bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Satellite-observed changes of surface spectral reflectances due to solar farming and the implication for radiation budget
Authors: Fan Chongxing , Huang Xianglei
Published: October 2020

Increased deployment of solar farms in the last decade is coincident with continued monitoring of surface spectral reflectances by the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometers (MODIS) aboard NASA Aqua satellite. By analyzing the surface spectral reflectances retrieved at seven MODIS shortwave bands, this study quantifies the changes of surface spectral reflectances caused by solar farms commissioned in the southwestern US. Our case study using one solar farm indicates a 20%–25% reduction of surface reflectance over the seven MODIS bands due to the solar panel installation. Radiative transfer calculation shows that such a reduction in surface spectral reflectance leads to a ∼23% decrease in the upward shortwave broadband flux at the surface and a ∼14%–18% decrease in the clear-sky reflected shortwave flux at the top of atmosphere (TOA). Though the MODIS surface reflectance retrievals can be affected by other factors such as aerosol or thin-cirrus contaminations, five out of six solar farm sites analyzed here show unambiguously detectable changes of surface reflectances due to solar panel installations. The brighter the surface is at a given MODIS band before the solar-farm construction, the larger the spectral reflectance reduction tends to be. If all the bright deserts, which occupies about 4% of the global surface, were covered with the solar panels similar to what has been studied here, the estimated instantaneous TOA shortwave radiative forcing would be no more than 1.1 W m−2.
Higher Resolution Input Image of Convolutional Neural Network of Reinforced Concrete Earthquake-Generated Crack Classification and Localization
Authors: Sadrawi Muammar , Husaini  , Yunus Jalaluddin , Irwansyah  , Abbod Maysam F. , Shieh Jiann-Shing
Published: October 2020

According United States Geological Survey, Aceh is the northwestern part in Indonesia that has been affected by numerous strong earthquakes since 2004 tsunami. These earthquakes have generated massive impact to the buildings around the area, especially for the reinforced concrete based buildings. One of the most important problems to the reinforced concrete is the earthquake-generated crack. In this study, the dataset from the normal and cracked reinforce concrete are collected by taking the normal and cracked images. Several convolutional neural network models are implemented such as LeNet based models. These models are initially applied to recognize either normal or cracked conditions. Eventually, for the last stage, the localization of the crack is visualized by imposing the original images. For the localization, this study also evaluates the relatively smaller and bigger cracks. The results show the higher input image with modified LeNet generates better results compared to the basic model in superimposing the localized crack.
Power density comparison of multi-air gap axial flux permanent magnet motor for electric vehicle
Authors: Tadjuddin M , Hasanuddin I , Fuadi Z , Mukminin A , Arief M R
Published: October 2020

Electric vehicles are a necessity now, especially in the future. The efficiency of electric vehicles continues to be improved, especially in the drive system or electric motor. One type of electric motor used in an electric vehicle that has high efficiency and power density is permanent magnet axial flux motor. This paper explains the comparison of power density on two designs of axial flux motor. A single and multi-air gap axial flux motors had been compared. The finite element method (FEM) simulation is used to determine the power and volume of those motors. The results presented that the two air gaps power density axial flux motors were 195,3 W/kg while those multi air-gap motor with four air gaps had 283.6 W/kg. The results shoes that four air-gap has a bigger power density than two air-gaps.
Analytical study vessel design of the portable patchouli oil steam boiler based on vacuum technology
Authors: Razali A , Mubarak A Z , Alkindi M , Aprilia N H , Idram I
Published: October 2020

Aceh geography is suitable for growing pogostemon cablin with high quality. Traditionally, patchouli oil extraction is carried out using distillation techniques. However, the results are unsatisfactory due to impurities substances presence in the boilers. High energy wastage is common in the traditional distillation technique process due to improper vessel design. The study aims to design and rate the vessel of portable distillate patchouli oil based on vacuum technology. The simplified vessel design and proposed vessel design were then tasted to find a proper design with respect to ASME boilers and pressure-related VIII Vessel Code. However, internal and external pressure employed in both design and operation, given that the simplified model is 56.91 MPa and Sa is 116 MPa. The vessel design is yield to proposed model stress (Kmean) ≤ Sa Kmea is 86.13 MPa and Sa is 116 MPa. The analytical calculation and simulation results show that von-mises stress is less than the allowable stress material.
Desorption properties of mechanically milled MgH2 with double catalysts Ni and SiC
Authors: Rahwanto A , Jalil Z , Akhyar  , Handoko E
Published: October 2020

