bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship of the land status with forest and land fire disaster: case study in the Central Kalimantan Province
Authors: Mulyanto B , Ernawati D , Munibah K
Published: June 2020

The occurrence of Forest and Land Fire (FLF) disasters in the last decade is an important issue for Indonesia because it is widespread in various provinces, especially in several provinces on the island of Sumatra and of Kalimantan. The FLF caused massive haze spread over most of the eastern Sumatra and of central-western Kalimantan, even also widespread over Singapore and southern Malaysia. The haze of the FLF has an impact on some aspects such as: in public health, social, economic and environmental. The tenure aspect needs to be considered in analysing the possibility of FLF to anticipate and prevent the FLF because of the clarity of land tenure status that commonly known as land rights, relate to the regulation that must be fulfilled. In connection with the above background this study focuses on the Relationship between Land Tenure Status and FLF occurrences: Case Study in Central Kalimantan Province. The results of the study are expected to be used as input in the preparation of the FLF prevention efforts. This study was conducted by analysing spatial data of hotspots and real fires, land-sat data, and data of actual fire occurrences that occurred in 2008-2018. The results of the factual analysis showed that the FLF occurrences in various land tenure status with a total fire area of 16.5% of the total land area of Central Kalimantan. Related to the status of land tenure, this study shows that fire incidents in forest region are 70.67% and in the non forest region are 29.33% of total fire area.
Dealing with land and forest fires through improvement of regulations
Authors: Christiawan Rio
Published: June 2020

One of the root causes of the forest and land fires is the regulatory problem. In this case there are two regulatory problems that cause the forest and land fires to continue to recur and ultimately have the potential to be transactional (corrupt). The first problem is that the regulations that still exist today, both at the national level such as Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management (PPLH) and Law No. 41/1999 on forestry and at the regional level (Local Regulations) still allow communities to clear land by burning land. The Constitutional Justice explained in the minutes of the preliminary examination of the Constitutional Court number 25/PUU-XV/2017 states that clearing land by burning land by the community is part of local wisdom that must be protected. The second problem is the responsibility of strict liability which is imposed on corporations by referring to article 88 of the PPLH Law, although as described, that responsibility of strict liability is not rightly imposed on forest and land fires. In essence, the responsibility of strict liability is imposed immediately, this is then inappropriate if it is imposed in the case of forest and land fire, the applicable legal principle is the polluter pays principle.
Peat Physical and Hydraulic Properties Due to Peatland Fires
Authors: Setiawan Budi Indra , Rudiyanto  , Minasny Budiman
Published: June 2020

Fires on tropical peatlands in Indonesia are unexpected events that happened sporadically, especially during dry seasons. It is not easy to judge why a fire presents in a certain spot, and how it spreads. There are indications, and originally, a fire is ignited intentionally to clear bushes and wood remnants on the land surface for land clearing. Its most negative impacts are on human health due to dispersing smokes locally, and occasionally, reached neighboring countries. It is not unusual, the fire spread beyond the initial spot, and burned a vast area of commercial plantations, and protected forests in the vicinity. Fires caused significant economic losses. This investigation aimed at making clearer how peat properties changed before and sometime after the fires burned the areas. We observed how fires in peatlands occurred, and to what extent the physical properties of peats altered due to fires. Observations were carried out in 4 locations within Riau province, South Sumatra province, and South Kalimantan province that have vast areas of peatlands in the country, and peatland fires there are more frequent. The observations focused on peatland morphological appearances, and physical properties of non-burned and after fires in protected forests, plantations, and smallholder lands. The physical and hydraulic properties that were analyzed, among others, are bulk density, particle density, porosity, available water capacity, and water permeability. Positive changes were experienced successively by the air-entry head (21.3%) followed by permeability (19.6%), particle density (15.9%), bulk density (10.7%), available water (7.4%), fast-drain pore (3.9%) and n-parameter (0.1%). While, negative changes were experienced successively by slow-drain pore (-72.2%), residual water content (-22.5%), porosity (-7.3%), saturated water content (-6.3%) and m-parameter (-2.6%). The increase of air-entry head and the available water indicated more capable of retaining more water. Meanwhile, the increase of permeability and fast pore drain mean the burnt peats would be easier to drain under the same suction gradient. However, based on the F-test with a probability value of 5%, those all changes were not so significant or considerably small compared to the associated critical values.
Tribological characteristics of as-cast A356/10wt.% SiCp functionally graded composite dry sliding against EN-31 steel under unidirectional and oscillatory modes
Authors: Prem Kumar J , Rajeev V R , Krishnakumar K , Hashim M
Published: June 2020

