bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘Out of Proportion to the Small Loss’: Productivist Agriculture in the Farming Novels of John McGahern and Halldór Laxness
Authors: Dennis Ryan
Published: May 2019

Ireland and Iceland, both (semi-)peripheral islands in relation to Europe's core hegemonic capitalism, once shared similar farming systems based on small holdings and rotational grazing. Today, however, agriculture looks increasingly different in each nation, for at critical junctures their agriculture policy decisions took radically divergent paths. This paper will examine Irish writer John McGahern's That They May Face the Rising Sun and the Icelandic novel Independent People by Hálldor Laxness as farming novels that ultimately stand as responses to these agricultural policies during the periods they were made. It will contend that, given each author's experience in farming, the novels must be read as acts of political intent meant to provide warnings against productivist policies and the loss of social and rural capital they generate. In connecting these works to the specific agricultural policies enacted and practiced at the time of their writing, a form of resistance will be brought to light that has been overlooked thus far in their registration as world literature.
‘Gardens All Wet With Rain’: Pastoralism in the Music of Van Morrison
Authors: Smyth Gerry
Published: May 2019

‘Ecomusicology’ is a developing field that looks to explore the interface between modern eco-theory and a range of historical and contemporary musical phenomena. Generated as it is by a country in which ideas of space/place and ideas of music feature particularly strongly, it is likely that Irish cultural history will resonate powerfully in relation to an ecomusicological perspective. The early work of Van Morrison is rooted in the hippie counter-culture of the 1960s, one principal strand of which concerned environmental despoliation and the need for some form of re-enchantment with nature. By contrast, the ‘Celtic Music’ phenomenon of the 1990s was brought to its artistic (and financial) apogee by the Donegal singer Enya. Drawing on techniques initially developed by family members in Clannad, Enya evinced a form of mystical Celticism which, even as it harked back to earlier versions, sang to a quasi-environmentalist discourse embedded within the contemporary style known as ‘New Age’. The essay will conclude with a brief description of the other areas of Irish music that would be amenable to an ecomusicological audit.
Drivers of Cooperation Activity in Kosovo’s Agriculture
Authors: Muriqi Shyhrete , Fekete-Farkas Maria , Baranyai Zsolt
Published: May 2019

This research aims to determine the demographic and economic factors affecting agriculture cooperation activity in Kosovo. Primary data was collected from 249 farmers in Kosovo through structured questionnaires using the random sampling technique. The results show that the level of cooperation among farmers in Kosovo is low due to the lack of trust in the cooperative institutions. The binary logistic regression analysis used in the study shows that location, gender, age, education level, trust, and farm size have significantly influenced the cooperation activity. Findings also highlight that the farmers who live in rural areas, as well as those who are young and have got a higher level of education and trust, show a higher level of activity associated with cooperation, whereas farms managed by (older) men with lower level of education are less likely to cooperate. Estimation indicates that medium sized farms show a high level of cooperation, which can be statistically verified, and only the type of farming has nonsignificant influence in cooperation.
Antibiotic Prophylaxis on Third Molar Extraction: Systematic Review of Recent Data
Authors: Cervino Gabriele , Cicciù Marco , Biondi Antonio , Bocchieri Salvatore , Herford Alan Scott , Laino Luigi , Fiorillo Luca
Published: May 2019

The aim of this paper was to highlight the most widely antibiotic protocols applied to the dental field, especially in the surgical treatment of impacted wisdom teeth. Once these protocols were screened, all the possible advantages or disadvantages for each drug and each posology were recorded in this review. In recent years, the need to use these protocols has been debated in the literature. The data obtained by this review underlined how antibiotic protocols applied to oral surgery treatments only included surgeries performed on patients who did not present other systemic pathologies. The first literature review obtained 140 results, and then after the application of the inclusion criteria, 12 papers were selected. The results showed that the most commonly used protocol involved the use of penicillin and clavulanate, obtaining safe clinical and prophylactic results in the management of infections. This widely used protocol seems to guarantee high predictability and safety. The presented review highlights the current possibility of antibiotic resistance affecting patients due to drug misuse. Further clinical studies are required to state specific guidelines; however, oral surgeons involved in third molar surgery should evaluate the local and general health conditions of the patients before suggesting any drug measures for patients.
Phytochemical Combination PB125 Activates the Nrf2 Pathway and Induces Cellular Protection against Oxidative Injury
Authors: Hybertson Brooks M. , Gao Bifeng , Bose Swapan , McCord Joe M.
Published: May 2019

