bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tomato leaf curl Patna virus causing tomato leaf curl disease in Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Mohammad Nurul , Ansari Aneesa , Sarker RH
Published: June 2020

Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) has appeared as a potential threat to the tomato production in the world. ToLCV, a member of the family Geminiviridae may contain either bipartite or monopartite genome. The genetic nature of a monopartite ToLCV isolate characterized from the tomato leaf curl diseased samples of Jamalpur district, Bangladesh (ToLCV-JB) has been reported. The products of rolling circle amplification (RCA) were digested, cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis revealed the features of begomovirus genome organization in the ToLCV-JB isolate, containing six open reading frames. BLAST analysis showed 100% sequence similarity with tomato leaf curl Patna virus (EU862323.1) and more than 80% similarity with other reported monopartite begomoviruses. Hence, the virus isolate was registered as Tomato leaf Curl Patna virus-[Bangladesh:Jamalpur:2014] isolate ToLCV-JB (Genebank Accession: KU933675.1) according to the suggestion of NCBI. Recombination analysis also did not show any genetic exchange between ToLCV-JB and ToLCV-Patna virus. Moreover, they belong to the same cluster as observed in phylogenetic analysis. The present work suggests the possibility of cross-border spread of ToLCV-Patna viruses without mutation and this could pose a threat to tomato production in Bangladesh as well as in the Asian continent.
Isolation of zizyberenalic acid and biological studies of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. growing in Bangladesh
Authors: Karim Mohammad Anwarul , Hossain Md Khalid , Al-Mansur Md Abdullah , Shajib Md Shafiullah , Rashid Mohammad A
Published: June 2020

Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. was assessed for phytochemical constituent, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Powder prepared from the air-dried leaf was extracted with methanol. The concentrated extract was partitioned with petroleum ether, carbon-tetrachloride, and chloroform. A triterpenoid acid was isolated from the petroleum ether soluble fraction of the plant extract by gel permeation chromatography using Sephadex LH-20 followed by preparative thin layer chromatography over silica gel. The structure of the isolated compound was elucidated as zizyberenalic acid (1) by extensive analysis of its NMR spectral data and confirmed by comparison with published value. The methanol extract (IC50 = 7.37 ± 0.38 μg/ml) and its chloroform soluble materials (IC50 = 24.14 ± 0.53 μg/ml) produced strong antioxidant effect where it was comparable to standard agent tert-butyl-1-hydroxy toluene (IC50 = 32.47 ± 0.72 μg/ml) in DPPH free radical assay. The petroleum ether soluble fraction also showed strong cytotoxicity (LC50 = 1.31 ± 0.01 μg/ml) in brine shrimp lethality assay which was comparable to the standard drug, vincristine sulfate (LC50 = 0.31 ± 0.01 μg/ml). The results of the present study suggest that the plant leaf could be considered as a significant natural source for the development of antioxidant as well as cytotoxic compounds.
Hypothyroidism and hyperprolactinemia in women with primary and secondary infertility
Authors: Bari Shamima , Begum Rokeya , Akter Qazi Shamima
Published: June 2020

Background and objectives: Infertility is a global health problem including Bangladesh. Altered thyroid and prolactin levels have been implicated as a cause of infertility. The study was undertaken to find out the serum thyroid hormones and prolactin status in women with primary and secondary infertility.

Methods: Women with primary and secondary infertility were enrolled. Fertile age-matched women were included as control. The anthropometric details (age, height and weight) were recorded. Overnight fasting blood sample was collected on 2nd day of menstrual cycle of the follicular phase. Serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free tri-iodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum prolactin (PRL) was estimated by radioimmunoassay.

Results: A total of 150 women were enrolled in the study. Out of 150 women, 50 had primary and 50 had secondary infertility while 50 women were age-matched fertile women as control. The mean TSH levels of both infertility groups were significantly higher than that of fertile women. Regarding thyroid function, 24% and 28% of women with primary and secondary infertility had hypothyroidism respectively. The serum prolactin level was high in 42.9% and 50% of hypothyroid cases in primary and secondary infertility groups respectively.

Conclusion: The study has demonstrated high occurrence of hypothyroidism with raised serum prolactin levels among infertile females emphasizing the importance of estimating both serum TSH and prolactin in infertility.

Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2020; 14(1): 41-46
Elimination of measles by 2024: achievements and challenges
Authors: Afrin Sabrina , Mamun Kazi Taib , Mahboob Nabeela , Iqbal Hasina , Jannat Hasnatul
Published: June 2020

Measles is an infectious agent of viral origin with exceedingly high rate of transmissibility contributing to very high morbidity and mortality rates especially among children. Although measles is extremely infectious, control strategies of this virus used to be recognized as one of the most successful public health interventions ever undertaken. However, despite being vaccine-preventable disease measles has encountered an enormous resurgence as the rate of measles vaccination has declined and in many countries vaccination targets remain unmet and measles continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year. This review discusses the reasons of the re-emergence of measles, the present global and Bangladesh situation and strategies that have been undertaken to combat this killer disease to eliminate measles globally by the year 2024.

Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2020; 14(1): 53-58
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ROLE PLAYING MODEL ON UPGRADING STUDENTS’ SKILL OF APPRECIATION
Authors: Murniviyanti Liza , Shaikh Mohsin , Syandri Gusmaizal
Published: June 2020

The problem in this research was lack of students' confidence to play the role and the lack of experience of students in the experience of literature which resulted in the ability to appreciate the role play was still not satisfied. One way to tackle the problem was using the role playing method. The research method used was experiment. The population of this research was the fourth semester students of Bahasa Indonesia and Literature Education Program. Research data were obtained through practice test technique. The results showed that there was influence of role playing method on role playing ability in accordance with drama script written by students.
ANALYSIS OF TEACHER SATISFACTION PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Authors: Abdurrohman Abdurrohman , Arafat Yasir , Mulyadi Mulyadi
Published: June 2020

Teachers’ job satisfaction is the teacher's perception of what he has obtained, through the indicators compiled. In this study the indicators used are the fields of promotion, salary and incentives, promotions, coworkers as well as supervisory and leadership evaluation. The purpose of this research is to look at the level of satisfaction of teachers who teach in public  primary schools on Pulau Rimau. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative and quantitative (mixed method). The number of objects in this study were five public  primary schools. The results obtained from the research that has been done are stated that the level of satisfaction of teachers who teach in public  primary schools in the Pulau Rimau region is included in the quite high category, but in the field of salary and incentives is an area with the highest average value of job satisfaction low.
MAPPING PRINCIPAL’S COMPETENCY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL
Authors: Putri Mika Nusa , Kristiawan Muhammad , Rohana Rohana
Published: June 2020

This research aimed at describing the competencies of the Principal in State Secondary school in Banyuasin Regency, it can be mapped the right program given to optimize it. This study was mixed method. The results obtained the competencies of principals in State Secondary schools Banyuasin Regency have moderate managerial competency; entrepreneurship competencies are mostly included in the medium criteria; Supervision competencies in the medium category. Overall, most of the principals have good competency.
THE INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL BASED MANAGEMENT AND WORK MOTIVATION TOWARDS TEACHER’S PERFORMANCE
Authors: Sultoni Mochammad , Lian Bukman , Mulyadi Mulyadi
Published: June 2020

This study was to determine whether there was an influence of school-based management (SBM) and work motivation on the teacher’s performance of SD Negeri in Pulau Rimau. The method used was descriptive quantitative. The population used was 19 public elementary schools in Pulau Rimau and the sample was 3 schools. Data were collected using questionnaires and documentation. The results showed that there is significant influence between school-based management (SBM) and work motivation together on teacher’s performance.
A comprehensive approach to developing L2 speaking competence
Authors: Sabnani Robbie Lee , Renandya Willy A.
Published: June 2020

Speaking is important to language learners. The ability to structure talk facilitates effective communication with fellow interlocutors. A strong spoken command positions them to participate actively in interactions with their teachers and peers to hone their academic mastery. This article presents a principled approach to improve the accuracy and fluency of learners’ utterances through the teaching speaking cycle (Goh & Burns, 2012). It comprises seven strategically sequenced stages to increase learners’ knowledge of language and discourse, enhance their core skills and heighten their awareness and use of communication strategies. Based on a methodological framework underpinned by cognitive, metacognitive and socio-affective domains, the model provides for rehearsal, task repetition and focused teaching to strengthen learners’ oral competence in a holistic manner. Complementing explicit instruction with contextualized practice develops learners’ introspective awareness of the elements and processes in speaking to gain greater autonomy over their progress.
Historia de las revistas científicas
Authors: Martin Shawn J.
Published: June 2020

Los académicos que investigan la historia de las revistas provienen de múltiples disciplinas y perspectivas; al igual que aquellos que han escrito sobre la historia de las profesiones y la educación superior. Principalmente los campos que investigan la historia de las revistas son: la historia de la ciencia, la historia del libro, las comunicaciones y los estudios de información. Los académicos de todos estos campos probablemente estarían de acuerdo en que el artículo de investigación es un artefacto importante que se produce a partir de las tendencias sociales más grandes de profesionalización y burocratización de las universidades. Los artículos de investigación se convirtieron en un género de escritura exclusivo para científicos profesionales. A pesar de la importancia del artículo de investigación en tantos campos diferentes de investigación científica, pocos académicos han investigado sus orígenes.
El vídeo indígena en la comunidad Embera Chamí. Nuevas estéticas y sistemas de circulación
Authors: Cruz Sandoval Camilo
Published: June 2020

El texto es un análisis visual sobre varios videos de dos grupos de música del resguardo Emberá Chamí del municipio de Pueblo Rico Risaralda, Bidika y Ibanafarag, estos grupos cuentan con características especiales en su concepción que logran permear en sus canciones, en la construcción estética del video y que reflejan una realidad social que ha impactado tanto a su comunidad como a otros grupos sociales que han sido partícipes y a la vez víctimas del conflicto armado en Colombia, estas reflexiones sobre la estética, la composición y la denuncia social de la situación de los pueblos indígenas en Colombia es posible gracias a la apropiación que los miembros de estos grupos han hecho de las cámaras de video y circulación de su producción en Internet.
Medición de la transmisión de símbolos en programas culturales
Authors: Zamacona Aboumrad Guillermo Alfredo
Published: June 2020

