bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temporal Hydrological Drought Index Forecasting for New South Wales, Australia Using Machine Learning Approaches
Authors: Dikshit Abhirup , Pradhan Biswajeet , Alamri Abdullah M.
Published: June 2020

Droughts can cause significant damage to agriculture and water resources leading to severe economic losses. One of the most important aspects of drought management is to develop useful tools to forecast drought events, which could be helpful in mitigation strategies. The recent global trends in drought events reveal that climate change would be a dominant factor in influencing such events. The present study aims to understand this effect for the New South Wales (NSW) region of Australia, which has suffered from several droughts in recent decades. The understanding of the drought is usually carried out using a drought index, therefore the Standard Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI) was chosen as it uses both rainfall and temperature parameters in its calculation and has proven to better reflect drought. The drought index was calculated at various time scales (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) using a Climate Research Unit (CRU) dataset. The study focused on predicting the temporal aspect of the drought index using 13 different variables, of which eight were climatic drivers and sea surface temperature indices, and the remainder were various meteorological variables. The models used for forecasting were an artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector regression (SVR). The model was trained from 1901–2010 and tested for nine years (2011–2018), using three different performance metric scores (coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). The results indicate that ANN was better than SVR in predicting temporal drought trends, with the highest R2 value of 0.86 for the former compared to 0.75 for the latter. The study also reveals that sea surface temperatures and the climatic index (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) do not have a significant effect on the temporal drought aspect. The present work can be considered as a first step, wherein we only study the temporal trends, towards the use of climatological variables and drought incidences for the NSW region.
Stratosphere–Troposphere Exchange and O3 Variability in the Lower Stratosphere and Upper Troposphere over the Irene SHADOZ Site, South Africa
Authors: Mkololo Thumeka , Mbatha Nkanyiso , Sivakumar Venkataraman , Bègue Nelson , Coetzee Gerrie , Labuschagne Casper
Published: June 2020

This study aims to investigate the Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange (STE) events and ozone changes over Irene (25.5° S, 28.1° E). Twelve years of ozonesondes data (2000–2007, 2012–2015) from Irene station operating in the framework of the Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesodes (SHADOZ) was used to study the troposphere (0–16 km) and stratosphere (17–28 km) ozone (O3) vertical profiles. Ozone profiles were grouped into three categories (2000–2003, 2004–2007 and 2012–2015) and average composites were calculated for each category. Fifteen O3 enhancement events were identified over the study period. These events were observed in all seasons (one event in summer, four events in autumn, five events in winter and five events in spring); however, they predominantly occur in winter and spring. The STE events presented here are observed to be influenced by the Southern Hemisphere polar vortex. To strengthen the investigation into STE events, advected potential vorticity maps were used, which were assimilated using Modélisation Isentrope du transport Méso–échelle de l’Ozone Stratosphérique par Advection (MIMOSA) model for the 350 K (~12–13 km) isentropic level. These maps indicated transport of high latitude air masses responsible for the reduction of the O3 mole fractions at the lower stratosphere over Irene which coincides with the enhancement of ozone in the upper troposphere. In general, the stratosphere is dominated by higher Modern Retrospective Analysis for Research Application (MERRA-2) potential vorticity (PV) values compared to the troposphere. However, during the STE events, higher PV values from the stratosphere were observed to intrude the troposphere. Ozone decline was observed from 12 km to 24 km with the highest decline occurring from 14 km to 18 km. An average decrease of 6.0% and 9.1% was calculated from 12 to 24 km in 2004–2007 and 2012–2015 respectively, when compared with 2000–2003 average composite. The observed decline occurred in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere with winter and spring showing more decline compared with summer and autumn.
Impacts of Tree Canopy Cover on Microclimate and Human Thermal Comfort in a Shallow Street Canyon in Wuhan, China
Authors: Huang Zhuodi , Wu Changguang , Teng Mingjun , Lin Yaoyu
Published: June 2020

Increasing the number of street trees can be a promising method to reduce impacts of climate change currently impacting urban public health. However, the quantitative relationships between tree canopy cover and thermal comfort remains unclear, particularly in areas with high temperature and high humidity. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the effects of different degrees of tree canopy cover on human thermal comfort in shallow street canyons in a high temperature, high humidity area of China. Microclimatic measurements and qualitative surveys were conducted on sunny summer days in a shallow street canyon in Wuhan. The results suggest that microclimate benefits are greater for areas with a high-percentage tree canopy cover compared to medium- and low-percentage tree canopy cover—especially at noon. In streets with a high-percentage tree canopy cover, afternoon air temperatures and mean radiant temperatures can be reduced by up to 3.3 °C and 13.9 °C, respectively, compared to a similar street with no tree shade. The thermal sensation prediction formula is proposed and the relationship between human thermal sensation and microclimate factors is established. Blocking solar radiation and increasing wind speed are more feasible than controlling air temperature and humidity as ways to improve human thermal comfort.
Relative Risk Functions for Estimating Excess Mortality Attributable to Outdoor PM2.5 Air Pollution: Evolution and State-of-the-Art
Authors: Burnett Richard , Cohen Aaron
Published: June 2020

