bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of CMIP6 atmospheric moisture fluxes and the implications for projections of future change in mean and heavy rainfall
Authors: Watterson Ian G. , Keane Richard J. , Dix Martin , Ziehn Tilo , Andrews Timothy , Tang Yongming
Published: July 2020

Motivated by the wide range of projections of regional rainfall (or precipitation, pr) based on the CMIP5 ensemble of global climate models, we investigate the atmospheric moisture budget of idealized rising‐CO2 (1pctCO2) simulations from 10 models submitted to CMIP6. We use the new CMIP6 standard variables, the vertically integrated eastward and northward moisture flux, and provide a multi‐model assessment of these, their convergence (conv), along with water vapour path (prw). Seasonal climatologies of a 20‐year base climate for pr, prw, flux, and conv match well those from the ECMWF's Reanalysis 5. In addition, composites ‘H’ of quantities for months in the top decile of monthly rainfall, calculated at each model grid point, produce a field of heavy rainfall, on average double that of the mean. Spatial correlation coefficients (r) between the pr and conv fields are typically .7 in each season. This rises to .9 for the corresponding H fields, due to the important link between moisture convergence and heavy rainfall. Fields of standardized change (Δ), or change per degree of global warming, were calculated. The ensemble‐mean Δpr is only weakly correlated with the base climate pr, and likewise for conv. However, the prw change is highly correlated with the base prw, pointing to the importance of the “thermodynamic” change in that variable. Globally, the net Δconv is highly correlated with Δpr, around .9. This rises to .95 for the heavy‐rain composites. Relationships between changes in pr and other components hold at grid points also, when the individual model results are correlated. Clearly, there is a dependence in the change in pr with that in conv, particularly for heavy rainfall. Assessment of a larger ensemble from CMIP6, using the new flux variables, would improve the evaluation of these processes, and potentially allow more confident projections in future rainfall changes.
Clusterin secretion is attenuated by the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin‐1β and tumor necrosis factor‐α in models of cartilage degradation
Authors: Matta Csaba , Fellows Christopher R. , Quasnichka Helen , Williams Adam , Jeremiasse Bernadette , Allaway David , Mobasheri Ali
Published: July 2020

The protein clusterin has been implicated in the molecular alterations that occur in articular cartilage during osteoarthritis (OA). Clusterin exists in two isoforms with opposing functions, and their roles in cartilage have not been explored. The secreted form of clusterin (sCLU) is a cytoprotective extracellular chaperone that prevents protein aggregation, enhances cell proliferation and promotes viability, whereas nuclear clusterin acts as a pro‐death signal. Therefore, these two clusterin isoforms may be putative molecular markers of repair and catabolic responses in cartilage and the ratio between them may be important. In this study, we focused on sCLU and used established, pathophysiologically relevant, in vitro models to understand its role in cytokine‐stimulated cartilage degradation. The secretome of equine cartilage explants, osteochondral biopsies and isolated unpassaged chondrocytes was analyzed by western blotting for released sCLU, cartilage oligomeric protein (COMP) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 3 and 13, following treatment with the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and tumor necrosis factor‐α. Release of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) was determined using the dimethylmethylene blue assay. Clusterin messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was quantified by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. MMP‐3, MMP‐13, COMP, and sGAG release from explants and osteochondral biopsies was elevated with cytokine treatment, confirming cartilage degradation in these models. sCLU release was attenuated with cytokine treatment in all models, potentially limiting its cytoprotective function. Clusterin mRNA expression was down‐regulated 7‐days post cytokine stimulation. These observations implicate sCLU in catabolic responses of chondrocytes, but further studies are required to evaluate its role in OA and its potential as an investigative biomarker.
Mixed Micelles of Surface Active Ionic Liquid (SAIL)–Octylphenol Ethoxylate: A Novel Reaction Medium for Selective Oxidation of Toluene to Benzaldehyde
Authors: Deore Tushar S. , Sadgar Amid L. , Jayaram Radha V.
Published: July 2020

Ionic liquids have been found to be suitable alternatives to volatile organic solvents in chemical transformation. Through a proper choice of cations and anions, the properties of an ionic liquid can be tuned so that it resembles an amphiphile. Such specially designed molecules are known as surface‐active ionic liquids (SAIL). Like conventional surfactants, SAIL also form aggregates in an aqueous medium. Studies show that the mixing of SAIL with conventional surfactants leads to synergistic micellization. However, very few reports are available on the application of such systems as reaction media. Present study focuses on the application of mixed micelles of 1‐tetradecyl‐3‐methylimidazol‐1‐ium bromide, ([C14mim]Br) with nonionic surfactant, Octylphenol ethoxylate with 10 moles of ethylene oxide (OPE‐10). Enhanced solubilization and selective catalytic oxidation of toluene using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant and tungstic acid as a catalyst have been studied in detail using this system.
Targeted analysis of six emerging derivatives or metabolites together with 25 common macrolides in milk using Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe extraction and ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole/electrostaticfield orbitrap mass spectrometry
Authors: Wang Jia , Ling Yun , Zhou Weie , Li Donghui , Deng Yamei , Yang Xusheng , Zhang Feng
Published: July 2020