The study of the MgH2 double-catalyzed Ni and SiC based storage system has been done. The objective of this study is to improve the hydrogen desorption temperature and the hydrogen desorption capacity. The material preparation was done through mechanical alloying technique. In this method, the milling of the material was carried out within 5 hours, 10 hours and 15 hours, with the ratio of the ball to the powder was and the speed of 350 rpm with the catalyst insertion catalyst by 5 wt% and 10 wt% SiC. Results from XRD measurements revealed that the sample was successfully reduced to a nanocrystal scale. The phase emerging from the XRD observation is the phase MgH2 as the main phase and followed by Ni and SiC phase as the minor phase. From the observation with SEM showing irregular particle shape, the particle size in the sample is not homogeneous because of the agglomeration effect and cold welding that causes the particle size to look large. The hydrogen release capacity was obtained in the samples which were milled for 10 hours at the weight of 5 wt% Ni-SiC catalyst with the release of 2.6 wt%. Based on observation with thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), the lowest temperature was obtained in the samples which were milled 10 hours with catalyst 5 wt% SiC, which was 365 °C.
Body Segment Dimensions of Indonesian Male Army
Authors: Iqbal M. , Salam R. , Hasanuddin I. , Hassan A. B.
Published: October 2020

The paper discusses the size of six body segments of the Indonesian Male Army, i. e. stature, leg length, chest depth, chest width, spine length and shoulder high. The particular body segments were believed as the most important body part that related to the strength and load handling capability of humans as reported by researchers. Two hundred and sixty-eight (268) male soldiers have participated as the subjects of this research. The size of the body segments and the body weight were measured by using measuring tape, Martin type anthropometer and digital body weighing scale. The result was analysed to observe the significance of the data as well as to determine the mean, standard deviation, 5th percentile and 95th percentile of the data. The comparison of the mean stature with Indonesian male students and male army of other countries was discussed in the paper. In future research, the result of this study will be used to predict the load handling capability of the Indonesian male army using the biomechanics method.
Economic study in simulating 5 MWp solar farm planning with 2 technologies under Indonesia Feed-in Tariff in Weh Island-Aceh, Indonesia
Authors: Rahmawati S , Iqbal M , Sara I D
Published: October 2020

Up to now in Weh Island-Aceh, the power energy used comes from the Diesel Power Plant (PLTD) only, where the cost of this electricity production (BPP) reached more than Rp 2,500/kWh. This price is currently higher than the requirement set by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Rp 1,733/kWh. Because of these significant differences, special attention is needed to examine the natural resources that can be converted into electrical energy with the aim that the energy offered can reduce the price of electricity production. The purpose of this research is to conduct a study that analyses the economic feasibility of investment by considering all economic aspects using HOMER Software. The result shows that the overall value of an investment with Indonesia’s feed-in tariff is feasible. The cost of energy production with si-mono and si-poly technologies was Rp 1,051/kWh and Rp 914/kWh respectively. By the capacity of 5000 kWp, return on investment (ROI) can occur in 10.73 years with si-mono technology and in 8.87 using si-poly technology from 25 years of the current system period. Using the Bank’s interest rate of 5.25%, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is considered feasible to apply because these two technologies illustrated the greater number than the general bank interest rate prevailing in Indonesia.
Cyber Security Issues for IoT based Smart Grid Infrastructure
Authors: Ouaissa Mariya , Ouaissa Mariyam
Published: October 2020

We have been witnessing for several years the increasing networking of objects of all kinds that were not previously used to communicate. These newly connected objects together form the concept of Internet of Things (IoT). The energy sector is currently exploring the possibilities offered by the Internet of Things. However, for this sector, network intelligence is not a completely new phenomenon. The electrical networks already have information retrieval capacities for their monitoring and control, but these are still limited. The meeting of IoT and Smart Grids opens the way to data collection from all points of the network and in real time. Certain data previously collected in an aggregated manner over large geographic areas could now be collected on a local scale, near production or transmission points, and at a reasonable cost. It is also the massive accumulation of this data and its processing that is possible today. The smart grid is a network for the transport and distribution of electricity that is enhanced by capacities in terms of digital control, surveillance and telecommunications. It provides a two-way, real-time exchange of energy and information between the various players in the electricity chain, from the production site to commercial, industrial and residential users. The energy transition and the new smart grids raise many challenges in terms of industrial cybersecurity. Digital exchanges are intensifying (production, distribution and consumption are interconnected) and the use of connected objects (facilitating remote monitoring, observation and control of the entire value chain) increases the degree of vulnerability of information systems industrial. The cybersecurity of smart grids is today a decisive element in ensuring global security of our global energy systems. The purpose of this work is to present a comprehensive overview of challenges, threats and some solutions of security in IoT based smart grid. We focus in our study in network vulnerabilities, security requirements and cyber-attacks in smart grid in order to determine their impact in the network and give a guide on future research directions for cyber-security in smart grid applications.
Simultaneous and Incremental Approach for Optimal Placement and Sizing of Multiple Distributed Generations in Distribution System for Minimization of Power Losses
Authors: Godha (Dagade) Nisha R , Bapat Vishram N , Korachagaon Iranna
Published: October 2020

