bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanical Behaviors Research and the Structural Design of a Bipolar Electrostatic Actuation Microbeam Resonator
Authors: Feng Jingjing , Liu Cheng , Zhang Wei , Han Jianxin , Hao Shuying
Published: March 2019

A class of bipolar electrostatically actuated micro-resonators is presented in this paper. Two parametric equations are proposed for changing the microbeam shape of the upper and lower sections. The mechanical properties of a micro-resonator can be enhanced by optimizing the two section parameters. The electrostatic force nonlinearity, neutral surface tension, and neutral surface bending are considered in the model. First, the theoretical results are verified with finite element results from COMSOL Multiphysics simulations. The influence of section variation on the electrostatic force, pull-in behaviors and safe working area of the micro-resonator are studied. Moreover, the impact of residual stress on pull-in voltage is discussed. The multi-scale method (MMS) is used to further study the vibration of the microbeam near equilibrium, and the relationship between the two section parameters of the microbeam under linear vibration was determined. The vibration amplitude and resonance frequency are investigated when the two section parameters satisfy the linear vibration. In order to research dynamic analysis under the case of large amplitude. The Simulink dynamics simulation was used to study the influence of section variation on the response frequency. It is found that electrostatic softening increases as the vibration amplitude increases. If the nonlinearity initially shows hardening behavior, the frequency response will shift from hardening to softening as the amplitude increases. The position of softening-hardening transition point decreases with the increase of residual stress. The relationship between DC voltage, section parameters, and softening-hardening transition points is presented. The accuracy of the results is verified using theoretical, numerical, and finite element methods.
A Multi-Path Compensation Method for Ranging in Wearable Ultrasonic Sensor Networks for Human Gait Analysis
Authors: Ashhar Karalikkadan , Khyam Mohammad Omar , Soh Cheong Boon
Published: March 2019

Gait analysis in unrestrained environments can be done with a single wearable ultrasonic sensor node on the lower limb and four fixed anchor nodes. The accuracy demanded by such systems is very high. Chirp signals can provide better ranging and localization performance in ultrasonic systems. However, we cannot neglect the multi-path effect in typical indoor environments for ultrasonic signals. The multi-path components closer to the line of sight component cannot be identified during correlation reception which leads to errors in the estimated range and which in turn affects the localization and tracking performance. We propose a novel method to reduce the multi-path effect in ultrasonic sensor networks in typical indoor environments. A gait analysis system with one mobile node attached to the lower limb was designed to test the performance of the proposed system during an indoor treadmill walking experiment. An optical motion capture system was used as a benchmark for the experiments. The proposed method gave better tracking accuracy compared to conventional coherent receivers. The static measurements gave 2.45 mm standard deviation compared to 10.45 mm using the classical approach. The RMSE between the ultrasonic gait analysis system and the reference system improved from 28.70 mm to 22.28 mm. The gait analysis system gave good performance for extraction of spatial and temporal parameters.
A Novel and Practical Scheme for Resolving the Quality of Samples in Background Modeling
Authors: Zhang Guian , Yuan Zhiyong , Tong Qianqian , Wang Qiong
Published: March 2019

In view of its important application value, background modeling is studied so widely that many techniques have emerged, which mainly concentrate on the selections of the basic model, the granularity of processing, the components in a framework, etc. However, the quality of samples (QoS) for training has long been ignored. There are two aspects regarding this issue, which are how many samples are suitable and which samples are reliable. To tackle the “how many” problem, in this paper, we propose a convergent method, coined Bi-Variance (BV), to decide an appropriate endpoint in the training sequence. In this way, samples in the range from the first frame to the endpoint can be used for model establishment, rather than using all the samples. With respect to the “which” problem, we construct a pixel histogram for each pixel and subtract one from each bin (called number of intensity values (NoIV-1)), which can efficiently get rid of outliers. Furthermore, our work is plug-and-play in nature, so that it could be applied to diverse sample-based background subtraction methods. In experiments, we integrate our scheme into several state-of-the-art methods, and the results show that the performance of these methods in three indicators, recall, precision, and F-measure, improved from 4.95% to 16.47%, from 5.39% to 26.54%, and from 12.46% to 20.46%, respectively.
Continuous Intention on Accommodation Apps: Integrated Value-Based Adoption and Expectation–Confirmation Model Analysis
Authors: Kim Seon Hee , Bae Joon Ho , Jeon Hyeon Mo
Published: March 2019

This study aims to analyze the antecedent factors affecting continuous intention to use online to offline (O2O) accommodation app services and empirically verify them by applying an integrated model comprised of the value-based adoption model (VAM) and the expectation-confirmation model (ECM). For empirical analysis, a sample of 410 participants with experience reserving rooms using an accommodation app was used. The results showed that privacy risk had the biggest influence on perceived value, followed by technicality and usefulness. Moreover, confirmation and usefulness turned out to have a significant effect on satisfaction, and enjoyment had a negative effect on perceived value and satisfaction. As a result, the influence of perceived risk, technicality, usefulness, and confirmation on perceived value and satisfaction proved to be important in inducing continuous intention to use accommodation apps. These results are academically significant because they expand the scope of O2O business research in the fields of hotels and tourism. We outline several practical implications based on the study results.
Detecting Fraudulent Financial Statements for the Sustainable Development of the Socio-Economy in China: A Multi-Analytic Approach
Authors: Yao Jianrong , Pan Yanqin , Yang Shuiqing , Chen Yuangao , Li Yixiao
Published: March 2019

