bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BET Family Protein BRD4: An Emerging Actor in NFκB Signaling in Inflammation and Cancer
Authors: Hajmirza Azadeh , Emadali Anouk , Gauthier Arnaud , Casasnovas Olivier , Gressin Rémy , Callanan Mary
Published: February 2018

NFκB (Nuclear Factor-κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) signaling elicits global transcriptional changes by activating cognate promoters and through genome-wide remodeling of cognate regulatory elements called “super enhancers”. BET (Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal domain) protein family inhibitor studies have implicated BET protein member BRD4 and possibly other BET proteins in NFκB-dependent promoter and super-enhancer modulation. Members of the BET protein family are known to bind acetylated chromatin to facilitate access by transcriptional regulators to chromatin, as well as to assist the activity of transcription elongation complexes via CDK9/pTEFb. BET family member BRD4 has been shown to bind non-histone proteins and modulate their activity. One such protein is RELA, the NFκB co-activator. Specifically, BRD4 binds acetylated RELA, which increases its transcriptional transactivation activity and stability in the nucleus. In aggregate, this establishes an intimate link between NFκB and BET signaling, at least via BRD4. The present review provides a brief overview of the structure and function of BET family proteins and then examines the connections between NFκB and BRD4 signaling, using the inflammatory response and cancer cell signaling as study models. We also discuss the potential of BET inhibitors for relief of aberrant NFκB signaling in cancer, focusing on non-histone, acetyl-lysine binding functions.
Bayesian Energy Measurement and Verification Analysis
Authors: Carstens Herman , Xia Xiaohua , Yadavalli Sarma
Published: February 2018

Energy Measurement and Verification (M&V) aims to make inferences about the savings achieved in energy projects, given the data and other information at hand. Traditionally, a frequentist approach has been used to quantify these savings and their associated uncertainties. We demonstrate that the Bayesian paradigm is an intuitive, coherent, and powerful alternative framework within which M&V can be done. Its advantages and limitations are discussed, and two examples from the industry-standard International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) are solved using the framework. Bayesian analysis is shown to describe the problem more thoroughly and yield richer information and uncertainty quantification results than the standard methods while not sacrificing model simplicity. We also show that Bayesian methods can be more robust to outliers. Bayesian alternatives to standard M&V methods are listed, and examples from literature are cited.
Designing Wood Supply Scenarios from Forest Inventories with Stratified Predictions
Authors: Kilham Philipp , Kändler Gerald , Hartebrodt Christoph , Stelzer Anne-Sophie , Schraml Ulrich
Published: February 2018

Forest growth and wood supply projections are increasingly used to estimate the future availability of woody biomass and the correlated effects on forests and climate. This research parameterizes an inventory-based business-as-usual wood supply scenario, with a focus on southwest Germany and the period 2002–2012 with a stratified prediction. First, the Classification and Regression Trees algorithm groups the inventory plots into strata with corresponding harvest probabilities. Second, Random Forest algorithms generate individual harvest probabilities for the plots of each stratum. Third, the plots with the highest individual probabilities are selected as harvested until the harvest probability of the stratum is fulfilled. Fourth, the harvested volume of these plots is predicted with a linear regression model trained on harvested plots only. To illustrate the pros and cons of this method, it is compared to a direct harvested volume prediction with linear regression, and a combination of logistic regression and linear regression. Direct harvested volume regression predicts comparable volume figures, but generates these volumes in a way that differs from business-as-usual. The logistic model achieves higher overall classification accuracies, but results in underestimations or overestimations of harvest shares for several subsets of the data. The stratified prediction method balances this shortcoming, and can be of general use for forest growth and timber supply projections from large-scale forest inventories.
Induced Plant Accumulation of Lithium
Authors: Kavanagh Laurence , Keohane Jerome , Cabellos Guiomar , Lloyd Andrew , Cleary John
Published: February 2018

Lithium’s (Li) value has grown exponentially since the development of Li-ion batteries. It is usually accessed in one of two ways: hard rock mineral mining or extraction from mineral-rich brines. Both methods are expensive and require a rich source of Li. This paper examines the potential of agro-mining as an environmentally friendly, economically viable process for extracting Li from low grade ore. Agro-mining exploits an ability found in few plant species, to accumulate substantial amounts of metals in the above ground parts of the plant. Phyto-mined metals are then retrieved from the incinerated plants. Although the actual amount of metal collected from a crop may be low, the process has been shown to be profitable. We have investigated the suitability of several plant species including: Brassica napus and Helianthus annuus, as Li-accumulators under controlled conditions. Large plant trials were carried out with/without chelating agents to encourage Li accumulation. The question we sought to answer was, can any of the plant species investigated accumulate Li at levels high enough to justify using them to agro-mine Li. Results show maximum accumulated levels of >4000 mg/kg Li in some species. Our data suggests that agro-mining of Li is a potentially viable process.
Role of Zinc Homeostasis in the Pathogenesis of Diabetes and Obesity
Authors: Fukunaka Ayako , Fujitani Yoshio
Published: February 2018

