bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long noncoding RNA CASC2 suppresses esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression by increasing SOCS1 expression
Authors: Sun Ke , Zhang Guangping
Published: November 2019

Objective

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Emerging evidence suggests the involvement of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumorigenesis. LncRNA Cancer Susceptibility Candidate 2 (CASC2) has been demonstrated to act as a tumor suppressor contributing to the development and progression of several cancers. However, the functional significance and underlying mechanism of CASC2 in ESCC progression has not been well elucidated.

Methods

The expression levels of CASC2 in ESCC tissues were detected by qRT-PCR. CASC2 overexpression and knockdown models were established and used to investigate the functional role of CASC2 in ESCC cells. RIP, RNA pull-down and dual-luciferase assay was used to detect the association between CASC2 and miR-155. The interaction between CASC2 and Suppressor Of Cytokine Signaling 1 (SOCS1) was assessed by RIP and RNA pull-down assays.

Results

In the present study, we found that CASC2 was significantly downregulated in ESCC tissues and positively correlated with overall survival time of patients with ESCC. Functional assays demonstrated that CASC2 suppressed proliferation, migration and invasion, as well as enhanced drug sensitivity in ESCC cells. Mechanistically, CASC2 inhibited ESCC progression by upregulating the expression of SOCS1 via two different ways. CASC2 acted as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-155 to post-transcriptionally increase SOCS1 expression. On the other hand, CASC2 was capable of interacting with SOCS1 protein and suppressing its degradation.

Conclusion

Conclusively, these results demonstrated that CASC2 could exert as a tumor suppressive lncRNA in ESCC progression via regulating SOCS1.
Efficient analytical techniques for solving time-fractional nonlinear coupled Jaulent–Miodek system with energy-dependent Schrödinger potential
Authors: Şenol Mehmet , Iyiola Olaniyi S. , Daei Kasmaei Hamed , Akinyemi Lanre
Published: November 2019

In this paper, we present analytical-approximate solution to the time-fractional nonlinear coupled Jaulent–Miodek system of equations which comes with an energy-dependent Schrödinger potential by means of a residual power series method (RSPM) and a q-homotopy analysis method (q-HAM). These methods produce convergent series solutions with easily computable components. Using a specific example, a comparison analysis is done between these methods and the exact solution. The numerical results show that present methods are competitive, powerful, reliable, and easy to implement for strongly nonlinear fractional differential equations.
The weak solutions of a doubly nonlinear parabolic equation related to the $p(x)$-Laplacian
Authors: Zhan Huashui
Published: November 2019

A nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation related to the $p(x)$p(x)-Laplacian
$$ {u_{t}}= \operatorname{div} \bigl({b(x)} { \bigl\vert {\nabla a(u)} \bigr\vert ^{p(x) - 2}}\nabla a(u) \bigr)+\sum _{i=1}^{N}\frac{\partial b_{i}(u)}{ \partial x_{i}}+c(x,t) -b_{0}a(u) $$ut=div(b(x)|∇a(u)|p(x)−2∇a(u))+∑i=1N∂bi(u)∂xi+c(x,t)−b0a(u) is considered in this paper, where $b(x)|_{x\in \varOmega }>0$b(x)|x∈Ω>0, $b(x)|_{x \in \partial \varOmega }=0$b(x)|x∈∂Ω=0, $a(s)\geq 0$a(s)≥0 is a strictly increasing function with $a(0)=0$a(0)=0, $c(x,t)\geq 0$c(x,t)≥0 and $b_{0}>0$b0>0. If $\int _{\varOmega }b(x)^{-\frac{1}{p ^{-}-1}}\,dx\leq c$∫Ωb(x)−1p−−1dx≤c and $\vert \sum_{i=1}^{N}b_{i}'(s) \vert \leq c a'(s)$|∑i=1Nbi′(s)|≤ca′(s), then the solutions of the initial-boundary value problem is well-posedness. When $\int _{\varOmega }b(x)^{-(p(x)-1)}\,dx<\infty $∫Ωb(x)−(p(x)−1)dx<∞, without the boundary value condition, the stability of weak solutions can be proved.
Overexpression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic characterization of the receiver domain of the response regulator PhoP from Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212
Authors: Jeong Yoon Chae , Lee Ki Seog
Published: November 2019

Phosphate (Pho) regulon plays a critical role in bacterial phosphate homeostasis. It is regulated by two-component system (TCS) that comprises a sensor histidine kinase and transcriptional response regulator (RR). PhoP from Enterococcus faecalis (EfPhoP) belongs to the OmpR subfamily of RRs. It has not yet been structurally characterized because it is difficult to crystallize it to full-length form. In this study, a truncated form of EfPhoP containing the receiver domain (EfPhoP-RD) was constructed, purified to homogeneity and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystal of EfPhoP-RD diffracted to 3.5 Å resolution and belonged to the orthorhombic space group C2221, with unit-cell parameters a = 118.74, b = 189.83, c = 189.88 Å. The asymmetric unit contains approximately 12 molecules, corresponding to a Matthews coefficient (Vm) of 2.50  Å3 Da−1 with a solvent content of 50.9%.
Mesoscale movement and recursion behaviors of Namibian black rhinos
Authors: Seidel Dana Paige , Linklater Wayne L. , Kilian Werner , Preez Pierre du , Getz Wayne M.
Published: November 2019

Background

Understanding rhino movement behavior, especially their recursive movements, holds significant promise for enhancing rhino conservation efforts, and protecting their habitats and the biodiversity they support. Here we investigate the daily, biweekly, and seasonal recursion behavior of rhinos, to aid conservation applications and increase our foundational knowledge about these important ecosystem engineers.

