bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International Neurotrauma Training Based on North-South Collaborations: Results of an Inter-institutional Program in the Era of Global Neurosurgery
Authors: Rubiano Andrés M. , Griswold Dylan P. , Adelson P. David , Echeverri Raul A. , Khan Ahsan A. , Morales Santiago , Sánchez Diana M. , Amorim Robson , Soto Alvaro R. , Paiva Wellingson , Paranhos Jorge , Carreño José N. , Monteiro Ruy , Kolias Angelos , Hutchinson Peter J.
Published: July 2021

Objective: Shortage of general neurosurgery and specialized neurotrauma care in low resource settings is a critical setback in the national surgical plans of low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Neurotrauma fellowship programs typically exist in high-income countries (HIC), where surgeons who fulfill the requirements for positions regularly stay to practice. Due to this issue, neurosurgery residents and medical students from LMICs do not have regular access to this kind of specialized training and knowledge-hubs. The objective of this paper is to present the results of a recently established neurotrauma fellowship program for neurosurgeons of LMICs in the framework of global neurosurgery collaborations, including the involvement of specialized parallel education for neurosurgery residents and medical students.

Methods: The Global Neurotrauma Fellowship (GNTF) program was inaugurated in 2015 by a multi-institutional collaboration between a HIC and an LMIC. The course organizers designed it to be a 12-month program based on adapted neurotrauma international competencies with the academic support of the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital and Meditech Foundation in Colombia. Since 2018, additional support from the UK, National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research in Neurotrauma Project from the University of Cambridge enhanced the infrastructure of the program, adding a research component in global neurosurgery and system science.

Results: Eight fellows from Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Pakistan, and Colombia have been trained and certified via the fellowship program. The integration of international competencies and exposure to different systems of care in high-income and low-income environments creates a unique environment for training within a global neurosurgery framework. Additionally, 18 residents (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, Germany, Spain, and the USA), and ten medical students (the United Kingdom, USA, Australia, and Colombia) have also participated in elective rotations of neurotrauma and critical care during the time of the fellowship program, as well as in research projects as part of an established global surgery initiative.

Conclusion: We have shown that it is possible to establish a neurotrauma fellowship program in an LMIC based on the structure of HIC formal training programs. Adaptation of the international competencies focusing on neurotrauma care in low resource settings and maintaining international mentoring and academic support will allow the participants to return to practice in their home-based countries.
Prostate Cancer Characteristics in Renal Transplant Recipients: A 25-Year Experience From a Single Centre
Authors: Spatafora Pietro , Sessa Francesco , Caroassai Grisanti Simone , Bisegna Claudio , Saieva Calogero , Roviello Giandomenico , Polverino Paolo , Rivetti Anna , Verdelli Lorenzo , Zanazzi Maria , Beatrice Detti , Vignolini Graziano , Nesi Gabriella , Nicita Giulio , Serni Sergio , Villari Donata
Published: July 2021

Objectives: The incidence of prostate cancer in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) is increasing, but few data are available in the literature. In this study, we reviewed the 25-year experience in the management of prostate cancer after kidney transplantation at the Florence Transplant Centre.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data from 617 RTR male patients who underwent renal transplantation at our institute between July 1996 and September 2016. Data regarding demographics, renal transplantation, prostate cancer and immunosuppressive treatment were analyzed. The probability of death was estimated by using the Kaplan-Meier method and differences between patients' groups were assessed by the log-rank test.

Results: From July 1991 to September 2016, 617 kidney transplantations of male patients were performed at our institute. Among these, 20 patients were subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer accounting for a cumulative incidence of 3.24%. After a median follow-up of 59 months, 10 patients underwent radical prostatectomy whereas 10 patients underwent primary radiotherapy. A biochemical recurrence was identified in five (25%) patients while a fatal event occurred in 11 (55%) patients. Univariate Cox regression showed that the basal value of PSA >10 ng/ml was the only significant factor negatively affecting the survival of patients.

Conclusions: Standard treatments can be proposed to RTR with satisfactory results on both post-operative and oncological outcomes. Further studies are needed to address the issue of prostate cancer screening based on PSA levels and the optimal management of prostate cancer in RTRs.
Changes in Sheep Behavior before Lambing
Authors: Waters Beatrice E. , McDonagh John , Tzimiropoulos Georgios , Slinger Kimberley R. , Huggett Zoë J. , Bell Matt J.
Published: July 2021

The aim of this study was to assess the duration and frequency of behavioral observations of pregnant ewes as they approached lambing. An understanding of behavioral changes before birth may provide opportunities for enhanced visual monitoring at this critical stage in the animal’s life. Behavioral observations for 17 ewes in late pregnancy were recorded during two separate time periods, which were 4 to 6 weeks before lambing and before giving birth. It was normal farm procedure for the sheep to come indoors for 6 weeks of close monitoring before lambing. The behaviors of standing, lying, walking, shuffling and contraction behaviors were recorded for each animal during both time periods. Over both time periods, the ewes spent a large proportion of their time either lying (0.40) or standing (0.42), with a higher frequency of standing (0.40) and shuffling (0.28) bouts than other behaviors. In the time period before giving birth, the frequency of lying and contraction bouts increased and the standing and walking bouts decreased, with a higher frequency of walking bouts in ewes that had an assisted lambing. The monitoring of behavioral patterns, such as lying and contractions, could be used as an alert to the progress of parturition.
Conservation Agriculture as a System to Enhance Ecosystem Services
Authors: Jayaraman Somasundaram , Dang Yash P. , Naorem Anandkumar , Page Kathryn L. , Dalal Ram C.
Published: July 2021

