bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in Southeast Asia and the associated demographic factors
Authors: Tay Wendy Wan Ying , Jesuthasan Jehanita , Wan Kim Sui , Ong Tiffanie , Mustapha Feisul
Published: August 2022

Mental health has become a growing concern in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to determine the prevalence of mental health symptoms 18 months after the pandemic's declaration. Our cross-sectional study conducted among 18- to 65-year-old adults (N = 33,454) in October 2021 using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) found a high prevalence of severe to extremely severe anxiety (49%), depression (47%) and stress (36%) symptoms in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. Multiple logistic regression showed that female and non-binary genders were associated with increased odds of severe/extremely severe symptoms of anxiety (female: aOR 1.44 [95% CI 1.37–1.52]; non-binary aOR 1.46 [1.16–1.84]), depression (female: aOR 1.39 [1.32–1.47]; non-binary aOR 1.42 [1.13–1.79]), and stress (female: aOR 1.48 [CI 1.40–1.57]; non-binary aOR 1.42 [1.12–1.78]). In all three symptom domains, the odds of severe/extremely severe symptoms decreased across age groups. Middle- and high-income respondents had lower odds of reporting severe/extremely severe anxiety (middle-income: aOR 0.79 [0.75–0.84]; high-income aOR 0.77 [0.69–0.86]) and depression (middle-income: aOR 0.85 [0.80–0.90]; high-income aOR 0.84 [0.76–0.94]) symptoms compared to low-income respondents, while only middle-income respondents had lower odds of experiencing severe/extremely severe stress symptoms (aOR 0.89 [0.84–0.95]). Compared to residents of Malaysia, residents of Indonesia were more likely to experience severe/extremely severe anxiety symptoms (aOR 1.08 [1.03–1.15]) but less likely to experience depression (aOR 0.69 [0.65–0.73]) or stress symptoms (aOR 0.92 [0.87–0.97]). Respondents living in Singapore had increased odds of reporting severe/extremely severe depression symptoms (aOR 1.33 [1.16–1.52]), while respondents residing in Thailand were more likely to experience severe/extremely severe stress symptoms (aOR 1.46 [1.37–1.55]). This study provides insights into the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the point prevalence of psychological distress in Southeast Asia one and a half years after the beginning of the pandemic.
Knowledge and beliefs about vaccination in pregnant women before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Bruno Stefania , Nachira Lorenza , Villani Leonardo , Beccia Viria , Di Pilla Andrea , Pascucci Domenico , Quaranta Gianluigi , Carducci Brigida , Spadea Antonietta , Damiani Gianfranco , Lanzone Antonio , Federico Bruno , Laurenti Patrizia
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Vaccine hesitancy threatens the health of populations and challenges Public Health professionals. Strategies to reduce it aim to improve people's risk perception about vaccine-preventable diseases, fill knowledge gaps about vaccines and increase trust in healthcare providers. During pregnancy, educational interventions can provide a proper knowledge about safety and efficacy of maternal and childhood vaccinations. Fighting hesitancy and clarifying doubts is fundamental during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected people's knowledge and beliefs toward vaccination. This study aimed at assessing if the advent of the pandemic was associated with changes in pregnant women's knowledge and beliefs toward vaccination, and trust in healthcare services.

Methods

A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted through self-reported questionnaires in a Roman teaching hospital, where educational classes about vaccinations are routinely held as part of a birthing preparation course. Data were collected on a sample of pregnant women before and during the pandemic. Free-of-charge flu vaccinations were offered to all course participants and adherence to flu vaccination was assessed.

Results

The proportion of pregnant women reporting that vaccines have mild side effects and that are sufficiently tested increased from 78.6 to 92.0% (p = 0.001) and from 79.4 to 93.2% (p = 0.001), respectively. There was a reduction from 33.0 to 23.3% (p = 0.065) in the proportion of those declaring that healthcare workers (HCWs) give information only on the benefits and not on the risks of vaccines, and a reduction from 27.3 to 12.1% (p = 0.001) in those reporting that vaccines are an imposition and not a free choice of mothers. Trust in National Health Service (NHS) operators slightly decreased. Among participants, the monthly flu vaccination adherence ranged from 50.0% in November to 29.2% January for 2019–20 flu season, and from 56.3% in September to 14.5% in January for 2020–21 flu season, showing a higher vaccination acceptance in the earlier months of 2020-21 flu season.