An analytical method for the determination of six emerging derivatives or metabolites together with 25 common macrolides antibiotics in milk by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole/electrostaticfield orbitrap mass spectrometry was established. The samples were purified with optimized Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe methods. The amounts of primary‐secondary amine, C18, and sodium acetate adsorbent materials were optimized by response surface method to obtain the best purification effect. The chromatographic separation was carried out using the XBridge‐C18 (2.1 × 100 mm, 3.5 µm, Waters) column with mobile phase of acetonitrile with 0.1% v/v formic acid‐water solutions (containing 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate), separated by gradient elution. The instrument was operated in the detection mode of electrospray positive and negative ions with Full MS/data dependent MS2 acquisition mode detection, external standard method was used for quantitative analysis. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation of 31 compounds were 0.1–0.5 µg/L and 0.5–2.0 µg/L, respectively. A total of 31 compounds performed a good linearity in the range of 1 to 200 µg/L, and the correlation coefficient was greater than 0.990. The spiked recoveries in milk samples were 81.07–110.1% and the relative standard deviation was less than 5.1%. The method was successful applied to actual sample testing in the market.
Effect of different conditioning regimens on survival and engraftment for children with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis undergoing allogeneic hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation: A single institution experience
Authors: Ali Salah , Wall Donna A. , Ali Muhammad , Chiang Kuang‐Yueh , Naqvi Ahmed , Weitzman Sheila , Gassas Adam , Gibson Paul , Brager Rae , Fernandez Conrad V. , Crooks Bruce , Schechter Tal , Krueger Joerg
Published: July 2020

Background

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare hyperinflammatory immuneregulatory disorder, is a challenge in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) because of the high rate of mixed chimerism, relapse, and graft failure (GF) unless intensive myeloablative regimens are used. However, historically conventional myeloablative regimens (conv MA) are associated with high toxicity and mortality.

Procedure

We retrospectively compared transplant outcomes between three preparative regimens of varying intensities: Conv MA (n = 15), reduced‐intensity conditioning (RIC, n = 12), and a treosulfan‐based reduced‐toxicity conditioning (RTC, n = 9).

Results

Patients in the RIC cohort had a higher incidence of mixed donor chimerism and five patients (42%) developed secondary GF (P = .002) compared to the other two regimens. There was a higher incidence of veno‐occlusive disease and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in the Conv MA cohort. With the RTC regimen, there was a similar 2‐year overall survival (89, 73, and 83%; P = .87), but improved compound EFS (lack of relapse, GF, second transplant or additional donor cell infusions, or death; 89, 73, and 42%, P = .041) in RTC, Conv MA, and RIC regimen, respectively.

Conclusions

The intensity of the preparative regimen has a significant impact on outcome of HSCT for HLH. The newly described treosulfan‐based RTC provides for a stable graft with a reasonable toxicity profile.
Self‐assembled fibrillar polyethylene crystals with tunable properties
Authors: Seyhan Aybeniz , Gunaydin Beyza Nur , Polat Yusuf , Kilic Ali , Demir Ali , Avci Huseyin
Published: July 2020

Due to its simple linear chain structure, crystal morphology of linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE) fibers can be controlled to fulfill the needs of diverse advanced applications. This study presents a simple two‐step method to produce LLDPE fibers with self‐assembled fibrillar crystals and highly oriented amorphous phase. Rather than conventional melt spinning, fibers were treated in a two‐step eco‐friendly bath without drawing after extruded fibers emerge from the spinneret. Treated fibers through the baths demonstrated lower crystallinity, but significantly higher degree of crystal orientation when compared to control fibers of traditional melt spinning. Morphological analysis revealed that a unique microstructure was formed after spinning through a two‐step eco‐friendly bath. As‐spun fibers demonstrated spherulitic morphology which can be transformed into a fibrillar structure followed by post‐drawing process. Cross sectional images of the treated LLDPE fibers produced at 400 m/min showed fibrillar PE crystals which can be more dominant upon post‐drawing. After two‐step bath treatment, produced fibers need low draw ratios to exhibit high performance. Our novel modification followed by hot drawing process can manipulate internal structure with performance of PE fibers to an outstanding level of 0.35 GPa strength and 3 GPa modulus at a production speed of 400 m/min.
Fluorinated peptide biomaterials
Authors: Sloand Janna N. , Miller Michael A. , Medina Scott H.
Published: July 2020

Fluorinated compounds, while rarely used by nature, are emerging as fundamental ingredients in biomedical research, with applications in drug discovery, metabolomics, biospectroscopy, and, as the focus of this review, peptide/protein engineering. Leveraging the fluorous effect to direct peptide assembly has evolved an entirely new class of organofluorine building blocks from which unique and bioactive materials can be constructed. Here, we discuss three distinct peptide fluorination strategies used to design and induce peptide assembly into nano‐, micro‐, and macro‐supramolecular states that potentiate high‐ordered organization into material scaffolds. These fluorine‐tailored peptide assemblies employ the unique fluorous environment to boost biofunctionality for a broad range of applications, from drug delivery to antibacterial coatings. This review provides foundational tactics for peptide fluorination and discusses the utility of these fluorous‐directed hierarchical structures as material platforms in diverse biomedical applications.
In‐process rheological monitoring of extrusion‐based polymer processes
Authors: Hilliou Loic , Covas José A
Published: July 2020

