bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Monoamine Oxidase A Inhibitors–Indocyanine Dyes Conjugates as Targeted Antitumor Agents
Authors: Yang Xiao-Guang , Mou Yan-Hua , Wang Yong-Jun , Wang Jian , Li Yan-Yu , Kong Rui-Heng , Ding Meng , Wang Dun , Guo Chun
Published: April 2019

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is an important mitochondria-bound enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative deamination of monoamine neurotransmitters. Accumulating evidence suggests a significant association of increased MAOA expression and advanced high-grade prostate cancer (PCa) progression and metastasis. Herein, a series of novel conjugates combining the MAOA inhibitor isoniazid (INH) and tumor-targeting near-infrared (NIR) heptamethine cyanine dyes were designed and synthesized. The synthesized compounds G1–G13 were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxicity against PC-3 cells using the MTT assay, and molecular docking studies were performed. Results showed that most tested compounds exhibited improved antitumor efficacy compared with INH. Moreover, conjugates G10 and G11 showed potent anticancer activity with IC50 values (0.85 and 0.4 μM respectively) comparable to that of doxorubicin (DOX). This may be attributable to the preferential accumulation of these conjugates in tumor cells. G10, G11, and G12 also demonstrated moderate MAOA inhibitory activities. This result and the results of molecular docking studies were consistent with their cytotoxicity activities. Taken together, these data suggest that a combination of the MAOA inhibitor INH with tumor-targeting heptamethine cyanine dyes may prove to be a highly promising tool for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
Hybrid CoO Nanowires Coated with Uniform Polypyrrole Nanolayers for High-Performance Energy Storage Devices
Authors: Yang Chunhai , Chen Hao , Guan Cao
Published: April 2019

Transition metal oxides with high theoretic capacities are promising materials as battery-type electrodes for hybrid supercapacitors, but their practical applications are limited by their poor electric conductivity and unsatisfied rate capability. In this work, a hybrid structure of CoO nanowires coated with conformal polypyrrole (Ppy) nanolayer is proposed, designed and fabricated on a flexible carbon substrate through a facile two-step method. In the first step, porous CoO nanowires are fabricated on flexible carbon substrate through a hydrothermal procedure combined with an annealing process. In the second step, a uniform nanolayer of Ppy is further coated on the surfaces of the CoO nanowires, resulting in a hybrid core-shell CoO@Ppy nanoarrays. The CoO@Ppy aligned on carbon support can be directly utilized as electrode material for hybrid supercapacitors. Since the conductive Ppy coating layer provides enhanced electric conductivity, the hybrid electrode demonstrates much higher capacity and superior rate capability than pure CoO nanowires. As a further demonstration, Ppy layer can also be realized on SnO2 nanowires. Such facile conductive-layer coating method can be also applied to other types of conducting polymers (as the shell) and metal oxide materials (as the core) for various energy-related applications.
Low-Temperature Vapor-Phase Synthesis of Single-Crystalline Gold Nanostructures: Toward Exceptional Electrocatalytic Activity for Methanol Oxidation Reaction
Authors: Yang Siyeong , Park Kkotchorong , Kim Bongsoo , Kang Taejoon
Published: April 2019

Au nanostructures (Au NSs) have been considered promising materials for applications in fuel cell catalysis, electrochemistry, and plasmonics. For the fabrication of high-performance Au NS-based electronic or electrochemical devices, Au NSs should have clean surfaces and be directly supported on a substrate without any mediating molecules. Herein, we report the vapor-phase synthesis of Au NSs on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate at 120 °C and their application to the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). By employing AuCl as a precursor, the synthesis temperature for Au NSs was reduced to under 200 °C, enabling the direct synthesis of Au NSs on an FTO substrate in the vapor phase. Considering that previously reported vapor-phase synthesis of Au NSs requires a high temperature over 1000 °C, this proposed synthetic method is remarkably simple and practical. Moreover, we could selectively synthesize Au nanoparticles (NPs) and nanoplates by adjusting the location of the substrate, and the size of the Au NPs was controllable by changing the reaction temperature. The synthesized Au NSs are a single-crystalline material with clean surfaces that achieved a high methanol oxidation current density of 14.65 mA/cm2 when intimately supported by an FTO substrate. We anticipate that this novel synthetic method can widen the applicability of vapor-phase synthesized Au NSs for electronic and electrochemical devices.
Classification of Hydration in Clinical Conditions: Indirect and Direct Approaches Using Bioimpedance
Authors: Lukaski Henry C. , Vega Diaz Nicanor , Talluri Antonio , Nescolarde Lexa
Published: April 2019

