bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pediatric Perspectives and Tools for Attorneys Representing Immigrant Children: Conducting Trauma-Informed Interviews of Children from Mexico and Central America
Authors: Matlow Ryan B. , Shapiro Alan , Wang N. Ewen
Published: January 2023

Pediatric health and mental health professionals with expertise in the physical and emotional needs of immigrant children seeking humanitarian protection are trained to understand and address the sometimes deeply traumatic nature of their experience. This expertise plays an important role in collaborating with immigration attorneys to provide compassionate, trauma-informed representation that centers on children’s best interests. In medicine, we say that “children are not small adults,” such that meeting a child’s needs requires consideration of their developmental stage and the unique impacts of child trauma exposure. This also holds true for legal professionals dedicated to protecting the rights of children in migration. This article aims to (1) review the principles of trauma-informed care in the context of child development, (2) understand the traumatic nature of the migration paradigm for children from Mexico and Central America seeking safety and protection, and (3) suggest ways that healthcare, mental health and legal professionals can inform one another’s efforts to optimize the wellbeing of children and improve legal outcomes. The application of this knowledge in practice can advance legal goals, reduce risk for child re-traumatization during interviews, and reinforce child strengths while also reducing vicarious trauma and burnout for legal professionals.
Evaluation of the Phytochemistry–Therapeutic Activity Relationship for Grape Seeds Oil
Authors: Gitea Manuel Alexandru , Bungau Simona Gabriela , Gitea Daniela , Pasca Bianca Manuela , Purza Anamaria Lavinia , Radu Andrei-Flavius
Published: January 2023

Seeds’ abundant biologically active compounds make them a suitable primary platform for the production of natural extracts, innovative foods, medicines, and cosmetics. High levels of industrial and agricultural residues and byproducts are generated during the processing of grapes, although some parts can also be repurposed. This paper examines the phytochemical composition, manufacturing processes, and health-improving attributes of many varieties of grape oil derived using various extraction methods. Since the results are influenced by a range of factors, they are expressed differently among studies, and the researchers employ a variety of measuring units, making it difficult to convey the results. The primary topics covered in most papers are grape seed oil’s lipophilic fatty acids, tocopherols, and phytosterols. In addition, new methods for extracting grape seed oil should therefore be designed; these methods must be affordable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly in order to increase the oil’s quality by extracting bioactive components and thereby increasing its biological activity in order to become part of the overall management of multiple diseases.
Primary and Metastatic Cutaneous Melanomas Discriminately Enrich Several Ligand-Receptor Interactions
Authors: Diaz Michael J. , Fadil Angela , Tran Jasmine T. , Batchu Sai , Root Kevin T. , Tran Andrew X. , Lucke-Wold Brandon
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Cutaneous melanoma remains a leading cancer with sobering post-metastasis mortality rates. To date, the ligand-receptor interactome of melanomas remains weakly studied despite applicability to anti-cancer drug discovery. Here we leverage established crosstalk methodologies to characterize important ligand-receptor pairs in primary and metastatic cutaneous melanoma. Methods: Bulk transcriptomic data, representing 470 cutaneous melanoma samples, was retrieved from the Broad Genome Data Analysis Center Firehose portal. Tumor and stroma compartments were computationally derived as a function of tumor purity estimates. Identification of preferential ligand-receptor interactions was achieved by relative crosstalk scoring of 1380 previously established pairs. Results: Metastatic cutaneous melanoma uniquely enriched PTH2-PTH1R for tumor-to-stroma signaling. The Human R-spondin ligand family was involved in 4 of the 15 top-scoring stroma-to-tumor interactions. Receptor ACVR2B was involved in 3 of the 15 top-scoring tumor-to-tumor interactions. Conclusions: Numerous gene-level differences in ligand-receptor crosstalk between primary and metastatic cutaneous melanomas. Further investigation of notable pairings is warranted.
Metabolic Heterogeneity of Cerebral Cortical and Cerebellar Astrocytes
Authors: Sun Yuanhong , Winters Ali , Wang Linshu , Chaudhari Kiran , Berry Raymond , Tang Christina , Liu Ran , Yang Shaohua
Published: January 2023

Astrocytes play critical roles in regulating neuronal synaptogenesis, maintaining blood–brain barrier integrity, and recycling neurotransmitters. Increasing numbers of studies have suggested astrocyte heterogeneity in morphology, gene profile, and function. However, metabolic phenotype of astrocytes in different brain regions have not been explored. In this paper, we investigated the metabolic signature of cortical and cerebellar astrocytes using primary astrocyte cultures. We observed that cortical astrocytes were larger than cerebellar astrocytes, whereas cerebellar astrocytes had more and longer processes than cortical astrocytes. Using a Seahorse extracellular flux analyzer, we demonstrated that cortical astrocytes had higher mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis than cerebellar astrocytes. Cerebellar astrocytes have lower spare capacity of mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis as compared with cortical astrocytes. Consistently, cortical astrocytes have higher mitochondrial oxidation and glycolysis-derived ATP content than cerebellar astrocytes. In addition, cerebellar astrocytes have a fuel preference for glutamine and fatty acid, whereas cortical astrocytes were more dependent on glucose to meet energy demands. Our study indicated that cortical and cerebellar astrocytes display distinct metabolic phenotypes. Future studies on astrocyte metabolic heterogeneity and brain function in aging and neurodegeneration may lead to better understanding of the role of astrocyte in brain aging and neurodegenerative disorders.
Stability Assessment of Polyvinyl-Ether-Based TiO2, SiO2, and Their Hybrid Nanolubricants
Authors: Ismail Mohd Farid , Azmi Wan Hamzah , Mamat Rizalman , Sharma Korada Viswanatha , Zawawi Nurul Nadia Mohd
Published: January 2023

