bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Situated Tangible Gamification of Heritage for Supporting Collaborative Learning of Young Museum Visitors
Authors: Nofal Eslam , Panagiotidou Georgia , Reffat Rabee M. , Hameeuw Hendrik , Boschloos Vanessa , Vande Moere Andrew
Published: February 2020

Museums offer an ideal environment for informal cultural learning on heritage artifacts, where visitors get engaged in learning due to an intrinsic motivation. Sharing the museum space among visitors allows for collective learning experiences and socializing with each other. Museums aim to design and deploy Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) in order to embrace the physical materialities of artifacts in the visiting experience. TUIs are believed to be more collaborative, attract more visitors, and persuade them to explore further. Cultural learning on heritage artifacts is particularly meaningful from the early age when opinions and attitudes are shaped. Museums accordingly follow a gamification approach (i.e., using game elements in a non-game context) to provide a collaborative and entertaining learning experience to young visitors. In this study, we investigate the implications of merging these two approaches in order to take advantage of the qualities of both TUIs and gamification in an educational museum context.

Accordingly, we present
TouchTomb
and its evaluation in a real-world museum environment.
TouchTomb
is a
situated tangible gamification
installation that aims to enhance informal cultural learning for young visitors and to foster engagement and collaboration among them. The basis of the installation is a shared progress bar and three games with different spatial configurations, embedded into a custom fabricated replica of an original ancient Egyptian tomb-chapel wall on a 1:1 scale. Our field study involved 14 school visits with a total number of 190 school pupils (from 10 to 14 years old). We deployed a mixed-method evaluation to investigate how such a tangible gamification approach entertains and educates 15 pupils collectively for a maximum of 15 minutes, including the evaluation procedures. We particularly investigated how the different spatial configurations of the game setups influenced the stages of pupils’ cultural learning, and the levels of engagement and collaboration among them. We conclude the article by discussing the qualities of tangible gamification and its role in facilitating cultural learning. For instance, cultural learning is enhanced by situating heritage artifacts in the experience, and embedding learning in the reward system. Engagement and collaboration among visitors are fostered by creating a sense of ownership and designing a diversity of goals.
Data-Driven Modelling of Daylight Scattering by Roman Window Glass
Authors: Grobe Lars Oliver , Noback Andreas , Lang Franziska
Published: February 2020

With the advent of window glass, its optical properties arise as one important factor in the illumination, and thereby the visual perception, of Roman architecture. Computational simulation allows to reconstruct the daylight illumination of buildings with known geometrical configuration if the scattering properties of window glass can be replicated. We describe a method to generate data-driven models of Roman window glass based on precise gonio-photometric measurements of archaeological finds. The method is employed to model four exemplary glass finds in the context of a simplified architectural scene, demonstrating the potential to support research in building history and archaeology focused on building techniques, lighting concepts, and perception with accurate and reliable photometric data.
Fracturing Artefacts into 3D Printable Puzzles to Enhance Audience Engagement with Heritage Collections
Authors: Echavarria Karina Rodriguez , Samaroudi Myrsini , Weyrich Tim
Published: February 2020

Three-dimensional (3D) puzzles of heritage artefacts are typically used to engage audiences in the interpretation of archaeological objects in a museum gallery. The reason for this is that a puzzle can be seen as an enjoyable educational activity in the form of a game but also as a complex activity that archaeologists undertake when re-assembling fragments, for instance, of broken pottery. Until now the creation of this type of experiences is mostly a manual process and the artefacts used rarely reflect those in the collection due to the complex nature of the process. The contribution of this article is a novel digital worfklow for the design and fabrication of 3D puzzles that overcomes these limitations. The input to the workflow is an authentic artefact from a heritage collection, which is then digitised using technologies such as 3D scanning and 3D modelling. Thereafter, a puzzle generator system produces the puzzle pieces using a cell fracture algorithm and generates a set of puzzle pieces (female) and a single core piece (male) for fabrication. Finally, the pieces are fabricated using 3D printing technology and post-processed to facilitate the puzzle assembly. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed novel workflow, we deployed it to create a puzzle activity of the Saltdean urn, which is exhibited at the Archaeology Gallery of the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. The workflow is also used with further artefacts to demonstrate its applicability to other shapes. The significance of this research is that it eases the task of creating puzzle-like activities and maintaining them in the long term within a busy public space such as a museum gallery.
Adding Culture to UX
Authors: Konstantakis Markos , Caridakis George
Published: February 2020