The recent proliferation of cohort studies of long-term exposure to outdoor fine particulate air pollution and mortality has led to a significant increase in knowledge about this important global health risk factor. As scientific knowledge has grown, mortality relative risk estimators for fine particulate matter have evolved from simple risk models based on a single study to complex, computationally intensive, integration of multiple independent particulate sources based on nearly one hundred studies. Since its introduction nearly 10 years ago, the integrated exposure-response (IER) model has become the state-of-the art model for such estimates, now used by the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s benefits assessment software, and scientists worldwide to estimate the burden of disease and examine strategies to improve air quality at global, national, and sub-national scales for outdoor fine particulate air pollution, secondhand smoke, and household pollution from heating and cooking. With each yearly update of the GBD, estimates of the IER continue to evolve, changing with the incorporation of new data and fitting methods. As the number of outdoor fine particulate air pollution cohort studies has grown, including recent estimates of high levels of fine particulate pollution in China, new estimators based solely on outdoor fine particulate air pollution evidence have been proposed which require fewer assumptions than the IER and yield larger relative risk estimates. This paper will discuss the scientific and technical issues analysts should consider regarding the use of these methods to estimate the burden of disease attributable to outdoor fine particulate pollution in their own settings.
Multivariate Monitoring Workflow for Formulation, Fill and Finish Processes
Authors: Pretzner Barbara , Taylor Christopher , Dorozinski Filip , Dekner Michael , Liebminger Andreas , Herwig Christoph
Published: June 2020

Process monitoring is a critical task in ensuring the consistent quality of the final drug product in biopharmaceutical formulation, fill, and finish (FFF) processes. Data generated during FFF monitoring includes multiple time series and high-dimensional data, which is typically investigated in a limited way and rarely examined with multivariate data analysis (MVDA) tools to optimally distinguish between normal and abnormal observations. Data alignment, data cleaning and correct feature extraction of time series of various FFF sources are resource-intensive tasks, but nonetheless they are crucial for further data analysis. Furthermore, most commercial statistical software programs offer only nonrobust MVDA, rendering the identification of multivariate outliers error-prone. To solve this issue, we aimed to develop a novel, automated, multivariate process monitoring workflow for FFF processes, which is able to robustly identify root causes in process-relevant FFF features. We demonstrate the successful implementation of algorithms capable of data alignment and cleaning of time-series data from various FFF data sources, followed by the interconnection of the time-series data with process-relevant phase settings, thus enabling the seamless extraction of process-relevant features. This workflow allows the introduction of efficient, high-dimensional monitoring in FFF for a daily work-routine as well as for continued process verification (CPV).
A Ribosome Interaction Surface Sensitive to mRNA GCN Periodicity
Authors: Scopino Kristen , Williams Elliot , Elsayed Abdelrahman , Barr William A. , Krizanc Daniel , Thayer Kelly M. , Weir Michael P.
Published: June 2020

A longstanding challenge is to understand how ribosomes parse mRNA open reading frames (ORFs). Significantly, GCN codons are over-represented in the initial codons of ORFs of prokaryote and eukaryote mRNAs. We describe a ribosome rRNA-protein surface that interacts with an mRNA GCN codon when next in line for the ribosome A-site. The interaction surface is comprised of the edges of two stacked rRNA bases: the Watson–Crick edge of 16S/18S rRNA C1054 and the adjacent Hoogsteen edge of A1196 (Escherichia coli 16S rRNA numbering). Also part of the interaction surface, the planar guanidinium group of a conserved Arginine (R146 of yeast ribosomal protein Rps3) is stacked adjacent to A1196. On its other side, the interaction surface is anchored to the ribosome A-site through base stacking of C1054 with the wobble anticodon base of the A-site tRNA. Using molecular dynamics simulations of a 495-residue subsystem of translocating ribosomes, we observed base pairing of C1054 to nucleotide G at position 1 of the next-in-line codon, consistent with previous cryo-EM observations, and hydrogen bonding of A1196 and R146 to C at position 2. Hydrogen bonding to both of these codon positions is significantly weakened when C at position 2 is changed to G, A or U. These sequence-sensitive mRNA-ribosome interactions at the C1054-A1196-R146 (CAR) surface potentially contribute to the GCN-mediated regulation of protein translation.
Subtilisin-Involved Morphology Engineering for Improved Antibiotic Production in Actinomycetes
Authors: Wu Yuanting , Kang Qianjin , Zhang Li-Li , Bai Linquan
Published: June 2020