Bioactive phytochemicals in Rosmarinus officinalis, Withania somnifera, and Sophora japonica have a long history of human use to promote health. In this study we examined the cellular effects of a combination of extracts from these plant sources based on specified levels of their carnosol/carnosic acid, withaferin A, and luteolin levels, respectively. Individually, these bioactive compounds have previously been shown to activate the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) transcription factor, which binds to the antioxidant response element (ARE) and regulates the expression of a wide variety of cytoprotective genes. We found that combinations of these three plant extracts act synergistically to activate the Nrf2 pathway, and we identified an optimized combination of the three agents which we named PB125 for use as a dietary supplement. Using microarray, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and RNA-seq technologies, we examined the gene expression induced by PB125 in HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma) cells, including canonical Nrf2-regulated genes, noncanonical Nrf2-regulated genes, and genes which appear to be regulated by non-Nrf2 mechanisms. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified Nrf2 as the primary pathway for gene expression changes by PB125. Pretreatment with PB125 protected cultured HepG2 cells against an oxidative stress challenge caused by cumene hydroperoxide exposure, by both cell viability and cell injury measurements. In summary, PB125 is a phytochemical dietary supplement comprised of extracts of three ingredients, Rosmarinus officinalis, Withania somnifera, and Sophora japonica, with specified levels of carnosol/carnosic acid, withaferin A, and luteolin, respectively. Each ingredient contributes to the activation of the Nrf2 pathway in unique ways, which leads to upregulation of cytoprotective genes and protection of cells against oxidative stress and supports the use of PB125 as a dietary supplement to promote healthy aging.
Effect of Microalgae Incorporation on Quality Characteristics and Functional and Antioxidant Capacities of Ready-to-Eat Fish Burgers Made from Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)
Authors: Ben Atitallah Ali , Hentati Faiez , Dammak Mouna , Hadrich Bilel , Fendri Imen , Ayadi Mohamed-Ali , Michaud Philippe , Abdelkafi Slim , Barkallah Mohamed
Published: May 2019

Microalgae have been used as natural ingredients to produce functional and nutritional food products. The impact of the addition of Chlorella minutissima, Isochrysis galbana, and Picochlorum sp. at concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 1.5% w/v on the texture and sensory attributes of canned burgers were investigated. The results show that carp formulations containing 1% microalgae show significantly better classification performance for many textural and sensory parameters compared to the rest of the formulations. Also, these treatments had higher swelling ability as well as water and oil holding capacities, thanks to the important dietary fiber and polysaccharide contents found in microalgae. Moreover, microalgae-supplemented burgers were characterized as having low a* and b* values, which made the color appear to be pale orange. Additionally, thanks to its richness in pigments and polysaccharides, microalgae considerably ameliorated the antioxidant activities of the new prepared fish burgers. Thus, microalgae could be used as natural and nutritious ingredient to develop new fish-based products.
IoT Implementation of Kalman Filter to Improve Accuracy of Air Quality Monitoring and Prediction
Authors: Lai Xiaozheng , Yang Ting , Wang Zetao , Chen Peng
Published: May 2019

In order to obtain high-accuracy measurements, traditional air quality monitoring and prediction systems adopt high-accuracy sensors. However, high-accuracy sensors are accompanied with high cost, which cannot be widely promoted in Internet of Things (IoT) with many sensor nodes. In this paper, we propose a low-cost air quality monitoring and real-time prediction system based on IoT and edge computing, which reduces IoT applications dependence on cloud computing. Raspberry Pi with computing power, as an edge device, runs the Kalman Filter (KF) algorithm, which improves the accuracy of low-cost sensors by 27% on the edge side. Based on the KF algorithm, our proposed system achieves the immediate prediction of the concentration of six air pollutants such as SO2, NO2 and PM2.5 by combining the observations with errors. In the comparison experiments with three common predicted algorithms including Simple Moving Average, Exponentially Weighted Moving Average and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average, the KF algorithm can obtain the optimal prediction results, and root-mean-square error decreases by 68.3% on average. Taken together, the results of the study indicate that our proposed system, combining edge computing and IoT, can be promoted in smart agriculture.
Wu Shan Shen Cha (Malus asiatica Nakai. Leaves)-Derived Flavonoids Alleviate Alcohol-Induced Gastric Injury in Mice via an Anti-Oxidative Mechanism
Authors: Liu Bihui , Zhang Chengfeng , Zhang Jing , Zhao Xin
Published: May 2019

Wu Shan Shen Cha is the leaf of Malus asiatica Nakai., a special type of tea that is consumed in the same way as green tea. To study the effect of Wu Shan Shen Cha-derived flavonoids (WSSCF) on lesions in the stomach, a 15% hydrochloric acid–95% ethanol (volume ratio 4:6) solution was used to induce gastric injury in mice. The degree of gastric injury was assessed using tissue specimens, and the effects of WSSCF on the serum levels of antioxidant enzymes were investigated. The results showed that WSSCF could alleviate the damage of the gastric mucosa and gastric wall caused by the hydrochloric acid–ethanol solution, decrease the tissue and serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in mice with gastric injury, and increase the serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH). The results of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed that WSSCF could increase the mRNA expression of Mn-SOD, Cu/Zn-SOD, catalase (CAT), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in tissue specimens from mice with gastric injury and decrease the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). At the same time, the results of the high concentration of WSSCF (WSSCFH) group were closer to those of the drug (ranitidine) treatment group. Wu Shan Shen Cha-derived flavonoids had a good antioxidant effect, so as to play a preventive role in alcoholic gastric injury.
Novel Galiellalactone Analogues Can Target STAT3 Phosphorylation and Cause Apoptosis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Authors: Ko Hyejin , Lee Jong , Kim Hyun , Kim Taewoo , Han Young , Suh Young-Ger , Chun Jaemoo , Kim Yeong , Ahn Kwang
Published: May 2019

