bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Community Characteristics and Niche Analysis of Soil Animals in Returning Farmland to Forest Areas on the Loess Plateau
Authors: Qin Jiafeng , Liu Changhai , Ai Ning , Zhou Yongwei , Tuo Xianghui , Nan Zhengzheng , Shi Jiahao , Yuan Caixia
Published: November 2022

Niche theory is significant for understanding the function of community structure, interspecific relationships, and community dynamic succession. However, there are few studies on the soil animal niche in returning farmland to forest areas on the Loess Plateau, making it challenging to comprehend the utilization of soil animal resources, the stability of the local community, and the succession process in the areas. Therefore, this study collected soil animals in five typical vegetation types: Robinia pseudoacacia (R), Hippophae rhamnoides (H), Populus simonii (P), Pinus tabulaeformis (T), and Armeniaca sibirica x Hippophae rhamnoides (M), with abandoned grassland (G) used as a control group. Then, the number of soil animal taxa, individuals, diversity, and niche were sampled and examined in the study areas during the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter using the manual sorting method and the Tullgren method. The results revealed that 3872 soil animals from 3 Phyla, 8 Classes, 22 Orders, and 49 Families were captured in the study areas. The dominant groups of soil macrofauna were Diptera larvae, Julidae, and Formicidae, and the dominant groups of meso–micro soil fauna were Oribatida, Protospira, and Collembola juveniles. Soil animals have rich nutritional function groups, with the most saprophytic soil animal groups. The individual density and taxa number of soil animals in G were lower than other vegetation on the whole. H, M, and P had a higher Shannon–Winner index than the other vegetation. Seasonal changes had different effects on macro and meso–micro soil fauna. The diversity of soil macrofauna is higher in spring and summer, and that of meso–micro soil fauna is higher in autumn and winter. Oribatida, Diptera Larvae, and Formicidae had a large niche width in the main taxa of soil animals, with universal adaptability to the environment. Cicadellidae and Culicidae had narrow niche widths and were highly dependent on resources and the environment. There were 67 pairs of highly overlapped (Oik > 0.8) taxa of soil animals and 56 pairs of moderately overlapped (0.6 < Oik ≤ 0.8) taxa, accounting for 80.39% of the total number of taxa. Soil animals had high commonality in resource utilization, intense competition, and poor community stability. As a result, we can conclude that the soil animal community in the study areas was in the stage of succession.
Influence of Different Methods to Estimate the Soil Thermal Properties from Experimental Dataset
Authors: Romio Leugim Corteze , Zimmer Tamires , Bremm Tiago , Buligon Lidiane , Herdies Dirceu Luis , Roberti Débora Regina
Published: November 2022

Knowledge of soil thermal properties (diffusivity (k) and conductivity (λ)) is important to understand the soil–plant–atmosphere interaction related to the physical and biological processes associated with energy transfer and greenhouse gas exchanges. The incorporation of all the physical processes that occur in the energy transfer in the soil is a challenge in order to correctly estimate soil thermal properties. In this work, experimental measurements of soil temperature and soil heat flux obtained in a silty clay loam soil covered by native grassland located in the Brazilian Pampa biome were used to estimate soil thermal properties using different methods including the influence of the soil water content at different soil depths in heat transfer processes. The λ was estimated using the numerical solution of the Fourier equation by the Gradient and Modified Gradient methods. For the surface layer, the results for both models show large variability in daily values, but with similar values for the annual mean. For λ at different soil depths, both models showed an increase of approximately 50% in the λ value in the deeper layers compared to the surface layer, increasing with depth in this soil type. The k was estimated using analytical and numerical methods. The analytical methods showed a higher variability and overestimated the values of the numerical models from 15% to 35%. The numerical models included a term related to the soil water content. However, the results showed a decrease in the mean value of k by only 2%. The relationship between thermal properties and soil water content was verified using different empirical models. The best results for thermal conductivity were obtained using water content in the surface layer (R2 > 0.5). The cubic model presented the best results for estimating the thermal diffusivity (R2 = 0.70). The analyses carried out provide knowledge for when estimating soil thermal properties using different methods and an experimental dataset of soil temperature, heat flux and water content, at different soil depths, for a representative soil type of the Brazilian Pampa biome.
Impact of Implementing Constructed Wetlands on Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Waly Marwa M. , Mickovski Slobodan B. , Thomson Craig , Amadi Kingsley
Published: November 2022

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ (UN SDGs) action call promotes worldwide social, environmental, and economic prosperity. Each country developed a local plan to achieve the SDGs’ objectives and targets. The UN presents an annual global SDG progress report, based on an international indicator framework and regional available data. Wetland ecosystems contribute to the SDGs; however, more research is required to evaluate wetlands’ impact on sustainable development. This study investigates how implementing constructed wetlands (CW) at a local scale can contribute to achieving and promoting the SDGs with application in Kuwait. A preliminary design of a constructed wetlands wastewater treatment system is proposed alongside a local scoring framework based on regional information to assess the future projection of the SDGs in Kuwait. Overall, CW implementation plans contributed positively to improving the level of achievement of SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 3: Good Health, SDG 6: Clean Water, SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, and SDG 15: Life on Land. The analysis also highlights synergies that need to be considered for integrated environmental governance and enhanced policy coherence for Kuwait’s sustainable development management.
FYB2 Is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Qu Yifan , Shen Xiaozhong , Yuan Xinpei , Lu Bing
Published: November 2022