Methods

Using relocation data from 59 rhinos across northern Namibia and 8 years of sampling efforts, we investigated patterns in 24-h displacement at dawn, dusk, midday, and midnight to examine movement behaviors at an intermediate scale and across daily behavioral modes of foraging and resting. To understand recursion patterns across animals’ short and long-term ranges, we built T-LoCoH time use grids to estimate recursive movement by each individual. Comparing these grids to contemporaneous MODIS imagery, we investigated productivity’s influence on short-term space use and recursion. Finally, we investigated patterns of recursion within a year’s home range, measuring the time to return to the most intensively used patches.

Results

Twenty four-hour displacements at dawn were frequently smaller than 24-h displacements at dusk or at midday and midnight resting periods. Recursion analyses demonstrated that short-term recursion was most common in areas of median rather than maximum NDVI values. Investigated across a full year, recursion analysis showed rhinos most frequently returned to areas within 8–21 days, though visits were also seen separated by months likely suggesting seasonality in range use.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that rhinos may frequently stay within the same area of their home ranges for days at a time, and possibly return to the same general area days in a row especially during morning foraging bouts. Recursion across larger time scales is also evident, and likely a contributing mechanism for maintaining open landscapes and browsing lawns of the savanna.
The level of activity of the alternative lengthening of telomeres correlates with patient age in IDH-mutant ATRX-loss-of-expression anaplastic astrocytomas
Authors:   POLA network, Grandin Nathalie , Pereira Bruno , Cohen Camille , Billard Pauline , Dehais Caroline , Carpentier Catherine , Idbaih Ahmed , Bielle Franck , Ducray François , Figarella-Branger Dominique , Delattre Jean-Yves , Sanson Marc , Lomonte Patrick , Poncet Delphine , Verrelle Pierre , Charbonneau Michel
Published: November 2019

All cancer cells need to maintain functional telomeres to sustain continuous cell division and proliferation. In human diffuse gliomas, functional telomeres are maintained due either to reactivation of telomerase expression, the main pathway in most cancer types, or to activation of a mechanism called the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The presence of IDH1/2 mutations (IDH-mutant) together with loss of ATRX expression (ATRX-lost) are frequently associated with ALT in diffuse gliomas. However, detection of ALT, anda fortioriits quantification, are rarely, if ever, measured in neuropathology laboratories. We measured the level of ALT activity using the previously described quantitative “C-circle” assay and analyzed it in a well characterized cohort of 104 IDH-mutant and ATRX-lost adult diffuse gliomas. We report that in IDH-mutant ATRX-lost anaplastic astrocytomas, the intensity of ALT was inversely correlated with age (p < 0.001), the younger the patient, the higher the intensity of ALT. Strikingly, glioblastomas having progressed from anaplastic astrocytomas did not exhibit this correlation. ALT activity level in the tumor did not depend on telomere length in healthy tissue cells from the same patient. In summary, we have uncovered the existence, in anaplastic astrocytomas but not in glioblastomas with the same IDH and ATRX mutations, of a correlation between patient age and the level of activity of ALT, a telomerase-independent pathway of telomere maintenance.
A case of small in situ perihilar cholangiocarcinoma incidentally accompanied by benign bile duct stricture after open cholecystectomy
Authors: Maeda Takashi , Ebata Tomoki , Yokoyama Yukihiro , Igami Tsuyoshi , Mizuno Takashi , Yamaguchi Junpei , Onoe Shunsuke , Watanabe Nobuyuki , Nagino Masato
Published: November 2019

Background

In situ cholangiocarcinoma is difficult to detect by imaging studies. Thus, cholangiocarcinoma is rarely resected with a preoperative definitive diagnosis, especially nonpapillary flat type in situ carcinoma, which is extremely rare.

Case presentation

A 70-year old man was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer and received open cholecystectomy with lymphadenectomy at a local hospital. Histologically, the tumor was localized in the mucosal layer, and no lymph node metastases were found. Three months later, hilar bile duct stricture due to delayed bile duct ischemia was found. Then, biliary drainage was performed with endoscopic biliary stenting. Three months later, the patient experienced cholangitis with septic shock, and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) into the left intrahepatic bile duct was performed. Unexpectedly, the aspiration bile cytology of the PTBD catheter showed malignant cells, and the patient was referred to our clinic for possible surgical treatment. According to additional studies, the hilar bile duct stricture was 3 cm in length. None of the imaging studies detected malignant cells in the bile duct around the hilar stricture. The left portal vein was obstructed due to inadvertent puncture of the PTBD. No findings indicated cholangiocarcinoma. We performed left hepatectomy with caudate lobectomy and extrahepatic bile duct resection. The postoperative course was uneventful. In the final pathology, flat type in situ carcinoma was found at the confluence of the right and left hepatic ducts, which was distant from the biliary stricture.