A comparison in tribological response characteristics of as-cast Al-SiCp functionally graded composite material (FGM) dry sliding against hardened EN-31 steel under unidirectional and oscillatory sliding modes was investigated for a sliding/oscillating velocity of 0.4m/s slid through 500m utilizing a pin-on-disc configuration. The A356/10 wt.% SiCp FGM was prepared using vertical centrifugal casting technique. The microstructure characterization was done by Leica optical microscope, and the microstructural analysis revealed the presence of different zones due to the radial gradient distribution of SiCp reinforcement. The hardness variation was found to have a good correlation with its microstructural features at different zones of FGM. Wear loss against load curve indicated an increase in trend for both sliding modes, whereas the coefficient of friction versus load plot showed a decreasing trend for both cases under an identical set of operating parameters. Further, oscillatory wear loss of FGM/EN-31 steel tribopair was observed to be higher in comparison with unidirectional sliding mode for the entire load range, (30-150N) investigated. At the same time, the coefficient of friction of tribopair in oscillatory sliding mode was found to lower than the unidirectional mode.
Performance Evaluation of Bridge Piers Reinforced with Shape Memory Alloys in Plastic Hinge Region: Part 1 – Statistical Analysis
Authors: Thakkar Kanan , Parghi Anant
Published: June 2020

Bridge piers are the most perilous structural elements under the effect of enormous earthquake ground motions. The large residual deformation of a bridge pier turns out into the failure of an entire bridge structure. Thus, in the last decades, numerous novel materials were developed to reduce the residual displacement after the post-earthquake events. Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) is a special class of composite material, which can sustain enormous deformations and reappears to its parent state. The numerical results of SMA-reinforced bridge piers using non-linear finite element tools are compared with the experimental results. Two methods of statistical analysis are adopted for this study: One-Factor-at-a-Time (OFAT) Method, and Full-Factorial Design Method. Three variable material parameters, such as the compressive strength of concrete, the yield strength of steel, and the type of SMA composition are considered. Three levels for each factor are considered. The results of this research are presented in terms of drift values at various performance criteria, i.e., cracking, spalling, yielding, and crushing. Further, the regression analysis is performed to determine the relationship between material properties of SMA-reinforced bridge piers and the drift values at various performance criteria.
Multi response optimization in WEDM of H13 steel using hybrid optimization approach
Authors: Rathod L , Poonawala NS , Rudrapati R
Published: June 2020

Surface roughness and material removal rate (MRR) are important technological parameters which describe quality of machined surfaces and productivity of machining process. Surface roughness and MRR are significantly influenced by many interactive process parameters dynamically but those are difficult to quantify adequately in any machining process. Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is one of the advanced machining processes which used thin wire as cutting tool for creating intricate features on machined parts. In WEDM, optimizing surface roughness(Ra) and material removal rate (MRR) combinedly by controlling process variables namely pulse on time, pulse off time, wire feed, voltage gap, etc, is difficult task and much needed area of research. In the present work, investigation is made to study and optimize the surface roughness of H13 steel in WEDM. L16 orthogonal array of Taguchi methodology has been used to conduct the experiments. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been applied on experimental data to determine the significance of input parameters on surface roughness and MRR. Mathematical relationships are developed to correlate the machining parameters and output responses: surface roughness and MRR. Contour plots have been drawn to illustrate the combined effects of process parameters on output responses. Multi-objective jaya optimization algorithm (MJOA) applied on developed mathematical equations to predict the multi-responses simultaneously. From the study, it is stated that hybridTaguchi method, RSM and MJOA is useful for studying, modeling and optimizing the multiple responses: surface roughness and MRR, simultaneously in WEDM of H13 steel.
Techniques and various efficiency evaluation tests for self-healing cement-based matrix: State-of-the-art
Authors: Kaur Mavjot , Murari Krishna , Kaur Inderpreet
Published: June 2020

As the aging leads to dilapidation of reinforced concrete structures due to formation of cracks through which chlorides and other chemical agents promote corrosion. There is need of repair or maintenance of such existing structures. Therefore, self-healing, a leading-edge method for durability enhancement, has gained a lot of importance. In this paper, the various self-healing techniques for concrete, including intrinsic healing, capsule-based healing, vascular healing and also immobilization along with healing mechanism of some materials are reviewed with their comparisons. Moreover, a comprehensive study is also done on the different tests for assessment of self-healing in concrete at macro-scale, micro-scale and nano-scale to determine and characterize healing product and to evaluate their mechanical properties.
Review of Strengthened FRP-confined RC column with various aspect ratios under axial load and high-temperature
Authors: Patel Mayank , Pardeshi Rahul , Thakur Bhairav , Parghi Anant
Published: June 2020

In civil and structural engineering, building structures with vigorous stability and strength utilizing economical materials is challenging. Stability of structures during their lifespan is a very demanding endeavor in civil engineering systems. Recent trends are highly focused on high strength materials, strong corrosion-resistance in structural elements, slender structure development, broad span provision, and load reduction. in order to achieve these conditions, composite materials have proved to be a successful aspirant. The fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) possesses novel properties that encourage the researchers to strengthen or restore the structural degradation of the reinforced concrete (RC) columns via confinement. The present study highlighting the different aspects of (FRP) confined (RC) column having different aspect ratios, the axial load, and the high temperature under extensive literature review. The FRP confinement is much more effective in the case of circular columns than sharp-edged rectangular columns. The variation of the cross-sectional aspect ratio (section depth to width ratios) of RC columns plays a vital role in the evaluation of the efficiency of strengthening techniques. In spite of the clear and proven advantages of utilizing FRPs over conventional materials, awareness of the behavior of such composite materials after exposure to high temperature is noticeable and requires more research.
Anaerobic Biological Treatment of Distillery Wastewater – Study on Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor
Authors: Mohite D. D. , Salimath S. S.
Published: June 2020

