bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Piscirickettsia salmonis forms a biofilm on nylon surface using a CDC Biofilm Reactor
Authors: Vidal José Miguel , Ruiz Pamela , Carrasco Carlos , Barros Javier , Sepúlveda Daniela , Ruiz‐Tagle Nathaly , Romero Alex , Urrutia Homero , Oliver Cristian
Published: May 2022

Research into Piscirickettsia salmonis biofilms on materials commonly used in salmon farming is crucial for understanding its persistence and virulence. We used the CDC Biofilm Reactor to investigate P. salmonis (LF‐89 and EM‐90) biofilm formation on Nylon, Stainless steel (316L), Polycarbonate and High‐Density Polyethylene (HDPE) surfaces. After 144 h of biofilm visualization by scanning confocal laser microscopy under batch growth conditions, Nylon coupons generated the greatest biofilm formation and coverage compared to Stainless steel (316L), Polycarbonate and HDPE. Additionally, P. salmonis biofilm formation on Nylon was significantly greater (p ≤ .01) than Stainless steel (316L), Polycarbonate and HDPE at 288 h. We used Nylon coupons to determine the kinetic parameters of the planktonic and biofilm phases of P. salmonis. The two strains had similar latencies in the planktonic phase; however, LF‐89 maximum growth was 2.5 orders of magnitude higher (Log cell ml−1). Additionally, LF‐89 had a specified growth rate (µmax) of 0.0177 ± 0.006 h−1 and a generation time of 39.2 h. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the biofilm formation by P. salmonis and elucidates the impact of the biofilm on aquaculture systems.
Postpartum depression and social support: A longitudinal study of the first six months as parents
Authors: Zheng Jie , Gao Lingling , Li Hanbing , Zhao Qian
Published: May 2022

Aims and objectives

The study aimed to (1) investigate the changes in maternal and paternal depression, along with social support, across the 6‐month postpartum period; (2) explore the relationships between maternal and paternal depression and social support during the 6‐month postpartum period; and (3) compare the differences in postpartum depression and social support between mothers and fathers at 2–3 days, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months postpartum.

Background

An increasing body of evidence now shows that postpartum depression affects both mothers and fathers. The notable increase in postpartum depression in China is particularly concerning.

Design

A longitudinal study was conducted, guided by the STROBE checklist.

Methods

122 pairs of parents were recruited from September 2020 to October 2021 at a teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected from each parent at 2–3 days, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months postpartum, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Social Support Rating Scale. We also acquired socio‐demographic and obstetric data at 2–3 days postpartum.

Results

Maternal depression was lowest at 2–3 days postpartum compared with that measured at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months postpartum. Maternal and paternal social support was highest at 2–3 days postpartum compared with that measured at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months postpartum. Maternal depression was significantly correlated with paternal depression while maternal social support was significantly correlated with paternal social support at different time points.

Conclusion

Postpartum depression in mothers and social support in both mothers and fathers, showed significant changes during the 6‐month postpartum period.

Relevance to clinical practice

Healthcare providers should pay attention to the mental health of both parents, view them as a team and provide both family‐based and women‐cantered interventions.
Waiting for Advice and Consent: Record‐Level Diversity amidst an Exceedingly Slow Confirmation Pace during the First 300 Days of the Biden Administration
Authors: Tenpas Kathryn Dunn
Published: May 2022

Staffing the top levels of the executive branch is a high‐priority task for new presidents. Roughly 4,000 presidentially appointed positions are spread across the executive branch, and appointees to the most senior positions (nearly 1,200) require Senate confirmation. Throughout the 2020 presidential campaign, then candidate Joe Biden promised to select a diverse set of appointees. This article examines President Biden's commitment to this pledge as well as the pace at which the Senate confirmed his first tranche of appointees. To assess President Biden's performance during the first 300 days of his administration, I compare his record to his three immediate predecessors (Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump). The data reveal that while President Biden fulfilled his promise by appointing record numbers of women and non‐Whites, the pace at which these appointees were confirmed was much slower than those of his three predecessors.
Visual competition attenuates emotion effects during overt attention shifts
Authors: Kulke Louisa , Brümmer Lena , Pooresmaeili Arezoo , Schacht Annekathrin
Published: May 2022

Numerous different objects are simultaneously visible in a person's visual field, competing for attention. This competition has been shown to affect eye‐movements and early neural responses toward stimuli, while the role of a stimulus' emotional meaning for mechanisms of overt attention shifts under competition is unclear. The current study combined EEG and eye‐tracking to investigate effects of competition and emotional content on overt shifts of attention to human face stimuli. Competition prolonged the latency of the P1 component and of saccades, while faces showing emotional expressions elicited an early posterior negativity (EPN). Remarkably, the emotion‐related modulation of the EPN was attenuated when two stimuli were competing for attention compared to non‐competition. In contrast, no interaction effects of emotional expression and competition were observed on other event‐related potentials. This finding indicates that competition can decelerate attention shifts in general and also diminish the emotion‐driven attention capture, measured through the smaller effects of emotional expression on EPN amplitude. Reduction of the brain's responsiveness to emotional content in the presence of distractors contradicts models that postulate fully automatic processing of emotions.
Forest restoration under leaf‐cutting ant pressure: distance from ant nests and plastic tree shelters improve sapling survival
Authors: Renison Daniel , Jaacks Germán , Pollice Julieta , Herrero María L.
Published: May 2022

