bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Aerodynamic Performance of Helical Shape Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine Models With Various Number of Blades Using Wind Tunnel Testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics
Authors: Rahman Mosfequr , Salyers Travis , Ahmed Mahbub , ElShahat Adel , Soloiu Valentin , Maroha Emile 
Published: February 2017

The demand for wind energy as a renewable source is rising substantially. A growing interest exists in utilizing potential energy conversion applications in areas with less powerful and less consistent wind conditions. In these areas, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) possess several advantages over the conventional horizontal-axis type. Savonius turbines are drag-based rotors which operate due to a pressure difference between the advancing and retreating blades. These turbines are simpler in design, less expensive to install, independent of wind direction, and more efficient at low wind speeds. In the present study, rotors were designed with semi-circle blades consisting of a helical shape with twist angle of 90 degrees. Helical designs spread the torque applied to the rotor over a complete revolution with the purpose of increasing efficiency. Three models were analyzed with different number of blades including 2, 3, and 4 blade models.
Models for testing were designed using the CAD software SolidWorks. The blades were then 3D printed with PLA plastic. A consistent swept area was maintained for each model, and only blade number was varied. Subsonic, open-type wind tunnel testing was used for measuring RPM and reactional torque over a range of wind speeds. For the numerical approach, ANSYS Fluent simulations were used for analyzing aerodynamic performance by utilizing moving reference frame and sliding mesh model techniques. Due to the helical twist, the cross-section of the blades varied in the Y-direction. Because of this, a 3-dimensional and transient method was used for accurately solving torque and power coefficients. It has been found that the highest average power coefficient observed in the study is achieved by the Helical2 model (2-bladed helical design VAWT model), both numerically and experimentally.
Steam Gasification of Miscanthus in a Double Stage Downdraft Gasifier
Authors: Sharma Tejasvi , Yepes Diego , Shi Yunye , Ratner Albert , Silva Lora Electo 
Published: February 2017

Gasification is the incomplete combustion of biomass, which produces syngas, biochar and tar. A study of steam gasification of Miscanthus was done on a double stage down draft gasifier at Federal University of Itajuba. The main objective of this paper is to analyze and characterize the syngas produced from the double stage downdraft system. Compared to the previous publication that focused on the gasification of corn using air, this paper elaborates on the steam gasification of Miscanthus.
In a double stage downdraft gasifier, Miscanthus with 12% moisture was inserted into the system from the top. The gasifier has two inlets: primary and secondary. The steam was inserted through these inlets.
The Miscanthus briquettes entering the gasifier were passed through a drying zone where the moisture content was removed. The fuel was then passed through a combustion and pyrolysis zone followed by a reduction zone. The syngas produced exited the gasifier through a grate and was analyzed for a continuous period of time.
When using steam as a gasifying agent, it was found that the syngas showed a 15 % increase in hydrogen, a 50% decrease carbon monoxide with no change in methane composition. The increase in hydrogen can be used for alternate energy such as in fuel cells. The syngas heating value was obtained to be 4.64 MJ/Nm3.
This paper compares the syngas composition evolved from the gasification of Miscanthus when using air and steam as gasifying agents.
Design of a Clamp for a Thermoelectric Generator Using Bimetallic Thermal Properties
Authors: Dell Robert , Wei C. S. , Mitchell Nicholas , Unnthorsson Runar 
Published: February 2017

A design team at the Cooper Union for the advancement of Science and Art has developed and patented a robust thermoelectric-based point of use power generation system with no moving parts that is designed to be clamped onto the outer wall of a steam or hot water pipe [1]. Furthermore, in 2013 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science received patents for The Bimetallic Leaf Spring and Clamping Device which was designed so that it can compensate for the expected positive expansion and contraction of the thermoelectric power generation system.
This paper presents different design concepts evaluated during the development of the clamp and theoretical models for determining the coefficient of thermal expansion of the design concepts. Furthermore, the paper presents experimental results from testing different variations of the selected design concept. Finally, a theoretical thermal expansion model with experimentally obtained parameters is presented. The final clamp design compensates for the expansion and contraction of the thermoelectric power generation system.
Understanding the Crystallization of PLA Effects of Temperature and Shearing Conditions
Authors: Boutaous M’hamed , Refaa Zakariaa , Xin Shihe , Siginer Dennis A. 
Published: February 2017

Processing conditions of polymers governs the final part properties; in fact the thermomechanical history subjected by the polymer affects directly the crystalline microstructure and the crystallinity. In this work we aim to draw a global view about the crystallization kinetics and crystalline morphology of Polylactide (PLA).
Unfortunately, the crystallization kinetics of PLA is very slow and limits the possibility to extend its application in several industrials domains. The enhancement of the PLA crystallization kinetic can be obtained by addition of nucleating agents of by ordering the molecular chains during flow, as in processing conditions.
In this paper, we propose to highlight the competition between several parameters, as the shear rate, the temperature kinetics and the shearing time.
The First Rule is Never Begin with the Letter A... Or, How I Learned to Love Writing Reference Books
Authors: Apostolos-Cappadona Diane 
Published: February 2017