Aberrant activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) has been documented in various malignancies including triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). The STAT3 transcription factor can regulate the different important hallmarks of tumor cells, and thus, targeting it can be a potential strategy for treating TNBC, for which only limited therapeutic options are available. In this study, we analyzed the possible effect of (-)-galiellalactone and its novel analogues, SG-1709 and SG-1721, and determined whether these agents exerted their antineoplastic effects by suppressing the STAT3 signaling pathway in TNBC cells. The two analogues, SG-1709 and SG-1721, inhibited both constitutive as well as inducible STAT3 phosphorylation at tyrosine 705 more effectively than (-)-galiellalactone, which indicates that the analogues are more potent STAT3 blockers. Moreover, SG-1721 not only inhibited nuclear translocation and DNA binding of STAT3 but also induced apoptosis, and decreased expression of diverse oncogenic proteins. Interestingly, SG-1721 also exhibited an enhanced apoptotic effect when combined with radiotherapy. Furthermore, in vivo administration of SG-1721 significantly attenuated breast xenograft tumor growth via decreasing levels of p-STAT3. Therefore, SG-1721 may be a promising candidate for further application as a pharmacological agent that can target STAT3 protein in treating TNBC.
Cancer Stem Cells in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Identification, Characterization and Clinical Implications
Authors: Peitzsch Claudia , Nathansen Jacqueline , Schniewind Sebastian I. , Schwarz Franziska , Dubrovska Anna
Published: May 2019

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Despite advances in the treatment management, locally advanced disease has a poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 50%. The growth of HNSCC is maintained by a population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) which possess unlimited self-renewal potential and induce tumor regrowth if not completely eliminated by therapy. The population of CSCs is not only a promising target for tumor treatment, but also an important biomarker to identify the patients at risk for therapeutic failure and disease progression. This review aims to provide an overview of the recent pre-clinical and clinical studies on the biology and potential therapeutic implications of HNSCC stem cells.
Fibroblasts as Modulators of Local and Systemic Cancer Metabolism
Authors: Sanford-Crane Hannah , Abrego Jaime , Sherman Mara H.
Published: May 2019

Fibroblast activation is an accompanying feature of solid tumor progression, resembling a conserved host response to tissue damage. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) comprise a heterogeneous and plastic population with increasingly appreciated roles in tumor growth, metastatic capacity, and response to therapy. Classical features of fibroblasts in a wound-healing response, including profound extracellular matrix production and cytokine release, are recapitulated in cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that fibroblastic cells in the microenvironments of solid tumors also critically modulate cellular metabolism in the neoplastic compartment through mechanisms including paracrine transfer of metabolites or non-cell-autonomous regulation of metabolic signaling pathways. These metabolic functions may represent common mechanisms by which fibroblasts stimulate growth of the regenerating epithelium during a wound-healing reaction, or may reflect unique co-evolution of cancer cells and surrounding stroma within the tumor microenvironment. Here we review the recent literature supporting an important role for CAFs in regulation of cancer cell metabolism, and relevant pathways that may serve as targets for therapeutic intervention.
Rearranged During Transfection Fusions in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: O’Leary Connor , Xu Wen , Pavlakis Nick , Richard Derek , O’Byrne Ken
Published: May 2019

Identifying and targeting specific oncogenic drivers has become standard of care in the routine management of patients with lung cancer. Research is ongoing to expand the number of drug targets that can offer clinically meaningful outcomes. Rearranged during transfection (RET) fusions are the latest oncogenic driver alterations that show potential as a drug target. RET fusions occur in 1–2% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases. They are more commonly associated with younger age, female gender, non-smokers and Asian ethnicity. The RET kinase is abnormally activated through fusion with a partner protein such as KIF5B, CCDC6 or NCOA4. This leads to downstream intracellular signalling and enhancement of gene transcription and cell proliferation. The effectiveness of multi-kinase inhibitors in RET positive NSCLC has been explored in early phase and retrospective studies. From these studies, the most effective agents identified include cabozantanib and vandetanib. Overall response rates (ORR) vary from 18–47% across studies. In general, these agents have a manageable toxicity profile, although there are a number of off-target toxicities. Similar to the increased activity in ALK rearranged disease, pemetrexed has demonstrated superior response rates in this patient group and should be considered. Selective RET inhibitors, including LOXO-292 and BLU-667, are progressing in clinical trials. LOXO-292 has demonstrated an impressive ORR of 77% in RET positive solid tumours. It is anticipated this agent will be an effective targeted therapeutic option for patients with RET positive lung cancer.
CO and CO2 Co-Methanation on Ni/CeO2-ZrO2 Soft-Templated Catalysts
Authors: Atzori Luciano , Rombi Elisabetta , Meloni Daniela , Sini Maria Franca , Monaci Roberto , Cutrufello Maria Giorgia
Published: May 2019