Poor characterisation of nanoparticle suspensions impedes the development of nanolubricants for use in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. Chemical treatment techniques, such as surfactants, are inappropriate for enhancing the stability of nanolubricants intended for use in vapour-compression refrigeration (VCR) systems. Prior to incorporating nanolubricants into the system, the stability of TiO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in PVE was therefore investigated. The nanolubricants were prepared by a two-step method with the aid of an ultrasonication bath homogeniser. Visual observation and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometric analysis were used, and zeta potential analysis was then performed to confirm the nanolubricants’ stability condition. The TiO2/PVE nanolubricant was observed to be maintained at a 95% concentration ratio for up to 30 days of evaluation. The TiO2/PVE, SiO2/PVE, and SiO2-TiO2/PVE exhibited zeta potential values of 203.1 mV, 224.2 mV, and 105.3 mV, respectively, after 7 h of sonication. A high absolute value of zeta potential indicates that the electrostatic repulsive forces between nanoparticles are exceptionally strong, indicating an excellent stable suspension. The high values of zeta potentials validated the excellent stability conditions determined by UV–Vis analysis and visual observation. It can be concluded that ultrasonication times of 7 h produced the most stable state for mono- and hybrid nanolubricants.
Influence of Al2O3 Nanoparticles Addition in ZA-27 Alloy-Based Nanocomposites and Soft Computing Prediction
Authors: Vencl Aleksandar , Svoboda Petr , Klančnik Simon , But Adrian , Vorkapić Miloš , Harničárová Marta , Stojanović Blaža
Published: January 2023

Three different and very small amounts of alumina (0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 wt. %) in two sizes (approx. 25 and 100 nm) were used to enhance the wear characteristics of ZA-27 alloy-based nanocomposites. Production was realised through mechanical alloying in pre-processing and compocasting processes. Wear tests were under lubricated sliding conditions on a block-on-disc tribometer, at two sliding speeds (0.25 and 1 m/s), two normal loads (40 and 100 N) and a sliding distance of 1000 m. Experimental results were analysed by applying the response surface methodology (RSM) and a suitable mathematical model for the wear rate of tested nanocomposites was developed. Appropriate wear maps were constructed and the wear mechanism is discussed in this paper. The accuracy of the prediction was evaluated with the use of an artificial neural network (ANN). The architecture of the used ANN was 4-5-1 and the obtained overall regression coefficient was 0.98729. The comparison of the predicting methods showed that ANN is more efficient in predicting wear.
Influence of Nozzle Layouts on the Heat-Flow Coupled Characteristics for Oil-Jet Lubricated Spur Gears
Authors: Yang Duan , Liu He , Zhong Jianfeng , Zhu Xiang , Dai Yu
Published: January 2023

Aiming to explore the influence of nozzle layouts on the lubrication and cooling performance of spur gears under oil jet lubrication conditions, this paper introduces a heat-flow coupled analysis method to predict the temperature field of the tooth surface with different nozzle layouts. Firstly, the friction heat formulas integrating the coefficient of friction and average contact stress are presented for calculating heat generation. We also present the impingement depth model, which considers the nozzle orientation parameters, jet velocity, and gear structure of the given spur gear pair for laying out the nozzle. Then, a heat-flow coupled finite element analysis method is exploited to resemble the jet lubrication process and gain the gear temperature characteristics. Finally, the numerical results of this model compare well with those of the experiments, showing that this heat-flow coupled model provides accurate temperature prediction, indicating that the nozzle layouts determined as a function of the oil jet height, deviation distance, and oil injection angle significantly influence the lubrication and cooling performance. Further, this study also reveals that the lubrication performance in cases where the nozzle approaches the side of the pinion is relatively superior.
Simulation and Verification of Involute Spline Tooth Surface Wear before and after Carburizing Based on Energy Dissipation Method
Authors: Xue Xiangzhen , Liu Jian , Jia Jipeng , Yang Siwei , Li Yifan
Published: January 2023