Since rheology is very sensitive to the structure and macromolecular conformation of polymer systems, rheological measurements performed in situ during extrusion are attractive for monitoring the process. After introducing the concepts of in‐process monitoring during extrusion operations, the benefits of rheology for assessing filler dispersion in polymer composites, morphology development in polymer blends or the extent of chemical reaction in reactive extrusion are briefly reviewed. Then, in‐process rheological tools are reviewed. For each device, the information conveyed is detailed. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry
Investigation of a Novel Chiral S‐Shaped Auxetic Structure under Large Tensile Deformation
Authors: Meena Kusum , Singamneni Sarat
Published: July 2020

The behavior of the chiral S‐shaped structure subjected to large tensile loads in both X and Y directions is reported herein. The physical samples of stainless steel 316L are fabricated by the selective laser melting technique and experimental tests are conducted on a universal tensile testing machine. The results of tensile tests in the form of deformation patterns, tensile stress–strain curves, and Poisson's ratios are shown pictorially and graphically. The orientation of the S‐shaped structure with X‐direction loading is found to exhibit higher auxeticity over the large range of tensile loading. Nonetheless, the structure is also found auxetic when loaded from Y‐direction albeit the values of negative Poisson's ratios are not as high as of the X‐directional loading.
Antihypertensive efficacy and safety of a standardized herbal medicinal product of Hibiscus sabdariffa and Olea europaea extracts (NW Roselle): A phase‐II, randomized, double‐blind, captopril‐controlled clinical trial
Authors: Elkafrawy Nabil , Younes Khaled , Naguib Ahmed , Badr Hytham , Kamal Zewain Shimaa , Kamel Mai , Raoof Gehan Fawzy Abdel , M. El‐Desoky Ahmed , Mohamed Shanaz
Published: July 2020

Hypertension is a public health concern that needs immediate attention upon diagnosis. The demand for natural alternatives is on the rise; Hibiscus sabdariffa and Olea europaea are traditionally used for hypertension management in Egypt. In this study, we aimed to investigate the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of two doses of an herbal product of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyxes and Olea europaea leaves (NW Roselle) in Egyptian patients with grade 1 essential hypertension. We equally randomized 134 patients to receive captopril 25 mg, low‐dose NW Roselle, or high‐dose NW Roselle BID for 8 weeks. No significant decrease was found in systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure when we compared low‐dose NW Roselle and high‐dose NW Roselle to captopril (p > .05). In all groups, mean reduction in BP at 8 weeks was significant; 16.4/9.9 mmHg (p < .0001), 15.4/9.6 mmHg (p < .0001), and 14.9/9.4 mmHg (p < .0001) with captopril, low‐dose NW Roselle, and high‐dose NW Roselle respectively. In addition, low‐dose NW Roselle induced a significant reduction in the mean level of triglycerides (17.56 mg/dL; p = .038). In conclusion, NW Roselle had comparable antihypertensive efficacy and safety to captopril in Egyptian patients with grade 1 essential hypertension.
Optimization of a headspace solid‐phase microextraction‐gas chromatography–mass spectrometry procedure for odor compounds from polyolefin resin used in plastic food packaging
Authors: Han Xue , Wu Yi , Chen Genping , Wang Xiaoxue , Yuan Weiqiong , Lv Zhaolin
Published: July 2020

This research investigated the best headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) extraction conditions and used the response surface Box–Behnken trial design to optimize the parameters for the analysis of volatile compounds in polyolefin resin, which is made from powdered polyolefin resin and additives by heating processing. The results showed that when the extraction temperature was 64°C, the extraction time was 34 min, the sample weight was 2.0 g, the testing matrix was air, and the fiber type was 50/30 μm DVB/CAR on PDMS, and the number of volatile compounds in the resin pellets was the highest. The performance characteristics of the optimized method were also determined, and they showed excellent linear ranges, recovery, repeatability, detection, and quantification limits. In the resin pellets and powdered polyolefin resin, the alkane content was the highest, at 585.346 and 581.789 mg/kg, respectively. In the additives, the benzene content was the highest at 39.495 mg/kg. Compounds with odor activity values (OAVs, ratio of concentration to odor threshold) above 1.0 are considered key aroma‐active compounds. In total, 135 volatile compounds were identified, and 19 of them had an OAV above 1.0, and 4‐methyl‐octane and o‐xylene were identified as the key odorants in the resin pellets. Only one odorant, 4‐methyl‐octane, was detected in the powdered polyolefin resin. In the additives, 18 volatile compounds were identified as key aroma‐active compounds, such as octanal, nonanal, hexanol, octanol, heptanol, and decanol. The significance of this research was to furnish data to support the further study of odor abatement from food packaging materials.
Optimal inspection for randomly triggered hidden deterioration processes
Authors: Hijazy Ayman , Zempléni András
Published: July 2020

This paper deals with degradation processes whose onset is triggered at a random time and which stay hidden until they are discovered through inspection or when they begin to show symptoms. This is applicable in many healthcare and industrial scenarios, for example, in the modeling of breast cancer or termite infestation. In our model, we assume that symptoms appear after hitting a random critical threshold and that inspections may have a sensitivity less than one as well as a nonzero false positive rate. The expected cost of repair is derived, and the inspection rate is optimized for a cycle (which lasts from degradation‐free to repaired state). This gives results for three cases: the first is for a finite observation period with no degradation recurrence, the second for infinite time horizon allowing recurrence. In the third case, we derive an upper bound for the expected cost in a given constant time period. Finally, the model is applied to determine the optimal strategy for breast cancer screening with regard to the effects of different parametrizations.
The impact of robot‐assisted spine surgeries on clinical outcomes: A systemic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Li Junyu , Fang Yanming , Jin Zhao , Wang Yuchen , Yu Miao
Published: July 2020

Background

Medical robotics has enabled a significant advancement in the field of modern spine surgery, especially in pedicle screw fixation. A plethora of studies focused on the accuracy of pedicle fixation in robotic‐assisted (RA) technology. However, it is not clear whether RA techniques can improve patients' clinical outcomes.