Supported nickel catalysts were synthesized, characterized, and employed in the carbon oxides co-methanation process. Five NiO/CeO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides, with the same Ni content and different Ce/Zr molar ratios, were prepared by the soft-template method. They were characterized through ICP-AES, N2 adsorption, XRD, and TPR. Reduced Ni/CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts were obtained by submitting the oxide systems to reduction treatment in H2 at 400 °C. They were characterized by XRD, H2-TPD, and CO2 adsorption microcalorimetry and their catalytic performances in the carbon oxides co-methanation were investigated. Catalytic tests were performed in a fixed-bed continuous-flow microreactor at atmospheric pressure. The effect of experimental conditions (reaction temperature, space velocity, reactants molar ratio) was also studied. Almost complete CO conversion was obtained on any catalyst, whereas CO2 conversion was much lower and increased with Ce content, at least up to Ce/Zr = 1. The beneficial effect of the Ce content could be related to the increased NiO reducibility and to the higher ability to adsorb and activate CO2. However, at high Ce/Zr ratios, it is probably counterbalanced by an interplay of reactions involving CO and CO2.
The Roles of YAP/TAZ and the Hippo Pathway in Healthy and Diseased Skin
Authors: Rognoni Emanuel , Walko Gernot
Published: May 2019

Skin is the largest organ of the human body. Its architecture and physiological functions depend on diverse populations of epidermal cells and dermal fibroblasts. Reciprocal communication between the epidermis and dermis plays a key role in skin development, homeostasis and repair. While several stem cell populations have been identified in the epidermis with distinct locations and functions, there is additional heterogeneity within the mesenchymal cells of the dermis. Here, we discuss the current knowledge of how the Hippo pathway and its downstream effectors Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) contribute to the maintenance, activation and coordination of the epidermal and dermal cell populations during development, homeostasis, wound healing and cancer.
Evolutionary Conservation and Divergence of Genes Encoding 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Synthase in the Allotetraploid Cotton Species Gossypium hirsutum
Authors: Liu Wei , Zhang Zhiqiang , Zhu Wei , Ren Zhongying , Jia Lin , Li Wei , Ma Zongbin
Published: May 2019

Polyploidization is important for the speciation and subsequent evolution of many plant species. Analyses of the duplicated genes produced via polyploidization events may clarify the origin and evolution of gene families. During terpene biosynthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A synthase (HMGS) functions as a key enzyme in the mevalonate pathway. In this study, we first identified a total of 53 HMGS genes in 23 land plant species, while no HMGS genes were detected in three green algae species. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that plant HMGS genes may have originated from a common ancestral gene before clustering in different branches during the divergence of plant lineages. Then, we detected six HMGS genes in the allotetraploid cotton species (Gossypium hirsutum), which was twice that of the two diploid cotton species (Gossypium raimondii and Gossypium arboreum). The comparison of gene structures and phylogenetic analysis of HMGS genes revealed conserved evolution during polyploidization in Gossypium. Moreover, the expression patterns indicated that six GhHMGS genes were expressed in all tested tissues, with most genes considerably expressed in the roots, and they were responsive to various phytohormone treatments and abiotic stresses. The sequence and expression divergence of duplicated genes in G. hirsutum implied the sub-functionalization of GhHMGS1A and GhHMGS1D as well as GhHMGS3A and GhHMGS3D, whereas it implied the pseudogenization of GhHMGS2A and GhHMGS2D. Collectively, our study unraveled the evolutionary history of HMGS genes in green plants and from diploid to allotetraploid in cotton and illustrated the different evolutionary fates of duplicated HMGS genes resulting from polyploidization.
Security Pattern for Cloud SaaS: From System and Data Security to Privacy Case Study in AWS and Azure
Authors: Rath Annanda , Spasic Bojan , Boucart Nick , Thiran Philippe
Published: May 2019

The Cloud is fast becoming a popular platform for SaaS, a popular software delivery model. This is because the Cloud has many advantages over the traditional private infrastructure, such as increased flexibility, no maintenance, less management burden, easy access and easy to share information. However, there are many concerns around issues like system security, communication security, data security, privacy, latency and availability. In addition, when designing and developing Cloud SaaS application, these security issues need to be addressed in order to ensure regulatory compliance, security and trusted environment for Cloud SaaS users. In this paper, we explore the security patterns for Cloud SaaS. We work on the patterns covering different security aspects from system and data security to privacy. Our goal is to produce the security best practices and security knowledge documentation that SaaS developer can use as a guideline for developing Cloud SaaS applications from the ground up. In addition to that, we also provide a case study of security patterns and solutions in AWS and Azure.
A Design Methodology and Analysis for Transformer-Based Class-E Power Amplifier
Authors: Lim Alfred , Tan Aaron , Kong Zhi-Hui , Ma Kaixue
Published: May 2019