Various studies have verified that anaerobic treatment with the recovery of biogas appears to be the most promising technology for the treatment of distillery wastewater. The technologies currently used by distilleries for treatment of wastewater are bio-methanation followed by two-stage biological treatment and disposal in watercourses or for utilization on land for irrigation and composting with or without bio-methanation. These technologies treat the wastewater up to a certain extent. However, there are limitations posed by these technologies for full compliance with prescribed pollution control standards. For the better understand the performance of continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), anaerobic treatment of distillery effluent having very high chemical oxygen demand (COD) (110000–140000 mg/L) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (55000–65000mg/L) was studied on CSTR. Under various organic loading rates (OLR), optimum conditions for maximum COD removal and biogas generation was found and are observed to be 0.09 kg COD/d to 0.12 kg COD/d OLR hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 14d and volatile fatty acids (VFA) to alkalinity ratio of around 0.2. Maximum COD removal efficiency was found to be around 72%. These performance figures are significant when operating the anaerobic bio digesters for the treatment of distillery effluent. Anaerobic CSTR can effectively be employed for the treatment of distillery effluent, but post-bio-methanation effluent still contains high organic concentration and needs to be treated further to meet the safe and acceptable pollution control limits for disposal into surface water or on land.
Effect of structured surface on contact angle using Sessile Droplet method
Authors: Majumder Biswajit , Katarkar Anil , Bhaumik Swapan
Published: June 2020

At the age of energy-crisis, enhancement of boiling heat transfer is the most crucial and advanced investigation field. Effects of surface characteristics, specially, surface wettability on pool boiling is yet to understand. Wetting, the ability of solid surface to reduce surface tension of a liquid in contact, can specify by measuring contact angle. Sessile drop method is a very sensitive process to measure contact angle, mainly used for evaluating, comparing and monitoring test surfaces. In this experimentation, a set of copper surfaces are roughened by emery grit size of 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000. Data on surface roughness (generated by AFM and FEG-SEM) and on dynamic contact angle (by macroscopic contact angle (CA) meter) are used to find relation between them. De-ionized water is used as working fluid to protect submerged secondary heater. In this experimentation, it is observed that advancing contact angle grows for surface roughened with higher emery grit-size.
Carbon Dioxide Sequestration by Mineral Carbonation Using Alkaline Rich Material
Authors: Desai Janhavi , Sreekeshava K S , Dharek Manish S , Sunagar Prashanth , Ganesh C R
Published: June 2020

Mineral carbonation is the carbonation of alkaline silicate Ca/Mg minerals, which is replica of the regular weathering processes. Mineral carbonation comprises of the reaction between the minerals and carbon dioxide to form a safe and stable mineral carbonate product. The present investigations deal with the usage of industrial alkaline rich waste (IAW) containing considerable amount of metal oxides as the possible raw material for the carbonation process. The suitability of applying the aqueous scheme of mineral carbonation by using steel slag is studied. The material is economical and is available easily near the large point sources of carbon dioxide emissions, and due to the chemical instability tend to react with carbon dioxide. Various process variables were considered to check the extent of carbonation like the temperature, pressure, liquid to solid ratio, reaction time. Chemical analysis was conducted to check the extent of carbonation. The experiments were carried out in artificial carbonation reactor. The particle size of the samples considered was less than 90 microns and distilled water was used as the medium to carry out carbonation. A maximum of 44% of carbonation was achieved for steel slag at a temperature of 100 ˚C, carbon dioxide pressure of 10 Kg/cm2, liquid to solid ratio of 6 and reaction time of 2 hours.
Numerical investigations of stress-deformation responses in fractured paediatric bones with prosthetic bone plates
Authors: Kanu Nand Jee , Patwardhan Devendra , Gupta Eva , Vates Umesh Kumar , Singh Gyanendra Kumar
Published: June 2020

Nearly 25% of paediatric injuries happen due to fractures of femur bones, either under accidental or inflicted conditions. In the present investigation, static analyses are performed for fractured paediatric femur bones of children joined with bone plates using finite element method (FEM) approach to find stresses and deformations in the bone and plate assembly under axial compressive and torsional loadings. The investigation aims to suggest the suitable biomaterial for fracture fixation bone plates modeled using two recently-developed biomaterials such as titanium and magnesium alloys, after studying the stresses and deformations at the fracture spots of the paediatric femur bones of children aged between 1-3 years. The stress-deformation responses are further analyzed in relation to ages of the children.
Thermal Management Materials for Advanced Heat Sinks used in Modern Microelectronics
Authors: Jadhav S V , Pawar P M , Wangikar S S , Bhostekar N N , Pawar S T
Published: June 2020

