bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Important Quality Characteristics of Some Fungal Disease Resistance/Tolerance Grapes Dried with Energy-Saving Heat Pump Dryer
Authors: Atak Arif , Göksel Zekiye , Tunçkal Cüneyt , Yılmaz Yusuf
Published: April 2022

Raisins have been widely consumed for many years all around the world, and different grape cultivars and drying techniques are used in their production. Recently, mechanical drying systems have been used to overcome any undesirable effects that arise from sun-drying with grape cultivars that require fewer pesticides to minimize the risk of residues. Both seeded and seedless cultivars were preferred for drying in the past; however, seedless grape cultivars have been increasingly preferred for drying purposes in addition to their use as table grapes. For the first time, an alternative processing method (using an energy-saving heat pump dryer) and important quality characteristics (total phenolics, antioxidant activity, brix, colour analyses and sensory evaluation) of disease resistant/tolerant grape cultivars of different species that can be grown in humid regions were investigated in this study. First, the fresh fruits of nine different grape (Vitis spp.) cultivars grown in a humid ecology were analysed, and then so too were the important phytochemical and quality characteristics of raisins dried with an energy-saving heat pump dryer. The water activity of the raisins ranged from 0.71 (Özer Beyazı) to 0.42 (Kay Gray). The total phenolic contents of Muscat Bleu (65.96), Philipp (64.88) and Campbell Early (64.53 g GAE/100 g db) berries were the highest (p < 0.05). The fresh berries of the Kishmish Vatkana cultivar had the lowest antioxidant activity, as determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay (525.81 mmol TE/100 g) (p < 0.05). The total phenolic contents of raisins ranged from 12.76 to 13.58 g GAE/100 g fw. The highest value on a dry weight basis was 19.30 g GAE/100 g for the raisins of the Özer Beyazı cultivar (p < 0.05). The highest antioxidant activity value on a dry weight basis was found for the raisins of Özer Beyazı (991.01 mmol TE/100 g) using the DPPH assay. The raisins of the Philipp cultivar had an antioxidant activity of 7893.51 mmol TE/100 g db, as determined by the ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay, which was significantly higher than those of other cultivars, with the exception of Muscat Bleu (p < 0.05). The range for antioxidant activity values provided by the cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assay was high, and the highest value was found for the raisins of the Philipp cultivar (4505.21 mg Trolox/100 g fw) (p < 0.05). The results indicated that the raisins of the seedless Rhea and Kishmish Vatkana cultivars can be appreciated more than those of the other cultivars, both in terms of their bioactive content and sensory scores, and the raisins of these cultivars, which can be grown in humid regions, hold a great deal of potential for grape growers.
Use of Fecal Indices as a Non-Invasive Tool for Ruminal Activity Evaluation in Extensive Grazing Sheep
Authors: Orellana Carla , Castellaro Giorgio , Escanilla Juan , Parraguez Víctor H.
Published: April 2022

For a simple, non-invasive evaluation of nutritional status of sheep kept under extensive grazing conditions on annual rangeland, fecal indices (2,6 diaminopimelic acid, nitrogen, and phosphorus) obtained during the vegetative, reproductive, and dry grassland phenological stages, were correlated with ruminal physiological biomarkers (volatile fatty acids and ruminal ammonia). Through correlation analysis and linear regressions, the degree of association between the variables studied was established. The fecal indices that presented the highest degree of association with ruminal variables were FN and FP, being highly correlated with the production of branched-chain volatile fatty acids (isobutyrate and isovalerate) and with ruminal ammonia (r ≥ 0.65), establishing simple linear regression equations of high significance (p ≤ 0.05). Therefore, fecal indices, especially fecal concentrations of N and P, could reflect the metabolism at the ruminal level and with it the availability of compounds for microbial growth, which would help to establish the nutritional status of sheep herds under extensive grazing conditions.
Impact of Heat Stress on Bovine Sperm Quality and Competence
Authors: Capela Luís , Leites Inês , Romão Ricardo , Lopes-da-Costa Luís , Pereira Rosa M. Lino Neto
Published: April 2022

Global warming has negatively influenced animal production performance, in addition to animal well-being and welfare, consequently impairing the economic sustainability of the livestock industry. Heat stress impact on male fertility is complex and multifactorial, with the fertilizing ability of spermatozoa affected by several pathways. Among the most significative changes are the increase in and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causing lipid peroxidation and motility impairment. The exposure of DNA during the cell division of spermatogenesis makes it vulnerable to both ROS and apoptotic enzymes, while the subsequent post-meiotic DNA condensation makes restoration impossible, harming later embryonic development. Mitochondria are also susceptible to the loss of membrane potential and electron leakage during oxidative phosphorylation, lowering their energy production capacity under heat stress. Although cells are equipped with defense mechanisms against heat stress, heat insults that are too intense lead to cell death. Heat shock proteins (HSP) belong to a thermostable and stress-induced protein family, which eliminate protein clusters and are essential to proteostasis under heat stress. This review focuses on effects of heat stress on sperm quality and on the mechanisms leading to defective sperm under heat stress.
Cefazolin Might Be Adequate for Perioperative Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Intra-Abdominal Infections without Sepsis: A Quality Improvement Study
Authors: Surat Güzin , Meyer-Sautter Pascal , Rüsch Jan , Braun-Feldweg Johannes , Markus Christian Karl , Germer Christoph-Thomas , Lock Johan Friso
Published: April 2022