Conclusions

The pandemic may have positively affected pregnant women's knowledge and opinions about vaccinations and trust in HCWs, despite a possible negative impact on their perceptions about NHS operators. This should inspire Public Health professionals to rethink their role as health communicators.
Food spending in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Dhakal Chandra , Acharya Binod , Wang Shaonan
Published: August 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant increase in the unemployment rate and a decline in consumer income. At the same time, the public health responses to the pandemic, such as lockdowns and business closures, disrupted the food supply chain. These pandemic-driven changes could lead to a shift in food spending behaviors and potentially exacerbate the food insecurity situation. Leveraging the nationally representative dataset from the 2017–2020 consumer expenditure surveys, we employ a two-part model to assess the changes in weekly household spending on total food, food-at-home (FAH), and food-away-from-home (FAFH) between the pre-pandemic and pandemic period in the United States. Our finding shows a predicted marginal decline in FAFH expenditure by 33.7% but an increase in FAH spending by 6.9% during the pandemic. The increase in FAH spending could not fully offset the decrease in FAFH spending, leading to a decline in total food spending by 12.6%. The results could provide a basis for future studies on food insecurity, nutrient intake, and healthy consumption during the pandemic.
Relationship between maternal exposure to heavy metal titanium and offspring congenital heart defects in Lanzhou, China: A nested case-control study
Authors: Sun Jianhao , Mao Baohong , Wu Zhenzhen , Jiao Xinjuan , Wang Yanxia , Lu Yongli , Ma Xuejing , Liu Xiaohui , Xu Xiaoying , Cui Hongmei , Lin Xiaojuan , Yi Bin , Qiu Jie , Liu Qing
Published: August 2022

Background

Previous studies have found that exposure to heavy metals increased the incidence of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, there is a paucity of information about the connection between exposure to titanium and CHDs. This study sought to examine the relationship between prenatal titanium exposure and the risk of CHDs in offspring.

Methods

We looked back on a birth cohort study that was carried out in our hospital between 2010 and 2012. The associations between titanium exposure and the risk of CHDs were analyzed by using logistic regression analysis to investigate titanium concentrations in maternal whole blood and fetal umbilical cord blood.

Results

A total of 97 case groups and 194 control groups were included for a nested case-control study. The [P50 (P25, P75)] of titanium were 371.91 (188.85, 659.15) μg/L and 370.43 (264.86, 459.76) μg/L in serum titanium levels in pregnant women and in umbilical cord serum titanium content in the CHDs group, respectively. There was a moderate positive correlation between the concentration of titanium in pregnant women's blood and that in umbilical cord blood. A higher concentrations of maternal blood titanium level was associated with a greater risk of CHDs (OR 2.706, 95% CI 1.547–4.734), the multiple CHDs (OR 2.382, 95% CI 1.219–4.655), atrial septal defects (OR 2.367, 95% CI 1.215–4.609), and patent ductus arteriosus (OR 2.412, 95% CI 1.336–4.357). Dramatically higher concentrations of umbilical cord blood levels had an increased risk of CHDs and different heart defects.

Conclusion

Titanium can cross the placental barrier and the occurrence of CHDs may be related to titanium exposure.
Longitudinal transition of body mass index status and its associated factors among Chinese middle-aged and older adults in Markov model
Authors: Pei Heming , Kang Ning , Guo Chao , Zhang Yalu , Chu Haitao , Chen Gong , Zhang Lei
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Body mass index (BMI) has a strong correlation with chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. However, few studies have previously reported the longitudinal transition of BMI status and its influential factors, especially among Chinese middle-aged and older adults.

Methods

This population-based cohort study involved 6,507 participants derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2015, including objectively measured BMI recorded in 26,028 person-year of all observations followed up. Multistate Markov model was performed to estimate the BMI state transition intensity and hazard ratios of each potential exposure risk.

Results

The mean intensity of the population that shifted from normal to overweight was more than twice than shifted to underweight. Besides, a predicted probability was up to 16.16% that the population with overweight would suffer from obesity and more than half of the population with underweight would return to normal weight over a 6-year interval. The study also implied significant effects of baseline age, gender, marital status, education level, alcohol consumption, smoking, depression symptoms, and activities of daily living impairment on BMI status transition to varying degrees.

Conclusions

Findings of this study indicated that the mean transition probability between different BMI statuses varied, specific exposure factors serving as barriers or motivators to future transitions based on current BMI status was clarified for the health promotion strategies.
Perspectives in poverty and mental health
Authors: Marbin Derin , Gutwinski Stefan , Schreiter Stefanie , Heinz Andreas
Published: August 2022

In recent years, different forms of poverty and their interaction with mental illness have been in the focus of research, although the implementation of action in mental health care and policy making so far is scarce. This perspective article offers different perspectives of poverty and its reciprocal association with mental illness and outlines possible future research and policy implications. We will approach the topic of poverty from various levels: On a micro-level, focusing on absolute poverty with precarious housing and malnutrition. On a meso-level, on neighborhood-related poverty as a factor in individuals' mental illness. On a macro-level, on effects of income inequality on mental health. In several studies, it has been shown that on each level, poverty has a profound impact on mental health, though it must be noted that in some fields, research is still scarce. In the future, an inter- and transdisciplinary approach is of considerable importance, since poverty and its impact on mental health should be addressed from different perspectives, reaching from targeted programs for individual groups (e.g., homeless people) up to national policy measures.
Children-Robot Friendship, Moral Agency, and Aristotelian Virtue Development
Authors: Constantinescu Mihaela , Uszkai Radu , Vică Constantin , Voinea Cristina
Published: August 2022

