bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The intensity of accumulation of heavy metals in grain of winter wheat depending on predecessors
Authors: Razanov S. , Tkachuk O. , Ovcharuk V.
Published: April 2023

The author investigates the effect of longstanding grasses: alfalfa seedlings, clover raccoon, sandstone espaces, white humpback salmon, grizzly beef, oriental goat and corn for silage as predecessors of winter wheat for the concentration of heavy metals: lead, cadmium, copper and zinc in the soil and grain of culture. The coefficient of accumulation of heavy metals in wheat grain of winter after the studied predecessors has been calculated.
Analysis of the European experience of administrative and territorial reform
Authors: Stupen M. , Perеsolyak V. , Radomsky S.
Published: April 2023

The article analyzes the problems of the functioning and dynamics of public administration reform and the territorial organization of the authority of the developed European democracies in the context of social and legal processes of decentralization of authority, the approval of financial autonomy of local and regional self-government. The scientific paradigms of the analysis of the concept of regionalism, its types, historical evolution, ideological foundations, causes of origin and preconditions of distribution are presented.
Availability of parks as a factor of affecting the value of residential real estate in the primary market
Authors: Derkulskyi R.
Published: April 2023

The factors whith influencing on the cost of residential real estate on the primary market are analyzed, in particular, the influence of distance to the nearest park and park area as one of the important factors influencing the attractiveness of residential complexes for potential buyers is researched.
Adaptive to organic land use measures to stabilize the quality of soil conditions
Authors: Skripchuk P. , Shpak G. , Rybak V.
Published: April 2023

The changes in the legislation are considered, the analysis of the state and tendencies of development of organic production in Ukraine is made. A model for the development of organic farming has been formed, which allows us to combine the course of the stabilization and transition periods in time. It was proposed to achieve an extended reproduction of humus during the transitional period through planning and scientifically based crop rotation. It was proposed to automate the process of calculating humus balance in soil in conditions of organic land use by developing a calculator using software.
Theoretical aspects of functioning of nature protection territories are in the context of the balanced development
Authors: Konstantinova О.
Published: April 2023

The features of balanced development are determined. The emphasis is placed on the fact that modern balanced development can not be considered without the functioning of protected areas. The theoretical approaches to the definition of protected areas and their classification are researched. Current state of functioning and further development of protected areas has been analised.
Strategic priorities for improving the efficiency of using the agricultural land potential
Authors: Hulinchuk R.
Published: April 2023

In the article, based on the research results, the necessity of adaptation of the category «strategic planning» to the potential of agricultural land has been proved. The strategic directions of increasing the efficiency of the use of the potential of agricultural lands, which are grouped by spheres of influence on the potential, are grounded.
Primary sternal tumour resection and reconstruction with LARS mesh-bone cement sandwich by 3D-printing: Case reports
Authors: Zhang He , Hou Bo , Xia Tienan , Ji Lu , Li Jiatong , Chen Ting , Shang Guanning
Published: April 2023

Background: There are many reconstruction methods after sternal tumor resection, but the method that LARS mesh combines with bone-cement has not been reported.

Case report: A 54-year-old female patient and a 55-year-old male patient admitted to our department all presented with sternum masses, but neither presented with respiratory disorders. In women with limited manubrium sternum lesions, we resected the manubrium sternum completely. In men with sternal lesions, we removed part of the sternum and part of the sternocostal joint. The patients recovered well after surgery, and there were no respiratory complications and no tumor recurrence during the 1-year follow-up respectively.

Conclusion: We report two cases of sternal defect repair using LARS mesh combined with bone cement. This method is safe and stable, and can achieve satisfactory results.
Development and implementation of a significantly low-cost 3D bioprinter using recycled scrap material
Authors: Gomes Gama Jaciara Fernanda , Dias Evellyn Araujo , Aguiar Coelho Rosângela Marques Gonçalves , Chagas André Maia , Aguiar Coelho Nt José , Alves Luiz Anastacio
Published: April 2023

The field of 3D bioengineering proposes to effectively contribute to the manufacture of artificial multicellular organ/tissues and the understanding of complex cellular mechanisms. In this regard, 3D cell cultures comprise a promising bioengineering possibility for the alternative treatment of organ function loss, potentially improving patient life expectancies. Patients with end-stage disease, for example, could benefit from treatment until organ transplantation or even undergo organ function restoration. Currently, 3D bioprinters can produce tissues such as trachea cartilage or artificial skin. Most low-cost 3D bioprinters are built from fused deposition modeling 3D printer frames modified for the deposition of biologically compatible material, ranging between $13.000,00 and $300.000,00. Furthermore, the cost of consumables should also be considered as they, can range from $3,85 and $100.000,00 per gram, making biomaterials expensive, hindering bioprinting access. In this context, our report describes the first prototype of a significantly low-cost 3D bioprinter built from recycled scrap metal and off-the-shelf electronics. We demonstrate the functionalized process and methodology proof of concept and aim to test it in different biological tissue scaffolds in the future, using affordable materials and open-source methodologies, thus democratizing the state of the art of this technology.
JAZF1: A metabolic actor subunit of the NuA4/TIP60 chromatin modifying complex
Authors: Mameri Amel , Côté Jacques
Published: April 2023

