staining analysis were performed on HeLa cells to evaluate the effect of extracts on DNA damage and cell morphology. The mRNA expression of p53, Bax, and Caspase-3 genes involved in apoptosis were analyzed by real-time PCR. Using GC–MS, 27 compounds were found in two Allium species headspaces. Differences were noted among the main compound abundance in the headspace (although the major thiols and disulfides were qualitatively identic in both Allium species) and dipropyl disulfide, diisopropyl trisulfide, and (Z)-prop-1-enyl propyl trisulfide were predominant sulfides. Identification of amino acids and their quantities were determined by reverse-phase HPLC. Most abundant amino acids in both onions were arginine (Arg) and glutamic acid (Glu). The results of cytotoxicity testing confirmed antiproliferative effects of both species. The DNA fragmentation assay, DAPI staining and real time PCR analysis confirmed that A. cornutum and A. cepa extracts induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. This study presents the evidence for possible therapeutic use of A. cornutum and A. cepa extracts against human cervical carcinoma cell line.
Nanoparticles Functionalized by Conducting Polymers and Their Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Applications
Authors: Dong Yu Zhen , Choi Kisuk , Kwon Seung Hyuk , Nam Jae-Do , Choi Hyoung Jin
Published: January 2020

Conducting polymer-coated nanoparticles used in electrorheological (ER) and magnetorheological (MR) fluids are reviewed along with their fabrication methods, morphologies, thermal properties, sedimentation stabilities, dielectric properties, and ER and MR characteristics under applied electric or magnetic fields. After functionalization of the conducting polymers, the nanoparticles exhibited properties suitable for use as ER materials, and materials in which magnetic particles are used as a core could also be applied as MR materials. The conducting polymers covered in this study included polyaniline and its derivatives, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), poly(3-octylthiophene), polypyrrole, and poly(diphenylamine). The modified nanoparticles included polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), silica, titanium dioxide, maghemite, magnetite, and nanoclay. This article reviews many core-shell structured conducting polymer-coated nanoparticles used in ER and MR fluids and is expected to contribute to the understanding and development of ER and MR materials.
The Effect of Silanization Temperature and Time on the Marching Modulus of Silica-Filled Tire Tread Compounds
Authors: Jin Jungmin , Noordermeer Jacques W. M. , Dierkes Wilma K. , Blume Anke
Published: January 2020

Marching modulus phenomena are often observed in silica-reinforced solution styrene–butadiene rubber/butadiene rubber (S-SBR/BR) tire tread compounds. When such a situation happens, it is difficult to determine the optimum curing time, and as a consequence the physical properties of the rubber vulcanizates may vary. Previous studies have demonstrated that the curing behavior of silica compounds is related to the degree of silanization. For the present work, the effect of silanization temperature and time on the marching modulus of silica-filled rubber was evaluated. The correlations between these mixing parameters and their effect on the factors that have a strong relation with marching modulus intensity (MMI) were investigated: the amount of bound rubber, the filler flocculation rate (FFR), and the filler–polymer coupling rate (CR). The MMI was monitored by measuring the vulcanization rheograms using a rubber process analyzer (RPA) at small (approximately 7%) and large (approximately 42%) strain in order to discriminate the effects of filler–filler and filler–polymer interactions on the marching modulus of silica-filled rubber compounds. The results were interpreted via the correlation between these factors and their effect on the MMI. A higher temperature and a longer silanization time led to a better degree of silanization, in order of decreasing influence.
A Dynamic Active Safe Semi-Supervised Learning Framework for Fault Identification in Labeled Expensive Chemical Processes
Authors: Jia Xuqing , Tian Wende , Li Chuankun , Yang Xia , Luo Zhongjun , Wang Hui
Published: January 2020

