bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Out of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau: Origin, evolution and historical biogeography of Morchella (both Elata and Esculenta clades)
Authors: Meng Qing , Xie Zhanling , Xu Hongyan , Guo Jing , Tang Yongpeng , Ma Ting , Peng Qingqing , Wang Bao , Mao Yujing , Yan Shangjin , Yang Jiabao , Dong Deyu , Duan Yingzhu , Zhang Fan , Gao Taizhen
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Morchella has become a research hotspot because of its wide distribution, delicious taste, and phenotypic plasticity. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau subkingdoms (QTPs) are known as the cradle of Ice age biodiversity. However, the diversity of Morchella in the QTPs has been poorly investigated, especially in phylogenetic diversity, origin, and biogeography.

Methods

The genealogical concordance phylogenetic species recognition (GCPSR, based on Bayesian evolutionary analysis using sequences from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), nuclear large subunit rDNA (nrLSU), translation elongation factor 1-α (EF1-α), and the largest and second largest subunits of RNA polymerase II (RPB1 and RPB2)), differentiation time estimation, and ancestral region reconstruction were used to infer Morchella’s phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography in the QTPs.

Results

Firstly, a total of 18 Morchella phylogenetic species are recognized in the QTPs, including 10 Elata clades and 8 Esculenta clades of 216 individuals Secondly, the divergences of the 18 phylogenetic species were 50.24–4.20 Mya (Eocene-Pliocene), which was closely related to the geological activities in the QTPs. Furthermore, the ancestor of Morchella probably originated in the Northern regions (Qilian Shan, Elata cade) and southwestern regions (Shangri-La, Esculenta clade) of QTPs and might have migrated from North America (Rufobrunnea clade) via Beringian Land Bridge (BLB) and Long-Distance Dispersal (LDD) expansions during the Late Cretaceous. Moreover, as the cradle of species origin and diversity, the fungi species in the QTPs have spread out and diffused to Eurasia and South Africa starting in the Paleogene Period.

Conclusion

This is the first report that Esculenta and Elata clade of Morchella originated from the QTPs because of orogenic, and rapid differentiation of fungi is strongly linked to geological uplift movement and refuge in marginal areas of the QTPs. Our findings contribute to increasing the diversity of Morchella and offer more evidence for the origin theory of the QTPs.
Combined application of plant growth-promoting bacteria and iron oxide nanoparticles ameliorates the toxic effects of arsenic in Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi L.)
Authors: Sun Yan , Ma Li , Ma Jing , Li Bingkun , Zhu Yanfeng , Chen Fu
Published: December 2022

Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as arsenic (As)] is becoming a serious global problem because of the rapid development of the social economy. Although plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and nanoparticles (NPs) are the major protectants to alleviate metal toxicity, the study of these chemicals in combination to ameliorate the toxic effects of As is limited. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the combined effects of different levels of Providencia vermicola (5 ppm and 10 ppm) and iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO-NPs) (50 mg/l–1 and 100 mg/l–1) on plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, oxidative stress and response of antioxidant compounds (enzymatic and non-enzymatic), and their specific gene expression, sugars, nutritional status of the plant, organic acid exudation pattern As accumulation from the different parts of the plants, and electron microscopy under the soil, which was spiked with different levels of As [0 μM (i.e., no As), 50 μM, and 100 μM] in Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi L.) seedlings. Results from the present study showed that the increasing levels of As in the soil significantly (p< 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, sugars, and nutritional contents from the roots and shoots of the plants, and destroyed the ultra-structure of membrane-bound organelles. In contrast, increasing levels of As in the soil significantly (p< 0.05) increased oxidative stress indicators in term of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and electrolyte leakage, and also increased organic acid exudation patter in the roots of T. ammi seedlings. The negative impact of As toxicity can overcome the application of PGPB (P. vermicola) and FeO-NPs, which ultimately increased plant growth and biomass by capturing the reactive oxygen species, and decreased oxidative stress in T. ammi seedlings by decreasing the As contents in the roots and shoots of the plants. Our results also showed that the FeO-NPs were more sever and showed better results when we compared with PGPB (P. vermicola) under the same treatment of As in the soil. Research findings, therefore, suggest that the combined application of P. vermicola and FeO-NPs can ameliorate As toxicity in T. ammi seedlings, resulting in improved plant growth and composition under metal stress, as depicted by balanced exudation of organic acids.
Public perceptions of digital fashion: An analysis of sentiment and Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling
Authors: Zou Yixin , Luh Ding-Bang , Lu Shizhu
Published: December 2022