FYB2 (also known as C1orf168 or ARAP) is an adaptor protein involved in T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated T-cell activation and adhesion. However, the correlation of FYB2 with prognosis and cancer needs further investigation. In this study, we analyzed the expression levels of FYB2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) tumor tissues and correlated it with the pathological stages, survival outcomes, and tumor grades. We found that the expression of FYB2 was significantly downregulated in LIHC. Low FYB2 level leading to weak survival outcomes is linked with advanced tumor grades and elevated pathological stages. Cox regression analysis showed that FYB2 and AJCC-M stages can be used as independent prognostic factors for LIHC. GSEA analysis revealed that FYB2 would be notably correlated with the cellular metabolism-related pathways and particularly involved in the regulation of cancer-related pathways. Single-cell transcriptome analysis revealed that FYB2-positive cells were mainly distributed in hepatocytes, and compared with other cells, the upregulated genes of these cells were mainly enriched in metabolism-related functions. The results of the spatial transcriptome revealed that the expression of FYB2 in the adjacent area was higher than in the tumor area. These results showed that FYB2 is likely to be a new prognostic biomarker in LIHC and would help provide individual treatment decisions for LIHC patients.
Novel Tribometer for Coated Self-Lubricating Spherical Plain Bearings in a Vacuum
Authors: Li Zhen , Zhang Zhinan , Yong Qingsong , Ma Guozheng , Wei Aobo , Wang Haidou
Published: November 2022

Coated self-lubricating spherical plain bearings (SSPBs) are a fairly key component of the space-swing mechanism. To examine the operation status and tribological properties of coated SSPBs, a tribometer with a temperature control module in a vacuum condition was developed. The tribometer was mainly composed of a fixture system, reciprocating rotational motion system, environment control system, etc. First, the tribometer was verified with the self-made hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (H-DLC) SSPBs. The sensor signals indicated that the tribometer conformed to the design specifications. Then, the influence of friction heat on the tribological properties of H-DLC SSPBs was analyzed. The results showed that friction torque and temperature increased with the overall test time. Although the temperature had reached 48 °C, the frictional heat had little effect on the H-DLC SSPBs’ lifespans. The damage mechanism of H-DLC SSPBs was dominated by abrasive wear and fatigue wear in vacuum conditions.
Lubrication Performance and Mechanism of Water-Based TiO2 Nanolubricants in Micro Deep Drawing of Pure Titanium Foils
Authors: Zhou Muyuan , Jia Fanghui , Yan Jingru , Wu Hui , Jiang Zhengyi
Published: November 2022

Micro deep drawing (MDD) is a fundamental process in microforming which has wide applications in micro electromechanical system (MEMS) and biological engineering. Titanium possesses excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility, which makes it a preferred material in micromanufacturing. In this study, eco-friendly and low-cost water-based TiO2 nanolubricants were developed and applied in the MDD with 40 μm-thick pure titanium foils. The lubricants consisting of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs), 10 wt% glycerol, 0.1 wt% sodium dodecyl-benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and balanced water were synthesised in a facile process. The MDD with 40 μm-thick pure titanium was carried out using the lubricants with varying concentrations of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 wt%. The results show that the formability of micro cups could be significantly improved when the nanolubricants are applied. Especially, the use of 1.0 wt% TiO2 nanolubricant demonstrates the best lubrication performance by significantly reducing the final drawing forces, and surface roughness, and the wrinkles by up to 24.2%, 12.55% and 4.82%, respectively. The lubrication mechanisms including the ball bearing and mending effects of NPs on open lubricant pockets (OLPs) and close lubricant pockets (CLPs) areas were then revealed through microstructure observation.
On an Application of Lattice Integral Transforms in Image Processing
Authors: Holčapek Michal , Quoc Viec Bui , Ferbas Petr
Published: November 2022

The lattice integral transforms have been introduced to generalize lower and upper fuzzy transforms for lattice-valued functions that are used to approximate original functions from below and above. They are defined in complete analogy with classical integral transforms, particularly, the product of a lattice-valued function and a fuzzy relation called the integral kernel is integrated by a Sugeno-like fuzzy integral. In the article, we first investigate the conditions under which lattice integral transforms preserve (reverse) constant functions, which appears to be a fundamental presumption for a successful approximation of lattice-valued functions. Further, we show how the lattice integral transforms can be applied in image processing, more specifically, in non-linear filtering, compression/decompression, and opening/closing of images. We demonstrate that the filters based on integral transforms generalize the popular median filter as well as minimum and maximum filters, and also opening and closing defined using fuzzy morphological erosion and dilation. We illustrate the proposed methods in various selected images.
Approximating Common Fixed Points of Nonexpansive Mappings on Hadamard Manifolds with Applications
Authors: Khammahawong Konrawut , Chaipunya Parin , Sombut Kamonrat
Published: November 2022