Several benefits have been obtained through integration of distributed generation in distribution systems. These advantages include reducing power losses, improving voltage profiles, and many more. These advantages can be accomplished and improved by optimizing the size and location of dispersed generations in the system. This paper introduces simultaneous and incremental approach using genetic algorithm for placement of multiple distributed generations to reduce power losses while keeping the network voltage profiles within specified limits. The algorithm is tested on IEEE 33-bus system and an Indian 85-bus system. It is clearly observed that, the proposed approaches provide optimal deployment of multiple distributed generations which reduces power losses and improves voltage profile.
Minimization of Power Factor Penalty Charges for Non-Linear Domestic Loads with IOT Technology
Authors: Anton Amala Praveen A. , Muthu Kumaran M. , Nazar Ali A. , Premkumar K.
Published: October 2020

This Paper is dealt about the Power factor plays a major role for improving the quality of the power supply and also used to measure the system’s power efficiency. Existing solution is for automatic correction of power factor and it does not provide an information about load causing poor power factor. In proposed system, the status of domestic load are monitored and it intimate the power factor range of the concern load utilization. By using Microcontroller Arduino IDE, Developing a program for calculation action for the project is to dumped in it. The simulation results were obtained using the Proteus software and the penalty charge for the different power factor values was obtained using the program dumped in the Arduino Uno controller. The power factor range of the concern loads utilization was intimated to the consumer through IoT.
Solar Energy Application in Indian Irrigation System
Authors: Kanna R Rajesh , Baranidharan M , Raja Singh R , Indragandhi V
Published: October 2020

The electricity deficit and high diesel costs influence the pumping needs of urban water supply and irrigation; hence, the use of solar power for water pumping is a viable alternative to traditional water pumping systems dependent on grid power and diesel. In recent decades, attention has been given to clean and renewable energies from the vast majority of countries’ priorities in the environmental and economic sectors. Agricultural sector is backbone of Indian economy as population increases demand of water also increases. Extract and transfer of water to agriculture and drinking is equals high-energy consumption. One of the best solutions is to use of an abundant and almost free solar energy to supply energy in all sectors, especially the irrigation sector. In the growth period of crops, when irrigation is often required, there are a high of solar radiation comes from the sun. This study shows that in India, like many other developing countries, the weakness of using this important source, the program of converting solar energy, and photovoltaic pumping systems use. This paper summarizes solar energy development and its application in the irrigation system and comparing them with the conventional diesel pumps. The expected results of this paper are to encourage the politicians, statesmen, and professionals to planning and policy-making the use of the green energy industry in the water sector that could pump water to the villages and agriculture and jump in the energy sector to the economic and Sustainable development.
Performance analysis of solar updraft tower using Ansys fluent
Authors: Anilkumar G , Krishna G R , Brahmendra Kumar G V , Palanisamy K
Published: October 2020

The solar updraft tower (SUT) is a renewable energy power plant design concept for generating electricity by utilizing convective air flow due to low temperature heat absorption from incoming solar radiation. A parametric study on the performance power output of the SUT at various canopy angles and different insolation levels were carried out to investigate the relationship between them with respect to key parameters i.e. in terms of updraft tower velocity, temperature, pressure and height to choose turbine position for maximum air velocity absorption and energy conversion using Ansys-fluent software version 15 for analysis. The results obtained were analyzed comparatively to draw conclusions. The results identified using simulation software mentioned above were validated with earlier results and identified significant improvement in the power generated at various collector angles, when compared with the earlier works on SUT.
A novel IOT based domestic automation system for load monitoring and efficient control
Authors: Sankara Subramanian A T , Priyadharsini S , Palaniyappan S , Nazar Ali A
Published: October 2020

Home and industrial automation are really relevant as it offers flexibility and allows things easy to use. Wireless home automation control is built and deployed using Wi-Fi technologies to monitor specific home appliances with essential protection and also to secure the network. Devices installed in each room have their own work boards attached to the personal computer or mobile devices through the control panel and the user may be aware every day of their energy use by sophisticated tracking methods. The suggested method is also very beneficial for users in managing their electricity consumption and effective load management may also be carried out.
Case study: Solar electric vehicles in India.
Authors: Prajapati Mamta L , Gundaliya P J , Sheth Anal
Published: October 2020

Over exploitation of fossils fuel to meet humans luxurious in present day life has created imbalance in the ecosystem so to have a balance “Green revolution” is required. It means that there is need of using renewable energy resources instead of non-renewable energy which do not harm the environment and also does not contribute in increasing carbon footprint. In context to this each and every sector in the world is adopting alternative resources (renewable energy) to reduce somehow the degradation of environment so that the ecosystem can be balanced and healthy livelihood is achieved. Seeing the condition of the global environment many researchers are attempting to find technological advances which can efficiently transform this renewable energy into mechanical energy in that they have succeeded India has abundance of resource of renewable energy; amongst them solar energy is available with minimum limitation and in abundance. If transportation sector shifts to renewable energy utilization, a good amount of green house gases(GHG) can be minimized. This paper exemplifies the cases of solar electric vehicles including solar cars, solar e–rickshaws, solar tricycles, solar buses and solar vans, that have been successfully implemented in India. These examples demonstrate that the solar electric vehicles can transform a future scenario on a larger scale for India and also other countries.
Battery modelling and state of charge estimation methods for Energy Management in Electric Vehicle-A review
Authors: Singirikonda Srinivas , Obulesu Y P
Published: October 2020

