bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Splashing of Melt upon the Impact of Water Droplets and Jets
Authors: Yakush Sergey E. , Chashechkin Yuli D. , Ilinykh Andrey Y. , Usanov Vladislav A.
Published: January 2021

Small-scale experimental studies of melt splashing upon the impact of water are presented here, with a focus on the fluid dynamics and thermal aspects of these interactions. Gravity-accelerated droplets and forced short-duration water jets interacted with liquid Rose’s alloy superheated to 100–200 degrees above its melting point. A repeatability study was performed for better-control of the gravity fall of a droplet. The amount of perturbation on the melt surface was obtained from a video recording, and indicated the existence of three principal stages of interaction. The cases using the forced water jet demonstrated the occurrence of a cumulative jet of melt following the collapse of the cavity caused by the water impact. Also, it was shown that numerous small-diameter melt droplets were scattered by the primary impulse, and small-scale micro-eruptions were observed, which generated small but fast melt droplets at the later stages of interaction.
Study on Effective Temporal Data Retrieval Leveraging Complex Indexed Architecture
Authors: Kvet Michal , Kršák Emil , Matiaško Karol
Published: January 2021

Current intelligent information systems require complex database approaches managing and monitoring data in a spatio-temporal manner. Many times, the core of the temporal system element is created on the relational platform. In this paper, a summary of the temporal architectures with regards to the granularity level is proposed. Object, attribute, and synchronization group perspectives are discussed. An extension of the group temporal architecture shifting the processing in the spatio-temporal level synchronization is proposed. A data reflection model is proposed to cover the transaction integrity with reflection to the data model evolving over time. It is supervised by our own Extended Temporal Log Ahead Rule, evaluating not only collisions themselves, but the data model is reflected, as well. The main emphasis is on the data retrieval process and indexing with regards to the non-reliable data. Undefined value categorization supervised by the NULL_representation data dictionary object and memory pointer layer is provided. Therefore, undefined (NULL) values can be part of the index structure. The definition and selection of the technology of the master index is proposed and discussed. It allows the index to be used as a way to identify blocks with relevant data, which is of practical importance in temporal systems where data fragmentation often occurs. The last part deals with the syntax of the Select statement extension covering temporal environment with regards on the conventional syntax reflection. Event_definition, spatial_positions, model_reflection, consistency_model, epsilon_definition, monitored_data_set, type_of_granularity, and NULL_category clauses are introduced. Impact on the performance of the data manipulation operations is evaluated in the performance section highlighting temporal architectures, Insert, Update and Select statements forming core performance characteristics.
Influences of Central Bouquet Alterations on the Visual Outcome in Eyes Receiving Epiretinal Membrane Surgery
Authors: Brinkmann Max Philipp , Michels Stephan , Brinkmann Carolin , Toro Mario Damiano , Johansen Nicole Graf , Rommel Felix , Ranjbar Mahdy , Becker Matthias
Published: January 2021

Background: Previous studies have shown that epiretinal membranes (ERMs) may be associated with abnormal outer retinal anatomy. However, long-term morphological and functional results of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with ERM and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling in eyes with central bouquet (CB) alterations have not yet been investigated. Methods: In a retrospective, consecutive study all patients underwent best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) testing and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) before and after a mean of 20 months (range 3–70 months) postoperatively. CB abnormalities and ERMs were classified according to Govetto’s staging systems. Results: Of the 67 eyes, 22 (34%) showed CB abnormalities at baseline. The mean BCVA increased from 0.42 at baseline to 0.20 LogMAR at final follow-up (p < 0.001). Neither ERM stage (p = 0.06) nor CB stage (p = 0.939) at baseline were significant predictors of vision improvement following surgery. Conclusions: Our results show that baseline BCVA, but not classification of CB changes and ERM at baseline, seems to be a useful predictor for functional outcomes following PPV with ERM and ILM peeling in the long-term.
Digital Workflow for 3D Design and Additive Manufacturing of a New Miniscrew-Supported Appliance for Orthodontic Tooth Movement
Authors: Cantarella Daniele , Quinzi Vincenzo , Karanxha Lorena , Zanata Paolo , Savio Gianpaolo , Del Fabbro Massimo
Published: January 2021

The introduction of digital workflows and their combination with miniscrew assisted appliances has opened new and enthusiastic perspectives in modern orthodontics. However, in all digital workflows currently in use for orthodontic tooth movement, the miniscrews are inserted first in the maxillary bone, often by means of a surgical guide, and then the appliance is fabricated and secured over the miniscrews with different fixation mechanisms. By doing so, some adaptation problems can be encountered while securing the appliance over the miniscrews, and the chairside time required can therefore be significant. In the present study, we introduce a digital workflow for the design and fabrication of a new appliance, customized on the individual morphology of maxillary bone by using patient Cone Beam Computed Tomography CBCT, for sagittal and vertical orthodontic tooth movement (DIVA, divergent anchors). Differently from the existing protocols, the appliance is cemented first intraorally, serving as a surgical guide for the subsequent insertion of miniscrews. In this way, the adaptation problems are avoided and the chair-side time is reduced.
Role of Magnetic Anisotropy on the Hyperthermia Efficiency in Spherical Fe3−xCoxO4 (x = 0–1) Nanoparticles
Authors: Das Raja , Kim Ngoc Pham , Attanayake Supun B. , Phan Manh-Huong , Srikanth Hariharan
Published: January 2021