Conclusions

When a tumor is undetectable but cytology is positive, in situ cholangiocarcinoma may exist; thus, surgery should be carefully considered.
Understanding survival analysis: actuarial life tables and the Kaplan–Meier plot
Authors: Barakat Ahmed , Mittal Aaina , Ricketts David , Rogers Benedict A
Published: November 2019

Survival analysis is a set of methods used to study the time between enrollment in a study and the occurrence of an event of interest. Two methods are commonly used: actuarial life tables and the Kaplan–Meier approach for survival analysis. A good understanding of both these methods is useful when reading and appraising the literature concerning prognostic and interventional studies. Kaplan–Meier curves are widely used as they enable analysis of incomplete sets of data (i.e. after patients withdraw from studies or are lost to follow up). This review explains these two methods and gives practical examples of their use.
Lateral epicondylitis: the condition and current management strategies
Authors: Duncan James , Duncan Robert , Bansal Saksham , Davenport Dominic , Hacker Andrew
Published: November 2019

Lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow is a common condition estimated to affect between 1 and 3% of adults. As a result of its high prevalence, both primary and secondary care physicians are frequently presented with this problem, so knowledge of its presentation and up-to-date management strategies is essential.

This review collates the most recent evidence on lateral epicondylitis to help the clinician perform assessments and make treatment decisions, based on the best current clinical practice.
Pharmacotherapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus in frail elderly patients
Authors: Sathyanarayanan Abilash , Rabindranathnambi Aswatha , Muraleedharan Vakkat
Published: November 2019

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is expected to rise in the frail elderly population, which will have significant consequences for the health economy. Symptoms of hypoglycaemia can be subtle in the elderly. Hypoglycaemia accounts for more hospital admissions than hyperglycaemia. Treatment targets are set based on the risk of adverse events resulting from treatment and the benefits expected from tighter glycaemic control. The different medications available are discussed including the different types of insulin, in particular relation to usage in older adults. The choice of therapy is based on the targets, comorbidities and the characteristics of each antidiabetic agent. Deintensification of therapy should be considered in patients who experience adverse effects. Treatment guidelines should be formulated based on the above principles, as many current guidelines do not incorporate deintensification of therapy.
The impact of knowledge management on the development of innovative business process architecture modelling: The case of banking in Jordan
Authors: Sabri Mohammad Omar , Odeh Mohammed
Published: November 2019

This article proposes to use the resource-based view (RBV) to highlight the importance of intangible assets such as knowledge in the design of business process architecture (BPA). This approach, based on knowledge management (KM), implies the need to take into consideration the dynamic aspect of both the internal and the external environment. The article identifies key knowledge management enablers (KMEs) that can affect the successful design of a competitive BPA. Generic identification of KMEs with their main interactions can be useful to drive the development of a dynamic and competitive BPA. Semantic representation using ontologies is a means to accomplish this identification and to specify the necessary abstract level of the KMEs domain. This research utilizes the newly developed abstract KMEs ontology (aKMEOnt) that formally defines an essential pillar of the KM domain to present a knowledge-based approach for BPA modelling, with the novel KMEOntoBPA framework. Thus, one of the anticipated corollaries of this research is the integration between KM and BPA disciplines. The design science research methodology (DSRM) has been used to guide the research phases, which mainly include the design and development, demonstration and evaluation of the research framework. The financing department of a key international bank in Jordan is the case study that has been applied in this research. The research findings show that using a knowledge-based approach with ontologies can provide a dynamic and continuous generation of the BPA elements of the financing department. Furthermore, a knowledge-based BPA approach has several advantages and supports the sources of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA).
DIMENSÃO NOÉTICA: AS CONTRIBUIÇÕES DA LOGOTERAPIA PARA A COMPREENSÃO DO SER HUMANO
Authors: Dittrich Larissa Fernanda , Oliveira Marcelo Felipe Leite
Published: November 2019

Esta pesquisa tratou do tema “Dimensão noética: as contribuições da logoterapia para a compreensão de ser humano”. Para Frankl, o ser humano éentendido como uma unidade tridimensional constituída por instância biológica ou factual, psicológica ou anímica e noética ou espiritual, sendo esta última o princípio distintivo da espécie, elemento primordial da constituição humana, fonte da liberdade e responsabilidade, bem como da busca por sentido e da autotranscendência culminando, assim, na autorrealização. O objetivo geral desta pesquisa foi compreender a dimensão noética em Viktor Frankl, sendo de cunho bibliográfico com abordagem fenomenológica, baseando-se nos conceitos da dimensão noética, de ser humano e do sentido da vida à luz da logoterapia. Investigaram-se livros, artigos científicos, teses relacionados ao objeto de estudo. A metodologia para captação e compreensão dos dados foi a hermenêutica fenomenológica. Como resultado, ficou evidenciada a visão de ser humano em Frankl como uma unidade tridimensional, composta pela relação dialógica, recíproca e interdependente das dimensões biológica, psicológica e espiritual, em que uma abarca a anterior, em um movimento de suprassunção. Essa tríade condensa-se em um “vir-a-ser” humano, tendo o espírito como instância superior dessa totalidade. Por fim,compreendeu-se a dimensão noética ou espiritual como instância fundadora do sentido para a vida.
Zemahşerî’nin 'Ruûsu’l-Mesâil' İsimli Hilâf Türü Eserinin Tahlil Edilmesi
Authors: TEKİN Abdülkadir
Published: November 2019