Conservation agriculture (CA) is considered a sustainable practice with the potential to maintain or increase crop productivity and improve environmental quality and ecosystem services. It typically improves soil quality and water conservation; however, its effect on crop productivity is highly variable and dependent on local conditions/management. Crop residue retention plays a crucial role in CA and can help to improve overall soil health and ultimately crop productivity and sustainability. However, weed control, herbicide resistance, and weed shift under residue retained fields is a major challenge. Moreover, CA can increase water infiltration and reduce soil loss and runoff. This reduces the surface transport of nitrate and phosphorus from agricultural fields and the eutrophication of water bodies, although leaching of nitrate to groundwater can potentially increase. In addition, CA has been proposed as one of the components in climate-smart agriculture, owing to its reduced period to seed/plant next crop, reduced soil disturbance and low consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, compared to the conventional intensive tillage, CA has a greater potential for soil C sequestration, favors higher soil biodiversity, lowers greenhouse gas emission, and can assist in mitigating climate change. However, not all experiments report a positive impact. The understanding and decoding the site-specific complexities of CA system is important and requires a multidisciplinary approach.
The Dietary Risk Factors of Gastric Ulcers in Finishing Pigs from 16 Polish Farms
Authors: Cybulski Piotr , Larska Magdalena , Woźniak Aleksandra , Jabłoński Artur , Stadejek Tomasz
Published: July 2021

Sudden death caused by the acute form of gastric ulceration has developed into a widely recognised health and welfare problem. The importance of different triggering factors is poorly understood. The study was carried out on finishers slaughtered in Poland. The collected animal-level data were transformed to a herd-level dataset, which included 27 predictor variables. From a total of 32,264 pig stomachs examined, 23,188 (71.9%) had gastric lesions. Total of 17,703 organs (54.9%) had ulcers. Scores 1 (hyperkeratotic) and 2 (erosions) were observed in 2958 (9.2%) and 2527 (7.8%), respectively. A significant (p < 0.05) association of the ulcer prevalence was found for a number of variables. Raising the level of protein significantly (p = 0.04) increased (ρ = 0.22) the occurrence of gastric ulcers. The addition of wheat bran (p = 0.02) and its growing share in feed composition had the contrary effect (ρ = −0.27). Feeding pelleted feed was significantly associated (p = 0.001) with the higher prevalence of the disease, opposite to liquid feeding (p = 0.0002) and supplementation of a mycotoxin deactivator (p = 0.0008). Although, the immediate transition from one feeding system to another in most of the farms is impossible, the addition of materials such as wheat bran, and routine supplementation with mycotoxin deactivators may be a practical and relatively low-cost solution.
Value of Wholegrain Rice in a Healthy Human Nutrition
Authors: Carcea Marina
Published: July 2021

Rice is one of the most widely consumed cereals in the world. The husks of harvested, unprocessed rice are not digested by humans and need to be removed to obtain edible grains, whereas the bran can be partially (brown rice) or totally removed (white rice). Brown rice is a wholegrain cereal and, as such, is known to have beneficial effects on human health. Recent epidemiological studies have shown that the consumption of whole grains can reduce the risk of metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and some types of cancer. However, white rice is preferred for reasons connected to appearance, taste, palatability, ease of cooking, tradition, safety, shelf-life, and lack of awareness about its benefits and availability. In this review, the latest scientific reports regarding the nutritional composition of brown rice and the evolution of the technology for its production will be briefly reviewed together with research on nutritional implications of brown rice consumption also in relation to cancer development in humans. A specific chapter is devoted to pigmented rice which, thanks to its composition, has attracted the growing interest of consumers worldwide. The need for further studies to help promote the consumption of wholegrain rice are also discussed.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Efficiency Determined by the 15N Dilution Technique in Maize Followed or Not by a Cover Crop in Mediterranean Chile
Authors: Salazar Osvaldo , Diaz Renato , Nario Adriana , Videla Ximena , Alonso-Ayuso María , Quemada Miguel
Published: July 2021