Since digital technology has had a significant impact on the fashion industry, digital fashion has become a hot topic in today’s society. Currently, research on digital fashion is focused on the transformation of enterprise marketing strategies and the discussion of digital technology. Despite this, the current study does not include an analysis of the audience’s emotional and cognitive responses to digital fashion on social networking platforms. A comprehensive analysis and discussion of 52,891 posts about digital fashion and virtual fashion published on social networking sites was conducted using k-means clustering analysis, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, and sentiment analysis in this study. The study examines the public’s perception and hot topics about digital fashion, as well as the industry’s development situation and trends. According to the findings, both positive and neutral emotions accompany the public’s attitude toward digital fashion. There is a wide range of topics covered in the discussion. Innovations in digital technology have impacted the creation of jobs, talent demand, marketing strategies, profit forms, and industrial chain innovation of fashion-related businesses. Researchers in related fields will find this study useful not only as a reference for research methods and directions, but also as a source of references for research methodology. A case study and data reference will also be provided to industry practitioners.
Hyperparameter Optimization Using Successive Halving with Greedy Cross Validation
Authors: Soper Daniel S.
Published: December 2022

Training and evaluating the performance of many competing Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) models can be very time-consuming and expensive. Furthermore, the costs associated with this hyperparameter optimization task grow exponentially when cross validation is used during the model selection process. Finding ways of quickly identifying high-performing models when conducting hyperparameter optimization with cross validation is hence an important problem in AI/ML research. Among the proposed methods of accelerating hyperparameter optimization, successive halving has emerged as a popular, state-of-the-art early stopping algorithm. Concurrently, recent work on cross validation has yielded a greedy cross validation algorithm that prioritizes the most promising candidate AI/ML models during the early stages of the model selection process. The current paper proposes a greedy successive halving algorithm in which greedy cross validation is integrated into successive halving. An extensive series of experiments is then conducted to evaluate the comparative performance of the proposed greedy successive halving algorithm. The results show that the quality of the AI/ML models selected by the greedy successive halving algorithm is statistically identical to those selected by standard successive halving, but that greedy successive halving is typically more than 3.5 times faster than standard successive halving.
Research on High Precision Magnetic Positioning Technology Based on Facility Transport Platform
Authors: Mei Song , Tong Yifei , Pei Fengque , Song Zhiyu , Shao Yifan
Published: December 2022

With the continuous development of economic globalization, the research demand for intelligent agricultural machinery equipment in modern agriculture is increasing. This paper, which aims at the positioning problem of mobile robots in agriculture production, proposes a low-cost magnetic positioning scheme for cement ground. First, the analytical magnetic field model of ground magnets was established. Then, by comparing the analytic computing results, simulation results, and measured values, the modified model of magnetic fields was built and the relevant impact factors were calculated. After that, acquisition devices were used to collect the ground magnetic field data for the establishment of a magnetic field matching algorithm. Finally, the result showed that the positioning displacement error was ±1 mm, and the positioning accuracy was higher than the conventional indoor positioning method, which solved the problem of the low indoor positioning accuracy of agriculture mobile robots and contributes to the efficient production and modernization of agricultural machinery equipment.
Development of Two-Way Self-Adaptive Gripper Using Differential Gear
Authors: Kang Bongki , Cheong Joono
Published: December 2022

In this paper, a two-way self-adaptive gripper that has adaptability to external disturbance loads during linear opening/closing pinch actions and adaptability to encompass a variety of shapes during grasping using a single actuator is proposed, unlike the previous self-adaptive robotic grippers capable of only shape adaptation. Therefore, both linear motion adaptability and shape adaptability during parallel grasping situations are enabled by the proposed design of the gripper. Adaptation to the linear pinch motion is provided through the use of a differential gear, the two outputs of which drive the two tips of the gripper. If facing uneven external loads, the differential gear adaptively alters the speeds of the two outputs, resulting in different closing speeds of the two gripper tips. Despite asymmetric closing, very stable grasping can be guaranteed for such a situation. The differential gear can even complete the grasping by intentionally or unintentionally fixing one of the gripper tips. The proposed design is also capable of shape adaptation in the encompassing grasping mode by adopting a parallel-linkage gripper mechanism, consisting of an exoskeleton and 6 internal joints with a spring element. The finger exoskeleton facilitates pinch and spread actions, while the encompassing action is carried out by adjusting the internal linkage. Based on the kinematic analysis and modeling of the proposed gripper, a prototype of the two-way adaptive gripper hardware was developed. Several experiments were performed to verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed gripper system. The actuator using the proposed differential gear was shown to be able to grasp objects in jammed conditions. In addition, the gripper was able to perform grasping actions, such as pinch, spread, and encompassing grasp.
Experimental Study on the Effect of Porous Media on the Aerodynamic Performance of Airfoils
Authors: Kong Wenjie , Dong Hao , Wu Jie , Zhao Yidi , Jin Zhou
Published: December 2022

