bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Phytosterolemic Mixture of Sterols Inhibits Cholesterol Synthesis, Esterification, and Low‐Density Lipoprotein Receptor mRNA Abundance in HepG2 Cells
Authors: Davis April , Cole Laura K. , Min Kevin Kyung‐Jun , Chow Sidney , Choy Patrick C. , Mymin David , Hatch Grant M. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractHepG2 cells were incubated with a 16.5:1.7:1 ratio of cholesterol:sitosterol:campesterol (CSC), a ratio of the major sterols observed in the plasma of phytosterolemia patients, or with cholesterol alone in combination with [14C]acetate for 24 h and the radioactivity incorporated into lipids determined. Cells incubated with CSC exhibited a 40% reduction in cholesterol esterification (p < 0.05) compared to cells incubated with cholesterol alone. In addition, a 17.5‐fold reduction (p < 0.05) in total cholesterol (cholesterol plus cholesteryl ester) synthesis from [14C]acetate was observed in cells incubated with CSC compared to cholesterol alone. Low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) mRNA abundance was lower in cells incubated with CSC compared to cells incubated with cholesterol alone. Our results suggest that incubation of HepG2 cells with a ratio of sterols that mimic the plasma concentration seen in phytosterolemia patients reduces cholesterol esterification, total cholesterol synthesis, and inhibits LDLR mRNA abundance. We suggest that future cell and animal‐based work on phytostosterolemia might employ this methodology to serve as a novel paradigm of the disease.
Characteristics of Bubble Oscillations During Laser‐Activated Irrigation of Root Canals and Method of Improvement
Authors: Lukač Matjaž , Lukač Nejc , Jezeršek Matija 
Published: February 2020

Background and ObjectivesLaser‐activated irrigation of dental root canals is being increasingly used as its efficacy has been shown to be superior compared with conventional techniques. The method is based on laser‐initiated localized fluid evaporation and subsequent rapid bubble expansions and collapses, inducing microfluid flow throughout the entire volume of the cavity. The irrigation efficacy can be further improved if optimally delayed “SWEEPS” double laser pulses are delivered into the canal. This study aims to show that the irrigation efficacy, as measured by the induced pressure within the canal, is related to the double pulse delay, with the maximal pressure generated at an optimal delay. The second aim is to find a method of determining the optimal delay for different cavity dimensions and/or laser parameters.Study Design/Materials and MethodsExperiments were made in transparent models of root canals where Er:YAG laser (λ = 2.94 μm, pulse duration tp = 25 or 50 microseconds, and pulse energies up to EL = 40 mJ) was used with a combination of cylindrical and conical fiber‐tip geometries (diameters 400 and 600 µm). High‐speed photography (60,000 fps) and average pressure measurements inside the canal were used for process characterization.ResultsThe results show that a pressure amplification of more than 1.5 times occurs if the laser pulse delay approximately coincides with the bubble oscillation time. Correlations between normalized oscillation time and canal diameter for a wide range of laser pulse energies (R2 = 0.96) and between the average pressure within the canal and the bubble oscillation periods (R2 = 0.90) were found. A relationship between the bubble oscillation time and the diameter of the treated cavity was found depending on the bubble oscillation time in an infinite fluid reservoir.ConclusionsThe bubble oscillation time within a constrained volume can be determined based on the known oscillation time in infinite space, which offers a fast and simple solution for optimization of the laser parameters. These findings enable determination of optimal conditions for shock wave generation, and improvement of root canal irrigation at the same dose of laser energy input, leading to improved treatment efficacy and safety. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enhancement of β‐Phase Crystalline Structure and Piezoelectric Properties of Flexible PVDF/Ionic Liquid Surfactant Composite Nanofibers for Potential Application in Sensing and Self‐Powering
Authors: Mahdavi Varposhti Arezo , Yousefzadeh Maryam , Kowsari Elaheh , Latifi Masoud 
Published: February 2020

AbstractPolyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a piezo‐polymer which among its crystalline phases, the β‐phase has been researched for the improvement of piezoelectric properties. In this study, to improve the β‐phase contents and thereby the piezoelectric response of the polymer, the effect of adding self‐synthesized ionic liquid surfactant (ILS) in PVDF nanofibers is studied. This material is added in different weight percentages into the PVDF solution and the nanofibers are produced by electrospinning to prepare active piezoelectric thin layers. SEM, XRD, FTIR, and piezo‐tests are employed for assessing the effect of the ILS on the enhancement of β‐phase in electrospun nanofibers and their piezoelectric performance. The results indicate ≈98.6% β‐phase formation in the sample containing 4 wt% ILS and in comparison with the pure nanofibers, the output voltage and its power density are improved 186.9% and 275%, respectively. Considering the results, it is suggested that the ILS can improve the piezoelectric response of the polymer in the fabricated structure by simple mixing in solution compared to other additives.
Identification of potential hub genes via bioinformatics analysis combined with experimental verification in colorectal cancer
Authors: Zhou Hongrui , Yang Zhe , Yue Jiaxin , Chen Yang , Chen Tianqiao , Mu Teng , Liu Hongsheng , Bi Xiuli 
Published: February 2020

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is a kind of malignant cancer with high morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to explore potential regulated key genes involved in CRC through bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification. The gene expression profile data were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus, and the differential expression genes were detected in cancerous and paracancerous samples of CRC patients, respectively. Then functional enrichment analysis, such as the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis as well as the protein‐protein interaction network were constructed, and the highly related genes were clustered by Molecular COmplex DEtection algorithm to find out the core interaction in different genes' crosstalk. The genes affecting CRC prognosis were screened by the Human Protein Atlas database. In addition, the expression level of core genes was detected by GEPIA database, and the core genes' changes in large‐scale cancer genome data set were directly analyzed by cBioPortal database. The expression of the predicted hub genes DSN1, AHCY, and ERCC6L was verified by reverse‐transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction in CRC cells. The gene function of DSN1 was analyzed by wound healing and colony formation assays. The results showed that silencing of DSN1 could significantly reduce the migration and proliferation of CRC cells. Further, BUB1B, the potential interacting protein of DSN1, was also predicted via bioinformatics analysis. Above all, this study shows that bioinformatics analysis combined with experimental method verification provide more potential vital genes for the prevention and therapy of CRC.
Extending the Phenotypic Spectrum Associated with STUB1 Mutations: A Case of Dystonia
Authors: Olszewska Diana A. , Kinsella Justin A. 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundMutations in the STIP1 homology and U‐box containing protein 1 gene were first described in 2013 and lead to disorders with symptoms including ataxia and dysarthria, such as spinocerebellar autosomal‐recessive ataxia type 16 (SCAR16), Gordon‐Holmes syndrome, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 48. There have been 15 families described to date with SCAR16.CasesWe describe a 45‐year‐old right‐handed woman with dysarthria, ataxia, and cervical dystonia with SCAR16 with 2 compound heterozygous variants in the STIP1 homology and U‐box containing protein 1 gene, and a family history significant for her 47‐year‐old sister with dysarthria and cognitive problems.ConclusionWe present a comprehensive overview of the phenotypic data of all 15 families with SCAR16 and expand the phenotype by describing a third patient with SCAR16 and dystonia reported to date in the literature.
Security and trust preserving inter‐ and intra‐cloud VM migrations
Authors: Aslam Mudassar , Bouget Simon , Raza Shahid 
Published: February 2020