The point of this research is to present a new iterative procedure for approximating common fixed points of nonexpansive mappings in Hadamard manifolds. The convergence theorem of the proposed method is discussed under certain conditions. For the sake of clarity, we provide some numerical examples to support our results. Furthermore, we apply the suggested approach to solve inclusion problems and convex feasibility problems.
Energy Dissipation of Rock with Different Parallel Flaw Inclinations under Dynamic and Static Combined Loading
Authors: Dai Bing , Zhao Guifeng , Zhang Lei , Liu Yong , Zhang Zhijun , Luo Xinyao , Chen Ying
Published: November 2022

Deep surrounding rocks are highly statically stressed before mining (excavating) and will inevitably experience disturbances from unloading, mining, stress adjustment or their combinations during mechanical or blasting excavation, which actually suffer from a typical coupled static-dynamic stress. A split Hopkinson pressure bar was used to carry out dynamic-static loading test on rock specimens with different fracture angles. The results show that the change law of energy utilization efficiency is similar to the energy absorption rate that they increase first and then decrease with the increasing of axial pressure. The elastic energy of specimens would also increase first and then decrease with the increasing of axial pressure, while the plastic energy generally decrease overall. Both the energy utilization efficiency and energy absorption rate increase with the growth of dynamic compressive strength under impact loading, which indicate that the energy dissipation exhibits a positive with the dynamic strength. The energy absorption density and energy utilization efficiency gradually increase linearly with the increasing of the average strain rate, while the relationship between energy utilization efficiency and incident energy basically follows the exponential function increasing law. The rock burst of pre-flawed rock is related to the static load level under dynamic-static loading, it occurs obviously under the action of medium energy when the axial pressure is high. Based on the energy dissipation theory, the damage variable model was further established, the damage variable can reasonably describe the damage evolution of crack granite under dynamic-static loading.
Generalized Contractions and Fixed Point Results in Spaces with Altering Metrics
Authors: Branga Adrian Nicolae , Olaru Ion Marian
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we have provided some fixed point results for self-mappings fulfilling generalized contractive conditions on altered metric spaces. In addition, some applications of the main results to continuous data dependence of the fixed points of operators defined on these spaces were shown.
Optical Solitons with Cubic-Quintic-Septic-Nonic Nonlinearities and Quadrupled Power-Law Nonlinearity: An Observation
Authors: Samir Islam , Arnous Ahmed H. , Yıldırım Yakup , Biswas Anjan , Moraru Luminita , Moldovanu Simona
Published: November 2022

The current paper considers the enhanced Kudryashov’s technique to retrieve solitons with a governing model having cubic-quintic-septic-nonic and quadrupled structures of self-phase modulation. The results prove that it is redundant to extend the self-phase modulation beyond cubic-quintic nonlinearity or dual-power law of nonlinearity.
A Novel Cam-Based Variable Stiffness Actuator: Pitch Curve Synthetic Approach for Reconfiguration Design
Authors: Mei Fanghua , Bi Shusheng , Li Bianhong
Published: November 2022

Variable stiffness actuators (VSA) have attracted much attention because of their potential for human-like interaction behaviors. This paper devotes to improving the VSA’s versatility. VSA with different characteristics can be obtained by shape reconfiguration of its internal driving cams. The proposed VSA mainly includes a variable stiffness module and a cam-based driven module. A common node connects the two modules. It is placed in the common grooves of the dual cams. Kinematically, the radial position of the node can be changed for stiffness adjustment by cam differential motion. Mechanically, the driven force on this node can be resolved into two orthogonal directions by cam groove, one for stiffness adjustment and another for position balance., The paper establishes the analytical relationship between the pressure angle of the cam pitch curve, stiffness adjustment speed and accuracy, and load distribution. Furtherly, the pitch curve synthetic approach for VSA reconfiguration is provided. A special cam shape with a favorable load distribution is proposed to verify the method. The correctness of the design was effectively proved by experiments in the virtual model and physical prototype.
Affine Term Structure Models: Applications in Portfolio Optimization and Change Point Detection
Authors: Bisiotis Konstantinos , Psarakis Stelios , Yannacopoulos Athanasios N.
Published: November 2022

Affine term structure models are widely used for studying the relationship between yields on assets of different maturities. However, it can be a helpful tool for the construction of fixed-income portfolios. The monitoring of these bond portfolios is of great importance for the investor. The purpose of this work is twofold. Firstly, we construct and optimize fixed-income portfolios using Markowitz’s portfolio approach to a multifactor Gaussian affine term structure model (ATSM) under no-arbitrage conditions estimated with the minimum chi square estimation method. The fixed-income portfolios based on the term structure model are compared with some benchmark portfolio strategies, and our findings show that our proposed approach performs well under the risk–return tradeoff. Secondly, we propose control chart procedures for monitoring the optimal weights of government bond portfolios in order to detect possible changes. The results indicate that control chart procedures can be useful in the detection of changes in the optimal asset allocation of fixed income portfolios.
Coupling Chemotaxis and Growth Poromechanics for the Modelling of Feather Primordia Patterning
Authors: Barnafi Nicolás A. , De Oliveira Vilaca Luis Miguel , Milinkovitch Michel C. , Ruiz-Baier Ricardo
Published: November 2022

