bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Cargo Securing Requirements for Two Types of Off-Road Vehicles
Authors: Vlkovsky Martin , Veselik Petr , Malisek Jiri
Published: December 2021

The paper concerns the comparison of two off-road vehicles on three different types of surfaces with regard to cargo securing requirements. As primary data, the values of the acceleration coefficients are obtained from the transport experiments conducted on the Tatra 815 and the Tatra 810 trucks. The goal of the paper is to identify differences between the operations of both the vehicles in terms of cargo securing in the context of EN 12195-1:2010 standard requirements. An elementary statistical analysis was carried out to evaluate the measured data (values of the acceleration coefficients). Based on the results, there are statistically significant differences between the vehicles, and in several cases deviations from the EN 12195-1:2010 standard assumptions were identified as well. The conclusions above have an influence on the cargo securing selection, and primarily on the lashing capacity of the securing means used. The results are usable in the securing system optimisation for the tested vehicles aiming to prevent risk situations related to the loosening of the cargo during transport.
A Numerical Approach for the Design of RC Beams Subjected to Axial and Transverse Loads
Authors: Wahbi Amal , Pham Duc Toan , Hassen Ghazi , Garnier Denis , Buhan Patrick de
Published: December 2021

The present contribution deals with a numerical approach for the design of RC beams subjected to axial and transverse loads. It is based on the finite-element implementation of the kinematic approach of the yield design (or limit analysis) theory combined with a “mixed modelling” where the concrete material is regarded as a classical two-dimensional continuum while the longitudinal reinforcements are modelled as one-dimensional elements working in tension-compression only. For the beams reinforced in shear, stirrups are incorporated in the analysis through a homogenization procedure. An optimization problem is formulated, then solved using conic quadratic optimization method. As a result, an upper bound estimate to the yield strength domain of RC beams may be drawn in the plane of axial and transverse loads. For illustrative purpose, calculations are conducted on typical RC beams with different longitudinal and transverse reinforcement degrees. Furthermore, it is shown that such numerical predictions prove to be in good agreement with the results derived from other numerical simulations of the same problem using a finite element-based limit analysis commercial software. In order to assess their practical validity, these predictions are also compared to some available experimental results published in the literature.
Impact of Building Location on its Energy Demand
Authors: Pokorska-Silva Iwona , Nowoświat Artur , Gać Weronika
Published: December 2021

The paper presents the analyses involving energy demand of a single-family building located in various climatic zones. When designing buildings, special attention is paid to material and technological solutions, but often the climatic zone in which the building is to be located is not taken into account. Therefore, the article considers the location of building in five climatic zones in Poland and it investigates the impact of the location on its energy demand. It turned out that the location of the building in zone V, i.e. in the north-east of the country, determines the highest energy demand for heating compared to the rest of the country. The work demonstrates the impact of a climatic zone in which the building is located on its energy demand.
The revitalisation of old factories area on the chosen example from Lodz
Authors: Zaguła Artur , Grzelakowski Tomasz
Published: December 2021

Lodz (Łódź) is one of the major urban centres in Poland - and a city of unique historical and cultural heritage. The city is continuously changing and developing, respecting its identity and tradition or declaring that. The article aims to present field and case studies of three examples of the revitalisation of neglected areas in Lodz. These post-industrial spaces lost their functions in the last decade of the XXth century. These three projects in different parts of the city with other characteristics and ownership situations represent three different approaches to revitalising historical objects and adjusting them to new functions. Given cases are compelling examples of the various methods used to post-industrial heritage protection and conservation activities and the outcome of those entirely different strategies. As it seems the private entrepreneur has reached the best result in raising activities at the neglected old factory plot but at the same time while placing the responsibility of the space on its new users. Simultaneously, the public financed project oversight by towns authorities introduce the most changes to the historical tissue and seems not to reach its goals as far as a revitalisation of the area is concerned. In this light, the last project joining both private and public funds and introducing a new design solution with extreme care for historical tissue seems to reach the goals of both at a satisfactory level. The examples show how different strategies for cities to redeveloped their image and function work in Mid-European post-communism countries realities and how other types of public life participants embrace this heritage.
Analysis Methodology to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect in the City of Cuenca with Emphasis on Concrete Pavements
Authors: Narváez Trotsky , Contreras Cristian , Farfán Julio Pintado
Published: December 2021

