bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic risk assessment and spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements in groundwater sources in Southwestern Nigeria
Authors: Emenike PraiseGod Chidozie , Tenebe Imokhai , Ogarekpe Nkpa , Omole David , Nnaji Chidozie 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe study investigated the concentration of potentially toxic heavy metals (PTHM) in groundwater sources (hand-dug wells and boreholes), spatial distribution, source apportionment, and health risk impact on local inhabitants in Ogun state. One hundred and eight water samples from 36 locations were analysed for Cr, Ni, Pb, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca and Al. Mean values of 0.013, 0.003, 0.010, 0.088, 0.004 and 3.906 mg/L were obtained for Pb, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Al respectively at Iju district. Meanwhile, the average values of Pb, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Al concentrations at Atan district were 0.008, 0.0023, 0.011, 0.003, and 1.319 mg/L respectively. Results also revealed that the 44.4% and 11.13% of the borehole and well-water samples surpassed the World Health Organization limits for Pb at Atan. In Iju, the concentration of Pb and Al were relatively high, exceeding the stipulated standard in 100% of the samples. The Multivariate statistical analysis employed produced principal factors that accounted for 78.674% and 86.753% of the variance at Atan and Iju region respectively. Based on this, PTHM were traced to geogenic sources (weathering, dissolution, leaching) and anthropogenic emissions from industrial activities. In addition, the hazard quotient values obtained from the health risk assessment identified potential non-carcinogenic risk due to Pb via ingestion route. Ni was found to have high carcinogenic risk on adult and children, having exceeded the threshold limit. The outcome of the carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that 88.67% (for adults) and 1.12% (for children) of the cancer risk values surpassed the specified limits at Iju, whereas the cancer risk values were considerably lesser at Atan. In conclusion, the report of this study should serve as a beacon that will spark up strategic planning, comprehensive water resource management, and extensive treatment schemes in order to address the health complications linked with environmental pollution.
Acetylation of the histone H3 tail domain regulates base excision repair on higher-order chromatin structures
Authors: Banerjee Deb Ranjan , Deckard Charles E. , Zeng Yu , Sczepanski Jonathan T. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDespite recent evidence suggesting that histone lysine acetylation contributes to base excision repair (BER) in cells, their exact mechanistic role remains unclear. In order to examine the influence of histone acetylation on the initial steps of BER, we assembled nucleosome arrays consisting of homogeneously acetylated histone H3 (H3K18 and H3K27) and measured the repair of a site-specifically positioned 2′-deoxyuridine (dU) residue by uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1). We find that H3K18ac and H3K27ac differentially influence the combined activities of UDG/APE1 on compact chromatin, suggesting that acetylated lysine residues on the H3 tail domain play distinct roles in regulating the initial steps of BER. In addition, we show that the effects of H3 tail domain acetylation on UDG/APE1 activity are at the nucleosome level and do not influence higher-order chromatin folding. Overall, these results establish a novel regulatory role for histone H3 acetylation during the initiation of BER on chromatin.
Valorization of sugarcane bagasse by chemical pretreatment and enzyme mediated deconstruction
Authors: Thite Vihang S. , Nerurkar Anuradha S. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAfter chemical pretreatment, improved amenability of agrowaste biomass for enzymatic saccharification needs an understanding of the effect exerted by pretreatments on biomass for enzymatic deconstruction. In present studies, NaOH, NH4OH and H2SO4 pretreatments effectively changed visible morphology imparting distinct fibrous appearance to sugarcane bagasse (SCB). Filtrate analysis after NaOH, NH4OH and H2SO4 pretreatments yielded release of soluble reducing sugars (SRS) in range of ~0.17–0.44%, ~0.38–0.75% and ~2.9–8.4% respectively. Gravimetric analysis of pretreated SCB (PSCB) biomass also revealed dry weight loss in range of ~25.8–44.8%, ~11.1–16.0% and ~28.3–38.0% by the three pretreatments in the same order. Release of soluble components other than SRS, majorly reported to be soluble lignins, were observed highest for NaOH followed by H2SO4 and NH4OH pretreatments. Decrease or absence of peaks attributed to lignin and loosened fibrous appearance of biomass during FTIR and SEM studies respectively further corroborated with our observations of lignin removal. Application of commercial cellulase increased raw SCB saccharification from 1.93% to 38.84%, 25.56% and 9.61% after NaOH, H2SO4 and NH4OH pretreatments. Structural changes brought by cell wall degrading enzymes were first time shown visually confirming the cell wall disintegration under brightfield, darkfield and fluorescence microscopy. The microscopic evidence and saccharification results proved that the chemical treatment valorized the SCB by making it amenable for enzymatic saccharification.