Social robots are increasingly developed for the companionship of children. In this article we explore the moral implications of children-robot friendships using the Aristotelian framework of virtue ethics. We adopt a moderate position and argue that, although robots cannot be virtue friends, they can nonetheless enable children to exercise ethical and intellectual virtues. The Aristotelian requirements for true friendship apply only partly to children: unlike adults, children relate to friendship as an educational play of exploration, which is constitutive of the way they acquire and develop virtues. We highlight that there is a relevant difference between the way we evaluate adult-robot friendship compared to children-robot friendship, which is rooted in the difference in moral agency and moral responsibility that generate the asymmetries in the moral status ascribed to adults versus children. We look into the role played by imaginary companions (IC) and personified objects (PO) in children’s moral development and claim that robots, understood as Personified Robotic Objects (PROs), play a similar role with such fictional entities, enabling children to exercise affection, moral imagination and reasoning, thus contributing to their development as virtuous adults. Nonetheless, we argue that adequate use of robots for children’s moral development is conditioned by several requirements related to design, technology and moral responsibility.
An automatic drug injection device with spatial micro-force perception guided by an microscopic image for robot-assisted ophthalmic surgery
Authors: Li Zhen , Fu Pan , Wei Bing-Ting , Wang Jie , Li An-Long , Li Ming-Jun , Bian Gui-Bin
Published: August 2022

Retinal vein injection guided by microscopic image is an innovative procedure for treating retinal vein occlusion. However, the retina organization is complex, fine, and weak, and the operation scale and force are small. Surgeons’ limited operation and force-sensing accuracy make it difficult to perform precise and stable drug injection operations on the retina in a magnified field of image vision. In this paper, a 3-DOF automatic drug injection mechanism was designed for microscopic image guiding robot-assisted needle delivery and automatic drug injection. Additionally, the robot-assisted real-time three-dimensional micro-force-sensing method for retinal vein injection was proposed. Based on the layout of three FBG sensors on the hollow outer wall of the nested needle tube in a circular array of nickel-titanium alloys, the real-time sensing of the contact force between the intraoperative instrument and the blood vessel was realized. The experimental data of 15 groups of porcine eyeball retinal veins with diameters of 100–200 μm showed that the piercing force of surgical instruments and blood vessels is 5.95∼12.97 mN, with an average value of 9.98 mN. Furthermore, 20 groups of experimental measurements on chicken embryo blood vessels with diameters of 150–500 μm showed that the piercing force was 4.02∼23.4 mN, with an average value of 12.05 mN.
The relevance of sperm morphology in male infertility
Authors: Moretti Elena , Signorini Cinzia , Noto Daria , Corsaro Roberta , Collodel Giulia
Published: August 2022

This brief report concerns the role of human sperm morphology assessment in different fields of male infertility: basic research, genetics, assisted reproduction technologies, oxidative stress. One of the best methods in studying sperm morphology is transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that enables defining the concept of sperm pathology and classifying alterations in non-systematic and systematic. Non-systematic sperm defects affect head and tail in variable ratio, whereas the rare systematic defects are characterized by a particular anomaly that marks most sperm of an ejaculate. TEM analysis and fluorescencein situhybridization represent outstanding methods in the study of sperm morphology and cytogenetic in patients with altered karyotype characterizing their semen quality before intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In recent years, the genetic investigations on systematic sperm defects, made extraordinary progress identifying candidate genes whose mutations induce morphological sperm anomalies. The question if sperm morphology has an impact on assisted fertilization outcome is debated. Nowadays, oxidative stress represents one of the most important causes of altered sperm morphology and function and can be analyzed from two points of view: 1) spermatozoa with cytoplasmic residue produce reactive oxygen species, 2) the pathologies with inflammatory/oxidative stress background cause morphological alterations. Finally, sperm morphology is also considered an important endpoint inin vitroexperiments where toxic substances, drugs, antioxidants are tested. We think that the field of sperm morphology is far from being exhausted and needs other research. This parameter can be still considered a valuable indicator of sperm dysfunction both in basic and clinical research.
Invisible in the smart city: Using participatory design methods for age-friendly solutions
Authors: van Leeuwen Cora , Devis Clavijo Juanita , Mariën Ilse , Jacobs An
Published: August 2022

Older adults face unique challenges and have differing needs when navigating the urban environment. At the same time, civil servants and policymakers in cities are facing difficulties in promoting age-friendly initiatives due to the lack of knowledge, data, and tools about and for older adults. In this context, smart cities can play a key role in increasing the participation of older adults (i.e., 65 years and older) by collecting the data needed to provide knowledge of and design tools for older adults. However, using smart city data to inform policy making is made more difficult by several existing issues such as aggregated nonage-specific big data, lack of data altogether, and a disparity in access and use of digital technology. This paper endeavors to provide a methodology to ensure that the older adults are represented in the collected data and the translation of this data into automatic policy-making decisions. The Participation for Policy for Older Adults (PAR4POA) method introduces older adults' perspectives from the start of the project and its iterative approach means that older adults will share their needs and values with policymakers at different stages of a project. The use of this method enabled the co-creation of smart city solutions targeted to address the needs of older citizens in the context of 3 European regions. The PAR4POA method is specifically altered for the situation of older adults but could easily be used to include other marginalized populations. Ensuring participation in the automatic policy-making arena will empower marginalized populations and provide representation in data previously not provided.
A computational approach to evaluating curricular alignment to the united nations sustainable development goals
Authors: Lemarchand Philippe , McKeever Mick , MacMahon Cormac , Owende Philip
Published: August 2022