This autobiographical reflection relates the origin of one scholar's interest in research books and her engagement in the writing and editing of reference works. Her journey from researcher to contributor to editor is detailed in light of her engagement with multidisciplinary scholarship from the history of religions, art history, cultural history, American studies, to women's and gender studies. Highlighted with examples of varied multidisciplinary dictionary and encyclopedia projects, the pitfalls and rewards of writing and editing reference works are related. Brief descriptions of the experiential differences in the editing and writing for print versus online reference publications are recorded.
Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Analyses Reveal the Structure and Dynamics of a Dechlorinating Community Containing Dehalococcoides mccartyi and Corrinoid-Providing Microorganisms under Cobalamin-Limited Conditions
Authors: Men Yujie , Yu Ke , Bælum Jacob , Gao Ying , Tremblay Julien , Prestat Emmanuel , Stenuit Ben , Tringe Susannah G. , Jansson Janet , Zhang Tong , Alvarez-Cohen Lisa 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to obtain a systems-level understanding of the interactions between
Dehalococcoides
and corrinoid-supplying microorganisms by analyzing community structures and functional compositions, activities, and dynamics in trichloroethene (TCE)-dechlorinating enrichments. Metagenomes and metatranscriptomes of the dechlorinating enrichments with and without exogenous cobalamin were compared. Seven putative draft genomes were binned from the metagenomes. At an early stage (2 days), more transcripts of genes in the
Veillonellaceae
bin-genome were detected in the metatranscriptome of the enrichment without exogenous cobalamin than in the one with the addition of cobalamin. Among these genes, sporulation-related genes exhibited the highest differential expression when cobalamin was not added, suggesting a possible release route of corrinoids from corrinoid producers. Other differentially expressed genes include those involved in energy conservation and nutrient transport (including cobalt transport). The most highly expressed corrinoid
de novo
biosynthesis pathway was also assigned to the
Veillonellaceae
bin-genome. Targeted quantitative PCR (qPCR) analyses confirmed higher transcript abundances of those corrinoid biosynthesis genes in the enrichment without exogenous cobalamin than in the enrichment with cobalamin. Furthermore, the corrinoid salvaging and modification pathway of
Dehalococcoides
was upregulated in response to the cobalamin stress. This study provides important insights into the microbial interactions and roles played by members of dechlorinating communities under cobalamin-limited conditions.

IMPORTANCE
The key chloroethene-dechlorinating bacterium
Dehalococcoides mccartyi
is a cobalamin auxotroph, thus acquiring corrinoids from other community members. Therefore, it is important to investigate the microbe-microbe interactions between
Dehalococcoides
and the corrinoid-providing microorganisms in a community. This study provides systems-level information, i.e., taxonomic and functional compositions and dynamics of the supportive microorganisms in dechlorinating communities under different cobalamin conditions. The findings shed light on the important roles of
Veillonellaceae
species in the communities compared to other coexisting community members in producing and providing corrinoids for
Dehalococcoides
species under cobalamin-limited conditions.
Amino Acid Catabolism in
Staphylococcus aureus
and the Function of Carbon Catabolite Repression
Authors: Halsey Cortney R. , Lei Shulei , Wax Jacqueline K. , Lehman Mckenzie K. , Nuxoll Austin S. , Steinke Laurey , Sadykov Marat , Powers Robert , Fey Paul D. 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus aureus
must rapidly adapt to a variety of carbon and nitrogen sources during invasion of a host. Within a staphylococcal abscess, preferred carbon sources such as glucose are limiting, suggesting that
S. aureus
survives through the catabolism of secondary carbon sources.
S. aureus
encodes pathways to catabolize multiple amino acids, including those that generate pyruvate, 2-oxoglutarate, and oxaloacetate. To assess amino acid catabolism,
S. aureus
JE2 and mutants were grown in complete defined medium containing 18 amino acids but lacking glucose (CDM). A mutation in the
gudB
gene, coding for glutamate dehydrogenase, which generates 2-oxoglutarate from glutamate, significantly reduced growth in CDM, suggesting that glutamate and those amino acids generating glutamate, particularly proline, serve as the major carbon source in this medium. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies confirmed this supposition. Furthermore, a mutation in the
ackA
gene, coding for acetate kinase, also abrogated growth of JE2 in CDM, suggesting that ATP production from pyruvate-producing amino acids is also critical for growth. In addition, although a functional respiratory chain was absolutely required for growth, the oxygen consumption rate and intracellular ATP concentration were significantly lower during growth in CDM than during growth in glucose-containing media. Finally, transcriptional analyses demonstrated that expression levels of genes coding for the enzymes that synthesize glutamate from proline, arginine, and histidine are repressed by CcpA and carbon catabolite repression. These data show that pathways important for glutamate catabolism or ATP generation via Pta/AckA are important for growth in niches where glucose is not abundant, such as abscesses within skin and soft tissue infections.