En el artículo se presenta una manera de medir la transmisión simbólica en programas culturales. El estudio se fundamentó en la evaluación de 18 proyectos del Pacmyc – programa mexicano con más de 25 años de implementación. Se concluye que al centrar la atención en la transmisión simbólica, y considerarla como factor a evaluar, el conjunto de herramientas que da forma al sistema de evaluación cultural de México se nutre de nuevas posibilidades permitiendo romper los esquemas de medición tradicionales e incorporando nuevas formas de evaluar el desempeño de los programas culturales públicos.
Comunicación y música. Campos de tensión en la construcción de una industria creativa y cultural en el Oriente Antioqueño- Colombia
Authors: Arango Carlos Andrés , Rojas Alzate Berónica
Published: June 2020

En el artículo se presenta la reflexión producto de investigación en torno a las industrias creativas y la percepción que de ésta se tiene en el Oriente antioqueño, específicamente en el Municipio de Marinilla y El Carmen de Viboral. Se evidencian campos de tensión en torno a la vocación vs profesión; vaivenes políticos vs interese colectivos; cultura, talento y gestión local vs requerimientos globales; optimismo por la industria musical vs bajo consumo de esta en dicha zona. El paso de la vocación autoexpresiva en la música a un desempeño profesional en el marco de una industria creativa o cultural, demanda un sinnúmero de saberes y prácticas para los que se requiere formación y experiencia.
Medios alternativos. Panorama de la normatividad de la televisión comunitaria
Authors: Angulo Rincón Lizandro , Páez Quintana Heverd
Published: June 2020

En este artículo se reflexiona en torno al panorama de la normativa de Colombia en relación a la televisión comunitaria. Se realiza el análisis de la Resolución 650 de 2018, por medio de la cual se reglamenta este tipo de servicio. Para tal fin, se toma como ejemplo el caso de la Asociación de Usuarios Comunitarios de la Antena Parabólica San Jorge de Ocaña (Asucap San Jorge). Se concluye que hay un contexto normativo adverso para este tipo de medios alternativos.
Changes of Visually Evoked Potentials in Rats after Brain Trauma
Authors: Sysoev Yu. I. , Chernyakov R. T. , Idiyatullin R. D. , Kroshkina K. A. , Piankova V. A. , Prikhodko V. A. , Okovitiy S. V.
Published: June 2020

In this study, we compared visually evoked potentials (VEP) in healthy rats and rats following traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injury was modelled by the method of controlled cortical impact. The electrical activity of the brain cortex was registered using nichrome electrodes. Responses in primary and secon dary motor cortex areas, as well as in the area of primary sensory cortex over the hippocampus, were evoked by 3 Hz white light fl ashes on the 3rd and 7th day after the operation. The latencies and amplitudes of N1, P2, N2, P3 и N3, as well as the duration and amplitudes of inter-peak intervals, were calculated. It is shown that unilateral traumatic damage of the motor cortex area and underlying regions in rats does not signifi cantly reduce the number of VEP peaks. However, in most of the animals, the N1 component was absent in the area of damage.In comparison with healthy rats, traumatized rats demonstrated an increased latency of N1 and N3 peaks on the 3rd day after the operation followed by their return to normal values on the 7th day. In addition, traumatized rats showed a higher P2 amplitude in regions remote from the traumatized cortex area on the 3rd day; however, the P2 amplitude was lower in the injury area on the 7th day. The obtained results indicate that the registration and analysis of VEP can be used for localizing the traumatized area and to analyse the dynamics of the brain functional state in rats with brain trauma.
Diophantine Equations and Linear Recurrences
Authors: Ddamulira Mahadi
Published: June 2020

Ph.D. Thesis defense.
A Learning Analytics Approach to Identify Students at Risk of Dropout: A Case Study with a Technical Distance Education Course
Authors: Queiroga Emanuel Marques , Lopes João Ladislau , Kappel Kristofer , Aguiar Marilton , Araújo Ricardo Matsumura , Munoz Roberto , Villarroel Rodolfo , Cechinel Cristian
Published: June 2020

Contemporary education is a vast field that is concerned with the performance of education systems. In a formal e-learning context, student dropout is considered one of the main problems and has received much attention from the learning analytics research community, which has reported several approaches to the development of models for the early prediction of at-risk students. However, maximizing the results obtained by predictions is a considerable challenge. In this work, we developed a solution using only students’ interactions with the virtual learning environment and its derivative features for early predict at-risk students in a Brazilian distance technical high school course that is 103 weeks in duration. To maximize results, we developed an elitist genetic algorithm based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for hyperparameter tuning. With the application of the proposed technique, we predicted the student at risk with an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) above 0.75 in the initial weeks of a course. The results demonstrate the viability of applying interaction count and derivative features to generate prediction models in contexts where access to demographic data is restricted. The application of a genetic algorithm to the tuning of hyperparameters classifiers can increase their performance in comparison with other techniques.
Double-Shot Transfer Learning for Breast Cancer Classification from X-Ray Images
Authors: Alkhaleefah Mohammad , Ma Shang-Chih , Chang Yang-Lang , Huang Bormin , Chittem Praveen Kumar , Achhannagari Vishnu Priya
Published: June 2020