In this paper we propose a new mathematical model for describing the complex interplay between skin cell populations with fibroblast growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein, occurring within deformable porous media describing feather primordia patterning. Tissue growth, in turn, modifies the transport of morphogens (described by reaction-diffusion equations) through diverse mechanisms such as advection from the solid velocity generated by mechanical stress, and mass supply. By performing an asymptotic linear stability analysis on the coupled poromechanical-chemotaxis system (assuming rheological properties of the skin cell aggregates that reside in the regime of infinitesimal strains and where the porous structure is fully saturated with interstitial fluid and encoding the coupling mechanisms through active stress) we obtain the conditions on the parameters—especially those encoding coupling mechanisms—under which the system will give rise to spatially heterogeneous solutions. We also extend the mechanical model to the case of incompressible poro-hyperelasticity and include the mechanisms of anisotropic solid growth and feedback by means of standard Lee decompositions of the tensor gradient of deformation. Because the model in question involves the coupling of several nonlinear PDEs, we cannot straightforwardly obtain closed-form solutions. We therefore design a suitable numerical method that employs backward Euler time discretisation, linearisation of the semidiscrete problem through Newton–Raphson’s method, a seven-field finite element formulation for the spatial discretisation, and we also advocate the construction and efficient implementation of tailored robust solvers. We present a few illustrative computational examples in 2D and 3D, briefly discussing different spatio-temporal patterns of growth factors as well as the associated solid response scenario depending on the specific poromechanical regime. Our findings confirm the theoretically predicted behaviour of spatio-temporal patterns, and the produced results reveal a qualitative agreement with respect to the expected experimental behaviour. We stress that the present study provides insight on several biomechanical properties of primordia patterning.
Detection and Mitigation of GNSS Spoofing Attacks in Maritime Environments Using a Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Singh Saravjeet , Singh Jaiteg , Singh Sukhjit , Goyal S. B. , Raboaca Maria Simona , Verma Chaman , Suciu George
Published: November 2022

Due to the high reliance of daily activities on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), its security is one of the major concerns for research and industry. Most navigation and mobile-driven location-based services use GNSS to render services. Due to the low power and easy access of GNSS signals, these signals are vulnerable to spoofing and other types of attacks. Recently many GNSS spoofing attacks have been identified in road- and maritime-based environments. This study provides a technique to detect and counter the GNSS spoofing attack in the maritime environment. This technique uses the Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) model with Least Square Estimation (LSE) and Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) Control to detect the spoofing attack. The proposed technique is based on the concept of a genetic algorithm and navigation devices, such as inertial sensors and pilot options for the ship. A case study using the AIS dataset and simulation using MATLAB and NS3 is provided to validate the performance of the proposed approach. Nine different voyages from the AIS dataset were considered to check the accuracy and performance of the proposed algorithm. The accuracy of the proposed technique was analyzed using the correctly identified attack. The result shows that the proposed technique identifies spoofing attacks with an average value of 90 percent. For result analysis the considered nine routes were traversed multiple times. Root mean square error is used to calculate the positional mismatch (error rate). Based on the combined results analysis, the average value of RMSE is 0.28. In a best-case scenario, the proposed approach provides an RMSE value of 0.009.
Triplet Contrastive Learning for Aspect Level Sentiment Classification
Authors: Xiong Haoliang , Yan Zehao , Zhao Hongya , Huang Zhenhua , Xue Yun
Published: November 2022

The domain of Aspect Level Sentiment Classification, in which the sentiment toward a given aspect is analyzed, attracts much attention in NLP. Recently, the state-of-the-art Aspect Level Sentiment Classification methods are devised by using the Graph Convolutional Networks to deal with both the semantics and the syntax of the sentence. Generally, the parsing of syntactic structure inevitably incorporates irrelevant information toward the aspect. Besides, the syntactic and semantic alignment and uniformity that contribute to the sentiment delivery is currently neglected during processing. In this work, a Triplet Contrastive Learning Network is developed to coordinate the syntactic information and the semantic information. To start with, the aspect-oriented sub-tree is constructed to replace the syntactic adjacency matrix. Further, a sentence-level contrastive learning scheme is proposed to highlight the features of sentiment words. Based on The Triple Contrastive Learning, the syntactic information and the semantic information are thoroughly interacted and coordinated whilst the global semantics and syntax can be exploited. Extensive experiments are performed on three benchmark datasets and achieve accuracies (BERT-based) of 87.40, 82.80, 77.55 on Rest14, Lap14, and Twitter datasets, which demonstrate that our approach achieves state-of-the-art results in Aspect Level Sentiment Classification task.
Increased Material Density within a New Biomechanism
Authors: Andreucci Carlos Aurelio , Fonseca Elza M. M. , Jorge Renato N.
Published: November 2022

