bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular Identification of Trypanosoma evansi Isolated from Arabian Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Riyadh and Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Metwally Dina M. , Al-Turaiki Isra M. , Altwaijry Najwa , Alghamdi Samia Q. , Alanazi Abdullah D.
Published: April 2021

We analyzed the blood from 400 one-humped camels, Camelus dromedarius (C. dromedarius), in Riyadh and Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia to determine if they were infected with the parasite Trypanosoma spp. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) gene was used to detect the prevalence of Trypanosoma spp. in the camels. Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi) was detected in 79 of 200 camels in Riyadh, an infection rate of 39.5%, and in 92 of 200 camels in Al-Qassim, an infection rate of 46%. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the isolated T. evansi was closely related to the T. evansi that was detected in C. dromedarius in Egypt and the T. evansi strain B15.1 18S ribosomal RNA gene identified from buffalo in Thailand. A BLAST search revealed that the sequences are also similar to those of T. evansi from beef cattle in Thailand and to T. brucei B8/18 18S ribosomal RNA from pigs in Nigeria.
Association of IL-4 and IL-4R Polymorphisms with Litter Size Traits in Pigs
Authors: Norseeda Worrarak , Liu Guisheng , Teltathum Tawatchai , Supakankul Pantaporn , Sringarm Korawan , Naraballobh Watcharapong , Khamlor Trisadee , Chomdej Siriwadee , Nganvongpanit Korakot , Krutmuang Patcharin , Mekchay Supamit
Published: April 2021

The interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) are cytokines that are involved in the immune and reproductive systems. This study aimed to verify the polymorphisms in the porcine IL-4 and IL-4R genes and to assess their effects on litter size traits in commercial pigs. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the porcine IL-4 and IL-4R genes were genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. A non-coding SNP of IL-4 g.134993898T > C and a non-synonymous SNP of IL-4R c.1577A > T (amino acid change at position 526, Q526L) were found to be segregating in Landrace sows. The IL-4 g.134993898T > C polymorphism was significantly associated with the number of piglets weaned alive (NWA) trait. The IL-4R c.1577A > T polymorphism was significantly associated with the number born alive (NBA) and NWA traits. Moreover, the accumulation of favorable alleles of these two SNP markers revealed significant associations with the NBA, NWA, and mean weight of piglets at weaning (MWW) traits. These findings indicate that the porcine IL-4 and IL-4R genes may contribute to the reproductive traits of pigs and could be used as candidate genes to improve litter size traits in the pig breeding industry.
Supplementing Trace Minerals to Beef Cows during Gestation to Enhance Productive and Health Responses of the Offspring
Authors: Harvey Kelsey Margaret , Cooke Reinaldo Fernandes , Marques Rodrigo da Silva
Published: April 2021

Nutritional management during gestation is critical to optimize the efficiency and profitability of beef production systems. Given the essentiality of trace minerals to fetal developmental processes, their supplementation represents one approach to optimize offspring productivity. Our research group investigated the impacts of supplementing gestating beef cows with organic-complexed (AAC) or inorganic sources (INR) of Co, Cu, Mn, or Zn on productive and health responses of the progeny. Calves born to AAC supplemented cows had reduced incidence of bovine respiratory disease and were >20 kg heavier from weaning until slaughter compared to unsupplemented cohorts. Complementing these findings, heifer progeny born to AAC supplemented cows had accelerated puberty attainment. Collectively, research demonstrates supplementing trace minerals to gestating beef cows may be a strategy to enhance offspring productivity in beef production systems.
Protein and Amino Acid Metabolism in Poultry during and after Heat Stress: A Review
Authors: Qaid Mohammed M. , Al-Garadi Maged A.
Published: April 2021

This review examined the influence of environmental heat stress, a concern facing modern broiler producers, on protein metabolism and broiler performance, as well as the physiological mechanisms that activate and control or minimize the detrimental impacts of stress. In addition, available scientific papers that focused on amino acids (AA) digestibility under stress conditions were analyzed. Furthermore, AA supplementation, a good strategy to enhance broiler thermotolerance, amelioration, or stress control, by keeping stress at optimal levels rather than its elimination, plays an important role in the success of poultry breeding. Poultry maintain homeothermy, and their response to heat stress is mainly due to elevated ambient temperature and the failure of effective heat loss, which causes a considerable negative economic impact on the poultry industry worldwide. Reduced feed intake, typically observed during heat stress, was the primary driver for meat production loss. However, accumulating evidence indicates that heat stress influences poultry metabolism and endocrine profiles independently of reduced feed intake. In conclusion, high ambient temperatures significantly reduced dietary AA intake, which in turn reduced protein deposition and growth in broilers. Further studies are required to determine the quantity of the AA needed in warm and hot climates and to introduce genetic tools for animal breeding associated with the heat stress in chickens.
Development and Validation of Equations for Predicting the Metabolizable Energy Value of Double-Low Rapeseed Cake for Growing Pigs
Authors: Wang Lu , Hu Qile , Li Peili , Lai Changhua , Li Defa , Zang Jianjun , Ni Shouqing
Published: April 2021

