bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of Heat Transfer Analysis in Different Cavity Geometries with and without Nanofluids
Authors: Rashid Farhan Lafta , Hussein Ahmed Kadhim , Malekshah Emad Hasani , Abderrahmane Aissa , Guedri Kamel , Younis Obai
Published: July 2022

Many strategies have been attempted for accomplishing the needed changes in the heat-transfer rate in closed cavities in recent years. Some strategies used include the addition of flexible or hard partitions to the cavities (to split them into various pieces), thickening the borders, providing fins to the cavities, or altering the forms or cavity angles. Each of these methods may be used to increase or decrease heat transmission. Many computational and experimental investigations of heat transport in various cavity shapes have been conducted. The majority of studies focused on improving the thermal efficiency of heat transmission in various cavity containers. This paper introduced a review of experimental, numerical, and analytical studies related to heat transfer analyses in different geometries, such as circular, cylindrical, hexagonal, and rectangular cavities. Results of the evaluated studies indicate that the fin design increased heat transmission and sped up the melting time of the PCM; the optimal wind incidence angle for the maximum loss of combined convective heat depends on the tilt angle of the cavity and wind speed. The Nusselt number graphs behave differently when decreasing the Richardson number. Comparatively, the natural heat transfer process dominates at Ri = 10, but lid motion is absent at Ri = 1. For a given Ri and Pr, the cavity without a block performed better than the cavity with a square or circular block. The heat transfer coefficient at the heating sources has been established as a performance indicator. Hot source fins improve heat transmission and reduce gallium melting time.
Tuning Design Parameters of ICAM-1-Targeted 3DNA Nanocarriers to Optimize Pulmonary Targeting Depending on Drug Type
Authors: Roki Nikša , Solomon Melani , Bowers Jessica , Getts Lori , Getts Robert , Muro Silvia
Published: July 2022

3DNA holds promise as a carrier for drugs that can be intercalated into its core or linked to surface arms. Coupling 3DNA to an antibody targeting intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) results in high lung-specific biodistributions in vivo. While the role of individual parameters on ICAM-1 targeting has been studied for other nanocarriers, it has never been examined for 3DNA or in a manner capable of revealing the hierarchic interplay among said parameters. In this study, we used 2-layer vs. 4-layer anti-ICAM 3DNA and radiotracing to examine biodistribution in mice. We found that, below saturating conditions and within the ranges tested, the density of targeting antibodies on 3DNA is the most relevant parameter driving lung targeting over liver clearance, compared to the number of antibodies per carrier, total antibody dose, 3DNA dose, 3DNA size, or the administered concentration, which influenced the dose in organs but not the lung specific-over-liver clearance ratio. Data predicts that lung-specific delivery of intercalating (core loaded) drugs can be tuned using this biodistribution pattern, while that of arm-linked (surface loaded) drugs requires a careful parametric balance because increasing anti-ICAM density reduces the number of 3DNA arms available for drug loading.
High-Performance Electro-Optical Mach–Zehnder Modulators in a Silicon Nitride–Lithium Niobate Thin-Film Hybrid Platform
Authors: Han Huangpu , Yang Fan , Liu Chenghao , Wang Zhengfang , Jiang Yunpeng , Chai Guangyue , Ruan Shuangchen , Xiang Bingxi
Published: July 2022

We analyzed a Mach–Zehnder electro-optical modulator based on a silicon nitride strip–loaded waveguide on 0.5 μm thick x-cut lithium niobate thin film. The optical and radio frequency parameters for two different modulator structures (Type I: packaged with 2 μm thick SiO2 and Type II: unpackaged) were simulated, calculated, and optimized. The Optical parameters included the single-mode conditions, effective indices, the separation distance between the electrode edge and the Si3N4-strip-loaded edge, optical power distribution, bending loss, optical field distribution, and half-wave voltage. The radio frequency parameters included the characteristic impedance, attenuation constant, radio frequency effective index, and −3 dB modulation bandwidth. According to the numerical simulation and theoretical analysis, the half-wave voltage product and the −3 dB modulation bandwidth were, respectively, 2.85 V·cm and 0.4 THz for Type I modulator, and 2.33 V·cm and 1.26 THz for Type II modulator, with a device length of 3 mm.
The Imbibition of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Seeds in Silver Nitrate Reduces Seed Germination, Seedlings Development and Their Metabolic Profile
Authors: Szablińska-Piernik Joanna , Lahuta Lesław Bernard , Stałanowska Karolina , Horbowicz Marcin
Published: July 2022