For more than a decade, User eXperience (UX) has grown into a core concept of Human--Computer Interaction (HCI) and has been widely disseminated and accepted in the HCI community. At the same time, Cultural Heritage (CH) has been a favored domain for UX research, while the visitor is able to exploit CH material before, during, and after the visit, having different goals and requirements in each phase. Thus, CH organisations need to carefully explore the potential of investing in UX, as visitor satisfaction and intention to return and spread positive word-of-mouth is closely linked to the destination's overall success. A multitude of methods for UX analysis exist, but a clear overview of the current state of the available UX research methods in CH is missing. Recent studies [Othman 2012; Roussou 2018] have successfully developed frameworks to measure UX in cultural spaces, but most of them still lack understanding about how visitors interact with new technologies and simultaneously with the exhibits. In this article, a survey that describes the conceptual frameworks, models, research methodologies, and paradigms of incorporating Cultural User eXperience (CUX) in applications is reported, as well as the overall interaction between UX and CH and the related aspects that are influenced by the CH application domain and the parameters leading to optimization of the CUX. The outcome of this survey lays ground for understanding and defining the concept of UX research in CH, while current challenges and issues for future work are discussed.
Exact Learning
Authors: Hermo Montserrat , Ozaki Ana
Published: February 2020

A major problem in computational learning theory is whether the class of formulas in conjunctive normal form (CNF) is efficiently learnable. Although it is known that this class cannot be polynomially learned using either membership or equivalence queries alone, it is open whether the CNF class can be polynomially learned using both types of queries. One of the most important results concerning a restriction of the CNF class is that propositional Horn formulas are polynomial time learnable in Angluin’s exact learning model with membership and equivalence queries. In this work, we push this boundary and show that the class of multivalued dependency formulas (MVDF), which non-trivially extends propositional Horn, is polynomially learnable from interpretations. We then provide a notion of reduction between learning problems in Angluin’s model, showing that a transformation of the algorithm suffices to efficiently learn multivalued database dependencies from data relations. We also show via reductions that our main result extends well known previous results and allows us to find alternative solutions for them.
Visual Information Requirements for Dismounted Soldier Target Acquisition
Authors: Glaholt Mackenzie G. , Hollands Justin G. , Sim Grace , Spivak Tzvi , Sacripanti Beatrice
Published: February 2020

We conducted an empirical investigation of the visual information requirements for target detection and threat identification decisions in the dismounted soldier context. Forty soldiers viewed digital photographs of a person standing against a forested background. The soldiers made two-alternative detection decisions requiring them to determine whether the target was present in the scene, and two-alternative threat identification decisions that required discrimination of the objects held by the target, the clothing worn by the target, and target postures. The images were presented to subjects on a computer display, and variation in the apparent target distance was simulated through digital image magnification and by varying the viewing distance to the display. Image resolution was degraded progressively by spatial frequency filtering and we estimated the resolution threshold in each task. These threshold values were compared with the historical Johnson criteria for predicting imaging device performance. Our data are broadly consistent with the previously reported values, though our threat identification decisions required subjects to perceive information with a larger spatial scale than the Johnson criterion for identification of standing human targets. In a second experiment, we employed a four-alternative identification decision and found results that were consistent with those from Experiment 1. We also confirmed that the spatial scale of visual information used for target acquisition is highly task-specific, and provided a novel demonstration of changes in visual information requirements as a function of target range. These findings pose challenges for models of target acquisition with imaging devices.
Domain- and Structure-Agnostic End-to-End Entity Resolution with JedAI
Authors: Papadakis George , Tsekouras Leonidas , Thanos Emmanouil , Giannakopoulos George , Palpanas Themis , Koubarakis Manolis
Published: February 2020

We present JedAI, a new open-source toolkit for endto- end Entity Resolution. JedAI is domain-agnostic in the sense that it does not depend on background expert knowledge, applying seamlessly to data of any domain with minimal human intervention. JedAI is also structure-agnostic, as it can process any type of data, ranging from structured (relational) to semi-structured (RDF) and un-structured (free-text) entity descriptions. JedAI consists of two parts: (i) JedAI-core is a library of numerous state-of-the-art methods that can be mixed and matched to form (thousands of) end-to-end workflows, allowing for easily benchmarking their relative performance. (ii) JedAI-gui is a user-friendly desktop application that facilitates the composition of complex workflows via a wizard-like interface. It is suitable for both lay and power users, offering concrete guidelines and automatic configuration, as well as manual configuration options, visual exploration, and detailed statistics for each method's performance. In this paper, we also delve into the new features of JedAI's latest version (2.1), and demonstrate its performance experimentally.
Oral Mesenchymal Stem/Progenitor Cells: The Immunomodulatory Masters
Authors: Zhou Li-li , Liu Wei , Wu Yan-min , Sun Wei-lian , Dörfer C. E. , Fawzy El-Sayed K. M.
Published: February 2020

Oral mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs) are renowned in the field of tissue engineering/regeneration for their multilineage differentiation potential and easy acquisition. These cells encompass the periodontal ligament stem/progenitor cells (PDLSCs), the dental pulp stem/progenitor cells (DPSCs), the stem/progenitor cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED), the gingival mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (GMSCs), the stem/progenitor cells from the apical papilla (SCAP), the dental follicle stem/progenitor cells (DFSCs), the bone marrow mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (BM-MSCs) from the alveolar bone proper, and the human periapical cyst-mesenchymal stem cells (hPCy-MSCs). Apart from their remarkable regenerative potential, oral MSCs possess the capacity to interact with an inflammatory microenvironment. Although inflammation might affect the properties of oral MSCs, they could inversely exert a multitude of immunological actions to the local inflammatory microenvironment. The present review discusses the current understanding about the immunomodulatory role of oral MSCs both in periodontitis and systemic diseases, their “double-edged sword” uniqueness in inflammatory regulation, their affection of the immune system, and the underlying mechanisms, involving oral MSC-derived extracellular vesicles.
Structural Optimization of Logistics Distribution System Based on Characteristic State Space
Authors: Bao Yongyan , Wang Delun , Sun Yuan , Zheng Hao
Published: February 2020