Nitrogen (N) in a maize crop is a determining yield factor, but its negative impact on the environment is also known. Therefore, it is necessary to propose mitigation strategies that allow an improvement in the N fertilizer efficiency (NFE), such as the use of cover crops (CC) and the adjustment of the fertilizer dose. The objective of the study was to determine NFE using 15N isotopic techniques and nitrate (NO3−) leaching in a maize–fallow versus a maize–CC rotation with optimal and excessive doses of N in the Mediterranean area of Chile. The treatments were a combination of crop rotation (maize–fallow versus maize–CC of Lolium multiflorum) with the optimal dose of N (250 kg ha−1) or excessive dose (400 kg ha−1). We found that the optimal dose of maize–CC rotation contributed to reducing the losses of N by leaching and improving the NFE. Using the optimal dose decreased the dissolved inorganic N (DIN) emission intensity by 50% compared to the excessive doses. Even if grain yield was higher (19 t ha−1) when applying the excessive N dose, the NFE (28%) was lower than when applying the optimal dose (40%). In the maize–CC rotation with optimal dose, yield was 17 Mg ha−1. The excessive N dose generated higher DIN content at the end of the maize season (177 kg N ha−1). In conclusion, replacing the traditional autumn–winter fallow in the maize monoculture with a CC with optimal N dose contributed to improving NFE and reducing N leaching in a Mediterranean agricultural system. Consequently, it is a strategy to consider as it has positive advantages in soil and N management, helping to reduce diffuse pollution of surface and groundwater bodies.
Worldwide Research on the Ozone Influence in Plants
Authors: Jimenez-Montenegro Lucia , Lopez-Fernandez Matilde , Gimenez Estela
Published: July 2021

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a secondary air pollutant and a greenhouse gas, whose concentration has been increasing since the industrial era and is expected to increase further in the near future. O3 molecules can be inhaled by humans and animals, causing significant health problems; they can also diffuse through the leaf stomata of plants, triggering significant phytotoxic damage that entails a weakening of the plant, reducing its ability to cope with other abiotic and biotic stresses. This eventually leads to a reduction in the yield and quality of crops, which is a serious problem as it puts global food security at risk. Due to the importance of this issue, a bibliometric analysis on O3 in the plant research field is carried out through the Web of Science (WoS) database. Different aspects of the publications are analysed, such as the number of documents published per year, the corresponding scientific areas, distribution of documents by countries, institutions and languages, publication type and affiliations, and, finally, special attention is paid to O3 study in plants by means of studies about the word occurrence frequency in titles and abstracts, and the articles most frequently cited. The bibliometric study shows the great effort made by the scientific community in order to understand the damages caused by O3 in plants, which will help reduce the big losses that O3 causes in agriculture.
Producing Superphosphate with Sewage Sludge Ash: Assessment of Phosphorus Availability and Potential Toxic Element Contamination
Authors: You Yawen , Klein Jakob , Hartmann Tobias Edward , Nkebiwe Peteh Mehdi , Yang Huaiyu , Zhang Wei , Chen Xinping , Müller Torsten
Published: July 2021

Recovering and recycling phosphorus (P) from sewage sludge ash (SSA) for the purpose of P fertilizer production contributes to reducing the input of mined phosphate-minerals and closing of the P cycle. However, direct use of SSA as fertilizer is often a questionable strategy due to its low nutrient use efficiency. In addition, the environmental risk potential of utilizing SSA in agriculture is still unclear, in particular potential toxic element (PTE) contamination. In this study, a mixture of SSA and rock phosphate was used at lab-scale superphosphate (SP) production. P availability of the final product and PTE contamination (Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni) in soil and crop was investigated through maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation. Results showed that the application of SP that was produced by 25% SSA replacement did not affect the growth, P uptake, and PTE content in aboveground maize compared to the application of SP produced without SSA replacement. However, significant inputs of SP with SSA replacement may decrease the solid-soil solution partitioning of Cu, Ni and Pb in the long-term. Separation of municipal/industrial sludge and PTE removal technology are necessary to be implemented prior to the use of SSA as a secondary raw material in P-fertilizer production.
Assessment of Production and Qualitative Characteristics of Different Populations of Salvia sclarea L. Found in Sicily (Italy)
Authors: Tuttolomondo Teresa , Virga Giuseppe , Licata Mario , Iacuzzi Nicolò , Farruggia Davide , Bella Salvatore La
Published: July 2021

Salvia sclarea L. is an important industrial crop, valued for its herbal-aromatic properties and high quality essential oils, that is used in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In this study, carried out from 2009 to 2010, the morphological and production characteristics and essential oil content and composition of three Sicilian populations were studied. In particular, the composition of essential oils extracted from primary and secondary inflorescences using steam distillation was assessed. Morphological, production and qualitative data from the three populations were subjected to analysis of variance and cluster analysis. Regarding the quality of the oils, only the most prevalent compounds were taken into consideration in this study. The three populations were linalyl acetate/linalool chemotypes. Highly significant variations were found for the effective local population and inflorescence type in the composition of the essential oil principal components. In particular, the primary inflorescences were found to be accumulation sites favoured by monoterpenes, and secondary inflorescences were favoured by sesquiterpenes and sclareol. Populations “S. Stefano Quisquina” and “Alcara Li Fusi” performed best on a morphological and production level, whereas populations “Prizzi”and “Alcara Li Fusi” performed best in terms of quality. Population “S. Stefano Quisquina” produced high levels of sclareol. Biotype selection from within the populations should be based on both morphological, production and quality analyses.
Sensor-Based Intrarow Mechanical Weed Control in Sugar Beets with Motorized Finger Weeders
Authors: Machleb Jannis , Peteinatos Gerassimos G. , Sökefeld Markus , Gerhards Roland
Published: July 2021