Forest restoration is a great challenge when saplings are repeatedly pruned by leaf‐cutting ants and pesticides are not permitted. Based on four hypotheses (distance‐dependent foraging, plant repellence, structural complexity, and nutrient content), we predicted that sapling performance increases and ant pruning decreases: (1) away from leaf‐cutting ant nests; (2) in unpalatable or (3) tall vegetation patches; and (4) in non‐fertilized soils. We set up a full factorial field experiment to test the hypotheses; we also monitored sapling performance without and with plastic tree shelters used by practitioners to deter ant pruning. Our results showed predicted sapling survival from 40 to 80% per year for distances to nests ranging from 4 to 223 m, respectively. Ant pruning decreased with increasing distance, with null pruning at distances >121 m. Variation in sapling survival, but not in ant pruning, was also explained by the interaction between vegetation palatability and nutrient condition. Vegetation height did not explain sapling survival or pruning. Plastic tree shelters increased survival by 3.5 times and reduced pruning by half. Height of surviving saplings was not affected by any treatment. Our results show the potential for active forest restoration without the use of tree shelters away from leaf‐cutting ant nests, while tree shelters are a viable option near leaf‐cutting ant nests.
Immigrant workers' movements in the U.S.: Where are high‐skilled ‘nonimmigrants’?
Authors: Roy Rianka
Published: May 2022

Immigrant workers in the U.S. mobilize through labor unions, worker centers and even autonomously for their rights. But existing literature on immigrant workers' movements mentions only low‐wage, low‐skilled and undocumented immigrants, who represent the majority of non‐citizens in the country. There is no discussion on how high‐skilled ‘nonimmigrant’ workers (or immigrants on temporary work visas) mobilize. A relatively small section of migration literature pays attention to high‐skilled nonimmigrants' challenges. But scholars in this group, too, are silent about these workers' organizing capacities. In this critical review, I draw attention to this mutual silence in two groups of literature. I also refer to some empirical instances of mobilization by high‐skilled nonimmigrants. I suggest that this is a potential field of research, which may contribute to social movement, migration and labor scholarship. Additionally, it may identify possibilities of solidarity across immigrant groups.
Total protein concentration as a predictor of neoplastic peritoneal and pleural effusions of dogs
Authors: Parsley Ashley L. , Schnelle Amy N. , Gruber Erika J. , Sander William E. , Barger Anne M.
Published: May 2022

Background

The diagnosis of neoplastic cavitary effusions requires the identification of neoplastic cells in effusions, yet the cytologic appearance of neoplastic effusions can be highly variable due to the varied mechanisms of formation. Additional parameters might aid in the interpretation of equivocal cytologic results.

Objectives

Our goal was to evaluate whether total protein concentrations can be used to support the diagnosis of neoplasia in the peritoneal and pleural effusions of dogs with lower cellularities (≤5000 nucleated cells/μL).

Methods

Pleural and peritoneal fluid analyses from dogs presented to the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 2014 and 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. Effusions were categorized as neoplastic or non‐neoplastic based on histology or cytology. Non‐neoplastic effusions were subcategorized according to mechanism: decreased oncotic pressure, increased hydrostatic pressure, increased vascular permeability, leakage of urine, and leakage of lymph. The TP and blood albumin to fluid TP ratio (Albblood:TPfluid) were compared among groups.

Results

Twenty‐seven neoplastic and 65 non‐neoplastic cases were evaluated. TP was higher in the neoplastic group (P = .001) than in the non‐neoplastic group. Neoplastic effusions had a lower Albblood:TPfluid than non‐neoplastic (P = .001), and effusions with Albblood:TPfluid of ≤0.6 were 5.6 times more likely to be neoplastic (95% CI 1.69–17.36; P = .003).

Conclusions

Fluid TP concentrations were significantly greater in neoplastic than non‐neoplastic effusions; however, given the considerable overlap between groups, the diagnostic utility of this difference is low. A neoplastic etiology might be more likely in cases with an Albblood:TPfluid ≤0.6.
Modeling and Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Reflective Film and Vacuum on the Performance of Concentric Double Tube Direct Flow Solar Collector
Authors: Ismail Kamal A. R. , Teles Mavd P. R. , Lino Fatima A. M.
Published: May 2022

The present study is focused on investigating experimentally and numerically the four versions of a concentric double tube solar collector with and without vacuum, and with and without a reflective solar film. The conservation equations were used to formulate the thermal model and treated numerically to develop a home-made numerical code in matlab. An experimental setup is constructed to test the four versions of the collector under outdoor conditions and hence validate both the thermal model and the numerical procedure. The tests were performed during the summer and autumn seasons. The numerical outcomes agreed well with the experiments showing a maximum error of about 2.1%. The results indicated that the vacuum effect is significant and enhanced the efficiency by about 13.6% in the presence of the reflective film. An average increase of 6.6% was found in the case of the collector without reflective film but with the vacuum. The reflective solar film increased the efficiency by about 4.3% for all cases with or without vacuum.
Ultrasonic Rayleigh Wave Interrogation of Directed Energy Deposition Ti–6Al–4V Having a Rough Surface
Authors: Bakre Chaitanya , Nassar Abdalla R. , Reutzel Edward W. , Lissenden Cliff J.
Published: May 2022