IMPORTANCE
S. aureus
is a significant cause of both morbidity and mortality worldwide. This bacterium causes infections in a wide variety of organ systems, the most common being skin and soft tissue. Within a staphylococcal abscess, levels of glucose, a preferred carbon source, are limited due to the host immune response. Therefore,
S. aureus
must utilize other available carbon sources such as amino acids or peptides to proliferate. Our results show that glutamate and amino acids that serve as substrates for glutamate synthesis, particularly proline, function as major carbon sources during growth, whereas other amino acids that generate pyruvate are important for ATP synthesis via substrate-level phosphorylation in the Pta-AckA pathway. Our data support a model whereby certain amino acid catabolic pathways, and acquisition of those particular amino acids, are crucial for growth in niches where glucose is not abundant.
A Novel Small-Molecule Inhibitor of the
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Demethylmenaquinone Methyltransferase MenG Is Bactericidal to Both Growing and Nutritionally Deprived Persister Cells
Authors: Sukheja Paridhi , Kumar Pradeep , Mittal Nisha , Li Shao-Gang , Singleton Eric , Russo Riccardo , Perryman Alexander L. , Shrestha Riju , Awasthi Divya , Husain Seema , Soteropoulos Patricia , Brukh Roman , Connell Nancy , Freundlich Joel S. , Alland David 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT

Active tuberculosis (TB) and latent
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
infection both require lengthy treatments to achieve durable cures. This problem has partly been attributable to the existence of nonreplicating
M. tuberculosis
“persisters” that are difficult to kill using conventional anti-TB treatments. Compounds that target the respiratory pathway have the potential to kill both replicating and persistent
M. tuberculosis
and shorten TB treatment, as this pathway is essential in both metabolic states. We developed a novel respiratory pathway-specific whole-cell screen to identify new respiration inhibitors. This screen identified the biphenyl amide GSK1733953A (DG70) as a likely respiration inhibitor. DG70 inhibited both clinical drug-susceptible and drug-resistant
M. tuberculosis
strains. Whole-genome sequencing of DG70-resistant colonies identified mutations in
menG
(
rv0558
), which is responsible for the final step in menaquinone biosynthesis and required for respiration. Overexpression of
menG
from wild-type and DG70-resistant isolates increased the DG70 MIC by 4× and 8× to 30×, respectively. Radiolabeling and high-resolution mass spectrometry studies confirmed that DG70 inhibited the final step in menaquinone biosynthesis. DG70 also inhibited oxygen utilization and ATP biosynthesis, which was reversed by external menaquinone supplementation. DG70 was bactericidal in actively replicating cultures and in a nutritionally deprived persistence model. DG70 was synergistic with the first-line TB drugs isoniazid, rifampin, and the respiratory inhibitor bedaquiline. The combination of DG70 and isoniazid completely sterilized cultures in the persistence model by day 10. These results suggest that MenG is a good therapeutic target and that compounds targeting MenG along with standard TB therapy have the potential to shorten TB treatment duration.

IMPORTANCE
This study shows that MenG, which is responsible for the last enzymatic step in menaquinone biosynthesis, may be a good drug target for improving TB treatments. We describe the first small-molecule inhibitor (DG70) of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
MenG and show that DG70 has characteristics that are highly desirable for a new antitubercular agent, including bactericidality against both actively growing and nonreplicating mycobacteria and synergy with several first-line drugs that are currently used to treat TB.
Bacterial Topography of the Healthy Human Lower Respiratory Tract
Authors: Dickson Robert P. , Erb-Downward John R. , Freeman Christine M. , McCloskey Lisa , Falkowski Nicole R. , Huffnagle Gary B. , Curtis Jeffrey L. 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT
Although culture-independent techniques have refuted lung sterility in health, controversy about contamination during bronchoscope passage through the upper respiratory tract (URT) has impeded research progress. We sought to establish whether bronchoscopic sampling accurately reflects the lung microbiome in health and to distinguish between two proposed routes of authentic microbial immigration, (i) dispersion along contiguous respiratory mucosa and (ii) subclinical microaspiration. During bronchoscopy of eight adult volunteers without lung disease, we performed seven protected specimen brushings (PSB) and bilateral bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs) per subject. We amplified, sequenced, and analyzed the bacterial 16S rRNA gene V4 regions by using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Rigorous attention was paid to eliminate potential sources of error or contamination, including a randomized processing order and the inclusion and analysis of exhaustive procedural and sequencing control specimens. Indices of mouth-lung immigration (mouth-lung community similarity, bacterial burden, and community richness) were all significantly greater in airway and alveolar specimens than in bronchoscope contamination control specimens, indicating minimal evidence of pharyngeal contamination. Ecological indices of mouth-lung immigration peaked at or near the carina, as predicted for a primary immigration route of microaspiration. Bacterial burden, diversity, and mouth-lung similarity were greater in BAL than PSB samples, reflecting differences in the sampled surface areas. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT02392182.)