In this paper, resource flow variables are extracted from the internal structural features of the logistics distribution process and a new method for optimizing the internal structure of the logistics distribution system by using the characteristic state space is proposed. The characteristic state equation is constructed to represent the input and output resources of each basic logistics activity. The basic logistics activity equation is iterated according to the resource flow, and the implementation of the basic logistics process is visually and quantitatively expressed in the form of the characteristic state matrix. According to the nature of the characteristic state space, the optimization problem of the logistics distribution system is transformed into a critical path-planning problem, the gradient calculation of the objective function is solved, and an improved genetic algorithm is proposed. This accelerates the convergence speed of the algorithm and reduces the running time of the optimization process. Taking a listed logistics distribution enterprise as an example, the optimization algorithm is verified, which proves the advantages of the algorithm and provides a new method and theoretical basis for the analysis and optimization of the logistics distribution system.
A Case of an Abdominal Aortic Dissection in a Hemodynamically Stable Marfan Syndrome Patient Presenting without Pain
Authors: Al-Mohamad Hussein , Stout Kara , Bolling Taryn , Walsh Ronald
Published: February 2020

Introduction. Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a rare connective tissue disorder attributed to a defect in the fibrillin-1 gene. Aortic aneurysms and dissection are common causes of morbidity and mortality in Marfan syndrome. Case Report. A 43-year-old female with a history of MFS and a 4.0 cm dilated ascending aorta presented to her cardiologist reporting that since a C-section two years prior, the left side of her abdomen painlessly protruded when standing. An outpatient CT scan of the abdomen/pelvis noted a 5.5 cm abdominal aortic dissection, and she was directed to the hospital. Repeat CT scan of the abdomen/pelvis revealed a 5.6 cm dissecting aneurysm of the infrarenal abdominal aorta. The patient was admitted to the ICU and started on a nitroglycerin drip to maintain systolic blood pressure less than 110 mmHg. The patient underwent repair of her abdominal aortic dissection via a retroperitoneal approach, and she tolerated the procedure well. She was started on metoprolol tartrate 12.5 mg BID and aspirin 81 mg postoperatively. She was safely discharged with follow-up care. Conclusion. This case stresses the importance of having a low threshold to obtain imaging in a MFS patient with protruding abdomen, even though the patient may not have pain and be hemodynamically stable.
A Branch-and-Price-and-Cut Algorithm for the Integrated Scheduling and Rostering Problem of Bus Drivers
Authors: Lin Dung-Ying , Juan Chieh-Ju , Chang Ching-Chih
Published: February 2020

In the transportation industry, crew management is typically decomposed into two phases: crew scheduling and crew rostering. Due to the complexity of scheduling and rostering, bus transportation is not an exception and many relevant studies do not consider both procedures simultaneously. However, such a decomposition can yield inferior schedules/rosters. To address this issue, this paper proposes an integrated scheduling and rostering model for bus drivers and devises a branch-and-price-and-cut (BPC) algorithm to solve the complex problem. The proposed solution framework is empirically applied to real-world instances with various problem sizes whose data is collected from H Bus Company located in southern Taiwan. To validate the effectiveness and evaluate the efficiency of the proposed solution framework, this paper compares the solution obtained from the BPC algorithm with that of a benchmark optimization package. The results show that the proposed BPC algorithm can solve problems with large real-world instances within a reasonable computational time. Moreover, in the numerical experiments, this paper finds that the scheduling and rostering results of the bus drivers are more sensitive to the rostering constraints. Also, the proposed integrated framework can yield a better solution than the solution from a conventional two-phase approach, which demonstrates the advantage of the integration in this paper. The proposed method provided can be employed to deal with the challenges in driver planning for bus companies.
Choroidal Thickness and Urinary Albumin Excretion in Type 2 Diabetic Patients without Retinopathy
Authors: Oliveira-Ferreira Cláudia , Leuzinger-Dias Mariana , Tavares-Ferreira João , Falcão-Reis F. , Rocha-Sousa Amândio
Published: February 2020