Methods

We retrieved relevant studies that compare the differences between RA and freehand (FH) techniques in spine surgeries from the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The perioperative outcomes of this technology were measured with parameters including radiation exposure, operative time, the length of hospital stay, complication rates and revision rates. Two reviewers independently reviewed the studies in our sample, assessed their validity and extracted relevant data.

Results

Our search resulted in a sample of 23 eligible studies, which involved 1247 patients (5042 pedicle screws) in the RA group and 1273 patients (4830 pedicle screws) in the FH group. With regard to the radiation exposure, the fluoroscopy time was less in surgeries assisted by Mazor robots (standard mean difference [SMD] = −0.96, 95% CI = −1.60 to −0.31) but more in Tianji robots (SMD = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.17 to 1.66) and ROSA robots (SMD = 2.57, 95% CI = 2.01 to 3.13). For radiation dose, a decrease was observed in Tianji robots (SMD = −1.59, 95% CI = −2.13 to −1.05). In the lumbar subgroup, the use of robots increased the operative time (SMD = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.86). In the degenerative diseases (DG) group, there was a significant decrease in the length of hospital stay when robots were introduced (SMD = −0.30, 95% CI = −0.48 to −0.12). While in the DF (deformity) and DG group, a significant increase was found (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.32). The complication (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.26 to 0.66) and the revision rates (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.24 to 0.60) showed a significant decrease in the RA group compared to the conventional FH group.

Conclusions

This study suggests that RA spine surgeries would result in fewer complications, a lower revision rate and shorter length of hospital stay. As the technology continues to evolve, we may expect more applications of robotic systems in spine surgeries.
Automatic monitoring of service reliability for web applications: a simulation‐based approach
Authors: Kim Sundeuk , Suh Ilhyun , Chung Yon Dohn
Published: July 2020

With the recent development of Internet technologies, various web browser‐based applications and services, such as Google and Facebook, are provided. Although many web applications and services make life more efficient for users, they may become unavailable for various reasons. This can have substantial negative impacts on both users and service providers. 24/7/365 web services are especially critical in enterprise environments for establishing their business continuity. For this reason, real‐time service monitoring is the most vital factor for web application providers. Various methods to monitor web applications reliability have been proposed over the past years. However, existing approaches concentrate more on functional testing rather than considering the users perspective. Also, they cannot monitor web applications that rely on web browser application programming interfaces (APIs) or client programmes. In this paper, we propose a novel approach called SAM, which can pinpoint web application failures, including those that require browser APIs or client programmes. We describe the implementation of the SAM system and present the results of an empirical evaluation of a real‐world web application
Punching‐shear strength of reinforced concrete slabs subjected to unidirectional in‐plane tensile forces
Authors: Fernández Pablo G. , Marí Antonio , Oller Eva
Published: July 2020

Some reinforced concrete slabs are subjected simultaneously to concentrated loads and unidirectional in‐plane tensile forces. This the case of the top slab of a box girder bridge where hogging bending moments take place at the intermediate supports. Then, the in‐plane tensile forces may reduce the punching‐shear strength under concentrated loads. This paper describes an experimental campaign carried out to investigate the effect of unidirectional in‐plane tensile forces on the punching‐shear strength of RC slabs. A total of, five slabs (1,650 × 1,650 × 120 mm), subjected to different levels of in‐plane tensile forces were tested under a concentrated load up to failure. As observed, the punching‐shear strength diminishes almost linearly as the tensile force increases, up to a certain point associated to concrete cracking. From that point on, the reduction of punching strength is larger since the tensile force at the crack must be resisted by the reinforcement, which yields prematurely.
Development and evaluation of [125I]IPPI for Tau imaging in postmortem human Alzheimer's disease brain
Authors: Mukherjee Jogeshwar , Liang Christopher , Patel Krystal K. , Lam Phuc Q. , Mondal Rommani
Published: July 2020