It is evident that the consequence generated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in medium-sized cities with a population of more than 600,000 inhabitants generates a decrease in comfort for the user of the road network due to the increase in temperature and the difficulty of dissipating it. In the city of Cuenca there is a large number of urban roads that are rigid pavement and currently construction and maintenance projects are being generated for them, so it is necessary to seek solutions in the execution of concrete to reduce the UHI effect. The research comprehensively has two approaches: qualitative and quantitative-experimental. In the qualitative approach, the method of systematic review supported by meta-analysis of data is used to contrast information from secondary sources of case studies worldwide in Urban Heat Island, and through an outline the most common methods will be exposed. appropriate to reduce the effects of the object of study. Subsequently, this defined methodology will be put to the consideration of an expert judgment so that through its evaluation we can justify the proposed methodology. The expected result is a method of analysis and experimentation to be applied in the context of the city of Cuenca, which allows determining the effects of radiation on the construction materials of rigid pavements, defining construction strategies and types of concrete to reduce the UHI effect. The city of Cuenca accumulates large amounts of heat during the day and has difficulty dissipating it during the night, so this research seeks to propose construction alternatives and possible mitigation solutions to avoid or counteract the impact produced by the heat island through the most appropriate method.
Modelling and Evaluation of the Seismic Capacity of Typical Brick URM Buildings of the Historical Center of Cuenca- Ecuador
Authors: Calderón-Brito José , Jiménez-Pacheco Juan
Published: December 2021

The Historic Center of Cuenca (HCC) is located in the southern region of Ecuador. It is well known that our country is located on the so-called belt of fire of the Pacific Ocean, this area is characterized by having generated the most important seismic events in the history of mankind. More specifically, there are records that show that in the last 200 years the city of Cuenca has been exposed to earthquakes that have produced moderate to severe damage. These reasons make it possible to establish that the city of Cuenca and specifically its historic center could present important problems in the face of significant seismic events. Most of the buildings in the HCC date back to the middle of the 20th century and have used unreinforced brick masonry (brick-URM) to build their walls. This work is part of the Seismic Vulnerability Project: Seismic Damage Scenarios of the Built Heritage of the Historic Center of Cuenca. In the context of this vulnerability project, the objective of this work was to establish a family of pushover curves for three unreinforced brick masonry buildings typical of the HCC, based on a parametric pushover analysis. The definition of the typical buildings was based on an extensive work of architectural and geometric characterization of the traditional built heritage of HCC. On the basis of focusing the study on two-story buildings (the most common), the size of the floor area of the buildings (small, medium and large area) was assumed as a base parameter. Based on an analysis of the variability of different geometric and mechanical characteristics, and in order to study their influence on the pushover curves of the three typical brick URM buildings, the following study parameters were defined: 1) compressive strength of brick masonry, 2) lateral displacement capacity of brick-URM elements, 3) wall thickness. The pushover analysis was carried out with the Ruaumoko program. The model of the buildings responds to an equivalent portal frame macro-model scheme that has been formulated and validated by the authors of this paper. In order to consider the effects of the flexible floor on the dynamic response of this type of structures, a lateral load pattern that takes into account the contribution of higher order modes of vibration will be used in pushover analysis. The results will be discussed in terms of the incidence of the variability of the study parameters on the basic characteristics of the pushover curves. These results will be an essential input for the next stage of the project consisting of damage estimation for different levels of seismic action expected in the city.
Seismic Vulnerability Due to Construction Defects
Authors: Maldonado Juan Diego Ordoñez , Noboa Juan Sebastián Maldonado
Published: December 2021

In Ecuador, informal construction is a recurrent problem, especially in low-span constructions, as well as in medium-size constructions, in which there is no strict control during their construction and design. This leads to deficient constructions, which diminishes the resilience of the elements, even though they are designed by a professional with experience in structural design, who follows at least all the guidelines of the current standards, and uses the appropriate tools for their conception and design. This generates a false sense of security in the occupants of the building. Failures do not usually occur in the short term, no matter how pitiful the construction method was. In case of anomalies, it is considered something futile, easy to cover up, which only has aesthetic implications. This causes even the most experienced of technicians to trust, making crass mistakes that can lead to the collapse of the structure. Given these problems, the degree of vulnerability due to defects in the building was evaluated.
Design and implementation of nZEB buildings in Poland. Building certification.
Authors: Fedorczak-Cisak Małgorzata , Furtak Marcin
Published: December 2021

The article will discuss the design and construction aspects of nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) in Poland. It is the newest building standard introduced by the Directive on the energy performance of buildings 2010/31/EU. The directive made the implementation of nZEB buildings compulsory in European countries. The article will present analyzes of the energy performance of nZEB buildings, in accordance with Polish legal requirements, and discuss the possibility of achieving this standard in terms of economic efficiency. An important issue is also the certification of newly designed buildings, allowing the promotion of buildings with more restrictive parameters than the minimum energy efficiency requirements specified for nZEB buildings. In the article, the authors will present the developed methodology for certifying buildings in Poland, based on the requirements related to energy efficiency, and on in situ testing of buildings. The article will also present examples of building certification in Poland.
Construction Process Duration Predicted by Statistical Method
Authors: Smugala S. , Kubečková D.
Published: December 2021