In-situ monitoring techniques for additive manufacturing are in high demand to help produce reliable parts. The structural integrity of these parts depends on both the presence of flaws and their microstructure. Ultrasonic Rayleigh waves have the potential to identify flaws and assess the local microstructure during directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing processes, but the scattering associated with the surface roughness degrades the ultrasonic signal and must be understood to extract useful information. Herein, the microstructures and surface profiles of DED and wrought Ti–6Al–4V are compared to provide context for measured Rayleigh wave speeds and second harmonic generation. The Rayleigh wave speed and second harmonic generation for DED and wrought Ti–6Al–4V materials having comparable surface roughness are significantly different. The wave speed measured in DED material is 3% slower than in wrought material, and the relative nonlinearity parameter, commonly used to characterize second harmonic generation, is 3.5–6.0 times higher for polished surfaces. Wave speed and second harmonic generation measurements are also made along the hatch and across the hatch for both as-built and glazed DED surfaces. Based on our results, we conclude that in-situ Rayleigh wave linear and nonlinear measurements are possible; although we acknowledge that in-situ angle-beam transducer generation would be challenging, and thus we will investigate pulsed laser generation in future work.
Thermal Performance of Double-Sided, Partial Height Strip Fin Arrays in a High Aspect Ratio, Rectangular Channel
Authors: Tracy Nathaniel J. , Wright Lesley M. , Han Je-Chin
Published: May 2022

Friction loss and heat transfer enhancement measurements were obtained for double-sided, partial height, strip fin arrays in a high aspect ratio (AR = 8), rectangular channel. Fins were arranged in a staggered array configuration with channel height to fin thickness ratio H/W = 9.6, spanwise spacing distance to fin thickness ratio S/W = 8.0, and streamwise spacing distance to fin length ratio X/L = 1.0. Within the channel, shortened strip fins of equal length are positioned directly opposite to each other on two heat transfer surfaces with three gap size to channel height ratios considered G/H = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4, respectively. The thermal performance of each fin configuration is determined from the measured pressure drop across the array and regionally averaged heat transfer coefficients at flow Reynolds numbers ranging Re = 20,000–80,000. Partial height strip fin results are compared to the baseline cases of full height strip fins and the smooth channel. Correlations of friction loss, heat transfer enhancement, and thermal performance are provided as functions of flow Reynolds numbers for all cases. Full height strip fins provide the greatest heat transfer enhancement of all cases but introducing a gap size can significantly reduce friction losses. The thermal performance is greatest when using full height strip fins for Reynolds numbers ranging Re = 20,000–30,000 and using partial height strip fins with the gap size of G/H = 0.3 for Re = 40,000–80,000.
Acoustic analysis of tone production in Mandarin-speaking bimodal cochlear implant users
Authors: Tao Duo-Duo , Liu Ji-Sheng , Zhou Ning
Published: May 2022

The benefit of using a hearing aid with a cochlear implant (bimodal hearing) has been demonstrated for tone perception under certain conditions. The present study evaluated bimodal effects for tone production by comparing performance between a bimodal and a unimodal implant group. Results showed that acoustic differentiation of tones produced by the bimodal group was better than the unimodal implant group, and performance was dependent on the subject's acoustic thresholds but not related to implant experience or age at implantation. The findings support the use of amplified acoustic hearing in conjunction with the implant for better development of pitch production.
A bioactive phlebovirus-like envelope protein in a hookworm endogenous virus
Authors: Merchant Monique , Mata Carlos P. , Liu Yangci , Zhai Haoming , Protasio Anna V. , Modis Yorgo
Published: May 2022

Endogenous viral elements (EVEs), accounting for 15% of our genome, serve as a genetic reservoir from which new genes can emerge. Nematode EVEs are particularly diverse and informative of virus evolution. We identify Atlas virus—an intact retrovirus-like EVE in the human hookworm
Ancylostoma ceylanicum
, with an envelope protein genetically related to G
N
-G
C
glycoproteins from the family Phenuiviridae. A cryo-EM structure of Atlas G
C
reveals a class II viral membrane fusion protein fold not previously seen in retroviruses. Atlas G
C
has the structural hallmarks of an active fusogen. Atlas G
C
trimers insert into membranes with endosomal lipid compositions and low pH. When expressed on the plasma membrane, Atlas G
C
has cell-cell fusion activity. With its preserved biological activities, Atlas G
C
has the potential to acquire a cellular function. Our work reveals structural plasticity in reverse-transcribing RNA viruses.
HgCdTe/black phosphorus van der Waals heterojunction for high-performance polarization-sensitive midwave infrared photodetector
Authors: Jiao Hanxue , Wang Xudong , Chen Yan , Guo Shuaifei , Wu Shuaiqin , Song Chaoyu , Huang Shenyang , Huang Xinning , Tai Xiaochi , Lin Tie , Shen Hong , Yan Hugen , Hu Weida , Meng Xiangjian , Chu Junhao , Zhang Yuanbo , Wang Jianlu
Published: May 2022