Zinc deficiency is a risk factor for obesity and diabetes. However, until recently, the underlying molecular mechanisms remained unclear. The breakthrough discovery that the common polymorphism in zinc transporter SLC30A8/ZnT8 may increase susceptibility to type 2 diabetes provided novel insights into the role of zinc in diabetes. Our group and others showed that altered ZnT8 function may be involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, indicating that the precise control of zinc homeostasis is crucial for maintaining health and preventing various diseases, including lifestyle-associated diseases. Recently, the role of the zinc transporter ZIP13 in the regulation of beige adipocyte biogenesis was clarified, which indicated zinc homeostasis regulation as a possible therapeutic target for obesity and metabolic syndrome. Here we review advances in the role of zinc homeostasis in the pathophysiology of diabetes, and propose that inadequate zinc distribution may affect the onset of diabetes and metabolic diseases by regulating various critical biological events.
Effects of Interactions between ZnO Nanoparticles and Saccharides on Biological Responses
Authors: Go Mi-Ran , Yu Jin , Bae Song-Hwa , Kim Hyeon-Jin , Choi Soo-Jin
Published: February 2018

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used as a Zn supplement, because Zn plays a role in many cellular and immune functions but public concern about their potentially undesirable effects on the human body is growing. When NPs are added in food matrices, interactions between NPs and food components occur, which can affect biological systems. In this study, interactions between ZnO NPs and saccharides were investigated by measuring changes in hydrodynamic radius, zeta potential and solubility and by quantifying amounts of adsorbed saccharides on NPs; acacia honey, sugar mixtures (containing equivalent amounts of fructose, glucose, sucrose and maltose) and monosaccharide solutions were used as model compounds. Biological responses of NPs dispersed in different saccharides were also evaluated in human intestinal cells and rats in terms of cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, intestinal transport and oral absorption. The results demonstrate that the hydrodynamic radii and zeta potentials of NPs were highly affected by saccharides. In addition, trace nutrients influenced NP/saccharide interactions and interactive effects between saccharides on the interactions were found. NPs in all saccharides increased inhibition of cell proliferation and enhanced cellular uptake. Oral absorption of NPs was highly enhanced by 5% glucose, which is in-line with intestinal transport result. These findings show that ZnO NPs interact with saccharides and these interactions affects biological responses.
Peptide-Based Membrane Fusion Inhibitors Targeting HCoV-229E Spike Protein HR1 and HR2 Domains
Authors: Xia Shuai , Xu Wei , Wang Qian , Wang Cong , Hua Chen , Li Weihua , Lu Lu , Jiang Shibo
Published: February 2018

Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) infection in infants, elderly people, and immunocompromised patients can cause severe disease, thus calling for the development of effective and safe therapeutics to treat it. Here we reported the design, synthesis and characterization of two peptide-based membrane fusion inhibitors targeting HCoV-229E spike protein heptad repeat 1 (HR1) and heptad repeat 2 (HR2) domains, 229E-HR1P and 229E-HR2P, respectively. We found that 229E-HR1P and 229E-HR2P could interact to form a stable six-helix bundle and inhibit HCoV-229E spike protein-mediated cell-cell fusion with IC50 of 5.7 and 0.3 µM, respectively. 229E-HR2P effectively inhibited pseudotyped and live HCoV-229E infection with IC50 of 0.5 and 1.7 µM, respectively. In a mouse model, 229E-HR2P administered intranasally could widely distribute in the upper and lower respiratory tracts and maintain its fusion-inhibitory activity. Therefore, 229E-HR2P is a promising candidate for further development as an antiviral agent for the treatment and prevention of HCoV-229E infection.
Mental Health Effects of Stress over the Life Span of Refugees
Authors: Hollifield Michael , Warner Teddy , Krakow Barry , Westermeyer Joseph
Published: February 2018

Information about the relative impact of stressful events across the lifespan on the mental health of refugees is needed. Cross-sectional data from a community sample of 135 Kurdish and 117 Vietnamese refugees were fit to a path model about the effects of non-war stress, war-related stress, and post-migration stress on mental health. Kurdish and Vietnamese data were generally consistent with the model. However, war-related stress produced no direct but a large indirect effect through post-migration stress on mental health in Kurds. Vietnamese data indicated a modest direct war-related stress effect but no indirect influence through post-migration stress. Different types of stressful events lead to adverse mental health of displaced refugees in a somewhat group-dependent manner. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.
Carbon Nano-Allotrope/Magnetic Nanoparticle Hybrid Nanomaterials as T2 Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Applications
Authors: Gao Yunxiang
Published: February 2018

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most powerful tool for deep penetration and high-quality 3D imaging of tissues with anatomical details. However, the sensitivity of the MRI technique is not as good as that of the radioactive or optical imaging methods. Carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted significant attention in biomaterial research in recent decades due to their unique physical properties, versatile functionalization chemistry, as well as excellent biological compatibility. Researchers have employed various carbon nano-allotropes to develop hybrid MRI contrast agents for improved sensitivity. This review summarizes the new research progresses in carbon-based hybrid MRI contrast agents, especially those reported in the past five years. The review will only focus on T2-weighted MRI agents and will be categorized by the different carbon allotrope types and magnetic components. Considering the strong trend in recent bio-nanotechnology research towards multifunctional diagnosis and therapy, carbon-based MRI contrast agents integrated with other imaging modalities or therapeutic functions are also covered.
Hyperspectral-Enhanced Dark Field Microscopy for Single and Collective Nanoparticle Characterization in Biological Environments
Authors: Zamora-Perez Paula , Tsoutsi Dionysia , Xu Ruixue , Rivera_Gil Pilar
Published: February 2018