Porous media has potential applications in fluid machinery and in aerospace science and engineering due to its excellent drag-reduction properties. We carried out experimental time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) research, laying porous media with different pore densities on the suction side of an airfoil in the low-turbulence recirculation wind tunnel of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to study the effects and mechanisms of porous media on airfoil aerodynamic performance. We also used a smooth airfoil model in the experiment for comparison. Comparing the aerodynamic forces, pressure distributions, and the airfoil’s suction side flow field, we found that the porous media with different pore densities had different effects on the airfoil’s aerodynamic performance. Although the porous media with 20PPI (pores per inch) increased the pressure drag and reduced the airfoil lift, it considerably reduced the friction drag, thus significantly improving the airfoil’s aerodynamic force. The flow visualization results indicated that, although the porous media with 20PPI reduced the circulation of flow velocity around the suction side of airfoil, it also destroyed the vortex structure, broke the low-frequency large-scale vortex into a high-frequency granular vortex, inhibited the amplitude of vortex fluctuation, reduced the shear stress on the airfoil surface, weakened the vortex energy of different modes, and accelerated the vortex’s spatio-temporal evolution.
Experimental Proof of Concept of a Noncircular Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) for Propulsion Applications
Authors: Lee Jae-Hyuk , Ryu Jae-Hoon , Lee Eun-Sung , Han Hyung-Seok , Choi Jeong-Yeol
Published: December 2022

A noncircular engine cross-section could provide great flexibility in the integration of propulsion into the airframe. In this work, a tri-arc RDE was constructed and tested as an example of noncircular cross-sectioned RDE. The operational characteristics of detonation wave propagation and thrust performance were investigated and compared with an equivalent circular RDE under the same operating conditions. High-speed camera images, short-time Fourier transform (STFT), and fast Fourier transform (FFT) were used for the investigation. The tri-arc RDE showed very similar characteristics to the circular RDE but exhibited slightly better stability and propulsion performance than the circular RDE. We consider that repeated curvature changes positively affect the stability of detonation wave propagation. The experimental data show contradicting results from the numerical analysis with a homogeneous mixture assumption in which the detonation pressures at the convex corner were greater than those at the concave corner. It is reasoned that the tri-arc injector design provides a non-uniform mixture composition, resulting in a strong detonation at the convex corner. Overall, the noncircular RDE of a tri-arc shaped cross-section is demonstrated, one which performs slightly better than an ordinary circular-shaped RDE both in detonation stability and performance.
Targeting Environmental and Technical Parameters through Eco-Efficiency Criteria for Iberian Pig Farms in the dehesa Ecosystem
Authors: García-Gudiño Javier , Angón Elena , Blanco-Penedo Isabel , Garcia-Launay Florence , Perea José
Published: December 2022

Eco-efficiency could be defined as the simultaneous ability to achieve acceptable economic results with the least possible environmental degradation. Its analysis in crop and livestock production systems has become a hot topic among politicians and scientists. Pig pasture production systems are in high commercial demand because they are associated with high quality and environmentally friendly products. This work aimed to assess the eco-efficiency of pig farms and subsequently explore the determinants of inefficiency in the dehesa ecosystem in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Farmers from 35 randomly selected farms were interviewed to obtain farm-level data. The eco-efficiency level was calculated through a joined data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Subsequently, a truncated Tobit model was applied to determine factors associated with inefficiency. The results of the research revealed that Iberian pig farms are highly eco-efficient. The estimated average eco-efficiency score is 0.919 and ranges from 0.479 to 1, suggesting that the average farm could increase its value by about 8.1%. This means that the aggregate environmental pressures could be reduced by approximately this proportion (8%) while maintaining the same input level. The determinants related to social and demographic characteristics that positively affected eco-efficiency were the number of children, while years of farm activity and educational level had a negative effect. On the other hand, farm’s characteristics and the type of management, the percentage of own surface area, the percentage of livestock use, and the high proportion of pigs fattened in montanera, positively affected the eco-efficiency level.
Overnutrition of Ewe in Late Gestation and the Impact on Placental Efficiency and Lamb’s Performance
Authors: Sousa Marco Antonio Paula de , Esteves Sergio Novita , Daher Luciara Celi Chaves , Gallo Sarita Bonagurio , Pereira Verônica Schinaider do Amaral , Fonseca Jeferson Ferreira da , Silva André Guimarães Maciel e , Brandão Felipe Zandonadi , Oliveira Maria Emilia Franco , Barreto Andréa do Nascimento , Vergani Gabriel Brun , Garcia Alexandre Rossetto
Published: December 2022

The objective of the study was to evaluate energy or energy/protein supplementation in the ewe diet, in the last third of gestation, on maternal placental and endocrine characteristics, as well as its effects on the behavior of neonatal lambs and productive performance until weaning. A total of 128 ewes were used, and the experimental diet was fed from 100 days gestation until lambing, with the birth of 172 lambs. The ewes were distributed into three treatments: CTL (control, n = 43) with metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) intake according to NRC (1985); ME (energy supplementation, n = 44) plus 21% ME; and MECP (energy/protein supplementation, n = 41) plus 26% ME and CP. Body weight, body condition score, serum hormone concentrations, placental characteristics, lamb performance and behavior, and production efficiency of the ewe from lambing to weaning were measured. ME and MECP ewes were heavier before (p = 0.006) and just after lambing (p = 0.002) and had higher serum triiodothyronine (p = 0.001) and cortisol (p = 0.004) concentrations on the day of lambing. ME ewes had higher placental efficiency (p = 0.036) and lower total cotyledon weight (p = 0.011). ME and MECP diets increased both lamb birth weight (p = 0.015) and weaning weight (p = 0.009). Production efficiency at birth and at weaning was not influenced (p > 0.05) by treatments. Lamb behavior was influenced by the ME and MECP diets, reducing the time to kneel (p ≤ 0.05), to try to stand (p ≤ 0.05), and the latency to stand (p ≤ 0.005). It is concluded that overnutrition in the last third of gestation was positive for the ovine production system, with improved production rates, hormonal profile, placental characteristics, and neonatal behavior.
Roundup in the Reproduction of Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius): An In Vitro Effect on the Pituitary Gland and Ovary
Authors: Socha Magdalena , Szczygieł Joanna , Chyb Jarosław , Drąg-Kozak Ewa , Sokołowska-Mikołajczyk Mirosława , Brzuska Elżbieta , Pecio Anna , Grzesiak Małgorzata
Published: December 2022

