bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extensive Testing and Public Health Interventions for the Control of COVID-19 in the Republic of Cyprus between March and May 2020
Authors: Quattrocchi Annalisa , Mamais Ioannis , Tsioutis Constantinos , Christaki Eirini , Constantinou Costas , Koliou Maria , Pana Zoi-Dorothea , Silvestros Valentinos , Theophanous Fani , Haralambous Christos , Stylianou Androulla , Sotiriou Sotiroula , Athanasiadou Maria , Kyprianou Theopisti , Demetriou Anna , Demetriou Christiana A. , Kolokotroni Ourania , Gregoriou Ioanna , Paphitou Niki , Panos George , Kostrikis Leontios , Karayiannis Peter , Petrikkos Georgios , Agathangelou Petros , Mixides George , Siakallis Georgios , Hadjihannas Linos , Palazis Lakis , Vavlitou Anna , Matsentidou-Timiliotou Chrystalla , Koukios Dimitris , Adamidi Tonia , Frangopoulos Frangiskos , Constantinou Elizabeth , Nikolopoulos Georgios
Published: November 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly affected the well-being of individuals worldwide. We herein describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in the Republic of Cyprus during the first epidemic wave (9 March–3 May 2020). We analyzed surveillance data from laboratory-confirmed cases, including targeted testing and population screening. Statistical analyses included logistic regression. During the surveillance period, 64,136 tests (7322.3 per 100,000) were performed, 873 COVID-19 cases were diagnosed, and 20 deaths were reported (2.3%). Health-care workers (HCWs) represented 21.4% of cases. Overall, 19.1% of cases received hospital care and 3.7% required admission to Intensive Care Units. Male sex (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 3.04; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.97–4.69), increasing age (aOR: 1.56; 95%CI: 1.36–1.79), symptoms at diagnosis (aOR: 6.05; 95%CI: 3.18–11.50), and underlying health conditions (aOR: 2.08; 95%CI: 1.31–3.31) were associated with hospitalization. For recovered cases, the median time from first to last second negative test was 21 days. Overall, 119 primary cases reported 616 close contacts, yielding a pooled secondary attack rate of 12% (95%CI: 9.6–14.8%). Three population-based screening projects, and two projects targeting employees and HCWs, involving 25,496 people, revealed 60 positive individuals (0.2%). Early implementation of interventions with targeted and expanded testing facilitated prompt outbreak control on the island.
Biotherapies in Uveitis
Authors: Leclercq Mathilde , Desbois Anne-Claire , Domont Fanny , Maalouf Georgina , Touhami Sara , Cacoub Patrice , Bodaghi Bahram , Saadoun David
Published: November 2020

Non-infectious uveitis (NIU) represents one of the leading causes of blindness in developed countries. The therapeutic strategy aims to rapidly control intra-ocular inflammation, prevent irremediable ocular damage, allow corticosteroid sparing and save the vision, and has evolved over the last few years. Anterior NIU is mostly managed with topical treatment in adults. However, for intermediate, posterior and pan-uveitis, notably when both eyes are involved, systemic treatment is usually warranted. Biotherapies are recommended in case of inefficacy or non-tolerance of conventional immunosuppressive drugs in non-anterior NIU. Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-α) agents are by far the most widely used, especially adalimumab (ADA) and infliximab (IFX). In case of sight-threatening uveitis in Behçet’s disease or in case of risk of severe recurrences, respectively IFX and ADA may be recommended as first-line therapy. Many questions are left unanswered; how long to treat NIU, how to discontinue anti-TNF-α agents, what biologic to use in case of anti-TNF-α failure? The objective of this review is to present an updated overview of knowledge on the use of biological treatments in NIU.
Multi-View Hand-Hygiene Recognition for Food Safety
Authors: Zhong Chengzhang , Reibman Amy R. , Mina Hansel A. , Deering Amanda J.
Published: November 2020

A majority of foodborne illnesses result from inappropriate food handling practices. One proven practice to reduce pathogens is to perform effective hand-hygiene before all stages of food handling. In this paper, we design a multi-camera system that uses video analytics to recognize hand-hygiene actions, with the goal of improving hand-hygiene effectiveness. Our proposed two-stage system processes untrimmed video from both egocentric and third-person cameras. In the first stage, a low-cost coarse classifier efficiently localizes the hand-hygiene period; in the second stage, more complex refinement classifiers recognize seven specific actions within the hand-hygiene period. We demonstrate that our two-stage system has significantly lower computational requirements without a loss of recognition accuracy. Specifically, the computationally complex refinement classifiers process less than 68% of the untrimmed videos, and we anticipate further computational gains in videos that contain a larger fraction of non-hygiene actions. Our results demonstrate that a carefully designed video action recognition system can play an important role in improving hand hygiene for food safety.
Immunomodulatory Effects of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms and Their Bioactive Immunoregulatory Products
Authors: Zhao Shuang , Gao Qi , Rong Chengbo , Wang Shouxian , Zhao Zhekun , Liu Yu , Xu Jianping
Published: November 2020