We review how the hyperspectral dark field analysis gives us quantitative insights into the manner that different nanoscale materials interact with their environment and how this relationship is directly expressed in an optical readout. We engage classification tools to identify dominant spectral signatures within a scene or to qualitatively characterize nanoparticles individually or in populations based on their composition and morphology. Moreover, we follow up the morphological evolution of nanoparticles over time and in different biological environments to better understand and establish a link between the observed nanoparticles’ changes and cellular behaviors.
Chemically Surface Tunable Solubility Parameter for Controllable Drug Delivery—An Example and Perspective from Hollow PAA-Coated Magnetite Nanoparticles with R6G Model Drug
Authors: He Quanguo , Liu Jun , Liang Jing , Liu Xiaopeng , Tuo Du , Li Wen
Published: February 2018

Solubility parameter-dependent drug releasing property is essential in practical drug delivery systems (DDS), and how to combine magnetic nanoparticles(NPs) and suitable polymer coating towards DDS is always a crucial and valuable challenge in biomedical application. Herein, a controllable drug delivery model with a surface having a chemically tunable solubility parameter is presented using hollow magnetite/polyacrylic acid (Fe3O4/PAA) nanocomposites as nanocarrier towards DDS. This composite is prepared by simply coating the modified hollow Fe3O4 with PAA. The coating amount of PAA onto the surface of Fe3O4 (measured by TGA) is about 40% (w/w). Then, Rhodamine 6G (R6G) is selected as model drug in drug delivery experiment. The efficiency of drug loading and drug release of these Fe3O4/PAA nanocarriers are evaluated under various temperature, solvent and pH values. As a result, the best drug releasing rate was achieved as 93.0% in pH = 7.4 PBS solution after 14 h. The releasing efficiency is 86.5% in acidic condition, while a lower releasing rate (30.0%) is obtained in aqueous solution, as different forms (polyacrylic acid and polyacrylate) of PAA present different solubility parameters, causing different salt and acid effects in various solvents, swelling property of PAA, and binding force between PAA and R6G. Therefore, by changing the solubility parameter of coating polymers, the drug delivery properties could be effectively tuned. These findings prove that the DDS based on magnetic particle cores and polymer encapsulation could efficiently regulate the drug delivery properties by tuning surface solubility parameter in potential cancer targeting and therapy.
Tribological Behavior of AA1050H24-Graphene Nanocomposite Obtained by Friction Stir Processing
Authors: Blanco Fernandez Julio , Jimenez Macias Emilio , Saenz-Diez Muro Juan , Caputi Lorenzo , Miriello Domenico , De Luca Raffaella , Sanchez Roca Angel , Carvajal Fals Hipólito
Published: February 2018

The tribological behavior of a new composite material containing graphene nanosheets (GNS) is presented. The composite material was obtained by Friction Stir Processing, using as metallic matrix the AA1050-H24 alloy. Different tool rotation and advancing speeds were tested in friction stir processing (FSP). The worn surfaces of obtained materials were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that graphene reinforcements are successfully mixed into the aluminum matrix. The results proved the feasibility of using GNSs to obtain nanocomposites by FSP. The coefficient of friction of the aluminum alloy was 0.57, decreasing to 0.38 for the nanocomposite GNSs/AA1050. These values decrease for samples obtained at lower tool rotation speeds. The weight losses of the composites are less than that of unreinforced AA1050-H24 alloy for conditions with lower advancing speeds (40 and 60 mm/min) and 1120 rpm.
Optimization of Wavy-Channel Micromixer Geometry Using Taguchi Method
Authors: Solehati Nita , Bae Joonsoo , Sasmito Agus
Published: February 2018

The micro-mixer has been widely used in mixing processes for chemical and pharmaceutical industries. We introduced an improved and easy to manufacture micro-mixer design utilizing the wavy structure micro-channel T-junction which can be easily manufactured using a simple stamping method. Here, we aim to optimize the geometrical parameters, i.e., wavy frequency, wavy amplitude, and width and height of the micro channel by utilizing the robust Taguchi statistical method with regards to the mixing performance (mixing index), pumping power and figure of merit (FoM). The interaction of each design parameter is evaluated. The results indicate that high mixing performance is not always associated with high FoM due to higher pumping power. Higher wavy frequency and amplitude is required for good mixing performance; however, this is not the case for pumping power due to an increase in Darcy friction loss. Finally, the advantages and limitations of the designs and objective functions are discussed in the light of present numerical results.
Empirically Derived Dietary Patterns in UK Adults Are Associated with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Lifestyle, and Diet Quality
Authors: Roberts Katharine , Cade Janet , Dawson Jeremy , Holdsworth Michelle
Published: February 2018