The use of magnetic nanoparticles in the treatment of cancer using alternating current hyperthermia therapy has shown the potential to replace or supplement conventional cancer treatments, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which have severe side effects. Though the nearly spherical sub-10 nm iron oxide nanoparticles have their approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, their low heating efficiency and removal from the body after hyperthermia treatment raises serious concerns. The majority of magnetic hyperthermia research is working to create nanomaterials with improved heating efficiency and long blood circulation time. Here, we have demonstrated a simple strategy to enhance the heating efficiency of sub-10 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles through the replacement of Fe+2 ions with Co+2 ions. Magnetic and hyperthermia experiments on the 7 nm Fe3−xCoxO4 (x = 0–1) nanoparticles showed that the blocking temperature, the coercivity at 10 K, and the specific absorption rate followed a similar trend with a maximum at x = 0.75, which is in corroboration with the theoretical prediction. Our study revealed that the heating efficiency of the Fe3−xCoxO4 (x = 0–1) nanoparticles varies not just with the size and saturation magnetization but also with the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the particles.
Learning Knowledge Using Frequent Subgraph Mining from Ontology Graph Data
Authors: Lee Kwangyon , Jung Haemin , Hong June Seok , Kim Wooju
Published: January 2021

In many areas, vast amounts of information are rapidly accumulating in the form of ontology-based knowledge graphs, and the use of information in these forms of knowledge graphs is becoming increasingly important. This study proposes a novel method for efficiently learning frequent subgraphs (i.e., knowledge) from ontology-based graph data. An ontology-based large-scale graph is decomposed into small unit subgraphs, which are used as the unit to calculate the frequency of the subgraph. The frequent subgraphs are extracted through candidate generation and chunking processes. To verify the usefulness of the extracted frequent subgraphs, the methodology was applied to movie rating prediction. Using the frequent subgraphs as user profiles, the graph similarity between the rating graph and new item graph was calculated to predict the rating. The MovieLens dataset was used for the experiment, and a comparison showed that the proposed method outperformed other widely used recommendation methods. This study is meaningful in that it proposed an efficient method for extracting frequent subgraphs while maintaining semantic information and considering scalability in large-scale graphs. Furthermore, the proposed method can provide results that include semantic information to serve as a logical basis for rating prediction or recommendation, which existing methods are unable to provide.
Targeting Non-Oncogene Addiction for Cancer Therapy
Authors: Chang Hae Ryung , Jung Eunyoung , Cho Soobin , Jeon Young-Jun , Kim Yonghwan
Published: January 2021

While Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and technological advances have been useful in identifying genetic profiles of tumorigenesis, novel target proteins and various clinical biomarkers, cancer continues to be a major global health threat. DNA replication, DNA damage response (DDR) and repair, and cell cycle regulation continue to be essential systems in targeted cancer therapies. Although many genes involved in DDR are known to be tumor suppressor genes, cancer cells are often dependent and addicted to these genes, making them excellent therapeutic targets. In this review, genes implicated in DNA replication, DDR, DNA repair, cell cycle regulation are discussed with reference to peptide or small molecule inhibitors which may prove therapeutic in cancer patients. Additionally, the potential of utilizing novel synthetic lethal genes in these pathways is examined, providing possible new targets for future therapeutics. Specifically, we evaluate the potential of TONSL as a novel gene for targeted therapy. Although it is a scaffold protein with no known enzymatic activity, the strategy used for developing PCNA inhibitors can also be utilized to target TONSL. This review summarizes current knowledge on non-oncogene addiction, and the utilization of synthetic lethality for developing novel inhibitors targeting non-oncogenic addiction for cancer therapy.
Enzymatic Inhibitors from Natural Sources: A Huge Collection of New Potential Drugs
Authors: Paoli Paolo
Published: January 2021

For thousands of years, human beings have used natural products for the treatment of various types of pathologies [...]
Syntheses, Characterization, and Application of Tridentate Phenoxyimino-Phenoxy Aluminum Complexes for the Coupling of Terminal Epoxide with CO2: From Binary System to Single Component Catalyst
Authors: Zhang Zhichao , Wang Tianming , Xiang Peng , Du Qinqin , Han Shuang
Published: January 2021

A series of binuclear aluminum complexes 1–3 supported by tridentate phenoxyimino-phenoxy ligands was synthesized and used as catalysts for the coupling reaction of terminal epoxide with carbon dioxide. The aluminum complex 1, which is catalytically inactive toward the coupling of epoxide with CO2 by itself, shows moderate activity in the presence of excess nucleophiles or organic bases at high temperature. In sharp contrast to complex 1, bifunctional complexes 2 and 3, which incorporate tertiary amine groups as the built-in nucleophile, are able to efficiently transform terminal epoxide with CO2 to corresponding cyclic carbonates as a sole product by themselves at 100 °C. The number of amine groups on the ligand skeleton and the reaction temperature exert a great influence on the catalytic activity. The bifunctional complexes 2 and 3 are also active at low carbon dioxide pressure such as 2 atm or atmospheric CO2 pressure. Kinetic studies of the coupling reactions of chloropropylene oxide/CO2 and styrene oxide/CO2 using bifunctional catalysts under atmospheric pressure of CO2 demonstrate that the coupling reaction has a first-order dependence on the concentration of the epoxide.
Computer Navigation and 3D Printing in the Surgical Management of Bone Sarcoma
Authors: McCulloch Robert Allan , Frisoni Tommaso , Kurunskal Vineet , Maria Donati Davide , Jeys Lee
Published: January 2021