The study was conducted to develop and validate an equation to predict the metabolizable energy (ME) of double-low rapeseed cakes (DLRSC) for growing pigs based on their chemical compositions. In Experiment 1, 66 growing pigs (initial body weight 36.6 ± 4.1 kg) were allotted randomly to a completely randomized design with 11 diets. The diets included a corn–soybean meal basal diet and 10 test diets containing 19.22% DLRSC supplemented at the expense of corn, soybean meal, and lysine. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), crude fiber (CF), and gross energy (GE) were the best predictors to determine ME. The best-fit prediction equation of ME (MJ/kg) was ME = 9.33 − 0.09 × NDF − 0.25 × CF + 0.59 × GE (R2 = 0.93). In Experiment 2, a total of 144 growing pigs (initial body weight 29.7 ± 2.7 kg), with six pigs per pen and six pens per treatment, were assigned randomly to four treatments in a completely randomized block design for a 28-day feeding trial. A corn–soybean meal basal diet was prepared, and three additional diets were formulated by adding 7%, 14%, and 21% DLRSC to the basal diet at the expense of soybean meal. All diets were formulated to provide equal standardized ileal digestibility (SID) Lys/ME ratio and SID essential amino acids/SID Lys ratio. Increasing dietary levels of DLRSC had no effect on average daily feed intake, average daily gain, and feed-to-gain ratio. The caloric efficiency of ME (31.83, 32.44, 31.95, and 32.69 MJ/kg, respectively) was not changed by increasing the dietary concentration of DLRSC. Increasing dietary levels of DLRSC linearly reduced (p < 0.05) the concentrations of triiodothyronine and tetraiodothyronine in serum, as well as apparent total tract digestibility of DM, GE, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, and organic matter of the diet. In conclusion, the ME prediction equation obtained in Experiment 1 accurately estimates the ME value of DLRSC fed to growing pigs.
Isomer-Specific Effects of cis-9,trans-11- and trans-10,cis-12-CLA on Immune Regulation in Ruminal Epithelial Cells
Authors: Yang Chunlei , Zhu Binna , Ye Shijie , Fu Zhengwei , Li Jinjun
Published: April 2021

In this study, we used transcriptomics and qPCR to investigate the potential immunoprotective effects of different conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers, the natural rumen microbial metabolites, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation of ruminal epithelial cells (RECs) in vitro. The results showed that 100 μM trans-10,cis-12-CLA exerted higher anti-inflammatory effects than cis-9,trans-11-CLA by significantly downregulating the expression of genes related to inflammation, cell proliferation and migration in RECs upon LPS stimulation. Transcriptomic analyses further indicated that pretreatment with trans-10,cis-12-CLA, but not cis-9,trans-11-CLA, significantly suppressed the biological signals of GO terms’ response to LPS, the regulation of signal transduction and cytokine production and KEGG pathways NF-κB, chemokine, NOD-like receptor, Hippo, PI3K-Akt, TGF-β and Rap1 signaling in RECs upon LPS stimulation. Furthermore, pretreatment with trans-10,cis-12-CLA significantly reduced the expression of lipogenic genes and the biosynthesis of the unsaturated fatty acid pathway in RECs compared with the LPS group, however, cis-9,trans-11-CLA exhibited the opposite results. These results suggest the distinct isomer differences of CLA in the regulation of inflammatory responses and adipocytokine signaling in RECs and will provide important references for determining their target use in the future.
Performance Evaluation of the Newly Developed In Vitro Rapid Diagnostic Test for Detecting OXA-48-Like, KPC-, NDM-, VIM- and IMP-Type Carbapenemases: The RESIST-5 O.K.N.V.I. Multiplex Lateral Flow Assay
Authors: Hong Junsung , Kang Dayoung , Kim Dokyun
Published: April 2021

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the RESIST-5 O.K.N.V.I. assay for identifying these five common domestic carbapenemases among a large number of clinical isolates in South Korea. A total of 268 non-duplicated clinical isolates of gram-negative bacilli were included in this study as follows: 258 carbapenemase-producing (CP) strains (OXA-48-like, KPC, NDM, VIM, IMP, GES, OXA-23 and two or more carbapenemase producers) and 10 non-CP carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (non-CP CREs). Overall sensitivity and specificity were 98.4% and 100%, respectively. In addition, all non-targeted carbapenemase producers including GES and OXA-23 producers and non-CP CREs were correctly identified as negative results. There were only four discrepant cases in which three VIM carbapenemase producers and one NDM carbapenemase producer were not detected. The RESIST-5 O.K.N.V.I. assay as an in vitro diagnostic test for detecting five common carbapenemases provided rapid and accurate results in a short time, indicating that this method could provide an innovative solution for early detection, resulting in appropriate antimicrobial treatment in the clinical field.
Natural Chain-Breaking Antioxidants and Their Synthetic Analogs as Modulators of Oxidative Stress
Authors: Kancheva Vessela D. , Dettori Maria Antonietta , Fabbri Davide , Alov Petko , Angelova Silvia E. , Slavova-Kazakova Adriana K. , Carta Paola , Menshov Valerii A. , Yablonskaya Olga I. , Trofimov Aleksei V. , Tsakovska Ivanka , Saso Luciano
Published: April 2021