The United Nations (UN) considers universities to be key actors in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, efforts to evaluate the embeddedness of the SDGs in university curricula tend to rely on manual analyses of curriculum documents for keywords contained in sustainability lexica, with little consideration for the diverse contexts of such keywords. The efficacy of these efforts, relying on expert co-elicitation in both subject-matter contexts and sustainability, suffers from drawbacks associated with keyword searches, such as limited coverage of key concepts, difficulty in extracting intended meaning and potential for greenwashing through “keyword stuffing.” This paper presents a computational technique, derived from natural language processing (NLP), which develops a sustainability lexicon of root keywords (RKs) of relative importance by adapting the Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) method to a corpus of sustainability documents. Identifying these RKs in module/course descriptors offers a basis for evaluating the embeddedness of sustainability in 5,773 modules in a university's curricula using classification criteria provided by the Association for the Enhancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE). Applying this technique, our analysis of these descriptors found 286 modules (5%) to be “sustainability focused” and a further 769 modules (13%) to be “sustainability inclusive,” which appear to address SDGs 1, 17, 3, 7, and 15. Whilst this technique does not exploit machine learning methods applied to large amounts of trained data, it is, nevertheless, systemic and evolutive. It, therefore, offers an appropriate trade-off, which faculty with limited analytics skills can apply. By supplementing existing approaches to evaluating sustainability in the curriculum, the developed technique offers a contribution to benchmarking curricular alignment to the SDGs, facilitating faculty to pursue meaningful curricular enhancement, whilst complying with sustainability reporting requirements. The technique is useful for first-pass analyses of any university curriculum portfolio. Further testing and validation offer an avenue for future design-science research.
Electron-Driven Instabilities in the Solar Wind
Authors: Verscharen Daniel , Chandran B. D. G. , Boella E. , Halekas J. , Innocenti M. E. , Jagarlamudi V. K. , Micera A. , Pierrard V. , Štverák Š. , Vasko I. Y. , Velli M. , Whittlesey P. L.
Published: August 2022

The electrons are an essential particle species in the solar wind. They often exhibit non-equilibrium features in their velocity distribution function. These include temperature anisotropies, tails (kurtosis), and reflectional asymmetries (skewness), which contribute a significant heat flux to the solar wind. If these non-equilibrium features are sufficiently strong, they drive kinetic micro-instabilities. We develop a semi-graphical framework based on the equations of quasi-linear theory to describe electron-driven instabilities in the solar wind. We apply our framework to resonant instabilities driven by temperature anisotropies. These include the electron whistler anisotropy instability and the propagating electron firehose instability. We then describe resonant instabilities driven by reflectional asymmetries in the electron distribution function. These include the electron/ion-acoustic, kinetic Alfvén heat-flux, Langmuir, electron-beam, electron/ion-cyclotron, electron/electron-acoustic, whistler heat-flux, oblique fast-magnetosonic/whistler, lower-hybrid fan, and electron-deficit whistler instability. We briefly comment on non-resonant instabilities driven by electron temperature anisotropies such as the mirror-mode and the non-propagating firehose instability. We conclude our review with a list of open research topics in the field of electron-driven instabilities in the solar wind.
European Union's policymaking on sustainable waste management and circularity in agroecosystems: The potential for innovative interactions between science and decision-making
Authors: Duquennoi Christian , Martinez José
Published: August 2022

The European Economic Community (EEC) and later the European Union (EU) have issued policies on waste during the last 50 years. This paper aims at analyzing EEC and EU's policymaking on waste management and circularity in agroecosystems as compared with other sectors of waste management (e.g., municipal, industrial, construction waste, etc.). Even if founded on the same general principles, and especially the precautionary principle, policymaking on waste and by-product management in agroecosystems differs from waste management in other sectors. In particular, agricultural waste management has been excluded from the European Waste Framework Directive, from its start in 1975 to this day. The issue of waste and by-products in agroecosystems has been addressed in multiple Directives and Regulations, historically aiming at reducing the potential negative impacts of residual organic matter application in agriculture. In the last decade, the swiftly growing interest for circular economy has triggered a breakthrough in traditional waste management, potentially affecting all economic sectors and enforcing systemic perspectives rather than more conventional “silo” approaches. Circularity in agroecosystems should thus become a major subject of EU's policymaking, but may suffer from its lack of a general framework, contrary to waste in other sectors. Moreover, agricultural valorization of urban residual organic streams may face several roadblocks in between differing legislations for agroecosystems and for “non-agricultural” systems. A systemic approach of the question of residual matter in agroecosystems, backing a strong policymaking framework for the sector, would be necessary in this context. Science-policymaking interactions are necessary to tackle these issues and should take innovative forms to address their complexity. Policy briefs, Policy Labs and the new European Commission Scientific Advice Mechanism represent existing innovative tools to take the topic of policymaking for sustainable waste management and circularity in agroecosystems forward.
Hepatic inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: One case report
Authors: Shen Lei , Yang Zixuan , Ding Ruibo , Wei Wei , Xu Yechuan
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Hepatic inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (HIMT) is a junctional neoplastic lesion of mesenchymal tissue origin that can sometimes become locally invasive and even metastasize or recur. Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of HIMT is particularly important. However, hepatic inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor lacks a specific clinical presentation and typical imaging manifestations, thus posing a difficulty for us to diagnose and treat this disease.