Although the need to assess hydration is well recognized, laboratory tests and clinical impressions are impractical and lack sensitivity, respectively, to be clinically meaningful. Different approaches use bioelectrical impedance measurements to overcome some of these limitations and aid in the classification of hydration status. One indirect approach utilizes single or multiple frequency bioimpedance in regression equations and theoretical models, respectively, with anthropometric measurements to predict fluid volumes (bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy—BIS) and estimate fluid overload based on the deviation of calculated to reference extracellular fluid volume. Alternatively, bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA) uses direct phase-sensitive measurements of resistance and reactance, measured at 50 kHz, normalized for standing height, then plotted on a bivariate graph, resulting in a vector with length related to fluid content, and direction with phase angle that indexes hydration status. Comparison with healthy population norms enables BIVA to classify (normal, under-, and over-) and rank (change relative to pre-treatment) hydration independent of body weight. Each approach has wide-ranging uses in evaluation and management of clinical groups with over-hydration with an evolving emphasis on prognosis. This review discusses the advantages and limitations of BIS and BIVA for hydration assessment with comments on future applications.
Socioeconomic Disparities in Diet Vary According to Migration Status among Adolescents in Belgium
Authors: Rouche Manon , de Clercq Bart , Lebacq Thérésa , Dierckens Maxim , Moreau Nathalie , Desbouys Lucille , Godin Isabelle , Castetbon Katia
Published: April 2019

Little information concerning social disparities in adolescent dietary habits is currently available, especially regarding migration status. The aim of the present study was to estimate socioeconomic disparities in dietary habits of school adolescents from different migration backgrounds. In the 2014 cross-sectional “Health Behavior in School-Aged Children” survey in Belgium, food consumption was estimated using a self-administrated short food frequency questionnaire. In total, 19,172 school adolescents aged 10–19 years were included in analyses. Multilevel multiple binary and multinomial logistic regressions were performed, stratified by migration status (natives, 2nd- and 1st-generation immigrants). Overall, immigrants more frequently consumed both healthy and unhealthy foods. Indeed, 32.4% of 1st-generation immigrants, 26.5% of 2nd-generation immigrants, and 16.7% of natives consumed fish ≥two days a week. Compared to those having a high family affluence scale (FAS), adolescents with a low FAS were more likely to consume chips and fries ≥once a day (vs. <once a day: Natives aRRR = 1.39 (95%CI: 1.12–1.73); NS in immigrants). Immigrants at schools in Flanders were less likely than those in Brussels to consume sugar-sweetened beverages 2–6 days a week (vs. ≤once a week: Natives aRRR = 1.86 (95%CI: 1.32–2.62); 2nd-generation immigrants aRRR = 1.52 (1.11–2.09); NS in 1st-generation immigrants). The migration gradient observed here underlines a process of acculturation. Narrower socioeconomic disparities in immigrant dietary habits compared with natives suggest that such habits are primarily defined by culture of origin. Nutrition interventions should thus include cultural components of dietary habits.
Natural Convection in Porous Media and the Collapse of the Wave Function
Authors: Vadasz Peter
Published: April 2019

The problem of nonlinear natural convection in a fluid saturated porous layer heated from below is reviewed focusing on the specific result of a collapse of the wave function. When the conditions for the onset of convection are met, a wave function is obtained as the solution of the linearized equations expressed in terms of a Fourier expansion. Only one mode of this expansion survives at the onset of convection, a result that can be seen as the “collapse of the wave function” in a very similar fashion as in quantum mechanics, although the explanations of the latter are very distinct from the ones in quantum mechanics. The reasons behind the “collapse of the wave function” result in natural convection are discussed and the analysis is extended into the nonlinear domain of convection, by using a weak nonlinear analysis.
Glucosinolate Distribution in the Aerial Parts of sel1-10, a Disruption Mutant of the Sulfate Transporter SULTR1;2, in Mature Arabidopsis thaliana Plants
Authors: Morikawa-Ichinose Tomomi , Kim Sun-Ju , Allahham Alaa , Kawaguchi Ryota , Maruyama-Nakashita Akiko
Published: April 2019

Plants take up sulfur (S), an essential element for all organisms, as sulfate, which is mainly attributed to the function of SULTR1;2 in Arabidopsis. A disruption mutant of SULTR1;2, sel1-10, has been characterized with phenotypes similar to plants grown under sulfur deficiency (−S). Although the effects of −S on S metabolism were well investigated in seedlings, no studies have been performed on mature Arabidopsis plants. To study further the effects of −S on S metabolism, we analyzed the accumulation and distribution of S-containing compounds in different parts of mature sel1-10 and of the wild-type (WT) plants grown under long-day conditions. While the levels of sulfate, cysteine, and glutathione were almost similar between sel1-10 and WT, levels of glucosinolates (GSLs) differed between them depending on the parts of the plant. GSLs levels in the leaves and stems were generally lower in sel1-10 than those in WT. However, sel1-10 seeds maintained similar levels of aliphatic GSLs to those in WT plants. GSL accumulation in reproductive tissues is likely to be prioritized even when sulfate supply is limited in sel1-10 for its role in S storage and plant defense.
Optimization of Electrospun Poly(caprolactone) Fiber Diameter for Vascular Scaffolds to Maximize Smooth Muscle Cell Infiltration and Phenotype Modulation
Authors: Han Dae Geun , Ahn Chi Bum , Lee Ji-Hyun , Hwang Yongsung , Kim Joo Hyun , Park Kook Yang , Lee Jin Woo , Son Kuk Hui
Published: April 2019