To reduce global warming, the Electric Vehicles (EV) are more attracting Worldwide for replacement of conventional IC engine vehicle but the main problem is driving range and the cost of EV is very high compared to a conventional vehicle. The driving range is mainly depending on the type of battery and size of the battery pack used in EV, for long driving range more number of batteries are required which automatically increase the weight and cost of EV. An effective battery management system will increase battery life and driving range of the EV with less number of batteries. In battery management system of EV the battery is major component but battery is costly and managing power of the battery is very much essential in EV technology. Majority of the issues can be solved by developing advanced battery management system (BMS) in EV such as, Battery modelling, accurate battery state of charge and state of health estimation, which can provide an exact driving range of EV and charging/discharging strategies work more effectively. This review paper mainly focuses on different battery modelling techniques and existing battery SOC estimation methods, issues and challenges.
Modelling and control of electric scooter driven by induction motor
Authors: Aishwarya M , Brisilla R M
Published: October 2020

This paper presents the modelling and control of electric scooter driven by single-phase Induction motor drive. Single-phase induction motor is employed for this design due to lower cost and little maintenance, although a complex inverter is needed for the vehicle drive system. This paper proposes an integral sliding motor controller and pole placement controller to improve the overall performance of the electric scooter system. The stability of the system using the proposed control strategies are validated with and without disturbances. The proposed controller is validated through MATLAB simulations.
A Review on Power Electronics and Drives in Electric Propulsion System
Authors: Shivam Saurabh , Singh Rohan , Raja Singh R. , Sitharthan R
Published: October 2020

This era is the part of the fast-growing world and it is thriving more in the field of advancement of technology. Power electronics and drives are one of the major fields that is getting updated every day. Due to increased power generation capacity, improved power qualities, increased automation, and improved capabilities, the electric propulsion has replaced mechanical propulsion. Similarly, the variable speed motors have replaced transverse motor starters to save energy and reduce load instability. With the detailed structure and working of the marine electric propulsion system, this paper focus on reviewing about the various power electronic devices and converter configurations that are used in marine applications, specifically in the propulsion system. Moreover, the detailed assessment of different motor and drive schemes employed in propulsion system is carried out. Further, the review will shift its centre towards controlling drives, which includes various control strategies and control techniques.
Classification and prediction of social attributes By K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm with Socially-aware wireless networking-A study
Authors: Krishanmoorthy Sujatha , Han Bingxu , Zhang Huimin , Chai Yunsheng , Cheng Nuo
Published: October 2020

In this paper, we analyze the data which was collected from SIGCOMM 2009, where 76 users were taken part in and traces of Bluetooth encounters, opportunistic messaging, and social profiles of them were collected. The experiment started by conducting a the data sorting and data cleaning. In data processing, mainly three main types of characteristic data in the dataset: message, proximity and participant were chosen. After that, Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied on the processed data, which can score the selected segments by similarity measurement, and then form and visually describe the hierarchical structure of these selected clusters. T can either be manually set or a machine language algorithm can be used and here the manually number of categories are set to be 3 after applying the fviz_nbclust function for optimal clustering analysis. As this was a study article five different calculation methods were analyzed to accomplish hierarchical clustering: single linkage, complete linkage, median distance method, UPGMA and Centroid Clustering. The comparison is deployed iwith a simulation tool and the results are plotted. After the clustering algorithms, the participants are divided into three categories, and for each clustering algorithm the divisions are different. In this regard, k-nearest neighbor classification algorithm is used to calculate the error rate of comparison between the original data and the predicted data. To conclude, Our method results in specific label classification and then analyze the strength of nodes and the tightness between nodes via the KNN algorithm.
Performance Improvement of ZSI Based PMS Motor Drive System for Electric Vehicles
Authors: Karunamoorthy B , Ramprabu J
Published: October 2020

In traction system the choice of motor is very important, multipurpose motors are available in the market. By considering the motor parameter like high power to weight ratio, high torque to current ratio with that high efficiency and robustness. Owing all the advantages the motor chosen is PMSM (Permanent magnet synchronous motor) for the variable speed modern drive which is most widely used in EV’s (Electric vehicle and in Hybrid electric vehicle). Without weakening the field by controlling the DC-link voltage the PMSM machine can run at high speed by implementing ZSI to the drive system. Z source inverter working principle and modulation method is discussed in this study. By considering the Limitation of Maximum voltage and available line current a new Vector control scheme is developed for PMSM drive voltage boosting. At last the proposed system implementation effectiveness and reliability is tested by several simulation and experimental results.
Design & Stability Analysis of Vehicle Suspension System
Authors: Saranraj R , Subajayasri J , Persey J , Nikila R , Balasubramanian SP
Published: October 2020

