bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of host and environmental factors on β-glucuronidase enzymatic activity: implications for gastrointestinal serotonin
Authors: Walsh Jacinta , Olavarria-Ramirez Loreto , Lach Gilliard , Boehme Marcus , Dinan Timothy G. , Cryan John F. , Griffin Brendan T. , Hyland Niall P. , Clarke Gerard 
Published: March 2020

The gastrointestinal tract houses a reservoir of bacterial-derived enzymes that can directly catalyze the metabolism of drugs, dietary elements and endogenous molecules. Both host and environmental factors may influence this enzymatic activity, with the potential to dictate the availability of the biologically-active form of endogenous molecules in the gut and influence inter-individual variation in drug metabolism. We aimed to investigate the influence of the microbiota, and the modulation of its composition, on fecal enzymatic activity. Intrinsic factors related to the host, including age, sex and genetic background, were also explored. Fecalase, a cell-free extract of feces, was prepared and used in a colorimetric-based assay to quantify enzymatic activity. To demonstrate the functional effects of fecal enzymatic activity, we examined β-glucuronidase-mediated cleavage of serotonin β-d-glucuronide (5-HT-GLU) and the resultant production of free 5-HT by HPLC. As expected, β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase activity were absent in germ-free mice. Enzymatic activity was significantly influenced by mouse strain and animal species. Sex and age significantly altered metabolic activity with implications for free 5-HT. β-Glucuronidase and β-glucosidase activity remained at reduced levels for nearly two weeks after cessation of antibiotic administration. This effect on fecalase corresponded to significantly lower 5-HT levels as compared with incubation with pre-antibiotic fecalase from the same mice. Dietary targeting of the microbiota using prebiotics did not alter β-glucuronidase or β-glucosidase activity. Our data demonstrate that multiple factors influence the activity of bacterial-derived enzymes which may have potential clinical implications for drug metabolism and the deconjugation of host-produced glucuronides in the gut. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article explores a comprehensive range of host and environmental factors that introduce variability in the expression of bacterial-derived metabolic enzymes. Our results demonstrate that altered β-glucuronidase activity has implications for the bioavailability of luminal serotonin. The experimental approach employed, fecalase, provides a mechanistic basis and translational platform to further delineate the functional outputs of altered metabolic activity, and the associated physiological effects of microbiota-targeted interventions on host response to drugs and host-produced glucuronides.
Characterizations of electrode geometrical shape for dielectrophoresis
Authors: Burham N. , M. Shahar A. A. , A. Aziz A. , T. Yaakub T. N. , Khairuddin N. 
Published: March 2020

<p>This paper presents a characterization of geometrical shape on dielectrophoresis by determining and analysing the geometrical shape of electrodes. The structure or geometrical shape of dielectrophoresis electrode is design using COMSOL software to determine the maximum trapping efficiency of particles. The trapping efficiency of particles can be evaluated by analysing the best electrical gradient and investigated the behaviour of the particles if the existence of a non-uniform electric field. There are three geometrical shapes have been designed which is, peel chain shape, castle wall shape and comb shape. Each of the geometrical shapes have different magnetic field produce, hence each of the design have specific application. Furthermore, these three designed are analysed by varying the material of the electrode for the best trapping efficiency. From the various and previous study, for maximum trapping efficiency the shape used is peel chain shape which is suitable for biological and non-biological particles separation. But for the castle wall and comb shape is the most suitable for biological particles such as red blood cell and bacteria trapping. As for the result obtain, it is proven that peel chain shape could achieve maximum electrical gradient to trap biological or non-biological particles in the future.</p>
Size miniaturization of chipless RFID tag using metamaterial structure
Authors: B. Jalil Mohd Ezwan , A. Rahim Mohamad Kamal , B. Ayop Osman , Asmawati Samsuri Noor 
Published: March 2020

A Chipless RFID based Modified Complementary Split Ring Resonator (MCSRR) with Different Width (DW) which is metamaterial structure is designed using PET substrate ( =3, loss tangent = 0.025 at 2 GHz) to miniaturize effective length size of conventional split ring resonator. The MCSRR structure with DW provides less size about 17% compared with the conventional MCSRR structure. The single MCSRR resonator with different width only requires a frequency range of 12 % of Complementary Split Ring Resonator (CSRR) resonator. The slotted MCSRR resonator is located underneath substrate and within substrate is connected with transmission lines. The insertion loss value of MCSRR resonator is used to encode ID information of chipless RFID with maximizing ID information using Frequency Position technique. The best swapping parameter for encoding ID number information is split gap of both ring compare with other parameter such as spacing between ring and width of ring.
Design of compact ultra wideband antenna for microwave medical imaging application
Authors: Othman Adib , Shaari Nur Ishmah Sabirah , Zobilah Abdullah M. , Shairi Noor Azwan , Zakaria Zahriladha 
Published: March 2020