Due to the morphological resemblance between the electrospun nanofibers and extracellular matrix (ECM), electrospun fibers have been widely used to fabricate scaffolds for tissue regeneration. Relationships between scaffold morphologies and cells are cell type dependent. In this study, we sought to determine an optimum electrospun fiber diameter for human vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) regeneration in vascular scaffolds. Scaffolds were produced using poly(caprolactone) (PCL) electrospun fiber diameters of 0.5, 0.7, 1, 2, 2.5, 5, 7 or 10 μm, and VSMC survivals, proliferations, infiltrations, and phenotypes were recorded after culturing cells on these scaffolds for one, four, seven, or 10 days. VSMC phenotypes and macrophage infiltrations into scaffolds were evaluated by implanting scaffolds subcutaneously in a mouse for seven, 14, or 28 days. We found that human VSMC survival was not dependent on the electrospun fiber diameter. In summary, increasing fiber diameter reduced VSMC proliferation, increased VSMC infiltration and increased macrophage infiltration and activation. Our results indicate that electrospun PCL fiber diameters of 7 or 10 µm are optimum in terms of VSMC infiltration and macrophage infiltration and activation, albeit at the expense of VSMC proliferation.
The Modulation of Chitosan-DNA Interaction by Concentration and pH in Solution
Authors: Ma Fangqin , Wang Yanwei , Yang Guangcan
Published: April 2019

Chitosan has been widely used to prepare a DNA carrier for highly efficient and non-toxic gene therapy. In the present study, we investigated DNA charge neutralization and compaction by chitosan in solutions of various pH levels by dynamic light scattering (DLS), magnetic tweezers (MT), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We found that when chitosan concentration is higher than a critical value (0.2 µM), corresponding the ratio of phosphate and NH2 in chitosan k = 1.9 , the electrophoretic mobility of DNA-chitosan complex maintains an almost constant value when pH of solution is less 6.5, the isoelectric point of chitosan. Then it decreases with increasing pH of solution. However, when chitosan concentration is lower than the critical value, the mobility of the complex increases with pH in the range of acidity and reaches the maximum when the pH of the solution approaches the isoelectric point of chitosan. It finally decreases with increasing pH in solutions. The corresponding condensing force of the DNA-chitosan complex measured by single molecular MT changes accordingly with its charge neutralization in the same solution concentration (20 µM) and is consistent with the DLS measurements. This phenomenon might be related to the weakening interaction between DNA and chitosan in low pH solutions, and is verified by measuring the ratio of free chitosan to DNA complex in solutions. We also observed the various morphologies of DNA-chitosan complexes, such as ring, rod, flower, braid, and other structures, under different degrees of deacetylation, molecular weight, solution concentration and pH in solutions by AFM.
Efficient and Selective Adsorption of Gold Ions from Wastewater with Polyaniline Modified by Trimethyl Phosphate: Adsorption Mechanism and Application
Authors: Wang Chen , Zhao Jiling , Wang Shixing , Zhang Libo , Zhang Bing
Published: April 2019

The selective recovery of gold from wastewater is necessary because it is widely used in various fields. In this study, a new polymeric adsorbent (TP-AFC) was prepared by modifying polyaniline with trimethyl phosphate for the selective recovery of gold from wastewater. Bath experiments were carried out to explore the adsorption capacity and mechanism. The optimum pH of adsorption is 4. The adsorption equilibrium is reached at 840 min. The maximum adsorption capacity is 881 mg/g and the adsorption was a spontaneous endothermic process. The adsorption process fitted well with pseudo second-order kinetic and the Langmuir-models. The single-layer chemisorption governed the adsorption process. In addition, the application in wastewater indicated that the interfering ions had no effect on the adsorption of gold ions. TP-AFC has good selectivity. The interaction mechanism was mainly ion exchange and complexation. In general, TP-AFC was successfully prepared and has an excellent future in practical application.
Deprotonation-Induced Conductivity Shift of Polyethylenedioxythiophenes in Aqueous Solutions: The Effects of Side-Chain Length and Polymer Composition
Authors: Ayalew Hailemichael , Wang Tian-lin , Yu Hsiao-hua
Published: April 2019

Deprotonation-induced conductivity shift of poly(3,4-ethylenedixoythiophene)s (PEDOTs) in aqueous solutions is a promising platform for chemical or biological sensor due to its large signal output and minimum effect from material morphology. Carboxylic acid group functionalized poly(Cn-EDOT-COOH)s are synthesized and electrodeposited on microelectrodes. The microelectrodes are utilized to study the effect of carboxylic acid side-chain length on the conductivity curve profiles in aqueous buffer with different pH. The conductivity shifts due to the buffer pH are effected by the length of the carboxylic acid side-chains. The shifts can be explained by the carboxylic acid dissociation property (pKa) at the solid–liquid interface, self-doping effect, and effective conjugation length. Conductivity profiles of poly(EDOT-OH-co-C2-EDOT-COOH) copolymers are also studied. The shifts show linear relationship with the feed monomer composition used in electrochemical polymerization.
Numerical Investigation of Influence of Reservoir Heterogeneity on Electricity Generation Performance of Enhanced Geothermal System
Authors: Zeng Yuchao , Tang Liansheng , Wu Nengyou , Song Jing , Zhao Zhanlun
Published: April 2019