The need for herbicide usage reduction and the increased interest in mechanical weed control has prompted greater attention to the development of agricultural robots for autonomous weeding in the past years. This also requires the development of suitable mechanical weeding tools. Therefore, we devised a new weeding tool for agricultural robots to perform intrarow mechanical weed control in sugar beets. A conventional finger weeder was modified and equipped with an electric motor. This allowed the rotational movement of the finger weeders independent of the forward travel speed of the tool carrier. The new tool was tested in combination with a bi-spectral camera in a two-year field trial. The camera was used to identify crop plants in the intrarow area. A controller regulated the speed of the motorized finger weeders, realizing two different setups. At the location of a sugar beet plant, the rotational speed was equal to the driving speed of the tractor. Between two sugar beet plants, the rotational speed was either increased by 40% or decreased by 40%. The intrarow weed control efficacy of this new system ranged from 87 to 91% in 2017 and from 91 to 94% in 2018. The sugar beet yields were not adversely affected by the mechanical treatments compared to the conventional herbicide application. The motorized finger weeders present an effective system for selective intrarow mechanical weeding. Certainly, mechanical weeding involves the risk of high weed infestations if the treatments are not applied properly and in a timely manner regardless of whether sensor technology is used or not. However, due to the increasing herbicide resistances and the continuing bans on herbicides, mechanical weeding strategies must be investigated further. The mechanical weeding system of the present study can contribute to the reduction of herbicide use in sugar beets and other wide row crops.
Metabolic Adjustment of Glycine max (L.) Merril in the Presence of Nitrate and Bradyrhizobium japonicum
Authors: Júnior Alberto Mongolo , Campos Felipe Girotto , Barzotto Gustavo Ribeiro , Pagassini Jonas Akenaton Venturineli , Vieira Maria Aparecida Ribeiro , Boaro Carmen Sílvia Fernandes
Published: July 2021

Reactive oxygen species are generated during the processes of photosynthesis and nitrate reduction, which can compromise the integrity of biomolecules and membranes. During the vegetative phase of Fabaceae species, around half of translocated carbohydrate is used for nodule growth, while the other half returns to the aerial part with nitrogen incorporated. These sugars may be yet involved with membrane stabilization, signaling, and activation of important genetic pathways for plant development. Thus, the aim was to study the adjustments of the photosynthetic and antioxidant systems and the accumulation of carbohydrates and biomass in Glycine–Bradyrhizobium cultivated with nitrate (NO3−). Four treatments were evaluated in completely randomized blocks. Glycine–Bradyrhizobium was grown with 1.7 mM of NO3− (GB: 1.7 mM NO3−) and without NO3− (GB: 0 mM NO3−), and Glycine was grown with 1.7 mM of NO3− (G: 1.7 mM NO3−) and without NO3− (G: 0 mM NO3−). Glycine–Bradyrhizobium symbiosis contributes to photosynthetic metabolism and total sugars, reduces the action of antioxidant enzymes, and minimizes the use of nitrate in soybean cultivation.; Glycine–Bradyrhizobium with nitrate provided greater plant dry mass in the vegetative phase, along with increased enzymatic activity and reduced nodule mass.
Evidence for the Continued Occurrence of Chorioretinopathy in Working Sheep Dogs in New Zealand in 2010
Authors: O’Connell Adam B. , Irving A. Craig , Hughes Paul L. , Cogger Naomi , Jones Boyd R. , Hill Kate E.
Published: July 2021

A study in conducted 1987 by Hughes et al., found that 39% of working sheep dogs had multifocal retinitis. One of the identified causes was ocular larval migrans, which were a result of migrating ascarid larvae. Since that paper was published, anthelmintic use in farm dogs has been highly recommended. There has been no follow-up study to determine if fundic lesions are still present. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of chorioretinopathy in working sheep dogs in the South-West, Waikato, New Zealand. This was a cross-sectional study of 184 working sheep dogs and 51 owners, undertaken in 2010 with owners sampled from New Zealand’s South-West Waikato and Tux North Island Dog Trial Championship. Two-way tables were used to explore the relationship between variables. Significance of association was assessed using a Chi-squared or Fisher exact test as appropriate, with a p-value of <0.05 considered significant. Overall prevalence of chorioretinopathy in the working sheep dogs was 44/184 (24%). A significantly higher prevalence of chorioretinopathy was shown in dogs with increasing age, from 2 years to >8 years (p = 0.0007) and in males (p < 0.0001). This study concluded that lesions of chorioretinopathy are still present in working sheep dogs in New Zealand.
Maternally Derived Antibody Levels Influence on Vaccine Protection against PCV2d Challenge
Authors: Kiss István , Szigeti Krisztina , Homonnay Zalán G. , Tamás Vivien , Smits Han , Krejci Roman
Published: July 2021