The aim of this study was to examine empirical dietary patterns in UK adults and their association with sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, self-reported nutrient intake, nutrient biomarkers, and the Nutrient-based Diet Quality Score (NDQS) using National Diet and Nutrition Survey data 2008–2012 (n = 2083; mean age 49 years; 43.3% male). Four patterns explained 13.6% of the total variance: ‘Snacks, fast food, fizzy drinks’ (SFFFD), ‘Fruit, vegetables, oily fish’ (FVOF), ‘Meat, potatoes, beer’ (MPB), and ‘Sugary foods, dairy’ (SFD). ‘SFFFD’ was associated positively with: being male; smoking; body mass index (BMI); urinary sodium; intake of non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES), fat and starch; and negatively with: age; plasma carotenoids; and NDQS. ‘FVOF’ was associated positively with: being non-white; age; income; socioeconomic classification (National Statistics Socio-economic Classifications; NSSEC); plasma carotenoids; intake of non-starch polysaccharides and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It was negatively associated with: being male, smoking, BMI, urinary sodium, intake of saturated fat; and NMES and NDQS. Whilst the patterns explained only 13.6% of the total variance, they were associated with self-reported nutrient intake, biomarkers of nutrient intake, sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, and the NDQS. These findings provide support for dietary patterns analyses as a means of exploring dietary intake in the UK population to inform public health nutrition policy and guidance.
In Vivo Assessment of Resistant Starch Degradation by the Caecal Microbiota of Mice Using RNA-Based Stable Isotope Probing—A Proof-of-Principle Study
Authors: Herrmann Elena , Young Wayne , Reichert-Grimm Verena , Weis Severin , Riedel Christian , Rosendale Douglas , Stoklosinski Halina , Hunt Martin , Egert Markus
Published: February 2018

Resistant starch (RS) is the digestion resistant fraction of complex polysaccharide starch. By reaching the large bowel, RS can function as a prebiotic carbohydrate, i.e., it can shape the structure and activity of bowel bacterial communities towards a profile that confers health benefits. However, knowledge about the fate of RS in complex intestinal communities and the microbial members involved in its degradation is limited. In this study, 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-based stable isotope probing (RNA-SIP) was used to identify mouse bowel bacteria involved in the assimilation of RS or its derivatives directly in their natural gut habitat. Stable-isotope [U13C]-labeled native potato starch was administrated to mice, and caecal contents were collected before 0 h and 2 h and 4 h after administration. ‘Heavy’, isotope-labeled [13C]RNA species, presumably derived from bacteria that have metabolized the labeled starch, were separated from ‘light’, unlabeled [12C]RNA species by fractionation of isolated total RNA in isopycnic-density gradients. Inspection of different density gradients showed a continuous increase in ‘heavy’ 16S rRNA in caecal samples over the course of the experiment. Sequencing analyses of unlabeled and labeled 16S amplicons particularly suggested a group of unclassified Clostridiales, Dorea, and a few other taxa (Bacteroides, Turicibacter) to be most actively involved in starch assimilation in vivo. In addition, metabolic product analyses revealed that the predominant 13C-labeled short chain fatty acid (SCFA) in caecal contents produced from the [U13C] starch was butyrate. For the first time, this study provides insights into the metabolic transformation of RS by intestinal bacterial communities directly within a gut ecosystem, which will finally help to better understand its prebiotic potential and possible applications in human health.
Vitamin E Phosphate Nucleoside Prodrugs: A Platform for Intracellular Delivery of Monophosphorylated Nucleosides
Authors: Daifuku Richard , Koratich Michael , Stackhouse Murray
Published: February 2018

Vitamin E phosphate (VEP) nucleoside prodrugs are designed to bypass two mechanisms of tumor resistance to therapeutic nucleosides: nucleoside transport and kinase downregulation. Certain isoforms of vitamin E (VE) have shown activity against solid and hematologic tumors and result in chemosensitization. Because gemcitabine is one of the most common chemotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer, it was used to demonstrate the constructs utility. Four different VE isoforms were conjugated with gemcitabine at the 5′ position. Two of these were δ-tocopherol-monophosphate (MP) gemcitabine (NUC050) and δ-tocotrienol-MP gemcitabine (NUC052). NUC050 was shown to be able to deliver gemcitabine-MP intracellularly by a nucleoside transport independent mechanism. Its half-life administered IV in mice was 3.9 h. In a mouse xenograft model of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) NCI-H460, NUC050 at a dose of 40 mg/kg IV qwk × 4 resulted in significant inhibition to tumor growth on days 11–31 (p < 0.05) compared to saline control (SC). Median survival was 33 days (NUC050) vs. 25.5 days (SC) ((hazard ratio) HR = 0.24, p = 0.017). Further, NUC050 significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to historic data with gemcitabine at 135 mg/kg IV q5d × 3 on days 14–41 (p < 0.05). NUC052 was administered at a dose of 40 mg/kg IV qwk × 2 followed by 50 mg/kg qwk × 2. NUC052 resulted in inhibition to tumor growth on days 14–27 (p < 0.05) and median survival was 34 days (HR = 0.27, p = 0.033). NUC050 and NUC052 have been shown to be safe and effective in a mouse xenograft of NSCLC.
Facile Synthesis, Characterization of Poly-2-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole Nanoparticles for Rapid Removal of Mercury and Silver Ions from Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Huang Shaojun , Ma Chengzhang , Li Chao , Min Chungang , Du Ping , Xia Yi , Yang Chaofen , Huang Qiuling
Published: February 2018