This work studies the tooth surface wear of floating involute spline couplings. Based on the energy dissipation method, this study takes the floating involute spline couplings as the research object, divides the whole wear cycle into three wear stages and analyzes its wear mechanism, and proposes a wear prediction model suitable for floating involute spline couplings. By using Abaqus, the simulation of the involute spline couplings before and after carburizing was carried out when the floating distance was 0 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.6 mm, respectively. The wear depth of each tooth was compared and analyzed, and the axial and radial distributions of the wear on the tooth surface of the involute spline couplings were explored. Finally, the floating involute spline couplings test bench was used to verify the spline wear before and after carburizing. The results show that with the increase in floating distance, the wear of the tooth surface also increases, and the upper edge of the tooth surface is seriously worn. Through the comparative analysis of the spline tooth surface wear before and after carburizing treatment, it can be seen that carburizing treatment can effectively reduce the wear degree of the spline couplings tooth surface and improve the service life of the spline couplings, but at a high floating distance, carburizing treatment has no significant effect on improving the performance of the tooth surface.
Design of Fuzzy PID Controller Based on Sparse Fuzzy Rule Base for CNC Machine Tools
Authors: Yu Zaiqi , Liu Ning , Wang Kexin , Sun Xianghan , Sheng Xianjun
Published: January 2023

The robustness of the control algorithm plays a crucial role in the precision manufacturing and measurement of the CNC machine tool. This paper proposes a fuzzy PID controller based on a sparse fuzzy rule base (S-FPID), which can effectively control the position of a nonlinear CNC machine tool servo system consisting of a rotating motor and ball screw. In order to deal with the influences of both the internal and external uncertainties in the servo system, fuzzy logic is used to adjust the proportion, and integral and differential parameters in real-time to improve the robustness of the system. In the fuzzy inference engine of FPID, a sparse fuzzy rule base is used instead of a full-order fuzzy rule base, which significantly improves the computational efficiency of FPID and saves a lot of RAM storage space. The sensitivity analysis of S-FPID verifies the self-tuning ability of its parameters. Furthermore, the proposed S-FPID has been compared with the PID and FPID via simulation and experiment. The results show that compared with the classical PID controller, the overshoot of the S-FPID controller is reduced by 74.29%, and the anti-interference ability is increased by 62.43%; compared with FPID algorithm, the efficiency of the SPID is improved by 87.25% on the premise of a slight loss in robustness.
Detection of False Data Injection Attack in AGC System Based on Random Forest
Authors: Qu Zhengwei , Zhang Xinran , Gao Yuchen , Peng Chao , Wang Yunjing , Georgievitch Popov Maxim
Published: January 2023

False data injection attacks change the control effect of automatic generation control systems, which may cause a destructive impact on power systems. In this paper, the data from the regular operation of a system and the data from false data injection attacks in the historical data are studied and classified. The normal operating parameters and abnormal operation parameters under various attack scenarios are collected as samples for training the detection model based on time series. The random forest algorithm model is selected for detection through the comparison of detection effects, and various data training models are accumulated during the operation process to improve the model’s accuracy. Finally, Simulink simulation experiments verify the consistency of the detection results of the simulated attack algorithm. This detection method can realize real-time attack detection and synchronize the detection results to the database with high timeliness. It can be used in systems with rich data samples and has broad applicability.
Research on Corporate Indebtedness Determinants: A Case Study of Visegrad Group Countries
Authors: Gajdosikova Dominika , Valaskova Katarina , Kliestik Tomas , Kovacova Maria
Published: January 2023

Debt financing is arguably the most important source of external financing for enterprises and has become popular in recent years. Corporate debt is related to the monitoring of corporate indebtedness, which is a necessary part of evaluating the overall financial performance of an enterprise and will occur if an enterprise does not have enough equity. However, rising indebtedness can be a difficult financial situation for enterprises in the form of default and an inability to meet their emerging liabilities. The main aim of this paper is to perform a debt analysis of enterprises operating in the Visegrad Group countries and subsequently examine whether firm size and legal form have a statistically significant impact on selected indebtedness indicators. Firstly, it was necessary to perform a debt analysis using 10 debt ratios. Subsequently, the nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test was used to perform a more detailed analysis focused on examining statistically significant differences in individual indebtedness ratios based on firm size and legal form. Bonferroni corrections were applied to detect where stochastic dominance occurred. The Kruskal–Wallis test results reveal statistically significant differences in debt ratios in Visegrad Group countries, confirming the impact of firm size and legal form on calculated debt ratios. Recognizing the impact of several determinants on corporate debt is critical because these firm-specific features may be interpreted as proxies for default probability or the volatility of corporate assets, which may simplify the decision-making processes of creditors and stakeholders.
Singularity, Observability and Statistical Independence in the Context of Chaotic Systems
Authors: Dinu Alexandru , Frunzete Madalin
Published: January 2023

Pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) have always been a central research topic in data science, and chaotic dynamical systems are one of the means to obtain scientifically proven data. Chaotic dynamical systems have the property that they have a seemingly unpredictable and random behavior obtained by making use of deterministic laws. The current paper will show how several notions used in the study of chaotic systems—statistical independence, singularity, and observability—can be used together as a suite of test methods for chaotic systems with high potential of being used in the PRNG or cryptography fields. In order to address these topics, we relied on the adaptation of the observability coefficient used in previous papers of the authors, we calculated the singularity areas for the chaotic systems considered, and we evaluated the selected chaotic maps from a statistical independence point of view. By making use of the three notions above, we managed to find strong correlations between the methods proposed, thus supporting the idea that the resulting test procedure is consistent. Future research directions consist of applying the proposed test procedure to other chaotic systems in order to gather more data and formalize the approach in a test suite that can be used by the data scientist when selecting the best chaotic system for a specific use (PRNG, cryptography, etc.).
Order-Restricted Inference for Generalized Inverted Exponential Distribution under Balanced Joint Progressive Type-II Censored Data and Its Application on the Breaking Strength of Jute Fibers
Authors: Zhang Chunmei , Cong Tao , Gui Wenhao
Published: January 2023

This article considers a new improved balanced joint progressive type-II censoring scheme based on two different populations, where the lifetime distributions of two populations follow the generalized inverted exponential distribution with different shape parameters but a common scale parameter. The maximum likelihood estimates of all unknown parameters are obtained and their asymptotic confidence intervals are constructed by the observed Fisher information matrix. Furthermore, the existence and uniqueness of solutions are proved. In the Bayesian framework, the common scale parameter follows an independent Gamma prior and the different shape parameters jointly follow a Beta-Gamma prior. Based on whether the order restriction is imposed on the shape parameters, the Bayesian estimates of all parameters concerning the squared error loss function along with the associated highest posterior density credible intervals are derived by using the importance sampling technique. Then, we use Monte Carlo simulations to study the performance of the various estimators and a real dataset is discussed to illustrate all of the estimation techniques. Finally, we seek an optimum censoring scheme through different optimality criteria.
ReqGen: Keywords-Driven Software Requirements Generation
Authors: Zhao Ziyan , Zhang Li , Lian Xiaoli , Gao Xiaoyun , Lv Heyang , Shi Lin
Published: January 2023

Software requirements specification is undoubtedly critical for the whole software life-cycle. Currently, writing software requirements specifications primarily depends on human work. Although massive studies have been proposed to speed up the process via proposing advanced elicitation and analysis techniques, it is still a time-consuming and error-prone task, which needs to take domain knowledge and business information into consideration. In this paper, we propose an approach, named ReqGen, which can provide further assistance by automatically generating natural language requirements specifications based on certain given keywords. Specifically, ReqGen consists of three critical steps. First, keywords-oriented knowledge is selected from the domain ontology and is injected into the basic Unified pre-trained Language Model (UniLM) for domain fine-tuning. Second, a copy mechanism is integrated to ensure the occurrence of keywords in the generated statements. Finally, a requirements-syntax-constrained decoding is designed to close the semantic and syntax distance between the candidate and reference specifications. Experiments on two public datasets from different groups and domains show that ReqGen outperforms six popular natural language generation approaches with respect to the hard constraint of keywords’ (phrases’) inclusion, BLEU, ROUGE, and syntax compliance. We believe that ReqGen can promote the efficiency and intelligence of specifying software requirements.
A Formulation for the Stochastic Multi-Mode Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem Solved with a Multi-Start Iterated Local Search Metaheuristic
Authors: Ramos Alfredo S. , Miranda-Gonzalez Pablo A. , Nucamendi-Guillén Samuel , Olivares-Benitez Elias
Published: January 2023

This research introduces a stochastic version of the multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem (MRCPSP) and its mathematical model. In addition, an efficient multi-start iterated local search (MS-ILS) algorithm, capable of solving the deterministic MRCPSP, is adapted to deal with the proposed stochastic version of the problem. For its deterministic version, the MRCPSP is an NP-hard optimization problem that has been widely studied. The problem deals with a trade-off between the amount of resources that each project activity requires and its duration. In the case of the proposed stochastic formulation, the execution times of the activities are uncertain. Benchmark instances of projects with 10, 20, 30, and 50 activities from well-known public libraries were adapted to create test instances. The adapted algorithm proved to be capable and efficient for solving the proposed stochastic problem.
Advanced Approach for Distributions Parameters Learning in Bayesian Networks with Gaussian Mixture Models and Discriminative Models
Authors: Deeva Irina , Bubnova Anna , Kalyuzhnaya Anna V.
Published: January 2023

Bayesian networks are a powerful tool for modelling multivariate random variables. However, when applied in practice, for example, for industrial projects, problems arise because the existing learning and inference algorithms are not adapted to real data. This article discusses two learning and inference problems on mixed data in Bayesian networks—learning and inference at nodes of a Bayesian network that have non-Gaussian distributions and learning and inference for networks that require edges from continuous nodes to discrete ones. First, an approach based on the use of mixtures of Gaussian distributions is proposed to solve a problem when the joint normality assumption is not confirmed. Second, classification models are proposed to solve a problem with edges from continuous nodes to discrete nodes. Experiments have been run on both synthetic datasets and real-world data and have shown gains in modelling quality.
Electrospun Silica-Polyacrylonitrile Nanohybrids for Water Treatments
Authors: Malczewska Beata , Lochyński Paweł , Charazińska Sylwia , Sikora Andrzej , Farnood Ramin
Published: January 2023