In the submerged cultivation of filamentous microbes, including actinomycetes, complex morphology is one of the critical process features for the production of secondary metabolites. Ansamitocin P-3 (AP-3), an antitumor agent, is a secondary metabolite produced by Actinosynnema pretiosum ATCC 31280. An excessive mycelial fragmentation of A. pretiosum ATCC 31280 was observed during the early stage of fermentation. Through comparative transcriptomic analysis, a subtilisin-like serine peptidase encoded gene APASM_4178 was identified to be responsible for the mycelial fragmentation. Mutant WYT-5 with the APASM_4178 deletion showed increased biomass and improved AP-3 yield by 43.65%. We also found that the expression of APASM_4178 is specifically regulated by an AdpA-like protein APASM_1021. Moreover, the mycelial fragmentation was alternatively alleviated by the overexpression of subtilisin inhibitor encoded genes, which also led to a 46.50 ± 0.79% yield increase of AP-3. Furthermore, APASM_4178 was overexpressed in salinomycin-producing Streptomyces albus BK 3-25 and validamycin-producing S. hygroscopicus TL01, which resulted in not only dispersed mycelia in both strains, but also a 33.80% yield improvement of salinomycin to 24.07 g/L and a 14.94% yield improvement of validamycin to 21.46 g/L. In conclusion, our work elucidates the involvement of a novel subtilisin-like serine peptidase in morphological differentiation, and modulation of its expression could be an effective strategy for morphology engineering and antibiotic yield improvement in actinomycetes.
Clinical Manifestation of Juvenile and Pediatric HD Patients: A Retrospective Case Series
Authors: Achenbach Jannis , Thiels Charlotte , Lücke Thomas , Saft Carsten
Published: June 2020

Background: Studies on the clinical manifestation and course of disease in children suffering from Huntington’s disease (HD) are rare. Case reports of juvenile HD (onset ≤ 20 years) describe heterogeneous motoric and non-motoric symptoms, often accompanied with a delay in diagnosis. We aimed to describe this rare group of patients, especially with regard to socio-medical aspects and individual or common treatment strategies. In addition, we differentiated between juvenile and the recently defined pediatric HD population (onset < 18 years). Methods: Out of 2593 individual HD patients treated within the last 25 years in the Huntington Centre, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), 32 subjects were analyzed with an early onset younger than 21 years (1.23%, juvenile) and 18 of them younger than 18 years of age (0.69%, pediatric). Results: Beside a high degree of school problems, irritability or aggressive behavior (62.5% of pediatric and 31.2% of juvenile cases), serious problems concerning the social and family background were reported in 25% of the pediatric cohort. This includes an attempted rape and robbery at the age of 12, as problems caused by the affected children, but also alcohol-dependency in a two-year-old induced by a non-HD affected stepfather. A high degree of suicidal attempts and ideations (31.2% in pediatric and 33.3% in juvenile group) was reported, including drinking of solvents, swallowing razor blades or jumping from the fifth floor with following incomplete paraparesis. Beside dopaminergic drugs for treatment of bradykinesia, benzodiazepines and tetrabenazine for treatment of dystonia, cannabinoids, botulinum toxin injection and deep brain stimulation were used for the improvement of movement disorders, clozapine for the treatment of tremor, and dopa-induced hallucinations and zuclopenthixole for the treatment of severe aggressive behavior. Conclusions: Beside abnormalities in behavior from an early age due to HD pathology, children seem to have higher socio-medical problems related to additional burden caused by early affected parents, instable family backgrounds including drug abuse of a parent or multiple changes of partners. Treatment required individualized strategies in many cases.
Plasma Treatments and Light Extraction from Fluorinated CVD-Grown (400) Single Crystal Diamond Nanopillars
Authors: Radtke Mariusz , Slablab Abdallah , Van Vlierberghe Sandra , Lin Chao-Nan , Lu Ying-Jie , Shan Chong-Xin
Published: June 2020

We investigate the possibilities to realize light extraction from single crystal diamond (SCD) nanopillars. This was achieved by dedicated 519 nm laser-induced spin-state initiation of negatively charged nitrogen vacancies (NV−). We focus on the naturally-generated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of NV−. Applied diamond was neither implanted with 14N+, nor was the CVD synthesized SCD annealed. To investigate the possibility of light extraction by the utilization of NV−’s bright photoluminescence at room temperature and ambient conditions with the waveguiding effect, we have performed a top-down nanofabrication of SCD by electron beam lithography (EBL) and dry inductively-coupled plasma/reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) to generate light focusing nanopillars. In addition, we have fluorinated the diamond’s surface by dedicated 0 V SF6 ICP plasma. Light extraction and spin manipulations were performed with photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) at room temperature. We have observed a remarkable effect based on the selective 0 V SF6 plasma etching and surprisingly, in contrast to literature findings, deactivation of NV− centers. We discuss the possible deactivation mechanism in detail.
The Mechanical Microenvironment in Breast Cancer
Authors: Pratt Stephen J.P. , Lee Rachel M. , Martin Stuart S.
Published: June 2020

Mechanotransduction is the interpretation of physical cues by cells through mechanosensation mechanisms that elegantly translate mechanical stimuli into biochemical signaling pathways. While mechanical stress and their resulting cellular responses occur in normal physiologic contexts, there are a variety of cancer-associated physical cues present in the tumor microenvironment that are pathological in breast cancer. Mechanistic in vitro data and in vivo evidence currently support three mechanical stressors as mechanical modifiers in breast cancer that will be the focus of this review: stiffness, interstitial fluid pressure, and solid stress. Increases in stiffness, interstitial fluid pressure, and solid stress are thought to promote malignant phenotypes in normal breast epithelial cells, as well as exacerbate malignant phenotypes in breast cancer cells.
Challenges and Strategies in Ascribing Functions to Long Noncoding RNAs
Authors: Zhao Yang , Teng Hongqi , Yao Fan , Yap Shannon , Sun Yutong , Ma Li
Published: June 2020