New-generation infrared detectors call for higher operation temperature and polarization sensitivity. For traditional HgCdTe infrared detectors, the additional polarization optics and cryogenic cooling are necessary to achieve high-performance infrared polarization detection, while they can complicate this system and limit the integration. Here, a mixed-dimensional HgCdTe/black phosphorous van der Waals heterojunction photodiode is proposed for polarization-sensitive midwave infrared photodetection. Benefiting from van der Waals integration, type III broken-gap band alignment heterojunctions are achieved. Anisotropy optical properties of black phosphorous bring polarization sensitivity from visible light to midwave infrared without external optics. Our devices show an outstanding performance at room temperature without applied bias, with peak blackbody detectivity as high as 7.93 × 10
10
cm Hz
1/2
W
−1
and average blackbody detectivity over 2.1 × 10
10
cm Hz
1/2
W
−1
in midwave infrared region. This strategy offers a possible practical solution for next-generation infrared detector with high operation temperature, high performance, and multi-information acquisition.
The droids in
The Mandalorian
and
The Book of Boba Fett
are not wild enough for the real world
Authors: Murphy Robin R.
Published: May 2022

The mechanically complex robots in the latest
Star Wars
series are wildly creative, but not wild enough to match real robots.
Acute inflammatory response via neutrophil activation protects against the development of chronic pain
Authors: Parisien Marc , Lima Lucas V. , Dagostino Concetta , El-Hachem Nehme , Drury Gillian L. , Grant Audrey V. , Huising Jonathan , Verma Vivek , Meloto Carolina B. , Silva Jaqueline R. , Dutra Gabrielle G. S. , Markova Teodora , Dang Hong , Tessier Philippe A. , Slade Gary D. , Nackley Andrea G. , Ghasemlou Nader , Mogil Jeffrey S. , Allegri Massimo , Diatchenko Luda
Published: May 2022

The transition from acute to chronic pain is critically important but not well understood. Here, we investigated the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic low back pain (LBP) and performed transcriptome-wide analysis in peripheral immune cells of 98 participants with acute LBP, followed for 3 months. Transcriptomic changes were compared between patients whose LBP was resolved at 3 months with those whose LBP persisted. We found thousands of dynamic transcriptional changes over 3 months in LBP participants with resolved pain but none in those with persistent pain. Transient neutrophil-driven up-regulation of inflammatory responses was protective against the transition to chronic pain. In mouse pain assays, early treatment with a steroid or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) also led to prolonged pain despite being analgesic in the short term; such a prolongation was not observed with other analgesics. Depletion of neutrophils delayed resolution of pain in mice, whereas peripheral injection of neutrophils themselves, or S100A8/A9 proteins normally released by neutrophils, prevented the development of long-lasting pain induced by an anti-inflammatory drug. Analysis of pain trajectories of human subjects reporting acute back pain in the UK Biobank identified elevated risk of pain persistence for subjects taking NSAIDs. Thus, despite analgesic efficacy at early time points, the management of acute inflammation may be counterproductive for long-term outcomes of LBP sufferers.
Dysregulation of Cellular VRK1, BAF, and Innate Immune Signaling by the Vaccinia Virus B12 Pseudokinase
Authors: Linville Alexandria C. , Rico Amber B. , Teague Helena , Binsted Lucy E. , Smith Geoffrey L. , Albarnaz Jonas D. , Wiebe Matthew S.
Published: May 2022

Protein pseudokinases comprise a considerable fraction of the human kinome, as well as other forms of life. Recent studies have demonstrated that their lack of key catalytic residues compared to their kinase counterparts does not negate their ability to intersect with molecular signal transduction.
On Thermal Boundary Layer in a Viscous Non-Newtonian Medium
Authors: Kisatov M. A. , Samokhin V. N. , Chechkin G. A.
Published: May 2022

An existence and uniqueness theorem for a classical solution to the system of equations describing thermal boundary layers in viscous media with the Ladyzhenskaya rheological law is generalized.
Stylohyoid Eagle syndrome and EXTracranial INternal Carotid arTery pseudoaneurysms (EXTINCT) with internal jugular vein nutcracker syndrome: a challenging clinical scenario
Authors: Sultan Sherif , Acharya Yogesh , Soliman Osama , Hynes Niamh
Published: May 2022

We report a 4-year delay in diagnosing a combined carotid arterial and jugular venous styloid compression. The symptoms, which included dull neck pain, dizziness, intermittent diplopia, tinnitus, severe incapacitating right side headache and eye bloating, were challenging and wrongly attributed initially to various facial neuralgias. The patient presented during COVID-19 pandemic and was labelled as ‘carotidynia’ first and later as a transient perivascular inflammation of carotid artery syndrome. Combined targeted duplex ultrasonography and CT angiography with 3D reconstruction revealed a long styloid process and its tendinous-ligamentous attachments, injuring the internal carotid artery. Moreover, there was substantial internal jugular vein compression on a long C1 transverse process with a nutcracker syndrome. Release of the tendinous portion of the long styloid process and repair of the carotid artery pseudoaneurysm ended the patient’s complaints and allowed him to have a better quality of life.
NovelPOLEmutations identified in patients with IMAGE-I syndrome cause aberrant subcellular localisation and protein degradation in the nucleus
Authors: Nakano Tomohiro , Sasahara Yoji , Kikuchi Atsuo , Moriya Kunihiko , Niizuma Hidetaka , Niihori Tetsuya , Shirota Matsuyuki , Funayama Ryo , Nakayama Keiko , Aoki Yoko , Kure Shigeo
Published: May 2022

Background

DNA replisome is a molecular complex that plays indispensable roles in normal DNA replication. IMAGE-I syndrome is a DNA replisome-associated genetic disease caused by biallelic mutations in the gene encoding DNA polymerase epsilon catalytic subunit 1 (POLE). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unresolved.