In this work, the removal of NOM (natural organic matter) as represented by humic acid by means of electrospun nanofiber adsorptive membranes (ENAMs) is described. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was used for the preparation of ENAMs incorporating silica nanoparticles as adsorbents. The addition of silica to the polymer left visible changes on the structural morphology and fibers’ properties of the membrane. The membrane samples were characterized by pure water permeability, contact angle measurement, SEM, XPS, and XRD. This study assesses the preliminary performance of PAN-Si membranes for the removal of natural organic matter (NOM). The membrane rejected the humic acid, a surrogate of NOM, from 69.57% to 87.5%.
Novel Organic Solvent Nanofiltration Approaches for Microbial Biosurfactants Downstream Processing
Authors: Nascimento Miguel Figueiredo , Keković Petar , Ribeiro Isabel A. C. , Faria Nuno Torres , Ferreira Frederico Castelo
Published: January 2023

Glycolipid biosurfactants are the most prominent group of microbial biosurfactants, comprising rhamnolipids, sophorolipids and mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs). Usually, large amounts of hydrophobic substrates (e.g., vegetable oils) are used to achieve high titers (~200 g/L) of a crude product of low purity at values limited to 50–60%, contaminated with unconsumed triacylglycerol and residual free fatty acids and monoacylglycerides. The methods reported for the removal of these contaminants use a mixture of organic solvents, compromising solvent recyclability and increasing final process costs. This study reports, for the first time, an innovative downstream method for MELs, in which 90% of the triacylglycerols are separated from the crude MEL mixture in a first stage and the other lipid derivatives (free fatty acids, mono- and diacylglycerols) are removed by organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN). Three commercially available membranes (GMT-oNF-2, PuraMEm-600 and DuramMem-500) and several homemade membranes, casted from 22, 24 or 26% (w/v) polybenzimidazole (PBI) solutions, were assessed for crude MELs purification by diafiltration. A final purity of 87–90% in the MELs was obtained by filtering two diavolumes of methanol or ethyl acetate solutions through a PBI 26% membrane, resulting in MELs losses of 14.7 ± 6.1% and 15.3 ± 2.2%, respectively. Higher biosurfactant purities can be archived using the PBI 26% membrane at higher DV, but at the cost of higher product losses. Namely, in MeOH, the use of 6 DV leads to losses of 32% for MELs and 18% for sophorolipids. To obtain MELs at reagent grade with purities equal or higher than 97%, a two-sequential cascade filtration approach was implemented using the commercial membrane, GMT-oNF. In such a process, MELs with 98% purity was obtained at the cost of 11.6% MELs losses. Finally, decoloration, important in some applications, was successfully assessed using activated carbon. Overall, this study reports a unique solution for microbial biosurfactants production with minimal product losses, enabling solvent recycling and potentially reducing costs.
Preparation and Permeation Properties of a pH-Responsive Polyacrylic Acid Coated Porous Alumina Membrane
Authors: Sato Takafumi , Makino Kotomi , Tamesue Shingo , Ishiura Gakuto , Itoh Naotsugu
Published: January 2023

A pH-responsive membrane is expected to be used for applications such as drug delivery, controlling chemical release, bioprocessing, and water treatment. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) is a pH-responsive polymer that swells at high pH. A tubular α-alumina porous support was coated with PAA by grafting to introduce appropriate functional groups, followed by polymerization with acrylic acid. The permeances of acetic acid, lactic acid, phenol, and caffeine were evaluated by circulating water inside the membrane, measuring the concentration of species that permeated into the water, and analyzing the results with the permeation model. The permeance of all species decreased with increasing pH, and that of phenol was the largest among these species. At high pH, the PAA carboxy group in the membrane dissociated into carboxy ions and protons, causing the swelling of PAA due to electrical repulsion between the negative charges of the PAA chain, which decreased the pore size of the membrane and suppressed permeation. Furthermore, the electrical repulsion between negatively charged species and the PAA membrane also suppressed the permeation. The results of this study demonstrated that the PAA-coated α-alumina porous support functioned as a pH-responsive membrane.
The Selection of Efficient Antiscalant for RO Facility, Control of Its Quality and Evaluation of the Economical Efficiency of Its Application
Authors: Spitsov Dmitry , Aung Htet Zaw , Pervov Alexei
Published: January 2023