Oxidative stress is associated with the increased production of reactive oxygen species or with a significant decrease in the effectiveness of antioxidant enzymes and nonenzymatic defense. The penetration of oxygen and free radicals in the hydrophobic interior of biological membranes initiates radical disintegration of the hydrocarbon “tails” of the lipids. This process is known as “lipid peroxidation”, and the accumulation of the oxidation products as peroxides and the aldehydes and acids derived from them are often used as a measure of oxidative stress levels. In total, 40 phenolic antioxidants were selected for a comparative study and analysis of their chain-breaking antioxidant activity, and thus as modulators of oxidative stress. This included natural and natural-like ortho-methoxy and ortho-hydroxy phenols, nine of them newly synthesized. Applied experimental and theoretical methods (bulk lipid autoxidation, chemiluminescence, in silico methods such as density functional theory (DFT) and quantitative structure–activity relationship ((Q)SAR) modeling) were used to clarify their structure–activity relationship. Kinetics of non-inhibited and inhibited lipid oxidation in close connection with inhibitor transformation under oxidative stress is considered. Special attention has been paid to chemical reactions resulting in the initiation of free radicals, a key stage of oxidative stress. Effects of substituents in the side chains and in the phenolic ring of hydroxylated phenols and biphenols, and the concentration were discussed.
Noise-Induced Vascular Dysfunction, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation Are Improved by Pharmacological Modulation of the NRF2/HO-1 Axis
Authors: Bayo Jimenez Maria Teresa , Frenis Katie , Kröller-Schön Swenja , Kuntic Marin , Stamm Paul , Kvandová Miroslava , Oelze Matthias , Li Huige , Steven Sebastian , Münzel Thomas , Daiber Andreas
Published: April 2021

Vascular oxidative stress, inflammation, and subsequent endothelial dysfunction are consequences of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease. Environmental stressors, such as traffic noise and air pollution, may also facilitate the development and progression of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In our previous studies, we investigated the influence of aircraft noise exposure on molecular mechanisms, identifying oxidative stress and inflammation as central players in mediating vascular function. The present study investigates the role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) as an antioxidant response preventing vascular consequences following exposure to aircraft noise. C57BL/6J mice were treated with the HO-1 inducer hemin (25 mg/kg i.p.) or the NRF2 activator dimethyl fumarate (DMF, 20 mg/kg p.o.). During therapy, the animals were exposed to noise at a maximum sound pressure level of 85 dB(A) and a mean sound pressure level of 72 dB(A). Our data showed a marked protective effect of both treatments on animals exposed to noise for 4 days by normalization of arterial hypertension and vascular dysfunction in the noise-exposed groups. We observed a partial normalization of noise-triggered oxidative stress and inflammation by hemin and DMF therapy, which was associated with HO-1 induction. The present study identifies possible new targets for the mitigation of the adverse health effects caused by environmental noise exposure. Since natural dietary constituents can achieve HO-1 and NRF2 induction, these pathways represent promising targets for preventive measures.
Untargeted Metabolomics of Korean Fermented Brown Rice Using UHPLC Q-TOF MS/MS Reveal an Abundance of Potential Dietary Antioxidative and Stress-Reducing Compounds
Authors: Tyagi Akanksha , Yeon Su-Jung , Daliri Eric Banan-Mwine , Chen Xiuqin , Chelliah Ramachandran , Oh Deog-Hwan
Published: April 2021

Free radical-induced oxidative stress is the root cause of many diseases, such as diabetes, stress and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this research was to screen GABA levels, antioxidant activities and bioactive compounds in brown rice. In this study, we first fermented brown rice with different lactic acid bacteria (LABs), and the best LAB was selected based on the levels of GABA in the fermentate. Lactobacillus reuterii generated the highest levels of GABA after fermentation. To ascertain whether germination can improve the GABA levels of brown rice, we compared the levels of GABA in raw brown rice (Raw), germinated brown rice (Germ), fermented brown rice (Ferm) and fermented-germinated brown rice (G+F) to identify the best approach. Then, antioxidant activities were investigated for Raw BR, Germ BR, Ferm BR and G+F BR. Antioxidant activity was calculated using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazile radical assay, 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylene benzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical assay and ferric-reducing antioxidant power. In Ferm BR, DPPH (114.40 ± 0.66), ABTS (130.52 ± 0.97) and FRAP (111.16 ± 1.83) mg Trolox equivalent 100 g, dry weight (DW), were observed as the highest among all samples. Total phenolic content (97.13 ± 0.59) and total flavonoids contents (79.62 ± 1.33) mg GAE/100 g and catechin equivalent/100 g, DW, were also found to be highest in fermented BR. Furthermore, an untargeted metabolomics approach using ultra-high-performance liquid tandem chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry revealed the abundance of bioactive compounds in fermented BR, such as GABA, tryptophan, coumaric acid, L-ascorbic acid, linoleic acid, β-carotenol, eugenol, 6-gingerol, etc., as well as bioactive peptides which could contribute to the health-promoting properties of L. reuterii fermented brown rice.
Profile Control Using Fly Ash Three-Phase Foam Assisted by Microspheres with an Adhesive Coating
Authors: Yang Yulong , Cheng Tingting , You Zhenjiang , Liang Tuo , Hou Jirui
Published: April 2021