The multisubunit NuA4/TIP60 complex is a lysine acetyltransferase, chromatin modifying factor and gene co-activator involved in diverse biological processes. The past decade has seen a growing appreciation for its role as a metabolic effector and modulator. However, molecular insights are scarce and often contradictory, underscoring the need for further mechanistic investigation. A particularly exciting route emerged with the recent identification of a novel subunit, JAZF1, which has been extensively linked to metabolic homeostasis. This review summarizes the major findings implicating NuA4/TIP60 in metabolism, especially in light of JAZF1 as part of the complex.
Bacteria assisted green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles and their potential applications as antimicrobial agents and plant growth stimulants
Authors: Singh Deepak , Jain Devendra , Rajpurohit Deepak , Jat Gajanand , Kushwaha Himmat Singh , Singh Abhijeet , Mohanty Santosh Ranjan , Al-Sadoon Mohammad Khalid , Zaman Wajid , Upadhyay Sudhir K.
Published: April 2023

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) have piqued the interest of agricultural researchers due to their potential application as fungicides, insecticides, and fertilizers. The Serratia sp. ZTB29 strain, which has the NCBI accession number MK773873, was a novel isolate used in this investigation that produced CuO-NPs. This strain can survive concentrations of copper as high as 22.5 mM and can also remove copper by synthesizing pure CuO-NPs. UV-VIS spectroscopy, DLS, Zeta potential, FTIR, TEM, and XRD techniques were used to investigate the pure form of CuO-NPs. The synthesized CuO-NPs were crystalline in nature (average size of 22 nm) with a monoclinic phase according to the XRD pattern. CuO-NPs were found to be polydisperse, spherical, and agglomeration-free. According to TEM and DLS inspection, they ranged in size from 20 to 40 nm, with a typical particle size of 28 nm. CuO-NPs were extremely stable, as demonstrated by their zeta potential of −15.4 mV. The ester (C=O), carboxyl (C=O), amine (NH), thiol (S-H), hydroxyl (OH), alkyne (C-H), and aromatic amine (C-N) groups from bacterial secretion were primarily responsible for reduction and stabilization of CuO-NPs revealed in an FTIR analysis. CuO-NPs at concentrations of 50 μg mL−1 and 200 μg mL−1 displayed antibacterial and antifungal activity against the plant pathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas sp. and pathogenic fungus Alternaria sp., respectively. The results of this investigation support the claims that CuO-NPs can be used as an efficient antimicrobial agent and nano-fertilizer, since, compared to the control and higher concentrations of CuO-NPs (100 mg L−1) considerably improved the growth characteristics of maize plants.
The effect of post-wildfire management practices on vegetation recovery: Insights from the Sapadere fire, Antalya, Türkiye
Authors: Yıldız Cihan , Çömert Resul , Tanyaş Hakan , Yılmaz Abdüssamet , Akbaş Abdullah , Akay Semih Sami , Yetemen Ömer , Görüm Tolga
Published: April 2023

Post-wildfire management actions mainly targeting the removal of salvage logs and burned trees is a common but controversial practice. Although it aims to regain some of the natural and economic value of a forest, it also requires disturbing burned areas, which may have some negative consequences affecting, for instance, the carbon cycle, soil erosion, and vegetation cover. Observations from different geographic settings contribute to this scientific debate, and yet, the spatiotemporal evolution of the post-fire road network developed as part of fire management practices and its influence on vegetation recovery has been rarely examined. Specifically, we still lack observations from Türkiye, though wildfires are a common event. This research examined the evolution of the vegetation cover in relation to post-fire road constructions and the resultant debris materials in areas affected by the 2017 Sapadere fire in Antalya, Türkiye. We used multi-sensor, multi-temporal optical satellite data and monitored the variation in both vegetation cover and road network from the pre-to post-fire periods between 2014 and 2021. Our results showed that fire management practices almost doubled the road network in the post-fire period, from 487 km to 900 km. Overall, 7% of the burned area was affected by these practices. As a result, vegetation cover in those areas shows only ∼50% recovery, whereas undisturbed areas exhibit ∼100% recovery 5 years after the event. Notably, such spatiotemporal analysis carried out for different burned areas would provide a better insight into the most suitable post-fire management practices. Our findings, in particular, show that the current practices need to be revisited as they cause a delay in vegetation recovery.
Impact of wastewater treatment plant effluent on the winter thermal regime of two urban Colorado South Platte tributaries
Authors: Adams Catherine M. , Winkelman Dana L. , Fitzpatrick Ryan M.
Published: April 2023