The role of retinal vasculature’s dysfunction in the physiopathology of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) has been extensively described. Recently, the existence of a diabetic choroidal vasculopathy has been proposed. The purpose of this study was to compare choroidal thickness (CT) in nondiabetic patients and in type 2 diabetic patients without retinopathy, using EDI SD-OCT. Additionally, considering the diabetic patient group, compare CT in patients with and without microalbuminuria. This retrospective study selected patients sent from primary health-care centers as part of the national screening of diabetic retinopathy. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, absence of diabetic retinopathy, and a 24 hours urinary albumin measurement in the last 3 months at the primary health-care center. Nondiabetic patients were selected from a database in the ophthalmology department, and only healthy patients were included. At the screening visit, all patients performed a complete ophthalmologic examination by the same examiner. All eyes were examined with SD- OCT, and all scans were performed in the EDI mode. Measurements were made at three points: subfoveal, 1500 μm temporally and nasally to the foveal center. We included 110 eyes of 110 diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy and 30 eyes of 30 healthy controls. Mean subfoveal CT was greater in diabetic patients without retinopathy (with normoalbuminuria or microalbuminuria) when compared with nondiabetic patients (p<0.05). In diabetic patients without retinopathy, the subfoveal and temporal choroid was thicker among patients with microalbuminuria when compared with those of normoalbuminuric patients (p<0.05). The subfoveal and temporal choroid was thicker among diabetic patients with microalbuminuria compared with nondiabetic patients. (p<0.05). This study suggests that choroidal changes are present in type 2 diabetic patients even before the clinical development of retinopathy.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth and the Orbicularis Oris Muscle: How Do They Behave When Exposed to a Proinflammatory Stimulus?
Authors: Junior Alessander Leyendecker , Pinheiro Carla Cristina Gomes , Tanikawa Daniela Yukie Sakai , Ferreira José Ricardo Muniz , Amano Mariane Tami , Bueno Daniela Franco
Published: February 2020

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been studied as a promising type of stem cell for use in cell therapies because of their ability to regulate the immune response. Although they are classically isolated from the bone marrow, many studies have sought to isolate MSCs from noninvasive sources. The objective of this study was to evaluate how MSCs isolated from the dental pulp of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and fragments of the orbicularis oris muscle (OOMDSCs) behave when treated with an inflammatory IFN-γ stimulus, specifically regarding their proliferative, osteogenic, and immunomodulatory potentials. The results demonstrated that the proliferation of SHED and OOMDSCs was inhibited by the addition of IFN-γ to their culture medium and that treatment with IFN-γ at higher concentrations resulted in a greater inhibition of the proliferation of these cells than treatment with IFN-γ at lower concentrations. SHED and OOMDSCs maintained their osteogenic differentiation potential after stimulation with IFN-γ. Additionally, SHED and OOMDSCs have been shown to have low immunogenicity because they lack expression of HLA-DR and costimulatory molecules such as CD40, CD80, and CD86 before and after IFN-γ treatment. Last, SHED and OOMDSCs expressed the immunoregulatory molecule HLA-G, and the expression of this antigen increased after IFN-γ treatment. In particular, an increase in intracellular HLA-G expression was observed. The results obtained suggest that SHED and OOMDSCs lack immunogenicity and have immunomodulatory properties that are enhanced when they undergo inflammatory stimulation with IFN-γ, which opens new perspectives for the therapeutic use of these cells.
Evaluation of Drug Use Pattern in Emergency Department of Dilchora Referral Hospital, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
Authors: Mishore Kirubel M. , Bekele Nigatu A. , Yirba Tsegaab Y. , Abone Tsion F.
Published: February 2020

Background. Drug use evaluation is a system of continuous, systematic, criteria-based drug evaluation that ensures the appropriate use of drugs. Rationalization of drug therapy in emergency medicine would be useful in managing the broad array of conditions that present for emergency care. High-quality drug utilization is associated with the use of a relatively limited number of essential medicines. The World Health Organization developed core drug use indicators for conducting drug utilization studies in healthcare setting. WHO core drug use indicators including prescribing indicators, patient care indicators, and health facility indicators are used nowadays. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the drug use pattern in the Emergency Department of Dilchora Referral Hospital, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, 2018. Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the emergency department (ED) of Dilchora Referral Hospital from July 20 to August 19, 2018, using structured data collection format. Result. Out of 344 prescriptions analyzed, a total of 753 medications were prescribed. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.19. Of drugs prescribed, 685 (90.97%) were in their generic names. Antibiotics were prescribed in 95 (27.62%) of encounters, and injections were prescribed in 154 (44.77%) of encounters. Among 753 medications prescribed, the name and strength of drugs are indicated in 100% and 95.22%, respectively. 679 (90.17%) of drugs were prescribed from the essential drug list of Ethiopia. Conclusion. The findings of this study revealed that the drug utilization pattern was not optimal in accordance with the standard values of WHO prescribing indicators. Some of the prescribing indicators like overprescribing of antibiotics and injections were a problem. Therefore, it is very imperative for the concerned stakeholders and healthcare providers to work toward ensuring drug use according to the standard.
Equity in Health Care: A Qualitative Study with Refugees, Health Care Professionals, and Administrators in One Region in Germany
Authors: Hahn Karolin , Steinhäuser Jost , Goetz Katja
Published: February 2020