The use of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on plants is accompanied by the occurrence of Ag+ ions, so the research of the effects of both on plants should be related. Therefore, in our study, the effects of Ag NPs suspension (containing Ag0 at 20 mg/L) and AgNO3 solutions (with the concentration of Ag+ ions at 20 and 50 mg/L) on the seed germination and early seedling growth (4 days) of pea (Pisum sativum L.) were compared. Both Ag NPs and AgNO3 did not decrease seed germination, and even stimulated seedling growth. In seedlings developing in the Ag NPs suspension, an increase in monosaccharides, homoserine and malate was noted. In the next experiment, the effect of short-term seed imbibition (8 h) in AgNO3 at elevated concentrations, ranging from 100 to 1000 mg/L, on the further seed germination, seedling growth (in absence of AgNO3) and their polar metabolic profiles were evaluated. The seed imbibition in AgNO3 solutions at 500 and 1000 mg/L reduced seed germination, inhibited seedlings’ growth and caused morphological deformations (twisting and folding of root). The above phytotoxic effects were accompanied by changes in amino acids and soluble carbohydrates profiles, in both sprouts and cotyledons. In deformed sprouts, the content of homoserine and asparagine (major amino acids) decreased, while alanine, glutamic acid, glutamine, proline, GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) and sucrose increased. The increase in sucrose coincided with a decrease in glucose and fructose. Sprouts, but not cotyledons, also accumulated malic acid and phosphoric acid. Additionally, cotyledons developed from seeds imbibed with AgNO3 contained raffinose and stachyose, which were not detectable in sprouts and cotyledons of control seedlings. The obtained results suggest the possible disturbances in the mobilization of primary (oligosaccharides) and presumably major storage materials (starch, proteins) as well as in the primary metabolism of developing seedlings.
Comparison Process of Blood Heavy Metals Absorption Linked to Measured Air Quality Data in Areas with High and Low Environmental Impact
Authors: Lotrecchiano Nicoletta , Montano Luigi , Bonapace Ian Marc , Giancarlo Tenore , Trucillo Paolo , Sofia Daniele
Published: July 2022

Air pollution is a problem shared by the entire world population, and researchers have highlighted its adverse effects on human health in recent years. The object of this paper was the relationship between the pollutants’ concentrations measured in the air and the quantity of pollutant itself inhaled by the human body. The area chosen for the study has a high environmental impact given the significant presence on the territory of polluting activities. The Acerra area (HI) has a waste-to-energy plant and numerous industries to which polluting emissions are attributed. This area has always been the subject of study as the numbers of cancer patients are high. A survey on male patients to evaluate the heavy metals concentrations in the blood was conducted in the two areas and then linked to its values aero-dispersed. Using the air quality data measured by the monitoring networks in two zones, one with high environmental impact (HI) and one with low environmental impact (LI), the chronicle daily intake (CDI) of pollutants inhaled by a single person was calculated. The pollutants considered in this study are PM10 and four heavy metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb) constituting the typical particulates of the areas concerned. The CDI values calculated for the two zones are significantly higher in the HI zone following the seasonal pollution trend.
Monitoring Surface Water Inundation of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake in China Using Sentinel-1 SAR Images
Authors: Wang Zirui , Xie Fei , Ling Feng , Du Yun
Published: July 2022

High-temporal-resolution inundation maps play an important role in surface water monitoring, especially in lake sites where water bodies change tremendously. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that guarantees a full time-series in monitoring surface water due to its cloud-penetrating capability is preferred in practice. To date, the methods of extracting and analyzing inundation maps of lake sites have been widely discussed, but the method of extracting surface water maps refined by inundation frequency map and the distinction of inundation frequency map from different datasets have not been fully explored. In this study, we leveraged the Google Earth Engine platform to compare and evaluate the effects of a method combining a histogram-based algorithm with a temporal-filtering algorithm in order to obtain high-quality surface water maps. Both algorithms were conducted on Sentinel-1 images over Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, the two largest lakes in China, respectively. High spatiotemporal time-series analyses of both lakes were implemented between 2017 and 2021, while the inundation frequency maps extracted from Sentinel-1 data were compared with those extracted from Landsat images. It was found that Sentinel-1 can monitor water inundation with a substantially higher accuracy, although minor differences were found between the two sites, with the overall accuracy for Poyang Lake (95.38–98.69%) being higher than that of Dongting Lake (95.05–97.5%). The minimum and maximum water areas for five years were 1232.96 km2 and 3828.36 km2 in Poyang Lake, and 624.7 km2 and 2189.17 km2 in Dongting Lake. Poyang Lake was frequently inundated with 553.03 km2 of permanent water and 3361.39 km2 of seasonal water while Dongting Lake was less frequently inundated with 320.09 km2 of permanent water and 2224.53 km2 of seasonal water. The inundation frequency maps from different data sources had R2 values higher than 0.8, but there were still significant differences between them. The overall inundation frequency values of the Sentinel-1 inundation frequency maps were lower than those of the Landsat inundation frequency maps due to the severe contamination from cloud cover in Landsat imagery, which should be paid attention in practical application.
Understanding External Influences on Target Detection and Classification Using Camera Trap Images and Machine Learning
Authors: Westworth Sally O. A. , Chalmers Carl , Fergus Paul , Longmore Steven N. , Piel Alex K. , Wich Serge A.
Published: July 2022

Using machine learning (ML) to automate camera trap (CT) image processing is advantageous for time-sensitive applications. However, little is currently known about the factors influencing such processing. Here, we evaluate the influence of occlusion, distance, vegetation type, size class, height, subject orientation towards the CT, species, time-of-day, colour, and analyst performance on wildlife/human detection and classification in CT images from western Tanzania. Additionally, we compared the detection and classification performance of analyst and ML approaches. We obtained wildlife data through pre-existing CT images and human data using voluntary participants for CT experiments. We evaluated the analyst and ML approaches at the detection and classification level. Factors such as distance and occlusion, coupled with increased vegetation density, present the most significant effect on DP and CC. Overall, the results indicate a significantly higher detection probability (DP), 81.1%, and correct classification (CC) of 76.6% for the analyst approach when compared to ML which detected 41.1% and classified 47.5% of wildlife within CT images. However, both methods presented similar probabilities for daylight CT images, 69.4% (ML) and 71.8% (analysts), and dusk CT images, 17.6% (ML) and 16.2% (analysts), when detecting humans. Given that users carefully follow provided recommendations, we expect DP and CC to increase. In turn, the ML approach to CT image processing would be an excellent provision to support time-sensitive threat monitoring for biodiversity conservation.
Feedforward Control of Piezoelectric Ceramic Actuators Based on PEA-RNN
Authors: Xiong Yongcheng , Jia Wenhong , Zhang Limin , Zhao Ying , Zheng Lifang
Published: July 2022