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by aggregation of Tau protein into paired helical filaments causing neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in the brain. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel radioiodinated tracer, 6‐[125I]iodo‐3‐(1H‐pyrrolo[2,3‐c]pyridine‐1‐yl)isoquinoline ([125I]IPPI), for binding to Tau protein (Ki = 0.75 nM) in postmortem human brain (AD and cognitively normal (CN). Methods: Radiosynthesis of [125I]IPPI was carried out by radioiododestannylation and purified chromatographically. Computational modeling studies of IPPI and MK‐6240 binding on Tau fibril were evaluated. In vitro autoradiography studies were carried out with [3H]PIB for Aβ plaques and [125I]IPPI for Tau in AD and CN brains and evaluate drug effects. Results: [125I]IPPI was produced in >95% purity. Molecular modeling of IPPI revealed binding energies of IPPI (−7.8, −8.1, −8.2, −7.5 Kcal/mol) at the four sites were comparable to MK‐6240 (−8.7, −8.5, −8.3, −7.5 Kcal/mol). Ratio of average grey matter (GM) [125I]IPPI in AD versus CN was found to be 7.31 (p = .07) and AD GM/ white matter (WM) = 4.35 (p = .09). Ratio of average GM/WM [125I]IPPI in CN was 1.21. Binding of [125I]IPPI correlated with the presence of Tau, confirmed by anti‐Tau Dako A0024. Specifically bound [125I]IPPI to Tau in AD brains was displaced by MK‐6240 and IPPI (>90%). Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO) inhibitors deprenyl and clorgyline effected [125I]IPPI binding at >1 µM concentrations. Conclusion: [125I]IPPI exhibited high binding in human AD frontal cortex and anterior cingulate and is a suitable radioiodinated ligand for Tau imaging.
COVID‐19: biological factors in men's vulnerability
Authors: White Alan , Kirby Mike
Published: July 2020

The reasons behind the disproportionately higher number of deaths among men compared with women as a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic may not be clear for some time. Here the authors discuss some of the potential biological explanations for why men seem to succumb more readily to the deadly effects of the virus.
A urine test for bladder cancer: available soon in primary care?
Authors: di Martino Erica , Ayaz‐Shah Anam , Shinkins Bethany , Jain Sunjay , Neal Richard D
Published: July 2020

Several point‐of‐care urine tests have been developed to help identify patients who may be at higher risk of bladder cancer. Here the authors look at their potential to aid triage of patients with haematuria in primary care.
Blood Pressure-Lowering Therapy
Authors: Sudano Isabella , Osto Elena , Ruschitzka Frank
Published: July 2020

Extensive evidence demonstrates that lowering blood pressure can substantially reduce the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and death.

In light of the latest 2018 European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension Joint Guidelines, we summarize the current recommendations about lifestyle intervention strategies, pharmacotherapy, and device-based treatments for the management of arterial hypertension. Special attention is given to direct effects exerted by some antihypertensive drugs targeting vascular wall cell components that are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Thermodynamic Environment During the 2009 Burkina Faso and 2012 Nigeria Flood Disasters: Case Study
Authors: Balogun R. Ayodeji , Adefisan E. Adesanya , Adeyewa Z. Debo , Okogbue E. Chilekwu
Published: July 2020

Critical or extreme atmospheric conditions which could result in flood disasters are important output for numerical weather forecast. This research applied thermodynamic variables to investigate the environment of two flood scenarios in West Africa as captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) satellite. Results from the two case studies of flood events, in (i) Burkina Faso and (ii) Nigeria savannah, investigated in this research work, indicated that the September 1st 2009 flood, which was as a result of a single volumetric rainfall event of 408,070.60 ((mm/h)*km2) with 65% convective region in Burkina Faso, was initiated by interactions between extremely large lower tropospheric wind shear and cold pool dynamics. The case of the Nigeria savannah floods between July and September, 2012, was triggered by both continuous rainfall and release of water from the lagdo dam in Cameroon, which affected most of the communities in the river Benue axis. The continuous rainfalls were found to be as a result of extremely high convergence of moisture in the river Benue axis at different locations and periods. One of such rainfall events, as captured by TRMM satellite during September 29, 2012 in the Nigeria rainforest zone, indicated that the volumetric rainfall is 351,310.9 ((mm/h)*km2) with only 34% convective portion. From these results, it can be deduced that a combination of thermodynamic environmental variables, volume rainfall, and other satellite-derived convective parameters could provide important information for flood forecasting.
Light quark mediated Higgs boson threshold production in the next-to-leading logarithmic approximation
Authors: Anastasiou Charalampos , Penin Alexander
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We study the amplitude of the Higgs boson production in gluon fusion mediated by a light quark loop and evaluate the logarithmically enhanced radiative corrections to the next-to-leading logarithmic approximation which sums up the terms of the form $$ {\alpha}_s^n{\ln}^{2n-1}\left({m}_H/{m}_q\right) $$