Identifying financial statement fraud activities is very important for the sustainable development of a socio-economy, especially in China’s emerging capital market. Although many scholars have paid attention to fraud detection in recent years, they have rarely focused on both financial and non-financial predictors by using a multi-analytic approach. The present study detected financial statement fraud activities based on 17 financial and 7 non-financial variables by using six data mining techniques including support vector machine (SVM), classification and regression tree (CART), back propagation neural network (BP-NN), logistic regression (LR), Bayes classifier (Bayes) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN). Specifically, the research period was from 2008 to 2017 and the sample is companies listed on the Shanghai stock exchange and Shenzhen stock exchange, with a total of 536 companies of which 134 companies were allegedly involved in fraud. The stepwise regression and principal component analysis (PCA) were also adopted for reducing variable dimensionality. The experimental results show that the SVM data mining technique has the highest accuracy across all conditions, and after using stepwise regression, 13 significant variables were screened and the classification accuracy of almost all data mining techniques was improved. However, the first 16 principal components transformed by PCA did not yield better classification results. Therefore, the combination of SVM and the stepwise regression dimensionality reduction method was found to be a good model for detecting fraudulent financial statements.
Study on Courtyard Residence and Cultural Sustainability: Reading Chinese Traditional Siheyuan through Space Syntax
Authors: Huang Bo-Xun , Chiou Shang-Chia , Li Wen-Ying
Published: March 2019

The United Nations and local governments have supported a four-point sustainable development framework, including environmental responsibility, economic viability, social equity, and cultural vitality. This study is based on the theoretical framework of sustainability to study the traditional Chinese siheyuan residence. Space syntax attempts to explain how spatial structures express social or cultural significance, such as the hierarchical relationship and privacy in it. The main purposes of this study are: (1) To analyze the spatial topological layout of traditional siheyuans by using the space syntax theory, and thus deduce the cultural connotation embedded in traditional siheyuans; (2) to compare and analyze the spatial morphology and behavior patterns of traditional and modern houses; (3) to explore how to integrate courtyard features into contemporary design and promote cultural sustainability. This study expounds the concept and application of syntactic analysis, and the relationship between the syntactic attributes of specific buildings in a particular area, and the culture and life of the local people within that area. As time goes by, the spatial form of houses has changed. However, in terms of spatial allocation index, the significant difference between traditional residences and modern residences lies in the integration and equivalence of all spaces in residences. We can learn from the cultural values of traditional siheyuans, meaning “people-oriented”, to rationally design modern residences with cultural connotations.
Assessing the Sustainability of High-Value Brands in the IT Sector
Authors: Alcaide María Ángeles , De La Poza Elena , Guadalajara Natividad
Published: March 2019

Nowadays, companies have more freedom on how they can report their corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions and outcomes, despite them being increasingly important for how investors and shareholders can obtain knowledge about companies’ non-financial aspects. This is why more importance is being attached to sustainability rankings as an additional tool to seek excellence and distinguish between companies. The main objective of the present research was to analyze the degree of similarity in sustainability valuations among the most important open-access sustainability rankings that have appeared in the last decade (Green Ranking, RepTrack, Global 100 most sustainable corporations, and Finance Yahoo Sustainability). The secondary objective was to study whether these rankings incorporated the most de facto prestigious brands, and the third objective was to learn of the influence of the level of controversy in Finance Yahoo Sustainability scores in technological companies. Our results reveal wide variability among open-access CSR rankings. Not all the most valued brands appear in the sustainability rankings, which indicates the differences between the rankings of brands and CSR rankings. Finally, the level of controversy was found to be an important aspect in companies’ CSR scores.
Foreign Ownership, Agency Costs, and Long-Term Firm Growth: Evidence from Korea
Authors: Choi Young Mok , Park Kunsu
Published: March 2019