Piglets from a porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) stable farm of low and high levels of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) against PCV2 were vaccinated either with a whole virus type or a PCV2 ORF2 antigen-based commercial subunit vaccine at three weeks of age. Two non-vaccinated groups served as low and high MDA positive controls. At four weeks post vaccination, all piglets were challenged with a PCV2d-2 type virus strain and were checked for parameters related to vaccine protection over a four-week observation period. MDA levels evidently impacted the outcome of the PCV2d-2 challenge in non-vaccinated animals, while it did not have a significant effect on vaccine-induced protection levels. The humoral immune response developed faster in the whole virus vaccinates than in the subunit vaccinated pigs in the low MDA groups. Further, high MDA levels elicited a stronger negative effect on the vaccine-induced humoral immune response for the subunit vaccine than for the whole virus vaccine. The group-based oral fluid samples and the group mean viraemia and faecal shedding data correlated well, enabling this simple, and animal welfare-friendly sampling method for the evaluation of the PCV2 viral load status of these nursery piglets.
Experimental Tests for Measuring Individual Attentional Characteristics in Songbirds
Authors: Pougnault Loïc , Cousillas Hugo , Heyraud Christine , Huber Ludwig , Hausberger Martine , Henry Laurence
Published: July 2021

Attention is defined as the ability to process selectively one aspect of the environment over others and is at the core of all cognitive processes such as learning, memorization, and categorization. Thus, evaluating and comparing attentional characteristics between individuals and according to situations is an important aspect of cognitive studies. Recent studies showed the interest of analyzing spontaneous attention in standardized situations, but data are still scarce, especially for songbirds. The present study adapted three tests of attention (towards visual non-social, visual social, and auditory stimuli) as tools for future comparative research in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), a species that is well known to present individual variations in social learning or engagement. Our results reveal that attentional characteristics (glances versus gazes) vary according to the stimulus broadcasted: more gazes towards unusual visual stimuli and species-specific auditory stimuli and more glances towards species-specific visual stimuli and hetero-specific auditory stimuli. This study revealing individual variations shows that these tests constitute a very useful and easy-to-use tool for evaluating spontaneous individual attentional characteristics and their modulation by a variety of factors. Our results also indicate that attentional skills are not a uniform concept and depend upon the modality and the stimulus type.
Seaweed Supplementation Failed to Affect Fecal Microbiota and Metabolome as Well as Fecal IgA and Apparent Nutrient Digestibility in Adult Dogs
Authors: Pinna Carlo , Vecchiato Carla Giuditta , Grandi Monica , Stefanelli Claudio , Zannoni Augusta , Biagi Giacomo
Published: July 2021

The present study investigated in dogs the dietary effects of intact seaweeds on some fecal bacterial populations and metabolites, fecal IgA and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD). Ten healthy adult dogs were enrolled in a 5 × 5 replicated Latin square design to evaluate five dietary treatments: control diet (CD); CD + Ascophyllum nodosum; CD + Undaria pinnatifida; CD + Saccharina japonica; CD + Palmaria palmata (n replicates per treatment = 10). Seaweeds were added to food at a daily dose of 15 g/kg. The CD contained silica as a digestion marker. Each feeding period lasted 28 d, with a 7 d wash-out in between. Feces were collected at days 21 and 28 of each period for chemical and microbiological analyses. Fecal samples were collected during the last five days of each period for ATTD assessment. Dogs showed good health conditions throughout the study. The fecal chemical parameters, fecal IgA and nutrient ATTD were not influenced by algal supplementation. Similarly, microbiological analyses did not reveal any effect by seaweed ingestion. In conclusion, algal supplementation at a dose of 15 g/kg of diet failed to exert noticeable effects on the canine fecal parameters evaluated in the present study.
Regulation of Nutritional Metabolism in Transition Dairy Goats: Energy Balance, Liver Activity, and Insulin Resistance in Response to Berberine Supplementation
Authors: Ghavipanje Navid , Fathi Nasri Mohammad Hasan , Farhangfar Seyyed Homayoun , Ghiasi Seyyed Ehsan , Vargas-Bello-Pérez Einar
Published: July 2021

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the alleviating effects of the isoquinoline alkaloid berberine (BBR) on the energy balance (EB), glucose and insulin metabolism, and liver functionality in transition dairy goats, as reflected by blood metabolites and enzymes. Twenty-four primiparous Saanen goats were randomly allocated to four groups. Goats in each group received, ad libitum, the same basal diet during the pre- and post-partum periods of evaluation. Goats received daily0, 1, 2, or 4 g BBR (coded as CON, BBR1, BBR2, and BBR4, respectively). Dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield were recorded daily. Blood samples were collected on days −21, −14, −7, 0, 7, 14, and 21 relative to kidding, and individual body condition scores (BCSs) were also recorded. Supplementation with either BBR2 or BBR4 increased (p < 0.05) pre- and post-partum DMI, increasing (p < 0.05) the intakes of net energy for lactating and metabolizable proteins. BBR2 and BBR4 increased (p < 0.05) post-partum milk production as well as fat-corrected milk (FCM), energy-corrected milk (ECM), and feed efficiency, indicating the alleviating effect of BBR on the negative energy balance (NEB) in transition goats. The daily ingestion of either 2 or 4 g BBR reduced (p < 0.05) plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and increased (p < 0.05) the dynamic change in the liver activity index (LAI) and liver functionality index (LFI), implying its hepatoprotective effect on transition goats. Overall, the results suggest that BBR supplementation of at least 2 g/d may help to ameliorate insulin resistance (IR) and fat metabolism disorders initiated by the NEB in transition dairy goats.
Novel Bifunctional Acylase from Actinoplanes utahensis: A Versatile Enzyme to Synthesize Antimicrobial Compounds and Use in Quorum Quenching Processes
Authors: Serrano-Aguirre Lara , Velasco-Bucheli Rodrigo , García-Álvarez Begoña , Saborido Ana , Arroyo Miguel , de la Mata Isabel
Published: July 2021