Case Presentation

We report here a very rare surgical case of hepatic inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (HIMT) in a 41-year-old female who was admitted to the hospital for more than half a month for a liver-occupying lesion with fever found on physical examination.After discussion with the hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery team, we decided to perform surgical treatment. The final postoperative pathology confirmed hepatitis myofibroblastoma.

Conclusion

Our review of the domestic and international literature revealed no significant progress in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, so we report here a case of surgical treatment. One of our aims in this case report is to highlight the efficacy of surgical treatment in HIMT. HIMT is extremely rare and difficult to diagnose. Due to their intermediate biological behavior, surgical resection should be performed whenever feasible and patients should be followed-up in order to detect recurrence and metastasis as early as possible.
Perineal herniorrhaphy with pedunculated tunica vaginalis communis in dogs: Description of the technique and clinical case series
Authors: Heishima Tatsuya , Asano Kazushi , Ishigaki Kumiko , Yoshida Orie , Sakurai Naoki , Terai Kazuyuki , Seki Mamiko , Teshima Kenji , Tanaka Shigeo
Published: August 2022

Background

Perineal hernia (PH) in dogs is caused by the separation of the anal septal muscles and the displacement of pelvic/abdominal organs under the perineal skin. Reconstruction of the pelvic septum by surgical repositioning is the only curative treatment.

Objectives

To describe the procedure and outcomes of surgical repair using the pedunculated tunica vaginalis communis (TVC) for PH in dogs.

Methods

Intact male dogs diagnosed with PH were included in this study. For surgery, each dog was positioned in the Trendelenburg position. Castration was performed with the open technique, followed by colopexy and cystopexyvialaparotomy. The remaining bilateral TVCs transposed to the opening of PH were used for the perineal herniorrhaphy. Intraoperative findings, complications, and outcomes were evaluated and recorded.

Results

Eight dogs [median age 10.5 years (range, 9–13 years); median body weight 4.9 kg (range, 1.6–12.3 kg)] were treated using the TVC surgical technique. Perineal herniorrhaphy with the TVC was feasible in all dogs. The median operation time was 105.5 min (range, 46–149 min) in unilateral PH, and 92 and 122 min in two dogs with bilateral PH. Short-term postoperative complications during hospitalization did not occur in six dogs, whereas the residual two dogs had a temporary local infection as a minor complication. Postoperative recurrence occurred in one dog (13%) on postoperative day 136.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that the herniorrhaphy technique using the pedunculated TVC is an alternative option for the repair of PH in dogs.
Spatio-temporal patterns of lumpy skin disease outbreaks in dairy farms in northeastern Thailand
Authors: Punyapornwithaya Veerasak , Seesupa Suvaluk , Phuykhamsingha Sitthinon , Arjkumpa Orapun , Sansamur Chalutwan , Jarassaeng Chaiwat
Published: August 2022

In 2021–2022, there were numerous outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) affecting cattle farms across Thailand. This circumstance was the country's first encounter with an LSD outbreak. Thus, a better understanding of LSD epidemiology is necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the spatio-temporal patterns of the LSD outbreaks in dairy farming areas. Data from LSD outbreak investigations collected from dairy farms in Khon Kean province, northeastern Thailand, were analyzed using spatio-temporal models including space-time permutation, Poisson, and Bernoulli models. LSD outbreaks were found in 133 out of 152 dairy farms from May to July, 2021. The majority of dairy farms (n = 102) were affected by the LSD outbreaks in June. The overall herd attack, morbidity and mortality rates were 87, 31, and 0.9%, respectively. According to the results of all models, the most likely clusters were found in the northern part of the study area. The space-time permutation and Poisson model identified 15 and 6 spatio-temporal outbreak clusters, respectively, while the Bernoulli model detected only one cluster. The most likely clusters from those models cover radii of 1.59, 4.51, and 4.44 km, respectively. All farms included in the cluster identified by the space-time permutation model were also included in the cluster identified by the Poisson model, implying that both models detected the same outbreak area. Furthermore, the study results suggested that farmers who own farms within a one km radius of the LSD outbreak farm should be advised to implement more stringent insect vector control measures to prevent disease spread. This study provides better insights into the spatio-temporal pattern of clusters of LSD in the outbreak area. The findings of this study can support authorities in formulating strategies to prevent and control future outbreaks as well as prioritizing resource allocation to high-risk areas.
Używanie polszczyzny w kolonii Dom Pedro II na tle badań bilingwizmu polsko-portugalskiego w Brazylii
Authors: Goczyła Ferreira Alicja
Published: August 2022