This exploration depends upon the attestation of the parameters and fragmentary sales PID controllers anticipated vehicle suspension framework. From the beginning, without considering dynamic suspension, introduction of uninvolved suspension layout for various wheel load were recorded and introduced on utilizing an exchange furthest reaches of the framework. As the examination subsequent to assessing the exhibition of old style PID controller, fragmentary request PID controller was applied that improves presentation of old style controller. Thus, variables of the controller were additionally acquired on utilizing a similar improvement calculations. In this paper, street had been demonstrated with sinusoidal (street includes slope) or arbitrary changes, i.e. a saw tooth signal. Execution results were shown that introduction of fragmentary solicitation PID controller is inconceivably improved than normal PID controller.
SVM Based Reduction of Input Current Harmonics in Three Phase Rectifier
Authors: Kesavan T. , Sheebarani Gnanamalar S. , Sivaranjani S. , Gomathy V. , Radhakrishnan G. , Sitharthan R.
Published: October 2020

Current Scenario of power system engineering field is facing problem of harmonics in voltage and current. In power converter harmonics are mainly disturb the stability of voltage and current in uncertainty of load and transient. This paper proposes space vector modulation based analysis of input current in 3 phase converter. Harmonics in input current in converter is a big challenge of power Electronics research. In power converters non-linear load are one of the reason for increasing the harmonics in electronic circuits. Modified space vector modulation is proposed for reducing the harmonics in 3 phase converter and also control the total harmonic distortion. Matlab simulink software is used to simulate and analyse the 3 phase converter and SVM is modelled for above converter. In this propose method THD of input current harmonics has reduced below 5 percentages and compared with IEEE standard.
Practice-Centered Pluralism and a Disjunctive Theory of Art
Authors: Hazelwood Caleb
Published: October 2020

In this paper, I argue that ‘art’, though an open concept, is not undefinable. I propose a particular kind of definition, a disjunctive definition, which comprises extant theories of art. I co-opt arguments from the philosophy of science, likening the concept ‘art’ to the concept ‘species’, to argue that we ought to be theoretical pluralists about art. That is, there are a number of legitimate, perhaps incompatible, criteria for a theory of art. In this paper, I consider three: functionalist definitions, procedural definitions, and an intentional-historical definition. The motivation for this pluralism comes from an analysis of practice, because the term is of apparent value to practitioners. However, a closer analysis of the concept reveals that, while disjunctive definitions help us to understand how we use certain terms (in other words, their pragmatic value), they lack ontological import. In sum, I attempt to glean lessons from the philosophy of science about the philosophy of art. If my analysis is correct, we ought to be eliminative pluralists about art as a concept.
Residual immune response towards decellularized homografts may be highly individual
Authors: Ebken Johannes , Mester Nils , Smart Isabel , Ramm Robert , Goecke Tobias , Jashari Ramadan , Böthig Dietmar , Horke Alexander , Cebotari Serghei , Tudorache Igor , Avsar Murat , Bobylev Dmitry , Haverich Axel , Sarikouch Samir , Hilfiker Andres
Published: October 2020

OBJECTIVES

Decellularized homograft valves (DHVs) have shown promising clinical results, particularly in the treatment of congenital heart disease. However, DHV appears to elicit an immune response in a subset of young patients, indicated by early valve degeneration. As the decellularization process is quality controlled for each DHV, we hypothesized that there may be residual immunogenicity within the extracellular matrix of DHV.

METHODS

A semi-quantitative dot blot analysis was established to screen for preformed recipient antibodies using secondary anti-human antibodies. Fifteen DHV samples (7 aortic, 8 pulmonary) were solubilized and exposed to serum from 20 healthy controls.

RESULTS

The sera from young controls (n = 10, 18–25 years) showed significantly stronger binding of preformed antibodies than sera from older individuals (n = 10, 48–73 years). The difference between the means of arbitrary units was 15.1 ± 6.5 (P = 0.0315). There was high intraindividual variance in the mean amounts of arbitrary units of antibody binding with some healthy controls showing >10 times higher antibody binding towards 2 different DHV. The amount of preformed antibodies bound to DHVs was higher in aortic than in pulmonary DHVs. The mean number of antibody binding (in arbitrary units) was 17.2 ± 4.5 in aortic and 14.5 ± 4.7 in pulmonary DHV (P = 0.27). The amount of preformed antibodies bound to pulmonary DHVs was statistically significantly higher in the sera of healthy males (n = 10) than in the sera of healthy females (n = 10). The mean number of arbitrary units was 17.2 ± 4.2 in male and 11.7 ± 5.3 in female sera (P = 0.036). Antibody binding to aortic DHV was also higher in males, but not significant (18.8 ± 5.0 vs 15.6 ± 4.0). Blood group (ABO) incompatibility between the serum from controls and DHV showed no impact on antibody binding, and there was no age-related impact among DHV donors.