The long-term outcomes of osteosarcoma have improved; however, patients with metastases, recurrence or axial disease continue to have a poor prognosis. Computer navigation in surgery is becoming ever more commonplace, and the proposed advantages, including precision during surgery, is particularly applicable to the field of orthopaedic oncology and challenging areas such as the axial skeleton. Within this article, we provide an overview of the field of computer navigation and computer-assisted tumour surgery (CATS), in particular its relevance to the surgical management of osteosarcoma.
DGEMRIC in the Assessment of Pre-Morphological Cartilage Degeneration in Rheumatic Disease: Rheumatoid Arthritis vs. Psoriatic Arthritis
Authors: Abrar Daniel B. , Schleich Christoph , Frenken Miriam , Vordenbäumen Stefan , Richter Jutta , Schneider Matthias , Ostendorf Benedikt , Nebelung Sven , Sewerin Philipp
Published: January 2021

Background: Even though cartilage loss is a known feature of psoriatic (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), research is sparse on its role in the pathogenesis of PsA, its potential use for disease monitoring and for differentiation from RA. We therefore assessed the use of delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) to evaluate biochemical cartilage changes in metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints in PsA patients and compared these to RA patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 17 patients with active PsA and 20 patients with active RA were evaluated by high-resolution 3 Tesla dGEMRIC using a dedicated 16-channel hand coil. Images were analyzed by two independent raters for dGEMRIC indices and joint space width (JSW) at MCP and PIP joint levels. Results: No significant differences of dGEMRIC values could be found between both study populations (PsA 472.25 ms, RA 461.11 ms; p = 0.763). In all RA and most PsA patients, PIP joints showed significantly lower dGEMRIC indices than MCP joints (RA: D2: p = 0.009, D3: p = 0.008, D4: p = 0.002, D5: p = 0.002; PsA: D3: p = 0.001, D4: p = 0.004). Most joint spaces had similar widths in both disease entities and no significant differences were found. Conclusions: As evaluated by dGEMRIC, the molecular composition of the MCP and PIP joint cartilage of PsA patients is similar to that of RA patients, demonstrating the scientific and clinical feasibility of compositional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in these disease entities. Patterns and severity of compositional cartilage degradation of the finger joints may therefore be assessed beyond mere morphology in PsA and RA patients.
An Optimal Framework for WDM Systems Using Analytical Characterization of Refractive Index-Related Nonlinear Impairments
Authors: Irfan Muhammad , Ali Farman , Muhammad Fazal , Alwadie Abdullah S. , Glowacz Adam , Goldasz Iwona , Mielnik Ryszard , Alkahtani Fahad Salem , Khan Hidayatullah
Published: January 2021

Nonlinear effects in the optical transmission systems (OTSs) are considered as the major performance limiting factor to provide high transmission rates over ultra-long distances. As the demands for system capacity, transmission range and the number of users is increasing exponentially with the development of mobile broadband, new challenges are being faced by the backbone optical networks. Mainly, the refractive index related non-linearities (RIrNLs) need to be characterized to design an optimal OTS for error-free transmission with provision of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to support for multiple channels. This paper provides an estimation technique of RIrNLs for long-haul transmission and their treatment for different channel spacing and the number of channels in a WDM system operating frequency domain multiple in multiple out (FD-MIMO) equalizer based digital signal processing (DSP) receiver and microstrip Chebyshev low pass filter. The main focus of this work is to utilize the existing structure of OTS for RIrNLs treatment with a low cost solution. Thus, by varying the parameters of the third order dispersion parameters, group velocity dispersion parameters, phase modulation dispersion and nonlinear refractive index, the impact of RIrNLs is investigated in detail to enhance the transmission range and capacity of the current OTS. The proposed system is analyzed in terms of range of input power, fiber length and received power for OTS figure of merits including bit error rate (BER) and optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). Using duo-binary modulation, the BER achieved in this work is <10−5 till 500 km range, for maximum number of 32 channels, with 100 Gbps aggregate data rate, which shows the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed model.
Ego-Motion Estimation Using Recurrent Convolutional Neural Networks through Optical Flow Learning
Authors: Zhao Baigan , Huang Yingping , Wei Hongjian , Hu Xing
Published: January 2021

Visual odometry (VO) refers to incremental estimation of the motion state of an agent (e.g., vehicle and robot) by using image information, and is a key component of modern localization and navigation systems. Addressing the monocular VO problem, this paper presents a novel end-to-end network for estimation of camera ego-motion. The network learns the latent subspace of optical flow (OF) and models sequential dynamics so that the motion estimation is constrained by the relations between sequential images. We compute the OF field of consecutive images and extract the latent OF representation in a self-encoding manner. A Recurrent Neural Network is then followed to examine the OF changes, i.e., to conduct sequential learning. The extracted sequential OF subspace is used to compute the regression of the 6-dimensional pose vector. We derive three models with different network structures and different training schemes: LS-CNN-VO, LS-AE-VO, and LS-RCNN-VO. Particularly, we separately train the encoder in an unsupervised manner. By this means, we avoid non-convergence during the training of the whole network and allow more generalized and effective feature representation. Substantial experiments have been conducted on KITTI and Malaga datasets, and the results demonstrate that our LS-RCNN-VO outperforms the existing learning-based VO approaches.
Modeling the Conditional Distribution of Co-Speech Upper Body Gesture Jointly Using Conditional-GAN and Unrolled-GAN
Authors: Wu Bowen , Liu Chaoran , Ishi Carlos Toshinori , Ishiguro Hiroshi
Published: January 2021