Foam-assisted steam flooding is a promising technique to alleviate gas channeling and enhance sweep efficiency in heterogeneous heavy-oil reservoirs. However, long-term foam stabilization remains problematic at high temperatures. Three-phase foam (TPF), containing dispersed solid particles, has been proposed to improve foam stability under harsh reservoir conditions. We fabricated a novel TPF system by adding ultrafine fly ash particles, as well as high-temperature resistant microspheres with an adhesive coating layer. This work aims at assessing the ability of the generated TPF in controlling steam channeling and enhancing oil recovery. Static and core flood tests were performed to evaluate foam strength and stability. Our results suggested a stronger foamability at a lower consolidation agent concentration, while a longer half-life period of foam and settling time of solid particles at a larger consolidation agent concentration were observed. Bubbles suspended independently in the liquid phase, with sizes varying from 10 to 100 μm, smaller than that of the conventional foam, suggesting a significant enhancement of foam dispersity and stability. The plugging rate was close to 90% when the temperature was as high as 300 °C, demonstrating a well-accepted plugging effect under high temperatures. A larger pore volume injection of TPF yielded a higher EOR in parallel cores, which substantiated the effectiveness of the three-phase foam system in sealing high-permeability channels.
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Integration of a Flooded-Bed Scrubber into a Longwall Shearer on Airflow along a Coal Mine Longwall Face
Authors: Arya Sampurna , Novak Thomas , Sottile Joseph
Published: April 2021

Dust control is one of the most difficult challenges for underground coal mine operators, especially longwall mine operators. The most widely used dust control technologies at a longwall section are ventilation air and water sprays, whereas a continuous miner section has the added advantage of having a dust scrubber built into the continuous miner. To test the potential benefits of integrating a flooded-bed scrubber into a longwall shearer, the authors designed and built a dust scrubber system for a full-scale mock-up of a longwall shearer. The mock-up was installed in the longwall test gallery at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) for testing. Air quantity surveys were performed at different cross-sections of the test gallery at a fixed face-air quantity, but at different scrubber airflow rates to quantify the distribution of air in the test gallery. Subsequently, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the PRL test gallery was developed and validated. In this study, the effect of the flooded-bed scrubber on airflow pattern in the test gallery is investigated using the validated CFD model. This model can be used further to predict the dust capture efficiency of the scrubber and to develop new techniques to reduce dust concentration in longwall sections.
Graphical and Analytical Quantitative Comparison in the Domes Assessment: The Case of San Francesco di Paola
Authors: Cusano Concetta , Montanino Andrea , Olivieri Carlo , Paris Vittorio , Cennamo Claudia
Published: April 2021

(1) Methods for checking the condition of monumental masonry structures can still be considered understudied. Among the different approaches available in the literature, the graphical ones have a special role, due to their simplicity and effectiveness. (2) In this work, a 2D method (Thrust Line Analysis (TLA)), the Modified Thrust Line Method (MTLM), and the 3D Membrane Equilibrium Analysis (MEA) method are compared. All methods have the same starting concept: no tensile strength, no sliding between the stone blocks, infinite compressive strength. (3) The methods are compared in terms of stress distribution (for the same—or similar—thrust line), and in terms of the Geometrical Safety Factor ensured. (4) The work shows that these theories, if properly conveyed in a scientific methodology (as many authors are doing currently and have done in the past) demonstrate the effectiveness and the advantages of graphical methods for simple structures.
3D Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage Sites as an Educational Approach. The Sanctuary of Delphi
Authors: Liritzis Ioannis , Volonakis Pantelis , Vosinakis Spyros
Published: April 2021