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in many physiological and pathological processes, such as development, aging, immunity, and cancer. Mechanistically, lncRNAs exert their functions through interaction with proteins, genomic DNA, and other RNA, leading to transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, either in cis or in trans; it is often difficult to distinguish between these two regulatory mechanisms. A variety of approaches, including RNA interference, antisense oligonucleotides, CRISPR-based methods, and genetically engineered mouse models, have yielded abundant information about lncRNA functions and underlying mechanisms, albeit with many discrepancies. In this review, we elaborate on the challenges in ascribing functions to lncRNAs based on the features of lncRNAs, including the genomic location, copy number, domain structure, subcellular localization, stability, evolution, and expression pattern. We also describe a framework for the investigation of lncRNA functions and mechanisms of action. Rigorous characterization of cancer-implicated lncRNAs is critical for the identification of bona fide anticancer targets.
Recent Studies on Multifunctional Electrocatalysts for Fuel Cell by Various Nanomaterials
Authors: Jang Sanha , Moon Kyeongmin , Park Youchang , Park Sujung , Park Kang Hyun
Published: June 2020

Based on nanotechnology, nanocomposites are synthesized using nanoparticles (NP), which have some advantages in terms of multifunctional, economic, and environmental factors. In this review, we discuss the inorganic applications as well as catalytic applications of NPs. Recently, structural defects, heteroatomic doping, and heterostructures of such efficient ideal catalysts and their application as multifunctional catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water splitting. It has been verified that the catalysts used in oxygen reduction reaction and OER can be used effectively in metal/air batteries. Moreover, it has been reported that high-efficiency catalysts are required to implement urea oxidation reaction (UOR), which involves a six-electron reaction, as an electrochemical reaction. We expect that this review can be applied to sustainable and diverse electrochemistry fields.
Selective Liquid-Phase Oxidation of Toluene with Molecular Oxygen Catalyzed by Mn3O4 Nanoparticles Immobilized on CNTs under Solvent-Free Conditions
Authors: Feng Yuwei , Zeng Aiwu
Published: June 2020

The catalytic performance of Mn3O4 supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the liquid-phase oxidation of toluene to benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde was studied. The supported catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms and ICP-MS. The results demonstrate that Mn3O4 nanoparticles loaded on CNTs performed better compared with pristine Mn3O4 or CNTs. The main reason for the increased catalytic activity is the dispersion and loading of Mn3O4 in CNTs. By optimizing the reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst quality, oxygen flow rate and initiator dosage, the optimum reaction conditions were obtained. Using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the initiator and oxygen as the oxidant, the toluene conversion rate was as high as 24.63%, and benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde selectivity was 90.49%. The good stability of the catalyst was confirmed by repeating the experiment for four cycles and observing no significant changes in its performance.
Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene over Pd-Mn/Al2O3 Catalysts
Authors: Melnikov Dmitry , Stytsenko Valentine , Saveleva Elena , Kotelev Mikhail , Lyubimenko Valentina , Ivanov Evgenii , Glotov Aleksandr , Vinokurov Vladimir
Published: June 2020

Novel bimetallic Pd-Mn/Al2O3 catalysts are designed by the decomposition of cyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (cymantrene) on reduced Pd/Al2O3 in an H2 atmosphere. The peculiarities of cymantrene decomposition on palladium and, thus, the formation of bimetallic Pd-Mn catalysts are studied. The catalysts are characterized by N2 adsorption, H2 pulse chemisorption, temperature-programmed desorption of hydrogen (TPD-H2), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The modified catalysts show the changed hydrogen chemisorption properties and the absence of weakly bonded hydrogen. Using an organomanganese precursor provides an uniform Mn distribution on the catalyst surface. Tested in hydrogenation of acetylene, the catalysts show both higher activity and selectivity to ethylene (20% higher) compared to the non-modified Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. The influence of the addition of Mn and temperature treatment on catalyst performance is studied. The optimal Mn content and treatment temperature are found. It is established that modification with Mn changes the route of acetylene hydrogenation from a consecutive scheme for Pd/Al2O3 to parallel one for the Pd-Mn samples. The reaction rate shows zero overall order by reagents for all tested catalysts.
A Na,K-ATPase–Fodrin–Actin Membrane Cytoskeleton Complex is Required for Endothelial Fenestra Biogenesis
Authors: Ju Meihua , Ioannidou Sofia , Munro Peter , Rämö Olli , Vihinen Helena , Jokitalo Eija , Shima David T.
Published: June 2020