This study examines the link between foreign ownership and firm value in the context of dividend payouts and long-term firm growth. Consistent with prior studies, we find that foreign ownership is positively related to firm value. Next, we find that changes in foreign ownership are negatively related to changes in agency costs, which is linked to the improvement of future firm profitability. We also find a positive relationship between foreign ownership and dividend payouts. We further find that dividend payouts are negatively related to 3-year-ahead and 5-year-ahead sales (or earnings) growth as a proxy for long-term firm growth. However, for firms with high foreign ownership, we find a positive relationship between dividend payouts and long-term firm growth. These findings indicate that foreign ownership has a moderating effect on dividend payouts and long-term firm growth. Overall, our results suggest that foreign investors are expected to provide managers with an incentive to pursue long-term value for the sake of shareholders by monitoring and disciplining managers. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the value-increasing effects of foreign ownership on firm value by demonstrating that the reduction in agency costs due to the foreign ownership effect is associated with higher growth rates and thus higher firm value. Our study also contributes to the literature on the foreign ownership–firm value nexus by showing that foreign investors play a crucial role in ensuring sustainable firm growth.
System Dynamics Modeling of Dockless Bike-Sharing Program Operations: A Case Study of Mobike in Beijing, China
Authors: Yang Tianjian , Li Ye , Zhou Simin
Published: March 2019

In China, dockless bike-sharing programs (DBSPs) have changed people’s travel modes, alleviated urban traffic congestion, and reduced carbon emissions. However, a number of DBSPs have experienced financial crises since 2018. This means that research on DBSPs must be considered not only in terms of the environment and technology, but also in the operation of the program. In this paper, we modeled the DBSP operations in a certain area using a system dynamics simulation approach. The main purpose was to explore the dynamics of the program’s operation process and evaluate possible improvement strategies for maximizing the revenue of the overall DBSP. Specifically, the analysis focused on the economic profits of DBSPs in an environment of competition and government regulation. The research findings revealed that the dockless bike-sharing industry has great economic profits, but in the current environment, the market needs to be regulated by the local government. If a DBSP does not introduce new technologies or find new profit channels, it will be difficult to develop sustainably by only relying on riding profits. In addition, we provide a case study of Mobike’s operations in Beijing to support these findings and validate the developed model. Finally, we discuss Mobike’s possible improvement strategies.
Research on 3D Painting in Virtual Reality to Improve Students’ Motivation of 3D Animation Learning
Authors: Ho Li-Hsing , Sun Hung , Tsai Tsun-Hung
Published: March 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of 6-DoF high immersive virtual reality for stereoscopic spatial mapping to assess the impact of perceived spatial capabilities on 3D software learning motivation. This study wasn’t a bound course with mandatory participation, and students were free to participate in the trial, and employed HTC VIVE, which provides highly immersive experiences, to elicit strong emotional responses. A total of 111 students from a university digital media department were invited to participate in a 3D VR painting experiment in which students created paintings using Google Tilt Brush. A 5-point scale based on the ARCS learning motivation model was adopted to collect student data. Perform a factor analysis of the data twice to select the appropriate factor (p = 0.000 < 0.05). Specifically, exploratory factor analysis was used to classify factors based on four constructs. The Cronbach alpha values of ARCS were 0.920, 0.929, 0.693 and 0.664, respectively, both >0.6, which still indicate favorable reliability. The results show that immersive VR can promote students’ motivation and interest in learning 3D animation. However, the practical application of this technology requires solving problems related to hardware and space.
Optimal Routing an Ungrounded Electrical Distribution System Based on Heuristic Method with Micro Grids Integration
Authors: Pavón Wilson , Inga Esteban , Simani Silvio
Published: March 2019

This paper proposes a three-layer model to find the optimal routing of an underground electrical distribution system, employing the PRIM algorithm as a graph search heuristic. In the algorithm, the first layer handles transformer allocation and medium voltage network routing, the second layer deploys the low voltage network routing and transformer sizing, while the third presents a method to allocate distributed energy resources in an electric distribution system. The proposed algorithm routes an electrical distribution network in a georeferenced area, taking into account the characteristics of the terrain, such as streets or intersections, and scenarios without squared streets. Moreover, the algorithm copes with scalability characteristics, allowing the addition of loads with time. The model analysis discovers that the algorithm reaches a node connectivity of 100%, satisfies the planned distance constraints, and accomplishes the optimal solution of underground routing in a distribution electrical network applied in a georeferenced area. Simulating the electrical distribution network tests that the voltage drop is less than 2% in the farthest node.
Financial Stability and Sustainability under the Coordination of Monetary Policy and Macroprudential Policy: New Evidence from China
Authors: Jiang Ying , Li Chong , Zhang Jizhou , Zhou Xiaoyi
Published: March 2019

After the financial crisis, financial stability and sustainability became key to global economic and social development, and the coordination of monetary policy and macroprudential policy plays a crucial role in maintaining financial stability and sustainability. This paper provides a theoretical analysis and empirical evidence from China on the impact of monetary policy and macroprudential policy coordination on financial stability and sustainability. We collect data from 2003 to 2017; from the micro level, we use the System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) method to analyze the monetary policy and macroprudential policy coordination effect on 88 commercial banks’ risk-taking; from the macro level, we use the Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) method to analyze the two policies coordination effect on housing prices and stock price bubbles. The conclusions are as follows: firstly, for regulating bank risk-taking, monetary policy and macroprudential policy should conduct counter-cyclical regulation simultaneously; secondly, for regulating housing prices, tight monetary policy and tight macroprudential policy should be implemented alternately; thirdly, for regulating stock price bubbles, macroprudential policy should be the first line of defense and monetary policy should be the second one.
The Energy Transition from Plant Operators’ Perspective—A Behaviorist Approach
Authors: Bosch Stephan , Schwarz Lucas
Published: March 2019