Mushrooms have been valued as food and health supplements by humans for centuries. They are rich in dietary fiber, essential amino acids, minerals, and many bioactive compounds, especially those related to human immune system functions. Mushrooms contain diverse immunoregulatory compounds such as terpenes and terpenoids, lectins, fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) and polysaccharides. The distributions of these compounds differ among mushroom species and their potent immune modulation activities vary depending on their core structures and fraction composition chemical modifications. Here we review the current status of clinical studies on immunomodulatory activities of mushrooms and mushroom products. The potential mechanisms for their activities both in vitro and in vivo were summarized. We describe the approaches that have been used in the development and application of bioactive compounds extracted from mushrooms. These developments have led to the commercialization of a large number of mushroom products. Finally, we discuss the problems in pharmacological applications of mushrooms and mushroom products and highlight a few areas that should be improved before immunomodulatory compounds from mushrooms can be widely used as therapeutic agents.
Genome Wide Epistasis Study of On-Statin Cardiovascular Events with Iterative Feature Reduction and Selection
Authors: Adams Solomon M. , Feroze Habiba , Nguyen Tara , Eum Seenae , Cornelio Cyrille , Harralson Arthur F.
Published: November 2020

Predicting risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) is an evidence-based practice that incorporates lifestyle, history, and other risk factors. Statins reduce risk for MACE by decreasing lipids, but it is difficult to stratify risk following initiation of a statin. Genetic risk determinants for on-statin MACE are low-effect size and impossible to generalize. Our objective was to determine high-level epistatic risk factors for on-statin MACE with GWAS-scale data. Controlled-access data for 5890 subjects taking a statin collected from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s BioVU were obtained from dbGaP. We used Random Forest Iterative Feature Reduction and Selection (RF-IFRS) to select highly informative genetic and environmental features from a GWAS-scale dataset of patients taking statin medications. Variant-pairs were distilled into overlapping networks and assembled into individual decision trees to provide an interpretable set of variants and associated risk. 1718 cases who suffered MACE and 4172 controls were obtained from dbGaP. Pathway analysis showed that variants in genes related to vasculogenesis (FDR = 0.024), angiogenesis (FDR = 0.019), and carotid artery disease (FDR = 0.034) were related to risk for on-statin MACE. We identified six gene-variant networks that predicted odds of on-statin MACE. The most elevated risk was found in a small subset of patients carrying variants in COL4A2, TMEM178B, SZT2, and TBXAS1 (OR = 4.53, p < 0.001). The RF-IFRS method is a viable method for interpreting complex “black-box” findings from machine-learning. In this study, it identified epistatic networks that could be applied to risk estimation for on-statin MACE. Further study will seek to replicate these findings in other populations.
A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities
Authors: Mottelson Johan
Published: November 2020

In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban majorities are financially excluded from the formal housing markets and reside in informal settlements. Limited knowledge on the development of informal settlements compromises the efficacy of urban planning and policies targeting such areas. This study presents an analysis of informal urban land use in four major cities in East Africa, as well as an analysis of urban form and household conditions in a case study area in each city. The study found more compact urban form, higher levels of tenants and overcrowding, and lower levels of access to water and sanitation in the examined cities with limited informal urban land use. The study argues that government repression of informal urban development decreases informal land supply and leads to increased competition in the informal land market, causing higher costs of accommodation and consequent fewer household resources for investments in infrastructure and thereby more compromised livelihood. The study argues that governments should accept some modes of informal development, simplify the urban development administration processes, and use technological innovation in land surveys and management, in order to lower costs of accommodation and improve livelihoods for the urban majority financially excluded from the formal housing market in East Africa.
Heavy Metal Stress Alters the Response of the Unicellular Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 to Nitrogen Starvation
Authors: Selim Khaled A. , Haffner Michael
Published: November 2020

Non-diazotrophic cyanobacteria are unable to fix atmospheric nitrogen and rely on combined nitrogen for growth and development. In the absence of combined nitrogen sources, most non-diazotrophic cyanobacteria, e.g., Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 or Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, enter a dormant stage called chlorosis. The chlorosis process involves switching off photosynthetic activities and downregulating protein biosynthesis. Addition of a combined nitrogen source induces the regeneration of chlorotic cells in a process called resuscitation. As heavy metals are ubiquitous in the cyanobacterial biosphere, their influence on the vegetative growth of cyanobacterial cells has been extensively studied. However, the effect of heavy metal stress on chlorotic cyanobacterial cells remains elusive. To simulate the natural conditions, we investigated the effects of long-term exposure of S. elongatus PCC 7942 cells to both heavy metal stress and nitrogen starvation. We were able to show that elevated heavy metal concentrations, especially for Ni2+, Cd2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+, are highly toxic to nitrogen starved cells. In particular, cells exposed to elevated concentrations of Cd2+ or Ni2+ were not able to properly enter chlorosis as they failed to degrade phycobiliproteins and chlorophyll a and remained greenish. In resuscitation assays, these cells were unable to recover from the simultaneous nitrogen starvation and Cd2+ or Ni2+ stress. The elevated toxicity of Cd2+ or Ni2+ presumably occurs due to their interference with the onset of chlorosis in nitrogen-starved cells, eventually leading to cell death.
Surface Antifouling Modification on Polyethylene Filtration Membranes by Plasma Polymerization
Authors: Hou An-Li , Wang Szu-Yi , Lin Wen-Pin , Kuo Wei-Hsuan , Wang Tsung-Jen , Wang Meng-Jiy
Published: November 2020