The enhanced geothermal system (EGS) reservoir consists of a heterogeneous fracture network and rock matrix, and the heterogeneity of the reservoir has a significant influence on the system’s electricity generation performance. In this study, we numerically investigated the influence of reservoir heterogeneity on system production performance based on geological data from the Gonghe Basin geothermal field, and analyzed the main factors affecting production performance. The results show that with the increase of reservoir heterogeneity, the water conduction ability of the reservoir gradually reduces, the water production rate slowly decreases, and this causes the electric power to gradually reduce, the reservoir impedance to gradually increase, the pump power to gradually decrease and the energy efficiency to gradually increase. The fracture spacing, well spacing and injection temperature all have a significant influence on electricity generation performance. Increasing the fracture spacing will significantly reduce electric power, while having only a very slight effect on reservoir impedance and pump power, thus significantly decreasing energy efficiency. Increasing the well spacing will significantly increase the electric power, while having only a very slight effect on the reservoir impedance and pump power, thus significantly increasing energy efficiency. Increasing the injection temperature will obviously reduce the electric power, decrease the reservoir impedance and pump power, and thus reduce energy efficiency.
Isosteric Heat: Comparative Study between Clausius–Clapeyron, CSK and Adsorption Calorimetry Methods
Authors: Giraldo Liliana , Rodriguez-Estupiñán Paola , Moreno-Piraján Juan Carlos
Published: April 2019

This work presents the calorimetric study of five adsorbents with different chemical and textural characteristics: MOF-199, MCM-41, SBA-15, activated carbon prepared from corn cob (GACKP) and graphite. These solids were used to establish the differences between isosteric heats evaluated by three different methods: Clausius–Clapeyron (C-C), Chakraborty, Saha and Koyama (CSK) and Adsorption Calorimetry (A-Cal). The textural characterization results show solids that have values of specific surface area between 2271 m2·g−1 for the MOF-199 and 5.2 m2·g−1 for the graphite. According to the results obtained for the isosteric heats for each sample, the magnitude varies depending on the coverage of the adsorbate and the textural characteristics of each adsorbent. Solids with an organized structure have isosteric heat values that are coincident among the three methods. Meanwhile, heterogeneous solids such as activated carbon values evaluated by the CKS and C-C have a high dispersion method regarding the adsorption calorimetry method. The results obtained show that the adsorption calorimetry, being a direct experimental measurement method, presents less dispersed data. At low quantities, the isosteric heat of nitrogen adsorption decreased in the order MOF-199, GACKP, MCM-41, SBA-15 and Graphite. The order for the isosteric heats values was coherent with the surface characteristics of each of the solids, especially with the pore size distribution. Finally, throughout the coverage examined in this work, the isosteric heats for nitrogen adsorption determined by adsorption calorimetry (A-Cal) were larger than the evaluated by C-C and CSK indirect methods of vaporization. According to the results, it is shown that the adsorption calorimetry allows values of the isosteric heats of adsorption with an error of less than 2% to be established and also reveals the complex nature of the heterogeneity or homogeneity of the adsorbent.
Unpacking the Lore on Multilingual Scholars Publishing in English: A Discussion Paper
Authors: Curry Mary Jane , Lillis Theresa
Published: April 2019

In the past three decades, a body of research on issues related to multilingual scholars writing for publication has emerged, paralleling the rise of pressures on scholars around the world to publish their work in high-status journals, especially those included in particular journal citation indexes; these indexes typically privilege the use of English. Researchers have investigated multilingual scholars’ experiences and perspectives, the social contexts of their work, policies on research publishing, aspects of the texts produced by multilingual scholars, the kinds of people scholars interact with while working to publish their research, their collaborations and networks, and pedagogical initiatives to support their publishing efforts. Nevertheless, as ongoing research is conducted, the existing research base has not always been consulted in meaningful ways. In this paper, we draw on the notion of ‘lore’ to identify some of the preconceptions or received wisdom about multilingual scholars and their writing that seem to be circulating, then argue for researchers to move beyond the ‘lore’ and make greater use of both findings from empirical research and related theoretical and methodological conversations. We identify directions for future research to be conducted.
Unsupervised Feature-Learning for Hyperspectral Data with Autoencoders
Authors: Windrim Lloyd , Ramakrishnan Rishi , Melkumyan Arman , Murphy Richard J. , Chlingaryan Anna
Published: April 2019

This paper proposes novel autoencoders for unsupervised feature-learning from hyperspectral data. Hyperspectral data typically have many dimensions and a significant amount of variability such that many data points are required to represent the distribution of the data. This poses challenges for higher-level algorithms which use the hyperspectral data (e.g., those that map the environment). Feature-learning mitigates this by projecting the data into a lower-dimensional space where the important information is either preserved or enhanced. In many applications, the amount of labelled hyperspectral data that can be acquired is limited. Hence, there is a need for feature-learning algorithms to be unsupervised. This work proposes unsupervised techniques that incorporate spectral measures from the remote-sensing literature into the objective functions of autoencoder feature learners. The proposed techniques are evaluated on the separability of their feature spaces as well as on their application as features for a clustering task, where they are compared against other unsupervised feature-learning approaches on several different datasets. The results show that autoencoders using spectral measures outperform those using the standard squared-error objective function for unsupervised hyperspectral feature-learning.
Temporal Up-Sampling of Planar Long-Range Doppler LiDAR Wind Speed Measurements Using Space-Time Conversion
Authors: Beck Hauke , Kühn Martin
Published: April 2019