This paper proposes a new technique and design methodology on a transformer-based Class-E complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) power amplifier (PA) with only one transformer and two capacitors in the load network. An analysis of this amplifier is presented together with an accurate and simple design procedure. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. The following performance parameters are determined for optimum operation: The current and voltage waveform, the peak value of drain current and drain-to-source voltage, the output power, the efficiency and the component values of the load network are determined to be essential for optimum operation. The measured drain efficiency (DE) and power-added efficiency (PAE) is over 70% with 10-dBm output power at 2.4 GHz, using a 65 nm CMOS process technology.
Data Driven Natural Gas Spot Price Prediction Models Using Machine Learning Methods
Authors: Su Moting , Zhang Zongyi , Zhu Ye , Zha Donglan , Wen Wenying
Published: May 2019

Natural gas has been proposed as a solution to increase the security of energy supply and reduce environmental pollution around the world. Being able to forecast natural gas price benefits various stakeholders and has become a very valuable tool for all market participants in competitive natural gas markets. Machine learning algorithms have gradually become popular tools for natural gas price forecasting. In this paper, we investigate data-driven predictive models for natural gas price forecasting based on common machine learning tools, i.e., artificial neural networks (ANN), support vector machines (SVM), gradient boosting machines (GBM), and Gaussian process regression (GPR). We harness the method of cross-validation for model training and monthly Henry Hub natural gas spot price data from January 2001 to October 2018 for evaluation. Results show that these four machine learning methods have different performance in predicting natural gas prices. However, overall ANN reveals better prediction performance compared with SVM, GBM, and GPR.
Three Main Genes in the MAPK Cascade Involved in the Chinese Jujube-Phytoplasma Interaction
Authors: Liu Zhiguo , Zhao Zhihui , Xue Chaoling , Wang Lixin , Wang Lili , Feng Chunfang , Zhang Liman , Yu Zhe , Zhao Jin , Liu Mengjun
Published: May 2019

Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is an important economic forest species and multipurpose fruit tree in the family of Rhamnaceae. Phytoplasmas are significant prokaryotic pathogens, associated with more than 1000 plant diseases. Jujube witches’ broom disease (JWB) is a typical phytoplasma disease, caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi’. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are highly universal signal transduction modules and play crucial roles in regulating innate immune responses in plants. Thus, in the current study, systematical expression profiles of 10 ZjMPK and 4 ZjMPKK genes were conducted in plantlets with JWB disease, plantlets recovered from JWB disease, the tissues showing different disease symptoms, and resistant/susceptible cultivars infected by JWB phytoplasma. We found that most ZjMPK and ZjMKK genes exhibited significant up- or down-regulation expression under phytoplasma infection, but the top three differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were ZjMPK2, ZjMKK2 and ZjMKK4, which showed the biggest times of gene’s significant difference expression in all materials. Based on STRING database analysis, ZjMKK2 and ZjMPK2 were involved in the same plant-pathogen interaction pathway, and Yeast two-hybrid screening showed that ZjMKK2 could interact with ZjMPK2. Finally, we deduced a pathway of jujube MAPK cascades which response to ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi’ infection. Our study presents the first gene-family-wide investigation on the systematical expression analysis of MAPK and MAPKK genes in Chinese jujube under phytoplasma infection. These results provide valuable information for the further research on the signaling pathway of phytoplasma infection in Chinese jujube.
Osteogenic Cell Behavior on Titanium Surfaces in Hard Tissue
Authors: Choi Jung-Yoo , Albrektsson Tomas , Jeon Young-Jun , Yeo In-Sung Luke
Published: May 2019

It is challenging to remove dental implants once they have been inserted into the bone because it is hard to visualize the actual process of bone formation after implant installation, not to mention the cellular events that occur therein. During bone formation, contact osteogenesis occurs on roughened implant surfaces, while distance osteogenesis occurs on smooth implant surfaces. In the literature, there have been many in vitro model studies of bone formation on simulated dental implants using flattened titanium (Ti) discs; however, the purpose of this study was to identify the in vivo cell responses to the implant surfaces on actual, three-dimensional (3D) dental Ti implants and the surrounding bone in contact with such implants at the electron microscopic level using two different types of implant surfaces. In particular, the different parts of the implant structures were scrutinized. In this study, dental implants were installed in rabbit tibiae. The implants and bone were removed on day 10 and, subsequently, assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), immunofluorescence microscopy (IF), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), focused ion-beam (FIB) system with Cs-corrected TEM (Cs-STEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)—which were used to determine the implant surface characteristics and to identify the cells according to the different structural parts of the turned and roughened implants. The cell attachment pattern was revealed according to the different structural components of each implant surface and bone. Different cell responses to the implant surfaces and the surrounding bone were attained at an electron microscopic level in an in vivo model. These results shed light on cell behavioral patterns that occur during bone regeneration and could be a guide in the use of electron microscopy for 3D dental implants in an in vivo model.
Maternal Complications and Hemodynamic Changes Following Intrauterine Interventions for Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome in Monochorionic Diamniotic Twin Pregnancies
Authors: Greimel Patrick , Zenz Angela , Csapó Bence , Haeusler Martin , Lang Uwe , Klaritsch Philipp
Published: May 2019