Surface modification on microporous polyethylene (PE) membranes was facilitated by plasma polymerizing with two hydrophilic precursors: ethylene oxide vinyl ether (EO1V) and diethylene oxide vinyl ether (EO2V) to effectively improve the fouling against mammalian cells (Chinese hamster ovary, CHO cells) and proteins (bovine serum albumin, BSA). The plasma polymerization procedure incorporated uniform and pin-hole free ethylene oxide-containing moieties on the filtration membrane in a dry single-step process. The successful deposition of the plasma polymers was verified by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. Water contact angle measurements and permeation experiments using cell and protein solutions were conducted to evaluate the change in hydrophilicity and fouling resistance for filtrating biomolecules. The EO1V and EO2V plasma deposited PE membranes showed about 1.45 fold higher filtration performance than the pristine membrane. Moreover, the flux recovery reached 80% and 90% by using deionized (DI) water and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution, indicating the efficacy of the modification and the good reusability of the modified PE membranes.
A Proposal for a Composite with Temperature-Independent Thermophysical Properties: HfV2–HfV2O7
Authors: Keuter Philipp , Ravensburg Anna L. , Hans Marcus , Karimi Aghda Soheil , Holzapfel Damian M. , Primetzhofer Daniel , Schneider Jochen M.
Published: November 2020

The HfV2–HfV2O7 composite is proposed as a material with potentially temperature-independent thermophysical properties due to the combination of anomalously increasing thermoelastic constants of HfV2 with the negative thermal expansion of HfV2O7. Based on literature data, the coexistence of both a near-zero temperature coefficient of elasticity and a coefficient of thermal expansion is suggested for a composite with a phase fraction of approximately 30 vol.% HfV2 and 70 vol.% HfV2O7. To produce HfV2–HfV2O7 composites, two synthesis pathways were investigated: (1) annealing of sputtered HfV2 films in air to form HfV2O7 oxide on the surface and (2) sputtering of HfV2O7/HfV2 bilayers. The high oxygen mobility in HfV2 is suggested to inhibit the formation of crystalline HfV2–HfV2O7 composites by annealing HfV2 in air due to oxygen-incorporation-induced amorphization of HfV2. Reducing the formation temperature of crystalline HfV2O7 from 550 °C, as obtained upon annealing, to 300 °C using reactive sputtering enables the synthesis of crystalline bilayered HfV2–HfV2O7.
Lead Borate Glasses and Glass-Ceramics Singly Doped with Dy3+ for White LEDs
Authors: Górny Agata , Kuwik Marta , Pisarski Wojciech A. , Pisarska Joanna
Published: November 2020

In this paper, some series of lead borate glasses and glass ceramics singly doped with Dy3+ ions were prepared and then studied using spectroscopic techniques. Our research includes mainly studies of the luminescence properties of received materials for white light. The luminescence bands associated with the characteristic 4F9/2→6H15/2 (blue), 4F9/2→6H13/2 (yellow) and 4F9/2→6H11/2 (red) transitions of trivalent dysprosium in lead borate systems are well observed. In particular, the Commission Internationale de I’Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates (x, y) were calculated in relation to potential applications for white light-emitting diodes (W-LEDs). Their values depend on the relative B2O3/PbO ratios and PbX2 contents (where X = Cl, F, Br) in glass composition. For glass-ceramics, the chromaticity coordinates are changed significantly under different excitation wavelengths.
Brick Debris Dust as an Ecological Filler and Its Effect on the Durability of Asphalt Mix
Authors: Woszuk Agnieszka , Wróbel Michał , Bandura Lidia , Franus Wojciech
Published: November 2020

Brick debris is one of the main construction wastes obtained from demolition of buildings. However, this material can be successfully used in the recycling process. The purpose of the study was to determine the brick dust addition effect on asphalt surface service life. An asphalt concrete reference mix was designed for bonding layer and prepared using a Marshall compacting device. In addition, three mixes with combined lime-brick filler were prepared as well as one mix containing only brick filler. The samples were tested for their volumetric properties—density, bulk density, air void content, resistance to water and frost and stiffness modulus with varying test temperatures. It was found that 25% of brick dust addition to the filler did not considerably change the properties of the tested samples, while in the case of 50% filler the replacement stiffness and frost resistance decrease; however, the minimum required value is maintained. It can be concluded that the lime filler can be replaced with up to 50% of brick dust without a negative impact on the properties of asphalt mix. The proposed solution fits into the idea of sustainable development indicating a way of brick debris management.
Comparison of Contemporary Elm (Ulmus spp.) and Degraded Archaeological Elm: The Use of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis Under Ambient Moisture Conditions
Authors: Spear Morwenna J. , Broda Magdalena
Published: November 2020