Wastewater treatment plant effluent can increase stream water temperature from near freezing to 5°C–12°C in winter months. Recent research in the South Platte River Basin in Colorado showed that this warming alters the reproductive timing of some fishes. However, the spatial extent and magnitude of this warming are unknown. Thus, we created winter water temperature models both upstream and downstream of effluent inputs for two urban tributaries of the South Platte River, the Big Thompson River, and St. Vrain Creek. We examined the influence of air temperature, discharge, effluent temperature, and distance downstream on water temperature over the winter period (December–February). The models were also used to predict water temperature in the absence of effluent and based on air temperature predictions in 2052 and 2082. Effluent temperature was the largest driver of water temperature downstream of the effluent, while the impact of air temperature was comparatively small. Streams cooled after an initially sharp temperature increase, though were still predicted to be ∼2°C greater than they would be in the absence of effluent at ∼0.5 km. Predicted air temperatures in 2052 and 2082 had a negligible effect on water temperature, suggesting that mitigating effluent temperature is key to protecting the winter thermal regimes of effluent-impacted rivers. Our models can be used to gain insight into the magnitude and downstream extent of the impact of effluent temperature on small urban streams in winter and provide a baseline for models in other watersheds and at larger scales.
Identification of natural killer cell associated subtyping and gene signature to predict prognosis and drug sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Zhang Dexin , Zhao Yujie
Published: April 2023

Introduction: This research explored the immune characteristics of natural killer (NK) cells in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and their predictive role on patient survival and immunotherapy response.

Material and methods: Molecular subtyping of LUAD samples was performed by evaluating NK cell-associated pathways and genes in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset using consistent clustering. 12 programmed cell death (PCD) patterns were acquired from previous study. Riskscore prognostic models were constructed using Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) and Cox regression. The model stability was validated in Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO).

Results: We classified LUAD into three different molecular subgroups based on NK cell-related genes, with the worst prognosis in C1 patients and the optimal in C3. Homologous Recombination Defects, purity and ploidy, TMB, LOH, Aneuploidy Score, were the most high-expressed in C1 and the least expressed in C3. ImmuneScore was the highest in C3 type, suggesting greater immune infiltration in C3 subtype. C1 subtypes had higher TIDE scores, indicating that C1 subtypes may benefit less from immunotherapy. Generally, C3 subtype presented highest PCD patterns scores. With four genes, ANLN, FAM83A, RHOV and PARP15, we constructed a LUAD risk prediction model with significant differences in immune cell composition, cell cycle related pathways between the two risk groups. Samples in C1 and high group were more sensitive to chemotherapy drug. The score of PCD were differences in high- and low-groups. Finally, we combined Riskscore and clinical features to improve the performance of the prediction model, and the calibration curve and decision curve verified that the great robustness of the model.

Conclusion: We identified three stable molecular subtypes of LUAD and constructed a prognostic model based on NK cell-related genes, maybe have a greater potential for application in predicting immunotherapy response and patient prognosis.
Significance of cuproptosis- related genes in the diagnosis and classification of psoriasis
Authors: Lin Qingyuan , Zhu Jinchao , Chen Jun , Jia Shouqiang , Nie Shengdong
Published: April 2023

Cuproptosis is a novel form of cell death linked to mitochondrial metabolism and is mediated by protein lipoylation. The mechanism of cuproptosis in many diseases, such as psoriasis, remains unclear. In this study, signature diagnostic markers of cuproptosis were screened by differential analysis between psoriatic and non-psoriatic patients. The differentially expressed cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) for patients with psoriasis were screened using the GSE178197 dataset from the gene expression omnibus database. The biological roles of CRGs were identified by GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, and the candidates of cuproptosis-related regulators were selected from a nomogram model. The consensus clustering approach was used to classify psoriasis into clusters and the principal component analysis algorithms were constructed to calculate the cuproptosis score. Finally, latent diagnostic markers and drug sensitivity were analyzed using the pRRophetic R package. The differential analysis revealed that CRGs (MTF1, ATP7B, and SLC31A1) are significantly expressed in psoriatic patients. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that the biological functions of CRGs were mainly related to acetyl-CoA metabolic processes, the mitochondrial matrix, and acyltransferase activity. Compared to the machine learning method used, the random forest model has higher accuracy in the occurrence of cuproptosis. However, the decision curve of the candidate cuproptosis regulators analysis showed that patients can benefit from the nomogram model. The consensus clustering analysis showed that psoriasis can be grouped into three patterns of cuproptosis (clusterA, clusterB, and clusterC) based on selected important regulators of cuproptosis. In advance, we analyzed the immune characteristics of patients and found that clusterA was associated with T cells, clusterB with neutrophil cells, and clusterC predominantly with B cells. Drug sensitivity analysis showed that three cuproptosis regulators (ATP7B, SLC31A1, and MTF1) were associated with the drug sensitivity. This study provides insight into the specific biological functions and related mechanisms of CRGs in the development of psoriasis and indicates that cuproptosis plays a non-negligible role. These results may help guide future treatment strategies for psoriasis.
Automatic interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) detection based on convolutional neural network (CNN)
Authors: Zhang Ling , Wang Xiaolu , Jiang Jun , Xiao Naian , Guo Jiayang , Zhuang Kailong , Li Ling , Yu Houqiang , Wu Tong , Zheng Ming , Chen Duo
Published: April 2023