Heat sinks are used for dispensing the heat from a system in many modern microelectronic components. It helps in systematically absorbing the heat from the system and dissipating it to the atmosphere, thereby ensuring system performance, extended life and reliability. The material used for the heat transfer device is one of the utmost significant parameter, which decides the size of the heat transfer device and its heat transfer efficiency. Lower values of density, overall cost, and coefficient of thermal expansion along with higher thermal conductivity, are considered as the essential properties required for any heat sink material. Though, the Copper and Aluminium materials are generally observed to be the best materials for a heat sink applications, some of their alloys are also found to be suitable. The manufacturing difficulty, the higher cost involved, comparatively poor thermo-physical properties and insufficient investigation are some of the factors that have limited the use of advanced composites in heat sink applications. A comparative numerical analysis for different thermal management materials like Copper, Aluminium, Al2O3, AlN, and Si3N4, is presented in this paper. COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS software is used for the present analysis to check the suitability of these materials for construction of heat sink. Moreover, the study of the cost-effectiveness of the material selected is important before the actual application of that material for heat sinks.
Abrasive Size and Fiber Direction Effects on the Wear Behaviour of CFRP Composite under Rotary Abrasion
Authors: Anandan N , Ramulu M
Published: June 2020

Rotary wear tests were performed on unidirectional graphite fiber reinforced epoxy to study the effect of fiber orientation and abrasive particle size on the wear resistance and mechanism of the graphite/epoxy polymer composite. The tests were performed at a constant load of 1250 grams for 10000 cycles with abrasive particle sizes of 15 and 55 μm using Taber rotary platform abrasion tester. The surface topology and material removed along the wear track were obtained for a range of fiber orientations. The surface roughness was found to decrease as the fiber orientation increased from 0° to 90°. Negative skewness indicated the presence of numerous valleys on the surface. These variations in the surface roughness parameters were more pronounced for higher particle size of 55 μm. Maximum wear occurred at 135°. Further, the wear mechanism and type of damage were identified through SEM micrographs. Distinct damage could be identified at 0°, 45° and 90°.
Recycled Wood Plastic Composites as Floor Panels for Ship Containers
Authors: Grammatikos Sotirios , Bertin Jøsendal Harald , Papatzani Styliani , Boura Orsa , Hajmohammadian Baghban Mohammad
Published: June 2020

Within the framework of this study, we aim at the replacement of plywood as ship containers floor material, with a lighter and friendlier-to-rainforests composite material. Wood fibre-reinforced thermoPlastic Composites (WPC) were developed using double-screw extrusion, consisting of recycled waste wood fibres reinforcing recycled High Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) matrix. This shift to WPCs has the dual positive effect of containers freight reduction as well as elimination of the use of natural resources, radically contributing to climate change measures. Following international shipping standards for container flooring, high quality recycled WCPs were developed. HDPE was found to provide acceptable structural performance. To that respect, WPC blends of HDPE matrix reinforced with 30%, 40% and 50%wt wood fibre flour, were fabricated and subjected to 3 point-bending mechanical testing. It was found that the studied WPCs reveal mechanical performance adequate to qualify as replacements of plywood timber flooring in ship containers.
The Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Ultrathin γ-Fe2O3 Films
Authors: Alraddadi S
Published: June 2020

Abstract.In this work, iron oxide γ-Fe2O3 films with thickness of 10 nm were grown on a single crystalline MgO (001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy using oxidation of an iron thin film at substrate temperature 250 °C. The crystal structure, electronic, and magnetic properties of the ultrathin epitaxial γ-Fe2O3 films were investigated. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Low energy electron diffraction, and X-ray diffraction confirmed that films were single crystalline quality with the same orientation as the MgO substrates and had only a single phase of γ-Fe2O3. Furthermore, the magnetization measurements at 300 K showed that the ultrathin films were ferromagnetic with a magnetization value of 270 emu cm−3. These results show that it is possible to synthesize high-quality ultrathin γ-Fe2O3 films with good properties, which are promising as a spin filtering tunnel junction and for application in other spintronic devices, using the iron oxidation method.
A Study on the Thermal Properties of Thermal Grease with Copper Nanopowders
Authors: Kang HaNeul , Kim HyunJi , Park SangHyoek , Yang JinHo , Huh Sunchul
Published: June 2020

Electronic devices and main boards have a tendency to increase the internal heat radiation performance for excellent thermal conductive materials, as necessary for miniaturization. In this study, Nano-thermal grease was prepared by mixing copper Nano-powder into thermal grease, one of the types of thermal conductive materials, by volume percentage. The thermal conductivity was measured and analyzed. As a result, the thermal conductivity was excellent in the order of Case 5, Case 4, Case 3, Case 2, Case 1. However, when the copper powder of Case 5 or more samples was added, stirring did not proceed smoothly due to the high viscosity. This is considered to be because the maximum capacity of the thermal grease was exceeded.
An Insight on Gas Migration in Cement Slurry
Authors: Munjal Pankaj , Kian Hau Kong , Chuen Hon Arthur Cheng
Published: June 2020