This paper describes dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) experiments on archaeological and contemporary elm tested under air-dry conditions, to explore the suitability of this technique for increasing understanding of the viscoelastic behaviour of archaeological wood. A strong reduction of storage modulus of archaeological elm (AE) was seen in comparison with contemporary wood (CE), resulting from the high degree of wood degradation, notably the reduction in hemicelluloses and cellulose content of AE, as demonstrated by Attenuated Total Reflection–Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The γ relaxation peak was observed in all samples. The γ peak in AE shifted to a higher temperature, and the activation energy for γ-peak motions was lower in AE (29 kJ/mol) than in CE (50 kJ/mol) indicating that motion is less restricted within the degraded AE cell wall, or possibly a difference in the monomer undergoing rotation. Detection of changes in storage modulus are well known, but the DMA temperature scan technique proved to be useful for probing the degree of wood degradation, relating to the changes in location and intensity of secondary relaxation peaks. The γ peak in loss factor can be used to confirm that cell wall degradation is at an advanced stage, and to improve understanding of the internal spatial structure of the degraded wood cell wall.
Adsorption of Chiral [5]-Aza[5]helicenes on DNA Can Modify Its Hydrophilicity and Affect Its Chiral Architecture: A Molecular Dynamics Study
Authors: Raffaini Giuseppina , Mele Andrea , Caronna Tullio
Published: November 2020

Helicenes are interesting chiral molecules without asymmetric carbon atoms but with intrinsic chirality. Functionalized 5-Aza[5]helicenes can form non-covalent complexes with anticancer drugs and therefore be potential carriers. The paper highlights the different structural selectivity for DNA binding for two enantiopure compounds and the influence of concentration on their adsorption and self-aggregation process. In this theoretical study based on atomistic molecular dynamics simulations the interaction between (M)- and (P)-5-Aza[5]helicenes with double helix B-DNA is investigated. At first the interaction of single pure enantiomer with DNA is studied, in order to find the preferred site of interaction at the major or minor groove. Afterwards, the interaction of the enantiomers at different concentrations was investigated considering both competitive adsorption on DNA and possible helicenes self-aggregation. Therefore, racemic mixtures were studied. The helicenes studied are able to bind DNA modulating or locally modifying its hydrophilic surface into hydrophobic after adsorption of the first helicene layer partially covering the negative charge of DNA at high concentration. The (P)-enantiomer shows a preferential binding affinity of DNA helical structure even during competitive adsorption in the racemic mixtures. These DNA/helicenes non-covalent complexes exhibit a more hydrophobic exposed surface and after self-aggregation a partially hidden DNA chiral architecture to the biological environment.
Study of the Rolling Friction Coefficient between Dissimilar Materials through the Motion of a Conical Pendulum
Authors: Alaci Stelian , Muscă Ilie , Pentiuc Ștefan-Gheorghe
Published: November 2020

The rolling friction phenomenon is encountered in a wide range of applications and when two different materials are involved, quantitative characterization is necessary. The parameter to be determined is the coefficient of rolling friction, for whose estimation a methodology is proposed, based on the damped oscillation of a conical pendulum. The pure rolling contact between a sphere and a plane is obtained when a steel ball is the bob of the pendulum, which rolls on an inclined plate made from a second material from the contacting pair. The mathematical model of the motion of a conical pendulum constructed from a revolution body supported on an inclined plane in the presence of the rolling friction is developed. The dynamic equations of the rigid body with fixed point are applied and the differential equation of motion of the pendulum is obtained together with the expressions of the reaction forces in the contact point. For different pairs of materials, tests are performed on a laboratory device. The damped oscillatory motion of the conical pendulum is video-captured for the estimation of the angular amplitude variation. A program for image processing is developed for measuring the values of angular elongations from the analysis of each frame of the video and, finally, the coefficient of rolling friction is obtained. For all the materials tested, a linear decrease in angular amplitude is detected and the slope of angular amplitude can be considered as a characteristic parameter related to the coefficient of rolling friction between the two materials.
Effect of a Boric Acid Corrosive Environment on the Microstructure and Properties of Concrete
Authors: Wang Yu , Huang Bei , Mao Zhongyang , Deng Min , Cao Huan
Published: November 2020

Boric acid, a weak acid, is often used to shield neutrons in water cooling systems in nuclear power stations. The leakage of boric acid in water cooling systems damages the concrete structure and affects the safety of nuclear power engineering. In this experiment, concrete specimens were cured with boric acid at 20, 40, and 70 °C to study the effect of boric acid on the microstructure and properties of concrete. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) were used to analyze the change in mineral composition. The microstructure was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The porosity of the concrete was examined by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results show that the performance of specimens was stable under the curing conditions of 20 and 40 °C. Under the curing environment of 70 °C, the performance of concrete cured with 0, 2000, and 7000 ppm concentrations was stable, but the compressive strength of the 180,000 ppm specimen was reduced by 27.8% and suffered the most serious loss of mass and surface corrosion, with the most harmful pores. The high concentration of boric acid seriously damaged the surface structure of concrete, which is the main reason for its loss of properties. This situation is extremely dangerous in nuclear power engineering, so the effect of boric acid leakage cannot be ignored.
Fuzzy TOPSIS Model for Assessment of Environmental Sustainability: A Case Study with Patient Judgements
Authors: Carnero María Carmen
Published: November 2020