Roundup, the most popular herbicide in global agriculture, is regarded as an endocrine disruptor causing alterations of important hormones at the hypothalamic−pituitary−gonadal axis as well as impairment of gametogenesis. The whole pituitary glands of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) were incubated for 3 h in the medium containing Roundup (0-control, 1 and 10 ng/mL). The level of luteinizing hormone (LH), and mRNA transcript abundance of kisspeptin (kiss-1) and its receptor (gpr54), were determined. The isolated ovarian fragments were incubated for 24 h in the presence of Roundup and the following effects on reproductive parameters were determined: the final oocyte maturation and ovulation, structural changes in follicles, secretion of 17,20β-progesterone (17,20β-P) as well as mRNA transcript abundance of the luteinizing hormone receptor (lhr), estrogen receptors (erα, erβ1, erβ2), and zona radiata (chorion) proteins (zp2 and zp3). Roundup inhibited final oocyte maturation and decreased the percentage of ovulated eggs, and furthermore, caused structural changes in the ovarian follicular components. There were no significant changes in the measured hormone levels and analyzed genes mRNA transcript abundance. Summing up, obtained results indicate that Roundup may adversely affect oocyte maturation and the quality of eggs, suggesting that exposure to this herbicide can lead to reproductive disorders in fish.
Hidden but Potentially Stressed: A Non-Invasive Technique to Quantify Fecal Glucocorticoid Levels in a Fossorial Amphisbaenian Reptile
Authors: Martín José , Barja Isabel , Rodríguez-Ruiz Gonzalo , Recio Pablo , Cuervo José Javier
Published: December 2022

To understand wildlife responses to the changing environment, it is useful to examine their physiological responses and particularly their endocrine status. Here, we validated an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to non-invasively quantify fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM) in the fossorial amphisbaenian reptile Trogonophis wiegmanni from North Africa. We supplemented animals assigned to the treatment group with corticosterone dissolved in oil applied non-invasively on the skin for several days, while control groups received the oil-alone solution. Fresh feces were collected at the end of the supplementation period, and FCM levels were quantified by an EIA. Basal FCM levels were similar for both treatments and increased at the end of the test, but FCM increased significantly more in corticosterone-treated animals. A further examination of FCM levels in a wild population of this amphisbaenian did not find overall sexual, size or seasonal differences but showed a high range of variation among individuals. This suggests that different uncontrolled intrinsic or local environmental variables might increase the circulating glucocorticoid levels of different individuals. Our results confirmed the suitability of EIA for analyzing physiological changes in FCM in this amphisbaenian species. This technique may be useful for understanding and remediating the little-explored potential stressors of the soil environment that may negatively affect the health state of fossorial reptiles.
The Clinical Outcome of Early Periprosthetic Joint Infections Caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis and Managed by Surgical Debridement in an Era of Increasing Resistance
Authors: Shabana Nada S. , Seeber Gesine , Soriano Alex , Jutte Paul C. , Westermann Silvia , Mithoe Glenn , Pirii Loredana , Siebers Théke , Have Bas ten , Zijlstra Wierd , Lazovic Djordje , Wouthuyzen-Bakker Marjan
Published: December 2022

Introduction: A risk factor for the failure of surgical debridement in patients with early periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) is the presence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of the most isolated microorganisms in PJI and is associated with emerging resistance patterns. We aimed to assess the antibiotic resistance patterns of S. epidermidis in early PJIs treated with surgical debridement and correlate them to clinical outcomes. Material and Methods: A retrospective multicentre observational study was conducted to evaluate patients with an early PJI (within 3 months after the index arthroplasty) by S. epidermidis with at least two positive intraoperative cultures. Clinical failure was defined as the need for additional surgical intervention or antibiotic suppressive therapy to control the infection. Results: A total of 157 patients were included. The highest rate of resistance was observed for methicillin in 82% and ciprofloxacin in 65% of the cases. Both were associated with a higher rate of clinical failure (41.2% vs. 12.5% (p 0.048) and 47.3% vs. 14.3% (p 0.015)), respectively. Furthermore, 70% of the cases had reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MIC ≥ 2), which showed a trend towards a higher failure rate (39.6% vs. 19.0%, NS). Only 7% of the cases were rifampin-resistant. Only the resistance to fluoroquinolones was an independent risk factor for clinical failure in the multivariate analysis (OR 5.45, 95% CI 1.67–17.83). Conclusion: S. epidermidis PJIs show a high rate of resistance. Resistance to fluoroquinolones is associated with clinical failure. Alternative prophylactic antibiotic regimens and optimising treatment strategies are needed to improve clinical outcomes.
Metabolomics Integrated with HPLC–MS Reveals the Crucial Antioxidant Compounds of Muscadine Wine
Authors: Xue Fei , Yang Bohan , Fu Peining , Peng Yachun , Lu Jiang
Published: December 2022