The implementation of many small power stations compensates the closing of powerful large power plants as part of the German Energy Transition is compensated. It is unclear how site decisions are made, which actors are involved, and which economic, ecological, and social consequences occur. The quantitative study consists of a written postal survey of renewable energy plant operators, concerning central aspects of project development. The study found strong regional disparities concerning the entrepreneurial behavior of plant operators of renewable energies, a low importance of socio-institutional and socio-cultural parameters, a great relevance of micro-social environment during site planning of renewable energy plants, and that plant operators are highly influenced by economic and individual desires. It may be concluded that the perspectives operators have on the Energy Transitions must be more systematically included into the discourse regarding the sustainable deployment of renewable energies, as they reveal significant disparities with topics that are emphasized by the public (e.g., landscape aesthetic, citizens’ participation). It was shown that the challenges and problems that arise in the context of regional energy transformation cannot be generalized beyond regional circumstances; rather, they must be regarded as specific regional phenomena that have to be overcome by means of regionally adapted energy concepts.
The Sustainability Performance of Chinese Banks: A New Network Data Envelopment Analysis Approach and Panel Regression
Authors: Yu Yantuan , Huang Jianhuan , Shao Yanmin
Published: March 2019

This paper develops a new network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that simultaneously integrates the non-convex metafrontier and undesirable outputs and which is super efficient at performing dynamic network slacks-based measures. The model is employed to discuss the efficiency of 36 commercial banks in China during the years 2010–2014. The efficiency of these banks shows significant heterogeneity and the efficiency of most foreign banks has much room for improvement. Regarding both the non-convex metafrontier and the group frontier, state-owned banks perform the best, followed by joint-stock banks, with foreign banks performing the worst; the same is true for the technology gap ratios. The empirical results produced by the feasible generalized least squares estimation method indicate that liquidity and scale effects exert positive impacts on bank efficiency. An alternative estimation method confirmed that the conclusions were robust.
Fuzzy Volterra Integro-Differential Equations Using General Linear Method
Authors: Abdul Majid Zanariah , Rabiei Faranak , Abd Hamid Fatin , Ismail Fudziah
Published: March 2019

In this paper, a fuzzy general linear method of order three for solving fuzzy Volterra integro-differential equations of second kind is proposed. The general linear method is operated using the both internal stages of Runge-Kutta method and multivalues of a multisteps method. The derivation of general linear method is based on the theory of B-series and rooted trees. Here, the fuzzy general linear method using the approach of generalized Hukuhara differentiability and combination of composite Simpson’s rules together with Lagrange interpolation polynomial is constructed for numerical solution of fuzzy volterra integro-differential equations. To illustrate the performance of the method, the numerical results are compared with some existing numerical methods.
Fuzzy Parameterized Complex Neutrosophic Soft Expert Set for Decision under Uncertainty
Authors: Al-Quran Ashraf , Hassan Nasruddin , Alkhazaleh Shawkat
Published: March 2019

In the definition of the complex neutrosophic soft expert set (CNSES), parameters set is a classical set, and the parameters have the same degree of importance, which is considered as 1. This poses a limitation in modeling of some problems. This paper introduces the concept of fuzzy parameterized complex neutrosophic soft expert set (FP-CNSES) to handle this issue by assigning a degree of importance to each of the problem parameters. We further develop FP-CNSES by establishing the concept of weighted fuzzy parameterized complex neutrosophic soft expert set (WFP-CNSES) based on the idea that each expert has a relative weight. These new mathematical frameworks reduce the chance of unfairness in the decision making process. Some essential operations with their properties and relevant laws related to the notion of FP-CNSES are defined and verified. The notation of mapping on fuzzy parameterized complex neutrosophic soft expert classes is defined and some properties of fuzzy parameterized complex neutrosophic soft expert images and inverse images was investigated. FP-CNSES is used to put forth an algorithm on decision-making by converting it from complex state to real state and subsequently provided the detailed decision steps. Then, we provide the comparison of FP-CNSES to the current methods to show the ascendancy of our proposed method.
A Novel Approach to Neutrosophic Soft Rough Set under Uncertainty
Authors: Al-Quran Ashraf , Hassan Nasruddin , Marei Emad
Published: March 2019