Measurement campaigns in wind energy research are becoming increasingly complex, which has exacerbated the difficulty of taking optimal measurements using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems. Compromises between spatial and temporal resolutions are always necessary in the study of heterogeneous flows, like wind turbine wakes. Below, we develop a method for space-time conversion that acts as a temporal fluid-dynamic interpolation without incurring the immense computing costs of a 4D flow solver. We tested this space-time conversion with synthetic LiDAR data extracted from a large-eddy-simulation (LES) of a neutrally stable single-turbine wake field. The data was synthesised with a numerical LiDAR simulator. Then, we performed a parametric study of 11 different scanning velocities. We found that temporal error dominates the mapping error at low scanning speeds and that spatial error becomes dominant at fast scanning speeds. Our space-time conversion method increases the temporal resolution of the LiDAR data by a factor 2.4 to 40 to correct the scan-containing temporal shift and to synchronise the scan with the time code of the LES data. The mean-value error of the test case is reduced to a minimum relative error of 0.13% and the standard-deviation error is reduced to a minimum of 0.6% when the optimal scanning velocity is used. When working with the original unprocessed LiDAR measurements, the space-time-conversion yielded a maximal error reduction of 69% in the mean value and 58% in the standard deviation with the parameters identified with our analysis.
A Preliminary Investigation of the Potential of Sentinel-1 Radar to Estimate Pasture Biomass in a Grazed Pasture Landscape
Authors: Crabbe Richard Azu , Lamb David William , Edwards Clare , Andersson Karl , Schneider Derek
Published: April 2019

Knowledge of the aboveground biomass (AGB) of large pasture fields is invaluable as it assists graziers to set stocking rate. In this preliminary evaluation, we investigated the response of Sentinel-1 (S1) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to biophysical variables (leaf area index, height and AGB) for native pasture grasses on a hilly, pastoral farm. The S1 polarimetric parameters such as backscattering coefficients, scattering entropy, scattering anisotropy, and mean scattering angle were regressed against the widely used morphological parameters of leaf area index (LAI) and height, as well as AGB of pasture grasses. We found S1 data to be more responsive to the pasture parameters when using a 1 m digital elevation model (DEM) to orthorectify the SAR image than when we employed the often-used Shuttle Radar Topography 30 m and 90 m Missions. With the 1m DEM analysis, a significant quadratic relationship was observed between AGB and VH cross-polarisation (R2 = 0.71), and significant exponential relationships between polarimetric entropy and LAI and AGB (R2 = 0.53 and 0.45, respectively). Similarly, the mean scattering angle showed a significant exponential relationship with LAI and AGB (R2 = 0.58 and R2 = 0.83, respectively). The study also found a significant quadratic relationship between the mean scattering angle and pasture height (R2 = 0.72). Despite a relatively small dataset and single season, the mean scattering angle in conjunction with a generalised additive model (GAM) explained 73% of variance in the AGB estimates. The GAM model estimated AGB with a root mean square error of 392 kg/ha over a range in pasture AGB of 443 kg/ha to 2642 kg/ha with pasture LAI ranging from 0.27 to 1.87 and height 3.25 cm to 13.75 cm. These performance metrics, while indicative at best owing to the limited datasets used, are nonetheless encouraging in terms of the application of S1 data to evaluating pasture parameters under conditions which may preclude use of traditional optical remote sensing systems.
Non-Enzymatic Impedimetric Sensor Based on 3-Aminophenylboronic Acid Functionalized Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode for Highly Sensitive Glucose Detection
Authors: Dorledo de Faria Ricardo Adriano , Iden Hassan , Heneine Luiz Guilherme Dias , Matencio Tulio , Messaddeq Younès
Published: April 2019

A highly sensitive glucose sensor was prepared by a one-step method using 3-aminophenyl boronic acid as a unit of recognition and a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) as an electrochemical transducer. Scanning Electron Microscopy confirmed the success of the functionalization of the SPCE due to the presence of clusters of boronic acid distributed on the carbon surface. In agreement with the Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) tests performed before and after the functionalization, Cyclic Voltammetry results indicated that the electroactivity of the electrode decreased 37.9% owing to the presence of the poly phenylboronic acid on the electrode surface. EIS revealed that the sensor was capable to selectively detect glucose at a broad range of concentrations (limit of detection of 8.53 × 10−9 M), not recognizing fructose and sucrose. The device presented a stable impedimetric response when immediately prepared but suffered the influence of the storage time and some interfering species (dopamine, NaCl and animal serum). The response time at optimized conditions was estimated to be equal to 4.0 ± 0.6 s.
A Novel Deep Learning Method for Intelligent Fault Diagnosis of Rotating Machinery Based on Improved CNN-SVM and Multichannel Data Fusion
Authors: Gong Wenfeng , Chen Hui , Zhang Zehui , Zhang Meiling , Wang Ruihan , Guan Cong , Wang Qin
Published: April 2019