α
s
n

ln

2
n
−
1

m
H

/

m
q

to all orders in the strong coupling constant. This result is used for the calculation of the process cross section near the production threshold and gives a quantitative estimate of the three and four-loop bottom quark contribution to the Higgs boson production at the Large Hadron Collider.
Magnetic quivers from brane webs with O5 planes
Authors: Bourget Antoine , Grimminger Julius F. , Hanany Amihay , Sperling Marcus , Zhong Zhenghao
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Magnetic quivers have led to significant progress in the understanding of gauge theories with 8 supercharges at UV fixed points. For a given low-energy gauge theory realised via a Type II brane construction, there exist magnetic quivers for the Higgs branches at finite and infinite gauge coupling. Comparing these moduli spaces allows one to study the non-perturbative effects when transitioning to the fixed point. For 5d $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 1 SQCD, 5-brane webs have been an important tool for deriving magnetic quivers. In this work, the emphasis is placed on 5-brane webs with orientifold 5-planes which give rise to 5d theories with orthogonal or symplectic gauge groups. For this set-up, the magnetic quiver prescription is derived and contrasted against a unitary magnetic quiver description extracted from an O7− construction. Further validation is achieved by a derivation of the associated Hasse diagrams. An important class of families considered are the orthogonal exceptional En families (−∞ < n ≤ 8), realised as infinite coupling Higgs branches of Sp(k) gauge theories with fundamental matter. In particular, the moduli spaces are realised by a novel type of magnetic quivers, called unitary-orthosymplectic quivers.
Leading fermionic three-loop corrections to electroweak precision observables
Authors: Chen Lisong , Freitas Ayres
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Future electron-position colliders, such as the CEPC, FCC-ee, and ILC have the capability to dramatically improve the experimental precision for W and Z-boson masses and couplings. This would enable indirect probes of physics beyond the Standard Model at multi-TeV scales. For this purpose, one must complement the experimental measurements with equally precise calculations for the theoretical predictions of these quantities within the Standard Model, including three-loop electroweak corrections. This article reports on the calculation of a subset of these corrections, stemming from diagrams with three closed fermion loops to the following quantities: the prediction of the W-boson mass from the Fermi constant, the effective weak mixing angle, and partial and total widths of the Z boson. The numerical size of these corrections is relatively modest, but non-negligible compared to the precision targets of future colliders. In passing, an error is identified in previous results for the two-loop corrections to the Z width, with a small yet non-zero numerical impact.
Loop operators in three-dimensional $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 fishnet theories
Authors: Wu Jun-bao , Tian Jia , Chen Bin
Published: July 2020

Abstract

In this work, we study the line and loop operators in three-dimensional $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 2 fishnet theories in detail. We construct the straight line and circular loop operators which are at least classically half-BPS. We develop a new regularization scheme at frame −1 which is suitable for the study of the fermionic BPS loops in general super-Chern-Simons- matter theories. We initialize the perturbative computation for the vacuum expectation values of the circular BPS loop operators based on this scheme. We construct the cusped line operators as well, and compute the vacuum expectation values of these cusped line operators up to two-loop order. We find that the universal cusp anomalous dimension vanishes, if we put aside the fact that the generalized potential has a double pole in the 1/ϵ expansion.
Nuclear p⊥-broadening of Drell-Yan and quarkonium production from SPS to LHC
Authors: Arleo François , Naïm Charles-Joseph
Published: July 2020

Abstract

The nuclear p⊥-broadening of Drell-Yan and quarkonium (J/ψ, Υ) production in πA and pA collisions is investigated. The world data follow a simple scaling from SPS to LHC energies, once the process-dependent color factors are properly taken into account, which allows for the extraction of the transport coefficient in cold nuclear matter. We find that $$ \hat{q}(x)\propto {x}^{-\alpha } $$

q
̂

x

∝

x

−
α

with α = 0.25–0.30. The magnitude of the transport coefficient at x = 10−2 is $$ {\hat{q}}_0=0.051\;{\mathrm{GeV}}^2/\mathrm{fm} $$

q
̂

0

=
0.051

GeV
2

/
fm
and $$ {\hat{q}}_0=0.075\;{\mathrm{GeV}}^2/\mathrm{fm} $$

q
̂

0

=
0.075

GeV
2

/
fm
qˆ0 = 0.075 GeV2/fm, whether $$ Q\overline{Q} $$
Q

Q
¯

pairs are assumed to be produced as color octet or color singlet states, respectively. The relation between nuclear broadening data and the (CT14) gluon density is also investigated.
The functional characteristics of optogenetic gene therapy for vision restoration
Authors: Lindner Moritz , Gilhooley Michael J. , Peirson Stuart N. , Hughes Steven , Hankins Mark W.
Published: July 2020

Optogenetic strategies to restore vision in patients blind from end-stage retinal degenerations aim to render remaining retinal neurons light-sensitive. We present an innovative combination of multi-electrode array recordings together with a complex pattern-generating light source as a toolset to determine the extent to which neural retinal responses to complex light stimuli can be restored following viral delivery of red-shifted channelrhodopsin in the retinally degenerated mouse. Our data indicate that retinal output level spatiotemporal response characteristics achieved by optogenetic gene therapy closely parallel those observed for normal mice but equally reveal important limitations, some of which could be mitigated using bipolar-cell targeted gene-delivery approaches. As clinical trials are commencing, these data provide important new information on the capacity and limitations of channelrhodopsin-based gene therapies. The toolset we established enables comparing optogenetic constructs and stem-cell-based techniques, thereby providing an efficient and sensitive starting point to identify future approaches for vision restoration.
Externe wissenschaftliche Evaluation der ersten Teledermatologie-App ohne direkten Patientenkontakt in Deutschland („Online Hautarzt – AppDoc“)
Authors: Sondermann Wiebke , von Kalle Christof , Utikal Jochen S. , Schadendorf Dirk , Esser Stefan , Durani Benjamin , Durani Hendrike , Jansen Martin , Brinker Titus J.
Published: July 2020

Hintergrund

Die Teledermatologie adressiert das Problem des Fachärztemangels und der oft langen Wartezeit auf einen Termin beim Dermatologen. Das Modellprojekt „Online Hautarzt – AppDoc“ ermöglicht eine schnelle anonyme fachärztliche Begutachtung und wurde am 22.10.2018 von der Landesärztekammer Baden-Württemberg als Modellprojekt für 2 Jahre genehmigt.