Many construction projects today are planned and managed using computer technology. An integral part of the management of these projects is sophisticated software, which includes statistical probabilistic methods. The main task in this area is direct verification of the validity of planned labour productivity values during the construction process according to the recorded average performance values. Using selected statistical methods and analyses, a case study can document this type of undertaking, for example, in a selected masonry process in which the upper and lower limits of performance, i.e. the optimistic and pessimistic bounds, may be calculated with 95% probability. Evaluation of these performance parameters in the construction software used for this study showed a difference in time of 11 days at the end of the process. The figures indicated a 9.6% and 14.3% decrease in labour productivity, respectively, for the optimistic and pessimistic values compared to the construction software ’ s planned values. Repeated evaluation of performance can aid in improving labour productivity and attaining project milestones and subsequent construction deadlines during the construction process. This paper aims to confirm or refute this theoretical balance using probabilistic statistical methods and to emphasize the importance of statistical analysis in the real construction process with the use of the software.
The Role of Urban Informatics in Monitoring the Physical Deteriortion of Urban Environment
Authors: Basma Usama Mohammad Ali D. , Alzu'bi Rafif Mohammad Ja'far
Published: December 2021

The twenty-first century is witnessing a rapid growth population in urban areas; this growth needs intelligent urban planning and management. The field of urban informatics is one of the new and vital specialties to organize and analyse the urban system at all levels and areas. ICT works with interactive community participation to guide and manage the urban environment to serve, provide the residents with safety and security. The paper presents a new vision in terms of employing the field of urban informatics in mapping and monitoring the urban deterioration of the built environment in general and buildings in particular. The urban informatics system is still taking its first steps to manage and serve the city's facilities (transportation, communication, air pollution, etc.). The built environment and the deterioration through time and other factors are still far from this area. This paper aims to identify the urban information field, the situations, and types of urban deterioration and move to capture urban deterioration indicators (main and secondary), which can be measured in urban informatics. This paper recommends the adoption of such a mechanism in managing and controlling the deterioration that contributes to the reduction of material and human losses, saving time and money away from traditional methods, and the possibility of employing them in times of crisis and disasters in the urban environment.
Basic reflections on the implementation of different 3D technologies co-operating in the architectural design process
Authors: Furmanek Aleksander Filip
Published: December 2021

The constant progress of technique is inevitable nowadays and seems to be the same in a predictable future. The observation of this phenomenon leads us to formulate a few reflections on it. The use of advanced techniques causes a clearer detachment of production processes from human work. Robotics and automation were initially supposed to facilitate the production of elements, but over time they began to replace humans more and more. Will there be a place for human work in the future? It is already being pushed out of many bastions in which it was supposed to be indispensable. Autonomous cars and buses are the best example of this. Can similar phenomena be noticed in design? Will the machine replace the creator? The development of artificial intelligence (AI) shows that it is possible. Complicated algorithms are already able to compose a piece of classical music. In the case of architecture, architects are still in the lead, however, one has to take into account the conquest of this field by AI. At the moment, designers have various advanced techniques at their disposal to facilitate and accelerate their work. The most important among them are: digital 3D modeling CAD (Computer Aided Design), Building Information Modeling (BIM), visualizations, and computer animations mainly used to present ready-made ideas, but also useful at the concept stage. Apart from them, three-dimensional printing is also important, as well as three-dimensional design of structures. The above technologies are increasingly used in the design process. They are more compatible with each other than before. They allow you to save labour, accelerate the implementation of tasks, as well as to optimise the designed buildings in many respects related to construction, prefabrication or energy efficiency, to name just a few. An important, although not very common, advantage of technological innovations is their use not only during design and construction, but also during the maintenance of ready-made buildings. The best example of this is BIM, which facilitates the previous management of these technology designed objects. In the future, it will be much easier to design the adaptations of such buildings and to store information of changes which were made. This approach fits in with the idea of Management of Change, which can be included in an even broader aspect among the paradigm of sustainable development.
Mechanical Properties of Transparent Epoxy Adhesives for Glass Structures
Authors: Zikmundová Markéta , Eliášová Martina
Published: December 2021