Co-speech gestures are a crucial, non-verbal modality for humans to communicate. Social agents also need this capability to be more human-like and comprehensive. This study aims to model the distribution of gestures conditioned on human speech features. Unlike previous studies that try to find injective functions that map speech to gestures, we propose a novel, conditional GAN-based generative model to not only convert speech into gestures but also to approximate the distribution of gestures conditioned on speech through parameterization. An objective evaluation and user study show that the proposed model outperformed the existing deterministic model, indicating that generative models can approximate real patterns of co-speech gestures better than the existing deterministic model. Our results suggest that it is critical to consider the nature of randomness when modeling co-speech gestures.
EdgeAvatar: An Edge Computing System for Building Virtual Beings
Authors: Watkinson Neftali , Zaitsev Fedor , Shivam Aniket , Demirev Michael , Heddes Mike , Givargis Tony , Nicolau Alexandru , Veidenbaum Alexander
Published: January 2021

Dialogue systems, also known as conversational agents, are computing systems that use algorithms for speech and language processing to engage in conversation with humans or other conversation-capable systems. A chatbot is a conversational agent that has, as its primary goal, to maximize the length of the conversation without any specific targeted task. When a chatbot is embellished with an artistic approach that is meant to evoke an emotional response, then it is called a virtual being. On the other hand, conversational agents that interact with the physical world require the use of specialized hardware to sense and process captured information. In this article we describe EdgeAvatar, a system based on Edge Computing principles for the creation of virtual beings. The objective of the EdgeAvatar system is to provide a streamlined and modular framework for virtual being applications that are to be deployed in public settings. We also present two implementations that use EdgeAvatar and are inspired by historical figures to interact with visitors of the Venice Biennale 2019. EdgeAvatar can adapt to fit different approaches for AI powered conversations.
Watershed Drought and Ecosystem Services: Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Gray Relational Analysis
Authors: Bai Jizhou , Zhou Zixiang , Zou Yufeng , Pulatov Bakhtiyor , Siddique Kadambot H. M.
Published: January 2021

This study explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of drought and ecosystem services (using soil conservation services as an example) in the YanHe Watershed, which is a typical water basin in the Loess Plateau of China, experiencing soil erosion. Herein, soil conservation was simulated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), and the relationship between drought, soil conservation services, and meteorological, vegetation, and other factors since the implementation of the ‘Grain for Green’ Project (GFGP) in 1999, were analyzed using the gray relational analysis (GRA) method. The results showed that: (1) The vegetation cover of the Watershed has increased significantly, and evapotranspiration (ET) increased by 14.35 mm·a−1, thereby increasing water consumption by 8.997 × 108 m3·a−1 (compared to 2000). (2) Drought affected 63.86% of the watershed area, gradually worsening from south to north; it decreased in certain middle areas but increased in the humid areas on the southern edge. (3) The watershed soil conservation services, measured by the soil conservation modulus (SCM), increased steadily from 116.87 t·ha−1·a−1 in 2000 to 412.58 t·ha−1·a−1 in 2015, at a multi-year average of 235.69 t·ha−1·a−1, and indicated great spatial variations, with a large variation in the downstream and small variations in the upstream and midstream areas. (4) Integrating normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data into SWAT model improved the model simulation accuracy; during the calibration period, the coefficient of determination (R2) increased from 0.63 to 0.76 and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) from 0.46 to 0.51; and during the validation period, the R2 increased from 0.82 to 0.93 and the NSE from 0.57 to 0.61. (5) The GRA can be applied to gray control systems, such as the ecosystem; herein, vegetation cover and drought primarily affected ET and soil conservation services. The analysis results showed that vegetation restoration enhanced the soil conservation services, but increased ET and aggravated drought to a certain extent. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations in vegetation coverage and the response of ET to vegetation restoration in the YanHe Watershed, to verify the significant role of vegetation restoration in restraining soil erosion and evaluate the extent of water resource consumption due to ET in the semi-arid and semi-humid Loess-area basin during the GFGP period. Thus, this approach may effectively provide a scientific basis for evaluating the ecological effects of the GFGP and formulating policies to identify the impact of human ecological restoration on ecosystem services.
Differential microRNA Expression in USP8-Mutated and Wild-Type Corticotroph Pituitary Tumors Reflect the Difference in Protein Ubiquitination Processes
Authors: Bujko Mateusz , Kober Paulina , Boresowicz Joanna , Rusetska Natalia , Zeber-Lubecka Natalia , Paziewska Agnieszka , Pekul Monika , Zielinski Grzegorz , Styk Andrzej , Kunicki Jacek , Ostrowski Jerzy , Siedlecki Janusz A , Maksymowicz Maria
Published: January 2021

