bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
New ways to improve the damping properties in high‐performance thermoplastic vulcanizates
Authors: Burgoa Aizeti , Hernandez Ricardo , Vilas Jose Luis 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe incorporation of viscoelastic materials represents an effective strategy to reduce the vibratory level of structural components. Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are a special type of viscoelastic material that combines the elastomeric properties of rubbers with the easy processing of thermoplastics. In the present work, we propose innovative ways to improve the damping properties of high‐performance TPVs by using rubbers with carboxylic functionalities. For that, TPVs from physical blends of carboxylated hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (XHNBR) and polyamide 6 (PA6) were prepared. The chain dynamics of different mixed crosslink systems containing peroxide, metal oxides and hindered phenolic antioxidants were investigated in order to find the most suitable strategy to design a high‐performance TPV system with upgraded damping properties. The results indicate that the damping performance of the TPV system can be tailored by controlling the type and magnitude of the bonding interactions between the mixed crosslink system and the XHNBR rubber phase. Therefore, this study demonstrates the potential of TPV systems containing carboxylic rubbers as high‐performance damping materials. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Sitting Balance Exercise Performed Using Virtual Reality Training on a Stroke Rehabilitation Inpatient Service: A Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: Sheehy Lisa , Taillon‐Hobson Anne , Sveistrup Heidi , Bilodeau Martin , Yang Christine , Finestone Hillel 
Published: January 2020

BackgroundVirtual reality training (VRT) is engaging and may enhance rehabilitation intensity. Only one previous study has looked at its use to improve sitting balance after stroke.ObjectiveTo determine if supplemental sitting balance exercises, administered via VRT, improve control of sitting balance and upper extremity function in stroke rehabilitation inpatients.DesignAssessor‐blinded, placebo‐controlled randomized controlled trial.SettingStroke inpatient rehabilitation unit.ParticipantsSeventy‐six participants (out of 130 approached) with subacute stroke who could not stand independently were randomized to experimental and control groups. Sixty‐nine completed the study.InterventionsThe experimental group did VRT that required leaning and reaching, whereas the control group had their trunk restrained and performed VRT that involved only small upper extremity movements to minimize trunk movement. Both groups performed 10‐12 sessions of 30‐45 minutes. Participants were assessed pre, post, and 1 month after the sessions by a blinded examiner.Outcome MeasuresFunction in Sitting Test (FIST, primary outcome measure); Ottawa Sitting Scale; Reaching Performance Scale; Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT).ResultsThirty‐three participants completed the experimental intervention and 36 the control. Pre/post differences for FIST were 3.4 (confidence interval [CI] 0.5;6.3) for the experimental group and 5.3 (2.9;7.7) for the control group. There was a significant improvement over time (adjusted for multiple comparisons, P < .006) on most outcome measures except the WMFT Performance Time Scale (control group; P = .007) and grip strength (P = .008); there were no differences between groups (P > .006).ConclusionsSiting balance outcomes were similar for both groups; therefore, this study does not support the use of sitting balance exercises provided via VRT for the rehabilitation of sitting balance after stroke. However, because it is only the second study to investigate VRT for sitting balance and upper extremity function, more research, using more challenging exercises and a greater treatment intensity, is required before definitive conclusions are made.
Impact of Void Structure on Initiation Sensitivity
Authors: Molek Christopher D. , Welle Eric J. , Mares Jesus O. , Vitarelli Jim , Barrett Hardin D. , Stuthers Matthew 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe influence of microstructural variation on the initiation of octahydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocine (HMX) has been evaluated. These evaluations encompass two classes of fine‐grain HMX, Class 5 and Fluid Energy Milled (FEM). Initiation data of HMX using thick Polyimide flyers (203 μm) near the power flux (Πc) limiting condition (2.26 GPa to 4.63 GPa) as a function of density are presented. The initiation results depict decreasing threshold velocities as density decreases for both materials. The Class 5 has a lower threshold velocity value than the FEM at comparable density values. Microstructure evaluations based solely on the total specific interface area (SIA) are inconsistent with the initiation results. Further evaluation resulted in the requirement of calculating cumulative SIA as a function of feature size to match the trends observed in threshold behavior. The results support the concept of an activated hot spot size as a function of pressure as formulated by Khasainov et al. [1]. Analysis of the microstructure indicates the distinguishing features between Class 5 and FEM are the large particle size tails of the distributions.