Adhesive connections are commonly used in many industries as automotive, aerospace, electronics and also in civil engineering. Adhesives in civil engineering are used for non-load bearing structures but nowadays are requirements for using adhesive also for load- bearing structures especially for glass structures. Silicones are mostly used adhesives in civil engineering, they have good resistance to external environment but their lower strength and lower stiffness does not meet requirements for many applications. For this reason, are better semi-rigid or rigid adhesives but there is a lack of information about them. The paper is focused on experimental testing of transparent adhesive connection glass to glass. Four epoxy adhesives were chosen for double lap shear joint. Specimen were exposed to shear test until failure. Shear force and displacement were measured during test. Shear stress, elongation at break, shear modulus and failure mode were obtained from the tests. Only one epoxy adhesive had low adhesion to glass. Specimen with this adhesive had the lowest shear strength. Other three adhesives showed good adhesion to glass and had shear strength 6.5 times higher. Failure mode of specimen with these adhesives was always breaking of the glass.
Study Results and Obtaining High Ventilation Air Quality in Architecture for an Old Shopping Centre Public Utility Building with Modernised EL. Heating in Warsaw, District, Poland
Authors: Wrana Jan , Struzik Wojciech
Published: December 2021

The subject of this paper is the study of a public utility building, a shopping centre in Warsaw/Targówek, carried out as part of the programme of “Research for obtaining high air quality in architecture. The purpose of the study of the building is to utilise a new technology which will lead to reductions in electrical and heat energy consumption and cuts in CO2 emissions in the modernised Shopping Centre Public Utility Building in Warsaw. The building is equipped with systems for obtaining heat and cold from groundwater and is adapted to a low electrical energy consumption level with the lowest primary energy ratio in Poland. It is located in Warsaw and, in addition to the energy sourcing system, features a highly modern control system (BMS). The objective of the study is to demonstrate operating costs for a building with low exterior wall and roof insulation parameters. In addition, the building uses a heating system based solely on electrical heating due to its lack of access to gas and district heating. The conducted studies and analyses allowed a comparison of the operating costs of old buildings following modernisation with those of new buildings.
A multi-AUV cooperative navigation method
Authors: Shao Yang , Luo Qinghua , Liu Chao , Yan Xiaozhen , Yang Kexin
Published: December 2021

Cooperative navigation is one of the key methods for multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to obtain accurate positions when performing tasks underwater. In the realistic state-space model of the multi-AUV cooperative navigation system, where the system noise does not satisfy the additivity, it is necessary to augment the dimension of the state variables before nonlinear filtering. Aiming at the problem that the error of traditional algorithms increases linearly with the dimension of state-space, a cooperative navigation method based on Augmented Embedded Cubature Kalman filter (AECKF) algorithm is proposed. The experiment results show that the AECKF cooperative navigation algorithm has better positioning accuracy and stability than the traditional algorithm.
Research on DC-DC power health management technology based on degradation test and deep learning
Authors: Shi Linlin , Yu Pengfei , He Shilie , Zhou Zhenwei , Meng Linghui , Liu Junbin , Cheng Liye , Huang Yun
Published: December 2021

The health state of DC-DC power supply is the key factor to determine whether the electronic equipment can operate normally. The failure and deterioration of the power supply system will lead to the collapse of the entire electronic system. The research in this paper is based on the long-term high temperature degradation test data of a certain type of DC-DC power supply. The degradation law of power supply is studied by data preprocessing and noise reduction of sensitive parameters such as input current, output current, input voltage and output voltage. On this basis, we use the method of deep learning to model the efficiency of power supply in the process of degradation test. The experimental results show that the efficiency time series modeling of power supply degradation using LSTM method can effectively reflect the law of power supply efficiency degradation. Based on the DC-DC power health management technology combining degradation test and deep learning, the advanced fault prediction model is used to reflect the change law of power supply in the real degradation process. This method has certain theoretical and engineering value for power PHM modeling and application.
Analysis on vibration response of bearing coupling faults in rotor-bearing system
Authors: Gong Xiaoyun , Li Chao , Zhi Zeheng , Du Wenliao
Published: December 2021

It is well known that the coupled fault diagnosis of rotating machinery is a challenging task, which is mainly due to the complexity of the vibration signals and the interaction of multiple fault components. In order to study the coupling vibration characteristics from unbalance and bearing fault in rotor-bearing system, A dynamic model of the coupled fault is performed to explore the phenomena of multi-fault in the rotor-bearing system in this paper. An experimental study, including seven working conditions, is also examined to further indicate the vibration response of coupling fault with unbalance and bearing fault. The influence of the rotor unbalance on the bearing vibration characteristics and the vibration rules of the coupling fault are proposed in this paper.
Investigation on failure mechanism of electrical connectors under repetitive mechanical insertion and withdrawal operations
Authors: Meng Yuan , Ren Wanbin
Published: December 2021