Wine is a kind of beverage with a variety of compounds beneficial to human health, which makes it popular all over the world and it contributes importantly to economics. The excessive oxidation of wine has always been a major problem in wine production and storage. Unlike traditional wines which are made from Eurasian grapes, wines made from muscadine grapes (Muscadinia rotundifolia Michx.) can maintain their sensory qualities under natural oxidation conditions for relatively long periods of time despite the insight mechanisms still being unclear. In this study, two muscadine wines, Carlos (CAL) and Noble (NOB), and two traditional wines, Chardonnay (CH) and Marselan (MAS), were chosen for comparison of their compositional alteration during oxidation, in order to analyze the principal components contributing to the antioxidant characteristics of muscadine wines. The DPPH, ORAC, color intensity, and total phenolic content changes during the natural oxidation process were analyzed. Six core significantly changed metabolites (SCMs, avicularin, beta-lactose, delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, ellagic acid, myricetin, and 4-methylcatechol [p < 0.05]) related to the oxidation process were determined. In addition, HPLC–MS was also used to identify pyrogallol which is a unique antioxidant compound in muscadine wine. The present work aims to reveal the crucial antioxidant compounds of muscadine wine and provide valuable information and a new platform for future research on wine oxidation.
GK-1 Induces Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Decreased Membrane Potential, and Impaired Autophagy Flux in a Mouse Model of Breast Cancer
Authors: Cruz-Gregorio Alfredo , Aranda-Rivera Ana Karina , Aparicio-Trejo Omar Emiliano , Medina-Campos Omar Noel , Sciutto Edda , Fragoso Gladis , Pedraza-Chaverri José
Published: December 2022

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most common cancer worldwide in women. During the last decades, the mortality due to breast cancer has progressively decreased due to early diagnosis and the emergence of more effective new treatments. However, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain with poor prognoses. In our research group, we are proposing the GK-1 immunomodulatory peptide as a new alternative for immunotherapy of these aggressive tumors. GK-1 reduced the growth rate of established tumors and effectively reduced lung metastasis in the 4T1 experimental murine model of breast cancer. Herein, the effect of GK-1 on the redox state, mitochondrial metabolism, and autophagy of triple-negative tumors that can be linked to cancer evolution was studied. GK-1 decreased catalase activity, reduced glutathione (GSH) content and GSH/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio while increased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, GSSG, and protein carbonyl content, inducing oxidative stress (OS) in tumoral tissues. This imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants was related to mitochondrial dysfunction and uncoupling, characterized by reduced mitochondrial respiratory parameters and dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), respectively. Furthermore, GK-1 likely affected autophagy flux, confirmed by elevated levels of p62, a marker of autophagy flux. Overall, the induction of OS, dysfunction, and uncoupling of the mitochondria and the reduction of autophagy could be molecular mechanisms that underlie the reduction of the 4T1 breast cancer induced by GK-1.
Association of Serum Antioxidant Minerals and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Urban Residents
Authors: He Jingjing , Chen Fangyan , Wan Sitong , Luo Yongting , Luo Junjie , He Shuli , Zhou Daizhan , An Peng , Zeng Ping
Published: December 2022

Antioxidant minerals including zinc, copper and selenium play critical roles in the maintenance of the redox balance in the body. However, their influences on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are still inconclusive in Chinese populations. To elucidate the relationship between antioxidant minerals and T2DM, serum zinc, copper and selenium concentrations were measured in 1443 Chinese urban residents using a 1:2 matched case-control study. Conditional logistic regression models (CLR) were used to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to examine their dose–response associations. Serum zinc (OR = 0.52 [0.35, 0.77]) and copper concentrations (OR = 0.25 [0.17, 0.37]) were negatively associated with T2DM in a fully adjusted model. An L-shaped zinc-T2DM association (Poverall association = 0.003, and Pnonlinearity = 0.005) and a negative linear copper-T2DM association (Poverall association < 0.0001, and Pnonlinearity = 0.395) were observed. No association was found between serum selenium and T2DM in fully adjusted CLR or RCS models. In addition, joint associations with T2DM were identified between serum zinc and copper and between serum selenium and copper. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the importance of an adequate intake of antioxidant minerals for T2DM prevention in the Chinese population.
Image Deblurring Based on an Improved CNN-Transformer Combination Network
Authors: Chen Xiaolin , Wan Yuanyuan , Wang Donghe , Wang Yuqing
Published: December 2022