To handle indeterminate and incomplete data, neutrosophic logic/set/probability were established. The neutrosophic truth, falsehood and indeterminacy components exhibit symmetry as the truth and the falsehood look the same and behave in a symmetrical way with respect to the indeterminacy component which serves as a line of the symmetry. Soft set is a generic mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainty. Rough set is a new mathematical tool for dealing with vague, imprecise, inconsistent and uncertain knowledge in information systems. This paper introduces a new rough set model based on neutrosophic soft set to exploit simultaneously the advantages of rough sets and neutrosophic soft sets in order to handle all types of uncertainty in data. The idea of neutrosophic right neighborhood is utilised to define the concepts of neutrosophic soft rough (NSR) lower and upper approximations. Properties of suggested approximations are proposed and subsequently proven. Some of the NSR set concepts such as NSR-definability, NSR-relations and NSR-membership functions are suggested and illustrated with examples. Further, we demonstrate the feasibility of the newly rough set model with decision making problems involving neutrosophic soft set. Finally, a discussion on the features and limitations of the proposed model is provided.
Secrecy Performance of Underlay Cooperative Cognitive Network Using Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access with Opportunistic Relay Selection
Authors: Huynh Tan-Phuoc , Ngoc Son Pham , Voznak Miroslav
Published: March 2019

In this paper, an underlay cooperative cognitive network using a non-orthogonal multiple access (UCCN-NOMA) system is investigated, in which the intermediate multiple relays help to decode and forward two signals x 1 and x 2 from a source node to two users D1 and D2, respectively, under wiretapping of an eavesdropper (E). We study the best relay selection strategies by three types of relay selection criteria: the first and second best relay selection is based on the maximum channel gain of the links R i -D 1 , R i -D2, respectively; the third one is to ensure a minimum value of the channel gains from the R i -E link. We analyze and evaluate the secrecy performances of the transmissions x 1 and x 2 from the source node to the destination nodes D1, D2, respectively, in the proposed UCCN-NOMA system in terms of the secrecy outage probabilities (SOPs) over Rayleigh fading channels. Simulation and analysis results are presented as follows. The results of the (sum) secrecy outage probability show that proposed scheme can realize the maximal diversity gain. The security of the system is very good when eavesdropper node E is far from the source and cooperative relay. Finally, the theoretical analyses are verified by performing Monte Carlo simulations.
The Consistency between Cross-Entropy and Distance Measures in Fuzzy Sets
Authors: Wang Yameng , Yang Han , Qin Keyun
Published: March 2019

The processing of uncertain information is increasingly becoming a hot topic in the artificial intelligence field, and the information measures of uncertainty information processing are also becoming of importance. In the process of decision-making, decision-makers make decisions mostly according to information measures such as similarity, distance, entropy, and cross-entropy in order to choose the best one. However, we found that many researchers apply cross-entropy to multi-attribute decision-making according to the minimum principle, which is in accordance with the principle of distance measures. Thus, among all the choices, we finally chose the one with the smallest cross-entropy (distance) from the ideal one. However, the relation between cross-entropy and distance measures in fuzzy sets or neutrosophic sets has not yet been verified. In this paper, we mainly consider the relation between the discrimination measure of fuzzy sets and distance measures, where we found that the fuzzy discrimination satisfied all the conditions of distance measure; that is to say, the fuzzy discrimination was found to be consistent with distance measures. We also found that the cross-entropy, which improved when it was based on the fuzzy discrimination, satisfied all the conditions of distance measure, and we finally proved that cross-entropy, including fuzzy cross-entropy and neutrosophic cross-entropy, was also a distance measure.
New Type Direction Curves in 3-Dimensional Compact Lie Group
Authors: Çakmak Ali
Published: March 2019

In this paper, new types of associated curves, which are defined as rectifying-direction, osculating-direction, and normal-direction, in a three-dimensional Lie group G are achieved by using the general definition of the associated curve, and some characterizations for these curves are obtained. Additionally, connections between the new types of associated curves and the curves, such as helices, general helices, Bertrand, and Mannheim, are given.
Nonlinear Management of Topological Solitons in a Spin-Orbit-Coupled System
Authors: Sakaguchi Hidetsugu , Malomed Boris
Published: March 2019

We consider possibilities to control dynamics of solitons of two types, maintained by the combination of cubic attraction and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a two-component system, namely, semi-dipoles (SDs) and mixed modes (MMs), by making the relative strength of the cross-attraction, γ , a function of time periodically oscillating around the critical value, γ = 1 , which is an SD/MM stability boundary in the static system. The structure of SDs is represented by the combination of a fundamental soliton in one component and localized dipole mode in the other, while MMs combine fundamental and dipole terms in each component. Systematic numerical analysis reveals a finite bistability region for the SDs and MMs around γ = 1 , which does not exist in the absence of the periodic temporal modulation (“management”), as well as emergence of specific instability troughs and stability tongues for the solitons of both types, which may be explained as manifestations of resonances between the time-periodic modulation and intrinsic modes of the solitons. The system can be implemented in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), and emulated in nonlinear optical waveguides.
An Efficient Knowledge-Graph-Based Web Service Recommendation Algorithm
Authors: Cao Zhiying , Qiao Xinghao , Jiang Shuo , Zhang Xiuguo
Published: March 2019