Electrical connector is an essential accessory component for electrical and electronic interconnection circuit. In order to investigate the degradation behavior of electrical connector, a series of repetitive mechanical insertion and withdrawal operations of electrical connector have been carried out. The results indicate that there is an increasing trend in insertion/extraction force in the initial stage. Afterwards, it becomes a gradually decreasing trend attributed to the mechanical wear of the contact components. In addition, the oxidative wear of substrate copper alloy material causes the fluctuation phenomenon of contact resistance. The relevant mathematic models for insertion/extraction force and contact resistance calculation are presented to research the dynamic insertion/extraction process. Finally, the degradation behavior and associated physical mechanisms are proposed by analysing the laser confocal photographs and parameter waveforms comparison.
An integrated condition monitoring method for rolling element bearings based on perceptual vibration hashing and SOM
Authors: Yan Shiwei , Liu Haining , Li Fajia , Cui Huanyong
Published: December 2021

Rolling element bearings are widely used in rotating machinery. Bearing faults will result in damage to property. So, the condition monitoring of bearings is of great significance, but few methods can achieve both degradation assessment and fault diagnosis. In this paper, an integrated condition monitoring method for rolling element bearings based on perceptual vibration hashing (PVH) and self-organizing maps (SOM) is proposed. Distance matric based on PVH is used as a health indicator for degradation assessment, in which the baseline of healthy state is selected based on the clustering centre of SOM instead of experience. When the value of health indicator exceeds the pre-set threshold, visualized fault diagnosis can also be achieved by training the SOM network. The effectiveness of the developed method is verified with the vibration data from accelerated degradation tests of rolling element bearings.
Development of sliding contact resistance testing equipment for carbon brush confluence ring
Authors: Feng Daozhuo , Liang Bin , Zhong Fangyao , Zhou Yilin
Published: December 2021

A carbon brush and a confluence ring form a pair of sliding electrical contacts. To reduce the contact resistance between the carbon brush and the confluence ring, the time for the running-in wear of the carbon brush increased during the machining process to increase the actual contact area. As a result, the welding and ablation failure between the carbon brush and the confluence ring happened under the impact of high current during service. To explore the effect of carbon brush wear on sliding electrical contact performance, it is necessary to monitor the dynamic contact resistance of the carbon brush and the confluence ring. In this paper, a set of 8-channel contact resistance testing equipment is developed. The device uses a relay array to achieve 1-8 channel gating and uses a data acquisition card to detect the contact resistance of each carbon brush and confluence ring pair combining with a four-point method. Based on the Labview software, it realizes the selection of acquisition channels, data acquisition card driving, real-time data processing, displaying, and storage. The range of contact resistance that this set of equipment can detect is 10mΩ ∼2Ω, and the accuracy can reach 1% of the full scale. Finally, the simulation experiments show that the testing equipment meets the technical requirements, and the continuous test runs stably and reliably. It can be used for the testing and research of the sliding contact resistance between the carbon brush and the confluence ring during the running-in wear process.
Simulation and experimental investigation of contact spot temperature for electrical contact components
Authors: Zhang Chao , Zhao Zien , Ren Wanbin
Published: December 2021

The contact spot temperature of electrical contact components substantially affects the reliability and electrical life of any electrical connections within the electrical engineering. In this paper, finite element model of typical spring structure components is built by using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Furthermore, the transient process of contact temperature is simulated by taking account of film resistance on the contact surface. Moreover, a test rig is introduced that makes it possible to measure the electrical contact resistance and temperature within the electrical contact components simultaneously. Finally, correlation between contact resistance and contact spot temperature with different contact force and current levels are investigated explicitly.
3MCor: an integrative web server for metabolome–microbiome-metadata correlation analysis
Authors: Sun Tao , Li Mengci , Yu Xiangtian , Liang Dandan , Xie Guoxiang , Sang Chao , Jia Wei , Chen Tianlu
Published: December 2021

Motivation

The metabolome and microbiome disorders are highly associated with human health, and there are great demands for dual-omics interaction analysis. Here, we designed and developed an integrative platform, 3MCor, for metabolome and microbiome correlation analysis under the instruction of phenotype and with the consideration of confounders.