Al5+αSi5+δN12, a new Nitride compound
Authors: Dagher R. , Lymperakis L. , Delaye V. , Largeau L. , Michon A. , Brault J. , Vennéguès P. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe family of III-Nitride semiconductors has been under intensive research for almost 30 years and has revolutionized lighting applications at the dawn of the 21st century. However, besides the developments and applications achieved, nitride alloys continue to fuel the quest for novel materials and applications. We report on the synthesis of a new nitride-based compound by using annealing of AlN heteroepitaxial layers under a Si-atmosphere at temperatures between 1350 °C and 1550 °C. The structure and stoichiometry of this compound are investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques and energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Results are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The identified structure is a derivative of the parent wurtzite AlN crystal where the anion sublattice is fully occupied by N atoms and the cation sublattice is the stacking of 2 different planes along <0001>: The first one exhibits a ×3 periodicity along <11–20> with 1/3 of the sites being vacant. The rest of the sites in the cation sublattice are occupied by an equal number of Si and Al atoms. Assuming a semiconducting alloy, a range of stoichiometries is proposed, Al5+αSi5+δN12 with α being between −2/3 and 1/4 and δ between 0 and 3/4.
CRISPR interference to interrogate genes that control biofilm formation in Pseudomonas fluorescens
Authors: Noirot-Gros Marie-Francoise , Forrester Sara , Malato Grace , Larsen Peter E. , Noirot Philippe 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBacterial biofilm formation involves signaling and regulatory pathways that control the transition from motile to sessile lifestyle, production of extracellular polymeric matrix, and maturation of the biofilm 3D structure. Biofilms are extensively studied because of their importance in biomedical, ecological and industrial settings. Gene inactivation is a powerful approach for functional studies but it is often labor intensive, limiting systematic gene surveys to the most tractable bacterial hosts. Here, we adapted the CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system for use in diverse strain isolates of P. fluorescens, SBW25, WH6 and Pf0-1. We found that CRISPRi is applicable to study complex phenotypes such as cell morphology, motility and biofilm formation over extended periods of time. In SBW25, CRISPRi-mediated silencing of genes encoding the GacA/S two-component system and regulatory proteins associated with the cylic di-GMP signaling messenger produced swarming and biofilm phenotypes similar to those obtained after gene inactivation. Combined with detailed confocal microscopy of biofilms, our study also revealed novel phenotypes associated with extracellular matrix biosynthesis as well as the potent inhibition of SBW25 biofilm formation mediated by the PFLU1114 operon. We conclude that CRISPRi is a reliable and scalable approach to investigate gene networks in the diverse P. fluorescens group.
Damage analysis of a perfect broadband absorber by a femtosecond laser
Authors: Haque Ahasanul , Morshed Monir , Li Ziyuan , Li Li , Vora Kaushal , Xu Lei , Fu Lan , Miroshnichenko Andrey , Hattori Haroldo T. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractPlasmonic metamaterial absorbers are particularly important in different applications such as photodetectors, microbolometers and solar cells. In this paper, we propose a tungsten boride (WB, a refractory ceramic) based broadband metamaterial absorber whose optical properties is numerically analyzed and experimentally characterized. We have also analyzed the damage characteristics of this absorber using a femtosecond laser and compared with an ordinary Au metamaterial absorber. We observe that WB has almost the double absorption bandwidth with absorption more than 90% over the spectral range of 950 to 1400 nm when compared with the Au counterpart. Furthermore, we show that Au metamaterial is damaged at the power of around 36.4 mW whereas WB metamaterial is not damaged at that power (WB has high Tammann temperature than Au)-however the atom of WB material was knocked off by the bombardment of a femtosecond laser.
