bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phosphoglycerate Mutase 1 Prevents Neuronal Death from Ischemic Damage by Reducing Neuroinflammation in the Rabbit Spinal Cord
Authors: Jung Hyo Young , Kwon Hyun Jung , Kim Woosuk , Hahn Kyu Ri , Moon Seung Myung , Yoon Yeo Sung , Kim Dae Won , Hwang In Koo
Published: October 2020

Phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) is a glycolytic enzyme that increases glycolytic flux in the brain. In the present study, we examined the effects of PGAM1 in conditions of oxidative stress and ischemic damage in motor neuron-like (NSC34) cells and the rabbit spinal cord. A Tat-PGAM1 fusion protein was prepared to allow easy crossing of the blood-brain barrier, and Control-PGAM1 was synthesized without the Tat peptide protein transduction domain. Intracellular delivery of Tat-PGAM1, not Control-PGAM1, was achieved in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Immunofluorescent staining confirmed the intracellular expression of Tat-PGAM1 in NSC34 cells. Tat-PGAM1, but not Control-PGAM1, significantly alleviated H2O2-induced oxidative stress, neuronal death, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and apoptosis-inducing factor expression in NSC34 cells. After ischemia induction in the spinal cord, Tat-PGAM1 treatment significantly improved ischemia-induced neurological impairments and ameliorated neuronal cell death in the ventral horn of the spinal cord 72 h after ischemia. Tat-PGAM1 treatment significantly mitigated the ischemia-induced increase in malondialdehyde and 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α production in the spinal cord. In addition, Tat-PGAM1, but not Control-PGAM1, significantly decreased microglial activation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α induced by ischemia in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. These results suggest that Tat-PGAM1 can be used as a therapeutic agent to reduce spinal cord ischemia-induced neuronal damage by lowering the oxidative stress, microglial activation, and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α.
SARS-CoV-2 and Oral Manifestation: An Observational, Human Study
Authors: Sinjari Bruna , D’Ardes Damiano , Santilli Manlio , Rexhepi Imena , D’Addazio Gianmaria , Di Carlo Piero , Chiacchiaretta Piero , Caputi Sergio , Cipollone Francesco
Published: October 2020

The correlation between SARS-CoV-2 and oral manifestations is still controversial. The aim of this observational study was to determine the oral manifestation of the hospitalized patients for COVID-19. A total of 20 patients met the inclusion criteria and gave their signed informed consent. A questionnaire of 32 questions regarding the oral and systemic health condition was administrated to these patients during the convalescence. A descriptive statistic was performed. Data were analysed through the use of χ2 test, to assess the statistical significance. A statistically significant increase of about 30% of reporting xerostomia during hospitalization was observed (p = 0.02). Meanwhile, a decrease of oral hygiene was observed during the hospitalization, even if a non-statistically significant difference was shown between the two study time points (before and after hospitalization). During the hospitalization period, 25% of patients reported impaired taste, 15% burning sensation, and 20% difficulty in swallowing. An interesting result was that among the systemic conditions, hypertension was observed in 39% of patients and mostly in female patients (62.5%). Further studies are necessary to better understand the symptoms of this new virus in order to faster detect its presence in humans. Probably, a multidisciplinary team following the COVID-19 patients could be of key importance in treating this disease.
Wave Simulation by the SWAN Model and FVCOM Considering the Sea-Water Level around the Zhoushan Islands
Authors: Yang Zhehao , Shao Weizeng , Ding Yang , Shi Jian , Ji Qiyan
Published: October 2020

In this study, the numerical wave model Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN), which resolves nearshore wave processes, and a hydrodynamic model, the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM), were coupled to simulate waves and currents during Typhoon Fung-wong (2014) and Typhoon Chan-hom (2015) around the Zhoushan Islands. Both of these models employ the same unique unstructured grid. In particular, the influence of sea-surface currents, e.g., typhoon-induced and tidal currents, as well as the sea-water level, on wave simulation was studied. The composite wind field, which is derived from the parametric Holland model and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) winds (H-E winds), was taken as the forcing field. TPXO.5 tide data, sea-surface temperatures from the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), HYCOM sea-surface salinity, and HYCOM sea-surface current were treated as open-boundary conditions. The comparison of sea-surface-current speed between the FVCOM simulation and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2) data revealed a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of about 0.1206 m/s, with a correlation (Cor) more than 0.8, while the RMSE of the simulated sea-water level when compared with the HYCOM data was around 0.13 m, with a Cor of about 0.86. The validation indicated that the simulated results in this study were reliable. A sensitive experiment revealed that the sea-water level affected the typhoon-induced wave simulation. Validation against the measurements from the moored buoys showed an RMSE of <0.9 m for the sea-water level, which specifically reflected less overestimation during the high-sea state. Moreover, the significant-wave-height (SWH) difference (SWH without the sea-water level minus SWH with the sea-water level) was as great as −0.5 m around the Zhoushan Islands during the low-sea state. Furthermore, we studied the typhoon-induced waves when Typhoon Fung-wong passed the Zhoushan Islands, revealing that the reduction of SWH could be up to 1 m in the Yangtze Estuary and tidal flats when the maximum waves occurred.
The Sustainable Management of Land and Fisheries Resources Using Multicriteria Techniques: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Diaz-Balteiro Luis , Iglesias-Merchan Carlos , Romero Carlos , García de Jalón Silvestre
Published: October 2020