Differentiation between benign and malignant breast cancer cases in X-ray images can be difficult due to their similar features. In recent studies, the transfer learning technique has been used to classify benign and malignant breast cancer by fine-tuning various pre-trained networks such as AlexNet, visual geometry group (VGG), GoogLeNet, and residual network (ResNet) on breast cancer datasets. However, these pre-trained networks have been trained on large benchmark datasets such as ImageNet, which do not contain labeled images related to breast cancers which lead to poor performance. In this research, we introduce a novel technique based on the concept of transfer learning, called double-shot transfer learning (DSTL). DSTL is used to improve the overall accuracy and performance of the pre-trained networks for breast cancer classification. DSTL updates the learnable parameters (weights and biases) of any pre-trained network by fine-tuning them on a large dataset that is similar to the target dataset. Then, the updated networks are fine-tuned with the target dataset. Moreover, the number of X-ray images is enlarged by a combination of augmentation methods including different variations of rotation, brightness, flipping, and contrast to reduce overfitting and produce robust results. The proposed approach has demonstrated a significant improvement in classification accuracy and performance of the pre-trained networks, making them more suitable for medical imaging.
Wavelet Analysis of Microcirculatory Flowmotion Reveals Cardiovascular Regulatory Mechanisms–Data from a Beta-Blocker
Authors: Silva Henrique , Roux Étienne , Gadeau Alain-Pierre , Rodrigues Luis Monteiro
Published: June 2020

A variety of animal models exist for the study of cardiovascular function using many approaches from surgically induced ischemia to genetic manipulation. A murine physiological model was recently proposed for the non-invasive study of peripheral circulation and was strengthened by the wavelet transform analysis (WA) of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals. WA allows the extraction of cardiac, respiratory, sympathetic, endothelial, and myogenic components from the raw LDF signal. The present study was designed to evaluate the discernment capacity of the model through an analysis of the short-term effects of the well-known hypotensive cardiovascular drug, atenolol. Six male C57/BL6 mice (16 weeks old) were included in the study, with each animal serving as its own control. Following anesthesia with ketamine-xylazine, skin perfusions were continuously assessed in both hindlimbs by LDF during baseline and after two sequential atenolol administrations (2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg, as commonly prescribed). Expected atenolol-induced hypotension was present, associated with a significantly increased heart rate and peripheral perfusion with both dosages. Through the application of WA to the LDF signal, we could detail the mechanisms of the atenolol-induced peripheral perfusion modulation: an immediate amplitude decrease of the cardiac LDF spectrum with an amplitude increase of the sympathetic component (p < 0.05) and the endothelial and myogenic components (non-significant). These data suggested a regulatory crosstalk between the peripheral (baroreceptors) and the microcirculatory units, which ultimately resulted in hypotension, inotropic reduction, and tachycardia. In conclusion, WA offered insight that simply could not be seen with only the perfusion curve and, thus, was an effective tool to investigate this cardiovascular mechanism of regulation.
Authentication of Sorrento Walnuts by NIR Spectroscopy Coupled with Different Chemometric Classification Strategies
Authors: Amendola Luigi , Firmani Patrizia , Bucci Remo , Marini Federico , Biancolillo Alessandra
Published: June 2020

Walnuts have been widely investigated because of their chemical composition, which is particularly rich in unsaturated fatty acids, responsible for different benefits in the human body. Some of these fruits, depending on the harvesting area, are considered a high value-added food, thus resulting in a higher selling price. In Italy, walnuts are harvested throughout the national territory, but the fruits produced in the Sorrento area (South Italy) are commercially valuable for their peculiar organoleptic characteristics. The aim of the present study is to develop a non-destructive and shelf-life compatible method, capable of discriminating common walnuts from those harvested in Sorrento (a town in Southern Italy), considered a high quality product. Two-hundred-and-twenty-seven walnuts (105 from Sorrento and 132 grown in other areas) were analyzed by near-infrared spectroscopy (both whole or shelled), and classified by Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). Eventually, two multi-block approaches have been exploited in order to combine the spectral information collected on the shell and on the kernel. One of these latter strategies provided the best results (98.3% of correct classification rate in external validation, corresponding to 1 misclassified object over 60). The present study suggests the proposed strategy is a suitable solution for the discrimination of Sorrento walnuts.
Antimicrobial Poly (methyl methacrylate) with Silver Nanoparticles for Dentistry: A Systematic Review
Authors: Juan Carlos Flores-Arriaga , Rene García-Contreras , Germán Villanueva-Sánchez , Laura Susana Acosta-Torres
Published: June 2020