Introduction. Equity in health is an essential issue and it would appear that it is not guaranteed for all human beings, especially refugee groups. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the experiences of refugees, health care professionals, and administrators of refugee health care in a host country. Methods. The study used qualitative methods which consisted of a convenience sample of stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in care for refugees and refugees themselves. The study participants were located in a rural area in the federal state of Schleswig‐Holstein, Germany. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 25 participants. A semistructured interview guideline was used for the focus groups and interviews. The data were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Results. Four main categories were identified which are important for equity in health care: legal aspects, sociocultural aspects, environmental aspects, and communication aspects. Legal frameworks and language barriers were perceived as strong barriers for accessing health care. Conclusions. The findings suggest that the host countries should address the specific needs of this population group at a systemic and individual level. Based on the views of the participants interviewed it can be concluded that the refugee population group is particularly affected by limited access to health care services. Bureaucratic barriers, unfamiliarity with a new health system, and language issues all contribute to limiting access to health care services.
Analysis of Vibration and Acoustic Characteristics of a Simply Supported Double-Panel Partition under Thermal Environment
Authors: Guo Lei , Ge Jianmin , Liu Shu
Published: February 2020

Numerical studies on the vibration and acoustic characteristics of a simply supported double-panel partition under the thermal environment are presented by the modal superposition approach and temperature field theory. Many factors are considered in this theoretical research, including acoustic refraction, dynamic response of the panel under thermal and acoustic load, vibroacoustic coupling characteristic analysis, and the variation of material properties. To access the accuracy and feasibility of the theoretical model, a finite element method is proposed to calculate the natural frequencies and mode shapes. The results show that the vibration and acoustic responses change obviously with the change of thermal stress and material properties. The rise of the graded thermal environment and thermal load decreases the natural frequencies and moves response peaks to the low-frequency range. The first valley of sound transmission loss is well consistent with the mode frequency. Finally, the relation between the average sound insulation and the thickness ratio is analyzed.
Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization ofβ-Lactamases among Enterobacterial Uropathogens in Southeastern Nigeria
Authors: Ugwu M. C. , Shariff M. , Nnajide C.M. , Beri K , Okezie U. M. , Iroha I. R. , Esimone C. O.
Published: February 2020

Little is known about the molecular basis of antibiotic resistance among uropathogens in Southeast Nigeria. The aim of the study was to characterize enterobacterial uropathogens with respect to drug resistance. One hundred (100) enterobacterial uropathogens were studied. Their antibiotic susceptibility patterns were evaluated using disk diffusion, screened, and confirmed phenotypically for the presence ofβ-lactamases: ESBL, AmpC, carbapenemase, and MBLs. Screen positives were further tested for variousβ-lactamase genes by PCR. Our isolates showed variable resistance to most drugs tested. Out of the 58 ESBL screen positiveE. coli,35 were confirmed positive with PCR. The predominant ESBL gene was blaTEMwhile blaSPMwas the most prevalent among MBL genes. Forty-six percentage of the screen positiveSalmonellaisolates coharbored blaTEM + SHVgenes. Nine of the 10 ESBL screen positiveK. pneumoniaewere phenotypically and PCR positive. Three isolates ofK. pneumoniaewere positive for MBL genes. All the 10 C. freundiiwere positive for ESBL genes. The study showed high prevalence of drug-resistant genes among the enterobacterial uropathogens. Majority of the uropathogens harbored >1 antibiotic-resistant gene, and the most predominant gene was ESBL (blaTEM) followed by the MBL (SPM) gene.
Transfer of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues during Household and Industrial Processing of Ginseng
Authors: Wu Peiling , Gu Mengying , Wang Yujie , Xue Jian , Wu Xiaoli
Published: February 2020

Ginseng is an important traditional herbal medicine; however, ginseng root may contain pesticide residues that may cause adverse health effects to consumers. Generally, people are more inclined to take the household- or industrial-processed ginseng products, instead of eating them directly. To investigate the intake of pesticides along with ginseng more specifically, we simulated two household processing methods (boiling and brewing) and two industrial processing methods (ethanol refluxing and boiling combined with resin purification) and then calculated the transfer rates of five organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues in ginseng. The determination of targeted pesticide residues in ginseng was done by gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD), and the confirmation was done by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The transfer rates of five OCPs during boiling, brewing, ethanol refluxing, and boiling combined with resin purification were 3.44%–34.43%, 1.47%–38.12%, 34.81%–57.0%, and 0–2.91%, respectively. The transfer rates of the OCPs in water extraction (boiling and brewing) were relatively low and would not increase significantly along with two hours of boiling. The OCPs were concentrated during the ethanol refluxing procedure because of the high transfer rates of the OCPs and the reduction of the weight of products. The boiling combined with resin purification method removed the OCPs most effectively. Different ginseng processing methods resulted in variable transfer rates of pesticides, as well as a diverse exposure risk of pesticides to humans. Consequently, it is necessary to concern about the transfer rates of pesticide residues during ginseng processing.
Regulation of Innate Lymphoid Cells in Acute Kidney Injury: Crosstalk between Cannabidiol and GILZ
Authors: Baban Babak , Khodadadi Hesam , Vaibhav Kumar , Marchetti Cristina , Riccardi Carlo , Mozaffari Mahmood S.
Published: February 2020