Clinical diagnosis of epilepsy significantly relies on identifying interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) in electroencephalogram (EEG). IED is generally interpreted manually, and the related process is very time-consuming. Meanwhile, the process is expert-biased, which can easily lead to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. In recent years, with the development of deep learning, related algorithms have been used in automatic EEG analysis, but there are still few attempts in IED detection. This study uses the currently most popular convolutional neural network (CNN) framework for EEG analysis for automatic IED detection. The research topic is transferred into a 4-labels classification problem. The algorithm is validated on the long-term EEG of 11 pediatric patients with epilepsy. The computational results confirm that the CNN-based model can obtain high classification accuracy, up to 87%. The study may provide a reference for the future application of deep learning in automatic IED detection.
Variation in responses to incretin therapy: Modifiable and non-modifiable factors
Authors: Austin Gregory O. , Tomas Alejandra
Published: April 2023

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity have reached epidemic proportions. Incretin therapy is the second line of treatment for T2D, improving both blood glucose regulation and weight loss. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-stimulated insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) are the incretin hormones that provide the foundations for these drugs. While these therapies have been highly effective for some, the results are variable. Incretin therapies target the class B G protein-coupled receptors GLP-1R and GIPR, expressed mainly in the pancreas and the hypothalamus, while some therapeutical approaches include additional targeting of the related glucagon receptor (GCGR) in the liver. The proper functioning of these receptors is crucial for incretin therapy success and here we review several mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level that influence an individual’s response to incretin therapy.
Research progress on the effect of traditional Chinese medicine on the activation of PRRs-mediated NF-κB signaling pathway to inhibit influenza pneumonia
Authors: Zhang Ling , Ye Xiong , Liu Yuntao , Zhang Zhongde , Xia Xueshan , Dong Shuwei
Published: April 2023

Influenza pneumonia has challenged public health and social development. One of the hallmarks of severe influenza pneumonia is overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which result from the continuous activation of intracellular signaling pathways, such as the NF-κB pathway, mediated by the interplay between viruses and host pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). It has been reported that traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) can not only inhibit viral replication and inflammatory responses but also affect the expression of key components of PRRs and NF-κB signaling pathways. However, whether the antiviral and anti-inflammatory roles of TCM are related with its effects on NF-κB signaling pathway activated by PRRs remains unclear. Here, we reviewed the mechanism of PRRs-mediated activation of NF-κB signaling pathway following influenza virus infection and summarized the influence of anti-influenza TCMs on inflammatory responses and the PRRs/NF-κB signaling pathway, so as to provide better understanding of the mode of action of TCMs in the treatment of influenza pneumonia.
Effects of oleoylethanolamide supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers, oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters of obese patients with NAFLD on a calorie-restricted diet: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Tutunchi Helda , Zolrahim Farideh , Nikbaf-Shandiz Mahlagha , Naeini Fatemeh , Ostadrahimi Alireza , Naghshi Sina , Salek Reza , Najafipour Farzad
Published: April 2023

Background: Oxidative stress is considered a major factor in the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD). A growing body of evidence indicates that oleoylethanolamide (OEA), a bioactive lipid mediator, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This trial investigated the effects of OEA administration on inflammatory markers, oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters of patients with NAFLD.

Methods: The present randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 obese patients with NAFLD. The patients were treated with OEA (250 mg/day) or placebo along with a low-calorie diet for 12 weeks. Inflammatory markers and oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters were evaluated pre-and post-intervention.

Results: At the end of the study, neither the between-group changes, nor the within-group differences were significant for serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis-factor α (TNF-α). Serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased and serum concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) significantly decreased in the OEA group compared to placebo at study endpoint (p = 0.039, 0.018, 0.003 and 0.001, respectively). Although, no significant between-group alterations were found in glutathione peroxidase and catalase. There were significant correlations between percent of changes in serum oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters with percent of changes in some anthropometric indices in the intervention group.