Many intercellular communication processes, known as quorum sensing (QS), are regulated by the autoinducers N-acyl-l-homoserine lactones (AHLs) in Gram-negative bacteria. The inactivation of these QS processes using different quorum quenching (QQ) strategies, such as enzymatic degradation of the autoinducers or the receptor blocking with non-active analogs, could be the basis for the development of new antimicrobials. This study details the heterologous expression, purification, and characterization of a novel N-acylhomoserine lactone acylase from Actinoplanes utahensis NRRL 12052 (AuAHLA), which can hydrolyze different natural penicillins and N-acyl-homoserine lactones (with or without 3-oxo substitution), as well as synthesize them. Kinetic parameters for the hydrolysis of a broad range of substrates have shown that AuAHLA prefers penicillin V, followed by C12-HSL. In addition, AuAHLA inhibits the production of violacein by Chromobacterium violaceum CV026, confirming its potential use as a QQ agent. Noteworthy, AuAHLA is also able to efficiently synthesize penicillin V, besides natural AHLs and phenoxyacetyl-homoserine lactone (POHL), a non-natural analog of AHLs that could be used to block QS receptors and inhibit signal of autoinducers, being the first reported AHL acylase capable of synthesizing AHLs.
Glutathione Participation in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases
Authors: Matuz-Mares Deyamira , Riveros-Rosas Héctor , Vilchis-Landeros María Magdalena , Vázquez-Meza Héctor
Published: July 2021

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (such as occlusion of the coronary arteries, hypertensive heart diseases and strokes) are diseases that generate thousands of patients with a high mortality rate worldwide. Many of these cardiovascular pathologies, during their development, generate a state of oxidative stress that leads to a deterioration in the patient’s conditions associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Within these reactive species we find superoxide anion (O2•–), hydroxyl radical (•OH), nitric oxide (NO•), as well as other species of non-free radicals such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hypochlorous acid (HClO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO–). A molecule that actively participates in counteracting the oxidizing effect of reactive species is reduced glutathione (GSH), a tripeptide that is present in all tissues and that its synthesis and/or regeneration is very important to be able to respond to the increase in oxidizing agents. In this review, we will address the role of glutathione, its synthesis in both the heart and the liver, and its importance in preventing or reducing deleterious ROS effects in cardiovascular diseases.
Acute Lung Injury Biomarkers in the Prediction of COVID-19 Severity: Total Thiol, Ferritin and Lactate Dehydrogenase
Authors: Martinez Mesa Alvaro , Cabrera César Eva , Martín-Montañez Elisa , Sanchez Alvarez Esther , Lopez Pilar Martinez , Romero-Zerbo Yanina , Garcia-Fernandez Maria , Velasco Garrido Jose Luis
Published: July 2021

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) patients who develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can suffer acute lung injury, or even death. Early identification of severe disease is essential in order to control COVID-19 and improve prognosis. Oxidative stress (OS) appears to play an important role in COVID-19 pathogenesis; we therefore conceived a study of the potential discriminative ability of serum biomarkers in patients with ARDS and those with mild to moderate disease (non-ARDS). 60 subjects were enrolled in a single-centre, prospective cohort study of consecutively admitted patients: 29 ARDS/31 non-ARDS. Blood samples were drawn and marker levels analysed by spectrophotometry and immunoassay techniques. C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and ferritin were significantly higher in ARDS versus non-ARDS cases at hospital admission. Leukocytes, LDH, ferritin, interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were also significantly elevated in ARDS compared to non-ARDS patients during the hospital stay. Total thiol (TT) was found to be significantly lower in ARDS. Conversely, D-dimer, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and advanced glycosylated end products (AGE) were elevated. Leukocytes, LDH, CRP, ferritin and IL-6 were found to be significantly higher in non-survivors. However, lymphocyte, tumour necrosis factor beta (TGF-β), and TT were lower. In summary, our results support the potential value of TT, ferritin and LDH as prognostic biomarkers for ARDS development in COVID-19 patients, distinguishing non-ARDS from ARDS (AUCs = 0.92; 0.91; 0.89) in a fast and cost-effective manner. These oxidative/inflammatory parameters appear to play an important role in COVID-19 monitoring and can be used in the clinical management of patients.
Lupinus angustifolius Protein Hydrolysates Reduce Abdominal Adiposity and Ameliorate Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) in Western Diet Fed-ApoE−/− Mice
Authors: Santos-Sánchez Guillermo , Cruz-Chamorro Ivan , Álvarez-Ríos Ana Isabel , Fernández-Santos José María , Vázquez-Román María Victoria , Rodríguez-Ortiz Beatriz , Álvarez-Sánchez Nuria , Álvarez-López Ana Isabel , Millán-Linares María del Carmen , Millán Francisco , Pedroche Justo , Fernández-Pachón María Soledad , Lardone Patricia Judith , Guerrero Juan Miguel , Bejarano Ignacio , Carrillo-Vico Antonio
Published: July 2021