In recent years modern societies have attached a multifunctional requirement to the use of renewable resources, making their optimal sustainable management more complex. In the last decades, in many cases, this complexity is addressed by formulating management models with the help of the concepts and methods belonging to the well-known multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) paradigm. The purpose of this paper was to undertake a hermeneutic meta-analysis of the literature provided in primary journals on issues related to the management of these resources with the help of the MCDM paradigm. In this way, the paper aimed to obtain new, basic insights with considerations that might improve the efficiency of future research in the field studied. The meta-analysis was implemented by formulating and testing a battery of hypotheses of how the MCDM methods have been used in the past for the formulation of management models for the type of resource analyzed.
The Exact Solution of the Falling Body Problem in Three-Dimensions: Comparative Study
Authors: Ebaid Abdelhalim , Alharbi Weam , Aljoufi Mona D. , El-Zahar Essam R.
Published: October 2020

Very recently, the system of differential equations governing the three-dimensional falling body problem (TDFBP) has been approximately solved. The previously obtained approximate solution was based on the fact that the Earth’s rotation (ER) is quite slow and hence all high order terms of ω in addition to the magnitude ω2R were neglected, where ω is the angular velocity and R is the radius of Earth. However, it is shown in this paper that the ignorance of such magnitudes leads, in many cases, to significant errors in the estimated falling time and other physical quantities. The current results are based on obtaining the exact solutions of the full TDFBP-system and performing several comparisons with the approximate ones in the relevant literature. The obtained results are of great interest and importance, especially for other planets in the Solar System or exterior planets, in which ω and/or ω2R are of considerable amounts and hence cannot be ignored. Therefore, the present analysis is valid in analyzing the TDFBP near to the surface of any spherical celestial body.
What’s Past Is Prologue: History of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Targher Giovanni
Published: October 2020

Since the initial descriptions in the early 1980s by Dr. Ludwig et al. and Drs. Schaffner and Thaler, who firstly coined the terms nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), this liver disease has become a global health problem worldwide, causing considerable liver-related and extra-hepatic morbidity and mortality. Based on pathophysiological insights gained from the past decades, it has been clearly established that NAFLD is a metabolic liver disease whose etiology and pathogenesis extends beyond the liver and that NAFLD has important clinical implications, especially in terms of an increased risk of developing both cardiovascular disease (which represents the leading cause of death in this patient population) and other extra-hepatic manifestations, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and some extra-hepatic cancers. The aim of this brief commentary is to discuss a recent review article written by Dr. Lonardo and colleagues, who raised awareness of the history of NAFLD. Since “What’s past is prologue”, I believe that this review article focusing on the history of NAFLD may contribute to better understanding the disease itself, as well as to anticipating the lines of the future clinical and pharmacological research of this common and burdensome liver disease.
Chemotaxonomic Monitoring of Genetically Authenticated Amomi Fructus Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Diode Array Detector with Chemometric Analysis
Authors: Doh Eui-Jeong , Lee Guemsan , Jung Hyun-Jong , Kwon Kang-Beom , Kim Jung-Hoon
Published: October 2020

Amomi Fructus is widely used to treat digestive disorders, and Amomum villosum, A. villosum var. xanthioides, and A. longiligulare are permitted medicinally in national pharmacopeias. However, there are a variety of adulterants present in herbal markets owing to their morphological similarities to the genuine Amomum species. Forty-two Amomi Fructus samples from various origins were identified using internal transcribed spacer and chloroplast barcoding analyses, and then their chromatographic profiles were compared using chemometric analysis for chemotaxonomic monitoring. Among the Amomi Fructus samples, A. villosum, A. longiligulare, A. ghaticum, and A. microcarpum were confirmed as single Amomum species, whereas a mixture of either these Amomum species or with another Amomum species was observed in 15 samples. Chemotaxonomic monitoring results demonstrated that two medicinal Amomum samples, A. villosum and A. longiligulare, were not clearly distinguished from each other, but were apparently separated from other non-medicinal Amomum adulterants. A. ghaticum and A. microcarpum samples were also chemically different from other samples and formed their own species groups. Amomum species mixtures showed diverse variations of chemical correlations according to constituent Amomum species. Genetic authentication-based chemotaxonomic monitoring methods are helpful in classifying Amomi Fructus samples by their original species and to distinguish genuine Amomum species from the adulterants.
Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus LC 554891 by Moringa oleifera Seed Extract either Singly or in Combination with Antibiotics
Authors: Enan Gamal , Al-Mohammadi Abdul-Raouf , Mahgoub Samir , Abdel-Shafi Seham , Askar Eman , Ghaly Mohamed F. , Taha Mohamed A. , El-Gazzar Nashwa
Published: October 2020