Conclusion: OEA supplementation could improve some oxidative stress/antioxidant biomarkers without any significant effect on inflammation in NAFLD patients. Further clinical trials with longer follow-up periods are demanded to verify profitable effects of OEA in these patients.

Clinical Trial Registration:www.irct.ir, Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20090609002017N32.
Importance of bioconvection flow on tangent hyperbolic nanofluid with entropy minimization
Authors: Faizan Ahmed M. , Khalid M. , Ali Farhan , Al-Bossly Afrah , Alduais Fuad S. , Eldin Sayed M. , Saeed Anwar
Published: April 2023

The amalgamation of microorganisms in the nanofluid is significant in beautifying the thermal conductivity of several systems, such as microfluid devices, chip-shaped microdevices, and enzyme biosensors. The current investigation studies mixed convective flow of the entropy minimization of unsteady MHD tangent hyperbolic nanoliquid because a stretching surface has motile densityviaconvective and slip conditions. For the novelty of this work, the variable transport characteristics caused by dynamic viscosity, thermal conductivity, nanoparticle mass permeability, and microbial organism diffusivity are considered. It is considered that the vertical sheet studying the flow. By using the appropriate alteration, the governing equations for the most recent flow analysis were altered into a non-dimension relation. Through MATLAB Software bvp4c, the PDE model equations have been made for these transformed equations. Engineering-relevant quantities against various physical variables include force friction, Nusselt number, Sherwood number, and microorganism profiles. The results showed good consistency compared to the current literature. Moreover, these outcomes revealed that augmentation in the magnitude of the magnetic field and velocity slip parameter declines the velocity profile. The reverse impact is studied inWe. In addition, heat transfer is typically improved by the influence of thermal radiation parameters, Brownian movement, and thermophoretic force. The physical interpretation has existed through graphical and tabular explanations.
Early human albumin administration is associated with reduced mortality in septic shock patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: A retrospective study from the MIMIC-III database
Authors: Wang Xiya , Zhang Tianqian , Gao Xinzhen , Cai Hongbo , Guo Mengke , Liu Qi , Guo Shubin , Ji Wenqing
Published: April 2023

Background: Sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was associated with higher mortality. It is unclear whether albumin supplementation early in the course of ARDS can affect the prognostic outcomes of septic shock (SS) patients with ARDS.

Methods: The MIMIC-III database was employed to identify SS patients with ARDS. The effect of early application (<24 h after ICU admission) of human albumin on 28-day mortality in SS patients with ARDS was explored. The propensity score matching was used to minimize the bias between the non-albumin and early albumin treatment groups.

Results: The analysis for all eligible patients who received human albumin showed significantly lower 28-hospital mortality rates than the non-albumin group (37% versus 47%, p = 0.018). After propensity matching, the difference between the two groups also significantly (34.8% versus 48.1%, p = 0.031). Moreover, we found that the relationship between albumin use and reduced 28-day mortality was inconsistent across SOFA score subgroups (Pinteraction = 0.004, non-adjustment for multiple testing).

Conclusion: Early human albumin administration in SS patients with ARDS was independently associated with a reduction of 28-day mortality. Furthermore, the benefit of human albumin treatment appeared to be more pronounced in patients with a SOFA score of ≤ 10.
Predicting Ventilation Rate in a Naturally Ventilated Dairy Barn in Wind-Forced Conditions Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Cao Mengbing , Yi Qianying , Wang Kaiying , Li Jiangong , Wang Xiaoshuai
Published: April 2023

Precise ventilation rate estimation of a naturally ventilated livestock building can benefit the control of the indoor environment. Machine learning has become a useful technique in many research fields and might be applied to ventilation rate prediction. This paper developed a machine-learning model for ventilation rate prediction from batch computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. By comparing deep neural networks (DNN), support vector regression (SVR), and random forest (RF), the best machine learning algorithm was selected. By comparing the modeling scheme of direct single-output (ventilation rate) and indirect multiple-output (predict averaged air velocities normal to the openings, then calculate the ventilation rate), the performances of the machine learning models widely applied in ventilation rate prediction were evaluated. In addition, this paper further evaluated the impact of adding indoor air velocity measurement in ventilation rate prediction. The results showed that the modeling performance of the DNN algorithm (Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) = 20.1%) was better than those of the SVR (MAPE = 23.2%) and RF algorithm (MAPE = 21.0%). The scheme of multiple-output performed better (MAPE < 8%) than the single-output scheme (MAPE = 20.1%), where MAPE was the mean absolute percentage error. Additionally, the comparison of modeling schemes with different inputs showed that the predictive accuracy could be improved by adding indoor velocities to the inputs. The MAPE decreased from 7.7% in the scheme without indoor velocity to 4.4% in the scheme with one indoor velocity, and 3.1% in the scheme with two indoor velocities. The location of the additional air velocity affected the accuracy of the predictive model, with the ones at the bottom layer performing better in the prediction than those at the top layer. This study enables a real-time and accurate prediction of the ventilation rate of a barn and provides a recommendation for optimal indoor sensor placement.
Use of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Residues for Partial Peat Substitution in Growing Media for Sonchus oleraceus Production
Authors: Chrysargyris Antonios , Goumenos Christos , Tzortzakis Nikolaos
Published: April 2023