Fenestrae are transcellular plasma membrane pores that mediate blood–tissue exchange in specialised vascular endothelia. The composition and biogenesis of the fenestra remain enigmatic. We isolated and characterised the protein composition of large patches of fenestrated plasma membrane, termed sieve plates. Loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that two components of the sieve plate, moesin and annexin II, were positive and negative regulators of fenestra formation, respectively. Biochemical analyses showed that moesin is involved in the formation of an actin–fodrin submembrane cytoskeleton that was essential for fenestra formation. The link between the fodrin cytoskeleton and the plasma membrane involved the fenestral pore protein PV-1 and Na,K-ATPase, which is a key regulator of signalling during fenestra formation both in vitro and in vivo. These findings provide a conceptual framework for fenestra biogenesis, linking the dynamic changes in plasma membrane remodelling to the formation of a submembrane cytoskeletal signalling complex.
Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3β in Cancer Biology and Treatment
Authors: Domoto Takahiro , Uehara Masahiro , Bolidong Dilireba , Minamoto Toshinari
Published: June 2020

Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)3β is a multifunctional serine/threonine protein kinase with more than 100 substrates and interacting molecules. GSK3β is normally active in cells and negative regulation of GSK3β activity via phosphorylation of its serine 9 residue is required for most normal cells to maintain homeostasis. Aberrant expression and activity of GSK3β contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of common recalcitrant diseases such as glucose intolerance, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Despite recognized roles against several proto-oncoproteins and mediators of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition, deregulated GSK3β also participates in tumor cell survival, evasion of apoptosis, proliferation and invasion, as well as sustaining cancer stemness and inducing therapy resistance. A therapeutic effect from GSK3β inhibition has been demonstrated in 25 different cancer types. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that GSK3β inhibition protects normal cells and tissues from the harmful effects associated with conventional cancer therapies. Here, we review the evidence supporting aberrant GSK3β as a hallmark property of cancer and highlight the beneficial effects of GSK3β inhibition on normal cells and tissues during cancer therapy. The biological rationale for targeting GSK3β in the treatment of cancer is also discussed at length.
Large-Scale Drug Screening in Patient-Derived IDHmut Glioma Stem Cells Identifies Several Efficient Drugs among FDA-Approved Antineoplastic Agents
Authors: Dao Trong Philip , Jungwirth Gerhard , Yu Tao , Pusch Stefan , Unterberg Andreas , Herold-Mende Christel , Warta Rolf
Published: June 2020

The discovery of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation in glioma led to a paradigm shift on how we see glioma biology. Difficulties in cultivating IDH mutant glioma stem cells (IDHmut GSCs) resulted in a paucity of preclinical models in IDHmut glioma, limiting the discovery of new effective chemotherapeutic agents. To fill this gap, we used six recently developed patient-derived IDHmut GSC lines and performed a large-scale drug screening with 147 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anticancer drugs. GSCs were subjected to the test compounds for 72 h in concentrations ranging from 0.0001 to 1 µM. Cell viability was assessed by CellTiterGlo and the induction of apoptosis by flow cytometry with Annexin V/propidium iodide staining. The initial screen was performed with two IDHmut GSC lines and identified seven drugs (bortezomib, carfilzomib, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, omacetaxine, plicamycin) with a substantial antiproliferative activity, as reflected by half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) below 1 µM and maximum inhibitory effects (Emax) below 25%. These findings were validated in an additional four IDHmut GSC lines. The candidate drugs, of which plicamycin and omacetaxine are known to cross the blood brain barrier, were used for subsequent cell death analyses. A significant induction of apoptosis was observed at IC50 values of the respective drugs. In summary, we were able to identify seven FDA-approved drugs that should be further taken into clinical investigations for the treatment of IDHmut gliomas.
Sildenafil Recovers Burn-Induced Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Wen Jake J. , Cummins Claire , Radhakrishnan Ravi S.
Published: June 2020

Background: Severe burn injury initiates a feedback cycle of inflammation, fibrosis, oxidative stress and cardiac mitochondrial damage via the PDE5A-cGMP-PKG pathway. Aim: To test if the PDE5A-cGMP-PKG pathway may contribute to burn-induced heart dysfunction. Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats were divided four groups: sham; sham/sildenafil; 24 h post burn (60% total body surface area scald burn, harvested at 24 h post burn); and 24 h post burn/sildenafil. We monitored heart function and oxidative adducts, as well as cardiac inflammatory, cardiac fibrosis and cardiac remodeling responses in vivo. Results: Sildenafil inhibited the burn-induced PDE5A mRNA level and increased the cGMP level and PKG activity, leading to the normalization of PKG down-regulated genes (IRAG, PLB, RGS2, RhoA and MYTP), a decreased ROS level (H2O2), decreased oxidatively modified adducts (malonyldialdehyde [MDA], carbonyls), attenuated fibrogenesis as well as fibrosis gene expression (ANP, BNP, COL1A2, COL3A2, αSMA and αsk-Actin), and reduced inflammation and related gene expression (RELA, IL-18 and TGF-β) after the burn. Additionally, sildenafil treatment preserved left ventricular heart function (CO, EF, SV, LVvol at systolic, LVPW at diastolic and FS) and recovered the oxidant/antioxidant balance (total antioxidant, total SOD activity and Cu,ZnSOD activity). Conclusions: The PDE5A-cGMP-PKG pathway mediates burn-induced heart dysfunction. Sildenafil treatment recovers burn-induced cardiac dysfunction.
Quantum Crystallography in the Last Decade: Developments and Outlooks
Authors: Genoni Alessandro , Macchi Piero
Published: June 2020