Bacterial outbreaks caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are interesting due to the existence of multidrug resistant (MDR) isolates. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel ways to control such MDR S. aureus. In this study, some natural agents such as honey bee (HB), extracts of either Moringa oleifera seeds (MSE), or leaves (MLE) and essential oils of garlic, clove, and moringa were studied for their inhibitory activity against this S. aureus pathogen. About 100 food samples including beef luncheon (n = 25), potato chips (n = 50), and corn flakes (n = 25) were investigated for possible pollution with the S. aureus bacteria. The isolated bacteria suspected to belong S. aureus that grew well onto Baird–Parker agar (Oxoid) and shiny halo zones and positive coagulase reaction were selected and identified by API-Kits; all of them that were approved belong to S. aureus (18 strains). The sensitivity of the obtained 18 S. aureus bacterial strains to 12 antibiotics were evaluated; all of them were resistant to ofloxacin; however, other antibiotics tested showed variable results. Interestingly, the S. aureus No. B3 isolated from beef luncheon was resistant to 10 antibiotics out of 12 ones tested. Multiple antibiotic resistance index (MAR) of this S. aureus strain was about 83.3%. Therefore, its identification was confirmed by sequencing of a 16S rRNA gene which approved a successful biochemical identification carried out by API Kits and such strain was designated S. aureus LC 554891. The genome of such strain appeared to contain mecA gene encoding methicillin resistance; it was found to contain hla, hlb, tsst-1, and finbA that encode α-blood hemolysis, β-blood hemolysis, toxic shock syndrome gene, and fibrinogen-binding protein gene, respectively. In addition, the virulence factors viz. sea; seb; sec encoding enterotoxins were detected in the DNA extracted from S. aureus B3 strain. Aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera seeds (MSE) showed inhibitory activity against S. aureus LC 554891 better than that obtained by tetracycline, essential oils or HB. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of MSE was 20µg/mL. Instrumental analysis of MSE showed 14 bioactive chemical compounds. Combinations of both MSE and tetracycline showed distinctive inhibitory activity against S. aureus LC 554891 than that obtained by either tetracycline or MSE singly.
Ontogeny of Orientation during the Early Life History of the Pelagic Teleost Mahi-Mahi, Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758
Authors: Faillettaz Robin , Johnson Eve , Dahlmann Patrick , Syunkova Alexandra , Stieglitz John , Benetti Daniel , Grosell Martin , Paris Claire B.
Published: October 2020

Understanding the orientation behavior and capabilities in early life history (ELH) of fishes is critical for studying their dispersal but has, surprisingly, never been tested in any pelagic species. We here investigate the ontogeny of orientation and swimming abilities of the pelagic Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758 larvae, hereafter mahi-mahi, through their ELH stages using the Drifting In Situ Chamber (DISC) in a laboratory setup. The DISC was deployed in a large (3 m3) circular aquarium in order to control the stimulus perceived by the fish and to identify behavioral response at the individual, developmental stage, and population levels. A total of 79 individual ranging from 7 to 23 days post hatch and from preflexion to early juvenile stages were exposed to a directional light mimicking the sun’s position. Orientation towards the light direction was tested by switching the light by 180° among trials. To compare the orientation among development stages, we scaled the directionality by the swimming ability, therein defined as “directionality competence”. The results show that while mahi-mahi directionality competence increases through ontogeny, they acquire a positive and directional phototaxis behavior at the flexion stage. This potential solar orientation is kept through the early juvenile stage. Mahi-mahi may thus be able to use the sun as a compass in the open ocean as observed in the larval stages of demersal species seeking for settlement habitats. This ability notably develops before the improvement of their swimming capabilities, suggesting that early orientation—even at micro-scale—and swimming capabilities may be equally important for the survival of the ELH stages of pelagic species.
hBN Nanoparticle-Assisted Rapid Thermal Cycling for the Detection of Acanthamoeba
Authors: Rasheed Abdul Khaliq , Siddiqui Ruqaiyyah , Ahmed Salma Mohammed Kabir , Gabriel Shobana , Jalal Mohammed Zayan , John Akbar , Khan Naveed Ahmed
Published: October 2020

Acanthamoeba are widely distributed in the environment and are known to cause blinding keratitis and brain infections with greater than 90% mortality rate. Currently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive and promising technique in Acanthamoeba detection. Remarkably, the rate of heating–cooling and convective heat transfer of the PCR tube is limited by low thermal conductivity of the reagents mixture. The addition of nanoparticles to the reaction has been an interesting approach that could augment the thermal conductivity of the mixture and subsequently enhance heat transfer through the PCR tube. Here, we have developed hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanoparticle-based PCR assay for the rapid detection of Acanthamoeba to amplify DNA from low amoeba cell density. As low as 1 × 10−4 wt % was determined as the optimum concentration of hBN nanoparticles, which increased Acanthamoeba DNA yield up to ~16%. Further, it was able to reduce PCR temperature that led to a ~2.0-fold increase in Acanthamoeba DNA yield at an improved PCR specificity at 46.2 °C low annealing temperature. hBN nanoparticles further reduced standard PCR step time by 10 min and cycles by eight; thus, enhancing Acanthamoeba detection rapidly. Enhancement of Acanthamoeba PCR DNA yield is possibly due to the high adsorption affinity of hBN nanoparticles to purine (Guanine—G) due to the higher thermal conductivity achieved in the PCR mixture due to the addition of hBN. Although further research is needed to demonstrate these findings in clinical application, we propose that the interfacial layers, Brownian motion, and percolation network contribute to the enhanced thermal conductivity effect.
Bacterial Lipoteichoic Acid Attenuates Toll-Like Receptor Dependent Dendritic Cells Activation and Inflammatory Response
Authors: Saito Suguru , Okuno Alato , Cao Duo-Yao , Peng Zhenzi , Wu Hui-Ya , Lin Shu-Hui
Published: October 2020

Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling is an indispensable factor in immune cells activation. Many TLR ligands have been identified, and were characterized the immunological functions such as inflammatory cytokine production in immune cells. However, the anti-inflammatory response in TLR ligand-mediated manner is poorly understood. In this report, we show that bacterial lipoteichoic acid (LTA), which is a TLR2 ligand from gram-positive bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), suppresses TLR-mediated inflammatory response in dendritic cells (DCs). The TLR ligand-induced Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) production was suppressed in the bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) by co-treatment of LTA. The cellular activation, which was characterized as upregulations of CD80, CD86 and major histocompatibility complex II (MHC II) expression, was also suppressed in the TLR ligand stimulated BMDCs in the presence of LTA. While LTA itself didn’t induced both TNF-α production and upregulation of cell surface markers. The LTA mediated immunosuppressive function was abolished by TLR2 blocking in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BMDCs. Furthermore, LTA also showed the immunosuppressive function in the generation of IFN-γ+CD4+ T (Th1) cells by attenuation of antigen presenting activity in the BMDCs. In the imiquimod (IMQ)-induced acute skin inflammation, LTA suppressed the inflammation by downregulation of the activation in skin accumulated DCs. Thus, LTA is a TLR2 dependent immunological suppressor against inflammatory response induced by other TLR ligands in the DCs.
A Cloud Detection Method Using Convolutional Neural Network Based on Gabor Transform and Attention Mechanism with Dark Channel Subnet for Remote Sensing Image
Authors: Zhang Jing , Zhou Qin , Wu Jun , Wang Yuchen , Wang Hui , Li Yunsong , Chai Yuzhou , Liu Yang
Published: October 2020

Cloud detection, as a crucial step, has always been a hot topic in the field of optical remote sensing image processing. In this paper, we propose a deep learning cloud detection Network that is based on the Gabor transform and Attention modules with Dark channel subnet (NGAD). This network is based on the encoder-decoder framework. The information on texture is an important feature that is often used in traditional cloud detection methods. The NGAD enhances the attention of the network towards important texture features in the remote sensing images through the proposed Gabor feature extraction module. The channel attention module that is based on the larger scale features and spatial attention module that is based on the dark channel subnet have been introduced in NGAD. The channel attention module highlights the important information in a feature map from the channel dimensions, weakens the useless information, and helps the network to filter this information. A dark channel subnet with spatial attention module has been designed in order to further reduce the influence of the redundant information in the extracted features. By introducing a “dark channel”, the information in the feature map is reconstructed from the spatial dimension. The NGAD is validated while using the Gaofen-1 WFV imagery in four spectral bands. The experimental results show that the overall accuracy of NGAD reaches 97.42% and the false alarm rate reaches 2.22%. The efficiency of cloud detection using NGAD exceeds the state-of-art image segmentation network model and remote sensing image cloud detection model.
Evaluating the Magnitude of VIIRS Out-of-Band Response for Varying Earth Spectra
Authors: Scarino Benjamin , Doelling David R. , Bhatt Rajendra , Gopalan Arun , Haney Conor
Published: October 2020

Prior evaluations of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) out-of-band (OOB) contribution to total signal revealed specification exceedance for multiple key solar reflective and infrared bands that are of interest to the passive remote-sensing community. These assessments are based on laboratory measurements, and although highly useful, do not necessarily translate to OOB contribution with consideration of true Earth-reflected or Earth-emitted spectra, especially given the significant spectral variation of Earth targets. That is, although the OOB contribution of VIIRS is well known, it is not a uniform quantity applicable across all scene types. As such, this article quantifies OOB contribution for multiple relative spectral response characterization versions across the S-NPP, NOAA-20, and JPSS-2 VIIRS sensors as a function of varied SCIAMACHY- and IASI-measured hyperspectral Earth-reflected and Earth-emitted scenes. For instance, this paper reveals measured radiance variations of nearly 2% for the S-NPP VIIRS M5 (~0.67 μm) band, and up to 5.7% for certain VIIRS M9 (~1.38 μm) and M13 (~4.06 μm) bands that are owed solely to the truncation of OOB response for a set of spectrally distinct Earth scenes. If unmitigated, e.g., by only considering the published extended bandpass, such variations may directly translate to scene-dependent scaling discrepancies or subtle errors in vegetative index determinations. Therefore, knowledge of OOB effects is especially important for inter-calibration or environmental retrieval efforts that rely on specific or multiple categories of Earth scene spectra, and also to researchers whose products rely on the impacted channels. Additionally, instrument teams may find this evaluation method useful for pre-launch characterization of OOB contribution with specific Earth targets in mind rather than relying on general models.
Coastal Wetland Classification with Deep U-Net Convolutional Networks and Sentinel-2 Imagery: A Case Study at the Tien Yen Estuary of Vietnam
Authors: Dang Kinh Bac , Nguyen Manh Ha , Nguyen Duc Anh , Phan Thi Thanh Hai , Giang Tuan Linh , Pham Hoang Hai , Nguyen Thu Nhung , Tran Thi Thuy Van , Bui Dieu Tien
Published: October 2020