Multilayer perceptron (MLP) has been demonstrated to implement feedforward control of the piezoelectric actuator (PEA). To further improve the control accuracy of the neural network, reduce the training time, and explore the possibility of online model updating, a novel recurrent neural network named PEA-RNN is established in this paper. PEA-RNN is a three-input, one-output neural network, including one gated recurrent unit (GRU) layer, seven linear layers, and one residual connection in the linear layers. The experimental results show that the displacement linearity error of piezoelectric ceramics reaches 8.96 μm in the open-loop condition. After using PEA-RNN compensation, the maximum displacement error of piezoelectric ceramics is reduced to 0.465 μm at the operating frequency of 10 Hz, which proves that PEA-RNN can accurately compensate piezoelectric ceramics’ dynamic hysteresis nonlinearity. At the same time, the training epochs of PEA-RNN are only 5% of the MLP, and fewer training epochs provide the possibility to realize online updates of the model in the future.
Amaranth Oilseed Composition and Cosmetic Applications
Authors: Sayed-Ahmad Bouchra , Urrutigoïty Martine , Hijazi Akram , Saad Zeinab , Cerny Muriel , Evon Philippe , Talou Thierry , Merah Othmane
Published: July 2022

Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) is a possible alternative to high-nutritional-value crops. Amaranth seeds are considered to be one of the few sources of phytosqualene (up to 8%). The use of squalene and its hydrogenated form squalane in skincare formulations has been steadily increasing, and the demand for these compounds is expected to rise continuously. The aim of this study was to investigate the amaranth oilseed as a potential ingredient for cosmetic applications. First, an experimental design and optimization were carried out in order to obtain amaranth oil rich in squalane instead of squalene through catalytic hydrogenation. Under the optimal conditions, the resulting oil was fully hydrogenated, with higher stability, and more suitable for cosmetic uses. Furthermore, the effect of the addition of amaranth oil and squalane on the rheological and sensory characteristics of moisturizing cream formulations was assessed. As expected, higher contents of oil and polyunsaturated fatty acids were obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction, and were used for the next step of the experiment. Optimization of the experimental conditions resulted in fully hydrogenated amaranth oil, with higher stability and rich in squalane. Better quality of moisturizing cream formulations was achieved when W/O formulations were enriched with 2% oil, or by adding 1% oil and 1% squalane. The formulation rich in squalane showed a better overall quality compared to other formulations.
Zostera marina L.: Supercritical CO2-Extraction and Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Chemical Constituents Recovered from Seagrass
Authors: Razgonova Mayya P. , Tekutyeva Lyudmila A. , Podvolotskaya Anna B. , Stepochkina Varvara D. , Zakharenko Alexander M. , Golokhvast Kirill
Published: July 2022

Three types of Zostera marina L. collection were extracted using the supercritical CO2-extraction method. For the purposes of supercritical CO2-extraction, old seagrass ejection on the surf edge, fresh seagrass ejection on the surf edge and seagrass collected in water were used. Several experimental conditions were investigated in the pressure range 50–350 bar, with the used volume of co-solvent ethanol in the amount of 1% in the liquid phase at a temperature in the range of 31–70 °C. The most effective extraction conditions are: pressure 250 Bar and temperature 60 °C for Z. marina collected in sea water. Z. marina contain various phenolic compounds and sulfated polyphenols with valuable biological activity. Tandem mass-spectrometry (HPLC-ESI–ion trap) was applied to detect target analytes. 77 different biologically active components have been identified in Z. marina supercritical CO2-extracts. 38 polyphenols were identified for the first time in Z. marina.
Comparison of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Hyphenated to an Ultraviolet Detector and Gas Chromatography Hyphenated to a Flame Ionization Detector for Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Citrus Essential Oils
Authors: Santerre Cyrille , Delannay Eldra , Franco Pilar , Vallet Nadine , Touboul David
Published: July 2022

A comparison between the classical gas chromatography (GC) technique with supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) technology was performed using an essential oil of Citrus limon (lemon) as a model, considering its wide use in the cosmetic world. For the qualitative part, the signal annotation was achieved by mass spectrometry using either an electron ionization (EI) or an atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) source. For the quantitative part, GC was hyphenated to a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and SFC to an ultraviolet detector (SFC-UV). The assay of the major component of citrus oil, i.e., limonene, was carried out by SFC-UV. The similar results obtained between GC-FID and SFC-UV allows SFC-UV to be considered as an alternative to GC-FID for Citrus oil characterization. Then, analyses of an essential oil collection from Citrus fruits were achieved to confirm the potential use of SFC-UV for oil classification in the context of quality control of raw materials in cosmetics.
A Communication Study of Young Adults and Online Dependency during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Silveira Patrícia , Morais Ricardo , Petrella Simone
Published: July 2022