Background: The adequate choice of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) could influence the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs) in general surgery. A new local PAP guideline was implemented in May 2017 and set the first-generation cefazolin (CFZ) instead the second-generation cefuroxime (CXM) as the new standard prophylactic antibiotic. The aim of this study was to compare the risk of SSIs after this implementation in intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) without sepsis. Methods: We performed a single center-quality improvement study at a 1500 bed sized university hospital in Germany analyzing patients after emergency surgery during 2016 to 2019 (n = 985), of which patients receiving CXM or CFZ were selected (n = 587). Propensity score matching was performed to ensure a comparable risk of SSIs in both groups. None-inferiority margin for SSIs was defined as 8% vs. 4%. Results: Two matched cohorts with respectively 196 patients were compared. The rate of SSIs was higher in the CFZ group (7.1% vs. 3.6%, p = 0.117) below the non-inferiority margin. The rate of other postoperative infections was significantly higher in the CFZ group (2.0% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.004). No other differences including postoperative morbidity, mortality or length-of-stay were observed. Conclusion: Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis might be safely maintained by CFZ even in the treatment of intra-abdominal infections.
Preliminary Findings on the Effect of Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Acute Stress on Selected Markers of Oxidative Stress in Normotensive and Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Laubertova Lucia , Dvorakova Monika , Balis Peter , Puzserova Angelika , Zitnanova Ingrid , Bernatova Iveta
Published: April 2022

Several studies have reported that the administration of various nanoparticles in vivo can cause oxidative stress. The combination of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (USPIONs) and acute stress was selected because, during intravenous application of a contrast agent, patients are exposed to psycho-emotional stress. This study was designed to investigate the effect of acute stress and USPIONs on selected markers of oxidative stress (antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities, levels of advanced oxidation protein products, protein carbonyls, lipoperoxides and 8-isoprostanes) in plasma and erythrocytes in normotensive Wistar–Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In the WKY and SHR groups, there was a significant main effect of genotype between groups on studied markers except protein carbonyls and lipoperoxides. In SHR, the combination of acute stress and USPIONs increased the antioxidant capacity of plasma and the selected enzyme activities of erythrocytes. In WKY, the combination of acute stress and USPIONs decreased the antioxidant capacity of erythrocytes and reduced levels of advanced oxidation protein products in plasma. Our study points to the fact that, when hypertensive subjects are treated with iron oxide nanoparticles, caution should be taken, especially in stress conditions, since they seem to be more vulnerable to oxidative stress produced by USPIONs.
Influence of Thermal Modification and Impregnation with Biocides on Physical Properties of Italian Stone Pine Wood (Pinus pinea L.)
Authors: De Angelis Marco , Humar Miha , Kržišnik Davor , Tamantini Swati , Romagnoli Manuela
Published: April 2022

The sudden availability of Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) wood due to the infestation of pathogenic fungi and insects highlighted the need to promote its use as a short supply chain resource in Italy and other Mediterranean countries. However, the durability of stone pine sapwood must be enhanced if outdoor use is to be considered. The impregnability of stone pine wood was studied following the standard EN 351-1:2008, using immersion, vacuum, and high-pressure methods with natural waxes and organic solvent-based and copper-amino-based preservative solutions. The efficacy of the impregnation was determined by calculating the kilos of preservative absorbed per cubic meter of wood and by measuring the penetration depth of the preservative. Thermal modifications were carried out using five different maximum temperatures, and their efficacy was determined by measuring the mass loss and color change. Subsequent to thermal treatments, the wood was exposed to a water-vapor-saturated atmosphere, and the increase in mass was calculated for different periods. Stone pine and Scots pine sapwoods showed similar response to the treatments with the exception of soaking impregnation methods where stone pine showed higher uptake, in particular when Silvanolin was used. Our investigation shows that stone pine can be a suitable short supply chain resource in Italy that, when impregnated, could be tested for outdoor use, exactly as is the case with Scots pine.
A Disruption Tolerant Distributed Routing Algorithm in LEO Satellite Networks
Authors: Jin Jifeng , Tian Feng , Yang Zijian , Di Hao , Li Guotong
Published: April 2022

The low earth orbit (LEO) constellation network has become a promising approach to provide global communication services, due to its advantages in wide global coverage, low transmission delay, and convenient networking. However, the instability of the intersatellite laser terminal and the high relative speed between adjacent satellites cause frequent network topology changing problems for data routing. In this paper, a disruption tolerant distributed routing algorithm (DTDR) is proposed, where the satellites calculate the alternate path for transmission when the network topology changes, which improves the performance of packet loss. Specifically, each satellite maintains the intersatellite link (ISL) information within a specified number of hops. When an ISL state changes within the specified number of hops, the corresponding satellite calculates and switches to the detour path. Furthermore, the traffic is balanced through the detour process. Various simulations were constructed and show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing algorithm in terms of packet loss ratio and transmission delay.
Information Requirements of a Decision Support System for Severe Accident Management in Nuclear Power Plants
Authors: Salim Shelly , Choi Eun-Bi , Ham Dong-Han
Published: April 2022