The natural wetland areas in Vietnam, which are transition areas from inland and ocean, play a crucial role in minimizing coastal hazards; however, during the last two decades, about 64% of these areas have been converted from the natural wetland to the human-made wetland. It is anticipated that the conversion rate continues to increase due to economic development and urbanization. Therefore, monitoring and assessment of the wetland are essential for the coastal vulnerability assessment and geo-ecosystem management. The aim of this study is to propose and verify a new deep learning approach to interpret 9 of 19 coastal wetland types classified in the RAMSAR and MONRE systems for the Tien Yen estuary of Vietnam. Herein, a Resnet framework was integrated into the U-Net to optimize the performance of the proposed deep learning model. The Sentinel-2, ALOS-DEM, and NOAA-DEM satellite images were used as the input data, whereas the output is the predefined nine wetland types. As a result, two ResU-Net models using Adam and RMSprop optimizer functions show the accuracy higher than 85%, especially in forested intertidal wetlands, aquaculture ponds, and farm ponds. The better performance of these models was proved, compared to Random Forest and Support Vector Machine methods. After optimizing the ResU-Net models, they were also used to map the coastal wetland areas correctly in the northeastern part of Vietnam. The final model can potentially update new wetland types in the southern parts and islands in Vietnam towards wetland change monitoring in real time.
A Compact and Flexible UHF RFID Tag Antenna for Massive IoT Devices in 5G System
Authors: Hussain Muhammad , Amin Yasar , Lee Kyung-Geun
Published: October 2020

Upcoming 5th-generation (5G) systems incorporate physical objects (referred to as things), which sense the presence of components such as gears, gadgets, and sensors. They may transmit many kinds of states in the smart city context, such as new deals at malls, safe distances on roads, patient heart rhythms (especially in hospitals), and logistic control at aerodromes and seaports around the world. These serve to form the so-called future internet of things (IoT). From this futuristic perspective, everything should have its own identity. In this context, radio frequency identification (RFID) plays a specific role, which provides wireless communications in a secure manner. Passive RFID tags carry out work using the energy harvested among massive systems. RFID has been habitually realized as a prerequisite for IoT, the combination of which is called IoT RFID (I-RFID). For the current scenario, such tags should be productive, low-profile, compact, easily mountable, and have eco-friendly features. The presently available tags are not cost-effective and have not been proven as green tags for environmentally friendly IoT in 5G systems nor are they suitable for long-range communications in 5G systems. The proposed I-RFID tag uses the meandering angle technique (MAT) to construct a design that satisfies the features of a lower-cost printed antenna over the worldwide UHF RFID band standard (860–960 MHz). In our research, tag MAT antennas are fabricated on paper-based Korsnäs by screen- and flexo-printing, which have lowest simulated effective outcomes with dielectric variation due to humidity and have a plausible read range (RR) for European (EU; 866–868 MHz) and North American (NA; 902–928 MHz) UHF band standards. The I-RFID tag size is reduced by 36% to 38% w.r.t. a previously published case, the tag gain has been improved by 23.6% to 33.12%, and its read range has been enhanced by 50.9% and 59.6% for EU and NA UHF bands, respectively. It provides impressive performance on some platforms (e.g., plastic, paper, and glass), thereby providing a new state-of-the-art I-RFID tag with better qualities in 5G systems.
The Effect of Deflections and Elastic Deformations on Geometrical Deviation and Shape Profile Measurements of Large Crankshafts with Uncontrolled Supports
Authors: Nozdrzykowski Krzysztof , Adamczak Stanisław , Grządziel Zenon , Dunaj Paweł
Published: October 2020

This article presents a multi-criteria analysis of the errors that may occur while measuring the geometric deviations of crankshafts that require multi-point support. The analysis included in the paper confirmed that the currently used conventional support method—in which the journals of large crankshafts rest on a set of fixed rigid vee-blocks—significantly limits the detectability of their geometric deviations, especially those of the main journal axes’ positions. Insights for performing practical measurements, which will improve measurement procedures and increase measurement accuracy, are provided. The results are presented both graphically and as discrete amplitude spectra to make a visual, qualitative comparison, which is complemented by a quantitative assessment based on correlation analysis.
A Review of Microelectronic Systems and Circuit Techniques for Electrical Neural Recording Aimed at Closed-Loop Epilepsy Control
Authors: Ranjandish Reza , Schmid Alexandre
Published: October 2020