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a widely used polymer for dental applications, and it is mainly used in the fabrication of dental prostheses. In an increasing number of these applications, the risk of suffering bacterial or fungal infection is higher than 60% among oral-prosthesis users. Some authors have reported the failure of other implants in the human body due to biofilm formation on the surface (mainly for total hip implants). In the dental field, the formation of bacterial and fungal biofilms on prosthesis’s surface is the etiologic factor for stomatitis, mainly caused by Candida albicans and bacteria such as Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis, as well as many others. The antibacterial and antifungal properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely reported, and their use in dental materials can prevent oral infections, such as candidiasis and stomatitis, and promote better oral health in dental-prosthesis users. They can even be used in other biomedical applications that require controlling biofilm formation on surfaces. In this review, the reported studies that use composites of PMMA and AgNPs (PMMA-AgNPs) for dental applications are listed and checked, with the aim of gaining a wider perspective of the use and application of this approach in the dental field.
A Rule-Based Approach to Embedding Techniques for Text Document Classification
Authors: Aubaid Asmaa M. , Mishra Alok
Published: June 2020

With the growth of online information and sudden expansion in the number of electronic documents provided on websites and in electronic libraries, there is difficulty in categorizing text documents. Therefore, a rule-based approach is a solution to this problem; the purpose of this study is to classify documents by using a rule-based. This paper deals with the rule-based approach with the embedding technique for a document to vector (doc2vec) files. An experiment was performed on two data sets Reuters-21578 and the 20 Newsgroups to classify the top ten categories of these data sets by using a document to vector rule-based (D2vecRule). Finally, this method provided us a good classification result according to the F-measures and implementation time metrics. In conclusion, it was observed that our algorithm document to vector rule-based (D2vecRule) was good when compared with other algorithms such as JRip, One R, and ZeroR applied to the same Reuters-21578 dataset.
Convolutional Neural Network-Based Gear Type Identification from Automatic Identification System Trajectory Data
Authors: Kim Kwang-il , Lee Keon Myung
Published: June 2020

Marine resources are valuable assets to be protected from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and overfishing. IUU and overfishing detections require the identification of fishing gears for the fishing ships in operation. This paper is concerned with automatically identifying fishing gears from AIS (automatic identification system)-based trajectory data of fishing ships. It proposes a deep learning-based fishing gear-type identification method in which the six fishing gear type groups are identified from AIS-based ship movement data and environmental data. The proposed method conducts preprocessing to handle different lengths of messaging intervals, missing messages, and contaminated messages for the trajectory data. For capturing complicated dynamic patterns in trajectories of fishing gear types, a sliding window-based data slicing method is used to generate the training data set. The proposed method uses a CNN (convolutional neural network)-based deep neural network model which consists of the feature extraction module and the prediction module. The feature extraction module contains two CNN submodules followed by a fully connected network. The prediction module is a fully connected network which suggests a putative fishing gear type for the features extracted by the feature extraction module from input trajectory data. The proposed CNN-based model has been trained and tested with a real trajectory data set of 1380 fishing ships collected over a year. A new performance index, DPI (total performance of the day-wise performance index) is proposed to compare the performance of gear type identification techniques. To compare the performance of the proposed model, SVM (support vector machine)-based models have been also developed. In the experiments, the trained CNN-based model showed 0.963 DPI, while the SVM models showed 0.814 DPI on average for the 24-h window. The high value of the DPI index indicates that the trained model is good at identifying the types of fishing gears.
Serum Type XIX Collagen is Significantly Elevated in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Preliminary Study on Biomarker Potential
Authors: Thorlacius-Ussing Jeppe , Manon-Jensen Tina , Sun Shu , Leeming Diana J. , Sand Jannie M. , Karsdal Morten , Willumsen Nicholas
Published: June 2020

Type XIX collagen is a poorly characterized collagen associated with the basement membrane. It is abnormally regulated during breast cancer progression and the NC1 (XIX) domain has anti-tumorigenic signaling properties. However, little is known about the biomarker potential of collagen XIX in cancer. In this study, we describe a competitive ELISA, named PRO-C19, targeting the C-terminus of collagen XIX using a monoclonal antibody. PRO-C19 was measured in serum of patients with a range of cancer types and was elevated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (p < 0.0001), small cell lung cancer (p = 0.0081), breast (p = 0.0005) and ovarian cancer (p < 0.0001) compared to healthy controls. In a separate NSCLC cohort, PRO-C19 was elevated compared to controls when evaluating adenocarcinoma (AD) (p = 0.0003) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (p < 0.0001) patients but was not elevated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. SCC also had higher PRO-C19 levels than AD (p = 0.0457). PRO-C19 could discriminate between NSCLC and healthy controls (AUROC:0.749 and 0.826 for AD and SCC, respectively) and maintained discriminatory performance in patients of tumor stages I+II (AUROC:0.733 and 0.818 for AD and SCC, respectively). Lastly, we confirmed the elevated type XIX collagen levels using gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) initiatives. In conclusion, type XIX collagen is released into circulation and is significantly elevated in the serum of cancer patients and PRO-C19 shows promise as a cancer biomarker.
A Guide for Oncologic Patient Management during Covid-19 Pandemic: The Initial Experience of an Italian Oncologic Hub with Exemplificative Focus on Uro-Oncologic Patients
Authors: Mistretta Francesco A. , Luzzago Stefano , Molendini Luigi Orlando , Ferro Matteo , Dossena Enza , Mastrilli Fabrizio , Musi Gennaro , de Cobelli Ottavio
Published: June 2020