Recently, using a CNN has been a common practice to restore blurry images due to its strong ability to learn feature information from large-scale datasets. However, CNNs essentially belong to local operations and have the defect of a limited receptive field, which reduces the naturalness of deblurring results. Moreover, CNN-based deblurring methods usually adopt many downsample operations, which hinder detail recovery. Fortunately, transformers focus on modeling the global features, so they can cooperate with CNNs to enlarge the receptive field and compensate for the details lost as well. In this paper, we propose an improved CNN-transformer combination network for deblurring, which adopts a coarse-to-fine architecture as the backbone. To extract the local features and global features simultaneously, the common methods are two blocks connected in parallel or cascaded. Different from these, we design a local-global feature combination block (LGFCB) with a new connecting structure to better use the extracted features. The LGFCB comprises multi-scale residual blocks (MRB) and a transformer block. In addition, we adopt a channel attention fusion block (CAFB) in the encoder path to integrate features. To improve the ability of feature representation, in the decoder path, we introduce a supervised attention block (SAB) operated on restoration images to refine features. Numerous experiments on GoPro and RealBlur datasets indicated that our model achieves remarkable accuracy and processing speed.
A CNN-Based Strategy to Classify MRI-Based Brain Tumors Using Deep Convolutional Network
Authors: Reza Ahmed Wasif , Hossain Muhammad Sazzad , Wardiful Moonwar Al , Farzana Maisha , Ahmad Sabrina , Alam Farhana , Nandi Rabindra Nath , Siddique Nazmul
Published: December 2022

Brain tumor is a severe health condition that kills many lives every year, and several of those casualties are from rural areas. However, the technology to diagnose brain tumors at an early stage is not as efficient as expected. Therefore, we sought to create a reliable system that can help medical professionals to identify brain tumors. Although several studies are being conducted on this issue, we attempted to establish a much more efficient and error-free classification method, which is trained with a comparatively substantial number of real datasets rather than augmented data. Using a modified VGG-16 (Visual Geometry Group) architecture on 10,153 MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) images with 3 different classes (Glioma, Meningioma, and Pituitary), the network performs significantly well. It achieved a precision of 99.4% for Glioma, 96.7% for Meningioma, and 100% for Pituitary, with an overall accuracy of 99.5%. It also attained better results than several other existing CNN architectures and state-of-the-art work.
Stability of Strawberry Fruit (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) Nutritional Quality at Different Storage Conditions
Authors: Qaderi Rohullah , Mezzetti Bruno , Capocasa Franco , Mazzoni Luca
Published: December 2022

Strawberry fruit is a very rich source of vitamins and phenolic compounds, which determine its nutritional properties. Strawberries are a highly perishable non-climacteric fruit, and their perishable nature can lead to physical and chemical damage during storage. Therefore, the large market of fresh fruit relies on the capacity of fast distribution and marketing under a continuous cold-storage chain. In this study, we applied different cold-storage temperatures (domestic −20 °C and industrial −80 °C) on different treatments (whole fruits and dried fruits) of three strawberry cultivars (Arianna, Francesca, and Silvia), for up to seven months, and evaluated the influence of different storage conditions and lengths on the stability of the fruits’ nutritional compounds (vitamin C, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and folate). The results show that the nutritional quality of the fruits was significantly affected by storage temperature (with −80 °C storage preserving more nutritional compounds), while storage time did not greatly affect the composition of the nutritional compounds in the whole or dried fruits. Oven drying the fruits dramatically affected their vitamin C content, almost completely degrading this compound (from 731.8 to 23.2 mg/kg at time 0 for fresh Arianna fruit, the cultivar with the highest amount). The amount of folate was increased during storage (from 126.17 at time 0 to 190.61 µg/kg at time 7 for fresh whole Arianna fruit). The interesting results obtained in this study are worth considering in future studies, to better plan fruit-storage conditions and time, for maintaining better fruit nutritional quality.
Microencapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v Strain with Whey Proteins by Lyophilization and Its Application in Production of Probiotic Apple Juices
Authors: Sun Weizhe , Nguyen Quang D. , Sipiczki Gizella , Ziane Sofia Radja , Hristovski Kristijan , Friedrich László , Visy Anna , Hitka Géza , Gere Attila , Bujna Erika
Published: December 2022

The viability of probiotics is strictly influenced by the production, storage, and digestion, while microencapsulation is a technology that can protect them against harsh environments. In this study, the impact of different core-to-wall ratios and wall material formulations on physical properties and the cell number of the microcapsules were investigated. The samples with core-to-wall ratio 1:1 have a significantly higher cell number, encapsulation efficiency, and bulk density than samples with core-to-wall ratio 1:1.5. The yields of the encapsulation method were changes in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, core-to-wall ratios and formulation have a significant effect on the cell number of the microcapsules during the in vitro SGJ test, whereas time, core-to-wall ratios, and formulation have a similar influence in the in vitro SIJ test. Moreover, probiotic apple juices stored at 4 °C for 6 weeks kept the highest cell number at the end. Furthermore, probiotic apple juices fortified by microcapsules coated with WP:DWP 1:1 in core-to-wall ratio 1:1 and stored at 4 °C for 4–8 weeks exhibited a significantly lower pH value. In summary, both whey proteins and denatured whey proteins are as good as coating material for microencapsulation of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum 299v strains. These microcapsules have high potential in the production of probiotic apple juice even by fermentation or fortification methods.
Calibration and Validation of Global Horizontal Irradiance Clear Sky Models against McClear Clear Sky Model in Morocco
Authors: Mendyl Abderrahmane , Mabasa Brighton , Bouzghiba Houria , Weidinger Tamás
Published: December 2022