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a challenging complication in monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins. Intrauterine interventions, such as fetoscopic laser ablation and cord occlusion followed by amniodrainage, are established treatments. Little is known about maternal complications and hemodynamics following these interventions. We performed a retrospective analysis of maternal procedure-related complications and the impact of such procedures on maternal hemodynamics and blood characteristics. Within the study period, 100 women with severe TTTS treated by fetoscopic laser ablation (FLA) or cord occlusion (CO) were identified. Clinically relevant maternal complications were reported in four (4%) cases. There was a significant decrease in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and albumin between admission and postoperative measurements (all p < 0.001). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as maternal heart rate, decreased from time of skin suture to postoperative measurements (all p < 0.001). Within a 24 h interval, there was a positive correlation between hematocrit (Spearman’s rho 0.325; p = 0.003), hemoglobin (Spearman’s rho 0.379; p < 0.001), and albumin (Spearman’s rho 0.360; p = 0.027), and the amount of amniodrainage during the intervention. Maternal procedure-related complications are relatively rare. Significant hemodynamic alterations and maternal hemodilution are common clinical findings following intrauterine interventions.
Data-Driven UPLC-Orbitrap MS Analysis in Astrochemistry
Authors: Ruf Alexander , Poinot Pauline , Geffroy Claude , Le Sergeant d’Hendecourt Louis , Danger Gregoire
Published: May 2019

Meteorites have been found to be rich and highly diverse in organic compounds. Next to previous direct infusion high resolution mass spectrometry experiments (DI-HR-MS), we present here data-driven strategies to evaluate UPLC-Orbitrap MS analyses. This allows a comprehensive mining of structural isomers extending the level of information on the molecular diversity in astrochemical materials. As a proof-of-concept study, Murchison and Allende meteorites were analyzed. Both, global organic fingerprint and specific isomer analyses are discussed. Up to 31 different isomers per molecular composition are present in Murchison suggesting the presence of ≈440,000 different compounds detected therein. By means of this time-resolving high resolution mass spectrometric method, we go one step further toward the characterization of chemical structures within complex extraterrestrial mixtures, enabling a better understanding of organic chemical evolution, from interstellar ices toward small bodies in the Solar System.
Using Pathway Covering to Explore Connections among Metabolites
Authors: Midford Peter E. , Latendresse Mario , O’Maille Paul E. , Karp Peter D.
Published: May 2019

Interpreting changes in metabolite abundance in response to experimental treatments or disease states remains a major challenge in metabolomics. Pathway Covering is a new algorithm that takes a list of metabolites (compounds) and determines a minimum-cost set of metabolic pathways in an organism that includes (covers) all the metabolites in the list. We used five functions for assigning costs to pathways, including assigning a constant for all pathways, which yields a solution with the smallest pathway count; two methods that penalize large pathways; one that prefers pathways based on the pathway’s assigned function, and one that loosely corresponds to metabolic flux. The pathway covering set computed by the algorithm can be displayed as a multi-pathway diagram (“pathway collage”) that highlights the covered metabolites. We investigated the pathway covering algorithm by using several datasets from the Metabolomics Workbench. The algorithm is best applied to a list of metabolites with significant statistics and fold-changes with a specified direction of change for each metabolite. The pathway covering algorithm is now available within the Pathway Tools software and BioCyc website.
Fabrication and Performance of ZnO Doped Tantalum Oxide Multilayer Composite Coatings on Ti6Al4V for Orthopedic Application
Authors: Ding Ziyu , He Quanguo , Ding Zeliang , Liao Cuijiao , Chen Dongchu , Ou Ling
Published: May 2019

Ti6Al4V titanium alloy has been widely used as medical implant material in orthopedic surgery, and one of the obstacles preventing it from wide use is toxic metal ions release and bacterial implant infection. In this paper, in order to improve corrosion resistance and antibacterial performance of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy, ZnO doped tantalum oxide (TaxOy) multilayer composite coating ZnO-TaxOy/TaxOy/TaxOy-TiO2/TiO2/Ti (ZnO-TaxOy) was deposited by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. As a comparison, monolayer TaxOy coating was prepared on the surface of Ti6Al4V alloy. The morphology and phase composition of the coatings were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the elemental chemical states of coating surfaces were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). The adhesion strength and corrosion resistance of the coatings were examined by micro-scratch tester and electrochemical workstations, respectively. The results show that the adhesion strength of multilayer ZnO-TaxOy coating is 16.37 times higher than that of single-layer TaxOy coating. The ZnO-TaxOy composite coating has higher corrosion potential and lower corrosion current density than that of TaxOy coating, showing better corrosion inhibition. Furthermore, antibacterial test revealed that multilayer ZnO-TaxOy coating has a much better antibacterial performance by contrast.
Circulating microRNAs and Their Role in Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Federico Cinzia , Sacco Antonio , Belotti Angelo , Ribolla Rossella , Cancelli Valeria , Giacomini Arianna , Ronca Roberto , Chiarini Marco , Imberti Luisa , Marini Mirella , Rossi Giuseppe , Presta Marco , Paiva Bruno , Roccaro Aldo M.
Published: May 2019