The recent exponential increase in the number of COVID-19 patients in Italy led to the adoption of specific extraordinary measures, such as the need to convey treatment of all non-deferrable cancer patients to specialized centres (hubs). We reported a comprehensive summary of guidelines to create and run an oncologic hub during the COVID-19 pandemic. Oncologic hubs must fulfil some specific requirements such as a high experience in oncologic patient treatment, strict strategies applied to remain a “COVID-19-free” centre, and the creation of a dedicated multidisciplinary “hub team”. Cancer treatment of patients who belong to external centres, namely spoke centres, could be organized in different pathways according to the grade of involvement and/or availability of the medical team of the spoke centre. Moreover, dedicated areas should be created for the management and treatment of patients who developed COVID-19 symptoms after hospitalization (i.e., dedicated wards, operation rooms and intensive care beds). Lastly, hospital staff must be highly trained for both preventing COVID-19 contagion and treating patients who develop the infection. We provided a simplified, but complete and easily applicable guide. We believe that this guide could help those clinicians who have to treat oncologic patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Roles of Signaling in Cytoskeletal Changes, Random Movement, Direction-Sensing and Polarization of Eukaryotic Cells
Authors: Cheng Yougan , Felix Bryan , Othmer Hans G.
Published: June 2020

Movement of cells and tissues is essential at various stages during the lifetime of an organism, including morphogenesis in early development, in the immune response to pathogens, and during wound-healing and tissue regeneration. Individual cells are able to move in a variety of microenvironments (MEs) (A glossary of the acronyms used herein is given at the end) by suitably adapting both their shape and how they transmit force to the ME, but how cells translate environmental signals into the forces that shape them and enable them to move is poorly understood. While many of the networks involved in signal detection, transduction and movement have been characterized, how intracellular signals control re-building of the cyctoskeleton to enable movement is not understood. In this review we discuss recent advances in our understanding of signal transduction networks related to direction-sensing and movement, and some of the problems that remain to be solved.
Arteriogenesis and Therapeutic Angiogenesis in Its Multiple Aspects
Authors: Deindl Elisabeth , Quax Paul H. A.
Published: June 2020

Arteriogenesis, also frequently called collateral formation or even therapeutic angiogenesis, comprises those processes that lead to the formation and growth of collateral blood vessels that can act as natural bypasses to restore blood flow to distal tissues in occluded arteries [...]
Biodiversity and Community Structure of Mesozooplankton in the Marine and Coastal National Park Areas of Korea
Authors: Kim Heesoo , Lee Chang-Rae , Lee Sang-kyu , Oh Seung-Yoon , Kim Won
Published: June 2020

Zooplankton communities are useful bioindicators that can provide information on the changes occurring in marine ecosystems. Therefore, investigation of zooplankton communities in marine and coastal national parks is essential. However, the surveys of zooplankton communities using morphological identification require considerable time and labor. Metabarcoding is a practical alternative that can detect various taxa simultaneously. In this study, metabarcoding was newly applied along with the traditional morphological identification to establish a method for zooplankton community survey in the Marine and Coastal National Park areas of Korea. By comparing the results of these two identification methods, the strengths and limitations of metabarcoding were verified with the zooplankton communities appearing in these areas. The sensitive detection capability of metabarcoding enabled the identification of potential bioindicator taxa associated with external factors (e.g., water temperature, salinity, topography, and chlorophyll a concentration) in these national parks. We propose the use of metabarcoding for efficient surveys of mesozooplankton communities in the Marine and Coastal National Parks to establish monitoring of bioindicator taxa. It is also necessary to continuously search for taxa with high research value in these national parks using metabarcoding. Establishing an ongoing monitoring system that employs this approach can provide an effective tool for managing marine ecosystems in the Marine and Coastal National Parks.
Boiling Heat Transfer Performance of Parallel Porous Microchannels
Authors: Zhang Donghui , Xu Haiyang , Chen Yi , Wang Leiqing , Qu Jian , Wu Mingfa , Zhou Zhiping
Published: June 2020

Flow boiling in microporous layers has attracted a great deal of attention in the enhanced heat transfer field due to its high heat dissipation potential. In this study, flow boiling experiments were performed on both porous microchannels and a copper-based microchannel, using water as the coolant. As the heat flux was less than 80 W/cm2, the porous microchannels presented significantly higher boiling heat transfer coefficients than the copper-based microchannel. This was closely associated with the promotion of the nucleation site density of the porous coating. With the further increase in heat flux, the heat transfer coefficients of the porous microchannels were close to those of the copper-based sample. The boiling process in the porous microchannel was found to be dominated by the nucleate boiling mechanism from low to moderate heat flux (<80 W/cm2).This switched to the convection boiling mode at high heat flux. The porous samples were able to mitigate flow instability greatly. A visual observation revealed that porous microchannels could suppress the flow fluctuation due to the establishment of a stable nucleate boiling process. Porous microchannels showed no advantage over the copper-based sample in the critical heat flux. The optimal thickness-to-particle-size ratio (δ/d) for the porous microchannel was confirmed to be between 2–5. In this range, the maximum enhanced effect on boiling heat transfer could be achieved.
Numerical Characterization of an Ultrasonic Mist Generator as an Evaporative Cooler
Authors: Ruiz Javier , Martínez Pedro , Martín Íñigo , Lucas Manuel
Published: June 2020