Methods

The clinical manifestations in two patients with IMAGE-I syndrome were characterised. Whole-exome sequencing was performed and altered mRNA splicing and protein levels of POLE were determined. Subcellular localisation, cell cycle analysis and DNA replication stress were assessed using fibroblasts and peripheral blood from the patients and transfected cell lines to determine the functional significance ofPOLEmutations.

Results

Both patients presented with growth retardation, adrenal insufficiency, immunodeficiency and complicated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. We identified three novelPOLEmutations: namely, a deep intronic mutation, c.1226+234G>A, common in both patients, and missense (c.2593T>G) and in-frame deletion (c.711_713del) mutations in each patient. The unique deep intronic mutation produced aberrantly spliced mRNAs. All mutants showed significantly reduced, but not null, protein levels. Notably, the mutants showed severely diminished nuclear localisation, which was rescued by proteasome inhibitor treatment. Functional analysis revealed impairment of cell cycle progression and increase in the expression of phospho-H2A histone family member X in both patients.

Conclusion

These findings provide new insights regarding the mechanism via whichPOLEmutants are highly susceptible to proteasome-dependent degradation in the nucleus, resulting in impaired DNA replication and cell cycle progression, a characteristic of DNA replisome-associated diseases.
A need for multi-sector and multi-pronged solutions to address the many barriers inhibiting change from unhealthy food environments in publicly funded recreation facilities: a mixed-method study
Authors: Warken Melanie , Sanden Tracy , Shanks Naomi , Engler-Stringer Rachel , Vatanparast Hassan
Published: May 2022

Public recreation facilities are preferred gathering places for families to participate in physical, social, intellectual, and creative pursuits, and the importance of food environments in these facilities is gaining recognition. Evidence from other Canadian jurisdictions describes such food environments as unsupportive of health, which contradicts national recreation priorities to have healthy choices as the easy choices. This study aimed to characterize food environments in a convenient sample of Saskatchewan public recreation facilities. A convergent/parallel mixed methods study design used quantitative methods to determine the healthfulness of concession stands and vending machines and qualitative methods to examine barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in facilities. The results found that 5% of concession main dishes were defined as healthy and packaged foods/beverages in concession stands and vending machines were defined as Offer Most Often 6% and 8% of the time, respectively, according to Saskatchewan Nutrition Standards. Reported barriers to healthy eating were more than twice as prevalent as facilitators. To align with population health recommendations in Saskatchewan, food environments in public recreation facilities require immediate attention. The results and recommendations can be used to build collective action to address the problem and as a benchmark to measure change.

Novelty:

Only 5% of concession main dishes were defined as healthy. Only 6% of packaged foods and beverages in concessions, and 8% in vending, were defined as Offer Most Often. Reported barriers to healthy eating were more than twice as prevalent as facilitators, resulting in a current state that is difficult to change.
CT92 flue-cured tobacco
Authors: Amankwa G.A. , Mishra S. , Shearer A.D. , Saude C. , Richmond M.D. , AL-Amery M.
Published: May 2022

CT92 is a high yielding flue-cured tobacco with resistance to the soil borne fungus Black Root Rot Chalara elegans Nag Rag and Kendrick (synonym: Thielaviopsis basicola (Berk and Broome) Ferraris). CT92 has a grade index that is comparable to the check CTH14 and showed a higher potential to provide greater economic returns than the check.
A proposed framework for assigning soil drainage classes to non-redoximorphic soils in the Canadian System of Soil Classification
Authors: Saurette Daniel D. , Warren C. James (Jim) , Heck Richard J.
Published: May 2022

Drainage refers to the frequency and duration of periods of saturation, and how quickly excess water is removed from the soil profile. It is one of the central concepts used to differentiate soil series within the Canadian System of Soil Classification (CSSC). Currently, seven drainage classes are recognized in the CSSC: very rapid, rapid, well, moderately well, imperfect, poor, and very poor. In redoximorphic soils (imperfect, poor, and very poor drainage classes), drainage is typically differentiated based on morphological features (i.e., the presence of gleying and mottles). Non-redoximorphic soils (very rapid, rapid, and well-drained classes) do not display such morphological features but are differentiated based on available water holding capacity (AWHC) as inferred from soil texture and particle size. Moderately well-drained soils are intermediate, in some cases defined by the presence of redoximorphic characteristics, but in other cases inferred based on texture. In effect, drainage in materials without redoximorphic features is estimated based on AWHC as related to texture class, which should include sand subfractions. Values for AWHC were calculated using a published pedotransfer function for combinations of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles, including various combinations of very fine to very coarse sand separates as input. Calculated values were compared with currently assigned drainage classes and several inconsistencies were identified. Revisions are proposed to textural assessment of soil drainage for non-redoximorphic soils.
Salidroside Ameliorates Ischemia-Induced Neuronal Injury through AMPK Dependent and Independent Pathways to Maintain Mitochondrial Quality Control
Authors: Wen Bin , Zhou Keru , Hu Caiyin , Chen Jiehui , Xu Kai , Liang Tao , He Benhong , Chen Ling , Chen Juan
Published: May 2022