This study calibrated and compared the capabilities of hourly global horizontal irradiance (GHI) clear sky models for six Moroccan locations, using the McClear clear sky model as a reference. Complex clear sky models, namely Bird, Simplified Solis, Ineichen and Perez, and simple clear sky models, namely Adnot–Bourges–Campana–Gicquel (ABCG), Berger–Duffie, and Haurwitz were tested. The SOLCAST satellite-based dataset estimates were validated against the McClear clear sky model. pvlib python was used to configure the models, and ERA5 hourly fractional cloud cover was used to identify clear-sky days. The study period was from 2014 to 2021, and the study sites were in different climatic regions in Morocco. Bar graphs, tables, and quantitative statistical metrics, namely relative mean bias error (rMBE), relative root mean square error (rRMSE), relative mean absolute error (rMAE), and the coefficient of determination (R2), were used to quantify the skill of the clear sky model at different sites. The overall rMBE was negative in 5/6 sites, indicating consistent overestimation of GHI, and positive in Tantan (14.4%), indicating frequent underestimation of GHI. The overall rRMSE varied from 6 to 22%, suggesting strong agreement between clear sky models and the McClear clear sky model. The overall correlation was greater than 0.96, indicating a very strong relationship. Overall, the Bird clear sky model proved to be the most feasible. Complex clear sky models outperformed simple clear sky models. The SOLCAST satellite-based dataset and ERA5 cloud fraction information could well be used with quantifiable certainty as an accurate clear sky model in the study region and in other areas where complex clear sky models’ inputs are not available.
High Cellulose Purity by Acid Hydrolysis Pretreatment on Kenaf Outer Bast
Authors: Firsty Virginia Ghita , Jeong Ji Yeon , Gu Yang Mo , Lee Jin Hyung , Shin Soo-Jeong
Published: December 2022

Acid hydrolysis treatment of kenaf outer bast fiber can produce pure cellulose content and hydrolyzed hemicellulose to monosaccharides. The effects of various reaction temperatures (110–130 °C), acid concentrations of sulfuric acid (0.25–1.00 N), and reaction times (60–120 min) were investigated as the optimum condition to gain pure cellulose content. A 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to analyze the carbohydrate content in the reaction of acid hydrolysis treatment. The results showed that optimum conditions for acid hydrolysis refer to two treatment prospects. First, a higher reaction temperature of 130 °C was necessary to increase the reaction for the hydrolyzes of hemicellulose—the high yield content produced by 0.25 N sulfuric acid with a short reaction time of 60 min. to improve the purity of cellulose, provided by the high sulfuric acid solution of 1.00 N for 120 min. Hemicellulose was hydrolyzed at almost 100% based on the two optimal conditions. The analysis revealed that a high temperature of acid hydrolysis was the primary treatment to hydrolyze hemicellulose to increase high pure cellulose from the kenaf outer bast fiber.
A Novel Method for General Hierarchical System Modeling via Colored Petri Nets Based on Transition Extractions from Real Datasets
Authors: Souravlas Stavros , Anastasiadou Sofia , Kostoglou Irene
Published: December 2022

The Colored Petri net (CPN) has evolved into a complete modeling language, which is based on the object-oriented paradigm. Although this language is quite complete and can be used to accurately model a wide variety of systems, it seems that there is a lack of certain modeling rules, which can be used to generate models based on real datasets. This paper is a first attempt to incorporate sequences of real system events and translate them into sequences of Petri net transitions. Then, well-defined modeling rules control the model generation based on these transitions. The specific entities that take part in each of the real system events, as well as their attributes are also considered. The models produced using real data are structured because, in the majority of real systems, each incurring event usually affects a part of the system. Then, this effect is propagated to the entire system. Therefore, it is much easier to divide the entire model into distinct parts when real data are used and then interconnect these parts to build an entire model. This is a very important aspect when modeling very large systems. To test our approach, we used the real data from a courier company to generate its model. Our simulation results have shown that we managed to obtain quite accurate results through the model produced by the actual data.
Research on Leakage Location of Pipeline Based on Module Maximum Denoising
Authors: Zhang Yuanmin , Jiang Zhu , Lu Junfeng
Published: December 2022