People use digital media and the Internet daily. The time that young people spend connected to digital devices will increase as technology advances, which could have severe health risks and behavioral dependence implications. In the context of the current pandemic, in which socializing, studying, and working is changing, this question has become particularly relevant. Therefore, we propose to investigate the perceptions of young university adults—understood as generation Z—regarding their digital media practices, particularly during the pandemic, and to study the consequences of a permanent connection to these formats on the development of an addiction to the Internet. Our quantitative method approach applied questionnaires to a sample of 407 young university adults studying in Portugal. Through this survey, we could target a specific user group, quantify their consumption, and measure their online experiences. The results point to an increase in dependence on the Internet during confinement. While it is true that carrying out academic work is one of the reasons for this growth, it is noteworthy that the respondents sought the online world in a significan way to pass the time and escape their routine. In addition, they confess to experiencing some consequences of excessive use, such as sleep disturbances and adverse emotional reactions—such as instabilities, depression, and nervousness—when not online. We conclude that the pandemic has intensified online dependence. However, above all that, it is necessary to look at the mental and general health consequences that this excessive use has brought, which may not be visible or manifested by the youth in the short term, and may come to have consequences in the long term.
Student Perception of Competencies and Skills for Social Entrepreneurship in Complex Environments: An Approach with Mexican University Students
Authors: Cruz-Sandoval Marco , Vázquez-Parra José Carlos , Alonso-Galicia Patricia Esther
Published: July 2022

The aim of this article is to present the results of a diagnostic study carried out on a group of Mexican university students regarding their perceived achievement of social entrepreneurship competence and its subcompetences. By means of a multivariate descriptive statistical analysis, it was possible to evaluate the perception of this group on their level of perceived achievement considering the variable age. The results show a positive perception on the personal subcompetences and a low perception on the subcompetences of social innovation and business management. This article concludes with the need to promote projects and training programs that improve students’ perception of the achievement of the economic and administrative subcompetences linked to the management processes of the social entrepreneurship competence. This will allow future social entrepreneurs to develop an optimistic view of their professional tools when it comes to materializing their projects.
Combined Treatment of Cr(VI)-Contaminated Soils by Reduction, Adsorption, and Solidification
Authors: Ji Yongxin , Zhang Wenjie , Xiao Yu , Jiang Hong , Ye Liaoyu
Published: July 2022

Remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil usually includes reducing Cr(VI) to Cr(III) with sub-sequent solidification. In this paper, a treatment technique that combines reduction, adsorption, and solidification was proposed. By introducing an adsorbent into the reduction process, the remediation effectiveness was improved and the amount of reducing and solidified agent was decreased. Synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP), unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis were carried out to evaluate the remediation effect under different agent combinations and different agent-adding procedures. The results of SPLP showed that the reduction/adsorption/solidification treatment significantly reduced the leachability of Cr. UCS increased with increasing dosage of cement and CaS5, and decreased with an increasing dosage of vermiculite. The best agent dosage was CaS5 of 2 times molar stoichiometric ratio of Cr(VI), 15% of vermiculite, and 20% of cement. Orthogonal test showed that for soil with low Cr(VI) content, CaS5 dosage was the most important factor that affected the leachability of Cr. Cement and vermiculite have greater impact in limiting the leachability of Cr when Cr(VI) content in soil increased.
Relevance of Impact Categories and Applicability of Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methods from an Automotive Industry Perspective
Authors: Mikosch Natalia , Dettmer Tina , Plaga Benjamin , Gernuks Marko , Finkbeiner Matthias
Published: July 2022

Climate change impacts have been extensively addressed in academia, politics and industry for decades. However, particularly within the scientific community, the importance of considering further impact categories to ensure holistic environmental assessment and avoid burden shifting is strongly emphasized. Since considering all impact categories might become overwhelming for industry, a prioritization approach can support practitioners to focus their efforts on the most relevant impacts. Therefore, within this paper, an approach for the identification of relevant impact categories is developed for the automotive sector together with Volkswagen AG. The evaluation is conducted using a criteria set including criteria groups “relevance for automotive sector” and “relevance for stakeholders”. For the impact categories identified as relevant, an evaluation of LCIA methods is conducted considering the methodologies CML and ReCiPe 2016 and the methods recommended by PEF. The results demonstrate that climate change is by far the most relevant impact category followed by resource use, human toxicity and ecotoxicity from both automotive and stakeholder perspective. Based on the evaluation of the LCIA methods, a combination of different methods can be recommended. This work provides guidance for the automotive sector to prioritize its focus on the most relevant impact categories and to select applicable LCIA methods for their quantification.
Micro-Siting of Wind Turbines in an Optimal Wind Farm Area Using Teaching–Learning-Based Optimization Technique
Authors: Hussain Muhammad Nabeel , Shaukat Nadeem , Ahmad Ammar , Abid Muhammad , Hashmi Abrar , Rajabi Zohreh , Tariq Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman
Published: July 2022