SummaryThis paper focus on providing a secure and trustworthy solution for virtual machine (VM) migration within an existing cloud provider domain, and/or to the other federating cloud providers. The infrastructure‐as‐a‐service (IaaS) cloud service model is mainly addressed to extend and complement the previous Trusted Computing techniques for secure VM launch and VM migration case. The VM migration solution proposed in this paper uses a Trust_Token based to guarantee that the user VMs can only be migrated and hosted on a trustworthy and/or compliant cloud platforms. The possibility to also check the compliance of the cloud platforms with the pre‐defined baseline configurations makes our solution compatible with an existing widely accepted standards‐based, security‐focused cloud frameworks like FedRAMP. Our proposed solution can be used for both inter‐ and intra‐cloud VM migrations. Different from previous schemes, our solution is not dependent on an active (on‐line) trusted third party; that is, the trusted third party only performs the platform certification and is not involved in the actual VM migration process. We use the Tamarin solver to realize a formal security analysis of the proposed migration protocol and show that our protocol is safe under the Dolev‐Yao intruder model. Finally, we show how our proposed mechanisms fulfill major security and trust requirements for secure VM migration in cloud environments.
H(div) finite elements based on nonaffine meshes for 3D mixed formulations of flow problems with arbitrary high order accuracy of the divergence of the flux
Authors: Remy Bernard Devloo Philippe , Durán Omar , Monteiro Farias Agnaldo , Maria Gomes Sônia 
Published: February 2020

SummaryEffects of nonaffine elements on the accuracy of 3D H(div)‐conforming finite elements are studied. Instead of convergence order k+1 for the flux and the divergence of the flux obtained with Raviart‐Thomas or Nédélec spaces with normal traces of degree k, based on affine hexahedra or triangular prisms, reduced orders k for the flux and k−1 for the divergence of the flux may occur for distorted elements. To improve this scenario, a hierarchy of enriched flux approximations is considered, by adding internal shape functions up to a higher degree k+n, n>0, while keeping the original normal traces of degree k. The resulting enriched approximations, using multilinear transformations, keep the original flux accuracy (of order k+1 with affine elements or reduced order k otherwise), but enhanced divergence (of order k+n+1, in the affine case, or k+n−1 otherwise) can be reached. The reduced flux accuracy due to quadrilateral face distortions cannot be corrected by including higher order internal functions. The enriched spaces are applied to the mixed finite element formulation of Darcy's model. The computational cost of matrix assembly increases with n, but the condensed system to be solved has the same dimension and structure as the original scheme.
Comparable outcomes in studio vs. traditional delivery of an introductory soil science course
Authors: Rees Gordon L. , Winberry Emily 
Published: February 2020

AbstractStudio‐style course delivery involves the integration of laboratory activities with lecture elements of the course, with the goal of increasing student learning and satisfaction through directly linking laboratory and lecture concepts while focusing on active learning. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of studio delivery of an introductory soil science class at California Polytechnic State University, we first redesigned the course to integrate appropriate technology and to align lectures with laboratory activities. We then offered multiple test sections of the course, including concurrent studio and traditional lecture/laboratory sections taught by the same instructor using the same materials and activities. Student learning was measured at the end of the course with exam questions, including sets with or without direct connection to laboratory activities. Student attitudes were evaluated with a survey. Few significant differences were found between studio and traditional sections, gender, grade point average, or major. Some students seemed to struggle with the extended time commitment for each meeting of the studio‐style section, but overall, results were very positive for both styles of delivery. Careful design and delivery of the course, including aligning lecture and laboratory materials and incorporating active‐learning strategies, resulted in a high degree of satisfaction with the course, with or without integration of the laboratory and lecture components.
On energy‐absorbing mechanisms of metal/WF‐CFRP hybrid composite columns
Authors: Zhu Guohua , Yu Qiang , Zhao Xuan , Zhang Shuo , Hu Po , Jiang Hongyong 
Published: February 2020