IMPORTANCE
This study defines the bacterial topography of the healthy human respiratory tract and provides ecological evidence that bacteria enter the lungs in health primarily by microaspiration, with potential contribution in some subjects by direct dispersal along contiguous mucosa. By demonstrating that contamination contributes negligibly to microbial communities in bronchoscopically acquired specimens, we validate the use of bronchoscopy to investigate the lung microbiome.
Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Alphavirus Replication and Assembly in Mammalian and Mosquito Cells
Authors: Jose Joyce , Taylor Aaron B. , Kuhn Richard J. 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT

Sindbis virus (SINV [genus
Alphavirus
, family
Togaviridae
]) is an enveloped, mosquito-borne virus. Alphaviruses cause cytolytic infections in mammalian cells while establishing noncytopathic, persistent infections in mosquito cells. Mosquito vector adaptation of alphaviruses is a major factor in the transmission of epidemic strains of alphaviruses. Though extensive studies have been performed on infected mammalian cells, the morphological and structural elements of alphavirus replication and assembly remain poorly understood in mosquito cells. Here we used high-resolution live-cell imaging coupled with single-particle tracking and electron microscopy analyses to delineate steps in the alphavirus life cycle in both the mammalian host cell and insect vector cells. Use of dually labeled SINV in conjunction with cellular stains enabled us to simultaneously determine the spatial and temporal differences of alphavirus replication complexes (RCs) in mammalian and insect cells. We found that the nonstructural viral proteins and viral RNA in RCs exhibit distinct spatial organization in mosquito cytopathic vacuoles compared to replication organelles from mammalian cells. We show that SINV exploits filopodial extensions for virus dissemination in both cell types. Additionally, we propose a novel mechanism for replication complex formation around glycoprotein-containing vesicles in mosquito cells that produced internally released particles that were seen budding from the vesicles by live imaging. Finally, by characterizing mosquito cell lines that were persistently infected with fluorescent virus, we show that the replication and assembly machinery are highly modified, and this allows continuous production of alphaviruses at reduced levels.

IMPORTANCE
Reemerging mosquito-borne alphaviruses cause serious human epidemics worldwide. Several structural and imaging studies have helped to define the life cycle of alphaviruses in mammalian cells, but the mode of virus replication and assembly in the invertebrate vector and mechanisms producing two disease outcomes in two types of cells are yet to be identified. Using transmission electron microscopy and live-cell imaging with dual fluorescent protein-tagged SINV, we show that while insect and mammalian cells display similarities in entry and exit, they present distinct spatial and temporal organizations in virus replication and assembly. By characterizing acutely and persistently infected cells, we provide new insights into alphavirus replication and assembly in two distinct hosts, resulting in high-titer virus production in mammalian cells and continuous virus production at reduced levels in mosquito cells—presumably a prerequisite for alphavirus maintenance in nature.
Analysis of out-of-pocket costs associated with hospitalised injuries in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Ha , Ivers Rebecca , Jan Stephen , Pham Cuong 
Published: February 2017

BackgroundIn Vietnam, over 39 000 people die and millions are hospitalised due to injuries every year. Injuries create a significant financial burden for families. In this study, we estimated out-of-pocket payment for medical care of injuries and the role of health insurance in containing such costs.MethodA prospective cohort study of 892 hospitalised injury patients admitted to a provincial general hospital in 2010 in Vietnam was conducted. Data on demographic, injury characteristics and costs by specific categories paid out-of-pocket by patients were included in the analyses. Generalised linear models with log link and γ distribution were employed to examine the associations between insurance status and total costs.ResultsThe average total medical care costs paid out-of-pocket by patients during hospitalisation were over US$ 270. Major drivers of the costs related to surgery (nearly 25%), diagnostic test/examination (24%) and drugs (23%). Burns incurred the highest total costs during hospitalisation ($321) and assault incurred the lowest ($167). Total costs were higher for more severe injuries and those that required a more complex surgery. Patients using health insurance paid less those who did not. However, there were no statistically significant associations between health insurance and total costs, costs for surgery, diagnostic tests/examinations or drugs.ConclusionsThe study provides estimates and distribution of medical care costs for injuries in hospital. In addition to ongoing efforts in prevention, the study provides further evidence on the limited benefits of health insurance in protecting patients and their family from the high costs of hospitalisation in Vietnam.