Intelligent fault diagnosis methods based on deep learning becomes a research hotspot in the fault diagnosis field. Automatically and accurately identifying the incipient micro-fault of rotating machinery, especially for fault orientations and severity degree, is still a major challenge in the field of intelligent fault diagnosis. The traditional fault diagnosis methods rely on the manual feature extraction of engineers with prior knowledge. To effectively identify an incipient fault in rotating machinery, this paper proposes a novel method, namely improved the convolutional neural network-support vector machine (CNN-SVM) method. This method improves the traditional convolutional neural network (CNN) model structure by introducing the global average pooling technology and SVM. Firstly, the temporal and spatial multichannel raw data from multiple sensors is directly input into the improved CNN-Softmax model for the training of the CNN model. Secondly, the improved CNN are used for extracting representative features from the raw fault data. Finally, the extracted sparse representative feature vectors are input into SVM for fault classification. The proposed method is applied to the diagnosis multichannel vibration signal monitoring data of a rolling bearing. The results confirm that the proposed method is more effective than other existing intelligence diagnosis methods including SVM, K-nearest neighbor, back-propagation neural network, deep BP neural network, and traditional CNN.
Characterization of Gas Absorption Modules Based on Flexible Mid-Infrared Hollow Waveguides
Authors: Chen Kewang , Zhao Zeqiao , Zhang Xuewen , Zhang Xian , Zhu Xiaosong , Shi Yiwei
Published: April 2019

A new gas absorption module, the substrate-embedded hollow waveguide (eHWG) model, is proposed. It consists of a substrate with a curved channel and a hollow waveguide. The hollow waveguide is curved into the channel and works as a gas absorption cell as well as a transmission medium for mid-infrared light. Owing to the low loss property of the hollow waveguide, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was improved for the sensing system. A polycarbonate (PC) base tube was used to obtain flexibility in the fabrication of the hollow waveguide. A silver (Ag) layer and a silver iodide (AgI) layer were inner-coated to ensure a low loss property at the fingerprint wavelength of methane gas. A sensing system was established using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), an external detector, and an eHWG. Experimental investigations were carried on the sensing performance of eHWGs with various channel shapes. Comparison studies were made on eHWGs embedded with Ag-coated or Ag- and AgI-coated hollow waveguides. The Ag- and AgI-coated hollow waveguides with inner diameters of 0.7, 1.4, and 2.0 mm were used in the eHWGs. The large bore waveguide had low loss but high bending additional loss. The large bore waveguide had a low detection limit due to high coupling efficiency with the light source. A limit of detection (LOD) as low as 2.7 ppm was attained for the system using the eHWG with the long and large bore waveguide.
Extended Target Tracking and Feature Estimation for Optical Sensors Based on the Gaussian Process
Authors: Yu Haoyang , An Wei , Zhu Ran
Published: April 2019

A problem of tracking surface shape-shifting extended target by using gray scale pixels on optical image is considered. The measurement with amplitude information (AI) is available to the proposed method. The target is regarded as a convex hemispheric object, and the amplitude distribution of the extended target is represented by a solid radial function. The Gaussian process (GP) is applied and the covariance function of GP is modified to fit the convex hemispheric shape. The points to be estimated on the target surface are selected reasonably in the hemispheric space at the azimuth and pitch directions. Analytical representation of the estimated target extent is provided and the recursive process is implemented by the extended Kalman filter (EKF). In order to demonstrate the algorithm’s ability of tracking complex shaped targets, a trailing target characterized by two feature parameters is simulated and the two feature parameters are extracted with the estimated points. The simulations verify the validity of the proposed method with compared to classical algorithms.
3D Printed Sensors for Biomedical Applications: A Review
Authors: Han Tao , Kundu Sudip , Nag Anindya , Xu Yongzhao
Published: April 2019

This paper showcases a substantial review on some of the significant work done on 3D printing of sensors for biomedical applications. The importance of 3D printing techniques has bloomed in the sensing world due to their essential advantages of quick fabrication, easy accessibility, processing of varied materials and sustainability. Along with the introduction of the necessity and influence of 3D printing techniques for the fabrication of sensors for different healthcare applications, the paper explains the individual methodologies used to develop sensing prototypes. Six different 3D printing techniques have been explained in the manuscript, followed by drawing a comparison between them in terms of their advantages, disadvantages, materials being processed, resolution, repeatability, accuracy and applications. Finally, a conclusion of the paper is provided with some of the challenges of the current 3D printing techniques about the developed sensing prototypes, their corresponding remedial solutions and a market survey determining the expenditure on 3D printing for biomedical sensing prototypes.
Analysis of a Hybrid Micro-Electro-Mechanical Sensor Based on Graphene Oxide/Polyvinyl Alcohol for Humidity Measurements
Authors: Trigona Carlo , Al-Hamry Ammar , Kanoun Olfa , Baglio Salvatore
Published: April 2019