Using semantic information can help to accurately find suitable services from a variety of available (different semantics) services, and the semantic information of Web services can be described in detail in a Web service knowledge graph. In this paper, a Web service recommendation algorithm based on knowledge graph representation learning (kg-WSR) is proposed. The algorithm embeds the entities and relationships of the knowledge graph into the low-dimensional vector space. By calculating the distance between service entities in low-dimensional space, the relationship information of services which is not considered in recommendation approaches using a collaborative filtering algorithm is incorporated into the recommendation algorithm to enhance the accurateness of the result. The experimental results show that this algorithm can not only effectively improve the accuracy rate, recall rate, and coverage rate of recommendation but also solve the cold start problem to some extent.
Regulation of Microcystin-LR-Induced DNA Damage by miR-451a in HL7702 Cells
Authors: Chen Lv , Yang Shu , Wen Cong , Zheng Shuilin , Yang Yue , Feng Xiangling , Chen Jihua , Luo Dan , Liu Ran , Yang Fei
Published: March 2019

Microcystin-LR is a cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxin produced by harmful cyanobacteria. A panel of microRNAs containing miR-451a were found to be significantly changed in normal human liver cells HL7702 after exposure to microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in our previous study. However, the functions of miR-451a in hepatotoxicity induced by MC-LR remained unclear. The study aimed to investigate the impacts of miR-451a in HL7702 cells following treatment with 5 or 10 μM MC-LR. The comet assay indicated that MC-LR can influence Olive tail moment (OTM) in HL7702 cells. Furthermore, increase of miR-451a significantly repressed DNA damage and the protein expression level of γ-H2AX induced by MC-LR. Moreover, over-expression of miR-451a inhibited the expression level of p-AKT1 protein in cells following treatment by MC-LR. These results showed that miR-451a may protect from MC-LR-induced DNA damage by down-regulating the expression of p-AKT1, which provides new clues for the diagnosis and therapy policies for liver damage induced by MC-LR.
The Mite-Gallery Unit: A New Concept for Describing Scabies through Entodermoscopy
Authors: Scanni Gaetano
Published: March 2019

Scabies has always represented a diagnostic challenge for dermatologists, especially in subclinical cases or in atypical ones due to the coexistence of other diseases. Fortunately, dermatoscopy has enabled easier and faster in situ diagnosis. The aim of this study is to examine old and new dermatoscopic signs that Sarcoptes scabiei produces on the skin during its whole life cycle through entodermoscopy (dermatoscopy with an entomological focus) which, unlike traditional optical microscope examination, allows the local micro-environment to be preserved intact. Patients were enrolled during outbreaks of scabies from hospitals or nursing homes for the elderly in Bari (Italy). The study was performed applying both immersion and polarized dry dermatoscopy. The systematic use of dermatoscopy highlighted the morphological complexity of the Sarcoptes tunnel that had been described previously as a simple unitary structure. On the contrary, it is possible to distinguish three separate segments of the burrow that introduce a new anatomo-functional concept called the Mite-Gallery Unit (MGU). This approach, based on the mite life cycle and local skin turnover (the latter usually being ignored), allows the dermatologist to recognize not only Sarcoptes using the gallery, but also new descriptors including tunnels without Sarcoptes, those with acari alone, and those with associated signs of inflammation. The diagnosis of scabies using optical microscopy until recently has always involved demonstrating the mite and its products outside the human body (on a glass slide) without taking into account exactly what happens within the epidermis. Entodermoscopy is a term used to encapsulate both the presence of the parasite, the usual target of microscopy, and the changes produced in the superficial layers of the epidermis in situ. Thus, the scabies tunnel or burrow can be shown to be composed of three parts, the Head, Body, and Tail, in which different events affecting both mite and host develop. The Mite-Gallery Unit provides a new anatomical and functional explanation of scabies because it provides a more comprehensive in vivo and in situ dermatoscopic diagnosis. In this respect, dermatoscopy takes into account the behavior of the mite in addition to its interaction with its habitat, the human skin.
Scale Transformations in Metric-Affine Geometry
Authors: Iosifidis Damianos , Koivisto Tomi
Published: March 2019

This article presents an exhaustive classification of metric-affine theories according to their scale symmetries. First it is clarified that there are three relevant definitions of a scale transformation. These correspond to a projective transformation of the connection, a rescaling of the orthonormal frame, and a combination of the two. The most general second order quadratic metric-affine action, including the parity-violating terms, is constructed in each of the three cases. The results can be straightforwardly generalised by including higher derivatives, and implemented in the general metric-affine, teleparallel, and symmetric teleparallel geometries.
Spatial Characteristics and Activity Space Pattern Analysis of Dhaka City, Bangladesh
Authors: Sharmeen Naila , Houston Douglas
Published: March 2019