Investigating the Integrity of Graphene towards the Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER)
Authors: García-Miranda Ferrari Alejandro , Brownson Dale A. C. , Banks Craig E. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMono-, few-, and multilayer graphene is explored towards the electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Careful physicochemical characterisation is undertaken during electrochemical perturbation revealing that the integrity of graphene is structurally compromised. Electrochemical perturbation, in the form of electrochemical potential scanning (linear sweep voltammetry), as induced when exploring the HER using monolayer graphene, creates defects upon the basal plane surface that increases the coverage of edge plane sites/defects resulting in an increase in the electrochemical reversibility of the HER process. This process of improved HER performance occurs up to a threshold, where substantial break-up of the basal sheet occurs, after which the electrochemical response decreases; this is due to the destruction of the sheet integrity and lack of electrical conductive pathways. Importantly, the severity of these changes is structurally dependent on the graphene variant utilised. This work indicates that multilayer graphene has more potential as an electrochemical platform for the HER, rather than that of mono- and few-layer graphene. There is huge potential for this knowledge to be usefully exploited within the energy sector and beyond.
Active Surveillance in Adults with Low-Risk Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinomas: A Prospective Study
Authors: Rosario Pedro Weslley , Mourão Gabriela Franco , Calsolari Maria Regina 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe acceptance and results of active surveillance in patients with low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMC) are unknown in populations other than the Japanese population. This was the objective of the present prospective study. We selected patients ≥20 years who had thyroid nodules ≤1.2 cm with intermediate or high suspicion for malignancy on ultrasonography (US), not located near the recurrent laryngeal nerve and without extrathyroidal invasion or apparent lymph node metastases, whose cytology was suspicious (Bethesda V) or diagnostic (Bethesda VI) of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Patients who opted for active surveillance were followed up by biannual US. Fifteen patients (18.7%) readily opted for surgery and 12 (15%) for active surveillance. Fifty-three patients (66.2%) delegated the decision or wished to know the doctor’s preference before deciding. After the doctor had declared his/her preference for active surveillance, 50 patients decided to have this management and three to have surgery. Only 1/70 patients exhibited tumor progression (growth associated with a suspicion of extrathyroidal invasion) after 30 months of follow-up. Two patients decided to have surgery during follow-up, although the indication was not defined by the study. A>50% reduction in tumor volume was observed in three patients. The study shows that active surveillance can be well accepted if doctors were convinced that it is the best option for patients with low-risk PTMC. At least the short-term results reproduced those observed in other populations, with tumor progression being uncommon.
Clival Chordoma: Endoscopic Bilateral Transmaxillary Approach
Authors: Youssef A. Samy , Yang Alexander , Getz Anne E. , Mizuho Inoue , Labib Mohamed 
Published: November 2019

AbstractWe present a case of a large clival chordoma in a 54-year-old female with a past medical history of Turner's syndrome and a 1.5-year history of nasal congestion. The tumor was extending in the nasopharynx to both pterygopalatine fossae. An expanded endoscopic endonasal approach was selected. Stereotactic navigation was utilized. Bilateral transmaxillary approach with ethmoidectomy was performed, and a transclival corridor to the deepest portion of the tumor was created. The tumor was successfully dissected off the medial walls of the cavernous sinuses. Gross-macroscopic resection was achieved. Surgical reconstruction of the skull base comprised of a fat graft, fascia lata overlay, and dural sealant. Given the extensive nasal involvement by the tumor, a vascularized nasoseptal flap was not feasible. The patient had an unremarkable postoperative course. She underwent intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) radiotherapy 6 weeks later, and was seen in follow-up 6 months later, with no issues.The link to the video can be found at: https://youtu.be/4bnsEUtieAw.