<p>A compact ultra wideband (UWB) antenna for operation at 6 GHz intended for microwave medical imaging (MMI) application is proposed. The microstrip patch antenna (MPA) was design in hexagon shape which is contain H-slot at the centre top of the patch and a slot at the ground. Those slots method is utilised to enhance the operating bandwidth as well as minimising the antenna’s impedance mismatch caused by its proximity to material. Results shows that, the implementation of slot on the patch has profoundly enhance the bandwidth (BW) of the antenna to 503.54 MHz. Measurement of fabricated antenna produce significant result in term of producing wide bandwidth of 520 MHz, with slightly shifting on operating frequency. Therefore, it has been proved that the required performance of UWB antenna has been achieved successfully.</p><p><em> </em></p>
Comparison of convolutional neural network and bag of features for multi-font digit recognition
Authors: Mohd Kadir Nasibah Husna , Mohd Nur Hidayah Sharifah Nur Syafiqah , Mohammad Norasiah , Ibrahim Zaidah 
Published: March 2020

<span>This paper evaluates the recognition performance of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Bag of Features (BoF) for multiple font digit recognition. Font digit recognition is part of character recognition that is used to translate images from many document-input tasks such as handwritten, typewritten and printed text. BoF is a popular machine learning method while CNN is a popular deep learning method. Experiments were performed by applying BoF with Speeded-up Robust Feature (SURF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier and compared with CNN on Chars74K dataset. The recognition accuracy produced by BoF is just slightly lower than CNN where the accuracy of CNN is 0.96 while the accuracy of BoF is 0.94.</span>
Signal modulation techniques in Non-orthogonal waveform for future wireless communication system
Authors: Rosmaniza AR Siti , Ahmad Norulhusna Ahmad , Syed Yusof Sharifah Kamilah 
Published: March 2020

<span>In the future generation of the wireless communication system, the utilization of bandwidth needs to be managed efficiently. Due to that, research on enhancing the efficiency of the bandwidth has recently attracted numerous interests focusing more on the non-orthogonal waveform generation and detection. Even though non-orthogonal waveform is promising a higher efficiency, it introduces inter-carrier interference (ICI) at the transmitter due to the subcarrier overlapping. In this paper, the signaling technique for non-orthogonal waveform generation and detection is discussed. This paper also proposed the use of accumulator (ACC) to improve the system performance of the signal modulation in the non-orthogonal waveform for the next generation of the wireless communication system. The result is represented in an EXtrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) chart to show the effects of adding ACC into the non-orthogonal system.</span>
Implementation of embedded real-time monitoring temperature and humidity system
Authors: Hashim Firdaus , Mohamad Roslina , Kassim Murizah , Izwan Suliman Saiful , Mohamad Anas Nuzli , Abu Bakar Ahmad Zaki 
Published: March 2020

<span>Temperature and humidity are among the parameters that significant to the industrial and agricultural. Traditionally, these elements are monitored inefficiently through wired monitoring system that caused higher implementation and maintenance cost. In addition, the device to detect the temperature such thermometer is not suitable for real-time monitoring since it need a longer response time to measure. With the advent of wireless technology, the temperature and humidity are monitored remotely and effectively. This paper aims to describe the implementation of an embedded real-time temperature and humidity monitoring system, using Arduino for Internet of Things (IoT) application. The system integrates the Arduino node with a dashboard system call Node-FRED, which interfaced to the LoRa radio through the Things Network gateway. This IoT application is deployed on both indoor and outdoor environment, to investigate the relation between the temperature and humidity level in order to manage the environment at more comfort level.</span>
Performance analysis of handover parameter for natural disaster in LTE-A network
Authors: Laily Yusof Azita , Mohd Azhar Ainnur Eiza , Ya’acob Norsuzila 
Published: March 2020

<span>Natural disaster is an unpredictable event which can cause service communication disruption. The disruption of service communication can be divided into three cases which are power outage, broken backhaul and physical destruction by disaster. This paper focuses on power outage case. Although each base stations equipped with backup batteries, it only last for several hours. After natural disaster hit certain areas, traffic is highly congested due to panic and rescue operation of lifesaving. This scenario will drain the backup batteries quickly. In order to limit the UEs’ connection to the affected base station, this research proposed to adjust Received Signal Strength (RSS) based on parameter called as a distance fraction coefficient, α so that the affected coverage area is reduced when in disaster area situation. The parameter is added in the path loss equation and later in the RSS equation. The numerical results show the RSS improved whereby α=0.2 gives the optimal value and therefore limit the incoming traffic to the affected base station. </span>
Collaborative virtual reality application for interior design
Authors: Izwan Rahmat Haziq , Ahmad Suzana , Ismail Marina 
Published: March 2020