Arap dili ve belâgatı konusunda otorite kabul edilmiş
bir şahsiyet olan Zemahşerî (ö.538/1143) çok yönlü bir âlimdir. Tefsir, fıkıh,
hadis ve kelâm gibi disiplinlerde de geniş bir ilme sahip olan Zemahşerî
itikatta koyu bir mu’tezilî olup, amelde ise Hanefî mezhebine mensuptur. Onun
fıkıhla ilgili kaleme almış olduğu “Ruûsu’l-mesâil” isimli eseri hilâf ilmi
açısından önemli bir yere sahiptir. Zemahşerî bu eserinde, mensubu olduğu
Hanefî mezhebinin Şâfiî mezhebinden farklı olan hükümlerini çoğunlukla herhangi
bir tercihte bulunmadan karşılıklı deliller bağlamında mukayeseli olarak
okuyucuya sunmaktadır. Bu yönüyle Zemahşerî’nin yaygın olarak bilinen diğer
yönlerinin yanında iyi bir fakîh olduğunu söylemek mümkündür. Zira iki tarafın
delillerini ortaya koymak suretiyle Hanefî ve Şâfiî mezhepleri arasındaki
ihtilafları muhtasar bir biçimde ortaya koyan bir eser kaleme almak, her iki
mezhebe de vâkıf olmayı gerektirir. Diğer eserlerinde itikâdî olarak mu’tezilî
taraftarlığı dikkat çeken ve bu yönde muhaliflerini sert bir dille eleştirdiği
göze çarpan Zemahşerî’nin bu eserinde amelde mensubu olduğu Hanefî mezhebi
noktasında aynı üslubu takip etmediği ve daha müsamahakar bir çizgi izlediğini
görmekteyiz. Müellifin bu yönüyle okuyucuya fürû’ fıkıhta mezhep taassubundan
uzak çok yönlü bir fıkıh düşüncesi kazandırmayı amaçladığını söylemek
mümkündür. Bu çalışmada fıkhın alt disiplinlerinden uzmanlık gerektiren hilâf
türünde muhtasar olarak kaleme alınan “Ruûsu’l-mesâil” isimli eseri bağlamında
Zemahşerî’nin fıkıhçılık yönü tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır.
Forgotten equity: The promise and subsequent dismantling of education finance reform in New York State
Authors: Atchison Drew
Published: November 2019

This study examines the impact of court-ordered finance reform in New York State resulting from Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York on equity of inputs using synthetic controls. The findings herein indicate court mandated education finance reform in New York had little to no impact on equity of educational inputs despite an overhauled education finance system intending to distribute more state funding based on student need. In the period during and following the Great Recession, the State of New York chose to cut districts’ foundation aid, a form of aid designed to be distributed progressively, halting any improvement in equity. Had funding been distributed to districts according to the foundation formula that was specified by the education finance reform legislation passed in 2007, high poverty districts would have received more funding and disparities in funding across districts with similar characteristics would have been reduced. I also show that other forms of aid, which are regressively distributed, could have been cut instead of foundation aid, allowing for more funding to flow to high poverty districts in a time of fiscal constraint.
A MASK-RCNN Based Approach Using Scale Invariant Feature Transform Key points for Object Detection from Uniform Background Scene
Authors: DALAI RADHAMADHAB , Senapati Kishore Kumar
Published: November 2019

Object identification using deep learning in known environment gives a new dimension to the research area of computer vision based automation system. As it uses supervised learning technique using Convolution Neural Network (RCNN) it helps automation software tools and machines to detect and identify objects using vision based systems. One of RCNN technique known as Mask-RCNN has been applied in this proposed design and this paper presents a novel approach to object detection problem using Big Data storage for large set of features based data. Earlier work Faster Region-based CNN has led to the development of a state-of-the-art object detector termed as Mask R-CNN. Some samples of solid material objects used in refractory industry have been taken as input images. In our experiment the SIFT based features have been implemented and trained using filter and convolution operation. In addition to improved accuracy, pixel-level annotation (annotating bounding boxes is approximately an order of magnitude which is quicker to perform). The model is retrained to perform the detection of four types of metal objects, with the entire process of annotation and training for the new model per solid block. A key benefit of feature based Mask-RCNN approach is high precision (~94%) in classification and minimized feature points with SIFT key points.
Fall detection system based on BiLSTM neural network
Authors: YE Biao , Yu Lasheng
Published: November 2019

The purpose of this article is to analyze the characteristics of human fall behavior to design a fall detection system. The existing fall detection algorithms have problems such as poor adaptability, single function and difficulty in processing large data and strong randomness. Therefore, a long-term and short-term memory recurrent neural network is used to improve the effect of falling behavior detection by exploring the internal correlation between sensor data. Firstly, the serialization representation method of sensor data, training data and detection input data is designed. The BiLSTM network has the characteristics of strong ability to sequence modeling and it is used to reduce the dimension of the data required by the fall detection model. then, the BiLSTM training algorithm for fall detection and the BiLSTM-based fall detection algorithm convert the fall detection into the classification problem of the input sequence; finally, the BiLSTM-based fall detection system was implemented on the TensorFlow platform. The detection and analysis of system were carried out using a bionic experiment data set which mimics a fall. The experimental results verify that the system can effectively improve the accuracy of fall detection to 90.47%. At the same time, it can effectively detect the behavior of Near-falling, and help to take corresponding protective measures.
A survey of Emerging Techniques in Detecting SMS Spam
Authors: Alqahtani Sahar , Alghazzawi Daniyal
Published: November 2019