Background: USP8 mutations are the most common driver changes in corticotroph pituitary tumors. They have direct effect on cells’ proteome through disturbance of ubiquitination process and also influence gene expression. The aim of this study was to compare microRNA profiles in USP8-mutated and wild-type tumors and determine the probable role of differential microRNA expression by integrative microRNA and mRNA analysis. Methods: Patients with Cushing’s disease (n = 28) and silent corticotroph tumors (n = 20) were included. USP8 mutations were identified with Sanger sequencing. MicroRNA and gene expression was determined with next-generation sequencing. Results: USP8-mutated patients with Cushing’s disease showed higher rate of clinical remission and trend towards lower tumor volume than wild-type patients. Comparison of microRNA profiles of USP8-mutated and wild-type tumors revealed 68 differentially expressed microRNAs. Their target genes were determined by in silico prediction and microRNA/mRNA correlation analysis. GeneSet Enrichment analysis of putative targets showed that the most significantly overrepresented genes are involved in protein ubiquitination-related processes. Only few microRNAs influence the expression of genes differentially expressed between USP8-mutated and wild-type tumors. Conclusions: Differences in microRNA expression in corticotropinomas stratified according to USP8 status reflect disturbed ubiquitination processes, but do not correspond to differences in gene expression between these tumors.
Ethical Challenges of Using Virtual Environments in the Assessment and Treatment of Psychopathological Disorders
Authors: Parsons Thomas D.
Published: January 2021

Clinicians are increasingly interested in the potential of virtual environments for research and praxes. Virtual environments include both immersive and non-immersive simulations of everyday activities. Moreover, algorithmic devices and adaptive virtual environments allow clinicians a medium for personalizing technologies to their patients. There is also increasing recognition of social virtual environments that connect virtual environments to social networks. Although there has been a great deal of deliberation on these novel technologies for assessment and treatment, less discourse has occurred around the ethical challenges that may ensue when these technologies are applied clinically. In this paper, some of the ethical issues involved in the clinical use of novel technologies are discussed.
The Role of Social Capital in Rural Households’ Perceptions toward the Benefits of Forest Carbon Sequestration Projects: Evidence from a Rural Household Survey in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, China
Authors: Qiu Lingling , Zeng Weizhong , Kant Shashi , Wang Sen
Published: January 2021

We examined the associations between social capital and rural households’ perceptions toward social, economic, and environmental benefits of forest carbon sequestration projects by employing the proportional odds model based on data collected from a rural household survey in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, China. Results revealed that: (i) households’ perceptions toward environmental benefits are more positive than their perceptions toward economic benefits and social benefits, and their perceptions toward economic benefits are more positive than their perceptions toward social benefits; (ii) households having a good relationship with village officials have higher odds of holding more positive perceptions toward social, economic, and environmental benefits of the projects; (iii) households which are members of local associations are more likely to have positive perceptions toward benefits of the projects; (iv) households whose members are more frequently involved in village-level public events are more likely to have more positive perceptions toward benefits of the projects; (v) households having more educated household heads have higher odds of holding better perceptions toward the benefits of FCS projects; and (vi) households of Yunnan Province are less likely to express positive perceptions toward benefits of the projects. Based on the research results, we concluded that social capital is significantly and positively associated with rural households’ perceptions toward benefits of forest carbon sequestration projects. Some policy implications are provided regarding how to make use of social capital elements to shape farmers’ perceptions toward benefits of the projects for the purpose of achieving a higher level of local acceptability for and sustainability of the projects.
Laser Powder Bed Fusion Processing of Fe-Mn-Al-Ni Shape Memory Alloy—On the Effect of Elevated Platform Temperatures
Authors: Ewald Felix Clemens , Brenne Florian , Gustmann Tobias , Vollmer Malte , Krooß Philipp , Niendorf Thomas
Published: January 2021

In order to overcome constraints related to crack formation during additive processing (laser powder bed fusion, L-BPF) of Fe-Mn-Al-Ni, the potential of high-temperature L-PBF processing was investigated in the present study. The effect of the process parameters on crack formation, grain structure, and phase distribution in the as-built condition, as well as in the course of cyclic heat treatment was examined by microstructural analysis. Optimized processing parameters were applied to fabricate cylindrical samples featuring a crack-free and columnar grained microstructure. In the course of cyclic heat treatment, abnormal grain growth (AGG) sets in, eventually promoting the evolution of a bamboo like microstructure. Testing under tensile load revealed a well-defined stress plateau and reversible strains of up to 4%.
Correlation between Pathogenic Determinants Associated with Clinically Isolated Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Authors: Ouali Boimpoundi Eunice Flavie , Chiou Tsyr-Huei , Chen Jenn-Wei , Lin I-Chu , Liu Ching-Chuan , Chiang Yu-Chung , Ho Tzong-Shiann , Wang Hao-Ven
Published: January 2021