Nowadays, wind energy is receiving considerable attention due to its availability, low cost, and environment-friendly operation. Wind turbines are rarely placed individually but rather in the form of a wind farm with a group of several wind turbines. The purpose of this research is to perform studies on wind turbine farms in order to find the best distribution for wind turbines that maximizes the produced power, hence minimizing the wind farm area. Wind Farm Area Optimization (WFAO) is performed for optimal placement of wind turbines using elitist teaching–learning-based optimization (ETLBO) techniques. Three different scenarios of wind (first is fixed wind direction and constant speed, second is variable wind direction and constant speed, and third is variable wind direction and variable speed) are considered to find the optimal number of turbines and turbine positioning in a minimized squared land area that maximizes the power production while minimizing the total cost. Other research carried out in the past was to find the optimal placement of the wind turbines in a fixed squared land area of 2 km×2 km. In the present study, WFAO–ETLBO algorithm has been implemented to get the optimal land area for the placement of the same number of turbines used in the past research. For Case 1, there is a significant reduction in land area by approximately 30.75%, 45.25%, and 51.75% for each wind scenario, respectively. For Case 2, the reductions in land area for three different wind scenarios are respectively 30.75%, 7.2%, and 7.2%. For Case 3, there is a reduction of 7.2% in land area for each wind scenario. It has been observed that the results obtained by the WFAO–ETLBO algorithm with a significant reduction in the land area along with optimal placement of wind turbines are better than the results obtained from the wind turbines placement in the fixed land area of 2 km×2 km.
A Blockchain-Based Financial Instrument for the Decarbonization of Irrigated Agriculture
Authors: Pombo-Romero Julio , Rúas-Barrosa Oliver
Published: July 2022

Farming and food production sustainability increasingly depends on the availability of a clean energy model for irrigated agriculture. This can be achieved by massively introducing photovoltaic irrigation systems (PVI) with sufficient quality and reliability. Nevertheless, such PVI projects require high upfront investment and long payback times, so access to long-term, low-cost capital is essential to ensure their competitiveness. In this regard, decentralized financial (DeFi) solutions based on blockchain (BC) technology present a number of features that can be applied to produce financial instruments (FI) well suited to attract investors to PVI projects and to reduce the cost of clean energy for irrigators. In order to assess such a possibility, a DeFi FI tailored for PVI has been produced and implemented in BC. We demonstrate that a single smart contract executed in a distributed ledger can execute the different tasks related to the securitization of PVI assets. The impact on the cost of capital for PVI projects is significant, leading to an estimated reduction in the cost of clean energy for irrigators of 22%. Nevertheless, decentralization also introduces a number of specific risks that must be considered and mitigated.
Disintegration Resistance of Steep-Rocky-Slope Wall-Hanging Soil Based on High-Performance Ester Materials
Authors: Liao Jin , Liu Zhen , Zhou Cuiying , Zhang Qingxiu
Published: July 2022

Ecological restoration is difficult on the steep rocky slopes (SRS) in rainy areas in South China that experience severe soil erosion. The disintegration resistance of steep-rocky-slope wall-hanging soil (SRSWS) is a crucial topic in the field of new ecological restoration. The formation of a transient saturated zone of wall-hanging soil (WS) under high-intensity rainfall can easily lead to soil disintegration. The subsequent rain erosion can cause the loss of growth substrate required for early plants, resulting in a poor greening effect or even landslides. Therefore, improving the disintegration resistance of WS and ensuring the stability of the early-plant-growth environment are at the core of SRS protection. In this paper, structural and static underwater disintegration tests of red soil modified by high-performance ester materials (HEMs) were carried out. According to the damage ratio of the soil structure and the disintegration rate and disintegration amount of red soil, the structural properties and disintegration resistance of improved red soil were quantitatively measured. The results show that absorbent HEMs generally increased the content of water-stable aggregates (WAs) in red soil. However, when the content was excessively large, it destroyed the WAs and accelerated the overall disintegration rate and amount. Based on the structure and disintegration resistance test of red soil, optimal pro-portions of adhesive HEMs of 10 g·m−3 and absorbent HEMs of 80 g·m−3 were obtained. The optimal proportions obtained from the above experiments showed good adaptability and an improvement effect on the structural properties and disintegration resistance of red soil. This solves the problem of the growth substrate required for early plant disintegration and loss in water. This paper provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the ecological restoration of SRSWS with disintegration resistance. It has guiding significance for the steady progress of greening construction on SRS sites.
Analysis and Hardware Architecture on FPGA of a Robust Audio Fingerprinting Method Using SSM
Authors: Algredo-Badillo Ignacio , Sánchez-Juárez Brenda , Ramírez-Gutiérrez Kelsey A. , Feregrino-Uribe Claudia , López-Huerta Francisco , Estrada-López Johan J.
Published: July 2022

The significant volume of sharing of digital media has recently increased due to the pandemic, raising the number of unauthorized uses of these media, such as emerging unauthorized copies, forgery, the lack of copyright, and electronic fraud, among others. In particular, several applications integrate services or products such as music distribution, content management, audiobooks, streaming, and so on, which require users to demonstrate and guarantee their audio ownership. The use of acoustic fingerprint technology has emerged as a solution that is widely used to secure audio applications. This technique extracts and analyzes certain information that identifies the inherent properties of a partial or complete audio file. In this paper, we introduce two audio fingerprinting hardware architectures with a feature extraction system based on spectrogram saliency maps (SSM) and a brute-force search. The first of these conducts a search in 33 saliency maps of 32 × 32 pixels in size. After analyzing the first algorithm, a second architecture is proposed, in which the saliency map is reduced to 27 × 25 pixels, requiring 75.67% fewer hardware resources, lowering the power consumption by 64.58%, and improving the efficiency by 3.19 times via a throughput reduction of 22.29%.
A Patient with Sickle Cell Disease and Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism after Renal Transplantation
Authors: Di Maggio Rosario , Giuliano Alessandra , Renda Disma , Calvaruso Giuseppina , Raso Simona , Pitrolo Lorella , Carroccio Antonio , Maggio Aurelio
Published: July 2022