In this paper, we present a redundant microsensor based on the bulk and etch silicon‑on‑insulator (BESOI) process for measuring relative humidity (RH), by using a graphene‑oxide/polyvinyl‑alcohol (GO/PVA) composite. The MEMS is a mechanical oscillator, composed of a proof mass with multilayer of nanomaterials (GO/PVA) and suspended by four crab-leg springs. The redundant approach realized concerns the use of different readout strategies in order to estimate the same measurand RH. This is an intriguing solution to realize a robust measurement system with multiple outputs, by using the GO/PVA as functional material. In the presence of RH variation, GO/PVA (1) changes its mass, and as consequence, a variation of the natural frequency of the integrated oscillator can be observed; and (2) varies its conductivity, which can be measured by using two integrated electrodes. The sensor was designed, analyzed and modeled; experimental results are reported here to demonstrate the effectiveness of our implementation.
Erratum: Zhao, Y.; Zhang, N.; Si, G.; Li, X. Study on the Optimal Groove Shape and Glue Material for Fiber Bragg Grating Measuring Bolts. Sensors 2018, 18, 1799
Authors: Zhao Yiming , Zhang Nong , Si Guangyao , Li Xuehua
Published: April 2019

The authors wish to correct the affiliation of co-author Guangyao Si, due to name changes of which he was unaware during his leave of absence [...]
Foreign Exchange Expectation Errors and Filtration Enlargements
Authors: Chaim Pedro , Laurini Márcio
Published: April 2019

Extrapolations of future market forward rates are a better predictor of the 30-days ahead BRL-USD exchange rate than forecasts from the Central Bank Focus survey of Brazilian market participants. This is puzzling because market participants observe forward rates as they submit predictions, and thus these agents perform biased forecasts even though they have access to a set of unbiased forecasts, consistent with a martingale process for the exchange rate. We argue that this rational conundrum can be explained by a mechanism through which new information enlarges the information set (a filtration), changing the underlying measure and inducing a drift into the martingale process, turning the process into a strict local martingale and generating a forecast bias. Empirical results suggest that Focus survey forecasts indeed display characteristics of a strict local martingale, while spot exchange rates and forward rates are consistent with a martingale process.
Vulnerability Analysis of Urban Rail Transit Network within Multi-Modal Public Transport Networks
Authors: Lu Qing-Chang , Lin Shan
Published: April 2019

In terms of urban rail transit network vulnerability, most studies have focused on the network topology characteristics and travel cost changes after network incidents and analyzed rail transit network independently. The neglects of passenger flow distributions on the network and alternative public transport modes under rail network disruptions would either underestimate or overestimate the vulnerability of rail transit network, and thus lead to inaccurate results and decisions. This study presents an accessibility-based measurement for urban rail transit network vulnerability analysis and explicitly accounts for rail passenger flow characteristics, travel cost changes, and alternative transit modes. It is shown that the proposed approach is capable of measuring the consequences on rail network, and the advantages of the accessibility method are demonstrated and compared. The methodology is applied to the urban rail transit network of Shenzhen, China within a multi-modal public transport network. Results reveal that the consequences of disruptions on network accessibility are obviously different for stations with different passenger flow characteristics, and some undisrupted stations are found to be vulnerable under surrounding station failures. The proposed methodology offers reliable measurements on rail transit network vulnerability and implications for decision-making under rail network disruptions.
Sustainable Infrastructure in Conflict Zones: Police Facilities’ Impact on Perception of Safety in Afghan Communities
Authors: Affleck Rosa T. , Gardner Kevin , Aytur Semra , Carlson Cynthia , Grimm Curt , Deeb Elias
Published: April 2019

The notion of sustainable infrastructure for the delivery of social services is to fulfill basic human needs; in war-torn societies, human safety is a critical basic need. The relationship between sustainable infrastructure development and human safety remains underresearched in Afghan neighborhoods. Therefore, this study examined the effectiveness of the police facilities constructed for stability enhancement in Afghan communities. To do so, this study used Afghans’ polling datasets on the police presence and the public safety perceptions, including newly collected survey data related to the influence of the police facilities on human safety and other factors contributing to the neighborhoods’ well-being. The datasets are organized with a multilevel structure in which different individuals are sampled within neighborhoods and analyzed using a multilevel model approach to capture the randomness of the responses. The results showed that police facilities are more important to perceptions of safety in less safe areas and that Afghans in villages perceived themselves as safer than in urban areas, relative to their own immediate region. Those perceiving themselves as being safer were older, more highly educated, and widowed respondents. Overall, Afghans perceived the police facilities as institutional symbol for promoting improvements and opportunities for fulfilling basic human safety needs.
Post-Truth: Hegemony on Social Media and Implications for Sustainability Communication
Authors: Jaques Cecilia , Islar Mine , Lord Gavin
Published: April 2019