A new mechanism, applied in this study as a biomechanical device, known as a Bioactive Kinetic Screw (BKS) for bone implants is described. The BKS was designed as a bone implant, in which the bone particles, blood, cells, and protein molecules removed during bone drilling are used as a homogeneous autogenous transplant at the same implant site, aiming to optimize the healing process and simplify the surgical procedure. In this work, the amount of bone that will be compacted inside and around the new biomechanism was studied, based on the density of the bone applied. This study allows us to analyze the average bone density in humans (1.85 mg/mm3 or 1850 µg/mm³) with four different synthetic bone densities (Sawbones PCF 10, 20, 30 and 40). The results show that across all four different synthetic bones densities, the bone within the new model is 3.45 times denser. After a pilot drill (with 10 mm length and 1.8 mm diameter), in cases where a guide hole is required, the increase in ratio is equal to 2.7 times inside and around the new biomechanism. The in vitro test validated the mathematical results, describing that in two different materials, the same compact factor of 3.45 was determined with the new biomechanical device. It was possible to describe that BKS can become a powerful tool in the diagnosis and treatment of natural bone conditions and any type of disease.
Management of Nelson’s Syndrome
Authors: Fountas Athanasios , Karavitaki Niki
Published: November 2022

Nelson’s syndrome is a potentially severe condition that may develop in patients with Cushing’s disease treated with bilateral adrenalectomy. Its management can be challenging. Pituitary surgery followed or not by radiotherapy offers the most optimal tumour control, whilst pituitary irradiation alone needs to be considered in cases requiring intervention and are poor surgical candidates. Observation is an option for patients with small lesions, not causing mass effects to vital adjacent structures but close follow-up is required for a timely detection of corticotroph tumour progression and for further treatment if required. To date, no medical therapy has been consistently proven to be effective in Nelson’s syndrome. Pharmacotherapy, however, should be considered when other management approaches have failed. A subset of patients with Nelson’s syndrome may develop further tumour growth after primary treatment, and, in some cases, a truly aggressive tumour behaviour can be demonstrated. In the absence of evidence-based guidance, the management of these cases is individualized and tailored to previously offered treatments. Temozolomide has been used in patients with aggressive Nelson’s with no consistent results. Development of tumour-targeted therapeutic agents are an unmet need for the management of aggressive cases of Nelson’s syndrome.
Positive Predictive Factors for Urogenital Injuries in Severely Injured Patients with Pelvic and Spinal Fractures: Introducing the UPPS Scoring System
Authors: Mair Olivia Anna , Himmler Maren , Brunnemer Suna , Faymonville Christoph , Honeck Patrick , Horn Thomas , Biberthaler Peter , Hanschen Marc
Published: November 2022

Background and Objectives: Although urogenital injuries are common in severely injured patients, their diagnosis is often delayed. Predicting genitourinary injuries (GUI), especially in the immediate stages post injury, remains a challenge. This study aims to evaluate and determine positive predictive factors for the presence of GUI in polytrauma patients. Subsequently, these factors shall be used to develop an easy-to-use scoring system, deployable directly in the emergency setting. Materials and Methods: This study evaluates all severely injured patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 admitted to the emergency departments of two German university hospitals between 2016 and 2020. These patients were retrospectively scanned for injuries of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine and/or the pelvic girdle. Demographic data was analyzed alongside trauma mechanism, type of injuries, mortality, length of hospital stays, surgeries, laboratory results, and urological treatment. Subgroup analysis was performed to compare patients with and without GUIs using t-tests. Conducting a binary logistic regression model, the significant factors were combined to create a scoring system, which was further analyzed for accuracy. Results: In total, 413 patients with an average ISS of 33.8 ± 15.0 were identified, and 47 patients (11.4%) sustained urogenital injuries with an average Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of 2.3 ± 1.1 (range: 1–5). The severity of the pelvic girdle injury correlated with the presence of urogenital injuries (p = 0.002), while there was no correlation with spinal injuries. Moreover, most GUIs resulted from motorcycle accidents (p < 0.001) and 87.2% of these patients were male. Patients with GUI were significantly more likely to show macrohematuria (p < 0.001) on admission and were more severely injured overall (ISS > 34). There was no significant difference in the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, the days until discharge, or death rates. Conclusions: Factors or circumstances which reliably predict the presence of GUI were found to include the male sex, a motorcycle accident, high severity of pelvic girdle fractures, macrohematuria on admission to the emergency department, and an ISS > 34. With these findings, we introduce the ‘Urotrauma in Polytrauma patients with Pelvic and/or Spinal injuries’ (UPPS) score for easier prediction of GUI in the emergency setting.
The Influence of Cationic Nitrosyl Iron Complex with Penicillamine Ligands on Model Membranes, Membrane-Bound Enzymes and Lipid Peroxidation
Authors: Poletaeva Darya A. , Soldatova Yuliya V. , Smolina Anastasiya V. , Savushkin Maxim A. , Klimanova Elena N. , Sanina Nataliya A. , Faingold Irina I.
Published: November 2022