In nuclear power plants, a severe accident is a critical accident involving significant nuclear core damage and it is managed by using a set of Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG). Prepared as a guideline that provides lists of suggestions rather than strict instructions, SAMG’s contents require frequent decision-making by the operators, causing high cognitive load and creating an error-prone situation that is also amplified by the stressful environment during the severe accident mitigation efforts. A decision support system (DSS), designed by considering the human decision-making process and the system’s holistic view, can help the operators in making informed and appropriate decisions. In this study, we aim to identify the information requirements in designing such DSS for severe accident management of nuclear power plants. We combined two methods: Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) and decision ladder to identify the information requirements. FRAM provides a systematic analysis of the functions involved in severe accident management and decision ladder captures the human decision-making processes. We developed the FRAM model and the decision ladder model based on SAMG’s contents to identify the set of information requirements. The identified information requirements and their implementation suggestions are provided. This study is the first step in designing a decision support system that considers human cognitive load and holistic system concepts. The method used in this study shall contribute to the design and implementation of a DSS capable of supporting the operators in achieving safer decision-making, not only in nuclear power plants’ severe accident management but also in similar safety-critical systems.
Optimal Disease Diagnosis in Internet of Things (IoT) Based Healthcare System Using Energy Efficient Clustering
Authors: Alotaibi Majid , Alotaibi Saud S.
Published: April 2022

This paper aims to introduce a novel approach that includes three steps, namely Energy efficient clustering, Disease diagnosis, and an Alert system. Initially, energy-efficient clustering of nodes was conducted, and to render the clustering more optimal, its centroid was optimally selected by a new hybrid algorithm. In addition, this cluster formation was conducted based on constraints such as distance and energy. Further, the disease diagnosis in IoT was performed under two phases namely, “feature extraction and classification”. During feature extraction, the statistical and higher-order features were extracted. These extracted features were then classified via Optimized Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN). To make the classification more precise, the weights of the DCNN were optimally tuned by a new hybrid algorithm referred to as Hybrid Elephant and Moth Flame with Adaptive Learning (HEM-AL). Finally, an alert system was enabled via proposed severity level estimation, which determined the severity of the disease, suggesting patients to visit the hospital. Lastly, the supremacy of the developed approach was examined via evaluation over the other extant techniques. Accordingly, the proposed model attained an accuracy of 0.99 for test case 1, and was 7.41%, 17.34%, and 13.41% better than traditional NN, CNN, and DCNN models.
Development of a Portable Infrared-Type Noncontact Blood Pressure Measuring Device and Evaluation of Blood Pressure Elevation during Driving
Authors: Arakawa Toshiya , Sakakibara Noriaki , Kondo Shinji
Published: April 2022

Hypertension has been established as a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, prevention of hypertension is an urgent matter to maintain people’s health and avoid death, and out-of-office blood pressure measurement is said to be an integral part of the diagnosis and management of hypertension. Hypertension not only causes loss of productivity and economic loss but is also a major cause of road accidents. Therefore, it is important to develop an in-vehicle noncontact blood pressure measurement system for drivers. In addition to measurement accuracy, proper detection timing is also important, and there must be no difference between noncontact and contact detection times. In this study, we introduce an infrared cuffless and portable noncontact blood pressure monitoring system, its measurement principle, and performance evaluation. A total of 13 male adults participated in the experiment to evaluate the effect of time lag between the use of the infrared blood pressure monitoring system and the contact blood pressure monitoring system using a driving simulator. The changepoint method was applied to detect the first change point in the blood pressure time series data caused by the unexpected first appearance of the vehicle. The results showed that the detection time of the developed system was about 2.5 s shorter than that of the contact-type continuous blood pressure measurement system, with no significant difference.
MULDASA: Multifactor Lexical Sentiment Analysis of Social-Media Content in Nonstandard Arabic Social Media
Authors: Alwakid Ghadah , Osman Taha , Haj Mahmoud El , Alanazi Saad , Humayun Mamoona , Sama Najm Us
Published: April 2022