In the past years, spammers have focused their attention on sending spam through short messages services (SMS) to mobile users. They have had some success because of the lack of appropriate tools to deal with this issue. This paper is dedicated to review and study the relative strengths of various emerging technologies to detect spam messages sent to mobile devices. Machine Learning methods and topic modelling techniques have been remarkably effective in classifying spam SMS. Detecting SMS spam suffers from a lack of the availability of SMS dataset and a few numbers of features in SMS. Various features extracted and dataset used by the researchers with some related issues also discussed. The most important measurements used by the researchers to evaluate the performance of these techniques were based on their recall, precision, accuracies and CAP Curve. In this review, the performance achieved by machine learning algorithms was compared, and we found that Naive Bayes and SVM produce effective performance.
Artificial Soul Optimization - An Invention
Authors: Gajawada Satish , Mustafa Hassan
Published: November 2019

The Soul is eternal and exists even after death of a person or animal. The main idea that is captured in this work is that soul continues to exist and takes a different a body after the death. The primary goal of this work is to invent a new field titled "Artificial Soul Optimization (ASO)". The term "Artificial Soul Optimization" is coined in this paper. All the Optimization algorithms which are proposed based on Artificial Souls will come under "Artificial Soul Optimization" Field (ASO Field). In the Particle Swarm Optimization and Artificial Human Optimization, the basic entities in search space are Artificial Birds and Artificial Humans respectively. Similarly, in Artificial Soul Optimization, the basic entities in search space are Artificial Souls. In this work, the ASO Field concepts are added to Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to create a new hybrid algorithm titled "Soul Particle Swarm Optimization (SoPSO). The proposed SoPSO algorithm is applied on various benchmark functions. Results obtained are compared with PSO algorithm. The World's first Hybrid PSO algorithm based on Artificial Souls is created in this work.
Das Berliner Schloss: mythologisches Relikt in einer mythenarmen Zeit
Authors: Roth Hannelore
Published: November 2019

In 1990, Joachim Fest’s plea for the reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace unchained one of the most heated architectural debates in German history, a debate that has been raging on to this day. This so-called Stadtschlossdebatte not only testifies to the remarkable revival of the Prussian legacy after German Reunification, it is also symptomatic of the difficult search for identity by the new Berlin Republic. With its prevalent rhetoric of the ‘lost’ or ‘empty center,’ the debate is particularly suitable for an analysis of the imaginary mechanisms and strategies of fictionalization that are necessary for a political community to constitute itself. By means of a rhetorical analysis of the reconstruction debate, I argue that Prussia functions as a mythological relict in our alleged society without myths. In this regard, special attention is devoted to the Schlosssimulation of 1993 by the French artist Catherine Feff. Functioning as a phantasmatic projection screen, this fake city castle is used here as a starting point for a reflection on the constitutive relation between community and fiction. The article concludes with a coda on the Wrapped Reichstag by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Atomic-scale clustering inhibits the bioactivity of fluoridated phosphate glasses
Authors: Touré Adja B. R. , Mele Elisa , Christie Jamieson K.
Published: November 2019

Here, molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out on phosphate glasses to clarify the previously debated influence of fluoride on the bioactivity of these glasses. We developed a computationally advanced inter-atomic force field including polarisation effects of the fluorine and oxygen atoms. Structural characterisations of the simulated systems showed that fluoride ions exclusively bond to the calcium modifier cations creating clusters within the glass structure and therefore decreasing the bioactivity of fluoridated phosphate glasses, making them less suitable for biomedical applications.
Glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) and T1 (GSTT1) variants and breast cancer risk in Burkina Faso
Authors: Kiendrebeogo Isabelle Touwendpoulimdé , Zoure Abdou Azaque , Sorgho Pegdwendé Abel , Yonli Albert Théophane , Djigma Florencia Wendkuuni , Ouattara Abdoul Karim , Sombie Herman Karim , Tovo Sessi Frida , Yelemkoure Edwige T. , Bambara Aboubacar Hierrhum , Sawadogo Alexis Yobi , Bakri Youssef , Simpore Jacques
Published: November 2019

Background and objective

Breast cancer remains the most common cause of cancer mortality in women. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between genetic variability inGSTM1andGSTT1and susceptibility to breast cancer.

Methods

Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples for 80 cases of histologically diagnosed breast cancer and 100 control subjects. Genotyping analyses were performed by PCR-based methods. Associations between specific genotypes and the development of breast cancer were examined using logistic regression to calculate odds ratios [1] and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Results

No correlation was found betweenGSTM1-nulland breast cancer (OR = 1.83; 95%CI 0.90-3.71; p = 0.10), whileGSTT1-null(OR = 2.42; 95%CI 1.17-5.02; p= 0.01) was associated with increased breast cancer risk. TheGSTM1/GSTT1 double nullwas not associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer (OR = 2.52; 95%CI 0.75-8.45; p=0.20). Furthermore, analysis found no association betweenGSTM1-null(OR =1.12; 95%CI 0.08-15.50;p=1.00) orGSTT1-null(OR = 1.71; 95%CI 0.13-22.51;p=1.00) and the disease stage of familial breast cancer patients or sporadic breast cancer patients (GSTM1(OR = 0.40; 95%CI 0.12-1.32;p = 0.20) andGSTT1(OR = 1.41; 95%CI 0.39-5.12;p=0.75)). Also, body mass index (BMI) was not associated with increased or decreased breast cancer risk in either GSTM1-null (OR = 0.60; 95%CI 0.21-1.68;p=0.44)or GSTT1-null (OR = 0.60; 95%CI 0.21-1.68;p=0.45).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that onlyGSTT1-nullis associated with increased susceptibility to breast cancer development.
Landscape characterization using photographs from crowdsourced platforms: content analysis of social media photographs
Authors: Callau Aitor Àvila , Albert María Yolanda Pérez , Rota Joan Jurado , Giné David Serrano
Published: November 2019