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a life-threatening complication, especially in case of recurrence. The appropriate duration of anticoagulant treatment following the first event is crucial. Risk factors that increase the risk of recurrence of VTE are many, and include medications, kidney disease, renal transplantation (RT), and a diagnosis of sickle cell disease (SCD). There are currently no guidelines that define the duration of anticoagulant therapy after the first event in a patient with RT. We report a case of recurring episodes of VTE after RT in a SCD patient. Our case suggests that the use of a long-term anticoagulant treatment may be recommended in patients with SCD and RT after the first event of VTE.
Atrazine Exposure Induces Hepatic Metabolism Disorder in Male Adult Zebrafish
Authors: Zhang Hu , Wang Xiaofang , Qian Mingrong , Jin Yuanxiang
Published: July 2022

Atrazine (ATZ) is a herbicide used in agricultural production and has been detected in surface water due to its widespread use worldwide. This may pose a threat to the health of aquatic animals. To explore the ATZ−induced hepatic metabolism disorder, male zebrafish were exposed to 300 and 1000 μg/L ATZ for 21 days, respectively. The results revealed that ATZ exposure significantly reduced hepatic triglyceride (TG) levels, while significantly (p < 0.05) increased pyruvate (PYR) and total cholesterol (TC) levels. In addition, the liver sample from the 1000 μg/L ATZ−treated group was used for GC/MS metabolomic analysis. The principal component analysis (PCA) model showed significant separation of the 1000 μg/L ATZ group from the control group, indicating that ATZ exposure altered hepatic metabolism in male adult zebrafish. A total of 29 significantly (p < 0.05) different metabolites were observed and identified in the ATZ−treated group. Moreover, the most disturbed pathways by ATZ were the arginine and proline metabolic pathways, followed by the glutathione metabolic pathway. Three and two metabolites were significantly altered in the arginine and proline metabolic pathways and glutathione metabolic pathway, respectively. Based on these results, we suggested that ATZ was capable of altering liver metabolism in zebrafish and that its ecological risk to aquatic organisms cannot be ignored.
Physical Properties of Radio Stars Based on LAMOST Spectral Survey
Authors: Zhang Liyun , Cheng Yao , Han Xianming L. , Pi Qingfeng , Misra Prabhakar , Li Baoda , Zhu Zhongzhong
Published: July 2022

Radio emission has been detected for all types of stars in the Hertzsprung Russell diagram. Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) low and medium-resolution spectroscopic surveys provide a good opportunity to obtain the spectroscopic properties of radio stars. We cross-matched big data from the LAMOST DR7 low resolution spectral survey with a catalogue of radio stars, and obtained 449 stellar spectra of 258 stars. We detected 185 spectra with Hα emission. There are a total of 108 objects with repeated low resolution spectral observations, of which 63 show variations in the Hα line over a long time, about several months. We cross-matched LAMOST DR7 medium resolution spectra with the radio star catalogue. We obtained 1319 LAMOST medium-resolution spectra of the 156 radio stars and then calculated their equivalent widths (EWs) of the Hα line. Among them, 93 radio stars with Hα emission were found from the LAMOST medium resolution spectra, and 63 objects showed short and long-term variabilities, especially on a short time scale of approximately 20 min. Finally, we estimated the minimal detectable radio flux of the FAST telescope and provided a scientific plan for studying radio stars.
Human Coronavirus Spike Protein Based Multi-Epitope Vaccine against COVID-19 and Potential Future Zoonotic Coronaviruses by Using Immunoinformatic Approaches
Authors: Baloch Zulqarnain , Ikram Aqsa , Shamim Saba , Obaid Ayesha , Awan Faryal Mehwish , Naz Anam , Rauff Bisma , Gilani Khadija , Qureshi Javed Anver
Published: July 2022

Zoonotic coronaviruses (CoV) have emerged twice and have caused severe respiratory diseases in humans. Due to the frequent outbreaks of different human coronaviruses (HCoVs), the development of a pan-HCoV vaccine is of great importance. Various conserved epitopes shared by HCoVs are reported to induce cross-reactive T-cell responses. Therefore, this study aimed to design a multi-epitope vaccine, targeting the HCoV spike protein. Genetic analysis revealed that the spike region is highly conserved among SARS-CoV-2, bat SL-CoV, and SARS-CoV. By employing the immunoinformatic approach, we prioritized 20 MHC I and 10 MHCII conserved epitopes to design a multi-epitope vaccine. This vaccine candidate is anticipated to strongly elicit both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. These results warrant further development of this vaccine into real-world application.
Precise Evaluation of Repetitive Transient Overvoltages in Motor Windings in Wide-Bandgap Drive Systems
Authors: Barzkar Ashkan , Ghassemi Mona
Published: July 2022