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most important cause of liver disease worldwide. It is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver and is closely associated with abdominal obesity. In addition, oxidative stress and inflammation are significant features involved in MAFLD. Recently, our group demonstrated that lupin protein hydrolysates (LPHs) had lipid lowering, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Sixty male mice fed with a Western diet were intragastrically treated with LPHs (or vehicle) for 12 weeks. Liver and adipose tissue lipid accumulation and hepatic inflammatory and oxidant status were evaluated. A significant decrease in steatosis was observed in LPHs-treated mice, which presented a decreased gene expression of CD36 and LDL-R, crucial markers in MAFLD. In addition, LPHs increased the hepatic total antioxidant capacity and reduced the hepatic inflammatory status. Moreover, LPHs-treated mice showed a significant reduction in abdominal adiposity. This is the first study to show that the supplementation with LPHs markedly ameliorates the generation of the steatotic liver caused by the intake of a Western diet and reduces abdominal obesity in ApoE−/− mice. Future clinical trials should shed light on the effects of LPHs on MAFLD.
Effect of Shiga Toxin on Inhomogeneous Biological Membrane Structure Determined by Small-Angle Scattering
Authors: Tu Shuyang , Zhang Haijiao , Li Yawen , Zhang Yongchao , Tian Qiang , Almásy László , Xu Xianhui , Zhang Rongguang , Zou Aihua , Li Na
Published: July 2021

Inhomogeneous structure occurring in biological membranes being rich in glycosphingolipids (GSL) has been proposed as an important phenomenon involved in the cellular endocytosis process. However, little is known about the correlation between the formation of microdomains and the GSL-dependent biogenesis for tubular endocytic pits occurred on the surface of the cellular membrane. In the present work, the interaction between the bacterial Shiga toxin from Escherichia coli (STxB) and its cellular receptor GSL globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) were studied using small unilamellar vesicle (SUV). The model membrane invagination induced by STxB was determined by the contrast variation small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and the synchrotron radiation facility based small-angle X-ray scattering (SR-SAXS). The results revealed that Gb3 molecules provided the binding sites for STxB, inducing increased membrane fluctuation. The formation of protein–lipid complex (STxB-Gb3) apparently induced the thinning of model membrane with the thickness decreased from 3.10 nm to 2.50 nm. It is the first time to successfully characterize the mesoscopic change on membrane thickness upon GSL-dependent endocytic process using a small-angle scattering technique. Overall, this paper provided a practical method to quantify the inhomogeneous biological membrane structures, which is important to understand the cellular endocytosis process.
Comparative Study between Healthy Young and Elderly Subjects: Higher-Order Statistical Parameters as Indices of Vocal Aging and Sex
Authors: Choi Hee-Jin , Lee Ji-Yeoun
Published: July 2021

The objective of this study was to test higher-order statistical (HOS) parameters for the classification of young and elderly voice signals and identify gender- and age-related differences through HOS analysis. This study was based on data from 116 subjects (58 females and 58 males) extracted from the Saarbruecken voice database. In the gender analysis, the same number of voice samples were analyzed for each sex. Further, we conducted experiments on the voices of elderly people using gender analysis. Finally, we reviewed the standards and reference models to reduce sex and gender bias. The acoustic parameters were extracted from young and elderly voice signals using Praat and a time–frequency analysis program (TF32). Additionally, we investigated the gender- and age-related differences in HOS parameters. Young and elderly voice signals significantly differed in normalized skewness (p = 0.005) in women and normalized kurtosis (p = 0.011) in men. Therefore, normalized skewness is a useful parameter for distinguishing between young and elderly female voices, and normalized kurtosis is essential for distinguishing between young and elderly male voices. We will continue to investigate parameters that represent important information in elderly voice signals.
The Potential Effect of Elevated Root Zone Temperature on the Concentration of Chlorogenic, Caffeic, and Ferulic acids and the Biological Activity of Some Pigmented Solanum tuberosum L. Cultivar Extracts
Authors: Witbooi Hildegard , Bvenura Callistus , Reid Anna-Mari , Lall Namrita , Oguntibeju Oluwafemi Omoniyi , Kambizi Learnmore
Published: July 2021

Without a doubt, potatoes play a vital food and nutrition security role in the world as more than a billion people consume this vegetable. Furthermore, the polyphenolic constituents of pigmented potato cultivars and their associated health benefits have been reported. However, the antioxidant, anticancer, and antimycobacterial activity of pigmented cultivars are scanty. Therefore, the present study explores the phenolic acids and biological activities of cv. Salad Blue (SB) and non-pigmented control (BP1) extracts. The antiproliferative activity of S. tuberosum L. against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) was investigated, as well as the ability to inhibit Mycobacterium smegmatis. Chlorogenic acid was the most prominent phenolic acid in both treatments as well as cultivars. In the current trial, 24 °C significantly increased chlorogenic acid in cv. SB and BP1. Ethanolic extracts of all the samples showed no activity at the highest test concentration of 1000 μg/mL (ciprofloxacin MIC of 0.325 μg/mL) against M. smegmatis. The antiproliferative activity of the tuber samples against HepG2 liver cells had IC50 values ranging between 267.7 ± 36.17 μg/mL and >400 μg/mL. Since the health benefits of these cultivars are highly valued, the present study provides useful information for future oncology studies, for human nutrition, as well as for how these underutilized cultivars can be fortified to improve their health benefits.
Investigation of Pressure Oscillation and Cavitation Characteristics for Submerged Self-Resonating Waterjet
Authors: Cui Lihua , Ma Fei , Cai Tengfei
Published: July 2021