Industrial pollution by heavy metal ions such as Hg2+ and Ag+ is a universal problem owing to the toxicity of heavy metals. In this study, a novel nano-adsorbent, i.e., poly-2-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (PTT), was synthesized and used to selectively adsorb mercury and silver ions from aqueous solutions. PTT nanoparticles were synthesized via chemical oxidative dehydrogenation polymerization under mild conditions. Oxidant species, medium, monomer concentration, oxidant/monomer molar ratio, and polymerization temperature were optimized to obtain optimum yields. The molecular structure and morphology of the nanoparticles were analyzed by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization/time-of-flight (MALDI/TOF) mass and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), theoretical calculations and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. It was found that the polymerization of 2-mercapto-1,3,4-thiodiazole occurs through head-to-tail coupling between the S(2) and C(5) positions. The PTT nanoparticles having a peculiar synergic combination of four kinds of active groups, S–, –SH, N–N, and =N– with a small particle size of 30–200 nm exhibit ultrarapid initial adsorption rates of 1500 mg(Hg)·g−1·h−1 and 5364 mg(Ag)·g−1·h−1 and high adsorption capacities of up to 186.9 mg(Hg)·g−1 and 193.1 mg(Ag)·g−1, becoming ultrafast chelate nanosorbents with high adsorption capacities. Kinetic study indicates that the adsorption of Hg2+ and Ag+ follows the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting a chemical adsorption as the rate-limiting step during the adsorption process. The Hg2+ and Ag+-loaded PTT nanoparticles could be effectively regenerated with 0.1 mol·L−1 EDTA or 1 mol·L−1 HNO3 without significantly losing their adsorption capacities even after five adsorption–desorption cycles. With these impressive properties, PTT nanoparticles are very promising materials in the fields of water-treatment and precious metals recovery.
Silk Fibroin/Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Interpenetrating Polymer Network Hydrogels
Authors: Kuang Dajiang , Wu Feng , Yin Zhuping , Zhu Tian , Xing Tieling , Kundu Subhas , Lu Shenzhou
Published: February 2018

Silk fibroin hydrogel is an ideal model as biomaterial matrix due to its excellent biocompatibility and used in the field of medical polymer materials. Nevertheless, native fibroin hydrogels show poor transparency and resilience. To settle these drawbacks, an interpenetrating network (IPN) of hydrogels are synthesized with changing ratios of silk fibroin/N-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidonemixtures that crosslink by H2O2 and horseradish peroxidase. Interpenetrating polymer network structure can shorten the gel time and the pure fibroin solution gel time for more than a week. This is mainly due to conformation from the random coil to the β-sheet structure changes of fibroin. Moreover, the light transmittance of IPN hydrogel can be as high as more than 97% and maintain a level of 90% within a week. The hydrogel, which mainly consists of random coil, the apertures inside can be up to 200 μm. Elastic modulus increases during the process of gelation. The gel has nearly 95% resilience under the compression of 70% eventually, which is much higher than native fibroin gel. The results suggest that the present IPN hydrogels have excellent mechanical properties and excellent transparency.
Sensitivity and Limitation in Damage Detection for Individual Buildings Using InSAR Coherence—A Case Study in 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes
Authors: Natsuaki Ryo , Nagai Hiroto , Tomii Naoya , Tadono Takeo
Published: February 2018

In this paper, evaluation results are presented for multi-temporal interferometric coherence analysis using a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for damage assessment in an urban area. The latest space-borne SARs potentially have a high enough spatial resolution to assess individual buildings. However, interferometric coherence analysis has not been evaluated for its limitation in sensitivity and size of damaged buildings. In particular, the correlation between the coherence analysis and the damage level referred to by architectural assessments has been an open question. In this paper, analytical results using ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 datasets are presented from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes in Japan. For reference, building damage was assessed throughout the central urban area and specifically at a catastrophically damaged district. The results show that the buildings should be larger than a window size of the coherence for damage detection, and the damage level should be larger than Level-2 of 5, classified with the European Macroseismic Scale 1998 (EMS-98).
Remote Sensing of Suspended Sediment Concentrations Based on the Waveform Decomposition of Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry
Authors: Zhao Xinglei , Zhao Jianhu , Zhang Hongmei , Zhou Fengnian
Published: February 2018

Airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB) has been shown to have the ability to retrieve water turbidity using the waveform parameters (i.e., slopes and amplitudes) of volume backscatter returns. However, directly and accurately extracting the parameters of volume backscatter returns from raw green-pulse waveforms in shallow waters is difficult because of the short waveform. This study proposes a new accurate and efficient method for the remote sensing of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) in shallow waters based on the waveform decomposition of ALB. The proposed method approaches raw ALB green-pulse waveforms through a synthetic waveform model that comprises a Gaussian function (for fitting the air–water interface returns), triangle function (for fitting the volume backscatter returns), and Weibull function (for fitting the bottom returns). Moreover, the volume backscatter returns are separated from the raw green-pulse waveforms by the triangle function. The separated volume backscatter returns are used as bases to calculate the waveform parameters (i.e., slopes and amplitudes). These waveform parameters and the measured SSCs are used to build two power SSC models (i.e., SSC (C)-Slope (K) and SSC (C)-Amplitude (A) models) at the measured SSC stations. Thereafter, the combined model is formed by the two established C-K and C-A models to retrieve SSCs. SSCs in the modeling water area are retrieved using the combined model. A complete process for retrieving SSCs using the proposed method is provided. The proposed method was applied to retrieve SSCs from an actual ALB measurement performed using the Optech Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging LiDAR in a shallow and turbid water area. A mean bias of 0.05 mg/L and standard deviation of 3.8 mg/L were obtained in the experimental area using the combined model.
The Archaeology and Remote Sensing of Santa Elena’s Four Millennia of Occupation
Authors: Thompson Victor , DePratter Chester , Lulewicz Jacob , Lulewicz Isabelle , Roberts Thompson Amanda , Cramb Justin , Ritchison Brandon , Colvin Matthew
Published: February 2018

In this study, we present the results of a comprehensive, landscape-scale remote sensing project at Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina. Substantial occupation at the site extends for over 4000 years and has resulted in a complex array of features dating to different time periods. In addition, there is a 40-year history of archaeological research at the site that includes a large-scale systematic shovel test survey, large block excavations, and scattered test units. Also, modern use of the site included significant alterations to the subsurface deposits. Our goals for this present work are threefold: (1) to explicitly present a logical approach to examine sites with long-term occupations; (2) to examine changes in land use at Santa Elena and its implications for human occupation of this persistent place; and (3) to use the remote sensing program and past archaeological research to make substantive suggestions regarding future research, conservation, and management of the site. Our research provides important insight into the distribution of cultural features at this National Historic Landmark. While the majority of archaeological research at the site has focused on the Spanish period, our work suggests a complex and vast array of archaeological features that can provide insight into over 4000 years of history in the region. At a gross level, we have identified possible Late Archaic structures, Woodland houses and features, Late Prehistoric and early Historic council houses, and a suite of features related to the Spanish occupation which builds on our previous research at the site. In addition to documenting possible cultural features at the site, our work illustrates the value of multiple remote sensing techniques used in conjunction with close-interval shovel test data.
Design and Implementation of Cloud-Centric Configuration Repository for DIY IoT Applications
Authors: Ahmad Shabir , Hang Lei , Kim Do
Published: February 2018

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) vision for the design of a smart and customizable IoT application demands the involvement of the general public in its development process. The general public lacks the technical knowledge for programming state-of-the-art prototyping and development kits. The latest IoT kits, for example, Raspberry Pi, are revolutionizing the DIY paradigm for IoT, and more than ever, a DIY intuitive programming interface is required to enable the masses to interact with and customize the behavior of remote IoT devices on the Internet. However, in most cases, these DIY toolkits store the resultant configuration data in local storage and, thus, cannot be accessed remotely. This paper presents the novel implementation of such a system, which not only enables the general public to customize the behavior of remote IoT devices through a visual interface, but also makes the configuration available everywhere and anytime by leveraging the power of cloud-based platforms. The interface enables the visualization of the resources exposed by remote embedded resources in the form of graphical virtual objects (VOs). These VOs are used to create the service design through simple operations like drag-and-drop and the setting of properties. The configuration created as a result is maintained as an XML document, which is ingested by the cloud platform, thus making it available to be used anywhere. We use the HTTP approach for the communication between the cloud and IoT toolbox and the cloud and real devices, but for communication between the toolbox and actual resources, CoAP is used. Finally, a smart home case study has been implemented and presented in order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed work.
Hard Fusion Based Spectrum Sensing over Mobile Fading Channels in Cognitive Vehicular Networks
Authors: Qian Xiaomin , Hao Li , Ni Dadong , Tran Quang
Published: February 2018

An explosive growth in vehicular wireless applications gives rise to spectrum resource starvation. Cognitive radio has been used in vehicular networks to mitigate the impending spectrum starvation problem by allowing vehicles to fully exploit spectrum opportunities unoccupied by licensed users. Efficient and effective detection of licensed user is a critical issue to realize cognitive radio applications. However, spectrum sensing in vehicular environments is a very challenging task due to vehicle mobility. For instance, vehicle mobility has a large effect on the wireless channel, thereby impacting the detection performance of spectrum sensing. Thus, gargantuan efforts have been made in order to analyze the fading properties of mobile radio channel in vehicular environments. Indeed, numerous studies have demonstrated that the wireless channel in vehicular environments can be characterized by a temporally correlated Rayleigh fading. In this paper, we focus on energy detection for spectrum sensing and a counting rule for cooperative sensing based on Neyman-Pearson criteria. Further, we go into the effect of the sensing and reporting channel conditions on the sensing performance under the temporally correlated Rayleigh channel. For local and cooperative sensing, we derive some alternative expressions for the average probability of misdetection. The pertinent numerical and simulating results are provided to further validate our theoretical analyses under a variety of scenarios.
Self-Tuning Threshold Method for Real-Time Gait Phase Detection Based on Ground Contact Forces Using FSRs
Authors: Tang Jing , Zheng Jianbin , Wang Yang , Yu Lie , Zhan Enqi , Song Qiuzhi
Published: February 2018