The semantically complicated Arabic natural vocabulary, and the shortage of available techniques and skills to capture Arabic emotions from text hinder Arabic sentiment analysis (ASA). Evaluating Arabic idioms that do not follow a conventional linguistic framework, such as contemporary standard Arabic (MSA), complicates an incredibly difficult procedure. Here, we define a novel lexical sentiment analysis approach for studying Arabic language tweets (TTs) from specialized digital media platforms. Many elements comprising emoji, intensifiers, negations, and other nonstandard expressions such as supplications, proverbs, and interjections are incorporated into the MULDASA algorithm to enhance the precision of opinion classifications. Root words in multidialectal sentiment LX are associated with emotions found in the content under study via a simple stemming procedure. Furthermore, a feature–sentiment correlation procedure is incorporated into the proposed technique to exclude viewpoints expressed that seem to be irrelevant to the area of concern. As part of our research into Saudi Arabian employability, we compiled a large sample of TTs in 6 different Arabic dialects. This research shows that this sentiment categorization method is useful, and that using all of the characteristics listed earlier improves the ability to accurately classify people’s feelings. The classification accuracy of the proposed algorithm improved from 83.84% to 89.80%. Our approach also outperformed two existing research projects that employed a lexical approach for the sentiment analysis of Saudi dialects.
Development of Priority Index for Intelligent Vessel Traffic Monitoring System in Vessel Traffic Service Areas
Authors: Lee Lee-na , Kim Joo-sung
Published: April 2022

Recognizing dangerous situations in advance and determining priority is essential in vessel traffic surveillance. The traffic management priority is determined by the vessel traffic service operator (VTSO) employing the closest point of approach (CPA) and the time to CPA (TCPA) of the targets considering their current navigational data. Various environmental conditions influence CPA and TCPA, which affects the importance of surveillance. This study aims to support vessel traffic prioritization in the navigation surveillance of VTSO from the observer side. The vessel tracks were clustered based on density, and a priority index of the vessel surveillance was developed in the VTS area by reflecting regional navigation characteristics. Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) was used for data clustering to classify the surveillance area. A fuzzy membership function was constructed based on the CPA and TCPA belonging to each cluster, and a dataset for determining priorities was constructed, yielding 17 clusters, fuzzy rules, and tables, with the priority index extracted for all vessel pairs to visualize the priority. The results indicated prior recognition of all dangerous situations. The proposed method facilitates vessel surveillance priority determination in high-density areas and predicts the risk in advance, thereby contributing to traffic management.
The Influence of the Practiced Karate Style on the Dexterity and Strength of the Hand
Authors: Wąsik Jacek , Bajkowski Dariusz , Shan Gongbing , Podstawski Robert , Cynarski Wojciech J.
Published: April 2022

Background: The need for a strong grip in ‘ground’ martial arts is undisputed, but it is not obvious in karate. It may be expected that in the case of advanced karate fighters where dynamic combat movements dominate, the level of speed skills will be high. However, does the karate style affect the Ditrich rod dexterity and the strength of the players’ handshake? Methods: 39 participants were analyzed, all of whom were elite karate fighters—21 in the Kyokushin style (age: 31.4 ± 6.3; body weight: 77.2 ± 18.2 kg) and 18 in the Shotokan style (age: 23.3 ± 11.8 years; body weight: 70.9 ± 14.2 kg). They performed the following: a test of reaction speed and dexterity with a Ditrich rod, and a hand grip strength test with a dynamometer. Results: The data shows that there is no difference in the Ditrich rod test for both the left and right hand among the analyzed Kyokushin and Shotokan fighters. Significant differences were recorded in the grip strength of both hands (p < 0.05). There is a positive correlation between the strength of the grip on both hands (r = 0.593; p < 0.05). Discussion: Kyokushin-style karate players have a higher grip strength than those trained in the Shotokan style. Perhaps this is due to differences in the preparation for fights. The analysis showed no statistical significance in the Ditrich rod test. It is probable that the level of dexterity in karate is independent of the training canon.
Efficient Diagnosis of Autism with Optimized Machine Learning Models: An Experimental Analysis on Genetic and Personal Characteristic Datasets
Authors: Alsuliman Maraheb , Al-Baity Heyam H.
Published: April 2022

Early diagnosis of autism is extremely beneficial for patients. Traditional diagnosis approaches have been unable to diagnose autism in a fast and accurate way; rather, there are multiple factors that can be related to identifying the autism disorder. The gene expression (GE) of individuals may be one of these factors, in addition to personal and behavioral characteristics (PBC). Machine learning (ML) based on PBC and GE data analytics emphasizes the need to develop accurate prediction models. The quality of prediction relies on the accuracy of the ML model. To improve the accuracy of prediction, optimized feature selection algorithms are applied to solve the high dimensionality problem of the datasets used. Comparing different optimized feature selection methods using bio-inspired algorithms over different types of data can allow for the most accurate model to be identified. Therefore, in this paper, we investigated enhancing the classification process of autism spectrum disorder using 16 proposed optimized ML models (GWO-NB, GWO-SVM, GWO-KNN, GWO-DT, FPA-NB, FPA-KNN, FPA-SVM, FPA-DT, BA-NB, BA-SVM, BA-KNN, BA-DT, ABC-NB, ABC-SVM, ABV-KNN, and ABC-DT). Four bio-inspired algorithms namely, Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO), Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA), Bat Algorithms (BA), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), were employed for optimizing the wrapper feature selection method in order to select the most informative features and to increase the accuracy of the classification models. Five evaluation metrics were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed models: accuracy, F1 score, precision, recall, and area under the curve (AUC). The obtained results demonstrated that the proposed models achieved a good performance as expected, with accuracies of 99.66% and 99.34% obtained by the GWO-SVM model on the PBC and GE datasets, respectively.
Determination of Morphogeometric Patterns in Individuals with Total Mandibular Edentulism in the Interforaminal Region from Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Scans: A Pilot Study
Authors: Abarza Liliann , Acuña-Mardones Pablo , Sanzana-Luengo Cristina , Beltrán Víctor
Published: April 2022