<p>Virtual Reality (VR) is currently popular technology that has been used by people in various areas such as architecture, medical, training and many more. In this paper, the researcher proposed collaborative VR for interior design that allows customer and designer work together at different location. Commonly, the designer draw their design in two-dimensional (2D) graphics at the drawing paper and presents to the customer. However, 2D drawings led to an ambiguity, indistrinct and uncertainty on the design. In addition, redesign any changes lead to re-build the prototype. These will be costly and wasting time, therefore, researcher proposed collaborative VR application which provide an intense feelings about the design which is presented in form of three-dimensional (3D) graphics. Additionally, proposed application would allow the designer and customer to work in real-time. In conclusion, collaborative VR will give the benefits for interior design manufacturing to prosper along with current technology.</p>
Artificial neural network and partial least square in predicting blood hemoglobin using near-infrared spectrum
Authors: Mohd Idrus Mohd Nazrul Effendy , Chia Kim Seng 
Published: March 2020

<p>Predictive models is crucial in near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic analysis. Partial least square - artificial neural network (PLS-ANN) is a hybrid method that may improve the performance of prediction in NIR spectroscopic analysis. This study investigates the advantage of PLS-ANN over the well-known modelling in spectroscopy analysis that is partial least square (PLS) and artificial neural network (ANN). The results show that ANN that coupled with first order SG derivatives achieved the best prediction with root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.3517 gd/L and coefficient of determination ( ) of 0.9849 followed by PLS-ANN with RMSEP of 0.4368 gd/L and of 0.9787, and PLS with RMSEP of 0.4669 gd/L and of 0.9727. This suggests that the spectrum information may unable to be totally represented by the first few latent variables of PLS and a nonlinear model is crucial to model these nonlinear information in NIR spectroscopic analysis.</p>
Link-state QoS routing protocol under various mobility models
Authors: Laqtib Safaa , El Yassini Khalid , Hasnaoui Moulay Lahcen 
Published: March 2020

<p>Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) consists of a group of mobile or wireless nodes that are placed randomly and dynamically that causes the continual change between nodes. A mobility model attempts to mimic the movement of real mobile nodes that change the speed and direction with time. The mobility model that accurately represents the characteristics of the mobile nodes in an ad hoc network is the key to examine whether a given protocol. The aim of this paper is to compare the performance of four different mobility models (i.e. Random Waypoint, Random Direction, Random walk, and Steady-State Random Waypoint) in MANET. These models were configured with Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol under three QoS (Quality of Service) <a title="Learn more about Metrics" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/metrics">metrics</a> such as the Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), Throughput, End-to-End delay. The simulation results show the effectiveness of Steady-State Random Waypoint Mobility Models and encourage further investigations to extend it in order to guarantee other QoS requirements.</p>
Simulation of simultaneous localization and mapping using 3D point cloud data
Authors: Abdul-Rahman Shuzlina , Abd Razak Mohamad Soffi , Mohd Mushin Aliya Hasanah Binti , Hamzah Raseeda , Abu Bakar Nordin , Abd Aziz Zalilah 
Published: March 2020

<span>Abstract—This paper presents a simulation study of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) using 3D point cloud data from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. Methods like simulation is useful to simplify the process of learning algorithms particularly when collecting and annotating large volumes of real data is impractical and expensive. In this study, a map of a given environment was constructed in Robotic Operating System platform with Gazebo Simulator. The paper begins by presenting the most currently popular algorithm that are widely used in SLAM namely Extended Kalman Filter, Graph SLAM and Fast SLAM. The study performed the simulations by using standard SLAM with Turtlebot and Husky robots. Husky robot was further compared with ACML algorithm. The results showed that Hector SLAM could reach the goal faster than ACML algorithm in a pre-defined map. Further studies in this field with other SLAM algorithms would certainly beneficial to many parties due to the demands of robotic application.</span>
Direct controls for wind turbine with PMSG used on the real wind profile of Essaouira-Morocco city
Authors: Hammoumi Dalila , El Bekkali Chakib , Karim Mohammed , Taoussi Mohammed , El Ouanjli Najib , Bossoufi Badre 
Published: March 2020

<span>This article presents the use of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) for the wind energy production and electrical energy injection produced into an electrical grid. The objective is to perform modeling and direct control of the Wind Energy conversion System (WECS), taking into account the problems of wind speed variations and generator maintenance. The direct torque control (DTC) is applied to the machine-side converter and direct power control (DPC) is applied to the grid-side converter. The performance of WECS is tested in MATLAB / SIMULINK environment simulation with a real wind profile of Essaouira-Morroco city. The simulation results obtained show that the proposed direct controls provide high performance in terms of setpoint tracking, speed, stability and power quality.</span>
Opportunities and Challenges of Claims-Based Quality Assessment: The Case of Postdischarge β-Blocker Treatment in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction
Authors: Gilstrap Lauren , Skinner Jonathan S. , Gladders Barbara , O’Malley, A. James , Barnato Amber E. , Tosteson Anna N. A. , Austin Andrea M. 
Published: March 2020

Background:
To combat the high cost and increasing burden of quality reporting, the Medicare Payment Advisory (MedPAC) has recommended using claims data wherever possible to measure clinical quality. In this article, we use a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and existing quality metrics to explore the impact of changes in quality metric methodology on measured quality performance, the association with patient outcomes, and hospital rankings.