The fluid invasion basically gas in the cement column is a worldwide problem. This is one of the main challenges of oil well industries to protect the wellbore from fluid invasion. This problem has recognized in the mid of 1970 and basic technologies associated with it has not changed significantly. The leakage of gas can cause to the catastrophic events such as blow out and contamination of adjacent aquifer layers leading to environmental concerns. Although much effort has been put forth on gas migration issues, but no efficient solutions have been established to control it. The main reason for this is some lack of understanding the phase behavior of cement slurry. This may be the reason for that there is no standard available till now for gas migration. This study reviews the various causes of occurrence of gas migration in the cement column. Moreover, this study provides a comprehensive insight on gas migration control additives, which is generally be used in oil well industries to protect the fluid invasion in cement slurry.
Research on Improving the Taper of Hole Processing by Insulation Coating of ECM Cathode
Authors: Bian Jianxiao , Ma Baoji , Qi Lijun , Gao Honghong
Published: June 2020

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is widely used in metal parts processing because of its high processing speed, good surface quality, no stress and deformation of the workpiece after processing, and no tool loss. However, when using electrochemical drilling, the taper of the hole is large due to the secondary electrolysis phenomenon. Therefore, this paper aims to reduce the taper of the anode workpiece hole by studying the degree of insulation of the cathode sidewall. The processing of the holes is performed by insulating coating the cathode structures to form different conductive radial heights h0. A multiphysics (electric field, flow field, temperature field and mathematical field) model for simulating ECM machining process using a moving cathode tool is proposed in different modes of conductive radial height h0. The mathematical relationship between the height h0 and the taper of the machined hole is established to obtain the optimum machining method.
Epithelioid Hyalinizing Sarcoma With MGA-NUTM1 Fusion
Authors: Underwood Caroline I M , Cardona Diana M , Bentley Rex C , Shen Guomiao , Feng Xiaojun , Jour George , Al-Rohil Rami N
Published: June 2020

Objectives

Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of tumors derived from the mesenchymal origin. Historically, they have been classified according to morphologic and immunohistochemical characteristics. The advent of multiplexed next-generation sequencing (NGS), specifically RNA sequencing, has modified the classification of such tumors and others by determining categorization based on molecular alterations. The NUTM1 rearrangement, previously thought to be present only in carcinomas, has recently been reported in poorly differentiated high-grade sarcomas of the soft tissue. We present the first reported case of an epithelioid hyalinizing sarcoma harboring the MGA-NUTM1 fusion in an acral site.

Methods

Histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular testing were performed on resection tissue.

Results

Histologically, the tumor showed an epithelioid morphology with prominent background hyalinization. Immunohistochemically, the tumor expressed CD99 and nuclear NUT-1. By NGS the tumor harbors MGA-NUTM1 fusion.

Conclusions

Our findings support more extensive use of NGS for accurate sarcoma classification and identification of potential therapeutic targets. Furthermore, they corroborate the fact that NUTM1-rearranged soft tissue tumors represent a spectrum of heterogeneous morphologic entities. This case also highlights the utility of NUT-1 immunohistochemical study as a possible screening tool for NUTM1-fused sarcomas.
Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis of Steatohepatitic Hepatocellular Carcinoma Reveals Novel Distinct Biologic Features
Authors: Van Treeck Benjamin J , Mounajjed Taofic , Moreira Roger K , Orujov Mushfig , Allende Daniela S , Bellizzi Andrew M , Lagana Stephen M , Davila Jaime I , Jessen Erik , Graham Rondell P
Published: June 2020

Objectives

Steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma is a distinct variant of hepatocellular carcinoma strongly associated with underlying nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The molecular biology of steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma is not fully elucidated, and thus we aimed to investigate the molecular underpinnings of this entity.

Methods

Transcriptomic analysis using RNAseq was performed on eight tumor-nonneoplastic pairs of steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma with comparison to conventional hepatocellular carcinoma transcriptomes curated in The Cancer Genome Atlas. Immunohistochemistry was used to validate key RNA-level findings.

Results

Steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma demonstrated a distinctive differential gene expression profile compared with The Cancer Genome Atlas curated conventional hepatocellular carcinomas (n = 360 cases), indicating the distinctive steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma morphology is associated with a unique gene expression profile. Pathway analysis comparing tumor-nonneoplastic pairs revealed significant upregulation of the hedgehog pathway based on GLI1 overexpression and significant downregulation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 transcript. Glutamine synthetase transcript was significantly upregulated, and fatty acid binding protein 1 transcript was significantly downregulated and immunohistochemically confirmed, indicating steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma tumor cells display a zone 3 phenotype.

Conclusions

Steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma demonstrates a distinctive morphology and gene expression profile, phenotype of zone 3 hepatocytes, and activation of the hedgehog pathway and repression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2, which may be important in tumorigenesis.
Molecular and Immunohistochemical Analysis of Mucinous Cystic Neoplasm of the Liver
Authors: Van Treeck Benjamin J , Lotfalla Mira , Czeczok Thomas W , Mounajjed Taofic , Moreira Roger K , Allende Daniela S , Reid Michelle D , Naini Bita V , Westerhoff Maria , Adsay N Volkan , Kerr Sarah E , IIyas Sumera I , Smoot Rory L , Liu Yuanhang , Davila Jaime , Graham Rondell P
Published: June 2020

Objectives

Mucinous cystic neoplasm of the liver is characterized by neoplastic mucinous and/or biliary epithelium surrounded by ovarian-type stroma. Immunohistochemical studies have shown that the ovarian-type stroma expresses estrogen receptor, suggesting potential hormonal responsiveness. The molecular biology of mucinous cystic neoplasm of the liver remains poorly studied.