Adsorption of polymeric inhibitor molecules to calcium carbonate crystal surface was investigated. Inhibiting efficiencies of phosphonic acid-based antiscalants are dependent on the amount of adsorbed material on the growing crystal surface. A strong antiscalant even at a small dose provides the necessary rate of adsorption. Comparison of two phosphonic-based antiscalants was made both in laboratory and industrial conditions. A distinguishing feature of the strong antiscalant is the presence of aminotris (metylene-diphosphonic acid) ATMP. Experimental dependencies of antiscalant adsorption rates on the antiscalant dosage values were determined. Emphasis is given to the use of nanofiltration membranes that possess lower scaling propensities. Modernization is presented to reduce operational costs due to antiscalant and nanofiltration membranes. The main conclusion is that control of scaling should be implemented together with the use of nanofiltration membranes.
Effect of Trace Rare-Earth Element Ce on the Microstructure and Properties of Cold-Rolled Medium Manganese Steel
Authors: Zhao Qingbo , Dong Ruifeng , Lu Yongfa , Yang Yang , Wang Yanru , Yang Xiong
Published: January 2023

Rare-earth elements have been widely used in the field of functional materials, but their effects on the cold-stamping formability of high-strength automotive steels have rarely been studied. In this paper, the effect of the trace rare-earth element Ce on the microstructure and properties of cold-rolled medium manganese steel after ART (austenite-reverted transformation, ART) annealing was studied. The microstructure of the experimental steel was observed using SEM, and the mechanical properties were tested using a universal tensile testing machine. The volume fraction of the retained austenite and the texture of the steel were measured using XRD. The results showed that the original austenite grain size of the experimental steel was smaller after adding the trace rare-earth element Ce. After ART annealing, the grain size distribution of the experimental steel with rare-earth Ce was more uniform, and the comprehensive mechanical properties were better. Under the conditions of quenching at 800 °C for 5 min and annealing at 645 °C for 15 min, the maximum product of tensile strength and elongation was 28.47 GPa·%.
Strength Development and Environmental Assessment of Full Tailings Filling Materials with Various Water-to-Binder Ratios
Authors: Ding Zhu , Liu Pai , Cui Peng , Hong Chengyu
Published: January 2023

In order to build green mines, goaf is often filled, supported, and sealed with a high-water material to eliminate a series of environmental problems and safety hazards caused by goaf. In this study, ordinary Portland cement, sulphoaluminate cement, and alkali-activated cement were used as binders to prepare full-tailings high-water materials for filling, with various water-to-cement ratios. The compressive strength development of consolidated tungsten tailings specimens prepared with various curing binders was observed, and the influence of various water–cement ratios on the strength development was analyzed. The environmental impact of mine backfill materials was assessed according to the life cycle theory (LCA), and these mine backfill materials were prepared by using various binders. The results show that when the water-to-binder ratio is 3, the strength of alkali-activated cement can reach 3 MPa at 28 days; at that ratio, the microstructure of alkali-activated cement is more compact. Through LCA analysis, the environmental load of alkali-activated cement is shown to be significantly lower than that of either Portland cement or sulphoaluminate cement; the LCA results show that the primary energy consumption using alkali-activated cement is reduced from the Portland and sulphoaluminate cements by 1319.32 MJ and 945 kg, respectively. These unusual reduction percentages are achieved because the production of alkali-activated cement by LCA does not have any negative environmental impact—the production of alkali-activated cement, with its primary component being industrial byproduct slag, so that the use of alkali-activated cement in tailings’ consolidation has a positive environmental impact.
Additive Manufacturing: Corrosion Proofing by Infusion of Interstitial Solute—Exemplified for Alloy 22
Authors: Illing Cyprian , Bestic Michael , Ernst Frank
Published: January 2023

The corrosion resistance of Cr-containing alloy parts made by additive manufacturing can be significantly improved by a post-treatment of gas-phase-based infusion of concentrated interstitial solute (carbon and nitrogen). We demonstrate this universal approach for the example of low-temperature nitrocarburization by solid-reagent pyrolysis applied to Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) parts made by laser powderbed fusion. We show that the post-treatment improves the crevice-corrosion resistance of these parts, as well as the corrosion resistance of corresponding parts made from wrought Alloy 22 to surpass the maximum crevice corrosion test temperature specified in ASTM G48-D, whereas non-treated samples typically fail well below. Similarly, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization testing (ASTM G61-86) demonstrates that the post-treatment makes the additively manufactured alloy and the wrought alloy more corrosion-resistant than the non-treated wrought alloy.
Single Point Insulin Sensitivity Estimator (SPISE) As a Prognostic Marker for Emerging Dysglycemia in Children with Overweight or Obesity
Authors: Stein Robert , Koutny Florian , Riedel Johannes , Dörr Natascha , Meyer Klara , Colombo Marco , Vogel Mandy , Anderwald Christian Heinz , Blüher Matthias , Kiess Wieland , Körner Antje , Weghuber Daniel
Published: January 2023