Health care organisations have broadened their commitment to corporate social responsibility, since, as well as providing health care to patients, their activities negatively affect world pollution. This is a result of the products and technologies they use, the resources they consume, the waste they produce, and the buildings they occupy and operate. This, in turn, affects the health of the community. For this reason, a growing number of health care organisations have become involved in improvements to environmental sustainability, in order to promote public health. These improvements need to be controlled by a system whose effects can be assessed within a process of continuous improvement. This research, therefore, sets out a model constructed by extension to a fuzzy environment of the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal situation (TOPSIS), to assess the environmental responsibility of health care organizations. The weights were obtained from judgements given by both an expert in environmental matters, and a group of patients, and the judgements of both types of stakeholder were combined. The model has been applied in a Spanish public hospital over a period of five years. The closeness coefficients obtained with the judgements from the patient group are on average 6.59% higher than those obtained from the expert, and so it can be said that patients are less demanding on environmental matters. The similarity of the models was assessed, by comparing the model that combines both sets of judgements with the model constructed from the judgements of the expert and the model built from the judgements of the patient groups. The similarity is seen to be high, but it is greater in the case of the ranking obtained from the patient judgements. The results in all cases suggest a low risk of a serious environmental problem in the hospital. Nonetheless, it also implies that there are opportunities for continuous improvement. The use of a model with judgements from a patient group was intended to take into account the increasingly important need to include the judgements and opinions of different stakeholders in decision and assessment processes in the hospital environment.
Facilities Delocation in the Retail Sector: A Mixed 0-1 Nonlinear Optimization Model and Its Linear Reformulation
Authors: Sierra-Paradinas María , Alonso-Ayuso Antonio , Martín-Campo Francisco Javier , Rodríguez-Calo Francisco , Lasso Enrique
Published: November 2020

The problem concerning facilities delocation in the retail sector is addressed in this paper by proposing a novel mixed 0-1 linear optimization model. For this purpose, the aim of the problem is to decide whether to close existing stores or consider an alternative type of store management policy aimed at optimizing the profit of the entire retail network. Each management policy has a different repercussion on the final profit of the stores due to the different margins obtained from the customers. Furthermore, closing stores can cause customers to leave the whole retail network according to their behavior. This behavior is brought about through their tendency to abandon this network. There are capacity constraints imposed depending on the number of stores that should stay open and cease operation costs, customer behavior and final prices. These constraints depend on the type of management policy implemented by the store. Due to the commercial requirements concerning customer behavior, a set of non-linear constraints appears in the definition of the model. Classical Fortet inequalities are used in order to linearize the constraints and, therefore, obtain a mixed 0-1 linear optimization model. As a result of the size of the network, border constraints have been imposed to obtain results in a reasonable computing time. The model implementation is done by introducing smart sets of indices to reduce the number of constraints and variables. Finally, the computational results are presented using data from a real-world case study and, additionally, a set of computational experiments using data randomly generated as shown.
GO-GJRSK Model with Application to Higher Order Risk-Based Portfolio
Authors: Nakagawa Kei , Uchiyama Yusuke
Published: November 2020

There are three distinguishing features in the financial time series, such as stock prices, are as follows: (1) Non-normality, (2) serial correlation, and (3) leverage effect. All three points need to be taken into account to model the financial time series. However, multivariate financial time series modeling involves a large number of stocks, with many parameters to be estimated. Therefore, there are few examples of multivariate financial time series modeling that explicitly deal with higher-order moments. Furthermore, there is no multivariate financial time series model that takes all three characteristics above into account. In this study, we propose the generalized orthogonal (GO)-Glosten, Jagannathan, and Runkle GARCH (GJR) model which extends the GO-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model and incorporates the three features of the financial time series. We confirm the effectiveness of the proposed model by comparing the performance of risk-based portfolios with higher-order moments. The results show that the performance with our proposed model is superior to that with baseline methods, and indicate that estimation methods are important in risk-based portfolios with higher moments.
Shuffle, Cut, and Learn: Crypto Go, a Card Game for Teaching Cryptography
Authors: González-Tablas Ana I. , González Vasco María I. , Cascos Ignacio , Planet Palomino Álvaro
Published: November 2020

Cryptography is the mathematical core of information security. It serves both as a source of hard computational problems and as precise language allowing for the formalization of sound security models. While dealing with the mathematical foundations of cybersecurity is only possible in specialized courses (tertiary level and beyond), it is essential to promote the role of mathematics in this field at early educational stages. With this in mind, we introduce Crypto Go, a physical card game that may be used both as a dissemination and as an educational tool. The game is carefully devised in order to entertain and stimulate players, while boosting their understanding on how basic cryptographic tools work and interplay. To get a preliminary assessment of our design, we collected data from a series of test workshops, which engaged over two hundred players from different ages and educational backgrounds. This basic evaluation indeed confirms that Crypto Go significantly improves students’ motivation and has a positive impact in their perception and understanding of the field.
Is PREHAB in Pelvic Floor Surgery Needed? A Topical Review
Authors: Szymański Jacek K. , Starzec-Proserpio Małgorzata , Słabuszewska-Jóźwiak Aneta , Jakiel Grzegorz
Published: November 2020

Pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence affect approximately 6–11% and 6–40% of women, respectively. These pathologies could result from a weakness of pelvic floor muscles (PFM) caused by previous deliveries, aging or surgery. It seems reasonable that improving PFM efficacy should positively impact both pelvic floor therapy and surgical outcomes. Nonetheless, the existing data are inconclusive and do not clearly support the positive impact of preoperative pelvic floor muscle training on the improvement of surgical results. The restoration of deteriorated PFM function still constitutes a challenge. Thus, further well-designed prospective studies are warranted to answer the question of whether preoperative PFM training could optimize surgical outcomes and if therapeutic actions should focus on building muscle strength or rather on enhancing muscle performance.
A Case of Lung Abscess Caused by Double Immunosuppressive Therapy to Treat Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Tominaga Keiichi , Kanazawa Mimari , Tanaka Takanao , Kojimahara Shunsuke , Sugaya Takeshi , Watanabe Shoko , Yamamiya Akira , Majima Yuichi , Iijima Makoto , Goda Kenichi , Irisawa Atsushi
Published: November 2020

A 25-year-old man was admitted to our institution for remission induction therapy to treat a 12-year condition of ulcerative colitis (UC). Previously, he was treated with drugs, such as mesalamine, immunomodulators, prednisolone (PSL), and anti-TNFα anti-body, but remission was not maintained. Therefore, we started remission induction therapy with 20 mg/day of tofacitinib (TOF) to inhibit the action of Janus kinase. On the 29th day after TOF administration, he developed a lung abscess with high fever. A chronic bulla was already present in his lung; therefore, the lung abscess was likely formed due to a combination of the bulla being present and the pharmacological effects of TOF. Our report is significant as it highlights the compounding association between TOF and PSL therapy and bulla presence with the rare adverse effect of developing an abscess.
High-Frequency Heat Treatment of AISI 1045 Specimens and Current Calculations of the Induction Heating Coil Using Metal Phase Transformation Simulations
Authors: Choi Jinkyu , Lee Seoksoon
Published: November 2020

AISI 1045 specimen was compared through a high-frequency heat treatment simulation and experiment considering metal phase transformation. Hardening zone predictions were confirmed through cooling and metal phase transformation simulations after obtaining the results from electromagnetic heat transfer simulations. The cooling process was modeled by applying the cooling coefficient of the cooling water in the same way as the actual heat-treatment process. To obtain the current flowing through the coil during high-frequency induction heating, the voltage was measured and applied using the resistance–inductance–capacitance circuit calculation method. Experimental and simulated results of the heating temperature and curing depth of an AISI 1045 specimen with a carbon content of 0.45% were compared; the comparison indicated good agreement between the two. Using the simulation results, we established a method for obtaining the current flowing through the induction coil for predicting the extent and depth of the hardening zone during high-frequency induction heat treatment.
Robust Metabolite Quantification from J-Compensated 2D 1H-13C-HSQC Experiments
Authors: Weitzel Alexander , Samol Claudia , Oefner Peter J. , Gronwald Wolfram
Published: November 2020

The spectral resolution of 2D 1H-13C heteronuclear single quantum coherence (1H-13C-HSQC) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra facilitates both metabolite identification and quantification in nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics. However, quantification is complicated by variations in magnetization transfer, which among others originate mainly from scalar coupling differences. Methods that compensate for variation in scalar coupling include the generation of calibration factors for individual signals or the use of additional pulse sequence schemes such as quantitative HSQC (Q-HSQC) that suppress the JCH-dependence by modulating the polarization transfer delays of HSQC or, additionally, employ a pure-shift homodecoupling approach in the 1H dimension, such as Quantitative, Perfected and Pure Shifted HSQC (QUIPU-HSQC). To test the quantitative accuracy of these three methods, employing a 600 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with a helium cooled cryoprobe, a Latin-square design that covered the physiological concentration ranges of 10 metabolites was used. The results show the suitability of all three methods for the quantification of highly abundant metabolites. However, the substantially increased residual water signal observed in QUIPU-HSQC spectra impeded the quantification of low abundant metabolites located near the residual water signal, thus limiting its utility in high-throughput metabolite fingerprinting studies.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of Endophytic Fungi Growing on Extracts of the Host, Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Authors: Plaszkó Tamás , Szűcs Zsolt , Kállai Zoltán , Csoma Hajnalka , Vasas Gábor , Gonda Sándor
Published: November 2020