Non-typhoidal and Typhoidal Salmonella are bacterial pathogens source of worldwide and major disease burden. Virulent determinants of specific serovars belonging to non-typhoidal Salmonella have been extensively studied in different models, yet the pathogenesis of this group of bacteria and the development of clinical symptoms globally remains underexplored. Herein, we implemented microbiological and molecular procedures to investigate isolate virulence traits and molecular diversity, likely in association with disease severity. Our results show that selected clinical isolates from a tertiary referring hospital, depending on the richness of the environment and isolate serotypes, exhibited different, and sometimes controversial, virulence properties. The tested strains were susceptible to Ceftriaxone (90%) with decreasing reactivity to Trimethoprim–Sulfamethoxazole (72%), Chloramphenicol (64%), Ampicillin (48%), Gentamicin (44%), and Ciprofloxacin (2%). Disc susceptibility results partially correlated with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC); however, special attention must be given to antimicrobial treatment, as a rise in multi-resistant isolates to Trimethoprim–Sulfamethoxazole (2/38 µg/mL), Minocycline (8 µg/mL) and Ampicillin (16 µg/mL) has been noticed, with two isolates resistant to Ceftazidime (16 µg/mL). By comparison to previous molecular epidemiology studies, the variation in the gene profiles of endemic pathogens supports the need for continuous and up-to-date microbiological and molecular reports.
Management of Microbiological Contamination of the Water Network of a Newly Built Hospital Pavilion
Authors: De Giglio Osvalda , Diella Giusy , Lopuzzo Marco , Triggiano Francesco , Calia Carla , Pousis Chrysovalentinos , Fasano Fabrizio , Calabrese Giuseppe , Rafaschieri Vincenza , Carpagnano Lucia Federica , Carlucci Matilde , Gesualdo Loreto , Ricci Maria Luisa , Scaturro Maria , Rota Maria Cristina , Bonadonna Lucia , Lucentini Luca , Montagna Maria Teresa
Published: January 2021

The good installation, as well as commissioning plan, of a water network is a crucial step in reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. The aim of this study was to monitor the microbiological quality of water from a newly built pavilion before it commenced operation. Overall, 91 water samples were tested for coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella at three different times: T0 (without any water treatment), T1 (after treatment with hydrogen peroxide and silver ions at initial concentration of 20 mg/L and after flushing of water for 20 min/day for seven successive days) and T2 (15 days later). Coliforms were detected in 47.3% of samples at T0, 36.3% at T1 and 4.4% at T2. E. coli was isolated in 4.4% of the samples only at T1, while enterococci appeared in 12.1% of the samples at T1 and in 2.2% at T2. P. aeruginosa was isolated in 50.5% of the samples at T0, 29.7% at T1 and 1.1% at T2. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 8 was isolated in 80.2% of the samples at T0, 36.3% at T1 and 2.2% at T2. Our results confirmed the need for a water safety plan in new hospital pavilions to prevent the risk of waterborne diseases.
Antimycobacterial, Cytotoxic, and Antioxidant Activities of Abietane Diterpenoids Isolated from Plectranthus madagascariensis
Authors: Ndjoubi Kadidiatou O. , Sharma Rajan , Badmus Jelili A. , Jacobs Ayesha , Jordaan Audrey , Marnewick Jeanine , Warner Digby F. , Hussein Ahmed A.
Published: January 2021

Medicinal plants of the Plectranthus genus (Lamiaceae) are well known for their ethnomedicinal applications. Plectranthus madagascariensis, which is native to South Africa, is traditionally used in the treatment of respiratory conditions, scabies, and cutaneous wounds. The phytochemical studies of P. madagascariensis led to the isolation of five known royleanone abietanes, namely, 6β,7α-dihydroxyroyleanone (1), 7α-acetoxy-6β-hydroxyroyleanone (2), horminone (3), coleon U quinone (4), and carnosolon (5). The relative configuration of compound 2 was established by X-ray analysis. Compounds 1–4 showed antimycobacterial activity (Minimum inhibitory concentration for 90% inhibition, MIC90 = 5.61–179.60 μM) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Compound 4 and 5 showed comparable toxicity (Concentration for 50% inhibition, IC50 98.49 μM and 79.77 μM) to tamoxifen (IC50 22.00 μg/mL) against HaCaT cells. Compounds 1–5 showed antioxidant activity through single-electron transfer (SET) and/or hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) with compound 5 being the most active antioxidant agent. Compounds 3 and 5 were isolated for the first time from P. madagascariensis. The observed results suggest P. madagascariensis as an important ethnomedicinal plant and as a promising source of diterpenoids with potential use in the treatment of tuberculosis and psoriasis.
LED Light Quality of Continuous Light before Harvest Affects Growth and AsA Metabolism of Hydroponic Lettuce Grown under Increasing Doses of Nitrogen
Authors: Zhang Yubin , Zha Lingyan , Liu Wenke , Zhou Chengbo , Shao Mingjie , Yang Qichang
Published: January 2021

To study the effects of light quality of continuous light before harvest on the growth and ascorbic acid (AsA) metabolism of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown under relative high nitrogen level, lettuce plants grown under different nitrogen levels (8, 10 and 12 mmol·L−1) were subjected to continuous light with different red: blue light ratios (2R:1B and 4R:1B) before harvest. The results showed that the shoot fresh weight of lettuce under 12 mmol·L−1 nitrogen level was significantly higher than that under other treatments. There were no significant differences in shoot dry weight, root fresh weight, root dry weight, soluble sugar content, nitrate content and AsA content in leaves among the treatments at different nitrogen levels. The content of AsA in leaves was significantly higher than that in petioles before and after continuous light. Under the same nitrogen level, the fresh weight of lettuce under continuous light quality 4R:1B was significantly higher than that under other treatments. The content of AsA in lettuce leaves increased in different degrees after continuous light before harvest. High yield and AsA content could be obtained by 72 h continuous light with red and blue light 4R:1B at 12 mmol·L−1 nitrogen level. After continuous light, the content of AsA increased significantly due to the increase of the ratio of red light and nitrogen level, which increased the activities of L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH) and dehydroascorbic acid reductase (DHAR) involved in AsA synthesis and in the recycling of DHAR to AsA respectively.
Species Diversity of Pin Nematodes (Paratylenchus spp.) from Potato Growing Regions of Southern Alberta, Canada
Authors: Munawar Maria , Yevtushenko Dmytro P. , Palomares-Rius Juan E. , Castillo Pablo
Published: January 2021