Closed-loop implantable electronics offer a new trend in therapeutic systems aimed at controlling some neurological diseases such as epilepsy. Seizures are detected and electrical stimulation applied to the brain or groups of nerves. To this aim, the signal recording chain must be very carefully designed so as to operate in low-power and low-latency, while enhancing the probability of correct event detection. This paper reviews the electrical characteristics of the target brain signals pertaining to epilepsy detection. Commercial systems are presented and discussed. Finally, the major blocks of the signal acquisition chain are presented with a focus on the circuit architecture and a careful attention to solutions to issues related to data acquisition from multi-channel arrays of cortical sensors.
Comparative Experiments of V2X Security Protocol Based on Hash Chain Cryptography
Authors: Hakeem Shimaa A. Abdel , El-Gawad Mohamed A. Abd , Kim HyungWon
Published: October 2020

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) is the communication technology designed to support road safety for drivers and autonomous driving. The light-weight security solution is crucial to meet the real-time needs of on-board V2X applications. However, most of the recently proposed V2X security protocols—based on the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)—are not efficient enough to support fast processing and reduce the communication overhead between vehicles. ECDSA provides a high-security level at the cost of excessive communication and computation overhead, which motivates us to propose a light-weight message authentication and privacy preservation protocol for V2X communications. The proposed protocol achieves highly secure message authentication at a substantially lower cost by introducing a hash chain of secret keys for a Message Authentication Code (MAC). We implemented the proposed protocol using commercial V2X devices to prove its performance advantages over the standard and non-standard protocols. We constructed real V2X networks using commercial V2X devices that run our implemented protocol. Our extensive experiments with real networks demonstrate that the proposed protocol reduces the communication overhead by 6 times and computation overhead by more than 100 times compared with the IEEE1609.2 standard. Moreover, the proposed protocol reduces the communication overhead by 4 times and the computation overhead by up to 100 times compared with a non-standard security protocol, TESLA. The proposed protocol substantially reduces the average end-to-end delay to 2.5 ms, which is a 24- and 28-fold reduction, respectively, compared with the IEEE1609 and TESLA protocols.
The Influence of Liquid Low-Radioactive Waste Repositories on the Mineral Composition of Surrounding Soils
Authors: Krupskaya Victoria , Boguslavskiy Anatoliy , Zakusin Sergey , Shemelina Olga , Chernov Mikhail , Dorzhieva Olga , Morozov Ivan
Published: October 2020

Clay minerals may transform in various systems under the influence of geological, biological, or technogenic processes. The most active to the geological environment are technogenic and biochemical processes that, in a relatively short time, can cause transformation of the rocks’ composition and structure and formation of new minerals, especially clay minerals. Isolation of radioactive waste is a complex technological problem. This work considers the influence of alkaline solutions involved in the radioactive waste (RW) disposal process. In the Russian Federation, due to historical reasons, radioactive waste has accumulated in various types of repositories and temporary storages. All these facilities are included in the federal decommissioning program. Solid radioactive wastes in cement slurries at the landfill site of the Angara Electrolysis Chemical Combine are buried in sandstones and currently suffer the influence of a highly alkaline and highly saline groundwater storage area, which leads to a considerable transformation of the sandstones. This influence results in the formation of peculiar "technogenic” illites that have smectite morphology but illite structure which was confirmed by modeling of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The described transformations will lead to the increase of porosity and permeability of the sandstones. The research results can be used in assessing the potential contamination of the areas adjacent to the disposal site and in planning the decommissioning measures of this facility.
Analysis of Psychometric Properties of the Quality and Satisfaction Questionnaire Focused on Sustainability in Higher Education
Authors: Olmos-Gómez María del Carmen , Luque-Suárez Mónica , Ferrara Concetta , Cuevas-Rincón Jesús Manuel
Published: October 2020

The aim of this research was to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the quality of education, from a sustainability perspective, in higher education institutions of Naples (Italy), and determine whether differences exist between the groups (families, teachers and, students) with respect to their level of satisfaction concerning that quality, since it is important that education policies promote that assessment from an economic, social, environmental, and organisational dimension. The questionnaire was validated using a quantitative, quasi experimental, cross sectional method. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted on a sample of n = 1091 subjects to study the differences between the groups and their level of satisfaction. The results show a good reliability and validity. In this MANOVA, significant differences and large effect sizes were found. Families and teachers consider that quality management in higher education is adequate. The three groups are very satisfied with teaching management, and the teachers’ group has the higher level of satisfaction with teaching planning. It is concluded that this validated questionnaire provides information on the opinions about the quality of education from a sustainability perspective and that the self-assessment of those responsible for teaching is essential to achieve continuous improvement.
The 2030 Challenge in the Quality of Higher Education: Metacognitive, Motivational and Structural Factors, Predictive of Written Argumentation, for the Dissemination of Sustainable Knowledge
Authors: Arroyo González Rosario , de la Hoz-Ruiz Javier , Montejo Gámez Jesús
Published: October 2020