The single point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE) is a recently developed fasting index for insulin sensitivity based on triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and body mass index. SPISE has been validated in juveniles and adults; still, its role during childhood remains unclear. To evaluate the age- and sex-specific distribution of SPISE, its correlation with established fasting indexes and its application as a prognostic marker for future dysglycemia during childhood and adolescence were assessed. We performed linear modeling and correlation analyses on a cross-sectional cohort of 2107 children and adolescents (age 5 to 18.4 years) with overweight or obesity. Furthermore, survival analyses were conducted upon a longitudinal cohort of 591 children with overweight/obesity (1712 observations) with a maximum follow-up time of nearly 20 years, targeting prediabetes/dysglycemia as the end point. The SPISE index decreased significantly with age (−0.34 units per year, p < 0.001) among children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. Sex did not have an influence on SPISE. There was a modest correlation between SPISE and established fasting markers of insulin resistance (R = −0.49 for HOMA-IR, R = −0.55 for QUICKI-IR). SPISE is a better prognostic marker for future dysglycemia (hazard ratio (HR) 3.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.60–7.51, p < 0.01) than HOMA-IR and QUICKI-IR (HR 2.44, 95% CI 1.24–4.81, p < 0.05). The SPISE index is a surrogate marker for insulin resistance predicting emerging dysglycemia in children with overweight or obesity, and could, therefore, be applied to pediatric cohorts that lack direct insulin assessment.
The Mixture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Clostridium butyricum Could Promote Rumen Fermentation and Improve the Growth Performance of Goats in Hot Summer
Authors: Cai Liyuan , Li Min , Zhou Shuyi , Xu Qingbiao
Published: January 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effects of multiple mixing ratio pairs of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) and Clostridium butyricum (CB) on rumen fermentation and growth performance of goats in hot summer. Thirty goats were divided into five groups: 0.00% probiotics (control), 0.30% SC and 0.05% CB (P1), 0.30% SC and 0.10% CB (P2), 0.60% SC and 0.05% CB (P3), and 0.60% SC and 0.10% CB (P4) of the dry matter (DM) weight of the basal diet and were assigned to a 5 × 5 Latin square experimental design. The results showed the pH values, the activities of ruminal cellulolytic enzymes, and the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen, acetic acid, propionic acid, total volatile fatty acids, vitamins B1 and B2, and niacin were significantly increased (p < 0.05) by probiotics. Moreover, the DM intake, average daily gain, the digestibilities of DM, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in probiotic-supplemented groups. Additionally, among all probiotic supplementation groups, the P3 group had the most beneficial effect on rumen fermentation parameters and the growth performance of goats. These results suggested that the mixture of 0.60% Saccharomyces cerevisiae and 0.05% Clostridium butyricum of the DM concentration was beneficial to improve rumen fermentation and promote the growth of goats in hot summer.
Antibacterial Activity of a Natural Clay Mineral against Burkholderia cepacia Complex and Other Bacterial Pathogens Isolated from People with Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Behroozian Shekooh , Zlosnik James E. A. , Xu Wanjing , Li Loretta Y. , Davies Julian E.
Published: January 2023

There is an impending crisis in healthcare brought about by a new era of untreatable infections caused by bacteria resistant to all available antibiotics. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify novel antimicrobial agents to counter the continuing threat posed by formerly treatable infections. We previously reported that a natural mineral clay known as Kisameet clay (KC) is a potent inhibitor of the organisms responsible for acute infections. Chronic bacterial infections present another major challenge to treatment by antimicrobials, due to their prolonged nature, which results in repeated exposure to antibiotics and a constant selection for antimicrobial resistance. A prime example is bacteria belonging to the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc), which particularly causes some of the most serious chronic lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) associated with unpredictable clinical outcomes, poor prognosis, and high mortality rates. Eradication of these organisms from CF patients with limited effective antimicrobial options is a major challenge. Novel therapeutic approaches are urgently required. Here, we report the in vitro antibacterial activity of KC aqueous suspensions (1–10% w/v) and its aqueous extract (L100) against a collection of extensively and multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of Bcc, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolated from patients with CF. These findings present a potential novel therapy for further investigation in the clinic.
pH and Nitrate Drive Bacterial Diversity in Oil Reservoirs at a Localized Geographic Scale
Authors: Xu Ying , Wang Jianwei , Liu Qingjie , Zhang Qun , Wu Jiazhong , Zhou Minghui , Nie Yong , Wu Xiao-Lei
Published: January 2023

Oil reservoirs are one of the most important deep subsurface biospheres. They are inhabited by diverse microorganisms including bacteria and archaea with diverse metabolic activities. Although recent studies have investigated the microbial communities in oil reservoirs at large geographic scales, it is still not clear how the microbial communities assemble, as the variation in the environment may be confounded with geographic distance. In this work, the microbial communities in oil reservoirs from the same oil field were identified at a localized geographic scale. We found that although the injected water contained diverse exogenous microorganisms, this had little effect on the microbial composition of the produced water. The Neutral Community Model analysis showed that both bacterial and archaeal communities are dispersal limited even at a localized scale. Further analysis showed that both pH and nitrate concentrations drive the assembly of bacterial communities, of which nitrate negatively correlated with bacterial alpha diversity and pH differences positively correlated with the dissimilarity of bacterial communities. In contrast, the physiochemical parameters had little effect on archaeal communities at the localized scale. Our results suggest that the assembly of microbial communities in oil reservoirs is scale- and taxonomy-dependent. Our work provides a comprehensive analysis of microbial communities in oil reservoirs at a localized geographic scale, which improves the understanding of the assembly of the microbial communities in oil reservoirs.
Microbials for Agriculture: Why Do They Call Them Biostimulants When They Mean Probiotics?
Authors: Sanjuán Juan , Nápoles Maria Caridad , Pérez-Mendoza Daniel , Lorite María J. , Rodríguez-Navarro Dulce N.
Published: January 2023