Methods

Transcriptome sequencing and immunohistochemistry were performed on a series of mucinous cystic neoplasms.

Results

Mucinous cystic neoplasm of the liver exhibited significantly increased RNA expression of ovarian stromal markers WT1, PR, and ER2 and sex cord stromal markers SF-1, inhibin-α, and calretinin compared with nonneoplastic liver. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the RNA-level data. Evidence for sex hormone biosynthesis was identified by significant overexpression of multiple estrogen biosynthetic enzymes. Expression of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 was confirmed immunohistochemically. Pathway analysis also identified significant upregulation of the hedgehog and Wnt pathways and significant downregulation of T-helper 1 and T-helper 2 pathways.

Conclusions

Mucinous cystic neoplasm of the liver recapitulates ovarian stroma at the morphologic, DNA, RNA, and protein levels. These data support the concept that this tumor likely arises from ectopic primitive gonadal tissue and/or stromal cells with capacity to transdifferentiate to ovarian cortical cells.
Evaluation of Sub-micrometer-Sized Particles Generated from a Diesel Locomotive and Jackleg Drilling in an Underground Metal Mine
Authors: Tsai Candace Su-Jung , Shin Nara , Brune Jürgen
Published: June 2020

Concerns have been raised regarding small respirable particles, i.e. sub-micrometer-sized particles, associated with mining activities. This evaluation was designed to investigate the emissions from jackleg drilling and diesel engines and to characterize the nature of emitted particles using gravimetric analysis and number metrics. The mass concentration to which workers are potentially exposed was determined from a 4-h sampling in the vicinity of drilling activities in an underground metal mine; this concentration was found to be lower than 0.6 mg m−3 of total respirable dust. This mass concentration is low; however, the number concentrations of emitted particles from drilling exceeded 1 × 106 particles cm−3 in areas 7–9 m downwind from the drilling operation. Sub-micrometer-sized particles were also observed in aerosol samples collected using a specialized sampler, and various elements associated with drilling were found among these emitted particles. Finally, the particles in the diesel exhaust were collected, and the exhaust was found to contain nanometer-sized particles.
Application of Bayesian phylogenetic inference modelling for evolutionary genetic analysis and dynamic changes in 2019-nCoV
Authors: Shao Tong , Wang Wenfang , Duan Meiyu , Pan Jiahui , Xin Zhuoyuan , Liu Baoyue , Zhou Fengfeng , Wang Guoqing
Published: June 2020

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has recently caused a large-scale outbreak of viral pneumonia both in China and worldwide. In this study, we obtained the entire genome sequence of 777 new coronavirus strains as of 29 February 2020 from a public gene bank. Bioinformatics analysis of these strains indicated that the mutation rate of these new coronaviruses is not high at present, similar to the mutation rate of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. The similarities of 2019-nCoV and SARS virus suggested that the S and ORF6 proteins shared a low similarity, while the E protein shared the higher similarity. The 2019-nCoV sequence has similar potential phosphorylation sites and glycosylation sites on the surface protein and the ORF1ab polyprotein as the SARS virus; however, there are differences in potential modification sites between the Chinese strain and some American strains. At the same time, we proposed two possible recombination sites for 2019-nCoV. Based on the results of the skyline, we speculate that the activity of the gene population of 2019-nCoV may be before the end of 2019. As the scope of the 2019-nCoV infection further expands, it may produce different adaptive evolutions due to different environments. Finally, evolutionary genetic analysis can be a useful resource for studying the spread and virulence of 2019-nCoV, which are essential aspects of preventive and precise medicine.
Reproductive context of extremely short sperm in the parasitic waspCotesia congregata(Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Authors: Bredlau Justin P , El-Sabrout Ahmed M , Bressac Christophe
Published: June 2020

Among adaptive traits under sexual selection, the length of spermatozoa shows high interspecific variation. In insects, extremes exist for both short and long sperm. The spermatozoa of the endoparasitic wasp Cotesia congregata (Say) are the shortest flagellated sperm described in animals, 6.6 µm in length. By comparison, the sperm of Drosophila bifurca are almost 6000 times longer. Thus, C. congregata has the potential to shed light on the selection pressures that drive variation in sperm length in relation to their production and use. The reproductive organs, sperm counts, controlled oviposition and sex ratios were investigated. The testes showed stratified differentiation stages of spermatogenesis, and sperm counts revealed continuous spermatogenesis in the late pupal stage. The small female spermatheca stored ~1000 sperm, resulting in an extremely high sperm concentration. The number of progeny per brood decreased over time until depletion of eggs. Females produced up to 370 daughters, corresponding to the effective use of 34% of the average sperm stock. Haploid males made up a greater proportion of broods in later parasitisms. Sperm miniaturization may be an adaptation to transfer increased quantities for the entire reproductive life of females in the absence of sperm competition but in the reduced space offered by the spermatheca.
Interleukin-13 receptor subunit alpha-2 is a target of progesterone receptor and steroid receptor coactivator-1 in the mouse uterus†
Authors: Marquardt Ryan M , Lee Kevin , Kim Tae Hoon , Lee Brandon , DeMayo Francesco J , Jeong Jae-Wook
Published: June 2020