The aim of this study was to determine the morphogeometric patterns of the interforaminal region from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of individuals with total mandibular edentulism. CBCT images were obtained from 40 patients with total edentulism who are older (12 men and 28 women; average age of 69.5 ± 9.4 years) and who wore a non-implant-supported, lower, removable, total prosthesis. We conducted a two-dimensional (2D) morphogeometric analysis of the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) files from the CBCT scans, and five equidistant cross sections were planned. For the three-dimensional (3D) morphogeometric analysis, standard triangular language (STL) files were obtained after segmentation of the interforaminal mandibular region, and four anatomical landmarks and their respective curves were digitized. The patterns among the shapes were determined using principal component analysis (PCA) on MorphoJ software (version 1.07a). The results of the 2D morphogeometric analyses for PCA of the interforaminal mandibular paramedian region were PC1 or elongated drop shape, 54.78%; PC2 or wineskin shape, 17.65%; PC3 or pear shape, 11.77%; and PC4 or eggplant shape, 5.71%, and those for PCA of the symphyseal region were PC1 or elongated drop shape, 62.13%; PC2 or ovoid shape, 11.64%; PC3 or triangular shape, 9.71%; and PC4 or tuber shape, 4.96%. The results of the 3D morphogeometric analyses for the interforaminal hemimandibular region were PC1, 59.83%; PC2, 10.39%; PC3, 7.67%; and PC4, 5.09%. This study provides relevant information for future clinical guidelines on prosthetics and implants, in addition to proposing the use of new technologies that support diagnosis and treatment in patients with edentulism.
Effect of Dimensional Variables on the Behavior of Trees for Biomechanical Studies
Authors: Ruy Monica , Gonçalves Raquel , Vicente William
Published: April 2022

The dimensional variables of trees play an important role in biomechanical studies that seek to estimate the risk of falls, since they influence their biomechanical behavior in relation to the forces to which they are subjected, and therefore, their safety factor. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of dimensional variables of trees on their mechanical behavior. A finite-element model was used to perform linear static analysis. The wood from the tree was considered clean, and the architectural model was based on dimensional variables of species commonly used in urban afforestation in São Paulo, Brazil. Different slenderness, tapering, height, and load level were used to analyze the tree mechanical behavior. The numerical-simulation model facilitates the evaluation of the influence of dimensional parameters of trees on deflections and stresses. The behavior of the deflections varies according to height, diameter, and loading level. Since the model considers the geometric variations of the section, the stresses show smooth variations along the trunk. The maximum module values of positive and negative stresses are not equal, and can undergo sudden variations in position along the trunk when local maximum stresses become global maximums.
Hydrogeochemistry Characteristics of Groundwater in the Nandong Karst Water System, China
Authors: Zhu Xiuqun , Liu Ling , Lan Funing , Li Jun , Hou Shitian
Published: April 2022

The hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater are an important element in the study of the spatial and temporal variation of groundwater resources, which is crucial to water resources utilization, ecological environmental protection, and human development. Water samples were collected at eight observation of Nandong Karst Water System (NKWS) sites in each month of 2019, and the main ions and isotopes of the water samples were examined. The hydrogeochemistry characteristics of groundwater and its differences with surface water were explored by using the methods of multivariate statistics, Gibbs model. Results showed that the water chemistry types of groundwater were mainly HCO3–Ca and HCO3–Ca·Mg. The analysis of hydrogen and oxygen isotope showed that the initial recharge source of surface water and groundwater were atmospheric precipitation, and the measured hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of surface water were heavier due to the strong evaporation effect. The natural and anthropogenic processes contributed to the chemical composition of surface water and groundwater in the study area. However, the main factor affecting the quality of surface water and groundwater was the input of anthropogenic contaminants. In terms of natural factors, the main chemical ions of surface water and groundwater were mainly controlled by water-rock action originating from weathering and hydrolysis of rocks and soils. Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3− mainly originated from natural dissolution of carbonate rocks. K+, Na+, SO42−, and Cl− were partly from atmospheric precipitation. For human activities, Na+ and Cl− were partly from domestic water for local residents. SO42− in surface water mainly came from mining. NO3− in groundwater mainly came from chemical fertilizers, and NO3− in surface water were mainly from human waste and domestic sewage.
An Evaluation of Algebraic Turbulence Length Scale Formulations
Authors: Reilly Stephanie , Bašták Ďurán Ivan , Theethai Jacob Anurose , Schmidli Juerg
Published: April 2022

Turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) schemes are routinely used for turbulence parameterization in numerical weather prediction models. A key component of these schemes is the so-called turbulence length scale. Novel scale-aware, budget-based diagnostics that account for the cross-scale transfer of variances are used to evaluate the performance of selected turbulence length scale formulations in the gray zone of turbulence. The diagnostics are computed using the coarse-graining method on high resolution large eddy simulation data for selected idealized cases. The vertical profiles and the temporal evolution of the turbulence length scales are analyzed. Additionally, the local normalized root mean square error and a non-local three-component technique tailored specifically to the turbulence length scale profiles are used for the evaluation. Based on our analyses, we recommend using turbulence length-scale formulations that depend not only on the boundary layer height, but also on the TKE and stratification. Such formulations are able to perform satisfactorily in different flow regimes, but their scale-awareness is still limited. Only the Honnert et al. formulation shows a stronger scale-awareness thanks to its cut-off relationship in the gray zone. However, in contrast to the turbulence length scale diagnostics, its resolution dependence does not change with height.
Road Dust in Urban and Industrial Environments: Sources, Pollutants, Impacts, and Management
Authors: Vlasov Dmitry , Ramírez Omar , Luhar Ashok
Published: April 2022

Road dust (RD) is one of the most important sources of particles in the atmosphere, especially in industrial areas and cities. In this special issue, we collected 16 original articles that describe field, experimental, and modeling studies related to RD and its various size fractions as a key issue in understanding the relationships between several urban and industrial environments and in the identification of pollution sources. Articles in the special issue focus primarily on the following main topics: (1) study of the chemical composition and speciation of RD and its source attribution; (2) assessment of RD and aerosol pollution levels (including express technique), environmental hazards and public health risks; (3) distribution of stable and radioactive isotopes in RD; (4) determination of factors affecting the level of dust accumulation on roads and the intensity of its pollution; and (5) study of the effect of RD on the atmosphere and other environments. Based on the results presented in this special issue, but not limited to, some of the current challenges in studying RD are formulated, including the need for further geographically wider and analytically deeper work on various aspects of the formation, transport pathways, and accumulation of RD in urban, industrial and other areas.
Photon Emission from Hollow Ions Near Surfaces
Authors: Fritzsche Stephan
Published: April 2022

Ions with multiple inner-shell vacancies frequently arise due to their interaction with different targets, such as (intense) light pulses, atoms, clusters or bulk material. They are formed, in addition, if highly charged ions approach surfaces and capture electrons at rather large distances. To explore the interaction of such hollow ions and their subsequent relaxation, photon spectra in different frequency regions have been measured and compared to calculations. To support these and related measurements, we here show within the framework of the Jena Atomic Calculator (Jac) how (additional) electrons in outer shells modify photon emission and lead to characteristic shifts in the observed spectra. Further, for highly charged Ar ions in KLm(m=1…8) configurations, we analyze the mean relaxation time for their stabilization into the different ground configurations. These examples demonstrate how a powerful and flexible toolbox such as Jac will be useful (and necessary) in order to model the photon and electron emission of ions as they occur not only near surfaces but also in astro-, atomic and plasma physics.
A Comparison of Heart Pulsations Provided by Forcecardiography and Double Integration of Seismocardiogram
Authors: Andreozzi Emilio , Centracchio Jessica , Esposito Daniele , Bifulco Paolo
Published: April 2022

Seismocardiography (SCG) is largely regarded as the state-of-the-art technique for continuous, long-term monitoring of cardiac mechanical activity in wearable applications. SCG signals are acquired via small, lightweight accelerometers fixed on the chest. They provide timings of important cardiac events, such as heart valves openings and closures, thus allowing the estimation of cardiac time intervals of clinical relevance. Forcecardiography (FCG) is a novel technique that records the cardiac-induced vibrations of the chest wall by means of specific force sensors, which proved capable of monitoring respiration, heart sounds and infrasonic cardiac vibrations, simultaneously from a single contact point on the chest. A specific infrasonic component captures the heart walls displacements and looks very similar to the Apexcardiogram. This low-frequency component is not visible in SCG recordings, nor it can be extracted by simple filtering. In this study, a feasible way to extract this information from SCG signals is presented. The proposed approach is based on double integration of SCG. Numerical double integration is usually very prone to large errors, therefore a specific numerical procedure was devised. This procedure yields a new displacement signal (DSCG) that features a low-frequency component (LF-DSCG) very similar to that of the FCG (LF-FCG). Experimental tests were carried out using an FCG sensor and an off-the-shelf accelerometer firmly attached to each other and placed onto the precordial region. Simultaneous recordings were acquired from both sensors, together with an electrocardiogram lead (used as a reference). Quantitative morphological comparison confirmed the high similarity between LF-FCG and LF-DSCG (normalized cross-correlation index >0.9). Statistical analyses suggested that LF-DSCG, although achieving a fair sensitivity in heartbeat detection (about 90%), has not a very high consistency within the cardiac cycle, leading to inaccuracies in inter-beat intervals estimation. Future experiments with high-performance accelerometers and improved processing methods are envisioned to investigate the potential enhancement of the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method.
Bioengineering Strategies to Create 3D Cardiac Constructs from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Authors: Varzideh Fahimeh , Mone Pasquale , Santulli Gaetano
Published: April 2022