Landscape characterisation using social media photographs from popular platforms has been proposed as a landscape and ecosystem services approach. However, popular crowdsourced websites provide uncharacterized data and are only representative of the general public. Photographs from crowdsourced sports platforms, whose users are more homogeneous, could help to characterise landscape more uniformly. In this study we use automated content analysis from photographs on Wikiloc, a crowd-sourced sports platform, to characterize landscape in the Ebro Delta Natural Park, a protected area in Spain. Our approach applies big data procedures and spatial analysis to provide in-depth information regarding what draws visitors’ attention to a landscape and to ascertain their intrasite flow. Our results show that sports users are keen on natural landscapes and pay less attention to rural and degraded landscapes, and that areas closer to paths are more photographed than more distant areas.
The Influence of Gangue Particle size and Gangue Feeding Rate on Safety and Service Life of the Suspended Buffer’s Spring
Authors: Tai Yang , Guo Shuai , An Baifu , Ju Fu
Published: November 2019

To address the problems of the suspended buffer spring’s safety and service life, we introduce the basic operating principles and structure parameters of the suspended buffer; followed by establishing a new numerical model of the buffer spring vibration using Femap software. The vibration characteristics of the spring form the basis for spring safety check and service life prediction. Therefore, the principles influencing the gangue particle size and feeding rate on the vibration characteristics of the buffer spring were analyzed. The results have indicated that the vibration frequency, axial pressure peak and the maximum and minimum axial pressure within the periodic vibration had power relations with gangue particle sizeD, while they had linear relations with the gangue feeding ratevexcept for the vibration frequency that had nothing to do with the feeding rate. According to the ultimate axial pressure of the spring, the relations between the shear pressure and tensile strength as well as the vibration characteristics, the spring’s safety check formula and service life formula were obtained. Based on the backfilling parameters of the working face in Dongping Coal Mine, the crushed gangue particle size and spring service life were determined. Based on the engineering practice in Dongping Coal Mine, the spring service life was obtained. And the fatigue fracture of the spring was also analyzed.
Uncertainty based multi-step seismic analysis for near-surface imaging
Authors: Marciniak Artur , Stan-Kłeczek Iwona , Idziak Adam , Majdański Mariusz
Published: November 2019

Near-surface seismic surveys are often designed for surface wave and seismic tomographic analysis. In recent years, seismic imaging methods have been more frequently used at this scale. Recognition of near-surface structures using a single method is insufficient because of the ambiguity of the inversion problem. As a solution, the authors propose a multi-step approach, where several different seismic methods are used in a particular order, to achieve an optimal model. A multi-method approach allows utilisation of a whole spectrum of recorded data, even the elements that are treated as background noise in other techniques. In classical processing approach, information about data uncertainty is often omitted or used in the simplest way for the single method only. This work presents an updated approach to uncertainty analysis by transferring estimated uncertainty between processing steps. By assuming that every consecutively applied method is more certain, the authors were able to obtain accurate velocity fields for seismic imaging, as the main information received from the previous steps. Based on information from multiple methods, a seismic stack in the depth domain was created as a final result, with an estimate of uncertainty.
Investigation of the effect of aging on wood hygroscopicity by 2D 1H NMR relaxometry
Authors: Rostom Leila , Courtier-Murias Denis , Rodts Stéphane , Care Sabine
Published: November 2019

Two-dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance (2D 1H NMR) relaxometry is increasingly used in the field of wood sciences due to its great potential in detecting and quantifying water states at the level of wood constituents. More precisely, in this study, this technique is used to investigate the changes induced by “natural” and “artificial” aging methods on modern and historical oak woods. Two bound water components are detected and present differences in terms of association to the different wood polymers in cell walls: one is more strongly associated with wood polymers than the other. The evolution of the two bound water types is discussed in regard to aging methods and is related to the structure of the cell wall, especially with the S2 layer and the evolution of wood chemical composition (cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin). The evolution of hydric strains is also discussed taking into account the effect of aging methods on the two bound water components. The obtained results confirm the ability of 2D 1H NMR relaxometry to evaluate the effect of aging at the molecular level and on hydric deformation. Furthermore, this method shows that it is possible to determine the moisture content of wood without the necessity to oven-dry the wood material.
Variation on thermal damage rate of granite specimen with thermal cycle treatment
Authors: Xu Chenchen , Sun Qiang , Pan Xiaohua , Zhang Weiqiang , Wang Yanbing
Published: November 2019