The endometrium, composed of epithelial and stromal cell compartments, is tightly regulated by the ovarian steroid hormones estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) during early pregnancy. Through the progesterone receptor (PGR), steroid receptor coactivators, and other transcriptional coregulators, progesterone inhibits E2-induced cell proliferation and induces the differentiation of stromal cells in a process called decidualization to promote endometrial receptivity. Although interleukin-13 receptor subunit alpha-2 (Il13ra2) is expressed in the human and mouse endometrium, its potential role in the steroid hormone regulation of the endometrium has not been thoroughly examined. In this study, we employed PGR knockout mice and steroid receptor coactivator-1 knockout mice (SRC-1−/−) to profile the expression of Il13ra2 in the murine endometrium and determine the role of these transcriptional regulators in the hormone-responsiveness of Il13ra2 expression. Furthermore, we utilized a well-established decidualization-inducing steroidogenic cocktail and a siRNA-based knockdown of IL13RA2 to determine the importance of IL13RA2 in the decidualization of primary human endometrial stromal cells. Our findings demonstrate that Il13ra2 is expressed in the subepithelial stroma of the murine endometrium in response to ovarian steroid hormones and during early pregnancy in a PGR- and SRC-1-dependent manner. Furthermore, we show that knockdown of IL13RA2 before in vitro decidualization of primary human endometrial stromal cells partially compromises the full decidualization response. We conclude that Il13ra2 is a downstream target of progesterone through PGR and SRC-1 and plays a role in mediating the stromal action of ovarian steroid hormones.
C-Reactive Protein, Procalcitonin, and White Blood Count to Rule Out Neonatal Early-onset Sepsis Within 36 Hours: A Secondary Analysis of the Neonatal Procalcitonin Intervention Study
Authors: Stocker Martin , van Herk Wendy , el Helou Salhab , Dutta Sourabh , Schuerman Frank A B A , van den Tooren-de Groot Rita K , Wieringa Jantien W , Janota Jan , van der Meer-Kappelle Laura H , Moonen Rob , Sie Sintha D , de Vries Esther , Donker Albertine E , Zimmerman Urs , Schlapbach Luregn J , de Mol Amerik C , Hoffman-Haringsma Angelique , Roy Madan , Tomaske Maren , F. Kornelisse René , van Gijsel Juliette , Visser Eline G , Plötz Frans B , Heath Paul , Achten Niek B , Lehnick Dirk , van Rossum Annemarie M C
Published: June 2020

Background

Neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) is one of the main causes of global neonatal mortality and morbidity, and initiation of early antibiotic treatment is key. However, antibiotics may be harmful.

Methods

We performed a secondary analysis of results from the Neonatal Procalcitonin Intervention Study, a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled intervention study. The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of serial measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and white blood count (WBC) within different time windows to rule out culture-positive EOS (proven sepsis).

Results

We analyzed 1678 neonates with 10 899 biomarker measurements (4654 CRP, 2047 PCT, and 4198 WBC) obtained within the first 48 hours after the start of antibiotic therapy due to suspected EOS. The areas under the curve (AUC) comparing no sepsis vs proven sepsis for maximum values of CRP, PCT, and WBC within 36 hours were 0.986, 0.921, and 0.360, respectively. The AUCs for CRP and PCT increased with extended time frames up to 36 hours, but there was no further difference between start to 36 hours vs start to 48 hours. Cutoff values at 16 mg/L for CRP and 2.8 ng/L for PCT provided a sensitivity of 100% for discriminating no sepsis vs proven sepsis.

Conclusions

Normal serial CRP and PCT measurements within 36 hours after the start of empiric antibiotic therapy can exclude the presence of neonatal EOS with a high probability. The negative predictive values of CRP and PCT do not increase after 36 hours.
Remote ischaemic preconditioning ameliorates anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity and preserves mitochondrial integrity
Authors: Galán-Arriola Carlos , Villena-Gutiérrez Rocio , Higuero-Verdejo María I , Díaz-Rengifo Iván A , Pizarro Gonzalo , López Gonzalo J , Molina-Iracheta Antonio de , Pérez-Martínez Claudia , García Rodrigo D , González-Calle David , Lobo Manuel , Sánchez Pedro L , Oliver Eduardo , Córdoba Raúl , Fuster Valentin , Sánchez-González Javier , Ibanez Borja
Published: June 2020

Aims

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (AIC) is a serious adverse effect among cancer patients. A central mechanism of AIC is irreversible mitochondrial damage. Despite major efforts, there are currently no effective therapies able to prevent AIC.