CONCLUSIONS

Residual immunogenicity of decellularized homografts appears to exist despite almost complete cell removal. The established dot blot method allows a semi-quantitative assessment of the individual immune response towards extracellular DHV components and potentially the possibility of preoperative homograft matching.
Responsible Business Conduct and State Laws: Addressing Human Rights Conflicts
Authors: Griffith Arianne , Smit Lise , McCorquodale Robert
Published: October 2020

The business and human rights framework is based on pillars in which states should act to protect against the human rights impacts of business enterprises and the business enterprises should act in ways that do not lead to human rights impacts. Yet there is a gap in this framework in situations where a business enterprise may be willing to act but faces challenges in doing so due to the laws and practices of a state in which it operates. This international framework nevertheless places an expectation on businesses that they should still respect international human rights law as far as possible in these circumstances. No methods are offered for how this can be done in any coherent manner. This makes it very difficult for business enterprises, regulators and civil society to determine the type of compliance required. In this article, we explore this gap in the international framework and, based on empirical research, offer ways in which it can be closed. We propose a typology to assist in understanding the different conflicts between business practices and state laws that may occur, and recommend methods as to how to deal with these conflicts.
Ten principles for data sharing and commercialization
Authors: Cole Curtis L , Sengupta Soumitra , Rossetti (née Collins) Sarah , Vawdrey David K , Halaas Michael , Maddox Thomas M , Gordon Geoff , Dave Trushna , Payne Philip R O , Williams Andrew E , Estrin Deborah
Published: October 2020

Digital medical records have enabled us to employ clinical data in many new and innovative ways. However, these advances have brought with them a complex set of demands for healthcare institutions regarding data sharing with topics such as data ownership, the loss of privacy, and the protection of the intellectual property. The lack of clear guidance from government entities often creates conflicting messages about data policy, leaving institutions to develop guidelines themselves. Through discussions with multiple stakeholders at various institutions, we have generated a set of guidelines with 10 key principles to guide the responsible and appropriate use and sharing of clinical data for the purposes of care and discovery. Industry, universities, and healthcare institutions can build upon these guidelines toward creating a responsible, ethical, and practical response to data sharing.
Forecasting VIX Using Filtered Historical Simulation
Authors: Jiang Yushuang , Lazar Emese
Published: October 2020

We propose a new VIX forecast method using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity models based on the filtered historical simulation put forward in Barone-Adesi, Engle, and Mancini (2008). The flexible change of measure accommodates for non-normalities such as negative skewness and positive excess kurtosis. We present an application for four well-established volatility indices (VIX9D, VIX, VIX3M, and VIX6M). Our results show that our proposed estimation method outperforms the Normal-VIX model of Hao and Zhang (2013) both in-sample and out-of-sample. Furthermore, the use of volatility indices reduces the computational burden significantly compared to the options-based pricing method.
Triage Decisions in the Context of COVID-19: Old Burden, New Challenge—The Structured Approach for Intensive Care Unit Triage (SAINT) Protocol
Authors: Jänig Christoph , Forklage Roger , Gurney Jennifer M , Groth Robin , Wirth Christine , van de Krol Hendrik , Schmidbauer Willi , Güsgen Christoph
Published: October 2020

Introduction

The medical treatment facilities (MTF) represent the equivalent of the healthcare system in the home countries, but they face the limitations of an outpost at the end of the supply chain. The capabilities are limited, and the necessary effort to extend the treatment capacity is tremendous.

Algorithms based on scientific evidence or at least profound medical expertise are a tool to facilitate the decision-making process in triage under difficult circumstances. The aim of this article is to present a protocol that regards the specific entities military MTF abroad have to deal with in context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and Methods

To prepare our own health system within the Resolute Support mission, an interdisciplinary team of consultants and nurses located at the multinational role 2E, Camp Marmal, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, individually reviewed medical databases and the current literature concerning triage on intensive care units. The identified literature was evaluated by all authors. In the next step, an adapted flow chart for triage on intensive care unit in MTF abroad was set up on the basis of existing triage tools found in the reviewed literature.

Results

The authors created the “Structured Approach for Intensive Care Unit Triage (SAINT)” protocol. It is an approach that fits to the specific entities (e.g., limited medical resources in the whole system, limited intensive care unit capabilities for long-term stay or organ replacement therapy, etc.) that determine the framework of the special military health system abroad.