Not all predators are equal: miticide non‐target effects and differential selectivity
Authors: Bergeron Paul E , Schmidt‐Jeffris Rebecca A 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDBiological control in conventional agroecosystems involves the integration of chemical and conservation tactics, requiring knowledge of pesticide non‐target effects on key natural enemies. Even for natural enemy groups such as predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae), where pesticide non‐target effects have been thoroughly examined, there may be significant differences in species susceptibility to specific active ingredients, including newer selective products. Using bioassays, we examined lethal (female mortality) and sublethal (fecundity, egg hatch, larval survival) effects of ten miticides on a spider mite pest (Tetranychus urticae) and three insectary‐purchased predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis, Neoseiulus californicus, and N. fallacis) commonly used for its management. Susceptibility of field‐collected and insectary‐reared populations of P. persimilis was also compared. Cumulative impacts on production of larvae by treated female spider mites and predators were compared to create a metric that simultaneously accounted for miticide efficacy and selectivity.ResultsBifenthrin was the least selective, as it caused acute toxicity to all predators and had little efficacy against T. urticae. Hexythiazox and cyflumetofen were the most selectively favorable. Phytoseiulus persimilis populations were similar in which miticides they were sensitive to, although the insectary‐purchased population was generally more sensitive.ConclusionsAll products, including those considered selective (cyflumetofen, bifenazate, acequinocyl) had non‐target effects on at least one species of predator tested. This work emphasizes that there is high variability in selectivity among species, highlighting the need to examine key natural enemies individually when creating management programs. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
High‐throughput first‐principle calculations of the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of cubic XTiO3 (X = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb) ceramics under high pressure
Authors: Xiao Hui , Fan Touwen , Wang Zhipeng , Hu Te , Tang Xian , Ma Li , Tang Pingying 
Published: January 2020

AbstractHigh‐throughput first‐principle calculations are implemented to study the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of cubic XTiO3 (X = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb) ceramics under high pressure. The effects of applied pressure on physical parameters, such as elastic constants, bulk modulus, Young's modulus, shear modulus, ductile‐brittle transition, elastic anisotropy, Poisson's ratio, and band gap, are investigated. Results indicate that high pressure improves the resistance to bulk, elastic, and shear deformation for XTiO3 ceramics. Pugh's ratios
B/G reveal that CaTiO3 and PbTiO3 ceramics are ductile, but SrTiO3 and BaTiO3 ceramics are brittle under the ground state. The brittle‐to‐ductile transition pressures are 24.26 GPa for SrTiO3 and 43.23 GPa for BaTiO3. Under high pressure, the strong anisotropy promotes the cross‐slip process of screw dislocations, and then enhances the plasticity of XTiO3 ceramics. Meanwhile, XTiO3 (X = Ca, Sr, Ba) is intrinsically an indirect‐gap ceramic, but PbTiO3 is a direct‐gap ceramic. High pressure increases the band gap of XTiO3 (X = Ca, Sr, Ba) ceramic, but decreases that of PbTiO3 ceramic. This work is helpful for designing and applying XTiO3 ceramics under high pressure.