A substantial quantity of solid waste that is high in phenolics and biocomponents is produced during the industrial manufacturing of essential oils (EOs); this presents an important management challenge for the EO sector. This currently produces a significant amount of residue, causing issues of disposal and management and the impact that the residues have on both the environment and human health. The present study evaluated the potential use of Origanum dubium Boiss. residues (ODR) and Sideritis cypria Post. residues (SCR) derived via distillation at different levels (0–5–10–20–40% v/v) for use in partial peat substitution in the production of Sonchus oleraceus L. (sowthistle) plants. Both ODR and SCR accelerated the pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter content, and mineral content of the growing media, but also negatively affected several of the physical characteristics of the media, such as the total porosity and aeration. This resulted in decreased plant growth, which was more noticeable at the high residue ratios. Plants responded to this by decreasing the leaf stomatal conductance, decreasing the chlorophyll content at 40% ODR and 20% SCR mixtures, and activating several non-enzymatic (phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity) and enzymatic (superoxide dismutase) mechanisms to challenge the observed stress conditions, as indicated by lipid peroxidation and the hydrogen peroxide increase. Plants grown in residue media exhibited changes in mineral accumulation, even though both ODR and SCR were rich in minerals. It may be concluded that ODR and SCR, when employed at low levels of 10% and 20%, respectively, have the potential for use in the preparation of growing media as they may increase plant material antioxidants, but further improvement of the growing media’s properties is needed to ensure adequate yield.
Alarm Calling in Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae): Evidence from Field Observations and Simulated Predator and Playback Experiments
Authors: Ma Meina , Hua Rui , Bao Darhan , Ye Guohui , Tang Zhuangsheng , Hua Limin
Published: April 2023

Acoustic communication plays a vital role in passing or sharing information between individuals. Identifying the biological meaning of vocal signals is crucial in understanding the survival strategies of animals. However, there are many challenges in identifying the true meaning of such signals. The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a call-producing mammal endemic to the Qinghai–Tibet plateau (QTP) and considered a keystone species owing to its multiple benefits in alpine rangeland ecosystems. Previous studies have shown that plateau pikas emit alarm calls as part of their daily activities. However, only field observations have been used to identify these alarm calls of the plateau pika, with no attempts at using playback experiments. Here, we report the alarm calling of plateau pikas through field observations as well as simulated predator and playback experiments in the Eastern QTP from 2021 to 2022. We found that both female and male adults emitted alarm calls, the signals of which comprised only one syllable, with a duration of 0.1–0.3 s. There were no differences in the characteristics between the observed alarm calls and those made in response to the simulated predator. The duration of the alarm call response varied with altitude, with plateau pikas living at higher altitudes responding at shorter durations than those at lower altitudes.
The Synergistic Effects of the Combination of L-Carnitine and Lycopene on the Lycopene Bioavailability and Duodenal Health of Roosters
Authors: Ennab Wael , Ye Nanwei , Wu Haoze , Ullah Saif , Hadi Tavakolikazerooni , Bassey Anthony Pius , Mustafa Sheeraz , Jiang Jingle , Wei Quanwei , Shi Fangxiong
Published: April 2023

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Lycopene and L-Carnitine, individually or in combination, on various physiological and molecular factors related to intestinal health and absorption ability in Roosters, such as intestinal morphology, serum biochemical parameters, genes involved in Lycopene uptake, nutritional transport genes, and tight junction genes. The findings of the study revealed that the combination of L-Carnitine and Lycopene supplementation had been found to increase the serum concentration levels of TP and ALB. Interestingly, the relative mRNA expression of genes responsible for Lycopene uptakes, such as SR-BI and BCO2, was higher in the LC group compared to other groups. Additionally, the expression of specific nutritional transport genes in the duodenum was significantly affected by both CAR and LC supplementation groups. The tight junction gene OCLN showed a significant increase in expression in the combination group compared to using either Lycopene or L-Carnitine alone. This study concludes that using Lycopene and L-carnitine in combination in poultry feed can potentially improve intestinal morphology and serum biochemical parameters, increase Lycopene bioavailability, improve nutrients uptake, and enhance the integrity of duodenal tight junctions in Roosters.
Phytochemistry and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Six Aromatic Medicinal Plants with Cosmetic Properties
Authors: Ailli Atika , Handaq Nadia , Touijer Hanane , Gourich Aman Allah , Drioiche Aziz , Zibouh Khalid , Eddamsyry Brahim , El Makhoukhi Fadoua , Mouradi Aicha , Bin Jardan Yousef A. , Bourhia Mohammed , Elomri Abdelhakim , Zair Touriya
Published: April 2023