Conclusions

The presented triage protocol may be a tool for medical personnel to facilitate the difficult task of triaging. It provides guidance along patient-centered criteria like individual medical, ethical, and legal issues while taking into account the available resources. Future studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of the SAINT protocol.
Migration of Broken Dental Needle Through the Internal Jugular Vein in the Parapharyngeal Space
Authors: Teixeira Jeffrey C , Adidharma Lingga , Coppit George L , Cardoni Wayne
Published: October 2020

Accidental broken dental needles during dental blocks have become a rare occurrence but still occur. Although the treatment for such occurrence is controversial, an increasing body of literature demonstrates that migration of such needles is possible. In this case, we report on a 48-year-old male with migration of a broken dental needle from an inferior alveolar block. Over the course of 2 years, we demonstrated radiological documentation of the course of migration with penetration of the internal jugular vein at the jugular foramen which was subsequently successfully retrieved through a transcervical approach without neurovascular injury. This case is unique given the location of migration to the skull base as well as radiologically documented time course. Furthermore, it highlights the need for prompt retrieval of broken dental needles given the high potential of migration and injury to neurovascular structures.
A Survey of Energy Drink Consumption and Associated Adverse Effects in Air Force Personnel
Authors: Milazzo Nicholas A , Cao Diana X , Diwaker Gunjeeta , Thornton Jennifer A , Shah Sachin A
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Energy drinks are an increasingly utilized beverage and are gaining popularity in recent years. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) represents a unique population where energy drink consumption may be higher than the general population. To better understand the safety and health impact of energy drinks, this large-scale comprehensive survey was conducted to study energy drink consumption patterns and its associated adverse effects.

Materials and Methods

A survey was conducted across 12 USAF installations to assess self-reported energy drink consumption and adverse effects in the military population. This study was approved by the David Grant USAF Medical Center Institutional Review Board.

Results

A total of 9,655 participants participated in the survey. Energy drink consumption was reported in 76.7% of the participants, with 12.0% consuming ≥1 energy drink per day. Male gender, younger age, and enlisted military members are more likely to be high consumers; 58.6% of participants reported having at least once tried a premixed beverage that combines alcohol, caffeine, and other stimulants. Among energy drink users, 60.0% reported experiencing ≥1 adverse effect, and 0.92% reported needing to see a physician or going to the emergency department because of adverse effects from energy drinks. Higher energy drink or premixed combination beverage consumption frequency was associated with increased likelihood of physician or emergency department visits (P ≤ 0.002 for both).

Conclusion

Approximately three in four USAF members reported ever consuming an energy drink. Caution should be exercised on the amount of energy drink consumed to limit the risk of serious adverse effects. Future studies should identify populations at greatest risk for adverse effects and alternative sources of energy maintenance to attain optimal mission readiness.
Evidence for metallicity-dependent spin evolution in the Kepler field
Authors: Amard Louis , Roquette Julia , Matt Sean P
Published: October 2020

A curious rotation period distribution in the colour–magnitude–period diagram (CMPD) of the Kepler field was recently revealed, thanks to data from Gaia and Kepler spacecraft. It was found that redder and brighter stars are spinning slower than the rest of the main sequence. On the theoretical side, it was demonstrated that metallicity should affect the rotational evolution of stars as well as their evolution in the Hertzprung–Rüssel or colour–magnitude diagram. In this work, we combine this data set with medium- and high-resolution spectroscopic metallicities and carefully select main-sequence single stars in a given mass range. We show that the structure seen in the CMPD also corresponds to a broad correlation between metallicity and rotation, such that stars with higher metallicity rotate, on average, more slowly than those with low metallicity. We compare this sample to theoretical rotational evolution models that include a range of different metallicities. They predict a correlation between rotation rate and metallicity that is in the same direction and of about the same magnitude as that observed. Therefore, metallicity appears to be a key parameter to explain the observed rotation period distributions. We also discuss a few different ways in which metallicity can affect the observed distribution of rotation period, due to observational biases and age distributions, as well as the effect on stellar wind torques.
Amalgams: data-driven amalgamation for the dimensionality reduction of compositional data
Authors: Quinn Thomas P , Erb Ionas
Published: October 2020

Many next-generation sequencing datasets contain only relative information because of biological and technical factors that limit the total number of transcripts observed for a given sample. It is not possible to interpret any one component in isolation. The field of compositional data analysis has emerged with alternative methods for relative data based on log-ratio transforms. However, these data often contain many more features than samples, and thus require creative new ways to reduce the dimensionality of the data. The summation of parts, called amalgamation, is a practical way of reducing dimensionality, but can introduce a non-linear distortion to the data. We exploit this non-linearity to propose a powerful yet interpretable dimension method called data-driven amalgamation. Our new method, implemented in the user-friendly R package amalgam, can reduce the dimensionality of compositional data by finding amalgamations that optimally (i) preserve the distance between samples, or (ii) classify samples as diseased or not. Our benchmark on 13 real datasets confirm that these amalgamations compete with state-of-the-art methods in terms of performance, but result in new features that are easily understood: they are groups of parts added together.
An application of compositional data analysis to multiomic time-series data
Authors: Sisk-Hackworth Laura , Kelley Scott T
Published: October 2020