The subject matter of this paper is Polish–Portuguese bilingualism observed
in one of the Brazilian villages founded by Polish rural immigrants in the second
half of the 19th century in the south of the country. The primary instrument
for collecting data were the interviews conducted with 48 residents of the village
in 2018. The presented outcome confi rms the trends noticed in the study by
S. Kucharski [1996] and W. Miodunka [2003]; namely, the fairly high level of
preservation of Polish in Brazil and discrepancies in the level of command of
the spoken and written code by the interviewees. The analysed data permit
also the ascertainment of the phenomenon that Polish is being forgotten in the
bilingualisation process and that it is disappearing in the surveyed village in
general.
Characterization of LCR Parallel-Type Electromagnetic Shunt Damper for Superconducting Magnetic Levitation
Authors: Fujita Kentaro , Sugiura Toshihiko
Published: August 2022

This study investigated the effect of electromagnetic shunt dampers on the resonance amplitude reduction in a superconducting magnetic levitation system. There are two types of electromagnetic shunt dampers, series type and parallel type, depending on the configuration of the electric circuit, and their damping characteristics may differ depending on the external resistance value in the circuit. In this study, after discussing the vibration-suppression effects of both types according to the governing equations, vibration experiments were conducted using both dampers with different resistance values. As a result, it was confirmed that, for the larger resistance value, the amplitude reduction effect is smaller in the series-type damper, while it remained high in the parallel type. We also performed numerical integrations, including the nonlinearity of magnetic force in the superconducting magnetic levitation system. As a result, it was numerically confirmed that the parallel-type damper can also be expected to reduce amplitude at a resonance caused by nonlinearity.
Aircraft Autonomous Separation Assurance Based on Cooperative Game Theory
Authors: Tang Xinmin , Lu Xiaona , Zheng Pengcheng
Published: August 2022

Transferring part of the separation assurance responsibilities from air traffic controllers to pilots during en route phases of flight can reduce the controllers’ workload while ensuring operational safety and improving operational efficiency in the airspace. For this new generation of distributed air traffic management mode, firstly use the conflict detection algorithm to determine whether a potential conflict exists between two aircraft, introduce cooperative game theory to autonomous separation assurance model for horizontal cross-conflict in a static wind field by forming a coalition of all aircraft involved in the potential conflict. The convex combination of minimum yaw angle and maneuver flight time is used as the strategic gain of the aircraft, and the welfare function of the coalition is maximized by changing the behavioral strategy of the aircraft. Finally, a horizontal cross-conflict scenario is set up for simulation experiments and compared with a centralized separation assurance strategy. The simulation results show the effectiveness of cooperative game theory, which is applied in distributed autonomous separation assurance.
Preliminary Evaluation of Spraying Quality of Multi-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Close Formation Spraying
Authors: Chen Pengchao , Ouyang Fan , Zhang Yali , Lan Yubin
Published: August 2022

Chemical application using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has received significant attention from researchers and the market in recent years. The concept of using drones for collaborative spraying was proposed by manufacturers for improving intelligence and work efficiency. However, chemical spraying is a professional technology in which spraying quality is the main concern. Using drones to achieve multi-unmanned aerial vehicle formation spraying and evaluating the spraying effect has not yet been reported. In this study, an indoor test platform and two UAVs for field experiments were built. Indoor and outdoor trials of close formation spraying were carried out in Guangzhou and Changji, China from the end of 2018 to 2019, respectively. The droplet density and distribution uniformity of droplets were evaluated from multiple spray overlap areas. It can be seen that simultaneous spraying was better than sequential spraying with the indoor spraying results in the outer fuselage overlap area (S1), and spraying in a short-interval mode can improve the droplet deposition distribution in the overlapping spraying area. Additionally, the droplet distribution result of sequential spraying was better than that of simultaneous spraying in the route center overlap area (S2). Also, the droplet distribution result of the long-interval mode was better than that of the short-interval mode. The uniformity of the droplets’ distribution in two spray width areas (S3) did not change significantly among the treatments.
The Weed-Suppressive Ability of Summer Cover Crops in the Northern Grains Region of Australia
Authors: Shabbir Asad , Hickman Lucy , Walsh Michael
Published: August 2022