Results

Many traditional and novel correlation analysis methods were integrated for intra- and inter-correlation analysis. Three inter-correlation pipelines are provided for global, hierarchical and pairwise analysis. The incorporated network analysis function is conducive to rapid identification of network clusters and key nodes from a complicated correlation network. Complete numerical results (csv files) and rich figures (pdf files) will be generated in minutes. To our knowledge, 3MCor is the first platform developed specifically for the correlation analysis of metabolome and microbiome. Its functions were compared with corresponding modules of existing omics data analysis platforms. A real-world dataset was used to demonstrate its simple and flexible operation, comprehensive outputs and distinctive contribution to dual-omics studies.

Availabilityand implementation

3MCor is available at http://3mcor.cn and the backend R script is available at https://github.com/chentianlu/3MCorServer.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
No one tool to rule them all: prokaryotic gene prediction tool annotations are highly dependent on the organism of study
Authors: Dimonaco Nicholas J , Aubrey Wayne , Kenobi Kim , Clare Amanda , Creevey Christopher J
Published: December 2021

Motivation

The biases in CoDing Sequence (CDS) prediction tools, which have been based on historic genomic annotations from model organisms, impact our understanding of novel genomes and metagenomes. This hinders the discovery of new genomic information as it results in predictions being biased towards existing knowledge. To date, users have lacked a systematic and replicable approach to identify the strengths and weaknesses of any CDS prediction tool and allow them to choose the right tool for their analysis.

Results

We present an evaluation framework (ORForise) based on a comprehensive set of 12 primary and 60 secondary metrics that facilitate the assessment of the performance of CDS prediction tools. This makes it possible to identify which performs better for specific use-cases. We use this to assess 15 ab initio- and model-based tools representing those most widely used (historically and currently) to generate the knowledge in genomic databases. We find that the performance of any tool is dependent on the genome being analysed, and no individual tool ranked as the most accurate across all genomes or metrics analysed. Even the top-ranked tools produced conflicting gene collections, which could not be resolved by aggregation. The ORForise evaluation framework provides users with a replicable, data-led approach to make informed tool choices for novel genome annotations and for refining historical annotations.

Availability and implementation

Code and datasets for reproduction and customisation are available at https://github.com/NickJD/ORForise.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Human Rights and Systemic Wrongs: National Preventive Mechanisms and the Monitoring of Care Homes for Older People
Authors: Hardwick Nick , Marriott Jane , Mason Karl , Steinbrecher Marie
Published: December 2021

Care homes for older people may become places of deprivation of liberty due to their residents’ lack of capacity to consent to their stay. The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture requires States Parties to establish National Preventive Mechanisms to undertake visits to all places of deprivation of liberty to prevent torture and other ill treatment. This paper discusses the ways in which National Preventive Mechanisms report on human rights concerns in older people’s care homes across 26 Council of Europe states. A framework established by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture provides a starting point for this analysis. Common themes around restraint, ill treatment, safeguards for involuntary placements, and resourcing issues emerge. Against a backdrop of concerns heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic, the paper concludes that a narrow focus on individual human rights needs to be supplemented by addressing the structural issues on which the more broadly conceived rights of residents of care homes for older people depend.
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera Hymenoptera: Apidae) Preferentially Avoid Sugar Solutions Supplemented with Field-Relevant Concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide Despite High Tolerance Limits
Authors: Bartlett Lewis J , Martinez-Mejia Carlos , Delaplane Keith S
Published: December 2021

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L. Hymeoptera: Apidae) use hydrogen peroxide (synthesized by excreted glucose oxidase) as an important component of social immunity. However, both tolerance of hydrogen peroxide and the production of glucose oxidase in honey is costly. Hydrogen peroxide may also be encountered by honey bees at high concentrations in nectar while foraging, however despite its presence both in their foraged and stored foods, it is unclear if and how bees monitor concentrations of, and their behavioral responses to, hydrogen peroxide. The costs of glucose oxidase production and the presence of hydrogen peroxide in both nectar and honey suggest hypotheses that honey bees preferentially forage on hydrogen peroxide supplemented feed syrups at certain concentrations, and avoid feed syrups supplemented with hydrogen peroxide at concentrations above some tolerance threshold. We test these hypotheses and find that, counter to expectation, honey bees avoid glucose solutions supplemented with field-relevant hydrogen peroxide concentrations and either avoid or don’t differentiate supplemented sucrose solutions when given choice assays. This is despite honey bees showing high tolerance for hydrogen peroxide in feed solutions, with no elevated mortality until concentrations of hydrogen peroxide exceed 1% (v/v) in solution, with survival apparent even at concentrations up to 10%. The behavioral interaction of honey bees with hydrogen peroxide during both within-colony synthesis in honey and when foraging on nectar therefore likely relies on interactions with other indicator molecules, and maybe constrained evolutionarily in its plasticity, representing a constitutive immune mechanism.
Strategies of Dictatorship and Military Disloyalty during Anti-Authoritarian Protests: Explaining Defections and Coups
Authors: Neu Kara Kingma
Published: December 2021