In this review article, we report on the recent progresses in the field of quantum crystallography that has witnessed a massive increase of production coupled with a broadening of the scope in the last decade. It is shown that the early thoughts about extracting quantum mechanical information from crystallographic experiments are becoming reality, although a century after prediction. While in the past the focus was mainly on electron density and related quantities, the attention is now shifting toward determination of wavefunction from experiments, which enables an exhaustive determination of the quantum mechanical functions and properties of a system. Nonetheless, methods based on electron density modelling have evolved and are nowadays able to reconstruct tiny polarizations of core electrons, coupling charge and spin models, or determining the quantum behaviour at extreme conditions. Far from being routine, these experimental and computational results should be regarded with special attention by scientists for the wealth of information on a system that they actually contain.
Effect of Scanning Resolution on the Prediction of Trabecular Bone Microarchitectures Using Dental Cone Beam Computed Tomography
Authors: Tsai Ming-Tzu , He Rong-Ting , Huang Heng-Li , Tu Ming-Gene , Hsu Jui-Ting
Published: June 2020

Assessing bone quality and quantity at the location of dental implants before dental implantation is crucial. In recent years, dental cone-beam computed tomography (dental CBCT) has often been used to assess bone quality and quantity prior to dental implant. However, the effect of scanning resolution on the prediction of trabecular bone microarchitectural parameters (TBMPs) remains unclear. The objective of this study was to examine how dental CBCT with various scanning resolution differs with regard to predicting TBMPs. This study used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) with 18 μm resolution and dental CBCT with 100 μm and 150 μm resolutions on 28 fresh bovine vertebrae cancellous bone specimens. Subsequently, all images were input into the ImageJ software to measure four TBMPs: bone volume total volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp). One-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s test were subsequently used to assess the differences between three scanning modes for the four TBMPs. In addition, correlations between measurement results obtained from micro-CT and dental CBCT with two resolutions were measured. The experimental results indicated that significant differences in four TBMPs were observed between micro-CT and dental CBCT (p < 0.05). The correlation coefficients between BV/TV, Tb.N, and Tb.Sp obtained from micro-CT and from dental CBCT with 100 μm resolution (0.840, 0.739, and 0.820, respectively) were greater than the correlation coefficients between BV/TV, Tb.N, and Tb.Sp obtained from micro-CT and from dental CBCT with 150 μm resolution (0.758, 0.367, and 0.724, respectively). The experimental results revealed that the TBMPs measured with dental CBCT with two resolutions differed from ideal values, but a higher resolution could provide more accurate prediction results, particularly for BV/TV, Tb.N, and Tb.Sp.
CBOL: Cross-Bank Over-Loan Prevention, Revisited
Authors: Hu Xiaoya , Zhao Hong , Zheng Shihui , Wang Licheng
Published: June 2020

With the development of credit businesses, privacy data leakage and data accuracy in loan transactions among different banks tend to be worrisome issues hindering the prosperity of the industry. To address the problem, we propose a blockchain-based cross-bank over-loan prevention (CBOL-ring) mechanism, which ensures that, on the one hand, the plaintext of loan transactions cannot be access to neither participants on the nodes except the bank that handles loan/repayment requests, so as to prevent the borrower from loaning without revealing their privacy data; on the other hand, the other participants are able to prove the effectiveness of the plaintexts through checking the ciphertexts on the blockchain. In addition, we propose a blockchain-based cross-bank over-loan prevention mechanism with low communication volume (CBOL-bullet), which reduces the size of the range proof generated by the BBCBOLP mechanism, thereby reducing the size of the communication volume and saving resources during the data transmission process. Finally, we analyze the security and performance of the two mechanisms, and compare the communication volume of the two mechanisms.
A New Feature Extraction Method Based on Improved Variational Mode Decomposition, Normalized Maximal Information Coefficient and Permutation Entropy for Ship-Radiated Noise
Authors: Xie Dongri , Sun Haixin , Qi Jie
Published: June 2020

Due to the existence of marine environmental noise, coupled with the instability of underwater acoustic channel, ship-radiated noise (SRN) signals detected by sensors tend to suffer noise pollution as well as distortion caused by the transmission medium, making the denoising of the raw detected signals the new focus in the field of underwater acoustic target recognition. In view of this, this paper presents a novel hybrid feature extraction scheme integrating improved variational mode decomposition (IVMD), normalized maximal information coefficient (norMIC) and permutation entropy (PE) for SRN signals. Firstly, the IVMD method is employed to decompose the SRN signals into a number of finite intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The noise IMFs are then filtered out by a denoising method before PE extraction. Next, the MIC between each retained IMF and the raw SRN signal and PE of retained IMFs are calculated, respectively. After this, the norMICs are used to weigh the PE values of the retained IMFs and the sum of the weighted PE results is regarded as the classification parameter. Finally, the feature vectors are fed into the particle swarm optimization-based support vector machine multi-class classifier (PSO-SVM) to identify different types of SRN samples. The experimental results have indicated that the classification accuracy of the proposed method is as high as 99.1667%, which is much higher than that of other currently existing methods. Hence, the method proposed in this paper is more suitable for feature extraction of SRN signals in practical application.
Entomophagy: A Narrative Review on Nutritional Value, Safety, Cultural Acceptance and A Focus on the Role of Food Neophobia in Italy
Authors: Toti Elisabetta , Massaro Luca , Kais Aisha , Aiello Paola , Palmery Maura , Peluso Ilaria
Published: June 2020