Salidroside, an active ingredient in Rhodiola rosea, has potent protective activity against cerebral ischemia. However, the mechanisms underlying its pharmacological actions are poorly understood. In this study, we employed a mouse middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and cellular oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) models to test the hypothesis that salidroside may restore mitochondrial quality control in neurons by modulating the relevant signaling. The results indicated that salidroside mitigated almost 40% the ischemia-induced brain infarct volumes in mice and the OGD-decreased viability of neurons to ameliorate the mitochondrial functions. Furthermore, salidroside treatment alleviated the OGD- or ischemia-induced imbalance of mitochondrial fission and fusion, mitophagy and promoted mitochondrial biogenesis in neurons by attenuating the AMPK activity. Moreover, salidroside alleviated 50% the OGD-promoted mitochondrial calcium fluorescence intensity and 5% mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM) area by down-regulating GRP75 expression independent of the AMPK signaling. Finally, similar findings were achieved in primary mouse neurons. Collectively, these data indicate that salidroside effectively restores the mitochondria dynamics, facilitates mitochondrial biogenesis by attenuating the AMPK signaling, and maintains calcium homeostasis in neurons independent of the AMPK activity.
A Robust, Scalable, and Energy-Efficient Routing Strategy for UWSN Using a Novel Vector-Based Forwarding Routing Protocol
Authors: Santhi Jeslet D. , Balaji Vijayan V. , Thiagarajan R. , Mohan I. , Kalpana R.
Published: May 2022

The Underwater Wireless Sensor Network (UWSN) is capable of supporting a wide range of low-data-rate acoustic sensor networks, as well as scalability and energy-efficient routing algorithms. Furthermore, because of the lower bandwidth and longer propagation delays, energy consumption is a major concern with underwater networks. Because radio transmissions are unstable in deep water, a UWSN often communicates via acoustic channels. UWSN features create constraints on data packet transmission and energy-efficient routing. The hardest challenge is creating an effective routing protocol for UWSNs that uses sensor node localization. There have been several routing algorithms reported for identifying nodes via a localization process. This paper proposes a novel vector-based forwarding (NVBF) and efficient depth-based routing (DBR) protocol to provide robust, scalable, and energy-efficient routing. Efficient DBR is a stochastic model that can survive even in acoustic channels with substantial transmission loss. An adjacent node table is created to decrease the energy consumption and end-to-end delay by limiting the adjacent node request generated every single time. The redundant packet transmission is reduced by creating a packet queue which also minimizes the energy. The NVBF algorithm uses a random waiting time to overcome the collision that occurs while sending the acknowledgment packets. Based on the previous sender’s depth and the depth of the own node, the DBR makes packet transmission decisions. The experiments are conducted using the NS3 simulator and the efficiency of the proposed approach is evaluated in terms of propagation delay, network lifetime, energy consumption, and delivery ratio. When compared to the existing techniques such as DBR, VBF, and energy-efficient DBR (EDBR), the proposed methodology offers improvement up to 40% and 30% in terms of propagation delay and delivery ratio.
Local zero-stability of rough evolution equations
Authors: Hesse Robert
Published: May 2022

We analyze the long time behavior of solutions to rough parabolic equations. More precisely, we show local exponential stability for the mild solution driven by a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter [Formula: see text].
Reinforcement Learning on Social Chabot to Improve the Semantic Variation
Authors: Ganesh Anish Krishnan
Published: May 2022

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the fields of conversation and language has experienced immense growth as a result of the large quantities of text corpora available for training models. This paper discusses conversational AI dialogue systems concerning the components of natural language processing (NLP) and reinforcement learning that function together to produce a human-like response. The types of conversational AI, namely, task-oriented systems, question-answering agents, and social chatbots, are also expanded on to provide a systematic review. Reinforcement learning has a crucial role in resolving errors in existing conversational AI models and allows for a factor of exploration in the art of communication. The trial-and-error nature of reinforcement learning agents ensures that irrelevant patterns in a text corpus are not memorized. The implementation of reinforcement learning and NLP tools to create social chatbots with emotional intelligence brings researchers one step closer to mimicking human conversation.
Photocatalytic Degradation of Oxytetracycline Using Zeolite Imidazole Framework-8 (ZIF-8) as an Effective Catalyst
Authors: Gao Wan , Li Yanliang , Xie Wuming , Huang Jianzhi , Li Lei , Qiu Zhixin
Published: May 2022