A variable‐stiffness continuum manipulators by an SMA‐based sheath in minimally invasive surgery
Authors: Jiang Surong , Chen Bai , Qi Fei , Cao Yanfei , Ju Feng , Bai Dongming , Wang Yaoyao 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackgroundDue to its unique dexterity and safety, continuum manipulators have been widely used in small constrained environment. However, its flexibility also brings negative effects such as poor stiffness and low strength. This paper presents a novel variable‐stiffness sheath for continuum manipulators applied in minimally invasive surgery.MethodsWe present a variable‐stiffness sheath based on shape memory alloy (SMA) for each module of the continuum manipulators. The stiffness of the sheath can be continuously adjusted depending on the voltage between both ends of the sheath, along with the phase transformation of SMA between austenite and martensite.ResultsThe experimental results demonstrate that the stiffness of the sheath and single module are able to increase up to 223.1% and 139.2%, separately, which verify the correctness of the proposed variable stiffness method.ConclusionThe robot integrated with the variable‐stiffness sheath is demonstrated to possess a fine capacity of variable stiffness.
ZIF‐8@ZIF‐67‐Derived Nitrogen‐Doped Porous Carbon Confined CoP Polyhedron Targeting Superior Potassium‐Ion Storage
Authors: Yi Yuyang , Zhao Wen , Zeng Zhihan , Wei Chaohui , Lu Chen , Shao Yuanlong , Guo Wenyue , Dou Shixue , Sun Jingyu 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPotassium ion batteries (KIB) have become a compelling energy‐storage system owing to their cost effectiveness and the high abundance of potassium in comparison with lithium. However, its practical applications have been thwarted by a series of challenges, including marked volume expansion and sluggish reaction kinetics caused by the large radius of potassium ions. In line with this, the exploration of reliable anode materials affording high electrical conductivity, sufficient active sites, and structural robustness is the key. The synthesis of ZIF‐8@ZIF‐67 derived nitrogen‐doped porous carbon confined CoP polyhedron architectures (NC@CoP/NC) to function as innovative KIB anode materials is reported. Such composites enable an outstanding rate performance to harvest a capacity of ≈200 mAh g−1 at 2000 mA g−1. Additionally, a high cycling stability can be gained by maintaining a high capacity retention of 93% after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1. Furthermore, the potassium ion storage mechanism of the NC@CoP/NC anode is systematically probed through theoretical simulations and experimental characterization. This contribution may offer an innovative and feasible route of emerging anode design toward high performance KIBs.
Lobar holoprosencephaly with craniofacial defects in a Friesian calf: A case report
Authors: Kisipan Mosiany L. , Nyaga Samuel N. , Thuo Jesse N. , Nyakego Phillip O. , Orenge Caleb O. , Ojoo Rodi O. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackgroundHoloprosencephaly is a forebrain deformity that results from varying degrees of separation failure of cerebral hemispheres. The condition is classified based on the degree of non‐separation of the hemispheres which, in turn, determines its severity. Holoprosencephaly is usually accompanied by craniofacial defects whose severity tends to reflect the extent of brain deformities. In humans, holoprosencephaly is one of the commonest congenital brain anomalies but in animals, reported cases are scarce. The condition has multifactorial aetiology that involves interactions between several genetic and environmental factors.Case presentationA 4‐day‐old female Friesian calf with a deformed face was reported to the Faculty of veterinary medicine and surgery, Egerton University. The calf and the dam were sired by the same bull. On clinical and radiographic examination, the calf had a short snout that curved dorsally with bilateral cleft lip, right‐sided cleft jaw and a largely absent primary palate. Anatomopathological examination revealed brain deformities which included ventral fusion of frontal lobes of cerebral hemispheres, large merged lateral ventricles without septum pellucidum and fornix, hypoplastic corpus callosum, high degree of non‐separation between diencephalic structures, poorly developed hippocampal formation and hypoplastic olfactory lobe, optic chiasma, and nerve.ConclusionThe case was confirmed as lobar holoprosencephaly based on characteristic anatomopathological findings. The aetiology of the defects in the present case could not be determined though they are thought to be either a result of recessive inheritance or exposure to teratogenic steroid alkaloids through materials fed to the dam during early pregnancy.
A Population Genomics Lexicon
Authors: Barroso Gustavo V. , Moutinho Ana Filipa , Dutheil Julien Y. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPopulation genomics is a growing field stemming from soon a 100 years of developments in population genetics. Here, we summarize the main concepts and terminology underlying both theoretical and empirical statistical population genomics studies. We provide the reader with pointers toward the original literature as well as methodological and historical reviews.