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have emerged as largely tissue-resident archetypal cells of the immune system. We tested the hypotheses that renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a contributing factor to polarization of ILCs and that glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) and cannabidiol regulate them in this condition. Mice subjected to unilateral renal IRI were treated with the following agents before restoration of renal blood flow: cannabidiol, DMSO, transactivator of transcription- (TAT-) GILZ, or the TAT peptide. Thereafter, kidney cells were prepared for flow cytometry analyses. Sham kidneys treated with either cannabidiol or TAT-GILZ displayed similar frequencies of each subset of ILCs compared to DMSO or TAT, respectively. Renal IRI increased ILC1s and ILC3s but reduced ILC2s compared to the sham group. Cannabidiol or TAT-GILZ treatment of IRI kidneys reversed this pattern as evidenced by reduced ILC1s and ILC3s but increased ILC2s compared to their DMSO- or TAT-treated counterparts. While TAT-GILZ treatment did not significantly affect cells positive for cannabinoid receptors subtype 2 (CB2+), cannabidiol treatment increased frequency of both CB2+ and GILZ-positive (GILZ+) cells of IRI kidneys. Subsequent studies showed that IRI reduced GILZ+ subsets of ILCs, an effect less marked for ILC2s. Treatment with cannabidiol increased frequencies of each subset of GILZ+ ILCs, but the effect was more marked for ILC2s. Indeed, cannabidiol treatment increased CB2+ GILZ+ ILC2s. Collectively, the results indicate that both cannabidiol and GILZ regulate ILC frequency and phenotype, in acute kidney injury, and that the effects of cannabidiol likely relate to modulation of endogenous GILZ.
Recent Development of Catalytic Materials for Ethylbenzene Oxidation
Authors: Rahman Md. Motiar , Ara Mst. Gulshan , Rahman Md. Sohanur , Uddin Md. Sahab , Bin-Jumah May N. , Abdel-Daim Mohammed M.
Published: February 2020

Catalysts are well-known to convert alkylbenzenes at high thermal condition to a number of useful products. However, the current schemes of transformation are not suitable for the hazard-free industrial applications because their reactive intermediates are transformed to a variety of side products that often retard the optimum yield and cause environmental pollutions. It is also observed that the formation of products depends on a wide range of parameters which are extremely difficult to control and often incur extra cost. Recently, heterogeneous catalysts have received huge commercial interests for the oxidation of alkylbenzene into carbonyl compounds which are platform chemicals in various synthetics and fine chemicals. This review is an up-to-date documentary on various catalysts used for the oxidation of alkyl-substituted benzenes along with their reaction condition and selectivity profiles. This work updates our knowledge for the selection and/or design of novel catalysts for the chemists and engineers in the industrial and academic settings.
Analytical Solution of UCM Viscoelastic Liquid with Slip Condition and Heat Flux over Stretching Sheet: The Galerkin Approach
Authors: Khan Zeeshan , Rasheed Haroon Ur , Noor Sahib , Khan Waris , Shah Qayyum , Khan Ilyas , Kadry Seifedine , Nam Yunyoung , Nisar Kottakkaran Sooppy
Published: February 2020

This paper provides a substantial amount of study related to coupled fluid flow and heat conduction of an upper-convected-Maxwell viscoelastic liquid over a stretching plane with slip velocity. A new model, presented by Christov, for thermal convection is employed. The partial differential equations are converted to ordinary differential equations by using appropriate transformation variables. The transformed equations are solved analytically by using the Galerkin method. For the sake of soundness, a comparison is done with a numerical method, and good agreement is found. The impacts of various parameters like slip coefficient, elasticity number, the thermal relaxation time of heat flow, and the Prandtl number over the temperature and velocity fields are studied. Furthermore, the Cattaneo–Christov heat flux model is compared with Fourier’s law. Additionally, the present results are also verified by associating with the published work as a limiting case.
Variation Characteristics of Stem Water Content in Lagerstroemia indica and Its Response to Environmental Factors
Authors: Liang Hao , Zhang Meng , Wang Hailan , Gao Chao , Zhao Yandong
Published: February 2020