Pre-cooling of inlet air using evaporative cooling is an effective approach to enhance the performance of air-cooled condensers in air conditioning applications. Ultrasonic mist generators have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional evaporative cooling systems based on cooling pads or spray cooling. This paper presents the developed numerical model of an ultrasonic mist generator for the evaporative pre-cooling of the inlet air of the condenser in air conditioning applications. The model was validated against the experimental data obtained in a wind tunnel experimental facility. A parametric analysis including some physical variables involved in the cooling process was carried out, including the main axial air velocity, the injection air velocity and the water mass flow rate of atomized water. The dimensionless groups water-to-air mass flow and air-to-air mass flow ratios were found to most affect the average evaporative cooling efficiency. A maximum value of 0.654 was found for the studied conditions. The optimization analysis carried out shows that the operational ranges leading to the best overall performance are 5 × 10 − 4 ≤ m ˙ w / m ˙ a T ≤ 0.002 and 0.035 ≤ m ˙ a i / m ˙ a T ≤ 0.05 . Under these conditions, there is a better distribution of the water mist throughout the control section and a more homogeneous and effective evaporative cooling process.
Fault Detection Methodology for Secondary Fluid Flow Rate in a Heat Pump Unit
Authors: Boahen Samuel , Mensah Kwesi , Nam Yujin , Choi Jong Min
Published: June 2020

Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) has become an important subject in heat pumps due to its potential for energy savings. However, research on multiple faults occurring at the secondary fluid side of heat pumps is rare in the open literature. This study experimentally examined single secondary fluid flow rate faults (SSFF) and multiple-simultaneous secondary fluid flow rate faults (MSSFF) and their effects on the performance of a heat pump unit, which is a core component of ground source heat pump systems, and proposed FDD methodology to detect these faults. The secondary fluid flow rate faults were simulated in cooling mode by varying the evaporator and condenser secondary fluid flow rates at 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% of the reference value according to varying outdoor entering water temperature conditions. Condenser secondary fluid flow rate faults affected the heat pump coefficient of performance(COP) significantly more than the evaporator secondary fluid flow rate fault in SSFF. Cooling capacity was highly dependent on the evaporator secondary fluid flow rate fault while COP was greatly affected by the condenser secondary fluid flow rate fault in MSSFF. The FDD methodology was modeled using correlations and performance trends of the heat pump and can detect SSFF and MSSFF within an error threshold of ±1.6% and ±6.4% respectively.
A Sophisticated Method of the Mechanical Design of Cable Accessories Focusing on Interface Contact Pressure
Authors: Luo Yi , Han Zhengyi , Zhou Mingyu , Wang Haitian
Published: June 2020

The most critical positions of a prefabricated cable accessory, from the electrical point of view, are the interfaces between the stress cone and its surroundings. Accordingly, the contact pressure on those interfaces needs to be carefully designed to assure both good dielectric strength and smooth installation of the stress cone. Nevertheless, since stress cones made from rubber are under large deformation after installation, their internal stress distribution is neither practical to measure directly by planting sensors, nor feasible to compute accurately with the conventional theory of linear structural mechanics. This paper presents one sophisticated method for computing the mechanical stress distribution in rubber stress cones of cable accessories by employing hyperelastic models in a computation model based on the finite element method. This method offers accurate results for rubber bodies of complex geometries and large deformations. Based on the method, a case study of a composite prefabricated termination for extruded cables is presented, and the sensitivity analysis is given as well.
Temperature and Field Induced Variations of Electric Conductivities of HTV Silicone Rubbers Derived from Measured Currents and Surface Potential Decay Characteristics
Authors: Alam Shahid , Serdyuk Yuriy V. , Gubanski Stanislaw M.
Published: June 2020

The temperature and field dependencies of electric conductivities of two types of silicone rubber-based polymers intended for use in high voltage direct current applications are presented and discussed. The conductivities obtained with the standard method by measuring a current through the material sample placed between metallic electrodes in response to the applied voltage are compared with those deduced from the measured potential decay on pre-charged material surface in an open circuit configuration. The measurements were conducted in the range of the applied electric field strength (0.5–5) kV/mm and temperatures ranging from 22 °C to 70 °C. It is shown that the values of the conductivities obtained by the two methods are in agreement and their temperature dependences obey Arrhenius law yielding similar activation energies.
Wide-Supply-Voltage-Range CMOS Bandgap Reference for In Vivo Wireless Power Telemetry
Authors: Zawawi Ruhaifi Bin Abdullah , Abbasi Wajahat H. , Kim Seung-Hwan , Choi Hojong , Kim Jungsuk
Published: June 2020