Antibiotics are a class of organic pollutant in the medical field for hundreds of years. Due to the continuous discharge of antibiotics in the environment, the phenomenon of pseudo-persistence of antibiotics is produced. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an advanced sustainable technology to remove antibiotics from water resources. In this study, Zeolite Imidazole Framework-8 (ZIF-8) was prepared by a simple and rapid method. Oxytetracycline (OTC) degradation was performed using ZIF-8 as a photocatalyst under visible light (VL) (500[Formula: see text]W xenon lamp) irradiation. Under different experimental conditions, ZIF-8 has strong catalytic removal performance for OTC. When the reaction conditions are: OTC concentration of 80 mg L[Formula: see text], ZIF-8 concentration of 1.0[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text]L[Formula: see text], pH 5.96, the OTC removal rate is more than 90%. Through the detection and analysis of degradation intermediates, the possible degradation pathway of OTC was proposed. This study showed that the OTC removal rate of ZIF-8 could still reach 69% after four times of recycling. The results showed that the ZIF-8/VL system had high OTC removal efficiency and good recyclability.
Mutation Testing in Evolving Systems: Studying the Relevance of Mutants to Code Evolution
Authors: Ojdanic Milos , Soremekun Ezekiel , Degiovanni Renzo , Papadakis Mike , Le Traon Yves
Published: May 2022

Context:When software evolves, opportunities for introducing faults appear. Therefore, it is important to test the evolved program behaviors during each evolution cycle. However, while software evolves, its complexity is also evolving, introducing challenges to the testing process. To deal with this issue, testing techniques should be adapted to target the effect of the program changes instead of the entire program functionality. To this end,commit-aware mutation testing, a powerful testing technique, has been proposed. Unfortunately, commit-aware mutation testing is challenging due to the complex program semantics involved. Hence, it is pertinent to understand the characteristics, predictability, and potential of the technique.

Objective:We conduct an exploratory study to investigate the properties ofcommit-relevant mutants, i.e., the test elements of commit-aware mutation testing, by proposing a general definition and an experimental approach to identify them. We thus aim at investigating the prevalence, location, and comparative advantages of commit-aware mutation testing over time (i.e., the program evolution). We also investigate the predictive power of several commit-related features in identifying and selecting commit-relevant mutants to understand the essential properties for its best-effort application case.

Method:Our commit-relevant definition relies on the notion of observational slicing, approximated by higher-order mutation. Specifically, our approach utilizes the impact of mutants, effects of one mutant on another in capturing and analyzing the implicit interactions between the changed and unchanged code parts. The study analyses millions of mutants (over 10 million), 288 commits, five (5) different open-source software projects involving over 68,213 CPU days of computation and sets a ground truth where we perform our analysis.

Results:Our analysis shows that commit-relevant mutants arelocated mainly outside of program commit change(81%), suggesting a limitation in previous work. We also note that effective selection of commit-relevant mutants has the potential of reducing the number of mutants by up to 93%. In addition, we demonstrate that commit relevant mutation testing is significantly more effective and efficient than state-of-the-art baselines, i.e., random mutant selection and analysis of only mutants within the program change. In our analysis of the predictive power of mutants and commit-related features (e.g., number of mutants within a change, mutant type, and commit size) in predicting commit-relevant mutants, we found that mostproxy features do not reliably predict commit-relevant mutants.

Conclusion:This empirical study highlights the properties of commit-relevant mutants and demonstrates the importance of identifying and selecting commit-relevant mutants when testing evolving software systems.
Microservice Security Metrics for Secure Communication, Identity Management, and Observability
Authors: Zdun Uwe , Queval Pierre-Jean , Simhandl Georg , Scandariato Riccardo , Chakravarty Somik , Jelic Marjan , Jovanovic Aleksandar
Published: May 2022

Microservice architectures are increasingly being used to develop application systems. Despite many guidelines and best practices being published, architecting microservice systems for security is challenging. Reasons are the size and complexity of microservice systems, their polyglot nature, and the demand for the continuous evolution of these systems. In this context, to manually validate that security architecture tactics are employed as intended throughout the system is a time-consuming and error-prone task. In this article, we present an approach to avoid such manual validation before each continuous evolution step in a microservice system, which we demonstrate using three widely used categories of security tactics: secure communication, identity management, and observability. Our approach is based on a review of existing security guidelines, the gray literature, and the scientific literature, from which we derived Architectural Design Decisions (ADDs) with the found security tactics as decision options. In our approach, we propose novel detectors to detect these decision options automatically and formally defined metrics to measure the conformance of a system to the different options of the ADDs. We apply the approach to a case study data set of 10 open source microservice systems, plus another 20 variants of these systems, for which we manually inspected the source code for security tactics. We demonstrate and assess the validity and appropriateness of our metrics by performing an assessment of their conformance to the ADDs in our systems’ dataset through statistical methods.
Review—Wetting Phenomena in Catalyst Layers of PEM Fuel Cells: Novel Approaches for Modeling and Materials Research
Authors: Olbrich W. , Kadyk T. , Sauter U. , Eikerling M.
Published: May 2022