To achieve a rational allocation of limited water resources, and formulation of an appropriate irrigation system, this research studied the change characteristics of stem water content (StWC) in plant and its response to environmental factors. In this study, the StWC and environmental factors of Lagerstroemia indica in Beijing were continuously observed by a BD-IV plant stem water content sensor and a forest microclimate monitoring station from 2017 to 2018. The variation of StWC and its correlation with environmental factors were analyzed. The results showed that the StWC of Lagerstroemia indica varies regularly day and night during the growth cycle. Meanwhile, the rising time, valley time, and falling time of StWC were various at the different growth stages of Lagerstroemia indica. The results of correlation analysis between StWC and environmental factors indicated that the StWC of Lagerstroemia indica was positively correlated with air relative humidity, while it was negatively correlated with total radiation and air temperature. The multiple regression equation of StWC and environmental factors of Lagerstroemia indica was StWC=11.789−1.402Rn−0.931T−1.132Ws+0.933RH−3.368ST+2.168SMC, and the coefficient of determination of the equation was of 0.87. Furthermore, the results illustrated that the irrigation should pay attention to supplementing irrigation in time during the peak growing season of fruit.
Diagnosis of Patent Foramen Ovale: The Combination of Contrast Transcranial Doppler, Contrast Transthoracic Echocardiography, and Contrast Transesophageal Echocardiography
Authors: Yang Xiaoxue , Wang Hua , Wei Yajuan , Zhai Nina , Liu Baomin , Li Xiaopeng
Published: February 2020

Objectives. To access the distinct values of contrast transcranial Doppler (cTCD), contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE), and contrast transesophageal echocardiography (cTEE) in the diagnosis of right‐to‐left shunt (RLS) due to patent foramen ovale (PFO) and to define the most practical strategy for the diagnosis of PFO. Methods. 102 patients with a high clinical suspicion for PFO had simultaneous cTCD, cTTE, and cTEE performed. The agitated saline mixed with blood was used to detect right‐to‐left shunt (RLS). Results. In all 102 patients, the shunt was detected at rest by cTCD in 60.78% of cases, by cTTE in 42.16%, and by cTEE in 47.06%. The positive results of all 3 techniques with Valsalva maneuver (VM) were significantly improved. cTCD showed higher pick‐up rate than cTTE (98.04% vs. 89.22%; χ2 = 12.452, p < 0.05) and the cTEE (98.04% vs. 96.08%; nonsignificant difference) in the diagnosis of PFO. Nevertheless, cTEE, compared with cTTE, underestimated shunting in 44% of patients. The diameter of both PFO entrance and exit was significantly greater in patients with a severe shunt compared with a mild shunt (2.8 ± 1.0 mm vs. 2.0 ± 0.7 mm, t = 3.135, p < 0.05; 2.2 ± 0.7 mm vs. 1.6 ± 0.4 mm, t = −2.582, p < 0.05). There was a nonsignificant difference in tunnel length between patients with mild shunting and severe shunting(9.3 ± 2.7 mm vs. 9.4 ± 2.9 mm; t = 1.358, p > 0.05). Conclusions. The best method to diagnose PFO should be the combination of cTCD, cTTE, and cTEE. And cTCD should be applied as the first choice for screening RLS. Then, cTTE should be performed to quantify the severity of the shunt. Last but not least, cTEE should be performed to assess the morphologies of PFO when the closure is planned. The study provides for clinicians the most practical strategy for diagnosing PFO in the future. However, further trials with a large sample size are required to confirm this finding.
Effect of New Analogs of Hexyloxy Phenyl Imidazoline on Quorum Sensing in Chromobacterium violaceum and In Silico Analysis of Ligand-Receptor Interactions
Authors: Herrera-Arizmendi José Luis , Curiel-Quesada Everardo , Correa-Basurto José , Bello Martiniano , Reyes-Arellano Alicia
Published: February 2020

The increasing common occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has become an urgent public health issue. There are currently some infections without any effective treatment, which require new therapeutic strategies. An attractive alternative is the design of compounds capable of disrupting bacterial communication known as quorum sensing (QS). In Gram-negative bacteria, such communication is regulated by acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs). Triggering of QS after bacteria have reached a high cell density allows them to proliferate before expressing virulence factors. Our group previously reported that hexyloxy phenylimidazoline (9) demonstrated 71% inhibitory activity of QS at 100 μM (IC50 = 90.9 μM) in Chromobacterium violaceum, a Gram-negative bacterium. The aim of the present study was to take 9 as a lead compound to design and synthesize three 2-imidazolines (13–15) and three 2-oxazolines (16–18), to be evaluated as quorum-sensing inhibitors on C. violaceum CV026. We were looking for compounds with a higher affinity towards the Cvi receptor of this bacterium and the ability to inhibit QS. The binding mode of the test compounds on the Cvi receptor was explored with docking studies and molecular dynamics. It was found that 8-pentyloxyphenyl-2-imidazoline (13) reduced the production of violacein (IC50 = 56.38 μM) without affecting bacterial growth, suggesting inhibition of quorum sensing. Indeed, compound 13 is apparently one of the best QS inhibitors known to date. Molecular docking revealed the affinity of compound 13 for the orthosteric site of N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (C6-AHL) on the CviR protein. Ten amino acid residues in the active binding site of C6-AHL in the Cvi receptor interacted with 13, and 7 of these are the same as those interacting with AHL. Contrarily, 8-octyloxyphenyl-2-imidazoline (14), 8-decyloxyphenyl-2-imidazoline (15), and 9-decyloxyphenyl-2-oxazoline (18) bound only to an allosteric site and thus did not compete with C6-AHL for the orthosteric site.
Posttransplantation Lymphoproliferative Disease Treated by Retransplantation
Authors: Weum Abrahamsen Ingerid , Grønvold Bjørn Christer , Inderberg Else Marit , Mensali Nadia , Mattsson Jonas , Gedde-Dahl Tobias
Published: February 2020