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell dyscrasia characterized by bone marrow infiltration of clonal plasma cells. The recent literature has clearly demonstrated clonal heterogeneity in terms of both the genomic and transcriptomic signature of the tumor. Of note, novel studies have also highlighted the importance of the functional cross-talk between the tumor clone and the surrounding bone marrow milieu, as a relevant player of MM pathogenesis. These findings have certainly enhanced our understanding of the underlying mechanisms supporting MM pathogenesis and disease progression. Within the specific field of small non-coding RNA-research, recent studies have provided evidence for considering microRNAs as a crucial regulator of MM biology and, in this context, circulating microRNAs have been shown to potentially contribute to prognostic stratification of MM patients. The present review will summarize the most recent studies within the specific topic of microRNAs and circulating microRNAs in MM.
Adherence to Cancer Prevention Guidelines among Older White and Black Adults in the Health ABC Study
Authors: Jung Audrey Y. , Miljkovic Iva , Rubin Susan , Kritchevsky Stephen B. , Klepin Heidi D. , Newman Anne B. , Cauley Jane , Ayonayon Hilsa , Harris Tamara B. , Murphy Rachel A.
Published: May 2019

One-third of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyles. This study investigates the prevalence of and factors associated with engagement in cancer prevention guidelines in a population-based cohort of 2124 older white and black men and women. We used Health ABC data to construct a score from 0 (lowest adherence) to 7 (greatest adherence) based on the sum of seven recommendations for cancer prevention from the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research; body fatness (maintenance of healthy body weight), physical activity (at least moderately physically active), diet (fruit, vegetables, fiber, and red and processed meat), and alcohol. Mean (SD) scores in men and women were 3.24 (1.09) and 3.17 (1.10). Lower scores were associated with younger age (women only), black race, current smoking, and prevalent cardiovascular disease. Less than 1% of men and women adhered to all recommendations. Of the individual guidelines, adherence was lowest for fiber (9% of men; 6% of women) followed by physical activity (26% of men; 18% of women), and body weight (21% of men; 26% of women). These results suggest a critical public health need, especially given the growing older population. Black older adults, smokers, and those with prevalent disease may be at higher risk and thus warrant additional focus.
Butylglyceryl Pectin Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Formulation and Characterization
Authors: Bostanudin Mohammad F. , Arafat Mosab , Sarfraz Muhammad , Górecki Dariusz C. , Barbu Eugen
Published: May 2019

Pectin is a polysaccharide with very good gel forming properties that traditionally has found important applications in foods and pharmaceutical industries. Although less studied, chemical modifications of pectin leading to a decrease in its hydrophilicity can be useful for the development of novel drug carriers. To this aim, butylglyceryl pectins (P-OX4) were synthesized via functionalization with n-butylglycidyl ether and subsequently formed into nanoparticles. Chromatographic, spectroscopic, and thermal analytical methods were employed to characterize the novel butylglyceryl pectins (P-OX4) obtained, prior to their formulation into nanoparticles via nanoprecipitation. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirmed a degree of modification in these materials in the range 10.4–13.6%, and thermal stability studies indicated an increase in both the thermal decomposition onset and glass transition temperature values (compared to those of the original pectin). An increase in the molecular weight and a decrease in the viscosity of P-OX4, when compared to the starting material, were also observed. The resulting nanoformulations were investigated in terms of particle morphology, size and stability, and it was found that particles were roughly spherical, with their size below 300 nm, and a negative zeta potential (−20 to −26 mV, indicating good stability). Having demonstrated the ability to load Doxorubicin at the level of 10%, their potential in drug delivery applications warrants further investigations.
A Strategy of In Situ Catalysis and Nucleation of Biocompatible Zinc Salts of Amino Acids towards Poly(l-lactide) with Enhanced Crystallization Rate
Authors: Liang Yuan , Sui Meili , He Maomao , Wei Zhiyong , Zhang Wanxi
Published: May 2019