Ziel der Arbeit (Fragestellung)

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Präsentation der ersten realen Versorgungsdaten für die deutsche Teledermatologie im Rahmen der externen Qualitätssicherung des Modellprojektes „Online Hautarzt – AppDoc“.

Material und Methoden

Anonyme Datensätze, die zwischen dem 21.11.2018 und 01.08.2019 bei „Online Hautarzt – AppDoc“ eingesendet wurden, wurden an der Universitäts-Hautklinik Essen qualitativ und quantitativ analysiert. Zusätzlich zur Auswertung der bislang eingesendeten Datensätze wurden 100 eingesandte Fälle fachärztlich zweitbegutachtet.

Ergebnisse

Insgesamt flossen 1364 Fälle (60,4 % Männer, 39,6 % Frauen) in die jetzige erste externe wissenschaftliche Evaluation ein. In 90,3 % der Fälle war die Stellung einer Ferndiagnose möglich. Die beiden häufigsten Diagnosen waren verschiedene Ekzemformen (n = 270) und Nävi (n = 163). Fast zwei Drittel der Patienten (64,3 %) konnten rein teledermatologisch behandelt werden. Die stichprobenartige Zweitbegutachtung von 100 Fällen ergab eine Übereinstimmung der Diagnose unter Einbeziehung der Differenzialdiagnose(n) in 97 % der Fälle.

Diskussion

Die erste externe wissenschaftliche Evaluation des Modellprojektes „Online Hautarzt – AppDoc“ ergab, dass die Reduktion von räumlichen und zeitlichen Barrieren einer hautfachärztlichen Begutachtung sowie die teledermatologische Triage bislang gelungen sind.
Electricity derivatives: an application to the futures Italian market
Authors: Casula Laura , Masala Giovanni
Published: July 2020

Since the liberalization of electricity markets, electricity prices are more volatile and expansion in electricity derivatives trading occurs. Indeed, a well-known feature of electricity prices concerns its high volatility. For this reason, operators use power futures to hedge against unexpected risk deriving from adverse fluctuations of spot prices within the planned delivering period. Indeed, futures contracts permit to fix the price of electricity in advance for the use in the scheduled period. Our paper is devoted specifically to the Italian electricity market. In this respect, we examine empirical data from IDEX, the Energy Derivatives part of the Italian derivatives market IDEM, administered by “Borsa Italiana.” We finally survey the possible connections concerning futures and spot prices and, as a consequence, we deduce information about important indicators whereof the ex-post risk premium and the net convenience yield. For this purpose, we use several regression techniques to determine suitable explanatory variables inherent the Italian market for the ex-post risk premium and the net convenience yield.
Navigating Climate Adaptation on Public Lands: How Views on Ecosystem Change and Scale Interact with Management Approaches
Authors: Clifford Katherine R. , Yung Laurie , Travis William R. , Rondeau Renee , Neely Betsy , Rangwala Imtiaz , Burkardt Nina , Wyborn Carina
Published: July 2020

Managers are increasingly being asked to integrate climate change adaptation into public land management. The literature discusses a range of adaptation approaches, including managing for resistance, resilience, and transformation; but many strategies have not yet been widely tested. This study employed in-depth interviews and scenario-based focus groups in the Upper Gunnison Basin in Colorado to learn how public land managers envision future ecosystem change, and how they plan to utilize different management approaches in the context of climate adaptation. While many managers evoked the past in thinking about projected climate impacts and potential responses, most managers in this study acknowledged and even embraced (if reluctantly) that many ecosystems will experience regime shifts in the face of climate change. However, accepting that future ecosystems will be different from past ecosystems led managers in different directions regarding how to respond and the appropriate role of management intervention. Some felt management actions should assist and even guide ecosystems toward future conditions. Others were less confident in projections and argued against transformation. Finally, some suggested that resilience could provide a middle path, allowing managers to help ecosystems adapt to change without predicting future ecosystem states. Scalar challenges and institutional constraints also influenced how managers thought about adaptation. Lack of institutional capacity was believed to constrain adaptation at larger scales. Resistance, in particular, was considered impractical at almost any scale due to institutional constraints. Managers negotiated scalar challenges and institutional constraints by nesting different approaches both spatially and temporally.
Recruitment of coral reef fishes along a cross-shelf gradient in the Red Sea peaks outside the hottest season
Authors: Robitzch Vanessa , Berumen Michael L.
Published: July 2020