In the field of cultural heritage, three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of monuments is a usual activity for many professionals. The aim in this paper focuses on the new technology educational application combining science, history, and archaeology. Being involved in almost all stages of implementation steps and assessing the level of participation, university students use tools of computer gaming platform and participate in ways of planning the virtual environment which improves their education through e-Learning. The virtual 3D environment is made with different imaging methods (helium-filled balloon, Structure for motion, 3D repository models) and a developmental plan has been designed for use in many future applications. Digital tools were used with 3D reconstructed buildings from the museum archive to Unity 3D for the design. The pilot study of Information Technology work has been employed to introduce cultural heritage and archaeology to university syllabuses. It included students with a questionnaire which has been evaluated accordingly. As a result, the university students were inspired to immerse themselves into the virtual lab, aiming to increasing the level of interaction. The results show a satisfactory learning outcome by an easy to use and real 3D environment, a step forward to fill in needs of contemporary online sustainable learning demands.
Core Microbiota Promotes the Development of Dental Caries
Authors: Chen Jing , Kong Lixin , Peng Xian , Chen Yanyan , Ren Biao , Li Mingyun , Li Jiyao , Zhou Xuedong , Cheng Lei
Published: April 2021

A previous longitudinal study about using microbiome as a caries indicator has successfully predicted early childhood caries (ECC) in healthy individuals, but there is no evidence to verify the composition of core microbiota and its pathogenicity in vitro and in vivo. Biofilm acidogenicity, S. mutans count, and biofilm composition were estimated by pH evaluation, colony-forming unit, and quantitative PCR, respectively. Extracellular polysaccharide production and enamel demineralization were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and transverse microradiography (TMR), respectively. A rat caries model was established for dental caries formation in vivo, and caries lesions were quantified by Keyes Scoring. We put forward that microbiota including Veillonella parvula, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella denticola, and Leptotrichia wadei served as the predictors for ECC may be the core microbiota in ECC. This study found that the core microbiota of ECC produced limited acid, but promoted growth and acidogenic ability of S. mutans. Besides, core microbiota could help to promote the development of biofilms. Moreover, the core microbiota enhanced the enamel demineralization in vitro and increased cariogenic potential in vivo. These results proved that core microbiota could promote the development of dental caries and plays an important role in the development of ECC.
A Five-Step Approach to Planning Data-Driven Digital Twins for Discrete Manufacturing Systems
Authors: Resman Matevz , Protner Jernej , Simic Marko , Herakovic Niko
Published: April 2021

A digital twin of a manufacturing system is a digital copy of the physical manufacturing system that consists of various digital models at multiple scales and levels. Digital twins that communicate with their physical counterparts throughout their lifecycle are the basis for data-driven factories. The problem with developing digital models that form the digital twin is that they operate with large amounts of heterogeneous data. Since the models represent simplifications of the physical world, managing the heterogeneous data and linking the data with the digital twin represent a challenge. The paper proposes a five-step approach to planning data-driven digital twins of manufacturing systems and their processes. The approach guides the user from breaking down the system and the underlying building blocks of the processes into four groups. The development of a digital model includes predefined necessary parameters that allow a digital model connecting with a real manufacturing system. The connection enables the control of the real manufacturing system and allows the creation of the digital twin. Presentation and visualization of a system functioning based on the digital twin for different participants is presented in the last step. The suitability of the approach for the industrial environment is illustrated using the case study of planning the digital twin for material logistics of the manufacturing system.
Attention-Enhanced Graph Convolutional Networks for Aspect-Based Sentiment Classification with Multi-Head Attention
Authors: Xu Guangtao , Liu Peiyu , Zhu Zhenfang , Liu Jie , Xu Fuyong
Published: April 2021

The purpose of aspect-based sentiment classification is to identify the sentiment polarity of each aspect in a sentence. Recently, due to the introduction of Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN), more and more studies have used sentence structure information to establish the connection between aspects and opinion words. However, the accuracy of these methods is limited by noise information and dependency tree parsing performance. To solve this problem, we proposed an attention-enhanced graph convolutional network (AEGCN) for aspect-based sentiment classification with multi-head attention (MHA). Our proposed method can better combine semantic and syntactic information by introducing MHA and GCN. We also added an attention mechanism to GCN to enhance its performance. In order to verify the effectiveness of our proposed method, we conducted a lot of experiments on five benchmark datasets. The experimental results show that our proposed method can make more reasonable use of semantic and syntactic information, and further improve the performance of GCN.
Evaluation of the Radiological and Chemical Risk for Public Health from Flour Sample Investigation
Authors: Caridi Francesco , Acri Giuseppe , Belvedere Alberto , Crupi Vincenza , D’Agostino Maurizio , Marguccio Santina , Messina Maurizio , Paladini Giuseppe , Venuti Valentina , Majolino Domenico
Published: April 2021