The interaction between plant defensive metabolites and different plant-associated fungal species is of high interest to many disciplines. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are natural products that are easily evaporated under ambient conditions. They play a very important role in inter-species communication of microbes and their hosts. In this study, the VOCs produced by 43 different fungal isolates of endophytic and soil fungi during growth on horseradish root (Armoracia rusticana) extract or malt extract agar were examined, by using headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (headspace-GC-MS) and a high relative surface agar film as a medium. The proposed technique enabled sensitive detection of several typical VOCs (acetone, methyl acetate, methyl formate, ethyl acetate, methyl butanol isomers, styrene, beta-phellandrene), along with glucosinolate decomposition products, including allyl cyanide and allyl isothiocyanate and other sulfur-containing compounds—carbon disulfide, dimethyl sulfide. The VOC patterns of fungi belonging to Setophoma, Paraphoma, Plectosphaerella, Pyrenochaeta, Volutella, Cadophora, Notophoma, and Curvularia genera were described for the first time. The VOC pattern was significantly different among the isolates. The pattern was indicative of putative myrosinase activity for many tested isolates. On the other hand, endophytes and soil fungi as groups could not be separated by VOC pattern or intensity.
Editorial for the Special Issue on Femtosecond Laser Micromachining for Photonics Applications
Authors: Crespi Andrea , Corrielli Giacomo
Published: November 2020

Femtosecond laser pulses have proven, in the recent years, their formidable potential as a micromachining tool applicable to a variety of materials [...]
Editorial for the Special Issue: Macro and Microorganism Interactions
Authors: Giovannetti Luciana , Viti Carlo
Published: November 2020

The knowledge of symbiotic, parasitic, and commensal interactions between macro and microorganisms is fundamental to explaining their coexistence, ecology, and productivity [...]
Variability of Carbonate Isotope Signatures in a Hydrothermally Influenced System: Insights from the Pastos Grandes Caldera (Bolivia)
Authors: Bougeault Cédric , Durlet Christophe , Vennin Emmanuelle , Muller Elodie , Ader Magali , Ghaleb Bassam , Gérard Emmanuelle , Virgone Aurélien , Gaucher Eric C.
Published: November 2020

Laguna Pastos Grandes (Bolivia), nesting in a volcanic caldera, is a large, palustrine-to-lacustrine system fed by meteoric and hydrothermal calco–carbonic fluids. These different fluid inputs favor a complex mosaic of depositional environments, including hydrothermal springs, pools, and an ephemeral lake, producing abundant present-day carbonates developing over a Holocene carbonate crust dated by U–Th. Present-day carbonates (muds, concretions, and microbialites) recorded a large range of isotope variations, reaching 13.9‰ in δ13C and 11.1‰ in δ18O. Sedimentological and geochemical data indicated that the main processes influencing the isotope record were: (i) rapid CO2 degassing and temperature decreases along hydrothermal discharges; (ii) strong evaporation favored by the arid high-altitude Andean climate, locally enhanced by capillary water rise within microbial mats or by wind-induced spray falling on vadose concretions. Unlike past or present perennial lake systems in Central Andes, the short residence time of brine waters in the ephemeral central lake prevents enrichment of lacustrine carbonates in 13C and 18O. The very low fraction modern F14C in these present-day carbonates demonstrates that incorporation of fossil magmatic carbon related to the volcanic context also prevents any radiocarbon dating. The use of isotopes for the interpretation of ancient continental series should always be accompanied by a thorough characterization of the environmental setting.
Stochastic Earthmoving Fleet Arrangement Optimization Considering Project Duration and Cost
Authors: Mohsenijam Arash , Mahdavian Amirsaman , Shojaei Alireza
Published: November 2020

Earthmoving is one of the main processes involved in heavy construction and mining projects. It requires a significant share of the project budget and can dictate its overall success. Earthmoving related activities have a stochastic nature that affects the project cost and duration. In common practice, the equipment required for a project is selected using average operating cycles, neglecting the stochastic nature of operations and equipment. Ultimately this can lead to rough estimates and poor results in meeting the projects’ objectives. This research aims to provide a decision-support tool for earthmoving operations and achieve the best arrangement of equipment based on project objectives and equipment specifications by utilizing historical data. Operation simulation is identified as an efficient technique to model and analyze the stochastic aspects of the cost and duration of earthmoving operations in construction projects. Therefore, two simulation models—namely the Decision-Support Model and the Estimation Model, have been developed in the Symphony.net modeling environment to address the industry needs. The Decision-Support Model provides the best arrangement of equipment to maximize global resource utilization. In contrast, the Estimation Model captures more of the project details and compares various equipment arrangements. In this paper, these models are created, and the modeling logic is validated through a case study employing a real-world earthmoving project that demonstrates the model’s capabilities. The decision support model showed promising results in determining the optimized fleet selection when considering equipment and shift variations, and the cost model helped better quantifying the impact of the decision on the cost and profit of the project. This modeling approach can be reproduced by others in any case of interest to gain optimal fleet management.
Shortcut Approaches to Substance Delivery into the Brain Based on Intranasal Administration Using Nanodelivery Strategies for Insulin
Authors: Tashima Toshihiko
Published: November 2020