The development of high performance polymer electrolyte fuel cells increasingly relies on modeling to optimally tune cathode catalyst layers (CCL) to desired properties. This includes models to rationalize the role of water as promoter and asphyxiant to the oxygen reduction reaction. Existing models are able to reproduce or predict, using assumed parameters, the performance of the cell. However, consideration of the wetting properties of the composite has remained elusive. Experiments to characterize these properties are difficult to perform. There is thus a gap in theory for relating material choices with wetting properties. This article elaborates on this gap and presents a novel conceptual approach to close it. Fundamental modeling approaches, molecular dynamics studies and experimental works have shown that the interaction of ionomer with the Pt/C surface exerts a major impact on wetting behavior and water sorption properties of the porous CCL composite. In our approach, the state of molecular alignment of ionomer sidechains and backbones is linked to the structural characteristics of the Pt/C catalyst. From this rationalization, wetting properties of the CCL can be deduced. An analysis of these correlations supports a crucial hypothesis: lowering the platinum loading leaves the CCL more prone to flooding.
Anodic Polarization Study of Step Pulse Waveform for Machining Accuracy in Electrochemical Micromachining
Authors: Panda Himadri Sekhar , Mishra Koushik , Bhattacharyya B.
Published: May 2022

Electrochemical micromachining (EMM) shows promise as a versatile process for machining chemically resistant metallic materials in microsystems applications. A traditional rectangular pulse pattern has been modified into a step pulse waveform with a series of short rectangular pulses with different amplitudes. By establishing the experimental setup, anodic polarization behavior has been investigated throughout the dissolution process with 0.1 M H2SO4 electrolyte solution at different applied voltages under the application of rectangular and step pulse waveforms. Utilizing the step pulse waveform, oscillation of the anode potential and transpassive state have been obtained during machining. Thus, from polarization studies, it has been observed that at 13 V, the current density is accelerated in a moderate range, i.e., 0 to 33 A cm−2, which can reduce the anodic dissolution rate during the active state. Alternatively, the stray current effects and micro-sparks can be controlled because the duration of the passive state is very small and the RMS voltage can be reduced by 20.65% as compared to the rectangular pulse waveform. Further, overcut and tapering effects have been reduced by 83.99% to 51.39% and by 98.66% to 44.48% at the applied voltage of 13 to 17 V, respectively.
Interaction between Electrochemical Machining and Conventional Milling in Mechano-Electrochemical Milling of TC4 Titanium Alloy
Authors: Wang Minglu , Liu Tong , Qu Ningsong
Published: May 2022

Mechano-electrochemical milling (MECM) is a promising method to machine TC4 titanium alloy as it combines electrochemical machining (ECM) and conventional milling (CM). However, prior studies on the interaction between ECM and CM are few, lacking in-depth understanding of the material removal behavior of MECM. Therefore, the interaction between ECM and CM of TC4 titanium alloy was experimentally investigated in this paper. Experimental results showed that the initial CM surface obtained lower surface impedance and corrosion resistance compared to initial normal non-CM surface, which reduced the breakdown potential of surface layer and improved the current efficiency of TC4 titanium alloy. During electrochemical dissolution, the initial CM surface dissolved mainly first from the junction of the adjacent tooth marks, then the dissolution diffused gradually to the center of the tooth mark resulting in large-scale local dissolution until all the initial tooth marks were completely removed. In addition, the initial ECM surface had lower surface microhardness compared to the initial CM surface. This decreased the milling force in the subsequent CM, which might be conducive to reducing tool wear and prolonging tool life.
Can P- and Oxidized P-doped Graphene be a Good Anode for Na-Ion Batteries?: A First-Principles Assessment
Authors: Park Sungwon , Paek Eunsu
Published: May 2022

Sodium ion batteries (NIBs) become an important emerging alternative to lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of low cost and suitability for large-scale applications. However, optimizing anodes in NIBs is still a challenge. In this paper, we investigated the possibility of using P- and oxidized P-doped graphene as an anode in NIBs. We reveal important fundamental properties of sodium adsorption on P- and oxidized P-doped graphene by employing first principles calculations. Our results suggest that Na adsorption on the single side of substrate followed by on the other side is the preferred configuration with high Na capacity of 511 mAh g−1. Na is predicted to migrate with a low diffusion barrier near the protrudent P and OP on the substrate. Although Na has to cross an elevated diffusion barrier to escape from the most stable site interacting with the P and OP, this can be significantly mitigated by increasing the adsorbed Na concentration. Our calculations also demonstrate the structures mostly maintain the metallic properties thus shows high electron mobility upon a wide range of sodiation level. Our findings indicate that P- and oxidized P-doping of graphene anodes can be a promising route toward increasing the overall performance of NIBs for practical application.
Estimation Using Suggested EM Algorithm Based on Progressively Type-II Censored Samples from a Finite Mixture of Truncated Type-I Generalized Logistic Distributions with an Application
Authors: Ateya Saieed F. , Kilai Mutua , Aldallal Ramy
Published: May 2022

In this paper, the identifiability property has been studied for a suggested truncated type-I generalized logistic mixture model which is denoted by

TTIGL

. A suggested form of the

EM

algorithm has been applied on type-II progressive censored samples to obtain the maximum likelihood estimates

MLE
′
s

of the parameters, survival function

SF

, and hazard rate function

HRF

of the studied mixture model. Monte Carlo simulation algorithm has been applied to study the behavior of the mean squares errors

MSE
′

s

of the estimates. Also, a comparative study is conducted between the suggested

EM

algorithm and the ordinary algorithm of maximizing the likelihood function, which depends on the differentiation of the log likelihood function. The results of this paper have been applied on a real dataset as an application.