Pressure is mounting on the agricultural sector to reduce reliance on herbicides for weed control leading to increased interest in the potential of cover crops to control weeds in summer fallows. The weed suppression ability of three summer cover crop species, buckwheat, millet and teff, was evaluated in field trials at two sites near Camden, NSW in 2021. Buckwheat, millet and teff reduced weed biomass by 65%, 77% and 95%, respectively at Bringelly and by 94%, 92% and 90%, respectively at Lansdowne. Following cover crop desiccation, teff residues reduced weed emergence in subsequently planted wheat by 73% and 26% at Bringelly and Lansdowne, respectively. Overall cover crops were found to be effective in suppressing weed emergence, growth, and reproductive capacity. These studies identified teff grass as an important summer crop option for the northern grains region.
Effects of High Temperature on Quality of Japonica Rice at Early and Middle Heading Stage under Different Planting Modes
Authors: Zang Qian , Han Xiao , Zhang Mingjing , Huang Xiaomin , Jiang Min , Huang Lifen
Published: August 2022

With the intensified greenhouse effect, high temperature has gradually become an adverse factor in growth of rice. Transplanting (TP) and direct seeding (DS) are two common rice planting modes. At present, the response of rice quality to high temperature under different planting modes and at different growth stages have not yet to be identified. Therefore, in our study, high-quality japonica rice Nanjing 9108 (NJ9108) and Nanjing 46 (NJ46) were cultivated through TP and DS under the setting of normal temperature (NT), moderate heating (2 °C higher than NT, MT) and extreme high temperature (5 °C higher than NT, HT) at early heading stage (EH, 0–14 d after heading) and middle heading stage (MH, 15–28 d after heading) respectively. The results showed that better resistance to high temperature was achieved with TP. The head rice rate, gel consistency and amylose content of rice decreased with the increase of temperature, while chalkiness degree, setback viscosity, average particle size, crystallinity and gelatinization temperature were opposite. Compared with high temperature at MH, the effect of EH on rice quality was more significant. In terms of varieties, the resistance to high temperature was stronger for NJ46 relative to NJ9108, mainly because NJ46 has a longer growth period and can avoid the stress of high temperature at heading stage. Above all, our results suggest that NJ46 could have better resistance with a longer growth period through TP under background of climate warming.
Thermal Treatment Influence on Selected Nutritional Values of Common Sea Buckthorn (Hyppophae rhamnoides) Juice
Authors: Mezey Ján , Hegedűs Ondrej , Mezeyová Ivana , Szarka Katarína , Hegedűsová Alžbeta
Published: August 2022

Since ancient times, sea buckthorn (Hyppophae rhamnoides) (SBT) has been utilized as a medical plant for its ability to extract health-promoting compounds from its fruits, seeds, pulp, skin, bark, roots, and leaves. L-ascorbic acid is primarily found in fruits, and because of this, it can be utilized as a fortification agent to enhance other juices. The study’s goal was to look into how the L-ascorbic acid and selected nutritional parameters in common sea buckthorn juice changed over the period of storage and different thermal treatments. The L-ascorbic acid stability in the processed juice in both used varieties (“Hergo” and “Leikora”) was ensured by the processing technology with a modified vat (or batch) (low-temperature long-time pasteurization) process. Even after being sterilized at 120 °C for 15 min, the amount of L-ascorbic acid in the processed sea buckthorn juice in both varieties was unaffected and ranged between 1762 and 2058 mg/kg. There was no change in the pH level at the same time; it stayed extremely low (about 2.3), which may have helped the L-ascorbic acid to stabilize. The sterilized juice variant in both varieties had the highest levels of glucose, fructose, total sugar, malic acid, total acid, and total soluble solids (TSS), which were significantly higher than in fresh juice or in either variant after pasteurization. Given this, we advise processing the SBT berries immediately after harvest using thermal processing to prevent ascorbic acid (AA) loss, or storing them under frost conditions until processing.
High Temperature and Elevated CO2 Modify Phenology and Growth in Pepper Plants
Authors: Pereyda-González Jade M. , De-la-Peña Clelia , Tezara Wilmer , Zamora-Bustillos Roberto , Andueza-Noh Rubén H. , Noh-Kú Jehu G. , Carrera-Marín María , Garruña René
Published: August 2022

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of temperature and CO2 on seed emergence, seedling quality, and phenological stage of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum annum cultivated in four controlled growth chambers (C1: 30 °C and 400 μmol CO2 mol−1; C2: 40 °C and 1200 μmol CO2 mol−1; C3: 30 °C and 1200 μmol CO2 mol−1; C4: 40 °C and 400 μmol CO2 mol−1). Neither temperature nor elevated CO2 influenced seed emergence, although differences were observed in seedling mortality, with high temperature affecting seedling survival in both species; the mortality rate at 40 °C was 20 and 53% in C. annuum and 45 and 58% in C. chinense at 400 and 1200 μmol CO2 mol−1, respectively. Differences were also observed in growth parameters, where positive effects were observed on leaf area, which reached 45.9 cm2 in C. annuum and 23.9 cm2 in C. chinense with elevated CO2 at 30 °C, but negative effects were observed with high temperature. CO2 enrichment increased flower and fruit production per plant. However, high temperature delayed flower phenology, increased flower abortion and inhibited fruit set. Elevated CO2 counteracted the detrimental effects of high temperature on growth parameters and flower number, but this was not sufficient to prevent flower abortion and the detrimental morphological characteristics of fruit caused by a temperature of 40 °C.
Evaluation of a Tomato Waste Biofilter for the Retention of Gaseous Losses from Pig Slurry Hygienization by pH Modification
Authors: Pereira José L. S. , Perdigão Adelaide , Fangueiro David
Published: August 2022