Although a handful of studies have begun to integrate activity space within travel behavior analysis in the European and United States (U.S.) contexts, few studies have measured the size, structure, and implications of human activity spaces in the context of developing countries. To identify the effects of land-use characteristics, socio-demographics, individual trip characteristics, and personal attitudes on the travel-activity based spatial behavior of various population groups in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, a household-based travel diary pilot survey (for two weekdays) was conducted for 50 randomly selected households in the winter of 2017. The study focused on two separate subareas: one taken from Dhaka North City Corporation, and another taken from Dhaka South City Corporation. Two methods—shortest-path network and road network buffer—were used for calculating activity space in a geographic information system (GIS). The daily activity areas for individual respondents ranged from 0.37 to 6.18 square miles. Land-use mix was found to be a significant predictor of activity space size for the residents. Larger activity space was recorded for the residents of one subarea over another due to less land-use diversity. The pilot data showed some specific socio-economic and travel differences across the two study subareas (car ownership, income, modal share, distance traveled, trip duration).
The Transcriptional Landscape of Marek’s Disease Virus in Primary Chicken B Cells Reveals Novel Splice Variants and Genes
Authors: Bertzbach Luca D. , Pfaff Florian , Pauker Viktoria I. , Kheimar Ahmed M. , Höper Dirk , Härtle Sonja , Karger Axel , Kaufer Benedikt B.
Published: March 2019

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is an oncogenic alphaherpesvirus that infects chickens and poses a serious threat to poultry health. In infected animals, MDV efficiently replicates in B cells in various lymphoid organs. Despite many years of research, the viral transcriptome in primary target cells of MDV remained unknown. In this study, we uncovered the transcriptional landscape of the very virulent RB1B strain and the attenuated CVI988/Rispens vaccine strain in primary chicken B cells using high-throughput RNA-sequencing. Our data confirmed the expression of known genes, but also identified a novel spliced MDV gene in the unique short region of the genome. Furthermore, de novo transcriptome assembly revealed extensive splicing of viral genes resulting in coding and non-coding RNA transcripts. A novel splicing isoform of MDV UL15 could also be confirmed by mass spectrometry and RT-PCR. In addition, we could demonstrate that the associated transcriptional motifs are highly conserved and closely resembled those of the host transcriptional machinery. Taken together, our data allow a comprehensive re-annotation of the MDV genome with novel genes and splice variants that could be targeted in further research on MDV replication and tumorigenesis.
Processing Phage Therapy Requests in a Brussels Military Hospital: Lessons Identified
Authors: Djebara Sarah , Maussen Christiane , De Vos Daniel , Merabishvili Maya , Damanet Benjamin , Pang Kim Win , De Leenheer Peggy , Strachinaru Isabella , Soentjens Patrick , Pirnay Jean-Paul
Published: March 2019

There is a growing interest in phage therapy as a complementary tool against antimicrobial resistant infections. Since 2007, phages have been used sporadically to treat bacterial infections in well-defined cases in the Queen Astrid military hospital (QAMH) in Brussels, Belgium. In the last two years, external requests for phage therapy have increased significantly. From April 2013 to April 2018, 260 phage therapy requests were addressed to the QAMH. Of these 260 requests, only 15 patients received phage therapy. In this paper, we analyze the phage therapy requests and outcomes in order to improve upon the overall capacity for phage therapy at the QAMH.
Gram-Positive Bacteria-Like DNA Binding Machineries Involved in Replication Initiation and Termination Mechanisms of Mimivirus
Authors: Akashi Motohiro , Takemura Masaharu
Published: March 2019

The detailed mechanisms of replication initiation, termination and segregation events were not yet known in Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APMV). Here, we show detailed bioinformatics-based analyses of chromosomal replication in APMV from initiation to termination mediated by proteins bound to specific DNA sequences. Using GC/AT skew and coding sequence skew analysis, we estimated that the replication origin is located at 382 kb in the APMV genome. We performed homology-modeling analysis of the gamma domain of APMV-FtsK (DNA translocase coordinating chromosome segregation) related to FtsK-orienting polar sequences (KOPS) binding, suggesting that there was an insertion in the gamma domain which maintains the structure of the DNA binding motif. Furthermore, UvrD/Rep-like helicase in APMV was homologous to Bacillus subtilis AddA, while the chi-like quartet sequence 5′-CCGC-3′ was frequently found in the estimated ori region, suggesting that chromosomal replication of APMV is initiated via chi-like sequence recognition by UvrD/Rep-like helicase. Therefore, the replication initiation, termination and segregation of APMV are presumably mediated by DNA repair machineries derived from gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, the other frequently observed quartet sequence 5′-CGGC-3′ in the ori region was homologous to the mitochondrial signal sequence of replication initiation, while the comparison of quartet sequence composition in APMV/Rickettsia-genome showed significantly similar values, suggesting that APMV also conserves the mitochondrial replication system acquired from an ancestral genome of mitochondria during eukaryogenesis.
Cat and Mouse: HIV Transcription in Latency, Immune Evasion and Cure/Remission Strategies
Authors: Delannoy Aurélie , Poirier Mikaël , Bell Brendan
Published: March 2019