Pin nematodes (Paratylenchus spp.) are polyphagous parasitic species with a wide host range and geographical distribution; their diversity is unknown in the potato growing region of Alberta, Canada. The present study aims to provide morphological and molecular characterization of three pin nematode species, namely P. neoprojectus, P. tateae, and a new species, Paratylenchus enigmaticus sp. nov. All of them were recovered from the potato growing region of southern Alberta. The nematodes were isolated using the sieving and flotation-centrifugation method, and their morphology was assessed by light microscopy. Molecular characterization was performed using partial 18S, D2–D3 expansion domains of the 28S and ITS ribosomal genes. This study is the first report of molecular characterization of P. tateae and P. neoprojectus, being new records from southern Alberta, and two Spanish populations of P. tateae comprising the first report of this species in Europe. The phylogenetic analysis of the 18S, D2–D3 expansion domains of the 28S and ITS ribosomal DNA regions underscores the importance of using molecular data for accurate species identification and clarifies the status of P. nanus type B and P. sheri. Moreover, our findings will be useful to determine the impact of pin nematodes on potato production in future field research.
Türkiye Fındık Bahçelerinde Yeni Bir Zararlı Tür; Meyve Pis Kokulu Böceği, Apodiphus amygdali (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
Authors: ÖZDEMİR İsmail Oğuz , TUNCER Celal , ULUCA Mansur
Published: January 2021

Bu çalışmada son yıllarda Türkiye fındık bahçelerinde gözlenen ve yeni bir zararlı tür olan meyve pis kokulu böceği, Apodiphus amygdali (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) ele alınmıştır. Zararlı polifag bir tür olup ülkemizdeki varlığı uzun zamandan beri bilinmektedir. Ülkemizin pek çok yerinde bulunmasının yanı sıra zararlının ergin ve nimfleri birçok meyve bahçesinde ve orman bitkisinde zarar oluşturmaktadır. Bu pis kokulu böcek türünün dünyada ve ülkemizde badem ve antepfıstığında zararlı bir tür olduğu bildirilmesine rağmen, fındık faunasında zararlıya dair hiçbir kayıt mevcut değildir. Çalışma 2019-2020 yıllarında yapılan deney ve gözlemlere dayanmaktadır. A. amygdali, Samsun’da farklı fındık bahçelerinde yapılan sürveylerde saptanmış ve örnekler laboratuvarda teşhis edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, A. amygdali’nin fındıkta yeni bir zararlı tür olması nedeni ile daha sonra yapılacak çalışmalara yardımcı olmak üzere tanımı, yayılışı, konukçuları, zararı ve biyolojisi ortaya konulmuştur.
VANGUARD: A Blockchain-Based Solution to Digital Piracy
Authors: Abeywardena Kavinga Yapa , Munasinghe Tharika , Jayasinghe Yasiru , Mannage Sumala , Warnasooriya Thisuri , Edirisinghe Gihan
Published: January 2021

Online pirates and Intellectual Property (IP) holders have been in perpetual war over various products like music, movies, software, etc. since the popularity of the Internet. It is estimated that the US entertainment industry loses approximately 29 billion USD every year for pirates. Online piracy has since gone from bad to worse as growing internet users and better broadband connections enable people to share large files freely over the internet. The objective of this research is to investigate the causes and enablers for online piracy in movie industry and to come up with an anti-pirating solution. The primary outcome of the study will consist of a dedicated block chain based anti-piracy system, ‘Vanguard’. This system will provide all-round piracy protection from a built-in streaming service to a component to actively look through the internet for pirated movies and torrents. This system will greatly deter the piracy of movies since the IP holders can ensure their IP rights through this system and quickly act against illegitimate distribution of their media.
Climate Change, South Asia and Southeast Asian Region
Authors: Kumar Dr. Bir Abhimanyu
Published: January 2021

It is well known that the climatic conditions of our earth have changed since its origin. In its early days environmental conditions were not suitable for life. However, with due course of time it has changed and origin of life took place. Scientists have found seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat during the last 650,000 years and also that the last ice age abruptly ended about 7,000 years ago. The phenomenon of climate change has many implications and immense effects on our environment. There are many factors such as emissions of greenhouse gases, deforestation, urbanization and industrialization which impact the climate. Some of the major consequences of climate change include impacts on sea level rise in coastal areas, impacts on forestry, agriculture and food productivity, life and property in coastal areas, marine life, wildlife habitat and natural ecosystem, biodiversity, glaciers, floods and human health. This paper is an attempt to understand the phenomenon of climate change, historical evidences of climate change, identify reasons of global warming and climate change and its consequences in the South Asia and, in its neighbouring regions.
SELECCIÓN DE ÁRBOLES Y CONVERSIÓN DE UN ENSAYO DE PROCEDENCIAS A UN RODAL SEMILLERO
Authors: Cornejo-Oviedo Eladio H. , Bucio-Zamudio Enrique , Gutiérrez-Vázquez Benito , Valencia-Manzo Salvador , Flores-López Celestino
Published: January 2021