The use of pig slurry as organic fertilizer in intensive horticulture could be possible after hygienization to avoid contamination of products. This research aimed to evaluate a mixture of a tomato waste and rice husk as biofilter media to reduce NH3, N2O, CO2, and CH4 losses from a simple and low-cost solution for slurry hygienization by pH modification. The experiment was made in a system of laboratory scale biofilters connected to jars filled with raw slurry as control and three treatment methods: acidified slurry, alkalinized slurry, and neutralized slurry. The gas concentrations were measured for 35 days, and the composition of slurries and biofilters were determined. The results of this study showed that the mixture of biofiltering media, composed of tomato waste and rice husk, has the potential to retain NH3 and greenhouse gases (GHG) from a simple and low-cost solution for slurry hygienization by pH modification. Compared to the treatment raw slurry biofilter, the treatment neutralized slurry biofilter, subjected to a combined treatment by alkalinization/neutralization, retained 19% NH3, 4% CO2, and 83% CH4 losses and had no impact on N2O and global warming potential. Thus, the use of tomato waste biofilter during alkalinization did not increase the loss of NH3 and reduced GHG compared to raw slurry, avoiding the subsequent neutralization of slurry for environmental reasons, and could be used as an organic fertilizer in horticulture. However, using the combined alkalinization/neutralization treatment will improve the fertilizer value of the slurry by adjusting the pH from 9.5 to 7.5.
Vulnerabilities, Environmental Threats, and Recursive Crises under COVID-19: Dilemmas for Beekeeper-Farmers in Yucatan, Mexico
Authors: Lazos-Chavero Elena , Rivera-Núñez Tlacaelel , Ruiz-Mercado Ilse , Medina-García Minneth
Published: August 2022

In this article we connect theoretically the concepts of structural vulnerabilities, recursive crises, and disasters through the linking-up of the COVID-19 pandemic with extreme hydrometeorological events in three municipalities in southern Yucatan, Mexico. The main research goal was to show the effects in productive and commercial systems in beekeeper and farmer households and their coping strategies to highlight the inter-relationships between historical vulnerabilities, crises, and disasters. The methodological approach included ethnographic fieldwork, 101 semi-structured interviews, and five focal groups. In the results, we reconstruct the agro-productive and commercial vulnerabilities built up since 1960 and contextualize the health and hydrometeorological crisis to show how some 87% of households suffered severe consequences to their incomes. The prices of main products (maize, fruit, honey) reached historically low levels as a result of conditions within local markets during the crisis. Half of the households surveyed had to make use of savings and more than 60% received no support from government or from development agencies. We conclude by pointing out the need for accompanying the design and implementation of community mitigation plans, which should take as a starting point the recovery of knowledge and local organization in order to demand from government co-managed, preventive programs, and capacities that would enable communities to confront increasing negative consequences in situations of global climate change and market instabilities in local peasant contexts. Our study aims to reach policy-makers, social organizations, and communities in order to highlight the importance of developing joint capabilities to respond to growing environmental, economic, and health vulnerabilities.
Design, Synthesis, Mode of Action and Herbicidal Evaluation of Quinazolin-4(3H)-one Derivatives Based on Aryloxyphenoxypropionate Motif
Authors: Wang Chaochao , Chen Ke , Li Na , Fu Shuyue , Li Pan , Ji Lusha , Liu Guoyun , Wang Xuekun , Lei Kang
Published: August 2022

To discover new acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibiting-based herbicides, twenty-nine novel quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives were designed and synthesized based on the aryloxyphenoxypropionate motif. The bioassay results showed that most of the target compounds showed better pre-emergent herbicidal activity against monocotyledonous weeds in a greenhouse. Especially, when applied at 375 g ha−1 under pre-emergence conditions, compound QPP-7 displayed excellent herbicidal activity against monocotyledonous weeds (i.e., E. crusgalli, D. sanguinalis, P. alopecuroides, S. viridis, E. indica, A. fatua, E. dahuricu, S. alterniflora) with inhibition rate >90%, and displayed excellent crop safety to O. sativa, T. aestivum, G. spp, and A. hypogaea. The study of structure-activity relationship (SAR) revealed that the herbicidal activity of target compounds is strongly influenced by the spatial position of R group and the bulk of R1 group on quinazolin-4(3H)-one, and the (R = 6-F, R1 = Me) pattern is confirmed as the optimal orientation. Furthermore, the molecular docking study and the good inhibitory activity of QPP-7 against E. crusgalli ACCase enzyme (IC50 = 54.65 nM) indicated that it may be a ACCase inhibitor. Taken together, the present work demonstrated that compound QPP-7 could serve as a potential lead structure for further developing novel ACCase inhibiting-based herbicide.