The cavitation phenomenon of the self-resonating waterjet for the modulation of erosion characteristics is investigated in this paper. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to analyze the unsteady characteristics of the self-resonating jet. The numerical model employs the mixture two-phase model, coupling the realizable turbulence model and Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model. Collected data from experimental tests were used to validate the model. Results of numerical simulations and experimental data frequency bands obtained by the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) method were in very good agreement. For better understanding the physical phenomena, the velocity, the pressure distributions, and the cavitation characteristics were investigated. The obtained results show that the sudden change of the flow velocity at the outlet of the nozzle leads to the forms of the low-pressure zone. When the pressure at the low-pressure zone is lower than the vapor pressure, the cavitation occurs. The flow field structure of the waterjet can be directly perceived through simulation, which can provide theoretical support for realizing the modulation of the erosion characteristics, optimizing nozzle structure.
Efficient End-to-End Sentence-Level Lipreading with Temporal Convolutional Networks
Authors: Zhang Tao , He Lun , Li Xudong , Feng Guoqing
Published: July 2021

Lipreading aims to recognize sentences being spoken by a talking face. In recent years, the lipreading method has achieved a high level of accuracy on large datasets and made breakthrough progress. However, lipreading is still far from being solved, and existing methods tend to have high error rates on the wild data and have the defects of disappearing training gradient and slow convergence. To overcome these problems, we proposed an efficient end-to-end sentence-level lipreading model, using an encoder based on a 3D convolutional network, ResNet50, Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN), and a CTC objective function as the decoder. More importantly, the proposed architecture incorporates TCN as a feature learner to decode feature. It can partly eliminate the defects of RNN (LSTM, GRU) gradient disappearance and insufficient performance, and this yields notable performance improvement as well as faster convergence. Experiments show that the training and convergence speed are 50% faster than the state-of-the-art method, and improved accuracy by 2.4% on the GRID dataset.
Ambient Sound Recognition of Daily Events by Means of Convolutional Neural Networks and Fuzzy Temporal Restrictions
Authors: Polo-Rodriguez Aurora , Vilchez Chiachio Jose Manuel , Paggetti Cristiano , Medina-Quero Javier
Published: July 2021

The use of multimodal sensors to describe activities of daily living in a noninvasive way is a promising research field in continuous development. In this work, we propose the use of ambient audio sensors to recognise events which are generated from the activities of daily living carried out by the inhabitants of a home. An edge–fog computing approach is proposed to integrate the recognition of audio events with smart boards where the data are collected. To this end, we compiled a balanced dataset which was collected and labelled in controlled conditions. A spectral representation of sounds was computed using convolutional network inputs to recognise ambient sounds with encouraging results. Next, fuzzy processing of audio event streams was included in the IoT boards by means of temporal restrictions defined by protoforms to filter the raw audio event recognition, which are key in removing false positives in real-time event recognition.
Accommodative Relaxation by Extending the Viewing Distance through the Simple Optical Design of a Double-Mirror System
Authors: Yeh Shang-Min , Su Hui-Rong , Lee Chi-Hung , Chen Yu-Jung , Huang Shuan-Yu
Published: July 2021

Purpose: This paper discusses the accommodative relaxation of myopic adults using a simple double-mirror design. This optical design can extend the viewing distance to 2.285 m and can magnify the image up to 3.386 times, and it results in the accommodative relaxation of a single human eye. By using this optical design, accommodative relaxation may improve eye fatigue and, furthermore, it may delay the progression of myopia. Method: This study recruited 32 subjects with an average age of 20.8 ± 0.95 years old. After an examination of their refractive status, disposable contact lenses with a corresponding refractive error were fitted, and the dynamic accommodative response and change in pupil size were measured by using an open-field autorefractor. The subjects gazed at two different viewing distances. First, they gazed at a real object, which was placed 0.4 m in front of them. Second, the subjects gazed at a virtual image through a double-mirror system at a distance of 2.285 m. The dynamic accommodative responses and pupil size data were collected under these two viewing distance conditions. Results: When the subjects gazed at a real object that was 0.4 m away, or a virtual image that was 2.285 m away, the mean value of the accommodative response was 1.69 ± 0.31 D or 0.11 ± 0.05 D, and the pupil size was 3.79 ± 0.49 mm or 4.09 ± 0.72 mm, respectively. The accommodative response decreased, and the pupil size increased when using the double-mirror system, and therefore, accommodative relaxation can be achieved by using this new optical design. Conclusions: In the present study, we first successfully proposed a simple optical design to relax the accommodation, and the fluctuations of the accommodation response were stable, with an extended viewing distance of 2.285 m. This design may be applied for the improvement of visual function in applications such as the reduction of asthenopia and the control of myopia.