The intrinsic drawback of slow crystallization rate of poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) inevitably deteriorates its final properties of the molded articles. In this work, we proposed a new strategy towards poly(l-lactide) with enhanced crystallization rate by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of l-lactide (l-LA) catalyzed by biocompatible zinc salts of amino acids. For the first time we developed a one-pot facile method of zinc salts of amino acids acting dual roles of catalysis of l-LA polymerization and in situ nucleation of the as-prepared PLLA. Nine zinc salts of different amino acids, including three kinds of amino acids ligands (alanine, phenylalanine, and proline) with l/d-enantiomers and their equimolar racemic mixtures, were first prepared and tested as catalysts of l-LA polymerization. A partial racemization was observed for zinc salts of amino acids whereas no racemization was detected for the reference stannous octoate. The polymerization mechanism study showed that the interaction of zinc salts of amino acids and benzyl alcohol forms the actual initiator for l-LA polymerization. Isothermal crystallization kinetics analysis showed that the residual zinc salts of amino acids exhibited a significant nucleation effect on PLLA, evidenced by the promotion of the crystallization rate, depending on the amino acid ligand and its configuration. Meanwhile, the residual zinc salts of amino acids did not compromise the thermal stability of the pristine PLLA.
Three Dimensional Pulse Coupled Neural Network Based on Hybrid Optimization Algorithm for Oil Pollution Image Segmentation
Authors: Jia Heming , Xing Zhikai , Song Wenlong
Published: May 2019

This paper proposes a three dimensional pulse coupled neural network (3DPCNN) image segmentation method based on a hybrid seagull optimization algorithm (HSOA) to solve the oil pollution image. The image of oil pollution is taken by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the oil field area. The UAV is good at shooting the ground area, but its ability to identify the oil pollution area is poor. In order to solve this problem, a 3DPCNN-HSOA algorithm is proposed to segment the oil pollution image, and the oil pollution area is segmented to identify the dirty oil area and improve the inspection of environmental pollution. The 3DPCNN image segmentation method has simple structure and good segmentation effect, but it has many parameters and poor segmentation effect for complex oil images. Therefore, we apply HSOA algorithm to optimize the parameters of 3DPCNN algorithm, so as to improve the segmentation accuracy and solve the segmentation of oil pollution images. The experimental results show that the 3DPCNN-HSOA model can separate the oil pollution area from the complex background.
Optimum Capacity and Placement of Storage Batteries Considering Photovoltaics
Authors: Aoyagi Hiroki , Isomura Ryota , Mandal Paras , Krishna Narayanan , Senjyu Tomonobu , Takahashi Hiroshi
Published: May 2019

In recent years, due to the enforcement of the Feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme for renewable energy, a large number of photovoltaic (PV) has been introduced, which causes fluctuations in the supply-demand balance of a power system. As measures against this, the introduction of large capacity storage batteries and demand response has been carried out, and the balance between supply and demand has been adjusted. However, since the increase in capacity of the storage battery is expensive, it is necessary to optimize the capacity of the storage battery from an economic point of view. Therefore, in the power system to which a large amount of photovoltaic power generation has been introduced, the optimal capacity and optimal arrangement of storage batteries are examined. In this paper, the determination of storage battery placement and capacity considering one year is performed by three-step simulation based on probability density function. Simulations show the effectiveness of storage batteries by considering the introduction of demand response and comparing with multiple cases.
The Dependence of China’s Monetary Policy Rules on Interest Rate Regimes: Empirical Analysis Based on a Pseudo Output Gap
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyu , Pan Fanghui
Published: May 2019

Although a large number of scholars have studied the policy preferences and monetary policy rules of China’s central bank, most have found no evidence that China’s central bank has adjusted the nominal interest rates against the output gap. By constructing the pseudo output gap defined by the deviation of the real output growth rate and the target growth rate, this paper finds that China’s central bank prefers to adjust the nominal interest rates against the pseudo output gap. The monetary policy preferences and rules of China’s central bank in different interest rate regimes are investigated based on the threshold Taylor rule model. It is found that, in the high-interest-rate regime, the central bank adjusts the nominal interest against the inflation gap and the pseudo output gap, while in the low-interest-rate regime, there is no evidence that the central bank adjusts the nominal interest rates against the pseudo output gap. The lower bound of interest rate reduction and the weakening of interest rate policy effects caused by the liquidity trap of the interest rate are the possible reasons for China’s central bank not to adjust the nominal interest rates against the pseudo output gap.
A Similarity-Based Hierarchical Clustering Method for Manufacturing Process Models
Authors: Ahn Hyun , Chang Tai-Woo
Published: May 2019

As the adoption of information technologies increases in the manufacturing industry, manufacturing companies should efficiently manage their data and manufacturing processes in order to enhance their manufacturing competency. Because smart factories acquire processing data from connected machines, the business process management (BPM) approach can enrich the capability of manufacturing operations management. Manufacturing companies could benefit from the well-defined methodologies and process-centric engineering practices of this BPM approach for optimizing their manufacturing processes. Based on the approach, this paper proposes a similarity-based hierarchical clustering method for manufacturing processes. To this end, first we describe process modeling based on the BPM-compliant standard so that the manufacturing processes can be controlled by BPM systems. Second, we present similarity measures for manufacturing process models that serve as a criterion for the hierarchical clustering. Then, we formulate the hierarchical clustering problem and describe an agglomerative clustering algorithm using the measured similarities. Our contribution is considered on the assumption that a manufacturing company adopts the BPM approach and it operates various manufacturing processes. We expect that our method enables manufacturing companies to design and manage a vast amount of manufacturing processes at a coarser level, and it also can be applied to various process (re)engineering problems.