In recent years, the consumption of insects, or entomophagy, has produced an increasing interest amongst scientists and ecologists as a potential source of animal protein. Eating insects is also interesting in terms of low greenhouse gas emissions and low land use. In contrast to tropical countries, where most of the 2000 edible insect species are traditionally consumed, the concept of eating insects is still new to Western culture and diet. Culture and eating habits exert a great influence on what is considered edible in the Mediterranean area, especially in Italy, where the preservation of culinary traditions is a predominant factor affecting dietary behaviour. The purpose of this narrative paper is to provide an overview of the main topics related to entomophagy. The introduction presents some information about the nutrient content and safety aspects, the second part summarises the cultural acceptance of insect in the world, while the role of food neophobia on the intention to consume insects in Italy is focused on in part three. The discussion displays important viewpoints of previously published studies and based on these perspectives it can be concluded that the Italian diet is still clearly influenced by local tradition. In conclusion, in order to introduce insects into the Italian diet, psychological motivation has to be enhanced.
An Experimental Study on the Effect of Multiple Lightning Waveform Parameters on the Aging Characteristics of ZnO Varistors
Authors: Zhang Chunlong , Li Chunying , Lv Dongbo , Zhu Hao , Xing Hongyan
Published: June 2020

In this study, in order to study the effect of multi-pulse waveform parameters on the aging characteristics of ZnO varistor, the aging rate and surface temperature rise of ZnO varistor under the impact of multi-pulse current were analyzed. The number of pulses and the pulse interval under multiple pulses play a decisive role in the aging rate of ZnO varistor. The greater the number of pulses and the smaller the pulse interval, the higher the temperature rise of the ZnO varistor and the faster the aging rate, the more likely to be failure and damage. The surface temperature distribution of the ZnO varistor under multi-pulse is not uniform, and the more pulses, the more uneven the temperature distribution, but the surface temperature rise has a nonlinear relationship with the number of pulses. The relationship between pulse interval, impact times and average surface temperature rise is established. The aging mechanism of the ZnO varistor under a multi-pulse lightning stroke was revealed from the perspective of energy absorption and heat transfer modelling. The energy sustained by the ZnO varistor under multiple pulses have a nonlinear multiple relationship with the energy of the single pulse current wave at the same amplitude. The superimposed cumulative energy of the impact under multiple pulses accelerates the aging process of the ZnO varistor, and eventually produces an irreversible structural destruction.
A Novel Power Decoupling Control Method to Eliminate the Double Line Frequency Ripple of Two Stage Single-Phase DC-AC Power Conversion Systems
Authors: Amin Saghir , Lee Hyun-Hwa , Choi Woojin
Published: June 2020

In two-stage single-phase inverters, inherent double line frequency ripple is present at both the input and output of the front-end converter. Generally, large electrolytic capacitors are used to eliminate this double line frequency ripple. It is well known that low frequency ripple shortens the lifespan of capacitors. Hence, the system reliability can get worse. In order to eliminate the double line frequency ripple, additional hardware combined with an energy storage device is required in most of the methods developed so far. In this paper, a novel power-decoupling control method is proposed to eliminate the double line frequency ripple at the front-end converter of two-stage single phase DC/AC power conversion systems. The proposed control algorithm is composed of two loops, a ripple compensation loop and an average voltage control loop, and no extra hardware is required. Since the proposed method does not require information from the phase-locked-loop (PLL) of the inverter, it is independent of inverter control. In order to verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed algorithm a 5 kW Dual Active Bridge (DAB) DC/DC converter and a single-phase inverter are implemented. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through the simulation and experimental results.
Selective CO Methanation in H2-Rich Gas for Household Fuel Cell Applications
Authors: Garbis Panagiota , Jess Andreas
Published: June 2020