This paper shows the biological effects of cationic binuclear tetranitrosyl iron complex with penicillamine ligands (TNIC–PA). Interaction with a model membrane was assessed using a fluorescent probes technique. Antioxidant activity was studied using a thiobarbituric acid reactive species assay (TBARS) and a chemiluminescence assay. The catalytic activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) was determined by measuring liberation of ammonia. Antiglycation activity was determined fluometrically by thermal glycation of albumine by D-glucose. The higher values of Stern–Volmer constants (KSV) obtained for the pyrene located in hydrophobic regions (3.9 × 104 M−1) compared to KSV obtained for eosin Y located in the polar headgroup region (0.9 × 104 M−1) confirms that TNIC–PA molecules prefer to be located in the hydrophobic acyl chain region, close to the glycerol group of lipid molecules. TNIC–PA effectively inhibited the process of spontaneous lipid peroxidation, due to additive contributions from releasing NO and penicillamine ligand (IC50 = 21.4 µM) and quenched luminol chemiluminescence (IC50 = 3.6 μM). High activity of TNIC–PA in both tests allows us to assume a significant role of its radical-scavenging activity in the realization of antioxidant activity. It was shown that TNIC–PA (50–1000 μM) selectively inhibits the membrane-bound enzyme MAO-A, a major source of ROS in the heart. In addition, TNIC–PA is an effective inhibitor of non-enzymatic protein glycation. Thus, the evaluated biological effects of TNIC–PA open up the possibility of its practical application in chemotherapy for socially significant diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases.
Multisensory Systems Based on Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes Modified with Functionalized CNTs for Determination of Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim in Pharmaceuticals
Authors: Parshina Anna , Yelnikova Anastasia , Safronova Ekaterina , Kolganova Tatyana , Kuleshova Victoria , Bobreshova Olga , Yaroslavtsev Andrey
Published: November 2022

Sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim are synthetic bacteriostatic drugs. A potentiometric multisensory system for the analysis of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim combination drugs was developed. Perfluorosulfonic acid membranes containing functionalized CNTs were used as the sensor materials. The CNTs’ surface was modified by carboxyl, sulfonic acid, or (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilanol groups. The influence of the CNT concentration and the properties of their surface, as well as preliminary ultrasonic treatment of the polymer and CNT solution before the casting of hybrid membranes, on their ion-exchange capacity, water uptake, and transport properties was revealed. Cross-sensitivity of the sensors to the analytes was achieved due to ion exchange and hydrophobic interactions with hybrid membranes. An array of cross-sensitive sensors based on the membranes containing 1.0 wt% of CNTs with sulfonic acid or (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilanol groups enabled us to provide the simultaneous determination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in aqueous solutions with a concentration ranging from 1.0 × 10−5 to 1.0 × 10−3 M (pH 4.53–8.31). The detection limits of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim were 3.5 × 10−7 and 1.3 × 10−7 M. The relative errors of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim determination in the combination drug as compared with the content declared by the manufacturer were 4% (at 6% RSD) and 5% (at 7% RSD).
Current-Voltage Characteristics of Membranes with Different Cation-Exchanger Content in Mineral Salt—Neutral Amino Acid Solutions under Electrodialysis
Authors: Vasil’eva Vera I. , Akberova Elmara M. , Saud Ali M. , Zabolotsky Victor I.
Published: November 2022

The features of the electrochemical behavior of experimental heterogeneous ion-exchange membranes with different mass fractions of sulfonated cation-exchange resin (from 45 to 65 wt%) have been studied by voltammetry during electrodialysis. Electromembrane systems with 0.01 M NaCl solution and with a mixed 0.01 M NaCl + 0.05 M phenylalanine (Phe) solution have been investigated. A significant influence of the ion-exchanger content on the parameters of current-voltage curves (CVCs) was established for the first time. Electrodialysis of the sodium chloride solution revealed a decrease in the length of the limiting current plateau and in the resistances of the second and third sections of the CVCs with an increase in the resin content in the membrane. The fact of the specific shape of the CVCs of all studied cation-exchange membrane samples in mixed solutions of the mineral salt and the amino acid was established. A specific feature of current-voltage curves is the presence of two plateaus of the limiting current and two values of the limiting current, respectively. This phenomenon in electromembrane systems with neutral amino acids has not been found before. The value of the first limiting current is determined by cations of the mineral salt, which are the main current carriers in the system. The presence of the second plateau and the corresponding second limiting current is due to the appearance of additional carriers due to the ability of phenylalanine as an organic ampholyte to participate in protolytic reactions. In the cation-exchange electromembrane system with the phenylalanine containing solution, two mechanisms of H+/OH− ion generation through water splitting and acid dissociation are shown. The possibility of the generation of H+/OH− ions at the enriched solution/cation-exchange membrane interface during electrodialysis of amino acid containing solutions is shown for the first time. The results of this study can be used to improve the process of electromembrane demineralization of neutral amino acid solutions by both targeted selection or the creation of new membranes and the selection of effective current operating modes.
Additively Manufactured Transverse Flux Machine Components with Integrated Slits for Loss Reduction
Authors: Kresse Thomas , Schurr Julian , Lanz Maximilian , Kunert Torsten , Schmid Martin , Parspour Nejila , Schneider Gerhard , Goll Dagmar
Published: November 2022

Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) was used to produce stator half-shells of a transverse flux machine from pure iron (99.9% Fe). In order to reduce iron losses in the bulk components, radially extending slits with a nominal width of 150 and 300 µm, respectively, were integrated during manufacturing. The components were subjected to a suitable heat treatment. In addition to a microscopic examination of the slit quality, the iron losses were also measured using both a commercial and a self-developed measurement setup. The investigations showed the iron losses can be reduced by up to 49% due to the integrated slits and the heat treatment.
In-Vitro, In-Vivo, Molecular Docking and ADMET Studies of 2-Substituted 3,7-Dihydroxy-4H-chromen-4-one for Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Mahnashi Mater H. , Alshahrani Mohammed Abdulrahman , Nahari Mohammed H. , Hassan Syed Shams ul , Jan Muhammad Saeed , Ayaz Muhammad , Ullah Farhat , Alshehri Osama M. , Alshehri Mohammad Ali , Rashid Umer , Sadiq Abdul
Published: November 2022

Plants’ bioactives are well-known safe drugs for vital diseases. Flavones and Flavonoid-rich dietary supplements are known to exhibit neuroprotective potential. In this study, we isolated a flavone 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3,7-dihydroxy-4H-chromen-4-one from Notholirion thomsonianum and it was evaluated against various targets of the oxidative stress-related neurological disorders. The compound showed excellent acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitions in its profile, giving IC50 values of 1.37 and 0.95 μM, respectively. Similarly, in in-vitro MAO-B assay, our flavone exhibited an IC50 value of 0.14 μM in comparison to the standard safinamide (IC50 0.025 μM). In in-vitro anti-inflammatory assay, our isolated compound exhibited IC50 values of 7.09, 0.38 and 0.84 μM against COX-1, COX-2 and 5-LOX, respectively. The COX-2 selectivity (SI) of the compound was 18.70. The compound was found safe in animals and was very effective in carrageenan-induced inflammation. Due to the polar groups in the structure, a very excellent antioxidant profile was observed in both in-vitro and in-vivo models. The compound was docked into the target proteins of the respective activities and the binding energies confirmed the potency of our compound. Furthermore, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) results showed that the isolated flavone has a good GIT absorption ability and comes with no hepatic and cardiotoxicity. In addition, the skin sensitization test, in-vitro human cell line activation test (h-CLAT) and KeratinoSens have revealed that isolated flavone is not skin sensitive with a confidence score of 59.6% and 91.6%. Herein, we have isolated a natural flavone with an effective profile against Alzheimer’s, inflammation and oxidative stress. The exploration of this natural flavone will provide a baseline for future research in the field of drug development.
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals That NEFA and β-Hydroxybutyrate Induce Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells
Authors: Li Chengmin , Huang Junpeng , Chen Xiangxing , Yan Yexiao , Li Lian , Zhao Weiguo
Published: November 2022

Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) are the metabolites of fat mobilization initiated by negative energy balance (NEB) during the perinatal period in dairy cows, which have an adverse effect on cell physiology of various bovine cell types. The aim of this study was to explore the biological roles of NEFA and BHBA on provoking oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs). RNA sequencing analysis showed that there are 1343, 48, and 1725 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in BMECs treated with NEFA, BHBA and their combination. GO functional analysis revealed that the DEGs were significantly enriched in “response to oxidative stress” and “inflammatory response”. Further study demonstrated that NEFA and BHBA elevated the malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and reduced the total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity to cause oxidative stress. In addition, expression of inflammatory markers (NO, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) were increased after NEFA and BHBA stimulation. Mechanistically, our data showed that NEFA and BHBA activated the MAPK signaling pathway. Collectively, our results indicate that NEFA and BHBA induce oxidative stress and inflammatory response probably via the MAPK signaling pathway in BMECs.
Bioengineering of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 for Production and Excretion of Spermidine, a Key Metabolite in Human Health
Authors: Caffaratti Clément , Plazy Caroline , Cunin Valérie , Toussaint Bertrand , Le Gouellec Audrey
Published: November 2022

Microbiota-derived metabolites have biological importance for their host. Spermidine, a metabolite described for its protective effect in age-related diseases, is now studied for its role in the resolution of inflammation and gut homeostasis. Strategies to modulate its production in the gastrointestinal tract are of interest to increase host spermidine intakes. Here, we show that metabolic engineering can be used to increase spermidine production by the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN), used in humans. First, we found that increasing the expression of genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis, namely the S-adenosylmethionine synthase speD and the spermidine synthase speE, resulted in an increase in spermidine produced and excreted by our engineered bacteria. The major drawback of this first attempt was the production of acetylated forms of spermidine. Next, we propose to solve this problem by increasing the expression of the spermidine exporter system MdtI/MdtJ. This second strategy had a major impact on the spermidine profile found in the culture supernatant. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, the feasibility of rationally engineering bacterial probiotic strains to increase their ability to deliver the microbiota-derived metabolite, spermidine. This work illustrates how metabolomic and synthetic biology can be used to design and improve engineered Live Biotherapeutic Products that have the potential to be used in personalized medicine.
Study on the Thermohydrodynamic Friction Characteristics of Surface-Textured Valve Plate of Axial Piston Pumps
Authors: Wang Zhaoqiang , Sun Lingtao , Han Bo , Wang Xiaoqiang , Ge Zhiwei
Published: November 2022