Population Genomics of Fungal Plant Pathogens and the Analyses of Rapidly Evolving Genome Compartments
Authors: Eschenbrenner Christoph J. , Feurtey Alice , Stukenbrock Eva H. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractGenome sequencing of fungal pathogens have documented extensive variation in genome structure and composition between species and in many cases between individuals of the same species. This type of genomic variation can be adaptive for pathogens to rapidly evolve new virulence phenotypes. Analyses of genome-wide variation in fungal pathogen genomes rely on high quality assemblies and methods to detect and quantify structural variation. Population genomic studies in fungi have addressed the underlying mechanisms whereby structural variation can be rapidly generated. Transposable elements, high mutation and recombination rates as well as incorrect chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis contribute to extensive variation observed in many species. We here summarize key findings in the field of fungal pathogen genomics and we discuss methods to detect and characterize structural variants including an alignment-based pipeline to study variation in population genomic data.
Genomic Access to the Diversity of Fishes
Authors: Nolte Arne W. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe number of fishes exceeds that of all other vertebrates both in terms of species numbers and in their morphological and phylogenetic diversity. They are an ecologically and economically important group and play an essential role as a resource for humans. This makes the genomic exploration of fishes an important area of research, both from an applied and a basic research perspective. Fish genomes can vary greatly in complexity, which is partially due to differences in size and content of repetitive DNA, a history of genome duplication events and because fishes may be polyploid, all of which complicate the assembly and analysis of genome sequences. However, the advent of modern sequencing techniques now facilitates access to genomic data that permit genome-wide exploration of genetic information even for previously unexplored species. The development of genomic resources for fishes is spearheaded by model organisms that have been subject to genetic analysis and genome sequencing projects for a long time. These offer a great potential for the exploration of new species through the transfer of genomic information in comparative analyses. A growing number of genome sequencing projects and the increasing availability of tools to assemble and access genomic information now move boundaries between model and nonmodel species and promises progress in many interesting but unexplored species that remain to be studied.
Detecting Positive Selection in Populations Using Genetic Data
Authors: Koropoulis Angelos , Alachiotis Nikolaos , Pavlidis Pavlos 
Published: January 2020

AbstractHigh-throughput genomic sequencing allows to disentangle the evolutionary forces acting in populations. Among evolutionary forces, positive selection has received a lot of attention because it is related to the adaptation of populations in their environments, both biotic and abiotic. Positive selection, also known as Darwinian selection, occurs when an allele is favored by natural selection. The frequency of the favored allele increases in the population and, due to genetic hitchhiking, neighboring linked variation diminishes, creating so-called selective sweeps. Such a process leaves traces in genomes that can be detected in a future time point. Detecting traces of positive selection in genomes is achieved by searching for signatures introduced by selective sweeps, such as regions of reduced variation, a specific shift of the site frequency spectrum, and particular linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns in the region. A variety of approaches can be used for detecting selective sweeps, ranging from simple implementations that compute summary statistics to more advanced statistical approaches, e.g., Bayesian approaches, maximum-likelihood-based methods, and machine learning methods. In this chapter, we discuss selective sweep detection methodologies on the basis of their capacity to analyze whole genomes or just subgenomic regions, and on the specific polymorphism patterns they exploit as selective sweep signatures. We also summarize the results of comparisons among five open-source software releases (SweeD, SweepFinder, SweepFinder2, OmegaPlus, and RAiSD) regarding sensitivity, specificity, and execution times. Furthermore, we test and discuss machine learning methods and present a thorough performance analysis. In equilibrium neutral models or mild bottlenecks, most methods are able to detect selective sweeps accurately. Methods and tools that rely on linkage disequilibrium (LD) rather than single SNPs exhibit higher true positive rates than the site frequency spectrum (SFS)-based methods under the model of a single sweep or recurrent hitchhiking. However, their false positive rate is elevated when a misspecified demographic model is used to build the distribution of the statistic under the null hypothesis. Both LD and SFS-based approaches suffer from decreased accuracy on localizing the true target of selection in bottleneck scenarios. Furthermore, we present an extensive analysis of the effects of gene flow on selective sweep detection, a problem that has been understudied in selective sweep literature.