The robustness of the reference circuit in a wide range of supply voltages is crucial in implanted devices. Conventional reference circuits have demonstrated a weak performance over wide supply ranges. Channel-length modulation in the transistors causes the circuit to be sensitive to power supply variation. To solve this inherent problem, this paper proposes a new output-voltage-line-regulation controller circuit. When a variation occurs in the power supply, the controller promptly responds to the supply deviation and removes unwanted current in the output path of the reference circuit. The proposed circuit was implemented in a 0.35-μm SK Hynix CMOS standard process. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed reference circuit could generate a reference voltage of 0.895 V under a power supply voltage of 3.3 V, line regulation of 1.85 mV/V in the supply range of 2.3 to 5 V, maximum power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of −54 dB, and temperature coefficient of 11.9 ppm/°C in the temperature range of 25 to 100 °C.
A Comparison of Soil Carbon Stocks of Intact and Restored Mangrove Forests in Northern Vietnam
Authors: Hong Tinh Pham , Thi Hong Hanh Nguyen , Van Thanh Vo , Sy Tuan Mai , Van Quang Pham , Sharma Sahadev , MacKenzie Richard A.
Published: June 2020

Background and Objectives: In northern Vietnam, nearly 37,100 hectares of mangroves were lost from 1964–1997 due to unsustainable harvest and deforestation for the creation of shrimp aquaculture ponds. To offset these losses, efforts in the late 1990s have resulted in thousands of hectares of mangroves being restored, but few studies to date have examined how effective these efforts are at creating restored mangrove forests that function similarly to the intact mangroves they are intended to replace. Materials and Methods: We quantified and compared soil carbon (C) stocks among restored (mono and mixed species) and intact mangrove forests in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa in northern Vietnam. A total of 96 soil cores up to a depth of 200 cm were collected every 25 m (25, 50, 75, 100, 125, and 150 m) along 16 linear transects that were 150 m long and perpendicular to the mangrove upland interface (six cores along each transect) at Quang Ninh (four transects), Thai Binh (five), Nam Dinh (four) and Thanh Hoa (three). Five-cm-long soil samples were then collected from the 0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, 30–50 cm, 50–100 cm, and >100 cm depth intervals of each soil core. Results: The study confirmed that the soil C stock of 20–25-year-old restored mangrove forest (217.74 ± 16.82 Mg/ha) was not significantly different from that of intact mangrove forest (300.68 ± 51.61 Mg/ha) (p > 0.05). Soil C stocks of Quang Ninh (323.89 ± 28.43 Mg/ha) were not significantly different from Nam Dinh (249.81 ± 19.09 Mg/ha), but both of those were significantly larger than Thai Binh (201.42 ± 27.65 Mg/ha) and Thanh Hoa (178.98 ± 30.82 Mg/ha) (p < 0.05). Soil C stock differences among provinces could be due to their different geomorphological characteristics and mangrove age. Soil C stocks did not differ among mangroves that were restored with mixed mangrove species (289.75 ± 33.28 Mg/ha), Sonneratia caseolaris (L.) Engl. (255.67 ± 13.11 Mg/ha) or Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco (278.15 ± 43.86 Mg/ha), but soil C stocks of those mangroves were significantly greater than that of Kandelia obovata Sheue, Liu & Yong (174.04 ± 20.38 Mg/ha) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: There were significant differences in the soil C stocks of mangrove forests among species and provinces in northern Vietnam. The soil C stock of 20–25-year-old restored mangrove forest was not significantly different from that of intact mangrove forest.
Sequential Non-Saccharomyces and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentations to Reduce the Alcohol Content in Wine
Authors: García Margarita , Esteve-Zarzoso Braulio , Cabellos Juan Mariano , Arroyo Teresa
Published: June 2020

Over the last decades, the average alcohol content of wine has increased due to climate change and consumer preferences for particular wine styles that resulted in increased grape sugar levels at harvest. Therefore, alcohol reduction is a current challenge in the winemaking industry. Among several strategies under study, the use of non-conventional yeasts in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays an important role for lowering ethanol production in wines nowadays. In the present work, 33 native non-Saccharomyces strains were assayed in sequential culture with a S. cerevisiae wine strain to determine their potential for reducing the alcohol content in Malvar white wines. Four of the non-Saccharomyces strains (Wickerhamomyces anomalus 21A-5C, Meyerozyma guilliermondii CLI 1217, and two Metschnikowia pulcherrima (CLI 68 and CLI 460)) studied in sequential combination with S. cerevisiae CLI 889 were best able to produce dry wines with decreased alcohol proportion in comparison with one that was inoculated only with S. cerevisiae. These sequential fermentations produced wines with between 0.8% (v/v) and 1.3% (v/v) lower ethanol concentrations in Malvar wines, showing significant differences compared with the control. In addition, these combinations provided favorable oenological characteristics to wines such as high glycerol proportion, volatile higher alcohols, and esters with fruity and sweet character.