Epstein–Barr virus- (EBV-) induced posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a life-threatening complication following allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The main risk factor is anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG). Patients who fail first-line treatment with rituximab have a poor prognosis. Though adoptive transfer of EBV-specific T cells is a potentially effective option, it is not readily available. In this case report, the patient developed PTLD following transplantation for aplastic anemia using ATG as part of the conditioning. He failed rituximab treatment and developed graft failure. We were aware that the stem cell donor had a recent EBV infection prior to transplantation, whereas the patient most likely was EBV negative before transplant. We describe our strategy to meet the patient’s urgent need for EBV-specific T cells, as well as new hematopoietic stem cells. The same donor was used for a second transplant, using peripheral blood stem cells. The conditioning used was thiotepa/busulfan/fludarabin with a single dose of cyclophosphamide after transplant as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. The EBV DNA levels fell when conditioning was started, and have been undetectable since day +15 and remained so till 18 months after transplantation. The patient is doing well. This case reports successful use of cyclophosphamide after transplantation as GVHD prophylaxis, preserving virus-specific immunity.
Adherence to Azathioprine/6-Mercaptopurine in Children and Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Multimethod Study
Authors: Alsous Mervat M. , Hawwa Ahmed F. , Imrie Cameron , Szabo Andras , Alefishat Eman , Farha Rana Abu , Rwalah Mohammad , Horne Rob , McElnay James C.
Published: February 2020

Background. Measurement of the degree of adherence is a key element for the evaluation of treatment efficacy and safety; thus, adherence plays an important role in clinical research and practice. The aim of this study was to investigate medication adherence in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) utilizing a multimethod assessment approach. A further aim was to examine factors that can influence adherence within this population. Methods. Medication adherence in 47 children (age range 3 to 17 years) with IBD in three centers in Northern Ireland and Jordan was assessed via subjective (parent and child versions of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) specific questionnaire) and objective methods, that is, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of the 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and azathioprine (AZA) metabolites in packed red blood cell samples taken during a clinic visit. Beliefs about prescribed medicines were also assessed in parents/guardians using the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ). Results. An overall nonadherence to AZA/6-MP therapy in children with IBD was found to be 36.17% (17 out of 47 patients were classified as nonadherent using at least one of the assessment methods). A total of 41 patients (91.1%) were classified as adherent to AZA or 6-MP using the blood sampling, while adherence rates using the MARS questionnaire completed by children and parents/guardians were 60.6% and 72.7%, respectively. The latter provides a more longitudinal measure of adherence. Child self-reported nonadherence rates were significantly higher than parent/guardian reported rates (p=0.013). Binary logistic regression analysis identified age to be independently predictive of adherence, with adolescents (children aged ≥ 13 years old) more likely to be classified as nonadherent. Regarding the BMQ, when parental/guardian necessity beliefs outweighed concerns, that is, higher scores in the necessity-concern differential (NCD), adolescents were more likely to be classified as adherent. Conclusion. Results provide evidence for ongoing adherence challenges in the paediatric population with IBD. It is recommended that parents/guardians (particularly of older children) and older children themselves, should receive enhanced counselling and education about their prescribed medicines.
Objective Clinical and Radiological Response under Sunitinib in a Case of Thigh Hidradenocarcinoma
Authors: Korbi S. , Rachdi H. , El Benna H. , Mejri N. , Berrazaga Y. , Daoud N. , Labidi S. , Boussen H.
Published: February 2020

A 56-year-old male was treated by local surgery in 1968 and 2005 for a left thigh lesion. A 2nd local relapse occurred in 2015 and was treated by complete macroscopic surgery with histology concluding to a hidradenocarcinoma. A 3rd locoregional relapse occurred in October 2018, with the presence of inflammatory ulcerated lesions. A 2nd histology and immunohistochemistry exam showed a proliferation positive for CK, CK5, and p63 suggesting the diagnosis of hidradenocarcinoma. The patient was treated by 3 lines of chemotherapy, 1st by Adriamycin, 2nd by carboplatin-paclitaxel, and then 3rd by oral capecitabine, leading to a stable clinical disease but without a clinical benefit. A locoregional plus metastatic lung progression was observed in March 2019, with the presence of lung nodules and retroperitoneal lymph nodes, multiple skin left thigh and left inguinal ulcerated lesions. The patient received then in 4th line in April 2019 oral sunitinib at 50 mg daily, with 4 weeks therapy/2 weeks pause. Side effects were represented by mucositis, anorexia, weight loss, and fatigue. We observed since the 1st week of therapy a fast response, with a decrease of the ulcerated lesions, a skin loss, and deep hemorrhagic areas. CT-scan showed after 2 weeks of sunitinib an objective response on both locoregional and metastatic lesions.