There is growing interest in using plant-beneficial microorganisms to partially replace chemicals and help reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. Formulated microbial products or inoculants for agriculture contain single strains or a consortium of live microbes, well characterized and biosafe, which can contribute to the growth, health, and development of a plant host. This concept conforms to the definition of probiotics. However, some plant-growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) have been considered a category of biostimulants since some years ago, despite the traditional concept of biostimulants involves substances or materials with no fertilizer value, which in minute amounts promote plant growth. The inclusion of PGPMs together with substances has also involved a significant distortion of the classical concept of biostimulants. Regulations such as the recent EU Fertilizing Products Regulation (EU No. 2019/1009) have incorporated the new definition of biostimulants and included microbials as a subcategory of biostimulants. We discuss that this regulation and the forthcoming European harmonized standards disregard some key features of microbial products, such as the live, true biological nature of their active principles. The factors that determine the complex functional compatibility of plant–microbe associations, and important biosafety issues that concern the intentional release of microbes into the environment, seem to be also ignored. We anticipate that by equating microbials to chemicals, the biological nature of microbial products and their specific requirements will be underestimated, with pernicious consequences for their future development and success.
A New Perspective on the Co-Transmission of Plant Pathogens by Hemipterans
Authors: Tamborindeguy Cecilia , Hata Fernando Teruhiko , Molina Rúbia de Oliveira , Nunes William Mário de Carvalho
Published: January 2023

Co-infection of plants by pathogens is common in nature, and the interaction of the pathogens can affect the infection outcome. There are diverse ways in which viruses and bacteria are transmitted from infected to healthy plants, but insects are common vectors. The present review aims to highlight key findings of studies evaluating the co-transmission of plant pathogens by insects and identify challenges encountered in these studies. In this review, we evaluated whether similar pathogens might compete during co-transmission; whether the changes in the pathogen titer in the host, in particular associated with the co-infection, could influence its transmission; and finally, we discussed the pros and cons of the different approaches used to study co-transmission. At the end of the review, we highlighted areas of study that need to be addressed. This review shows that despite the recent development of techniques and methods to study the interactions between pathogens and their insect vectors, there are still gaps in the knowledge of pathogen transmission. Additional laboratory and field studies using different pathosystems will help elucidate the role of host co-infection and pathogen co-transmission in the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases.
The Biological and Ecological Features of Northbound Migratory Birds, Ticks, and Tick-Borne Microorganisms in the African–Western Palearctic
Authors: Hoffman Tove , Olsen Björn , Lundkvist Åke
Published: January 2023

Identifying the species that act as hosts, vectors, and vehicles of vector-borne pathogens is vital for revealing the transmission cycles, dispersal mechanisms, and establishment of vector-borne pathogens in nature. Ticks are common vectors for pathogens causing human and animal diseases, and they transmit a greater variety of pathogenic agents than any other arthropod vector group. Ticks depend on the movements by their vertebrate hosts for their dispersal, and tick species with long feeding periods are more likely to be transported over long distances. Wild birds are commonly parasitized by ticks, and their migration patterns enable the long-distance range expansion of ticks. The African–Palearctic migration system is one of the world’s largest migrations systems. African–Western Palearctic birds create natural links between the African, European, and Asian continents when they migrate biannually between breeding grounds in the Palearctic and wintering grounds in Africa and thereby connect different biomes. Climate is an important geographical determinant of ticks, and with global warming, the distribution range and abundance of ticks in the Western Palearctic may increase. The introduction of exotic ticks and their microorganisms into the Western Palearctic via avian vehicles might therefore pose a greater risk for the public and animal health in the future.
Metabolic Engineering of Bacillus subtilis for Riboflavin Production: A Review
Authors: Liu Yang , Zhang Quan , Qi Xiaoxiao , Gao Huipeng , Wang Meng , Guan Hao , Yu Bo
Published: January 2023

Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is one of the essential vitamins that the human body needs to maintain normal metabolism. Its biosynthesis has become one of the successful models for gradual replacement of traditional chemical production routes. B. subtilis is characterized by its short fermentation time and high yield, which shows a huge competitive advantage in microbial fermentation for production of riboflavin. This review summarized the advancements of regulation on riboflavin production as well as the synthesis of two precursors of ribulose-5-phosphate riboflavin (Ru5P) and guanosine 5′-triphosphate (GTP) in B. subtilis. The different strategies to improve production of riboflavin by metabolic engineering were also reviewed.