Compositional data analysis (CoDA) methods have increased in popularity as a new framework for analyzing next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. CoDA methods, such as the centered log-ratio (clr) transformation, adjust for the compositional nature of NGS counts, which is not addressed by traditional normalization methods. CoDA has only been sparsely applied to NGS data generated from microbial communities or to multiple ‘omics’ datasets. In this study, we applied CoDA methods to analyze NGS and untargeted metabolomic datasets obtained from bacterial and fungal communities. Specifically, we used clr transformation to reanalyze NGS amplicon and metabolomics data from a study investigating the effects of building material type, moisture and time on microbial and metabolomic diversity. Compared to analysis of untransformed data, analysis of clr-transformed data revealed novel relationships and stronger associations between sample conditions and microbial and metabolic community profiles.
Gaia DR2 data and the evolutionary status of eight high-velocity hot post-AGB candidates
Authors: Parthasarathy Mudumba , Matsuno Tadafumi , Aoki Wako
Published: October 2020

From Gaia DR2 data of eight high-velocity hot post-AGB candidates, LS 3593, LSE 148, LS 5107, HD 172324, HD 214539, LS IV −12 111, LS III +52 24, and LS 3099, we found that six of them have accurate parallaxes which made it possible to derive their distances, absolute visual magnitudes (MV) and luminosity (log L/L⊙). All the stars except LS 5107 have an accurate effective temperature (Teff) in the literature. Some of these stars are metal poor, and some of them do not have circumstellar dust shells. In the past, the distances of some stars were estimated to be 6 kpc, which we find to be incorrect. The accurate Gaia DR2 parallaxes show that they are relatively nearby, post-AGB stars. When compared with post-AGB evolutionary tracks we find their initial masses to be in the range 1 M⊙ to 2 M⊙. We find the luminosity of LSE 148 to be significantly lower than that of post-AGB stars, suggesting that this is a post-horizontal-branch star or post-early-AGB star. LS 3593 and LS 5107 are new high-velocity hot post-AGB stars from Gaia DR2.
Social Norms, Labour Market Opportunities, and the Marriage Gap Between Skilled and Unskilled Women
Authors: Bertrand Marianne , Cortes Patricia , Olivetti Claudia , Pan Jessica
Published: October 2020

In most of the developed world, skilled women marry at a lower rate than less skilled ones. We document heterogeneity across countries in how the marriage gap between skilled and unskilled women has evolved over time. As labour market opportunities for women have improved, the marriage gap has been growing in some countries but shrinking in others. We discuss the comparative statics of a theoretical model in which the (negative) social attitudes toward working women might contribute to the relatively lower marriage rate of skilled women and might also induce a non-monotonic relationship between their labour market prospects and their marriage outcomes. The model delivers predictions about how the skilled–unskilled marriage gap should react to changes in labour market opportunities across economies with more or less conservative attitudes toward working women. We verify the key predictions of this model in a panel of 26 developed countries, as well as in a panel of U.S. states.
Comprehensive Gene Expression Analysis Detects Global Reduction of Proteasome Subunits in Schizophrenia
Authors: Hertzberg Libi , Maggio Nicola , Muler Inna , Yitzhaky Assif , Majer Michael , Haroutunian Vahram , Zuk Or , Katsel Pavel , Domany Eytan , Weiser Mark
Published: October 2020

Background

The main challenge in the study of schizophrenia is its high heterogeneity. While it is generally accepted that there exist several biological mechanisms that may define distinct schizophrenia subtypes, they have not been identified yet. We performed comprehensive gene expression analysis to search for molecular signals that differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy controls and examined whether an identified signal was concentrated in a subgroup of the patients.

Methods

Transcriptome sequencing of 14 superior temporal gyrus (STG) samples of subjects with schizophrenia and 15 matched controls from the Stanley Medical Research Institute (SMRI) was performed. Differential expression and pathway enrichment analysis results were compared to an independent cohort. Replicability was tested on 6 additional independent datasets.

Results

The 2 STG cohorts showed high replicability. Pathway enrichment analysis of the down-regulated genes pointed to proteasome-related pathways. Meta-analysis of differential expression identified down-regulation of 12 of 39 proteasome subunit genes in schizophrenia. The signal of proteasome subunits down-regulation was replicated in 6 additional datasets (overall 8 cohorts with 267 schizophrenia and 266 control samples, from 5 brain regions). The signal was concentrated in a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia.

Conclusions

We detected global down-regulation of proteasome subunits in a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia. We hypothesize that the down-regulation of proteasome subunits leads to proteasome dysfunction that causes accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins, which has been recently detected in a subgroup of schizophrenia patients. Thus, down-regulation of proteasome subunits might define a biological subtype of schizophrenia.