A novel active semi-supervised learning framework using unlabeled data is proposed for fault identification in labeled expensive chemical processes. A principal component analysis (PCA) feature selection strategy is first given to calculate the weight of the variables. Secondly, the identification model is trained based on the obtained key process variables. Thirdly, the pseudo label confidence of identification model is dynamically optimized with an historical, current, and future pseudo label confidence mean. To increase the upper limit of the identification model that is self-learning with high entropy process data, active learning is used to identify process data and diagnosis fault causes by ontology. Finally, a PCA-dynamic active safe semi-supervised support vector machine (PCA-DAS4VM) for fault identification in labeled expensive chemical processes is built. The application in the Tennessee Eastman (TE) process shows that this hybrid technology is able to: (i) eliminate chemical process noise and redundant process variables simultaneously, (ii) combine historical pseudo label confidence with future pseudo label confidence to improve the identification accuracy of abnormal working conditions, (iii) efficiently select and diagnose high entropy unlabeled process data, and (iv) fully utilize unlabeled data to enhance the identification performance.
Religion after the Royal Commission: Challenges to Religion–State Relations
Authors: McPhillips Kathleen
Published: January 2020

The findings and recommendations emanating from the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2012–2017) have advised religious organisations that they need to undertake significant changes to legal, governance and cultural/theological practices. The reason for urgency in enacting these changes is that religious organisations were the least child safe institutions across all Australian organisations, with poor practices of transparency, accountability and responsibility coupled with a tendency to protect the reputation of the institution above the safety of children in their care. In Australia, new state laws have been enacted and are impacting on the internal governance systems of religious organisations, including removing the secrecy of the Catholic confessional, instituting mandatory reporting of child abuse by clerics and criminalising the failure to report child sexual abuse. Religious organisations have moved to adopt many of the recommendations regarding their troubled governance including the professionalisation of religious ministry; adoption of professional standards; and appropriate redress for survivors and changes to religious laws. However, these changes signal significant challenges to current church–state relations, which have been characterised by positioning religious organisations as special institutions that enjoy exemptions from certain human rights legislation, on the basis of protecting religious freedom. This article examines and evaluates the nexus between state and religion in Australian public life as it is emerging in a post-Royal Commission environment, and in particular contested claims around the meaning and value of religious freedom versus the necessity of institutional reform to ensure that religious organisations can demonstrate safety for children and other vulnerable groups.
Image-Based Dynamic Quantification of Aboveground Structure of Sugar Beet in Field
Authors: Xiao Shunfu , Chai Honghong , Shao Ke , Shen Mengyuan , Wang Qing , Wang Ruili , Sui Yang , Ma Yuntao
Published: January 2020

Sugar beet is one of the main crops for sugar production in the world. With the increasing demand for sugar, more desirable sugar beet genotypes need to be cultivated through plant breeding programs. Precise plant phenotyping in the field still remains challenge. In this study, structure from motion (SFM) approach was used to reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) model for sugar beets from 20 genotypes at three growth stages in the field. An automatic data processing pipeline was developed to process point clouds of sugar beet including preprocessing, coordinates correction, filtering and segmentation of point cloud of individual plant. Phenotypic traits were also automatically extracted regarding plant height, maximum canopy area, convex hull volume, total leaf area and individual leaf length. Total leaf area and convex hull volume were adopted to explore the relationship with biomass. The results showed that high correlations between measured and estimated values with R2 > 0.8. Statistical analyses between biomass and extracted traits proved that both convex hull volume and total leaf area can predict biomass well. The proposed pipeline can estimate sugar beet traits precisely in the field and provide a basis for sugar beet breeding.
Radar Interferometry as a Comprehensive Tool for Monitoring the Fault Activity in the Vicinity of Underground Gas Storage Facilities
Authors: Rapant Petr , Struhár Juraj , Lazecký Milan
Published: January 2020