Identification of the novel odor active compounds “p-menthane lactones” responsible for the characteristic aroma of fresh peppermint leaf
Authors: Shigeto Atsushi , Wada Atsushi , Kumazawa Kenji 
Published: November 2019

ABSTRACT
The comparative aroma extract dilution analysis (cAEDA) applied to the volatile fractions of two types of fresh mint leaves (Peppermint and Spearmint) revealed 20 odor-active peaks with high FD factors (≥64). Among the perceived odorants, five “sweet/milky” and “caramel-like/spicy” notes showing high FD factors were characteristic for the peppermint aroma, and were identified as p-menthane lactone derivatives. Especially, the three p-menthane lactone derivatives, “rel-(3S,3aS,6R,7aS)-dihydromintlactone, (3S,3aS,6R)-epoxymenthofurolactone, and 2E-ethylidene-5-methylcyclohexanone”, were newly identified compounds in the peppermint. The biosynthetic routes of the p-menthane lactone derivatives have been suggested to be closely related to menthofuran. Therefore, these findings strongly suggest the possibility that the biosynthetic pathway leading to the p-menthane lactone derivatives via menthofuran plays a significantly important role in the formation of the characteristic aroma of peppermint.
The approximate calculation of 2D field strength with a Coulomb potential by using multipole expansion
Authors: Kuzmina K S , Leonova D D , Marchevsky I K , Ryatina E P 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
The necessary formulae are derived for approximate computation of the Coulomb-type potential and the field strength, generated by system of particles in 2D case. On the one hand, these formulae represent the multipole expansion in which monopole, dipole, quadrupole and octupole terms are taken into account that allows for computing the potential and the field strength, generated by set of the charges with rather high accuracy. On the other hand, polynomial expansions of the obtained formulae are derived up to the cubic terms with respect to the observation point coordinates, which make it possible to compute the field strength at closely located points approximately. The expressions are derived that permit one to compute the multipole moments for the system of charges, which consists of smaller subsystems. Such formulae are required in tree-codes when the hierarchical (tree-type) structure of geometrical regions is introduced in the region of the initial system of the charges. In particular case these expressions allows for changing of the reference point of multipole moments computation (multipole moments shifting). The test problem is considered for rather small number of the charges, which shows the dependency of the relative error of the field strength reconstruction on the type of multipole expansion and number of considered terms in the Taylor expansion.
On the equilibrium positions of the planetary mechanism at the location of the center of mass of the rod between the axes of rotation
Authors: Bondarenko N I , Obnosov K B , Panshina A V 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
In this paper, the positions of stable and unstable equilibrium of the mechanism moving in the vertical plane are determined. The mechanism consists of a rod, load, counterweight and satellite, rolling without slipping on a fixed cylindrical surface. The potential energy function of the mechanism is examines. Only those variants of the mechanism design for which the ratio of the fixed surface radius to the satellite radius is a rational number are considered. The dependence of the number of equilibrium positions of the mechanism on the radius of the satellite and the distance of the load to the center of the satellite is determined by numerical analysis; and the periods of change in the potential energy of the mechanism for different values of the satellite radius are determined.
Transverse Oscillations of a Cantilever Rod of Rectangular Cross Section and Variable Thickness
Authors: Nesterov S V , Baydulov V G 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
A numerical-analytical algorithm for calculating (a type of accelerated convergence method) of eigenvalues and modes of transverse vibrations of a rod of variable cross-section is proposed. The algorithm is implemented as a software package in the Maple symbolic computations language. The use of the package was demonstrated by the example of solving problems of determining the eigen forms and natural frequencies of rods with different dependences of the cross section on the longitudinal distance.
Service delays in strongly linked network communities
Authors: Bogachev M I , Pyko N S , Pyko S A , Vasenev A N , Vasenev A N 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
We analyze aggregated traffic dynamics obtained from strongly linked network communities. Our results based on two empirical data traces from university campus networks indicate that neglecting the statistical links between traffic patterns generated by individual network nodes leads to the drastic underestimation of both waiting and sojourn times. We also show that similar effects can be observed in simulated traffic patterns obtained by agent based modeling. Moreover, we suggest several indices that could be used to quantify the links between nodes and show their relation with the queuing system performance indicators.