The increasing interest in employing wide-bandgap (WBG) drive systems has brought about very high power, high-frequency inverters enjoying switching frequencies up to hundreds of kilohertz. However, voltage surges with steep fronts, caused by turning semiconductor switches on/off in inverters, travel through the cable and are reflected at interfaces due to impedance mismatches, giving rise to overvoltages at motor terminals and in motor windings. The phenomena typically associated with these repetitive overvoltages are partial discharges and heating in the insulation system, both of which contribute to insulation system degradation and may lead to premature failures. In this article, taking the mentioned challenges into account, the repetitive transient overvoltage phenomenon in WBG drive systems is evaluated at motor terminals and in motor windings by implementing a precise multiconductor transmission line (MCTL) model in the time domain considering skin and proximity effects. In this regard, first, a finite element method (FEM) analysis is conducted in COMSOL Multiphysics to calculate parasitic elements of the motor; next, the vector fitting approach is employed to properly account for the frequency dependency of calculated elements, and, finally, the model is developed in EMTP-RV to assess the transient overvoltages at motor terminals and in motor windings. As shown, the harshest situation occurs in turns closer to motor terminals and/or turns closer to the neutral point depending on whether the neutral point is grounded or floating, how different phases are connected, and how motor phases are excited by pulse width modulation (PWM) voltages.
“I Won’t Use the Term Dumbing It Down, but You Have to Take the Scientific Jargon Out”: A Qualitative Study of Environmental Health Partners’ Communication Practices and Needs
Authors: Altman Katya , Yelton Brooks , Viado Hildehardo , Carson Margaret , Schandera Louisa , Kelsey R. Heath , Porter Dwayne , Friedman Daniela
Published: July 2022

Effective research translation and science communication are necessary for successful implementation of water resources management initiatives. This entails active involvement of stakeholders through collaborative partnerships and knowledge-sharing practices. To follow up a recent study with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)–funded Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions (OHHC2I) project investigators, the center’s Community Engagement Core (CEC) documented center partners’ science communication practices and needs to inform a collaborative training and improve investigator-partner bidirectional communication. Thirteen (13) individuals participated in 10 semi-structured qualitative interviews focused on their research translation needs, science communication and dissemination tactics, and interactions and experiences with scientists. Based on our findings, we recommend a collaborative, scientist-stakeholder training to include plain language development, dissemination tactics, communication evaluation, stakeholder and intended audience engagement, and strategies for effective transdisciplinary partnerships. This work contributes to the knowledge and understanding of stakeholder engagement practices specifically focused on science communication that can enhance relationship-building between academia and partners involved in environmental health–focused initiatives in the context of South Carolina but applicable elsewhere.
Recognition of Drivers’ Hard and Soft Braking Intentions Based on Hybrid Brain-Computer Interfaces
Authors: Ju Jiawei , Feleke Aberham Genetu , Luo Longxi , Fan Xinan
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we propose simultaneous and sequential hybrid brain-computer interfaces (hBCIs) that incorporate electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) signals to classify drivers’ hard braking, soft braking, and normal driving intentions to better assist driving for the first time. The simultaneous hBCIs adopt a feature-level fusion strategy (hBCI-FL) and classifier-level fusion strategies (hBCIs-CL). The sequential hBCIs include the hBCI-SE1, where EEG signals are prioritized to detect hard braking, and hBCI-SE2, where EMG signals are prioritized to detect hard braking. Experimental results show that the proposed hBCI-SE1 with spectral features and the one-vs-rest classification strategy performs best with an average system accuracy of 96.37% among hBCIs. This work is valuable for developing human-centric intelligent assistant driving systems to improve driving safety and driving comfort and promote the application of BCIs.
POTENCIAL DE RENDIMIENTO Y ESTABILIDAD DE COMBINACIONES GERMOPLÁSMICAS FORMADAS ENTRE GRUPOS DE MAÍZ
Authors: De León-Castillo Humberto , Rincón-Sánchez Froylán , Reyes-Valdés M. Humberto , Sámano-Garduño Daniel , Martínez-Zambrano Gaspar , Cavazos-Cadena Rolando , Figueroa-Cárdenas Juan de Dios
Published: July 2022

El conocimiento y clasificación del germoplasma están directamente asociados con las posibilidades de éxito en todo programa de mejoramiento genético. Para documentar el comportamiento de las combinaciones entre cinco grupos germoplásmicos contrastantes del área de El Bajío e identificar las de más potencial en rendimiento y estabilidad, en este trabajo se compararon modelos lineales de efectos fijos y mixtos en tres ambientes de evaluación contrastantes, durante el verano de 2002. Simultáneamente se analizaron las tendencias al agrupamiento de las combinaciones, de los ambientes, así como un detallado estudio de la interacción entre estos factores, mediante gráficos “biplot” obtenidos de los modelos “efectos principales aditivos y la interacción multiplicativa” (AMMI o gráfica GE) y el de “regresión en los sitios” (SREG o gráfica GGE). Se encontró que los modelos lineales mixtos son de mayor precisión que los de efectos fijos, tanto en el cálculo de estimadores como de predictores, porque logran espacios de inferencia más amplios. Las representaciones gráficas de los “biplots” clasifican los efectos principales de una manera sencilla de interpretar; estiman la magnitud y el sentido de la interacción genotipo x ambiente; permiten visualizar la mejor combinación germoplásmica por ambiente, y hacen más eficiente la selección. Las combinaciones germoplásmicas de mayor potencial de rendimiento para la región de El Bajío, son Maíz enano x Maíz tropical y Maíz enano x maíz de alta calidad de proteína (QPM); y el grupo germoplásmico más versátil es el de Maíz enano porque induce excelentes combinaciones heteróticas al cruzarse con todos los demás grupos germoplásmicos.
DETERMINACIÓN DE COMPUESTOS FENÓLICOS Y SU ACTIVIDAD ANTIOXIDANTE EN GRANOS DE MAÍZ
Authors: Ruiz-Torres Norma A. , Rincón-Sánchez Froylán , Hernández-López Víctor M. , Figueroa-Cárdenas Juan de D. , Loarca-Piña Ma. Guadalupe F.
Published: July 2022