The direct delivery of central nervous system (CNS) drugs into the brain after administration is an ideal concept due to its effectiveness and non-toxicity. However, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) prevents drugs from penetrating the capillary endothelial cells, blocking their entry into the brain. Thus, alternative approaches must be developed. The nasal cavity directly leads from the olfactory epithelium to the brain through the cribriform plate of the skull bone. Nose-to-brain drug delivery could solve the BBB-related repulsion problem. Recently, it has been revealed that insulin improved Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related dementia. Several ongoing AD clinical trials investigate the use of intranasal insulin delivery. Related to the real trajectory, intranasal labeled-insulins demonstrated distribution into the brain not only along the olfactory nerve but also the trigeminal nerve. Nonetheless, intranasally administered insulin was delivered into the brain. Therefore, insulin conjugates with covalent or non-covalent cargos, such as AD or other CNS drugs, could potentially contribute to a promising strategy to cure CNS-related diseases. In this review, I will introduce the CNS drug delivery approach into the brain using nanodelivery strategies for insulin through transcellular routes based on receptor-mediated transcytosis or through paracellular routes based on escaping the tight junction at the olfactory epithelium.
On the Formation of Black Silicon Features by Plasma-Less Etching of Silicon in Molecular Fluorine Gas
Authors: Kafle Bishal , Ridoy Ahmed , Miethig Eleni , Clochard Laurent , Duffy Edward , Hofmann Marc , Rentsch Jochen
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we study the plasma-less etching of crystalline silicon (c-Si) by F2/N2 gas mixture at moderately elevated temperatures. The etching is performed in an inline etching tool, which is specifically developed to lower costs for products needing a high volume manufacturing etching platform such as silicon photovoltaics. Specifically, the current study focuses on developing an effective front-side texturing process on Si(100) wafers. Statistical variation of the tool parameters is performed to achieve high etching rates and low surface reflection of the textured silicon surface. It is observed that the rate and anisotropy of the etching process are strongly defined by the interaction effects between process parameters such as substrate temperature, F2 concentration, and process duration. The etching forms features of sub-micron dimensions on c-Si surface. By maintaining the anisotropic nature of etching, weighted surface reflection (Rw) as low as Rw < 2% in Si(100) is achievable. The lowering of Rw is mainly due to the formation of deep, density grade nanostructures, so-called black silicon, with lateral dimensions that are smaller to the major wavelength ranges of interest in silicon photovoltaics.
Nanotechnology for Environmental and Biomedical Research
Authors: Frenzilli Giada
Published: November 2020

Given the high production and broad feasibility of nanomaterials, the application of nanotechnology includes the use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to clean-up polluted media such as soils, water, air, groundwater and wastewaters, and is known as nanoremediation [...]
Intra Vitam Diagnosis of Neglected Gurltia paralysans Infections in Domestic Cats (Felis catus) by a Commercial Serology Test for Canine Angiostrongylosis and Insights into Clinical and Histopathological Findings—Four-Case Report
Authors: Gómez Marcelo , García Catalina , Maldonado Isabel , Pantchev Nikola , Taubert Anja , Hermosilla Carlos , Moroni Manuel , Muñoz Pamela , Duran Alejandra , Mieres Marcelo , Ojeda Javier
Published: November 2020

Gurltia paralysans is a metastrongyloid nematode which belongs to the Angiostrongylidae family and presents tropism for veins of the subarachnoid space in vivo of domestic and wild felids causing a progressive and chronic clinical manifestation of paraparesis/paraplegia. The geographic distribution of G. paralysans includes rural and periurban areas of South America and was recently reported in Europe. To date, a definitive diagnosis of feline gurltiosis is still conducted by post-mortem examination of the spinal cord in affected animals. A presumptive diagnosis of feline gurltiosis can also be achieved based on data of compatible clinical signs and associated epidemiological risk factors. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the commercial serological test Angio Detect TM® (IDEXX Laboratories) as a possible diagnostic method of feline gurltiosis in vivo. For the study, 10 domestic felines (Felis catus) which originated from a high endemic area of Southern Chile, were analyzed. All felines presented chronic paraparesis or severe paraplegia. Subsequently, commercial Angio Detect TM® serological tests for the detection of closely related Angiostrongylus vasorum in canids were performed according to manufacturer’s instructions. Conducted serological tests were positive in seven of ten felines showing paraplegia/paraparesis and presumably infected with G. paralysans, and four of them were additionally necropsied, and presented macroscopic findings compatible with feline gurltiosis. Furthermore, the presence of adult female and male G. paralysans specimens at the level of the subarachnoid vasculature in affected spinal cord segments were observed during necropsy. Histopathology demonstrated severe eosinophilic meningomyelitis, coagulopathies with thrombosis in G. paralysans-parasitized leptomeningeal veins. Results of this preliminary study suggest a cross-reaction between A. vasorum-specific antigens, which also parasitize blood vessels in vivo, and G. paralysans when using an Angio Detect TM® test, which suggests its helpful use as a new diagnostic method for feline gurltiosis in live domestic felines. Additional specific antigen research will be required in order to better understand the sensitivity and specificity of A. vasorum antigens used in this test and for existing cross-reactivity with G. paralysans-derived antigens for future a suitable intra vitam immunodiagnosis of neglected feline gurltiosis.