Temperature significantly affects the physical and mechanical properties of granite. To have a comprehensive understanding of the thermal cycle effect on uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and thermal damage rate, a series of thermal cycle experiments on granite specimens were carried out with five types of designed temperatures and five types of cycle number of thermal treatments. The experimental results indicate that UCS decreases and thermal damage rate increases as temperature and thermal cycle increase. UCS of specimens cooled in water condition after thermal damage treatment are lower than those cooled in air condition. In addition, two new phenomena related to thermal damage rate were observed. Firstly, previous studies have shown that a rapid value reduction of UCS of specimens with one thermal cycle treatment under air cooling condition can be observed at 400
∘
C. While the temperature threshold for the specimens treated with more than one thermal cycle under water cooling condition increases to 550
∘
C. Secondly, a thoroughly antipodal evolution law of the thermal damage rate for the specimens with multiple thermal cycle treatments is also observed as compared to those treated by only one thermal cycle. These differences might be induced by the different microcrack initial time and their development speed. The new findings are important to understand the failure mechanism and variation process of physical and mechanical properties of granite specimens subjected to thermal cycles.
The Impact of an Inert Gas Atmosphere on the Kinetics of Changes in the Physical and Chemical Properties of Carrot Lyophilisate
Authors: Nowak D.
Published: November 2019

The purpose of this study was to analyse the impact of blanching, the atmosphere of nitrogen and storage time on carotenoids content, colour and sorption properties of freeze-dried carrot. The material was stored for up to 16 weeks, in the dark, at room temperature. The colour was measured on the surface and in cross sections. As the storage time increased, there was a continual decrease in the carotenoids content in the carrot packed in atmospheric air. In the carrots packed in the atmosphere of nitrogen, no changes in carotenoid content were observed. The colour parameters correlated with the changes in the carotenoids content. The colour parameters changed on the surface and in cross sections in the same manner. During storage, a significant decrease in sorption properties of freeze-dried carrots was noted after 2 weeks of storage.
Constitutive Relations of Thermal and Mass Diffusion
Authors: Bertei Antonio , Lamorgese Andrea , Mauri Roberto
Published: November 2019

Non-equilibrium thermodynamics provides a general framework for the description of mass and thermal diffusion, thereby including also cross-thermal and material diffusion effects, which are generally modeled through the Onsager coupling terms within the constitutive equations relating heat and mass flux to the gradients of temperature and chemical potential. These so-called Soret and Dufour coefficients are not uniquely defined, though, as they can be derived by adopting one of the several constitutive relations satisfying the principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Therefore, mass diffusion induced by a temperature gradient and heat conduction induced by a composition gradient can be implicitly, and unexpectedly, predicted even in the absence of coupling terms. This study presents a critical analysis of different formulations of the constitutive relations, with special focus on regular binary mixtures. It is shown that, among the different formulations presented, the one which adopts the chemical potential gradient at constant temperature as the driving force for mass diffusion allows for the implicit thermo-diffusion effect to be strictly absent while the resulting Dufour effect is negligibly small. Such a formulation must be preferred to the other ones since cross-coupling effects are predicted only if explicitly introduced via Onsager coupling coefficients.
High-Speed Transmission Circuits Signaling in Optical Communication Systems
Authors: Amiri IS , Rashed Ahmed Nabih Zaki , Yupapin P.
Published: November 2019

This paper has outlined high-speed transmission circuits signaling in guided or unguided optical communication systems. An efficient prediction scheme to predict the signal distortion caused by intersymbol interference. As high-speed digital signals exceed many gigabits per second speeds, eye diagrams provide the means to quickly and accurately measure signal quality and system performance. Semiconductor understands the capacitance constraints that designers are faced with when using these high-speed interfaces and offers a wide line of ultra-low capacitance electrical spectral density protection devices that service these interfaces, and the noise can be reduced at the optimum circuit at both bandwidths of 167 MHz, and bandwidth of 200 MHz.
Technical Specifications of the Submarine Fiber Optic Channel Bandwidth/Capacity in Optical Fiber Transmission Systems
Authors: Amiri IS , Rashed Ahmed Nabih Zaki , Jahan Sohely , Paul Bikash Kumar , Ahmed Kawsar , Yupapin P.
Published: November 2019

This work outlines technical specifications of the undersea fiber optic communication channel bandwidth, capacity with taken into account the maximum and minimum extended fiber cost in the presence of amplifiers stations. The number of amplifiers in the amplification stage are addressed based on the amplifier distance to strength the light signal in water depth after 5 km distance. The fiber channel capacity is estimated at different water depth and at the surface of the water. Minimum input signal power and required detectable received power are adjusted to ensure the high data rates in submarine cable systems under the best and worst conditions of the seawater pressure. The study emphasizes the high data rates transmission can be achieved at a distance of 10 km depth.
Apriority and Essential Truth
Authors: Haze Tristan Grøtvedt
Published: November 2019

There is a line of thought, neglected in recent philosophy, according to whicha prioriknowable truths such as those of logic and mathematics have their special epistemic status in virtue of a certain tight connection between their meaning and their truth. Historical associations notwithstanding, this view does not mandate any kind of problematic deflationism about meaning, modality or essence. On the contrary, we should be upfront about it being a highly debatable metaphysical idea, while nonetheless insisting that it be given due consideration. From this standpoint, I suggest that the Finean distinction between essence and modality allows us to refine the view. While liberal about meaning, modality and essence, the view is not without bite: it is reasonable to suppose that it is able to ward off philosophical confusions stemming from the undue assimilation ofa priorito empirical knowledge.
Crystal structure of dichlorido-(4,4′-dichloro-2,2′-bipyridine-κ2
N,N′)platinum(II) — acetone (1/1), C13H12Cl4N2PtO
Authors: Kiwada Tatsuto , Hirasaki Aika , Odani Akira
Published: November 2019