Contrary to what practice suggests, social media platforms may not be an appropriate forum for communicating with civil society about sustainability issues such as climate change. Misinformation campaigns are distorting the line between fact and falsity on social media platforms, and there has been a profound shift in the way that social media users consume and interact with information. These conditions have been popularly labeled as the post-truth era. Drawing from Neo-Marxian theory, we argue that post-truth can be explained as a new iteration of ideological struggle under capitalist hegemony. We substantiate this claim through a mixed methods investigation synthesizing corpus-assisted lexical analysis and critical discourse analysis to evaluate 900 user-generated comments taken from three articles on socioenvironmental topics published on Facebook by news organizations in the United States. The results showed that the nature of this struggle is tied explicitly to the role of science in society, where the legitimacy of science is caught in a tug-of-war of values between elitism on the one hand and a rejection of the establishment on the other. It follows that presenting truthful information in place of false information is an insufficient means of coping with post-truth. We conclude by problematizing the notion that Facebook is an adequate forum for public dialogue and advocate for a change in strategy from those wishing to communicate scientific information in the public sphere.
Land Use Change in Coastal Cities during the Rapid Urbanization Period from 1990 to 2016: A Case Study in Ningbo City, China
Authors: Zhang Chao , Zhong Shuai , Wang Xue , Shen Lei , Liu Litao , Liu Yujie
Published: April 2019

Coastal cities have been experiencing tremendous land use changes worldwide. Studies on the consequences of land use change in coastal cities have provided helpful information for spatial regulations and have attracted increased attention. Changes in forests and water bodies, however, have rarely been investigated, challenging the formation of a holistic pattern of land use change. In this study, we selected Ningbo, China, as a case study area and analyzed its land use change from 1990 to 2016. Random forest (RF) classification was employed to derive land use information from Landsat images. Transition matrices and a distribution index (DI) were applied to identify the major types of land use transitions and their spatial variations by site-specific attributes. The results showed that the entire time period could be divided into two stages, based on the manifestations of land use change in Ningbo: 1990–2005 and 2005–2016. During 1990–2005, construction land expanded rapidly, mainly through the occupation of agricultural land and forest, while during 2005–2016, the main change trajectory turned out to be a small net change in construction land and a net increase in agricultural land sourced from construction land, forests, and water bodies. In terms of land use change by site-specific attributes, the rapid expansion of construction land around the municipal city center during 1990–2005 was restrained, and similar amounts of land conversion between construction and agricultural use occurred during 2005–2016. During the study period, areas undergoing land use change also showed trends of moving outward from the municipal city center and the county centers located adjacent to roads and the coastline and of moving up to hilly areas with steeper slopes and higher elevations. Protecting reclaimed agricultural land, improving the efficiency of construction land, and controlling forest conversion in hilly areas are suggested as spatial regulations in Ningbo city.
Visitor Perceptions and Effectiveness of Place Branding Strategies in Thematic Parks in Bandung City Using Text Mining Based on Google Maps User Reviews
Authors: Munawir  , Koerniawan Mochamad Donny , Dewancker Bart Julien
Published: April 2019

The city of Bandung, Indonesia contains thematic parks which use certain themes to highlight the features of the park. They are also used as a branding strategy for the city as a whole. As social networking has become a type of media used by most global populations to share experiences and stories and to influence perceptions, and because online reviews are one way to get potential positive information about the success of a business or service, we analyzed online reviews from the Bandung thematic parks. We identified that thematic parks have an influence on the branding of the city of Bandung. Data collection involved data extraction from Google Maps user reviews. Text mining was used to collect the information attributes needed to determine the public perceptions of thematic parks. Data analysis was used to determine the extent to which a park can be a benchmark for place branding in Bandung. This research found that the influence of the thematic park concept is a good strategy for the city of Bandung. Online reviews show that thematic parks in Bandung are better known than non-thematic parks, and that thematic parks get very good ratings and good opinions from online reviewers. This information is expected to be a reference for developing the concept of thematic parks, especially in the city of Bandung, and it can be used by the government, architects, and urban designers to get a better understanding of the users’ perceptions and as a benchmark for similar projects.
A Price-Forecast-Based Irrigation Scheduling Optimization Model under the Response of Fruit Quality and Price to Water
Authors: Shan Baoying , Guo Ping , Guo Shanshan , Li Zhong
Published: April 2019

Different from the traditional irrigation optimization model based only on the water production function, in this study, we explored the water–yield–quality–benefit relationship and established a general irrigation scheduling optimization framework. To establish the framework, (1) an artificial neural network coupled with ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD-ANN) is used to decompose the original price time series into several subseries and then forecast each of them; (2) factor analysis and a technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FA-TOPSIS), as an integrated evaluation method, is used to comprehensively evaluate the fruit quality parameters; and (3) regression analysis is used to simulate water-yield and water-fruit quality relationships. The model is applied to a case study of greenhouse tomato irrigation schedule optimization. The results indicate that EEMD-ANN can improve the accuracy of price forecasting. Jensen and additive models are selected to simulate the relationships of tomato yield and quality with water deficit at various stages. Besides, the model can balance the contradiction between higher yields and better quality, and optimal irrigation scheduling is obtained under different market conditions. Comparison between the developed model and a traditional modeling approach indicates that the former can improve net benefits, fruit quality, and water use efficiency. This model considers the economic mechanism of market price changing with fruit quality. Forecasting and optimization results can provide reliable and useful advices for local farmers on planting and irrigation.