Ancestral Population Genomics with Jocx, a Coalescent Hidden Markov Model
Authors: Cheng Jade Yu , Mailund Thomas 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCoalescence theory lets us probe the past demographics of present-day genetic samples and much information about the past can be gleaned from variation in rates of coalescence event as we trace genetic lineages back in time. Fewer and fewer lineages will remain, however, so there is a limit to how far back we can explore. Without recombination, we would not be able to explore ancient speciation events because of this—any meaningful species concept would require that individuals of one species are closer related than they are to individuals of another species, once speciation is complete. Recombination, however, opens a window to the deeper past. By scanning along a genomic alignment, we get a sequential variant of the coalescence process as it looked at the time of the speciation. This pattern of coalescence times is fixed at speciation time and does not erode with time; although accumulated mutations and genomic rearrangements will eventually hide the signal, it enables us to glance at events in the past that would not be observable without recombination. So-called coalescence hidden Markov models allow us to exploit this, and in this chapter, we present the tool Jocx that uses a framework of these models to infer demographic parameters in ancient speciation events.
Einleitung: Affen, Menschen, Affekte
Authors: Shah Mira 
Published: January 2020

ZusammenfassungAffen und Affekte – diesen Bezug stellt schon ein Klassiker der Science Fiction her: Pierre Boulles Roman La planète des singes (Boulle, Pierre: La planète des singes. Paris 1963. Im Folgenden, wenn zur Unterscheidung nötig, als PS geführt; Seitenangaben im Text.) von 1963. Boulle hat mit seinem Titel durchaus recht: Wir leben auf einem Planeten der Affen. Der Mensch, der diesen Planeten mehr oder minder frei nach seinem Willen umzugestalten weiß, ist biologisch-taxonomisch gesehen nichts anderes als eine weitere, wenn auch biogeographisch betrachtet sehr erfolgreiche Primatenspezies.
Performance of merging lines with uneven buffer capacity allocation: the effects of unreliability under different inventory-related costs
Authors: Shaaban Sabry , Romero-Silva Rodrigo 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis simulation study investigates whether machine efficiency, mean time to failure (MTTF) and mean time to repair (MTTR) significantly affect the performance of uneven buffer capacity allocation patterns for merging lines. Also studied is the trade-off between increasing throughput via bigger buffers and their associated inventory-related costs, since previous studies have shown that higher overall buffer capacity and higher average inventory content result in higher throughput. Results suggest that an ascending buffer allocation pattern (concentrating buffer capacity towards the end of the line) produces higher throughput in shorter, more unreliable lines; whereas the balanced pattern shows better performance in longer, more reliable lines. Increasing average buffer capacity per station and/or having higher average buffer content was found to be more cost-effective in lines with lower machine inefficiency, shorter MTTF and MTTR, and longer lines. Results differed between reliable and unreliable lines since reliable lines were particularly penalised by buffer capacity investiment/maintenance costs due to a relatively low increase in throughput resulting from the addition of extra buffer capacity.
Explainable AI under contract and tort law: legal incentives and technical challenges
Authors: Hacker Philipp , Krestel Ralf , Grundmann Stefan , Naumann Felix 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper shows that the law, in subtle ways, may set hitherto unrecognized incentives for the adoption of explainable machine learning applications. In doing so, we make two novel contributions. First, on the legal side, we show that to avoid liability, professional actors, such as doctors and managers, may soon be legally compelled to use explainable ML models. We argue that the importance of explainability reaches far beyond data protection law, and crucially influences questions of contractual and tort liability for the use of ML models. To this effect, we conduct two legal case studies, in medical and corporate merger applications of ML. As a second contribution, we discuss the (legally required) trade-off between accuracy and explainability and demonstrate the effect in a technical case study in the context of spam classification.