Militaries often respond to major anti-authoritarian protests with disloyalty. While militaries may defect, refusing to support the dictator, they may also seize power. Defections and coups are distinct forms of disloyalty with important implications for regime change and democratization. The existing scholarship on defections tends to aggregate them, while that on coups does not explain why, during protests, a military seizes power rather than defects. In this article, I draw on these bodies of work as well as new research on autocratic civil–military relations to argue that the strategies dictators use vis-à-vis their militaries to consolidate and secure their personal power affect military disposition and ability for disloyalty in different ways that matter for the likelihood of the two behaviors. Dictators who civilianize their regimes undermine their power-sharing agreements with the military, increasing the likelihood of coups. Dictators who personalize their security apparatuses generate military grievances, including by causing divisions, which reduces the ability of militaries to seize power and increases the likelihood of defections. I find support for this argument—for the relationship between dictator strategies and forms of military disloyalty during protests—using statistical analysis and case studies of civilianization and a 1991 coup during protests in Mali and personal control and a 1990 defection during protests in Benin.
Radiation affects glutathione redox reaction by reduced glutathione peroxidase activity in human fibroblasts
Authors: Shimura Tsutomu , Nakashiro Chinami , Fujiwara Kazusi , Shiga Rina , Sasatani Megumi , Kamiya Kenji , Ushiyama Akira
Published: December 2021

The glutathione (GSH) redox control is critical to maintain redox balance in the body’s internal environment, and its perturbation leads to a dramatic increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and oxidative stress which have negative impacts on human health. Although ionizing radiation increases mitochondrial ROS generation, the mechanisms underlying radiation-induced late ROS accumulation are not fully understood. Here we investigated the radiation effect on GSH redox reactions in normal human diploid lung fibroblasts TIG-3 and MRC-5. Superoxide anion probe MitoSOX-red staining and measurement of GSH peroxidase (GPx) activity revealed that high dose single-radiation (SR) exposure (10 Gy) increased mitochondrial ROS generation and overall oxidative stress in parallel with decrease in GSH peroxidase (GPx) activity, while GSH redox control was effective after exposure to moderate doses under standard serum conditions. We used different serum conditions to elucidate the role of serum on GSH redox reaction. Serum starvation, serum deprivation and DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitors-treatment reduced the GPx activity and increased mitochondrial ROS generation regardless of radiation exposure. Fractionated-radiation was used to evaluate the radiation effect on GSH reactions. Repeated fractionated-radiation induced prolonged oxidative stress by down-regulation of GPx activity. In conclusion, radiation affects GSH usage according to radiation dose, irradiation methods and serum concentration. Radiation affected the GPx activity to disrupt fibroblast redox homeostasis.
The interplay of aryl hydrocarbon receptor/WNT/CTNNB1/Notch signaling pathways regulate amyloid beta precursor mRNA/protein expression and effected the learning and memory of mice
Authors: Keshavarzi Majid , Moradbeygi Fatemeh , Mobini Keivan , Ghaffarian Bahraman Ali , Mohammadi Parisa , Ghaedi Afsaneh , Mohammadi-Bardbori Afshin
Published: December 2021

The amyloid beta precursor protein (APP) plays a pathophysiological role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease as well as a physiological role in neuronal growth and synaptogenesis. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)/WNT/Catenin Beta 1 (CTNNB1)/Notch signaling pathways stamp in many functions, including development and growth of neurons. However, the regulatory role of AhR-/WNT-/CTNNB1-/Notch-induced APP expression and its influence on hippocampal-dependent learning and memory deficits is not clear. Male BALB/C mice received 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (an AhR agonist), CH223191(an AhR antagonist), DAPT (an inhibitor of Notch signaling), and XAV-939 (a WNT pathway inhibitor) at a single dose of 100 μg/kg, 1, 5 , and 5 mg/kg of body weight, respectively, via intraperitoneal injection alone or in combination. Gene expression analyses and protein assay were performed on the 7th and 29th days. To assess the hippocampal-dependent memory, all six mice also underwent contextual fear conditioning on the 28th day after treatments. Our results showed that endogenous ligand of AhR has a regulatory effect on APP gene. Also, the interaction of AhR/WNT/CTNNB1 has a positive regulatory effect, but Notch has a negative regulatory effect on the mRNA and protein expression of APP, which have a correlation with mice’s learning skills and memory.
Leaf necrosis resulting from downregulation of poplar glycosyltransferaseUGT72A2
Authors: Behr Marc , Speeckaert Nathanael , Kurze Elisabeth , Morel Oriane , Prévost Martine , Mol Adeline , Mahamadou Adamou Nassirou , Baragé Moussa , Renaut Jenny , Schwab Wilfried , El Jaziri Mondher , Baucher Marie
Published: December 2021