AbstractHybrid material system, comprised of metal and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), combines the excellent mechanical performance and lightweight feature of CFRP with the competitive material cost and superior toughness of metal. By virtue of such mingled feature, metal/CFRP hybrid structure exhibits great potential in automotive components. This study aims to investigate the crushing behavior of aluminum/WF‐CFRP (woven fabric CFRP) hybrid columns subjected to dynamic loading condition by comparing with the corresponding individual columns made of single material (aluminum column and WF‐CFRP column). The dynamic axial crushing tests indicate that specific energy absorption of WF‐CFRP column is 45% higher than that of the aluminum column and 27% superior to that of the hybrid column, while the total energy absorption of the hybrid column is about 8% higher than the summation of WF‐CFRP column and aluminum column. Afterward, several finite element models are developed to reveal the underlying energy‐absorbing mechanisms and the influences of each factor for the hybrid columns. The numerical results show that specific energy absorption of the hybrid columns is negatively correlated with the metal volume fraction (F
m), when inner aluminum wall thickness (t
m) equals to 1.0 mm. It is also found that crushing process of the hybrid columns with l = 2 (2 CFRP layers) is dominated by the progressive folding of inner aluminum column, leading to a lower damage level of CFRP and lower load carrying capacity. With increasing wrapped CFRP layer number up to 8, the inner aluminum column starts to generate internal inversion deformation mode due to the restriction of the outer CFRP layers, and outer CFRP layers exhibit progressive failure. The energy‐absorbing mechanisms analysis indicates that the internal energy of the internally inversed aluminum column is significantly higher than that of the progressively folded aluminum column, and thus such special deformation mode is capable to offer a more stable and higher load carrying capacity for the hybrid columns. Besides, it is also found that the plastic deformation of the inner aluminum column is the major energy‐absorbing mechanism, which is followed by the crushing failure of outer CFRP layers. The combination mode of thinner aluminum column and thicker CFRP layers tends to offer higher energy‐absorbing capacity, which is much higher than that of the summation of corresponding individual columns. Finally, a complex proportional assessment method is considered to select the optimal configuration achieving the balance of material cost and structural crashworthiness. The present study is expected to provide guideline for design of metal/CFRP hybrid columns.
Safeguarding human and planetary health demands a fertilizer sector transformation
Authors: Bindraban Prem S. , Dimkpa Christian O. , White Jason C. , Franklin Frank A. , Melse‐Boonstra Alida , Koele Nina , Pandey Renu , Rodenburg Jonne , Senthilkumar Kalimuthu , Demokritou Philip , Schmidt Susanne 
Published: February 2020

Societal Impact StatementFertilizer nutrients are essential for food and nutrition security, but a large proportion of nutrients applied to soil are lost because they are unavailable to plants. The extent of these nutrient losses exceeds safe and sustainable limits. Societal awareness of this is limited because it can take many seasons for nutrient‐loss impacts to become visible. We propose that Innovative Fertilizers and Application Technologies (IFAT) could help reduce nutrient losses and thus reduce pressure on resources, and provide important micronutrients for human health. However, transformation of the fertilizer sector through stakeholder engagement, policy interventions, and public–private initiatives will be required to unlock the full potential of IFAT.
Summary
Strategies for delivering sustainable food systems require significant reduction in yield gaps and food system inefficiencies. Mineral fertilizers will play a critical role in achieving both of these aims. However, reduction in nutrient losses from mineral fertilizer use to levels that are considered sustainable has not been achieved and has been estimated to be unachievable, even with optimized practices for current products. We argue that Innovative Fertilizers and Application Technologies (IFAT) are needed to address the daunting and interlinked food, agricultural, and environmental challenges facing humanity and the planet. We define IFAT as a set of fertilizer products and technologies that are designed by taking the physiological needs of plants (such as nutrient uptake, redistribution, and utilization) as the entry point in the fertilizer development process, rather than starting first with chemistry. This approach aims for the timely and targeted delivery of nutrients in balanced quantities. We propose that this can result in multiple food, agricultural, and environmental benefits, including increased yield, improvements in nutritional quality, enhanced crop resilience, and reduced emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), and leaching losses. However, the benefits of IFAT for human and environmental health have remained elusive. The major challenge for optimal use of IFAT is a transformation of the vast fertilizer sector by means of government policy interventions, societal responses, and significant investment in public and private research and development.
Micro‐ and meso‐regulatory spaces of labour mobility power: The role of ethnic and kinship networks in shaping work‐related movements of post‐2004 Central Eastern European migrants to the United Kingdom
Authors: Ciupijus Zinovijus , Forde Christopher , MacKenzie Robert 
Published: February 2020