Knowledge on the early life history, ecology, and biology of marine species is crucial for future projections of the resilience of coral reef ecosystems and for adequate management strategies. A fundamental component of population dynamics is the recruitment of new individuals, and in some marine populations, this may be a limiting factor. Recruitment peaks of coral reef fishes commonly occur during the warmer months of the year in many subtropical and temperate locations worldwide. In the Red Sea, very little is known about the influence of temperature on reproductive patterns of coral reef fishes and studies on recruitment are missing. The Red Sea is one of the hottest and most isolated tropical seas in the world. We hypothesized that sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during the Red Sea’s hottest season may exceed the optimum for successful recruitment of some coral reef fishes, which therefore has to occur during other, cooler seasons, unlike recruitment among coral reef ecosystems around the world. We identified taxa among fish recruits by matching mitochondrial DNA sequences (using COI, commonly known as “barcoding”) and assessed potential biological and environmental drivers of recruitment. We studied three reefs located along a cross-shelf gradient for 12 consecutive months in the central Red Sea to capture seasonal changes in biotic and abiotic parameters along this gradient. Our results indicated that recruitment peaks did not occur during the hottest SSTs for most taxa, especially at the hottest inshore and mid-shelf reefs, and identified fish recruitment to be mainly and strongly correlated with the biomass of planktonic invertebrates. Moreover, temporal patterns of fish recruitment differed within and among taxonomic families among the reefs.
11-yr of coral community dynamics in reefs around Dahab (Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea): the collapse of urchins and rise of macroalgae and cyanobacterial mats
Authors: Reverter Miriam , Jackson Matthew , Daraghmeh Nauras , von Mach Christian , Milton Nina
Published: July 2020

Corals from the Gulf of Aqaba (northern Red Sea) are resilient to high temperatures and therefore this region is regarded as globally important for reef conservation. However, long-term dynamics of coral reef assemblages from the Gulf of Aqaba remain largely understudied. In this study, we analysed the change in benthic, fish and invertebrate assemblages of reefs around Dahab (South Sinai, Egypt) between 2009 and 2019. We also studied the individual trajectories of coral reef benthic categories, key invertebrate and fish species and their relationship. As site emerged as the main factor explaining the variability in coral reef communities, we identified three clusters of sites with similar assemblages. Both benthic, fish and invertebrate assemblages changed considerably at the three site clusters between 2009 and 2019. We found significant increases in fleshy macroalgae (~ 6 to 15%) and cyanobacterial mats (~ 6 to 12%) in all site clusters. Although not observing a significant reduction of hard coral cover, both macroalgae mat cover and cyanobacterial mat cover were significantly negatively related to hard coral cover and hard coral disease. Soft coral cover (mainly corals from the Xeniidae family) decreased significantly in two of the site clusters, their cover being negatively related to macroalgal and cyanobacterial cover. Significant declines in grazer urchins were observed at all site clusters, and a strong negative relationship was found with macroalgae and cyanobacterial mats cover, suggesting urchin decline as one of the main drivers behind algal increases. Different site clusters had different fish trajectories (butterflyfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish and predators), with only damselfish densities significantly decreasing at all sites. A significant decrease in damselfish densities was related to increases in cyanobacterial mats. These findings suggest that if macroalgae and cyanobacteria continue to increase, Dahab coral reefs could undergo degradation, and therefore, more studies are needed to elucidate the drivers behind these algal increases.
Granular Leidenfrost effect in microgravity
Authors: Torres Menéndez Harol , Sack Achim , Pöschel Thorsten
Published: July 2020

When a container filled with granular material is subjected to vertical vibration in the presence of gravity, under certain conditions a non-monotonous density profile can be observed. This effect which is characteristic for dissipative granular gases, was termed “floating cluster regime” or “granular Leidenfrost effect”. Here, we study the behavior of vibro-agitated granular matter in the absence of gravity and identify a corresponding stationary state of the granulate, that is, we provide experimental evidence of the granular Leidenfrost effect under conditions of weightlessness.
A multiple inflated negative binomial hurdle regression model: analysis of the Italians’ tourism behaviour during the Great Recession
Authors: Bocci Chiara , Grassini Laura , Rocco Emilia
Published: July 2020

We analyse tourism behaviour of Italian residents in the period covering the 2008 Great Recession. Using the Trips of Italian Residents in Italy and Abroad quarterly survey, carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, we investigate whether and how the economic recession has affected the total number of overnight stays. The response variable is the result of a two-stage decision process: first we choose to take a holiday, then for how long. Moreover, since the number of overnight stays is typically concentrated on specific lengths (week-end, week, fortnight) we observe multiple peculiar spikes in its distribution. To take into account these two distinctive characteristics, we generalise the usual hurdle regression model by specifying a multiple inflated truncated negative binomial distribution for the positive responses. Results show that the economic recession impacted negatively on both components of the decision process and that, by controlling for the inflated nature of the response variable’s distribution, the proposed formulation provides a better representation of the Italians’ tourism behaviour in comparison with non-inflated hurdle models. Given this, we believe that our model can be a useful tool for policy makers who are trying to forecast the effects of new targeted policies to support tourism economy.
Structuring of tactile sensory information for category formation in robotics palpation
Authors: Scimeca Luca , Maiolino Perla , Bray Ed , Iida Fumiya
Published: July 2020

This paper proposes a framework to investigate the influence of physical interactions to sensory information, during robotic palpation. We embed a capacitive tactile sensor on a robotic arm to probe a soft phantom and detect and classify hard inclusions within it. A combination of PCA and K-Means clustering is used to: first, reduce the dimensionality of the spatiotemporal data obtained through the probing of each area in the phantom; second categorize the re-encoded data into a given number of categories. Results show that appropriate probing interactions can be useful in compensating for the quality of the data, or lack thereof. Finally, we test the proposed framework on a palpation scenario where a Support Vector Machine classifier is trained to discriminate amongst different types of hard inclusions. We show the proposed framework is capable of predicting the best-performing motion strategy, as well as the relative classification performance of the SVM classifier, solely based on unsupervised cluster analysis methods.