Reactive species (RS) causing oxidative stress are unavoidable by-products of various plant metabolic processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration or photorespiration. In leaves, flavonoids scavenge RS produced during photosynthesis and protect plant cells against deleterious oxidative damages. Their biosynthesis and accumulation are therefore under tight regulation at the cellular level. Glycosylation has emerged as an essential biochemical reaction in the homeostasis of various specialized metabolites such as flavonoids. This article provides a functional characterization of the Populus tremula x P. alba (poplar) UGT72A2 coding for a UDP-glycosyltransferase that is localized in the chloroplasts. Compared with the wild type, transgenic poplar lines with decreased expression of UGT72A2 are characterized by reduced growth and oxidative damages in leaves, as evidenced by necrosis, higher content of glutathione and lipid peroxidation products as well as diminished soluble peroxidase activity and NADPH to NADP+ ratio under standard growing conditions. They furthermore display lower pools of phenolics, anthocyanins and total flavonoids but higher proanthocyanidins content. Promoter analysis revealed the presence of cis-elements involved in photomorphogenesis, chloroplast biogenesis and flavonoid biosynthesis. The UGT72A2 is regulated by the poplar MYB119, a transcription factor known to regulate the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Phylogenetic analysis and molecular docking suggest that UGT72A2 could glycosylate flavonoids; however, the actual substrate(s) was not consistently evidenced with either in vitro assays nor analyses of glycosylated products in leaves of transgenic poplar overexpressing or downregulated for UGT72A2. This article provides elements highlighting the importance of flavonoid glycosylation regarding protection against oxidative stress in poplar leaves and raises new questions about the link between this biochemical reaction and regulation of the redox homeostasis system.
Identification and Management of Phytophthora Aerial Blight Caused byPhytophthora nicotianaeonCatharanthus roseus
Authors: Baysal-Gurel Fulya , Bika Ravi , Simmons Terri , Avin Farhat
Published: December 2021

Phytophthora nicotianae is the most common pathogen in nurseries and gardens, infecting both woody and herbaceous ornamental plants. Phytophthora aerial blight symptoms such dull water-soaked lesions on shoot tips and leaf petioles, girdling on the main stem, necrosis, and wilting of annual vinca were observed in a commercial greenhouse in Warren County, TN, U.S.A., in May 2016. The objective of this study was to identify the causal agent of Phytophthora aerial blight and develop a fungicide management recommendation for ornamental producers. Attempts to isolate the pathogen from symptomatic leaf tissue were conducted, and excised leaf pieces were embedded in V8 agar medium. Morphological characterization, PCR, sequencing, and pathogenicity test of the isolate FBG2016_444 were conducted to confirm the pathogen identification. The sequence identity was 100% identical to P. nicotianae, and a combined phylogenetic tree (internal transcribed spacer, large subunit of rDNA, and ras-related protein gene) grouped isolate FBG2016_444 within the clade of P. nicotianae. In the pathogenicity study, all inoculated annual vinca plant showed Phytophthora aerial blight symptoms, and P. nicotianae was reisolated, whereas noninoculated annual vinca plant remained symptomless. These findings confirmed P. nicotianae as the causal agent of Phytophthora aerial blight of annual vinca. In addition, two rates (0.078 and 0.156 ml·liter–1) and three application intervals (7, 14, and 21 days before inoculation [DBI]) of oxathiapiprolin (Segovis) were evaluated for their ability to reduce the Phytophthora aerial blight severity on annual vinca plants. The control groups were positive (nontreated inoculated) and negative (nontreated noninoculated) plants. Both rates and application timings of oxathiapiprolin significantly reduced Phytophthora aerial blight severity and disease progress (area under disease progress curve [AUDPC]) on annual vinca plants compared with the positive control. However, 0.078 and 0.156 ml·liter–1of oxathiapiprolin applied at 7 or 14 DBI were the most effective treatments in reducing the disease severity and AUDPC on annual vinca plants. The plant growth parameters such as increase in height and width, total plant weight, and root weight were not influenced by the application of oxathiapiprolin. The findings reported in this study will help ornamental producers with better management of Phytophthora aerial blight of annual vinca.