The United Nations 2030 agenda includes quality university education, highlighting the importance of writing competence, as a basic skill for the dissemination of sustainable knowledge. However, there is little evidence of the factors that predict effective written communication to support such quality. Among these factors, the literature highlights motivation and writing metacognition, as well as the adequate structuring of the academic and/or scientific genre. The main novelty of the present research is the study of the relationships between the mentioned factors, measured with validated instruments. To this end, content analysis is first applied to determine the rhetorical moves of argumentative essays written by a sample of 72 university students. Secondly, the correlations between each of the rhetorical moves, metacognition and argumentative writing self-efficacy are calculated. The relationships are studied in depth, applying step-by-step linear regression models. Finally, the dependence of the results, observed with respect to unmeasured factors, is contrasted by means of a confirmatory analysis based on structural equations. The analyses show that it is the practical ability to express rhetorical moves—Conclusion and Bibliographic References—which predicts a students’ writing metacognition. Moreover, the minor relationship that argumentative self-efficacy shows with the expression of rhetorical moves, compared to writing metacognition, point to the need to consider another motivational dimension that is driving the learning of the argumentative essay at university level, a hypothesis that is confirmed with the structural equations model. These, and other findings, allow for the establishment of a series of educational quality criteria for the empowerment of written argumentation in academic and scientific contexts.
Land Consumption and Land Take: Enhancing Conceptual Clarity for Evaluating Spatial Governance in the EU Context
Authors: Marquard Elisabeth , Bartke Stephan , Gifreu i Font Judith , Humer Alois , Jonkman Arend , Jürgenson Evelin , Marot Naja , Poelmans Lien , Repe Blaž , Rybski Robert , Schröter-Schlaack Christoph , Sobocká Jaroslava , Tophøj Sørensen Michael , Vejchodská Eliška , Yiannakou Athena , Bovet Jana
Published: October 2020

Rapid expansion of settlements and related infrastructures is a global trend that comes with severe environmental, economic, and social costs. Steering urbanization toward well-balanced compactness is thus acknowledged as an important strategic orientation in UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG-11) via the SDG-indicator “Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.” The EU’s simultaneous commitment to being “a frontrunner in implementing […] the SDGs” and to striving for “no net land take until 2050” calls for relating the concepts of land consumption and land take to each other. Drawing on an EU-centred questionnaire study, a focus group and a literature review, we scrutinize definitions of land consumption and land take, seeking to show how they are interrelated, and questioning the comparability of respective indicators. We argue that conceptual clarifications and a bridging of the two notions are much needed, and that the precision required for definitions and applications is context-dependent. While approximate understandings may suffice for general communication and dissemination objectives, accurate and consistent interpretations of the discussed concepts seem indispensable for monitoring and reporting purposes. We propose ways of addressing existing ambiguities and suggest prioritizing the term land take in the EU context. Thereby, we aim to enhance conceptual clarity around land consumption and land take—a precondition for solidly informing respective policies and decisions.
Country Evaluation for China’s Hydropower Investment in the Belt and Road Initiative Nations
Authors: Luo Qian , Fang Guohua , Ye Jian , Yan Min , Lu Chengxuan
Published: October 2020

With the implementation of China’s “Going Out” strategy and “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) as well as the shortage of domestic hydropower market, the scale of hydropower investment along BRI by Chinese companies has expanded rapidly. However, these countries have great differences in politics, laws, economy, hydropower potential, social development and environmental constraints. Due to the inappropriate choice of countries for investment, many failure cases have also occurred. To specifically evaluate hydropower investment in these countries, this paper proposed a six-dimensional indicator system which can represents the characteristics of hydropower investment along BRI based on the analysis of the typical cases of overseas investment by Chinese enterprises. Furthermore, a fuzzy optimal model based on the Delphi-Entropy weight was constructed to evaluate the hydropower investment of 65 countries along BRI as well as a list of countries and corresponding investment grades are proposed. The result indicates that politics and hydropower industry factors are the key determinants of choosing the countries for conducting investment while legal, economic, social and environmental factors should also be covered. In conclusion, the optimal choices for China’s hydropower investment along BRI are Russia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Indonesia and the strategy has been given accordingly. Moreover the policy recommendations from the perspective of nation and enterprise level have also been proposed.
In Vitro and In Vivo Antiviral Activity of Gingerenone A on Influenza A Virus Is Mediated by Targeting Janus Kinase 2
Authors: Wang Jiongjiong , Prinz Richard A. , Liu Xiufan , Xu Xiulong
Published: October 2020

Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors have been developed as novel immunomodulatory drugs and primarily used for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Recent studies have suggested that this category of anti-inflammatory drugs could be potentially useful for the control of inflammation “storms” in respiratory virus infections. In addition to their role in regulating immune cell functions, JAK1 and JAK2 have been recently identified as crucial cellular factors involved in influenza A virus (IAV) replication and could be potentially targeted for antiviral therapy. Gingerenone A (Gin A) is a compound derived from ginger roots and a dual inhibitor of JAK2 and p70 S6 kinase (S6K1). Our present study aimed to determine the antiviral activity of Gin A on influenza A virus (IAV) and to understand its mechanisms of action. Here, we reported that Gin A suppressed the replication of three IAV subtypes (H1N1, H5N1, H9N2) in four cell lines. IAV replication was also inhibited by Ruxolitinib (Rux), a JAK inhibitor, but not by PF-4708671, an S6K1 inhibitor. JAK2 overexpression enhanced H5N1 virus replication and attenuated Gin A-mediated antiviral activity. In vivo experiments revealed that Gin A treatment suppressed IAV replication in the lungs of H5N1 virus-infected mice, alleviated their body weight loss, and prolonged their survival. Our study suggests that Gin A restricts IAV replication by inhibiting JAK2 activity; Gin A could be potentially useful for the control of influenza virus infections.
The Interaction of Metal Nanoparticles (Copper, Silver, Platinum, and Gold) with Cell Line HS-5
Authors: Lange Agata , Jaworski Sławomir , Khan Aysia
Published: October 2020

The usage of metal nanoparticles has gained popularity due to their unique properties. However, their effect on living cells is so far, unknown. The objective of the current study was to explain the actions of copper, platinum, silver, and gold nanoparticles in respect to cell functions.
In order to check the nanoparticles' features, a physicochemical analysis and morphological observation was executed using a transmission electron microscope. The viability of the cells used to detect the nanoparticles' toxicity was tested using a XTT cell proliferation assay. A scratch test
confirmed the cells' ability to migrate after being treated with an increasingly larger concentration of metal nanoparticles. The results showed that silver nanoparticles are the most harmful to the HS-5 cell line in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, copper and gold nanoparticles had
the highest percentage of cell proliferation and movement ability.
Spatial variability and frequency of surface heat island in a small Brazilian city with continental tropical climate
Authors: J. L. Moreira, , M. C. C. T. Amorim,
Published: October 2020

Land surface temperature (LST) is one variable in the earth-atmosphere interactive system. Temperatures are naturally high in tropical environments under continental influence. In Brazil, the problem of high temperature is intensified by the urbanization process, which is characterized by vegetation removal, concentration of buildings, and the use of building materials unfavorable to the climate in the tropics. Therefore, in this article, we analyze the spatial variability and the frequency of the surface temperature during the dry and rainy seasons in Penápolis, a small population city in the countryside of São Paulo State. The analysis was performed by establishing the relationship between the normalized vegetation index (NDVI) and the surface temperature in order to contribute to urban planning. The adopted procedure used 10 images from satellite Landsat 8, Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)for the year 2018. The results showed that the surface urban heat island has significant seasonal variations that are directly associated with the rainfall regime of the region. The intensity was not elevated during the year, and the highest magnitudes occurred in the summer, which is a hot and rainy season. In the winter, being the dry season, the magnitudes were lower. The frequency of heat island intensity taken from 10 points of the images is related to construction density, building materials, and thevegetation cover index. These results are important to understanding the generation of heat in the city and proposing planning measures for the use and coverage of urban land.
THE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM USES THE TOPSIS METHOD
Authors: Tuslaela Tuslaela
Published: October 2020

Education has an important role as an effort to educate the nation. Education is the right of everyone, but not everyone can continue higher education for various reasons. One of them is limited financial and financial resources. TOPSIS is a multi-criteria dynamic strategy or elective decision which is an elective that has the littlest good ways from the positive ideal arrangement and the largest distance from the negative ideal solution from a geometric point of view using the Euclidean distance. This study aims to determine the criteria for scholarship recipients that can be implemented in a campus, school, or other social institution that provides funds for scholarship assistance. The research results are expected to serve as a reference for the decision making process. The results showed a preference value of 0.66 which is based on academic achievement
IMPLEMENTATION OF DATA MINING TO DETERMINE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BODY CATEGORY FACTORS BASED ON BODY MASS INDEX
Authors: Fitriati Desti , Amiga Bima Putra
Published: October 2020

The development of the increasing flow of globalization in the field of science and technology as well as increased income has resulted in reduced physical activity of the community which results in diverging diet and physical activity which makes a person not pay attention to his body shape. This method of calculating the Body Mass Index can be used to determine a person's body shape. There are several factors that can affect the value of the Body Mass Index, including individual factors, consumption patterns, and lack of physical activity which leads to a sedentary lifestyle. These factors are made into 69 itemset which will be used as the basis for questions in the questionnaire to collect a dataset which will later be processed using the FP Growth algorithm and looking for association rules that have the highest support x confidence value. From the 490 calculation data, the results are categorized into 10, each of which is Men with a Very Thin BMI with the highest support x confidence value of 39.56%, Men with a Thin BMI of 55.90%, Men with a Normal BMI of 70%, men with a fat BMI of 49.23%, men with an obese BMI of 41.34%, women with a very thin BMI of 41.37%, women with a thin BMI of 37.21%, Normal BMI is 68.83%, women with obese BMI are 41.65%, and women with obese BMI are 42.91%.