Flour investigation, in terms of physical and chemical pollutants and mineral content, is of great interest, in view of its high consumption for nutritional purposes. In this study, eleven types of flour (five samples for each one), coming from large retailers and employed by people for different cooking food purposes, were investigated through high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry, in order to estimate natural (40K) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radioisotope specific activity and thus, to assess the radiological risk due to the flour ingestion. Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively-coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) were also employed to evaluate any possible heavy metal contamination and the mineral composition, and to perform multivariate statistical analysis to deduce the flour authenticity. The evaluation of dose levels due to flour ingestion was performed, for the age category higher than 17 years, taking into account the average yearly consumption in Italy and assuming this need to be satisfied from a single type of flour as a precaution. All obtained results are under the allowable level set by Italian legislation (1 mSv y−1), thus excluding the risk of ionizing radiation effects on humans. As far as heavy metal contamination is concerned, Cd and Pb concentrations turned out to be lower than the threshold values, thus excluding their presence as pollutants. Finally, the multivariate statistical analysis allowed to unambiguously correlate flour samples to their botanical origin, according to their elemental concentrations.
Interpretation of Nondestructive Magnetic Measurements on Irradiated Reactor Steel Material
Authors: Vértesy Gábor , Gasparics Antal , Szenthe Ildikó , Uytdenhouwen Inge
Published: April 2021

Neutron irradiation-generated embrittlement of nuclear pressure vessel steel was inspected by a nondestructive magnetic method, called magnetic adaptive testing (MAT). This method is based on systematic measurement and evaluation of minor magnetic hysteresis loops. Result of MAT measurement was compared with the result of the traditional Charpy measurement. Good correlation was found between these parameters. One of the main findings of the present work is that the considerable part of scatter of points obtained by magnetic measurement can be attributed to local material inhomogeneity. Another important conclusion is that the embrittlement highly depends on the initial local material conditions, i.e., the initial microstructure, which are very different even within the same block of reactor steel material. By taking this into account, the magnetic descriptors obtain more precise determination of the local embrittlement than the traditionally used destructive mechanical parameters from Charpy data.
Promising Novel Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Diseases
Authors: Sipos Brigitte , Jirak Peter , Paar Vera , Rezar Richard , Mirna Moritz , Kopp Kristen , Hoppe Uta C. , Berezin Alexander E. , Lichtenauer Michael
Published: April 2021

Cardiovascular diseases remain the most common causes of death globally, according to the World Health Organization. In recent years, a great number of biomarkers have been investigated, whereas only some have gained value in the diagnosis, prognosis, and risk stratification of different cardiovascular illnesses. As numerous studies have investigated the diagnostic yield of novel biomarkers in various disease entities every year, this review aims to provide an overview of the current status of four promising representatives. In particular, this manuscript refers to soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2), heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP), growth differentiation factor (GDF-15) and soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR). These markers are of special interest as they are thought to provide an accurate estimate of cardiovascular risk in certain patient populations, especially those with pre-existing diseases, such as obesity or diabetes mellitus. We sought to give an overview of their function, individual diagnostic and predictive value and determination in the laboratory. A review of the literature regarding the aforementioned cardiovascular biomarkers yielded manifold results with respect to their individual diagnostic and prognostic value. Yet, the clinical relevance of these findings remains unclear, warranting further studies to identify their optimal use in clinical routine.
Specific Detection of PE-Included Vesicles Using Cyclic Voltammetry
Authors: Park Yeseul , Park Jin-Won
Published: April 2021

The binding between cinnamycin and the phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)-included vesicles was monitored using cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements and interpreted in terms of the composition of the vesicles and the monolayer binding site. The monolayer was composed of pure 11-mercapto-1-undecanol (MUD) to 90% MUD/10% 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) on a gold surface. Cinnamycin was immobilized on each monolayer. The vesicles, prepared at the desired ratio of the phospholipids, were injected on the cinnamycin-immobilized surface. CV experiments were performed for each step. For the pure-dipalmitoylphosphatidyl-choline (DPPC) vesicles on all of monolayers and the DPPC/dipalmitoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine (DPPE) vesicles on the pure-MUD monolayer, the electric property of the surface was little changed. However, the vesicles made with 90% DPPC/10% DPPE on the monolayer prepared with 99% MUD/1% MHA to 90% MUD/10% MHA showed a consistent decrease in the CV response. Additionally, in the 95% DPPC/5% DPPE vesicles and the 99.5% MUD/0.5% MHA monolayer, variances in the responses were observed.
A Novel Anti-Jamming Technique for INS/GNSS Integration Based on Black Box Variational Inference
Authors: Dong Ping , Cheng Jianhua , Liu Liqiang
Published: April 2021

In this paper, a novel anti-jamming technique based on black box variational inference for INS/GNSS integration with time-varying measurement noise covariance matrices is presented. We proved that the time-varying measurement noise is more similar to the Gaussian distribution with time-varying mean value than to the Inv-Gamma or Inv-Wishart distribution found by Kullback–Leibler divergence. Therefore, we assumed the prior distribution of measurement noise covariance matrices as Gaussian, and calculated the Gaussian parameters by the black box variational inference method. Finally, we obtained the measurement noise covariance matrices by using the Gaussian parameters. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed algorithm performs better in resisting time-varying measurement noise than the existing Variational Bayesian adaptive filter.
Using Stubby Prosthesis after Bilateral Transfemoral Amputation: A Biomechanical Case Study
Authors: Fiodorenko-Dumas Żanna , Dumas Ilias , Kowal Mateusz , Machnikowska Adrianna , Gieysztor Ewa , Winiarski Sławomir , Paprocka-Borowicz Małgorzata
Published: April 2021