This paper presents a novel methodology for detecting the gait phase of human walking on level ground. The previous threshold method (TM) sets a threshold to divide the ground contact forces (GCFs) into on-ground and off-ground states. However, the previous methods for gait phase detection demonstrate no adaptability to different people and different walking speeds. Therefore, this paper presents a self-tuning triple threshold algorithm (STTTA) that calculates adjustable thresholds to adapt to human walking. Two force sensitive resistors (FSRs) were placed on the ball and heel to measure GCFs. Three thresholds (i.e., high-threshold, middle-threshold andlow-threshold) were used to search out the maximum and minimum GCFs for the self-adjustments of thresholds. The high-threshold was the main threshold used to divide the GCFs into on-ground and off-ground statuses. Then, the gait phases were obtained through the gait phase detection algorithm (GPDA), which provides the rules that determine calculations for STTTA. Finally, the STTTA reliability is determined by comparing the results between STTTA and Mariani method referenced as the timing analysis module (TAM) and Lopez–Meyer methods. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be used to detect gait phases in real time and obtain high reliability when compared with the previous methods in the literature. In addition, the proposed method exhibits strong adaptability to different wearers walking at different walking speeds.
VHH Antibodies: Reagents for Mycotoxin Detection in Food Products
Authors: Wang Jia , Mukhtar Hina , Ma Lan , Pang Qian , Wang Xiaohong
Published: February 2018

Mycotoxins are the toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi and they are a worldwide public health concern. A VHH antibody (or nanobody) is the smallest antigen binding entity and is produced by heavy chain only antibodies. Compared with conventional antibodies, VHH antibodies overcome many pitfalls typically encountered in clinical therapeutics and immunodiagnostics. Likewise, VHH antibodies are particularly useful for monitoring mycotoxins in food and feedstuffs, as they are easily genetic engineered and have superior stability. In this review, we summarize the efforts to produce anti-mycotoxins VHH antibodies and associated assays, presenting VHH as a potential tool in mycotoxin analysis.
Off-Line Evaluation of Mobile-Centric Indoor Positioning Systems: The Experiences from the 2017 IPIN Competition
Authors: Torres-Sospedra Joaquín , Jiménez Antonio , Moreira Adriano , Lungenstrass Tomás , Lu Wei-Chung , Knauth Stefan , Mendoza-Silva Germán , Seco Fernando , Pérez-Navarro Antoni , Nicolau Maria , Costa António , Meneses Filipe , Farina Joaquín , Morales Juan , Lu Wen-Chen , Cheng Ho-Ti , Yang Shi-Shen , Fang Shih-Hau , Chien Ying-Ren , Tsao Yu
Published: February 2018

The development of indoor positioning solutions using smartphones is a growing activity with an enormous potential for everyday life and professional applications. The research activities on this topic concentrate on the development of new positioning solutions that are tested in specific environments under their own evaluation metrics. To explore the real positioning quality of smartphone-based solutions and their capabilities for seamlessly adapting to different scenarios, it is needed to find fair evaluation frameworks. The design of competitions using extensive pre-recorded datasets is a valid way to generate open data for comparing the different solutions created by research teams. In this paper, we discuss the details of the 2017 IPIN indoor localization competition, the different datasets created, the teams participating in the event, and the results they obtained. We compare these results with other competition-based approaches (Microsoft and Perf-loc) and on-line evaluation web sites. The lessons learned by organising these competitions and the benefits for the community are addressed along the paper. Our analysis paves the way for future developments on the standardization of evaluations and for creating a widely-adopted benchmark strategy for researchers and companies in the field.
Multi-Sensor Optimal Data Fusion Based on the Adaptive Fading Unscented Kalman Filter
Authors: Gao Bingbing , Hu Gaoge , Gao Shesheng , Zhong Yongmin , Gu Chengfan
Published: February 2018

This paper presents a new optimal data fusion methodology based on the adaptive fading unscented Kalman filter for multi-sensor nonlinear stochastic systems. This methodology has a two-level fusion structure: at the bottom level, an adaptive fading unscented Kalman filter based on the Mahalanobis distance is developed and serves as local filters to improve the adaptability and robustness of local state estimations against process-modeling error; at the top level, an unscented transformation-based multi-sensor optimal data fusion for the case of N local filters is established according to the principle of linear minimum variance to calculate globally optimal state estimation by fusion of local estimations. The proposed methodology effectively refrains from the influence of process-modeling error on the fusion solution, leading to improved adaptability and robustness of data fusion for multi-sensor nonlinear stochastic systems. It also achieves globally optimal fusion results based on the principle of linear minimum variance. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology for INS/GNSS/CNS (inertial navigation system/global navigation satellite system/celestial navigation system) integrated navigation.
A Strain-Based Method to Detect Tires’ Loss of Grip and Estimate Lateral Friction Coefficient from Experimental Data by Fuzzy Logic for Intelligent Tire Development
Authors: Yunta Jorge , Garcia-Pozuelo Daniel , Diaz Vicente , Olatunbosun Oluremi
Published: February 2018