Leak detection and location of water supply pipelines is an important area of research, and it is especially important to find the leakage location in time and repair them. In view of the problem, that a large amount of noise is mixed in the detection signal when the pipeline leaks, it will inevitably affect the detection and positioning effect. In this paper, a denoising algorithm based on improved module maximum is proposed. Firstly, a discrete binary wavelet transform is carried out on the noisy signal, and the module maximum point corresponding to the wavelet transform coefficients, on each scale, is obtained. Secondly, different thresholds are used for the module maximum of different scale layers and the wavelet coefficients are reconstructed according to the retained module maximum and their extremums. Thirdly, the alternative projection algorithm is used to effectively suppress the false oscillations in the reconstructed signal, improve the quality of the reconstructed signal, and obtain the noise reduction signal. Finally, according to the theory of the negative pressure wave, the inflection point of the negative pressure wave is identified by the wavelet decomposition method, and the location of leakage point is determined. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, a leakage simulation experiment system of water supply pipeline is built. The analysis of the results shows that, compared with the wavelet denoising method and the EMD-based method, the method proposed in this paper achieves a better denoising effect, obtains a smoother pressure signal, retains the signal waveform characteristics, and identifies the obvious inflexion point of the negative pressure wave. The minimum relative error of leakage point location is 0.9%, and the maximum relative error is 2.5%.
Study of the Thermomechanics of the Additive Manufacturing Process of Biocompatible Products Subject to the Viscoelastic Behavior of the Functional Material Polyetheretherketone
Authors: Smetannikov Oleg Yu. , Anisimov Aleksei A. , Oskolkov Alexander A. , Larionov Alexander A. , Trushnikov Dmitriy N.
Published: December 2022

This study considers the problem of numerical modeling of the PEEK product’s 3D printing using the FDM technology. The aim of the study is to verify the adequacy of the use of a thermoviscoelastic model for numerical computations of the PEEK deposition process and to develop an algorithm for calculating this process. The Prony model is used to describe the thermoviscoelastic behavior of the material under study; the temperature-time shift is described by the Williams–Landel–Ferry function (WLF). To obtain the values of the material constants of the relaxation function, first, we used data from other authors; however, after their substitution into the numerical simulation, it was not possible to obtain results close to the full-scale experiment. Therefore, realized our own DMA experiment. The algorithm was developed and implemented in the ANSYS package to calculate non-stationary temperature fields and the stress–strain state of the structure during its layer-by-layer deposition. To solve these problems, the technology of “killing” and subsequent “aliving” of the PEEK material, implemented in the ANSYS package, is used. The numerical algorithm is verified with the results of an experiment on printing samples from PEEK. A good consistency of the calculated data with the experiment is shown.
The Approximate Solution of the Nonlinear Exact Equation of Deflection of an Elastic Beam with the Galerkin Method
Authors: Lian Chencheng , Wang Ji , Meng Baochen , Wang Lihong
Published: December 2022

Calculating the large deflection of a cantilever beam is one of the common problems in engineering. The differential equation of a beam under large deformation, or the typical elastica problem, is hard to approximate and solve with the known solutions and techniques in Cartesian coordinates. The exact solutions in elliptic functions are available, but not the explicit expressions in elementary functions in expectation. This paper attempts to solve the nonlinear differential equation of deflection of an elastic beam with the Galerkin method by successfully solving a series of nonlinear algebraic equations as a novel approach. The approximate solution based on the trigonometric function is assumed, and the coefficients of the trigonometric series solution are fitted with Chebyshev polynomials. The numerical results of solving the nonlinear algebraic equations show that the third-order approximate solution is highly consistent with the exact solution of the elliptic function. The effectiveness and advantages of the Galerkin method in solving nonlinear differential equations are further demonstrated.
Physical and Mechanical Properties of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Incorporated into Unbound Pavement Layers
Authors: Plati Christina , Tsakoumaki Maria , Gkyrtis Konstantinos
Published: December 2022

Against the backdrop of global warming and depletion of natural resources, new techniques and alternative materials need to be explored and integrated into road construction. Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is one of the waste materials that can be reused in new road projects if its behavior is better understood. Numerous researchers have studied the use of RAP in both bound and unbound pavement layers. However, the mechanical behavior and deformation characteristics of RAP in unbound pavement layers are not fully understood due to its unique properties. For this reason, this paper aims to investigate the performance of RAP in the construction of unbound pavement layers (base and subbase). The methodology used consists of two phases: (i) laboratory tests in terms of physical properties, bearing capacity and permanent deformations generated and (ii) a comparative analysis of the test results. For the laboratory tests, the RAP material was taken from the milling operation of a pavement section to be rehabilitated and blended with virgin aggregates (VA) in different proportions. In addition, a sample consisting of pure VA was used as a reference sample for the comparative analysis of the results. Overall, it is concluded that the use of RAP for admixture in unbound layers is feasible and meets the sustainability requirements of pavement materials and structures without compromising pavement strength. A highlight of the research findings is that RAP with percentages up to 40% is a rational approach for the development of RAP-VA mixes to be incorporated into unbound pavement layers. Nevertheless, the results of the present study support the statement that testing is required each time to define the capabilities of RAP considering local effects and material conditions.