Background: After bilateral transfemoral amputation, people may experience limitations in everyday life due to limited mobility and prosthesis problems. Materials and method: The case study covered a 54-year-old man after bilateral traumatic amputation of his lower limbs. Transfemoral amputations were performed using the Caldwell method; disproportion in the length of stumps was 5 mm. The motion task was recorded using the SMART-E optoelectronic system (BTS Bioengineering, Milan, Italy) according to the standard Davis protocol (the Newington model). Biomechanical evaluation included the measurement of angle-time relationships, characterizing the range of motion (ROM) in lower limb joints and Ground Reaction Force (GRF). The analyzed tasks are walking with self selected speed, fast gait and walking in stubby prostheses. Results: Step width was the most similar to the gait of healthy persons walking with stubby prostheses (0.17 ± 0.01 m for healthy people, 29% higher for stubbies, 35% for prosthetic gait with self-selected gait speed and 41% for fast gait speed). Step width was the smallest when walking with stubbies. Conclusions: The reduction of body height allows to reduce the risk of fall. Higher metabolic cost of gait in people after amputation result from a greater need to maintain balance and posture, and to perform walking movement.
Screening for Growth-Factor Combinations Enabling Synergistic Differentiation of Human MSC to Nucleus Pulposus Cell-Like Cells
Authors: Morita Kosuke , Schol Jordy , Volleman Tibo N. E. , Sakai Daisuke , Sato Masato , Watanabe Masahiko
Published: April 2021

Background: Multiple studies have examined the potential of growth factors (GF) to enable mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) to nucleus pulposus (NP) cell-like cell differentiation. Here we screened a wide range of GF and GF combinations for supporting NP cell-like cell differentiation. Methods: Human MSC were stimulated using 86 different GF combinations of TGF-β1, -2, -3, GDF5, -6, Wnt3a, -5a, -11, and Shh. Differentiation potency was assessed by alcian blue assay and NP cell marker expression (e.g., COL2A1, CD24, etc.). The top four combinations and GDF5/TGF-β1 were further analyzed in 3D pellet cultures, on their ability to similarly induce NP cell differentiation. Results: Almost all 86 GF combinations showed their ability to enhance proteoglycan production in alcian blue assay. Subsequent qPCR analysis revealed TGF-β2/Wnt3a, TGF-β1/Wnt3a, TGF-β1/Wnt3a/GDF6, and Wnt3a/GDF6 as the most potent combinations. Although in pellet cultures, these combinations supported NP marker expression, none showed the ability to significantly induce chondrogenic NP matrix production. Only GDF5/TGF-β1 resulted in chondrogenic pellets with significantly enhanced glycosaminoglycan content. Conclusion: GDF5/TGF-β1 was suggested as an optimal GF combination for MSC to NP cell induction, although further assessment using a 3D and in vivo environment is required. Wnt3a proved promising for monolayer-based NP cell differentiation, although further validation is required.
Workload Balancing on Identical Parallel Machines: Theoretical and Computational Analysis
Authors: Ouazene Yassine , Nguyen Nhan-Quy , Yalaoui Farouk
Published: April 2021

This paper considers the problem of assigning nonpreemptive jobs on identical parallel machines to optimize workload balancing criteria. Since workload balancing is an important practical issue for services and production systems to ensure an efficient use of resources, different measures of performance have been considered in the scheduling literature to characterize this problem: maximum completion time, difference between maximum and minimum completion times and the Normalized Sum of Square for Workload Deviations. In this study, we propose a theoretical and computational analysis of these criteria. First, we prove that these criteria are equivalent in the case of identical jobs and in some particular cases. Then, we study the general version of the problem using jobs requiring different processing times and establish the theoretical relationship between the aforementioned criteria. Based on these theoretical developments, we propose new mathematical formulations to provide optimal solutions to some unsolved instances in order to enhance the latest benchmark presented in the literature.
Definition of Discrete Choice Models of EV Owners Based on Different Socio-Demographic Aspects
Authors: Kajanova Martina , Bracinik Peter
Published: April 2021

With an increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs), their owners’ involvement in the control of electric power systems and their market seems to be the only option for stable operation of future power networks. However, these people usually have little knowledge about power systems’ operation and follow just their interests. Therefore, this paper deals with the decision-making process of EV drivers at the charging station. The paper presents the stated preference survey used to collect the responses to hypothetical scenarios, where respondents chose between three alternatives, namely slow charging, fast charging, and vehicle-to-grid services. The survey also contained questions about respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, as gender, age, etc. The decision-making prediction models for each socio-demographic characteristic were created using the acquired data. The paper presents the estimated parameters of the attributes affecting the respondents’ choices for the models that allow models’ simple implementation. Knowing these models and the customers’ composition, the operators of the charging stations or the distribution networks could better estimate EV owners’ behavior and so their expected power demand. Moreover, operators could more effectively implement incentives for their customers and affect the customers’ behavior in a way that is suitable for better operation of their power systems.
High-Speed Train Tunnel Navigation Method Based on Integrated MIMU/ODO/MC Navigation
Authors: Sun Zhenqian , Tang Kanghua , Wang Xueying , Wu Meiping , Guo Yan
Published: April 2021