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are often used for household applications, utilizing hydrogen produced from natural gas from the gas grid. The hydrogen is thereby produced by steam reforming of natural gas followed by a water gas shift (WGS) unit. The H2-rich gas contains besides CO2 small amounts of CO, which deactivates the catalyst used in the PEMFCs. Preferential oxidation has so far been a reliable process to reduce this concentration but valuable H2 is also partly converted. Selective CO methanation considered as an attractive alternative. However, CO2 methanation consuming the valuable H2 has to be minimized. The modelling of selective CO methanation in a household fuel cell system is presented. The simulation was conducted for single and two-stage adiabatic fixed bed reactors (in the latter case with intermediate cooling), and the best operating conditions to achieve the required residual CO content (100 ppm) were calculated. This was done by varying the gas inlet temperature as well as the mass of the catalyst. The feed gas represented a reformate gas downstream of a typical WGS reaction unit (0.5%–1% CO, 10%–25% CO2, and 5%–20% H2O (rest H2)).
Optimal Design of Welded Plate Heat Exchanger for Ammonia Synthesis Column: An Experimental Study with Mathematical Optimisation
Authors: Tovazhnyanskyy Leonid , Klemeš Jiří Jaromir , Kapustenko Petro , Arsenyeva Olga , Perevertaylenko Olexandr , Arsenyev Pavlo
Published: June 2020

The production of ammonia, consuming up to 5% of natural gas global production, accounts for about 2% of world energy. Worldwide, the Haber–Bosch process is the mainly used method of ammonia catalytic synthesis, involving temperatures up to 600 °C and pressures up to 32 MPa. In this paper, the results of the development and study of the special welded construction of plate heat exchanger (WPHE) for a column of ammonia synthesis are presented. The heat transfer and hydraulic performance of developed WPHE are investigated on a one-pass model in laboratory conditions. An equation for the relation between heat transfer effectiveness and the number of heat transfer units is proposed. A mathematical model of multi-pass WPHE is developed using these results. The validity of this model is confirmed by results of industrial tests performed with the prototype WPHE installed in operating column of ammonia synthesis at temperatures about 500 °C and pressure about 32 MPa. The tests confirmed the reliability of WPHE and its efficiency compared to a tubular heat exchanger. A method of optimal design of WPHE that allows finding the optimal height of corrugations and the number of passes in WPHE for specified conditions of operation is developed.
Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow
Authors: Chang Cheng , Li Yongming , Li Xiaoping , Liu Chuxi , Fiallos-Torres Mauricio , Yu Wei
Published: June 2020

At present, investigation of the effects of natural fractures on optimal well spacing of shale gas reservoirs from an economic perspective has been lacking. Traditional frameworks of fracture characterization, such as local grid refinement, make it unfeasible and inaccurate to study these effects of high-density natural fractures with complex geometries on well spacing. In this study, the non-intrusive EDFM (embedded discrete fracture model) method was presented to characterize fractures fast and accurately. The non-intrusiveness of EDFM removed the necessity of accessing the codes behind reservoir simulators, which meant it could simply create associated keywords that would correspondingly modify these fracture properties in separate files without information regarding the source codes. By implementing this powerful technology, a field-scale shale gas reservoir model was set up, including two-phase flow. The effective properties of hydraulic fractures were determined from the history matching process, and the results were entered into the well spacing optimization workflow. Different scenarios of natural fracture (NF) distributions and well spacing were designed, and the final economic analysis for each case was explored based on simulated productions. As a result, one of the findings of this study was that optimal well spacing tended to increase if more natural fractures were presented in the reservoir.
Deterioration Diagnosis of Solar Module Using Thermal and Visible Image Processing
Authors: Jeong Heon , Kwon Goo-Rak , Lee Sang-Woong
Published: June 2020

Several factors cause the output degradation of the photovoltaic (PV) module. The main affecting elements are the higher PV module temperature, the shaded cell, the shortened or conducting bypass diodes, and the soiled and degraded PV array. In this paper, we introduce an image processing technique that automatically identifies the module generating the hot spots in the solar module. In order to extract feature points, we used the maximally stable extremal regions (MSER) method, which derives the area of interest by using the inrange function, using the blue color of the PV module. We propose an effective matching method for feature points and a homography translation technique. The temperature data derivation method and the normal/ abnormal decision method are described in order to enhance the performance. The effectiveness of the proposed system was evaluated through experiments. Finally, a thermal image analysis of approximately 240 modules was confirmed to be 97% consistent with the visual evaluation in the experimental results.
Combined Duval Pentagons: A Simplified Approach
Authors: Cheim Luiz , Duval Michel , Haider Saad
Published: June 2020

The paper describes a newly proposed combination of the two existing Duval Pentagons method utilized for the identification of mineral oil-insulated transformers. The aim of the combination is to facilitate automatic fault identification through computer programs, and at the same time, apply the full capability of both original Pentagons, now reduced to a single geometry. The thorough classification of a given fault (say, of the electrical or thermal kind), employing individual Pentagons 1 and 2, as originally defined, involves a complex geometrical problem that requires the build-up of a convoluted geometry (a regular Pentagon whose axes represent each of five possible combustible gases) to be constructed using computer language code and programming, followed by the logical localization of the geometrical centroid of an irregular pentagon, formed by the partial contribution of individual combustibles, inside two similar structures (Pentagons 1 and 2) that, nonetheless, have different classification zones and boundaries, as more thoroughly explained and exemplified in the main body of this article. The proposed combined approach results in a lower number of total fault zones (10 in the combined Pentagons against 14 when considering Pentagons 1 and 2 separately, although zones PD, S, D1 and D2 are common to both Pentagons 1 and 2), and therefore eliminates the need to solve for two separate Pentagons.