C13H12Cl4N2PtO, monoclinic, C2/m (no. 12), a = 17.497(4) Å, b = 6.8214(15) Å, c = 14.183(3) Å, β = 93.441(7)°, Z = 4, V = 1689.7(6) Å3, R
gt(F) = 0.0309, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0696, T = 93 K.
Toxicity of metallic nanoparticles in the central nervous system
Authors: Sawicki Krzysztof , Czajka Magdalena , Matysiak-Kucharek Magdalena , Fal Berta , Drop Bartłomiej , Męczyńska-Wielgosz Sylwia , Sikorska Katarzyna , Kruszewski Marcin , Kapka-Skrzypczak Lucyna
Published: November 2019

Metallic nanoparticles due to their small size and unique physico-chemical characteristics have found excellent applications in various branches of industry and medicine. Therefore, for many years a growing interest has been observed among the scientific community in the improvement of our understanding of the impact of nanoparticles on the living organisms, especially on humans. Considering the delicate structure of the central nervous systemit is one of the organs most vulnerable to the adverse effects of metallic nanoparticles. For that reason, it is important to identify the modes of exposure and understand the mechanisms of the effect of nanoparticles on neuronal tissue. In this review, an attempt is undertaken to present current knowledge about metallic nanoparticles neurotoxicity based on the selected scientific publications. The route of entry of nanoparticles is described, as well as their distribution, penetration through the cell membrane and the blood-brain barrier. In addition, a study on the neurotoxicityin vitroandin vivois presented, as well as some of the mechanisms that may be responsible for the negative effects of metallic nanoparticles on the central nervous system.

Graphical abstract:This review summarizes the current knowledge on the toxicity of metallic NPs in the brain and central nervous system of the higher vertebrates.
The Conceptualization of Tolerance in the UAE Press Media: A Case Study of ‘The Year of Tolerance’
Authors: Zibin Aseel , Abdullah Abdulrahman Dheyab
Published: November 2019

This study investigates the conceptualisation of tolerance via metaphors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) press media after proclaiming 2019 as the ‘Year of Tolerance’. The results revealed that various source domains are used to conceptualise tolerance, reflecting certain aspects of the Emirati culture and affecting the Emirati cultural model of tolerance. There are three types of experience working together to shape the formation of conceptual metaphors of tolerance: firstly, bodily experience which emerges from human cognitive embodiment. Secondly, this bodily experience mingles with cultural experience in the Emirati context, which suggests that embodiment is socioculturally grounded. Finally, there is linguistic experience which is inherited by its speakers as part of their cognitive and cultural heritage.
The Discourse of Migration in English-language Online Newspapers: An Analysis of Images
Authors: Schmolz Helene
Published: November 2019

This paper examines English-language online newspapers from the UK, the USA and Australia and analyses the images of news articles about migration. To do so, the newspapersThe Guardian, USA TodayandThe Sydney Morning Heraldhave been chosen and news articles collected in August 2016. The corpus consists of 650 news articles comprising about half a million of words. From these, 1,300 images have been extracted, sorted into migration- and not migration-related images and then grouped thematically. Selected and high-frequency categories are examined in more detail, example images analysed more closely, and patterns found and common characteristics are discussed. Investigating a larger image corpus is rare in discourse analysis and is still missing for migration-related issues.
Von der interkulturellen Kommunikation zur transkulturellen Praxis: Fallgestützte Analysen der muslimischen Asyl- und Spitalseelsorge
Authors: Lang Andrea , Schmid Hansjörg , Sheikhzadegan Amir
Published: November 2019

Muslimische Seelsorge bildet nicht zuletzt aufgrund der vielfältigen Hintergründe von Musliminnen und Muslimen einen zentralen interkulturellen Erfahrungsraum. Angesichts von homogenisierenden Engführungen von Interkulturalität knüpft der Beitrag an Konzepte von Transkulturalität und Transdifferenz an. Damit wird einerseits der Vermischung von kulturellen Elementen, andererseits aber auch dem Fortbestehen von Differenten und Abgrenzungen Rechnung getragen. Anhand von Beispielen aus der Praxis muslimischer Asylseelsorge wird aufgezeigt, wie sich interkulturelle Konfliktnarrative auf die Tätigkeit der Seelsorgenden auswirkten und wie diese in Abgrenzung davon eine transkulturelle Brückenfunktion wahrnehmen konnten. In einer Weiterbildung für muslimische Spitalseelsorge ging es um im Zusammenhang mit Krankheit und Tod wirksame muslimische Sinngebungen, die die Seelsorgenden entschlüsseln können, ohne sie automatisch auf die Seelsorgeempfänger zu projizieren. Abschließend wird aufgezeigt, dass muslimische Seelsorgende in der Lage sein müssen, religiöse Deutungen zurückzustellen, aber gleichzeitig auch ihre Wirkmächtigkeit und ihre konfliktgenerierende Wirkung zu erkennen. Bei allem Bemühen um interkulturelles Verstehen ist auch der Tatsache Rechnung zu tragen, dass muslimische Seelsorge selbst das Produkt einer kulturellen Hybridisierung darstellt. Von daher erweist sie sich prädestiniert dafür, eine inter- und transkulturelle Vermittlungsfunktion wahrzunehmen.