When a high-speed train is running in a tunnel, the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal is completely lost. Relying only on the inertial navigation system (INS) composed of Micro-electromechanical Systems (MEMS) devices leads to large navigation errors. To solve this problem, an integrated micro inertial measurement unit (MIMU), odometer (ODO), and motion constraint (MC) tunnel navigation method is proposed. This method first establishes a motion constraint model based on the installation angles of MIMU; secondly, the effect of turning on the motion constraint model and the odometer is analyzed and the use condition of the motion constraints is obtained; the installation angles of MIMU are then estimated when GNSS signal is good and the use condition of the motion constraints is met; finally, the forward speed measured by the odometer and the motion constraints are applied to suppress the error of the INS and improve the navigation accuracy in the tunnel. Based on this method, high-speed train navigation tests were carried out both in areal tunnel environment and in a case study with an artificially disconnected GNSS signal. The experimental results showed that the navigation accuracy of the train in the tunnel was significantly improved. Seamless navigation was achieved inside and outside the tunnel, which verified the effectiveness of the method.
Zero-Energy Building Integrated Planning Methodology for Office Building Considering Passive and Active Environmental Control Method
Authors: Lee Soonmyung , Park Sanghoon
Published: April 2021

The objective of this study is to derive a design methodology for a zero-energy building considering the energy production and consumption of the building. In order to establish the design methodology, various factors affecting the energy production and consumption of the building are derived, and the effect of the heat transmission rate, the surface to volume ratio (S/V ratio), the location and the orientation of the building are analyzed by simulation method. As a result, the S/V ratio and the heat transmission rate are the most important factors in the central region of Korea where consumes large amounts of heating and cooling energy. This is because the final energy consumption varies depending on the heat loss through the envelope. It was confirmed that solar power generation is the most important factor in the southern regions of Korea where the energy consumption is relatively small. The final energy consumption varies depending on the solar power generation in these areas. Therefore, when designing a zero-energy building, the zero-energy of the building can be achieved by using the design methodology established in this study.
Venus Atmospheric Dynamics at Two Altitudes: Akatsuki and Venus Express Cloud Tracking, Ground-Based Doppler Observations and Comparison with Modelling
Authors: Machado Pedro , Widemann Thomas , Peralta Javier , Gilli Gabriella , Espadinha Daniela , Silva José E. , Brasil Francisco , Ribeiro José , Gonçalves Ruben
Published: April 2021

We present new results of our studies of zonal and meridional winds in both hemispheres of Venus, using ground- and space-based coordinated observations. The results obtained from telescope observations were retrieved with a Doppler velocimetry method. The wind velocities retrieved from space used an improved cloud-tracked technique based on the phase correlation between images. We present evidence that the altitude level sensed by our Doppler velocimetry method is approximately four kilometres higher (~4 km) than that using ground-tracked winds (using 380 or 365 nm). Since we often take advantage of coordinated space and ground observations simultaneously, this altitude difference will be very relevant in order to estimate the vertical wind shear at the related heights in future observation campaigns. We also explored a previous coordinated campaign using Akatsuki observations and its Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) at 283 and 365 nm filters, which showed that cloud-tracked winds showed a difference of about 10–15 ms−1, as in the case of the comparison between the Doppler velocimetry winds and the 365 nm cloudtracked winds. The results’ comparison also strongly suggested that the cloud-tracked winds based on the 283 nm filter’s images were sensing at about the same atmospheric altitude level as the Doppler winds. The observational results were compared with the ground-to-thermosphere 3D model developed at the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (IPSL-Venus General Circulation Model (VGCM)) and AFES-Venus General Circulation Model (GCM), at several pressure levels (and related heights). The analysis and results showed the following: (1) additional confirmation of the coherence and complementarity in the results provided by these techniques on both the spatial and temporal time scales of the two methods; (2) we noticed in the following that the results from the two different Akatsuki/UVI filters (283 and 365 nm) showed an average difference of about 10–15 ± 5 ms−1, and we suggest this may be related to SO2 atmospheric fluctuations and the particular conditions in the coordinated observing time window; (3) we present evidence indicating that, in the context of our observations, visible Doppler methods (highly self-consistent) seem to sense wind speeds at a vertical level closer to or within the range sensed by the UVI 283 nm filter images (again, in the context of our observations); (4) modelling predicted wind profiles suggests that the layers of the atmosphere of Venus sensed by the methods referred to in Point 3 differ by approximately four km in altitude (~4 ± 2 km) regarding the cloud-tracked winds retrieved using 365 or 380 nm images.