Underground gas storage facilities are an important element of the natural gas supply system. They compensate for seasonal fluctuations in natural gas consumption. Their expected lifetime is in tens of years. Continuous monitoring of underground gas storage is therefore very important to ensure its longevity. Periodic injection and withdrawal of natural gas can cause, among other things, vertical movements of the terrain surface. Radar interferometry is a commonly used method for tracking changes in the terrain height. It can register even relatively small height changes (mm/year). The primary aim of our research was to verify whether terrain behavior above a relatively deep underground gas storage can be monitored by this method and to assess the possibility of detecting the occurrence of anomalous terrain behavior in an underground gas storage area such as reactivation of faults in the area. The results show a high correlation between periodic injection and withdrawal of natural gas into/from the underground reservoir and periodic changes in terrain height above it (the amplitude of the height changes is in centimeters), which may allow the detection of anomalous phenomena. We documented special behavior of storage structures in the Vienna Basin: the areas adjacent to the underground gas storages show exactly the opposite phase of vertical movements, i.e., while the terrain above the underground reservoirs rises as natural gas is injected, the adjacent areas subside, and vice versa. Based on the analysis of geological conditions, we tend to conclude that this behavior is conditioned by the tectonic fault structure of the studied area.
Innovative Remote Sensing Methodologies for Kenyan Land Tenure Mapping
Authors: Koeva Mila , Stöcker Claudia , Crommelinck Sophie , Ho Serene , Chipofya Malumbo , Sahib Jan , Bennett Rohan , Zevenbergen Jaap , Vosselman George , Lemmen Christiaan , Crompvoets Joep , Buntinx Ine , Wayumba Gordon , Wayumba Robert , Odwe Peter Ochieng , Osewe George Ted , Chika Beatrice , Pattyn Valerie
Published: January 2020

There exists a demand for effective land administration systems that can support the protection of unrecorded land rights, thereby assisting to reduce poverty and support national development—in alignment with target 1.4 of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is estimated that only 30% of the world’s population has documented land rights recorded within a formal land administration system. In response, we developed, adapted, applied, and tested innovative remote sensing methodologies to support land rights mapping, including (1) a unique ontological analysis approach using smart sketch maps (SmartSkeMa); (2) unmanned aerial vehicle application (UAV); and (3) automatic boundary extraction (ABE) techniques, based on the acquired UAV images. To assess the applicability of the remote sensing methodologies several aspects were studied: (1) user needs, (2) the proposed methodologies responses to those needs, and (3) examine broader governance implications related to scaling the suggested approaches. The case location of Kajiado, Kenya is selected. A combination of quantitative and qualitative results resulted from fieldwork and workshops, taking into account both social and technical aspects. The results show that SmartSkeMa was potentially a versatile and community-responsive land data acquisition tool requiring little expertise to be used, UAVs were identified as having a high potential for creating up-to-date base maps able to support the current land administration system, and automatic boundary extraction is an effective method to demarcate physical and visible boundaries compared to traditional methodologies and manual delineation for land tenure mapping activities.
Do Game Data Generalize Well for Remote Sensing Image Segmentation?
Authors: Zou Zhengxia , Shi Tianyang , Li Wenyuan , Zhang Zhou , Shi Zhenwei
Published: January 2020

Despite the recent progress in deep learning and remote sensing image interpretation, the adaption of a deep learning model between different sources of remote sensing data still remains a challenge. This paper investigates an interesting question: do synthetic data generalize well for remote sensing image applications? To answer this question, we take the building segmentation as an example by training a deep learning model on the city map of a well-known video game “Grand Theft Auto V” and then adapting the model to real-world remote sensing images. We propose a generative adversarial training based segmentation framework to improve the adaptability of the segmentation model. Our model consists of a CycleGAN model and a ResNet based segmentation network, where the former one is a well-known image-to-image translation framework which learns a mapping of the image from the game domain to the remote sensing domain; and the latter one learns to predict pixel-wise building masks based on the transformed data. All models in our method can be trained in an end-to-end fashion. The segmentation model can be trained without using any additional ground truth reference of the real-world images. Experimental results on a public building segmentation dataset suggest the effectiveness of our adaptation method. Our method shows superiority over other state-of-the-art semantic segmentation methods, for example, Deeplab-v3 and UNet. Another advantage of our method is that by introducing semantic information to the image-to-image translation framework, the image style conversion can be further improved.
Data Assimilation of High-Resolution Satellite Rainfall Product Improves Rainfall Simulation Associated with Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in the Yangtze River Delta
Authors: Wang Jie , Xu Youpeng , Yang Long , Wang Qiang , Yuan Jia , Wang Yuefeng
Published: January 2020