In this work, the chemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils (EOs) of six species—Laurus nobilis, Chamaemelum nobile, Citrus aurantium, Pistacia lentiscus, Cedrus atlantica, and Rosa damascena—have been studied. Phytochemical screening of these plants revealed the presence of primary metabolites, namely, lipids, proteins, reducing sugars, and polysaccharides, and also secondary metabolites such as tannins, flavonoids, and mucilages. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The yields are between 0.06 and 4.78% (mL/100 g). The analysis of the chemical composition carried out by GC-MS showed the presence of 30 to 35 compounds and represent between 99.97% and 100% of the total composition of EOs, with a variation in the chemical composition detected at the level of the majority compounds between these species. Indeed, in the EO of Laurus nobilis, 1,8-cineole (36.58%) is the major component. In Chamaemelum nobile EO, the most abundant compound is angelylangelate (41.79%). The EO of Citrus aurantium is rich in linalool (29.01%). The EO of Pistacia lentiscus is dominated by 3-methylpentylangelate (27.83%). The main compound of Cedrus atlantica is β-himachalene (40.19%), while the EO of Rosa damascenaa flowers is rich in n-nonadecane (44.89%). The analysis of the similarity between the EOs of the plants studied by ACH and ACP showed that the chemical composition of the EOs makes it possible to separate these plants into three groups: the first represented by Chamaemelum nobile, because it is rich in oxygenated monoterpenes, the second defined Cedrus atlantica and Rosa damascena, which are rich in sesquiterpenes, and the third gathers Pistacia lentiscus, Laurus nobilis and Citrus aurantium, which are composed of oxygenated sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes (these three species are very close). The study of the antioxidant activity showed that all the EOs tested have a high capacity for scavenging free radicals from DPPH. The EOs of Laurus nobilis and Pistacia lentiscus showed the highest activity, 76.84% and 71.53%, respectively, followed by Cedrus atlantica EO (62.38%) and Chamaemelum nobile (47.98%) then Citrus aurantium EO (14.70%). Antimicrobial activity EO was tested against eight bacterial strains and eight fungal strains; the results showed that EOs exhibit significant bactericidal and fungicidal activities against all the microorganisms tested, of which the MICs of the bacterial strains start with 5 mg/mL, while the MICs of the fungal strains are between 0.60 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL. Thus, these EOs rich in antimicrobial and antioxidant components can serve as a natural alternative; this confirms their use as additives in cosmetics.
Frequency Analysis of Extreme Events Using the Univariate Beta Family Probability Distributions
Authors: Ilinca Cornel , Anghel Cristian Gabriel
Published: April 2023

This manuscript presents three families of distributions, namely the Beta, Beta Prime and Beta Exponential families of distributions. From all the distributions of these families, 14 statistical distributions of three, four and five parameters are presented that have applicability in the analysis of extreme phenomena in hydrology. These families of distributions were analyzed regarding the improvement of the existing legislation for the determination of extreme events, specifically the elaboration of a norm regarding frequency analysis in hydrology. To estimate the parameters of the analyzed distributions, the method of ordinary moments and the method of linear moments were used; the latter conforms to the current trend for estimating the parameters of statistical distributions. The main purpose of the manuscript was to identify other distributions from these three families with applicability in flood frequency analysis compared to the distributions already used in the literature from these families, such as the Log–logistic distribution, the Dagum distribution and the Kumaraswamy distribution. The manuscript does not exclude the applicability of other distributions from other families in the frequency analysis of extreme values, especially since these families were also analyzed within the research carried out in the Faculty of Hydrotechnics and presented in other materials. All the necessary elements for their use are presented, including the probability density functions, the complementary cumulative distribution functions, the quantile functions and the exact and approximate relations for estimating parameters. A flood frequency analysis case study was carried out for the Prigor RiverRiver, to numerically present the proposed distributions. The performance of this distributions were evaluated using the relative mean error, the relative absolute error and the L-skewness–L-kurtosis diagram. The best fit distributions are the Kumaraswamy, the Generalized Beta Exponential and the Generalized Beta distributions, which presented a stability related to both the length of the data and the presence of outliers.
Efficient Conformer for Agglutinative Language ASR Model Using Low-Rank Approximation and Balanced Softmax
Authors: Guo Ting , Yolwas Nurmemet , Slamu Wushour
Published: April 2023