The purpose of this paper is to study the oil film and friction characteristics of valve plates with a micro-textured surface and to explore the influence of textures of different shapes and sizes on the valve plates. Firstly, on the basis of thermohydrodynamic theory, this paper established the lubrication model of the oil film on the valve plate pair of swashplate axial piston pumps, according to the Reynolds equation. Secondly, the micro-texture was added to the mathematical model of the valve plate pair’s oil film. A combination of the energy equation, oil-film-thickness equation, elastic deformation equation, viscosity–pressure and viscosity–temperature equation, the finite difference method, as well as the relaxation iteration method, was used to solve the problem, and the textured and non-textured valve plate surfaces were simulated. The nephogram of the oil-film-thickness distribution, elastic deformation distribution, oil-film-pressure distribution and oil-film-temperature distribution were generated. Then, the control variable method was used to change the cylinder rotational speed, tilt angle, oil viscosity, initial oil film thickness and other parameters to analyze their effects on oil film characteristics. In addition, the friction characteristics of non-textured surfaces, square textured surfaces, triangular textured surfaces and circular textured surfaces were compared and analyzed. It was found that the textured surface of valve plates can obviously improve friction efficiency under the same operating conditions. The square texture, especially, is the preferable shape, rather than the triangular texture and the circular texture, and the friction performance is at its best when the texture depths are between 20 μm and 50 μm. The results provide a theoretical basis for the design and improvement of the valve plate.
Glass-to-Glass Fusion Bonding Quality and Strength Evaluation with Time, Applied Force, and Heat
Authors: Trinh Nhi N. , Simms Leslie A. , Chew Bradley S. , Weinstein Alexander , La Saponara Valeria , McCartney Mitchell M. , Kenyon Nicholas J. , Davis Cristina E.
Published: November 2022

A bonding process was developed for glass-to-glass fusion bonding using Borofloat 33 wafers, resulting in high bonding yield and high flexural strength. The Borofloat 33 wafers went through a two-step process with a pre-bond and high-temperature bond in a furnace. The pre-bond process included surface activation bonding using O2 plasma and N2 microwave (MW) radical activation, where the glass wafers were brought into contact in a vacuum environment in an EVG 501 Wafer Bonder. The optimal hold time in the EVG 501 Wafer bonder was investigated and concluded to be a 3 h hold time. The bonding parameters in the furnace were investigated for hold time, applied force, and high bonding temperature. It was concluded that the optimal parameters for glass-to-glass Borofloat 33 wafer bonding were at 550 °C with a hold time of 1 h with 550 N of applied force.
The Early Peritoneal Cavity Immune Response to Vibrio Anguillarum Infection and to Inactivated Bacterium in Olive Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)
Authors: Shi Xueyan , Chi Heng , Sun Yuanyuan , Tang Xiaoqian , Xing Jing , Sheng Xiuzhen , Zhan Wenbin
Published: November 2022

The peritoneal cavity plays an important role in the immune response, and intraperitoneal administration is an ideal vaccination route in fish. However, immune responses in the peritoneal cavity of teleost fish are still not completely characterized. This study characterized the morphology of peritoneal cavity cells (PerC cells) and their composition in flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). Flow cytometric analysis of the resident PerC cells revealed two populations varying in granularity and size. One population, approximately 15.43% ± 1.8%, was smaller with a lower granularity, designated as lymphocytes. The other population of the cells, about 78.17% ± 3.52%, was larger with higher granularity and was designated as myeloid cells. The results of cytochemical staining and transmission electron microscopy indicated that peritoneal cavity in flounder normally contains a resident population of leukocytes dominated by granulocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes. The percentages of IgM+, CD4+, G-CSFR+, MHCII+, and CD83+ leukocytes among PerC cells determined by flow cytometry were 3.13% ± 0.4%, 2.83% ± 0.53%, 21.12% ± 1.44%, 27.11% ± 3.30%, and 19.64% ± 0.31%, respectively. Further, the changes in IgM+, CD4+, G-CSFR+, MHCII+, and CD83+ leukocytes in flounder after Vibrio anguillarum infection and immunization were compared. The composition changed rapidly after the infection or vaccination treatment and included two stages, a non-specific stage dominated by phagocytes and a specific immune stage dominated by lymphocytes. Due to the virulence effectors of bacteria, the infected group exhibited a more intense and complicated PerC cells immune response than that of the immunization group. Following our previous study, this is the first report on the morphology and composition of PerC cells and the early activation of PerC cells in flounder response to V. anguillarum infection and vaccination.