Tires are a key sub-system of vehicles that have a big responsibility for comfort, fuel consumption and traffic safety. However, current tires are just passive rubber elements which do not contribute actively to improve the driving experience or vehicle safety. The lack of information from the tire during driving gives cause for developing an intelligent tire. Therefore, the aim of the intelligent tire is to monitor tire working conditions in real-time, providing useful information to other systems and becoming an active system. In this paper, tire tread deformation is measured to provide a strong experimental base with different experiments and test results by means of a tire fitted with sensors. Tests under different working conditions such as vertical load or slip angle have been carried out with an indoor tire test rig. The experimental data analysis shows the strong relation that exists between lateral force and the maximum tensile and compressive strain peaks when the tire is not working at the limit of grip. In the last section, an estimation system from experimental data has been developed and implemented in Simulink to show the potential of strain sensors for developing intelligent tire systems, obtaining as major results a signal to detect tire’s loss of grip and estimations of the lateral friction coefficient.
Faith Resilience: Everyday Experiences
Authors: Ögtem-Young Özlem
Published: February 2018

The concept of resilience continues to be popular within various discourses and disciplines across the social and natural sciences, and has also been adopted politically and in policy. The concept’s extended and widening usage in ever-increasing contexts creates further complexities and contestation on what construes resilience. Generally, in these conceptualisations, resilience is a positive outcome following significant crisis and disaster at an extreme scale. However, such definitions and constructs ignore that resilience manifests itself in subtler and more mundane ways in people’s daily life and daily activities. This article explores how resilience is built into everyday life and how faith is used as a tool of resilience by individuals from diverse communities in their daily experiences in the city of Birmingham. This article contributes to the resilience literature by exposing examples of resilience as narrated during our in-depth interviews with participants (comprised of members from various new and established migrant ethnic communities), with particular attention given to faith as a form of resilience. This article argues that resilience manifests itself in the day-to-day experiences and practices of individuals and that faith can play an important role in individuals’ lives in overcoming and coping with the challenges of their daily stressors.
Tourists’ Risk Perception and the Use of Mobile Devices in Beach Tourism Destinations
Authors: González-Reverté Francesc , Díaz-Luque Pablo , Gomis-López Joan , Morales-Pérez Soledad
Published: February 2018

The perceived risk of tourists’ use of smartphones is a key issue in shaping the tourist experience in terms of sustainability, as it can affect the behaviour of tourists and influence their satisfaction with that experience. However, little empirical research exists on the relationship between tourists’ risk perception and the perceived value of mobile device usage. This paper measures the association between tourists’ perceived risk of mobile device usage and several variables that demonstrate the perceived usefulness of mobile devices: utility, hedonic value and future intention of use. A survey on tourists’ use of smartphones was conducted in 2016 and, by means of a cluster analysis, four groups of tourists were identified with significant differences in their perception of the risk and use value of smartphones. Differences between tourists suggest that a single digital tourist profile does not exist and that tourism destinations and smart tourism DMOs (destination marketing organisations) should include risk perception in their management agenda. This will allow them to achieve a better understanding of tourist behaviour and to adapt the commercialisation of tourism products and services to a wide range of tourism needs. In addition, four regression models were applied to measure the association between the risk and perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the one hand, dependence on mobile devices was associated positively with the perceived usefulness of mobile devices. On the other hand, the tourists surveyed saw privacy risk as having a major negative impact on the tourist experience, although it did not affect their perceived utility value and future use of mobile devices. Smart tourism destination managers should bear in mind that privacy risk issues related to the use of mobile devices must be integrated into an ethical perspective when marketing a destination.
The Dynamics of Land Use/Cover and the Statistical Assessment of Cropland Change Drivers in the Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan
Authors: Najmuddin Omaid , Deng Xiangzheng , Bhattacharya Ruchira
Published: February 2018

To cope with the growing agrarian crises in Afghanistan, the government (following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2002) has taken measures through cropland expansion “extensification” and switching to mechanized agriculture “intensification”. However, cropland expansion, on one hand, disturbs the existing land use/cover (LULC) and, on other hand, many socio-economic and biophysical factors affect this process. This study was based on the Kabul River Basin to answer two questions: Firstly, what was the change in LULC since 2001 to 2010 and, secondly, what are the drivers of cropland change. We used the spatial calculating model (SCM) for LULC change and binomial logistic regression (BLR) for drivers of cropland change. The net change shows that cropland, grassland, water-bodies, and built-up areas were increased, while forest, unused, and snow/ice areas were decreased. Cropland was expanded by 13%, which was positively affected by low and plain landforms, slope, soil depth, investment on agriculture and distance to the city, while it was negatively affected by plateaus and hill landforms, dry semi-arid, moist semi-arid, and sub-humid zones, precipitation, population, and the distance to roads and water. Climate adaptation measures, cropland protection in flood prone zones, population and rural migration control, farmer access to credit, irrigation, and inputs are necessary for agricultural deployment.