Recently, the performance of end-to-end speech recognition has been further improved based on the proposed Conformer framework, which has also been widely used in the field of speech recognition. However, the Conformer model is mostly applied to very widespread languages, such as Chinese and English, and rarely applied to speech recognition of Central and West Asian agglutinative languages. There are more network parameters in the Conformer end-to-end speech recognition model, so the structure of the model is complex, and it consumes more resources. At the same time, we found that there is a long-tail problem in Kazakh, i.e., the distribution of high-frequency words and low-frequency words is not uniform, which makes the recognition accuracy of the model low. For these reasons, we made the following improvements to the Conformer baseline model. First, we constructed a low-rank multi-head self-attention encoder and decoder using low-rank approximation decomposition to reduce the number of parameters of the multi-head self-attention module and model’s storage space. Second, to alleviate the long-tail problem in Kazakh, the original softmax function was replaced by a balanced softmax function in the Conformer model; Third, we use connectionist temporal classification (CTC) as an auxiliary task to speed up the model training and build a multi-task lightweight but efficient Conformer speech recognition model with hybrid CTC/Attention. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, we conduct experiments on the open-source Kazakh language dataset, during which no external language model is used, and the number of parameters is relatively compressed by 7.4% and the storage space is relatively reduced by 13.5 MB, while the training speed and word error rate remain basically unchanged.
A Survey on Search Strategy of Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization Algorithms
Authors: Wang Zitong , Pei Yan , Li Jianqiang
Published: April 2023

The multi-objective optimization problem is difficult to solve with conventional optimization methods and algorithms because there are conflicts among several optimization objectives and functions. Through the efforts of researchers and experts from different fields for the last 30 years, the research and application of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEA) have made excellent progress in solving such problems. MOEA has become one of the primary used methods and technologies in the realm of multi-objective optimization. It is also a hotspot in the evolutionary computation research community. This survey provides a comprehensive investigation of MOEA algorithms that have emerged in recent decades and summarizes and classifies the classical MOEAs by evolutionary mechanism from the viewpoint of the search strategy. This paper divides them into three categories considering the search strategy of MOEA, i.e., decomposition-based MOEA algorithms, dominant relation-based MOEA algorithms, and evaluation index-based MOEA algorithms. This paper selects the relevant representative algorithms for a detailed summary and analysis. As a prospective research direction, we propose to combine the chaotic evolution algorithm with these representative search strategies for improving the search capability of multi-objective optimization algorithms. The capability of the new multi-objective evolutionary algorithm has been discussed, which further proposes the future research direction of MOEA. It also lays a foundation for the application and development of MOEA with these prospective works in the future.
Framework for Identification and Prediction of Corrosion Degradation in a Steel Column through Machine Learning and Bayesian Updating
Authors: Castelli Simone , Belleri Andrea
Published: April 2023

In recent years, structural health monitoring, starting from accelerometric data, is a method which has become widely adopted. Among the available techniques, machine learning is one of the most innovative and promising, supported by the continuously increasing computational capacity of current computers. The present work investigates the potential benefits of a framework based on supervised learning suitable for quantifying the corroded thickness of a structural system, herein uniformly applied to a reference steel column. The envisaged framework follows a hybrid approach where the training data are generated from a parametric and stochastic finite element model. The learning activity is performed by a support vector machine with Bayesian optimization of the hyperparameters, in which a penalty matrix is introduced to minimize the probability of missed alarms. Then, the estimated structural health conditions are used to update an exponential degradation model with random coefficients suitable for providing a prediction of the remaining useful life of the simulated corroded column. The results obtained show the potentiality of the proposed framework and its possible future extension for different types of damage and structural types.
Influenced Zone of Deep Excavation and a Simplified Prediction Method for Adjacent Tunnel Displacement in Thick Soft Soil
Authors: Liu Bo , Shao Chengmeng , Wang Ningning , Zhang Dingwen
Published: April 2023

Based on the statistics of 42 case histories, 732 finite element numerical simulations are conducted to determine the scope of the influenced zone of deep excavation under different conditions of excavation depth (He) and the maximum retaining wall deflection (δhm). On this basis, the effects of He and δhm on the scope of the influenced zone are studied, and a simplified prediction method for the scope of the influenced zone under any He and δhm conditions and the adjacent tunnel displacement is proposed. Then, the reliability of the proposed method is verified by comparing it with the current research and case histories. And finally, the proposed method is applied to an actual project, and the application effect is evaluated. The results show that the range outside the pit can be divided into “primary”, “secondary”, “general”, and “weak” influenced zones. The influenced zone can be simplified as a right-angled trapezoid shape, and the scope of influence zones can be quickly determined by defining three parameters: width coefficient M, depth coefficients N1 and N2. The parameters M and N2 have a linear relationship with He and δhm, and N1 varies between 1–2 with an average of about 1.5. In actual application, the effect of deep excavation on the adjacent tunnel can be alleviated by using the proposed method to predict the excavation-induced displacement of the adjacent tunnel and take some measures.