Floods caused by heavy rainfall events associated with landfalling tropical cyclones (TCs) represent a major risk for the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China. Accurate extreme precipitation forecasting, at long lead times, is crucial for the improvement of flood prevention and warning. However, accurate prediction of timing, location, and intensity of the heavy rainfall events is a major challenge for the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). In this study, high-resolution satellite precipitation products like Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) are evaluated at the hourly timescale, and the optimal Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) precipitation product is selected and applied to directly assimilate into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model via the four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) method. The TC Jondari and Rumbia events of August 2018 are evaluated to analyze the performance of the WRF model with the 4D-Var method assimilated IMERG precipitation product (DA-IMERG) and the conventional observation (DA-CONV) for real-time heavy rainfall forecasting. The results indicate that (1) IMERG precipitation products were larger and wetter than the observed precipitation values over YRD. By comparison, the performance of “late” run precipitation product (IMERG-L) was the closest to the observation data with lower deviation and higher detection capability; (2) DA-IMERG experiment substantially affected the magnitude of the WRF model primary variables, which changed the precipitation pattern of the TC heavy rain. (3) DA-IMERG experiment further improved the forecast of heavy rainbands and relatively reduced erroneous detection rate than CTL and DA-CONV experiments at the grid scale. Meanwhile, the DA-IMERG experiment has a better fractions skill score (FSS) value (especially in the threshold of 10 mm/h) than DA-CONV for TC Jondari and Rumbia at the spatial scale, while it shows a lower performance than CTL and DA-CONV experiments when the threshold is lower than the 5 mm/h for the TC Rumbia.
Retrieving Land Surface Temperature from Satellite Imagery with a Novel Combined Strategy
Authors: Sánchez-Aparicio María , Andrés-Anaya Paula , Del Pozo Susana , Lagüela Susana
Published: January 2020

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter for land cover analysis and for many fields of study, for example, in agriculture, due to its relationship with the state of the crop in the evaluation of natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and geothermal areas, in desertification studies, or in the estimation of several variables of environmental interest such as evapotranspiration. The computation of LST from satellite imagery is possible due to the advances in thermal infrared technology and its implementation in artificial satellites. For example, Landsat 8 incorporates Operational Land Imager(OLI) and Thermal InfraRed Sensor(TIRS)sensors the images from which, in combination with data from other satellite platforms (such as Terra and Aqua) provide all the information needed for the computation of LST. Different methodologies have been developed for the computation of LST from satellite images, such as single-channel and split-window methodologies. In this paper, two existing single-channel methodologies are evaluated through their application to images from Landsat 8, with the aim at determining the optimal atmospheric conditions for their application, instead of searching for the best methodology for all cases. This evaluation results in the development of a new adaptive strategy for the computation of LST consisting of a conditional process that uses the environmental conditions to determine the most suitable computation method.
Sentinel-2 Sharpening via Parallel Residual Network
Authors: Wu Jiemin , He Zhi , Hu Jie
Published: January 2020