Methods and results

Forty Large-White pigs were included. In Study 1, 20 pigs were randomized 1:1 to remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC, 3 cycles of 5 min leg ischaemia followed by 5 min reperfusion) or no pretreatment. RIPC was performed immediately before each intracoronary doxorubicin injections (0.45 mg/kg) given at Weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8. A group of 10 pigs with no exposure to doxorubicin served as healthy controls. Pigs underwent serial cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) exams at baseline and at Weeks 6, 8, 12, and 16, being sacrifice after that. In Study 2, 10 new pigs received 3 doxorubicin injections (with/out preceding RIPC) and were sacrificed at week 6. In Study 1, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) depression was blunted animals receiving RIPC before doxorubicin (RIPC-Doxo), which had a significantly higher LVEF at Week 16 than doxorubicin treated pigs that received no pretreatment (Untreated-Doxo) (41.5 ± 9.1% vs. 32.5 ± 8.7%, P = 0.04). It was mainly due to conserved regional contractile function. In Study 2, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at Week 6 showed fragmented mitochondria with severe morphological abnormalities in Untreated-Doxo pigs, together with upregulation of fission and autophagy proteins. At the end of the 16-week Study 1 protocol, TEM revealed overt mitochondrial fragmentation with structural fragmentation in Untreated-Doxo pigs, whereas interstitial fibrosis was less severe in RIPC+Doxo pigs.

Conclusion

In a translatable large-animal model of AIC, RIPC applied immediately before each doxorubicin injection resulted in preserved cardiac contractility with significantly higher long-term LVEF and less cardiac fibrosis. RIPC prevented mitochondrial fragmentation and dysregulated autophagy from AIC early stages. RIPC is a promising intervention for testing in clinical trials in AIC.
Pyloroplasty and the risk of Barrett’s esophagus in patients with gastroparesis
Authors: Alkhayyat Motasem , Sanghi Vedha , Qapaja Thabet , Butler Robert , Rouphael Carol , McMichael John , Goldblum John , Sanaka Madhusudhan R , Thota Prashanthi N
Published: June 2020

Barrett’s esophagus (BE), a consequence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a premalignant condition for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Impaired gastric emptying leads to increased gastric volume and therefore more severe reflux. We seek to investigate the association between gastroparesis and BE and the predictors of BE among patients with gastroparesis. This is a retrospective review of patients seen at Cleveland Clinic between 2011 and 2016 who had an upper endoscopy and a gastric emptying study. Demographics, symptoms, medications, endoscopic and histological findings, and therapeutic interventions were abstracted. Risk of BE among gastroparesis group and control group was assessed, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of BE among gastroparesis patients. Of the 4,154 patients, 864 (20.8%) had gastroparesis and 3, 290 (79.2%) had normal gastric emptying. The mean age was 51.4 ± 16.4 years, 72% were women and 80% were Caucasians. Among the gastroparesis group, 18 (2.1%) patients had BE compared to 71 (2.2%) cases of BE in the control group, P = 0.89. There were no differences in gender, race, reflux symptoms, or esophageal findings between the two groups. Among gastroparesis group, predictors of developing BE were a history of alcohol use (odds ratio [OR] 6.76; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.65–27.67, P = 0.008), history of pyloroplasty (OR: 8.228; CI: 2.114–32.016, P = 0.002), and hiatal hernia (OR: 8.014; CI: 2.053–31.277, P = 0.003). Though gastroparesis is a known contributing factor for GERD, there was no increased prevalence of BE in gastroparesis. Among patients with gastroparesis, predictors of BE are history of alcohol use, hiatal hernia, and pyloroplasty.
The importance of considering both primary and secondary diagnostic codes when using administrative health data to study acute coronary syndrome epidemiology (ANZACS-QI 47)
Authors: Kerr Andrew J , Wang Tom Kai Ming , Jiang Yannan , Grey Corina , Wells Sue , Poppe Katrina K
Published: June 2020

Aims

Routinely collected health administrative data have become an important data source for investigators assessing disease epidemiology. Our aim was to investigate the implications of identifying acute coronary syndrome (ACS) events in New Zealand (NZ) national hospitalization data using either the first (primary) or subsequent (secondary) codes.

Methods and results

Using national health datasets, we identified all NZ hospitalizations (2014–16) for patients ≥20 years with a primary or secondary International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD10-AM) ACS code. Outcomes included 1-year all-cause and cause-specific mortality, hospitalized non-fatal myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, or major bleeding, and a composite comprising these outcomes. Of 35 646 ACS hospitalizations, 78.5% were primary and 21.5% secondary diagnoses. Compared to primary coding, patients with a secondary diagnosis were older (mean 77 vs. 69 years), more likely to be females (48% vs. 36%), had more comorbidity, and were less likely to receive coronary angiography or revascularization. Higher adverse event rates were observed for the secondary diagnosis group including a three-fold higher 1-year mortality (40% vs. 13%) and two-fold higher composite adverse outcome (54% vs. 26%). The use of primary codes alone, rather than combined primary and secondary codes, resulted in overestimation of coronary angiography and revascularization rates, and underestimation of the 1-year case fatality (13.1% vs. 19.0%) and composite adverse event rate (26% vs. 32%).

Conclusion

Patient characteristics and outcomes of ACS events recorded as primary vs. secondary codes are very different. These findings have important implications for designing studies utilizing ICD10-AM codes.