Los objetivos del presente trabajo fueron seleccionar los mejores árboles semilleros y diseñar mediante simulación un rodal semillero, en una plantación establecida como un ensayo de tres procedencias de Pinus greggii Engelm. var. greggii: Los Lirios y Jamé, Arteaga, Coah., y Cuauhtémoc, Saltillo, Coah. En 13 años las tres procedencias no mostraron diferencias significativas en las características dasométricas evaluadas, por lo que el ensayo se puede convertir a un rodal de producción de semilla. Actualmente el ensayo cuenta con una densidad de 1246 árboles ha-1. Para la conversión a un rodal semillero se seleccionaron los árboles que producirían más semilla con base en un índice de selección que inicialmente se creó con 16 variables dasométricas, y cuyo análisis con procedimientos multivariados permitió reducirlas a siete, mismas que explicaron 84.8 % de la varianza. Mediante análisis de agrupamiento se determinaron tres grupos de árboles semilleros, grupos que se conformaron principalmente con base en datos de altura y diámetro. El diseño del rodal semillero se llevó a cabo mediante la simulación de dos fases de aclareos con el programa “Stand Visualization System” Versión 3.36. La primera fase consistió en simular la aplicación de un aclareo en el que se eliminan los árboles de menor altura y diámetro, y la última fase incluyó la aplicación de un segundo aclareo de tipo geométrico para proveer mayor espacio a los árboles semilleros residuales. Después de simular las dos fases de aclareos, la densidad del rodal semillero fue de 245 árboles ha-1. Al final sólo se dejaron en pie 35 árboles en un área de 0.1428 ha de los 178 árboles existentes en la simulación. Las simulaciones se ajustarán con base en la respuesta de crecimiento de los árboles residuales después de los aclareos simulados.
دراسة نقدية للمسؤولية التعاقدية
Authors: عجيل طارق طارق
Published: January 2021

أثار وجود المسؤولية التعاقدية إلى جانب المسؤولية التقصيرية خلافاً عميقاً في الفقه وصل إلى حد الدعوى إلى نبذ التقسيم التقليدي بين المسؤوليتين، والاكتفاء بقواعد موحدة تنظم أحكام المسؤولية المدنية، وقد تزايدت هذه الدعوات ووصلت ذروتها في كتابات الفقيه فيليب ريمي الذي دعا صراحة –وبأسلوب أخاذ – إلى إلغاء المسؤولية  التعاقدية، لذلك يجيء هذا البحث محاولة لاستعراض احدث الآراء الفقهية التي أنكرت وجود المسؤولية التعاقدية كنظام مستقل إلى جانب المسؤولية التقصيرية، وبيان مدى صحتها للاستفادة منها في تطوير نظمنا التشريعية والله الموفق.
A Comparison of Poor Relief in Norfolk and Huntingdonshire
Authors: Greenhow Prisca
Published: January 2021

This paper is an examination of poor relief practice in the parish of Mattishall, Norfolk, in the first two decades of the eighteenth century, and a comparison of Mattishall with four parishes in Huntingdonshire. The main conclusion is that, unusually for a lowland parish, Mattishall kept a very tight rein on the amount of poor relief disbursed, not allowing it to rise even at times of economic hardship. Other parishes allowed the amount paid to increase, usually by paying wage subsidies or supplementary relief and thereby bringing a large proportion of the workforce within the ambit of the Poor Law, or more rarely by effectively replacing all income for a section of the working-age population.
Tinjauan Persepsi Anak Terhadap Kekerasan
Authors: Kiling-Bunga Beatriks Novianti , Kiling Indra Yohanes
Published: January 2021

Children are a group of individuals belong in an age group that is vulnerable to various kind of negative behaviours. Neglection, abuse, and also violence are some of the negatives that often happens to children. Children’s perception of violence influences their reaction to violence itself. This paper discusses the concept of perception and also its concepts and then relate it in children’s context. Development aspects and a variety of violence were discussed in this paper. Concepts of perception were reviewed in detail by considering development tasks and also development aspects of children. Violence was looked from the global perspective by considering the type of violence that often happens to children. Factors that cause violence were carefully reviewed to help in forming an effective intervention. A good intervention should consider deeply the complexity of the violence phenomenon in children. Activists and academia who are working in this field could consider more of children’s perception to violence conceptsin doing related works.
Setia Sampai Terbukti: A Triadic Intervention in Persons With Leprosy to Improve Wellbeing and Reduce Stigma
Authors: Wutun Rufus Patty , Wijaya R. Pasifikus Christa
Published: January 2021

Persons with leprosy suffer physically, psychologically and socially. They feel punished, condemned, discarded and ostracized as the result of their stigma. We argued that leprosy management and complete healing better be done simultaneously on physiological, psychological, sociological and religious faith-spiritual levels, using triadic approach intervention. This study conducted in 2017 in Lembata District, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. 42 leprosy cases were screened through laboratory examination conducted at Damian hospital. 28 leprosy patients agreed to receive the treatment in addition to leprosy medical treatment. 14 patients refused to participate. The Leprosy intervention model successfully enhances the improvements of 24 patients’ health. Spiritual/religious values can be used as a base of a positive view on leprosy management, empowering the family and community capacity on treating leprosy. Social integration is needed to improve the wellbeing of patients both physically and psychologically. This support helps patients to cope with negative feelings and reintegrating them into communities.