Sentinel-2 data is of great utility for a wide range of remote sensing applications due to its free access and fine spatial-temporal coverage. However, restricted by the hardware, only four bands of Sentinel-2 images are provided at 10 m resolution, while others are recorded at reduced resolution (i.e., 20 m or 60 m). In this paper, we propose a parallel residual network for Sentinel-2 sharpening termed SPRNet, to obtain the complete data at 10 m resolution. The proposed network aims to learn the mapping between the low-resolution (LR) bands and ideal high-resolution (HR) bands by three steps, including parallel spatial residual learning, spatial feature fusing and spectral feature mapping. First, rather than using the single branch network, the parallel residual learning structure is proposed to extract the spatial features from different resolution bands separately. Second, the spatial feature fusing is aimed to fully fuse the extracted features from each branch and produce the residual image with spatial information. Third, to keep spectral fidelity, the spectral feature mapping is utilized to directly propagate the spectral characteristics of LR bands to target HR bands. Without using extra training data, the proposed network is trained with the lower scale data synthesized from the observed Sentinel-2 data and applied to the original ones. The data at 10 m spatial resolution can be finally obtained by feeding the original 10 m, 20 m and 60 m bands to the trained SPRNet. Extensive experiments conducted on two datasets indicate that the proposed SPRNet obtains good results in the spatial fidelity and the spectral preservation. Compared with the competing approaches, the SPRNet increases the SRE by at least 1.538 dB on 20 m bands and 3.188 dB on 60 m bands while reduces the SAM by at least 0.282 on 20 m bands and 0.162 on 60 m bands.
Multiscale Deep Spatial Feature Extraction Using Virtual RGB Image for Hyperspectral Imagery Classification
Authors: Liu Liqin , Shi Zhenwei , Pan Bin , Zhang Ning , Luo Huanlin , Lan Xianchao
Published: January 2020

In recent years, deep learning technology has been widely used in the field of hyperspectral image classification and achieved good performance. However, deep learning networks need a large amount of training samples, which conflicts with the limited labeled samples of hyperspectral images. Traditional deep networks usually construct each pixel as a subject, ignoring the integrity of the hyperspectral data and the methods based on feature extraction are likely to lose the edge information which plays a crucial role in the pixel-level classification. To overcome the limit of annotation samples, we propose a new three-channel image build method (virtual RGB image) by which the trained networks on natural images are used to extract the spatial features. Through the trained network, the hyperspectral data are disposed as a whole. Meanwhile, we propose a multiscale feature fusion method to combine both the detailed and semantic characteristics, thus promoting the accuracy of classification. Experiments show that the proposed method can achieve ideal results better than the state-of-art methods. In addition, the virtual RGB image can be extended to other hyperspectral processing methods that need to use three-channel images.
Performance Validation of a Planar Hall Resistance Biosensor through Beta-Amyloid Biomarker
Authors: Kim SungJoon , Torati Sri Ramulu , Talantsev Artem , Jeon ChangYeop , Lee SungBae , Kim CheolGi
Published: January 2020

Magnetic sensors have great potential for biomedical applications, particularly, detection of magnetically-labeled biomolecules and cells. On the basis of the advantage of the planar Hall effect sensor, which consists of improved thermal stability as compared with other magnetic sensors, we have designed a portable biosensor platform that can detect magnetic labels without applying any external magnetic field. The trilayer sensor, with a composition of Ta (5 nm)/NiFe (10 nm)/Cu (x = 0 nm~1.2 nm)/IrMn (10 nm)/Ta (5 nm), was deposited on a silicon wafer using photolithography and a sputtering system, where the optimized sensor sensitivity was 6 μV/(Oe∙mA). The detection of the magnetic label was done by comparing the signals obtained in first harmonic AC mode (1f mode) using an external magnetic field and in the second harmonic AC mode (2f mode) with a self-field generated by current passing through the sensor. In addition, a technique for the β-amyloid biomarker-based antibody-antigen sandwich model was demonstrated for the detection of a series of concentrations of magnetic labels using the self-field mode method, where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was high. The generated self-field was enough to detect an immobilized magnetic tag without an additional external magnetic field. Hence, it could be possible to reduce the device size to use the point-of-care testing using a portable circuit system.
Performance Enhancement of a Quartz Tuning Fork Sensor Using a Cellulose Nanocrystal-Reinforced Nanoporous Polymer Fiber
Authors: Kim Wuseok , Park Eunjin , Jeon Sangmin
Published: January 2020

A cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-reinforced polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) fiber was obtained via electrospinning, and then attached between the two tines of a quartz tuning fork (QTF). The change in the resonance frequency of the CNC/PMMA composite fiber-coated QTF (CP-QTF) was measured upon being exposed to various concentrations of ethanol vapor. The frequency decreased as the ethanol vapor concentration increased, because the modulus of the composite fiber decreased due to the adsorption of the ethanol vapor. The composite fiber obtained at a high relative humidity (RH; 60% RH, CP60 fiber) produced a highly porous structure as a result of the moisture adsorption-induced phase separation of PMMA. The porosity of the CP60 fiber was higher than that of a CNC/PMMA composite fiber obtained at 30% RH (CP30 fiber) or that of a plain PMMA fiber obtained at 60% RH (P60 fiber), because hygroscopic CNCs promote moisture adsorption. The CP60 fiber-coated QTF (CP60-QTF) exhibited a greater frequency change and faster response time than P60-QTF and CP30-QTF upon exposure to ethanol vapor at the same concentration. The enhanced performance of CP60-QTF was attributed to its higher surface area and larger fiber modulus.
Voltammetry at Hexamethyl-P-Terphenyl Poly(Benzimidazolium) (HMT-PMBI)-Coated Glassy Carbon Electrodes: Charge Transport Properties and Detection of Uric and Ascorbic Acid
Authors: Rees Matthew , Wright Andrew G. , Holdcroft Steven , Bertoncello Paolo
Published: January 2020

We describe the voltammetric behavior of an anion-exchange membrane, hexamethyl-p-terphenyl poly(benzimidazolium) (HMT-PMBI). The anion-exchange properties of HMT-PMBI chemically modified electrodes were investigated using K4Fe(CN)6 and K2IrCl6 as redox probes. The permselectivity properties of HMT-PMBI chemically modified electrodes were ascertained using tris(2-2’)bipyridyl-ruthenium(II) chloride Ru(bpy)32+. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were utilized to extract parameters such as the concentration of the redox mediators inside the films and the apparent diffusion coefficients. We found the concentration of K4Fe(CN)6 and K2IrCl6 redox species within HMT-PMBI-coated films to be on the order of 0.04–0.1 mol·dm−3, and values of Dapp ca. 10−10–10−9 cm2·s−1. To evaluate the possibility of using such a polymer coating in electroanalysis, HMT-PMBI-modified electrodes were utilized for the voltammetric detection of uric acid in artificial urine, Surine® and ascorbic acid in Vitamin C samples. The results showed that HMT-PMBI-coated electrodes can detect uric acid in Surine® with a limit of detection (LoD) of 7.7 µM, sensitivity of 0.14 µA·µM−1·cm−2, and linear range between 5 μM and 200 μM, whereas for Vitamin C tablets, the LoD is 41.4 µM, the sensitivity is 0.08 µA·µM−1·cm−2, and the linear range is between 25 μM and 450 μM.
Evolutionary Algorithm-Based Complete Coverage Path Planning for Tetriamond Tiling Robots
Authors: Le Anh Vu , Nhan Nguyen Huu Khanh , Mohan Rajesh Elara
Published: January 2020

Tiling robots with fixed morphology face major challenges in terms of covering the cleaning area and generating the optimal trajectory during navigation. Developing a self-reconfigurable autonomous robot is a probable solution to these issues, as it adapts various forms and accesses narrow spaces during navigation. The total navigation energy includes the energy expenditure during locomotion and the shape-shifting of the platform. Thus, during motion planning, the optimal navigation sequence of a self-reconfigurable robot must include the components of the navigation energy and the area coverage. This paper addresses the framework to generate an optimal navigation path for reconfigurable cleaning robots made of tetriamonds. During formulation, the cleaning environment is filled with various tiling patterns of the tetriamond-based robot, and each tiling pattern is addressed by a waypoint. The objective is to minimize the amount of shape-shifting needed to fill the workspace. The energy cost function is formulated based on the travel distance between waypoints, which considers the platform locomotion inside the workspace. The objective function is optimized based on evolutionary algorithms such as the genetic algorithm (GA) and ant colony optimization (ACO) of the traveling salesman problem (TSP) and estimates the shortest path that connects all waypoints. The proposed path planning technique can be extended to other polyamond-based reconfigurable robots.