AbstractEuropean Union (EU) enlargement in 2004 produced a multi‐layered regulatory space structuring labour mobility between Central Eastern Europe and the United Kingdom. Building on a critical revaluation of the concept of labour mobility power as a phenomenon that cannot be reduced to earnings' maximisation, the paper contends that although post‐2004 migration was nested in the macro‐regulatory mechanism of EU freedom of movement of labour, kinship and ethnic networks constituted additional layers in regulating migrants' mobility trajectories. Drawing on migratory biographies, the analysis examines how these regulatory mechanisms shaped migrants' actions and intentions related to transnational exit, contributed in creating linkages through which migrants sought to actualise their labour power on a transnational scale, and provided directions for labour mobility power's use within the receiving country. By embedding labour mobility power within kinship (micro) and ethnic (meso) networks, this paper offers a complimentary understanding of labour mobility power that takes it beyond thehomo economicusexplanatory model.
Comparison of conditional main effects analysis to the analysis of follow‐up experiments for separating confounded two‐factor interaction effects in 2IVk−p fractional factorial experiments
Authors: Lawson John 
Published: February 2020

AbstractTwo‐factor interactions, where the effect of one factor depends on the level of another factor, are common, and understanding them is often the key to solving quality problems or making process improvements using designed experiments. Resolution IV 2
fractional factorial designs are efficient and require fewer experiments or runs than resolution V or full factorial experiments. However, two‐factor interactions are confounded with other two‐factor interactions in resolution IV designs and their effects cannot be separated. Follow‐up experiments have been recommended in the literature to separate the effects of significant but confounded strings of two‐factor interactions in resolution IV designs.Recently, an analysis based on conditional main effects (or CMEs) has been shown to be useful in determining which interaction in a confounded string of two‐factor interactions is actually causing the significance without the need for follow‐up experiments. In this article, I investigate the value of this method of analysis by comparing its use with the analysis of follow‐up experiments using the data from three published experiments where follow‐up experiments were used to “de‐alias” confounded interactions.
Optimal event‐triggered transmission scheduling for privacy‐preserving wireless state estimation
Authors: Lu Jingyi , Leong Alex S. , Quevedo Daniel E. 
Published: February 2020

SummaryWe consider a remote state estimation problem in the presence of an eavesdropper over packet dropping links. A smart sensor transmits its local estimates to a legitimate remote estimator, in the course of which an eavesdropper can randomly overhear the transmission. This problem has been well studied for unstable dynamical systems, but seldom for stable systems. In this article, we target at stable and marginally stable systems and aim to design an event‐triggered scheduling strategy by minimizing the expected error covariance at the remote estimator and keeping that at the eavesdropper above a user‐specified lower bound. To this end, we model the evolution of the error covariance as an infinite recurrent Markov chain and develop a recurrence relation to describe the stationary distribution of the state at the eavesdropper. Monotonicity and convergence properties of the expected error covariance are further investigated and employed to solve the optimization problem. Numerical examples are provided to validate the theoretical results.
A robust constrained control approach for flexible air‐breathing hypersonic vehicles
Authors: Bu Xiangwei , Wei Daozhi , He Guangjun 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis article investigates the robust adaptive control system design for the longitudinal dynamics of a flexible air‐breathing hypersonic vehicle (FAHV) subject to parametric uncertainties and control input constraints. A combination of back‐stepping and nonlinear disturbance observer (NDO) is utilized for exploiting an adaptive output‐feedback controller to provide robust tracking of velocity and altitude reference trajectories in the presence of flexible effects and system uncertainties. The dynamic surface control is introduced to solve the problem of “explosion of terms.” A new NDO is developed to guarantee the proposed controller's disturbance attenuation ability and to performance robustness against uncertain aerodynamic coefficients. To deal with the problem of actuator saturation, a novel auxiliary system is exploited to compensate the desired control laws. The stability of the presented NDO and controller is analyzed. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented control strategy.