Methods and Results:
We used 100% Medicare Parts A and B and a random 40% sample of Part D from 2008 to 2015 to create (1) a cohort of 295 494 fee-for-service beneficiaries with ≥1 hospitalization for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and (2) a cohort of 1079 hospitals with ≥11 heart failure with reduced ejection fraction admissions in 2014 and 2015. We used Part D data to calculate β-blocker use after discharge and β-blocker use over time. We then varied the quality metric methodologies to explore the impact on measured performance. We then used multivariable time-to-event analyses to explore the impact of metric methodology on the association between quality performance and patient outcomes and Kendall’s Tau to describe impact of quality metric methodology on hospital rankings. We found that quality metric methodology had a significant impact on measured quality performance. The association between quality performance and readmissions was sensitive to changes in methodology but the association with 1-year mortality was not. Changes in quality metric methodology also had a substantial impact on hospital quality rankings.

Conclusions:
This article highlights how small changes in quality metric methodology can have a significant impact on measured quality performance, the association between quality performance and utilization-based outcomes, and hospital rankings. These findings highlight the need for standardized quality metric methodologies, better case-mix adjustment and cast further doubt on the use of utilization-based outcomes as quality metrics in chronic diseases.
The Change in the ENSO Teleconnection under a Low Global Warming Scenario and the Uncertainty due to Internal Variability
Authors: Michel Clio , Li Camille , Simpson Isla R. , Bethke Ingo , King Martin P. , Sobolowski Stefan 
Published: March 2020

AbstractEl Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a main driver of climate variability worldwide, but the presence of atmospheric internal variability makes accurate assessments of its atmospheric teleconnections a challenge. Here, we use a multimodel large ensemble of simulations to investigate the ENSO teleconnection response to a low global warming scenario that represents Paris Agreement targets. The ensemble comprises five atmospheric general circulation models with two experiments (present-day and +2°C) in which the same set of ENSO events is prescribed, which allows for quantification of the uncertainty in the ENSO response due to internal variability. In winter, the teleconnection during the positive ENSO phase features a strong negative anomaly in sea level pressure over the northeast Pacific (and vice versa for the negative phase); this anomaly shifts northeastward and strengthens in the warming experiment ensemble. At least 50–75 ENSO events are required to detect a significant shift or strengthening, emphasizing the need to adequately sample the internal variability to isolate the forced response of the ENSO teleconnection under a low warming scenario. Even more events may be needed if one includes other sources of uncertainty not considered in our experimental setup, such as changes in ENSO itself. Over North America, precipitation changes are generally more robust than temperature changes for the regions considered, despite large internal variability, and are shaped primarily by changes in atmospheric circulation. These results suggest that the observational period is likely too short for assessing changes in the ENSO teleconnection under Paris Agreement warming targets.
Local Quantitative Precipitation Forecast with Minimal Data Requirement—An Ensemble Approach
Authors: Mendez Turrubiates Raul Fernando , Gross Markus , Magar Vanesa 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Operational weather forecasts are routinely performed at convection-allowing resolutions, and thus these forecasts generate weather features that appear to be realistic. However, at times the comparison of the forecast to observations is less favorable, particularly at grid scales. This lack of skill is partly due to the chaotic system underlying the weather. Another problem is that it is impossible to evaluate the risk of making decisions based on deterministic forecasts. However, running global high-resolution ensembles involves substantial computational resources. A 555-m resolution WRF ensemble based on stochastic perturbations of a deterministic forecast of the North American Mesoscale model was created. Observations are used to constrain the ensemble and improve the skill. This method increases the skill for forecasting 60-h accumulated precipitation in five standard, statistical metrics: bias, false alarm ratio, threat score, probability of detection, and success ratio. Furthermore, the ensemble continuous ranked probability score (CRPS) will be compared to a poor man’s ensemble. The forecast error is generally smaller in more than 70% of the case studies performed when compared to nine deterministic model forecasts. The ensemble-enhanced mesoscale system presented can help to determine the most likely scenario without the significant computational requirement of global ensembles and is expected to be useful when global high-resolution ensembles are not available.