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be used to generate various cell types in the human body. Hence, hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) represent a significant cell source for disease modeling, drug testing, and regenerative medicine. The immaturity of hiPSC-CMs in two-dimensional (2D) culture limit their applications. Cardiac tissue engineering provides a new promise for both basic and clinical research. Advanced bioengineered cardiac in vitro models can create contractile structures that serve as exquisite in vitro heart microtissues for drug testing and disease modeling, thereby promoting the identification of better treatments for cardiovascular disorders. In this review, we will introduce recent advances of bioengineering technologies to produce in vitro cardiac tissues derived from hiPSCs.
Quantitative Analysis of Core Lipid Production in Methanothermobacter marburgensis at Different Scales
Authors: Baumann Lydia M. F. , Taubner Ruth-Sophie , Oláh Kinga , Rohrweber Ann-Cathrin , Schuster Bernhard , Birgel Daniel , Rittmann Simon K.-M. R.
Published: April 2022

Archaeal lipids have a high biotechnological potential, caused by their high resistance to oxidative stress, extreme pH values and temperatures, as well as their ability to withstand phospholipases. Further, methanogens, a specific group of archaea, are already well-established in the field of biotechnology because of their ability to use carbon dioxide and molecular hydrogen or organic substrates. In this study, we show the potential of the model organism Methanothermobacter marburgensis to act both as a carbon dioxide based biological methane producer and as a potential supplier of archaeal lipids. Different cultivation settings were tested to gain an insight into the optimal conditions to produce specific core lipids. The study shows that up-scaling at a constant particle number (n/n = const.) seems to be a promising approach. Further optimizations regarding the length and number of the incubation periods and the ratio of the interaction area to the total liquid volume are necessary for scaling these settings for industrial purposes.
Distribution of Charged Residues Affects the Average Size and Shape of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
Authors: Bianchi Greta , Mangiagalli Marco , Barbiroli Alberto , Longhi Sonia , Grandori Rita , Santambrogio Carlo , Brocca Stefania
Published: April 2022

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are ensembles of interconverting conformers whose conformational properties are governed by several physico-chemical factors, including their amino acid composition and the arrangement of oppositely charged residues within the primary structure. In this work, we investigate the effects of charge patterning on the average compactness and shape of three model IDPs with different proline content. We model IDP ensemble conformations as ellipsoids, whose size and shape are calculated by combining data from size-exclusion chromatography and native mass spectrometry. For each model IDP, we analyzed the wild-type protein and two synthetic variants with permuted positions of charged residues, where positive and negative amino acids are either evenly distributed or segregated. We found that charge clustering induces remodeling of the conformational ensemble, promoting compaction and/or increasing spherical shape. Our data illustrate that the average shape and volume of the ensembles depend on the charge distribution. The potential effect of other factors, such as chain length, number of proline residues, and secondary structure content, is also discussed. This methodological approach is a straightforward way to model IDP average conformation and decipher the salient sequence attributes influencing IDP structural properties.
PCSK9 Plasma Levels Are Associated with Mechanical Vascular Impairment in Familial Hypercholesterolemia Subjects without a History of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Results of Six-Month Add-On PCSK9 Inhibitor Therapy
Authors: Toscano Arianna , Cinquegrani Maria , Scuruchi Michele , Di Pino Antonino , Piro Salvatore , Ferrara Viviana , Morace Carmela , Lo Gullo Alberto , Imbalzano Egidio , Purrello Francesco , Squadrito Giovanni , Scicali Roberto , Mandraffino Giuseppe
Published: April 2022

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 (PCSK9) is a key regulator of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) metabolism involved in the degradation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) through complex mechanisms. The PCSK9 plasma levels change according to lipid lowering therapy (LLT). Few data exist regarding the role of PCSK9 in vascular damage. We aimed to evaluate the impact of PCSK9 plasma levels on pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the effect of PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9-i) on circulating PCSK9 and PWV in a cohort of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) subjects. In a previous step, HeFH patients were enrolled and LLT was prescribed according to guidelines. Biochemical analyses and PWV assessment were performed at baseline (T0), after 6 months of high-efficacy statin plus ezetimibe (T1) and after 6 months of PCSK9-i (T2). The PCSK9 levels were evaluated in 26 selected HeFH subjects at the three time points and 26 healthy subjects served as controls for the reference value for PCSK9 plasma levels. The PWV values decreased at each time point in HeFH subjects after LLT starting (8.61 ± 2.4 m/s, −8.7%; p < 0.001 vs. baseline at T1, and 7.9 ± 2.1 m/s, −9.3%; p < 0.001 vs. both T1 and baseline) and it was correlated to PCSK9 (r = 0.411, p = 0.03). The PCSK9 levels increased on statin/EZE therapy (+42.8% at T1) while it decreased after PCSK9-i was started (−34.4% at T2). We noted a significant relationship between PCSK9 levels and PWV changes at T1 and T2. In conclusion, PCSK9 levels were associated with baseline PWV values in HeFH subjects; moreover, we found that PCSK9 level variations seemed to be correlated with PWV changes on LLT. A longer observation time and wider sample size are needed to assess the potential role of PCSK9 plasma levels on the vascular function and remodelling, and to clarify the effects of PCSK9-i in these pathways.
Gelsolin as a Potential Biomarker for Endoscopic Activity and Mucosal Healing in Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Maeda Keiko , Nakamura Masanao , Yamamura Takeshi , Sawada Tsunaki , Ishikawa Eri , Oishi Akina , Ikegami Shuji , Kakushima Naomi , Furukawa Kazuhiro , Iida Tadashi , Mizutani Yasuyuki , Ishikawa Takuya , Ohno Eizaburo , Honda Takashi , Ishigami Masatoshi , Kawashima Hiroki
Published: April 2022