There is broad scientific and societal consensus that finding a cure for HIV infection must be pursued. The major barrier to achieving a cure for HIV/AIDS is the capacity of the HIV virus to avoid both immune surveillance and current antiretroviral therapy (ART) by rapidly establishing latently infected cell populations, termed latent reservoirs. Here, we provide an overview of the rapidly evolving field of HIV cure/remission research, highlighting recent progress and ongoing challenges in the understanding of HIV reservoirs, the role of HIV transcription in latency and immune evasion. We review the major approaches towards a cure that are currently being explored and further argue that small molecules that inhibit HIV transcription, and therefore uncouple HIV gene expression from signals sent by the host immune response, might be a particularly promising approach to attain a cure or remission. We emphasize that a better understanding of the game of “cat and mouse” between the host immune system and the HIV virus is a crucial knowledge gap to be filled in both cure and vaccine research.
Compartmentalization of Subtype A17 of Small Ruminant Lentiviruses between Blood and Colostrum in Infected Goats Is Not Exclusively Associated to the env Gene
Authors: Olech Monika , Kuźmak Jacek
Published: March 2019

The compartmentalization of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) subtype A17 was analyzed in colostrum and peripheral blood leukocyte cells of three naturally infected goats. This study aimed to analyze heterogeneity of the SRLV env (V4V5) gene, which encodes neutralizing epitopes of SU glycoprotein, the gag gene encoding capsid protein (CA), and LTR, a noncoding region, responsible for determination of cell tropism. Compartmentalization was assessed using six established tree or distance-based methods, including permutation test to determine statistical significance. We found statistical evidence of compartmentalization between blood and colostrum in all infected goats although phylogenetic evidence of such compartmentalization was not obvious. Our study demonstrated that compartmentalization is not exclusively specific to the env gene, as we revealed that gag and LTR sequences are also compartmentalized between blood and colostrum. The work also confirms the combined use of different methods as essential for reliable determination of intrahost viral compartmentalization. Identifying and characterizing distinct viral subpopulations and the genetic evolution of SRLV in specific anatomical sites enhances our overall understanding of SRLV pathogenesis, immune control, and particularly virus transmission.
Caenorhabditis elegans Infrared-Based Motility Assay Identified New Hits for Nematicide Drug Development
Authors: Risi Gastón , Aguilera Elena , Ladós Enrique , Suárez Gonzalo , Carrera Inés , Álvarez Guzmán , Salinas Gustavo
Published: March 2019

Nematode parasites have a profound impact on humankind, infecting nearly one-quarter of the world’s population, as well as livestock. There is a pressing need for discovering nematicides due to the spread of resistance to currently used drugs. The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a formidable experimentally tractable model organism that offers key advantages in accelerating nematicide discovery. We report the screening of drug-like libraries using an overnight high-throughput C. elegans assay, based on an automated infrared motility reader. As a proof of concept, we screened the “Pathogen Box” library, and identical results to a previous screen using Haemonchus contortus were obtained. We then screened an in-house library containing a diversity of compound families. Most active compounds had a conjugation of an unsaturation with an electronegative atom (N, O, or S) and an aromatic ring. Importantly, we identified symmetric arylidene ketones and aryl hydrazine derivatives as novel nematicides. Furthermore, one of these compounds, (1E,2E)-1,2-bis(thiophen-3-ylmethylene)hydrazine, was active as a nematicide at 25 µm, but innocuous to the vertebrate model zebrafish at 50 µm. Our results identified novel nematicidal scaffolds and illustrate the value of C. elegans in accelerating nematicide discovery using a nonlabor-intensive automated assay that provides a simple overnight readout.
Periods of Extreme Shallow Depth Hinder but Do Not Stop Long-Term Improvements of Water Quality in Lake Apopka, Florida (USA)
Authors: Ji Gaohua , Havens Karl
Published: March 2019

We recently documented that during times of extreme shallow depth, there are severe effects on the water quality of one of the largest shallow lakes in the southeastern USA—Lake Apopka. During those times, total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and toxic cyanobacteria blooms increase, and Secchi transparency (SD) declines. The lake recovers when water levels rise in subsequent years. In this paper, we determined whether extreme shallow depth events, particularly when they re-occur frequently, can stop the long-term recovery of a shallow eutrophic lake undergoing nutrient reduction programs. Apopka is an ideal location for this case study because the State of Florida has spent over 200 million USD in order to reduce the inputs of P to the lake, to build large filter marshes to treat the water, and to remove large quantities of benthivorous fish that contribute to internal P loading. We obtained data from 1985 to 2018, a period that had relatively stable water levels for nearly 15 years, and then three successive periods of extreme shallow depth, and we examined the long-term trends in TP, TN, Chl-a, and SD. There were significant decreasing trends in all of these water quality variables, and even though water quality deteriorated during periods of extreme shallow depth, and reduced the slope of the long-term trends, it did not stop the recovery. However, in the future, if climate change leads to more frequent shallow depth events, which in lakes such as Apopka, result in the concentration of water and nutrients, it is unclear whether the resilience we document here will continue, vs. the lake not responding to further nutrient input reductions.