En este trabajo se determinaron los compuestos fenólicos totales, su actividad antioxidante y sus interrelaciones, y se analizó el componente genético en la expresión de estos compuestos químicos en cruzas simples de maíz (Zea mays L.). Para el análisis químico se utilizaron muestras de grano de 38 materiales genéticos (33 cruzas simples mas cinco testigos). Se computó un análisis de varianza con un diseño completamente aleatorio, se obtuvieron correlaciones entre variables y se hizo un análisis genético con las cruzas simples. Se encontraron diferencias estadísticas (P ≤ 0.01) entre cruzas simples, testigos, así como en la comparación cruzas vs. testigos, para los compuestos fenólicos y la actividad antioxidante. Los compuestos fenólicos totales no estuvieron correlacionados de manera directa con la actividad antioxidante ni con el contenido de antocianinas. En la actividad antioxidante y el contenido de antocianinas se encontró correlación positiva (r = 0.72*). En el análisis genético las líneas hembras mostraron componentes de varianza genética superiores a las de los probadores, tanto en compuestos fenólicos como en actividad antioxidante. En los compuestos fenólicos la expresión fue determinada por los efectos de interacción de los dos progenitores, en tanto que la actividad antioxidante estuvo determinada principalmente por los efectos genéticos de las líneas hembra.
CALIDAD DE GRANO, TORTILLAS Y BOTANAS DE DOS VARIEDADES DE MAÍZ DE LA RAZA COMITECO
Authors: Coutiño-Estrada Bulmaro , Vázquez-Carrillo Gricelda , Torres-Morales Braulio , Salinas-Moreno Yolanda
Published: July 2022

Se utilizaron granos de las variedades ‘V-229’ y ‘V-231A’ de maíz (Zea mays L.) para determinar sus propiedades físicas y químicas y su calidad para tortillas y botanas. La variedad ‘V-229’ produjo grano mediano de color crema, con textura intermedia y alto porcentaje de proteína (11.2 %), con 3.9, 0.29 y 0.07 % de aceite, lisina y triptofano, respectivamente; la humedad de su nixtamal fue de 39.6 % y la de sus tortillas de 41 %, con pérdida de sólidos de 3.2 % y una retención de pericarpio de 42.5 %, lo que significa que estos granos son apropiados para las industrias de la masa y la tortilla. La variedad ‘V-231A’ formó grano grande de color amarillo, con un índice de flotación de 37 % correspondiente a textura dura, con altos porcentajes de aceite (4.9 %) y proteína (11.9 %). Los altos contenidos de luteína (14.3 μg g-1) y de β-caroteno (5.22 μg g-1) de la ‘V231A’ indican que es una alternativa viable para mejorar la calidad nutricional de las tortillas y botanas, así como una excelente opción en la alimentación de aves.
HV 60 A: HÍBRIDO VARIETAL DE MAÍZ AMARILLO PARA SIEMBRAS RETRASADAS EN VALLES ALTOS DE MÉXICO
Authors: Espinosa-Calderón Alejandro , Tadeo-Robledo Margarita , Zamudio-González Benjamín , Virgen-Vargas Juan , Turrent-Fernández Antonio , López-López Consuelo , Gómez-Montiel Noel , Sierra-Macías Mauro , Vázquez-Carrillo Gricelda , Rodríguez-Montalvo Flavio , Canales-Islas Enrique I. , Zaragoza-Esparza Job A. , Valdivia-Bernal Roberto , Cárdenas-Marcelo Alma Lili , Andrés-Meza Pablo , Martínez-Yañez Beatriz
Published: July 2022

A partir del Tratado de libre Comercio (TLCAN), México se ubicó como uno de los países que importan mayor cantidad de grano de maíz (Zea mays L.) (CIMA, 2020). En los dos últimos años ha sido el mayor importador de maíz en el mundo, con 18 millones de toneladas de grano de maíz amarillo importadas, las que se destinan principalmente a la elaboración de alimentos forrajeros, extracción de almidones, en la industria cerealera y botanera, y a otros usos industriales, como el procesamiento de casi 2.3 millones de toneladas por la industria de derivados químicos y alimenticios del maíz.
Uso de estrategias activas para el aprendizaje significativo de la física en estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional del Altiplano
Authors: Yabar-Pilco German , Ferro-Gonzales Polan
Published: July 2022

Learning outcomes of physics in university education have difficulties in most cases, especially in skills development. In this investigation, active methodological strategies were applied, through the paired differences test it was concluded that with the experimental method better results were obtained than with problem-based learning in a sample of 8 students, in addition to improving their skills for teamwork and capacity development of high cognitive demand.