The therapeutic goal in ulcerative colitis is mucosal healing, which requires improved non-invasive biomarkers to evaluate disease activity. Gelsolin is associated with several autoimmune diseases, and here, we aimed to analyze its usefulness as a serological biomarker for clinical and endoscopic activities in ulcerative colitis. Patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 138) who had undergone blood tests and colonoscopy were included. Serum gelsolin was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and correlation between the gelsolin level and clinical and endoscopic activities was examined. The serum gelsolin level in patients with ulcerative colitis was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects, and it decreased in proportion to increasing Mayo score and Mayo endoscopic subscore. The area under the curve for correlation between clinical and endoscopic remission and serum gelsolin level was higher than that for C-reactive protein. Furthermore, in C-reactive protein-negative patients, the serum gelsolin level was lower in the active phase than in remission. Our findings indicate that the serum gelsolin level correlates with clinical and endoscopic activities in ulcerative colitis, has a higher sensitivity and specificity than C-reactive protein, and can detect mucosal healing, suggesting that gelsolin can be used as a biomarker for ulcerative colitis.
Proteasome Inhibitors Decrease the Viability of Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells by Restoring Mitofusin-2 Expression under Hypoxic Conditions
Authors: Chen I-Chen , Liu Yi-Ching , Wu Yen-Hsien , Lo Shih-Hsing , Wang Shu-Chi , Li Chia-Yang , Dai Zen-Kong , Hsu Jong-Hau , Yeh Chung-Yu , Tseng Yu-Hsin
Published: April 2022

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a severe progressive disease, and the uncontrolled proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is one of the main causes. Mitofusin-2 (MFN2) profoundly inhibits cell growth and proliferation in a variety of tumor cell lines and rat vascular smooth muscle cells. Down-regulation of MFN2 is known to contribute to PH. Proteasome inhibitors have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of PASMCs; however, there is no study on the regulation of proteasome inhibitors through MFN-2 in the proliferation of PASMCs, a main pathophysiology of PH. In this study, PASMCs were exposed to hypoxic conditions and the expression of MFN2 and cleaved-PARP1 were detected by Western blotting. The effects of hypoxia and proteasome inhibitors on the cell viability of PASMC cells were detected by CCK8 assay. The results indicated that hypoxia increases the viability and reduces the expression of MFN2 in a PASMCs model. MFN2 overexpression inhibits the hypoxia-induced proliferation of PASMCs. In addition, proteasome inhibitors, bortezomib and marizomib, restored the decreased expression of MFN2 under hypoxic conditions, inhibited hypoxia-induced proliferation and induced the expression of cleaved-PARP1. These results suggest that bortezomib and marizomib have the potential to improve the hypoxia-induced proliferation of PASMCs by restoring MFN2 expression.
Effects of CB2 Receptor Modulation on Macrophage Polarization in Pediatric Celiac Disease
Authors: Tortora Chiara , Di Paola Alessandra , Argenziano Maura , Creoli Mara , Marrapodi Maria Maddalena , Cenni Sabrina , Tolone Carlo , Rossi Francesca , Strisciuglio Caterina
Published: April 2022

Celiac Disease (CD) represents an autoimmune disorder triggered by the exposure to gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. Recent studies suggest the involvement of macrophages in CD pathogenesis. Macrophages are immune cells, present as pro-inflammatory classically activated macrophages (M1) or as anti-inflammatory alternatively activated macrophages (M2). The Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2) has important anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties. We previously demonstrated that a common CB2 functional variant, Q63R, causing CB2 reduced function, is associated with several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases The first aim of this study was to investigate the phenotype of macrophages isolated from peripheral blood of CD patients and CB2 expression. The second aim was to evaluate the effects of CB2 pharmacological modulation on CD macrophage polarization. Moreover, by an in vitro model of “immunocompetent gut” we investigated the role of CD macrophages in inducing intestinal barrier damage and the possibility to restore its functionality modulating their polarization. We found an increased expression of M1 macrophages and a CB2 reduced expression. We also demonstrated CD M1 macrophages in inducing the typical mucosal barrier damage of CD. CB2 stimulation switches macrophage polarization towards the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype thus reducing inflammation but also limiting the epithelial dysfunction. Therefore, we suggest CB2 receptor as a possible novel therapeutic target for CD by regulating macrophages polarization and by preventing mucosal barrier damage.