On k-error linear complexity over

F

N of interleaved binary sequences derived from four N-periodic ones
Authors: Edemskiy V , Du X , Chen Z 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
We estimate the k-error linear complexity of some interleaved sequences with period 4N over the finite field of order N (N an odd prime). Furthermore, we obtain the exact value of the k-error linear complexity for small value of k of the interleaved sequences obtained from the cyclotomic sequences. In particular, we study the interleaved sequences obtained from Legendre sequences and Hall’s sextic residue sequences, respectively. Our results show that these sequences are quite stable.
Linear complexity of binary sequences with optimal autocorrelation magnitude of length 4N
Authors: Edemskiy V A , Minin A B 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
In this paper, we study the linear complexity of series of binary sequences with optimal autocorrelation magnitude of length 4N. These sequences are obtained from almost-perfect binary sequences and binary sequences with optimal autocorrelation of length N. The construction of these sequences were presented E.I. Krengel and P.V. Ivanov. We show that considered sequences have the high linear complexity. Also we derive the 1-error linear complexity of these sequences.
On the reducing of the acoustic signal length from the piezoelectric transducers of the sea ice monitoring systems
Authors: Ee B Ch , Konovalov R S , Konovalov S I , Kuz’menko A G , Tsaplev V M 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
The solution of navigation problems the ice situation problems in the Arctic region need to study the acoustic parameters and local reflective properties of ice in real conditions. Information about the local sea ice acoustic properties essentially helps to solve the problems of statistical forecasting of reflective and scattering properties of ice cover. The successful solution of these problems mostly depends on the metrological parameters of the probing signals emitted by the primary piezoelectric transducers. This means, that to increase the resolution of the control and measuring equipment it is better to radiate and to receive short acoustic pulses. The article presents the results of analysis the pulse mode of operation of cylindrical piezoelectric transducers designed to measure the velocity of sound in sea ice. To reduce the length of acoustic pulses, an inductive-resistive load is connected to the electrical input of the radiator. The length and the amplitude of the emitted acoustic pulse were estimated using equivalent circuits of piezoelectric transducers and a spectral method based on the Fourier transforms. The optimal parameters of the electrical circuit, ensuring the minimum length of the acoustic pulses are calculated. The technique of possible measurements is described. The results are presented in the most general form, making possible to use them within different frequency ranges.
Classifying neural networks and methods of their illogical behaviour revealing
Authors: Grigoryeva N Y , Zhangirov T R , Perkov A S , Ivanova S A , Liss A A 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
In this article a feedforward error backpropagation artificial neural network is investigated and the analysis of its illogical behaviour is presented. The problem of illogical behavior arises in various models of artificial neural networks. In the presented work a classifying artificial neural network (CANN) is considered and several learning algorithms were implemented and compared. CANN was designed for automatic differentiaition of cyanobacterial strains during environmental monitoring and some of trained networks demonstrated illogical behavior in further testing. Several original techniques were elaborated for estimation of the quality and accuracy of classification in addition to the traditional ones. Novel visualization methods were suggested for classification and generalization results representation.
The study of microwave range energy harvesting device
Authors: Kuzmin E V , Platonov S V , Bichurin M I , Khavanova M A , Nikitin A O , Petrov R V 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
The paper is devoted to the development of the energy harvesting system of microwave range. The block diagram of the system was developed and stands for measuring antenna patterns and study of the transmission voltage dependence from distance were made. To perform the study were selected six types of antennas: dipole, wire dipole, stripline, horn, parabolic and stripline antenna array. The study revealed that the parabolic antenna has the advantage in distance of energy transfer out of the six considered antennas. The achieved value of the potential on the receiving device is about 23 mV at the distance of 9 m. The obtained results allow realizing the energy harvesting system in a small industrial premise or room.